Note: Hey everyone, sorry for the wait, I had a power outage yesterday and I got pretty busy this morning. The weather has been hitting pretty hard in my area. This chapter is a little shorter but I wanted to use this as a bit of starting point for where I plan to take the story from here on out. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will answer them whenever I can. Hope you all enjoy and have a great week!

CHAPTER 14: Confessions pt 2

Zelda couldn't believe what she had heard, it didn't feel real. It was rare enough for Link to talk but for him to share his emotions like that. Link had just professed his love for her and it felt so surreal. She could only stare at him doe-eyed. The only thing that kept her grounded was the blue of Link's eyes which seemed to shine brighter than the torches around the divine beast. Concern ever growing on his face as he waited for her response. For once, she didn't know what to say as she threw herself onto him and tears of joy streamed down her face. This whole time he had been referring to her when he said his heart yearned for another and Zelda felt as if a weight had lifted off her chest.

"Oh Link, I love you too." She said once she regained her composure. She felt him let out the breath he was holding.

Neither of them wanted to move as they cherished the moment in each other's arms, but Zelda eventually pushed herself up on his chest.

"Why didn't you say something sooner? Here I thought you loved another and I was keeping you from being with them." She asked

Link smiled awkwardly, "I didn't expect you to feel the same, and it didn't seem right given my responsibility."

"What drove you to admit your feelings?" She wondered, her eyes searching his with curiosity.

"I was going to wait but I decided I needed to get it off my chest."

Zelda rested her head on his chest and thinking for a long time before speaking up again.

"Link, I'm glad that you told me. I hope you know that we will still have to pretend as if nothing has changed."

"Of course, your highness." He replied with a smirk.

"But please, call me by my name when we're alone together. I rather like hearing you say it."

"I will, Zelda, but you'll still always be my princess." Link replied.

He couldn't see it but a blush crept onto her face and she tried to bury it as deep into his chest as she could. "I'm sure you know that being with me in a romantic sense is far different from your typical relationship. We don't have to tell my father immediately, but I want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. Once we are officially together, you cannot just break up with me so easily after the fact. Courtship essentially guarantees marriage."

"Zelda, having to spend the rest of my life by your side would be an honor."

"I would love nothing less than that." She replied, still not able to stifle the blush on her face.

She held him tighter as they lay together by the fire, their journey had turned out to have all kinds of unexpected result but all for the better.

Link awoke the next morning with an unfamiliar weight on his chest. As he opened his eyes he saw Zelda still laying on his chest and he almost flinched instinctively before remembering the previous night. It really had felt like a dream but this was enough to tell him it was real. He raised a hand to brush a strand of her hair away so he could look at her face. Link realized he was still wearing his most of his gear, he hadn't wanted to separate from her so he ended up sleeping in it. He ran his fingers through her hair as he thought about what their life would be like from then on. There were a lot of responsibilities and politics tied with courting the princess and Link admittedly knew nothing about it. But she was worth it. He would fight the calamity all over again, barehanded even, just for her if he had to.

Zelda's eyes fluttered open and she reached her hands up to rub the sleepiness from her eyes. Pushing herself up she looked down to see Link already smiling at her, she wanted to kiss him, but she also didn't want to push things too quickly. Instead, she sat up and smiled back.

"Good morning Link."

"Good morning Zelda, sleep well."

"Surprisingly well despite the stone floors, you make a much better mattress than our bedrolls." She teased

Link chuckled in response as he sat up and began to gather their things. He snuffed out what was left of the fire and he walked to her. There was a slight tension in the air, neither of them was sure how they were supposed to act. Neither Link nor Zelda knew the expectations that came with being in a relationship. Zelda acted first and just gave him a hug to which he wrapped his arms around her. She pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes, he was just a hair taller than her so they were practically eye level.

"We both need to figure out how this works," Zelda spoke, saying what was on both of their minds, "but there's no rush. We just have to regain our normal composure when around others, ok?"

Link nodded in response so she smiled and pulled away from him.

"Let's continue then, I'm sure Daruk is wondering why we never returned." Zelda said as they walked towards the entrance of Vah Rudania.