Castle Town was bustling. Link had never been in a town with this many people, let alone this many people congregated in one spot. He couldn't help his jaw from dropping. The whole place was currently being decorated by men in all corners, either stringing up lights or hauling out stands to sell things at.
"Stop staring, Link, it's rude." Link's older companion said.
"Sorry, Mire. I just find the place intriguing." Link replied. He forced himself to tear his eyes away from the citizens on the streets and looked forward to the path they travelled.
"Yes, I suppose it is." The man mused, bringing his hand to his chin. "My, it's been many years since I was last here."
"I've never seen anything like it." Link said. Taking a glance at Mire to make sure that he wasn't looking, Link quickly went back to surveying the scene. He just couldn't help it; the place was so different from home.
The people were dressed quite extravagantly, at least by Link's standards. The women wore brightly colored dresses and large jewelry, most bearing the triangular patter of the triforce. The men's tunics were also brightly colored, though they came in darker tones than the women's. The most colorful article of clothing that Link had ever owned was a blue shirt, but he had grown out of it years ago.
If this is what the people of the town looked like, then he couldn't imagine the clothing of the nobles.
After making their way across the square and onto a mostly empty cobblestone path, Link let out a breath. Castle Town was an intimidating place!
"Mire, how much longer until we reach the castle?" Link asked. The man turned and smiled at him, wise brown eyes twinkling.
"Learning patience would do you well, Link." He said. Link hung his head in shame.
"I'm sorry, I am just a little weary from travelling all this way." Link said. He fidgeted with the hem of his tunic, (the fabric was very thin from his frequent toying with it) and tried to stop thinking about the distance. But the man laughed.
"I jest!" Link let out a sigh of relief, which caused the man to let out another hearty chuckle. "If you look carefully you should be able to see the castle gate over the next hill."
Link kept a close look out for the gate, and sure enough, after walking a little more, he saw the stone gate in the distance. It was a long way off, but he could make out two figures standing at the entrance, probably two guards. He guessed that they would reach the castle within ten minutes at this point.
Mire and Link walked in silence for the remaining part of their walk, only interrupted when Mire showed his written invitation to the guards at the gate and they were let through to the castle. Link gaped at the enormous structure before them. He had never seen a building this big before in his life. Mire didn't chastise him for staring again.
Once again, the pair were stopped by guards at the front doors, where again Mire showed his invitation and they were let in, though were told to wait a minute for an escort.
Link surveyed the hall ahead of them. The carpet was red with gold trim, and the walls were white stone. He knew that somewhere up ahead there would be a room with paintings detailing the legend of some hero or another. At least that's what Mire had told him.
"I haven't been here in ages, but everything is exactly as I remember." Mire remarked.
"We've only seen the entryway." Link said.
"The roads were all the same too, so I don't believe that the castle has changed much either. Especially given that King Darius was never one for change." At those words Mire's entire disposition changed from his usual cheerful self to one of sadness. Link reached up and laid a hand on Mire's shoulder.
Before Link could say anything two guards approached. One was in the uniform of a recruit, a green tunic and cap. The outfit was a tribute to the legendary heroes. Link often thought that it looked tacky in drawings, but seeing it in person made Link hate it more. The recruit himself wasn't bad looking, but the color of the tunic clashed with his orange hair. He appeared to be a few years older than Link, though he was quite short. Link guessed that he was at least 16, the minimum age for joining the army.
The second guard was wearing what Link assumed was a captain's uniform. He knew that in battle the outfit would be covered in a full suit of armor, but indoors it was simply a breastplate and miscellaneous armored pieces over a dark blue tunic. The captain was a very tall person. For a moment Link thought that it was a man, but upon closer inspection he discovered that the captain was a woman. A very imposing woman. Though her body was mostly covered by her uniform, Link could imagine her of being a muscular figure. Her face was chiseled, but scarred. One ran across her forehead and another went straight down her cheek and neck. She was clearly a veteran of the last war. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a braid, and one gray streak stood out on the side. Link felt a mixture of fear and deep respect for her.
The two guards saluted. "Captain Mire, it is a pleasure to meet with you once again." The woman captain said.
"I am pleased to meet you as well, Captain Mire." The recruit added. The two of them wore stoic expressions, though they also appeared to have enormous respect for Mire. For the first time, Link was finally aware of just how important Mire once was. Link looked at Mire, and saw his face had changed from one of sadness to one of excitement. With a big grin, Mire saluted the two guards. Link followed suit.
"At ease, men." Mire said. All four of them resumed their original stances. Mire's smile did not fade. The recruit remained professional, if not stiff, but the captain returned Mire's smile and held out her hand.
"I couldn't believe it when you said that you would be returning for the coronation!" The captain said as Mire shook her hand. "I assumed that I would never see you again, Captain." Mire chuckled.
"It's just Mire now." The man replied. "I see that you're Captain Ginevra now! You wear the uniform better than I did." Ginevra let out a loud laugh.
"Please, I'll never match up to you." She said. "But I admit that the uniform does suit me."
"Still proud as ever." Mire responded. Link was surprised with Mire's attitude. The man rarely had such easy banter with another person.
"I want to introduce you to my son." Ginevra urged the recruit forward. "This is Mire, named after you, of course." Young Mire flushed, but managed a smile at his namesake. Older Mire blinked in surprise.
"You know I was joking when I said that your firstborn son had to be named after me, right?" Mire asked. Ginevra smirked at him.
"What can I say, it's a good name."
"We were drunk when we made the bet." Mire said. "Not that I'm not flattered, but I never expected this."
Link was lost at this point. Mire rarely talked about his time in the army. It gave him bad memories. On more than one occasion Link had been awakened by a scream let out by Mire as he relived the war in his dreams. Link had never heard of Mire's old friends, but now his curiosity was piqued.
"And who is this young boy?" Ginevra asked Mire, gesturing at Link.
"This is Link. He's my adopted son, but we're more like close friends than anything." Mire answered. "I could never be a father figure."
"Really? I always figured that you would be a good father."
Mire shrugged. "The time just hasn't come for me. Anyway, are you our escort?"
"Yes, we are. I will be leading you to your room and my son will lead Link to his room." Ginevra answered. "You need to rest up, but once you're ready, we're going to go meet the prince and practice for the ceremony."
"What about Link?" Mire asked the captain. She glanced down at Link. Suddenly her eyes widened, like she had just recognized him, but she quickly changed her expression into a poker face.
"He is free for the rest of the day, but he must remain in his room unless he is escorted out. We can't have our guests getting lost in the castle."
"Oh my, I guess I won't find a break this evening." Mire said. "Behave yourself, Link." He added with a wink. Link nodded at his guardian.
"Let's head out then, Gin."
"Careful with the nicknames, in the presence of others you will be expected to address me as Captain Ginevra. Or just Captain."
"How about we compromise with Captain Gin?"
The captain rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else. She gestured at Mire to follow her, and with a goodbye wave, he left.
Link swallowed. The castle was huge, and he had never been in a building this big, and he was super dirty and possibly smelly and why was he here again he didn't belong and what if he ran into a noble and they saw him like this what if he ran into the prince and what if-
"Um." Link's thoughts were cut off by the recruit, who was still a little pink in the face. The boy swallowed and cleared his throat. "Th-this way, sir." He stuttered. He sounded just as nervous as Link!
"Yes, right." Link said. The two set out along the hallway in awkward silence. The boy's name was Mire? How would he be able to tell him apart from his Mire? The two turned to the left at a corner and came upon a staircase. Why was the boy so scared of him?
As they came to the top, the boy stumbled. "Woah!" He squeaked as he fell backward. Link caught him, barely managing to stay upright.
"Oh Goddesses! I'm so sorry I'm so clumsy I should have watched my step oh goddesses did I hurt you?" The young Mire said the words in a rush and Link barely understood what he was saying. Wow, this boy really reminded him of himself.
"Um, it's okay." Link said stiffly. After helping Mire right himself, they went walking again. The two boys were both now red as tomatoes. They finally stopped in the middle of the hallway.
"Here's your room, sir." Mire gestured at a large door.
"Please, stop calling me sir." Link said. It felt so unnatural. He was just a normal country boy who had a few anxiety issues and who had never stepped foot in a town that had a paved road.
"Right, I guess it's kind of weird." Mire scratched the back of his neck. "I guess I'll be leaving."
"Wait!" Link said quickly. He didn't want to be alone in a weird castle, even if it meant being with a boy he had barely met. Mire's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. "Uh, if I want to leave my room then you'll just be right here and you can take me places. I mean, unless you're busy I guess."
"No, I don't have to anything for the rest of the day, that's why my mom brought me along to escort you." Mire looked down. Link steeled his nerves and took a deep breath.
"Let's go to my room. Maybe we can introduce ourselves?"
"Right, that's fair." Link nodded, and turned to open his door. The two boys entered the room, and Link suddenly forgot how to speak.
"It's pretty big." Mire said, which summarized Link's thoughts perfectly. He nodded numbly, closing the door behind them.
The room itself was about as big as two of his houses sitting next to each other. Like the hallways it had white stone walls and a red carpet. Windows let sunlight stream in and show off the queen size bed, which had blue blankets embroidered with the triforce. A wardrobe and vanity sat in one of the corners, and a couch sat in the other. The room probably cost more rupees than the worth of his home village in total.
"It's a little overwhelming, isn't it?" Mire asked Link.
Link finally found his voice. "Yeah. I've never seen anything like it." After another second of taking it all in, Link finally found the strength to take his knapsack off his shoulders and set it at the end of his bed. He pulled out all the contents, which was a change of clothes and some food. They'd packed lightly for the trip, and Mire (his Mire) had promised that clothing would be provided for the coronation.
Speaking of, "Mire, my, uh, father told me that there would be clothes provided for the coronation since we're honored guests." Link felt uncomfortable calling Mire his father, but he didn't see another choice if he didn't want to mix up the two Mire's.
"Yeah, there's a tailor who's going to get you two suited up. I mean, the clothes won't be specifically made for you but he will make adjustments." Mire said. "Um, not that we wouldn't get clothes made especially for you it's just that you don't live here I guess. Or something." Link was silent for a moment, but suddenly let out a giggle.
"Did I say something wrong? Oh yes I did I'm sorry for offending you with that comment about the tailor it was super insensitive of me and-"
"Stop!" Link laughed. He grinned at Mire. "You're fine. I'm not a prince or a noble. Technically I guess you outrank me, seeing as how I have no direct connection to the royal family. At least you're a recruit for the army!" Mire took a step back, as if no one had said anything like that to him before.
"I'm sorry- "
"No more 'sorry', okay? I want to be equals." Link said. He held out a hand to Mire to shake. He hesitated, but eventually reached out to clasp Link's hand.
"We haven't introduced ourselves to each other." Link said. Where was this confidence coming from? Link had never felt so brave in his entire life. Something about this boy made him feel comfortable though, maybe even a little more comfortable than with his father.
"Oh, I guess not." The boys separated hands. Link nodded towards the couch in an inviting way, and Mire shrugged. They walked towards and sat on opposite ends, facing each other.
Link sank into the soft cushions. He was a little lazy, to be honest, and he could never resist taking a nap or lounging on a soft space. Mire sat with perfect posture, possibly due to his training.
"I'm Link." Link introduced himself. "I was born in the Faron province but I was raised in Kakariko Village by Mire. And I'm 15. Hmm. I like to take naps but Mire has been teaching me casual sword fighting and self-defense stuff, which is pretty fun. I have a horse named Epona and I like to pet her because she's nice and soft. Yeah that's about it. How about you?"
"I'm Mire."
"Wait, do you have a nickname? I want to tell you apart from my father is all." Link interrupted.
"Right. When I was little some friends used to call me Meer, if that's okay." Link beamed.
"I like it!"
"Oh, thank you." Meer said with a little smile. "let's see…
"I was born in Castle Town and I was raised there. My mom has always been busy as a captain so I was cared for by my dad. On my 16th birthday I joined the army, which really made my mom happy and I've been here for about five months now."
"Do you have any hobbies?" Link asked.
"I like sword fighting. Otherwise I haven't really had time for hobbies. This is the first night off I've had in weeks." Meer admitted. Now that he mentioned it, Link did notice that the boy had prominent dark circles under his eyes.
"Hey, we both like swords." Link said with a smile. "Say, do you think that we could have a little duel? I'm a little rusty, I haven't worked on my swordsmanship skills in a while."
Meer's eyes lit up. "I'd be happy to! I could get us some practice swords and we could go out to the courtyard, there's a great open space there." Meer stood up. "I'm ready to go any time you are." Link raised his eyebrows, but stood up next to Meer.
"Now's as good a time as ever." He grinned, which was returned to him brightly.
"Follow me!" Meer said, and the two walked out the door.