"You know how this works, Princess Zelda," The King scolded.

Zelda refused to meet his eyes. An hour more of scolding wouldn't change that. It was unfortunate that looking away from him meant looking at Link, solemn and silent in the corner of her eye.

Stoic. Infuriating.

As if her father had seen her thoughts on her face, he sighed wearily. Zelda hid her hands in her flowing sleeves. At least there, no one would see her nails biting into her palms. "I know it is difficult. I know our family history of fusion has been–– lackluster. But the weight and health of Hyrule rests on this! When will you learn that, Zelda?" He sighed again, looking away from her. She did not answer.

All at once, the steam seemed to rush out of him. "...Zelda," He said, quieter. She looked up. The regret in his eyes did nothing to soften the rigid line of his shoulders. She looked away again. "Zelda... You must keep trying."

I am already doing everything I can. I have done nothing but what the Goddess has claimed is my destiny, have lost my life to a war that has not yet peaked the horizon, and yet you––

Tears bit into her eyes. Zelda allowed her hands to tighten, and tighten, and tighten, and carefully shifted them further out of sight when blood wet her palms. She did not say a word. It never helped anything.

The King slumped back in his seat. He looked old past his years. "...Just go," He finally said. His tone, despondent and defeated, only made Zelda want to scream. The urge to just run, to escape into the middle of nowhere, returned as viscerally as it always did. Into the mountains, into the woods–– anywhere, as long as it was far from the caging walls of the castle–– and scream. "Tomorrow, I expect you to return to either the Spring of Power or Courage You must keep trying. I cannot allow you to continue gallivating around ancient machines and useless research when everything we know is at stake. Go to the Springs, and keep trying. Eventually, it will stick. We are out of other options."

All these years, all my prayers, all my research, all my dancing lessons, and nothing has stuck. Zelda turned without a word, the very picture of dignified poise and grace. She allowed her feet to carry her mindlessly. She did not even stiffen at the familiar clicks and clanks of her knight's armor as he rose to dutifully stalk her. All for nothing. Everything for nothing. Has seeing us fall apart, over and over and over, not struck some sort of chord? What an "option" this is, father, that our kingdom is forced to rely on.

Zelda let the door to the throne room shut behind her and took off down the hall without waiting for her knight to follow. He was far efficient enough to stay on her heels no matter how hard she worked to shake him off anyway. Of course he was. Of course he had to be.

All for nothing. All for nothing.

What kind of failure of a princess–– of a person–– was unable to fuse?

I simply don't want to, her mind whispered. Zelda hated it. Hated–– him. I hate him. How could they ask this of me? To fuse with someone who so clearly looks down on me, who is the pure embodiment of everything I am not–– Do they find it funny? Is this joke laughable enough, yet? Am I a princess or a jester, pretending as if we could be anything more than each other's reluctant company...!

"Link," Zelda grit out, jaw creaking painfully with the effort to stay composed. The steps behind her obediently stilled. It only made her angrier. She did her best not to even chance a glance his way, a tense hand on her bedroom door. "When we go to the Spring of Power tomorrow..." she paused, swallowing thickly. Her mouth felt dry, tongue raw and thick. Something twisted tightly in her chest. "...You better not step on my feet," She forced out.

Link, as always, did not follow her past the threshold of her tower bedroom. Zelda was glad for at least that.

Hands shaking, she slumped to the floor and curled up against her bed. Her eyes filled with hot tears. Alone in her room, there was nothing to stop the mortification of being yelled at, of nearly snapping at Link. Even if he deserved it, her breaking would just be one more way she was a failure compared to him. Even in poise, she couldn't stand shoulder to shoulder with her own knight. How pathetic. How…

Unfair. Unfair. Unfair.

"What am I doing wrong," Zelda choked out. "It was never supposed to be this difficult. We are meant to match. We are meant to––"

She missed her mother. The late queen had never been able to give her her first dance like she was meant to. From queen to princess, the living blood of the goddess was supposed to be the first fusion. Her mother had died before she could give her that. Her first fusion, lost. Had that broken something sacred? Was that why she––

It can't be. Zelda shook her head, nails digging into her palms. Fusion was something anyone was supposed to be able to do, royal or not. It was the one truth across all genders, classes, races. Something like that should have had no impact on her own abilities.

Yet none of her fusions remained stable. (Just dancing with Link felt wrong. Mismatched. Awkward limbs and unsteady feet. The one merge they had managed to last for longer than a moment had felt so unbearably ugly––) The King refused to even entertain one with her. Always an excuse that he was busy, always an excuse that he wasn't the one she must fuse with. Zelda wrapped her arms around herself. Her fingers twisted into the fabric of her sleeves, yanking at the delicate seamwork. So be it. It wasn't as if she particularly wanted to fuse with her father. Any fusion she could create with him would likely just feel awful. An ugly monster made up of his dismissive frustration and her own helplessness.

She pressed her lips into a thin line to hold back a snarl unbefitting of a princess. Did he think her so pathetic as well? Was that why they couldn't, did he think––

Zelda buried her head in her arms and tried to breathe.

Tomorrow, they would face the Spring of Power.

Tomorrow, she would have to force herself to try again.

ive been thinking about fusion aus for months and never written one until now. It lives in my brain rent free. I didn't even plan to write this fic until it was written.

This will maybe have... 5 chapters? 6? It's not planned, but I'm excited to write it dsnhbfjdn. Hope yall enjoyed. Lmk whether i should play more into Zelink as a romance or Zelda & Link as queerplatonic/platonic soulmates

As always, find me at Leviathiane on tumblr!