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Disclaimer: Zelda rights go to Nintendo.
Queen Zelda sighed, staring at her own reflection in the mirror. She tucked a loose strand of hazel hair behind her ear. She looked stunning-hair tucked neatly into a braid, her golden crown resting atop her head, and her cerulean blue dress clinging tightly to her figure. The Queen muttered to herself, quietly reciting the lines of the speech she would have to give at the Ceremony. She had already chanted them so many times, the words were embedded into her memory, but she repeated them anyway.
"Thank you, citizens of Hyrule, for gathering to commemorate this fateful day in history..."she said, forcing a smile on her face. She opened her mouth to continue, but was interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door. A few seconds later, the door was opened by her husband and king, Link.
"The Festival will be starting soon. Just..wanted you to know." He mumbled.
While everyone else in the kingdom was celebrating that day, Link was subdued, gloomy even. Zelda found his dismal disposition ironic-after all, the Festival was thrown in his name. Unlike the other citizens of Hyrule, the young hero seemed to dread the day more than anything.
"Thank you, Link. I should be going then." Zelda stated formally. He merely nodded, his blue eyes downcast. In that moment, as he stood in the doorway with his eyes filled with misery, Zelda wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and take away his pain, but she knew that would only make him worse.
He turned away and began to swing the door closed behind him. Zelda bit her lip, scrambling through her mind to think of something-anything to say that might lighten his mood. With the door opened just a sliver, Zelda stopped him.
"Link!" she nearly shouted. The young King paused and turned back to face her, swinging the door open again.
"Yes?" He asked, his voice dull.
"Um," she murmured. Her cheeks turned rosy as she dropped his gaze and studied her feet. Her blush grew darker when she realized she had nothing to say after all. Her eyes darted back to his forest-green tunic, which he was wearing especially for the ceremony. "You look nice today."
Link blinked once, twice, never dropping the distant expression he wore.
"Thanks." He replied in his same, dull tone. He began to close the door again before stopping and looking over his shoulder. "You do too," he said, almost as an after thought.
Zelda nodded, her blush returning as he closed the door and walked away. The Queen slumped against the wall, burying her face in her palms.
"What am I doing?" She muttered miserably. "You look nice today? That was the best I could do?" the Queen berated herself. She rubbed her eyelids, heaving shaky sighs. She was tired, so tired, of loving someone that hated her. No matter how hard she tried, Zelda could never be who Link wanted her to be. That's why every conversation, every shared look, nearly reduced the beautiful Queen to tears.
Another knock sounded on the Queen's door.
"What?" Zelda growled, dropping her hands from her face.
"Can't I have a minute of peace?" Her thoughts fumed.
"You're going to be late for the Opening Ceremony, Your Highness." The servant answered, seemingly unaware of her Queen's distress. Zelda rose and opened the door, donning her most convincing smile.
"Thank you. I'll be going now." She said, raising her chin high and proceeding down the hall.
Link was waiting by the stairs, talking to a young soldier. As King and Queen, it was customary for the two to attend Ceremonies together. She joined him at the head of the stairs and they both nodded to each other in acknowledgment. Zelda held out her arm, adorned in a soft, blue satin glove that reached to her elbow. Her delicate arm linked into his and he escorted her down the hall. The soldiers and attendants flocked behind them as the two began the awkward descent down the stairs, their footsteps being the only thing to break the silence. To Zelda, the quiet felt tangible, impenetrable, and suffocating. She so desperately wanted to say something to him, to make him smile, but she could never find the words to do so. Instead, she walked along with him, biting her tongue behind a mask of serenity. They continued on that way, drowning in quiet tension, until they passed through the open gates of the castle and into the roaring crowd. A podium had been set up just before the Triforce Fountain, and Zelda made her way to it, the Legendary Hero in tow. Reaching the stand, Zelda turned to Link and smiled, bowing slightly. In return, he smiled and bowed, though the smile never reached his cold eyes. The crowd continued to roar as Zelda stood before the podium and Link sat in his seat behind her. The Queen lifted her hand, and immediately the crowd calmed. The same silence that had tortured the Queen only minutes before now enveloped the whole city. Zelda choked back that thought and began her speech.
"Thank you, citizens of Hyrule, for gathering to commemorate this fateful day in history . The day when our Legendary Hero arrived to rid the land of darkness and save us all from evil." The crowd applauded and whooped in response. Zelda waited until the people quieted before she tried to speak. "This day, two years ago, Link of Ordon defeated Ganondorf and saved Hyrule. As a result of his heroics, we hold this celebration to remind us of our fortune and to thank the man that redeemed us from the rule of a tyrant king..." Zelda's speech continued on, enthralling the audience with her recitation of her captivity and Link's daring rescue. At the end, she publicly thanked Link, which he accepted with a phony smile and a nod of the head. He said a few words after Zelda's speech, then the festival began. Drinks were passed around, food was exchanged, and music filled the city for hours. Everyone was there-men, women, children, rich, poor, old, young-everyone except for the hero himself. Shortly after giving his brief speech, Link had disappeared into the crowd and vanished. In all the excitement, no one but Zelda had really noticed his absence.
The Queen smiled, laughed, and exchanged handshakes with the citizens, all the while scanning the crowd for golden hair and startling blue eyes. A few times, she had thought she had found him, but her eyes always deceived her.
Zelda smiled until her face hurt, and shook hands until her wrist went numb before she was finally able to slip away from the crowd. Queen Zelda dipped behind tall columns and darted between buildings, trying to hide from the people and find her disappearing love at the same time. She searched the whole city, and still found no sign of him. It wasn't until the sun was dipping behind the hills that she finally found her Hero.
Zelda's feet had grown tired while she searched for him, and the continuous music had become overwhelming. The Queen sought refuge out the South gate of Castle Town. She breathed in the fresh air and leaned against the stone railing, gazing down at the small pool of water in the fountain beneath her. The gurgle of water filled her ears, and the Queen sighed, taking in the serenity. It was then that she saw him, his back facing her.
Link sat on the top stair of the lower level, staring out into Southern Hyrule Field. The pale marble steps were bathed in the amber glow of sunset, which reflected into Link's hair and turned it a soft orange. He hadn't noticed her yet, because his eyes were locked on the sun, glowing a bright shade of red. Zelda smiled, fascinated by it-the crimson reminded her of roses, or rubies, or...
Her smile faltered. She understood why Link was so drawn to the sun; its rare shade matched the eyes of a certain princess. The twilight sun lowered behind Hyrule field, turning the grass into amber flames.
A sudden understanding appeared to Zelda as the sun faded-why Link was so somber on his own Festival, and why he had opted to vanish rather than enjoy himself. True, two years ago to the day, Link had defeated Ganondorf and fulfilled his prophecy as the Legendary Hero, but that was also the day Midna had shattered the mirror. Two years ago to the day, Link's love had vanished from his world forever. He may have gained recognition, fame, admiration, but in the end, he had lost her, and that was all that mattered to him.
Before Zelda knew what she was doing, she found herself walking towards him, closer and closer. Zelda knew Link heard her long before she sat down, but he made no move to acknowledge her.
"Link," she said softly. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. "Link, I'm sorry." He was looking straight at her now. "I know you miss her," Zelda watched as his eyes widened. "and this whole festival is just a painful reminder, isn't it?"
He was silent for a few moments, observing Zelda with his keen eyes. Finally, he tore his eyes away and stared at the sky. The first few stars had already come out.
"Yeah. I-I do miss her. A lot." Zelda gulped, his words hurting her more than she expected. "And I'm not that big on parties." His eyes found Zelda's again. "I do appreciate the effort, I just.." he left the sentence hanging.
"I know. I don't really like them either." Zelda smiled as he arched his eyebrows. "I know I seem like I do, but it's all just an act, really."
"Well," Link said, "you sure have a convincing facade then. Did they teach you that in Princess School?"
Zelda chuckled softly, pulling at her blue-laced gloves. "Yes, I did learn that in my Princess Training."
Link laughed quietly
"This whole 'royalty' gig is kind of a pain, isn't it?" He asked, blowing a stray strand of hair out of his face.
"It has good days and bad." Zelda responded neutrally.
"Do you like being a Queen?" Link peered into her eyes, making Zelda struggled to breath normally.
"Sometimes. I like helping people, and most of the time, that's what I get to do, but...some things are just out of my control. I hate having people run to me, begging for help, and I can't do anything for them." The Queen studied her hands, watching the soft fabric of her gloves ripple over her fingers.
"I guess that's what makes you a great Queen." Link said softly. Zelda blinked and her mouth fell open, but no words came out.
"You care more about your people than you care about yourself. That's why you laid down that sword." Link said. Zelda knew what he meant. Her mind flashed back to the day of Zant's invasion, when she was given the option of giving up her throne or giving up her people.
"Thank you, Link..I..." Zelda stared down at her feet. As a Queen, she was used to receiving compliments, and usually they had no affect on her, but with him, it was...different. Everything was different.
Her eyes snapped back to Link as he began to speak again.
"Zelda," he sighed. "I'm not very good at telling how I feel, I'm not much of a talker at all, really," he brushed a hand through his hair, making it stick up in odd angles. "But I notice all the things you sacrifice for those people, and it's impressive what you do for them. They're lucky to have a Queen like you."
Zelda sat back, once again shocked by his words. A hundred responses ran through her mind, but none of them seemed adequate. Having no better response, the Queen settled for a simple "Thank you."
Another bout of silence came after, but this time Zelda didn't feel the same tension as she had before. The quiet was sewn from understanding rather than awkward constriction. For the first time since their arranged marriage, Zelda felt completely comfortable around him, and he felt the same. Together, they laid on the cold marble steps and watched the stars appear, listening to the gentle waves of Castle Town music.