Oath and Vow (KafAnju: Majora's Mask)

Chapter 5: Reconciliation

The carnival has started... Kafei thought to himself as he stared out the bedroom window. 

The village residents had begun to return, filling the streets with cheer and joyfulness. Up in the sky, brightly colored fireworks had been shot into the air, going off with a bang one after the other. While everyone else was filled with relief and excitement, Kafei felt nothing but guilt begin to fill in his chest. With a sigh, he removed his gaze from the window and glanced around the room.

The couple had returned to the inn, where Anju had decided to cook them lunch, deciding best to eat something as they figured out what to do next. Though she claimed this was her reason, Kafei knew the real reason she left was to get a moment alone. In her eyes, she had failed, and her family had reminded her of just how severely she had. With this in mind, the husband's eyes landed upon a wedding dress that sat between two of the beds that sat in the room. Allowing his body to move on its own, walked over to the dress and stood before it.

It was a beautiful wedding dress, a slim one that had been crafted by Anju herself to perfectly fit her figure. While white seemed to be its base color, in the light, parts of it seemed to radiate a faint blush. Along with the main dress, two gloves traveled up to the forearms, and in between their clasped hands was a bouquet of flowers. Slowly, Kafei reached out and took one of the flowers in his hands.

It's not your fault. It's mine, he said to himself as he spun the flower between his fingers.

"Kafei?"

With a slight jolt, he turned to see Anju standing in the doorway, carrying a tray of food with steam rising from the meal.

"Anju..." Kafei said as his lover stepped forward. "Sorry, I was just-"

"No, it's alright," she said with a saddened smile, holding the tray of food out to him. "I'm sorry that... I'm sorry that I never got to wear it."

"You will get to wear it," Kafei said, taking the tray into his hands. "You will... It's just..."

"It won't be today, on the Carnival of Time, just like we promised," she said, unable to keep the smile on her face. "I'm sorry, Kafei, and after you worked so hard-"

"It's not your fault," he cut in, placing the food onto one of the beds. He felt bad for the little amount of relief he had. "Anju, the whole reason we're in this is because-"

"Kafei, you were turned into a child," Anju said, of course you-"

"That's not why I didn't come back. I didn't come back because I was ashamed I lost the mask, and because of that I didn't ask for your help," Kafei said. "The imp may have turned my body into that of a child, but my childish decisions were mine alone to make. It's my fault you're at odds with your family. It's my fault your dream of being wed at the Carnival of Time is ruined."

"Kafei, my family issues... They aren't your fault," Anju said, looking down at her feet. "I... I didn't have complete faith in you until the last moment, even though you had sent letters. I should have explained to my mother better, or-"

"Or maybe your mother should have listened to her daughter's heart."

Both Anju and Kafei turned to see the red-haired mother standing in the doorway.

"Mother..." Anju said, instinctively gripping her lover's arm. "What are you-?"

"I made a mistake. I allowed my own pain and suffering to cloud my judgment," she continued, stepping into the room before stopping right in front of Kafei. With cold eyes, she continued. "Even putting my own feelings aside, as a mother I cannot accept you right now. You left my daughter in the dark, disappeared at the most important of times, and waited until the last second to return. I don't like you. I don't forgive you. I'm not sure I ever will. I don't want you to marry my daughter... But..."

The mother glanced over at her daughter.

"It is not my decision to make," she said with a deep breath. "So all I can ask of you, even if I don't believe you can, is to do your best to show me why I should, and why you are the one who should be with my daughter."

Kafei furrowed his brow as tears began to build up in the corner of his eyes. Without looking away from the mother's eyes, he nodded.

"Yes... I'll do my best. I'm sorry, Mother," he said. Anju's mother paused, staring her son-in-law in his red eyes before turning to her daughter.

"You had better start getting ready. You finished making the dress, yes?" she asked.

"I-I have, but do you really think we'll have enough time?" Anju asked. "We haven't updated Kafei's family, and the carnival has already begun—"

"I've already informed Madame Aroma," her mother said. "We're meeting in front of the town's South Gate. Kafei, you'll be coming with me to help prepare."

"A-Alright, yeah. Yeah, I can do that," Kafei replied before turning to Anju. "Will you be alright getting ready by yourself?"

"I'll be fine," Anju said with a small smile as her mother turned to head toward the door. "Go, I'll... I'll meet you there."

"Okay... Wow... This is really happening," Kafei chuckled nervously.

In a fit of excitement, he gave Anju a quick hug before following her mother out the door. Now alone, the daughter's smile slowly faded as she looked over to the white, slim dress next to her.

"I never thought I would be getting dressed for my wedding alone," she said as she raised her hand to gently run her fingers across the silky fabric. "I always thought that... you'd be here helping me. I guess I do have a really selfish heart..."

With a sigh, she reached out and took the bouquet of flowers from the mannequin and placed them on the bed. Before she could begin removing the dress from the wooden body, however, there was a knock at the door. Confused, Anju called out, "come in?" After a pause, the door slowly opened to reveal her best friend. Anju's eyes grew wide in surprise.

"C-Cremia?" she asked. "W-Why are you here?"

"I... I'm the one who brought your mom and granny to town," Cremia explained, placing a hand onto her forearm. "To be honest, I was going to head back to the ranch, but..."

"Cremia, you don't have to," Anju said, taking a step toward her. "I can't ask you to do anything more, not after everything I've put you through."

"I almost wish I could, but..." Cremia said with a tiny smile. "I just... I can't miss my best friend's wedding."

As tears fell down both of their cheeks, the women stepped forward and tightly embraced one another.

"Thank you," Anju whispered. "I know it's selfish, but I really wanted you here."

"And you may not believe me, but I really wanted to be here," Cremia responded quietly.

After a few seconds, the two pulled away.

"Let's get you ready," the farmgirl said, and after wiping away their tears, the two began to pull the dress off of the mannequin.