prompt: a new world
disclaimer: Zelda is not mine.
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"Your Majesty," Link began.
"Zelda," she corrected, barely glancing up from the papers strewn across her desk.
Link rolled his eyes in a way that would get any other member of her court executed. "Are you really telling me you've never had a birthday party?"
Zelda sighed, putting down her quill to look up at him. "I spent the first eighteen years of my life preparing for my coronation—I learned everything from foreign languages to court etiquette to diplomacy to finance. Last year my kingdom was conquered and nearly vanquished; this year I have been working day and night to restore it. There was never time."
Link frowned. There's always time for fun, Midna told him once, when she indulged him in playing the carnival games in Castle Town to take a break from saving the world. In Ordon, they always threw birthday parties; it had been that way for as long as he could remember.
A soft meow made him look down, where Ginger, one of several cats Zelda begrudgingly allowed him to keep in their rooms, was twining around his legs. Link smiled and picked her up, feeling a rumbling purr begin in her chest as he scratched behind her ears.
"My queen," he said, drawing himself up to his full height and ignoring Zelda's growl of annoyance at the title, "The fine denizens of Ordon would like to formally extend to you an invitation to a gala held in honor of the twentieth anniversary of your birth, held in three days' time."
Zelda laughed. It was a lovely sound, and he did whatever he could to hear it as often as possible. It gave him hope, that she could still laugh after all she had been through. "When did you start talking like that?" she teased.
"Picked it up from all those nobles at your council meetings."
"Well, sir knight, the queen of Hyrule humbly accepts your invitation."
"Good," Link said, shooting her a grin as Ginger leapt out of his arms and landed on the desk, sending half of Zelda's papers sliding to the floor. She sighed in exasperation as the cat settled down on top of the grant she'd been signing.
"I should be angry," she accused, crossing her arms and fixing him with a glare. "You harass me during my work and let your cat make a mess without cleaning it up…"
"Our cat," Link reminded as he leaned over the desk to give Zelda a kiss on the forehead.
"Fine," Zelda muttered at him, "Our cat, you glorified country yokel."
"Just don't be mad at Ginger," Link said as he swept out of the room, his sword banging a familiar rhythm against his back. "She's too cute."
The cat mewed in agreement as Link closed the door behind him.
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The children ran out to meet him when Link rode through the gate to Ordon, crowding around Epona and chattering excitedly. As soon as he dismounted, Beth and Talo threw their arms around him while Malo rolled his eyes and Colin hung back, smiling shyly. Link shouldn't have been so surprised that they'd all grown; almost a year had passed since he was last in Ordon.
Ilia was coming up the path, winded from chasing after the children. Her eyes widened when they fell upon Link, and she grinned. "What brings you back home?" she asked.
Home. Strange that the word didn't seem to fit this place any longer, but Ordon was still a part of him. "I came to ask for a favor."
The villagers of Ordon threw themselves into preparation for the celebration, half exhilarated and half terrified that the queen was coming to their remote corner of Hyrule. She'd never been there before; Ordon was small, isolated from most of Hyrule, and largely self-sufficient. Link was surprised at their motivation—with the ongoing autumn harvest, they were rather busy, and his work with Zelda and the Resistance kept him far away most of the time.
"You're the Hero of Light, after all," Mayor Bo said when Link asked, clapping him on the shoulder. "We owe you more than one birthday festival."
Link's mouth twitched to the side. He'd been a child of Ordon long before he'd become a hero, but the war had changed everything—including the way the people here looked at him.
"And we want to impress the queen!" Ilia added, her touch to his arm much gentler than her father's. "We must make Ordon more beautiful than ever. She'll love it, Link."
He gave her a grateful smile. Ilia, at least, still tried to understand him.
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Zelda arrived at sunset on the promised day, riding her grey gelding and wearing a wine-red cloak to chase away the autumn chill. Ashei, as Zelda's bodyguard, accompanied her, along with Rusl and Shad. Zelda stopped briefly at the spring to give her regards to the Light Spirit that had helped her in the fight with Ganondorf, then continued along the path on foot, leading her horse by the reins.
"That's Link's place, Your Majesty," Rusl pointed out, and Zelda stared in amazement at the house carved into the massive tree growing in the clearing. It blended in so well that she might have missed it entirely. She smiled; it was easy to imagine him living here.
"He lived in a tree?" Ashei snorted. "No wonder he's soft."
"Coming from a woman raised on a freezing mountain," Shad grumbled.
A slender girl was bounding up the path, the green ribbons in her hair streaming behind her. She halted when she saw Zelda and the others, and dropped into an uncertain curtsy. "Your Majesty," she said nervously. "I'm sorry, we didn't know you were here…"
"Don't worry," Zelda reassured, taking in her bare feet and her young age. "You must be Ilia. Link has told me so much about you; I feel as if we are friends already."
Ilia laughed, light and free. "Likewise. Welcome to Ordon, my lady. We wish you well on the day of your birth." She looked behind Zelda to wave at the others, making Shad blush. "I can take your horses. Link is waiting in the village."
Zelda thanked her and followed Rusl down the grassy path. Ordon unfurled before her like a bright patchwork quilt, with life of all sorts sewn richly into every inch. The air smelled of pumpkins and hay and deep earth; she could hear the burbling of the winding stream and the song of the birds flying overhead. The setting sun caught on the vibrantly purple roof shingles, turning them almost red.
That would have impressed her enough, but then there were all the paper lanterns, lining the walkways, hanging from lines strung between the houses, floating on lily pads in the river. They made the whole town glow with warm orange light.
And best of all, Link was standing just off the path, waiting for her with a self-satisfied smirk. "You look very dignified with your mouth hanging open like that, my lady."
Ordinarily Zelda would have scoffed at him, but now she just stepped forward, took his face between her hands, and kissed him long and deep. A cheer went up among the villagers, making them both break apart to laugh, and music began to play; fiddles and flutes and country instruments she'd never heard.
"Do you like it?" Link asked her, too quietly for the others to hear.
"Link, I love it," Zelda answered breathlessly. "It's like nothing I've ever seen. It's like a different world."
Rusl strode forward to embrace a blond woman who Zelda took for his wife, and they began to dance. Ilia ran past her, pulling Shad by the hand to join in, and the other villagers followed suit.
Link offered her his hand. Zelda paused, looking at the dancing villagers, and pulled off her fancy cloak, handing it to Ashei, who glared at her insolently. Underneath she wore simpler clothes; a pale blue split skirt for riding, and a black bodice over a white tunic. Then she took the ties out of her hair and tugged the braids out, letting it tumble down her back freely.
"Happy birthday, my queen," Link murmured in her ear as he led her towards the music.
"Zelda," she corrected for the thousandth time, but she was laughing anyway.
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