The crimson bird

"It's not that horrible. And you weren't engaged. Your people will always thank you for this sacrifice."

Dad's words were repeated over and over in my head as I tried to assimilate everything. None of this would have been needed if the leaders of the mountains were not inconsiderate beasts. It wasn't enough a big bag of gold, they wanted to have some kind of extra protection, a trust pact. Marriage of convenience was the way out of the conflict. They could ask for more gold again if the princess of Hyrule belonged to the West.

My friends tried to cheer me up without too much success, I was irascible, I just felt like hitting something. My stomach was shrinking if I thought about my plans to live on the mountain with Eve, to have a quiet life as Forest Guardian. I wish I'd given Eve the ring the same day Dad gave it to me. It was as if I had provoked everything, all the fault of my indecision: Bri's death, the conflict with Hyrule, my marriage to Rhoam's daughter.

My first impulse was to go back to Nightfall. I felt compelled to explain to Eve. When I left her at her house she was devastated, waiting for me to do something to avenge Bri. Instead, I was going to marry the sister of the man who had ruined her life and I couldn't forgive myself, let alone she could forgive me. Dad didn't let me leave the camp; the wedding was going to be held in ten days and there was no room for apologies, that would have to wait. The pact had to be sealed as soon as possible.

The whole situation made me feel like some kind of caged animal. I was furious, unable to leave the camp, unable to explain anything or communicate with Eve. She would find out in the worst possible way; many hawks had flown to report the wedding and ask the guests to join as soon as possible. The news would reach Fort Hawk and Nightfall... and Eve.

Dad came to see me, I had been drinking the night before, I drank until I lost the notion of everything, to hell, I just wanted to take it out a little bit. I woke up in a daze, fell asleep on the forest floor, so I went to a nearby river to cool off a bit. He found me there, my legs sunk to the knees in the stream of water.

"Link, can we talk?"

"Whatever," I growled, as I splashed cold water on my face and shoulders.

"I understand your anger, but you know better than anyone that we couldn't get into a war against Hyrule."

"Tell me something I don't know," I came out of the water and gave him an angry glare. He didn't understand a shit.

"Your life plans don't have to change so much. You still can be the Forest Guardian, live in the Eagle's Nest, start a family. Besides, you had doubts about Eve."

"I doubted how to declare myself to Eve, not Eve herself, by the goddesses, Father," he tried to contain my anger, did he think he was going to convince me with such a stupid idea? "My plans no longer make sense, Dad. It's not the same to think about the woman I want than to marry a foreigner and a stranger."

"That may have a solution, or at least we can ease the tension of this engagement a little," he said, "there are a few days to go for the wedding, Aldry and the twins are on their way here, but it will take them at least a couple more days to arrive. There's not much to do here at the camp, except wait. Instead of spending the day drunk or hitting trees, you could go and meet this girl, so she won't be scared to death waiting for your wedding day."

"Scared to death?"

"You too are a stranger she's never seen. Rhoam told me that giving me his daughter was the greatest sacrifice he had ever made in his life, for she was worth more to him than all the treasures of Hyrule. She's younger than you, she's barely come of age. She must live in fear with the idea of an unknown man taking her virtue by duty on the same wedding night and then taking her to live in the mountains and forest. She ignores how lucky she is for being engaged to someone like my son, the noblest warrior in the West."

I ignored Father's adulations and for a moment I felt the doubt sprout in me.

"Do you think she's scared?"

"Take it for granted."

I hadn't thought of that. I was too angry trying to assimilate that I would have to marry someone else and give up my plans. I hadn't thought of the princess once. For sure she was really scared. I was far from being a prince or something like that, I was sure this wedding didn't fit her plans either.

"I guess I could go and meet her with Ardren and Fridd. They've been doing nothing for several days, they need activity, or they'll become wild," I said, shrugging. Then Dad hugged me tightly, I'd forgotten the last time he did something like that. Maybe at Mom's funeral.

"Look at me, Link. I'm proud of you, you have all the skills to be a leader, a prince or even a king. You will rule the border with Hyrule and bring peace to our lands. Think of all the lives you'll save with this marriage. Eve will understand, it will take time for her, but she will."

I felt confused and disoriented, but I thought so much pressure would ease a little if I knew my future wife, anyway the wedding was inevitable, and I couldn't change that. Going out of that stupid forest would do me good, I haven't been on horseback in days, I haven't felt the wind in my face. Ardren and Fridd didn't hesitate to come with me, one to support me, the other to criticize everything that had to do with Hyrule.

"It's horrible, a heinous crime," Fridd growled, "what was your father thinking? Marry the enemy..."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer," Ardren recited. He rode with a smile on his face, I don't know if because he could finally do some activity or because everything to do with the castle seemed fascinating to him.

"What about Eve? She is the most harmed," Fridd continued —She loses her little sister and now she loses Link, just because of those bastards!"

"She could lose a lot more if we go to war against Hyrule," I said. I was also trying to convince myself of that, so I tried to repeat it out loud from time to time.

"Damn slug pigs of Hyrule... " Fridd was almost funny when he was angry, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"You can say as many insults as you like while we're on the road but try to hold your tongue once we're in the castle."

"We're going to meet fancy people, Fridd," Ardren grinned, mischievously.

I stopped in my tracks. I hadn't thought of that. We dressed like bears and smelled like bears. I didn't want to make a bad impression, the people of Hyrule were generally prissy, who knew what the nobles of the castle would be like.

"We can't be there like this," I said. My friends burst out laughing.

"That girl had better get used to you 'like this'. The sooner the better," Fridd scoffed.

"Seriously guys, I've been wearing the same clothes since we went out to hunt the lynel, I haven't changed in days. I can't go in like this, I'd scare her."

"So now are you afraid to scare her? C'mon, Link…"

"Maybe we can buy new robes," Ardren suggested, "the Citadel is like a big market. There will be thousands of merchants."

The idea wasn't bad. For a handful of rupees we'd buy clean robes and pants.

While my friends were having fun haggling with a one-eyed guy who had a loom, I felt my blood run cold. The castle, the Citadel were exact, identical to my dreams. I felt like I'd already been there, and it gave me goosebumps. There was no time to waste, and it wasn't something I could share with my friends, so I buried my feelings. Maybe I should visit the seer of Fort Hawk when I was back home.

After buying the robes we stopped at a street fountain to try to comb our hair in some way. There was nothing I could do about my beard, I didn't normally have a beard at all, but I had grown a bit of a patchy beard, my friends always teased me about having a boy's beard. There was nothing else we could do to pretend we were noble gentlemen, because we weren't, so we showed up at King Rhoam's castle.

We were received immediately, with much more courtesy than expected, perhaps the soldiers and servants were warned that a visit might occur at any moment. They offered Ardren and Fridd an appetizer in the kitchens and knowing the appetite of the two beasts I had as friends, they didn't hesitate even a second to leave me abandoned to my fate. I was led to a small living room with a fireplace, it was nice, not as pompous as the rest of the castle. That's what my future wife was used to: ceilings so high they made you bend the neck if you wanted to look at them, big halls full of tapestry and paintings, so many servants who anticipated your wishes even before you open your mouth to ask for something… I was starting to understand Dad a little better when he told me that she must be scared at the future that awaited her in the West.

I was greeted in the hall by a boy with light blond hair and playful green eyes. He was thin as a cricket, but I noticed he was strong when he shook my hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain Link," he smiled. He had a luminous smile that inspired me with confidence.

"Thanks to you for welcoming us, boy. Do you think I'll be able to meet your mistress? I know that I haven't received any invitation and we are here unannounced, yet I would like to meet her and pay my respects."

"My... sister is quite busy with the preparations for the wedding, so to speak."

"Gods, I'm so sorry, Your Highness," I bowed awkwardly, "I didn't know you were Prince Gaepora."

"No, please," he tugged my hand to pull me up, "I hadn't even introduced myself properly. My fault."

"I can wait, if... if she can make a break in her tasks or... I don't know what the activities that princes and princesses do are called," my cheeks burned. I wasn't ready for formalities; I had no clue on the protocols.

The boy let out a chuckle and then tugged at his tunic. He looked more like a servant than a prince.

"Wait here, I'll go get her. I think she'll be very surprised to meet you," he winked and disappeared behind the door.

My fiancée's younger brother wasn't a bastard like the eldest. I liked him, and spite of my awkwardness with greetings and protocols, he didn't make me feel uncomfortable or like if I was out of place. He reminded me a little of the twins. I wish she looked like him, that would make the whole thing easier. But if she looked like Prince Kahen...

I waited a hatefully long time. I was hungry, but I was ashamed to ask for something to eat, the servants watched me walk around the room as if I were some kind of strange animal. Those damned Fridd and Ardren must have had their bellies full of the best dishes. Besides, I was very nervous. I was worried about making a bad impression on the princess, scaring her more or something. I would offer her my friendship; it was better than living together out of duty and enmity. The Eagle's Nest wasn't this pompous castle, but it was well located and had all the amenities. There was an unrivalled natural setting around the fortress. I had already bought several horses thinking about... well, Eve, now they'd be for her. She could choose the one she liked the most and ride carefree. I had to explain her that I've understood the reasons for the pact, that I've accepted the responsibility, but I didn't want to scare or harm her in any way. I would also make it clear that I would protect her with all my might from enemies or Western conspiracies.

The prince showed up when I thought I died of despair. He looked serious and even his eyes were not smiling. They were as green as the leaves of the woods in spring, there were no people with eyes of that colour in the West.

"Captain Link, I'm so sorry," he said, "and... I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long. My sister is indisposed and won't be able to meet you today."

"Is she sick?"

"No, no," he waved his head and got closer to me, "she's just tired. All about this engagement... it's been a surprise to everyone. It's hard, you'll understand."

The princess was scared. Maybe angry.

"I get it. Maybe tomorrow she'll feel better."

The boy bit his lip and looked away. She didn't want to see me, that simple. She wouldn't want to see me today, tomorrow, or any day until she had no choice but to. I felt the bad mood I left behind in the woods coming back to me, like a fire in the mouth of my stomach. It wasn't going to be a friendly marriage, it was clear.

"In that case, tell your sister I'll see her at the altar," I growled, "now I want to leave."

"Sure, my personal guards will accompany you."

Fridd and Ardren didn't even dare to ask me how it had gone when they saw me show up. My face said it all. I was furious, painfully hungry, and I was thinking of getting drunk again. Not that I expected her to come out of nowhere and declare herself my best friend or something, but I had taken a difficult diplomatic step, I expected much more from someone with a training far superior to mine.

It was Ardren who dared to ask the question and he did once we walked away from the castle and the Citadel.

"How is she?"

"Horrible", I growled, "she's as ugly and hateful as her brother, that murderous bastard."

"Really? The cooks have told us that the princess is beautiful and gentle, that she cares about everyone and knows everyone who works in the castle."

"Well, they lie."

"It's better like this!" Fridd exclaimed, "you just have to lock her in the highest tower of Eagle's Nest and forget about this problem forever."

Anger and frustration took its toll on me as the day approached. After the visit to the castle, I didn't say a word in two days except to growl some monosyllables. The twins came to the camp and that changed my mood a little bit, they were the only ones who managed to rip a smile out of me. The wives of the clan chiefs came to attend the ceremony, and some elders from Nightfall came to the wedding too. No one came from the Inn of the Winds, and when I asked Aldry if she knew anything about Eve, she shook her head and didn't want to share any more details. I felt sunk, with little hope of getting back on my feet.

The day before the wedding, King Rhoam came to the camp accompanied by a sheikah woman who examined me as a snake examines a prey. In my Dad's tent they were signing several writings about the dowry, the conditions, what would happen in case of the death of one of the bride and groom and other formalities, the truth is that I wasn't interested in the details, it didn't matter to me. That signature was the real marriage, the peace pact Dad had hoped for, and he sighed in relief when I left my signature on a single piece of paper, pledging my commitment to marry. Next to my signature I could see Princess Zelda's, who must have signed earlier at some point. Women were always excluded from economic or political negotiation, and for the second time I felt mercy for her.

King Rhoam had also brought with him an older maiden, accompanied by another young maiden with brown hair who appeared to be her daughter. Aldry had brought me one of my best Fort Hawk robes, but these women insisted on lending me one which had belonged to that bastard Kahen. If the sheikah woman looked at me like her victim, the maid did it as if I were a criminal to be chained to the rack. Luckily her ways softened when she saw I had no problem cooperating on everything.

"Your shoulders are wider than Kahen's," the woman murmured, "it's a bit tight for you, but it'll work. You'll be wearing black pants and a white shirt. Pick one of these robes."

"The green one," I just wanted the woman not to bite me and get out of there.

"You'll wear the red one with golden edges," she growled, "she's in blue, you'll pair better in red. And this is a royal wedding, not a roe deer hunt. Red is more suitable."

Then why the hell did she offer the green one?

I hardly slept the night before the wedding, and at dawn we set off for the castle. I rode in the lead towards my father and often thought what would happen if I rode ahead until I reached Necluda, my mother's house, to disappear from the rest of the world. Instead, I went ahead and let my nerves settle in my stomach. I couldn't eat a piece of bread my brother Leri had hidden in his robe in case I was hungry, nor did I drink a drop of Fridd's canteen. He and Ardren stood by me, inside the temple, by the altar. Only my family and they would be participants in the ceremony, the rest of the guests would stay at the door, as was tradition. Luckily it was so early when we crossed the circular rings of the Citadel to the temple, that there were hardly any people on the streets. It's better this way.

For the longest hours of my life, I waited at the altar. King Rhoam and his heir, Prince Kahen, arrived at the temple. I had to shake the hand with the prince, expressing a more threatening than friendly intention, and exchanged a few words with the king. I don't remember what we were talking about, I found it hard to keep memories of everything that was happening, it was like being inside some kind of strange dream.

The noise of the people crowding around the temple echoed through the walls, so did the bells. A Priest of Light appeared (my Father agreed that the wedding ceremony was for the rite of the goddesses of Hyrule), who explained to me a little what the tradition consisted of. It was simple: swear the vows, give her the ring, tie the hands, and seal the pact with a kiss. My stomach twisted again when I thought about it, I didn't know anything about her, except that she had a nice calligraphy, and that she would wear blue.

"She's already here," my Father whispered to me.

I stood up and heard an organ filling it all up. It was almost annoying, the organ, the bells, the noise of the crowd from outside. She arrived on the arm of Prince Gaepora, who left her alone to advance to the altar. I clasped my hands to keep them from shaking, I wasn't made for this, I should have married Eve, my friends getting drunk early and filling everything with laughter and joy.

Then I saw it and I was stoned. The red bird. Huge, with extended wings surrounding the symbol of Hyrule's three triangles. I hadn't realized it was a bird until I saw it in the long cape she was dragging, then I realized it was actually everywhere: shields, banners, guard robes... it was just that in her cape it had more details, more bird shape and was the same crimson color of my dreams. Why did the red bird show up like this? Did it mean anything? I was distracted and the next thing I saw when I looked up was two green eyes fulminating me. They were similar to Prince Gaepora's, but darker. They gleamed with a kind of light, with something I couldn't explain, I don't know if it was anger, resignation, fear, or all that at once, but they managed to blow my mind. King Rhoam brought me back to reality.

"I offer the hand of my daughter, Princess Zelda Bosphoramus of Hyrule, to the young Captain Link, son of Grenmak of Fort Hawk."

I managed to dry the sweat in my palms by rubbing my pants just before the king grabbed the princess' hand to put it in mine. I closed my hand surrounding her and noticed it was icy. Mine was burning in comparison.

"Well, I understand that the dowry between families has already been settled and signed," the priest intervened, "any witnesses who confirm it?"

"I can speak on behalf of my family, it's all done," Dad said.

"And I confirm it—King Rhoam had abandoned his position at the altar to stand behind us, with Prince Kahen and my family.

"In that case, we can proceed with the vows. If any member of these noble and royal families has an objection, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

Only the sound of people outside was heard bouncing off the temple walls, though I expected to hear Prince Kahen object. Or perhaps I expected to feel the tip of his sword on my back. None of that happened.

"Go ahead, Your Highness," the priest stepped back, and she and I looked at each other face to face for the first time. It was insane to marry someone you hadn't met until the moment of the vows.

"I, Zelda Bosphoramus Hyrule, take Captain Link son of Grenmak of Fort Hawk to be my husband. I promise to be true to him in times of peace and war, sickness and health, light and darkness, all the days of my life."

Her voice sounded firm and unhesitant. I didn't feel capable of doing something like that, but it was my turn, so I swallowed hard and thought of all the lives we were saving with that sacrifice.

"I, Link son of Grenmak of Fort Hawk, take Princess Zelda Bosphoramus Hyrule to be my wife. I promise to be true to her in times of peace and war, sickness and health, light and darkness, all the days of my life."

I don't even know how I managed to say all that without stumbling, for once luck was on my side, good for me. The princess was very beautiful now that I could get a good look at her. If I could look at anything other than those eyes, I could see a funny, upturned nose. Long, golden hair and lips that...

"The ring, boy," the priest whispered beside me.

"Oh, yes! Of course."

I got nervous again, I almost forgot it was my turn. I took my mother's ring out and held it for a moment. I thought of all the times I should have put it in Eve's finger and my throat knotted. I slid it on her finger and felt like a part of me abandoned me to go with her, it was strange.

"By the supreme goddesses Din, Farore, and Nayru," the priest began knotting a piece of cloth on our united hands —by the blessing of the White Goddess Hylia and by... by the will of Or, God of the Mountain, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Ha! At last we got a small part of the West, of our culture, to be present at my wedding. That brought a small smile to my face, which faded when I heard the priest say I had to kiss the bride to seal the union.

"I, Link, you... I receive you and kiss you as a sign of fidelity."

"I, Zelda, receive you and kiss you as a sign of fidelity."

I tried to swallow again but my nerves had finished drying my mouth. I leaned over her and just pushed my lips on hers. She responded a little by pushing into mine as well, and that was... quite nice, I guess. I pulled away and tried to meet the green eyes, but she adverted them to the side.

"May you be faithful, in righteous faith to our gods, without wickedness, without deceit, as a man ought to be to his woman, and a woman ought to be to her man. May you see your children's children, may the light shine your days, may you be poor in misfortunes and rich in blessings. May our gods always bless you."

"Thank you all, my dear lords and ladies," King Rhoam intervened, "may the goddesses help us and bless our children. Let's move on to the celebratory banquet."

Notes:

When I wrote this chapter more than a year ago, I was documenting myself about weddings in the old kingdoms of Castilla and Leon, about the Lower Middle-Ages ceremonies. All the traditions were a mixture of traditions of the people inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula, but the biggest influence in our tradition came from the Roman Empire. For the romans, a wedding was a contract, and no contract was valid for them unless it was sealed with a kiss. It doesn't matter if you were trading, if you were buying a horse or making a pledge of vassalage, it wasn't valid without a kiss. I wonder if that's why in many Mediterranean countries in Europe we still kiss each other as a greeting. Also in Spain we keep the promise of the "Coins exchange" (not sure about how to translate it!), which is a very old tradition from Roman Empire too. Nowadays it's just symbolic (we exchange some coins during the ceremony as a symbol of the dowry), by then it was a real exchange. The colours of the robe and dress were taken from the Middle-Ages tradition too, white was a colour for grieving at funerals, never for weddings. Blue was the colour of the royalty since its dye was extremely expensive. Tying the hands is a Celtic tradition, but it happened too in the kingdom. The reason is that Celts inhabited the North of Spain for many centuries and let a small part of their pagan influence too. So, all is a mixture of real traditions in my country, centuries ago. I hope you enjoyed it.

-Juliet