Strange Bedfellows - 3

The young pageboy led the Gerudo King and his servant up through the castle to the guest chambers, silently praying that Isna could remember enough to find her way back herself. Goddesses forbid the Gerudo King should come looking for him for directions. The huge man's steps echoed throughout the hallways, his servant looking ridiculously small next to him. Even she frightened the boy, his father's tales of the fierce fighters ringing in his ears.
"Your room, sir and madam," the boy said as he opened the door with a low bow. Neither of the two acknowledged him, and that was just fine with him. He closed the door and sped back down the hallway.
"I never thought eating could be so exhausting," Ganondorf grumbled as he pulled off his doublet. "I think the Princess put that fool next to me on purpose."
"I liked the faces he made." Isna dissolved into giggles.
Ganondorf arched an eyebrow. "Isna. From now on, if they offer you wine, leave it in the cup."
"Yes, my Lord." She watched him with a hopeful expression, which quickly faded when he made no move to take off his breeches.
He stretched and cracked his back. "Isna, the Hylian court fatigues me. If you please…" She scrambled eagerly on his back as he lay down on the bed and dug the heels of her palms into his shoulder blades.
They heard a knock at the door, a quick one-two-three that both recognized immediately. Isna jumped up and opened the door for Nabooru, who walked through the door with something akin to a swagger. "So, my King, how did you enjoy  your first meeting with the Hylian nobles?"
Back on the bed, he grumbled into the pillow as Isna perched on his back once more. "Nabooru, must you be so infernally cheerful?"
"I warned you. I've had to deal with these fools for years, and now it's your turn."
He snorted. "You get along well enough with their Princess."
Contemplative, she sat down on the bed next to them. "She's different. Not really sure how. Smarter than the rest, I suppose, though I don't know where she gets it. Not from her father."
"Not at all." Ganondorf said nothing about the mark on his hand that he had hidden from his own people. Nothing good ever came of using Hylian magic, Nabooru would often say. And then she would tell yet another tale of the Dark Lord, one of their own who had fallen into ruin by attempting to use the pointy-ears' magic.
Ganondorf had hoped that the Princess could give him a clue about how it worked. Not that he expected her to speak of it, but he knew enough magic to be able to sense it in another person. Unfortunately, he had been unable to speak to her all day. He wondered if she already anticipated what he was attempting to do.
Nabooru cast an appraising look around the room. "They gave you one of the nicer places to stay. Not the best, of course," she added with a snort. "Not the rooms befitting visiting royalty. But still better than what I had on my first visit."
Ganondorf made an indelicate sound. "I care nothing for their lace and ruffles," he said. "I need no smelly oils in my bath, nor any special clothing for sleeping."
Isna stifled a giggle. "Lace and ruffles! Wouldn't you look fine!"
"I meant in the room. Look at the waste of silk in the furniture. Over there, a piece of wood with puffy fabric to rest your feet on. Who needs it?"
Nabooru turned up her nose at the bed. "I bet they burn the sheets after we leave. Goddess forbid their finery be tainted by Gerudo flesh."
Isna flopped over onto the bed. "It's so soft! Maybe we should take it with us, and spare them the trouble."
Ganondorf rolled over. "Tonight is a night for sleeping. I will need plenty of rest in order to deal with these fools in the morning."
"As you wish." Nabooru turned to leave.
"Wait a moment. Nabooru, I wish to speak with the Princess, alone. Could you arrange something with her?"
Nabooru sighed. "Ah, you forget, my Lord. It would be…inappropriate…for a Hylian maiden to see a man alone."
He groaned. "Goddesses, so many pointless rules! How do they get anything done? Nabooru, you will be with us, then. Isna as well. There, three women and only one man. Surely that's enough?"
"Gerudo don't count, my Lord."
"Then have her pick someone! I don't care who. Just as long as they can keep their mouth shut…or at least be persuaded to do so."
With a frown, Nabooru asked, "What is so important that you must speak to her in private?"
"The Princess possesses knowledge that I want."
"Why don't you just have me ask her?"
"It is a subject that requires…delicate handling." Ganondorf rolled over again. "Good night, Nabooru. I will speak with you tomorrow morning."

--

"Really, I don't know what the servants were thinking. I will speak with them today," the Duke said to Zelda the next day, as they both walked to breakfast. "I know you're fond of that Nabooru, but there was no need for the other wench to sit so close. And the Gerudo King! You know what those people are like. He shouldn't be anywhere near you."
"Duke Reyton, I will deal with this situation myself," Zelda said coldly. She did not want any of her servants suffering from the Duke's loss of face.
"But your Highness, I merely want to assist you in-"
"I need no assistance with such small matters," she stated with a hint of finality in her voice. The Duke fell silent.
After a short while, he motioned for her to follow him to one of the balconies. "I figured you might want a change, your Highness, so I set up a small breakfast for you and one of the representatives from the other kingdoms."
"How thoughtful," Zelda replied, biting back the curse that bubbled behind her lips. Of course he would seek to punish her after last night, as if she were still a child. She dreaded what he had arranged.
As he gestured toward the open balcony, her worst fears were confirmed. Prince Salin stood at the little table for two, pushing her chair back for her to sit.
"Enjoy yourself," said the Duke, and Zelda had to suppress the urge to slap him.
Prince Salin was Zelda's age, Hylian, and actually quite handsome. He had jet-black hair and green eyes, and the thin, pointed face often seen in portraits of the Hero.
Yet he was anything but. Of the young men that sought Zelda's hand, Prince Salin was the cruelest. He never kept the same servants for very long, and those who had worked under him spoke of a spoiled brat that struck out at anyone who denied him what he wanted. He had a sister, a sad-eyed woman who dared not speak in his presence, and the servants gossiped that she was slowly going mad.
Not that anyone could see this on the outside. He had impeccable manners, and spoke with a kind of detached casualness that put others at ease. Yet Wisdom and the whispers in the castle hallways laid bare his true nature for Zelda to see. She would have no throne with this man as her husband; she could not even be sure she would be able to call her mind and her body her own.
Yet she smiled sweetly as she sat down at the small table. "Thank you, my Lord."
"Milady, how have you been? I heard that the Gerudo King has finally paid you a visit."
Zelda kept her eyes on her steaming cup of tea, unable even to look at him. "Yes, the dinner was a fine one. I'm sorry you didn't drop by sooner."
"What a shame to have to entertain those desert rats. Have you ever given thought to closing off your kingdom to them? Surely they can fare on their own anyway."
She tried another smile. "Though my Lord may not think so, they are very useful to the Crown. The women are excellent midwives, and no one makes silk like the Gerudo." She flicked her eyes up to catch his scowl.
"As you wish, Milady. But I can offer you something better than silks." He took a small, ornate pewter box from a small stand at his side. Opening it, he said, "I think the sapphires would match your eyes nicely."
Zelda blanched. In his hand he held the equivalent of the crown jewels of his kingdom, a necklace studded with numerous multicolored priceless jewels. In all of Hyrule there was nothing like it, and there could be only one reason he would offer something like this. "Ah, Prince Salin. This is too much. I do not have anything of its equal to give in return."
"What makes you think I would require something in return?" he asked, and Zelda wished she could strike him. Of course he would want something in return. "Come, let me see how this would look on you."
"Heavens, Prince Salin, it's too early in the day for such finery. Perhaps at dinner-" Zelda searched for some distraction, some way to leave him here while she made her getaway.
He stood, and stepping over toward her, fastened the jewels around her neck with one quick movement. She involuntarily touched it, feeling as if it were a hempen noose and not fine gold. "There! Now, Milady, you keep that. Surely there is nothing finer in all the kingdoms in all the world."
Of course there was no other kingdom that could offer such a fine gift. And no way Zelda could refuse, no way that she could dispose of it without anyone knowing. She smiled and gave him a small nod of her head, but inside she quaked in fear.
Time was running out, now faster than ever.