Chapter 3
The Queen of Hyrule, even with the help of her five daughters, could not get King Daltus to describe Link Bingley. No matter what the method—barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, or distant surmises—the King eluded them all. At last, they had to settle for the description given by their neighbor Lady Ambi Lucas, a well-known architect. Her report was favorable. Her husband, Captain Piratian Lucas, had also been delighted with him. He was young, handsome, and agreeable, and he meant to be at the next town assembly, along with several of his friends from his native Ordon Province. He was fond of dancing, and almost certainly searching to fall in love.
"If I can see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield," the Queen said, "and all my other daughters equally married, I shall have nothing left to wish for."
Link soon visited Hyrule Castle again to meet with the King. Although he hoped this time to catch sight of the five beautiful princesses he had heard about, he saw only their father. The ladies were more fortunate, for they could spy into the library from an upper balcony, and they ascertained that he wore a green coat and a green pointed hat, and rode a brown horse.
The King invited Link to dinner, for the Queen had already prepared the courses, but Link politely declined. He had business that required that he be out of town, and therefore could not attend dinner that day. When the Queen heard about the news, she wondered a bit fretfully what would business take him out of Castle Town so soon after he settled in. Was Link the kind of heroic wanderer who took off across Hyrule, never truly settling down? Lady Ambi comforted her friend by telling her that he left for Ordon to get his family and friends to attend the ball that Princess Zelda was holding.
Rumor quickly spread that Link would be bringing twelve ladies and seven gentlemen along with him to attend the ball. The princesses and the queen worried over the number of ladies that would be attending the ball, but when the day actually came, Link was only accompanied by four other people: his two sisters, the husband of the elder, and another young man.
Link Bingley himself was a good-looking gentleman; he had a pleasant face and easy, unaffected manners. His sisters Midna and Anju were both fine women, with a decided sense of fashion, though Tetra quickly decided when conversing with them that they were much too pompous and judgmental in their speech. Anju's husband, Kafei Hurst, appeared quite gentlemanly, as well.
But it was their friend Toon Darcy who took the attention of most of the room, by his fine, tall person, his handsome features, his noble appearance, and—as was quickly rumored around the room—his salary of ten thousand Rupees a year, courtesy of both being a Knight of Hyrule and owning a lucrative sailing business. The gentlemen in the room proclaimed that he was a fine figure of a man, and the ladies all fancied him handsomer than even Mr. Bingley. He was looked upon with admiration for the first half of the evening, until his manner proved him to be proud, above being in the company of others, and above being pleased. When that was discovered, not even his expansive seaside ranch in Ordon Province or his enormous salary could save him from being treated contemptibly.
Link Bingley now made his way around the room, acquainting himself with the principal people in the room. He was lively and outgoing, dancing every dance, and was disappointed that the ball ended so early. He talked about giving one himself at Netherfield.
Though they looked similar, Link and Toon could not be more different. Toon Darcy danced once with Anju and once with Midna, but refused all other dances, instead electing to walk around the room, occasionally conversing with one of the Ordonians. His character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, who refused to associate even with princesses. The Queen was the most vocal against him.
Tetra, due to the surplus of women at the ball, was obliged to sit down for one of the dances. She incidentally sat next to Toon, who was immediately requested by Link to join the dance.
"Come, Toon," Link said. "You must have a dance. You know how I hate to see you loafing around so aimlessly."
Toon shook his head. "I detest dancing, especially if I am unfamiliar with my partner. Music, I can appreciate, but dancing, I refuse."
"Certainly, you are too cautious! I have never seen so many pleasant ladies in my life as I have this evening; several of them are unusually beautiful."
"I do believe that the only handsome woman is the one you are dancing with," Toon said, gesturing towards Zelda.
"Indeed, Zelda is the most beautiful creature I have beheld! But her sister, who seems to be sitting right next to you, is very pretty as well, and agreeable in nature, I am sure. I daresay you ought to ask her to dance."
Toon looked around in surprise and locked eyes with Tetra for a moment before turning away scornfully. "She may be decent, but far from handsome enough to tempt me. Now, why don't you return to your dancing? I'd not want to take you away from your lovely partner there."
Link stared at his friend for a moment longer before following his advice. Toon walked away from Tetra without a second glance, and she was left with no more feelings towards him, though she retold the encounter to her friends Nayru Lucas and Farore Lucas a bit later.
The evening passed pleasantly for all who were involved. The Queen was particularly satisfied that her eldest daughter was very much admired by the Ordonians. Link had danced with Zelda twice, and the others praised her beauty very much. Zelda herself was pleased at the attention, though she was more reserved in showing her pride. Tetra was also praised for her grace, while Sheik was praised for her musical ability and strength. Agitha and Malon were both fortunate enough to never be without a partner. Once the ball ended, the Queen rushed to her husband to report how wonderfully their daughters were favored by the Ordonians.
Character Notes: This chapter introduces a slew of new characters: Link Bingley, Toon Darcy, Midna Bingley, Anju Hurst, and Kafei Hurst. Lady Ambi Lucas, Captain Piratian Lucas, and their daughters Nayru and Farore will be properly introduced in Chapter 5.
Link is merged with Mr. Bingley as the love interest of Zelda/Jane Bennet. Like Zelda, I personally imagine his Twilight Princess appearance, but any of his other appearances work as well - except, of course, his Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass appearance, since that's Toon. Toon Link is merged with Mr. Darcy mostly because Tetra is Elizabeth Bennet, but also because he is a more forwards and rough character. Although Toon Link in Wind Waker is rather childish in appearance, he is the most talkative of the Links (he actually gets a few lines of dialogue in Phantom Hourglass - when you yell into the microphone at certain points in the game, he says stuff like "Hey!" onscreen), and the one whose social and technological norms are changing the most (except perhaps the Link from Spirit Tracks); Mr. Darcy is similarly openly critical about certain parts of old society. As I've said, I think of Toon Darcy as the Link from Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, but theoretically, the Link from Four Swords Adventures, Spirit Tracks, and Minish Cap also could be considered a "Toon Link."
Midna was chosen to be Link's sister, Caroline Bingley, because Midna is close to Link in the game. Also, she is rather cynical and critical towards Link and Zelda, just as Miss Bingley is to her brother and Elizabeth (who admittedly is Tetra instead of Zelda, but close enough). Midna is the eponymous Twilight Princess from that game.
Anju and Kafei are mapped onto Mr. and Mrs. Hurst honestly because they're the first official couple I could think of in the games. Like Ilia/Kitty Bennet, they are unimportant to the story even though they make several appearances. Anju and Kafei are from Majora's Mask - technically, Anju is also in Ocarina of Time and Minish Cap, but she is insignificant in those stories.
Published May 26, 2013