Hey guys, and Merry Christmas! I decided to post a little oneshot in celebration of Christmas, and I really hope you enjoy. Scars of a Caged Bird will be updated, hopefully, on 12/27/15, if I remain on schedule, but if it's not, I do apologize. Please vote on this chapter, and, if you feel so inclined, drop a comment below! Any support is greatly appreciated. :)
All rights go to Nintendo, however, I own the plot, Lela, Anakin, Cohen, and Zaylee. (I do not own the cover art.) Thanks and enjoy! :)
I frantically searched for my list. Where was it?! It had all of the plans I had made for the Festival. If I couldn't find it, the whole Christmas Festival might be ruined. I couldn't let that happen – All the people in Hyrule were counting on me. Many people from all over Hyrule came to this Festival to enjoy themselves and be with their families. I couldn't mess this up for them.
As the current ruling monarch of Hyrule, this responsibility was automatically left to me. I sprinted down the halls and corridors of the Castle, looking everywhere for that stupid piece of paper, holding the skirt of my dress in order to make running easier. I was paying so much attention to whether or not the paper was anywhere I was searching, that I carelessly ran into someone.
"Zel," I heard a voice state. I had run into my husband, Link's broad chest. "What're you doing?" he asked, sounding amused.
"I can't find that stupid paper!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air. My voice wavered from stress and pressure, and I was on the verge of tears.
"Zel," Link repeated. He brought me closer and laid my head back on his chest. "It's gonna be OK."
"What do you mean 'it's gonna be OK'? I can't find my list, and that has all of my plans for the Festival!" my voice cracked, and I began to cry.
"Sh, Zel," Link crooned, stroking my dark brown hair. He laid his head atop mine and rubbed my back soothingly with his left hand. "Don't worry about it."
"Link – I need that paper," I stated desperately. I tried to brush the tears away, but to no avail. I merely smeared my makeup even more. I then attempted to fix my tiara but failed once more.
Link just chuckled, fixing my tiara with ease and pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. He blotted away my tears and held me close. "We'll find it – Promise."
"Mama! Daddy!" Link and I both adjusted our stance in order to face the chorus of baby voices. My four little ones stood beside us, beaming up at us brightly. My heart immediately warmed as my youngest, Zaylee, wrapped her arms around Link's legs.
"Mama! Daddy!" my eldest, Lela, exclaimed. "Uncle Sheik told us to get you – He said that the lights for the tree are almost ready!"
"It's a big tree, Daddy – It's like this big!" Cohen provided us with a visual by stretching his arms out wide, to the point where he almost fell on the floor.
"Dada!" Zaylee exclaimed. She let go of Link's legs and lifted her arms up, her signal for "pick me up!"
"Mama, are we going?" six-year-old Anakin asked, pulling on the skirt of my dress. He was by far our most impatient child – I don't know where he got it from, though.
"Yes, we're going; we're going," I responded. Anakin and Lela both grabbed my hands; Link held Zaylee in his arms, and Cohen held Link's free hand. We were one big happy family, and I was so content.
I was so thankful that I had been able to marry Link, especially considering he had been a peasant. He and I had fallen in love when we were both sixteen, and Link proposed when we were seventeen. At first, my father had initially rejected Link and refused to give his consent, but after much badgering from both me and my twin brother, Sheik, he finally relented.
Link and I married a year later, when we were eighteen, and my father passed down the reigns to me when we were twenty-one. For the most part, I believe that he only passed them to me and not Sheik because he was afraid that Sheik would never marry. Oh, well. Tough luck, eh, Sheik? He missed out.
At the age of twenty-two, Link and I had our first child, Lela. She was my pride and joy – in fact, she still is. That was eight years ago, and, since then, we had had three more children: Anakin, Cohen, and Zaylee. Anakin was six, Cohen was four, and Zaylee had just turned two.
They were the lights of my life, along with Link and my twin brother, Sheik, of course. I cherished my family greatly and hated the fact that I didn't have as much time with them as I'd like. Being a ruling monarch can be hard and draining; Link did the best he could to help out whenever the opportunity presented itself, but most of the weight rested on my shoulders.
With Link as King and me as Queen, it was sometimes hard to find enough time to carve out for the kids. They knew that time with us was a privilege that they sometimes didn't get, so they always did the best they could to enjoy their limited time with us.
"Wait – Link – Where are we going?" I questioned, turning to face my husband slightly.
"Go get dressed. The kids and I laid an outfit for you on the bed," Link answered, motioning toward our bedroom door. I then actually looked at my family's outfits. Link wore an embellished green tunic, the most formal thing I've ever seen him wear, besides the tunic he wore on our wedding day; he wore a pair of brown breeches and leather boots, and he wore his gold crown. His dirty blonde hair was as unruly as ever, and his blue eyes shone brightly. His brow was arched teasingly, and his lips curved in a smile.
Lela wore a forest green dress with fitted sleeves that went well with her light brown hair, and Zaylee wore a dark red dress with puffy sleeves. When not in Link's arms, my baby toddler struggled slightly to walk with all the extra weight her dress added on to her. I giggled a bit at the sight. She was too cute.
Anakin and Cohen both looked more than a little bit annoyed at being put into matching suits. Their hair wasn't much better than their dad's – their disorderly blonde locks falling every which way.
I passed them all a smile and entered our bedroom. A frost colored dress lay on the bed, as promised. A pair of matching silver silken slippers was placed near the side of the bed, and jewelry that complimented the ensemble lay on top of the dress. I changed into the dress, a smile lighting my face.
This was what Christmas really is – Spending time with family, celebrating Jesus' birth. I was going to spend time with my family. I had to – Otherwise I would miss out on the true meaning of Christmas.
I plaited my dark brown hair in a French braid going down my back, and my makeup was done simply, as I did it myself. I placed my tiara on the top of my head and smoothed the fabric of my dress. I glanced in the mirror quickly before exiting the room, keeping in mind of Anakin's extreme impatience.
"You look beautiful, Zel," my husband stated, embracing me. His arms were still wrapped around me as the kids crowded around us, hugging us as well.
"Thanks – You look pretty handsome yourself," I teased, grinning. I broke away from our embrace in order to pick up Zaylee. "And you all look like the princesses and princes I raised," I stated, addressing my children.
"C'mon, Dad!" Anakin exclaimed, tugging at Link's arm. "We have to go find Uncle Sheik!"
"I know, kiddo; I know," Link chuckled. He allowed himself to be pulled away by Anakin and Cohen. Lela and I followed with Zaylee in my arms.
We stepped out of the Castle and into the streets of Castle Town. I noticed that Link didn't neglect to make sure that he was armed in case of attack. Anakin and Cohen led us to the center of Castle Town to the giant Christmas tree. It was decorated in many ornaments and lights. Scaffolds were present, in order to finish the procedure.
I spotted Sheik in the middle of the chaos, conducting the whole operation. "No! A little more to the right! Wait – I lied – Move it to the left just a tad! Ah! Here, let me do it myself!" Sheik yelled, frustrated at the man attempting to place the star on the top of the tree. I wasn't going to lie – It was a rather precarious job, standing on the huge scaffold. I was glad that I wasn't doing that job – I have a fear of heights.
The man climbed back down the scaffold and handed the star to Sheik. "Sorry, Prince Sheik." He bowed his head apologetically.
"Eh – You couldn't help it. Thanks for the help," Sheik stated. He swung on the scaffold unconventionally, and I swear my heart almost stopped beating. I literally feared for his life at that instance. He was so high up and placed the star on the top of the tree with ease. He finished the job and climbed back down the ladder – And he wasn't very careful. "OK – Get these scaffolds out of here! Once they're out of here, we'll be ready to light the tree!" he exclaimed, in his commanding voice.
Men came and removed all the scaffolds, and the area was immediately filled with Hyruleans from all over the place. My heart then stopped – My list! I hadn't found it! The Festival wasn't ready! I had failed…
"Hey, Zel!" Sheik exclaimed, turning to face me. He stepped over jauntily and joined us.
"Sheik!" I exclaimed. "Don't ever scare me like that again! Next time, someone else is putting up that star!"
"It wasn't that high up, Zel," Sheik rolled his eyes. Yeah, he'll be rolling his eyes when he breaks his neck!
"You say that, and just watch," I muttered under my breath. Link chuckled slightly and nudged my arm. I glared in his direction – Oh, wait! My list! "I haven't found my list, Link! You said that we'd find my list!"
"What list?" Sheik asked, looking at me and Link confusedly.
"My list with my plans for the Festival!" I all but wailed.
"Oh!" Sheik stated. "You mean this list?" he grinned cheekily, pulling out half of my list from his back pocket.
"Wait – Where's the other part?" I asked, even more confused than Sheik in that instance.
Link gave a guilty smile and pulled out the other half of my list. What was going on?!
"Why did you guys steal my list?!" I exclaimed, while the kids watched the adults amusedly.
"We wanted you to be able to enjoy Christmas," Sheik exclaimed. "Are you kidding me? We stole this thing weeks ago and tore it in half, and you just realized it today – Christmas Eve?!"
"Yeah?" Wow, really eloquent, Zel. How did I not realize?!
"So… Did we do alright?" Sheik asked for the first time.
A smile spread to my lips as I felt myself engulfed in Link's arms. Shortly after, the kids and Sheik joined us, just as the Christmas lights were turned on, consuming the streets with their blazing light and warmth. I let a laugh escape my lips and didn't even care if I didn't sound eloquent – "Yeah."
Hey again! I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading! Once again, if you feel so inclined, please drop a comment down below; your support is something I cherish. Thanks! :)
Total Word Count (excluding Author's Notes):
1,877