whoa, been a while since i've updated, i c. sry, my internet was down and i
couldnt get on! so 2 make up 4 it, heres a long-ish chapter!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~
By now, Zelda had spoken to Impa about Link. Unfortunately, she wasn't given any advice. Desperate at finding a solution, Zelda went out to a popular bar for a drink.
"Well, well, well," said the bartender (whose name happened to be....uh....Talon). "Been awhile since we've had you here, Ms. Jones."
"I know," Zelda sighed. "Please just give me....the usual."
"Right." Talon turned to walk away, then asked, "What is the usual?"
Zelda shrugged. "I dunno. But it says on your menu up there that it costs $10.95."
"Okay, you're the boss."
"YOU'RE ALWAYS GETTING YOUR WAY IN EVERYTHING, I THINK IT'S MY TURN NOW!!"
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S ALWAYS BEEN THE BOSS AT HOME! YOU NEVER EVEN CONSIDER HOW I FEEL, OR WHAT I'M THINKING!"
Zelda whipped around to see where the shouting was coming from. Her jaw dropped when she saw Malon and Link in the back of the bar, both standing and yelling at each other quite loudly.
"YOU'D BE NO ONE WITHOUT ME!" Link shouted.
"WELL WHO NEEDS YOU?!" Malon screamed back.
"GET OUT!" Link yelled, picking up his beer bottle and throwing it at her. The glass broke across her forhead, and Zelda recoiled as blood dripped out of Malon's crown. Fighting to remain concious, she wiped away at the red substance that seeped into her eyes, clouding her vision.
Yelling wordlessly, she swung her own glass at Link, but missed badly and it ended up just missing his leg. "You! You s...you son of...!" Malon's breathing got sharper and sharper, until she collapsed on the floor from unconsiousness.
Talon quickly ran to the bar's phone and called up an ambulance. Link shook his head, as if trying to rid himself of his half-drunken state. His vision was getting slightly blurred, but he hurried out of the bar as several of the bar's residents ran over to Malon to try and revive her.
Zelda glanced at Malon that ran out of the doors, calling out to Talon, "Cancel my order, please!" She looked around for any sign of Link, and saw him walking briskly down the street. "Link!"
He turned around and saw her running towards him. Scowling, he continued to walk away. Zelda caught his elbow, but he jerked out of her grasp. "Link, please!"
"Leave me alone!" he growled at her, swiping at her but missing completely. His words were slurred together, and his eyes told Zelda that he was clearly very, very drunk.
She grabbed his arm. "Listen to me!" she said in a loud voice. "Do you know what you just did in there?"
"Yeah, so what? Happens alla time."
"I'm sure it does!" Zelda said. She looked out into the street, and tried to flag down a taxi. "Taxi! Don't those drivers ever--oh no, you don't! Link, don't walk away! You need to talk this out with someone rationaal--TAXI!!"
"Yer not doing it right," Link said, hiccupping. Before Zelda could stop him, he walked out into the street and waved his arms as a taxi drove up. It screeched to a halt, nearly running him over. "Ladies first," Link said, opening the door.
Her lips set in a thin glare, Zelda stepped inside the cab and Link followed.
"Where to, miss?" the cab driver asked.
"The Colliseum," Link answered, laughing.
"Wherever the nearest hotel is, just take us there!" Zelda replied, exasperated with Link's drunken phase. The driver nodded, and Zelda rolled up the window between them for privacy.
"You picked the perfect spot, babe," Link said, slowly taking off his coat and his hat.
"For what?" Zelda asked, backing up against her side of the cab.
"Don't give me that," Link said, grinning. "I know you like me n all that, so you picked a taxi cab for us to, uh....y'know."
Zelda wrinkled her nose. She knew she was experiencing a love for Link, but she didn't want him if he only wanted to make love to her when he was drunk. "That's not what I wanted to speak to you about."
"Sure, honey," Link said, putting his arms around her. Then he bore down on her, his soft lips pressing down on hers.
"Ugh, stop!" Zelda cried out, pushing off of her. "I don't want you, especially not when you're drunk and when you're married! Stay off of me, you creep!"
"You know, most dames in your position would be glad in this situation," Link said, sitting back and grinning.
"Yeah, well most dames are stupid."
The cab driver knocked on the window, and Zelda hastily lowered it, glad for the interruption. "Here we are, miss."
"This is your stop, Link. Get out."
"Why? I wanna stay with you."
"No you don't. You want to check into this hotel and get some sleep. So you can rest up for tomorrow's shoot, okay?"
"....will you come with me?"
"No, I am not going to come with you!" She practically had to kick him out of the cab until he agreed to swagger off towards the hotel. "See you tomorrow, Link, when you're a little more sober!!"
"Will he be okay, miss?" the driver asked.
"Don't know, don't care," she sighed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The phone rang early the next morning. Zelda was the only one in the house. It was the servants' day off, and the rest of the family had gone to a breakfast party at Pickfair (Zelda had been invited, but she hadn't felt like going).
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Zelda Jones, by any chance?"
"Yes. May I ask who is calling?"
The woman on the other side of the phone laughed. "Yes, sorry--this is Joan Crawford, you....MAY have heard of me." The ultimate screen siren laughed again at the joke. "I've called upon you several times, and yet your mother constantly tells me you are busy. I was wondering if you could possible come over this morning?"
Zelda gulped. Whenever Joan Crawford had called for her, she had always told her mother to say she was busy. She was afraid of Crawford; too many stars had told her disasterous stories about her. But she couldn't find the bravery within herself to decline in person, so she said, "It would be my pleasure to. I don't have to leave for the studio until about twelve o'clock."
"How divine! Why don't you just hustle on over in about....twenty minutes? I've been dying to get to know you better."
"A-all right, then. Good-bye."
"Good-bye!"
Zelda hung the phone and sat with her hand still on it for a few moments. Her mother had said it took about fifteen minutes to drive to Joan Crawford's house, so she would have just enough time to call up Greer. Quickly, she dialed the number.
"Hello?" said the maid at the other end of the line.
"Hello, this is Zelda Jones. Is Ms. Garson in?"
"I'm sorry, no, madame. She's filming at the studio. May I take a message?"
Sighing, Zelda stepped away from the phone and said, "Yes. HELP! I'M GOING TO JOAN CRAWFORD'S HOUSE AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!" She took in a deep breath then said, "Thank you. Goodbye."
*****************
Zelda rang the doorbell of the large white house. Her frown quickly changed to a smile as a maid answered the door. "Hello, I'm Zelda Jones calling upon Ms. Crawford .... is she in?"
"Yes, madame," the maid answered, opening the door wider so Zelda would walk in. "She's in the study."
"Oh, Zelda dear!" Joan said, flying out of the study and into the hallway. "How marvelous it is to see you again! What a lovely brooch that is, you must tell me where you got it. And your hair, quite fashionable! You must tell me where you get it done, I hate whoever does mine. Anyway--"
Apparently, Joan didn't care much about where the brooch had come from or where Zelda had gotten her hair done. Her goal was to tell the young actress everything about her life. Zelda zoned in and out of the conversation, her thoughts drifting to Link every now and then.
"....so then Davis has the nerve to come and tell me that Franchot loves her instead of me--the nerve, can you believe it?--so I said right on back that...."
Blah blah blah blah.
Then she proceeded to tell Zelda about her schedule from dawn to dusk. Zelda barely got a word in, except to say, "Yes" or "I agree" or "Of course, dear."
Zelda's eyes shifted towards a small girl waddling towards them. Her blonde hair was tied back with pink ribbons, and her plaid dress was also a bright red color. She curtsied shortly, and said, "Good morning, Miss."
"Oh, my daughter, Christina," Joan said absent-mindedly, waving her hand as if it wasn't too important. She laughed. "Thinks she's going to be the next Jean Harlow, don't you, Tina?"
"I want to act," Christina said. "I like to act. It's--"
"That's enough," Joan said curtly, cutting her off.
"But mommie, you interrupted."
"I said that's enough! Did you clean the mess you made in your room last night yet? You horrid child!"
"It's not cleaned yet."
"Then go straighten it up! And don't come barging in when mommy has company, you understand?! And once you finish up with that disasterous room of yours, you come down here, understand?!"
"Yes, mommie," Christina obliged, beginning to walk up the stairs.
"Mommie what?" Joan asked, putting a hand to her ear.
Christina turned while on the steps, and said rather darkly, "Yes, mommie dearest."
"There's a good girl, now speed up!" Joan turned to face Zelda again (who was quite shaken), and said, "Always getting in my way, little Tina. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, that Davis monster...."
Zelda wished she hadn't told Joan she had to leave at twelve. If she hadn't, she could just gasp and glance at the clock, and say, "Oh, dear! I've lost track of the time! I've got to be at the studio in ten minutes!" But now that would be impossible.
A few minutes later, Christina came tromping back down the stairs.
"Now Tina, is that how a lady walks?" Joan asked. "I don't think so."
Tina lifted her feet a little bit and glided down the stairs.
"Now go get that present from upstairs," Joan growled. "Then came back to us and sit down on that bench until it's time to go to that party at three. That is your punishment for being an impertinent child!"
"Yes, mommie dearest."
Zelda looked at the clock. A party at three, and it was only eleven forty-five! That was a dreadful punishment!
"Oh look, it's a quarter to twelve already!" Joan exclaimed. "You'd better be heading off to the studio, darling, you don't want to be late! It's been wonderful speaking with you!"
'Speaking with you my @$$,' Zelda thought, walking out of the house. "Thank you for having me," she called out. She saw Christina sitting on a bench by the front door, as still as stone, holding a red box wrapped with a golden ribbon. "Goodbye, Christina," Zelda said. "Lovely to have met you!"
Christina did not respond. She only stared blankly in front of her, seemingly oblivious to what Zelda had just said to her.
'Oh, my Lord!' Zelda thought to herself, hurrying down the stone pathway that led out of the gates. 'If I ever have children, please don't ever let me treat them as harshly as all that!'
Now she knew that the horrific stories about Crawford were all true.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that afternoon, Zelda sat in her dressing room, humming to herself. A knock sounded on her door. "Come in," she called out. She heard the door open and then close. Zelda turned around to see who it was, and gasped. "Link!"
"Hello," he said. He pulled a bouquet out from behind his back and handed them to Zelda. "Here, take this before I explain."
"Uh....thanks," Zelda said taking the flowers and placing them carefully on her wardrobe. "What beautiful azaleas....well anyway, what is it?"
Sighing, Link sat down on the other chair in the room. "Um....I just wanted to thank you for last night. I acted terribly in my drunken state, and it was so kind of you to help me in my hour of need." He sighed again. "I know that .... that uh .... our families have never been the best of friends, and I think it was swell of you to help me like that."
Zelda stared at him and turned a pinkish color. "It was no problem for me at all, really. Is....is Malon all right?"
"Yeah, the doctor's said she'd be okay," Link answered. "Apparently she didn't tell them I was the one who caused the injury. She told them that she slipped on the stairs and hit her head on a table." He looked up into Zelda's crystalline eyes. "I didn't hurt you at all, did I?"
"Well, no harm was done," Zelda replied. "But you were very drunk, and at one point, I was afraid that you were going to--to rape me." Link breathed in sharply, but Zelda said quickly, "You didn't, though. I managed to stop you in time."
"I'm sorry," Link apologized. "That's a terrible thing I've done; my mother would be horrified if she ever found out. Especially with Malon being....being in the hospital and everything. This isn't the first time we've gotten into a violent argument." Ashamed of this fact, Link stood up and crossed to the other side of the room. "I never dreamed that life could turn out this way."
Zelda walked towards him and put her arms around his waist from behind. "I'm sorry you've got to endure this, I'm sure you don't deserve it."
"Maybe I do," Link said, trying his best to hold back tears. "Maybe I do deserve it for all the things I've done before."
"Link, I don't think you're a bad person," Zelda sighed. "And no offense, but my parents do. I used to be prejudiced against you, but that was before I even knew you. Now I can see what a kind, honest man you are."
Link turned around to face her. "I'm glad one woman on tihs planet thinks so. Malon finally admitted....something to me."
Zelda raised her eyebrows, but she didn't say anything. Link was going very deeply into his personal life, and she didn't want to pry into anything he didn't feel comfortable telling her.
"She told me she only married me for the fame and the money," Link whispered, resting his elbow on a chest of drawers nearby. "She doesn't love me, she hates me, and I can't do anything about it."
"Well, why don't you just...." Zelda felt awkward attempting to give him advice, but it had to be said. "Why don't you just divorce?"
Link chuckled softly. "Divorce? In California? That is exactly what she wants me to do. I'm trapped."
Wiping away at a tear that was coursing down her cheek, Zelda said, "I'm so sorry, Link." That was all she could do to ease his pain. Apologize. She felt so pathetic.
"Don't cry for me," Link muttered. "Don't waste your tears on someone like me."
"But Link, I really....I do...." Whoops, she almost spilled the secret of her admiration for him. "I wish there was something I could do."
"Maybe there is."
Link reached forward and caressed her face. Then he kissed her on her awaiting mouth, his lips roving over her small, delicate ones. He was ver passionate about it, walking her into a wall behind her.
"Say it," he whispered, his tongue fluttering at her ear. "I've known it all along, Zelda....you love me."
How could she lie about it now? "You have no idea how much," she whispered. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, temptation breaking through and she locked her lips on to his with eager passion.
Slowly the two of them skated down the wall, until they were they were both practically touching the wood paneling of the floor. Zelda rubbed the back of Link's neck, her lips still exploring him excitedly. Then she paused for a brief moment to catch her breath.
Link seized the opportunity and stuck his tongue into Zelda's mouth, meeting hers and then trembling shortly at the indescribable tenderness of it.
There was a knock on the door, but neither of them heard. They were too busy exploring each other. The knock sounded again, but still they were oblivious of it.
The knocker was Nayru, and Farore the second time. "She's in there, isn't she?" the former one asked.
"Yes," Farore replied. "She has to be. That's what Loxley told me. Open the door a crack; she might be changing."
Nayru agreed, and opened the door quietly. Both of them held their breath to keep from gasping loudly. They saw the entwined pair on the floor, and immediately knew that it couldn't be good.
"Nay, what do we do?!" Farore asked desperately. "Zelda would've told us if she'd started this affair before today!"
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Nayru said, tapping her chin with her finger. "We'll have to talk to Greer, she's Zelda's best friend....let's see if we can catch her at the Brown Derby. That's where she usually has lunch."
******************
Fortunately for them, that's exactly where they found Greer. She was sitting in a booth with Humphrey (Bogart, remember?), and looked up as Nayru and Farore walked up to them. "Oh, hello you two!"
"Greer, may we speak with you for a minute?" Nayru asked. "Alone?"
"All right," Humphrey said, standing up. "I know when I'm not wanted."
"Oh Humphrey, it's not that," Nayru sighed, as he walked away.
"Yeah, I know," he laughed.
"What's the matter?" Greer asked in confusion as Nayru and Farore sat on opposite sides of her. "What is so important that you had ask Humphrey to leave? We were having a rather interesting conversation."
"It's about Zelda," Farore answered. "We need you to talk with her. We're too afraid to do it ourselves."
"Oh no," Greer said quickly. "It's about Link, isn't it?"
"How'd you know?" Nayru asked.
"Well, Zelda's been telling me her problems with him lately," Greer sighed. "And I knew that--HEY!!" Greer jumped over Nayru and into the booth to their left. A reporter hurriedly tried to a hid a pad of paper he had been scribbling on.
"Good afternoon, Miss Garson," he said, shaking.
"Give me that pad of paper!" she insisted, holding out her hand. "Or else suffer the consequences!!"
"What pad of paper?"
"I'm warning you, Mister! GIVE ME THAT PAD OF PAPER!!"
Sheepishly, the reporter pulled the pad out of his pocket and handed it to the actress. Greer turned a rather odd color and tore up the paper. "Don't you dare come here again while I am, you monster! Prying into innocent's people's lives, what a way to make a living! You'd better get out of here, buster!"
"Yes, ma'am," he said hurriedly, practically running out of the booth and the restaurant. Greer scowled and returned to her booth. "Sorry for that interruption. What about Link and Zelda?"
"Well, we wanted to speak with Zelda for a few minutes," Nayru continued. "Y'know, just exchange some words. So we knocked on her dressing room door, but no one answered. We knocked again, but she still didn't answer. So then we cracked the door open and we s-saw her and Link in the corner of the room, sort of.....well, it almost looked to me as if they were making love."
Greer choked on the meatball she had just consumed. "What?" she asked hoarsely, rubbing her throat.
"They were ma--"
"I heard you," Greer said, putting her head in her hands. "Oh no, poor Zelda has lost her mind. Her family will disown her if they find out about this! And it's wrong, morally wrong! Link is a married man! She'd never do something like that!" Greer stood up and walked out of the booth.
"Where are you going?" Farore asked.
"I must speak with her at once."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
a/n: well, i hope that wasnt a disappointment. as 4 the joan crawford section; if u were curious, "Davis" meant Bette Davis, the actress's biggest rival and "Franchot" was referring to her ex-husband. just so u know. plz review!!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~
By now, Zelda had spoken to Impa about Link. Unfortunately, she wasn't given any advice. Desperate at finding a solution, Zelda went out to a popular bar for a drink.
"Well, well, well," said the bartender (whose name happened to be....uh....Talon). "Been awhile since we've had you here, Ms. Jones."
"I know," Zelda sighed. "Please just give me....the usual."
"Right." Talon turned to walk away, then asked, "What is the usual?"
Zelda shrugged. "I dunno. But it says on your menu up there that it costs $10.95."
"Okay, you're the boss."
"YOU'RE ALWAYS GETTING YOUR WAY IN EVERYTHING, I THINK IT'S MY TURN NOW!!"
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S ALWAYS BEEN THE BOSS AT HOME! YOU NEVER EVEN CONSIDER HOW I FEEL, OR WHAT I'M THINKING!"
Zelda whipped around to see where the shouting was coming from. Her jaw dropped when she saw Malon and Link in the back of the bar, both standing and yelling at each other quite loudly.
"YOU'D BE NO ONE WITHOUT ME!" Link shouted.
"WELL WHO NEEDS YOU?!" Malon screamed back.
"GET OUT!" Link yelled, picking up his beer bottle and throwing it at her. The glass broke across her forhead, and Zelda recoiled as blood dripped out of Malon's crown. Fighting to remain concious, she wiped away at the red substance that seeped into her eyes, clouding her vision.
Yelling wordlessly, she swung her own glass at Link, but missed badly and it ended up just missing his leg. "You! You s...you son of...!" Malon's breathing got sharper and sharper, until she collapsed on the floor from unconsiousness.
Talon quickly ran to the bar's phone and called up an ambulance. Link shook his head, as if trying to rid himself of his half-drunken state. His vision was getting slightly blurred, but he hurried out of the bar as several of the bar's residents ran over to Malon to try and revive her.
Zelda glanced at Malon that ran out of the doors, calling out to Talon, "Cancel my order, please!" She looked around for any sign of Link, and saw him walking briskly down the street. "Link!"
He turned around and saw her running towards him. Scowling, he continued to walk away. Zelda caught his elbow, but he jerked out of her grasp. "Link, please!"
"Leave me alone!" he growled at her, swiping at her but missing completely. His words were slurred together, and his eyes told Zelda that he was clearly very, very drunk.
She grabbed his arm. "Listen to me!" she said in a loud voice. "Do you know what you just did in there?"
"Yeah, so what? Happens alla time."
"I'm sure it does!" Zelda said. She looked out into the street, and tried to flag down a taxi. "Taxi! Don't those drivers ever--oh no, you don't! Link, don't walk away! You need to talk this out with someone rationaal--TAXI!!"
"Yer not doing it right," Link said, hiccupping. Before Zelda could stop him, he walked out into the street and waved his arms as a taxi drove up. It screeched to a halt, nearly running him over. "Ladies first," Link said, opening the door.
Her lips set in a thin glare, Zelda stepped inside the cab and Link followed.
"Where to, miss?" the cab driver asked.
"The Colliseum," Link answered, laughing.
"Wherever the nearest hotel is, just take us there!" Zelda replied, exasperated with Link's drunken phase. The driver nodded, and Zelda rolled up the window between them for privacy.
"You picked the perfect spot, babe," Link said, slowly taking off his coat and his hat.
"For what?" Zelda asked, backing up against her side of the cab.
"Don't give me that," Link said, grinning. "I know you like me n all that, so you picked a taxi cab for us to, uh....y'know."
Zelda wrinkled her nose. She knew she was experiencing a love for Link, but she didn't want him if he only wanted to make love to her when he was drunk. "That's not what I wanted to speak to you about."
"Sure, honey," Link said, putting his arms around her. Then he bore down on her, his soft lips pressing down on hers.
"Ugh, stop!" Zelda cried out, pushing off of her. "I don't want you, especially not when you're drunk and when you're married! Stay off of me, you creep!"
"You know, most dames in your position would be glad in this situation," Link said, sitting back and grinning.
"Yeah, well most dames are stupid."
The cab driver knocked on the window, and Zelda hastily lowered it, glad for the interruption. "Here we are, miss."
"This is your stop, Link. Get out."
"Why? I wanna stay with you."
"No you don't. You want to check into this hotel and get some sleep. So you can rest up for tomorrow's shoot, okay?"
"....will you come with me?"
"No, I am not going to come with you!" She practically had to kick him out of the cab until he agreed to swagger off towards the hotel. "See you tomorrow, Link, when you're a little more sober!!"
"Will he be okay, miss?" the driver asked.
"Don't know, don't care," she sighed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The phone rang early the next morning. Zelda was the only one in the house. It was the servants' day off, and the rest of the family had gone to a breakfast party at Pickfair (Zelda had been invited, but she hadn't felt like going).
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Zelda Jones, by any chance?"
"Yes. May I ask who is calling?"
The woman on the other side of the phone laughed. "Yes, sorry--this is Joan Crawford, you....MAY have heard of me." The ultimate screen siren laughed again at the joke. "I've called upon you several times, and yet your mother constantly tells me you are busy. I was wondering if you could possible come over this morning?"
Zelda gulped. Whenever Joan Crawford had called for her, she had always told her mother to say she was busy. She was afraid of Crawford; too many stars had told her disasterous stories about her. But she couldn't find the bravery within herself to decline in person, so she said, "It would be my pleasure to. I don't have to leave for the studio until about twelve o'clock."
"How divine! Why don't you just hustle on over in about....twenty minutes? I've been dying to get to know you better."
"A-all right, then. Good-bye."
"Good-bye!"
Zelda hung the phone and sat with her hand still on it for a few moments. Her mother had said it took about fifteen minutes to drive to Joan Crawford's house, so she would have just enough time to call up Greer. Quickly, she dialed the number.
"Hello?" said the maid at the other end of the line.
"Hello, this is Zelda Jones. Is Ms. Garson in?"
"I'm sorry, no, madame. She's filming at the studio. May I take a message?"
Sighing, Zelda stepped away from the phone and said, "Yes. HELP! I'M GOING TO JOAN CRAWFORD'S HOUSE AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!" She took in a deep breath then said, "Thank you. Goodbye."
*****************
Zelda rang the doorbell of the large white house. Her frown quickly changed to a smile as a maid answered the door. "Hello, I'm Zelda Jones calling upon Ms. Crawford .... is she in?"
"Yes, madame," the maid answered, opening the door wider so Zelda would walk in. "She's in the study."
"Oh, Zelda dear!" Joan said, flying out of the study and into the hallway. "How marvelous it is to see you again! What a lovely brooch that is, you must tell me where you got it. And your hair, quite fashionable! You must tell me where you get it done, I hate whoever does mine. Anyway--"
Apparently, Joan didn't care much about where the brooch had come from or where Zelda had gotten her hair done. Her goal was to tell the young actress everything about her life. Zelda zoned in and out of the conversation, her thoughts drifting to Link every now and then.
"....so then Davis has the nerve to come and tell me that Franchot loves her instead of me--the nerve, can you believe it?--so I said right on back that...."
Blah blah blah blah.
Then she proceeded to tell Zelda about her schedule from dawn to dusk. Zelda barely got a word in, except to say, "Yes" or "I agree" or "Of course, dear."
Zelda's eyes shifted towards a small girl waddling towards them. Her blonde hair was tied back with pink ribbons, and her plaid dress was also a bright red color. She curtsied shortly, and said, "Good morning, Miss."
"Oh, my daughter, Christina," Joan said absent-mindedly, waving her hand as if it wasn't too important. She laughed. "Thinks she's going to be the next Jean Harlow, don't you, Tina?"
"I want to act," Christina said. "I like to act. It's--"
"That's enough," Joan said curtly, cutting her off.
"But mommie, you interrupted."
"I said that's enough! Did you clean the mess you made in your room last night yet? You horrid child!"
"It's not cleaned yet."
"Then go straighten it up! And don't come barging in when mommy has company, you understand?! And once you finish up with that disasterous room of yours, you come down here, understand?!"
"Yes, mommie," Christina obliged, beginning to walk up the stairs.
"Mommie what?" Joan asked, putting a hand to her ear.
Christina turned while on the steps, and said rather darkly, "Yes, mommie dearest."
"There's a good girl, now speed up!" Joan turned to face Zelda again (who was quite shaken), and said, "Always getting in my way, little Tina. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, that Davis monster...."
Zelda wished she hadn't told Joan she had to leave at twelve. If she hadn't, she could just gasp and glance at the clock, and say, "Oh, dear! I've lost track of the time! I've got to be at the studio in ten minutes!" But now that would be impossible.
A few minutes later, Christina came tromping back down the stairs.
"Now Tina, is that how a lady walks?" Joan asked. "I don't think so."
Tina lifted her feet a little bit and glided down the stairs.
"Now go get that present from upstairs," Joan growled. "Then came back to us and sit down on that bench until it's time to go to that party at three. That is your punishment for being an impertinent child!"
"Yes, mommie dearest."
Zelda looked at the clock. A party at three, and it was only eleven forty-five! That was a dreadful punishment!
"Oh look, it's a quarter to twelve already!" Joan exclaimed. "You'd better be heading off to the studio, darling, you don't want to be late! It's been wonderful speaking with you!"
'Speaking with you my @$$,' Zelda thought, walking out of the house. "Thank you for having me," she called out. She saw Christina sitting on a bench by the front door, as still as stone, holding a red box wrapped with a golden ribbon. "Goodbye, Christina," Zelda said. "Lovely to have met you!"
Christina did not respond. She only stared blankly in front of her, seemingly oblivious to what Zelda had just said to her.
'Oh, my Lord!' Zelda thought to herself, hurrying down the stone pathway that led out of the gates. 'If I ever have children, please don't ever let me treat them as harshly as all that!'
Now she knew that the horrific stories about Crawford were all true.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that afternoon, Zelda sat in her dressing room, humming to herself. A knock sounded on her door. "Come in," she called out. She heard the door open and then close. Zelda turned around to see who it was, and gasped. "Link!"
"Hello," he said. He pulled a bouquet out from behind his back and handed them to Zelda. "Here, take this before I explain."
"Uh....thanks," Zelda said taking the flowers and placing them carefully on her wardrobe. "What beautiful azaleas....well anyway, what is it?"
Sighing, Link sat down on the other chair in the room. "Um....I just wanted to thank you for last night. I acted terribly in my drunken state, and it was so kind of you to help me in my hour of need." He sighed again. "I know that .... that uh .... our families have never been the best of friends, and I think it was swell of you to help me like that."
Zelda stared at him and turned a pinkish color. "It was no problem for me at all, really. Is....is Malon all right?"
"Yeah, the doctor's said she'd be okay," Link answered. "Apparently she didn't tell them I was the one who caused the injury. She told them that she slipped on the stairs and hit her head on a table." He looked up into Zelda's crystalline eyes. "I didn't hurt you at all, did I?"
"Well, no harm was done," Zelda replied. "But you were very drunk, and at one point, I was afraid that you were going to--to rape me." Link breathed in sharply, but Zelda said quickly, "You didn't, though. I managed to stop you in time."
"I'm sorry," Link apologized. "That's a terrible thing I've done; my mother would be horrified if she ever found out. Especially with Malon being....being in the hospital and everything. This isn't the first time we've gotten into a violent argument." Ashamed of this fact, Link stood up and crossed to the other side of the room. "I never dreamed that life could turn out this way."
Zelda walked towards him and put her arms around his waist from behind. "I'm sorry you've got to endure this, I'm sure you don't deserve it."
"Maybe I do," Link said, trying his best to hold back tears. "Maybe I do deserve it for all the things I've done before."
"Link, I don't think you're a bad person," Zelda sighed. "And no offense, but my parents do. I used to be prejudiced against you, but that was before I even knew you. Now I can see what a kind, honest man you are."
Link turned around to face her. "I'm glad one woman on tihs planet thinks so. Malon finally admitted....something to me."
Zelda raised her eyebrows, but she didn't say anything. Link was going very deeply into his personal life, and she didn't want to pry into anything he didn't feel comfortable telling her.
"She told me she only married me for the fame and the money," Link whispered, resting his elbow on a chest of drawers nearby. "She doesn't love me, she hates me, and I can't do anything about it."
"Well, why don't you just...." Zelda felt awkward attempting to give him advice, but it had to be said. "Why don't you just divorce?"
Link chuckled softly. "Divorce? In California? That is exactly what she wants me to do. I'm trapped."
Wiping away at a tear that was coursing down her cheek, Zelda said, "I'm so sorry, Link." That was all she could do to ease his pain. Apologize. She felt so pathetic.
"Don't cry for me," Link muttered. "Don't waste your tears on someone like me."
"But Link, I really....I do...." Whoops, she almost spilled the secret of her admiration for him. "I wish there was something I could do."
"Maybe there is."
Link reached forward and caressed her face. Then he kissed her on her awaiting mouth, his lips roving over her small, delicate ones. He was ver passionate about it, walking her into a wall behind her.
"Say it," he whispered, his tongue fluttering at her ear. "I've known it all along, Zelda....you love me."
How could she lie about it now? "You have no idea how much," she whispered. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, temptation breaking through and she locked her lips on to his with eager passion.
Slowly the two of them skated down the wall, until they were they were both practically touching the wood paneling of the floor. Zelda rubbed the back of Link's neck, her lips still exploring him excitedly. Then she paused for a brief moment to catch her breath.
Link seized the opportunity and stuck his tongue into Zelda's mouth, meeting hers and then trembling shortly at the indescribable tenderness of it.
There was a knock on the door, but neither of them heard. They were too busy exploring each other. The knock sounded again, but still they were oblivious of it.
The knocker was Nayru, and Farore the second time. "She's in there, isn't she?" the former one asked.
"Yes," Farore replied. "She has to be. That's what Loxley told me. Open the door a crack; she might be changing."
Nayru agreed, and opened the door quietly. Both of them held their breath to keep from gasping loudly. They saw the entwined pair on the floor, and immediately knew that it couldn't be good.
"Nay, what do we do?!" Farore asked desperately. "Zelda would've told us if she'd started this affair before today!"
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Nayru said, tapping her chin with her finger. "We'll have to talk to Greer, she's Zelda's best friend....let's see if we can catch her at the Brown Derby. That's where she usually has lunch."
******************
Fortunately for them, that's exactly where they found Greer. She was sitting in a booth with Humphrey (Bogart, remember?), and looked up as Nayru and Farore walked up to them. "Oh, hello you two!"
"Greer, may we speak with you for a minute?" Nayru asked. "Alone?"
"All right," Humphrey said, standing up. "I know when I'm not wanted."
"Oh Humphrey, it's not that," Nayru sighed, as he walked away.
"Yeah, I know," he laughed.
"What's the matter?" Greer asked in confusion as Nayru and Farore sat on opposite sides of her. "What is so important that you had ask Humphrey to leave? We were having a rather interesting conversation."
"It's about Zelda," Farore answered. "We need you to talk with her. We're too afraid to do it ourselves."
"Oh no," Greer said quickly. "It's about Link, isn't it?"
"How'd you know?" Nayru asked.
"Well, Zelda's been telling me her problems with him lately," Greer sighed. "And I knew that--HEY!!" Greer jumped over Nayru and into the booth to their left. A reporter hurriedly tried to a hid a pad of paper he had been scribbling on.
"Good afternoon, Miss Garson," he said, shaking.
"Give me that pad of paper!" she insisted, holding out her hand. "Or else suffer the consequences!!"
"What pad of paper?"
"I'm warning you, Mister! GIVE ME THAT PAD OF PAPER!!"
Sheepishly, the reporter pulled the pad out of his pocket and handed it to the actress. Greer turned a rather odd color and tore up the paper. "Don't you dare come here again while I am, you monster! Prying into innocent's people's lives, what a way to make a living! You'd better get out of here, buster!"
"Yes, ma'am," he said hurriedly, practically running out of the booth and the restaurant. Greer scowled and returned to her booth. "Sorry for that interruption. What about Link and Zelda?"
"Well, we wanted to speak with Zelda for a few minutes," Nayru continued. "Y'know, just exchange some words. So we knocked on her dressing room door, but no one answered. We knocked again, but she still didn't answer. So then we cracked the door open and we s-saw her and Link in the corner of the room, sort of.....well, it almost looked to me as if they were making love."
Greer choked on the meatball she had just consumed. "What?" she asked hoarsely, rubbing her throat.
"They were ma--"
"I heard you," Greer said, putting her head in her hands. "Oh no, poor Zelda has lost her mind. Her family will disown her if they find out about this! And it's wrong, morally wrong! Link is a married man! She'd never do something like that!" Greer stood up and walked out of the booth.
"Where are you going?" Farore asked.
"I must speak with her at once."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
a/n: well, i hope that wasnt a disappointment. as 4 the joan crawford section; if u were curious, "Davis" meant Bette Davis, the actress's biggest rival and "Franchot" was referring to her ex-husband. just so u know. plz review!!