FAST FORWARD 2 DAYS
The Princess was going through the dresses in her walk-in closet. She had already thrown out what Chacha referred to as ¨baby dresses¨. Yet, it was not like she suddenly became dress less, she had kept a few of her old dresses and bought lots of new ones.
She was now able to start wearing her corset, and for today… she REALLY wanted to use the black one, so she choose a white dress to pair it with.
She stood in front of her whole-body mirror of the closet, and spend 10 min trying to French braid her hair.
ZELDA POV
Damn it, I can't. It's too short for me to manipulate. Would Ziel help me if I ask him? I like how I look right now but… my short wavy hair only makes me look cute and completely harmless. And I need to look sharp if I want my King to take me seriously.
Zelda breaths out loudly and exits her closet. She grabs a bottle of olive oil from a drawer before leavening her room. She walks down the hall towards hell, praying to find Link still in there. Zelda stands idle in front of the door for a few seconds then nocks.
The door is opened immediately by Link who stares at the Princess with hostility, then sighs completely shifting his semblance.
"Fuck, I was about to bawl obscenities at you thinking you where Pepe"
"José? Why would he be here?" Zelda asks.
"Because he just left once I gave him ideas for the vermin… so, he is now making an interactive habitat inside the cage for Nuthaniel"
Zelda looks at Link in shock, but then starts smiling mischievous "He likes the little squirrel, doesn't he?"
Link shakes his head slowly "I… prefer to describe it as: he feels responsible for the rodent; he wants to mentally and physically challenge the vermin. So, he is going to set several closed boxes around the cage, and hang some bags that will instantly fall down when touched. He will be hiding the food all around the cage, changing the hiding places every day."
The Princess smiles clapping a little "Wow… sounds awesome. And he is doing all this because?"
"To help Chacha, she ends her shift late and spending time playing with Nutaniel must be draining. Pepe just wants to tire the squirrel enough for her to feel like she doesn't have to spend too much of her rest time with the glider"
"That's pretty thoughtful of him…" then Princess slaps Link's arm "I am completely getting out of topic, and it's all your fault. I need your help"
"Why the fuck would I help a Princess that physically abuses me"
"Because you know that was NOT abuse, it was just a playful slap. And because you need me" Zelda says as she pulls out her cellphone with a picture of her, Link, Zid and Li as her lock screen image.
Link groans "What do you need?"
"Today is the day I talk to my father about bringing my brothers… I need you to braid my hair; I need to look formal and aggressive, not girly and cute"
Link groans "I don't know how to do a French bride, last time I did French fishtail"
"I don't mind, it still looked awesome, would you braid my hair please?"
The Prince approached his desk and pulled out the chair for her to sit on. Zelda happily complies.
"If you need to really pull my hair, DO IT. That is what Robert did when he braided me so I can stand it"
Link smirks before closing the door of his room. Minutes later, the voice of the Princess can be heard squealing inside of Raziel's room. "I know you are doing this on purpose Saller… AAAHHHH" the sound of a chair being kicked from under the Princess is heard, followed by the sound of the Princess smashing against the floor. The memory of the brief moment Zelda was falling to the floor in panic, made everything worth it for Link.
Why the fuck was I stupid enough to wave a red flag in front of the bull? Because I was dumb enough to believe he would not retaliate. But he did, and now I am sore… Will this stop me from calling him Saller again? OF COURSE NOT.
Well, at least he did a very good job with my braid, it looks perfect… no revel hairs popping out.
The Princess thought as she approached the throne room, her mind set on demanding a decision from the King. As she approached, she noticed the door was being guarded from the outside by two knights.
"Good evening cavaliers" Zelda said as she tried to enter the throne room, but was immediately stopped by the Knights's lances creating a cross in front of the door.
"His majesty is discussing important matters; he can't be disturbed."
"Oh… I will come back latter then" Zelda replied.
One of the guards told her sardonically "Do not bother my Princess… the King told us that if you came, we were to send you away" he chuckles "The King said that you should learn your place. Setting a deadline on the most powerful man on the land is disrespectful, specially coming from an unreliable Princess… He will attend to your ridiculous demand when he sees fit" The knight said half smiling.
He said WHAT? How could he, I thought we... I FUCKING HATE HIM. Why did I thought my mother would have chosen a better man this time? He is fucking worse than that shit of a man I used to call father.
Zelda turned around and started to walk away, eyes already glistening with unshed tears. But a Knight's hand fell on her shoulder stopping her. He drew a sheet of paper and handed it to her. "The King also told us to give this to you my Princess"
Zelda didn't want to take it, but still snatched it angrily from the knight and walked away. She then heard the knights suppressing their laughter, that made her stop in her tracks.
What the fuck? Are they mocking me? how dare they.
The Princess turned back to the unrespectful knights, anger radiating from every pore in her skin. The knights instantly straightened up in fear and pointed at her sheet of paper. Zelda doubted but started reading it.
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¨Hello daughter, I told my guards to play along with me on this one. I will be busy discussing important matters all day. So how about we discuss your brother's future visit over dinner tonight? By the way… you are very important to me, and your demand is not ridiculous, all that speech the guard said was me poking you because you look adorable when you are flustered¨
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The Princess stars to pull at her own hair grunting. One of the Knights rushes to her telling her to stop, and offers to be punched by her instead. Zelda didn't think twice about the offer and started throwing punches at the Knight. The other cavalier started to laugh at the whole scene.
He may be King, but that does not grant him the right to play with my feelings like that. Am I angry at him? I don't know... I mean YES, I am angry. But it was just a joke. I have done MUCH worse to him over the years, and I was not joking, I actually wanted to inflict pain.
After a few punches the Princess breathed out her remaining frustration, approached the door to the throne room screaming as loud as she could "THAT WAS NOT FUNNY DERRICK"
A loud roar of laughter in heard coming from inside the throne room, Zelda was irate, tears still threatening to fall, but could not hide the smile forming in a corner of her mouth.
LINK POV
"As I have been telling you… it has not been that difficult or hard for me to adjust to my new role" Maco told Link with sadness in his eyes but smiling exited.
Link chuckles "I have no idea what strings did my King pulled to keep you here despite your age, but I am glad he did"
"I am not that young anymore… 11 is not that far from 13, is it?"
"Is much better than 10 but still… when was your birth day by the way?"
"It's in a month, but the lawyer told me to start presenting myself as an 11-year-old, just in case"
Link starts to smile at that when a female scream is heard. "NOT FUNNY AT ALL DERRICK" and then Daphnes thunderous laughter.
The hero enters a high alert state and runs out of the storage, followed by a very scared but very curious Maco. As they approached the throne room, Link stares at the knights stationed outside without stopping his run, both knights lower their gaze pointing at Zelda down the hall. Link continues running followed by Maco.
She appears to be crying… WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?
Link finally reaches Zelda and stops her by placing a hand on her shoulder. She sniffs and turns to look at him. Her hair appeared to be ruffled and her eyes were full of unshed tears.
"What happened? Who did this?" Link asks pointing at her disheveled hair.
Zelda cleans her face and eyes with her hands and answers "I did it myself, out of frustration." She hands him the sheet with the note from the King.
Link quickly reads it and lifts an eyebrow at her. She sights.
"He told the guards to let me know that I should know my place, I should not be placing deadlines on the most powerful man in Hyrule. And that he will see to my demand whenever he wants" she sighs "then the guards handed me the note"
Link chuckles a little at first, but soon starts laughing loud.
I understand why she screamed. Daphnes joke was awesome… but my Princess is emotionally and mentally fragile right now, she must have been deeply hurt by her father's refusal, This is GOOD right?
*It is more than good, if Daphnes can inflict this type of pain on Zelda, it means he has already rotted in her heart*
"Why are men like that?" Zelda asks Ziel with sadness in her eyes.
"Men? Isn't that a huge generalization?"
"Is it though? Robert and Zid enjoyed playing games on me. Games meant to bother me, cause a mental strain or a little of physical pain. YOU absolutely love making me suffer. And apparently, Daphnes also loves upsetting me"
Maco says laughing a little "My Princess… that is completely your fault"
Bold. I mean, it surely is but… even I would not have blurted it out like that.
Zelda turns to the boy angry "Wha… why? How can it be my fault?"
"It's a human reflex… I call it cute aggression. For some reason we ALL want to tease or hurt cute things. You see a cute cat and you want to bother it somehow, poke its nose, pull its tail, or something. Some women even claim to want to bite their babies at times" Maco smiles at Zelda "it's actually a compliment, bothersome but that's the price you have to pay for being pretty. My Granma always wanted to bite my arms when I was little, I hated visiting her because of it… I should just shut up now, right?" He turned adjusting his glasses, and starts walking back to the storage. Zelda and Link followed his movement with their eyes.
"That boy…" Zelda says pointing at Maco's retreating figure "his name is Maco isn't it?... is what he said true?" The Princess smiles tilting her head "Do you find me pretty?"
FUCK
*What do you men fuck? she thinks she has you on the ropes, but you are an animal, CHARGE HER LIKE A BULL*
Not like a bull, that approach may be too harsh. And she has been harmed already. But I can still be a wolf and cause her a little of inner turmoil.
Link watched her the way wolves watch the forest, with patience and hunger. There was something wild in him, something that couldn't be leashed. And as she stared into his grey eyes, something in her forgot how to think.
"Yes, I find you pretty… I thought you knew since I actually admitted it to you in not so long ago." Link leans in closer to the Princess "Were you not paying attention to me? or are you just that forgetful?" he taps on her temples with his index finger, his smile soft, but laced with danger.
Zelda lowers her sight feeling ashamed and intimidated, she was not expecting Link to answer so bluntly, she was expecting him to deny it, call her crazy for even suggesting it. But his upfront honest answer made her knees quiver out of fear... or possibly something else.
"I… I just wanted make you say it again" she said trying to sound confident. "Would you help me fix my hair again?" she quickly tries to change the subject.
"If you want… but I think that deranged look fits you nicely" Ziel tells her.