Part of Your Realm: A Twilight Princess Fanfic

Seek and You Shall Find

*Castle Town*

The sound of the straw broom scraping against the wooden floor made your toes curl. You stopped, displaying a dramatic shiver from the scraping noise. Telma continued to wipe down tabletops. She turned to peak at you once she realized the calming tempo of the sweeping from behind her had stopped.

"Y/N, there's heaps more work to be done. Are you sure you're not hungry?" It was eight a.m. The bar was set to open at eleven. Thank Hylia; Telma had shown up a few minutes past seven. You were grateful that you could resume your role as a counterfeit Hylian without suspicion.

You had paid Telma 20 rupees last night for lodging. You were grateful to have a warm bed to curl up in, but you still couldn't help but fight against the insecurity of what came next. If your pride kept you away from Link, where would you stay? How would you eat? All of these things would add up monetarily. You realized you took Link's hospitality for granted. In the midst of your worries, you took notice of Telma. You watched as she single-handedly managed to tidy up and fulfill patron requests. She does all this alone. What an extraordinary woman!

She skipped around tables, gleefully filling glasses with sweet mead while clearing plates. That was until someone stood abruptly, backing their chair straight into Telma's waist, causing her to release a stack of plates from the tray she held. They slid off the tray one by one. Each crash was louder than the last. Her annoyance was neatly tucked behind a patient gaze at the shattered porcelain circling her feet. You swiftly turned around, observing the bar for something you could aid her with. There, you saw a broom and a dustpan that would clean up the debris.

Without asking permission, you simply grabbed the items from behind the bar. You kept your head to the mess of porcelain on the floor as you began to aid Telma. "Well, you may be bashful, but you're quite considerate. Awfully fast too. Maybe I ought to forgo the 20 rupees and offer you a job." If she was joking, your lack of laughter told her you didn't view it as such. If you worked for her, it would give you an allowance and board. But the ferocious beast known as pride seemed to threaten your lips from opening and inquiring more. Had you always been so proud? Even in the Realm of Twilight? Or was this another unsavory effect of the light? You thought of Link's remark when you helped him work on Fado's ranch. He had called it "hubris."

Now you stood amongst the broken porcelain that somehow looked like it was in better condition than your life. It was when you paid Telma for your room that she took notice of the threadbare satchel you withdrew from your pocket. She held the 20 rupees in her hand, massaging them in thought.

"You know, I could use some help around here. And it seems..." Telma's smile warmed you from within. Almost in the same manner as being in Link's arms did. "It seems you could use some help too."

"What would you have me do?" Your question came out a bit too eagerly.

Telma gave you a reassuring chuckle. "Clean. Fill mugs with mead. Keep your pretty little wits about you and your outside prettier yet. The tips will come flooding in if you work here with that face of yours." Telma interjected, "I mean, I'm not going to have you do anything I wouldn't do. I'm just saying to smile a little more and hand out drinks. You do that for me, and I'll give you a place to rest your head. And then some."

"I can do that."

"You can? Child, I said smile a little more!" Telma teased.

You felt a small curve make its way to your lips. It might not have been genuine, but it was the closest you'd been to smiling since your conversation with Midna.