#characters singing

“Don’t you ma’am me!”

Oops.

Yes, Purah.

“Better. Okay. I’m watching the system resource usage levels. Everybody stay totally quiet. I’ll count thirty seconds. Link, just try to concentrate on your breathing, okay? Try not to follow a train of thought. It’ll contaminate my results.”

Crap. I’ve tried not to do that before, it didn’t go so-

“I SAID TRY NOT TO.”

Mmmmm.

One one-thousand two one-thousand three one-thousand four one-thousand five one-thousand six one-thousand seven one-thousand eight one-thousand nine one-thousand ten one-thousand eleven one-thousand twelve one-thousand thirteen one-thousand fourteen one-thousand fifteen one-thousand sixteen one-thousand seventeen one-thousand eighteen one-thousand nineteen one-thousand twenty one-thousand twenty-one one-thousand twenty-two one-thousand twenty-three one-thousand twenty-four one-thousand twenty-five one-thousand twenty-six one-thousand twenty-seven one-thousand twenty-eight one-thousand twenty-nine one-thousand thirty one-thousand.

“Wow, Link. That was pretty smart.”

“…You can supposedly tell how far away lightning is by counting like that until you hear thunder.”

“A little hand-wavy but it’ll sorta work. And it worked for this. The signal level from you to the slate was pretty consistent, and that’s probably easier for you to do than keeping your mind totally blank. Okay. Unsheathe the sword. Hold it. Same deal.”

One one-thousand two one-thousand three one-thousand four one-thousand five one-thousand six one-thousand seven one-thousand eight one-thousand nine one-thousand ten one-thousand eleven one-thousand twelve one-thousand thirteen one-thousand fourteen one-thousand fifteen one-thousand sixteen one-thousand seventeen one-thousand eighteen one-thousand nineteen one-thousand twenty one-thousand twenty-one one-thousand twenty-two one-thousand twenty-three one-thousand twenty-four one-thousand twenty-five one-thousand twenty-six one-thousand twenty-seven one-thousand twenty-eight one-thousand twenty-nine one-thousand thirty one-thousand.

“Okay. Is your creep-out level any different?”

“No.”

“…Can you give me a rating from zero to ten? Like, if you weren’t anxious at all it’d be zero. And 10 is crazy irrational panic.”

Glad it’s not that... “I guess it’s about a four.”

“Okay. Now I want you to lean the sword against the ladder and let it go.”

F-! “It doesn’t want me to do that.”

“WOW-“ “Link, that’s amazing!” “Are you sure?” “Holy s@#&-“ “It’s really TALKING to you?”

Wow. Wow. I felt that. I FELT it. It’s not words. What’s going on? It’s never done this before, has it? What’s different about today?

“Link AND everybody else, please shut up. Now I can’t tell whether there’s any difference!!! It processes everything you all say, so SHUSH! Link, do your counting thing while you lean the sword up.”

One one-thousand two one-thousand three one-thousand four one-thousand five one-thousand six one-thousand seven one-thousand eight one-thousand nine one-thousand ten one-thousand eleven one-thousand twelve one-thousand thirteen one-thousand fourteen one-thousand fifteen one-thousand sixteen one-thousand seventeen one-thousand eighteen one-thousand nineteen one-thousand twenty one-thousand twenty-one one-thousand twenty-two one-thousand twenty-three one-thousand twenty-four one-thousand twenty-five one-thousand twenty-six one-thousand twenty-seven one-thousand twenty-eight one-thousand twenty-nine one-thousand thirty one-thousand.

Well?

“Patience, Linky. Rate your anxiety level.”

“…It’s still four.”

“Okay. Take two normal strides back. Then count again. Face the same way.”

One one-thousand two one-thousand three one-thousand four one-thousand five one-thousand six one-thousand seven one-thousand eight one-thousand nine one-thousand ten one-thousand eleven one-thousand twelve one-thousand thirteen one-thousand fourteen one-thousand fifteen one-thousand sixteen one-thousand seventeen one-thousand eighteen one-thousand nineteen one-thousand twenty one-thousand twenty-one one-thousand twenty-two one-thousand twenty-three one-thousand twenty-four one-thousand twenty-five one-thousand twenty-six one-thousand twenty-seven one-thousand twenty-eight one-thousand twenty-nine one-thousand thirty one-thousand.

“Feel any different?”

“Um. Not really.”

“Not really or not at all?”

“I mean… I’d still say it was a four but- er- a little tiny bit less? But nowhere near a three?”

“’Kay.”

“…Aren’t you going to tell me-“

“I ain’t tellin’ you crap! When you say a little tiny bit less, be specific. Do you mean 3.5? 3.7?”

“Uh. Okay, 3.9.”

“Two more steps back. Do your thing again.”

One one-thousand two one-thousand three one-thousand four one-thousand five one-thousand six one-thousand seven one-thousand eight one-thousand nine one-thousand ten one-thousand eleven one-thousand twelve one-thousand thirteen one-thousand fourteen one-thousand fifteen one-thousand sixteen one-thousand seventeen one-thousand eighteen one-thousand nineteen one-thousand twenty one-thousand twenty-one one-thousand twenty-two one-thousand twenty-three one-thousand twenty-four one-thousand twenty-five one-thousand twenty-six one-thousand twenty-seven one-thousand twenty-eight one-thousand twenty-nine one-thousand thirty one-thousand.

“Rate your anxiety level.”

“Yeah, so now it’s a little less again.”

“Link, SPECIFICS.”

“3.8.”

“Alright. Same deal. Two steps back and count.”

One one-thousand two one-thousand three one-thousand four one-thousand five one-thousand six one-thousand seven one-thousand eight one-thousand nine one-thousand ten one-thousand eleven one-thousand twelve one-thousand thirteen one-thousand fourteen one-thousand fifteen one-thousand sixteen one-thousand seventeen one-thousand eighteen one-thousand nineteen one-thousand twenty one-thousand twenty-one one-thousand twenty-two one-thousand twenty-three one-thousand twenty-four one-thousand twenty-five one-thousand twenty-six one-thousand twenty-seven one-thousand twenty-eight one-thousand twenty-nine one-thousand thirty one-thousand.

“Rate.”

“Um. I guess 3.7-ish now.”

“Okay. You have room for one more set of steps. Do it.”

One one-thousand two one-thousand three one-thousand four one-thousand five one-thousand six one-thousand seven one-thousand eight one-thousand nine one-thousand ten one-thousand eleven one-thousand twelve one-thousand thirteen one-thousand fourteen one-thousand fifteen one-thousand sixteen one-thousand seventeen one-thousand eighteen one-thousand nineteen one-thousand twenty one-thousand twenty-one one-thousand twenty-two one-thousand twenty-three one-thousand twenty-four one-thousand twenty-five one-thousand twenty-six one-thousand twenty-seven one-thousand twenty-eight one-thousand twenty-nine one-thousand thirty one-thousand.

“Rate.”

“It’s getting close to three-and-a half now. Um. Maybe it’s a 3.6. Maybe a little lower?”

“…But you wouldn’t say 3.5?”

“No.”

“You got all that, Princess?”

“Yes.”

“The slate bears you out, Link. The signal processed was slightly decreasing as you stepped away from the sword. Hmm. What about you, Princess? Did you notice any difference?”

“I did not.”

“Okay. That suggests your distance from the sword changes what you get, but not what the sword’s putting out… Huh. That’s… not an inverse square law, is it?”

An inva-who-huh? Well, I know what a law is. And a square.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it too much. What I mean is it seems like the signal from the sword is focused on you like a guardian’s laser. It’s not shining every which way like the light from a candle. Probably means it’s singled you out too, Princess.”

Have you been trying to talk to me all along, sword?

Purah’s giving me a half-grimacy look. Is she feeling sorry for me?

“Why don’t you pick it back up?”

Okay.

I thought… maybe I’d be able to tell it was glad to be back in my hands, but I can’t. I just feel more nervous.

Back in your sheathe, sword.

“Link…”

Yes, Princess?

“Now we know the source is in fact the sword… it most certainly is a warning.”

“Yeah.”

“And… I would have to imagine the reason yours includes directional information is that the sword is directly bound to you.”

“I… guess so. Princess, we have to be so careful. If I… if I tip off whoever or whatever it’s warning us about, they pull back and we don’t find out what it is. On the other hand, if I don’t look, if I don’t figure it out, they could strike before we know.”

“It seems to me we’ve already been responding logically, surrounding myself and now Mipha as well. We’ve had eyes every which way...”

“But you’re vulnerable from the front when order one fires.”

“…And you have been vulnerable from the back. Entirely. That’s not acceptable. You’re on point this time, Sir Link.”

“W- wh-“

“You’re well aware of why. The most likely targets here are myself, Mipha… and you. Your back ought not be turned out from the group. No matter how extraordinary you are, an arrow to your heart can still kill you. I’m berating myself for allowing it earlier. Indeed, and also for arguing the warning may not be true. Sir Turro, you will remain in front with Link.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Mipha, if you agree, could you please remain behind me flanked by your guards?”

“Of course.”

“Robbie and Purah, you should walk side by side next, and Sir Virn shall bring up the rear.”

She’s given Mipha better protection than she’s given herself. But she also knows Seggin’ll get really pissed off if she asks him to flank her instead.

Seggin’s looking at me. He knows. He’s no fool.

.

“Link?”

“Yeah, Mipha?”

“Perhaps you could quietly relay the warning directions to us. Do you think you can speak without moving your mouth too much?”

“I mean… probably, but I’ll be in front, I’d have to talk loud for you to hear me or turn around a lot.”

“OH! Oh goodness—no, Link. There’s no need to. The Slate!”

“OOOH! OOOH, SNAP, Princess! YES! Here’s the deal. I can turn on the camera feature. Pretend I’m memorializing the day, taking pictures! But I’ll also watch Link’s thoughts. Link, you just think where to look. And I can say it quietly without looking suspicious at all, I’ll just keep talking like I do anyways. I’ll be facing most of you. Sound good?!”

“Link? Is that alright? Purah will need to read all of your thoughts in the meantime.”

“It makes you safer, Princess. It’s definitely fine. Listen up, everyone. In a minute, we’ll walk out that door and see the Princess to the next arm-wrestling bracket. And Purah… you’re not going to pretend to take pictures. You’ll actually take them. I’ll… tell you where to snap. Okay?”

“Got it.”

“There are half as many people this round, so the Princess’ll do two brackets this time if she wins the first.” Which she will. “We’ll get through those, then head immediately for the ballroom. And Purah… while we’re walking there, stay ahead of us and snap pictures. Maybe we’ll get lucky and get a look at anyone who might follow us.”

“Snappity snap. I’m ready.”

“Alright. Any objections?” Virn blinked at that. Silence, though…“In formation, everyone.”

_____

“Smiiiiiile!”

Get a few angles, Purah. I feel it behind us, but the exact direction isn’t clear. Like earlier… There may be more than one.

“Keeeeeeep smiling! And… snap! Here I go, come forward a little, that’s a nice angle – yeah. Smile aaaaaaand… snap! Going left for one more…. And… smile! Snap!”

Can you see the faces in the crowd?

“Kinda.”

The feeling gets less the further we are from them. Let’s go.

“Alright folks. I’ll fall in.”

“Please keep me appraised, Link. The sword no longer appears to be trying to get my attention. I suspect it knows it has yours.”

“I will, Princess.”

“So. A change for me, at least, shortly. Oh- Purah! Were you invited to the dinner?”

“’Course I was. I’m too indispensable not to invite.”

We’d’ve brought them in with us anyway, invitations be damned.

“Did you bring anything to wear?”

Not safe to leave them wandering around.

“Whatcha think I am, Princess, ignorant? Of course, I brought something. Even Robbie did, with a little prodding.”

And I want the chance to go over those pictures with her.

“Where is it?”

“It’s folded up real tight.”

We should update the king’s party. And I’d like to talk to mom and Chee again. I hope they’ve been able to have some fun, and that mom hasn’t been worrying herself sick. That’s not so good with a baby on board. She deserves to relax somewhere with her feet up and not have to worry about either of the children she already has.

She deserves to have her husband there, too. To rub her feet at the very least. Would be great if he’d do some of the cooking and cleaning and picking the fruit and milking the cow and what in Hylia’s name is wrong with him? If I had a wife and she was carrying my child, I wouldn’t take an assignment more than halfway across the country from her. Fort Hateno would be understandable. Manageable. He couldn’t come home every day, but he could plan double-off days and get some time in. And considering how long he’d been the captain of the royal guard, he could probably take massive amounts of time off.

Two weeks ago, I’d’ve been asking myself why I couldn’t be more like him.

…Two weeks ago, I was an idiot.

I’m still kind of an idiot. But I’m smarter than I was. Maybe I can keep smartening myself up. Train my mind like I train my body. I’m not sure how, though. Maybe Zelda can give me some pointers.

Maybe… maybe I’m also being a little harsh. She probably didn’t know she was pregnant before he left.

And… the sky help me. Purah’s reading all this right now, isn’t she? She’s looking at the slate.

Hiii, Purah. Yeah, I see you.

“So, Link.”

“Yeah?”

“Your mom’s gonna have a baby?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re gonna be an extremely big brother. Congrats!”

“Heh. Thanks.”

Kind of her, really. To pick the nice thing out.

.

The feeling. It’s ebbed almost entirely. “It’s going away, Princess.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“We’ll still stick to the plan. Oh… that should include getting changed.”

“Yes, it rather must. We may arrive a little early for Ria. I’m afraid she rather expected us to be enjoying ourselves at the festival, not to be hurrying back here as quick as we could.”

“I hope she’s had a good time so far.”

“With Myrri at the helm, I imagine she’s exhausted.”

“Maybe not. Tobe might soak up some of that energy. Big brothers can do that.”

“Tobe’s not her brother.”

“Okay, cousin. He still might.”

And we’re finally over the threshold. I’m… sweating. Even with the chill in the air. We were all speed-walking. I see droplets on Turro’s temples, too.

Just a few short corridors.

“Will this be like last time, Princess?”

“It’s always the same, Mipha. Starters along one wall, dancing for an hour, then the dinner service during which all guests are seated. Dancing resumes before dessert, which they array as they do starters. All told, it’s about three hours long, though some may linger quite late.”

“We can’t. The Princess’ next appointment is at eight o’clock.” Though I’d rather not bring her back out there with whatever’s lurking.

“Indeed. And there’s Ria.”

“Good afternoon, Princess.”

“Hello, Ria. Have you enjoyed the festival so far?”

“Yes, thank you. The children have had a wonderful time, though I’m afraid Myrri got quite a lot of egg on her shoes.”

Heh. The dangers of the egg toss.

“Oh- where is she?”

“She and Tobe are back in the kitchen, Princess. Sampling the wares, most likely.”

“Undoubtedly!”

“Well—it’ll take us a bit to get you into this. There’s a storeroom this way.”

“Very well. Sir Link, prepare to enact the plan.”

“Preparing, Princess. Okay. Just like we went over. All the women go in.”

“Oh?”

“Forgive us, Ria. We’ll be a little crowded. We’ve decided for safety we must stay in groups and notify the other group of our safety at all times… ah… through song.”

“Oh. What song?”

.

“We hadn’t discussed it.”

“I know a few good Sheikah ditties.”

“Oh. I’m afraid we don’t sing any Sheikah songs in the domain. No Hylian ones, either. I know a few thanks to Link, but Seggin and Sharoo?”

Head-shakes. This… does not bode well. “Okay. No Hylian or Sheikah songs. I know some Zora songs. Does anyone else?”

“I think I know a few.”

“I know one.”

“Okay… that’s Turro and Virn… anyone else?” … Crickets.

Okay. No one knows each other’s songs. Great.

“What of the Ballad of the Goddess? We all know that don’t we?”

“Of course, Princess!” “Sure.”

“Excellent. Well. Purah, Mipha, and Sharoo?”

“Woah—let Turro and I sweep it first.” And he’s not laughing. I guess he thinks a storeroom IS possible for someone to hide in.

It’s still awfully small. There’s nothing in here big enough to hide a person except these couple chests. Anything in there…? Table linens. Yep. “Anything in yours, Turro?”

“Tablecloths, maybe some napkins.”

“Good. You’re all clear.”

Purah’s changing, too, but I guess Mipha and Sharoo are just going to sing.

“En dashelu nobeh shundu, tje shutue kehwenu saleh. En dashelu nobeh dushu, tje shutue nobeh dezu dotshe. Keh nahbenue nofeh toh balee, Nayru farore toh din, kah neh baneh nobeh shalu, toh nobeh dezu uta ah en.”

??

“I suppose we start again?”

“I suppose so.”

“It is a rather short song, isn’t it?”

“You’re not singing, ladies! You don’t sing, we come in!”

Oh Goddess, Seggin…

“Eee heeeheee-“ “Oh my-“ “En dashelooooah hehehe.” “Pfff you all are such a clusterf@#$.”

“PURAH!”

“It’s true!”

“Ahem. Three, two, one-“

“En dashelu oo oo hoo hoo nobeh shundu, tje shoohoohootue ooh keh heheh wenu sahahaleh. Heh en dashelu nobeh dushu, tjePFFFT shutue nobeh dezu dotshe. AH hahahaha-”

This... is sacrilege.

“hahaha-“ “Keh hee nahbenue nofeh toh balee, Nayru farore toh din-“ “Eeee- eeeehee-“

I mean… it’s not MY sacrilege.

“kah neh eheheheheh baneh nobeh shaluwuuuu huu, toh hmm! nobeh dezu uta ah ennnn. Mmmm-”

I’M not the one butchering the Ballad of the Goddess.

“Mmmm hmm hmmm H-H-Hylia, p-p-preserve us!!”

But I bet I’ll end up with some of the blame.

“HHH! HHH! Lift us- f-from theeeese. Saaaansaahh! Hh hh hh-“

“Ladies. Once more. If you do not sing, you force us to enter, which apparently is a problem for Hylians and Sheikah. Please reign yourselves in!”

“S-s-s-sorry, S-S-S-Seggin! Uhha! Hhhhh-”

“En dashelu nobeh shundu,”

Good for you, Zelda. Pulling yourself together.

“-tje shutue kehwenu saleh.”

Oh, listen to that. Ria has a pretty voice, too.

“En dashelu nobeh dushu,”

And there’s Sharoo. Kind of… warbly?

“tje shutue nobeh dezu dotshe. Keh nahbenue nofeh toh balee,”

Mipha’s voice is so high she’s having trouble singing down where the others are.

“Nayru farore toh din, kah neh baneh nobeh shalu,”

That’s too bad. I’ve heard her sing before, and it’s this extraordinary sound

“toh nobeh dezu uta ah en.”

like a flute.

“Time for another round, ladies. I’ll lead this time. En dashelu nobeh shundu,”

Purah has a nice voice, too, but totally different from the others.

“-tje shutue kehwenu saleh.”

Very throaty.

“En dashelu nobeh dushu, tje shutue nobeh dezu dotshe.”

OH Mipha just jumped an octave!

“Keh nahbenue nofeh toh balee, Nayru farore toh din,”

Now she’s in charge.

“kah neh baneh nobeh shalu,”

Oh there we go, they’ve found some kind of song-balance.

“toh nobeh dezu uta ah en.”

Very nice ending. “Well sung that time.”

“THAT time?” “OOohooo.” “Such a critic.” “I thought they were all lovely.” “Ahem.”

“Heheheheh. Are you done in there or do you need us to fish you out?”

“I’m not quite ready, Seggin. These formal dresses do tend to be complicated.”

“Mmm, well, if you’ve exhausted your supply of cohesion, might I suggest humming?”

“Oh, that’s an excellent idea, Seggin!”

“Hmm, I thought so, my lady.”

That’s much lower-key. Good thought. Is it as safe? Damned if I know. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I’m just the general in charge of storeroom changes and off-key humming.

And on that note- HAHA! The first pun ALL AFTERNOON! … On that note, the crawlies are entirely gone.

“Ready. Thank you, Ria.”

“You’re welcome, Princess.”

Out they come, we’ll have to go in just for Robbie-

Whfffwh. Control, Link. Control. Eyes up. Respect. Control. “That’s… not your formal gown.”

“Well. I have several. This is not the usual choice, no. The sleeves are far less intimidating.”

“Yeah, these ones don’t hang at all.”

“Indeed not. I quite prefer them this way.”

“Then why haven’t you been wearing this one?”

“The neckline never appealed to me until recently.”

“Oh.” Do I dare to hope she means it was embarrassing before, but now it’s not because she wants me to see her in it? Am I allowed to hope for that? Because I would really, really like to take just one long long look a little further down because apparently I’m shallow and she’s never worn anything ever that even comes close to being open that far down, not even that nightdress was like this and I really shouldn’t look because there’s a bunch of people curiously watching us including Virn who's probably already livid over the thing where I couldn’t stop watching her eat on the southeast path and I’m holding all the guys up so I’m just going to walk through the doorway.

“SONG!”

AH!

“We didn’t pick one.”

“Right. Thanks, Seggin. Uh. You two did know some Zora songs, right?”

“Yes, thanks to your father.”

“I only remember the my love is the sea one.”

“You mean my love is AS the sea, Turro?” They sang it in the domain. But I never heard him sing it…

“That’s it. We sing while Robbie gets dressed?”

“Guess so. Ah. Three- two- one-“

“My love is as the sea, ebbing and flowing in me

“With the tide it rises and rises and mountains are swallowed inside

“My love crashes through me, I have no say, I am not free

“I cannot hide, why try to, why try

“Sun in the day and Moon in the night

“All I can do is surrender and ride

“The sweet ocean waves as they fly with the Moon

“And crash when the light of the Sun blazes bright

“When the two meet in the sky as is fated

“Helpless before them I float and I face it

“Lights of my life they lift me and carry me

“Home, home

“My love is as the sea, vast is my home and my heart

“No divides, nothing, no nothing can tear us apart

“My love is greater than me, there’s no resisting, look to the stars

“I know my path to the future, onward

“Onward

“Ride with the sea

“Ride with the sea

“Home, home

“Ride with the sea

“Vast is my home and my heart

“Ride with the sea

“Surrender

“Ride with the sea

“Surrender

“Ride with the sea.”

.

“You know… I was done changing a while ago.”

It was mostly a jacket-swap, wasn’t it? He could’ve told us…

“You sounded genuinely wonderful.”

Thanks, Zelda. “It’s a beautiful song. I’m amazed my father would sing it.”

“He likes that one.”

Virn… I didn’t know he liked any songs. He’d sing nursery rhymes for-

“Was that LINK’s voice?”

“Chee! Heh. Yeah, I’m in here.”

“Why are you giving a concert in a closet?”

“We weren’t-“

“Come outta there, already, snappity snap! You’re done, aren’t you?!”

Oh… yeah.

Mom’s smiling at me.

“I thought you must be changing in there!”

“It was only Robbie, mom. We’re staying in large groups.”

“Wise. Harder for our group. I feel a little unprepared, myself. I’ve never been to anything like this before.”

“It’ll be GREAT! We can find out about all the stuff that dad NEVER tells us and bug him about it later.”

Oh yes. That will definitely bug the absolute s@#$ out of him.

“You look lovely, Zelda.”

“Thank you, father.”

“Well. It’s near enough to four o’clock, I think.”

“It’s three forty-seven.”

“Indeed, Purah. Ah. You’re looking lovely, too.”

“Much appreciated, sire. It’s Sheikah-make.”

“I can see that.”

Looks the same as the blue fabric they all seem to wear. Just cut out as a high-necked halter-top dress, instead. It does look nice. Comfortable, too. That cloth doesn’t rustle at all, it’s probably good for dancing, actually, because it won’t make annoying squeaking noises when it rubs other people’s clothes or against itself. It’s a stealth-dress!

Zelda’s dress isn’t so practical, but she looks nicer. Though I’m biased, of course.

“Pff. Guess Linky sees that, too.”

!!!!!!!!!!! FFFFFF- “I was NOT looking.”

“You were looking.”

“I was interested in the fabric-“

“Suuure-“

“I was!”

“Ooooh, let’s see.”

Zelda Zelda please please please please please-

“Well, Sir Knight. You’ve gotten yourself in a little trouble.”

She- she’s saying that with a smirk, that’s good, that’s good, right? She does look a little worried, though-

“Wow, Link. You’re such a closet-nerd.”

And she’s shoving the slate in Zelda’s face. Guess I should be glad she didn’t announce what the slate was doing in front of everyone.

“Indeed.”

And her eyes got a lot softer. Praise Hylia. My Goddess- I never thought I’d be so grateful that thing could read my mind!

“You know how you can get yourself out of trouble, Sir Link?”

No. Well. Sort of. Maybe? I though the slate already got me out of it.

“You can offer me your arm.”

…In front of all these royal guards?

Jeralt, am I okay to-? He just eyebrow-pointed me toward her.

Merendith looks totally blank.

But she’s made it clear she wants me to, even if some of them don’t like the idea.

Here’s my elbow, Princess.

Her cheeks are so pink. I’m not sure anything’s ever felt as good as her hand sliding up the crook of my elbow. I’m tingling everywhere she’s touching me even through all the fabric.

It’s like this morning. She’s saying it’s allowed. In public. Isn’t she? Making a statement.

The king’s making one with his smile, too.

“Well, young ones. Let’s go in.”

Her other hand’s on my arm now, too. She’s sliding a thumb back and forth just enough for me to feel it.

“Link? You’re aware that you’re a guest this evening, not on guard duty?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

She’s wondering if I’ll dance.

I was a guest after the Champions’ Ceremony, too. But I didn’t dance. I just sort of stood around with Daruk near the food. Then I sat down and ate more food. Then I stood by the food again afterward. I remember disturbing one of the waitresses by shoving an entire slice of cake into my mouth at once. Daruk enjoyed that. Then he shoved a huge chunk of granite in his and we didn’t see that waitress again for the rest of the night.

Zelda danced. She didn’t enjoy it, though. She was polite to her partners, that’s all.

Partners!!!

“Princess?”

“Yes, Link?”

“What’s the protocol?”

“For what?”

“Dancing partners?”

“Typically, you ask me to dance and I either agree or refuse.”

“I, uh, I mean other partners. Do you want me to let people cut in? Like do you dance with people for political reasons? Do you want to talk insurance with Morovo or… I don’t know… crop yields in Tabantha with someone?”

“Hm hmm. You’re smarter about these things than you give yourself credit for. I’ll nod if it’s okay for someone to cut in. Alright?”

Okay.

“But be assured, I’d rather they didn’t.”

There it goes again. The left side of my mouth turning up all by itself. I don’t have control over it anymore. “I’m officially assured.”

“Link!”

“Yeah, Chee?”

“You have to dance with me, too.”

“I do?”

“Of course, you do. No one else’ll dance with me. I’m TWELVE.”

“There shall be a few boys here about your age, you know.”

“Will they be all snobby, Princess?”

“Hmm. You won’t know if you don’t speak with them.”

“I don’t look all fancy like you do. I bet they won’t dance with me.”

“Well, the more fool them if they don’t.”

Thank you, Mipha!

“I will gladly dance with you, Chee.”

Well… that’s a little weird but yeah sometimes women just dance with each other at these things, I’ve seen that before. Especially if it’s kids.

Huh. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the guys do that.

Huh.

Where do all these not-written-down-rules come from?

I should’ve danced with Daruk just to see what would happen.

…Except that wouldn’t count. Mipha said they don’t have anything. So they’re neither male nor female, really, even though they say he and him and all that.

“Kmph!”

“What is it, Link?”

“Sorry- sorry, Princess. I just imagined the look on Revali’s face if I’d asked him to dance.”

“Y- ohh! That, I think, may have ended in bloodshed!”

“Yeaaah.”

_____

[Note: The song the guys sing in the closet is called, "My Love Is As The Sea" and is sung to the Zora's Domain music from BOTW up to about 3:33 seconds. I can't record it right now because there's too much noise where I am. But I just might do that at a later date.]

[Other Note: I decided the Ballad of the Goddess would be recorded by the slate in single lines sometimes (not the way poems, etc. are usually written) because they aren't singing it very cohesively and the slate can't pick up on the meter. But the guys sing "My Love Is As The Sea" more cohesively, so the slate picks up on the meter and notates it appropriately. It's really just a story device to allow me to present the words in such a way that you have a prayer of matching them up to the right place in the Zora's Domain music.]

Read Next: Spin Me

Read this fanfic from the beginning (it makes more sense that way).