Author's notes: Christ, its been like four years (dissapointing facepalm). I swear, EVENTUALLY, this fic will be finished. I have every plot point figured out its just a matter of writting everything out and MY GOD is it a pain. *SIGH* Such is life...

Chapter 14: Desert Town Trip

Tobi floated through the hallway that he and his companions currently occupied. Though it was still early in the morning he spent it gathering information on where they could find this 'Count of Sands'. From what he learned the 'Count' is hosting a party which, conveniently, is being held tonight. The party is invite-only and based on what he learned only royalty had been handed these invitations, in advance no less. So actually getting these invites held very low chances of success. That would be true if he hadn't heard a rumor on his way back up. Rumor had it that a few invites were circulating within the Black Market, the location of which he had no idea. But if he had learned anything from life there is always one place where anyone and everyone could get the information they needed, that was the Market, or in this case the Bazaar.

While Tobi would have gladly gone to the Bazaar to find the information himself, things like this took a delicate hand to dig up and find the information needed and by that he meant he needed money to pay for said information. Which is what led him to being outside of Link's room. He proceeded to knock on the door a few times only to not get a response.

"Rise and shine Link! You know what they say, 'the early fairy gets the best stuff.'" Still no response. "Well I don't plan on floating out here all morning so I hope you're decent." Tobi then went through the keyhole now entering the room. "Rise and shine-"

To his surprise, on the bed was a sprawled out, snoring, genie who was currently drooling on the pillow she laid on, with no signs of Link. Immediately, Tobi noticed something different about the girl or rather two things that were different.

"Legs huh? Well that's new." He continued searching the room and balcony for any signs of Link but to no avail. "Where did he go…" He turned his attention to the bathroom, entering it immediately noticing the white, polished walls and matching tiled floor. It was smaller than the bedroom but still quite large. To the right of the door was a towel rack, lined with white towels and past that a large sink counter with three faucets pointed towards the center. To the left was a closed door which Tobi assumed had the toilet in. Ahead of him was a screen slide door with a tub and shower. A thought occurred to Tobi as he flew towards the tub, going over the slide door his suspicions were confirmed. In the tub was a pillow with Link sleeping on it.

"I found you!" Tobi stared down at the sleeping, hatless, boy. His gaze slowly crept upward noticing how the faucet connected to a showerhead that seemed poised at Link. "Now to wake you up."

Without hesitation Tobi turned the cold knob causing water to shoot out of the showerhead onto Link who in turn leapt straight out of the tub screaming 'COLD!'. Link, soaked and wide-eyed, sat on the tiled floor breathing frantically looking all around him for the cause of this sudden experience only to see Tobi laughing like a madman.

"You should have seen your face!"

"What the heck was that for?!"

Tobi continued to laugh, saying 'I'm sorry' in between breaths. "Hehe… Look, I'm sorry but you were sleeping in the bathtub and the opportunity was there so I took it. By the way, why were you sleeping in the bathtub?"

"I… uh…" Link looked away, a tint of red gracing his cheeks.

"Eh, whatever. I had fun with that so who cares. Dry off and meet us outside the building. I'm gonna go wake the others. I'll talk more about our plans for today once we're ready to go."

Tobi left the bathroom, leaving Link an irritated, wet, mess.


"So what are we doing exactly, Tobi?"

"Well Linky, we are on the hunt for the Black Market."

"Black Market?" Flame Princess tilted her head, index finger raised to her chin. "How's that different from a regular market?"

"Well, I'll say that it's not a shop painted black. It's more of a place that's on a 'need to know' basis. Sells all your ill-gotten goods and more."

"Hey I know a Black Market." Jake chimed. "Used to sell a lot of 'hot' items I'd gotten my hands on." Finn gave him an incredulous, judgmental, look. "I didn't know the place was no good." Jake raised his hands defensively.

"Don't worry about it." Tobi said dismissively. "I found out that the Count of Sands is holding a party tonight and invites to it are being sold there."

The group stopped and stood outside of what was essentially the entry into the marketplace. Several open stalls sold goods of all kinds while windowless buildings had people entering and exiting. The circulation of people seemed practically endless, making the streets seem more like a sea of creatures.

"So why are we here in the market then?" Link asked.

"I'm surprised you would ask that, considering a certain type of mask you have." Link looked at Tobi confused. "Putting reasons for acquiring a kinky mask aside, in a busy place like this the shop would be in plain sight, too well hidden in fact."

"That still doesn't answer why we're here."

"Let me finish!" Tobi cleared his throat before continuing. "The best places to get info that's on the 'need to know basis' is at the shops and bars here. So let's split up. Jake, you take the bars. Flame P and I will do some snooping around the closed window shops. That leaves you two with the stalls. Also, don't report back here unless you've learned something."

The three left, leaving Finn and Link to search for information, much to their chagrin. Walking deeper in the bustling market streets, Finn and Link visited stall to stall in hopes of getting a lead to the Black Market's whereabouts, unfortunately it was not the case. Most responses were long drawn out grunts and sighs while the very few responses were 'Buy something or go away. Your window-shopping is a harbinger of despair in my shop.' This behavior was similarly mimicked by the market patrons. Many dragged their feet along the sand and held their heads low, drudding, back hunched over, from place to place. Those who weren't walking were slouched along the walls of buildings surrounded by empty, and half empty bottles. Few played instruments of varying sizes, 'played' being a loose term for dunkingly strumming, and producing incoherent rhythms.

"This place is really depressing." Finn looked to his sides, noticing the abundance of sidewalk drunkards. "I wonder what's got all these people down in the dumps. You have any ideas, Link? Link?" Finn looked to his side, Link was nowhere in sight. Finn sighed, his hand stopped inches before his face as he heard a collection of string instruments playing at different intervals, with no rhyme or rhythm. As Finn closed in on the source of the noise he spotted Link, who was jumping for some odd reason. "Link, what are you doing?"

Finn looked with interest, before him were three individuals, one being a robot with a body similar to a handheld gaming device with noodle-like arms and legs protruding out of its body. His blue screen displayed three eyes and a long, disheartened, frown. The initials 'JJ' written on the side of his head. To his left, a green pterodactyl creature, minus the wings, wearing nothing but a bunch of bandages wrapped around his neck and head and wore a pair of orange shorts, dirty enough to be brown. To his right, a similar pterodactyl creature only he was a light grey. He wore some kind of futuristic backpack with orbs attached to the straps and back, filled with an unknown liquid. He wore brown pants whose legs tucked into the light-brown cuffs of his greyish-brown boots, a rope strand tied to his left boot. Each held a wooden, tan, acoustic guitar which demonstrated their inability to play the instrument. Finn looked at the three, concentrating hard on their features when it came to him.

"Hey, I know you guys. You're those desert hobos that nabbed our tarts a few years ago. Did you guys eat those or…" His words began to drift as he noticed that the three paid him no mind. "Uh, guys?" Finn crouched down, waving a hand in front of the grey one only for him not to respond.

"Grimby…" The green one said in a low, monotone, voice. "You think the Count would like this?"

"Hush now, Taddle." The grey on responded in an equally dull voice. "Relish in despair, as the Count says. So long as you do that, he'll enjoy it either way."

"The Count? You mean the Count of Sands?"

Before Finn could question the three hobos further, Link pushed him out of the way, much to Finn's protest. Link's eyes shine with excitement, direct contrast to the dulled eyes of the men and robot.

"Are those Gerudo Guitars?!" Link bounced up and down, unable to contain his excitement. "C-Can I hold one?"

The three stopped playing, looking at each other they nodded. The robot handed Link the guitar. As he put the guitar strap over himself he noted it being heavier than he initially thought. Nonetheless, Link accepts the guitar, sitting down, he holds the neck with his left hand and places a corner of the body between the cross of his legs. Link strums a few notes as he tunes the strings to get the exact pitches he wanted. He readied himself to play when he gasped, as if having a revelation.

"If it's not too much to ask, could you help me out with something?"

The three shrugged, prompting Link to put down the guitar, and eagerly walk over to the three. He first approaches JJ and inspects his body. "Mind if I do something?" Link then proceeds to knock on the robot's body. To Link's delight, JJ's body was solid enough to not produce a lingering echo, yet made an audible noise.

"Perfect. Could you keep making this rythme for me?" Link proceeded to tap his palms against JJ, which he mimicked. "That's perfect. I'll cue you when to start." Link grabbed the guitar he was lent and proceeded to walk over to Grimby. "Two seconds after I make the first note I need you to come in like this." Link made a quick strum of low notes. "Then, once I cue you, play this tempo." Link started strumming an even pace tempo, having his left hand moving from the middle of the neck, to three-quarters up, and having it descend back down to the default position before repeating the process. "Think you can do it?" Grimby mumbled something to himself as he strummed the melody identical to Link's. "That's great." He then turned toward Taddle. "I'm gonna need you to open with me playing this." Link strummed a quick, higher-pitched, tone then the one before, and followed a second later with a finishing strum. "Then, once I cue your friend, play this melody as he plays his." Link played a slower, high-pitched, melody in comparison to the other as this one did not require fast strumming, but a calmer pace consisting of playing two to three notes. Taddle mimicked the notes to Link's satisfaction. "Great!" He said excitedly as he took his place at the forefront of the group. "This is going to be amazing."

"Link, why are you doing this?" Finn watched, confused and slightly interested.

"Well… huh…" A tint of pink came across Link's cheeks as he rubbed the back of his head. "I got a little too excited when I saw these three playing the Gerudo Guitar, and I couldn't help myself. Just…" Link readjusted himself as he put the guitar strap on. "Just sit back, and enjoy."

Link began his intro, at the same time cuing Taddle to play his, and a second after cuing Grimby to play his. Once done, he cued JJ to begin his part, and waited five seconds before cuing Grimby and Taddle to begin playing once more. Link sat back as he watched the three sync into their parts before joining in. Link's eyes began to narrow, and soon close, as he focused on playing note after note, unaware of the crowd that drew near the melodic tunes. Finn watched as Link and his impromptu band played. The stylings of the song emintating that of a vibrant oasis, bringing forth a new atmosphere to the streets that were welcomed by customers and vendors alike. Finn couldn't help but nod his head in tandem with the rhythm, as he was about to close his eyes to fully immerse himself before noticing purple smoke from the unaware Link. From it manifested Hala, who placed a finger over her lips to silently shush Finn so as not to break Link's concentration from his potential outburst. Finn slowly nodded, understanding none of the genie's intentions as she slowly removed her finger, making way for a sly smile to reveal itself.

She presented herself before the crowd, using her upper body to take a small bow, her lower half being made of the smoke that exuded from the lamp, which its whereabouts were a mystery. She raises her arms up, starting to twirl in place, the smoke rises, swirling around her as she quickens her pace until she's consumed by the vortex it became. An arm extends out from it, in tandem with her spin, sweeping away the smoke in an elegant motion; its remnants vanishing into lavender sparkles revealing Hala.

Her reappearance drew out 'ooo's', and 'aah's', from the crowd not only from its grandeur but during it she managed to change outfits. Her crimson bra being traded for a pink, silk, top that tied to her back and neck, and held in place by golden tassels knotted above her bust and a few inches below, the latter having the tassels loose enough to have the strands cover her bellybutton. In comparison to her crimson bra, this covered her body more, but not by much, with how the garment was tied it defined her chest more than her bra had. Her tiara now had a pink gem in the center. She wore pink, translucent, harem pants, which did little to hide her shapely legs. Gold bands curved around both sides of her hips, and tops of her thighs, completed by the remainder of her garment which resembled that of white spandex underwear which hugged her curves rather fondly, her pants left these uncovered. To finallize her outfit she wore genie shoes to match her top and pants.

She coyly put her fingers over her mouth as she slightly leaned forward, slowly shaking her hips as she did this. "Well now, I would have never guessed you'd all be so pleased with my outfit." She giggled. "But please do enjoy my master's music and my dance". With a snap of her fingers she summoned a long, pink, silk cloth which she implemented in her dance; moving it, and twirling it around herself with the most intact, and graceful of moves. She moved her body in tandem to the rhythm, closing her eyes, losing herself to the desert beat. Each step, each hip shake, each arm movement coming to her like second nature as more and more drew to watch and listen. As Link strummed the final notes, Hala tossed the silk cloth into the air with a twirl, spreading her arms out wide as she looked up at it, watching the garment disappear into pink sparkles as Link's song faded into its end. Hala turned her back to the crowd, she winked before walking away, towards Link, as the crowd cheered the performance.

Taking off the guitar strap, Link laid the guitar down, opening his eyes, being mere inches away from Hala. She smiled playfully at him. "Why, hello, Master Link." Link shouted, being caught off guard, he fell back, earning a giggle from Hala. "Did I scare you? I couldn't resist the chance. You seemed so enthralled. So tell me," She stood up, turning to her side, putting a hand on her hip, striking a pose, she looked at Link over her shoulder. "what do you think of my outfit?"

Link looked up, seeing Hala stand over him. The daylight highlighting the curvature of Hala's silhouette left Link feeling flustered. "I-I… uhh…" Link could feel his face heat up as he searched for words all the while unable to take his eyes off of the genie. She giggled, she brought her arms under her chest, hugging herself as she turned in place.

"I'll take that red glow of yours as a sign that you like it."

"Woo! Wee!" Grimby hooted at the top of his lungs, gaining the attention of Link and Hala. "I haven't felt this great in years!" His voice was filled with enthusiasm and vigour.

"Grimby! Grimby!" Taddle said with equal enthusiasm. "Some of them people threw their gold bits at us!"

"Well what are you waiting for?" Grimby pushed Taddle toward the direction of some of the gold coins. "Pick it up! That's dinner money!"

"Strange," Hala put her index finger on her chin as she slightly tilted her head. "I don't remember people throwing money." She looked at Link who shrugged his shoulders, proceeding to walk towards Grimby.

"Um, sir?" Grimby turned towards Link who extended out the wooden guitar. "I want to say thank you for letting me play your Gerudo Guitar, sir."

"What's that now?" He looked down, noticing the guitar that was being extended to him. "Oh right! Well we should be thanking you, uhh…"

"Link."

"Right. We should be thanking you, Link. We gots enough gold here to last us a few weeks."

"It was nothing, really. I just really wanted to play the Gerudo Guitar. But if you don't mind me asking, could you tell me more about this 'Count' you were talking about, before we started playing?"

"The Count?!" Taddle and JJ's heads snap up, their eyes shrink as if they were deer in headlights. Grimby looks frantically in all directions before bringing Link into a quick huddle. "You best stay away from that man if you want what's best for yah!" He spoke in a quick, hushed, whisper. "That man is a harbinger of bad omens! Why you think all these people in this town are all depressed and stuff? That's his influence at work! If yah see him, get outta dodge! Yah can't miss him, he looks real regal like and always followed by his peoples! But ya didn't hear it from me!" Grimby broke away from the huddle, running over to Taddle and JJ. "Grab whatcha can and let's get outta here!"

As fast as he had spoken to Link, he, Taddle, and JJ had vanished into the distant crowd leaving a trail of dust in their wake and the bewildered faces of the other three.

"That certainly was something. What did he tell you, Master Link?" Hala asked, trying to make sense of what transpired. Link, also trying to make sense of what happened, opened his mouth only to let out a long, confused, 'uhh' before being called out by someone. A person garbed in a black cloak approached them, their facial features masked by the cloak's hood.

"Where'd you learn to play that song?"

Link looked at the person, raising a brow to their question. "You mean you've heard that song?"

"Answer my question, boy!" The stranger raised their voice, it being more stern than before.

Hala furrowed her brow, now glaring daggers at the stranger while letting out a low growl, audible to Link. Link tapped her on the shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile before turning his attention to the stranger.

"I was taught it by the Gerudo. At first they were hesitant but after beating their Training Grounds they were willing to teach me the song."

"I see. It is rare for my sisters to trust a man but if you have proven yourself to them then I see no need to harbor any animosity." She pulled off her hood, revealing her dark complexion and red hair.

"You're a Gerudo. Can I ask how you got to this place?"

She nodded her head. "I was patrolling the Haunted Wastelands with a group before a sandstorm picked up and separated me from them. I don't know how long I was wondering, but by the time the storm died down I ended up in this mysterious place. I saw it fit to conceal my identity in this strange land. We are not in Hyrule anymore, are we?"

"No, we're not."

"How curious…" She placed a hand on her chin and closed her eyes, now thinking to herself.

"How long have you been here?"

"Seven days and seven nights."

Link, double takes, letting out incoherent blabbers. "A whole week? I haven't been here that long!"

"I'll admit, the creatures of this land are quite fierce, but it's nothing that I can't handle. I mainly have that witch's shop to thank for that."

"A witch?" Hala asked. "What was she like? Anything different about her from the other people of the desert?"

"No. She seemed to be normal as far as witches go. Though she does remind me of Koume and Kotake for some reason." The latter she mumbled quietly to herself.

Hala leaned close to Link's ear. "She might be talking about the Black Market. All the other shops we've seen are run by the desert natives. Not just that, but a shop owned by a witch isn't something that I would say is normal around these parts." Link nodded, grunting in agreement.

"Could you take us to her shop?" She nodded and signaled them to follow her. "Finn, you're gonna have to find the others."


"Are you sure this is the place? It looks a little too…" Before the three stood a wide red sandstone building surrounded by buildings of similar natures. This building, however, was separated by two large palm trees and was distinguished by its wooden door and rusted latch handle. "Normal…"

"Yes. This is the place. Do not be deceived by its outward appearance. When opening the door, be sure to turn the handle upward instead of downward. The owner cast a spell on this place so she couldn't be traced by any town officials. I'll be going now."

"Thank you for your help, ma'am." Link did a quick bow and thanked her once again.

"You're a kind boy. Are you sure you're one of us?" Link gave an annoyed protest, earning a laugh from the Gerudo. "I'm just kidding. Do take care of yourself, and your friends as well." She waved goodbye before walking away leaving Hala and Link in front of the building.

"Now we just have to wait for Finn to bring the others here."

"Mind me asking what your relationship to that woman is, Master Link?"

"What do you mean by that?" Link raised an eyebrow as he stared at his genie companion.

"Well…" Hala snapped her fingers making glasses, with the lenses popped out, to appear on her. She began circling Link, inspecting him as she did. "Judging by the conversations you two had it's safe to assume that you didn't know one another. And based on the way you two used the word 'Gerudo' it clearly means it's a tribe of some kind that she belongs to, and with her saying 'sisters' this means it's an all girl tribe. And with how shocked she was with you, men associated with the tribe are probably non-existent, but it's clear that you have some kind of affiliation with them. So I guess I should rephrase my question…" She clears her throat, and leans in close to Link, staring him directly in his eyes. "How come you're involved with an all girl tribe, Master Link?"

Link, growing nervous of Hala immersing herself into his personal space, answered with a series of 'um's' and 'ah's'. His eyes were unable to escape her violet gaze. The more he looked the more he felt his cheeks heating up.

"I-It's a long story."

"We have time. I don't think Finn is going to find them before we-"

"I found them guys!"

"-Never mind." Hala felt a sweat drop as she saw Finn come into view with Tobi and Flame Princess in tow.

"Wait, where's Jake?"

"We couldn't find him." Tobi said as Finn collapsed before Link and Hala as a sweaty, panting, mess. "Finn kept running around the market looking for him. I told him he can keep looking for him once he's taken us to you two."

"Mawf Ivmvm ust mypf meef mereph." Finn said, face deep in sand.

"Yeah you do that with a face full of sand. So, is this the place?"

"Yeah. Is Finn gonna be alright wandering on his own?" Link asked.

Finn raised a quick thumbs up before digging into his bag and pulling out a bottle with a bouncing fireball inside. "Fruame Fwifwphs gab meph vise fware for vwen vi fwind fim."

Flame Princess giggled. "I put a flare inside of the bottle you gave me. When he opens it, it'll shoot up and explode, so we'll know where he is."

"Well alright then. Just try not to stay in the sand too long, Finn, otherwise you'll be shaking sand out of places you thought wouldn't be possible."

"Mowhky. Vwhaks Vwink."

Link faced the door, noticing how it looked ready to fall off its hinges. Link gripped the handle, feeling the jagged edges of the handle. He turned his wrist in a clockwise direction, hearing a click once it was in a full upward direction. The door opened, fluently, revealing a blue, wooden, countertop, similar to a bar counter. As the four entered, the door closed without making a sound, they took in the shop's interior, noting the gray painted walls, and blue wooden flooring and supporting structures. As well as the two lit lanterns being mounted on each wall, and the, non blue, wooden chandelier decorated with red wax candles which hung from the center of the ceiling. They noticed how items of all sorts of oddities littered shelfs, jars, pots, table tops; anything with a surface had something on it. As they approached the counter they noticed various papers scattered across it, covering most of the counter's contents. Behind the counter were three shelves, each being mounted above the other, with its contents being more organized than anything else in the shop.

"Is anyone here?" Link called out. He looked at the counter, noticing how a light was reflecting off something underneath one of the papers. He removed it, revealing a silver bell to which he tapped, making its chime fill the interior.

"Oh, customers!" Everyone turned their attention to the left wall, double taking to be sure that the wall wasn't talking. "Crowbit! I thought I told you to stand at the counter for when customers arrive!" The voice coming from the wall was muffled, but sounded like a mixture between a woman and a demon.

"But you said I couldn't be trusted to deal with the customers." The second voice sounded more of a whiny teenage male, nothing like the voice previous.

"This is exactly why, you donk! You can't do anything!" A zap and a shout was heard, followed by a loud thud. Everyone glanced at each other with worry and confusion, more confusion than anything, before loud footsteps could be heard from the other side of the wall. A piece of the wall lifted, revealing an entry into a hallway and out came a green lady with a nasty scowl sprawled across her face. Her brown hair was tied into a large bun which nearly mirrored the size of her head. She wore a brown cape which mostly hid the teal dress she wore, and boots of the same color to match her cape. She rubbed the temples of her forehead as she made her way behind the counter. "I'd turn that useless familiar into a potion ingredient if I didn't know he'd ruin it by being in it." She let out a heavy sigh before looking at the patrons that entered her shop. "Well, well, well. If I'd to guess, I'd say that she-warrior finally talked. Whatever," She said, shrugging her shoulders. "more business is good business. Welcome to Maja's Shop of Exchange, where only the finest of sentimental items may be used to purchase anything in this shop."

"What kind of business you running here, Gruntilda?"

"Tobi!" Link said chastisingly.

"Watch your mouth fairy." She warned. "I'll have you petrified and used as my new paperweight."

"Whatever you say Grunty. So you gonna tell us, the customer, what's the deal with this here Black Market?"

"Is that what they call my shop…" She mumbled to herself before clearing her throat and spoke louder. "As I said before, this is my Shop of Exchange. The only currency we accept here is the value of sentimentality an item has to it."

"What in Farore does that mean? You mean to tell me if I have sentimentality to a piece of chewed gum I could sell that?"

Maja slammed her fist onto the counter. "I do not tolerate stupid questions in my shop!"

Offended, Tobi scoffed. "What's that mean, you afro styling, Banjo-Kazooie looking reject?"

"Come again?!" Maja said in a low growl, a magic arua now taking shape around her fist as she glared daggers at the fairy who was taken away by Flame Princess.

"I'm so sorry about him." Link said, taking a slight bow before continuing. "We came here hoping you might have some invitations to a party that the Count of Sands's hosting tonight."

"Party invites, huh? I might have what you want but they don't come cheap. Let's see what you have."'

Link turned to Hala who scratched her cheek using one finger, avoiding eye contact. "Being a prisoner of a lamp doesn't let you gather things of sentimental meaning, Master Link."

"And I didn't bring anything." Flame Princess said, looking at various items on a shelf.

"And don't bother looking at me." Tobi said. "I ain't given that witch a single thing because of how she treated me." Link and Maja raised a brow. "Oh, wait. Did I say witch? I meant with a 'B'."

"That's enough out of you." Flame Princess swiftly bottled Tobi much to his shock, and horror.

"Betrayal!" Tobi shouted incoherent words as he continually slammed himself into the confines of his glass prison.

"Now that the idiot has been silenced, what do you have to offer, boy?"

Link stared down at the floor, his expression turned to one of deep sorrow as his gaze seemed more transfixed on a distant memory.

"Master Link…?" Hala stared at him intuitively, unable to understand what was troubling Link.

"I don't have all day, kid. Are you gonna offer something or am I gonna have to shove out some window shoppers? Which I don't have a problem with doing."

"How about I shove my fairy foot up your- AAAAH!" Before he could finish his sentence, Tobi was interrupted by the violent shaking of the bottle by Flame Princess.

"Bad fairies get shook!"

"Well even if I don't get anything out of this I at least get to see the fairy be tortured. Alright kid, last chance, you got something or not?"

Link slammed his hand onto the counter, causing all objects near it to jolt up. The sudden action made Maja raise an eyebrow and startled Hala, making an 'eep' escape her lips. Maja looked down at Link's hand, it was clear that there was something underneath his hand but to what it was she wasn't too sure. Link bit his lip, his head tilted downward and his expression hidden by the shadows cast by his bangs.

I want you to have this ocarina… Please take good care of it.

"Saria…" He said in a near inaudible voice. "I'm… I'm sorry…" He took a deep breath before slowly removing his hand, unveiling a wooden ocarina. "What… can I get… for this?" Maja stared at the item, mouth agape, drool slowly dripping out of her mouth. The longer she stared the wider her eyes got.

"Huba, huba, whaaat…?"

"Please… I don't want to repeat it, a dear friend gave this to me as a parting gift so… please…"

Maja slowly nodded, wiping away the drool that escaped the side of her lips.

"A-Anything in this store is yours." She slowly began to reach for the instrument. "I'll just take this and-"

"Keep your moldy hands off that ocarina!" Maja flinched, momentarily backing off the instrument before realizing the origin of the voice. The low growl of his name caused the fairy to immediately justify his outburst. "Wait Flame P, just hear me out on this! Just bring me to the counter." Flame Princess, skeptically, raised an eyebrow but heeded his words. She approached the counter and placed the bottle next to the ocarina. "Now let me tell you something, green-as-snot-witch. I've seen a lot of desperate fairies in my day, and even more desperate facial expressions. So let me tell you when I say that item is worth so much more than what you say it does."

Maja let out a low growl, grimincing as she stared at the fairy.

"The hell are you talking about?! It's my shop so I say how much is what!"

"Oh yeah? And I say if you didn't have customers right now you would have been making one hell of a lewd face!"

A tint of pink began enveloping Maja's face. "Just what are you saying, fairy?"

"What I'm saying is, give us a fair trade for Link's ocarina or show us just how drenched your-"

Hala snapped her fingers, causing a bubble to surround the jar containing Tobi, putting him on mute.

"I don't agree with Tobi's… vulgarity... but I do agree with the statements he's making. That expression you made earlier matches nearly all my former male masters upon seeing me for the first time. So if my master's ocarina is worth more…" She lowered her gaze to a glare, aimed directly at the witch. "Then tell us. Otherwise what Tobi says is drenched will be soiled."

Maja quitely swallowed. All eyes were on her. She inhaled deeply then let out a sigh.

"Alright, fine. Each of you can have any one item in the shop. Except the fairy, he'll be taking the invitations you came here for."

"That's more like it." Hala snapped her fingers, making the bubble around Tobi disappear. "We'll leave it to Tobi to see that these invitations are the real deal."

"Huh? Yeah leave it to me. Hey Flame P can we let me out of this bottle?"

"Promise you'll behave?"

"I'm always well behaved." Flame Princess sighed as she uncorked the bottle, allowing Tobi to fly out. "Thank you."

"Here's your bottle back, Link." Link thanked her as he received the bottle and put it away.

"Alright Grunty, let's see those invites." Maja reached under the counter and threw out three gold envelopes sealed by a red wax insignia of an hourglass. "So these are they, huh? I thought they'd be more flashy for royal invitations."

"Well they aren't. The person who sold me these explained to me how they work. These invitations allow for any one royalty plus one guest into the Count of Sands's party."

"Why royalty specifically? Isn't having the invitation good enough?" Link asked.

"Of course not. You really think royalty would want plebeians like you at their party? Just because you have an invite doesn't mean you won't be viewed as a street rat. You could probably get away with being the plus one if you made yourself look distinguished, but unless you have some way of proving you're a royal then forget about getting in."

"Is this your way of flipping us off? If it is then should I show you how I flip people off?"

Maja slammed her fist on the countertop, causing various containers to shake and rattle.

"I'm not the one who made the guest list you dumb fairy!"

"Who you calling dumb, Hagitha?!" Tobi barked back.

Link sighed, taking his attention away from the two hurling insults at each other, he looked around the shop, not finding anything that would catch his eye. His attention turned to the shelfs behind the counter. Each item preserved under a glass dome and each one being unique compared to anything else. Link surmised that these were one of a kind items or items with unique properties compared to the others. He examined each item taking note of each encased wand, talisman, tome, and accessory, each of which seemed too gaudy for his taste. He let out a sigh as his gaze slowly ascended up the shelf. Looking at the top his gaze became fixated on a mask. The mask was one similar to a masquerade mask. The mask itself consisted of two solid colors that split it in half, the left side being white while the right side was black. The left end of the mask was made to curve over the ear and dipped downward while the right end did the inverse and curved upward from beneath the ear. The nose piece extended far enough to resemble the top of a bird beak while the top curved upward to form a point.

"What kind of mask is that?" Link pointed to the masked.

Maja let out a smug scoff as she levitated the mask onto the counter.

"You've got quite the eye for items, kid. Most people go for whatever's flashy, forgetting that some of the strongest items are at times the simplest. This is the Half-and-Half Mask."

"Half-and-Half Mask?"

"Doesn't look like sweetener to me." Tobi said, eyeballing the mask.

Maja let out a low growl before continuing. "I haven't been able to test it out myself but according to the scroll I found it with, it can create something whole from two halfs." She removed the case, in doing so a light fog came out from its unsealing. She levitated the mask to her hands. "I'm not entirely sure what that means but I'm sure it has something to do with this." Taking both ends of the mask in each hand she lightly tugged, splitting the mask perfectly in two.

"Oh, so now you're gonna break it, huh?!"

"It's not broken, you idiot fairy! It's designed to be split in two. I don't understand why it's made this way but it is. I don't know what it does but I can sense it has powerful magic. If you want this to be the item you take then go ahead, I'm sure you can figure out what it does. So boy, wanna take it?"

"Create something whole from two halfs…" Link muttered this to himself as he inspected the mask. The mask wasn't like anything else he encountered during his travels in Termina, it didn't give off an ominous vibe like his transformation masks did, but the aura it gave off felt eerily calming. "Sure I'll take it."

"Wonderful." Maja levitated the mask into Link's hands. Upon grasping it, Link turned around, raising his arms up above him the mask levitated above his palms and rotated. "You having fun kid?"

Realising what he was doing, Link rubbed the back of his neck, holding the mask in his other hand feeling embarrassed.

Watching from afar, Hala giggled at the events unfolding.

"He certainly is a strange one." Hala looked and inspected the many trinkets and items displayed out on the shelfs, tables, and display cases, she sighed. "None of these trinkets seem all that interesting. I can make most of these appear with a snap of my fingers." She paused, blinking several times before realizing something and sighed. "I need to stop thinking out loud like this. Oh, what's this?"

Within a glass counter laid various amulets and necklaces on black pillowing, one in particular stood out to her. A thin silver necklace, so thin it would have been invisible if not for the contrasting flooring. Attached to it a gold crystal perfectly shaped like a six-sided rectangular prism, both ends smoothing out to a pyramid point.

"Find something you like?" Hala shreeked, leaping back, she put her hands in front of her as if to block out Maja. "My aren't we jumpy," Maja briefly broke eye contact to look over Hala, she leaned a hand onto the glass counter. "and bouncy."

Hala huffed and pouted, bringing her arms over her chest in a protective manner. Maja lightly chuckled.

"For someone dressed like that you sure are self-conscious."

"And for someone who's a witch you sure do sound like one that starts with a 'B'."

Maja scowled, letting out a groan.

"Looks like someone's impressioned by that annoying yellow sprite." She mumbled quietly.

"I heard that!"

Maja mumbled something about a stupid fairy before magicing open the counter. She levitated up the necklace and held it by her index finger.

"Had your eye on this, huh? Don't we have a knack for sniffing out unique items."

Hala approached the counter, eyeing the necklace curiously. Had it not been for the case flooring outlining the necklace shape earlier it would have looked like a gold crystal was being suspended in mid air. The crystal itself seemed odd, it gave off a mystical glow, as if something was flowing within the crystal that gave it its unnatural gold color.

"So what's up with this necklace?"

"This is the fabled Life Jewel. Long ago, there was once a kingdom that was teeming with life energy. This energy manifested itself into the water and formed into a golden glowing liquid, known as Life Water. The water teemed with enough life energy to heal any wound, it was rumored that it could revive the dead. But like all kingdoms eventually do, it crumbled, erasing all evidence of its existence, and so too did the Life Water, or so it seemed. As far as I know, this is the last trace of Life Water in existence, crystalized for who knows how long."

"If it really is just crystalized Life Water then how would you even extract it?"

"You're a magic user, just concentrate enough magic into it to make it change form. Any other questions?"

"Yeah, how is the silver necklace a part of it?"

"It isn't. I just thought it'd make it look nice. So, have you decided?"

"Hmm…" Hala placed a hand on her chin, giving the necklace one more look over before nodding. "I'll take it." Wiggling her finger, Hala grasped the necklace with her magic and fitted it around her, the crystal resting slightly at the peak of her bosom.

"That's two customers, now for the third." Maja turned her attention to Flame Princess, who in turn was refraining from getting too close to anything less it catch fire. Her hands clasped together at the front of her dress as though they were keeping one another in check. "If setting something on fire is what's making you so hesitant to touch anything I can assure you I would have been out of business ages ago." She nods, her posture still remaining the same. Maja sighs. "Does being made of fire really bother you that much?"

"Are you trying to help or do you really want us out of your shop that bad?"

Maja rolled her eyes, grumbling something incoherent about the fairy. "I think I might have something you'd be interested in." Maja poofed, reappearing at the glass counter, and waved towards the princess to come to her. "I'm not entirely sure if this will work, but it's worth a try." A green aura enveloped her hand along with a ring within the counter. The ring disappeared only to reappear in Maja's palm. A polished silver, nearly mirror reflective, band with a deep blue gemstone on top, Flame Princess eyed it curiously. "This is a Suppression Ring. It's designed to nerf the wearer's most natural abilities, physical, magical, or mental. The effects vary from each user."

"Why do you think this would work for me?" She asked the witch.

"Well, you are made of fire, I would think it could do something to dampen those flames."

"Or, extinguish them." Tobi deadpanned.

Maja glared at the fairy, she noticed the now anxious look on the princess's face. "I can promise it won't kill you. It was primarily designed to help those learn how to control their magic. Plus, you might not find anything else here that would suit your needs."

"It wouldn't hurt to try, right?" She looked up at Tobi who bobbed up and down, she assumed he was shrugging his shoulders. "I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"That's the spirit." She dropped the ring into the princess's hands, to FP's surprise it didn't begin to melt on contact. Maja cleared her throat. "Now that you've all made your purchases and have no further questions-"

"Actually, I have several-"

"AS I SAID, and you have no further questions, leave my shop. I have some… things that need to be taken care of."

Link shrugged his shoulders, bowing to the witch before leading the others to the exit. Tobi was the last to exit the shop before turning around to look at the witch one more time.

"I hope you get splinters, you freaky b-!"

The shop door slammed shut, Maja had leaned over the counter, arm outstretched towards the door, hand enveloped in her magic aura having forced the door closed. She let out a breath, now leaning both hands on the counter to support her. "Thank Glob, that fairy is gone." She took out her newly acquired ocarina, staring at it for a solid three seconds before her eyes grew wide, panting heavily enough that her breath was visible, drool pouring out like a waterfall. A blush, clear as day, spread across her face. "Oooh~! SWEET MAMA!" She inhaled, long and deep, exhaling with a blissful sigh. "Such RAW sentimentality! Oh Glob~!" Her legs wobbled, her body fell forward, papers flew into the air as the counter now acted as a float to keep her on her feet. "C-Crowbit!"

"Yeah Maja?"

"I-I need you to close up shop for me! I have some… things to take care of…"

"If you say so."

"Thank you!" She said very hastily. She rushed to the opposite wall of the other voice, opened a new doorway and rushed into it.

"A little respect would be nice…" A brief bit of silence passed before Maja's words quickly dawned on the familiar. "Wait, did she just say, THANK YOU?!"


"I hope you get splinters, you freaky b-!" The door slammed shut on the fairy, leaving gawking in appal. "The nerve! Open up this door so I can give you a piece of my mind!"

"Tobi!" Link shouted, somewhat startling the fairy. "Don't you think there are more important things that we should be focusing on?"

Tobi sighed and flew his way over to Link, noting the stern look the green hero was giving him. "Right, sorry. I guess that ocarina meant a lot to you if that witch was willing to let you pay for all of us, and I'm being insensitive about it by acting up. I'm sorry Link."

Link's features softened as he let out a sigh, gaze now casted downward. "There wasn't really much of a choice. We needed those invites so I did what needed to be done, it's fine Tobi."

Hala couldn't help but tilt her head, staring at Link inquisitivly, as if trying to solve a puzzle. "Master Link, maybe you'd like to-"

A high-pitched whistle pierced the sky, all heads looked around trying to pinpoint the source. In the distance a firework-like explosion went off, its detonation giving birth to a dazzling burst of embers that faded just as soon as it appeared.

"Would that happen to be the flare that you gave Finn, Flame P?" Tobi asked. She nodded in response. "Welp, no time to waste, let's get to them." With that the group headed off in the direction the flare was shot.


Link and Flame Princess ran through the sandy streets, with Tobi leading the way and Hala having returned to the lamp, towards the initial area where Finn had released the botted firework. They found Finn standing near a sandstone building that had thin rectangles cut into it to act as windows, as well as an entryway with a set of small, wooden, swing doors that left room to peer above and below it in order to take a look into the establishment. He seemed lost in thought, almost like he was talking to himself, he didn't notice the three approaching him until Link called out to him. Finn blinked, letting out a wordless grunt before realizing his companions had found him.

"Great you guys are here. Did you get the invitations?"

"Yup." Tobi answered. "We'll go over the details later. So, where's Jake?"

"He's inside." Finn pointed his thumb back, referring to the building. "I think it's like a tavern or something."

"Whattda mean 'or something'? It's either a tavern or it isn't."

"There's like a bunch of tables scattered around and a stage in the back with a runway that leads to all the tables. And it smells REALLY strong in there."

"Well it sounds like something." Tobi noticed a sign mounted next to the entryway. "And what do we have here: 'Tavern Oasis: Where the Drinks are Stiff and the Hips are Bliss. No Kids Allowed.' Well it's definitely something now."

"I found Jake at the bar counter but when I tried to grab him they just threw me out."

"It's written on the sign, Finny boy, 'no kids allowed'. I assume that might be because of the amount of booze that they have or the advertised hips are bare."

"So then how do we get in?"

"Simple, we just need to distract them long enough for us to slip inside and grab Jake."

"So what could we do to keep them distracted?" Link asked.

"I believe I have a solution to that, Master Link." Hala manifested from the lamp, her lower body being enveloped by clouds of smoke, trailing itself to Link, she was currently sporting her usual crimson bra. "I believe this place showcases dancers for their patterions. I could act as a hired performer and give you guys enough time to grab Jake."

"I'm for it." Tobi quickly piped in. "This sounds like a great plan, a fantastic plan, I am all for this plan!" Hala took note of the fairy's excitement and glanced over at Flame Princess. She held the princess's hands, making eye contact with her.

"Do you mind helping me with this princess? Two dancers are better than one, that'll also mean more eyes on us to keep them distracted."

"Now hold on," Tobi interjected. "I don't think Flame P would be best for-"

Hala turned her attention to Tobi. "Oh, are you saying it wouldn't be best to get more attention onto us? But you were all for it a few moments ago."

"Yeah well-"

"Did you have ulterior motives in mind? It's not like you had intentions of watching me on stage when you should be getting Jake, right?" A sly smile graced her lips as she peered directly at Tobi, having caught him in checkmate.

"I- what I mean- I… forget it." Hala crossed her arms over her chest nodded in triumph.

"But Hala, I don't really know how to dance."

"Is that all?" She smiled cheerfully at the princess. "That's not a problem. Just follow my lead, and have confidence and you'll do fine, and if anyone tries to touch you, burn them."

"Um, o-kay?"

"Perfect." Hala's fingers intertwined with Flame Princess as she gave her a closed eyes smile, reflecting a contagious joy that spread towards the princess causing her to smile as well. "Now let's get you changed." Hala released her grip in one hand as she dragged the princess around the corner of the building.

"Wait, changed?!"

As both the girls rounded the corner, the smoke trail connected Hala to Link snapped off, disappearing around the corner. Hala quickly poked her head out of the corner, "No peeking boys." and just as quickly disappeared.

The next few minutes were filled with various protests from Flame Princess consisting of 'Don't touch there' and 'Eep!' and a 'You're quite developed for your age' from Hala. Both boys were left with blushes on their faces looking around to find anything to distract themselves with.

"So about those invites…" Finn trailed.

"Oh right yeah." Tobi started. "They're meant for royalty and a plus one. So we're gonna have to disguise ourselves to, um, get in…"

Link nodded in agreement, his gaze taking more interest in the floor at the moment.

"Ok all finished." Hala and Flame Princess emerged from the corner, both now wearing black cloaks to hide their figures. Hala appeared just as cheerful as she had prior to getting changed while Flame Princess appeared to be much more embarrassed as indicated by the deep shade of red that adorned her face. "So here's the plan, I'm going to go talk to the barkeep about us performing. Once everything is ready I'll hit the music and after a minute you guys come in and grab Jake, simple right?"

"But couldn't you just walk in and grab Jake?" Link asked.

"I'd rather not have to deal with a bunch of drunkards, granted, I'm still dealing with them but this will be more indirect."

"Hey princess," Finn prompted. "how come your cloak isn't catching on fire?"

"Magic, Finn." Hala responded. "That's how. Now, wish us luck." Hala hooked her arm with Flame Princess's dragging the girl into the tavern, much to her chagrin.

Both slipped inside, the only thing noting their presence was the creek of the swing-doors. Hala thought it would have been a much smaller establishment given Finn's description but as it would appear Finn had undersold. The tavern was dimly lit by torches that littered the walls, the lack of visibility being highlighted by the dark stone floor. The entryway being the least illuminated save for the booth that stood directly across it. To their left was nothing notable other than a lone wooden door which they assumed led to the kitchen or at the very least where the majority of the drinks were being stored. To their right were the aforementioned tables Finn described, however, the layout made it appear more like a small pit as there was a slight elevation dip, noted by the stone stairs that led into that area. To the far right was the stage and runway with a circular end, being vast enough to take up the entirety of the right wall, which was undoubtedly the most presetein thing in the tavern. Spotlights hung above the stage, the lights highlighting the polish of the wooden structure, red curtains adored the sides. The runway stretched out into the epicenter of the sea of tables, the height of it and the stage being slightly taller than that of the white clothed tables. The bar Finn mentioned was in direct view of the entrance, located north of the entry, in the pit of tables.

"This place is pretty big…"

"Don't worry princess, I won't let anything happen to you. Just remember, follow my lead and confidence, and if all else fails, burn them."

They approached the booth which was run by a spiked star creature who was slumped over and looked disinterested in everything at the moment, not even noticing the two girls that entered. Hala cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the booth keeper whose gaze was the only thing to move as he looked upward at the two.

"Who are you?" His voice was a direct contrast to his body language, sounding nasally and naturally loud.

"Dancers sir." Hala said with a small bow. "The dancers you hired to perform today."

The star man lifted himself off the counter, looking at the two in more detail, his right star appendage rubbing where a chin would be.

"Dancers huh? I don't remember hiring any dancers."

"That's because it was on short notice. We're currently hired to attend the Count of Sands's party tonight but we were contacted about this job opening and how they'd pay in advance."

He hummed to himself still eyeing the two while rubbing where his chin would be.

"Well you're here now so I suppose there's no use turning it down, plus if ya say you've already been paid and I don't remember paying ya that means this'll be free. Go through the door on the left and follow the hallway you'll be in the backstage area. Do whatever it is to get yourselves ready."

"Thank you sir." Hala bowed, both turned towards the door before hearing a slam on the booth countertop.

"Hey wait a sec! You there, fire girl. Ain't ya a bit young to be a dancer?" He eyed Flame Princess curiously who in turn looked at him appalled.

"What, you think I'm some kind of child just because I'm not as developed as my friend?" She placed her hands on the counter now leaning into it, being at eye level with the star man who was starting to back off.

"N-No, I just-"

"Just what? You think just because I'm 'itty-bitty' in comparison to other dancers that I'm just some kid playing pretend?!" She grabbed him with a clenched fist, smoke immediately rising, as she peered into his eyes, noticing the sweat that began to run down his face and the notable ting of fear present in his eyes. "Well guess what pal? I'm a dancer! I'm the best dancer you'll have ever seen! So why don't you take a seat down there and watch some professionals at work!"

She shoved him away and he hit the wall of the booth, clutching the spot she grabbed him, profusely apologizing. With a 'humph' Flame Princess turned her head upward and spun on her heel, now joining Hala who admired the spectacle.

"Nicely done, Flame Princess."

Flame Princess rubbed the back of her head, looking towards the ground as a tint of red appeared on her cheeks.

"I guess I might have picked up a thing or two from Tobi."


The red curtains were drawn, Hala peaked her head out from the side, a few of the patrons had noticed the closing of the stage but the others hadn't paid it any mind. Hala nodded, she looked back at Flame Princess, her breathing was heavy, a hand clutched over where her heart would be.

"Are you alright, Flame Princess?" Hala examined the hand over the princess's heart, noticing the ring that accessorized it. "Are you sure you can handle having that ring the whole time? Just say the word and I'll snap it off you."

"No, I'm alright." She gave her a strained smile, "I wouldn't want to set the whole stage on fire, plus I'll have to get used to wearing this thing. This'll be a good trial run."

Hala grunted and nodded, shooting her a thumbs up. Hala looked back out to the stage, looking up at the lights she wiggled her finger, her blue aura enveloped the tip and the same aura surrounded the lights now dimming them, attracting the attention of the remaining patrons.

Hala gave a toothy smile, her excitement on full display as she walked over to center stage. She turned towards Flame Princess who was offstage, her breathing returned to semi-normal but her hand was still clutching her chest. "Wait for my signal and that's when you'll make your entrance." Flame Princess nodded and Hala turned forward facing the crowd that was beyond the crimson veil. "Welp, It's SHOWTIME!"

Hala shot her arms forward, aura enveloping her hands and it reflected onto the curtains. Her aura, acting as an extension of her hands as she swiped her arms apart, in turn pushing away the curtains to reveal the stage to the crowd. Her right arm raised above her and with a snap a lone spotlight shined on her. Moving her left arm forward she snapped her fingers, music poured into the room and her cloak began to dissipate starting from the left arm. Her armband revealing itself as her cloak continues to dissipate, reaching up to her shoulder revealing a gold bracelet that adored her bicep. Her hood was next to disappear, her deep blue ponytail flowed out, now in a thick, single, loose, braid, maintaining a smilar volume as her regular ponytail hairstyle. A gold band tied near the end to shape her hair similar to that of a scorpion tail. Her tiara remained untouched. The only alteration made was her crescent lock being swept back and that her face was being obscured by a silk crimson veil which fell just below her eyes. The cloak continued to dissipate further down her body, a crimson choker with intricate golden vines danced across it. It continued down past her chest, two, thin, gold laced straps traveled from the choker down to her bust which was the outline for her open bra, gold vines underneath and around her bust provided the support necessary for the garment to stay attached to her as it provided a clear, uninterrupted, center view of her chest. The bra was made from crimson scales, the light reflected off it making the color look as though it flowed like hot lava. The remainder of the cloak vanished, revealing the high-rise, thin, gold belt that curved around the tops of her hips. Crimson, silk, cloth flowed from the front and back of the belt, ending a few inches above the ground. Two gold bands wrapped around her left thigh, three gold bands also adored her ankles, shoes not being necessary to complete the outfit.

The crowd fell in complete awe at the reveal of the scantily clad genie. She smirked, reveling in the attention, her plan was off to a great start. She raised her hands behind her head, looking off to the side, her eyes closed, she began to rock her hips from side to side, somehow the crowd grew louder. Her gyrations stopped as she posed, standing on her right leg, left leg raised stretched out to the side, her arms outstretched, almost swan-like. Her eyes open once more, gaze aimed down at the runway, the smirk never leaving her face. Using her left leg, she stepped forward, the shift in weight caused her body to bounce, exciting the crowd even further. Her smirk becoming toothy, she'd have them eating out of her hands. She slowly made her way down the runway, taking the utmost care to continue to work up the crowd. Two steps, twirl, a push of her chest. Another two steps, twirl, the bounce of her breasts. Two more steps, twirl, a shake of the hips. Two steps more, twirl, a jut of her rear. Each movement was done to accentuate her body's curvature, and everytime the crowd cheered, louder and louder. All the while her magic aura enveloped her hands. Patrons who were close enough to the runway were occasionally caressed by her hands, her magic aura leaving a lingering trail, soothing those it graced, leaving them goofy faced, lovestruck even. She was nearing the end of the runway, with a snap, her aura transformed into flames, her steps never once faltering. Each movement of her arms left trails of flames in their wake, remaining in the air as if to spell something. She reached the circular end of the runway, raising a hand up toward the ceiling, all lights now focused on her. She stood on her left leg, her right leg bent back, as she twirled, her right arm stretched out high and her left stretched low. Her hair and skirt twirled around with her, fiery trails marking the air around her, slowly engulfing her the more she spun in place. Her spinning slowed, the cyclone of fire that enveloped her channeled its way up to her right index finger. As it slowed to a near halt she quickly squated, and just as quickly raised back up, this time she stood on her right leg, her left stretched out behind her. Her left arm mimicked her left leg, stretching out high. Standing on her mets, she began to slowly dip forward, left leg rising as she dipped, right arm stretched forward, the fire fully condensed to her fingertip and fell, like a drop of water.

As it made contact with the wooden floor, an eruption of fire spouted from the contact point. An audible 'aah' came over the crowd, as the flames weakened a silhouette was visible from within the column. Hala twirled to the silhouette side, bumping her hip into the column, the fire dispersed, revealing the silhouette as Flame Princess.

Her arms were raised high above her, crossed at the wrists allowing her palms to touch. Her right leg crossed in front of her left, her feet arched. Her hair fell from its usual gravity defying torch state and divided into two long twin tails that reached past her hips. The gemstone still present on her forehead and her bangs still present. Her outfit was identical to Hala's the only difference being the color, her's consisting of silver instead of gold and a sapphire-blue instead of crimson. Though she did lack the veil that Hala wore, her face adored crimson, she fought back the urge to wipe her nervous smile by biting her lip. She felt Hala's hips bumping into her's, sticking there. Hala struck a pose, her arm closest to Flame Princess stretched forward while the other made a motion as if to sweep her hair back, her hand resting over the base of her neck and elbow raised high.

It seemed almost impossible for the crowd to be any more excited than what Hala had already worked them into, yet with the introduction of a second girl the crowd nearly blew the roof off with their cheers alone.

"This is so embarrassing…" Flame Princess said through her nervous smile.

"But they fit you so perfectly."

"That's also an issue…"


"So why were you sleeping in the bathtub this morning?"

"You were sleeping in the bathtub? Why?"

"Uhh…" Link averted his eyes from the two. At the moment they just had to kill some time while Hala and Flame Princess put the plan into action. Rather than wait it out patiently and quietly, like Link suggested, Tobi thought it'd be best to talk about the morning's events. Which is what brought them to their current topic, Link sleeping in a bathtub.

"Look, there ain't no beating around the bush with this. I've seen what happens when a Fairy Nymph has one too many Magic Elixirs. At first it's like 'WOW!' but then they end up in the bathroom by morning and they're like 'KILL ME!'. And you weren't like either of those and you still ended up in the bathroom. So what gives?"

"I don't follow your logic Tobi." A tinge of pink dusts Link cheeks.

"Look Link, my theory on where fairies come from also covers that little tidbit of the Fairy Nymphs." The shade of pink deepened and Finn looked at Tobi curiously. "But why the bathroom?"

"I just thought that, I'd be best if we… didn't share a bed…" Link's voice trailed off, his sheepish look cast down toward the sand. His ears twitched, he could hear music and, was that a choir? "Did you guys hear that?"

"If you're talking about the 'in awe-ment' of a bunch of sexually stimulated men, then yes. Can't say I blame them."

"Tobi!" Link chastised.

"What? Hala's hot, and she knows it. That's why she's distracting them. I'm sure she could have done it alone." He mumbled the last part to himself.

"So should we go in?" Finn asked.

"Not yet, give them a bit, I think that's just a warm up." True to what Tobi said, the crowd was actually growing stronger and stronger, while they were close to the entrance it amazed the three of them that they were this loud. "Alright, maybe now would be a good time to enter."

The boys nodded. Crawling under the swing-doors, they entered the tavern, eyes adjusting to the contrast of light. Finn pointed towards the pit, they crouch-walked towards and down the steps. Now in the pit, Finn pointed in the direction of the bar and they made their way towards it. They froze when the crowd went in awe, they looked around to see if they were discovered, they weren't. Their eyes wandered towards the stage, now glued to it as they watched Hala dissipate the pillar of fire to unveil Flame Princess.

Finn's mouth opened like a fish, his eyes grew wide, locked onto the princess. He'd only see her in her usual dress, he never expected he'd ever see her wearing something so, so..., daring. Finn had always noticed how Flame Princess was always… bigger, for a lack of his vocabulary, than other princesses, it was something he found very attractive. In his eyes she was the very definition of beauty, but seeing her now, it felt like something overcame him. Her hair altered from torch to playful tails. Her chest was bigger than what her dress had shown, her waist slimmer than what he expected, her hips ever so tantalizing. Her legs, toned with thick thighs, the blue of the cloth accentuating the orange of her skin. One leg crossed over the other, arms raised high, mimicking the crossing of her legs, an alluring pose. She looked like a statue made by an old master, something reminiscent of the princess that heroes fell in love with from tales of old. There was no 'Flame Princess' on stage, Finn was staring in awe of the 'Flame Goddess'.

"Finn!" Tobi screamed in a hushed shout, as he was bopping himself into Finn to gain his attention. "Quit staring at the princess and get a move on." He still hadn't budge, it was like talking to a statue. "Dammit we lost Finn, Link… Link?"

Link was equally paralyzed as Finn, his attention being captured by Hala. Her pink outfit from earlier outlined the shapeliness of her hips, legs, and bust. Her current outfit did very little to filter anything, even through the veil, Link could see her smiling. Now he had a new image to think of when referring to the golden goddesses.

"No! Not you too Link!" Tobi groaned, he flew over to Link's ear and muttered something about him being treated unfairly before whistling loudly in Link's ear. This snapped Link back to his senses, gritting his teeth, hard, to prevent himself from shouting. He rubbed his ear and glared at Tobi, he assumed he was being glared back at.

"If I'm not allowed to look at the eye candy 'cause she brought jail bait on stage then neither are you!"

Link rolled his eyes, attention refocused on his task, he shook Finn's shoulder, attempting to get him to refocus, to no avail. Link grabbed him by the back of his collar, dragging him towards the bar. It wasn't long before they broke through the sea of people and reached the bar. The stools were unoccupied as the patrons elected to stand and cheer for the girls, save for one stool at the far end of the counter, towards the stage, sat a yellow blob. Link approached the blob, the crowd cheered louder as the girls began a synchronized step twirl, balancing themselves on one leg while using the other to step, rotating themselves in place while each step allowed for a shake of their hips. Their arms moved elegantly with them, as if inviting all to join them.

Link reached the blob, letting go of Finn, he shook it using both hands to shake it while calling out to Jake in hushed tones. It turned to face him, or rather, a face appeared on the part that was slumped on the counter, eyes looking as if the mind was in a distant realm.

"Wazz that? O! Link! Hey- *HIC* how-how's a going buddy? *HIC*"

He was drunk. It didn't take a scientist to know given his slurring of voice or that far away gaze in his eyes. Link could smell the alcohol emanating off the dog, it wasn't a good sign.

"We're leaving Jake."

"Leavin'? Bu- *HIC* But we ju- *HIC* we jus- *HIC* we just got here. They even gave me drinks for free. Ah'm on my eleventeenth." He quickly chugged down a wooden pint Link hadn't noticed and let out a loud burp as he slammed it on the counter. "Make that my twelftyteen."

"We really need to get you out of here, Jake."

"Hey," Jake sat up, turned his body to face Link, his body swaying in small circles to keep himself sitting up. "You think ah'm any good for Lady?"

"Lady who?"

He put a finger over Link's mouth to shush him.

"No, no, no. Now hear me out." His finger shushing turned to him drunkenly wiping his hand on his face. "Ah like to do this thing with the ice cream an'- *HIC* her and- *HIC* Ah don't know if she likes it all that much…" Link's cheeks had a bit of pink dust added to them as he stared at the dog confused. "Jake this sounds kinda private-" Jake added his second hand to wiping Link's face. "Nonononono, is ok, is ok. Lately she's been asking me to give her horn the ol'- *HIC* the ol'- *HIC* ol'- *HIC* *SHLLLUUURP*

"Please stop!"

"An' ah'm all like, 'wha' if ah'm too good an' you want- *HIC* you- *HIC* want- *HIC* MOOOAR!" His last word came out more as a burp than an actual word.

"Jake I really don't-"

"An' she goes- *HIC* she goes- *HIC*" He giggles to himself before a goofy smile plasters his face. "개그하지 않는 게 낫다!" He starts laughing uncontrollably, slamming his fist several times on the counter.

"Ok! That's enough!" Link pulled Jake away from the counter, who in turn grabbed another drink, and firmly hooked him under his arm. While Link's sudden outburst went unnoticed by the other patrons, Hala noticed, almost instantaneously in fact. Her gaze wandered over to the three over at the bar and noticed Finn's starstruck gaze directed at the stage. She giggled, gaining Flame Princess's attention for a brief moment she nodded over to the boys and Flame Princess froze instantly. An arm to cover her chest and a hand shooting down to cover between her thighs, her body lurching forward to obscure her body's form. The blush that adored her face turned scarlet, and now spread through her body, reaching as far as the back of her thighs. Her teeth clenched hard, her eyes glaring down at her feet, eyes essentially turned to green swirls of despair as a mantra repeated in her head.

"HE'S STARING AT ME! HE'S STARING AT ME! HE'S STARING AT ME! HE'S! STARING! AT! MEEEEEEEEE!"

Absolute terror and embarrassment filled her being, Hala was fighting back her laughter as she watched the boy look like a deer in headlights as he frantically looked for anything to, well look at.

"Show's over boys!"

With a clap, Hala's aura pulsed in a perfect circle from her hands and in an instant she, Flame Princess, Finn, Link, Jake, and Tobi vanished in an instant.


"I'm never doing ANYTHING like that ever AGAIN!" Flame Princess clutched the cloak that hid her body even tighter as she sat on her knees, the look of despair and embarrassment still etched on her face as well as the blush that scrawled all over her body.

"Aww, don't be like that, you looked so lovely. I think someone else could agree~." Hala sat equally with her, patting her shoulder playfully.

Hala's magic had teleport them to the opposite side of the tavern entrance. Hala had summoned back the black cloaks they wore earlier to cover up themselves and sat themselves slightly away from the boys who were dealing with Jake.

"Come on Jake, snap out of it." Finn slapped Jake's cheeks rapidly, alternating between his left and right hand. It only resulted in drool dripping out of his mouth and no change in that faraway look in his eyes. "I don't get it, the only time I've ever seen Jake like this was when he ate himself into that ice cream coma." Finn sniffed him a little before holding his nose and pulling back. "And he didn't smell this bad before"

"That'd be because he drunk himself silly." Tobi replied with a shrug. "Sylphs do it all the time when they party too hard. But that's just my two Rupees on the matter, so let's get a second opinion."

Link stared at the fairy confusingly. "Second opinion? Who are we going to-"

"Oh Hala~." The genie turned her attention to the boys crowding the dog. "As someone who I'm sure has had their fair share of drunkard lamp-holders, could you come check out Jake for a second?"

She visibly shuddered, hugging herself by the arms, turning away and looking out at the other buildings in the Bazaar. "No! I think I'll keep my distance."

"Well I did not see this coming."

"Is everything alright, Hala?" Worry laced in Link's voice. Hala bit her lip, her brow furrowed, she turned back to face them.

"Apologies, Master Link, I'm just a little on edge." She pointed a finger at Jake. "Jake's emanating dark magic, and I'd like to stay as far away from dark magic if possible."

"Dark magic?!" Tobi and Link said in unison. Tobi did a doubletake, looking at Jake before turning to Hala. "You sure you don't mean he just developed a drinking problem?"

Hala nodded her head, her other hand covered her nose.

"It's laced in the alcohol. Genies don't do well in the presence of dark magic, it tends to make us weaker. I could sense it all over the tavern but it's especially strong with Jake. The alcohol doesn't help with the stench it's giving off, it's nauseating."

"Well that might explain why he looks like he lost his soul. Any ideas to dispel him?" Tobi looked around, no one was offering anything. "What about you Li- what are you doing?!" Link looked up at the fairy, arrow in hand, metal tip pointed at Jake. "I said 'dispel' him, not 'decease' him."

"We are not stabbing Jake!" Finn said, glaring at Link who held his hands up defensively.

"I'm not going to stab him. Just give me a second." Link pointed the arrow back at Jake, he took a breath, light protruded out of his hands and into the arrow. The tip now glowed a bright white, a yellow aura surrounding it. Link touched the arrowhead to Jake's head, the light pulsed out of the arrowhead, a brief circle of light eliminated from it before breaking off into four strands and entered Jake. Life refilled his eyes, and Jake gasped, eyes widening larger the more he inhaled. He shook his head, vibrating his lips going 'bpbppbpbppbp' as he did so. He looked up, seeing Finn, Link, and Tobi look down at him, also noticing how the color of the sky was in the early stages of becoming dimmer.

"Oh, hey guys. What are you doing here, geez what time is it?"

"Jake, don't you remember anything?" Finn asked.

"Umm," He scratched his head, now looking down, thinking to himself. "I remember us splitting up, and I went to check out all the taverns to see what I could find. Oh! I remember one of those spiky star guys offering me a drink. But everything gets a little fuzzy from there…" He looked around and noticed the wooden pint next to him. "Oh hey, my drink."

Jake's hand wrapped around the pint only for Finn to kick it, unintentionally, towards Hala and Flame Princess, the former shrieked and leaped behind the latter.

"What did I just tell you!" A 'sorry' was shouted from the boys but it went unnoticed as Hala stared at the liquid that was being absorbed by the sand, she dry heaved. "I think I'm gonna be sick…"

"Come on Hala, let's get you away from that." Helping her stand, Flame Princess helped Hala around the corner of the building. Link looked on with concern, he looked at the other three, then back to the two girls who just rounded the corner.

"I'm gonna be right back guys."

Finn nodded. "I'll fill in Jake on what's going on. And could you tell Hala that I'm sorry again, I kinda just reacted."

Link grunted with affirmation as he stood up and walked in the direction of the girls. As he rounded the corner he saw Hala with one hand on the wall and another over the stomach, her head down almost touching the wall and fighting the urge to vomit. Flame Princess was rubbing her back.

"Are you ok, Hala?"

They turned their gaze to face him, Hala features softening as she gave him a weak smile.

"Oh, Master Link, I'm sorry you have to see me like this. Like I said, me and dark magic don't mold well."

"Is this how you always get near dark magic?" Link was added to Flame Princess's support by rubbing Hala's back.

"No, no. I'll admit I'm overreacting a bit, it's been a while since I've been in direct contact with dark magic. Like I said before, it weakens me and it makes it incredibly difficult to summon my magic. It's one of the few things that can actually hurt genies." They nodded, still rubbing circles on her tanned back, she took a deep breath and sighed with relief. "Thanks for that, I feel better."

"Finn says he's sorry, he didn't mean to-"

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

Their attention snapped up to the window slits and peered inside. All the lights in the tavern were turned on and everyone's attention was on a guy wearing a brown turban with matching wraps to obscure his face, as well as a matching cloak. His clothing hid most of his body, save for his white beard that leaked out from beneath the wraps and reached down to where his collar bone would be. He stood over the spiked star man who was currently shielding himself from the man, prone on his back.

"P-Please I-"

"SILENCE!" His voice sounded lower than the star man's but wasn't deep, and had a slight nasal sound to it. "You know the LAW!" He kicked him in his side causing him to grunt as he flipped over to his stomach, the kick revealing the man's green foot. "There is no merriment, there will be no joy, there can be no happiness, there is only despair! And for breaking the Count's law I shall punish you myself!"

"N-No… please…"

"Hold. Him. Down." His words came out cold, immediately, two small, cloaked creatures rushed out from behind him and held down the star man. "My sources tell me there has been trouble brewing about in the Bazzar, people playing wonderful music, beautiful dancers running about, and now I hear you were hosting dancers, and don't deny it! I could hear these people cheering for them."

The star man grimaced, pressing his forehead to the ground, not even bothering to try and resist those holding him. "Please spare me…" He was on the verge of tears.

"Watch well everyone, I should punish all of you here but this bar owner shall suffice to bring you all despair. As punishment, for bringing these people merriment," He lifted his arm up, revealing his green arm and a pair of rusted pliers in his hand. "I shall remove all of your spikes."

The star man began to thrash about, trying to break the hold the two had on him to now avail.

"NO PLEASE!"

Link and co. stepped down from the window and moved away from the building as they could hear the star man scream from the inside.

"We should head back to our rooms."

"Uh-huh."

"Agreed."


Everyone reconvened in Link's room, the invites sprawled on the bed with Tobi floating above them, Link and Hala sat next to each other while Finn, Jake, and Flame Princess stood at each end of the bed.

"So," Link quickly glanced at the balcony, noting how it was currently sunset. "how are we going to do this?"

"Going incognito as royalty isn't the easiest thing to do. I mean, it'll be easy for Flame P 'cause, you know; actual princess. But I don't know how fairy boy, average Joe Shmo, and his dog are gonna get in."

An idea came to Flame Princess as she pounded down a fist into her palm. "Hey Jake, remember when you first came to the Fire Kingdom and you introduced yourself as a Barron of the Grasslands?"

"You did what, Jake?" Finn eyeballed Jake who instantly raised his hands in defense.

"Well, you know, not just anyone can meet the king. Hey now, princess, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

She nodded her head enthusiastically. "You guys can get into the party as Grassland royalty! The Grassland Prince and his Barron!"

"P-Prince?! Jake! You can't just go around calling me a prince!" A blush crawled across Finn's face.

"And why not?" Hala giggled. "If you ask me it sounds quite romantic, a prince and a princess attending a party together. It also sounds like the perfect opportunity for some attendants to keep an eye on them." She eyed Tobi who caught on.

"Oh, I see what you're putting down. It'd be pretty bad if something indecent happened to the princess because her attendant wasn't there." Finn and Link watched worryingly as Tobi bounced around. "I guess this isn't going to be as boring as I thought. So, what about you two? I really don't see how Link's going to get in."

"Oh don't you worry, I'll be sure to have everything taken care of. You all just take care of things on your end, ok? We've only got a few hours left to get ready, so get going everyone."


The sandstone path they walked was highlighted by various lanterns set in the sand. Various types of royalty from all types of kingdoms were all converging onto one point. Past the gates, lush greenery covered the sand and all which were surrounded by a source of water. Further ahead was a bridge which led into the grandiose palace. A stretch of polished sandstone spread across, almost acting like a barrier. Interact designs etched into the wall with small hourglasses the size of pillars divided each design from the other. The wall spread, ending when met with tall towers and the wall would repeat back, parallel, until met with two more towers and stretched until that spread met, now acting parallel to the original wall. It created a perfect square which increased the main part of the palace. The architecture was similar to that of the outer wall but with larger window etchings carved into it with hourglass pillars supporting the in between of the walls all topped with an onion-esc dome. The lighting around it made it shine as if the entire building were made of gold.

Flame Princess, Finn, Jake, and Tobi stood outside of the initial gates where the two guards from before stood. Tobi let out a drawn out whistle as he stared at the palace from afar. "Now that's what I call a castle. I mean, woo-wee, I betcha get lost in a place that big!"

Their attires hadn't changed too much, Finn and Jake now sported black bow ties and Flame Princess slipped back into her standard princess dress. "I think it's as big as Bubblegum's candy castle." "Probably as big as the Fire Palace too."

"Sorry we're late." They turned opposite of the gate entrance, greeting Link and Hala.

Hala, no longer wearing her dancer outfit, sported a midnight velvet dress which only exposed her upper body's collarbone and shoulders; strapless and sleeveless, her necklace was on full display. The lower half of the dress had large slits going down the left and right leg, reaching as far as the top of her hip, completely exposing her legs which were adorned with matching high heels. Her hair was released from its usual ponytail and flowed out, covering her back, tiara discarded. What was most notable were how her features were changed from the norm as well. Light touches of makeup adored her cheeks and touches of dark blue eyeshadow graced her lids as well as matching lipstick, but that wasn't what garnered the attention. She now had whiskers, cat whiskers, and her pupils, instead of being round and circular, were thin and narrow, like a cat's, and cat ears, the same color as her hair, sprouted out from the top of her head. "As you can see it took us a while to get ready, right Link?"

Link's attire was almost completely foreign, had Hala not addressed his name they would have been sure this was someone completely different. Gone was his iconic green tunic and hat and instead in its place were a black suit with matching pants and shoes, a white buttoned up inner shirt and black bowtie. He also wore white gloves and with his hat gone it revealed his hair done up in a neatly tied bun, his bangs still splayed out. But what really stood out were the grey furry ears, with white tufts of fur, that jutted out of his head. Link hadn't looked at them at all, his cheeks red, and a flustered look on his face. "Y-yes…"

"Yes, what~?"

"...yes mistress…"

Tobi busted out in laughter, falling on top of Jake as he tried and failed to get words out.

"You look just like a butler, Link." Flame Princess looked at him, really impressed by how Link complimented the outfit. "Yeah, you look really good, Link." Finn was equally impressed, but Link still hadn't looked at them as he let out a long 'eh'. Hala giggled.

"Now, now, Link, you should address royalty in the same manner as you do your mistress."

Link sighed, straightening himself, he turned his attention to the two.

"Thank you for the compliment…" Hala eyed him, smiling at him slyly. "Prince Finn and Flame Princess." He bowed, an arm across his chest and the other behind his back, doing so also revealed a grey wolf tail, with white tipped fur, behind him. Finn and Flame Princess were taken a bit back at this.

Tobi was able to calm his laughter a bit, enough for him to talk at least. "So what's with the cat and wolf parts?"

"A long time ago, one of my masters made a wish to turn a group of people he knew into animal human hybrids. He had me disguise myself as one of them and established himself as royalty. A bunch of masters later I found out things went south for them so they went into hiding. If they're still around, I'm sure they won't mind me acting as their princess on their behalf."

"So that would make Link your butler."

"That's right. Like this we'll get in no problem, after all who's ever heard of a prince bringing their maid to a party? This'll raise less suspicions for us. Any other questions?"

"You got a cat tail?"

"Nyasss." She playfully said as a purple tail began to swish from behind her.

"Nice. Well, now that we're all here and ready, let's go!"

They turned and approached the gate guarded by the sand golems, Flame Princess with her arm hooked around Finn led with Tobi and Jake filling the middle and Link and Hala bringing the rear.

"Present your invite." Flame Princess took out the gold envelope, giving to the guard as the both eyed Finn. "And is this your plus one?"

"Yup, this is my boyfriend, Prince Finn of the Grasslands." She blushed a little, granted she had already been blushing as she had her arm wrapped around Finn's but now she was addressing him to others as her boyfriend, it felt really romantic, to her anyway.

"We like to keep things a little more casual in my kingdom. The princess invited me to come along with her and I thought I'd be a nice way for us to spend some time together. You know how busy royalty can be." Finn was blushing just as much as Flame Princess, he realized his reasoning summed it up to them being on a date, he had gone out with her some time ago, and received five hugs during it, but this seemed more formal, like some kind of underlying romanticism about the whole thing.

"Hmm, proceed." As they walked past the guards Tobi and Jake stepped up who were immediately stopped, their spears crossed to block the entire way. "Halt! You guys aren't royalty! State your business."

Jake 'uh'd', worried that they'd been caught but Tobi stepped in to speak for them.

"Of course we aren't royalty, we're advisers, or rather royal babysitters, to those two you just let in. I'm Tobi, Grand Royal Vizier to the Flame King. And my friend here is Sir Jake, Baron of the Grasslands."

"Only royalty may-"

"I'm just gonna cut you off right there, Sandman." He got closer to the left guard, now in his face. "You see, while those too you let in have the consent to date, me and my friend here are here to make sure that the princey over there doesn't cause a kingdom crisis."

"What do you-"

"He doesn't even know what I mean, can you believe this guy, Sir Jake? Ohohoho, alright. Let me simplify why I'm here and why he's here…" Tobi cleared his throat. "I'm here to make sure that the princess doesn't come home with an heir to the heir of the throne in her belly. And if that isn't simple enough for you then how about this, IF HE GETS HER PREGGERS IT'LL BE WAR BETWEEN FIRE AND GRASS! AND LET ME ASSURE YOU, I WILL DO MY DAMNEDEST TO CONVINCE THE KING TO GO TO WAR WITH YOUR COUNT FOR LETTING IT ALL HAPPEN AT HIS PARTY! YOU GOT IT?!"

"I-I-I… uh…" Panic gripped both guards as Tobi bobbed between them, alternating his stare between the two. "Ok! Ok! You can pass, just keep an eye on those two." The right guard folded, lowering his spear, the left guard sighed and followed suit.

"I'm glad we could reach an understanding. Come now Sir Jake, there are kids who need to be reminded that their relationship must remain rated P for 'Pure' and not rated MD for 'Mommy and Daddy'." Tobi flew forward followed by Jake who tilted his head upward in a snooty manner.

"That was some really good talking you did back there, Tobi." He said once they were out of earshot of the guards.

"As the assistant to the Great Fairies I gotta be able to talk my way into and out of situations."

The guards regained their composure as Hala sauntered up to the gates, confidence oozing with every step, Link followed close behind, arms behind his back.

"Invitation." Hala gestured to Link, raising a hand, palm up, as Link presented the gold envelope to the guards, the letter defying gravity as it rotated, centimeters above his palm. The guards stared at Link, boggled by how he was doing what he was doing then faced Hala. "Who are you people?"

"My, what a rude way to address royalty." Her voice came out with a slight accent, making her sound more refined. "If you must know who we are, I am Hala, Princess of the Faunus, and this is my butler, Link."

"Faunus?"

"Nyasss, did I stutter? Or perhaps you lot aren't educated enough to recognize a Faunus when you see one?"

The guards quickly exchanged glances with each other, their encounter with the previous person they questioned began to rear its head.

"No, no! We're sorry about that. Please proceed."

"That's more like it." She huffed, raising her head up as she walked past them, Link following close behind. "That was much easier than I thought it would be." She dropped her accent, speaking to Link in a hushed tone.

"Well Tobi wasn't exactly discreet in trying to convince the guards. I'm sure if we run into Finn and Flame Princess they'll both be red faced."

Hala giggled. "I'm sure that's true." They were on the bridge and paused, looking at the palace ahead of them. "I'd say this place is quite lovely if it weren't hiding a dark secret. Has the radar picked up anything, Master Link?"

He shook his head. "Not yet, and that's Link to you, mistress."

She scratched her cheek, lightly blushing. "Oopsie, slip of the tongue. Let's hope that something like that doesn't blow our cover." She cleared her throat. "Now then, shall we Link?" Her accent returned as resumed walking.

"Why of course, mistress."