Zelda woke to a gentle nudging on her shoulder. She groaned and ran a hand through her bed ridden hair. "What time is it?"
"Good morning to you too princess. It's ten in the morning."
She hummed, thinking to herself that she could get used to that nickname. She sat up in bed, trying not to disturb Impa when her brush was held up infront of her face.
"Thank you." She brushed her hair, trying to get it into a presentable state. "Is there a reason you woke me up?"
"Your father is awake. I figured now would be a good time to talk to him." His form flickered and he looked a bit unsure. "Tell him how you really feel. Please?"
Zelda's brushing slowed then stopped as she processed his words. "Why do you want me to talk to my father so much? You held the door shut the other day didn't you?" She spoke evenly, trying not to sound accusing or angry.
He stayed silent before nodding. "I do remember something from before. The king, he was going to have a daughter." Zelda watched his expression morph into discomfort before standing up, taking his hand.
"Hey, you don't have to share anything if you don't want to. Especially if it causes you any pain." She squeezed his hand in her own but he pulled it free.
"No, I have to tell you the truth." He glanced at Impa's sleeping form before continuing. "The king and queen were going to have a child. But she grew ill, I think." He paused, eyebrows furrowing at the faint memory. "She was getting closer to giving birth but her condition wasn't improving. No treatment would work, not even magic. The queen died giving birth, but their daughter wasn't healthy, she only survived for a few minutes." Zelda frowned, gingerly taking his hand again. This time he didn't pull away, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb to distract himself. "The king was devastated. He lost his queen and their daughter in the same day. His mental condition suffered greatly. He told me one night about her. He almost never brought her up, and scolded or punished anyone that did when he was around."
He tried to remember more, each attempt to probe his memories bringing him more pain till Zelda squeezed his hand. She smiled at him reassuringly, but it didn't reach her eyes, not unaffected by his tale.
"They were going to name her Zelda." He swallowed, his chest felt uneasy and it grew worse when he saw her shocked expression. "He told me she was born with the brightest blonde hair he'd ever seen, and eyes like emeralds. He lamented to me that if she had been still alive, he would've had me guard her with my life. It was the only thing I could ever remember after all that time in the castle. When I heard your friends call your name and saw you, I couldn't just let you go." He shifted uncomfortably, his unease and anxiety causing nearby electronics to flicker.
"Look at me."
His face snapped to attention, finding her watching him closely with the same green eyes he'd been described all those years prior.
"Are you only following me because of your obligation to your old king?" Her heart was beating uncomfortably quick, seeds of doubt planting in her chest about what he was really doing here. She felt like crying and she didn't know why.
He reached for her, gently cupping her cheek, hating how she almost flinched at his touch. "I'm never going to lie to you. At first, yes, I wanted to follow you because of what I remembered. But, you're so much more than a memory to me. You're intelligent, hard working, caring, fiercely loyal, and the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen. I don't protect you because I feel obligated to, I do it because I want to. I want to see you smile and be happy, and to live the life you want, not the one you're forced into." His thumb gently stroked her cheek, wanting her to believe him. "I know I've just been a silent observer, but everything I've seen makes me want to be here for you."
"I see.." Her hand squeezed his, she nearly gasping when his fingers intertwined with hers.
"Although, I would be lying if I said I hadn't grown more than a little.. enamoured with you."
Zelda's face was heating up. She internally panicked, lamenting that she didn't have any make up on or even got to brush her teeth. "I-i uhm, it would be remiss of me to not mention that I might be a little charmed by your heroic actions." She was going to faint, she was sure of it.
He smiled a bit, bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing her knuckles. "I might not be in service to a crown anymore, but you'll always be a princess to me. If you would have this wayward knight?"
Her face was most definitely bright red now, she nodded quickly. "Of course! In return for saving my life, and vowing to protect me, I wish to help you recover your memories, especially your name. I want to know what to call my hero."
Behind them, Impa awoke with a groan, sitting up. "People are trying to sleep here!" She laid her face back in the pillow then huffed. "Well now I'm awake, and I was having such a nice dream.."
Zelda giggled and rubbed his hand with her thumb in return, looking at Impa fondly. "I already have a wayward ninja, a knight wouldn't hurt too."
He stepped back and tapped Impa's foot. "Come on, get up, we have a special mission for Zelda." Said woman raised an eyebrow.
Impa kicked at his touch, phasing right through his hand and scowled. "Errands already? I just woke up, gimme a minute."
"We won't be leaving the house. We're going to make breakfast."
She paused, looking up from the bundle of blankets she had tried to bury herself in. "We? You're dead, you mean me."
Zelda watched with amusement across her face. She couldn't remember the last time she had Impa's cooking. "Crepes should suffice, is that alright with you Impa?"
Impa looked at her betrayed, realizing she was two to one. She kicked the blankets off and huffed dramatically, getting off the bed and slipping her sandals on.
"Fine, well if we're doing all the work, what is the 'princess' doing?" She pouted, and glared at them both, a smiling almost slipping through but she hid it.
"She'll be mending things with her father." He stated simply, crossing his arms to match her own.
Impa's eyes darted to Zelda. When she nodded her head in confirmation and smiled to put her at ease, she relented.
"Fine." She jabbed a finger into his chest. "You better not just sit there and watch. I'm not going to do all the work." Impa walked past him and gave Zelda a hug, rubbing her back gently. "We'll be right downstairs if you need anything."
Impa grabbed her slate off the nightstand, scrolling through music to play while she cooked before heading downstairs. Zelda waited till the door closed before sitting on the edge of her bed and exhaling.
"What am I even supposed to say to him?"
He sat next to her, holding out his hand for her to take which she quickly did.
"Tell him how you really feel. Its obvious he wants what's best for you, but he's so blinded by it that he doesn't see it's making you unhappy. He wants the ends to justify the means, with you having a stable well off life, but he doesn't see that none of it will matter if you're miserable in the end. You stood up to him about Impa, and the internship right?"
Zelda eyed him suspiciously. "How do you know about Impa?"
He raised an eyebrow. "She told me? The night you yelled at me. I can't read minds."
"That liar! She told me she couldn't find you! What else did she tell you? Nothing embarrassing, I hope."
"Just that you didn't really hate me and that you were worth fighting for. She's smart, when she wants to be. Which is rarely."
Zelda slapped his arm playfully. "Hey! She's still my best friend. You can't insult her, even if it's true. But yes, I did stand up to him. She was the only real friend I've ever had. I refused to lose her just because of her checkered past."
He nodded then looked her in the eyes. "He's not a monster. He loves you dearly and it's obvious you care for him equally, if not more. I don't want you to end up hating him for his actions, but you shouldn't let him sacrifice your happiness either. I believe in you."
Impa's voice came through the door, yelling from downstairs. "Are you going to help me make breakfast or not, asshole!?"
He chuckled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make sure Impa doesn't burn down the house before you can have your talk."
He made to get up but she pulled him back down, kissing his cheek. "Thank you."
He blushed and nodded his head, muttering out that he had to go before phasing through the door. She stood up and took a couple deep breathes, leaving her room and knocking on her father's door, already hearing Impa scolding him downstairs.
Rhoam opened the door. "Zelda? Shouldn't you be helping Impa with breakfast? I think the whole neighborhood heard her yelling for you. If you promised to help her then you shouldn't break your word."
Zelda smiled then stepped into her father's room, looking around since she's never in there. He had an orange bookcase and a desk covered in office supplies, her eyes settling on a picture of them when she was little, her mother holding her up in frame.
"Father, thank you for taking care of me all these years. I know being a single father must've been very tough."
He looked at their photo of them and his wife, nodding his head and sitting at his desk. "It certainly wasn't easy, your mother always told me that she could raise two more of you. All the crying and fits you used to throw, it never discouraged her." His voice took on a more somber tone. "When she got sick, she made me swear up and down that I'd give you the best life possible, or she'd come back and haunt me."
Zelda hesitated, wringing her hands together as she thought how to bring up what she needed to say. She felt a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently to urge.
"There's no doubt in my mind that you want what's best for me, but, it's not what I want."
Rhoam looked up from his seat. "I beg your pardon?"
"I-i.." She took a deep breath. "I don't want this, father. I don't want to go to college to be a lawyer office worker or anything of the sort. I want to be a researcher, like the ones in Hateno and Akkala. I want to help people and make inventions that save lives. That's always been my dream."
He watched her silently before narrowing his eyes. "Zelda-"
"No!" She snapped at him, clenching her fists. His eyes widened in shock, never having her act like this towards him. "You always try to belittle my choices, or treat me like a child, but I'm not! Just listen to me instead of trying to force your opinions on me." She whimpered and sniffled, the hand moving off her shoulder to her clenched fist, holding it gently and soothingly.
"I'm sorry for yelling, father. But I want to do what makes me happy. If I did what you asked of me I'd be miserable. Would it be safer and more reliable than a researcher? Maybe, but I wouldn't feel proud of myself. I wouldn't be able to be truly happy. That's all I ask. You can disagree with me all you like, but it won't change my mind."
"It's a wonder your mother hasn't come down and slapped me."
Zelda recoiled. "What?"
Rhoam looked at his daughter, regret clear across his downtrodden expression. "I wanted to keep my promise to her, to give you the life you deserved. Instead, I was ruining your life and making you resent me. I'm so sorry Zelda. How could I call myself your father when I'm the source of your anguish?"
She closed the distance, wrapping her arms around him as he started to cry, clutching her to himself. "Don't say that! You're not a bad father, I swear! You just wanted me to be successful! You weren't doing it on purpose. Please don't cry, or I'm going to as well!"
The hand returned, stroking her hair as she tried to console her father. Once he had calmed down it stopped.
"You're right Zelda, most likely more than I. I should have respected your wants, or at the very least not cast them aside so recklessly." He wiped his eyes before blowing his nose into a napkin. He smiled dejectedly. "Now I see why she hasn't come back to scold me. You're every bit as strong and wise as she was. Maybe I haven't failed at being a father."
"I love you, father. I know my every decision won't be the right one, but all I ask is you support the decisions I choose to make.
"I love you too and of course, Zelda. I give you my word. Unless you plan on getting a tattoo, or a piercing, then we are having words." He smiled at the end, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
"Father!" Zelda cut in before giggling, hugging him tight. "Nothing that crazy, I'll call you down when breakfast is ready, and thank you. Oh! Can I invite Urbosa? Its her day off as well"
"Don't thank me, you're the one who opened my eyes. And of course, I feel I have a few words I must say to her myself."
She pulled back, rubbing his arms gently before leaving his room, closing the door behind her. She grabbed her slate from her room, already typing out a message to Urbosa when she heard Impa and her knight bickering downstairs.
"Fine! You think you can do it better!? I'd love to see you try!"
There was a pause besides the sound of untensils and cookware moving.
"Bullshit, you can cook!? Why have you been just standing there watching me and criticising me?"
She couldn't make out what he started to say, since he actually spoke with an indoor voice, till Impa cut him off anyway
"Oh, I get it. Just admiring the view eh? Fuckin' perv."
Zelda started to make her way down the steps, tiptoeing to try and eavesdrop. She could see her knight, expertly flipping a crepe in the pan, the one in the pan looking much better than the slightly charred and crumpled ones from Impa's attempts. He looked over at Impa, starting to shoot her a dirty look at her euphemism before shrugging his shoulders.
"Yup, you caught me."
Impa recoiled, not expecting him to play her game. "Eh?!" She blushed, looking away and crossing her arms, huffing in indignation. "Knew it, wait till Zelda finds you're just a pervert."
Zelda finished walking down the stairs, not hiding her steps this time. "Till I find out what?"
He looked back at her knowingly, already figuring she was eavesdropping. Impa on the other hand refused to look at him. "That he's an asshole." She quickly changed the subject. "How'd the talk go?"
She smiled and sat down next to Impa, watching him cook. "It went surprisingly well. Plus, Urbosa's is coming over for breakfast. So behave. Oh! And thanks for the support up there, it meant a lot."
He looked at her confused, pulling out a done crepe and adding more batter to the pan. "I didn't go up there. Impa refused to let me, said I shouldn't abuse my 'powers' to spy on your private conversation."
Impa scowled at him. "Well it would be rude otherwise! Besides, he had to help me clean up when I dropped those eggs, and when I spilled the first batch of batter on the floor."
Zelda looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You really can't cook, can you?" While Impa tried to defend her honor, Zelda looked over at a family picture on the wall, smiling at her mother and silently thanking her.
When Urbosa arrived nearly half an hour later, breakfast was fully prepared. She rang the doorbell and once she was invited in by Zelda she was hit by the smell of fruit and crepes, already thankful she hadn't eaten breakfast yet. The kitchen island was already set up with juices and stacks of crepes and fruit. She watched Zelda immediately sit in the chair closest to the fruit, knowing she was going to horde it like a tyrant. Rhoam cleared his throat to get her attention.
"May I speak to you in private, Urbosa?"
Once they stepped outside she was surprised to see the man slouch, his normally impeccable manners pushed to the side for now.
"Urbosa, I wanted to thank you. Don't think I've been blind to the way you've helped my daughter all these years."
She blinked owlishly at his words. "I-"
He held up his palm.
"You've been the mother she never got to have, and you managed to keep her happy when I failed to uphold my duty as her father. I can only offer my sincerest gratitude, and I hope you can continue to steer her right when I falter."
Urbosa was at a lost for words. She managed to give him a nod. "Of course, Rhoam. You know I'd do anything for Zelda."
He nodded his head and stroked his white beard, looking up at the sky. "She would be very proud of you."
He spoke somberly. "On her deathbed.. she told me that if anything ever happened to me too, that Zelda wouldn't be alone. She knew you'd be there for her. I miss her comforting words."
Urbosa looked up to the sky, trying to hide the tears welling in her eyes. "As do I."