Arranged marriage (Zelda AU)

Courage.

Link's POV.

We have all now finished our lunch and left the Great Hall. I'm now free, my mother is occupied with Princess Zelda, her sister, and the Queen. I can now finally visit The Spring of Courage, I've been waiting to do this the whole time.

One minor problem- How do I get there? I need to find a map, and then a disguise as the people of Hyrule will recognise that I am going to marry their beloved Princess if I am dressed like this.

Surprisingly, I find a map rather easily; there was one on top of a table in the corridor. Now for the disguise. I guess I could find the guards chamber and dress as one of them? I think I'm going to do that. Again, finding the guards chamber was rather easy and fortunately they are all out training.

I find a uniform that will fit me and put it on. I look unrecognisable, this is perfect. I hastily make my way out and according to the map, the Spring is in the Faron region; I will need a horse if I wish to make it there and back in a few short hours.

Now, I make my way to the castle's stable. There are many horses here and I am unsure of which one to take. There is a blue horse here which isn't decorated with a royal bridle or saddle, probably so whoever uses him can be unrecognised. This is perfect for my situation so I take him. I do feel quite guilty for taking all this stuff without permission, but I will return everything to It's original home. I mount the horse and then set off for the Spring.

***

Around just over an hour later, I've finally reached the spring. I hop off the horse and leave it close behind. I walk inside the spring and I am greeted by a tall goddess statue and a pool of water in front of her. The water feels cool but bare able so I step foot into the sacred bath. Standing in front of the statue, I then begin to pray to the goddesses.

"My dear goddess, I come seeking protection; protection for ill-health, protection from danger, protection for harm, and protection for my loved ones." I begin, I don't tend to go to the goddess statues too much at home, but this is a great opportunity to pray here in Hyrule; the most sacred land in this world. I have a chance to be closer with the goddesses and especially my goddess; Farore. I am praying generally to begin, and then I will pray about my other desires and my burdens.

I continue to pray for a while longer about everything in general. I feel at ease here, but I try to be wary of the time as well; it has been about an hour so It's probably time I head back soon.

Please help me ease the burdens and scars of my past, and finally, please help me throughout my marriage to the Princess. Thank you." I finish and make my way out of the spring back to my horse.

Hopping on, we begin to gallop back to the castle, passing beautiful scenery on the way. Hyrule is a beautiful kingdom. The last time I was here was when I was very young, maybe six; to draw the master sword from it's stone. I finally returned it when I came back to Hyrule on Monday. Returning it almost felt like the end of a chapter in my life, and I'm not sure if I feel good or bad about it. That sword has been there with me through everything, though because of it, I had to sacrifice a lot of my childhood for my duties as a wilder of a piece of the triforce.

I am, of course, grateful that I was chosen by Hylia and the three golden goddesses, but I just wish that my upbringing could've been a little less harsh.

When I get back, I will need to practice my vows. Unfortunately that means I will have to speak in front of hundreds of people, I don't have a choice.

At the moment, I only actually feel fully comfortable talking around Aryll, I don't know what it is, but she understands me, even at her young age. But even with her, I don't like to discuss my feelings. I feel weak for even feeling emotions so I just try not to feel anything at all. I also feel okay talking to Styla, but we don't talk or see each other as much since she got married. I can talk to my friends, but I don't talk too much to them since I'm usually occupied with my duties, or should I say was occupied, but now I will see them even less now I'm married. Thankfully I will be able to see Styla and my friends tomorrow at the wedding. And as for my parents.... well, I don't have a choice. I do talk to them, but only when spoken to first. My mother was a lot less harsh than my father, but she still contributed to it. I don't know if I can ever forgive my parents for that. I don't hate them, but I feel... distant from them. I always have.

People think I'm rude or disrespectful for being so reserved. In reality, I'm just trying to keep to myself. Many people think I dislike them, one of those people being my future wife.

I think one of the reasons I actually agreed to marrying Princess Zelda was to finally be free and let go from that era. To put a stop to the war for good. Maybe that's why I'm not sure what I feel about her. I may grow to be grateful for her because her existence is the reason we can put an end to this war, or maybe I will grow to resent her because my marriage to her is a symbol of that war. I don't know, but these thoughts are plaguing me more and more everyday, I don't know how much longer I can keep these feelings bottled in. I need to distract myself from it. Nevertheless, I will one thousand percent be saying yes at the altar tomorrow; once we are finally, officially wed, that is when the war will be officially over and behind us. Our kingdoms will become somewhat one.

Now that I'm thinking about her, I wonder how Zelda is feeling right now, she's probably nice and relaxed. I think she despises me, which isn't very thrilling as we will be living together from tomorrow. I will try my best to make her feel comfortable around me, despite not knowing her very well. And I would never force her into anything she isn't ready for. Let's just hope we can actually make this work out. For the kingdoms sake.

Before I know it I'm back at Hyrule Castle. Stealthily, I return the horse, the armour and the map back to their original positions. Fortunately nobody catches me in the act so I am safe. I scan the walls for a clock and eventually find one, there is still about an hour before dinner so I guess I should go practice my vows. I make my way to my room, and close the door behind me. Okay, now to practice these vows.