Wrote this after the BOTW trailer reveal showing Zelda's new haircut and I just had to write this!
Thank you for reading!
The last few weeks it seemed that something was on Zelda's mind. Link himself was never much of a talker or to really share his own thoughts, though that had changed somewhat since Zelda had come back. But because of this Link didn't want to push her, he understood how much all this was to process even though Zelda seem to adjust better than he was fearing, maybe it was because she was 'aware' mostly while stuck in the castle? Link wasn't sure and it didn't seem to matter much.
That was until he caught her one day in the middle of their kitchen holding Urbosa's sword that Link had hung in memorial on the wall with the other champions weapons. It was a large sword and heavy but she held it easily and it was up against her hair that her other hand was pulling tight away from her body.
'What the hell is she doing' was the only thought that crossed Link's mind as he rushed forward but was too late in a single second, he heard a slight "slash" sound and her long golden like hair was on the floor. Link knew his eyes were wide as saucers as he looked at her his mouth agape but all Zelda did was look at the pile on the floor her expression unchanging.
Link was sure that she didn't even realize he was there.
Her hair was uneven and still at a length around her shoulders like she hesitated for a moment before finally cutting. It defiantly wasn't a clean cut like maybe a straighter sword would have done. Suddenly as he stood a few feet away from her watching her, not wanting to startle her since she still held the sword in her hands. It was in that moment that the princess looked up her large green eyes locking onto his blue ones and her face turning red as she clutched Urbosa's sword to her chest.
"L-link when did you get up?!" she shouted slightly which caused the swordsman to cringe a bit before giving her a smile.
"Not long ago." he finally said as he moved closer to her and then reaching out and touching a piece of her uneven hair that barely brushed her slim shoulder. "If you wanted your hair cut." speaking sometimes was still hard as he stopped for a moment, but he waited way too long to be with her to let that stop him, "I would have done it for you."
"Does it look bad?" her face scrunched up slightly as she touched it, "I'm sorry normally I would have asked or maybe even have Paya do it but…" she stopped her blue eyes glazing slightly with a faraway look in her eye. "I felt it was something I needed to do…like starting over, myself cutting it all away." she shrugged again her cheeks slightly red. "It sounds idiotic I know."
"It doesn't." he replied with a smile as she looked at him her face brightening up, green eyes shining. "I'll help you, if you still want me too." he swallowed waiting for her answer and slightly kicking himself because he really had no idea how to do someone's hair since even he would ask Paya to trim it for him if he was around the village at the time or one of the old women here in Hateno but something in him felt the need to do this for her.
Maybe it would cathartic for the both of them.
Zelda smiled and nodded but turned and put Urbosa's sword back onto the wall, her slim fingers hesitating on the cold steel for a moment before turning back to him and then kneeling down when she realized he was already cleaning her hair up.
"Link don't!" she stopped him and it seemed without words he gave her the pile of hair he could gather and placed it in her hands. Zelda clutched it against her chest, "I'll go and get ready." and Link nodded as he started to look for a pair of scissors, he knew he had somewhere and before long she was back down there wearing a simple tunic and pants before taking a chair outside. Minutes passed as Link stood behind where she sat clipping away and she could feel it get shorter, her heart hammered in her chest and a bit of regret built in her chest as it finally dawned on her what she did.
But it didn't matter now, because in the end it wasn't what she wanted but it was something she needed to do.
"Done, Princess." he said in his deep voice as his large hands brushed the hair from her shoulders before presenting her with a small round hand mirror with the back facing her. With a deep breath and her eyes closed Zelda flipped it over and then opened her eyes.
It was short up around her ears, long enough for her to place hair behind them but still very drastically short but she noticed that the front part of her hair was still long near the top of her breast bone and she turned and looked at him the question plainly on her face.
"That braid." he cleared his throat and that was when she noticed the slight redness to his own cheeks, "that you were on your head…I thought…maybe…" Link was never a man of many words and she knew he was pushing himself since they reunited but she stood up then a smile on her face as she pulled him into a hug burying her face into his shoulder.