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Description
One, two Princes kneel before you
Princes who adore you
You marry him, you’re father will condone you
You marry me, your father will disown you
Marry him, marry me
I’m the one who loved you, baby can’t you see?
Ain’t got no future or family tree
But I know what a prince and lover ought to be
Come on, forget the king… marry me
~Spin Doctors “Two Princes”

Chapter 14
The Final Wait

The dining hall was so utterly silent that even the sound of Zelda’s fork clinking on the china rang out loudly.

Marth had not spoken a word since he had returned from the Temple of Time. He seemed almost oblivious to his surroundings. He would take a bite and absentmindedly chew on it for inordinately long periods of time. He stared into the space before him, unblinking, completely preoccupied.

Zelda wondered what had Marth so distant. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was angry at her for running from him. She had hoped he would understand that she needed time. She quietly ate, hoping he wouldn’t be upset for too long.

Her father had tried to lure Marth into conversation a few times at the start of dinner but had soon given up. Marth’s lack of attention and vague, one word replies to her father’s queries had soon left the King in silence. He had no inclination to talk to Zelda, and she none to engage him in banter. Thus, the three of them had slipped into a quiet meal, each one lost in their own thoughts.

Her father, however, remained in an unusually cheery mood, sitting and smiling to himself as he helped himself to a fifth glass of wine, and Zelda knew what fueled his jollity. For once, his actions spoke louder than words ever could. He made it no secret that he saw Marth as a fine marriage prospect for his only daughter. Despite what Marth had told her earlier she was absolutely certain that her father had pulled Marth aside that morning to discuss the merging of royal families, not the trade of foreign goods.

This knowledge had added a large amount of confusion to Zelda’s life. On one hand she wanted nothing to do with her father’s match game. On the other, Marth might be the only way to finally make him proud of her. Conflict arose within her. In the end she found she had become so attached to Marth’s friendship (regardless of her father’s intentions) that she had disregarded her rebellious impulses.

However, it now seemed clear that Marth’s intentions also went beyond simple friendship. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that: how she felt about him. Besides, he would be leaving soon. The thought hit her hard. She might never see him again. He said he would leave after he could talk to Link, and the festival was tomorrow night. She had maybe one more day with him, then he too would be gone.

A familiar sense of abandonment overcame her. Depressed by the coming separation she felt less desire to speak to either of them than she had when dinner began.

Zelda quickly began finishing her meal and began looking forward, with great anticipation, to her escape from the less than enjoyable evening.

Marth’s hazy gaze slowly meandered indefinitely around the table, until it at last fell on Zelda.

Looking at her now he knew he really didn’t want to leave her. The thought of it was painful: even more painful than the reality which he had come to accept. Going back home now was almost a certain forfeit of his life. Without Link and his Triforce, he had little hope of surviving this war with Akanea, let alone coming out victorious. He thought bitterly of parting with her… marching to his death.

He watched her take her small, delicate bites. She was so beautiful, so perfect: his angel of mercy.

He could deny it no longer. Though he had sworn to himself long ago that his sole allegiance would be to his country; that he would not give into the frivolous pursuit of romance he could not deny that he loved her.

Once again he mulled over her father’s offer. He could marry her and stay in Hyrule. He didn’t have to go back at all….

Immediately the fantasy vaporized. He couldn’t abandon Aritia. He wouldn’t even entertain the thought for another moment. He couldn’t abandon his people. He had to go back. He had to accept that he would never see Zelda again.

Zelda!

The thought suddenly struck him like lightning. It was so simple, so brilliant. It was the answer to every one of his problems.

Zelda! He nearly screamed. Marth’s vacant expression broke. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open and hung limply as he stared at her.

“Zelda…” the thought was so strong it escaped his lips.

She looked up to see him ogling her with such shock she was sure she must have food on her face. She hastily began wiping her mouth with a napkin.

“Zelda,” he whispered again. Now Zelda was both worried and considerably disturbed.

“Yes…?” she said hesitantly. He was acting very strange.

To her shock his face broke into an elated smile. “Your Highness,” he addressed the King, “I must ask your pardon and request to be excused. Something urgent has just come to my attention.”

“Yes, of course,” the King replied through a red faced smile. Being very full and more than a little tipsy from the vast quantities of wine he had consumed, he seemed very little troubled by Marth or anything else.

“Where are you-“ Zelda started, but he was halfway out the doorway before she could finish.

Confused, but intrigued, Zelda quickly finished her meal and excused herself as well.

She and Marth usually spent their evenings after dinner walking the grounds. His disappearance in this manner was odd, to say the least.

When she at last found him he was in the library, pouring over some of the most ancient books the royal family possessed.

“Marth, what are you doing?” she asked, completely baffled.

“Just reading up on the history of Hyrule,” he replied without looking up. “You know how I find it fascinating, and I’ll be leaving tomorrow. I might not get another chance.”

“Oh,” she replied, trying to look as though such a thing as storming out of dinner to read the ancient history of a foreign country were normal. Then it struck her, “So you’re sure you’re leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes, I must be going.”

“But what about Link?” Zelda asked.

Marth’s eyes shadowed and he tore his gaze away from the massive book. “I met with him this evening.”

“Oh,” she replied, half elated half crushed. Link was back, but he hadn’t come to see her. “Then you’ll both be leaving?”

“Link will not be returning with me. He was unwilling to help me.”

“That can’t be,” Zelda said emphatically. “He’s your friend, of course he’ll help.”

“No, he won’t… and besides I’ve come to realize I no longer require his assistance anyway.”

“Then how will you defeat Hardin?” she asked in confusion.

Marth reached up and patted her cheek, “Don’t you worry about that,” he smiled at her and then returned to his reading.

Sensing he was not soon going to retire from his current occupation of time Zelda decided to go to bed early. As she turned to leave her eye caught a small, brown covered book with the symbol of the Triforce on the cover. It was slightly burned and looked very shabby. As she made her way out of the library she couldn’t help but wonder why such a tattered and charred old book hadn’t simply been thrown out.

As she vanished into the hall Marth picked the book up and opened it. With a smile of utmost elation, he began to read.

On her way out Zelda found herself taking the long way to her chamber. She went outside, near the front gate. She passed the large tree just to the east of the large drawbridge. There was no arrow there tonight. She walked closer, making sure she hadn’t missed it, but there was nothing there.

She ran her fingers over the bark. Countless holes had been chipped into the wood over the years as Link had sent arrows sailing into its trunk, letting her know he was near, but he was not here tonight.

Slowly she lowered her hand. She turned and walked silently to her room.

Once again Zelda opened her eyes to see the castle around her burning. As she had done so many times over the years, she jumped from bed and ran down the hall.

The sounds of screaming people lost in hysteria hit her ears.

“Impa!” Zelda cried. “Impa!” Impa did not come. She never did.

She rounded a corner, in her heart fearing what she would find… for she knew it was there, but somehow she could never avoid it. As always, she tripped over something large lying on the ground. She crashed to the floor, hitting her knees painfully hard on the stone. She winced, putting her hands on the ground in front of her, intending to push herself to her feet. Instead, she looked down at her hands which were covered in blood. It was all so familiar, but nonetheless horrifying as she turned to look at what she had tripped over.

Her father lay dead in a pool of his own blood.

“No!” she screamed. “No, no, no!” She looked once more at her blood covered hands. She tried to wipe the blood from them but it would never come off. For years she had tried… she could not wash away the sense of guilt at his fate. She looked into his frozen face and was filled with sorrow, with anger and with pain. There was never anything she could do to help him, and there would never be anything she could do… he had done this to himself.

The castle continued to burn, and she knew she had wasted precious time detained in the hall. She turned and raced away from him.

Smoke swirled and the flames grew. The front gate was blocked. She turned, heading for another exit. Flames blocked her way. She had waited too long to escape…. Coughing and sputtering she retreated from the blaze the only direction she could: up.

As she flew up the stairs the flames followed, roaring and spitting, threatening her all the way. The stairs below began to crumble as she reached the top room of the tower just in time. Heart pounding, she ran to the window and looked down.

“Help!” she screamed frantically. The crackling and rumbling of the fire was growing nearer and nearer. “Help!”

Her eyes searched the field below her, coming to rest on two small figures which she instantly recognized. She had known they would be there.

“Impa!” she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Impa, help me!”

Impa shook her head sadly, gazing up at the tower as it slowly burned. “I can’t help you anymore, Princess. I can’t.”

“Impa!” Zelda sobbed in horror. Impa stood still as stone, watching impassively as destruction slowly crept into Zelda’s tower.

Gradually the walls started to blaze.

Zelda turned to the second figure who was staring at her tragically. “Link, please help me. Please! I can’t get out, Link!”

Link simply looked at her as she cried. Fear had consumed her. She pleaded, she begged, she shouted, she cried. Still, Link just watched.

As the flames finally enveloped the roof, sending a storm of sparks raining down on her head she screamed with fright.

“Link… it will kill me…” she said softly, nearly all hope lost now. The two people she trusted the most continued to gaze at her as death closed in. For years they had watched her die… and they continued to watch even now.

The roof began to rumble. It would soon give way. Zelda dissolved into tears, accepting the inevitable.

“What is she screaming about?” Zelda watched with wide eyes as a beautiful young girl approached Link and looked venomously up at Zelda.

“She has nothing to scream about,” Link replied, smiling at the little redhead. “I put her there so she would be safe.”

“Then why is she screaming?” the girl asked.

“I don’t hear anything,” Link shrugged. With one last look up at the tower he turned, put his arm around the girl’s waist and walked away. After that he never looked back.

Zelda’s heart crumbled faster than the flame engulfed walls around her. She stopped screaming. She could only yell for so long with being heard before giving up entirely. She felt as though she had been screaming for years, and no one ever heard. No one even noticed.

The heat continued to close in, suffocating her. A silent tear slid down her cheek as she watched Link vanish. She felt completely and utterly betrayed.

She accepted her fate, waiting for the castle to finally collapse and crush her.

Then, in her despair, she felt a hand come down softly on her shoulder. With a start she turned to see Marth standing behind her, a smile on his face. Then he held out his hand.

Without a word she put her hand in his. Immediately the flames began to subside. He led her down the stairs. The flames could no longer touch her. They descended into another world. Sunlight surrounded her, bouncing off the leaves of the trees which stood all around. A feeling of peace overcame her as she and Marth vanished into the forest. She had left it all behind her. She was free….

Zelda awoke the next morning with a heavy heart. It was the day of the New Year’s Festival: her last day with Marth.

As she dressed she mulled over her dream. She had had the same dream so many times over the years, but it had always ended the same, never as it had the night before. She tried to put it from her mind and went immediately to find Marth instead. When he was not found in any of his usual places Zelda struck out to the only place left to look.

Sure enough, she found him sitting in the same spot she had left him in the night before, the pile of books before him stacked higher than ever. His eyes were bloodshot and weighed down with heavy bags.

“Marth,” Zelda said and his head shot up almost frantically, “have you been here all night?”

“Is it morning already?” he asked, looking around as though for the first time. There was bright sunshine streaming into the room through the many high windows gracing the walls. He squinted into the brightness, a look of shock on his face.

“Oh, so it is…” he answered his own question.

“What have you been doing all night?” she asked, completely flabbergasted.

“Reading,” he replied, standing and stretching. She knew he was a very intense and focused person, but this seemed ridiculous.

“Marth, really, is there something wrong,” she asked, her face grave.

“No, not anymore,” he replied sincerely, “nothing at all. Everything is going to be fine, I’m sure of it.”

Zelda couldn’t shake the absolute absurdity of the situation from her mind, but Marth had seemed to come to life once more.

“So, what about this festival you’ve been telling me about? Let’s get going, I’ve been looking forward to this!” he exclaimed lightly, taking her hand and leading her outside.

In the excitement of the festivities all thoughts of Marth’s all-night reading binge had been erased. Their day together could not have been more pleasant, but as the hours passed her joy became bittersweet. Two thoughts loomed darkly in the back of Zelda’s mind, constant and nagging.

The first was that Marth would be leaving before the night ended. She found herself sadly counting down the hours. They had twelve hours left together… eleven… ten…. She knew very well that if he left she would probably never see him again.

The second was Link. She had waited a year to see him, and now his return was complicated by Marth’s presence. Still, she found herself counting the hours until Link would appear by her side. Only twelve hours left… eleven… ten….

In the end she felt a great sense of relief as day faded into twilight and finally into night. As midnight approached she suggested to Marth that they go to the balconies of one of the shops. From there, she explained, the fireworks display would be more clearly visible. He agreed, and she felt a small tinge of guilt, for what she was really looking for was a better view to watch for Link.

Still the battle raged within her. The truth was she didn’t even know why she was holding on so dearly to him. She knew he had once helped her, but she really couldn’t remember how. She knew she owed him her life, but was that all she was holding on to: a debt of gratitude?

Regardless of why, there was no question in her mind that she cared for Link. Despite all the hurt he had caused, despite all of his painful good-byes, despite her uncertainties about his feelings for her, she couldn’t deny that she cared for him deeply.

Then again, there was Marth…. Her mind continued to circle, taking her nowhere, ripping her apart inside. Her stomach was in knots. She could still see the images of Link’s betrayal from her dreams so clearly in her mind that it hurt.

Marth had taken a seat on a stone bench and was looking out over the bustling village below. Throngs of people milled about the city, taking in the revelry, celebrating loudly. Zelda was glad to have moved above it for a while, to take in some peace and quiet.

She sat down beside Marth, her final wait beginning. Though her view was cut off dramatically while seated, her eyes continually searched the visible portions of the crowd for Link. He had to come… he had promised her he would.

Marth sat in silence, content simply with her presence beside him, contemplating what he needed to tell her and how in fact to do it. There was so much he needed to say, and so much he couldn’t. One thing was certain: he could not fail. The future of his entire Kingdom rested upon it. In the back of his mind he was even planning for disaster. If she should refuse, he would have no other choice. He just prayed it wouldn’t come to that.

Finally, he could delay no longer. Midnight was approaching and it was now or never.

“Zelda,” he said, taking her hand. She tore her eyes from the crowds below and looked at him, slightly surprised. Once he had her attention he cleared his throat and took a deep breath, “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Description
One, two Princes kneel before you
Princes who adore you
You marry him, you’re father will condone you
You marry me, your father will disown you
Marry him, marry me
I’m the one who loved you, baby can’t you see?
Ain’t got no future or family tree
But I know what a prince and lover ought to be
Come on, forget the king… marry me
~Spin Doctors “Two Princes”

Chapter 14
The Final Wait

The dining hall was so utterly silent that even the sound of Zelda’s fork clinking on the china rang out loudly.

Marth had not spoken a word since he had returned from the Temple of Time. He seemed almost oblivious to his surroundings. He would take a bite and absentmindedly chew on it for inordinately long periods of time. He stared into the space before him, unblinking, completely preoccupied.

Zelda wondered what had Marth so distant. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was angry at her for running from him. She had hoped he would understand that she needed time. She quietly ate, hoping he wouldn’t be upset for too long.

Her father had tried to lure Marth into conversation a few times at the start of dinner but had soon given up. Marth’s lack of attention and vague, one word replies to her father’s queries had soon left the King in silence. He had no inclination to talk to Zelda, and she none to engage him in banter. Thus, the three of them had slipped into a quiet meal, each one lost in their own thoughts.

Her father, however, remained in an unusually cheery mood, sitting and smiling to himself as he helped himself to a fifth glass of wine, and Zelda knew what fueled his jollity. For once, his actions spoke louder than words ever could. He made it no secret that he saw Marth as a fine marriage prospect for his only daughter. Despite what Marth had told her earlier she was absolutely certain that her father had pulled Marth aside that morning to discuss the merging of royal families, not the trade of foreign goods.

This knowledge had added a large amount of confusion to Zelda’s life. On one hand she wanted nothing to do with her father’s match game. On the other, Marth might be the only way to finally make him proud of her. Conflict arose within her. In the end she found she had become so attached to Marth’s friendship (regardless of her father’s intentions) that she had disregarded her rebellious impulses.

However, it now seemed clear that Marth’s intentions also went beyond simple friendship. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that: how she felt about him. Besides, he would be leaving soon. The thought hit her hard. She might never see him again. He said he would leave after he could talk to Link, and the festival was tomorrow night. She had maybe one more day with him, then he too would be gone.

A familiar sense of abandonment overcame her. Depressed by the coming separation she felt less desire to speak to either of them than she had when dinner began.

Zelda quickly began finishing her meal and began looking forward, with great anticipation, to her escape from the less than enjoyable evening.

Marth’s hazy gaze slowly meandered indefinitely around the table, until it at last fell on Zelda.

Looking at her now he knew he really didn’t want to leave her. The thought of it was painful: even more painful than the reality which he had come to accept. Going back home now was almost a certain forfeit of his life. Without Link and his Triforce, he had little hope of surviving this war with Akanea, let alone coming out victorious. He thought bitterly of parting with her… marching to his death.

He watched her take her small, delicate bites. She was so beautiful, so perfect: his angel of mercy.

He could deny it no longer. Though he had sworn to himself long ago that his sole allegiance would be to his country; that he would not give into the frivolous pursuit of romance he could not deny that he loved her.

Once again he mulled over her father’s offer. He could marry her and stay in Hyrule. He didn’t have to go back at all….

Immediately the fantasy vaporized. He couldn’t abandon Aritia. He wouldn’t even entertain the thought for another moment. He couldn’t abandon his people. He had to go back. He had to accept that he would never see Zelda again.

Zelda!

The thought suddenly struck him like lightning. It was so simple, so brilliant. It was the answer to every one of his problems.

Zelda! He nearly screamed. Marth’s vacant expression broke. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open and hung limply as he stared at her.

“Zelda…” the thought was so strong it escaped his lips.

She looked up to see him ogling her with such shock she was sure she must have food on her face. She hastily began wiping her mouth with a napkin.

“Zelda,” he whispered again. Now Zelda was both worried and considerably disturbed.

“Yes…?” she said hesitantly. He was acting very strange.

To her shock his face broke into an elated smile. “Your Highness,” he addressed the King, “I must ask your pardon and request to be excused. Something urgent has just come to my attention.”

“Yes, of course,” the King replied through a red faced smile. Being very full and more than a little tipsy from the vast quantities of wine he had consumed, he seemed very little troubled by Marth or anything else.

“Where are you-“ Zelda started, but he was halfway out the doorway before she could finish.

Confused, but intrigued, Zelda quickly finished her meal and excused herself as well.

She and Marth usually spent their evenings after dinner walking the grounds. His disappearance in this manner was odd, to say the least.

When she at last found him he was in the library, pouring over some of the most ancient books the royal family possessed.

“Marth, what are you doing?” she asked, completely baffled.

“Just reading up on the history of Hyrule,” he replied without looking up. “You know how I find it fascinating, and I’ll be leaving tomorrow. I might not get another chance.”

“Oh,” she replied, trying to look as though such a thing as storming out of dinner to read the ancient history of a foreign country were normal. Then it struck her, “So you’re sure you’re leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes, I must be going.”

“But what about Link?” Zelda asked.

Marth’s eyes shadowed and he tore his gaze away from the massive book. “I met with him this evening.”

“Oh,” she replied, half elated half crushed. Link was back, but he hadn’t come to see her. “Then you’ll both be leaving?”

“Link will not be returning with me. He was unwilling to help me.”

“That can’t be,” Zelda said emphatically. “He’s your friend, of course he’ll help.”

“No, he won’t… and besides I’ve come to realize I no longer require his assistance anyway.”

“Then how will you defeat Hardin?” she asked in confusion.

Marth reached up and patted her cheek, “Don’t you worry about that,” he smiled at her and then returned to his reading.

Sensing he was not soon going to retire from his current occupation of time Zelda decided to go to bed early. As she turned to leave her eye caught a small, brown covered book with the symbol of the Triforce on the cover. It was slightly burned and looked very shabby. As she made her way out of the library she couldn’t help but wonder why such a tattered and charred old book hadn’t simply been thrown out.

As she vanished into the hall Marth picked the book up and opened it. With a smile of utmost elation, he began to read.

On her way out Zelda found herself taking the long way to her chamber. She went outside, near the front gate. She passed the large tree just to the east of the large drawbridge. There was no arrow there tonight. She walked closer, making sure she hadn’t missed it, but there was nothing there.

She ran her fingers over the bark. Countless holes had been chipped into the wood over the years as Link had sent arrows sailing into its trunk, letting her know he was near, but he was not here tonight.

Slowly she lowered her hand. She turned and walked silently to her room.

Once again Zelda opened her eyes to see the castle around her burning. As she had done so many times over the years, she jumped from bed and ran down the hall.

The sounds of screaming people lost in hysteria hit her ears.

“Impa!” Zelda cried. “Impa!” Impa did not come. She never did.

She rounded a corner, in her heart fearing what she would find… for she knew it was there, but somehow she could never avoid it. As always, she tripped over something large lying on the ground. She crashed to the floor, hitting her knees painfully hard on the stone. She winced, putting her hands on the ground in front of her, intending to push herself to her feet. Instead, she looked down at her hands which were covered in blood. It was all so familiar, but nonetheless horrifying as she turned to look at what she had tripped over.

Her father lay dead in a pool of his own blood.

“No!” she screamed. “No, no, no!” She looked once more at her blood covered hands. She tried to wipe the blood from them but it would never come off. For years she had tried… she could not wash away the sense of guilt at his fate. She looked into his frozen face and was filled with sorrow, with anger and with pain. There was never anything she could do to help him, and there would never be anything she could do… he had done this to himself.

The castle continued to burn, and she knew she had wasted precious time detained in the hall. She turned and raced away from him.

Smoke swirled and the flames grew. The front gate was blocked. She turned, heading for another exit. Flames blocked her way. She had waited too long to escape…. Coughing and sputtering she retreated from the blaze the only direction she could: up.

As she flew up the stairs the flames followed, roaring and spitting, threatening her all the way. The stairs below began to crumble as she reached the top room of the tower just in time. Heart pounding, she ran to the window and looked down.

“Help!” she screamed frantically. The crackling and rumbling of the fire was growing nearer and nearer. “Help!”

Her eyes searched the field below her, coming to rest on two small figures which she instantly recognized. She had known they would be there.

“Impa!” she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Impa, help me!”

Impa shook her head sadly, gazing up at the tower as it slowly burned. “I can’t help you anymore, Princess. I can’t.”

“Impa!” Zelda sobbed in horror. Impa stood still as stone, watching impassively as destruction slowly crept into Zelda’s tower.

Gradually the walls started to blaze.

Zelda turned to the second figure who was staring at her tragically. “Link, please help me. Please! I can’t get out, Link!”

Link simply looked at her as she cried. Fear had consumed her. She pleaded, she begged, she shouted, she cried. Still, Link just watched.

As the flames finally enveloped the roof, sending a storm of sparks raining down on her head she screamed with fright.

“Link… it will kill me…” she said softly, nearly all hope lost now. The two people she trusted the most continued to gaze at her as death closed in. For years they had watched her die… and they continued to watch even now.

The roof began to rumble. It would soon give way. Zelda dissolved into tears, accepting the inevitable.

“What is she screaming about?” Zelda watched with wide eyes as a beautiful young girl approached Link and looked venomously up at Zelda.

“She has nothing to scream about,” Link replied, smiling at the little redhead. “I put her there so she would be safe.”

“Then why is she screaming?” the girl asked.

“I don’t hear anything,” Link shrugged. With one last look up at the tower he turned, put his arm around the girl’s waist and walked away. After that he never looked back.

Zelda’s heart crumbled faster than the flame engulfed walls around her. She stopped screaming. She could only yell for so long with being heard before giving up entirely. She felt as though she had been screaming for years, and no one ever heard. No one even noticed.

The heat continued to close in, suffocating her. A silent tear slid down her cheek as she watched Link vanish. She felt completely and utterly betrayed.

She accepted her fate, waiting for the castle to finally collapse and crush her.

Then, in her despair, she felt a hand come down softly on her shoulder. With a start she turned to see Marth standing behind her, a smile on his face. Then he held out his hand.

Without a word she put her hand in his. Immediately the flames began to subside. He led her down the stairs. The flames could no longer touch her. They descended into another world. Sunlight surrounded her, bouncing off the leaves of the trees which stood all around. A feeling of peace overcame her as she and Marth vanished into the forest. She had left it all behind her. She was free….

Zelda awoke the next morning with a heavy heart. It was the day of the New Year’s Festival: her last day with Marth.

As she dressed she mulled over her dream. She had had the same dream so many times over the years, but it had always ended the same, never as it had the night before. She tried to put it from her mind and went immediately to find Marth instead. When he was not found in any of his usual places Zelda struck out to the only place left to look.

Sure enough, she found him sitting in the same spot she had left him in the night before, the pile of books before him stacked higher than ever. His eyes were bloodshot and weighed down with heavy bags.

“Marth,” Zelda said and his head shot up almost frantically, “have you been here all night?”

“Is it morning already?” he asked, looking around as though for the first time. There was bright sunshine streaming into the room through the many high windows gracing the walls. He squinted into the brightness, a look of shock on his face.

“Oh, so it is…” he answered his own question.

“What have you been doing all night?” she asked, completely flabbergasted.

“Reading,” he replied, standing and stretching. She knew he was a very intense and focused person, but this seemed ridiculous.

“Marth, really, is there something wrong,” she asked, her face grave.

“No, not anymore,” he replied sincerely, “nothing at all. Everything is going to be fine, I’m sure of it.”

Zelda couldn’t shake the absolute absurdity of the situation from her mind, but Marth had seemed to come to life once more.

“So, what about this festival you’ve been telling me about? Let’s get going, I’ve been looking forward to this!” he exclaimed lightly, taking her hand and leading her outside.

In the excitement of the festivities all thoughts of Marth’s all-night reading binge had been erased. Their day together could not have been more pleasant, but as the hours passed her joy became bittersweet. Two thoughts loomed darkly in the back of Zelda’s mind, constant and nagging.

The first was that Marth would be leaving before the night ended. She found herself sadly counting down the hours. They had twelve hours left together… eleven… ten…. She knew very well that if he left she would probably never see him again.

The second was Link. She had waited a year to see him, and now his return was complicated by Marth’s presence. Still, she found herself counting the hours until Link would appear by her side. Only twelve hours left… eleven… ten….

In the end she felt a great sense of relief as day faded into twilight and finally into night. As midnight approached she suggested to Marth that they go to the balconies of one of the shops. From there, she explained, the fireworks display would be more clearly visible. He agreed, and she felt a small tinge of guilt, for what she was really looking for was a better view to watch for Link.

Still the battle raged within her. The truth was she didn’t even know why she was holding on so dearly to him. She knew he had once helped her, but she really couldn’t remember how. She knew she owed him her life, but was that all she was holding on to: a debt of gratitude?

Regardless of why, there was no question in her mind that she cared for Link. Despite all the hurt he had caused, despite all of his painful good-byes, despite her uncertainties about his feelings for her, she couldn’t deny that she cared for him deeply.

Then again, there was Marth…. Her mind continued to circle, taking her nowhere, ripping her apart inside. Her stomach was in knots. She could still see the images of Link’s betrayal from her dreams so clearly in her mind that it hurt.

Marth had taken a seat on a stone bench and was looking out over the bustling village below. Throngs of people milled about the city, taking in the revelry, celebrating loudly. Zelda was glad to have moved above it for a while, to take in some peace and quiet.

She sat down beside Marth, her final wait beginning. Though her view was cut off dramatically while seated, her eyes continually searched the visible portions of the crowd for Link. He had to come… he had promised her he would.

Marth sat in silence, content simply with her presence beside him, contemplating what he needed to tell her and how in fact to do it. There was so much he needed to say, and so much he couldn’t. One thing was certain: he could not fail. The future of his entire Kingdom rested upon it. In the back of his mind he was even planning for disaster. If she should refuse, he would have no other choice. He just prayed it wouldn’t come to that.

Finally, he could delay no longer. Midnight was approaching and it was now or never.

“Zelda,” he said, taking her hand. She tore her eyes from the crowds below and looked at him, slightly surprised. Once he had her attention he cleared his throat and took a deep breath, “There’s something I need to tell you.”