AN:
I promise that they will actually get together in this one. I am still a sad, fluff loving shipper. I am not Nintendo.
IF YOU HAVEN'T READ FOURTEEN DANCES, PLEASE DO SO.
"Good morning, little vai!" Urbosa yells as she enters my room. "Happy birthday!"
It's been three years since the Calamity to the day. Today is my 20th birthday.
I groan and cover my head with my pillow. "Oh, get up! You have a council meeting today. And you know who's going to be there?"
"A bunch of old men complaining about nothing?" I ask from beneath my pillow.
"And a young, handsome marquess, who you've had your eyes on for years." She rips the blanket off of me.
"Let me sleep! It's my birthday!"
"The council will be here in an hour, we've already let you sleep longer than we should have."
-oOo-
She eventually manages to get me out of bed, and we are just in time for the council meeting. "Happy birthday, dear." Father says once I enter.
"Thank you, father."
The council members around the room echo congratulations on my getting older. The meeting goes as they usually do. Which means I spend most of it staring at my former knight. He has grown up significantly. He's a lot taller. He was a late bloomer in that regard. He's at least a head taller than me now. His hair is much longer. He was told to either grow it out or cut it off.
"Are there any other concerns that need to be covered today?" Father asks. One councilman raises his hand. Shit. "Yes?"
"As we have all acknowledged, today your daughter is of legal age to marry. She must take a husband soon to ensure the bloodline of Hylia carries on." I knew it. "My son is of a long, proud line of great Hylian warriors, and would like to request for the princess's hand."
"I believe that I have dictated enough of my daughter's life. In the area of marriage and succession I am giving her free will. As long as she complies by the laws, I will not stop her."
"So, princess, what are your feelings on the matter?" Duke Narkell asks.
"I am sorry, Duke. However, my standards for what makes a great Hylian warrior are very high." I look over to the only man who meets all of my standards without turning my head. "And there is no way that a boy who has had everything handed to him on a silver platter and never even held a sword can qualify." Urbosa begins laughing and I see Link smirk out of the corner of my eye.
"You're the princess, yet you complain about my son having everything handed to him?"
"Narkell, you are out of line!" Father declares.
"No, father, it is fine. The man asked a question, and I am more than willing to answer." I pat his arm lightly before turning back to the man. "You think that my life has been simple?" Thankfully, Link is present so my powers work and my hand lights up. "Do you believe that I didn't have to work for this? I prayed every day for ten years to unlock this. It was on my seventeenth birthday, three years ago to the day, when Calamity Ganon appeared after I prayed at the Spring of Wisdom. It took watching one of my closest friends and the only hope Hyrule had left almost die for my powers to unlock. I may be the princess, but I have had to work for what's important."
"I do believe, that the answer to your original question is no." Father sums up.
"But your majesty!"
"We will have no more discussion of this." Father declares. "Does anyone have any actual concerns?" Nothing. "Council dismissed." The majority of the council mills out of the room. The former champions and I are eventually the only ones left. Mipha and Link standing as far away from each other as possible.
"Your highness." Revali bows dramatically, "I do hope that the rest of your birthday will be more pleasant than that meeting."
"As do I." I sigh.
"It's been too long." Mipha smiles sadly at me.
"I am sad that I have not been able to visit much anymore. I have been very busy."
"We understand." She assures me. Daruk once again wishes me a happy birthday, and the only one left to talk to is him.
"Princess."
"Lord."
"Happy Birthday."
"Thank you." We stand awkwardly for a moment. "And how have you been? It has been a while."
"I am well, and you?"
"I am very well."
"Little vai, you better go change. We're kidnapping you for the day." Urbosa informs me.
"Really?" I smile broadly.
"Of course, did you think that I was going to allow you to spend your birthday in meetings?" I did wonder why all of the Champions were present. Link is the only one who attends all of the council meetings, though the rest of them are members. They normally just attend the most important bi-monthly meetings or when something requires their expertise.
"Then I better go change."
-oOo-
Eventually, after I change into my old Champion's tunic, considering that the rest of them were wearing theirs, I meet them at the front of the castle. "So, where are we going?"
"It's a surprise." Urbosa informs me. We walk outside and see four horses waiting for us. I jump up on my steed and they all surround me, Revali taking to the air, and Daruk rolling.
I look over to Link, Lord Link, Urbosa is right, he has become very handsome. Not that he wasn't before, just he's a more mature handsome now. He used to be more cute. "I can't believe that still fits you." He was wearing a jacket or something during the meeting, so I did not notice his bright blue tunic.
"It didn't. Urbosa had a tailor make it larger." I laugh slightly. "Yours does?"
"Barely." My chest is rather constricted.
"It looks fine."
"You all had this planned."
"You think we could have done this all spur of the moment? You think we could have convinced your father to allow us to do this spur of the moment?" He smiles.
"Hylia no. I don't know the last time I left the castle any further than Castle Town."
As we ride through Castle Town, people run and pull their families out to see us all together again. I see a few girls looking at Link and giggling amongst themselves. He doesn't seem to notice. "Will you please tell me where we're going?" I beg.
"No, part of kidnapping you is you not knowing what's happening." Urbosa informs me. A few people yell wishes of "Happy Birthday" to me, and I call back my thanks.
-oOo-
Eventually, we make it to the Great Plateau. The old steps too dangerous to take the horses up, so we board them at the nearby stable. Link and Urbosa take baskets off their saddles. "Are we having a picnic?"
"Perhaps." I smile broadly and follow my champions up to the Great Plateau.
"We figured that you'd enjoy it, get away from the castle and the view is incredible." Link explains.
"Well, you were right." Last year the anniversary of the kingdom overshadowed my birthday. We don't really know how long Hyrule has been around, but we have a day each year we celebrate and last year happened to be the fifteen-thousandth year since we began celebrating.
We eventually make our way to the top of the Great Plateau. Mipha goes off to find some water, as she has been out of it for too long. Urbosa spreads out blankets with Revali as Link unpacks the food. I wander close to the edge, looking over Hyrule Field.
"Are you happy?"
I turn and see my former knight.
"Yes, why?"
"Is what Duke Narkell said bothering you?" He walks closer to me. "You looked like you wanted to snap his neck earlier."
"I did." I admit. "I knew it was coming. All of them have been attempting to get me to court their sons ever since the Calamity. Now that I can legally marry, they're going to go insane."
"How sad for them that they are unaware of how stubborn you are."
"How do you know? Perhaps I have matured over the past three years."
"You admitted to wanting to break a man's neck because he wants you to marry his son." He reminds me.
"LOVEBIRDS! GET OVER HERE!" Urbosa calls. My cheeks heat up yet again, and we walk back over to the others, filled with shame for doing nothing.
They seem to have raided the Castle's kitchen. We all eat and laugh and have a generally fun time. Though the two of us who were once the closest, sit the farthest apart.
Around a year ago, Mipha proposed to Link. She made him the traditional Zora Armor and everything. But, she forgot to confirm something before she did all of this: whether or not he wanted to marry her. Which he apparently did not. They have not spoken since. None of us were present for it, but the story of it spread through the kingdom very quickly. Apparently, Mipha took the armor and destroyed it somehow publicly. I've heard many ways that she destroyed it. Some say she burned it. Others say she ripped it apart with her bare hands.
"Is this all we're doing?" I ask, eating my fruit salad.
"No, of course not, you're an adult now. We're going to do adult things." Urbosa declares.
"Adult things?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Nothing too bad, but you are having a drink."
"That sounds like a terrible idea."
"Why?" She whines.
"Aren't you supposed to keep me out of trouble?"
"No, I'm not your parent." She pointedly takes a bite of food.
"By Zora law, Mipha can't drink." I remind her. Due to Zora's long life-cycle, their laws regarding alcohol have to be different than the rest of ours.
"She's here to make sure we don't get into any trouble." I see Link cringe in my peripheral vision. This is going to be a long night.