Coronation of Queen Marianne

At least, not in the traditional, grandiose sense. The Act of Succession, as dictated by King Daphnes VI a few years before his untimely demise, left no question about the line of succession. It was seen as a bad omen at that time for him to attend to matters of succession at that time. But in retrospect, it might have been Hylia herself who guided the late King to enact such decision, avoiding chaotic transfer of power in the process.

Prince Leon el Hyrule or his descendants, if any, would always be the one to ascend the throne in the event of the king’s death or abdication. Next in line would be her younger sister, Princess Beatrix de Hyrule or a male descendant of hers. Failing that the king’s youngest daughter, Princess Marianne de Hyrule, would be given the right to rule after him, followed by the descendants of the King’s younger siblings, including one Oron el Hyrule.

Eyebrows were raised by those not in the know when an unfamiliar name of Merrows was also included in the Act of Succession. But to the King’s inner circle and those who understood the full story, the inclusion was hardly a surprise. The Act was ratified and was agreed upon by the nobles of the realm.

The only one who withheld her consent, at that time, was Princess Marianne herself.


That night the young princess went to her father’s room and confronted him with what she suspected his father had known all along: that she was not his own daughter. She might still be young, but being subjected to whispers by those in the know and how her peers mistreated her, even a child would eventually learn the truth, moreso for someone as intelligent as her. The words of the old veterans and the blatant appearance of her great grandmother, The Witch of Faron Woods, in her own room sealed the deal.

With tears in her eyes she told the one she had loved as her father all her life everything that she knew, everything that she suspected she knew. Ever since she was little Marianne had always felt that she should not have existed. That she was a mistake, an aberration. The real reason for this feeling of hers would be revealed much later. But at that time, she believed that the reason was because of her paternity. She begged his forgiveness that she existed; that she had dared to act as if she was his daughter when in truth she was not. The prodigious youngling even willed herself to be judged for Act of Treason, something which she had just recently learned in her class, and thought that it was a fitting end for a bad child like her.

But to her utmost surprise, King Daphnes simply brought her in his embrace and hugged her tight. To this day Marianne still remembered the smell of the nightcoat he wore that night, on which he pressed her tear-stained face deep.

He knew, he said in a loving voice, which brought shiver down Marianne’s spine. He knew, he said. He knew about it from the start. Her Queen had been honest with him from the start, as the saintly lady had always done, that the child she felt in her womb was not his, but that of his friend, the general who was now Hyrule’s best hope to fight The Great Disturbance from the desert. The King knew, but he had never viewed Marianne any less as a result.

All the attention he gave to her during the rare times they could be together, it was all genuine.

For him, she was his beloved youngest daughter, and nothing under the sun could change his mind.

And he had willed her to be one of his successors, just like any father proud of his daughter would have. She was, legally and emotionally, her little princess.

Marianne had cried as hard as she did last night only once: when she thought Mrs. von Brandt would leave her forever. She had felt that this man was always more of a father to her than that lifeless statue of an unknown general now watching over Gerudo Desert. That night, her feelings was vindicated.


So, when King Leon made known his desire to step down and focus on other matters, with Princess Beatrix also of the same mind, the crown passed peacefully to Princess Marianne. However, there was no joy or happiness in her upon receiving the news. Indeed, for all who saw her face as she recited the ancient oath in front of the few select nobles of the realm in a very threadbare event, there was only one expression she wore.

An expression of someone who felt immensely betrayed.

She forbid a ceremony or even the smallest feast honoring her coronation. With the realm under siege from the Twilight Curtain perhaps it was to be expected, but Marianne had said that she would forbid it even if it was peacetime. There was not even a formal announcement by the Town Crier, only memos quietly being passed within the kingdom’s agencies and neighboring states of the change in rulership. As the princess had basically run everything for some time now this was merely a formality, a change from her Royal Seal reading “Princess Marianne” to “Queen Marianne.” Apart from that, nothing really changed.

Some feared that this sudden change had indeed broken the young queen’s mind. Those who knew her personally and knew how much she pined for her brother and sister’s return as she took over their duties, only for them to leave her again would understand the sense of betrayal the new queen felt. Pointedly, she took off the Kingdom’s Crown after she had finished her oath and put it on the Throne Seat, never to touch it again, declaring that she was merely holding the position for the rightful King to return one day. To that end she kept her Princess’ Tiara and continued to use her room beside the Throne Room where she had been conducting her affairs, leaving the Throne Room itself unoccupied. Several nobles were baffled by this, but most chose to give in to the queen’s obstinacy, especially now when the Hour of Twilight was near.

For as far as the queen was concerned, it was business as usual.

Apart from a few jars of honey she saved "-for some fountains."