2.

Link hated the Forgotten Temple.

The last time he was here, he was forced to climb all the way up to the top of the building, drop down from a hole, and then almost die from the many guardians that lurked on the walls, floors, and ceiling. After killing them all, he pressed forward and again was almost killed by another horde of the Sheikah robots. Cursing his bad luck and the ping coming from the slate, he moved to the final chamber. And proceeded to get grazed by a guardian laser. He had to use the last of his ancient arrows, and the last of the healing elixir. He trudged his broken body to the shrine, entered the elevator, only for the monk to give him his final blessing. It was apparently the last shrine, which made his mood slightly improve, only to have it sink again after finding out the reward for his hard work.

It was a set of clothes.

Green clothes.

Green clothes with shorts that made him look like a child and a hat that made him look like a clown.

Needless to say, when the sword had flashed and he heard a faint echo telling him to go to the temple, Link was not in the highest spirits.

Zelda on the other hand was ecstatic.

After spending the night at the ranch, the pair quickly returned to the nearby stable, where Zelda purchased an ox, a saddle, and supplies for an expedition. As they travelled across Hyrule field, she spoke of how the royal family used to visit the temple often, how it once housed knowledge of sacred importance. It was also where they honored past heroes and descendants of the goddess, however over time the royal family became less and less concerned with myths and legends. They stopped their upkeep of the temple, and by Zelda's generation it had long since fallen to ruin.

Now that the pair was standing in front of the blocked entrance, Zelda was about to burst from the seams.

"I never got to visit here before! During the excavation of the Divine Beasts, none of the Sheikah texts mentioned the temple, therefore my father deemed it too little of a priority. I knew something important must lie here, but I too was so busy with the guardians and my powers that I failed to recognize it's significance!

Zelda excitedly points towards the reliefs on one side of the entryway.

"See this? Many legends speak of an extinct species of avian that once dominated the skies over Hyrule, and that ancient Hylians worshipped them almost like deities! Look, markings of the Zonai! Why are Zonai markings here, so far from Faron woods? And here..."

She looks up at Link, and notices his frown as he gazes upwards towards a hole near the top of the ruin.

"What is it Link?"

He explains what happened to him at the temple, and Zelda stifles a giggle. Link's frown deepens. She begins to laugh.

"You must show me that outfit! It must look so dashing, with you being such a seasoned adventurer!"

"No."

"But Link! The monks of old watched and protected those threads for thousands of years! Their dedication must not go unrewarded!"

"No."

"Do you think the Sheikah have always had a fascination with making men more effeminate? Even today their outfits always seem to be so form fitting, and their hair styling... That must be why they made the shorts!"

Link shoots her a desperate look.

"I think the shorts would look fantastic on you! With your boyish charm, and your level of physical fitness, I bet they really show off your... oh."

Zelda quickly turns away and covers her face.

"I didn't mean to say that. I don't know why I said that."

Link raises his eyebrow, and she begins to run her hand through her hair and continue to try and save herself from her embarrassment. He decides to change the subject and grant her mercy. Just this once.

"I've noticed you running your hand through your hair these past few weeks more and more."

She breathes a sigh of relief before moving her hair over her shoulder. She begins to comb through it.

"I've been thinking about cutting it short. It gets in the way when I'm working. Before, it wouldn't have been socially acceptable for a noblewoman to have a commoner's haircut. Now I have no obligations. But I haven't yet met any stylists or barbers since I woke up!"

Link smirks, imagining that a qualified hair specialist would be a rare find indeed. He touched his own hair. It was getting quite long, and his usual ponytail was beginning to touch below his shoulder blades. It would sometimes get caught in the gap between the cross guard and scabbard of the Master Sword. Maybe he needed a haircut too.

He has an idea.

"Would you like to cut my hair?"

Zelda looks at him with a strange combination of nervousness and delight, which sent a shiver down his arms and legs.

"Would you let me? I can experiment and see what hairstyle I would enjoy. Make notes, take photographs, then I can show someone what I want!"

He realizes now who he's asking, and he suddenly regrets his split second decision. Oh well. Seeing her with that look on her face, how could he turn back now? It was just hair.

"Let's get this entrance cleared first. We can spend the rest of the day in the first chamber, then you can cut it after dinner."

Zelda determined a controlled explosion with a bomb would be the quickest way to clear the mounds of dirt and rubble. She took out a small spade and dug a hole into the soil, shaped it into a concave circle, then placed a round bomb generated from the slate. She then covered the walls of the hole with hard pieces of stone, and with Link's help place a large slab of stone over the hole. They stepped back, and Zelda detonated the bomb. Link was impressed. Normally the bombs ejected anything in range in all directions. Great for dispatching large groups of enemies, not so great for anything requiring a modicum of precision. Once the dust cleared however, a large portion of the mound was blown out into the temple, leaving the walls and entrance relatively unscathed. They repeated the process once more, which cleared most of the rubble, allowing both them and the ox to enter the large front chamber of the temple.

They spent the rest of the day in the first chamber. Link set up camp, taking most of the required supplies off the ox and letting it graze from a small patch of grass near the entrance. While he preferred having horses on trips, the brute strength and stability of the ox came in handy, especially in terms of comfort. He noted this as he pulled a cookpot from off the large saddle on the ox's back.

Zelda was humming quietly as she roamed the gigantic hall. Slate in one hand and her field journal in the other, she would switch from taking photos to jotting notes down. She spent the afternoon observing the reliefs and the architecture, noting distinct design differences in many areas. Some areas looked extremely ancient, resembling the springs of the goddess she had spent so much of her youth praying in. Others looked more recent. Still old, but definitely resembling more modern design notes. Some areas were completely foreign to her, almost as if they were from a different world entirely. She noted the small structures that were built in the middle of the chamber, resembling rooms and floor plans, deducing that these were where most documents and relics were most likely kept. Nothing was left, which was to be expected after hundreds of years, but still it made her frustrated. Why would her ancestors abandon this place? If this place was housing knowledge of her predecessors, wouldn't that have been important to protect?

Link finished their camp preparations and walked over to join Zelda. He listens to her humming, noting something was oddly familiar about the simple tune. Pushing it away for now, he looks over her shoulder to the wall she was observing. He listens to her explain its connection to current design features in the castle, and lets his mind wander.

He enjoyed being here with Zelda. This was how he remembered her the most, knee deep in dirt and dust, poking at ruins and going on long tangents about ancient relics and their significance. He notices the shine in her eyes and her energetic movements and smiles. This is who she is, someone who thrives on knowledge and discovery, someone who tries to learn from the past to help the present. Someone who enjoys the details, and who yearns to understand the meaning of the forces that drive their world. He didn't need to remember everything about their past lives to know this, and whether or not he would fully recover his memories didn't matter to him.

This was who he swore to protect with his life, and he would do again in a heartbeat.


When the sun began to set, and the walls of temple began to dim, the two returned to camp near the entrance. Zelda laid down on her stomach and reviewed the picture she took. She continued to write down notes in her journal as Link began to prepare dinner. Once he had finished, he reached out a hand to her and helped her sit upright. They ate their meal of steak and mushrooms in comfortable silence, Zelda's mind still on the last image she had taken. It was a small etching of a wolf, with what appeared to be a creature riding on it's back. It wasn't part of any major relief, tucked away in the corner of a larger piece showing a castle surrounded by a large diamond. It almost looked as if the image was added in secret after the fact, and it intrigued her.

Link rose and walked away from the fire for a moment, returning with a small folding camping stool and a pair sheers he used while collecting herbs. The thought of the wolf left her mind as she now had more pressing matters to attend to.

Link handed her the sheers with no emotion on his face. He turned around and sat in the chair. Zelda giggled.

"Go on then hero, take off your tunic. You don't want loose hair to get trapped now do you?"

He rips his champion's tunic off in one swift motion, almost as if he was under duress. He returns to his neutral expression.

Zelda gasps slightly at his rushed disrobing but quickly catches herself and begins to undo his hair tie.

"I'm going to first start with my normal braids and move from their. I'm thinking of cutting to shoulder length first. What do you think?"

He looks at her, maintaining his neutral expression. She could tell this idea didn't necessarily appeal to him, but she knew he wouldn't oppose her. Zelda smiled devilishly.

"I could also just shave you, and then make a wig from the trimmings. I'd probably get a better response."

"We can start with the braids first."

"Mmm."

As she began braiding Link's hair, she noticed the many scars crossing his torso and arms. Claw marks, puncture wounds, burns, lacerations dotted his fair skin. She lets her fingers brush one on his shoulder as she wove the braids, feeling the raised flesh underneath her fingertips. Sadness washes over her. This young man, so kind and innocent at heart, had gone through so much, all in the name of a kingdom that no longer stood. All for a princess who had failed her people. Yes she had succeeded in defeating the Calamity, but most who looked to her for salvation were no longer alive to see it. And the few that remained had become damaged like Link. Some had physical scarring, others had mental. Always knowing that she had failed them in their greatest time of need.

Zelda didn't notice the tear slide from her face until she she saw it splash onto his neck. Link turns and looks at her, noticing her looking at his shoulder. He reached back and felt the scar from a Lynel arrow and sighed.

"This wasn't you. It was a half horse, half lion who somehow hit a moving aerial target from 200 meters away."

He smiles at her and she tears up more.

"Do you think Lynels have an inherent ability with archery or was taught it to them? Do you think they have a Lynel training school? Maybe Lynel Knights? That would be pretty scary. Imagine a lord commander Lynel, whipping cadets with a switch. Ouch!" Link says to her, and she laughs through a sob.

"Why do you ALWAYS insist on joking when I'm on the verge of breaking down?"

"Because I tried to reason away your doubts before, and it never works. You're too smart and you over-analyze any arguments I make. Getting you to smile always seems to help."

He continues to grin at her. She brushes away her tears and sniffs. This man, Goddess damn him. He looks so goofy, with half his head in braids, his head tilted sideways. His shirt off, with his toned chest and stomach. His strong arms, his callused hands. She stops her eyes from lowering further.

Focus on the hair, you need to focus on the hair. The thick golden hair, so close to your own but with shades of brown near the roots. So soft, smelling of hay and sweat...

Stop!

She pouts at him and turns him back around with a tisk. She finishes the braids and ties them in the back. But before she begins to cut, she leans to his ear and mumbles quietly.

"Thank you."

He blushes, and stops smiling when he hears the first snip.


Zelda stops and takes photos each time she finishes cutting. She can't decide what she wants to do. So many options, and with her hair as long as it was it was hard to decide. She likes the way she had cut it now, bobbed at the shoulders but still maintaining the regal braids she always wore. She snapped a photo and showed Link.

"Well, how about this? I think it's both dignified but still practical. I just don't know yet..."

Link looks at himself with the feminine haircut and tries to not grimace. He thinks no matter what she does, she will always be beautiful. He on the other hand doesn't want people to mistake him for Zelda's sister.

"I think you should do this one."

She looks at him and frowns.

"You said that for the last one also. Can you at least give more feedback please?"

He shrugs.

"No matter what you decide you will always look perfect."

She flushes a deep red, and whether it's due to anger or something else he couldn't say.

"Stop trying to rush me! You were the one who consented to this!"

He shrugs again. She lets out a breath of frustration.

"There's one more I want to try. Something more masculine. I probably won't go with it but I figured I might try it out, just for future reference."

She undid the braid and began to cut large swathes of hair seemingly at random. She started to hum the tune from before, and this time without thinking he asked her about it. She smiled solemnly, stopping her cutting momentarily before returning to her task.

"It was a lullaby my mother would hum to me. She told me her mother had sung it to her, and said I would sing it to my children as well."

Zelda returned to humming, this time a little louder.

Link looked down to his hands. He absently moved his fingers in time with the notes. Why was he doing that? He didn't play any instruments, but for some reason he knew the pitches and tones that were filling his ears.

She combed her fingers through his hair a few times, distracting him. She took out the slate and snapped a few photos before handing it to him to see. She stepped back to view her handiwork.

Links hair was shorter than she had ever seen it before. It stuck out at random, almost as if he had just rolled out of bed. The blonde was still there, but now that it was closer to the roots streaks of brown lined the tufts. It made him look older, more masculine, and brought out the piercing blue of his eyes. He looked wild, almost feral. She liked it.

Why did it seem familiar though?

He put down the slate and rose from the seat. Link started to walk to her, and her breath halted a moment in her chest.

He got within a foot of her, and she closed her eyes.

Nothing happened.

She opened her eyes slowly to see him holding out the slate, and she took it quickly and walked back to the fire, Link closely behind her. He whispered in her ear as she approached the seat.

"I like this one."

She shivered and sat down, trying to compose herself.

"I think it may be a bit too short for me. I think I'll have to go with the second to last."

He laughed and began to walk towards his bedroll.

"Wait!"

Link turned around and looked at her curiously. Thankfully this time he looked more like his old self, his head slightly tilted and eyes more relaxed. She sighs and holds out the sheers.

"Would you please do mine as well? I'm really not in the mood to go exploring tomorrow with all this hair in the way, and I believe you are adequate enough with a blade to help me perform this task."

He suddenly becomes nervous and refrains from grabbing the sheers.

She rolls her eyes.

"It's just a simple bob. All you need to do is cut a straight line across at my shoulder. Think of it like a decapitation!"

He winces and Zelda laughs at his reaction. He takes the sheers from her hand and walks behind her. He hesitates and she softens a bit.

"It's okay Link, I trust you."

He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding and gathers her hair in his hand. He puts the sheers up to the mass of hair and closes his eyes.

Click, Snip!

He hears the voice of Purah echo in his mind as he closes the the sheers. Damn it. If he messed this up she would surely do something to him next time they met, something involving lifting large objects and embarrassment.

He hears her rise and move around.

"Link?"

He opens his eyes.

Link had been to the top of the highest peaks in Hyrule. He had seen the eternal autumn of Akkala under the afternoon sky, the serene glow of Zora's Domain during a full moon, the fiery might of Death Mountain during an earthquake. He had felt the warmth of Gerudo desert slide off his face as the sun set, the flakes of a first snowfall one quiet morning in Rito Village, the dizzying dance at a harvest festival in Hateno. He had heard the soft playing of a shamisen by Paya in Kakariko, the sea shanties sung by fishermen in Lurelin, ballads written of the past that made his eyes sting by Kass and his mentor. He had seen the sun rise and set on almost every part of this wonderful land.

And yet nothing compared to her.

Standing in the soft glow of the fire, shifting nervously with her hands behind her back, Zelda looked at him with a slight smile.

"Well, what do you think?"

His fondness for silence didn't help him this time.