A/N: Here, presume Link and Zelda to be in their 20s.
"There's one!"
I shifted my gaze to where the princess was facing, her slate ready to capture a photo. There sprouted a patch of blue and yellow flowers, wafting back and forth in the midsummer's breeze. She tapped her thumb on the brown slab of metal, and the slate's 'eye' (or so she calls it) blinked. I've never quite understood how it worked, but Mipha's always chalked it up to magic. I suppose I just don't have a penchant for the technological.
CLICK!
"The flowers we have in Hyrule aren't just beautiful, they're also quite useful as ingredients for a variety of things!"
I grinned at her antics. Here she was, head on my lap, trying to take a decent photo of some flowers. If not for the threat of Calamity Ganon, or her prohibitive status, the princess would've been just another (though wildly cute) girl, one as fascinated with the world as I am with her.
7 whole years have passed since I first met the princess. As the child of Hyrule's royal servants, I'd only ever gaze upon the princess from afar.
"Link! Link! Did you see the princess in her new dress? She looked sooooooo pretty!" yelled Mido.
I sighed. Mido is a childhood friend of mine, and (regrettably) my best friend. He was the son of the castle's chef, and was thusly skilled with anything knife-related. I've always suspected he had a thing for Saria, his 'special elixirs' not-withstanding, but his constant raving over the princess has made me doubt this fact.
"The white sewing really complements her porcelain disposition, it's no wonder her father never lets her out of the castle!" he lamented, "If only I could be freed from washing and just once chat with her?"
Yup. Life as a commoner was hard, huh? You'd think these red carpets were comfortable, but that's only because we've scrubbed them down in lake Hylia beforehand. You'd think we'd be satisfied with the common girl, but the throes of royalty were a seductive proposition.
"Which is it, Mido? Princess Zelda, or Saria?" I asked, my voice taking on an indifferent tone.
Mido looked at me and shook his head, as if I was the insolent one.
"Argh, Link, you just don't get it! Saria's one thing, but Zelda's-"
"The princess," I corrected him. We weren't allowed to specifically refer to Princess Zelda by name here.
"- another thing! She's my goddess, my waking dream, something I simply must observe everyday!"
"Heh, so we're resorting to stalking, now, are we?" I retort, snorting at his embarrassing obsession.
"Well excuuuuuuuse me, Link, you wouldn't understand. After all, you're always with that fishy what's-her-name, aren't you?"
I felt my face warm up at his accusation. Indeed, I was often with Mipha, but she was more of a big-sister to me! Nothing more than that… I think? Though she wasn't Hylian, I found her to be insanely attractive. The way her scales shimmered in the setting sun, the shape of her fins, the curve of her-
"Link's in love with a Zora! Link's in love with a Zora!"
My unfortunate train of thought was interrupted by an insolent idiot.
"Shut it!" I yelled so loud. So loudly it echoed through the castle hallway.
I heard a giggle, and quickly whipped my head to the source: Princess Zelda herself. If only I could reload a previous moment of my life.
She, seemingly amused by the whole ordeal, smiled cutely at us. Ignoring the blood spurting out from Mido's nose, I quickly stood up and bowed.
"Oh no, you don't have to bow. Please!"
I stayed in position, lest I feel the wrath of her father, King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule.
Zelda took a breath of surprise, her eyes widening, I gave her a questioning look.
"This one here is called the Silent Princess, it's a rare, endangered species," she explained.
She got on all fours and put her face next to the white flower. From behind her, it was quite a picturesque scene.
"Despite our efforts-" the princess proclaimed, breaking my gaze's daze, "we can't get them to grow domestically yet. The princess can only thrive out here in the wild."
Oh really? For a flower with such a domestic name, it's a wonder it can't be nurtured under domestic means. My focus drifted from the flowers to the castle in the distance, as-if lamenting on how distant it all seemed. As one who served solely as the princess' knight, day-in, day-out, I had only a surface-level knowledge of what actually went on in the castle. Cases like the upbringing of different species of flora were absolutely beyond me - beyond my rank. Champion as I may be, I'm not treated that much differently from the others at the castle. Most of the time, I'm relegated to the armaments, only freed when the princess personally calls on me.
Taking on a more poignant tone, she continued, "-all that we can hope is that the species will be strong enough to prosper it on it's own."
She got up, and sat by the flower, as if protecting it. The breeze made for a picturesque scene, with the princess' hair flowing with the rhythm of the wafting grass, and the Silent Princess, sprouting in solidarity.
"Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed, "Is that what I think it is? Look at this!"
A green frog with large yellow eyes was forcibly shoved into my focus. It had slimy green skin, and a reddish hue about its legs. I identified it as the everyday, common, Hotfoot Frog.
"I don't believe it, but I actually caught one! This delicacy is known to have very, very potent effects under the proper circumstances. Tada!" she continued.
I rolled my eyes. I'd never heard of such 'potent effects' every happening. Not once in a red moon would I believe a common frog bringing any magical effects.
"Research from the castle shows ingesting one of these can actually augment certain abilities. We wouldn't be in a controlled environment out here, and with your level of physical fitness… you'd be a perfect candidate for the study!" she said, continuing to shove the frog closer and closer to my mouth.
She looked up at me with hopeful blue eyes, and I looked incredulously down at the frog's yellow ones. Such is the life when protecting royalty.
"Go on! Taste it!"