Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda
I am also forever amused by Link who keeps going and going for days on end until he suddenly runs out of hearts, whereupon he immediately keels over.
And so begins a series of one-shots of "five times Link and Zelda were 110% competent and capable of saving the world and no times they weren't."
And They All Lived Happily Ever After
The one with Link and Zelda and a sandwich
Link hops down off the station platform and picks his way along the tracks back out of the Forest Temple, even though he's breaking Alfonzo's first rule of engineering. Alfonzo has a lot of first rules of engineering, but not fooling around by the rails is the one that makes him bellow the loudest. Even non-engineers have to follow that rule, or else.
Alfonzo isn't here.
Out here there's just Link, and Princess Zelda's ghost, and the Spirit Engine that's the only train left on the few rails Link's managed to restore. Link looks up at the sky that's turning dusky above the treetops, streaked with wisps of clouds pulled thin like foam on the waves and purple in the evening light.
By Link's estimation, it's still light enough yet that he and Princess Zelda can make it back to the Tower of Spirits and see Anjean before it gets too late. Then they can grab the next section of the rail map, and set out again, and then-Link glances up over his shoulder, where Princess Zelda is hovering, and flashes her a grin-then they'll have her body back before you know it.
Princess Zelda folds her hands together and smiles back at him.
"Hey, Link," she says, "are you hungry?"
Link pokes at the belt buckle of his borrowed recruit uniform while he ponders this. He hasn't really been thinking about food, but he guesses that if Princess Zelda wants to stop for something to eat on their way back to the Tower of Spirits, he doesn't mind doing the same. Although it's really weird, because Link figured that she wouldn't be hungry, being-well-without a stomach and all.
Princess Zelda rolls her eyes. She says, "I didn't say I was hungry, I asked you."
She reaches down, until her gloved hand is probably pressed against his cheek but Link can't feel it. The motion tips her feet up so she's floating upside-down now. "Your face went all white a minute ago, did you know? You're as white as a-as-as me. And I don't think I've seen you eat anything at all since we left the castle, so I just thought that maybe-"
Oh. Princess Zelda's right, now that Link thinks about it. And now that he's thinking about it his face does feel kind of weird, and his head feels all funny too, and.
And he is blinking up at the clouds and the darkening sky through the pale pinkish haze that is Princess Zelda yelling at him.
"-and you fell right through my hands! Do you have any idea how weird and creepy that felt?! I've still got shivers going down my spine, ugh, it's horrible. If you ever do something like that again I'm going to have some words for you after we get my body back, and by words I mean my fists!"
The grass is itching the back of Link's neck, and the end of his hat is all scrunched up under his head so it kind of hurts to lie on. He stares at the fists Princess Zelda is brandishing in front of his nose until his eyes cross, and then he looks at her face instead. She glowers down at him, huffing to catch her nonexistent breath, a pallid flush in her cheeks.
Link cracks a grin, because he's fine and she doesn't need to worry, and he drags his left hand up to toss her a salute. Princess Zelda just hmphs and spins herself into a little ball of light that bobs out of his field of view.
Half an hour later finds Link sitting on the wooden steps of Whittleton Station with a sandwich on his lap and a stack of postcards on the platform beside him.
Whittleton's General Store doesn't have regular postcards, only packs of the special prize ones. The General Store doesn't actually have sandwiches, either. But Link must've been looking pretty woozy again, even though he felt a lot better after lying half-sprawled across the tracks outside the Forest Temple for a while, because the guy in the shop offered Link a sandwich anyway, free of charge and everything.
Link thanked him, and bought the postcards to make up for it.
He takes a bite of the sandwich and brushes the crumbs off one of the postcards so he can scratch out the address already printed on it. Around his scratching-outs Link squeezes in Niko, Link and Niko's House, Aboda Village, the Forest Realm, New Hyrule.
"Let's head out to the Tower of Spirits in the morning after all," Princess Zelda says, perched on the railing beside him. "You worked really hard getting through all the traps in that temple and getting rid of that gross giant bug thing. So you probably want to sleep, right?"
Link shrugs-Princess Zelda usually just tells him to hurry up and stop getting distracted and that skull is icky why are you putting it in your bag ew Link-and looks up from squinting at his postcard. It's twilight now, the time that Niko is usually hauling Link inside for his bath before bed.
He munches on his sandwich and sweeps more breadcrumbs out of his lap. Link doesn't feel tired yet, and they could still make it to the Tower of Spirits, probably, if Princess Zelda wants to. He's a royal engineer and it's his job to take his passengers where they want to go, safe and sound and in a timely fashion.
Princess Zelda looks at her see-through hands for a long moment, and then she claps them together. She says, "You know, I realize now why Anjean asked me to accompany you. I can't put myself in danger or fight all those nasty monsters, of course, and you're really doing a wonderful job all on your own. But, Link, I think you really do need someone looking out for you and making sure you take care of yourself and remember to eat and get enough sleep. So I'll be happy to help you as best as I can!"
She smiles. She has a pretty smile, and Link smiles back.
But first, he plops his elbow on a corner of the postcard to hold it down, which is really handy because that also puts his sandwich right by his mouth. He eats while he writes in the white spaces:
Niko,
This is Link I'm writing you a postcard like you asked. I wasn't late for my graduation ceremony and Princess Zelda gave me my certificate and it was great except Chancellor Cole was creepy and also a demon. I got a new train to use and she's beautiful. There's not many tracks though but I am putting them back so I hope I will stop in Aboda soon.
Love, Link
P.S. Princess Zelda says write that I say hello for me.
"I wish I could send Teacher a letter and let him know that everything's going to be okay," she murmurs while Link is sticking Niko's postcard in the mailbox.
He lets the hatch shut with a bang. Link would write a letter to Teacher for her, except Teacher probably still wouldn't believe him and he'd just keep pacing around the castle and fretting. So Link's going back to the train, and he's going to grab the pillow and blanket out of the luggage compartment, and he's going to lay down on the seat and fall asleep straight away and not waste a single second, and in the morning he and Princess Zelda will be all bright-eyed and get to the next section of the rail map twice as fast as before.
She laughs, and her smile really is very pretty.
