By Avalon Estel
A/N: Prince Lute, Cassandra, and Aridia are all © Avalon Estel, and I'm asking you all very nicely not to steal them. They took quite a while to develop, and I'd really appreciate it if they remain mine. Seeing as most of you are writers yourselves, you'd understand how mad I'd be if someone did. Please respect my wishes. Please when posting reviews, don't include profanity, even if it's complimentary. It's not something I appreciate, as I'm a younger person. Thank you.
Disclaimer: I don't own it! I DON'T OWN IT!! I NEVER OWNED IT!! IF I DID OWN IT, I'D BE RICH, AND I'D BE LIVING IN FIJI!! But I don't own it, so I'm not rich, and I don't live in Fiji. DON'T SUE, AND TO ALL YOU LINK FANGIRLS, DON'T HURT MEEEE!!!!!
Real Disclaimer: "The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time" is © Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto. I make no claim to it and have no intention of using this story as a means of profit.
Chapter One : Parlez vous francais?Lute, the crown prince of Xenos, rode up to the gates of Hyrule Castle on his golden mare, Sierra. Ten guards rode behind him in perfect order. Lute glanced at the castle guard at the gate as he rode through, flashing him a brilliant smile. The guard smiled back politely, but when the prince had passed, he looked at the other gateman with a despairing groan. Another stupid prince had come to court Princess Zelda.
Little did he know that Lute was probably the smartest person to come to Hyrule in long, long time.
Lute, on the other hand, felt extremely confident. His black hair was glossy and bright, his blue cloak streamed out behind him in the winds, and his smile was dazzling. If the princess saw him now, she'd be begging her father to allow her to marry him.
Only problem? Sometimes Lute was overconfident.
When Lute reached the palace, he got off of Sierra and walked up to it by himself. He wanted to see Zelda before he jumped into anything.
He walked into the side door of the castle and entered the courtyard silently. He wove his way through the many hedges and trees. Finally, he found her. He caught his breath. She was gorgeous!
Her golden hair poured down her back in a waterfall and gleamed like melted sunshine. Her blue eyes glowed like the moonlit oceans as they flicked around the courtyard. There was a delicate butterfly perched on her slender fingers.
Lute moved closer, wanting to see her better. He fell against a bush and made one of the branches break with a resounding crack. Zelda's head jerked up and she turned in his direction, her hair swirling around her shoulders. The butterfly flew off.
Lute was unable to say anything, and neither could Zelda. They just stood and stared at each other for a moment, then Zelda blinked and smiled. "Why – wait, what was the word? – Oh, that's right! Hello!"
Lute didn't know what to say. "Huh?"
"Maybe you don't speak Hylian," Zelda muttered. She looked thoughtful for a moment, then added, "Se habla español?"
"What?"
Zelda looked frustrated. "Maybe French, then! Parlez vous francais?"
"No, I don't speak French!" Lute cried.
"Well, you do speak Hylian! Why didn't you say so?" Lute could tell the princess was upset.
"I didn't get a chance!" he protested.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zelda replied, crossing her arms.
"Huh?" Lute asked. He was perplexed. He'd been told that the princess was an intellectual, but... she was a total airhead!
"I thought you said you didn't speak French!" she shouted.
"I don't!" What had he been thinking? She was completely out of touch.
"It doesn't matter, anyway. You shouldn't be talking to me in the first place," Zelda replied.
"You started the conversation!" he shot back. "Why shouldn't I be talking to you?"
"It's rude to talk to a girl before you've been properly introduced," Zelda said, matter-of-factly.
"Well, fine then, I'm Lute!"
"I said properly introduced!"
"Fine, my name is Prince Lute," the young man replied, totally flustered.
"BOW!" Zelda demanded.
With a sigh, Lute obliged. When he straightened up, he asked, "What about you?"
Zelda humphed. "I'm the princess. I don't have to bow to you."
"I meant for you to introduce yourself," Lute said, exasperated.
"Someone introduces me. I don't introduce myself!" Zelda cried, sounding scandalized.
"Fine, fine," Lute said, shaking his head. "I'm gonna go into the castle from the front entrance. I'll talk to the King. He'll introduce you to me. Is that good?"
"IMPA!" Zelda screamed.
"What's an 'Impa'?" Lute asked, bewildered.
A tall woman wearing a silver-gilt outfit walked into the courtyard. Her white hair glistened in the afternoon sunlight, and she was a whole head taller than Lute. The prince, however, tranquilly walked up to the tall figure that now stood silent at the gate, and poked herarm.
"This is an Impa?" he questioned Zelda. "What's it do?"
"I am the Princess Zelda's caretaker and protector. Impa is my name," the tall woman replied. Her voice was amused, but she wasn't smiling.
"Oh, of course," Lute stammered. He was the idiot, now.
"Why did you call, Princess?" Impa asked, turning her attention to Zelda.
"This – what should I call him? – creature entered the palace grounds without permission, and took the rude liberty of speaking to me," Zelda said, pointing at Lute.
"Miss Impa, I assure you I did nothing to harm the princess in any way," Lute replied.
"That may be so, but according to Hylian law, you are required to come with me to see the King," Impa said.
Lute sighed, but resigned himself to her will, knowing that things would be cleared up when the King saw that he wasPrincess Zelda's suitor. Impa laid a hand on his shoulder and led him out of the courtyard.
"Don't worry, lad," Impa told him. "From your raiment, I expect you are of noble birth. You shall have no problems with His Majesty. And don't worry about Zelda. I get sick of her, too."
Surprised at hearing her speak like that, Lute gave a small smile. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad, after all.
Impa led Lute into the Great Hall of the palace. There was an extremely long, purple carpet spread from the giant palace doors to a dais on the other side of the hall. A golden throne sat at the top of the dais. Stained glass windows ringed the hall, casting different-colored shafts of sunlight around the room, and the walls were lined with intricately carved pillars. To one side of the hall, two people stood. One was a graceful-looking woman with lengthy, straight red hair. She held a staff in one hand and was clad in a midnight-blue gown that reached her feet and trailed out behind her. Next to her stood a teenage girl, also with bright red hair, swishing a thin, wooden rod through the air.
Suddenly, a blast of light shot from the wand's tip and careened right at Lute. Before he had a chance to move or dodge, the light hit him. He felt himself changing, and suddenly, the room was a lot bigger. He thought, perhaps his vision had been altered from the spell, but nothing else seemed wrong. He started to walk in a regal manner toward the sorceress and what seemed to be her apprentice. But he felt strange. He felt like he was waddling. Never mind the walk. The speech was what was important.
He looked at the sorceress, who in turn burst into outrageous laughter. The girl, on the other hand, looked like she was about to be hit by a four-ton cement truck. Well, that's how we'd word it today.
"What's the problem, O Great Lady?" Lute asked, trying to be polite.
The sorceress seemed choked with laughter. "You're a – you're a – DUCK!"
"I'm a what?" Lute asked, not fully comprehending.
"Look at yourself!" she cried, trying to contain her laughter with a slender hand to her mouth.
Lute looked down, and saw a pair of webbed feet. He looked at his arms. They were now wings. "Oh, that's nice," he muttered sarcastically.
"I'm so terribly sorry, Your Highness," the girl said, bowing. Her face was almost as red as her hair, and her hands were shaking. "It was a horrible accident. I'm just an apprentice."
"So, what now? Am I stuck as a duck forever?" Lute asked, starting to panic.
"No, the spell is reversible," the sorceress said, her laughter slowly dying away.
"And how do I do that, Great One?" Lute questioned, trying to keep his anger and embarrassment at bay.
"Oh, stop calling me that," the sorceress said, waving a hand. "My name is Aridia, and this is my apprentice, Cassandra."
Cassandra was so embarrassed that she looked like she was about to cry. "Your Highness, I had no intention whatsoever of doing this to you. I'm truly very sorry."
"So, how can I get rid of this?" Lute asked.
"You must go and find the first woman you spoke with today, and she must kiss you," Aridia replied, starting to laugh again.
"The first woman?" Lute asked, thinking. "Oh, no. The first woman I spoke with today was Zelda."