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skyloftian-nutcase · 8 months ago

Note

I kinda like your chronicles of the domain story thing if you wanna do something with that for the prompt event. thx!

(@silvrash-797 this one’s for you ❤️)

Link was sick.

It wasn't anything too alarming, Abel told himself repeatedly. The chidl had a stuffed nose, a bit of a fever, and a wretched cough. Captain Tomall had assigned Abel to guard the Hylian quarters to help him care for his boy, which the young knight greatly appreciated. He spent the morning with Link in his arms, comforting the poor child, who was quite miserable with his situation. Abel's touch wasn't as gentle as Tilieth's, but his soft words of encouragement and love seemed to help either way.

He pointedly ignored the fear in his heart, like a tiny needle trying to undo him. He pointedly didn't think about how Tilieth had been sick before their departure, how Link maybe somehow had it now. But that couldn't be the case - it had been two weeks since they'd left Hateno, after all.

Still, Link coughed and moaned, and Abel worried.

Ekan, Abel's teammate in guard duty today, offered to take care of everything so Abel could just rest with his son. Abel was somewhat annoyed with the offer - Ekan was by far the weakest fighter in the group, and he did not take his duty as seriously, so leaving him in charge would be a disaster. Although the man had a good heart, Abel didn't trust the Zora enough to leave protecting Hylians up to Ekan alone.

It was strange, though. Having spent roughly a week here now, Abel was... not entirely sure what to make of the Zora. He'd heard of them, of course - a mysterious and elegant race of water loving people, with strange appearances, beautiful aesthetic, and strong magic.

When they'd been briefed for this mission, they had all been told briefly of the political landscape, at least enough for them to grasp the importance of protecting their ambassador, Cilda. The Domain and Hyrule had clashed in the past, though not too recently. Nevertheless, tensions remained high, and trust low. The late Zora Queen had not liked Hyrule much, but with her death the Queen of Hyrule saw a new opportunity to establish good relations with the heir apparent, Dorephan.

Dorephan. The man had been kind enough when Abel had met him. But he could also very clearly see distrust and disdain in the upcoming king's advisors, and it made him wary.

He hoped everything would go well, though. If nothing else, for Link's sake. The boy had really started taking a liking to some Zora children, and had even interacted with the little princess, Mipha. Abel wasn't entirely sure how appropriate that was, and tried to keep it to a minimum, but he couldn't control his son while he was on duty, much as he tried.

None of that really mattered now, though. Not with Link being sick.

Speaking of the Zora, however, one of the little Zora children did stop by to ask if Link could play. Rivan, if Abel recalled correctly. The little boy was greatly disappointed when he heard Link was ill, and he asked that Abel pass along message to get better soon because we were gonna go see Ploymous Mountain (to which Abel pointed out that children should not be wandering to random mountains by themselves since he hardly knew the terrain or how dangerous this area was).

As Abel checked on his little boy in the afternoon, having left him in bed to rest, he found the child clutching his cow plushie and sniffling. The knight's heart twisted a little at the sight of it, and he knelt down to be at eye level with the child.

"Feeling any better?" he asked quietly, gently brushing hair away from the boy's face.

"My head hurts," Link whined, voice breaking halfway through the sentence.

Sympathy tugged at the man's heart, and he leaned in to kiss the child before saying, "It'll get better, son. Drink some water and rest, okay? I'll be back with dinner."

He felt a little bad for leaving the child, but to be fair, he'd carried him around with him most of the morning. As much as he loved Link, he didn't need to coddle him too much. The boy would have to learn to become more independent someday. Abel found himself constantly debating how to go about doing that - Tilieth would treat him like a baby all the way up to his adolescence if she could, but Abel didn't agree with that. But he also didn't think it was fair to just throw the boy into the world as he himself had been, forced to parent his little sister, forced to run the house when their mother deteriorated and passed away.

He'd comforted Link plenty today, right? And he would tell him a bedtime story with dinner. He couldn't be with the boy all day. He hadn't been their entire stay here.

But Link was sick. And Abel was worried.

He sighed heavily, returning to his post, ignoring Ekan's gaze. When his teammate tried to start conversation, hand restlessly running over his dark cornrows on his head, Abel tried not to be too snippy in response. There was nothing wrong with Ekan trying to be friendly; Abel simply was too stressed to play along.

The next day, Link's fever finally seemed to break, giving Abel immense relief. Captain Tommell mentioned that there would be some sort of serious meeting between the heir apparent and their diplomat, Cilda, and many Zora officials would be there, meriting tighter security. Abel hadn't really seen the soon-to-be-king since his initial meeting with him - most of Cilda's interactions were with Zora officials beneath him, after all. This was important.

Which meant he would be assigned to guard her. And Link would be alone, sick.

Abel swallowed his remorse on the matter. Duty was duty. He spent breakfast in his room with Link.

"I'm going to be guarding the diplomats today, son," he explained gently. "I asked Sir Ekan to make sure you're okay."

"Braids soldier?"

Abel's mouth twisted a little in amusement. "You have to learn their names, Link. They're our... our friends here."

"But I don't want Braids Soldier," Link whined. "I want you, Papa."

Abel sighed. "Sometimes we can't get what we want, Link. Our duty always has to come first, remember? Others are relying on me, too. You're safe here. Our ambassador is not."

Link hugged Mrs. Moo more tightly, lip wobbling, but he nodded. Abel smiled proudly at it. His little boy would be a good soldier someday, and he told him as much before kissing his forehead and steeling himself for a long day. Link was on the mend, though, so no matter what, it would be fine.

And it was fine. Until the next day, when Abel woke up with a runny nose and a headache.

He groaned. Of course I got it too.

Whatever this obnoxious feverish nightmare was, it was clearly contagious. He prayed it didn't spread to the other soldiers. Goddess, what if he passed it on to the captain, or the ambassador?

Link wiggled in the bed a little, clearly far more energized, jumping up and down in excitement. "Papa! Papa I'm feeling better! Papa, look!"

Abel swallowed, feeling his throat scrape against itself, raw and swollen. He mustered a smile, nodding. "That's good, son. Maybe you can go play with your friends today?"

Link nodded eagerly.

The little one's smile fell, however, when Abel started coughing harshly as he stood.

"Papa?" he asked, beady eyes wide with worry.

"I'm okay," Abel assured him, pointedly ignoring the look from their roommate, Norri.

When he coughed again, though, world spinning slightly as his head pounded, Link immediately shifted uncomfortably. "Papa, you're not okay."

"Link--"

"Papa, you're sick!"

"It's okay, son."

Link's eyes were filled with tears, and Abel was almost baffled at the reaction. Surely he couldn't look that ill, right?

"I made you sick," Link whimpered.

Oh.

"No," Abel hastily tried to appease him. "No, sweet child. It--I got this from--from Norri."

His roommate's expression grew affronted, and the younger knight huffed, freshening up and stepping out of the room.

Link seemed a little less horrified, but no less worried.

"Son," Abel said gently, picking him up and kissing him. "I'm a grown up. When we get sick we're okay. We don't really get all that sick. My body's bigger and stronger, so I can handle it, okay? I'll be fine."

Settling him on the ground, he nudged him along. "Go eat some breakfast. I'll be out shortly."

When he stepped out into the hall, he nearly jumped to the ceiling when Norri materialized beside him, saying, "I am not pretending to be sick just to assuage your child's worries. Unlike you, I am dedicating all my energy into doing my duty."

Abel's patience wasn't what it should have been. Not with as ill as he was feeling. Instead of taking the words with a neutral expression, he snapped, "Don't take my care for my child as shirking my duty. You know nothing of responsibility until you have someone in your care. Some of us aren't self centered brats who wish to climb the ranks."

He really should have held his tongue. Especially since Norri had occasionally tried to look out for him. The man wasn't a bad person, just... immature. He had his opinions about Link's presence, and Abel bristled at it. It wasn't as if he himself weren't aware of the inconvenience having a four-year-old caused; he didn't need it rubbed in.

Before Abel could retract his words, their superior arrived to corral them into the den and hand out their assignments. Abel would be with the ambassador alongside the captain and, of course, Norri.

Great. This was going to be a great day. Abel held back another coughing fit as he said his goodbye to Link and told him they would spar in the evening. Ekan, kindhearted as he was, promised he would keep an eye on Link and told Abel to take care of himself.

Goddess, how obvious was this illness? Abel felt miserable but he thought he was hiding it fairly well.

Well. Until he wasn't.

It wasn't entirely his fault. But he supposed that didn't matter. Lack of food and water mixed with whatever was tearing his body apart, and it turned into the perfect storm.

At least Abel managed to excuse himself from the meeting hall and made it into some innocuous corner before the dark edges of his vision caught up to the rest of him.

He wasn't entirely sure how long he'd passed out, but the sunlight didn't seem to have moved too much when he awoke. His shoulder ached--he must have hit it when he fell--but thankfully his helmet protected his head from any major impact. Now he just needed to find some water and get back to his post.

Shakily, Abel pulled himself to his feet, leaning heavily against the wall, when he realized he was being watched.

He reached for his blade automatically, feeling far too vulnerable, but a strong voice said, "Steady, Hylian. I don't mean you any harm. You're hardly a threat in your state, anyway."

Abel bristled a little at the implication of his ineptitude, but he sheathed his sword nonetheless. He didn't need to cause a diplomatic incident. The Zora in question was a sergeant, Seggin, who was known for his pride and prowess in battle. He was head of all the Zora military as well, which made this particularly unnerving.

Abel was exposing himself as a weak link in the Hylian forces, and he hated it. He wasn't entirely sure how to get himself out of this situation, so he just tried to stand tall and proud and strong, despite having just passed out.

"Hylians are so delicate, aren't they?" Seggin continued, walking towards him with his arms crossed. "Your kind live such short lives. You hardly understand anything of how the world works, and I wouldn't exactly call your people capable. How Hylia favored your race is beyond me."

Abel steeled himself for a fight, face carefully neutral so as not to be the one to start it, but more than willing to end it.

Seggin sighed before reaching for something and holding it out. "Drink. Get back what little strength your feeble Hylian body can muster. I'll not have you dying in my prince's halls and causing a problem."

As much as he wanted to punch the sergeant, Abel opted to just take the offered water flask and drink. He also promised himself to spar somewhere public when he was feeling better so as to prove this sergeant wrong.

With a nod of thanks, he made his way back to the meeting hall, ignoring Seggin's watchful eye as the sergeant also walked there. The two had a silent face off the rest of the day, sizing each other up, though Seggin hardly seemed concerned by Abel.

When the young Hylian knight returned to the barracks, he felt absolutely wretched, but he tried to put it aside as Link eagerly asked about sparring and talked about his day. Abel indulged the boy, wanting to also stretch and fight as well, and the two went at it briefly with wooden training swords. Link's prowess still surprised Abel, and honestly, with as sick as he felt, the child genuinely did almost defeat him.

Honestly, the joy of seeing his boy's abilities really did make him feel better. As he undressed from his armor, he felt his trousers get tugged and looked down to see Link holding a tray of food and what looked like five glasses of water.

"I brought dinner," he said, holding the tray up as proof.

"I... already ate," Abel replied, confused. "Remember? I had dinner with you."

"But it wasn't enough, Papa!" Link argued. "And you need water when you're sick."

Abel sighed heavily. There was little point in arguing with the child, so he nibbled on the offered food, ignoring Norri as he entered the room.

Link watched him uncertainly, holding his plushie tightly. When Abel smiled at him, he held the toy out hesitantly. "Do... do you want Mrs. Moo?"

Abel tried not to choke on his water. "W-why?"

"She helps," Link explained seriously. "When you weren't there she made me feel better because she's from you and Mama."

Abel lost his appetite in a heartbeat, guilt gnawing at his insides. He swallowed, putting the tray down on his lap. "I... sure, Link. Thank you."

Link smiled eagerly, taking the tray and putting it on the nightstand before handing Mrs. Moo to his father. Then he started fussing over Abel, insisting he tuck him in (and pat his cheeks with his grubby little hands, and goddess if it didn't take all of Abel's willpower not to laugh at the silly child). When Abel's pillow was fluffed, blanket pulled up to his chin, and Mrs. Moo secured snugly in his arms, Link was finally satisfied.

Abel smiled as his sweet boy crawled under the blankets to snuggle with him. Mrs. Moo smelled like soggy cloth and spilled food, and he noted he should probably wash the thing in the morning. His headache didn't seem to pound quite as much with some water, and the general ache that had been creeping through his body wasn't enough to keep him from trying to get comfortable.

In the end, Link's care was far more healing than anything else, and Abel felt his heart warm as he fell asleep that night.

#you ask skye answers #lovely anon #chronicles of the domain #breath of the wild link #botw link #abel #ajifeowajfklsajfieow I LOVE BABY LINK #mrs. moo deserves her own tag #mrs. moo #she's an obviously important character #Seggin does not like Hylians in case you didn't notice #but he also isn't gonna just walk by and see a man stumbling and not help #at least he didn't see Abel pass out or Abel would've woken up in a Zora infirmary and had a meltdown #writing

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embyrinitalics · 2 years ago

Note

Have a fun little prompt:

TP Zelda gets a dog. Link is unimpressed. She calls the dog Link. Chaos ensues.

That's it. That's the prompt.

— Replaced —

“What is that?”

“The latest taxation proposition for Lanayru province.”

“Not that. That.”

The queen set the top page of her report aside, not deigning to glance beneath her desk.

“It’s a dog.”

“Yes. But what is it doing here?”

“It’s mine.”

The captain of the guard waited a beat. She turned another page.

“You got a dog.”

“Yes.”

“May I ask why?”

“Dogs are good companion animals.”

He folded his arms, frowning at it. It laid down and folded its paws, unmoved.

“And why do you need a companion animal?”

“You seem needlessly fixated, Sir Link.”

“You’re avoiding the question, Your Majesty.”

“Why? Does it pose a threat to my security?”

“It’s unlike you.”

“Not so. I’ve always liked dogs. And companion animals can be very soothing.”

“You already have—”

Her eyes met his at the same time his teeth met each other. Her gaze lingered, and he strategically uncrossed his arms. Beneath the desk, the dog sniffed.

She turned another page.

“Did you have something for me?”

He did. He fished the envelope out of his breast pocket and stepped closer to hold it out to her across her workspace. She reached for her letter opener and sliced it neatly down the seam, and he let his eyes drift down near his boots and bared a tooth.

“Thank you,” she said, and leaned back in her chair to read.

It was as polite a dismissal as he was liable to get. He saw himself out, glancing back from the shadow of the door.

The dog looked smug.

⬫⬫⬫⬫

The delegation arriving that afternoon was large, and the staff had been agitated as a cucco swarm seeing to the last minute preparations. Fortunately, the captain had some experience with cuccos, and was adroit enough to stay out of the way as he oversaw the finishing touches on the security measures.

One of the kitchen maids, sheen on her forehead and pink on her cheeks, came out of the dining room with a platter big as a Hylian shield balanced against her shoulder. The frustration on her face melted a bit when she met his eyes, giving way to an exhausted half-smile.

“Hello, Captain,” she said, breathless, and he nodded.

“Miss Tilly.”

“No room for a fourth platter of bouchées,” she sighed, dragging her wrist against her brow. Her eyes sparkled beneath. “These’ll have to go back down.”

“Pity,” he said.

She plucked an hors d'oeuvres from the top of the arrangement and held it out for him.

“Care to lighten my load?”

The pastry hovered between them a moment—unassuming, bite sized, glistening with eggwash—before his fingers finally lifted along with the corners of her mouth.

If anyone knew how to tempt the otherwise impervious captain of the guard, it was the kitchen staff.

He was halfway to biting into it when the queen’s voice, raised, urgent, startled him so badly he pulled it out from under his teeth and whipped his head aside.

“Link, no!”

A blue-eyed shepherd bounded down the hallway like a shot and back up again, twirling a circle by the trailing queen’s skirts and hopping a bit until he pulled a smile out of her. He let his tongue loll out and pranced at her heel as she walked.

The captain’s teeth hadn’t quite found their way back to each other.

“You—” he started, and then closed his mouth at her sudden, innocent attention.

She waited, elegant. He tried again, off kilter.

“You named the dog Link?”

“It’s a heroic name,” she reasoned, fingers feathering the silky top of his head, and Link preened. “Don’t you agree?”

Miss Tilly ducked her head and scurried off, hiding her toothy smile very poorly.

The captain shoved the whole pastry in his mouth and stomped off.

⬫⬫⬫⬫

The queen brought Link to the reception.

He was bouncy and very good at manipulating his eyebrows to swindle the guests out of treats. He was light enough on his dainty paws that he stayed out from under the foot traffic, and small enough that he could slip under tables with ease. The Zora also found him novel and charming, which made absolutely no sense.

His good behavior did not keep the captain from glaring at him whenever they crossed paths.

After dinner the queen stayed up late entertaining and listening to informal presentations of the Zora’s concerns. Link laid at her feet, occasionally offering his chin and ears for scratches. The captain of her guard stood stationed at the far end of the room, where he could keep an eye on all the entrances and wouldn’t eavesdrop.

It was his usual spot at functions like these. But tonight he felt leashed up outside.

When the guests had finally gone to bed, the queen glided towards her chambers, trailed by two shadows. It was a sleepy procession. And as the delegation was staying for the better part of a week, there would be more of them. The dog whined.

“You poor thing,” she murmured, reaching down to stroke his chin. “You haven’t had your supper yet.”

Neither had the captain. But he refrained from whining about it.

They reached her room and the queen went inside. Link followed, nails dragging noisily on the carpet, but stopped wedged in the doorway to look pointedly over his shoulder. The captain felt his hackles raising.

“Was there something else?”

“Nothing else, Your Majesty. Get some rest.”

“You as well,” she nodded, swallowing a yawn. “Come to bed, Link.”

The dog trailed her inside, making a beeline for her mattress.

When the door closed, the captain bristled so hard he felt the need to shake down to his tail.

⬫⬫⬫⬫

The next few days were more of the same: crowded meals that lasted for hours, long walks through the castle grounds speckled with talks, and tired evenings brimming with wine. The queen’s captain and her dog liked each other less and less.

The last morning of the visit, nerves frayed, tension wound tight, Link growled when the captain wandered too close to the queen’s desk, and without thinking the captain bared his teeth.

“Link!” she scolded, and they both flinched, tails tucked.

The envoy met with her one last time for what was sure to be a long negotiation, and the captain took the opportunity to attend to some pressing business.

He snatched the dog by the collar and dragged him, nails scuffing everywhere, to a broom closet, and locked them both in. He changed, and the dog screamed.

“OH GODS! WOLF! WOLF! HELP! SOMEONE HELP!”

“Stop barking! Stop—shut up, shut up!”

Link hesitated from where he had reared back on his haunches, breath puffing and chest fluttering, before he took an uncertain sniff. The whites of his eyes receded a bit, his forepaw meeting the ground and his nose drifting closer as he investigated. And then his eyes—as much as a dog’s eyes can—rolled.

“Oh. It’s you.”

The wolf let his lip curl, and while Link’s ears drooped, he planted his paws and raised himself a little taller, not to be intimidated.

“Let’s have it out,” the captain growled, “before this becomes an issue for her.”

“Well I certainly have nothing to apologize for,” he snuffed. “I’ve been nothing but well behaved!”

“You took a snap at me under her desk this morning.”

“You were asking for it.”

If the captain had a palm to drag across his face, he would’ve. Instead he pinned his ears down and huffed, glowering, “The safety of the queen and her household are my responsibility. You don’t need to like me. I don’t need to like you. But I am going to protect her. So stay out of my way.”

Link snorted. “That’s what she keeps you around for? Protection?”

“At least she has use for me. I can’t fathom why she’s kept you as long as she has.”

“Because I am the best boy. And the goodest boy. And the prettiest boy—”

“All right, shut up, shut up.”

He planted his tail on the ground, trying to think. It swished like an irritated metronome.

Link’s ears perked, head tilting and eyes going horribly wide with realization.

“You’re jealous!”

The wolf sneered. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“It all makes sense now. You’ve been unwelcoming from the moment I arrived. And at first I thought, Perhaps he’s one of those unpleasant people who simply doesn’t like dogs—insufferable, yes, but mostly harmless. But it couldn’t be clearer now what this is about: territory.”

“The queen is not territory.”

“But the place beside her throne? At the foot of her bed? Those certainly are, and I’ve never seen you in any of them.”

Link put on his best smug face. The captain entertained thoughts of cleaving his head clean off his shoulders.

“So, what did you do to get yourself ousted?”

“I haven’t been ousted.”

“Fine. Replaced.”

“I haven’t been—!”

“Well you must’ve done something wrong. How else do you explain my arrival? Were you too noisy? Too big? Too intimidating? Do you give subpar cuddles?”

His eyes narrowed. “The queen and I have never cuddled.”

Link looked mortified. “How can you even be a lapdog and not give cuddles?”

“I was never her lapdog! I’m her head of security!”

He hesitated.

“She does… know you’re a dog, yes?”

The wolf huffed again. “Yes, she knows.”

“Because I’ve never seen you like this in front of her before. And we’re mostly inseparable.”

“It’s been a while,” he grumbled.

“But you used to.”

One of his ears went sideways.

“And you liked it.”

Both of his ears went sideways.

Link beamed. “Doesn’t she give just the best scratches?”

“Listen, lapdog,” the wolf snapped, teeth meeting loudly, and Link shrank back against the wall. “The point is we’re stuck working together, and there’s nothing either of us can do about it. Deal with it.”

“You could ask for reassignment.”

He snarled, “Excuse me?”

“You can talk to her,” he explained, reaching with his back paw to scratch an itch. It made his collar twirl. “Tell her things. I envy you that, though I do a fairly good job of getting what I want besides. But you could tell her you don’t want to be her head of security anymore. Tell her you’d rather be a lapdog instead.”

“I don’t want to be her lapdog!”

“You just want to be closer to her.”

The wolf’s ears pinned back and his lips curled. “Why am I even having this conversation with you?”

“Because you locked us in a closet!”

His growl rumbled so low the brooms rattled.

He waited.

So did Link.

Finally, he murmured, “I can’t tell her that.”

“Why not?”

“It’s complicated.”

Link tilted his head at him again.

“Is that common among humans? They can’t say what they want?”

“I’d say so.”

He considered that a moment. Then he glanced up at him, eyebrows quirked.

“I think you’re dense.”

The wolf looked suddenly ravenous, but Link was unbothered.

“You’ve been outside wolfshape for too long, Captain. What do your senses tell you?”

That made him hesitate. He sniffed reflexively. “I don’t follow.”

“She got a dog to keep her company. With blue eyes. She named me after you. And you think you’re the only one who isn’t saying what he wants?” Link did his dog impression of an eye roll again. “Let me out of here. Your stupid might be contagious.”

The wolf blinked at him. “I’m going to let that go.”

“Well you know what else I think—”

The captain shifted, fur and teeth and claws melting back into softer shapes. The dog in the broom closet with him yapped incomprehensibly for another five seconds.

He smirked, “I think I like you better like this.”

⬫⬫⬫⬫

That night, when the door to her boudoir opened, the wrong sort of animal stepped through.

The queen looked up from her book from her seat on the couch. A wolf stared back.

After a beat he set his jaw, crossed the room with purpose, and dropped his snout into her lap.

Her lips twitched. The weight of his head didn’t let up in the slightest; if anything, her hesitation only made him sag harder.

“Link,” she murmured, carefully lifting one hand to trace a slow line from between his eyes to between his ears. “What have you done with my dog?”

I ate him, he thought smugly.

Her fingers dug a little deeper, and he leaned shamelessly into it. Because she gave excellent scratches.

“It’s not really appropriate for me to be overly familiar with my staff,” she mused, fingers sliding down, down, toward that spot behind his jaw. He stretched his neck to help her reach. Her smile turned pensive, and then faded just a little. “And even if I wanted to, that’s a lot of pressure to put on someone. It isn’t easy to say no to the queen.”

That’s sweet, Your Majesty, but I can handle myself.

She smoothed the fur around his ears, as though she’d mussed it. The wolf looked up at her out of fluted blue eyes, waiting. Expectant, more than hesitant. It made a smirk twist at her lips.

“It does get lonely, though,” she admitted. “Which is why I got myself a dog.”

Right. Because you didn’t already have one.

The wolf sniffed. He lifted his head from her lap and circled the couch, calculating, and then leapt onto the cushion beside hers with great care and laid down, tucking his legs so he’d fit. He plopped his head meaningfully on her shoulder.

“I can’t very well get rid of him now,” she argued.

He pushed his nose into her neck, and then wriggled to press in with his chest, encroaching as much as possible.

“Link,” she complained, puffing fur away from her mouth. “You’re too big.”

He only had two shapes to choose from, and wasn’t sure she’d be much happier with the other one. But neither was he about to call off his offensive after he’d come this far.

He shifted in a flurry of shadows. His elbow was planted on the camelback behind her shoulder, his temple planted on his fist. He was still very much in her personal space.

She arched an eyebrow, but made no move to pull away. He tested the waters, drifting closer. Her eyes twinkled, the way only hers could, and the grin that spread over his lips was probably too wolfish.

“I know a ranch in Ordona that would love a shepherd.”

On ao3 | masterlist

#Twilight Princess #Zelink #fanfic #Replaced #TP Zelda gets a dog #Link is unimpressed #fic request #mrmilktrayman14 #LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO YOU CRAZIES I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY!!!1!#THIS WON THE POLL YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE #also Link the Dog is an Australian shepherd #just in case anyone was dying to know that 😂#Zelink promptly #embyr writes

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frost-link · 2 years ago

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Hiya, May I requested for Sidon with a female hylian S/o when he was arranged marriage to Yona cause Him and S/o sadly force to breakup and the S/o leave the Zora Domain. Here the twist the S/o shocked to discover days later she's pregnant with his child but scared to tell him worrying how his father, Zoras, Muzu (Especially Muzu) reacts. So she decides to keep it to herself.

Before the events of TOTK Sidon and Yona not married yet. A traveler came to visit the domain to tell a story of seeing a hylian woman playing with a baby half zora/ hylian in the water of lurelin village.

(Ooh! This is a very interesting idea! I'd love to write this! We'll see how this goes! I hope it turned out okay!)

"Unexpected"

You were in a small hut with a doctor sitting before you. It was beyond humid outside with the temperatures scalding the air. The sun still found a way to pierce its heat inside the room. Your eyes stared at the doctor with pure apprehension.

"After our tests, we confirm that you are indeed pregnant Ms (Y/n). Congratulations!" The doctor stated with a firm tone, adjusting her glasses.

"Oh." You responded, not knowing what to say. Your (e/c) eyes stared at the floor, they reflected hundreds of emotions that went through your mind.

"You seem nervous, it is a natural feeling to experience! Have you told your husband about the news?" The doctor tried to ease your worries after noticing your body language. You then looked up at her, fear immediately piercing into your veins. You haven't even considered the idea of even telling Sidon. You left Zora's Domain originally finding out about Sidon getting engaged with Lady Yona, both of you were forced to break up. It had only been a week since you left. Now hearing your suspicions about being pregnant were true, it felt even more like a stab. You didn't even think it would be possible to become pregnant by a Zora since you were a Hylian. However, there you were. How would Sidon even react to hearing this? How would his father, the King of The Zora himself respond? What terrified you the most was how Muzu would react. Even after Calamity Ganon, Muzu was still skeptical about hylians. You sighed looking at the doctor.

"Um... It's complicated. I don't have a husband." You stated in a quiet tone still obviously nervous. The doctor soon slowly nodded giving you an empathetic look.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed. Well, I wish you luck for your pregnancy!" She stated, patting me on the back. After you had left the doctor's office it wasn't too long after you had settled down in Lurelin Village. You decided it'd be the best place for you and the baby. It was a small closed off village, far from Zora's Domain. You wouldn't have to worry about anyone finding out. It was also a perfect place for a Zora-Hylian hybrid to be. There was plenty of water for their Zora side, and plenty of Hylians around for them to interact with in the future.

P.O.V Change to Sidon

Two years had gone by since I had seen (Y/n). I kept busy steering my mind clear of her. I busied myself with Princely duties and kept Zora's Domain in check. An older couple had made their way into the domain and they seemed to be talking with each other. They were simply tourists, however it wasn't long before they were surrounded by quite a few Zora. One of my guards approached me. It was none other than the captain of the guard, Bazz. He had lightly tapped my shoulder.

"Your Highness, you probably want to come hear this..." I had looked over to Bazz giving a firm nod, approaching the couple. I finally was within earshot of the two older hylians.

"Yeah, the baby was out by the water playing with their mother. I was worried for a moment before I realized it was part Zora. In all of my years, I had never encountered something half Hylian and half Zora. It is simply unheard of." The older man stated. Another voice chimed in.

"The baby kind of looked like that big Zora over there!" An older woman stated, pointing at me. All of the Zora surrounding the couple immediately turned to me. My golden eyes had widened in shock. A... Baby?!

"It couldn't be..." I muttered softly to myself, lost in thought. One of the Zora approached me, immediately grabbing me by the wrist dragging me away from the crowd who went back to listening to the couple. It was Muzu, he looked skeptical.

"You have to go investigate this yourself immediately and dismiss whatever story that these Hylians are making up. I doubt there's even a child. However if it's real and if it's yours do you have any idea what that means?" Muzu yelled out, looking up at me. I only continued to stare in silence, stunned. Was it even possible? Muzu was quick to continue in the absence of my voice. "It means that you must immediately bring the mother and child back with you and we will have to have a royal meeting about what to do next! Now hurry up and get going!" He stated clearly angry and annoyed, shooing me off. I quickly nodded, immediately making my way out of the Domain and to Lurelin Village.

P.O.V Back to Yourself

You were sitting in the water with your half Zora half Hylian child, holding them up in the water as she/he giggled looking up at you splashing small droplets of water. You smiled softly at your baby before she/he pointed to something.

"Da! Da!" The baby called out, you looked surprised but then shook your head.

"No! Me mama!" You said pointing to yourself, however you noticed your baby wasn't looking at you. You turn your head to see the love of your life you haven't seen in almost two years. Your mouth immediately drops. Sidon hadn't reacted yet, his eyes were fixated on the baby you were now cradling in your arms. He slowly took a few steps to you, then crouched down looking closely at the baby, holding the baby's small hands in his. The minute he made eye contact with her/him he immediately knew it was his. Tears started forming in his eyes, as he slowly took the baby from you, cradling the small baby in his large hands. He had the biggest smile on his face seeing his own child. A minute had gone by before he finally looked down at you, his smile fading.

"Why didn't you tell me..?" He asked softly, almost comforting yet also with a hint of pain. You only looked at him with sad eyes, still shocked seeing him.

"How did you even find me?" You returned his question with one yourself. Sidon sighed, returning the baby back to you before the both of you stood up.

"Word tends to get around fast." He replied bluntly, he then rested his larger hand onto your cheek. "Please come back to Zora's Domain with me so we can figure this out together." He pleaded. You were quick to shake your head.

"Sidon... I already have built a life here with the baby... I... I can't face your father with this! You're also probably married by now! I don't want to make things weird" You said with a sad look, he then returned the same look to you.

"(Y/n)... I can't bring myself to understand hard it is, I can't believe you kept yourself hidden away for so long. However, I do know that I still love you. I never wanted us to break up... However, you have to come back to the Domain." He affirmed pulling his hand away.

"What about Lady Yona?" You quickly responded worried. Sidon was surprised by your urgency but then his eyes widened.

"Wait... Now that you are with my child, I can probably call off the engagement. The baby would immediately be the next heir to the throne after me as the child counts as my first born. He then smiled brightly at you and the child. "We'll make this work!" You then finally nodded in agreement.

"Alright... I'll go back with you." You said and his smile grew wider.

After the two of you got back, there was a meeting that immediately went into effect. Due to the baby being Sidon's, Lady Yona and Sidon called off the wedding and engagement. Soon enough the both of you were engaged not too long after to soon be married with your guy's baby who was soon to turn two years old. Most of the Zoras were accepting of you and the baby, however some of the older Zoras were not too happy about it. However, that didn't matter to either of you.

#sidon x reader #legend of zelda #tears of the kingdom #prince sidon #sidon #breath of the wild

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chaotic-zora · 8 months ago

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Silvyr Art Dump - Extended lore for them and their Domain below the cut.

Diplomat of Volica and Advisor to the Usurper King, Silvyr is a former captain who aided the current King in dethroning the previous royals and banishing the corrupt council/nobles. They were the strategeist behind the coup.

With the previous council gone, and subsequent shortage of expertise, they duel wield roles to keep the Domain running. Sharp in mind and calculative by nature, they leave nothing to chance.

Volica is currently experiencing a food shortage due to over harvesting of nearby reefs by the former nobles & council, who were exporting all their food for profit. They are thus pursuing trade negotions to secure more food.

The Domain itself is located on a cliff that borders the ocean. With a dormant underwater volcano somewhat nearby to mine from, their Domain is rich in minerals and metallic ores commonly used in the production of weapons/accessories.

Volcano ---> Volica (Domain name is derived from the nearby Volcano, their most valuable resource, and the reason for the Domain's existence, as it was founded by a small group of zoran miners! Mining is the largest profession in the Domain, and is integral to their livelihood. They love that fckin volcano so much.)

History:

The former Lead Captain and strategist of Volica's royal zoran knights and warrior faction. On the battlefield they were a force to be reckoned with, fighting exclusively with ice magic.

With fighting occupations being the least favored in the Domain in terms of enrollment, and the Domain itself in a difficult location to guard (cliff face), Silvyr made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure they could protect their home from land based monster attacks (see Silvyr's Chosen Giant - Lifespan sacrifice).

This resulted in them feeling especially slighted when the zora of Volica began to suffer beneath the corrupt royals/nobles. Nyvor's sentence, Thresh's departure (both of whom were close friends), and the lack of improvement after the corrupt noble was slain (who was initially thought to be the source of the problem), brewed such contempt within Silvyr's heart they began planning the coup.

Ice Magic (Origins):

Silvyr descends from a long line of prideful water magic users. Yet unlike their predecessors, Silvyr struggled during their youth with their abilities. Ever flowing, always changing, the flexibility of understanding required to control water was something Silvyr lacked. This came as a devastating blow to their family.

Yet determined to succeed, they endlessly practiced, pushing themselves to their utmost limits. In an attempt to make the water more structured, they began to fix it in place, unknowingly all the way down to the molecular level, until suddenly, it turned to ice. Thus unlocking ice magic.

Silvyr's Ice magic abilities are dampened when in water, which is why they feel better in underwater environments!

Volica & The Termania Giants:

Many in Volica worship the Giants of Termania. Though Termania is located in a parallel world (per Majora's Mask lore), it is said you can contact the giants during sleep, when the veils between realms are the thinnest. If you sacrifice something of yourself, the giant may grant you amplified abilities. The origins of who brought the legend of the giants to Volica, and the zora who established first contact, is unknown.

Silvyr's Chosen Giant:

Silvyr is favored by the Goron Giant. To protect their Domain, they self sacrificed 100 years of their lifespan to the Giant in exchange for an insane magic amplification.

Side Effects:

Excessive use of powerful ice magic may result in adverse side effects, contact your healer if you experience any of the following: Migraines, muscle aches, lowered body temperature, inability to regulate said body temperature, low sanity episodes, lock jaw, fin cracks, excessive consumption of spicy foods, dizziness, shortened life span, chills-

Nowadays, due to the above side effects, Silvyr only uses ice magic during times of need or for petty retributions (such as freezing the feet of someone that pissed them off to the ground, worth the subsequent headache).

Hand Symbols:

Started using hand symbols during their youth while wielding ice cause they thought it looked cool. Now it genuinely helps them concentrate and they're super embarrassed about it.

Voted Best Cuddler in Volica:

Due to their lowered body temperature Silvyr feels perpetually cold when on land, and (to a lesser degree) in water. As a result they can ALWAYS be found cuddling other zora(s) for warmth while sleeping. Everyone in the Domain loves it, no complaints.

When around strangers, Silvyr will initiate contact with a gentle touch to the arm, silently requesting the others companionship. If accepted, that zora WILL be cuddled till morning.

Additional Facts:

-Overheated zoras fresh from the volcanic mines often seek Silvyr out for a hug cause they feel so cold to the touch. Results in a dog pile (fish pile?) sometimes.

-LOVES spicy food. Will straight up eat a bag of RAW ghost peppers and be completely unbothered.

-Commonly seen wearing a fur lined cloak for warmth when on land.

-Doesn't overly emote unless exasperated, stressed, or during low sanity episodes. Zoras in Volica have an ongoing scoreboard of who has gotten Silvyr to smile the most. Thresh is currently leading (and is very smug about it).

#zora #zora oc #loz zora #Silvyr #been experimenting with different techniques in procreate its been a very fun time #Silvyrs ice magic is high key inspired by sypha from Castlevania I like to imagine they wield it in a similar manner to her when fighting #my zoras they yearn for the mines #domain expansion zora obsession

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awzominator · 2 months ago

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Oc kiss week day six: forbidden

Gasp! A high scholar and a captain of the guard smoochin!? The audacity tsk tsk

Zora (yellow) and Tatsui (blue) are prob some of my most fleshed out characters which is wild considering I never draw them

#oc kiss week #ockiss25 #ockissweek #original character #ocs #awzominator ocs #Awzominator art #They make me nostalgic over the group of friends I made them with #We made an entire voltron team aha it was so fun #I had the green and yellow paladin #Tatsui just tagged along Bc her wife became a defender to the galaxy

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simps-every-tuesday · 9 months ago

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After much trial and tribulation I finally finished a project I've been working on.

Meet some of my other Zora ocs

Urala [The Fierce Captain]

Age: 121

Race: Nurse Shark Zora

Home: Moontide Isles

Urala lost her mother at a very young age due to sickness. After her mother's passing, it was just her and her father. Her father was a fisherman, so she and him were tasked with fishing for the zora folk of the isles, but her mind was always elsewhere. She always had this longing to protect people, and every time she saw the zora guards that protected the isles and the royal family, Little Urala knew what she wanted her purpose to be. When she came of age, she enrolled to be part of the guard. The old captain was impressed by her ability to think quickly on the spot, so he personally took her under his wing. After many years of hard work, Urala became the new captain after the old captain retired, and her father couldn't be more proud.

Nava [The Wise Advisor]

Age: 122

Race: Common Octopus Zora

Home: Moontide Isles

Nava as a guppy always had a brain filled with solutions and wisdom. Her family are just common folk zoras on the Isles who tend to a library filled with books about many things. Because of that, she spent most of her life in that library reading and rereading books, and one day, as a teen, she managed to solve a conflict among the people with a quick and simple solution before the royal family could handle the matter impressed by this. King Arphin asked her how she would feel about helping and advising the family. Overjoyed by the request, she immediately accepted becoming the royal advisor at a very young age.

Adan [The Descendant]

Age: 120

Race: Lemon Shark Zora

Home: Moontide Isles

Adan is part of a long line of zora guards. His great-grandfather was famous for being the greatest monster slayer the Isles has ever seen since he was a child. Adan always had this spark in him to protect his people, so when he came of age, he enrolled around the same time as Urala for a position as a guard. He never wanted a special rank he just wanted to protect, but when it came to slaying monsters and battle, he was a natural, which caught the attention of the old zora captain, and he ranked him as the next captain's right hand, making Urala and Adan partners, and they became very close friends, and that's the position he's had since.

#legend of zelda #botw #totk #zora #zoraoc #art

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theoneeyedgoldenwolf · 3 months ago

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In your Ranch Family AU how does Time get the Fierce Deity markings?

Hi!

Thank You for the ask! =D

I will be writing a story for this but in short (since I dont know when I get to write and upload the story):

Spoiler warning for Ranch Family AU story of mine. Prolly going to call the story as Special Operations: Marked as Fierce.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time is out on a Special Operations mission with his team. For efficiecy and knowing each of them are fully capable of dealing things on their own, they separate ways and enter the place they're checking from different locations. The place seems abandoned and empty. They are on guard while relying to their instincts at there. Sadly, Time ends up taken off guard and is knocked out. The rest of the team rush to him but they only find empty room with Time's gear in there indicating he's snatched.

Time wakes up tied to a chair that's tipped backwards. There's people around him and he recognizes one of them from the orphanage. His head is held to place when the said person uses one of their own works for acid of sorts and, since Time has the Fierce Deity Mask, is slowly given the markings.

Time really hates the fact of having high pain tolerance at then and there as he's conscious through it. Luckily his team finds him before all of the markings are done and save him. Mikau, the one with the Zora Mask, has medical / scientific knowledge and is able to stop the acid from going any of deeper than what it already has but he can't undo the damage or the markings. Time falls unconscious as he knows he's safe and sound with his group again.

Once Time's awake again at the hideout of their mission's, his team calls Lon-Lon Ranch (knowing at least one of Time's boys are in there aka Legend but they're unaware of Warriors being there too). Time's not too happy as he knows they'll be calling through the protected line for a video call. Sure, he's bandaged and all but he wasn't up for freaking out his big brother and one of his boys. Though, Time's team will get one hell of a surprise when they get Wars, the legendary Captain Link, on the other end of the call and even bigger surprise when Time confirms him as his big brother.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I'll leave the rest of the story for once I've written and uploaded it. ;)

Thank You for the ask! Even though I try to keep some stuff hidden, I REALLY love to talk about my Ranch Family AU story a lot! XD

#ask #question #answering #Ranch Family AU #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu time #time lu #Fierce Deity markings #tw torture #tw acid #my stories

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elliethecat · 1 year ago

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Was I going to miss Zora May day one? Nope!

Zora May is hosted by @prisiidon , and this prompt was "Yona's Domain"!

Link and Sidon were just enjoying life, until Yona ran in with a letter in her hands.

“Link! Sidon! My father caught wind of you two and asked if both of you would like to see my domain!”

This caught the two men off guard a little. How did Yona's father find out about them? It didn't really matter however, as now they got an excuse to go traveling!

“Sure, I don't really mind,” Link said, a small smile on his cute face.

“I must agree with Link, Yona. I'm perfectly fine with going to meet your father. I will just need to find someone to handle the kingdom while we're gone,” Sidon responded.

“Don't worry, Sidon! I already have all of that covered! Laflat will take over registrar duties, Rivan will take over as head guard, your father will temporarily take over king responsibilities, and Bazz will be our personal guard!” Yona announced with a smile.

“Thank you, Yona. Sometimes I'm glad that I was married to someone who is so on top of everything, though I'm glad that we are still platonic friends,” Sidon responded.

With all that said and done, the three Zora and single Hylian set off to go to Yona's home domain.

They eventually made it to Ankel Island in Akkala after a long walk. There was a boat in the water beneath the island, as swimming can be quite taxing on a Zora body. Link held on tightly to Sidon's back, and the three Zora lept from the ground into the water. Link chuckled a bit once Sidon surfaced, but the four got into the boat without trouble. The four of them were in for a long journey, but it was worth it.

The days surprisingly went by relatively fast for the four friends. Link spent his free time bird watching or making out with Sidon, Bazz spent his free time fishing or laughing his ass off with his friends, Yona spent her time viewing the beautiful ocean, and Sidon spent his time making out with Link and flirting with his Hylian.

After a few days went by, the four eventually arrived at Yona's Domain. The place was beautiful; a colourful coral reef with a few simple-yet-beautiful houses on the beach right next to the reef. The place was almost like the Luralin Village's beaches—yet they were somehow prettier. The boat couldn't land on the beaches—as there was coral in the way—but Sidon, Yona, and Bazz just swam the rest of the way. One of the perks of being a Zora's boyfriend is that you get free rides, so Link didn't have to swim!

Once the four were there, they got to go exploring! Or at least that's what Link wanted, but his boyfriend and Yona were more concerned with royal stuff. Oh to be a free spirit like Link; wanting to do whatever bullshit came to mind right then and there. The champion could handle boring stuff like meetings if it was for Sidon, though. The four then had to go to the King's palace, which was relatively easy all things considered.

Once they got there, Link, Sidon, and Bazz all bowed for the king.

“You two must be King Sidon and Sir Link, hm? It's nice to meet you! I am King Fasolla, Yona's father. Now uh… who is the lad dressed up in full armor?”

“Oh, that's Captain Bazz! He's our personal knight for this trip, Sir,” Sidon responded.

“Well it's nice to meet you, Bazz!” The King said.

“Likewise, King Fasolla,” Bazz responded, slightly disinterested.

“Now,” King Fasolla started, noticing that Link hadn't said a single word, “Can you please say something, Sir Link? Even a ‘Hello’ would be fine.”

Link got visibly uncomfortable at this, and all he did was sign a quick “Hi,” to the king.

“Oh uh, don't worry father! Link isn't that much of a conversationalist! He's extremely sweet though!” Yona said, trying to take the spotlight from Link onto herself.

“Well that's… fine I suppose. As long as he doesn't destroy the Domain everything should be perfect! Now you four can go about your day, I won't take up any more of your time.”

Link quickly hurried out of the palace, Sidon and Yona right behind him. Once the three Zora caught up with Link, they could tell that there was something about Link that made him on edge.

“Is everything okay, Link? Did my father make you uncomfortable?” Yona asked.

“Yeah,” Link started signing, “I just didn't really wanna talk to him, because I just met him. The way he asked for me to talk was just weird.”

“I promise that he has good intentions, Link. He's just bad with words at times… and isn't the most accepting towards anyone who isn't heterosexual or cisgender.”

Link instantly got a bit sad at this confession from Yona, though he wasn't going to let something as small as a homophobic King stop him from having a good time. Link quickly ran off to start seeing the sights of the domain, with Sidon almost tripping over his own feet as Link drug him along. Bazz and Yona followed them as well, though they only ran to catch up with the two star-crossed lovers. They quickly found Link climbing a tree, with Sidon face-palming with how crazy he can be. Sidon can deal with Link, however, as the knight is his lover and he's gotten used to his antics at this point.

Eventually, after a long day of adventures, the moon was rising and they had to go to sleep. Sidon, Yona, and Bazz found a nice pool to sleep in, and Link was fine with it as well. Yona and Bazz decided to sleep in the deep end of the pool, while Sidon and Link opted to sleep in the more shallow section of it. Once Yona and Bazz were slumbering, Link wrapped Sidon into a big hug and started to cuddle with him. Link quickly nuzzled his head into Sidon's chest, and Sidon gently rested his hand on the Hylian's head.

Sidon's been through this routine many times: Link hugs him tightly and nuzzles into his chest, cuddles as close as he can to him, and bites his arm just because he wants to. Even so, Sidon can't help but smile, as Link was too adorable for this world. When Link's being cute, he can easily melt someone's heart into a puddle, though Sidon was resilient enough to just fawn over the champion by his side instead of simping over him. Link then decided to kick that cuteness into overdrive, and he started to poke and prod at Sidon's face with a smile on his face.

Sidon let out a light chuckle and said, “My Goddesses, I love you so much, Link.”

“I love you too, you cute shark.”

And then, after a bit, Link finally drifted off to dreamland. Sidon was left there to stare into the sky, just thinking about his future with Link, and about how he desperately wanted to marry this man. Kings need to sleep too, though, and he eventually fell asleep as he snuggled the man whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

The next day was going to be just as eventful as this one, but that could be millions of years to Sidon. He's just happy to sleep here with Link, Bazz, and Yona.

#zora may #legend of zelda #Tloz #sidon x link #king sidon #botw link #tears of the kingdom #sidlink #Sidon and Yona are platonic besties #And Sidon makes out with Link every day #we love the gay shark man and his twink bf <3 #god i love sidlink

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multifr0g · 6 months ago

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I FINISHED ECHOES OF WISDOM AND I'M SOBBING!!!!!!(⌇ຶД⌇ຶ)

It took roughly 22-23 hours and I haven't even done all the side quests or collected all the heart pieces!

(My reveiw under the cut!!)

||||⚠️SPOILERS FOR EOW⚠️||||

Echoes of Wisdom is a beautiful, well thought, and diverse game. Unlike many other Zelda games EoW shows just how creative you can get with how you want to play!! Say if you wanted to climb a cliff that's to tall, well you could use a table and box combo to make your way up! Or you could use a cloud echo to infinitely reach the top, or maybe you want to just go straight up? Use a water block echo to make a direct bridge up!! The possibilities in this game are endless, you can play however you want with whatever strategy you come up with, the game lets you decide how you want to play!! I definitely recommend playing Echoes of Wisdom! I thoroughly enjoyed it and I believe you would as well!

(I will be splitting this reveiw up into three giant paragraphs)

¹ The beginning, ²The Goddesses, ³The end Fights!(Echo Zelda,Null)

The Beginning

When I first started the game I was pleasantly surprised when you first get to play the game as Link in the beginning walk towards where Zelda is being held, as well as immediately fight Ganon!(It scared the crap out of me when the game made me fight him first cause I was NOT prepared!!) when Zelda finally breaks free and you get to move her around I was already squealing like a little pre-schooler! xD

After making my way back to Castle Town it was so interesting to talk to all the towns people and see how they reacted and acted around her(I love little Romi sm it hurts) and when the rift opened up and stole away the King, Minister Lefte, and Captain Wright it was so cool to see echoes of them come from the rift and trick all the guards.(even if it sucked for Zelda, and who knows what kind of trauma that gave her, but it's still cool for me!) Tri is such a brilliant companion to Zelda and compliments her well! The way it doesn't fully understand Hylian emotions helps give off that it has never really talked to Hylians before Zelda and that makes it a nice detail to see!!(I had to redo the guard scene so many times! ☜(ꐦ`o´) )

After escaping The castle and making my way to Lueberry's house it was fun to explore the still world for the first time! The first dungeon was such a blast to do, the puzzles were fun and some of them were actually kinda tricky and I'm happy I actually had to step back and think for a minute! When I first saw Echo Link I was kicking my feet and and smiling so wide my cheecks hurt! (I might of said oh my god a few to many times aswell) The fight was kinda hard since you didnt have much to work with in the beginning, I just threw pots to distract him then hit him with rocks xD (I mean if it works it works🤷‍♀️) Afterwards when I finally got to talk to Lueberry it was really interesting you could ask him about Link! Canonically Link is mute since he got stolen by a rift along with a bunch of other kids, but he was along some of the rare handful who managed to return back! I'm glad they gave him a reason as to why he doesn't speak instead of just say he doesn't speak just cause he can't.

I RUSHED To the Gerudo Desert to see what was going on and it was really fun to run around and explore! Meeting Dohna was really fun, and when we meet the Chief I love that Dohna took Zelda's side and defended her when the Chief didn't believe Zelda. (Idk if it's obvious but Omg- I LOVE Dohna!) The Gerudo dungeon was fun and I really enjoyed it! Fighting Echo Link this time was really hard(For me) but was still really enjoyable!!

The River Zora and the Sea Zora were very interesting! It was super fun getting to swim around and explore the waters for treasure! Having to look at the Leaders of the Zoras argument from both sides was pretty funny since both of their prides were so big they couldn't come to reason. Watching Lord Jabu Jabu swallow the assistants to the leaders was kinda unexpected but was still cool to see and also helped add a bit more urgency to the situation! The music elements were really nice and the Stilled Lord Jabu Jabu dungeon was really fun! It also took me a second to figure out a strategy to fight the shrimp Boss.(I forgot it's name😅)

Watching the Rift consume most of Castle Town was really cool!! It also made you want to hurry up and help save the people! Walking around the still world and making your way to Hyrule Castle was interesting and having to fight all the monsters was fun aswell as navigating the strange terrain! The boss fight was awesome, and Exploring stilled Hyrule Castle aswell as taking the same path you took in the begining to make it to where you needed to be was an awesome detail!! When you finally talk to the real King it really made me happy to see how much he cared about his daughter, yet he realised how she wasn't a little girl anymore and was the only one who could stop the rifts. (Also just my opinion but I couldn't stop raging throughout the game because they kept calling it "PrImE EneGY" when it's the FREAKING TRIFORCE!!!)

The Goddesses

Heading to Holy Mount Lanayru was a fun journey since I got my horse on the way there! It took me about five minutes of wandering around and checking out the entrance before realising I had to blown it open with a bombfish echo. Going through the caverns and dealing with the monsters was pretty annoying but overall wasn't to hard, meeting Condè was super nice and having him jump us over the mountain was fun! (I love Condè and I will burn the world for him if anyone dares be mean to him) Watching Condè from afar and his interactions with his fathers grave was heart breaking, as well as seeing him so upset over the echo of his big brother and thinking he wasn't good enough is so sad. (It's also sad to relise that this is a very real situation that happens, especially with kids, and I kinda hope that little detail helps bring a little more awareness to the situations that children have to face) Going through the frozen dungeon was extremely fun, the puzzles were creative and I actually got stuck on a few! (especially the one where you have to time that ice cube and step on the platform) The boss fight was awesome and a little difficult, having to alternate between fire and ice echoes was kinda hard since you really had to pay attention to his helmet piece! Talking to the Goddess was cool but I kinda wish they gave a her a design and had her show up on screen instead of being a voice in a text bubble. Getting to speak with Condè again and telling him it wasn't his brother who was being mean to him was so sweet and I'm so happy he wasn't upset anymore and was just happy to know his brother was still out there and loved him!! (Also at the end of the game if you watch the entire credits roll like I did there is an image that pops up of Condè and a hot air balloon coming towards the mountain and he looked so happy, I was so giddy and just kicking my feet because I love Condè and I'm happy for him)

Going to Goron City was interesting with all the ledges you had to go up. Making my way through all the fire monster was annoying to say the least, I kept catching fire! (though that's probably me being bad tho) Talking with the Gorons was fun, I'm glad you could just hop right in to the rift and save them in the beginning! Saving the other two older gorons didn't take to long, and when I had to figure out how to open the sealed passage let me tell you that it took me a solid FIVE minutes to figure out that oh- hey- I should try pulling out the screw with Tri! Talking with Darston and helping him relise he didn't need to rely on his fathers tablet was nice to see, though I feel like it went a little fast to reach that resolve. I believe the Goron quest should have been much longer and helped focus more on Darston's development into becoming the new Chief, aswell as his realization of not needing his fathers tablet to be a good leader! Overall the fire dungeon was still good but definitely the quickest one! (for me atleast) The boss wasn't to hard but it was fun non the less. Overall the Goron quest was very good, it didn't take to long which was nice. My point still stands for Darston but overall it was still enjoyable!

Finding the entrance to the Faron Wetlands took a minute since I had to search the map for a bit to figure out the best way in. The electric monsters were extremly annoying especially the rain frog! Meeting the Deku Scrubs was fun but honestly I only really like a few of them. (Some of them are so egotistical though, like there egos reach higher than Mount Lanayru and some just act like little snot nosed kids. I can just imagine them singing skipidi toilet or saying "your so omega rizz" or whatever the newest genration of small kids are saying) Overall getting into the Sweet Spot didn't take to long, but seeing them get so angry at Zelda for FIXING THE RIFT THAT STOLE ONE OF YOUR HOMES was pretty annoying. When they threw her in jail it was kinda funny that they just dropped the literal key to the cell right outside the door. Getting through the part where you have to evade the Deku Scrubs wasn't to hard since I had practice from the guards at the beginning of the game, but it was still annoying. When you finally get into the Sweet Spot and those Deku Scrubs get stolen away I honestly wasn't even affected by it since they were acting all annoyed even though their friend was trying to help them! And the one Deku Scrub who was prioritizing "Cotton Candy" over their friends made me angry, I wish she got swallowed instead. When I say the Faron dungeon took forever I mean it took FOREVER! It was kinda complicated figuring out the layout since there are so many entrances, and having to get the keys from all over was stressful since I didn't really know which door I should be opening first. The dark rooms were pretty cool and the fact you had to light all the torches to turn the lights on was kinda annoying but fun. The moving chest element was nice. Overall it probably took about an hour-hour and a half to beat the dugeon.(not including the trial and error for the boss itself) When Zelda walked out of the Sweet Spot and got swallowed by the darkness it shocked me when it spit her out and an echo of her formed!! It was super cool to see it act like her and say that her form would work for this!! When Tri was worried about her it made me love them even more, when she finally woke up back in her room and the King was worried about her I was happy. When he said that she was the only one who could help stop the rifts and asked her as the Priestess for help it made me happy that he knew she was strong enough for this even though as a father he was still worried!

The End

Going through the forest was pretty easy since I has already explored through it earlier not knowing what I was suppose to be doing there, I made a mental note to go back there previously.(I forgot) I teleported through there to reach the guards but I think I might have accidentally skipped a cut scene doing that. Putting the orbs into the torches only took a few minutes since I just ignored and or ran from the monsters. Seeing and talking to the Great Deku tree was nice since I wasn't sure if it was going to be in the game or not! Watching as echo Zelda took the triforce of power and then went after Link, as well as telling Zelda to basically screw off and I'll come back to beat you up later was equally cool and hilarious! Traveling through the still world to catch up to echo Zelda was cool since you have to go through a piece of every region! Fighting echo Zelda took awhile since I kept having to summon echoes to fight off the void monsters while I shot at echo Zelda in sword fighter form till she fell down to hit her with the sword. Shooting Link out of the crystal and saving him felt awesome as well as Tri saying we had to give back his equipment since we were going to fight together!(Though I didn't really want to give him the sword)

Making your way through Null's body was incredible and cool, though it was kinda gross. When Link and Zelda were split up it was so cool to have to help Link make his way through some of the puzzles! The little nods were so silly but cute to me since he canonically can't speak.(They actually mention this in the game, if you talk to Lueberry and read his journal in the basement you'll see it) The fight against Null was ROUGH, I just kept spawning level 3 echoes to fight him, watching his transformation was cool and him just having a full on monologue in the beginning was kinda funny to me! Fighting beside Link was super cool! Watching as Null became more unstable in each round was awesome and it made me so angry when he started using Tri's to power his attacks. When I finally beat Null I was so happy I couldn't sit still with joy! When the screen faded to white with Tri and Zelda I thought we were going to meet the goddesses, but when Tri turned to to Zelda and began to speak with her my heart began to slow down. Hearing it say that he was no longer needed since Null was gone and that it and it's friends would return back to the goddesses broke my heart.(I kept saying "nooo"and "My baby please don't go" (⌇ຶД⌇ຶ) ) When Tri said it was feeling something and it wanted to tell her it made me pay more attention from my wallowing. Hearing it say "I'm feeling... Thank you" broke me, like I actually started to cry!! When Zelda reached out and held Tri's hand(foot?) I was so upset. Watching it and the rest of the Tri's float away was so hard, I kept saying "please come back, noooo"! Watching through the entire credit scene was sad, but I still held onto hope that there would be an after credit scene. I really hoped there would be an after credit scene with Zelda, then out of nowhere Tri just appears! But sadly there wasn't, but watching Zelda sit in her room then seeing the framed tri-rod on the wall helped make me feel a little better though. As the screen faded to black I felt sad that it was over now and Tri was gone, but yet I still felt happy that I could play the game and got to experience it all!

My Thoughts

It definitely was worth it, all the time, effort, and emotions. I 110% recommend you play EoW yourself and get to experience it all!! It is a wonderfully well thought out game and incredibly creative, you can easily fall in love with the characters and story. Playing through and meeting all the characters was extremely fun! There are so many side quests and so many possibilities to explore. This game truly lets you use your brain to explore the world in your own way!

Every game has it's flaws though, you can't make everyone happy. The echoes menu screen was kinda annoying to use since you had to pay attention to what you were picking out and sometimes had to spend a long time scrolling down to find what you were looking for. The loot in the chests was pretty repetitive, most of it was ingredients to make smoothies and or rupees. Though making smoothies is a focus in the game so I guess it was pretty obvious as to why they did it. I wish Zelda had more outfits, maybe some nods to past Zelda games could have been cool! Overall the game was pretty well though out and there weren't to many bugs. (Though a funny story is that when I was doing the cemetery quest, after I opened the passageway I decided to come back to it in a minute after I filled in a little more of the map. When I went back though- the entrance was covered by the tombstone again. BUT- the thing is the tombstone that had been shoved back was still there!! There were now two giant tombstones and I couldn't get in! xD I went back to the title screen and opened the game again and it was fixed but it was still pretty funny!)

Though 2d games aren't for everyone and a lot of people enjoy more 3d games I still recommend you give The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom a chance, you never know if you'll like something till you try it. :)

(Also I am NOT joking when I say that this took like 9 days to write!! I got really busy and I'm a slow writer.)

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So many players out there including I agree that after playing any Zelda game for a long time, after every challenge you can set for yourself, after every goal you can beat, after every exciting Dlc you can buy to keep your hunger for more fed you always come back to one wish. To play it again, to boot up the game for the first time, no memories, no more knowing exactly what will happen, no more beating to same boss over and over again till you can just beat him with a stick (LITERALLY). Just to play it again and feel that joy, that giddy joy like a child getting their favorite candy. To play and just experience it all again and feel that wonder of exploring the world, the excitement and triumph of beating your first boss, that feeling at the end of the game of accomplishment and joy yet sadness that it's over. If I could go back and play EoW again- matter of fact any Zelda game again and just play for the first time I would, just to do it all again I would because if you love a game enough you will wish you could. :)

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gabelew · 1 year ago

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Bazz's captain office, that I finally sketched out and properly planned, after at least two years of rotating it in my brain.

Bazz doesn't have many personal belongings or hobbies besides *trying to make sure the Domain survives another day*, so the decor is pretty sparse. He dragged in a whole rack of spears and other never-to-be-used weaponry from the armory just to cover up the depressingly bare walls...

#zora #bazz #bazz botw #loz #botw #totk #i actually wanted to make it even bigger #but it resulted in lots of empty walls and started to look like a warehouse #i hesitated if i should put a pool in there #but in the end it fit my headcanon of the office being built by some very decadent guard captain from the past #and also it's just too good for power naps

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thezoraprince · 2 years ago

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Raising a Zora - Bazz x reader

“bro im so pumped i will singlehandedly supply AT LEAST a week of reqs for rainy days don't try me to start us off: sidon (and bazz 😌) fatherhood momence :) assuming we've adopted bc i still haven't worked out my zora anatomy hcs lol. ofc by the time the kid is school age poor y/n is gonna be like 50 but you can either ignore that or work it in as you please! i'm curious ab ur take on zora childhood milestones etc :)” - @mantaphase

and i’m back with a Bazz headcanon!! i will NEVER get tired of writing for him <3

enjoy!! <333

(Sidon can be found here)

Bazz loves the idea of having children with you

he’s dreamt about it for such a long time

but he knows that Zora/Hylian reproduction wouldn’t work

you two talk about it daily

“You know I want nothing more than to have a family with you, right?”

you two decide adoption is the best route to go

and you’re both so happy with this decision

you both adopt a Zora egg

and it’s the smallest one you’ve ever seen

you’ve never seen Bazz be so gentle with ANYTHING

and here he is, cradling this egg with so much love

you’re sure to place it in water for when it hatches

and Bazz is always checking in

about a month of so after adopting, the egg hatches

Bazz squeals with delight

he’s so attentive

even when he’s supposed to be working, he’ll come home and check in with you and the baby

“How can I not come see my little family in the middle of the day?”

after he arrives home, he’s sure to tell you all about his day

he even has stories ready for your little one

it’s the same for about a year or two

and everyday, he has more exciting stories

once your child reaches the metamorphosis stage, Bazz stays home from work to help around the house

he knows how insane things can be

and mainly because he did help take care of Dunma when Rivan needed help

it happens so quickly

and soon enough, you’re teaching your baby to walk, talk, etc.

Bazz is adamant about taking the baby to work with him when he does surveys

that way you can get a break

and so he can teach your little one some really cool Zora Guard stuff

it’s nice to get a day to yourself

he comes home with your little one smiling fin to fin

“Guess what we learned today?”

he sets [them] down, and [they] stumble over to you

“I’m sorry that we were away when [they] took their first steps. I wasn’t expecting it so soon.”

“It’s alright, Bazz. We can’t control these things. I’m just happy you’re both safe and sound here at home now.”

Bazz hugs you tightly

years go by

nothing seems to change except their coordination and skills

Bazz takes [them] on surveys quite a bit

and he’s always trying to teach [them] guard techniques for fighting

these two bring you nothing but pure joy

and you can’t wait for your little one’s next stage in life

once [they] hit age 20, [they] start school

Bazz picks them up EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

with the exception of the times he cannot seem to get out of work

he’ll bring [them] to work as much as he can

and your little one ends up having the WHOLE Zora guard helping [them] with homework

the Big Bad Bazz Brigade bringing up yet another child together

Dunma and your child definitely bond over this

and you’re so thrilled to have an entire community to help you if you need some time to yourself

it’s chaotic

but your little family is so perfect

and you wouldn’t have it any other way

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lyranova · 11 months ago

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HIHIHIHHII OMG HI

sooooo for the 900 followers? Can you do a pirate!AU in where the Bulls kidnap Gauche who's a burglar and kinda adopt him?

No i'm not saying that I want Gauche & Zora & Magna being chaotic besties what are you talking about

ANYWAY thank youuuu love n' sparkles!!!!!💗✨

Hiya Ginny! Of course I can, and I did incorporate a bit of Magna, Zora, and Gauche chaos in the beginning (they aren’t friends yet, but they’ll get there i’m sure)! I hope you enjoy~!

Word Count: 1,650

Warning: Mild Language

————

“ Where the hell are you taking me?!” Gauche exclaimed in anger as two strangers grabbed him by the arms and began dragging him towards the docks.

Gauche had been in the market, stealing a loaf of bread for him and his little sister Marie, when he suddenly got caught by a pair of castle guards.

He had run and fought them, but eventually they successfully captured him. However, before they could drag him away to jail a pair of men around his age came up and asked what was going on and why they were dragging one of their crew members away.

After the guards explained the situation, the man with bright red hair and wearing a mask threw a pouch towards them and said that was the money for the bread. While the man with purple-black hair and sunglasses made up some ridiculous excuse as to why he stole the bread and how it wouldn’t happen again.

The guards looked at each other before reluctantly letting Gauche go; however, they quickly told them that they’d better get off the island and stay away for a while. Otherwise they really would arrest Gauche and hang him for repeated theft.

As they walked away, Gauche turned towards his ‘saviors’ and gave them a very confused look. He had never seen either of them before in his life, and didn’t really understand why they stuck their necks out for him.

As he turned to run away the two men rushed up to him, hooked their arms around his, and began to drag him away towards the dock.

“ I asked you where the hell you were taking me?!” He exclaimed again, and the man with sunglasses glanced down at him.

“ To our ship,” He explained. “ You’re a member of our crew, remember?”

Gauche tutted.

“ The hell I am! I’ve never met either of you before in my life!” He told them before letting out a surprised shout as they threw him into a little row boat.

As both men jumped in, Gauche stood up and began to fight them.

He threw a right hook, and felt his fist connect with the man in sunglasses face. But then he felt the man with red hair’s leg connected with his stomach, throwing him back into the boat.

“ Idiot, didn’t you hear what they said?” He asked as he put his hands on his hips. “ You have to get off the island or they’ll hang you, and last I checked you owe us for saving your life. So you’re coming with us and are joining our crew.”

“ If the Captain allows it and you survive the initiation test.” The man with glasses said as he held his now swollen nose.

“ I think he’s already passed the initiation test considering how awful your face looks,” The red haired man laughed. “ Besides; the Captain will probably let him come aboard, he hasn’t said no to anyone so far.”

Gauche glared at the two as they went back and forth; they had a point, the guards did tell him he needed to leave the island, but there was only one problem…

“ I have a little sister I need to get back to!” He told the arguing pair. “ So I can’t leave, she needs me. If I don’t get back to her-!”

“ Are you talking about Marie?” The guy with sunglasses asked, his head tilting slightly.

Gauche’s eyes widened and he lunged for the man, grabbing his shirt collar roughly.

“ How do you know Marie? What did you do to my sister, you bastard?!” He shouted, and the man in sunglasses tried to push him off.

“ We didn’t do anything to her, you lunatic!” He shouted right back. “ When you were running from the guards she came up to me and asked about you; so I took her to the church and that’s where she is now!”

“ Your sister will be fine, I know the nun who runs it so she’ll be well taken care of,” The red haired man said. “ And I get why you want to get back to her, but if you do, the guards will find you, arrest you again, and hang you. How are you going to be able to take care of her if you’re dead?”

Gauche felt a sharp pang in his chest at the man's words; he hated to admit it, but he was right. He wouldn’t be of any use to Marie if he died…so he had to stay alive for her. She needed him, he was the only family she had left…

Reluctantly, he let go of the man and sat back down in the row boat.

“ Fine; you idiots win.” He muttered in defeat, but his tone was more annoyed than subdued.

The men looked at each other before they each grabbed a row and silently began to head towards the large, black ship with golden details and a Bull insignia on the side that sat just off the coast.

When they arrived at the ship the red haired man climbed out first, then Gauche, and finally the man in sunglasses brought up the rear.

“ We’re back!” The man in sunglasses shouted. Almost immediately after his announcement a loud gunshot was heard, and the man in sunglasses fell back against Gauche.

“ Aw, I missed,” A voice suddenly said in disappointment, and when Gauche looked he saw a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes hanging on the rope ladder on the side of the ship.

“ What the-? Are you trying to kill me, you punk?!” The man shouted in anger as he stood back up. The blonde haired man laughed.

“ Nah, I just thought it would be fun to give you a good scare, Magna!” He explained with a small shrug.

“ Is that so? Well, just wait Luck, when I get my hands on you I’m going to give you a good scare!” Magna shouted as he ran towards the one called Luck. He jumped onto the ladder and chased him up it towards the Crows Nest.

So, their names were Magna and Luck huh?

“ Zora! Did you get the ingredients?” A short young woman asked as she came running up from beneath the deck.

“ Nah, I got distracted trying to save this guy from the gallows,” Zora explained as he jerked a thumb in Gauche’s direction. “ I’ll go back into town and get them for you Charmy.”

Gauche frowned, so they were Charmy and Zora…

“ Oh my, a new crew member?” A woman with pink hair, a flirty smile, and a bottle of wine in her hand asked as she approached him.

“ D-Don’t get too close to him Vanessa! He looks really, really scary!” A young lady with blue hair and blue eyes exclaimed as she grabbed the other woman's hand.

“ He may look scary, but I have a feeling that he’s harmless Grey!” Vanessa told her with a giggle, completely ignoring the icy glare Gauche was giving her.

Vanessa and Grey, huh?

“ Hey, where’s Captain Yami?” Zora asked the women, but someone else answered him.

“ He’s…in…his…office!” A man with long, messy blue hair and a slow voice told him.

“ But not his actual office.” Another man with dark hair and a ‘scary’ looking face added quietly.

“ What Henry and Gordon mean is that the Captain’s in the can!” A third voice belonging to a man with brown and green hair chimed in.

Zora sighed.

“ So, we’ll be here for a while huh…” Zora muttered with a shake of his head, but suddenly; the door leading to the Captain’s quarters burst open, and a large, muscular man with dark hair walked out.

“ What’re you brats doing out here? And who the hell is this?” He asked with a tired sigh, his hand reaching into his pocket to pull out a cigarette.

“ We’re greeting the new crew member!” Vanessa said with a giggle. “ And his name is…?”

“ Gauche.” He introduced himself belatedly, although he didn’t really know why since he didn’t have plans on being here very long.

Yami frowned.

“ New crew member? I don’t remember recruiting anyone.”

“ It seems that Zora and Magna did.” Finral explained with a nervous laugh, and Yami frowned.

“ They did, huh?” He walked up to Gauche and looked at him.

“ What makes you think he’s a Black Bull?” Yami asked Zora, and the man grinned.

“ Well, he beat up a large group of guards and knocked the crap outta Magna,” Zora explained.

Yami looked up and saw Magna sitting on the mast with a pretty bruised face.

“ What was the reason?” He asked curiously as he lit the cigarette between his lips.

Zora turned towards Gauche and gave him a look that said “Go on, tell him”.

“ My sister,” Gauche began. “ I needed to get back to my little sister.”

“ So, you were desperate?” Gauche blinked in surprise for a moment; as he thought about it the Captain was right, he fought because he was desperate.

He was desperate to get back to Marie, desperate to get free, desperate to survive.

“ Yeah…I was desperate.”

“ Heh, at least you’re honest,” Yami said with a small laugh. He took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled it slowly.

“ Alright, you can join our crew,” Yami announced with a grin.

The Bulls cheered, taking Gauche by surprise. Why were they all so excited that he was joining their crew?

“ Well, I’m going into town for a bit; you brats show him around!” Yami announced as he walked past them and towards the row boat with Zora.

“ Aye Captain!” The Bulls shouted in unison.

“ Hey Gauche,” Yami called over his shoulder as he turned slightly to stare at the brown haired man. “ Welcome to the Black Bulls!”

Gauche watched as the Captain and Zora left, and sighed as chaos and excitement began to ring out around him.

What the hell did he just get himself into?!

—————

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!

#asks #ginny #my lovely mutuals #black clover #black clover au #black clover oneshot #black clover fanfiction #the black bulls #yami sukehiro #zora ideale #magna swing #gauche adlai #black clover grey #vanessa enoteca #finral roulacase #charmy pappitson #gordon agrippa #henry legolant #900 follower event

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vilandel · 19 days ago

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The Scent Of Lavender

Chapter 3 – Arrival of Lavender

A/N They finally arrived at destinations and both Vanessa and Nozel starting to realize some things, even not the same ones... 💜 And warning, there is a noble you would love to punch.

Ao3 link

♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣

“We’re arriving!”

Rills enthusiastic squeal was probably heard on the entire ship. Vanessa could only imagine how much Magna must complain about the loud yell at the moment. Well, Magna certainly loved to complain about everything when he was seasick and having a leg that needed rest to heal properly.

Was it manly or not to only see the negative aspects of a situation and ignoring the positive ones? She might ask him, to see how Magna would react.

But this would be a matter for later. Right now, Vanessa was way more interested to finally see their destination. As exciting it was to sail, one week without any big incidents, like a storm or something, was certainly long. And Lavender Island was certainly the more exciting part about their mission.

Although… saying that there were no incidents during a journey would be a lie. Maybe not really a lie, but Vanessa didn’t know how to call that specific incident. She remembered far too well that night, when she invited Nozel for some hot chocolate in her cabin.

It had been a surprise that he of all people accepted her invitation. But that wasn’t what took Vanessa of guard that night. Not only…

It was more that for the first time, she saw captain Nozel being vulnerable, human…

And learning that when his mother died when he was only fourteen, he was left alone… No adult to help him…

Who would be so heartless to leave a grieving teenager alone dealing with a whole royal house, three little siblings to raise and becoming a Magic Knight?

Maybe more people than she would realize…

Vanessa was used to think about the best in most. Nobles were too far away in her life for her to really care, same as royals, at least the standard royals. Normal nobles and typical royals would usually never share a thought about a Black Bull, a witch, a misfit. So, Vanessa never really paid attention to this world and those people.

She was also very protective of her friends, her family. She would never allowed them being hurt and even though she wasn’t at stubborn at holding grudges for long like Gauche, Zora or Magna, she certainly resented people who hurt her friends.

Nozel Silva was one of those people.

Or at least she thought so. The resentment was still there, but learning that he was left alone when his mother died, dealing with a burden too big for a grieving teenager… it sure gave some new aspects to Noelles situation and the past of the Silvas.

Vanessa wouldn’t condone his actions still, but he himself seemed like to never use his past as an excuse for his mistakes. On the contrary, it was like he refused to ignore what he did, like as if any excuses for his mistakes would offend him.

It was a strange realization.

And the revelation he gave her that night never left her mind since. Well, if she wanted to know more about the handsome but cold captain of the Silver Eagles, this little detail was something big.

Vanessa never really thought about what happened to the Silvas when their mother died. Honestly, she probably just assumed that someone took care of them at that difficult time and then, she never thought about it again.

How different would it have been if an adult would have taken care of the siblings after they lost their mother? If someone would have guided Nozel to learn to carry this burden, to help him getting ready? If an adult would have cared for them, would Noelle have still been bullied by her siblings?

Vanessa somehow tend towards No as she thought about the answer to that question…

At least when it came to Nozel Silva. Maybe the other two siblings as well. But Vanessa was somehow more certain about Nozel. The way how didn’t deny that he owed Noelle, his explanation why it was difficult for him without excusing his mistakes and then his question, his revelation how he was left alone, the single tear that fell down his face after she gave him her answer…

“You shouldn’t had been left alone back then…”

She still meant it. No child should be left in such a situation. Even if fifteen was considered old enough to get a grimoire, no child was ready to take such a responsibility. Otherwise, anyone would be ready for everything at that age, even for becoming Wizard King.

Nozel did look like he needed to hear those words. Why has no one told him that a long time ago already?

Vanessa didn’t know. All she was aware off that despite all of his mistakes and past treatment towards Noelle, Nozel Silva didn’t deserve to be abandoned and left with a too heavy burden when his mother died.

They had met sometimes after that meeting. Not every night, but more often than Vanessa would have guessed. He didn’t opened up again and she didn’t pushed him for more. As few as it was, opening up seemed already so much for him and too painful to just let it go all at once.

She still didn’t understood everything, that’s for sure. But something within her couldn’t leave him alone again. And he seemed to trust her enough to accept her presence and her invitation for a little cup of hot chocolate.

With what she knew already from him, which wasn’t a lot in the first place, this little sign of trust was already big coming from the cold and stern captain of the Silver Eagles. And they haven’t started the mission yet.

Would they able to get closer during this mission?

Despite her remaining questions and resentment, despite how taken aback she was by the revelation, Vanessa found herself to hope it.

Everyone else was already on deck, even Magna whose wheelchair was pushed by captain Rill’s kind butler, looking at the island appearing at the horizon, so Vanessa walked faster to join them and finally discover Lavender Island. She took place right next to the handsome captain of the Silver Eagle.

Coincidence? Maybe.

“Wow, isn’t it beautiful?” Mimosa exclaimed, pointing with excitement at the island, which gave its name much honor by all the shades of lavender purple that blessed all of their eyes.

There were white shores, just sometimes embedded between whitish or pinkish rocks. Behind, next to the shades of lavender purple, Vanessa also saw a lot of green. Fields and trees, farther behind was maybe even a forest.

But her eyes focused more on the harbor city where their ship was currently sailing towards. It seemed like a rich town, as far as Vanessa could judge. A few boats and two or three bigger ships were anchored on the port that looked like it was made of black and white marble shining in the sun, with some pillars holding a roof above a part of the port. Was there something like a market under that roof? In any case, it looked lively down there. Vanessa hoped she would get the occasion to check it out.

The majority of the city was a bit up a hill. Most of the houses of this town seemed simple but elegant still, white walls, big windows with shutters painted in various shades of purple and some beams made of dark wood, even balcony roofs for some. Never had Vanessa seen such lovely houses. It almost in a way reminded her of the cabins back in the Witch Forest.

Some nostalgia filled her heart, even though she didn’t know why. But she wondered if there were witches living on islands like this one. It was pretty rare that witches lived permanently outside of the Forest, like Dominante, captain Dorothy and herself. But all of them still remained on the mainland. Would have at least one witch actually dared to go over the sea to live on an island?

Well, if it was the case, Vanessa wasn’t sure if a witch would dare to live in the middle of a city, even with those cute houses. And certainly not in those villas that peaked either between the cute houses or a bit above the city. Those looked very fancy, as far as Vanessa could tell, either in white or lavender purple, somehow glittering in the sun, with french windows and balconies and what looked like huge gardens.

Where those some of the residence of those famous nobles living on Lavender Island? The ones they will deal with during this mission or vacation?

“Have you seen this, Walt?” captain Rill squeaked with excitement, star in his eyes. “This is one of the most beautiful cities I ever saw! I have to paint it.”

“Indeed, younger master Rill, Beauregard is a true gem of a town.”

“Beauregard?” Vanessa asked.

“This city and practically the capital of Lavender Island, Vanessa,” Noelle replied with a sigh. “Haven’t you took some information about this place before we went on the ship?”

“No, not at all. I didn’t thought it would be important.”

Vanessa could basically feel Nozel flinch at her side and his irritated glance on her. Oh, this was exactly like Noelle. Vanessa almost giggled. It wasn’t obvious at first, but those two were truly brother and sister with some of their quirks.

In a way, she found it cute.

“You could at least learn the name of the towns and villages on this island,” Noelle complained, almost pouting. “How else will you learn where to go shopping when you don’t know the names of the locations? And more importantly, where we have to go for this mission?”

“Those are actually some excellent points, sweetie, especially the first one.”

“What? No, I mean… why is shopping more important than the mission?”

“Beauregard is the capital of Lavender Island,” Nozel Silva suddenly spoke, his voice neutral. Although, was there some resigned irritation in his voice? “It’s the richest of the two towns of this island, which means that it’s governed from here as well. Smaragd is a bit smaller and not a harbor like Beauregard, as it is placed more in the interior of Lavendel Island, but it is a rich town nonetheless. Then there are three villages. Goéland and Albatros are just small fisher villages, one on the east, the other on the west shore of the island. Tortuga is a bit a bigger village, some kind of market town for commoners and peasants, I guess.”

Damn, someone actually informed himself before the journey. And Vanessa knew very much that it wasn’t all about the mission…

“Ah, Tortuga… named in honor of emerald turtles.”

Huh? Emerald turtles? What was captain Rill’s butler talking about?

“You know emerald turtles, mister Walter?” Mimosa asked, sounding rather excited, as she came closer to captain Rill and Walter.

Vanessa decided to let them with their turtle and emerald talk, now turning completely towards Nozel.

“I see you informed yourself very well, even about the three villages with no nobles and filled with mere commoners and peasants. Change of views, huh? That is sweet.”

Noelle gave her a warning glare, but Vanessa didn’t mind. It was in her natural to tease and she meant it even as a compliment this time. She doubted that captain Nozel would have took the time to learn about peasant or commoner villages prior to his apology to Noelle. Or maybe he would have and just kept silent about it.

That man was in a way a complex mystery and yet…

“It is important as Magic Knights, when we have to be at a certain place for a certain amount of time during a mission, it is important that we inform ourselves about said place,” Nozel replied, sounding like stating a fact.

Noelle just nodded, seeing the logic behind it.

Vanessa held back a sigh and a giggle. Well, his statement definitely made sense, but she knew for sure that this wasn’t the entire reason why he informed himself. More because it was the place where his late mother had her honeymoon.

She wondered if he would tell Noelle about that fact. She definitely deserved to know more about her mother, but Vanessa was now also believing that it would do captain Nozel a lot of good to talk more about that woman. If he was still not over her death after so long, he definitely needed to remember Acier Silva without pain one day.

Vanessa wondered if she should put a hand on his shoulder, but choose against it. After all, they weren’t alone.

Why did she wished to be alone with him again?

“There is certainly a lot of lavender on this island,” Magna muttered. He seemed to be in a slightly better mood since the news that they would be soon on land again.

“Well, it’s not called Lavender Island for nothing,” Noelle replied. “And it’s not the only island like this in those waters.”

“What do you mean, No-No? There are more islands full of lavender?”

“No. My sister meant that there are six other islands nearby that are named after a certain flower that grows on an incredible amount, depending on the island. The next one after Lavender Island would be Rose Island.”

“Huh? Why roses, though?”

“Silly virgin delinquent, that is probably because roses grew a lot there, like lavender does on this island.”

“Exactly. There is also Tulip Island and Amaryllis Island. Then Poppy Island and Lily Island who are pretty close to each other, apparently.”

“Gosh, I can only imagine how it would be for any girl on those islands who are named Lily or Poppy. Same for any girl with the name of Rose” Vanessa couldn’t help, but giggle. “Is there also a Daisy Island? Or Iris Island?”

“No, miss Vanessa.”

“Just Vanessa is fine, handsome. But what a pity, it would fit so well with the floral names. What is the name of the last island?”

“If I remember correctly, the last one is called Hyacinth Island.”

“This is exact, Noelle.”

Was it just Vanessa or did Nozels voice went slightly soft as he answered Noelle? This was actually cute.

“Well, whatever, I don’t care about flowers anyway. All I care about is to FINALLY get off this stupid ship, I can’t handle those fucking waves anymore!”

“You said that since the moment the ship set sail,” Vanessa sighed, but couldn’t help but giggle as she saw captain Nozel frown with irritation at Magnas outburst. Oh, the curse words weren’t probably very royal.

She wondered if he was the kind of person to never use curse words at all or only when he was alone, maybe even just in his thoughts. That would be funny to witness it, if it ever happened.

It wasn’t long before the ship finally anchored at the port.

Vanessa already went to leave the ship, smiling at the sailors who put all of their luggage on land. She would certainly miss this crew; the Lavender Pearl had the nicest sailors she ever met. Okay, they were the only sailors she ever met, but this was a detail.

Nozel took Rill with him to talk to the ship captain. Must be a captain thing. Walter went over to Magna to push his wheelchair and Mimosa was taking Noelles arm to go on land, while telling her something about those emerald turtles.

In the end, Vanessa was the first go on land, amazed to see the port from closer. In fact, she was standing in it. The harbor was indeed a magnificent place, she kinda envied the people who lived here. Oh, and looking at those pillars with the roof, it indeed seemed like there was a market having place there.

Hopefully it wasn’t only today and if it was, hopefully they would have some time to check it out.

“Hum, hum.”

Vanessa turned around, witnessing at least seven people coming towards her and the ship. Oh, was this the Welcome Committee? How kind was that.

Observing them, Vanessa noticed that four of those people wore some kind of uniform, purple and green, with a middle long cape of the same shades covering only one shoulder, plus some helmet that looked vaguely similar as the one captain Charlotte used to wear. Guards of some sort? Was this the reason why the island usually didn’t required the service of the Magic Knights? Or were they personal guards from nobles? Vanessa remembered Finral mentioning something like that, vaguely.

The three other people must be nobles, given their rich looking clothing. Two women and one man.

Should she go to them and introducing herself? Or waiting for them to come at her?

Vanessa had no idea how to talk to standard nobles. And for the first time in her life, it made her feel unsure…

Only for one second, though.

Come on, she was a Black Bull, the Drunken Witch. As such, she was proud and daring. Why would she feel unsure about people she never met before? She always loved meeting new people outside the squad, she wouldn’t stop today.

“Hello, I’m Vanessa Enoteca, from the Black Bulls squad and part of the team for this mission, pleased to meet you,” she said, smiling and waving.

She was only met with silence.

The four guards took a step towards her, like they were warning her without any word. The man, with a huge belly that seemed rather constricted in his purple and golden suit, as if he tried make himself look skinny, actually frowned. He even looked offended, his mud brown eyes glancing at her as if she was a mosquito.

One of the women, barely older than twenty, looked also at her with a superiority she barely tried to hide. She could have been so beautiful, with those plum purple silky hair and pale golden eyes, in this elegant lemon yellow dress, but the disgust she showed made Vanessa flinch.

All the things Noelle, Finral, Mimosa and even captain Rill said about the nobles on this island, the mission and how nobles viewed weddings, the arranged marriages… All of those things Vanessa dismissed now came back to her mind.

And for the first time in her life, she wondered if all those things could be true…

“What a pleasure to meet you, miss Enoteca. Welcome to Beauregard and Lavender Island.”

That kind voice, without any discernable irony, belonged to the other woman. She looked totally different from the other and maybe a bit older, but not by much. Was she her age, by any chance?

The smile she gave Vanessa seemed genuine, her pale pink eyes seemed surprised but not disgusted, more like curious. Her wavy pale teal hair fell freely on her shoulders and back, harmonizing somehow with her dark teal dress. She even gave Vanessa a sympathetic nod, just like Finesse would each time she visited the Bulls.

At least one person here didn’t seem disgusted by a knight of the Black Bulls.

“Excuse me, are you by any chance lord Reginald Buckingham, the governor of Lavender Island?”

Mimosa, her savior! Vanessa took a step back, relieved to not be the one dealing with those people. It was already very awkward and tense, with only person of the welcome committee being kind to the witch. She’d better let someone more used dealing nobility do the talking and Mimosa seemed to know what she was doing.

The man – lord Reginald Buckingham, then – now stopped looking disgusted and couldn’t be jollier as he bowed in front of Mimosa and Noelle.

And for some reason hold his scalp while doing so. Did he have a wig?

The mere thought of said potential wig falling while he bowed made Vanessa feel better.

“Princess Mimosa Vermillion! Princess Noelle Silva! What an honor to welcome you on our glorious island! We never had any royal visiting since such a long time, so you’re really giving us an honor! I’m so honored! You’re honoring your island with your honoring glorious presence! I can’t find more honoring words!”

That was certainly a lot of honor.

This man was just ridiculous. Vanessa had no idea how a governor should usually be, but even she was certain that thiswas not it.

“May I present you my lovely wife, lady Mélusine?” He gestured at the kind woman with the teal hair. “She has her very own estate outside of the city and was so kind to lend it to you during the stay of your mission. We thought that it would be better for you to not be too bothered by many of our kind. It’s the first time we invite Magic Knights, after all, and the curiosity of our kind might be, um, overwhelming.”

“That is very kind of you, lady Mélusine,” Noelle added, a bit unsure. Poor girl wasn’t used for nobles to respect her, despite being a royal.

“It was my pleasure, princess Noelle.”

Okay, Vanessa decided that she liked the governor’s wife. How was she even married to that man? She was way too good for this ridiculous oaf.

“And here is my lovely daughter, lady Isadora. One of the three brides to be, isn’t this right, my little sugarplum?”

“May I congratulate you, lady Isadora,” Mimosa said politely.

Vanessa had no time to figure out how the governor, the wife and the daughter were related to each other – they look too different to be from the same family! – as she was taken aback that lady Isadora didn’t had a fake smile when Mimosa and Noelle appeared. She looked just like before, as if she was offended by the whole world and had no issues showing it.

Was she not happy to get married? Would this mean that everything Noelle said about arranged marriages was true?

The father seemed to ignore his daughter’s mood, but her mother – they looked so different to be related, how was that possible? – gave a half scolding half compassionate glance.

“Ah, lord Rill Boismortier, what an honor to meet you! I think that the Boismortiers and the Buckinghams are distant cousins, so welcome, distant cousin! What an honor to welcome a cousin!”

Oh, really? Given how confused captain Rill seemed at that statement, Vanessa dared to doubt. Even Walter, who was a bit further away with Magna on the docks, seemed perplexed by this new family tie.

“Ah, and prince Nozel Silva. What an honor, what an honor really to welcome one of the most eligible and good-looking bachelors of the Clover Kingdom on our island! If I may say, we have still some young noble ladies who-”

“Enough,” Nozel said, calm but with an authority that could make anyone obey him. The governor flinched visibly, which Vanessa found very satisfactory for some reason. “We are all very exhausted from the journey and would be obliged if we could first go to our residence to rest a bit, as well as our two companions over here. If I remember correctly, our team will have a meeting with you tomorrow or in the next few days to discuss the arrangements, lord Buckingham. Let’s not waste time then. As governor, you certainly have so many more duties to follow and meetings to attend.”

“Ah, yes, of course, of course. Let us accompany you to the carriage that will bring your team to the estate, it’s the least we can do.”

Vanessa didn’t like that this jerk seemed to ignore Magna and Walter, despite Nozel having pointing out at them just a few seconds ago.

“My wife will accompany you to the estate, to make sure that everything is to your liking. If it’s good for you, my dearest.”

“Of course not. I proposed to do it after all, Reginald.”

Lady Mélusine made a curtsy in front of the Magic Knights before joining Magna and Walter. Yep, Vanessa liked her.

“Prince Nozel, my daughter admires your presence, if you don’t mind, I would be obliged if you-”

“Miss Vanessa, please keep me company to the carriage.”

It sounded more like an order than a plea but somehow, Vanessa knew that it wasn’t towards her, but more a hint towards the governor to leave him alone. She could see the shock on the jerk’s face, unable to say anything else.

Vanessa was quite surprised herself. She never would have thought that captain Nozel would act like that towards her, especially in public. Oh, she knew that he wasn’t like he seemed at first, but it was still surprising.

And she didn’t mind if he would continue to surprise her.

Noelle, Mimosa and captain Rill seemed stunned as well by the statement. What would Nozel normally do in such a case?

Still, Vanessa smiled and took his arm, walking him with him away from the governor. She noted that his daughter didn’t change her mood.

“Thanks for that, handsome,” she whispered, making sure only Nozel could hear her.

“He disrespected you. No matter your status, you are still a Magic Knight. You shouldn’t be looked down.”

“I don’t think you would have done that for someone like me. Especially before your apology to Noelle. Oh, sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I still respect strength, which you have proved and I have no reason to disbelieve Noelle.”

Vanessa smiled. He might didn’t seem like it, but deep down, she was sure that captain Nozel was a good man.

💜💜

The estate that was given to them was big. Not as big as the Silva Palace certainly, but more huge than the average countryside villa. Nozel even wondered if it was as big, if not bigger, than the Silva Estate on the countryside.

The grounds of the estate were surrounded by a small river, so their carriage went over an elegant stone bridge and through a portal made of steel, sophisticated and elegant, looking almost like steeled lace and covered with virginia creeper, as the gardeners wanted to give it some mysterious touch by letting it grow like this. Nozel has raised an eyebrow as they passed the portal and wondered if his mother would have liked such a climbing plant…

Don’t think about mother, don’t think too much about mother…

There was a big path of white sand leading to the manor, framed by elegant oak trees. Looking at the garden, Nozel noticed that this one could pretty much a candle to the Silva Garden back home. Of course, nothing could be better than theirs, but he had to admit that this one was pretty much close second.

Unlike the trees surrounding the path, the ones in the rest of the garden were either willows or birches. There was a round white belvedere, covered with what seemed to be pale pink roses and lavender. In fact, roses and lavender were found a lot in this garden, the lawn was the most green Nozel ever saw and he even got a glimpse of a rather big pond in the distance.

A pond not with roses or lavender, but with water lilies.

Water lilies…

Mother’s favourite flowers…

Nozel looked away, fighting hard to keep the tear from rolling over his face. Thankfully nobody noticed the crack in his mask.

Except maybe the witch. Vanessa. He had the feeling that she was looking at him. But maybe he was just paranoid. Since he opened up to her a tiny bit back on the ship, he had the feeling that she was observing him.

On one hand, it was unsettling to him, but on the other hand… he found some vague comfort, as she didn’t seem bitter like he would expect it.

Two reasons to not focus on it.

Instead, he concentrated himself on the estate that now appeared at the end of the path.

It was bigger than anyone would expect for a noble countryside villa. Not as big by far as the royal palaces, but still. There was a large staircase leading to the front door, which was surrounded by two pillars holding a baldachin that looked vaguely like a seashell. The walls were white with grey stones at the corners and around the windows. The ground floor seems to have mostly french windows, which was to be expected with such a big garden. Most of the other windows were oriel windows, only the smallest ones were standard. There was a big balcony over the front door and a few smaller ones here and there. And if he wasn’t mistaken, there were some little statues at the border of the dark purple roof. But he couldn’t tell what they represented on the distance. Behind the manor was a large forest.

If the indoors were as promising as the outdoors, then it was certainly a good place to live during their stay for the mission.

Nozel was rather relieved that they all got a whole place for themselves rather than an inn, fancy or not, where they probably had to share with other guests. Of course, he could have booked a whole inn, but since it had been Julius and in that case, actually Marx who had to deal the arrangements with the governor, it hadn’t been up to him. Nozel was rather content, to stay in a place away from town and nobles.

Hopefully no noble would come and insist to house them personally in town, at least Noelle, Mimosa, Rill and himself. It might be strange that no one tried so far, but they just arrived, so Nozel wouldn’t be surprised that it will happen eventually. But he would refused. This was a mission and splitting up a team was a terrible idea. Rills butler, the wounded knight of the Black Bulls and the witch should remain with the rest of them, as far as he was concerned.

And now his thoughts came back to the witch. It happened often this last week and too often for his liking.

She had been kind to him, there was no denial about that. It even seemed genuine and Nozel just couldn’t understand it. Vanessa truly loved Noelle and must be resentful towards him about his mistakes, which was more than fair. Yet…

Nozel wasn’t used to kindness. Too much he has seen policy and kindness misused with flattery hoping to gain something from him or with subtle insults, as if to take revenge upon him, be it as small and petty. For some people, it was more than enough. He saw that with nobles who had stupid reasons to do such petty revenge, why would someone who had actual good reasons not do it?

And yet… Vanessa never did.

“You shouldn’t had been left alone back then…”

How could he forget what she said to him that night?

Nozel couldn’t forget those words. They sounded like the answer to a question he didn’t know he kept asking since so many years.

Was it true, though? Nozel didn’t know, he was so confused. Not even that long ago, he wouldn’t have taken such an answer into consideration. After all, when someone got a grimoire and turned fifteen, wasn’t that person considered an adult already? Fourteen wasn’t that far away from fifteen after all…

He had heard those assumptions from nobles and royals so many times after his mother died, that within his pain, he came to believe it. But today… it sounded wrong. Honestly, it always sounded wrong, but he only started to not be blind to it anymore.

The other reason why Nozel wouldn’t have believed such a response not so long ago was because of the immense regrets he felt. His guilt. His mistakes. All the lost time… wasn’t it because he was a bad person that he was left alone?

It must have been a punishment… before he ever committed his wrongs?

Nozel was confused. He never got to come to think so far, he always stopped himself, stiffening himself in expectations and coldness, in a mask. But now, lately, especially during this journey, he saw cracks in his views. And it confused him, more than back then when he was just a fourteen-year-old by thrown into a world of cruel, smug and power-hungry adults.

He hated those cracks. It wasn’t relieving. In fact, they might make everything worse. What did he hope to find, a solace?

How twisted and wicked up was he to even hope into solace when it was the last thing someone like him deserved? He already knew he was an asshole, as peasants would say, the last thing he needed was a reminder.

Yet… for some reason, this wasn’t what the witch implied.

Nozel looked at Vanessa, sitting on the other side of the carriage, chatting with lady Mélusine and Mimosa.

She seemed happy, enjoying herself. Nozel felt some relief. After all, she had been subtly disrespected by this oaf of a governor. She might be a witch, far away from noble circles, but she was nonetheless a Magic Knight and as such, deserved at least some respect.

Was this why he asked her to accompany him to the carriage? To give her the respect she would have deserved from the governor of this island? To put said governor into his place? That man embodied practically everything Nozel despised in noble lords. But still, why did he acted that way?

Would he have acted that way some months and even years ago, for someone who wasn’t from his circles?

And why did it felt like he had deep down another reason to help her?

Vanessa continued to chat, as if nothing else matters.

Nozel observed her. It must be nice to be so joyful, unbothered and enjoying life. He forgot a long time ago how it would felt like, yet it seemed like a second nature to her. It reminded him a bit of Dorothy. Was this a common trait for witches?

Not only that, but Vanessa was so genuinely kind without being a bother. She cared so much for Noelle and was certainly more than protective of his sister. But yet, she didn’t looked at him like he could do nothing right. She offered him hot chocolate and didn’t judge him when he show weakness in front of her. Not everyone would do that, not even his siblings. It was… a nice change. Undeserved, but nice.

It seemed so easy to laugh for her. And not mockery, just genuine laugh. And she was beautiful. Naturally so, unlike so many noble ladies whom he knew. Her eyes had the purple of amethyst, yet seemed to shift into another shade or even color, depending on the light, her mood and her movements, like a kaleidoscope. It was fascinating.

Her skin was like porcelain. Or snow when the sun was shining and flowers of spring started to bloom again. And her hair had the most beautiful shade of pink he knew. Rosewood was a beautiful color and it was rare to see it as a natural hair color. And while he tried to not look at her curves, because of her too revealing clothes and because it was indecorous of a royal, she was blessed with a wonderful body too.

If she would wear some less revealing clothing and if she was a noble or a royal, Vanessa would be the perfect woman…

Wait, did he just reflected that? Nozel took a deep breath in and looked out of the window. He wouldn’t deny the thoughts he just had; he did that mistakes many times. But he shouldn’t focus on that. He was a royal and she was witch.

He was a scumbag and she was a kind woman.

It would never work.

What exactly?

He was undoubtedly going insane. Or just confused. It almost made him feel like a fourteen-year-old child again, grieving and put into an adult position. Nozel hated that feeling. It always came back when he was acting as head of house Silva and always made him feel like he never grew up into that position.

Thankfully, the carriage stopped right in front of the manor, pushing away his dark thoughts. Losing focus was the last thing he needed on a mission. He was a Magic Knight and even more, he was a captain.

His eyes lingered a bit longer on Noelle as he helped her out of the carriage. Maybe he could be a brother too during their stay… his relationship with his sister was still awkward, but became steadier after Spade and despite everything, she still wanted him as part of her life. He’d expected that Noelle would cut him, Nebra and Solid out of her life completely. Surely, the Black Bulls would agree on that. The witch as well…

Nozel was still surprised that it wasn’t the case. Not only that Noelle still wanted him in his life – and lately, started to mend her bonds with Nebra as well – but it seemed that the witch was not only supporting her in that task, but also was also willing to talk to him. She didn’t even judged him when he appeared to her in a moment of weakness. Should she on the contrary think that he deserved to be miserable forever for neglecting his baby sister? Why was she willing to come to him?

And why was he grateful she did it?

Vanessa… he’d admit that it was a beautiful name.

Thankfully, lady Mélusine took the lead before he could torture himself with those circling thoughts again.

“This estate belongs to me, so my husband has no right over it. Feel free to make yourself at home as long as you’re staying here. If there is anything, you can just call me directly via communication device. I think it’s better than calling my husband…”

Given his encounter with Reginald Buckingham, Nozel could only agree. It seemed that lady Mélusine wasn’t one of those typical nobles who either were bootlicking or were smugly gossiping, happy to see a royal or another noble fail. She seemed a bit more honest, which was rare for a noble and despite the obvious arranged marriage, she seemed to have some kind of autonomy from her husband. Given that this estate belonged to her personally and not to house Buckingham.

“I have three servants who work here. Don’t be surprised when you see them, they’re identical triplets, called Geraldine, Germaine and Gertrude.” Noelle, Mimosa and Vanessa giggled at those names. “I know, it’s rather amusing. They’re a bit quirky, but very loyal to me and by retrospect, to you as well during your stay. Mr. Walter, they will undoubtedly work with you as well.”

“Thank you, lady Mélusine.”

“If I may,” Mimosa asked politely, “just three servants for such a big estate, isn’t it a bit understaffed?”

“I understand your concern, princess Mimosa and to be fair, a lot of people would think that way. But those three have magics that work very well with anything servants do, which helps a lot. They’re doing house cleaning, cooking and anything else. I’m sure you will appreciate their cooking, they’re amazing.”

“Never as amazing as Charmy,” he heard Magna Swing mumble, but the witch glared at him. Nozel frowned… has she ever looked at him like that?

“Have you forgotten already what happened last time you dismissed a cook who wasn’t Charmy, Magna? She put you on food time-out for a week because you refused to taste some other food than hers during a mission. Be happy that captain Fuegoleon had been kind enough to let you eat with his squad during that time. You know how much Charmy hates when we refused to eat any food that isn’t hers.”

Nozel frowned. Charmy, was this the little one with wool magic who loved eating? Noelle did talk about her the few times she told stories about her squad.

But Nozel had no idea the Black Bulls would seem to fear to make this little woman angry. How strange.

Lady Mélusine didn’t pay attention to the two Bulls as she continued, “As for the gardens, the biggest work is done by professionals from Tortuga that come every two weeks. Don’t worry, they won’t be a bother. For the food, my servants are mostly buying from the merchants at the harbor market in Beauregard, from the local peasants, fishers or some farmers and of course, I also get some goods from the church of our Island. The nuns of our church make excellent honey for example, but I’m sure you will meet them and learn for yourself. The nuns visit often any kind of local here, I’m sure they’ll do the same with our guests. Lavender Church is not that far from the estate and also near the shore. As you can see, there is a beach not even ten minutes away. It’s not one with lots of visitors, so if you want to swim without being bothered by local nobles, you can go there. Beauregard is not far away if you want to go shopping, Smaragd a bit further away, but not that much, it’s a town build on the hills in the forest behind. Of course, Tortuga, Goéland and Albatros are a bit more far away, but if you want to visit, it would take mostly fifteen minutes while flying.”

Honestly, Nozel doubted that they would have time to visit peasants and commoner’s villages and even more the two noble towns, given that they were on a mission. But lady Mélusine only tried to be a good hostess – she was already doing a better job at it than her husband – and given that the mission only involved mostly weddings, of course lots of people would assume it’s not a big deal.

But Nozel didn’t share this state of mind. It involved arranged marriages and nobles. Of course it will never be a piece of cake.

Not to mention the letter from that lord Talmond who wanted to talk about some problems on this island. Nozel still wasn’t sure if this noble just wanted to waste their time about some stupid noble worries or if he was genuinely concerned. They would see.

During lady Mélusines speech, three maids appeared at the door. Nozel was a bit taken aback seeing them and thankfully, he wasn’t the only one. Oh, she did say that her servants were identical triplets, but seeing it first hand was something else.

Those were three women between forty and fifty, tall and thin, their black hair put back into rigorous buns. If it weren’t for their smiles and the excited glimmer in their orange eyes, they would have looked like the strict and way too stern nanny his father hired once, because he found that his mother spoiled them too much. Thankfully, his mother fired that nanny after a week, after she had tried to whip him as a punishment.

“Oh, may I present my maids, Geraldine, Germaine and Gertrude.”

Which one was which? Thankfully, he wasn’t the only one confused. Noelle looked lost, Mimosa tried to not laugh nervously, Vanessa just looked between the maids and Magna Swing looked like a fish out of water, opening and closing his mouth.

Only Rill didn’t seem to bother, he probably already planned to paint the triplet maids. As for his butler, he remained professional as expected of a good butler and nodded politely.

The three maids curtsied, showing that they knew the proper etiquette.

Nozel was relieved. He hated when servants didn’t know their places. Alright, they had an excuse when they were young and new in a job, but if they talked back and dared to dismiss orders, he draw a line. Which had been the cases with the servants that had been loyal to his father.

Not many, but still too many to his liking. Nozel remembered how he had thrown three of them out because they had refused to attend Noelle when she had been sick once. Apparently, because their father had ordered it and he wasn’t even there.

Thankfully, the servants loyal to his mother and to his siblings were the majority. Still, since that day, Nozel had watched over Noelle any time she was sick. She had good health, so it never lasted long.

And he never talked to her still during those moments.

Should he have done it? Of course, he should have, it was another one of his mistakes.

He had failed Noelle and his other siblings too many times. He stopped being their brother the moment their mother died. He should have been stronger instead of letting his anguish guide him.

Yet, Noelle still wanted to have him in her life, Nebra and Solid still looked at him more than just a Head of House… Nozel didn’t found it very comforting. It was almost worse than his siblings cutting him out of their lives completely.

His head was spinning again.

Suddenly, he felt a small touch on shoulder. Just like the touch of a butterfly, yet it burned. Not painfully, though.

Nozel knew it was the witch even before he turned his head. There it was, the same kindness and compassion she always gave him since that fateful night on the ship. Compassion, never pity.

He shouldn’t be, but he was relieved. Nozel still had enough pride left in him to not accept pity. Yet, Vanessa gave him compassion instead. It was different, new also and yet, so familiar.

Mother?

“Are you alright?”

No, he wasn’t. He hadn’t been for too many years.

“I’ll manage.”

Vanessa didn’t looked like she believed him. Nozel couldn’t believe himself. He hadn’t manage well for far too long, given all of his mistakes. How could he possibly manage any emotions today? Yet, she didn’t called him out, just nodded. It was strange that she didn’t push more, but he welcomed it.

“There is a chamber for ser Magna on the ground floor, with a view on the garden” lady Mélusine continued, interrupting one more time is dark circling thoughts. “I thought that given the wheelchair, it would be better to not use the stairs every day, morning and evening.”

“That is actually a perfect arrangement, thank you. Right, virgin delinquent?”

Virgin delinquent? What was that for a nickname? Did the witch give nicknames to even her own squadmates?

Magna Swing muttered a “thank you”. Lady Mélusine continued to talk as they entered the estate and the servants took care of their luggage, Nozel felt incredibly exhausted all of a sudden. He still heard how their hostess explained her manor to them, talking about the different salons (apparently, there was four or five of them, each with a different theme), chambers, the library, dining room, the small ball room, kitchen and anything else. But he felt like it was far away. Who would have known that thoughts could be so exhausting? All he wanted now was to go to his chamber and take a moment.

Thankfully, it didn’t took that long. Lady Mélusine finally showed all of them their respective chamber personally before she had to leave. She was in a book circle, apparently. Nozel had no idea that noble circles could have themes, but he was never good knowing about what nobles did in their free time. This was Nebras specialty.

Still, he was grateful that he could finally sit on his bed and be for himself for a moment.

Was it a mistake to have come here? Because it was a place his mother loved? What has he hoped to find here anyway? He didn’t know and Nozel scolded himself to not have asked this question before.

All he felt was the familiar guilt and the cracks in his cold mask. If he had searched for some kind happiness while coming here – which was already something he didn’t deserve – then he was now certainly proved wrong. Or was it to continue to make amends, to continue his redemption?

Nozel wondered sometimes why he was still trying to make amends, as he believed that many people would consider his efforts useless, given all of his mistakes. That he would remain the same scumbag forever, no matter what he would do.

And yet, making amends was the right thing to do. Nozel was at least certain of that. Stopping them would be like giving up and this was not something he wanted to add to his guilt.

Wait a minute… he didn’t want to give up. Nozel never had thought about this possibility in any way so far. Was it new, was it always there? It was certainly the first time it seemed clear in his mind.

But he brushed it off the next moment. After all, it wasn’t like this would change something. Nozel never dared to hope much. The last time he dared to hope, his mother still died in the end and it shattered him. He didn’t want to hope anymore. It would at least prevent him from more pain.

Trying to clear his mind, Nozel finally took a closer look at his chamber. It was certainly comfortable and was certainly more filled than his own back at the Silva Palace. Nozel didn’t know if this was a good or a bad thing. It wasn’t like he preferred to keep the strict minimum, but the Silva Palace never felt like his home after his mother passed away. Why shall his bedroom feel like one?

He had a pretty large canopy bed, with a comfortable mattress and emerald green sheets, same for the curtains on the bed. The ones on the windows were made of velvet and had a darker green, which was a huge contrast to the pale lilac walls. There were some paintings, with frames that looked like golden seashells, mostly about the sea, but also one of the estate itself. That frame had a golden floral decoration instead.

There were four windows, one french window that led to a not so small balcony, two were oriel windows and the last one was small with a view on the forest behind the estate. Two sheherazadian carpets were on the floor, one smaller next to the bed and the big one covering most of the floor. He even had two desks, one that was an office desk, something Nozel was very grateful for, and another one that was seemed more like a small dining table for two people. Maybe not the worst idea, in case if he wanted to have breakfast, lunch or dinner alone. A vase with a bouquet of white roses and lavender had been placed on the table. The flowers looked fresh, as if it had been made to welcome them.

There were also four bookshelves, larger than he would have except in a mere bedroom, most of it around a small, empty fireplace, with two armchairs, of the same emerald green as the sheets. There was third armchair at one of the oriel windows, with a very small coffee table. Like the bigger tables and the bedframe, it was made out of mahogany wood.

The other oriel window was somehow an arranged as reading nook. Small in-built shelves filled with books in the wall, an in-built emerald green couch, it actually looked very comfy.

All in all, it was a nice, comfortable chamber, it wouldn’t be pain to live here during the mission. Objectively speaking.

But in reality? Nozel was confused. Extremely confused. He hadn’t felt like that since he had to take over house Silva at barely fifteen, when he had no one to guide him and had to feel and fail and try.

And it wasn’t only confusion. He felt exhausted and unrested altogether. Especially since he was on this island and it wasn’t even for a day yet.

He shouldn’t even feel like that. He was an adult now, thirty years old, captain of the Silver Eagles, head of house Silva. He had is life under control.

Or so he thought.

Nozel wasn’t sure that he truly had his life under control lately. He even doubted that it was even the case since years, given all of his past mistakes.

It was a mistake to come here. After all, even though it wasn’t known, he hated nobles. He hated social gatherings, he hated cleaning nobles mess, he hated their gossip and arrogance. And he was a hypocrite, since he was pretty much a hypocrite himself.

If it weren’t for his mother, Nozel probably wouldn’t have accepted to be part of this stupid mission. But Julius asked him and even mentioned how this place meant to Acier. Did Julius done it on purpose? Nozel wouldn’t let it pass the Wizard King. But Julius certainly didn’t meant any harm, maybe he just wanted to do a nice gesture.

But even the best meant acts could hurt more than they did good. Nozel knew that better than anyone.

Mother… what should I do?

Nozel held his head in his hands. He was exhausted, maybe from the journey. But he was mostly sick and tired of something. Loneliness?

Just in this moment, there was a knock on the door and the witch entered before he could even say anything. She had two big mugs in her hands, one blue with snowflakes, the other pink with roses. Where did she got those?

“Hi there, handsome, how about some nice hot chocolate, to relax from the journey? My, you have a nice chamber too. Mine is just as comfy. Except that I don’t have a window with view on the forest. And the walls are white. And the curtains and sheets are blue. And I have only sea and beach paintings. Fitting, my room seems rather sea themed for some reason. Oh, and the wood is not reddish, rather blackish.”

“You might have ebony wood.”

“Ebony? I didn’t know that woods of furniture can have names. Ebony sounds sweet. Oh, I got those flowers too.”

She put the two mugs on the table, before turning towards him. Her small-talk, teasing mood was gone and she looked at him rather tenderly. A bit like since that night on the ship…

“You shouldn’t had been left alone back then…”

Oh no… Nozel wasn’t ready to be vulnerable again. Not in front of Vanessa. And yet…

“Do you want to talk, maybe?”

“No…”

“Do you want to be left alone?”

“No…”

For some reason, he didn’t want to be left alone. Her presence, as confusing and upsetting as it could be, did something within him.

Vanessa nodded, and just sat next to him. She didn’t talk, didn’t took his hand in hers. But it felt still like a small light piercing the mist.

For the first time since long, Nozel consciously allowed himself to be grateful…

#Black Clover #Black Clover Fanfiction #The Scent Of Lavender #My Writing ☘️♣️#Vanessa Enoteca #Nozel Silva #Nozessa #Nozel x Vanessa #Noelle Silva #Magna Swing #Mimosa Vermillion #Rill Boismortier #Walter Black Clover #Black Clover OC #Mélusine is a rare kind noble... and her husband is a dumb jerk

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