Chapter 16: Double Heading

Zelda plod through the dimly lit halls of the castle, floor clicking against her heels as she went. A yawn shook through her and she clutched the stack of meeting minutes tight to her side, an effort to prevent them from falling. The light from the dwindling candle clasped in her other hand began to blur as she reviewed the day once again. It had seemed a good idea at the time, organise all her meetings into one day so she was free to do something actually fun for the next few. She rubbed her eyes as her office door rounded the corner, an attempt at forcing away the built up fatigue. Would she even be able to get up tomorrow?

Stinging rang through her leg as the floor fell from underfoot. As the hallway blurred, her mind snapped to attention and she threw her leg out, stomping into the ground. The floor stopped approaching, but the world spun for a second more. Straightening herself, she took a moment to refocus, the walls gradually steadying as she managed a glance to the cause of her unwelcome trip.

Her heart slowed, a single thump rattling through her chest. Laying on the floor, propped up against her door like a doll, was Link. She froze. Why was he there? When'd he get back? Why wasn't he moving? Was something wrong?

A snore echoed throughout the hallway.

A breath flooded her lungs and everything returned to normal. So he was just sleeping. In some ways she wasn't surprised, it was late and she'd long known of Link's fondness for rest. Still, to not notice someone literally walking right into him? It seemed a bit much.

Crouching down to his level, she reached a hand towards his shoulder, prepared to shake him awake, but found herself pausing. The candle's light had washed over his face, letting his soft features pop out of the darkness. It was quickly apparent that his cap was gone, tucked behind his head as a make-shift pillow. Now free from its prison, his hair fell loose, gently framing his resting eyes as he dozed. He seemed so relaxed, peaceful. Frankly it seemed a shame to wake him. But she also needed to get into that office, so he'd have to forgive her later.

Placing the candle onto the floor, she shook him lightly, but only succeeded in rocking the cushion from the young boy's head. Now this was getting a little ridiculous. Reaching down, she gave a light jab to the sleeping boys side.

Link's eyes cracked open, head gently swaying with grogginess as he began looking around the room.

"Good evening, sleepy," she said, pulling back to give him space. "Are you alright? What are you doing here?"

Link spun to face her, nearly falling to the ground, his momentum clearly carrying him further than he'd thought.

"Zelda!" he yelled, face lighting up as his sleepy look grew into a goofily wide smile, and truth be told she felt one pulling on her own face in response.

She stood, reaching out a hand for him. He slapped his own into her palm, the stinging somewhat reassuring as she pulled him up, clearly he was at least somewhat alright if he had that much strength.

"So, why are you here?" she asked as Link stumbled to his feet. He blinked for a moment, eyes still hazy as he dragged out a long yawn before replying.

"To see you."

A tingling rippled through her stomach and her eyes fell to their still joint hands. She released him and the two stumbled apart. As Link fought to regain his balance, she flung into the door, opening it with a practiced motion.

Striding into the cool embrace of her office, she flew to the desk sitting in the centre, a clutter of papers scattered about it. Her stomach rippled again, shouting at her to fix it before he saw. Throwing the stack of minutes on top, within moments her hands were flying about the desk, gathering the papers into what was at best described as a shoddy pile. Hands occupied, she allowed her eyes to dart back to Link, finally stabilized in the doorway, the abandoned candle in hand.

He pawed at his face, as if wiping the sleep away as he finally followed her in, apparently not noticing her nerves. Glancing around, his face twisted as he took in the dark room.

"What time is it?"

She pointed to the black sky blanketing her window as she continued to shift through the papers, the odd glint of stars answering his question better than words. Link was quiet for a moment, his face fully focusing as his lagging brain processed the sight. He finally spoke up.

"How? When?" He said, lumbering towards the desk. "Teacher said you had one meeting left, how did it get so late?"

A soft laugh rippled through her and the tingling finally settled down. Deciding the pile would have to do, she tapped the papers against her desk before answering.

"You've never had a big meeting before have you?" Turning to him, she caught him shaking his head as he mirrored her on the other side of the desk. "Trust me, no matter how short you think it'll be, they always take thrice as long."

Link's chuckle flowed into a sigh as he leaned on the desk, looking ready to collapse onto it at any second.

"Great, driving at night's always fun," he rubbed his eyes again, "at least it'll be quiet."

Lifting her crown off her head and carefully placing it on the desk, she responded, "don't worry about it, your usual rooms free, you can stay the night." She took a moment to run her hands through her hair, it's newfound freedom from her crown allowing it to fluff up.

It took a moment for her to notice the lack of response. Glancing over to Link, his eyes appeared a little lost, clearly consumed with thought. He noticed quickly enough, as her eyes had barely landed on him before he blurted out.

"Are you – are you sure? I don't mind heading back." He shifted, fidgeting with the cap clasped in his hands, not quite allowing his eyes to meet her own.

She supressed a laugh, he certainly could be odd sometimes. Walking across the room, she glanced to him as she passed, "of course I'm sure, there's always room here if you need to stay." Finally reaching the red velvet sofa nestled into the corner of her room, she collapsed onto it with a thump, falling into its comfort. She flashed him a smile, "of course if you really feel like you owe me, I wouldn't mind hearing about what you've been doing all this time," capping off her words by gesturing to the spot at her side.

It took him a moment, but he matched her smile, and slowly lumbered over to join her as he spoke, "well to start with, I have a bone to pick with you."

"Whatever do you mean," she said absently, scattering the once neatly stacked pile of cushions in an attempt to create the perfect spot, "I have done nothing wrong this whole time."

He chuckled, "maybe, but if I remember correctly, you specifically told me that the mines were 'only filled with small monsters, nothing you can't handle by yourself,' not some giant icey... snakey… monster thing."

Her chest panged and her arms froze mid fling, cushion stuck in her grasp. So she'd been right? Had something gone wrong after all? He'd certainly been gone long enough. She gripped the unlucky cushion to her chest, slightly worried it'd burst from the pressure.

He finally reached her side and she found herself staring ahead, unwilling to meet his eyes as he jumped onto the sofa.

"Were you…was everything alright?" her voice was quiet, more so than she'd anticipated, barely coming out above a whisper.

"Yes actually," he leaned, popping into her vision, sly wink present on his face, "fortunately, you were right, it really wasn't anything I couldn't handle." He kicked his boots off and pulled his legs onto the seat, allowing himself to fall to rest against the sofa's arm. "Turns out it didn't deal with lava well, that's why it was freezing the mines, I managed to use a bomb on its footing and drop it into a pool," he pulled his hands apart as if an explosion was blowing them apart, "the Goron's are working on clearing out the last of the ice now, they should all be up and running again soon enough."

Her chest loosened and she tossed the cushion at him, an attempt to cover up the relief in her voice, "see, you should trust me more, clearly I know what I'm talking about."

Catching the cushion, he flipped it behind his head, "don't be silly, of course I trust you. I'd just appreciate some help next time; you have the spare guards for it."

She mirrored him, finally able to meet his eyes.

"Oh please I've seen you training with them, practice clearly doesn't equal experience, you'd end up running off and leaving them behind. Frankly I'd be better off coming along myself."

A wistful look found its way onto his face as he dropped his head into his palm, "you know I really…" he paused, running a hand through his hair as his head bowed slightly, "I actually wouldn't mind that, to be honest it just doesn't feel right running through a dungeon by myself."

She relaxed into the sofa, memories of past adventures simmering in her mind. "I miss it too. Truthfully, I'm a little tired of meetings and the like. A part of me just wants to go somewhere for a while."

"We… we could do that if you wanted." He said, sitting up while yanking his satchel from his hip in a manner that seemed just a little too rehearsed to be spur of the moment. Flipping it open he rummaged through its contents, "after I killed that monster, this fell from it," he yanked the item from the bag and it flashed in the candle light as he tossed it to her.

Snapping it from the air, the first thing she noticed was the size. It was small, she guessed barely the size of her palm. Unfurling her hand, the shimmering gold revealed the object as something all too familiar.

"A force gem?" She held it up to the light, letting the candle light shimmer off the triangle's edges, "but we already restored all the spirit tracks, where does it lead?"

He shrugged, "that's the funny thing, I'm not actually sure," he said, absently pulling a neatly folded, yet clearly tattered, map from his satchel. Setting it down, he gently unfolded it onto the table next to them.

"I went to take a look at the route on my way back, but I could barely make it out." He reached out, finger landing on the mountain range just north of the Snow Realm. "The track arches around the mountain ranges here and I lost track of it," he pulled back, looking up to her, "I have no idea where it leads, I've never seen it on any maps, even before all that stuff with the Chancellor." He paused, then speaking in a soft voice added, "I thought you may have some ideas."

She scanned over the map. For what it was worth, she didn't recognise the area either, though that shouldn't have been too surprising given that Link didn't know. Despite that, there was something that stood out. Zunari Mountain. The name was familiar of course, it was part of a princess' job to know her kingdom after all, but still, there was something about it that clawed at her mind, a memory she couldn't quite place.

Hopping up, she passed by Link, dropping the force gem into his waiting palm, and made her way over to the old oak bookshelf behind her desk. Scanning across the spines, she checked them off in her head. Festival Songs, The World of Stars, Dark Secrets and Mysteries, yet none of them caught the memory swirling in her head.

"What are you looking for?" Link asked.

"A book." She replied, smirking at his ensuing groan. As she laughed to herself, something caught her eye, a small blue book trapped nearly out of reach on the upper shelves. She hopped onto the lowest shelf, the added height just allowing her fingers to skim her target. Swatting at it, she managed to knock it loose just enough to grab and delicately pulled the ragged book from its nest.

The cover peeled at the corners, clear evidence of it being reattached several times over the years. But that wasn't too important, instead she focused on the words neatly engraved into the front. Adventure log – Land Version. It seemed her memory was better than she thought. Bounding back to the sofa two steps at a time, she landed next to Link with a thump.

"It's my grandmother's log," she explained, flashing the cover towards the confused boy, "she recorded everything from their trips, if they explored that area, it's in here."

Link's eyes sparkled as he practically bounced in his seat, "that sounds perfect, let's have a look then."

She nodded and, drawing a long breath, loosened the fists she hadn't realised she'd clenched before gently pulling the cover open.

The pages were rough in her fingers, almost like sand in their age. Yet as her eyes scanned the fluidly running words precisely etched into the paper, it seemed ageless, bringing to mind a voice she hadn't heard in years.

Large icey tunnel, big Rocktite inside, doesn't like cannons.

She heard Link shift at her side, and not a moment later his head settled above her shoulder, inches from her face as he glanced over the pages. His cool breath ran across her shoulders, and a warmth rushed throughout her body. Her nerves flared, a tinge running over them. She couldn't help but risk a peek at him.

His green eyes were focused, staring into the page as if he was trying to squeeze out the answer with his mind alone. Her stomach bubbled.

Forcing her eyes back to the book, she flipped through a few pages, scanning for anything to put her mind back on topic. She froze. There, scribbled at an angle and nearly small enough that she'd simply skimmed over them, were the words they were looking for.

"Large crook near tracks up Zunari Mountain, small stone keep, abandoned but still standing, good outpost?" She read out loud. Spinning to Link, she could feel herself bobbing with excitement. "I knew it! I bet there's all sorts of things up there, we have to go and check on it!"

Link took a moment to watch her, bemused smirk on his face, "It definitely seems worth checking on at the very least." He leant back from her, taking the heat with him. His eyes clamped shut as he stifled a yawn. "We could take a trip up the day after tomorrow, shouldn't take more than the weekend to do the round trip."

"Why wait a day?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

He opened one eye, meeting her own with it. "Firstly, we need to get some supplies before we go, and knowing you that means we'll be looking around the market all day."

She began to protest, but was cut short as a huge yawn escaped her. Link chuckled.

"And there's point two. I know I'm tired, and you've looked like you're going to collapse since we walked in here, I think we could both do with the morning off at least."

He wasn't wrong, she was fighting to keep her eyes open as it was. "Fine, but I want to leave first thing when we go, if you're not up I'll come get you myself."

Link chuckled as the two stood, placing the items back into his satchel. "You say that like it's a threat."

His words were fuzzy in her head, a jumbled mess that she barely registered. When had she become so tired, "maybe it is."

Link's chuckle grew into a laugh as he scooped up his boots, "well in that case, I guess I'll have to take that risk. I'll see you in the morning then?"

She hummed in response, unable to form the words. A part of her knew she wanted to say something, yet couldn't quite work out what. But as Link stepped towards the door, her arms flung without her command, and pulled him into a hug.

The two froze, as if held in place by some unseen force. Wind rattled against the roofs tiles, the only sound as the two stood there. Then, Link's arm fell to her back, and the young boy softly returned the embrace.

The bubbles in her stomach doubled. Yet she found herself relaxing, enjoying the contact. Simply happy with the proof that he was safe.

"I'm glad you're back," she said, pulling him a little tighter still, "don't worry me next time, ok?"

Link's grip loosened, and they pulled apart slightly, allowing him to look her in the eyes. "I'm glad to see you too," he said, "but next time you'll be keeping an eye on me, so it'll be fine right?"

She nodded back and let him go. Waving her goodnight, Link made his way out of the room, leaving her alone again. Walking back her desk, she grabbed the candle from it. It was then that she realised, despite his absence, she could still feel his warmth on her skin and the bubbles in her stomach. It was reassuring, soothing, and she knew that she'd sleep well that night.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It's a little longer than normal and I've not updated in a while, so I feel some explanation is in order. In short, I've been working on my Master's dissertation for the last two months, so I've only been able to write this chapter whenever I've had the chance. Fortunately, as of the day this is uploaded, I have officially handed in my dissertation. To celebrate, I'm putting up this chapter (which purely coincidently happened to be finished at the same time).

I just wanted to say, thanks to all of you who have read and continued to read and comment on this story during my absence. It really means a lot to see that you guys are enjoying this and I want you to know that it is appreciated.