In her many years of being a princess, Zelda was used to the constant bombardment of suitors asking for her hand in marriage. Princes, dukes, earls, and noblemen of all other ranks would travel far and wide to Hyrule in an attempt to woo the princess. They would present her with the most luxurious gifts and confess their love for her with the grandest of gestures that made all of the court ladies swoon. Their charming looks and well practiced speeches made even the toughest of women weak kneed and blushing from head to toes.
Yet despite all of the scandalous rumours that her ladies-in-waiting would spread (there hasn't been a single rumour to not cause Zelda to raise an eyebrow at), not one of these well planned, extravagant acts caught her eye. No, in truth, it was far from it. Underneath her calm and collected expression that she had mastered at the age of 14, Zelda was actually repulsed by these shallow gestures from men that knew nothing of her. It wasn't her love that they wanted; it was either the crown, or her body, or most likely both. She could see it in the way that they looked at her. At the first sight of her, they would quickly scan her figure once or twice, and then smirk as if they had already won a competition. Zelda was well aware that she was an attractive person; the mere presence of her caused most men to drool uncontrollably. Be that as it may, it did not mean that she wanted people to view her as only an object with a crown. She held the triforce of wisdom for a reason and she wished that these so called suitors would remember that.
However, within this vast sea of endless suitors, Zelda admitted that there was one who caught her attention. A boy with golden hair and piercing blue eyes that made her breath hitch every time he looked at her. While others might have thought of him as a mere commoner, Zelda knew that he was a treasure to be cherished. No, he did not ride in a golden carriage to whisk the princess away. Nor did he hire an entire orchestra to serenade her through the streets of Castle Town. There were no empty gestures that flaunted his wealth. Instead, he showed his love to her through his small acts of affection everyday. Indeed they were small, barely noticeable to the observant eye, but they were never meaningless. Without even realizing when it had happened, Link had stolen the princess's heart and locked it away.
He was a hero who had saved Hyrule countless times, albeit it was a fact only known by the people closest to him. He didn't want fame, he donated most of his fortune that were acquired from dungeons to charities and others in need, and he didn't take pleasure in boasting about his many adventures because he was a rather quiet person who enjoyed listening more than talking. Zelda had offered Link more riches than a person could ever imagine. Instead, he chose to join the military, starting at the very bottom and quickly working his way up through the ranks. His polite decline of the princess's offers had surprised her at first but it was also a welcoming refreshment from all of the greediness within the nobility.
One of the many qualities that Zelda liked most about Link was his sincere smile that showed through his unwavering gaze. At first, the princess would feel slightly self conscious under his stunning blue eyes. But she later found herself lost in them, unable to look away for fear that if she did, he might one day look at another girl the same way. More than once, Link had caught her staring at him when she thought he wouldn't notice. Each and every time, he would just give her a shy smile like he was the one who was embarrassed and not her.
Once, after a particularly sour meeting with her council, Zelda had snuck out of her chambers that night to wander through her garden while lost in thought. Without noticing, she ended up sitting on a bench that sat across from a beautiful and grand fountain that was made by the best goron craftsmen. Just before she was about to leave, she heard a voice call out her name. Surprised to find someone else this late at night, she turned her head to find Link, staring at her with the same surprised look. Her heart almost stopped at the sight before her cheeks flushed, realizing that she was dressed only in her night gown. He asked why she was in the gardens at that hour, to which she replied with the same question directed at him.
He hesitated before saying, "When my nightmares keep me awake, I come out here to relax."
Zelda only nodded at this, understanding his discomfort at the subject and not wanting to push him any further on it. Feeling a little courageous, she patted the empty spot next to her on the bench and asked, "Care to join me?"
Without a second thought, Link walked the remaining steps to sit next to her. They both sat there in comfortable silence for a while before Link asked her again why she was there. Her eyes were closed as she replied "To clear my head from my troubles."
Link contemplated her words carefully before asking in a quiet voice, "Did something happen at your meeting today?"
She opened her eyes, "How did you know?"
He gave her a mischievous smile that sent a shiver down her spine, "You slammed the door on the way out so loud that Castle Town could hear."
She lightly hit him on the arm before smiling, "I did not know that you were capable of such exaggerations."
Link chuckled at the comment before adding in a serious tone, "If you wish to talk about it, I will happily listen."
It was a long time until Zelda spoke; long enough for Link to wonder if he had said the wrong thing. Finally she sighed, "The council has been demanding that I marry soon. They have always suggested this in the past, but lately they have become relentless since I am the ruling monarch now." With a bitter tone, she added, "They believe that I am incapable of properly ruling Hyrule without a husband and sooner or later, the people will refuse to follow a monarch as such."
When Link didn't say anything, she looked over at his face. With his eyebrows scrunched up in a troubled expression, he stared at the ground. Now he must be thinking that I really am a terrible ruler without a King, she angrily thought to herself while looking at the ground herself.
Finally, he spoke in a thoughtful voice, "I have witnessed the efforts that you persistently put into Hyrule. When a commoner spots you wandering outside of the castle, they bow deeply to you but you just wave it off and smile at them while asking how they are. You may not know it, but there are countless rumours of the way you would lock yourself in your study room for days, maybe weeks, tirelessly working on new treaties, paperworks, new ways to help Hyrule, and the such. You care deeply about your people, working hard for them while never caring for yourself. I do not know the amount of value this will have", he said cautiously, "but without a doubt in my mind, I would trust my life in your hands and follow you wherever you go."
Zelda finally looked up at Link, eyes wide and mouth hanging slightly open in shock. She searched his face, looking for any signs that he was joking—that he was only humouring her to make himself feel better—but the only things she found were kind eyes and a soft smile. She smiled back at him as she felt her heart soar. It wouldn't be until years later from now that Zelda would look back at this moment and recall, quite fondly, that this was the moment where she truly and hopelessly began to fall in love with Link. It should also be mentioned that it wasn't only Zelda's heart that changed this night as well. As time passed by, she began to notice small changes in Link's behaviour. Quick glances directed at her now; the way he smiled more often when he was around her; his eagerness to offer her help in any way that he could. If she were to ask someone to describe Link's recent behaviour, they would say that he was positively glowing. Each of these acts and more caused Zelda's heart to beat just a little bit faster and her stomach to flutter just a little bit harder.
Yet regardless of all of these new and exciting emotions that Zelda felt, she still tried to smother them the best that she could. When the time came, she knew that she would have to marry someone else; specifically, someone else who was of noble blood that could benefit Hyrule in terms of fortune, land, and power. This was the role of a princess and it was made painstakingly clear to Zelda what she must do. For nearly half a year after that night, she tried her best to avoid Link as much as possible. She chose to focus all of her energy into her work instead. Each time that she refused to look Link in the eyes, refused to return his bright smile, and refused to even be in the same room as him, she regrettably noticed the tinge of disappointment and hurt in his face. She continued her search for a potential king but to her frustration, she often found herself unintentionally pointing out the many ways that Link could be a better ruler and husband than the suitor standing before her.
In the end, her efforts had only proven futile. As Link quickly progressed in the military, more and more people began to take notice of him. More than a few times, Zelda had overheard others talk about Link. More than a few times, they have been talk from her own court ladies about Link's impressive physique and the many things that they would like to do with it. And more than a few times, Zelda's eye had twitched at such audacious comments. Of course, Zelda had noticed long ago that Link had an incredibly toned body that matched his golden, perfectly ruffled hair, his mesmerizing blue eyes, his sharp jawline, and his dashing smile that made her breathless. In the princess's opinion, all of the noblemen who could captivate the hearts of many could not even be compared to Link. She noted, almost too proudly, that it was about time that others took notice too.
Then came a day that truly tested Zelda's constraint. She had felt all of the warning signs go off in her body; bells in the back of her mind that told her to stay away. But she had ignored all of them.
One day, as Zelda was walking through the halls of her castle, she had stopped quite suddenly after overhearing a familiar voice just around the corner. Her heart sped up and a pleasant chill spread through her body at the sound of the deep and alluring voice. The first warning bell came into her head at that moment. She should have walked away at that instant, but the sound of three feminine voices stopped her from doing so. She peered around the corner and saw three of her very own maids flirting with Link. With batting eyelashes and purring voices, Zelda couldn't help but notice that they were shamelessly leaning into him as close as they could get. She seethed at the sight of them carelessly trailing their hands down his arms and back. Even more so when she noticed that Link was even blushing while scratching the back of his neck.
She felt the second warning bell ring when she heedlessly began walking towards the four voices. The maids looked up at her in shock before quickly giving a polite curtsy to her. When Link noticed her, he gave her a wide smile and a deep bow, much to Zelda's annoyance.
"Meet me in my study, Link. I must discuss something with you." She vaguely felt the last warning bell screaming in her head before she sharply turned around and walked away with her chin held high. She could only picture the shocked looks that the maids would undoubtedly have. Only Farore could stop the future gossip that was sure to spread throughout her kingdom.
Moments later, Link had walked into her study, just as she requested, closing the door behind him. When he walked inside, he smiled at her, "I thought that you had completely forgotten about me! It's been months since you've requested my presence."
With arms crossed and eyes narrowed, Zelda was not as amused. Straight to the point, she asked in a slow and dangerous tone, "What makes you think that such philander would be acceptable in my castle?"
Link's mouth dropped at the sudden question. He incoherently sputtered, "I… was… me? ...That? … When?"
"It would not be wise to play the fool right now, Link. I will not accept that kind of behaviour in my own castle." In truth, Zelda had already accepted it multiple times with the servants, knights, and nobles that wandered in the deepest corners of her castle, expecting some privacy. She had simply rolled her eyes at such vulgar actions and gave them an unpleasant task to do later on. However, this time, Zelda could not deny her feelings any longer. She had not felt this angry and betrayed in a long time. It was an irrational feeling; after all, she was the one who pushed Link away in the first place. He was not obligated to stick by her side and live a lonely live without the love of another. Still, it pained Zelda to see him fooling around with other women. Oh, how she wished to be with him!
Link took a deep and calming breath before speaking, "They were merely complimenting me on my sword skills. I wouldn't go as far as to call it philander."
"Why should I believe you? Those women looked more than willing to do Din knows what with you!" Her voice shook in anger, making her jealousy even noticeable to Link.
To say that Link possessed the triforce of courage was an understatement at that moment. Indeed, no sane person ever in their mind would think to do what he just did. Link, the hero of time, merely laughed at the Queen's accusations. "Let me assure you that you will never have to worry about me committing such heinous actions."
Zelda's eyes widened at his sudden laughter before she glared at him. "And why do you say that?"
Many people would call Link a quiet person. One who rarely spoke unless spoken to. But that does not at all mean that he is a subtle person. No, he is in fact quite the opposite; always quick to the point without discussing trivial matters. If there was any moment in his life that proved his ability of straightforwardness, it would be this moment. Zelda suppressed a shudder at the fierce look in Link's eyes. With a calm and steady voice, he said four simple words, "Because I love you."
Her breath stopped. Her eyes widened. And with all of the right bells ringing in her heart, she closed the distance between them and smashed her lips onto his. Link simply stood there at first, shocked that Zelda was really kissing him after all of the times that she had given him the cold shoulder. Finally, he returned her kiss with the same amount of passion and enthusiasm, pulling her closer in his arms while she tangled her hands in his soft golden hair. She kissed him hungrily, desperate to make this moment last as long as possible. Finally, she pulled away, breathing heavily as she leaned her forehead against his. "Say it again. Please." She whispered.
Link smiled at her. "I love you."
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little story of mine that's been bugging me to write it until I finally did. :P
Please leave a review and let me know what you think of it! If this becomes liked enough, then I have an idea in mind for a possible second chapter! But for now, I'll just leave it at a cheesy, "I love you."