Zelda was distracted again. Such a thing was not uncommon when she and her appointed Knight were out on their travels. Her fascination with the natural world meant that her attention would often be stolen when a rare species of animal crossed their path or when they passed by a plant or herb she wanted a sample of. Link was never bothered when it happened. They were not on such a tight schedule as to prohibit delays and he saw no reason to worry about her indulging in her passion for research.
But this time was different. This time they were in public.
It was unavoidable that their travels would take them through the various villages and towns of Hyrule. When they did pass through a town it was obvious to Link that it was one of the lowlights of the trip for Zelda, second only to one of her hours long prayer sessions when they finally reached a shrine.
When out on the road and surrounded by nothing but the beauty of nature the young Princess was free to drop her title and pretend to be nothing more than Zelda. It was clear to Link that opportunities to do so were far too few for her. But when their trips brought them into civilization and among her future subjects she was forced to reapply her mask of regality. Her face would wear nothing but a polite but forced smile as she mingled among the people. She would listen to their concerns, complaints, and their awe at being in the presence of royalty. And on rare occasions some would simply express their gratitude for the efforts of her and the King.
Link could tell that the encounters would take their toll on the Zelda. They would be tough on anybody much less a young woman who was not at ease with her royal position. But despite her discomfort it was a burden that she bore well, always maintaining a regal composure while remaining friendly and personable. To all but Link she did not appear at all to chafe under the expectations of her title.
But this time she was distracted and quite obviously so.
They had been on their way to the Spring of Power for another one of Zelda's long sessions of prayer when the path had taken them to another small village. As they had approached the outskirts of the town an animal had begun to follow them. Normally Zelda might snap a picture with the Sheikah Slate or begin reciting with excitement whatever facts about the animal the found most fascinating. But this was not an ordinary wild animal.
In fact it was a dog and a young one at that.
The dog was little more than a puppy and as soon as it had approached them the Princess was capable of focusing on nothing else. When she should have been readying herself to interact with her subjects and behave appropriately she was now giggling at the dog's every move and speaking to it as if it were a child.
Link glanced up the the village and realized he had to do something. They would soon arrive and it wouldn't be long before the people in the streets noticed their arrival. Their clothing, particularly Zelda's, would attract attention and it would only be a matter of time before it was realized who they were.
And the village people were going to see the Princess of Hyrule playing with a stray dog.
Link grimaced at what he was about to do. She didn't have many opportunities to enjoy the simple pleasures in life and he would have to take one of those precious few moments away. He didn't want to be her warden. She had hated him enough at the start of their partnership over the mere perception that his duty was such. It had taken months for her to finally trust that he had no intention of being a mere extension of her father's will.
And here he was about to be exactly that. As much as he loathed to do so he knew that if the villagers saw her in this state and word got back to the King her life would only get tougher. It would be better for her in the long run if he got her to refocus. But that sure didn't make it easy.
Link loudly cleared his throat before speaking up in a prodding voice. "Excuse me… Princess."
"Hm?" She barely glanced at him before she looking right back down at the excited animal. Link let out a sigh.
"Zelda." His voice was firmer, "We're coming up on a town right now, we don't have time to worry about the dog." As the words left his mouth he could only hope he didn't sound too much as if he were scolding a child.
Zelda looked up to the town ahead before glancing back down at the dog and letting out a heavy sigh.
"Yes… yes of course… you're right." she said as she tried to put on the mask of the Princess and prepare for what was to come. Unfortunately however the presence of the dog, who was still barking and bouncing around, made that difficult. Link could only drop his head slightly as he realized what he would have to do. Swinging a foot over the saddle he dropped down onto the ground and walked over to shoo the dog away.
They were thankfully able to make their way through the town without incident. Although Link could not help but notice that the Princess's expression was more strained and forced than usual. As they left the town behind them silence reigned. Zelda was without her usual enthusiasm and fascination with the natural world around them. Link meanwhile could only feel guilty about what had transpired. It may have been for the best but that fact hardly made things feel right.
It was a feeling that hung with him the rest of the trip and even followed him upon their return to Hyrule Castle. Link could not help but reflect on the times Zelda had seemed distracted or not outright enthralled by an animal. Between the dog on their most recent trip, the cuccos she couldn't help but admire whenever they rested at a stable, her smile whenever a flock of birds would fly close to them, and of course the incident with the frog a few weeks back, it was a wonder Link had not noticed the pattern earlier.
He had chalked up her appreciation of animals of all types as simply part of her curious nature but it seemed that things went beyond that and that she just loved animals, whether they were a part of her studies or not.
So then why did she not keep any?
It was a question that continued to puzzle Link during their stay at the castle. Why would somebody who so loved animals not keep one as a pet? She may be away from the castle often but any animal she kept would be more than looked after in her absence. And the companionship of a pet would do wonders for her spirit when confined to the walls of her home. It seemed to link as if there were only upsides to her having a pet.
Link was never one to be overly curious but after a few days his frustration at the unsolved mystery had proven too much. He needed to figure out an answer. At first he considered simply going right to the source and asking Zelda but decided against it. After all he was still a Knight and despite their growing friendship it wasn't his place to pry into the personal life of the Princess.
And so he had done what Zelda would do when she needed an answer to something. The next time he was off duty he went to the castle library.
Link had been overwhelmed when he had first walked into the library. Looking up at the walls of books on either side of him had left him wondering how he would ever find an answer in this ocean of information. After a few minute of fruitless searching he had realized just how out of his depth he was. So Link gave up his search and instead turned approached a librarian hoping that she would be able to point him in the right direction.
She did much more than that.
After asking for a book on royal pets the librarian had looked confused and pointed him to the section for books on foreign lands, saying that the information on various royal pets would be in books about the royalty they belonged to. When Link then clarified that he was looking for books on the royal pets of Hyrule her confusion only seemed to grow.
"The Royal family does not keep pets." she said. When Link asked why she answered as if it were obvious, "It is not tradition. The only monarch who kept a pet was the Princess who kept the company of a wolf for a few years following the Twilight War. For obvious reasons the practice did not stick."
Before Link could follow up and ask more questions she shooed him away, insisting that she had no time for such frivolous questions and that she had work to do. He may have had more questions but the one he came here for had been answered. Keeping royal pets was not traditional and King Rhoam was nothing if not a very traditional Ruler. It made all too much sense why the mere presence of the stray dog had gotten such a reaction out of Zelda.
Despite the answer Link could not get his mind off the matter even as their next trip approached. As he made his preparations he found his mind wandering to the incident in the village. And thoughts of that were quickly followed up by memories of Zelda's dejection that had stuck around the rest of the day.
He decided that it simply was not fair. Zelda worked hard, both in unlocking her sealing powers and in her normal royal duties. It wasn't right that she be denied such a basic pleasure. And wasn't royalty supposed to get almost whatever they wanted? The dilemma gnawed at his thoughts until the day before their departure when an idea stuck him. And so when had gone into Castle Town to purchase the last of the needed supplies he made an extra stop.
As Zelda readied herself for the day's journey she was filled with equal parts joy and dread. As happy as she was to be out of the castle once again she knew that at the end of the trip was simply another day of prayer at the Spring of Courage. Her thoughts and feelings bounced between the two extremes as she made her way down to the stables to meet with her appointed Knight.
As she entered the stable and saw said Knight she let out a relaxed sigh. She was glad that her travel companion and her were now on speaking terms, even if he did not take advantage of that often. She was still more comfortable with his usual silence and happy to be able to relax when alone with him on their travels and even open up to him on occasion. Even if he didn't say much he seemed to understand and sympathize.
However as she approached she noticed that something was off. Her usual calm and focused Knight was distracted and looked to be struggling with something. He seemed to be wrangling with something inside one of the horse pens although whatever it was it was blocked from her view. Clearing her throat to alert him to her presence she spoke.
"Good morning Link, I trust you're ready to depart. Is… is something wrong?" She raised a questioning eyebrow at the young Knight.
"Good morning to you as well Princess." He replied, keeping his head down and his attention on whatever it was he was occupied with. Zelda thought that it was quite unusual for him not to look at her when he spoke to her.
"No there's nothing wrong it's just-" his answer was interrupted as whatever it was he struggled with gave another burst of resistance. Just as Zelda was about to ask again she was cut off by the sound of what Link was dealing with.
It was a bark.
Link let out a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle as his shoulders relaxed. He looked up and over to Zelda and gave a half shrug before turning back down to lift up the source of the noise.
The dog had black fur over most of its body which were broken up by patches of white around the neck and snout as well as brown spots on the sides of its head. Its eyes were dark and seemed to be filled with excitement and its tongue hung out if its open mouth as it happily panted. Once Link had a good hold on the animal he stepped over to Zelda and presented the dog to her.
"This is Ordon. He's my new dog your Highness." He said with a smile as he placed the dog down in front of Zelda. Ordon took immediate interest in the new person standing in front of him. Jumping up he placed his front paws on Zelda's waist and let out a happy bark. A smile spread over her face as she leaned down to pet him, an action which earned some playful licks in return.
After a few moments of petting the dog and giggling at each lick he gave in return Zelda's mind stuck on one particular question. Why would Link get a dog? He certainly didn't seem the type and it was not as if he would have the time to take care of it with how often they had to travel. Zelda looked up to Link who seemed to pick up on her confused expression and moved to explain.
"It is my understanding that royalty does not traditionally keep pets." His mouth split into a grin, a rare sight for the stoic knight. Had he said this earlier in their partnership Zelda might have thought he was mocking her. But she knew better than to expect that from him and patiently awaited further explanation.
"And while royalty does not keep pets it is also my understanding that there is no rule which prohibits Knight's from doing so when they are off duty." He kneeled down and started to scratch Ordon behind the ear as he continued. "Of course my duties often take me away from the castle, and there would be nobody to take care of him while I'm away."
He stopped what he was doing and looked up to Zelda's eyes.
"I am sworn to your service. And so if you don't think he would be a distraction I would request your permission to take Ordon with us on our journeys."
Zelda's thoughts turned to what had happened on their last trip and realized that it must have been what triggered this sudden decision by her Knight. She started to catch up with what Link was saying but what he seemed to be implying was preposterous. It was simply too much to expect that he would do something so selfless and generous for her. Her voice was shaking slightly as she spoke.
"You will often be busy with your duties while out in the field. Will you have time to properly care for him?" Link's grin split into a full smile as he answered.
"I'm sure I often will be busy. Will your Highness be nice enough to keep him company when I am busy."
It was too much. Zelda felt tears forming at the corner of her eyes. Her head dropped as she tried to wipe them away and maintain some composure. But this action only brought her eyes back to Ordon who tilted his head to the side as he observed the emotional woman in front of him. Giving up on restraining herself Zelda leaned over Ordon and wrapped her arms around Link, pulling him into a tight hug.
"Yes… yes you may take him with us… and thank you Link. Thank you."
Link patted her back with his hand but remained quiet. When Zelda finally collect herself and pulled away he seemed to be overwhelmed with just how emotional she had gotten. Zelda giggled at his stunned face and gave Ordon's head a scratch before standing up.
"Come on now Sir Knight. We must be off if we are to stay on schedule." She stepped into the stirrup of her horse before climbing up into the saddle. Her smile was matched by Link as he copied the action and mounted his own horse. As they set off out of the Castle their new companion followed, excitedly dashing in between their two steeds.
Years later when Zelda would take the throne as Hyrule's new Queen she became the first monarch to buck tradition that royals would not have an animal companion. And when Link joined her at her side as King a new tradition was cemented in Hyrule. From thence forth almost every member of the royal family would keep a pet.