Still feeling Link's warmth on her lips, Zelda sped across the hylian plane, flanking Impa's steed. They were heading due east to where the home of the Shiekah was nestled in the valley of a small mountain range- Kakariko Village.
"Just past the dueling peaks and it's roughly another hour till we get there, little Zelda." Impa informed Zelda.
Zelda on the other hand, hadn't gone far outside the the safety of the kingdom, and even from her memories in captivity; they were blinded while in transit to prevent them from escaping, should one have been daring enough to slip their bindings. Just seeing the majesty of the peaks that carved themselves through the land was breathtaking, no words could describe how amazing it was to see it up this close.
They took a brief break to water the horses and eat a light lunch. Impa had prepared several kinds of riceballs in paper wrappers the night before. Zelda bit into one stuffed with meat and her face lit up as she chewed her mouthful. It tasted so simple- the savory cured meats, the light fluffy rice, and the hint of sea salt to tie it all together.
Impa let out a soft chuckle as she watched her protege enjoy the small snack she made, "Zelda… how come you've been so quiet, child? Are you worried about leaving the Prince by himself…?"
She broke away from her delicious meal to look up at Impa before she moved her gaze down to her riding boots, "...yeah…. This is the first time he's going to be on his own since he brought me to the castle….Impa… how long…. How long are we going to be seperated…?"
"Only as long as the two of you have mastered what you need in order to be prepared for the coming of the daemon king," She spoke soft soothing words as she placed a loving hand on her head, ruffling Zelda's honey locks between her fingers. A few tears escaped Zelda's eyes as she nodded in agreement, "I'm sure Cap will whip your betrothed into shape. There is a reason our King picked him as the captain of the guard…"
Again, Zelda nodded, snorting the snot that was dripping down her nose, and dried her tears. How long has it been since I had a good cry…? Years I think….
Once they had their fill, they saddled the now refreshed steeds and made a beeline for the hidden village.
They slowed up and tied the horses up at one of the trees as they made it past the gates. A small stream wound its way through the village, powering several water wheels to the wooden homes that sat on the riverbank. Impa led the two of them to the main mansion.
"Up ahead is where my mother lives. She is the matriarch of the clan… and my older sister lives up on top of the hill with my niece…" Impa points up to the cottage above the village with strange machinery, "I think she is about the same age as you. Perhaps you want to introduce yourself when you're settled in?"
Zelda smiled sweetly as she nodded. It was the first time she had someone other than Link as far as being peers, let alone another girl she can confide in, "That sounds great… I take it… she doesn't take after her mother?"
"Well…. I guess you can say that…" She chuckled awkwardly as a finger scratched her cheek, "Anyways… let's head inside and unpack." Impa ushered Zelda into the mansion, and spoke with her mother, and figured out the arrangements while for their honored guest.
Zelda quickly retired to the room she was provided and some clansmen went ahead and delivered her bags into her room already. Looking around, there was a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk with an oil lamp.
The next few hours she spent some time putting away her things and situating herself for however long it was going to take for her to harness this 'power' she was supposed to have. Feeling frustrated with her thoughts going off on a tangent, she re-emerged from her room and headed downstairs to the main hall, suddenly smelling something wetting her appetite.
She followed the aroma to the kitchen, where Impa was cooking. The shiekah noticed her protege come in with a rumbling stomach, setting a meat-stuffed pumpkin in front of her.
"This is a Shiekah specialty… I never made it at the castle, because pumpkins are hard to come by in Castle Town. I think my niece was about to-"
"Auntie, I'm here!" A petite girl came in behind Zelda, like most of the Shiekah, her hair was snow white, but she had more of a muted red color in her irises. She was roughly the same height as her, but there was a delicate air surrounding her, much unlike her fellow kin.
"Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear… Paya dear, pull up a chair and get to know Lady Zelda… She is betrothed to the crown prince, and will be staying with us for some time… Tomorrow she will be joining you with training."
Zelda spun around to give Paya a sweet smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Paya… I hope we can be good friends," She offered a hand to the other girl, and Paya in turn shook it with stars in her eyes.
"It's an honor to meet you Milady! I can't believe someone of your standing is coming to stay in our lowly village…!" The young Shiekah was nearly vapor locked with adoration.
"Please, just Zelda. I wasn't born into the royal family… Just in the right place at the right time…" She blushed from the attention, and mumbled.
Impa went and sighed at her apprehension, "Little Zelda, even if you aren't of royal blood, you are pivotal in our defense against the demon king… And Paya, I leave her in your care when I return back to the Castle to check back in on our wayward Prince."
"Of course, Auntie! I will do you proud!" Paya grinned from ear to ear as she nodded vigorously.
"What has that mother of yours been up to lately?"
"Well, if I'm understanding correctly… She was making some guardian powered weapons that also work as hairpins… nothing yet for a prototype…"
"Guardian powered weapons?" Zelda's interest was piqued, and her ears perked up.
Impa went ahead and explained, "It's the ancient technology of the clan. Weaponry and armor that is crafted and powered by a blue flame. This is the greatest secret of the village, it brought the kingdom to its knees more than once as told by the ancient legends."
"Oh, and the clan is known for teaching ladies like ourselves for undercover missions, assassinations….! I think that's why mother is innovating our concealed weapons."
Zelda went into a pensive state, "Hmm…. That does make a lot of sense… hairpins that also double as daggers or picks with a trigger would be useful…"
Paya nodded excitedly once again, "Yes! And we can protect the crown in the shadows! Though…. The thought of spilling someone's blood no matter if it's a foe or not sickens me…" her excitement evaporated as fast as it appeared, "Sorry… I haven't had much of a stomach for gore let alone blood… But I'm just as much of a Shiekah as Mother and Auntie..."
Impa gave her niece an endearing smile as she hugged her from the side, "Paya dear, just because you aren't capable of doing assassinations doesn't mean that there are other things to do… Protection is also an honored thing to do, even working with your mother and helping her with inventing new things to improve everyday life is important…"
"She's right, there's always a niche for you… If it isn't here in the Village, I'm sure I could put in a good word for you at the Castle…"
Paya nodded and took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Better, dear? You have us and the entire clan behind your back…"
She nodded once again and spoke softly, "Yes, thank you…"
One of the guards came into the mansion breaking the silence of the moment, "Milady, a letter from the prince addressed to you!"
"Already?!" She got up and hastily took the letter from the guard, and saw his emblem in the wax seal, snorting as she broke the seal and opened it up. Reading her letter, a few tears fell from her cheeks, "You idiot… it's only been a day…" she mumbled and dried her tears.
"Well what did it say? Don't keep us in suspense!" Paya and Impa urged her.
"He… he misses me already… but tells me not to worry about him… what an idiot…" she couldn't help but cry soft tears, handing over the letter to them.
"The Prince has wonderful handwriting- he must've spent quite a bit of time penning this…"Paya read though his words, admiring the penmanship.
"Not really, he says he was writing before bed, so this isn't his best work…." And then an audible gasp from Paya, imagining his work when the Prince was actually serious.
"Speaking of the Prince…" Impa trailed off for a second, "What did you mean by 'showing the boldness he showed you the night before'? You didn't happen to...make love the night before..?"
Her face flushed beet red from cheeks to the tips of her ears as she recalled their special day, "What?! No!! Though…. Something took hold of him… and… we might've…..m-made out…. A little…." her voice progressively got quieter as she told her foster mother the details.
Paya let out a squeal of delight, "He's so bold~!"
"Well considering this is Link we're talking about… I guess he's somewhere between a boy and a man… Knowing the little prince, I'd certainly say he's grown some balls to make a move on you.." Impa smirked and nudged Zelda in the side.
"Auntie!"
"Impa, really?!" Zelda his her face in pure embarrassment.
"If you think I'm terrible, just wait till you meet my elder sister Purah…" She snorted, "To be honest she will make you want to melt into the floor when she's done with you!"
Zelda let out a heavy sigh, "But anyways… it's good to hear from him so soon… I'm happy for him…" She pressed the letter close to her chest with a look of longing, "Soon, I also will be someone to be proud of… just you wait and see Link…"
Impa gazed outside and saw it was dusk, and the fireflies were dancing around the banks of the stream, giving the village an unearthly glow into the evening hours, "Now… I think you two can finish eating and go ahead and get a bath in before bed. Training starts at dawn."
"Yes ma'am"
"Yes Auntie."
The two girls quickly gobbled down the steaming pumpkins, and Paya guided Zelda towards the hot springs just up from the mansion. It was a gorgeous open air bath littered with fallen plum and cherry blossoms. The two quickly undressed and jumped in for a nice long soak in the mineral water.
"So, tell me! I wanna hear your story~!" Paya asked once they were comfortably settled into the bath.
"Well… Li- no… The Prince found me being sold as a slave… and he bought my freedom… gave me a name and invited me to stay at the castle…. Impa has been basically my mother, my teacher, showing me where the Prince liked to run away to avoid his lessons…" she chuckled a little, "It was only mere days ago when we found out that we were to be wed in two years… and I found that I am the one to inherit… the blood of the goddess…" she held up her hand, showing the birthmark that was usually covered by her glove.
Paya chuckled lightly when she heard her switch to being formal, "There's no need to be modest, he is your betrothed, so it's perfectly fine to drop the titles, since you're probably going to be Queen at his side…"
"Queen, huh… I didn't think of that… and there comes another problem… an heir…"
"But with his highness being so timid, I doubt he would force it on you unless you felt the same… I heard stories of the Prince from Auntie Impa, and he doesn't seem like the kind of man to do that to you…"
"I don't know, it makes this elated feeling swell inside of me… bearing children of our own… but I don't want eyes prying into our daily life…" she clenched a fist against her heart, "I guess it's a matter of time before I come back and see a man greet me with open arms…"
"Right! And he will be a wonderful king to his people! With someone as unyielding as you with him… I'm sure he will blaze a bright path for the kingdom!"
Zelda let out a hearty laugh, "Oh you flatter me! Though… it does make me wonder what two years will do to him…" She hummed and rolled the idea around her mind, seeing his scrawny from was no longer, replaced with toned muscle, suiting his long caramel lock. And her mind roamed further down his naked body till she saw below his waist and-
"Gyaah!" She groaned and mentally smacked herself for letting her mind wander the wrong way.
"Zelda…? Something the matter?" Paya asked as she cocked her head to the side, confused from the sudden outburst from her guest.
"N-nothing, no need to fret over me, just had a daydream that went out of control…" she tried to brush it off.
...but it wasn't working on Paya, "Was it about his highness..?"
"Eep!" She yelped and sunk back into the hot water to hide her burning cheeks.
"I'm only kidding… I promise I won't pry if you don't want me to…" She smiled back at her, "Now I think we've been in the bath for awhile, let's get out before we pass out…"
Zelda nodded and rocketed to her feet.
"Y'know… You have plenty of assets that would make any head turn… I'm sure the Prince has noticed as well…"
"Assets…? Like what?"
"Hmm… well… I guess compared to me… you're much curvier… and I heard men like that… especially in the bust…"
"Bust huh…? Hmm…? I guess it's on the bigger side…"
"Mhmm!" She nodded affirmatively, "Mother has some things to help with seducing… I've seen it locked up in one of her cabinets in her lab…"
Zelda snorted at the thought, "I don't think it will take much, considering he was holding back last night…"
"You're positive that he was…?"
Zelda looked into her eyes and nodded, "He was."
"Well, we have somewhere to go till the next time you see him, and he can't keep his hands off of you…" she snickered.
Zelda wrapped her towel into her hair and one around to cover her body, and Paya ushered her back to the mansion.
"Make sure to stop by after training! Mother will love to meet you! Sleep well and good night!"
"Good night, Paya." Zelda smiled and waved at her before retiring to her room.
Impa saw that Zelda was giddy as a schoolgirl, and she came up to her and asked, "I take it that you two hit it off…?"
"Hmm!" She grinned brightly back at her, "Once our training session is done tomorrow I'll go over to visit with her."
"That sounds like a good idea…"
Zelda nodded once again, humming as she went back to her room.
"Zelda, are you planning on sending him a reply..?"
"Well I guess I should, I made sure to bring some parchment and my ink pens…"
Impa came over and handed her a small box, "These are enchanted earrings that were once used by one of the ancient heroes, they were given from the goddess to her chosen hero. The wearer becomes immune to scorching flames if they are worn… it's a heirloom of the tribe after her holiness' hero passed the torch to the next incarnation… I think it's something appropriate to send to him… no?"
Zelda gazed upon the scarlet hoops, their design wasn't too much different from the aquamarine ones she placed into his ears not too long ago, she was elated and happily jumped into Impa's arms for a hug, "Thank you, so much…"
"It's nothing dear… now get dressed and start writing that letter, I'll have it sent off in the morning…"
She nodded against Impa, "Yes ma'am…" and pulled away to find her nightgown and sat with her damp hair at the desk. She pulled out her stationary and began to write.
/Dear Link,I just received your letter when I was eating dinner. I met Impa's niece, Paya, and now am settled in at the matriarch's mansion. She is a curious gal, and seems to admire the two of us.I'm happy to hear that you are doing well. I hope we can see each other soon, perhaps another event at the castle...?I'm sending along with this letter a set of earrings. They are the legendary fireshield earrings from the heroes of old. I hope you would wear them and make use of them- that is once your piercings have healed completely. And for the goddess' sake, please don't pierce them a second time. I know you probably were thinking that.Remember that bachelor button? I had it encased in resin and it's was crafted into a lapel pin, I forgot to give it to you before I left, and it's in with the earrings.Don't forget to wash behind your ears, and get plenty of rest- I don't want to hear that you caught cold, Link!I love you, and miss you just as much…Ever at your side,Zelda
"There… that should do it…" she mumbled to herself and wrapped her letter around the small box before bringing it over to Impa, who was giggling.
"You know he might tear through the paper thinking it's some sort of gift, you know…" which made Zelda regret her spontaneous action, "Not to worry, I'll mention it to the postman that it needs to be opened with care…"
Zelda let out a relieved sigh, "Thanks Impa, and good night…"
"Good night dear, sweet dreams…"Impa pressed a gentle kiss on the crown of Zelda's head before sending her off to her room.
She blew out her candles and crawled into her bed, letting the sweet feeling take her off into her slumber, "Good night… Link."
