Zelda, Felia, Impa, and I all went to a lavish parlor-type room, much fancier than the one we had been in before. Oddly enough, everything was some shade of blue. Chairs, tables, walls, curtains, even the ceiling and the delicate molding was a light blue. The four of us sat down and were promptly served tea and little cookies. Which were also all blue. Before I could ask what the deal with the color scheme was, Impa spoke.
"Elder Maz said you were looking for information on the disappearance of Ganondorf Dragmire." Zelda and I nodded, and Impa continued. "Unfortunately, we have very little to go on. Dragmire was the only one of the Gerudo retinue to disappear and none of the others have any idea where he would have gone. They said he has never left the desert, so it is unlikely he would know the area or have a place to hide. His motives are also unclear. We searched his room but found no hint to his whereabouts. What I find more disturbing is the fact that he was snooping around the princess' chambers. This, combined with the apparent rise of this Ruin, is extremely troubling. It is no secret that the old legends often portray the Gerudo, particularly the men of the tribe, as consorting with evil. They also have a tendency to kidnap the Princess of Hyrule." We all looked to Felia.
"I won't say I'm not concerned, but I know the legends," Felia said. "The Hero always manages to defeat evil when it threatens Hyrule. Link, I can't say I know you very well, but I'm confident that you will rise to the occasion." Zelda nodded.
"As someone who does know him, I can say much the same," she said, squeezing my hand. A soft smile slipped onto my face. "Is there anything you need from us while we're here? If not, I'd really love to sleep in my own bed again." Felia laughed and Impa smiled.
"No, I think you've earned a little time off. With Ganondorf's whereabouts unknown, we don't have any action we can take other than being vigilant. If this Ruin also hasn't revealed himself, there's nothing we can do in that regard either. We will be sure to contact you if we hear anything, but until then, I'd advise you go home and take a well-deserved break." Music to my ears.
Thank the Goddesses, this time it was a short trip. We made it home about an hour after we left the Castle. Before we had left, Felia gave us her phone number if we needed to contact her (having the phone number of the Princess of Hyrule was a weird feeling) and two letters stamped with Hyrule's Royal Crest to avoid another situation like with the guard outside. Who gave us the weirdest look on the way out, by the way.
One (relatively) short drive later, we were collapsing onto the couch of my house. We hadn't been gone that long, only a few days really, but we were still exhausted. By some luck, we were the first ones back, Sheik and Hunter being busy with something Sheikah related and Shade and Midna doing who knows what. In fact, given the possibilities, I probably didn't want to know what they were up to.
I decided to just sit there, enjoying the feeling of being home and being curled up with Zelda. Though we knew how we felt about each other, we hadn't had any time to just be together. We sat there for a while, just enjoying each other's company.
Eventually, Zelda stirred at my side, slowly pushing herself away from the ideal napping location that was the couch. "I should get home and take a shower," she said, joints popping as she stretched. I knew I probably should do the same, but the couch was just so comfortable. "I'll be back in an hour." She leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. "Order some pizza for us."
"Extra garlic sauce?" I asked, laughing when Zelda's eyes went wide and she nodded furiously. She immediately left, leaving me alone for what I realized was the first time in over a week.
I let my eyes slide closed again for just a minute or two before forcing myself up to order the pizza, shower, and change into my normal jeans and t-shirt. It had been so long since I had worn my favorite faded jeans and green shirt. Normalcy was nice.
I figured I had about half an hour until Zelda came back, so I decided to do a quick inventory of all the stuff I had accumulated on the week-long expedition. One shield, one full outfit set for heroing and killing things, a few magic dimension-bending pouches, one superpowered magical staff, a decent number of rupees, a few scars, a girlfriend (probably), and the sword to end all swords, which was currently laid across my lap.
I was examining every inch of the Master Sword as closely as I could. The metal of the blade had the pale gleam of extremely polished metal and was razor sharp. It flared out towards the cross guard slightly, the emblem of the Triforce etched into the blade and also had a faint glow around it, which I noticed got brighter when my hand wrapped around the hilt. Said hilt looked like a solid piece of purple painted wood at first, but upon closer inspection, it actually appeared to be woven together. The bright green leather strips around the handle looked new, even though they were likely centuries upon centuries old. At the point where the hilt hit the cross guard, a bright yellow gem gleamed, thin gold details stemming from its socket. The cross guard itself swooped down and back up, curving elegantly as it did. The whole thing was beautiful.
As my hand rested on the blade and I traced my fingers slowly down the center, I could feel the whole sword vibrating slightly under my touch. The blade hummed as I held it, and it seemed like I could feel the blade. Everyone talks about your weapon being an extension of your arm. This wasn't that. This was deeper. I could feel where the blade ended, the slight movement of air against the edge. If I focused hard enough, I could hear the blade singing, sounding like it was just beyond my hearing. I strained my senses, trying to hear the music I knew the sword was making, but a loud knock at the door shook me from my focus.
I grudgingly put the perfect weapon away and took the pizza from the young guy at the door. I recognized him from school, and we talked for a minute. He said there was some big event at Hyrule High in a few days, both for current students and alumni. I said I might be there, and he smiled brightly. He walked back to his car, muttering something about getting 'the Link' to go to the event. Of course, he just about fell over when he saw Zelda walking down the sidewalk, but I couldn't really blame him.
Zelda was dressed in a light pink sundress with a rather low cut. Plain black flats were on her feet. Her platinum blonde hair that looked almost white in the sunlight had two braided portions wrapping around her head like a crown before they joined at the back. The rest fell down her back, curling slightly as it did. Fortunately, she looked just as amazing as usual, so I was able to avoid dropping the pizza and incurring her wrath.
"Got the pizza, wanna eat?" I called, spooking the guy who had delivered the pizza. Zelda nodded excitedly, speeding up slightly. She smiled at the pizza guy and greeted him, prompting him to attempt to wave before ducking back into his car and driving away just a little faster than necessary. Poor guy.
Zelda, in short fashion, seized the pizza boxes from me and ran into the kitchen with them, pulling out a plate and proceeding to drown her sausage pizza in garlic sauce. I couldn't help but laugh as she groaned in relish. She shot me a nasty glare, but I ignored her and pulled out my own piece of pizza.
Half an hour later, we were sat on the couch next to each other watching a movie. Well, I say we were sitting. In reality, I was somewhere between sitting up and laying down, and Zelda was curled up next to me with her head on my shoulder, thin arms snaking around my torso. My left arm was draped across her shoulders and rested on her side. The movie played quietly in the background while we talked.
"This ended up a bit differently than the first time we had pizza together," Zelda said, fingers playing with the end of my shirt.
"You mean when you first revealed yourself as a garlic sauce fiend?" I laughed, earning me a swat on the chest and a pretty blush on Zelda's cheeks.
"Oh, well, if that's the way it is, I'll just sit over here," she grumbled, pulling herself away from me. However, I was too quick, and grabbed hold of her shoulders, holding her in place.
"Oh, no, you're not getting away from me that easily," I said, grinning madly at her escape attempt. She struggled half-heartedly for a minute before snuggling even more into my side, smiling lightly as she did.
"Link…" she said tentatively. I hummed in response. Her fingers reached to play with the fabric of my shirt over my abs. It tickled, but I'd be damned if I said anything. "Is what we have normal?" I cocked my head in confusion. "I mean, our relationship. I'm in love with you, but I haven't known you that long. I don't feel like you just fall in love with someone so easily."
"Can I tell you something?" I muttered quietly. Zelda looked up at me with wide blue eyes. I steeled myself slightly before continuing. "You remember that first day I met you? You came to Ancient History that morning at school and Owlan introduced you to the class." The girl at my side nodded a little. "I could never forget that morning. You were perfect in every way. And then you looked up. Zelda, my heart stopped. I almost thought I had died and gone to the goddesses, because only a goddess could be so beautiful."
"Turns out you were right," Zelda said, laughing. I rolled my eyes and covered her laughing mouth with my hand.
"Shush, I'm trying to be sweet here. Do you know how hard that is?" Zelda kept laughing but did it silently, so I could continue. "I saw your eyes and I fell in love with you. That entire day, I couldn't keep my eyes off you. The night of Cremia's party, when she wanted to have sex with me, I couldn't. Not because I didn't want to, but because I could feel a piece of my soul screaming that it was wrong. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I knew what it was saying. You were calling to me in an indescribable way and something inside me knew I was destined for you and only you." I took a large shuddering breath, before looking Zelda in the eye again. "So, no, I don't think it's strange how quickly we fell in love. It may be quick by normal hylian standards, but by mine, it took far too long. I'm yours, across time and reality. I love you and I will always love you, because you are the greatest thing to ever happen to me in all my many lives." Zelda looked at me, eyes steadily on mine even as they dripped with tears and emotion, before she pushed herself up and met my lips with hers.
"I love you. I don't know how I know, but I know it was for that reason that Hylia became Zelda. So she could love you. So I could love you." She kissed me again softly, our arms wrapping around each other.
It wasn't long before we were full on making out, movie and personal space forgotten. Zelda knelt above me, allowing her weight to settle on my torso and shoulders. My hands danced along her sides and back, coming just close enough to feel the swell of her curves but not daring to go any further. She didn't seem to have the same reservations, curious hands crawling along the muscles of my shoulders and chest. It didn't take her long to find a sensitive point along my collar bone, making me kiss her harder. Of course, I had my revenge when I found a point between her shoulder blades and spine that made her shudder under my hands. I almost lost my mind when a shuddering gasp escaped her mouth, only to be interrupted by the front door opening and the distinct sound of my twin clomping into the entryway. We reluctantly separated, straightening ourselves to try not to look like we had just been making out. Judging from Shade's amused smirk when he saw us, it didn't really work.
"Oh, hey you two. Hope we're not interrupting anything…" he said, cocky bastard.
"Fuck off." I shot back, determined not to look at either him or Zelda. Midna came into the room behind Shade, pulling on his arm.
"Come on idiot, leave them be," she said before whispering something in his ear. He immediately lost interest in me and Zelda and made his way towards the stairs.
"Alright you two, be good, and if you need something, find someone else. I'm not to be disturbed." He suddenly ran back and got right up in my face, pointing a finger at my nose menacingly. "Not. To be. Disturbed." I couldn't help the snarky grin that slid onto my face.
"What's wrong Shade, not a fan of being interrupted? Is there some reason you want to be left alone? Find people barging in annoying?" Shade's eyes narrowed, laden with unspoken threats until, with one last warning finger waggle, he turned around and left. Both he and Midna went upstairs and I heard his bedroom door close, quickly followed by a conspicuous thump of something (or two somethings) hitting the floor above us. I smiled at Zelda, who was laughing silently. "I guess we know how their trip went," was all I managed to say before we both broke down in laughter.
After that, Zelda and I mostly watched our movie. Not that we didn't still sneak kisses to each other, but we didn't want to get walked in on again. Fortunately, the movie was pretty good, even though we had missed the first half of it. By the time dinner rolled around, Hunter and Sheik were back, bringing back some traditional Sheikah/Kakariko food with them, which we all ate with gusto.
"So, what took you guys so long to get back?" I asked between bites, referring to Sheik and Hunter. "I thought you would have gotten back first."
"I took the opportunity of being away from home to take Sheik to see the role of the Sheikah in guarding the Royal Family," Hunter said, taking a sip of his beer. "I heard you were there a little while after you two had already left, but we were busy anyways. Sheik had an interesting encounter though." The aforementioned teen wasted no time embellishing.
"Guys, I totally met the Princess. I bet you two don't care though," he said, waggling his finger at me and Zelda. "But! I met her first, so really, I'm the victor here. Met Impa too, she's cool. Scary, but cool. Anyways, they both agreed that I could be a trainee in the castle as a Guardian of the Royal Family! I'm going to be so much cooler and badass than this old fart." Hunter was quick to smack him upside the head, which didn't deter Sheik at all. "I'm heading back in a few days, and its going to be awesome." Everyone around the table nodded in agreement.
"Glad to hear it. You'll finally be out of my hair," Shade said snarkily. Sheik responded by snatching an egg roll from his plate, which immediately led to a revenge fueled chase out the back door and around the backyard. Hunter picked back up the conversation while the two idiots charged around.
"I'm going with him to get him settled in and catch up with some of the other Sheikah. I've been out of the loop for too long. Plus, I might be able to help figure out what the deal is with this Ruin character. I'll be there for a few days, so I hope you can all avoid burning down the world in the meantime." He very pointedly looked at me, much more so than Zelda or Midna, leaving me feeling vaguely offended.
"We'll do our best, Hunter," Zelda promised, laughing at his obvious meaning. "I'll stick around too, make sure nothing horrible happens." Now it was Hunter's turn to laugh.
"Oh, I didn't doubt it. In fact, I would have been very surprised if you strayed far from Link's side at all." We both blushed, embarrassed as Midna chuckled. "As far as I'm concerned, you're both adults capable of making your own choices. This goes for you too, Midna." That shut her up quick. "Be responsible and don't do anything you know you'll regret. The rest is just living and learning." Having said his piece, Hunter swallowed the last of his drink and stood. "I'm wiped, so I shall wish you all good night. Do what you want, just make sure it doesn't wake me up." With that, he turned and went upstairs. I took a peek at Sheik's remaining food.
"You think he's coming back for that?"
The rest of the night passed without consequence. The five of us lit a fire in the backyard and hung out there for most of the night. Shade and Midna snuck off together at some point and Sheik went to bed before long as well. Zelda and I were content to sit out in the warm evening until well into the night. Hyrule City's active efforts to avoid pollution left the night sky clear and full of twinkling stars for us to stare up at as we laid in the grass next to each other, hands intertwined.
"You know," she said after a stretch of silence, "I've missed this. A normal night, hanging out with friends, watching the stars. Nothing to worry about, just having fun and no responsibilities." She twisted to look over at me. "I'm glad I can have it with you." I smiled before leaning over to kiss her gently on the forehead. She was quick to catch my face and lower my mouth to hers, kissing me passionately. I was happy to stay there for who knows how long, embracing that fantastic girl and kissing her in the moonlight.
Eventually, we both agreed that we needed to go to bed before we ended up asleep in the backyard. Well past one in the morning, Zelda insisted that it was far too late for her to walk home, so we trudged up the stairs, ignoring the sound of Shade and Midna talking in his room. Zelda snagged one of my shirts, a sky-blue one with a bit of white detailing on it and walked into my bathroom to change. I was considering what kind of sleeping arrangements to whip up when Zelda came out of the bathroom wearing my shirt and a short pair of shorts, tossed her other clothes towards the door, and threw herself onto my bed. I watched her visibly relax before she looked at me.
"You can either make a bed on the floor or join me, but either way, I'm not moving," she said, already half asleep as she burrowed into my blankets. Figuring the matter was settled, I quickly brushed my teeth and changed into a pair of sleep shorts before pulling myself into the bed next to Zelda. She quickly snuggled into my bare chest, head under my outstretched arm. It wasn't two minutes before I was sound asleep.
So here we are again. New chapter, new rant, new plea for help before I lose my mind. You guys know the drill by now. And because I'm tired and really just want to get this posted for you all, we're just going to get right to it and save all the excess gibberish until after the review bit.
Twilit Lord, no. Bad. Don't stoop to that level. You're better than that. As for your real review, I'm glad you didn't think it was jarring, I do my best. I shall approve of your high stakes heist only if it is as good as Ocean's Eleven, the best heist movie ever. And set to as good a soundtrack. Not sure what that has to do with staying out of the sun though. Nightwing, only the fluffiest fluff for you. And yes, Zelda's go to fight for her keep. Not that Link could leave her, but you know what I mean. Foopuff, oh yeah, those too. See, told you I'd forget someone. Though I never really specified anyone in the Hyrule High group. Besides Link is a, I believe the term is, heartthrob. Something like that. Glad you liked the entirety of the last chapter then, one thing that bugs me sometimes is that Link never stands up to people who don't believe that he's the hero (in fanfics mostly), so I decided that he had earned a little showing off. Hence the Master Sword thing. Hehehe, good fun. Got a little bit of Impa in this chapter, hope that works for you. No, she's not Sheik's aunt. And yes, I'd advise rereading the story if you're not clear on anything. What do you mean, desperate for views? You are correct, I did make that mistake, but I hope you'll forgive me if I don't change it. Partly because effort, but also because it's funny. Again, glad to hear you like it. Ultimate, indeed it is, or one of the best parts at least. Ai Star, yes it does. Better get used to it, it's not going anywhere. Sand Seal, everyone loves a good roast. Resist the pull of English class, I know it's hard. You're welcome for not killing Zelda, not that I actually could. She's too important to the story right now. Careful with that rhinoceros, I'm very glad you're where ever you are and I'm here in ********* where its too cold for rhinoceros. So hah. I too love the 'will smite' bit. Not only because it's funny, but because you know she will. I commend you for taking time out of your Thanksgiving to comment on the story. Your prodding was noted and promptly ignored. Because I was working retail for that entire weekend. It was fun, I wanted to die.
Quick rant because that took a while and I want to go to bed. Just Cause 4 coming out in a few days, going to play the shit out of that because those games are beautiful catastrophe sandboxes. At least, until Smash Ultimate comes out literally 3 days later. So many games, not enough time. Hellsing Ultimate Abridged just released a new episode, so I've got to finish memorizing that. And then I'll be suffering through finals and hoping and praying to pass my Calc class. Just remember, your reviews give me life and the continued will to write. I put aside time for you guys every few days, so know that the chapters are coming steadily. Maybe a little slower for a little just because I'm not sure exactly what I want to happen next. But the idea is forming, so we should get there soon.
For those of you that wondered, the Sheikah/Kakariko food is basically Chinese. Obviously there's no China in Hyrule, so I figured the Sheikah and their Japanese(mostly)/Chinese(kind of) feel would suffice. Context, very important. Also, I know towards the beginning I had Link opposed to having sex with Cremia, which I explained a little more in this chapter. Obviously, Link and Zelda's relationship is just a little different. Like, eternally destined for each other across all of time. That tends to change a relationship's dynamic a little. So my question for you guys is, do you think their relationship should progress in that way right away? Asking for personal opinions here based on the characters I've set up. Do you think it makes sense for them or not? If you feel one way or another on it, I'd love to hear it. I'm personally torn whether it should happen at all. If it did, just know that it would be tasteful and not excessive. Not that kind of story. If that's vague enough for you (I think it is), let me know what you think. Until then, I'll be hiding under a rock trying not to have a mental breakdown. Maybe I'll write a Zelda chapter, I need to do that at some point. Or work on another story? I've got a few that are total fiction, spawned entirely from my mind, that may be posted in the future. So since you're writing a review anyways (because I know you are), let me know if you'd want to see that from me too. Because why not? Anyways, cheers and don't go base-jumping without a parachute!
~Aro