Impossible Love
o.O;; I procrastinate too much. I really do. I apologize, honestly!!
Disclaimer: Still don't own it.
~*~
"Hello!" the little boy chirped at Zelda. "Who are you?" He sat down at the table, and stared at Zelda with big, blue eyes. "You're pretty!"
Zelda smiled, and blushed. "Thank you. My name's Zelda." The boy smiled widely at her.
"I'm Lunar! Are you gonna be my big sister, now? PLEASE? I've always wanted a big sister, cause- cause then I'd have a big sister and a big brother!!" He waved his arms about as he talked, and Zelda smiled at the enthusiasm.
"Honey, I don't think that can be arranged!" Linda said with the usual smile. "Well, unless Link marries Zelda!" She giggled behind her hand. "Oh, my, that would be lovely!"
"Mother!" Link, the older boy, complained. "We don't even know her, yet."
"Oh, that's never stopped that Malon across the street!" Linda replied, turning back to the tiny stove. Link blushed as he glared at Linda, which only made her laugh.
Zelda giggled. It wasn't anything that had been said, but she was fascinated by the way the parents and children conversed: They were casual and lighthearted; very different from the castle.
"What's so funny?" Lunar asked, tugging on Zelda's sleeve. Zelda shook her head.
"Nothing; nothing. I'm just...thinking to myself."
"A penny for your thoughts, love," Line said, but was immediately hit on the head by Linda.
"Now, dear, let's not invade into Zelda's thoughts! Besides, I think now I've salvaged enough of dinner- Everyone, sit at the table now!" Link, who had been standing by the entrance to the living room, sat down at the table, and Zelda did the same. Link and Lunar sat on either side of Zelda, and there was an empty chair across from her with Line next to it.
Linda set down a small plate of burnt meat in the middle of the table; enough for everyone to have meager portions. There was also half a loaf of bread, and slices of cheese. There was a small pitcher of water by Lunar, and everyone had empty glasses.
"It's not much," said Linda, "but it's what we can afford. I'm sure, at the castle, you have much better foods." She sat at the chair across from Zelda, and set her chin in her hands. "Tell us about it while we eat."
Lunar, Link, and Linux attacked the food, each taking miniscule samples of each. Zelda and Linda got theirs afterwards. Zelda wasn't used to having such a small amount of food, and by the time her plate had everything on it, it was only as much as an appetizer would be. She had never eaten burnt food before, either.
"Um, well," she started at Linda's prodding. "The food at the castle is..." She looked at Linda, nervous at being in the spotlight. "I- what do you want to know?"
Linda set her fork down, and shrugged. "I don't know; how about telling us what you normally have?"
Looking down at her plate, she replied, "Well, we normally have steak, potatoes, cheese, and corn." She listed off as many foods from the servant's menus as she could remember. "Oh, and there's lots of milks and juices; we always have a hearty meal. The head chef insists, and I don't think that the King and Queen really care one way or the other."
Linda nodded. "Oh, sounds heavenly! Tell me, do you ever get to see the Princess, or Royal Family?"
Zelda thought for a minute, trying to think of what to say. "Um... Well, I have never seen them, but there are lots of servants who do. In fact, there are some that see them, but don't realize it!" she said, remember the boy she met when she left the kitchen. "At least, I think so."
Linda smiled. "Oh, that's wonderful! I think it would be so great to be around royalty! Wouldn't it be funny if any of us were around royalty and we didn't know it?" Linda laughed. "Oh, that's precious!"
Zelda smiled.
A few minutes of silence ensued while they ate. Linux looked out the window. "Quite a storm out there," he commented, breaking the silence. Zelda looked out the window and saw that the wind had picked up, and it was raining really hard. Suddenly, a gong from the castle sounded. 7.
"Kyaa!" Zelda exclaimed, standing up. "It's seven o' clock!"
Linda looked up at her. "Yes, why?"
Zelda absentmindedly curtsied to them. "I'm really sorry to eat and run, but I really must get going, now!" Oh no! Madam Loraine's Proper Lessons class starts at seven!
"Where are you going, dear?" Linda asked as Zelda started to hurry to the door.
"The--" Zelda paused, and thought. "Uh, the castle! I'm...a servant, remember? I shouldn't have been gone this long!" She turned back to the family, who was still seated at the table. She curtsied again. "Thanks for having me." She opened the door, and Linda called out:
"Come back anytime, Zelda!"
Once Zelda was out, and closed the door, she immediately considered going back in. The rain was coming down in buckets, and Zelda could barely see three feet in front of her.
She stumbled along, and, much to her dismay, tripped over the same post that she had earlier. She managed to avoid falling wholly in the mud, and only got up to her waist in it. She staggered up, and started running blindly in the direction of the castle.
"Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! I'm such an idiot!" she yelled. "I should have been faster! Oh, what am I even doing out here in the first place?!"
She stopped once she was at the castle grounds. She looked around for her bathrobe, but it was no use. The mud and rain would have made them dirty anyway; therefore destroying their whole purpose. Plus, she couldn't see anything on the ground.
She got down on her hands and knees, and groped around blindly. Her hand caught something fuzzy, and she clasped it, bringing it closer to her. It was her bathrobe, but it was soaked and dirty. She looked around for the slippers, and found that the wind had spread the bathrobe over them. Luckily, the bathrobe had protected them from the majority of the rain, and they weren't too wet. She slipped them on, and after contemplating for a second, she slipped the bathrobe on as well.
Zelda stood up, and ran for the castle. Fortunately, there were still no guards outside; who would be out in this storm?
Zelda ran to the gate to the Inner Courtyard. She mentally kicked herself for not leaving it open, but it still opened easily. She cautiously looked inside, but there were no guards to be seen. Where were they? Was there some kind of meeting today that Zelda didn't know about?
Zelda was never outside of her room after 7, so she didn't know about anything else that went on in the castle.
She entered the castle, closing the gate behind her, and hurriedly ran up the first flight of stairs. She made her way through hallways, passing an occasional servant, but nobody that would have recognized her as anything more than a servant as well- in the clothes she was wearing.
She made a quick stop at a bathing room, and got out of her wet clothes, and into a clean bathrobe. She stuffed her wet clothes under the massive sink.
Running back into the main hall, she rushed up the last flight of stairs, and halted to a brisk walk. She got to her room, and opened the door.
Madame Loraine jumped up from Zelda's bed, and ran up to her. She grabbed her by the shoulders in less of a manner than she would normally allow herself to. "Where were you, child?!"
"I..." Zelda looked around.
"Have you any idea what time it is??" Madame Loraine practically shouted. She yanked Zelda in her room, and closed the door. "It is nearly seven thirty! Proper Lessons starts at seven SHARP! How many times must I tell you?!" She grabbed Zelda's wet hair, and looked down at her bathrobe. "You were bathing, weren't you?"
Zelda sighed at the excuse. "Yes, Madame Loraine."
Madame Loraine sighed, frustrated. "A proper princess is NEVER late for ANYTHING." She turned on her heel, and walked to the other side of the room, magically regaining her composure compared to the hysterical way she was yelling only a minute ago.
"Princess Zelda, a proper princess has impeccable timing," she said, starting the lesson.
~*~
"My, that little angel was really in a rush, wasn't she?" Linda asked as she sat down in the old rocking chair in the room.
Link nodded as he sat on the floor next to the fire. "Say, mom, did you ever find out what she was doing next to the house?"
Linda thought back. "Hmm...you know, no! She never got a chance to answer me! My food burned, you know." She sighed. "There must have been a whole days' worth of money in that food. Oh well, we're all used to burnt food. Except Zelda. She didn't look very accustomed to it."
Link shrugged as he stuck a few dry sticks in the fire to keep it burning. "Well, she does eat in the castle. I've heard that the head chefs cook their food, as well."
Linda sighed. "Oh, that sounds delicious." She smiled. "Although, I wouldn't want to be a servant just for the food. I hear that they never have any time for themselves, and the work is horrid! They say that the princess is a brat!" She laughed to herself. "Besides, Linux and I are happy working in the fields, anyway."
"Oh, well, enough of that!" Linda exclaimed, her usual, cheery self. "I saw you blush when I mentioned Malon earlier! Is there something going on that dear old mom doesn't know about? Hmmm??"
Link shrugged as he looked at the floor. "Nothing more than usual, mother. But I am thinking about inviting her to the harvest ceremony next month..."
Linda smiled. "Aww, Link! You're growing up so fast! Pretty soon you'll be giving me grandchildren! Oh, I can't wait! Do you think I'll be able to have one by next year?"
"Moooom!!" Link cried, blushing madly. He hopped up from the floor, and ran up the stairs to his room. "You're so embarrassing!"
Linda laughed to herself as Link retreated. She settled back into her chair. "Hm...now, I think he fancies that Zelda girl, too. I don't know if I want redheaded or blonde grandchildren more..."
~*~
Zelda walked across the room in front of Madame Loraine. She was demonstrating how a "proper princess" should walk.
"No, no, no!" Madame Loraine complained. "You're supposed to float on air! Like you're walking on marshmallows! A proper princess MUST walk airily! Like this!" Madame Loraine got up from her chair, and walked across the floor, in the same fashion that many of the snobby servants did.
Zelda nodded, and retried the walk.
"That's...better," Madame Loraine commented. "But you should remember to just glide along the floor." She turned around, and picked up a large, handmade, book off of the giant table in the middle of Zelda's room. She opened it up to a bookmarked spot, and ran her finger along the words.
"Alright, Princess Zelda. It has come to my attention that you do not know proper etiquette for banquets. We will practice those, for the remainder of the time."
Zelda set her jaw. She hated lessons on etiquette more than anything. She would rather take her sewing practices versus etiquette. And for the rest of the time? That was until 9 o'clock! Zelda checked the clock tower, located almost directly north of her window. It was barely eight twenty. Zelda noted that the storm had calmed down considerably.
"First off, you must know how to properly address any other Royalties. Such as during a banquet held to declare peace between two countries, or some other of the like."
Zelda yawned, but did her best to keep her mouth shut so she wouldn't get scolded by Madame Loraine.
"When approaching foreign royalty, you curtsey; remember to count to five in your head!" Madame Loraine demonstrated the five-second bow. "And after that, you keep your head bowed down, and formally address them. Please do so."
Zelda curtsied to Madame Loraine, then straightened her back. She kept her head down as she spoke, "Madame Loraine."
"Princess Zelda," Madame Loraine said with a nod of her head, showing Zelda what the king or queen she was addressing would do. She clapped three times. "Very good, Princess."
Zelda forced a smile, and curtsied- as Madame Loraine expected of her. "Thank you."
"Now," Madame Loraine continued. "When you are approached..."
Madame Loraine continued teaching Zelda, and she continued to follow orders. The rest of the hour passed fairly quickly, and soon the Proper Lessons class was over. Zelda couldn't help but smile in relief as Madame Loraine packed up her things, and left the room.
She flopped down on her bed as soon as Madame Loraine closed the door behind her. "I don't know how much more I can take of these, lessons..." she murmured to herself. She rolled over on her stomach. "I hate Proper Lessons..."
Her thoughts involuntarily shifted to the Tellers. Linda, Lunar, Linux, and Link. She smiled. Dinner had been enjoyable- for once. It had been relaxed, and carefree.
Zelda sighed enviously.
"I wish I could have dinners like that all the time." She played around with the thought of sneaking back out of the castle, but quickly dismissed the thought. She was lucky she didn't get caught this time; there was no way she could pull it off again.
Still... she thought. I could always find a new way of getting out...but how?
Her eyelids fluttered a few times as she tried to stay awake. Her day was more...stimulating than usual.
~*~
Lunar got smacked an airborne towel. "HEEEEEY!!" he shouted, thrusting his lower lip out in a pout. "That wasn't NICE!"
Link glared at Lunar. "Will you be quiet?! I can't hear myself think!"
"Think about what?" Lunar asked, completely forgetting his previous pout. Link rolled his eyes.
"Nothing that concerns you, squirt."
"Is it about Zelda?"
Link looked at Lunar. "How did you know? Mom's not filling your head with stuff about me, is she?"
Lunar shook his head fervently. "No! I noticed you lookin at her like you look at Malon!" He then made his eyes really big, trying to imitate Link.
"I do not look like that!"
Lunar glared at Link. "Do too!! You always look like that when Malon's around!"
Link grabbed the towel off the floor, and threw it at Lunar.
"AH! HEEEEY!!"
~*~
Rawr. Weak ending ^_^;;;;;
^^ I'm really sorry for taking so long in updating-- I promise that won't happen anymore!! Nope, no numerous-month-long waits in between chapters from me! XD;;
~remember...reviews are appreciated!~
Next Chapter: Zelda's parents come back from Poleis! And...and...uh...other stuff happens! Including more stuff on the Teller family...and...stuff! What *exactly* does Link think of Zelda? Or MALON, for that matter?!