Hello again! Welcome to chapter twenty-eight! Only two more chapters after this. Thanks to my reviewers- Anime Wildfire; Dancin-Cutie032; Sakurelle; Infernal Flame Zero; adrian-air-fire; TheGoddessKnight; lilykat14; Ygfi; and White Moon Princess.
A note: I edited this chapter to fix an error. Thank you to Spiritual Stone for pointing it out to me. I know I received some more reviews prior to correcting the mistake, but I will give credit for them when I post the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of the Legend of Zelda series.
It had been a month since I'd sealed Ganondorf away, hopefully for good. Since then, Link and I had been busy planning our wedding, along with helping Kiefer and Adalia get back on their feet. Fortunately, the defeat of Ganondorf seemed to have caused his minions to disappear.
I awoke at dawn in Link's arms. We hadn't been intimate in "that way," since being caught by Impa, agreeing that even though it had already happened, we would wait for our honeymoon. However, he would often sneak into my room at night through the secret passage, and then sneak back to his room at dawn before he had to get up with the other soldiers that kept watch during the day and slept at night.
I kissed Link, and he murmured sleepily before opening his big blue eyes. "You need to get out of here," I teased. "It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."
"Okay, I'm going," he mumbled, hopping out of bed and going to the wall. I couldn't help but ogle him slightly as he disappeared into the passage that led to his room. I knew both of us would get very little sleep that night.
I climbed out of bed and went to my wardrobe. Hanging inside one of the doors was my wedding dress, and on the inside of the other door was my veil. I removed them both and laid them on the bed. There was a knock at the door at that moment.
"Who is it?" I called.
"It's Impa, Your Grace."
"Come in."
Impa entered, closing the door behind her. "How are you doing this morning?"
"I'm so nervous. Excited, but nervous."
"Well, I'm sure everything will be wonderful. You and Link make such a lovely couple, and I know the both of you will rule fairly and have a beautiful family. And the ceremony will be very special, since your future husband will soon be knighted."
I smiled warmly and hugged her. "I'm so glad that this day's finally here. I can hardly wait to marry Link. I love him so much, and these last several weeks have been so rough, between wondering whether he loved me back, to him getting injured, to re-imprisoning Ganondorf, to helping Kiefer and Adalia. And I just want to thank you for supporting me, even when I was being stupid and jealous, thinking Malon loved Link."
"Yes, and now she is happily married, with a child on the way," Impa grinned back.
"What?" I gasped.
"Well, so I suspect she is anyway. Even though she's only been married a little over a month, she just has that glow about her."
"Well, I guess I'll have to ask her later. But first, I have a wedding to attend," I grinned.
I put on a simple dress, just for the sake of going downstairs and eating a light breakfast. It felt weird to eat without Link around, but even though I'm not particularly superstitious, I didn't want to do anything that could possibly invoke bad luck.
I finished eating and went back upstairs with Impa and Malon, who had eaten breakfast with me. I noticed that she had quite a ravenous appetite, which certainly pointed in the direction of what Impa believed to be true.
We reached my bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind us. Impa filled the bathtub with warm water, adding rose petals to it, while Malon began to lay out the makeup she would use on me on the vanity. I undressed and stepped into the bath, enjoying the scent of the petals as I washed my hair and body.
I quickly finished and dried off, tying the towel around me. I sat in the chair at the vanity, and Malon began to roll my hair around strips of fabric, then twist the sections of hair and tie the ends of the fabric around them to form buns.
Once my hair was tied up, Impa helped me into my dress. It was white of course, with narrow, off-the-shoulder sleeves and a very deep scoop neck. The bodice tied in the back, and the dress skirt went to my ankles and had a ten-foot train. The whole dress had intricate embroidery, including my family's crest on the front of the bodice.
I admired myself in the full-length mirror in the corner, smiling at my reflection. The dress looked stunning on me, if I do say so myself, and I couldn't wait to see how I looked once my hair and makeup were done and my veil and jewelry were put on. And how Link looked when he saw me.
Malon spent the next half-hour putting on my makeup. I knew how good she is with these things, but I was still shocked at how lovely it looked when she finished. I have blue-green eyes that my father tells me are just like my mother's, but they usually look so blue that most people cannot tell. However, with the makeup on, they looked unbelievably green. And my cheeks looked rosy, and my lips red, as if I had just been kissed.
Malon and Impa then turned their attention to removing the fabric strips from my hair. I watched as each section tumbled down, forming a tight curl. Once my hair was down, Malon lightly finger-combed it, until the curls loosened into spirals. She then took some pieces from the front, and pinned them back over my ears.
Once that was complete, it was time to put on my veil and jewelry. The veil was very simple, except that the back of it went nearly down to my ankles. The earrings were simple sapphire studs, which not only match my engagement ring, but were chosen because they symbolize the Triforce of Wisdom that I have in me. Impa carefully put on the necklace that I wore while in my gypsy disguise, but with the low neckline of the dress, the pendant was now visible.
As a finishing touch, my crown was at last placed on my head. Once I officially became queen, I would inherit my mother's crown. But this crown was still very special to me, as it had been made after Ganondorf was sealed away for the first time. It had only three jewels, one at each point- the Kokiri Emerald to my left (symbolizing courage); the Goron Ruby to my right (symbolizing power), and, of course, the symbol of wisdom in the center, the Zora Sapphire.
I once again stood before the mirror, admiring myself. If I had been shocked before, I was completely blown away now. Even Malon and Impa could not seem to stop showering me with compliments as they stood behind me, looking me over and making little last-minute adjustments.
I turned from the mirror and pulled both of them into a warm hug. "Thank you so much," I said with a grin, resisting the urge to cry. "The both of you are such dear friends to me, and I appreciate everything you've done. I know you've looked forward to this day, but after the way I was acting before Link told me he loved me, I certainly would've understood if you didn't want to share in my happiness."
"Oh, Zelda, don't be silly," Malon laughed. "Even when you're jealous, we'll still be here for you. You know, now that I think about it, I probably was romantically interested in Link at some time. My father did ask him years ago if he would like to marry me," she added teasingly.
"Well, it's too late for that. Link is all mine now, and you already have a fine husband," I answered, grinning to let her know that I was simply joining in the fun.
"With a child on the way," Malon grinned.
"No way! Oh, that's so wonderful!" I proclaimed, hugging her again. "Congratulations! How far along are you?"
"I'm not sure. Impa just told me a little while ago, while you were bathing."
"So that's what you two were up to! I could hear you talking, but I couldn't make out what you were saying."
"I could hardly wait to tell you. But now that you know, enough about me! Today is about you, after all. For you'll soon have a fine husband for yourself."
"She's right, Zelda," Impa agreed.
"Hey, you finally called me Zelda!" I pointed out with a smile. I'd been telling Impa for years that as one of my dearest friends, she had permission to call me that, but she insisted that she had entirely too much respect and proper training to do so.
"Yes, so I did. But don't get used to it," she smiled back. "Now, come along, the both of you. We have a wedding to attend."
"Oh, Zelda, I'm so happy for you! Thank you for putting me in the wedding!" Malon squealed. I had asked her to be my matron-of-honor, and she'd gladly agreed to do it. The dress Malon wore for the ceremony was a simple blue that brought out her eyes, and looked stunning due to the fit and details.
"You're so very welcome. It's the least I could do for a friend," I grinned, and we hugged yet again.
"Princess, pardon me, but it is time," Impa reminded me.
The three of us left the room and stopped at the top of the staircase. Impa signaled to the guards that it was time to begin, before getting behind me to carry my dress train. I watched, anxious and excited, as the ushers and bridesmaids began to descend the steps and make their way to the ballroom. Malon and Sir Cullen, Link's best man, were last to make their way down.
"Are you ready, Princess?" Impa asked me.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "As ready as I'll ever be," I answered, beginning to carefully go down the steps.
Please review! Thank you so much!