Chapter Two

We awoke before dawn the next morning and set out just as the sun began to rise. Many of the knights rode groggy upon the backs of their horses, myself included, though my reason for exhaustion was much different than theirs. My eyelids tried to close of their own free will- I kept them open as best I could. Curse restless night of uneasy dreaming! A shame, too, that I couldn't remember what I'd dreamt of. One person in the company, however, was all but tired…

"Late night?" Zelda asked with a smirk, her voice quiet as she spoke to me. Not that any of the others would have heard anyhow.

"Not really," I stated, yawning, deflecting her incoming insult about having a tryst the whole night. "I couldn't sleep."

"That's a shame," the princess stated, reigning in Hengest a little as he impatiently stamped and made for the distant front of the century- Zelda and I were riding in the back, for purposes of privacy more than anything else. "As you can see," she added with another of her adorable little smirks, "both my horse and I are ready to go for the day."

"As you can see," I countered, "the rest of us are not."

"That's irresponsible," Zelda sniffed. "If all of you knew there would be a hunt this morning, then why did nobody go to sleep?"

"Tradition," I replied with a large yawn. "Tradition dictated that everybody gets drunk the first night, and after that it is tradition to… have too much fun with the maids," (here, Zelda snickered) "and tradition says that everybody has to be miserably sore and hung over together the next morning. It's just not the same otherwise."

"And what part do you have in this tradition, Sir?"

"According to the tradition, Esten and I sit in our room playing cards and shaking our heads at the antics of the rest of the knights. Both of us dislike the feeling of being drunk, not to mention the idea of sharing women is less than appetizing."

"Sharing women, you say?" Zelda's eyebrows raised. "A sexist comment, but at the least you're more moral than many of the others I've met, I do believe."

I shrugged. "It was the most polite euphemism I could think of," I replied. "And blame Esten for my abstinence. He's been in love with his wife ever since he got his first hormone, and in his trueness to her, set a model that I aspired to follow." I stopped, cheeks red. "If you want to thank anybody for how I am, thank him."

"Why, I do believe I shall."

We lapsed into comfortable silence, happy to bring up the back of the Century, and as Zelda rode I took her in. She wore brown hunting leathers and a grass colored tunic much like my own. On her feet were worn leather boots, and on her hands and forearms, stiff gauntlets. A small dagger was strapped to her belt, as well as several small burlap satchels, filled with what I didn't know. Her glossy hair was again braided down her back, still wet at the ends from her morning bath. Dressed down as she was, though, there was no mistaking that she was a princess- soon to be queen. She rode with the easy air of someone who had spent many hours in the saddle, and yet carried herself like the royal she was. Her eyes darted around the woods, keeping her incredibly aware of her surroundings, and I shivered to myself. If I hadn't known that she was virtually untrained in weaponry, I would be frightened of her. There was no doubt in my mind that she would easily make a formidable opponent.

She looked over and smiled dazzlingly at me, breaking at once the warrior-huntress-queen aura, and then reigned in her horse as the band came to a halt. The king looked around at each of us and nodded, and then turned to one of his falconers and pointed at Zelda. It was understood that the need for silence now was key- it was time to kill. Zelda slipped on a falconer's glove and was given a calm looking hooded bird. It rustled a little as the falconer guided it to her hand, but Zelda stroked its feathers softly and the bird stilled. I was in awe. The King looked around once more, checking that we were all ready, and set off. The hooves of a hundred horses followed, accompanied by the pants of the hunting dogs and the occasional rustle of falcon's feathers.

The king made the first kill of the morning- two foxes. Zelda's kill of a rabbit was next- her falcon flew high, gave a great keen, and then dove at the rabbits, ending their lives instantly. After that, there was a slight period of inaction- and then we found the deer.

Zelda looked away as we spurred towards the great stag, horses and bows ready. I saw how she closed her eyes as her father ran his spear through the beast's heart, and the look of pain on her face as we congratulated the king on bringing down such an elegant beast.

"A twelve point stag!" proclaimed the king. Two of the huntsmen took it and lashed it to the cart that brought up the rear. As I slipped back next to Zelda, I shot her an inquisitive look- are you okay.

She nodded and smiled, though she was slightly pale.

Several more small kills followed that, and by the time that we decided to return to the manor it was getting on towards late afternoon. There was joking and merriment as we rode back, all need for caution abandoned. Zelda had given the falcon back to the falconers, and was riding alongside me in silence.

Fast as lighting, two of the hunting dogs began to bark at something, and a doe bolted through the woods just in front of Zelda and myself. Both our horses reared and whickered- I barely managed to keep Epona in controlled, but Hengest, who was still slightly wild, bolted.

"Zelda!" The king called as she fought to keep control of Hengest. Without a moment's thought I spurred Epona after her, struggling to catch up to the princess. I could see her fighting Hengest, doing her best to slow him down and bring him into control, but it seemed almost as if he was possessed. He ran straight towards the edge of a steep ravine and reared up, tossing Zelda off and then bolting away through the underbrush. I quickly dismounted and made my way to the edge of the ravine- Zelda was tumbling down, digging her heels into the wall and trying to find a handhold on a rock. No luck- a log sent her tumbling headfirst out of control. I saw her head contact hard with the ground, and her body flopped the rest of the way down.

"No!" A strangled cry issued forth from deep within my throat and I was down after her, running, keeping upright as best I could. I don't know how I managed to reach the bottom without falling- sheer luck, no doubt, and once I was there I bolted off to where Zelda lay, not fifteen feet away from me. Her limbs were splayed in every direction but her chest was rising and falling- good. She hadn't broken her neck. Careful not to disturb her body, I touched Zelda's mud bespattered cheek, cupping my hand around the side of her face and wiping away a bit of dirt with my thumb.

"Zelda? Zelda?" I asked, applying a feather light pressure to her cheek and shaking gently. "Zelda?"

"Mmm…" Her eyes fluttered slowly open, her brows furrowed. "Link?"

"Are you okay? What hurts?" I asked her, pulling my hand slowly away, my fingertips trailing along her jaw line, her pulse fluttering against my thumb.

"Just my head, Link… what happened?"

"Your horse startled at some deer and bolted. Hengest threw you and you rolled down a ravine," I offered by way of explanation. "And you did marvelously until a log got in your way."

"That silly horse," Zelda stated weakly, smiling. "He probably caught scent of the wolves chasing the deer."

"Wolves…?" I asked, suddenly confused. "Zelda, there weren't any wolves."

"Of course there were," she replied, slowly sitting up and testing her arms and fingers. "What else would have had the deer spooked so bad?" She made an expression of pain and held up her left hand- her pinky finger was turning purple.

"Broken," I declared unnecessarily. "Does anything else hurt?"

"Other than my head, nothing so far. Help me stand up…"

I carefully wrapped my arms around her and she braced my shoulders, cautiously putting weight on her feet. She drew in a sharp breath as her weight landed on her right foot, and nearly crumpled again. Gently, I helped her to sit down on a rock just a few feet away, and Zelda peeled off her boot. I looked to the top of the ravine- Epona was gone, and we could hear no sound of those looking for us.

"Sprained ankle and a broken pinky," Zelda muttered. "Well, I suppose it could be worse. I could be alone." I turned to see her rip the hem of her tunic, and begin to carefully bind her ankle.

"Here, let me," I said suddenly. "People will have a fit if we show up and you've ripped your own tunic to shreds for bandages and mine is fine."

"Of course," she stated, her voice still weak but slightly dreamy. "I should have remembered that."

"Zelda?" I took a look into her eyes- they were slightly glazed. She had a concussion. "Zelda, stick with me."

"I'm tired, Link. I want to go to sleep."

"You can, but just not yet. First we have to get your ankle bound and we have to get back up the ravine and to the manor. Keep your foot out. I'll bind it." I began to rip long forest green bandages from my hunting tunic and carefully wrapped her foot- not so tight as to cut off the circulation, but not so weak as to be useless.

"Thank you, Link," she said softly, turning her foot left and right. "It's quite pretty. I'm afraid it won't fit in my slippers, though, and it won't match any of my dresses…"

"That's not important. Your boot won't fit over that anyway, so I'll carry it. Here," I said, suddenly inspired. I removed my tunic and ripped the last of it into two fat sections and one long skinny section. I made a makeshift boot of the thick material, securing it around her ankle with the skinny strip. "That should keep your foot relatively well protected."

"You're so thoughtful." Zelda slowly stood and gingerly put weight on her ankle- she made a slight face but nodded. "It's bearable. I'm afraid I won't be able to dance, though. Oh, the poor suitors." She giggled and tried a little spin on her good foot. I lashed Zelda's unused boot to my belt and looked hopelessly up at the edge of the ravine- if both Zelda's feet were working, we could probably climb up the edge, but with her injured as she was that wasn't looking like much of a chance. We'd have to find another way up.

"Come on, we're walking." I looped an arm around Zelda's waist, getting as much weight off of her hurt foot as possible, and began to trek.

"It's a shame you have to save me," Zelda stated with a yawn. "I should be saving myself."

"Things could have easily been the other way around. Epona's just a bit less wild than your horse… with me, anyway. Stay awake," I reprimanded as her head sagged slightly.

"But I'm tired."

"It's not dark out yet, and you can't go to sleep until it's dark out and the moon is up and you're in your own bed."

"I don't understand why not." Another yawn. "I don't have any meetings to attend today, I don't think…"

"There's going to be a big dinner tonight and you have to stay up for it. It's a celebration."

"Celebration of what?" she asked, curious.

"Our return, for one, and also to celebrate the hunt. We're out in the woods, remember? We're not at Hyrule Castle."

"Oh, yes, hunting. That's right. Oh, and my father killed those poor deer…"

"What's it with you and deer?" I asked her curiously as we trudged along, shifting my shoulders a little- already, her gauntleted and sleeved arm was starting to chafe on the bare skin of my neck and back.

"When I was little, my mother took me out of the palace one night in secret to show me that I would be ruling over life when I was queen, not just some faces. While we were out, we saw the most beautiful stag… and mother told me that to be a good ruler, I must respect all things, the beautiful and the ugly. And then she reached out and touched its flank…" Zelda yawned again, lolling her head onto my shoulder. "It was so touching, it made me want to preserve everything I could, the beautiful and the ugly."

"But you didn't seem to care about rabbits or foxes," I prompted, trying to keep her active and alert. There was a good egg-sized lump on the back of her head, and it was all but pretty.

"There's just something about the stag, I don't know. It really is regal and beautiful. I revere it."

"At least you aren't so fond of deer that you have no respect for the fact that a good deer can feed ten hungry mouths."

"You're wise, Link," Zelda stated, flailing her wrist slightly, a finger tracing down my neck. I tried not to shiver. "Wiser than most men. You'd make a good leader."

My heart did an odd sort of flutter, my mouth went dry. "Oh?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. "What makes you say that?"

"You're perceptive, intuitive, respectful, and kind. Not to mention it seems you can see several sides of a situation."

"You flatter me," I muttered, unable to stop the delighted flush spreading through my cheeks. "I'm just another normal man."

"And humble," Zelda added with a giggle. "And with a penchant for wit. And I hardly even know you and look how many good qualities I've discovered!"

"I have my faults as well," I stated, glad to see she was active. "Though pride, as I can sure you can tell, isn't one of them."

"Enlighten me," Zelda stated, tripping over a rock. I caught her deftly, my arms circling her waist. Our faces were so close that her breath streamed across my face and I could see straight through her eyes, through her pupils, who evidenced her concussion- they were different sizes.

"Well, for one," I recovered, setting her back on her feet and trying a slow pace again, "I am remarkably stubborn."

"Oh?"

"Yes," I confirmed with a nod. "Irrationally so. Not in the military, of course, and most often not with your father, though there have been times when I've proven myself more obstinate than an ass."

"Does this mean you're single minded, too?" Zelda asked me, blowing a strand of hair off of her sticky face.

"I can be. When I get fixated on a thing, I can't let go."

"Such as?" Zelda prompted, and I thought hard for a moment. Then I smiled.

"I was raised in an orphanage."

"Oh how sad!" Zelda cupped her free hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry."

I shrugged, touched by her sentiment but feeling no pain myself. "Don't be. It was a nice place. I had to work, though, and was employed at a tailor's. There was a little girl at the orphanage that I considered like my sister, and she wanted a doll more than anything. Though the orphanage was a kind place, there weren't enough toys to go around, and Aryll, this little girl, wanted something of her own to cherish.

"So every day after I finished up work, I'd pick up cloth scraps. I collected them and hid them between my sheets. I worked feverishly to collect more and more cloth scraps. Then, after several months when I had amassed a huge collection, I went back to the tailor's and asked if I could borrow a needle and thread for the day. The tailor, being a good man, said yes.

"All that day and all that night, I clumsily sewed the patches together to make a rough sort of doll. I took stuffing from my pillow and stuffed the doll with that, and then sewed it shut. I added eyes, a nose, and a mouth with old buttons I'd found as well, and gave it to Aryll. She loved it."

"That is an example of fixation, but also of perseverance and a strong devotion to those you love. A virtue and a fault at the same time."

I smiled crookedly. "I was fixated on being a knight, too, despite my lack of title. You can ask any of the other men who were in academy with me. I was like a madman. Virtue or fault, milady?"

"As I said, both. What are your other flaws?"

"Aside from my sword, I have nothing. No name, no family, no money. This is considered by many a flaw."

"Many are fools," Zelda stated calmly. "But I am not. That is no flaw to me. What else?"

"I can't think of any more right now," I said, and then stopped short. "Oh, wait. I know. I am a patient man and forgiving, but once you have angered me you have angered me, and once you have lost my trust you have lost it forever."

"Another double-edged blade," Zelda stated with a yawn. "I am afraid, Sir Link, that I'll not entreat you to any of my faults. You'll just have to find out for yourself."

"Yes, Zelda, that I willl," I stated, gently jostling her. "Look, a way up and out of this blasted ravine."

"So it is," she stated mildly, eying the shallow and curving ramp. "How convenient."

Our words were lost in our slow, puffing ascent, and as the sun dipped lower and lower, closer to the horizon we neared the top of the ravine. Just as we crested it, the sun totally disappeared, and I looked around. It would not be good to be in this forest in the dark, especially with an injured princess on my hand. To my delight, I recognized our surroundings. We were not half an hour from the manor.

We began our trudge, talking lightly, me trying to keep Zelda engaged in conversation and conscious. We spoke some of our childhoods, though Zelda seemed uncomfortable at the great gap in class and luxury and seemed to feel some guilt for my own impoverished upbringing, though I assured her I bore her no ill will and had led a relatively content childhood. We spoke of our respective lives, our little dreams for the future, and, astoundingly, on the topic of Zelda's suitors.

"I dislike all of them," she stated as we walked on, leaning more heavily on me as the light slowly faded and we made our way closer to the manor. "Simpering and arrogant, all of them. Er, well, most of them. There's one or two good ones thrown in there, but they would make terrible kings. Too nice."

I nodded. "There's a difference between nice and kind. Nice people let it all slide and can be walked over much of the time and won't mind. Those who are kind are steady and firm but not cruelly so."

"Exactly what I believe," Zelda stated, nodding her agreement on my shoulder. "A ruler can't afford to be nice, though they can afford to be kind. Are those fey lights shimmering ahead of us?"

"No, Zelda, that's the manor." And indeed it was, all its windows lit, shining merrily ahead in the woods. It was quite dark now, and I was greatly relieved to be so close, especially as the far off keen of a wolf resounded through the forest. We made our way closer and closer to the manor, relief flooding our limbs and making our steps lighter. At long last, we reached the front door and knocked hard against it. A maid allowed us in at once and fluttered off to find the king and alert him. Zelda and I were shown to a parlor, where we both fell exhaustedly into plush chairs and gratefully accepted goblets of water. A physician was sent for to look at Zelda's pinky, ankle, and head, and just as the manservant hurried away to find the house doctor, the king came in.

Daphnes Nohansen de Hyrule was a large man who could make even the most enormous of rooms feel small. His was not an air of oppressiveness but of natural dominance- it was uncommon for someone not to feel tiny and about-to-be-squashed upon in his presence. Though I spent a great deal of time with the king, I still suffered the effects of his omnipotence. Zelda, on the other hand, did not, and it seemed she would not even have noticed his entrance had he not called attention to himself.

"Zelda!" the king cried exuberantly as he strode into the room. Lacking all regality,. He threw his arms around his daughter, holding to her tightly. "Goddesses praise! I'd feared for you so! We couldn't find you or your horse anywhere. Your Epona," he said, turning to me, "returned to the stable, and so I knew that you must have dismounted, or been thrown. Thank goodness you were able to find her, Link. Are you alright, my dear?"

"I don't know," Zelda replied, thinking hard. "I fell down a ravine, didn't I? And then what. Oh, yes, there was Link. What happened after that, Link? I remember something about shoes."

"Zelda has a concussion, a broken pinky, and a sprained ankle, I think. She took a lovely tumble, I have to say. A healer has already been sent for," I added at the king's look of worry. "Anyway, I used my tunic to make a brace and a boot for her ankle, and kept her awake through chatter all the way home."

"By Farore," the king stated, finally realizing that I was, in fact, without a shirt (and that my chest was covered from scratches from the forest bramble) and that Zelda's entire pinky was ominously violet, that her pupils were mismatched and that a bulky green cloth bootie covered her right foot. "praise the Goddesses you were able to follow her and save her- and praise them more that you were able to get home before too late! The oddest thing happened, though. The hounds couldn't track you…"

The healer entered the room just then and the king deferred to him, who sat on a footstool and began to examine Zelda and myself. I was fine, aside from the scratches on my chest and arms and a few strained muscles, and Zelda's verdict was much the same as mine, save for the addition of several bruised ribs and a pulled muscle in her back. The little man's advice was that we were both to stay in bed the next day, and be inactive for at least a week, minimum, due to our bodies' response to exertion and stress. And, the healer added as my stomach rumbled loudly, we were to be fed immediately. A maid rushed away to fetch meals for both Zelda and myself and I settled deeper into my chair, glad in my bones to be back at the mansion, and moreover, every fiber of my being was filled with relief that Zelda was okay. Zelda would be fine.

But I was only so relieved because she was the princess, right? I mean, it wasn't like I had any reason more to celebrate, except that she was slightly my friend. Friend….

My food passed in a hungry blur, and next thing I knew I was sitting in my room, alone on my bed. It was pitch black outside, and from the sounds coming through the walls, the other knights had retired for the evening- maids in tow.

A soft knock came at my door. Groaning, I stood from my bed, not looking forward to the prospect of turning away another maid. I pulled it open and saw a pretty girl with loose pale locks standing before me. She wore the standard uniform of the maids, a light frock and dainty leather booties. She curtsied, and looked up at me, her blue eyes sparkling. There was something about those blue eyes that was familiar.

"M'lord, I've a fresh set of sheets for ye. If ye'll let me in, I'll make ye bed for ye."

"Uh, sure," I stammered. "Come in." There was something disconcertingly familiar about this maid, something I couldn't put my finger on….

She stepped lightly in and suddenly the door shut behind her. I looked at it- I hadn't shut it- and then looked back to the maid. Her locks darkened and tumbled out of her braid, her dress lengthened into a dressing gown over a nightdress, and her features became less vague and more familiar. Before me was standing the princess.

I was totally without words. "Ahhh."

"I just came to thank you," she said, smiling at me and sitting down on the corner of my bed. "For today."

"Won't you be missed?" I asked stupidly. Zelda smiled and shook her head, her golden locks swaying.

"I put a glamour on a pillow to make it look like me. Nobody will notice I'm gone."

"So that's what that thing was," I exhaled. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Neither does anybody else, save for my nursemaid," Zelda replied, beaming at me. "She taught me."

"So your father…."

"No," Zelda replied, looking down. "He doesn't know. He wouldn't approve, either."

"Why not? That's…" I groped for a word, thinking as I sat down next to Zelda on the quilted bedcovers. "Amazing. Useful. If the palace is ever attacked, you can make a double and slip out in the disguise of enemy soldiers. Why wouldn't he approve?"

Zelda shrugged. "Father has a thing against magic. He thinks it's dishonorable. But you nailed the reason why Impa taught me." Zelda smiled, cocking her head at me. "For my own protection, though she never outlawed myself having a bit of fun with it. In fact," Zelda stated, eyes glittering, "she might even approve."

"Approve of you sneaking into a man's room at night, alone? Zelda, what if someone comes in?"

"They won't," she stated, pointing at the door. The lock clicked into place. She snapped her fingers, and the door seemed to shimmer. I raised my eyebrow, and she smiled cheekily at me. "You are now asleep."

I nodded, chewing my inner lip. Zelda hummed lightly to herself as she looked around my room, but she stayed where she was on the corner of my bed. I noted that her pupils were both the same size- apparently, her concussion had already vanished, or been cured. By her own devious magical ways, too, I was sure. I spoke.

"You… you wouldn't ever use magic on another person, would you?"

"Goddesses, no," Zelda stated, looking flabbergasted. "Not even if they merited it. That was one of the first things that I learned. No using magic on others, no matter the intentions. There's no telling what might go wrong when it isn't yourself."

We lapsed into comfortable silence. I was surprised when Zelda slowly threaded her fingers into my hand, and turned to her in surprise. She was smiling.

"Strange, though we just met a few days ago, it already feels like I've known you my whole life," she stated, looking down at our hands. "And already, you are such a dear, dear friend to me. She gave my hand an extra squeeze, and then stood, her glamour ruffling up from her toes to her hair, turning her at once into that same vague maid. She dropped me a curtsy, blue eyes sparkling.

"There, sir, I've changed ye sheets. No bed bugs'll be biting that pretty skin of yours tonight." The Zelda-Maid smiled. "If ye'd like, sir, I'll come back and visit ye t'morrow night, too."

"Yes," I said, my throat strangely filled with some inexplicable emotion. "Yes, that would be very nice."

"For any who ask, sir, my name's Cyssa." Cyssa -Zelda dropped another curtsy and flicked her wrist at the door, opening it effortlessly from across the room. She scuttled through and the door shut after her, just as my brain made the connection to the famous Cyssa, whose legendary exploits were told to children as bedtime stories- the wife of a simple tailor who would disguise herself during the day to make sure that her husband was faithful, often inadvertently causing huge messes in the process. My bark of laughter followed Zelda down the hall, I'm certain, and smiling despite the exhaustion of the day, I slipped out of my clothes and crawled into my bed, sinking into an easy slumber, a pair of pretty blue eyes swimming before me in my dreams.