Chapter 15: See the beauty beyond
For once it was Link who was angry and refused to forgive Navi. He had been so close to share his first kiss with Zelda and then Navi had interrupted it and then… then Sheik had kissed him!
Link stomped around inside his room that was far too small to have enough room for him to express his anger. He could image the ladies in the castle gossiping about him now. There had been plenty of people around when he had been kissed, by a boy to make matters worse. If Zelda found out he would gladly pay Impa a visit of his own free will.
"I'm going out!" He called out to his mother kitchen as he exited his bedroom. Navi was as usual close behind him. "…And you're staying here!" He yelled at the fairy as he slammed the front door in her face. Navi sank down onto the table and stared at him through the window.
"Don't mind him dear", Link's mother caressed the small fairy. "He's just as stubborn as his father and just as emotional. He'll forgive you, he can't stop caring." Navi let a happy sigh escape her lips. There hadn't been any mothers in the forest and this was the first time she actually felt sorry for the Kokiri.
Ruto refused to make eye contact with Zelda who sat at the other end of the table.
"I've heard that you have made friends here", Zelda said trying to start a conversation.
"Humph, of course, I'm not like you. I make friends easily."
Zelda smiled nervously. It felt like Ruto would never open up to her. Here she had gotten a chance to get a friend and she could feel it slip through her hands. She had enough trouble befriending Link as Sheik.
"Shall we go outside?" Zelda asked, thinking that they might meet up with Link.
"Talking about that garden again?" Ruto said. "You've mentioned it at least eleven times during the last fifteen minutes."
Zelda blinked. Had she really done that? Well, she was curious about Link's reaction to being kissed by Sheik and she could use some of Link's optimistic attitude to cheer her up. He was always taking care of her and she wanted someone to turn to now. She didn't feel too popular at the moment. Ruto tapped her fingers on the table while she waited for Zelda to say something, then she rose from her chair.
"A delicious dinner but I must leave", she said and left quickly. Zelda barely had time to rise from the chair before Ruto was gone so she sank down again slowly. She sighed. She was hopeless at making friends. No one liked her, her only friend was Link.
"Shall I assassinate her?" Impa asked as she showed up beside Zelda.
"Not funny Impa", Zelda mumbled. "How can you be so cold?"
"You'll realize that when we get to that part of the training. It's getting closer Zelda."
"I'm going to the garden", Zelda said and rose from her chair.
"Before you go I could use some of your advice."
"Really? Now what Impa?" Zelda asked with doubt in her eyes. "Is it important?"
"Very. You're the one who knows that rude boy the best. So tell me which of these punishments that will hurt him the most. A list of his crimes are also added if doubts arise whether he deserves a punishment or not."
Impa picked up a long list that went down to the floor. Zelda stared at it in disbelief. Impa on the other hand was looking at her, but since no protests came she started to read aloud. "…For insulting me in that poem, sleeping in your bed, being simply rude and for kissing you!" She counted up.
"P-please Impa, I know you're fond of Link but I don't think he appreciates your way of caring…"
"My first mission is to protect you so I'm just making sure this boy won't harm you."
"Thank you Impa. You mean a lot to me too", Zelda answered knowing that Impa would never say that she loved her.
Ruto stomped through the garden. Could that Zelda not even be a little mean and make it easier to hate her?
Then she spotted Link and happily ran over to him. Just what she needed at a time like this!
"Link, my fiancé!" She shouted and wrapped her arms around him.
"Do you have to be here of all places!" He said as he tried to struggle out of her grasp.
"Well, you're usually here so I came here out of habit." She cocked her head to the side.
"Don't you have anyone else to bother? I'm in a bad mood!"
Ruto thought about Sheik for a second and quickly shook her head to remove that thought.
"You're not in a bad mood darling! You're just as unkind as usual", she said.
"That made me feel a lot better", he muttered with sarcasm his mother would catch on, but obviously Ruto didn't.
"I knew it would!" She squealed and tried to hug him again but he dodged.
"Go away! You shouldn't be here, especially not now!"
"Why?" She stopped trying to embrace him.
"B-because…"
Ruto was still and thought for a moment. Link always went to this part of the garden and Zelda had gone here yesterday, hadn't she? Ruto had seen her enter the garden. How could Link and Zelda know each other? It was impossible. Still she had this nagging feeling inside of her. She went really close and looked into his eyes.
"You're waiting for Zelda aren't you?"
"W-what?" He backed away, pulling Ruto along since she still had her arms loosely wrapped around his neck.
"A woman's intuition", Ruto simply answered. "When were you going to tell me about you having an affair?" She gave him an icy stare.
"A fair? Link stared at her dumbly.
"So close to the wedding and everything!"
"Who is Link having an affair with?"
Both looked up to see princess Zelda. Ruto held back a growl. She took a few steps closer to Zelda and pointed at her.
"Eh?" Zelda met Ruto's blazing eyes with deep confusion.
"You are my rival!"
Both Link and Zelda stared at her, Zelda at a loss for words and Link in shock.
"W-wait!" Link tried to stop Ruto before she told Zelda something more embarrassing.
"Oh, you got it all wrong Ruto", Zelda smiled. "Link and I have been friends for a long time. It would feel quite odd if we were…"
Link felt his world crumble to pieces. Of course she wasn't interested.
Ruto obviously, in comparison to Link, doubted Zelda's words.
"I thought you were talking about Sheik. That the two of them were having an affair", Zelda added and laughed.
"Sheik?" Ruto asked.
"You know about the k-k…" Link cried but was unable to say kiss..
"Yeah, I know everything Sheik does", Zelda said. Link looked as if he'd been turned to stone and Ruto looked from Zelda to Link and back again, wondering what exactly was going on.
"What about… oh…" She stared at Link. "You have kissed a guy?"
It was like being stabbed. Link fell to the ground, wishing to sink through it.
"How do you know about that?" Zelda asked and turned to Ruto.
"A woman's intuition, but I suppose you don't possess anything like that." Ruto scoffed. "Besides, I want you to stay away from Link!"
"Now we'll all calm down children."
The girls and Link, who stepped up from the ground, looked up to see a huge owl sitting on a branch.
Ruto screamed, recognizing the owl that had scared her so she fell down from a tree the day she fell in love with Link. Such a terrifying and yet happy day she would never forget.
"The owl talked!" Link yelled and both he and Ruto started to run aroundfrantically, screaming like crazy.
"Kaepora Gaebora?" Zelda walked a little closer. She had seen the owl several times from a distance. It felt like he always was around her and she remembered the story Impa had told her about the old sage. How he had helped her parents and how he had given up his life to make sure his powers as a sage wouldn't be lost when Hyrule was in such need for them. He had been so powerful that he had succeeded to recreate himself as an owl and he had always looked after her from a distance. This was the first time she met him in person.
"Now Zora princess", Kaepora Gaebora spoke. "You'll take it a little easier with the young man and…"
"What's that supposed to mean? How dare you tell me what to do?" Ruto yelled at the owl. Her pride wouldn't let her be scared now.
"The owl talked!" Link yelled again.
"Thank you Kaepora Gaebora", Zelda lowered her head in respect. "I think we can handle this…"
"Oh, but we have so much to talk about." The owl seemed utterly disappointed.
"The owl talked!" Link yelled and waited for any kind of response from the others.
The owl spread his wings and flew off when he realized that the children weren't open for a discussion. He was a pretty impressive sight when flying.
Zelda walked up and laid a hand on Link's shoulder. Ruto gasped at this.
"Please, Link, I would be happy if you gave Sheik a chance. I don't think he knows how to act yet with his freedom." Zelda said and Link frowned.
"Zelda… Just don't think I liked that kiss!"
He had to make sure she didn't think he was into guys. The rest of the Hyrule could think whatever they wanted. She removed her hand.
"Oh, yeah, then I know…" She said softly.
"Just what kind of relationship do you two share?" Ruto asked them suspiciously. Then she seemed to think of something and gasped.
"You were kissed by Sheik?" She mumbled a little to herself before she spoke again. "T-then that means that he…" Her cheeks turned red.
"What?" Link asked.
"I'll see you later Link. You better think of some way to make everything right between us. The wedding is not off yet." She pointed at him and then walked off.
"So… You're engaged to Ruto and kissed Sheik?" Zelda counted on her fingers.
"N-no! It was all their fault! Ruto decided that engagement and Sh-Sheik…"
"Well… Link, There's a lot I want to talk to you about." She interrupted and smiled.
"I-I want to talk too Zelda, it has been so long since…"
They took a stroll through the part of the garden where nobody else was. Zelda felt her own smile broaden as she listened to Link telling and explaining with wide gestures and great eagerness about what had happened while she was gone.
"So what have you been up to?" He grinned at her.
"As you probably know from all the gossip I was sent to a temple to study history, inner peace, moral and other things like that."
She thought about how to tell him about her decision of following in her mother's footsteps and becoming a Sheikah. But that would mean that she had to tell him that she had given him that kiss which he obviously hadn't enjoyed much, of course. It had been so rushed.
She looked in through one of the great castle windows and saw a maid running past it in a hurry. She gulped as she recognized the maid. They were probably looking for her to come to one of her many lessons.
"I… have to go", she said with great disappointment.
Link felt a sudden urge to stop acting like such a coward and was about to wrap his arms around her to make her stay when he was startled by a loud voice.
"You there!" A guard ran up to them. "So it's you who has been delaying the princess for her lessons!"
Link held back a groan. It was one of the head-guards and the one who usually caught him when he tried to sneak through the garden to Zelda's window. According to Link this man was a real pain and pure evil.
Unexpectedly the guard grabbed his hair and threw him to the ground. Zelda clasped her hands over her mouth to quench a cry as Link hit the ground.
"I'm so sorry princess! We will of course inform the king about this. I understand that he held you here against your will," the guard said with a bow to Zelda.
"W-wait…" Zelda shook her head to get rid of her own confusion and looked the guard straight in the eye. "This is all a mistake! How can you assume…"
"No need to worry highness, we know this one and…" He kicked Link who had been about to get up from the ground. "You're supposed to bow before the princess!" He yelled at him. Zelda glanced down at Link and felt a small sting in her heart as she saw how ashamed he was. The guard didn't notice but Zelda was trained enough to see the small trembles and the way he refused to show his face.
"Bow to the princess you lowlife!" The guard yelled. Zelda stretched out an arm in front of him to make him silent when she spotted Ganondorf on the other side of the garden by an entrance to the castle. She remembered too well how much he wanted to see her dead, how he had poisoned her father's mind and his cruelty.
She hadn't been as much in the castle as a princess would but she had learnt how a ruler acted and what was expected from her. She was supposed to be someone the people could look up to, someone to always turn to. She was supposed to be someone the people could show their respect, that's why she couldn't reach out her hand and help Link up from the ground now. She also knew that if Ganondorf found out about their friendship both of them would get into serious trouble and Link shouldn't be drawn into this. She would have to humiliate him to keep him safe.
She met Ganondorf's gaze with a look full of growth and determination and then she turned to the guard.
"The delay was entirely my fault and I'm sure this man has learnt his lesson to be so disrespectful." She looked at Link again and noticed how his ears twitched at her words and how he flinched, how his body froze.
"Since you're showing me your loyalty and respect now I won't demand anything else of you. Rise!" She demanded. Link got up shakily and his empty gaze met her eyes. He turned and left without another word. Zelda didn't show at all how she really felt inside and started heading towards the castle. As she walked past Ganondorf she nodded her head in greeting but not more.
"Welcome back, princess", he let his eyes rest on her disappearing frame walking down the hallway.
Still just a child but such a gaze, he thought. She had definitely grown since last time. Ever since she got away when he tried to get her sentenced to death as a Sheikah the king had doubted all his decisions on how to deal with the country and everyone had been a lot colder towards him. If he had been to decide he would have acted quickly and overthrown the king before he got too much on his guard but he had to listen to those… He clenched his teeth. Now he had been bowing and kneeling for years in this castle without much progress.
He had his reason for wanting to conquer Hyrule and to get stronger. The Gerudos were strong but it wasn't sure they could take on the Hylians with all of their allies. He needed the Triforce so he could become ruler of the world and unbeatable.
The only things he had found out here was how strong the Hylians were, how weak the king was and that the princess was a big problem for his plans. About the Triforce there wasn't much more than that it was hidden in a sacred realm, a golden land, and that the Ocarina of Time was needed to enter that place. The Ocarina of Time which was an item the princess Zelda was in position of and it wouldn't be easy to get his hands on it.
The lesson was finally over and Zelda sighed loudly inside her room, knowing that it would be a signal for Impa to appear which she did as soon as she heard something was wrong.
"Impa, Link hates me…" Zelda sighed again.
"No, then I would have gotten rid of him a long time ago, since he is so fond of you I'm more forgiving towards him but if he gets too close…" Impa clenched a fist.
"I made him bow before me…"
"What's wrong about that? It represents a lot. It's his fault if he gets angry because of that. You are the future ruler of this land."
"That doesn't give me a reason to treat him like that…" Zelda said softly even though a small voice inside of her told her that she had been forced to do it and that it made it more excusable.
"There are many times that it's wrong to kneel before someone but for you, it's an honor."
Zelda looked at Impa and could almost make out a smile in her guardian's face, but just almost.
"I don't understand…"
"No, I'll explain soon, but there's a lot to discuss around that topic."
"I think I'm going for a walk."
"Link!" Navi shouted happily as he entered. Link sat down at the table with clenched teeth and staring at nothing in particular.
"L-Link?" Navi tried again but Link's mother shook her head and Navi didn't give it another try to talk with Link.
"Hi, my special little guy", Link's mother hugged him from behind. He tried to struggle free but she wouldn't let go. "Something is wrong, tell me." She leaned her cheek against his head.
"I… had to lie down in the dirt on the ground and bow before Z… the princess…"
Navi understood immediately but Link's mother didn't know anything about her son being friends with the princess of Hyrule. But she understood that this princess was a friend and she immediately thought of Ruto.
"I understand that it can feel that way to bow before a girl", she spoke softly. "But you know how it is with royalties."
"No, I don't!" Link sobbed.
"They take care of everyone and are there for us to turn to with our problems. They lead us and that's why they are so important. It is a hard work no matter what people think."
"I thought that… we were the same…"
"Equal?" Maybe this wasn't about the fact that her son didn't feel worthy of a princess, maybe it was his manly pride that had been hurt, Link's mother thought.
"Yeah…" Link muttered.
"A princess is like something holy that should be treated as if made by glass", Link's mother began. "Girls are all the same no matter who they are. All girls want someone who takes care of them and a strong shoulder to lean on. It's a great joy to give your love food that you have made yourself or standing behind him in all weathers to show your devotion. It's great to have someone that makes you feel safe. Even princesses will marry and with someone who can make them feel safe and take care of them…" Link turned around to be greeted by his mother's smile. He couldn't help but to smile back.
"A woman is to be by her husband's side and make sure he is well and the man shall protect his wife so both take care of each other in their own way."
"Thanks", Link said.
"Go and fetch your father for me my precious little rupee, I think he is at the training grounds", she said and Link jumped off the chair and went to the training grounds in a much lighter mood.
"Dad!" He called out when he spotted his father who was busy practicing his aiming with a bow at one of the scarecrows. He was not instructing a group of new recruits now. He was all alone.
"Hello there, son", he said and waved at Link. "Why don't we practice a little?" He glanced at the sword Link as usual carried in the sheet attached to his belt.
"Mum wanted us to come home…"
"She knows me, she can wait!" Link's father said with an unbothered shrug and laid the bow aside to pick up his own sword.
"I'm not really in the mood", Link said as he felt his good mood disappearing. His father patted his shoulder.
"Then practice a little at that scarecrow and tell me what's wrong. You'll feel better if you have something to blame", he pointed at the scarecrow. "…and someone who listens", he pointed at himself and sat down cross-legged on the ground.
Link nodded and repeated some steps he'd learnt recently in practice while he walked around the scarecrow and even tried a back flip but he ended up on the ground.
"So, now you're starting to get warm. Now tell me what's wrong, son", his father said.
"I had to bow before the princess!" Link frowned and swung the sword around lazily without doing the scarecrow any harm.
"Oh, not many have met the princess, that's an honor!" Link's father said and looked really proud.
"No!" Link quickly protested. "I had to crawl on the ground as if I meant nothing to her!" With a few swift motions he cut the scarecrow to pieces with great force behind every slash.
"Those are to practice on without a partner and for aiming at something with natural size. Don't cut them. Think about them as living beings."
Link only frowned.
"You're not unimportant to the princess", Link's father smiled at him. "You might feel like a droplet in the sea but the sea wouldn't be if there wasn't for all the droplets."
Link sat down facing his father who continued.
"I hope you someday will experience the joy of serving a great man. Then you'll understand the feeling it grants to kneel before your king. As a knight or just a regular soldier you will feel loyalty that pulls you together as a group and… What I'm trying to say is that it's a beautiful thing to bow before your leader. That is what you are trying to become, a loyal warrior who Hyrule and its king can rely on, someone who the king, the greatest of men, will praise and who will be admired by the people."
Both were silent for a while before Link's father added: "Of course it's different to bow for the princess but just play along. A princess is more like something holy, not something superior."
Link nodded. A man should protect women and be strong. A woman should make sure the men were healthy and give them love. Royalties were leaders that should be treated with respect whether you liked it or not. That was what he had learnt today.
Zelda leant against the castle-wall behind a corner. She couldn't see Link and his father and they couldn't see her but she had heard them. Now she felt as if she had understood what Impa meant a little better. She never ever again wanted someone to be ashamed of bowing to her. She didn't want anyone to ignore her and not let her talk like that guard had done. She would become a ruler that people could look up to and they would see the beauty in kneeling. That was what she wanted. She wanted people to discover the beauty in respect and have someone they could trust. She wanted to be trusted.
Now I've bought a T-shirt for the world championship (soccer)! Yeah! Yellow and Blue, go Sweden! (I'm actually totally uninterested in soccer but why not? It's fun to cheer).
I've visited a Swedish castle recently. The castle isn't what people come there for though, it's for the garden which was huge and amazingly beautiful. The artistic princess Margareta loved that place where the royal family used to spend their summers. The flowers were lovely and the pond clear as a mirror and… oh… it was wonderful!
I'm going to Italy tomorrow for ten days (finally I get to visit Venice! I hope it can get me in a romantic mood).
…And I have to add: Don't listen to Link's parents in this chapter! I just needed Link to get a certain opinion about what men do and what women do. Zelda is very set on not leaning on anyone or getting protected so we'll see what happens when their ways of seeing things collide. I hope they can work it out because I'm planning on making it really hard for them!
I'd be glad if I got some reviews to read when I get back… you don't have to make me happy but I would be glad for your words (the last ones were so kind, thank you!).