Chapter 8
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Zelda- Nintendo does.
Weeks passed and Zelda had been kept updated by couriers and messengers on the war. Three battles have been fought and Termania have won two of them. According to some of the messengers, the Hyrule army wasn't as strong as it used to be- for most of the noble-born men and older boys were inexperienced with their weapons. There were losses to both sides- but Hyrule had suffered the most.
Much to Zelda's annoyance, Jonah was remaining alive by staying within his tent while the armies that he was supposed to be leading were fighting without him.
Ruling the kingdom proved difficult, due to Jonah's lack of interest in the common folk. Zelda spoke and dealt with leaders and heads of villages and small towns of Hyrule, making sure that she gained support for herself. Zelda was appalled with the state of some of the villages and towns of the common folk she visited- the houses were almost falling apart in front of her very eyes and the lack of supplies gave the villagers an unhealthy thin look. Zelda tried her best in helping her fellow Hyrulians by negotiating with the other fellow countries to sell Hyrule large supplies of food.
One morning, Zelda received a letter from a courier in the colours of Termania, to her surprise.
Opening it, it held a message that surprised Zelda even more:
Your King is not a wise man. He will not live to see Hyrule again. We know all about your troubles Queen of Hyrule. We wish to help you in overcoming your suffering. We know our men will do their duty as you will do yours.
There was no signature to tell Zelda who wrote the letter. But it gave her energy for her already tired body; for she was finding it more and more difficult to fall asleep at night, and had resort to sitting on her window seat and stare at the moon and stars and let her mind wander.
Getting up from her place at the table, she thanked the servants for their service and walked towards the Royal Council Room.
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"We have allies!" Zelda announced after she and the other Council members had closed the windows and covered the holes. "Termania wants to help us in our goal." She showed them the letter.
When all of the men had looked at the letter, Zelda took her chance. "This is an opportunity gentlemen. We still hold a firm tie with this country because of their knowledge of my suffering."
The men nodded, knowing full well of how Zelda suffered.
One man raised his hand and Zelda indicated him to speak. "The courier that gave you the letter, did he look suspicious?" Milton of Sharpton asked. "Did he behave as a normal courier and stand at the door until you asked him to come forward?"
Zelda frowned down at the letter. "The courier did stand at the door until I asked him to come forward, but he looked at me straight in the eye with confidence." She paused, then asked. "Do any of you know of the traditions in etiquette in Termania?"
Two of the men raised their hands and Zelda let them speak.
"Their etiquette towards nobles and royals differ slightly to ours," Ronald of Reynolds said. (A.N. Sorry if this is a lame name, but I'm running out of names for these guys!).
Kenrith of Melaina nodded towards Ronald. "It's a bit more relaxed and the nobles are actually more friendly towards the common folk than their own friends."
"No wonder Termania has a larger army than us," Zelda said. The population of commoners to nobles was around twenty to one, so no wonder Termania was able to win those last few battles with ease.
Ronald smiled slightly. "And that's why they're more populated than us as well- some nobles even marry commoners. I even heard once that one of the Kings married a common maid that worked in the palace, years back."
The men all began talking at once, all sharing their experiences with the country Termania and their culture. Not once, Zelda noticed, the men sounded or looked angry or uncomfortable.
"So this means that we have no problem in Termania helping us with our goal?" Zelda said, interrupting the chatter.
"Yes!" they all said in unison.
Zelda grinned. Now all she had to do was wait it out.
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Zelda was just about to climb into her bed when a familiar voice called her name. She listened hard, wondering who (or what) it was.
"Zelda…." The voice called. "I'm ready to talk now Zelda…."
"Who are you?" Zelda called out softly. "What do you want?"
"It's me…Link…I have missed you so much…""Link?" Zelda whispered, gripping her bed sheets and looking out her window. "My Link?"
"Yes…I wish to see you, but I am not sure if you are alone…""I am alone Link," Zelda said, standing up and walking towards the window seat and sitting down. "But where are you?"
There was a pause. "I cannot tell you…but are you able to make it towards the courtyard… The one where we first met?"
"Yes Link!" Zelda whispered. "I'll meet you there."
Zelda sighed and grinned. At last! She was to meet her Link after almost six years of separation.
Zelda looked around her wardrobe for the perfect dress and gave up. Who cares? She thought as she took out her favourite violet and white dress with a sash on the front showing her family's crest and guardian, the Triforce and the Red Phoenix. Grabbing one of her numerous cloaks, she carefully wrapped herself so that only her head showed, for she didn't want any one to know where she was going or what she was up to.
Climbing down the stairs that lead towards the door to the courtyard, Zelda's breath caught into her throat and for an instant, she wanted to run back to her rooms and hide under her bed covers.
Clutching the door handle, Zelda took a deep breath and opened the door, keeping her head down, her eyes staring at the grass.
Hearing no sound that was of footsteps, Zelda looked up curiously and peered into the darkness, wondering if she had been hallucinating back in her room.
Moving towards the steps that led towards the window that looked into the throne room, Zelda sat down and wondered what to do next.
"Where are you Link?" Zelda whispered, as her eyes got used to the darkness. "Were you just a figment of my imagination?"
"As if I would be…"
Zelda looked up and saw a dark figure walk into the courtyard via the archway, it's cloak swirling around its tall frame.
"Link?" Zelda said, standing up. "Is it really you?"
"It's me," he said, walking towards her.
Zelda sprinted towards him and grabbed him around the neck while Link put his arms around her waist and swung her around. The both of them oblivious to the world for the moment.
When her feet were on the ground, Zelda took a good look at her lover's face. Her eyes were drawn suddenly to the three-inch scar on his left cheek, near his ear.
Before she could ask about it, Zelda was drawn into a passionate kiss by Link. It felt so right to her; being in Link's arms again was like a breath of fresh air once again- only this time, it felt wonderful.
"Do you know how much I missed kissing you?" Link rasped, after the kiss ended. He cupped one side of Zelda's face and ran a thumb over her cheek. "I hope this moment never ends."
Zelda sighed. "Me neither."
Link looked up at the castle. "It's been a while since I've set foot in this place- has anything changed?"
Zelda smiled bitterly. "Unless you count Jonah's disgusting taste in decoration, then nothing else has changed." She paused. "Well, one thing has changed." She looked up at Link and her smile disappeared. "You have a son Link. You remember when I was pregnant and we were deciding names one day? I wanted to tell you then that the child I was carrying was yours, but I couldn't."
Link's face went thoughtful. "The son who we chose the name of Derichio all those years ago? Derek?" His face suddenly lit up. "I remember now. I used to visit him as the "Sandman" and tell him stories if he was awake. But that was almost three months ago." He sighed. "I thought that he was yours and his majesty's child." Link made "his majesty" sound like a rude word. "So now I know where Derek got his good looks from."
Zelda playfully hit him in the arm. "So you're the infamous Sandman that Derek won't stop talking about?" she said, laughing. "I send my thanks for that wonderful book you gave him- it's the perfect thing in putting Derek to sleep."
Link nodded grinning, then suddenly turned serious. "Zelda, I have to tell you why I was away for all those years. Why I have been blocking you from talking to me through our Triforce pieces."
(A.N. That's all for now folks!!! Let's hope that school doesn't sap my time out completely, cause I want to finish this story as soon as possible. Cause, as I had said before, I HATE leaving cliffies. But, I have to leave it on that note because I have a LOT of homework to do. [Damn teachers!])