Chapter 16: The First "Knight"
I'd finally done it. I was a knight of Hyrule, after only four years. Zelda was easily surprised at my response when I rose from the kneeling position. It had become obvious that her father knew about our relationship, so I had taken her and kissed her in front of everyone. Even though Darunia was frozen with the rest of Death Mountain, I was having a very good day. Now, however, was the time when everyone at the castle would celebrate my newfound knighthood. And, unfortunately, it was the first formal party I had been invited to…
"So…" I started, looking at Zelda and Ganondorf after they explained what I would have to do. "What was all that again?"
Zelda looked at me and sighed. "You're going to have to dance, Mr. Hero. And I don't mean dancing to something like Saria's Song, either."
I grinned widely. "I can do that!" I stated. I reached into my Mask Bag and pulled out a familiar mask known as Kamaro's Mask. I put the mask to my face and started a strange dance, as the music filled the room. Zelda and Ganondorf were looking at me like I had gone insane.
Ganondorf took the mask by the figure of the person it was based off of and pulled it off my face, stopping the music and the dancing at the same time. "Actually, you'll have to dance formally, Link." The large Gerudo said. "And it looks like we're going to have to teach you, doesn't it?"
Zelda looked over at the man and nodded. "I guess so." She replied. "Don't worry about it, Ganondorf, leave everything to me." Ganondorf nodded and left the room.
"And I'm taking this mask with me, until after the party. I don't want you embarrassing yourself out there, child." He told me as he closed the door.
Zelda waited until the door was closed and came up to me, less than a centimeter from my chest. "All right, you need to know where to put your hands…" She took my hands and held one of them up. "Now put the other hand on my waist." I did so, not realizing how red I was becoming. The only times I had been this close to Zelda were when we were alone together, and imagining having her right next to me in front of the entirety of Hyrule made me quite nervous.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked.
"Trust me, Link, I've done this a thousand times." The Princess stated. "You may not have been invited to any of these parties, but it's mandatory for me to show up at all of them. I know how to dance."
She started moving her feet, making sure I followed suit, and we spun around, rarely separating from one another. Occasionally, I would accidentally step on her toe, which normally resulted in her kneeing me in the shin. I deserved it, even if it was an accident. Eventually, after three hours, I got to the point of never stepping on her at all, and my legs thanked me. When we finished, I received a kiss on the cheek for my effort, and Zelda turned around. She left the room waving playfully…
That night was strange. I had been moved into a larger room on the first floor of the castle, and several servants came in, all holding various things that looked like they were either used for torture or fashion. I came to the conclusion that they were used for both. Immediately, three men tackled me and put me in a strange chair, yanking at my hair and nearly pulling all of it out. The back of my head started to hurt from the hair being pulled back and tied together. The men had discarded my hat, and during the process I tried hard to retrieve it, all to no avail. When they were done, they shoved a large mirror in my face.
"How does it look?" one of them asked. My hair seemed to be pulled back into something like a horses tail. It looked sort of strange.
"I think I'll just go with my hat." I replied. Suddenly, a wave of men came into the room holding strange-looking hats. The hats were periodically shoved at me, making me lose balance. Eventually, I had seen all of them, and I sighed. "I meant my hat." I stated as I bent over to pick up the cone-shaped hat that frequently graced my head. The golden decoration that Zelda had given me had fallen off, which sent me into a panic.
"Where did it go?" I asked, looking around frantically. "The thing that goes on the edge of my hat… where is it?!" I shoved people out of my way as I searched for it. Eventually, I found it, barely visible under the blankets of my new bed. I swiftly took it and placed it on my hat. I had gotten to the point where the decoration was an essential part of me. I never took it off, because of how important it was. I never really cared about the fact that it was solid gold lined with gorgeous sapphires. I loved it because Zelda had given it to me.
After I had put my hat on, several more men came dashing around me, stripping off my usual tunic and boots, and quickly replacing them with a very tight pair of pants and a tunic that looked a bit too shiny. I held out my hands to stop the men from suffocating me.
"I think I'll use a different tunic!" I exclaimed. The men backed away as I picked up my Zora Tunic, putting it on. It fit the Royal Blue that was on everything around me, and matched the black tights they had put on me rather nicely. I slipped into my usual boots and held a hand up to the men. "You can leave, now." I stated. The men started to hang their heads as they walked out of the room. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to that."
The party had started the moment I came out of my room. Ganondorf was apparently the one who had told those men to come in and help me prepare for the celebration, as he was waiting just outside. "Are you ready?" he asked. I merely nodded as we started towards the extravagant ballroom, another room in the castle that I had never set foot in…
I stepped into the room and made my way towards the large chairs upon which sat King Daphnes and Princess Zelda. She saw me and smiled. I kneeled in front of her and offered a hand. "Shall we?" I asked. I heard no response, but soon found that I was holding Zelda's hand. We proceeded out onto the dance floor and started moving around to the music that played. During the dance, we ran into someone I was hoping to avoid…
"Hey, Link!" Queen Ruto exclaimed, the moment we accidentally bumped into her and her Zora dance partner. "Congratulations!"
"Thanks…" I said, dully.
The Zora Queen turned around on the floor. "Have you met my husband?" she asked. "His name is Rallin." The Zoras stopped dancing, and the man turned around to face me. He was a decent looking Zora, especially considering the fact that he was a man. "I didn't really have a choice but to marry him once my father died, but he's been so good to me… I can't help but love him."
Inside my mind, I was singing a song of pure joy.
"Well, then congratulations to you, as well." I replied. Zelda and I continued to dance the night away… For my first formal party, it wasn't that bad…