I'm lacking so badly in the "keeping my chapter upload promises" department I'm so sorry folks LMAO. This past week has actually been a compilation of various personal life issues cropping up which has been really distracting me from writing coherently. I think everything should be straightening out though, so I'm going to tentatively keep up that 1-2 week update schedule.
I hope you all like this chapter, it's *softer* than usual but I'm bad at gauging how soft I should go when writing the infancy of a relationship. I'm definitely unintentionally writing Link blunter than I'd actually imagine him to be but I think it adds a little spice. Anyway, enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think!
"...Oh."
Maybe the goddesses hated every fiber of his being; he didn't blame them, after all, he'd committed crimes that couldn't be considered holy in any sense of the word and make 95% of the population despise him. But this...they were making a mockery out of him, probably laughing till their sides hurt in some realm that he couldn't stop by and chew them out.
Zelda's small exclamation was tinted with surprise, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. Unlike the day before, her face was clean, her hair was neatly pulled back, and her pale purple dress and black cloak were free were smudges and stains. She didn't look like she'd just walked through a stampede, and was quite pretty.
Pretty...what a joke. A word that Link knew didn't belong in his vocabulary.
Link looked down at the ground and stepped back when he saw some crushed flowers under his boot. The blue of the small flowers seemed to be glowing in the sunrise.
"...I'm sorry about the flowers."
Zelda nodded in a slow manner, looking down as well. "It's alright. I'm surprised you stopped and didn't just disappear into the crowd like you did yesterday."
Link took the time to look up and down the still-relatively quiet street. The only people out seemed to be shopkeepers and eager shoppers.
"I guess you're right."
Carrying this clipped conversation seemed rather pointless to Link. And even if there was a point, he couldn't be sure if Ghirahim or any other Legion members were lurking around, watching his behavior and making assumptions from it. Plus, it would be a shame if they misinterpreted whatever was happening at the moment and targeted Zelda. Civilian casualties like that were always unnecessary and needlessly messy. They almost always had nothing to do with an assignment as well, so even interacting with regular civilians often felt unnecessary as well.
"What are you doing out so early?" The woman's soft voice was an interruption to Link's thoughts, her tone relatively friendly.
Link meant to say 'Wouldn't you like to know?', but the words became jumbled and twisted along the way and came out far more tame than what was intended.
"For nothing really." He replied. In comparison to the snarl that was his internal response, his external response was just a whimper.
A small sound that wasn't quite a laugh fell past her lips. "You don't say much, do you?"
Link only huffed, looking away and down the street, creating the path he'd take in his mind. Maybe he'd unintentionally shuffled his feet in the direction of this imaginary path down the street, because he suddenly felt a hand on his upper arm, startling him back into reality.
Zelda seemed to sense that he'd jumped at her touch, and she retracted her hand. When Link looked back at her, her face was a little flushed, eyebrows furrowed in a reaction of embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, I just...never got your name. Yesterday, I mean."
What was the correct answer? This never an easy proposition to go up against, given his unsavory job, but it seemed harmless. The woman behind him looked a little ditzy anyways.
"...Link."
"That's a nice name."
The response was bland, but the emotion behind it was akin to restrained enthusiasm as if she was satisfied by his disclosure.
"...Great. Now listen, I -"
"Would you like to walk with me?"
Zelda was quickly becoming one of Link's greatest nuisances and he'd known her for less than an hour in all. The slightly timid tone with a hint of confidence could give someone whiplash from how layered the words were, and it almost felt as if she was mocking him.
Link probably wasn't hiding his surprised expression because Zelda's became sheepish, her hands tugging gently on individual stems of the flowers in her arms.
"Ah...was that out of line? I'm not a very good small talker, my brother always takes over..."
Link briefly recalled the man from yesterday - he'd seemed very straight-laced, so was Link even surprised at this small comment? Then again, Zelda wasn't much better at small talk than him, so maybe he was being too critical.
"That's a bit limiting of him. You're a better small talker than me."
The compliment hadn't even registered in Link's mind as a compliment until he saw Zelda's expression become one of relief and surprise. He had half a mind to pull one of Jovani's swords off his back and impale himself on it - compliments seemed only valid if they were laced with sarcasm or a death threat, at least by his and Midna's standards.
"You...really think so?"
"Shouldn't you be able to say and do whatever you want?"
Link kept his voice flat in his response, but Zelda's expression made it seem like he'd just spouted a prophecy from the goddesses. Her greyish eyes seemed to shine purple in the morning light, eyebrows raised in surprise.
"I...you're definitely not wrong."
"Of course." Link couldn't help but keep a slightly snide tone in his words, though he didn't really put any intent behind it. He began to walk down the road again, making his way to the perpendicular road that, only yesterday he'd pulled Zelda onto and bickered with her there as well. His last remark had seemed pretty final, she must surely get that...
"You sound very sure of yourself."
Zelda quickly stepped in time with him, her walking pace matching his. Link snorted.
"I thought I gave a good tip y'know. Are you questioning it?"
"Not at all, you simply were very confident. You're arrogant and sensible."
Sensible and arrogant? The gall, it was like she was purposely yanking him around for fun.
"I'm not arrogant, the word you're looking for is honest," Link grumbled as Zelda giggled. It'd just hit him them that they'd been walking together for a few moments and he had half a mind to stop, but Link relented (reluctantly, of course).
The conversation reached a lull, but it wasn't necessarily awkward, that fact helped by the streets of Castletown becoming increasingly busier. Link cast occasional glances at the woman next to him, eyes narrowed as he scrutinized her.
Normal. She looked normal. She didn't look like someone who was hiding a weapon under her clothes or would report day-by-days to some seedy gang leader. Still, there was something enigmatic about her and Link couldn't put his finger on it. Her clothes were simple and had no identifying embroideries or branding, there was no jewelry save for a pair of small droplet-shaped earrings, and her expression was wide-eyed and naive.
"...Do you live here?"
Zelda's expression flickered from innocent to slightly jumpy as if Link had just hit a sensitive nerve. She looked up at him, chewing her bottom lip a little before answering.
"Ah...well, my brother and I, we just moved here. I'm..still getting used to Castletown." She ended her answer with a breathy laugh. Link smirked.
She's lying.
"Just stick to the main streets, you'll be fine."
"Ah...thank you."
There was a pause before either of them spoke, this time being Zelda.
"Do you live here...Link?"
"No."
Zelda pouted a little, glaring at Link's impassive profile. "Surely you have more to yourself than one-word answers."
"I'm not a sharer."
That was honest, true, and not a one-word answer. However, Link could tell that Zelda wasn't satisfied by his response, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to groan out loud or run into the crowd as she began to press him once more.
"You must have some arbitrary fact about yourself that you're willing to share. If you share one, then I'll do the same. I swear on the goddesses."
Link cast her a side-eye glare, but Zelda seemed unfazed, lips pursed and brow furrowed. She then looked away, holding her head high.
"I am unabashedly a cat person. I was scared by a dog as a child."
Link snorted at her admission. That was the type of thing she was talking about?
"What could a dog possibly do to you? They're much better than cats."
"They can do a myriad of things! You're obviously just purposely opposing me."
"Who said I was? You asked for a fact, and I gave you one. In an opinion of course."
Zelda made a small noise of annoyance. "This is such a childish argument."
Link couldn't help but make a small noise of laughter, unable to suppress it. At the same moment, he felt his stomach turn a little, growling distastefully. He wrinkled his nose, remembering that he hadn't eaten anything since his and Midna's return to Telma's. All the more reason to stop walking with Zelda and actually start his day.
He heard a small giggle come from his left and he quickly looked in the noise's direction, glaring. Zelda was looking away, lips curved upward in a barely suppressed smile.
"What?"
"Oh...you wouldn't mind me stopping at the patisserie, would you?" She pointed at said shop further up the road, its glass-paned door open and the sign swinging a little on a rusty hinge.
Now she was just mocking him. This was stupid. She was stupid. Link didn't care if he was practically drowning in child-like immaturity, but he'd never met someone so persistent before, not counting Midna.
"Like I'm going to wait for you or anything," Link dryly responded, but his comment seemed to fall on deaf ears as her hand grasped his limp forearm.
"Come with me, I'll buy you something for your troubles yesterday, it's the least I can do," Zelda pressed, walking ahead of Link and still gripping his arm. "I'm not going to be that stingy."
Her hold on Link's arm was firm yet gentle, an unfamiliar sensation that wasn't necessarily unwelcome, but seemed like it'd come from another life. Link scowled. He wouldn't make a scene, so he'd just go along with it. It wasn't that bad anyway.
She'd let go quicker than Link had anticipated, slipping into the store and leaving him just standing outside the door. Link looked back up and down the road before he looked through the window of the bakery. Zelda was at the counter, speaking to a woman before ruffling the hair of a small boy who was standing on a stool behind the counter.
"Tch."
Link pushed off the window frame, stepping further out into the road and looking back at the pastry shop. Zelda had her back still to him, looking as if she was fiddling with some money. He felt like he would undoubtedly define himself as an asshole in her eyes if he just left, but he didn't know how much time he'd taken to dawdle with her. If Midna was awake and found him gone...he would never hear the end of it. He cast another glance down the road, in the direction of Central Castletown.
"Ah...shit..."
Link didn't want to blink out of fear that what he was seeing would suddenly dissolve into thin air, but Ghirahim's blank, unimpressed expression remained among the small stream of town-goers down the road. The thin man looked as if he was in the middle of turning around, half-lidded eyes blank and mouth pulled thin.
Dread was settling in the pit of Link's stomach. How long had he been watching for? It wasn't like the man could do anything - he was standing too far away to confront, but close enough to hang over like a specter. Undoubtedly Ghirahim had seen Zelda too - should he tell Zelda to start making funeral arrangements?
Link's thoughts were slowly spiraling into various plans to get out of his situation, from confronting Ghirahim to turning around and walking away until he felt a hand on his upper arm, making him jump and turn in the direction of the touch.
Zelda was holding a small bag along with her flowers, lips curved upward in a tiny, annoyingly charming smile. Link glanced back up in Ghirahim's direction.
Gone. The slimy bastard.
"Is there something wrong?"
Zelda's voice was tinged with a small amount of apprehension, to which Link quickly looked back at her, shaking his head.
"N-no...I was just looking ahead at how busy the street seems to be getting."
It looked as if Zelda was convinced - she looked down the road as well while raising a brow. "It does seem to be filling up...what time do you think it is?"
"Closest to eight, I can guess."
The question seemed arbitrary to Link, but Zelda's brow knit together in barely restrained concern...or panic, it was hard to tell.
"...Is that a problem?"
Link wasn't sure why he was so curious about Zelda's reaction but he didn't have time to dwell as she grabbed his arm and began pulling him down the street.
"Central Square is straight down this street, isn't it? I should've kept track of the time -!"
"Wha - hey! Why're you all of a sudden -" Link - gently - twisted his arm out of Zelda's grip and grabbed her wrist, stopping her determined fast-walk. "- You seem to be in a weird hurry, what happened to the giggly casualness?"
Zelda's eyebrows scrunched, a small frown gracing her face. "What's it to you? You seemed very eager to get away earlier."
Her sudden coldness was like a slap to the face or at least a slap of realization. Why was he so annoyed about it? It wasn't suspicion or anything work-related, he was sure of that. Then...
Link let go of Zelda's wrist, letting his hand fall to his side. Zelda bit her lip.
"I - I'm sorry, that was rather -"
"No. You're right. Central Square is down that way." Link quickly built up all those emotional walls he had up as a usual default, adjusting the strap across his chest that was holding up the weapons on his back. They felt heavier all of a sudden. "I should've gotten straight to the point."
"No, that was insensitive of me -"
"It's nothing. If you need to get back quickly, straight down this road is the right way. I hope you get to where you need to in time." Link made to cross the street, not sure of where he would go other than winding through small alleys back to Telma's. It'd be nothing but embarrassing having to walk down the same road with the woman with who he was fumbling conversation.
Zelda's hand gripped Link's long sleeve, the same that was holding her bundle of flowers as the small bag was pushed into his chest. "Please take this. I got two pastries, but you can have both, I don't need mine. I don't want to leave on a bad note and... I'll make it up to you if I see you again!"
"...See me again?"
"Y-yes, I promise!"
Maybe if Link hadn't been so baffled by Zelda's promise, he would've grabbed her hand and asked for some elaboration on her last few statements. Maybe if he hadn't felt so inexperienced in "regular conversation" he wouldn't have been so surprised, and maybe he would've realized she was already hurrying down the street by the time things were moving in real-time.
The smell of the still-warm pastries was light and fruity, and for the first time in a while, Link felt utterly blindsided.
Zelda's breath was still catching in her throat as she slipped into her bedchambers, quickly bolting the double doors behind her and sliding to the floor, back against the sturdy wood. She set her flowers next to her and pressed her hands to her warm face.
It'd taken at least half an hour to reach the castle, slip through the maids' quarters, and back to her room, at least. Zelda had nobody to thank but the goddesses for the dumb luck of meetings not taking place till late morning, giving her enough time to pretend that, yes, she'd been in her quarters the entire morning and was simply waiting for the polite knock on the door for a late breakfast.
Zelda could only groan, covering her eyes in sudden embarrassment. She'd met that stupid Castletown man twice in two days, and she wasn't sure if it was dumb luck or something else. Not only that, but she'd held a conversation with him and then blew it up in her own face. Royal functions and their tight-lipped conversations did nothing to help her in natural conversation. Maybe she should try speaking more informally to Sheik. No, he'd suspect something, he wasn't that thick-skulled.
Link had been nothing but a straight-faced, slightly irritable living mystery that was infuriatingly attractive. She'd been right the first time - his stature and face was a combination that handmaids would gossip over in the halls and probably imagine in more indecent scenarios than one.
His personality was a bit abrasive, but it wasn't awful. If anything, he'd probably be capable of bringing Teru to tears with his words. The thought was a little funny (but not really, Teru was her fiance of course), if not entertaining.
Zelda let out a huff that was similar to a laugh until it morphed into another groan. She buried her head into her knees. Her heart was beating faster than usual, face growing hot.
"And I said I'd meet him again..."
Was that cheating? It didn't seem like cheating necessarily; if anything, Teru and her's relationship was still a diplomatic one rather than romantic, so did that even count? Why was she even thinking about meeting a regular Castletown citizen again anyway? Zelda couldn't even begin to imagine the aneurysm Sheik would get from what she did. The number of security breaches seemed unlimited, and she was the Empress of Hyrule, for goddesses sake...
The sudden rapping on the door made Zelda squeak and awkwardly (and un-empress like) stand up as the cheery voice of a maid came muffled through the thick door.
"Your majesty, I'm here to prepare you for your late morning tea with the Prince of Labrynna!"
Whew I cranked the last half of this chapter out within a half-day and I feel very accomplished. I didn't want to get too soft or romantic in this but I hope this was a satisfactory chapter. I felt like I wrote Link and Zelda's interactions a little wonky the first time they met so I think this made up for it (for the most part). Please let me know what you thought & feel free to follow/fav/whatever it keeps me running. Also, let me know if you found any errors - tends to happen when my brain moves faster than my fingers. Thanks!