Scars of a Caged Bird | Zelink Medieval

Chapter IX

~~~

"How's everything going with the wedding planning, Aziz?" I asked after making small talk with the others for some time. We, along with Sheik, broke away from the group forming near the throne with Aqua and some of her sisters.

"The wedding is scheduled for a week from today," Aziz answered back.

I turned to face him and stared. "What? A week from today?" I questioned. I didn't have a ton of experience with weddings, but weren't they supposed to take longer to plan?

Aziz nodded tiredly. "Yup. No clue how we're going to pull it off, though. I don't really like these people," he grumbled. "They won't let me talk to Nabs and insist that I need to be fitted for my suit."

Sheik shrugged. "Well, at least you got it out of the way. Now, you're no longer needed for anything. They'll make your suit, Nabs will plan the wedding with Zelda's help, and then you two will get married."

"I suppose," Aziz agreed wearily.

"Was it really that draining?" I asked, chuckling to myself. I never would have thought that I would see Aziz, whom I had thought of as a second father or older brother, marry my older sister. This was going to take some getting used to, but I was glad that he would be joining my small family, which pretty much consisted of me, Nabs, and, in some ways, Nabila.

The little girl had made some friends during the few hours we had been at the Domain and was content to sit with them, watching Nabs and Zelda planning and preparing for the wedding.

"Yes!" Aziz replied quickly. "The only reason I stood there is because of my undying love for Nabs!" he added, throwing his hands in the air.

I rolled my eyes, laughing along with Sheik. "You're so dramatic," I stated.

Aziz glared in my direction. "How droll," he answered sarcastically, reminding me of Cove.

"Have you met that guy, Cove?" I asked out of curiosity.

"That guy that was with you and Marine on your tour of the Domain?" Aziz questioned, and I nodded. He merely continued, not waiting for a verbal answer, "You do realize that I've spent the past million years getting fitted for this stupid suit, and you've been with them this entire time."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," I chuckled awkwardly.

"What do you think about Ganondorf, Link?" Sheik asked abruptly, his voice shattering the comfortable silence that had settled over us for a few seconds.

I turned my attention over to him. "What do you mean? I'm not going back. I can't go back."

"I know, Link," Sheik agreed, "But you do realize that he will come for you. He and Ren will hunt you down. They won't stop at anything until they get what they want, which is to destroy you. Ganondorf for reasons unknown; Ren for revenge and personal gain."

We walked away from the throne room, wandering through a stone passage. I watched torches' flames flicker in their sconces and focused my attention on those blazing tongues of fire reflectively. "Ren and Ganondorf are both like those torches. They hold so much power and potential, but while they're in their sconces, the damage and havoc they could wreak is contained.

"But," I continued, lifting a torch out of its sconce, "Once they're taken out and thrown, the damage is exponential. I won't give an example, but we can't let them get out of control."