"Zelda!" he finally managed to breathe.

And it was a breath.

She was the air that he hadn't been able to breathe since she'd gone limp in his arms. Her name released the tight, constricted snake that had been slowly squishing his chest.

He stood up from his chair and knelt over her, his mouth still dropped open in shock as he wrapped his arms under hers and pressed his forehead against her, letting out a breathless laugh that quickly turned giddy.

He could hear her light breaths in his ear as her weak arms put some pressure on him, her attempt at a return embrace. It was only after he shifted ever so slightly that her arms slowly made their way up to cradle his face, shaking with strained effort against his skin as her fingers lightly traced his jaw.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, unable to bring her voice any louder. Her fingernail ran along the bandage on his cheek.

He pressed his hand against hers and nodded. "Am I okay? Zelda, it's nothing. Are you okay?"

She took two sharp breaths and shook her head. "It hurts. Is it still there?"

Link kissed her forehead and brought his hand lightly to her abdomen, featherweight pressure just so she could feel the absence of the knife. "No. Shad got it out. He saved you."

"You did too," she said, turning her face into his, though she couldn't quite manage the energy to do much more.

"No, you saved all of us. And don't argue with me. I'm not in the mood to let you win anymore."

She breathed out a laugh, her tilting lips the only indicator that she wasn't just breathing heavily. "Are you crying?" she asked, feeling something wet against her cheek.

He moved his hands to her head and her back, nodding. "Yeah. I'm relieved. And I don't think I've ever been so happy. You're alive and you're talking, not just breathing. You… you can't just die on me, Zelda. When we got back, Shad said he lost you once, but didn't want to tell me. You, Zelda, are a badass warrior queen if I've ever seen one. I wouldn't want to face you in a fight."

She hummed into him, a content sound. "Where are we?"

He moved his hands again, unable to keep them still against her. "An abandoned town. We're with all the injured."

"What happened to you?" she tried again, her eyes blinking rapidly to try and stay open as she looked at his cheek again.

"I'm fine, really. Listen, I have to get Shad. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Wait!" she hissed, grabbing his wrist. She couldn't bring herself to say anything, opting to cling to him instead.

"I swear," he whispered, pulling her hand from his wrist and kissing it. "His room is just down the hall. I'll be back in ten seconds. Would have been faster, but I have a limp."

"A limp?"

He kissed her hand again. "Worry about yourself first, okay? I'm fine. Shad says you have a dangerous infection."

"Great," she moaned, her head lolling over as she looked at Finn's empty bed, none the wiser to the occupant.

"Ten seconds," Link promised.

He was back in seven.

"Tell me again," Zelda whispered, still unable to get the volume of her hoarse voice much higher.

Link rolled his eyes, glad she couldn't see him. He was sitting with her in the bed, his arms wrapped around her waist as she laid back into him. It was excruciating to feel her against his ribs, but it was a pain he welcomed wholeheartedly and had trapped her against him so she couldn't try to move away for his sake. He'd found some way to hold her since the moment she'd woken up last night. Only Shad had managed to get him out of the room, despite both their protests, insisting he should check Zelda's wounds privately. It was then that Ellie had brought Finn back, and the news quickly broke that the Princess was awake.

When he and Link had been allowed back into the room, she'd begun crying again, her own tears of relief at seeing him alive after what she'd witnessed. And to his surprise, he found himself shedding a few of his own, not realizing just how much she meant to him as well. But his relief also extended to Link, relief for his suffering best friend.

Link had kissed Zelda briefly, and her eyes shot to Shad. But Finn had been the one to break the news to Zelda that she and Link didn't need to hide because the entire army was gossiping about Link and Zelda after her very public display of affection before the battle.

Now, Finn sat forward off his bed grinning at Link's obvious embarrassment.

Zelda still had to take a second glance at the spot where Finn's leg had once been, despite talking with him earlier in the night. Sometimes, when she caught a glimpse of the remaining stub, darkness crept over her eyes, and she was in a small room watching her people being beheaded or impaled until they got to Finn and his screams would echo in her ears. She'd find herself pressed back harder into Link until she could push the thoughts aside and focus on something real, something in front of her.

"Oh Princess, I'll tell this story anytime," Finn said, smirking in Link's direction. "So, we were riding through town following our Commander when we saw him go into this brothel…"

"Hello," Shad said as he walked in, interrupting the story. He gave Link a disapproving glare, seeing how he was positioned in the bed. "You must be in pain. You're agitating your injuries."

Zelda glanced at Link. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but the number of bandages that covered him acted as one. It gave her a better idea of where on his body to avoid to keep from hurting him too badly. She tried to sit forward and scoot to the side, but Link's arms locked her in place, silently reassuring her that he was fine. He'd moved her over earlier when she had literally been crushing him, so she settled back again, knowing that he'd let her know if she was actually hurting him. She still hadn't been told the cause of his injuries, though. She knew she'd get it from him eventually, and if he wasn't in a hurry to share, she wasn't going to pry.

Shad then turned to Zelda. "And you, Princess, how are you doing this morning? Better than last night?"

"Better," she agreed, but her body betrayed her. She was sweating with a fever, hoarse, in pain, unable to move for much more than a wiggle. But she twisted to show Shad that she was okay, though it was a failed gesture. Her back shot out, arching as a harsh stabbing sensation hit her as if she'd dug the knife in again and again. But despite the burn it caused in her, she felt herself shivering and cold.

Link's arms tightened, stopping her body from shooting too far away from him, which would cause her more pain. She'd done it earlier before he'd taken up his new spot. She'd practically contorted backwards as the sharp sensations threatened to knock her out. Her cries could be heard throughout the entire building. Since then, Link had done his best to prevent her from such a sharp movement again.

"May I check the infection, Princess? You don't even need to move."

She nodded and leaned back further into Link. His eyes bugged out in pain as she brushed up against his ribs, but he bit back any noise that would have alerted her to it, knowing she'd move again in a moment and it wouldn't last long.

Shad went to lift Zelda's shirt, but stopped and glanced at Link. "Should you be…"

But it was Zelda who scoffed. "Oh please, he's seen far more of me that that."

Shad's eyebrows shot up, and Link bit his fist, fighting back a harsh laugh that washed away any shred of pain he'd been feeling.

When she noticed Shad's expression, she almost looked confused. "What? Finn said everyone knows."

Link was practically beaming as he leaned into her, blocking his amusement in her shoulder blade, wishing he could see more of her expression. "Everyone knows you kissed me before the battle, Princess. They suspect it wasn't the first time since I haven't really left your side in over a week. They definitely do not know any details of anything. Now Shad knows though."

Her eyes bugged out and she covered her mouth with her bandaged hand, her eyes frantically flickering between Link and Shad, filled with embarrassment. "Oh gods, I thought… I'm so sorry. That was crass anyway, but it just… oh, by the Goddess…"

Link was chuckling uncontrollably, feeling her leg bounce into his, silently chastising him.

But Shad simply cleared his throat and blinked several times. "Well, I'm a physician and… between two consenting adults that's… um, healthy." He cleared his throat again. "I had an inkling of your feelings for one another, but I've been making Link leave the room to preserve your… modesty around him. Apparently, that was… unnecessary."

"Wow," Link muttered into Zelda's ear before he gently lowered her down against the mattress to give Shad some room. "You're not even awake for twelve hours and look what you've done." She used his leg as a pillow and covered her face with her hand, only peaking out to glare at Link.

Finn turned around to lie facing the wall to offer her privacy from his eyes anyway. Shad quickly lifted her shirt to expose the bandage covering her stab wound, but pulled the shirt up higher to reveal the other incisions he and Owl had to make to repair her wound and drain the excess blood that had seeped out of her into her body. He gently peeled the top one off. It was the better of the two, and it showed. It actually appeared to be healing nicely, though there was some tender red skin around the incision. Shad had taken the stitches out already, but the evidence of their presence was still there. He applied a topical poultice before covering it with a fresh bandage. Taking a breath, he gave them both a cautionary look before peeling off the bandage where her stab wound had been.

Even Link made a face as he looked at it for the first time since they'd been lying on the floor in the castle. The skin was raw and it was not healing well. The small knife wound had become a massive incision where Shad needed to extend the wound so he could get inside to stitch her back up. He hadn't had the tools to do it delicately, and the infection was evident. There was white discharge from the wound, and some of the skin had become discolored.

"Great," she muttered, looking away as she suddenly felt lightheaded. Not only was she in pain and suffering from infection, healing from a stab wound, and letting her broken wrist heal, she was also hungry yet nauseous at the same time.

Link ran a hand through her hair when she turned away, and Shad proceeded to clean the wound, which caused her more pain.

"Has anyone told you what Link did for you?" he asked, distracting her.

Link groaned and shook his head. "I didn't do anything. Really."

But Shad continued as if he hadn't spoken. "He killed Ganondorf, saved your life with a determination I've never seen from anyone before, and has rarely left your bedside. When he has, it's because the people have been asking him to make some big decisions while you've been unable to."

She tilted her head back to see him, but he shook his head. "Shad saved you. I had help killing Ganondorf. And people keep thinking I'm something I'm not. I'm not a Commander, and I shouldn't be making any decisions. I'm a field soldier who got injured. That's all."

Zelda turned expectantly to Shad, who didn't disappoint in lavishing unfamiliar amounts of praise at Link. "Princess, when they found Ganondorf's body, he'd been pinned by a sword dug so deep into him that it had lodged straight into the wall. There were several wounds that could have been the fatal one, though Link won't tell us which it was. Then, he went back to you. I'm ashamed to admit that I was going to give up when I saw how much blood you'd lost, but he convinced me to take a risk. He remembered you saying there was a fairy somewhere in the castle, efficiently deduced where it might be, and then proceeded to donate an unsafe amount of his blood to you while I began the operation and until we found a child fairy, and I was able to get supplies and a replacement for Link. I don't know how he managed, what with all his injuries, especially his face."

"Tell me what happened to you," she demanded, knowing that Shad would be able to provide details if Link wouldn't.

"Want me to start at the top? Or would you rather I save the stories for the next time you want a close look at all my scars, Princess?"

Shad made a surprised face, unsuccessfully trying to remain impassive as he kept working.

But Zelda simply blushed, undeterred. "You can't embarrass me out of an answer. I've already made a fool of myself with poor Shad today. Tell me. That's a royal command."

Link started to protest, but when he saw everyone's unblinking stares at him, he groaned and carefully moved Zelda off his leg before standing. "Fine, but just my eye. The rest are not interesting stories."

She begrudgingly nodded.

The first thing Shad did was carefully peel back the bandage that ran along Link's face.

Zelda gasped when she saw the extent of the wound. The bandage had left his eye free so he could see, but it covered the rest above and below his eye. So, when Shad took it off, she hadn't truly realized how large and painful it looked.

"Bloody Fires of Din," she muttered, remaining stoic despite his humored chuckle. "What happened? Ganondorf?"

Link snorted. "I wish." He felt the raised skin of the horizontal scar. "Arrow." And then he gestured to the larger one. "Sword."

"But what happened?"

He made a general motion to his bandaged body. "Fell off a balcony and couldn't get up in time. My soldiers saved me from being killed from this."

"A balcony?" she whispered, sitting up with too much force and whimpering as her entire abdomen began to burn.

Shad helped her down and grabbed something off his tray. A potion. He helped guide it to her mouth.

"I had a rough day," Link admitted, his eyes falling to her stab wound. "You too."

"No, Link, I saw someone get pushed against a railing and it broke, sending both of them down. Was that you?"

Link cleared his throat and nodded. "I think you and I might have to do some catching up. I've heard a few rumors about your day, too. Like standing in front of bomb arrows."

"Ashei is dead."

Link nodded, gesturing behind him. "Finn and I were there."

Zelda could feel the potion's effects hitting her hard, closing her eyes for her. "A-Auru is dead."

"Word is he died a hero," Link said, grabbing her hand again until her eyes closed.

"He didn't. He tried to kill me. Bardo saved me. Did he make it? Daltus and I changed the story to protect him."

Link squeezed her hand. "Yeah, he made it. Apparently, we really need to talk about everything that happened."

"Link!" came a new voice from the hallway as Ellie skidded to a halt in the doorframe, beaming as she saw Zelda awake for the first time. "Princess! Are you okay?"

Zelda's brain was quickly turning off, and she managed a tired nod. "I am, Ellie."

Ellie turned to Link with some urgency. "Uh, people are here to talk to you about a few problems. But if the Princess is here… I don't know… do you still do things?"

"He does," Zelda muttered as her eyes closed for a long time before opening them again.

"I'll be right there. They in my room?" Ellie nodded, and Link bent down beside Zelda, hissing in pain as he did.

She turned toward him, and he pressed his lips lightly to hers, running his hand through her hair as he did. It was far too long for a kiss under prying eyes, even a chaste one, but when Link pulled away and felt her breath on him, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself, relief washing over him again and again with every one of her breaths.

Finally, when he acutely felt everyone's presence, he gave her a final kiss to the forehead, her eyes already closed, and painfully stood up, reluctantly relying on Ellie to help him back to his room.