***
Everything seemed
to have happened so fast. Princess Seline of Catalia gave a heavy sigh as she considered her present
predicament. She ran a hand through her heavy mane of golden hair and her
bright blue eyes watered as she gazed down at the letter she was writing with
shaking hands. She hadn’t even been given a warning. The young princess was to
be crowned queen in the next few days, following the brutal death of her
brother as he fought off the advances of the Tanolian
raiders who had attempted to cross Catalia’s borders
only a few weeks previously. A tear fell upon the parchment, smudging the ink
and she dropped her quill in despair.
“Oh Arren...” she whispered, thinking of her sibling. Arren had always taken care of everything, including her.
The Catalian king had been almost sixteen years older
than her, and he had been her world for as long as she could remember. Both
their parents had passed away, her father to disease and her mother in
childbirth. Arren had ascended the throne at only
twenty three summers, when their father had succumbed to a terrible fever he
had caught whilst on a diplomatic trip to Benlucca.
Now, without Arren, and without her parents, Seline was left with a weakened kingdom and a heavy heart.
Of course, there was one hope. Tanol stood ready,
threatening to invade again, and Catalia had lost
many men in the recent raids from their wicked, uncivilised neighbours. Seline’s advisors had come up with a solution to their
problems. Hyrule.
Their sister
country was strong, with a huge army and the magical Triforce
at their disposal. The Royal Council had decreed that Seline
send a letter to King Harkinian, pleading for aid. Catalia and Hyrule had a treaty that was centuries old,
binding the two kingdoms. However, what would be better, the council advised,
would be to seek betrothal to the young king. Selina
had stared at the row of men before her in horror. Her face beet red, she could only look down
at the table in embarrassment.
“I cannot ask such
a thing!” she had exclaimed.
“But should you
marry Harkinian, then Catalia
will become part of Hyrule, and Tanol will surely
recede their vicious attacks!” one of the advisors had answered. Seline knew that it made sense. But to
ask Harkinian for marriage? She would never be
able to pluck up the courage for such a proposal. She had known Harkinian for many years and upon sight of him, her heart
would always skip a beat. He was a handsome man. His line was of strong Hylian
blood, his family pedigree spanned many centuries of Hyrulian
royalty. He had long, wavy blonde hair and piercing green eyes, and was a fine
warrior as well as monarch. Both his parents dying had forced him a fairly
early ascension to the throne only a few years previously. He had been dear
friends with her brother and she knew that it would pain him once she had
finished the letter informing the Hyrulian King of
her brother’s untimely death. Her head
bowed, she managed to sign the missive. Finally, she sealed it with Catalian wax, dripped from her candle then stamped with her
family crest. Catalia’s fate now rested upon Hyrule.
She could only hope that they would respond to their plea for help.
Several months
later became a different story. That evening Seline
walked through Catalia Castle’s
grounds with the handsome Harkinian at her side. The
moon was out and the stars were in full force, and
despite her heartache over her brother, she had never felt happier than she did
that current moment. Her sapphire eyes shining, the young Catalian
Queen gazed at her beau in admiration.
“Isn’t it so
beautiful tonight?” she asked.
“Not as beautiful
as you, my dear. Indeed, what a lovely girl you have grown up to be!” Harkinian replied gallantly. He took her hand and kissed it
gently and it was all she could do not to throw her arms around him at that
precise moment.
“Oh I...” she
trailed off, her pale cheeks tinged with pink at his words.
“I can remember
when you were just a young girl when we first met. You have truly blossomed,”
he said smiling. Seline lowered her eyes, still
feeling faintly nervous. Ever since she had been a teenager, she had always held a
torch for the man beside her. Back then, he had been out of reach, dallying
with many a maiden much older than her. But now she had her chance, her dream
was within reach. Her heart fluttered as he clasped her hand to his chest and
she suddenly found herself leaning much closer to him. The moon shone brightly
upon them, illuminating their star-crossed features as they leaned in to share
their first kiss together.
***
Zelda put the
faded letter down, her heart suddenly feeling heavy. What exactly had happened
between her father and Seline? Of course if they’d
stayed together, she wouldn’t be sat here now. Seline
really loved my father, she thought to herself sadly. She’d probably never
know the true story behind their affair because her father was unwilling to
discuss it, and Seline was gone forever. I
couldn’t bear to spend all my life alone because I let the person I truly loved
go… The princess
couldn’t even begin to imagine what her life would be without Link at her
side. Both of us have been so stupid…
Her head hanging,
she folded up the old love letter, slipping it back into the poetry book,
hidden away again forever. Perhaps some things were best laid to rest and
forgotten about. Seline and Harkinian
had certainly thought so. She and Link had both done wrong, but if they spent
their lives apart, they’d surely never be happy again. They belonged together,
for better, for worse.
***
The night air was
crisp and cool as Link wandered outside into the castle courtyard. The moon was
out in full force and the stars twinkled merrily; gazing up at them gave him a
sense of peace as he tried to forget Fayette’s cruel words. Mercifully, she did
not follow him and he wandered across the fountain, sitting down on the stone
rim. Leaning down, he ran his hand through the rippling water in the bowl,
catching the glint of the odd rupee within its depths. The stars were reflected
in the water too; in fact, they appeared to shine even more brightly. One in particular. He turned his gaze back to the sky and
realised that it wasn’t a star that he had seen, the light was moving closer
and within a few moments, his faerie companion Sprite had alighted on his
shoulder.
“Hey Sprite,” he
said, a tad morosely.
“Oh
Link, why the long face? You don’t suit it you know, this brooding,
tortured hero look!” the little faerie scolded, waving her finger at him. “I
like it much more when you smile!” she added. “I mean, then
you just look so adorable!”
“Maybe I like it.
The tortured look, I mean,” Link cracked weakly. Sprite shook her head.
“Come on Link,
what’s the matter? You aren’t yourself... in fact, you haven’t been for weeks!”
“So everyone keeps
telling me,” the hero sighed. “To be honest Sprite, I don’t even know who I am
anymore. I think I do and then...”
“This certainly
doesn’t sound like the Link I know and love! Gosh, what is with everyone at the
moment? First Flis and now you... I’ll have to send
you off to Navi’s commune too!” the faerie announced
dramatically. Link stared at her in surprise.
“Navi’s what?”
“Oh she just has
this place you know... deep in the forest. Relaxation and all
that. I don’t know! Although, I couldn’t really send you there as then
she might think I’m not doing my job as faerie guardian properly!” Sprite said.
“Which, I am. Or will be,” she added, smiling prettily.
“You do a great
job Sprite,” Link said, giving out a small sigh.
“But I could do
better! Now come on, let’s cheer you up!” she exclaimed, flying up and placing
a tiny kiss on his cheek.
“I really messed
up Sprite. With Fayzie and Zel
and all that,” he sighed.
“We all make
mistakes,” Sprite pointed out. “Besides...” she paused for a moment, and seemed
to decide better about speaking. Shaking her head she added, “Anyway it’s all
in the past now.”
“Zel doesn’t think so,” the hero replied, turning his gaze
back to the rippling fountain again.
“Oh, she really is
impossible! You should have married me you know!” Sprite exclaimed, pointing to
herself.
“I would have...
if you weren’t so small,” Link said, giving her a small smile.
“We could have
worked around it... we could have made it work,” the faerie smirked. “Although
there would have been some slight disadvantages...” Link looked over at his
friend again, unable to resist cracking a grin at her words.
“So even though
I’m nothing but a low-born, uneducated peasant...”
“Who said that?!”
Sprite demanded, looking angry.
“It’s true,” he sighed.
“Peasant
schmeasant! Does it really matter at all?
Besides, you’ll always be noble to me... and to Zelda too. Peasants can marry
royalty you know. It’s not some big disgrace, no matter what some people think!
Zelda loves you for who you are, for everything about you! She doesn’t care
what your lineage is. And if she did, I’d have to kill her!” the faerie
proclaimed shrilly.
“Sometimes I just
think... you know... she would have been better marrying some prince after
all...” he said, running a hand through his hair in agitation.
“Well, I always
did think she was...” Sprite began, then she giggled.
“Come on Link, why in Hyrule wouldn’t she want to marry the most heroic,
handsome and courageous guy in the Demiari? She’s not
stupid!”
“I’m not that
special,” Link answered, sighing again.
“Yeah,
right! You’re not special just like Navi doesn’t have freaky hair!” the
faerie cried. “Why can’t you see? You’re everything Link! You’re the perfect
man! Any woman would die to be with you!”
“If I was so
perfect why did I have to hurt Zel
so badly?” he questioned.
“You made a
mistake! We all mistakes! Even someone like me... who is of
course, also perfect!” Link gave
his companion a small smile at her words.
“I know but...
it’s just, things seem to be okay, we keep promising each other we aren’t going
to argue, and then we do and... I’m just so sick of it all, I don’t want it to
be this way, I just want to be happy again... but I know things will never be
the same,” he sighed.
Sprite alighted on
his shoulder again and ran her tiny hand across his neck gently.
“You know Link...
I made a mistake when I got married. I didn’t really want to get married but it
was what my parents expected. I was so unhappy... and I’ve brought disgrace on
my family for annulling the whole thing. But you know, I
don’t care. I want to be happy. And I am happy now,” she said softly. “I
want to dedicate my time to you, and your children. I promised I’d be your
guardian after all.”
“I appreciate it
you know,” Link replied, glancing up at the starry night sky once more.
“I know you do.
But what I’m trying to say is, you didn’t make a
mistake in who you married. You and Zelda belong together. You’ll always be
part of each others lives, I just know it,” the faerie continued.
“It doesn’t feel
like it right now,” Link answered morosely. “I really don’t blame her if she
doesn’t want to be with me anymore.”
“I bet she’s
feeling as miserable as you are!” Sprite retorted. Link shrugged.
“She told me to
leave,” he replied.
“She’s always
saying things that she doesn’t mean! If I know Zelda like I think I do, she’s
probably crying and wishing you were there with her
right now!” Sprite cried.
“I don’t know...
she was pretty angry before... It might be best if I keep out of her way for a
while,” the hero replied, casting a wistful gaze up to the north-east tower. A
light burned from the windows , meaning his wife was
obviously still up. “You know Sprite, I wish I could do something. Something to prove to
her that I still love her,” he murmured. “If only I knew what...” Sprite looked
at him thoughtfully for a moment. Seconds later she snapped her fingers.
“I know!”
“What?” Link
asked, curious.
“Why don’t you
reaffirm your vows?” she suggested.
“What do you
mean?” he questioned, looking confused.
“You know, go
somewhere romantic and repeat your wedding vows to each other again!”
“Like... the
forest or somewhere?”
“Precisely!!
The forest!! In the moonlight or something!!! Or sunrise! Just tell her that
you love her and you want to be with her forever,” Sprite exclaimed excitedly.
“It is our wedding
anniversary soon,” Link mused.
“Even better, why
don’t you buy her a beautiful new dress and ask her to wear it and lead her to
the forest... us faeries will sort out the rest... then she’ll know you really
mean it!” Sprite added. “All you have to do is try not to argue until your
anniversary.”
“Easier said than
done,” the hero said with a sigh.
“Just say you’re
sorry and don’t mention it again. Go on, go up and try and speak to her,” the
faerie pushed. Link stood up from the fountain and glanced up at the tower
again.
“I guess it’s now
or never,” he said softly.
“Come on, let’s
go!” Sprite said.
***
Warily Link pushed
open the door to his room, wondering how Zelda might react to his presence. As
he entered he saw her sitting on the bed and she glanced up in surprise at him.
“Link... I didn’t
think...” she started hurriedly, her face flushing as spoke.
“Look if you don’t
want me here I’ll completely understand. I’ll go straight away,” the hero
interrupted, backing away slowly.
“No!! I mean...
I...” She jumped up from the bed and ran across to where he was standing
dejectedly. “Link, will you ever forgive
me for earlier?” she begged, looking clearly aggrieved. He stared at her in
confusion.
“Um... look, I deserved it. I shouldn’t have gone
anywhere near Fayzie. I can understand why you’re
angry. I’m a total jerk and I completely disrespected your feelings,” he
stated, sticking his hands in his pockets.
“Link... we knew
from the minute we met that we loved each other. I don’t want to give that
feeling up... ever... I couldn’t live without you,” she exclaimed, her words
all rushing out in a torrent. Link looked down, unable to meet her gaze. He
felt so ashamed, but at the same time, he also felt angry. It, after all,
wasn’t just him who’d been unfaithful. He would never forget the guilt for his
wrongdoings, at least not anytime soon. Yet Zelda seemed to shake hers off so
easily.
“You wanted to
give it up once...” he said slowly, finally raising his eyes to hers.
“It was always
you, it was only ever you Link!” the princess exclaimed. Her green eyes had
started to brim with tears, whether of hurt, anger of
frustration he wasn’t entirely sure. Maybe it was a little of all of them. “Must we keep arguing?” she finally added,
putting a dainty hand to her forehead as she spoke. He shook his head.
“I certainly don’t
want to,” he affirmed. She stepped a little closer and laid a hand on his
shoulder.
“Look Link. For
what it’s worth, I love you. We wronged each other and things haven’t been the
same since, I know. But I really do. Doesn’t that count for something? For
anything?” she murmured.
“It counts for
everything. And damn it, I love you too. More than you could ever imagine. I
just wish... I just wish I was good enough for you,” the hero sighed. “No prince would ever have treated you so
carelessly I’m sure,” he added. Zelda raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Huh? What’s that
got to do with anything?”
“It has everything
to do with this. Perhaps Fayette’s right, perhaps I’m not good enough, perhaps
it’s because I’m a peasant and....”
“Stop right
there,” Zelda ordered. “I love you. I love you so much,” she continued,
lowering her voice as she did, and running her hand lightly across his chest.
“But can we ever
really get past this? Really?” he questioned, his voice starting to feel choked
up.
“We have to,”
Zelda replied, drawing up closer to wrap her arms around him. He responded,
pressing close to her, one hand ruffling her silky golden hair, the other upon
the small of her back.
“We keep trying
but I can’t seem to ever truly forgive myself,” he sighed.
“I forgive you.
I’ve done some thinking tonight and something made me realise it’s not worth
simply giving up on
the thing that you treasure the most. It’d only make us both miserable for the
rest of our lives and I couldn’t bear to live that way,” Zelda murmured.
“I couldn’t bear
it either Zel,” the hero agreed, tilting her face
slightly towards his own. “You’re all I ever need and want, so long as I’ve got
you, I’m happy. I won’t ever let you forget that,” he continued, running his
hand tenderly across her cheek. “I love you.”
“And I love you,”
Zelda replied softly, before meeting him a tender embrace.
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