I climbed onto the deck of the ship, and was horrified at what I saw. The sea stretched out in all directions, rising and falling to titanic heights. The rain was heavy and fierce, soaking the deck. Not only was the deck slippery, but the ship kept tilting with every wave, causing things to roll off. The sky was dark, save for the occasional lightning bolt, whose accompanying thunder-crack would pierce my ears. I could not imagine a more awful place to be in the entire world. And in the middle of this watery hell, looking like a speck of dust, was my hero: Samus Aran.
I ran to her, getting drenched immediately. In addition to her normal outfit, Samus was wearing a big, white life-jacket, with a rope tied around her waist connected to the main mast. "Zelda," she asked, shocked at my arrival. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh Samus!" I yelled. "I'm so frightened! Please come with me!"
"Zelda, I can't! I'm needed up here," she yelled back. The wind was whipping her wet ponytail all around. "Go back to your room. You'll be ok!" I tried to protest, but she kept screaming "GO!"
I began to try to make my way back, but as I turned, I saw something: a massive wave was about to hit the broad side of the boat. It looked like a literal wall of white water come to kill us all. I screamed "LOOK!" and got Samus's attention. I tried to reach out to her, but it was too late. The wave hit with such unimaginable force, lifting me off my feet and pushing me to the other side of the boat. My legs hit the railing on the side, almost certainly breaking them. Still, the force was so strong that I kept going, flipping over into the sea.
I stayed underwater initially, still in shock from the pain and the cold water. I saw air bubbles float past me to the surface, which seemed to get farther and farther away. I started to swim, but as soon as I tried to kick, I screamed in pain. Trying again, I used less force and slowly, slowly made my way up. Pieces of wood and metal whizzed by me to the bottom of the sea. Etched in the sides of the ship were beautiful painted models and figures representing the best of Hyrule. Now they will never be seen again.
I hit the surface to see the ship. Its sails were ripping like paper; its masts were breaking like twigs; and the hull was being tossed like a child's toy. It was supposed to be the largest and mightiest ship in the entire kingdom, yet it was no match to the fury of nature. Despite its precarious state, that ship was my only chance of survival. I had been a good swimmer all my life, but between my legs, my heavy dress, and the storm, I knew I had moments to live. I tried to move forward, but it was too little to matter. I could barely keep my head above water, and the ship seemed to get smaller and smaller. I did the only thing I could do, and cried for someone to save me.
The ship disappeared from sight, sending me into state of despair. Suddenly, something appeared right before my face. Samus's head was bobbing in front of me.
"Samus!" I screamed in glee, and hugged her, wanting to never let go. "But, the ship-" I started.
"It's ok," she replied. "That's why we have the rope" she said with a big smile. "Now put this on!" She peeled me off, and I saw that in one of her arms was a spare life-jacket. Samus assisted me in putting it on. I got my head and arms through, but then Samus grabbed the ties, and slipped them underneath the already tight ties on her life jacket. She then tied the knot like normally.
"Now I won't lose you," she said, as she turned to the ship. Pulling on the rope, she dragged us through the choppy waters and the stinging rain. But as I floated behind, I saw something that made my eyes go wide with fear. A wave, hundreds of feet tall, loomed over us. It looked like a monster, whose maw contained oblivion, and whose intent was to swallow us. I screamed to warn Samus, who froze when she saw it. We knew that the wave would overtake anything in its path. Including the ship. Including us.
"Nayru, protect us!" I whispered, as Samus grabbed me tightly. As the wave rose, we rose with it. Eventually, we stopped climbing, and we tumbled backwards. We fell, and then hundreds of tons of water fell on us. We spun as all the water rushed passed in every direction. Had it not been for Samus's knot, I would have lost her forever.
Eventually, we stabilized and floated to the surface. I cried and moaned, as Samus frantically looked for the ship. All that could be seen was the bottom of the hull, as the mighty vessel had capsized, and was quickly sinking. We both stayed there, stunned at what we were seeing. Samus became even more frantic, and started looking at her safety rope. Suddenly, the rope became taught, and we were sent under.
The mast of the ship had broken off, and was falling through the water. And thanks to Samus's rope, we were falling down just as fast. Ironically, the very thing that was to be Samus and I's chance of survival was to be the thing that kills us. Samus played with the rope, trying to untie us, as we zoomed through the water. Our lifejacket configuration had made it hard to maneuver underwater, and Samus couldn't find the knot. I began to search too, and found it against Samus's butt. I signaled that I found it, and Samus then pulled on the rope to the mast. This made the rope around her waist loose, and easier to undo.
The knot was a complicated one: designed to stay even under the most extreme of circumstances. I followed the loose end through the many holes and curves, trying to undo it. Occasionally I would pull at random arcs, trying to find a quick way to escape. Soon, Samus lost her grip, and the knot was tight again. She pulled again, but it was clear her strength was fading. Mine was too. I worked even more feverishly, trying to save us. But just as soon as I found what to do, Samus lost her grip again. We looked at each other in the dim water. Both of us felt we were going to die, but neither of us wanted to fail the other. Samus pulled again. Shaking, I went to work, trying to undo the last feature. Samus let go, and just as soon as she did, I pulled the last piece apart, freeing us. The rope slid around Samus's body and snaked straight into the abyss.
We had escaped, but it felt like it was too late. We were headed back to the surface, but we were so far below that it was almost impossible to hold our breaths all the way up. The water was so dark; I couldn't even see my love. I could feel Samus trying to swim up, but it was so weak. I let my hands roam from her incredible butt, up her back, over the life jacket and onto her neck. Finally, with my hands on her face, I kissed her. As I did, I exhaled, and soon she did the same. As our lips locked, I prayed to the Golden Goddesses that this small, shared breath could sustain us for just a little bit longer.
I clung to my one true love, waiting for the end of my suffering, however that may be. After what seemed like an eternity, I felt my head breaking the surface. I emerged with my head upward, spitting water and taking huge breaths. I opened my eyes and saw Samus doing the same thing. Lightheaded, I collapsed onto the woman who saved me and started sobbing.
"You're safe now, my love," Samus said, stroking my head.
"Oh Samus!" I replied. "You shouldn't have come after me. Had you died, I would never be able to forgive myself".
"Nonsense," the huntress said. "Without you, I have no reason to live. I love you".
"I love you too," I said, and gave her the deepest, most grateful kiss I could. Every terrifying moment and ounce of pain I endured was worth this single moment a thousand times over. I broke from the kiss and nuzzled against my hero's cheek. "But what are we going to do now? No one knows we're here".
Samus sighed, "It doesn't matter. I know something will come". As soon as she said that, the sun peaked over the horizon, and
The sun peaked through the blinds of Zelda's room, and the princess woke with a sigh. Two nights in a row made it official: she had the hots for Samus. Picking up the room phone, she dialed Sheik's room.
She picked up, "Yes, milady?"
"It happened again," the princess muttered. "Let's meet up so we can discuss what to do next".
"As you wish," Sheik replied, and hung up.
Sheik walked up to Zelda's room and waited in the hall. Sheik was normally up at this hour, so waiting for the princess was no problem. Eventually, Zelda walked out, looking frazzled. She had a very strict evening and morning schedule that allowed her to be well rested. But, as Sheik could see, these dreams disrupted that schedule.
"How are you feeling, milady?" Sheik asked.
"Today is the most important day in my tournament schedule, and instead of focusing on them, I am contemplating my lesbian sex fantasies," Zelda grumbled as she made her way down the hall.
"You keep making it sound like it's a bad thing to have these dreams," Sheik quipped.
"It IS a bad thing! I'm not supposed to be doing this," Zelda snapped back.
"Do you not approve of homosexuality?" Sheik asked.
"No I just…" Zelda stopped. "All my life I had been trying to be the perfect princess. I followed every rule, did every ritual, no matter how arcane or annoying or tiring. I did it because I love the people of Hyrule, and they looked up to me. And now, instead of marrying royalty and becoming queen, I find myself lusting after a voluptuous warrior from space. And now, to satisfy my foolish desires, I'm going to deceive the people… I can't be perfect. I failed".
Sheik grabbed Zelda by the arms. "Look at me!" Zelda turned as Sheik undid her cap and bandages, so she could face her liege, red eyes staring into blue. "Don't you EVER think you have failed them! You have done so much already; you stared evil in the eye, wiped it out of existence, and rebuilt your kingdom so that it's stronger than ever. You deserve everything you have ever wished for, including this! This isn't something reckless; this is one simple night of happiness".
Zelda was near tears. "I don't want to lie. I don't care what they did in the book, I don't want to lie".
"The point of the book wasn't to say it's ok to lie. It was to show you that you're not alone. Dozens before you had to suffer and managed to eke out some modicum of happiness. Why? Because they knew it was important: for themselves and for the kingdom."
Zelda was silent for a moment. "What if it continues?"
"Then we'll deal with it then," Sheik replied. "It might be a one night thing, or it go on for a very long time. Either way, I know it will be ok. You're smart, and I know Samus: she's a good person. You'll get through whatever comes your way".
Zelda hugged the Sheikah. Her heart was still beating quickly, nervous about what could happen, but holding onto her friend made her feel better. "Thank you, Sheik. You know me; I tend to focus on the potential negatives".
"I know, but foresight is one of the top qualities to a ruler," the warrior replied, putting her bandages back on.
They started back down the hall. Then, Zelda spoke up, "You know, all of this is moot if Samus denies me".
"She won't deny you," answered Sheik. "She's a hero, and what hero doesn't desire the princess?" They giggled as they reached the stairs to the main hall.