Interlude
Zelda had only been Nabooru's prisoner for two weeks, but she could already feel her defiance draining away. The Gerudo made no demands, gave no disrespect or mistreatment. She ate three full-if bland-meals each day, and she slept in a queen-sized bed each night.
If she was not mistreated, she was not well-treated either. The run-down hotel room that served as her prison had no furnishings save the bed. The white-washed walls were so faded as to be almost gray. With no books or communications, her only cures for crippling ennui were exercise and meditation.
She was three minutes into a wall-sit when the lock on her door clicked. The knob rotated, the door wiggled back and forth, and with the thud of a fist striking wood the door burst inward.
Nabooru entered, carrying a tray laden with a teapot and a pair of cups. "I see you are still taking care of yourself," she said.
Zelda took a deep breath to combat a surge of fury at the sight of the traitor. She rose from the wall, assuming the regal posture Nabooru and her father had drilled into her since she could walk.
"Please come to your point."
Nabooru chuckled and drew a collapsible stand from beneath the tray. "Manners, Princess. You have nothing to gain by antagonizing me." She straightened the tray on the stand and began to fill a cup from a teapot. "Tea?"
"Not from you."
Nabooru arched an eyebrow. "As you wish. You realize I have nothing against you, yes?"
"In Hylian culture, kidnapping is not an act of goodwill."
Nabooru poured out a second cup and balanced it on Zelda's bed. "I confess to disappointment with how events unfolded. But surely you agree that certain ideals weigh more than personal friendship."
Like how she had used Link. Memories of the boy pushed into her mind. She had disrupted the flow of his life just as violently as Nabooru had done to her. The soft tingling of the Triforce of Wisdom on her hand proved her action had been necessary. Even now, she felt its two siblings: one a crackling storm of hatred coalescing to the south, the other a flaming arrow, flying toward her from the opposite direction.
Zelda glared at Nabooru. "What do you want?"
"Soon Ganondorf will summon you. I have advice, if you would listen."
Zelda blinked. Nabooru had no reason to want to help to her. Whatever she had to say was sure to benefit only the Gerudo.
Still, any information would be more useful than none, no matter how biased.
"I'm listening." She drank from her teacup to show an attempt at cooperation. Herbal black cherry, the kind she'd shared with her father while discussing "Royal Business". The scent of home eased her headache and unclenched her shoulders.
"You've realized you are not a bargaining tool?" Nabooru asked.
Zelda nodded. "Of course. A completed Triforce trumps a princess," she said. And f they wanted to use her as leverage, they would have had cameras in her face from the start.
"And you have also considered that, not being for bargaining, you lose certain... protections?"
The teacup froze halfway to her mouth.
Nabooru continued: "Ganondorf is the most powerful… no, powerful is the wrong word. Your father is powerful, but take away his title, his wealth, and he is just a man. I am powerful right now because I control your food and water. Once I hand you over, I become just another Gerudo.
"Lock my king in your most secure dungeon, sever his hands, bind him with a thousand chains, and he will still be the most powerful man in the mortal realm."
She stared at Zelda, but the princess kept her mind still and waited, determined to display only the reactions she chose.
"Weakness cannot be an option if you wish to salvage anything," Nabooru continued. "The war will end, and Hyrule will still need a princess. Impressions go far. If you appear as a porcelain toy, then that is how he shall treat you. Do you understand?"
Zelda took a sip of tea to buy herself a few seconds. She'd expected captivity from the beginning: a beautiful princess locked in an isolated tower, shrouded from the world until her inevitable rescue, fed cold, minimal meals of gristle and gruel. She'd prepared for all of that. She'd even rehearsed standing before Ganondorf.
Still, she had not followed events to their logical conclusion until now.
"If he's as strong as you say-" as strong as the legends say "-then I am little more than a toy, to him." The dryness of her throat gave her voice a touch of rawness, and she cursed her weakness.
Nabooru set her cup back on the tray, a scowl darkened her face. "I refuse to believe you are this stupid. Look past your fear and think again. The task is yours. Solve the puzzle, or fail. I've strained my loyalties far enough today." She collected Zelda's cup and turned toward the door.
At the rebuke, Zelda seized back her strength, filling her mind with cold reason. Her fear had diminished her for a moment. Now she was on guard against it.
"Thank you for you counsel," she said.
Nabooru paused to look over her shoulder. "You have until your chosen hero arrives, princess. Then we shall see what your training is worth."
A/N: So I'm not dead. We shouldn't have a break this long again. Sorry. The next chapter is already written, just need to fix... well pretty much everything.
