Hylia blinked.

It was the final days of the Era of Prosperity. In less than a year, Calamity would befall Hyrule, ushering in the Era of the Wilds.

Hylia shifted her attention to Zelda.

Hylia remembered her, how she struggled to fulfill her destiny, how she waited over a century for her Hero to set her free.

Hylia remembered how She'd listened to Zelda's prayers, using the guiding hands of her influence to show the young Zelda the answers in her life, but it was too early; a cloud of doubt and fear that roiled too dark in the princess' eyes for Zelda to see clearly.

It was during this time that Zelda was first appointed to Link as a charge. She was still several moons away from her 17th birthday, the day when Calamity would strike. As Hylia remembered it, Zelda was distraught, lost, and feeling worthless.

It was during these days that Desire would blossom under Hylia's gaze.

Hylia watched.

Zelda felt his gaze on her again. The pointed ear facing his direction twitched in annoyance. Even with the hood on, she could feel him look at her, as if a silent beckon. Zelda sighed, thinking that maybe it wasn't so bad if she just didn't hide in here again, left alone with this man…but another part of her…didn't mind the attention.

She buried the latter part of her as deep as she could as she returned her attention to the tome she was flipping through.

It was the fifth or sixth time she had ducked into this shop.

She didn't tend to make a habit of certain places, whether it was this shop or another. Not by choice, but because usually, she'd be found by the person she took these painstaking efforts to avoid: Link, the Champion of Hyrule, chosen by Hylia herself to aid Zelda's destiny.

Which meant that her father had placed very clear orders that this supposed Champion should be following her at all times, an order this Link was…a little too good at.

Zelda learned that she couldn't order him to stay away and give her space, and she learned even quicker that this boy was some kind of wildsman; no matter where she trekked outside the walls of Hyrule Castle Town, Link would find her. In her frustration, she'd begun to duck into the town itself, eluding him when he had other duties, or just slipping away from his watchful gaze as he trailed her a few meters behind.

Though he'd still find her most of the time (she reckoned he'd scurry across the rooftops to scout her out as resourceful as he was obnoxious at playing Father's hound), Zelda still savored the few minutes she did lose him, letting her own thoughts and the storm of her inner conflicts roil about unabated and undisturbed as she would rifle through merchandise she didn't care about or sat in the dark of a theater to tune out and give a blank stare.

But for the first time, Zelda found a nook of Castle Town where Link didn't find her, where he never entered the shop after her, or waited for her in the hallway outside. She'd stumbled upon it after wandering down a labyrinth of alleyways, tucked in a part of the mercantile district that was near-empty.

Yet the singular doorway in that alley had a sign that read "Open", and so it was, occupied by the stranger that now gave her that gaze that burned into the fabric of her hood.

As she'd learned on prior visits, he was a traveling merchant. It explained why she'd never even seen this shop, and also the slower pace of business. His wares were a curious variety of items she'd never seen before, trophies from his travels to distant lands and locales. She'd sneak photos of them with her Sheikah Slate sometimes, pondering them as she reviewed the pictures later on in her chambers.

She also learned that he had a wide variety of literature, some of the books Zelda had never even seen before despite the size of her castle's personal library. He'd have a new pile on a display one visit, then a few scattered volumes here and there, leaning fresh in the dusty piles. She couldn't resist purchasing several of these books of course, even if he charged exorbitant prices. But princess as she was, money was of no object, and Zelda wasn't one to barter.

But to her chagrin, the last thing she'd learned from these visits was that this merchant was one to flirt.

At first she thought she'd imagined it. Not like she had much experience or expertise with flirting in general, but it could have been easy to misconstrue what a flirt was with this man, especially when his…demeanor was always so charming, a maddening lascivious air about him as if compelling her to give him her attention.

She rebuffed him at every turn, of course, but found that her annoyance was compounded with the fact that, despite herself, the man was very handsome.

He had to have been almost twice her age, but the confidence in his flirts, the assertion in his gaze, and the various…other qualities on his person that flashed through Zelda's mind when it wandered through the coming days only made the differential in experience seem almost alluring to her.

Now, Zelda had told herself the night before that she'd rebuff him again, try not to look at the pull of his paradoxical gaze, one that was as sharp as it was warm, one that leered but one that also seemed genuine in pulling her attention to his.

She shut the volume she was reading before raising her head, finding another book splayed atop a table. Her eyes widened. It was a missing volume from a set she had back in her personal library. Zelda flicked through it, growing more excited all the while. She had to purchase this one as well.

Her attention focused on her exciting find, she made her way to the desk before she stopped in her tracks, another book catching her eye, leaning against a model ship. That book wasn't there…the other day. Once again, the value was too hard to resist, and she hauled it in her arms. But of course, as she made her way to purchase her finds, another book revealed itself to her…then another.

Her eyes trailed along to follow the books, their conspicuous placement in a line…leading to the smiling man at the counter. The final book in the chain set open in front of him. He returned his attention to it, playing coy.

And with that, Zelda set down the books in a huff.

She'd suspected that he had been doing something like this ever since her fourth visit or so. He was holding out on her.

Zelda slipped out two of the most valuable volumes in the stack before striding over to him.

"Ah, you again," he said, pretending as if he'd just seen her. The stranger gave her a roguish grin. "Can't get enough of these old pages, huh?"

Zelda looked up at him, her thick eyebrows furrowed.

"Well maybe I wouldn't have to come back so often if you'd just…just arranged your merchandise in a more accessible manner."

The stranger pretended to look shocked.

"Apologies, miss…I just thought your return visits were because you liked my company."

Zelda scoffed, but couldn't hide the pink on her cheeks as he gave her that handsome grin that became an ever-intrusive thought during her daydreams.

"H-How much for those two?" she pointed at the books, pressing on. Maybe it was worth it try and find someplace else to hide from Link, if it meant she'd elude this scoundrel.

The stranger pretended to ponder. Oh, he had lots of fun with this one. He strained to hide the amused smirk at the sight of her adorable pout.

It was hard for him not to make a pass at her from the moment he saw her. She was undeniably very beautiful, the feminine curves of her body tight against the trousers and shirt she wore beneath her cloak, a pretty face always poking out from the cloak's hood. But it wasn't just her looks. There was something in her eyes that he saw when their gaze had first locked, an aura around her that roiled.

Whatever it was, it drew the stranger to her.

He could see that his forthright manner had been wearing down her solitary inclinations. She was young, and he employed words and teases she knew could catch a girl like her off her feet. But he knew that in the way she'd steal glances after her first couple of visits that this…pull between them was mutual.

As patient as he was lustful, the stranger had waited until today to reveal what he'd hid from her.

He looked back at her.

"Hmm for both of these books…" he pretended to inspect them, rifling his thumb through one then the other before giving them a decisive pat on top. "...20 gold rupees."

Zelda's brow furrowed.

"That's-" she started, her eyes meeting his and that insufferable grin. She tsked. "...fine."

Not even an attempt at a barter and she fished into the pouch she wore at her hip, balling a fist around an absurd number of rupees before she held the fist over the counter, filing them out one at a time with her thumb.

The stranger laughed, his hand giving a gentle squeeze to her fist full of thousands of rupees' worth of gold. He shook his head. He knew she was affluent from the fact that she only slid over silver rupees for her purchases, never bothering to barter or even know the concept of "change", but this was ridiculous to an amusing degree. He almost felt bad.

"It was a joke," he said, giving her hand a small push, sliding over the gold she'd placed on the counter at the same time. She looked up at him. "I was joking."

He gave another chuckle before he rounded the counter, joining her on the other side.

"Look, you found out my ruse. I have an entire inventory of books that I just randomly choose from. I place them around the shop to spruce things up." he said, Zelda giving him a strong look of doubt. "Okay, maybe I did it to lure a pretty girl like you to talk to me too."

Zelda finished stuffing the rupees back into her pouch. She gave an annoyed sigh, but was grateful that her hood covered the blush on her cheek as she continued to pretend to occupy herself with her books.

"W-Well thanks for wasting my time coming here over and over, then…"

"Now don't lie, you just come here to hide."

Zelda started at that. She couldn't help but have her head whip about to glare at him.

"Come on, you don't make it exactly…subtle. Why else would you be looking over your shoulder every few minutes." he slipped past her, his last words trailing off. "Or hide such a pretty face with a hood."

Zelda flushed again, her mouth growing dry.

This man truly was a scoundrel.

Then, she heard the turning of a knob, and the creak of a door opening that was right next to the counter.

Zelda turned towards the noise before her eyes widened.

Her feet were drawn through the doorframe into a room that was bigger than the shop behind her. Wide windows let in the afternoon light, illuminating shelves upon shelves of a variety of books. Zelda's mouth hung upon at the sight, and she couldn't help but lower her head, elfin ears giving an excited twitch.

Familiar glittering spines revealed themselves to her from across the room, more from books she'd never seen vying for her attention on nearby shelves. In the middle of the large room was a long simple but sturdy wooden table set upon the hardwood floor, matching chairs surrounding it. Across from her she could see more shelves stretching row upon row upon row, making the size of this library at least twice as big as the shop it was connected to.

The stranger slipped past her again, sliding a finger along the shelves, popping out a random book with a flourish.

"Apologies again," he said, leaning on the shelf, rifling through the book. It was the continuation of another volume she'd purchased the last time she had been in his shop. "Here's a new place for you to hide, princess."

Zelda almost gasped, cheeks turning pinker.

"How-"

"Again, you're not exactly subtle, your highness," he smirked. He took the hand clutching the book and extended it towards her. "Regardless, you're welcome to come and indulge in my merchandise for as long as you like."

Zelda's words died in her throat at that, stunned. She looked up at the stranger before her eyes looked down at the book he proffered.

The stranger stepped forward, pushing the book into Zelda's chest. She gasped, hands reaching to grasp it from falling on instinct. He placed his own hand over hers, prompting her green eyes to look up at him. His hand gave her hands a friendly pat before he withdrew it, leaving Zelda to clutch the book against her chest.

"I'm sure you'd rather read to pass the time hiding from your knight instead of looking at my duty old trinkets."

Zelda's eyes widened.

"H-How did-"

"Castle Town isn't exactly a city-state, princess. Word gets around." he said, meeting Zelda's bewildered furrowed brow with a shrug and that easy grin. "Besides, he's not exactly subtle either, scrambling around on roofs like that."

I knew it!

Zelda thought to herself.

She gave the stranger another look, but once again words eluded her. She was grateful for this, yes, but why was he being so kind to her? Again, Zelda saw that…look in his eye. It wasn't as overt now, but it was still there, a look that made her feel uneasy…but also made her pulse skip.

"Regardless, I-..." Zelda broke their gaze, taking a breath before looking at him again. "...thank you." a genuine smile broke out on her face, and it was the stranger's time for his pulse to skip.

The sunlight streaking behind her hair gave her a holy glow. He cleared his throat and returned the smile.

"Don't mention it. Just come on by whenever you like. I'll be here."

With that, he dismissed himself, telling her he'd boil a pot of tea. Zelda was left alone, eyes watching him walk off, a book held against her chest. She turned again to look at all the reading she had to do, all the unexplored volumes of knowledge

Zelda couldn't help but smile to herself, thinking of the man and glancing at the doorframe that we walked through. She shook her head, realizing it was the first time in a long time that she'd smiled at anyone without forcing it.

Zelda couldn't resist the stranger's invitation, and she returned for several days in a row to his shop. For the first several visits, she'd fill out notebook after notebook of notes, not enough hours in her little periods of respite for her to continue research using sources she thought were lost, or reading through translated tomes from far-away kingdoms she'd only heard whispers of. Her Slate found much use during the time too, but even its photographic capabilities seemed redundant with so much material.

The stranger had let her stay as promised, and he also brought in tea every so often, food when she'd stay long enough she'd forget about meals. He flirted with her still, but she was more quick to catch them now, growing adjusted to his playful banter. It didn't take long for her to join in laughing with him.

By the third week of her visiting the merchant, Zelda found herself doing more talking than she did reading. She didn't know what it was but it was easy to confide in the man, even if she never bothered to learn his name. It felt almost safer that way. She talked of her stress, the dark pit of emotions in her chest, talked of her frustration with her father, with the prospect of having to be babysat.

Maybe that's why she liked talking to the merchant.

He'd take advantage of her naivete, sure. Making her flustered, outsmarting her and catching her off-balance. But he still spoke of her without looking down on her, without expecting anything out of her. He spoke to her like she was her own person…her own woman.

And he looked at her like was one too.

With so many pleasant afternoons spent with the man, Zelda had almost forgotten that these visits were to avoid Link, and hadn't stopped to think of why he'd stopped following her.

"You ever think that he's just…letting you hide now?" the stranger said one visit, leaning against a nearby shelf as he usually did, picking her buttons. An open book that was almost forgotten by Zelda lay in front of her, the pile much smaller than usual. She gave him a look, brow raised.

"And why would Link do that?"

"I wouldn't blame the kid, with the way you talk about treating him."

Zelda rolled her eyes, but a little pebble of guilt weighed in her chest. Frustration bubbled up soon after.

"You just…you don't understand."

She looked away, her eyes getting distant.

Once again the stranger felt that storm roiling inside of her, that aura she had when she first walked into his shop. As much as he'd helped put a smile on her face, he could tell that she was still…pent-up.

"Maybe I don't. But I do understand that you need to learn to loosen up a bit."

Zelda's eyes returned to his again, a smug grin on her lips as she leaned on her hand.

"Is that so?"

They shared a look..it was one loaded with tension that had been building up ever since she started to visit him. Unlike the other times they shared it, Zelda held her gaze firm. She felt her chest tighten a bit. Goddess above, the man was attractive. Their conversation melted out of her memory, and her words slipped out of her lips without thought.

"And what's a scoundrel like you know?"

Zelda's heart pounded. That was…her first flirt back at this man. She'd acted coy, shared looks and brisk touches with him that hinted at their mutual attraction but this was an actual flirt.

The next moment seemed to stretch on for hours as he paused, looking at her in a way that made her legs shift. He grinned, a smolder that made a lump form in Zelda's throat.

"More than a thing or two a princess like you can learn." he returned his attention back to the book he was reading, that grin still on his face. "Ask me sometime and I'll show you."

That offer hung in the air as Zelda didn't bother trying to say anything back, her own attention forced back to her book as the room in the air shifted, and even if he was sitting across from her at the studying table of his library, the large room began to feel a little claustrophobic.

The offer haunted Zelda long after he put it into the air, long after he moved past it and carried on with conversation as if nothing had happened, long after she went home and recalled the way he looked at her when she was alone in her chambers.

As a teenage girl these sorts of thoughts should have been common. They just came with adolescence after all, something to do with her hormones. She just needed to sleep it off.

But justification and logic and reason melted away in the face of one very simple fact Zelda was struggling to admit to herself: she wanted this man.

It was as if the collective sexual tension of the past several weeks had all hit her at once, her body bristling with heat, her mind too tired and too stressed to bother suppressing the desire she had for a man who'd shown how own desire for her from the moment they met.

Maybe she did right when she saw him, maybe it was when he first started flirting with her, maybe it was only after today, but as Zelda's hand dove between her legs that night, her thoughts filled with his hands, his eyes, his lips, when she wanted him never mattered. It only mattered that she wanted him now.

The next day, Zelda took him up on his offer.

She walked into the shop during the morning, a bit earlier than when she typically visited.

As usual, he was at his counter, and as usual, he gave her that grin that had kept her up all night, his eyes giving her the cursory once-over that felt…so much more pronounced that morning.

She shoved passed the chit-chat, enduring his flirts when she shot her hand out to his wrist when he led the way to the library room, holding him from passing the threshold inside. Zelda's heart hammered in her chest. Her mouth went dry even thinking about what she was going to do, going to say, but she was reminded of that sinking feeling, that storm that raged inside her…she knew the stranger could see it too. Maybe he really could help.

"Is…Can you…um…" Zelda squirmed, thighs rubbing together as she cast her eyes to the floor. She gathered her courage and looked up at him, the green of her pupils swirling dark with desperation. With want. "...help me out?"

It was a funny way to phrase what she wanted, voice her answer to yesterday's offer, but the stranger was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He held back the urge to lick his lips as weeks' worth of shooting his shot paid off in the look that this princess gave him.

"Never thought you'd ask."

With those words, the stranger pulled a breathless Zelda up the stairs into his room.

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