Paper Love | Zelink Medieval

Prologue

Published as of 09/19/17

Edited as of

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Her head is held high, achingly so, and she refuses to move an inch, keeping her body rigidly still. Her lips are pressed into a firm line, and her face is frozen into a composed expression. Her hands are clasped in front of her body while servants make adjustments to her heavy ball gown. Her crystalline blue eyes are fixed straight ahead of her, and she tries to keep the tears that prickle in the corners of her eyes at bay.

A servant chastises her for moving as she gulps back more tears, and she feels as though she's trapped in a terrible, awful nightmare. Her chest heaves with every breath due to the corset that's constricting her waist.

There are servants everywhere, all making remarks about how beautiful she is or how the dress compliments her fair skin and matches the color of her eyes. She hates it - It feels as though the eyes of the world are watching her, taking into account everything about her and what she does.

She knows things are happening, but she can't really feel it. There's powder being dusted onto her pale cheeks, and her long wavy brown hair is being twisted and braided down her back. The uncomfortable dress she's wearing feels like it's literally weighing her down, putting all the pressure on her toes - which are crammed into a ridiculous pair of high heels.

Finally, the servants all leave her, and she's left to a few moments of peace by herself. Taking in shuddery breaths every couple of seconds is hard, and her small form shakes as she tries to choke her sobs down. She tries to calm her racing heart by breathing in and out, but it doesn't really help at all. It just causes her to want to cry even more.

A knock resounds on her door, and she immediately straightens with her hands clasped in front of her once more. "Enter," she says, her voice firm and beautiful, void of any of the tears she was dealing with mere moments before. Her face is wiped of any and all emotion, and she meets the eyes of her father, the king.

He looks over her outfit quickly before giving an approving nod, "You look beautiful, daughter. The time has come for us to make our entrance." He offers his arm to her, and she accepts it with only slight hesitation.

They walk through the double doors that lead from her chambers to the corridor outside, and she feels so weighed down, so tired already.

The night hasn't even begun yet. Her toes are pinched by her shoes, and she tries to bear the pain silently, making no sounds as her heels click on the marble floors. Her grip on her father's arm tightens as she almost slips once, and he gives her a sharp glance.

Immediately, she shifts back into the poised princess she knows she has to be, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin. With her free hand, she picks up the heavy skirt of her dress daintily so she can walk properly.

The corridor is illuminated by multiple chandeliers, and she forces herself to focus on just making it to the ballroom. Thankfully, she can depend on her father to sort of keep her standing, but she still has to make it down the grand staircase. If she can make it without tripping or falling, she'll count herself lucky.

There are so many people here, yet she just wants to melt to the floor. She can't cower behind her father, and she catches eyes with a man as the crowd of people parts to allow him to pass through. His hair is flaming red, and he has broad shoulders and a muscular physique. His tan skin indicate to her that he's a Gerudo, and he looks incredibly strong. His lips are lifted into a charming smile which instantly melts her heart away.

As she finishes making her way down the stairs without her heel catching on a single step, her father takes her hand in his before transferring it to the man with the red hair. The man takes her hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. She inwardly swoons as she realizes just how gorgeous this man is. He's everything from her dreams.

Everyone's watching as he leads her away, her hand in his; her father watches on approvingly, and the smile on her face turns genuine as the man sweeps her into a dance.

He doesn't step on her toes even once, twirling her around with a practiced ease and grace. Following as he leads, she dances with an elegance that's taken years of lessons to master; the eyes of all are upon them for mere moments more before another couple joins in. This starts a ripple effect, and soon, everyone is dancing.

Her vivid blue eyes are trained on his amber ones, and he whispers his name to her with a confiding smile, "Lord Ganondorf Dragmire of the Gerudo."

She returns his smile before lowering her tones as well to respond, "Princess Zelda of Hyrule - but I think you already knew that, didn't you?"

"You're quite right, Princess," he says, dipping her with his arm around her waist, "I did."

A small giggle bubbles up from within her, and she keeps her eyes locked with his as the dance ends and she's swooped away by Prince Sidon of the Zora. Her night is spent dancing with different men of nobility, but her thoughts are fixated by dashing Lord Ganondorf of the Gerudo.

Toward the end of the night, her father steals her away for a dance, speaking to her in a lowered voice, "So, daughter... what did you think of Lord Ganondorf?"

"He's quite charming, father," she admits quietly, quelling all her excitement. She danced with the Gerudo noble a total of three times the entire night and held a number of short conversations with him as well. "He's very good company and is an utter gentleman."

The king looks pleased and raises a question to his daughter, "Would you like to see more of him, Zelda?"

Her eyes light up immediately with curiosity, "I'd love to - He's extremely interesting and has so many wonderful stories to tell."

"Very well, daughter - You speak highly of him, and I enjoy his company. He's knowledgeable in many areas and, like you said, has many stories to tell," her father agrees with her. "I'll be speaking to him later in the week to ask if he'd like to spend some time here."

She doesn't think much of her father's words and just continues to enjoy the night, never pausing in her thoughts about Lord Ganondorf of the Gerudo.