Chapter Text
Link sat naked in a chair in the loft of his home in Hateno as he just stared at the formal attire he knew he had to start getting dressed in soon. He had just finished a bath and was allowing himself to finish air drying before he got dressed. Or that was what he told himself. For some reason, he was apprehensive about getting dressed in the clothes laid out on his and Zelda’s bed. Granted he had worn a lot of interesting (and sometimes downright questionable) attire in his time, but this was different. Though he knew, deep down, it wasn’t the clothes themselves that he was apprehensive about. It was what they stood for. And what they were for today. His big day.
His wedding day.
He took another look over the clothes as he motivated himself to get dressed. He was appreciative of CeCe designing his wedding clothes, as he knew they were comfortable and fit him perfectly. The pants were simple and light gray, with his white boots taken from his royal guard uniform. Though usually he was not one to mix and match pants and shoes when it came to sets and uniforms, he had a feeling he would be in these for a while and wanted a comfortable pair on his feet. He knew from experience the right shoes could make even the longest of days tolerable and the shortest of days torture.
He had a simple long sleeved undershirt in the same gray as the pants he would wear. The overshirt was a long white sleeveless tunic that had simple but elegant filigree embroidered around the edges. Link also had to appreciate CeCe’s restraint with her love of mushrooms; the embroidery had the barest of mushroom influences that were hidden very well. The belt that shaped the overshirt was gold, the band that separated it from the tunic the royal family’s signature blue.
To finish was what Link considered his wedding cloak. Impa and Purah had suggested more of the royal family’s signature blue and suggested cloaks for the pair. The cloak was the longest he ever had, flowing down nearly to the ground. Luckily, it was made of a light fabric with the royal family’s signature bird and tri-triangle combo embroidered on the back in more shimmering gold. Link thought the gray and white would have been sufficient, but Zelda gently reminded him that he was marrying a princess. Though they had foregone a large ceremony that would take months to plan, there should still be special demarcations that she was royal and he was marrying into that.
He ran his hand through his hair, feeling that only the tips were damp now. He couldn’t push off getting ready anymore. He hauled himself up to his feet and started to get dressed in the attire. And he had to admit, even though he didn’t really understand the mushroom craze she had started, Link could acknowledge that CeCe was an excellent designer and clothemaker. Every stitch felt comfortable on his skin and was tailored to perfection.
No sooner had he finally buttoned the cloak around his throat then a firm knock came at his door. “Link!” Sidon’s boisterous voice came from the other side of the door, “It’s almost time! Open up so that we might walk you to the ceremony site!”
Link felt himself internally locking up due to the stress. He hated the thought of having so many eyes on him. Though it was just Hetano and a small selection of their friends that would be there, it brought his mind racing back to the last ceremony he had been at the center of. Kneeling before the princess while she gave an unwilling blessing that dripped from her tongue like acid, his fellow champions staring holes into his back as he waited for Zelda to finish. The Master Sword had felt heavy on his back, a part of him wishing the ground would swallow him. He had already started to withdraw into himself and felt his emotions shutting down with the stress.
But his body did not freeze. As if in a trance, he walked to the door of his home, his cape gently flowing out behind him as he walked to the door, opening it to the people outside. Sidon, hunkering down slightly to move through the door frame, came bursting in before Link could even register who else was with him. He took a few steps back as Sidon led his fellow sages, Tulin and Yunobo, into the living area of his house that was quickly becoming crowded.
“My friend!” Sidon said loudly before leaning down to capture Link in a tight hug. Link had been grabbed by many a monster in his time and could swear that Sidon could have crushed the ribs of a lynel. He felt the wind leave him as Sidon squeezed him. Luckily, the hug did not last more than an instant, before Sidon put him back down. “I am so excited for you! To think, you were there to see me ascend to the throne of my own domain and as I took my dear Yona’s hand in marriage! How lucky I am to be here now! At your side to see you ascend to your own throne and marry your own love!” He gave that laugh of his, striking that pose he loved, as Link blushed. Link didn’t have the heart to tell him this was hardly a coronation for even Zelda and certainly not him.
“Link!” Tulin excitedly piped up from beside Sidon, moving quickly to stand by him. “We have something for you! A final gift before you get married! Quick, Yunobo!” Tulin said, turning to the Goron who was carefully moving through the door frame of his house, so excited his feathers were fluffing out, “Give Link what we made!”
“Coming, goro!” Yunobo said as he made his way in. He banged against the doorway, which made him flinch, but he hurriedly move forward to step before Link, who was looking at them outwardly with a blank expression, slightly bewildered on what they had done.
He went to a pouch down at his side and pulled out a small metal box. Sidon, with his wide, sharp-toothed grin, and Tulin, his feathers puffed and his eyes wide with excitement, stood on either side of Yunobo as the goron opened the box with a smile. Inside was a golden circlet. The band was crafted to look as if it was a twisted band of wild ivy, the center of which at the front held a large diamond. At the back, five smaller diamonds with a sapphire in the middle, were cut expertly to resemble a small silent princess. Link’s stressful stoic mask cracked as he stared at the piece in wonder.
“I found the gold we used to make this!” Tulin said excitedly. “There’s lots of gold in the mountains if you know where to look!”
“And we find all sorts of gemstones around Death Mountain, goro,” Yunobo said. “It was pretty easy to find the gems we needed.”
“Riju got the gems cut!” Tulin explained, crowding close to be within Link’s site as he gazed at the circlet. “She knew someone that’s really good at that in Gerudo Town!”
“And Dento was most agreeable to craft the times for us!” Sidon said proudly. “A little encouragement from the crown certainly didn’t hurt!” he added with a laugh.
Link looked up at his friends who beamed back at him. Link felt that division in him where the old part of his mind wanted to slip back into that stoic mask. What was he even supposed to say in this sort of situation? He was so bad with words and there weren’t any he could offer up to his friends to thank them for such a gift. But a larger part of him knew that he was stronger than that, and even though these were sages, the best that the Zoras, Gorons, and Rito had to offer, they were also just his friends. And his friends deserve more than his mask. So he smiled back at them instead.
So much for this not being his coronation today…
“It’s magnificent,” he told them, which made Tulin begin to bounce with glee. “I’m at a loss for words.”
“Well, try it on!” Tulin blurted out with excitement.
Link gave a small laugh and lifted his hands to his hair. His long locks were still loose around his shoulders, so he gathered them up in one hand, using the other to slip the little blue band around it. While he fixed his hair, Yunobo gently lifted the circlet, almost humorous with how small and delicate it was for his hands, offering the circlet to Link once his hair was smoothed back and captured in its band. He gently took the item in his hands (which felt much sturdier than the vine motif indicated it would be), and slowly lifted it to his head, bowing slightly to have it rest at the crown of his head. He settled the piece across his forehead, feeling the gem flower resting at the back of his skull. He looked back to his friends, who were smiling even wider at him (somehow. He wasn’t sure how Tulin and Sidon managed that) now. “How do I look?” Link asked, a little self consciously.
“Superb!” Sidon said immediately with that toothy smile, “Stupendous! Amazing! Like a true king!”
“You look great!” Tulin said at the same time, flapping his wings while beaming.
Yunobo just gave him a thumbs up as Sidon said some more excited adjectives. Link couldn’t help the laugh he had as he watched his friends' excitement. Link thought about the friends he would have liked to have had with him. To have Daruk’s boisterousness rival Sidon’s, to have Revali stand to the side and pretend he was being forced to be here, to wonder what warnings and blessings Urbosa would have given him and what kind words of congratulations Mipha might have given him. But though they weren’t here, he could feel their happiness. He could feel their hands on his shoulders, tell him they were happy he and the princess still had one another and could find happiness after over 100 years of fighting.
His friends joined with his laugh and Link walked closer to them, gesturing to the door behind them. “Well, I guess it’s time I go and get married,” he told them, silently adding again. The three enthusiastically agreed, letting him lead them out of his house.