Author's Notes: It's been a while, hasn't it? I did warn you that once school started, I'd be very busy. The good news is that I managed to finish this chapter and that the excitement will be starting! One last note; the quote doesn't mean much for the story other than it's about a coronation. And I find it incredibly amusing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Link or anything else from the games. Nintendo has the honor to own it. I also don't own the quote. However, I own Celestria as well as my OCs.
----
"CORONATION, n. The ceremony of investing a sovereign with the outwards and visible signs of his divine right to be blown sky high with a dynamite bomb."
-- Ambrose Bierce
Chapter 13: What a Wonderful Way to End This
Despite all those who wished that tomorrow would never come (an entire two people), the clock struck nine, heralding the beginnings of the coronation. It would start in the throne room where many years ago Kamaria had begged Galathron to stop the blood bonding.
Unlike that day when the room had been shrouded with blood and shadows, today it was lively. The walls were glowing cheerily with red markings. Streamers had been meticulously hung and flower arrangements had been made. Crowds of Twili were packed in to watch the proceedings and a band of local musicians were assembled to play music. A crimson carpet extended all the way up to a golden and obsidian throne. To the side of this throne, a small altar had been placed. Sitting on a scarlet cushion was the crown of Celestria. It was grand, just the type of ceremony any monarch could ever hope for.
Midna had a fake smile plastered on her face. She was standing among the place reserved for special guests, which included those who had worked at the palace despite the chaos that had engulfed it and the search team. Of course, she was happy that Celestria would have its ruler back, but she was not at all excited for what would occur after the coronation.
Her ruby eyes slid over to gaze at Link. The boy had dark rings under his eyes, but his face was a smiling one. However, looking deep into his eyes, Midna could see some of the sadness that plagued her reflected in them.
Link caught her gaze and reached over to squeeze her hand. "It's alright. We'll manage." His voice wasn't overly confident, but it did make Midna feel a little bit better.
"If you don't faint throughout the ceremony, everything will be fine." Midna smirked at him, unable to resist teasing the boy.
"I promise I won't do that." Link held his hand over his heart.
Veiviser was completely ignorant of the conversation going on right next to him. His eyes shone brightly as he watched the double doors for any sign of Kamaria. After Midna's encouraging words the night before, he was looking forwards to seeing his friend crowned; no regret on things changing plagued the boy's mind. And all the food! His smile widened at the thought.
Suddenly the musicians began to play a marching tune, a brisk rhythm filling the air. Conversations died down as everyone turned their attention towards the door. Veiviser smiled widely, glad for his abnormal height that allowed him to view over the tops of people's heads.
In regular coronations, it would be the elite guard who would march through the doors. However, because the elite guard had died, the two that marched through were simple soldiers; Morgana and Vaschel.
Both were decked out in the armor of their rank, as neither had felt it was right to don the armor of the Eclipsed Ones just yet. To their credit, they both wore mostly stoic expressions though Vaschel's lips were curved slightly into a smile and Morgana's eyes betrayed the bubbling excitement within. They had each been granted a long dark spear with a serrated blade at one end.
Once their solemn progression was over, each took a place on either side of the throne. While everyone had been busy watching the soldiers march across the carpet, Porter had snuck up to stand beside the altar. He was dressed very neatly, in fine dark red robes with silver trim. His hair was combed to one side.
In a booming voice that was so proud one would've thought Kamaria was his daughter, Porter announced, "Now presenting her Majesty, Kamaria Reia Catalystra!" Morgana and Vaschel each beat the butt of their spear into the ground once.
The music had changed along with this announcement from the military march into a more luscious melody. It flowed smoothly, accented with the occasional sharp note. Link gripped Midna's hand tighter, showing his excitement.
From the doors came Kamaria. She had changed out of the simple peasant clothing into a dark indigo gown, a few shades short of being completely black. The billowing sleeves had slit edges as did the long skirt. Runes had been stitched in red in elaborate designs. A pendant in the shape of a crescent moon hung around her neck. Her short hair had been carefully brushed, so that each strand fell perfectly into place. Her eyes glowed in excitement.
Veiviser's eyes widened as he saw his friend. He had never before seen her wear something like this. It blew his senses away. The boy opened his mouth to call out to her, only to be smacked in the back of his head by Aleron. He shut his mouth immediately upon seeing his father's stern expression.
Kamaria slowly progressed her way down the red carpet. She walked fluidly, a ballerina amongst a sea of faces watching only her. Her skirts flowed behind her.
Kamaria carefully came around the altar and stood in front of it. Her eyes stared out at her audience, a small smile on her face. She inclined her head slightly to Porter who was standing by her side, so small a gesture it was almost imperceptible.
Porter smiled and began to speak, "We have gathered here today to crown our newest queen. Times have been tough." A few people in the audience chortled; times had most definitely been more than tough. Porter waited for them to finish, a disapproving frown momentarily settling on his face.
"However, we have managed to strive our way through those troubles. And for dealing with those troubles, we have been rewarded with the return of our princess." He paused to allow for applause.
"Some of you may remember her back when she was just a little girl. I can still see her running around in the gardens, trampling the blossoms I had just planted and rolling around in the mud. But that wasn't all she did. I'm sure those of us who can remember knew her to be a gentle, kind spirit. She treated the servants with a kindness that made us wish Galathron was not first-born. She stopped on the streets to talk with others. She was truly a blessed child.
"And then she was banished." Porter sighed, a sigh that was rather exaggerated, but fit him well. "There were many who mourned for her exile, but none dared to go against our king, for his word was law. However, now she has returned, more beautiful than ever, brought back by Princess Midna, the Hero of Twilight, and our very own boy, Veiviser Elipptil."
There was applause for the trio and loud shouts of "Thanks," and "You rock!" Midna took this all in, nodding her head to indicate that she accepted the gratitude. Link smiled back though he shifted uneasily. Fighting monsters was easy, but dealing with the thunderous gratitude of others was not quite as easy. He was a modest fellow, and being complimented like this brought a blush to his cheeks.
However, Veiviser was not a modest fellow. He waved his hands wildly at the people, showering them with false kisses in the exaggerated manner that often took over him. A few seconds of this was all that was allowed, as Aleron tugged Veiviser back down to earth, muttering something that subdued the boy. What that was Midna would never know, but she fervently wished that she had some knowledge of ways to make the boy shut up.
Once everything had died down, Porter stuck out his chest and began, "Now we begin the transition of power."
He carefully picked up the obsidian crown of Celestria. The gems shined brightly as he slowly held it above Kamaria's head. He did not place it on yet.
"Kamaria Reia Catalystra, descendent of our magnificent founding father Jericho Dusru Catalystra, daughter of the benevolent King Gral Cavoris Catalystra and our beautiful queen Celenia Elin Catalystra, sister of our most recent king the powerful Galatron Bludrei Catalystra, will you take it upon yourself to rule this kingdom of Celestria like your ancestors before you?"
Kamaria did not hesitate as she inclined her head and answered, "I swear on the blood of my ancestors that I shall rule our beautiful Celestria."
"Shall you do everything in your power to help the needy, fight if there is need for war, negotiate if there is need for peace, and do anything else that is needed to make our kingdom a prosperous one?"
"I swear that I shall do all that is in my power to make our kingdom have the prosperity it deserves."
"Shall you do everything to make sure that our kingdom continues to exist, so in the generations to come, our descendents may speak of us as we speak of our ancestors?"
"I swear that I will ensure the survival of Celestria and all the people who embody it."
"Then, by the power invested in me," there were a few snorts from Twili recalling his position as a gardener, "I put this crown upon your head to name you as the newest queen of Celestria."
There was silence as the crown slowly descended on to Kamaria's head. It fit perfectly and as soon as the crowd saw this, they shouted,
"Long live Celestria! Long live Queen Kamaria Reia Catalystra!" Thunderous applause followed.
Kamaria waited for the clapping and hooting to die down before rising. She cleared her throat before bowing her head down to Porter,
"Thank you." She returned the gesture to the Twili gathered in front of her. "I thank you all for allowing me to return to my throne."
As if she had rehearsed this for hours (which she most likely had), Kamaria began her speech, "For weeks now, Lunaris has been falling into a state of chaos. It would've reached the point where crime was the job of every other person if it had not been for the work of some remarkable individuals." Kamaria swept an arm out towards the front rows where Aleron, Midna, Veiviser, Link, and others who had helped in the castle stood. "I'd like to thank them all."
There was some applause, but it was cut off by Kamaria. "Also, I would like to start by issuing a method at which we can start rebuilding our fair capital. As many of you are aware, the treasury has been opened. All of you, even those who left the job, may now return to your former position and resume work for the palace.
"Secondly, I shall be asking all the guards to begin sweeps through the city. Visit anyone who was robbed, have them describe the crook, and then seek to find every criminal within this city who had taken advantage of the momentary confusion to take from others. Everyone who has done such a deed shall hereby be sent to the dungeons after a short trial to decide whether or not they're guilty.
"Before we get to the feast, I have got one final announcement to make." Kamaria cleared her throat, allowing time for the audience to mutter anxiously to their neighbors. What could this announcement be about? The gravity that Kamaria spoke with made it seem as if there was an enemy marching towards them.
"There are traitors in our midst." She announced loudly, causing various Twili to gasp in horror. Others began to look around; talking wildly while trying to determine which one of their neighbors was a traitor.
Midna cast Link a questioning expression, causing the boy to simply shrug. Both of them glanced at Veiviser to ask if he knew anything about this, but the boy was far too busy trying to search out for any suspicious Twili to bother.
"I shall announce their names now!" Kamaria shouted over the din. Instantly a hush fell over the audience as they returned their attention to their monarch. "For their traitorous intentions and plotting, I banish Princess Midna and Veiviser Elliptil. Furthermore, their companion Link shall be sent to the dungeon."
"WHAT?!" Midna shouted, outraged. Her eyes narrowed at the queen. Link reached for her hand, and gave it a light squeeze. "You can't be serious." She added in a slightly more composed tone.
Veiviser chuckled. "Yeah, you're not really serious, are you? We brought you back so Lunaris wouldn't fall. Last time I checked, it wasn't a bad thing to do." He really hoped she was joking. She had to be, right?
"We have evidence that you three have been plotting behind the backs of the Celestrian order. You wanted to control me and try to take advantage of my youth to use me as your puppet ruler. And then you wanted to dispose of me and take Celestria back as a province of your kingdom." Kamaria spoke fluidly, all the while glaring disdainfully at the trio.
"We wanted no such things." Midna said angrily. If Link had not been there to hold her hand and whisper to her that it was a bad idea, Midna would've flung herself at the young queen at this very moment.
"Of course that's what the guilty would say." Kamaria waved her head in the air. "Now, take them out of here. I never want to see their," she pointed to Midna and Veiviser, "faces again."
"You promised that you would help get Link back to the Light Realm. Are you going to go back on that?" Midna challenged.
"Traitors deserve to die. No matter how grateful we are for his heroic efforts against Zant, we will not tolerate light dwellers in this realm. He shall be sent to the dungeon to live out the rest of his meager life." Kamaria snapped her fingers.
Midna looked around, searching for anyone that could help. Morgana and Vaschel both stood, utterly perplexed as to what was going on. It was easy to see on their faces that neither of them wished to throw Midna and Vei out of the city or Link into a jail cell. Porter stood nearby, face completely impassive. Ramaine looked ready to complain, but she held her tongue.
"I'm your friend, Kamy!" Veiviser shouted, for once not caring that strangers heard his affectionate nickname for the girl. "Why would I ever want to betray you?"
"Friendships don't always endure through the years." Kamaria sniffed. "Now, out!" She waved an arm towards the door.
Before Veiviser could raise another complaint, Aleron clutched his son's shoulder. Veiviser glanced at his father with pleading eyes and a curled lip.
"Go for now. I shall do my best to work things out and get to the bottom of this." Aleron said in his usual stoic voice. Seeing Veiviser's face turn even more pitiful, Aleron added, "Don't worry, I shall convince them to raise these charges. I think you'll do fine out there." Aleron clapped his son on the shoulder.
Veiviser's lips pressed together grimly. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to fight. A glance at Midna's face told him that she wanted to fight too. The approaching guards didn't look too friendly, but they didn't look hostile either. They were simply following orders and Veiviser had no desires to kill innocent guards.
"Let's go." Veiviser said in defeat with a tug on Midna's arm.
Her fiery red eyes burned as she turned to Veiviser. "I can't leave Link." Her voice was a deathly whisper and it terrified Veiviser.
The boy glanced at Link. To him, Link looked strong enough to handle himself at the moment. Sure, there were dark rings under his eyes, but they weren't prominent. Veiviser imagined that Link could handle himself quite fine for a few hours, which is what he hoped was all it would take for Aleron to convince Kamaria that there was something wrong with this.
"We have to… Unless you want to take your chances with them."
Midna glanced at the guards before shrugging, "I could take them on."
"You would kill Twili who are just following orders?" Veiviser asked.
Midna sighed. "No…" She averted her eyes to look up at Kamaria. "But I would shake some sense into her."
Link reached over to put a hand on Midna's shoulder. She turned to him, but as he began to speak, two guards in simple armor yanked them apart.
The guard who had yanked Link was a heavy fellow and nearly caused the boy to fall over. Another guard joined this one to hold Link's other arm. The two began to drag the Hylian across the throne room, towards the doors that would eventually lead down to the dungeons.
Link struggled against him and if he had not had the Viduata Solis, he would've been able to free himself. As it was, his struggles could not free him of the tight grip of the men.
Midna raced to struggle out from the guard holding her, but he had his arms wrapped tight around her. No amount of struggling was going to help her out. Midna's eye glinted mischievously as she sent a shock of magic into the guard. The guard dropped her with a grunt of pain.
"Link!" Just as Midna began to run towards the guards dragging Link, more guards came to block her view.
She was about to send magic at them to make them scatter, but a hand on her arm stopped her. Impatiently, Midna turned to Veiviser.
"What?" She snapped, obviously annoyed at being cut short from her attack.
"Don't kill them. They've got family and friends here." Veiviser begged.
"I wasn't going to." Midna answered, still annoyed at the Twili for his interruption. She turned back towards the guards and got ready to summon up magic.
Suddenly there was a heavy thud against the back of Midna's skull. Dots swam in her vision, slowly blurring the scarlet throne room into a uniform blood-red. The last thing Midna could see was the shiny glint of metal as guards walked towards her. Then she was out for the count.
----
A/N: …This was rather short, wasn't it? I wanted to leave it at a cliffhanger though I guess it turned out shorter than I expected it to be. I'll try and write the next chapter faster to make up for this short chapter. As always, reviews are awesome and they make me very happy! I'm sure any of you who write understand the joy of finding a review in your inbox. Anyway, over and out,
Twilight Phantom Dragon