54. The youngsters had no idea

"The assignment is to get rid of a group that has been assaulting people in the rural region of Sidney. The inhabitants are frightened and the government ignores their pleas for security." Link sighs "the assailants steal food, crops, money and sometimes people... We are talking RURAL here" Link looks at his brothers and Zelda "that means, aboriginals that distrust tourist. Direct contact with them will result in panic or hostility from the inhabitants, hence we are not even approaching them or their villages, we are staying out in the open, and we hunt our own food" Link informs them.

Lee nods and Zelda starts going through her backpack, Link notices and adds

"Free as much space as possible in your backpack, if we manage to find fruit or anything we can eat, we need a place to store it" Link says looking at Robert too while he starts taking everything out of his own backpack, choosing what was truly necessary, and what he could leave behind. Robert recharged his gun and choose to leave behind a few old t-shirts. Zelda threw out 2 denim shorts Carla gave her as a present, she never got to use them but was not going to miss them even a little. Link doesn't use shorts for a reason, right? she won't use them either.

"Can I help in anyway?" Zid asked

"YES, open that drawer there and bring me the blanket at the very bottom" Zelda tells him

Zid walked to what looked like a small box, he opened it hoping that WAS the drawer Zelda talked about. Inside it were 2 pillows and a few blankets, he grabbed the one at the bottom as Zelda instructed… it was a very old stained blanquette with a few holes.

"Is this one it?" Zid asked a bit confused by the state of the blanket

"YES, thanks" she says as she rolls the blanket enough to fit it in her backpack and still have a small amount of free space. She was taking that blanket to guarantee them a surface to sleep on.

"You are stealing that right?" Zid asks tilting his head

"Maybe but… it's a very old blanket, I bet they won't miss it, I don't think they even remember to have it in the first place." Zelda claims starting to feel judged.

Link sighs "I over paid the owner of the hostel for this room, my Princess can take the blanket if she wants, I am sure it costs less than the amount extra I paid" Link says

Zelda looks at Link surprised he choose to side with her. She smiles at him and mouths ¨thank you¨

Zid looks at the Princess as she starts to hum happily storing the blanket and asks "You are not scared at all by this, are you?"

LINK POV

Zelda smiles "Why should I be? I am with all of you… Ciel is a DAMN GOOD TRACKER and-"

"Who the fuck is Ciel?" Robert asks as he puts on his backpack

Link falls back on his butt, his arms resting on his knees as he stares up glaring at his princess, he was waiting for an answer.

"You of course" the Princess points at Link

Link frowns and point at himself raising an eyebrow, Zelda exhales exasperated.

"it's YOUR name you know… Ra-CIEL"

Link raises both his eyebrows in surprise.

IT IS MY NAME, DAMN. I forgot… when did she came up with the nickname? I never thought she would waste her time pondering on a nickname for me, ME of all people. I actually kind of like it. Better than Ra or Racy like Wolf suggested.

"Wait, Raciel is your name? you presented yourself as Link, or is that just your code name?" Lee asks perplexed

"Raciel Link Nohansen is his full name" Zelda says grumpily as she closes her backpack, she was still a little pissed at Link for forgetting the name her mother chose for him. Queen Claire taking time and effort to do something for someone not even blood related was RARE. She had been jealous of him for this, and now he just forgets.

Robert looks to the side pondering, then nods "Fair, the name actually fits your royal status"

Zid's eyes open wide "ROYAL? WHAIT A SEC. WHAT AM I MISSING HERE?"

Robert begins to chuckle "I take this one" cracks his wrists "short version cuz I don't have the time or the crayons to explain this to you. These two come from another dimension per se, in their world Link ended up being adopted by the King, because who doesn't fucking want a SWORD agent in the family? He is prince by adoption, but Zelda is the real deal here"

"THAT is the special circumstance that allows me to work for SWORD despite my age. In my land, the coming of age is 13 years, that allows SWORD to make use of me without legal repercussions" Zelda looks at him in confusion "Princess, I was 13 the day we meet, my papers state I was born at 12:40pm, I meet with your father at 10:00am, so I didn't technically lie, at that moment I was still 12." Link clarifies and chuckles "and YES, I am sure the King knows and played along… it was a convenient technicality for the both of us" Link says wiggling his eyebrows at Zelda.

"So… you are somewhat of a royal and Zelda IS the Princess? That implies having a castle, and a lot of benefits, right?" Zid asks

"I am, and yes it does" Zelda answers solemnly

Link begins to eye the pirate with suspicion as Zid produces a malevolent grin and opens his arms wide for a hug "SISTER" he yells at the Princess.

Zelda breaks in laughter and runs to hug him. Zid lifts her a little and spins her, then rubs his cheek on the top of her head. Link approaches the happy pair with an eerie aura.

"ZID… what are you hoping to get out of this… out of her?" Link says in a warning tone.

"Everything she allows me to get away with, I don't think she minds, or do you mind sweety?" Zelda shakes her head "SEE? Besides, it's a give and take relationship… I am sure she is also thinking on how she can make use of me, or why else would she ask so many questions about my capabilities?" Zid ends grinning at Link

Link sighs closing his eyes as he nods with a smile

You are damn right, she wants to use you, we even joked about it… but you don't seem to mind that at all. You even found a way to flip the coin on her… in a way you just stated that ¨two can play this game¨ and if she opens that door, you will comply, but it won't be for free. And the Princess accepted those terms.
Robert is right, you are chaos, you thrive in it, and a woman's emotional outlook is chaos in itself so you managed the princess to your convenience like an expert… I wonder when and where did you learned to do that. Agents in SWORD are going to fear you, because that is where you are headed bro… I will make sure of that.

"You were describing amazing me and the other two right sis?" Zid says with an arm around her shoulders

"Yes, I was. Ciel is dangerous and a good tracker, he will find us game. Rob is goal oriented and a VERY good shooter; he will shoot game or any threat. And YOU are sneaky and a local, you can point us in the right direction to find food while keeping us from danger. I am with a group of highly capable boys.
To answer your question, NO… I am not scared, why should I be?"

Zid let go of her and took a few steps back, mouth open fishing for something to say but failing terribly. Lee was cracking in laughter and raising his thumb at Zelda. Link was unsure of how to react.

That is what she thinks of US… she is not wrong, but something about this warmth feels off.
*Maybe because it's not the first time she has betrayed you with this kind of charade?
Maybe….

"Is she real?" Zid genuinely asks

"Zelda? Of course not, she is an annoying hologram I brought from SWORD to keep me entertained, because she is not good for anything else" Link answers bluntly.

Before you say anything, I KNOW what I am doing.
*she is going to rant and try to beat the crap out of you
She is welcomed to do so, I NEED her to beat some sense back in my brain... to push away this warmth feelings. They have no place in my being.

"LLLLLIIIIIIINNNNNNNKKKKKKK!" Zelda yells irate and throws her backpack at Link's head, Zid looks at Robert confused as a water bottle flies right behind him, then a pain yell from Link is heard.

"Siblings am I right? advise for you: don't try to understand her or to justify him, just flow with the beat." Lee tells Zid and begins to whistle loudly to draw the royals' attention.

"HEY, LETS MOVE MAJESTIES" Lee yells

YES SIR

Link and Zelda stared at each other for a second and then picked up their respective backpack. They needed to head to the hostel's entrance to sign off and start the new assignment.

The lady at the entrance smiled at them, but soon the smile turned into disgust and fear once she saw Zid. She could not keep from watching over any movement from Zid. Link caught sight of that and also of her dialing someone. After Link signed off, she asked them to NEVER COME BACK, shutting the door behind them.

They had only crossed the street when people started gathering around them with brooms and shovels. At the back of the mob was a man preparing a Molotov. Zid was pushing the Princess behind him to shield her.

It was the owner of the hostel, she let them know Zid was here. The bitch.

The old man aimed and threw the incendiary weapon, but Lee had his eye on it, he ran a little following the trajectory and caught it and immediately threw it back, making a few of the people closing in catch on fire, that distracted part of the mob into trying to put out the fire and the people. Meanwhile Link had managed to knock down a man that came running at them and take his shovel. He ran toward a female standing close by and hit her with the blade of the shovel on the side of her head. As she fell he picked up a pitchfork she was holding and threw it at Zid.

ZID POV

[You shouldn't worry about them; they both are REALLY GOOD fighters] I should listen to Zelda more often; she was damn right. Those two are moving fluently and defending the area where we stand, no words exchanged between them, not like they need to, they know exactly what to do, and what the other one is doing… HOW?

A man steps forward hands raised "You don't understand, we are not attacking YOU, we are attacking HIM" the man points at Zid "HE IS A MONSTER, he is better off dead"

Zid growls in anger and points the pitchfork at the man, but Zelda places a hand on his shoulder and then on his arm asking him to put the pitchfork down. She then frowning yells at the man.

"YOU don't understand, you are trying to damage MY PROPERTY… I BOUGHT HIM" Zelda yells

Zid slowly lowers the pitchfork and looks towards Link, who signals for him calm down and wait. A young man laughs at the Princess.

"Come on, don't lie to us, or who do you bought him from?" the man says mocking

Zelda begins to stumble, but Link looks directly at her and nods mouthing ¨I got you¨ that fill her with determination

"I don't remember the name, but I bought him em…" Link lifts 3 fingers "3 years ago, he seemed nostalgic of late, so I decided to bring him back home for a visit. But I was NOT expecting the people trying to damage me or my goods"

DING!

Zelda draws her cellphone, it's a message from Link that reads: animal cruelty 309k, 3-7 years.

Zelda grins. She starts circling Zid, occasionally lifting his tank top a little and checking his hands and arms

"I will never understand why you hate them; I mean this place was obviously getting a share from the creation and the selling of these chimeras. And don't tell me you were not. I see you now have a small hospital, an institutional building for a town? this is not even a city, why would it have a hospital? Because now it's a suburban town, thanks to the money injected from illegal sells right?" Zelda says as she finishes scrutinizing Zid. Teens and young adults turn to look at their elders in confusion, anger and disgust.

The young ones didn't know… and are angry at their elders for keeping them at bay on this matter. CHECKMATE.

"You should thank my two companions for protecting me and my pet" she briefly points at Robert and Ciel "if I had found a bruise or even a stain on my pet that would mean a 300k fee and 7 years prison for everyone involved. YES, I HAVE THE PAPERS TO PROVE HE IS MINE, SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW?"

Some dropped the weapon they were holding and a few took a step back in fear of repercussions. Zelda grins at them.

"Thought so… let's go boys, they won't bother us anymore." Zelda tells them

They all start walking together out of the town, as they were leaving, they heard the youngsters screaming at the adults, they were lied about what the ¨cursed children¨ where and their origins.

"And we left the town in chaos, sounds fitting" Link says as he lands a hand on Zid's upper back "better than what you had in mind I hope"

"BY FAR, I was afraid they were too many for you to handle and that I would not be able to…" Zid doesn't finish his thought in shame, so he turns to the Princess "so, I am your pet now?"

Zelda stares at him in bewilderment but soon recovers and grins.

"You are my brother, but you can be my pet if you want, I don't mind fulfilling your fantasy" she says in a cheeky tone

FUCK, I love my sis… I wonder if she will take me home with her if I declare to be her pet. Nah… I don't think so, Lee said something about outside people not allowed entrance… THAT is what I want from her, I want entrance to Hyrule.

"Will being your pet gain me entrance to your kingdom?" Zid ask hopeless

Zelda loses her grin and shakes her head "no… but being my brother might"

ZELDA POV

Link interjects "Like it or not, you kind of resemble me, and a DNA test says we could be siblings, Zelda is my family by adoption, making Zelda your adoptive sister too. I am sure we can abuse that technicality and grant access to both of you, I just need to dive deep into that matter"

"WE need to dive deeper into it" Zelda corrects him

"We… of course my princess" Link states

"HAHA, look at that, you got them to work together" Lee says chuckling

"WE did, and they work together just fine… you all do. I mean I saw what you just did, both of you took a stand and defended our position, and she delivered the final blow with her words… I mean of course she did, you were not going to allow her to fight or get harmed in any way, right? that immediately turns her into the group's speaker. And boy did she spoke, her words felt like a grenade. Did you planed this before you found me or right after we left the hostel?"

He... thinks all that was sketched by us? Am I that good of an actress? Robert may have been right, I could perform… Zid also mentioned I completely destroyed the hostile inhabitants, am I that good of a speaker? Could that mean I am lowkey fit to rule? WAIT, WHAT DO I DO NOW? SHOULD I TELL ZID ALL THIS WAS IMPROVISED?

Zelda turns to look at Link distressed, he looks at her half smiling and brings a finger to his lips. He then repeats the gesture to Robert who gets the message and nods. The Princess lowers her head walks behind Link, she receives a message a minute later ¨Zid needs to know we can defend ourselves and even him if it comes to it, so don't let him know this was a happenstance just yet¨