The Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo.
Link's shift was almost over when Koume and Kotake came in with their Sheikah friend in tow. Link could never remember her name, but her huge blonde bouffant and the gaudy eye necklace she always wore just seemed to stick in his brain.
"Oh shit, Fanadi's here?" Midna stage-whispered from the window as she passed him an order of extra onion rings. Link looked over at where Ravio was seating the trio in his section and nodded as he took the dish from her.
"Don't let her see me - she always wants to read my palms, and she gives me the creeps."
Link shot her an incredulous look. "But how am I supposed to…"
But Midna had already vanished back into the steamy heat of the kitchen. Link rolled his eyes and quickly delivered the side, then made his way over to the table of older women to take their drink order.
"Hey, it's Blondie!" Kotake cheered. "You remember Madame Fanadi, right?"
"Is just Fanadi to him," the Sheikah woman demurred; her Kakariko accent was thick but her voice still came across as pleasant and warm as she smiled at him. Link offered her a polite smile in return.
"Nice to meet you again - can I get you ladies started with the usual to drink?"
"Yes, a round of decaf would be lovely, thank you dear," Koume replied as she adjusted her bright red readers. When he returned with a fresh pot and three mugs, a ragged tarot deck was already on the table; Fanadi busied herself shuffling it quickly. Her multitude of rings twinkled on her plump fingers in the fluorescent lights of the diner.
"You got any questions to ask, Blondie?" Kotake offered as he set down the mugs. Her creaky voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. "You know Koume and I like to dabble, but Fanadi is the real deal."
Fanadi waved her off. "Oh, you're much too kind, Ko." All three of the women looked at him expectantly for his answer; Link internally cheered when he heard the bell over the door chime, signaling that a new customer had just arrived to steal his attention. He looked over and saw Zelda looking around the nearly empty diner - their eyes met and she waved at him before walking over to sit at the empty counter.
"I'll have to pass on that for now, thank you though," he declined as he finished pouring the last cup of coffee.
"Well, tell your girlfriend over there that if she wants a reading…" Koume said in a much too loud voice as she took the steaming mug from him. Link had to force himself to keep a straight face and to not to look over and see if Zelda heard that.
Her twin shoved her shoulder, almost making her spill her coffee. "Don't embarrass the boy!" Kotake nearly shouted, and this time Link couldn't help but cringe just a little bit as he backed away, praying the conversation ended there - or at least proceeded at a lower volume. Thankfully, Koume just shot Kotake a dirty look over the rim of her mug and said nothing more. Link took that as his cue to finally leave. He refilled another customer's cup of coffee on his way back behind the counter, where Zelda was making a show of looking over the menu.
"Hey there, boyfriend," she said without looking up, and Link groaned as he slotted the nearly empty coffee pot back into the machine to refill.
"So you did hear that."
"Mmmm-hmmmm," she affirmed, finally looking up at him. Her lower lip quivered, and her poker face broke as she gave him a mischievous grin. He smiled back, happy that she didn't seem opposed to or offended by the idea. "How long are you working 'til?" she continued. Link turned and looked at the clock over the kitchen window.
"Well, Anju is supposed to be here now, but she's late, so as soon as she gets here, I'm off. I can pour you a coffee before I go though?"
Zelda nodded, then looked down at the menu again.
"Neat… and I didn't stop in here to get a coffee… Um," she stammered as she shifted in her seat. "I was wondering… if you hadn't eaten already, if maybe you wanted to grab dinner with me? Tonight?" The last part of her sentence stumbled together - her cheeks flushed a hint of pink as she looked up from the menu at him. Her blue eyes glittered while they measured his reaction.
Definitely not opposed to the idea. Link felt a small smile grow on his face, then felt it turn crooked as he struggled not to grin like a complete dork.
"I'd love - yeah, I'd love to grab dinner with you. Tonight," he responded quickly, holding his hand out for the menu. Zelda beamed at him as she handed it over.
"Great!"
"You'll just have to drive. Midna's pulling a double, and if I can't come pick her up, she needs the car to drive home."
Zelda nodded. "Oh, okay - that's not a problem at all."
"Excuse me?" someone said with a cough; Link and Zelda both turned to the elderly woman trying to get their attention.
"Do you need something, Ms. Koume?" Link asked, glancing over at their table. Kotake was busy drinking her decaf with her back turned, but there was no attempt from Fanadi to hide her intense stare in their direction.
"Not from you, dear - from you." She looked at Zelda. "Miss, I'm sorry to bother you, but my friend would like to read your cards if you have a minute."
Zelda looked as surprised as Link felt, and she blinked at the older woman rather owlishly. "Um… why?"
Koume huffed, sneaking an annoyed look back at her table. "You know, I'm not sure, she's being rather cryptic right now - something about someone named Daphnes? Does that mean anything to you?"
Zelda's eyes widened. She looked Koume up and down, then leaned over on her barstool and shot a quick glare at Fanadi, who met her gaze with a solemn nod. When she settled back into her seat, her eyes were narrowed in suspicion.
"Is this some sort of scam?" Her voice had a frosty edge to it that caused Link to raise an eyebrow.
Koume threw up her hands in surrender. "I'm sorry if I offended you, miss - I'm just the messenger. Do you want to talk to Fanadi or not?"
Zelda drummed her fingers on the counter for a couple of seconds, then looked down at her hand and seemed to force herself to be still.
"Hmmmm…" she hummed, her eyes lifting up to Link's to seek out his opinion. He silently shrugged. Part of him was curious to see what would happen if she agreed, see what batshit thing the Twins' friend had to say, but at the same time, he had a weird feeling about this - if Zelda had asked him to name what was troubling him, he didn't think he would have been able to articulate his concerns exactly.
Just call it a gut feeling that this whole interaction wasn't going to end well.
Before he could examine that further, Zelda's eyes brightened, and she smirked at him. Her barstool squealed as she turned to Koume, who was still standing there, still in a bit of a huff-
"She has to read Link's cards first - then I'll decide."
Koume's annoyance evaporated; she clapped her withered hands together as her dark eyes crinkled into a genuine smile. "Oh, fantastic! You won't regret it. Come over when you're ready, miss." The old woman then hobbled back to her booth.
"Dammit Zelda," Link snorted once she was out of earshot. "I've been avoiding them reading my cards for a month now. You broke my streak."
"Sorry… I want to make sure she's for real, you know? Scope her out."
"I get it - but I can't sit and get my cards read while I'm still on the clock."
"Oops… I did kinda forget about that." Zelda actually looked a little disappointed.
Just then, Anju burst through the entrance to the diner, her red hair mussed, cheeks flushed - offering further proof that whichever goddess was in charge of timing things must have a sense of humor.
"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry Link, traffic was fucking terrible-" she mumbled as she stripped off her jacket. Link cut her off.
"It's not a big deal - are you set?"
Anju scanned the diner as she came around behind the counter. "Oh yeah, I should be good. You heading out now?"
"Nah, I need to go back and talk to Midna first, and then I have some… business with the ladies in your section."
She chuckled. "Oh, they got you?"
"… Yeah, they got me." Zelda giggled as Link finished his sentence with a rather dramatic sigh.
"Good luck with that. You distracting them saves me a little grief, but let's be real, I'm probably next," Anju joked as she tied on her serving apron and ran her fingers through her bangs to set them to rights.
"Well, hopefully they don't predict your death like last time." Link then turned to Zelda. "I'll be right back."
He walked back to the staff lockers, punched out, exchanged his own apron for his jacket and wallet, and quickly transferred the car keys to Midna's locker. He then made his way over to the kitchen. Kafei was busy getting the rundown from one of the other cooks who was heading out, and when he saw Link, he pointed towards the cracked door of the deep freeze.
Link found Midna inside with her back to the door, grumbling as she heaved around bins of chopped lettuce and boxes of beef patties.
"Hey, the keys are in your locker."
Midna let out a yelp and spun around in surprise. "Din's sake, Link, cough or something next time."
"Sorry, I thought you heard me come in."
She took a deep breath and turned back around. "You're not coming back to pick me up?" she asked as she peeked in a tub labeled "HATENO CHEESE."
"Nah, I have plans now." Link couldn't help the cheesy grin that spread across his face. When Midna turned back around and saw him, she rolled her eyes.
"Oh, I didn't know Zelda was here." When he shot her a quizzical look, she rolled her eyes again. "You always have that fucking dopey look on your face when she's around."
"You got me. We're actually going out to dinner."
Midna's squeal of delight echoed in the tiny metal room and nearly deafened him. "Oh my gods, I fucking called it, and holy shit, that means we can all go on a double date! This is so great-" She stopped to take a breath, and Link took that as his opening.
"You finish processing that, and I'm gonna go…"
"Okay, okay, okay, yeah, don't keep her waiting - have fun! Be safe!"
"See you later." Link backed out into the kitchen. As he was turning to leave, Midna poked her head out of the deep freeze.
"Also, just a side note - if you ever make her sad, I will break both of your legs. Maybe even steal your car."
Link shot her a thumbs up. "Not part of the plan, but I gotcha."
"I'm serious! Don't do it!" She pointed at him, a gesture that he returned; then she disappeared back into the freezer to continue her organizing.
When he came back into the main dining area, Zelda was settling into the booth with the trio of old ladies, and Anju was grabbing a chair from by the door so all five of them could fit at the same table.
Link sat down at the end of the table next to Zelda; she wiggled her eyebrows at him, then looked at Fanadi, who had returned to shuffling her cards. The edges of the deck were white and softened from years of use, and the antique-looking floral design on the back was worn away in spots.
Fanadi closed her eyes and set the deck down; when she opened her eyes, she was looking intently at Link. "I understand you wish to have your reading first?"
He nodded, hoping this wouldn't be too drawn out. She took a deep breath and muttered something under her breath, then cut the deck once more before drawing three cards and laying them out in a row in front of her. She flipped them over and scanned them quickly, then touched each of the cards one by one.
Link checked on Zelda from the corner of his eye - her arms were crossed in front of her, but her eyes flickered with interest. His gaze then moved to the cards. He saw a knight, a couple staring at each other over a goblet, and a man holding a bunch of sticks. He had absolutely no idea what it meant.
The old fortune teller hummed to herself once more, then nodded. "Hmmmm… Your future is clouded."
"Oh, do tell," he responded; as soon as he finished speaking, he hoped his dry tone hadn't offended her. But Fanadi continued on like she hadn't heard him.
"The Knight of Cups… It's been awhile since I've seen him…" she said, a fondness to her voice. "You are a romantic at heart, my dear, but that means emotions can cloud your judgement…" Her ringed finger traced over the woman in the couple on the middle card. "Especially when it comes to a special person… hmmmmm… The Two of Cups, less intense than the Lovers, but more balanced. A strong partnership, and a positive sign moving forward."
Her hand alighted on the third card. "But, the Ten of Wands… A great burden is in your future. If you can bear the load, a great reward will come to you; but should you fail…" Her voice trailed off forebodingly. Link had to hold in another eye roll.
"… Well, what will happen?" he questioned. Fanadi showed off her empty hands.
"This is the problem. I cannot say. It is rare that I cannot catch a glimpse of what will happen, but your future is in flux. Someone else's choices and actions determine the paths that will be available to you."
Zelda piped up. "But that doesn't make any sense – most people interact with others all the times, so wouldn't everyone's future be constantly up for debate then?" she asked. Fanadi turned to her.
"Me, I like to think of people's future like a stream. The water in the stream, it's all moving together, flowing, and the rocks and logs jutting from the stream, they shape the flow - these are the things that cannot be changed. They are based on your past decisions, the way you are, the people you interact with. These are the things I can see. But say - an ancient tree falls in the stream, it dams up? Or a heavy rain falls, and the stream grows into a river? That I cannot foresee. These are the things that cloud my mind's eye." Her hand came up to touch her necklace, and she shrugged. "Some things are up to the gods, and I am not special enough to get messages from Them as frequently as some."
Zelda hummed in response, not sounding convinced. Fanadi shifted her attention back to Link.
"Do you have any further questions?"
Link shook his head. "I'm good, thank you." Fanadi nodded, then turned to Zelda.
"Are you ready, my dear?"
Zelda's eyebrows rose, and her mouth opened, but then shut; she finally nodded. Fanadi scooped up the prior reading, placing the cards in the middle of the deck before shuffling again. Link watched as she followed the same ritual as before - cutting the deck before drawing three cards. As she ran her fingers over the images on the cards, Link saw a weeping heart pierced by three swords and a wheel being turned by three ethereal figures - these two cards flanked a card showing a woman sobbing in an ornate bed, and it was this card that Link found he had trouble tearing his eyes away from.
Fanadi cleared her throat before beginning. "I am sorry for your loss, miss. I suspected when I heard the call from… Oh, who is it? Father or grandfather? Uncle? It's a man, and I know he raised you."
Link finally looked away from the trio of cards, looked at Zelda; her face was beginning to turn ashen. "My father," she croaked out. "Did… um, did you know him?"
"Oh, no - but I could hear Mr. Daphnes as soon as you came in."
She swallowed and nodded. "… I see."
"The Three of Swords - rarely a happy card to see. Usually speaks of loss, sadness, grief. And the Nine of Swords…" She traced the woman on the card and sighed. "I pulled this card many times in readings for myself in my youth – and I remember the terrible things that I saw and thought in the night, when I should have been sleeping." She paused; her ruby eyes flicked over to Zelda, and she slowly nodded in agreement, avoiding eye contact with everyone at the table.
And Link remembered the night he had stayed over, remembered her waking up in tears from a dream so terrible that she refused to talk about it afterwards.
"And finally, the Wheel of Fortune… for you, it has come up inverted, which is… not a favorable sign. You're going to go through a massive upheaval in your life, and nothing you can do will stop it - fortunately and unfortunately, the wheel will keep on turning. Where you will end up when everything has played out… I'm not sure. But you will be forever changed."
No one at the table spoke when she was done; Link was watching Zelda closely. Her eyes were misting over and she was starting to blink rapidly. Anger began to bubble up in his stomach, but before Link could say anything, Koume finished sipping her coffee and scolded the fortune teller. "Oh Dee, you can't leave the poor girl hanging like that. Go on, draw another card for her."
Fanadi muttered something as she cut the deck again, then drew one more card. Two wolves howled up at a beautiful silver face printed on the full moon. Fanadi tapped her chin. "The Moon. Hmmm. Still not very clear, but these dreams that trouble you, they may offer you a way forward. The moon is the domain of Nayru, and She rules over the unconscious dreaming mind. Maybe She is trying to send you a message?"
"Maybe," Zelda said in a faint voice. A beat passed, and before anyone else could chime in with their own interpretation, she spoke again. "Um, we need to leave now - do I owe you any money or anything?"
No one in the trio of old women tried to stop her; they were too busy looking at her with pity. Fanadi shook her head before answering. "No, my dear. Just - take care of yourself going forward. And remember that the future is always changing."
Zelda unfolded from the booth without acknowledging what the older woman said, her expression distant and dark. Link did his best to hold in a glare, instead offering them all a curt nod before getting up out of his chair, grabbing his belongings, and following after her as she practically ran out of the diner.
He caught up to her at her car – Zelda was trying to fit the key in the door, but her hands were shaking so violently that she was having trouble unlocking it. She finally gave up, stepping back and letting out a quiet swear before turning to look at Link. She took a deep breath as she stared him down.
"They always do this – every time they come in, it's always, 'someone's going to die', or 'someone's going to get hurt.' They like being really dramatic because they're old, and it makes them feel special," Link offered, hoping it would help calm her down.
Zelda let out the breath she had been holding. "Yeah, but do they always know the name of someone's dead dad?"
Link's mouth turned into a thin line. "I will admit, that's a new one."
Zelda continued, talking faster now. "I don't think she could have guessed it, Daphnes is not a very common name, and the things she was talking about with the first two cards were spot on – I don't know how she could have known, I haven't talked with anyone except my grandmother about-" She clammed up and shook her head. Her cheeks flushed, and Link thought of the illustrated woman crying in her bed.
"I remember the terrible things that I saw and thought in the night, when I should have been sleeping-"
Link stepped towards her and softly laid his hands on Zelda's shoulders. They were looking eye to eye, and now that Link was closer, he saw how exhausted and pale she looked.
"How about this – let's go back to your place. You can get ready if you want, and we can go out to dinner like we planned." She took another deep breath and nodded, so Link continued. "Then we'll come back to your house, and you can get some rest. Does that sound good?"
She nodded again, then asked quietly, "Can you drive please?"
"Of course."
She quickly drew him closer into a hug, her slender arms wrapping around his ribs. "Thank you, Link," Zelda whispered, her warm breath tickling his ear.
"Always happy to help," he murmured back, hoping she couldn't feel his heart pounding where their chests were touching.
[insert obligatory joke/apology about how long it's been since I've updated this story here]
This chapter was going to be a lot longer, but I ended up divvying it into two because I was sick of staring at this scene DON'T AT ME HOMIE-
FF's decision to make it so you have to opt in to get notifications has meant I haven't been able to get in touch with my darling LocalTalent (if you're reading this LT PM me I miss u). Many thanks to zelda3469 for filling in as my beta this chapter and being an all around great human bean - if you like the story so far, or even if you hate it, go ahead and submit a review k thaaaaanks-
~Eva