Chapter 4: Same Old Song and Dance

Korok Forest was known throughout Hyrule as a place of danger and mystery. A dark woodland surrounded on all sides by deep waters, shrouded by thick impenetrable fog, as if nature itself wished to dissuade curious travelers from braving its depths. Those who tried quickly retreated, either from the onslaught of monsters who hunted them relentlessly or from the unnerving never-ending feeling of being watched by unseen figures.

So it was endlessly amusing for Link to picture the reactions locals would have witnessing the utter shattering of that mystique, in the form of a horde of Bokoblins fleeing frantically into the fog from three teenagers, abandoning their weapons in their haste.

A fierce grin never left his face as he raised his shield to block a Moblin's club. The crude weapon glanced off his shield and planted itself in the ground, making the monster stumble from overextending. Link twirled with the force of the blow, his blade coming up in a wide arc. Once he was under the beast, the Moblin let out an aborted screech as its head left its shoulders, its corpse devolving into shadow as Link lept towards a new target, driving his sword into a Hinox's back.

The Hinox shrieked in agony, throwing its arms wide in shock. In an instant, Impa launched herself upon its upper body, a dozen shimmering blue forms following her as they drove their blades into the Hinox's arms and chest. Link rolled out of the way as Impa and her clones sent the beast toppling onto its back, its single massive eye rolling about helplessly as it crashed to the ground. Then a shining glow appeared above it, its eye rolling to find the tip of a spiritual arrow inches from it.

The Hinox's dying roar echoed throughout the fog-filled woods, its massive form being swallowed by shadows. Zelda went to form another arrow when a sickening screech sounded behind her. She whirled around, her arm already in motion as it raised and formed a fist. A Wizrobe hung in the air behind her, frozen mid-motion with a half-formed fire spell lighting up the end of its wand, a glowing band of golden light around its waist, pulsing in time with the light engulfing Zelda's hand. Its molten eyes flicked around in a panic, when a faintly glowing blue barrel poofed into existence, flying towards it. A massive fireball erupted as the barrel shattered into the Wizrobe's face, engulfing the creature as it let out a dying shriek, the remaining blue Bokoblin horde watched in revenant fear.

Zelda let her hands drop, her light bow fading slightly without an arrow nocked. Impa and Link returned to her side, Impa's clones vanishing in proofs of smoke. The three scanned the surrounding trees for further threats. Finding none immediately, they sharply turned as one towards the Bokoblin horde.

The Bokoblins let out a terrified shriek, most dropping their weapons as they scrambled over each other to flee into the fog, their panicked jabbering fading into the distance.

Impa snorted as the last of them vanished, relaxing out of her battle stance. "At least they have some brains." Link chuckled under his breath in agreement, sheathing his sword. The Little Guardian scuttled around their ankles, poking curiously at the Bokoblin's abandoned weapons.

Zelda sighed wearily as she dismissed her bow, letting it fade away in a shower of particles. "There's no end to them."

Link gave a small shrug as he waved the girls to follow. "Maybe, but I think we gave them a good enough scare for the weaker ones to steer clear for now."

"Until the Stalkoblins show up," Impa droned, quickly collecting her scattered kunai that littered the ground.

"Those shouldn't be a problem until we go a bit deeper." Link pointed down one of the identical branching paths leading into the fog. "This should be the quickest way to the forest's center."

Zelda nodded. "Lead the way, Link. With any luck we'll reach the sword… before… long…"

Link frowned as Zelda slowly trailed off, her eyes growing wide as her gaze slowly panned up over his head. He saw Impa tense a second later, her kunai shifting in her hand, preparing to be thrown, the Little Guardian letting out a panicked chirp. Anticipating a new threat, Link whirled around, hand on the hilt of his sword-

Only to tilt his head all the way up at the massive figure standing directly behind him.

"Shaka!" The figure let out a joyful high-pitched shout, throwing its stubby arms in the air as it wagged its red Maracas in excitement. "At last! Someone finally sees me!"

Link's face went slack. "Hestu?!"

Impa and Zelda froze, shooting each other stunned looks. There was a soft sort of familiarity in Link's voice that neither of them had expected from the hero, at least not from what they now recognized as possibly the largest Korok they'd ever seen.

Hestu paused in his excited dancing, tilting his body to lean over Link curiously. "Oh! You know my name? Have we met?"

From where they stood, neither Impa nor Zelda could see Link's face. And from the way his body tensed at Hestu's words, only to then have him physically wilt at the Korok's inquisitive stare… they weren't sure they wanted to.

"...no," Link finally said, his voice low and distant. "No, we… we haven't met."

Hestu tilted his head as he leaned closer, his leafy brows furrowing in confusion. "Then… how did you know my name?"

Link didn't respond for a long awkward moment, prompting Zelda to step forward. She put a hand on his shoulder, moving to his front. Her heart plummeted at the blank look on his face, his eyes unfocused as he seemed to look through Hestu.

At her touch, Link inhaled sharply, blinking rapidly. He gave Zelda a startled glance, then turned to Hestu as if just realizing his words. Then he broke out in a watery smile that just barely reached his eyes. "Well, I… I've heard all the stories."

Hestu perked up in surprise, not noticing Impa raise a doubting brow as she stepped into Link's view. "There are stories about me?" Hestu asked, his voice full of child-like wonder.

"Of course!" Link's voice grew more confident the more he spoke, either quickly shaking off his previous funk or hiding it well. "Everyone shares tales of the legendary Hestu, the one who brings song and dance to Korok Forest."

"Really!?" Hestu threw his arms high, hopping joyfully from one stubby leg to the other. "Shak-laka! People know me! Yippee!" The Korok danced happily for a few moments, drawing laughter from Zelda and Impa at his enthusiasm. Once he had calmed down, Hestu focused back on the three, gently swaying side to side as his Maracas rattled faintly. "So what brings you to Korok Forest, friends?"

Zelda took a step forward, smiling up at the large Korok. "We're trying to find the Great Deku Tree. I don't suppose you know the way?"

Hestu stiffened briefly, then bowed deeply, his Maracas brushing the ground. "I do, but… there's a bunch of scary monsters taking over the paths. I've been trying to get home myself for a while now, but when I try, the monsters scare me away."

Impa stepped up, kneeling slightly to meet Hestu's eyes… or at least where she thought they were, at least. She gave him a gentle smile, and when she spoke, it was with a warm motherly tone that seemed almost out of place in her young voice. "Don't worry about the monsters. The three of us can handle them. Right?" She looked back at Link and Zelda, more for show than anything. Regardless, the two gave firm nods back.

Hestu perked up at her words, his mood instantly turning energetic. "Oh yeah! I saw that when I first found you!" Hestu grew more excited with every word, jumping around and miming attacks with his Maracas. "You hit that Bobo's head like bang!, Then that Mobby like boosh!, and then made that Wizzy go ba-ba-boom!" He finished with a large flourish, throwing his arms out wide.

Zelda put a hand to her mouth, giggling at his enthusiasm. "Indeed. So you just focus on leading the way. We'll take care of any threats we come across."

"Sounds like a plan!" Hestu gave a happy hop, then spun around towards the path Link had pointed at earlier. "Oh, I get to go home! C'mon! Follow, follow!" With little fanfare, Hestu took off at a waddling run… which was just a bit above the trio's walking speed.

Sharing an amused grin, the three set out after him. Impa shot Zelda a quick knowing look, then hurried to come right alongside the Korok. As Link and Zelda trailed behind, the Princess leaned in close to her knight, speaking softly. "Are you okay?"

Link let out an exhausted sigh. "Yeah, I'm… I'm okay."

Zelda's gaze turned doubtful, looking back at the large Korok dancing up the trail. "He was a friend in the future?"

Link nodded. "Him and the other Koroks." He let out a humorless chuckle. "It's silly. I know we haven't met yet, but when I saw him… I just expected him to already know me."

"It's not silly." Zelda tucked a stray hair behind her ear, her expression pensive. "Honestly, I've been fearing I'll act similarly when we meet the Champions again."

Link winced at the thought, knowing it was a fear they shared. They walked a few minutes in silence when Link let out a heavy sigh. "It hurt just seeing Kakariko, whole and undamaged. So Castle Town? Akkala? The Great Plateau? All those people are… still there. We're going to have to see everything again. Everyone… again."

Zelda closed her eyes, taking a steadying breath. Her heart thumped hollowly as Link voiced her worries. "I don't know how I'm going to face them. I…" She hesitated, not knowing if she should voice this concern. Link's look of understanding gave her the extra push she needed. "I don't know if I can go back to just being 'Princess Zelda'. Not when I remember my rule." Her brow then pinched in annoyance. "Rules," she corrected herself.

A smile grew over Link's face. "You always were a good Queen."

Zelda rose an exaggerated brow, her mouth forming an overly flat line. "Only 'good'?"

Links grin grew, hearing the light tilt in her words. "Well… decent, at least."

Zelda's brow shot high. "Well!" She turned away from Link, turning her nose up at the path ahead as she folded her hands behind her back. "I suppose my reigns were only ever as good as the Kings I ruled with."

Link pretended to consider that, laughter in his eyes. "Hmm… yeah, that explains it. There's only so much you can work with when you try to make a king out of a farmhand or a wannabe Kokiri or-"

"A knight?"

Link's breath caught, his humor fading away as he registered the Princess' words. He looked to Zelda, catching her eyes darting to his as she kept her head held high. Her fingers twitched slightly as she played with the cuffs of her coat, her lips curving faintly down when he didn't respond after a few moments.

Link swallowed slightly, fighting to keep a hopeful smile off his lips. "Well… in the right circumstances… a knight wouldn't make the worst King…"

Zelda finally turned to face him, a warmth lighting up her eyes. She gave him a small hesitant smile. "Perhaps not."

Link finally let his smile loose, his chest feeling like it would burst. He offered his arm to the Princess. "Want to find out?"

Zelda's smile turned beaming, looping her arm through Link's. "Yes," Her voice broke slightly as they rushed from her mouth, making her clear her throat to repeat a bit stronger. "Yes. Very much so."

Link beamed as he pulled her to his side, pressing a kiss to her temple. As you wish, my Queen," he murmured into her hair.

Zelda giggled, her cheeks tinting. "And you were never as bad a King as you always thought," she said softly. "A little slow on learning the proper etiquette, maybe-"

Link barked out a laugh.

"-but you never lost track of what was truly important."

"Tell that to your advisors," Link grinned, chuckling lightly at the memories of disapproving councilman and agast nobles as their King dared do something as uncouth and demeaning as, say, helping the washerwomen with the castle laundry, or run around Castle Town to restock whatever was low in the kitchens.

Zelda just rolled her eyes, likely remembering similar instances. A moment passed in easy silence as they continue together. Then Zelda's joy dimmed slightly. "I suppose you'll have to explain things to Mipha."

Link hummed lightly, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze. "I know," he admitted quietly. He then shot her a sly grin. "And you're going to have to make sure Urbosa doesn't skewer me."

Zelda gave a light scoff. "Urbosa won't do anything of the sort. She's more mature than that."

"Zel, that woman views you like her own daughter. She's going to skip the shovel talk and jump straight to throwing lightning bolts."

Zelda let out a small snort that sounded suspiciously like a stifled giggle. "Afraid you can't handle her?"

"In a fair fight? Probably. One where she goes all mother bear on me? No thank you."

Now Zelda's giggle was unburdened. "I'll see what I can do."

"Hey, lovebirds!"

Link and Zelda jolted from the sudden yell. They looked forward to find Impa and Hestu standing a fair distance down the path, just on the cusp of being swallowed by the fog. Hestu had his head tilted in sequence with the Little Guardian, while Impa just gave the two an exasperated smile. "Not that this isn't cute and heartwarming and all, but do you mind if we save the world before you start planning your umpteenth honeymoon?"

Zelda blush deeply as Link let out a sharp laugh. "Well, at least she's not reading us the riot act this time around." Link chuckled as the two picked up the pace. Zelda willed the heat from her cheeks, shooting Link a reproachful grin.

"Don't go giving me ideas," Impa warned as they caught up. The fond glint in her eyes betrayed her annoyed tone. "C'mon. If we move, we should reach the Great Deku Tree before nightfall. Right, Hestu?" She looked up at the Korok.

Hestu nodded his head vigorously. "Yep, yep! Just follow me, and we'll be there in two shakes of a maraca! Shaka!" The Korok took off in a waddling run, the trio just a few steps behind him, sharing content grins. The Little Guardian took up the rear, skittering across the forest floor as fast as its little legs could move.

It couldn't help but chirp happily as, until the next batch of monsters appeared, it never once saw Link and Zelda's hands separate.

A/n: Sorry for taking a week off, but holidays are always hectic for me.

I should probably mention at this point that I've got several headcanons for how Link and Zelda's lives went after the end of most of the games, and those are going to be reflected in this fic, one of which being that Link and Zelda definitely married in at least a few of the games, with Link becoming a fish-out-of-water King until he got his footing. This amuses me, and thus, here we are.

Next chapter should be soon. See ya there!