Zelda was woken by the sounds of birds chirping outside. She yawned softly and stretched herself out before feeling something against her, holding her. For a moment she became anxious before remembering who it was. She blushed softly as she leaned back into him, settling against Link's sleeping body. He felt quite warm. She tuned into his breathing, it was slow and steady. She closed her eyes and just laid against him for the time being, allowing her mind to wander. She was worried how their hidden relationship would pan out. She wondered how long they would be able to last with the pressures of their destiny and trying to be so secretive constantly. She pushed those thoughts out of her head as she felt Link begin to stir. She opened her eyes again and turned slightly before watching Link yawn. His eyes opened, they looked tired as they rested their gaze on her face. She smiled gently before placing her hand on his cheek. "How did you sleep?" He asked before yawning again, she giggled, he was cute like this. "Very well, actually. What about you?" She let her thumb absently stroke the side of his face as she awaited his answer, she felt one of his hands pull away from around her before resting on top of hers. "I slept wonderfully." He gave her a small smile which she quickly returned. She felt like exploring today, she couldn't head back to the castle when they had a chance to go and visit wherever they pleased. She slowly removed herself from his grasp before getting out of bed. "Come on, get ready. I want to survey the area around here today and try and gather some information on Hyrule's wildlife." He looked up at her, his eyes still tired. "Or you can sleep for another ten minutes whilst I get our horses ready." She huffed and he smiled softly. "Just a little more time.." He trailed off as he fell asleep again, she rolled her eyes before walking out of the stable to go fetch their steeds. As she was doing so she remembered him mentioning his birthday the previous night. As far as she could gather his birthday was five days from now, she had an idea on how she could help him celebrate, and she figured he'd rather enjoy it. But she could tell him later, for now though she had other things to focus on, such as enjoying herself. Once the horses were ready to go she went back inside and changed into her normal clothing. She wasn't as fond of it as she used to be now that she figured that it wasn't as friendly to movement as she had hoped, she could always make changes to it in the future though. Once she was changed she walked back over to the bed and gently shook Link awake. "Okay, okay.. I'm coming." He got up after that and changed into his Hylian pants before they got some breakfast. After they were both ready they got on their horses and began heading west to an area called Irch Plain, she knew that there was an abundance of greenery present in the area and she couldn't wait to see what she could find.
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As they travelled through the fields, Link noted that Zelda was struggling with her horse, it looked as though neither of them had ever been properly trained as Zelda was struggling to control the beast whilst her horse was failing to pick up her signals. "Try pulling back on the reigns when he's disobeying." She glanced at him before attempting that and he soon fell into order. He watched her face light up at this newfound information. She was still far from knowing everything and her horse would need a good amount of training, but she learned one thing at least and that helped her it seemed. They made their way to a large tree where Zelda paused. "Let's stop here, there's a lot of flowers here that I'd like to examine." They slowed their horses before hopping off. She took out here Sheikah Slate and began taking pictures as she knelt down. "Most of these I've already documented.. I'm looking for something new.." He watched her scan the area with her eyes before leaning forward and taking a picture. "There's one! Oh! And another!" She seemed very relaxed out here. "The flowers we have in Hyrule aren't just beautiful.." He listened to her as she spoke. "They're also quite useful as ingredients for a variety of things." He never considered using flowers whilst cooking, but it was always worth trying out. She paused briefly, gasping softly as she put the Sheikah Slate down for a moment. She gazed down at a blue and white flower. Link didn't recall ever seeing it. "This one here is called the silent princess. It's a rare, endangered species." She leaned forward and examined the flower. "Despite our efforts, we can't get them to grow domestically yet. The princess can only thrive out here in the wild." She delicately felt its petals, she seemed rather fascinated by it. She sat back up on the backs of her legs before gazing down at the flower. "All that we can hope.. is that the species will be strong enough to prosper, on its own." Her tone was soft and wishful. Link hoped to see her someday figure out how to help this flower grow everywhere, the look on her face if that happened would be worthwhile. She shuffled forwards suddenly, bending down and clasping her hands around something. "Is that what I think it is? Look at this!" She turned around to face him with her arms raised up and her hands concealing something. "I don't believe it, but I actually caught one!" He wondered what it was that she had caught. "This delicacy is known to have very, very potent effects under the proper circumstances." She opened her hands, revealing a small hot-footed frog. Link examined the small creature. "Ta-da!" She exclaimed, looking down at it herself. "Research from the castle shows ingesting one of these can actually augment certain abilities." He wasn't all that fond of the word 'ingesting'. "We wouldn't be in a controlled environment out here, and with your level of physical fitness.." She was looking at him now, and he didn't like where this was going. "You'd be a perfect candidate for the study." She shuffled closer to him. "Go on!" He watched her hands move up towards his face, moving the frog closer to him. He stumbled backwards. "Taste it!" She giggled lightly and moved it closer to him. "Oh come one, surely if you're willing to try a rock roast you'll give this little guy a taste." He shook his head. "Zelda, stop it. It's all slimy and gross." She laughed softly before the frog hopped out of her hands and onto the grass. It began hopping away before Zelda burst out laughing. She placed her hands over her stomach as she laid back and curled herself up, continuing to laugh. "What's so funny?" He smiled softly, she pointed at him and tried speaking but her words were incoherent. She calmed herself down to the point where she could actually speak again. "The look on your face.. priceless!" She giggled lightly, threatening to lapse into another fit of laughter. He rolled his eyes before reaching out and gently plucking the silent princess from the ground. "Link? What are you doing?" He moved his hand up to her hair before gently placing the flower in her hair. She blushed lightly before focusing on his eyes, "Do I look alright?" He reached down and grabbed her Sheikah Slate. "Hey! Give that back!" She reached for it but he pulled his hand back. "Why don't you see for yourself?" He shuffled to her side before putting the camera into selfie mode and raising it up into the air. He smiled and so did she before he took the photo. He handed the Slate back to her and allowed her to examine his work. "Oh Link, it's wonderful." She smiled up at him before kissing his cheek gently. She then got to her feet before helping him up, "Let's keep moving, there's some other areas I want to research." And with that they returned to their horses before travelling further on.
It was beginning to get dark and Link figured it was probably time they should start heading back. "Should we return to the castle?" He glanced at her before watching her sigh softly. "I suppose so." She turned her head to face him, "How about a race?" She raised an eyebrow. He liked the idea so he nodded. "You can countdown then, Hero." He felt something was off, as though she had something planned, but he obliged all the same. "3…2…-" "Go!" she screamed before taking off quickly. He frowned before beginning to chase after her, they whipped across the field, twisting and turning through trees and forestry. He overtook her and glanced back at her to taunt her. "Link! Look out!" He turned his head around to see a tree branch approaching him quickly, but it was too late to stop. He hit the branch and was knocked off his horse. He looked up at the sky above, dazed as he heard Zelda run over to his side. "Oh my goddess Link! Are you alright?" He nodded softly before sitting up. He placed his hand on his forehead, there was no signs of bleeding, "The only thing I hurt was my pride.." She giggled, Hylia only knew how much he loved hearing that sound. "Let's go a little slower then.." She suggested, "I agree." He sighed before standing up and making his way over to his horse. They both hopped on to their own steeds before beginning to make their way to the castle. They reached it soon enough, Zelda suggested they head to the medical wing to get him checked over. They ran some tests and monitored him before concluding that he was relatively okay. "You'll be fine, though I would suggest seeking further attention to that arm of yours. But you'll be right as rain in no time." They both thanked the nurse before he got off the bed they'd provided. "We should probably go and get some sleep," She sighed before nodding slowly. They began making their way through the castle and up to their rooms. "Good night, Zelda." He gave her a quick smile before turning around and began heading to his room, but she grabbed his hand before he could do that. He turned his head around to see what she was doing, "Stay.." She pleaded, he couldn't say no to that offer. But he knew he'd have to try and wake them both up early in the morning as not to risk them getting caught, "Oh alright." She grinned victoriously before leading him into her bedroom. It was quite large, there was a large bed, a fireplace, a desk and multiple books and pages, and a spiral staircase which he guessed lead to her study. They made their way to her bed and both got in. Link noted that her bed was even softer than his was, it was really comfortable. He put his arms around her and pulled her close to him before gently kissing her lips. A soft noise escaped her mouth as their lips touched and she closed her eyes, as did he. After pulling away she nuzzled into his chest, hiding her face in it before kissing his neck. He blushed and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight, Link." "Goodnight, Zelda." They both closed their eyes and soon fell into a blissful sleep.