"I'm a princess..." Asuka murmured to herself. "I'm a princess, oh mein gott, I'm a princess..."
"My lady?" Dina carefully asked. "Are you feeling all right?"
Asuka didn't reply. Spellbound, she looked into the bedroom mirror, where she saw the image of a complete stranger, a beautiful, brunette lady with elongated, almost elfin ears. But when she looked down at herself, she saw her old body dressed in the same clothes as the lady in the mirror. When she took a strand of her hairs, she saw that it still was the same red as always.
But was the maid seeing the princess from the mirror when she looked at her? Obviously, why else would she call her another name?
"Say, Diana..."
"It's Dina, Your Highness!"
"Right, Dina... can you tell me how I went to bed last evening?"
"Why, of course! I prepared your bed like every day, and after you came home, tired from your inspection of the marketplace, you instantly went into your chamber and prepared for bed."
'She really thinks I'm her princess...' Asuka thought. Suddenly a wicked grin appeared on her face. 'Well, as long as I'm here, I don't see why I shouldn't savor it to the fullest...'
"Princess?" Dina asked. "Are you feeling fine? Because I still need to prepare your morning bath..."
Asuka smiled. "That's a good idea! And make sure that the water's warm and foamy. I like bubble baths!"
Dina looked at her in confusion, but she curtsied anyway. "Right away, my lady!" When she left the room, she couldn't help but wonder. 'Since when does Princess Zelda like bubble baths? She always told me those bubbles would make her skin itch...'
When the maid was gone, Asuka let herself drop down on the soft covers of her new bed with a pleasant sigh. For a while, she just lay there and relished the sunrays that shone through her open window.
'I really wonder if I somehow replaced their true princess...' she thought to herself. 'Or maybe all of this is just a dream... Aw, whatever! Dream or not, as long as I'm here, NERV and Commander Ikari can go to hell! I'm gonna stay and enjoy this as long as I can..."
Happily humming to herself, she went over to her new wardrobe to choose something she could wear after the nice, relaxing hot bubble bath.
After Dina helped her getting dressed - the maid insisted on helping her - Asuka was looking forward to a nice breakfast. And she told her maid so.
Dina curtsied. "Of course, princess! Your breakfast is served in the dining-hall, as always!"
"Good, good!" Asuka nodded and already wanted to go. Then she realized that she didn't know where in this huge castle the dining-hall was situated. After all, she only was able to find the bathroom by following Dina.
Asuka turned around to her maid with a smirk on her face. "Well then, won't you accompany me?"
"B-but my lady!" Dina protested, shocked that the princess would suggest something like that. "I couldn't possibly... I still have my chores to do..."
"I insist!" Asuka said. "I don't feel like eating by myself today, some companionship would be just what I need."
Dina looked down at the ground. "Please, my lady, I am just a lowly servant, you can't expect that I should have the honor of having a meal in... in the same room as you."
"In that case, I hereby ORDER you to have breakfast with me!" Asuka said. "Or do you want to disobey your princess' orders?"
Frightened, Dina looked up at her princess and hastily shook her head.
Asuka realized how scared the girl had gotten. She decided to be a bit more friendly. "It's okay," she smiled. "Here, stand up!" She took Dina's hand and the maid stood up, uncertainly.
"And now I want you to lead me to the dining-hall, so we can have breakfast together," she insisted.
"O-of course, Your Highness!" Dina stuttered.
After breakfast, Asuka looked over at Dina, who was sitting close to her. Except for the two girls, all of the many chairs at the table were empty. Asuka started to wonder why this 'Zelda' was living in such a huge castle all by herself, just accompanied by her servants. At least she could try and find a handsome prince... The redhead smiled wickedly when she imagined the things she could do to such a handsome nobleman...
She noticed that Dina had barely touched the food on her plate. It seemed to her as if the maid was still very nervous to have her meal in the same room as her princess. Somehow, the girl reminded her of Hikari...
A tall man with a bushy mustache entered the room. He was wearing a flamboyant livery and a monocle.
"Princess Zelda, to your information, Prince Ralis of the Zora will arrive in two hours."
"Can't he wait?" Asuka whined. "Or come at some other day? I was having such a nice morning..."
The majordomo was shocked. "P-p-princess, that's... that is inconceivable! The meeting with the prince has been arranged weeks ago, we can't simply send him back to Zora's Domain now! It would at least cause an uproar among the Zoras."
"Do I care? I am the princess, aren't I?" Asuka grumbled. She didn't like where this conversation was heading.
"My lady..." Dina whispered. "It's not my place to question you, but... I strongly advise you to consider and at least welcome the young prince. He has come all his way from Zora's Domain to speak with you. And we wouldn't want them to think that you are a bad hostess, would we? If you are not feeling fine, we can still adjourn the meeting to the afternoon, or maybe even tomorrow..."
"All right, all right..." Asuka sighed. "I'll talk to him... what did he want to talk to me about again?" she asked.
The majordomo paled. "Why... about the security of the Lakebed Temple and the Light Spirit's Fountain against the Bulblin Hordes, of course!"
"Right, right, that thing..." Asuka groaned. "Oh well, I guess we can keep the meeting short... I'll welcome them, just let me get ready... Dina, bring me back to my chambers, please!"
"Right away, my lady!" the maid nodded.
Back in Zelda's royal chambers, Asuka sighed to herself. "Please, leave me alone for a while," she asked Dina. "I need to think..."
"Of course, princess!" Dina curtsied again and closed the door behind her. She wondered what might be the problem, as Princess Zelda always had a good relationship to the Zora folk, but as she was just a maid, she couldn't possibly understand the worries of the nobles...
Asuka sat down in a chair that was standing next to her window. "Dang, what shall I do?" she murmured. "I'm starting to believe that this is no dream... and I really can't go back home. I mean, Tokyo-2 wasn't quite a wonderland, but at least in an Eva's cockpit, I know what to do. I know nothing about being a princess... and I always thought it would just entail having fun and letting other people do your work... if there only was someone who could help me..."
Suddenly, a dark shape shot past her window. Surprised, Asuka stood up and looked out of the window. Was it just a bird that flew past the window?
She shook her head. "If that was a bird, the birds in this land are unusually big... and furry."
She was startled when out of nowhere, a huge, black-furred wolf landed in front of her. It was standing on the roof that started below her window and approached her closely.
Asuka was suddenly very frightened. That wolf looked like he was pretty dangerous, and she had no weapon in this room. Slowly, she backed off from the window, while the wolf leapt after her until he was standing in her room. When Asuka's back was pressed against the wall and she had no place to escape to, a shrill scream escaped her throat.
The wolf stopped and blinked at her. Sitting back on his haunches, he seemed almost surprised.
But when Asuka saw what happened next, she started to wonder if all of this wasn't really just a dream... The wolf stood up on its hind legs, it got covered with some sort of black shadow, and when the shadows cleared again, she was standing in front of a handsome, young man in a green tunic, with a likewise green cap and a sword on his back.
"What's wrong, Zelda?" he asked, a surprised expression on his face. "Am I bothering you? I mean, it was you who told me to jump up the castle wall to reach your room." He smiled. "After all, it's how I always have come to visit you."
Asuka didn't hear anything else. She just fainted.
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:46)
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