The heat of the desert had quickly a welcoming feeling. Zelda kept her eyes closed to the harsh sunlight, letting Urbosa gently dab ointment across her cheeks.
"Sit still, little bird," Urbosa murmured. Fingers swept down the bridge of her nose, smearing the cool gooey everywhere. Zelda didn't flinch. It had stopped being uncomfortable after the first ten times she had to do this. "You really do just forget every time. Perhaps it's time to start keeping some of this in the slate."
She could. It wouldn't be any sort of hardship, to go and buy some medicine of her own–– or even to make it. Urbosa had patiently explained how to properly scrape the thick walls of the hydromelons to make it ages ago.
"Maybe," Zelda said. When she opened her eyes, Urbosa only smirked at her, one brow raised. Zelda couldn't help but smile back, a little, even as she flushed with embarrassment under her newly sunburned cheeks. Even having known Urbosa so long, it never seemed to fade under that look. "But maybe not."
Urbosa flung her head back, cackling loudly. Her hand slipped from Zelda's face, instead settling warmly on her shoulder. "I see," She said, and when she grinned down at the princess Zelda could see nothing but fondness in the woman's face. "But you didn't come here for me to tell you that, did you, little bird."
Any hope of relaxing flew out of the window. Zelda tried not to tense. By the look on Urbosa's face, she didn't quite succeed. "I..." She swallowed. How was she even supposed to say it? All of them had been there, had seen what happened–– "I humbly request your advice, Lady Urbosa, if you could..."
She paused as Urbosa's hand squeezed her shoulder. The older woman looked seriously down at her, eyes like steel. "You don't need to talk like that, Zelda," She said firmly. "Not with me. Not when it's just us." When Zelda only ducked down, nodding quietly, she sighed. Zelda twisted her hands together in her hand when long nails gently carded through her hair. "This is about what happened at the Spring, isn't it?"
Shame. Hot and heavy and sickening. It tasted like bile, on the back of her throat.
Zelda swallowed again. The feeling didn't go away. "Yes. You... Everyone saw what happened when we–– when we––"
"Zelda."
She looked up. To her further embarrassment, Urbosa's sharply painted face wavered through her tears. But the woman stopped her before she could look away, thumb swiping carefully under the princess' eye. "That wasn't fusion, little bird," She said quietly.
Zelda gave up on holding them in. Tears slipped down her cheeks, just as hot and frustrating and degrading as when they had fallen apart; when her hands had hit the water and she had known–– "Then I failed to fuse again?" She whispered. "I was–– we were so close. Was that not it either? Did I still..."
"No, little bird, no." Urbosa picked her up as easily as a kitten, holding her close to her side. Her arm was warm and strong around her shaking shoulders. Zelda curled into that warmth and squeezed her eyes tight. "I'm not saying that. It was fusion, but it wasn't... a healthy kind. A stable kind. None of us arrived in time to fully get a glimpse of you but..."
Her voice trailed off. Zelda huddled impossibly closer, wishing she was small enough to hide in the Chieftain's skirts. Even far from the castle, away from prying eyes within the depths of Vah Nabooru, she still felt she wasn't hidden enough.
At this rate, she was beginning to doubt there wasn't a nook or cranny in all of Hyrule that could make her feel secure.
She looked up, immediately locking eyes with Urbosa. The woman didn't bother pretending she hadn't been staring. Not that Zelda expected her to. There was no one in all of Hyrule who could match the unapologetic self-assertiveness Urbosa radiated. Zelda had a feeling she would always admire her capacity in that regard––
Zelda blinked, brow furrowing, as Urbosa's warmth left her side. The chieftain's skirts swept in a spiral of electric-blue around her legs as she knelt before her.
"Zelda," Urbosa asked, "Would you give me the honor of fusing with me?"
Her heart stuttered in her chest.
"...What?" Zelda squeaked.
Urbosa did not falter. Her eyes remained steadfast where they were fixed on Zelda's. "I will not push you if you don't want to. But it may help you be able to fuse with Link better if you know how fusion is meant to feel in general." Zelda only gaped. Urbosa smiled at her, expression softening. She pushed her hair out of her face, painted nails endlessly gentle where they grazed Zelda's forehead. "I won't guarantee it will solve all your problems, of course. The reason your fusion with your knight refuses to work has a deeper meaning than simply knowing how to step to a tune or twirl on cue. But if you think this may help you, than I will gladly fuse with you."
Zelda could only stare. "The–– my father," She tried. "He said–– I'm not, I... I'm only supposed to fuse with the chosen hero of the Goddess."
Urbosa regarded her calmly. "Do you believe that?"
She could feel her jaw clicking. Zelda couldn't help the way she gaped, mouth opening and closing even as nothing came out. Her nails dug into her knees. "I... I don't know."
Do I?
Her focus fell away. Urbosa fell away. Zelda stared into the distance, unable to shift her mind away from it now that it was there.
Mother was supposed to be my first. She was not a knight or a hero. She was not Link. My first fusion was always supposed to be––
"I suppose I don't," Zelda admitted, and the sheer freedom of saying it out loud nearly took her breath away.
Urbosa looked nothing but proud when she turned back to her. Her eyes sparkled with something electric, something––
Zelda shot to her feet. There was a sudden pull in her bones she couldn't identify. It roared through her, sharp as steel and hot as embers, searing through her skin. It was unignorable. The force of it would be enough to sweep her off her feet if she let it.
She threw her hand out, palm up, fingers open. If it trembled, Urbosa refused to comment on it.
"I would be honored if you would fuse with me, Lady Urbosa," Zelda declared.
Urbosa grinned with all her teeth, painted lips parting like clouds after a storm. She towered over Zelda when she stood, but when she took Zelda's offered hand, still so very attentive to not accidentally scratch her, Zelda felt nothing but safe. This was her friend. Her mother's friend. A person who was important to her. Someone so full of power, with none of the intent to direct any of it at her.
Powerful arms pulled her to the center of the shaded little alcove. "Belly dancing is the most common dance of choice for my people, as well as the use of scimitars," Urbosa warned. her hips did a testing shimmy, making the ornamental metal pieces of her belt and jewelry jingle musically. Zelda eyed the fluid movement with awe. "But I doubt the King had allowed you to learn any dance outside of those coveted by the Hylian royal family."
"I would like to learn, if you'd have me," Zelda said quickly.
Urbosa threw her head back with a laugh. Her eyes remained warm where they settled on Zelda's face. "I don't doubt that you would, little bird," she teased. "Maybe, once everything is over, you could stay with my sisters for a while. We would teach you every step if you wanted to know them."
She did. Very much so. The contained, careful boundaries implicit in a royal waltz were nowhere to be found in the controlled, precise fury of movement Urbosa used. Where a waltz was refined, belly dancing looked fun .
It looked free .
"Just do your best to sync with me," Urbosa coaxed, "Fusion will come in time. We don't have to rush anything."
Zelda didn't think it would be a problem at all. With every flaring swirl of blue skirts and vibrant red hair, clicking heels and roaring laughter–– Zelda threw herself into step with the champion and felt electricity coarse through her. Her fingertips to her toes buzzed with energy. When she laughed, open and breathless, chasing Urbosa's swiveling twirls and turns, she could taste the sharp-tinged magic of Urbosa's power on her tongue.
She felt a little foolish, spinning madly on her toes. There was nothing graceful about her, in the moment. Yet, twirling and gliding around the little space, fingertips grazing desert-tinged sunlight, Zelda felt more joy in being childish than she ever did in trying to match up to a legend.
"You're quick on your feet, little bird," Urbosa cheered her on, her bright hair flashing over her shoulder red-hot like struck embers, hot like the flush in Zelda's cheeks and the bubbling furnace of warmth in her chest, "I bet you can be even quicker!"
You would never do me the disrespect of underestimating me, Zelda thought, lungs filling with dry, burning air. Coughing out sand never felt so sweet. She reached for Urbosa and saw almost in slow motion how Urbosa readily extended her own hand, painted nails glittering in the bits of sunlight that reached into their nook. My ally. My friend.
Electric. The thunderstorm swirled and settled in her chest, roaring like a lynel. Zelda felt nothing but the steel-tanged adrenaline of victory when she took Urbosa's hand.
Then the world melted together, and she was not Zelda.
She rose to her full height–– or tried to. Her head grazed the ceiling. Thickly braided locks pressed down against the crown of her head. Her layered skirts pooled against her thighs as she bent down. The feeling of fabric pulling against her legs, when she knelt, was strange, but not fully unfamiliar–– like trying on clothes that no longer fully fit.
Zeldosa slid open piercing seafoam green eyes.
"We..." She looked down, raising her hands–– all four of them. They clenched and unclenched slowly, pulling at new muscles. "I feel... powerful."
Glittering, colorful jewelry, mixed between Urbosa's bright reds and Zelda's signature blues. Armor clicked in places both foreign and not. The weight of hair, strawberry blonde, thick where it nearly pooled to the floor. The mask of makeup painting her face in vibrant splashes. If she had the room to stand, she wondered if she would trip over her heeled boots. There was little space to try. There was little space to do much more than stare.
Zeldosa had no problems with that. Her heart beat with overwhelming excitement just to see herself. Just to stare down at her hands, at her clothes, at herself and know that it meant...
Clench. Loosen. Zeldosa ran her painted nails down the new expanse of her body in awe.
One with my people. One with myself. One with the princess, with the Chieftain. Never alone again. We are one as we are many, never to leave the other behind. Not even the heat of the desert could do more than make them pause. They were powerful. They were whole. They were––
"Nothing could hope to stop me," She breathed.
She jumped to her feet, overcome in childish excitement––
––and banged her head loudly against the roof. The thick curtain hair did nothing to stop the sharp pain that floored her, nor the strangled yelp that ripped from her throat.
The world shifted into blinding, dizzying light, and Zelda rolled across the floor of the alcove, holding her head and groaning.
Strong hands wrapped around her shoulders, gently pulling her off the floor. Zelda opened her eyes to Urbosa's smile. All at once, the success, the excitement of it all–– She flung herself at Urbosa, giggling madly when the other hugged her tightly. "It worked," She shouted, breathless with it, "It worked, it worked! We fused, and, and–– oh, Urbosa, you never told me it would feel so right, so complete ––"
Urbosa stroked through her hair, laughing into her shoulder. "It only feels so good because it is us," She said, but her voice was giddy beyond her composure. "It only works because we trust each other."
She pulled away, hands firm and gentle all at once where they gripped Zelda's shoulders. Zelda felt tears sting her eyes as the warmth in her green eyes.
"That is what fusion is meant to feel like, little bird," She murmured. "This is what your first fusion was always meant to be. Safe. Stable." Her hand slid up, caressing Zelda's cheek in a touch so foreign, and yet so familiar. Something she hadn't truly felt since...
The tears fell. Zelda drew in a shuddering sob and Urbosa's eyes shut for a brief moment, filled with grief. She pulled Zelda close again and the princess did not hesitate to latch onto her as if she were her anchor in a storm.
"I miss your mother dearly, Zelda," Urbosa said, quietly resolute, "And I wish she had... I wish you had gotten the chance to fuse with her, when she was still with us. I wish the Goddess hadn't taken her from us so early." Her palm rubbed Zelda's back soothingly. She didn't do anymore more than hold her tighter when Zelda buried her face in the crook of her shoulder. "But know that I would not give anything in the world to have her in your place. You're very important, little bird. Not just because you're a princess, or are destined for divine power. You're important just for being you ."
She held her until Zelda's crying calmed, cradling her from the desert heat in the divine beast. Even then, neither of them moved. If Link never came to retrieve either of them, then so be it. Personal guard or not, Zelda was plenty safe at Urbosa's side for the moment.
But.
"When you are ready, Zelda," Urbosa said quietly. Zelda stirred, but did not look up. That was fine. Urbosa laid a hand on her head, allowing Zelda to lean into her touch. "I would like you to try again with Link. Not to fuse," She said before Zelda could say anything, "Just try to... spend time with him. You can't force a fusion with a partner you can't trust, much less one you don't even like. A dance alone isn't enough to sync with someone you don't know."
"I do know him," Zelda muttered, voice raw.
Urbosa shook her head. "You don't. He's barely more than a stranger to all of us––" She paused. "––except maybe Mipha. But that's a given."
Zelda didn't respond to that. By her even breathing, Urbosa had a feeling she was asleep before the thought had even left her lips.
She stared down at the sleeping princess, carefully adjusting her to lay more comfortably against her side. The cooling desert heat, at the very least, didn't demand any blankets. Not that Zelda would likely even notice if she did start shivering in her sleep. The princess was a rather dead sleeper.
Urbosa sighed quietly and looked out over the desert. The golden sands shone as vibrantly red as her own hair in the wake of the setting sun. In the distance, she could see the waking glow of her people lighting lanterns. If she breathed in deeply, she swore she could taste the spice of meals and sharp perfumes even over the dry wind.
It was a peace she only hoped could last forever.
"If it can't," She murmured to herself, "At least I will know we died for something worth protecting."
All of it precious; all of it so very, very worth protecting.
ZELDA URBOSA FUSION CAN I GET A HELL YEAH
can i say that designing fusions between characters who are different species is hell! I've drawn both Zelda and Link's fusion as well as Urbosa and Zelda's, and I'm already dreading trying to work out mipha and link. it's going to be hell. i spent Hours just looking at clothing references yesterday.
Also, Urbosa's dancing is a type of belly dancing hybrid- but when I was looking stuff up, I realized belly dancing isn't great for fusion since it's primarily performative and not an interactive/duo type dance? I tried to shift it a little, but I'm not exactly someone who knows anything about dance. lmk if you have suggestions