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Link stared at the green tie that was altogether much too tight around his neck, the stiff awkward white dress shirt, accompanied by the even more fitting charcoal grey waistcoat. All of this seemed overkill. “Mum are you really certain about this? Don't I look very very very over the top?”
“It’s an invitation by the Bosphoramus’s, young man! We cannot be lacking in any way, shape or form! This isn’t the time for your loose, half-open cotton tunics and slack trousers!”
“Well, yeah, but…”
“Do not ‘yeah’ me Link.” A sharp glare was sent his way. “I am reiterating this, but you will be pleasant. You will not go mute when his daughter presents herself. You will not shame me again.” She grabbed the pearl decorated handbag that only got used when they were going to high–class people places. “I was so embarrassed when you failed to reply to even Mipha! That was such a good proposal, we’ve had connections to the Dorephean family for years, and you got along so well with her as a child, but no, no Master Link refused to even open his mouth and speak a single word.”
Link swallowed the retort that would be branded as answering back, that no one had informed him about the armour being a proposal gift, and he’d accepted it off the basis of it being a simple gift from a friend and –
She rushed over, brushing imaginary lint off his forest green overcoat, running her fingers harshly through his hair to correct the static strands before setting his black, rarely used, top hat on his head. “So here we are! Now we are stuck with the eccentric girl. Susan says she never appears at any societal events. Once, she supposedly did, but her hands were covered with oil.” Eliana made a displeasing frown, before shaking her head. “But what can I do? No, he didn’t want the classy, sophisticated, competent healer Mipha. No, no sir. At least Sir Bosphamorous is a decent man. We may make something of this mess yet.”
She finally stepped back, giving him a once over. “OH! The gold coated pocket watch! HENRY BRING THE WATCH! WHERE ARE YOU? WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW IF WE WANT TO BE ON TIME!”
Link winced, “I’ll go fetch dad –”
“No you will not! I am not letting you out of my sight after that incident you manufactured in the Lon Lon’s parlour!”
“Mum! That wasn’t my fault –” Link stuttered, okay, it had been a little, and he wouldn’t have rocked the boat with that proposal because maybe something could have grown between them, but Malon had asked him to create a diversion –
She shooed his explanations away. “WILL I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING IN THIS HOUSEHOLD? HENRY!”
“Goodness Eliana! Do you want to appear in front of their house an hour early? I thought it was fashionable to be late!” His father appeared in his formal dress, similar to what Link was wearing, except he had a silver cane, a walking aid he’d needed since he retired from the army.
“Do not sass me, husband! You will regret it! And you know we need to pick up Madame Fi so that will add 30 minutes! Did you bring the watch?”
“Goddesses above. Here, let me put it on my son. You go out wife, check if the carriage is ready.”
His mother’s eyes swivelled between the two of them. “If either of you fail to behave, or concoct some sort of sabotage between the two of you, you will pay for it dearly when we return.”
Henry waved her off. “We’re 57 and 26, not 35 and 4, wife.”
“Well you behave otherwise!” Suddenly tears formed in her eyes. “Link, sweetheart, I just want you to be happy. I want you settled. I want you to have someone should something happen to your father and I.”
Link sighed, and gave her a hug. Ultimately he knew it came from a place of concern. And even if his mum was emotionally labile he knew she loved him. “Yes, mum. I will behave. I will try this time.”
“Good! Now! The watch Henry!”
[Zelda’s POV]
“Hm. The magnet needs to rotate around the coiled wire. It works manually to generate an electric current but… how to make this self-sufficient…”
“Zelda?”
“Or maybe I can create some sort of spinning mechanism. The current may be enough if I make a circuit within the device itself. But how…”
“Where is she?”
She got on her knees, and fiddled with the final edge of the wire. “Not to mention I am uncertain how to make it safe for the general populace but imagine if we could harvest this! No more need for coal!”
“ZELDA!”
She startled, dropping the gears in her hands which clanged on the floor.
Her father, in an extravagant burgundy suit with a harried look on his face suddenly popped up behind her electro-magnetic apparition. He stared at her as though she had suddenly grown two heads. It appeared as though he was shocked speechless, but Zelda wasn’t too fazed by this. It was a regular occurrence after all. “What is wrong, Father?”
“I called you thrice and you failed to respond!”
Oh. “I… I was focussed on my device, Father.”
“Clearly! Do you remember what day it is today?”
Um… What had been her last tutoring session? Thursday, she met with her physics tutor, her favourite, and then it was singing with Professor Kass on Friday… Oh. Oh no. It was the weekend wasn’t it…
“Yes, it’s Saturday! The day the Faron’s are coming over! In approximately an hour’s time! You promised you’d give this one a chance, Zelda.”
Oh yeah… She’d promised to at least attempt with this family, and in return, she was allowed to convert their ballroom into her extended laboratory. Which, considering it was the largest room in the house, and meant they wouldn’t be able to host any of the events her father loved and she despised, seemed like a very big win.
Except… she’d forgotten about her part of the deal in all the advances she’d made since moving her laboratory down into the ballroom.
Oops.
Rhoam heaved a sigh. “Your chambermaid will help you get ready. Zelda, you know I want you to be happy–”
Not this again. “I understand I did not fulfil my part of the deal adequately, but I will go and get ready now. But Father, you must know, I simply do not want to get married. I see no point in this… shambolic set up you have manufactured.”
“As you’ve made very clear, with how obtuse you were with Revali.”
“Can you blame me? He was such an arrogant twat.”
“Zelda! Language!” She glared at him, and a smile broke out on his face. “I agree though. He was very… competitive. New blood is like that though. Still doesn’t excuse your behaviour towards Clement.”
“Father, he was waxing and waning like the moon about my beauty.”
“He had good creative taste!”
“Really? So you’d listen to his poetry every night would you?”
Rhoam coughed into his hand. “Look, Zelda…” His eyes flitted across the room, from her botanical set up by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, to the elixir concoction brewery at the far end of the room and her electric devices with ancient material parts next to them. “All of this… I’d allow you to replicate all of it, whatever you wished, in the whole house. Except maybe for the elixir part.” She chuckled at that. “But I won’t be around forever. And I’d like to know you were with someone who would love you, and cherish you, and allow you to do whatever you so please, just as I have. Being alone… whilst it is what you’ve been used to your whole life, and what you feel most comfortable with, I would like you to at least try to experience a partnership. And see how it goes. I promise, if it doesn’t work out, if you don’t like the gentleman, or he’s as much of a… twat as the previous two, we’ll just stop okay? There’s never any pressure with these, I just… I just want you to give it a good go.”
Zelda stood, wiped her hands on her dress, and gave her father a good hug. “I love you Father.” And for that reason alone, she’d give this lad a try. What’s the worst that could happen?
“As do I, daughter. Now please, wash your hands properly.” He reached inside her bun and pulled out a screw. “... And maybe brush your hair a little.”
[Link’s POV]
Link sat squashed in between Eliana and Henry on the blush settee in the sitting room, his shoulders clenched and his knees locked together in an attempt to create space.
Fi, the matchmaker behind it all, sat to the right of them in a rose chaise, a calming smile on her face, her eccentric blue hair pulled back into a tight bun. Duke Bosphamorous was seated across, in a rather striking velvet burgundy suit.
Link was trying his hardest not to stare too much at the bulk of the man.
This was easily the worst part of any proposal.
Normally there would be cakes, either savoury bites or little patisseries. And he’d snack on things whilst waiting for the potential to arrive, who would then walk in after an appropriate amount of time had passed, carrying in a tray of tea. Maybe the lack of any set up beforehand was because Duchess Aeylia had passed…
But then… He’d only had two proposals and that was the set up with both of them. For Mipha, as soon as she’d carried the tea tray in, he’d clammed up when he realised what, exactly, the purpose of the visit was.
With Malon… Well, things had reached the tea stage, and Talon had told them to go down to the parlour, just for the two of them to talk in private for a bit. And that is where it had all unravelled; Malon confessed she was actually in love with someone else and could he please just say no so the whole thing would be over –
“So, Link.” He startled, drawn out of his thoughts. “I understand from Fi that you help manage the estate, and you’ve had some military training?”
He cleared his throat. Yep. He’d forgotten the interrogation part between the (non-existent) cakes and tea. “Yes, Your Grace. I am currently involved in overseeing the harvest of several acres of farmland, alongside managing the conservatory, as well as our livestock of horses.” After a nod from the duke, he continued, “And yes. I was in the military for… much of my teenage years. I joined at 16. And I left only a year ago.”
“Oh? Why was that?”
His father was injured, and he needed to stay at home to help care for him. But he didn’t want to embarrass his dad –
“I take responsibility for that one, Your Grace. I sustained several injuries in the Akkalan War. Link… left behind his flourishing career in the military to take care of me, and of our estate.”
“Ah, I see. Your bravery is spoken of still in the court, Lord Faron. And… I find it exemplary that Link values you as such. It speaks a lot of his character.”
His mother visibly preened at that statement, perking right up from her previously crouched position whilst Link just wanted to sink into a hole and die.
Henry chuckled, giving Link a solid slap on his back. “You can call me Henry, Your Grace. I can’t quite remember the last time I was called Lord Faron!” Eliana glared at his father and Link squished himself into a tighter ball in the middle.
“Well in that case I insist you call me Rhoam. It is only fair.”
Henry laughed again. “I wonder, Rhoam, if we should call Lady Zelda in. We are all quite keen to meet her.” And the unspoken words – finish this awkward conversation.
Rhoam nodded, and stood up. “If you will excuse me, I will be back shortly.”
When he left, the three of them on the settee gave a sigh of relief.
In hushed tones his mother started to bicker again. “Henry! What are you being so informal for?! It’s not like we’re family yet!”
“Wife! It’s called building a relationship! Are you going to call him Your Grace every 5 seconds?!”
Fi decided to intervene, “I predict this match will have a 99.9% chance of success.”
That silenced everyone for a good few seconds. Well, until Eliana had processed the statement. “Why not 100%?”
Fi never got the chance to reply, because Rhoam walked in, escorting Zelda on his arm.
Oh…
Emerald eyes met his and she smiled, a smattering of red coloured her cheeks. She had long thick golden hair, much brighter compared to his dirty blonde. She wore a simple cream dress, with off-white gloves extending up to her wrist, her only accessory a pendant emerald necklace. Despite the simplicity, somehow, she radiated more than any of the girls he’d seen on the streets of Castle Town during the courting season.
As the three of them stood to greet her, his mother’s elbow nudged into his ribs and he winced, looking her way to see the question in her eyes. Well he didn’t know yet! She was certainly pretty but he had no idea what she thought of him! It’d barely been a minute! She gave him a side glare, and he –
“Good afternoon, Lord Faron, Lady Faron and Lord Link. It is my pleasure to meet you. My name is Zelda, as I am sure you are aware.”
Henry smiled, and nodded at her. Eliana kissed her cheek and complimented her dress, “I do love the look you are sporting. It is simple yet elegant. And your necklace is simply beautiful Zelda.”
She blushed. “Thank you. It was my mother’s.”
And then it was his turn.
Oh Goddess. He prayed his vocal cords wouldn’t freeze with anxiety.
“Good afternoon, Lady Zelda.” He reached for her gloved hand, giving her ample time to pull away, but she didn’t, offering no restraint. Courage, Link! He gently pulled her hand up and pressed a kiss to the satin, half-wishing he could feel her skin instead. Zelda’s blush grew, mirrored in his own flaming cheeks, he was sure.
Fi happily clapped in the corner, and Link suddenly remembered there were other people in the room when everyone cleared their throats. The blush on his cheeks tripled. “Now all we need is a good cup of tea.”
“Tea?” both Rhoam and Zelda asked.
“Yes, tea. You know, the fundamental drink that is common in such situations? In fact, 90% of the proposals I have attended have presented tea, the remaining 10% failed before a point where tea would be introduced.”
Rhoam blinked. “You are completely correct Madame Fi, I am sorry for the –”
“It is of no great concern. I understand Master Link is an aspiring chef, why don’t you go with Lady Zelda and make us all a good pot? There is a 80% chance of us adults happily conversing with each other in the interim.”
Zelda and he both nodded, and rather awkwardly, Link sidestepped his smirking father, whilst trying to ignore his mother’s laser vision into his back. “After you, Lady Zelda.”
She smiled at him again, sweet as sugar, and his stomach did a dive.
Fi was a trickster. Then again all such aunties were. But… maybe he’d thank her for it later.
[Zelda’s POV]
As soon as she faced the corridor Zelda clenched her teeth and let a scream run rampant in her head.
No one had mentioned tea!
The deal was for her to sit and look pretty. Maybe smile at the guy. Maybe converse a little about her interests in a normal, non-obsessed way.
The deal did not mention, in any way shape or form, brewing tea!
He was cute, too! And he smiled at her! And he was nice, for giving her the chance to pull her hand away should she not want a kiss. So first impressions of this ‘Link’ were much better than what had happened with Revali, who had scoffed at how she had appeared, apparently underdressed for a meeting with the Rito Champion, and of Clement who had lunged straight for her cheeks, very inappropriately.
And now she was going to ruin it because –
“Lady Zelda?”
OH NO!! She hadn’t been paying attention!
“Um, sorry –” She brushed her hair behind her burning hot ears. Great! Just great! “I missed that. Apologies, my thoughts are a little scattered.”
He smiled at her, and she nearly tripped over her heels. Goddesses! She was a mess! “No worries. I was asking you about the paintings in this corridor.”
“Oh!” Her gaze flittered, as they came to a stop in front of a Silent Princess flower. “These are paintings my mother made. I… like to paint too and some of my better ones are also in this corridor.” She gestured at the flower. “This one here, I remember it was on a picnic to Hyrule Field. I spotted the flower, and mother explained how rare and endangered it was. So we painted it together.” Her gaze darted across and she winced. “As you can see, there are also my… recreations of said view. I was around three years old but…”
He smiled. “Your mother was certainly talented. It looks so lifelike.” He leaned in to look at her shoddy three petal attempt, where she’d obviously gotten bored and slammed a hand print of white paint down instead. How embarrassing that her father had decided to hang this one too! “And… you had a good eye for colour.”
She burst out laughing and he blushed. “You can say it was rubbish, you know. Three year old me won’t mind.”
He coughed into his hand, failing to hide a chuckle. “I think it’s lovely you’ve got memories preserved in this way.”
She nodded. “Father… didn’t want to let go of her artwork. So he created this display.”
His gaze landed on her instead of the paintings. “I can’t imagine how hard it must have been.”
It felt sincere, and the fact that he wasn’t afraid to talk about it was a good sign. Most people stammered awkwardly, or flailed around, trying to move the conversation on whenever her mother’s death came up. Link didn’t seem to be in any hurry. “I miss her most when I… I do things that we once did together. Or when we eat something and I remember she didn’t like this. Or she loved it.” Zelda felt tears prick at her eyes and – oh, it wasn’t the right time for tears. They had to get going. “You see… It never really goes away.”
He nodded. “There is always a gap.” He stepped closer, offering his arm and she tightened a hand around his bicep.
She looked into his big baby-blue eyes, full of empathy, real and sincere for her. “Yes. Yes there is. Nothing ever quite patches the hole. But the world continues to spin, and so must we.”
“Indeed. I… If you ever want to talk about her again, Lady Zelda, I am more than willing to lend an ear.”
She smiled at him, nodding. “Let’s be on our way then, Lord Link. Although… I do believe we are past the point of using titles no?”
He laughed, wholeheartedly, and Zelda felt her chest tighten. “Alright, Zelda.”
Zelda’s predicament remained, as they approached the kitchen. So what if she’d taken the long route through the mansion and it had taken ten minutes to get here? She’d learnt all about Link’s hobbies, of sketching with charcoal, wood sculpture and horse-riding, and she’d told him about some of hers. He found her ideas to be of merit, and seemed keen at least, to visit her apparatus soon. (She wasn’t sure how that would go down with everyone waiting for them in the sitting room…)
And now she could delay it no more, when they reached the kitchen.
Servants who would have bustled about, busily preparing dishes had all mysteriously disappeared.
Madame Fi was clearly not to be underestimated.
“Do you have a favourite tea, Zelda?”
Aha! Did she? Yes, well. If she admitted that then she would be expected to – “Yes, I do. My favourite is a blend of cardamom and vanilla. Do you?”
“Ah, I don’t have a favourite per se. Let’s make yours. Where is your teapot?”
Zelda felt sweat start to form on her brow. Her gaze landed on the teapot already on the stove. Oh! That was one battle down. “Just here, Link.”
“Perfect! Ah, the servants have already put the water to boil. That's helpful. Hm… How much cardamom do you like?”
I have no idea rang in a singsong voice in her head. She needed an escape. And fast –
Zelda’s mind suddenly switched off, engrossed in watching Link rolled up his sleeves.
Woah.
Those were some toned muscles. Not to mention the sunkissed skin he exposed.
He washed his hands thoroughly, and now she followed the drops of water down down down his arm, which he swathered dry using the tea towel.
“Zelda?”
The static screeched to a stop. There would be no escape from this admission. Zelda braced herself. “Um. I don’t really – To be very honest Link, I don’t quite think I’ve um, ever made a cup of tea.”
He stared at her, shocked, before chuckling goodnaturedly. “I suppose you would have no need too. I would have likely been the same, except in the military there were no servants, so it was rather essential I got a grasp in the culinary world.”
Was that were the muscles were from? “The military?”
“Yes.” His deft hands found the spices that she assumed was cardamom. It looked like a light green pea. “I was a Captain. I had progressed through the ranks as a soldier relatively fast, and was due for a promotion to Major but… My father suffered life changing injuries in the Akkalan war. I had to come home.”
Zelda was secretly glad he was home. She tried her best not to stare at his forearms. “I see… Was it hard adjusting to life here again?”
He hesitated, dropping the spices into the boiling water alongside the tea leaves. “You know, no one has ever asked me that.”
She stammered, “Ah – apologies, I didn’t mean to overstep –”
“No, no. It… It’s a good question. I did, in the beginning. I joined the army at 16. It was formulative, and a very structured life. I got… used to the routine. And the sudden… absence of that was difficult. I didn’t really know what to do with myself, outside of being my father’s carer. But… I’ve since found meaning in the work that I do, satisfaction that I am making a difference, and that… routines don’t have to always be fixated in a certain time and place.”
Huh. Zelda had never quite followed a routine so closely, if ever. She had tutoring, yes, but that was only for a couple of hours. The rest of her time… she spent on her hobbies. She’d never examined whether she was making a true difference or not. Of course, the end goal was to try to better the world… but it didn't inherently matter if she achieved that or not. It was a way of thinking she hadn’t previously considered. “I can understand that. Do you think you’ll go back?” She handed him the milk, fresh from this morning’s delivery from the milkman.
“I don’t think it’s possible now. I’ve been away for a year. And… my parents are not getting any younger. Not to mention… my goals have changed.” He measured out the amount roughly, and started to stir, before increasing the heat slightly.
She came closer, noting the mixture’s smell and colour was starting to look very familiar. “What do you mean by that?”
He glanced her way. “Well, there’s the estate for one. Father was in the military for his whole life, my mother did her best but this was never her area of expertise. She’s a healer, and –” Link swallowed and Zelda was left to wonder why he paused, “Well, anyway, the thing is the land needs a lot of work to get to what I want it to be. I… I have a dream of cooking with fresh produce grown off the land. And… I have plans to conserve the forests we have. I want to make the land self-sustaining – I, Oh. I’ve probably said too much.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s fascinating. I have an interest in botany too. I try to cultivate rare, endangered species, in an effort to protect them from extinction. It’s one of my hobbies.”
His eyes lit up. “Oh! You are green-fingered!”
“Well, I am not sure I would go that far. I try, but most of the time it doesn’t really work out.”
“The beauty is in the effort, Zelda. And for every experiment that fails, you’ve learnt something new.”
That was true. He had a way with words, this charming Link. She took a step back, going to fetch the sugar and tip it into a small bowl to set on the tray. “What have you tried so far?”
“With the conservation?”
She came back next to him, nodding.
“Well… not much. I don’t really know enough about it.”
“Have you examined any of the species in the forests you have? Perhaps that would be the first step. Then we should resear–” We? Zelda!
Link’s eyes met her own, a smile growing on his lips, “I –
The tea frothed up, having come to boil, and they both scrambled to turn the heat down. Zelda fisting the stove to switch it off, whilst Link heaved the pot off the fire.
“Goddesses that was very close.” Link muttered, setting the pot back down.
“We would have made a right mess.”
“I think it’s time we stopped brewing. But Zelda, it would be my honour to invite you to my estate. I… I would really appreciate your advice.”
She set up the tea cups on their saucers and watched Link place the pot on the tray. “I would love to come.”
They shared a smile, before Link cleared his throat. “I think, before we take this to the family we should sample it.”
One eyebrow raised as she replied. “Was that part of your training in the culinary world? Or simply a delaying tactic from the military?”
Red exploded across his ears, and she triumphantly smiled, before he levelled her gaze. “What if I said both.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “I’d be inclined to agree either way.”
“So, how many sugars do you take Zelda?”
“One teaspoon, please. And what about you?”
A guilty smile was plastered on his face as he replied, “Two.” Once the sugars were organised and they each held a steaming cup, he asked, “What about you Zelda? What are your goals?”
Was it right to admit marriage wasn’t a very high priority? But if he was so truthful with her… “I… I am quite young, Link. My father is keen on marriage but I personally… It's not that it’s something I’m wholly against but I haven’t really had the time to… do much with myself yet. I have many interests, many things that I am in a certain stage of progress with, like my device I mentioned to you, and my interests in botany, but… nothing much to really show for it yet.”
A flicker of something flashed across his face, before he nodded. No wait, what did he think? She didn’t mean – “That makes sense. I… I completely understand familial pressure. I can get them to back off –”
She waved her hands, “No no! That’s not what I meant –”
He waited, patiently, and Zelda took a few seconds to actually think about how to phrase it. “Look, the purpose of an arranged marriage is to… find someone to court, yes? I’d very much like to court you, Link. I just, I was just – You have achieved many things in your life thus far, which is a good thing, but I need some time, is all, before” – she gestured circles with her hands, – “before marriage, marriage.” Wait, had she just assumed he’d want to court her? But then he had said both right? Right?
The confusion cleared with his face, and she didn’t miss the sigh of relief before he reached for his tea and wrapped his hands around the cup. The forearms were back on show and Zelda forgot whatever it was she was worried about. “Okay. That’s… perfect actually. I… I am delighted you are happy to court, Zelda. I want to get to know you better too. And… if I can help you achieve some of your goals that would be the icing on the cake.”
A comforting silence descended as they each sipped the tea. “This is delicious. I think this was the right decision, Link.”
“Thank you. I’m sure there will be plenty of occasions to sample more.” If he made her favourite tea this well on his first try, then Zelda was very interested in figuring out just how far he’d developed his culinary skills. “Now… you were telling me about electricity from magnets? Did you know in the military there is a specific subset of Sheikah Slates used? We have something called magnesis on there…”
A man who knew her tastes, listened to her, and had good forearms?
He was sugar, spice and everything nice.