WHO: Percy Wealsey and Zelda WHERE: Room 411, cruise ship WHEN: A little while after Link shows up WHAT: Relationship talk WARNINGS: Mild some mentions of events in Twilight Princess, some discussion about relationship and fade to black STATUS: Complete g-doc
Despite the momentary hiccup, she had been glad to see Link. For once, she’d helped him. True she often did that, guided but it was still nice to be more than a few wise words and a vague marker to go a different direction. It also did her soul good to see him, plus he’d told her Hyrule was thriving. Considering how worried she’d been, it had taken a lot of her shoulders. She could be freer now, without the what if hanging over her shoulder.
She worried for Percy too, and understood where he might come from. The situation with Link was an odd one. From an outside perspective it could look more then what it was. She would simply take up the strand of conversation the left from the network and hopefully clear things up.
Once she’d seen Link to his quarters and made sure he’d gotten a bite of the ball fare, which was only fair really, she made her way to Percy’s cabin. Once there she knocked.
It was a little late for guests, and Percy’s cabin-mate was already in bed, but Percy was expecting Zelda, so he opened the door quickly.
“Hello,” he said fondly, but his expression was a little bit distraught. He was trying to hide his feelings, but he always tended to wear his heart upon his sleeve. Percy stepped aside to let Zelda inside the cabin and closed the door. “How are things with Link? Everything alright? Is he taking his sudden arrival well?”
When he opened the door she smiled at him, hoping to ease his troubles. “Hello,” she offered in return and her voice was quieter. Mostly due to the nature of the hour. She didn’t want to wake anyone. At his question she paused and wondered. Link never hid much, but at the same time he had a habit of being somewhat hard to read when he wanted to.
“As well as can be expected I imagine. He’s used to being in new situations, where the ground might be unfamiliar. Except in this case, he’s not called to be the hero. It might be easier, I think, here?” She offered a shrug, not exactly sure. She knew how she’d reacted upon arrival, but she’d been stuck in a room, unable to feel the presence of any Goddesses and in a place wholly unfamiliar. “There isn’t as much...difference here. Tumbleweed might be easy to explain, but I do worry how he might react to it. Goddesses know I reacted badly.”
She shook her head and reached out her hand to take his. “How about you? How are you?”
“If he’s not expected to be a hero, it might actually make it more difficult,” Percy said, stepping away and moving toward the sidebar where he could pour a couple of drinks. “If it’s a role he’s used to playing, it becomes his identity. Take that away, he might not know what to do with himself, at least not at first.” Percy’s hand paused mid-pour when he suddenly realized he’d described his own reaction when he arrived in Tumbleweed, disorientated without his stable job at the Ministry of Magic to fall back upon. He pursed his lips together tightly and continued pouring so that he could return to Zelda and hand her one of the glasses. “I didn’t know you when you first appeared, so I don’t remember your first reactions,” he said, sounding almost apologetic. “But I can imagine. Tumbleweed is very different than your home.”
Percy took a sip from his glass, then told Zelda, “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
That was a good point, but before Link was ever called to be the Hero he'd always lived a fairly normal and calm life. "It's a good point, I'll look out for that. But the Goddesses are always kind enough that he has something beyond that. He is the Hero, yes. but it's What he is. Not Who." She was intertwined in being Princess and bearer of Wisdom, and she never knew if that meant it was different for her, or similar.
Smiling she took the glass and sighed. "I thought I was kidnapped again, that it was one of Ganondorf's tricks. Thank the Goddesses for Bellamy, really. He's from an Earth that fared much worse, so he understood what it is to be suddenly surrounded by technology and things you have no prior knowledge of. I reacted most undignified upon seeing one of those car things." To this day she was still uncomfortable in it. She'd probably never own one, or drive. There were plenty of ways to get around without it.
She nodded, and didn't push. Still, she cared for Percy a great deal and liked him even more. She wanted this to work. "Alright, I was worried for you." Smiling she sat down and sipped from her drink. "I don't know if I thanked you yet for your help with the ball, so thank you. It went off better then I imagined, with such limited supplies at first." It wasn't the most subtle way of changing the topic but not everything was sometimes.
“If you’d been kidnapped before, then I can understand why you’d think that way.” Percy gave Zelda a curious glance. “What was your reaction?” he asked, tempering his question with a small smile, hoping Zelda could find humor in hindsight, then decided if she knew what his reaction had been, it might make it better. “I was so distraught that I wasn’t thinking very straight. I kept going on about how the Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was being broken by all these Muggles being aware of the existence of magic, and how the Minister of Magic was going to hear about this.”
Percy sat down beside Zelda on the sofa and slipped his hand into hers. “You’re welcome,” he replied. “It was fun. You and Lady Allura really outdid yourselves. The ball was magnificent, and everybody had a great time. I think it was just what we needed, a break from the usual routine of the ship’s activities.” After a thoughtful pause, he added, “I’m ready to return to Tumbleweed. This holiday has been enjoyable, but I’m ready to get back to home. The home I’ve made in Tumbleweed, I mean.”
“It isn’t something I would recommend.” Although she still believed the entire thing with Zant had been her own fault. She had the Wisdom of a goddess, and had been unable to see the ruse for what it had been. She could have stalled him, or fought. Done something beyond just give up. “I was different, more Queen then Zelda.” There was a difference for her. “I hid what I felt, but I knew well enough that there was no direct way for going home. I mostly kept wondering what Ganondorf or Zant had planned for me now. And I worried for my people.” she smiled at his recollection. “Coming here is somewhat of an adventure.”
She curled her fingers around his and leaned closer to him, taking comfort from his presence. “It was a trick doing it without staff, usually they handle all the little details. But I can admit I rather enjoyed looking for little things that would add to everything. Plus there was dancing. That’s always fun.” She’d never been frivolous with Hyurle’s funds but she had always enjoyed opportunities to throw dances like that and show off a bit.
“I do miss my little home. I liked having access to learning so many things. This place is lovely but, there is something about the comforts of home. “I wonder if I’ll ever stop feeling the motions of the ship however. It’s going to be odd not feeling the waves.”
They’d been on the ship for so long that its movement upon the waves under their feet had become second nature, something which Percy no longer noticed, until they landed at a port of call and stood on dry land. A small smirk played upon the corner of Percy’s mouth, and he said, “It will be odd, but probably not as odd as having all our meals prepared for us, and everything we want to purchase is free. I’m afraid I’m going to be spoiled.” He wondered if this was what it was like to be royalty, but he refrained from asking Zelda because he knew that while being in charge must have its perks, but, “There was an awful lot of responsibility involved with being a ruler, and I know how serious you are. It’s an easy assumption to believe you’ve been kidnapped, when it’s happened before. It’s got to be horrible, worrying about that all the time. Luckily you’re safe from that danger here, at least.“
Something Zelda has said resonated with Percy - I hid what I felt - and as he thought about it more, his conscious started nagging him. Sighing, he told her, “I’m sorry for not trusting you more with Link.”
She couldn’t help but smile to that. “Well the latter I’m somewhat used to. It was odder to have to learn, from my perspective anyway. But I realize I’m a bit spoiled.” She knew she’d come from a place of privilege. She’d never had to worry over food, clothes, or a place to put her head down. But it drove her to ensure that those of Hyrule shared that.
“I’m still in a place that I did not choose for myself. We all are,” she offered and looked around. “This might be the most comfortable and lavish place, but we’re all kidnapped. There doesn't need to be danger involved. And odd as it is, knowing that you have a destiny allows you to prepare. As best you can. I never knew when Ganondorf might come, but I knew he would. When Zant came instead,” she sighed and shrugged. “Had Ganondorf not played his last hand so forcefully, he could have won that cycle. But when he claimed my body, he assumed he’d won. That it would make Link hesitate.”
She glanced up at him and smiled, “I forgive you, already did when we spoke earlier.” She went to raise his hand so she could kiss the back of it. “Tell me, and I will explain. The situation is odd, and I will not lie. He is vastly important to me. An ancestor of mine did share her life with a hero, but she is not me.” she raised her eyes to hold his. ”Here, now. I get to choose. I would very much like for this to work.”
Zelda discussing her experience in her kingdom made Percy bristle, angry on her behalf, and he blurted out, “Claimed your body! Won that cycle! Playing his hand! It makes you sound like a prize in some game, something to be achieved, an object to be won. It’s horrible. Maybe we are all kidnapped by being here, but I for one am glad you’re here, and not in your kingdom. I realize you have an obligation to your kingdom as its ruler, but it seems to me that at least here you’re more able to explore new experiences, without the threat of being taken by these monsters, Ganodorf and Zant.”
Percy’s emotions died down when he caught what she’s said. She wanted this To work. He gazed down at their intertwined hand - this was what she was talking about. She was talking about them. A lump formed in Percy’s throat that made it difficult to swallow while his gaze met hers. “I’d like this to work, too,” he lowered his voice to a much more intimate tone.
He said nothing she had not thought before, and in more than one way was true. In this place, her part of the cycle was not one she would enjoy. In Hyrule it was different. Gently she went to set her free hand on his cheek, “there are not enough words to say how grateful I am to hear that. You are right though. It is horrible. And I am glad I am here too. I found you.” she added with a smile. “I have a freedom Hyrule cannot give me. When I came here I thought that I was sent here to learn how to be a better Queen. But now I think I am here to learn what it is to be me. I’m grateful for that.”
She smiled as she met his gaze and leaned up for a kiss, “good. That’s settled then. I am here. But I would like it if you got to know Link. He’s…”she trailed off before coming to the word. “Family. Perhaps the only one I have left, from my own world anyway.”
Her hand on his cheek, soft, delicate, but also strong and resolute like the monarch she was; her lips kissing his, confident, but at the same time tender. How could Percy not be infatuated by Zelda? Captivated by the look in her eyes, Percy slowly nodded to show that he understood. “Do you want to go back to him? I’d understand if you want to.”
She smiled to him and shook her head, “No I want to be here. If he needs me, he’ll find me. But we’re much alike in that we both like figuring things out on our own. Me hovering won’t help him. Nor would he thank me for it.” Link was independent, and she didn’t want to cling too much. Plus they’d have plenty of time. And Percy was important to her too, and she wanted to spend time with him.
“Good,” Percy murmured, edging across the sofa to sit closer to Zelda. “I want you to be here, too.” They spent many times together, but rarely were they intimate. It wasn’t that Percy was not attracted to her - on the contrary, he’d been enamored by her from the beginning. However, ever since he realized Zelda was royalty, Percy self consciously worried that he wasn’t good enough, and so never went any further than kissing.
As with any sort of thing previous to coming here, this sort of thing had always had rules. Her line and blood held expectations, and people saw her a sort of way so she’d always needed to be extra careful and very subtle. People saw her as their spirit maiden, and she hadn’t wanted to disappoint them even when she spend the night with others. But here, now, there weren’t any of these rules. People here wouldn’t really care, nor did she need to present herself as anything but herself. Still she looked at Percy before making her decision. It wasn’t really difficult. She’d wanted to spend the night before. So she moved a touch closer and held his eyes. “I would like the stay, the evening. With you.”
The only way Zelda could’ve been more specific about what she wanted was to flat out tell Percy that she wanted to sleep with him, but Percy reasoned she was far too sophisticated a princess to do that. She got her point across, though, and at first Percy was struck silent, his lips parted slightly as her request sunk in, then he softly smiled. He placed the palm of his hand gently upon the side of Zelda’s cheek and leaned in for a lingering kiss.
“Let’s go,” he muttered, tilting his head slightly in the direction of his bedroom door. His adoration of Zelda had won out over his insecurities. Holding her hand, Percy rose from the sofa and waited for her to follow.