Arranged marriage (Zelda AU)

Greetings. Again.

"This is the royal family of the Zora race." I give Link a very brief explanation of who they are before we arrive at their table.

"Hello, your majesties." I greet the family kindly as we approach the table.

"Princess Zelda!" King Dorephan says loudly with joy. "Thank you kindly for the invitation to this ceremony of yours." He thanks me.

"The pleasure is mine; thank you for attending." I say, bowing my head out of respect to the large King. It has been a while since my last encounter with the Zoran royal family.

"Thank you, Princess." King Dorephan and the others all stand up to formally greet us, just like the Lorulean family did. King Dorephan bows his head to me and I curtsy in return. He then turns his attention to Link. "Your highness, what an honour to meet you." He says, putting his hand out to shake it.

Link puts his hand in his, shaking it back. "The honour is mine, your majesty."

King Dorephan begins to introduce himself to Link, so I go and greet Queen Rutela.

"Queen Rutela." I say, curtsying to her politely. "How lovely to see you." I tell her genuinely.

"It's lovely to see you too, Princess." She says and smiles. "Congratulations on your special day. I hope you have a perfect marriage." She tells me smiling and I can't help but smile back at her smile. The Zora's have such lovely charismas that have always made me feel warm inside. They best way I can't describe it is, they always make you feel special and cared for. Especially the children of the King and Queen.

"Your words are highly appreciated, your grace." I say with a smile.

"Princess Zelda!" The young Prince Sidon greets me, bringing mine and his mothers attention to him. "Hello!" He says as the four of them come and stand in front of me.

"Prince Sidon! Hello!" I greet him back. "Ruto, Mipha and Ralis! What a pleasure to see you all here." I greet them, curtsying to the 4 of them who are smiling widely at me.

"Greetings, Princess Zelda." The three of them say in unison, both Mipha and Ruto curtsying back to me in response, and Ralis bowing his head.

Link and King Dorephan now join the conversation again. "This is Prince Link of Hytopia, Princess Zelda's husband." Dorephan introduces Link to his wife and children.

The five of them all politely greet him with their bows and curtsey's and kind words aimed at him.

"I am honoured to have met you all here today. Thank you for your presence." Link tells them respectfully.

Gosh, all this greeting is tiring me out. It feels very repetitive speaking to all these high status royal families and whatnot. I understand why we must do it, as it's respectful and mandatory at our own wedding, of course. However, I will still continue to believe that it's unfair, as we didn't even want to marry in the first place.

I'm getting frustrated thinking about this.

***

We've been talking to all the guests here and it's so tiring. But fortunately, we're now free to go and speak to whoever we please. And of course, I'm headed straight for Impa. She is with her family; her parents, and sisters Purah and Paya.

She looks content. She is chatting with her mother, while her father is chatting with Mayor of Hateno village, and Purah, Paya, and Purah's boyfriend Robbie are chatting.

I walk up towards her, gently tapping her shoulder, with a tiny smile in the corner of my lips. Impa turns around swiftly, takes a moment to look at me before she realises who I am.

"Zelda!" She says overjoyed, smiling widely.

"Impa!" I say equally as happy. This is the best I've felt all day. "I'm so happy to see you."

"Me too Princess." She says before turning to her mother. "Mother, I'm going to go and talk to the Princess, is that okay?" She asks her.

"Of course it is," She says to Impa, before her eyes land on me. "Your highness, congratulations on your big day!" She says out of respect.

"Thank you so much, and thank you for your presence." I tell her, saying this sentence for the one thousandth time today. But I do genuinely mean it; Impa's mother is a lovely woman.

Me and Impa then begin to walk away from her family, and somewhat out of the way of everyone. I explain to her that we must remain in the room or my parents will come searching for me, which is something that we can avoid.

"So, how are you doing?" She asks me calmly.

"Honestly, I'm happy now that I'm with you." I tell her, finally feeling somewhat at ease.

"Me too." She replies. "Are you sure your okay though? I'm not going to lie, you looked... not there during the ceremony. You looked as if you were there physically, but not mentally."

"To be honest, that's how I felt." I explain. "Oh no, was it really that noticeable?" I ask.

"I mean, I'm not sure if it was just because I know you personally or not, but it was to me." She tells me truthfully.

"Oh no." I half-panic. "Fortunately no one else has mentioned it to me, but that isn't very good. Everyone will be thinking badly off of the kingdoms, or of me."

"Princess, don't worry about that, it isn't a big deal." She places a hand on my shoulder to comfort me. "I'm more concerned about you."

"Me? Why are you worried about me?" My attention is brought away from my worries and turns to more of a confused emotion.

"Because this was your big day; it is very unlikely that either of you will have another wedding in your lives, and it didn't seem to be an enjoyable event for you." She explains. "I'm so, truly sorry, Princess. I'm sorry you've had to experience this, and didn't receive the opportunity to find true love in this lifetime." She tells me.

"Impa..." I say, at a loss of words. Wow. I wasn't exactly expecting that. I don't even know how I feel- sadness, anger, regret?

"I don't want to upset you. I just wanted to tell you that... I wish you the best with Prince Link. I hope you two find love. I hope you find happiness in your marriage. You deserve it, Zelda. My dear friend."

I don't have anything to say in reply, so I respond with actions. I wrap my arms around her tightly and embrace her. The heat off of her body greets me and soothes my cold, stressed soul. Impa's arms wrap around my back and return the embrace, how I'm going to miss her when I leave.