The King
LINK POV
The King smiles "I was just going explain to you in detail, let's sit so we can dis-"
"I am fine standing up, thank you" Link answers bluntly
"Pff! but of course, you are an agent from SWORD, you will never put yourself in a vulnerable position voluntarily" the King says as he finally grabs the envelope and quickly scans it.
"It's actually intact, not forced in anyway" the King then glances at Link
"Do you know who I am?" the King asks letting the question linger a few seconds before continuing
"Of course you know, such a dumb question, I am Daphnes D. Nohansen, current King of Hyrule, which means that the content of this envelope is very important, I am impressed you did not try to read it, I think I like you kid."
Damn it, now I kind of feel bad, I lost count of how many times I tried to open it, but they know me in SWORD, they used a new seal that makes it impossible for me to open it and reseal it without causing damage to the envelope.
If they can't trust me, why do they keep me? Because they love my almost pathological need to KNOW things, that is my best weapon, knowledge is power. The King praising me for being ¨honorable and trustworthy¨ feels like a kick in the balls
The King continues "I consider myself to be… I am going to be honest here, I have succeeded managing the kingdom economy so far, but I am the type of man that believes ¨Peace times create weak men, and weak men can bring about the fall of a kingdom.¨ The current state of my soldiers is… rather pitiful"
Link struggles to hide his laughter "Hehe" you think?
The King squints his eyes "Given your reaction I suppose you have already meet with them. And those are the best Hyrule can currently offer… if we were to experience an attack, Hyrule will fall" the King makes a pause and continues "we need to become stronger. I am not going to expose my kingdom to armed conflict to build muscle… but I can expose the future Queen to somebody that knows and has experience on the topic… the soldiers may suck, but I want to ensure the future Queen knows what to do and what to expect during hardships, I must make sure she is strong, intelligent and capable for when mayhem comes… am I making sense?"
A fucking lot of sense, I like my king, he thinks like a war veteran, and he plans ahead for his people… how could someone like him spawn a brat like Zelda? Or better yet, fall victim of Ganadorf?
"You make perfect sense mi lord" Link praises the lord.
"EXCELLENT, it would be good if you put together a topic plan, I'll review it before you start, and please check the closet in your room, anything there that you like and fits is yours, I will arrange for getting clothes your size later so you don't need to bring anything from home, but if you want to bring something the carriage will be free this weekend"
"Wait, what do you think I just agreed to?" Link asks exalted
"To living here of course, that would make exposing and educating Zelda much more efficient"
Link just closes his eyes and rubs them with his left index and thumb.
I can't help with this; I may kill her.
Toc-toc!!! Enters the lawyer with the license and the purple folder, he raises a thumb at the King as he offers Link his SWORD license back.
"My lord, I may look stupid but I assure you I am not, even I know I am not allowed to live in the castle since I am not part of the royal family, to spend a night here will cost me my head if word gets out" Link clarifies
"I know that… I may look brainless but I am a responsible leader, I promise no one will even dare touch a single hair of yours, all you need to do is sign this" the king hands him he purple folder open pointing at where Link needs to sign.
Link reaches for the folder and reading the content a little and throws it back at the desk in anger
"YOU WANT TO ADOPT ME?" Link raises his voice, not quite yelling, but high enough to scare the lawyer
"Mi lord, right now may not be the best of times for something like this, maybe if you give the boy a few days to think about all this" the attorney advises the King
"He does not need time to think about anything, he is going to sign" the King stares at Link daring him while grinning.
"What makes you believe I will sing this?" Link states irate, but refusing to yell at his King.
"And he lost his temper, he is hot-blooded all right… not a bad quality to possess for a man, as long as you don't let it cloud your judgment. I will tell you why you are going to sign, because you are not stupid"
"Mi lord, I really think insulting him is NOT the strategy you want to use" says the lawyer
"I am not insulting him, I am stating what he IS NOT… he won't turn down a good home, the economic benefits that come with being a royal, and access to all the information Hyrule can offer, information about public funds, treaties, laws, the reasons for remaining hidden from the rest of the world, medicine, astrology, magic, maybe even archaic but effective methods to open a sealed envelope without leaving a trace" The King smiles giving Link an evil side glance "because… as we all know, knowledge is power"
DAMN IT!!! He knows I tried to open it? How? He couldn't know, I left it perfect… didn't I? wait… he is getting into my head and making me anxious, I can't let him know he is cornering me.
Link breaths in deeply and exhales
Can you admire a man and HATE him at the same time? Because that is what I am feeling and it's not fun. I will sign… the benefits are too good to pass on, we are talking about information here, knowledge about political realignment inside and outside of Hyrule… I have people here that I need to protect, the best way of doing that is being informed and involved. But the down side is Zelda, interacting with the Princess is going to be a whole new level of hardship for me, but if the King wants me to help turn her into the best Queen, I am going to do just that, and I am going to enjoy it. She is going to be magnificent but it's going to cost her tears and blood, I will make sure of that.
"Where do I sign?" Link says in a neutral tone. The King smiles once more and points where Link has to sign, just as he was about to, he remembers something and stops himself.
"Wait, the royal family is allowed to have only 2 children, if you adopt me… it means you won't be able to have another offspring in the future, is this fine by you, my King?" Link asks with concern.
"More than fine, I have been desiring to adopt for a while. But I found all the kids at the adoption center to be rather disappointing… but YOU ARE PERFECT" he sighs "YOU are going to be my son now, and I want our relation to be built in trust and respect, so let me start clearing the path… I am sterile"
"I am… sorry?" Link says doubtful
The King laughs a little "No you are not, you are benefiting from it, we both are… truth be told, I always wanted to adopt even before I was aware of my condition… name and age?"
"Link, 12 years old"
I am not lying, I hate lies, I do turn 13 today… in a few hours according to my birth certificate. Technically… I am still 12
The King raises an eyebrow in doubt, but soon decides to play along and starts clapping in joy "12 GLORIOUS SPRINGS, DID YOU HEARD THAT SEBAS?"
"Yes, I heard my lord, this is going to speed things fortunately" says the lawyer smiling
"Sebastian is my lawyer, he was willing to lie and forge documents in case you were 13 or older, but that won't be necessary anymore. By Hylian law you are still a child, I can adopt you without much trouble"
Link quietly signs the adoption papers, a feeling of dread slowly creeping in, but he shakes it off.
"Done, I WILL continue my work in SWORD"
"Of course you will, I won't interfere on your life, but I do request you to be back in the castle immediately once you are done with your errands, so you can give haste to the task of forging our future Queen, let's put that on paper to be safe" the King signals for Sebas to start the paper work, but Link speaks
"I don't need to sign anything, I have nowhere else to go my lord, I will be here" Link informs them.
"PERFECT, I get to save paper" the King extends his hand for a shake
"Mi lord, I think it would be better if-"
"No needed, I believe him, he will be back with haste every time" states the King
And just like that… the King is trying to tell me he trusts me, and that I should do the same… [I want our relation to be built in trust and respect] I am kind of an anxious wreck, it's going to take time, but I feel I could eventually trust this man.
Link shakes the King's hand closing the deal
"Should I start calling you daddy?" Link says mocking
"NO, only my wife calls me that in the bedroom" he winks at Link
"HAHAHAHAHAHA" Link laughs as he closes the door behind him