After hearing Yunobo talk about a series of correspondence cycling through all of the influential leaders in Hyrule, Zelda had made it a priority to visit Impa as soon as possible. Link had no reason to argue and was even able to get his morning jog in before they left Hateno, eager to burn off some energy after yet another emotionally taxing night. He ended up getting accosted towards the end of his run, however. The village children were ecstatic to see him again, asking where he had been, what did he bring back, and where his pretty girlfriend was.
[My partner is at home] He signed slowly and clearly so that the children could follow. He'd been roped into teaching the youngsters sign language on occasion before now by their parents, who thought it would be good for them, but didn't grasp the language well enough to teach it themselves.
"She no run with you?" A child with floppy brown hair and freckles spoke each word as he formed loose signs and Link signed the questions back to him with some corrections before he gave his answer with both his hands and his mouth this time.
"Z.E.L.D.A is at home doing science."
"What science?" Another child asked, forgoing the hand signals completely.
As Link became the center of attention, with six pairs of eyes watching him intently for a response, he discreetly brought a hand up to cover his mouth. This could take a while. "Oh, dear."
Zelda, help.
As if hearing his plea via telepathy, it wasn't long before Zelda came looking for him and this was how she found him; sat down on the side of the main foot path through the town, with a handful of young children congregated around him. He had been flexing and relaxing his mechanical arm for the children to examine, but they became distracted and started to clamour when the detailing lit up as Link caught sight of her. He stood up to greet her which set off a chorus of disappointed noises from the kids, who took this to mean that their interactive lessons were coming to an end.
"What have you been doing?" Zelda inquired, peering around Link's frame to watch the children fidget on the ground.
"We know what a science is!" A child of about eight announced, looking straight up at Zelda with big, eager hazel eyes.
"Do you now? So, what I gather is that you've been... teaching?" Zelda taunted, stifling her amusement as Link mouthed the word 'no' back at her.
Suddenly, one of the kids pointed at her and shouted, "Princess!"
"No," Zelda said, quickly, attempting to halt this turn of events before it even began with a raised hand. "No, no, I'm not a Princess."
"Yes you are, Mum said so."
"You're really pretty..."
"Do you have a Castle?"
"Do you have a Knight?!"
With some confident shushing gestures, as if trying to pacify rowdy cattle, Zelda managed to get the children to calm down and their questions petered off as well. In the brief lapse, she considered whether it was better to disengage from this situation now and grab Link to go about their business, or to explain the misconceptions. It didn't help that while she was trying to make a decision Link took the opportunity to lean in and whisper into her ear.
"You used to be."
"Ok," Zelda started, bracing herself. "I suppose what I should say is that I am no longer a Princess, and that I decided my prospects were better suited in the field of research for Ancient Sheikah Technology and Botany."
Her audience blinked at her uncomprehendingly.
"Children, Zelda. Small words," Link murmured, encouragingly, so with a deep breath she tried again.
"I decided that I wanted to be something else ... and nobody needs a Princess. This town does well on it's own. So, no, I do not have a Castle." There was a groan from one of the children, "but I do have a Knight."
At this, she gestured to Link with both hands and there was a much louder appreciative noise and even a small 'aww' from within the group. Just as Link was about to comment that he wasn't a Knight if she wasn't a Princess, the impromptu session came to an abrupt end when an irate woman wielding a wooden spoon came charging towards them from further up in the town.
"Leave those two alone you pests, you're always getting under their feet. Go on, away with you!"
The youngsters scattered, giggling as they ran in different directions to avoid capture by the aggravated newcomer. Zelda recognised her as Bridget, the baker she had helped last year with an elixir to ease the delivery of her baby daughter. Herself and her husband owned a store that sold all sorts of baked goods, including the pastries Link enjoyed so much. She wondered how their child was doing.
Bridget slowed down as she approached them, offering them an apologetic grimace. "Sorry about that, they're very curious and determined, I'll give 'em that. But they don't half tend to swarm people, and the endless questions," she gave a long suffering sigh accompanied by a pained eye-roll.
"No harm done," Zelda informed her, "but I am glad I didn't have to be the one to tell them we had to go. They seemed so attentive."
"Huh, can't ever seem to get them to stay still in classes, but their lessons are kind of informal. Have you ever considered becomin' a teacher? You certainly get their attention."
"Me?" Zelda asked, staggered, as she pointed to her self, "teach?"
A small 'ha' was heard from behind her and she subtly jabbed her elbow back so that Link had to dodge away.
"Of course! You must have so much to share, but I suppose you are pretty busy as is travelling all over the place. Well, you two stay safe and all that, ya' hear? This place would miss you. I swear you've only just come back before you're off again."
With the job of shooing away errant children done, Bridget trudged back up the foot path to her bakery, leaving Link and Zelda blessedly alone in the middle of town. They caught each others eye, mutually agreeing not to discuss what had transpired any further, and instead made their way back up to the house.
The trip to Kakariko was going to be made on foot, but as they went to leave their house the skies opened and a deluge of rain started to pound the dirt tracks with a distant rumble rolling about high in the clouds. The scenic route was a lot less fun when there wasn't much to be seen past the sheets of rain, but they still tried to wait the storm out. Sitting on their bed to look out of the window, watching the branches of the tree at the end of their plot of land sway in the high winds and listening to the heavy patter of rain against the glass and the roof tiles above them. It didn't seem to be getting any weaker and the day was still passing by them, so they once again had to resort to using the teleportation function of the Slate.
The whirring chime of the Shrine announced their arrival on the cliffs above Kakariko Village, sunshine illuminated the sheltered homes and a light breeze rattled the through the budding trees. The place looked just as peaceful and picturesque as it always had, although the loud clucking of a wayward cucco was new. The small, brightly coloured bird was pecking at the ground, cocking it's head this way and that and not paying them any mind whatsoever.
Link, on the other hand, had become rather tense for a second, eyes transfixed upon the seemingly harmless bird as if sizing the it up. The cuccoo continued to cluck and move about while Link remained frozen to the spot, weighing up his options. Zelda was about to ask him what the problem was when he suddenly ducked down to pick up the feathery creature and tucked it under his arm. It began pecking at his sleeves in confusion.
"Come on, before it starts screaming," Link said, voice low, before hurrying down the grit path, leaving Zelda behind and utterly perplexed over his behaviour.
"I'm sorry, before it does what?!"
The path got steeper as it went on and the rocks and pebbles had a tendency to shift underfoot, making the trip going down a little more perilous than the trip going up. Add in the fact that Link couldn't use one of his arms to balance himself, he was having to take the route a bit more slowly than usual, which meant that the ticking time bomb covered in feathers was beginning to get impatient. Over the increasing intensity of it's squawking, he could just make out Zelda's decisive foot steps behind him. Good, she was following.
Upon reaching the village, Link all but threw the increasingly taciturn bird into it's coop before breathing a sigh of relief as it quieted and none of it's friends started dive bombing out of the sky.
"Link, what on earth was that all about?" Zelda breathed, skidding to a stop next to him as she saw the cucco was now safe inside it's pen.
"Have you ever encountered a pissed off cucco?" Link asked, looking slightly manic.
"...No?"
"Good, try not to," was all he said before turning around and heading for Impa's house. Zelda squinted at his back, still questioning whether his increased motivation to speak actually helped her understand him any better than when he was silent.
Thank fully there was no evidence of Kakariko having experienced a torrential downpour recently, so the wooden planks up to Impa's abode were mercifully dry and did not make them slide all over the place. Which, while funny, in the past had nearly caused Link to dislocate his knee.
Zelda opened the double doors and peeked inside, finding Impa exactly where she expected to; kneeling on her cushion tower.
"Oh, what a pleasant surprise. Come in, you two, I'm afraid Paya is elsewhere at the moment so I will need one of you to assist with tea please," Impa said, waving them in with a small aged hand. The talismans on her hat jingled as she moved to adjust her sitting position.
Link popped his head around the edge of the door above Zelda's, looking surprised, "how did you know I was here? Are you psychic?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously.
A loud laugh from Impa was the only response he was going to get for that last question, which was fair, and Zelda moved out of the way to allow him entry. As she got comfy on the floor in front of her old advisor, Link bee-lined for the tea, bringing over the supplies on a tray to start making drinks.
"As if I'd find either one of you without the other close by," the Elder commented, "you two appear as a pair or not at all, it seems."
"Yes, well, you're not wrong," Zelda agreed, proceeding to demonstrate her double meaning as she took Link's hand in hers. Link, who had not been paying attention to the conversation, too focused on making tea, blinked down at their joined hands and gave a small tug. He needed his hand back but she wasn't letting go, so he had to continue using only one hand - the one that had no sensory output. Had he looked up at any point he would have noticed the glint in Impa's eyes as she watched the display and a grin spreading across her face.
"I had heard from Purah, but I wasn't sure if it wasn't just her overactive imagination, but I see she was telling the truth. Congratulations. Well, if you still need to head towards the Rito on this quest of yours I've heard about, take this with you please." Impa leaned down to pick up a small pouch from a side table that jingled with the sound of rupees as it was moved, still managing to keep herself perfectly balanced on her cushions. "Purah's bet, she couldn't bear to send it to Teba directly it seems."
Zelda took the bag of money with an air of deliberation before she asked, "there was a bet about the status of myself and Link wasn't there?"
"I'm afraid so and should you wish to express your ire you would do well to direct it towards Zora's Domain."
"Of course," Zelda said, taking her hand back from Link to drag it over her face, "Prince Sidon."
"Oh? What's Sidon done?" Link piped up, now returning to the conversation as he handed out cups of fresh tea with both of his hands.
She breathed in deeply before releasing it in a rush and leaned in to whisper, "I'll tell you later."
He nodded in acquiescence, still curious about what Sidon had managed to do to rile her up but he let it go for the time being so that he could address Impa, "So, where's Paya?"
"Paya is out in the village at the moment, talking to the traders and shop keepers. I am training her up to take over from me as the matriarch for the Sheikah Tribe, and while I still yet have quite a few years left in me, I believe she is ready to learn and has shown an aptitude for dispelling quarrels amicably."
Link beamed at this information, proud of how much more confident Paya had become since he first met her. He wondered if she and Yunobo would get along well; both had a wonderful drive to do the best they could for their homelands, but sometimes they lacked the self motivation to see it through. Being able to watch as they developed the necessary drive on their own, with some side encouragement now and again, brought a warm, satisfied feeling to his chest.
Zelda, on the other hand, saw an opportunity to segue into the conversation and direct it towards the reason for their visit.
"Does this mean that Paya will be the one communicating with the other leaders within Hyrule?" She was careful to keep her voice neutral and non-accusatory, while her lessons on becoming a Queen were few and far between, but she knew how to speak to someone when she wanted answers.
"Ah, so that's why you're here," Impa concluded, looking amused. "Am I in trouble?"
A loud exhale escaped Zelda in a sound that was far from proper Queenly behaviour. Of course, the Sheikah matriarch had also been one of the people to teach her how to speak diplomatically and had no doubt seen through her attempt in under a second. "No Impa, but it would have been nice to know about before hand, given how we talk about relations between the different nations. Sometimes actually to the leaders themselves."
"My apologies, but it was originally only intended as a means to keep everyone unified without an active overseeing monarchy. It later turned into a series of correspondence between those that had directly aided your Champion with freeing the Divine Beasts. Since you returned with no intention to rebuild I assumed you would have no interest in those communications." The elderly Sheikah leaned forward to pat Zelda's head, causing the younger woman to smile, "I should not have assumed, my dear. Out of curiosity who was it that alluded to this information?"
"Yunobo."
"Ah yes, he is a very well meaning fellow, isn't he? No doubt he'll feel as if he's let slip some great secret. I'll have to let everyone know of this development, should I also add you into the circle?"
Zelda glanced at Link and found that he was already looking at her, gauging for her reaction. He shrugged.
"Well," she started, trying to form an opinion on the fly, "I suppose that would probably be a good eventuality, but as we are so very often out of the house we might miss any letters sent our way for quite some time which would delay the whole chain. Perhaps it would be best that we were left out until a more instantaneous form of communication can be established."
"Purah? Robbie?" Impa prompted.
"Both," the Hylians responded.
She nodded, "I think that's a suitable decision. Now, I hope you didn't intend to leave immediately after coming here to talk about my little operation. I would very much like to hear about all the things you two have done since you were last here."
Zelda was only too happy oblige. Launching into a fast-paced narration of their adventures, she started with the Great Plateau; the new Shrines found there and the perilous situation Link was put in to achieve them. She also spoke of the information she was given after talking to the Monks, and the subsequent Yiga attack made against them which had prompted her to seek self defence training from Link. Her training was being conducted alongside the trials surrounding each Divine Beast and they were currently two Beasts down. The topic became rather sombre when she reached the part about the Champions spirits finally being put to rest and their last goodbyes. Impa joined them in their moment of silence for the Champions lost and those still to be released into the afterlife.
Once Zelda had finished recounting their tale, their tea cups were empty and Link was inspecting the supplies trying to decide whether he should make some more or not.
"It sounds like you've been having quite a busy time, but I doubt either of you will be slowing down for long. So, where to next?" Impa inquired.
"We're actually heading back to the Castle. Now that we have the Sheikah Slate again we can save some of the more intact books and records that were held in the Library," Zelda explained. "I appreciate what you did manage to save from the Castle right after Ganon's emergence, they were some of the most crucial pieces of history we would have sorely missed had they been lost to time. Oh! Link is also going to be teaching me how to fight with a sword."
"Is that so?" Impa turned her piercing gaze towards Link, who froze under such scrutiny, and her shrewd smile didn't make him feel any more relaxed. "And with what weapon will you be using, Zelda? I don't remember your Father having a blade made for you."
"Ha! As if, can you imagine?" Zelda guffawed, "but no, I will be using this!"
With a flourish she procured the Ancient Sword, which Link had since identified as a Falchion, from it's holster and gave it a flick, watching the blade support rotate out of it's sheathed position and extending along with the construction of the blue blade itself. Unfortunately, she had activated the weapon a bit too close to Link for his liking and he had to lean back slightly, away from the aggressive humming of energy coming off of the blade. With one artificial finger, he pressed it to the blade and gently moved it out of his vicinity and back down towards Zelda's lap, lest she get slightly too enthusiastic with it.
"We'll be sticking to non harmful substitutes for now," he assured Impa, feeling less jumpy once his partner had collapsed the weapon back into it's holster again. "It's for emergencies only at the moment. Her aim is fantastic."
Zelda had been about to sulk at having to put the falchion away, but his compliment of her skills brought a smile to her face, earlier transgression forgotten.
As Impa watched the pair, now discreetly discussing plans for Zelda's training, she wondered how long it would be until a new bet started to circulate. Only this time it would be how long until either one of them popped the question. Still, they had only been 'officially' together for a couple of months, she wouldn't tease them like that just yet. Yet.
It wasn't until after the elderly Sheikah had asked to see the route the Hylian pair had devised that she brought their visit to a close. Once she saw the extensive route leading away from the Castle to Rito Village and then on into the Gerudo Desert she insisted that they stay in Kakariko for the night and get some early rest.
"You're going to have long stretches out in the open of harsh conditions. Yes, I'm sure you've both packed protective clothing and provisions to last you, you're very responsible, but back in the old days you had a lot more places to stay and recuperate on your journey. Now, you'll be out in the open, with not much to break up your extended travels in the wild if you're insisting to forgo the use of teleportation – which I applaud by the way, don't misunderstand me. So, I would feel better if you were to stay here where we can ensure that you have a nice free morning to do as you please before you set off. Let us give you the best start that we can."
It was strange to hear Impa call their original time the 'old days' but there really was no point in arguing with her. She tended to choose her battles carefully to ensure that she got what she wanted. It was what made her such an outstanding advisor, and also the only reason Zelda had been given any leeway with the Ancient Sheikah research to begin with. So, they found themselves escorted to a room at the Inn and left in peace to make themselves comfortable, grateful that neither had to explicitly state that they only needed one bed.
Seeing as it was still only afternoon, they went for a walk. They did not expect to find Paya so easily after being told about her new duties, but they managed to catch her as she was making her way back to Impa's house passed the Inn. Quite literally walking right past them. Casually intercepting and greeting her politely, they were both surprised by the amount of confidence she was displaying, looking at each of them square in the face, maintaining eye contact, and hands at her hips. It took Zelda a couple of seconds to realise why she recognised the stance and when she did she had to smile inwardly.
As role models go, he's not terrible, she thought to herself, giving her partner a very quick glance out of the corner of her eye.
They moved on from pleasantries to explain their current situation in regards to Toast - who was at home currently being watched by Bolson - but before they could get to their point she beat them to it by enthusiastically volunteering to look after the young puppy.
"Given all this new responsibility I'm taking on to one day become the new matriarch, I think I would do well to try and look after someone's pet. I can do this for you!" She declared, and neither of them had any doubt in their minds that she couldn't. It suddenly occurred to Link that she was as eager to please as a certain Prince they both knew, now adding Sidon to the list of people Paya needed to meet. Hopefully, one day they could introduce her to all of the 'Neo Champions' as the new Sheikah Matriarch.
Once the details were settled, Link and Zelda thanked her profusely, promising to deliver Toast to Kakariko before they went to Hyrule Castle. The Hylian pair then continued on further into the village as Paya began to walk in the opposite direction, waving them off as she did so and telling them that she had secretly always wanted a dog.
Traveling up the well worn foot path winding past all the densely packed thatched houses, it wasn't long before Link spotted someone else he knew; the owner of the nefarious cuccos. He pulled Zelda over to him as he waved an arm in greeting. After explaining that an escaped cucco had managed to get all the way up to the Shrine Cado seemed to sag with exasperation until Link informed him that said cuccoo was now back in his pen. This seemed to cheer Cado up, and the two men moved onto other topics of conversation while Zelda's attention began to drift.
Her eyes roamed about the village lazily until her sights landed on Claree's store. Well, I have been meaning to ask about possible water repellent attire.
She brushed her hand over Link's arm to let him know that she had wandered off, and made her way over to the Sheikah tailors. Inside various reams of colourful fabrics were draped over the rafters, clusters of different furs dotted the walls and shelves of threads filled the back wall of the shop which was looking much more lively than when she had first come here.
"Ah! There she is, my favourite, my muse, how are we today?"
Claree was leaning over her counter positively gleeful at Zelda's visit. Ah, of course, She thought to herself as she made her way to the back to return the greeting, my patronage has probably given Claree the means to expand her store. That and I let her keep any of the items she doesn't use when creating the outfits I commission from her. She wondered where those items were being kept.
Zelda was halfway through the store when an outfit to her left caught her eye. She recognised it immediately but had only seen it as a listed item within the Sheikah Slate, with a stealth symbol attached to it. She had never actually seen Link wear it and given how form fitting it looked she could understand why he probably didn't wear it very often.
"Oh, that," Claree started, having come out from behind her counter, "I remember Link buying that when he first rolled up into Kakariko. He was so flighty, but considering he looked like he had just rolled out of bed I was a bit surprised he actually had enough money on him to buy this. I must admit I felt kind of bad afterwards," she admitted. "I had no idea who he was the Hylian Champion and that he had quite literally only just woken up. Still, I have a business to run."
"I appreciate the thought, but I assure you had you tried to give it to him for anything less than it was worth he would have been offended."
"Strange lad," Claree noted before getting back to the topic on hand, "were you considering getting one? Want to do some stealthy things?"
"Not so much," Zelda said, slowly, confused as to why the tailor was waggling her eyebrows at her, "Link doesn't have much excuse to wear his these days, so I was considering using his but," she gestured to the outfit on display, "it is very revealing."
"What's wrong with that?"
"Claree..." Zelda simply waved her hands over her very noticeable chest and watched as the Sheikah's eyes widened in understanding.
"Ooooh."
"Um, should- should I come back later?" The two women turned to the entrance of the shop where Link was standing uncertainly, probably halfway through the decision to leave.
"No actually, if you have that Sheikah Slate on you we could use the stealth outfit from out of there if you please. As for you," Claree wiggled a finger at Zelda, "I have just the thing for you."
She ducked into the back of her shop while Link searched the Slate for the first set of clothes he ever bought in his new life. Once found, he handed off the Slate to Zelda just as Claree returned to the shop floor. She was holding a piece of fabric that looked like a crop top, similar to Zelda's chest wear, but the material looked denser and was coloured a dark blue.
"This should take care of your problem. It's constricting enough but it stretches so you can still breath and not fuck up your rib cage- Excuse me," Claree apologised, putting a hand over her mouth.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry if I were you," Link assured her, dryly, but Zelda ignored him as she took the elastic garment from the tailor and added it to the stealth clothes draped over her arm.
She was led to the back of the shop to change in a curtained off area and Claree helped her with the new elastic garment before backing out again. It didn't take more than a few minutes for a now very flat chested Zelda to walk out from the changing room clad in the streamlined material of Link's stealth armour.
It suited her bizarrely well.
"Oh, that looks fantastic on you!" Claree gushed, dashing over to examine the fit and leaving Link looking stunned. "I think just a couple more things if you don't mind, then we'll see what you think, ok?"
She dashed from one side of her store to the other, holding up several shades of fabric against Zelda's body in turn before tutting and throwing them one by one onto her counter. She eventually settled on a white length of material which she wrapped loosely around her Hylian friend's neck and shoulders, fluffing up the folds a little around her jawline. Tugging it up once more to cover Zelda's mouth, she also brought her hair back into a loose ponytail, wrapped in a white ribbon. Once she was finished with her work, she angled the Hylian towards a full length mirror and stood back.
"Well, what do you think?"
The two-tone blue fabric wasn't overly tight and the elastic restraint over her chest meant that the form fitting material didn't over exaggerate her features while still showing off her shapely thighs. The bronze coloured plating over her ribs and shoulders contrasted well with the navy and of course the Eye of the Sheikah was displayed proudly in red across her front. Come at me now Yiga. The muscle she had built up in her upper arms was also visible, which Zelda was very happy about. All in all, she was abundantly pleased with her new outfit.
Link, meanwhile, had managed to refrain from outwardly gaping as Zelda had reappeared from behind the curtained area, but watching her admire her appearance in the mirror he was now struck with how familiar she looked. He cocked his head to one side as his partner twisted about to see more of herself before shaking himself thoroughly.
"You alright over there?" Claree teased, but the smirk slowly faded from her face when she noticed how out of focus he looked.
"Yeah, just," he looked at Zelda again, who had now turned to face him, and he had to concentrate on the green of her eyes that were staring at him from over her cowl, "strong case of deja vu."
"That's interesting," the tailor said, still watching him intently, "I finally decided to base Zelda's new look on tales of a Sheikah Warrior that had helped the Hero during the Era of Time. He would appear with a harp and warn the Hero of new dangers, directing him to places that most needed his attention. The warrior's name was Sheik."
If she hadn't have been looking for it, Claree would have missed the slight twitch in Link's left hand, but he hadn't seemed to notice it himself so she kept quiet. She would probably make a note of it to Impa at some point, but for now she was happy to attend to any final adjustments Zelda wanted on her new outfit before sending them on their way.
"Hope to hear from you again soon!"
By now the day had just progressed into early evening and despite the hour being relatively early, Link and Zelda returned to their room at the inn and changed into their night clothes, crawling into bed soon after. It had been an event filled day, they reasoned. Link was able to fall asleep relatively quickly, having grown used to accepting sleep whenever he could, so Zelda was able to watch as the lights along his guardium arm slowly dimmed down to an intermittent pulse similar to that of a Divine Beast on stand by. The comparison made her snort into the duvet to muffle the noise but at some point, as she watched her partner drift off into unconsciousness, she herself had fallen asleep too.
Waking the next morning, Zelda stretched her limbs out into a starfish position, expecting to hear a grunt or a displeased whine from her bedmate, but none came. Cracking one eye open to look to the other side of the bed, she saw that Link's space was empty. Sitting upright, her blonde locks tumbling about her shoulders in a shaggy mess, she squinted about their room to see that the Sheikah Slate was still on the bedside table and his Champion's tunic was still folded on the back of the chair. Her partner was nowhere to be found, however.
Yawning widely, she slipped out of bed and got dressed, favouring her new stealth outfit with the tales of a secret Sheikah warrior still floating about in her head. Of course, she'd heard the stories before, but she was also privy to some details about the warrior that hardly anyone else seemed to be aware of. Namely, that Sheik was in fact the alter ego of the Princess of Time. Zelda had once asked Impa if such a feat were still possible in their era, but Impa had been sad to say that if it were still possible she was unaware of how to do so. Despite that, Zelda had still taken the tales to heart, now there was a Princess who took action by any means necessary. Unfortunately, her physical - and in her opinion practical - education had been limited to the point of non-existence, but not anymore. Although her lessons would not take place if she could not locate her teacher. So, once she deemed herself presentable – not that anyone here would have cared – she ventured out of the room and started searching the village.
It took her about half an hour to realise that Link was not here and that he must have wandered off, or he was training somewhere by himself. She eventually found Dorian, who had seen him disappearing off into the hills above the village and pointed her in the right direction.
"I almost didn't recognise him with his hair down. I thought it was a girl at first. Almost didn't recognise you either, nice outfit."
Zelda had managed not to chuckle at Dorian's expense, who was clearly embarrassed by his perceived mistake, and followed his directions. A wander it was then; Link wouldn't be about to train without tying his hair up first. The guards information led her up the footpath towards the Shrine and then to direct her attention to the large hill behind it. It was a bit of a climb but it was made much easier by her streamlined armour.
Cresting the plateau of the hill, she spotted Link lying on his side in the grass next to an old tree stump, facing away from her and surrounded by Blue Nightshades and Silent Princesses. A few butterflies hovered above his head before deciding to settle on the gently swaying flowers, unperturbed by the Hylian's presence. Zelda heaved herself up onto the grass and crawled her way over to him, disturbing a few crickets in the process.
"Good morning," she said as she looked down at him on her hands and knees.
Inhaling deeply he rolled onto his back so he could look up at her sleepily, his hair fanning out around him in a jumbled mess. He had grown quite the mane of late and her fingers constantly itched with the need to play with it. He hummed a greeting in return to which Zelda responded with a kiss, leaning down to cover him with her body for a few seconds. Sitting back by his shoulders, she was able to cradle his head on her bent legs, admiring the way his long, flowy tunic matched the shades of blue of the flora around them.
He was very pretty, and he loved her.
Content and happy, as she oft found herself these days, Zelda started running her fingers through his hair, untangling knots and removing grass seeds as she went. Occasionally, she would weave a wild flower into the strands and Link gave a comfortable sigh before rolling over onto his front with his cheek pressed against her leg, giving her better access to the rest of his hair. They relaxed together in comfortable silence until the sun had peaked over the surrounding hills and the temperature had warmed considerably. It was just as Zelda was about the start braiding strands of hair at the back of Link's head when she noticed a mark on his neck. Upon closer inspection, she realised it actually a distinct shape; an image of a Silent Princess inscribed onto his skin in brown ink.
"Link … when did you get this?" Zelda asked, incredulous as she ghosted over his skin with her fingertips. There was a pause before she felt him mumble against her thigh.
"Ages ago. Before I found you again."
Wanting more information, she gave one of new braids a small tug and he hunched his shoulders, rolling back a little to wiggle his arms free from where he had tucked them beneath him.
[Memory. You were talking about the flowers. I didn't miss the comparison]
Zelda blushed. She perhaps hadn't been entirely subtle with her explanation of the flower, but the idea that she shared a lot in common with the plant had only occurred to her at the end of her spiel. Still, she was gratified that Link had noticed, and thought enough of it to have the flower permanently marked into his skin. She was amazed it had taken her this long to notice, she was usually quite observant, then again with how long his hair had grown since his active days of Knighthood, it was mostly covered up and she was usually looking at his face.
"Thank you," was all she could say in the end and it prompted Link to turn over completely so he could look her in the face.
"You're welcome?" Link said, making it sound like a question with one eyebrow raised.
"Oh," she flicked him on the shoulder and winced when she realised she had hit his inorganic one, "it just felt like the right thing to say."
"It glows too," Link added, rolling back over as he watched her zero in on his neck again. "Crushed luminous stone in the ink, guess my hair has gotten kinda long though..."
His words trailed off as he felt her trace the block shapes and fine lines that comprised the tattoo, her nails lightly scratching against his skin. He shivered.
"It glows … I wonder if I could make an ink using these nightshades."
That was all it took for a steady stream of ideas and hypothesis to burst into existance, with such speed that Link had a bit of trouble keeping up with verbal brainstorming but there were some applications he could agree with. While the Zora had already made use of luminous stone for their lamps, he didn't tend to see it anywhere else outside of the Domain. Once again, Zelda had to remind him that mining was expensive and luminous stones were usually hard to come by. The Zora's were probably the most affluent nation at this time, with the Gerudo in a close second.
"During the day, it's a bit difficult to differentiate dull luminous ore from outcrops of obsidian seeing as they both shatter the same way, but during the night its so much more hazardous to cross terrain and reach heights were the ore is common. Most people can't free climb like you and don't have such disregard for their own health."
Link blew against her calves for that comment. "Explains why Dento was always asking for them, despite the Zoran cliffs being full of them."
The use of the bioluminescence would remove the need to rely on slow forming, sporadic clusters of ore which was both taxing and expensive to mine. Crops of luminescent plants could be grown just to harvest the essence of it's glow. Combined with Zelda's distillery in her lab, she could make small amounts that were incredibly potent, reducing the need for bulky lamps to light up large areas.
"When we go to Gerudo Town, you should talk to the jewellers there. That sounds like a good business opportunity."
"Oh, Link, I'm not doing this for monetary gain … but I wouldn't say no I have to admit."
Link was pretty sure she could feel his self satisfied grin against her legs and he was quite ready to stay settled there for another couple of hours, but then Zelda clapped him on the hip.
"Come on, we have a researcher in Akkala we need to visit if we want to get to the Castle in decent time."
Or maybe not.
Some more slice of life flavoured content, or at least what constitutes slice of life for these two. Hope you like!
Brace for some feels next week ... and then some more when we hit the Rito chapters...
