The Springs of Hylia
Chapter 21
So, my laptop broke, my Nana had a stroke, I'm back at school, and I have subject choices for next year in year 11 (yes, I'm in year 10, currently), so those are my excuses, and yeah… I'll cut to the chase.
Link sat at the dining table, alone, pushing his dinner around on his plate and taking bites scarcely. So bland, he thought dryly. He could have made such a better meal. But that was only a distraction from his other thoughts.
His thoughts surrounded Zelda, and what she'd said, her well-being, and her injury. Had she passed out from her injury or from seemingly being possessed?
It had been three agonising days without her bright smile to warm his silent heart, three days without her there or anywhere wandering around the halls and without her delicate hand in his. That said, his time away from her at Gerudo was even more painful than it was at the moment. But he felt humiliated then, like he had done something in the wrong.
But he hadn't, he had been so wrong.
He smiled at the memory.
He left the rest of his meal, finding himself not able to finish it, which neverhappened, so he wandered around the hall until he heard pounding steps behind him. He turned in alarm, fighting stance ready.
It was only a maid and she bent puffing in front of him.
He was too on edge lately.
"Link," she panted and looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "she's awake."
Link came to a stop in front of her door, heart pounding, he could feel it and hear it throughout the entirety of his body.
He knocked and felt all tension release as he heard her.
"Yes?" her voice was weak.
He opened the door and peered in.
Her doors leading to her balcony and study were completely open, revealing the dark night sky that sparkled with stars, the wind leaving her curtains billowing. She had a mirror next to her open walk in closet acting as a pathway to her ensuite. She had pictures of her family and the champions, she even had some of him, some with him, all frames and hanging on a wall opposite her bed. A plush white rug laid in the middle of her room.
And there she was. Sitting upright in her canopy bed, curtains fluttering. She had dark circles under eyes despite that she had been sleeping for three days and hadn't woken up. She wore a loose shirt and shorts, above her waist band he could see the layers of bandages wrapped around her middle.
He gulped, finding her beautiful despite her injury or her bed hair.
She smiled weakly at him. "I'm so weak, sleeping for three days just from a scratch."
He walked slowly towards her, arms swinging around him in an attempt to make him feel more comfortable. "That's not it at all." He mumbled knowing she heard him. "It wasn't from the wound despite what everybody thinks."
"What do you mean?"
He looked up to her finding her looking at him with confused and worried eyes.
"You… don't remember?"
"I don't remember anything after when we arrived at the Mogg Latan Shrine on Satori Mountain." She explained. "Did we get the Ancient Bridle?"
"We did."
"Oh good." She clasps her hands together. "Purah will me happy about that."
"Yes, she is. She's working on it at the moment and the saddle."
"Whats wrong, Link? Somethings bothering you."
He smiled slightly. "I guess I'm an open book."
She barked a laugh. "You absolutely are not, in fact you are quite the opposite." She twiddled her thumbs. "it's only because you've opened up and started talking to me that I can guess."
He sighed and bowed his head. "I suppose so."
She patted the spot beside her on the bed beckoning him to sit down next to her.
Shoulders slumping in defeat, she should know, she was the one who told me after all, or was it?He thought.
Walking over, he sat on the edge of her bed.
Two arms wrapped around his middle and pulled him further on, he yelped. He met eyes with Zelda who seemed to be towering over him and realised his head was in her lap.
He gulped and sat up again, but she pushed him right back down again.
"Not until you talk, something tells me this will be a long one."
He laughed and smiled up at her, then sat up again and grabbed her hand before she could pull him back down again. "I'm just taking my boots off, I don't want to dirty your sheets."
"Oh." She said, blushing from embarrassment and released him.
He pulled them off and debated leaving socks on but decided against it. Her paused and blushed, feeling his hair falling around his shoulders and fingers threading through his hair gently. Not meaning too he purred and leaned into it. He never had his hair down, unless he was in his Guardian Armour, it made him feel almost self-conscious.
He heard a giggle and turned around slightly to glance at Zelda, breathless, such a simple action of someone running fingers through hair, and yet, it had so much effect on him his attention solely on her fingers.
"Talk to me." She said.
All he did was close his eyes and suppressed a moan as she continued. "I, can't," he gulped. "concentrate with you doing that." His breathing hitched and then he was being pulled back down again, head laying comfortably in her lap with her green eyes alight with mischief, she was awaiting what he was going to say.
"After we arrived, we found it, the bridle I mean, and when I offered you a cold resistance elixir you refused, said you were feeling numb and it was helping with your wound, I left it because we wouldn't be there long. But after I found the bridle you kind of just froze up and your eyes, they were glowing, and you spoke, and it was a very, wise, powerful voice. You told me 'Link… I have witnessed your journey.You have overcome every challenge laid before you. All of the Divine Beasts are now free. With the strength you have attained I am certain you can unlock the powerful force hidden within you. Go to the Shrine of Resurrection and return the Sheikah Slate to its terminal.'.Then your eyes stopped glowing and you seemed as though you were drunk, and you said I have grown taller, or something?"
Zelda bent over laughing at that. "You have! I swear."
Link looked up at her with serious eyes. "As soon as you said that you collapsed."
Her mouth formed an 'o'. "I don't understand either. Yes, the entire time I was trapped in the castle I was watching over you, that's true, but how would I know if you have a hidden force? The only way I unlocked mine was…" he thought he heard her mutter something about love and his death but couldn't pin point what she said.
He braced his arm on the other side of her lap and sat up half leaning over her. She looked at him with confused and sad eyes.
He leaned in and kissed her, hand moving to her waist he tapped just below her wound making her giggle.
"You've got to be more careful." He murmured against her lips.
"With your help I will be." She pecked him on the cheek.
He raised an eyebrow, "With my help? And what if I don't want to help."
She slapped him playfully on the chest laughing. "Too bad."
He smiled and then it fell. "Back on track…"
"You were the one that changed the subject in the first place!"
He rolled his eyes. "What do you think it means?"
"I'd say it means exactly what it says, you have a hidden force." She said wriggling her fingers at him jokingly.
"Mm." Link said before lying back down slowly into Zelda's lap as if she would stop him.
"I think you should go and see what happens." She said quietly.
He sat up again. "You really think I should? I mean we don't exactly know where this was coming from now was it?"
"Sure, but, that hasn't stopped you before." She giggled.
He smiled sadly.
"Is something still wrong, Link? You know I'm here is you need to talk."
Link sighed and shrugged. "I'm not sure."
She wrapped her arms around him and crushed him to her in a comforting hug.
Link blushed, finding his head pressed against her chest but her arms weren't budging, so he assumed she was fine with this. He could smell her better, and she felt soft, and (admittedly) really comfy. He thought she smelt like silent princessesand soon he found his eyes fluttering, trying to stay awake.
He wasn't sure when it was, but he thought he felt Zelda lie down arms still wrapped around him keeping him in place sometime later.
The last thing he recalled was her fingers trailing from his cheek to his neck to his arm and then back up and the two words she whispered as he was falling asleep, "Rest, Link."
Zelda looked at the boy sleeping soundly using her body as a cushion. She didn't mind, in fact, she found it rather cute, his hair was still out and was a bit all over the place.
Such a gentle yet dangerous creature Link was.
He jolted frightening her and then seemed to relax again, a deep sigh escaped him and she realised he had just awoken.
She smiled and stroked his hair.
He sighed.
"Morning." She said.
He mumbled and sat up, yawned and stretched his arms. He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and smiled. "Sorry."
"For what?"
"Falling asleep on you."
She giggled and reached out to toy with his hair before he could tie his hair up again, she twirled a strand around her finger and ran her fingers through it. "I didn't mind, it was actually, kind of cute."
He blushed at her comment, then moaned when she ran a hand through his roots. His blush deepening.
"Your hairs so soft." She murmured.
He leaned back simultaneously, enjoying this immensely.
Giggling, she pecked him on the cheek and moved to get up, before she was pulled down and landed in Link's lap.
"Just a little longer." He murmured falling backwards so that she was lying on top of him. He sighed contently.
"Shouldn't we get up." She mumbled. "Besides, I believe you owe me a date."
Link paused. "Yes…" he drawled out and gulped.
"Well?" she asked, rolling off him and sitting up, her eyes sparkling. "When?"
Link sat up and looked at her seriously. "Once your better, maybe we can go have a look around the new Castle Town, or Satori Mountain, but we would need to time it right for that."
Zelda sighed disappointedly but nodded. "That would be nice, I don't need anything fancy, I have enough of that already."
Link opened his mouth and closed it again. "I've got an idea. Do you remember the other day in the shrine, when I said you should take up Swordsmanship?"
Zelda raked her memories and then nodded.
"I'll teach you and then maybe if you've done well we can go out." He slid on his socks and boots and stood up grinning at her. "Maybe."
She slapped his bicep. "I shouldn't have to work for it!"
He chuckled. "No, but it'll be fun."
"I suppose."
"Cheer up. You'll do great, I mean look how quickly you took up archery, you really impressed me. Then again you never fail to surprise me." He caressed her cheek lovingly and smiled. "We'll start with staffs and sticks." He kissed her tenderly before leaving the room to prepare breakfast himself, the chefs could do with tutoring from him on how to make a better, tastier, more filling meal, unless it was entrée… or desert… there should always be more room for desert.
Zelda had the all clear a few days later, and the first thing she did was sought out Link to request for him to teach her the ways of a sword, she found him going over his own sword techniques in the field of Silent Flowers.
He bit his lip. "When I said I would teach you, I meant when you were fully recovered." He puffed and sheathed his sword.
Zelda placed her hands on her hips. "I am, fully better."
Link gave her a disbelieving look and walked forward so that he was standing only inches away from her.
She gulped, nerves fluttering in her stomach.
He pushed his finger into her waist where her wound was and she whimpered. "See. You're not fully healed."
Pushing his hand away she lifted her shirt so that he could see for himself. "It's only a scratch now, the skin is just tender!"
He sighed and leaned in closer for inspection.
He was making her nervous.
He looked at her beneath his lashes from when he knelt on the grass. "I'd prefer not to take any chances. It might not be bad, but this wound wasn't what I was most worried about anyway."
She tugged her shirt down again. "Link! We've been over this." She said and knelt down before him on the grass.
"I know." He said looking away.
"I can tell you are still worried about it, but the only way to know for sure what it's about is to go to the Shrine of Resurrection. I can go with you if you want."
"No." he said firmly. "It was made clear that it was something only for me to do."
"We're only practicing with sticks and staffs." She said going back to their original topic.
He opened and closed his mouth before saying, "Fine, but we'll start easy."
Zelda grinned as he went looking for sticks around the trees in the area eventually returning with two the size of his forearms.
He handed her one. "These will break easily, so we're not going to lash out at one another yet. Can you show me what you can do so far?"
She nodded, and they began.
An hour and a half later, Link and Zelda walked side by side, borderline intimacy between the amount of space between friends and lovers.
His hand itched to hold hers but refrained himself, if she wanted people to know he wouldn't mind, but he would want her to initiate it if anything.
Zelda glanced at him from the corner of her eye, he looked to be deep in thought yet distressed.
She brushed her hand against his as comfort fully aware of the stares and glances that followed them.
"So, where are we going?" She inquired.
"Well, some new kitchens have opened since the town was rebuilt, I thought we could go to one."
Zelda nodded, "That'd be good."
They ended up settling for tea and cakes at an open inn's kitchen.
Zelda took a bite of her fruitcake and looked up at Link who has already finished his nutcake and was licking his fingers. She gaped, it had arrived at the table mere seconds ago, how could he already be finished?
He turned to her, eyes wide as if he had just been caught doing something he shouldn't be. "Wot?" he muffled his mouth seemingly still full. He gulped whatever was still in his mouth down. "What?" he repeated clearer this time.
She giggled, mouth still full with her own cake. "I'm just amazed that you can eat so fast."
"Sorry, I should have been politer."
"No, I'm the one that hasn't been behaving in a lady-like manner, I mean, sword practice, eating with my mouth full? What have I become?"
He smiled. "An honourable ruler."
She blushed and turned away. "Pfft I-I how?"
"Well, you've been through hardships, both small and big, you are not overly proud either and you aren't afraid to take risks, it would take me more time to think of others, but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. And each of those means you can relate to your people more than if you were spoilt, and most importantly those aren't features you tell them, those are features you show, which is what makes you not good, but a great princess, and one day, Queen.
Tears sparkled in her eyes, but she wiped them away. "Thank you, Link. That means a lot."
My apologies that you had to wait so long for a half-filler-chapter, I just haven't been in the right headspace. I might not end up updating for a little while after this, but I will finish I promise.