Zelda stared out the carriage window. Who knew watching the countryside go by would be so heart-wrenching? The current state of Altea looked far worse in person than when Marth had described it to her. Zelda noticed a tear forming in the corner of her eye. She closed the window. She'd seen enough. The burned-out fields, empty streets, and demolished buildings reminded her of Hyrule when Ganondorf had taken over. This place was too quiet. Since her arrival, Zelda had seen few signs of life in this war-torn country.
Zelda's husband slept beside her, head resting on her shoulder. No point waking him, she reasoned. It might be best to spare him these horrible sights.
***********
Meanwhile, Marth found himself aimlessly wandering one of the few sections of the palace gardens that had not been destroyed. He was thankful this particular area was still intact, as it held many precious memories. He currently stood by the swing he'd spent many hours playing on as a child. Marth sat down on it, finding it still held his weight. He let it drift back and forth, his feet dragging the ground. At this point in his life, Marth no longer cared if someone caught him doing something silly like sitting on a child's swing.
Marth gazed across the grass, his eyes fixing on a small wooden bench. He remembered this bench well. When he was small, his mother often sat there, holding him on her lap. Marth sighed at the remembrance of his mother. How she'd doted on him! He couldn't remember a single time in his childhood when she'd failed to kiss him goodnight or comfort him when he cried. Like everyone else, Marth thought bitterly, war had taken his mother from him too soon.
This garden held more recent memories, too. He'd often brought Nadia here. They had spent whole afternoons strolling along the garden path, talking and admiring the foliage. Sometimes, they'd sit in silence on the bench, cuddling. Nadia often buried her face in her lover's tunic, while he stroked her silky black hair. All this seemed an eternity ago, though Nadia had only been dead for a little over a year.
Even Marth's happiest memories had the ability to sadden him when he remembered those he'd shared them with were gone. He felt the all-too-familiar tears return to his eyes. Suddenly, the sound of hoofbeats distracted Marth from his grief. A carriage had entered the gates. Marth stood up, dried his eyes, and headed off to see who had arrived.
He found a familiar face awaiting him. "Ah, Zelda! Always a pleasure to see you!" He grasped her hand.
"Marth, it's been too long!" she smiled back at him.
"I heard you were recently married. Where's your husband?" Marth inquired.
Zelda sighed in mock disgust. "Is he still asleep? Wait right there and I'll wake him." She climbed back into the carriage.
After a few seconds, Marth heard a voice mumble, "Why did you wake me up? Are we there already? All right, I'm coming." Zelda exited the carriage once more, and Marth was shocked to see another familiar person following her.
"Link?! Is that you?" Marth cried incredulously. "You're Zelda's husband?"
"Why is that such a surprise?" Link asked. "I thought my relationship with her was pretty obvious."
"It was," Marth replied. "I think everyone at that tournament knew you were a couple." He turned to Zelda. "I was afraid your father might have forced you to marry someone against your will."
"No, no," she assured him. "My father promised long ago he wouldn't do that. Anyway, he likes Link."
"I thought you'd heard about our marriage sooner," Link added. "But with the way things are here....." he gestured toward the damaged city, his voice trailing slightly before he found the right words, ".....anything could have happened to that announcement. You might even receive it after we've already left."
"It doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're happy, and also that you're here," Marth said. "Come here, you!" he shouted in a rare deviation from his usual serious nature. He grabbed Link in a headlock, and gave him a huge noogie. Unfortunately, Marth didn't notice something....
"OW!" he cried, rubbing his sore knuckles. "You've got a hard head!" Just then, he noticed Link was wearing a headpiece similar to Zelda's, though it appeared thicker. "HA! Looks like you can't call me 'tiara boy' any more!"
"I never called you that!" Link protested. "Captain Falcon made up that nickname. Remember, we retaliated by getting everyone to call him 'Captain Fathead' for the rest of the tournament?" By now, Zelda was about to fall over laughing.
"How could I forget?" Marth smirked. His tone then changed to a more serious one. "Is this a political or a social visit?"
"A bit of both, I guess," Zelda responded. "My father was supposed to meet with you, but he hurt his back and sent us in his place." She handed him an official-looking document. "My father drew up this treaty. Signing it will make Altea and Hyrule formal allies."
"What caused your father to decide he wanted to do this?" Marth asked, curious.
"After Link and I returned from the tournament, we told my father everything you said about conditions in Altea. All three of us agreed that we wanted to help."
Marth was touched by the kindness of his friends. "I see nothing wrong with signing this. Our countries have never been enemies, and at times like these, alliances are crucial."
"Don't you want some time to think about this first?" Link asked.
"Why would I need to?"
"I dunno," Link shrugged. "It just seems like agreements like these take forever to negotiate."
"Actually," Marth responded, "I've been hoping to form an alliance with Hyrule for quite some time now, so I actually have given it some thought. Besides, it couldn't hurt anything. As soon as I find something to write with, I'll show you around."
As his friends followed him inside, Marth added, "You might want to avoid the eastern wing of the castle. It's....caved in and full of debris," he gestured sadly toward the ruined portion of the building. "One day, I hope to have it repaired, but there are more important things to do right now." He continued inside, his guests close behind. Marth hoped the dismal state of the country and his own despair wouldn't ruin make their stay a miserable one.
A/N: Would have had this up sooner, but there was a !@#$%^& power surge.
