Getting back down and out of the Play Place was a lot less of a struggle than getting up, especially with Zelda by his side. She crawled through the tunnels like she had a purpose, taking turns and jumping down holes without hesitation like she knew where she was going.
Knowing it was Zelda, she probably did. She probably knew where every plastic tube led, and what was the fastest way down.
Suddenly, Zelda stopped. Roy had to stop too, to stop his dirty hands from smearing over her white dress.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"This is a dead end."
Frowning, Roy glanced over her shoulder. "It doesn't look like a dead end to me."
"If you continue, this tunnel branches off into three paths. One of them loops back to the other, and the third ends in one of the plastic bubbles." Awkwardly, Zelda tried to turn around, but even with her thin frame, she couldn't turn even halfway before she hit her head on the side of a foam beam.
Glancing over her shoulder, Zelda gave him a sheepish smile. "You wouldn't mind backing up a bit? Just past that last bend should be another turn we missed."
Roy followed her gaze to the last turn they had taken. He hadn't remembered seeing a turn there, but Zelda had never been wrong before. Choosing to trust her was an easy choice.
"Alright," he said. "If you say so."
Keeping his eyes over his shoulder, Roy crawled back. It was an awkward thing to do. Several times, his knees slipped on his clothing, and his legs rolled over his fingers, but in the end, he managed to round the corner without a problem.
"I did it," he muttered, turning back to Zelda. "Now what–"
Zelda bumped into him. It was a small bump, but Zelda jumped like he'd stabbed her. She spun around, her face a flustered shade that he hadn't seen before, and Roy immediately held up his hands defensively.
"Sorry, sorry!" he sputtered out, his face heating up under her hot stare. "That was my fault, I didn't back up far enough!"
"It's fine," Zelda replied, smoothing out her dress. "We all make mistakes. Now, follow me. If my memory serves correctly, if we take the other path there should be a tunnel headed up three meters from here."
The tunnel was a lot steeper than Roy thought it would be. A lot longer too. If a child slipped and fell from that height, they could get hurt.
"Why would they put something so dangerous in an attraction for children?" he said as he watched Zelda wiggle inside.
"It's because they're not supposed to climb up it," Zelda replied, her voice echoing from the confined space she was in. "It's marginally safer going up than it is going down."
"Then why are we going up it instead?"
"Because–" Zelda yelped, and her hands suddenly slipped out from under her. Roy inched away from the bottom of the angled tube as Zelda slid out, her legs splayed out like a baby deer as her face rubbed against the floor. "Because it's much faster this way. Now come, would you mind lending me a hand?"
Roy glanced up at the top of the tunnel, then back to Zelda. He shrugged, and as Zelda started crawling up again, Roy reached out and pushed her over.
She was light, though that shouldn't have come as a surprise. As fierce of a fighter as she was, Zelda didn't strike him as someone who did much physical work. She was as light as she was graceful, as if the very air itself supported her weight like a cloud, and Roy was able to heave her up onto the top platform in one push.
Zelda stumbled onto the platform, then turned back to him and offered her hand. Roy stared at it, confused.
"I'll pull you up," Zelda said, and she waved for him to take hold.
Roy frowned. He didn't think she would be able to pull him up, but it would be rude for him to refuse. He accepted without a protest, and started climbing inside. Her hands melted to his touch like feathers. He could tighten his grip and her hand would give like air, so it was with a very gentle grip that he held onto her hand. In the end, he was able to climb up by himself.
"Thank you," Roy said anyway as he finally crawled out of the tunnel.
Zelda smiled. It was a lopsided smile, a little higher on one side and one that looked a little like a wince. "It would have been rude to not return the favor," she replied, brushing down her skirt, as if that explained everything.
Roy guessed she was right there. Zelda turned back around and continued to crawl through the tunnel before he could say anything in reply, though, so he had no choice but to continue onward, trying not to let it stick in his mind how soft her hands were.
When Zelda stopped a second time, Roy nearly bumped into her, stopping himself right as his hands began to tread over her dress. Roy frowned, and he did his best to brush off the dirt he'd gotten on it before Zelda threw a glance back at him and froze him in place.
Roy quickly pulled his hand back and smiled. "Is something wrong?"
Zelda regarded where he'd smeared dirt over her white dress, then shook her head. "Nothing. Could you please continue forward without me? There's something I need to take care of."
"Really?" The aggravatingly and brightly colored scenery around them didn't seem like a place with any business to take care of, but the excited twinkle in Zelda's eyes told him he was better off leaving it alone.
"Really." Zelda nodded to the tunnel in front of them. "Take the first left you see, then a right. Go down another one of the tunnels, and you should find the exit."
"Wait!" Roy said, and Zelda stopped as she was beginning to turn into a path branching off from the right. He bit his lip, pausing to think, before he said, "What about you?"
Zelda smiled that brilliant smile of hers. "Trust me. I'll meet you there."
Roy watched as she disappeared from sight. A part of him wanted to follow her. Just to see where she was going, of course. What if there was another tunnel she needed help climbing up? But, eventually, he forced down his curiosity. Zelda had trusted him to keep going, so keep going was just what he was going to do.
As Zelda had told him, he took the first left, then a right. He was just nearing the last tunnel, when the walls around him trembled. Roy gripped the floor tightly, just in case the place was about to fall, but it never did.
Curiously, he glanced around. The shaking seemed to have stopped at least. Nothing else seemed out of place, not the colorful plastic beams, not the strange nets, not Zelda–
Roy blinked. He looked up.
There, poking her head down from the ceiling, was Zelda.
"Hello," she said.
Roy rubbed his eyes. "Hello," he replied, dumbly.
"I have always wondered what the world would look like upside-down," Zelda said calmly, as if that explained everything.
Roy leaned forward, eyes bright. "What does it look like?"
Shrugging, Zelda replied, "Not that much different. Everything feels the same. It is as if my body knows that I am looking at the world the wrong way, and has corrected it so that I may view it without confusion. I can tell where everything is with perfect clarity."
Zelda's hand reached out and brushed against the walls, the nets. Then she reached him, pressing a finger to his nose with a smile.
Roy's head ducked back, and he yelped in surprise. Zelda giggled. "Strange, isn't it?"
"Yes. Strange..." Roy mumbled, his eyes falling to the floor. Zelda's golden hair pooled there, in a flowing river that glittered just like the sun. They were probably soft too, just like her hands. If Zelda had touched him, surely she wouldn't mind if he did the same?
No, Roy thought to himself. It would be strange if I did that.
"Shall we continue?" he said out loud.
Zelda blinked, and her face settled into a more calm expression. "Yes, I suppose we should. Would you like to head in front of me?"
Roy shot her a sheepish smile. "It's fine. You can lead the way."
That seemed to upset Zelda. "If you want to lead, I have no problems with that. I have been leading you the entire time, and I can understand if you have become tired of that."
"But I don't think I can lead, anyway."
"That's not true. You are an excellent leader, Roy. I can see you have the potential to become a great king, even if you do not see it yourself."
"No, I mean, I actually can't lead." Roy motioned to her hair draped over the exit like a waterfall of spinning gold. "You're blocking the way."
Zelda's eyes looked up at the floor. "Ah. I understand."
Zelda's head disappeared back into the hole, taking her hair with it. Roy heard shuffling sounds come from above, before Zelda's boots dangled in front of his face. Zelda slid down and landed in a crouch in front of him.
"Sorry for blocking the way," Zelda sighed.
Roy waved her off. "It was no bother. Now come, the exit awaits."
The exit, as it turned out, was not where Roy had entered the contraption, but a rather long plastic tube. At the end, Roy could faintly see the plastic mattress that had been on the outside, but it seemed like a rather long drop–even more so than the one before.
"This looks dangerous," Roy murmured, shooting a worried look at Zelda. "Are you sure we must go this way?"
"Don't be so worried," Zelda replied airily. "I have seen children take this way before. It is perfectly safe, and the fastest way down."
"But it's so steep."
"That makes it more fun. Would you like me to demonstrate?"
"You don't have to–"
But before he could stop her, Zelda tucked her feet in and pushed herself inside. Roy watched with wide eyes as Zelda disappeared down the tunnel, sliding and vanishing out the other end. For a moment, he just stood there, not quite sure what to do.
Carefully, Roy edged toward the tube. He slid a foot out, then drew it back when he felt how slippery this was.
This was safe? A part of him really doubted that. Then, Zelda poked her head out the other end.
"Why are you hesitating? There is nothing to be afraid of. If I can make it down, so can you!" she said with an encouraging smile.
"Alright... if you say so," Roy mumbled. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and threw himself in.
"Wait, not while I'm–"
Before Zelda could finish her sentence, Roy slammed into her. He yelped, as did she, and they tumbled out tangled together in a misshapen pile of legs and arms.
Something wrapped tightly around the back of his neck. When Roy opened his eyes, he found Zelda's own staring back, looking quite flustered. His arms were, he realized, also wrapped around her neck, an act that he was quick to undo.
"I–I'm sorry!" he stuttered out. "That was rather unbecoming of me!"
"It is fine," Zelda replied, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. "As I said before. We all make mistakes." Then she frowned. "Speaking of mistakes, I seem to be running late."
Roy frowned. "Running late for what?"
"There was something I wanted to pick up, actually. A gift for my boyfriend, and for you, as thanks for your help."
"A gift?" Roy ducked his head with a nervous laugh. "You don't have to thank me. I helped you because you helped me."
"Still, it feels like poor manners not to return your favors. Do you think you could wait here while I retrieve it? I must make haste, as the shop closes in five minutes. I'll only be gone for ten, if all goes well."
"O–okay," Roy said, slowly pushing himself to his feet. "I'll wait by the table for your return."
"Thank you. I will not be long." Zelda flashed him a smile, a happy and relieved smile. She turned on her heel and strolled out of the foot court. Roy watched her leave, and as soon as he was gone, he wondered what she would get him.
Would it be a new weapon? Did they sell weapons at the Smash mall? Roy hoped not.
Maybe a book? They had visited the book store before, and there were many books that he would have liked to buy to read for later?
Was it flowers? He hoped it was flowers.
Roy blinked. He shook his head. No, flowers weren't a good idea. Where would he keep them, anyway?
Still, as he made his way back to his and Zelda's table, he imagined what it would be like if Zelda brought him flowers. What would he say? At least, what would he say that wouldn't make him sound like a complete fool?
Perhaps he was just better waiting off until she returned.
Yes, I know it's not Saturday. My schedule is a bit out of wack, but I'm working on fixing that. It'll probably take a lot of coffee and sleepless nights, the former of which I don't drink, and the latter of which is a bad habit that needs to go. Heck, I'm not even supposed to be up this late, but here I am.
Anyway, if I can keep up this writing streak, hopefully I'll be able to get out a chapter by Saturday. Until then, remember to take care of yourselves out there, and stay safe!
