How hard could finding Princess Zelda be? [Closed]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Who: Edge and Zelda
When: Right after receiving banquet invitations
Where: The Temple of Metis
What: Edge is a man on a mission. Edge makes questionable life choices.



[The sound of a chime drifts through the air, then the grinding rumble of a staircase. And then the startled yelp of a ninja who had been standing in a very inconvenient place, as the stone beneath him abruptly decends.]

[Luckily he is a ninja; he turns the sudden loss of balance into a neat flip that drops him onto the floor of the 'proper' temple on his feet. Doubly fortunate, because it preserves the bouquet of flowers clutched in his hand.]

[Straightening up, Edge looks back at the staircase sheepishly.] That was weird...

Comments

[sageprincess]

[Silly Edge, don't you know you have to find the dungeon map and compass before you can reach the boss treasure--

Okay, no, we're not going that hard with the game mechanics here. Zelda is brought out of her literal cave dwelling by the sound of the chime, more than a little nervous about the possibility of an intruder, but... peering through one of the arches leading deeper into the temple reveals that it's just Edge. Though that, in turn, begs the question of why the hell is he here...

And he has flowers? That's weird.]

... Can I help you?

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Zelda! [Oh, thank goodness, this is the right place -- and argh, he's a mess! He runs his free hand through his hair to smooth it back, then flicks his wrist back so his cape snaps behind him. Then, in a flash, he's before her, bowing low and regally.]

My lady Zelda. I have received an invitation to a banquet, and I hoped you'd favor me with your company there. There's no one else in the Far Shore I'd rather go with.

[Rising, he proffers the flowers.]

[sageprincess]

[...

Well. This is what she was expecting her day to be when she woke up this morning. She stares, quiet and surprised and perhaps a little overwhelmed by his gallant proclamation. This is the guy she beat up and then broke down in front of, right? And he's saying there's no one else he wants to go to the banquet with? Does he not get out much or something...?

She does take the offered flowers, albeit somewhat mechanically as she processes what is happening right now.]

You are... actually going to that?

[... She probably doesn't mean for that to sound as rude as it does.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

[He never got beaten up! That match had been fairly even and they'd both been holding back! Really, if he had been beaten up by his standards, he'd probably be a little less interested...]

[He passes on her rudeness without comment, having gotten the impression that... well, social situations aren't quite her forte.]

Absolutely, and doubly so if you'd agree to be my date. Food, dancing, and if it gets too stuffy we can always blow the party, but given the people I've met in the Far Shore I don't see how that could even be possible.

[sageprincess]

[How gracious he is. Her stunned expression doesn't change much as he explains, though she does glance down to the flowers in her hands. ... They're very nice, actually. She doesn't remember the last time she received flowers like this-- probably sometime when she was a child, and when they would be meant more for her father's favor than herself.

... Oh, right. The party thing.]

I thought it was fairly obvious that it was some sort of trap... Did you not attend the moon festival several weeks ago?

[...]

Also, I fear I do not know how to dance.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Details, details. Dancing is easy to fake -- you just get out on the floor and look graceful, you can do that really easily.

And if it is a trap... [Edge looks sidelong at her, all playfulness gone from his expression from the moment.] There's plenty of other gods and shinki who aren't treating it as one. I'm not going to let them go and risk getting in trouble if I could help out, are you?

And if it's NOT a trap, we enjoy ourselves!

[sageprincess]

I feel as though that is simplifying things a great deal...

[Ah, but then the act drops. Only for a moment, and sure, he's definitely playing to her altruistic instincts in order to get the answer he wants, but it is enough to make her think this isn't all just some kind of game he's playing.

She fidgets, pursing her lips and looking askance as she's forced to consider his question more seriously.]

... Are you being sincere about that? That you want to help people when things go wrong?

[When, not if.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

[Oh, have we stopped flirting for a bit? Okay, not that Zelda had ever been flirting, but nevertheless, Edge discards his playful attitude in an instant, folding his arms as the humor vanishes from his eyes.]

I don't know who I was when I was alive. I have no details, so I can't tell you what kind of man I was then. But here and now, I know I have the power to fight, and the drive to use it to do what's right. So yes, I'm being sincere about it.

Not that I'm hoping this is a trap! [He ruins his serious attitude by rubbing the back of his head, a sheepish look on what's visible of his face.] But if it is, then yeah, all the more reason to go.

[sageprincess]

[Her eyes are drawn back up by his earnest words, and she finds herself believing them. Edge is theatrical man, and a bit of a fool at times, but... his kindness is true, that much she is certain of even if she knows little else about him. She doesn't think she deserves it, if she's being honest, but damn if it isn't her weakness.]

Well. [She answers, the tips of her long ears burning pink despite herself.] It would be rather unseemly of me to make you go alone, in that case.

[She's only going to make sure you don't get into too much trouble okay, don't read too much into it--]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Whether it's fighting or actual enjoyment, I'd want you with me either way. [That one straddles the line right between flirtatious and sincere, because really, it's both. Zelda seems like someone who -- well, not needs a partner, but would benefit from having one quite a bit.]

[He'd be a little worse off if he actually noticed her ears... But instead, he's giving her a thoughtful look.] Say, do you know anything about the fashions around here?