A Wolf's Life

{11] [caught] [11}

"Don't look at me like that, this was bound to happen."

He said nothing, glaring unhappily at the Princess – well, she was a Queen nowadays, but he ignored this change in title completely, and Zelda didn't mind so it was fine, really – who was standing on the other side of the bars, watching him condescendingly.

"I did warn you that I had finally appointed some competent guards."

He remained silently staring into the very depths of her soul. Zelda made a face and blurted, "Alright, alright, but you broke one of my favourite stained-glass windows! You brought this on yourself."

The wolf seemed to pout.

"Look, just because I can afford to replace it and you're a friend doesn't mean you can just come and vandalize Royal property whenever you feel like it!"

Again, he just stared. Zelda sighed.

{12] [coronation] [12}

Zelda's coronation had been held a whole year after the Defeat of Ganondorf, the end of what people had started calling the Twilight Invasion. Although everyone had accepted her as reigning monarch months prior, her transition from Princess to Queen hadn't yet been officialised. Normally, it would've been celebrated only a few weeks after the Defeat, but the long year under the control of the forces of evil had taken its toll on the kingdom, and Zelda's proper accession to the throne had had to be postponed until Hyrule was back on its feet and functioning as well as possible. Most of Hyrule Castle had had to be rebuilt, several villages (the largest of which being Kakariko) repopulated, the remaining monsters eradicated, the government restored, the incompetent soldiers replaced and a huge amount of other things that, apparently, could only be seen to by either the Princess or the Hero.

In short, it had been a long year. But even now, places like Kakariko were still mostly empty, the army practically nonexistent, the government still in turmoil and Hyrule Castle was still missing several towers, although the latter was the one Zelda worried about the least. The only problem that had really been resolved was the monsters – the Hero had done his job well and, judging by that wolfish grin of his when he came back to Castle Town after carrying out his mission, had enjoyed every minute of it.

But that was last week. Now was the coronation of Queen Zelda XXV.

As she made her way up to the platform upon which she would be crowned in front of the residents of Hyrule, regal head held high and utterly composed, she couldn't help but notice a familiar face at the front of the crowd, its owner clothed in green and wearing that ridiculous hat. She also couldn't help noticing his expression.

Oh, dear Nayru, thought the soon-to-be Queen Zelda, what is he up to now?

{13] [stardom] [13}

One spectacularly hilarious event that would stay with Midna for the rest of her life, and would in fact go down in Twili history among the best anecdotes ever told at a royal banquet, happened one rainy day in Castle Town. The improbable duo had been searching for some refuge from the downpour and ducked inside an excessively vibrant circus tent; it wouldn't have been their first choice, but beggars can't be choosers and there wasn't any other shelter nearby. So, damp and somewhat irritated, the pair reluctantly made their way inside, intent on waiting out the deluge and getting on with their mission as soon as possible.

But their plans were scuppered when the apparent owner of the pavilion, who was dressed in equally gaudy clothes that could well have been made from the same fabric as the tent, spotted the intruder. The strange man's face lit up and he exclaimed brightly, "Ah! A customer!" and approached the stationary Hero, but then started sneezing. At the querying look the man's potential customer gave him, he asked between sneezes, "Do you happen to own a dog, good sir? I am afraid that I am allergic to the...'adorable'...furballs." Midna's steed nodded cautiously – it probably wasn't a good idea to tell the odd person that it was, in fact, he who was the dog.

The clown look-alike then introduced himself as Purlo and strongly suggested that the Hero play his marvellous STAR game to pass the time, and emphasised the fact that it would only cost him ten rupees(!) The game host's newest vict- ah, client warily accepted the invitation and Purlo rapidly explained the goal and the rules and subsequently pushed the still-damp Hero into the arena.

And then, much to Midna and her wolf's satisfaction and Purlo's despair, the green-clad saviour proceeded to win the game flawlessly. Purlo's expression would forever be etched in the Twili's memory, of that she was sure.

But the best bit was when her friend exited the tent once the rain had stopped and was followed all the way to Telma's bar by a trio of excitable fangirls whose attempts to hide whenever their idol turned around were frankly pitiful. And then what was even more hilarious was The Group's reaction when they were told of the green-clothed swordsman's newfound stalkers.

{14] [dance] [14}

Nobody spoke of The Incident within the gates of Castle Town, and even outside of it, only in paranoid whispers. Not because they would be arrested or punished in any way; it was just one of those Things That You Do Not Talk About. It was a moment that would live on through history by name only – the event itself would be constrained to the memories of those present, which was actually the vast majority of all relatively high-ranking people in the known world.

It was the wedding of the Princess (well, Queen) of Hyrule to a foreign Prince in hopes of a better quality of life for the people of both countries; a political marriage, in other words. Nearly all of the neighbouring heads of state were present along with the ambassadors of those further afield, not to mention all of the Hyrulean nobles and a number of the more well-to-do citizens...and a certain Hylian canine, of course.

However, The Incident did not occur during the ceremony, but in the reception afterwards.

It was perhaps the sixth or seventh dance of the night – nobody could quite remember, since it was quite a way into the evening and most people had had several drinks by then (some more than others – these could mostly be found snoring loudly in chairs next to the buffet table or dozing in hedges out in the gardens). Even the Queen was not entirely sober, which probably contributed to the mess. She'd parted company with her new husband several dances ago and since then had performed the Lynnan waltz with the Labrynnan ambassador, the foxtrot with King Ralis and an exhausting quickstep with one of the younger and more energetic Hylian nobles. But then the Queen decided to ask the Hero, who was lounging lazily near the buffet, chatting amiably with one of the guards posted at various intervals around the room – he seemed to know them all by name, and yet couldn't recall those of the nobles if his life depended on it, which Zelda found most suspicious.

He accepted her proposal of a dance, warning her in a slightly slurred voice that he was most certainly not the best dancer and that it was completely her own fault if her toes got stepped on. She sniggered in a most unladylike fashion and told him less than politely that he was coming along whether he liked it or not, at which point he informed her that he was definitely of the latter opinion. The not-quite-sober Queen then led her unwilling and equally tipsy partner to the central floor.

What happened in the five minutes that followed was what was known as The Incident and, at the behest of all parties involved, was never spoken of again.

{15] [egress] [15}

Spring had arrived, at last. The winter just gone had been harsh and seemed endless to the village children when they peered out through frosty windows at a snowy ground and a frozen lake. It hadn't snowed so much in years; Ordon was simply too far south for the great blizzards that plagued the northern reaches of Hyrule. Contrary to all expectations, the youngest villagers mostly elected to stay indoors throughout the cold season instead of building snowmen or having snowball fights as they usually did. There was, however, an obvious reason for this: their idol was in town.

He'd dropped by for one of his rare flying visits to shower them with gifts for the upcoming Midwinter Festival, but got stuck in the village because of the deep snow and freezing temperatures that even he, impermeable traveller that he was, felt very uncomfortable in. So he'd grudgingly stayed in the village, but assured everyone that he would be leaving with the ice.

The first month or so of winter had been, for the children at least, truly marvellous. The ex-goatherd told (or rather retold) them stories of his adventures and misadventures at their behest, taught them some tricks he'd picked up on his travels and helped them pull off pranks on their parents and on each other, like a favourite uncle or older brother would.

But it wasn't long until he started getting restless. He would pace the room with a frustrated expression like a caged wolf, and frequently became irritable to the point of snapping at anyone who dared speak to him. He was at his worst a few weeks before the thaw, a point in time when nobody really wanted to be anywhere near him and his mounting fractiousness. He'd had a taste of freedom on that long journey of his all those many years ago, and hadn't stayed anywhere longer than a fortnight since. Months of being trapped in this tiny little town with nothing to do that he hadn't done a thousand times before was driving him up the wall. He was tempted to just up sticks and leave, vanishing into the whirling snowflakes like a poe at dawn, abandoning his steed and all his loved ones to the cold, despite the fact that he would probably freeze to death long before he reached anywhere civilised, with fur or without. But he stayed strong and stayed put, trying his very best not to fly off the handle every time some brave villager tried to make conversation.

At last, though, Spring arrived and the thick blanket of frigid snow melted away as if it had never been, allowing the green grass to taste the sun for the first time in months. Birds long absent made their way back to the budding forests and filled the land with song, their chirps and whistles awakening all the hibernating inhabitants of the forest.

And with the thaw came the departure of the village's Hero, much to the disappointment of the children, despite his prickly behaviour. Everyone turned out to see him off, wishing him luck and a safe journey to wherever he was headed. The swordsman mounted his steed - a young but sturdy palomino mare, and one of his previous companion's two offspring.

One of the villagers came forward, a woman a head shorter than the rider, her blond hair tied up in a bun, green eyes glittering in the morning sunlight and a small child clinging to her skirts. Ilia, the swordsman's childhood friend. In the many years since what had gone down in the history books as the Twilight Invasion, she'd gotten married to a young man from Castle Town, moved briefly to the capital and then back to Ordon when she'd become pregnant so her children could grow up in the open air like she had. Despite all this upheaval and the amiable traveller's nomadic lifestyle, they hadn't really grown apart at all, as one might have expected. They were still the best of friends.

"So," she said, a little hesitantly. "Where are you heading? And...when will you be dropping by again? You know how the children love it when you do."

The man upon the horse merely shrugged, gave her a sad little smile and said, just loud enough for her to hear, that he was hardly getting younger, and if he wanted to explore the lands outside of Hyrule, he had better get started.

Ilia knew her friend better than anyone and she had long ago learned how to read between the lines. She knew exactly what he was trying to say, and she almost hated him for it.

Goodbye.

{] [] [}

A/N: This is about as far as I've got with the rewrites - Alarm and Reject, the old #20 and #22, will be in the next update for sure, but the other three are somewhat up in the air atm. Also! Feel free to give me word or scene prompts, or request a specific character or topic! I'll definitely be covering the language barrier and (at some point) Link's first transformation from wolf to Hylian, though. Ravens, Routine and Rumours will also make appearances at some point, but I can't guarantee when because I'd quite like to rewrite them completely.