The first snowflake

Dear Gae, the traitor

Like I said, you're a traitor.

I'm still waiting for your visit; I'm still waiting for Manroy to yell your name from the top of the wall to open the gates for you.

"I'll come see you many times," you promised, "I'll go before the first leaf of autumn falls, and I'll have visited you several times before the last one has fallen."

The trees of the Eagle's Forest have already gone from golden to brown and ochre, have begun to populate the paths of fallen leaves, and you haven't visited me.

I wanted to show you many things in the Nest. It's a cosy place, a place which gives me peace and security. I feel like when you and I were hiding in the royal gardens and plan a joke, or when we used to drink, when you used to sneak into my quarters. It's like that smell of intimacy, I don't know how to define it better, I only lacked you to enjoy all this because at first I felt very lonely.

I've befriended Manroy, Frea and Mabet, I've already told you about them in my previous letter (which, by the way, I'm still waiting for your answer from). I feel less alone with them. Manroy is teaching me to take care of the orchard, sometimes I help him with that. If Father saw me, he'd pinch his beard off. Frea makes an apple cider that is soft, barely alcoholic, but well preserved can shade the Necluda wine. Now I confirm my suspicions that Mabet's in love with me. I know he is, and he knows I know. It's not an obstacle, on the contrary, he and I are always best friends. We go for a run through the forest, to pick mushrooms, to stalk the deer that come down from the mountains to the lake to drink water at nightfall. The problem is what Father sometimes says, "the only thing that can blind an intelligent man is love." Not that Mabet is especially intelligent, he's sharp, but a little clumsy sometimes, the thing is, yes... I suffered a little mishap as a consequence of his infatuation, but I'm almost recovered from it. And of course, I don't blame him at all! He is too cute; he was the only one defending my honour in first place. This was just an unlucky accident. That's why it took me a little longer to finish this letter. You don't have to worry about the mishap, don't even think about mentioning it to Kahen or Father! I'm really fine, I promise.

Regarding the question you asked me: No, I'm not expecting a baby. For a while I thought I was, you know, what I told you in previous letters, but I can confirm to you that by some quirk of nature I'm not pregnant. Much better this way. I don't want a baby born to a marriage contract. So now you can stop looking for absurd names, and NO, NEVER and under no circumstances would I call Richard Worm-Neck of the Eagle's Nest my baby, as a tribute to "what could be", even if I had suddenly drunk all the wine from the Necluda region. I don't think they're acceptable either: Zeldine (if she's a girl), Impa (surely you drank when you suggested that to me), Gaeporhino, Kahen II or Dino (do you intend to offend the goddess Din or what?).

You were right with Link (don't dare to say 'I told you').

Despite how much he confuses me sometimes, despite how weird it felt to be with him alone when we arrived here, I now feel different. There's a kind of innocence in him that it's too funny, he makes me laugh. He doesn't understand it (not the times it's happened to me), even I don't understand it myself, but he gets me laugh out loud. Would I have laughed so much with Richard? I doubt it. Sometimes Richard was pedant, too pedant, he would read those syrupy poems that managed to sleep the sheep and if I laughed at his cheesiness he would be angry, but in an unpleasant way. Link also gets grumpy or confused when I laugh, but he's not really angry at me, in him it's a kind of "barbarian bewilderment" that all he gets is that he makes me laugh even more.

Link has spent a lot of time out of home because he had some business to settle with the people of Nightfall and the clans of the mountains. Captain's stuff and... but it's normal, you don't have to worry, I'm not worried anymore. Even if you get rumours that there are problems in Nightfall or the West, you don't have to worry, I assure you everything is fine, and there's no more reliable source of information than your sister. I've promised myself that from now on I will support Link with all the politics, we have to work together as a team on this, it's the only way for him not to be so busy and overloaded with worries alone.

I'd tell you a lot more things, but I'm mad at you, so make use of that imagination of yours or just get upset.

Deep down I want you to be okay (very, VERY, deep down) and I also miss Father and Kahen. Don't you dare read this letter to them. What the hell, don't you dare read them ANY of the letters I send you.

Please don't be lazy and write back to me. I miss you.

Loves you so much,

Lady Zelda of Eagle's Nest

"Zelda?"

"I'll be right out!"

It was Link. It had only been four days since my mushroom accident, but he came religiously to pick me up every morning, with that worrying face as if he was afraid of finding me lying in bed again, or something even worse.

He had kept his promise not to go around, as I asked him. The thing about communication it's being a bit difficult for him, he doesn't speak much, and I speak and bomb him with questions all the time.

It took me more than I thought to be fully recovered. I sense that it takes time for the organism to completely expel the poison from the Eyes of Death, just as it took time for its effects to appear on me. I spent my days resting in bed, I almost didn't leave my quarters so I could barely see him spite of his morning visits or when it was time to eat. He always came to see me eat, silently, his blue eyes wide open to ensure I was eating and not getting worse again.

He explained everything about the barbarian revolts against us. I hadn't foreseen it, but it made all the sense in the world. Would Father have contemplated that possibility? Would Father have thought he was putting his daughter in the wolf's mouth? Goddess, I don't know what to think. I always thought I'd been protected, ever since I was born, always, Father protected me when I didn't want to marry Prince Ganondorf. But then the Blood Marriage came, and Father didn't hesitate to accept that blood pact. I've always thought Father was an intelligent man with the ability to see beyond than others, didn't he foresee that my union with Link would anger the peoples of the West? Or did he know it and took the risk anyway?

"Are you all right?" Link asked when I showed up.

He looked too funny, his hair completely crushed and pointed on the side on which he had slept.

"Look," I grabbed his paw and took it to my face, "eyes, nose, cheeks. Everything's still in place, Captain Link."

He took a step back, sulking, and I let out a laugh. He was very reluctant to have physical contact. Obviously I had been too, I was even reluctant to eye contact, that's why we were avoiding each other for weeks in the Nest. That's what our forced wedding night was to blame. But my accident changed everything for me, made me realize that fear only leads to more problems and misunderstandings. If necessary, I would strive to make him know that he no longer frightened me in the slightest and that I was willing to collaborate in all political crises, he did not have to face all that alone, he too was a victim. And… Link saved me, he didn't want me to die and get out of this inconvenient situation, that's all.

"Would you like to have breakfast with me and the others?"

Link shrugged and followed me downstairs. The kitchen smelled of bread and freshly made sponge cake when we arrived. There were Mabet and Frea, Manroy used to have breakfast in his cabin and go out early for logs to make firewood.

"Good morning, my beautiful child! You shine like the sun! I'm cooking something good for you. Do you think you can eat this?" Frea asked me, "It's cranberry jam, I made it just for you. That witch-

"Frea…" Link scolded her.

"That charming old lady told me the berries and all the forest fruits do good for you."

They both made me smile, him being so serious and her pretending to like that Mopai.

"I think I'm already perfectly recovered," I winked at Mabet, who watched me all the time with a shy grin.

"Link, you can serve yourself anything but that," Frea pointed the tip of the knife in the oven, "it's a roast for dinner, not for now. Do you get it? I don't want to see you around, trying to nibble on it while I'm not watching. I want to celebrate a good dinner now that our Zelda is recovered."

Link just looked at the stone oven and blinked, his face blank. We all started having breakfast, it was the first time we had breakfast together in the kitchen since my accident, I didn't know where Link would eat regularly.

"So… what's the plan?" I asked Mabet, looking out of the corner of my eye, "shall we go into the forest today?"

I noticed some tension, my big mouth betrayed me.

"I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, "Link, I'd forgotten about those barbarians."

"No, it's not… Are you sure you are recovered to go outside?"

"I feel good, really", I hurried to say, "and I need to be out for a while, breath fresh air and… I… but… if it's dangerous we can stay here, in the fortress."

"You can go out to the forest." He mumbled, avoiding my gaze.

"Is there no danger anymore?"

"I'd be calmer if you don't go, but I can't forbid it," he said. I was very surprised by that change in his attitude, "as long as you don't talk to anyone strange and don't get any food around."

He sounded the same as a frightened mother. But I also thought he was sad or dull, I couldn't say. He needed a change in his routine too, it would be good for him.

"Why don't you come with us? Unless you already had plans for today..."

"Well, there's firewood to store and… there's always something to do around, some work to be finished, and-

"Alright then. Link, Mabet and I. We'll go in the afternoon, as usual" I went ahead, before he continued rumbling excuses.

I lost sight of Link during the rest of the morning. I figured he'd be helping Manroy with some work that had to be done on the wall. Old rocks gnawed by the rains and moss, trees whose branches threatened to break, areas that were too muddy... I was amazed at the amount of work that went on with so few people maintaining the Eagle's Nest.

In the late afternoon Mabet and I waited for Link to arrive, by the wall. Poor Mabet kept apologising to me about the mushrooms, I told him it wasn't his fault, who would have thought that someone would try to hurt us so badly? The poor boy always nodded and smiled, but I know deep down he still hadn't forgiven himself. Link soon appeared, he came with a bow and a quiver over his shoulder.

"Ready?" I asked when he reached us.

He stared at me silently and in a strange way, as he sometimes did, as if he was making a kind of evaluation that made me feel really uneasy.

"These are my clothes going into the woods," I clarified, feeling warm on my cheeks, "you wouldn't expect me to come out here in a dress or a corset, would you?"

"Where did you get them?"

"I sewed them," I admitted, "I found fabrics and Frea gave me this leather vest. Is it wrong or what?"

And if it was wrong, I didn't care. I didn't understand why the hell he always had to look at me in such weird way, it was really disturbing. I only consented to criticism of one person: Amy. And she was thousands of miles away at the moment.

"Do the princesses sew?"

"Of course, we do." I learnt it for a completely different purpose that he didn't need to understand.

"You could pass as someone from the mountains."

"Good. We'll run up the hill in the southeast," I said, deflecting the conversation, "you know where the trail is?"

"Yes," Mabet and Link said.

We ran along the forest path, Link running with me and Mabet behind. Feeling the air in and out of my lungs again was refreshing, I'd lost some of my fitness after the poisoning, but I felt strong and decided to increase the pace a little. Mabet lingered a bit, but Link ran as if he was walking. I pushed harder and harder, and he caught up with no problem. He was such a… Our race became frantic. I could be very fast, Impa always said: "If you were born a sheikah, you'd be a messenger. No one would step on you." Link was trying to keep up with me. Let's see if he was that fast going uphill. I sprinted nimbly up the hill, among bushes and trees, the wind whistling in my face. I reached the top with my pulse racing, feeling victorious, but when I looked up, there he was, impassive, staring at the horizon.

"Hell, you're going to kill me," said Mabet, who showed up exhausted, seconds later.

"I can run much faster," I claimed. I thought barbarians would be slow and heavy, but of course... Link possessed some agility. The same one that showed the day we were attacked by those Ikana wraith.

"I'm sure you can," Link teased. So… he knew how to tease. "There are good views from here. There's not much distance to the lake, but it's not a good path to walk there. It's better to go west if you feel like going there any day."

"Would you like to go to the lake, Mabet?" I grinned at him.

"I've been there with my grandparents sometimes."

"Can you swim?"

"No."

"Goddess, no one here can swim. Such a beautiful lake wasted. I'd teach you if you want."

"Sure, I'd really like to," he smiled, shyly, his ears now fully red.

I looked at my husband in case by chance he was able to pick up the hint, but he kept inspecting the horizon.

"We should go back. It gets dark earlier, it can be dangerous." he just said. Perhaps he didn't even hear the conversation.

We set our course back, walking this time like normal people do (at Mabet's suggestion). He and Link were a little ahead of us. Mabet asked him about the barbarian revolts, and Link didn't tell him anything he hadn't told me before. That it was only a matter of time before they forgot all about the wedding with Hyrule, that they were greedy for the gold of their lords, that they had not the courage to make a serious attempt against us, that they would get fed up and everything would go back to normal. But Link dodged the subject of the man who sold the mushrooms to Mabet. It was weird, it didn't fit, it was too big a dare in his eyes. I know he would want to get to the bottom of it, though he didn't say so openly.

That night we all had the celebration dinner together, at the fortress. Frea had cooked roast to feed an army and made more of her cider. I liked the idea that for the first time we all shared the same table without tension or arguments, it felt nice, warm. I was wrong about my husband's appetite. He was able to eat twice as much as I thought, the biggest roast ration was for him, and he ate a whole loaf of bread, cheese, and other things Frea had put on the table.

"My bones freeze, the nights are getting longer and colder." Manroy said, "I lit the chimneys of your quarters as you walked through the forest. I hope the rooms will be warm enough."

"Thank you, Manroy. I've seen some grey clouds too, they looked more like winter than autumn," Link reflected.

"Tomorrow I'll have to go to Nightfall, to see my son. If you need me to bring anything from there, you just have to tell me," Manroy told us.

"No, everything's fine," Link rushed the last bite of his plate.

"Then if you don't mind, we'll retire to the cabin now. We need to rest for the trip, we'll get up early."

We enjoyed the dinner a lot, but everyone left to rest earlier than expected, Mabet complaining a lot to his grandparent, since he wanted to stay a little more. I was in my quarters for a while, trying to entertain myself with a book, trying to get sleepy. But it was still early, and I was getting bored. I could think of something to do, I wished Gae was with me at the Nest. That thought only brough many other sad thoughts and I needed to stop it.

I decided to try my luck with Link, why not? We had many pending conversations. And there were few things I knew about him; it was time to learn something more. He seemed more open to me since what happened to me, so it was a good chance. He wasn't a tough barbarian. He was more innocent than he looked and was totally harmless. He appeared to be more gross than he really was, he even tried to make fun of me! His seriousness was all just a kind of facade to hide behind. Besides, he looked dull and sad, that was undoubted. Maybe a little chat would cheer him up too.

I went to fetch him to his quarters, knocked at the door, and he ushered me in with a sort of inviting grunt; I simply opened and entered, for his door was not locked. I was surprised to find him reading too, sitting by the fire of his chimney. Did the barbarians read books? His mother had a library, but she was from Hyrule.

"Is something wrong?" he stood up, alarmed. I guess he expected to receive Manroy or anybody else.

"No! It's okay. It's just that... I…" I hesitated. It started to feel weird, maybe it hasn't been a good idea. "I was bored, it's early to go to sleep, isn't it?"

"Oh."

I felt a bit embarrassed. He blinked and stood there in silence, his fingers marking the pages of his reading.

"Well, you're busy, so I don't bother you anymore."

"No, no," he finally reacted, "do you need something?"

"Would you like to join me?"

"Join you?"

I practically had to pull him. Where are we going. Where are you taking me. It's cold. I swallowed all his complaints and grunts without flinching. It was too late for me to feel weird or embarrassed, now I had to finish what I started. You couldn't say I didn't make an effort to try to befriend him, but Link was even harder to connect with than Mabet.

I dragged him to the dark cellar in the garden. While I snooped around, he shone the lamp on the shelves, where the bottles lay belly-up with a pile of cobwebs.

"We shouldn't touch anything here," he grumbled.

"Are you afraid of the ghosts in the cellar?"

"Ghosts?"

"Then don't be a coward. Oh! This one looks good."

"Ghosts are not what… besides, how do you know that one looks good?"

"Intuition."

I might get poisoned a second time, but it would be worth it. Then I had to drag him to my quarters, where he hesitated before crossing the threshold.

"Link, help me to grab some blankets, the warmest ones you see,"

So, I realised one of the ideas that had been forming in my head for days: to have a glass of wine at the top of the Eagle's Nest.

It was very cold when we climbed to the top of the tower, but the blankets were quite thick, and the wine would help to warm us up. Link put the lamp on the floor and lowered the flame, there was no need for that much light. The bad thing was that there were clouds, and you could only see the black sky and few distant stars among the dark, cottony holes. I poured him a small glass and poured myself another, not too much, it was okay to start with short drinks. The wine smelled good, like earth and old cherries.

"To the Eagle's Nest," I toasted. He arched an eyebrow and clinked his glass with distrust, "Mmmm, not bad wine!"

"This wine must be a million years old," he growled.

"It's good for me, although we could ask Manroy to bring something younger from Nightfall," I grinned. He took another sip, still muted. I was going to have a hard time unscrewing his words, "this is the most beautiful place in the whole fortress, I've been planning to come here for a long time."

"Why didn't you come before? You're free to go anywhere in the fortress."

"I... You know? Gae often came to my quarters, after dinner. We'd have a glass of wine and talk about things that had happened to us that day. About things that don't matter," I said, dodging his question. I missed Gae so much…

"Prince Gaepora looks like a good boy."

"Indeed, he is, even if he doesn't visit his sister as promised," I confessed, with some bitterness. I didn't expect to start by telling him something so personal. Anyway…

"He'll be here soon. It's rained a lot and it's not safe to travel these days."

"Do you think my father knows, Link? About the barbarians and all that, about the mushrooms..."

"Didn't you inform him?"

"No. I didn't want to worry him", I gave the wine a sip. It was rough and warmed my lips with just two sips.

"I haven't said anything to Dad either. Too many concerns for parents in such a short time."

Suddenly I realised I hadn't heard from Chief Grenmak since I settled in the Nest. I assumed Link would have gone to visit him in one of his many absences.

"How's your family? I met the twins at the wedding."

"They're all fine, thank you. To calm people's protests, Dad wants to host a winter banquet. We host it every winter, but this year he's planning to celebrate it earlier than other years. We'll have to attend too."

"I didn't doubt it," I smiled. He was still uncomfortable and a little tense.

"My... my stepmother gave me a few things for you, I'd almost forgotten. They're stored in a chest in my quarters, you can go and grab them any time. If I don't tell her I delivered them to you, she'd be mad at me."

"Why didn't you tell me before? I love presents, whatever they are."

"They are... were things for the baby."

"Oh, I see," I drank the whole glass and poured another one. He did the same.

"I find it very difficult to talk about babies now," he admitted, with a shy smile. It was almost a miracle to notice it, but he smiled.

"Goddess, thank you for saying so. Me too. They're the last thing in my head."

"It would have been weird, having a baby with someone you don't know at all."

"Very weird."

"Normal is not that."

"Not at all."

"It's not that I don't want to have children someday, it's that-

"I know" I interrupted him, "in fact, I've always been very naive to think about it, before I met you. I thought if I married Prince Richard, I could plan on having a baby. I wasn't going to have a baby right away, but if we decided over time, it would be easy and possible, a matter of planning. Like when you decide to make yourself a new dress, or what you're going to eat the next day. Now I know how hard it is to force things... even more so if there is a little innocent life involved."

"That Prince Richard is... is he the guy with a big palace at sea?"

He made me laugh. Like all the other times, he was stunned by my laughter, and I thought it was very funny.

"I have something to confess, Link. Since we've been a little honest, I'll tell you that Prince Richard wasn't my fiancé, as I told you."

I waited for a complaint or something for lying him, but under his no reaction I continued explaining myself.

"I intended to marry him, but... then Kahen appeared bloodied in the castle. The western news came like a fire, burning everything, and I didn't get a chance to formalize an engagement with Richard, even though I had the intention to do it."

"I'm sorry, it's hard to give up on who you love."

"I don't love Richard," I laughed again, if Gae heard it, "but he was a good candidate to be my husband."

"Why?" He frowned.

"He wasn't a bad man," Link twisted his head, still not understanding, "I didn't love him, but he was a nice person, goodhearted, polite… He would have let me go ahead with my projects, to live life in peace."

"Were you planning on marrying a man you didn't love?"

I felt a kind of jumble in my stomach. He missed the whole point. Why did my perfect idea sound so absurd when I tell him?

"Yes, well. It's normal. It was a good political union, even Father approved it."

"Normal?"

"Of course, he is a noble man, wise and with excellent manners."

Link took a sip of his wine while looking at me as if I were speaking in an unknown language.

"I understand that there are some forced political unions," he said then, "but planning it like this for no reason sounds weird."

"It's not in Hyrule," I said, as my cheeks burned. I didn't know why my idea suddenly seemed so ridiculous. Peace and politics are the first thing, isn't it? "That reminds me of something, an unfinished conversation with you."

Perhaps changing the topic was a good idea. He ignored what royalty means, that's it. He arched his eyebrow again and said nothing, just curled up a little more in the blanket. His cheeks were pink, and it wasn't for the wine, it was very cold up there.

"It's about our marriage," I started to say. The conversation was easy in my head, but in those moments and having him face to face, it seemed to me as if I was jumping into the void. He stared at me, only the Goddess knows what could be in his barbarian head. I broke the uncomfortable silence again with more chattering. Anyway, if we wanted to be friends, it must be cleared up, no matter how embarrassing the conversation might be.

"I'm flexible with you, Link, just as I would have been if I'd married Richard," he blinked a couple of times, and I drank more wine, my mouth went dry, "I mean... if... if there's anyone you love, I get it. But I don't like lies, Link. Anything is possible within a few terms we can agree together, but I wouldn't want to dirt my family's name or honour. A single oversight in that regard would lead to a new diplomatic problem."

"Lies? What lies?"

"I understand that you had your life before you met me, I don't want to be blamed for taking anything away from you. So, if you decide to be with someone you love, I won't put obstacles. The only condition about it is that you have to tell me. I don't like to hear rumours or insinuations from other people, it's very unpleasant. I'm sympathetic, you know? But I don't admit deception or betrayal."

He was totally bewildered, and I just wanted to disappear. I shouldn't have dealt with it until much later, when we were more confident with each other. How on earth was I so clumsy? I should have controlled the conversation much better; I was more than used to control conversations. I was the damn master of controlling conversations.

"I made a promise, do you think I lack my promises?" he asked, his brow furrowed as if it was about to break.

"No, no! I didn't mean that."

"Why do you think I'm with someone else?" He used a dangerous tone, the one he used in our arguments.

"You don't understand me, Link."

"Who has told you that? Was it Fridd?"

"No one, I was just wondering, it's normal that you had your life before this marriage of convenience."

"It was Fridd," he determined, and drank all his wine.

"Never mind, forget everything I've said, please. Now we are ok, right? Let's try to get along, that's all."

Then, from the dark void above our heads, a snowflake fell, floated like a feather until it perched on the edge of his glass.

"I was in love with a girl from Nightfall, before all this happened," he said then, breaking a long silence. I saw him slide his finger through the glass to the snowflake, which melted with his contact.

"Oh, from Nightfall."

Everything matched, then. I disguised it to make it look like it was the first time I'd heard anything like that.

"I never dared ask her to marry me," he waved his head in frustration, "I was about to, but then all this happened, and all is over now."

"All is over?"

"I keep my promises," he reiterated, almost angry.

"I know, I don't question that. But-

"Fridd's not a bad guy, but sometimes he's an idiot. He has a grudge against the people of Hyrule. You shouldn't believe everything you hear from him."

"Even if you keep your promises, which I certainly know you do, now that we've had this talk, you can keep that in mind. That you have that option." I tried to sound reassuring, to avoid him getting angry or tense again.

"I don't want to hurt Eve. She must be free to marry someone who doesn't cause her problems, with whom she can live happily, without hiding. We've talked about it, she's free and it's all over."

I understood the sadness in his eyes much better now, it wasn't all my fault, nor was it because he had to "deal" with me. I may have been a little to blame for his misfortune, but that was also what it was about, a broken heart. I felt a kind of pang to see him so resigned.

"You may think so now, but you could change your mind, Link" I said, trying to cheer him up," and... if you ever love someone else or want Eve back, you can tell me. I'll support you; I promise. I'll do the same just in case I'm in love with someone."

"Who wants to live a double life full of secrets and hidden from the world? Happiness is not that." He took a long drink to his glass. Again, he made my ideas seem absurd to me, no one had questioned me like that in my whole life.

"Well, even if it doesn't fix everything, if I fall in love with someone I'll tell you, it's a promise of marriage," I said, reaching him out to seal the pact. It was a gesture I often repeated with Gae, when we swore to avenge each other's death with all our cruelty or promised not to drink any more wine for a week (we never kept it). Link stared at me but did not shake my hand.

"It doesn't make sense, Zelda."

"We don't have to give up our dreams so easily, Link, it's our turn to live, but it turns out that you... you are..."

"I… what?"

Oh, no. My big mouth and his weird look were there again.

"I… well. I guess I feel like you can change things," I said, and I felt warm in my cheeks, "you're one of those people who achieve things. You're one of those fighters."

I don't know why I saw him like that, I hardly knew him, it was more of a feeling. I don't even know why I had to say something like that.

"You seem quite capable too," he smiled at me. It was a real and visible smile this time. I felt a little troubled and avoided his blue eyes.

"Well, I'm more of a talker than anything else, says Gae."

"Alright then. I'll have to accept your pact. I promise to tell you if I fall in love with someone, even if it's useless and makes no sense," he said, all of a sudden. I felt him shake my hand, his hand burned, and I tried unsuccessfully to keep my cheeks from burning too. End of story. No more drink, all the awkwardness was because of that old, poisoned wine. That evening with Link was unlike any, any of the times I'd drank with Gae.

"I promise too," I tried to smile, though I didn't feel able to face his gaze.

"And we'll never talk about such weird things again. Never." He said then.

I couldn't help but laugh, the wine almost came out of my nose.

"What? What did I say now?"

"You're very funny Link, you wouldn't understand... " I said, still chuckling.

"Whatever," he growled, "You're cold as ice. We should go back inside."

"Yes, you're right, sir."

He finally freed my hand and we stood up. It was time to stop, I needed to pull myself together and feel like it was me again, before he kept throwing away all my plans and ideas for the future with such ease. It was ridiculous!

"Will we come back here more often?" He asked.

"It's not mandatory, obviously. It's just up to the circumstances. Today I felt a bit bored, and since Gae was not around... You know." I felt lonely and missed my family. Thankfully this time my big mouth didn't betray me. "But…, Link, you don't have to follow me at all if you have any other things to-

"Okay, tomorrow then. You pick me up in my quarters." he decided, shaking some snowflakes that had fallen on his shoulders, "there may be a better wine out there than this concoction."

I went down the stairs behind him, somewhat dizzy, with an alien feeling rolling in my stomach. Not that it was the first time I drank wine, but I looked like a beginner. Barbarian aged wine was different than anything in Hyrule, that might be the reason for my poor control of the situation. Next time I'll be aware and will control myself and the conversation much better.

Once in my quarters I looked out the window, opened it and let the night cold clear me a little, I needed it. The views overlooked the south, the forest, the lake. Beyond would be the Rito Village, Hyrule's castle, but my eyes couldn't go through such distance, not even in my imagination. Would Gae miss me too?

Notes:

I confess that I am adding extra content to the dialogues I created in the past. I'm enjoying the translation and I've found myself modifying dialogues, they make more sense to me now. Maybe I know my characters better than I did before, maybe I just can't help myself and need to keep creating :) If everything goes well, I'll post next chapter on Saturday. Have a nice week!

-Juliet