tonight was the hyrulean ball— and zelda found herself trembling with restlessness and worry in her tight, layered dress. this was the first large gathering that hyrule castle had hosted since her coronation. while it was not quite as nerve-wracking as her crowning had been, it was not far behind in terms of stress.
would every formal event make her feel like this? surely the anxiety in ruling must fade eventually— right?
in moments like these, zelda found herself lamenting her late father, and what could've been. growing up, she had a somewhat unconventional childhood. disaster and war was a constant in hyrule's extensive history. the only variable in each historical catastrophe being how, and if, the heroes manage to vanquish the darkness.
if zelda had been able to unlock her powers at a young age, like many other zelda's had, her upbringing would've been more traditional. instead of attending court meetings and shadowing her father, zelda had spent hours upon hours dedicating herself to the goddess hylia, and prayer. at this point, she was more equipped to become a priestess than a sovereign.
taking a deep breath, she loosened her vice-like grip on the glass in hand. she had spent enough time brooding, and now it was time to socialize with her guests.
she ambled across the (relatively) newly rebuilt ballroom as gracefully as she could manage. it had been years since she had any of her classes on etiquette. while most of her teachings were still firmly ingrained in her mind, it was a rough transition as she returned to corsets and pinching heels after months of casual wear and camping in the wilderness.
much to her relief, many of the guests seemed to mirror the same inept mannerisms. they were unaccustomed to such formal events, unused to such exorbitant places.
zelda had commissioned bolson's construction company to repair, and restore, the castle to the best of their abilities. miraculously, bolson and his team had finished the repairs on the castle, while succeeding in making a close replica of what it had looked like over a century ago— all in less than a year's time.
now that they had the space available to host such events, zelda had switched to fussing over the smaller details. to prepare for the gathering, she had attempted to arrange the somewhat bare ballroom in the same fashion it had been years ago. the furnishing was nearly the same, alongside the lighting, music, and even the food.
yet, despite her efforts, it didn't feel at all like the balls she could recall from her early childhood.
it made sense, in a way. after all, zelda was just trying her best to piece back a kingdom that would never truly be the same.
perhaps.. the change wasn't entirely unwelcome?
there were very few left that remembered the peaceful times before ganon. those born after the calamity often became humble travelers, farmers, or merchants. while she'd never admit to it; zelda found it refreshing. she had grown up around snobbish hylian nobility, with their pretentious air and constant gossip. the attendees of her current hyrulean ball simply seemed modest, albeit a little out of place.
after idly chatting with a few of the locals from hateno village, she caught a dark, luminous dress in the corner of her eye. she turned her head to look as subtly as she could. the somewhat unorthodox dress was pinned to the body of an attractive, yet shockingly pale, woman. her silver hair almost gave zelda the false impression that she was apart of the sheikah clan, but after further scrutinization, she lacked the usual defining traits. her eyes were tinted red, and despite her ivory complexion, zelda felt as if her features were eerily familiar.
shaking the thought away, zelda tried refocusing her attention on the villagers. still, despite her best efforts, her mind returned to the girl she saw. she had read about individuals with such pigments in one of her books; something about a lack of melanin. although, she had never expected to be seeing one in real life.
before she could entirely process what she was doing, she excused herself— stepping away from the group. she felt almost drawn to the mysterious woman.
while it would be nearly impossible to memorize everyone in hyrule, zelda was sure she would have remembered if she had met her on one of her many excursions around hyrule with link. was she not local? surely she would've introduced herself if she arriving from a neighboring kingdom.
keeping her expression neutral and gait confident, she strode towards her with the goal of making her acquaintance.