Once upon a time, there existed a giant tree—oh wait, wrong story.

Y'know I was supposed to write the next chapter of my other fic, but damn, this one's just too cute and it's all I can think about right now.

Also, I'd like to once again encourage anyone and everyone to watch the movie this fic is based off of. Unfortunately it's not on Netflix but I know you can find it on YouTube. It's so old you can't really buy it anywhere but secondhand, so even though I'm usually against watching stuff illegally, I can't find a way to watch it legally sooooo...

They took many twists and turns. So many, in fact, that Zelda was now thoroughly convinced the castle was more hallway than actual castle. Then again, it was likely designed to be some sort of maze, though the specifics of who built it and why, and how it managed to stay afloat, were a mystery. She thought of her scholar friends back in the court; how the archaeologists would be positively giddy to examine the small island the fortress floated upon, the architects getting almost feverish over every pillar and inch of crown molding, the librarians poring over the many tomes hidden all over the place. Surely they could make much more sense of this madhouse than she could. If she were specialized at all in any of such studies, exploring the castle would be that much more interesting. Perhaps she could take notes in their place instead. It would be something to do, granted she could keep her newest charade up long enough to find a way home.

Finally he stopped at a large door and stood for a moment to draw in a breath. Closing his eyes, he snapped, and in a swirl of purple and black clouds there suddenly appeared a goblin and a poe. Vaati turned a sneer towards the goblin.

"You, open this door. And you," he turned to the poe, "bring us some drink."

The goblin made no sound, but turned to the door and began pushing it, a great creaking filling the air. Once finished, he turned to Vaati, giving a faint, boorish nod and a grunt. Zelda found the entire exchange to be utterly fascinating. A monster, taking orders from a man! Well, it was known that Vaati had monsters in his leagues, but the general assumption was that they only fought. But they took orders? Did that mean they understood human language? Were they sentient? Most importantly, how in the world did Vaati manage to tame them?

Before she could think to attempt to engage the goblin in conversation, Vaati told it, "That shall suffice. You may leave," and the goblin obediently shuffled out of the room.

Try as she may, she couldn't help but gawk. Vaati glanced at her, and upon noticing her awed expression, smirked.

"Surprised? Shocked beyond measure? It is to be expected. After all, none but I can make even the most savage of beasts obey my every whim."

"That's... that's amazing! I didn't even know such a thing was possible!" she gaped.

He seemed even more pleased with himself. "It isn't, for all but I," he crowed.

"Were you taught?" she continued, "Is it magic? And what do they get from obeying you?"

He stepped into the room, still grinning. "You don't truly believe I'd tell you, do you?"

"What, afraid I'll stage a coup?" she cocked an eyebrow.

"Hahaha! You know, girl, you are quite amusing indeed," he said, crossing his arms.

"Zelina."

"Gesundheit."

The gibe she had prepared died on her tongue when she took in the sight before her. It was a gorgeous and ornate room with earthen clay-colored walls, and vines growing up them in many places, weaving around pillars and stone grooves. The outward wall was almost completely taken up by a large window, which lead to a balcony that gave a breathtaking view of a garden. Within the room were a variety of richly colored sofas and chairs of all shapes and sizes, and an absurd amount of luxurious pillows strewn about them, stitched with even more rich colors and intricate designs. Above the middle section of the room, where most of the seating areas and a few small sitting tables were, was a sheen canopy draping down from the ceiling. On another wall lay a delicately carved fireplace, adorned with brass and copper knick-knacks, and an old tapestry hanging above it. Even the parlor in Hyrule castle wasn't this extravagant...

"I should think you'll find this room more than suitable, wouldn't you?" Vaati said airily as he strode across the room to sit on a large cushion under the canopy.

In an instant, her stomach dropped. Finally, the time had come. It was time to spin the story, to tease this madman with tantalizing tales, leaving him captivated enough to come back again and again each night. She hadn't even started telling Kasim's story and already she was worrying about how to stretch it into another one. The panic rising in her went completely unnoticed by the sorcerer, who in fact seemed to be in a dour mood as he kicked his shoes off and rubbed his temples. The poe from earlier came breezing in, this time holding a small tray with two wine glasses in its green, almost flame-like hand. It set the tray on a small table next to where Vaati was lounging and quickly flew away.

"Forty nights... Forty whole nights searching like this, and the only thing to show for it is a common peasant girl. What rotten luck," he groaned, reaching for a glass.

A stroke of genius took her by surprise and she grabbed onto it.

"Forty nights, you say?"

Vaati lowered the glass from his lips, crimson eyes scrutinizing her. "Yes," he said warily, "What of it?"

"It's just... a funny coincidence, is all. After all, the story of Kasim isn't just his story. It's also the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves."

Here, he lifted himself up from the spot where he once lay lamentably, a spark ignited in the depths of his eyes.

"Forty thieves? Forty nights of searching, and now forty thieves? How strange..." he murmured.

"No stranger than the story itself," she leaned forward to whisper back, and even Vaati felt a chill race down his spine.

Now Ali Baba and his brother, Kasim, were two poor young men who lived on the outskirts of an ancient kingdom. Much like Hyrule's own Gerudo tribe, they lived in tents and homes made of clay and wood. It was an arid, dry kingdom, with a harsh sun during the day and even harsher winds at night. But Ali Baba was a righteous and kind young man, who always sought to better his and his brother's life. One thing Ali Baba often did was cook up vivid money-making schemes, and his most typical one was to go into the wilderness to find firewood to sell at market. It was hard work, but Ali Baba was always resilient because he had his brother by his side to support him.

His brother, and of course, Saffra. Saffra was almost as important to Ali Baba as his brother was. She was kind, and one of the wisest in the land, despite not having much to say. In fact, Saffra didn't say much at all, at least, not in the way you'd think. That was because Saffra had four legs, a hump in the middle of her back, and very big teeth. Saffra was a camel, and Ali Baba's best friend. Every morning she would come to the door of the brothers' hut and bleat at them until they awoke. And as always, Ali Baba would rise immediately, whereas Kasim would barely open his eyes until Ali Baba poured water onto his face. Unlike Ali Baba, Kasim was incredibly lazy. He spent most days staying at home; either sleeping until noon, smoking the pipe, or both.

Before Zelda could get another word in, Vaati brusquely interrupted, the wine glass clanging onto the table.

"Just a minute, now! Don't tell me this is some trite, overused story about how there was a good brother and a lazy brother, and how the lazy brother never planned for the future and then one day something terrible happened, oh but the good brother was all fine and dandy and the lazy brother had to lie in the bed he made and blah, blah, blah! It's the oldest story in the book! You could've summed all of that up in one sentence instead of stringing me along like this!"

His anger was palpable, and Zelda felt the walls start to close in. The more time passed, the more the adrenaline wore off and the more she became afraid she may actually be killed or cursed. Vaati was still a madman after all. She stared at her lap, wringing her hands. No matter how afraid she was, all she could do was push on and brave his outbursts until she could figure out what worked best at keeping him distracted. It was her only option now. She had to do it.

"A teacher of mine once told me; the audience must be hooked in the first moments, otherwise," she sighed, "You've lost them."

"I am lost," he grumbled sourly.

And hope seemed so as well. Vaati wasn't reacting well enough to the story; it was missing something. He had a point when he said the story of a cautious boy and a thoughtless boy was an old one. Many people would be able to recognize it even if names and places changed and Vaati was no different. But then again, some of the best stories in existence were based on older ones, just with newer twists. She needed to introduce a new aspect, something jarring and mysterious. From a crack in the wall, a fat beetle crawled out, as black as night and as slick as a river he scurried across the tile and into the shadows on the other side of the room. Zelda took in a rattling breath and tried again.

"That's because I haven't told you about Black... Black Coda," she started lowly.

He was a vicious man; an absolute scoundrel. Black Coda was tall and large, dressed from head to toe in black, with a twisted beard and a black beetle tattooed on his wrist. His gang was the most savage in all the land, and they terrorized and slaughtered travelers for their money and belongings day and night. No one was safe from him.

"What's he got to do with Ali Baba?" Vaati asked.

Zelda smiled wryly, "He made Ali Baba rich and famous."

No caravan could travel without fear. They never knew when, or where, Black Coda would strike next. They were masters of disguise. Some would cover every inch of themselves and pose as travelers, only to sneak up behind their victims, jump onto their horses, and slit their throats in an instant. Others were even able to sprout from the very ground and ambush entire groups. Using nature to their advantage, they'd sometimes spend entire nights lying, still as death, near the travelers' roads in wait of a rich man's wagon coming through. Black Coda and his gang were so fearsome and so unstoppable that they'd even attack in broad daylight.

Ali Baba certainly wasn't thinking about Black Coda that day when he went to gather firewood. This time, he was exploring new areas of the country, places far from where people lived. He stood at the base of a wall of rocky cliffs, telling Saffra of yet another one of his revolutionary ideas to make money. Moseying along, he laughed to himself, oblivious of the danger approaching. Luckily, Saffra had good instincts. She saw, in the horizon on the path behind them, Black Coda's gang approaching on horseback, saddles laden with their newest batch of loot. They hollered and swung their swords in a show of victory, still bloodthirsty from the fight. Saffra bellowed at Ali Baba urgently and ran for the thicket, and Ali Baba, knowing that something had frightened her, followed quietly, now on high alert.

Ali Baba looked frantically for a way to escape, but he realized he was at a dead end. He was surrounded by cliffs. When Black Coda and his men closed in, Ali Baba could barely breathe. But nothing could prepare him for what Black Coda was about to do next. The thieves immediately sobered when Black Coda dismounted his horse and walked towards a cliff wall, hands rummaging through his pockets. They seemed to collectively take a step back, some of them on the defensive. But Black Coda was not afraid. From his robes he pulled two small objects and raised them in the air. They were sesame biscuits. Stranger still, Black Coda suddenly shouted, "Open Sesame!" at the cave wall. And just when Ali Baba didn't think things could get any more confusing, the cave began to give a mighty shudder. It split apart in the middle, opening to a cavern inside.

There were twin flashes of red as two dragons darted from the cave, their bared teeth snarling and vicious, barbed necks flaring. They were a terrible and fearsome sight to behold, and like a strike of lightning they rounded on Black Coda. His men cowered in fright. But Black Coda had the dragons' respect, and immediately they obeyed his command to stand down. For their compliance, he threw each of them one of the sesame biscuits he was holding, and the dragons took the offering with great pleasure. The thieves scurried past Black Coda and the dragons, depositing their haul quickly and efficiently. Ali Baba watched in awe until they were done, and after they disappeared, rose to approach the cave himself. Saffra knew what he was going to do, and was very vocal about voicing her displeasure. But Ali Baba was so curious he could hardly bear it, and against his better judgement, he raised his hands and cried, "Open Sesame!"

The dragons rushed out yet again with hisses loud enough to shatter glasss. They reared over his head and roared, claws drawn and ready to strike. "Down! Down!" he cried desperately, and to his great surprise, they obeyed. Ali Baba thanked his lucky stars. He knew it was a foolish move, but what he saw as he stumbled into the cave was enough for him to brave the dragons a thousand times over. Riches. Gold. Priceless pearls and jewels. Chests full of golden coins and jewelry and trinkets, even pieces of fine furniture and antiques; a plethora of unimaginable valuables occupied every corner of the cave. Ali Baba knew it was more wealth than he'd ever set his eyes on again in his entire lifetime. The dragons slithered back in behind him, each taking sentry as they wrapped themselves around two pillars in the dark room, hissing softly. And just as they did so, the cave began to close shut, snuffing out the light and bathing everything in pitch black.

Zelda was just describing the look of fear and panic on Ali Baba's face when her voice started to croak with fatigue. She swore her eyelids were as heavy as Gorons. Rubbing her tired eyes, she sighed.

"What's wrong?" Vaati asked, sounding every bit as worn-out as Zelda.

"Nothing, Lord Vaati," she replied, finding it very hard to resist dozing off as she said so.

Though not nearly as ireful as he was hours ago, he began to protest.

"Well, what happened to Ali Baba? Was he just trapped in there forever? And you said this was Kasim's story, so what happened to him? And, and Black Coda, and... " he frowned, "Don't you know?"

"Of course I know. But I'm tired. It's already morning," she said softly, cocking her head towards the sunrise in the window.

Vaati jolted in his seat, turning around to find that the sun was indeed rising in the sky. Had it really been an entire night? A whole night passed already and he hadn't even realized? That couldn't be! Surely he could never lose track of time so badly that he'd even miss sleep. Then again, he'd be a fool to deny the sun burning right in front of him as well. He turned back to the young woman seated behind him. So morning had come, but the story hadn't finished. Was that the end of it, then?

"So... you won't go on," he said soberly.

She shook her head, "I will, but... storytelling is best done at night. At least for me. I mean... it's hard to create the right atmosphere with the sun shining, don't you think?"

There was an agonizing silence as Vaati stared at her stonily. Zelda felt her hands begin to tremble, unable to look away. Finally he began walking towards her, slowly, but with an air of murder about him. When he stopped in front of her, he was a picture of pure rage.

"So, a trick!" he shouted. "A trick to fool me into giving you more time! You conniving wench, how dare you insult me?!"

"N-no, I –" he grabbed her arm, yanking her up to stand beside him.

"Silence! You shall pay for your treachery!"

He pulled her out from under the canopy, through the large window and out onto the balcony. The cold morning air prickled against her shaking skin like needles.

"Wait, please!" she cried, "Just wait until tomorrow night!"

Backed against the railing of the balcony, Zelda gasped for breath, her eyes pleading with the sorcerer with every fiber of her being. He had been kind enough to give her one night. Maybe that seed of kindness could grow if she gave it nourishment.

"Please, Lord Vaati," she said gravely. "Just... until... tomorrow night."

Vaati raised a commanding hand towards her, a fraction of a second away from petrifying her, when her tearful gaze finally penetrated his fury. At that moment, Vaati did something he'd never before done in his entire life.

He hesitated.

For the first time, Vaati was at war with himself. On the one hand, the girl wasn't so bad. She told enthralling stories; so enthralling, in fact, that the first time he heard her spin tales it swept him up for an entire night before he realized what was going on. That took charisma. She was witty and brave enough to deceive him, and not just anyone could do that. Even if he didn't turn her to stone, she wasn't powerful to stop any of his plans, and there was no conceivable way she could escape. He could always use her for entertainment or for chores around the castle. And, to be frank, she was very beautiful.

On the other hand, she was threatening for almost all of the aforementioned reasons. That charisma and intelligence could lull him into a false sense of security until she found the cracks in his armor and turned against him. The palace was meant to be impenetrable but nothing in this world was foolproof. There could be some method of escape he hadn't realized. She could weasel her way into his good graces with her cleverness and beauty until he— gods forbid— actually trusted her, only to have her lead Hyrule's armed forces right to him.

She could become too dangerous for his own good someday.

But she was harmless, and she was actually almost tolerable as far as humans went.

She could destroy him.

He hadn't heard the end of the story yet.

Grudgingly, against half of his will and almost all of his better judgement, Vaati's arm lowered to his side. Zelda let out the breath she'd been holding and took a step forward, the first hints of a grateful smile on her face. It made Vaati feel sick just looking at it. He spun on his heel and stormed off, clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"You shall finish the story of Ali Baba tomorrow night!" he spat as he retreated.

It's hard to convey, but whenever the narrative enters a story description, imagine that it's Zelda telling Vaati all this, with enough embellishment to take up an entire night. I'm not putting it all into a giant quote because it just feels messy, and I feel like the flow is actually achieved even better when you readers sort of get to enter the story as if it were a stand-alone tale.

Also, it's highly likely I will misspell some of the names in the stories. Wikipedia doesn't name every single character that appears, so I have to spell things somewhat phonetically. Sorry in advance!

"People need stories more than bread and water itself. They tell us how to live, and why."