Let me start off by apologizing so much for updating this chapter two (almost three!) months later! I've had a couple of tough weeks, applied to jobs and gone to interviews only to feel completely crushed when no one wants to hire me. But here it it. 10 500+ words. I know it's long, I know I could've divided this into two different chapters, but I didn't want to. (Edit: oh wow, I don't think I realized how long this chapter is until now lol, it's my longest yet by FAR)
I hope it won't take as long time for me to write the next chapter. Thank you all for sticking with me and this story!
Tired from another week of travelling, Princess Zelda called for a maid to unpack her bags once they were carried back to her chamber and to help her change into her blue gown. The crown was placed on her head last and she was reminded once again of the duties she had to fulfill. She left the room with a heavy sigh to let the maid work in peace and made her way to her personal study. Her failure from her visit to the Spring of Courage was not forgotten and little managed to distract her mind ever since she came home. This was her day off and without distractions, she would most likely think of it until the sun has set. She knew her father expected a small report of sorts on how her trip went, and she knew what kind of news he was hoping to hear from her, but she just didn't have the strength to face him right now. Not yet. Perhaps not ever, not as long as she didn't have any changes to tell him. But she could at least write him a note; in that way, she wouldn't get to see his disappointed frown when he learned that the situation was the same as before the trip.
She closed the door to her study and stepped over to her desk to pick up a sheet of paper when she saw a note already lying on the messy surface. A note for her, she realized. Which was odd, because no one was usually let inside unless she asked for refreshments to be brought up while she worked.
She picked up the note, curious of who it could be from, and read it. It was from Purah… to let her know that they had finally found a way to make the Guardians move!
She read the short message again and flipped the small piece of paper, eyes wildly searching for any date scribbled down to tell her when exactly this huge progress was made, but found none. Her heart was beating hard from excitement and she took quick steps to exit the study when she reminded herself of why she had come in the first place. Twirling around, she grabbed the nearest pen she could find and carefully, but still as fast as she could without messing it up, wrote down a message to be brought to her father. She sealed the note, walked back to the maid still working in her bedroom and handed her the note, asking her to make sure the King would receive it. Then she forced herself to not picture her father's disappointment and instead focus on the good news: functioning Guardians!
She was too impatient to call for her knight to accompany her to the Royal Lab, she knew she probably shouldn't go alone but, whatever, nothing had ever happened while going there which required his swordsmanship. She'd be fine, no one would notice anything as long as she hurried.
And hurried, she did. Before entering the lab, she took a moment to check that she looked fine and made sure to catch her breath. She pushed the heavy doors open and stepped inside, feeling prouder of their collective work than she had ever felt before.
"Purah! Robbie!" she called out and every person's attention was on her immediately. It didn't take long until she found the two Sheikah researches she wished to speak with. "I just got back and saw the note with the good news on my desk! Tell me, when did you first make a Guardian move?"
Purah could see the way Princess Zelda's eyes shone across the room and couldn't help but to smile when she saw the excitement the Princess' tried, but failed, to suppress. She stepped over to the Princess and could see Robbie do the same at the corner of her eye. "It was just a day or two after your last departure, your Highness."
"We apologize for not informing you and asking for your Highness' permission to let give it a try, but… we managed to repair a Stalker Guardian well enough and, well, I suppose we just got too carried away once we got our first real opportunity to give it a proper try" Robbie added.
"Oh, I don't mind at all, I'm just glad to hear that our work has gotten us this far" Princess Zelda assured and the apologetic wrinkle on the Sheikah's forehead disappeared. "It's just a shame I wasn't here to witness that moment with you… Is it possible to show me a functioning Guardian now? Do we have one ready?"
"We do, but Purah and I think it would be best to let it move somewhere with more free space. We wouldn't want to risk it running into any of our other experiments in here…"
"Oh. Of course." Princess Zelda thought for a moment. She really wanted more people to see their progress and make them understand that their research was serious business. A piece of her heart wished to prove all the gossiping nobles at the castle that she was capable of accomplishing something. "Do you think… it would be possible to bring it outside my chamber?" she asked carefully.
Purah looked over to Robbie. "I think that'd be possible, what do you say?"
"Anything for the Princess!" Robbie smiled back.
An equally bright smile spread across Princess Zelda's face. "Great! Thank you so much for doing this, and thank you for believing in this project – thank you, each and every one of you!" she called out to the Sheikah assistants standing in the room and was replied with respectful bows.
"It might take a little while before we get there, we need to get the Guardian started and such first. Don't worry, Princess, I'll personally tell you how it all works later" Purah winked. Princess Zelda thanked her once again and almost skipped from joy out from the lab.
She felt so happy! Finally, some good news! Finally, something had gone right! She wanted to share this moment with someone but couldn't think of anyone she wished to share it with. She thought to herself that no one stood especially close to her any longer, sadly. Except, perhaps, for Link. And Link had gone with her many times to the lab and must surely be interested in their project, even if it was just a little? Would it be wrong of her to ask him to come when she had told him he wasn't needed for the rest of the day when they had just returned to the castle, not more than two hours ago?
Before she could think on it any more, she noticed a few of the royal guards standing at attention in one of the castle's many hallways. She stopped in front of one of them, a guard taller than her, and asked, "Could you please find Link and let him know I'll wait for him outside my study if he's not terribly busy?"
"Yes, your Highness" the guard replied with a deep voice, saluted and immediately began to leave the hallway. Princess Zelda did the same and continued walking to where she'd wait for her knight and the moving Guardian.
The first thing Link had done after returning from the Spring of Courage with Princess Zelda was to drop his bags next to his bunk bed and then lay down on his back on the mattress. And he had stayed there since, as if he'd never feel the softness of a stiff bed again. It was always a wonderful feeling to come back to your own bed again. Even if it had been covered with a few notes since he last saw it. He'd deal with them later.
He was feeling himself slip into blissful unconsciousness when a loud, deep voice stirred him wide awake. His eyes flew up and saw a guard standing at the doorway to the sleeping hall. "Link, there you are! The Princess said she'd wait for you outside her study if you're not busy with something. Sorry for waking you up, but I'd go if I were you." Then the guard left to return to his duty.
Link sat up and reached for the Master Sword lying next to him on the mattress. He had no idea what Princess Zelda needed him for so soon after their return, but he hurried nevertheless and took two steps at a time to climb the staircases leading up to the Princess' study.
When he arrived, he saw Princess Zelda just about to enter her study so he quickened his steps to let her know he had come before she closed the door. He saw her turn around, hand on the door knob, just about to close it, before she must've heard his steps and looked up. He was greeted with a shy smile but it was true and bright. He bowed quickly before her.
"I didn't think you'd come so quickly" she said and took a step closer. "I wanted to show you something, but it's not ready yet…" What should she do now? She would look silly if she had called for him for no reason. Well, there was a reason, but he didn't know what it was. Yet.
She looked at her knight and felt his stare becoming more intense by every passing second. She wished he would say something, but she knew she had to break the silence herself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't let you wait here" she managed to say, "why don't we-" she twirled around and stepped closer to her study again, "why don't we wait in my study until it's ready?" She turned to look at Link and something inside of her dropped when she saw her knight looking surprised and neutral simultaneously and she could tell that his body had gone tense too. "I can call for tea?" she tried, and immediately regretted it. She could clearly tell he didn't want to.
Or that was what she thought. Her knight gave her a small nod after some internal debate and whatever it was that had plummeted inside of her just a moment ago suddenly rose right up again. A smile spread on her lips and she held the door to her study open. "After you, sir knight" she joked. If it had any effect, he didn't show it.
Princess Zelda had momentarily forgotten about the mess in her study, a mess she didn't mind but now she realized what it must look like in someone else's eyes. Link looked around the room and she passed by him, quickly picking up books and bottles. "I'm so sorry about the mess, I…" She placed the books and bottles in her arms to the already crowded desk and pushed them to the back to create some more space for herself and Link. "I never really have company in here" she confessed. And she felt very lonely when she realized how true that was. Link was the first person she had invited to her study to stay, apart from Purah and Robbie.
Link began to pick up some scrunched up paper off the floor as he wanted to help, but the Princess stopped him and took the balls of paper from his hands. "You really don't have to…!" she began and said under her breath, mostly to herself, "Dear Hylia, I never realized how messy it was in here until now..!" Link continued watching his Princess tidying the room in a hectic frenzy the best she could, as if she could do it fast enough before he noticed how crammed the bookshelves really were. He raised an arm to tell her he really didn't mind but she was so busy, she didn't see him. "I don't even know if there's an extra chair in here" she mumbled, again to more to herself than to her knight, and Link spotted one at the same time as Princess Zelda did. When she bent over to move an bottle of ink and a stack of paper from it, Link laid his own hand on top of them and the Princess looked up to him and stopped. He wanted to help.
She straightened her back and let him pick up the stack and ink bottle. Link waited for her to tell him where to put them. She looked around. "Just… put them on the floor" she said, sounding defeated. Link did as she said and she pushed the chair closer to the desk. "Thank you". Link only nodded back.
"Please, sit down." She saw him hesitate for only a moment while she pulled on a string hanging from the ceiling. A string leading to a bell in the kitchen or the maid's hall, Link figured. Then she sat down next to him on a chair similar to his. "So, what tea blend do you prefer?" she asked and Link only blinked. Tea was something he had only had a few times in his life since it needed to be imported and was a drink only the rich and wealthy could afford. He didn't even know there were different kinds of tea. "I prefer black tea with blue nightshade, would you link to try?" Link nodded dumbly and she smiled, shyness coming over her again. She looked at Link looking at various notes lying on the desk and was about to say something when there was a knock at the door.
"You may come in" she called and stood up. The door opened.
"You rang the bell, your Highness?" a maid said after a curtsy.
"Yes, would you be so kind and bring a pot of tea and two cups, please?"
"Two cups, your Highness?" the maid echoed questioningly, and then she saw the Princess' appointed knight, the Hero of Hyrule, sitting behind the standing Princess.
"Two cups, yes."
"Certainly, your Highness." Link saw a faint blush cover the maid's cheeks. "The same blend as usual, your Highness?"
"Yes, please. And perhaps something small to eat too, please."
"Certainly, your Highness" the maid repeated, glanced one final time at Link and then left. Link wasn't sure how to feel about the look she had given him; on one hand, both he and the maid had a feeling that is was wrong to be in the Princess' study, a place where she mostly spent her time alone, but it would've been rude of him to turn down her invite; on the other hand, the look the maid had given him was perhaps one of admiration… he knew too well what kind of effect the sword on his back had one people.
"So…" Princess Zelda began and sat down again, but looked for something to say a moment longer. "Do my notes interest you?" She looked at her knight expectantly but saw that he was still blank as a fresh sheet of paper. "You can speak in here, you know? No one will hear us." He looked back at her, and was that relief she saw?, but only nodded back that he understood.
Princess Zelda looked back to the crowded desk, trying to think of something to say. But she was surprised to hear Link speak first. "You have a nice study" he complimented.
Stunned to hear him talk, it took her a second to respond. "Yes, it is, thank you. Even though I haven't kept my things very organized lately. I'm sorry for the mess" she apologized again and smiled, feeling embarrassed. "And this window gives me enough light to sit here for hours if I so please" she pointed vaguely with her hand. "… So I've had a lot of time to write all of this." She scoffed lightly. She and her research team had done enough progress to bring a non-functioning Guardian to walk, and yet she felt that she should've come further by now.
"You could open a library."
The joke worked. "I suppose I could" Princess Zelda chuckled. "I don't know who would read any of this though."
Link thought for a second. "I bet Purah would. Or Robbie."
"Hmm. Perhaps."
Princess Zelda noticed Link looking at a larger stack of papers piled at one of the corners of the desk. "You can look if you'd like" she said. "I mean it" she added when Link asked for permission with his eyes.
He took a bundle from the top of the stack and his eyes wandered everywhere across the first paper, trying to understand what was written on it but failed. He placed it to the side and scanned through the second sheet too, but the same thing. On the third, he asked "What are these?" and pointed at square symbols carefully drawn by the Princess. She followed his finger and he saw her eyes brighten.
"That's Sheikah alphabet! It took me a long time to memorize them, I used to have a cheat sheet to practice with…" She stood up and began to flick through loose pages in a file until she found what she was looking for and sat down again. "Here is it!" She placed it between herself and Link. "Quite different from our own, isn't it?" They studied the paper in silence for a moment and then Princess Zelda picked up an empty sheet of paper, a bottle of ink and a feathered pen. She had an idea.
Link watched the Princes scribble down Sheikah letters and she didn't even stop even when there was a knock on the door again. "Please, come in" she answered without looking up.
"Your tea, Princess." The same maid from before was carrying a tray with the things Princess Zelda had asked for and curtsied, even though Princess Zelda wasn't looking. Link bowed lightly with his head to acknowledge the maid.
"Thank you, you could…" Princess Zelda moved her papers momentarily to make space for the tea and cups. "… place it here, thank you." The maid did as she was told.
"Anything else, your Highness?"
"No, that would be all, thank you." Princess Zelda looked up with a smile and the maid curtsied again before leaving.
"Now…" Princess Zelda made one final stroke with the pen before she slid the paper over to Link. "You taught me how to handle horses better, so it's only fair if I teach you something back, don't you think? Try to read it."
She looked at him expectantly and Link, not wanting to disappoint her, took time to identify the first letter and memorize it before moving on to the next one. It was very sudden, that the Princess wanted to do something for him for once. He appreciated it. But she was growing impatient of waiting for him to read the word before him. "You can say the letters out loud if that helps" she tried to help.
He hesitated. "The first is an L."
"Mhm."
"… And the next is I?"
"Yep."
Link went quiet as he thought. It was a four-letter word. "List?" He guessed.
"No, S and T are completely different to the ones I wrote." She pointed out the differences. "See?" Link nodded. She let him continue and watched his face to see his reaction once he figured it out. "Link" he finally said, face emotionless as always. Not the reaction she had hoped for. She had thought he would be surprised. Oh well.
"Correct!" She began to write new letters and Link busied himself with pouring them a cup of tea each. She slid the paper over to Link again and took a spoon of honey to stir in her cup. "This word's longer" she said and blew on her tea to cool.
This was nice, somehow. To see her knight do something else than protecting her or practicing with weapons. To do something else than something duty heavy. She didn't know if he really liked doing this, but it was a way for her to get him to talk a little. And he didn't look like he didn't appreciate this, not by the way he carefully studied the papers before him.
"Hylia?" he tried.
"Almost. Hyrule" she corrected and eagerly took the paper back to write down new words. "This here is a word and under it is a sentence. I can help you with that if you'd like" she said with a smile.
Link only managed to identify the three first letters when there was a knock on the door again, stronger this time. They both looked up. "Yes?" Princess Zelda answered.
"Princess, the Guardian is here for demonstration" a male voice called from beyond the wooden door.
"Thank you, I'll be there in a minute!" she called back and returned her focus to Link. "That was the thing I wanted to show you before. It seems like we don't have to wait for it anymore." She took a sip from her cup. "Have you figured out the word yet?" she asked him.
"The first three letters are the beginning of your name, Princess."
She smiled. "I suppose it wasn't that hard to guess. Come, you can work on the sentence later." She took one final sip before standing to leave the room. Link followed her closely.
Stepping out from the study and onto the bridge between it and her chamber, the bright sunlight was almost blinding before their eyes got used to it. Princess Zelda leaned slightly over the rail and Link looked over it as well, but still standing behind her. Strange, mechanical noises came from below and a Sheikah man dressed in white guided the Guardian to stand better for Princess Zelda to see. She saw the metallic creature walk perfectly with its six legs and a sense of calmness came over her. There it was, the fruits of their labor. The Guardian was working, and they would get many more to work as well, now that they knew how to do it.
She spoke aloud about the relief she felt. They had finally brought the Guardian to move. This was a huge step forward, enabling them to know even more about other types of Guardians and even the Divine Beasts. She turned to Link and she looked proud over her work and was confident that Guardians like this one would defend everyone in Hyrule if Ganon would appear. Link thought he had never seen her look so confident about her work and herself until now.
A deep voice interrupted them. And both Link and Princess Zelda knew who that voice belonged to. It was the King of Hyrule, and Link saw his stern face for just a split second before immediately falling down on one knee, eyes focused low on the grey stones making the bridge's surface. He heard the King take a few steps closer to his daughter and the air already felt thicker. The King asked the Princess what she was currently doing and Link didn't miss the nervous tone in Princess Zelda's voice as she tried to explain to her father. He suspected that this wasn't a conversation he should be hearing, but no one has dismissed him or the two soldiers who had accompanied King Rhoam. So he stayed.
Princess Zelda fisted her hands to give her courage to face her father. She opened her mouth and told him the truth, but she knew he wouldn't like it. She told him she was there to observe the functioning Guardian, a result of her experiments with the Sheikah researchers. And she started to explain the importance of these experiments, as she had done many times before, when her father interrupted her speech. He knew what she was about to say, he knew that the Guardians were important for his kingdom's future, so he filled in the rest and quickly ended the discussion. And then he came to the real reason why he had come to see her.
And Princess Zelda knew just as well why he had come to her. He only had one reason to meet her these days it seemed, and she lowered her head in shame as her heart sank lower, waiting for her father's harsh words. She didn't have to wait long.
She listened to her father asking her when she would stop running away from her responsibilities and start becoming serious about fulfilling her one and only duty as princess. But couldn't he see? She was doing the best she could in the current situation they were in. Never being enough was frustrating to say the least. The research mattered to her and the mental reminders of not having her powers never left her. Not an hour went by without her worrying about it.
With what little courage was left in her, Princess Zelda looked her father in the eyes, if only for a second before her gaze returned to the stony surface of the bridge, and protested that, no, she wasn't running away from her duty. And she knew what duty he was speaking of, for it was the only duty he seemed to care about. Trying desperately to make him understand, she informed him once again that she had just returned from the Spring of Courage and prayed to the Goddess only.
She had little hope that her father would listen and finally understand her, but it was quickly crushed. She had failed not only to awaken her powers but also to make her father see how much she has been struggling.
Shame washed over her again as she stood still, fists still clamped tightly in frustration, and listened to his public criticism. He said she was wasting her time. That she needs to dedicate her every minute to train, to focus on her hidden power, to ask the Goddesses again to help her find it. That she would only focus on that if she wanted to unlock her divine power.
Didn't he see that she already was spending so many hours before Goddess statues?
She pleaded to him to let her work with what she can instead, but her words fell on deaf ears. With a stern voice, her father ordered her, as her King, to stop running away from her duty and to never be involved with the ancient Sheikah machines anymore. And to only focus on her training and prayers instead.
There was nothing more she could say to try to convince him to change his mind and understand her situation, so Princess Zelda remained silent and waited for the King to either continue delivering his message or leave. What she really wished for in that moment was that he would leave her, and she almost thought he would when he turned slightly. But then he stopped his movement to observe the Guardian standing beneath them, twisting its head and buzzing as it moved its mechanical legs, and what Princess Zelda was about to hear next would make her feel more ashamed than she imagined she would ever feel. Her face turned red in embarrassment and her heartbeat quickened, as if she was running to flee from something. But she remained still as a statue.
She felt a pang of pain when he went on to inform her that people had begun to whisper that their Princess would be an heir to nothing if nothing was being done soon. But what hurt even more was to hear that her own thoughts about herself was now being shared among the gossipers too; failure. It was one thing to consider herself to be one in her mind and occasionally, when she was in a brighter mood, try to comfort herself by thinking that she was doing at least something to help her people when the Goddesses wouldn't. But it felt awfully real when the same words came out of her father's mouth. Without doubt, she thought to herself and kept her pained gaze low, he must surely be thinking the same of her as the gossip mongers. It was a terrible feeling, knowing that your own parent thought of you as a disappointment, and it was a feeling she had grown to know better by the years.
Just like she had started with trying to remind her father of why the Guardians were so important and how he had already heard her explanations a hundred times before, he reminded her once again that it was in her destiny to awaken her powers and prove everyone wrong.
"Do you understand?" he finished with a harsh look. Princess Zelda only managed to respond with a small voice, just barely over a whisper, "Yes, father." And with that, the King turned to leave and his daughter stood still with his word repeating itself over and over in her head.
Failure.
She didn't even take one final look at her achievements with the Guardian when she slowly turned to return to her study. She heard her knight rise from kneeling to stand next to her. She had almost forgotten about him.
"I'm sorry," she said with the same quiet voice and eyes focused on the floor. She didn't dare to meet her knight's eyes right now. "I hope you can forgive me, maybe we can continue reading some other time."
Princess Zelda slid in through the door before Link could stop her. She locked it and leaned back against it, and just stood still there for a while. Not feeling her heart race so wildly like she thought it would. Feeling ashamed of herself and numb at the same time. She couldn't cry if she wanted to. She just stood there, stared at nothingness and heard her father's harsh words loudly in her head as the room was completely silent. She only looked up when she thought she heard Link finally move to leave on the other side of the door and her eyes landed on the paper sheet she had used to write simple words for him to read. Her eyes automatically read the sentence Link never had time to figure out.
You can do it!
It felt like her own words were mocking her and she slid down to sit on the cold floor.
Link wasn't sure what to think. That was a conversation he shouldn't have heard, nor anyone else around them, and he felt genuinely sorry for Princess Zelda that no one seemed to understand her. Not even her father. Sure, Link spent perhaps more time than anyone else with the Princess since he was her knight so naturally he knew how many hours she could spend on prayers, but was the King really that blind that he couldn't see that the Princess was trying her best? And couldn't he spare her the shame of having that talk out in the public, risking anybody in the castle to hear his words?
Link stayed right outside the door to the Princess' study for a few moments, not really wanting to go. She had looked so vulnerable and hurt, he didn't want her to stay in there alone. He thought of things to say, if he should knock and ask if she was feeling okay or not, but he was her knight, not her friend, and he wasn't sure if she would appreciate any of that right now.
He stood silent a moment longer and thought back to before the King had come and when Princess Zelda had been kind enough to treat him to tea and interacted with him. He had actually enjoyed it. That peaceful moment, not the tea. Or perhaps the tea too, but he never got the chance to try it. He knew he shouldn't think of it like that, but for a moment, he felt like he had a friend again. Not just comrades among the other guards, but a friend who wanted nothing more than to simply spend time with him.
And he really wished in that moment that he was the Princess' friend and not her knight so he could ask her if she wanted company or to be left alone.
But, he figured, she had just asked him to leave her. So reluctantly, Link moved his feet and took a few steps back and turned around. His heart told him that the right thing to do would be to carefully knock on her door and lend her an ear if she needed someone to talk with, but perhaps she needed some time to herself. He could always wait for her to ask him to escort her or come back later.
Having his mind made up, he finally left and soon found a secret door to slip into the servant's hallways to return to… well, he thought of returning to the guard's sleeping quarters but he would only stumble upon nosy or well-wishing guards, and he wasn't in the mood to face them. Just like the Princess, he needed some time alone.
Maybe he could practice with the sword to clear his mind.
Dragging a towel over his damp head after a quick shower, Link walked back to the guard's quarters but decided to stop by the kitchen on the way to see if they had anything left over from supper – he had stayed focused too long on practicing. Gingerly, not really wanting to disturb anyone, he stayed by one of the doorways to the kitchen and was soon spotted by one of the kitchen maids.
"Mister Hero!" she greeted, stopped whatever it was she was busy with and brushed out any wrinkles and dust on her skirt. She stepped closer with a bright smile on her lips. "Can I help you with anything?"
More maids soon noticed him too and cast glances his way, loud conversations between them becoming whispers and faces happy. Link already began to feel uncomfortable.
"He's here to ask for more food, aren't you, sonny?" Link almost sighed of relief when the chef stepped in the room with a book in his hands. Probably containing recipes. Link nodded and the chef continued, addressing the maid, "See if there's anything left to heat up for him." She glanced one final time at Link before she quickly left.
"What's with you youngsters not eating food when it's being served?" he chef mumbled out loud and turned to continue with his work. "Not even the Princess came to the dining hall today… Perhaps she's grown tired of my creations, perhaps they're too simple…" The chef continued to mumble to himself but Link stopped listening after hearing that Princess Zelda hadn't eaten too. He had a feeling of why she hadn't and it couldn't be good if she chose to isolate herself after that earlier event.
It didn't take long before the maid returned with a plate of curry and a piece of bread placed on a tray. "Anything else?" she smiled brightly, apparently delighted to serve the Hero of Hyrule.
Link hesitated for a second. "Could you make that two?"
The maid's eyebrows rose in surprise and her cheeks became rosy before she replied "Of course!" and soon came back with a second serving. Link nodded his thanks and saw the slight disappointment in the maid's eyes when he turned to leave.
With the towel hanging on his shoulder and the tray with food balanced in his hands, he walked back to Princess Zelda's study. He wasn't sure if he was hoping she would still be in there so he could offer her something to eat or that she had already left that small room. Staying in there couldn't be too good, he thought.
He finally reached her door, balanced the tray on one hand and took a deep breath in before he knocked loudly enough for her to hear it. "Who is it?" she called from the door but he didn't answer. A few seconds of silence passed before he heard the lock turn and the door open. Princess Zelda's mouth formed an O in surprise when she saw him standing there and she looked down to the tray in his hands.
"For me?" she asked and looked up to his face again, her voice more stable than earlier but still quiet. But she looked a little bit happier. "How did you know?" She stepped out and locked the door behind her. She began to walk across the bridge connecting her study to her chamber and Link followed. He only stopped when she pushed the door to her chamber open and watched her casually step inside. She noticed he wasn't following her anymore. "Please, come in. I can show you where you can place the tray."
With two careful steps, Link went inside and felt his anxiety rise when Princess Zelda stepped behind him to close the door after them. He hadn't planned this; he thought he would only bring the food to her study and then they would eat separately. Or maybe he could bring his plate with him and she would stay here, alone, as she had wished to be earlier.
Wordlessly, Princess Zelda placed a hand on the rail to the grand spiral staircase and began step down to her chamber and Link followed, thinking it was unlike her to be so silent. Soon, the large room revealed itself to him and his eyes went almost as large as the room. He had never seen a bedroom in the size of a cottage before and the closer he got to the ground floor, he started to notice the luxurious red armchairs, dressed in fine velvet, and the wooden furniture, skillfully carved by a master craftsman. If he ever needed a reminder that the girl before him was royalty, every detail in her room was proof of it.
He quickly felt like he was out of place and didn't belong in here (which he technically didn't – knights and guards had no business in the chambers of the castle unless anything was needed of them) and his attention was only brought back to the Princess when she stepped around an armchair in the middle of the room. "Here will be good" she said, sat down in the chair and Link placed the tray on a table before her. He was still standing when she reached forward to pick up her plate with curry.
"Please, take a seat." she said and looked at him.
"I…" Link cleared his throat. "I thought your Highness wanted to be left alone?"
"… I did." She leaned back with a spoon in her hand.
Link hesitated. They had shared hours on the road and slept with only a few arms width between them, but it felt different here in her own chamber. More personal. He saw a screen at one corner of the room, realized that that's where the Princess would stand behind to get dressed and quickly looked away from it. "I shouldn't be in here."
Princess Zelda could guess what he meant but chose to ignore unspoken rules for now. "Please, sit. I was meaning to talk with you anyway."
So Link did what he was told and took a seat opposite to the Princess. He felt the soft velvet under his fingertips as if the fabric could make him less uncomfortable but it only reminded him more how important the girl before him was.
He placed the damp towel hanging on his shoulder on the stone flooring and reached for his own serving of curry instead.
"I'm… sorry you had to hear that" Princess Zelda began. "What father said earlier, I mean." She kept her gaze low, focused on her food on the table. Link didn't know what to say so he let her continue, like she usually does. "He's never confronted me like that before, if I had known, I'd… I'd ask you to wait until he'd leave. I hope it wasn't embarrassing for you to hear everything."
Link, embarrassed? Of her? "I wasn't embarrassed, Princess."
"Really?"
"Truly."
She huffed quietly. "Well, that makes me relieved to hear. But…" Link saw her poke around her in her food; he had come to know that fidgeting is a habit of hers when she's feeling nervous. "About… the things he said. About people talking about me. Have you, um… Have you heard any of it?" She dared to meet his gaze. And he could see the pain in her eyes.
"I haven't" he replied. Because most of the time he spent it with her, and therefore he hadn't heard anything serious.
She nodded back. "I see. But I wouldn't judge you if you agree with them, as things are now, I suppose I am an heir of nothing…"
"Princess." Link could tell what worried her so; what she really wanted to know was if he thought of her to be a failure too. He quickly let her know. "I don't see you as that." She looked up at him, face red in shame and brows burrowed in worry. "I thought you knew that I still believe in you, Princess?" he asked her.
Flashing a quick tightlipped smile, she replied, "I suppose there's still a part of me that thinks you only say that because I am your Princess."
"… I wouldn't tell you anything but the truth, your Highness."
Suddenly she looked as if she had made a mistake. "Of course not. I'm sorry, it's not that I doubt you, it's just…" Her gaze flickered and she exhaled a sigh. "It's just tough, sometimes."
Link didn't have to ask her what she meant, he already understood her. Pressure from her father, pressure on herself, pressure from her people. Not wanting to let anyone down. He felt it too. "At least you haven't given up" he said, trying to be comforting.
I don't have the choice to, is what she wanted to say but instead she replied, "You're right. Thank you." She smiled at him before they resumed eating their dinner. "We should probably start riding to the Spring of Power tomorrow, and do as the King ordered me to do. Pray." she added bitterly. "It's in the Akkala region and shouldn't be too difficult to find."
Link nodded that he understood. But his thoughts lingered on the King and the anxiousness he had heard in Princess Zelda's voice hours ago. "The King…" Link realized he had said it out loud and he saw Princess Zelda looking at him, knowing that she sat there, wondering if she heard him say something and if she should wait for him to continue or not. He had to go on, he thought. "Has he always been so tough on you?"
The look on her face went glum. "Not always, but he's become more strict the past year or so. I guess I can understand why."
"I'm sorry."
She paused. "It's alright" she said and shrugged. They both knew it wasn't.
They finished their meals in silence and Link accepted the Princess' piece of bread when she offered it to him. She was full. But Link could still tell that she wasn't in her brightest mood and he still wished to comfort her. He wasn't her friend, but maybe he should tell her what he thought instead of keeping it to himself.
"I can relate a bit, if it gives you any comfort" he said and continued when she didn't say anything. "I didn't want to let my parents down either."
She leaned in slightly, interested in what her knight had to say. "Was your father like mine too?"
Link thought for a moment. "Sometimes. He wouldn't let me rest until I had perfected a sword trick" he smirked.
"So it was discipline and practice for you too, then." She concluded. Link nodded.
"He could be tough, but..."
"You still loved him" Princess Zelda finished for him with a sad smile and Link confirmed with a nod.
He popped a piece of the bread in his mouth and thought back to old memories to when everything was still simple. Losing his parents at a young age had forced him to grow up faster than perhaps he would've otherwise, and Princess Zelda had the weight of her destiny put on her shoulders on a young age too. Both their lives would probably have looked a lot different in different circumstances and, if so, perhaps they could've let themselves do normal teenager things. "Maybe we should've become rebellious teens" he suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
Princess Zelda scoffed at his idea. "I find it very hard to imagine you as rebellious."
Link hummed as if in agreement. "In another life, perhaps." He paused and then teased, "But I'm sure you can be a rebel, Princess; you can do it". Princess Zelda only frowned. Did he say something wrong? Did he overstep his boundaries?
Hearing the same words from him that she had earlier written as Sheikah practice reminded Princess Zelda of some papers she had brought with her from the study. She remained seated as she bent over to the side, reached for them to pick up from the floor and then stood up. She felt Link's look before she saw him curiously eye them and her. "It's just some notes I don't need anymore. I thought I might as well feed them to the fire" she explained. She saw the unspoken question he was holding in and understood that he must've seen the practice sheet placed at the top of the bundle of papers. "Unless you want to…" She shuffled around the papers in her hand and held the paper between them. "… give it another try?" She didn't know why she asked. She'd rather burn it and never have to be reminded of it again.
Link took it carefully from her. "Let me know if you need any help" Princess Zelda said and took her seat again, letting her mind wander while Link studied the last message written in Sheikah. Several minutes passed and all that could be heard was the crackle of fire from the fireplace, already lit to heat the room up before they had entered it. Link was the first to break the silence.
"If…"
Princess Zelda looked up.
"Let's say Ganon comes tomorrow. I would've hated it if I couldn't tell my father how much I appreciated him before something happens."
He was still holding the paper in his hands but when he looked up and straight into her eyes, she knew exactly how her knight felt and what he was trying to say. How she felt inside, she wasn't so sure of; angered that her relationship with her father was so damaged that she'd rather not see him now, sad at the thought of perhaps never seeing him again, sympathy for her knight and maybe even appreciative that he didn't want her to feel the same as he did.
"I don't think the King would like to see me right now" she said, masking the truth that it was she who preferred to not see him. She pouted, crossed her arms and looked away to the fire.
Link said nothing for a moment. "Perhaps not… But I'd sleep better knowing that I had at least tried." Princess Zelda looked back at him with softer eyes and no frown on her lips, and he offered her a smile in return.
He held the practice paper back for her to take. "You can do it!" he read aloud when she took it, and suddenly, the words didn't seem so awful anymore. She held his gaze for a moment longer, decided that her knight was right and rose to feed the stack of papers to the fire.
"I'll need you to escort me to him room then" she said, and waited for Link to stand and join her by her side. He reached the large door leading to the rest of the castle before she did and held it open for her to pass through. She hid a small smile, feeling a bit glad that he had convinced her to not give up on her relationship with her father. She could've walked the distance herself but she found a comfort in knowing that her knight was nearby that she hadn't felt when she first met him. It was as if his presence would ensure that this nightly meeting with her father would go fine.
They walked in silence until they were almost at the King's chambers, when Princess Zelda turned to Link to say, "You don't have to wait to escort me back to my room afterwards, Link. Maybe it's better to get some rest before tomorrow. I can ask one of the guards to escort me if that would make you feel better."
He didn't look like he liked the idea, but he nodded a yes and they took the remaining steps to the King's chamber where two guards stood outside his doors. The guards saluted when they saw their Princess.
"Please let the King know that his daughter is asking to see him" Princess Zelda said and the guards proceeded to knock on the doors after replying "yes, your Highness!" in unison. A deep voice could be heard from the other side of the door and Princess Zelda's body automatically stiffened when she heard it. One of the guards opened, stepped inside, passed on the message and then stepped to the side, letting the Princess pass. She looked over her shoulder, seeking for some last comfort form her knight who only nodded assuringly for her to step inside, and so she did after taking a deep breath.
"It's late, Zelda," King Rhoam said and Zelda was afraid for a moment that he was going to scold her again. "I thought you were asleep?"
Her father was already dressed in his nightwear and sat in a leather armchair in front of a fire, his broad back facing her. She remained standing nearby the now closed doors. "No, I thought I would speak to you first" she replied with a voice as steady as she could muster.
Her father sighed audibly. "Please, tell me it's not about these machines again."
Zelda ignored the small sting of pain and continued, "No, it's not about them this time."
Rhoam tried to look over his shoulder at her. "Then what?"
Zelda took small steps closer to her father and the fireplace. "I… guess I just wanted to apologize. About everything."
She stood next to him, trying to read his face looking into the fire, somehow looking less stern than usual. He blinked several times, as if he had been lost and just now came back to the present time, and made a motion for her to sit next to him in the other leather armchair. She sat down, feeling smaller than usual in the large seat. Her fingers were cold despite the radiating heat coming from the fireplace.
"It's alright, Zelda. We all make mistakes sometimes" Rhoam said with a tired voice.
Zelda felt like telling him that she didn't think she had done any mistake, but reminded herself that that wasn't what she was here for. "Yes, I… I suppose I got carried away today. I'm sorry, father. … I'll ride to the Spring of Power tomorrow."
Her father turned to look at her and reached out a large hand for her to hold. She didn't, and the faint smile that had been on his lips faded. She instantly regretted not placing her hand in his.
"Was there anything else you wanted to speak to me about, sweetheart?"
He hadn't used sweet words for her for a long time. Maybe he was trying to make thing better. Hearing him call her "sweetheart" only made her feel worse for not holding his hand when she had had the chance. "I'm really sorry" she said, this time not thinking of the Sheikah machines or neglecting her duty but not taking the opportunity to take his hand and how the prophecy of the Calamity had come between them. She couldn't remember the last time he had embraced her in his big arms to wish her good luck or a good night.
"I just want to make you proud of me, but I don't know how" she confessed and looked up, anxious.
"I know, Zelda." Her father looked back at her with not exactly a kind expression, but it was enough to make her feel better. "Your mother would have been proud of you" he added with a small smile. Zelda almost held her breath. They never spoke much about the late Queen.
"You really think so, dad?"
"I know so." Zelda knew he could never be sure of that, but she wanted so badly to be good enough for someone. So she chose to believe his words. Even if that someone happened to be dead.
"She can see all the time you're spending on your prayers" he continued, "and I know it's a lot-"
"Dad-!"
"-but it wouldn't hurt to try a bit more, don't you agree? I know it's tough, Zelda, but I'm sure the Goddesses will grant you your powers soon."
He had that do-as-I-say look in his eyes and Zelda held in a frustrated sigh. "Dad, I just don't know if… the prayers really help, at all." She looked away, but still felt his eyes on her.
"The Goddesses are all we have for guidance, Zelda" he said, sounding like one of her old tutors, and then, softer, "Try not to worry, they have to hear your pleas someday and help you."
Zelda looked back up with a sad face. "But when is that day, father?" she asked, hoping he'll have an answer but knowing that he wouldn't.
Rhoam dragged a finger across the tiara sitting on her head affectionately and then kept his hand still nearby her ear. "Will you continue with the prayers?" he replied instead. "For me?" He looked into his daughter's green eyes.
She couldn't answer him with anything else than "Yes, father" and received a pleased smile in return. He gave her a pat on the shoulder, and she thought that he almost looked unsure for a second of what to do next before he leaned back into his seat.
"It's getting late. You should try to get some sleep before you leave."
Zelda sighed softly. "Yes, father." She stood up to leave.
"I won't have time to see you in the morning. But I will pray to Din to guide you. It was the Spring of Power, you said?"
She wanted to tell him that it wouldn't matter, that the Goddesses seemed to have more important matters to take care of than listening to their wishes. But if it helped her father to feel better, then she wouldn't try to stop him. "That's right" she confirmed.
Her royal blue dress brushed against the floor as Zelda moved closer to the large doors leading to the corridors of the castle and heard her father leave his seat as well.
"Oh, and Zelda… Before you leave." She turned around. Please, no more lectures, she thought.
"During these travels, if your knight would ever try to do something… he's not supposed to, don't hesitate to let me know. I'm your father, you can confine in me and tell me anything."
Not seeing where this was coming from, she looked back at him, confused. "Like what, dad?"
"I know you're both young and are spending a lot of time together alone, if he ever tries to force you into something-"
Zelda suddenly understood what he was asking and felt a blush cover her cheeks. "Fathe- No! No, he's- I-" She searched for words and found them. "I don't even think he thinks of me in that way." She paused before repeating "No" with a little more emphasis. "I certainly don't think of him in that way. There's nothing to worry about, Link's being completely professional about this whole… thing. Situation." She hoped she could be convincing despite her red face and took in a breath. "Why are you asking me this all of a sudden, do you have any suspicions or..?"
Rhoam smiled at her, humored at the sight of his daughter feeling embarrassed. "No, sweetheart, I only thought of asking before anything happens, that's all." He stepped over to her and stretched out an arm. "I didn't mean to upset you."
Zelda glanced at his arm and took a step closer, not wanting to miss his kind gesture this time. She felt him move his hand up to her head and ruffled up her hair.
"Dad!" she protested and tried to swat his hand away. "My hair..!" She pouted but her father only hummed a deep laughter.
"Good night, Zelda."
She smiled back and tried to flatten out her blonde hair. "Good night, father."
King Rhoam put on a robe, blue like his formal attire but clearly made for lounging, tied the sash around his waist and opened a door for his daughter. Princess Zelda stepped out and the King ordered one of the guards outside to escort her back to her room. They began walking and it wasn't until a little while later that Princess Zelda remembered that she hadn't told the King that she still loved him.
She looked over her shoulder. The doors were already closed. Too late to go back and tell him now.
Speaking of love, why had her father asked her about Link? Simply because he felt like it was his duty to look after her more? Because there was no way Link was having feelings for her.
Suddenly she felt glad that her knight had done what she had asked him and gone to bed already.
They finally reached her chamber and Princess Zelda thanked the guard and wished him a good night. She opened the door, stepped inside and shut it behind her. It was late and she didn't think it was necessary to call for her maid to help her get into her nightwear.
She stepped towards her bed and began unbuttoning her clothes when she saw a white cloth on the floor, next to one of the velvet armchairs. Link's towel, she realized. He must've forgotten to bring it with him when they left. She picked it up and felt that it was still slightly damp. She left it on the floor. She would ask a maid to take care of it tomorrow morning together with the tray with plates and crumbs of bread.
She struggled with pulling off her boots and let them fall to the floor when they got off. She stayed on her toes since the stone flooring was still cold even if there was a fire burning across the room.
Zelda played with the thought of her knight having a crush on her, which he of course didn't have. But she could pretend for a moment, just to entertain her mind. There was no chance in the world that he would ever think of her in in a romantic way, first, because he technically wasn't supposed to and, second, she couldn't imagine that anyone would ever think of her romantically. She spend all her days on either prayers or her studies, she must surely be the dullest person to have ever existed in Hyrule.
She dragged her royal dress off, folded it somewhat neatly and hung it over her folding screen, where she usually hid behind to get dressed. She found her nightgown and pulled it over her head, took off her tiara and then tiptoed her way back to the bed to pull the covers over her.
But what if her knight did like her? Really like-like her? How would she ever know? He has never shown any interest in her. Well, not more than any other guard would've… she thought. Not that she had ever had a personal knight before, so she couldn't exactly compare Link's behavior to someone else's.
She thought back to just recently, after her failed visit at the Spring of Courage, when he had picked flowers for her out in the rain. That had been… sweet of him, and she had to admit to herself that she had appreciated his effort to make her feel better. Surely, he had no other reason for that act of kindness than just that, kindness? To cheer her up? An ordinary guard might've not done that for her, but she would never had dared to open up a little for anyone else than Link.
Was Link more than just a knight to her? Yes? Perhaps?
She thought back to the time Link had helped her with her foot, after their visit at Zora's Domain. And her face turned red again when she thought how he might've seen things from his point of view, what if he really felt something for her. He had touched her bare leg! If anyone at the castle would have found out, it would be seen as a scandal, no doubt. A knight tenderly examining the Princess' leg. But she recalled that he had been hesitant to touch her. And did she remember wrong, or didn't she snap at him?
She couldn't remember clearly but if she had, he truly didn't deserve that. A blush of shame colored her cheeks. And then she blushed some more at the thought of Link touching that leg in a less appropriate way.
No, she calmed her racing thoughts. He had been completely professional back then and hadn't overstepped his duty. Her father's words were just making her see things that had never existed.
He had saved her life though, risked his own instead of hers from monsters and (brr) those Yiga assassins. Yes, it was his job to, but would he have done it if she wasn't a Princess? She wasn't sure, but perhaps not, she rationalized.
He was kind of sweet, too, not only when he had picked her flowers but also that time when he gave her some voltfruit. And he always says he believes in her, and for some odd reason it sounds better when he says it than, say, her tutors or her father. He had taught her how to handle her horse better. And he had become better at cooking too. Was that a result of them being on the road so often or because he was trying to impress her?
She looked over at the tray, still placed on top of the table in the middle of the room where they had left it. Had he come with the curry to cheer her up again? What were his thoughts when she told him to stay? In the Princess' personal chamber? She suddenly felt embarrassed at the thought of inviting him in.
Had she been completely blind this whole time? Was she really so focused on herself that she had failed to see any signs of potential affection?
But how could she ever tell? Link's face was almost always a clean slate, it was nearly impossible to tell what was going on in his mind for most of the time. It didn't help that he chose to rarely speak too.
And that's when she realized. She might never be able to tell if he ever had feelings for her.
And she wasn't sure if the thought of being desired thrilled or frightened her more.
I'm sorry, but I just couldn't let Zelda and Rhoam be too emotionally apart from each other, the poor girl is already suffering so much. (you all know what happens in the end...)