IV
The well water wasn't something Link would personally drink from. Black twigs and globs of mud plagued the filthy inner walls, forcing him to recoil back from it in disgust. Still, he could see the surface-and cringed as it started to fade away, the levels of water becoming lower and lower. Zelda had perched on the edge to stroke the water, although she stopped once she could no longer graze it with her fingertips. A smile had crossed his face as he approached her, though cruel intentions were on his heart. How dare she ignore his pleas, as if a stranger meant more to her than her very own beloved! How dare she treat him as if all the years of his work had been little more than a speck in history! He couldn't control himself. His hands flung out to her shoulders, leaving the Princess to teeter for only seconds before she toppled down into the wall. It seemed he could hear the flapping sound as her skirt caught the air in her fall, until with a dead split, there was nothing but the echo of a fallen comrade.
Link wrenched himself from his slumber, brushing the cold sweat from his forehead. With a quick stride, he dressed himself in his grungiest tunic and leotards before grabbing his bow and steel blade. A smile formed on his lips. He couldn't wait to see what Adrien Tariesk would consider a dutiful, protective weapon. He also wondered if he was the only one experiencing his plaguing dreams.
In moments, Zelda had joined Link outside his bedroom door, her hair neatly pulled back into a ponytail to highlight the beautiful bone structure of her face. Physically, she was quite weak, although very intelligent and skilled with the ways of magic. Eagerly, Link slipped an arm about her waist.
"Hey, Zelda."
"Oh, Link! None of that now! What exactly are you trying to prove?"
He lowered his gaze slightly as she pulled from his grasp to meet up with Tariesk at the staircase. Biting his lip, he decided to tag along behind them, listening to their casual chatter of horseback rides in the moonlight and archery practice-things Link had always persuaded Zelda to do. As they neared the stables, Adrien paused and turned to Zelda.
"I should hope I'm not intruding upon anything-" he paused to take a thorough, challenging glance at Link as if to intimidate the hero into silence before adding, "I would enjoy it very much if you would come out for a ride with me tonight, Zelda. We'll use my island's Navean stallions- very powerful breed made for endurance and speed."
"It sounds wonderful, Mr. Tariesk."
"Good. I'll fetch two horses for us."
While Adrien vanished momentarily into the stables, Link couldn't help but send his glare to Zelda.
"How nice. A moonlit ride! Huh, I guess it's okay to act like a kid when you're around other nobility."
"Link! How can you say such a thing? He's just trying to be generous!"
"Hm! How amusing it is that when I attempt to be 'generous,' you 'generously' shoot me down with a nice little refusal and an excuse packaged into a nice little rejection. How thoughtful of you, Zelda!"
She huffed and glanced aside, chewing on her lip.
"I can't believe you're acting this way, Link! Don't you see how immature you're acting-"
"Excuse me," Adrien said softly as he emerged from the stables with two steeds in tow, a calm warning to keep himself from intruding upon any sacred conversation. "It seems there's a bit of a ruckus out here."
"No," Zelda answered swiftly, glaring to Link as she mounted her selected horse. "There wasn't an argument at all. Link's just a bit under the weather, I suppose. Come on, Adrien."
Link muttered under his breath as he rode solo upon a black horse, sacrificing his posture to remain complete in his solemn mood. Why was Zelda suddenly so interested in the dark-skinned Navean man? Of course there had been a bit of a change in the air just before the Prince's arrival, but things were suddenly magnified. The dreams were hitting closer to home. He was no longer seeing just random Hylians drowning in the far- away Lake Hylia in a situation that he couldn't control, but he was suddenly seeing himself destroying everything he had worked to accomplish with his closest family and friends. Never before in his life had he thought of hurting the Princess, yet suddenly, the idea stabbed into the back of his mind. What was wrong with him?
"Link?"
He lifted his gaze, a blush worming across his cheeks as Zelda glanced back to him, a tender smile on her face. How could he ever think of hurting such a beautiful woman? He returned her grin and shook the thought from his head. No more being jealous of Zelda's new friendship with Adrien Tariesk. He was the better man, and Zelda would surely see that. If she didn't, then there would always be a way to miraculously win her back.
Kakariko Village hadn't changed much since Link last saw it. The windmill upon the distant hill still stood towering over the entire village, and the carpenters busily went about restoring classic landmarks. Zelda mused over the progress that had been done since her last visit.
"My, Impa would have loved to come," she noted, and Link knew exactly why. Impa had grown up in that quiet little village, and it wasn't quite often that the nursemaid was given time off to visit the places she liked to go to. It was all too bad, because the woman had also been like a mother to Link.
The path to the well was cleared, and as they passed, Link could see the eyes of villagers darting out of their windows before they themselves came stumbling down the paths to greet the Princess, their Hero, and the peculiar stranger. Mutters of "who's the second guy?" rang out amongst the crowd. Zelda giggled playfully as she looked to Adrien, forcing Link to glance away from all of it.
"My people," Zelda addressed them, and her voice was so powerful that all of the heads in the crowd immediately turned to her. With a sweet smile, she added, "this is Adrien Tariesk, Prince of the Navean Kingdom. As you know, our Fathers have been good friends for quite a while, and it's with warmth in my heart that we welcome him to our Kingdom."
There was applause, then deathly silenced as a villager asked, "Hero! What do you think of this man invading your territory?" After the silence, there was an amused laughter. Link could feel Zelda's look of uncertainty upon him.
"I'm all right with it. Just because he's on a horse with her doesn't mean we're going to be separated. Love is forever, and we've made that pledge to one another."
Seeming satisfied with that answer, the crowd moved toward the well. Curious, Adrien's lips puckered.
"Well, dear Princess, whilst you socialize with your villagers, I must admit that I need to use a restroom."
All too eagerly, a few citizens led the foreign royal to the outhouse, while Link and Zelda held hands and looked down into the well.
"Finally, a few moments of peace and silence with you, Zelda. I'm sorry about my behavior earlier, I suppose I was just a little jealous." Zelda giggled and tweaked the tip of her lover's nose.
"Link, you know you have nothing to worry about. I intend to tell Adrien the truth later tonight on our 'moonlit' horseback ride. I'm going to tell him in plain terms that we're engaged."
"That's my girl."
Link observed the area with a smile on his face. What would Adrien Tariesk, the arrogant one, think about this? He'd reclaimed his rightful ownership with Zelda as his loving fiancée-and soon, they would walk down the aisle together. Link shook his head. How irrational he'd been! Zelda wasn't the type of girl to be wooed by a stranger she'd meet less than a day or two earlier. She wanted someone she had known her entire life. Link entwined his fingers with hers.
"Ew!" Zelda exclaimed. "It looks like some cleaning's needed. Look at all of this gunk!"
Link lowered his gaze to the well's water. His heart seemed to fall dead in his chest, a useless piece of flesh occupying space within. He blinked.
Black twigs and gobs of mud.
Frantically, he grabbed Zelda's arm and pulled her close to him, so close that he could feel her chest rising and falling against his. He could hear her breathlessly questioning his motives-"what is it, Link? Link, what are you doing?", but it seemed as though his ears were deafened to the outside world. He could hear only the cries, the voices from within his dream. When he blinked and lifted his head, much of the water was gone and Zelda was toppling backwards. Warnings seemed to fire off in his head, but his muscles were frozen, locked. Thank God that Adrien had come.
The foreign Prince looked as though he'd been next to Link the entire time, efficiently dropping down into the well to retrieve the drowning Princess. She had squirmed and let out a small cry as Adrien drug her over the edge an eased her onto the ground. Soothingly, he ran his fingers through her hair, planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. Link was beyond jealousy. What had happened?
Even the townspeople looked puzzled, many of them blinking rapidly, rubbing at their eyes, questioning themselves to look for answers-but no one seemed to know what was happening. A furious Adrien lifted his head to Link, scowling as he bit his tongue.
"You! What did you think you were doing?"
"Me?" Link asked, shaking his head. It didn't fit him. He'd never been violent towards Zelda, nor had he wanted to-until that afternoon. He shakily clenched his fists.
"I saw what you did! The Princess was just standing there so innocently, and like the crazed madman that you are, you shoved her in to drown! We all saw what you were up to, Link! You didn't even attempt to feign innocence and rescued her! Besides, I'm sure everyone saw you push her anyway."
There was a dull outcry of agreement with Tariesk as the townspeople decided to trust his intuition. The Princess had opened her eyes, staring with a cultivated fear to Link, her blue eyes nothing more than swirls of disappointment, distrust. He shook his head as his eyes locked with hers. 'This isn't me, Zelda,' he wanted to tell her; 'this is all an elaborate joke. Please tell me I'm dreaming.'
A guard hurried over to investigate the circumstances, and he was swiftly told of what had happened by the babbling of handfuls of mindless, compliant villagers who claimed to have seen Link's actions. It had seemed he'd blacked out to himself, but everyone else was telling a different story. He'd not only blacked out, he had tried to kill his own fiancée. In seconds, the burly guard had seized Link's wrists and roughly started dragging him away from the crowd. All of them cheered. Zelda stared. And Adrien smirked as his dark eyes gleamed.
Link huffed.
"What a bastard."
The well water wasn't something Link would personally drink from. Black twigs and globs of mud plagued the filthy inner walls, forcing him to recoil back from it in disgust. Still, he could see the surface-and cringed as it started to fade away, the levels of water becoming lower and lower. Zelda had perched on the edge to stroke the water, although she stopped once she could no longer graze it with her fingertips. A smile had crossed his face as he approached her, though cruel intentions were on his heart. How dare she ignore his pleas, as if a stranger meant more to her than her very own beloved! How dare she treat him as if all the years of his work had been little more than a speck in history! He couldn't control himself. His hands flung out to her shoulders, leaving the Princess to teeter for only seconds before she toppled down into the wall. It seemed he could hear the flapping sound as her skirt caught the air in her fall, until with a dead split, there was nothing but the echo of a fallen comrade.
Link wrenched himself from his slumber, brushing the cold sweat from his forehead. With a quick stride, he dressed himself in his grungiest tunic and leotards before grabbing his bow and steel blade. A smile formed on his lips. He couldn't wait to see what Adrien Tariesk would consider a dutiful, protective weapon. He also wondered if he was the only one experiencing his plaguing dreams.
In moments, Zelda had joined Link outside his bedroom door, her hair neatly pulled back into a ponytail to highlight the beautiful bone structure of her face. Physically, she was quite weak, although very intelligent and skilled with the ways of magic. Eagerly, Link slipped an arm about her waist.
"Hey, Zelda."
"Oh, Link! None of that now! What exactly are you trying to prove?"
He lowered his gaze slightly as she pulled from his grasp to meet up with Tariesk at the staircase. Biting his lip, he decided to tag along behind them, listening to their casual chatter of horseback rides in the moonlight and archery practice-things Link had always persuaded Zelda to do. As they neared the stables, Adrien paused and turned to Zelda.
"I should hope I'm not intruding upon anything-" he paused to take a thorough, challenging glance at Link as if to intimidate the hero into silence before adding, "I would enjoy it very much if you would come out for a ride with me tonight, Zelda. We'll use my island's Navean stallions- very powerful breed made for endurance and speed."
"It sounds wonderful, Mr. Tariesk."
"Good. I'll fetch two horses for us."
While Adrien vanished momentarily into the stables, Link couldn't help but send his glare to Zelda.
"How nice. A moonlit ride! Huh, I guess it's okay to act like a kid when you're around other nobility."
"Link! How can you say such a thing? He's just trying to be generous!"
"Hm! How amusing it is that when I attempt to be 'generous,' you 'generously' shoot me down with a nice little refusal and an excuse packaged into a nice little rejection. How thoughtful of you, Zelda!"
She huffed and glanced aside, chewing on her lip.
"I can't believe you're acting this way, Link! Don't you see how immature you're acting-"
"Excuse me," Adrien said softly as he emerged from the stables with two steeds in tow, a calm warning to keep himself from intruding upon any sacred conversation. "It seems there's a bit of a ruckus out here."
"No," Zelda answered swiftly, glaring to Link as she mounted her selected horse. "There wasn't an argument at all. Link's just a bit under the weather, I suppose. Come on, Adrien."
Link muttered under his breath as he rode solo upon a black horse, sacrificing his posture to remain complete in his solemn mood. Why was Zelda suddenly so interested in the dark-skinned Navean man? Of course there had been a bit of a change in the air just before the Prince's arrival, but things were suddenly magnified. The dreams were hitting closer to home. He was no longer seeing just random Hylians drowning in the far- away Lake Hylia in a situation that he couldn't control, but he was suddenly seeing himself destroying everything he had worked to accomplish with his closest family and friends. Never before in his life had he thought of hurting the Princess, yet suddenly, the idea stabbed into the back of his mind. What was wrong with him?
"Link?"
He lifted his gaze, a blush worming across his cheeks as Zelda glanced back to him, a tender smile on her face. How could he ever think of hurting such a beautiful woman? He returned her grin and shook the thought from his head. No more being jealous of Zelda's new friendship with Adrien Tariesk. He was the better man, and Zelda would surely see that. If she didn't, then there would always be a way to miraculously win her back.
Kakariko Village hadn't changed much since Link last saw it. The windmill upon the distant hill still stood towering over the entire village, and the carpenters busily went about restoring classic landmarks. Zelda mused over the progress that had been done since her last visit.
"My, Impa would have loved to come," she noted, and Link knew exactly why. Impa had grown up in that quiet little village, and it wasn't quite often that the nursemaid was given time off to visit the places she liked to go to. It was all too bad, because the woman had also been like a mother to Link.
The path to the well was cleared, and as they passed, Link could see the eyes of villagers darting out of their windows before they themselves came stumbling down the paths to greet the Princess, their Hero, and the peculiar stranger. Mutters of "who's the second guy?" rang out amongst the crowd. Zelda giggled playfully as she looked to Adrien, forcing Link to glance away from all of it.
"My people," Zelda addressed them, and her voice was so powerful that all of the heads in the crowd immediately turned to her. With a sweet smile, she added, "this is Adrien Tariesk, Prince of the Navean Kingdom. As you know, our Fathers have been good friends for quite a while, and it's with warmth in my heart that we welcome him to our Kingdom."
There was applause, then deathly silenced as a villager asked, "Hero! What do you think of this man invading your territory?" After the silence, there was an amused laughter. Link could feel Zelda's look of uncertainty upon him.
"I'm all right with it. Just because he's on a horse with her doesn't mean we're going to be separated. Love is forever, and we've made that pledge to one another."
Seeming satisfied with that answer, the crowd moved toward the well. Curious, Adrien's lips puckered.
"Well, dear Princess, whilst you socialize with your villagers, I must admit that I need to use a restroom."
All too eagerly, a few citizens led the foreign royal to the outhouse, while Link and Zelda held hands and looked down into the well.
"Finally, a few moments of peace and silence with you, Zelda. I'm sorry about my behavior earlier, I suppose I was just a little jealous." Zelda giggled and tweaked the tip of her lover's nose.
"Link, you know you have nothing to worry about. I intend to tell Adrien the truth later tonight on our 'moonlit' horseback ride. I'm going to tell him in plain terms that we're engaged."
"That's my girl."
Link observed the area with a smile on his face. What would Adrien Tariesk, the arrogant one, think about this? He'd reclaimed his rightful ownership with Zelda as his loving fiancée-and soon, they would walk down the aisle together. Link shook his head. How irrational he'd been! Zelda wasn't the type of girl to be wooed by a stranger she'd meet less than a day or two earlier. She wanted someone she had known her entire life. Link entwined his fingers with hers.
"Ew!" Zelda exclaimed. "It looks like some cleaning's needed. Look at all of this gunk!"
Link lowered his gaze to the well's water. His heart seemed to fall dead in his chest, a useless piece of flesh occupying space within. He blinked.
Black twigs and gobs of mud.
Frantically, he grabbed Zelda's arm and pulled her close to him, so close that he could feel her chest rising and falling against his. He could hear her breathlessly questioning his motives-"what is it, Link? Link, what are you doing?", but it seemed as though his ears were deafened to the outside world. He could hear only the cries, the voices from within his dream. When he blinked and lifted his head, much of the water was gone and Zelda was toppling backwards. Warnings seemed to fire off in his head, but his muscles were frozen, locked. Thank God that Adrien had come.
The foreign Prince looked as though he'd been next to Link the entire time, efficiently dropping down into the well to retrieve the drowning Princess. She had squirmed and let out a small cry as Adrien drug her over the edge an eased her onto the ground. Soothingly, he ran his fingers through her hair, planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. Link was beyond jealousy. What had happened?
Even the townspeople looked puzzled, many of them blinking rapidly, rubbing at their eyes, questioning themselves to look for answers-but no one seemed to know what was happening. A furious Adrien lifted his head to Link, scowling as he bit his tongue.
"You! What did you think you were doing?"
"Me?" Link asked, shaking his head. It didn't fit him. He'd never been violent towards Zelda, nor had he wanted to-until that afternoon. He shakily clenched his fists.
"I saw what you did! The Princess was just standing there so innocently, and like the crazed madman that you are, you shoved her in to drown! We all saw what you were up to, Link! You didn't even attempt to feign innocence and rescued her! Besides, I'm sure everyone saw you push her anyway."
There was a dull outcry of agreement with Tariesk as the townspeople decided to trust his intuition. The Princess had opened her eyes, staring with a cultivated fear to Link, her blue eyes nothing more than swirls of disappointment, distrust. He shook his head as his eyes locked with hers. 'This isn't me, Zelda,' he wanted to tell her; 'this is all an elaborate joke. Please tell me I'm dreaming.'
A guard hurried over to investigate the circumstances, and he was swiftly told of what had happened by the babbling of handfuls of mindless, compliant villagers who claimed to have seen Link's actions. It had seemed he'd blacked out to himself, but everyone else was telling a different story. He'd not only blacked out, he had tried to kill his own fiancée. In seconds, the burly guard had seized Link's wrists and roughly started dragging him away from the crowd. All of them cheered. Zelda stared. And Adrien smirked as his dark eyes gleamed.
Link huffed.
"What a bastard."