Of Royal Blood - The Legend Of Zelda

[X] Rich inn - 100 Rupees a night

"I am going to kill him," Zelda states with calm certainty, a stark contrast to her burning ears and flushed cheeks, "I am going to fill him with so many arrows they will have to roll him into his grave."

"Aha, don't you think that's a little extreme...?" You say as you walk towards your room, stifling your own embarrassment.

"No. He planned this! He planned this from the start! Making us do something so embarrassing... The nerve!" She says through gritted teeth.

"So uh... if it's so embarrassing why are you still holding onto my arm?" You ask Zelda, who was clinging to said limb rather tightly. It was actually kinda awkward, you'd never done this before.

"Because if I let go I'm going to curl into a ball and wish I could die."

"Ah."

The two of you finally get to your room, unlocking it with the key the innkeeper gave you. The room you enter was well furnished, with nice rugs, dressers and cabinets, a table and a few chairs. The single large bed was soft and clean, not a hint of straw and the window pointed out towards the street. Zelda detaches herself and makes a move for the bed, before looking down at the state of her dusty clothes and thinks better of it. Instead, she collapses into a chair and lays her head down on the table, her arms covering it.

You honestly didn't blame her, Ganondorf was not kidding when he said they'd be concerned about your and Zelda's relationship with each other. Immediately they started asking questions about how long the two of you had been a couple or looking at Zelda's hand. You quickly lied, saying the two of you had been engaged and married by your parents but had lost everything thanks to a Bokoblin raid, Sheik sustaining horrific burns. You'd sold what you could for medicine and supplies then traveled to castle town in the hopes of becoming bards to make enough to settle down, as well as find someone who could heal Sheik's burns.

Zelda to her credit sold the lie, pulling down her scarf to reveal her necrotic flesh and muttering quietly "We... we lost everything."

You did your best to ignore how she glanced at the castle then.

Unfortunately, this did mean you'll have to buy musical instruments as they had asked to hear what you're capable of. You only hope that Zelda was actually a decent singer or decent with the lyre, as neither of you actually wanted your lie exposed. Still, it was rupees you could have used for armour and weapons, this lie you had been caught in might end up costing you a lot.

You wonder if things would have been easier if the two of you just simply bought seperate rooms rather than following Ganondorf's advice. You really didn't look forward to the awkwardness of figuring out what to do with the sole bed in the room. But that could wait, it had taken you all day to find this inn while navigating the unfamiliar streets, the two of you stopping to take in every sight. Castle Town was absolutely bustling, countless people wandering around the packed streets. Yet... there seemed to be a clear divide here, a wealth gap you hadn't anticipated. More than a few Hylians gave the two of you in your dusty clothes odd looks when you were wandering around the richer part of town, Zelda happily pointing out that the style of buildings that dominated the city had lasted since ancient times.

The sun had not set yet and while the markets would most likely be closed it still was not the time for dinner. You supposed the two of you could hang around the inn, listen in on the local news and ask for directions around castle town. You had some information from Ganondorf but his info was not up to date. He certainly didn't know where to find a shop that sold musical instruments. You'll probably go ask-

"Hey, you're heading to take a bath now, right?" Zelda asks, peeking from between her arms.

"No, I was going to find a table. I mean we just got here..." You say, remembering she had said you needed to take one.

"Go take a bath, and get your clothes washed as well. We aren't leaving the impression we're filthy savages," Zelda tells you, and you get the impression you didn't have room to argue.

"Fine fine..." You say, setting down your pack and digging into it for spare and all your dirty clothes and then loading them into a basket set beside the door.

You exit the room, heading down the stairs with your basket of clothes in your hand to the common room. It was a large space, with several tables and a small stage. A roaring fire kept the place pleasantly warm but unlike the tavern you were used to this place lacked the cramped, smokey atmosphere. The tables all had table cloths on them, the tables were set out in an orderly fashion and the bar wasn't stained with alcohol and other substances. There were no stuffed heads, mounted shields or anything of like, only decorative tapestries, small portraits of the innkeeper and his family and looming over everyone a portrait of the emperor himself. It was a place that looked like it prided itself on being respectable, rather than being a home away from home.

It was mostly empty, save for the staff and a few merchants discussing their business over meals. Unsure of where to go you wave one of the serving girls, an older woman whose hair was starting to grey, over.

"Excuse me, when we paid for the room the innkeeper mentioned shower and laundry services?" You ask, unsure if it was considered polite to ask about it.

The serving girl nods, "Of course, we have showers in the back. The water is heated and pumped in from the local pumping station rather than more expensive enchanted systems so we have set times for showers and laundry. You're just in time though, the washerwoman will be making their rounds soon and the company this establishment hires is very well reputed. Just write your name on the ticket and set your basket out and tomorrow morning all your clothing will be good as new!"

The woman then claps a hand to her cheek "Ah, but your wife doesn't know about this either, does she? Don't worry, I'll take your basket up to her when you go to the showers. You do have a clean change of clothes, right?"

You nod, feeling kinda awkward about all this.

"Ah good good," Her expression then turns serious, "Now I know you're both a young and in love but this here is a respectable establishment, not like those bathhouses. The showers are separated, no mixing of any sort!"

You nod, cheeks burning at the insinuation and the serving girl leads you into the back, where there was indeed two doors separating what you assume were changing areas. The serving girl explains she'll be taking your basket of clothes in ten minutes, roughly when the water starts being pumped in and she expects you to be in the showers by then as once again she says this is a respectable establishment.

Then she leaves you, and you enter the men's changing room feeling awkward and embarrassed. It was a small room with shelves lined up one the walls. The walls had baskets with numbers on them, in each basket were clean, fluffy towels. You end up standing there for a minute, mulling over what the woman said. Why did she even keep mentioning that kind of thing? You weren't even sure what "those" bathhouses even were! You couldn't imagine anything more awkward!

Well maybe not that awkward, you'd already seen Zelda-

Slamming both palms into your cheeks to get that plea- image out of your head and reminding yourself of how hurt she was you quickly undress, take the towels from a basket while putting your clean clothes in it and feeling quite exposed head into the shower room. It wasn't much, just a small tiled room with a window at the far end with luminous stone lamps set into the ceiling. One wall was covered in nozzles, knobs and a glass indicator that was slowly filling with water while the other had bars you assume you hang your towel on. A bench ran through the middle of the room, on it was a variety of soaps and brushes you assume you were free to use.

Feeling glad no one else was going to use this at this time you stand there rather aware of how drafty the room was until the indicator was full. Then grabbing some soap and a brush you step over and turn the tap.

Instantly any sense of embarrassment vanished. You don't know how long you stood there, enjoying the feel of hot water on your skin. All you knew was that you were well and truly drenched before you started washing yourself. You kinda wished this place had a bath you could soak in but as someone whose only baths were diving into a river to catch fish with his bare hands, this was heaven. Years of grime washed away as you scrubbed, and you felt the aches and pains of the road melt away with the heat.

You did manage to sting your eyes a little when you washed your hair, which temporarily blinded you and made it impossible to properly distinguish the room. You even thought you saw a shadow at the window, but it vanished when you turned to look at it.

Probably a bird...


Where do you go? Choose one.
[] Castle Town market
[] Academy Library
[] Slums to search
[] Merc halls
[] Garrison
[] Sight Seeing
[] Sacred Grounds
[] Resturant
[] Theater
[] Write-in