Aki Ai Takehiko Yumi
"This can't be happening," Zelda thought as Hakuryu tied her up and put a tight gag over her mouth. The spiteful angel hissed as she worked and glanced up to gave Zelda hateful stares.
"You are a disgrace. Prince Pit does not belong with you. He belongs with someone who lives up here. Someone...like me!"
"So THAT'S your game?" Zelda wanted to scream out. She glared hatefully at Hakuryu, who returned the glare with a smirk. "You're jealous of my love with Pit? And you're going to go this far to try and win him?"
"Pah ha ha. Let me show you something interesting, you royal brat," Hakuryu said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a scroll. "You see this? This is a proclamation from Goddess Palutena herself. This says that Prince Pit and I would be wed on his nineteenth birthday. Because I'm not just any maid." Hakuryu's silver eyes flared. "My mother was Lady Palutena's midwife and she delivered Prince Pit to this world. I grew up beside him and it was Lady Palutena's decree that we would be married in the future."
"Then why is Pit in love with me?" Zelda wanted to ask. Instead, she sneered behind her gag at Hakuryu. The so called maid spat on Zelda's boots in response.
"Pit told me he didn't like being forced into a marriage and he didn't want to 'hurt' me by getting me into an uncomfortable situation. He thought we would have been better off as friends. He'll see his mistake when I tell him you went back to the middle ground and you refused to do the rest of the test. Oh Palutena will HATE you for it and Pit will have no one to go to but me," Hakuryu smiled coyly. "If Lady Palutena wanted it, then it should be that way. Not what a stupid mortal wants."
"You greedy lying hellion," Zelda thought furiously. "This is what Pit wants, not his mother!"
Hakuryu grabbed Zelda's shoulders and dragged her down the hall. Zelda tried to scream and thrash her way out, but the bonds held her tightly. She could feel her wrists and ankles fall asleep and she grimaced.
"Quit thrashing," Hakuryu commanded, but Zelda didn't oblige. The angel glanced around quickly and her eyes fell on a beautifully crafted vase sitting on a side table. She quickly grabbed it and smashed it as hard as she could over Zelda's head. Zelda stopped moving and slumped to the floor, out cold. The pieces of the vase scattered all around them on the floor. Hakuryu looked around quickly and spotted a closet intended for maids' use. She brandished a key and unlocked it, happily noting it had plenty of room. The angel moved Zelda inside and slammed the door.
"I better clean this up...I'll tell Lady Palutena that it was a cleaning accident," Hakuryu muttered. She set herself to the small task and got the hall looking back to normal. Satisfied, the scheming angel turned to continue her lies in front of Pit and Palutena. She hurried back to the arena.
"Hello, Hakuryu. Where is Lady Zelda? Her test is about to begin very soon," Palutena said.
"My lady, I do not know. I had handed her the robe of our people and showed her how it fits on our body. I had another task to see to with the other maids and I had to leave her, but I swear on my wings I was only gone for a short period of time! I had returned and she was nowhere in sight. All I had found was the robe on the floor of the dressing stall," Hakuryu said, holding the tonga out. She faked a saddened face and said, "I had no idea what to do...so I thought I should come and see you."
Palutena couldn't believe her ears. "Lady Zelda has decided to withdraw? But she cannot get back down to the middle grounds without the help of one of us...and I'm certain she would only go back to Pit, if that were true." Palutena glanced up at her son, who was showing the servents where the obsticles were suppose to go. "He is not going to be happy about this..."
"My lady, if I could ask?" Hakuryu said, moving closer to Palutena. "This princess from the middle grounds...do you truly think that Prince Pit is in love with her?"
"I am not the goddess of love, Hakuryu. Venus would be a better goddess to ask on such a topic. But if I were to judge, I would say those two share a great bond. I have not seen enough of Lady Zelda to judge her character, or how she treats my son."
"My lady, does it not bother you that she is human? It is a difficult choice to make, turning one mortal into an angel, especially for Pit's sake...what if they decide they are not meant to be? The lady is stuck as an angel forever and she will regret it until the end of time. She is very young, after all. She may not even be as in love with your son as she lets on," Hakuryu continued.
Palutena blinked in surprise. "Hakuryu, are you suggesting that a mortal came forward to me with greedy intentions?"
"What I am suggesting is it may bring harm to the girl, were she to turn immortal, my lady," Hakuryu replied sweetly. "Why else would she have turned tail and fled? Perhaps she was too scared after all."
"Hmm...it certainly would explain why she is not here right now..." Palutena mused. "Many mortals have seen a test that frightens them and choose to run without knowing how to return to the middle grounds...I suppose that Zelda has given up..."
"Then you shall halt the test?" Hakuryu's eyes lit up.
"Not yet," Palutena said. "The lady gave me her word she would complete the test for my son's sake and I am holding her word to my honour. However...should Lady Zelda not return in a maximum of ten minutes, the test is completely off. This is my word and so it shall be done!"
"Perfect...as long as no one discovers Zelda in the closet in ten minutes, the whole thing is off and I will send the little whore down to the middle grounds with a splat that will rattle the humans. And Pit and I will finally be together again..." Hakuryu smiled. There was nothing left for her to do, other than wait.
Pit had overseen the set up of the course and flew down, feeling excited. If Zelda did well on this test, there would only be one more and then she would become an angel like him. The thought of him spending forever with her felt reassuring and wonderful.
A dry feeling was in his mouth and Pit moved his tongue around to try and wet it again. He realized that the dry air and the cloud dust must have made him too thirsty and he went inside to get some much needed water. For a brief moment, he wondered where Zelda was and if she was ready for the test. It wouldn't look right if he went to the dressing rooms to find her and he was trying hard to impress his strict mother. Still, he tried to imagine Zelda in the robes the women angels wore and he blushed red. She was already beautiful, but soon she'd look exactly like one of his people...a beautiful angel, his perfect choice for a lifetime mate.
His thoughts were interrupted by a groan from further down the hall. Pit looked around but he didn't see anyone. The groan sounded again and Pit realized it was coming from inside the wall. He followed the sound until he came on a closet door and he couldn't believe his eyes. Zelda's braid was sticking out of the closet door.
"What in the Underworld?"
There was another groan from the closet and some shuffling. The braid seemed to swish around a bit with each sound of movement. Pit gritted his teeth and tried to open the door, but it was locked. Out of options, Pit got out his bow blades and cut the knob off the door. When the door finally opened, the princess...his princess...fell out. There was blood in her hair from a bad wound on her head and Pit suspected she was fading in and out of consciousness.
Someone had knocked her out. Someone deliberately did this so she would stay out of the way. Someone had hurt his princess. And Pit knew who.
"HAKURYU!"
The shout vibrated off the walls and echoed in Zelda's ears, causing her to open her eyes and grab her head in pain. "Ungh...ow..."
"Zel..." Pit dropped his voice so he wouldn't give her a headache. "Did Hakuryu do this?"
"She...said she was going to kill me...and take you for herself..." Zelda whispered.
"I knew it," Pit thought angrily. Was the whole damn palace against his and Zelda's love? First Nightwish had tried to kill her and now Hakuryu tried to delay the test AND try to kill Zelda. It made him sick to think she was suffering more from the servants than the actual test itself.
Palutena and Hakuryu came running at the sound of Pit's shout. The angel prince glared daggers at the maid and flung himself at her while Palutena turned her back to look to Zelda.
"You idiot! You swine! You won't be forgiven for this!"
"Master Pit, what are you saying?" Hakuryu pouted. Pit, completely out of patience, punched her in the face.
"Zelda said it was you who tied her up and locked her in the closet! Don't play dumb! We were way over a long time ago!" he snapped.
Hakuryu opened her mouth to protest, but Palutena's staff fell in front of her face. The goddess of light looked down on the maid with contempt.
"Don't lie. There are shards of a smashed vase in the girl's braid. You were the one last seen with her. Hakuryu, how could you? You were so trusted by me."
"G-Goddess Palutena..." Hakuryu's voice was weak.
"Get out of my palace. Just be grateful I'm not damning you to the Underworld, like I did to my own sister," Palutena snapped.
Out of words, the maid fled the hall. Palutena set her staff to work, mending Zelda's head while Pit carefully picked pieces of the vase out of her hair.
"I swear to Mother, if someone else tries to interfere with this test, I am going to kill someone," Pit thought darkly.
HEY WILL YA LOOKIE AT THAT IT'S NOT DEAD YET.
Oh shit. I just realized this is the first update it's ever had since 2010 started.
DERP.
Next chapter: Zelda must overcome her fear of heights in order to soar higher. With Pit by her side, will she touch the sky?