A/N:
Guest: Thank you :). I completely agree the grammar in the first chapter is awful. I'll go back and fix it up at some point I promise.
Leina16: Yeah I agree, I'm going to stick to my perspective from now on. It's my first fanfic ever so I was just wondering what style I liked telling the story. I'm glad you liked the second chapter I worked much harder on it than the first. Also forgive my stalking (I was just looking for similar fanfictions to read) but it seems you're almost as much a ZeLink fan as I am
Orbital: Thanks for the review! I'm quite busy with university at the moment. TBH I enjoy it every time I update the story so I'm going with shorter chapters/more updates but I understand that it can be frustrating sometimes. This chapter is longer than the others so you are welcome hehehe
Also any interesting bits of lore you come across in your play through of BoTW in particular between ZeLink I'd really appreciate your telling me.
Generally, I feel the vast majority of romance fanfictions focus on a will they won't they type of thrill. BoTW at least gives the opportunity to explore what a romantic relationship between the pair would be like. Don't consider the romance to be plot but merely a theme.
I realised that indicators that time had passed didn't process so I've fixed this chapter up and will fix up chapter 2 tomorrow.
I honestly didn't expect any response to my fiction and probably wouldn't have continued if it weren't for you all so thank you. Also fun fact you'll find out how terrible I was at finding koroks at the start of the game.
ENJOY!
Chapter 3
Zelda woke up to an empty bed at the wetland stables. She felt surprisingly well rested and remembered the previous night. In particular she had slept beside Link! She grinned like a little girl. Ever since he saved her in the Gerudo desert she was doomed to fall in love with her knight. His kind and gentle nature only festered her love for the Hero. He had disappointed her and had always been her most loyal and trustworthy friend. She recognised her love for him when he disobeyed the king's orders when he had threatened the soldiers, who would have forced her to continue her pilgrimage to the goddess's sacred springs when she was so upset.
Her reverie was broken when the door to the room opened and Link appeared with a tray in his hand.
"Hungry princess?" he said with a grin on his face. Zelda perked up at the smell of food and flashed an appreciative smile at him, which slowly turned into a frown.
"You are too kind to me, Link" she responded still holding her frown. She genuinely felt guilty about how unconditionally kind Link was to her. This guilty originated from the fact she had in the early stage of their relationship been dismissive of him to the point of being cruel. But she could have forgiven her initial conduct had Link not sacrificed his life for hers as her dream the night before had cruelly reminded her.
"Is the beautiful princess of Hyrule worried that her humble knight is too nice to her?" Link teased her, knowing that above all Zelda hated being given special treatment. For a princess she sought abnormal independence. He smirked cheekily at the woman before him. Zelda caught his smirk and responded with a brilliant smile.
"Yes, my dear knight, or actually I shouldn't say that because I've just decided to relieve you from your service," She said with her lips firmly together. She held her head up with her eyes closed mockingly imitating a royal command.
"Well then I guess I'll just have to be kind to you as your devoted friend". He took exactly three long steps closing the distance between them. He leaned down slowly and met Zelda's mock angry gaze with smugness and placed the tray next to her.
"Fine then I order you to not be so nice to me," Zelda retorted.
"Ahh but princess, you just relieved me from your service." Link's mouth broke into a triumphant grin. The princess gaped at him trying to muster a come back but she was defeated.
"You..uhh…You're an idiot," she muttered returning his grin with her own.
Link started to chuckled "I love you" the words he confessed yesterday slipped out again subconsciously. Zelda's jaw dropped.
"What?!" she cried out shocked at his apparently sudden revelation. Link's eyes widened in shock.
'I-I-I-I said it already to her; she knows this.' Worry quickly spread across his face as he struggled to fight both the embarrassment and much more pertinent his fear of her rejection. Perhaps he has said it too soon. 'BUT I'VE ALREADY SAID IT' his mind yelled, stuck in his own paradox.
Zelda's mind filled with happiness. She tried to process where this had come from suddenly. She whole heartedly reciprocated his feelings but she struggled to deal with her shock immediately. She racked her brain for an explanation, when she remembered it. She had briefly forgotten the events immediately proceeding Calamity's defeat. That memory came flooding back to her realisation dawning on her.
She look up and saw Link's confused, devastated face and flash him a reassuring smile.
"I suppose if you do love me I can't let you wander around hopelessly. I gladly accept you back as my appointed knight."
"Whaa-!" Link was silenced by Zelda's lips pressing against his own. Link gasped and felt her hands around his neck. He returned her kiss eagerly pressing his lips back. Link wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. Zelda finally broke their kiss drawing slightly away panting. Her normally pale cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparkling with desire for her Knight.
"I love you too, Link". Her stomach growled as if on cue. They both laughed at the unexpected interruption. "Will you join me for breakfast, my hero" stressing those last two words. She struggled to contain her affection desperately wanting to continue. She had never felt so alive. She was positively dizzy with excitement but reluctantly withdrew from his grasp.
Link threw his head back and laughed, full of joy. "Yes, lets eat my princess" mimicking her choice of words. He followed her to the bed and ate the breakfast that Lawdon had prepared for them.
Link prepared the horse for their leave and waited outside the stables making small talk with the stable master. Zelda came out of the stables and mounted the horse. Link bade goodbye to Lawdon turned to Zelda and stroked the white horse on the neck.
"Where to Zelda?" he didn't want to call her princess in the public just yet, showing some wisdom he likely would have not had 100 years ago.
"I want to visit Kakariko village I hear its nice this time of year!" she smiled knowingly at Link. She had guessed his purpose for discretion and admired his quick thinking.
Link mounted behind her and reached around her waist to take the reins but she took his hands placed them on her hips and seized the reins for himself. She turned her neck back and flashed him a quick smile. Lawdon found the encounter quite amusing and the hero himself struggled to stifle a chuckle.
The pair followed the trail down towards the Duelling Peaks. Small forest glades littered their path and a light layer of mist had gathered over the Lanayru Wetlands cloaking the islands it contained in a beautiful mystery. Zelda loved looking at the revitalised state of what essentially was her kingdom. Not only was it more peaceful than when she initially travelled the vast kingdom but also she was no longer burdened with the task of awakening her power. Link, who traversed this part of this kingdom many times over the last month cared little for the scenery. He instead distracted himself in other ways. His lips broke into a cheeky smile and took his hands away from Zelda's waist. He begin massaging her shoulders and tracing patterns on her back. Zelda sighed contentedly and wondered how she had got so lucky.
Zelda couldn't help but stop and collect curious ingredients that she noticed along the way. Near the Hills of Baumer, A mushroom with a pearl stem and a translucent bright green cap hiding in the dark of a hollow log attracted her attention. She quickly dismounted the horse and began chattering away with fervour.
"ohh I remember reading about this mushroom. It's called a stamella shroom and I read that it does more than satiate one's hunger when its cooked. The book said that….".
"Yeah it restores some energy when cooked" Link interrupted "but only if its not cooked with other another mushroom" he added as a .
Zelda looked at him with curiosity but it was clear at least to the hero struggling to contain her excitement "so you've tried it yourself?" He nodded in reply. Zelda squealed and enthusiastically ranted "oh please, please we have to record your experience, the books in the palace only briefly mentioned it and didn't really describe its properties. How does it taste? Does it restore your energy instantly or does it take some time to realise its effects?"
"Why don't we keep it and we can cook it in Kakariko and you can see for yourself?" Link inquired, smiling that her passion for research had not diminished over the year.
Even more excited she rushed over to Link holding the mushroom for him to store in his pouch. Link smiled at her and duly deposited the mushroom. He relented from revealing that he already had more than a dozen of the mushroom already and reminding himself to discard the others privately. He didn't want to undermine the princess' discovery in any way.
Zelda returned to her position on the horse and set out visibly more excited about their destination. She quizzed Link on some of the discoveries he had made on the journey eagerly wanting to learn about Hyrule's interesting flora. Link only vaguely responded, not wanting to reveal all of the helpful food sources. He did however draw out an elixir he had crafted. He explained with a cheeky grin that this was the result of combining a certain frog with monster parts and the result was an increase in movement speed for a time. Zelda could only gasp in excitement.
"Lucky I didn't eat it. It only yields these properties when combined with monster parts."
Zelda blushed her cheeks flaming at the memory. She had insisted that a poor and arguably terrified Link eat a frog that she caught for the sake of science. Fortunately in hindsight, it was one of the few times he had denied one of her requests.
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The pair approached the mountain pass, which signalled the final stretch of their journey to the Sheikah town. Halfway through the pass Link saw seven metallic boxes embedded into the wall of one of the mountain faces and a lone box on the ground. He had only recently figured out the secret to these puzzles.
"Hey Zelda want to see something interesting?" Link pointed over to the boxes.
Zelda looked over curiously wondering what he could possibly be talking about. "Sure." Both dismounted from the horse. Link pulled of the Sheikah slate, "oh that's my Sheikah slate. I completely forgot about it", looking comfortingly at the tool the ancient tribe had bestowed upon her.
"You can have it back after this don't worry". He activated the magnetism rune and lifted the box into the space that made the two patterns of cubes the same.
A Korok appeared right next to Zelda startling her and sending her stumbling back.
"Yahaha, you found me!" the korok said seemingly oblivious that it had just startled Zelda. Zelda studied the korok closely as it handed Link a small seed.
"Buh-bye" the forest dweller bade goodbye.
"What is that Link?" she said curiously, peering over Links shoulder at the small seed in his palm.
"This is a Korok seed, long story short, these are the beads inside of magical maracas, don't ask, belonging to a large korok named –"
"AHHH" Link shouted suddenly in pain. Turned around to find his attacker and saw a figure cloaked in red wearing a mask with an unmistakeable symbol. The symbol born was of that the Sheikah only upside down. The Yiga. Link saw the a second arrow flying towards its target. Having left his weapons and shields with the horse, he prevented the arrow from reaching its target the only way possible. He spun around and grasped Zelda in his arms and tensed waiting for the arrow to hit its mark. Zelda cried out realising what Link had done. Rage filled her body, raising her hand she shot a single bolt of light towards their assassin. As the bolt soared towards its mark the assassin disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Link whistled for the horse, which duly approached them. Zelda trying to bear as much of his weight as she could lifted him onto the horse and set the horse into a gallop towards Kakariko Village.
A doctor was made available immediately upon their arrival and Link was treated the house belonging to Cado, who had recently passed away. Fortunately for the sake of hygiene and Link's sanity, his cuckoos had been relocated to a newly constructed pen behind the archery store.
"Your highness you might want to leave the room, this is not the most becoming scene" Bido, the Sheikah doctor said.
"Thank you, but I'm quite alright just carry on quickly please," her voice betrayed a note of desperation.
The doctor sanitised the area where both wounds were located on the upper right should of links back.
"Link this is going to hurt, just squeeze this, I'm sorry but we don't have anything better" he said handed him a pillow. Zelda rushed forward and took away the pillow and offered Link her hand instead.
"Will this do, doctor?" to which he nodded with a understanding smile.
She knelt at the side of the bed. So that she could look into his eyes desperate to try to comfort him in some way.
Link screamed in agony, the arrows were accompanied with long protrusions slanted upwards so their entry was smooth but removal tore out a large portion of Link skin. Zelda felt her hand ache with pain against his hard grip but it was nothing compared to what her heart felt seeing him in such pain. Tears started forming in her eyes. Link smiled at her with reassurance trying to silently communicate that he would survive. The smile was quickly lost when Bido started to pull out the second arrow…
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Link lay on his stomach per Bido's instructions. He was given pain medication and warned not to get his heart rate up or it would have adverse effects on his recovery. Zelda was now speaking to Impa but she had promised him she would be back as soon as possible before giving him a tender kiss after the doctor had left. Link had no way of tracking the time and compared to the high intensity he was constantly used to, a few minutes felt longer than hours.
Knock knock
The door creaked open; Link smiled and craned his neck to see who had entered his confinement.
"H-h-hello Link"
"Paya" Link tried to hide the disappointment in his voice.
"S-s-sorry about what h-h-happened, you must be in so much pain" Impa's granddaughter said. Paya approaches the side of the bed and sits next to Link.
"You k-k-know if it would make you feel better.." She said while running her index finger down Links spine.
"Umm Paya, what are you…?" Link interrupted shocked at the intimacy of her action
"Who are you?" A hostile voice appeared from the doorway to the small cabin.
"Y-y-your majesty," Paya bowed blushing, eyes wide with shock. "I'm P-P-P-Paya. Impa is my grandmother". She kept her head low trying to hide her completely red face.
"Nice to meet you Paya, I need to speak to my knight would you mind if you give us some privacy?" her voice dripping with mock sweetness.
"Of course," the Sheikah girl mumbled before hastily retreating past Zelda closing the door behind her. Zelda walked swiftly to Link sides and examined once again his wounds. Satisfied that he was okay she relaxed herself beside him. She lay her head opposite his on the same pillow so that Link wouldn't have to move and therefore aggravate his injury. She leant forward and gave him a quick kiss but didn't dwell on the affection. Link pouted and Zelda giggled at his adorable face.
"I'm sorry but the doctor warned you not to get your heart rate up, I cannot in good conscious selfishly indulge my desires at your expense."
"Quite noble of you, your highness."
"Well look on the bright side," she flashed him her most wonderful smile "I get to dote on you and you cannot stop me"
"I guess, I could be okay with that" he replied dragging out each syllable so to fake reluctance at the idea. But he quickly returned her smile. "What did you discuss with Impa." Diverting the conversation to more serious issues.
"We discussed the increasing Yiga presence. When you feel better, we will have to investigate their hideout in the Gerudo Desert." Zelda's smile didn't fade "but for now it is important that you rest and I have tasked myself with changing your bandages." Zelda quickly rose and gracefully walked over to the basin where the doctor had left the bandages. She put all the materials she needed on a tray and brought it over to the bed. Then she wet a cloth and before she began soaking Link's wounds she straddled the small of his back. After soaking, she carefully removed the bandages trying to cause as little pain as possible. But it was inevitable that some pain would be caused and every time Link gasped, she gently caressed the back of his head. Having removed all the bandages, she dried the excess water with a clean cloth before carefully applying the fresh bandages across the wound. Admiring her handiwork she leant down and kissed the complete dressing and returned to the spot where she could face him.
"Feel better?" she whispered, there was no need to talk in anything but a whisper as they were so close.
"Much better, thank you. I guess I could get used to this."
"Do not!" she whispered with the hint of a threat "I will not tolerate your getting hurt". She had said it in a threatening tone which she intended to lighten the mood however the pain in her words were clear in her voice. "Rest Link, I'll stay by your side tonight. The Shiekah have eyes on the doors, windows and roof, we are safe."
"Thank you Zelda" his voice slowly drifting as sleep threatened to embrace him. Zelda's dressing had comforted him more than the princess could have expected and he was ready to fall asleep. He closed his eyes and gave himself to the idea that beckoned him but not before he felt soft pressure against his lips once more.
