Author's Note:
So this is the first thing I've ever written. I've been working on this for over a year and have just been nervous to publish it so please, go easy on me. I've read it over and over to the point I almost hate it!
I'll explain a little bit that I want you to know before you read. Link is his masculine, blond self, he is pretty emotional (in the way we all want our men ;) ). He has a hard time handling things he isn't used to. Zelda is blonde, strong-willed, petite and curvy. The Gerudo live in the desert like TP, just in big canvas tents. Their Madame, lives in the fortress but it's mainly where they store things, have dungeons, training rooms and cook. They are all like Gerudo in OT, red hair, big pants and have a bangin' body. Haha. Only Gerudo and in this case Zelda too, know where their fortress. Gerudo are only ever seen in the fields far from the castle walls working.
The time setting is after OOT but before TP madness. Let's say the generation before. Link and Zelda are reincarnated of the hero and princess, they don't know. They just know the stories of the past heros.
I unfortunately do not own Zelda, though I wish I did. So please enjoy!
Chapter One
I lay sweating on my cot. The remaining heat from the beating sun still lingers throughout the Gerudo desert keeping quite a bit of the warmth in my large canvas tent. I sigh, turning over trying to get some sleep before another long, exhausting day, but the noise of the other women keep me awake. They are always so loud after a difficult days work. Almost all of us had gone to the fields to do what we have so difficulty been prepared to do: please.
I consider myself lucky. I have never touched nor been touched by those lust-driven men. Madame says she's saving me for that special customer, one that will pay well for a virgin. The thought terrifies me. I'm scared of being touched, spoiled. What these women go through is.. disturbing. Though amazingly, they do it so willingly. From my past memories, I can remember reading about love. Many of them believe this is love. Being touched and fucked by a man. Being seen for only lust. Well, it's not.
I hear a very loud moan coming from a few tents down from me. Goddess what a disturbing sound. Usually that would be two women together. Men are ever rarely here and if they are, they are with Madame. The thought runs through my head; one day that will be me with a strange man.
"Argh, gross", I whisper, disgusted. I pull my pillow around my ears and roll to my side, trying desperately to muffle the sound and not succeeding very well.
In times like these, I like to reminisce on happier memories. The sound of loud, drunk girls makes it hard, but I succeed.
I fantasize of the times my mother would sing to me, rocking me in her chair next to a warm fire. I would dose off, fighting to keep my eyes open but eventually the exhaustion would envelope me. She would usually hum my lullaby or the Song of Time, but every once in a while she'd hum a tune that I didn't know the name of. I did not know her long. I hardly remember her, but I will never forget those small memories from when I was a small child.
My mind skips to another memory. Him. "I was playing in the gardens, peaking through the open doors at the piano that I had been so longing to play. Father promised I could play as soon as he was done with a few of the citizens. He was so good with them, but he could take hours talking. I groan and take off my head dress so I can run my fingers through my blonde hair. As I sit and start to braid it over my shoulder, I hear a scratching coming from behind the roses. I stand, ready to investigate when out of nowhere I hear my father call.
'Zelda, I'm through. Come in and play as I promised!' I startled so badly that I nearly trip and fall back. I turn and gaze at the bushes again, wondering what the sound could have been. Shaking it off, I run inside so eager to play."
My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of yelling women. Must be another fight I suppose. I regain my consciousness and continue reliving my memory.
"I stroll up to the piano, caressing the bone white keys that I am so familiar with. They are cold to the touch, practically begging to be played. I sit, resting my hands on the keys, preparing to play. I envelope myself in that familiar sweet ecstasy of sound, keying a very complicated version of the Prelude of Water.
After making it half way through the song, I glance to the doors of the garden, seeing a young man maybe sixteen years of age and about a foot taller than me standing there. I abruptly stop my playing at the sight of him, the keys returning to their position in protest.
'How did you get in here?', I say calmly in my "princess" voice. I've been practicing keeping my composure though I'm sure there's a startled look on my face.
'I .. uh..', was all I managed to get out of him. He holds his hands up taking a few steps back. 'I apologize miss. I didn't mean to intrude' ,he says quite nervously. He turns as to walk away. I can't help but to notice his deep blue eyes. Like the ocean.
'No, wait', I exclaim. 'Your clothes, they are strange. You're from the south aren't you?'
'Easy to spot a farm boy around here, huh?', he chuckles a little nervously. What a warm sound."
The thought of his laugh makes my heart sink. What I wouldn't give to hear that wonderful sound again. Any laugh here is wicked. I return back to my thoughts.
" 'I am the princess, Zelda', I say, being formal.
'You're majesty, my name is Link', he bows his blond head, sounding surprised. 'I've heard the rumors of your beauty that travel the land. I can finally witness its truth.' He blushes sheepishly in nervousness. What a bold thing to say.
His words also make me blush, 'You are too kind.'
The young man smiles at me. What a face I would love to study for hours.
I catch myself in my thought, a little embarrassed at the random awe.
I hear my father talking from the other room. His voice getting closer. He bursts through the door, obviously in no hurry. A man comes walking behind him.
'And this is my daughter. Princess Zelda. Oh, darling, I didn't know you had company. And who might this young fellow be?'
'Oh Link, there you are! I was beginning to worry son!' The new man strolls over to him, laying an arm around his shoulders. 'This is my adopted son Reuben. He is a hard working young man'. Link blushes. I've never heard someone call my father by his first name. They must be old friends.
'Well then Rusl! You both have traveled far! Come, have supper and you must stay to rest from your journey.' I can't help but feel excited. He makes me feel strange. Like those women I read about in books.
I think it's silly. I'm too young to feel that way. Oh, but how those women must feel, lying their eyes on the man they've so longed to be with.
'Zelda', my father says, taking me from my thoughts,' show young Link here where he will be staying and keep him company. These men are very special.'
As Link and I walk through the castle, he tells me about his farm life, his new house and all of his friends. He entices me deeply in the story of the house that he and Rusl worked on for him and how he became very handy with tools and wood carvings and such. It is very easy for us to fall into friendship, which is difficult for me. I could listen to this man all day.
'Your life sounds wonderful', I say, reminiscing in his stories. 'Much more adventurous than a princess's', I chuckle. He turns and looks right at me. I feel as if he's looking right through to my soul.
'I apologize if I'm rambling. You are just so easy to talk to.' His voice has a hidden seduction in it that I'm sure all women are aware of. I blush deeply.
'Don't apologize. I don't have friends, so I am happy to finally talk to someone my age that isn't royal and actually interesting'. He laughs and the sound makes me warm.
'If you don't mind me asking', Link starts a little timidly, 'what happened to the queen?' I clasp my hands behind my back together, fidgeting.
'She died when I was about eight. She grew very ill and I guess she was too weak to fight it off. I was told she was pregnant at the time so that took a hit on her with the sickness. My father never told me of the pregnancy but my "nanny", Impa, thought I should know.' I look down with sadness and feel a warm hand on my shoulder. I look up to Link under my slightly damp lashes and receive his calming, apologetic smile.
'I miss her dearly every day, and she's the reason I strive to become a great queen. She was so proper, noble and beautiful. She had hands that were almost magical to the touch. They could heal in an instant. Not literally of course', I chuckle, looking at my own hands before I drop them to my sides.
'She sounds wonderful. I have no doubt you will be just like her', he muses to me. I flash him a smile and he wipes away a tear that escaped me with his fingers. My stomach turns in knots and I feel my face burn and continue walking, missing the small smile on his face from my embarrassment.
We talk a lot through the rest of the evening and well after supper. We walk to the courtyards, our hands clasped behind our backs and move slowly.
'What of your parents?' I begin the conversation. He gives me a timid look. We find a stone bench and sit, our shoulders near pressing.
'I never knew them. Both died when I was young. I was left in Orodon where Rusl and his now wife Uli took me in. They were quite young, only 17 at the time but they raised me.'
'Oh, Link, I'm very sorry', I express sadly, grabbing ahold of his hand. It's warm and calloused, the hands of a hard working man. My hand zings with electricity the entire time I touch him. Though after only a short moment, my hand returns into my lap.
'Nah, don't be. I wish I'd known my parents but you can't miss what you never knew. I'm very thankful for Rusl and Uli. They have a son now, Collin, and Uli is pregnant with another'. He smiles at a memory. I give him a small smile but he doesn't notice.
'I keep myself busy though and try to stay out of their way. I've mastered horse riding, farming, herding and even some sword play. I'm actually quite good.' He glances at me. I give him a mischievous smile.
'Oh are you now?' I tease sarcastically. Link gives me a fake look of bewilderment.
'Must I demonstrate for you?' He taunts.
'Actually', I drag the word out, 'I would like you to teach me some of your famous moves'. He laughs and agrees. We find a practice rapier from the knight training rack and he places it in my hands.
'Alright, take your battle stance'. I just hold the sword up. I never was taught about defense. My father dnt agree though Impa has been trying to change his mind.
Link laughs. He places his hands on my arms, lifting them so they are near my face. Turning them, he moves my right arm so it is at a ninety degree angle, bending my wrist some so the rapier is pointed almost horizontally. My other arm guides itself in front of my neck.
'Good. This will lead you into the horizontal slice. But first, we need to fix your balance.' Link lightly places his hands on my hips and my arms start to drop as I turn my torso to him, giving him wide, excited eyes. His own crinkle in amusement from his smile.
'Now princess, you won't be able to defend well with a stance like that'. I blink out of my trance and return to my position.
'Now, you'll want to put your opposite foot forward, then you can use the ball of your foot for leverage'. He pats my left hip and I move that leg slightly forward.
'Perfect. Now you'll want to bend your knees a little so if you suddenly have to move, you are ready.' I do as he instructs.
'Good. Now as you swing, keep your elbows bent and somewhat close to you, use the flick of your wrist and keep the blade flat. Keep tension in your abdomen and use these muscles behind the force of the blow', he runs his hand down the muscles on either side of my spine. I give a slight shiver at the touch but ignore it, swinging the rapier. I let out a small huff as I swing.
'That felt pretty good', I say breathlessly.
'Well, that's because you have a good teacher', he laughs, reaching an arm behind his head, wrapping his hand around the back of his neck.
Laughing with him, I give him the sword back and return to the bench. He shows be a few more of his moves, demonstrating them well. He is very good.
After some time of playing around and a lot of laughs, he puts the sword back to its original place and offers me an arm. I gladly take it and guide him into the castle and down one of the most vacant staircases. We sit on the bottom steps, propping our feet up by laying across the step, readying ourselves to enthrall each other more with our life stories. We actually get to know one another very well. I learn he's never had a girlfriend but there is a girl, Ilia, back in Orodon that has the "hots" for him, so he tells me. It surprisingly made me a little jealous. She has tried to corner him and kiss him a few times. When he unfolds to me this story, it makes me laugh hysterically. He gives me this strange look when I do. What is it? Admiration?
'So, what does the princess do around here for fun? Besides taking random strangers into their home and telling them your life story', he chuckles, lightly bumping his shoulder against mine from the step below me. I give him a warm, eye-crinkling smile.
'Well', I drag the word out slowly and with a bit of sarcasm, pulling my knees to my chest. 'As you can see, my life is full of excitement.' He chuckles. 'Basically my life is preparing to be the future queen. Many of my hours are spend with tutors. Mathematics, sciences, literature, music, blah, blah, blah. Although, every night I sneak away to the library and read novels'. I bury my face in my hands, blushing on memories of my erotic books. If he knew what I read, that would just be embarrassing!
I hear him laughing and my head shoots up to see the expression on his face, mine with a look of embarrassment and deep redness. He was laughing so hard that tears were beginning to form in his eyes.
'Uh.. care to inform me of the joke?' I say with a soft, nervous giggle.
'I'm assuming they are those fancy romance novels? What female isn't into them,' he giggles, casing me to blush harder. They are a new trend now and are heard to be extremely graphic which they are. 'Ilia has tons of romance books that she hides from her poor father. That's where she gets all these ideas about her and me. She's told me some pretty grody stuff from those books. I'm going to have to put a damn chastity belt on that girl. Who knows what she'll try and do to me while I'm asleep!' I join him in laughing at his story. He finishes his laughing fit, wiping tears from his eyes.
It's nearly two in the morning when we finally decide to go to bed. We've been talking for hours, and we've been basically pouring our hearts out to each other. I've never connected to someone like this or told anyone so much about my life. As we stand in front of his temporary room, I can't help but to think I'm going to miss this man. Even if it is for only about five hours. I've never sparked with someone like this, it makes my heart soar. So much has happened tonight that I can't fathom.
I have the strange urge to hug him, and I can see it in his eyes too. He doesn't want to leave me. I think "what the hell" and dive into his arms, wrapping my arms around him. He gasps, and slowly enfold me in his arms.
'Who would have known I'd be hugging a complete stranger tonight', I murmur into his chest. Although it doesn't feel like we are strangers at all. He chuckles and I hear the delicious sound vibrate through his body.
'It seems like we've known each other for years', he whispers back to me. It's like he read my mind. It truly feels that we have known each other.
I unwrap myself from him, embarrassment radiating off of me as I adjust my skirt, both of us blushing as we say our goodnight. There is a longing in my heart to stay with him. I walk in the complete silence back to my room starting to feel the loneliness. I dress for bed and crawl deep into the covers. It is quite a chilly night. I'm glad the help started the fire. Little do I know of the golden triforce radiating from my left hand."
Reminiscing in my memories finally is taking its effect on me. I feel myself drift off and I relax. The sound of the drunk girls has finally died down and I haven't heard much moaning for a while. Its cooling off and I pull my blanket up over me. I fight to stay awake to finish my warming memory.
"The next morning I wake early, anxious to see Link. I dress quickly, taking care of how I look. I want to impress him. I run down to his room seeing that it's already empty. My heart sinks. I slowly walk towards the great hall, and walking past the kitchen I hear voices. He's still here!
Link sees me through the door and stands to excuse himself from the table, since he was clearly finished with his breakfast anyway. As he walks through the door making sure we are concealed, and we embrace each other.
'I missed you, stranger'. I giggle at the nickname. I step back and gaze into his deep blue eyes. This must be love at first sight, right? I definitely would not be hugging some stranger. I grab his hand and practically drag him to a secluded hall.
'When do you leave?' I grudgingly ask. Silently hoping it's never.
'Soon'. Damn.
'Rusl was just finishing up and has everything all packed'. He pauses. 'Zelda there is something in going to tell you and honesty it's kind of scaring the shit out of me so I'm just going to say it. Don't behead me', he chuckles nervously.
'You? Scared?', I say sarcastically, though under that sarcasm my belly is doing flips. He had told me stories of exploring caves behind his house, putting his sword gifted from Rusl to good use. He actually was quite impressive with one. I blush at the events of last night of him teaching me a few of his fancy maneuvers in the courtyard.
'Ha-ha', he mocks then pauses for a few moments. 'I don't want to leave you. I have this urge to protect you, and..', he pauses. My heart goes to my throat in anticipation. He is still quiet.
'Fuck it', I murmur, using very un-princess like manners. I grab his face and bring it down to my own, locking our lips together. He gasps with wide eyes trying to understand what is happening. He then wraps his arms tenderly around me, kissing me gently."
I am now wide awake with this wonderful memory. I have a yearning to kiss him again. If only. I run my fingers along my lips lightly, giggling because of the rash way I stole his first kiss and had given my own. I really need to sleep. Just a little longer I urge myself.
"I don't want to let go. I refuse. Link and I step back from each other, blushing deep red from our short but enthralling kiss. We hear Rusl calling for Link.
He takes my face gingerly in between his palms and I lightly grab his wrists, 'Please write to me,' his voice slightly pleads. 'I will come see you as soon as I'm able'. He kisses my softly on the forehead and my new discovered world walks away from me."
I come out of my daydream and think of Link. We wrote each other quite often and things moved quite quickly for us, unlike the usual year-long courting time. I kept all of his letters. We talked about everything. I was most definitely falling in love with him. We had the opportunity to learn and love each other for two and a half years. I would do anything to read those letters again.
Finally, after a long uncomfortable night, I fall asleep with his beautiful face in my mind. The only anchor I have to my old life. The life I haven't known for two long years.