ZELDA POV
¨We are not done¨ he said… that was a menace. It would be a really bad idea to try and hide this from him any longer. I should just come clean and tell him what happened; I don't even know why I tried to hide it. The Kokiri made his life a living hell, it's not like he is going to care for the death of one of his tormentors, right?
SHIT… of course he is going to care, if he really didn't, he would have already hunted them all down.
I must remain short and to the point... That is how he always tells me to express myself, so that is how I will do this and hopefully avoid his anger.
Zelda thought as she followed Link up the stairs and into his house.
Link enters the house stomping "All right motherfuckers, what did you do to my maid?"
"WE DID NOTHING!" both Heroes yelled in unison.
"This bitch just stood there, and stared to hyperventilate, when I said hi she screamed like a fucking harpy" Robert says blaming Chacha.
Zidane was holding little Nuthaniel between his hands as the squirrel feasted on a piece of dried fruit
"This little gremlin just flew at my face and pulled a piece of dried fruit from my mouth" Zid holds the squirrel to eye level. Nuthaniel had finished the dried apple piece and was now cleaning his paws, looking super cute "Can I keep him?"
"NOOOOOOO!" Chacha yells and runs towards Zid trying to retrieve Nuthaniel.
Gosh, I have to stop this before they kill each other.
Zelda was about to enter the fray but Link blocked her by leaning on the door frame, he winked at her and told her "We need to watch"
Zelda rolls her eyes.
Do we really need to see how Zidane completely destroys our maid?
The Pirate smiles and holds the squirrel above his head with his right hand, effectively putting it out of reach for the maid. Chacha not giving up tries to jump to reach her pet, then she starts punching Zid to make him hand it back. The Pirate expertly deviates her punches with his left-hand smirking.
"It appears that this flying rat belongs to you, and since I hate making girls cry, I will hand him back. But not for free" Zid says wiggling his eye brows.
Robert sneaks behind the Pirate and snatches the squirrel; he then immediately hands it back to Chacha.
Zid growls "WHAT THE FUCK DUDE, I was making a deal here for our benefit"
Ziel lets out a low laugh. Zelda crosses her arms suspicious.
A deal? Zid… you are my brother and I love you, but I would never allow Chacha to make a deal with you. You are a demon in disguise.
Robert answers back "She is a maid Zid, what could you possibly want from her?"
"The only thing she can possibly offer" Zid answers smirking.
He is not suggesting sex, right?
"I am not having sex with ANY of you" Chacha loudly states.
Li looks at her in horror, and Zidane immediately answers with a face of disgust.
"WHAT? NO. Having sex with a girl I don't know is beneath me, I find the whole concept yucky" the Pirate says gagging "But you do know how to wash clothes right?" Zid asks out of courtesy, but smiles mischievously knowing that as a maid, she must know.
"That is what you want? Of course, I know how to do laundry… but I am not willing to come all the way here to pick the clothes or return them"
LINK POV
The Hero of time decides to intervene.
"May I suggest something?"
Everyone turns to look at Ziel. The Pirate and the Engineer actually started to feel shameful for forgetting his presence.
"But first" Link speaks directly to Chacha "If the laundry transfer were not a problem, would you do this for my brothers? And I mean… do you still have the time and energy for this?"
Chacha laughs "Of course I do, who you think you are talking to? You are still not making your room filthy enough to entertain me… If i do this, it will only be when requested, and they have to pay me 20 rupees each time"
-----------the loops talking at the same time-------
"How much is 20 rupees?" Li asks the Princess.
"Make it 10 rupees and we seal the deal" Zid counters the offer.
------------------------------------------------------------
Wtf, Why is Zid bargaining with a currency he does not even know or has ever used?
*He he... He used to be a pirate; it's in his nature I guess.
"NO WAY NASH" Ziel barks "20 is a fair price considering the impeccable works she does and the transfer to and from the castle"
"Wait" Chacha suddenly blurts "I had not considered how much I have to pay for the transfer…"
The Prince chuckles "Do not worry about that, José can do it for free. If I remember correctly, he has a colt that demands a lot of exercise. I will tell Pepe to run the colt here several times a week, which will allow him to pick up the dirty clothes and deliver the clean ones"
Robert started to frown, but quickly regained a calm semblance. "Raciel, would you tell us who José is?
Link smiled a little "José is our fourth brother"
The Pirate and the Engineer gasp in shock and look at each other.
"What do you mean by that" Zid asks threateningly.
"Not in the same way you two are my brothers, since there is no blood relation. But he is as defiant, stubborn, capable and resilient as we are. Just don't call him brother. He will be embarrassed by that and start beating the gay bitch out of you"
Zid raises an eyebrow "He is short-fused… sounds interesting"
Link nods at Zid's statement, and continues "José used to be a rascal, so he is kind of dangerous… but he just needed a chance. Now he is responsible, dependable and hard working. You are going to love the guy. In fact, you will meet him tomorrow maybe, when he brings your clothes"
Robert turned back to look at Zid, both seemed unsure, they were to meet a young man that apparently resembled them in character. And they were expected to receive him with open arms and trust him...
Robert shakes his head with a smile "Must I remind you that it took me 3 days to trust you Ziel… And it took monkey boy 2 days, a bit faster but still. All I can say is that I am willing to meet this José, but I believe it will take a long time for us to actually trust him"
Raciel smirks "Minutes… it will take Pepe between 3 and 5 minutes. I am willing to bet on this"
*Are you sure?*
Of course I am, if he can make the horses trust him, which is no easy task since equines are skittish and wary of humans. Then he can easily gain my brother's respect and trust.
Link turns around and signals Zelda to follow him outside. The Princess does, but now without looking back at her brothers who were already chatting with Chacha, and making her laugh. Once outside, the Prince crosses his arms.
"Are you going to tell me? Or do I have to unearth whatever you were trying to bury?"
Zelda looks down unsure but then lifts her head.
"I believe it would be better if I just show it to you" she starts going down the stairs, Link jumps off landing next to her.
Zelda breathed in deeply, then exhaled and went down on her knees. Link's eyes soon started to widen once he realized what she was uncovering.
"How?" Link asked as he also went down on his knees to help uncover the Korok.
"It was an accident"
Link picks up one halve of the head "Don't fuck with me Princess, this doesn't look like an accident, it looks like a murderer"
"YES, it kind of was… it wasn't me or Chacha who did this though, it was Nuthaniel."
Links raises his eyebrows shocked "The vermin? What was he doing here to begin with?"
Zelda looks at the Prince angry "Are you seriously asking that? During the day he sleeps, so the squirrel goes where Chacha goes, and where is she now?" she sighs "Is was not the vermin's fault either, I don't think he even registered the Korok as a living being. To Nuthaniel, it was just another plant"
The Hero looks at the remains, and for a brief second, sadness crosses his eyes "Just another plant… yet she used to be so much more"
"She? You can tell who it was?"
Link nods "She was one of the twins… can't recognize which one, but it doesn't matter anymore"
"If you need to officially bury her or anything to cope with this" the Princess suggests.
Link shakes his head aggressively "Why would I want to bury her? She may not have been as evil, but she was not good either. She or her sister wouldn't have bated an eye for me… just leave her there, her sister is coming back for her, I am sure"
Zelda sighs "You know, I was kind of hoping you to laugh all of this off. It surprises me that affected you after everything they put you through;"
Link closes his eyes and exhales "I was raised here, lived here all of my childhood, but I am NOT LIKE THEM. I can still mourn eventualities like this one... Especially now that I have THEM" Ziel points at his house referring to Robert and Zidane. "I am glad one of the twins is suffering, but I also feel that I don't have the right to be happy about it"
Zelda smiles "Because if it had been Zidane or Robert, you would want to kill everything in this damn forest"
"Kill… that is too forgiving, I would have burned everything down." He says solemnly.
Zelda was about to comment, but they started hearing hooves. Looking up, they noticed José mounted on a horse at the entrance of Kokiri Forest. Link smiled and threw a rock at the house to signal his clones to come out.
Zid and Rob came out and froze for a second watching a rider at the entrance of the forest. The horseman appeared to be a rugged young man.
The man was barely eighteen, yet he carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone older. The animal he was riding was no longer a colt; it was a strong and prideful stud. The rider happened to be José, and he was barely managing to keep his nerves. all of his childhood he had heard disturbing stories about this forest.
On the other hand, the horse the stable master was mounting was feeling his rider's emotional state. So, in an attempt to soothe his rider, it suddenly reared onto its hind legs, chest thrust forward and head held high, letting out a triumphant neigh, one that echoed all around the forest. The horse's intention had been to calm his rider and leave a clear message establishing their dominance.
José smiled at the horse's antics, and then a deep, booming yell burst from his chest, raw and commanding. "RAZIEL"
Chuckling, Link started to wave his hands high "HERE" he yelled back. The stablemaster smiled and directed the horse towards the Prince.
The Pirate and the Engineer looked at each other.
Li sighs pleased "Damn, if that was not a manly entrance... I don't know what it is"
Zid chuckles "3 to 5 minutes Link said, it actually took him seconds. Let's go me our bro, I don't know how or when… but I am going to call him brother eventually, and he is not gonna rip me to pieces for it" he said as he jumped down from the porch of their new house. Robert followed the Pirate actually anxious to meet the stable master.
José eventually reached the Prince and with a steady arm that spoke of a seasoned rider, he pulled on the saddle to make the colt stop. There was strength in his frame, yes. But more than that, there was presence. Something about him just drew the eye. The sight made the Pirate and the Engineer weary, but it also made them eager to establish a brotherhood with him.
"Pepe" The Prince yelled "Why the fuck are you here bro?"
The José unloaded a bag that was tied to a side of the horse, and threw it at Link's face aggressively. He then climbed down from the horse and untied another bag which he started swinging against the Prince.
When the Hero's clones noticed, they quickened their pace to intervene, but soon realized the rider was not really attacking, he was roughly playing with the Prince, and Zelda was laughing loud about it.
"Pepe, seriously, who told you to come here?" Zelda manages to ask in the middle of her laughter.
José rose an index finger and answered "Your mother… as I was about to head out for this buck's daily run" José taps on the colts mane "A package from Martin arrived. The Queen sends for me and told me to bring the packages here… since she would hate for the guest boys to put the royal family to shame by dressing like destitutes"
Robert smiled rolling his eyes, but Zid laughed hysterically recognizing the Queen's scathing language. The Pirate actually managed to infect José with laugher. But the stable master soon regained himself.
"I must say that crossing the bridge to enter this forest was..."
"Terrifying right? SEE LINK? It's unnerving to cross it" Zelda enunciates.
Link shakes his head dismissing the comment "It's not that frightening"
"Oh, of course it's not, the sight is beautiful, but it's got an eerie vibe to it" José clarifies. "Good thing is that this horse was more curious than afraid… he kept crossing it even when the wind blew making the bridge shake a little"
The Princess huffs loudly and turns away betrayed.
Li approaches clearing his throat. Ziel notices and pull both of his brothers next to him.
Ziel smiles "I guess introductions are in order. The guys next to me are Robert and Zidane, I will allow them to further introduce themselves"
And with an easy grin, Link came up alongside Pepe and wrapped an arm around his shoulder "And this guy here is José; he is the castle's stable master. That means he is one of the few men my King trusts to keep everything in check. He used to be a trouble maker, so he knows his way around Hyrule. If you need appliances for the house, ask him, he can do it himself or know a guy. Same if you need plumbing services, restaurant recommendations. And he is friends with the owner of a tavern in castle town, just mention his name and the owner throws a friendly discount"
Zid opens his eyes wide and smiles "Sounds like Pepe is the guy you definitely want to befriend here" he extends his hand for a shake "I am Zidane, I am an orphan from the other world that used to steal for survival. And I am soon doing a ritual to pronounce me and your Prince sworn brothers. Nice to meet you"
The Pirate and the stable master shake their hands both using a strong grip, as if to measuring each other's strength.
Robert also introduces himself "Zelda and Raziel also call me Li because I prefer that name. I am also an orphan from the other world, but I am no thief, I was just trained to use a lot of weapons... If you don't want to lose on a shooting competition, it's me you want to bet for. Nice to meet you… I am also doing the Goron ritual by the way" he says shaking the hand of José with a firm grasp.
Chacha finally climbs down the stairs and reaches the group mumbling. Nuthaniel notices his rider friend and just jumps extending his patagium to glide towards him landing on his hip, the rodent then climbs up Pepe´s torso to rests on one of his shoulders. José smiles and pulls out a nut with a face clearly painted on it.
"Sorry little guy, I had not finished assembling today's doll, but I am sure you don't mind" He offers the nut and the squirrel who immediately cracks it and eats it.
Chacha, Link and Zelda look at each other as realization downs on them, the tree of them started laughing.
So that is why the vermin jumped on a Korok and killed it, he has been trained to attack small people.
Link slowly stops his laughter staring solemnly at the rodent "What happened was not your fault, I forgive you"
Rob, Zid and José stared at Link confused by the exchange with the glider. Nuthaniel just squeaked twitching its whiskers.
Chacha suddenly stands in front of the Prince.
"Just so you know your hair looks untamed. It's not a bad look on you, but the rest of the nobles may criticize it. Once we get back to the castle, I am going to trim your hair... not much, just enough to make it look neat and grown out in a deliberate way" the maid said.