Zelda clutched Epona's reins as if her life depended on it. Her eyes were darting all around, searching for some sign of an impending attack.
There was nothing.
Link rode on one side of her, and Finn on the other. Both wore armor that matched hers, bearing the symbol of the Royal Family of Hyrule. There were several other soldiers who also wore it, like Ashei, and she noticed it was reserved for the more advanced among them, where the volunteers were wearing less expensive or less intricate designs. The same thing happened with Daltus' soldiers. Most of his troops wore his family's symbol, especially since he'd brought his people with him when he'd marched, but not everyone was able to sport it. It was simply a matter of rupees.
Auru, on the other hand, had every single soldier of his wearing his kingdom's pristine, reflective armor with his sigil proudly displayed. He had far fewer monetary issues, especially after selling half his forces to the Demon King.
There was no possible way that their entire army wouldn't see an attack coming. They had scouts sent in every direction, their best warriors were keeping an eye out on the horizon, and she was surrounded by thousands of loyal troops. In many ways, she was safer than she'd ever been. In others, she was completely exposed.
Auru's eyes on her sent a chill down her spine whenever she noticed him. Their alliance was flimsy at best, and she still wasn't sure how far he'd go. Before heading out, she'd warned all of her troops and Daltus' to stay on alert, even if they thought they were safe.
"You look tired, Princess," Finn noted, seeing her sagging form and drooping eyes.
Zelda shrugged. "I didn't sleep much last night." She could hear Link's snort but made no move to turn towards him.
Finn didn't even seem to acknowledge Link's noise and nodded in agreement. "Neither did I. This is quite the feat, Princess. We're all here because of you."
"I just wish we were already there, you know?" Zelda said wistfully.
"I hear you. If I had it my way, I'd have been riding all night to get out here earlier."
Zelda heard Link make another noise, so she finally turned to him. "Yes?"
He looked at her with an innocent expression that Finn didn't seem to catch. "Nothing. Just… I feel like you'd agree with Finn. You'd ride hard to get what you wanted, wouldn't you?"
She closed her eyes and felt her cheeks burn as she heard the double meaning in his words, reminding her of their night. "Yes," she managed to choke out, casting a playful glare in his direction.
He winked at her and returned his attention back to the road.
"I think we all would," Finn continued, completely oblivious. "This is just a completely different Hyrule than the one I grew up in. You never know what's going to be out here. Not until you're back on the throne and we can have peace."
Zelda smiled half-heartedly, thinking about the threats she'd made to get here, and if she'd made too many enemies to keep Hyrule safe. If she'd sacrificed too much for the short term goal and had forgotten about the long game.
She sat alone by the fire, watching the flames dance wildly in her vision to the point that the heat and the flickering brought her eyes to water. It was comforting, in a way, to not have to worry about who could see her. No one could see her eyes and think that she was crying over the future. Few people even recognized her as the Princess, since she was mostly silhouette from behind, and she looked like a weary soldier in the darkness.
But from the front, from the other side of the fire, she could be seen. That's where she saw Daltus walking towards her.
"Cousin," he greeted, sitting beside her on the flat side of a split log. "I'd have thought you'd be asleep."
"I can't," she admitted. Her eyes were like lead, but her brain was working overtime. "There's just too much."
"You're no good to anyone if you're dead on your feet."
Zelda grinned. "Is that some veiled threat?"
Surprisingly, Daltus laughed. "I almost wish it were. But no, not this time. Not from me anyway. I'm on your side of this war, Zelda."
"Thank you." She turned to him, seeing his sorrow so plainly in the firelight. "How long did you know Niko?"
At the mention of his name, Daltus flinched, but after a few breaths, he found his words. "From the time I arrived in Damel. I'd heard of him in passing, but he was not of my kingdom, so his life was nothing I knew well. We were acquainted probably as long as you and your guard have been. But you were fortunate, and I was not."
"Fortunate?" Zelda mumbled. "Cruel gods had their hands in both our lives, cousin. You were gifted with everything to make Niko work in your life, but he was a snake. I was gifted with a love who can't share my life."
They were silent, stretching uncomfortably long, before Daltus cleared his throat and spoke hoarsely. "I swear, though I covered for him in many ways, I did not know of his involvement with Ganondorf."
"I believe you." She plucked a blade of grass and began to shred it into the smallest pieces she could, letting them blow away in the light breeze. "You know that Niko has to face a punishment when we return. I have no choice. It was treason."
"I'm aware," he nodded, stiff, gruff with choked down emotion.
"Daltus, I can offer you a kindness," she turned to face him, though she didn't reach out to comfort him in any way, just toyed with the grass. "I can send him to your family on the charges of deception and treason against you rather than me. It would allow you the opportunity to intercede with your parents to spare his life. I can't see him ever being free, but… it's an option. If you want it."
He sniffed in, holding his breath as he nodded into the darkness. "Thank you, cousin. For all I've done, I don't know that I deserve that kindness from you. But… Niko… doesn't. He is a survivor, and if he is given the chance, he will survive. He… should be…"
"Are you sure? You have until we return to think about it." This time, she did place her hand on his shoulder, and she felt him grip it tightly, unusually calmed by her action.
"Again, thank you. But I believe my decision will stand."
Zelda saw his steeled gaze and felt worried that the Daltus she'd met had died when Niko was revealed as a traitor. A new Daltus sat beside her, broken, lifeless.
"You'll come back from this," she tried. "Maybe not soon, but you will. You have your family, and you have me. I know that doesn't mean much; we've never been close, not even when we were younger, but I am here."
He scratched his nose and nodded. "Thank you, cousin."
On the second night, after needing to be woken the first night for oversleeping, Zelda had retired to her tent early. But it didn't prevent her from having fitful dreams, one that had her flying awake sitting up with a sharp intake of breath and a hand on her chest to slow her racing heart. And as soon as her eyes opened, she forgot what the dream had been about and turned the lantern on low so the light might chase the dream away.
"Zelda?" she heard. It was Link's voice, but he was nowhere.
"Link? Where are you?"
"I'm in my tent. Are you okay?"
She glanced at the edge of her fabric wall. Link's tent was pressed as close to hers as possible, and there were three guards keeping watch over her all night as well.
"I had a nightmare, I'm sorry."
She heard him tsk. "Don't apologize. You were making pained noises earlier, so I checked in on you earlier to make sure you weren't being strangled in your sleep or anything. Just checking on you again."
"I woke you?"
"No."
She saw the side of her tent wall move, and she poked it curiously.
And was met by his chuckle. "That's me, and your nail hurts."
She lowered her voice to less than the whisper they were already using and moved closer to the edge. "You didn't even notice that they hurt the other night."
His return laugh was muffled, and she knew his hand was over his mouth so the guards outside wouldn't hear him laughing to himself in the middle of the night. Then, moments later, she saw a finger against the flat wall. "I did. It just felt better than being poked."
She pushed her finger against his and smiled as both of them pressed their whole hand against the fabric, barely feeling the other, but knowing they were there.
"You have to sleep, Link," she muttered, moving her hand away.
"Remember the good old days of you, me, and caves?"
"Goodnight, Link!" she chuckled as she laid down. But shortly after, she felt him do the same in his tent. The fabric of both tents was so close together that it seemed almost like they were side-by-side together. And that was how she fell asleep and managed to sleep through the night.
By the fourth day, Zelda was tired of riding, but she felt mostly impatient, and bored.
The tension that had first come with riding no longer lasted. She felt safe. But she did very little but watch troops train wherever they had all stopped on the road.
She'd gotten complacent and had begun to leave off several layers of her armor, sticking with comfort and practicality over safety. She kept her plated bodice, but wore a normal, loose white shirt over it.
So, in her boredom, she'd taken to spending her free time with Shad and the others who had volunteered to treat the wounded soldiers.
She spent almost the entirety of the fourth and fifth day helping him to train the volunteers in simple tasks, like sterilizing instruments, recalling the names of equipment, and basics like stitching, cleaning, and bandaging wounds.
Though any time outside of that was limited, Shad gave Zelda a few potion lessons in exchange for her help.
"Princess," Bardo, Zelda's guard, greeted, ducking into the tent she and Shad were working in. "I'm sorry to interrupt you both, but several refugees came to us today. A few of them claim to have some basic medical knowledge. Do you need more hands?"
"Always," Shad said as he stood, dusting off his pants and helping Zelda to her feet. "I'll go meet them."
"I'll go too."
Zelda hurried out of the tent, too pleased that there was some excitement. She all but jogged to where a large crowd had gathered, helping the many refugees all at once.
"Master Link is here," Bardo said, leaning into Zelda. "Would you like me to make myself scarce?"
She groaned at his comment. From the many attempts he'd made to be kind and offer the two privacy, she'd recently realized that yes, he had heard them together back in Damel, and he did in fact know. She imagined Leon did as well, given they were partners, but Leon was blissfully less conspicuously helpful in that sense. He would simply disappear when Link was around, and reappear when he'd left.
"Sure. Go enjoy some time off, Bardo."
"I'll be back later, Princess."
She shook her head and tightened her ponytail as she made her way to Link's side. He didn't even have to look to know it was her.
"What happened? Where are they all from? Do you know?" she asked, pinning her ponytail up into a pristine bun.
"Nope. All I heard was that Ganondorf happened."
"I heard…" Finn said, appearing beside them. Zelda jumped at his appearance, though she realized he had to have been with Link and she just hadn't noticed him. "… that most of them were farmers and Ganondorf burned everything down. They've said that Hyrule Field is covered in burned grass."
"Did you walk them inside?" Zelda snorted. "How did you already get that much?"
Finn chuckled. "Viscen rubbed off on me before he left. Picked up a few things. I wonder if he'll be back soon."
Zelda crossed her arms and craned her neck to try for a better view. "He's been writing, sending us information. He'll stay where he is."
"Forresters?" a squeaky voice rang out.
Finn looked at Link before glancing around, but Link turned to Zelda, suspicious of the definite "s" on the end of his name.
And that's when a familiar, short blonde-haired girl appeared in front of them, bouncing with excitement. A moment later, a middle-aged woman and a man around their age followed her with bright smiles.
"The Forresters, right?" the woman asked, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Oh gods," Zelda gasped, excitedly grabbing Link's arm, shaking him. "Ellie! Maryse!"
"Oton," Link finished, offering the man his hand as Zelda pulled Ellie into a tight hug, and a much lighter one for Maryse.
Ellie bounded from foot to foot as she looked them both over. "You both look different. Better, but different."
"Ellie!" Maryse scolded her daughter.
"You haven't changed," Zelda grinned, looking at the clone of her sister. The family that had first shown them kindness after she and Link escaped the castle looked tired and hungry, but otherwise much the same as when they'd left.
"I'm so glad to see you made it. You were such a lovely couple, and you saved our Ellie."
"Couple?" Finn snorted, coming up beside them.
Link shot him a look and clapped him on the back, pulling him forward. "This is my friend, Finn. These are the people who saved Zelda and I when we were in the most need."
Ellie scoffed and crossed her arms. "I told them you were prisoners, you know. You don't have to dodge that one."
Zelda could see Maryse squeeze Ellie's arm in warning. But their appearance here hit her like a brick. "Oh no, what happened to the farm?"
Maryse nodded solemnly. "Burned. There's nothing left. We managed to get one horse out and nothing else. It was Ganondorf's men."
"It wasn't because you helped us, right? We still have Epona; she's here, if you need her back."
"Oh no, it was a few months later. Just a few weeks ago, and we've managed. We were heading to Damel, where it's said that most refugees are finding themselves, but then we found this army camp, and all of us needed and rest. There are about twenty-five of us, I believe." Maryse looked from Zelda in her loose clothes, not the standard outfit one would see someone in on a normal day, and Link's armor. "Why are you here? Did you make it home? Was your home burned as well?
"'Was her home burned?'" Finn repeated, looking to Zelda.
"Oh," a new voice said, obviously eavesdropping. Shad appeared and shot both Link and Zelda a knowing look. When he'd first met them, he'd also seen her under the guise of Link's wife, and understood everyone's confusion.
Zelda turned back to Maryse. "You're good with potions. Are you the ones asking to join the Shad at the medical tent?"
"We are," she beamed, surprised that Zelda knew. "Would you be so kind as to show us so we might introduce ourselves?"
"I'm Shad, actually," he said, extending his hand to each of them. "I'll bring you back. Are you returning, P—" he stopped himself before saying her title, turning to Zelda.
"Yes, I'll come back. I think there might be a few things to catch up on. Link? Coming?"
"I'll walk behind you with Finn. I'll catch him up."
"Good idea."
After a few steps, and seeing too many people gawking at her, Zelda sighed, not wanting to destroy that last piece of her fake identity with Link that existed, even if only in their minds. "So, Link and I might not have been exactly honest with you."
"You are pregnant, aren't you!" Ellie laughed, like she'd made an old joke with an old friend.
Zelda could hear Link choking behind them as Maryse closed her eyes, unable to find the words to scold Ellie yet again for her inappropriate comment.
"No," Zelda said, keeping her queenly cool, unlike every other person around her. "I… well… we aren't married, first off."
"Oh?" Maryse whispered, as if it were the strangest news she'd received.
"No. And my name isn't Zelda Forrester. It's… um… it's actually…"
She couldn't do it. Something about saying it aloud to them specifically stopped the words in her throat.
Link dragged Finn back up to them, mouth open from the story Link had told about their marriage ruse. But Link settled beside Zelda and crossed his arms, watching her. So when he saw the words get stuck, he was pretty sure he knew why. She turned to him with a small shake of her head, one that screamed that she didn't want to say it, even though it would quickly be revealed if she didn't.
Link slid into his relaxed guard pose and spoke. To Zelda, his words almost sounded perfectly matched to what her guards in the palace would have said. "Her Royal Highness, Princess Zelda Aravis Thaisa Hyrule, heir apparent to the Kingdom of Hyrule and all its Territories. She used my name while we got away from the castle. I'm her guard."
Zelda couldn't help the smirk on her face as he got her name perfect. The three shocked faces turned to Shad, who simply nodded in confirmation. And immediately, Maryse and Oton both dropped to their knees.
Zelda reached for them and helped them back up. "Please don't bow. There's no need. Besides, you saved us. I owe you our lives. We were starving, tired, and in poor health. You brought us back."
"The real Princess?" Ellie balked.
"The real one."
"No wonder you looked like her. Or… like… yourself, I guess."
"It is a pretty good reason," Zelda said with a grin. "And when this is over, when we all make it through and defeat Ganondorf, I'll personally see that your farm is rebuilt. I can't restore your treasures, but it's the least I can do."
And they followed her, speechless, to the medical tent, unable to focus on anything other than the fact that the Princess of Hyrule had been in their home, and they were sitting with her in a cramped tent in the midst of an army, discussing how to best suture a wound.
Zelda didn't hate losing that anonymity nearly as much as she thought she would, especially once they stopped stuttering nervously over every word.
Being with them made her remember the people who were being affected by Ganondorf's rule, and not just herself. She knew many of the soldiers had seen them and been renewed with that same energy.
Something akin to hope.