In the three years since the new princess's birth, Queen Zelda of the Kingdom of Hyrule, and her husband the Prince Consort, Master Link, found their lives changed in more ways than they could ever have imagined — but all for the better.
They loved being parents. And Princess Saria seemed to reflect aspects of both her parents more and more with each passing day that she grew into the playful toddler she was.
The young princess had a hunger for outdoors and adventure and going on as many horseback rides with her father that he managed to fit in. Her spirit however, was entirely her mother. Strong willed and occasionally too independent for her short three years of age, Saria was unmistakably the child of the Queen and her beloved Hero.
Today was a special day. The princess's birthday had only passed the week prior and while the family of three had enjoyed kingdom-wide celebration of the young princess's birth, today was their opportunity to celebrate just the three of them. Naturally, they planned something all three participants would enjoy — a picnic off castle grounds.
Princess Saria clapped her hands in excitement and glee as her father slowed their stead down to a mellow trot.
"I think this would be as good a spot as any." Zelda's own stallion came up beside her husband and daughter with a smile as she pointed to a small shaded spot under a few wild apple trees. Link smiled but didn't say anything else as his daughter wiggled impatiently in her harness at his front. He followed Zelda towards the trees and the Queen dismounted first before stepping towards the Prince's mare and helping him undo the young princess's protective restraints before pulling the young girl into her arms.
"More horsees! More horsees!" The toddler squealed in protest upon realizing that her ride had ended far too quickly for her liking. Zelda laughed but sat her daughter under the shade of the tree anyways.
"You'll get 'more horsees' when we head back to the castle." The princess pouted with a loud groan of distaste but quickly squealed in delight when her father — carrying a large wicker basket — sat beside her with a warm smile he only ever gave his daughter.
"Are you hungry, princess?" Link opened the basket and pulled out a small bag of dried fruits and sweetened oats for the princess who quickly forgot all about the horses when her father opened the bag in front of the toddler's lap and let her explore the sweet treats.
"She is definitely your daughter," Zelda commented with a playful smirk. "Put some food in front of her, and she'll be content the rest of the day."
Link smiled as he watched his daughter pull a dried strawberry from the bag of treats now spewed all over the picnic blanket and giggle in happiness at the flavor on her tongue. "Good?" He asked her with a softness to his voice he didn't often use. The tiny princess paid it no notice however, nodding instead and continuing on happily, now selecting a small piece of dried orange.
Zelda felt a warmth in her chest at watching her daughter and beloved interacting. They had such a beautiful family, and while she knew she was definitely biased in her assessment, she couldn't imagine a family better suited than theirs.
The Queen reclined next to her husband and lay her head in Link's lap as she watched her daughter enjoy her small lunch and felt herself relax into her hero's touch. Link took a bite of his own sandwich with one hand and instinctually began running the other through Zelda's loose strands of hair. His fingers traced gently over the side of her scalp and around the shell of her ear before trailing over the gentle line of her jaw and traveling back to the top. He could see his Queen stretch her neck back and close her eyes before giving a low and slow moan of appreciation at his touch.
"That feels nice," she spoke softly.
"You aren't hungry, my love?" He asked her quietly after a loud and distinctive swallow. He took another bite of nearly a third of the impressively sized meal with little more than a breath between. Zelda merely made a face equivalent to the shrug of her shoulders and melted back into his touch.
"My stomach's been a little uneasy at this time of day recently."
If Link were a smarter man, he probably would have taken that as a clue that something was amiss. Unfortunately for him, he didn't catch the significance of her words at all and had his thoughts preoccupied by the rambunctious toddler instead.
"You know," Zelda started off now looking over the calm plains and trees around them as their daughter bent down to pick tiny blossoms that sprinkled the grass like powdered sugar. "I don't think we've had a chance to just enjoy the calm afternoon since Saria was born."
Link smiled, his fingers absently drew shapes across his queen's neck on the left, and shoveling the rest of his sandwich in his mouth with the right.
"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Link spoke with half a mouth full of thinly sliced meats and bread before swallowing his mouthful and continuing his speech. "Makes me think of the days we spent out here during the war."
Zelda sat up then, pursed her lips and gave Link a glare that didn't need verbalization to be understood.
Not around our three-year-old.
"Daddy, I wanna play games!" Saria's voice immediately grabbed the pair's attention with amusement on Link's handsome face.
"Games?" He feigned misunderstanding. "And what game does the Princess Saria want to play?"
"Ummm…" the little princess chewed on the thought with his fist still full of flowers and made an over exaggerated motion of thinking hard by tilting her head to the side and making an amusing expression with her pursed lips. From beside Link, Zelda almost snickered at her daughter's clear mimicry of something she'd probably had watched herself do in the past. "Wrestling!"
Zelda rolled her eyes.
Definitely her father's daughter.
"Wrestling?" Link feigned exhaustion. "Oh, I don't know, Princess. It's so hot, and we haven't finished our lunch…"
"Puh-leeeeeeease, daddy?" Princess Saria grabbed her father's arm and tugged with all her might. Her flowers—now long forgotten—lay discarded on the grass beside them. "Come on, just one time. I promise!"
Zelda laughed beside Link and let him get up with amusement on her lips and adoration in her heart. She sat up under the shade of a tree and watched thoroughly entertained by the interaction between her small family. Link let his daughter pull him a few paces forward before she stopped and pointed up to his head.
"Can I wear your crown, daddy?" She pointed in excitement as if that were the sole reason they now stood in the middle of the grass. Link paused halfway through pulling off a boot.
"Noooooo," he dragged out the syllable like his toddler had previous. "You can't have my crown, you have your own." Link pulled off the remaining boot and set them both safely to the side. He reached to pull the heavy metal plate under his royal tunic. "I thought we were going to play wrestling?"
Saria stared at her father a second then her face lit up. "Oh yeah! I forgot." She clapped her hands excitedly then walked around her father to face him. From a few feet away, Zelda sat beneath the shade of an apple tree with happiness in her heart.
"Can I have your crown if I win?"
Finally, Zelda laughed audibly with a clap of her hands and Link bent at the waist laughing at his toddler's humor.
"How about I'll let you wear it for a little while on the way back to the castle." The last piece of heavy armor dropped beside Link's boots and leather gloves. He felt twenty pounds lighter already. "Deal?"
Saria scrunched her nose. "Even if I lose?"
He couldn't believe it. He, the Prince of Hyrule, currently third in line to the throne, leader of the Hyrulian Royal Guard and husband to her majesty the Queen of Hyrule was negotiating with a 37-month-old. And she seemed to think she was winning.
"If you win."
The excitable child clapped her hands with enthusiasm. "Okay daddy!" The little princess turned to her mother this time. "What about mommy's crown?"
Oh Goddess.
"Saria, your crown is just right for you. When you get bigger, I promise I'll get the castle jewelers to make you a bigger crown just like mine." Zelda spoke softly to her daughter but with an unmistakable command in her voice.
The Princess was still not appeased, however. "I like daddy's better. It has gween on it."
Zelda rolled her eyes and Link finally let out a bellow of a laugh from deep in his belly that seemed to shake the grass with his humor.
"Alright Saria, you can have one with green on it just like daddy." Zelda smiled in appreciation to her daughter's already blossoming strong will. "Now either you're going to wrestle your father, or I am."
It was the wrong thing to say. Saria's small face and big blue eyes immediately illuminated all at once. "Mommy can wrestle daddy?"
Oh no. Spoke too soon.
"Yeah!" The young princess almost flew over to her mother in undiluted excitement. "Yeah! Mommy wrestle daddy. I wanna see mommy wrestle!"
"Oh no," Link watched his three-year-old already attempting to get her mother to her feet. "I don't think your mother is up for wrestling today, Saria."
Zelda feigned insult. "What, you don't think you can hold your own against my Sheikah training, Hero?"
Link licked his lips and Zelda could see his eyes darkening with the challenge already. "I don't know, your majesty," he said her title with enough emphasis that it made a warmth beginning to bubble in her chest and spread to her arms, legs, and more intimate areas. "It's been many years since I had the pleasure of seeing Sheik. Are you sure she's still in there somewhere?" She knew that look.
Zelda unbuckled her heavy outter skirts and tiara. They fell to the floor in a noisey pile and quickly preceded her heeled boots. When she was done ridding herself of the over abundance of unnecessary garb until she was left in a simpler leggings and corseted top. "You have an advantage." Zelda faced her husband with challenge in her eyes. "You aren't wearing a corset."
Saria watched her parents face each other once they were prepared and squealed in happiness.
"Princess, you know this is just a game, right sweetheart?"
Saria giggled and planted herself in the grass with a wild dandelion in her little hand. "I know daddy."
Link's eyes nearly glowed with Zelda's. "Should I go easy on you, your majesty?"
Zelda bit her lip. "And when have you ever known me to be one that prefers things easy?"
It was the closest thing to a magic spell the queen could have spoken.
"First one pinned, loses." The Queen's eyes gleamed mischievously and for a moment Link could have sworn they flashed red with something long hidden deep in her subconscious.
Link lunged forward with impeccable speed and agility on his felt that far surpassed that of any other knight on the force. He brought his entire body towards the Queen in an impressive display of power and training.
Zelda seemed to dematerialize into the air. She moved so fast, she was there one moment, and the next Link landed on his feet where the Queen had been but no longer stood. Link looked up just in time for two lithe as air feet to collide with his back.
He rolled onto the ground and grabbed for his wife, but just as quick as Link was, Zelda was even faster.
She jumped out of his reach, one foot just grazing the top of his outstretched arm before landing squarely on two feet and a hand on the ground, long blonde braid whipping behind her as she looked up to meet her Prince's gaze.
Just like that, Link was no longer looking at Queen Zelda, but the fierce and unmatched agility of Sheik the Sheikah warrior, the woman he fell in love with long before he knew her to be Princess Zelda.
Link arched up ready to lunged at the woman once more. He was met instead with two powerful legs kicking at his back just enough to push him down and avoid injury. He collided with the ground with a loud and ungracefully 'Uff!'
And the game was over. Sheik pulled Link's arm crossed behind his back, her knee between his shoulder blades and leaned so close to his ear, he could feel her breath when she whispered hottily in his ear.
"I win."
The silence erupted in enthusiastic clapping and a squeal from their tiny audience. Link couldn't help but laugh as his wife finally let him stand. Grass and dust clung to his knees and front of his tunic but he pulled out completely unscathed and at aw that even after all the years that had passed, Sheik was still there.
The royal family of three spent the remainder of the afternoon off castle grounds. Saria insisted they look for frogs and butterflies and picked flowers with her mother they both later enjoyed weaving into their braids and mane of their steads.
By the time the Queen, Hero, and tiniest member of the royal family returned to the castle the air was darkening with a chill of sunset and Saria had long fallen asleep before they'd even reached the castle grounds.
Zelda helped pull the tiny princess from her harness before handing her back to her father. The exhausted toddler immediately sank into her father's arms and fell asleep against his shoulder, her thumb in her mouth and cheeks rosy with sleep and excitement of the day.
Zelda suppressed her laugh as best she could watching the tiny princess fast asleep. Link smiled as he carefully carried the child within the castle walls, nodding to the guards as they opened the doors in his wake and slowly closed them once more at his ascent of the steps so as not to disturb the tiny princess.
"How about you put her to bed and then meet me in our room." Zelda leaned in close to Link's ear as they landed on the final floor. She was so close Link's hairs stood on the back of his neck as the feel of her warm breath on his ear. "Then you can give me my prize."
Link's throat bobbed with his swallow but his eyes darkened with the warmth growing in his veins.
"Of course, your majesty."
Saria went to bed without much fuss or complaint. There was a possibility the rambunctious three-year-old princess would be out of her crib and in her parent's bed at some point throughout the late night or early morning, but for now Link had to count his blessings that the tiny princess was exhausted and fast asleep before he even managed to finish dressing her for bed. She was deep in slumber by the time he laid her down in her bed and kissed her goodnight, and for that he was truly grateful.
Especially since the Queen seemed to be expecting extra attention that evening, and he definitely missed that kind of attention as of late.
Link smiled mischievously as he made his way just down the short hall to his bedroom. Every time he walked this hall it reminded him of the days he snuck in under the guise of a guard on patrol to meet his beloved Princess in her bed. He'd always been pretty good at going unnoticed too. Not including that one time with Impa…
Link shuddered and shook away the memory of the Sheikah warrior's angry glare as he neared the door and begun to turn the handle. Not the time to be thinking of that.
The door swung silently open and Link was quick to close it behind him before he found Zelda.
His mouth fell open and eyes went wide and he was pretty certainly the room had just become unbearably hot.
A very familiar woman lay in the center of their bed, wrists and fingers tightly wrapped in white gauzy strips secured with tantalizing red ribbons, long blonde hair in a thin distinctive braid that ended in a sharp pointed adornment and a thick white shawl wrapped around her head and neck, only leaving out a pair of piercing red eyes from beneath the covering and mask.
And everything else was completely bare.
"I was wondering how long you would keep me waiting," the woman purred with a silken voice. It sent a shiver over his flesh that swelled in his throat and sent liquid heat pooling in his groin.
Creamy smooth lines and curves and…
He'd better stop himself now before his evident pleasure embarrassed him.
"The body suit didn't quite fit anymore, but I didn't think you'd mind much." Zelda uncrossed her ankles and sat up, leaning forward just slightly so Link's eyes immediately fell to her full, round breasts, tantalizing delicious and daring to be touched.
If he'd been paying more attention, he probably would have noticed the subtle differences in her all familiar body. Unfortunately for the Hero of Hyrule, he was much too distracted by the hidden red eyes and matched red lips newly uncovered and inching closer him with every passing second.
Zelda crawled over to him with cat-like elegnace that radiated off the smooth curves of her hips and legs as she neared the foot of the bed. Her hips swayed just slightly as she moved, each motion calculated and precise, one knee falling exactly in line with the previous step until she reached the end of the mattress. She sat on her knees, back straight, eyes aligned with Links, and raised her wrists to him in waiting.
"I'd like to have my reward now, Master Link."
Link wasn't a particular fan of the favorited title among the people of the kingdom, but currently his Queen was kneeling naked before him atop their bed, asking him to tie her wrists together. She may as well have begun to speak in foreign tongues and he wouldn't have paid it any more notice.
For a long moment, Link failed to find the words on his tongue. His eyes flicked from the wrists in front of him, to the eyes shifting between red and blue, to the pert, hard nipples standing in the cool bedroom air.
Oh, and it had been so long…
"Either you touch me soon, or I'm going to take care of it myself and make you watch." The words registered in his mind and Link moved at once. In nearly a blur of rushed hands and desperate attempts not to question the Queen of Hyrule on her threats, Link's hands flew to the his belt, pulling roughly at the leather to free his tunic and pull the fabric over his head.
Zelda's crystalline laugh illuminated the angry grunts as he rushed to free his undershirt next, and before the cotton fell to the floor behind him, a set of lithe and elegant fingers unlaced his pants and left the heavy material to pool at his feet. Link stepped out of his boots, stumbling to finish removing the remainder of his clothing. Zelda pulled herself back onto the bedding and pulled her mask down her face just in time for heavy, hungry lips to close over hers and strong hands to push hers away.
Link kissed her with strength and hunger that was bordering on desperate and drenched in promise.
"Eager, are we?"
—
Their fingers fit so perfectly together, it was if they were designed for one another.
Zelda smiled at the thought alone and Link kissed the top of her head. They lay in bed, the blankets now pulled over their cooling bodies, flesh dried from the sheen of sweat that covered them previously and now only remained in their memories of the game they shared.
It was strange to have a quiet moment these days. Between the Queen's neverending duties as the head of the kingdom, Link's duties as a noble consort and second-in-command to the Hylian army and royal guard, and parents to a very rambunctious young princess...time was sparse to spend on such frivolous things as enjoying each other's company.
But Zelda also would never dare regret any of the decisions she had made. All the choices and all of the risks she'd taken thus far - including the ones that tarnished her reputation and soiled her image in the eyes of her people who were much more preoccupied with seeing their lovely virginal future queen marry a nobleman than find love - they'd all brought her here. With Link. With their ever growing family.
"What are you thinking about?" Link's was soft and low, heavy with exhaustion but calm with peace and serenity of the tender moment. His one hand draped around her back drew lazy circles and designs along her spine while the other stayed intertwined with her fingers as she admired the fit of his hand against hers. Zelda curled in clower against his chest, hearing his heartbeat in her ear and smiling at the feeling of his nose nuzzled against her hair.
"I was just thinking of everything that brought us to this point in time."
Link breathed in a slow and heavy exhale and Zelda was certain if she looked at him closer she'd find her Hero nearly asleep already.
"Link?" She called out low into the burning light, Her only reply was a low sound that could barely pass as a reply at all.
It was now or never.
"Link," she called his name a second time, this time recieving a small yet clear verbal response. Zelda inhaled deeply trying to muster the trepidation in her heart.
"I think I'm pregnant again."