Under the stony gaze of the Goddess Hylia statue, Zelda stood there, praying with all of her might. Shivering in waist deep water and wearing a white linen dress that did nothing shield her from the chilly winds of the night, the princess's determination started to waver. But she could not let her resolve fall. Many more would suffer much worse if she could not find whatever latent ancient power she possessed.
"Please just tell me… what is it?" Zelda begged in a tear stricken voice, "what's wrong with me?"
Nothing in the Spring of Power gave her a response. No wind pointing her in the direction of where she must head. No clouds parting to shine light in her surroundings. No mysterious voice crooning its wisdom or encouragement in her ears. Maybe the lack thereof was the goddesses' answer. Maybe this was a sign that there was nothing she could do now. What use was it to carry the blood of the Triforce of Wisdom when Zelda was none the wiser.
Her hands unclasped and balled into a tight fist. Forgetting herself and the presence of the chosen hero behind her, the frustration and hopelessness flooded her senses and she pounded the water in a fit.
Link's ears tensed at the sound of water splashing and the tone of hopelessness in Zelda's voice. He broke his watchman stance to angle his body towards Zelda's distressed form. Driven out of her stupor by the movement of the hero, the scholarly princess shifted her attention to Link. Zelda uncurled her fist and turned around to face her chosen hero.
"I'm-I'm sorry you had to see that," she said in a terse whisper. The Hylian tried to hide her crestfallen countenance by looking down at her reflection. Only the sad visage of a powerless girl greeted her and Zelda decided that she would rather break down in front of the hero than take another look at her miserable reflection.
Link didn't know what to say. He had always been known as a man of few words, but he wished at this moment to trade in all the rupees he had to give the princess the words she needed to hear. Wiping the tears away with her palms, the Hylian female made way out of the water towards Link.
Zelda, in her white dress, drenched under the moonlight was a sight to behold. Before she had entered the spring, Zelda had changed out of her Champion clothing into the jewelry-adorned royal outfit. The Triforce of Wisdom holder performed the necessary acts of purification before entering the spring, which meant bathing in the spring water. Embarrassed at such an intimate sight, the swordsman turned his back to her and tuned his ears to the environment around them, now fully alert and prepared for any oncoming attacks. The blonde princess took no heed of the knight as she quieted her mind and shifted her thoughts to prayers and meditation.
Now, hours later, Zelda was still drenched to the bone. As she slowly stepped out of the water, the white cloth that had been floating languidly in the spring rushed to cling to the Hylian's skin. Always a gentleman, the swordsman glanced in the other direction, but still reached out his hand to help the princess onto the platform. Oblivious to Link's distress, Zelda made a comment about changing back into her champion clothing.
When she finished, she came out looking as he had seen her, hundreds of time before. Except now, her eyes were shade darker than he remembered. Her orbs of emerald had lost the sheen they had when they began their journey. In the beginning, everything was new and spectacular to the princess who had never had the opportunity to explore the kingdom she ruled over. Although there was always an underlying anxiety of the Calamity Ganon's return, Link appreciated the opportunity to travel with the Zelda.
It took awhile for the stubborn princess to acknowledge the swordsman's aid. At the start of their journey, she had tried to escape his watch. But time and time again, he found her. And after a close call with a handful of undead Lizalfos, she silently acquiesced her approval of his protection.
"You must have the nose of a bloodhound. How in the name of Din do you keep finding me?" the princess had asked in exasperation. She attempted to stare down at Link with furrowed brows and a spiteful glare.
"It's my duty, Princess," the hero replied aptly as he began to scavenge the Lizalfos' remains.
The Hylian royal harrumphed and began to lead her horse to the top of the hill. Just when Link thought he would have to cease his scavenging and start another chase for the princess, he noticed that she hadn't made a fast dash like she usually did when she encountered him. Instead, Zelda languidly made her way across Hyrule's field, as if waiting for the hero to catch up to her.
As their journey continued, the hero and princess grew more comfortable in each other's presence. Link learned that Zelda loved discovery and experimentation. Whenever there was some time to spare, the duo always stopped to search for ingredients. Zelda, for her unearthly concoctions and Link, for his heavenly dishes.
"Link, your dishes rival even the royal cooks! If you ever decide to retire from your knighthood, you would surely have a place in the castle kitchen!" Zelda said as she stared in appraisal at that night's Hearty Salmon Meunière. "The crispy skin of this fried salmon puts its texture in a class all its own!"
Embarrassed, the warrior hoped that his blush could not be distinguished in the firelight. The two had set camp by a small lake where he had happened upon some hearty salmon. As these were not as common compared to the Hyrule Bass, Linked jumped at his chance to acquire them. Literally. Without even shedding his clothes, Link had dove straight into the water as Zelda watched in extreme shock. Luckily it was high noon and his clothes dried off quickly or else he would have caught a cold. Although he was not willing to admit openly, the meal and Zelda's constant worry that afternoon was worth the stunt he had pulled.
After they had finished their dinner and cleaned up the campsite, the royal pulled out a small vial of dark colored liquid. "I figured out what to do with the moblin guts we scavenged the other day! I mixed it with the elusive hot-footed frog and I think I am on the verge of creating a speed inducer!"
The mad-scientist-princess gleefully held out the vial in front of Link. "Please! Please! Won't you try it? For me?"
Thus far, the Hylian Champion had tried so many of Zelda's failed and successful concoctions that he had lost count. Most of her creations had turned into dubious foods as she threw in random ingredients together. Thankfully, the occurrence of these barely edible dishes had lessened once she stopped mixing monster parts with actual food ingredients. When asked why she had not felt discouraged by her failed creations, the princess had given him a small smile and replied, "you miss a hundred percent of the targets you do not shoot at."
Her unwillingness to quit no matter how many splotched creations was what inspired the warrior to start cooking. He hadn't ever felt the need to cook while working at the castle since his meals were always provided. Unlike Zelda, it seemed like Link was the one blessed with the natural talent as his culinary ventures more often than not turned out successful.
As he examined the glass vial in the princess's hands, he considered this options. Usually, he didn't mind being the royal test subject as he could never reject Zelda's pleading look. However, it was late into the night and he was exhausted. On the off chance that this potion worked, the last thing he needed was an adrenaline booster. Plus, he didn't want to chase down the delectable taste of Salmon Meunière with that of a hot-footed frog.
"I apologize, Princess, but I must decline. It's getting a bit late. I can try it first thing tomorrow morning." The swordsman mentally grimaced, immediately regretting his offer. Frogs were not one of his favorite animals. Or ingredients.
The princess took her gaze off Link and turned her head towards the moon. "Ah yes. You are quite right. We can save this for later in our journey." Zelda put the vial away and made a note of its creation in her inventory.
"Ah! That's right! I must mark the location of the Silent Princess we found today! I am so happy to have found those. They were so exquisite!" the Hylian female said ecstatically. Link gave a small smile as he looked at the Princess's gleeful face. Although he could never bring himself to admit out loud, the warrior could not deny that Zelda's smile was the best in all of Hyrule. It was one of the reasons why he felt so lucky being the Champion: he had the opportunity to see her unguarded, sincere smiles more so than the average Hylian.
She smiled when she found a new critter or herb. When her horse jumped over a large obstacle. When she finally perfected an elaborate elixir after many failed attempts. Or whenever Link saved her from an array of Ganon's monsters.
As the tired wielder of the Master Sword listened to the royal's verbal summarization of their discoveries that day, he let out a small yawn. Before he knew it, the following remark escape his lips.
"You know, it's ironic that they named the 'Silent Princess' after you because you're not very silent, Princess."
The diligent princess went quiet and Link was suddenly very wide awake at that moment. Darn it! His sleep-addled brain had no control of his words. This was the first snarky comment he had ever made in the Hylian girl's presence. In his panic, he wondered if she could have him banished right here and now.
The sound of a soft laughter washed away all of his worries. His attention now was completely captivated by the bells of Zelda's laugh. "You have a point there, hero. Perhaps, if we make it back to the castle, I will ask the Hylian catalogers to rename the flower to the 'Clamorous' or 'Rambunctious' Princess. Would you be happy with that?"
Link gave a small grunt of approval as his exhaustion quickly overtook him once again. In his weariness, the Hylian Champion did not realize that the princess had said "if."
If they had returned to the castle.
Not when.
If.
"Alright. I guess we should head back to camp. It's so late, I think the sun is about to rise. I reckon we can get a few hours of sleep in before we head out to the Spring of Wisdom in Mount Lanayru." Zelda made a motion for Link to follow her through the woods.
Link's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The sun was about to rise? Had that much time passed? He hadn't even realized it.
Zelda noticed the male Hylian's absent-mindedness and before she could stop herself, she broke the silence.
"I know I've said this time and time again, but I'm very grateful to have you with me. I would have probably been squashed by some moblins if I didn't have you by my side."
The swordsman said nothing so she continued, but with less bravado this time. Her head lowered towards the ground as she could no longer maintain eye contact with her hero. Before his eyes, the blonde princess grew meek as her hands drew together in front of her and she lowered herself in a bow.
"As the organizer of this expedition, I cannot even begin to imagine the types of danger I'm putting you and the other Champions through. I am sorry that I cannot lead with more confidence like Daruk or grace like Mipha. I am sorry I broke down li-"
Before another lament fell from her lips, Link took one of her hands and encircled it with his own. He hoped that his touch could pull her back from losing herself within her over-analytical mind. His countenance softened into a small, but sincere smile.
"Princess, before you are a princess, you are a human, and humans are allowed to break down. We are not like the Guardians," he reassured her, "as harsh as it may seem, sometimes, you have to be broken to become even stronger than before."
Zelda lifted her head and gazed at Link's face. Mentally chiding himself for such hackneyed words, the now flustered young male made a move to withdraw, but before he could, Zelda grasped his hands in return.
The Hylia descendent slowly lifted her chin to look at the Hero with a teary gaze. She gave a Link a smile, which seized his heart at its core. He's been knocked breathless many times in his battles with Lynels, moblins, and Guardians, but being graced with the Princess's watery smile felt like he had been hit by those monsters all at once.
"When did you get so wise, Link? Perhaps it was you who inherited the Triforce of Wisdom in my place."
The warrior gave a light, embarrassed chuckle in response. "No, Princess. If anything, I think the only thing I've inherited is the Triforce of Reckless Behaviour."
The couple bursted out in a much needed bout of laughter as the sunset fireflies danced around them. Eventually, their merrymaking drew to a lull and they simply stood there, reveling in each other's company.
As the tip of the sun poke through the horizon and the last of the fireflies drew back into slumber, an idea popped into the Champion's head.
"Princess, let's take a quick trip somewhere. We will be back on the trail to Mount Lanayru in no time." Link pulled out the Sheikah slate and scanned the map for the Shee Vaneer shrine atop the Dueling Peaks. Before the princess could voice her disapproval, the Hylian swordsman threw proprietary to the wind and captured the royal in a tight embrace.
"Hold on, Princess."
Unconsciously, Zelda returned the warrior's clutch in worried haste.
"Wait, Li-" But she was cut off by a luminescent blue light unraveling the very fiber of their beings.
"-nk" the confused girl finished. The duo landed with a soft "oomphed" on the shrine's metal pad. Before Zelda could take notice of their environment, she was instantaneously made very aware of the one who she deemed Champion. Still encircled in his arms with her head nestled under his chin, she could feel the warmth radiating from his broad chest. Even through the two layers of clothes he was wearing, the flustered Hylian teen could ascertain a set of muscles built over years of battle and adventure. Zelda suddenly remembered the time when Link had dove headfirst into a lake for some salmon. She hadn't known whether to thank or curse the Goddesses that the built warrior had not taken his tunic off before he had jumped in.
Unable to will the strength or the coordination to break apart from Link, the princess could only lightly push away from Link as she surveyed the area. Immediately, the couple was hit by a cold, biting gale that shook the two to their bones.
"L-Link, had you t-taken us here to d-die of h-hypothermia?" the Hylian royal berated.
"N-n-no," the freezing warrior replied between chattering teeth.
Making haste, the experimenter pulled out two elixirs, both made from cold darners and Lizalfos talons. "H-here, drink this before our b-blood freezes over," Zelda commanded as she shoved a vial into Link's face.
After a moment of enduring the bitter cold, the elixir took its effect and warmed the two adventurers. As the feeling of their limbs returned to them, the princess finally had the chance to survey their surroundings. They were on top of possibly the highest peak in the region. No wonder they were so cold. A height breaching this altitude most definitely ensured a freezing, unforgiving atmosphere.
"Hey, Princess. Turn around." When she did, it was not the wind that knock the breath out of her, but rather the sight of Hyrule lain beneath her. As far as the eye could see, a stretch of green painted the land. On her right, she could see the Hyrule Castle, standing in all of its glory. To the left she could see the canyons barricading the Gerudo desert. The land was basked in the soft glow of dawn as more of the sun broke through the horizon.
"It's...it's spectacular," the awestruck Hylian said. In this moment, she reminded herself that this land and the people living in it, this is what she had wanted to protect from the bane of Calamity Ganon.
"If you turn once more and look through the Peaks, you can see the ocean."
The sunlight reflected from the vermillion sea was blinding. "How far do you think it goes?"
Link turned to Zelda and studied the way the sun rays kissed her cheeks. He would not want to be anywhere else other than right here, next to her side. "Who knows? Maybe one day we'll find out."