sub rosa \suhb-ROH-zuh\
adverb:
1. Secretly; privately; confidentially.
adjective:
1. Designed to be secret or confidential; secretive; private.
(Note: Literally means "under the roses" in Latin)
Under the Roses
General Daurion, his heavy boot steps echoing with the emptiness of twilight, slowly made his way around the garden. He closed his old eyes and felt the castle stones sigh with him; they both had gotten to know each other well over the years. Back when he was young, he had wondered how one could ever begin to know everything of the castle. Now, however, he might just be vain enough to admit the castle kept no secrets from him. He had served under two kings and three queens since his unblemished hand had first held the hilt of a blade, and now it seemed his hands were eternally seamed with secrets and scars.
The general paused as he came to a large stretch of rose bushes, their crimson petals beginning to stretch into spring. He plucked one of the flowers from the bushel. Idly, he twirled the rose stem between his fingers; the thorns grazed his skin sharply.
He smiled. How appropriate.
He was something of a Harpocrates, he supposed.
He had watched Princess Zelda grow up and had developed a nearly-fatherly affection toward her. She was always a bright, serious young lady. Sometimes he had felt sorry for her; she would never know what it was to be carefree, to kick up her heels with the other children uncaringly and just enjoy her days. No, her days would soon be filled with politics and etiquette, and there would be no room for revelry. This responsibility only increased when her family suddenly passed away, leaving her the sole survivor of a terrible fever. She was forced to grow up quickly in order to maintain a country that had been prematurely passed on to her.
As she grew older, matured into a woman, Daurion felt a different sort of sadness for her. Once she was old enough for marrying, she was immediately presented with suitor after suitor; her only idea of romance was a contract between two countries. She would never know the courtship of a man who truly loved her. Every gesture from a suitor would be a thin mask covering an agenda of property and the expansion of power. She was probably unlikely to find an appropriate suitor she truly loved and who reciprocated that love; at the very most, she might grow to care for him and he for her. That was how it went, Daurion knew, but his fatherly affection for Zelda made it that much sadder for him.
That is why he told no one her secret.
He remembered very vividly the day the Twili imposter, Zant, had stormed the castle. He retained vague memories of being coated in shadow, of a terror that knew no reason or bounds. Daurion also recalled being freed from the Twilight endless days later, and many of his men affirmed that a wolf with blue eyes had saved them. Life appeared to be normal, but this illusion was shattered when the castle was encased in magic. From then on, Daurion did his best to lead the people in some semblance of order; occasionally he would catch glimpses of the same wolf running through the town. The people, of course, were terrified because the beast looked to be of the same breed as those who had attacked them. Daurion always let the wolf go its way, though.
His suspicions were confirmed when a stranger walked in a little time later. This young man appeared to be a normal Hylian, but his eyes matched those of the beast. Daurion immediately knew that, somehow, this young man was the same entity as the wolf and meant to help free Hyrule.
The details of this green-clad hero's journey filtered through the lips of the people after the final battle was completed. His name, Link, almost became one of reverence and worship. Daurion often even heard different accounts from the same people, but one fact was clear: this man had saved their country. He didn't seem to be satisfied with just this impossible feat, either. The hero returned within the next month and helped rebuild all that had been damaged, earning him further love and respect from the people.
One person, in particular, seemed to think very highly of the hero. Queen Zelda personally thanked Link with such a lack of protocol that some of the older councilmen raised their eyebrows. She invited him to the grand events of the castle and eventually took to meeting more personally with him. There seemed to be a fast friendship between the two, and although some romantics hoped the two would get together, no one really suspected a romance.
Daurion himself had not suspected anything, either. He knew the Queen was fond of the hero, yes, but he had not thought the two would act upon anything.
One day, though, he sought out Zelda to discuss a military matter. The evening was late, but he knew she often stayed awake through midnight. So, he knocked on her study, expecting to find her there. When he received no answer, he entered the room to make sure she was unharmed. While checking the empty room, he happened to glance out the window.
There in the moonlight was, unmistakably, Zelda and Link. They sat under the overhanging rose bushes, their hands intertwined. Zelda had her head tucked under Link's chin, and his hand was gently rubbing her back. Such a gesture of openness and intimacy was rare for Zelda, for any Queen, so Daurion knew she was very deeply attached to the hero, possibly even loved him.
Daurion began to notice little things between them more often after that. He noticed how when Link kissed Zelda's hand, a perfectly normal procedure when approaching a Queen, his lips lingered just a little longer than propriety allowed. He noticed how, if Zelda and Link were in a crowded room or event, Zelda would purposely stay away from Link, as if to avert suspicion. He noticed how, when they did dance together, their eyes never strayed from each other. He noticed how, whenever he would bring up Link's name or mention him, Zelda's posture shifted and her cheeks held the slightest tint of rose. He began to notice that many of the nights the Queen stayed awake through midnight were not, in fact, spent within the castle; she was once again with the roses and Link.
Daurion dropped the rose on the ground.
Chuckling a little under his breath, he whispered conspiratorially to the rose bushes, "You and I will just keep our mouths shut, won't we?"
As he walked out of the garden, the roses rustled in the wind as if in answer.