Time
Guys, I planned to have this out before August, but after struggling through six pages, I decided I hated everything I wrote and deleted everything and really struggled to start over. I’m much happier with what I’m posting today, and I hope you have all enjoyed reading this little fanfiction of mine. :)
Also, the tradition of naming the Princess of Hyrule Zelda is canon in this fic, so Zelda and Link’s daughter is named Zelda, but they call her by her middle name Caralynn, just so there’s no confusion.
Light | Forest | Fire | Water | Shadow | Spirit | Time
Princess Zelda was practically bouncing in her seat.
“Are we almost there, Mother?” she asked, glancing out the window as if Calatia City would suddenly appear over the horizon in the next couple of seconds.
“It’ll be an hour still, Caralynn,” Queen Zelda smiled at her daughter. “We’ll be there in time for dinner. Don’t worry.”
“But how could I not?” Caralynn slouched in her seat. “I’m so nervous for Kaleb, and we haven’t seen him or Father for a whole month.”
“I know, dear,” Zelda smiled. “I miss them, too. But I’m sure Kaleb will be fine for his crowning. He has become a very mature young man.”
“Mature?” Caralynn huffed. “Before they left last time, Kaleb put a frog in my bedsheets.”
“If I remember correctly, you had left a snake in his,” Zelda pointedly stared at her daughter.
“It was only a tiny garden snake,” Caralynn resumed looking out the window so as to not meet her mother’s gaze. “It wouldn’t have hurt him.” Then she giggled. “He has such a girly scream for a fifteen-year-old.”
The Queen could only roll her eyes and shake her head.
They arrived at the Calatian Royal Castle in an hour, just as Zelda had predicted. Her husband, King Link, and their son, Prince Kaleb were there to greet them.
“Oh, my son,” Zelda hugged Kaleb extra tight just because she could. “I missed you so much.”
“Mother,” Kaleb huffed. “I can’t breathe.”
“Oh hush,” she ruffed his hair which made him scowl. “Just let your mother give you a hug after we’ve been apart for a month.” Zelda briefly turned to Link sending him a smile and extending her hand so he could press a quick kiss to her knuckles. “How have preparations gone? Will everything be ready by next week?”
“Yes, everything has gone rather smoothly,” he replied, escorting his wife up the stairs and into the main entrance. “Preparations for the crowning are complete, everything for the ball is finished, and the only thing left is the cleaning of a few guest rooms. Speaking of which, when will your parents arrive?”
“Day after tomorrow,” Zelda answered as Caralynn and Kaleb raced past them down the hall. “We may need to separate them soon. Apparently Kaleb left a frog in Caralynn’s bed before you left.”
“I think we should have some father-daughter time then,” Link smiled as he slipped away to grab Caralynn. In turn, Zelda stepped forward to grab Kaleb.
It wasn’t until she had children of her own that Zelda truly appreciated the patience her own mother used when dealing with her. She loved her children, yes, and couldn’t imagine her life without them, but it was times like these that she felt like the Goddesses were really testing her.
***
Guests arrived from all across the Goddesses’ Realm to attend the anointing of Prince Kaleb as the Crown Prince of Calatia. There was more pomp surrounding the event than usual as many wanted to watch a son of Hyrule and Calatia be introduced to the life of public service and the full duties of the crown.
Of course, Zelda was worried out of her mind. She could have sworn there were less people attending her marriage to Link. She never wanted this kind of pressure on her sweet son.
“The only added anxiety I feel is from your worrying, Mother,” Kaleb said during breakfast the day before the ceremony. “I promise I’m fine. I promise everything will go perfectly. If anything you should be worried about Father forgetting his lines or Caralynn making a scene.”
“Being scolded by my own son,” Zelda lamented, ignoring the cries of protest from her husband and daughter. “What has the world come to? Alright, Kaleb, I promise not to pester you for the rest of the day and all of tomorrow.”
“I’ll hold you to your word,” Kaleb pointed his fork at her. “Not a peep for the next forty-eight hours.”
It was easier than Zelda thought. During their final dress rehearsal, Kaleb performed perfectly, easing all the worries she had.
“You’re going to do just fine, my son,” she pulled him into a hug. “Now don’t stay up too late, and don’t drive your father crazy.”
Zelda turned to Link, “And don’t drive your son crazy, either.”
After some final hugs with both Zelda and Caralynn, Link and Kaleb left to partake in a traditional night of seclusion. From the end of the dress rehearsal to the beginning of the crowning, it was tradition for the father and son to be alone and meet with no one. It was a time for the King to pass down wisdom to his heir and for the future Crown Prince to bare his anxieties to his father. The entire time was kept secret to all but the pair, and Zelda knew how important it would be to them both. Link told her once that the night before his own crowning held some of his greatest memories with his father.
The next morning was a rush of excitement, mainly spearheaded by Princess Zelda Caralynn. She was a whirlwind of energy, barely keeping still to let her hair be styled or her Bathory green dress to be properly laced up.
“My first official international ball,” the young princess smiled widely. “Will there be kids my age?”
“There should be,” Zelda smiled at her daughter through the mirror in front of them both. “Queen Hilda of Lorule has a daughter around your age. And of course several of your friends from both Hyrule and Calatia will be here.”
“Yay!” she cheered.
“I hope you practiced your dance steps,” Queen Mother Adalynn smiled from where she sat by the fire.
“Every chance I could,” Caralynn smiled brightly and twirled for her Grandmother just to prove her point. “Dance lessons are much more fun than my other tutoring.”
“Thought her tutoring has gone much better since Kaleb started taking all his lessons here in Calatia,” Zelda almost rolled her eyes, and Adalynn nodded knowingly.
“The joys of raising royal children,” the Queen Mother laughed.
“I truly don’t know how you did it with, Link.”
“Lots of patience and replacing paneling filled with arrow holes on the second floor gallery.”
“Bless you and your patience, Queen Mother,” Zelda placed a hand over her heart. “Now,” she turned to Caralynn, “which jewelry would you like to wear?”
“Could I wear the emerald set Grandmother Ada gave me last Goddess Day?”
“I think that’s a perfect choice,” Zelda reached for the delicate necklace and earrings her daughter selected and handed them to Adalynn so she could put them on her granddaughter. She carefully clasped the necklace on while Caralynn slipped the earrings into place.
“You look like a Princess,” Zelda smiled at her daughter as she twirled in front of the mirror.
“Thank you,” she smiled. “But I still think blue looks better.”
“That’s my girl.”
They waited in a second floor parlor with some of the other high profile guests until it was their turn to enter the Grand Hall. The Queen and Princess took their thrones on the dais behind the High Priest while the Queen Mother took her seat in the front row, and they waited for the entrance of the King and Prince.
Everyone stood when Link walked in with Kaleb at his side and the ceremony began.
“I, Link of House Bathory, present my son, Kaleb Jonathan, to the Goddesses above, all here in attendance, and all the subjects of my realm,” Link spoke to the High Priest.
“As the chosen representative of the Goddesses, I welcome you,” the High Priest nodded. “Is there anything you wish to declare to the Goddesses of old?”
“I wish to declare my intention to name my son as my heir and Crown Prince of the kingdom of Calatia.”
The High Priest began the ceremonial speech in Ancient Hylian. Zelda glanced over at Caralynn to see her daughter’s brow furrowed in concentration to hear and understand each word. After the High Priest was done, Kaleb knelt, and Link stepped forward to give the formal vows.
“With all the peoples of Calatia here as my witnesses,” he started, “I confirm you as my heir and the future King of Calatia.”
“I humbly accept this burden from you, my King,” Kaleb responded. “And I dutifully await the day to fulfill this promise.”
“The Goddesses will call for that day whenever they wish. Will you be ready, my son?” Link held out his hand.
“I will never be ready,” Kaleb grabbed his father’s hand with both of his. “But I will fulfill this duty to the best of my ability.”
Zelda thought she heard more weight in Kaleb’s words than during the dress rehearsal the night before, and she wondered if Link had told him how he renewed his own crowning vows with his father on King Clement’s deathbed.
Pages stepped forward, and Link handed Kaleb the ceremonial scepter and orb before placing a grandiose crown adorned in emeralds on his son’s head. The High Priest stepped forward again to perform the final part of the ceremony.
“In the name of the Golden Goddesses, I anoint you as the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Calatia,” the High Priest dipped his fingers into the anointing oil and drew a triangle on Kaleb’s forehead. “Rise and receive your people.”
Kaleb stood and turned to face the crowd, holding his head high despite the weight of the crown.
“I proclaim you Kaleb Jonathan of House Bathory, Crown Prince of Calatia,” the High Priest called out. “May the Goddesses bless you.”
“May the Goddesses bless you,” the crowd echoed back before breaking into applause and the occasional cheer from the younger guests and Caralynn.
***
Zelda smiled as she watched Caralynn and Kaleb dance as informally as they could along with the other young kids on the dance floor, knowing Adalynn was off somewhere shaking her head and laughing at the sight. Dinner was technically finished, but the plates and tables were still being cleared. The children and young adults had stormed the dance floor and starting partying while their parents stood and engaged in small talk.
“I’m glad we can give them such joy,” Zelda sighed.
“Feeling nostalgic now that they’re growing?” Link chuckled next to her.
“Of course,” Zelda shoved Link half-heartedly. “I was so worried about their childhood, raising them in two countries as we are.”
“And they have completely turned out fine,” he smiled. “Probably better than we were at that age.”
“Oh Goddesses,” she shook her head. “I almost can’t believe how much we’ve changed since we first met all those years ago.”
“Yes, if we had it your way, we wouldn’t even be married.”
“We might have if you weren’t so stubborn over my Sheik disguise.”
Link scoffed, “You know I love your Sheik disguise. It was the deception I was angry about.”
“Like you wouldn’t have done the same if you could,” Zelda laughed when Link didn’t have a quick reply.
They sat and watched as the kids were shepherded off the dance floor, and the ball was officially opened by Kaleb and one of the noble’s daughters that he adamantly told them he did not have a crush on (none of them believed him).
“Are you glad?” Link asked quietly. “That we stuck it out after everything we went through?”
Zelda thought back on the last few years. Their coronations and wedding, spending a whole year to just tour Hyrule and Calatia and visit every possible nook and cranny of each country, finding out she was pregnant and bickering with Link about the gender for months (all in good fun of course). It hadn’t been easy, traveling back and forth from Hyrule to Calatia every six months, but to see her and Link’s children grow and learn about both of their homelands had been worth it. She couldn’t imagine a happy life without them running around the castle. In fact she couldn’t imagine what her life would be like without Link beside her.
She touched her wedding ring. The sapphires of her engagement ring were accompanied by a band of emeralds now, reflecting the colors of the two houses she a part of. It didn’t matter that it had all started with a contract that Zelda had initially sought to be annulled. It didn’t matter that they had fought each other tooth and nail for almost two years after meeting one another. And it didn’t matter that it took both of them far too long to realize their true feelings for one another. What mattered was that they were together, they were happy, and each day was better than the one before.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”