After going home, changing into a pair of dark jeans and a red shirt, grabbing my gift for Cremia and collecting Shade, Sheik, and the cake, we all headed to Cremia's house, which was about a 10-minute drive.
Cremia lived on the edge of town, which was a suburb to Hyrule City, the largest metropolis in Greater Hyrule, and one of the biggest cities in the world. She lived on her family's ancestral ranch, Lon Lon Ranch. According to her family, the ranch has existed since the days of the legendary Princess of Destiny and the attempted rebellion of the Gerudo. Maybe it's true, maybe not, but either way, Lon Lon Ranch was one of the best ranches in the province, famous for their special mixture of milk.
As the car rolled up the long driveway to the large ranch house, I could see balloons tied to trees and fence posts along the long stretch of fence encircling the ranch. All red of course, Cremia's favorite color. Parking, the three of us started walking towards the door when it was suddenly pushed open and a young copy of Cremia rushed out, jumped down the porch steps, and plowed into Sheik, tackling the young man to the ground. Shade and I kept walking, unfazed by the assault, laughing as we heard Sheik yell for Romani, the little girl, to get off him. Cremia appeared in the door way, and her face lit up when she saw us. She performed much the same maneuver as her younger sister, except plowing into me instead. Fortunately for me, Cremia, and her present, I managed to stay upright.
"Link, thank goodness you're here. There's so much to do to get ready!" Cremia exclaimed as she pulled away from me. "Come inside and help me with the food." Like a good boyfriend, I followed her inside, where Shade was waiting with the covered cake.
"Where do you want this?" he asked when he saw the birthday girl.
"In there, on the dining room table," Cremia said as she gestured towards the large dining room before walking into the kitchen. I followed her to see that there really wasn't all the much left to get ready. Just a few snacks to put out and taco meat to put in a big bowl. Noting the absence of Mr. and Mrs. Lon Lon, I asked Cremia about where they were.
"Dad is out back unhooking the milking machine and Mom is upstairs. They're going out tonight, so we'll have the house to ourselves. Well, as much as we can with a ton of people here," she said with a laugh. I stirred the meat in its massive pot, laughing with her. Shade came in and took over most of the food preparation, so Cremia and I went to make sure everything was in its proper place.
At some point, I heard heavy footsteps going up the large staircase, which I assumed to be Mr. Lon Lon. A few minutes later, two pairs descended, one significantly heavier than the other. A voice called Cremia's name, pulling her out into the entrance hall. I put the dish I was holding down on the table and followed her out to see her hugging her father.
"Hello Link. Here early to help out?" a sweet voice said from my left. I turned to see Mrs. Lon Lon pulling a light jacket on.
"Hello Malon," I responded. Cremia's parents insisted I call them by their first names. They were pretty laid back and generally cool like that. "Yeah, I figured you could use some help over here, but it looks like everything is pretty well set up." A large hand clapped me on the shoulder, one that could only belong to Falon, Cremia's father.
"Now don't get too rowdy here tonight. And if you do, make sure it's nothing you'll regret in the morning." Then, in a lower voice, but not quite low enough, and with a not so subtle wink, he added, "Or in nine months." With a booming laugh, he hit me on the shoulder again before extending his arm towards his smiling wife. "We're getting a hotel room tonight, so don't worry about having people leave. Party as long as you kids want." With one last "Have fun," they left, closing the door behind them. Looking towards Cremia, who also seemed rather embarrassed, I quickly broke the silence.
"Anything else need doing before the party? We only have about an hour before people start showing up." Cremia shook her head.
"I just have to get dressed, but you're not allowed to help with that."
"Aww, why not?" I said with mock disappointment. Cremia slapped me upside the head. Falon's words were still fresh in our minds anyway, effectively killing any chance of shenanigans.
As we stood there, the door opened again, revealing a striking platinum blonde.
"Zelda!" Cremia exclaimed, throwing herself at the girl, gripping her in a massive hug. Just as quickly, she dropped her hand to Zelda's and hauled the poor girl up the stairs, presumably to get changed for the party. I just looked on in bemusement as the two disappeared into the second floor of the house.
I guess that leaves the rest of the preparation to me and Shade, I thought with a small laugh.
It turned out there wasn't much left to do for the party. Shade finished off the meat and we got the fixings for the tacos set out on the table and that was pretty much all there was to do. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait long before people started to show up. First to show up were the girls that hung out with Cremia constantly. They went directly upstairs with a quick hello to us, leaving their boyfriends to chill with us. I recognized Kafei, as he and Anju, his girlfriend and close friend to Cremia, would often sit at the same table as me and Cremia. I recognized a few others too, but none that I knew very well. Mikau, with his usual punctuality, showed up at 6:30 on the dot with his girl, Lulu. Glad to see someone I knew better than acquaintances, I started a conversation with them as more and more people started showing up. Eventually, someone found the food and drinks and the party started for real.
I was in the middle of talking to one of the juniors, when his sentence died as his mouth dropped. I turned around and had pretty much the same reaction. Only my reaction only happened mentally. I hope.
Zelda was walking towards me and she was indeed stunning. I hadn't seen her earlier, since she was pulled upstairs by my girlfriend immediately. But now I had plenty of time to look as she slowly moved towards me, greeting people as she went.
Zelda was wearing what looked like a tight, long sleeved white shirt, with a collar that went up to her neck. Over that, she had a sort of half-blouse that essentially covered only her breasts, ending just below them and would have left a considerable amount of skin and cleavage showing if it hadn't been for the white shirt beneath it. It also had long billowing sleeves from her shoulders to her wrists and gold ornamentation around the edges of the collar and sleeve cuffs. The bottom had a thicker gold band with a small medallion in the center decaling a triangle inside a triangle. That, coupled with her tight brown pants, boots, flowing hair, and minimal makeup, I couldn't help but wonder if my initial assessment of her as a goddess come to earth wasn't wrong. The junior behind me certain seemed to think so. He looked like he was either about to bow down in worship or faint.
Zelda finally reached me and gave me a smile. Somewhere behind me, I heard frantic scampering, presumable the junior desperately trying to get away from the young woman in front of me.
"Hey," I said, with no waver in my voice. Last week, I would have likely had the same reaction as the retreating junior, but I instead found myself appreciative of Zelda's beauty, but not overly transfixed by it. "Did you just finish upstairs with Cremia? It's been over 45 minutes."
"Really? It didn't feel like that long," she responded with a thoughtful look. "Anyways, it's worth it. She looks great. She's worried about what you'll think, so be nice." I put an offended look on my face.
"Do you really think I know nothing about having a girlfriend? Rule one: Always complement a girl on her looks," I said with an air of bravado and a snooty accent. "Which, by the way, applies to you too. You look fantastic. I think that boy I was talking to though so too."
Zelda giggled. "Thanks Link. I saw his face for a second, and I think you're probably right." Hold on, is she blushing? "Anyway, Cremia should be down in a few minutes. I think she and her girlfriends wanted a bit of heart to heart time. Is there any food left?"
"Yeah, there should be. It's just in here. No garlic sauce this time though." Zelda just laughed.
We both grabbed some tacos and snacks and looked at Shade's cake. It was a hardcore chocolate cake, with some of that chocolate sauce between the layers. At least, that's what Shade said. How he did it, I have no idea. The whole thing was covered in frosting that shifted between red and orange, with "CREMIA" written across it in dark red. In front of it was a rather large sign, ensuring no one missed it. It read, "BACK THE FUCK OFF." Shade hated people messing with his cakes.
"And you said Shade made this?" Zelda remarked, clearly impressed.
"Yep," I said before taking a massive bite of my overfilled taco.
"I never would have guessed. He definitely doesn't seem the type to cook. Is that what he wants to go into after school?"
"Yeah, he's looking at a couple culinary schools. He's even thinking of entering 'Hyrule's Top Chef' to get some money for tuition."
"Oh, I love that show. It'd be amazing to see him on it," Zelda exclaimed, turning away from the cake and towards me. "What are you going to do after school?" I had grown to hate this question.
"I don't know yet. There's nothing I'm really interested in enough to want to do it for the rest of my life yet. I guess I feel like I'm still waiting for something, if you know what I mean." Zelda looked lost in thought for a minute.
"Like you're waiting for destiny to come calling?" she said quietly. I was startled.
"Yeah, exactly."
"I know how you feel." Before I could ask her what she meant, her eyes alighted on something behind me. I turned around and had my breath utterly stolen.
Cremia was walking towards me with a bright smile on her face, wearing a sleeveless dress with a dropping v neckline, showing off plenty of cleavage from her already amble breasts. The dress was cinched around her waist and flared back out to show the outline of her hips before ending at about her midthigh. It was simple, but beautiful. Her red hair had been teased into curls and flowed down both sides of her shoulders, ending about mid-chest. Small dangling gold earrings and gold bracelets, along with black flats completed her outfit. Her makeup emphasized her eyes, making the green orbs look bigger than normal. Her lips shimmered and I was delighted to see that she had foregone a necklace. Perfect.
"Hi, Link." I blinked quickly, shaking myself out of my girlfriend-induced stupor. I quickly said the first thing that came to mind.
"You're gorgeous." Cremia and the girls that I only now noticed behind her giggled, along with Zelda at my side. Cremia beamed more brightly at me, clearly delighted with my answer.
"Glad I garnered your approval then."
"Definitely," I said, still awestruck with the girl before me and the realization that she was mine. Clearly, I was the luckiest guy at the party. Gathering my jaw off the floor, I gave Cremia a conspiratorial smile and took her hand, which I saw had gotten the nails painted the same red color as her dress. "Come in here a minute. I think it's time for your birthday present." The girls behind Cremia giggled madly, and I quickly realized how I sounded. I was about to correct them when Cremia shot a look at them that shut them up. Or at least made them giggle more quietly.
I pulled my smiling girlfriend into the den where the family's 55" TV hung on the wall and where I had stashed my present for this occasion. I gestured for the few boys sitting on the couches to vacate the room, which they did quickly, but not before winking at me or shooting a sly smile. I left the door open before sitting Cremia down on the couch. Don't want anyone getting the wrong idea, I thought. Grabbing the present from a side table where I had put it, I moved to sit down next to the red beauty on the couch.
"Happy birthday, Cremia," I said as I placed the wrapped present on her lap. Her lips parted for a second and she glanced up to me before she looked back down at the wrapping and tore it apart. She looked down in amusement at the maroon sweater with a horse displayed proudly in the center that lay in her lap, looking up with an air of incredulity towards me. I kept my eyes fixed on her and waited.
Seeing that she wasn't going to get any clue from me, Cremia reached down and grabbed the collar of the sweater to pull it up. As she pulled it into the air, it unrolled and a long box fell out of its folds. I quickly jerked my hands forward to catch it, presenting it to the confused girl before me. She slowly reached her hands towards it and opened the lid. Her hands quickly flew to her mouth to stifle the gasp that escaped her lips.
Inside the long box, lay a simple golden chain with a deep red diamond-shaped crystal hanging from the chain. The crystal itself hung free of any outline, allowing light to filter through it, illuminating it from within.
"It's called a Fire's Ember, since it always looks like there's something flickering inside it. I thought it fitting for you," I said, meeting Cremia's shimmering eyes. "Turn around," I said as I pulled the chain from the jewelry box. Cremia obeyed instantly and pulled her curls over one shoulder, revealing to me that the back of her dress left a large patch of skin exposed, ending below her shoulder blades. Reaching forward, I lowered the necklace over her head and waited for her to pull her hair out of the way before hooking the clasp together and dropping the chain. Cremia readjusted her hair before turning back around revealing the red gem sitting just above her cleavage, with the tip pointing down towards the partially exposed flesh. It flickered and glowed against Cremia's tanned skin, leaving me awestruck once again.
Seeing my reaction, Cremia rushed towards the nearest mirror and spent the next minute admiring the necklace resting against her collarbone.
"It's perfect," she said quietly. Turning back towards me, she reached down and kissed me deeply full on the lips. "Thank you," she whispered, before kissing me again. After a few seconds, I forced myself to gently push her back.
"We should get back to the party. I'm sure your friends will want to see what you got." Cremia smiled in a way I could only describe as sexy.
"Sure," she said lowly, going in for one last kiss, she pulled away, moving her hand up to the crystal around her neck and walking towards the door. After a calming breath or two, I stood up and followed her.
I turned the corner to see my girlfriend showing off her new necklace to what was probably half the girls at the party, including Zelda. Noticing me, Zelda slipped from the edge of the crowd to lean against the wall next to me.
"That's a beautiful necklace. Where did you get it?"
"It's from a local jeweler, but the crystals are imported from the Eldin region, from Death Mountain specifically. They only form inside the lava cauldron, so they used to be extremely rare and expensive. But because the cauldron is cooling so much recently, they're easier to get and extremely popular," I said, still watching the girls fawn over Cremia and her necklace. "That said, they're still a bit expensive." I threw a cocky grin towards Zelda, who returned it with one of her own.
Suddenly, the mob of girls in front of me surged forward, bombarding me with questions about the gemstone and separating me from Zelda. Cremia quickly attached herself to my side, as if laying claim to me before another girl scooped me up. I just went with it until they let up. Which took quite some time.
You asked for a new chapter? You didn't? Well, that's too bad, 'cause you already read it. Unless you skip to the bottom to read my little notes first. Which is weird. I mean, to each their own, but still...
For those of you wondering, I tried to describe Zelda's outfit from BotW, largely based on a picture by Castcuraga, which is basically what I think Zelda to look like in this story. The picture should be on Deviantart if you want to go looking.
Anyway! Thanks to everyone who has been following and favoriting the story so far. Even bigger thanks to my two reviewers for last chapter, xmana033 and Nightwing2013. X, great to hear from you again. Indeed, we shall see. Nightwing, Link is indeed very popular with the ladies, as you will see in the next chapter. Oh, the life of a handsome man. Sure would be nice.
Regardless, thanks for reading my gibberish. You can take that to be this note or the story, I don't care as long as you keep doing so. Thinking the next chapter will be up on Sunday. In the mean time, tell me what you think in a nice, meaty review. Preferably bacon, but I'm not too picky. Seriously though, long reviews make my day. Is that subtle enough? Too much? Let me know! Blink blink blink, blinkity blink blink blink.
Cheers guys.
-Aro