A/N: Hi, everyone! I just wanted to say that I'm an absolute sucker for BOTW ZeLink - they're so cute! Oh, and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. Originally, this was going to be a one-shot, but Link has a lot of catching up to do. His memories are out of order, but when I'm done with this, I'll post what order they're in.

I do not own Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Once upon a time, the land of Hyrule buzzed with life and laughter. People of all races traveled to and from Castle Town, whether it was to set up shop or visit family. The kingdom flourished, the civilians blissfully ignoring the threat of the calamity.

100 years later, all Princess Zelda could see for miles was overgrown woods and ruins. There was hardly anything left of the once-bustling trade center. How ironic - she was truly the heir to a throne of nothing.

Her fists clenched at her sides. She had one hundred years to figure out just what she was going to do once she returned to her kingdom. Now, standing among the lifeless ruins, she realized she didn't have a plan whatsoever. What was she supposed to do? Gather the people and make a grand speech about how she was going to restore Hyrule to its former prosperity?

Actually, that wasn't such a horrible idea.

Behind her, Link shifted his weight onto his left foot. Hyrule had changed, and he along with it. Her knight was no longer a mysterious air of silence. He was more fidgety, and spoke up more. Zelda supposed he wasn't really her knight anymore, either, now that Calamity Ganon had been defeated.

She turned to face him, and he bowed his head in respect.

"Princess," he murmured.

"What will you do now, Link?" she inquired. "You are not required to accompany me on my journey across Hyrule, although your company is always welcome." She smiled - it was brief, and polite, so unlike the way she had smiled at him many years before.

He lifted his head and met her gaze, confusion finding its place in his ocean blue eyes. "Princess," he said again. "I cannot imagine myself anywhere if not by your side."

She flushed - damn him - and turned her gaze away. "I see."

Zelda was no longer aware of what was appropriate between the two of them anymore. She doubted he could remember all the stolen kisses that had started just months before her seventeenth birthday. The slow dances, the stargazing... she had loved him for a century, and yet he hardly knew who she was. It sounded like an old cliche tale her nanny used to tell her.

Hesitantly, Link placed his hand on her shoulder, and she started at the awkward gesture. "There are a lot of things I don't remember. How I met you, or the other champions. Whether or not my mother was around. I- it would-" He faltered slightly, turning away. "I would like to recover those memories traveling alongside you, Princess."

Zelda smiled, genuinely this time, and placed her hand over Link's. "Very well, then. We shall make our way to Zora's Domain tomorrow morning."

He nodded curtly. "I'll set up camp and scout the area, Princess-"

"Zelda."

His eyes widened slightly. "I'm sorry?"

She flushed once more, the tips of her ears reddening. "Before the Calamity, you- you called me by my first name. It's nice to hear."

Link swallowed. "As you wish, Zelda."

The first memory came that night, as they lay beneath the stars. Link was never one for jokes, and when he bluntly told her that he was pretty sure some of the Rito were cannibals, she couldn't help but let out a choking laugh. She had the strangest sense of deja vu just then.

He'd turned his head to look at her, smiling, but then suddenly froze. His smile disappeared and he stared at her with wide eyes.

"Link?" she whispered.

"Tell me a joke, Sir Knight," Zelda said.

Link was aware that she was trying to get him to open up to her, although it was a strange method for her to use. Jokes had never been his strong suit, and it wasn't like he talked much in the first place.

"Princess," her knight replied. "I can't say I know any."

He took note of the way Zelda smiled when he spoke, and brushed it off as something she'd seen in the stars.

"Then tell me of the observations you've made. You are always so silent," she said. "You must have taken careful note of your surroundings."

He bit back the urge to tell her the only observations he could make when she was near was how gorgeous she was.

"I think the Rito are cannibals. Some of them, anyway," he answered bluntly. It was a half-truth, at least. They did have a taste for poultry.

She let out a sort of choking noise, and he sat up, concerned, before realizing she was laughing. Well, that was certainly a first.

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, still giggling. "You're just so blunt."

Goddesses, if he didn't know any better, he'd think the princess had a sort of crush on him.

His face relaxed again, and he saw Zelda staring down at him, concern etching itself over her features.

"Link?" she said. "Are you alright?"

He blinked once, then again as he took in what had just happened.

"I apologize for boring you with my bad jokes about Rito being cannibals," he replied. "I told you a hundred years ago I didn't have any good ones."

Zelda gasped and grinned. "You remembered something!" She crawled over to their small bag consisting of food and whatever items they had deemed necessary for their journey. She pulled out her journal. "Tell me everything that happened," she said, opening to a blank page.

Link tilted his head, but decided against questioning his princess as he began to recount the events of his memory. He decided to leave out the part where he'd thought she might have a crush on him.

She wrote everything down, hanging onto every word.

"Link," Zelda breathed. "We could make a breakthrough in all sorts of scientific research with this."

He hung his head. "I don't know, Prin- Zelda."

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "And why's that?"

Link sighed and ran a hand through his sandy hair. "I don't even remember how old I am. What if I'm secretly forty-eight and am just looking great for my age? What if that's a detail I never remember?"

Zelda laughed lightly. "You're nineteen and three-quarters. Your twentieth birthday is coming up in a few months."

His head shot up. "I'm nearly three years your senior?" Well, he supposed it made sense. If he were seventeen or younger, he'd still be growing.

"I'm sorry, were you expecting to be a dashing young lad at seven?" she joked.

His gaze darkened and he opened his mouth to protest, before shaking his head. "It's late, Princess. Go to sleep."

Zelda frowned at his sudden change in demeanor. "I told you to call me-"

"Please, Princess." He turned his back towards her, but she had no doubt that he was wide awake.

Link heard her rustle to get comfortable behind him, and inwardly let out a sigh. It wasn't uncommon for noble women to be... courted by older men, often more than twice their age. That being said, three years wasn't anything. The small age gap should have made no difference, and yet he couldn't help but feel as if he were taking advantage of her.

He groaned, audibly this time. He wasn't doing anything wrong - the farthest they'd gone was him referring to her by her first name.

"Link?" Zelda whispered from her sleeping bag. "Do you believe in destiny?"

Not knowing what to say, he replied, "I believe you need a good night's rest if we're going to travel tomorrow."

He fell asleep to the sound of her breathing.

A/N: Bit of a short intro, sorry.

Link is nearly 20 instead of approx. 17 just because I feel like he's very much the type to worry about taking advantage of a slightly younger Zelda. Let me know in the reviews if he should talk more or less (or keep as is).

Fin. 1:23 AM, April 29, 2020