A/N: Hey there! Once again, thank you so much for your support! I really appreciate this experience interacting with other Zelda fans. Confidence - whether its true or false - has led me to personally give this fanfiction's link to a few friends of mine today. So, hello guys :) Be nice. Quick warning towards the end of this chapter (as well as the next chapter) we will see the 'somewhat' emphasized in the "somewhat slice of life" title of this story. But, the coziness will live on.
A personal thank you to Blyssabella, MogrentheMoogle, Petey-Geens, luca grae, and Postman97 for following! So happy to have you guys on board - as well as the others who favorited this story! And I really appreciate the comments a few of you gave.
Blyssabella and Luca Grae, I am so glad you both love the story. I'm having such a fun time writing, and it brings me joy to know that the feeling for this story is mutual.
Guest 1, I am so glad you are adoring the story! I hope to keep writing themes worth adoring.
Soledge1, you have good questions! About those potions, I imagine Link using every last bit on the fight with the Calamity. Like when you give all your energy and resources to cram for a test, take it, and then just die somewhere.
And Guest 2, I'm sorry to trespass on a Pet Peeve. Usually, I would agree with you. From a top-down level, all the heroes have specific names such as "hero of the wilds" and the "hero of time." But, to a botw character stuck in the era of the wilds, calling botw Link "the Hero of Time" means more to the context of the story. To them, I imagine that "Hero of Time" means he has the same spirit as the legendary Ocarina Link, which has the gift of transcending time. So, I'll have to stick with the phrasing for creative purposes. But, feel free to PM me - maybe we can chat about it more.
Regardless, enjoy the next chapter!
Chapter Five
The stable-master's wife sighed when a merchant began laying out his tasting cups. Coffee, she mused. Leekah had been without caffeine and alcohol for five months. But the sharp fumes of Faron beans tempted her to betray her thick commitment to the baby tumbling around in her belly. And although the vivid, dark pour whispered a lovers' sweet nothings, she settled for the smell of it. Yes, Leekah was vulgar and sporadic, but motherhood dominated the saddle and, with tight reins, drove her to care for her children.
- and worry for a young woman.
Missus Lawdon watched the blonde from the front desk. While the rain spat in through the tent's entrance, the girl worked and worked among the drizzling breath, mopping up the mud tracked through the stuffy dormitory.
At first, it looked like the girl did not know what she was doing. But an hour and a half later, she was cleaning like a professional. Adorned in a grimy apron, she bent low for the abandoned straw beds and swept them into prim piles. Then, she was back to the mop, soaking the floorboards until her creamy skin dazzled in them. Her back was as stiff as it had been last night and the night before; her arms were rice noodles while she cleaned and cleaned, going back and forth like ancient robotics. But, give it five minutes or so - then the Lass would doze mid-stance. She'd lean - and when Leekah thought she'd topple over, the drop of her mop - smack! - would wake her up. Then the Lass would scamper for the mantle and compose herself as if nothing had happened.
"For the helpful lady," Old Gen beat her to the snooze this time. He approached with a green rupee between his boney fingers.
"P-Please," the girl stifled a yawn, "It's really n-not needed."
"Cheap ass!" A man called from Gen's circle.
"Tip her a blue!"
"Two blues!"
"Y'all just mad I'm talking to a pretty gal!" Old Gen rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to the shrinking girl, "They're just mad because they don't have the courage to talk to you like me."
"O-Oh." The girl's smile broke - she had a lovely smile - before continuing on, "Th-thank you for thinking of me, but I - well, I must refuse."
What was Gen talking about? All morning people had tried to talk to her - especially after her performance in Donkey-Butt yesterday. But, the woman seemed more interested than the floorboards than the attention of Gen, Box, Lick, and Quince. Believe it or not, the boys even picked up rags, brooms, and buckets themselves so that they could talk to her - funny, Leekah had never ever seen those four with so much as a towel in their hands. And a few others would join - much to the girl's anxious discomfort, but no one really stuck as hard as Leekah's son, Linus.
Linus, unlike Quince and the others, couldn't take a hint. He'd talk and talk and talk, but the girl didn't seem to mind after a while. A few times did the Blonde look over and laugh at the boy's poorly delivered jokes. Then came Priscilla, the youngest daughter, who could barely lift a bucket without stubbing her toe and crying. But, she joined the duo, and the dormitory started congratulating Leekah on her new cleaning crew.
Leekah's children bustled around the blonde, chatting and yelling. Yet, sleep weighed heavily on the girl's eyes - even with Priscilla pulling on her apron; Linus, getting up in her face to tell her something special. Poor girl - she was putting up a fight with smiles and nods, but when the kids darted away to refill her bucket, she leaned back on the wooden post and stared a thousand miles into the drizzle and fog. Her eyes fluttered to a close, her back went limp, and she nodded off once more.
If Leekah escorted her to bed, would she wake up from nightmares again?
Before she could decide, she caught her mysterious bodyguard watching from the corner of the room.
"P-Princess?" Zelda stirred to Link's voice - all hoarse and quiet.
Link, she mused - though sleep held her under. Link, the Hero of Time. Link, the Champion. Link, the lost boy. Link, her surviving friend - with a heart the size of Hyrule, arms as strong at Mount Lanaryu, and hands as gentle as the meadows of Necluda. His promised health made her swoon. Work and worry amounted to a standing man who lived and breathed in the New World. How many times had the stable master and she attended to him? Ignored his polite protesting? Redressed his bandages? Retrieved food and water when potions and remedies were few? Their victory for his health doubled with their Grand Win of the World in Hyrule fields. And although she was too tired to laugh and dance and spin like the child she never was, her joy fabricated a calm dwelling of her dreams.
An atrium of blonde trees and yellow daisies emerged around her. Bees zipped between petals as Zelda sat and enjoyed their buzzing from a shaded ledge where an oak tree calmly watched over her. From its bed, white roses peeked over and kissed her cheek. They smelled so fresh! Zelda sank her toes into the grass to find Silent Princess unfolding at her touch. And there, surrounded in the sensations from Link's victory - relief and deathly peace. There, after everything said and done, Zelda owned the proud love she had for the Hero. She had loved him since the beginning; since the truth of his character had struck her. So electrifying, it had been like lightning, shocking out the exhaust and burden, aligning her synapses to understand the glory shining behind this shy, worried boy.
"P-Princess Zelda?" she heard once again from beyond the atrium, "U-um, can I help you to y-your bed?"
Zelda looked for him in the white-framed windows overgrown with jasmine.
"But, I'm finally having a nice dream." She touched the daisies. "Oh Link, did you plant this garden?"
"G-Garden?"
It was a proud love, indeed. Shining and bold as the sun that bathed this atrium. Zelda laughed at herself, pondering how she could not force a man without memories to feel the same - how could he? But, after a century of loving every bit of him, she'd disgrace the Gods of the Skies (and herself) to hide such love in fear of rejection. No, the love raised a servant out of her - so whole and integral that she'd pack his bags if they parted ways tomorrow: she with the sheikah, Link on his own journey. She'd travel out to see him if he ever called upon her; she'd adorn his breakfast with her own cooking; she'd hold him if he ever needed help. And if he found someone else to fancy - and marry - then, well, she would plan the wedding and love the woman too. Would she get between him and a guardian blast? Of course. For, she had already done so.
The smell of him drifted into the atrium.
Where was he? She wanted to see him.
Of course, this garden was a dream. And Link was on the other side.
And while the Garden of her Soul dissipated before her - the stone walls evaporating, trees running away with the wind, flower petals blowing from their honeyed homes- Zelda decided that a New Life meant honesty. And honestly, she would own the love she harbored for the Hero of Time.
Zelda opened her eyes and smiled - Link was in front of her, whole and healthy. He squatted down, meeting her on the floor. His hair was tied back - a shame. Around his stiff shoulders hung a borrowed brown tunic with a scalloped hem at his sleeves.
"I apologize." She rubbed her eyes. Rose-kissed and pacified, she let the words fall out from her soul, "I was having a really pleasant dream thanks to you."
Poor Link - she looked up. He seemed mortified. Buckled lip, furrowed brows, blushing cheeks.
She laughed it away - cool it, Zelda. Overwhelming the poor boy was not what she wanted. Though, his life meant victory - and right now, all she needed was for him to breathe and blink and emote to feel confident. Yet, Missus's Lawdon's furtive glances from the counter on the far wall imposed petty guilt on Zelda. But, she happy to feel this joy after one hundred years of dread; delighted to own it; pleasured to control it for the sake of loving him.
But still, she could not suppress the smile - even as she reached down for the mop and sorely pushed herself to her feet.
Link seemed to recover, "Y-You looked tired. I-I," he stepped out of the way for her mopping, "I don't think I've seen you sleep."
Zelda stopped and looked around - a glorious scent was coming from Leekah's counter. Merchants chatted around her with steaming mugs. One with a bowl-shaped haircut was laying out some sort of tea.
"That smells amazing."
When it looked like Link would say something, the shouting of children took their attention to the outside. Bustling from the well, Linus barked directions at his younger sister as both lugged in a sloshing bucket of clean water.
"Okay!" Linus dropped the bucket at Link's feet without noticing that he was there. His sister peered up at the Hero, as if she was seeing a dead man walking. Link tried to smile. The little girl backed away shyly. Zelda laughed - she had never seen the stoic Hero around children. Well, maybe there had been few instances here and there; children were all over Castletown and colonies. But, Link was always on guard and in uniform, sworn to both the background and the silence. Perhaps he was as bad with children as Zelda was.
Before anything could be said, Linus laid out his plan for Zelda, "So, if you and me clean the floor and Pris wipes down the surfaces, then we will be able to get to the horses by this afternoon! Then you and I can work together in the stables, and you can meet Chancy, my pony! She small and white and brown and poofy and -"
"L-Linus?' Zelda tried to interrupt. Sure, Missus's Lawdon's son was very cute, but he had exhausted her short threshold for humoring children.
"And when the rain stops falling, I can show you how to ride her!"
"T-That sounds very nice, but Linus - " Zelda yawned, "How is your sister going to reach the surfaces? She is surely half their size."
Linus took a good look at his sister - a glint in his stare suggested that he did not want her around. She fumbled with her skirt, knowing.
While he came up with his answer, Zelda laid her lazy gaze back onto the Hero of her Soul. He studied her, his head cocked. Indeed, he was thinking something important, but Zelda was too tired to guess what.
"Have you rested?" He mouthed.
"Rested enough," she smiled from her heart, clutching her mop close to her chest, "T-Thank you, Link." She wanted to go on to say more - ask him how he was, ask him if he ate, ask him about just about anything! Anything she wanted! But then the smell from the drinks on the counter swept her up once again.
It was then that Missus Lawdon noticed Zelda staring. As if she had caught a cue, the woman then loaded a silver tray with two mugs and carried it their way.
"Has my cleaning crew adopted a fourth member?" Said she, holding the tray over her swollen belly. Missus Lawdon looked Link up and down. "Good to see you up with the living."
"He's not with us, Ma," Came Linus.
But, besides her son's comment, Link honored the mother with a nod- a deep 'thank you' in his eyes.
Tickled, Zelda inspected the mugs on her tray. Its sharp scent burned her eyes. Strong. It dazzled her.
"You know," Missus Lawdon pushed a mug into Zelda's hand before turning back to Link, "You boy made my inn a lot of money. One look at your sorry sight made my men want to live it up. Do you know how late I was up making drinks? Don't go giving me a sorry face, handsome. 'Was not saying this to make you feel bad. But, if you get injured again, feel free to come in and bleed over another piece of furniture I own. Make me another fortune! And your Hen here," she turned to Zelda as she was sniffing the mug, "I'm sure she'll clean up the mess."
"U-Um," Zelda stuttered - the words 'Your Hen' dizzying her. She tried to compose herself like the professional she was, "S-Sorry to ask, but is there any alcohol in this?"
"No, but would you like some?"
"O-Oh, n-no, thank you though."
Missus Lawdon quirked a brow, "Ever had it before, Honey?"
"It." Zelda meditated, feeling too tired to lie. Her insides drummed - what was this? New age tea? Magic?
"C-Coffee." Link caught her cue.
"Oh, Coffee," Zelda mused. "Oh, of course, coffee." And she chugged it down like someone who had never tasted coffee before.
Zelda, who indeed never had coffee before, paused to worship. Coffee was amazing! Bitter, but amazing. Her insides jumped awake like a rooster at the crack of dawn. Her head thumped! Her heart pounded! She peered back into her cup, swearing it was magic before checking Link. Has he had this before? Surely, there was no coffee in the castle!
Before she could betray herself, Leekah reached over and fiddled with the hem of Zelda's tunic. "Honey, you need something warmer to wear? That pink blouse could probably use a wash."
Zelda checked - and yes, she had also dripped coffee onto the chest of it.
"I've got it!" Linus interrupted, "Pris will use the step-up ladder! Mom, can you get her the ladder? Me and Lady have some cleaning to do!"
"Is he too much?" His mother whispered. "Just let me know if he's too much."
Before Zelda could say otherwise, Linus interrupted, "Ma, Pris needs the ladder!"
With her newfound - energy? Awakeness? Something! Well, the something aligned Zelda's thinking. In a second, she crafted a speech that would persuade Linus to keep his little sister in their company. Something about being a good brother and leader.
But a voice came from behind her, "I-I can help her."
Zelda turned - Link?
Link eyed the little girl, "U-Um, I can help her clean -the counters."
The child's chubby face broke into a bashful smile. She grabbed a rag and pushed it into his hands.
Sure, this was a fine day to be Princess Zelda - the first out of three miserable ones. Evil felt like a distant fog - out there hovering on the horizon but refusing to invade. Caffeinated by three mugs of coffee, Zelda shoved down the lid on that mental box of horrid memories and kicked away as she collected the dust that Linus had swept up.
Listening to the weakening rain on the canopy, she soaked in the feelings of life. She praised the ache in her shoulder and the pit in her stomach, telling her that she was hungry. She loved the feeling of her knees on solid wood. As well, she delighted in the heat on her head thanks to the handkerchief she wore. She loved that it could get dirty and that she'd need to wash it soon. And while losing her breath from the exciteent, Zelda took in the smell of soap and coffee. Smiling, she then doused her century-frozen hands into clean water buckets and wringing out rags.
"So I'm a pretty good cleaner," Linus went off, "I clean all the time for my ma and pa so they don't have to clean while baby brother is on the way."
"That's so sweet of you," Zelda said. She was getting the hang of talking to kids. Was it all humoring? It felt dishonest. She peeked over at Link and Priscilla across the way. She had sprayed his rags while he wiped down the last of their surfaces. They seemed to be talking. Imagine that - Link, having a conversation with a little girl.
Should Zelda be more engaging?
"So, tell me... What do you like to do when cleaning?" She asked.
"Mopping, always mopping, " the boy lied.
"Is that right?"
"I mop every day."
"Every day?" Funny, he had not mopped for the first three days.
But still, Zelda handed over the mop and watched. And thankfully, he was as uncoordinated as her - whipping the mop around like a dance partner. Both had never mopped a floor until this week. Delighting in her like-minded company, Zelda took back the mop and conjured the image of her saintly servants from forever ago. Then, stepping into their shoes, she proceeded to clean.
When they waded into a new territory beneath the tent - the far right corner of the tent, more specifically - occupants sitting on the ground smiled and began collecting their stuff before congregating in a new part of the room. But, amidst the shuffling, the whole room began to notice one thing. They stopped and cooed and looked up towards the top of the tent.
Linus noticed it too.
"It stopped raining!" He yelled. And the whole room seemed to "ooo!" and "awh!" Then, suddenly, the little boy raced away from her side and shot through the groups of merchants and guests. Swinging out the tent flap, he stuck out a palm. Others busied around him - mother and grandpas and burly men doing the same. Even Link was pulled over by Priscilla's tiny hand.
A good day, Zelda mused, watching Link stand in the company of Hyrule's survivors.
A good day, indeed.
One that seemed so normal.
Her eyes watered; she rubbed away the tears, knowing that they could not stay there for much longer.
By late noon, the clouds broke. Zelda sat back on a damp haystack to watch it happen.
"Care for a towel?" The man with the lute offered after setting one down for himself.
"O-Oh," she took it and laid it down beneath her, "Thank you!"
The musician then lost himself in his strumming.
In rhythm to the music, the blinding light laid itself down on the land and trees and distant mountains - too brilliant, it was hard to look at as it shone against the dark wash of the receding storm. Zelda had to shield her eyes. Yet, people played around her in the glimmering shine of sleek, wet surfaces. Women bathed their babies in the warmth. Men cleared Missus's Lawdon's path of thick mud. Others helped themselves to the chit-chat in the teeming mist while families treated their steeds to time away from the stables. Linus even rode by - showing off his pony, but before Zelda could allow herself the freedom to run out to him, she peered back into the tent for Link.
Could she still see him from out here? She shouldn't get too far away from him.
As she looked, his eyes suddenly snapped away from her - as if he had already been looking. Guilty, he nervously cocked his head, busying himself on his task. He had begun to pack - and before Zelda could join him, he peered over at her one last time.
Zelda thought nothing more of it; he was a great guard. And surely, the time to be a guard was approaching quickly.
"I-I'm worried." He muttered when she approached - matter of fact, the guard in him proposing their next step. A bed of empty potion bottles and dirty ripped-up wares stood between them. She spied her white dress and the Champion's tunic - both torn and stained red - hiding beneath Link's pillow. They garments symbolized the truth: The Hero and the Princess had defeated the Calamity - and every bit of nature would proselytize when the storm cleared out for good.
"You are thinking about the castle."
He looked up to say something else but instead searched her eyes. He looked so anxious.
"N-No one will think it was us - most likely." She bundled her dress with the tunic and handed it to him for his immediate packing.
"D-Did you want to wait for the sheikah…Y-Your highness? I can get us there if not."
"Wait -"
He froze.
"Y-You do not need to call me that, Link."
"Princess Zelda." He corrected himself.
"That's fine. Or Zelda." She handed him some empty bottles for packing, "Or whatever you are comfortable with."
"...Your highness."
She let out a laugh, "Are you sincerely comfortable with Your Highness? Nothing sounds more stuffy than that."
He cracked a smile, "W-What did… What did the other champions call you?'
Urbosa dawned upon her - "little bird" she heard from her mouth. Zelda paused, in honor of the memory.
"P-Princess? I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"
"No, it's fine!" She said all too quickly, "Some called me Zelda - well, when I needed correction. Like a parent saying your full name when you were in trouble. And nicknames? Well, let me see. I had a few from Urbosa… and my Father. But, you know, those are a bit embarrassing. So, I'll keep those to myself. But, just, well - just don't call me Your Highness."
He nodded.
"U-Unless 'Your Highness' makes you feel comfortable!"
"Princess Zelda." He said to himself before smiling. And when the silence settled in, he bit down a laugh and awkwardly gestured to himself, "Link."
"Oh," Zelda laughed. Odd merriment loosened her hold on herself. She playfully took his hand and shook it, "It's nice to finally meet you, Link."
Suddenly, there came a commotion from outside.
Link, looking off towards it, squeezed her hand and pulled her close. Only too late did he realize he was still holding her hand.
Zelda could make out a man's voice, "Is that the castle out there?'
On cue, Link pulled Zelda around the bed and secured her at his side against the tent - 'lest anyone should come in with the answer to the three-day puzzle they had imposed on the stable guests. Zelda pushed out the thought; a communal spirit or hurry possessed them. Both rummaged through their items and dumped the wares into the bag for Zelda to seal. Link grabbed his sword.
"I shall get the horse!" She said, rushing out.
He grabbed her hand before she could get too far.
Silence fell. She looked down at his hand in hers.
He quickly released, "Don't go beyond where I can't see you. G-Get help. From Lawdon?"
She nodded - heart in her lungs - before limping off to the entrance.
"Lawdon?" She called out, but no one was around.
The group of people headed out towards the hillside - looking for the Grandest Treasure buried out in the Hyrulean view. A liberated castle stood against a clean, blue horizon. Even Linus with his pony had trotted after his family. And while the people had congregated to the view, they had left the stable grounds utterly empty. Cards abandoned on the wet ground, money laying out on the front desk, the musician's lute leaning precariously on the haystack.
Zelda's heart was with them - what it would be like to see the castle in their eyes. She was tempted to go up there too and imagine herself a civilian in their shoes. And, She'd "ooh" and "awh" with them, as if she was experiencing it for the first time; as if she had been born in the fields; as if she had only known that awful monster for only seventeen years. And when she looked upon it in the company of Lawdon, his wife, and their kids, then maybe their reactions would reduce her hundred years of horrors. Maybe she'd learn to be a peasant; maybe the Princess and all guilt-wrenching memories would flee from her.
But, a deep pain stirred. No, she'd never escape the Princess. She'd never outrun the Calamity. She could wash her skin bare, but she could never wash her hands clean from the slaughterhouse of a past.
Zelda scampered back into herself.
Alone, she thought to yell back to Link, but then a dark presence emerged from the corner of her eye.
Was she dreaming?
A nightmare? She instinctively grabbed the lute as a weapon as she spun to confront it.
A man stood in the shadow of the tent. Yet, he said nothing - as if he had been prematurely caught.
The messenger? Zelda studied his face.
Yes, it was - the man they had hired to tell the sheikah.
Confused, she lowered her lute.
Something was off. Beside him was a hole that had been freshly cut - directly across the puncture was Link at the bed.
"What are you doing?" She demanded. Hopefully, Link would hear her.
He stood frozen in her company,
The sudden sound of wheels sloshing through the mud stole her attention. Behind man, Zelda could see a dark wagon rushing over the hillside. But, no Sheikah sat in the driver's seat. Instead sat a man in a black mask whipping their charging horse towards them; on the roof was another man with a hood pulled over his eyes.
And in a cascading panic, Zelda spotted the horse's sweat, the iron locks on the wagon windows and doors, a knife in the driver's holster, a blade with his accomplice, and ropes and gags in their hands.
Just then, the messenger began to whimper, "M-My friends said I could get more than just one-thousand rupees."
Suddenly, without thinking twice, Zelda cried out for Link.