The room was cold when Zelda woke up, her eyes struggling to open as she sat up and rubbed them with the heels of her hands, everything was blurring but became clearer as she blinked. She shivered slightly and pulled the blanket up around her shoulders as she took in her surroundings. The room was dark only light was from behind the curtains in the window beside the bed, everything felt still and quiet. It was such a strange feeling none of it even felt real yet.
That she was actually in a bed, in a home and not stuck in that never-ending void trapped with the demon lord.

With a sigh Zelda moved from the bed her feet stepping onto the cold wood which made the Princess grimaced slightly but she moved on, walking down the creaky stairs, her blanket on her shoulders and trailing behind her like a cape as she made her way to the door. For a moment she stared at it wondering if it was something she should do, she didn't exactly want people to get the wrong idea about Link with a woman suddenly leaving his house early in the morning. But she shrugged it off and gripped the door knob and opened the door.
The sun almost blinded her.

She closed her eyes in that moment before blinking slowly and opening them adjusting to the change of light and taking in the cold morning surroundings and realizing that Link was still nowhere around as she walked out without any shows on despite the cold, she somehow enjoyed the chill against her. It was something different after all this time and she really couldn't remember the last time she felt coldness before, though it wasn't exactly that enjoyable but she moved on walking into the yard beside the house, into the dew wet flowers and grass over to the small pound he had in the yard.

It was so strange, everything was familiar, being that she saw all this in his eyes for the last year it seemed, but at the same time nothing was familiar at all. It was new to her in a strange way and she enjoyed that feeling.

Discovering something.

She loved the feeling.

"Zelda?" a deep calm voice came out of nowhere causing the princess to jump slightly her green eyes growing large as she stiffened with a small yelp. As she turned giving him a pouty glare then after a few seconds to see him stifling a smile that threatened to come across his face. "Good Morning." he said as a smile finally broke across his features.

Zelda felt herself blush slightly and looked away for a moment before looking back at him giving him her own soft smile. "Good Morning, Link." her green eyes traveled all over his body, he wore the champions tunic and a worn-down bandana he said he found in one of the shrines, and held an axe in his hand.

"You seem to be busy this morning." she mused slightly feeling a bit \embarrassed for looking so lazy despite it was barely the crack of dawn and it seemed only someone like Link would be up at this time.

He laughed, "I guess. You're up early." he stated his blue eyes looking her over which caused the Princess's face to heat up slightly. "I thought you still be asleep." he stopped and licked his lips, "I'll make breakfast if you want to wash up." and Zelda wasn't going to lie, everything still felt a bit awkward between them so she nodded and watch him walk back into his house and then she turned back to the edge of the yard peering over to the town below which still took her breath away and caused a sense of anxiety to rush through her veins. But she tried to push that from her mind as she turned away and headed back in.

There would be time to consider those things later.
_

Zelda always knew Link was an amazing cook but she swore he had grown amazingly since the last time she ate anything by him. It took almost all of her years of manners lessons and willpower to not act like a pig and gobble it up all in one go. Especially because she could feel his eyes on her, watching for a reaction.

"This is really good." she looked up at him then, their eyes connecting. "You're amazing, you know that right." she laughed slightly as the blush covered Link's face to his ears, it was always something to see her stoic knight react like that from something she said, she would be a liar if she said she didn't enjoy it, because Zelda enjoyed it very much.

"It means a lot to hear that from you." Link said as he smiled before putting his spoon in his mouth for another bite of the "breakfast soup" as he called it. Zelda could feel her own face heat slightly as she nodded looking back down at her food silence filling between them in that moment.

There was so much to say and so much not to say that Zelda wasn't even sure where to begin.

Or if she even really wanted to.

She stirred her spoon in her soup for a moment before looking back up at him quickly only to see him staring intensely at his food and eating. Zelda couldn't help but smile slightly as she watched him, it was so strange the feeling that rose in her chest when she watched him, it was something that started before the calamity and just seemed to become more intense during the last year during his trials and she watched on, and of course when he finally saved her.
And the way he looked at her when she asked him if he still remembered her, it still caused Zelda's heart to hammer and her body to grow hot. As her mind stirred with these memories and thoughts, she didn't notice the intense blue eyes watching her or the soft smile that crossed his lips as he stood up and walked over to her, his hand touching the Princesses' shoulder which caused her to jump slightly with a yelp.

"Link!" she gasped as she looked up, "You gave me a shock." her hand was on her chest as she said this with a laugh. "Is something wrong?"

Link just gave her a smile and grabbed her hand, linking their fingers together. Zelda's could feel the warmth build up in her chest as he led her up the stairs, she really hadn't gotten a good look at his home, she been sleeping for what seemed like days and it's been their first proper breakfast together and whatnot she realized suddenly. When they finally reached the top, he turned to her still a smile on his lips, something Zelda wasn't exactly used to but she treasured anyway.

"Close your eyes." he said as he winked at her. "I wanted to show you this earlier but…" he shrugged, "I think it's the best time now." Zelda gave him a confused looked but promptly followed his advice and closed her bright green eyes and waited patiently for whatever he was going to do. What she didn't expect was him walking behind her and clasping his hands over her eyes.

"Oh!" she gasped trying to turn her head towards him.

"It's okay." he whispered against her ear, "just take a few steps, I'm sure you've already seen this but well." she could feel him shrug, "it's something I wanted to do." his voice softened then.

"Okay." she straighten herself against him, "I'm ready."

Slowly they walked about 3 or 5 steps before he turned her towards something and then lifted his hands from her eyes. "Now open!" he exclaimed nervousness tainting his voice as Zelda opened her eyes blinking a few times as they focused on what seemed to be a picture on the wall.

A picture of…

her heart stopped in that moment and she could feel the tears start to pool in her eyes clouding her vision.

It was the picture they took on that day.

Of her and the champions.

Zelda swallowed thickly. "Where did you…" she pointed at it as she turned to him noticing that his expression was softened as well and she swore maybe there were tears at the corner of his eyes but it might've just been her imagination as she wiped her own eyes.

"Kass gave it to me." she nodded as he spoke, "I got it not long before I stormed the castle it helped motivate me, I think regaining the memory of that day as well. Zelda couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed considering how cold she was to him at that time, but it never seemed to bother Link and she just wondered how good he was and it wasn't something she disliked at all, it anything it made her fall a bit more… her thoughts stopped then as she moved closer to it her hand on her chest and her other hand reaching out towards the picture her green eyes trying to burn the image into her brain as much as one could.

"Thank you." she whispered as she turned and looked over her shoulder a smile crossing her lips, "Thank you Link." she turned all the way towards him, "for everything." and with a step closer and in a moment without thinking she wrapped her arms around him, giving the knight a hug. "You don't know how much all of this has meant to me." she whispered against his chest trying to ignore how much her heart was pounding into her ears with the fact it seemed like his own heart was going wild as well.

"No." he started as his arms wrapped around her tightly, "I think I should be the one saying this." and after he spoke silence began to fill between them but it wasn't anything like the silence before. It was warm and comforting as she buried herself into his chest not caring in that moment, she was wearing one of his shirts that barely went to her knees.

None of that mattered but the warmth of his arms around her.