A new day dawned; the Chosen Hero and the Princess of Hyrule cleaned up camp and continued their journey back to Hyrule Castle. They recently defeated the unholy creature, Ganon, and sent him back to the Sacred Realm; he would never threaten Hyrule any longer. Neither Link nor Zelda were in any rush to their normal lives, so, they decided not to rush back to the castle. An extra day or two was not going to harm anybody.
And if it did, they could just suck it up.
"Midna sure is beautiful, isn't she?" Zelda chimed as she sat side-saddle atop Epona. Link, who was walking alongside his mare, glanced idly up at the Princess.
"That's the fifth time you've said that." He didn't sound annoyed – just amused.
"She is though," Zelda giggled. "She has the regality and elegance required to run a nation, wouldn't you say?"
Link smirked. "Are you complimenting yourself with that statement?"
Zelda's hand flew to her mouth as she mock gasped. "Of all the preposterous things to accuse me of! You think I'd compliment myself when I have you around?"
Throwing his head back, Link laughed heartily. The Princess had a sense of humour, how refreshing. Link pulled his hat off as his laughter died down to a chuckle; he ran his fingers through his hair and thought he'd humour her for a little bit.
"I must say," he began as he glanced up at her. "You're the most elegant and posiseful princess I've ever met."
"Poiseful is not a word but I commend your effort." Zelda muttered, dryly.
Link laughed at her expense. "You're quite the character, Princess. I'm still surprised you stood your ground against Ganon."
Zelda's eyes narrowed. Was he calling her… weak? "Are you saying that just because I'm a princess I am unable to stand up for myself and fight the evil that threaten me?"
"No," Link's lip twitched, he was resisting the urge to grin stupidly. "I'm just saying that for a princess, you fought well."
"What do you mean 'for a princess'?" Zelda raised her eyebrow. "Princesses can't fight? Midna accompanied you throughout your journey and she's a princess."
Link's eyes locked with hers. "I was under the impression she was an imp. The princess thing was just a surprise to me as it was to you."
"Pardon me," Zelda's voice grew louder. "I knew she was a princess. In case you forgot, I healed her while you were in wolf-boy mode."
She was so feisty, Link loved it. Her anger was multiplying and the fire in her eyes excited him—she was definitely unlike any woman he had ever met before. And, because Link was of the male-species, he decided to egg the heiress to the throne a little more: "Well, you did scar me pretty badly when you were under Ganon's control… you sure do pack a punch."
Zelda clamped her mouth shut before she spewed out unladylike words. So the Chosen Hero was teasing her, was he? He didn't think she could fight, did he? She'd show him… she wasn't a damsel in distress, she was a fighter.
And she would show him.
"Very well then," she said in a huff. "Tell me, Hero," the way she drawled his title made his skin crawl in anticipation. Despite not spending a lot of time with the princess, Link had grown an attraction for her—she was a Hylian that knew where she stood, and feared nothing. Even though he teased her, Link was thoroughly impressed in how she stood her ground against Ganon and attacked him with her barrage of light arrows.
Could she stand her ground in hand-to-hand combat? He wasn't sure, but he knew that she was stubborn and that was a trait, weirdly enough, he admired.
"Is there a woman waiting out in this world for you?"
Ahh, the age old method of determining whether a Hyalin was single or not. So was she interested?
"Perhaps," Link said as he shrugged and missed the look in Zelda's eyes. "Many people wait on others without them even known." He grinned up at her. "There could be aplenty of women waiting for me that I am unaware of."
"Fair enough." Zelda nodded. "But is there one you do know of?"
Link stared into her eyes and his grip on Epona's reign tightened slightly. "Perhaps, but she is just a friend to me. Her father helped raise me and I grew up with her—in fact," Link leaned over and kissed Epona just under her eye. "She helped me take care of Epona."
Zelda smiled endearingly. "Really? What's her name?"
"Ilia," Link murmured. "Ilia…" He was recalling the adventure he had to go through to restore her memories. Ilia, his best friend. Shaking his head, Link pulled on Epona's reign in an effort to guide her towards the path on the left. They had just arrived at a fork in a road and Link knew that the path on the left was a shortcut through the canyon.
"What about you, Princess?" Link asked as he looked back at her again. He didn't have to look at her, but she was just so damn beautiful and not fragile looking.
Zelda shook her head. "Like you said, perhaps there is but I am unaware of it. But my age of marriage is fast approaching and I need a king by my side as I rule Hyrule for the rest of my days."
"King, hmm?"
Zelda nodded. "Yes. I need somebody suitable, with a strong character, and a charismatic attitude. Do you know of anybody?" Her teasing tone had returned.
"I am acquainted with a certain Hero," Link couldn't help but wink and Zelda bubbled into laughter.
"Really?" Zelda arched an eyebrow. "Would I be acquainted with him too?"
Epona neighed and both parties laughed. "Perhaps," Link's voice was shaking in laughter. "Epona is very much acquainted with him."
"But does he have a strong character?"
"He does have the blood of the Twilight Beast running through his vei—" Link stopped short and his eyes narrowed. Zelda, seeing his change in mood, sat up straight and scanned their surroundings. There was nothing…
"Look what we have here, Jing-Jing," an ugly and grotesque Moblin waddled forward with a giant club in his hand. "Dinner."
Jing-Jing, the other ugly Moblin, cackled deviously. "And breakfast. This is enough for two days, Yuangshu."
"Stay low," Link whispered as he unsheathed his sword. Epona's nostrils flared and she kicked the dirt; Zelda quickly dismounted and stood directly behind Link. Their eyes scanned the area behind the Moblins and saw that at least seven more were closing in. "They're here in large numbers."
"We can take them," Zelda whispered and Link shot her a look.
"Stay with Epona."
Zelda frowned. "You really think I can't fight?"
"I don't want to risk anything right now. They're just Moblins so let me get 'em all and we can be on our way."
Zelda pulled back, appalled. "You really do believe I can't fight. You aren't even joking, are you?"
Jing-Jing and Yuangshu paused to stare at the fighting duo. They glanced at each other, evidently confused… were they seriously fighting about whether the woman could fight or not? Really? That was the first time the two Moblins ever witnessed that kind of conversation.
"You know what, Link?" She added an extra oomph to his name. "Just watch." And, gracefully, she shoved him out of the way and approached Jing-Jing and Yuangshu. "You two," she called out as a white light began radiating from her right hand. "It's dinner you want, is it?"
Link's eyes widened. "What're you doing?!" At that precise moment, the seven other Moblins approached.
"You found dinner, Jing-Jing?" One called out.
Zelda's eyes darkened. "I'll show you dinner." She brought her right hand up and a bow, made entirely of light formed from the center of her palm. As she brought her left hand up a light arrow began slowly forming from the center of her other palm. Link was dumbstruck—
Mother of Hylia, she really can fight…
"Bon," Zelda whispered as she pulled back the arrow, "Appetite." She released the arrow and, as it shot towards the Moblins, it transformed into a giant light bird and incinerated the creepy goblins. Smirking, Zelda's light bow and arrow disappeared and she dusted her shoulder. Turning around, she gave Link a cocky look.
"Still think I can't—"
"BEHIND YOU!"
Link lunged forward as Zelda turned around; a deformed Moblin was running toward her. Scowling, Zelda executed a perfect back handspring and managed to dodge the charging Moblin, who ended up stumbling into Link. Before either had a chance to realize what happened, Zelda summoned a sword (made entirely of light), and thrust it into the Moblin's back.
"And that's what you call dessert."
Dusting her hands off, Zelda couldn't help but grin at the "hero."
"Well?"
Link raised both eyebrows. "Well what? I'm just going to get up on Epona now and you can guide us home—why didn't you pull that stunt against Ganon?"
"Because we had to seal him away, not incinerate him into ash." Zelda rolled her eyes. "Really, Link, if we just incinerate him he will just end up regenerating."
"My apologize, Princess," Link said tauntingly. "Next time Hyrule is threatened by an evil, power-hungry ageless creature, let me recall basic bad-guy facts learned in primary school. And after that, I'll call you to do your light-arrow-bird trick."
Zelda shook her head. "Ha, ha, very funny. Now, can we please be on our way back to the castle? I have a kingdom to run."
Link smirked. "Don't you need a king by your side, also?"
No matter how hard she tried, Zelda couldn't stop herself from laughing. She approached Link who caught her around the waist and hoisted her back up onto Epona—all the while, she kept on giggling. "I do, will you assist me in the search?"
"You've adequately proven that you do not need assistance in anything."
A sneaky smile spread across Zelda's lips. "Other than conceiving children."
Link turned a questionable shade of red. "Well… you need a king to do that, don't you…"
"And you're acquainted with a certain Hero, aren't you?"
Link was right.
Zelda was quite the character. And he loved every bit of her.
.xx.
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