Link's POV:
The wind whipped through my hair as the Zero Cycle sped through Hyrule. Zelda's grip tightened around my waist the longer we went on. She began nuzzling her head into my shoulders.
"You doing alright?"
I feel her nod her head, as she picks it up and begins looking around, as we enter the Akkala region. We both look over to the tall tower poking out of the Akkala Citadel. The destroyed bridge, and large debris scattered about the land below it. The now deactivated Guardians that were once corrupted with malice, flying around the tower menacingly…looking for any travelers that dared to go near its walls in search for weapons and treasures, now lay in pieces on the ground.
I bring the Zero cycle to a slow stop, and get off. Heading straight towards the tower.
"Link! Where are you going?"
"Oh! Can't let good parts go to waste, Purah and Robbie would probably kill me…again, if I passed up free parts. I'll be right back! You should stretch your legs,"
Eagerly, she gets off the cycle and stretches out her arms, letting out a long sigh. I stand at the edge of the destroyed bridge, preparing to make my jump. I hear Zelda's footsteps behind me.
"You're not…seriously going to make that jump are you?"
"Well of course I am!" I smile.
"Link you can't just—!"
I backed up and ran off the edge of the bridge jumping a great distance reaching the steep hill and began to climb up quickly to the other side of the bridge. Zelda shrieked in terror, probably afraid if I was going to fall. I reach the other edge of the bridge and look back to her. Giving her a wide smile.
She looks at me baffled. Placing her hands on her waist, then turning her head away from me. I look towards the pile of the parts and start storing the guardian pieces into the Sheikah slate.
Robbie…
It's unlike him to send out such a signal, he's so…self-sufficient.
Could it be that sorcerer?
…
We're nearly halfway there. With the speed of the Zero cycle, we should make it to Robbie's by the evening if we keep going. We can't let them wait any longer.
Now that I've picked up everything remaining, I get a running start and make another jump over the destroyed bridge to meet up again with Zelda. Her worried face makes me smile. Looking down at me as I climb up the ledge. Her brows furrowed and she folded her arms, tapping her foot, irritated.
"Must you always be so reckless?"
"But I got the parts didn't I?"
"If you got hurt, then who would pilot this thing?!" pointing back to the zero-cycle.
"You're a quick learner, who knows, maybe you'd drive it better than me," I begin to chuckle.
"My bumped head would beg to differ," she snaps back.
We walk back towards the cycle hastily. Ready to get back on the road. As I climb back on the seat, Zelda once again wraps her arms around me, letting her body rest on my back. I begin revving the cycle, when I feel her head rest on my shoulders.
"I hope Robbie is okay…" she says quietly.
Before I start the cycle, I look back to her, trying to hide my concern for the old man. With yesterday's events, this could mean anything…he could be in serious danger.
But…
"I'm sure he's fine, you couldn't bring him down that easily,"
"But…he must be much older now…it may be harder for him to defend himself,"
"Don't let him hear you say that," I say jokingly. Rubbing my head in nervousness. I can see her worry hasn't been swayed, understandably so. I take my hand and place it gently on her shoulder,
"We're almost there, everything's gonna be alright,"
She nods her head in response, and with that, we finish off the rest of our journey.
At sunset, we made it to Robbie's lab. Nothing looks suspicious on the outside…good. Well…except that deactivated guardian. I feel Zelda's grip tighten ever so slightly around me, her whole body tensing up as we get closer and closer. I wish this thing could go faster…
Please be alright Robbie!
I brake smoothly in front of the lab, Zelda hopping off and running straight for the door, me right behind her. I immediately noticed a strange parallel.
The blue flame…is gone?
But that means…
A loud scream of agony is heard coming from inside. We burst through the door with the worst in mind. I pull out the Master Sword, prepared for a possible fight.
At first glance, everything seems…fine. Towards the center of the lab, the Sheikah furnace, Cherry, is completely offline.
By "her" side, there was Robbie. On his knees, wailing in sorrow, with snot dripping down his nose, and a stream of continuous tears, pouring dramatically through his unusual goggles. Towards the bookshelves on the side of the building, his wife looks completely unbothered by her husbands…grieving…and was reading over ancient textbooks.
She looks over to us entering and immediately smiles.
"Link! Oh thank goodness you came!"
"Jerrin! What's going on?"
"You can't tell?" she asks coldly, gesturing to Robbie, who is still crying at Cherry's feet, he finally acknowledges me, and gets up, running towards us, completely inconsolable.
"L-LINK!"
"Robbie! What happened?!" Zelda bursts out.
Like a switch, Robbie goes quiet, and glances over to Zelda. Taking her in. Jerrin looks more surprised by Robbies complete one-eighty shift in tone, than by Zelda's presence.
"YEOW! P-Princess Zelda! You're really back!" he shrieks dramatically. Breaking the moment of silence.
"It's good to see you after all of these years Robbie! I'm so glad you're alright!" Zelda lunges herself towards Robbie, embracing his now shrunk body.
"Oh princess! It's just awful! Downright devastating!" Robbie wails. Returning her warm embrace.
So…jealous…
She releases her grasp and looks down to the sorrowful old man. Waiting for his explanation for his signal.
"It…it happened this morning…my Cherry…she extinguished the ancient flame,"
I facepalm my forehead, "You and Purah need to be more careful with this flame…you know I can't just be here all the—"
"The Yiga clan…they ambushed us out of nowhere!"
My heart stops.
The Yiga are responsible for this?
My eyes pierce Robbies, hanging on to his next word.
"Cherry she…sacrificed herself and was able to drive off the Yiga, in the process she exhausted her systems and extinguished the power of the blue flame! My poor Cherry!" he cries out, now holding onto the offline furnace.
I inspect Cherry's condition, and she looks…normal. Though, her antenna is blinking continuously. Before she went offline, she must have been the one to send out the distress signal.
"So it was Cherry who sent out that distress signal…"
"Incredible…" Zelda says, marveling at the modified guidance stone.
"But…why now? Why now all of a sudden do the Yiga know where to find you after all of these years?" I ask curiously.
"It beats me, but it may have something to do with my latest research!"
"And what would that be?" Zelda asks, teeming with curiosity.
"Well, princess, I've been developing a new type of sensor software for the Sheikah slate…a sensor…for malice,"
"That's incredible Robbie!"
"If Ganon is defeated, then what's the need for detecting malice?" I ask.
Robbie does a quick movement with his arms, doing a small dance, pointing finger guns at me.
"My guy Link! Comin in with a HOT question! You see, malice was one of the first signs we detected of the Calamity's return. If we have first hand knowledge of any strange resurgences of Ganon's presence, then we'll know right away!"
"We'd have a head start…" Zelda says quietly.
"BINGO!" He says while head banging excitedly
"If the Yiga are still around, and if there is a resurgence of Ganon, then I could see why they would want to get rid of that, but…you've been doing so well at hiding out for this long. What changed?" I ask.
"He got sloppy," Jerrin interjects.
"Not sloppy! Just…curious,"
Zelda and I exchanged looks of confusion,
"What…for?" she asks hesitantly. Almost like she didn't want to hear the answer.
"Well…ever since we noticed Calamity Ganon's malice had disappeared from Hyrule Castle. You see…there's been some…strange activity going on mainly at night…"
"Strange…?" arching my brow. "Like…what?"
"There's been some strange looking lights coming from the thick of the woods. Always coming from different locations. Orbs of dark light fly across the horizon and I end up losing sight of them. I got word from my son, that he saw them fly all across Hyrule, as far as he could see from Tarry town."
"What a strange phenomenon…" Zelda whispers.
"Anyways, up until three nights ago, the sources of light seemed to be too far away for me to reach, but then…just the other night, I saw them coming from Tumlea Heights. I wanted to get to the source of the lights so…"
"So of course naturally, he acted on impulse," Jerrin said in irritation, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Wait…that's where the…
"I may be a bag of bones now, but as one of the last remaining Sheikah scientists…I couldn't sit idly by while watching the ancient furnace being in possible danger! How would I conduct my experiments otherwise?"
"It was foolish of you," Jerrin snaps.
"It's been a long time since I made it to the furnace, but when I got there, it was too late. The light was already gone. What remained were trace amounts of malice. I didn't want to leave empty handed, so I collected samples of the malice. Then got to work on how I could find the malice before it disappears,"
"His research was going very well, but then the Yiga showed up,"
"It caught us completely by surprise, we would've been toast if it weren't for my Cherry,"
"I-I'm so sorry Robbie…" Zelda said weakly.
So this happened when he went to the furnace huh?
The Yiga are tricky, I wouldn't be surprised if they used that to bait him out. With Ganon gone, everyone's guards are lowered, naturally.
Still…
"Without the blue flame, I can't make the final touches of my new software, and we're left here defenseless without Cherry!"
No…something's not right about this.
"If they wanted to kill you, they would have already done it by now," I say bluntly.
Everyone stares at me with their mouths gaped open in shock. I know it sounds crazy but…
"A flashbang is only temporary, they could have easily come back while Cherry was offline to finish the job, don't you think? After all…they know where you are now,"
"U-Uh…that is true…but then why go through all the trouble…? It doesn't make any sense!" Robbie stutters.
"Because…we are the ones the Yiga really want,"
Jerrin and Robbie gasp, as if realizing the dire situation they unintentionally placed on Zelda and I.
"They probably knew that if anything were to go down here, we'd know about it right away,"
I look over to Zelda, she looks down, giving herself a moment to think. When suddenly, she gives off a confident and assuring look towards Jerrin and Robbie.
"We'll go to the furnace, and retrieve the blue flame right away!" Zelda says confidently.
"P-Princess…we…we're so sorry…" Robbie says defeated.
"Hey, you make it sound like we already lost, that's so unlike you Robbie!" I chuckle.
"If anything happens to both of you when you go up that plateau…it will be because of me," He says quietly.
"Robbie, you helped me defeat the Calamity with your weapons, let me return the favor and help you,"
"Please don't worry yourself! Just putting your faith in us will be enough," Zelda smiles to him.
None of this is his fault, but whoever is pulling the strings behind this, has got to be pretty twisted. Is this really just the work of the Yiga?
"Purah will never let me hear the end of this, Link, you've GOT to beat these Yiga goons up REAL good!" Robbie says haughtily.
"For a moment there, I thought I lost my husband. We're counting on you, Master Link and Princess!"
"If you light up that furnace, I'll make sure that I upgrade your Sheikah slate to be even MORE dependable! And it can be the guinea pig for my malice detection software!"
"You really mean it?! Say less!" Zelda says excitedly.
Despite the situation, she seems to be…calm about this. Every moment of us being here is endangering Robbie and Jerrin from another Yiga ambush.
Nightfall sets, Zelda and I make our way down to the East Akkala stable. She looks off to the distance now looking for any said, dark lights. With the bright moon illuminating the land, it's difficult to see if any are even present.
"Do you think it's possible…that those lights Robbie was speaking of…is malice?" Zelda questions.
I don't know what to believe is possible anymore, not after yesterday. Giving her a slight shrug,
"Could be, but…if it is, why would it start now?"
As far as we know about the Yiga clan now, they don't have the means to control something as unstable as malice.
"Perhaps it's remnants of Calamity Ganon clinging on to anything it could possibly corrupt," Zelda says as she's rubbing her chin, almost as if she's in disbelief of her own theory.
"You may be on to something, but there's something that just doesn't feel right,"
"What are you thinking?" tilting her head in confusion.
"That sorcerer from the other day, was the first person I've ever seen who had the ability to manipulate malice, I don't think the Yiga are able to contain that kind of magic,"
"T-Then…would that mean that the Yiga and this…sorcerer…are working together?"
"I'm just trying to connect the dots, although that opens up a lot of new questions, like…why would they work together…? What's the end goal?"
Zelda begins rubbing her arm nervously from hearing the possibility of the Yiga building an alliance with that mysterious wizard. We make it down to the stable, noticing it's a bit more empty than usual. Except for a certain, eccentric merchant, Beedle. He stands outside the stable, waiting on any late night customers before he turns in. We make eye contact, and I wave to him in acknowledgement. His eyes beem with excitement,
"Well if it isn't my faavourite customer! Good evening to you! And especially to you—pretty lady!"
"O-Oh! It's a pleasure, good evening to you," Zelda bows politely.
"You sure are a beauty! And that's saying something! I've traveled aaallll across Hyrule! Where did you two meet?"
"W-Well, Link and I…w-we have actually known each other for…a very long time…" Zelda says sheepishly. Her face is now beet red as she looks over to me with her glossy eyes. Catching me off guard by her cute face. I turn my attention back to Beedle.
He looks over to me with an overly dramatic shocked face,
"WOW! That's amazing! Well how come you've never told me about her huh?"
"What do your customers…normally talk to you about?" I ask in confusion.
"W-WELL! N-Nothing! But you're different!" he says nervously. Rubbing his hands together out of habit. I let out a long sigh and shook my head, looking back to Zelda.
"I'm starved, you hungry Zelda?" Completely ignoring him.
"Ooooh…he can be SO cold!" he whines to Zelda. She lets out a cute sounding chuckle and nods her head to me. Hearing her laugh makes me instinctively smile.
"He can be so…mysterious sometimes huh?" she says softly.
H-Huh? My face feels hot now…
I take out some flint and start a fire at the public cooking pot.
Guess I'll go with something simple tonight. She liked my meaty stew last time.
Getting out all the necessary ingredients for the dish. I listen in on Beedle and Zelda's conversation, glancing back to see Zelda has a curious look on her face. Like she's deep in thought, still wanting to talk with the nervous merchant.
"Beedle—is it? Have you…seen anything peculiar at night?"
"Hmmm! Peculiar…you say?"
"Like…any strange lights?" she asks innocently.
I notice Beedle rubbing his hands together, hiding a small smirk behind them.
No way.
My jaw is beginning to clench, I know he's not doing what I think he's doing…
"Nope! Nothing that rings a bell although I have heard some rumors I could tell you…for a pri—"
"Beedle!"
I wrap my arm around his shoulder, squeezing him uncomfortably. Clutching his shoulder, and leering over him like a wolf cornering its prey. He lets out a nervous laugh, shuddering in fear.
"You know…you really shouldn't be charging your favorite customers just to talk to you, that just seems like bad business," I say, as I give off a deathly smile.
Beedle trying to charge Zelda for information.
Irritates me…
"O-OH! Y-You know what?! I–I just remembered! Y-Yeah! There have been some pretty weird things going on at night!"
"Oh really?" I smirk, lightening my grip on his shoulder and patting his back. Still glaring at him, seeing through his careless act.
Zelda's eyes light up, oblivious to his devious tactics.
"Please, is there anything you can tell us Beedle? It's quite imperative we get to the bottom of this…"
"W-Well, it's like…hmmm…well, I've been seeing—
I-I mean—hearing— about unusual lights flying through the night sky lately. It only happens sometimes though…but since I've seen the—I-I mean, since I've heard about them, there've been a lot of scary monsters! Even more menacing and bigger than before! "
"Interesting…do you think perhaps we will see them tonight?" She asks, looking out to the night sky once again.
"Hmmm…hard to say! They only appear in the dead of night…so who knows…" he shrugs.
Zelda furrows her brows, and pouts. Crossing her arms and shaking her head, letting out a long sigh.
"I see…well…thanks for the information Beedle, you're too kind…" now walking towards the cooking pot in defeat, and mindlessly begins stirring the broth. I'm right behind her, and can't help but feel empathy towards her. I crouch down to her level, and place my hand softly on her shoulder.
"I'm gonna get us checked in, try not to burn anything" I joke with her, and gesture towards the innkeeper's desk. She doesn't respond, just simply nods her head and remains focused on our dinner.
I shoot a glare towards Beedle, as I begin walking in the stable. He quickly looks down and starts nervously fidgeting with his signs.
"L-Link! I-I hope you didn't get the wrong idea about me! C-Can't blame a guy for trying to make a few extra rupees huh? I-I hope this doesn't affect our friendship!"
I ignore him and look up to the innkeeper. He arches his brow, smirking at me and looking out to Zelda.
"I see you brought company with you this time. Will you two be…sharing a bed, sir?"
My face feels hot.
"U-Uh, no…"
I'm…pretty sure Zelda wants her space…
"We'll take two softs beds please,"
The innkeeper looked immediately disappointed in my answer, "Oh…eighty rupees then," he said in a bored voice.
I lay down eighty rupees on the counter and he points to the last two beds at the end of the stable.
"Your beds are just down there. Enjoy your stay,"
W-What kind of reaction is that?
I turn around and Beedle is still standing there, nervous. I let out a long sigh, and slowly approached him.
"Beedle…"
He jumps back from my intense glare towards him. "Y-Yes?!"
As much as he pissed me off…he's the only other lead we have with these lights. And despite his…underhanded tactics with Zelda…I can trust him.
"Where have you seen the lights coming from?" I ask, seething with anger towards him. He begins sweating bullets, looking so confused by my question.
"O-Oh well I heard—"
"Cut the act, and just tell me, we'll be even then, alright?" crossing my arms in irritation.
"A-Alright…I've been seeing them for over a week. Ever since the castle stopped having that dark presence looming around it. I don't know where exactly they're coming from…but…I saw a lot of them last night. Looked like they were coming from the forest towards Tumlea Heights,"
So it's been here since last night…
"Also…"
"What is it?" I snap.
"W-Well…I-I wasn't lying about those monsters y'know?"
His statement makes me pause, I look down, clenching my fist. "What about them…?" I ask coldly.
"I-It's just that…I'm not the only one who's been seeing these lights you see…I've been meeting a lot of travelers that have had pretty close encounters with these…possessed looking monsters!"
"Possessed looking?"
"Well…yeah. They look like normal, run of the mill monsters that we all know about. But lately they've been looking…strange. Like they've been possessed by something! It's always in the areas where the lights have been seen too…they're crazy strong! Stronger than they normally are. More relentless too…"
"I see…you don't say…"
My mind flashes back to Hateno when Manny gave me that warning about the monsters ambushing travelers. Has this been happening right under our noses? There's no way we could have known. This has been well hidden from us that we didn't even notice something wrong until something more menacing such as a lynel became possessed.
That lynel…
I clench my fists tightly. Beedle takes notice and backs away nervously.
"I-I'm glad to see you finally have a companion with you. Especially with this happening now, b-but i-if you're traveling with that girl, y-you should be more careful…"
As if I already hadn't learned my lesson.
"Yeah…I will…thanks Beedle," I say stoically, turning away and heading outside.
I walk out to check on Zelda and our dinner. When I approach her, she is completely ignoring the boiling stew and the cooking pot, standing up looking out to the forest ahead. It's as though she's shut out the world around her, like she doesn't even notice me behind her. The look on her face tells me she got distracted by…something.
"Is everything alright?" I ask casually as I tend to the boiling stew before it starts burning.
"A-AH! Link! You scared me!"
"Your cooking scares me, do you normally leave hot pots unattended?" I ask sarcastically. She looks down at me with a sullen expression. Not even entertaining my comment. She sits down next to me, and looks out to the distance once more.
"Maybe I was just imagining things…" she whispers to herself.
"What did you see?" I ask seriously.
"L-Like I said…it was probably just my imagination…" she said quietly. Staring into the fire, engulfed with her own thoughts.
She's so quiet. A far cry from the act that she put on in front of Jerrin and Robbie.
As if I should be the one to talk about being quiet…
I place a spoon in the stew and bring it up to her mouth, she looks surprised by the sudden gesture and overwhelming taste. She gulps down the stew and her face immediately begins to relax.
"Well? How is it?"
"A little burnt," she giggles.
"I wonder who's fault that is," I say playfully. Shoving her shoulder with mine ever so slightly. She leans into it, letting out a small giggle. It's so refreshing to hear.
As her laughter quickly fades away, she looks down to the earth again, turning her head back towards where she was looking at earlier. I look out to the forest ahead, and stare deep into it. Wondering just what is waiting out there for us.
Possessed looking monsters huh…?
Out there?
"It was a light…it was faint…but…"
She turns back to me with a serious look in her eye.
"I–I'm sure saw it,"
I believe her…especially if it's this late at night. It's more than likely not a coincidence.
"W-We should go investigate the situation Link…"
"No can do on that order Your Highness," I say, sipping up the slightly burnt stew. Scraping up the burnt pieces and delicately taking it out. Zelda turns back with her face pouting.
"And why not exactly?" She huffs. I place another spoonful of stew in her mouth before she can say anything else.
"We would be going in blind, we don't know anything about our enemy, it would be…y'know…reckless?"
"I'm sorry…I just…can't help but feel anxious about this…if malice is still present in Hyrule…I-I fear that Calamity Ganon may not be thwarted like we first thought…what if I…did something wrong?" She says, looking down at her clenched hands.
"You didn't do anything wrong," I assure her. She looks up to me with such saddened eyes.
"Link, what if I failed to seal the Calamity…?" She asks in a nervous tone. I try to shut her worry down as soon I hear it in her voice.
"You did, I was there, I…I saw you,"
"Th-Then…why is malice still around…? There has to be some explanation,"
"There is…and we will find out, but it's not Calamity Ganon, that sorcerer…he…he has to be the one behind this…" I tried reassuring her.
"Link, I-I…" she trails off, still looking up to me with desperation. But there's something I can't help but notice…
I slowly bring my thumb up to her face, and slowly slide the corner of her lips. She jolts back from confusion. And remains still while I wipe the corner of her lips carefully.
"Got something on your face? I know," I say coolly, attempting to finish her sentence.
She begins stuttering through her words. I look back at the stew where all of the ingredients have been fully marinated and cooked together. I woft the stew and can barely smell the burnt broth anymore. It should be ready to serve now. I instinctively lick my thumb to taste the remaining stew left from my taste test.
Hmm…not bad…Zel is right though, it is slightly burnt still…
"O-Oh!"
I look over to her unfazed, "What's up?"
"Link…u-um…" Her hesitation makes me nervous.
"Do…you want to kiss me that badly?" she said with a slight smirk. Trying to cover her face as she lets out a chuckle.
Like a punch to the gut, I'm suddenly out of air. Wheezing from Zelda's sudden statement.
I-Is she talking about the other day?
Shit, I haven't even had a moment to think of an excuse to give her about that…
"W-What do you mean by that?" my voice cracks. Trying to pretend as though that hadn't completely made me lose train of thought.
She lets out a booming laugh, wrapping her arms around her stomach.
"You just wiped my lips and then licked your finger, rather promiscuous if I do say so myself," she says coily.
S-She's just trying to tease me…
"T-Then what would you call sharing a spoon then?" I huff, serving the stew in a small bowl and begin handing it to her.
Wait…
That's the…
"Th-The same thing I–I suppose…"
She quickly takes the small bowl of hot stew and immediately looks away from me. Waving her hand in front of her face. Like she's trying to cool herself down from the heat of the fire.
"That would mean I've kissed you plenty of times," trying to sound so cool, but I probably sound like such an idiot.
Just. Stop. Talking.
What are you even saying Link?
"Y–You…you're really embarrassing yourself…you know that?" She says quietly.
"So then, why do you look so embarrassed?" I ask in an even more quiet voice.
Her legs tense up and slowly press against mine.
"P-Perhaps I didn't think about that either…I-I've only been kissed once before s-so…" she blurts out. Immediately covering her mouth as if she made a mistake. I felt a sting in my chest hearing that, trying not to act bothered.
"O-Oh…really?"
She was quiet, looking down in her stew. Stuffing her face, I sit in the silence with her and awkwardly finish the stew with her.
"Was he…nice?"
Why are you asking her that?
"H-Huh? Oh…you mean my…"
"Don't worry about it, forget I asked you that. S-Sorry…"
Zelda nudges my shoulder lightly, "Oh I see…are you jealous?"
"You can't be serious, w-why would I be jealous?"
She leans her face close up to mine, piercing into my eyes.
"Because you're a bad liar,"
"J-Just forget about it!" moving away from her gaze. She giggles at her teasing, when her laughter fades. She lets out a long drawn out yawn, leaning her head on my shoulder.
"He was…really nice…"
"I-I see…"
"Two beds?!"
"I don't see what's wrong," I say casually. Lying down the soft, plush inn bed.
"Nothing is wrong! I-It's just u-unnecessary…we've been sleeping together since the start of this journey–"
D-Does she know how that sounds?!
"Don't you want your space?" I turned away from her embarrassed. Rubbing my shoulder from the awkward situation.
I begin to close my eyes. I hear her huff behind me. There's a slight pause, when I feel her sit close to me. Her body sinking in the soft bed, leaning in close. An electric sensation goes up my spine, when I feel her light touch on my back. Her finger begins lightly swirling around my back.
"I–I mean…I haven't had any complaints…" she says softly, when suddenly, I feel a heavy pressure on my back, the force coming from her palms as she massages my tense back, letting it relax. Lulling me into a feeling of drowsiness.
"Do you…like sleeping with me Link…?"
How am I supposed to answer that?
I can't help but groan a little as she continues to rub my back with the right amount of pressure in between my shoulders and on my neck. I dig my head in the plush pillow to muffle my low moans.
"It's not that I don't…I just thought you would want to have your own bed when you can and besides…"
I move my head up to her, "I sort of held you hostage last night…"
"I mean…I-I didn't mind…" she says quietly. Continuing to stroke my back, her response makes me feel so flustered. I look away from her to hide my hot face.
"Z-Zelda, you don't have to do this…"
"And you didn't have to get two beds," she snapped back. Adding more pressure to my back, having me let out a louder moan in relief.
"You're always so tense…" she giggled.
"Could be the whole, 'saving Hyrule' kind of thing," I retorted.
She remains quiet, focused on massaging my back until it feels relaxed. My mind begins to roam elsewhere…back to the other day…
The vision of Zelda getting impaled and of that sorcerer…it still haunts me.
If we go into that forest…there's bound to be malice possessed monsters, and more than likely the Yiga hiding in the shadows...and what if he shows up?
We don't have a strategy. Just retrieving the blue flame for Robbie. I'm certain that we'll be ambushed, if not by monsters then definitely…something else.
"Zelda…"
"Hmm?"
"Look…I…I know you want to come with me to the forest, but…"
"But…it's too dangerous…? Is that what you were going to say?"
"It's obvious this is a trap Zel, we'd be walking right into it,"
She suddenly stops and I feel her warm body next to mine. I turn around and meet eyes with hers.
"We're in this together, no matter where you go, if the Yiga want to come after us, then they can bring it on. I'm not going to back down from a fight and risk losing you again, when I know there's something I can do to help…"
"Zelda…I—"
She pressed her finger gently on my lips, her eyes looked determined. She wasn't going to back down on this.
"If we're together, then I know we'll be okay…no matter what happens," she whispers. Nuzzling her head on my chest, wrapping her arms around me. I instinctively hold her closer to me, returning her embrace.
"Yeah…we'll be okay…" I whisper, more to reassure myself, than to respond. She simply nods her head, not moving an inch away.
"Am I your body pillow now too?" I let out a nervous laugh.
"For now…I think you like it," she giggled. Pulling on my shirt as she begins to doze off in my arms.
It's so quiet in the inn, the lights are dimmed. All other travelers are already in a deep sleep. The sound of restless crickets can be heard, chirping through the dark night. Just the sound of the innkeeper and stablemen keeping watch of any incoming travelers. I look over to the empty bed next to me and look down at Zelda's peaceful angelic sleeping face.
Guess I should've gotten one bed…
