For those of you following my other story don't worry! I'm still writing it. The section I'm doing though is quite time consuming to write, there are a lot of characters and pieces to move for the story to flow properly and I don't want it to turn into an incoherent mess. So I'll be writing the next load of chapters together after my final wave of work is finished mid-May (most have already been finished I just need to go through them all).
As for this it'll be a short 3 part series, centered only around Link and Zelda's relationship. I'm interested in what happens if everything didn't go well for the two at the end of botw. Hopefully you find it as interesting/fun to read and as I did writing it.
Be sure to let me know what you think of it, I'm curious how I did and maybe how I can improve.
Ebb and Flow- Part 1
Sunlight shot through the room like an arrow of light, revealing the rather orderly layout of her study. The Queen gripped the chair in front of her tightly. She knew what was coming next.
"Ma'am, I'm afraid the guard is rather overwhelmed as it is. I simply don't have the manpower to handle this and even if I did, the men would not be skilled or discreet enough."
"I see,"
"So…what is your decree?"
She sighed gently. "It looks like we don't have a choice. It really has been a while though hasn't it? I know you all miss him."
"We live to serve at her Majesty's pleasure."
"Of course…" She glanced out of the window looking beyond the walls into the green plains of Hyrule field. "Send an envoy to the hero immediately; I want them to be in Hateno by tomorrow evening."
There was no mistaking the pull of a smile at the guard's lips, as though two threads were being tugged by some invisible puppeteer. He bowed before hurriedly exiting the room.
Zelda turned towards the picture frame to the side of her study, it was from that day over one hundred years ago. The surprised faces of the champions lay on the photo as the Great Daruk crushed them between two large rocky hands.
As though the puppeteer had suddenly gained control of Zelda's face, a large genuine smile formed on her face. She picked it up with two hands and her fingers glided over the image of her rather shocked appointed Knight.
"Well...here we go again Link."
She placed the frame back in its proper position and got back to the large pile of documents that had formed on her desk.
Link kicked the sludge off his boots on the first step of his house. He remembered how long it had taken to get the ChuChu jelly off the rug with a shudder. The idea of it was more terrifying than any monster.
The Light was gently fading now. The gentle hum of chatter coming from the village down below had already slowed down to a quiet patter. Cold air was beginning to flow into the valley but, it was a welcomed feeling. A break from the unbearable heat of the past few weeks. Still the warm air of the house was more than inviting.
However, Link could not resist staying out in the approaching night air and walked over to the old cooking pot under the tree, resting his back on the thick trunk as he sat beneath its leaves, whistling a familiar tune into the growing darkness around him.
It would be more than easy to fall asleep here, in fact he had done it before many times but, Link could not rest the tide of thoughts flowing through his head.
His bones ached with fatigue, it worsened by the day but, still he would keep venturing out into the Kingdom to find some new adventure to pursue. It was the only way he could drown out the noise. It was always there when he stayed in one place for too long or if he didn't occupy himself properly. The noise was a list, a very long list. On it there were fears of the future and trepidations of his troubled past. Worse of them all though, were the regrets.
Put that to the back of your mind what's done is done. There's no point in going back.
The elder had been on his back again. She wanted him to issue another warning to Purah after the last almost cataclysmic accident, which could've turned the village into a smaller, yet equally dry, version of the Gerudo desert.
"Hero- I mean Master Link,"
Link cringed as he always did at the mention of the H-word. However he was more than pleased to hear Hoz's voice call out to him once again. He had been among the first Knights he trained and was truly dedicated to the art.
Link pushed himself up and greeted the advancing figure with a crushing hug.
"It's good to see you again," Link said, allowing the genuine sincerity show in his voice.
The Knight smiled back at him. "And I you," he moved a hand over his black goatee. "It really has been too long, just over two years right?"
Link eyes widened a little. Goddesses he wasn't wrong it really had been two years since he had stormed out of the castle. He could remember that day almost too clearly. Time really does fly when you're hunting down monsters and Yiga.
He felt his eyes move over to the inviting home and looked down with a knowing grimace. "I'm guessing you're not here for a simple reunion, its best you just ask now."
"Link I-" The hero's eyes shot up to him with a glare as the Akkalan Knight's speech was killed before it even took off, he fidgeted slightly. "The Queen has requests the Hero of Hyrule's help in a matter rather sensitive to the crown."
Link whistled. "Wow she's gotten even more formal over the past two years, hasn't she?"
"Link…"
"Can no one else do it?" his tone was desperate. The thought of returning to that castle was almost too much to bear.
"No one else."
Link looked up with a quick grin. "Well no use waiting around, it'd hardly be proper to refuse an order from the Queen herself."
The Castle was abuzz with activity. It seemed almost strange to think back to a time when it was abandoned. It should've felt empty or even lonely then but, it had been some of the most cherished memories of Zelda's life.
Look where we are now, how did we get into this mess Link?
She missed the outside country greatly but the memories attached to those fields outside were almost too much to visit again, at least not by herself.
The letter had arrived but a few hours ago. The hero would be with her in a matter of minutes. She had spent the past hour pacing the room ferociously, words echoing around her head. There was so much she wanted to say but so much she wouldn't.
What was this feeling coursing through her veins? Was she dreading the conversation or was she longing for it. It had been far too long; she hardly understood what they were anymore. Only one thing was for certain, Link sure could make her heart beat hard in her chest.
"He's here my Queen."
"Thank you Gotter, please send him in,"
She clasped her hands together and she looked at the window. All thoughts and feelings were removed and thrown out into the courtyard below. It would be best to just get it over with.
"Looks like a lot's changed in two years," the voice crushed her lungs down, as she let out a quiet shaky breath. "I still don't think I can get used to calling you Queen. It seems you've been rather busy though."
Zelda turned and met the intensity of his indigo eyes head on. They were like the ancient flames themselves and had not dimmed since she last saw him. If Zelda had not known him so well she would've thought him a rather sinister character. Over his clothes he wore a thick dark cloak and hood, which he had now pulled back to show his annoyingly attractive features.
Her eyes glanced over his body. It would seem that he was taller since their last altercation and his muscles had grown larger, pushing out against the Hylian Tunic beneath his cloak. The fact he didn't still wear the blue garb, she had once made for him, hurt a little but, it was to be expected.
"I said I was going to rebuild Hyrule greater than ever before, I meant it," she said, meeting his gaze again.
Link walked over to the table to the side of the room picking up an apple from the bowl and studying it like crow watches silver. "I never doubted that… You always were beyond dedicated"
"You're the one to talk," the fondness cut through her voice surprising them both. "You exploits are the constant talk of the Castle, I should probably thank you for all the headaches you have avoided me.
She tightened her posture. "I'll cut to the chase…I nee- The Kingdom needs your help."
Link nodded putting the apple back down in the bowl gently.
"It's hardly like I can refuse," Link said.
"It wouldn't be the first time," the words slipped out before she could moderate them. How infuriating, every word she spoke to anyone else was so deliberate and carefully thought out, moments before it was spoken, with Link it was impossible. When Link's gaze came up it was not the same fiery look he had given her two years ago. Instead it was just sad.
"Last I remember you ordered me to leave," he said softly.
"I was angry Link…" His sorrow was infectious and it pushed itself down into her stomach until she felt sick. "I didn't expect you to actually do it, I thought you would come back but you never did."
"I didn't think you wanted me to," he walked over to the table she stood behind and placed two hands on the chair in front of him.
"It doesn't matter now though does it? That's just what happened and we'll have to deal with that." She ignored the feeling that crept up on her as he moved closer. She so desperately wanted to tell him but the words remained rooted deep in her throat.
I missed you dummy
"What is this damned game we play constantly Link?"
He looked to her quizzically. It seemed Zelda's candidness had caught him quite off guard.
"We're together and then were not, you're here by side and then suddenly you're running away back into the wild again... I expected things to change after two long years but that's just not the case is it?"
Link stared behind her out of the window longingly. "I know," he said. "We're hardly the perfect image of the Hero and the Princess written down in time."
"Do you think they argued like us?" she asked walking slowly around the edges of her desk, placing a hand on its side.
Link chuckled. "I think it'd be an achievement to argue as much as us."
She joined him allowing laughs to rock her body gently. "You're right it would…"
Zelda sighed gently, though this time she was glad it was not out of sadness or frustration.
"Curse you Link, I'm getting side-tracked again. Sidon has been taken by Yiga and King Dorephan calls on me to save him, after all the Yiga are my problem."
Link ruffled his hair, before tying it back behind his head again. "Hardly unexpected, Yiga would have an easy time catching him off guard. He'd probably talk to Yiga clan member even if they were disguised as a rock."
He took off his cloak and placed it on the chair infront. He had loosened up significantly since he had first entered the room. Link sat down in the chair and put his feet rather casually on the Monarch's personal desk.
"This is the first I've ever heard of it. Why has Dorephan not put out the word, there are many who would risk their lives for him, mine included," he eyed her curiously.
"The Zora King isn't going to live forever Link, despite the long lives of the Zora. Even now his strength is fading. Sidon must look strong to his people when he takes the throne." Zelda said. The desperate letter from the King had been rather upsetting to read; the King was so proud, so mighty and yet a single letter showed his weaker more frantic side.
"It seems as though we keep losing the people that tie us to the past, eventually it'll be just you and me left." He looked at her with that silent face of sadness, the one she just couldn't bare to look at.
Her heart squeezed for him. "Impa's death was hard on everyone."
"So the mission is one to be done discreetly." He folded his arms. "I can hardly say that's my biggest strong point."
She unclasped her hands; this part would be the most difficult but, yet the most necessary. "That is why I shall be joining you."
Link's eyes widened so much that Zelda feared they would pop out of his head. Still there were worse reactions. Zelda braced herself for the inevitable torrent of divergence.
He stifled a cough. "There's no point in arguing I can already see. Can I ask why though?"
She looked up, slightly surprised. It seemed that some things had changed over the past two years. "As I said, this needs to be done rather discreetly for the benefit of the Kingdom, which is something I am more proficient in than you."
Zelda paused, studying his questioning expression slightly. "But mainly, I feel as though if I stay in this castle a moment longer I will go completely mad. I need to see the country again, feel the breath of the wild through my hair once again." She stopped again. The look on his face was unreadable, like a tome in the ancient Shieka text. "Please Link…"
Then Link grinned up at her. "C'mon, Queen or not it's not like I could ever refuse you."
She looked down at her feet, hoping the smile she was trying to hide wasn't too noticeable. "Well I guess that's good then… We should get going if we want to make it past the Great Plateau in good time."
"After you then,"
Link prepared the saddle for his horse. Above the wooden roof of the stable thunder rumbled, it seemed the dry spell of the past few weeks was finally coming to an end. Though it meant no climbing, Link would be happy to feel the rain again. There was something oddly calming about its presence, maybe it was the gentle patter, or the cool feeling it brought. It was something most people didn't get.
Zelda walked down into the private stables. She wore her classic traveller's garb. Brown trousers they were fine, though they clung to her rather shapely thighs in a way that…
Nope…stop, that's the Queen
However as for the rest, a royal blue and gold grab really? And her gold hair just flowed freely over her back.
She noticed he was staring. "What's wrong?"
Link sighed. "For five years I've gotten pretty good at hiding in plain sight, I hardly get recognised anymore. You on the other hand, are quite clearly pretty shocking at it…"
"Is it the boots? I'm sorry I just had them made we can put mud on them if you want? Give them a used look you know?" Zelda flustered about looking over her clothes. She looked rather cute embarrassed.
As he moved over to her, she tensed visibly.
"The boots are fine. The shirt must go though, along with all the other royal appurtenance," Link said, something in him leaping slightly as red flushed to her cheeks.
"In simpler times I would've taken that as a proposition," she replied watching him beneath long eyelashes.
"And your hair is hardly discreet… I'd say most could notice you solely from that." He grabbed a spare length of string and moved behind her.
"Link I-" she cut off as his hands glided through her hair moving the flowing waterfall of gold upwards, tying it neatly on the back of her head. He had forgotten the way it had felt in his hands, cool and silky, and the way her shoulders released instantly when he ran his hands through it. The way she seemed to move into his grip.
Link snapped himself out of the trance, gulping down thickly he moved back over to the saddlebags. His hands moved over the sword hoisted above it. Bringing out another thick black coat and a soldiers tunic, made from crimson leather and white cloth, he threw them to her. The armour would put him a little more at ease about her safety.
"There's a space to change in the back, don't be too long," he said as she rolled her eyes at him.
He picked out a grey horse with a white mane. The royal white stallion would hardly be a great choice in regards to their situation. Though his own brown steed would work fine, Epona had been gone for some time now, it felt almost wrong to keep the wild steed locked up in a stable or tied to a tree.
He brushed the horse's long mane as it chuffed at him gratefully. He gently pushed a saddle onto its back along with all the other necessary gear making sure the straps were correctly positioned and tightened.
"How do I look?"
He turned towards the voice. With anyone else the attire would've looked pretty drab but Zelda was hardly just anyone. Even with the hood pulled up she still looked beautiful and had pulled off the practical set with the same elegance of a Gerudo warrior.
"Uh…" It felt like a brick had hit his head. "Yeah that's definitely better…"
Link quickly moved over to his horse as the princess looked at him quizzically.
"Let's just get going," he said.
They rode out into as the sun had likely reached its highest point. It was hard to tell due to the thick grey clouds, which now blanketed the sky and brought down rain in sheets. The cloaks they wore were very welcome and had managed to keep off most of the rain but Link soon felt the water slowly drip through, wetting his hair and back slightly.
When he turned to Zelda it was clear they should stop. She leant forwards in her saddle, head bobbing down slightly with the gentle Rhythm of the horse. Her grip on its reigns was slack and eyes struggled to stay open from behind the shadow of the dark hood.
"There's a tree further up the hill we'll stop for some rest and food." He turned his horse off the track and began to climb the hill.
She murmured something he couldn't quite catch, from behind, but she was following closely, so Link kept his horse moving.
As they reached the tree he leapt off his horse into the wet ground, with a splash and rushed over to Zelda to help her down. She practically fell off into his arms but he held her tightly as he brought her up the hill, to the spot where they would make camp for the night. He rested her head against a fallen Log as her eyes closed shut tightly.
"Should I be calling you, your highness now?"
"Shut up, I missed you"
She rushed over to him as soon as he landed off the windowsill and they embraced fiercely.
"I thought I trained the guards a little better than that. I'd have a harder time sneaking into my own home."
"I'll have to tell them to look out for your stupid bonehead, besides it's not like you have to sneak in anymore. I am the Queen after all and even if I wasn't, the guards would do anything for you."
"Maybe your right but they can't know yet. I'm not ready…"
"I know…I know. Just tell me, why were you gone for so long?"
"I missed it."
"Missed what?"
"The beaten path, the adventure, it just feels good to be in that position again you know?"
"I get it... just please don't leave me again. I need you Link, more than you can possibly imagine."
"Well, I do seem to remember what we were doing before I left…"
"If the people only knew how filthy their hero's mind was…"
She laughed with joy as he hoisted on her bed.
"Now where did we leave off?"
Zelda's eyes fluttered open. The gentle orange glow of the fire spread a much needed warmth across her face. The dry furs, encased around her, made her just want to snuggle up and fall back into a deep sleep. That dream had certainly been something; she shuddered at the thought of her subjects learning of that memory.
As she looked across the flames she saw Link sat on a stone, he was sharpening a plain sword. On it there contained no embellishment and the scabbard at his side mirrored this, with a plain leathery brown.
"What of the Master Sword? Did you leave it back at the castle?" her voice shocked him a little but, he was soon back to his task.
"I put it back."
"Put it back?" she gasped out. The sword and Link were one and he had worked so hard to get it back and yet now its separation seemed like an almost casual occurrence.
"Yeah…it's the sword that seals the darkness. And the darkness has been sealed. There is no need for it anymore." He was saying it so indifferently.
"Still, that blade belongs to you, it chose you all those years ago," the whole ordeal was a little too much to take.
"Alright fine!" his eyes shot up at her as the blade rested on the ground. "I did it after I left. I couldn't stand to look at it anymore, it just glared up at me constantly. Your words kept playing through it. I wanted it to just die in the past, just like everything else."
Zelda tightened the furs around herself looking down at the hands that gripped the blankets. "I was frustrated Link, what I said it wasn't-"
"It was true and you know it," he said. "I am lost. There's nothing for me anymore, the Kingdom is safe, for the most part. Monsters no longer terrorise the roads and there exists no greater evil to beat down. The Knights Order is now self-sufficient and day by day there's less need for a wanderer like me."
She couldn't look across at him.
"And everything I ever loved, all those things I left behind to the past, it's all moved on now. The Champions, my Parents, Impa…even you. But I'm still here, stuck in what feels like my own frozen sacred realm."
"You have no right to presume…" her voice came through fiercely and she looked up into the stormy intensity of his eyes.
"You know I'm not wrong, you're the Queen now. You don't need me."
His words cut through her harshly but that same burning flame remained. "Sure we lost all those people but, there is still so much to fight for, and so many that still rely on you. As for your place in the world... You could have just stayed with me."
"So what? We can continue to argue about all those things again? So that I can feel trapped in there like I always do and so that you become annoyed by my need of secrecy?"
"You don't think those were minuscule things when compared to everything we've been through together? You don't think whatever we had was worth the conflict? You don't think it's worth something now?" She fired the questions back on him and it was clear he had been defeated.
"Perhaps it is worth it…" he looked across at her wistfully and then shivered desperately. "But why am I so tired Zelda?" She realised suddenly that Link no longer wore his cloak. In fact it probably lay wrapped around her like all the other fabric.
She moved over to him gently, not daring to disturb the sudden peace. Link watched her slow approach.
"I'll be fine, don't worry"
No way…there was no way she would let him sit there cold and miserable. She pushed him down off the rock and onto the dry grass so that now his back lay against it. With a graceful motion she wrapped the furs around him, which he took in his arms gladly. She sat next to her Hero. He was cold, she could feel it just from brushing against him. As he pulled one end of the mess of blankets, cloaks and furs so did she with the other.
As they watched the flames Zelda felt the warmth flow over her like before. Only this feeling was deeper down, it was one she could remember all too well. Her eyes felt heavy once again and as they began to close her head rested on Link's shoulder.
Zelda had already fallen asleep, long before she could notice the Knight also lean into her, burying his nose in her golden hair.