Sorry for the wait! I was watching my brother's cats for ten days and had the opportunity to play Majora's Mask while I stayed there, a game I've been wanting to play since I was like 7-8 years old... so I naturally played as much of it as I could, haha. I didn't get to finish it though but there wasn't much left of the game (I think?) from where I stopped. So, yeah, I've been playing MM instead of writing this chapter. Another reason why was that I had no idea how to continue this story for a while, so I took my time until I had something I could type down. I do have some ideas for the future chapters though.
Also, thanks for the lovely reviews, the 23 favorite marks and 32 followers!
It was already afternoon when Princess Zelda and her appointed knight reached Castle Town and passed through its streets. She smiled politely to her people and tried her best to ignore the nervousness that was building up inside while Link made sure they could pass through the growing crowd.
"It's the Princess!"
She had told herself to forget about the incident in Gerudo Desert.
"Princess!"
But it was hard to when anyone around her could be a Yiga in disguise.
"Make way for her royal Highness!"
Literally anyone.
"Blessed be the Princess!"
Oh, if they only knew how much she wished that she truly was blessed. She held back the urge to frown and happily waved back to a small boy instead.
They made it to Hyrule Castle's largest gate safely without much trouble and she felt the nervousness calm down slightly. Finally within the castle's walls again, the Princess and her knight left their horses at the stables and were about to separate when her feet didn't seem to know where to go. She had nothing in particular to do and wasn't sure how to spend her spare time but she did know two things; she knew that is was nearly impossible for a Yiga to be in her home thanks to all the guards everywhere, but it was that tiny voice which said "what if?" that made her paranoid, and she knew that she didn't want to be alone because of that voice. She had nothing to fear of, she knew that, and she wasn't exactly thinking of the Yiga clan… or how near death she had been… She wouldn't even admit to herself that it had affected her more than she thought. But she couldn't ignore the emotions she was feeling.
"Say…" Before Link got too far away from her, Princess Zelda turned to face her knight with a question in her mind which she felt would be selfish of her to ask. But she did it anyway. "If you don't have anything important to do right away, would you like to stay a little bit? Like before, before I… before I asked father for less protection when I'm here." The truth was that she, back then, only wished to stay away from him since he had been following her constantly, and she felt ashamed when she remembered meeting her father, asking him to grant her wish. And now she was asking her knight to stay only so she could feel better when he surely must be tired from all the traveling. If he wasn't loathing her, she was perfectly capable of doing it herself this time.
Link joined her and she thought to herself how funny it was that she was now feeling safer with him around when she not so long ago only wanted some solitude and privacy. "I hope I'm not being difficult, you don't have to stay if you're tired or need to do something." Link shook his head but she wasn't convinced. "Are you sure?" He nodded. She had to trust him then.
They walked up a staircase, the knight right behind the Princess as usual, and occasionally stopped when members of the court greeted her. Out of the few she spoke with, only some asked Princess Zelda if she was making any progress and each time, Link would observe his Princess skillfully avoid giving them a proper answer and changed the subject or excused herself, without failing to be polite. But when they were left alone again, he could see how her expression changed from the pleasant smile on her lips to worried eyes. However, the corners of those lips turned downwards quicker when the King of Hyrule happened to cross their paths. Link immediately knelt before his King and kept his eyes down to the ground.
"Zelda." the King's deep voice greeted. "I see that you're back from your travels. Did everything go well?"
She didn't want to tell him about the Yigas and explain everything that had happened, so she pretended that he was asking if her adjustments on the Divine Beast had gone well instead of her journey. "Yes, father, it took a little while but I eventually figured out how to make Vah Naboris work properly. And Chief Urbosa sends her regards, she was incredibly kind to me during our visit." Princess Zelda smiled when she thought of her friend and continued. "We just came back and I thought I would visit Purah and Robbie in the lab to tell them everything of the Divine Beast and then…" she trailed off when she noticed her father's not so enthusiastic look on his face.
"That is good to hear, Zelda. I shall write to Urbosa and thank her for her hospitality." Zelda's smile came back when she heard her father's words, but it was small. "And after you've come back from Zora's Domain and the final Beast, you can focus on praying to the Goddesses to grant you the sealing power. I fear that time is running out, my dear, and I would like to see you dedicate all your time on finding your inner power once you return."
Princess Zelda looked down, smile once again gone, and nodded. "Yes, father."
The conversation was soon over after assuring the other that they would meet again during supper and Princess Zelda watched her father's back as he walked away and inside the castle again. She vaguely noticed Link standing again at the corner of her eye and she stood still in the castle yard for a few minutes. A battle went on in her mind about what she should do next – enter the lab or hide in her chambers for a moment? But then again, she didn't want to be completely alone and her knight wouldn't be let inside her chambers (unless she allowed him… which she wouldn't, imagine all the rumors that that would cause). She felt like she couldn't stay in the castle much longer, which was sad because she had just returned home. She couldn't go to the lab at the moment, the brief meeting with her father had stirred up her anxiety again and guilt for not having that damned power in her possession yet and she felt that she couldn't face the brilliant Sheikah scientists anymore. But she didn't want to stay here where nobles would talk to her and she would have to pretend that everything was fine when it wasn't. It would make her feel like a fraud.
So she could only think of one place left where she could go. It wasn't too far away.
"I'm sorry, but could we go outside the castle again? We don't need to bring the horses this time, it's not far away." She shot an apologetic smile to her knight who looked ready to follow her once more. She took his silence as an agreement and together they passed through the gates once more. Link followed Princess Zelda with curiosity as she led them, mostly unnoticed through eastern Castle Town thanks to the two cloaks she had snatched from the stables. The buzz and city noise drowned out as they continued a little bit farther until they almost reached green trees, not yet very old but not young either, flowers and two fountains. They weren't alone. A few children and an older girl who was most likely watching them were playing at one of the fountains, so Princess Zelda sat down in the grass under a tree and observed them. She guessed they were from Castle Town since they weren't far away from the protective wall after all.
The Princess looked up at her knight who was still standing next to her and with her green eyes, she asked him to sit down as well. Link allowed himself to relax a little and sat down with her.
"Sometimes I like to come here to Hyrule Forest Park to…" She thought for a second. "To think better. Because people usually don't feel like coming here when the town is so close, so I like it when I can be undisturbed and just hear the wind in the trees."
Hearing this, and thinking back on how her smiled had faded away after talking with the nobles, Link wondered if his suspicion from before was right after all. Maybe the Princess just wanted fewer eyes on her and by going here, she could avoid them. He could relate to that. He would probably do the same if he could but he had to stay by the Princess' side and in the castle so he didn't have much of a choice. Besides, he is supposed to save the kingdom from doom and it's not exactly possible for him to just hide away when the pressure got too big. And if he did, he would probably detest himself for not facing reality. It is not something he had been taught to do as a soldier.
As they continued to sit in silence and keeping their gazes on nothing in particular, Link began to wonder what his father would have told him if he was still alive. Would he be proud of him for being the hero the Goddess had chosen? Would he listen to Link's troubled mind or would he tell him to man up? Would he help him practice with his swordplay like he used to? Would he be worried that his only child would have to face the Calamity and perhaps not make it? Or would he be positive that Link would conquer the threat? Link didn't remember his mother at all so he had naturally been much closer to his father, following him wherever he was needed in Hyrule, seeing places very few people in his age had seen… looking up to him. He had been a friend, a tutor and a role model. The world had changed so quickly when he was no longer there. But he had been alright after all, hadn't he? At least he had been old enough to take care of himself when his father passed away. There were other kids out there who were less lucky, he knew that.
The vision from that early morning when he woke up next to his father's bed was something he would never forget. The entire house had been so quiet. His mouth had been slightly open, his lips pale and his face lacked that healthy flush and Link knew at that moment that his father had continued to the afterworld. He looked so much like he had always done but at the same time not, his white face so surreal that it had spooked him. And tears had rolled down Link's cheeks when he realized that his father would never speak to him again, that he would never mess up his hair or give him another fist bump, and he wanted to look away but couldn't tear his eyes away from his father. And he was angry at himself for falling asleep and not being there to witness his father's last breath. And the appetite one would normally feel in the morning wasn't there and it hadn't been there the evening before either and he could hear and feel his stomach growl and cry for food but he couldn't bring himself to stand up, take a few steps, grab some bread and force it down his throat. So he just sat there, next to his father's bed, watched the old man before him and didn't even bother to wipe his tears away. He had been a Knight of Hyrule and Link knew that this day would eventually come, the day when his father might die on a battle field and never return or, like how it had been the previous week, return badly wounded and never fully recover. Link had always known that. But like people always do, they think the worst won't happen to them and Link had always thought that it would happen anyone else but his father. Pushed the thought away. But it happened. Link felt that it had been too soon. Much too soon. He hadn't been ready to let him go yet, there were still so many years they could've spent together, so many moments they could have shared. All of that was gone that morning. Link wanted to curse Hylia for taking his father away from him so early but as the minutes went on, he admitted to himself that those injures his fathers had returned with had been so severe that, if he would have recovered, he would most likely never live his life like he once had, so Link thanked the Goddess instead for ending his pain. His father's face was pale but it no longer expressed agony. He almost looked as if he was asleep.
After what felt like hours, he eventually stepped outside his house and somehow made it to the small Goddess statue in the village. Prayed for the Goddesses to look after his father and thanking Hylia for her mercy. Some of the neighbors had noticed him kneeling before the statue. They had been kind enough to help him with anything and paid Link visits during those days, helped him change bandages, brought him food, and they would come today too if they hadn't seen Link praying to the Goddesses. And they knew what had happened but they still asked him if everything was alright and Link hadn't been able to give them an answer but they followed him back to his home.
The rest of that day was in a blur.
"What are you thinking about?" Princess Zelda's voice interrupted his memories and brought him back to reality. He was glad she did.
He shook his head in small movements. "… Nothing that would interest the Princess, I'm afraid."
She had noticed that he had been lost in thoughts but sensed that he didn't want to share them with her so she didn't press on. "Do you know what I'm thinking of?" She glanced in his direction and saw that his face was the same as usual. She continued despite not getting an answer. "I was thinking that we might save some time if you teach me all your secrets of horses while we travel to Zora's Domain. It's a bit far away-" He knew that it was "-so we would have plenty of time to practice, don't you think? I mean," the Princess stood up and walked over to one of the fountains now that they were the only ones left in the park, "I already know the basics but it feels like we don't go along that well, if you know what I mean? So I'd be grateful if you could teach me one thing or two."
Link stood next to her, his eyes looking for any potential danger nearby rather than on the beautiful fountain which the Princess admired. He didn't pay it any attention until she mentioned it.
"Wanna toss a rupee and make a wish?" she smiled shyly, fearing for a moment that he would think of it as childish. But she turned her gaze to her small bag on her waist anyway and looked for any rupees. It was incredibly hard to find them for some reasons - the bag certainly had too many pockets. She began to feel annoyed but stopped looking for a rupee when her knight held one out for her in his palm. She looked up at him and accepted the rupee which had the same color as his eyes. "Thank you" she mumbled. Dang it, why did she have to mumble? It would sound as if she didn't want it from him. "Thank you" she repeated, her voice stronger and more confident. She hoped that she didn't look like an idiot for thanking him twice. Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind.
They stood in silence for a minute with rupees in their hands, facing the fountain before them. Link tossed his green rupee first and Princess Zelda her blue one shortly after. They watched them come to a still at the bottom.
"What did you wish for?" Princess Zelda asked her knight and turned to face him.
"Now, I can't tell the Princess that or it won't come true, isn't that so?" Link smirked.
"Fair enough. You're right." She smiled and returned her eyes to the fountain. Did he just… try to be funny?
Her thoughts were interrupted when a muffled rumble could be heard from the sky far away. Both Link and Princess Zelda looked up and saw how much darker the clouds were where the rumble had been from. It would soon be lightning over there and the grey clouds above themselves weren't looking much better. The Princess felt a tiny raindrop fall on her cheekbone.
"We should get back before it starts to rain" she said and the pair wrapped their cloaks around them before they passed eastern Castle Town once more.