Once Upon a Songbird
Chapter 8
A new challenger enters the arena!
Yes, over 50K words deep and we're finally meeting all the main cast.
Zelda folded the letter back up along the creases, pressing them tightly shut. A Bombchu of a message, ready to snake forward and blow open a door, if only she aimed it correctly.Â
âThis,â she decided, tucking it into her bodice, ârequires a prompt response.â
She felt Linkâs eyes as she rose from the bed, retrieving her handy-dandy notebook from where sheâd set it near the door. She flipped a good twenty pages past the list sheâd begun, just in case the penâs impressions left indents of her thoughts.Â
Your Majesty,
I regret to inform you that I cannot make our standing appointment this evening. As you are aware, I have obligations predating our agreement made scarcely a week ago, and I cannot set my livelihood on fire for an unpaid assignment of indeterminate length. I have debts to pay, and none of us can be too sure how long our relevance will endure.Â
I look forward to resuming our scheduled meetings tomorrow.Â
Best,
Songbird
âI need you to deliver this,â she told Link when she approached the desk, pressing the generic palace wax seal to the ripped pageâs edges.Â
âCanât wait,â he muttered. âHow do I tell the Chancellor apart from all the other peacocks in the pit?â
âYouâre not delivering it to the Chancellor. This is for the King.â
Link winced through a blink, as if she might actually be a drunken mirage from a night that hadnât ended after all. âIâm sorry. What?âÂ
âBut you canât bring it to him until Friday night,â she warned, scrawling the letters H.R.M. across the front. âNot until Iâve brought the Chancellor back here. Also I hope your new best friend wants to get beers on Friday.â
âYouâre just the messenger,â she insisted. âHe wonât take it out on you.âÂ