In that moment, Zelda felt as she was back in that courtyard giving the speech all those years ago, but something was different. The man with the blonde hair wasn't smiling at her.
He was glaring.
Suddenly she snapped back to reality, and there was no mistaking it, the man standing in front of her, the Prince-General of Termina, indeed was Link. She could recognize those eyes anywhere.
"Link..." she began, unsure of what to say. It was 7 years ago again, and Link was in her chambers for the first time.
"Your Majesty." Link cut her off, as he took a bow, trying to force a smile but failing badly. His voice was still the same, older, but the same. Filled with coldness and distance, but still the same.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Link Harkinian, the crown-prince and general of Termina."
Zelda wanted to scream, she also wanted to laugh, and cry over the absurdity and wonderfulness of it all. On the one hand Link was alive. She always assumed that her father sentenced him to the worst, as he refused to give any answers whenever she brought it up. In time, she learnt to stop mentioning it.
His last name had changed, but then she connected the dots and realized he was the one who the Terminian royal family had adopted.
"Link, I-" she tried again, only to be cut off by him again. "Prince Harkinian, if you please. I think it's best if we don't get personal in times of war, don't you." the knowing look in his eyes, designed to hurt her.
Not that she didn't deserve it.
"Of course... Prince Harkinian. I'll take you to your room then if you come with me."
"That's alright Queen Nohansen, don't bother yourself with me. I'm sure you have other things you'd rather do."
Another jab. Zelda tried her best to maintain a calm composure. "Al-Alright, Jorulph if you'll take Prince Harkinian to his quarters then. Jorulph?"
The captain was startled, obviously very confused by the conversation he just witnessed. "Right, uhm, Prince Harkinian if you'd just follow me then."
Link looked at Zelda and slightly bowed, "Queen Nohansen." as he followed Jorulph out of sight.
Zelda instantly retreated to her room, holding back the tears as best as she could, leaving a very confused Impa.
"Zelda, can I come in?" Impa asked from outside her room.
"Uh just a second!" she maintained a calm tone, but she was just wiping her tears and turning her cushion upside down so Impa couldn't tell that she had been crying.
"Come in!"
"Impa, what brings you here?"
"Who is he?"
"Didn't you hear him introduce himself, Prince Li-"
"You know that's not what I meant.
"Actually, I don't Impa. Now, I'm exhausted after the battle, please leave me so I can rest."
"Come on Zelda, you don't have to hide anything from me. Who-"
"I DONT KNOW HIM IMPA!" shouted Zelda, letting out all her built up pain. She sighed, gathered herself together, and apologized, "I'm sorry Impa, I shouldn't have shouted."
"No, you are entitled to your secrets. But if you ever change your mind, please know that I'm always there."
"I know Impa... I know"
"As long as you do." said Impa with a warm smile, "Now I'll leave you alone." she said as she exited the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Zelda alone with her feelings.
It was nighttime when Zelda finally left her room again, only to be told by Impa that she and Link were to have dinner together and discuss strategy. Fat chance of strategy being the topic of the very painful dinner about to come.
She took a deep breath to prepare herself, and entered the room to find Link waiting by the table. He hadn't sat down yet as a sign of respect, but that may have just been to maintain normalcy in front of Impa.
"This is where I leave you." said Impa, "Ring if you need anything." she bowed and left the room, but not before she gave a knowing look to Zelda.
"Link..." began Zelda for the third time.
"I told you, address me as-" he was cut short as Zelda had pulled him in for a tight hug. He didn't reciprocate, but he didn't reject it either... well not at first. Suddenly Zelda felt his muscles tense as he pulled away.
"Queen Nohansen, this is-"
"Come on Link, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that I have no idea who you are."
"Why? You didn't seem to mind doing that 7 years ago."
Zelda opened her mouth to respond, but she had no retort. He was right.
Link sighed, "Let's just eat dinner, and discuss strategy as we're supposed to. Once this war is over, you can go back to ruling Hyrule and I'll be back in Termina. We only have to act civil for a few weeks." he said as he sat down, and started eating, but it wasn't because he was hungry.
Zelda sat down too, subconsciously. She reached out her hand to put on his cheek. He didn't move for a moment, as they both just gazed into each other's eyes, until he broke away and removed her hand.
"You don't get to do that anymore."
"I know..." replied Zelda, internally celebrating the small victory of getting him to start talking. Baby steps. "I'm sorry."
Link laughed dryly, "Oh you're sorry, that makes everything alright. Let's pick up where we left off shall we?"
"Link, I know I hurt you but-"
"You didn't hurt me Zelda. Hurt would be if you had cut me with the Master Sword that day. You... broke me. I-" he started, obviously having a lot to unload, but decided against it at the last second. "It doesn't matter, not anymore."
"It does to me." she said as she tried to grab his hand, but he didn't let her, as if he was afraid to let his guard down with her. "What- what happened to you after..."
"Go on Zelda, finish that sentence. After what?"
"After I... I-"
"I'll help you out, after you betrayed me, left me to die. Hell you did all but hang me yourself. I trusted you, I lo-." he stopped himself again, regaining his composure. "Anyways as I said, it doesn't matter what happened."
"It does Link, it does. How are you alive, I thought father sentenced you to..."
"Be hanged, drawn and quartered? Yeah he did, but I guess either I survived or you're seeing a ghost."
"But how did you survive? What happened to you? Tell me, please."
"No."
"No? Why not?"
"Because it's none of your DAMN BUISNESS ANYMORE!" Link exclaimed as he slammed his fists in the table.
"Gods..." he said as he quickly calmed down, "I'm sorry I lost my- I lost my temper for a moment."
He sighed, "Do you promise to leave our past alone after I tell you what happened, and just focus on the war professionally?"
"I promise." replied Zelda, but she wasn't sure if she meant it.
"Haven't I heard that before..." said Link quietly, but Zelda felt like he wanted her to hear.
"Alright, here goes..."
7 years ago
"Zelda. Please... you promised."
That was the last thing he was allowed to say as he was gagged. He looked into Zelda's eyes one last time, before being dragged out of the room, and he was knocked out after a guard hit him on the head.
"But we can't execute him!"
"I don't think you understood me minister, this man attempted to assassinate the Princess of Hyrule, my daughter, and gods know what else!"
Link heard faint voices as he slowly regained consciousness.
"My king, I perfectly understand the gravity of his actions. But we must not forget, he is the Hero of Legend! He pulled out the Master Sword! We simply cannot execute him and leave the land heroless. What happens if we're attacked then, if someone comes after the triforce, we'd be helpless."
King Rhoam looked at the sky, "What a great hero you've chosen godesses... Damn it!" he exclaimed, as he slammed his fist in the wall.
"I concur, but there isn't much we can do about the matter. I suggest we exile him, but keep quiet about it. Then if the land ever needs a hero, he'd be there."
"That's a good idea, but exile him to where?"
"How about Termina? It's an island nation, he can just wash up on the shore without ID and nobody would be any the wiser about his origins."
"What about the Master Sword?"
"We'll just put it in the ground again, if the legend is true nobody else except him will be able to reclaim it until he is dead. Look, he's waking up."
"Link Ordon!" It took Link a second to realize the King was talking to him. What was happening? He was confused from the hit. "You have committed crimes, the nature of whom are grave. Normally, you would be hanged, drawn and quartered. But due to your special... status, we are forced to make an exception. You have been sentenced to exile. You will be sent to Termina without any belongings withing the hour. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Exile? Termina? What was happening again? And then it all came back to Link.
"W-wait wait Your Majesty! This is all just a huge misunderstanding! Zel- Her Highness knew I would be there, the accident with the Master Sword was just a mistake, if you just talk to her-"
"Silence!" said the King, "How dare you? How dare you besmirch my daughter's name with these accusations?! She has already denied having any knowledge of your arrival, and even if she did, what possessed you to think you had any right to be in the Princess of Hyrule's chambers at this hour?!"
"Your Majesty, I-"
"I've heard enough, as much as I want to have you executed first thing in the morning, my hands are tied. You have the goddesses to thank for your life. Guards, take him away, and make sure he's on the boat to Termina within the hour."
"No no no Your Majesty, if I could just talk to Zel-" Link felt something hard hit the back of his head, and he blacked out again.
Link awoke to the sound of seagulls. He was on a beach, wearing a simple worn out T-shirt and pants. He didn't even have the Master Sword anymore.
He got up, still groggy from the multiple hits to the head, and saw a child walking up to him. But there was something odd about that child... he was wearing the most peculiar mask Link had ever seen.
The events of Majora's Mask unfold
"Dear Terminians, Welcome!" King Harkinian of Termina addressed his citizens, "Today is a truly joyous occasion! Link Ordon, has successfully saved our beloved land from certain doom! As reward, he's being awarded the title of 'Hero of Termina'!" The gathered Terminians cheered, and Link smiled as he raised his sword... feeling the absence of his true weapon.
"On a more personal note" continued the King, "It's common knowledge that I have been trying to adopt a son, so Termina has an heir. Well who would be better than a true hero to lead our great nation! It's with immense pride and happiness that I announce, that Link Ordon is officially being adopted into the Harkinian family, where he will be dubbed Link Issac Harkinian, and serve as the crown-prince of Termina!" The crowd erupted into cheers of happiness, this was a momentous day. The future of Termina had been uncertain for far too long, with the Queen having passed away before giving birth to a son, and the King unwilling to re-marry. But the man who saved the land, that was someone who they would support as King when the time came.
Link was finally happy, after all the pain in his life, he finally had a family, and a future. Even though he was surrounded by people, and a father for the first time in his life, he couldn't help but feel alone, as if there was one more person that needed to be there. The person who had caused him the most pain in his life.
His smile faltered, to be replaced by a scowl.
The person whose face he never wanted to see again.
Present Day
"So that's it, I saved the land from a sorcerer wearing a mask and an asteroid, and I get adopted into the royal family. And here we are."
"Why didn't you ever come back?"
"Come back?" asked Link with an incredulous look on his face, "Did you not hear the story? I came back I would've be executed. I wasn't welcome here anymore, your father was very clear about that."
"I know that, but after he passed away, nobody knew of your fate, most thought you died. You could've came back and we could've..."
"We could've what Zelda, we could've what?"
"I could've apologized to you, tell you that I made a mistake... tell you that I lo-"
"Don't." Link stopped her, "Don't finish that sentence." he sighed, "I heard when King Rhoam died, and the thought of coming back never once entered my mind. The only reason I'm here today, is because it was important to my father. I tried to forget everything about this place, because I was done. I was done with Hyrule, and I was done... with you."
Zelda merely nodded in defeat, her hunger long gone, she felt no reason to stick around, "Right... I'll retreat to my chambers then. Good night... Prince Harkinian."
"Good night, Queen Nohansen." replied Link, rising from his seat as she left.
He sat down with a sigh. He didn't enjoy that, even though he wanted to, even after all that's happened, he didn't enjoy hurting Zelda. He was lying of course, when he said he was done with her.
He just didn't know it yet.
