Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 2- A Wedding
Light shines bright over the lands of the Necluda region as the sun nears the height of its arc in the sky. Far below, on the road leading north from the Dueling Peaks, two riders are riding their horses through the narrow canyon leading north towards Kakariko Village.
On the back of her horse, Zelda looks back over at Link. Link, as always, remains focused on the road ahead, looking for any monsters or any other obstacles in their path. However, Zelda cannot help herself from looking over at Link constantly. She's almost fallen off her horse twice during the journey because she got so distracted trying to stare at Link.
Link and Zelda had returned to the stable near the Colisseum to spend the night after they had become engaged at the park. After waking up and a quick breakfast, they had spent all of Zelda's birthday travelling to Kakariko village. Zelda was a little disappointed she not yet receive a message from her father regarding her birthday, but the disappointment could not stay within her, so happy was she over what lies ahead.
In the time since she and Link had confessed their feelings for each other, Zelda has been overcome with joy and happiness. To her surprise, the stress and worry from so far failing to unlock her powers has all but vanished, because she is just so caught up in her own happiness. She knows this feeling likely won't last too long, but right now, she doesn't care. All that she cares about is that either today or tomorrow, she is going to marry Link.
Zelda still can hardly believe that this is happening. She had kept her feelings for Link secret for so long, she shocked herself when confessed her feelings to Link, and even more shocked when she asked him to marry her. But now that her feelings are out, she feels an incredible sense of relief.
"We're almost there," Link breaks the silence.
"I know," Zelda says, her voice full of excitement. Her excitement brings a smile to Link's face.
Soon enough, just up ahead, they see the first of two arches positioned along the canyon just before the village. Both of them smile brightly as they pass under the arch. The second arch appears only a minute or two later. As they pass under that arch as well, Kakariko Village comes into view. Two sentinels are standing guard at either side of the canyon, just outside the entrance to the village.
As the two approach the sentinels, both sentinels incline their heads respectfully. "Princess Zelda. Welcome to Kakariko Village," one of them says.
"Thank you. I must see the elder at once, and Lady Impa if she is here," Zelda says.
"Of course, your Highness. And yes, Lady Impa is here. We will alert them immediately," one of the sentinels says, and the other one hurries off into the village.
Zelda and Link ride slowly into the village, making their way to the elder's house. As they reach the cottage, they halt their horses and hand off the reins to two attendants who approach them. The two walk up to the foot of the steps leading up into the house. However, before ascending the steps, they pause to take each other's hands before they begin to ascend the steps.
Link opens the door at the top, and they make their way into the house. As they enter the main chamber, they find Impa waiting just inside, with the elder sitting in his seat at the back of the room.
"Your Highness!" Impa exclaims excitedly, very happy to see the princess.
"Impa," Zelda says happily. She then looks towards the chief and greets him, "Alfonzo, a pleasure to see you again."
"Indeed, Princess," the old Sheikah man responds, inclining his head in respect to Zelda. He looks between her and Link and asks, "I had heard that you were on a journey across Hyrule to unlock your power. So what brings you to Kakariko?"
Zelda smiles for a moment before she answers the chief, "Link and I have come here because we wish to be married, and we wish you to marry us."
Both Impa and Alfonzo stare in shock at Zelda. That was the last thing they expected to hear Zelda to say. It takes them almost half a minute before Alfonzo manages to shake himself out of his shock and respond to her, "Wow. I did not expect you to come here with such a request. Nor did I realize you were together. What brought this about?"
"I have loved Link for some time, and at last, I could not keep my feelings to myself. When he said he felt the same, I decided I wished him to be my husband. And with the return of Calamity Ganon imminent, we decided we did not wish to wait," Zelda says.
"But, Princess, you are a princess, and he is a knight. What will people think?" Impa exclaims. While she does not necessarily oppose them wishing to be together, she knows others will in the kingdom.
"I could care less. So long as I am with Link," Zelda smiles, gripping Link's hand tightly and looking at him with love, a look Link returns.
"Why do you wish to be married now? Even with Ganon's return imminent, do you not think it would be better to prepare for this at least," Alfonzo says. He has not yet decided if he considers this the best choice for them to make, but at least want to hear their reasoning for making the choice they have.
"In the chance this week is our last one on this Earth, we wish to spend it together. And if it is not our last week, what is there to lose by doing it now?" Link speaks up.
"But, your Highness, your father…" Impa says, trailing off a bit but her point clear to everyone.
"I do not care what my father thinks. I have come to realize that ultimately, I am responsible for my own happiness. Link makes me happy. I will defend my actions to my father as much I need to. If it came to it, I would leave the kingdom and my father behind to be with Link. I love him, and I will not let anyone keep me from him. Just because I am a princess does not mean that I do not deserve to be happy," Zelda says firmly.
Impa still looks a bit concerned, but Alfonzo smiles in response. He can see from the looks and their faces and their words that they are truly dedicated to each other. He has just one more question before agreeing to anything. "And you are both 17?" he asks.
"Yes. I am almost 18," Link says.
"And I turned 17 today," Zelda adds.
"Good. Then there is nothing that would prevent this. I assume you wish this to remain as secret as possible," Alfonzo says.
"Yes. We came here because we felt we could trust this village to keep it secret until we wish to reveal it," Link says.
"Very good. Then, if you wish, we will prepare to hold the wedding tonight," Alfonzo says.
"Yes. That is our wish," Zelda replies.
Zelda then looks over at Impa, who still looks slightly concerned. "Impa, please, you cannot tell my father. I will tell him eventually, but when I am ready."
Impa nods slowly, then asks the princess her burning question: "Are you sure about this, Your Highness? Truly sure?"
Zelda squeezes Link's hand and pulls him towards her a little bit before she answers Impa's question, "Yes, Impa. I have never been more certain of anything in my life. I love Link, and I want him as my husband. I know we are young, and Ganon's return is imminent, but I know in my heart that this is the right choice."
Impa looks into the face of the princess that she has known for years. And in her face, she sees a conviction she has never seen before. Finally, she allows her nervousness to subside and she says, "Very well, princess. I can see you are committed to this…and to Link. I am pleased to see you so happy. I promise you, I will keep this secret as long as you wish me to."
"Thank you, Impa," Zelda says, her voice full of emotion.
"Now, you two must briefly separate. We must begin preparations immediately if this wedding is to take place tonight, and of course, the groom cannot see the bride before the wedding," Alfonzo says, a humorous smile on his face. This brings laughs from Zelda and Impa and a smile from Link.
"Very well," Zelda says. She then turns to Link and says in a soft voice and says, "See you tonight." She then kisses him on the cheek, drawing another smile from Link. Both of them can hardly believe it. Tonight, they are going to be married.
Zelda takes a deep breath as the seamstress makes her finishing touches. Night has started to fall over Kakariko Village, and the wedding is soon to begin.
The Sheikah had worked hard to put together a wedding on relatively short notice. True to their word, Alfonzo and Impa had still tried to keep it as low key and secret as possible, and there were a number of inhabitants of the village that still didn't know what was happening. But from what Zelda had heard, it was still going to be a nice wedding.
Zelda had been brought by Impa to the home of the seamstress in town to prepare her for the wedding. The seamstress and her daughters had done their best to make Zelda look like the most beautiful bride they could.
When Zelda traveled, she wore her ornate blue traveling outfit, but she also brought along her rather simple sleeveless white dress that she had worn when she went to pray at the Springs. Although simple, it was nice enough that Zelda and the seamstress had decided to use it as Zelda's wedding dress. The seamstress had made just a few additions, mainly using some pearls to decorate the bodice of the dress and adding a little decorative fabric to the bottom of the dress to make it a little longer.
Now, the seamstresses' daughters are just finishing Zelda's hair, which they have done up in a series of braids while fitting small flowers into the braids. The seamstress now moves forward and fixes the short train she had made onto Zelda's head.
"Alright. That's almost it. Now one final touch," the seamstress says. One of her daughters now comes forward, holding a crown of flowers they had made during the day. She carefully sets it down on Zelda's head and adjusts it slightly to make sure it is sitting perfectly.
"Oh, perfect!" the girl says in a high, excited voice.
The seamstress comes around in front of Zelda, smiling brightly. "Alright. Do you want to see our work?" she asks the princess.
"Yes," Zelda says, a bit of nervousness in her voice. She is still feeling all of her excitement of marrying Link, but is also starting to feel nervous, both about her looks and if the wedding will be perfect when it was put together on such short notice.
The seamstress smiles and puts a hand on Zelda's shoulder. "Alright. Then turn around," she says with a bright smile.
Zelda slowly turns around, and comes face to face with a mirror that is sitting behind her. As she catches a view of herself, she gasps and feels several tears come to her eyes. Everything looks…perfect. Her dress, which she loved before, looks absolutely beautiful. The pearls that had been sewn into the bodice give a beautiful shimmering look to the dress, and the slight addition to the bottom gives it more of a traditional bridal look. The train comes down to about her shoulders, and falls so gracefully. And the flower crown looks absolutely beautiful. Zelda finds herself crying, overcome with how beautiful she feels. Of course, this is nothing like what she has imagined for herself wearing at her wedding, which she always expected to be a massive, ornate wedding dress made by a team of the finest seamstresses over the course of a month and a train so large it could be used as a tent. But, in this moment, she knows that this is the dress she really wants. One that really makes her feel like a bride, and without a care in the world.
"I…I love it. I look beautiful," Zelda says in a soft voice filled with awe.
"Yes, you do," the seamstress says behind her.
Zelda turns around to face the seamstress and her daughters, tears in her eyes. "Thank you. I couldn't have asked for more. This is perfect," she says with her voice full of emotion.
"I am so happy you love it," the seamstress says.
One of the girls comes skipping over, holding Zelda's bouquet. The girls and Zelda had gone out together during the afternoon to pick flowers for the bouquet while the seamstress had worked on the dress. The three of them had found a spot where a number of silent princess flowers were growing, along with other flowers. They had picked a number of the silent princesses, which Zelda hated doing as she loved seeing the flower growing wild, but the girls insisted that her bouquet had to be excellent. The bouquet was centered around the silent princesses they had picked, with a series of lilies around them. They were all secured into a bouquet with a bright sky blue ribbon. Zelda smiles as she takes the bouquet from her new friend.
"Alright. It's time, Your Highness. Let's go bring you back to your groom," the seamstress says.
"Yes," Zelda responds.
The seamstress and her daughters all gather excitedly around Zelda and hurry her out of the cottage. Night has fallen, and most of the residents of Kakariko have retired to their homes for the night. But up ahead at the elder's home, the building has been decorated with hanging lights, and lanterns are positioned along the steps leading up to the front doors.
The women all stop at the base of the steps leading up into the elder's home. The seamstress turns to Zelda. "Alright, Your Highness. You know the drill. Once we've gone in, come up to the top of the stairs, and wait for the flute. Then, it's your moment."
"Of course," Zelda says. The seamstress and her daughters then scamper up the steps and slip into the house, making sure not to open the door too far and spoil the decorations.
Zelda carefully makes her way up the steps and stops outside the doors. At first, she can hear the bustle and chatter inside as everyone who was invited to attend the ceremony rushes to make sure everything is ready. Then, it is as if she can no longer hear it and is completely drawn into her own thoughts. Throughout the day, it all still seemed like a dream, or something happening in the future. But now…it is here. Her wedding is about commence. On the other side of these doors, Link is waiting for her to walk in, waiting to marry her. Now, it's hitting her that this is real. What feels like a swarm of butterflies erupts in her stomach, and she feels her hands shaking nervously a little bit. She starts to wonder just what her father and the court will think and say when they learn about this.
But then, Zelda looks down at her bouquet. Looking down at the silent princesses in her bouquet, her mind flashes back to the day she and Link spent just to the west of Hyrule Castle where she had introduced him to the flower. That may have been the first day where they just had fun together. As she allows that memory to flood her brain, she feels some of her nerves .
Then, almost as if from a distance, she hears something. She listens more intently, and with a jolt, realizes it's the melody of a Sheikah flute. To her surprise, it's also a song that sounds familiar to her from her time in the castle. A very calming melody. She finds such calm in the tune that it takes her a second to realize that it is the sign she was waiting for.
Zelda takes a deep breath, then lightly knocks on the door. The double doors open, and two Sheikah sentinels silently step out to hold the doors open, allowing Zelda to enter the home.
In the first half second after she enters the house, Zelda takes in the wonderful sight before her. A handful of villagers are assembled to form an aisle. Dangling lights and strings of flowers decorate the room, and candles line the aisle. At the end of the aisle, Alfonzo is sitting on his seat, dressed in his customary clothing. Impa is standing on the other side of him, looking proudly at Zelda.
However, before she can take much time to really appreciate everything before her, Zelda spots Link at the end of the aisle, standing in front of Alfonzo. Instantly, everything else seems to fade away as she focuses on Link, feeling like her heart is about to beat right out of her chest. Link looks amazing. He is wearing his champion's tunic, but it has clearly been cleaned. In fact, it looks cleaner than she has seen it since it was given to Link. However, instead of his usual trousers and boots, he's wearing some somewhat fancy white trousers and decorated black boots. He is also wearing a small circlet of flowers on his head. And not to her surprise, he is wearing the Master Sword on his back.
Zelda feels the tears come to her eyes as Link looks at her. She has never felt so happy in her life. Just a few months ago she never would've imagined this would happen, and now she is only a few minutes away from Link becoming her husband. As Link looks at her, she finds herself drawn deep into his eyes, almost in a daze as she feels her heart flutter from the love she can see in Link's eyes. She is focused on looking at Link that she doesn't realize she made it to the front of the aisle and to Link until Impa steps forward slightly to stop her and steady her so she doesn't try and walk right past him.
This brings Zelda out of her daze a bit, and she giggles a bit. Impa smiles at Zelda and holds out her hand. Zelda hands her bouquet to Impa, then turns to Link. Link holds out his hands, and Zelda gently takes them. In this moment, all of her nervousness is instantly gone, and she feels at peace for the first time in a long time. She is not Princess of Hyrule, not the person on who so much depends, and not the failure who cannot unlock the power to save her kingdom. She is just Zelda, a young woman about to marry her love.
At last, Alfonzo stands up and declares, "Everyone, please be seated." Everyone in the room sits down on the benches that have been set up in the room, while Impa just takes a few steps back. "Thank you for coming."
Alfonzo looks between Link and Zelda before he begins to speak, "Friends from Kakariko Village, people of the Sheikah, we are gathered today before the Goddess, gathered to take part in the most sacred of acts: that of joining two souls in marriage. Today, Zelda and Link come before us and the Goddess to pledge themselves to each other and be joined together for the duration of their lives. Love is the greatest power that exists in this world, and the greatest show of commitment to love are the vows of marriage. Zelda and Link wish to enter into this commitment to each other as husband and wife."
Alfonzo looks at the two of them and begins speaking a few words of counsel to them. However, Link and Zelda hear almost nothing of what he says, because they are just lost in each other's eyes. Both of them are just staring at them with such love for each other that they know beyond a doubt that they have made the right choice.
Finally, Alfonzo ends his words of counsel, and can tell from the looks on their faces that the young couple have heard almost nothing he just said. Alfonzo smiles a bit to himself, happy to see two young people so in love. He coughs slightly to try and draw their attention back to him before he speaks, his voice a little louder to make sure they are listening so the ceremony can go forward, "And now, Link and Zelda, we will see you exchange vows."
Zelda and Link's attention are drawn back into the ceremony and look to Alfonzo, still holding each other's hand tightly. Alfonzo motions Impa forward, and she walks up to the couple, opening the box she is now holding. Link and Zelda stare in amazement at the contents. A pair of rings are resting in the box. One is a simple golden band, with an image of the crest of Hyrule etched into it. The other is a more extravagant ring, adorned with diamonds, the central diamond bigger than the others and cut into the shape of a heart.
"Please take the rings," Alfonzo says. Link and Zelda look at Alfonzo in shock, and then gratitude before taking the rings from the box, Zelda taking the plain band, and Link taking the more extravagant one.
"Link, please place the ring you hold onto Zelda's ring finger as you repeat after me: I, Link, take you, Zelda, princess of Hyrule, to be my wife," Alfonzo instructs.
Link smiles brightly as he reaches out, gently sliding the ring onto Zelda's ring finger as he repeats, "I, Link, take you, Zelda, princess of Hyrule to be my wife."
Zelda has to choke down a lump rising in her throat as tears come to her eyes as she hears those words. But, she manages to keep herself from breaking down in tears.
Alfonzo continues. "I promise to love you, honor you, and cherish you for the rest of our lives."
"I promise to love you, honor you,and cherish you for the rest of our lives," Link repeats, staring into Zelda's eyes.
"I promise to always be faithful to you, to support you, and be your closest friend," Alfonzo says.
"I promise to always be faithful to you, to support you, and be your closest friend," Link repeats.
"I promise that I will always wield the Master Sword in your defense," Alfonzo says, adding this little bit as a personal touch for Link and Zelda.
Link smiles a bit and says, "I promise that I will always wield the Master Sword in your defense."
"I promise that one day, when the time comes for you to be Queen, I will stand by you as your King and serve the people of Hyrule with you," Alfonzo says.
Link pauses for a second, not really having thought about this. He hadn't actually realized that marrying Zelda would mean that he might one day be King. However, he quickly swallows his nervousness and repeats, "I promise that one day, when the Times comes for you to be Queen, I will stand by you as your King and serve the people of Hyrule with you." Zelda smiles brightly at Link, so happy to hear those words. She knows that when the day comes for her to be Queen, she can do it if Link is by her side.
"And I promise to always stay by your side and fulfill my duty as your husband, no matter what may come," Alfonzo says.
"And I promise to always stay by your side and fulfill my duty as your husband…no matter what may come," Link says, pausing a little bit before speaking those last few words, but saying with more passion in his eyes than ever before. Zelda almost chokes up a bit at this, knowing what Link is saying: No matter what happens with the Calamity, I will be with you always.
Alfonzo smiles brightly at Link, resting a hand approvingly on his shoulder before turning to Zelda. "Now, Your Highness, please place the ring on Link's ring finger as you repeat after me: I Zelda, princess of Hyrule, take you, Link, to be my husband."
Zelda carefully places the ring on Link's ring finger as she says softly, "I, Zelda, princess of Hyrule, take you, Link, to be my husband."
"I promise to always love you, honor you, and cherish you for the rest of our lives," Alfonzo says.
"I promise to always love you, honor you, and cherish you for the rest of our lives," Zelda repeats, pouring all her heart into those words as she looks into Link's eyes.
"I promise that one day, should we choose, I will bear our children and be a caring mother for them," Alfonzo says.
Zelda pauses, her mind racing at those words. In the day since she and Link had gotten engaged, she knew they were going to be married, but she had not considered the possibility of them having children. The thought scares her for a moment, but the fear is quickly washed away, especially once she feels Link squeeze her hand a bit reassuringly. She smiles at Link as she repeats, "I promise that one day, should we choose, I will bear our children and be a caring mother for them."
"I promise to always be faithful to you, to support you, and to be your closest friend," Alfonzo says.
"I promise to always be faithful to you, to support you, and to be your closest friend," Zelda repeats.
"And I promise to always stay by your side and fulfill my responsibilities as your wife, no matter what may come," Alfonzo says.
"And I promise to always stay by your side and fulfill my responsibilities as your wife, no matter what may come," Zelda repeats, emotions creeping into her voice in the last few words.
Alfonzo smiles before he declares to the room, "As Chief of the Sheikah of Kakariko Village, by the power vested in me by the King of Hyrule, I declare you, Link and Zelda, husband and wife." He then smiles at Link as he says, "You may kiss your bride."
Link smiles as he raises one hand to Zelda's cheek. Zelda smiles at Link, tears falling down her cheeks, before Link leans in and the two share their first kiss as husband and wife. The guests gathered in the room cheer and clap for the two, several with wet eyes from the pure love that they can see from this couple.
Neither of them have ever felt happier or more complete than they do now.
As the separate from their kiss, the post-ceremony celebration begins. Zelda had asked that they not go all out for a reception, but Impa had insisted that there had to be some kind of celebration. The guests all come to congratulate the new couple and do a little socializing. The flutist who played the song to start the ceremony starts playing music, and Link and Zelda share their first dance.
After about an hour, Alfonzo stands up and declares the celebration over. Impa then leads Zelda and Link out of the house as the rest of the guests all pitch in to tidy up.
Impa leads the couple to her home just a few doors down from the elder's house. Impa had offered her house to the couple to stay in for the night. She wanted to make sure that the two had a proper place to stay for their wedding night rather than camping out under the stars again. As they reach the door of the cottage, Impa turns to the two. "I am so happy for both of you, and I look forward to seeing the rest of you spending your lives together," she says, taking a moment to embrace the princess, a hug Zelda gladly returns.
After pulling back, Impa smiles at the two of them and says, "I will see you in the morning before you leave for the mountain. Good night." She then sets off back to the elder's house, where she will be staying the night.
Link and Zelda turn back to each other, staring at each other with love. Then, Link smiles, and before Zelda can react, swoops her up in his arms bridal style. Zelda giggles as Link carries her over the doorstep, opens the door, and into the cottage.
Link sets Zelda down once they enter the cottage and shuts the door behind him. He finally takes off the Master Sword and sets it in place on a weapons rack near the door. He then turns back to Zelda, and the two just stand there for a minute, staring into each other's eyes with love.
Zelda is the one who breaks the silence. "We did it. We really did it. We're married," she says, with an air of almost disbelief.
"I know," Link says with a smile.
Zelda is quiet for a moment before she says, "Link, I have realized in the last day how much I truly love you. I meant everything in my vows. I will always be your wife, and I will be by your side through whatever may come."
"And I will be your husband, no matter what," Link responds.
Finally, Zelda releases the floodgates, and tears of happiness stream down her face as she rushes forward and embraces Link tightly. Link embraces her tightly in return, and the two hold each other for several minutes.
Zelda finally pulls back slightly and looks up into Link's eyes. "I love you, Link. My husband," she whispers with a smile.
"I love you, Zelda. My wife," Link responds with his own smile.
Zelda's eyes and smile brighten even more before she leans in and kisses Link. Link smiles as he returns the kiss. The two feel like they are soaring the skies above Hyrule, they're so happy. However, as they continue to kiss, their happiness is overtaken by love and passion. Their kiss continues to deepen before they make their way to their bed, together in a commitment as old as time itself.
As silence falls over Kakariko Village, Link and Zelda have come together at last. The princess and her hero have finally given all of themselves to each other, two souls meant for each other finally joined together.
Alright, and I'll end the chapter there. I hope this wasn't too long, but I wanted to do the wedding justice.
I'm sure you can guess how this chapter ended, but rest assured, the way I wrote it out is the most steamy this story will ever get. I'm not interested in actually writing a love scene, cuz I'm just not that kind of writer, so don't expect one.
So, next chapter will take us to the aftermath of the failed trip to Mount Lanayru and the awakening of the Calamity. You'll have to wait and see exactly what direction I intend to take this story, but it'll be good. I hope you liked this chapter. Until the next one is up, please leave a review and stay tuned!