Zelda ducked her head under the water and sighed. She wished that she had more time to just enjoy the feeling of water, but they were still too close to the castle to feel even remotely comfortable with their surroundings.

Link stood several yards away, keeping an eye on the woods, while Zelda washed the blood from her hair and the grime off her body. She couldn't help but sigh again as she watched the red stream of dry blood flow away with the small current that led into a stream from the pond itself. Running her hands through her hair was no longer a chore. Though it was still considerably tangled, it was nothing like before. But the stiffness from the blood and dirt had been washed away, and her soft, long blonde hair floated at the surface of the water all around her.

Goddess, how she wanted to stay there, but she felt bad for Link. She'd convinced him to wash up as well, since—by his own admission—everything except for what Zelda had helped him with was still covered in dried blood. It had come with the promise from her that she wouldn't wander away so he could still help if more soldiers came along. That didn't take much convincing for Zelda to agree with. She didn't love the idea of him being her constant shadow, but it wasn't an unfamiliar position for her to be in. As Princess, there was always someone with her. Gods, there were usually several of her ladies in the room while she bathed, so having the privacy of a soldier barely within talking distance was a blessing that she wasn't used to.

Dipping her head back into the water one more time, she climbed out and shivered in the night chill. They'd agreed that the air was warm enough for this night-stop, but that didn't make getting out any less chilly. Besides, there was absolutely nowhere they could go without raising suspicions in their current condition.

She pulled on her old clothes. There would be no drying without the warmth or the sun, and it wasn't worth waiting. Truly, she barely noticed. After the dungeons, after that grave she'd been in, this was an oasis, wet clothes and all.

"Link?" she called.

He only turned half his head, keeping his eyes from her. "Yes?"

She grinned at his soldierly respect for her. "You can come out now."

He turned the rest of the way towards her and saw her leaning on a rock, watching him until he reached her.

"Your arm," she said finally, "How did you say you fixed it?"

Link made a face and turned away from her. "I popped it back in as soon as I got out of the chains. Not the most efficient fix, but it's worked well enough."

Her mouth dropped and she crossed the distance between them. "Let me feel it."

"No."

"Link."

"It's fine."

"Take off your armor!" she demanded. It was that voice, that posture that she'd used on Link in the past, the one that had him unabashedly intimidated by her. And now, he knew exactly why. It was the demeanor of a royal commanding the attention of one of her subjects.

He sucked in a breath and shook his head in acceptance as he pulled the layers of the guard uniform off until he was in the last of his layers, a loose shirt just enough so the chains of the mail didn't rub against his skin.

"Link," she sighed. "You can't possibly be modest. Before today, I've never even seen you with a shirt on. Or shoes, but that's beside the point."

"It wasn't like I had a choice, but that was also before I learned who you were." His eyes pointedly avoided hers, and he stared at the bottom branches of the nearest trees just to give himself something else to focus on.

But in a quick motion, Zelda tugged his arm lightly, and watched him hiss, stepping away from her in pain. "Gods, Zelda!"

"How in Din's Blood did you not manage to break your arm? Good thing you're left-handed. I have no idea how you've been using it this whole time. Let's go. I'm going to fix it. Sit down in front of that tree and take off your damned shirt and give me your belt, while you're at it."

"You just want me to strip to nothing in front of you, don't you?"

Her eyes glinted humorously, and she held out her hand. "You wish, Link."

He let out a hard breath and rolled his eyes, pulling both off. Zelda took them and winced, seeing his back first. It was still coated in a layer of dried blood, before following to kneel in front of him, giving his arm a quick look over and a light poke, which had him flinching. She could see the bone jutting out slightly.

Link's face was red, and Zelda couldn't fight back her grin when she noticed. His arms were resting over his pulled-up knees as he watched her examine his arm. Tensing, he suddenly pushed himself back against the tree.

"I haven't done anything yet," Zelda laughed.

"Your hair," he said, gesturing to where wet drops trickled down where her hair draped over his arm.

"My hair pains you?" she asked, leaving it against him and grabbing his wrist. Honestly, let him be distracted by it, she figured. It would take his mind off this. She bent it around, beginning to move his arm into position.

He pressed further into the tree, though this time, his scrunched-up face betrayed his real pain. "Yes," he hissed through gritted teeth. "Travelling with you is immensely painful for various reasons."

"We haven't even travelled yet, really. We've gotten to a pond that you haven't even gone in. We haven't even slept. You're being cynical."

He groaned. "I've seen you sleep. You're a maniac."

But Zelda just grinned. "If you want to see something maniacal, wait until I push your arm back into place. Are you ready? It'll hurt."

"Do it."

Zelda grimaced in empathy as she moved his arm across his chest and pushed it back hard.

Link felt the tree cutting into his back as she did, forcefully bracing himself against it. But when he heard the small pop, he was surprised at the immediate waves of relief.

She grabbed his belt and wrapped it around him, securing his arm in place. "Obviously, you can slip out if there's a fight, but otherwise, try to keep it there. With a potion, you should feel better much faster."

"Thank you," he said, honestly sincere for the first time in a while.

"You won't thank me when I find a needle and stitch up these cuts," she said, only half joking, as she eyed the evidence of Ganondorf's blade.

"I'm sure there are healers in town. You don't have to."

Zelda shrugged and sat by a rock, waiting for him to get in the pond already. He slid in, careful of his arm, and dunked his head under. Zelda looked around as he had done, keeping an eye out for any approaching threats. She heard him pop back up.

"You know," she said, "We have no money for any proper medical help. Unless you have a stash of rupees hidden nearby?"

He swam over to the edge and rested against his good arm, staring up at her. "No, not near here. I can work. You can find a bunch of injured people to torment. We need a change of clothes first. I can't be travelling around like Ganondorf's soldier, and you look like you just ran out of some dungeons."

"And you need a potion badly."

"This is great. I thought you were rich," he teased.

She snorted. "Yes, I'll just sneak back in and grab the rupees I kept under my floorboards."

"Good plan."

"Tell me what happened, Link. You got out, opened everyone's cells, and then looked for me. That's so vague."

He laid back a bit and sighed. "I used the keys, got myself and some others out, we took out the guards at the doors while others were opening the rest of the cells. I tool one of the guard's uniforms and got out of there. The soldiers didn't know any better and let me wander around. I asked questions, I slept in a bed…"

"You know how to make a girl jealous," Zelda laughed.

"… and the prisoners roamed the castle, looting, killing, escaping. There were still some inside from what I heard when I got to you. It took a full day, thankfully not any longer."

"I don't know how you stood up for so long, Link. That was horrible."

"The chains helped," he said ruefully. When he saw her grin fade as she drifted back to the cell, he cleared his throat. "So, you said I could ask you anything about your royal-ness, right?"

Zelda rand her fingers through her hair, untangling it as she nodded.

"Okay, I'm dying to know something. There are rumors about two things. One is that there is a secret river that runs underneath the castle and leads out into Lake Hylia. Is that true?"

"No," she laughed. "There is a small underground spring that I used to bring my sister to, but that's all."

"Okay, tell me this then: how big was your dining table?"

Zelda shook her head, smiling. "Of all the questions you might have, those are the two you chose to ask?" Link waited patiently, his eyes glimmering at her. "Okay," she said. "Our table was very large. And yes, it was full. We didn't waste the food though. First, the servants ate anything we didn't, then we gave the rest to shelters around castle town. It wasn't ideal. My sister and I kept trying to convince my father not to allow the cooks to make so much, but it wasn't his first concern."

"You and Prince—"

"Wait," Zelda interrupted. "Don't say her name. I can't say their names yet. I can talk about them… but I can't… I just can't say their names. I don't want to hear them."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't know. I can't grieve them yet. We aren't safe. But yes, we were close, my sister and I."

"Well, let's get to safety. We'll find somewhere we can build a fire for the night, and then try to get some rupees tomorrow so we can travel safer."

"Yes, that sounds good. I'm not sure how I'm still awake."

"Hey, Zelda," Link added hurriedly. "Did I get all the blood off my back?"

Zelda crossed her arms with a grin. "You're just trying to get me to look at your muscles, aren't you?"

"You wish," Link laughed, echoing her from before. "I was genuinely curious this time." But the playful glint in his eyes said that was only partially true.

When they found a secluded cave and started a fire to keep their damp bodies warm, both of them were peacefully asleep for the first time in a very, very long while.