Disclaimer: Same as any other disclaimer. Guess which characters I don't own? Pretty obvious, don't you think? Once again, the failure to indent paragraphs is due to the fact I'm transferring this from the IGN Zelda board.
You probably should read "Woman Warrior" first, but if you don't, you shouldn't be too confused.
**************
Link shifted uneasily from foot to foot. How could anyone be so elated but yet so nervous at the
same time? Why should he even be nervous at all? His friends assured him these feelings were
normal, yet he still felt guilty. It wasn't that he didn't want to marry Zelda, that was certain. But
still, the future could bring anything....
"Hey, I think you should be heading to the courtyard now," a voice interrupted Link's thoughts.
"It would be embarrassing to be late for your own wedding!" The red-haired man smirked at him.
"I'm not going to be late, Ralph," Link responded somewhat irritably. "I don't need your smart
mouth now of all times."
"I was just offering some friendly advice," Ralph shrugged. He left.
"What's his problem?" Link muttered to himself after Ralph was out of earshot. He sighed. "I
guess it really is time for me to get going." He headed downstairs, neither hurrying nor
purposefully stalling for time.
A huge crowd had gathered already. Link glanced around, spotting several familiar faces. Ruto,
who had been Queen of the Zoras ever since her father's weight-related heart attack, appeared to
have a boyfriend. She had clearly given up the idea of interspecies dating. His Kokiri friends were
there, as well as most of the Gorons and Gerduos. A few guests he had never seen before
appeared to be Sheikah.
Link continued to the floral archway that had been set up. It was no surprise Zelda had not yet
arrived. Between styling her hair, putting on makeup, and what he was sure would be an elaborate
dress, Link wouldn't have been surprised if she was an hour late. As far as personal appearance
was concerned, Link was unusually conscious of his own. Dressed in a dark blue dilk tunic and
black velvet pants, he certainly looked different from usual. Different, though he wasn't exactly
sure in what way. Link glanced at his black leather boots, bought especially for the occasion. Why
was wearing such fine clothing bothering him? He noticed his reflection in the silver buckles on
his boots. He recognized himself. Relief swept over Link. "What was I so uncomfortable about?"
he thought disgustedly. "Maybe an approaching marriage does this to everyone. I wonder if Zelda
is completely calm?"
No sooner Link thought about her, Zelda appeared. Link's jaw nearly dropped. She was
absolutely radiant!
Zelda did indeed look lovely in a flowing gown of red and gold satin. She seemed to float toward
Link, smiling. Was this truly real, or were they both caught in a blissful dream?
The priest cleared his throat, a signal to the noisy crowd that the ceremony was about to begin.
He began making a fairly lengthy speech, which most everyone only half-listened to. As they said
their vows, Zelda and Link noticed tears of joy trickling down each other's cheeks. Ralph began
snickering at this, until a smack from Nayru shut him up. When the young couple kissed, a cheer
rang from the crowd loudly enough to frighten the birds out of nearby trees.
As was common at Hylian weddings, the ceremony ended with Link and Zelda kneeling down to
pray to the three goddesses for a successful marriage. No sooner had this ended, a flash of
brilliant light appeared. The guests let out a collective gasp, then a collective sigh of relief when
they saw it was only Rauru.
"Link, remain kneeling," Rauru boomed. Rauru spoke with great authority. Lifting an object
which many of the guests farhest back could not see, he placed it on Link's head and called out,
"By the authority given me by law, I crown thee Prince of Hyrule! Arise!"
Link stood up, feeling slightly dizzy. The crown traditionally worn by Hyrulean princes sat atop
his head. The guests let out an even
more enthusiastic cheer than before, once more scattering the birds that had just settled back into
the bushes and treetops.
Link snapped back into reality when Zelda tapped his shoulder. "Hey, wake up," she giggled.
"You don't want to miss the banquet, do you?"
The banquet was certainly not something one would want to miss. There was food everywhere,
and raucous laughter filled the massive hall. During supper, a strangely familiar, high-pitched
voice called out "Hey!Gonna have some real fun tonight, aren't you, Link?"
Both he and Zelda flushed at this suggestive comment. "Who said that?" He looked down at his
wine glass. Navi sat perched on the edge, glowing bright pink.
"Stay out of my wine, Navi! You don't want to get too drunk to fly home, do you?"
"Hey! I don't drink that stuff. I just needed a safe place to land. You try being tiny and avoiding
getting stepped on!"
"This place won't be safe for much longer if you say anything else to embarrass me!"
"Ok, ok. I get the message," Navi snapped, flitting off angrily, though not flying completely
straight.
"I still think she sampled your wine," Zelda commented.
Aside from the irritating fairy, everyone was having a wonderful time. Link introduced Crane and
Ralph, who became friends almost instantly. The clumsy Ralph spent most of the evening avoiding
a heavily-built ambassador from Holodrum, whom he had accidently spilled wine on. Saria
seemed bemused by the whole event. Mido, on the other hand, experienced some long-overdue
humiliation when Link deposited him in a fountain. Ruto was busy introducing her new boyfriend,
the Zora warrior Oturr, to everyone she possibly could. When Zelda asked how she and Link had
gotten the accidental engagement issue solved, she responded with, "It would never have worked.
He cannot live life underwater, as I cannot live on land. The idea seemed even more ridiculous
once I realized it would be impossible for us to reproduce."
Zelda gave Ruto a look that said "That was TOO much information!"
As the evening passed, the King noticed his daughter and son-in-law appeared bored, even
anxious to leave. He approached them. "Feel free to excuse yourselves whenever you wish. The
party is dying down. In fact, many guests have left or are leaving now. We'll all understand."
"Thank you, Father," Zelda responded politely. "If you're ready to leave, Link, I am too."
Link nodded. Bidding the King goodnight, they waved farewell to the guests and exited.
Link looked embarrassed. "I don't know where our new chambers are located," he admitted
sheepishly.
"Follow me," Zelda replied. "Be sure to take note of your surroundings unless you plan on getting
lost."
Finding their quarters wasn't difficult. Link mentally noted everything, taking Zelda's advice. Once
inside, Link began admiring the beautiful furnishings. Zelda, who obviously had seen the room
before, ignored her surroundings and began brushing out her hairdo.
Link turned toward her. "What's with women and hair?" he teased. "Is it normal for a girl to style
her hair to go to bed?"
"It is if I don't want to sleep with a headful of hairpins!" she retorted with mock irritation. She
crossed the room, now dressed in her slip. Flopping down on the bed, she muttered, "Never again
will I dance with Father's clumsy advisors. They step on my feet!"
Link sat down beside her, patting a tiny foot. "And you'd think now I'm married those silly court
ladies would quit flirting with me!" He fell backwards onto the pillows with exaggerated disgust,
noticing a key on the bedside table. "This key is for....?" His voice trailed off.
"Oh, thank you for reminding me," Zelda remarked, picking it up and striding over to the door,
then locking it. "This will prevent those nosy servants from poking around where they shouldn't!"
She replaced the key, then slid under the bed covers. Link gathered her in his arms, gently
caressing her. "I still feel like I'm dreaming," he whispered. "Everything seems too perfect to be
true."
Zelda nestled close, kissing her husband tenderly. "It's no dream. This is too good to be a dream.
The kiss turned passionate. Link found himself with his hands, shall we say, all over Zelda. Zelda
reached above her and pulled a dangling cord. Any further actions of the Prince and Princess were
hidden from view behind thick velvet curtains.
Meanwhile, outside the bedroom door....
"Do you hear anything yet?" one servant whispered excitedly.
"Nothing I can distinguish clearly," the other murmured, pressing her ear closer to the door.
"Navi, can you fit through that keyhole? The door's locked."
"Ok, I'll bring back a full report," the mischievious fairy agreed, flying through the small hole. The
only dim light the room offered was from a few flickering candles. Navi surveyed the area, then
fluttered silently toward the bed.
Suddenly, Zelda cried out, "Link! What's that fairy doing in here?"
Link turned toward the directon Zelda gestured at. Sure enough, he could make out a ball of pink
light on the other side of the curtain. "Navi! Get out of here!" he snarled.
"Why are you so touchy?" the fairy spat indignantly.
"Has anyone ever taught you that it's rude to barge into people's bedrooms like that? I don't know
where fairies sleep, but I wouldn't do that to you!"
His hand suddenly flew outside the curtain, swatting at her. Navi zoomed back through the
keyhole.
"Something must be going on. Link was pretty angry with me."
"You got caught?" one servant scoffed. "Idiot!"
Footsteps were heard coming down the hallway. Impa appeared, looking incredibly miffed.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded in a whisper. "Give the Prince and Princess
some privacy!"
The two servants and the fairy gazed guiltily at Impa.
"Go somewhere else. NOW!" Impa hissed.
They didn't need to be told twice. Not only did Impa possess great authority among the royal
servants, many found her appearance more than just a little intimidating. They scampered off like
frightened rabbits.
"Hmph!" Impa snorted. "I simply cannot stand busybodies!"
( A/N: Anyone catch the joke behind the name of Ruto's boyfriend? )
Zelda awoke the next morning the same way she had fallen asleep- her head resting against Link's
chest, and his left arm around her. Getting up without waking him would be difficult. She tried
gently moving his arm. Still sleeping, Link slung his arm backward, whacking Zelda in the face.
"Yow!" she yelped. Her cry of pain woke Link.
"Wha-huh? Oh, good morning, dearest." he mumbled groggily.
"Good morning. In the future, please don't smack me in your sleep?"
"Huh?"
"Never mind, I guess it's nothing, since you didn't mean to hit me."
"I hit you?" Link asked incredulously. A mournful look swept across his face. "I'm so sorry. I
would never knowingly hurt you," he said, gathering Zelda in his arms. "Does it still hurt?"
"No," she assured him.
Link held Zelda close for a few minutes longer, stroking her. Then, his stomach rumbled violently.
Zelda giggled.
"Normally, a servant would have brought our breakfast up here, but since the door is locked, we'll
have to notify the kitchen staff we're awake."
"How?" Link asked, puzzled.
Zelda yanked on a cord hanging down from the wall. "This is connected to a bell in the kitchen,"
she explained. "Why don't we get dressed while our breakfast is being prepared.
Later that morning, Link and Zelda encountered Navi flying aimlessly through the halls. "I'm lost,"
she moaned pitifully. "And I'm sorry I was spying on you, but those servants asked me to."
"You aren't sorry," Link remarked. "You wanted to spy on us."
Zelda suddenly had an idea. "Navi," she inquired, "would you spy for anyone?"
"Not Ganondorf! Never!"
Link instantly caught on to what Zelda had in mind. "I think she means, would you spy for us if
we ever needed you too?"
"Yes! Hey, I love spying."
"I've noticed," Zelda said dryly. "What do you say to becoming our spy? You could stay here in
the palace."
"You're small and hard to notice as long as you're quiet," Link added. "You'd be the perfect spy."
"You could stay in our chambers. No one would ever notice you," Zelda offered.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Link commented.
"I promise I won't bother you," the fairy whined. "I don't need to 'stay' anywhere. I can fit into any
smalll space."
"All right Navi, you have a job," Zelda beamed at the fairy.
"But you can't tell anyone," Link warned. "I know it will be hard, but don't do it."
"Aw, I don't have that big of a mouth, do I?"
Link and Zelda exchanged looks that said "No comment".
******
Link had taken up training a group of children the art of fighting. Not only were about a dozen
boys yelling and swinging swords in the palace courtyard that afternoon, Link also had two female
pupils. He saw nothing wrong with training girls to defend themselves. Zelda was watching, and
nodded approvingly.
"Hey!" one boy called, "What're these GIRLS doing here? Girls can't fight!"
Link glared at the boy. "I will not have students with such outdated attitudes. And you have
obviously never been in a skirmish with a Gerudo."
"Gerudos are different," the obnoxious boy protested. "Hylian girls can't fight for anything."
Link decided to teach this loudmouth a lesson. "Let me see your sword." The boy opened his
mouth to object, but wisely decided that Link was not one to argue with. He handed Link the
sword.
"Zelda!" Link called. "Would you help me with a demonstration?"
She eagerly agreed. "Let's show this boy how foolish he sounds," Link instructed. He swung.
Zelda nimby dodged and swung back. The two began putting on a show of marvelous fighting
tactics that ended with applause from all the students except the one who now felt incredibly
stupid. He stood there, mouth agape. Link returned the sword, remarking "I hope you've learned
your lesson, kid." The boy merely nodded, gulping.
The girls gave him "Told you so!" looks.
Further training was interrupted by a worried looking servant. "Your Highnesses," he panted.
"The King needs to see you immediately. The Zoras were attacked."
