Author's Note: So I just started band camp today. (yes, I know I'm a nerd, but aren't we all? At least a little bit? I mean, you are reading a fanfiction on a videogame, sooo..) But rambling aside, the updates should still be daily, but I'll be posting later in the day, after I get back from camp. Don't want you guys to think I'm slacking or something.
Queen Zelda exited the Council Hall in perfect poise, despite the frustration building up inside her. The noble men on her administration could be...rather difficult. However angry they made her feel, the Queen would never break her facade of confidence in front of them. So, she finished the meeting with her view made clear and her head held high. After Council Meetings such as the last one, Zelda would venture into the library for some peace and quiet, considering the old room was nearly forgotten by the castle residents.
She pushed through the heavy wooden doors of the library and made her way to the back of the long room. No one ever thought to look for her there, so she could talk to herself, yell, or cry if she wanted to, and there would be no one there to see it.
Zelda settled down in an old chair in the very back of the library. The light was horribly dim, but just enough for the Queen to make out the piles of dusty books sitting beside her. She contemplated taking one to read, like she used to in her younger days, but found her mind too stressed by the problems approached in the Council Meeting.
Zelda squeezed her eyes shut, trying to reign in the fury that poured off her in waves.
"How can they be so rude? So inconsiderate? I want to help the people, and they just want more money all to themselves!" She growled at the books. "How could they?" she yelled again, imploring the ancient novels for answers.
"I don't think they're going to answer you." A soft voice chuckled behind her. Zelda froze, her cheeks heating up and her heart stopping. Embarrassing situation or not, the young Queen would have had the same reaction. Her heart always slowed down when she heard that smooth voice. Since the visit to Kakariko, the effects he had on her had only increased their power.
"Link?" she turned around slowly, hoping the dim library light would hide her blush. He smiled softly. "What are you doing in the library?" she asked.
Link shuffled his feet. "Well, there aren't many books in Ordon, and uh, I thought I would take advantage of all these." He said, looking around the tall shelves lined with books. Zelda's heart sank with guilt when she realized that he had probably never owned a book before. Link's voice came back, snapping the Queen out of her thoughts.
"What's got you so upset, Your Highness?" He asked casually, leaning up against the bookshelf, his arms crowded with old books.
The Queen sighed, running a hand through her soft chestnut hair. "The council is just.." she paused, searching for the appropriate word.
"Horrible, rude, obnoxious?" He listed off, his eyebrows raised in curiosity.
Zelda grinned in laughter. "Exactly."
"What did they do this time?" Link asked, setting his pile of books down and sitting at Zelda's feet. Normally, Link should attend Council Meetings, but he was pulled away last second on an urgent matter. Sometimes he would skip out on them because he easily grew bored with political talk. So, many meetings were left to the Queen, who was much better with politics anyway.
"I proposed that we should take some of the money for the festivals and spend it on renovating Kakariko instead, but they would rather have that poor village suffer than lose any luxuries on their ridiculous festivals!" Zelda shouted, losing her poise and throwing her hands in the air. She shook her head in disgust.
"Don't get too upset, Zelda. They'll come around eventually."
She gave him a doubtful look, which he ignored. "You know what cheers me up when I'm in a bad mood?" Link leaned forward, as if he was sharing a valuable secret.
"What?" Zelda knit her eyebrows.
"Stealing food from the kitchen."
"Link!" Zelda chided. Her white-gloved hand flew to her mouth to hold in a laugh. "You're the King, all you have to do is ask!" Her eyes glittered like sun specks dancing on the sea.
"But that's no fun," he grinned mischievously. "I like seeing their confused faces. Come on, you'll see." He stood abruptly, grabbing her gloved hand and pulling the Queen along with him.
She followed after him hesitantly, having no other choice.
The two traveled through the bustling castle, speeding past anyone who asked for their attention. The Queen buried her giggles at the surprised faces and fading cries of servants as she was pulled away.
"Your Highness!"
"Leave a message." Link shouted over his shoulder.
"My Queen?"
"She's busy right now."
"My King?"
"Not now. Kingly business to attend to." At this, Queen Zelda's attempts failed and a very un-queenly laugh emitted from her lips. She quickly muffled it with her free hand. Link pulled her through the growing crowd, darting between servants and nobles alike. Finally, they reached the doors to the Castle Kitchen and Link told her the plan. She did miss quite a bit of it because she was distracted by the way his eyes danced and glittered with excitement, but she understood her role.
Casually, Queen Zelda strode through the doors with her head held high. She walked to the opposite side of the room and turned to face the door. Immediately, all the chefs stopped what they were doing to gape at their Queen.
"Y-your Highness?" A portly woman asked. "Is there something we could do for you?"
"I am here to inquire about the dinner plans for tonight." She answered formally, her eyes focused on the portly woman who had spoken previously. The woman began to speak, stuttering slightly, but Queen's Zelda wasn't paying much attention. Her face remained impassive, and her blue eyes seemed locked on the chubby chef, but out of her peripheral vision, the Queen watched the door to the kitchen. Ever so slowly, the door slid open. Of course, nobody noticed because all eyes were locked on the Queen.
"..and I'm thinking we shall steam the Zora fish and serve it along a warm bowl of Ordon Pumpkin soup, and..." the chef continued her explanation as a puff of buttery hair appeared through the doorway, followed by squinting blue eyes.
Satisfied by Zelda's distraction, Link fully emerged from behind the door and ducked low to the ground. The chefs all had their back to him, but he remained in a crouched position anyway.
Slowly, the Legendary Hero sneaked across the kitchen to the buffet table where dishes of all kinds were neatly arranged.
"...Does all that sound good, Queen Zelda?" the chef asked, wringing her hands nervously. The gesture was not done out of fear, but hope that the Queen would find everything to her liking. No one wanted to disappoint her, out of pure respect for the noble Zelda.
The question snapped the Queen back to attention and she nodded her head several times.
"Yes," she answered, smiling broadly, "it certainly sounds like an amazing feast."
"Thank you, My Queen." the chef bowed her head humbly, a warm blush spreading across her plump cheeks.
"And for dessert?" Zelda asked, trying to keep their attention on herself rather than the thief sneaking up to the buffet table.
"Oh, yes!" the lady chef continued, clapping her hands together. "For dessert we have planned..."
Zelda bit down on her tongue in an attempt to extinguish her laughter. Link had reached the table and was picking off the food items one by one, stealing off the trays and cradling them in his arms. Apples, fine chocolates, dried pumpkin seeds were all taken captive by the mischievous King. His eyes darted up from the table to meet Zelda's, and he gave a quick nod on contact. Zelda gave no responding signal., not wanting to tip off the kitchen attendants.
Link started on his way back, slowly inching forward.
"..including those fine chocolates that you love so much, Your Highness, and.." the chef rattled on. Zelda struggled to hold her impassive facade, completely captivated by the dead serious expression on Link's face. He resembled a man going off to war, though the armful of sweets contradicted that.
Suddenly, Link stopped mid-step and froze, his icy eyes falling upon a crimson lobster placed on a tray all of its own. He reached out and snatched it off the sterling platter, dragging the whole lobster away and stuffing it in one of his empty pouches. This time, Zelda couldn't stop the laughter as it burst past her red lips, startling the whole kitchen. The Queen battled to regain her composure while Link returned to his crouched position and scampered towards the door.
"M-my Queen?" the chef asked, a hurt look covering her face. "Is something not to your approval?" She asked. Zelda's laughing ceased at the genuine concern in the lady's voice.
"No, no," Zelda shook her head dramatically. "Of course not!" She gave the chef her most brilliant, beaming smile. "I'm just laughing at how simply delightful it all sounds!" Zelda nodded her head to emphasize the point. "Please, continue!"
An expression of relief flashed across the chef's face, and a radiant smile split her lips. "Thank you, my Queen. As I was saying, the chocolate drizzled strawberries..."
Zelda's smile grew even brighter as Link managed to slip by the kitchen staff unnoticed and vanish out the door. The Queen was stuck in the kitchen for a few more minutes, listening to the chef describe each of the food items in painful detail. Her thoughts kept being overtaken by the luxurious feast Link had stolen, which was no doubt waiting for her in the bedroom already.
"..And that's about it. What do you think, Your Majesty?"The plump chef asked, anxiously awaiting her Queen's answer.
"I think it sounds marvelous." Zelda replied, dipping her head in admiration. "I so appreciate all you wonderful chefs." All of them blushed and exclaimed their humble "Thank yous" in response to her compliment.
Zelda started for the door. "Thank you for your time," she said, pushing the door open. "Such a blessing to have you all." They all waved and bowed as the Queen exited the kitchen. Immediately, she started up the stairwell to her royal bedroom, her mouth nearly watering at the thought of the food waiting. She managed to write off all the servants' questions with simple answers as she gracefully ascended the stairs. Her feet tapped each step only briefly before flying to the next one, all the way to the top. She was out of breath by the time she finally reached her bedroom door.
Queen Zelda burst through the door and instantly keeled over in laughter. Link was sitting cross-legged on her bed, surrounded in piles of sweets, extravagant fruits, and one very large lobster. He tapped the bed beside him, a huge, ridiculous grin plastered on his face. Zelda stood up straight and wiped the joyous tears from her eyes.
"Link," she walked towards the bed, continuing to laugh, "that was genius!"
"Wasn't it?" He smirked, popping a chocolate in his mouth.
"I lost it when you stole the lobster," the Queen confessed, smiling broadly. She sat beside him and took one of the chocolates for herself.
"Oh, no," Link mocked, throwing up his hands in fake surprise, "I'm just laughing at how simply delightful it all sounds!" He said in a poor-interpretation of her voice, sending Zelda into another fit of laughter. Link laughed along with her, while savoring the taste of a freshly grown apple.
"You're quite a good actress, you know." Link told her, taking another bite of his apple.
"And you're quite the thief." Zelda replied. "And you were right." She said, stealing another item from the pile of sweets.
Link's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, an expression that Zelda had come to adore.
"Right about what?" he asked.
"I do feel better." She smiled. "And that was a lot of fun."
"See?" Link grinned devilishly. "I'm always right." Zelda heard him say, right before the crack of a lobster shell.
Ending Note: Sorry this chapter is a little short. Chapter 6 is much longer. I thought of this when my sister and I were reminiscing about our childhood days, and she brought up the story of how we stole samples from Costco. They have that rule where you have to be 18 or with a parent to get free samples, so I came up with this genius plan that my sister would distract her and I would steal the food. One of my better ideas in life.