"She's a real handful," says the veteran knight before taking a drag from his cigarette. "Six others have already quit the job—said they couldn't put up with her anymore. Sure you think you can handle this?"
The quiet rookie nods his head in affirmation. Protecting others is what he was born to do.
O.O.O.O.O.O
A teenaged woman stands in her castle's courtyard, intently examining a Guardian, a mobile mechanical technology designed for the betterment and advancement of society. She's fascinated by these mysterious devices and her research into them occupies much of her free time. Over her shoulder she sees her father, the king, approaching, wearing his full complement of royal regalia. Her demeanor suddenly does a full 180, lips pursing and gaze becoming vacant.
"Zelda, dear, I'm proud to inform you that we have finally found a replacement knight for you that may meet your strict...erm...standards," he bellows in his typical commanding tone.
Zelda rolls her eyes. He's referring to how she's made every effort to ditch her last six bodyguards by any means necessary. She could only rid herself of the last incredibly tenacious one by "accidentally" slipping a certain herb into his drink which is known to cause horrible stomach pains and diarrhea. In Zelda's mind, however, he had deserved it for not letting her have a moment's privacy. What happened to him was simply a hazard of the job, she reasons.
Zelda's eyes finally fall upon the young man at her father's side who can't possibly be any older than herself. She can't help noting what a handsome devil he is, even if a little on the scrawny side. The way his golden locks shine brilliantly against the sunlight have her mesmerized. He looks directly forward, gaze held high, hands clasped behind his back—a perfect posture if there ever was one.
Of course, this is how they've all looked at first—the very model of military excellence. For being so young and already entrusted with such an important post, she figures he must be a military brat, having lived his whole existence among soldiers and knights. She therefore pegs him as a stickler to the rules whose life revolves around his work. She dreads the thought of any conversation with him, expecting he will only be interested in talking about the latest military techniques and hierarchies and blah, blah, blah.
Without moving his body, he suddenly glances at her. She startles and turns ever-so-slightly red.
Hold it together, Zelda. You're the one in charge here, not him. Just because he's cuter than the usual bodyguard doesn't mean you're in any less control than usual.
He offers a hand out to her but she makes no motion to reach for it. Instead, she keeps her arms crossed and expression stoic. Zelda's father shoots her a stern glare. Yet, as with most of his attempts to reprimand his daughter for her rude stubbornness, it's ineffective.
"I would like you to make Link's acquaintance," the king proclaims. "Despite his young age, he is a highly experienced and well-regarded bodyguard. He will accompany you on your upcoming journey to the three springs. Therefore, I hope you will make every effort to become good companions."
Zelda scoffs at this. "Accompany?" More like "stalk," she muses.
"I told you, father, I don't want or need an escort. I'll be fine on my own."
This prompts him to reach for something in the inside pocket of his robe—a folded paper which he then opens and holds in front of her. Pasted on the page are words of varying sizes which appear to have been clipped from newspapers. Upon reading the message contained within, Zelda gasps in horror.
"This, my dear, is the reason why I must insist that you have a bodyguard. The Yiga clan wants you—dead or alive."
O.O.O.O.O.O
Soon the day arrives. Zelda must pray to the goddess statues at each of Hyrule's three springs in the hope of awakening her sealing power. Her father has long told her that a great and legendary evil known as Calamity Ganon will soon rise up to attempt a coup on their land and that her dormant sealing power is essential to combating this menace. However, as more and more years go by without her power awakening despite all her best efforts, the less faith Zelda has in her father's steadfast belief. She now resents having to spend almost all her waking hours in the fruitless pursuit of this seemingly fictional power. By extension, she also resents those assigned to her protection during such endeavors.
Link is busy saddling up his horse in the castle's stables. Zelda starts doing the same with her own solid white horse.
"You must ride with me," Link states.
"And what if I don't want to?" she retorts.
"I can't allow that. Your safety is my priority. I won't be able to adequately protect you at a distance, even a short one."
How touching, Zelda muses. "I think I'll take my chances anyway, but thanks," she says sarcastically.
However, as she lifts her leg to the stirrup to mount her steed, he grabs her by the waist, preventing her from moving.
"What do you think you're doing?! Unhand me, you foul cretin!"
"My orders are to do anything necessary to ensure your safety, Your Majesty. That includes restraining you if need be."
Zelda has to admit that he's certainly stronger than he looks. Try as she might, she simply can't loose herself from his iron grip.
"All right, all right, I'll ride with you," she finally concedes. At least until I get a chance to ditch you, she muses gleefully. "And please, just call me Zelda," she adds. I can't stand it when people use formal titles with me... Stupid traditions...
O.O.O.O.O.O
Zelda is fully aware that nighttime is her best chance to escape. She pretends to be asleep in the tent until she's sure Link has nodded off. Like any soldier worth his salt, he's learned to sleep lightly and upright with sword clutched in hand, so Zelda knows she'll have to make her getaway with the utmost care to avoid making any traitorous noises.
She tiptoes toward the tent flaps that separate her from freedom, pushes them aside, and steps out into the starry night. She creeps cautiously but swiftly toward the horse tied up to a tree a short distance from the tent and begins mounting it. Yes! Success!
Unfortunately, before she can spur the horse on, she feels herself being pulled down from the horse by a very groggy and displeased bodyguard.
"You're not going to pull this stunt every night, are you? Because I could really use a good night's sleep more often," he says through intermittent yawns.
Zelda's anger with being detained causes her to emit a low guttural noise similar to a growl. Looks like he's going to be one of the harder ones to shake, she groans inwardly.
O.O.O.O.O.O
After several mostly uneventful weeks of traveling to the Spring of Courage in the jungles of the southern Faron region and then to the Spring of Power in the northeastern Akkala region along with several towns in between, Zelda starts to wonder why her father had made such a fuss about a potential assassination attempt on her—they haven't even seen a trace of a single Yiga clansmen throughout the entire journey. Sure, there had been a few false alarms here and there, usually attributed to a feisty forest critter coming too close to their camp or shooting out of a bush as they neared, making Link instinctively spring into action and smother her uncomfortably with his body. Despite Zelda continuously devising new ways of leaving him in her dust, all her efforts thus far have failed.
Zelda is taking her usual evening bath in a small pond near their campsite before they turn down for the night. Link keeps his back turned out of respect for her privacy. She makes sure to always stay in deep water in case he tries to sneak a peek at her even though he's never done so to her knowledge.
As is customary, Link scans the surrounding area for any signs of something amiss. From his peripheral vision, he eventually spies the branches of a tree shaking suspiciously and goes to investigate it. He sees nothing out of the ordinary in this tree or any surrounding ones, yet at the base of the tree he finds a banana bunch, of all things.
Hmm...why would this be here? he ponders. Don't these things only grow in the rainforest?
Suddenly, it hits him like a ton of bricks. He recalls the briefing he received on the threat the Yiga clan poses. They are a subset of the Sheikah race who have pledged allegiance to Ganon and taken a vow to destroy anyone who stands against him. Intelligence indicates that Yiga clansmen leave banana bunches at the scene of their crimes as a sort of calling card, a way to taunt the police forces who would like to see them arrested. Therefore, this could mean only one thing...
"Zelda! Run! There are enemies in the area!" he shouts as he sprints to her position.
Seeing nothing out of the ordinary in the vicinity, she responds with a vehement, "No way! I'm not getting out with you looking at me! And what enemies are you talking about, anyway? There's nothing—"
A razor-sharp kunai whizzes past her cheek at just this moment, making Zelda freeze in place. She has a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Link jumps in the water and quickly swims toward her, putting himself between her and the direction the kunai had come from to shield her from further attacks. They hear the sound of more kunais swooshing through the air around them which makes Zelda start to panic. Link, however, has been well-trained for this moment, to ignore the stress of the situation and focus on his objective—a swift and safe escape for both of them. He pushes her toward the shore, urging her to keep her head low so there's less chance she will be hit. They run toward their horse, mount it quickly and make haste into the distance. Link realizes they will have to buy replacement supplies at the next town since they can't afford to return to the scene—the risk is simply too great that another ambush will be waiting for them.
Only once they've covered enough distance and can be sure of not being followed does the awkwardness of their situation finally occur to them. Although the threat of being killed was the initial reason for their frantically beating hearts, it soon becomes apparent that a totally different cause is resulting in the same outcome. Naturally, Zelda hadn't had the chance to grab her clothes as they made their harried escape and the relatively thin fabric of Link's garments does practically nothing to mask the sensation of her every curve pressing against his back.
Link brings the horse to a stop, removes his sky blue champion's tunic and offers it to her without turning his head. She graciously accepts. Although it does little to stop her cheeks from burning red, at least it's long enough to cover her fully, yet she makes a mental note to be extremely careful about not bending over in his presence...
If there's one good thing that can be said to have come out of this whole ordeal, it's that she now has free rein to touch his surprisingly toned chest for the ride's remainder.
Hmm...I could get used to this...
.
A/N: I took that flashback where Zelda gets angry at Link for following her around everywhere and ran with that idea, imagining how they would interact if her personality was like that from the start.
Anything I changed from canon was done purposefully to make the story more interesting IMO. There will be one more chapter after this.