Work Text:
From the Diary of Princess Zelda:
June 8th
I am excited to write down what I have seen this evening! A tale worthy of the old Chivalric stories the minstrels drone on about…but first I must rewind to the beginning of the night: The Knight’s Ball. A splendid evening celebrating Hyrule’s great warriors and soldiers for all they do for King and Country. Despite my station besides Father and my Betrothed, Jans, at the Banquet Halls; I got to wandering the floors out of boredom. Goddesses above, I had forgotten how stuffy a ball could be! Especially in summer and wearing a gown, even if it is a lovely one and tailormade.
As I wandered about, greeting nobles and knights alike, I came across a most interesting sight: a redhaired maiden in a gorgeous gown that reflected the colors of the evening summer sun. golds, reds, and oranges trailed the dress like a flame. The young woman was hugging the wall, feeling very much out of place amongst the nobilities and guests of honor. I knew who she was: Malon, the farm girl whose family provided Hyrule Castle with our dairy and beef. They also help train the horses for knights and servants alike.
It was most interesting to see her tonight. No doubt Link had given her an invitation. Link! Oh, I do believe I’ve mentioned him in previous entries before, a young man who foiled Ganondorf’s scheme at the age of only ten! A young orphan from the forests who came to stay with us at the castle (He had no other family, nowhere else to go, so Father took pity on him). I’ve come to know him like a brother these past eight years and I have oft caught glimpses of him shirking his knightly duties and training to speak with this young lady, both no doubt smitten with one another. If only they would stop flirting and do something!
I approached Malon and greeted her kindly. “Good evening, Malon.”
“Oh, Your Grace! I heard you were in the Banquet Halls with the King and your Fiancé. What brings you out here among these fine folk?” she replied in kind, a bit startled by my sudden appearance. Her accent had a certain charm that accentuated her looks. I see why my foster brother had fallen for her. Her hair was done in a simple, yet elegant ponytail. Her ball gown, while not extravagant by the standards of the nobility, was quite beautiful. The flames of the sun reached the long gloves she wore and she had more simple and elegant jewelry as well as the brooch that signified her family: some sort of strange dragon-cow creature. She was quite beautiful, and I admit that I was quite jealous of her rustic beauty. I wonder how many months’ wages it cost Talon to have the dress made. I’ll have to repay him eventually.
I could see she was extremely nervous. This was to be expected. After all she was a common farmgirl amongst the wealthy of Hyrule, only present due to a kindly knight sending her an invitation several weeks or months ago. I grabbed her arm and took her with me on my wanderings. The nobles gave quick but brief stares towards her, not wishing to comment on her, lest they offended her companion.
“Life at the Ranch must be hard work, wouldn’t you say? Toiling in the earth and raising such elegant beasts of burden to be fit for service across the land. It’s quite envious if I do say so myself.” I asked, fanning myself with a folding fan Jans had gifted me for my birthday.
“Envious? Her Grace? I-I don’t…” she trailed off. I found her humility rather charming. “Well, yes. It is hard work, having to rise at five in the morning to feed the hens and the stallions, but it’s worth it in the end to see them ride strongly across Hyrule Field. May I speak freely?”
“You’re my companion and guest here at the Castle, you don’t need to ask permission, Malon.” I replied, rather annoyed at the shy courtesy she exuded.
“I-I don’t know what I’m doing here among the Elite of Hyrule. I should be back home, reading or singing to the horses, not waltzing around with knights! I-if I may, I’d like to–”
“Leave? and dishearten the Knight who clearly wants you here? The man who gave you the invitation? I think not. You are here on Link’s behalf and as such, you will be shown the kind grace same as any guest at the Ball tonight. Now, I will hear no more discouraging talk from you, Malon. Enjoy yourself! Speaking of Link, where is that man anyway?”
Link, as it turned out, was trailing us like some Sheikah. He was waiting for the great dance to begin and simply listened in on our conversation in the meantime.
“Link is here? Oh, do I look presentable enough, Your Grace?” Malon asked, fretting over her appearance at the mere mention of his name. I wanted to giggle, but I kept my composure and spoke calmly.
“Of course he is, it’s the Knight’s Ball after all; and don’t worry, Malon, you’re absolutely stunning! Much more than most nobles here, hence the dirty looks some of them are giving us. They dart away quickly, but I see them. Absolute jealousy of a gorgeous young woman, and one not of their station! ‘Unfair’ they might mutter, but it is not for them to judge. It’ll be fine.”
Malon appeared to calm down as we entered the ballroom. Fine tiles lined the stone floors as tables filled with bowls and platters came and went with the servants. Great chandeliers hung strewn about the ceilings. She was taken aback by its grandeur and splendor. I simply shrugged. “Oh my, it’s just like in the fairy tales! Everyone will be dancing here tonight?”
“Most everyone. I don’t like dancing, too exhaustive. I prefer to watch people dance, as it is much more exciting. I’m sure you’ll have fun dancing with Link.” I replied, rather bored. I smirked as Malon turned as red as her hair.
“Well, I-I’m not certain t-that…”
“Well, I am certain that I will have the best dance partner of the evening.” A voice rang from behind us. We turned to find Link standing behind us. Din damn that Redead of a man and his Sheikah ways! He wore the white military dress uniform that all knights were to wear that evening: a button coat with pauldrons covered by a sash, white wrist-length gloves, and trousers placed into calf-high boots. His hair was as it always was, curtain bangs and long hair tied back into a ponytail.
“You look quite lovely tonight, Malon.” He said, taking her hand and kissing it as courtesy. She turned a deeper shade of red.
“W-why thank you, good sir! I would like to extend such words onto yourself! A resplendent knight! Far from the fairy boy I met all those years ago.”
“Who’s to say I’m still not the same ‘Fairy Boy’ from before? If I may, Your Grace, I’ll take your guest off of your hands.”
I nodded and Link slipped his arm into hers and they walked off into the gathering crowd. Jans came up next to me, staring at the pair as I fanned myself. “He’s planning something, I just know it.” I spoke as the musicians from Zora’s Domain were setting up.
* * *
There is a game that Jans and I like to play in order to pass the time at these balls Father throws every now and then. It goes like this: we pick out a pair or a couple in the throes of dance, usually the happier-looking ones, and pretend as if they’re harboring some secret argument in the middle of it all, too polite to break off and storm away from one another. We had just finished our quiet snickering at the Dancing Couple often seen in Castle Town, so it was my turn to choose. I scoured the floor from behind my fan, scanning to find a happy couple.
Then my eyes laid upon Link and Malon. They were dancing and…smiling? In my entire time of knowing Link, I have never seen him smiling out of joy from another’s company. Not once. Laughing when taunting his fellow knights, yes. Riding Epona on the fields? Also yes; but never in the company of another person, especially a maiden. They looked very happy, a natural happiness that our previous targets seemed to lack.
I nudged Jans and darted my eyes in their direction. “He’s smiling. He never does that. I think it unwise and unfair to have them as our new targets. Perhaps the noblewomen with the jade colored eyes, Love?” I spoke quietly. Jans nodded and we scoured the crowd. The noblewomen, especially those our age and slightly older, all stared at this commoner dancing with the strongest and most eligible knight in all of Hyrule. Easy targets for our game.
“Oh! Who is this dancing with my beloved Link?!” I started the game. “What does she have that I don’t?”
“Surely not such fair, natural complexion and lovely red hair! I myself only have simple dark hair and far too much foundation!”
“How rude of her to drop in and steal the heart of a strong warrior! That should be me out there, not her!”
“How dare she make him smile! How dare she be the recipient of his dashing smile and longing gaze!”
It went on like this for an hour or so. We giggled at the taunting of the noblewomen, all the while giving compliments to the dancing pair. We eventually moved on to others and when I turned to see that the pair had absconded somewhere, I called a maid to ask of Link’s whereabouts.
“I do believe he and Miss Malon went for a stroll in the Courtyard, Your Grace.”
“A stroll? Most interesting.”
“Shall I have someone send for Sir Link?”
“No. That will be all, thank you.” I replied as the maid left. “Jans, my Love, I tired of these festivities. Could you escort me to my chambers?”
“Of course.” He took my arm and we bid Father a good night as we retired for the evening.
* * *
Jans was fairly grumpy as I braided my hair. “Now, when you said you were going to ‘slip into something more comfortable’, I imagine a sheer nightgown or something of similar wear, not this Sheikah garment!” I laughed at his demeanor. I had learned the some of the ways of the Sheikah from my nurse Impa and continued it on when Link told me stories of the “Other Time” as he called it: some alternate timeline where Ganondorf had overthrown my father and I took on an alter ego of ‘Sheik’, a Sheikah warrior who aided him in the Other Time.
I straddled his lap and caressed his face. “Now, Love, I simply must know what it is that Link has planned for the farmgirl! Besides, I think I’ll have us play with this outfit on our Coronation night, wouldn’t that be nice?” I watched as his face turned red and he looked away. I laughed at his shyness and walked away. I do enjoy teasing Jans so. I made my way out of the window and slid down the rampart walls with graceful precision. I had an inkling as to where the happy couple might be.
I crept along the Courtyard grounds and knelt behind a wall as I saw what I could only describe as a scene from some tale of courtly love:
Link and Malon were standing beside a stream, moonlight bathing them and reflecting off the waters. Malon held her hands against his chest as he wrapped her in his arms. They talked about the ball.
“I don’t really belong there on that floor with all those people and their highfaluting nobleness.”
“Neither do I as a Fairy Boy, but that didn’t stop us from having fun tonight, now did it?”
“I guess not. They all seemed so distant as we twirled around that floor, it felt like it was just the two of us out there. I liked it like that.”
“As did I. Malon, you mean everything to me. Everything. No force in the world will ever change that.”
Link embraced her in a kiss. They held one another for several minutes in the night. My heart leapt with joy and I wanted so desperately to run to them and hug them, congratulating them on such wonderous actions! Instead, I slowly slinked back to my bedroom and slipped back into my ballgown.
June 8th (1 AM)
Dear Hylia! I have seen the sweetest and most scandalous thing I have ever laid eyes upon! As I wandered the castle, long after the ball had come and gone, I saw a small light emanating from Link’s quarters. He must have forgotten to blow out a candle. I went to put it out for him, when I saw it: Link was cradling Malon in his own bed! What was worse was the sight of their clothes on the floor! A knight bedding a maiden! An unwed, unbetrothed maiden! And a commoner at that!
Now, as I write this all down, I will NOT shame either one for this. Instead, I believe an opportunity has arisen for my dear foster brother: a new bride for his honorable discharge from the Knighthood. Yes...I believe that will do quite nicely.
June 12th
I have presented Link with an article of clothing from his night: one of Malon’s socks. I will not indulge as to why I took it, but know that it was for the greater good of them both.
“I’m well aware of what you both have done the night of the Knight’s Ball. Now I refuse to shame either you or Malon, but I will not have such a lovely woman go around knowing her chastity was taken by a knight who took her to bed only to be pushed out of the castle the next morning! You, dear Link, must take responsibility for your action! You bedded Malon and therefore soiled her for any other prospective suitor! You must marry her.”
“Very well,” He quipped, rather annoyed at my words, “I’ll ask Talon for her hand…but not because I ‘soiled’ her. I will do it because that is the woman I love! I refuse to see any other ‘suitor’ come for her. I will take her as my wife after I leave the service of the Throne. After that…I don’t know. Maybe move in with her at Lon-Lon Ranch. I like it there; I like the horses and don’t much mind the smell. I’ve been around much worse back in the Other Time.”
“Wonderful! I’ll let father know of your action and your taking responsibility. Wait. ‘The woman you love’? Aww. You better treat her well or I’ll send your equal to end you!” I said, much to his laughter at any knight who could best him. I went to inform Father of his actions and his words, and it was agreed that Link be sent off to ask Talon for his daughter’s hand. I await the results with eager breath.
June 14th
Malon has accepted Link’s proposal and Father has decreed the wedding to take place after the honorable discharge! I have never seen the Castle so busy! I marveled at how much went into this wedding! No doubt my own coronation will dwarf all this, but I digress. I wandered quite afield as I spied Talon talking with some of the noblemen, espousing something or other about the benefits of Lon-Lon Milk. I will not say I had a clue what he was prattling on about, but I shrugged it off as I reached him.
“Good afternoon, Sir Talon! May I take you away from your present company?” I greeted him.
“MY! Princess Zelda! Why, of course! If you fine gentlemen will excuse me.” He greeted me in kind as the noblemen wandered off to some other business elsewhere. “What can I do you for, Your Grace?”
“I simply want to congratulate you on this day of all days. You must be very proud of Malon.”
“Why I certain am! I could ask for a better man to call my Son-in-Law! Malon did tell me that you had a hand in all this.” He beamed. I waved him off with a smile and a curt laugh.
“Oh, it was nothing, kind sir. I merely gave them the opportunity! Oh, I must repay you. That gown Malon wore at the Knight’s Ball must have cost something fierce for you! It would be a shame not to return the favor in kind.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Aww shucks, that’s mighty kind of you, Your Grace, but that dowry you gave Malon is more than enough for a reimbursement. I do thank you though. I’ve never seen my little girl so happy! She’s finally found a knight to take her away! Thank you.”
I bowed and walked away to wander and see what else was in store for Link and Malon.
July 5th
I am not ashamed to say I sobbed like a child at the wedding, seeing Link and Malon standing at the altar of the Temple of Time. The Discharging ceremony was a simple one of vows and curtseys from Father and was all rather droll. The Wedding Ceremony, however, was magnificent! Malon wore this lovely dress that was stylized after the mares and stallions she took care of, the great steeds dancing around the hems like a great racetrack! The pauldrons were also in the shape of horseheads and elegant. Link was still in his Knight’s uniform, sans helmet, as they stood before the sage. Their vows were said with shaky and silly voices, but what true love isn’t shaky or silly? I suspect the jealous nobles are sulking off somewhere; I did not see them at either ceremony. All the better that they do not spoil such beauty with their ugly natures. I am very happy for Link. I wish him well in the future at Lon-Lon Ranch.
September 3rd (the following year)
Father has passed. I am deeply saddened by the event and cannot fully put into words my feelings. I wish it were not so, but alas, it is. Jans is at my side as always and Link and Malon have visited to help console this grieving Princess and pay their respects to the Late King. The Ministers have all arrived, as well as visiting dignitaries and the Sages. I shall write no more for today, it pains me still.
October 12th
A month has passed and Father’s passing is still fresh in my mind, yet I must go on. The Coronation is soon and I must steel myself. For Jans, for Link and Malon, for my Kingdom.
October 12th (Midnight)
I write now as a woman and as Queen. It was a grand ceremony! I’m fairly certain that the entirety of Castle Town was present at the Temple. I must admit that I was disappointed to see neither bump nor belly on Malon. Surely they should’ve had their first child by now! I pressed the subject on them after the ceremony, wondering why my foster brother didn’t have progeny.
“Fairly sorry, Your Majesty, but we’re still young! I’m barely 19 as it is. We were thinking of settling down at Lon-Lon Ranch for a few years before having our first child. We won’t disappoint Her Grace once we have confirmation. You’ll be the first to know outside of the family.”
I can’t be mad at that line of logic. It is their choice and I cannot force such things on them. It’d be impolite of me to do so. I did enjoy their gift of a handmade rocking horse for my first child. It is quite lovely and rustic, an apt metaphor for them as close friends (family?) of the Throne.
February 22nd (eight years later)
Terrible times lay ahead for my Kingdom and myself. Jans has passed on from this world, the fever has taken its toll and he went in the dark of night. I am beside myself a dread manner and feel that I cannot stop the storm coming out of Gerudo Valley. My spymaster, Kwi, tells me that a mystery soldier and former acolyte of Ganondorf is amassing forces somewhere in the Haunted Wastes. I do not know if I have strength to muster the Marshaling and form the army to quell this insurrection. I must marshal the great knights first.
I am afraid to. I recently learned of Saria not too long ago and I do not wish to separate Link from his wife and newborn child; but if the news that Kwi reports are indeed true…I must summon him to the Castle. I must have Link become a leader for all who will fight and die to protect Hyrule. Hylia give me strength for what I am to do. Give my brother strength to see this through.
May the Golden Goddesses protect us all.