Aki Ai Takehiko Yumi
Palutena had apologized to Zelda for Hakuryu's behaviour after she had healed the large wound on the princess's head. Zelda wasn't entirely sure what to say, but Palutena held her hand up for silence.
"I also apologize for myself. You are proving you're not like other humans and that you really do care for my son. You haven't gone back on your words once now. I admit I've been treating you rather unfairly and poorly. I'm rather disgusted with myself for that now," the goddess of light said.
Zelda bowed her head. "I accept your apology, Goddess Palutena."
"You're too humble, Zelda. The soul of humility," Palutena said with a smile. Pit grinned at his mother.
"I told you she's not like other humans."
"And now I see what you mean. Many humans would have left at my poor behaviour," Palutena said. "Or after being threatened with death from a maid. Though I must admit this is the first time that ever happened."
Pit and Zelda looked at each other. "You've never had a maid betrothed to a prince before, Mother," Pit said.
"And I doubt I ever will again. Come!" Palutena suddenly said. "It's time for the second test. Lady Zelda, we've prepared a small room off to the side of the stadium for you to change in privacy. The preparations are almost complete. Please change while my son finishes the final set ups."
Zelda nodded and Pit showed her the room. Just before she went inside, Pit put the door between them and the view of Palutena and kissed Zelda deeply.
"You're doing great, Zel. Even with all this stiffness and roughness. This test is a bit easier than the last one. I know you'll be perfect in this," he whispered to her.
"Pit, you're the best," Zelda whispered back. "I wouldn't be doing this if I thought you weren't the right one for me."
"I know. I love you, Zel."
"Love you too..." Zelda said as Pit slowly closed the door. Palutena was calling Pit's name to come and help with the last preparations and he didn't want to give her a reason for not being faster. Zelda unfolded the tonga and noticed a tight body suit under the white fabric. It was very similar to the one Pit wore, but instead of shorts on the bottom half, the body suit was much closer to a bathing suit and ended in a V shape. She also noticed the tonga seemed to be a lot longer than the one Pit always wore and the princess figured it was so the woman's legs would be more covered up. She quickly removed her dress and put the body suit on. It hugged her form perfectly without being too tight. She felt two slits in the back of the suit and figured it was for the wings.
Tying the tonga was much harder. At first Zelda couldn't figure out how to put it on (it seemed more like a blanket than clothing), but she fastened the tonga around with the pin on one corner. Trying to recall how Pit did it with his own, Zelda tied the strap around her and finished it with a bow. She looked at herself in the mirror and grimaced.
"It looks so awkward...I guess that's why Palutena wanted a maid to help me before," she muttered. The tonga looked bunched up around her top half and waist and just seemed to drape and cover one leg on her bottom half. She wasn't even sure where the wing slits were and doubted they were where they were suppose to be.
"I really need help..." Zelda hung her head.
"Lady Zelda?" A girl's small voice came from the other side of the door. "Do you require assistance?"
"Who's there?" Zelda called.
"I'm Furai. Lady Palutena sent me to check on you. Don't worry, I've never been asked to marry Prince Pit and I'm not like Hakuryu," the voice said.
Zelda bit her lower lip. She was obviously worried that an incident would repeat itself but she really did need help from someone who knew how to tie a tonga. And she didn't want to be rude by refusing the help Palutena sent, so she slowly opened the door and Furai entered.
"Gosh, look at you. You don't know how to wear one of these, do you?" Furai asked. She was a short angel with shoulder length brown hair and green eyes. The small maid carefully untied and unpinned the tonga and shook it out.
"Not at all...I must have looked like a fool," Zelda said, chuckling at herself. Furai picked up on the little joke and smiled appreciatively.
"Perhaps, but don't worry. Here, first you find the slits..." the angel said. She placed the slits against Zelda's back and poked her fingers through. "Can you feel my fingers?"
"Yes."
"Good. And now?" Furai did the same thing for the second slit. Zelda nodded and Furai smiled. "Great! Now it's just a matter of pinning and tying properly." She showed Zelda how it was done and even did the right tying for her. When Furai was done, Zelda looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. The tonga was evenly spread out on her body and the gap that showed her legs had been adjusted so it ran down her front and not her side. She thought she looked beautiful.
"Much better. Thank you so much, Furai."
"I'm glad to be of assistance," Furai bowed. "Do you want to tie your hair back so it doesn't interfere with your flying?"
Zelda hesitated. Furai noticed this and quickly said, "I can put your hair back to its normal style once you are done. Don't worry."
"Alright," Zelda said, nodding. "Go for it."
Furai untied Zelda's hair binds and allowed the strands to flow free. She pulled a brush out of her pocket and carefully brushed out the tangles while gathering up all the strands and styling it into a ponytail. Zelda handed her one of the bindings Furai took out and the small maid tied the ponytail together.
"My my, lady Zelda. You almost look like a real angel. All you're missing is your wings."
Zelda looked at herself in the mirror and her eyes lit up. "You've been so helpful, Furai. Thank you so much."
"My pleasure. Good luck, lady Zelda. I hope you succeed," Furai said with a bow.
"Me too..." Zelda thought.
The angel maid led the princess out of the makeshift dressing room and they approached Palutena and Pit. Pit's eyes almost bulged out of his head when he saw Zelda and Palutena nodded at Zelda's appearance with approval.
"Excellent. Now we can get started." Palutena brought her large staff up and waved it around Zelda's back. Zelda felt a tingling sensation again and suddenly shrieked in surprise as wings stretched out from her back. It wasn't painful, but the sensation felt strange. It was like two things had been pulled out from her back, as if her skin had been stretched like rubber.
"Wings." Palutena nodded. "Pit will show you how to use them and then you will preform the test. It's not incredibly difficult, especially if you can grasp how to use the wings. It's a simple obstacle course high in the sky. I'll explain it to you when you're ready."
"Come on, Zellie," Pit said, taking her hand and leading her to the center of the arena.
For the next hour, Pit coached her on flying and how it was done. "It's not enough just to flap your wings like crazy," he explained. "I only do that in brawls because it wouldn't be fair if I could recover all the time. You have to let your wings guide you and follow the wind currents. It's pretty simple, but most new angels that make it to heaven have a hard time trusting their wings to fly for them."
Zelda was having a hard time as well but Pit was patient with her. The princess managed to get a few feet off the ground and tried gliding, but she freaked out and fell down. She never stopped trying and always tried getting back up to go again.
Pit tried a new tactic. Zelda didn't seem comfortable with her wings, but he knew she was comfortable around him. He held her hand and they tried flying together. Zelda was still afraid of flying, but now she was more afraid of falling and dragging Pit down with her. She slowly let her wings unfurl and spread them wide.
"So that's how you do it..."
"That's it, Zel! You're flying! WE'RE flying!" Pit shouted as they went higher and higher. Zelda laughed happily and let go of Pit's hand. She glided around her angel and started to fly higher, up towards the obstacle course.
"I've done it...I've actually learned to fly! But this isn't enough...not now. Not just this. By learning to fly...I shall soar!"
WOO! Go Zellie! Go Zellie!
Two chapters in one week? I AM ON A ROLL!1!1!desu
Hopefully this gets done soon. I can't wait to see this done.
Trivia: I got Furai's name from the Japanese name for Flygon, which is Furaigon.
Next chapter: A short break from following Zelda around. As the princess takes her test, Pit and Palutena have an old fashioned mother and son conversation about the turns in Pit's life. Pit also appears to have a surprise up his sleeve...