Surprise early chapter! This is a shorter one so I figured I would do an extra one this week.
Good news is that I can say with confidence that this story will get finished... because I finished it haha! So now just gotta edit and post as I go. I still haven't decided if I'll do a sequel or not... let me know what you guys think. I do have another story planned though but it's for another fandom.
Comment replies:
DillPickle56: First of all, I love your name. Secondly, sticking to their canon personalities was key for me. I really wanted to get that right. I must have watched the memories at least 100 times to really try to understand who they were as characters so thank you very much! That is a really big compliment :) I tried adding character tags but it only lets me put 4 in soooooo that's what I did. Thanks for the idea!
As always, if you like it, please leave a like or a review or just PM me if you don't want it public. Anyway, enjoy!
Link woke and found the pain in his ribs had lessened considerably. He started to reach up to touch his head but found a hand in his own. He looked down and saw Zelda, asleep leaning on the bed and holding his hand. He furrowed his brow in confusion. Had she been here all night?
He looked up to the window and saw that the sky was dark still. How long had he been here? His stomach growled telling him he'd been here awhile and Zelda awoke at the sound. She looked up and let go of his hand, "Link… How are you feeling?"
He did a quick assessment, "I think I'm ok." He tried sitting up but his ribs protested painfully. "Still a little sore." He amended.
She put her hands on his chest to prevent him from trying that again. There was concern in her expression but he could she was relieved as well. "Are you hungry?"
Link nodded.
Zelda smiled, "I'll find you some food."
She stood up and walked out of the room.
Link found that he was sad to see her go but was touched that she'd cared enough to stay with him. Her hair was a mess and she was still wearing the same clothes she had worn when they had been attacked. She must have been really worried about him. He felt bad for that. It was his place to worry about her, not the other way around.
She returned a little while later with a few bowls of soup. She set them on the table beside the bed and helped Link to sit up before handing him the first bowl.
Link dug in eagerly and only slowed when he saw that Zelda wasn't eating, "Aren't you having some?"
She shook her head, "I'm fine. I know you have a big appetite so I brought a lot."
"That was kind of you… Thank you." He said and continued eating.
Zelda traded him for the second bowl, "You're very lucky, you know." He eyed her sidelong as he ate. "Impa thought your ribs were broken when she first saw you and I am surprised they weren't with the hit you took from the lynel. It turns out it is just a nasty bruise. A few days of rest and you should be fine."
He looked down at the bowl. The second one was empty but he was still hungry. Zelda seemed to read his mind and traded him again for the last bowl. "That's a relief." He said before starting into the last bowl. It explained why he felt so much better so quickly.
"You also had a pretty nasty goose egg on your head. That explains why you were so out of it." She continued.
He hadn't really noticed that because his ribs had hurt so badly but that certainly did explain a lot. As skilled a fighter as he was, taking on that many enemies at once and for such a prolonged amount of time… He was lucky to be alive never mind relatively uninjured. When he finished the bowl he looked down at it, "Thank you… For helping me back there. I'm sorry you had to do that. I'm supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around."
Zelda's mouth hung open for a moment before she could compose herself, "Link… You saved my life. Several times over. If you hadn't been there… It was the least I could do after all you've done for me." She got the sense that she was only scratching the surface of how badly she had misjudged him.
He frowned, clearly concerned. "That was so close to the castle. They are becoming more brazen." He didn't want to order her around but he felt he had to tell her not to leave the castle alone anymore but she seemed to read his mind again.
"I won't go anywhere without you again. I was lucky before. And foolish." She said.
Link smirked, I'll say…
Zelda took the last bowl and set it on the table with he others. Link started to try to stand again but his ribs protested and Zelda pushed him back onto the bed, "I don't think so! You won't be going anywhere until Impa or the other physicians say you're well enough. I can't have you out risking your neck for my sake."
He chuckled quietly, "That's kind of my job…"
She bit down a smile, "That's not the point… you have a role to play too… and besides, I – "
The door opened and Impa walked in, cutting Zelda off. She blushed at what she was about to say but decided the interruption was for the best. Link didn't seem to notice.
"Ah! I see you're feeling better, Link. Good to see you awake." The Sheikah woman smiled at him.
Link cleared his throat, "How long will I have to stay here?"
Impa furrowed her brow for a moment, "At least until tomorrow. We'll reassess then and after that, light duties for a few days. No fighting until you're healed. That's an order."
Impa mixed up a few herbs and walked over to the bed to check the bandages. She unbound them and Zelda blushed and had to look away. She'd seen his body before but that had been different. She hadn't really been able to notice his abs and the muscles on his chest. She bit her lip as she slowly peeked back, unable to resist a second look. Link was focussed on what Impa was doing and didn't seem to notice. The Sheikah put the new herb mix on the bruised area and wrapped the bandages back around.
"I'm going to make you a tea. I'm sorry but it won't taste very good but it will help with the healing." Impa said then left the room to prepare the drink.
Link looked up at Zelda, "I didn't think of it until now but.. how are the horses?"
"I wasn't – what?" She started and blushed, "Oh, I didn't think of that either… I'll go check right now."
Link frowned at her with concern, "Are you ok?"
She stood quickly and headed for the door, "Yep! Just fine!" She stepped out and took a deep breath. What in the name of Hylia was that? Get yourself together!
She made her way down to the stables and was relieved to see both of their horses having a well deserved meal. They had already been brushed and washed and looked in much better shape. These two saved them just as much as Link had saved her. She found some apples nearby and offered one to each of the horses. Epona took hers happily but her white stallion eyed her warily before taking his cautiously.
"Thank you… I feel bad that I don't even know your name yet. An oversight on my part that I intend to remedy immediately." She spotted a stablehand mucking out a stall nearby.
"Excuse me," she said as she approached the boy.
He dropped his shovel and bowed low, "You're highness! I'm sorry, the horse won't be ready for a bit. I can prepare one of the others for you instead."
She smiled and shook her head, "Thank you but that won't be needed. I'm just wondering, what is the name of the white stallion I ride?"
The boy looked at her as though he was trying to decide if she was playing a cruel joke on him. "His name? He hasn't got one that I know of, your highness. Unless you've named him and no one has told me."
For some reason, it hadn't occurred to her that it was up to her to name him. She looked back at the stallion who was eyeing her from his stall and a smile spread across her face slowly as a name came to her. "Victory."
The boy stepped closer, "I'm sorry, your majesty. I didn't hear what you said."
She looked back to him, smiling, "His name is Victory."
The boy smiled slowly back, confident this wasn't some sort of trick. "That's a fine name, Princess."
Zelda walked back over to the stallion and stood at the door to his stall. "The name suits you well, Victory." She said with a smile to the horse. He flicked his ears towards her with interest and slowly reached his nose out to her.
"I think he wants you to pet him." The boy said to her. Zelda tentatively reached her hand out and touched his nose, running her hand along with the hairs down his face. After a moment, he seemed to lose interest and went back to his meal. That was progress and she would take it as it came.
A short while later, she headed back up to the infirmary and found Link grimacing as he took a sip of the tea that Impa had prepared for him, "Is it really that awful?"
Link nodded honestly.
Zelda giggled a little, glad that she didn't have to drink it. "Well, you'll be glad to know that the horses are fine. They are down in the stable enjoying some oats."
Link breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. We ran them pretty hard. They probably need a good rest as well."
Zelda nodded, "Yes. I can't imagine either of us will go far from the castle for the next few days so they will get their rest."
Zelda had her own duties to attend to but came to visit Link in the infirmary whenever she was able and was happy to see him healing quickly. By noon the next day, he was free to go back to his regular room in the barracks. While Zelda was happy he was feeling better, it saddened her because she couldn't go to spend time with him as easily there and instead had to come up with new excuses to see him.
There was another obstacle to work around as well and that was the daily prayers that she had neglected on her travels. The king had taken notice of her spare time and had increased the amount of time she was to spend on prayer.
"If you have time to play at being a scholar, then you should be using that time to focus on your duties. If Calamity Ganon broke free tomorrow, you would not be ready so you must dedicate your time to unlocking your powers." He scolded after she'd nearly bumped into him in the hallway on her way to the stable.
So many times, she had practiced what she would say to her father the next time they had this argument but as usual, the words escaped her when the time came. His foreboding figure and stern expression quashed any argument she had before it could ever even make it to her mouth.
Instead, she looked down at the ground, defeated. "Yes, Father."
She did her best not to shrink under his intense scrutiny. After a moment, he continued his tirade as though he hadn't already driven the point home. "Your mother had already been able to use her powers for years by the time she was your age. If you do not start taking this seriously, you may not be able to fulfil your role. This whole kingdom will no longer exist if you cannot unlock your powers. Do you understand what's at stake?"
Zelda nodded over the lump in her throat. Her eyes burned as she held back the tears that threatened to flow. She would not let him see her cry. "Yes, Father. I understand."
"Hmm…" Zelda didn't dare look up at him. The tone of his hum told her that he wasn't convinced but thankfully, he wasn't going to press the issue further. "Then go. Pray to the goddess."
"Yes, Father…" she said one last time and thankfully, her voice didn't break.
He walked past her and she waited until he was gone before she broke into a run to the one place she knew she would be alone.
When Zelda didn't show up at the stable, Link went to go and find her. He rounded a corner near the library and Zelda walked pushed past him without a word.
"Princess?" He called after her. She didn't answer and continued swiftly down the corridor. He looked in the direction she had come from and didn't see anything that gave him a hint as to what was the matter. He looked after her and after a moment's hesitation, he followed after her. We were finally getting along. I'm not going to let her start hating me again.
He followed her to her bedroom where she slammed the door after she'd gone inside. He paused again but against his better judgement, he went up to the door, about to follow her inside when he heard soft sobbing on the other side of the door. Unsure if he should give her space or try to talk to her, he stood awkwardly at the door. After a moment, he decided to at least try to talk to her. If nothing else, he would let her know he was there if she needed him. He knocked softly and listened.
The sobbing stopped and was followed by a sniff. After a moment, the door cracked open and she tried to hide her red, puffy eyes.
Words escaped him for a moment. Even when she was crying, she was beautiful. "I don't know what happened but…" he started but Zelda just shook her head.
"Please don't concern yourself with my foolish outbursts…" she said softly. Her voice was a little raspy from crying.
That wasn't good enough for Link, "You said that you wanted to be able to trust each other with our problems. We are in this together." He paused waiting for a reaction of some sort. None came. He sighed, "Look, I won't make you talk to me if you don't want to but… Just don't forget that I'm here for you."
She either couldn't or wouldn't meet his eyes so after a moment, he turned to give her space but as he started walking away, he heard the door squeak open further. "Thank you, Link…"
He turned back around and she was standing in the doorway. She still couldn't meet his gaze but it was clear she wanted to reach out to him.
"Would you… Come with me while I pray?" She finally looked up to him, eyes pleading. He didn't know what was wrong but it was something.
He nodded, "Yes, of course."
She smiled weakly and excused herself for a moment to change clothes. Link waited in the hallway and a few moments later, she emerged in her prayer gown. He couldn't help staring at her. It was a simple, white gown but it somehow made her look like the ancient goddess of legend. He didn't know much about the old lore but he'd heard tell that the Hyrulean royal family were descended from the goddess herself and in this moment, he could certainly believe it.
Zelda smiled shyly and walked toward him. When he didn't say anything, she did a twirl, "What do you think?"
"You look beautiful…" he breathed.
She hadn't quite expected that out of him. Blushing, she looked down and a moment later, she walked to his side and the two of them headed toward the goddess shrine.
That evening, Link made his way back to his quarters. He'd been offered a room upgrade with his new position but had declined. He had always wanted to live a simple life but that privilege had been denied him when he'd pulled the Master Sword from the pedestal in the Lost Woods. That being said, he would still take simplicity where he could.
He rounded a corner and spotted Groose, Cawlin, Strich and Mido down the other end. They all looked up but didn't seem too happy to see him.
Mido spat on the ground where Link was about to step. Link looked over at him and did his best to keep his expression neutral. He didn't want to fight the other knights.
Groose's large form turned towards him, "Too good to come see your friends now, eh?"
Link frowned. How could they have thought that?
Cawlin and Strich chuckled and stood behind their bigger friend. This brought flashbacks of when he'd been much younger and couldn't take the three of them on all at once. Link knew that he could beat them all now and so did they so he thought it was unlikely for them to pick a physical fight but that didn't mean they couldn't still try to hurt him in other ways.
Mido piped up next, "Think you're hot shit now that you're the princess's appointed knight and carry that sword on your back? You're still just the same old commoner you ever were and don't think she'll forget about that when this whole Calamity Ganon thing is over… If she can even use her powers!" He laughed cruelly.
Link held his expression neutral and said nothing. They were just trying to goad him into a response and he refused to give in to them.
His lack of response seemed to frustrate Mido. "First the fish princess… We'll know what happened if the castle ever starts smelling like fish."
That did it. He grabbed the red haired knight by the throat and slammed him into the wall.
Mido laughed, "Don't try and act like you're better than any of us. I know you're thinking about her that way. Don't tell me you've never tried to take a peek into her bedroom now that you have access…"
Link threw Mido to the ground and glowered at the others daring them to say anymore. They all knew what would happen if they pushed him further and wisely stayed silent. He turned and continued to his quarters, silently berating himself for allowing them to get to him so much. Zelda and Mipha both deserved so much better than knights that would speak about them in such a way.
He got to his room, closed the door and leaned his forehead against it. He'd be lying to himself if he tried to say he'd never thought of Zelda as more than just his princess or even as more than just a friend. Today, just seeing her in her prayer gown was torturous but he'd never presume to be more than he was. He was her appointed knight. Nothing more.
He turned and punched the wall in frustration. His fist went through the wooden wall. Well that was smart… He sighed and lay down on the the bed examining his knuckles. A few scratches but no serious injuries. Just what you'd need… a broken hand. Then how would you defend her?
He looked over at the Master Sword. "This is all your fault, you know." He could blame the sword all he wanted but ultimately, he knew it was his own doing and he couldn't seem to stop torturing himself. These last few days of healing had been some of the happiest he'd had in a long time. Certainly since before he'd found the sword, anyway. Part of him really believed that Zelda had finally been happy too but he'd be an idiot to think that had anything to do with him.
He looked out the window toward the lone tower that was Zelda's study and saw that a candle was lit. She was there now, likely pouring over her research notes as she often did before she turned in for the night. Just then, the candle blew out and a moment later he saw her walk out onto the rampart and stop to look out towards the barracks.
"Zelda…" he breathed.
