Who: Vision & Zelda What: Discussions of legal matters over tea and scones When: Sometime in October Where: Tea Room Eatery Rating/Warnings: Low Status: Complete!
The Tea Room and Eatery was actually a quaint cottage house refurbished into a business. They made smart use of their space, had an adorable outdoor area with tables and lights, palm trees providing shade from the sun, and it was where Zelda advised they sit. With autumn in the horizon, the weather was the perfect temperature for comfortable cardigans and flat boots. Any chill would be melted away from whatever selections they made on their very extensive menu - oolong, flavored, organic, chai, white, green, black, so forth. Everything, of course, served in Alice in Wonderland inspired tea cups and plates.
“Their scones are fresh-baked,” Zelda quipped, finger sliding down the selection of itty-bitty savories and finger foods. From cheeses and fruits to tiny sandwiches and lemon curds, everything on their list was of the light variety. “We can get a big tier of things and split it, if you’d like! Small servings, but there’s plenty.”
True to form, Vision greeted the sight of their meeting place with a quiet wonder. Every aspect of it went carefully analyzed and thoroughly appreciated. Splendor could be found in any given thing so far as he was concerned, but quaint eateries like this had their own special charm. Instantly approving of the choice, he turned his attention from the establishment to his companion.
“Scones,” he said almost wistfully. “A tier including scones would be magnificent.”
He was an easy sort to please, really. It was the simpler things in life that brought him joy. Food, appropriate company, and the icing on top with nice weather, collectively they were enough to capture the essence of a perfect day in his eyes. Dreams didn’t matter, no matter what he dreamed, Vision doubted anything could dispel his outlook on life.
“The atmosphere is… whimsical,” he added, glancing around again for good measure. “In a most pleasant way. An apt selection, Miss Zelda, if I may say so.”
“It is, isn’t it?” And relaxing. Zelda felt like time had stopped, she could actually smell the roses (which they had, plenty of bushes blooming around them) and take a minute to enjoy things that didn’t primarily revolve around legalities. “It’s...quiet. Doesn’t feel so rushed, or busy. I thought you’d enjoy it.”
Scones it was, then, a tier for them to split. It came with those miniature sandwiches and little bits of decadent sweetness; chocolate covered strawberries, lemon curds. Until then they had tea to nurse, which was a vanilla-pumpkin chai, piping hot and milky. She poured herself a cup, dropped a couple of sugar cubes in it to melt, and stirred. “How have you been? It’s been quite some time. I’m glad there’s no demonic residue for us to tidy up this time around.”
It was nice to spend time with someone who understood him so easily. Being a man of simple tastes was easy enough to spot for most, but she had a grace about her that made her so genuine in the way she sought environments befitting her companions.
“It is an ideal atmosphere,” he agreed, still observing the scenery with a quiet look of enjoyment.
Helping himself to some tea after her, he leaned down to get a better whiff of the aroma as she spoke. Humored by the reference to their initial meeting, properly in person, his mouth slanted in a slight grin. Vision did not express a vast array of emotions as a rule, but he experienced them all in his own way.
“Yes, this is preferable to tidying up supernatural entrails. I have been well. I am a man of few complaints, though that does mean I have little to report in return. Apart from dreams, there is not much to note about me. And you, Miss Zelda? You spoke of songs--where have your dreams led you?”
“Well,” she tapped the spoon against the rim of her cup a few times before placing it on the saucer. “Taking back my kingdom has involved disguising myself as a man for seven years and naively manipulating the time stream, so to speak.” Link had been in a stasis for those years, and now he was in one here too. Zelda worried. It was something he needed to go through, in his own way - he would wake from it, she was sure. “Throughout that, I’ve learned a variety of songs magically tied to certain temples, and others that can manipulate the weather to some degree.”
It had given her a musically-inclined skillset. Zee had recommended she’d search for activities to make her mind zen and she’d been doing well with that. Running her fingers across the strings of her harp, composing a melody, feeling the magic within the notes - it was very calming. And so was this, the act of taking a minute to sip some tea and enjoy the scenery with a good friend. “And yours? You still seem very human to me. Nothing artificial about you at all.”
More than his own peculiar dreams, hers captured his attention like a proper scientific quandary. Her story unfolded as a saga, one he’d find himself reading about in books or perhaps playing out from an aged video console, though the latter he couldn’t quite decide why that was. Either way, he always looked forward to what she’d dreamed of late, for better or worse.
And he preferred for the better.
“This is perhaps not the appropriate setting for music,” he said with lament in his voice. He was looking forward to hearing some of what she had learned eventually. “But, I hope to hear a song in time.” That she had spent time masquerading as the opposite sex did not appear to disturb him in any case, it was just another stepping stone--seven years worth, evidently--of her story.
“Yes, I appear to have remained a man for the time being,” Vision noted, though did not believe it would stay that way. “An artificial intelligence, Ultron, compromised the artificial version of me, the base code called JARVIS. I believe not all was lost, otherwise it is likely I would not yet still be seated here to appreciate the tea and company. My next dream will be the deciding factor, I suppose.”
Oh, she’d love to play him a tune whenever the setting was appropriate. The melodies were lovely, everyone of them different. Some upbeat, others soothing, and one or two could be classified as even haunting, but it resonated with the temples. Resonated with her, as she was the leader of the sages that held dominion over those temples.
Tea cooled, she brought the cup to her lips and sipped. Zelda listened to him, and those marigold brows raised simultaneously as the implication of death. “It’s so odd, how things like that run the risk of carrying over,” she murmured. There’d been plenty of stories of death on the network. Death that’s carried over. To have this life be defined by how things ended on the other side didn’t seem fair at all - it didn’t seem right, and she refused to believe that’s how it’d always be.
“But if you believe not all was lost, then it must be. No one would know better than you. Though don’t mind me if I happen to spontaneously check up on you - just to be assured you’re alive and well.”
In spite of the grim future he might face in reality because of his dreams, Vision remained otherwise unmoved by them. He didn’t worry or fret, to do so would be futile and take away from his appreciation of the present. His life could end at any given moment, dreams or no dreams.
“Indeed,” he concurred to that end. While accepting of whatever fate held in store for him, he did not understand the functionality of it, much less the purpose. Dreams should have been safe havens, but theirs were an otherworldly brand.
“I believe there are remnants of JARVIS,” he offered in the hopes of soothing her mind. “And that is all one may need to begin a rebellion, a simple spark.”
His smile turned soft at her lasting words. “I would not mind, Miss Zelda. It is kind of you to care. The future, although uncertain, is not something to dread, but anticipated for the moments valued leading up to the final end. That is the beauty of living.”
“You make such possibly dreadful scenarios somehow so uplifting,” she giggled into her chai, and oh - there came the tier of scones! And bitty finger foods! Finger sandwiches with the crust removed (cucumber and cream cheese, turkey and a light mayo), tiny quiches and curds and scones galore. Mostly scones, of course. All positioned neatly on pristine doilies for a classic ‘fancy’ look. “Positivity Is nice to have when things feel so...grim sometimes.”
Not that Zelda was personally much of a cynic, but optimism didn’t exactly shine out of her lily-white bum, either. She preferred realism. Hard to look at things objectively when you were too blinded by the light and all. “Speaking of, I’d rather you hear this from me instead from another...medium.” Like a sudden television announcement that was brewing in the horizon. The princess cleared her throat and waited before plucking a couple delicacies from the platter. “I have some legal issues that will be soon brought to public light. Um, nothing I did or anything - I’m trying to take back my father’s company from the man who…” Time to hush the voice, since it was somewhat of an inappropriate setting to discuss this, but. “Murdered my father.”
It was a habit most found confounding in his youth. Vision’s unshakable optimism was shaded by enough realism that often came across as believable. He had conviction, but not to the point that his words could remain unmoved. If anything, he would be the first to admit to a mistake or wrongdoing, but he tried to circumvent that by simply staying true to any course set.
Still, her giggle felt oddly reassuring that he was not entirely wrong to behave the way he did. Smiling still as he reached for a sandwich, his eyes practically twinkled with gratitude.
“I will endeavor to be a light ever present in the dark,” he affirmed.
When she began mentioning something more personal, his expression became more passive as he listened. Concern was immediate, but belief in her capability rendered him silent. The need to offer help never arose, as he expected to be called upon should circumstances demand. Being friends with Zelda, however, prompted him to express it for himself.
With such a grim turn, he could think of nothing else more important to say than simply, “If I may be of service, you have only but to ask. And…” Letting emotion creep into his voice as its volume dropped further, Vision added, “My condolences, Miss Zelda.”
Condolences. It wasn’t something she was all that used to someone expressing. Her father’s life had been taken abruptly, that night a whirlwind of chaos, and sometimes she thought she was still stuck in that limbo between shock and grief. There had been no funeral she could attend without being put in danger, and Impa did all she could to keep them both off the radars. That closure for grievance had also never been officially reached.
Even as a child, Zelda had been practical. Keeping a low profile was crucial, listening to Impa’s instructions, making sure they did everything they could to stay hidden throughout the years - she understood the circumstances and understood the consequences of even one silly mistake. It certainly kept her preoccupied, yet it didn’t allow much room to mourn like any little girl rightfully should for a good father. In a way, she supposed justice was her way of handling it - justice for her, for Impa, and the man whose life was ripped away for monetary gain.
“It’s okay,” she assured, peach-tinted lips softly curved into a smile. “I promise, it’s okay. Or it will be okay, one day. My friend Wendy - I’ve known her as a little girl - is actually leaving back to the UK, for personal reasons. She’d been helping us keep the legal documents organized and so forth, since she did paralegal work. Would you mind lending a hand during your free time? You strike me as someone very...meticulous. Organized.”
When she said she was okay, Vision believed her without question. Who was he to argue with such an affirmation? Loss occurred and was dealt with over time in its own way. He nodded as a show of faith in her reassurance, no room left for a semblance of doubt. That she carried on and fought for justice displayed her strength, and certainly proved, in Vision’s eyes, just how befitting of royalty she was. Dreams or not.
“Do I?” He questioned appreciatively, head tilting slightly to the side. “I would be honored to lend you my time, to whatever end you may require, Miss Zelda. May justice be swiftly served in your favor.”
“You do,” she insisted with a chuckle. “And it’s a compliment. You’re the diligent sort, I think - you’ve got that eye for detail.” Zelda trusted him, too. That was the primary reason. Shadows lurking, knives hidden in the darkness, anyone outside of her immediate circle was handled with caution. “It involves spending extra time with me. And Midna. Jonathan, too. He’s the lawyer taking this case.”
Midna, he probably already knew but she’d have to introduce him to her (newly) vampiric lawyer. And Impa! She’d want to know who he was. “I also won’t pretend there’s a certain degree of risk involved, either,” she winced, plucking a sandwich from the tier. “Obviously the man we’re dealing with isn’t opposed to murder, but we’re confident that once the case does go public, there will be so many questioning eyes on him that there won’t be a window for him to surprise us with something unpleasant.”
The possibility still existed. They’d have to be prepared for that.
He appreciated the consideration. Praise from her went highly valued by Vision. By all accounts, she wasn’t wrong; he was meticulous and thorough. He doubted Stark would have hired him to do the job he held otherwise, too. For everything a reason, Vision would say.
“Midna,” he quirked a smile at the mentioning of her. “Yes, I am familiar with Midna. I have not meant a man named Jonathan, however, but I am able to do so whenever necessary.”
That there was a risk involved didn’t cause him to so much as bat an eye. Instead, he sipped at his tea calmly and reached for a biscuit. “Risk is of no consequence, not when seeking justice for a friend. I do not mind. I am prepared for the worst, always.”
Zelda would miss Wendy. Not just for her help with the case, but everything she was - the genuine sweetness, compassion and concern, the soothing words. Wendy meant comfort, but so did Vision. His words were uplifting and realistically optimistic. They could always use healthy doses of that.
“It’s settled, then,” she chirped, lit up with enthusiasm. “Prepare for nights of paperwork, trailmix, and the occasional drink.” White for her, red for Midna. And technically red for Jonathan too, but that was a different story - she’d prep Vision on her lawyer’s specific palette. He’d have all the details, if they were to interact.
Her teacup raised to clink against his. “Thank you, for helping us.”
That sounded very much like any night he spent on his own. Vision could think of no better use of his spare time. Not feeling at all compromised, he happily raised his teacup to mirror the gesture. Brand new experiences were always met with objective eyes and a zest for learning. He was privileged to have the opportunity to help such a kindhearted soul like Zelda.
“You are most welcome, Miss Zelda,” he assured. “To many happy returns.” It was his own toast to commemorate the partnership, one of which he looked forward to further forging.
No matter what might become of him because of his dreams, he wouldn’t let her down. Not if he could help it.