A/N: Welp, here's the end. This is it for "Ducks and Dragons". I started this thing in the beginning of September, and eight chappies later, we're done.
Some replies:
Miss Piratess: Thank you for the kind words. I'm happy you've enjoyed it so much, and I am absolutely honored to have you as a frequent reader. I tell you, I practically died when I saw the first review you gave me. Thank you for sticking with it!
Lizai: My first book will hopefully be finished and I'll start searching for a publisher early next year, and then my novel will, with any luck, be done shortly after that. Maybe it will work out vice-versa. Glad you want to read it!
zeldaisthebest: Yes, good stories DO end too fast. Isn't it a shame? I wanted to cry when I finished "The Prydain Chronicles", but what can you do? Lots of thanks to you for staying with "D&D" for this long.
Malon Aniku: I wanna ride a dragon, too! But isn't Robin McKinley wonderful? No, I haven't read those two, but I plan to as soon as I finish the other books I'm reading now: "The Riddle-Master of Hed" by Patricia McKillip, "The Outlaws of Sherwood" which is another McKinley, "Black Beauty" which I'm loving, and "Redwall" by Brian Jacques. I'm so wrapped up in writing, reading, schoolwork, housework, and family time that it's a little hard, but once I finish some of this stuff, it won't be so bad. It's like paperwork: the more you finish, the less you have. I recieved "Beauty" as a gift last year, and hadn't heard of McKinley before then. Now, I'm hooked.
Please, when you guys review this final time, let me know what your fave part was in the whole thing, 'kay? I also want to thank my wonderful little sisters for helping me make up this story. I wouldn't have had half of the content without them. Thanks girls!
Whoa, all this thanking's making me dizzy...
On with the story!
Aranel soared over the castle gate and up to the drawbridge. He landed with a thud in front of the castle. The guards abandoned their posts immediately in a very un-guardly manner, screaming in high-pitched voices and waving their arms in the air.
"Do you, Princess Zelda Hyrule, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to be joined together in the eyes of Din, Nayru, and Farore as a married couple, thus sealing the pact with the ancient ones that you will remain together from today until one of you leaves this world?" asked the King's bishop.
Zelda looked at Link, her perfect lips curling into a smile, and said, "I do."
"Hang on!" Aranel cried, and Lute and Cassandra clutched tighter at his horns. The dragon got up on his hind legs and thrust himself through the front doors of the castle. They were in the Great Hall, and every single person there was staring at them with a shocked expression.
Then, the crowd began screaming, fainting, running, jumping, freezing, and performing other acts that people in a sudden frenzy of terror perform.
"Nice entry," Cassandra smirked.
"Thank you," Aranel replied, nodding. He got down on all fours so they could dismount.
"I should have known it was you!" King Daphnes shouted, blustering out of the crazed crowd.
Lute straightened up and pushed his bangs out of his face. "Yes, it's me. And I want to know what's going on."
"You tell me first!"
"You ruined my wedding!" Zelda shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at him.
"You shouldn't be marrying him anyway!" Lute protested. "What happened to waiting for me to kill the dragon?"
"But you didn't kill the dragon, did you?" Daphnes retorted. "Or is this just another dragon?"
"No, this is the dragon, but what makes you think you can get away with breaking your word?" Lute demanded.
"Who – cares – about – the – stupid – dragon!" Zelda shouted.
"We do!" the entire crowd shouted in reply.
"I'm liking this wedding better and better every minute," Malon said from her hiding space under a table.
"I agree," Nabooru said. She and Malon were under one of the long banquet tables, their heads poking out of the tablecloth.
"You know, Nab, you're rubbing off on her," Link said, lying on his stomach beside them. "And, that's not a good thing."
"Yeah, whatever," the Gerudo Queen replied. "Don't you think you should be defending your fiancée?"
"To tell you the truth, I don't really care," Link said. "This is a lot more fun than any stuffy old wedding." He tugged meaningfully at the lace protruding from the sleeve his bridal suit and fingered a gold tassel on his collarbone.
"I can live with that," Malon shrugged.
Meanwhile, Impa had joined the argument, and she was on Lute's side. Aranel and Cassandra stood off to the side, brooding over something only the two of them knew.
"Forget it!" Lute shouted, ripping off his cloak and throwing it in Daphnes' face. "I don't want to marry your stupid daughter, anyway!"
"Good!" Daphnes yelled, his face purple with rage. He stepped on Lute's cloak and ground it into the stone floor. "I didn't want you to marry my stupid daughter in the first place!"
"Stupid daughter!" Zelda echoed, furious. "How could you, Daddy!" She punched Daphnes on the jaw as hard as she could.
"Can we stop fighting?" Aridia asked, coming between them, her hands outstretched to keep the three of them from getting at each other.
They stared at each other for a moment, the tension building.
To everyone's surprise, Daphnes burst into gales of uncontrollable laughter. "We're all stupid! Truce?" he asked, putting out his hand.
Lute, stunned, accepted the peace offering. "Truce."
"And my wedding?" Zelda demanded.
"I don't think Link's ready for that sort of commitment," Impa put in, pointing at the Hero of Time, who was busily chatting with Malon and Nabooru.
"Why that little – "Zelda muttered, stomping over to Link.
"He's gonna get it," Cassandra said in a singsong voice.
"Who do you think you are!" Zelda screamed, seizing Link by the front of his dark blue tunic.
"Wh-what do you mean?" he stammered. "I love you, sweetheart!"
"Yeah, right!" Zelda shouted, and she slapped himhard on both cheeks, leaving red imprints of her hands on each.
Shaking his head, Lute went over to Cassandra and Aranel. "Women can be scary," he joked.
"You'd better believe it," Cassandra said.
"What was it you wanted to tell me?" Lute asked.
"Oh, nothing much," she said. "Just that I love you."
Lute felt like he'd slammed into a wall. That was why she didn't want him to marry Zelda, why she had wanted to help him with Aranel, why she'd sounded so forlorn at the thought of stopping the wedding. He realized that he felt the same. Blushing, he said, "I love you, too. Will you marry me?"
Cassandra laughed. "I think that can be arranged."
"Well, is this wedding going to happen or not?" one of the villagers asked.
"Not today," Impa replied.
"Shoot! I'm leaving!"
The crowd began to disperse, emptying out the doors.
By that weekend, Zelda and Link had reconciled and had announced an official engagement. Sierra hadn't healed yet, and Malon had convinced them to take one of her horses, promising to send Sierra to him when she was back to normal. They were going to set off for Xenos that evening. Aridia gave Cassandra a tearful goodbye, almost sending the apprentice to tears herself.
"You keep practicing, understand?" Aridia commanded for the hundredth time.
"I will," Cassandra assured her.
"You did well, Your Majesty," Impa said, laying a hand on Lute's shoulder.
"I didn't accomplish anything I was sent to," Lute answered.
"So? If your father loves you, he'll be happy that you found someone to love, and you formed a steady alliance with Hyrule, as well."
"What's Aranel going to do?" Malon asked.
"He wants to stay here now that Daphnes has made peace with the dragons, but we'll keep in touch, so you'll hear from us," Lute promised.
"I'll miss you," Impa said. "You and your awkwardness."
Lute decided to take it as a compliment. "I'll miss you, too."
He and Cassandra started off a bit before sunset, waving and shouting goodbyes until they were out of earshot.
"I really will miss them," Cassandra said sadly.
"Don't worry," Lute replied. "I have a feeling we're gonna see them again real soon."
Thus ends Book One of the "Alliance" trilogy.
A/N: Yes, you read that right. Trilogy. That's what I was waiting to surprise you all with! Next week, I'll post the first chapter of Book Two, "The Damsel in Distress"!
A short preview of it:
Link read the note again, shocked that this could happen. When he'd regained his wits, he hurried to tell Daphnes.
"Zelda's been kidnapped!" he cried, trying to sound important.
"Sure she has," Daphnes replied, not looking up from his paperwork.
"No, really! Look at this note!" Link handed the King the ransom note. Daphnes read it, then he furiously grabbed Link by the collar.
"Why didn't you stop them?" he demanded.
"I found the note in the Great Hall!" Link threw back in self-defense. "How was I supposed to know!"
"Well, what should we do?" Daphnes asked, letting go of him.
"I don't know," Link shrugged.
"You're the Hero of Time! You should know!"
"Okay, okay, I got it!" Link said after a moment's thought.
"What?" Daphnes said, sounding excited.
Link stuck out his chest impressively. "Call Lute."
A/N: That's all you get till Wednesday! Poor Lute! He's gotta do everything! Tell me what you thought of "Ducks and Dragons"!