The Legend of Zelda:

The Right of Passage

CHAPTER SEVEN: The Princess

Part Two

It was a hot, humid afternoon at the ranch.

Each time I wiped the sweat off my forehead more wetness would appear in its place. And no matter how tightly I had my hair tied back—or how often I use the extent of my whole hand to sweep my fringe away from my eyes—strands of nettled hair would mingle over my face, blocking my vision, tickling my nose.

Here I was tending to the horses, particularly focused on Epona, the now grown lady nuzzling me while I brushed her. As the sun persisted to burn me, the gentle shade from Epona's stature carefully eased me.

For the last eight years, my time at the ranch had many of these same moments. I spent much time with Epona, and my escapades with Malon grew more frequent. I had reached the point in my life where my sexuality heightened, and as did hers. Many times did we need to stop ourselves—too many times during the risky nights where we experimented with our bodies.

Each time we stopped, we seemed to get further in our exploration. I began to see pieces of her skin that were virgin to my eyes, and both our hands explored the others' most tender areas, had touched one another to the point of almost ecstasy—but, we would quickly halt, of course. It wasn't proper behavior. For, I could still remember Talon giving me his trust, and never again did he hound me about his daughter.

Yet, I would be lying if I denied the gently sweet taste of the peaks of her breasts, my tongue tracing the tender mound and feeling it puckering against my lip. And how she would melt underneath me, her fingernails seeping into the nape of my neck, her mouth wet and hot on my forehead, kissing me while speaking for me to continue—yet only her mouth moved; no words were spoken. We promised to remain as silent as we could, and nothing was sounded except for the sharp gasps that erupted from her throat, and the gentle moans that left mine.

My maddening desires for the woman I could never have continued to devour me. And the more I explored the shape of Malon, the more I became immersed in the fantasy, losing myself in the delusion that it was really my princess I was touching, her nipple I was suckling, as well as the lift of her hips whenever my fingers would stroke the moist center of her body.

There was a guilt that came with this behavior. Malon was still my girlfriend, as others referred to her as such. We had never officially established such a relationship, but traditionally this title would make sense.

I did like her. I liked her very much, in fact. Even as I was stroking the horse on that day, my thoughts traveled around her, remembering all her naked pieces, the look on my face becoming rather idiotic as I brushed Epona repeatedly in the same spot, ignoring her frustrated whimpers.

My grin was heaping and dreamy, my eyes half closed.

"Link?"

At first I ignored the voice, lost in the idea of sex. But, the inquiring tone quickly morphed into a low grumble, as I felt a hairy arm nudge the side of my body.

"Link!"

Blinking my eyes several times, I rubbed at my abdomen, my vision returning so that my eyes viewed the landscape of the ranch, as well as a curious Talon before me, his hands clutching his hips while his right brow raised with suspicion.

I blushed a little, my face level with his, as my hand found its way awkwardly to my hair, where I scratched nervously.

"Is Malon still at Kakariko Village, getting her voice lessons?"

I blinked again at his inquiry, seeing the burly take his finger near his eye, rubbing the patch of skin there. It took me a moment to take in the question, though it were a simple one, stuttering a bit before I answered him.

"Um—yes. Yes, she is. She's been gone for some time. That old woman keeps her there for a while. Malon says she's very strict."

Talon only rolled his eyes, his black brows furrowing a bit, as his fingers found the stubbly surface of his chin.

"I don't like this new time she has set up," the man mumbled, wiggling his large nose in calm frustration. "Malon's been delivering the milk to the castle for the last couple of years. I'm not feeling up to making the trip myself. And Ingo's too busy with the chickens to do the task."

He continued to complain, his arms moving about as he explained the exhaustion of the situation—how he was too tired to deliver the milk that day, how he wished he never paid for Malon's vocal teaching, as well as not understanding why the castle can't be closer to the ranch.

"It's not even a large order. I mean, the king has been asking us to deliver daily now, instead of out weekly crates, since there'd been a problem with the milk rotting and all. It's only a small load I could most definitely carry. But, I'm getting old. Malon, she's young. She enjoys going to the market and dealing with those guards. They don't give her trouble as they do myself, since she's a pretty one and all. All somebody'd have to do is carry the sack over their shoulder. Not too much trouble just to help an old man."

He seemed to be giving me a very obvious look while he spoke, looking away from me several times, then returning his gaze more desperately than before. He seemed to be pleading to me, hinting around, attempted to ask me without actually forming the question.

My eyes turned bleak while I nodded along, finding myself leaning against Epona now, as it seemed even she could read the hopefulness in the man's discord.

"Well, what I'm saying is, this is a job for a young fellow, one who knows his way around Hyrule, one who—"

"Talon."

Normally, I would not address the man by his name. It always felt awkward to me, a bit disrespectful. Usually, his title to me would be "sir," or I would find a way to get his attention without using any direct reference to him. But, it seemed proper to me at that moment to speak to him so. For I knew what he was asking me.

"You want me to deliver the milk?"

He hesitated greatly here, pulling an imaginary object in his hands, tilting his head a little bit. "Now, Link, I know how you really hate going anywhere near the castle—"

"I do. I really do."

Surprisingly, my voice came out soft, and non-threatening. And as I caressed Epona to settle my unease, I saw Talon's lips fumble, pressing together so firmly the skin there began to chap.

"Well, you've never really explained how come. I'm never one to pry. But the least you could do is give a man a little information? I appreciate all your willing to do here, but delivering the milk seems like the less daunting task."

Rubbing at my sun burnt nose, I merely stared blankly at the father. How was I to explain such a situation to him? How maddening would it sound if I confessed that the sole reason I didn't want to go to the castle because I was afraid to death of by chance seeing the princess?

"I've...I've had problems with the guards before."

Heartily, Talon chuckled, slapping his large hand against the muscle of my shoulder, causing me to smile sheepishly. "Haven't we all, boy!"

"Well, my altercations weren't so good."

"Whatever trouble you've been in, that was plenty of years ago! Nobody would recognize you. Plus, you work for the ranch. They could never deny a delivery for the king."

It seemed he already decided that I would agree—which I did not—and also guilted me into not arguing that I didn't adhere to this idea.

To go to the caste while thinking of Zelda—and perchance seeing her, as well as the risk of her recognizing me. No, no. It could never happen. I would never let it occur. I could not risk it. Seeing her again after these seven years would turn me into a more maddening person.

Why did I obsess of her? For these years, she had been only a memory to me, an idea of something that maybe wasn't even real. Did I really travel through time? Was there really another Zelda than the one that existed here? Or was I merely hallucinating all this time? Did I ever even have a fairy friend, or did I imagine her to fill in the void of loneliness I encountered?

I knew it was real, however. I remember every last detail. But could something exist if I was the only one who remembered it? It wasn't that the others didn't remember, for it never actually happened here. This was like an alternate reality, per say. And I was the bizarre link to it.

I continued to ponder: was I a child trapped inside of a man during my adventure? To be frank, when I was awoken from my slumber, I felt no different. My mind felt the same about the life around me. It was actually after I returned where my obsessions formed, and there the infatuations consumed me.

I never expected her to send me back. I had grown attached to her, to an extent that confused me. I didn't understand the feelings I had for her. Everything turned into a lunacy for me. Knowing that I could never see her again, but yet—she was right here all this time.

I ran back to her, ran to warn her—to see her face, to hear her voice, praying that she, too, would remember. Maybe she was the same person who sent me back, maybe she knew everything that was my reality.

I was wrong, and even before I found it out, I already knew it.

But me and her, we did share a closeness. A bond that frightened me, made me want to keep my distance from her.

So naïve...We opened the door of Time. Perhaps she was still that naïve.

~oOo~

When I arrived near the castle, inevitably, I was blocked off by several guards.

Gallantly they stood before me, spears in their clutches, almost appearing barbaric to me in a sense. Their faces covered in armor, the only humane aspect of them to show was their mouths. But, even that flesh remained a straight line on their pasty complexions.

I felt like a child standing before them, knees inward like an infant, holding the bag filled with milk bottles in front of my body awkwardly. What was more eerie was the silence that remained, for quite sometime, before any of them took the liberty to speak to me.

"What, boy."

It hadn't even come out inquisitively, but more like a coarse command. Gulping, I adjusted the collar of my shirt, the chugs of milk clinging together from within the satchel, the sound echoing quietly.

"I come from the Lon Lon Ranch, with a delivery for the king."

My voice tremored a little as I spoke, not out of fear of them. Oh, goddess, no! I had out-maneuvered these minions several times in the past. In fact, if I really wanted to, I could have just snuck into the castle and handed the milk to the king myself. It would have been a lot easier than this.

But, perhaps they could just take it from me, and let me go on my merry way? Was that too hopeful of a thought? They wouldn't let me past them that easily, would they?

"Show us the bag."

Glumly, I untied the opening, revealing its boring contents.

I found it strange how they never seemed to move, constantly appearing like statues to me. But, oddly, one of the men did move his head, and the man he turned to returned his buried gaze, and there they both nodded in unison.

"You may proceed. Timothy will be the next man you see. He will lead you."

That was it? No further investigation of me? Was it that easy all this time? I would have never snuck around in the first place, if that was the case. How did they know it was milk I carried in those jars, and not some type of poison for the king? Not even a name?

But they parted for me, and allowed me inside. And looking at the whole lot of men, I stepped through the entrance, only to be greeted by yet another guard.

He was a bit shorter than me, yet appeared almost identical to the other men I had encountered. His neck moved as he traced the length of my body.

"Your purpose?"

"Delivery," I muttered, clearing my throat, "from the Lon Lon Ranch."

"Where is the girl who usually comes? The pretty one?"

Somehow I knew I would run into this question, as I was sure that they would rather see Malon's familiar face than mine. But, as I tightened my grip on the bag, I vaguely rolled my eyes.

"She could not come today."

He didn't take the satchel from me, but tapped my shoulder blade, proceeding me to follow him. Now it made more sense why Talon had always loathed this new means of delivery for the castle. It used to be so much simpler. Now one needed to go through a series of guards in order to drop off the goods.

We walked through the maze of the courtyard, my boots flattening the grasses I stepped on, the beauty surrounding me bringing back an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.

Eight years had passed by so quickly for me, since the last time I had ventured near here. It was just as green and vibrant as I remembered it. I felt like a dull existence there, dressed as a farmer with earth-tone clothing. I was used to the lack of color I had lived with. But being in the vicinity of the castle flooded my mind with jabbing memories of who I once was.

My life had been colorful and adventurous, and Zelda seemed to embody the color I had known. I remembered the geography of this maze, remembered just how I could get to her. It would be too easy. I could stamper there with my eyes closed. We had passed the entrance. And this Timothy fellow had barely looked at me, but just walked ahead, his arms placed perfectly still at his sides.

"That young girl, she is quite a catch, don't you think? The one who usually has been bringing the deliveries for the past few years."

He spoke with a thick, deep voice, though he purposely brought out a boyish tone, to appear more innocent in the intentions of his discord. Bleakly, I nodded along, while the mangled thoughts that consumed my mind traveled through my brain with merciless speed, as I kept finding myself looking back behind me anxiously, my brows lifting.

"Yes, she is quite beautiful," I murmured after a long pause, a tint of a blush to my cheeks.

"She has grown into quite the fawn. A loveliness even our princess would envy."

I believe it was right then—where he mentioned her, that my knees grew weak, and the already swift pace of my heart beat began to thump with a ferocious speed. Goddesses, why did he mention her? Already I could not remove the fear of her out of me, and he needed to speak of both Malon and the princess in unison!

"Yes, that cute little farm girl...Is she in search of a husband? Betrothed, perhaps? She must have several suitors lined up, a girl like herself. Though, I see that what she really needs is a man with connections to the castle. That family business of hers could very well expand, with a little help like that."

His affections for my girlfriend were rather nauseating, and I would have silenced him with a mention of how her mouth tasted if it weren't that I suddenly stopped following him. Yes, I simply ceased walking as the man continued to carry on, his voice became more difficult to hear as he stepped further away from me, not realizing that I was no longer dragging by his side.

What was I thinking? Even I was not certain. Actually, at that point, I didn't even allow myself to think, knowing that I would be quick to change my mind if I were given the chance to think my actions through.

So much folly resided in what I did next. Goddesses, there were guards everywhere, and also existed the chance that the girl would not be in her garden, and there I could be caught and never allowed near the castle again—or worse, arrested, or perchance bringing some trouble to the ranch as well.

I wasn't thinking logically. My passions led the way; the yearning I felt just to see her again, only for a second. Just to see what she looked like after eight years of pleasant life in the castle, instead of the years she kept in hiding disguised as a Sheikan warrior.

I had gotten this far respectably, without suspensions. I knew the rest of the way to her garden, could remember the pattern of the guards and how to avoid their appearance of me. Though I was not as sharp witted as I was at ten years. I was almost seen by one of the men in watch, needing to hastily duck behind the bush that concealed me to keep the man from spotting my presence.

As I felt the sharp pine from the bushes scratch at my skin, I bit my lip in apprehension, my eyes squinting and filling with water. My foot had slipped on the grasses, creating some audible noise, and there I stood frozen, upon hearing the silence and lack of bustling from the guards on duty.

"Did you hear that?"

A rumble of different male tones captured my ears, while my bum slid painfully on the ground, my body focusing on stopping the shake of my knees. I wasn't a small person, well above the average height for a Hylian man. Hiding myself deemed very difficult from my time as a child. It wasn't too many a time that I had visited the princess before. In fact, I would call us almost strangers by society's standards.

Then why—Oh, goddesses why—was I risking everything just to get a glimpse of the person I had promised the rest of my life to avoid?

How hard could it be, to avoid Princess Zelda? She was a difficult person to reach naturally, but here I was crawling like a rat on the grasses of the courtyard, my nose tickling against the well watered dirt, feeling it clump underneath my fingernails.

Once there heard no more rustling from me, the men continued onward to their "guarding," which consisted of walking around drearily, the lack of love for their jobs very present in the demeanor. Perhaps if they had been more alert men—had built a passion on protecting the royal family and viewed the experience as more than just a tiring service—they would had caught me every time I attempted to sneak within the borders.

They were not those type of passionate men that the king believed he had working for him. The Hylian guards created a predictable pattern in their walks around the field, and it was a not such a daunting task managing to pass without them noticing.

But when I at last had outsmarted every last one of those men, and stepped foot inside the garden that belonged to Princess Zelda, my immediate instinct was to hastily run away and return to gracious, magnificent Timothy and throw the milk in his grasp, then leave this forsaken area and never, ever come near here again.

All that was my intention, as I instantly realized what I was doing, and how frightened I was to encounter the girl after all this time of no contact. And I was going to leave—I swear I was—but a harmonically beautiful sight had seized my eyes, and there I stood at it, mesmerized, as if someone had put a feverish spell on me, prohibiting me from any movement, any breath; my body turning cold yet feeling impetuously warm, my hands flexing as if I were to grab something, yet all I felt was the heat of the air tickle my fingers.

How could I describe the reactions of my body at the sight I witnessed? I would need hours only to briefly indicate, but not even the most intense of words could distinguish myself at that moment. It was her, I saw. It was her.

And goddesses, did she look different.