Who You Really Are   von Kaiserin
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                             Kapitel 1: Chapter 1
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The sun was shining bright over Hyrule Castle. It was a nice, warm day in those
late days of the fourth month of the year, the second month of Farore. The
Magnolia trees in the Castle Garden were at their height of blooming,
complimenting the festive scene of banners and flags. A red carpet led from the
elegantly decorated chair in which the Queen was seated, towards an old tree
stump which once had been a mighty oaktree. Now it looked like straight out of a
picture book, surrounded by spring flowers and mushrooms, moss glittering in the
morning sun, the dew dripping from a blade of grass. 

To the Queen´s left stood her personal guard, a young Sheikah woman. She let
her maple red eyes circle over the yard, the rooftops, the side entrances and
the attending people in a calm way, yet her instincts were sharpened. Members of
the Royal Guard stood straight, their uniforms in best shape, they too had
everything under their watchful eyes. 
To the sides there stood members of the Royal Council and high members of the
Royal Court, all mumbling and wondering about what was about to happen soon.

At Zelda´s right stood her personal advisor, dressed in blue and white robes,
that made his sky blue eyes shine even brighter in the sunlight. The blond man
was nervously clenching his hands together. He had eagerly waited for this
moment! This day had been in the planning for a year now and today would be the
day, where a long lost connection would come to a new awakening. So many
opportunitys would open themselfs to them, so many questions answered, mysteries
about to be solved! It was so exciting! Especially for someone like him,who
found greate adventure in gathering knowledge.

Absentmindedly, his fingers rubbed over the bandages on his left hand, which was
noticed by Zelda with a gentle smile. But as the other gasped out "They´re
here!", she turned her head back up front and smiled even wider as she saw what
barely anyone beside her and Link could see. She gave a small, greeting nod.
This had Impa twitch her head between Zelda and the tree stump and as their
Queen stood up from her seat, she and all the guards stood straight.

People turned their attention to her and immediately their murmurs silenced, all
of them listening to her instead.
„I welcome everyone to this truly remarkable day! The time is here were we
welcome back our friends, who we have lost sight of, far too many years ago.
Their whole existance had almost been completely reduced to legends and tales.
Storys we tell our children, who - ironicly enough, are one of very few people
able to still see them in their true form. But a year ago, there was brought
word to us, that they have found a way back to this side. A way to come visit us
again, able to be seen by everyone, as they had done before many of times,
before the magic was lost due to tragic circumstances.", Zelda spoke and looked
around with a beaming look on her face. She too had been excited by the letter
that had been found one morning in this very garden, awaiting this day just as
much as Link. The two of them had worked very hard for this day to be worthy of
going down into the history books.

Of course there had been skepticism, there still was - the Queen and her young
advisor spoke of tiny people living in mushrooms and tree holes, under stones,
but also here and there in corners around in- and outside of houses! Tiny
People, who apparently only those with pure hearts could see. Of course there
were people looking at them funny. Some of them not fond of the idea that they
could be listened to at any moment, being watched at anything they did. But
today was the day where all their doubt would fade away and every uncomfortable
feeling nullified. 

As she spoke, the old wood started glowing, like it was surrounded by golden
fairy dust, people gasped as they looked at it, some taking a cautious step
back.
„Now it is to my utmost pleasure, after months of preperations, to welcome two
of their most trusted members as representatives of their people." A light,
almost blinding shone from a large crack in the middle, from deep within the
wood. And from that light two figures emerged, their cloaks and hair were
flowing from the magic around them. People awed and stared with wide eyes, a
murmur went trough the ranks.

The glow mirrored in Link´s eyes, as he felt a tremble go through his body as
those two people seemed to grow out of the roots, the golden glow slowly fading.
Zelda took a step forward, smiling still, her hands folded gracefully in front
of her stomach. 
There now stood an old man, dressed in a long green garb, his hair and beard
both almost reaching the floor. Link had met him a few times before during the
preperations.  He held himself on a long, wooden staff that looked like a birds
head at the top. It kind of resembled the tall rock of Rito Village, Link had
noted already the first time he had seen it and it had peaked his interest ever
since. How peculiar... and so interesting! 

The other man, seemingly way younger, he had never seen. Dressed in purple and
orange, long, lavender hair, fair skin and eyes as red as a droplet of blood
against the sun. Until now they had only spoken with the elder ones and their
real form looked far different from their Hylian form but this man looked even
more different than that!
And he was... 
Link couldn´t help but stare at him, as he bowed down in greeting towards Queen
Zelda. "Welcome, Master Ezlo, Grand Wizard of the Picori, accompanied by his
student, Vaati, Lord of Winds who will become the official ambassador of his
tribe." Zelda greeted and introduced them at the same time.

Master Ezlo, took Zelda´s outstreched hand in his, bowing his head once again,
placing his weight on his bird headed, wooden staff. "Queen Zelda! It is a
pleasure to be here! The Picori are thankful for this opportunity and we hope to
further be of help to the people of Hyrule, as we always have been in the
past!"
Zelda regaly nodded her head. "The pleasure and honor is ours, Grand Wizard."

Meanwhile, Vaati stood behind him, looking around with a polite smile. It
perfectly hid how annoyed he was right now. So this was what this world looked
like from ´their´ perspective? No wonder they overlooked half the things, even
if right in front of them. And the people he looked at seemed... ordinary. Not
worth his time, not useful to why he was here. Why he had been so enthusiastic
about this role. And he would play his part as long as it was necessarry.

Luckily the Queen looked rather pretty, dashing even. 
He bowed to her, now as she was greeting him personally. He placed a butterfly
kiss on her hand. "I too, thank you for your heartful welcome. It truly is a
pleasure to stand in front of such a remarkable leader such as you.", he said
with a charming little smirk. his red eyes catched her green ones and she had to
chuckle.

But as he stood back up, another presence pushed itself to his attention. It
belonged to the young man, smaller than him, blond hair and blue eyes sparkling
in the sun. He had a soft blush on his cheeks and his expression was... like
from a puppy waiting for someone to throw a toy. A joyous little smile and ears
perked up.
Vaati barely kept from raising an eyebrow. ´What´s up with that guy? He looks
like he´s about to vibrate away from excitement any moment...´ 
Said guy twitched into motion again as Zelda introduced him to be the Royal
Advisor, bowing slightly. ´What? This... child? Is this a joke? He looks like a
total pushover!´ Nonetheless, he nodded his head, the friendly smile still
plastered on his face.


They were introduced to a few more poeple and the long haired managed to keep
himself calm, even if he was less and less interested in all those Lords and
Ladys. After it was all done for now, he even got praised by his master
afterwards, a pat on the back and some reasuring words before they parted, each
into seperate rooms that were assigned to them. Not that praise from the old man
meant much to him. Those times were long behind him.

As he stood there alone he sighed and pulled his purple cap from his head. He
held it so he could look at the red stone in the front, gently rubbing over it
with his tumb. „Once I gain access to it´s full potential all this farce will
have an end... And everything will be as it should be.“, he mumbled to
himself, as if to chant himself up for the upcomming time. He would stay at the
castle for some time, officially to learn and interact with the people and
intermediate between their people. But in truth, Vaati had far higher abitions.
And this evening would be the first step to comming closer to his goal. All he
needed to do was to get close to the Queen, get all the information he could and
then it would all be but a nice little game until he had found what he searched
for. What he needed to get all these worms into the dust, where they belonged! 

Until that, why not have a little fun? He looked around the room with a smile on
his lips and a hand tossing back his hair, making his way to the bathroom. There
he stood in front of the big mirror, smirking to himself.

...

The large ballroom was full of music, soft lights that painted everything in a
warm gold. People were chattering all over the place, Ezlo had soon found
himself deep in discussions and talks about everything and nothing with some of
the scholars from the Royal Court. Luckily Vaati, was able to get away after a
while and instead managed to start a nice conversation with Queen Zelda,
enwrapping her in questions both generally or specific. He even sneaked in a few
personal ones, nothing too deep for the start. She loved the violin, and
boar-meat in any form was her favorite food. Her favourite colour was purple.
The wind mage mustered his most endearing laugh and made sure to make it
prominent that this was such a nice coincident, since it- obviously, was his
favourite colour as well.
A coincident indeed, but surely not an unwelcomed one. Some truth was always a
good foundation for a greater sceme.

For this evening, he wore his long hair in a high ponytail, his fringe a little
more out of his face and without his cap. People should recognise his face, once
he´d become their master, he found. It wasn´t out of his attention though, the
blushing faces and the many shy looks a lot of the womenfolk threw at him, when
they saw him. What an interesting and to be honest, refreshing change of
circumstances, compared to how the Picori often looked at him. Maybe it was due
to the many Sheikah around, that his appearance didn´t come of as strange
around this people. Ah, it truely seemed like this would be a walz in the park,
once everything was set aline. And then, surely even his people would see it´s
worth.

He adjusted his cloak which he now wore straigt, the golden clasp sitting
proudly in the middle of his collarbone. He wore a dark purple tunic made from
fine fabric with golden embroidery here and there. Instead of his casual pants
and sandals he had magiced himself into elegant darkblue, almost black trousers
and dark boots, silvery pieces of armour on his shins. He fit right in with all
the high reigns around him.
„Oh, they are here!“, Zelda said at some point, looking at people behind
him. He turned into the direction she pointed, to see some members of the other
races arriving to the festivities. „Lord Vaati, please let me introduce you to
some of the finest people in all of Hyrule!“, Zelda then said with a bright
smile and signed him to follow her towards a group of people, all wearing the
same sort of fabric over their elegant attire. It was blue with white
embroidered insignia on them. 

A Goron, tall and strong looking who´s face lit up as he saw another Goron wave
towards him, pointing at the Rockroast at the buffet. A Gerudo, with a stern
face, but motherly smiling as she noted Zelda aproaching. A young Zora woman,
talking to another, way taller man who looked a lot like her, but before he
could get a better look, the man left to mingle in with other people. And a
Rito, dark feathers that only made his emerald eyes even more piercing as he
looked rather upset around the place. As if he was to good to be here. Oh, it
must be fun, seeing that one on his knees, cowering in despair.

Vaati had to take a deep breath, so he wouldn´t start grinning like a maniac as
he bowed in greeting to those people. „Lord Daruk, Leader of the Gorons and
Pilot of Divine Beast Vah Rudania.“ Zelda introduced, and the big guy gave him
a clap on his back, that almost pressed all the air out of his body. He
refrained from coughing to loudly and insted plastered a wide smile on his lips,
internaly cursing this man. „Lady Urbosa, Chief of the Gerudo and a personal
friend to my familiy for a long time!“, the Queen went on with glee in her
eyes. „She pilotes Divine Beast Vah Naboris, keeping the desert frontier
save!“

So all of these were Pilots to those Divine Beasts, he had heared about a lot.
They had interested him for a long time, so maybe a chat with those people
wouldn´t be on the boring side. He bowed his head at Urbosa, feeling respect
meant a lot to her and she smiled friendly and bowed her head as well. „And of
course Lady Mipha, Princess of Zora´s Domain. She skillfully piloting Divine
Beast Vah Ruto as if she never did anything else before!“
Mipha gave a shy chuckle and gave a small curtsy, smiling gently at him. He
bowed respectfully with a hand on his chest. The last one was „Revali,
Bowmaster of the Rito. Pilot of Divine Beast Vah Medoh and one – if not the
best, archer in all of Hyrule!“ Hearing this, the Rito stuck up his beak a
little prider, smirking towards him as the mage politely took a little bow with
his head once more. All leaders and high figures of their respective race, it
seemed. They would soon realise, that there was one more to the table as of
today.

„I am pleased to meet such a distinguished lot of people. I hope relations
between our people will be fruitful.“, he said with a buttery smooth voice and
a soft smile. It seemed to have mostly the effect he had hoped for. But before
he could dive in some conversation, Zelda asked Urbosa to her side. „If you
have the time right now? I would like to discuss some things regarding the
upcomming days.“ - „Of course! Please execuse me everyone. Enjoy your
time!“, she said with a smile and especially gave a pat on the shoulder to
Rivali, who only let out a ´Pha!´ and looked away. 


„I just wanna make sure everything is best as possible!“, Zelda said as she
and Urbosa headed to a more secluded area to talk. „Oh, Little Bird,
everything will be just fine, believe me! He never was piky about anything in
particular and don´t forget, he is also a soldier who trained just as the rest
of us. Once you slept on nothing but a thin carpet over the sand, rolled up in
your blanket like a caterpiller in a cocoon, you start to enjoy the heavens out
of a cussion on a stool.“, the older woman said with a little chuckle.
„Maybe, but still! We were never this close to a real unification that went
above a simple alliance. I don´t wanna make any mistakes, this brings us all
into the future!“, the Queen stated, making a fist with her right hand. Urbosa
snorted and gave off a barking laughter, starteling the blonde woman a bit. 

„Yes of course, because that is the reason. You probably ordered your staff to
polish even the underside of the wardrobe from the room where he is going to
stay in.“, the Gerudo said, giving her young friend a cheeky look. It was
simply too cute watching all this. Especially as her cheeks grew bright red.
„That is not-“ - „Oh come on. You impressed him quite enough already. If I
weren´t sworn to confidence I could tell you how often exactly he had his
seamstress come in to perfectionate his wardrobe.“, she placed a hand on her
shoulder. „Everything will be fine, trust me. Just smile at him and it makes
him happy.“

Zelda sighed, still a little flustered. „You think so?“, she asked and
earned a nod from the Chief. But then she straigtened up, looking around the
large room for a moment until she found who she was looking for. „Speaking of
happy... how´s the wolf cub doing?“, she asked in a low tone and Zelda
followed her gaze. The man in question stood on the other side of the ballroom,
a glass of white wine in his hand but it looked more like the glass was what
anchored him to this room in the first place. He currently talked to Elder
Sahasrala, member of the Elder Council. 

Or more like the old man talked to him with Link just smiling politely, nodding
every once in a while. The blonde sighed. „I bet he´s wishing to go back to
his room. He hates events like this, even though he is fire and flame for
everything that´s going on right now.“ - „He is much too quiet for his own
good.“
Zelda smiled a little lopsided, pitiying her friend. „Yes. But also, he has
his reasons. And he has yet to overcome them.“ She looked back at Urbosa. „I
hope having Lord Ganondorf here will make him feel a little more... part of
something.“ The other gave a little smile. „We can only hope. Otherwise it
could end in desaster, whenever fate desides to go against us.“


Meanwhile, Vaati had managed a conversation with the so called Champions, that
was entertaining enough. 
Princess Mipha had a little blush on her face, her fingers loosly intertwining
in front of her chest. „It is quite embarassing to admit, but I never saw a
Picori before. Please don´t misunderstand it if I say, you look quite different
from what I´d imagined.“ - „Me neither!“, Daruk tuned in, looking at him
rather interested. Vaati tried to ignore it. Instead he kept his polite smile
and his calm voice. „No worries, that does say nothing about your
personalities. Due to our nature and small physic, extreme temperatures are not
our forte. Also, dispite us being able to, we aren´t the best swimmers, so we
avoid living close to large bodys of water like rivers and lakes.“ He gave a
glance towards Rivali.

„We also tend to stay away from the cold.“, he added and the way the Rito
threw his head away with yet another dismissive sound, he couldn't help but grin
internally. ´Look at all those critters, thinking themselfs as sinners with
tainted hearts. Do not worry little bugs... you will soon see everything that is
necessarry!´, he thought, his eyes tightening ever so slightly, like a pleased
cat.
Daruks´s voice got him back to the here and now. The big man scratched his
head. „So, there aren´t any Picori in Eldin, Hebra or even near Zora´s
Domain?“, he asked. „I always thought you guys live everywhere all over the
place.“ This left a bad aftertaste in Vaati´s mouth. A lot of the ´tall
folk´ seemed to think of them as something akin to rats. He kept his composure.
„Oh there are, just not close to danger and not in high numbers. Most of our
population resides in Central Hyrule and near mild-temperatured settlements.“
- „Ah, I see... Well you are welcome to visit Zora´s Domain whenever you
want, Lord Vaati!“, Mipha offered with a happy smile and Daruk nodded eagerly,
as if to say ´same here!´ 

Then Mipha raised her pointer finger to her hace. „Oh, you should meet my
little brother Sidon, he is always eager to meet new people and learn. He- Ah,
over there he is-“ Vaati turned to see the same, tall, red Zora from before
and frowned a bit. This guy was her little brother? Well on the other hand he
had heard that male Zoras hit their growth spurt a lot sooner than the females.
Then he noticed the Princess had gone quiet as she saw who her brother was
talking too. „Link...“, she mumbled but the others had heared her anyway.
„What? The little one? There he is, I was wondering about him!“, Daruk
cheered in a little. Revali klicked his beak. „What for? It´s not like
you´re gonna talk to him a lot or anything. Honestly it´s fascinating how your
brother can keep up a conversation with him for that long. Guess he is just a
real talent as a diplomat.“

It was rather surprising to hear so many words coming from the feathered man all
of a sudden. Not only that but they seemed to hit some spot for the other two,
their faces drooping quite a bit, taking the mood with them. Vaati raised an
eyebrow. Interesting?
„Don´t say that, Revali... Link is realy nice and courteous. There are a lot
of things you don´t know about him!“, Mipha tried to step in but the other
only made a disdainful sound. „Because you know so much more about him! As if
there was anything to know in the first place! With all due respect –
Princess, you only say that because you still have a crush on him even after he
turned you down!“

Vaati could see her eyes widen and her cheeks turning a deep red. „T-That is
not-“ - „Hey everyone, calm down, okay?“, Daruk leaned down to them, his
hands hovering at their backs. „This is not the place or time to have a fight.
Revali I don´t think you have the right to say stuff like this. Link realy is a
good guy, just because he is a little more quiet, doesn´t mean he-“ -
„Quiet? He is plain boring, is what he is! Just say it as it is! All he ever
does in meetups is stay glued to Queen Zelda, writing stuff like a total weirdo
and talk about stuff he ´once read about in a book´. Realy all he knows comes
from old paper, the guy has no experience in the real world. Just let´s himself
be pampered in the castle all day. I bet he shrivels up if he has to camp
outside for even one night“ - „Revali!“, Daruk tried again, a little more
stern this time. „He just got to be the Royal Advisor, because for some reason
he is Zelda´s best friend! However that came to be!“ - „What is your
problem with him?“, Mipha asked in an upset tone and Daruk could only shake
his head at him. „Tze! Guys like that get under my plumage! And if you´ll
execuse me now, I´ll get myself away from all this now!“, he stated and with
his head held high and a straight back he turned and made way towards the
buffet. „Re- … Please execuse this, Lord Vaati!“, the Princess bowed to
him, quite embarressed and flustered from all this, before she made her way
after the Bowmaster.

Daruk scratched his head, feeling uncomfortable. „Well... Sorry you had to
wittness this. Revali always has strong opinions about everything and he always
makes sure people know about them. He´s not a bad guy though. Always there if
one needs him and very eager to teach the children how to stand up for
themselves. I think that is why he... collides a bit with Link, who tries to be
as diplomatic and peaceful as possible.“, the tall said, a little smile on his
lips. „Probably a bit too much for his own good... but... that is neither here
nor there so.. uhm... I better get going too. Please enjoy your time here!“,
he said and went to finally join his fellow Gorons at the Rockroast buffet.

Vaati looked after them, unfaced by what just happened. If anything it was
entertaining to wittness as they marked themselves as potential playdolls. But
more importantly – He turned around and saw how the Zora prince just left the
blond with a little wave and a wide smile. ´Best friend of the Queen, huh?
Aren´t those some useful news?´ His expression became that of a hunting animal
fixating on his pray as he walked over to the man who looked after the Zora.
Vaati noted how his smile shrunk and his eyes got a sad touch to them.
Oh? He raised his eyebrows for a moment, then he changed back into his polite
mask. „Are you all right?“, he asked as he stood next to him, seeing the
other flinch a bit before swiftly turning to him. „Lord Vaati! Ah- yes I am
fine. A little tired, that is all.“, he answered and immediatly the mage could
see the nervousness rising in the shorter man. „Oh? It almost looked like
you´re sad that the Prince left you.“

It was almost funny how those blue eyes widened, nearly paniced and the deep red
hue his cheeks got. „No! No, no we just... it´s nice talking to him.“, he
quickly said but his voice got quieter towards the end. ´Dear Golden Three,
realy? Don´t tell me he turned the Princess down because he´s secretly in love
with her brother? What a joke!´ Now he barely could keep from laughing. Who
would have thought that beeing here would prove so amusing afterall? He looked
elsewere and instead inspected said Prince, who now talked to his sister again.
To be fair he was rather handsome and charismatic. And from what he could see,
he had quite the fanclub. A servant with a tray full of wineglasses appeared
next to them and Vaati took a glass, looking over to the young man. „One for
you as well, Master Link?“ - „Ah, no mine´s still rather full. Thank
you.“ Link made a waving gesture and gave a little smile. The other looked at
his glass, seeing how it was dripping with condensation. He had this glass for a
while. The magician shrugged and the servant left them again. „So. I heared
you and the Queen are good friends? May I ask how the two of you met?“

Link blinked at him, a bit baffled by the sudden change of topic. „Oh uhm...
we met shortly after I arrived here. We were both still children and played
together whenever there was time. We had some classes together and well.. over
time we became friends.“ Vaati saw how Link rubbed his fingers against his
bandages at his left hand, which he tried to hide a bit in his long sleeves.
This nervous behavior was enough to tell him, that there was probably more
behind it all but it was to no interest to him. And while he was starting to
wonder about those bandages, he tried to stay as focused as possible. Instead he
smiled cheerfully. 

„Ah, childhood friends, how nice! It must be greate to be friends with Queen
Zelda. She is known to be a strong but fair leader. She has a lot of fans among
the Picori as well. It would be fantastic to know more about her, since her
engangement was key to let our people open up to the idea of showing themselfes
again. And about time I say! We owe her a lot.“ 
Link slightly tilted his head, it made his bangs fall into his face a little
more fluffy and render his smile even more gentle. „Well, since you will stay
here for a while as the Picori ambassador, that would actually be a good idea.
Zelda- I mean her majesty likes tea a lot. She´d surely say yes to some
afternoon tea.“ - „Tea, hm? A nice idea but... We barely talked until now,
I´m still a stranger to her and I won´t want to come off as intrusive. Would
you mind being the one asking in my name?“

A smooth voice and  his moste charming smile sure did wonders as he saw another
little blush appear on the blonde´s face. „Uhm, sure. She has a lot to do
over the next few days so... I can´t promise anything on her behalf.“, Link
said, tucking his hair back but quickly putting his hand back down again.
Alright, now it got realy on his mind. He shook his head softly. „Of course,
but you asking in the first place would be very nice of you.“, he said, then
nodded to his hand. „Have you hurt yourself?“, he finally asked, feiging
concern but Link´s answer wasn´t satisfying at all. „Ah, no it´s... it´s
an old wound that hurts sometimes... And it´s not quite pretty so I cover it
up.“, he said with a lopsided smile but the way his posture slouched a little,
meant that wasn´t all there was to it. 

But Vaati couldn´t think much about that as suddenly the younger perched up
again. „Did you know, that the first tea was probably made about 5000 years
ago by a group of people, assosiated with today´s Sheikah tribe as a means to
nurture and heal? There are currently over 3000 different kinds of tea with
different bases and flavour combinations!“
Bewildered by this sudden burst of words comming from the other, the red eyed
stared at him for a moment. „Aha? How... peculiar...“, he stated and took a
sip of wine, trying to cover his irritation. ´If this is how he talks to new
people, at events like this, I see where the others are coming from.´

„The Zora have refined a lot of medicinical teas since then, for the water
coming from their springs holds a lot of healing properties and many medical
herbs and plants grow especially strong around Zora´s Domain. Also-“ 
´Mother Hylia, make it stop! This is not what I had planned...´ He eyed up
some other court members he needed to leave a good first impression on. And the
night would be long enough, regardless of all this talk about tea or not...
And just as the long haired thought this, three rather pretty, young women
showed up, each of them in lushious dresses, eager for Link´s attention.
„Master Link! Please would you dance with us?!“ - „Yes please! Just one
dance!“

Said man was a bit taken aback by this sudden onstorm, but then he gave them a
genuine smile that made the girls slightly squeal. „I´m very sorry but I
am... currently talking to our guest of honor.“, he said and Vaati felt
himself seize up a little. The three girls simultaniously swiped their heads
towards him, their curls and ribbons bobbing from the motion. It was as if they
had just seen him now, by how quickly they bowed and execused themselves. As
they walked away he could hear them whisper about how good he was looking. To
that he could only smirk and think, that at least those people had good taste.
It was nice to have his ego strocked the right way for once. Yet as he heared a
sigh from the side, he was reminded that now he needed an exit plan.
„I wouldn´t mind if you´d rather dance with those dashing young ladies.
Surely they´re sad now. I have plenty more people to talk to this evening.“
Maybe an obvious hint would get him away.

But the other only smiled lopsided again, looking after them. „They would be
more sad if I actually did dance with them. I can´t dance.“, he said and
Vaati couldn´t hide making a bit of a face. ´Isn´t it mandatory to those
castle folks to learn how to dance? I had to learn how to dance!´ He tried to
not remember how those lessions with Ezlo went. He had enough of feeling that
damned stick stricking his head once and for all. In fact, one of the first
things he would do once his plans came to fruition, was to take that bloody,
bird headed staff and bludgeon down that old geezer!

But before he could coment on it, a laugh cut him off, one that sounded mean and
dirty despite the clear voice and the clean looking man it came from. He had
shoulder long, slightly curly brown hair and from the way he was dressed it
seemed like he was a member of the Royal Knights, with the ornamental pieces of
armour on his shins and shoulders, along with the elegant decorative sword on
his side. „Isn´t it less about your lack of dancing skill and more about the
nature of your desired partner?“, the man stated, as he came close to them. A
little too close it seemed as Vaati could see Link seizing up quite a bit, his
posture straight but deffensive none the less. The smile he tried to muster was
as forced as the eyecontact he made with the man. „Sir Rahem. How nice to see
you here. Is your lovely wife also atending? I can imagine it to be rather
exhausting, attending an event like this in her state. Which month is it by
now?“

Vaati blinked as he was rather impressed with the tone, in which Link talked to
this man. It looked like friendly banter yet... there was something else hidden
deep behind those words, things only the receiver knew about. And it seemed to
hit as the man narrowed his eyes, taking a welcomed step back. He started
smiling again, but it was just as obligatory. „The 5th. And she just stepped
out to get some fresh air. I was just about to join her, but I saw you and
simply had to say hello. Normally you´d be fleeing back to your room this time
around.“
Link pressed his lips together.

Vaati felt the tension in the air and he absolutely did not like it, when the
guy turned towards him, a slimy smile on his face. „And of course to our guest
of honor! Please, Lord Vaati, if you ever need anything don´t hesitate to ask
for us knights. Be it to escort you or simply if you have a question. Every
member of the staff is advised to absolute cooperation.“, he said and gave a
little bow. ´Oh you will cooperate, don´t worry.´ Vaati thought, yet all he
could muster was a slight smile and a nod. „If you´ll execuse me now... My
wife is waiting.“ Sir Rahem then made way, yet as he was right next to Vaati
he leaned a bit in to talk in a low tone, although surely he was aware Link
could also still hear him. „Forgive my bluntness, my Lord, but a word of
honesty... Find yourself a better company before things... rub off.“ And
before Vaati could ask what that meant he was off, tending to a lovely looking
woman who´s dress could only do so much in hiding the bump on her belly.

What in Hylias name had that been about? He turned back towards Link, wondering
if the guy was realy just that unpopular. 
Meanwhile for Link, everything had just become unbearably loud. The music was
vibrating uncomfortably through his body, the chattering of people and all the
other noises they made, ringing in his ears. Suddenly it was like he was aware
of every single living thing in this room to a point where it became simply too
much.

He downed his wine, which had become warm and sour at this point, the bad taste
mirroring in his face, before he turned away from Vaati, barely turning his head
over his shoulder as he spoke. „I am sorry, for wasting your time... please
enjoy the rest of your evening.“, he said and almost stormed off, leaving his
glass on the tray of a passing by servant.
Vaati looked after him pretty befuddled. 
The affairs of these tall people were oh so exciting. At least he wouldn´t be
bored, during his time here.



                             Kapitel 2: Chapter 2
                             --------------------


It was late in the morning when Vaati decided to get out of the soft bed his
guestroom had. Those
Rito down really were something. He liked his bed of moss and cloth at home, the
earthy smell and
the cozy feeling of home. But this bed was just perfect after the long night he
got behind him. He
felt well rested and like taking a walk around the castle. But not just like
that, no he made way back
to the garden and used the Picori Door to change back into his real form. He
stretched and fluffed
up his tail.

In this form it was easy to summon his wind magic and simply step through the
air like it was solid
ground. Like this, he got around swiftly and without much effort. And whenever
he flew by
someone, a gush of air made them squeal, squint their eyes and hold their
dresses, hats or even
helmets. Vaati laughed, his way leading all over the place, through hallways and
leaping from one
tower to another. 

And to his pleasure, old Picori passages were hidden all over the place, but for
him they were
bluntly visible. But old they truly were, spiderwebs and plantlife in every nook
and cranny. It was as
Ezlo had told him, no Picori lived on Castle Grounds for ages. As to why, there
was no clear
answer. Some sort of agreement with the Royal Family or maybe they found it
unsafe to stay in this
highly guarded area. Invisible to most or not, things getting rearranged, or
food depleting faster as it
should, would raise eyebrows. But Vaati wouldn't stop thinking, maybe they got
cast out from here.
There were spells capable of doing this. He had learnt that the idea of tiny
people spying on them,
was something a lot of those fine Lords and Ladys feared.

Vaati snorted. `Fearing to be found out, I see´ , he thought as he landed on a
windowsill, watching
some of the guards playing cards instead of watching outside the guards tower.
He smirked and with
a twirl of his finger, all the cards flew up to the ceiling, falling down like
leaves from a tree in
autumn. He laughed at the soldiers as they cursed and tried to catch them,
fighting over who had
which.

He jumped away, making one, two, three steps in the air, before coming to a halt
in mid air, his hair
and cloak floating from the magical air. Down at the training grounds he saw the
knight from
yesterday, Sir Rahem, training with a dummy made of straw. In a fit of bad mood,
he flew down and
just as the man swung his sword at the mannequin, he sped around his head, his
feathery tale
swiping at the man's eyes. It made Rahem cry out and tumble, right against the
straw, almost falling
over, weapon in hand and all. Others came over immediately, laughing a bit as
they helped him up,
stating he surely was still drunk from the night before. The anger of
embarrassment in the man´s
face eased Vaati´s mood again.

When he glided over a higher up part of the castle, he could see another small
garden with another
familiar someone. Link sat underneath the lone appletree, surrounded by lots of
flowers and soft
grass. In the corner was a flower bed with different herbs and in another one
grew some vegetables.
There also was a little pond, housing three Sanke Carp and some small lotus
flowers about to
bloom. A roofed over terrace with an open wooden door inside his private rooms.

Vaati sat on a rooftop to the side, just looking at how he sat there with a book
in his hand reading in
silence, seemingly at peace. He looked so different from the day before, relaxed
and comfortable.
Curled up to his side, was a fluffy looking Remlit, gently purring to the soft
scratches she received
from Link with his free hand who skillfully turned pages with the thumb of the
hand he held the
book with. The appletree looked so healthy it almost sparkled in the sunlight,
so many young
blossoms rivaled for the attention of the many bees buzzing around.

The Picori´s first intent was to send a big gust of wind, as to disturb him,
but all he could muster
was a soft breeze that made some flower petals dance around the man, his blond
hair caressing his
cheeks ever so lightly. And as the man looked up into the sky with a soft smile,
something shook
Vaati to the core.

He quickly shook his head, turning and with his little feet tipper-tapper over
the roof, he built up
momentum for another big jump.

This time he went straight up to the highest tower of Hyrule Castle, only a pair
of kestrels who had
their nest up here eyed him up intensely.

“I´m not here for your eggs, relax.“, he said and climbed even higher up
the roof, to where the
Hyrulian banner was proudly waving in the wind. Along with... some strange
looking little leaves,
looking like they danced around the metal pole.

"A forest child, up here?“, he wondered and just as he said it, there was a
plopping sound and next
thing he stared into the leaf face of a Korok.

"Yahaha! A Picori, how fun! It's been a long time since one of you was around
these old walls. You
live here now?“, the creature asked, and Vaati looked over his shoulder upon
all that was Hyrule
Castle.

"For a while. What are you doing here? So far away from Korok Forest.“

The little guy dangled his stubby feet as he held onto his propeller set of
leaves above him. "Oh just
enjoying the view. The sunsets up here are fantastic, yaha!“

The mage let his eyes wander upon the scenery around him as he said that. The
air up here felt cool
and was clear of all that stench the humans left all around with their perfumes
and make up.

He closed his eyes for a moment, his hair flowing in the wind. "Ah, yes of
course I am also looking
out for them, down there!“

He followed his gaze down to the nest and nodded. "Good to see they are in good
hands...“, he said
and then he simply turned around, hopping down ignoring the Korok waving
goodbye, heading
back to his own quarters.

Back in his Hylian form, he found a letter stuck to his door. It was from the
Queen, asking to meet
him at the balcony at noon. He grinned. Good boy Link had done what he had asked
for.
Since it was almost time, he just went back inside to get his looks in order,
before making his way
to meet with Zelda.

…


"I was happy to hear you wanted to spend some time with me to talk!“, the
blonde said with a smile
and leaned back comfortably in her chair, teacup in her hand and enjoying the
smell of it. It was a
herbal blend and Vaati found it to be quite delicious.

"Of course! As the new ambassador of my people, it is of utmost importance to
establish a good
relationship between the two of us.“, he smiled. "And I personally hope we can
even become good
friends.“, he added with an underline purr to his voice.

The Queen chuckled and her expression became almost one of a young child. "That
would indeed
be nice! Unfortunately I don't have that much time today. We're awaiting another
guest, who will be
arriving soon. But when Link told me about your request this morning, I wanted
to make sure to
meet with you before all the hussle starts. You're our guest of honor still! Our
new guest comes just
to meet you too!“, she said and her eyes lit up a little more. Vaati found her
to indeed be quite
beautiful. Very different from a Picori maiden.

It made things easier, enjoyable even. "Well then I´m looking forward to
meeting this guest. Can
you tell me who it is? Or is that a surprise?“, he asked with a chuckle,
leaning his arms on the table
as he took another sip from his tea, using this gesture to shorten the distance
between them.

Zelda clasped a hand to her cheek, as she realized she hadn´t talked about it
before. "Oh I haven't
mentioned, have I? King Ganondorf of the Gerudo is visiting Hyrule Castle for
the first time too!
It's just as big of a deal as your arrival here!“ Her fingers intertwined and
touched her chin. She
looked full of joy. "Truly marvelous days we live in right now! I´m so
happy!“

Vaati gave a little smirk. "And if I dare say, that happiness mirrors in your
beauty.“

At that, she looked at him quite surprised and with rosy cheeks. "Oh! Why, thank
you for that
compliment, I’m flattered!“

He pushed his hand through his hair giving her a charming look. She took another
sip of her tea and
Vaati got an idea. "Did you know, there are around 3000 different kinds of
tea?“

She sat down her cup and looked back at him. "Yes, isn't it fascinating, the
amount of things in this
world we are able to consume? As a matter of fact, I decided to try as many tea
flavors as possible!
As of now, I have tasted exactly 752 different kinds of tea!“, she said
proudly.

Vaati had to huff a little out of his nose at that. "Really? Well maybe there
are some interesting ones
among the Picori. I´ll make sure to bring you some, if you'd like?“

"That would be wonderful! I´m sure Link would like to try as well, he loves
trying out all sorts of
foods and drinks. Though he's not fond of anything alcoholic.“

Vaati raised an eyebrow, thinking back at the glass of wine from yesterday. "Is
that so?... Well. To
each their own.“, he duly noted.
As Zelda swiftly turned to her right, he followed her gaze. "Ah there he is.“,
she said but Vaati had
to squint at it.

The balcony they sat on gave way to look over to the southern main gate where
someone on a
brown and white horse was about to leave. The person was clothed in a blue
garment, on his head
was something akin to a crown. Or horns, maybe? It looked familiar somehow but
right now, he
couldn't make sense of it. Blond, shoulder long blond hair bobbed in movement
with the horse. That
was Link?

"Where is he going?”, he asked without even thinking. "To Nayru's Temple on
the Great Plateau,
and will likely be back late in the afternoon. He goes there once a week to
pray. He takes his duty as
high priest very seriously. And since the annual visit to the Great Springs is
near, I guess he's also
preparing for that.“

Vaati stared at her. "Link is... Nayru´s high priest? I thought he was your
advisor?“, he asked,
baffled by the news.

Zelda watched her friend leave through the gate, two Sheikah guards on horseback
not far behind
him. "Link has many roles at the Castle. Sometimes I worry about it being too
much for him, but he always just smiles and says he loves to be busy. He's my
advisor, does the council meeting records and has authority as high priest. I
know he sometimes barely sleeps but everything is done exceptionally punctually
and worked on with great care. To be honest, I don't know what I would do
without him.“, she said with a lopsided smile.

It was a bit embarrassing for her to admit, but there were those days when the
council meetings
were just that boring and she barely remembered anything that had been said. So
it was truly a gift
from above, to be able to simply read through Link´s records in private, a cup
of tea and a biscuit on
her desk next to the papers.

Vaati owlishly blinked at her before looking back at the man who had become
almost not visible in
the distance anymore. "Why is he accompanied by Sheikah guards? Shouldn't it be
someone from
the Royal Guard?“

Her sigh made him look back at her. "That's... complicated. Let´s just say, he
feels better with the
Sheikah. <em>I</em> feel better for him to be with the Sheikah.“

Vaati only nodded, even though he wasn't quite satisfied with that answer. What
was it about that
guy that raised so many questions?

"Seems like he's a busy guy then.“, he mumbled once more.

Zelda perked up as she seemed to remember something else. "In fact there is one
more thing!
Master Ezlo surely talked to you about that? What we need your help with?“

Now his expression got serious, a sharp look in his eyes. "Yes of course. You
want our help in
finding that sword, don´t you?“

She nodded, folding her hands in front of her on the table. "Yes. We think it is
best to at least know
and secure it´s location, if it may be unable to be brought somewhere else for
safekeeping. If history
is correct, it is simply too important to leave it, where a potential enemy may
find it first.“

Once more the mage brushed his hair back. "But aren’t there certain...
requirements to be met, to
even be able to get the sword? As far as I know, no one with evil intent may
even touch the blade. It
needs someone chosen by the Goddesses to acquire it.“, he stated.

`Or someone who knows how to go around that safety measure.´

The blonde nodded. "Yes, that is why whe at least wanna know where it is. So we
have access to it
when we need it. The Picori are known to have aided mankind before with a blade,
blessed by the
goddesses. Maybe you have some knowledge that is helpful to us. Alongside that,
you have acess to
completely different places around Hyrule.“, she said. "And as it is, Link is
the one researching
every piece of information we have. Right now he is deep in translations of old
texts we found in
our archives.“

Vaati pricked up his ears. "Link is also researching the Master Sword?", he
asked, his eyes wide in
disbelief. How much work was one person out to do? It truly seemed like there
was more to the man
than it led on. Or he simply was just a pushover, doing everything he was asked
for.

"And is he doing so alone?", he asked further, his interest certainly awoken.

Zelda nodded. "There aren't a lot of people knowing about it in the first place.
We try to avoid
unwanted attraction. People trying to sell us fake swords or lure us on false
paths, the likes. And
since Link is our best translator, I leave the matter to him unless he asks for
help.", she leaned her
head from right to left, pressing her lips a bit together. "Which, of course, he
doesn’t. So maybe if
you could actually go speak with him?"

In all honesty, with what he knew now, he would have done so either way. But
this gave him an
opportunity to smile gleefully at her and nod. "Of course! How could I not
assist in such an
important matter? And on top of that, a personal request of our fair Queen! It
is my pleasure!", he
said in his buttery voice and it seemed to please the woman.

But just before Vaati could continue with some smooth talk, she actually jumped
up from her seat,
turning towards the main gate. Just then the horns were blown, signaling for a
new, important
arriver. "King Ganondorf is here! Oh, I need to hurry and get ready!!"

The mage watched as all of a sudden she had become all flustered in excitement.
"Please excuse
me, Lord Vaati but I have to go now.", she gave a little bow.

Vaati tried to hide his annoyance behind one of his smiles as he stood up. "But
of course. Don't let
such an important guest wait because of me.", he said and looked after her as
she hurried away.

As she was gone he sat back down and snorted in anger as he took another sip of
his tea. He had a
feeling this Ganondorf fella would prove to be a nuisance by how he made her
eyes shine bright.
He calmed himself by taking a deep breath. For now he had something else to do.
But for that Link
needed to come back first. Who would have thought that of all people, this guy
would prove to be
such a helpful pawn? Vaati smiled to himself.

...

He was strolling to the impressive library as a servant informed him that Master
Link had returned.
He nodded to that and finished the current page, before closing and returning
the book. From what
he had seen this morning, it was easy for him to locate the others living
quarters, and sure enough
he found the door with the right name next to it. Without hesitation he knocked
and chuckled to the
surprised sound he could hear from inside. 

"Yes.", he could hear Link say and so he entered, his eyes immediately fixated
on the man who
looked back with irritation in his bright eyes.

He stood there in the same comfortable clothes he had worn this morning, a
casual beige robe
which was too big for him, but he seemed to like that, the way he had it loosely
hanging from his
shoulders. A dark blue tunic and brown fabric trousers and... barefoot as he
stood there between a
tall shelf which reached from the floor to the ceiling, full of books and the
small end of his desk.

But the first thing Vaati noted beside Link, was the scent. A mixture of herbs
and citron, with a fine
undertone of what could only be Tabantha Rose. It was very nice and,
irritatingly enough, fit the
other man so well.
"Lord Vaati! How can I help you?", Link asked, still a bit baffled at the
other’s sudden appearance.

To be honest, after yesterday's evening he wasn't sure how he should behave
around him now. But
the man in purple only smiled at him.

"Excuse me if I disturb your work. But I wanted to talk to you about something,
if you have the
time, that is?" - "Ah, yes! Yes of course. Please-", he grabbed another chair
from the side and placed
it in front of his desk, gesturing to it. "take a seat. Do you want anything to
drink?", he asked and
Vaati could see the nervous glance to the side. It was almost amusing. And...
cute?

He sat down and shook his head. "No thank you."

He looked calmly around the room while Link sat down too, getting some papers
out of the way,
stacking them properly to the side

This was the other thing Vaati noted, that everything here in his study was very
organized and clean.
Even the seemingly scattered pieces of paper on the desk seemed to have some
sort of system to
them. There were open books and scrolls on his desk and in baskets, neatly
tucked to the side.
There were two more of those high bookshelves at the wall, and at the end there
stood a beautifully
crafted wooden cabinet with a part with glass doors on top. Shown in there was
an even more
beautiful book, bound in white leather with engravings on it. It looked worn yet
taken care of all the
same. How peculiar...
Next to that cabinet was the door that led outside the garden, since he could
see it through the
windows.The large desk in front of them, a comfortable looking chair in
between.

To his left were another low shelf and - to his surprise a small workbench,
wooden figures and
carving tools, neatly arranged. Some potted plants here and there, pictures of
insects and flowers on
the walls, dried herbs and a banner with the Hyrulean insignia. And another door
which probably
led to his private rooms.

He looked back at the blond, still smiling. "First off I wanted to thank you for
talking to the Queen
for me. We had a lovely tea time during lunch. Even though it was cut short by
the arrival of King
Ganondorf. I am looking forward to meeting him this evening at dinner.", he
looked to the side with
slightly raised eyebrows, simply unable to hide all of his actual lack of
interest.

But Link either didn't notice, or politely ignored it. Instead he gave a warm
smile that caught Vaati´s
eyes.

"Oh so she did have time at hand so quickly! How nice, I´m happy it worked.",
he placed his hands
on the desk, the right covering the left. But other than that, he still seemed
quite comfortable, so this
room is probably his ´safe zone´.

The longhaired nodded. "We talked about a few different things, but one of them
was something she
asked me to address to you. It's about something you´re apparently working on
and which I can
probably provide some assistance.", he said and looked at the books, seeing if
they already
contained the matter.

Link's ears twitched almost unnoticably. "You mean the research of the Master
Sword. Yes we do
hope that you would be able to help. Even if only maybe with some translations,
since it seems your
people have knowledge of some of the older languages of Hyrule.", he looked at
the same books. "I
currently try to translate a few of the oldest books from the library, but it is
quite the task to be
honest. I´m working on it for over a year by now, but barely made any
progress."
He leaned over to grab the top book and opened it, placing it in front of Vaati
who took a look at the
page.

His eyes flitted across the words and letters and he hummed and nodded. "This is
indeed very old
Hylian. I can read some of it but translating it so it makes sense is
difficult.", he said.
He flinched as Link clapped down his hands on the table, looking at him like he
was some sort of
otherworldly being. "Really?! You can read this?! W-What does it say?"

Link looked down and up again a few times between the book and the other's face
who could only
give a lopsided smile. "As I said, translating it is difficult. It's not done so
quickly and as mentioned,
I can only read some of the words. I´m sorry but I think barely anyone - even
among the Picori, is
able to do so."

But that wouldn´t damp Link´s enthusiasm. "Then would you please work with
me?", he asked,
practically jumping out of his chair and Vaati was sure barely anyone ever heard
the others voice
this loud and lively. 

He seemed to notice this too, as he stared for a second before sitting down
again, clearing his voice
and a light blush on his cheeks. "Please excuse me. This is just very
exciting."

Vaati barely kept from a little chuckle, watching as the other rubbed over his
bandages. Now he was
sure that this <em>had</em> to be a nervous tic.

"Well.", he then said. "Since the Queen personally requested it, I don't see why
not. If I can be of
help, I´ll try my best."

The hopeful, almost sparkling expression Link had in his eyes pulled back that
thought about
cuteness to his mind. But after just a moment he stored it back again somewhere
far back, with a lot
of other non important things.

"Thank you so much, Lord Vaati! I'm sure with your help there will be great
progress in no time!"
Link beamed at him.

The mage smiled once again like a pleased cat. "Of course, but let's talk about
the rest tomorrow.",
he said and stood up. "There is not much time until the dinner party for the
King. I believe the
Champions are also attending?"

Link perked up and looked at the table clock. "Mh. Is it that late already…?"

He looked back, expression clearly a bit down but he tried to smile nonetheless.
"Yes they will be
there as well."

He stood up pulling his robe tighter. "Thank you for coming by. I suppose I
should get myself ready
as well."

Vaati nodded slightly and then turned for the door. "Until later then.
Goodbye."

Soon as he was back in the hallway he couldn´t hide his malicious grin anymore.
How fortunate
that he was led right to the biggest key he needed in his plan. And he didn't
even need to be subtle
about the subject and with someone so eager to help him it would probably be
easy to get the heavy
work done. He laughed a little, walking back to his own quarters. Truly the gods
must stand behind
his plan!

...

After Zelda officially introduced the Gerudo King to everyone, they sat down at
the big round table,
full of all different kinds of food. Link had only met the man once, at an
official meeting. Since it
was strictly forbidden for men - the King excluded, of course, to enter Gerudo
City, it had been held
at Kara Kara Bazaar, not too far from it. A beautiful oasis with lots of plant
life that Link would
have liked to study some more, yet the heat had cut the 3 days short that they
had spent there. But
even after this short amount of time, Lord Ganondorf had been nothing but nice
to him, always
making sure to include him in conversations.

At first, Link had been a bit intimidated by the man, who was even half a head
taller than Urbosa.
Not to mention his muscle mass that had shown proudly with half his chest being
bare at the time.
But his calm and friendly demeanor, along with Zelda's cheerful stories of her
previous meetings
with him, made Link warm up to the King in practically no time. It helped that,
with 28 he was also
only 4 years older than himself. Sometimes they just talked about their hobbies
and favorite things.

But that had been just the three of them, sometimes four if Lady Urbosa had been
there too. But she
managed the City as long as the King was away. He wondered who was in charge
now, as she sat
right next to the Lord talking to Mipha. Ganondorf was listening with full
interest to Master Ezlo’s
explanation of Picori life around the desert and his affirmations that they too,
honored the law of the
Gerudo, so no male Picori would enter the city. Actually, no Picori at all was
living there, since the
desert would be too dangerous to cross. According to the old man, the last
Picori settlement in that
area was underneath the Gerudo Canyon Stable.

Link wondered how such a settlement would look like, being built underneath a
building such as a
Stable. And if maybe every Stable had a small little city underneath. But he
didn't ask, instead he
quietly ate his soup, only sometimes looking up to show his own interest in the
conversation.

Sometimes he glimpsed at Vaati, who sat next to him to his right, and tried to
make sense of his face.The pale man seemed rather enervated by the talk. Or was
it the King who made him cut his meat so aggressively? Every now and then it was
as if he was shooting daggers at the man, mostly if he turned to the Queen who
sat between Ganondorf and Ezlo, of course the guests of honor left and
right to her. It was rather visible that the two monarchs had taken liking to
each other.

Was Vaati jealous? Link smiled and nodded to the servant who brought his fish
but as he looked at
it, he exhaled silently. Somehow that thought made him feel down. Well, of
course it did.
He stabbed a piece of potato and put it in his mouth, angry at himself. Stupid.

"We can really count ourselves lucky to have your people back, Master Ezlo. I
hope we can build a
great future, with all of Hyrule at peace. There are still so many things we are
yet to discover, it's
truly an adventure, living in these times.", Ganondorf said with a big smile,
his golden earrings
bobbing as he laughed a little. Actually, Link was glad that today, the man was
wearing clothing
more akin to the Hylian style, yet clearly Gerudo in design. Otherwise looking
into his face would
be a struggle for everyone around. Even Daruk, to his left, seemed to squint at
the man, surely
wondering if he would accept a challenge for a competition in armwrestling.

But the Goron looked down to his other side as Revali chirped up a little
chuckle. "My Lord if I
may. If you want to know more about these parts of Hyrule, you should definitely
converse with our
good Master Link over here."

Link froze as he heard his name, Revali´s voice sounded friendly but with this
certain undertone of
a spiteful smirk that made his ears pull back.

"He knows about almost everything, the man is like a walking encyclopedia,
really. Isn't that right,
<em>friend</em>?" He leaned back, crossing his wings, looking at the blond and
completely
ignoring Mipha and Urbosa, glancing at him with angry looks.

Daruk obviously tried to save it, as he faked a laugh, but gave an honest smile
at Link. "He's really
smart!"

Yet it did nothing much, it seemed, as Vaati watched with a frown as Link slid
his left hand from the
table, nervously rubbing his fingers against the fabric as he turned towards the
Gerudo King, trying
to smile. "Oh it's not <em>everything</em>, that's for sure. But maybe I can
answer at least some
of your questions, so if you ever have anything you want to know about, maybe I
can at least
research it for you."

"Yes, he knows every book in the library. Personally.", the Rito jested, but
then he flinched a little,
as he felt a sharp pain in his shin, looking at Mipha with a frown, before her
stern look made him
roll his eyes.

But when he made eye contact with Vaati for a brief moment, he actually recoiled
slightly. Why he
made such a reproving face at the Champion, he didn't know himself, but for some
reason it felt
right. This was an official dinner, was it not?

Luckily Lord Ganondorf was ahead of the conversation, cheerfully smiled and even
laughed a little,
his tone charismatic and honest. "I remember you saying something about some
sort of catalog
you´re working on? So I probably will indeed come to seek your knowledge
whenever I need
advice. After all, Zelda told me only good things about your work!"

Link smiled back, thankful for the other´s people skills. "I am happy to hear
that.", he said and
looked over to Zelda, giving her a slight nod which she answered with a cute
smile.

The rest of the dinner was thankfully filled with light conversations all
around, so Link could
choose whom to listen to, yet he barely spoke himself, concentrating on his food
instead.

Sometimes he nipped on his wine glass, which interestingly enough didn't even
contain wine. Vaati
could tell. Picori had fine noses and he would recognize Wildberry juice
anywhere.

He leaned over slightly, keeping his voice low. Link looked curiously at him as
he noticed. "The
Queen told me you aren't fond of alcohol?", he asked and looked towards Link‘s
glass. "Good thing
you got something better today then."

Link felt himself shudder by the deep vibration of Vaati´s voice which made his
ears tickle ever so
slightly. But his words made his eyes a little wider and he looked towards his
glass himself, then
back to the mage.

"You can tell?", he asked and to the mage’s surprise it sounded more wondrous
than panicked.

He tipped his nose. "Picori have fine noses.", he said with a thin smile. "And
we can see a few more
colors than most other races. Your drink has a slightly different kind of red.
Not as dark."

Link hummed a little as if thinking deep about those informations.
"Interesting...", he mumbled and
Vaati watched as there appeared the finest wrinkle around the blond´s nose his
brain seemingly at
work.

The word ´cute´ was dancing through his inner mind once more, but it came and
went as Link
perked up and looked back at him. "Please don't tell anyone.", he asked with a
little smile.

The other raised an eyebrow. "Would you be made fun of for that? I heard it is
custom to your race
to be drinking at a certain age. Especially as a man." But Link just shrugged a
bit. Vaati leaned back
again, but not looking away.

"Your customs are a bit irritating sometimes."

"Try living with them every day.", he said with a lopsided smile, turning
towards his dessert as it
was placed in front of him. There seemed to be a little twinkle in his eyes as
he looked at the Egg
Pudding, Vaati taking some time before tending to his own, something saving up
in his mind as
well.

---

"Is it always like this?", Ganondorf stepped next to Zelda, putting a light
blanket over her shoulders.
They stood outside of what Zelda liked to call her ´teatime balcony´ where she
had sat with Vaati
before. The view over the Castle Grounds, Hyrule Field to far over to the Great
Plateau was
breathtaking day and night. But it was rather chilly this time of the year. So
she smiled in thanks at
the man who had grabbed her a blanket from one of the chairs.

"Define ´always´. For some reason Revali can´t shut it whenever Link is there
too.", she sighed,
letting her eyes wander over the nightly scenery. The full moon made everything
shine in silvery
light. "He doesn't even mean any harm, he's just mad at him for not <em>living
to his full
potential</em>, as he has put it."

"So he tries to poke the snake with a stick in hope it would bite?", The red
haired man asked with a
frown.

Zelda leaned against him with a little moan of frustration. "Like dealing with a
stubborn child. The
Rito pride is truly something to behold. I'm glad Mipha seems to have him
somewhat under control.
But I told you about her story too, didn´t I?"

Ganondorf nodded. "What irritates me is, from what you tell about him, he seems
like a lone wolf,
but having met and talked to him, it feels like he's... hiding from the world.
Selectively choosing to
whom he opens up."

"Link is... I can't tell you the whole story, there are things I don´t know
myself since he refuses to
talk about it but... he's a burned child.", she said, her tone as sad as the
look on her face.

The man hummed to that. "So he avoids the ´fire´?", he asked.

She nodded. "People have been bad to him throughout his whole life.", she sighed
again, "I can't
begin to explain how frustrating it is to not be able to help him. He's my best
friend and yet... most
of the time I know only half the story and what I do know more about, he asked
me to forget about
it."

The Gerudo put his strong arm around her and she relaxed against his chest,
content to be able to do
so. "Everyone lives at their own pace. Everyone´s wounds heal differently. And
everyone is dealing
with hurt differently. Maybe he just needs more time.", he said in a low,
reassuring tone, enjoying
the scent of her hair.

She hummed a little, closing her eyes. "I hope there is someone out there, who
will be allowed to
see who he really is. I think that person will be very surprised.", she
mumbled.

Unnoticed by both of them, was the Picori who stomped away, grinding his teeth.
After the dinner
he had sneaked after them, wanting to know exactly what was going on. Small as
he was it wasn´t
hard to hide, but he wouldn't put it past the King to be able to see him as
well, so he had made sure
to stay far enough away from them. Still, he had seen enough.

Back in his room he turned off all the lights with a single swipe of the hand,
the moon offering
enough light for him and he wanted the cold atmosphere right now. He poured
himself a drink,
standing by the window and staring outside, brooding.

This damned Gerudo hunk of muscle! What should he do now? That put a straight
cut through his
plan to get the Queen under his thumb. It would complicate things just as he
thought he had found a
way to get it easy.

He took a sip from his glass, letting the fluid flow over his tongue. He missed
Picori wine. This
stuff isn't bad at all, but too strong, a bitterness to it. No wonder Link
didn't like it.

"Actually... no, this is brilliant!", he mumbled, suddenly grinning. "If the
Queen is distracted by her
little romance, she has no time to watch my doings. And if I get the little
pushover to trust me,
maybe he'll just lead me straight to everything I need!"

His grin grew wide, almost twisted to a point where it distorted his face in an
evil amusement that
ran through his whole body.

He couldn't help but start laughing.




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