#zelda references are getting out of hand i blame the horses

[lucky-clover-gazette]

prince's gambit highlights & annotations

chapter 8

indented text is from the book. some quotes have commentary, some do not. some comments are serious, and some are definitely not. most of them will only make sense to people who have read the series. and, like, there are spoilers. so please read the books first if you're interested!

also: part of the reason i'm doing such a close reading is to study cs pacat's style, especially in terms of how she does romance and erotica. there are "craft notes" that might seem weird, like i'm being redundant or restating something rather than analyzing, but those are more things that i want to remember/take away from the writing!

i'm going to tag these longer posts with "sam reads capri" in case anyone wants to read them all at once.

this is a google doc i wrote with overall content warnings for the captive prince series. it's not perfect, but i do think it's important to include.

It had not been easy to prise out all the information, but Damen had provided the mercenary with a sustained, methodical and unrelenting incentive to talk.

this is a fun line. also, another little hint that kinda offsets the flogging in book 1. like yeah it was bad, without or without the Brother Killer Context, but it’s not like damen is above similar methods of torture towards his enemies. and that’s what damen had been to laurent, at the time—literally his worst enemy in the entire world, except for maybe the regent.

Damen would need to take his horse off the road, and ride straight, as the crow flies, cross country. He didn’t hesitate, spurring his horse up the first slope.

and now i’m hearing the twilight princess hyrule field music. i am not complaining

It was a tactic that reeked of the Regent. All of this was: this convoluted trap reaching across the landscape to splinter the Prince from his troop and his messenger, so that to save one meant to sacrifice the other. As Laurent had proven. Laurent, to save his messenger, had surrendered his own safety, sending away his only protector.

context: yeah i think this is actually an accurate assessment of the situation

Damen tried, for a moment, to think his way into Laurent’s situation, to guess how Laurent would evade his pursuers, what he would do. And realised he didn’t know. He couldn’t even make a first guess. Laurent was impossible to predict.

damen: imagines laurent pulling off some kind of insane rube goldberg machine of tactical evasion, or taking out several armed men while cornered in an alleyway

laurent:

Laurent, the infuriating, obstinate man that he was, was impossible, wholly and completely.

His arrogance was unbearable. If he had deliberately left himself open to attack, if he was caught by one of his own games . . . Damen swore, and focused his attention on the ride to the camp.

oh i go CRAZY for the “i’m upset with you because you endangered yourself and i want/need you to be okay” trope

Laurent was alive. Laurent sidestepped everything he deserved. He was slippery and sly and he had escaped the attack in the town with chicanery and arrogance, as usual. Curse Laurent for this.

okay i’m lost, why is damen mad at laurent? to my understanding, it went like this:

people came to attack laurent and the messenger, splitting up between the two tasks

which then forced damen and laurent to split up. damen did not want to leave laurent unprotected, but knew that somebody had to make sure the messenger was okay. he told laurent to trust that he would succeed and return to camp, agreeing to make it back in a certain timeframe.

damen learned that the people pursuing the messenger were on horses, which meant that the timeframe was miscalculated. but still he went and stopped them, interrogated one, learned about planned attacks on laurent and the camp, and hustled to get there.

in the uber there, damen alternates between fretting about laurent’s safety and imagining all of the harmful ways laurent could have somehow manipulated him or the situation.

it’s unclear to me here if, at this point, damen has actually arrived and found laurent alive (and is pissed about it?), or if he’s just entertaining a hypothetical scenario in which laurent has manipulated him into… what? protecting the messenger and interrogating the pursuers? damen was going to do that anyway. it was in both of their best interests that it got done. and laurent hadn’t known about the horses, so the timeframe had seemed reasonable.

i thiiiiiink this is a hypothetical imagining, and an aftershock from the past 20 chapters, rather than an accurate assessment of the present situation. damen still expects laurent to screw him over, despite the night they shared, because he’s experienced the entirety of the captive prince and 7 chapters of the prince’s gambit. in terms of pattern recognition, it’s not an unreasonable thing to expect. still, it does frustrate me, which might be the entire point. a first-time reader might be thinking more along the lines of damen, which bodes well for that assumption being proven wrong shortly.

also - i could just be totally missing something, or underestimating laurent’s overall situational awareness. that’s what happened the first time i read the series—i felt so awful for laurent towards the end of book 2, and was frustrated with damen for keeping up the lie! although in this case i suppose i’m thinking less about laurent's awareness and more about his intentions? i don’t know. i’ve scrutinized this passage enough. i’m just going to keep reading.

The Laurent who had sprawled out by the fire seemed so far away, limbs unwound, relaxed, talking . . . Damen found that memory was inextricably tangled with the glint of Nicaise’s sapphire earring, the murmur of Laurent’s voice in his ear, the breathless brilliance of the chase, rooftop to rooftop, all of it woven into one long, mad, endless night.

laurent’s conscious delusion about damen not being the same person as damianos, vs. damen’s subconscious delusion about bitchy laurent not being the same person as charming laurent. everyone loses

None of the men he saw was a yellow-haired prince in a woollen cap. And just as he feared the worst, just as all that he had not let himself believe for the long ride began to push itself to the front of his mind, Damen saw him, drawn out of one of the mostly intact tents not six steps away, and gone still at the sight of Damen.

haha you didn’t want him to be deadddddd

it might be scarier to damen that laurent is not trying to screw him over and has survived, than if he had done something hurtful and/or died. given the way laurent freezes at the sight of damen, he’s probably thinking something similar about his voluntary return. like “shit—the worst hasn’t happened. what now? and how do i deal with the fact that laurent dying/damen leaving was, in fact, the worst-case scenario?”

His newly minted hair was uncovered, and he looked as fresh as he had emerging from the baths the night before, as he had waking beneath Damen’s hands.

context: laurent disguised himself as a prostitute in a brothel. the yassification was a convenient side effect of the overall scheme

‘You’re alive,’ Damen said, and the words came out on a rush of relief that made him feel weak. ‘I’m alive,’ said Laurent. They were gazing at one another. ‘I wasn’t sure you’d come back.’ ‘I came back,’ said Damen.

“i wasn’t sure” there’s no way in hell you thought he would come back, laurent. maybe logically you weren’t sure, but in your heart you accepted the abandonment the second he left your sight. just like nicaise did, when you left arles :’(

also they do a lot of gazing. i should have started a count earlier but i’m too lazy to go back now. for the record: they do a lot of gazing.

Damen tried to stop looking at Laurent. He had a hundred questions. How had he escaped his pursuers? Had it been easy? Difficult? Had he suffered any injury? Was he all right?

“was he all right” SHUT THE FUCK UP 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 <3<3<3

With the damage of the insurgency still awaiting his attention outside...

wait, so if the insurgency was a part of the overall plan, that tells us conclusively that there are like. inside men working for regent within the camp. which yeah, we already knew, but they’re actively getting intel somehow. or maybe this was planned from the start? this couldn't have been all aimeric, right??

To Damen, it seemed obvious that the uprising was planned, that the instigators were paid, and that their plan had relied on the fact that the rest of the Regent’s men, rabble-rousers, thugs and mercenaries looking for an outlet, would take the first excuse to lash out at the Prince’s men, and join in.

okay cool i was right about that

Two weeks ago, the troop had been a rabble split into two factions. They had not developed the fledgling camaraderie that now held them together; they hadn’t been sent to their sleeping rolls night after night exhausted from trying to outdo one another at some mad, impossible exercise; finding to their surprise after they had stopped cursing their Prince’s name, how much they had enjoyed themselves.

two weeks ago, they had not participated in the “i’ll make a man out of you” montage/musical number from the animated film mulan

It could have been far, far worse. Damen thought of all the ways that this might have played out: Laurent dead, or returned to find his troop in tatters, his messenger cut down on the road. Laurent was alive. The troop was intact. The messenger had survived.

an interesting counterpoint to damen’s catastrophizing en route to the camp.

i think between damen and laurent, we’re seeing the way trauma affects people at different distances from the traumatic events:

damen has very recently been traumatized by his father’s death, his brother’s betrayal, and the events of book 1. he is hypervigilant, almost perpetually disoriented, and prone to spiraling and expecting the worst. because everything is so fresh, he is unable to separate logical expectations from fear-based pattern recognition. he is feeling this hurt, whether he wants to or not, and cannot prevent it from affecting his perception and judgment.

laurent, meanwhile, endured similar trauma—loss, betrayal, sexual abuse—seven years ago, and then for a few years after that. it isn’t raw anymore, but that doesn’t mean that it’s gone. laurent’s trauma absolutely impairs his judgment, both strategically and emotionally. his wounds have not closed properly, his bones have set out of place (i don’t know enough about injuries to make good metaphors here). but he has no intention to fix that, because it would mean exposing the wounds or breaking the bones again, and enduring more hurt.

This day was a victory, except that the men didn’t feel it. They needed to feel it. They needed to fight something, and to win.

i see you’ve taken laurent’s philosophy of taking great pleasure in small victories to heart, damen

‘I prefer to think my way out of traps,’ said Laurent, ‘rather than use brute force to simply smash through.’ The words had the air of finality to them. Damen nodded and began to rise when Laurent’s cool voice stopped him. ‘That’s why I think we should fight,’ said Laurent. ‘It’s the last thing I would ever do, and the last thing that anyone, knowing me, would expect.’ ‘Your Highness—’ began Jord. ‘No,’ said Laurent. ‘I have made my decision. Call in Lazar. And Huet, he knows the hills. We plan the fight.’ Jord obeyed, and for a brief moment Damen and Laurent were left alone together. ‘I didn’t think you’d say yes,’ said Damen. Laurent said, ‘I have recently learned that sometimes it is better to simply smash a hole in the wall.’

and laurent has taken damen’s philosophy of Rip The Thing Out of The Wall to heart, too!!!

It was a succinct speech that was equal parts rallying and infuriating,

i would love to actually read a laurent speech on the page. i’m imagining something between a regina george/heather chandler backhanded bitchy monologue, a dungeons and dragons player explaining their convoluted plan to the dm, and a musical theater director addressing the cast on opening night after a week of grueling dress rehearsals

‘Orlant’s dead.’ ‘Dead?’ said Damen. ‘He was killed by one of the insurgents?’ ‘He was one of the insurgents,’ he was told, shortly. ‘He attacked the Prince as he was returning to camp. Aimeric was there. He was the one who took Orlant down. Got cut up doing it.’

context: pretty sure orlant was trying to warn the prince about aimeric being a traitor…

He remembered Aimeric’s tense, white face, and thought it best, before riding out into a fight, to check on the boy.

damen gets a pass for this misjudgment of character because everyone else fell for it too (i think laurent fell for it? at least at this point?)

‘A traitor,’ Aimeric echoed hollowly. ‘Would you have killed him for that? He was your friend.’ And then he said it again in a different voice, ‘He was your friend.’

context: aimeric is a traitor. he asks jord, his “friend,” if he would kill a traitor (like him). and then he repeats the sentiment in a different voice, because aimeric cares about jord, and he knows that he killed jord’s friend and feels guilty about that.

Damen and the group of fifty men he led were the bait. With them were the wagons that mimicked the appearance of a full troop making an attempt at tiptoeing their way stealthily south, under cover of night. When the enemy attacked, they would appear to fall back, and instead lead the way to the remainder of the troop led by Laurent. The two groups would trap the attackers between them, cutting off any escape. Simple.

foreshadowing of them both being kings—competently in charge of their own forces—but proving more effective as a unified team

He saw the flash of confusion in Lazar’s eyes and thought for a single heart-pounding second that his order might not be followed—despite the authority that Laurent had lent him for this mission—because he was a slave.

okay but like i think the second you came back instead of attempting escape, you made it pretty clear to laurent and everyone else that you’re not

Their attackers fell back, or simply fell. Pulling his sword from the man who had tried to knife him, Damen saw the mercenary at his right fall victim to a precise killing. ‘I thought you were supposed to be the bait,’ said Laurent. ‘There was a change of plan,’ said Damen.

stop flirting, you’re in battle (just kidding, i love battle couples)

‘I’m not used to my uncle miscalculating,’ said Laurent, after a pause. ‘It’s because he’s working at a distance,’ said Damen. ‘It’s because of you,’ said Laurent. ‘What?’ ‘He doesn’t know how to predict you,’ said Laurent. ‘After what I did to you in Arles, he thought you’d be—another Govart. Another one of his men. Another one of those men today. Ready to mutiny at a moment’s notice. That was what was supposed to have happened tonight.’

context: i think this is true! which is funny that i have to specify, but since like 70% of what laurent says is in some way untrue for the first two books of this series, it does help

‘Instead, you have saved my life, more than once. You have made fighters of these men, trained them, honed them. Tonight you handed me my first victory. My uncle never dreamed you’d be this kind of asset to me. If he had, he would never have allowed you to ride out of the palace.’ He could see in Laurent’s eyes, hear in his words, a question that he did not want to answer.

“why are you helping me?”

there are other ways damen could be helping akielos, without helping laurent. they both know it. but he’s choosing to do this instead, and they both know that too.

He pushed away from the tree. He felt an odd dizziness, a sense of displacement, and to his surprise he was prevented from moving off by Laurent’s hand clasping his arm. He looked down at it. He thought for a strange moment that it was the first time Laurent had ever touched him, though of course it wasn’t; the grip was more intimate than the flutter of Laurent’s lips against his fingertips, the sting of Laurent striking his face, or the press of Laurent’s body in a confined space. ‘Leave the repairs,’ said Laurent. His voice was soft. ‘Get some sleep.’ ‘I’m fine,’ said Damen. ‘It’s an order,’ said Laurent. He was fine, but he had no choice but to do as he was told; and when he tumbled onto his slave pallet and closed his eyes for the first time in two long days and nights, sleep was there, heavy and immediate, drawing him down past the strange new feeling in his chest into oblivion.

head in my hands, i love them so much. so many of these little details remind me of the way it feels to develop feelings for someone—little signs that you could potentially fall all the way in love. the sensation of innately understanding that you could give this person your heart, mind, and body, and they would understand what to do with them. that you could want them to have those things, and you could want theirs too. not right now, perhaps never at all—but the potential is there. it’s a strange feeling because it’s a million feelings at once: excitement, enchantment, fear, confusion, and so on…

also, i think i made a note previously on the nature of tenderness through damen’s perspective. inflicting pain vs. caring touch. if i do any kind of overview at the end of this re-read, i’ll want to take a quote from this passage for that specific theme.

[raviotherabbit]

royal pain in the ass - chapter 1

Chapter 1: Era of the Wilds Queen Zelda rebuilds her palace.

[first] - [next] read it on ao3!

  △ ▲△

Three months ago, Link started this time travelling journey. Before he left through that portal, with eight heroes waiting behind him expectantly, he held onto Zelda’s hand and promised he’d tell her everything.

They were a good bunch, by Zelda’s judgement. She was relieved knowing that the Hero of Twilight was looking out for her former knight. And the Hero of Time and Hero of Warriors seemed to have good heads on their shoulders, so she certainly shouldn’t be worried there. And Link was even friendly with the others, like the Hero of Hyrule and the Hero of Winds! She was glad there were at least some people there to indulge him, once in a while.

One of their visits landed on a beautiful day, right on the edge of summer. As a bit of a treat, Zelda let the Hero of the Four Sword and Hero of Legend loose on what remains of her library. She idly watched as her Link—Wild, the others called him—disappeared into Castle Town with Wind in tow, both of them giggling.

“We should probably follow them,” Twilight grimaced.

Zelda startled, caught off guard by Twilight’s suggestion. They were sitting against the wall below the castle’s observation room, comparing and contrasting their respective monarchies when he’d abruptly changed the topic.

“What for?” she questioned. “There’s not much trouble for them to get into. Let them have their fun.”

He sighed. “Wild’s idea of fun usually involves explosives.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re exaggerating. He can be very responsible.”

“You were there when he launched himself halfway across Hyrule, right?”

Zelda paused for a moment, glancing back to the palace gates Wild had disappeared past. Their last visit, he had wanted to show off to Hyrule just how far he could launch himself with his bombs, and, somehow, he’d made it all the way to Hateno.

“Perhaps I’m a bit lenient with him,” she relented. “I suppose I just like seeing him happy.”

Twilight said nothing, but he arched an eyebrow at her. Something about his scrutiny made her heart drop, and for a split second, she wondered how much he knew about her and Wild’s shared past. What happened to him, how she couldn't save him before-

“I mean, he deserves as much, doesn’t he?” she hastily explained. “He’s got a second chance, now.”

  △ ▲△

Queen Zelda Sarya Hyrule awakens for the day, leaning her hands on the balcony as she looks over her kingdom’s sunrise. It’s a bright, fresh morning, the smell of last night’s rain still in the air. This morning marks three months, officially, since Link's last visit.

Zelda sighs. She supposes she ought to be used to this. She’s got a hundred years’ worth of experience waiting for Link, she can survive however long it takes him to finish this mission. She could spend her time worrying over her friend’s safety, but really, eight other heroes from eras past? He couldn’t be in safer hands.

It’s only a shame they had to halt their weapons training, for the time being. Zelda’s getting tired of sparring with dummies.

She steps away from the balcony, stretching her arms out. She’s been using the observation room as her temporary quarters. And it’s not that she wouldn’t rather stay in her old room, if it weren’t for the broken bridge and collapsed roof, it’s just…

Well, Link always referred to his life as a new beginning. Maybe this can be one for her, too.

First thing to do, get dressed. Yesterday was laundry day, so her clothes are nice and clean.

Second, get some breakfast. What she wouldn’t do for some coffee-

Splash!!

“Oh shit!”

“No! The pallets!”

Upon further analysis, it appears Zelda won’t have any time to get dressed before her day begins.

She shows up to the moat wearing an old, plain shirt and shorts, her pajamas since she’s woken up. Her hair is messy and tangled, and she’s still having trouble keeping her eyes open. But when Bolson and Karson notice Zelda, the latter bows to her as though she were the picture of beauty.

She has to resist rolling her eyes. What would her father think of this?

“What’s the issue?” she asks them as Karson rises. “I heard something about palettes?”

“Ah, well-” Karson stammers. “You see, your majesty-”

“Our horses,” Bolson explains, mercifully cutting Karson off. “They were carting pallets of material for our work today, when something spooked ‘em. Knocked the pallets into the water, ‘n Karson and me were trying to figure out how to fish ‘em up.”

Zelda raises an eyebrow, glancing at each side of the bridge. Aside from the rushing water and the slight breeze, all is still.

“What could have possibly scared your horses? There’s nothing up here, and-” She peeks down at the river. “The Zora aren’t supposed to arrive for a few more hours.”

Karson speaks. “I’m sorry, your majesty, I don’t know-”

She holds up a hand. “I’m not blaming you, Karson. I’m simply confused.” She sighs. “Don’t worry about your supplies. Do whatever else you can for now. When Prince Sidon and his guard report to the palace, I’m sure I can convince some of them to scavenge your belongings.”

“Thank you, Queen Zelda,” Bolson responds before Karson can make a fool of himself again. “Hudson went after the horses. Karson, we should see if he needs any help.”

Zelda watches as the two of them leave. Link had personally attested to the quality of work Bolson Construction could do, and truth be told, she’d hired them on his recommendation alone —though the fact that one of their members had built an entire town by hand had been particularly alluring. Her father would have thrown a fit at Bolson’s “manners”, or lack thereof, but that very trait was the reason she enjoyed working with him so much. He understood that she was in the same boat as the rest of them.

But that story about the horses had her worried. On such a calm morning, when most of the kingdom had yet to stir, she couldn’t help but fear that whatever had spooked them so bad had been malicious.

She looks back over the bridge, trying to peer down into the dark water. It wasn’t so long ago that the castle had been teeming with monsters, after all. Sure, they aren’t quiet, but is it possible some of them were missed?

Well, whatever it is, it could at least wait until she’s dressed.

  △ ▲△

“I’m worried about excavating the Great Hall.”

Zelda is enjoying her breakfast (buttered bread, Hylia, how she misses Link’s cooking), when Yunobo approaches her. He, along with several other young Gorons, volunteered to help clear the debris from Hyrule Castle and its adjoining town.

At first, Zelda had been a bit concerned about having not only Vah Rudania’s new pilot, but Daruk’s direct descendant working so closely with her. Daruk had been a dear friend of hers, after all, and she wasn’t sure she could bear having a reminder of him walking around her home.

But right away it had become apparent that Yunobo is nothing like his grandfather. He’s innocent where Daruk had been optimistic, hesitant where Daruk had been a leader. It was easy enough for Zelda to pretend that there was no relation at all.

Wordlessly, she motions for Yunobo to sit beside her, which he does.

“Link got your slate to you, correct?” she asks, pulling out her own.

Zelda had been quite shocked when Purah had presented her with a brand new slate, a replacement for the one she’d given to Link. Apparently one hundred years of research and a now-peaceful world meant technological advancements could happen fast. And with the correct payment, she was willing to make a few more for the rest of the new Champions.

Yunobo nods, shyly taking his slate out. His is much larger than the ones provided to the rest of the Champions, on account of his larger hands.

“Perfect.” Zelda pulls up a file, a diagram of the castle’s interior, and taps their slates together. “Did that transfer work? You should have a copy of the castle’s blueprints now.”

“Oh wow!” Yunobo holds his slate to his face, marvelling at his screen. “This is amazing, your majesty!”

Zelda can’t help but smile along with him. “I thought the same thing when I first started playing with the first one,” she admits. “You can use this to show me what’s troubling you.”

“Right.” He points to the main entryway to the Great Hall. “See, we’re focusing on this part here, because it’s easier for us Gorons to move around. But I’ve been noticing a lot of rocks in the rubble from further up the castle.” He sighs. “It’s unstable. If we keep going as we are now there’s going to be a hole in the rock right up to the Sanctum.”

Zelda frowns, eyes fixed on the blueprints. So far, they haven’t had any issues like this. Most of the ruins have been from the stone lining the hallways, not the mountain itself. And, despite being a researcher, she’s not exactly an engineer. Can something like this even be fixed?

“Well, first of all, we’re stopping construction on that area immediately,” she instructs. “Make sure the rest of the Gorons know that. Then, go to Bolson with your concerns. His work has been temporarily delayed, so I’m sure he’ll be happy to help you figure out this problem.” She tucks her slate at her side. “Does that work for you?”

“Thank you!” Yunobo beams, and isn’t that a sight? Link told her he used to be very anxious a while ago. “I’ll get on that right away, your majesty.”

What she wants to say is ‘No need for that. Call me Zelda.’ But something about it gets caught in her throat.

“If there are any other issues, let me know,” Queen Zelda says.

  △ ▲△

There have been talks, lately, of turning Castle Town into a trading hub for the rest of Hyrule, and Zelda thought it was a wonderful idea. It was, after all, how the capital had been established many years ago, and returning to its roots would be a good way to build it back up again. She’s already gotten the word from several villages that they’d be willing to send merchants. The only thing left to do is to strike up a deal with the Gerudo.

Lady Riju is wise beyond her years, and Zelda can’t help but see herself in the girl. Forced into a role of importance at such a young age, carrying the burdens of loss and leadership on her shoulders…

“Using Castle Town as an in-between for your trades with the Gorons would make for shorter journeys in the long run.” Zelda and Riju are seated at a table in the dining hall, which the Queen has converted into an office of sorts. Both are flanked by several guards, yet their attention is focused on the slates in their hands, displaying a map of the kingdom.

“We would get our gemstones faster,” Riju reasons.

“Exactly,” Zelda says. “Not to mention, this would also open up opportunities for you with Zora’s Domain. I’m not sure whether you would appreciate their fish, but one of their other major exports is Luminous Stones.”

Hearing this, Riju raises her eyebrows. “Now that is interesting.”

The Gerudo are lucky to have Riju, Zelda decides. She knows there’s only one jeweler in Gerudo Town—aside from a few hobbyists—and yet, the chieftain was clearly interested on her behalf. Now that the Calamity is gone, the Gerudo may as well expand their horizons a bit.

Urbosa would be proud.

Zelda immediately shakes that thought off like a dog out of the water. “Of course, you’ll have to work the details out with the Zora themselves, I’m just offering the venue. But Prince Sidon is supposed to come by later today.”

Riju hums to herself. “Buliara,” she says, turning to the guard by her side. “Make sure we get a meeting with him before either of us leave.”

“Yes, Lady Riju.”

With that assurance, Riju faces Zelda once again, standing. “Well, Queen Zelda, it looks like we have a deal, then.” She offers Zelda a hand.

“Thank you, Lady Riju.” Zelda takes her hand, and the two shake. And that’s where Zelda assumed it would end.

“Actually,” Riju clears her throat, and suddenly it isn’t Riju, Chieftain of the Gerudo standing in front of her. It’s Riju, the thirteen year-old child, eyes wide and pleading, awkwardly holding onto one of her arms. “I was wondering, if you’re not doing anything for a while…”

Zelda winces, and in that instant she sees Riju avert her gaze. “Oh, Riju,” she says. “I’d love to, but…”

Riju holds up her hand. “It’s no matter, your highness,” she claims, displaying strength as if Zelda didn’t just see her put a wall up. “I should discuss the changes to our trade routes with the Gorons, anyway.”

Some other time, Zelda promises herself. She’ll make time for Riju soon. But as Riju beckons her guards and leaves, she can’t find it within herself to say it out loud.

  △ ▲△

Zelda really thought she could do it this time.

Ever since she’d gone through the process of selecting new Champions, new pilots for the Divine Beasts, Zelda has spent quite a bit of time with them. Training, maintenance, everything to help them move along as smoothly as possible. And it’s been fine with all of them!

Well, with the exception of one.

Riju and Yunobo are both generations removed from their ancestors, and if Zelda doesn’t remind herself, she can almost pretend there’s no connection at all. And Teba isn’t even related to any of the former champions. But Sidon…

Zelda storms into the makeshift infirmary, a large tent just outside the castle, to find Sidon having a wound wrapped by a nurse. Noticing her arrival, the nurse offers a bow before sliding out of the tent past the Queen.

“Prince Sidon,” she fights to keep her tone diplomatic. “Please tell me Captain Bazz lied to me.”

Sidon is so Mipha.

“Queen Zelda-”

“Stop,” she commands, and some part of her mind recognizes it as one her father took often. “You-” She points a finger at him. “-the crown prince of the Zora, a race known for their weakness to electricity, decided to take on a Lynel, of all things. Is that correct?”

Somehow, in all her five-foot four-inches worth of glory, Zelda has successfully gotten Prince Sidon, a fish towering over ten feet, to cower under her glare.

“Yes, Queen Zelda.”

Of course, Mipha wouldn’t have been nearly as brash as her brother. She knew her limits, knew the risks of facing a Lynel head on, especially a Silver one. She knew she wasn’t the one to take on that task.

Sidon, for some reason, didn’t.

“Okay,” Zelda sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Why?”

“Why?” Sidon echoes back at her. He finally meets her eyes, matching her own harsh gaze. “Your highness, that Lynel was too close to Helmhead Bridge! If I hadn’t stopped it, it could have gone on a rampage throughout Castle Town!”

But he had her passion, that’s for sure. Where Mipha had been drawn to healing the injured, Sidon found himself drawn to battle away every danger that could befall the innocent. In that sense, the two of them were the same.

Sidon, like his sister, is a protector.

“You were under orders to clear out the Military Training Grounds! That’s it!” Zelda counters. “That Lynel was not your responsibility!”

“Hyrule is my responsibility! You made it my responsibility when you gave me Vah Ruta!”

Sidon is Mipha in every way that Mipha wasn’t. And how dare he come to her castle, acting the brasher, braver Mipha?

How dare he, Mipha’s most precious brother, risk himself for her?

“I’ve already led one set of Champions to their deaths, Sidon!” Zelda shouts, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “I’m not going to let you die as well!”

Sidon reels back, looking at Zelda with wide eyes.

Zelda covers her mouth, and her spine goes rigid, like ice. She turns on her heel, making a beeline out of the tent.

“Your highness!” Sidon calls after her. “Zelda! Wait!”

But Zelda ignores him. She pushes the flap out of the way, and once she’s finally outside the tent, she runs.

  △ ▲△

Of course it’s her old room. Zelda hadn’t even realized it was her destination until she arrived there, eyes blurry with tears. She slams her door shut behind her and sinks to the floor, finally letting herself cry. Sobs rake through her body, and she’s reminded of the times a hundred years ago, when she would lock herself in this same room after yet another day of failing to unlock her powers.

It’s been a century since then, and she’s right back where she started.

The Champions, all of them, deserve this future much more than Zelda does. She failed them all.

She’s not sure how long she sits there, curled in on herself, crying like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Seriously, what’s wrong with her?

Suddenly, there’s the sound of wings flapping from the literal hole in the room, rattling Zelda out of her sorrow enough to look up.

It’s Teba, because of course it is. Who else would fly all the way up here? His expression is difficult to read, but he’s focused on her.

“There you are,” he says, landing on the ruins of her wall. He hops down. “You scared Sidon, back there.”

Zelda looks back to the floor, head turned away from Teba. Her face and chest burn with shame.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles.

There’s warmth next to her, Teba sitting by her side. “Now, why are you saying that?” He drapes one of his wings over her shoulders.

It’s disgustingly casual, certainly not the image a distinguished queen should be projecting. But Teba is concerned for her, and Zelda can’t remember the last time she let someone do that. Even Link, her closest friend, she’s kept at a distance. He’s been struggling so much, how was she supposed to burden him with her own issues?

“I keep ruining everything,” she admits, choking back a sob. “His sister is gone because of me. I let Hyrule fall.”

“Zelda-” and how great it is to hear her name. Not your majesty, your highness, the great and wonderful queen who could do no wrong. Just Zelda, the person. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known what would happen.”

If only it were that easy.

“I should have,” she retorts. “How stupid were we to believe that pig would fall for the same trick twice?”

“You’re a kid.”

Zelda can’t help but laugh at that, though it isn’t particularly funny. Some of her loose hairs fly away from her face as she does so.

Teba, unamused, sighs. “What are you doing here?”

She rolls her eyes. “I came to my room to cry, obviously.”

“No, I mean-” Teba tries again. “Why are you at the castle?”

“To rebuild Hyrule,” Zelda answers automatically. “To lead my people.”

“Who told you to do that?”

Zelda blinks, and she realizes she doesn’t have an answer for that. Rarely does she ever find herself in this situation.

“Well, no one, but…” she struggles. “It’s what my father would want.”

Teba points at her. “There’s your issue,” he says. “You’re putting yourself in this box, trying to be the person you think everyone wants you to be. And in the process, you’re ignoring yourself.”

“Teba-”

“The reconstruction effort doesn’t necessarily need you, Zelda,” he tells her. “We’re glad to have you, but if you need to go off somewhere on your own, we’d get along just fine.”

Zelda scoffs. “Where would I even go?”

“I don’t know.” Teba shrugs. “Maybe you could check out what Link’s been up to?”

  △ ▲△

Teba’s suggestion rings in Zelda’s mind. She tries to sleep, truly, she does. But she ends up kicking her way out of her bedroll in frustration.

So, just as her day began, Zelda finds herself standing on her balcony, staring out at Hyrule. The night is cloudless, the vast sky full of twinkling stars. Hyrule Field is still, save for the breeze that passes through it. It catches her hair, long and golden, bringing it to sway.

Maybe she should cut it.

Hyrule is large. She’s heard from Link of his journey and saw much of it herself. Their initial tour had been half a year ago, when the Calamity had finally been defeated. Sadly, they’d been limited to the main settlements, focusing on making peace with their leaders and spreading the news that, yes, it was over. They hadn’t had much time to divert from the path, to see the little wonders Link spoke so fondly of.

Zelda knows Link would want to show her these wonders himself, but perhaps she could find some of her own to show him? Do something nice for him, for once.

If he ever comes back, that is.

Once upon a time, Zelda told the Hero of Twilight that she was happy for Link, happy for his second chance. Oh, what she wouldn’t give for a second chance of her own.

Behind her, she hears it. The sound of reality tearing, ripping at its seams. It’s a sound she’s heard before, everytime Link and the other heroes dropped in unexpectedly. She turns around, and there it is, the oval portal glowing a soft, golden light.

She leans against her balcony and waits, patiently, for Link. It’s rude of them to show up so late, especially when she’s so underdressed, but she can make an exception for the heroes.

But nothing happens. Instead, Zelda feels a tug in her own chest, an instinctual pull that says ‘Hop in’. And she’s reminded of what Link told her about how the group finds their portals:

They’re drawn to them.

  △ ▲△

When Zelda doesn’t show her face the next morning, they go looking for her. They find the observation room scarce of most of Zelda’s belongings, her bedroll and clothes all missing. The queen herself is also gone, and in her place is a note.

Dear all,

I went to go see Link. Keep up the work without me. I will return sometime soon.

Your friend, Zelda

[tfloosh]

Spirit

I apologize for this next chapter taking a while, but if it makes any difference, I officially graduated from college :D

In the aftermath of the horde of monsters invading the Royal Calatian Castle, Link and Zelda have to come to terms with some hard truths and watch their future come much faster than they ever thought.

Light | Forest | Fire | Water | Shadow | Spirit | Time

The silence was deafening. Zelda didn’t know if she should say something. Link hadn’t said anything since they arrived at the small cave. He had mechanically helped her off Epona and started a small fire before sending Epona back to the castle and sitting across the fire from her. Which is where he still was, nearly two hours later.

It was awkward. Zelda didn’t know where to look. The fire was too bright, and it had begun to rain, so the stars were obscured. She was practically alone with her thoughts, questions tumbling around in her head. She looked up at Link. He had a look of deep thought across his face.

“What are you thinking about?” she whispered more to herself than to Link. But he heard her anyway.

“Nothing,” he shifted nervously, avoiding her eyes.

“It doesn’t seem like nothing,” Zelda scoffed. Why was he always like this?

“Fine,” Link huffed back, sending her a glare. “I was thinking about how you needlessly put yourself in danger to fight that Aeralfos.”

“Excuse me?” she gasped before glaring back. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. Of course you would find some way to insult me when I risked my life to get to you. I don’t even know why I even talk to you anymore; this is always the outcome.”

“Ah, I see we’ve regressed three years,” he retorted sarcastically. “You’re back to assuming everything I say is a jab at you.”

“Well until recently, that was actually true.”

“I’m on your side, Zelda,” Link yelled. “I was in the middle of a shouting match with my father when the monsters struck. I was doing everything I could to get him to move the engagement, but you don’t even care.”

“Of course I care,” Zelda shouted back. “I ran halfway around the castle helping your soldiers and trying to find you.”

“Well you should have stayed in your room. I was on my way to get you. If you had just stayed, you wouldn’t have nearly died trying to use a magic bow.”

“That magic bow took out at least twenty bokoblins, thank you very much.”

“Yes, but if you at least had a decent weapon, -”

“A decent weapon?”

“A non-magic weapon, then, you wouldn’t have been in the same danger. You almost died, Zelda!”

“Why do you care so much?” Zelda roared. “Why would you even come back for me? Why would you save me like you did?”

“Why do you care so much?” Link snapped back.

“Because I’m in love with you, you idiot!”

The tension evaporated instantly. The anger between them disappeared, and the air seemed to cool around them. They didn’t know when they had gotten to their feet or moved closer to each other over the dying embers of the fire. Link took a step back, his eyes blown wide.

Zelda couldn’t believe what she had just said; her hands flew up to her mouth as if she could feel the words on her tongue. She had never realized, but at once she knew it was true. Goddesses above, she loved Link. A smile spread over her face, hidden by her still raised hands, as she took in Link’s shocked expression.

“What did you just say?” he asked quietly.

“That you’re an idiot,” she giggled, lowing her hands slightly.

“No, before that,” Link gapped like a fish out of water. “You, you love me?”

“Yes,” she smiled wider before a chilling thought hit her. “Do you not-”

Suddenly Link’s lips were on hers, cutting off her question of doubt. He was kissing her. It was nothing like their first kiss, all awkward and embarrassing in front of the Goddess Day Eve partygoers, and it was different from the short, sweet kisses he would sometimes give her. Zelda could feel the desperation and the apology hidden in the kiss. Link pulled away quickly and rested his forehead against hers. Zelda held her breath.

“I love you, too,” he finally breathed, and Zelda couldn’t help but laugh.

“We’re both idiots,” she said.

“Well how else would we realize we love each other if not by fighting?” Link laughed with her. “I think it’s quite fitting.”

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Zelda looked up into his eyes. “Earlier, before the monsters appeared. I shouldn’t have been so hash with you; your father is your King before being your parent. The same thing could have happened to me, and I would have had no choice.”

“You were right though,” Link protested. “I should have done more. I should have warned you somehow or tried harder to change Father’s mind.”

“But you did try. After we fought, you said you went straight to King Clement to try and fix everything.”

“I could have done that earlier,” Link ran his fingers through his hair. “Hell, anything would have been better than throwing the ring box in the moat.”

“You threw my engagement ring in the moat?” she laughed.

“I was just so angry,” he laughed along. “Father cornered me while I was patrolling the castle wall. He told me that the engagement was to occur within the four days you were here. I was so angry I couldn’t speak, so I just chucked the ring into the moat and stormed away. Probably not the best thing.”

“No, probably not,” Zelda smiled. “I’ll want a new ring by the way. Who knows what that water could do to the metal?”

“So you would?” Link’s eyes shown with a hopeful glint. “You would want to get married?”

“Yes,” she reached up on her tip toes to give him a quick kiss. “But I still want to wait until after my twenty-fifth birthday. Is that alright?”

“Of course it’s alright. My father will just have to deal with it.”

A far off neigh cut off their laughter.

“That has to be Epona,” Link hurried out of the small cave.

“How can you be sure?” Zelda asked anxiously. She was still warry from the fight in the castle earlier.

“Only Epona would know the way here, and she wouldn’t show the way to anyone she didn’t trust.”

“You have a lot of faith in your horse.”

“She’s a very smart horse.”

Link whistled the short tune he used to call Epona to his side, and soon enough the red mare was nuzzling her head close to Link’s.

“Hello, beautiful,” he smiled and rubbed Epona’s neck, her coat still wet from the soft rain outside. “Do you have a message for us?”

She nickered and turned so that the saddle bags she was carrying were visible.

“Look, your Royal Seal,” Zelda pointed to a hunter green tube embossed with the Bathory Royal Seal in gold. “That’s a courier’s letter container, isn’t it?”

“A royal courier’s at that,” Link grabbed the tube and pulled out a letter. He read the note quickly, his eyes hardening the longer he did. “We need to go back.”

“To the castle?” Zelda attempted to look at the letter, but Link had already folded it up. “Are you sure it’s safe? And it’s not a trap?”

“I’d recognize my mother’s handwriting anywhere.” Link doused what was left of the fire and turned to face her. “My father is dying.”

***

They were rushed to the King’s Quarters, which Zelda felt wasn’t a good sign. Surely he would be in the infirmary if there was a chance of saving him. They were greeted by a solemn Queen Adalynn.

“Thank you for coming quickly,” she opened the door wider so they could enter. “Clement went straight to the grounds to close the castle, but we realized too late that the monsters were coming from the inside. Our defenses weren’t made to point toward the castle, so there were many unfortunate losses.”

“But Father?” Link asked as he eyed the door that led to the bedchamber.

“He was weakened somehow; we think it was a magical attack,” the Queen explained. “He was paralyzed by a gibdo and received a fatal wound.”

Zelda didn’t get to see Link’s reaction. He had already bolted to the bedchamber door and wrenched it open.

She followed slowly and hesitated as she reached the door.

“Is there nothing we can do?” she turned and asked the Queen.

Adalynn shook her head, “The healers say he has lost too much blood, and the wound became infected unnaturally quickly. But fear not, Clement has come to terms with it all. He only wished to speak with Link before it was too late.”

Zelda nodded and entered the bedchamber. The fire was roaring, and for a second, she could fool herself into thinking this was just a friendly visit on a lazy Saturday morning. But then she saw King Clement. His skin resembled bleached parchment, so pale and dry despite the sheen of sweat that was covering him. His eyes were bloodshot as if he hadn’t slept in weeks, and his breathing was obviously labored. But that wasn’t what caught Zelda’s attention. The air was fresh, bright even, despite the lingering specter of death in the room.

“How could I be so stupid?” she gasped, practically slapping herself in the face. She quickly joined Link where he sat at the King’s side. “I should have known, King Clement. I apologize for how my training has failed us both.”

“You couldn’t have prevented this, Zelda,” Link soothed, but Clement shook his head.

“She’s referring to something else, Link,” his voice was soft and a little breathless. “Do not blame yourself, my dear. There was no way for you to know.”

“What are you talking about?” Link asked.

“He was under the influence of dark magic,” Zelda felt tears come to her eyes. “The whole time, how could I not notice?”

“That Dark Sorceress, Cia, tampered with my mind,” the King said in response to Link’s confused look. “At first it was small. Dreams urging me to change the marriage clause when we forged the alliance contract, thoughts of how to hasten the marriage so the alliance would be assured, ideas of what power I could have over Hyrule; the Golden Land could be under my control.” The King shook his head ruefully. “I shouldn’t have fallen for it, but my own thirst for glory betrayed me. Will you ever forgive me, Princess?”

“Of course,” Zelda reached for the King’s hand. “As long as you forgive the harsh treatment I have given you in return. If I had known, I would have done everything in my power to help you. Please know this.”

“And you, Link?” Clement turned to his son. “Could you forgive a weak old fool who only wished for his son to succeed?”

“Your methods were abhorrent,” Link smiled lightly. “But I will forgive you, Father.”

King Clement laughed weakly before dissolving into a coughing fit. Queen Adalynn hurried in with some sort of liquid medicine.

“Don’t exert yourself, Clement,” she murmured as he drank the liquid. “Tell them about the amendment.”

“Yes,” Clement took a shaky breath. “If you’ll show it to them, my dear.”

Adalynn retrieved a document from the bedside table opposite them and passed it to the Prince and Princess over the bed.

“I had Adalynn write this up for me as soon as I was declared sound of mind enough,” Clement explained. “It’s an official amendment to the Courtship and Marriage Contract Clause that will allow the engagement and marriage to take place at the time of the Prince and Princess’ choosing. All you have to do is sign it and bring it to King Gerrik for approval, which I’m sure he will immediately grant.”

Zelda quickly skimmed the document. It was just as Clement had said. Their courtship could be extended at the discretion of the Prince and Princess and the engagement could be extended to up to three years should need arise.

“I wholeheartedly agree to these terms,” Zelda reached for a quill to sign her name. “Thank you for the early wedding present.”

Clement and Adalynn smiled as she passed the document to Link. He, too, read the amendment but paused before signing.

“There’s a clause stating that I will give final consent should King Gerrik wish to change anything,” Link looked to his parents. “Surely Mother would have more say,-”

“Link,” Clement gave his son a serious look that somehow made his grave features stand out strongly. “You will be King far sooner than either of us ever wished. By the time you bring this amendment to King Gerrik, it will be your contract to uphold, not mine or your mother’s. You will rule this country, and you will do it well.” Clement then took a deep, shuttering breath. “With Queen Adalynn Bathory of Calatia and Princess Zelda Hyrule of Hyrule as my witnesses, I reaffirm you as my heir and the future King of Calatia.”

“I,” Link swallowed, tears running silently down his face. “I humbly accept this burden from you, my King, and I dutifully await the day to fulfill this promise.”

“The Goddesses are calling for that day to be today,” Clement reached a shaky hand toward Link. “Are you ready, my son?”

“I will never be ready,” Link replied taking his father’s hand in his and squeezing it slightly. “But I will fulfill this duty to the best of my ability.”

A knock on the door made the heavy air in the room dissipate. A butler poked his head into the room.

“The High Priest has arrived, Your Majesties.”

“Thank you, Hans,” Queen Adalynn nodded. “He is here to administer the Last Rites,” She told Link and Zelda. “You may leave if you wish.”

Zelda looked at Link for his decision only to find him looking at her.

“I will support you whatever you decide,” she told him.

“Then we will stay,” Link said to his mother.

The Last Rites consisted of anointing and vigil prayer. Zelda added her power to the High Priest’s when he called upon the Goddesses to ease the pain of the King.

Link, Zelda, and Adalynn stayed by the King’s side until the sun rose and the cries of “The King is dead; long live the King,” almost drowned out the tolling bells of the Cathedral Steeple.

***

Link spent the whole of the next day purging the last of the monsters from the castle. He insisted Zelda return to her room to catch up on some sleep, but all she did was toss and turn fitfully for two hours before giving up entirely. The Dark Sorceress, Cia, had not been found during the night, and she was worried Link would not stop until he found and defeated her himself. When it was finally time for dinner, Zelda left her room, hoping to find Link in the dining hall. She greeted Queen Adalynn, who was already dressed in black mourning garb. Zelda sat next to her and began poking at the food in front of her. She would have to ask a maid to buy her a black dress quickly; Zelda hadn’t packed anything suitable for mourning. The dining hall was quiet. Neither Zelda nor Adalynn were in the mood for conversation, and Zelda noticed the Queen was eating just as little as she was. After what seemed like an excruciating long time, the door burst open with a deafening bang.

“Sorry,” Link grimaced. “They said I could find you here, Zelda.”

“What?” she stood quickly. “What’s happened?”

“We found Cia,” he explained. “She’s barricaded herself in the dungeons, and we need your help to get through.”

“Of course.”

He immediately led her to the main staircase and all the way down to the lowest dungeon level, further in the castle than she had ever gone before. He told her about the strange, vine-like creature they had found blocking the passage a few meters from the stairs. Link hoped Zelda’s light magic would be able to subdue the thing long enough to allow the soldiers to cut it down.

“This almost looks like Manhandla vines,” Zelda murmured as they neared the blocked hallway. “But corrupted with dark magic.”

“So can you bring them down?” Link asked.

“Easily, yes,” Zelda moved in front of Link and began pulling magic around her. “You won’t even need to cut the vines down after I’m done.”

“You’re amazing.”

“I know,” she smirked as she reached out with a tendril of light magic.

At Zelda’s urging, the light magic banished the dark magic that was keeping the vines animated, and they quickly withered.

“Alright, men,” Link turned to the squadron of soldiers he had brought to the dungeons with him. “We don’t know what’s in there, so we have to be,-”

But Link didn’t get to tell them the rest of his plan. Once the Manhandla vines had completely disappeared in a puff of smoke, a wave of dark energy cascaded through the archway the plant had been blocking. Only pure instinct allowed Zelda to throw up a barrier of light magic to protect herself and Link, who was closest. After the torrent of dark magic subsided, Zelda almost fell to the ground at the sudden drain in energy the shield had caused. Link was quick to catch her, but she just pointed behind them. The entire squadron of soldiers had fallen to the ground.

“Are they?” Zelda could barely get the words out.

Link went over to check the nearest soldier, “No they’re still breathing. We must have taken the brunt of that attack.”

“Good,” she smiled despite her heavy breathing.

“Not good if it leaves you like this,” Link scolded. “I’ll help you back up the stairs. We can find a healer.”

“No,” Zelda struggled against Link as he tried to lift her. “Cia will just create a more dangerous trap. We have to confront her now.”

“But you’re weak,” Link protested.

“I’ll be fine. I can pull from the magic below the castle,” she stood on her own. “And Cia is still far enough away that her dark magic won’t affect me just yet. I’ll be fine by the time we reach her.”

Link grunted unhappily, “Alright. I trust you. But the second you feel anything, any sort of bad vibe or dark magic, you tell me.”

“Only if you don’t force me to turn back,” Zelda stepped between him and the archway that would take them further into the dungeons. “You can’t fight Cia alone. I won’t let you.”

To Zelda’s surprise, a small smile broke out on Link’s face.

“Together then.”

They ventured further into the dungeon. Link wasn’t trained in magic, but even he could see the way the shadows seemed to cling thickly to every surface. After a few minutes of walking, it was as if the torch he carried could not light up the surfaces around them.

“We’re close; she should be just through that door,” Zelda said as she eyed the impregnable darkness around them. “Do you have a plan for confronting Cia?”

“Honestly,” Link looked at the barely visible door in front of them. “I thought she would have ambushed us by now.”

“Well, I’m glad she hasn’t,” Zelda stepped closer to the door. “What’s on the other side of this?”

“It’s a branch point. The passage splits into three other hallways causing this next area to be larger, about the size of a normal room.”

“So if Cia is there, we cannot allow her to escape down one of the other hallways. I doubt we would be able to find her if she did.”

“Agreed,” Link nodded. “With the way this darkness is getting, even I would get lost down here.”

“Alright so I subdue her with my magic and give you time to otherwise incapacitate her.”

“Sounds good to me,” Link set his jaw. Zelda couldn’t miss the anger in his eyes.

“Link, are you really thinking of killing her?”

“I will do what I must.”

Link handed the torch to Zelda without another word and unsheathed his sword. But before he could reach the door to open it, it swung inward of its own accord.

“My dearest Link,” a sickeningly sweet voice called from within. “I’m so happy you could finally join me.”

He swallowed and took a step inside the door. Zelda followed closely, feeling as if the door would swing shut between them if it had the chance.

Cia was standing in the center of the crossroads. There was a chilly air of nonchalance about her, as if she hadn’t just sent a horde of monsters to rampage through the castle.

“Oh, I see you brought an unwelcome guest,” Cia’s eyes narrowed. “No matter, this saves me time hunting you down, Princess.”

“You will not lay a hand on her, witch,” Link spat at her.

“Such foul language,” Cia laughed mirthlessly. “I love it.”

Then without warning, Cia raised her staff and fired a bolt of dark magic at Zelda. She dodged dropping the torch in the process as a large chunk of stone was taken out of the wall behind her.

“I have spent far too long trying to rid Link of your vile influence,” Cia said calmly. “I should have just killed you as soon as you stepped foot in my orchard.”

“No need to tell me of your insanity,” Zelda snapped as she retaliated with a bolt of her own light magic.

“The only vile influence here is you,” Link said as he rushed forward to strike with his sword. Cia blocked it with her staff.

“You would fight against your love?” her eyes went wide, as if she was actually surprised.

“No, I would never fight against Zelda,” Link answered as Cia parried another of his attacks. “But you, on the other hand, will pay for your actions.”

“My actions were only to help you,” Cia raged as she held off Link with her staff while firing random shots of magic at Zelda. “I influenced that old fool, Clement, to set you up for more power than you could ever dream of and to drive away that bitch of a princess who never deserved you. But nothing would be too much for her. Not the strict contract or Clement’s pressuring or the sudden engagement announcement. Even my horde of monsters was too incompetent to kill her. So I got rid of that useless, old king so you could follow your heart, Link. Now we can be together and nothing can stop us.”

It almost hurt Link how far into insanity Cia had fallen.

“I have followed my heart,” Link lunged again with his sword but missed. Cia retaliated with a bolt of magic, which Zelda countered with her own. “And I am under no magical influence; only you would stoop so low. Now, as the King of Calatia, I have heard your confession and sentence you to death for regicide.”

Link rushed in with a flurry of attacks, slicing and cutting furiously against Cia’s staff. Zelda followed his lead and began to fire as many offensive spells as she could think of, trying to keep Cia occupied on two fronts so she would be more distracted, and she coated Link’s sword with the Blessing of Hylia so it could better defend against Cia’s dark magic. Finally, Link got a lucky shot in, slicing Cia’s staff wielding arm.

Cia screamed, her eyes growing wide as she raised her hand to her bleeding arm. It was only a small cut, not enough to really incapacitate her, but it seemed to have set something off in the witch.

“You, you hurt me,” she sounded as if she couldn’t believe the truth. “You actually hurt me, for her. You would really choose her over me?!” Purple fire erupted around her. Zelda was shocked; had Cia been holding back this whole time?

“How dare you turn your back on me? I have done everything for you, for us, and you would reject it all?” Cia screamed again, and the flames around her whipped about as if caught in a furious wind. “Fine. If I cannot have you willingly, then I will take you by force.”

Cia began to wave her staff, summoning something. Zelda couldn’t tell what it was, but she knew it was bad in more ways than one.

“Link,” she called over the roar of the purple fire and the rush of the summoning spell. “She’s using her life force to power the spell. If she continues this for too long, she will die.”

Link gave her a curt nod. His expression was hard to read; his jaw was set, and his eyes were hard. Suddenly, a pool of dark magic opened up in front of them, and a figure emerged. Both Link and Zelda gasped. It was a dark specter shaped exactly like Link. It’s glowing, red eyes looked toward Cia as if waiting for a command.

“Kill the Princess.”

The Dark Link raced toward Zelda, and Link stepped in front of her, sword raised. Their swords clashed with a screech of metal and a spray of sparks. The Dark Link pushed against Link, testing his strength. Link grunted attempting to hold his ground in front of Zelda, until a streak of black lightening arched toward him. Link had to disengage the creature as he dodged the attack from Cia, which Zelda intercepted with a glowing shield.

“Link, dark creatures are extremely susceptible to my light arrows. I could-” Zelda started, but Link cut her off.

“No!” he cried as he crossed swords with the Dark Link again. “Focus on Cia. The sooner we stop her, the sooner this thing will dissipate.”

“She’s too powerful to capture with my power alone,” Zelda blocked another attack from Cia as Link continued to clash with the Dark Link. “Unfortunately, the best way to bring her down might be to weaken her by allowing that dark creature to remain on this plane.”

“Then we will fight together,” Link actually smiled as he swept his sword in a large arch to ward off a wave of dark magic sent by Cia. Zelda came up behind him and sent her own wave of light magic. Cia was able to dodge it, but the Dark Link hissed in pain as the magic hit him.

“Together then.”

Link and Zelda danced around each other, and in the back of her mind, Zelda thought it might look like a scene out of one of the epic dramas about the Hero of Legend. They weaved about one another, switching between fighting Cia or the Dark Link on a moment’s notice. Zelda fired a blast of magic at Cia to knock her back only to see the Dark Link jumping to attack her, which Link was quick to block with his sword. Zelda reached down into the ancient well of magic that was below the castle and threw a huge ball of light magic at the Dark Link as Cia fought to fend off Link’s Blessed sword. The Dark Link let out an agonizing screech before dissipating into a cloud of smoke.

“No!” Cia cried as she blasted Link back and began summoning the creature anew.

“What happened to letting the thing stay on this plane?” Link winced slightly as he got up.

“I didn’t think he would be that susceptible to light magic,” she shrugged. “Besides it will only weaken her more to use her life energy to summon another one.”

They were ready this time when the new Dark Link emerged from the portal in front of them. Link attacked the creature before Cia could even give it an order, but this Dark Link was faster than the last one and dodged with inhuman speed. Zelda doubled her spell on Link’s sword and turned to face Cia. Weakening her would in turn weaken the Dark Link and make her easier to subdue. Already Zelda could feel Cia reaching a level where she could capture the witch with a well-placed net spell that Cia wouldn’t be able to break.

“You have been a thorn in my side for too long, Princess,” Cia spat as she fired purple flames at Zelda. “You poisoned my dearest Link against me. You should have backed out of that contract when you had the chance.”

“And you should have given up on your crazy crush three years ago,” Zelda scoffed as she redirected the fire toward the Dark Link.

The Dark Link had lost enough power fighting Link that it couldn’t dodge the fire in time. Link sliced at the creature while it was distracted by the fire causing it to disappear in another cloud of smoke.

“Surrender, Cia,” Link yelled over the gurgle of not one, but two new summoning portals. “You won’t win.”

“You’re going to kill yourself if you keep this up,” Zelda cried. “Please stop while we can help you.”

“I will not stop until Link is by my side,” Cia laughed maniacally as two Dark Links emerged from their portals. “He will join me when you die, Princess.”

“She’s lost,” Link grunted as he blocked a blow from one of the Dark Links. “We have no choice. Can you capture her now?”

“Yes,” Zelda huffed as she fired a bolt of light past the shield that was holding the other Dark Link back. “But she’s not going to last much longer, Link.”

“That doesn’t matter now,” he shoved his shield against the Dark Link causing it to stumbled back. “We just need to stop her.”

“Cover me,” Zelda ducked as Link swiped his sword in a sweeping spin attack. She pulled deep from the well of magic below the castle and shot two bright spheres of light at the Dark Links, making them disappear in a puff of smoke just like their predecessors. Link rushed toward Cia before she could attempt to summon more dark creatures and distracted her long enough for Zelda to pull together a net spell. Fine golden thread appeared before her, and she quickly expanded it into a large net.

“Link, move,” she yelled before firing the golden net toward Cia. Link rolled out of the way, and the net wrapped around Cia. The witch practically burst into purple flames trying to escape, but Zelda channeled the magic from the ancient well into the net so that it could hold against Cia’s struggles. Once the fire dissipated, Cia collapsed on to the floor.

“She’s lost too much of her life force,” Zelda murmured into the now silent walkway. “She’s dying, Link.”

He only nodded curtly and approached Cia where she lay on the ground.

“I just wanted us to be together,” Cia said weakly.

“I know,” Link kneeled down next to her. “I’m sorry it had to end this way.”

“We could have been,” Cia’s breathing began to slow, “together. I, - I just wanted to love you.”

As Cia’s eyes began to close, Link could only repeat, “I’m sorry.”

***

The next few days seemed to run together. Zelda felt herself mechanically running through the motions, blaming most of it on exhaustion and sleep deprevation. From getting fitted for multiple black dresses to writing her parents explaining what had happened and why she was staying in Calatia longer to planning King Clement’s funeral, it all ended up being a haze. Zelda seemed to come back to herself as she stood on the steps waiting to get into the carriage with the new Queen Mother, Adalynn, and join the funeral procession. She looked back to see Link at the head of the stairs dressed in black mourning clothes but with a crown on his head to signify his new title. He would be the last to depart, walking behind his father’s casket, as was tradition. Zelda turned back to Queen Adalynn.

“Could I walk with Link? Behind the casket?”

She could see the shock on the Queen’s face through the black veil that she wore.

“Well, yes you could, but it would imply,-”

“I know what it would mean,” Zelda looked back at Link. He seemed so distant standing alone at the top of the steps. “And I’m wearing gloves; people can think what they wish.”

“Link is lucky to have you, my dear,” Adalynn smiled as she walked forward to get into the carriage alone.

Zelda stood to the side, allowing the guards and cavalrymen to pass her. Link walked down the steps to join her at the bottom.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to walk with you.”

“But you don’t have to. Women traditionally don’t,” Link shook his head. “We aren’t even engaged yet.”

“I know,” she gave him a small smile as the horses drawing the casket began to walk. “But we will be, and I will not wait until that day to walk by your side.”

The casket passed them, and a house guard motioned for them to follow behind it.

“Thank you,” Link reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze.

The next few days were better, less rushed. It was officially decided that Link’s coronation would not be for a few months, which would allow Zelda time to go back home to Hyrule where the amendment to the Courtship and Marriage Contract Clause could be ratified by King Gerrik. Link and Zelda didn’t really have time alone together until the evening before she was due to return home, a week after the funeral.

“I wanted to ask you something,” Link began as they walked around the horse track. They had decided against riding, but the track at the stables was generally more secluded than any of the gardens at the castle, better for private conversations.

“Must be important for you to bring me all the way out here,” Zelda teased.

“Well, yes it is a little important,” he smiled. “I know you wanted to wait until closer to your own coronation, but a lot of things have changed, and I’m a King now, and we’ve already decided we will get married, so.”

“So?”

“The wedding wouldn’t be for a while, obviously, but I would like for you to officially be my future wife at my coronation.”

“Are you asking me to marry you?” Zelda laughed.

“In far too many words yes,” Link laughed with her. “I even have a ring this time.”

He stopped walking and pulled the box out of his pocket. He opened it to reveal a gold ring with small diamonds along the band and a single oval diamond ringed by bright blue sapphires.

“This isn’t the ring I threw in the moat, so don’t worry,” Link smiled at her shyly. “The Gorons gave me these stones actually, when we were negotiating our treaty with them. You wouldn’t have wanted the first ring anyway. I’m pretty sure my father just went into the family collection and picked a random ring.” He took the ring out of the box and held it up to Zelda so she could examine it closer. “I picked the sapphires hoping they would match your eyes. Luckily they do.” Link wiggled the ring slightly causing Zelda to laugh.

He got down on one knee and held the ring up to her, “Zelda, will you marry me?”

Link had been building up to this moment for minuets now, but it still took Zelda’s breath away to see him looking up at her. It reminded her of when he asked to court her in front of all the Hyrulean Nobles. Oh, how things had changed since then.

“Yes.”

[neomacaught]

on blog playlist.

   I feel like I talk about them a lot, but I put a lot of time, thought, and energy into my blog playlists -- purely for my own enjoyment! I like them being there, I like listening to them. Music is important to me, and giving my kids “OfficialTM” music is just... fun. The overall feel and all lyrics of the song must be perfectly accurate to the character to be included. ( Therefore, there’s usually a lot of other music that’s on the cusp that’s denied entry, so to speak. )

   Neoma’s blog playlist, in particular, is not meant to be listened to as a chronological story, but is more arranged in tonality. However, it can sort of double as a chronology, and starts immediately after her family dies. Most of the playlist includes stringed instruments, a heavy bass, and a good beat. There is one fully instrumental piece. 

CROSSFIRE by Stephen “I hope you’ve got some beds around, ‘Cause you’re the only refuge now, For every mother, every child, every brother, that’s caught in the crossfire.” 

   Back when Neoma was a fully aesthetic sideblog, I came across this song. I immediately used this song as inspiration for the blog theme and title, and that’s carried over here! The words faintly discernible in my graphic on my hover are the lyrics to this song. In general, it captures her spirit because in many ways, Neoma, too, has been caught in the crossfire -- of the politics in Skyrim, of decisions other people in her tribe made and included her in. Honestly, this song actually began helping me iron out her character. So obviously it had to be included first. 

You Are a Memory by Message to Bears “I woke underneath the trees, for the first time.” 

   The mostly instrumental beginning to this song always hooked me. And all of the lyrics are fantastic. Neoma, living on an active volcano her entire life, woke underneath the trees for the first time? Thank you, perfect. Neoma, calling for the last time for Alteroth, her children? Mmmmm. Speaking of mmmm... 

Retrograde by James Blake “Suddenly I’m hit! Is this the darkness of the dawn? I know friends are gone I know friends won’t come So show me where you fit.” 

   I’ve always referred to this as the quintessential “alone” song. I’ve put it on other playlists, on other blogs. And since Neoma’s about as long as alone gets... it’s... perfect. No matter how many people she’s with, she’s still alone! Ha! Ha,

The Way by Zack Hempsey “This is not the right way.” 

   Another primarily instrumental song that tapers off into very apt lyrics. A lot of this song is focused on how other people are praising you for accolades that you feel like you don’t fully deserve / you didn’t even want in the first place and for choices you don’t feel like were the right ones, and doing the right thing even though others don’t understand why, which resonates... yikes... very deeply with Neoma. It has a lot of feeling out of place and confused with how everyone else sees this world and why everyone else does what they do vibes. 

Gold by Imagine Dragons “I’m dying to feel again Oh, anything at all But oh, I feel nothing, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing!”

If we’re going in chronological order, this song would come after she’s amassed some wealth and prosperity in Skyrim. It’s more metaphorical than literal. Obviously, she doesn’t literally have a Midas touch, but she went from poverty and having a loving family to having everything materialistic she could ever want within her grasp but nothing she truly cared about. Y’know. Like Midas. It’s -- it’s another layer.  

Human by Rag’n’Bone Man “‘Cause I’m no prophet or messiah You should go lookin’ somewhere higher! I’m only human, after all I’m only human, after all Don’t put the blame on me Don’t put the blame on me I’m only human, I do what I can I’m just a man, I do what I can Don’t put the blame on me Don’t put your blame on me.”

   I could marry the bass player in this song. Anyway, uh! This song is one of two on here called Human, as humorous as it is because she’s... not a human. Anyway! It’s a very Neoma song because she spends a lot of time taking care of others and trying to protect them, and they often blame her for what goes on around around them anyway. They treat her like a god when she’s just... a woman. 

Spanish Sahara by Foals “Though I’ll find you in the sand, Wipe you clean with dirty hands So, goddamn this boiling space It’s the Spanish Sahara,  The place that you’d wanna,  Leave the horror here  Forget the horror here  Forget the horror here Leave it all down here.” 

   This song had to be added -- and, chronologically, would be her starting to remember the death of her family on the volcano, e.g. the lines I pulled -- because it’s the song I always equated to my Mabinogi verse. This song also happens to be the inspiration for multiple verse tags. It’s all about attempting to forget a horror of horrors that happened. 

Gerudo Desert from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess’ Twilight Symphony album 

   Our only instrumental song, Gerudo Desert has a feel that reminds me a lot of Neoma’s home and upbringing intertwined with a reorchestration that feels very Skyrim to me. 

Uncle Mountain by The Fire Theft “Rhythm of mind, don’t wanna spend my time Being afraid of dying I really wanna do good Drown in a world of pity and sorrow  Been immersed within the light What was I looking to find?  Run along, to the sea I want love, if love wants me  I want God, if God wants me! Just can’t hold on To what I believe...”

   God, I’ve always loved this song so much. It’s so beautiful and so deeply meaningful. Chronologically, this is around where Neoma starts breaking and thinking back to her lost family, which is why the next few songs become more about her desperate need ( ha, ha ) for them to return. She’s done all this good and still hasn’t found anything good by doing any of it. She’s trying her best and still getting nothing in return. She just can’t hold on to what she believes. So... 

Need by Hana Pestle “Etch this into my brain for me Tell me how it’s supposed to be Where everything will go and how I’ll be without you by my side My hand searches for your hand  In a dark room  I can’t find you  Help me  Are you looking for me?” 

   ... She starts thinking about Alteroth and the girls again. She needs them back. She can’t find them in her prayers, can’t sense their spirits with her ancestors. They need to be there. Why aren’t they there? Why won’t they help her? Are they lost? Are they looking for her, like she’s looking for them? Tonally, this song marks the beginning of the rest of the songs -- a bit sadder, a bit bluer, until the very end. 

All the King’s Horses by Karmina “I knock the ice from my bones Try not to feel the cold Caught in the thought of that time, When everything was fine Everything was mine Everything was fine Everything was mine.”

   This was the second song I ever heard that made me go, Wow, Hi Neoma. Skyrim is freezing, and as she sits in the freezing cold, she’s thinking about the time when everything was hers -- when she had all of her family. And no matter how long she’s here, with these people, and how esteemed she is, no one can help her. Maybe she lives here, but is it really a home if she’s all alone? She starts finding her strength again. There is a reason she’s still standing, right? There has to be.

HUMAN by Krewella “The weight of the world is pulling me down (Where are you now? Where are you now?) Every breath feels like I’m gonna drown (Where are you now? Where are you now?) And I’m the only one left alone on this earth  (Alone on this Earth) Singing this song but can’t find the words  ’Cause I could use a hand sometimes Yeah, I could use a hand sometimes They say, ‘Pain is an illusion This is just a bruise and you are just confused’ But I am only human I could use a hand sometimes I am only human.”

   The second Human song on our list. She feels so alone, and it’s hard to breathe, and no one’s ever there for her... you know? She could use a hand sometimes. And maybe... she should start seeking them out again. 

Live Long Enough to Become the Hero by NateWantstoBattle “I’m down, but you know I’m not out I got another around round (Another round) Second wind and it’s picking me up right off the ground I’m coming back again -- can’t break me! I’m not giving up! I gotta prove them wrong Take your time, ‘cause I’m not taking mine, I gotta stand up strong!”

   Ah, there she is. That bitter defiance wakes her up. It hurts, and everything sucks, but she’s got to prove them wrong. She’s going to protect this world, even if everyone she cares about is gone. She can’t stop, even if she wants to. This hard rock infused with some violin action is perfect for Neoma. 

Unbreakable by Fireflight “God, I want to dream again, Take me where I’ve never been I wanna go there, this time I’m not scared Now I am unbreakable, It’s unmistakable No one can touch me Nothing can stop me!”

   And now she’s not just fighting because she feels like she has to -- she’s fighting because she can. She’s not scared. She’s back in control. She’s doing what’s right. Again hard rock and violin, fantastic. 

   And that’s a wrap! 

[gryith]

Let’s Talk About BOTW DLC 2

(TL;DR: The DLC is okay but underwhelming)

I want to talk about the second DLC pack for The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. I guarantee that in a couple of days people will either be praising it avidly or saying exactly what I’m going to... Or they won’t be saying anything at all.

This pack was overall forgettable, It doesn’t really add anything and a lot of the stuff it does add it somehow ruins. The first DLC pack promised to be a smaller affair so it’s shortcomings could be forgiven. Moreover it never bigged up what it was, it had the Trial Of The Sword and some DLC outfits, and that was fine, that’s all it said it would have, and I spent a good few days trying to get through the Trial Of The Sword. 

This second DLC pack, on the other hand, I got through in one sitting.

I think that I am partially to blame for how I feel about it, I got caught up in the hype, and with nintendo making everything about this new DLC pack so mysterious people started to speculate, so when it comes out it was underwhelming.

But I don’t think that’s all there is to it. The main problem with the pack is the middle portion, so I’ll talk about the good parts first. The mission starts and you have to go to the shrine of resurrection and place your sheikah slate on the pedestal. It blows you away at the beginning by giving you  [SPOILER WARNING] an infinite damage weapon, one with a catch sure but that just shakes up the gameplay. And with this weapon you clear out some bokoblin camps and do some shrines, getting you enough spirit orbs to get one more upgrade. ‘finally’, I thought, ‘I can finish that top row of hearts that the base game doesn’t have enough shrines to let me get’. But then everything goes downhill, fast.

You have this interesting new weapon taken away from you, and at no point is it returned, even in a weaker form. This choice I understand, as it is a potentially game-breaking weapon (and why don’t the monk spirits just let you rock up to hyrule castle with it and decimate gannon?) As it breaks, it shows you the ways to places that correspond with one of the divine beasts, after this you just have to find three shrines for each beast. This part was... fine, having to manually find things in this game is always enjoyable, if a little frustrating, but the thing that annoyed me was that these shrines don’t give you spirit orbs, they give you orbs pertaining to one of the divine beasts (I guess that bottom row of hearts will be empty forever ;c). Okay, well at least it’s more shrines, and the puzzles in them are some of the better shrine puzzles.

Okay, but once you have all three orbs for each beast you can visit the beast to receive a revelation. What is this revelation, you ask? Well you have to fight the same four bosses you fought the first time you went to the divine beasts, except this time there’s a filter over the screen. It’s not even a challenge because I’m much more powerful now so I didn’t die once during these fights. (actually I died during waterblight gannon but screw that guy I hate him so much.) And what do you get for all your hard work? 

You get a decreased recharge time on your divine abilities. That’s it. It’s cool and all but again, I was expecting a little more.

After you beat all four of these bosses (again), you can go back to the shrine of resurrection (again) and put your sheikah slate on the pedestal (again). Now it gets to a good bit, it takes you down to what is unmistakably the inside of a divine beast, and it pretty much confirms what you’ve probably been thinking:

At the end of this DLC link will get a divine beast.

A welcome thought, so you progress through the divine beast, and I don’t know if it was just me but this beast seemed significantly easier than the other four, but maybe I’ve just played the game too much. After unlocking a big door at the end you’re greeted by a monk, just like at the end of any shrine, [SUPER SPOILER WARNING] but this time it really shakes things up when the monk starts moving! he gets up and teleports you onto a UFO. I have to say, I enjoyed this boss, it was fun but felt an awful lot like the misko boss from earlier in the game. And again, I beat this boss in one try. After the fight he congratulates you and says you can have your divine beast.

Suddenly the UFO starts shaking and parts start moving, It seems to be turning into something or... no, there’s something coming out of the centre-- I’m going to stop because the chances are you probably already know. It’s the master cycle zero. the other four champions get giant beasts and link gets a bike; typical. The bike was better than I thought it would be in the way it felt like a new way of traversing the landscape, fuel consumption works well and refuelling is easy, and I thought it would just feel like a reskinned horse but it does feel like it’s own thing.  My problem with the bike is that it’s just a bike. We already had horses for traversal in the game so I figured the bike would at least feature weaponry but it doesn’t, it’s just a bike. (I guess we never will be able to use those guardian lazers against them after all ;c).  Then theres the optional collectible outfits which were fine, the dark spirit one was cool but some of them are just hats, nevertheless they’re cool references.

I think the reason I’m annoyed at this DLC is because it is meant to be the last one, but I feel like it didn’t really go out with a bang, and on the same day it won game of the year! I feel like there’s more that could be done with this game and I’m sad to see it go out like this. It totally deserved GOTY though get outta here mario fanboys.

[the-lady-mienshao]

My Inner Life Part 12: Labor Pains in the Ass (Happy Valentine’s Day!)

It’s been a while since we stepped into this distorted kingdom that’s called “Hyrule” now hasn’t it? Not that some of you may remember it...

Anywho, when we last left off Jenna angsted over Link being sent off to fight in the Five Paragraph War (which was resolved with the Treaty of Deus ex Machina) and stood by Link getting Hyrule’s Medal of Honor as those who were glossed over wished a fiery death upon them.

I do not own My Inner Life (not that I would want to in the first place) nor the Legend of Zelda series.

When we arrived back home all of the Kokiri were there to greet us along with or fairies Lilly and Navi. “Your finally home. I missed you Link.” Navi squealed as she flew over to him. (Hey wait, if Navi is Link’s personal fairy why didn’t she accompany him to war?) “You were really missed.” As she flew around him her blue aura brightened. “I missed you too Navi.” Link said as he smiled at her. “Jen and I really missed you to.” Lilly said as she flew in front of me. “Link, hey LINK!” (Oh God! OoT flashbacks!!! DX)

A girls voice called from behind the crowd. Then Saria came running through the crowd and up to him. “I missed you a lot too Link.” “How are you?” Saria said as her eyes lit up at the sight of him. “Were soo glad your home.” “Jen spent a lot of time with us while you were away.” (”Getting lit.”) Just then something caught her eye. “What is that on your uniform?” Saria asked as she gently fingered the pin on Link’s uniform. (Saria! Not in front of everyone else!) “It’s called the “Triforce of Valor.” “The King awarded this to me for my bravery in the field of battle.” Link said with pride. (”And because I also slipped 50 rupees to him”) A loud “WOW” came from the crowd as Link showed everyone. (Jenna must’ve held up a cue card that said something like “Say ‘wow’ or I will end you all”...) “Oh Link, that is soo wonderful.” “You must be so proud of him.” Saria said as she looked at me. “Yes I am, but I’m just glad to have him home again.” I said blushing. Then we had a small celebration to celebrate Link’s return home. (While all the hippy Kokiri stand aside, protesting for peace)

We had a small feast, then we danced and drank. (You’re not supposed to drink while pregnant!) Then around Midnight everyone went home, (bullshit!) and Link and I were left alone. We told Lilly and Navi that we were going to the pond out back to have a swim. The night air was warm, perfect for swimming. We went to our special little pond. (YOUR special pond?!?) Once there we took off our clothes and went into the cool water. We splashed and played around in the water for awhile. The I looked into Link’s eyes. They were glowing under the moonlight. (”Link is not here...”) I went into his arms, and felt his body against mine. Then he gently pressed his lips on mine kissing me deeply. It had been such a long time since we kissed like this. (Yeah five paragraphs is a long time to go without playing tonsil hockey with your captive husband) We kissed even deeper, our tongues finding their ways into each other’s mouth. I felt his hands caressing my body, felt the connection between us growing stronger. I ran my hands down his back as he moved his lips to my neck. I felt his heart beginning to beat faster, heard his thoughts in my mind. (”That prostitute I got was so much better than this...”)

I wanted him soo bad. Wanted to feel him. It had been such a long time since we made love. I whispered in his ear that I wanted him. That I wanted to feel him. And I heard him in my mind, heard him say that he wanted me too. I felt the heat of our bodies, felt his hands touching me, felt them caressing my body. I started to breath faster, as my heart was beating in unison with his. Then I felt him quivering (from drug withdrawal?) against me, as he slowly penetrated my awaiting body. (Of course... more sex...) The intensity of it raced through my body, raced through my bones. It had been a long time since I felt this feeling. As we made love, I felt our connection become full. (Okay please don’t use the term “full” like that ever again) I felt as if our bodies merged. We became as one. (Okay now you’re just re-using phrases from other chapters!) Even more so when we both came to a full climax. I screamed out his name as I felt him release his essence deep inside me. (*random Kokiri steps out onto porch* “SHADDUP!”)

Then I put my lips to his long, sexy pointed ear and whispered words of passion to him, (”You know what to do with that big fat butt~”) before sweetly licking and nibbling on it. (Oh God I just made that line even worse...) I heard him moaning softly as I caressed his ear with my lips and his body with my hands. I was so glad to finally be in his arms again, to be able to feel him. I had longed for this day; Longed to make love to him. Now my dreams had come true. He was finally home.

The next few days were hard on me, the dizziness became horrid and I started to feel sick. (Welcome to our world) It got so bad that I had to rest in bed. Then came the false labor. The pains were so intense that I felt as if my whole body was in a vise. I couldn’t get up out of bed without the pains making me feel like falling over. Link had to care for me. (Like he hasn’t been doing enough of that in this story) I ate all of my meals in bed. And when it was time to bathe Link had to help me to the tub to wash me. It was hard. I felt helpless. (Admit it. You enjoy it...) But Link had told me that he was glad to care for me. I was going to give birth to our baby any day now. And he did not want to see me or the baby get hurt. Then a few nights later it happened. (DUN DUN DUN!)

I woke up and rustled Link awake. “Link honey wake up, its time!” I was going into labor. (Are you sure? Did your water break? Are your contractions a minute apart?) “Grumble.” “Go back to sleep.” Link said as he rolled over. (I think that just speaks for itself...) Then I shook him again. “Link, WAKE UP .....I’m going into labor!” I cried as I shook him. “Wha, What?!” “Oh my Goddesses, its time!” (Oh now you realize the gravity of the situation!) He jumped out of bed, grabbed his robe and went to get Navi and Lilly. As he opened the door, I heard him calling for our fairies. “LILLY, NAVI come quickly!” (Like the fairies know anything about human childbirth!) Link cried. “What is the matter?” Navi asked. “Navi, you and Lilly must fly to the castle quickly, fetch Princess Zelda and the healer!” (Just go get the Ocarina of Time from the closet and teleport yourselves to the Temple of Time!) “Jenna’s going into labor, it’s time!” “And please make haste.” Link cried in urgency. “Lilly hurry, we must go!” Navi screeched. Then Lilly and Navi flew off to fetch Princess Zelda and the healer. (What does Zelda know about birthing?!?)

I didn’t have long. The baby was on its way. I felt the contractions become less spaced apart. I hoped that Lilly and Navi would bring the healer here quickly. (Well it takes an entire day to get across Hyrule Field so it’s going to be some time. Especially since they don’t have the Ocarina of Time...) I tried to hold the baby back, but that was no longer any good after my water broke. “I cannot hold the baby back any longer, Link!” “My water just broke!” “One way or another this baby is coming.” (Damn right) I cried as my breathing became labored. “Just hang in there my love, Lilly and Navi will be back soon with Princess Zelda and the healer.” (Actually they just got eaten by Kaepora Gaebora) Link was getting more concerned with each passing minute. Then a horse came plodding up to the front of the house and I heard voices. “Oh...my Goddesses.....they’re.....finally here!” I said in between gasps of breath. Link ran out the door to hurry them along. Then a minute later he came back with the healer followed by Princess Zelda. “Princess, go get some pillows and blankets!” “And be quick about it.” (So now Zelda’s been reduced to the midwife’s apprentice. Oh how the mighty have fallen...) After Princess Zelda came back with the pillows, she put a pillow under my head and the blankets over and under my body. Then Link came to my side and held my hand.

“Hurry the baby is coming!” I cried as the contractions became closer together. “You must breathe slower.” “Take a deep breath.” “Now push!” The healer yelled. I felt the baby trying to come out but something was wrong. (”The baby was hanging on to my ribcage and kicking the healer’s hands away.”) “Push harder!” She called again “I’m pushing......as hard as I can....DAMNIT!” I screamed. “Princess, do you see the head yet.” “No, not yet!” Zelda cried. “Damnit.... GIVE....me something, LINK...you did this to....me!” (”YOU.... made me... play... the Goddamn CDI... GAMES!!!!!!”) “DAMNIT.... get this thing....out of me....NOW!” I cried as the pain got worse. I started to curse as the pain became more intense. (We know sweetie) “Damn YOU...Link!” I screamed as I looked up at him. (but afterwards I told him I was sorry.) “You must calm down.” Take deep breaths......thats it.” “Princess anything yet?” “No, mistress (You’re an effing princess! Why are you referring to the midwife, who’s lower in social status, as mistress?) something is wrong!” Zelda cried as she looked up. “What?!” The healer yelled as a look of pure shock cross her face. “The baby’s head is not facing down!” Zelda cried again.

With those words came our worst nightmare. (Don’t blame you. C-sections probably didn’t go very well back in those days) My face went white as a sheet and so did Link’s. At that moment I thought our baby was going to die. I started to cry as the thought of loosing our baby looked evident. “We must act quickly!” “We have to get the baby’s head turned!” The healer yelled as she prepared to go in and turn the baby’s head. (”Hmm, it’s dark in here. I better light a match.”) As Zelda and the healer worked quickly they managed to get the baby’s head in the right direction. (Phew! That was intense!) “We got the baby’s head facing down now PUSH!” The healer cried again. “URAGH” I screamed as I pushed with every ounce of strength I had. “Mistress I see the head!” “Now hands, feet.....” Then the next thing that I heard was music to my ears, a baby crying. (Babies aren’t born that quickly!)

“Oh Goddesses....congratulations its a boy!” Zelda cried. Tears of happiness ran down my cheeks as I squeezed Link’s hand. Then Zelda took and wrapped the tiny baby in a blanket and gave him to me. (Aren’t you forgetting a little something? Like the umbilical cord?) I cried even more as I held the tiny miracle in my arms. “He looks just like you my love.” I said softly as I looked up at Link. “We made this tiny miracle together.” I laid my head against Link’s chest as I looked at the baby’s little face. “What shall we call him?” “Since he is a boy, and it was a son you wanted you pick the name my love.” (”How about... Tingle?”) I said as I looked into Link’s eyes. “Link the second he shall be called.” Link said with pride. “After his own father.” (Uh, egotistical much?) “Named after a legend.” “Link Jr.” I said softly. “Welcome into the world little Link.” I laid there and held little Link in my arms. I now felt complete. I had Link. Now I had a son with him. This was the most beautiful gift Link gave me. (Didn’t you say that about the house he built for the two, er, three of you?) He gave me......a miracle.

So it’s a boy for the happy couple... Yay.

About the “baby hanging onto the ribcage joke”, my younger sister was a C-section birth since she wasn’t coming out of my mom and it was almost like she was crawling further up to avoid the doctor. So my mom joked that she was hanging onto her ribcage and kicking away at the hands to stay inside!