WARNING

Major spoilers for the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild ahead! Please reconsider reading this story if you are yet to finish the game. You have been warned!

A/N: hihi lovelies how's your weekend~

This was one of my favorite memories yet, so it was fun writing it. Anyways, please enjoy!

~ ﾐ(o*･ω･)ﾉ

Sunshine bathed the walls of Hyrule Castle as the afternoon air hang fresh and refreshing in space, giving off a comforting atmosphere that could relax anyone. Link followed the princess outside loosely, trusting his strength on the castle's defenses that no threat could possibly approach her near her own study chamber.

They had just recently gotten out of an important meeting, with Zelda speaking powerfully in front of significant leaders in the country from different races and areas. Just now, watching silently near her, Link couldn't help but feel pride flow through him - he was more than proud to see the princess having grown through her training and mistakes, now standing so straight and beautiful, her voice bringing nothing but motivation to the room.

At the sound of Guardian gears, Zelda quickly ran a few steps near the boundary of the corridor, with Link soon following behind her, his blue eyes following hers to study the Guardian — shining an orange, eerie light — as it moved around to a Sheikah researcher's command. Link felt his own eyes widen as the technology took a few steps forward, its legs moving in smooth motion sets, having no problem following the researcher as he backed away from it, leading it towards a tree in the distance.

"Incredible…" A word broke between the two, the feminine voice strong and knowledgable. At the sound of her voice, Link immediately diverted his attention to her, his lips set in a soft smile as he studied her from behind. "We're at a point now where we can actually control them." She gave an encouraging nod. "At the current rate, we'll soon know all we need to know about the Guardians and the Divine Beasts!"

She turned around to study Link with a happy smile, her eyes sparkling excitedly. "And, should Ganon ever show itself again, we'll be well positioned to defend ourselves." Her tone was sweet and what sounded like genuinely happy, and Link couldn't help but feel the corners of his mouth being tucked upward at the sound.

A few silent moments passed between the two as they merely studied each other's happy expressions, their eyes full of adoration that they're too oblivious about. True, with these Guardians, Divine Beasts, and the champions, even Link was sure they would be able to defeat Ganon no matter how powerful it turns out to be. They're invincible at this rate, aren't they? …Link found himself staring happily into the pools of Zelda's eyes…honestly, he would give in anything just for this moment to last longer…maybe forever…

"What are you doing out here, Zelda?" Those green eyes shifted away from his, flashing a tinge of fear as the princess turned away from Link. Trying to mask his own disappointment, Link turned his head to the direction of the voice — and froze.

King Rhoam, worst daddy and king almighty himself, wearing that royal robe of his, marched towards them with an unpleasant scowl on his face and his beard as fabulous as it ever was. Link felt his heart jerk in what seemed like the mixture of surprise and oh Hylia, we're screwed and took a few steps back, scrambling down to his feet with his right arm on his knees, head bowed low in regard. His bangs blocked him from his vision, making him growl silently and, for the third time this month, he tried to resist the urge to pull out his sword to cut them away himself.

"I…" Zelda's voice immediately brought Link out of his comedic mood, flooding his chest with concern as he watched her hands being clenched into fists by her side. "I was assessing the results of the experiments with the Guardians." She took a few steps forward, her long royal dress flying behind her. "These pieces of ancient technology could be quite useful against the—"

"I know that." The king interrupted almost too rudely, sending a wave of disgust through Link. Yeah, he might be the king, but he's still the father of Zelda! At least show her some credit…

"They are essential to Hyrule's future, and our research demands that we keep a close eye on them." Rhoam continued on, and Link felt a curious frown creep up his face. Is he…actually acknowledging Zelda? "However," — okay, never mind, as expected — "as the princess, you currently have a crucial unfulfilled responsibility to your kingdom." The scolding tone was dangerous, sharp, and disappointed, making even Link feel like he did something wrong, despite having no memory of doing so.

An anxiety-driven sigh left Zelda's lips as she looked down, almost splitting Link's heart in two as she remained silent, her fists still clenched by her sides.

"Let me ask you once more…when will you stop treating this as some sort of childish game?" Anger lit up Link's insides as he tried his best to remain his silence. Childish game?! That was ridiculous! If Rhoam cared, if he even tried to understand what Zelda was going through, how bad of a father he is being, and just how much his daughter was suffering, he wouldn't see a failure in the princess. How is she possibly treating this like some childish game? She spends day and night praying, working, bearing the burdens and stress of this destiny she was cursed upon, and yet he thinks that she's treating this as some joke?

"I'm doing everything I can." Link grit his teeth at Zelda's simple remark. Why don't you fight back? He tightened his fist on his lap, trying his best not to think of all the ways he could tell Rhoam to just shut up— Okay. Enough. With a quiet breath, Link bowed his head lower to the ground, telling himself to calm down and take things easy. Next to him, Zelda spoke desperately: "I'll have you know that I just recently returned rom the Spring of Courage where I offered every ounce of my prayers to the Goddess—"

"And now you're here wasting your time. You need to be dedicating every moment you have to your training!" Oh, wow, so maybe Rhoam really doesn't care. She's still human, after all — so Zelda's not allowed to take breaks now? Not allowed to have fun, spend time on research, with friends? What if she catches a cold in the water? What if she hurts herself trying to go there? What if she hates her training? And really, from what Link had seen, she really does hate it. Well, it's not like Rhoam even cares about what she feels…Link felt his jaw clench as he glared at the ground with fire in his eyes. The king was starting to rant again. "You must be single-minded in unlocking he power that will seal Calamity Ganon away."

She already is— "I already am." Zelda said, almost tearfully, those words like a stab of pain across Link's chest. "Don't you see—there's nothing more I can do! My hope is…my hope is that you—" The crack in her voice made Link's heart skip a beat, before thumping against his ribs loudly and making his insides scream to go comfort her, help her, do anything to make her happy. "That you'll allow me to contribute here in whatever way I can."

"No more excuses, Zelda!" The king shook his head, his deep voice cutting off Zelda's quiet, fearful one. Link rolled his eyes secretly, wishing nothing more than to get her out of here, away from this figure that caused the princess more stress than anyone else. "Stop running away from your duty." But she never did— at this point, Link was sure that the king was just finding any possible way to curse at his daughter, to scold her, to tell her she's a failure.

"As the king, I forbid you to have anything to do with these machines from this moment on and command you to focus on your training." Link felt an inaudible gasp leave his mouth - this is ridiculous. He was confident that he knows Zelda better than her own father now, and he could definitely tell just how much she loves researching and observing those Guardians, watching them move, work, and being developed further by Sheikah researchers. And now, to think that all this fun will be taken away from her…his soul ached at the idea that was truly happening. The king…he can't…

Zelda remained silent as the king walked towards the borders of the corridor, his face hiding behind his white hair. "Do you know how the gossip mongers refer to you? They are out there at this moment whispering amongst themselves…" Before Rhoam could even finish his sentence, Link already felt like pulling out his sword and smashing those gossip mongers into pieces for whatever that they're saying to his princess. "That you are the heir to a throne of nothing…nothing but failure." Okay, he is really going to smash these gossip mongers into pieces now. …Zelda, standing besides him, let out a small exhale, and Link knew that her eyes were tearful and sad without even having to look into them. Just…how dare they…?

"It is woven into your destiny that you prove them wrong." Rhoam's voice had became quieter, more solemn, and sullen. He turned back, facing Zelda with those green eyes identical to hers. "Do you understand?"

"Yes." Those words could barely be heard, like a gasp of air escaped from her lips rather than a statement. "I understand." The sadness in her voice…it was almost too much. Link felt his fingers dig into his palm once more, hoping that the king could just…leave already…

And then he did, walking away from the pair slowly, his guards following behind him stoically, not a word breaking their lips. Zelda stood there, silent, unmoving, her face covered in shadows and her eyes shining a heart-crushing green.

As the king eventually disappeared from their view, Link casually stood up from where he knelt, feeling his eyes burn into where the king just stood. It wasn't right, but he felt like he had never hated a person as much as he hated the king.

"Link-" The name left Zelda's mouth, sounding more like a call for help than a surprised gasp. Link immediately turned around, meeting an upset — no, more like heartbroken — Zelda, her hair falling on her shoulders and her eyes burning into the ground. Concern slashed across Link's heart like a newly-pierced blade, and before he could even control himself, Link was reaching out to her with his arms, his lips tucked upwards into a small, comforting smile.

In his arms, Zelda felt warm and small, but, at the same time, sorrowful and tired. As she buried her face in Link's neck, the young soldier soon felt like he had no other destiny than to keep this girl safe; and whether it was from monsters or from kings with threatening auras, it honestly didn't matter.

NEXT UPDATE: December/25th

AaAAAAaaA it's Christmas soon 2020 iS ALMOST OVER WHOOO

A/N: I have the exact same kind of bangs Link does and don't. Get. Them. Kids. They are so annoying and growing so long that I'm losing hope and desperately trying to find videos on how to cut hair yourself,it sticks into my eyes owie (I also have black hair which makes me lose the ability to see. If I make a lot of mistakes in writing blame it on my hair)

Anyway keep on dreaming 2020 is almost done

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, have a great day!

~ ﾐ(o*･ω･)ﾉ