Zelda sprinted down an endless hallway, illuminated by red light through the windows, tripping over her dress and panting
heavily.
Though she was running as fast as she could, her pursuer was gaining with ease.
"Don't run, Princess! It will only make this more painful," a dreadful voice hissed.
She finally stumbled fatally and fell to her knees, which broke open on the stone. Bleeding and entangled in her own dress,
Zelda backed up against the wall and whimpered as a shadow loomed over her and then engulfed her completely.
Her own screams woke her up. Once again, she found herself drenched in sweat in a very un-royal way, surrounded by maids,
guards, the palace doctor, a foreign mage, and her father.
"Another nightmare?" the doctor asked.
Breathlessly, Zelda nodded.
"We'll get you cleaned up," offered one of the maids, holding out her hand.
"M-May I just st-stay here for a moment?" the princess requested.
The king waved his hand and the guards and maids departed from her spacious chambers.
"Similar to your past dreams?" the mage inquired.
"Yes, but this time my knees were bleeding," she recollected, trembling.
Zelda sighed morosely and her father gently stroked her back.
The mage and doctor nodded to each other and left the room, quietly discussing the signs. They had at first refused to
cooperate, believing in different methods of healing, but after a month they decided to collaborate.
Just as they left, a maid reentered.
"There is someone who would like to see Her Highness," she said softly.
"I think we should save meetings for tomorrow," the king responded.
"Who is it?" asked Zelda, straightening her nightgown. Not a soul outside of the palace was to know about her weakness.
"The Hero."
Link? thought Zelda. What is he doing here?
"Your Highness?" he greeted, tapping the door with his knuckles as he came in.
Aware of how much she was blushing, Zelda stood and brushed down her nightgown. It didn't help at all that he was valiantly
handsome, with his glowing blue eyes and blond hair, and her age besides.
"Good evening, Hero. Is there something you wanted to discuss?"
The king stood as well and kissed Zelda's cheek.
"Let's leave them alone," he muttered to the maid as he exited, pulling the door closed behind him.
Father! Zelda hissed mentally, glaring at the door.
No more talk of darkness
Forget these wide-eyed fears
"You…may think me bold, Your Highness," Link began, holding his arms awkwardly, "but I wanted to make you feel better
about your nightmares, in any way I can."
"Nightmares are mere visions," Zelda said dismissively, waving her hand. "Nothing I can't handle myself."
"Are you sure? They have been happening for some time now. You have been free from Ganon for months now."
She looked at him with fire in her eyes and he put up his hands as if saying, "Steady."
"Maybe the best way to make them better is to forget them. Think of other things to dream about."
I'm here
Nothing can harm you
My words will warm and calm you
"Explain," Zelda commanded, sitting on the edge of her canopy bed.
"Well, there are things you can do as you fall asleep. Just imagine calming things before bed and then your dreams will be
nice."
She stared at him, bemused.
"Here, if you would close your eyes, I could tell you one," Link said, crouching down and resting his elbows on the bed beside
her.
Though reluctant, Zelda folded her arms and closed her eyes.
Link smiled fondly, though she couldn't see it.
"Imagine that you are on a hill in the nighttime. A cloud appears around your feet and you get on top of it. You could stand, or
sit, or lie down, because it's soft and solid, like the nicest bed in the world. It carries you through the sky and the breeze is
fresh and cool. You could fall asleep and the cloud would carry you safely on all night."
Zelda exhaled leisurely and could nearly feel the night air on her skin, blowing her hair behind her. The dark was soothing,
healing. But another cloud approached her, wrapping around hers and constricting it. It was musty and hot— a storm cloud—
and it strangled her cloud until it was limp. She fell through.
She opened her eyes again, gasping.
Let me be your freedom
Let daylight dry your tears
Zelda felt tears threatening to burst out, but she wiped her eyes in frustration.
"He follows me whenever I close my eyes!" she snarled through clenched teeth.
Link sat beside her and rubbed her back consolingly.
She took her hands from her eyes and gave him a look.
I'm here
With you beside you
To guard you and to guide you
Link snatched his hand away and scooted over. "We can try another. Okay, so close your eyes. Now, there is a castle in the sky,
and you can get there by riding a pegasus…"
He had interpreted her look as "What do you think you're doing?"
But really, Zelda was only surprised.
For hours, Link thought of new dreams and Zelda found fear in each of them.
As the moonlight coming through her windows turned just slightly rosy, Zelda finally broke down. In exhaustion, in fear, in
frustration, in embarrassment.
Link was just as tired, but his stamina was much more impressive. And he had something he wanted to do before the night
was over.
Zelda looked at him through puffy eyes, and realized how hard he had worked just to make her happy. He had saved her,
brought her home safely, come to visit her, brought her gifts, and now sacrificed his own health to make sure she was happy.
"I'm sorry, so sorry…" she repeated over and over.
"No, no," Link said fiercely, and brought her to her feet so he could wrap his arms around her. "This is what I didn't want to
happen. You don't need to be sorry."
Say you'll love me every waking moment
Turn my head with talk of summertime
"Why are you doing this?" Zelda sighed into his shoulder, arms folded against his chest.
"You are my princess," he replied.
"And the princess of everyone else in Hyrule," she chuckled, sniffing. "A pretty bad one at the moment."
"You are my princess," he repeated, squeezing her even harder. "My queen. The ruler of my world. If you are unhappy, so am I.
If I need to create a thousand dreams for you, I will."
Her salty eyes opened wide.
Say you need me with you
Now and always
Promise me that all you say is true
That's all I ask of you
"What do you—"
"I love you, Princess Zelda. I want to take away your pain."
She straightened her arms to push away from him and look at his face. There was no hint of jesting.
"Fine, then," she said, trying to be disdainful, "Do as you wish."
Let me be your shelter
Let me be your light
You're safe
No one will find you
Your fears are far behind you
Link embraced Zelda again and began to slowly sway, as if rocking a baby to sleep.
"What are your dreams like? Are you afraid of something in particular?"
"Someone chases me. I think I'm afraid Ganon will hunt me down again."
"But he's dead. I killed him with the Master Sword."
"I've got a terrible feeling that he will…come back." Her voice caught with tears.
"Then I will kill him again. Gladly."
All I want is freedom
A world with no more night
And you
Always beside me
To hold me and to hide me
"I only want to forget him."
"You can forget him. He won't bother you anymore, after all."
Zelda thought, I think now I also want something else. I want you to never let go of me.
Then say you'll share with me one love one lifetime
Let me lead you from your solitude
He stopped swaying, to her dismay, and bent a little to look her in the eye. Normally she would have reprimanded him for
behaving this way around a princess, but she could have been a frog and forgotten at this point.
"Am I being too informal?" he asked.
In response, Zelda pulled his chest to her head and muttered, "Don't let go of me, idiot."
He grinned over her head.
Say you need me with you
Here beside you
Anywhere you go let me go too
Zelda, that's all I ask of you
She could feel his quiet laughter in his chest.
"Never," he promised. "And I will be with you always, if you want it."
That was all she needed. Zelda smiled, content to smell the forest on his tunic and stay like this for days.
Say you'll share with me one love one lifetime
Say the word and I will follow you
Share each day with me
Each night, each morning
But she felt it was customary to bestow a gift upon her Hero. (At least, that was how she justified her urge to kiss him.) So she
moved her hands to the base of his neck and stood on her tiptoes. Before she could even meet his lips, Link eagerly came
down to meet hers, bumping her nose a little. But he could not be deterred.
Though her eyes were closed, she could feel his broad smile.
Say you love me
He picked up her legs and held her as he had the day of the escape… No. No more of that, Zelda reminded herself. I've got
other things to think about now.
You know I do
He spun her around and she restrained her giggles, suddenly aware of the guards in the hall.
Love me
That's all I ask of you
They collapsed on the bed in a dizzy heap and laughed silently until they could both see clearly again. Then Link held Zelda's
gaze, which was calming in its silence. Dawn turned into day without either noticing.
Anywhere you go let me go too
Love me
That's all I ask of you
Midday came and there had been no sign of the Princess. No one had seen the Hero leave either, but if he had left in the early
morning, not many would have been around to notice anyway.
A maid gingerly opened the door to the princess's chambers, saw the scene, and hastily closed it again. She hurried down the
halls, blushing and holding her hands over her mouth. By the time she reached the library where the king rested, an
entourage of gossiping servants followed behind her.
"Your Majesty! There is something that you must see!" she squealed.
The group doubled in size back to the princess's chambers, with the king in front. The maid hushed the crowd and opened the
door, allowing solely the king inside, though everyone leaned to look through the doorway.
He approached the canopy bed where his daughter and the Hero slept like innocent children, drooling and holding hands, and
chortled.
He returned to the hall and beckoned the servants to follow him to the throne room.
When they congregated, the king announced, "Yes, that young man sleeping beside my daughter is the Hero. He came to me
last week with the intention of marrying her, and I promised my blessing if he could get rid of her nightmares. Now, did it
seem to you like she was having bad dreams? No? Good. Then we have a wedding to plan."
A/N: All right, fluffy time! Sorry it's so fluffy, it's just how I imagined Zelda and Link's romance to be.
One more to upload! My favorite pairing next!
I own nothing but about 40 shoeboxes. (I don't even own 10 pairs of shoes!)
- Rajeela