Like A Fairytale Fantasy
By Queenie Z

Zelda laughed. "Seriously? What kind of a question is that, Link?"

Link raised an eyebrow as he leaned against a tree. "What? I thought it was pretty self-explanatory."

"No, I mean, what on earth made you ask that?" She drew her knees up, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. "I'm not five years old, you know."

"I didn't say you were! ...I'm just curious." Link repeated his question. "If you could be a princess for a day, like in a fairytale, what would you do?"

Zelda giggled again at the question. She hadn't thought about that sort of make-believe since she was a child. Since he insisted, however, she figured she would humor him. She looked up, where she saw a couple of loftwings circling the city, and pondered her answer.

"Well," she began, "first of all, I'd live in a castle - not a huge one, but one with marble floors and stained glass windows and a garden filled with flowers."

"Uh-huh," muttered Link with a nod, listening attentively.

"And I suppose I'd have people who could clean and do laundry for me," she said, "you know how much I hate doing laundry."

Link grinned a little. "And you say I'm the lazy one."

"But if I was royalty, I'd be much too busy to do chores!"

"With what?"

"With... you know! Royal things. Ruling a kingdom." She put a finger to her lips in thought. "...Those fairytales never really did say what kind of things princesses actually did."

"Probably because they're boring things," said Link, stretching his arms, "things that wouldn't make for very good stories."

"I'm sure they're important, though! You couldn't have a kingdom without a royal family, after all."

The boy yawned. "I guess so. ...Maybe you'd make a good princess, then, Zelda. You're good at telling people what to do."

Zelda turned to him, slightly offended. "Link, are you saying that I'm bossy?"

"N-No!" Link shook his head furiously. "Not bossy... just, um, assertive!" He scratched the back of his head. "And, besides, everyone likes you. I don't think anyone would mind listening to what you had to say."

The girl smiled sheepishly. "I don't think everyone likes me..." Then, her face brightened as she turned the question back to her friend. "Say, what about you? If you were a prince, what would you do?"

"Huh?" He made a face as he thought hard about his answer. "...I dunno. Actually, I don't think I'd make a very good prince at all."

"Why's that?" She reached over and pinched his cheek playfully. "You're certainly handsome enough to be a 'prince charming', hee hee!"

"Cut that out!" He flailed his arm until she relinquished her grip, leaving him a slightest bit flustered. He frowned at her. "I just - I don't think I'm cut out for ruling people. I like helping people, not telling them what to do."

Somehow, she figured he would say that. Zelda tilted her head. "Helping people is why you wanted to become a knight, right? I can't say I'm surprised."

He chuckled. "Pretty much, yeah. I wouldn't want to be a prince, even if I got the chance - I'd still want to be a knight, you know?"

Zelda smiled. "If that's what you want, Link."

"I could even be your bodyguard if you wanted me to!"

"Eh!"

Link looked at her with an excited, boyish twinkle in his eyes. "Yeah! I mean, if you're a princess, you'd need a bodyguard, right? I'd be there to make sure nobody ever hurt you."

The girl's face turned a dark pink, and she nervously tried to laugh away her embarrassment. If only Link knew the kind of feelings he could stir up in her when he talked this way! "U-Um, I don't think I'd need a bodyguard..."

"But princesses get kidnapped all the time! At least, they do in those stories." His face grew serious. "But if I were around, nobody would have the chance to even lay a finger on you, Zelda. They'd be sorry they tried!"

Her laughter grew louder as she grew more and more flustered by his honest words. "L-Link, you're..." she finally began to calm herself, turning away to hide how red she'd gotten. "...Thanks. You're a wonderful friend to say all those things."

"I'm not just saying it, though," he grinned, "Princess Zelda."

Zelda held her breath, as if trying to stop steam from coming out of her ears. Oh, why did she always have to hide how she felt? If only she wasn't so nervous, then perhaps that little fantasy of princess and knight could become a reality.

"L-Let's go to the bazaar, Link!" she said, quickly changing the subject and grabbing his wrist, dragging him up to his feet. "I think they're selling pumpkin bread today...!"

"Whoa!" Confused by her sudden change in demeanor, Link reluctantly agreed. "Um, okay, that sounds good!"

Neither of them knew, however, just how soon they would have to accept those roles.