Hello again, guys! I'll just go ahead and warn you that this author's note is gonna be LONG.
Here is the eighth chapter and it is late, as usual, but I have an explanation. I mentioned another Assassin themed story and right after I posted the previous chapter I started working on it, revamping an old story to fit into an Assassin's Creed like world. Turns out that after four or five days of working on the first chapter, the result was disastrous and I really felt bad about it. So I took a break, thinking I had gotten a writer's block and I decided that it wouldn't be wise to touch this chapter to review it.
Some days later I had an idea and I started writing it, and everything flowed pretty well. Then it hit me: I just can't write things when I'm not inspired. Sure, the next Assassin story is pratically written in my head, but I don't have any inspiration to actually write it down. I decided I won't work on it until I'm comfortable, that's some bad news, but I also started working on two collection of stories, I'll be writing a longer version for a few chapters of The 2nd Law and later tonight I'll start planning a new story similar to The 2nd Law.
These are my plans:
- Two Twilight Princess one-shot collections, one different from the other;
- A longer version of Follow Me, from The 2nd Law (this one is flowing pretty well);
- Longer versions of Animals (I already have some ideas) and Supremacy, both from The 2nd Law
- A new story based off another album, much like The 2nd Law, though every chapter is linked to the other; in another words, it's a real multi chapter fic.
That is pretty much it! On a side note, we need more TP Zelink stories, because I'm tired of imagining TP Link and Zelda in AU stories D:
- Guest Reviews
- Wow: This is amazing. There are a few spelling errors her and there, but nothing major. Overall, this is really good so far, and I can't wait for chapter 8.
Thank you! And please don't be afraid to point out those errors!
- Gothicwings94:Omg, they are just too cute!
They are, aren't they? /squals my otp ;w;
- Zelink005:Oh well, Link without a beard is perfectly fine too...He is always sexy anyway xD The end had me in a giggling fit, it was so cute ! You almost had me, I thought Link killed Rutella...! Continue like that ! :)
Link is perfect ugh how can someone be so handsome and perfect omfg well, I'm glad to know I made you believe he killed her, though I'm still sad that I ha to wipe her off :( but thank you!
- End of Reviews
I really really really hope you guys enjoy this chapter; I added a pinch of the good old Brazilian-soap-opera spice!
Have fun and tell me what you think!
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Chapter Eight
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Zelda fanned herself with the fan Nabooru lent her earlier that evening, the unusual hot temperature of the ballroom contrasted with the usually chilly weather of the Twilight Kingdom. If Zelda knew the princess would light up every fireplace in the room, she wouldn't have put so many layers of warm clothing. She tugged slightly on the long sleeves of her deep emerald green dress and smiled at her companion once she had returned with a flute of red wine.
"Oh, Zelda dear, you must be feeling awful under all this clothing." Nabooru commented as she retrieved her fan from the hidden dress pocket and started fanning the princess, "Princess Midna should've warned everyone about this. Not everyone here is used to an overwhelming heat."
The Gerudo winked at that last statement, making the Hylian laugh a little as she wiped her slightly damp brow. "The amount of people here does not make the situation better in the slightest."
Nabooru nodded her head and hummed in agreement, then sipped her drink as her other hand still fanned the younger lady. "Well, it's a special occasion. She's getting married, after all." She wrinkled her nose then and briefly fanned herself before returning her hand in Zelda's direction, "I still don't know what she sees in Zant, though. That man doesn't seem to have his head in the right place, I don't know."
Thanking the servant for bringing her a glass of cool water, Zelda sipped it despite the urge to gulp it down at once and giggled at the Gerudo's comment. "Well, he is kind of cute if you look at him under a certain light and in a certain angle."
Clicking her tongue, Nabooru directed her yellow eyes to the other people in the room as she spoke, "Speaking of marriage and 'cute' boys," Zelda rolled her eyes and smiled slightly, she knew they would get to this topic sooner or later, "Has someone caught your eyes lately?"
Zelda looked down at the glass and lightly trailed the rim with her fingertip, debating if whether or not she should tell Nabooru about Link. She knew the Gerudo would be happy and pleased, but on the other hand that man murdered Nabooru's husband as well as Zelda's father. The princess didn't know what the Gerudo Queen thought about him, and she would not ask her now because it would give away too much information, so the Hylian carefully chose the right words before replying. "Well, there is this one guy..."
The queen turned around, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she regarded the princess, "Yes?"
"But he's," Zelda gave out a breathy laugh, feeling her cheeks heat up a little more, "To put it simply, he's out of my league."
Nabooru frowned, squinting her eyes slightly at the cool wind that caressed her skin when she fanned her face, "Out of your league? Girl, if anything, you are the one out of their leagues."
Deciding to follow the Gerudo's movements, the princess fanned herself in hopes that her skin would cool down and return to its original color. "He is kind of an outlaw, so we are both out of our leagues."
They laughed in unison, "Oh, forbidden love," Nabooru chuckled and lightly shook her head, "doing things in secret is more exciting, you know." Zelda felt more heat concentrate on her cheeks, but thankfully the Gerudo didn't seem to notice, for her gaze was turned away from her and firmly locked on the other side of the ballroom. "Oh, if it's not Midna's new best friend."
Zelda hummed while she sipped her water, the sound coming out inquisitively as she searched among the crowd for said person. "There were rumors that Midna was going to break off with Zant so she could marry this guy," Nabooru shrugged and gave her empty flute to a servant who was passing by, "Now there are rumors that she's cheating on her fiancé." Clicking her tongue again, she turned to look at the Hylian who was still trying to find the man. "Over there, dear," she cocked her head to the right, "the one wearing the dark blue outfit."
Nodding, Zelda directed her gaze to the right and indeed she found Princess Midna talking to her new best friend clad in blue, who also happened to be Link. The Hylian stared at them with her lips parted in astonishment, her words left her and her mind tripped on itself as she tried to desperately make sense out of the situation. Just... Just how Link and Midna met if the kingdoms were days of travel apart?
Yellow eyes focused on her face and the queen placed a hand on her shoulder. "He's quite handsome if you ask me. You should talk to him, if he's available that is." When she chuckled , Zelda snapped back into reality and looked at her face a second before Link looked directly at her from across the room. Not knowing she was being watched, she smiled slightly at the comment and linked arms with Nabooru as the queen proclaimed, "Come, let's go freshen up and try to get rid of some of this clothing. You'll faint if this room gets any hotter."
At long last, when both ladies returned from the restroom, Zelda was relieved to have taken off some layers of her clothing. Nabooru suggested that she kept her long coat over her dress, for it would keep her body at the right temperature inside the warm room. But although she was feeling a lot better than before, her skin was still too pink to her taste, and so the princess left the Gerudo to mingle with the other nobles as she moved to the yard just outside the ballroom.
Placing her hands on the balustrade, the Hylian dipped her head forward and heaved out a long sigh before she straightened her back in hopes that it would ease the tension in her muscles. Suddenly, the fan Nabooru lent her earlier was thrust before her face and Zelda pulled her head back to look at it quizzically.
"You dropped this," her heart clenched in her chest, head turning to look at Link who was casually leaning on the railing. "Hey."
Zelda pressed her lips together, forced air into her lungs and gulped down the knot on her throat. Oh Goddesses, she loved him; she loved him so dearly, but now after what she just heard, she didn't know who to trust. His handsome smile that had just caused her heart to hurt and quicken its pace slowly vanished and he took a step forward, only to make Zelda take a step back. "What's wrong?" He frowned and brought a hand to her face, tenderly caressing it.
She looked away, biting her lips. "You sent me a letter not one month ago," sucking in a shaky breath, the princess raised an equally shaky hand and gently pried the fan from his fingers, "you told me you would remain in Zora's Domain for the next four months, and yet," their eyes met, hers embed with sadness while he slowly understood what she was implying, "and yet, here you are."
"Zelda," his hands grabbed her shoulders, "I can guarantee you that this was planned."
"Were you planning for me to find it out like this?" Her chuckle was dry and void of humor, eyes crinkling and shining brightly from the unshed tears that she wanted to let escape. Look at what happens when you open up and give your heart to a criminal. "Assassin," she called; Link's eyes widened then narrowed, his lips pulled down into a scowl, "Zelda is dead." The princess took a step back and slowly put on the mask of a self centered monarch she never aspired to be, "It is Your Highness to you."
Link fought the urge to grab her and demand for explanations, but rather decided to bury his fists into his pockets so that he would refrain from doing so. "Do you care to explain, Your Highness?" The growl was evident in his voice, the loving title My Princess that she had grown to love missing from his sentence.
Yes, that was how it should be.
"Do you care to tell me how you met Princess Midna, how you two got so close to one another?" Licking her lips wearily, she continued, "Assassin, I cannot keep doing this anymore. You were raised to fight, to eliminate corruptors, and you have certainly wooed other girls before." Zelda raised her hand before he could protest, "I am not, however, implying that you are playing me. I just... I just cannot give my heart to someone who I only see every month or two."
Yes, she actually could; she had given it to him already, actually, wrapped up in a nice red bow. And Zelda would never take it back, she knew that as well.
He merely imitated her chuckle from before, dry and humorless, as he slowly shook his head. "Are you jealous?" Link asked, peering down at her and watched as she didn't even try to hide the obvious answer in her eyes.
"I may be," was her only answer, though he had already seen she was deeply jealous, and deeply frustrated, sad and confused as well. He owed her explanations and he would explain himself truthfully if she ever gave him the chance. "I want to know to whom your world revolves around."
As if on cue, someone called him from inside the ballroom at the same time Zelda finished her sentence and Link whipped his head instantly towards the source of the call. The princess slowly turned her, her heart cold and heavy as she watched the Twili princess beckoning him with her hand and with a broad grin on her face before she turned away. Zelda lowered her head and Link looked back at her, suddenly realizing his mistake.
"Zelda, please," he begged in a whispery voice, to which she replied with a slight shake of her head.
She reached out and lightly grasped his hand, "I guess you have found the sun of your world. I am sure Zant will understand," Zelda gave his hand a gentle and brief squeeze, and released it, "Goodbye, Assassin." The princess walked deeper into the yard without looking back.
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Link was, to an extent, bored. He rubbed his wrists, glanced around the room, trying to find Zelda but to no avail. He wanted to go after her, to talk to her and hug her and kiss her, but he knew that the best would be to give her some time and space so she could handle her emotions well. It seemed like a whole eternity had passed while he waited for her to return to the ballroom, but she never did.
He wondered if maybe she had retired to her guestroom, already forming a plan on how he would sneak inside in the middle of the night and explain everything. He would force her to listen if she didn't want to, and he would even wake Midna and Zant so they could help the Ordonian clear things out.
The Assassin sipped his wine, the taste not pleasing him in the least, but what was there to do now that nothing seemed to bring his spirits up? He was going to take a walk around the garden outside, Link decided as he stood from his seat, but he never had the chance of getting close to the doors for Midna grabbed his arm and snatched him away. It had been like that the whole afternoon, presentations and boring conversations with Twili nobles and wealthy people from the Twilight Kingdom; they never gave him a break, not when he was trying to find Zelda, not when he found and lost her, and not even now that he wanted to beat himself up for being so stupid.
Nonetheless, he stood patiently and smiled politely at the nobles when they directed words at him, sometimes even replying with short and straight answers, but for most part he kept his brain focused on other matters. He hardly recognized Nabooru as she talked to a few guards near the door on the other side of the room and he barely frowned when said guards nodded and left. Weird, he thought, but that was it. What would he expect from a woman he didn't know whose husband he killed? Revenge was at the top of his list- oh, his eyes widened slightly, oh.
So Nabooru was responsible for telling Zelda the rumors he and the fiancés had tried so hard to wipe out. But... But the Gerudo Queen had yet to lunge at him and try to tear his head off, so maybe Zelda didn't mention their secret relationship, if it could be called that. It was only mild gossip then, between two monarchs who lost everything they held dear to them. Still Link wished he had gotten to Zelda before the rumors did.
Midna grabbed his arms and dragged him around some more, briefly looking around and spotting her fiancé talking to a few family friends, and then stopped once she had crossed paths with whom she was seeking for. "Nabooru, finally!" The princess exclaimed contently, but immediately her mood was damped by the frown on the Gerudo's face, "You seem worried. What happened?"
"Have you seen Zelda?" Link's attention was suddenly all focused on the queen and he looked at her expectantly, worriedly. "She's been missing for hours!"
Hours? The Hylian cast an urgent glance at the clock and realized that it was nearing eight in the evening. In a place like the Twilight Kingdom, where the sun sets at nine in the night and rises at five in the morning, it was hard telling the time just by looking at the sun that seemed to never be high up in the ask, but always bordering the horizon.
The Twili raised her eyebrows, eyes widening in the slightest. Before she could say something, though, the guards that were talking to Nabooru approached them and bowed shallowly in their rush. The Gerudo was already motioning for them to speak, and quickly, when one of them gently presented her with something.
"We found this in the stables, Your Majesty." The Gerudo's breath hitched as she slowly opened the fan she gave Zelda. Link stared at it with the same intensity, trying to put the pieces together, while Midna refrained from hitting her guards for not giving them more information of Zelda's whereabouts.
The other guard decided to answer her unspoken question, causing the three of them to freeze in time and place, "The Crown Princess of Hyrule was nowhere to be found."