Zelda
It took several months to get the castle's Great Hall in a suitable state for guests. The castle repairs still weren't complete, and many areas were quite a mess, but the assistance from people all over the land sped up the process. Link and I traveled back and forth between the castle, his house in Hateno, and Kakariko Village a few times when I felt the need to get away from the construction chaos.
Soon, the Great Hall was adorned with luxurious Gerudo-woven fabrics on the floors and walls. The Zoras rebuilt the destroyed aqueduct connections and got the many fountains working again. The Gorons enthusiastically helped clean up the rubble and Hylian carpenters began the reconstruction of Castle Town. Travelers of all races and from every corner of Hyrule brought in food and materials to aid in the massive reconstruction efforts. The effort was beyond anything I could have imagined.
The Rito began training a small army of volunteers who wished to join the defensive forces. I appointed Link as their Commander since he retained some memories of how the Hyrulean Army functioned in the past.
Finally, I felt the castle was prepared enough to host the grand celebration I envisioned to formalize the beginning of the new kingdom, and I called for the first royal ball in over a hundred years. It was to be open to every citizen in the Kingdom who was willing and able to come.
Impa and Paya traveled to the castle before the ball to help with preparations. However, there weren't many to make since so many people were already present. Instead, they joined me in my personal bedroom as I attempted to select a gown from my mother's collection that we had moved into my now-cleaned up bedchamber. It would be my first big public appearance as The New Hyrule's Crown Princess so I wanted to pay tribute to my parents somehow. That, and I had no surviving gowns in a state where I could wear them due to the previous monster infestation in my room.
"What about this one?" Paya asked, pulling out a very sophisticated white dress with golden accents.
"That… might be a bridal gown," I said with a laugh.
"I'm sure Link would love to see you in that any day now," said Impa.
Paya scoffed as my cheeks burned with the comment. Impa cackled at my reaction. "GRANDMOTHER! You're embarrassing the Princess! A-and me!" Paya said.
Nobody, not even Impa, knew about my little kiss with Link, but I knew there were growing suspicions about our possible relationship amongst the people working on the castle. Link had been tentatively staying in the knight's training chamber in the castle until we could prepare a more proper bedchamber for him but he rarely left my side otherwise. Impa had always teased me about liking Link in the past, but since I'd actually kissed him now... The tease flustered me more than usual.
We cycled through a few more gowns before I selected a dark blue strapless ball gown adorned with the crest of Hyrule in white at the bottom of its skirt. I had no memory of my mother ever wearing the gown, so it must have been something she wore when she was much younger. Paya and Impa helped me into the dress and adjusted the corset in the middle so it would fit me. Fortunately, my mother and I wore similar sized clothing so it fit quite nicely. Paya tied half of my hair back and I retained my signature braid. It was a simple look but it would do, and this celebration was not about extravagant appearances at all, given the current state of the Kingdom.
When I was finally ready, Impa opened the door and Paya helped me with the train of my gown down the steps. Link waited to escort us in the corridor below. He wore a restored uniform, found somewhere in the castle, that the captains of the Royal Guard wore a hundred years ago. It was adorned with a blue cape that the Gerudo fabric weavers made for him to commemorate his role as the Hero. It fell in graceful folds beneath the Master Sword over his shoulder. His hair hung in loose strands around his ears. He looked quite dashing.
"Princess," He greeted as he offered me his forearm. His eyes trailed over the length of my dress. "You look beautiful," he said in a low voice.
I hooked my hand around his arm and smiled. "Thank you, Link. You look handsome in your new cape."
Link held his head proudly at my compliment. Two Sheikah opened the large double doors to the balcony overlooking the Great Hall for us. Below, the room was already crowded with attendees. All of the sconces and the fireplace were lit. Food filled tables occupied the far wall. They cheered as we emerged from the doorway.
"The Princess and Hero have arrived," announced Purah through some sort of voice magnification system over the crowd.
I scanned over the crowd and found many familiar faces. Riju, Teba, Yunobo, and Prince Sidon were all in attendance along with many of their guard members and members of each tribe. Several Hylians from Hateno, Lurelin, and the small settlements across Hyrule who had received word of the castle's reconstruction were also in attendance. Sheikah who had not traveled to the castle before joined the celebration. I recognized a few of the families who ran the stable network. Everyone clapped joyfully at our arrival.
"Thank you, everyone," I said as I looked out onto the crowd. Purah handed me the device—a microphone—and I spoke into it. "I want to thank all of you for coming tonight. This is the first celebratory event of our kingdom in over a hundred years, now."
The crowd fell quiet as I spoke. I paused before continuing. "Though we've entered a time of peace, we have so much still to do to rebuild, and it requires everyone's help. I want this Kingdom to flourish, and make all those we lost a hundred years ago in the Calamity proud of where it goes."
Robbie and Purah clapped from behind me which caused a wave of applause in the crowd. "Additionally," I said. "I will do everything in my power to best serve all of you as your Princess. I will also be personally working on a quest to uncover the knowledge necessary to prevent the cycle of future calamities. I cannot make any promises, but this is my new mission."
The crowd was silent at this proposal. I worried I'd scared or baffled them with this knowledge, but then a small Zora child called out to me. "Thank you for everything, Princess Zelda! And Link the Hero of Hyrule!" The crowd erupted in cheers. Link nodded at the crowd in response and held up the Master Sword, causing another eruption of cheers.
"Now, who's ready to PARTYYYY?" Robbie yelled out from behind me, taking me a bit off guard.
I smiled and held up my hand towards our special musician of honor, Kass the Rito Bard, and he began playing a joyful waltz on his accordion. The guests began to mingle and dance amongst themselves. Impa seated herself in a chair on the balcony to watch the dancing with a smile on her face as Link and I descended the stairs together to join the crowd. Paya, Robbie, and Purah followed us.
"May I have this dance?" Link asked me with a bow.
I smiled. "Of course, but do you even have a memory of how to waltz?"
"Hopefully, or we'll find out very quickly," he said with a wide grin. I rolled my eyes but stepped towards him to begin the dance.
Luckily, Link seemed to remember the proper step and we waltzed without any tripping incidents. We floated around the room, attracting much attention and giggling from the partygoers. I didn't mind their looks. I could not remember a time where I danced in the castle, free of any stresses about training for the impending Calamity.
I stared into Link's face, and it was almost as if I had traveled back in time to the first time we danced here, though under very different circumstances. Previously, he'd been so quiet, and our dance was more of a ritualistic show of formality than anything else. Now, his soft gaze held mine as we swayed, completely trusting in each other's arms. I was at ease dancing with him, and our movements were fluid compared with the rigid steps we'd taken together in the distant past.
Link spoke after a few minutes. "My family always enjoyed the castle's parties a hundred years ago."
I raised my eyebrows. "You remember?"
He nodded. "More memories have started coming back to me since being in the castle... My sister and mother used to talk for weeks after the events. My father, well, he had to be at them. He passed away in battle before I even drew the Master Sword, so he never got to see me attend one as your Appointed Knight."
I looked down. "I'm sorry they are no longer with us, Link." He simply nodded in response.
Link and I danced for quite a while to the upbeat waltz before the next song began and I decided to take a rest. I returned to the balcony to accompany Impa, and we watched over the festivities together. Impa chuckled when we witnessed Purah shove Paya over to Link, and he extended a hand to ask her for a dance. She nodded her head bashfully and they began spinning around the floor.
"She has a huge crush on him, you know," Impa said as she leaned over to me. "Not that she would ever dare to get in your way…"
"Impa!" I scoffed, and my old Sheikah friend cackled.
After only just a few minutes of dancing, a very flustered Paya excused herself and returned up to the balcony with us. Her face was redder than the new banners hanging behind us on the wall.
"Paya, you've left Link all alone down there! What's wrong?" Impa scolded her granddaughter, though I knew her well enough to know that she was teasing.
"I-I'm sorry, Grandmother!" Paya said, covering her face. "I just… He and Princess Zelda seemed so happy dancing together before... I didn't want to take away too much of their time…"
I giggled. "It's fine, Paya. Impa and I were having fun up here watching you as well. Come sit with us."
"Y-yes, Your Highness," said Paya with a quick nod before she sat down beside Impa.
The party's music was lovely. In fact, Kass's musical style was strangely familiar. I recalled our court poet who played the accordion a hundred years ago. He was a Sheikah boy who often performed at events for me and my father. I briefly wondered what had ever happened to him.
Soon, I returned to the floor and found Link near the food table. He'd stuffed an entire fruit skewer into his mouth right before I poked his shoulder. He pulled me out onto the floor before he even swallowed.
Fortunately, the current song's tempo was a pace that would not tire me out rapidly. Kass began singing along with the melody, which was apparently a piece about the Calamity. His Rito voice rang out over us. "The princess's love for her fallen knight awakens her power, And within the castle the Calamity is forced to cower…" sang Kass.
I almost tripped on my own steps in embarrassment. My cheeks burned as I snapped my attention to our bard and then back to Link. Had people been going around shouting lyrics about my personal feelings for the past hundred years?
"Everything alright, Zel?" Link asked me in a voice just audible over the music.
"Y-yes, everything is wonderful, Link," I said, looking down to avoid his gaze. Link had definitely heard the lyrics clearly since Kass's singing was so clear. What... would he think?
"This is quite the timely song," I said, in an attempt to gauge if Link had noticed the lyric.
Link nodded, though his expression was unchanged. "Kass taught me it just before I left for the castle."
Kass continued his last lyrics in the final phrase. "The hero, the princess—hand in hand—Must bring the light back to this land..."
I looked up into Link's face. "You…. you heard all these lyrics even before fighting Ganon?"
"Yep."
"Every...one?" I questioned. He nodded, and I saw the hint of a smirk pull up on his lips.
He... knew?
"We… need to talk," I said. I grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the closest door to us. He didn't resist, and let me pull him away. We successfully slipped out of the Great Hall and into the quiet corridor outside. I led him up the ramp until we arrived at the castle's library. It was technically still off-limits as its repairs were incomplete. Regardless, I had been making a habit of combing through the bookshelves' surviving texts for information about the origins of malice since my arrival at the castle.
I pulled the doors of the library shut behind us, leaving us with only the silence of the dim room as our company. I flipped around to face him and pointed a finger at him accusingly. "So… you knew all along how my powers unlocked?"
He tilted his head innocently and folded his arms. "Well, I was there, even if barely alive, when it happened…"
I pursed my lips. "I meant, in relation to the song lyrics…"
"Oh," Link conceded. He slowly nodded. "Yes... I knew about your feelings.."
I took a few steps in front of the tall shelf along the wall. Just how many people walking about Hyrule had heard about my private feelings for Link by now?
"Have those feelings...changed?" Link asked as he strode a step closer to me.
I snapped my head up towards him. "Wh-what? No, of course not, I—"
My words cut off when he pressed his lips into mine in such an unexpectedly sensuous manner that I stepped back in surprise and my elbows rattled into the bookshelf behind me. His mouth was sprinkled with the taste of sugar from the fruit he'd just enjoyed a few minutes earlier. I lifted my hands to cup his face and bring him closer to enjoy even more of his sweetness. In response, he pushed himself even closer, cornering me against the bookcase. His hands found a resting place on my waist as the kiss grew into something much more passionate.
Something from the tallest shelves toppled down next to us, snapping us back to our senses. I flinched and shielded my head into his shoulder in reflex.
"It was just a few books, Zel," he mumbled into my ear before placing a soft kiss on my jawline.
"Ah, yes," I said absently, stepping away from him as I caught my breath, My face burned from the intensity of the kissing session. I wished so badly to continue, but I knew we needed to stop before things escalated too far out of reasonable control.
"I didn't let you finish before, I'm sorry," said Link.
I clasped my hands in front of me. "The song's lyrics… They are indeed the truth, Link... Why didn't you tell me you knew before?"
His gaze fell to the floor but a remorseful smile touched his lips. "I worried you wouldn't love me anymore, as you said I changed so much... So, I never brought it up in case you changed your mind."
I held a hand to my chest. "I appreciate that, Link. But the person I fell in love with is still here within you. In fact, you're even better now than before, if I can admit that."
He responded by gifting me with another passionate kiss. When he finally pulled away, I leaned against him in a tight embrace.
"Please never leave my side," I said in a muffled voice into his shoulder. "That's an order, now."
"I thought you released me," He joked with a chuckle as he squeezed me lightly. "But… I promise you, I won't."
"We should probably get back to the party before Impa gets more suspicious," I mumbled after a few minutes of silent embrace. He nodded and released me.
Before leaving, I knelt down and picked up the fallen books. The title of one of them caught my eyes: "The Ancient Curse and the Zonai." I flipped it open in curiosity.
There was a whole section about malice.
I blinked. Was this a new lead?
"Zel?" Link asked.
I flicked my head up. "Yes, I am coming…" I said. I placed the book on an easily accessible space on the shelf and followed Link out the door. Surely, I would return tomorrow morning to read it.
But for now, it was just me, Link, and the celebration of the new Kingdom.
Our...new Kingdom.
EPILOGUEI held my torch up to the hieroglyphics on the walls of the dungeon Link and I explored. We'd been traveling through caverns for quite some time now, exploring for artifacts. Further research in the books in the castle's library had put us on a lead towards the location of several ancient temples scattered throughout Hyrule.
As Castle Town began its reconstruction process, Link and I decided to go on a research expedition around the land, this time in the Faron region, to look for more information on the mysterious Zonai civilization. The drawings we found on the wall here were quite different than any I'd documented previously. It was almost as if they were a warning to something that was held deeper in this place.
Had we… finally found what we'd been searching for?
We ventured deeper into the cave, and the beast we'd brought along to pack our belongings upon began to grow more wary of continuing. Finally, it outright refused to move forward across a bridge even with Link and I pushing it, so Link and I decided to continue on foot.
Finally, we descended into a strange chamber. A gust of cold wind erupted when Link pushed away the stone blocking its door. Inside, a pulsing green light met us. We crept into the doorway, and the Master Sword pulsed with a soft light. Another warning.
"Should we turn back for reinforcements?" Link whispered, as we peered down the tunnel before us. The odd green light shone from the far side.
I shook my head. "Not yet. I want to see what we've found."
We emerged from the tunnel into a wide open chamber. I gasped at the sight before us. A spiraling green energy circled over some sort of magical hand that pushed against a large figure.
It was a corpse.
I swallowed as I narrowed my eyes. Clouds of malice seeped from the corpse's body and floated up towards the land of Hyrule above us.
Ganondorf.
"It was all true…" I whispered. Link nodded as he stepped closer to my side.
That was when we heard its heartbeat.
The beast was alive.
Link took my hand and clutched the hilt of his sword. "Let's do this."
END
A/N: Thank you so much for reading and making it to the end! I'm really excited about the sequel to BotW and wanted to write something to connect the games together in my mind... with a Zelink spin of course! It was fun piecing together some of my favorite tropes and theories about malice and where the sequel to Botw could lead! This fic was written in early 2021, when we didn't know anything about the Botw sequel besides the very first teaser trailer, so if you're reading this far into the future and anything is really off compared to the actual game's release...that is why lol. This was my first dive into the Botw world so hopefully you have enjoyed! It's also been a few years since I wrote a fanfic so it was fun to make one again. :)
Until next time...
~Missa