There is a time for love.
There is a place for war.
Silence stood the once uplifting and gracious town of Hyrule. There had never before been such a dark overcast over the castle walls. The cobblestone ground held the townspeople, but made no sound as not a soul made an effort to move. The citizens gazed upon the King up on his balcony more intently than upon any fairy in flight or any shooting star.
The crowned man held above the rest of the world looked down upon these people anxiously. He knew he could no longer hold his breath. They all knew why they were there. They knew what he would say as he took a harsh gulp of air and cleared his throat. He could no longer be nervous because after all, this was their ruler. Who would wish for the man in charge to be fearful, to lack confidence? Times like this is when strength is most needed.
With his left hand, he slightly lifted up his crown, using the other hand to slick back his thick silver hair before placing the extraordinarily decorated head piece back on the top of his head. Standing over his own people, he finally began his most dreaded announcement.
"Dear people of Hyrule, with your patience and respect for myself, I am most grateful. With your strength and pride for this land, I am most pleased. For this land would not be a thing without every last one of you. Each and every one of you has had a part in the progress of this land and the making of history in this land. The tales of this very kingdom have been passed down for ages and we are the people of the pages to come. We need not failure, only success, for this is where the greatest of lands lie in the makings of memories.
"I have never been more sorry than as of right now, as I take the role of the bearer of bad news. I only wish to please. I want nothing more than for my people to live great lives. To live the best lives. And for the children of my people to have the same. Happiness is golden. This is the golden kingdom. But gold is of great value and value must be fought for. Never fought over, only for.
"If I thought for one moment I myself could fight for this land alone, I would not think for a second of asking those of you who stand here with me today. I only wish to protect. However, this is not what this land stands for. This land is unity. This land is the respect we all hold for one another and the care we give to each other when it's most needed, and even when it is not needed. We are great because we are together. We need to remember this as we go to save what's ours, to fight for what's ours. To fight for this blessed land all of you as well as myself call home.
"Yes, I am saying what you have not came to this spot today wanting to hear, but it needs to be said. It is time and we must do what we need to stand up for ourselves and each other. The Goddesses have summoned us for this war to remind us all how we stand in this place today and to keep this place as great as it has been every day since its creation. We must fight!"
With his last sentence, or more-so order, the King's voice rose to great heights and left each Hylian shaking in their skin. But with a sudden roar from this crowd of citizens, they threw their fists in the air, cheering with the pride they had kept in the bottom of their hearts since they were born on this enchanted land.
From a nearby home in the valley, a woman stood. She couldn't have inched any closer to the window, half of her face being covered by the curtain's shadow while the rest glowed in the sunlight peering in through the glass. Her one illuminated eye let off a green sparkle across the pupil as she stared, not even letting herself blink once. She heard these words, coming from the King and the crowds, so loud she was sure the whole land of Hyrule could hear it.
She wore a long, modest sun-dress in a pastel shade of yellow. Her long, fire-red curls dangled down the center of her back. She wore an intricate diamond ring on her left hand, with carvings and words of love written around the golden band. It was the most valuable thing she had ever owned.
She turned to the young man behind her. He sat on her old, dusty oak dining room chair, looking down at the nearly empty glass in his hand. His bright blond hair hung in front of his face while his left index finger traced the edge of the drink.
He was a successful man, not with currency but with life. He was one of few that really got a chance to live. He had visited many places and took every opportunity to help all those that he could – A true hero to this land and even distant ones. Many times he had been gifted with the most treasured and legendary items passed down through generations of many families and kingdoms. People were grateful for the deeds he had done and were more than happy to reward him. However, he was not too cocky. He wasn't one to let pride overcome him and he always kept his heart in the right place. Only times like this he would let his head hand low and his voice grow deeper with frustration as he sat in that very seat, bracing himself.
It was dark in this room, almost as dark as it was outside, aside from the fact that this was the middle of the day. The orange backdrop of the sky coming in from the window had never left such a creepy vibe before.
The maiden stepped away from the window, moving closer toward the man, her soft voice carefully approaching his ears as she hesitantly began to speak. "Link… I really think we need to ride to the castle now. This sounds really important… We can talk later. Really, it wasn't that important anyway…"
The blond shook his head, letting out a mocking laugh. An unusual bitter voice escaped his lips with his reply. "Really? You're trying to hold back this inevitable disappointment, but with that you're causing even more. Malon, you know that meeting with the King is not important to me right now. You are. I know what he's going on and on about right now. Hyrule is getting ready for a war and I'm going to be fighting in it. Hell, I may even be dying in it. But I don't care right now because I already know all about it. The whole damn land knows all about it. We've seen this coming for months and now it's time, and all the people in this place are actually freaking out as if they didn't know.
"For whatever reason, you think I'm one of those people. You take me for a fool, you know. Not just for your ignorance these past few months of what's been going on with the kingdom and that you think I'm surprised, but the fact that you're sitting here, beating around the bush. Just as we both know what's going on over there, we both know what's going on right here. I know what's going on right here, right now. Us. You and I. We're sitting here, thinking about us, and you're thinking about how you're about to break it off. We're both sitting here thinking about how you're about to break it off. You think I'm an idiot, but don't you see? I've known this all along. I know you don't want this anymore. I've known for months. I've known about how you don't want me to have your heart, your virginity, your ring finger... I know you've been planning on throwing me aside for months. And for some reason, you went along with the gown fitting and the trip to the bakery to pick out the cake and you even changed this place to give it a less feminine touch to contribute to the fact that I'm supposed to move in here with you and wake up next to you in the morning. But you don't want that. You never did. You took the ring to please your father, your god damned father. That's what this whole thing was about. You never wanted me and I've known all along. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to believe the truth. I wanted you more than anything else in this world. I still want you more than anything else in this world. It's not going to happen though. It will never, ever happen. You will never be my wife. Will you?"
Malon's jaw dropped, her eyes frowning upon this handsome young man, with even disappointment in herself. "…No. I'm sorry…" She looked down and fought back a tear, for his nearly harsh words of honesty had startled her and even caused her sadness. "You are a great man, but…"
"I know." The male simply said, cutting her off and lifting up his glass and downing the rest of the sweet drink from the bottom. The alcohol stung the cut on his bottom lip. It caused a sick smile to form across his face as he shook his head and stood up with another mocking laugh. "I know because I'm not a fool, Malon." He made his way across the small room, "Keep the ring. I know it's the best you'll ever have." He said and shut the door loudly behind him as he left, not bothering to give her another glance.