As the sun perched in the clouds, threatening to descend beyond the horizon, and the pinks of the sky slowly started to fade into the black of night, the lights of Kakariko Village grew brighter by comparison. Overlooking the small town was a singular tree on top of one of the many surrounding hills. And under that tree sat Link, the hero of Hyrule. His eyes wandered over the many children playing in the streets below and the residents chatting among themselves. Link smiled to himself as he beheld the sight. The people of Hyrule, his people, could finally rest. They could sleep well at night knowing that the threat of Ganon was no longer looming over them. Link was still coming to terms with that fact.

Ganon was dead. And he was never coming back.

Link had come here immediately after his defeat of Ganon. And As he rode into Kakariko yesterday, the image of Zelda draped over his back had brought joy and hope to all in the village. With the new era of peace and prosperity dawning, Link was sure that the whole nation would feel that same spark in due time. They would all be able to relax and live their lives.

The thought made Link happy, for he truly couldn't remember a time when he was able to relax. He had memories from his past life but those all felt so foreign. Memories of people he knew, of places that no longer existed—he felt nothing from the memories.

Well, almost nothing.

The Princess of Hyrule he remembered well. In every memory he had, she was there. The more he traveled across the nation collecting memories, the more he remembered about her specifically. And at this point, he was confident that he knew her well. He knew her as he had in the past. And the happiness he felt now that Ganon was gone was not only for him or for the people of Hyrule, but for Zelda too. Especially for her. She had been through more suffering than she deserved. And as he watched the people below in the village, he spotted her and smiled yet again.

Today had been a celebration of sorts. The sun shone brightly as if to pay tribute to the ending of Calamity Ganon's terrible reign. People had talked and laughed, and Link had simply basked in the warm air and finally allowed himself to smile. It felt so foreign on his face. The last year had been filled with adventure, filled with hardship. Link had been through hell and back to defeat Ganon. So he happily resigned that he was going to have to get used to smiling. Because he wasn't going to let anything ruin this newfound era of peace.

As the children played in the streets and the laughter of the people filled the air, Link had never felt more at peace. His kingdom—his people—could finally live. He was allowed to be happy now. As he observed the villagers, he noticed Zelda packing some food into a picnic basket. He had been watching Zelda today—not for his own interest of course. He would never do that. Only because it is my duty, he told himself. And she's my friend. She was doing well though. For someone who had been trapped in the hellhole of the castle just yesterday—she was doing great.

Link sat up a little straighter when he saw the princess look up at him. In her hands, she held the basket she had filled with food. She's bringing me food, he thought, and as the princess started to walk up the winding path to the overlook, Link couldn't fight the smile that arose on his face. Even after 100 years, she still knew him like the back of her hand. She understood him, and more importantly, she cared about him.

Link watched as she climbed up the hill, basket in hand. He could see that she had covered it with a cloth, and he wondered what his meal would be. She started to get closer and Link smiled at the sight of her. The setting sun glowed tremendously behind her, highlighting her figure and basking her hair in an otherworldly sheen. If possible, Link smiled even wider. He truly couldn't think of a more beautiful sight. Wait, What am I saying? He shook the thought from his head as Zelda approached him and sat down beside him, no need for an invitation.

"What are you smiling for?" She said as she formed a cheeky grin of her own.

Link chuckled and shook his head, averting his gaze. "Nothing, princess… it's just… this," he turned his head back to the village. "It's beautiful."

"Well, I see some things never change, knight. I refuse to talk to you unless you call me Zelda," she rolled her eyes at him. "But yes, it is beautiful."

Link chuckled at her antics. "Fine, Zelda," he said, drawing out her name. Then his attention turned to the basket of food still in her hands. "What did you bring me to eat?"

"How do you know this is for you?" She tried to look appalled. "I haven't had a proper meal in 100 years, you know!"

"Because you know me… and if I had to guess you brought me prime steak and mushrooms," Link said with a grin. He sniffed the air and salivated at the aroma.

Her childish pouting confirmed his suspicions. "You're no fun," she said. "I will eat it myself if you're not going to be appreciative of my efforts."

"Zelda, you don't like mushrooms."

She paused at that, a slight red rising in her cheeks, and she smiled bashfully. "You don't know that. My taste buds could have changed!"

"You want to find out?"

Zelda sat in silence, deciding whether to spite him or save her taste buds of the horrid mushroom torture. "Fine, go on. Eat it." She said uncovering the meal. The steam rose into the air and Link's mouth started to water.

"Thank you," he said with barely concealed hunger. As he dug in, Zelda watched contentedly.

"Thank you, Link… for making this all possible."

Link looked at her and gave the most sincere smile he could muster with his mouth full. She laughed, and they watched together as the sun continued to depart from them.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Zelda spoke again. "What is the next step from here, Link?"

Link looked up from his almost finished plate and pondered her question.

"We don't have to survive anymore… we get to live."

She turned to him, her eyes focused on his. "How do we do that?"

Link stared back at her deeply. It seemed as if all of time had stopped. The thought of a future in this new world tossed around in his brain. He had no idea what the future held. He didn't know how they would ever recover from what damage Ganon had done. And he definitely didn't know how they would get to the point where life was completely normal again. But the truth was he didn't have to know. He had friends, and he had people who cared about him—and he had her to help along the way. And she had him. They would get it done no matter what. Because they had each other.

"Together," he said. Zelda smiled, and Link placed his hand on hers and squeezed. "We do it together."

Hello! Thanks for reading the first chapter of this story. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think, any feedback is appreciated. I might add on to this in the future, so if you have any ideas or requests or anything, let me know :)