Impossible Love

Yeah, I suck. I know.

Well, yeah, this is going rather slow (talking about the story...not the updating), so...yeah. Just speeding things up a little. Eh.

Chapter Five (or six if you count the prologue)
Just Begun

Day after day, life went on for Zelda. Not life as she had grown up to know, but life as she had made for herself. After about two weeks, Zelda had fallen into a routine. A routine for how to sneak out, and a routine for when to sneak out. Every two days, she would take a "stroll through the gardens".

Madame Loraine had no idea what was going on, though she had once caught Zelda with some dirt under her fingernails. Zelda had quickly told her that she was picking some flowers, and the soil got on her hands. After a moment, Madame Loraine had merely reprimanded her and told her to get a servant to do that next time.

Zelda sighed in content as she lay on the fluffy, pink blanket that dressed her bed. Thinking about the past few weeks, she couldn't help but smile. Her thoughts drifted aimlessly to Link.

Link. Ah, he was a fine boy, as Zelda had often heard Linda comment.

Strident rapping on her majestic bedroom doors interrupted Zelda's thoughts. She sat up in her bed, still slightly dazed from her musings. "Er . . . yes?"

"Princess Zelda!" came Madame Loraine's shrill voice from the hall. Zelda groaned quietly. "Your attendance is requested at the banquet hall!"

Puzzled, Zelda hopped off her bed, and padded to her door, opening it wide enough to see Madame Loraine's pink face. "What for?"

Madame Loraine pushed the doorway open fully, and stepped into the room, bumping Zelda to the side in the process. After she had closed the door again, she turned to Zelda, aghast. "You mean . . . you forgot? Dear child, what is wrong with you!" she exclaimed, using a tone that only she was permitted to use against royalty. "Over a week ago I informed you about a speech your father was giving to the lords, ladies, and knights of this castle!"

Zelda reddened. "Oh . . . I seem to have forgotten. My mind has been . . . on other things, you see--"

"What things?" Madame Loraine snapped. Before Zelda could come up up with an explanation, she continued. "A proper princess should only mind her own business. And your business is your land. And right now your land is having a banquet and speech by your father, the King!"

Zelda nodded and gave a slight curtsy. "Yes, Madame."

"Now, Princess," Madame Loraine said, making her way to Zelda's roomy closet. "I suppose you have also forgotten to call a servant to set your clothes out, hmm?" She snorted as properly as she could. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. You have roughly an hour to be ready. I will fetch a servant. We must get you to be at least somewhat presentable!" she exclaimed in a less than polite tone as she pulled out petticoats, corsets, and undergarments of the like.

After five minutes or so, Zelda was seated in her plush, velvet chair (against her will, might I add), getting fitted in her "princess"-like attire. She nearly sputtered in less-than-elegant fashion when Madame Loraine constricted her stomach in a white corset. And after layers of other "appropriate" apparel, including petticoats and etcetera, Madame Loraine and two female servants fitted onto Zelda an ivory dress, complete with radiant, white gloves, and matching shoes.

"And all this was done in thirty minutes," Madame Loraine said, standing back to admire her work. "Ah, yes, I am talented." She completely ignored the two servants who had done more work than she. "Now! For your face!"

Zelda moaned, nearly unable to bear any more of this torture. Half listening to what Madame Loraine was telling the servants, Zelda knew that Madame Loraine apparently thought that a "splash of red" would accentuate her features. So, on went the cherry lipstick, in stark contrast to the frosty white outfit. Madame also placed a ruby necklace on Zelda.

After makeup, Zelda was given a glorious updo; curling hair to frame her face, and placing the rest in an extravagant bun.

"Beautiful," Madame Loraine spouted proudly once they were done. Zelda, on the other hand, felt as if an entire hour of her life had been wasted and she was about to choke on the smell of jasmine they had sprayed her with.

"She looks just like a princess in the fairy tales," one of the servants gushed. She looked to be about 13 or 14. "Wow!"

Zelda smiled at the compliment, whilst Madame Loraine frowned upon the servant. She ushered both servant girls out of the room immediately.

"Are we done?" Zelda asked Madame Loraine.

"Yes. Now, we must get to the banquet hall! Nary five minutes to spare! Come, Princess!" She opened the door again, and guided Zelda into the hallway. Through a maze of corridors, they made it to the banquet hall.

Of course, Madame Loraine made sure Zelda got everyone present's attention when she entered. (She had somehow managed a small entourage to escort Zelda to her seat.)

There was a large table in the center of the room, that ran many yards in length. There was a white tablecloth on it, and foods of all sorts were positioned on it. Lords and Ladies were seated at the northernmost end, while knights and their wives were on the other. Right up at the head of the giant table was the royal family. The King, in his golden throne, the Queen in her similar throne on his right, and Zelda, seated in her own throne, on his left. The Queen was wearing a similar outfit to Zelda's, although her attendants had added purple into her dress. On the King and Queen's heads were their gold-and-diamond crowns.

Zelda folded her hands in her lap, anxious for this whole dinner-party (as it should have been rightly called, rather than banquet) to be over and done with.

**

"Oh what a wonderful day!" Linda exclaimed joyously as she paraded around the front yard of her small house, twirling a blue outfit in her arms. "My stars, how fantastic!!" She hugged the blue piece of clothing--a nice, pale blue dress. "Oh, Link! This outfit is superb! Absolutely astonishing!"

Link smiled. "I'm glad you like it, ma."

"Like it? I love it!" She suddenly stopped moving and pressed the dress to her body. "Wow, it's beautiful! How did you get the money to pay for it?"

Link shrugged. "Odd jobs here and there. When I was shopping in the market, I saw it and knew it would look great on you. And I thought it would be nice, since you would want something new to wear to the Harvest Festival next week."

Linda smiled and crushed her son in an overjoyed hug. "Oh, you're so thoughtful! I'll go put it on right now so you can see it!" With that, she happily hopped into the house.

Link grinned to himself as he sat on the lawn, patiently waiting for his mother's return. He suddenly felt two arms snake around his back, under his arms, and reach up to cover his eyes. "Guess who?" whispered a female voice into his ear.

"Hi, Malon," Link said, craning his neck to see the redhead. Malon smirked and sat next to him. "Nice to see you," he told her.

"I heard your mom scream about some dress. You went to the market? Did you get ME anything?" she asked. "Please? I hope you did. I AM your girlfriend, after all!"

"It's not just 'some dress' . . . " Link said quietly. "It cost well over a month's worth of work . . ."

"Oh, that's nice," Malon said, inspecting her nail. "But that didn't answer my question, you know." She wrapped her arms around Link again and set her head on his shoulder. "You DID get me something, didn't you?" After a pause, she added, "Cause, you know, it would make me feel a lot better from this head-cold of mine to know that you thought of me."

Link was about to roll his eyes, but when he looked into Malon's face, he nearly melted. That always happened when he looked at her; he couldn't help it. "Of course I got something for you," he said, touching his forehead to hers. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a box. Malon squealed as she quickly let go of Link to grasp the box.

"Oh, how thoughtful!" she exclaimed. The box was brown with gold paint decorating the top in curly patterns. There was a red heart in the center with a dove above it. She quickly opened it up, expecting to find some jewels-- her mind ran through rubies and emeralds and diamonds . . . all of her favorite things! She smiled widely. But . . . the box was empty? She stared at it in disappointment as a melody started playing from inside. Her smile faded, replaced with extreme sadness.

"It's a music box," Link said, beaming. He didn't notice Malon's sudden change in attitude. "It cost me a bundle, but it was worth it for you, Mal."

"It's empty," she said simply. She didn't even bother to hide the disappointment in her voice.

Link blinked. "Um . . . it's for you to put your jewelry in, Mal. And when you open it up, you hear the music."

Malon scoffed. "My jewelry! I'd be lucky if I had any!" She shifted her eyes to try and see if Link was panicking. He was, so she smirked and continued, "My, my, Link! How could you do something so horrid? To give me a jewelry box when I have no jewelry!" Sighing in dramatic effect, she placed her hand on her head. "Oh, my head aches, so!"

Link suddenly grabbed her hand. "Oh, Malon! I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed. "I had no idea you didn't have anything to put in it! I'll get you some jewels as soon as possible!"

Malon grinned, but Link didn't see it. "Very well, Link." She held on to the music box as she stood up. "Then I'll see you later. Goodbye!" she said before walking off to her own house.

Link sighed as she walked off. "Goodbye, Mal." He put his hand in his pocket and fished out a few gold coins. He counted thirty-three. "That may be enough for a necklace of some sort," he said quietly. Thirty-three gold coins was over two week's worth of odd jobs. He was going to buy something nice for Zelda, but decided that something for his girlfriend would be more important. Besides, Zelda was a servant girl. She would be able to handle a few daisies as a gift, wouldn't she?

"Oh, Link, it fits perfectly!" Linda shouted ecstatically as she twirled out of the house. The pale blue dress looked wonderful on her, as Link had suspected. But he noticed one thing off.

"Oh, mother," he said. "Your good shoes don't match." He pointed to her pair of brown shoes--the best she owned.

"Don't worry about that!" she said, smiling. "I don't care if they match. As long as I have this dress, I'm happy!"

Link smiled. "If you say so." He vaguely realized how different his mother and Malon were. If he had given Malon the dress, she would have been the first to complain about the shoes. But he just assumed that was what made people unique. "But if you want, really, mother, I need to go to the market, anyway."

Linda shook her head. "No, you don't need to spend any more money on me, sweetie!" She smoothed out her dress. "Ah, well, I'm going to go take this off so I don't get it dirty!"

"Alright, bye," he said. "This is the best time to go to the market, so I'll see you later."

**

When she was sure Madame Loraine wasn't looking, Zelda grabbed a butter roll and popped it into her mouth. She smiled in delight as the fresh bread melted in her mouth. She swallowed it and was about to reach for another, when Madame Loraine looked in her direction. Zelda quickly averted her reach to her wine glass, so as not to derive suspicions from her teacher.

Her mouth watered at the sight of lords and ladies grabbing the butter rolls. She looked down at her own plate in distaste. Meager portions of pastries and cakes had already made their way into her mouth. Now, all that was left was a pile of nuts, decorated with chocolate syrup. She sighed as she looked back at the basket of rolls. Rolls were considered "commoner" foods, so royalty was "above" eating them. Zelda sighed. She thought they were the best thing she'd tasted in a while.

Zelda's eyes fluttered. She felt she was about to faint from the tightness of her corset as well. Perhaps eating a roll or two was actually a bad thing. She sucked in her breath, trying to get her breathing to normal once more (she had had to do that numerous times in the last twenty minutes.) She vaguely noticed her father stand up and everyone's attention turning to him. Her mind quickly snapped as she realized he was giving his speech, and she turned her full concentration on him.

" . . . and just recently my wife and I were off to Poleis," he was saying. That grabbed Zelda's attention. She hadn't known the reason for her parents' departure just a few weeks ago. "My wife and I had decided that the only way to improve our vast kingdom . . . was to make it bigger!" He chuckled. "And after coming to an agreement with the royal family of Poleis, we have chosen to share our natural resources in exchange for a large majority of their land."

Many people at the long table clapped their hands, while others whispered amongst themselves.

Zelda smiled as she clasped her hands in her lap. Well, as Madame would say, all the better for her when she goes to power!

"The Poleis' will be visiting our land in less than four days," Madame whispered into Zelda's ear once everyone resumed eating.

"Huh?" Zelda whispered back.

Madame Loraine narrowed her eyes at Zelda. "Don't use such peasant phrases. 'Huh' and 'what?' are not proper for a princess to utter." She closed her eyes for a moment and continued. "Anyway, the royal family of Poleis will be coming to the castle to stay for the Harvest Festival."

"Harvest . . . Festival?" Zelda asked. "What's that?"

Madame waved her hand. "Oh, it's a peasant holiday. It's the start of the harvesting season. Where the poor commoners make scant money." She snorted. "It doesn't concern us. But this year your father may have something planned. That is beside the point, though. The family will be visiting. They have a son about your age--"

"I don't have to marry him to settle the agreement, right?" Zelda asked. She had read that plot in many, many books. "If so, I refu--"

"Of course not, dear child!" Madame Loraine sniffed. "They are a much lower class than we. We do not want to soil the Harkinian family with that!" She shuddered. Zelda rolled her eyes. Madame acted as if she were more royal than the queen. "But," Madame continued, "you will need to show respect to him. No doubt he will be in awe of your majesty." Madame laughed quietly. She always loved to make people feel inferior--even if she didn't do it directly.

**

Trying . . . not . . . to . . . make . . . it . . . cliche!! ___;; Very hard. Err...well, whatever.

I'd tell ya that I'd get the next chapter out quickly, but you know, I freazeakin suck at promises, so....I'll just say I've started writing it already ^^;;

-review?

Next Chapter: Random things happen to move the plot along!! Har har har. The Poleis family comes. And um...the son's a pain-in-the-you-know-what. But you'll have to wait and see for yerself! Soooo....see you sooner or later! (hopefully sooner?)