Zelda's POV:
The faint sound of the waterfalls gently wakes me up, my eyes flutter open taking in the world around me. My arms are still wrapped around Link, who is still holding me softly, sleeping away peacefully. As though yesterday's events never happened. It felt like all was right with the world. Everything is just calm all around us.
A tiny taste of what a future with Link could hold for me…
Lightly backing away, taking in his whole view. His hair is lightly ruffled, he lets out gentle breaths sounding like a light snore. My hands can't resist touching his toned arms and chest, looking at his faint scar that little is revealed from his tunic. I place my hand over his chest, feeling his heartbeat gently.
Geez…why am I blushing this early…? You're such a pervert Zelda…
I reach over his head, combing my hand through his hair softly, trying not to wake him up. I make it to his hair tie keeping in his small ponytail.
Acting on intrusive thoughts, I nervously start pulling his hair tie out of his hair, letting his hair fall down, continuing to stroke through his mid length honey blonde hair.
I made too much movement, Link hastily grabs my hand in his sleep.
Eep!
Slowly opening his eyes, the sun's rays shining in his eyes, leave him dazed.
"My…Goddess…" he says tiredly, slowly waking up.
My whole face turns hot.
"M-My…Goddess…"?!
W-What?! J-Just what is he dreaming about?!
I slowly slide my hand back, close to my chest as Link takes his other hand, rubbing his eyes, slowly waking up, then reaches behind his head, and scratches his neck. The lack of his hair tie startles him enough to make him slightly sit up curiously looking around for it.
"Huh? Where is it…?" he groans drowsily, clearly still half-asleep.
I'm…left speechless…seeing his mid-length hair for the first time…all ruffled. His toned arms and chest. His whole body is haloed by the soft morning light.
S-Shoot, I think I may have made an error.
I can't breathe, my whole face down to my neck is beet red. He looks over to me sleepily, seeing his blue hair tie in my hand. He takes a moment, staring back at me blankly, rubbing the back of his head, combing through his hair with his fingers, letting his hair rest down.
"Oh…thanks for finding it Zel…" letting out a big yawn.
"O-Oh, y-yes, o-of course,"
I totally found it.
"G-Good morning…" I say sitting up, handing it to him. Trying not to stare at him too creepily. "G'mornin" he says groggily back, giving off a sweet grin.
Still in a sleepy gaze, he leans in and grabs the hair tie with his mouth, the…feral…movement makes my body jump,
What on earth is he thinking?!
Is he…an animal?
Completely unbothered, he starts pulling his hair back, tying it up. I-I must say I'm quite disappointed that seeing him like that was so…short lived. Perhaps it's a blessing, my heart could barely take that.
"What're you staring at? Cat got your tongue?" he asks coily, giving me a sly smirk, sticking his tongue out tauntingly.
W-Why does he always see right through me?
"A-Absolutely not!" I push him away slightly, and look away, crossing my arms. We start bobbing back and forth from the bouncy water bed. He's chuckling lightly, getting up from the bed, starting to layer up his clothing and equipping the Master Sword on his back.
It's heartwarming to see him smile once again…
"H-How are you feeling…?" asking carefully. He takes a moment to think about it, and looks back at me.
"I'll be okay," he smiles genuinely, then passes the question off to me.
"What about you?"
"I feel just fine!" feeling around my chest, noticing the bruising pain has completely subsided. I wouldn't have guessed I was at death's door just yesterday, with my current condition.
He nods his head in approval, when he sees my hand to my chest, I see his face twinge with slight guilt. With yesterday's events still fresh in his memory.
"That's…really great to hear," he says quietly. Looking out to the view of the Domain all melancholy. I so desperately want to make him feel better.
There's a moment of quiet between us…like we're waiting on each other until–
"Hey…Zelda?"
"Yes, Link?"
"I…can handle assigning the new pilots, maybe…it's best if you were to—"
"No,"
"You didn't let me finish," arching his brow,
"Because I knew what you were going to say,"
"Oh really?" crossing his arms.
"You want me to go back to Hateno, right?" I snap back, he subtly tenses up,
"...Or Kakariko…" He pauses, looking away,
"I thought so. And my answer is, absolutely not!"
"Zelda—it was a really close call yesterday, if I couldn't protect you, then who's to say anything else like that may happen again?"
"It's out of the question, where you go, I go,"
"But…Zelda…we won't get a second chance next time…"
"We were caught off guard, we both need to become stronger so we won't be taken by surprise that's all there is to it!"
Easier said than done…
"Whatever is out there, I can handle it. But I can't let myself be so reckless, leaving you on your own again, if something were to happen to you again—"
I raise my eyebrow, giving him an irritated face, "So you'd rather leave me all alone in Hateno or Kakariko? It makes perfect sense to me…"
"You'd be untouchable and protected,"
"And how do you know that?" placing my hands on my hips, he doesn't say anything, avoiding facing me.
"I…I want to protect you too Link…so that's why I want to go with you," tugging on his shirt lightly, grabbing his attention, looking up to him.
"Please, Link…take me with you…"
His cheeks lightly blush while gazing at me. He doesn't say anything though, like he's running through so many things to say in his head. I continue to look at him, begging. He then closes his eyes, relaxing his shoulders and lets out a sigh of defeat.
"Alright…you win," giving a small grin. I can't maintain my smile hearing him say that.
N-not that I had any doubts!
"Expectedly so!" I pout, letting go of his tunic, making him chuckle at my bravado. Compared to how he was feeling moments ago, his mood has totally shifted.
"And for that, please prepare my usual breakfast! Chop, chop!" dumbfounded by my sudden request, then looks at me cheekily.
"Excuuse me princess. Just what do you take me for, hmm?" he asks sassily.
"Consider it punishment for trying to get rid of me!" I throw back.
"Punishment you say? I didn't know being concerned for your safety would result in punishment," he shrugs,
"That's a lie," Calling his bluff,
"You got me," he chuckles, holding out his hand to help me up.
Besides…traveling together would be beneficial for more of his memories to resurface.
Looking at all of the calluses he has from the years of grueling training. He's spent his whole life dedicated to fighting, single-handedly taking on Calamity Ganon, yet…he still feels as though he's not strong enough.
No matter what he's done, no matter how many trials he's had to overcome.
He still believes he's not good enough.
He still doubts his strength. Even after everything he has accomplished, it's still not enough. And he wishes to continue training.
…
That's why I won't stop either.
…
I can't help myself, and take his hand, lean in, and kiss his palm. Link, completely caught off guard by the sudden gesture.
"H-Huh…? Z-Zelda? W-What're you—?"
Doing?
…I don't know…
My lips separate from his hand, and I look up to him with a serious face, his cheeks beet red.
"Don't keep me waiting,"
I already am.
His ears move slightly downward in embarrassment, pulling me up gently, squeezing my hand lightly before letting go.
"O-Omlette with fresh fruit?" he asks as he briskly walks towards the door.
I nod my head and chuckle from his reaction on his way out. The heavy door shutting behind him. Leaving me all alone in the room with just my thoughts.
Geez! How dense can you be?
Stupid Link…
…
If I were to tell him about…us…just before the Calamity…
Would that change things?
What if he doesn't feel the same way anymore…?
I'm okay…waiting for him to regain his memories.
…
I can wait…just a little longer.
PING PING
"Hmm?"
Looking over to the Sheikah slate, seeing a single light blinking off it.
"What's this…?" a new pinpoint is blinking continuously on the map. Located at nearly the edge of the map. Curious, I zoomed in,
"It looks like a distress signal…from…the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab…"
Wait…so…that means…
…
It can't be.
I burst through the doors, immediately seeing Link sitting over the inn-provided cooking pot. Whipping his head over to me, as he hears me approaching.
"Link!"
"What's wrong?!" he asks as I shove the Sheikah slate in his face.
"Do you see this?!" He pulls the slate away, so he can get a better view of it. When he spots the new pinpoint on the map.
"The Akkala tech lab, it's unusual for Robbie too–"
"S-So it is Robbie!?"
He looks at me, pawing at his neck, "Guess we need to pay him a visit, it's not normal for him to send out a signal like this…"
"But…the Akkala region is so far away…how are we gonna make it in such a short time?"
"The Sheikah slate could teleport one of us but–"
"Pardon me? Teleport?"
"We could get there instantly, but it would only take one of us. The other would be left behind,"
"Absolutely not!"
"Thought you'd say that—so what do you want to do?" focusing on his cooking. Folding the perfectly cooked omelet over, adding in a mix of spices.
I look back to the Sheikah slate, running through all possible routes we could take.
Wait…there's still one rune I'm curious about…Sidon had mentioned it earlier when I simply glossed over it.
I tap onto the runes, scrolling to the very last one with a horse emblem on it. I turn the slate around facing it towards Link.
"Think this will be helpful?"
He looks at the logo and gives me a sly smirk. Looking back at his cooking, taking the heat off the omlet. Plating the delicious looking breakfast, I get slightly distracted as my mouth begins to water from seeing the gourmet looking food.
"I don't think your ready for that,"
"Oh really?" placing my hands on my hips.
He hands me a plate of the steaming hot omlette, happily taking it from him and sitting next to him. Looking down at the perfectly crafted breakfast in front of me, contemplating.
"Either way, if it's something that will help us get to Robbie faster, then we must do it! No matter the risks!"
"We'll have to make arrangements for our horses to get sent to the stables, firstly,"
Blast it, I completely forgot about them.
"Shouldn't be too hard, we'll just ask Sidon to have them escorted. Second, we need to pack light,"
"What exactly…is this thing?"
"You'll see," he says cryptically, before he starts forking down his food. Tilting my head and arching my brow in suspicion. He swallows his food, and points down to my plate with his utensil.
"Your food's getting cold," snatching a fresh wildberry off my plate. My jaw drops by his sneaky move as he victoriously chews on the tart berry. Rolling my eyes playfully, his non-chalant nature is enough to make me feel less worried about Robbies signal.
Chewing on his freshly cooked food, a burst of spicy and creamy flavors flood my tastebuds. Placing my hand on my cheek, my eyes begin to water slightly in pure joy from the amazing flavor Link puts into such a simple dish.
"It's hard to believe, but your cooking somehow tastes even better than before the Calamity!" I say swooning.
He remains silent, chewing on his food, but now hiding his face, the tip of his ears turning a slight shade of red, not giving me much eye-contact.
"It's nothing really—" rubbing his neck.
We both sit in silence finishing our food. Kodah approaches us, enticed by the aromatic spices that fill the inn.
"You didn't make any for me? How cruel of you Linny!" she says in a huff, with Kayden slowly approaching behind her. Link gives Kodah an embarrassed look, unsure of how to respond to her.
"I can make you breakfast Koda–"
"I'm only teasing dear! Although it doooes smell good…" she smirks, Kayden clears his throat, composing himself.
"So—are you both planning on heading out today?" he asks.
"Yes, although we have to speak with Sidon first," I say, nodding my head.
"I see…"
"Y'know…it's been a pleasure having you two here with us. Catching up with Linny and our old friends, and finally meeting you princess…it's really been an honor. I'm…really glad that Mipha could finally find some peace…so thank you, for everything," Kodah says sincerely, trying not to choke up. I'm taken aback by her genuine attitude.
She picks up the dirtied cooking pot, making Link shoot up from his seat, attempting to take it back. Kodah moved it away from his reach, teasing him for struggling.
"Shouldn't you be heading off now?" she smirks, Link brushes his bangs out of the way, furrowing his brows.
"C'mon Kodah, you don't have too—"
"You're our guests, there will be no cleaning on our watch! Now go pack up so you can see us again sooner!" she says sternly. Kayden nodded in agreement, gently taking the pot away from his wife. Link sighs in defeat, making me giggling from their exchange.
I wonder what Link was like when he was a child…
We pack the little belongings we brought with us. And on our way out, Link looks around making sure the friendly innkeepers weren't looking, leaving two silver rupees at the desk.
"Why the secrecy?" I whisper to him,
"To avoid Kodah's wrath," he smiles.
He leads us out of the inn, Kayden is sweeping the outside of the inn, Kodah sprucing up the sign outside. Ready to serve more exhausted travelers. We wave off to the couple, with both of them returning a goodbye.
Kodah walks up to us as we depart, looking at us, for once not saying anything. She gives me the sweetest smile, then looks over to Link and unexpectedly wraps her arms around him. Link seems shocked by the gesture, returning his old friend's embrace.
Kodah's voice now sounds all cracked, like she's trying to fight back tears.
"Thank you for everything…Linny,"
He doesn't say anything and nods in response. Looking over to me with a sweet smile. Kayden walks beside me, placing his fin-like hand on my shoulder.
"Be sure to come back and tell us all about your adventures princess,"
"We will!" I say excitedly, my ear twitches from hearing Kodah's soft-spoken voice to Link.
"Take care of her, okay?"
His face twinges with guilt, like he briefly flashed back to yesterday, but quickly hides his emotion with a small grin, and nods his head once again.
"I will,"
We wave them both off as we begin heading to the royal hall, in search for Sidon. We reach the second level of the Domain, with multiple Zora lounging around in the small pools of water placed in the center of the hub. Continuing up the stairs to the royal hall to say our final goodbye to Dorephan. Hoping that Sidon will help us escort our equine partners to safety.
Dorephan sits atop his throne, speaking with Trello, and a smaller, stingray looking Zora. But no sign of Sidon. Upon seeing us, Dorephan immediately acknowledged our presence.
"Link! Princess! Good morning to the both of you!"
"Good morning!" I say happily. Link smiles and gives Dorephan a gentle wave.
"I trust you enjoyed last night's festivities?"
"Very much so! Perhaps I may have indulged in the Zoran cuisine a little too much though," I say chuckling. Dorephan lets out a booming laugh, I look over to the elder Zora. Giving a small nod towards Trello, he returns a small grin, bowing his head slightly towards me. The stingray looking Zora slowly walks up to me with a much more serious face.
He squints his eyes at me, suddenly feeling nervous by his stubborn appearance. After a moment of silence between us. The elder Zora lets out a long sigh, and extends his hand out to me.
"May peace flourish between the people of Hyrule and the Zora,"
I'm not sure who this is, but I feel instant relief knowing that I seem to be on good terms with the elder Zora at this point. I reach out and shake his hand. His face softens and looks down with a saddened look on his face.
"I regret harboring such hatred towards Hylians because of Lady Mipha's death. I was blinded by my anger and sadness that I never even once thought about how hard it must have been for you to continue living on holding off Ganon for 100 years, please forgive me for my selfishness, and arrogant behavior, princess Zelda,"
Unaware of how to respond, I look over to Link and Dorephan who seem to be speechless. This forgiveness, I have a hard time accepting it.
Do I truly deserve to be forgiven after everything? After everyone's sacrifice because of me…
I can only give the Champions lives meaning if I keep living…so…I have to get stronger.
"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Muzu, I was our Lady Mipha's mentor for many years since she was just a child you see…"
"It's a pleasure, Muzu. We…all deal with grief in different ways, the important thing is that we all have come together now as one. To better the future of Hyrule,"
"The Zora will not fail in protecting Vah Ruta and their newly appointed pilot, we will aim to be stronger so we don't make our Lady Mipha worry!" he says proudly.
"It's thanks to you princess that we are still here, and that Sidon now has the power to protect the Domain, you have our thanks," Dorephan says proudly.
The sound of wet footsteps approach me and Muzu, Trello has his hands behind his back and lightly bows to me.
"I'm sorry that we got off on the wrong fin at first princess, I hope I don't deter you from ever visiting the Zora again in the future,"
"Of course not, it's all water under the bridge, er uh…pun not intended," shaking my head.
"If there is anything you need of the Zora, please don't hesitate to ask," Dorephan says.
"A-Actually! We were hoping to find Sidon if he could help us with something!" I ask, nervously looking up to the giant king.
"Our new Champion is spending this morning fishing with some close fans of his, I'm sure you can find him at the Veiled Falls,"
"Splendid! Then…until next time," I say cheerfully.
"Indeed, may the Goddess shine upon both of you," he says in a calm voice. Dorephan glances over to Link who's being his normal quiet self. He gives the silent knight a large grin.
"Take care of each other,"
Link nods to him, and I give him one last respectful bow.
Then, we departed for the Veiled Falls.
Upon reaching the wondrous waterfall, we see three Zoran women surrounding an ecstatic Sidon, who's reaching into the large pond and pulling out handfuls of different fish by the tail. The women stare at him in awe, as he laughs triumphantly. Handing the wriggling fish to one of the women who places it in a stone bucket. Sidon looks over and sees us approaching. His smile beams from the sun's rays, rushing over to us.
"Good morning my friends! What a glorious day it is!" he says excitedly. The three women approach close behind him, Tona being one of them.
"Good morning Sidon! Did you have a good night?" I ask.
"Spending my night with my family, and my closest friends? I couldn't think of anything better!" he smiles.
"I'm so glad!"
"Will you two be staying with us longer?" Tona asks curiously,
"Unfortunately we have to get going already, I wish we could," shaking my head nervously. The smaller Zora approaches me tugging at my tunic. I kneel down to her level, tilting my head perplexed.
"Thank you for helping our prince become the new Champion pilot! Another amazing achievement from our wonderful prince Sidon!" she says.
"Indeed Laruta, as the president of Prince Sidon's fan club, I, Tula, will reserve two open spots in our club for your return!" the taller Zoran woman says.
What should I say to that?!
"That's very kind of you,"
"Is there anything you need for your travels, princess?" Sidon asks sweetly.
"Oh no, but we do have one teeny tiny request,"
"Do tell!" he bursts out, and looks over to Link.
"Well, we received a distress signal from the Akkala region. I know a quick way to get there, but we left our horses at Inogo bridge. Any way that you could escort them to the nearest stable?" Link asks.
With no hesitation, Sidon responds, nodding his head.
"You can count on your prince!" he beams. The three Zora women cheer together for Sidon, volunteering themselves to assist him. His willingness brings a smile to my face.
"Thank you for everything, sorry to leave in such a rush and to burden you–"
"Absolutely not! It's the least we can do,"
"Next time, hopefully we'll visit under better circumstances," chuckling nervously.
"Agreed! Until next time…" he chuckles.
We turn around and start crossing the long bridge reaching back to the Domain. Sidon and the three women walk towards the edge of the cliff, waving us off. Sidon firstly jumps off, gracefully spinning mid-air, seamlessly diving into the lake below. Shortly after, followed Tula, Tona, and lastly Laruta.
"You ready?" Link asks quietly.
"As ready as I'll ever be!"
Once we reach the outskirts of the Domain. I start to get impatient with each step we take. How can Link withhold such secrets about the Sheikah slate?!
"Why the pouty face?" he smirks,
"You know why…" crossing my arms.
"Care to elaborate?"
Is he really gonna make me say it?
"When will you show me the rune!?"
He laughs, stopping us from going any further. Pulling the Sheikah slate off his hip, and begins tapping and swiping on it. I await in anticipation.
He looks back up to me with a mischievous grin, giving one final tap. A stream of blue lights emerge from the Sheikah slate, forming a horse like, two-wheeled…machine.
"What in Farosh's name is that?!"
I can't stop myself from approaching the machine, and inspecting every corner of it. It has the looks of a Divine Beast, but…it's so small compared to the other four.
"The monks called it the zero-cycle," Link said cooly.
"How did you get this?"
"You want the short or the long answer?"
"Perhaps…both?" I say in an unsure tone.
"To put it simply? A lot of different trials that 'create' a Champion. Whaat those trials entailed were me wielding a weapon that made me prone to death from a single blow, confronting the blights in the Divine Beasts again, then having an all out, no holds barred battle with a giant 10,000 year old monk,"
"Does that mean…this is your Divine Beast?"
"You could say that," rubbing his neck embarrassingly.
"Link, this is incredible!" I sit on the seat and look at the different gauges. Laying my hands on the handles, I wonder if I twist the loose handles like thi–
WHOOSH
The zero-cycle thrushes me forward with such speed, the motor on it sputtering as it starts up. I tighten my grip on the handles as I try to keep myself from toppling over and not running into something.
"WHOA! I CAN'T STOP!"
In the distance, I can hear Link's laughter and his footsteps running behind me.
"LIIIIINK!"
The outer Zoran terrain is winding and rocky, I try to avoid going over any rocks nearby, my body gets jerked around as I swerve the cycle side to side.
"USE THE BRAKES!"
It's hard to think clearly when my vision blurs as the bike gets faster. I try to focus on the handles, pulling back on one, slowing the cycle down quickly. Once the machine slows, it slides down, flinging my body off the bike, rolling quite a distance away. The zero-cycle completely fell over.
"Are you alright?!" Link asks slightly concerned. Kneeling down and helping me up, I groan as I steady myself.
"Just a bump to the head is all,"
"Someones excited," he snickers, rubbing his hand through my hair. I immediately recoil back from his soft touch.
"A-And?! Do you honestly have no idea what kind of AMAZING machinery you've been gifted with?" storming back to the cycle, I look down and observe if there is any damage done to it. But there's not even a dent. I pick up the cycle slowly, looking back to Link. Giving off an innocent smile.
"Guess not," shrugging his shoulders.
I noticeably pout, wishing he could show just a little more enthusiasm about such a groundbreaking discovery. He delicately takes the bike off my hands and sits on it.
"Buut I know it makes you happy, and I think that's enough," he chuckles.
I feel a slight heat on my cheeks…
How come he always knows what to say?
Patting his hand on the small seat behind him. I walk slowly up to the cycle and carefully mount it. I slide into Link's backside, my body fully pressing on him. He feels so warm when he's this close. His body tenses up, gripping the handles tightly.
"Y-You're sure this will get us to Robbie quickly?"
"Since you just had a little taste of what this thing can do…what do you think?"
"I think you should be careful!" wrapping my arms around him. Still giving him a pouty look. He lets out a small chuckle, beginning to rev the bike.
"Hold on tight, okay?"
"R-Right…"
