a/n: A long time ago, when I was in grade 11, I thought to myself, "Hey, I should write with some style" and thus this was born, a blend of poetic prose and in-depth characterization with romantic notions and motives. And then I got a huge bout of personal issues while also being very busy with work and school and deleted a bunch of my creative writing stuff... which I deeply regret and am now trying to recollect and get into again.
Long story short: don't delete anything ever because you might come back to it one day and regret it. Also, this is primarily a romance novel with bits and pieces of drama. I hope you enjoy! And I will try to pick up where I last left off... and probably tone down the more mature scenes *cough*limes/lemons*cough* (unless you guys like that sort of stuff... let me know!).
Wisdom is not knowledge. Knowledge is not power. Wisdom is true power and belongs solely to those who are born to rule.
Twilight illuminated the sky. Its dull light cast dreary shadows upon the soft greens of the land, turning even the liveliest colours into a sombre blue.
Within the tallest tower of the castle stood the new queen. Sorrow filled her, causing her brows to draw and her delicate lips to twist in a frown. It was an unfamiliar emotion for one who had recently been crowned queen. She should be grateful for surviving the Twilight War, blissful for finally wearing the crown on her head, a symbol for a time of peace and prosperity. But for an inexplicable reason, heaviness weighed her heart.
"It must be the twilight," she whispered to herself. Its soft blue glow made her remember all of it—all the men who ascended into the heavens and all of the people who cowered in fear. And their princess—helpless and useless in their hour of need.
With a sad smile, she remembered the departure of the twilight princess and the hero's emotional turmoil. It was a shame she would never see her again, a regret that she had no words of comfort for either of them. Her leave was inevitable and his heartbreak inexorable.
It was especially evident in their last conversation together.
In the silken sands of the Gerudo Desert, the hero and princess sat down by a rare oasis for a quick break of traveling on foot. The sun had set and twilight hovered in the horizon.
She took off her boots and dipped bare feet into the pool before them. Its crisp coolness relaxed her sore feet from walking in the unbearable sun. She looked at him to see if he was unscathed by Midna's unexpected leave.
He lied on the cluster of grass by a palm tree, his eyes gazing at the sky. "Somewhere, Midna is with us right now," he said, placing his hands beneath his neck. A small smile curved his thin lips. "The sky is beautiful and melancholic when there are no stars and there is no sun."
She tilted her head to gain a better view of the clear sky. "When the sun sets and the moon has yet to awaken, this is the time when light merges with shadow."
He was silent for a moment, staring at the skies with such fondness. She knew why he gazed at the sky with longing in his eyes. It was mysterious, afar, and solitary. It reminded him of the twilight princess.
"There is a feeling of sorrow lingering in the air," he spoke at last. "Do you not feel it, Zelda?"
The way he said her name startled her. She was unaccustomed to the absent title of princess. The feeble detail did not irk her, in a way, she was grateful for his informality.
"This is the time of reflection and solitude," she spoke calmly. She stared at the reflection of the pool. "The light has faded and with it the toils of life."
"Reflection…" he murmured.
She caught his eyes brighten at the cluster of twin palms. She envied the way he experienced the world—alert and focused, noticing the tiniest of details everywhere he went. He felt everything, saw everything, heard the entire world. Nature was at peace with him as he was at peace with nature.
"What is reflection?" he at last asked, a perplexed expression wrinkling his brow. "Is it taking the time to evaluate strengths and weaknesses? To review the past as if it is the present?"
"Reflection is acquiring wisdom of oneself," she said. "As the old saying goes, 'the wisest men are the most content.'"
"And how does one obtain happiness?"
"It is subjective. Happiness differentiates among people. Some desire the material things, the things which are fleeting and have no eternal value. Others have delight in understanding the world. As life progresses, their understanding only grows. It does not disappear."
"The hermits of old are happy amongst themselves," he observed.
"The hermits are such men who seek to understand the world." She sat straight, interested in his enthusiasm. "Legend says the ancient Sage of the Forest sought wisdom within the depths of the trees. Each day he would sit beneath an old willow with a gnarled trunk. Eventually, he focused internally and understood his role in the universe. By reflecting within, he heard the whispers of the forest and became more aware of his duty as a sage. He finally achieved insight through solitude and reflection."
"Perhaps the hermits learned this simplistic lifestyle from him."
She nodded. "It is what Auru told me. He once lived in the woods."
"He is a wise man," he commented absently. His eyes darted this way and that in nature's presence, as if some danger lurked near, or perhaps it was to admire the beauty of the evening sky. "Such wisdom could be of use to me." He chuckled, enjoying the joke to himself.
"You are wise," she said immediately. "Do not think for a second you are not."
"I am not as wise as you," he mumbled weakly. It was not meant for her ears, yet she heard it and felt her heart fall. "I may explore the forest one day. Perhaps live a simple life in it, a simpler life than one in Ordon."
It was to be a joke, but she knew he was not joking. He lied still, a little too stiff, as he said it. In the outline of the stars, his shoulders slightly quiver from the night's cold—or was it the suppressed sobs from the departure of a loved one?
"If it is what you desire, then I hope you catch the forest's whispers and keep them. And one day," she said. "You will look back with a smile." She withdrew her feet from the pool, the drops darkening the sand. The hem of her dress was stained from the desert's wind and her boots dirtied with hardened mud. "Shall we head back?" she asked, pulling on her footwear.
"By all means," he nodded, rising from his bed of grass.
For a moment, they walked together in silence. The twilight drifted into the horizon and transformed into an inky sky. Diamonds winked in the night and the moon sliced a luminous crescent in the darkness.
"Link," she said, barely audible. She watched as her feet treaded among the desert's sands.
He looked at her, his mouth a thin line. There was apprehension in her voice as she said his name.
She was frozen as he gazed at her with attentiveness. She knew she was prying within his private realm; it was something so personal that it was inappropriate among acquaintances. But she found she could not quench her curiosity. "What will you do now? After all of this has passed, where will you be?"
He smiled, as if he expected this question. "To Ordon," he said simply. "Where else will I be?"
She said nothing of his answer. They both knew he would venture into the woods, for why else would he gain interest in the Sage of the Forest?
There was a desire for him to reach his own enlightenment. Though his adventures in Hyrule's twilight provided sufficient growth, he was not yet complete. To him, the woods would allow him to contemplate all he had done, to fully understand the world in his own view. It was an opportunity to comprehend his own emotional turmoil and fight his inner demons of the past.
And now, as she stared at the darkened sky, the overwhelming sadness enveloped her whole, until her heart ached and she stifled a sob, and she, surprised that a tear threatened to leak onto her pale cheek, wiped it away furiously, ashamed she was so selfish to have such a hope he would be there, smiling and kneeling before her.
"You will come to my coronation in the summer?" she had asked. They took yet another rest at Lake Hylia where greens surrounded the soft hush of the waves. "I would like to knight you soon after."
He said nothing, his stone silence a wall between them. "Perhaps," he said. The water reflected the sun's rays and bounced off his golden hair, his eyes locked onto its fluctuating surface. Such beautiful eyes, so bright and full of life at times, and at others, they hardened, cold and relentless, churning and raging like a storm in the sea.
With a soft smile, he turned to her, his voice calm and collected. "I cannot break a vow to my princess, but I will assure you, one day I shall return and be knighted by Your Grace."
She knew why he had not promise her, for he knew he would break it if he had. In the depths of her heart, she knew she could forgive him, yet she hated he did not appear as she expected, hated the disappointment he gave her; but most of all, she hated herself for acting selfish, wishing for him to be here instead of elsewhere where he truly belonged.
She said goodbye to the twilight as it vanished, the darkness swallowing it whole like a fish in the water. As she descended the steps, she whispered a prayer.
"May he be safe."
a/n: If you have wattpad, follow me on there under AriettaSerenade. I enjoy the formatting on there, and I think you will too if you use mobile!