Chapter 9: Junction

Link shut his eyes, willing his stupid brain to stop thinking. Why was he like this? They'd been busy all day, slaying a demon, having to explain what happened to the guards for hours and travelling all the way back to Castle Town, by foot no less! Yet his brain had chosen now as the best time to get up and be active. It didn't make sense; the bed was comfier than any he'd slept on in his life and he was tired enough to sleep for a week. Except, here he was, painfully awake for no reason.

A knock rapped at his door, shaking him from his thoughts. Rolling out of the bed sheets, he pushed through the darkness, stumbling his way over to the door. Peeling it open, he glanced at the figure outside. There stood Zelda, torchlight quivering across her face. Her soft eyes matching her flowing hair, but clashing with her devious grin. He had to admit, it was strange seeing her in anything other than the dress he was used to. Still, the suspicious pale pink blanket she clutched to her chest, while complementing her dark pink pyjamas, stood out as particularly odd.

"Hey, can I come in?" she asked quietly, but her voice was filled with an energy that carried a tone of a troublemaker. He nodded, gingerly pulling back to usher her in.

As he gently pushed the door to, he heard her shuffle around behind him. Bang! And yelp in pain. Spinning to help her, he was stopped as she tore open the curtain, allowing the faint mist of moonlight to cloak the room.

"Much better, I'd like to actually see you," she said, spinning round to drop the bundle onto his bed. It spun, rolling over the edge of his not so modestly sized bed, leaving a trail of cakes and buns in its wake. Zelda continued without batting an eye, "Do you want something to eat?"

Where had she gotten all that? No wonder she looked so devious, first night back and she'd already gotten up to something. He nodded, picking out one of the buns, and he couldn't help but notice he'd already gotten caught up in her pace. She'd torn through like a whirlwind, unpredictable and wild. Then again, he shouldn't be surprised at this point. He glanced over to her, fidgeting with the countless pillows. Truthfully he'd thought so many was ridiculous, but as Zelda stepped back to admire the cosy nest she'd made, he found himself chuckling. Maybe he was a little wrong. After all, what she did was hardly rampage through, this was scarcely chaos. It was more that she just knew what she liked and made sure it happened. As Zelda settled into her seat, Link made his way over, snuggling in besides her.

"So do the chefs know you've been raiding the pantry?" he asked, settling into his seat.

She scoffed. "Please, I may be out of practice, but I've been doing this since I was…" she twisted her hand, trying to draw out the memory "…well longer than I can remember. If they haven't caught me before, they certainly can't now."

"I don't think that makes it any better," he replied, a smile on his face, "and you complained about me being a thief."

She sniggered. "Ah but you see, I didn't get caught. That makes it fine."

Link rolled his eyes, swallowing his piece. "That makes no sense."

"Of course it does, so long as we eat the evidence, I won't get caught, so I never actually stole anything." As if to accentuate her point, she took a large bite out of the cake in her hands. He couldn't help but notice how proud of her logic she looked, however self-serving.

"And what if I tell everyone?"

A coy grin bubbled onto her face. "Bold of you to suggest that, considering you're eating my plunder. You're my accomplice now you know."

"Blackmail too? What will the kingdom think knowing The Princess has become such a scoundrel?"

"Oh please I'm descended from scoundrels, I think you're just more worried about your own reputation now Mr Hero."

He couldn't hold back a laugh at her insistence on her flawed logic, and within seconds she'd joined him. They laughed like children, pink in their cheeks and warmth in the air.

She lightly smacked his arm. "Ssshhh, we'll wake everyone up."

He froze at her touch. It was…odd? He supposed. To say he'd gotten used to her ghostly form was saying the least. But being with her now, in some way it was like seeing her for the first time. Moonlight now caught her face, it's frosty light contrasting the warm glow in her cheeks. Her eyes large and such a dark blue they were nearly black, but the vibrant twinge of mischief shone in them. It was different though, comparing now to when they first met. Before she'd been regal, upright and unreachable. She'd been a figure to be respected. She'd been The Princess. But now, cake clutched in her hands as she gobbled it down with a daft grin on her face, it was…different.

He caught himself. He'd been staring - but realised she was doing the same.

She swallowed the last of her snack. "Something's on your mind," she said, breaking his thoughts.

"Just wondering how you are." To be fair that was only a half lie. "You certainly seemed to be enjoying that."

"Oh you have no idea how much I've missed this. I swear I'm never missing a meal again." And the determination on her face had him more convinced about that than ever, even about getting her body back.

"And what else? It's odd for you to be up so late right?"

Zelda fell back into the ocean of pillows behind her, her face scrunched up, as if debating with herself over what to say.

"It's odd really, but I'm not entirely sure. In some ways I feel better than ever, though to be fair any body's better than no body," she giggled at her own pun, "though I suppose it's ironic that I can't sleep."

He chuckled, stretching, his arms popping as the pressure left them. "That makes two of us I suppose."

"Oh? Is something bothering you? We can talk about it." She seemed a little too eager, as if waiting for him to take her bait.

The world slowed as thoughts flashed through his head. There was something, a faint thought that echoed in his mind. He was pretty sure it was part of the reason she was here now. But still, did that mean he wanted to bring it up? It was the kind of thing that, once acknowledged, he wasn't sure he could take back. Still if he knew her at all, she'd considered all of this before she even left her room, let alone before her raid and coming here. He played with his fingers, as if doing so could solve this for him.

A deep breath filling his lungs, he finally spoke. "I guess... part of me isn't really sure what's going on now. We've been running around trying to stop Cole for so long, it just seems… sudden, I suppose, to think that everything's just supposed to go back to normal now." He glanced towards her, hoping to see the twinge of response.

To his surprise, she nodded, holding her hand above her face. "I know what you mean, it still doesn't feel real to be like this again." Her hand fell into the pillowy surface. She turned to face him. "It's only been a few months, but everything's just a little off."

"I mean I could take your food away; it'll be similar then."

"Do that and I swear I'll throw you out this window." She threatened, but the cheeky smile on her face lacked the malice to back it up.

He chuckled, falling into the surf of pillows next to her, a comfortable silence hanging around them. They just let a minute pass, listening to nothing but the others breathing. There was something refreshing about it, a calm that had been lacking before. And like an idiot he had to break it.

"I'm going to go back to Aboda tomorrow."

The silence was heavier now, like a fog where he wasn't sure where to go.

Zelda's resigned sigh cut through the still air. "I figured, you need a new train after all."

Ah yes, the poor Spirit Train, barely a pile of scrap the last he saw her. Hardly the kind of funeral he'd have wanted for her, but it seemed a fitting mark for where they were now.

"And you?" It was curt, but the pain in his stomach barely allowed him to ask.

"I'll have work to catch up on I suppose, just back to normal…" Her words trailed off, barely becoming a mutter towards the end.

His heart clutched. Why? Well it bothered him, clearly. It was just back to normal… His mind bounced, and his hand was running through his hair, trying and failing to soothe himself. He flipped over, coming face to face with Zelda's sea of blonde hair. His arm reached out tapping her shoulder, "Zelda?"

She spun to face him, and he was looking square at her. Her face held curiousness, with a hint of eagerness hidden under her usual poker face, but present enough that he could pick out the pieces. However, he quickly found himself distracted by the pattern of crumbs speckled around her face, the sight bringing a daft smile to his own.

"What?" Her cautious laugh broke her façade, just leaving bemusement.

"It's nothing, I just realised how stupid I was being."

"You're always being stupid." She added with a wink.

He rolled his eyes, "First off that's just rude. Second, I'm not having that from someone who's coated her face with food."

She froze, bursting into action, scrabbling to wipe her face.

"At least I haven't eaten in months," she sputtered out, too focused on tidying up to look at him, "what's your excuse for being stupid?"

"Don't have one." His words halted her actions, her head twisting with confusion. A small warmth grew in his chest ever so slightly. He faltered, his words coming out quieter than he thought, "I was just worried that we wouldn't see each other anymore if things went back to normal."

"That is pretty stupid." She threw a smirk his way, but gently withdrew as she whispered, "I was worried about that too."

She had thought so too. So he hadn't been stupid in his concern. Or wait, maybe he was since she felt the same?

"So… we both want to stay friends then?"

It was her turn to roll her eyes now, "I should think so, we'd be wasting our time now otherwise."

He was caught in her eyes as the words settled around them and it was as if he was dunked into an ocean of relief. But he noticed she too was caught in his. And as the last word landed, the air burst into childish laughter.

"Is that it?" Link said, his arms unfurling into the pillows. "That seemed really straightforward."

"I think so," Zelda replied, "Clearly we're just really good at this."

The two broke into giggles again, and the tension finally truly evaporating. Their laughter fell and the two collapsed back onto their backs, staring up at the ceiling.

Link froze. Something soft skimmed his shoulder, and a part of him melted. He struggled to piece together what had happened. Zelda had shifted and their shoulders had glided past each other. Ever so slightly, to the point her touch was almost accidental. It very well may have been. What was he to do? Just leave it? But part of him, the bit that melted, liked it. The slight tinge of warmth, the soothing sensation that spread over him. Logically he should test it right? See if she'd made a mistake or not? He inched closer, mirroring her soft touch.

…This was dumb. He was overthinking. It was obviously accidental. Like she said, it had been months since she'd had her body, she probably just wasn't used to it yet. But a second passed, then two, and a few more. Zelda still didn't pull away, instead he felt her muscles unwind a little as she gently rested against him.

"Still, we probably won't see as much of each other…" she said, barely above a mutter.

He supposed that was true. But then again, it didn't seem a fair comparison, they quite literally saw each other every day.

"I can come back for the market." He said, voice slowing with each word. He let out a soft yawn. His head rolled to the side, gently resting against Zelda's shoulder. "Its early next week right?"

Zelda's head fell on top of his, a few strands of her soft hair stroking his face. "Definitely, I can get my work done in a weekend." Her voice was quiet, soft and slow as it drifted sleepily into the air.

His eyes barely kept themselves open as the stillness took over. His mind began to empty. The only noises being his companions breathing and the soft wind outside. The only feeling a gentle warmth as the two lay there, a tender reminder of the others presence.

Zelda's sleepy voice whispered inches from him, "Would you mind if…can I stay the night?"

He hummed back, "This would just be a waste of time otherwise."

Zelda buried her face into his hair, and everything about him unfurled

"Thank you."

So things were going 'back to normal.' But that didn't have to be a bad thing right? After all normal didn't mean the same. In some ways this was as normal as their lives had been in months. And right now, as the two drifted off into tranquil slumber, he'd be lying to say this wasn't nice.