Queen Zelda sat outside on the swing that hung from the tree in the courtyard. She held a book low in her lap, covering the title with her skirt. She was beyond thankful to have a selection that wasn't limited to Strong Gazes, but she kept the title hidden anyway, knowing that the second someone saw that she wasn't reading ledgers filled with tax information and was instead reading a frivolous, fun novel, she'd be the source of new gossip.
In truth, it hadn't been too bad. A month after her coronation, the only rumors that were ever passed to her by her advisory Council were ones relating to her and Link. The rest were tame and forgettable. For the vast majority of people, she had their love and respect. But the scandal of a queen and her knight—that she'd known would happen from the start—was apparently still everyone's favorite tavern gossip.
And now, her advisors and the other nobles were already talking about finding her a suitable husband to start a family with. That little plan had leaked out of the palace too, sparking a whole new rumor mill. Zelda had gotten good information saying that it was her own advisors who'd let it slip in order to add some pressure on her.
In fact, that information came from Finn, who had begun watching and listening the way Viscen had told him to. He'd finally healed enough that Zelda had bought him a fitted peg-leg and had a custom crutch built for the least strain on him, so he'd be able to get around on his own. While he couldn't fight, he was determined to be useful.
Standing up and tucking the book under her arms, Zelda decided to take a little walk before she had to go meet with Lady Maud and Master Cole again. For nobles, they certainly didn't seem to have any respect for her time, which she spent all too often in trivial meetings with them. But things were going too well in the kingdom for her to come up with any valid excuse to ignore them.
She let the wind brush her hair off of her face and looked into the gardens.
There was a familiar pair of boots lying on the ground.
Zelda went to investigate, briefly seeing a flash in her mind of Link, bleeding and cold. But as she rounded the corner of a low line of bushes, she let out a relieved breath, and then covered her mouth to silence a laugh so she could watch undiscovered.
Link was lying on his stomach in the grass, sprawled out like a child, and propped up on one of his arms. His other hand was busy moving across the grass back and forth rapidly, and his eyes were following his companion's.
A small, orange kitten was watching his fingers like they were prey, its head snapping with every move Link made. He managed to move too fast for the kitten, causing it to lose track of his hand for a moment before leaning down, more focused. When Link kept his hand still for a moment, the kitten reached out its paw to swat curiously at Link's hand. Link moved again, and this time the kitten followed, clasping both paws down on his hand.
Link moved his hand to run it through the scruffy fur on its head. "Good job," he whispered, through the cat was now too preoccupied with Link's hand as a toy. Its head tilted back so Link had to struggle to give it an affectionate head scratch, and it fell over onto its back, playfully swatting at his hand again.
One of its claws got caught in Link's hand, pulling him down so the kitten had easier access to lightly bite between Link's thumb and forefinger.
"Ow," he muttered, freeing his hand. "You're a tough opponent, my friend."
As he tucked his hand back under him, the kitten let out a soft meow, lamenting the loss of its toy.
Link rolled onto his side and saw Zelda watching.
"This is without a doubt the cutest thing I've ever seen," she laughed.
He held out his hand, offering her to join. "Want to come meet my new girl? She's replacing you as my favorite. Sorry."
Zelda took his hand and leaned against him. "You know how to make a girl jealous, Link." She held out her hand for the kitten to sniff, the small feline investigating all sides before looking back at Link. Zelda let her nails scratch the kitten's fur, and after a few seconds, Zelda was grinning wide. "Oh Goddess, she's purring. She's so happy."
"She's thin. I think she's just a stray."
Zelda turned to him. "Want to adopt a kitten with me?"
Link tugged Zelda tighter with one arm and held the other out to the kitten. "What do you think? Want to join the family?"
As if on cue, the kitten let out a soft meow and then a yawn.
"We have to go to the market and get a few things," Link said, his brain already spinning with things to do.
Zelda helped Link off the ground. "I have a meeting, and you're supposed to come with me. We can go right after." She watched him pick up the kitten, and it went quickly from a stretch for escape to a content purr in his arms. "Only condition is that she doesn't sleep between us. I will accidently roll onto her and I don't want to hurt her. Besides, from how happy she looks, I think she might want all your attention."
"Because she knows she's worth it," Link cooed, giving the kitten an affectionate stroke along its back.
"Smitten after only one day," she laughed, heading inside.
Link was close on her heels. "It happened to me with you too."
She snorted, trying to keep the blush off her face that he still managed to get from her, stopping at the door to one of the studies. "Come on. She either comes inside for a meeting or she gets fed."
"Fine," he grumbled. And he turned to the guard at the door. "Torren, you have a cat, right?"
Torren nodded. "I do, Sir."
"Would you mind taking this one down to the kitchens and see if there's anything she can eat for now? She's a stray."
Torren chuckled, "I get the sense she's not going to be a stray for much longer, Commander."
"Sounds about right."
"It's about time. I thought you were going to take my Lucinda last time I brought her in."
"I was going to take her," Link joked.
Zelda watched him patiently as he handed the kitten over. She shot him a bemused look before entering the room, both of them transitioning instantly into more proper versions of themselves. Link moved to the wall where he stood at attention, and Zelda took a seat across from her guests.
"Lady Maud. Master Cole. It's good to see you both here again."
If they caught the bitterness in her tone, neither betrayed anything.
Lady Maud was an older noble, one who'd served on her father's council. Master Cole was the middle-aged son of a former council member, so both of them had taken up roles as her advisors and chief voices for her council.
"Your Majesty, thank you for seeing us today," Maud said with a dramatic bow before sitting. "We are here on behalf of the council. There is some urgent business to discuss."
"Oh?" Zelda muttered. There was always urgent business when they showed up, and she didn't often expect anything else from them.
"The most pressing is the lordship over Damel. You still haven't filled the position."
"No, I have not," Zelda said coolly, seeing the greed in their eyes as they spoke. "My cousin Prince Daltus has been there, so it was not necessary."
"Of course, but he has returned home, and the town is being run by a proxy. It is time to settle someone into the town."
"Very well," Zelda sighed. "I will consider all options and return to the council with a decision at our next meeting."
Maud bowed her head and turned to Master Cole.
He shifted uncomfortably, looking between her and Link uneasily before clearing his throat. "The council has spoken for a long time on this matter, Majesty. Your vows to this kingdom included 'preserving the past, present, and future of Hyrule' amongst your chief duties as monarch. And… as the last remaining member of the Royal Family of Hyrule, it is… your obligation to continue your lineage. Your family will die out with you."
"Poor choice of words, Master Cole," she cautioned, wringing her fingers together on her lap to keep her composure.
"Of course, Majesty. Forgive me. It's just that… your current…" he glanced at Link again, "situation… is unsustainable."
"Daltus is my heir," Zelda said matter-of-factly. There was no room for argument.
"Well, yes…" he croaked. "But you must marry a highborn and continue the bloodline."
Zelda sat back in her chair. This conversation wasn't sprung on her. They'd been hedging for some time now, so she was prepared to hear it. "So," she said with surprising ease. "I suppose you are insinuating that any bastard children I might have will be ineligible for the throne? It would hardly be questioned that they have my royal blood."
Both Master Cole and Lady Maud looked appalled at her language and subject matter. "Majesty!" Cole balked.
But Zelda remained back in her chair, tense, though she was positive it wasn't showing. If there was one thing she'd worked on as a Princess and begun perfecting as a Queen, it was her ability to keep her expression off her face in these situations. "What? You are the ones determined to call me to a meeting to talk to me about my own reproduction, yet you cannot listen to me speak plainly about it?"
Maud tensed. "It's just that your language is unbecoming someone of your station. It caught us off guard. We must talk about this, though."
Zelda grit her teeth. "If you're so interested in discussing my lineage, then let's. If I were pregnant by my knight, what in the Goddess' name would you do?"
Link made a surprised face, not expecting the turn of this conversation, so he was glad no one was looking at him. They were focused on Zelda, faces in absolute horror.
"Majesty, you aren't…?"
"No. I'm asking you a hypothetical question, but I expect a real answer."
Maud recovered first. "You must know by now that you are expected to marry well. Hyrule depends on your willingness to sacrifice for it. Your father did."
That got a reaction from Zelda. She let out a disgusted noise. "As if I haven't? My last betrothed tried to kill me, but I rode to war with him anyway. I nearly died to keep Ganondorf from taking this kingdom. I have sacrificed enough for now. And do not bring up my father. Let him rest without still being nagged about the affairs of the kingdom."
Maud gave her an expectant look. "Please, Majesty, hear us. You are not understanding what we are saying."
"I hear you quite loudly, Lady Maud. I must marry a noble or a royal and procreate at the behest of the Council. My knight, who it's very well-known I am having a romantic affair with, is not suitable, despite his positions as a Knight and a Commander. Your words are not difficult to understand. Do not insult my intelligence."
"I wouldn't presume to—"
"May I speak freely?" Cole asked, interrupting Maud.
Zelda rolled her eyes and gestured for him. "As if you haven't already been."
"Thank you. You are young still and filled with dreams. We are old. We have lived as long as you've been alive several times over. You must take the advice of those who know the harm of inaction. You leave yourself and the throne of Hyrule vulnerable."
Zelda's eyes narrowed as she leaned forward. "You're a widowed noble, Master Cole. Are you throwing your hat in the ring for my affections?"
"I-I would be eligible, yes."
"Are you also seeking to replace Niko as Damel's sitting noble?"
"Majesty, all of us are. It is not a power play on my part. Even Lady Maud will petition for that honor, and she cannot court you. It is not an ulterior motive."
"No," Zelda muttered. "And you're right. Someone does need to take command of Damel. Someone with experience leading, who's good with people, and who knows the city. Someone like Sir Link, perhaps? And how odd, that title gives him the right to court me."
Link made a surprised noise from behind her, but she didn't turn. She knew this one was an empty threat. Even she alone didn't have the power to create a new noble family, even if it consisted of one person. She'd need the backing of the Council. Her eyes were focused on Maud and Cole.
"Majesty," Maud said, as if she were about to break the news of someone's death. "There are no more seats for the nobility. Your Knight does not have the status allowing him to take the city anyway. I understand your pain, but…"
Zelda turned to Cole, stone-faced and betraying nothing, but internally growing more frustrated the longer this went on. They were treating her like Daltus once had: like a child. "Then I strip you of your titles, Master Cole, and I confer them onto my Knight." That was within her power. Zelda finally turned to Link. "Is this fair to you? You may now court me, Link."
He nodded, unsure what exactly was going on, but trusting that she knew what she was doing.
"Majesty!" Cole balked. "I have done nothing to you, nor have I committed a crime."
Zelda inched forward. "I am not your puppet. I will not marry who you wish or have children at your command. You will stop coming to me with these demands, and you will not call on me five times a week to attempt to talk me into any more of your plans for this kingdom. You are on my council to advise me. You believe I am a child who can be led or controlled, but I am dangling your title, lands, and family name in front of you. I don't want to take them. But I will if you try to whisper in my ear one more time.
"I want nothing more than to be a good ruler, but I know even my father had to put you in your place, Lady Maud. I found his notes on Council meetings, and you were an agitator. I believe he threatened to pull a trade route from you if you continued to harass him, but you stopped quite suddenly.
"You are both here because I believed I needed you, but if you are snakes, as I currently believe you are, I've had my fair share and want nothing to do with you. You can leave my Council, and my presence. I knew there were things you could teach me. Apparently, the lesson you are on my Council to teach me is that I will not be walked on. Do you believe that there are other things you can still be helpful with? Should I keep you both on my Council?"
"Yes, of course," they both muttered at once, put thoroughly in their places.
"Good. Then the first thing you will do is you'll return to the Council and tell them that I will not be marrying a noble or a royal. I will marry whomever I choose, regardless of blood. Tell them I will have children if or when it suits me, not them. You may advise me on every matter under the sun regarding Hyrule, but my personal life is my own. Enough people have tried to dictate it to me."
"We… we will do that, Majesty." Maud said, bowing.
"Good. Then your titles are restored, Master Cole. And I will get back to you both promptly with a replacement for Damel. I will see you in the Council meeting."
Taking their cue, Maud and Cole bowed before silently leaving Link and Zelda alone in the room.
She sprung to her feet, fueled and energized. "They think that they're Auru and that I'm some little Princess for them to command and bend. I'm not doing that. Did you know that last week, Cole tried to reroute one of Hyrule's most profitable trade routes through his lands? He had everything signed and ready, like I would simply agree."
"Zelda, do you realize what you just did?" Link asked, still stunned in place.
"Yes, I took back my dignity before they could wretch it from me. I am done being told what to do. Ganondorf tried to torture me into his will, Daltus and Niko tried to trick me into their will, Auru tried to kill me, and now they'retrying to puppet me. It's been two months, and Hyrule is returning to normal. I have trade routes flourishing, and people returning to their homes. I've donated what I can to get farmers and workers back on their feet, and it has spurred progress on! Do they think I can't run a Kingdom because I'm young? I'm not doing too bad, am I?"
"I think you're doing a fantastic job, Zelda, especially when you just made it so we could get married if you wanted to."
"Thank you!" she huffed before his words settled in. And when they did, she turned to Link with an open mouth. "Oh Goddess, I did just do that. I'm not the Princess; I can do that."
"Can you really?"
"I just did, so… I guess I can. I couldn't as the Princess, but they just… listened." Zelda sat back down. "Is this something you really want? The people are probably going to talk, the nobles won't be happy. There's no way you can be king; you'd be my consort."
"That's fine. All of that is fine. I don't care."
"You'd have to take my last name, you know. It's almost a pity; I really enjoyed being Zelda Forrester. It was freeing, it didn't hold the entire weight of a Kingdom, and it had a nice ring to it."
Link shrugged with an easy smile. "You took mine on the run, it's only fair I get to take yours too."
She snorted. "Link Hyrule. Gods, that will take getting used to."
"It sounds posh. I like it."
"Are we doing this?" Zelda laughed, finally standing up and leaning into him.
"Well, that depends. Will you marry me?" Link asked, chuckling as he pulled her closer.
"Obviously."
"Then we're doing this."
Zelda pushed her hair from her face, breathless. "We're doing this."