Remembrance
"Do you remember me?" The princess of a kingdom lost to war and time asked the blonde knight she had met over a hundred years ago. His lips formed a sad yet overjoyed smile as the wind danced in their hair and blew her white dress around. Link took one step forward before running and then falling into his princess's arms, holding on for fear that if he were to let go, she would disappear forever.
"Zelda." He choked out, tears darkening the fabric of her white dress. The usually stoic swordsman, with evil vanquished and the pressure of his sworn duty lifted, broke apart in his charge's arms. All the struggles, all the pressure he felt from the eyes of the people counting on him, all his exhaustion finally broke through in the form of his tears as he wept in her arms. She gasped, overjoyed that her knight, her protector, her friend, had remembered her even after all that had happened and wrapped her arms around him as they dropped to their knees. Her eyes fell on the Sheikah Slate he was carrying. It was then that she realized why her hero was in tears. Her previously joyous expression fell into one of sympathy and compassion as she wept with him.
"Link. I know. And I'm so sorry." She whispered into his ear as he hid his face in the crook of her neck. He had left his entire family behind after he was appointed the princess's knight. The battles that raged across the land, while possible they didn't claim his family's lives, time runs out for all living things eventually. Sparkling tears continued to fall as memories of seeing her father, the king, staying in the castle to battle with Calamity Ganon, as she was forced to flee. Link's anguished weeping subsided as his breathing became less shaky, more controlled. Their faces still in the crooks of each other's necks, Link slid one hand to Zelda's shoulder and down her arm, lifting it off his back. His roughened hand found her smaller, smoother one and their fingers intertwined as he lifted his head to meet her face. Diamond blue eyes met jade green. Their hands moved from the other's back to gently cup their faces as both wearied heroes' faces inched closer and closer to finally say what had been unsaid for a hundred years. But some words need not be uttered for one to speak. As their lips drew closer to each other, Zelda stopped just close enough to feel Link's breath on her skin. A smile drew across her lips before catching her knight's in a kiss that had been one hundred years over-due. Tears fell from lidded eyes not out of sorrow or pain, but out of happiness. Neither broke the kiss until the need for air became greater than their passion.
"Link," Zelda breathed as stars began to appear. "I think that-" Link held a finger to her lips with a knowing smile.
"Let's go home, Zelda. I know a place." Link picked up the Sheikah Slate and, putting his arm around her waist, set the destination to Hateno Village and disappeared in a flash of blue.
As the two heroes arrived at Link's house in Hateno Village, the strain that she had endured for countless years finally took its toll on her as she leaned on Link for support in front of the door.
"Oh, excuse me, Link, it looks like time is catching up with me. Is there an extra bed that I could use for the time being?" The princess inquired of him. He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. He led her by the hand and opened the plain wooden door to the simple house.
"Well, here's our home. " Link gestured to the interior of the humble abode.
"Our?" Zelda asked nervously. Link, now aware of the specific word he used, struggled to find the correct words to say.
"Only if you want to that is. I thought you would rather stay here while you adjust than at an inn somewhere." He spoke quickly and just as nervously as the princess. There was a moment of silence that stretched for an eternity as they stared at each other.
"Our… home…?" Zelda spoke aloud as she thought through the implications. "Our home." She breathed. Her smile was somewhere between hopeful and hesitant. "This is our home now, Link?" Link smiled at her and nodded slowly. Zelda beamed with a happiness she hadn't felt since she was a child. A thought struck her as she looked around the gently lit dwelling.
"If we're going to live here, Link, then we will need to acquire more adequate furniture. I'm thinking a handful of proper chairs, a table to eat at, maybe more candles – oh!" Her ramblings were cut short by Link hefting her in his arms and carrying her up the stairs. He gently laid her down on the solitary bed and pulled up a chair beside the bed to sit in.
"Link, what are you doing?" As her hands felt the softness of the mattress, her eyes grew wide. While it was nothing special, she couldn't help but to run her hands over the entire bed and bury her face into the small white pillow. "Oh, excuse me." Her cheeks wore a pink tinge as she noticed the amused expression on Link's face. "It's been quite some time is all." Her blush became a sheepish grin. "Um, Link? There appears to be only one bed in your – our house. Where will you sleep?"
"I can sleep anywhere." Link answered with a hint of pride in his voice.
"Link, what if you don't wake up? Or what if I don't wake up? I've gone one hundred years without sleeping, Link. Or what if something happens and –" Zelda blurted out her recent fears before Link put a finger to her lips, shushing her.
"Princess Zelda, I swear to you that as your knight, champion, and friend, I will never leave you. I will never let danger again come to you. You will never have to be alone again." Link removed his boots and blew out the many candles until only the moonlight spilled in through the windows. He sat in his chair beside the bed, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes before letting his mind drift. After several minutes of tossing and turning, Zelda spoke in a low whisper.
"Link, I apologize but… I don't think I can fall asleep. I don't remember how." Link rose from his chair and carefully lay down beside the princess, facing her back. He began to gently run his fingers through her hair over and over.
"Just relax." Link whispered slowly as he continued. "Close your eyes and focus on my breathing. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Try it."
"Thank you, Link…" Zelda whispered. They both breathed in slowly and breathed out slowly, Zelda becoming more relaxed and comfortable with Link's closeness to her. After she relaxed fully, Zelda grew drowsy and began to drift with a single thought in her mind: this is how it would be for the rest of her life. As she drifted off to sleep, Link whispered a gentle goodnight into her ear, eliciting a sleepy smile from her and drifted off to sleep as well. As dawn's light entered in through the window, Zelda stirred slowly awake until she groggily opened her eyes. She gazed into groggy, nearly unobservant eyes gazing back at her mere inches away. She blinked twice and in unison, both she and Link quickly pulled their faces away from each other, turning crimson up to their ears.
"Oh, Link! You're awake. G-Good morning." Zelda stuttered, unable to make eye contact with her knight.
"Good morning, Princess. I was just about to cook breakfast. Is there anything you would like?" Link inquired as he walked towards the staircase, looking everywhere but at his princess, pink tinting his cheeks. Zelda paused for a moment in thought as the prospect of her first meal in an age struck her.
"I honestly don't know, Link. What is the food called that's made of the white, sometimes speckled round things except it's yellow on the inside? I can't believe I forgot the name of my favorite food." She wailed.
"Eggs? Omelet? Eggs are the round ones, omelets are the cooked ones but you can cook eggs in many ways. If you help me find enough eggs for breakfast, I'll show you how to make an omelet." Link offered. He walked over to his boots and began to fasten them on.
"I would love to, but I don't think this dress will allow me to climb any trees." She laughed nervously, holding her stained dress out by her sides.
"Let's go shopping then. I have a set of clothes that may fit you until we can buy you some proper clothes. It even comes with a hood if you want it. There should be a red and green tunic along with trousers and a blue hood in the second drawer of the dresser. I'll wait outside while you change." Link informed her. While Link waited outside, Zelda spied a lone Silent Princess in the vase on top of the dresser by the bed. She picked it up gingerly as sweet nostalgia took hold of her. A small smile stretched across her lips at the memorable flower. She set the flower back in its vase before rummaging through the second drawer of the dresser to find Link's Hylian outfit. She changed into the colorful clothes and twirled around to examine the look and feel of them. As she tested the outfit, she noted the inside of the hood smelled like Link. Cooked foods, Cyprus, and grass. She glanced around without moving her head and confirming no one observed her, pulled the edges of the hood closer to her nose for a slightly deeper sniff. Satisfied, she tied a pair of Link's boots on before walking down the staircase and out through the door.
"So, Link. How do I look?" Zelda asked as she twirled in front of her knight, hair flowing in the wind.
Link, who had leaned up against the wall, examined her outfit.
"Great." He answered with a smile.
"Good. Although it feels a bit snug." Zelda attempted to adjust the tunic she wore before giving up on it entirely.
"Let's fix that. Breakfast first, though. Come on." Link grabbed her by the hand as the two trotted down the path towards the lush green forests outside Hateno Village giggling like children the entire way. Link picked an apple from a tree and tossed it to Zelda. "Try this." The simple sweet flavor of the apple stimulated her once dormant taste buds and set off an explosion of taste inside of her mouth.
"Link, I have just had the most stunning revelation. Food is good. Food is so good, Link. I can't describe it. Hurry up and find some eggs. I have a feeling I am about to catch up on a century's worth of meals." She laughed before tearing into the apple with her teeth rather ungracefully. Link simply smiled at her and remembered a time when the two of them had shared a laugh much like this. It was a clear day in Hyrule as they journeyed through the Retsam Forest below the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab scavenging for a meal much like they were doing now. Link had been collecting snails and herbs around the shores of Lake Sumac for a hearty lunch when he, losing his footing on a slippery snail, went tumbling into the shallow waters in a rare display of uncoordinated flailing. Zelda, after first making sure that her swordsman was okay, attempted to stifle a giggle before doubling over in laughter, all stress, worry, anxiety of the future simply forgotten, leaving only the moment they were in. Even the ever stern and stoic swordsman let out a good hearty laugh, seeing his charge forget the worry of tomorrow in favor of the joy of this one moment.
"Did you hear me, Link?" His princess repeated. "I asked what you were thinking about. You seemed to be thoroughly lost in thought."
"I remembered when I first heard you laugh. We were on the shores of Lake Sumac hunting for snails to eat when I slipped and fell in. You were nearly crying from laughing. I had never seen a laugh so infectious." Link recalled as he reached into a nest to retrieve the eggs.
"I couldn't help but notice something about you. In the time that I've been around you, you've been significantly more talkative than…back then." Zelda scrutinized her knight with a keenly analytical mind. "Why is that, do you suppose?"
"Wait. Down." Link whispered. The sound of hooves snapping branches in the distance caught Link's finely-honed ears.
"What is it? Bokoblins? Moblins?" Zelda asked as she crouched beside a tree next to the one Link was currently crouching behind. He had his bow readied but not aimed.
"Lynel." Was his only response. Zelda followed his gaze to where a blue Lynel stood, digging its hooves into the ground to mark its territory.
"Oh. Is that all?" Zelda replied sarcastically. The blonde knight let out a low exasperated groan.
"I really would rather not fight this guy right now. I finally found some eggs." He scratched the back of his head while he pondered the situation. He notched an ancient arrow and stood. "Hey, Zelda, you may have Hylia's sealing power but I bet you can't do this." He took aim as the beast looked directly at the pair and released the blue projectile. It flew through the air and landed in the center of the Lynel's chest, enveloping the Lynel in a sphere of blue and then nothing.
"What just happened, Link? What was that? What did you shoot at it?" Zelda scanned the area for any trace of the Lynel but found none.
"I was hoping you could tell me. Every time I've used an ancient arrow on anything other than a guardian, the foe vanishes. Along with anything I might have been able to use from them too." Link spotted an egg in a nest above Zelda and climbed to retrieve it before putting it with the other eggs in his pack. Zelda drummed her fingers against her chin in thought. She snatched an arrow from Link's quiver and examined it methodically, studying every inch, every circuit, every possibility that it could hold. She handed it back to Link as she tried to think of how to explain the science she saw in the arrow.
"I think I may know what caused the Lynel to vanish. These arrows were meant to combat the Guardians and even Calamity Ganon. Their power is immeasurable compared to your basic arrows or even your elemental arrows. After the rise of Calamity Ganon, I talked with Purah about ways to combat the Guardians and she showed me a prototype of these arrows. The arrowhead is an ancient dagger refitted for use as the arrowhead but the ancient technology and circuitry in the shaft allows for the arrow to draw upon its own kinetic energy as it flies, dramatically increasing the overall power of your shots when it hits. The power is so great that enemies who are weaker than Guardians or don't have any Guardian parts, like Calamity Ganon or his various Blights do, the energy generated and dispersed upon impact is simply too great and completely obliterates the target. What advances we could all make in the fields of medicine, architecture, agriculture, science! It would be a new age of prosperity and peace. I wonder though, if it was that easy for Calamity Ganon to corrupt the Guardians, the ancient protectors meant to defend us from him, if it would truly be for the better to keep them. Oh, forgive me, I seem to have lost myself in my own thoughts." Zelda brushed her windblown hair out of her eyes. Link, who had waited and listened intently to Zelda speak on things leagues beyond his understanding, saw her lips moving saw her untied hair flowing about her face in the gentle morning breeze. The morning sunlight had caught her face just right and the wind itself had gone about working to frame her face with her own golden hair. Link stood there, taking in the beauty of the princess that stood before him.
"Um, Link? Did I say something odd? Don't tell me I've bored you to the point where your mind is now somewhere else." Zelda sighed.
"Oh, sorry. You lost me somewhere between circuitry and kinetic energy." Link turned away to hide his now fully reddened face. "We have the eggs now, let's go eat."
"Oh. That sounds good. Lead the way." Zelda responded as they trekked back through the forest towards Hateno. "Oh, goddesses above!" Zelda cried out in pain. "My ankle!" Link turned and knelt by her side, removing the boot from her left foot. Zelda winced in pain as it slid off. Her ankle had just started to swell and turned a sickly color of purple. "I stepped in this hole and twisted my ankle. How bad does it look, Link?"
"It looks pretty bad. It's swollen and purple and well, you can see your ankle, can't you?" Link replied with a hint of amusement. "It may look bad. But I have something at home that should help with the swelling. In the meantime, I can use my bandanna to keep your ankle stable while I carry you back up the hill."
"Can we not use the Shiekah Slate to travel to the shrine in town?" The princess protested.
"It teleports people in a standing position and with that ankle, you won't be doing much of that until after breakfast. I have a recipe that will help." Link took off his bandanna and wrapped it around Zelda's swollen ankle.
"A recipe?" Zelda took Link's outstretched hand and stood using his shoulder for support.
"Yeah. Hope you're feeling hungry this morning." Link knelt down with his back towards her.
"Link, what are you doing?" Zelda looked around in case there were any onlookers.
"You can't walk on that ankle. I'm going to carry you." Link held his position in front of the princess.
"I...What if that attracts attention when we go through the gate? I don't want anyone finding out who I am quite yet." She spoke quietly and slightly hesitantly.
"Then I'll climb up the hill with you." Link replied like it was a non-issue.
"You can't be serious, Link. You are not going to climb a hill with me on your back." Zelda crossed her arms and furrowed her brow.
"Epona doesn't really like hills so it's either on my back up the hill or on my back through the gate." Link mirrored the princess's stance.
"Fine." Zelda sighed. "You always were stubborn I guess." She climbed onto Link's back and Link began the short walk through the trees beside the trail so as to still be relatively safe from view. At the bend, he crossed the trail and walked through the trees out of view of the gate keeper before beginning his long ascent. "Oh! Link, stop for a second. I need to pick this rushroom to research why eating it gives a temporary boost in movement speed."
"I've actually experimented with them while cooking and the recipe book I have contains notes on their properties. You're more than welcome to look at it once we get back to my – I mean, our house." Link climbed up the rest of the gray hillside and carried Zelda the rest of the way to their house up the right side of the hill.
"It feels nice to have a home to come back to." Zelda stated as she sat with her back against the large tree in front of the cooking pot.
"You have no idea. Before I bought this house, I slept on the ground, sometimes in the rain when I couldn't find a nearby stable, on top of mountains or those skull things where the monsters couldn't reach me, and even in caves. Although there were some caves and actual holes in the ground that were very nice. Dry, secluded, any monster unfortunate enough to fall into that one hole I slept in would usually die on impact so I usually didn't have to worry about being attacked in my sleep. Nice hole." Link stopped talking and looked around to try and remember what he was supposed to be doing before walking inside the small abode. He exited with an armful of food, white Chuchu jelly blobs, and a Moblin gut.
"How do you like your omelet cooked? Do you like it lighter? A little on the brown side?" Link asked as he cracked four eggs and deposited them along with a small carton of milk into the cooking pot.
"Whatever is fastest. I honestly could eat anything you place in front of me at this point." She responded as her stomach growled audibly.
"As you wish. They'll be ready in just a moment." Link stuck a fire arrow to the wood beneath the pot and stirred the contents with a wooden spatula from inside until it became one loose mass. He flipped one side of the golden mass onto the other half and allowed it to cook a few moments more. Moments later, he crushed rock salt and a chickaloo tree nut onto the result before placing it on a plate in front of Zelda. "I am just now realizing that I don't own a single fork."
"How do you eat food then?" Zelda inquired incredulously.
"Usually I eat it with my hands or straight out of whatever bowl or plate I have on hand. When you're on the go with the possibility of being ambushed at any given moment, you tend not to be concerned about forks or anything." Link replied scratching the back of his neck. Zelda looked around for a moment before spotting a thin newly growing branch above her head. She reached up, broke it off at the base, and then broke it in half.
"Chopsticks. See? You're not the only crafty one anymore." She closed her eyes in a wide grin.
"That may be, but how shall you cut it, oh crafty one?" Link grinned smugly as she stared at her plate willing the solution to appear. When none appeared, she let out an exasperated huff.
"It would not be fitting for a princess of Hyrule to eat without the proper tools." Zelda muttered under her breath, frowning at the plate, fingers itching to simply scoop the mouthwatering meal into her mouth whole.
"You know, princess, you don't have to be a princess right now. You can be free to do whatever you want. And in any case, this is also your house. You don't have to have royal manners or anything. If you eat with your hands, who am I to judge?" Link cracked four more eggs and a carton of fresh milk into the pot and began cooking another omelet.
"I...don't have to be princess right now? But what about rebuilding Hyrule?"
"Hyrule is its people. They've survived this long on their own. They can survive a little longer. That omelet won't, though. Let's eat." Link shoveled his omelet onto his plate and seasoned it before grabbing it with his bare hands and shoving half of it into his mouth, steam still coming off of the golden delight.
"That...sounds nice, Link. I'd like that. But yes, let's eat. If my stomach were to growl any harder, it may just cause an earthquake." Zelda tossed the small branches to the side and began devouring the omelet in front of her, licking the wooden plate clean. "That was incredibly delicious, Link! You must show me how to make such wonderful dishes. Do you have anymore eggs?"
"That was my last one but I do have something better for you to eat. But before I cook that, since it will take a little time, I need to treat your leg so that it will heal faster after you eat the meal." Link grabbed the Moblin guts and white Chuchu blobs from the ground beside him. "I learned this neat trick a short while after I left the Great Plateau. If you put something really cold on a bump or bruise, it will make it heal faster. So what I'm going to do is stuff this water-filled Moblin gut with a few white Chuchu blobs since they freeze when they explode. When I was experimenting with the method, I tried touching an ice arrow to a particularly nasty bruise on my leg where I took a club to it and ended up freezing my entire leg. Thankfully, I had a fire arrow and it melted the ice away before any long lasting damage was done." Link chuckled at the memory as he stuffed the blobs into the Moblin gut and dropped the makeshift ice bag, allowing the blobs to freeze the water. He placed it on Zelda's ankle, who took a sharp intake of breath in response to the sudden freezing contact.
"The reason that ice helps reduce bumps and bruises like that is because when there is an injury, more blood flows to that spot, making it swell up and become warm. And...wow this is actually quite effective. And when the body becomes cold, it constricts blood vessels to reduce heat loss. That's how ice reduces swelling. But enough science, tell me about the dish you're preparing. Also this is absolutely disgusting, Link. I can't believe I have the guts of a monster on my leg. As a scientist, however, I must say this is quite innovative." Zelda continued to writhe slightly under the freezing pack on her leg.
"Thanks. I guess you could say that it's pretty cool?" Link raised his eyebrows at her in self satisfaction.
"Link. I...Oh Link please stick to simply cooking and killing monsters. Your skills may be many, but your wit with words is not one of them." Zelda smiled at him pityingly while shaking her head.
"Ah, what a cold response." Link feigned pain.
"Oh please no. No more puns, Link." Zelda could barely stifle a giggle from escaping her own mouth.
"Very well. I will be ice enough to concede." Link gave an overly exaggerated bow and raised one eyebrow up at Zelda who was now attempting to hide her face behind her hands to conceal her red faced silent laughter. Moments passed as she tried to compose herself enough to speak.
"It's...it's snow use I suppose. Your wit is utterly horrendous and if I am to spend this time with you, I shall subject you to your own shallow form of humor." The two looked at each other for a single moment before losing all composure and filling the hillside with laughter that compounded the longer it lasted until neither of them could breath.
"I cannot remember the last time I laughed that hard." Zelda spoke between gasps of air.
"I can. Remember Lake Sumac? You complained about your sides hurting for the rest of the day." Link chuckled at the fond memory before letting out a small sigh.
"Link, is there something troubling you?" Zelda asked as he put several ingredients into the cooking pot.
"It's nothing really." He tried to convince himself.
"Link, you don't have to be the stoic, silent knight who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders anymore. You've done enough. You don't have to worry about being Hyrule's champion anymore." Zelda spoke softly as she scooted over to sit next to him, propping herself up on her hands and readjusted the ice pack. Link gazed into the fire that blazed beneath the pot as he spoke.
"Ever since I woke up, I've been regaining memories as I've journeyed. The thing is, they aren't my memories. They're ours, yes. And I am grateful for those memories. But odd as it may sound, I don't know anything about myself. Where I come from, who I was before, even things like where I learned to cook because as good as royal chefs may be, the things I know how to cook are not royal dishes. I can cut some grass, a couple flowers, throw it in that pot and call it a dish. That's not something chefs teach. I'm sorry. I just can't help but feel like a book with the first half of the pages missing from it." Link ranted before remembering his still cooking food and stirred a few more ingredients into the mix. The silence grew between them while Zelda tried to think of the words to say.
"I don't have any answers for you, Link. Not about who you were before you were appointed as my knight. Not about where you come from or anything about you. I don't know your favorite color or favorite dish or where you learned to cook. But I would be more than happy to help you find those answers." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I too would very much like to get to know the rest of you. That is to say, the facets of you that don't revolve around combat and physical prowess."
"Thank you, Zelda. But I wouldn't even know where to begin." Link sighed before scooping a wooden bowl into the pot of pink creamy soup.
"Well, how about we start with finishing breakfast? What's this you've just made?" She asked as the heavenly aroma hit her nose.
"This is one of my favorite dishes I've ever created. I don't know why, but when I make it, I feel nostalgic. It's called Creamy Heart Soup but this time I put something extra into it. I lied. I forgot to put the last bit in." Link reached into the smallest pocket in his pouch and retrieved a small floating pink light. "Hey little guy." He whispered to the small fairy cupped in his hands. "My friend here is kinda hurt so I made her some food to help her get better. I was hoping you could help me out a little bit by putting some of your magic into it." The fairy floated up and then to the boiling pot of soup. It skimmed slowly just above the surface as if examining it before casting specks of magic all over the pink liquid as it flew around and around. When it was done, it cast a few more specks into the bowl Zelda was holding and then flew back to Link who gave it a rupee.
"What was all that about?" Zelda asked, examining her now sparkling soup.
"That was a fairy. If I catch them, they'll heal me in battle if I fall. Alternatively, they'll help me cook if I ask them to. I like to give them something for their troubles like rupees since apparently rupees help to restore the power lost to the Great Faireis when they perform magic services. That fairy just imbued this meal with a little of its life energy which will greatly increase your natural healing ability for a little bit. Once you eat this, by this afternoon, you'll be able to walk again." The small fairy floated upwards and out of sight with the small green rupee.
"That is just...absolutely incredible. I don't know what to say." Zelda replied looking back and forth between her bowl and Link.
"Try my food and let's see what you have to say about it. I've never had to make food for two so I'm not entirely sure if this is too much for the both of us or too little. You're welcome to however much you would like, of course. I usually give whatever I have leftover when I return from my journeys to the kids or the inn in town." Zelda slurped a little bit of the fruity liquid and let out a hum of satisfaction and continued to slurp away on the rejuvenating drink.
"Link this is absolutely heavenly. The chefs of Hyrule have not a leg to stand on compared to this. How did you make this?" Zelda asked as she downed the rest of her bowl and dipped more from the pot.
"Well, it takes a hydromelon, a voltfruit, some milk, and whatever kind of radish you have on hand. I used a big one since it seems to help you recover more quickly. I wish I remembered where I learned this." Link dipped a bowl for himself and started slurping with Zelda.
"Maybe there's someone who may be able to aid us in recovering your lost memories among the Shiekah. We should head there when we can." Zelda replied.
"Yeah. Hey, Zel. What can you tell me about me? I remember the memories from the pictures in the Shiekah Slate but hardly anything else." Link hesitated to say his next words. "Was I a good kind of person? What kind of person was I?" Zelda took Link's right hand in hers and turned it so his palm was facing the sky and slowly traced her middle finger over the calloused pads of his hand.
"These callouses, are proof of your truly countless hours honing your skill with the blade." She flipped his hand over and traced the numerous scars found below his fingers. "These scars on your hand are but mementos of a few of the fights you won." She lifted the left side of his shirt to reveal a scar earned from a grievous wound covering the lower portion of the left side of his rib cage. "This is but one of the many, many scars that you earned when you saved my life after the Calamity. You took on more than twenty Guardians while still protecting me the entire time. Even when you reached the point where your body wouldn't move, you still fought yourself to rise up and fight in order to protect me. Were you a good person? I would say so. You were and still are every bit a hero as those in the old legends. The ones who didn't care about what happened to themselves. The ones who set their lives on the line to protect those who they loved. You were a quiet one, but only to show yourself strong in the face of danger and under all the pressures of being Hyrule's champion who would help defeat an unspeakable evil while still so young. You confided this in me once. These scars you have are proof of your courage and selflessness for others." Zelda let Link's shirt drop back down and met his tear filled eyes. Link smiled softly at her and nodded.
"Thank you, Zelda. I don't know what to say." Link broke eye contact before coughing and mentioning something about water and went inside. He returned with a pitcher of water and two wooden cups before laying down face up beside Zelda.
"What would you like to do today, Zel?" Link asked from the ground looking up at the clouds.
"After I can walk again, I would love to see what Hateno is like. I want to know what it's like to be one of them. One of the everyday people who I'll be watching over." Zelda let herself fall on her back beside Link. "I want to spend a little time just learning what life is like outside of being a ruler. I want to know what it is that I'll be protecting and who all the people are, what they value in life."
"How about we start with the clothes shop owner? You still need some clothes as well as sleepwear." Link stretched out his arms above his head.
"That sounds like as good a plan as any." Zelda crossed her arms behind her head as they both gazed at the passing clouds.
"Maybe we could just stay here like this for a little while." Link proposed.
"Even better." Zelda rotated herself until her head was nearly touching Link's. The morning was filled with contented sighs and what shape certain clouds looked like.
To be continued
