Even on his toes, he could barely see above the crowd and he looked around for something to climb up on. Spotting a tall, sturdy wooden crate nestled next to the corner of a house adjacent to the main street, he hurried towards it and climbed up. Here he could just see above the heads of the crowd.
From the left, near the main gate, a shrill trumpet sounded, and the crowd began to shout and cheer raucously. Link leaned forward, hanging onto the ice cold corner of the house, looking down the street towards the gate.
“Clear the road, clear the road!” Mounted knights had come in through the gate, and with the guards were guiding the crowd out of the main street of the town, herding them successfully to the side. Leaning back, Link glanced at the gaggle of the crowd around him, moving and shifting to get closer to the front of the line, and noticed next to the crate he was on a short man a mass of curly brown-red hair who had stopped to fasten his coat.
“Can I ask you something?” Link asked him, catching the man’s eye, noting that like Hena, he did not have pointed ears.
“Huh?” He looked up, then looked back to fastening his coat. “What is it?”
“What is this all about?”
“Oh, don’t you know?” the man asked, raising his voice to a shout as the rest as the crowd grew even louder, “There are some city officials coming from the capital to see the new mayor elected. Apparently they’re two of the Princess’s personal advisors!”
“Princess Zelda’s advisors?” Link wondered aloud before he could stop himself.
“Do we have any other princess?” the man asked distractedly. He then moved away with the flow of the crowd, still fiddling with his coat.
Sitting up straight and looking at the main road, Link thought, The princess told me not to go traveling to look for Auru. If her advisors were to see me…no, if they were to find out who I was, I’d be in trouble if they told her about me being here. I’ll just have to stay out of their way.
So he stayed standing on the crates without again leaning forward far to look as a small procession came into the town. It consisted of more mounted knights, acting in place of the usual mercenaries hired to guard travelers across Hyrule Field. There was one carriage, both lavish and well-made for even rough, snowy roads. However, it was empty, and riding a few paces in front of it were unmistakably Zelda’s advisors.
The first was short and olive-skinned, with dark hair and eyes so unanimated and lacking any sort of lively charm that they nearly seemed painted. He was dressed in knight’s armor, though it was more personalized, with an unusually large helmet; the smoothly designed yet thick armor was mostly concealed by his sky blue cloak that contrasted with his green pants. He had a large black mustache that trailed neatly up the sides of his face to meet his sideburns. On a sturdy dappled grey horse, he did not hold any one position in the procession, but moved as he was needed to put any other knights who started to wander from their places in check. They all straightened in their saddles when he rode near him and obeyed him without hesitation.
The second advisor stayed in one place in front of the carriage. With an uncovered head of blonde hair and an enormous yellow mustache under a large nose, his face would have appeared rather jolly if he had eyebrows, and if his eyes were not so serious and deep-set. Instead, his face was very intense, even as he smiled genially at the crowds, though he often would stop waving to grasp at the reigns of his horse or twirl his mustache self-consciously. His posture was strong, pushing out his large, well-built upper body impressively, though Link realized he was also very stiff, and did not ride with his horse, but was instead was easily jolted when it stumbled slightly on an uneven patch of cobblestones. Link tilted his head, watching the man, waiting for him to blink his severe, tiny blue eyes. He rode unblinkingly until a strong burst of cold wind swept through the area and forced him to finally blink.
In total, there were thirty knights with the advisors, as well as an equally large group of servants, including those driving the carriage. The procession was done in rows of six, close together, at an even walking pace. They soon passed, and the cheering crowd followed them, heading towards the large square in town that was on the water’s edge. Link eventually slid off of his perch of crates and followed as well.
The crowds watched, quieting slightly as the two advisors dismounted and walked onto the platform, greeted by a small group of townspeople. Here, his cheeks flushed healthfully with the cold air, was Brian Koru, the candidate for the mayor’s office that Link had seen in the pub the previous night. His gold mustache had been trimmed to perfection, and his clothes, still finer than the rest of the townspeople, were without wrinkle. With him was his wife, a tall, willowy, white-skinned woman in a dress and cloak of expensive material, smiling thinly. At first Link thought she was squinting against the sunlight, but then realized that there were now clouds blocking its rays. Still, she did not open her eyes fully, even as she smiled more freely as she greeted the advisors.
Afterwards, they were greeted by a short man and his wife. Link immediately thought of Hena; both man and wife had dark hair and thicker, sturdier builds made for working in the open air. The man looked almost exactly like Hena, too, with the olive skin and thick curly hair, as well as rounded ears. His wife was slightly more fair-skinned, with pointed ears, and her hair was thinner and combed back in a fine braid, laced with red ribbons. While Brian Koru and his squinting wife had greeted the officials with decorum and politeness, this pair beamed widely and shamelessly, and the man introduced himself with a sweeping bow as well as a hearty handshake which, to Link’s surprise, did not rattle or put off either of the officials at all.
The two men turned to the crowd, Brian Koru speaking with a strong, balanced, clear voice that felt made for tall stone halls and stained-glass windows, “Today we welcome two of the Princess Zelda’s finest advisors: Rull Gonzo, the chief steward of the Temple of Time, and Vastor Zuko, the one of the finest generals of His Majesty’s knights.”
The crowd cheered, though it was not as loud as it could have been for a crowd of its size. They silenced quickly as the other man raised his hands for silence, saying with a boisterous voice that sounded both like full-bodied beer and sweet hot chocolate, “These fine gentlemen have graciously agreed to oversee the election tonight! In other words, they’re here to be sure you stay honest…” He looked down at a certain part of the crowd near him, saying something Link could not hear. However, that section burst into laughter, as well as many others around them.
“Therefore,” Brian Koru cut in, his voice still gracious but his expression unsmiling at the outburst of joviality, “on behalf of this town and all its residents and guests, my competitor and I welcome you both!”
The crowd clapped again, cheering just a little louder, especially the section that had been laughing. Rull Gonzo grinned at the crowd, raising an acknowledging hand, while Vastor Zuko waved once with a curt nod, and then grasped his hands behind his back, silent.
Eventually, Gonzo stepped forward, declaring in a loud, slightly gravelly voice when the election ballots would be put in, by whom, and where later that day. Link only half-listened, wondering if he should leave the town before the process. He returned his attention to the speech, which was finished with Gonzo saying that the results of the election would be announced the following day.
Among the chatter that followed as the crowd separated, either gathering closer to the dais or dispersing away to other areas of the town until the election began, Link headed to walk away as well. It seemed unlikely that he would encounter the officials, provided he stay out of the way of the election.
As long as I stay away from the candidates, Link glanced over his shoulder at the podium, I should be fine.
“Link!”
He turned, looking around. From the crowd emerged Hena, her cheeks bright with the cold, her head covered with a worn yellow hat adorned with a red poinsettia.
“So this is where you were!” She walked up to him, frowning. “Didn’t I tell you to come back an hour before the voting booths open?”
Link stared at her, racking his memory. “I remember you wanting me to the back before dark…”
“Oh…” Hena scratched her head. “Wait. I don’t know if I told you. Well, nevermind that then! I wanted you back to man the fishing hole just in case we got tourists during the election time, but it looks like everyone's going to be hanging out around here this evening. I barely got any business all day, anyways. Did you see the Princess' advisors?” Link nodded as Hena smiled wryly. “They weren’t as fancy as I thought they’d be, no fancier than Brian Koru. At any rate, I think you should still get back and start cleaning up the Fishing Hole before the election process starts. I didn't have many customers, but the ones I did have left the complete mess.”
“Right, I’ll do that.”
“Oh, but have you eaten supper yet?” He shook his head and she continued, “Why don’t you grab a bite with me? But first, let’s go and say hi to my uncle. I want to wish him luck.”
“Luck?” Link asked, beginning to follow her as she headed straight towards the dais.
“Yes!” She gestured at the officials and candidates on the dais, signaling out the dark-haired couple. “That's my aunt and uncle!” Link’s mouth fell open and he slowed, Hena laughing at his hesitation. “Don’t worry, they won’t bite! It’ll just take a moment.”
Setting his jaw, Link followed her through the sea of people and up onto the dais, glancing often at Gonzo and Zuko, who did not turn away from their conversation with Brian Koru. He followed Hena past them to Hena’s uncle, who had just finished a conversation with a villager. Turning, he saw Hena, and managed to break out into an even brighter smile.
“Hena! How's business been doing today?”
“Pretty horribly,” she answered, smiling back at him. “But everyone should be partying like mad tomorrow morning before the hunt, so that should make up for it.”
“What?” Hena’s aunt joined them. “Don't tell me you'll be open on Yule Eve? Even your sister has closed up shop! You should take off; you don't want to work yourself too hard.”
“I won't, I have help.” Hena gestured to Link, who stepped forward as she introduced him, “This is my part-timer for the holiday, Link.”
“Herman Lark, and this here is my wife, Gita. I don't believe a seeing you around here before,” her uncle said as he shook Link's hand firmly.
“No, I'm from out of town.”
“He's from a little town by Zora's River,” Hena jumped in.
This started Herman Lark and Gita immediately raving about everything they knew about Zora’s River, which apparently were only good things. They went on for a several minutes, occasionally asking Link questions about it without really expecting any answers except his quiet nods or smiles in agreement as they went on.
“Yep, we sure have gotten some amazing fish from that river,” said Herman Lark wistfully, concluding his complete history of the fishing trade that the lake town had with larger towns by Zora’s River over the past ten years.
“Well, we need to get going,” Hena cut in, her voice just a little weary.
“Of course!” Herman Lark shook Link's hand one more time. “You enjoy the festivities! They are going to be incredible this year thanks to the election and our two guests from the castle!”
Link nodded and bade them goodbye, quickly following Hena off the platform, only quickly looking over at the Gonzo and Zuko once to see them still talking to Brian Koru. His squinting wife stood aside at a small distance, listening to the conversation, shading her eyes with her hand even though the sun was still behind clouds. Just before he looked away, she caught his glance, and frowned, as if he were eavesdropping. Suddenly feeling embarrassed in spite of himself, he quickly looked away, following Hena back down into the crowd.
The Legend of Zelda and characters copyright Nintendo
"The Legend of Zelda: Deluge" writing and original concepts and characters copyright Mahira / Mahira-chan
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