Steps
The ceremony was going to start in an hour.
He wasn't sure how these things were supposed to go, really, he'd only been in the city for errands and… well, there was the one time he had to fight a constantly-reincarnating evil that was taking up residence in the country.
But besides that, he hadn't really time to explore. He looked between the houses and greeted Giovani's Cats, the circus man's dog, and ran in circles with the dog in front of Malo's new shop. He'd quickly run out of things to do after burning maybe twenty minutes.
He watched as the commoners and nobles busied themselves with setting up for the party. Today was about a month since the great evil had been banished and the Twilight Zone severed from the realm.
He wasn't in Hero clothes, so he didn't have to avoid crowds of Nobles cooing and pretending they cared about anything other than connections. Even after all of his adventuring, he didn't find himself too keen on the city folk. And yet, he liked being there in the city. There was always something he felt about Ordon that he couldn't place his finger on. Since his parents passed away, he kept himself so separate and far from the other villagers, and up a ladder into his secluded treehouse.
It was like he didn't belong there, either.
He took a quick look over his shoulder before he snuck up the wide steps up towards the castle. Hopefully, none of the Nobles would notice him slip by or think it weird that a young man from Ordon was being let by the guards with so much as a wave. The guards knew what he looked like. Though most of them had never personally seen him, the rumors that the Ordon farmhand was actually the Hero of Legend had taken root in the guards.
After a month or so of them giving him weird looks when was allowed into the castle common ground dressed like a complete plebian, Zelda finally confirmed that yes, that was the Hero of Legend, and he had been given express rights to any part of the country. Some of the younger Guards thought it was unfair- they had to be in garb to even be present in the city, but the older guards understood that he had done a lot for Hyrule. Though, her decree was a little odd and could easily be exploited, they had no right to argue whatever she thought best.
The Hero weaved around the pillars and looked up past the tapestries to see the paintings on the ceiling. It was depicted from the center to the edges- imagery of the great prophecies that had followed Hyrule for thousands of years. Prophecies about other young men like him… and prophecies about him. A faint smile pulled at the edge of his mouth- it was almost flattering. It would've taken hours and hours of hard work to create- and he knew a thing or two about hard work.
This is where he remembered he was wearing his commoner clothes in such a revered place. His eyes cast down to his shoes- dirt-trodden and caked with died mud on the marble floors. He didn't belong here, either, did he? Not as-is. He sighed and marched himself past the throne room and up towards the towers.
He had only met the princess a handful of times- a few in the twilight zone, and a few in the daylight. She had specified in her letter that she had set aside Garments for him to wear for the ceremony and that he should come and claim them forthright.
He had a few mixed feelings in his gut that made him wait until the last minute. Not sure what to expect- or if there was anything at all to expect. The letter was so formal- so tight-lipped, it was nothing like the woman he had encountered previously. There was nothing friendly- no thank-yous or mentioning anything about what happened. Just: Here is a time and a place, come get your clothes. He didn't consider himself boastful and never thought of himself as self-absorbed, but didn't he deserve just a little bit more than that?
To say he was disappointed would be an oversimplification, though. There was something else he felt that he had no word for- some sort of yearning. Life was supposed to be simple, and yet now he wanted recognition? He rubbed his hand across his face, my Link, how you've changed.
But had he, really?
He climbed the stairs.
Somehow, he felt like he was getting weaker with each step which was… impossible. He spent day after day back on the farm herding goats after fending off catastrophe and destruction. Sure, herding goats was a bit easier than that, but it was what he wanted to go back to after everything.
Or at least, that was what he told her. With a no, no, I can't be captain of your guard, I am just a farmer, and a No, no, I cannot become a Noble set up in the city, I am just a farmer.
Maybe this time she would offer a third option. She took a deep breath as he reached to top of the steps- he feared there would and yet would not be one.
There were a few chambers here and there on the second floor, and he looked nervously at the bright and expensive carpets that lined the halls and knew immediately that stepping on them with his muddy shoes would feel criminal.
There were two options here: Sully the carpets anyways, or go barefoot. He took another deep breath. He kneeled down in order to unlace them- better safe than sorry.
"No need to bow." A familiar voice- Zelda had entered the hallway in front of him.
He looked up surprised, and pressed his lips together tightly. He felt like he'd been caught in the act of something and wasn't sure what to do next- so he sat there silently on the floor with two hands on his left shoe, frozen.
Zelda tilted her head and waited, which made things… worse. He looked around- there was no one else around. Actually, he hadn't seen a single servant since he'd entered the castle. He didn't even realize how odd it was since the only few times he'd been there was when it was already emptied out. It should've been full of life, shouldn't it have? He looked back at her again but didn't move.
"What are you doing?" She tilted her head and asked, gently.
He looked away a little bit, "The carpet is nice…" He said. Little blotches of red started at his ears and slowly made their way to cover his face in pinches of red.
Her eyebrow twitched, and she had to process it before it really got through to her- the carpet was nice- and he was clutching to his shoes- his shoes? Mud. He was going to take his shoes off?
A little smile started forming. "We clean the carpets, that's why they look nice. They will be cleaned again tonight. Don't worry about it." And she reached out her hand.
There were so many things going through his mind.
Of course! Of COURSE! He was such a fool- such a fool. Of Course they clean the carpets- why would he even think to take his shoes off? And here! Here again he sees the disconnect between how she writes and how she speaks- was it two sided? And additionally-
she speaks as if she has a hand in cleaning the place? Isn't that a bit below her station? Or her perceived station?
He stood up quickly and seemingly all of these loose thoughts skyrocketed up and out of his mind and somewhere else, because he- though still embarrassed- it was time to put it behind him instead.
He nodded.
She smiled, almost in a sinister way, and put her hands together and turned. "This way," She said as she led him a few rooms down the hall and into a large chamber with double doors.
He took another look around- there was not another soul. It was just… them. He paid no attention to the room he was following her into as he checked behind himself once more.
It was suspicious.
There would have to be a reason she was here, unguarded- that is, if it was even really her at all. He casually hit his hand to his hip as she closed the door behind him. He gulped- he had returned the sword some time ago.
He was completely defenseless if this were some sort of trap.
He took a deep breath and faced forward. The tension left his face and he placed his hands behind his back and stood up straight. He didn't wander into just any room, but this was… someone's bedchamber. He looked everywhere was nowhere all at once- was he even supposed to be in here? Of course, the princess could lead anyone to anywhere she wanted, couldn't she? Would there even be a rule against him being here? Had they even been alone before? He couldn't remember.
It would be pretty difficult to explain if he were discovered here, no matter how innocent the situation might actually be.
Zelda walked briskly past him- excitedly- and with both arms scooped up a pile of clothes that she had been keeping at the foot of her bed. Beaming, she approached. "These are yours," She said, and added a mumbled "made for you."
He turned his attention to the clothes and the clothes alone and picked up the item on top. Without saying anything, he ran his thumb along the seams and smiled a little. It was… very nice- nicer than even he could have expected. It felt like it had been made not by some aristocrat or something only for nobles, but that it had been made with intention and… purpose. It was like someone had spent time on it- like it was more like a gift than a formality.
Her smile widened. She could tell that he liked it.
Then her smile dropped "Will you need to bathe before the ceremony?" She asked.
"No," he said. He could've elaborated that he had bathed twice that morning- nervous that the smell of goats would be obvious to anyone in the sixty-foot radius. It wasn't something that bothered him, but rather, he feared it would bother other people.
"Right," She said. She looked puzzled, maybe perplexed? Like she had some sort of problem to solve, and that he was making that problem a little more difficult. She smiled again.
"Well then, you should probably get dressed."
He took a quick look to the right and left before looking back at her again. He wanted to ask where? But she caught on pretty quick.
"Here, here," He said and turned him towards a screen near the vanity where he could safely hide from her.
She took a seat on her bed and leaned her head into her hand with a sigh as he tossed his tank-tunic over the top of the screen. Then his belts and ties- his pants.
She wrung her gloved hands together and leaned over her knees in anticipation. She had a lot of feelings, but she was mostly concerned with whether or not it would actually fit him. She took a deep breath and sat up very quickly as he emerged from behind the screen.
He walked out looking down at it. It fit and it was… very nice, but… there was a small tear in one of the sleeves. He pointed to it. She jumped up and walked over to him- he looked regal, so proper… he was almost fit for a prince. She turned her attention to the sleeve to distract herself.
One of her hands above to see the tear- and the other below just barely touching his. He tensed up at her touch at first, but quickly relaxed. Her eyes glanced up to check his face to make sure it was okay, but his expression stayed neutral.
It was an odd moment- had they been this close before? It was a different context- and felt like a different time and place that was nowhere near here. He was tempted to curl his fingers inward into a fist- as if there was anything to even hide in his palms- but he didn't. He broke the stare first and redirected his attention to the small tear in the sleeves.
"Take it off and sit, I'll fix it," she said.
Taking orders rather naturally, he removed his shirt without thinking about where he was standing. Her eyes were wide and she took a sharp breath.
It took him a few seconds before it hit him, and he swiftly looked away and shoved the shirt into her hands. His face flushed and he took small steps to the side in order to find a place to sit down. He pivoted back towards her- there wasn't anywhere to sit. Which was… odd.
His options were the bed or the floor.
He opted to sit on the floor near to the bed and raised his knees so that he was taking up less space. Every time that he remembered that he was half dressed in her bedroom, he had to fight his body with his mind to prevent blushing.
She made quick work of pinning the sleeve's tear closed- it only took a moment. She glanced back at him through the mirror in front of her. Her eyes were sharp- focused- and maybe she had solved the puzzle that she had been fidgeting with in her head after all.
She turned rather quickly and he jumped a little. She tiptoed over to him and got down oh her knees so they would be on the same level. "I have a new offer," She said. She did not smile this time, but instead she seemed worried.
Link watched her carefully, but his guard dropped lower and lower with every step she took towards him. He waited.
"You and I are two parts of a destiny- a prophecy that has ended. You have lost many friends along your travel and gained many anew. I see now that a private protector or a guard would not be you, because that would put a wall between you and I," she looked away and set the shirt back into his hands during her pause.
"Just… come visit me every once and awhile, okay? It would be nice to get to see you," She said, Just like that- her small smile returned. Though he had no idea what it meant, he felt like this was the offer he was waiting for.
He let his knees down and scooted forward.
He pulled her into a hug- slowly so she could reject it at any moment if she needed to. He still wasn't sure how to read the mood correctly. There had been a lot of tension between them- whether or not they could still speak as if they knew each other, or if the other would conveniently forget what they had been through.
But here, suddenly, there was just the acceptance they had both longed for. A small treatment to their displacement due to the fragments of the triforce, but an effective one nonetheless