"Hrmm," Link muttered to himself, staring at the board in front of him. His chin rested in his hand as he leaned over it, studying the pieces intently.

"Please make a move," Zelda groaned. "You're not fighting a real war."

Link made a noise just to acknowledge he'd heard her, but he didn't move any of the pieces on the board or even a muscle. That is, until he jerked back with a harsh 'ow' and an accusatory look at the girl across from him. She was beaming, far too happy with herself.

"Zelda!" he laughed, scooting his chair farther away where she couldn't kick his leg again.

"Move!"

"I'm a soldier! I have to strategize."

"It's chess, Link. It's just chess. The point is to move your pieces, not to stare at them like you're at a museum. Look, I'll even be nice and help you!" she reached over the board and moved his rook forward with a heavy sigh of relief. "Thank the gods."

"That's not my move!" he chuckled, swatting her hand away from her own piece before moving his back to its original place. He grinned up at her, fighting back a laugh at her exasperated expression and gave it a solid few more minutes before putting his rook on the same square she'd had it.

She glared at him with deadly—but amused—rage. "I am never playing this with you again."

"Yes you will."

"I can't believe it. I absolutely hate you. Without a doubt, you're the worst."

"I know," he snorted, trying to keep his eyes on the board, though he knew that was an impossibility.

She had a hand on her piece, wondering if she should at least pretend to think over her move to give Link some time to study the board. Link had taken so long that she'd prepared a strategy no matter which piece Link had moved. But she moved her knight and waited as Link's forehead crinkled. He hadn't expected that. And that meant he was going to think some more.

Zelda slouched in her chair and looked at the trees that surrounded them, offering some privacy from the rest of the courtyard. Thanks to Link's presence, there were no guards at the edge of the tall hedges which was the only real way into the small, sectioned off garden area. She welcomed the fresh air and the feeling of grass against her feet. She'd kicked off her heels almost the second she'd sat down.

Link thought his move over for a moment, but he could see that even in that short time, Zelda was bored waiting for him. Or, not bored, because he'd offered a raincheck when he realized how mismatched their skills were so he could get in a few games of practice with Finn, but she'd hastily declined his offer. Still, she couldn't help but be mildly impatient with his slow turns.

His focus on the game was entirely broken as she leaned back in her chair, losing the stiff posture that she'd re-adapted to since they'd been out of the woods. Link noted how she looked far more comfortable than usual, almost like she did when lying on a bed or a couch. A soft smile tugged at his face as he watched her look around and stretch out her arms with a small lazy grin on her face. Some of her arm lit up as it breached the boarder of the shade that covered the table from the surrounding trees, but he watched her turn her face into the breeze and into the warmth of the light. He could easily see the freckles under her eyes that usually required him to be close to her. And her hair was down, flickering in the wind, tangling, though she either didn't mind or notice.

"Have you made your move yet?" she asked without turning to him.

Blinking just to clear his vision of her for a necessary moment of clarity, he cleared his throat and blindly pushed a pawn forward. "Yes."

She turned to him in surprise, given the relatively short time between their turns, and looked at the board. Her lips pursed in suspicion and Link leaned forward with an easy smile on his face. She hadn't expected that move because… well, he didn't really know what move he'd even made.

"You really don't know how to play, do you?" Zelda asked as she studied his move with an amused look on her face.

"I've played, just not very often. And clearly not as well as you."

She grinned and pushed his pawn back where it had been. "Well, you can't move two spaces again."

"Fine," he said, sliding it up one instead.

She gave him another exasperated look. "You don't want to make that move. You were guarding your queen. If you do that, I'm going to have to kill her now and then absolutely destroy your king in a few more moves. It's a terrible decision. Try again, Link."

He tapped his fingers on the table and slid another piece diagonally. Zelda bit her lip, trying not to smile or look too entertained at his blunders. "Nope. Not allowed."

"Why?" Link mused. "You already said I was going to lose. Let me cheat to try to win."

"No, absolutely not," she laughed, reaching for the piece to move it back to its place.

But Link grabbed her hand, stopping her from sliding it back. "Let go of my knight. That's the move I want to make."

"No!"

He couldn't stop the smile that broke out over his face. "Give me my knight, Zelda!"

She shook her head and pulled the piece protectively into her fingers, keeping it safe in a fist, looking at him triumphantly.

He raised an eyebrow and slid his finger under her thumb toward the chess piece with just enough force to prove that he could easily take it back from her if he wanted to. She grimaced, aware that she'd lose this battle if he wanted her to, remembering just how much stronger he was as her fingers started to loosen. "Stop trying to take the knight, Link."

"It's my piece."

Her other hand clamped down over his to stop him, and she stood up for leverage. "You're a cheater. You have to let me put it back."

"No. In war you get ahead however you can."

"Stupid soldier mentality," she grumbled humorously.

"You're the one who told me this is a war game."

"I didn't think you'd take it so seriously! This is a board game! You cannot cheat in a board game, no matter how bad you are at it!"

"Want a bet?" he said, his eyes flickering as he wriggled the piece free from her grasp and waved it in her face.

"No!" Zelda laughed, pushing her chair back.

"Oh boy," Link chuckled as she made her way around the table towards him. He moved his chair between them and tucked the piece into his own fist as he backed away.

"Link, let it go!"

He crossed his arms and fought back a desperate laugh as Zelda practically threw her weight on him to try and make his arms budge. She tried to pull them away, but he just watched her, feeling her best efforts amount to barely budging him. After two solid failed attempts, he loosened his muscles to let her pull his arms away with ease.

"Ha!" she laughed triumphantly, as if she'd won a great victory.

He shook his head, tauntingly waving the knight in front of her. She lunged for it, but he took a step back and caught her, wrapping his arm around her waist, trapping her against him. "You can't win, Zelda."

She leaned into him and glanced at the opening in the hedges to be sure no one had come to check on them. "Fine, you win."

"Mmm," Link muttered, letting go of her and backing away to his side of the table again. "I don't trust you."

Zelda shrugged innocently, but Link knew her, and her expression was anything but innocent. He held the piece behind him with his arm stretched out away from her.

"You underestimate me," she said, mirroring his past words to her. They were both breathing heavily; she could feel her heart race around him, despite their childish activity. She sauntered up to him, leaving him to watch her warily. She didn't know what she looked like, but even despite the sunlight beating on them as they moved farther from the shade, she could see Link's eyes lacked his usual blue.

And when she was close enough, she lightly pressed her nails into the armpit of his shirt.

"Oh shit!" he laughed, dropping the knight automatically.

Zelda bit her lip, watching him stumble backwards like it had been a physical blow. But her win wasn't to be celebrated just yet. They locked eyes again just before they both dove for the piece on the ground.

And banged heads.

They both lost their balance and felt themselves crash into the grass. "Ow!" Zelda whined, grabbing her forehead. She looked up to see Link mirroring her, groaning.

He rolled off his knees and into the grass, glancing over at her. "Sorry."

"Me too," she whispered, though her eyes darted around. "Where did it go?"

He shrugged, too casual, and she pushed his arm. "You're lying on it! That must hurt! Move!"

"No."

"Are we really still doing this?" she asked incredulously.

"Come get it then. End it."

She knelt beside him and shoved him, trying to force him onto his side. The best she could do was slide her hands under his back.

His arm snaked around her, stopping her just before she made it to the piece, and he rolled them over so Zelda was under him, pinning her hand just out of reach of the knight. "Have I won yet?

She sat up using her other arm and Link met her halfway, reading her mind, lips crashing together feverishly. She pulled him back down, their lips meeting time and time again, perhaps with too much enthusiasm to the point where Link actually wondered if he'd accidently bitten her lip too hard.

"Wait, wait," Zelda said pulling away, panting for breath as her eyes widened. "Are we even alone?"

Link snorted and looked up to the entrance that she couldn't see from where she lay. "Yeah, we're fine. Figuring that out a little too late if we weren't though."

"Oh Goddess," she breathed, laying her head back down. "Imagine if we didn't notice people just standing there?"

"I don't know if I'd have noticed Ganondorf just now," Link laughed, leaning down for a much gentler kiss.

She wrapped her hand around his neck. "We're still in public. Anyone can come over here. And neither of us are being particularly quiet."

"Ugh," he groaned leaning back and helping her into a sitting position. "I hate it here."

"Same," she grinned, smoothing back her disheveled hair.

Link reached over and pulled a hair pin and a piece of grass from her locks.

"Help me," she said, gesturing to the pin. "Where does it look like I was just rolling through the grass with a man instead of playing a polite game of chess?"

He chuckled and pressing down a wild piece of her hair and used the pin to secure it. "And you're back to being a princess."

"After I do one more thing," she said with a mischievous look in her eyes.

And she reached for the knight piece one more time, grabbing it and rising to her feet, backing away towards the house.

Link shrugged. "I can get it right back you know."

"Can you?" she winked before dropping it down her bodice, giggling to herself as she watched his expression too obviously morph from humor to lust. Well, she knew who won. While the greater part of her warned her to back off and leave, another part of her wanted to dare him, to see that look in his eyes and remember that she wasn't alone.

He strode up to her, and her breath hitched in surprise when he stopped next to her. His eyes weren't on hers for quite a long time, and she almost wondered if he'd take the bait. When he finally raised his unblinking eyes to hers, his pupils were blown and his wolfish grin was predatory in the best way.

But he just lowered his voice and shook his head. "I absolutely could." Zelda leaned toward him subconsciously, and felt his hands tightly against her waist before pushing her away so he could breathe. Zelda knew even he had more willpower than she wished he did, especially out in the middle of a crowded yard. "But I won't."

"That's too bad. That means I won," she breathed out heavily as she started to back away again.

Link followed, shoving his hands into his pockets and throwing his head back to feel the cool breeze. "Did you, though?"

She chuckled, unable to look back at him. "No. I won the wrong game."

"That's what happens when you're evil."

She spun around, arms wide in defeat. "You live and you learn, Link. I'll have to remember what game I'm playing when we have a rematch." She spun back, laughing.

He caught up to her and she leaned into his side as they walked. They both looked around, seeing that there were no eyes on them, and at once leaned into each other for a quick kiss before heading separate ways. Link wasn't scheduled as her guard for the rest of the day, leaving her in the constant presence of someone else, and he could already see Finn waiting inside, looking bored as he leaned against one of the walls.

"Princess," Link called before they were too far away. She turned to watch him walk away though he didn't look back at her. "Next time, we're playing cards."