The moment the words escaped from his mouth, Zelda had gone still. She knew he was mad at Christopher's decision to make her married to the Northerner but she never wanted to see the adviser harmed. He was the only adviser they had at the moment and if Link got a hold of him, who knew what would happen. The truth about their relationship would come into the light and they would be forced to reveal it all.

Christopher would demand they were to be married as quick as possible in order to be crowned the King and Queen of Hyrule. Zelda knew Link wouldn't be ready to be thrusted into the royal life anymore than he was thrusted into the life of a guard captain— there was no way he would be happy to learn he had to marry her so soon after confessing.

Plus, there was no way Link would be comfortable with a huge wedding like all royals had. He would prefer one with just their friends— whatever they did back in Ordon, he would enjoy far more. She wouldn't want him to be uncomfortable with the ways of the royal life because she wanted him to ease into it slowly. He was like a baby deer when it came to these things— anyone would be— and they had to let him go to them. It would be the only way possible.

She would never allow him to be uncomfortable.

Especially when it came to their future. They needed to be on the same page, not on different ones where they would continuously fight about the most ridiculous things.

Most importantly, they both needed to be comfortable.

"Link," Zelda warned softly, stopping him by the hand when he turned on his heels to head off to find Christopher. "Think about this decision— please."

"He made a grave mistake," Link defended himself slightly. "He tried marrying you off to someone who wouldn't make you happy. To someone who isn't me— and it took Jack and Tyler's lie to make him leave. Me confronting Christopher will make Andrew's leave final."

Zelda gave him a stern expression, making him think back to their first few weeks after the war and how she wouldn't even crack a smile. He was happy he managed to make her smile once again. But he would never miss her stoic expression she normally had on during meetings and the day court— never. So, seeing that face she was making, made him hesitate slightly.

Was it really the correct choice in going after Christopher at the moment? Should he wait until he was much calmer? No, he thought bitterly. There was no telling what the adviser could do in the short time they had to tell him off— he could very well make the marriage between Zelda and Andrew happen.

He couldn't have that.

The beast inside would never ever forgive him for allowing that to happen when they truly had something special with Zelda; they could raise into power and make sure Zelda didn't overwork herself, they could keep watch over her by being her husband, not just Captain of the Royal Guards.

That was something he didn't want to give up.

Link leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips. It was just softer than his usual kisses. But it fit the moment as he pulled away to see the happiness dancing in her eyes every time they shared a kiss.

"I won't regret anything," he promised, placing a hand over his heart as he held his head high. Just like a wolf howling at the moon. "I'm just going to speak to Christopher about making decisions without talking with you about it first."

Zelda cupped his face with her hands and brought his forehead to rest against her's. Both closed their eyes as he wrapped his arms around her tightly, bringing her closer, and felt his wolf calming down instantly. Her smell always managed to cool him down and make his entire day better; she was the cure to everything for him. For her— Link would do anything.

He'd fight off herds of monsters all over again, he would do the most irritating dungeons all over again. He would even fight both Zant and Ganondorf all over again with his bare hands; for her— he'd go through hell and back.

Whatever she wanted, he would give it to her.

"I just want you to think about this— that's all." Zelda replied softly, opening her eyes to stare into Link's baby blue ones that mirrored her own that were slightly lighter than his.

"And I have thought about— A lot, might I add."

"Link—"

He stole another soft kiss on her lips before beaming at her with softness and happiness behind the way his lips curled upwards to form his smile. "It'll be fine," he promised as gentle as he could. "I'll be fine— I won't do anything I might regret."

"... if you're sure …"

"I am," he nodded once. Twice. His eyes slightly darkened as he turned on his heels, walking away, hoping everything would turn out okay. If there was one thing he never wanted to do— it was making Zelda cry.

But he doubted confronting Christopher on his reckless choices would make her cry. It would certainly make Andrew and the others cry when they realized there would be no royal wedding between the two Kingdoms. They could get over the loss of a wedding that wouldn't have happened; everyone got over everything in the end.

Link walked straight as he searched for the adviser, ignoring the looks of passing staff members like he always did. The guards on their rounds gave him a tight nod before continuing on their way; Andrew's adviser was walking about, giving him slight glares but Link just ignored it.

He wasn't going to even pay the Northerners attention.

They didn't deserve it.

Christopher was found in his office, going through the necessary paperwork he needed done in order to arrange a wedding date when the door was slammed opened. He jumped as he saw Link storming in with a snarl. Christopher swallowed, what could the wolf want with him now? There was always something with him that never sat right.

Link slammed his hands down onto the desk, making the adviser jump even more as he realized just how angry he was. Christopher racked his mind for anything he could've done to make him like this but he couldn't find anything. He was totally stumped and all he could was allow Link to get it out of his system in order to understand why he was so pissed off.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. All that was able to be heard was Link's heavy breathing. Neither wanted to break the uncomfortable silence, choosing to stay silent as if they were speaking viva connected thoughts.

Then, Link spoke.

"What in the Hell were you thinking?" he hissed out. "You tried to marry Princess Zelda to that wimp of a man!"

"What?" gasped Christopher. "You mean she's not marrying Prince Andrew? She decided against it? But— we need a King!"

Link frowned. "Since when did Hyrule always need a King?" he challenged. "There have been a few Queens who ruled without one. They did just fine on their own; they had someone sire their heir and went on their way raising them— no matter the gender. Princess Zelda will be no different."

"But— she will be a better ruler with a King next to her."

"She'll be a perfect ruler either way," Link defended, folding his arms. "She already is— consort or not. Everything she does is for Hyrule, and she makes the best decision by going with her gut; she's already everything the Kingdom needs."

Christopher frowned heavy. "What did you do?"

"What?"

Christopher slammed his hands down onto his desk as he sharply stood up with a glare in his eyes. "You! You did something— I can feel it," he accused. "What did you say to Prince Andrew to make him leave? I demand to know. There's no way Princess Zelda would have decided this so easily."

"Actually, I did."

At the sound of the third voice, both men nearly jumped in surprise as they saw Princess Zelda coming towards them. Immediately, Link's expression softened at the sight of his love while Christopher's expression suddenly turned into one of slight fear.

This would be good.

"I never wanted to marry Prince Andrew to begin with," Zelda continued, moving to stand next to Link. "In all honesty, Captain Link had just made it easier to tell Prince Andrew in the first place. I'm quite thankful."

Link folded his arms with a smug smirk. "See? She never wanted to be with him. End of story."

Christopher slumped down into his chair. "I don't understand, really I don't."

"Simple; I don't want to marry him. I will not marry someone I don't love. That is not how I will marry," Zelda stated firmly. "End of story. You certainly have no control on whom that person is."

"But you need—"

"She doesn't need one if she doesn't want one," grumbled Link, fed up with Christopher's pushing.

Christopher ran a hand through his hair, unsure of everything. "Can you please just think about marrying someone then? Hyrule needs an heir."

"For the Goddesses' sake!" snapped Zelda. "I don't need to think about marriage so soon! Nor do we need to be thinking about heirs. I will handle those things when I feel like it's the right time."

Link nodded in agreement, there was no way he would force her into anything, but there was the slight fear the nobles and Christopher would find out and demand they were to be married. He would be lying if he said he didn't think about marriage. There the odd moment or two when he thought about it; but he knew Zelda would want to wait a little while long until they approached that subject.

But he was also quite thankful for that. He wasn't sure if he was ready for marriage quite yet either. Did he want to marry her one day; yeah. But at this moment? No. He wanted her to get to know him a bit better and if they were to marry, he would want a small wedding like the ones that would be held back in Ordon.

He wasn't comfortable with big weddings.

Link could only hope Zelda understood that part of him.

"I…" Christopher sighed heavily, shaking his head as he gave in. "Alright. Fine. I understand. I'll call this whole thing off if that's what you desire."

"It is."

"Alright. I'll call this off then," Christopher said, giving in.

Both Link and Zelda were happy, nodding before heading out of the office. Finally, they didn't have to worry about a suitor coming between them, but what would happen when their relationship got out and the nobles heard about it? Link uneasily sent a glance towards his love, biting his lip.

He didn't want to ask, but he knew one day he would have to ask the question to her one day to find out what would happen. He had a good guess, however.

Zelda could see the wondering expression he had and slipped her hand into his own, making him look at her. She knew exactly what he was thinking and it seemed like there was no way around this; they had to talk about what would happen when everyone else learned about their courtship.

"Link," she said calmly. "The moment they find out— they'll try forcing us into marriage."

"I thought as much," Link sighed. "I don't think I'm ready for marriage. Have I thought about it, yeah but I don't think I'm ready for it."

Zelda smiled softly. "It's okay. I don't think I'm ready for marriage as well."

Link smiled, that was reassuring.

Egil watched as Link strolled back into the barracks with a warm smile. There was no doubt about it; Andrew had been dealt with and this whole stupid marriage thing was finally off which meant good news for everyone. Link gave him a sharp nod and Egil stood up, slapping his friend on the back as he grinned widely. The other guards cheered at the information shared when Link happily said Andrew was heading back home much more earlier than planned.

Tyler and Jack, who had gotten home from the bar a few minutes before, grinned widely as they poured a tankard of beer for Link, handing it to them as the others got their own tankards and cheered loudly once again for their work.

"I have to thank you for the lie," Link said to the pair. "I don't think it would've happened if you hadn't done what you did."

"It wasn't really a lie," Tyler pointed out with a shrug. "Princess Zelda said she never liked what Prince Andrew was doing."

Jack chuckled. "I guess so, huh?"

"You two lied to Captain?" Marcus asked, surprised.

Link smirked. "Glad they did or else Prince Andrew would still be here."

"Well then," Tobias laughed, slapping Tyler on his back with a wide grin, slamming his tankard against Tyler's with a sharp nod. "Good to know. We owe you two drinks now, don't we?"

Jack smirked. "Eh, we'll let you all off the hook this time."

Link couldn't help but laugh as he leaned back in his seat, happy to know this whole thing was finally over and done with. Now, they could continue on like normal. He would enjoy this life.

"Didja talk about what happens when the nobles catch wind of the courtship?" Egil asked as he sipped his beer.

"A little," Link admitted. "They're just gonna thrust us into marriage and I hate the thought of it. I want to marry her because it feels right; not because we have to marry each other for the sake of pleasing the damn children nobles. I don't even want a large wedding either. I want a small one."

Egil frowned, feeling bad knowing Link wouldn't be able to have that small wedding he wanted due to the nobles being pushy. "Buddy, I'm sorry," he whispered. "They're going to force you into a large one."

"I know. I basically have to accept that," Link sighed. "The perks of dating royalty."

Jack frowned, placing his tankard down. "Not unless you get married in Ordon. Y'know before they can even start planning the royal wedding when they find out. Run away until you're married and whatnot, come back and tell them it's too late as you show the rings on your fingers."

Link took in Jack's information, making a mental note to keep it in the back of his mind if it came to that. "Thanks, Jack," he grinned. "I'll think about it."

Jack nodded with a smile. "Happy to help."

Link really hoped it would be able to work if it came to that.