"And with the signing of all the catering agreements done, and the official postponement of the Harvest Festival celebrations, I do believe everything is accounted for regarding the Gala." The princess of Hyrule proclaimed proudly and she straightened the stack of papers on the table and then slid them to Chancellor Cole. The little man's pinched face did not change expression as he took the papers hastily and sifted through them. His beady eyes didn't miss a beat when it came to checking over signatures and royal seals, and when he was satisfied that everything seemed to be in order, his expression actually softened. It surprised Zelda, unused to seeing him wear anything on his face other than his normal sourness, but she simply smiled the smile she had developed over the past couple of weeks: her political smile.
"It seems everything that's left is simply supervision of events as they come now." His voice was light, almost shocked. And then his face twisted back into that ugly little sneer he always wore, looking up at her with disgust, "I suppose you aren't a completely incompetent little girl now." She kept her political smile on, fighting the urge to smack him. As it was, she was already charging and discharging light magic at her fingertips – after all, with Vaati as brutal a teacher as he was, she had to find ways to practice whenever she could.
But she kept her composure and mask, allowing Cole to continue his condescending words, "You can be full of surprises when you want to be, can't you? But even insufferable girls deserve rewards for jobs well done. I can handle the supervision until the envoys arrive, so you can go and ride that horse of yours or whatever it is you like to do until then."
Again, he surprised her, being so uncustomarily nice. She must've really impressed him. The Princess almost sniffed in her disgust, but she simply kept flexing the magic at her fingertips as she offered a small curtsey, "Thank you very much, Chancellor, I am glad for the reprieve, even if it is only for a few days." She stood up again, maintaining her fake smile as she nodded and finished with, "I'll be taking my leave now."
He shooed her off, and she all too happily left, dropping her pleasant façade as she marched out of the door of the castle meeting room. Cole was never pleasant to deal with, but she had been learning how to better control her obvious disgust of him. Mostly because trying to channel her magic worked better, she found, when she managed to keep a level head. Trying to train in strengthening her magical channels at first when she was so obviously annoyed with Cole accidentally resulted a curtain pole smashing down to the floor fantastically when she took it upon herself to train in secret during the days.
But as she marched back to her room, her annoyance faded and a proud smile gradually came to her lips. My hard work is paying off!
She had dedicated the past two weeks to getting all preparations for the ambassadors done as efficiently and swiftly as possible, all so she could try and prepare (which normally consisted of taking a nap) for her training with Vaati later. As she kept up the intensive pace, she had taken chances with practicing the small things as she worked on Gala preparations and such, while also handling businesses in such a no nonsense fashion she managed to get released from her duties a little earlier each day. It had gotten to the point where she could get a normal night's sleep since she could replace her nightly training with afternoon training.
And today marked a real achievement – a vacation of sorts. Most importantly, it was just before noon. She could spend the whole afternoon perfecting her craft with Vaati! While he had seemed to require a certain learning curb, the new lesson plans he had were much more effective. Run to the ground as she was by these lessons, she could already feel more self-assured and confident in herself as a mage – something she never would have even thought of a few months ago. She was even willing to bet that at her current rate of study, a monster would surely think twice before coming after her!
No time was wasted as she entered her room and tossed her normal regal wear to the side, immediately putting on a riding dress before she headed right out the door again. The heels of her riding boots clicked along the halls, servants stepping out of her way. She held her chin high as she walked past them, her pride having swelled her chest as she even felt no one looked at her like she was crazy anymore. Now they were simply fascinated by how their princess had changed – or so she liked to have thought. But she wouldn't waste her time with them – not with people who so easily doubted and shunned her in her moments of distress.
Her confident strut never ceased as she made her way to the stables, she never even went out of her way to nod in acknowledgment at those she passed. Even when she heard steps come in time with hers she paid no mind until she heard Poe's familiar voice, "Princess, you're out early. Heading for a ride?"
Zelda brightened a bit. "Yes, I am. I find that the more I effort I put into my rides, the more skillful I become." Ordinary small talk to anyone else, but not to Poe. From his position slightly behind and to her side, the soldier smiled. "Would you like to join me, Poe?"
"Of course, Princess."
And they continued to march to the stables, making normal small talk upon getting there as the stable boy prepared Epona and the horse that Poe would be using. Since she felt like she was on top of the world, she thought her mood couldn't be brought down… until it was.
She heard Malon's voice entering the stable, along with someone else's.
Her father walked in, immediately taking notice of his daughter in the stables. The girl stiffened, focusing her attention back on Poe. But Link apologized to Malon and went to approach his daughter. "Ione."
Being addressed as such, she couldn't ignore him. She brought up the political smile she had mastered as she looked at him, "Father," she nodded.
"I ran into Cole on the way here; he tells me everything is prepared?" His words came out with a bit of hesitation, as if he wasn't sure if he was saying the right words. Zelda kept her smile, but her insides twisted.
Trying to pretend like nothing's changed at all. She thought bitterly. Her father was her father, and she loved him - nothing would change that. But the rift between them only seemed to be growing larger, because never once did apologize for his lies or his disbelief of her. Planning the gala was his way of trying to repair this rift, she knew, but to her it simply wasn't working. "Yes; Cole and I have worked very hard to make the visit of our foreign friends one they won't soon forget."
Her father seemed to brighten, and he opened his mouth the say something, but then hesitated. Zelda furrowed her brow ever so slightly. A few months ago, he simply would have spoken his mind. Now he doubted his words to her. See, all your pretending means nothing if you can't follow through. He opened his mouth, and she could hear his voice about to form some sort of word, but the stable boy interrupted as he brought the horses. Zelda cheerfully said, "I'm sorry, Father, we'll have to speak some other time. I'm looking forward to my ride with Epona very much, so I'll be on my way."
Hastily, with Poe following suit, she hopped aboard her mare and galloped away. Away from the lies and disappointment, towards truth and real opportunity.
Link simply watched in sadness as his daughter so quickly departed from his side. What had happened to them, he wondered. He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment it went wrong. Had he really failed so much as a parent? Did she hate him that much? Malon squeezed his shoulder, and he reached for her comforting hand upon said shoulder. "She had to enter that rebellious teen stage at some point… She'll come around, you'll see."
Her voice held hope enough for both of them, because Link certainly hadn't felt it. Teenage rebellion was one thing, but this felt like so much more. He had wounded his child, wounded her in such a way that she pushed him away at every turn. She had been leaving the castle every chance she got, and while he didn't worry for her safety, as Poe was almost always a long, he wondered what it was she had found that she had come to love so much more than her home. As he understood it, she hadn't even been going to Castle Town that much – her cousin Mila was always asking about her. He could only hope that someday soon she could forgive him, for whatever he had done.
"Today we shall try something different." Vaati had announced. But given the way he proudly stood within the Shrine in front of the Four Sword, his hands resting upon the pommel of a sword standing upright in the ground she'd never seen before, she thought the announcement was rather redundant. "What do you know of swordplay?"
Zelda crossed her arms, her brow furrowed uncertainly. "The sword is… unladylike, so I was told. A sword is a man's weapon, requiring reach and strength, while a bow could be handled by both sexes. That's why I was allowed to train in the use of a bow when I was younger, but not a sword." She hardly saw how swordplay and magic had anything to do with each other.
Vaati must have seen it differently, though he didn't seem all that surprised. "Tsk, tsk. Hyrule can be truly backwards sometimes. Pulling the string back of a bow is quite hard work, I hardly see how a woman could pull a string like that back yet not be able to handle a sword. No, no, you'll be receiving a lesson in swordplay today." He nodded assuredly.
The princess's face fell into an expression of complete shock. "Excuse me? But why? What does this have to do-"
A gust of wind smacked her upon the face, making her wince and step back. Fire erupted behind her eyes as she glared at Vaati, who had gone from his normal smugness to his other default expression: annoyance. "Because I said so. But since you have an annoying desire to know everything, dexterity is important in any battle situation. Say, for instance, that you didn't have access to your darling Light Arrows for some reason, or even a standard bow. What would you do then? The sword is more versatile than your bow – the things you learn from swordplay can be applied to any practical situation regardless if you have a blade in your hand or not." His words were concise and to the point, but she could feel the impatience in them.
After a moment, she bowed her head down, "Thank you. I understand now." She knew he hated to explain himself, she knew it all too well, in fact. That he was explaining to her now was… pushing the limit. And she did appreciate it. "But… I'm afraid I wasn't expecting this. I didn't bring a sword."
The wind mage scoffed. "Why do you think I made that ignoramus follow you today?"
Footsteps neared her, and she looked over her shoulder to see Poe smiling at her while offering his own sword. Blankly she blinked for a moment, and then hesitantly took the sword, nodding to Poe her thanks. As the soldier stepped back, she felt the weight of the actual blade in her hands – both the physical and the mental weight of it.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Unsheathe it!" Vaati chided.
She frowned, but nodded to herself and to her teacher. The sword came from the sheathe easily, but she found herself losing her balance quickly, the end result having her awkwardly repositioning her footing as she discarded the sheathe. It really was frightening to her how heavy this chunk of metal was in her hands, but when she found her footing, she held it in front of her as confidently as she could manage.
That confidence was apparently amusing to Vaati, whose smirk was as condescending as ever. "You are, at the very least, trying." He took his blade in hand and walked up to her, whapping her legs with the flat of his blade. "Bend this knee, stop being so tense. And straighten your back – a slouch would kill you in a second." She retained a snarl, but fell into the new position. It was awkward, but she maintained it and received a nod of approval from her ill-tempered teacher.
Satisfied, he stepped away from her and took his own stance, "Follow along – if you're quick enough I might be able to teach you more than one set." And he proceeded to begin a five step series of slashes in midair, slow enough for her follow.
The lesson proceeded, and Zelda still had trouble believing this was actually a serious lesson. She had been told she was going to be training in magic, and while his logic for swordplay was well and good, this had been the last thing she had expected. A mage, after all, was not normally associated with the ways of the sword. When her mind wandered as she practiced the sets, it wandered to her father's story from 30 years ago – specifically the part in which Vaati supposedly took part in the sword fighting tourney and won. The first thought that occurred to her when she really thought of it was that he had simply cheated somehow, but swinging the sets alongside him made her begin to doubt that original theory. But her wandering mind clearly shown, as Vaati would constantly stop and reprimand her for losing her focus.
Her progress in the first set was enough for Vaati to deem her ready to advance to the next set, but her arms were screaming from the weight of the heavy metal. She never complained, but, since he always seemed to be able to read her, the mage scowled as ordered her to drop the sword and take a break.
Zelda hid her relief and she went over to Poe and offered his sword back to him. The soldier looked at her proudly and offered her canteen. With a smile she took it and sat down at the base of a tree as she drank. After she wiped the sweat from her brow, she sighed and looked up at the clearing in the sky. The results were not in yet, but she knew she would be feeling the burn all over her body the next day. Vaati, however, didn't seem the least bit tired; he continued to practice the sets on some unseen enemy. Each strike was precise and quick – much quicker than the slow motion movements he had been showing her so she could catch on.
"Where did you learn to handle a sword?" She blurted out.
The mage paused in the middle of his practice to glance over his shoulder at her. He didn't look pleased, but replied anyways, "Since the moment I was able to carry one." And with his gruff response finished, he proceeded to finish off the set.
"But you were a Picori before, and the apprentice to a sage. Why would a Picori have any business learning to use a blade?" The moment she finished her words, she immediately regretted them. He had come to a complete stop in his newest set, and he didn't even look over his shoulder at her. The temperature in the Four Sword Shrine even seemed to have dropped. A part of her wanted to say 'Never mind, you don't have to answer,' but she refused to look the coward in front of him.
After a few moments of complete silence, he turned and looked at her. There was no identifiable expression on his face as his eyes bored into hers. It was incredibly unsettling, but she straightened her back as she sat and kept her face firm. Finally, he sniffed indignantly, "When you're the size of a mouse, everything tries to kill you. It's prudent to have a skill set that ensures your own survival."
As she thought on it, she realized the sense that made; the world was a lot different from the perspective of the tiny. She could remember how her father spoke of how the whole world changed when he was the size of a Picori – how something as simple as a fly became a horrid beast. Just imagining the scenario, she couldn't help but be fascinated. "What was life as a Picori like?"
And where she regretted before, she immediately realized her mistake here. Vaati's eyebrow twitched. For a moment, she feared a repeat of the time she came to her lessons late, being forced onto her knees as the wind howled angrily around her. There was no question in her mind that the wind mage was absolutely seething at her line of questioning. But to her great surprise, Vaati slowly answered, "I don't remember."
There was an awkward silence. It certainly was not the reaction or answer she had expected from the mage. He huffed, looking away from her and apparently debating on whether or not to continue practicing his set. But instead he felt the stronger need to justify his words, "The memories of my life before I took this form have faded after I was holed up in that goddess forsaken sword – and I consider it good riddance. There's nothing worth remembering from that life."
Is he… self-conscious? She couldn't think of any other reason why he would feel the need to clarify. For a man with such an explosive temper and large ego, she certainly hadn't expected that not remembering his past would be the thing that made him doubt himself. But she also knew that the longer he spent doubting, the more his temper would grow.
"So, thirty years ago at the tourney, you won with your own skill?" She quickly asked. Surely talking about himself and his successes would lighten his mood.
And it worked. His chest swelled with pride, "Of course I did, even though my methods were apparently 'in bad taste.' But a win is a win, and in a real battle, the only rules are to survive." He looked back to her with his prideful sneer, "And I certainly am a survivor."
The redhead blinked, and then let out a humorless chuckle. "Yes, you certainly are."
"And I aim to make you a survivor as well." He took his blade back into his hand and pointed it at her, "Take back the sword and try to come at me with what little you know."
The fire burned brightly behind her eyes. She picked herself up and retook the sword that she had borrowed from Poe, beginning her first "spar" with the mage. Poe looked on with pride at both his friend and his master. Zelda had managed to roll with the punches, always picking herself no matter what Master Vaati had thrown at her. And Master Vaati was evolving in his own way, learning how to endear himself to the princess and keeping his temper in check. In a way, Poe almost felt like they were bringing out new parts of each other that would have otherwise remained hidden within them had they not interacted.
Poe watched as Zelda charged at Vaati, and the mage easily parried her. What had started as something so serious was now becoming something else. The princess, he noted, was actually smiling as she kept attempting to strike at his master. Vaati himself wasn't smiling - he never really did - but he did have a bemused look upon him. That particular look was reserved for his discovery on just how feisty the princess could be, something that Poe worried might have worked to her detriment at first, but now developed into some fascination with how far he could take her.
When Zelda fell face first upon the ground, the extent of the changes shown almost immediately. Master Vaati laughed in the insensitive manner he always did, and Zelda was quick to pick herself up and tell him how disrespectful he was being, but as she said it, her smile remained, and even she began to chuckle. The soldier couldn't help but smile to himself as he watched them, feeling something warm and fuzzy inside his own heart that he never would have thought possible.
The sun was setting as Zelda and Poe rode across Hyrule Field and back to Hyrule Castle. Despite the fact she hadn't done any magic training in her lesson that day, the redheaded princess couldn't help but feel even more invigorated than usual. She knew she would hurt in the morning, but there was something about the physicality of swordplay that made her feel alive. But now that she had thought of it… "I don't think I've ever felt so proud of myself, Poe." She confessed as she looked over her shoulder at him.
The soldier grinned at her, "I think you've been working harder than you ever have before. I think you have every reason to feel good about yourself."
At first, she thought maybe she should've taken some offense to his words. But then Zelda grinned back at him and laughed. There was no reason to get angry, because he was absolutely right. When had she ever been so busy? The fact that she was managing to come out on top despite her strife just made her feel all the better about herself. And to think it's all because I'm studying under one of the most terrifying mages in recent history!
The princess laughed and exchanged stories with Poe in a manner she felt she hadn't done since before she was aware of Vaati's escape. It was so very refreshing – it almost felt normal.
The reminder that "normal" was no longer a part of her life, however, was waiting at the stables. As she and Poe were dismounting their horses and handing the reins off to the stable boy, another solider approached. The pinched face that Poe wore told Zelda immediately who it was.
"Poe, your captain has been looking for you – he says it's urgent." Gibdo reported cordially.
Her friend scowled, and then looked to Zelda, "Have to go – I'll see you later."
The girl waved him off, and then did her own best to attempt to ignore Gibdo. There was a sense of awkwardness she felt, in knowing that she had unwittingly put her friend in danger for his "affiliations." He hadn't done anything wrong after all, so what was wrong with if he also served Vaati whilst serving Hyrule – no harm had come from it. But Gibdo was quick to step in front of her as she attempted to speed past. "Princess, I'm sorry to interrupt you. I just felt I needed to ask you before I asked anyone else."
Blinking, she stepped back in surprise, "Eh? Ask me…? About what? About Poe? I told you-"
"No, no, not about Poe… Well, a bit about Poe. But mostly about you." The elder brother clarified.
Again, she blinked blankly. "About me?" The confusion was quick to leave and be replaced by anger. Who was Gibdo to ask her that? Anything about her was none of his business, even if she was friends with his little brother.
But Gibdo was quick to continue, not leaving her a chance to respond in her outrage. "The other night, Poe was in the stables. He said that some children from the town snuck in and set Epona loose."
"Is that so? Well, Epona found her way back, didn't she? What does it matter?" Zelda snapped haughtily as she crossed her arms in front of herself.
"It matters because I noticed that Epona's saddle and bridle were also gone."
She stiffened at that response. Her brain immediately threw images into her head, memories of the night she was so exhausted that Vaati had been yelling bloody murder at her. Poe had waited for her in the stables with Epona at the ready. That was the only time there was room for such an error, she was sure. A reply to justify what Gibdo had seen did not come to her, leaving her opening and closing her mouth and she struggled to figure something out.
Gibdo's normally serious expression softened. "I wanted to ask you about this before I reported it to your father." He leaned in closer, speaking quieter than before, "You came to me once and asked for my discretion during a time of distress. As a soldier loyal to the crown, it is my last intention to bring you any more distress. As Poe's older brother, I'm concerned about your earlier apprehensions and now his going along with this. But I also can't keep secrets from your father if you're doing anything dangerous. Taking a ride in the middle of the night is very hard behavior to justify."
Her heart was pounding in her chest. Had she been caught in a lie? N-no, I haven't lied about anything… yet. And that was a lie too. Zelda had already lied so much these past few weeks; being cornered like this was a pressure she hadn't felt before. How should she react? What was she expected to say? Certainly, she couldn't say the truth! No matter what she said it would be reported to her father…
"Princess? Are you going to offer an explanation?"
"I… I…" No matter what she said, she would be in some sort of trouble. The trick was to say something that would have a "lenient" penalty, and she wasn't coming up with much. Until a particular memory from the day of her 17th birthday came to mind. "I have a suitor!" As soon as the words blurted from her mouth, she regretted them. But it was too late to take it back. With a furious blush upon her face, she stuttered, "I-I have a suitor! And… and I've been meeting with him in secret!"
Gibdo was now looking at her like if she had grown a second head. Really, she couldn't blame him. Of all the things to pop into her head to save her from a "severe" punishment, that definitely would not have been her first choice. And as if to emphasize that her blurted out lie was a terrible idea, she heard a bucket drop to the floor and grains spilling out. Both she and Gibdo looked over to the sound to see the stable boy staring wide eyed at the princess.
Oh no…
oh heeeeeeeeeeeeeey everyone. It's been a while, hasn't it? ovo;
cutiecat, I'm glad you're enjoying the story! As for the gore, I did put trigger warnings up, and will continue to do so as the situation arises. If it really makes you that uncomfortable, please skip over the segments that have been labeled with trigger warnings. :)
angelina123happy456, ovo;;;;;;;;;;;;; Well, I haven't stopped, at least?
Cattycheeno, slight revisions in his lesson plans, yes XD And yep, he definitely underestimated her.
SweetestChick, I'm glad you enjoyed! I'm itching to write the rest! I just need to... ya know... do it. ovo;
AquilaMage, aaaaaaaaaaaah thank you! I'm doing my best to really get across that Vaati is NOT GOOD PEOPLES here. Won't really get that until much later, BUT I SUPPOSE THIS IS A CONSCIOUS DECISION ON MY END SO WHY AM I COMPLAINING?
fleets, I just really enjoy writing unforgivably evil bastards. NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHY; I guess, to get into your little rant about psychology there, it's just an inherent fascination with that deep, dark part of the human psyche. Just as reading and writing and enjoying an abusive ship is not the same as condoning it in actuality, reading and writing a truly despicable person is just... satisfying, in some way. Ah, you get me so well, Fleets. ;w;
Ai Star, time will tell, now, won't it? :)