[X] Congratulate Paya for sticking with the lesson.
-[X] Ask her if she had fun riding Abby, and offer to continue the lessons at her pace.
-[X] Ask Paya gently why she believes that she doesn't think herself worthy of our friendship and reassure her that we and Zelda don't see it that way.
[X] Ask Paya what she wants to do next.
"Why do you think you're unworthy of being our friend Paya?" You ask gently, settling on trying to gently prod her to come to the realization you both like her for who she is rather than just being nice.
Paya brings her hands to her mouth and shrinks a bit away from you, refusing to meet your eyes, "L-Lady Zelda is s-such a genius with our old technology, m-maybe even better than my mother and Professor Robbie, a-and she's so kind and skilled and pretty and truly blessed by the Goddess Hylia. She bears so many burdens.... And... and you master Link!" Paya begins to turn red, sparing you a glance before looking away again, "You are Lady Zelda's appointed knight! You are... You are so brave and gallant, the truest knight in the land... I..." She pauses, hands falling into her lap as she wrings her shirt in her hands, "A-all I can do is pray to the goddess and our ancestors to protect both of you..."
She goes quiet, shrinking a bit away from you. You lean against the wall of the stable, thinking over what she said. What could you say to her? Finally, though, you remember something that gives you an answer.
"You know, Zelda told me why she ran away from the village," You say aloud, looking up towards the ceiling of the stable, doing your best to make it seem you were examining the grain in the wood, "She told me about this girl named Paya who she admired more than anything. Who knew more about old Sheikah texts and such than anyone else, who without her she couldn't have gotten that Sheikah Slate working. She wanted to find Sheikah ruins and such so that she could give whatever information she found to this Paya, so that they may decipher its secrets and get the recognition they deserve for being the most hardworking, caring girl Zelda knew," You smile, looking over to Paya, "I don't think that girl is unworthy of- uh.."
"...Paya?"
Paya doesn't respond, at least not in an intelligible language as she stammers out various noises that sound like air being let out of a kettle while growing increasingly red.
"Uhm... I'll go uh... clean up Abby. That alright with you?"
Paya nods rapidly, and you push yourself off the wall to walk over to Abby who was a bit dusty. Looking back though, even with the blush on Paya's cheeks and ears she had lowered her clasped hands to her chest and was smiling as you heard her mutter with a happy sigh, "Zelda..." She also kept looking over to you with a smile, but when she noticed you look over she practically jumped in her chair and looked away with her hands over her face, ears almost glowing.
Quickly setting out to get Abby clean you go over her with brushes, combs and a damp rag. finishing quickly as you didn't need to clean off her hooves. Finishing up, you notice Paya has gone oddly quiet and looking over you discover why. Head drooping into her chest that was rising and falling slowly with each breath, hands folded limply on her stomach and a content smile gracing her lips the sleeping form of Paya snoozed away.
Walking over, you gently shake her shoulder, making her eyes flutter open, "Mmmm? Link~" She sighs contentedly before alertness finally seeps in as she blinks a few more times, "O-oh! I... I'm sorry master Link! My eyes felt so heavy all of a sudden so..."
"Hey, it's alright. Let's head back," You tell the groggy girl as you help her to her feet. She stumbles a bit as you walk her out of the stables, and when you catch her when she stumbles she jolts awake with a loud eep and a deep crimson blush that practically made her tattoos invisible. But after a while, she starts to nod off again and she leans on you nearly totally passed almost the entire way back. You try not to say anything as she seems to lean into you more than once with a deep sigh before a movement jolts her awake and she leaps away from you until her eyes droop and with several deep yawns you start all over again.
With the sun setting you finally get her back into the manor, and half-drag her to her room. You think of opening it, but knowing better you knock first and are immediately answered by Zelda's voice, "Just a minute!"
There were sounds of bare feet on wooden floors until the door slides open and reveals something that almost makes you drop Paya. Zelda was standing in the doorway, her thick-rimmed glasses that magnified her eyes resting on her nose with her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was wearing to your shock a pair of ratty looking overalls and a white shirt with more than a few stains in it. Her hands, pants and face were all utterly covered with splatters and streaks of paint of various colours. Craning your neck to look behind her you notice rows upon rows of knightly figures, monsters and creatures of myth in various states of being painted. Several books were open on her desk, with the only cover visible boldly displaying "HYRULE WARRIORS: 6th Edition Rulebook."
Zelda, however, doesn't register your mounting expression of disbelief instead immediately noticing Paya.
"PAYA!!" She shouts, going white as a sheet as her expression changes to one of alarmed concern, but then immediately claps a hand over her mouth when you put a finger to your lips and let out a hissed shush to her. It was then she noticed Paya gentle snores against your shoulder, and a look of shock comes over her.
"Link, wha-" She begins to ask as she steps out of the way of the door to let you half-drag Paya into their room.
"Got her to fall asleep after tiring herself out at the stables, " You whisper to her as you gently transfer the girl over to the princess.
"Wait, you did?!" She whispers back as she gently leads Paya to her bed and lays her on it, "I've been trying forever to..."
"Yeah, knew I had to do something as she was just dead on her feet..." You begin, only to be cut off as Zelda suddenly guides you out of their room.
"Have to get her changed, wait out here!" She quickly whispers to you, before closing the door in your face. With nothing else to do you lean against the opposite wall and wait for some time until Zelda emerges from the room, tiptoeing out.
"She's really out like a light, I don't believe it..." Zelda whispers, shaking her head in utter amazement.
"With all those chores she does it's a wonder she hasn't collapsed yet, I've never met someone so hard working..."
Zelda sighs with a smile, a faint blush creeping into her cheeks, "Yeah, she's really incredible," She then looks up to you, red eyes shining like rubies as the light from the setting sun reflected off her glasses, "Thank you, Link, truly. You have no idea... how'd you manage it anyways? I've tried everything I could think of to get her to stop nearly killing herself every day."
So you tell her, how you did chores with her in the morning until both your hands were bleeding, how you took her to the stable and learned Epona was a Lon Lon horse, how you get her to help and eventually ride Abby before getting her to open up about why she was doing all these things, and how she had reacted when you told her how much she meant to Zelda.
Zelda silently listened, head inclined. As you reached the end of your explanation tears, one by one, impacted her glasses and dripped off to the floor. When you finished she reached up to rub her eyes with her sleeve, sniffling as she quietly whispered, "Thank you. I-I could never.... I always messed up and... she was always there for me and I couldn't ever... Thank you, Link.... thank you..."
You scratch your cheek, looking away from Zelda, "Hey... friends help friends right?" You look back over to her, "That's-
?!?"
Zelda had taken a step closer to you, a blush spreading across her cheeks as her lips parted to reveal a smile as warm as the light cast off the setting sun, the tears in ears making them shine like the crimson gems you realize you've compared them to so often. Eyes that were fixed on you.
"Z-Zelda?!" You ask nervously, as she takes another step closer and you realize she's close enough that you can count the droplets clinging to her eyelashes, feel something warm every time she takes a breath.
"Thank you, Link~ " She whispers so quietly you almost don't catch it, your name a content sigh on her lips. Lips, you realize with a nervous swallow, that your eyes seem ever drawn towards.
An overwhelming coldness washes over you, your skin prickling as your breath catches in your throat. You tear your gaze to look beyond Zelda, down the darkened hall. From the darkness leered two hellish lights, red flames fixated on you as the sound of a Naginata scrapped along the floor. The darkness seemed to be reaching out to you, to grab you and drag you towards that spectre of death.
Your hands drop to your sides, and the darkness retreats, Impa disappearing around a corner without a sound. Zelda blinks, eyes that seemed slightly glazed over regaining focus and she suddenly realized just how close she was standing to you. The blush starts at her cheeks and then spreads to her ears before she leaps back, smacking into the wall with a thud.
"AHAHAHA! S-SORRY LINK! I UH.... I MUST HAVE STUMBLED A BIT! OKAYTHAT'SWHATIDIDLINKOKAYIREALLYNEEDTOKNOWYOUUNDERSTANDTHAT'SWHATIDIDSINCEIREALLYDON'TKNOWWHATIWASDOINGAND-"
Knocking from the entrance hall cuts off Zelda's loud breathless rambling. It was quick, heavy and had a hint of desperation to it. You and Zelda spare a quick glance, what just happened forgotten and you both immediately rush towards the entrance way, Zelda opening it to reveal... Dorian? With Koko and Cottla hiding between his legs. He looked... tired, his eyes red and sunken, cheeks bearing the slightest stains of tears. Cottla and Koko too looked like they had been crying recently, though obviously out of worry for their father's state.
"M'Lady! Sorry to trouble you at this hour..." He begins, but Zelda only shakes her head.
"No, Dorian it's alright. What's going on? You look terrible."
"I..." He begins, "I have an infestation over at my home. Insects, rats and other...
vermin, haven't been cleaning with work and everything," He takes a deep breath, and you're surprised at how defeated he looks, "I can't... I can't keep my daughters in those conditions. There are scratches and... I.. I... They loved being over here so much, Koko... Koko doesn't need to cook when she's here and... Is... is it alright if they stay here a few days? Until... Until I get my home sorted out."
Zelda nods rapidly, "Of course, goddess yes they can stay here. Did you bring some changes of clothes?"
Dorian nods, handing over a bag to Zelda. It was then Cottla started crying, followed shortly by Koko.
Dorian squats down, trying to give his daughters a reassuring smile as he tells them, "It's alright, Daddy isn't going anywhere. It's just a... a sleepover while Daddy deals with the pests. It's only for a few days, I promise you, and I'll be around still..."
Cottla has none of it, her cries growing louder while her sister's become choking sobs. Dorian brings his daughters close in a tight hug, tears dripping down his cheeks into his white beard, "It's alright. I won't leave you, I won't ever leave you two. It's only for a few days, I promise you. I promise you..."
"Nnnn-! Noo!" Cottla cries and tries to pull away from her father.
Dorian can only smile to his daughter, and say "Tell you what, Daddy will find Mommy and get her to make your favourite, meat-stuffed pumpkin!"
You glance over to Zelda as Cottla sniffs. The colour had drained completely from her face, and she looked like she was trying to swallow something very bitter. Her hands were shaking slightly.
"R-really?" Cottla asks, and her father nods.
"I promise you," He then looks over to his other daughter, who had stopped crying and was staring at the ground with dead eyes, "Koko, I need you to be a big girl for your sister, okay? I'll come by to tuck you in at night, I promise."
Koko nods but says nothing.
Dorian stands up, and addresses Zelda, "Thank you again for this, your majesty. I'll try to come by as often as possible-"
"Will you need any help in dealing with the pest problem?" Impa suddenly asks, making you all jump when you realize she was standing right behind you. The normally stoic guardian of the village expression had softened into one of concern, and she had put away her armour and weapons.
Dorian shakes his head, giving a small laugh, "I can handle it myself, just can't have Cottla and Koko around the poison and traps."
Impa nods, before getting down to eye level with Cottla and Koko, "You two must be very hungry, let's find you something for dinner, okay?" She says to the two small girls with an uncharistically warm tone. The girls nod, and after a final goodbye to their father Zelda and Impa lead them to the dining area. You linger on just a moment to catch Dorian walk some distance from the manor towards a tree, and wordlessly punch it with one fist until his knuckles are bloody. He then wanders away, out of sight.
An inspection reveals that Cottla and Koko do have rat bites on them Dorian had evidently treated to treat to the best of his abilities, but Mipha immediately attends to them as soon as she returned to the manor. Dinner was eaten in silence, and you all go to bed shortly afterwards. Cottla and Koko sleep in Zelda's bed that night, the princess refusing to let them out of her sight.
Your dreams that night are that of furious vengeance visited on monstrous caricatures of men in red and giant rats.
Zelda wakes you up that morning but quickly vanishes again, and you don't see her again after you get ready for the day. Mipha, however, emerges from the garden pond and walks over to you, water still dripping off her.
"Good morning Link. Um, are you free today? Zelda told me she and Paya are going to be busy with Cottla and Koko, and I'll be heading over to the training grounds and was wondering if... um... you wanted to come?" She asks, giving you a strangely nervous smile.
What's the plan for the day?
[] Hang out with Mipha.
[] Join Impa on guard duty.
[] See what Sidon is up to.
[] Write-in
Note: I'm giving this to you guys since you let me know what your intention was through discussion but I would have had no idea what you wanted to do without it, which would have resulted in you failing here. But you discussed and didn't vote to utterly demolish what self-worth Paya had left so you still got through this. Just please be more clear in the votes next time, or just at least put in how you plan to reassure someone. Things won't happen unless you put in how you want to accomplish them, whether in the vote or discussion. I'm not omniscient.
