Terachi Kaishaku: Thank you. I was wondering when you would write the next chapter of Paper Dragon. Its been quite a while since you've written something.

oOoDancingQueenoOo: Poor Link! Yes, they do.

Bright Future in Sales: Yeah, it is, and that will probably be a big part of this story but I'm not too sure yet.

Anthius: Thanks a lot.

Some say the world will end: yes, save us from the table manners lessons!

Pinkythesnowman: Well here it is so you don't have to wait any longer. By the way, I loved your little Zelda one shots that you wrote!

Moonbeam: I'll try and write a bit faster, its just school is getting so draining.

Greki: I never thought I'd be able to write something educational yet fun at the same time, but I guess I have. Thanks a lot. Where do you live in Mexico?

Starknight: I'm glad that I'm updating too as I've been getting lazy lately.

General thanks to all of my reviewers for this story, means a lot to me to have

The following day was sunny and quite warm and Link would have loved to have spent the time outside. Instead he was stuck inside the dining room of the Harkinian mansion puzzling over the difference in silverware with Zelda watching him for the slightest error.

"Elbows off the table!" she nearly proclaimed loudly whacking his hands with a small switch.

Already, Link's day had not gone to his liking. He had been forced to spend three hours in a tailors shop getting fitted for "nice" clothes as Zelda put it for that evening's gala.

Just then, Link felt a sharp rap across the knuckles as Zelda chastised him again for choosing the wrong utensil.

"Link! That's the dessert fork, you should be using the dinner fork." Zelda said exasperatedly.

"Why does it matter, a fork is a fork." Link shot back.

"Listen here, what you do reflects upon my father, and I wont have you besmirching my family name because you can't tell which fork to use. I would think you would be a little more thankful towards those who saved your life." She replied jabbing him in the chest with the flexible piece of wood she was using as a switch when Link made a mistake.

Link mumbled in response and was again rewarded by a sharp stinging slap across his wrist. "You're the one who should be thankful that I don't beat the life out of you right now." He said quietly so she could not hear

"I told you already no mumbling at the dinner table." Zelda nearly shouted applying the switch quite liberally, causing Link to cringe.

After another hour and a half the lesson stopped in part because Link had finally learned most of what he needed to know and in part because Zelda was too frustrated to continue on.

Link went up to his room locked the door, and began to nurse his hands. They were quite red from Zelda's repeated lashings.

"She's abominable." Link muttered to himself as he found a piece of cloth to dip in water to wrap around his throbbing hands. "I can't believe anyone would want to marry her. Hell, I almost feel sorry for those officers who want her to be their bride." Link chuckled half-heartedly at his last thought of being nearly sympathetic towards his enemies.

"She is quite beautiful though." Link said absentmindedly as an afterthought.

"Wait a minute! I can't be thinking stuff like that, she's the enemy regardless of how she
looks." He chided himself for being so shallow.

At the same time, Zelda was brooding in the dining room. She was in a bad mood not having a pleasant lesson with Link and neither was she looking forwards to the ball where she knew she would be swamped by scores of eager men.

"He's like an oaf that was raised in a cave. No manners at all, no respect." She muttered angrily.

"At least some of those officers annoying as they might be, have some semblance of manners."

In the midst of her comparison between Link and the British officers she had encountered earlier she recounted with a flush that Link was quite good looking when in comparison with those who were vying for her hand. That last thought drew shock from her as she left the room preparing to take a bath in order to prepare for that evening's event.

Several hours later, Link was in his room looking at the outfit that was laid out on the bed before him. It consisted of a dark blue jacket with gold trim, a pair of matching pants and a white hose. True, it was a very nice outfit but Link would have preferred to wear his everyday working clothes. Unfortunately doing so would incur Zelda's wrath which Link had no desire to experience. Reluctantly, he put on the clothes which had been purchased for him. After finishing that task he strode over to the mirror to check his appearance. His reflection startled him, he looked quite handsome in the outfit which complemented his own eye color quite well. As much as he hated to admit it, Zelda had done quite an impressive job when she ordered the tunic made for him.

Just then, Zelda stepped into the room to check on Link. For a brief moment, Link was left speechless. While she had been quite beautiful before, only one word could describe her now, stunning. She was wearing an elaborate sky blue gown that emphasized her willowy figure. Around her long and graceful neck lay an elaborate necklace studded with diamonds. Her hair was elegantly styled leaving only a few stray tendrils to frame her face.

"You look quite nice." Zelda said speaking first.

"Thank you, so do you." Link replied because even though he disliked her he still had to admit she looked like the image of beauty itself.

Link began to walk out as if to leave when Zelda stopped him.

"Sit." She ordered indicating with her finger for him sit on his bed.

"Why?" Link asked with a bit of irritation.

"Because your hair is atrocious. It looks as if someone chopped the top off of a mop and glued it onto your head. It needs to be braided back." Zelda stated producing a blue ribbon and with a look that left no room for argument.

Link reluctantly sat down as Zelda walked up behind him and began to pull his hair back into a single braid. Soon enough the task was complete and when Link looked into the mirror again he looked exactly as a young gentlemen from high society might.

"Now come on, Father is waiting in the carriage for us." She beckoned.

Stepping into the carriage Link saw the shape of Zelda's father who gave him a severe look as if warning him not to cause even the slightest hint of trouble. The carriage traveled through the streets rattling as it went until it pulled up near the Mansion where the ball was being held.

A coachman in uniform sprung forwards to hold the door open and another servant stepped forth to help Zelda's father off first and then Zelda, while Link was left to exit on his own devices.

The three stepped inside where a group of elderly gentlemen accosted the elder Harkinian and engaged him in a conversation having mostly to do with business. Meanwhile, after he arrival being announced men of all ages were drawn to Zelda much as moths to a light while Link looked back from a distance.

The room in which he was standing was large. On one side were arrange several tables with spotless tablecloths where dinner would be served and on the other was a space cleared for dancing and a string quartet.

"Your friend is quite the lady isn't she?" a soft voice came from behind Link who turned around curious to see who it was and nearly jumped out of his skin when he met the gaze of Sheik's red eyes. Sheik was in the garb of a servant and was holding in the crook of his arm a bottle of champagne.

"Didn't expect to see me here did you?" Sheik teased.

"No, I didn't" Link hissed back for fear of being discovered

"Well of course I'd be here, all the beautiful maidens in the colonies will be here tonight and if I may say so you have quite the catch yourself." Sheik said still lighthearted causing Link to blush furiously.

"Are you joking, I hate her more than anything else in this city." Link said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, well then with all seriousness, you must be diligent. Do not talk to me for the rest of the night, and don't even try to make eye contact. When you get back to the Harkinian residence tonight, I want you to write down everything you think is important. In the morning, a boy will come to your door and ask if you are ready to accept delivery of a volume of Shakespeare. You will ask to see the volume and slip in it the paper upon which you have written as quickly as possible. Then after stating that this is not the volume you had ordered you will return the volume to the boy who will bring it to me, understand?" Sheik muttered to which Link acknowledged with a nod. With that Sheik moved off to bring the bottle of champagne to those who had requested it.

Soon enough people began to sit down as dinner was served. Link took his place next to Zelda and watched with disgust as the other men present fought for the rights to sit at the same table as Zelda. After a few more minutes the servants began bringing in the courses of food. Link looked down at the bowl of soup in front of him and saw the two spoons and for a moment forgot which one to use. Reaching down hesitantly, he felt a sharp pain in his foot as the heel of Zelda's shoe came down hard on his foot. It was all Link could do to withhold a cry of pain.

"Is your friend alright?" an officer across the table inquired.

"Yes, he is fine, I believe the soup might have been too hot for him." She replied nonchalantly.

Dinner continued and the officers sitting at Link's table repeatedly called for wine and champagne some of them were quite drunk.

"We'll wipe the rebels out in two days." A particularly red faced captain said loudly.

"How so?" Link asked, his curiosity piqued.

:"Oh, it'll be easy. Most of 'em are holed up like rats down in Forts Washington and Lee, but we'll strike them in two days when they least suspect it." The captain continued after another gulp of wine.

"They won't stand a chance. We'll come right up the river and land right under their noses." A lieutenant indicated swinging his hand to illustrate his speech and knocking over his glass in the process.

Link was paying attention to every word the officers said so that he could report it later.

However, before anything else could be said the string quartet on the far side of the room struck up a tune.

Zelda sat in her chair dreading this moment. She saw all around her men beginning to move towards her in order to ask to be her partner. It would not be acceptable for her not to dance and she had to make it seem as if she was having a good time for her fathers sake. Yet she detested the idea of dancing with the officers around her. That left only one choice, standing up, she pulled a startled Link out of his chair and towards the dance floor.

"What are you doing?" Link hissed, angry at being interrupted from his thought process.

"Shut up and do as I say." She ordered back. "Put your left arm around my waist and your right hand into my left."

"What the hell are we doing?" Link inquired incredulously.

"We're dancing you fool now shut up and let me lead." She retorted back slowly moving with Link in time with the rhythm of the music.

Link looked over to the side where several of the officers were glaring daggers at him. Why did Zelda have to dance with him, Link thought to himself, why not with those officers who obviously wanted to dance with her.

As the moments passed Link became aware of his proximity to Zelda. She really was quite beautiful, eyes like the ocean, lips as scarlet as a rose in its prime. Link felt increasingly awkward at being so close to this young woman and felt a flush creeping up his cheeks. At that moment Zelda chose to look up at Link and blushed a bit herself noticing how handsome Link could be. The two made eye contact for a brief moment before hurriedly looking the other way. Soon after, the song ended and the two stepped apart.

"Thank you Link, that was very nice." Zelda murmured, still a bit embarrassed.

Link merely nodded and then was pushed out of the way as the officers who had been waiting eagerly moved in.

Authors Notes: I know bad place to end it, but I wanted to get this chapter out there, so yeah. Its been a long time I know and I'll try to take less time between chapters.