Chapter 9 the outside world part one

So the last two years of agonising and fretting over the ramifications and consequences of my future knowledge, my replacement of the original zelda, the possibility of me dooming an entire world simply by being born, and the inevitability of fate. All of that, for nothing.

I can't implement an essential part of my plan, FOR FOUR YEARS. For the next four years the fate of AN ENTIRE WORLD rests on my tiny three year old shoulders, in making sure my mom survives. But it's fine. Im fine.

It's not like I can do anything about it either. I physically can't learn sealing magic until I'm seven- full stop. There is no way around that restriction. I had asked. Repeatedly. Even researching independently, with what little I could read of my ancestors' journals. Which was a thing apparently. Apparently it was tradition for royals, and nobles to write journals of their lives to help inform their descendants after their death. Neat! But a little awkward to be reading my grandmother's diary, also a lot useless. (apparently my mom had a habit of screaming at operatic volumes when she was a baby, like mother, like daughter!)

If there was one benefit to this information, I at least now have a rough idea of when my mom will die. Yay. (unless of course zelda's lessons were pushed back for some reason, so my info is relatively dubious. yay.)

So now the only facit of my plan I can focus on is making sure my mom stays alive, not like i wasn't going to do that any way but now its just ya know potently world ending. Without any backup plans. Again yay.

So my main mission (or should i call it a quest? I am in zelda after all!) is to keep my mom alive. No sweat.

-that doesn't mean i don't have other goals though! I want to learn everything I can about the culture, history, and MAGIC (ITS ACTUAL MAGIC PEOPLE) of Hyrule. I'm in a whole new world! I want to know everything.

Also magic is REAL! Who wouldn't be fascinated?

I was practically skipping toward the library with dottie at my heels, I had recently found a relatively simple cooking primer that touched upon the subject of the special effects certain ingredients could give. (i could actually almost read it without assistance! progress!) I hadn't got the chance to finish it last night because the adults had this stupid idea that i needed a bed time and that healthy little girls go to bed before eight.

Bha! I am-

….

I was a teenager. And if school taught me anything it was that your education was more important than your mental and physical health! Lives were on the line people! Who knows when i'm going to need this information!

But it was nowhere near bedtime now! And no one! No one was going to stop me from my research!

I stared in abject horror at the empty shelf.

My book! My research! MY ENTERTAINMENT!

Someone had taken my cooking primer and I was devastated. Normally i would move on and find something else to read but this had been the first book that talked about special ingredients that i could sorta understand! I NEEDED more interimentery books to read, they were either too simple or too complex. The middling books that pushed my boundaries without confounding me were Hard to find! At least ones that didn't speak down to the reader or bore me to death.

DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND A PICTURE BOOK THAT ISN'T SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF "RED DOG RUN, BLUE SNAIL SLIME!?"

I stomped fuming over to the castle's resident librarian who was deeply engrossed in some thick tome or another, muttering dark curses under my breath and fervently praying it had just been shelved in the wrong section. Ignoring the increasingly worried maid servant trailing behind me.

Taking a deep breath i collected myself and tugged on the old man's long trailing sleeve "mister Tommison do you know where my book is?" I requested politely. I didn't want to alienate my book dealer.

He raised one elegant silver brow and peered down imperiously over his reading glasses. "And which book would that be my dear?" mr. Tommison was a tall, thin, well kept man whose stern intimidating visage could scare troublemakers and chatterboxes out of his library with a single long derisive stare. He was horribly overworked trying to catalog and organise our massive mess of a library and wasn't all that fond of children no matter how important they might be. (honestly the library was a MESS from centuries of collection, mislabeling, misshelving, and to be honestly hoarding every scrap of paper we could get our grubby hands on. we had far too many books for one man to keep track of properly, but he kept the few sections he had under control in meticulous order.) thankfully he had grown a soft spot for me after a few weeks of quite, polite company and careful treatment of his precious books. (at least the few that i could read.)

"Dalias cookbook for the common home, mister Tommison" i replied dutifully carefully enunciating the syllables. mister Tommison was not tolerant of ignorance.

He sniffed derisively "it was checked out by some stupid little squire, he had the gall to come here right after training and tracked mud absolutely every where." my heart sunk. The knight trainees were famous for playing rough with their things and dirtying the castle with mud and other such gunk.

Even I knew that and I really only talked to mister Tommison, granny, spots, mom and dad!

Who knew what sort of condition my poor book would be in when i got it back!

I needed to go talk to this squire about being careful with this book or at least waiting to ruin it until after i got the chance to read over it a few times!

"Thank you for telling me mister Tommison." "of course my dear" he nodded back at me before returning his hawk like gaze to his book. I turned around sharply and headed out of the library.

Now, off to the training grounds to find my book!

.

…..

"Dottie? Where are the training grounds" she muffled a snicker behind me. "This way my lady."

As it turns out the training grounds were on the edge of what would be considered the castle, almost as far away from the library as one could get while staying in the castle grounds.

And as i stood in the door way to the outside world i was starting to feel…

Trepidation.

The sun was hot, the field was loud, and I was standing at a distance in anxiety. It had been years since i had really been in a crowd, since i had really gone outside and interacted with anyone outside of my small circle of family and caretakers. In all honesty i was rather sheltered.

And this was scary.

It was loud, the clash of bodies, the screech of steel against steel, triumphant yells, angry shouts, and the bellow of commanders. Hylian ears are incredibly sensitive and this messy cacophony of violent noise was painful.

My instincts were screaming to hide. to cling to dottie and hide behind the one person I knew was safe. Everyone was so much bigger and stronger than i was. I was fragile, vulnerable, and uncertain. My toddler mind cried for the safety of Dotties skirts. To turn around and-

"I'm just saying it's weird!" a voice broke through my thoughts and drew my attention to two soldiers relaxing in the shade of the wall some distance from the door dottie and i were standing in.

"She's the princess mate, should you really be saying things like that?" a lackadaisical voice replied to the first unknown. "She's three! No three year old should be reading! I have a three year old sibling, she can barely string a complete sentence together! Let alone read! Its freaky mate, I'm telling you!"

I took an involuntary step back and dottie bristled.

"Shes got the blood of the goddess mate, their always doing strange things." the lazy soldier replied barely bothering to glance at his impassioned friend. "I don't hear about the queen being able to read at three. Her majesty's smart, not unnatural!"

Dottie started to move but i caught her skirt preventing her from moving any further

His friend laughed, "you're losing it mate- the future wisdom of Hyrule, too smart? Have you been adding the wrong mushrooms to your stew?" "jerk. You know i'm right! Its weird! What other three year old can read?"

"SOLDERS DOSE THIS LOOK LIKE A TEA PARTY TO YOU?!" the two men startled head swinging toward the approaching commander before freezing like deer in head lights.

"THIS ISN'T SOME SORT OF RELAXING GET AWAY SPOT! THIS IS A JOB- A DUTY! GET YOUR LILY WHITE BUTTS BACK ON THE FIELD AND GET TO WORK ON SOME PUSH UPS"

The first solder spoke up tentatively "how many sir?" "DID I ASK FOR QUESTIONS? YOUR GOING TO KEEP GOING UNTIL I SAY YOU CAN STOP. NOW DROP." "SIR YES SIR"

I turned my eyes to the fuming dottie, "Dottie lets go back inside." "But princess-" "can we just go back inside… please." dottie scooped me up into her arms. Normally i would fuss wanting the independence of being on my own two feet, but right now it just felt good to be held. "Ok. let's go back to your rooms princess. Its about time for your nap any way" she replied with forced cheer.

It wasn't anywhere near nap time but right now i just wanted to sleep.


so this chapter ended up way longer then expected even after i split it in two soooooooooo, here's a extra long chapter. as a treat!

you guys are just so awesome all the love i'm getting in the comments is going to make me spontaneously combust! I've literally made a whole new section in my avertible inevitability doc just to save your comments. i love you all so much

Lleu, you simply know me too well! don't go around spoiling major plot points! ;)

laurenalyse24, thanks for the review! im looking forward to writing about all those thing too! i will warn you that their will be some major angst and link isn't really going to feature in the story for quite a while yet. i have so many ideas for the free real estate that is his back story.

Guest, oh yha as she gets older shes going to get sick of it reeeaaaal fast. right now shes young enough that she can sort of understand their reasoning but things change as she gets older. im sooooo exited to write the champions and link as well!

Heitor, zelda will have a lot more agency in the story from now on, while your idea has merit a big part of the story is zelda not believing she's yha know actually zelda, major imposter syndrome. your idea would probably work! but belief is a big part of the magic of the triforce and zelda just doesn't believe in herself enough to be able to accomplish that yet. also if her sealing powers are a gun the triforce is a nuke and thats even more dangerous. any way im rambeling. thanks for your reviews! they give me so many ideas not only for the story but for the meta of hyrule!

i love you all! see you soon!