As an interlude, whilst I think of suitable plot twists etc for my other fiction work, I decided to write this little one-shot, which I hope you will all enjoy.
I still don't own any of the Legend of Zelda characters. Shame that. Oh, and feel free to review.
A Simple Kind of Life
Fluttering in the breeze, like a beacon in the sky, the flags adorning the highest ramparts of the white castle wave to me - welcoming me home.
Another long journey done, another friend made, another foe defeated, another memory created, I raise my weary eyes to the bright white walls of the stronghold and feel a strange tugging at my heart. How stupid – to imagine I am glad to be returning to this viper's den of intrigue, scandal and politics. I have never liked such things. I have never courted such notoriety as can be offered me there. I am no saint, or idol worthy of worship. I am just me. People imagine I am gratified to be hailed as a hero, that I relish this lifestyle. I do not.
How amazed they would be if they knew how I long for my simple kind of life – the life I knew before my fate overtook me. I was a simple man then, a peasant living in a wooden house at the edge of a village. Hardly a noble existence! And yet, here I am riding home again – only, my true home lies in the opposite direction.
More than once, my hands twitch on the reins of my steed. A simple tug at the bit, a slight kick to her sides, and we would be off. I would return home - home to my old employment – Goat herding, fishing and teaching. The beauty of a simple life is that it is simple to return to. I would shed this artificial skin, lose these layers placed upon me and would be reborn as myself. I would return to my simple kind of life – an almost childlike existence. I would never again have to tread the floors of that viper's pit.
It is a pity that it is not in my blood to run. Some days I wish it was. I wish I could let go of the past; that the world would forget what I had done. Some of the things I witnessed still give me nightmares. I still grieve for the things I lost.
You see – even if I could return, I could not just simply let go of the life I lead now. Memories of my deeds will forever haunt me – they are a part of my soul. They have made me who I am.
The bugles sound as I am sighted – a fanfare worthy of a hero. I calm my nervous horse with a simple touch. Like me, she will never grow accustomed to this attention.
The noise reaches a thunderous crescendo as I draw closer – their delight in welcoming me home is at odds to my feelings.
As I cross the small stone bridge, my vision rests on the town gates. I doubt I will ever become accustomed to seeing those massive wooden doors flung open in welcome, nor the colourful sea of people, pushing, parting and murmuring like an agitated river, parting ways as I pass.
The crowd has no place in my dreams of a simple kind of life. I would raise a sweet, quiet family in the tranquillity of my little village, not amidst this vibrant throng. My life would be ordinary. All these people would not then press against my horse, making her throw her head around anxiously as they propel me towards the inner city gates and those white castle walls.
No, they would not even glance at me then. I miss my anonymity almost as much as I crave my simple life. I would revert to a life where the ones who knew your name also knew you – where they did not need to smile falsely if you glanced at them, or simper and blush if they caught your eye. In a simple kind of life, I would not be surrounded by a sea of strangers, but with a few of my friends. My return from my labours would be greeted with smiles, not with exuberance. In my simple kind of life, I would be allowed my own space and I would thrive.
The inner wooden gates tower almost up to the sky as I look at them. The crowd halts as we reach them and they seem to draw a few paces back. I feel a strange panic wash over me as I dismount my horse and take a pace towards those massive doors. They are closed and it is my choice whether to push them open or not. To go on is to leave my simple kind of life forever. To cross the threshold is to leave my past behind me. It is a simple step I must take, but one that is so hard to make.
Beyond those doors I am caged where once I was free. Beyond those doors my life is complex where once it was simple.
Beyond these doors the sky is a different colour.
She would understand if I could not take that simple step. She would forgive me if I didn't.
My simple kind of life is so near, yet so far away. I inhale the stench of this town – so thick and dusty after the purity of the country air – and feel the weight of responsibility and chains of duty choking me.
My hand only trembles slightly as it rests on the warm wood before me, but my heart beats excitedly. Without a backward glance, I push, and as the gates swing open, I cross the threshold.
Around me the air is silent and solemn, stones and walls grow out of the darkened grass at my feet. The bustling town seems a million miles away. But so does my simple kind of life. I gaze up at the sky – it really is a different colour here. I must cross one final threshold. I look towards the decorated doorway leading to that viper's den and I smile. My heart pounds in my ears and I feel a little breathless.
Thoughts of my simple kind of life evaporate from my mind.
The court may be full of intrigue, scandal and politics. It may be more perilous than a viper's nest. I may be out of my depths and homesick there but there is something here that is better than any kind of simple life. There is something here that I would give a thousand other such lives to be with.
She is running towards me, her golden hair shining more brightly than the sunlight that streams down upon her, her eyes are bluer than the sky itself.
"Daddy!" She squeals as she cannons into me with more force than even one of those famous Lake Hylian rockets could. I swing her above my head and laugh as she squeaks in excitement.
My eyes meet with those of my wife and she blushes as I kiss her tenderly. She is more beautiful than a wildflower and gives me the serenity of the moon. Crystal tears of joy glisten on her eyelashes and I wipe them away with a kiss.
Then with my daughter riding on my shoulders and my wife clinging to my arm, we walk towards that final set of doors. Upon crossing that threshold, I will take another step away from my simple life. I will again take up the reigns of government and will wear the robes of duty. I will never be at ease here. What right does a peasant have to be king?
My queen tells me that our baby has started to kick. My daughter explains, with all the wisdom and experience of her two years, how that means she is to have a brother. We laugh at this, the sound of our happiness echoing in that great hall eerily. As if it has no place there. My wife steps a little closer to me. We walk side by side, perfectly in step. We have no need for words, our souls communicate on a different level.
I cannot repress that tiny blink of terror as I enter the grand court of Hyrule. I cannot be at ease here, yet deep down, although I dislike admitting to this – it is quite an exciting place to be. It is like a new kind of battlefield, one where the combatants fence with words. And although I know I should despise the constant dance of court life, I actually find it is easy to grow accustomed to it, even find it interesting. And though I cannot disguise my embarrassment as all eyes in the room turn my way and ever knee bends before me, I manage to smile and form some sort of greeting.
It becomes easier to do every time. Give me a couple of years and I daresay I will be as controlled and collected in this throng of people as the beautiful creature who gave me this life. The one I chose over my simple kind of life.
I only recall my simple life much later that day, as I lie soaking in the bathtub. On her knees beside me is my wife. As her soft hands caress the grime from my skin, I think of how my life could have been. The hands washing me so lovingly would be the hands of a farm girl. They would not be so deliciously soft, but it would have been more appropriate. Instead of returning from a battlefield, I would be returning from the pastures.
I sigh as her hands run through my hair gently. She does not have to do this. She should not do this. What place does a Queen have humbling herself before a peasant?
But when I say these words, she laughs. She whispers that she is my wife first, a mother second a queen last. I raise my eyes and gaze up at her. She is more graceful and stately than any tree. The soft melody she hums as she works is sweeter than the birdsong. Her eyes are endlessly wise and greater than the ocean. Her skin is softer than silk thread and her touch lighter than a feather. Her smile is a thousand times more beautiful than the sunrise and her lips taste like pure snow. Her fragrance is like that of a honeysuckle.
My simple kind of life was one I left behind, and one I will never return to, for my heart is no longer with the earth the Goddesses made, rather it is in the world of this goddess who kneels before me and, as I take her into my arms, I realise that I do not need to seek that simple kind of life after all. If I close my eyes, I almost have it anyway.
I can forget the grandeur of our home. I can forget the unwanted burden I carry. I can forget what I am and what I lost.
When it comes down to it – strip away the title, the clothes, the splendour and the wealth, you will see my world as it really is. When I kiss my wife, I am not kissing the Queen but the woman I fell in love with. I protect and provide for my family. What more should a man seek?
And so I close my eyes and take her in my arms. As I touch her skin and taste her lips, I do not see what the world does. I see beyond the superfluous trimmings. I do not see a queen. I just see Zelda, and we are just two people. That's all there is to it.
The sky really is a different colour here – against the stark white walls of the castle, it is far more vivid than it was in my old life, and the grass, although full of pitfalls, is greener. And whilst I may never have a simple kind of life – the kind of life I would prefer – I would not change a thing.