Chapter 2: Hours at Hateno
Hateno Village. It was nine o'clock in the morning; birds were singing their melodies, and the people of the village were beginning their daily activities. Well, there was one person still in bed: Link. He had set an alarm to disrupt him thirty minutes before the hour hand landed on nine, in an attempt to give himself some time before Zelda arrived. However, while still half-asleep, he disabled the alarm completely. He couldn't be bothered to get up—he didn't sleep that well. Although he knew that Zelda was almost at the village (thanks to her constantly blowing up his phone with her whereabouts), he still couldn't find any motivation to leave the comfort of his bed. As he was about to fall back into a trance, loud banging on his front door startled him out of his state. Link, slightly irritated at being disturbed right before venturing back into dreamland, tiredly rose and trudged to the door. He didn't bother putting on a shirt—he figured that Zelda could live with seeing him like this. He opened the door to find the excited princess, a grin extending ear-to-ear, properly standing before him.
"Morning, Zelda," Link yawned. "How's it goi—" his speech stopped abruptly. His eyes widened as he noticed how beautiful she looked. He noticed that she wasn't any different from the last time he saw her—her blonde hair still flowed freely, and her emerald eyes still twinkled like a distant star. Her outfit was nothing unusual, either; she just looked more majestic this particular morning. He struggled to finish his original thought as he became captured by her presence.
"Good to see that you didn't forget that I was coming early," Zelda teased, a wry smile forming across her face. "But goodness me, Link, have you been working out recently?" she asked, knowing that embarrassment would overcome him. Her ploy worked—and effectively. Link felt his heart thumping faster than a hummingbird's wings. He opened the door wider, and slid behind it, motioning her with his hand to enter.
"You never answered me, by the way," Zelda mentioned, also trying her best to hide her blushing face from seeing Link's shirtless physique. She dropped her luggage next to the door, and supported herself on the countertop.
"Ha ha, very funny. Now what's with all the bags you have with you?" Link asked, quickly slipping a shirt on to cover himself. Zelda brought three different bags with her. He was confused to why she could possibly need three—he thought that just one would suffice.
"I had a lot of stuff that I needed to bring over, silly" she answered, bopping him on the nose.
"A lot of stuff that you wanted to bring…" he muttered to himself. He could tell that she was in an exceptionally good mood already, and she had only just arrived. He deemed her high spirits to be caused by a variety of factors, but was unable to pinpoint the exact reason why. He thought that maybe she enjoyed the walk over, or was just having a good day. Whatever the reason, he didn't expend any more energy on the thought—he enjoyed seeing her like this. "Well, I'm going to eat breakfast. I'm not sure why you wanted to come over this early considering dinner won't be until much later, but feel free to do as you please," Link pondered aloud.
"Because now I get to spend the entire day with you! I barely got any sleep because I was looking forward to this so much," Zelda explained. She folded her arms and almost looked like she was offended that Link would ask such an obvious question.
"I mean, I'm not against spending the day with you. So don't take that the wrong way. In fact, I'm glad that you showed up this early," Link sincerely stated. He had just finished pouring milk into his bowl full of cereal, and made his way to the kitchen table. Zelda followed right behind, and sat down next to him. "So, what plans do you have in store for us today?" he inquired, playfully bopping her on the nose. Seeing her in such a jovial mood caused Link to become more energetic and cheerful. He figured that a little bit of playfulness was good fun, and he was now even with her in terms of bops.
"You really are something else, you know that?" she directed at Link. It wasn't often that she saw Link so upbeat and lighthearted. It made her heart flutter witnessing him so happy. She had grown a stronger desire for him recently; that's why she was continuously trying to be with him, and when she was in his presence, she battled to contain her longing for him. So when he had asked her over for dinner, it was the easiest decision of her life. However, she did something that startled even herself; she kissed him on the cheek due to her excitement. She immediately regretted her decision, but became overwhelmed with relief when he went along with it—although she had hoped for one in return. Beggars can't be choosers she thought, so she didn't complain; she trotted back to the castle, where she spent the rest of her time counting down the hours until her departure.
"I had already planned to do some work around the house, but we can honestly do whatever," Link began to say, his mouth full of cereal. "Although the yard isn't going to tend to itself," he slowly lifted his eyes from the bowl, and faced Zelda.
"Well, with those eyes looking at me, how can I say no?" she answered, leaning across the table, bringing her face closer to his. "Aw, I just noticed that you put on a shirt… that's no fun," she pouted, purposefully teasing the hero. She just couldn't get enough of how cute his face became when he was uncomfortable.
"Yard work it is!" Link enthusiastically yelled. He sprang up from his chair to prevent himself from an embarrassing and potentially awkward situation with Zelda, and went to go get changed.
As the sun prepared for its daily doze, both the hero and princess were worn out. They had spent practically the entire day tidying up both the interior and exterior of the house. Link was secretly grateful that Zelda had brought her bags, as they proved to be invaluable in cleaning up. They had dinner, just as Link promised. It was a steak accompanied by various sides, such as mushrooms and greens. They both devoured the meal, and Zelda suggested that they watch some TV. Not even five minutes had elapsed, and Zelda was already passed out. She was laying on Link, but he didn't mind—she probably had worked harder than him today. Link didn't want to wake the sleeping beauty, but he wasn't sure what her plan was. He wanted to know since it was getting rather late; the time-teller read eleven o'clock. As if she somehow knew what he was thinking, Zelda suddenly woke up. She was out of sorts, and looked panicked. When she realized that she was in comfort and safety of Link's hold, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Woah, is everything alright? You seemed pretty worried for a second there," Link said softly. He noticed that she was still shaking rather intensely, and was trying to control her breathing.
"I just had a pretty bad dream, that's all. Nothing to fret about," she stuttered, still clearly affected by what happened.
"Do you mind me asking what it was about?" he questioned, curious to what could possibly rattle her so much.
"It was awful… I was still here, but you weren't. I couldn't find you anywhere. No matter how loud I screamed or where I checked, you were nowhere to be found…" she trailed off, desperately fighting off tears. "It's stupid to be crying about this because it's not real and it's over now… but it felt incredibly real," she whimpered, stuffing her face into Link's shirt.
"Hey, it's alright. Those dreams in which you can't comprehend that it's a dream—you actually believe it to be real—can be truly frightening. And it's definitely not stupid to be emotional about… if anything, it shows that you care for me, and that means the world to me, Zeld. I may not show it enough—and I'm sorry if I don't—but I couldn't imagine a world without you. You take better care of me than I could do on my own, and I'm forever grateful for you." He picked Zelda's head up and brushed her hair back with his hand. "So don't worry. Everything's ok, and I'm right here," he gently finished, bringing her close in a hug.
"Link, I—" Zelda was speechless. She had never felt so vulnerable, yet so secure. It felt like he always knew what to say, no matter the situation. "Thank you," she murmured. Those were the only words that escaped her, though she longed to tell him how much she loved him. She wanted to embrace him and never let go, but she couldn't quite bring herself to verbally admit her feelings. She silently promised to herself that she will tell him eventually—hopefully soon. She couldn't stand not being with him; she was madly in love, and there was nothing she could do about it.
"It's pretty late. Why don't you stay the night? You can have my bed and I'll sleep on the sofa," Link proposed, though he didn't mind if they spent the rest of the night laying like this. He, too, desired to speak how he truly felt about her —he almost let it slip when he attempted to comfort her. He wished that he could muster up the courage, but instead he wallowed in self-doubt. He promised to himself that he would confess to her sooner rather than later, but he was unsure how to bring it up. He pushed those thoughts aside, as he was content for the time being having her lay in his arms.
Zelda nodded to Link's invitation, but made no effort to journey to his bed. She rested her head back into his hold, and exhaled slowly. Link placed a light kiss on her forehead, and wished her goodnight.
"You're just too kind to me, Link. If only you knew…" she whispered, her face becoming flushed bright pink. This was the first time he had placed his touch upon her, and she prayed that the moment would never end.
"I'm just doing what a friend should do," Link smiled, uncertain what was being implied by the latter. He hoped that it meant something, but he dismissed it as her being thankful. Sleep quickly conquered the two of them, and they blissfully embraced it, more content than words could possibly describe.