Luminescence

Return to Twilight

            The men led him to a small study a few levels up. Despite having ran through the castle a year previously, the immensity of the place still blew him away. Who built this place anyways? Inside the walls were lined with a few bookcases and speckled with regal looking paintings of royals. An empty marble fireplace stood in one corner.

And waiting with her back to him, looking out a window, was Princess Zelda, now monarch of Hyrule. He had forgotten just how straight and proud the woman could stand.

"Milady, Sir Link."

The guards closed the doors as soon as he entered. He got the sudden impression of being locked into a room as he had on occasion to be pounced on by some awful creature.

Not entirely sure what to do, he knelt down on one knee and bowed his head. You couldn't go wrong bowing, right? His nervousness increased when Zelda didn't say anything. His mind wandered to Luna somewhere beneath him in the castle. He prayed she wouldn't grow curious and leave. Dressed as she was, he didn't want to know what kind of stares she get for that, let alone for her wings.

"Is it true you have a lady-friend in your quarters?"

He flinched. He had not been expecting that to be her first words. Did she read his mind? He wouldn't be surprised if she had.

"Yes, princess, but it isn't what you think."

"And what is it that I think, Sir Link?"

Why did they keep calling him 'Sir' anyways? He had never been knighted. Once Ganon was out of the picture he had ran home as soon as he could, thoroughly adventured out for the time being.

He decided to go with blunt and felt heat crawling up his neck. "She is not my lover or amusement, if that is what you are thinking. A friend and I found her two days ago in the forest, nearly dead. I told her not to follow me here, but, you see Princess—"

"Stand up. I want to see your face."

He stood, wondering why his knees felt so flimsy. It was just a girl. He had walked over chasms and faced down dragons millions of feet into the sky. Why was he so afraid now?

Zelda was facing him. Her dark blue-green eyes were sharp on him and her face unreadable. It made him instantly miss the expressiveness of the mute winged girl. She had her gloved hands folded against her dress.

"You may continue explaining yourself."

He cleared his throat, which had gone dry. "Well, uh, as I was saying, I told her to stay in Ordon—but she followed after me without me noticing—she's sort of attached herself to me, I guess."

"My guards received no other visitor after yourself, nor any horses." She narrowed her eyes skeptically. "Are you telling me she ran all the way here? Enough to keep up with your horse?"

"Well, Princess, you'd have to see her to understand. She, uh..." oh goddesses this was going to make him sound so stupid. "She has wings...milady."

"Wings?" For a moment she was thrown off guard and her serious composure faltered ever so slightly. She gathered herself back up quickly, however. "What do you mean? What kind of creature is this?"

"That's the thing, I don't know. She doesn't know either—I think she has a sort of amnesia. Its part of the reason she followed me. I'm the only thing she knows...if you want to, milady, you may meet her. But I can swear to you that I did not bring her to wear on your kindness."