Thank you for reading! I got some substantial feedback from my readers on the first chapter and I'm inspired to carry on and see this through :) Was so happy to see reviews, favoriters and followers! Things are actually going to pick up now. Let me know your thoughts. -Jazmin
Link took Zelda gingerly by the arm, guiding her back to the entrance in which she came. His leather gauntlets were rough from use, the material rubbing her Tender skin almost uncomfortably. The feeling of one touching her was very foreign being that she was of royal stature but she said nothing to him as he walked with her, only nodding a thank you when he held the door for her. Link made sure she was safely inside before double checking the coast, a force of habit. He squinted his eyes, scanning over the area before turning back to Zelda and joining her inside the castle.
When he walked in, he was surprised to see Zelda already walking away, towards the hallway which did not lead to her chambers. The detail of her direction did not go unnoticed by Link who blinked almost uncertainly. Sunrise was merely a few hours away. Surely the princess needed her sleep. Not sure how to breech the subject, he cleared his throat, the sound oddly loud within the stone castle walls. Zelda kept walking, pretending she hadn't noticed.
Now was not the time for idle conversation. Their wedding would take place in the evening and she was not mentally prepared for the occasion, let alone a conversation with her betrothed. Link was not one for pointless conversation and felt that in the best interest of the princess, it would be best if she returned to her chambers. She continued walking down the 'wrong' hallway and he had no clue as to why.
"Your highness" he spoke out, his voice low and gravely as per usual.
His voice never ceased to surprise her. Such a handsomely sculpted man with beautiful facial structure spoke with such a voice which betrayed his appearance. Rough and deep, at times nearly raspy. They shared very few conversations during their time as adults, each social exchange feeling out of place. Link was a very stoic man, and hard to read. Granted that she didn't know enough about him due to their lack of interaction, she had no reason to presume he was anything other than what he presented himself as.
Zelda visibly stiffened as he called her name for a brief moment but composed her self before responding. Whilst still faced away from Link she inquired what it was he needed, wishing he'd leave her to her thoughts. If she wasn't going to sleep tonight at least she could appease her racing mind. An aimless walk would do nicely, if he'd leave her to it.
"Have you slept at all?" Link asked her seriously "Morning is coming soon and the servants will wake you up for preparations... you should go to bed"
Something about Link that intrigued her was the way he spoke to her. He didn't speak to her the way everyone else did, carefully choosing their words and worrying that any casual remarks would offend her. Everyone made a great effort to speak to her the way royalty were supposed to be addressed, briefly and respectfully. When Zelda didn't fancy a topic, it was dropped. But Link didn't operate like that.
No matter the lessons or 'training' from the Hyrule scholars, Link's commoner traits couldn't simply be 'corrected'. He had learned enough of the regal mannerisms to appease the council, but all of it clearly was an act which he held up with great disdain. Like tonight, he often escaped during the we hours of the night. She often pondered why he accepted an arranged marriage when he clearly wasn't suited for the regal world.
Even under the roof of her castle, he treated her like common woman. The only form of respect he offered her as a woman of regal standing was calling her by her title. Other than that, she was simply another woman he had come across... but he never dared to address her by her name. Perhaps the forest boy wasn't refined but he certainly wasn't stupid.
"I will be fine, I assure you. When Morning comes I will be ready for the servants...now if you'll excuse me I'd like to be elsewhere."
She dismissed him with her answer and moved forward, her bare feet making no sound on the precious tile. Making about three feet away from where she stood, she was called after once more.
"Your highness"
Closing her eyes Zelda breathed in deeply, refusing to turn and face Link. For a man of few words he seemed awfully intent on carrying on this conversation, especially being that she already attempted excusing herself. This was by no means a good time for this, normally she could handle anything but currently there was too much getting in the way.
As strong of a person as she was, her strength was fading. Between the stress of the marriage and her grief for her father she couldn't hold herself as highly as she once did. The seven year turmoil had ended, leaving everyone relieved but little did anyone realized that the princess was still suffering it all in her mind.
"Where are you going? " Link questioned, "That hallway leads to the tower... I wouldn't recommend going there at this hour. A moblin was found wandering the roof last week"
"One that you took care of, I'm sure it is perfectly fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be going."
Walking away, Zelda realized that Link was right, she was walking towards the tower. She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't even realize that the hallway she had chosen was in fact leading there. It wasn't where she particularly wanted to be at this hour but having already brushed off Link's warning she continued on for the sake of her pride if nothing else.
She didn't look back as she carried on, assuming Link was still there watching her go. Head held high she proceed on her way to the tower steps, passing through the nearly blackened halls to get to them. She began ascending the steps, warily feeling the walls for traction, unable to clearly see where she was going. Barely making it half a flight of stairs up, she huffed quietly and debated whether to just turn back...hoping that Link wasn't still around to see her retreat.
The sound of boots clicking the floor hit her ears and she froze. Did Link follow her? They sounded very close but she didn't recall hearing them approach. Warm breath passed her neck and fingers reached out from somewhere along the wall. Wrinkly rough skin, the texture almost leathery like a glove, took hold of her neck and she screamed instinctively before her airway was squeezed tightly. This wasn't her hero.
Her shrill scream carried through the air briefly having been cut off. Certain that noone had heard it, she struggled to fend off whatever assaulted her. A scraping sound along the wall was heard and suddenly there was fire. Her attacker lit a torch, revealing itself to be an ugly green moblin. It's beady eyes stared at her menacingly and it tried to pull her up the tower steps.
She managed to swing at it, causing the moblin to briefly release her throat as it dropped it's torched and hastily tried getting it. She swiftly turned and ran, scraping her soft feet along the steps as she tried leaving the tower. Link was right, she should've gone to bed. Charging feet could be heard coming her way and she immediately recognized it as the sound of a pair of heavy boots hitting palace tile in a hurry.
Sure enough it was Link and she couldn't have been more grateful. The goblin stood up with his lit torch and chased her down the steps, illuminating her path as she ran. Having the light behind her she could see Link approaching, his face contorted in fury. His colbalt eye's locked on hers as she reached flat ground at the tower entrance and he hefted his sword from it's sheath.
"Hit the ground!"
Zelda did as she was told, dropping to the floor and tumbling as Link Leaped over her with his blade drawn.
"Hya!"
Link swung his sword, the steely blade aimed at the moblin's skull. It screeched and jumped back, dashing up the steps after dropping it's torch. He followed the creature, hot in pursuit, charging behind it. It's impish cries carried down the stairwell, followed by a disgusting crack then the sound of dead weight hitting the floor. Pulling herself up, Zelda hurried up the step after picking up the moblins dropped torch.
When she reached the room at the top of the tower, she was fairly fatigued. Having had no sleep did terrible things to her stamina. Out of breath, she leaned against the wall of the room to catch her breath. Holding the torch up, she watched as Link stood over the body, his sword back in it's sheath. The creature was still in one piece...but it's neck was mangled.
"You snapped it's neck...why?" She asked him, horrified. "I thought surely you would have slayed him, you had your blade drawn."
"I did, but he ran. I figured this was best, no mess." he explained to her, looking down at the corpse. "Had I slayed him his guts would be everywhere."
Zelda crinkled her nose in disgust, side stepping a bit with her nightgown gliding along the wall. The moblin corpse was disgusting and she didn't want to be near it. Link caught the hint fairly quickly and bent down and grasped the thing's leg then dragging it over to the tower room's window. Hefting it up he chucked it outside, the corpse falling a long course to the ground below.
"Link!"
Said person turned his head to look at Zelda. The Hylian Princess stood there flabbergasted, unable to comprehend what he just did.
"Why would you do such a thing!?"she wailed, the arm which didn't wield the torch raised in the air very uncomposed. "That's not how you take care of such a thing!"
"Would you have preferred I dragged that filthy creature's body through your home, your Majesty? I highly doubted you would have wanted that, this way it's outside and it can be removed later on. The guards will find it soon, they're patrolling the grounds as we speak. You know that."
Nodding, Zelda swallowed. Link was the only one to ever speak to her in such an informal manner, using sarcasm and blunt language. It did bother her more than she was willing to admit, but she let it go from the shere fact she was simply too tired. Link would be King tomorrow and could speak to anyone however he pleased, even her once he was crowned. The thought sat with her uncomfortably. A commoner was her Hero...a commoner would be her husband.
"Stupid" he grumbled.
"I beg your pardon?"
Link peered out the window, shaking his head at the dead moblin and unaware that Zelda has misinterpreted him previously.
"Stupid bastard" he stated, "That moblin should know better than to creep around a guarded castle...speaking of guards, those fools didn't even see that one lurking around. You'd think that after the one I found last week they'd be on high alert. Now I gotta worry every time I leave the castle."
Saying nothing, Zelda stayed where she was as Link stepped away from the window. A breeze blew in, filling the room with fresh air. Link seemed quite bothered by the error of her castle guards, grunting in frustration.
"Why would you worry?" she inquired. "It was a moblin, nothing too terrible..."
Link cut her off, aggravated.
"THIS time it was a moblin, next time it could be anything. I don't want to come back from the forest one day to find out something bigger managed to get past those guys. You're not safe when I'm not around. That stupid moblin got in here while I was gone, I guarantee it."
"Hey! There's a body over here!"
Both Link and Zelda's ear's perked at the sound of men outside. Scurrying over to the window, Zelda stood by Link looking out the window. As Link promised, they found the body and took it away. Zelda stayed fixated on the scene, watching as her guards hastily began splitting up in search of a larger threat. Link stood there, unimpressed.
"I can't leave again knowing those morons are in charge of watching you. I was going to leave and come back before breakfast but now these idiots have me worried."
Ignoring Link's evident concern, she briskly tried dismissing him.
"You're free to do as you please, as next in line for the crown you should know that" she scolded. "Now go, no need to worry over something as fickle as my well being"
"I'm not leaving you with them"
Weariness took over Zelda, she really needed sleep. She didn't feel like arguing, she was tired and had enough for one night.
"Very well. Stay then. I don't see why you worry but if you do not wish to leave again then simply don't. I will not insist."
Neither of them said anything for a bit, they stood by the window and continued to watch the guards run around like cuckoos...maybe they were stupid but they came a dime a dozen. There was only one Link. Of course none of them would compare to him. After watching silently, it dawned on Zelda how stupid her guards really were. She'd never truly seen them in action before, now that she was actively watching them it became very clear to her that they were imbicils.
One of them, the captain, stood off to the side watching his men. He had his arms crossed over his chest, making no effort to assist the group. Zelda frowned sourly, recalling how the captain often boasted about his efforts to lead his men. He claimed to be such a hard worker but there he stood not contributing at all. Zelda startled both Link and the captain by leaning on the window ledge and calling out.
"Captain, I suggest you pull your weight or I'll see to it that someone more suited for your position replaces you" she warned him. "If my betrothed wasn't titled as such he would be assigned your position. Now go!"
The tall, broad man jumped and became instantly alert, looking around for where Zelda's voice was coming from. He looked up and bowed to her before running off to where his men had gone. She watched as he disappeared behind a corner of the castle and nodded assertively in satisfaction. Link had the humor to scoff, shaking his head.
"The audacity of that man" she whispered under her breath.
" Your highness, I told you they were morons."
"That you did" she admitted, shaking her head displeased. "If only my father could see this"
"May the King rest in peace"
Zelda looked at Link, gasping at the ghost of her father who stood in the tower doorway far behind him. He smiled warmly, looking at Link before his form disappeared.
"Long live the King" her father's voice carried by her ears.
.