Unanswered Questions
by Queenie Z

One would think that the days and weeks following the return of peace to Hyrule would be filled with jubilant celebration - and, to a certain extent, it was. The people of Castle Town hailed the return of their rightful queen, who was officially crowned just as reconstruction efforts were scheduled to begin in a humble makeshift ceremony. In Ordon, parents were joyfully reunited with the children they had lost, and the whole village held a great feast in honor of their own local legend, Link. However, once the cheering had silenced and the parties had ended, there was work to be done - work that in many ways served to accentuate the unspoken feeling of loss shared by the new queen and her friend.

High upon an outer walkway that had managed to survive the battle with Ganondorf intact, Queen Zelda brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down towards the courtyard, where a group of merry carpenters and masons sharing drinks during a well-earned break. After listening to their banter for a moment, she turned to the horizon, adjusting her cloak over her arms and shoulders. It warmed her deeply to see that her beloved kingdom would yet live; that her people could rebuild their peaceful lives with such a joyful spirit… but in spite of that warmth, she felt several questions weighing heavily on her heart that she knew she would never have the chance to find the answers for.

"…Your Majesty?"

Zelda startled slightly and turned her head, having forgotten that she had brought Link with her to observe the construction efforts. She blinked at him. "Oh… yes, Link? What is it?"

"Er, nothin', really," he said as he scratched his nose. "You just got real quiet all of a sudden, that's all."

Realizing that her silence had made him uneasy, she stood straight and closed her eyes. "…My apologies," she said, "I hadn't meant to cause any discomfort."

Link shook his head and held his hands in front of him. "Naw, don't apologize," he said. "You were probably just thinkin' - I didn't mean to interrupt you or nothin'."

Zelda cracked a small smile at his humble demeanor. "You interrupted nothing, Link," she assured him. "Nothing of importance, in any case."

"Er… good, I guess."

Another awkward silence descended upon the two - a common occurrence between them, it seemed, since the end of their battle. Despite the queen's insistence that nothing was wrong, she could feel the oppressive presence of the moblin in the room. She had avoided the topic around Link out of respect for his feelings, but it appeared to have come at the cost of their comfort. Finally, she let out a long, quiet sigh, pulling her cloak tighter around herself.

"…It's just that," she began falteringly, "whenever I see hope in the hearts of my people, whenever I see them working with such an eagerness to rebuild…" She clenched her fingers around the hem of her cloak. "…I cannot help but wonder if her kingdom has such a hope as well."

At that, Link's face fell into an expression of sorrow, which slowly turned into a grimace of pain. He clenched his teeth and lowered his gaze; then after another moment, he spoke again. "…I guess we'll never know now," he muttered somewhat bitterly, "will we?"

The sight of Link's grief only added to Zelda's own. She averted his gaze. "I truly believed that we could coexist," she said. "More than anything else, I wanted our kingdoms to live side by side… I wanted to share her burden of rebuilding her home, to repay the mistakes of our ancestors and heal the hurt in her heart… I…"

Suddenly, to Link's shock, Zelda choked on her words, drawing up her shoulders and weeping, finally shedding the tears she had denied herself for far too long. Her voice hoarse with sorrow, she continued.

"I only wanted… I only wanted us to be together again one day…!"

She broke into a series of pained sobs, covering her mouth with her hand in a futile attempt to silence them. However, having seen the true depths of her hurt, Link soon exposed his own.

"…You loved her," he said quietly, "didn't you?"

Zelda raised her head to face him, her swollen eyes wide at his question.

"I know you loved her," he insisted more firmly, his own tears finally beginning to roll down his cheeks. "I know… I know 'cause I felt the same way…!"

As Link cried, he began to sniffle uncontrollably, reaching up to wipe at his face with his sleeve; however, before he could, Zelda gently took a hold of his arm. Then, she folded his hand between hers, squeezing it gingerly.

"I'm sorry," she said tearfully, "I'm so, so sorry, Link…"

Her touch calmed him, and he finally relaxed. Then, he covered her fingers with his remaining hand, gently stroking them with his thumb and shutting his eyes.

"…Yeah," he said, "I'm sorry, too."

He then pulled her into a gentle embrace, which she eagerly returned. As the carpenters beneath them packed their tools and returned to work, as the sun crept closer to the horizon, the two remained still, each staining the other's shoulder with tears and wordlessly sharing their grief for the princess they loved.