ZELDA POV
Zelda and Link were going up the stairs to their respective rooms in silence… A silence that clearly bothered the Princess, but she could not muster the courage to break it.
Why is he not asking me how it went? I told him that I had talked to my father before we exited Nana's kitchen. So why hasn't he bothered to ask me about it? Do I really have to initiate this talk?... Maybe I do.
Now that I think about it, he could be asking himself why have I not asked him how it went with Darunia yet.
As she approached her door, the Princess turned and spoke to Link.
"We need to talk"
"Indeed, we do" Link answered as he kept walking to hell.
"I will be at your room in a few minutes if that's ok?"
"I will be waiting"
Zelda entered her room and dug in her drawer pulling out 200 rupees. She was about to head to Link's room but stopped by the door.
I shouldn't offer this much to Link. Nuthaniel only costed 50 rupees, and Ziel is NOT going to accept more than that, he is too proud and a little stubborn to just take my money… Well, he will have to since I don't have change.
The Princess shakes it off and leaves her room. As she is walking towards hell, her resolution starts to waver. She really didn't want to anger Link with something so stupid as rupees.
Maybe… he won't even mind about this. And if he does, its not like he would be super angry about me not being able to pay him right away. After all, he chose to do this as a favor to me, so why am I being so fidgety about this?
Zelda nooks on Link's door.
"COME IN"
The Princess enters and finds Link walking around the room with his cellphone in hand. He stops, and turns to her. His eyes are slightly closed but not really squinting, as if he is trying to achieve mental focus. The good thing is… he is not angry. The Prince comes close to her, his steps not making a sound as usual, and he closes the door behind her.
"We do need to talk, and it must be the 4 of us… But first, what do you needed to tell me"
Suddenly Zelda was struggling to form coherent sentences in her head, she soon gave up on that and just extended her hand with the gold rupee. Link looks at it and takes it, then walks away from her and towards his desk, where he opens the drawer and tosses the Ruppe inside. Then he enters his closet.
That's, it? He just took it? I was NOT expecting this, I thought I knew him a little but… not that I mind him taking it. I mean, I OWE him a lot, he bought me a cellphone, I would give him more rupees if he asked.
Link walks out of his closet, a coin purse in hand, he stands in front of Zelda and frowns at her. She opens her eyes wide realizing what he wants, and opens her right palm. He pulls out 10 red rupees and a purple one placing them on her open palm.
"150 rupee… to be honest, I was not expecting you to pay it, I was just avoiding a future discussion by informing you how much Nuthaniel costed… anything else before I call them?"
I KNEW IT. Wait…
The Princess stares at Ziel curiously "how do you have change…"
[Saria's smiling face] He buys groceries for Saria; it would be stupid if he didn't have any change.
"Forget it, that was a stupid question… call them"
Link starts dialing. "I am going to put the call on loud speaker"
And also shift your voice back to normal I suppose.
The Cellphone starts making ring noises for a few seconds, then Zid answers.
"You have reached Pyre Paradise Crematorium, because your loved ones deserve to go out in a blaze of glory"
"FUCK YOU" Link yells smiling, Zidane's laughter is heard on the background as someone takes his cellphone away.
"Hello" Li says properly answering the call.
"Hey, I called you too but you didn't answer, how are you holding up?"
"CUT THE CRAP. What is the purpose of the call? I am following Viper on a mission. I can only dispose of an hour, so shoot."
Wow, I knew Li had a temper but... Link should make this short and concise, I don't want Li to miss out on this chance.
Link chuckles before answering "We investigated, searched under the stones, and found a way to legally allow the both of you entrance to Hyrule, but it involves an almost satanic ritual… are you still interest?"
That HAS to be an exaggeration.
"Fuck yeah!!!" "What does this satanic ritual involve?"
says Zidane asks Li
Link bluntly answers "You have to grab a dagger and slash your forearm from your wrist to your elbow"
YOU WHAT?
"That is a suicidal wound… sweet, what happens next?" Zid asks.
"You fill two cups with your blood, give one to each of us, you accept one from the recipients too. Then you drink it"
This has to be a joke…
"Then, we die from blood lost?" Li sarcastically asks.
Link lets out a suppressed laugh "Hopefully not, the Gorons… the people from the area will treat our wound with a salve for the occasion… I have been told that it stings a little, but seals the wound rather quickly, and leaves a unique mark around the wound, a mark the three of us will share. Don't ask me how and why that happens"
Zid whistles "Satanic as fuck… I am up for it. I am curious to see what pattern I get on my arm"
"What pattern WE ALL get, not just you Zid. Is that all Link?" Li asks.
That is all there is to this right?
"No, if we perform this ritual we become each other's advocates. To put it simple… if I were to commit a crime, WE ALL pay the price, not just the inflictor… that is all."
"Fuck, in a sense we become one… that means I have to be on my best behavior at all times or you two will also get in trouble" Zid sighs "I agree with the terms and conditions"
"So do I… good afternoon" Robert hands the cellphone to Zack and leaves.
"And that was responsible Robert" Zid mocks.
LINK POV
"He is following Ronan, right? it shouldn't be difficult for him"
"Who the fuck is Ronan? All I know is, Rob is busy and I am not, apparently… they don't trust me yet"
"Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?" Link mocks.
"I do" Zelda suddenly speaks.
"Haha, I had no idea you were there, you have been so quiet all this time… is Link treating you good?"
"Yes and no, but I am agreeing to all of it, so don't worry about me" Zelda answers.
"Well, that is good… before I go, I should let you know they are thinking of getting rid of the music program"
The fuck… I guess it's logical, nobody appeared to be interested but me. Everyone is painting, drawing, doing pottery, sculpting. Why would they keep a program the agents rarely use.
"Well, fuck…"
"That's it? You are not going to fight for it?" the Pirate asks defiant.
"No, it's just me using it, I understand if they consider it a waste of resources…"
"It's not just you, there is someone else inscribed on it, agent Skull I believe."
George… really?
"I would inscribe myself too, I love music. I don't know what instrument to choose though" Zid says shameful.
Of course you don't, you didn't play any, you directed music with a baton, that is not provided but...
"For you Zid, I would recommend the drum battery… you have a lot of explosive energy, that instrument will help you drain it. And the drums lead the whole song, since it establishes the rhythm, guides song transitions and marks the intensity for the other instruments"
"Well… with that description, I am intrigued. I am going to learn how to play it; we all have to play something together before the program banishes. What should I tell Robert to play? And, what do you play?"
"Any instrument in the music room I can play, some on a basic level but…"
"FUCK YOU" the Pirate shouts.
"Please do, very slowly and with lots of love please" Ziel teases the pirate, making Zid growl in frustration "I… will talk with agent Skull, I need to know what instrument he is proficient in since I would love to invite him so we can all give the music program a proper good bye with a good song cover… Most songs have a battery, an electric bass and a guitar, allow Li to choose which one to play and I play the other one. I am sure with those instruments we can accommodate whatever Skull plays."
"SOUNDS AWSOME, let me know once you contact Skull, and also once you know when we have to perform the vampiric shit ok? Bye Zelda" Zid hangs the call.
Link put his cellphone away smiling, but the Princess is still unsure about everything. Link takes notices of Zelda nervously playing with her hands.
"Something the matter?" Ziel ask as he continues to pace around the room.
"Why are you doing all this? the whole ritual pact, isn't it taking it too far? and for what? For me? a stubborn selfish attempt at a Princess?" Zelda claims.
Link stops his pacing and turns to stare at the Princess irate at her, then slowly his semblance shifts to a smirk "Do tell exactly WHEN did I say I was doing this for you? why would I do ANYTHING for you? have I not done enough already?"
Raziel takes a deep breath trying to calm himself, and notices his Princess starting to cower away "But you got one thing right you know… you are selfish and self-centered, why does everything have to revolve around you? why does THIS has to be about you?"
Zelda finds herself crouching on the bed, but she manages to look up at Link with eyes wide in fear, but still willing to make a stand.
"Because it's easier to understand the world that way, since I only really know myself. I have no other point of reference, the closest one right now is YOU, but you are so distant and guarded towards me… I can't really use you as a reference point. Is this about you then?" she genuinely asks.
*Hahahaha, this is fun, how are you going to answer that without lying*
With the truth.
Looking down at the floor with regret "No, it's about THEM… I have a debt with them that I will NEVER be able to repay… let's just leave it at that" Link starts to walk out of his room.
Zelda looking completely confused starts to speak, but the Prince shushes her and closes the door behind him.
And that is how you do it, I did not lie, but did not stay to continue the conversation. Hopefully she will be empathetic enough to understand I do not wish to linger on the topic. And won't ask again.
Link starts running down the stairs and heads out of the castle. Once outside he begins to entertain the idea of heading to the market and play in the shooting gallery. He was feeling frustrated, with the Princess but also with himself, he needed to DO something. Then a horse approaches him and starts trying to make Link rub its nose.
"Hello there… why are you out here and not at the stable?"
"Because he has an energy managing problem… More like I have not been able to meet his exercise demand" José answers as he is slowly approaches them, he then stops and glances at Link "There is something off about you…"
Ziel turns ignoring José comment and talks to the horse "Dude… do you know how lucky you are to be a horse from the castle? You have good food, top notch veterinary attention, and have a stablemaster that actually cares. Stop giving trouble"
José sighs "He can't help it, he is politely letting me know that I am not meeting his physical demands, he could be causing havoc in the stable"
"Like somebody I know"
José winks "True that, I don't want to push him into becoming an equine version of me, so I was going to run him senseless… but maybe YOU should do it my Prince, seems like you need it"
Link opens his mouth fishing for something to say, but immediately closes it and takes the reins.
"Were to"
"Wherever you like, in the track, around the castle, out of the castle even. He is not fussy about where he runs, he just wants to run… and I just want time to re-plan my work schedule, I need to spare 30 minutes every day to run him to exhaustion."
Chacha was not wrong; he is taking his job with the horses very seriously. People are going to start noticing him, and how reliable he can be… HAHA, I wonder how many girlfriends is this going to land him.
The Prince swiftly mounts the horse "We are headed to Lake Hylia then…" Link chuckles "By the way, who are you and what did you do to my favorite rascal?"
José cracks up in laughter as Link swiftly mounts the horse and heads to the lake.
Wow… this foal does have a lot of pent-up energy haha, he is running like a monster is chasing us. All I can do is keep my weight off the horse's back using my legs. Its physically demanding, but the pain is welcomed. It keeps me from overthinking.
*You could have fucking destroyed her you know? But you didn't, you behaved like a controlled and measured monster. Don't overthink this, you were not at fault*
But neither was she, that makes me feel bad about it for some reason.
Link arrived at Lake Hylia, allowed the horse to drink a little and rode him back to the Castle, the horse was visibly spent by the time they arrived, Pepe was laughing at the tired semblance of the foal.
"HEY, this is no laughing matter… he is tired now but he LOVED EVERY PART OF IT. Once you start taking him out for a run every day, make sure you arrive to a lake or pond, he lets loose running and needs the hydration to cool off and continue." Raziel says light-heartedly as he dismounts the horse.
José answers between joyful laughs "Considered it done my Prince" the stable master takes the horse's reins and guides it back to the stable.
This DID work to help me ease my mind, I should head back to my room, hopefully she is not there.
Link thought as he started climbing the stairs of the east tower two at a time. Once up the stairs he ran down the hall to his room, he was about to knock just in case, but shook his head and just opened the door… this was HIS room after all. Zelda's surprise yelp shocked him.
What the fuck is this bitch still doing here?
*Don't know, but don't you dare to leave again. THIS IS YOUR TERRITORY*
Link closed the door behind him and stood there by the entrance, just staring at her. The Princess could not hold his gaze and started pulling at strands of her own hair. She finally produced a long sigh and stood from the bed to hand Link a folded sheet of paper.
"You don't have to read it right now, but I would appreciate that you do" Zelda says looking down at the floor.
I have time now and I rather be done with all this shit. I hate you, but I don't have the heart to push you away. So, let's get this over with.
Link took the folded sheet and opened it, Zelda stared at him in panic, bit hard on her lower lip and started to scratch her arms with her nails, leaving red lines of injured skin. Link began to read the letter and without looking at her, he slapped her hands to make her stop the self-harm. She whimpered a little and retreated to his bed.
-------------ZELDA'S LETTER-------------------
You are right, it may have been presumptuous of me to think you were doing the ritual because of me. But I don't know you. All I know, and only from recent experience, is that you are capable of doing crazy things for the people you care about… And I believe that includes me.
This ritual, as scary as it sounds, you would do it without batting an eye for any of your people. I just wanted to make sure you were not doing this for me, because believe me, I know I don't deserve anything from you. I know that your teachings, as unorthodox as they may be, are part of a contract with the King. But your attention, your guidance, your protection… your kindness. Those are a gift; one I do not deserve. Just promise me that you are ok with all this, that I am not forcing it in any way. And if I am, we will stop all this. No hard feelings.
-----------------------------------------------------
Link crumpled the letter in one hand and threw it in the air, it landed on the trashcan at a corner of the room. He then turned to look at the Princess, who was still sitting on the bed, hugging her knees. She looked up at Link and he noticed her eyes where glistening with unshed tears.
Well… I can't remain angry at her for this. and I definitely won't say that I am sorry, BECAUSE I AM NOT. I said what I said, and I meant it. But… I can throw her a bone at least.
"I am ok with the ritual… AND this was day 2 of rest, you start your exercise with me tomorrow."
Zelda rubs her eyes a little smiling, she nods standing from the bed. She slowly approaches Link and hugs him for a few seconds. Then she rushes out of his room leaving him alone in hell.