~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day, the doctor (kindly) escorted Zelda back to the Hylian castle. She walked around to the southern side and used a door that led into the kitchen. Ginseng jumped out of her arms and hurried into the kitchen and into one of the cupboards, darting past the other occupants of the room.
"There's the invalid!" Sophie laughed.
"I'm okay now," Zelda smirked. "It feels like I've been gone for so long, though."
"Well, it's only been a couple days," Cody remarked. "We were told about your condition through the maid Mandy--"
"--who heard it from the stable boy, Skrat--"
"--who heard it from Nathan, the pig boy--"
"--who eavesdropped on Prince Link's conversation with his parents."
Zelda stared at them. Cody and Sophie, switching off sentences, had pretty much explained things, but she was still a little confused. "Where's Scarlett?"
Sophie frowned and Cody looked away. Then the meak female cook spoke up. "Well. . .you see, the way we heard it was that Princess Malon ordered a harsh whippin' on her, she did. Er. . .we think that she's a tad angry at her for siding with you on something back at the pond."
"Yeah," Cody added. "We heard that Scarlett called her a conniving wench."
"Well, that would automatically make her unfavorable," Zelda commented. "But where is she now?"
"Erm. . .her highness doesn't know it," Sophie said, "but Scarlett's asleep. We knew she couldn't work in her condition, so we sent her off to bed."
"Well, you needn't be afraid of the princess finding out about it," Zelda said. "She'd die before walking into a kitchen of. . .well, y'know, servants. She'll never know that Scarlett wasn't here."
"ZELDA!!" came a shrilly voice. "IF YOU'RE IN THAT KITCHEN, COME UP HERE NOW!!"
"You hear that?" Zelda asked on her way to the door. "She can't even come down that flight of stairs to reprimand me."
Hastily, Zelda climbed the steps and was greeted with Malon's grim expression. "Yes, your majesty?" she said, bowing slightly.
Malon pursed her lips, then grabbed Zelda's shoulder roughly, tightly gripping a bucket in the other hand. "Come with me."
'Like I have a choice,' her servant thought bitterly.
Apparently, the princess was in a very bad mood. Very... Bad. Finally, they come to a stop by the lake a hundred yards or more away from the castle. She let go of Zelda, and told her to "Stand up against that rock. Don't face me, turn around."
Nervously turning, Zelda started to get worried. Malon was definitely up to something bad. She heard the sound of something being lashed across the ground.
"Stay facing the stone, Zelda," Malon ordered, upon noticing that her servant was about to turn around. "By the way. . .they say it helps if you shut your eyes. Of course, I've never experienced it before, so you must try it out and tell me if it really does work."
"What're you--"
Zelda suddenly felt a jolt of pain in her back. Then it came again. And again. It was then that she realized that for the first time in her enslaved life, Malon was whipping her.
Blind with rage, Malon struck her servant with the whip again. "They tell me I'm awfully good with a whip. I should like to know your opinion once I've finished. . .Curse the Goddesses, why aren't you screaming?"
Never before had Zelda been forced to endure such pain. And never before had she longed so hard to scream. But she'd die before letting Malon have that satisfaction. Tears tinged her cheeks, but no sound came out.
"You're determined, aren't you?" Malon grunted, stopping for a moment.
"Almost as much as you," Zelda said in a whisper that Malon could barely hear.
"Well, you know why I'm doing this to you, don't you?" Malon asked, starting to thrash at her again.
Zelda didn't answer. Now every time she was hit, she moaned softly. A small acknowledgement of pain that Malon could not hear.
"Don't you?!" Malon repeated, thrashing her harder.
Zelda, whose dress had been torn in the back (it was barely hanging on by the straps on her shoulders), finally collapsed to the ground in what appeared to be a dead faint. She was still concious, but wished vainly that she wasn't.
Malon flogged her once more, then, breathing heavily, dropped the whip with a tired hand. Zelda could tell that her back was going numb. She thought Malon had left, for it was silent around her.
But unfortunately, the princess was not yet gone. She walked over to her wooden bucket and filled it with the icy lake water. "Look up," she commanded quietly, softly kicking at Zelda's feet.
Zelda, now covered in blood, dirt, and some of her own tears, turned her head to look at Malon.
Grimacing, Malon lifted the pail of water. "Worthless fliratious wench!" Mercilessly, she threw the bucket at Zelda, ice water splashing all over her bloody back and bringing new pains.
"I heard that there's only half a chance of snow tonight," Malon said, walking away. "So do try and hurry back as soon as you can."
Zelda lay on her stomach, too sore and numb to turn over and protect her back from the wind. She wasn't exactly dressed in the warmest attire, and half of it was gone now anyway.
After a few more minutes of moaning and weeping, the unconciousness Zelda had longed for earlier finally came.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hours later, Zelda woke up. She was in a darkly lit room, with only two burning candles in it. Then she realized that she was in her own room, in her own bed. The servant started to stand up, then was greeted with a sharp pain in her back. Zelda recalled the events of the afternoon, and her eyes started watering up again.
"D'you think she's awake yet?" came a voice from the other side of her closed door. She recognized it as Peach's.
"I don't know," came another. "She's been out cold for hours."
'Link!' she thought to herself. 'What're they doing here?'
"Well, it won't hurt if we go in and look, would it?" Peach asked. "I mean if she's still.....not....awake, it's not like we'll be waking her up or anything."
"Right."
Zelda saw her door slowly open, and the two royals walked in.
"Thank the Goddesses," Peach sighed. "We were beginning to think you might not wake up."
Link tried to say something, but he couldn't.
"I feel so tired," Zelda whispered.
There was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" asked Peach.
"It's me, your father!" came the response. "Peach, come out here immediately!!"
"I can't! We're--"
"Peach, one of your blasted cats has somehow gotten itself locked inside the closet where Scarlett and Sophie keep all their ingredients!! It's holding up dinner! You come down here and get it out!!"
"Who's stuck in the closet? Which one?"
"HOW SHOULD I KNOW?!?!"
"Fine! I'm coming!" Growling a bit, Peach put a hand on the doorknob, then faced Zelda. "I'm sorry I've got to leave so soon, Zel."
Zelda shook her head. "I don't mind."
"Okay, okay, I'm coming. . ." Eventually, the sound of Peach and King George's footsteps faded away.
Link pulled up a chair to Zelda's bedside. He awkwardly clasped his hands together and hunched over a bit.
"Isn't that bad for your posture?" Zelda joked, remembering how Queen Rose used to always get on Marth's nerves for making him sit straight.
Grinning a bit, Link straightened. His smile quickly disappeared as he asked, "What happened? I was on my way to the forest to go hunting with Peach, and we saw you lying by the lake. How. . .what--"
"I was flogged," Zelda said quietly.
Link was floored. "You mean to say that Malon whipped you??"
Feeling a burning sensation in her throat, the servant could only nod. She winced as she tried to turn and face Link, then painfully asked, "Why am I on my back?"
"I d-don't know," he answered. "The doctor told us to keep you that way."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
After a few more minutes of silence, Zelda drifted into sleep. Link jumped as he heard a loud scream from several floors below.
He heard loud footsteps come up the stairs, and there was a knock on the door.
"Link, are you still in there?"
"Yes."
"Well, your mother's just been attacked by one of Peach's cats," his father's voice said. "I would request that you come down here immediatley and help me with her!"
"Can't you ask Darryl to help?"
"We can't find him! Come out!! Why is this door locked?!"
"All right, all right, I'll be there in a second."
Link leaned over Zelda, and briefly kissed her forehead. Sighing, he slowly lowered his lips to hers, giving her the kiss she would've have wanted more than anything to have been awake for.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Author's note:
well? that okay?
Malon: Wow, I'm so mean.
Zelda: That's okay. I forgive you.
Queen Madeline: Ow!
The next day, the doctor (kindly) escorted Zelda back to the Hylian castle. She walked around to the southern side and used a door that led into the kitchen. Ginseng jumped out of her arms and hurried into the kitchen and into one of the cupboards, darting past the other occupants of the room.
"There's the invalid!" Sophie laughed.
"I'm okay now," Zelda smirked. "It feels like I've been gone for so long, though."
"Well, it's only been a couple days," Cody remarked. "We were told about your condition through the maid Mandy--"
"--who heard it from the stable boy, Skrat--"
"--who heard it from Nathan, the pig boy--"
"--who eavesdropped on Prince Link's conversation with his parents."
Zelda stared at them. Cody and Sophie, switching off sentences, had pretty much explained things, but she was still a little confused. "Where's Scarlett?"
Sophie frowned and Cody looked away. Then the meak female cook spoke up. "Well. . .you see, the way we heard it was that Princess Malon ordered a harsh whippin' on her, she did. Er. . .we think that she's a tad angry at her for siding with you on something back at the pond."
"Yeah," Cody added. "We heard that Scarlett called her a conniving wench."
"Well, that would automatically make her unfavorable," Zelda commented. "But where is she now?"
"Erm. . .her highness doesn't know it," Sophie said, "but Scarlett's asleep. We knew she couldn't work in her condition, so we sent her off to bed."
"Well, you needn't be afraid of the princess finding out about it," Zelda said. "She'd die before walking into a kitchen of. . .well, y'know, servants. She'll never know that Scarlett wasn't here."
"ZELDA!!" came a shrilly voice. "IF YOU'RE IN THAT KITCHEN, COME UP HERE NOW!!"
"You hear that?" Zelda asked on her way to the door. "She can't even come down that flight of stairs to reprimand me."
Hastily, Zelda climbed the steps and was greeted with Malon's grim expression. "Yes, your majesty?" she said, bowing slightly.
Malon pursed her lips, then grabbed Zelda's shoulder roughly, tightly gripping a bucket in the other hand. "Come with me."
'Like I have a choice,' her servant thought bitterly.
Apparently, the princess was in a very bad mood. Very... Bad. Finally, they come to a stop by the lake a hundred yards or more away from the castle. She let go of Zelda, and told her to "Stand up against that rock. Don't face me, turn around."
Nervously turning, Zelda started to get worried. Malon was definitely up to something bad. She heard the sound of something being lashed across the ground.
"Stay facing the stone, Zelda," Malon ordered, upon noticing that her servant was about to turn around. "By the way. . .they say it helps if you shut your eyes. Of course, I've never experienced it before, so you must try it out and tell me if it really does work."
"What're you--"
Zelda suddenly felt a jolt of pain in her back. Then it came again. And again. It was then that she realized that for the first time in her enslaved life, Malon was whipping her.
Blind with rage, Malon struck her servant with the whip again. "They tell me I'm awfully good with a whip. I should like to know your opinion once I've finished. . .Curse the Goddesses, why aren't you screaming?"
Never before had Zelda been forced to endure such pain. And never before had she longed so hard to scream. But she'd die before letting Malon have that satisfaction. Tears tinged her cheeks, but no sound came out.
"You're determined, aren't you?" Malon grunted, stopping for a moment.
"Almost as much as you," Zelda said in a whisper that Malon could barely hear.
"Well, you know why I'm doing this to you, don't you?" Malon asked, starting to thrash at her again.
Zelda didn't answer. Now every time she was hit, she moaned softly. A small acknowledgement of pain that Malon could not hear.
"Don't you?!" Malon repeated, thrashing her harder.
Zelda, whose dress had been torn in the back (it was barely hanging on by the straps on her shoulders), finally collapsed to the ground in what appeared to be a dead faint. She was still concious, but wished vainly that she wasn't.
Malon flogged her once more, then, breathing heavily, dropped the whip with a tired hand. Zelda could tell that her back was going numb. She thought Malon had left, for it was silent around her.
But unfortunately, the princess was not yet gone. She walked over to her wooden bucket and filled it with the icy lake water. "Look up," she commanded quietly, softly kicking at Zelda's feet.
Zelda, now covered in blood, dirt, and some of her own tears, turned her head to look at Malon.
Grimacing, Malon lifted the pail of water. "Worthless fliratious wench!" Mercilessly, she threw the bucket at Zelda, ice water splashing all over her bloody back and bringing new pains.
"I heard that there's only half a chance of snow tonight," Malon said, walking away. "So do try and hurry back as soon as you can."
Zelda lay on her stomach, too sore and numb to turn over and protect her back from the wind. She wasn't exactly dressed in the warmest attire, and half of it was gone now anyway.
After a few more minutes of moaning and weeping, the unconciousness Zelda had longed for earlier finally came.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hours later, Zelda woke up. She was in a darkly lit room, with only two burning candles in it. Then she realized that she was in her own room, in her own bed. The servant started to stand up, then was greeted with a sharp pain in her back. Zelda recalled the events of the afternoon, and her eyes started watering up again.
"D'you think she's awake yet?" came a voice from the other side of her closed door. She recognized it as Peach's.
"I don't know," came another. "She's been out cold for hours."
'Link!' she thought to herself. 'What're they doing here?'
"Well, it won't hurt if we go in and look, would it?" Peach asked. "I mean if she's still.....not....awake, it's not like we'll be waking her up or anything."
"Right."
Zelda saw her door slowly open, and the two royals walked in.
"Thank the Goddesses," Peach sighed. "We were beginning to think you might not wake up."
Link tried to say something, but he couldn't.
"I feel so tired," Zelda whispered.
There was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" asked Peach.
"It's me, your father!" came the response. "Peach, come out here immediately!!"
"I can't! We're--"
"Peach, one of your blasted cats has somehow gotten itself locked inside the closet where Scarlett and Sophie keep all their ingredients!! It's holding up dinner! You come down here and get it out!!"
"Who's stuck in the closet? Which one?"
"HOW SHOULD I KNOW?!?!"
"Fine! I'm coming!" Growling a bit, Peach put a hand on the doorknob, then faced Zelda. "I'm sorry I've got to leave so soon, Zel."
Zelda shook her head. "I don't mind."
"Okay, okay, I'm coming. . ." Eventually, the sound of Peach and King George's footsteps faded away.
Link pulled up a chair to Zelda's bedside. He awkwardly clasped his hands together and hunched over a bit.
"Isn't that bad for your posture?" Zelda joked, remembering how Queen Rose used to always get on Marth's nerves for making him sit straight.
Grinning a bit, Link straightened. His smile quickly disappeared as he asked, "What happened? I was on my way to the forest to go hunting with Peach, and we saw you lying by the lake. How. . .what--"
"I was flogged," Zelda said quietly.
Link was floored. "You mean to say that Malon whipped you??"
Feeling a burning sensation in her throat, the servant could only nod. She winced as she tried to turn and face Link, then painfully asked, "Why am I on my back?"
"I d-don't know," he answered. "The doctor told us to keep you that way."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
After a few more minutes of silence, Zelda drifted into sleep. Link jumped as he heard a loud scream from several floors below.
He heard loud footsteps come up the stairs, and there was a knock on the door.
"Link, are you still in there?"
"Yes."
"Well, your mother's just been attacked by one of Peach's cats," his father's voice said. "I would request that you come down here immediatley and help me with her!"
"Can't you ask Darryl to help?"
"We can't find him! Come out!! Why is this door locked?!"
"All right, all right, I'll be there in a second."
Link leaned over Zelda, and briefly kissed her forehead. Sighing, he slowly lowered his lips to hers, giving her the kiss she would've have wanted more than anything to have been awake for.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Author's note:
well? that okay?
Malon: Wow, I'm so mean.
Zelda: That's okay. I forgive you.
Queen Madeline: Ow!
