Kingdom of Power, of Courage, and of Wisdom

Zant's War - Expectations

-Present, Kanyou Dungeon-

Zelda listened to Reida's words patiently. It was a lengthy tale, much more detailed and long than described here, so Zelda took up a chair.

"Why did you tell me this?" Zelda inquired. "Why speak against your very rescuer? I do not believe it false to say we are rivals, so why throw your allies at the feet of your enemy? Do you think to save yourself?"

"Princess. I admit I am unsure what to believe. Impa, your ally, captured me. Her rival, Zant, rescued me. In light of this I cannot say to myself 'all Sheikah is this way' or 'all Sheikah are that way'. It may sound traitorous and scheming to tell you that your ally is in danger and my ally is your enemy when you had no knowledge and was left unaware... but I believe in the end it is because Zant is my ally that I want you to know all these things and because Impa has committed crimes against me that I want you to know."

Zelda turned her head to the side in thought. Reida continued, "Princess... I know how you must see me. Fiancé to Prince Kyou, the brother who tried to kill you, surely Lady Reida desires the throne and would scheme against you to become Queen. Is that not what you think?"

Zelda nodded. "You do stand to become Queen when Kyou comes of age if he holds the throne and marries you. You have everything to gain."

"And everything to lose," Reida explained. "I think, Princess, that being Queen is not all it is thought to be. I think of home and feel joy and people I know, people who smile when they see me, people who listen when I talk and hear my words. When I think of the throne I feel a cage, where men constrain me and label me and hold me to an entrapping ideal of perfection I have no desire to have. Princess, I am content to be what I am. What I gain I want to be by my hand, not by my birthright. It is partly why I argued vehemently with Kyou about his coup, for what would be gained from it? Would it make him a better person? Would it make me a better person?

"I tell you these things because without the information you would not know how to act. You would be caught in surprise by the politics that have entrapped the Sheikah, and I fear you would act rashly. I want Impa held accountable for involving me when I had tried to defend you in my way, but to do that she must live. I tell you of Zant because I want you to help him, princess. He is most loyal to the throne above all else, and in these recent days, he has lost sight of who sits on it. Something has inflicted his mind and if anyone can help him... it's you."

"You put a great deal of faith in me," Zelda whispered. She squeezed her hands together. It was a burden she did not want. She already had so much on her mind, and now she had this mess to clean. Perhaps Reida had the right mind of it, in saying she did not want to be Queen as much as Zelda thought she did.

"I think... perhaps. That putting faith in people is essential. You want to know why Kyou respects me and no other woman?"

"Now this is an answer I am curious about," Zelda smiled. "What is it?"

"Because people lack faith in him. They said they had faith, but faith in what? Faith in him sitting there? Faith in him being a figurehead or statue? They have faith in his inaction, in nothing more than his status. They do not have faith he will do anything or want anything of him or hold him accountable for his abilities. I have faith he can do things on his own without a silver spoon in his mouth. I hold him to standards and expectations, and when he fails them I hold him accountable for them. I tell him 'do not sit in your carriage to my home, but walk with your own feet.' or 'do not send out servants to find what you want, but seek it out yourself.' I have even begun to teach him to cook simple things, things no other has expected of him."

Zelda blinked in surprise. "I did not know he had ever stepped foot in a kitchen."

"Hates it, but has come to like me more than he dislikes being there. When no one is around he will allow it."