It was almost noon of the next day, Zelda and the Heros had boarded the carriage and were heading to the castle. Zelda sighted happily, she had managed to feed them all some meat for breakfast, but only because shad had planned to hid some of it for the next day. If she hadn't, they would have eaten everything. The memory of them eating ravenously, stealing the meat from each other, brought a smile to her face as she watched them sleeping peacefully on the carriage.
ZELDA POV
What are they all tired about? I understand Zidane being sleepy since he rowed us in the boat all the way. Robert offered to row with him, but was stopped by Link. I honestly thought this was a dick move from the Prince. But Zid rowed completely happy and at ease, he even rowed faster than Ziel himself.
My monkey brother claims to have never rowed a boat before, yet the Prince knew Zid could not only do it, but also enjoy the chore. And enjoy it he did. I mean, Zid started make up songs describing the epic way he was rowing, and describing us as the weak yet grateful passengers. That earned a nasty face from me and Rob, so he continued the song describing our reactions. Link could only laugh but I am not stupid, he somehow knew how this will play out, I wonder how? Who is he?
When the carriage arrived, Cormac received Link and Zelda effusively. But only shook hands with the newcomers, finding the resemblance between them and Prince Raziel uncanny.
They all were escorted by the butler to the throne room, Cormac decided to leave them there once he noticed the hesitance to enter.
"Mybe we should knock… or wait for a more prudent hour." The Princess said.
Zack grabs her hand and pushes one of the doors with it "To minimize the suffering you just pull the band aid as fast as you can"
Link smirks "Does that work?" he asks as Robert pushes on the other door.
Zid laughs inwardly "No, it still hurts like hell. But the important lesson is: you do what you have to do and FAST, if you hesitate... you won't do it at all"
Suddenly King Derrick loudly calls them "I see you finally arrived son, daughter and my other 2 illicit children, come here"
That earns a cackle from Rob. Queen Claire on the other hand, started muttering making the King glare at her.
Link clears his throat and bows "Good day to you my King and a lovely morning to you, my Queen. I was told you were expecting the four of us here."
Robert and Zidane open their eyes wide at Link's antics, suddenly feeling inadequate.
The King starts speaking "Morning, this meeting is to arrange my Queen and the foreigners some time to meet each other"
The Queen turns to look at Daphnes frowning "Only me? WHY?"
"Because I already know them, opening my tight schedule for this would be a waste of time"
The Queen squints "How can you know them already?"
"Because I am an observant man, it didn't take long to figure out that YOU" the King points at Zid "Are a rampant young man, who is secretly begging to be stopped. But alas, you are also naïve and good intentioned" the King smiles at Zid, who is slowly turning red.
Daphnes now turns to Li "And you on the other hand, are a composed young man with high emotional control and a calculating mind, one very capable of manipulating people around you. But I also find you good intentioned"
Li could no longer hold the King's gaze, but soon found Link's. The Prince was smiling and waggling his eyebrows at the engineer.
ROBERT POV
WHO THE FUCK IS THIS MAN? It´s not like he knows everything about me but… he just striped me and Zid. This man is fucking dangerous, and Link not only knows it, he is proud of this Monarch.
I guess he has to be a dangerous animal. He needs to command respect after all.
The King clears his throat "It's not much, but it is enough information for me, my Queen though…" Daphnes gives his wife a side glance with a smile.
Claire stands up "Not even close to enough for me" she walks down from the throne stage "Follow me to the front garden, you will answer my questions there" Claire points at Link and Zelda "You two stay, we need privacy for this" she says as she walks pass them, expecting to be closely followed by the Pirate and the Engineer.
Zelda opens her eyes wide in fear and looks at Link, he chuckles and mouths to her ¨Don't worry¨ Then answers to Claire "As you say my Queen"
Li and Zid follow the Queen out into the garden. Zidane was a little excited, looking around at everything. Robert was a little guarded.
This elegant lady kind of hate us, and I have no idea why. Separating us from the Prince and Princess was a very smart move, I must admit. No Raziel to guide the line of questioning, and no Zelda to exert emotional influence in our favor… this is her personal way of striping us.
Claire stops under the shade of a bald cypress tree, claps her hands and 2 maids immediately appear. One unfolds an outdoor blanket, the other sets 3 dishes and 3 glasses on it. she carefully fills the glasses with apple juice and leaves the jug and a food basket in the middle.
"Sit down" the Queen orders, as she also sits and opens the basket "I hope your appetite is as monstrous as Raciel's and King Derrick's because we are having entrail tacos"
Li smiled, Zid's eyes started to shine a little, he had complained during his rowing about not eating enough for breakfast.
The Queen's smile drops… she had ordered those tacos with the idea of making this interrogation unpleasant for the boys, but she failed. Apparently, she is the only one who doesn't like eating bowels.
"Beautiful older Zelda, we are flattered by the food offering, we promise that nothing will go to waste" Zidane confidently says.
And he just fucked up, but I think I can fix it.
Claire answers offended "Did you just called me old?"
Robert clears his throat "He actually called you beautiful, which is true my lady… All we know about you is that you are the Queen and Zelda's mother since the resemblance is uncanny. If you don't mind, would you tell us your name?"
Zid jumps in with a correction "What I actually said is ¨beautiful older Zelda¨ not because Zelda is beautiful, though plenty may consider her to be. But because the gorgeous lady here is mature… Older women have a ¨don't know what¨ that make them gracious and sexy, you know what I mean?" the Pirate asks Li "And this lady has lots of it"
And THIS I cannot fix. I hope the Queen doesn't take offense on this and laughs about it. That is the only way I see out of this.
The Queen spits out some apple juice and starts laughing uncontrollably. Robert immediately sighs relaxing, Zid starts placing some tacos on all the dishes.
The Queen regaining herself "Rampant and composed, those were the words my husband used to describe the both of you, and I think he shoot right on the target" she sighs "My name is Claire Harkinian, you may refer to me as Queen, monarch or majesty since I believe is too soon to call me by my name. How should I refer to you?"
Zidane points at Robert "This dude here is Robert Li. Call him Li, Rob or Robert… just never call him Bob or Bobby. He may kill you if you do"
Li rolls his eyes "And the monkey here is called Zidane Nash, call him Zidane or Zid… he actually prefers Zid since that is the name Zelda gave him when we meet"
Queen Claire squares her shoulders with interest "I would like it if both of you shared how you meet with the Prince and Princess"
"It all started on a gloomy day" Zidane starts narrating.
"Dude, shut your trap. I want to do this properly. It all started with me. Your son managed to figure out where I attended school, so the both of them registered as new students in said school. It didn't take long for Zelda to smell… to find me"
Claire smiles "It has been brought to my attention that my daughter has a very good smell sense"
How much should I share? How much has Zelda already told her? This must be part of her test, so I shouldn't lie. But I will only share the funny leaving out all the grotesque bits. Since I believe making the Queen laugh is the way.
Li smiles "She does… anyway Link found a breach on my emotional wall, talked to me, then your daughter got into a girl fight. Don't ask me about that, I was not present. But it got bad, they ended up talking to the director of the school, and Zelda managed to make him expel the other girl"
The Queen starts giggling and Zidane was amazed by the idea of Zelda participating on a girl fight.
"During said fight, Link and me were trying to avoid a herd of horny girls. Then together we solved a SWORD mission about rescuing children… then we headed to find the monkey"
The Queen said she wanted something brief, this is the best I can do without telling her about the organ farm, I don't know how much about this has my sis shared herself, but if I were a parent and found out what she helped do, I would forbid her from going out again. I hope Zidane noticed and follows me on this.
ZIDANE POV
I suppose it's my tun now… what do I say? What CAN I say? Rober went on the funny route completely avoiding gory details. But that is still a lot to say in my case, cuz let's admit it… I am hilarious.
Zid clears his throat "And the story continues with me, the three of the arrived to my location, where I tried to rob the Princess. Was not going to hurt her in any way, I was just hungry" he smiles mischievous "Soon I realized she was not scared of me anymore, and was trying to sniff me. That threw me off making her giggle" Zid emphasized "then Link tried to kill me and recover Zelda, but she stopped him"
Queen Claire smiled rubbing her temples "Absolutely zero survival skills, and she will be Hyrule's Princess"
Li squared hi shoulders ready to counter the Queen's argument, but Zid spoke "On the contrary madame, she completely confused me with her attitude, giving her a chance to turn around and perform an excellent uppercut on me" the Pirate hits his chin with the base of his palm, to show the Queen what her adorable daughter did "I immediately blacked out, giving them the chance to kidnap me"
The Queen starts chocking on her own taco, and then produces a muffled laugher "Goddesses, I don't know if I should reprimand her for hurting you, or congratulate her for defending herself"
"Congratulate her, Zid obviously survived and is now sharing a meal with royalty because Zelda kept her promise to us" Li says.
Zid clears his throat to recapture attention "Then we had to scape because I was a monkey tailed freak that shouldn't be allowed to live, that was fun" Zid says smiling but not meeting Claire's eyes.
The Queen turns to Li confused, so he starts explaining.
"In our world, anything that is not normal is dangerous and must be killed. After our scape, we rescued a girl and went our separate ways until now" Robert ends the story.
The Queen sighs and reaches for the basket to draws a bottle with bee honey and a loaf of bread. She separates it in 3 pieces for everyone to have one and asks.
"Well… that is how you meet with the Prince and Princess. But do your families know you are here right now? If you decided to establish here, your family cannot visit. We agreed to allow you two accesses, but no one else"
Zid roars in laughter, shocking the Queen. Robert chuckles as he rubs his eyes with his right thumb and index.
"My dear Queen, your son and daughter are the only family we know. I was alone and cutting on living expenses when they found me, and Zid had been barely surviving in the jungle for 2 years when we found him. Prince Raziel and Princess Zelda are the only family we know and love" Robert says with sadness and fear reflected in eyes, accompanied by a happy and hopeful smile.
The sight of this brunette young man and his words moved Queen Claire deeply. But she had to stay on character.
"I understand son, both of you must have felt abandoned"
Both Zid and Robert raised their head in surprise, Zidane slowly stared to smile while Robert's eyes started to glisten.
She called Robert son, did she do it on purpose? By accident? Out of pity?... I really don't care, she just opened a window and we ARE entering.
"As our guest, you are allowed to be around the castle until 6 pm. Then you have to leave since you are not part of the nobility… Please understand that this is how politics work in Hyrule. We are not rejecting you in any way" the Queen says staring directly at the Heros "We should head back; Derrick must have an idea of what to do next"
"Prince Raziel previously must have owned a house right Mom? Maybe we could use that one, since he is not using it now" Zid suggests.
Claire coughs a little and raises a finger to correct Zid, for calling her mom. But after a second of consideration, dismisses it completely.
The Queen rests her chin lightly on a hand "I have never asked the Prince about this topic. But it's true that he must have owned a house before he was adopted into the royal family. A house that you both could use right now, so let's ask him"
And she just answered my question honestly, no correction, no scolding… I believe I now have a mom.
Zid smiles and winks at Robert mouthing ¨She is my Mom¨ Li frowns and punches the Pirate on the gut making him throw up.
Claire watched in horror "Robert, why did you do that?"
Because he is a selfish manipulative bastard, that is why.
Li answered grinning and completely guilt free "I know what it must have looked like, but he was asking me for help and that is what I did. Zid's stomach is delicate and he ate too fast; he needed to throw up fast before the pain got worse. He should be fine now."
Claire sighs and yells at Robert "DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN, it's not ok to punch people to make them throw up… and you" she points at Zid "Learn to eat at a slower pace, you are not a kid anymore"
"Of course, my lady" Li says taking her hand to help her up "and I will make sure that he eats slowly from now on mother" Robert glares at the Pirate threateningly.
Zidane stands up growling while Queen smiles at Li pleased, and the three of them start walking back to the throne room.
LINK POV
The Prince and Princess of Hyrule were standing in a corner of the throne room. The King told them to go to their rooms and wait for the Queen, but both of them refused. They didn't think the Queen's interrogation would take too long, and even if it did, they didn't mind waiting there.
Watching King Daphnes receive people, of varied ages and economic status, to discuss a problem they currently had was kind of exciting. Boring at times, but Daphnes had a way of making them talk through the problem, that most of them ended up solving the problem by themselves, no intervention from the King. Others times, the situation was so dire that he had to make use of his power to help solve it.
I think deep down, he is more of a Counselor than a King… he doesn't try to solve the problem, not that he can't since he definitely has the knowledge and the resources. Still, he chooses to make them think of a solution themselves. If he finds the solution viable, he supports it with some rupee or public promotion. And if or when the use of his influence and/or monetary resources is absolutely necessary, he makes sure they somehow pay for it, even if long term.
That is why every Hylian loves and respects my King; he is basically fathering all of them.
The doors to the throne room are opened and Queen Claire followed by Rob and Zid walk in. She approaches bowing at the King and clears her throat.
"Referring to you, my King, with the most outset respect I can gather, I come to you seeking for advice on an urgent matter. I represent the highest social standing family in Hyrule, your family. We recently acquired a pair of unconventional guest. Said guest have no social standing, making my family unable to accommodate them. Yet, we do have a property they can use to stablish themselves, said property belongs to Prince Raziel Link Nohansen, would it be appropriate for my guests to make use of it?" the Queen says as she winks at the King.
The King raises his hand and signals the guards to leave.
"What is with this farse of acting like a commoner? What do you really need of me?" Derrick asks.
"I thought I could also make a small joke, and I meant what I just said" Claire turns to look at Link "Could your brothers make use of your house in Kokiri forest?"
Link went pale and froze on the spot, Zidane and Robert started giggling and Zelda ran to her mother completely full of happiness.
That place is no longer habitable
"Yes, of course they can" Zelda happily yells. The Hero talks on top of what the Princess said "ABSOLUTELY NOT" Link spoke with finality.
The Princess turns to Link puzzled "What? Why?"
The Hero sighs "Zelda, aren't you forgetting something about that place?"
"I don't think so… due to its elevated position, it's the safeties place in that village. It's just a little filthy"
The Hero of time lifts one eye brow "A little?"
Zelda grunts "All right, A LOT. But I can clean it up, if I head there now, by the end of the day it should be ready"
Link shakes his head "You couldn't possibly be done by then…" he sighs "But maybe with my help"
"You can't. Somebody has to accompany them to buy proper clothes… I will take Chacha with me" Zelda claims turning around and already running out of the throne room.
Well, my maid is excellent at cleaning fast; the girls may be able to be done today.
I don't find pride in letting people know how the Kokiri used to treat me though. I hate people staring at me with pity.
*Get over it, what Zelda said is true. Your brothers NEED proper clothes, and so do you. Go get some*