Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda and everything found within its universe is the property of Nintendo. Not me.
AN: Sorry for the delay! There are two reasons for this: 1. Twilight Princess (need I say more?) 2. Uni. 3. I just don't seem to be writing anything that I'm particularly happy with at the moment, and the last thing I want to do is come out with something half-arsed.
There's a lot of Link/Zelda action in this chapter, perhaps a little more than I'd initially envisaged but there we go- my incurably romantic side got the better of me. Anyway, in response to some of the reviews, we're going back to the future in two chapters at the very most. There are a few key events that need addressing, two of which have been set in motion by the end of this chapter. This is, I suppose, the second Order of the Phoenix chapter!
Vagabond II: The Past
Chapter 21: Admission
It was strange how a period as short as five days had the ability to completely change a person.
Zelda had been nervous and terrified about the aftermath, but true to Link's word their absence had gone largely unnoticed and they were able to rejoin the party without a second glance (although Zelda could have sworn that Nabooru kept winking at her every time she saw her). Throughout the night they had sat near each other, danced together and eaten side by side, and when the fire died down and the partygoers retired to bed, they had slipped back to their room and picked up where they had left off.
Since then, Princess Zelda of Hyrule had become a new woman.
After making good on her suggestion to bring Link to see her father, the king had wholeheartedly approved to her swordplay lessons. She had been surprised at his enthusiasm, and when she had questioned him on the subject, he had smiled and taken her hand.
"Is it something you really want to do?"
"Yes Father, but don't you think it's a little… unladylike?"
"I think it's perfectly appropriate. After all, it's reassuring to know that the queen will be as able to fight for her people as a king would be. I believe that Master Link will be a good teacher for you."
Zelda had allowed herself a smile at that.
"I don't doubt it."
"It will give me another reason to knight him, anyway."
At this, Zelda had looked at her father in surprise.
"You're going to knight him?"
"He deserves it. He's a breath of fresh air; it's nice to see someone genuine around here for a change."
Zelda fought the enormous grin that threatened to overpower her face at his words and merely nodded.
"He will be so pleased to hear that, it's something he's always wanted."
"I am glad to hear you say that. It pleases me that you have such concern for someone, even though his background is so much lowlier than your own."
She had glanced at him with a look of mild distaste.
"The circumstances of a man's birth have no reflection on his worth, Father."
The women of Sibella's household had been astonished to find the princess in the company of their favourite young man and wielding a wooden practice sword the following afternoon. They were even more surprised that the king had risen from his bed and was watching their lesson with keen interest.
"When I suggested this, I had no idea I'd be making an even bigger spectacle out of myself," Zelda muttered under her breath.
Link smiled and laid down his practice sword.
"You know you love it really."
"Not true. Now I know how you feel." She sat down on the bench and examined the sword in her hands. "How is this thing anything like a real sword?"
Link smiled and drew his sword from the scabbard on his back. He sat beside her and laid the blade across their laps.
"I'm not letting you loose with a real sword until you can handle the stick, but I suppose there's no harm in letting you look at mine now."
Zelda ran her fingertips over the steel, revelling in the beauty of the metal.
"No two swords are the same, they're as individual as you or I. I've known a few, and each one's felt totally different to the other. I personally think there's one perfect sword in the world for each person, and mine doesn't get to see the light of day very often."
He turned his head towards the direction of the town and Zelda knew without looking that his gaze rested upon the spire of the Temple of Time.
"You sound sad."
"I shouldn't be. If it's needed again, then something bad must have happened. It's a shame though, it isn't called the Master Sword without reason."
"What's so special about it?"
"I couldn't begin to tell you. It's just… no other sword feels quite like it. The weight of it is perfect, the balance is perfect and you feel like you could cut the air itself with one slice. It felt like it was an extension of me, and nothing else comes close."
Zelda looked at the blade on her lap for a moment and then shrugged.
"Well I'm not going to learn how to use one these by just staring at it. Come on, let's get out of here."
The sword was sheathed and she was on her feet, ready to leave.
"We're leaving?"
"I can't do anything here. We both get an audience wherever we go and I know I'm going to be feeling self-conscious enough doing this, so we're going to find somewhere more private."
Link blinked.
"We are?"
"Yes."
Because I know that I won't be able to keep my hands off you for very long, Zelda thought to herself as she followed Link to the stables where Epona and Pearl were waiting for them. And that would be one way to get myself talked about again.
oOo
He was standing there like a statue, his eyes low and guarded. He took a deep breath before he moved, sweeping the sword in a wide arc before him with a slow, controlled slice and stopping in an instant as he reached the end of the movement, adjusted his feet and stepped forward into a stab.
"Very nice," Zelda observed from behind him, eyeing his bare back with a covetous grin.
Link sighed and turned to see his pupil lying on her stomach in the grass behind him. She had propped her chin on her palms, leaning on her elbows as she watched him.
"I don't think you're taking this very seriously."
Zelda's smile was broad and mischievous as she shot her tutor a soulful, innocent look.
"Oh I am. Very seriously."
"Good. Now when it comes to this manoeuvre you need to- Zelda, you're not concentrating!"
Link was frustrated to see the princess laughing.
"I just find it amazing that you move so beautifully when you've got a sword in your hand, but you're still a hopeless dancer."
Exasperated, Link put his sword back into its scabbard and folded his arms.
"What's it going to take to get you to concentrate?"
She looked at him thoughtfully.
"Well, I am concentrating, but not exactly on the sword. You are very distracting."
Link frowned.
"How so?"
"Well…" Zelda got to her feet and moved towards him, slowly unfastening the buttons at her throat as she did. "How would you feel if I practiced swordplay without a shirt on?"
Link's eyes widened while Zelda laughed again. He shook his head before grinning with a suggestion of satisfaction.
"I think you'd cause a sensation."
"Am I causing a sensation?"
"You're certainly causing something."
She pecked the tip of his nose before he pulled her in for a proper kiss. Her hands skittered up his bare chest to rest at his shoulders, partly as a means to support herself as her legs turned to the consistency of a Chu Chu. Link broke the kiss far too soon for her liking and smiled.
"You know, I'm going to have to teach you some self defence."
She laughed quietly and looked at him with a smirk.
"Why would I need to know how to defend myself when I've got you watching me like I'm made of glass?"
"'Cause I'm not going to be with you all the time, am I?"
Sadness flooded her eyes momentarily and the taunting smirk that had played on her lips faded just as quickly.
"No, I suppose you aren't."
He smiled and took her hand, determined to see her smile again.
"But we're here now, right? There's nothing to stop me from teaching you."
She looked at him with a frown, before regaining that slow, taunting smirk he had longed to see.
"The way I see it, we have two choices. You could put your shirt back on and continue with this afternoon's lesson, or…" Her right hand travelled down from his shoulder to rest on his abdomen. "We could just forget about clothes altogether and have a five minute break."
"I'm insulted. Half an hour."
"Really?"
"That's very low estimate, but at least that."
"You sound very sure of yourself. Do you have anything to support this bravado?"
"Why don't you find out for yourself?"
As it turned out, it was a low estimate.
oOo
"So where do you see yourself in the future, Princess? If you could have one wish that completely controlled your destiny, what would it be?"
They were lying in what they had come to call 'their' glade, basking in the sunlight on top of a Wolfos pelt that Link had brought with him. Zelda made a mental note to ask him to bring it again, it was very comfortable. Not quite as comfortable as Link, but nice anyway. After an afternoon of lovemaking, they were both in varying states of undress, idly caressing each other and stealing kisses as the autumn leaves blew around them.
"My future…" Zelda said slowly. "I dream of security. I want to see a united Hyrule, all the races standing side by side and fighting for each other. I want a prosperous, thriving kingdom that is respected by our neighbours."
"Zelda, that's Hyrule's future, not yours."
"The two go hand in hand."
"OK, but you personally. What do you want?"
She looked up at him thoughtfully.
"I want an heir. I want a son to take the throne- I need one if I'm ever going to succeed my father without throwing the country into uproar."
"You're still not grasping the whole 'you' concept, Zelda. Anyway, why do you need people to follow your son? I'd follow you, kid or no kid."
"I know you would, but you're an exception," she murmured, kissing his cheek. "What about you?"
Link laughed.
"Oh no, I'm not saying. You'll think it's stupid," he replied.
"Why did you bring it up in the first place if you weren't going to share yourself?" she protested. "Anyway, I won't."
"Well even I think it's stupid and cheesy, so I won't tell you. It's more than my reputation's worth."
Zelda laughed.
"Then I'm going to have to make you."
He chuckled throatily.
"I'd like to see you try."
"That sounds like fighting talk to me, master hero."
Before he could work a reply, Link's lips were occupied by Zelda's. He allowed himself to sink into her ambush, knowing that only good things would come of it.
"Did you like that?" she asked, brushing her fingers over his bare chest.
"Do you even have to ask?" He leaned into her for another, but she pulled back with a smirk.
"You are getting no more favours from me until I hear it."
"That's bribery! That is not what I call ladylike behaviour, princess…"
She arched an eyebrow at him, a mischievous smirk on her lips.
"I think I'm way past ladylike behaviour, what with me being here with you in my undergarments in the middle of the afternoon. So tell me."
"I dream of a family," Link murmured.
"A family?" Zelda asked, cocking her head to one side. "I thought you dreamed of being a knight."
"Yeah, but that's just for show really. What I want, what I really want, is my own family."
"Why?"
"I've never had one," he continued, "not a real one anyway. Not flesh and blood. I suppose I want to know what it feels like. I dream of having a house with a small paddock at the back where there are Cuccos and a cow, and there's a lean-to stable for Epona when the weather gets bad."
"I thought you already had a house. Didn't you get Kal's?"
"Well yeah, but that's reality. My dreams have always been different, it's always been this house in my dreams."
"What does the house look like?"
"Oh it's small," he assured her. "It's nothing big or fancy, just a two up, one down cottage really. It'll have a thatched roof, and a big stone fireplace in the living room. The dog sleeps in front of it."
Zelda laughed.
"You want a dog?"
"Yeah I want a dog!" Link laughed. "I told you it was stupid."
"I never said that," she protested. "Go on."
He frowned, as if trying to work out where else to go on the plans for his future.
"In the winter, I'll have a huge stack of logs piled up by the chimney and my gorgeous wife and I'll spend our nights just sitting by the fire."
"With the dog?"
"No, the dog stays downstairs. I'll build a fireplace in our bedroom and we'll have a fur rug in front of it so we can just lie next to each other and keep warm."
He ran the palm of his hand up her thigh and she snuggled in closer to him.
"We have our first baby about a year after we get married," he murmured. "Of course, he'll be a boy. The girls come later."
"You want children?"
"Lots of children," he assured her. "Lots of beautiful, blue eyed babies, unless you only want a few."
"Me?" Zelda sat up and stared at him. "I'm in this fantasy?"
"Shut up and lie down," he teased, "and stop interrupting."
She did as she was told, frowning slightly.
"In answer to your question, yes, you are in my future," he told her. "I steal you away from Phineas and we move into our house. And I marry you. That's alright with you, isn't it?"
"Of course it is, we'd make a great married couple," Zelda laughed. "I actually like you, which gives us a better start than my current marriage."
"Excellent. Well, we move in and it'll be rundown at first, but I'm going to do it up and we'll make it ours. It won't be a palace or anything, but that doesn't matter. Between eating, sleeping and taking care of the animals, we'll spend all our time having great sex in the huge bed that you make me build for us, and then you'll get pregnant and we'll have a baby boy."
"You already said that," Zelda reminded him.
"Did I?" Link grinned and stroked her hair. "Well, would you prefer a girl first?"
"No, no, a boy's fine. Go on."
"I'll teach him to ride when he's three, mainly because he wants to learn but also because you're about to have his little sister and need your rest. He looks a bit like me, he adores you and won't give you a moment's peace, but he'll have your eyes. They'll all have your eyes," he added.
"How very boring," Zelda retorted. "I'd like at least one of them to look like you. It would be a crime if your good looks died with you."
"Dear gods, was that a compliment?"
"Mmm, keep going about our cottage," she murmured, kissing his clavicle.
"Actually, that's as far as I got. We just start repeating ourselves, having more and more babies."
"Got any names lined up?"
"Well yeah. The first one's Little Link-"
"There can't be a third Link in Hyrule, that would be so confusing. Plus highly unoriginal."
"Oh alright then, what do you want to call our son then?"
"I have no idea. Sheik, probably."
"I'm unoriginal?! You lack any originality, nymph," he chuckled.
"I object to that!" She frowned. "Anyway, why do you keep calling me nymph?"
"If you don't like it then I'll stop."
"No it's fine. I'm curious, that's all. Why nymph?"
Link cracked a slow, lazy smile in her direction.
"Because," he purred, "you just can't get enough of it."
"I can't get enough of… Link!"
He laughed and dragged her towards his body.
"Calm down nymph." He smirked as she pouted at him. "You can't get enough and you're like a real nymph- a beautiful, near-divine creature who has the ability to captivate everyone around her."
Zelda looked at him cynically.
"But it's primarily down to me being a clandestine nymphomaniac?"
"Oh hell yes."
"Well then," she replied briskly. "I'll just have to call you woody, concurrent with your forest origins and your rapid ability to obtain-"
"This is just a cunning ruse of yours to hide your lack of names for our son," Link remarked quickly, changing the subject and dragging some more fur over his parts.
"Not true, I have many names lined up for my firstborn-"
"Really? Then enlighten me."
She glared challengingly at him.
"Kyran. Jareth. Marius. Would you like me to go on or will you suggest a couple yourself?"
"Well we're never going to have a kid called Marius if I have my way."
"I'm sorry, but seeing as I'm the one giving birth I ought to have a free rein on naming him."
"Yeah, but you can forget all sexual favours from now on if that's going to be our firstborn's name!"
Zelda giggled and nestled in closer to his warmth.
"Your suggestions then, oh lord and master?"
"Kal maybe? Not for the first one though. The second perhaps."
"Mmm, but of course."
"Edan. Conran. Drake." He paused to shift the weight on his arm, which had been falling asleep. "Oriana."
Zelda propped herself up on her elbow with a look of admiration and surprise.
"Oriana's a girl's name Link."
"Well we can't forget about the girls, can we? They need names too, and we can't call them all Zelda and Linka. Besides, I like Oriana."
"It's beautiful," Zelda conceded. "Where'd you come across it?"
"I heard a hermit telling a story when I was on my way back from Holodrum after Kal's funeral. The heroine's name was Oriana," he said quietly. "It just struck me as being one of the saddest things I'd ever heard, but it was nice in a weird kinda way. Does that make any sense?"
Zelda nodded.
"When we have a girl, we'll call her Oriana. And her big brother Marius will love her to bits."
"Right, that's it. I warned you!"
She shrieked as Link started to tickle her before silencing her protests with a hungry kiss.
oOo
oOo
"Do you think you're ready?"
Link smiled and nodded in response to Malon's question. The bedridden girl smiled and was about to say something more when she was overcome by another coughing fit. Her friend hastily leaned over and patted her back gently for her until her coughs subsided. She smiled at him sheepishly.
"I can't believe I'm going to be stuck in here while you're out there winning the tournament. Stupid flu."
Link smiled sympathetically at her and ruffled her hair.
"You just concentrate on getting better, you hear me? It's not as if I won't be reliving the whole thing for you in minute detail."
"It won't be the same thing as watching it."
Link shrugged.
"I know, and it won't be the same not having you there cheering for me. Hoarfrost will be devastated."
"He'll manage," Malon said, fighting a giggle so that it didn't send her off into another coughing fit. "How's he been going for you anyway? It feels like ages since we've last talked about it."
Link fought the knot of guilt that coiled in his stomach. He knew that he'd been neglecting his training, and Malon for that matter, but his mind was filled with thoughts of Zelda from the moment he woke up until the moment he fell asleep.
"Hoarfrost knows what's coming and he's full of himself. I think he misses Kal, to be honest."
"Poor old boy," Malon murmured. "He'll be OK though, he's a natural born show off. I bet even Dayne could win on him if he's put his mind to beating the competition."
Link pretended to look affronted.
"Thanks so much for that. Now if I win, you're going to think it's the horse who won it and not me. Way to feed a guy's ego, Mal."
Malon giggled and fell victim to the coughing fit she'd been trying to hold at bay.
"Moron," she told him fondly. "Now what about you? Are you feeling confident?"
"I feel like I can do anything in the world, even fly to the moon."
"Well you look very well," Malon commented, smiling at him. "Unlike me."
"You're the prettiest invalid I know," he told her kindly. "You've got a fashionably pale complexion as a result."
She flushed pink.
"You just get well for me, OK? You don't suit being bed-ridden." He smiled affectionately at her and ruffled her hair. "I'll come by and tell you everything the day after tomorrow and bring you a toffee apple."
"Ooh, will you?" Malon's smile was enormous. "A red one?"
"You bet. Anything else?"
She shook her head.
"No thanks. Oh, have you got your costume sorted out?"
Link's face fell a mile.
"I totally forgot," he groaned. "Now I've got to spend all evening doing that."
Malon patted him on the shoulder.
"You'll think of something. You could always go as a Fairy Boy- oh wait, you already are one."
Link shot her a withering glare.
"I hate fancy dress."
oOo
Link had caught sight of Zelda briefly as he had headed for the sword fighting rings. He had nodded and kissed the favour tucked in his gauntlet that she had given him the day before- a strip of silk she had torn from her chemise that smelt of her perfume. She had smiled secretly at him and promised him with her eyes that she would find time to see him soon. He had been so looking forward to this that he had let his first opponent get a few stupid hits on him, but nothing that he couldn't recover from. Like the year before, he had outclassed the competition and won his way to the final with enviable ease. He found himself Sword Champion before the break for lunch, leaving him plenty of time to catch his breath for the jousts. Unfortunately, most of this time was spent with him being congratulated by his ever growing fan club and being offered various victory drinks from his friends, all of which he had been forced to decline in order to keep his head clear for the jousts. He was irritated not to get a chance to speak to Zelda until she had telepathically promised him she would reward him for his victory later, when they were alone.
He didn't mind so much after that.
"Master Link?"
Link was brought abruptly back down to earth by a nervous looking page.
"Yes?"
"They're calling your name in the lists sir."
Nodding, he nudged Hoarfrost onwards with only the slightest hint of resistance from the big grey. Hoarfrost had been off with him all day, appearing to be in a sulk. Part of Link was convinced that the gelding was missing Kal, especially when not even the sound of the opening fanfare had lightened the horse's spirits. With a slight edge of irritation, he eyed the gaggle of girls watching him and giggling mindlessly as Hoarfrost pranced and plunged towards the collecting ring. He couldn't care less if he appeared to be the most gallant and fabulous man in the kingdom at that moment, all he wanted to do was get this whole charade over with so that he could be with Zelda- the previous afternoon seemed like it was worlds away.
Suddenly he spied Talon waving madly at him and took a quick detour.
"Good, I caught you!" He was slightly breathless. "I was worried I'd miss you!"
Hoarfrost pawed the ground impatiently.
"What's up Talon?"
"Epona's broken the hitching rail she was tied to and she's causing chaos. I tried to catch her but she wasn't having any of it."
Link swore under his breath.
"Whatever you do, make sure they don't start my joust until I get back, OK?" He leapt from the saddle and handed the reins to him. "I knew I should have left her in the forest."
oOo
Zelda felt like she was on show, as though every single pair of eyes was upon her, and for the first time in over a year she really didn't care. If people wanted to watch her instead of the tournament then let them; they'd be missing a great contest. Sibella looked extremely beautiful next to her, her dark hair falling in perfectly formed waves over her snowy white cloak trimmed with down. Her smile was fixed in place, a beacon to which many of the sillier girls at court aspired to. The idea of such empty beauty frankly sickened Zelda, but she hid any outward signs of her contempt behind the same impassive mask her emotions had been hiding behind for the last year.
"Your Grace?"
Snapped out of her thoughts, Zelda's attention turned to the woman who had just spoken to her. She was a miniscule woman with curly auburn hair and soft grey eyes.
"Yes?"
The woman looked slightly nervous, and Zelda couldn't help but notice that suddenly Dezauras' attention was fixed on them.
"Your Grace, I… well, I am Lady Lowenva, my lady, Lord Derick's wife."
Zelda felt the eyes of everyone in the box upon her as the atmosphere fell silent. Lowenva was talking to her hurriedly in a voice that wavered with terrible nerves.
"I was wondering if I could perhaps have a word with you."
Aware that suddenly all eyes were upon her, Zelda nodded and got to her feet, gesturing for the other woman to follow. Her father watched her with a look on his face that almost resembled concern while Sibella looked exceptionally curious. Zelda fought to keep the frown from her face.
Lowenva was gabbling away rapidly as they walked.
"I am so sorry, I never meant to steal him from you, but he was mine first really. And, well, I love him so much my lady and I tried not to but I couldn't help myself-"
She was cut off as Zelda put a hand on the crook of her arm.
"There is nothing for you to apologise about. I never had a formal claim on your husband, so you have stolen nothing from me."
Lowenva looked startled, reminding Zelda inexplicably of a young deer.
"You do not think me a whore?"
Zelda shook her head.
"There are those in the world who cannot help but act on their feelings. I cannot condemn those who have the courage to act upon what their hearts tell them to do."
I'd be a damned hypocrite if I did, partaking of afternoon romps with a friend and throwing every marriage vow out of the window as I'm wont to do.
"But-"
"Lady Lowenva," Zelda said gently. "Do not ask me to dislike you or offer you my forgiveness. You have done nothing wrong. I greatly hope that you and your husband are happy and that your child is healthy and a credit to the both of you."
Lowenva's face flooded with relief and was claimed by a cheerful smile.
"Oh he is Your Highness, he's just like his father."
The princess smiled gently.
"Then I am happy for you and offer you my blessing."
Lowenva thanked her extensively before rushing back to the box after seeing her husband ride past on his charger. Zelda watched her go, a small smile on her face.
If only life could be that simple.
oOo
"Damnit!"
Link tore across the field, heedless of the devastation he left in his wake. He could see her there, her ears pinned flat back and her eyes fierce as a group of burly men tried to catch her. She lashed out, snapping her teeth at the men and coming within inches of biting them. The horse was being malicious on purpose, it was a game of hers that she loved to play when other men tried to get near her (with the possible exception of Talon). Epona delighted in scaring the living daylights out of any man who presumed he was better than her and would only show her respect to someone who would see past her façade.
"That horse is a monster!"
"Whose beast is it?"
"Animal like that is only good for one thing-"
"If you'd leave her alone then maybe she'd behave!" Link snapped. "Get back from her before you get yourselves hurt."
Epona's ears flicked forward at the sound of her master's voice and lowered her head in a perfect equine parody of sheepishness. He frowned and shook his head as the mare walked towards him.
"Don't look at me that way, you're still in trouble."
The group of men looked at him as though he was completely mad or at least a sorcerer for getting the wild horse to suddenly become as placid as a lamb.
"I'm not sure I like this rebellious phase you're going through Epona," Link told the horse as she followed him through the crowd back towards the collecting ring. "I know you don't like me having another horse but what the hell else am I supposed to do with him?"
She snorted and butted his shoulder.
"Stop trying to get yourself out of trouble by being cute," he scolded her. "You could have hurt someone with your little stunt today, you know that? What do you-"
He stopped when he caught sight of something very unwelcome.
Dezauras.
The man was talking to someone Link didn't recognise, and the stranger was looking extremely irritated about something. Dezauras' face was as flat and unreadable as ever, and once again Link found himself fighting the desire to punch him in the face. He knew that it wouldn't lead to anything good or remotely productive, but just doing so would give him an immense amount of pleasure.
The scolding Zelda would give him afterwards, however, wouldn't be as enjoyable, despite the various interesting scenarios his mind was coming up with to the contrary.
The other man slipped away into the crowd and Dezauras watched him go, his eyes narrowed, before departing in the other direction.
Link was just about to go after him when a frantic Dayne came bolting through the crowd to remind him that he had three minutes to get to the lists.
oOo
Several hours later, and after some brilliant jousts, the final was just about to begin. The competitors would be Lord Derick, and Link.
"Well this should be an interesting final," Sibella purred, leaning forward in her seat. "Wouldn't you agree my lord?"
Harkinian smiled at his wife and nodded.
"I agree. These two champions shall certainly put on a good show."
The king had been deemed fit enough to come out and watch the tournament, but even so a pair of doctors sat behind him watching him with hawk-eyes. The atmosphere within the box was upbeat and relaxed; everyone was pleased to see their monarch in better health, including Sibella. Zelda didn't need to ask why, she had heard the rumours around court and felt a pang of sympathy for her cousin. She knew full well how it felt to be the subject of those kinds of rumours. Even so, she was irritated at the lack of concern her step-mother was showing.
A sudden cheer went up as the two competitors took their places. Zelda watched as Hoarfrost pawed at the dirt beneath his feet. Link sat calmly in the saddle, his face partly hidden by his visor but Zelda found she could read his body with ease. He radiated calm confidence, and she was certain she knew what he was thinking.
'You Derick? You're mine.'
She hid her smile and fixed her gaze on her lover's armoured body.
'It's your year. Go get 'im.'
Link brought his left hand up and pulled down his visor the rest of the way to acknowledge her before taking his first lance.
The fanfare echoed around the field and was followed by total silence. All eyes were on the flag as it fluttered downward. Derick's roan mare flew down the lists as Hoarfrost thundered toward her. Link levelled out his lance and thrust it towards Derick with most of his weight behind it. It shattered on Derick's shoulder, splinters flying.
Derick's lance bounced off Link's shoulder guard intact and earned a groan from his supporters. Zelda applauded as enthusiastically as she could without drawing attention to herself, even though she thought she'd burst from pride.
If I'm this happy now, what am I going to be like when he wins?
She had a very good idea how they would celebrate, and she almost wised that she could just skip the ball and spend the whole night celebrating with Link. However, she also couldn't wait until he saw her in her dress. As soon as Sheeva, Nabooru's tailor, has suggested the idea she had been picturing Link's reaction to her appearance.
It was perfect.
Link was advancing toward Derick for a second time, and this time the force of the blow knocked his opponent clean out of the saddle. Zelda was vaguely aware of Lowenva's gasp from somewhere behind her, but her erratic, impulsive heart was too busy spurring the rest of her body to celebrate Link's victory.
That's my man!
She checked herself for a moment, conscious of the effect her delight might have on anybody who was watching her.
But he's not your man is he?
Zelda was determined not to let that one major problem stand in the way of her current happiness. Tonight after the ball she would sneak out of the castle and meet him in the Sacred Glade, from where they would go back to Link's tree-house and spend the entire night together for the first time.
Nothing had every seemed more appealing.
oOo
Everything had been going so well. No one had suspected that there was more going on with the king's illness than just fatigue. It was soon to progress to the next level, and after that the final phase. The whole thing should have taken less than nine months to complete, and should have been done before winter set in. But then the impossible happened.
Something or someone was healing him.
'We must put a halt to the plan for the time being. The king is recovering. I do not know how or why, but I cannot afford to act while he is being watched so closely and risk discovery. I will find out what has caused this hitch and factor it into the next attempt.'
Gaius was not pleased to receive the news from his nephew.
'The plan was foolproof,' he wrote. 'There is no excuse for this gross oversight on your part. You have not only let me down, but our entire family. The plan must be carried through until it comes to fruition. I do not need to remind you of the importance of our success. It is imperative to the future wellbeing of our noble house, and to honour the memory of our one, true king.
Your father was fool enough to fail. You, through your mother, are of the truest blood. You would not allow yourself to fall short of perfection. Do not let his disgrace become your own.
Do not fail us Titus.'
oOo
After hours of fussing on Saria's part, and more attention from the rest of the Kokiri than he was entirely comfortable with, Link finally made his way to Hyrule Castle to celebrate his victory. Epona was in fine spirits, trotting prettily and parading her master as though he was made of precious metal. When he arrived, he learnt that King Harkinian had spent the time between the tournament and the ball locked away in his room with a company of physicians inspecting his health. Link thought it was more than slightly suspicious that there was such a grand ball being thrown at a time when Hyrule's king was supposedly ailing. He also found it even more irregular that the queen, who should have been displaying signs of concern for her husband's health, was visibly enjoying herself with no trace of worry on her face.
Link's eyes narrowed at the thought of her.
He found it difficult to stomach the woman on most days, but he found it especially hard as she sat encased in yards of gold embroidered scarlet velvet and snow white silk, framed by gemstone encrusted silk wings. Her black hair was braided tightly and coiled into a chignon at the back of her head, sitting pretty beneath a finely wrought crown of golden leaves with a hefty ruby set into the centre. She was not short of jewels or admirers, and with her bodice as tight as it was it seemed as though her cleavage was about to swallow them.
"Our queen is certainly attracting a lot of attention this evening," Impa remarked dryly.
Link smiled sarcastically.
"Her sense of modesty astonishes me," he drawled.
"She'll find herself in for a nasty shock when the king makes his appearance."
He looked at her quizzically but received merely a raising of the eyebrows in reply.
"She makes a very unconvincing Fairy Queen," Impa continued. "I'd say she was acting more like a harlot queen. What have you come as, by the way?"
The Sheikah cast her eye over Link's outfit, which consisted of his Kokiri tunic, a green undershirt, brown leggings and his usual brown boots.
"A tree."
"I see."
All of a sudden a hush fell over the ballroom and all eyes travelled to the staircase. At the top stood the King, looking pale and drawn beneath the pomp and ceremony of his brilliant scarlet and gold robes, although his magnificence was overshadowed by the subtle beauty and natural radiance of his daughter by his side. Link's breath hitched in his throat at the sight of her, and like many of the other men present he felt a strong flare of desire for her. But unlike the rest of the men present, he alone was going to get the chance to act on his cravings.
The dress Zelda wore was pale green, interwoven with threads of silver. Its sleeves were long and flowing, made of green tinted gossamer and shimmering in the candlelight of the ballroom. Her hair tumbled freely from beneath the enamelled ivy-leaf circlet on her head, falling in waves against her bare back and accented by beads of glass that glistened like dewdrops in the candlelight. Link immediately flushed pink at the memory of the last time he had seen that area of her body exposed to him and suddenly felt possessive as he noticed the sea of male faces that appeared to mentally undress her as she walked past.
"How dare she flaunt her disregard of the rules of court in my face?" Sibella seethed. "What is she doing?"
Link looked at Impa for an answer and received a faint quirk of the lips as a response.
"In the Royal Court there are unwritten laws which must be obeyed," the Sheikah explained. "They regard things like dancing and what colour clothes people wear and so forth."
"So what's Zelda doing wrong?"
Impa's smile broadened.
"She's wearing her hair loose."
"So?"
"So, in Court circles only an unmarried woman or the queen may wear her hair loose. Sibella, of course, would rather die than hide her 'shapely, slender neck' with all that hair, but as you can see…" she gestured at the sheet of gold that cascaded down below the Princess' shoulder blades, "Zelda has no such inhibitions."
Link cracked a huge grin as he caught sight of Sibella's ladies-in-waiting watching Zelda with ill-disguised envy while the queen herself watched tight-lipped with po-faced disapproval. She might not have been in court very often, but when she was there Zelda was going to make certain that everyone remembered that she was the highest ranked Hylian female in the room.
The first dance was a gentle one, a popular number with an established dance so well known that everyone who danced it could do so without thinking. Throughout the routine, Link's eyes rested on the ethereal form of his lover as she effortlessly floated across the floor with her father. He felt very small and unworthy watching them; despite his years and ailing health King Harkinian was still a very handsome man, and Zelda's near flawless beauty was so dazzling that night that the pair of them might have easily been mistaken for heavenly creatures. Link was so lost in watching them that he hardly registered the end of the dance before he found Zelda crossing the room to be with him.
"Won't you dance with me?" Zelda asked quietly. "Please?"
Link smiled and extended his hand to hers. She placed her palm in his and squeezed it gently as they glided over to the dance-floor. He was vaguely aware of the look of annoyance on Sibella's face and promised himself that he would refuse every offer of a dance from her, consequences be damned. Instead, he turned his attention to his beautiful dance partner and felt overwhelmed at the love he felt for her.
I don't think I've ever been prouder of you.
That is my line, my champion knight.
You're the most perfect nymph I've ever seen. You look so beautiful.
I thought you would approve even if no one else did. Mind you, I don't care what anyone else thinks. Tonight I'm yours.
In that case, tomorrow will arrive far too quickly for my liking.
Zelda sighed lightly as the musicians began with a slow waltz. She felt Link's hand on her waist and her body inexplicably edged closer to his.
I'm so glad you came back, Link.
I'm glad you did too.
She leant towards his ear and whispered softly.
"I'd do anything to stay here a little longer."
"As long as you want," Link murmured. "Come home with me tonight and stay with me forever."
oOo
King Harkinan had lasted most of the evening when he finally retired to bed. Sibella had watched him go with a small smile, genuinely relieved to see him feeling better. The way things stood, the death of her husband would stand her in no good stead at all, and she was not keen to relinquish her title and lose her comfortable life to Zelda.
That night, Sibella didn't think she could possibly hate anyone any more than her. Nobody stole her thunder at her own party and got away with it.
It was also shameful that she, Sibella, had spent all night dancing with all sorts of fawning minor nobles while Zelda had monopolised the tournament champion almost all night. There had been a few dances where they had danced with other people, but most of the night all eyes had been on them. They made a beautiful sight.
Infuriated, Sibella had sought out Dezauras. He was always good at raising her spirits. However, he was nowhere to be seen mingling amongst the guests and Sibella was in no position to go and search for him- she was the hostess after all. Finally, she had spotted him lurking in an alcove, and what she had seen surprised, amused and infuriated her all the more.
Dezauras was staring at the Duchess of Aratea with a look of acquisitive lust.
Sibella knew she could have fun with that when the ball wrapped up.
When everyone had retired to bed and her maids had helped her removed her jewellery and wings, she had dismissed everyone and slunk off in search of Dezauras as soon as the coast was clear.
oOo
The candles in the tree-house flickered with the breeze as Link drew the curtain across the door. Zelda glanced about the small dwelling fondly, touching the Wolfos skin that covered the soft wool blankets on the bed with a smile.
"I can't believe that we're here. It seems so strange."
Link took her hand and squeezed it.
"I know. I've… I've never been with anyone in my own bed before."
"Then it just makes tonight all the more special."
They kissed briefly, a sweet embrace that lasted moments.
"It's raining," Zelda said quietly.
"It is? I hadn't noticed."
"You never do."
Zelda ran her fingers through his hair, letting her nails brush his scalp. He moaned lightly and took her hand in his, kissing her palm as he brought it to his lips.
"I suppose I'll have to let you keep me a little longer."
Link smiled and brushed her tousled hair away from her face. She leant her cheek into his touch, grabbing his hand and stroking the knuckles with a gentle sweep of the thumb.
"You could stay, you know."
"Link…"
"What? Don't go, stay with me tonight. No one will know you're gone, and I'd get you back before you were missed. Please Zelda? I hate waking up without you."
He kissed her again, this time with more urgency and she responded.
"I'll stay as long as it rains," she murmured.
"Then I'll play the Song of Storms all night if I have to," Link replied with a grin.
oOo
He wanted so much to loathe her, but in the end it only served to make him desire her all the more.
Dezauras saw Zelda's face every time he closed her eyes, saw her body in that beautiful dress, her flawless naked back, her bare arms through the flimsy green sleeves… and he hated her all the more for making him feel this way.
He was barely aware of someone knocking on his door and unthinkingly went to answer it.
"You want her don't you?"
Sibella's voice was cool and mocking, stoking the blaze of Dezauras' temper with every smooth word.
"Do not speak of things you know nothing about," he snapped.
The laugh that returned was brittle, mirthless.
"I am a woman my lord, I know far more about these things that you could ever hope to." She smiled and stepped closer, her expression strangely triumphant. "It drives you crazy doesn't it? You can have anything you want, anyone you want, but she won't have you will she? Not dear little Zelda, not our prissy cousin with her heavenly smile and her winged words and her perfect skin and her-"
"Silence."
Sibella laughed merrily, her laughter echoing around the minister's sparse bedchamber.
"Ah ha! Here, here I've touched a nerve, here's a chink in the impenetrable armour of Lord Dezauras. I bet it rankled you to distraction didn't it? Seeing her smiled for everyone but you, watching her dance with every man but you, knowing that she would never let you touch her the way that you fantasise about touching her as long as there was breath in her perfect little body. Oof!"
Dezauras had risen to his feet and in one fluid motion grabbed her wrists to slam her back against the wall, momentarily winding her.
"I told you to be silent, you miserable woman," he hissed.
Sibella's dark eyes met his defiantly.
"You're pathetic," she jeered. "You're like a little dog fawning over its master. No matter how hard you get kicked little mongrel, you always come crawling back for more and you're never going to get that petting you're after."
"Be silent."
"She loathes you, Dezauras. She can't bear you to be near her. You turn her stomach. She is disgusted by you."
"I have asked you to hold your tongue, it would be wise for you to do as you are told."
When she glared back at him, Dezauras' grip tightened on her wrists until she sucked in a breath through her teeth.
"If I am the dog, then you are the bitch on heat."
The queen's face darkened in fury as she fought to free her hands.
"Let go of me."
"Whose nerves are touched now, Sibella? Can't stand to hear the truth?"
"Be sure to let me know when you start speaking it," she snarled.
Dezauras snorted in amusement.
"You want it? You are worthless. You are a laughing stock. You are a barren whore trying pathetically to snare an unsuspecting lover. This-" he sneered, grabbing the low square neckline of her dress disdainfully, "is cheap and impresses no one. You impress no one, you vapid fool. You are no queen, you're a little girl playing at being queen, but now the people have seen how a real woman and a true queen conducts herself, they won't stand for your petty little games."
"And we're back to Zelda!" Sibella crowed. "A real woman you say? How would you know? You only know her in your fantasies."
She inched her bust closer to his hands.
"What would you do if she was here now, Dezauras? If you had her at your mercy like this? Would you try to win her with flattery or would you pass out from the shock of being near a 'real woman?'"
Dezauras' eyes were dark with fury.
"Don't mock me."
"Aw, I've really dug too close to the surface here. Poor Dezauras, I pity you."
His composure snapped. Face white with rage, he slapped the heavily rouged cheek before him and sent the woman sprawling to the ground.
"I warned you!"
Sibella's face had lost all trace of its arrogant, haughty expression. Her hand, trembling violently, came up to her cheek and covered the brilliant scarlet mark that had been left there. She winced before turning her face to him with such anger in her eyes it surprised him.
"How dare you? How dare you! How dare you raise your hand to me? You're nothing!"
"How dare you threaten me? You're nothing."
The fury in her eyes disarmed him, as did the sound of her voice. For a moment, a shadow of Zelda had crossed her face and in that moment his anger was replaced by something more carnal, more consuming.
"You should not cross me Sibella," he whispered, walking towards her. "I can be a dangerous man."
Sibella just had time to register the change in him before he seized her shoulders. Outrage, disbelief and panic jostled in her mind as he kissed her roughly and dragged her mutely to his bed.
oOo
You love him.
That persistent voice in the back of Zelda's mind spoke up again, breaking through the waves of euphoria that washed over her as she lay gasping beneath Link's body and fighting for breath. She found she was becoming less willing to ignore it as it seemed to have drowned out all traces of the voice of reason. For the umpteenth time that month Zelda found herself throwing caution to the wind.
"I love you Link," she whispered as they panted together. "I love you."
Link's eyes went wide for a moment as he stared down at her before he kissed her desperately, leaving her once against struggling to breathe.
"You don't know," he murmured, "how long I've wanted to hear you say that."
She looked up at him in surprise.
"I…"
"I know I shouldn't feel this way about you," he confessed. "But I can't remember a time when I didn't. Love you, that is. I've been in love with you for years, but I didn't realise until it was too late. I love you."
Neither spoke for a while afterwards, taking time to register the sudden yet inevitable change in their relationship. After a while, Zelda shifted in a half-hearted move to get up.
"What are you doing?"
Link's arms around her waist tightened.
"It'll be morning soon, the candles have almost gone out."
"So?"
"So I ought to be going. I'll be missed."
"Don't go," Link murmured against her shoulder. "Stay."
She needed no persuading and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling against the crook of his neck and inhaling the scent of his flesh.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
"I love you more," Zelda laughed.
"No, I love you more," he replied, teasing her with dozens of quick little kisses and a voice pitched in nauseating falsetto. "But if you're trying to turn us all mushy and disgusting like those two lovebirds in Castle Town then I'm going to have to change my mind."
Zelda squeaked as he lightly spanked her behind and then wriggled her way free of his grasp, sitting up and drawing the sheets across her chest.
"You're evil!"
"But you love me," he pointed out.
"Momentary lapse of judgement on my part, I assure you."
"Of course, whatever you say."
"I do say."
Link smiled and lay back against the pillows with a smirk until he noticed her frown.
"You ok?"
"Mmm…"
Her eyes were downcast until his hand cupped her cheek.
"It'll be alright Zel, I promise."
"How can you promise me something like that?" she whispered. "We should never have let it get this far Link, we're only going to get hurt."
"Zelda…"
He put his other hand behind her head and drew her closer to him. Gently, he kissed her mouth, her nose, her eyelashes.
"I don't care," he murmured. "The thought of not being with you hurts me more."
"You know," Zelda sighed as he eased her back down onto the mattress, "you can be very sweet sometimes..."
"That's entirely your fault. Gods Zelda," he breathed as he basked in her naked beauty, "I love you so much."
The candles were well and truly burnt out by the time they finally fell asleep as one in a tangled, unbreakable embrace.
oOo
"I am a genius. Where they define genius, there will be a picture of my lovely face and a summary of all my achievements of epic and phenomenal proportions."
Impa bit back her irritation and a yawn as she opened the door to a very pleased looking Nabooru.
"If you could rein your ego in for a moment Nabooru, perhaps you'd like to tell me what in Din's name you're carrying on about, and why you're trying to break down my door at this ungodly hour? And try to keep your voice down, my nephew's asleep."
Nabooru could recognise when Impa was displeased. First it began with the Sheikah folding her arms across her chest, then her left foot would twitch intermittently. Finally her jaw would clench and she would grip her forearms before shooting a steely look in ones general direction before letting loose with a barbed comment designed to wrong foot. Fortunately, Nabooru had spent years fighting off the displeasure of not only Ganondorf but his frighteningly frustrating foster-mothers, so she was well equipped to combat one mildly irritated Sheikah.
"As of the night of our festival, I was proved one hundred percent correct. Tell me, have you noticed how generally cheerful and laid back our noble leader the Sage of Wisdom has been of late?"
Impa's hands released her forearms and came to rest on her hips.
"What do you think you've done now, Nabooru?"
"Oh I haven't done anything," she assured her friend with an irrepressible grin. "It's Link who's done the Princess."
"What?"
"Perhaps that's too crude. I believe that those two have taken their friendship onto a physical plain to join their spiritual and emotional connection."
Impa's face betrayed no readable expression.
"When did this happen?"
"Like I said, on the night of the festival. I would have come to tell you earlier, but with Aveil's broken leg I've been run ragged trying to do two people's work. It's a nightmare Impa, I tell you…"
"I don't care about your workload! They're lovers?"
"Well I'd certainly hope so, otherwise one of my girls bedded him and that's just disturbing."
"But it's alright for my girl to?"
Nabooru, normally so good at reading people, missed the little flash of anger in Impa's eyes.
"Of course! Those two have been secretly in love with each other for years, they just needed a little nudge in the right direction."
"Why do I get the feeling that you shoved them into bed together?"
"Oh come Impa, would I do something like that?"
"You might claim to hold the title of genius, but subtlety is not one of your traits, Nabooru. Nor is genius."
"Oh come now, that's a little bit harsh isn't it?"
Impa's lips pursed tightly together.
"No it is not. You've just made things a damn sight worse."
oOo
Sibella had only just caught her breath when Dezauras threw her dress at her. Hurt and offended, she clung to it and used it to cover up her nakedness.
"So you're going to throw me out now, are you?"
"That is what one is supposed to do with a whore."
The queen flinched as though she had been physically struck.
"I never asked for this," she said quietly, her head bowed.
"Didn't you?" Dezauras sneered, turning on her with malice in his eyes. "So parading yourself like a cheap painted harlot and making sheep eyes at every man with a pulse is 'not asking?' This is exactly what you were looking for when you came alone to my room in the dead of night."
"If you're so superior to me then why did you fall for it?" Sibella snapped. "I thought brilliant men like you didn't like cheap harlots. Well how wrong was I? If you find me so repellent Dezauras, why did you just rut with me like I was some prize brood mare?"
The minister's dark eyes flashed angrily as he glared at her.
"Get out. You've done what you came here to do. Leave me."
Sibella stood for a second longer before she left the room, her cheeks burning scarlet with fury and embarrassment. Dezauras took a moment to compose himself, reaching for a glass of water to sip as he regained his thoughts.
If I couldn't have Zelda, Sibella, you were the next best thing.