Chapter Three: Venturing Out

Zelda could hear the blast of the heralds' trumpets from her room.

She'd allowed herself a moment of moping in the early afternoon. But now, she was determined.

I'm not going to spend the night feeling sorry for myself, she'd decided. I'm going to the ball, cold or no cold.

She'd spent the afternoon working it all out. There was a small balcony overlooking the great hall, just down the corridor from her room. A perfect place to see, without being seen.

By the second or third waltz or quadrille, the guests would be enough in the swing of the ball. Their attention would be on the decorations, the lavish clothing of the other guests, the spread of food on the banquet table, and the next dance. No one would notice a princess with a cold hiding on an upper-level balcony.

The corridors outside Zelda's room would be a lot emptier. One of the attendants had brought her some supper earlier, and the healers wouldn't be likely to check on her until morning.

Oh, but one problem. How to let Link know where she was? And where was he? Had he even come back from Termina?

Zelda shook her head. Even watching the ball from a balcony wouldn't be fun without Link.

It's probably best if he didn't sit with you. You'll only make him sick.

Zelda started to push herself up from the bed. A wave of dizziness sent her stumbling backwards, and she clutched the bedpost for support. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought.

She started heading for the door, one step at a time.

And then there came a light tap at the door.

Not now!

"Go away," she said irritably.

"Is that any way to welcome home a hero, princess?" Link's voice asked.

Zelda's mood lightened instantly. "Come in!" she rasped.

Link came in, carrying a small plate of sweets from the ball's banquet table. "Brought you some of those cakes you like. Had to arm-wrestle one of the council lords to get them." He crossed the room in a few quick strides, and he and Zelda embraced.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," Zelda mumbled into his shoulder. "I really missed you."

"I missed you too. How are you feeling?"

"I've been sneezing my head off the last two days. So the healers have me penned up here so I won't spread my cold around the entire castle," Zelda said. "I think being told to stay in my room is a lot worse than the cold, honestly."

"Well, I won't let you suffer up here all alone. I'm staying with you for the whole evening."

"That's very noble of you, hero. But you should be downstairs, enjoying yourself."

"The ball's not much fun without you there."

"You don't even want to dance with Celeste?" Zelda teased.

"Oh, gods, no. I'd rather fight another horde of Stalfos."

Both of them laughed at this.

"Your timing is perfect, by the way," Zelda said. "I was going to sneak out to Hylia's Perch."

"That's the little balcony over the thrones, right?"

"That's the one. I used to sneak out of my room late at night and watch all the parties going on when I was little," Zelda said. "Just like old times."

"Well. Let's go then." Link offered Zelda his arm, and the two headed for the door.

They passed the dressmaker's form with Zelda's blue velvet ball gown on it, and they stopped and looked at it for a long moment.

If she was going to sit and watch in secret, she might as well do it in style.

"Give me a moment, Link."

"Can you get into that without help?"

"I think so."

"All right, I'll wait for you outside." Link closed the door behind him.

Zelda pulled off her nightdress and robe and left them on a nearby chair. She lifted the gown off of the dressmaker's form, which took some doing, and carefully manuevered her way into it. Thankfully, the gown was actually a fairly simple design, despite its elaborate appearance; Zelda had convinced the seamstresses to make the dress so that she wouldn't need the help of two maids to put it on.

She checked her appearance in the mirror - not bad for a convalescent, she thought - and slid her feet into the blue and silver slippers. She wasn't going to bother with trying to put on makeup. And she decided just to let her hair hang loose instead of trying to style it.

Link took a deep breath and stared at her as she stepped out into the corridor.

"My hair's a bit of a mess," Zelda began.

"Don't say that, you're beautiful," Link said.

They set off arm in arm down the corridor.

Cheerful music and the chatter of a large crowd drifted up the stairs from the great hall.

Off to one side was a tapestry depicting the goddess Hylia and the Chosen Hero.

"Just through here," Zelda whispered.

They moved the tapestry aside, and stepped out onto Hylia's Perch.

xLoZx

More to come! Reviews welcome!