Chapter Two

"And stop following me!"

As much as he wanted to… Link could not.

He didn't much care how many times she tried to evade him, or how many times she left him behind, he would still find her as easily as he had the other times in the past. How was he so confident?

Well, if finding bratty young girls was a sport in Hyrule he would have to thank his little sister for training him so thoroughly.

It wasn't until Zelda got on her horse and galloped away that Link decided to follow her from a distance. She would certainly still be aware of his presence, but at least it would give her some space. Maybe that was all she needed. Aryll needed her space sometimes, so why would the Princess be any different? She could still be more sympathetic to what his job entailed though. It wasn't as if watching over her was something he wanted to do for the rest of his life either.

Even as he followed far behind her, making sure she didn't disappear from sight, his heart begged him to look at the expanse of land and greenery that drove him crazy. He forced himself to look away, though. He couldn't upset the King by losing sight of his daughter.

Thankfully they got down from the high cliffside without a hitch and Zelda was reunited with her father and the garrison his father led.

"Ah! There she is!" Came the King's relieved words. "Gared, your son is a miracle worker tearing her away from those damnable shrines."

Link looked up to see his father chuckling. "He is indeed a miracle. Barely a month into his role and he's already taken to it like a pro. Just like his old man!"

Link said not a word, instead averting his gaze from the man one would barely believe was his father. He was large, burly, and had a plethora of muscles any soldier could be jealous of. Link realized long ago he himself looked a lot like his mother, especially with the thick head of hair on his head he kept tied behind him.

The young Hylian stepped off the horse, offering a hand to Zelda who snuffed it away.

Once again, he said nothing.

It wasn't as though he had no thoughts or couldn't speak. In reality he liked to voice his opinion and help out in any planning. However, once the damnable Master Sword was in his hand there was no opinion for him to have. Those who expected him to fight made sure that he did, and when his opinion did matter it was either a yes or no question that didn't need a lot of attention. With the Master Sword came the responsibility of a hero. A responsibility he did not want.

However, he learned long ago – even before the Master Sword was in his hands – that silence was the best practice. To silently bear the hells and try not to screw it up for others. It may not have been good for his own worries or self-esteem…

…but it was all he could do in order not to screw up.

His thoughts were suddenly cut off when another, more familiar, voice came to him.

"Big Brother!"

Link immediately turned to the voice and gave a grin. The first one he had made in weeks, really.

Aryll flew through the men in armour, running up to Link to jump into his arms. She managed to hug his waist so tightly it made the young man wheeze out a breath.

But he was still happy to see her.

With how light she was he brought her up into his arms and she immediately hugged him around the neck. Through the throng of other soldiers Link could see his mother step through with a look of both embarrassment and relief.

"Aryll! What have I told you about running off like that!?"

The little Hylian girl on giggled. "It's fine, momma! Link will always protect me!"

Indeed he would. Over Zelda, or even the King, he would choose to always protect her first. She was so full of energy and kindness it made everything about Link's problems practically melt away. He knew, as long as she was still here with him, things weren't always as bad as they seemed.

King Rhoam let out a low chuckle at seeing the two. "And your daughter seems to work miracles as well. I haven't seen your son smile like that in a while."

Link looked to see his father scratching his head in bashfulness. "Ah, my King, you may have Zelda, but Aryll will always be our princess."

Another chuckle from the large man. "Indeed, every father – once they have a girl – has a princess to care for. And if they're lucky, they'll have a knight of a son to help protect that princess as well."

Link surprisingly beamed at this, setting down his little sister in order to stand straighter once more.

Gared looked to his wife now. "Marella, will you be heading to Castle Town then? You've been on the road with us for some time now."

"I would hate to leave you so soon, my love." She joked, knowing full well she probably overstayed her welcome anyhow. "Besides, Aryll's been wanting to join you on your escapades for some time now."

Link heard another soldier make a remark about a little girl joining the army, making the others laugh, and he growled.

He then turned to Aryll, signing something to her.

She smiled. "I could totally kick their butts! Just let me at 'em!"

Link had just popped a dagger out from his pack when he felt a quick smack upside the head from his mother.

"It's bad enough you've got her fighting with the other kids in town, don't make it worse by bringing knives into this!"

Link brought up his hands to sign again.

"They were bullying her!"

"I don't care what they were doing, she is a lady and should act like one!"

"Being a lady doesn't mean she can't defend herself." He reminded her. "Besides, she already stole one of my daggers before."

Marella bristled, looking down at Aryll now. "You did what?!"

"It was just so I could see it closer!" The little girl defended.

Link snickered to himself. "She's already making herself into an excellent thief. I might as well teach her to fight off soldiers."

Another smack to his head, which only made him snicker more, and Marella immediately dragged Aryll off to the side to give her a talking to.

Gared let out a sigh, turning to his son. "You can't just leave well enough alone, can you?"

Link forced out a cheeky grin, not bothering to sign anything.

Zelda, for once staying silent for a bit, finally spoke up. "So where to next, father?"

"You and Link will be heading to the desert," the king replied, standing straighter even as his daughter looked visibly pained to be travelling with Link again, "Urbosa has expressed wanting to speak with you about some findings in Vah Naboris. After this I would like you to take time in your training to unlocking your power. You understand this, yes?"

"Of course, father." She replied quietly. "I… I will try."

Despite everything she was doing to avoid him, Link did genuinely feel sorry for the princess due to her being unable to unlock her sealing power. And with the whole world looking to her for the power to seal Calamity Ganon away, it was tough not to feel sorry for her.

In fact, he was feeling that same kind of pressure on his own shoulders.

The moment the Master Sword was in his hands it meant everything fell apart for Link. The dreams he had of seeing the world and enjoying it went to hell and his father expected him to train and be as perfect as perfect could be. It was a daunting task to have, being the man who would take on Ganon, and it wasn't made easy having to babysit the princess. She constantly berated him in ways that made it seem like it was all his fault for her misgivings. It didn't help when he overheard her talking about him to a few of her ladies-in-waiting back at the castle. She truly felt no kinship with him even though they were in the same boat with the same issues to deal with.

But there was nothing he could do about that. She would not accept him no matter what he tried nor how much he was of help.

Things would not change.

The two split off from the rest of the group soon afterwards, their horses trotting away at a medium pace. Epona, unlike the horse Zelda rode, was calm and kept herself to the road with comfort. Link had wanted to tell the princess that taking the time to soothe the steed would put him at ease and stop the fighting she had with him.

However, she did not want anything to do with his opinions or critiques. She simply wanted to get from point A to point B without any issue.

When she finally got her steed to calm down, realizing at last that she needed to be calm herself, she turned to Link with a look of annoyance.

"The desert is going to be scorching hot and drain us quite fast. If you are low on water now would be the time to fill up."

Link said nothing, holding up his already full canteen. And as much as she tried to sound even the least bit practical in this situation, the distance between them and Gerudo was a few days travel at best. Meaning they would need to stop once more to fill their canteens. He didn't vocalize this, however, since she wouldn't have listened anyhow.

He suddenly caught a smirk from the princess, a part of him almost daring to ask what was on her mind. She seemed to be thinking about something, and by the way she glanced at him every so often he assumed it was about him. What it was about he did not know.

And wouldn't know until they finally made it to Gerudo Town.