When Link and Zelda returned to the castle that night, soaked to the bone from the rainstorm and feverish, Impa made due on her promise to the knight that he'd have hell to pay.

And so, it wasn't until the dead of night that Link finally got to return to his room, exhausted from his punishment. The Sheikah woman had sent him out into the thunderstorm, full knight's armour equipped, and told him to run the perimeter of the castle three times.

It wasn't often that he was reminded of how big a place the Castle was.

It's a castle. He told himself time and time again. He swore up and down that his hometown must've been smaller than the perimeter when he finished his first lap. It was only after almost getting zapped by lightning on the second occasion that Impa reluctantly let him drop the armour to finish his final lap.

Was she trying to kill him? Link thought so. He just hoped this wasn't also retribution for the Guardhouse incident, which he hoped the Princess would keep that a secret.

So when he finally returned to his room, he threw a towel onto his pillow, stripped out of his wet clothes and let himself fall over his bed. He imagined it might be Impa's way of also making him sick, the hopes of the cold rain to affect him the same way.

He wasn't sure if it worked or not, but he felt fine. Oh well… He did deserve it. It wasn't as if he'd guilted himself for getting her sick on the ride back to the castle. The smarter idea was probably to stay in the cave until she got better but the fact remained, it was a cave.

A cave he had almost mated with Zelda in.

It seemed the more he tried to ignore it, the louder it was in his mind; his name on the princess' lips were incessant. Smooth like velvet, hypnotizing to the core, electrifying, there wasn't anything he could do about it apart from replaying the memory.

He couldn't rid his mind from the image of her laid out beneath him, her hair splayed out around her like a halo. He wanted to gaze upon her flushed skin again, kiss it and taste it as he had only a few hours before. He wanted to see what she'd look like without that cursed dress; he craved the touch of her skin against his.

And yet, he still didn't know what they were. Were they together? Was it a one off moment? He prayed to every deity that it wasn't. He doubted it was a fling, it'd be too difficult to keep up in the castle.

Curse the castle too. Link knew they'd get no time to themselves now that they were back.

He decided at that moment that he'd go find out what exactly they were to each other when they'd finally be alone again, no colds or fevers to interrupt them. He just hoped that it wouldn't be as explosive as the cave had been.

"Tell me, what is it you really want?" Goddesses above, she looked like she was going to jump his bones right there, and she had, and he loved it. Stupid cold, stupid fever. He pouted against the pillow. He thought it might have been better for everyone's sake that they didn't go all the way right then and there. He didn't carry contraceptives on him and he knew she didn't either, and he knew there would have been no way for him to remember that in the moment.

At least he knew she was interested in something with him, that something having passed the lines of friendship.

When Link awoke in the morning, the sun had begun creeping out from the horizon, marking about an hour until breakfast.

He knew there was no going back to sleep once his eyes saw the sun, so he groaned and threw off the sheets.

Muttering profanities under his breath, he saw that, marked on his calendar, he was on guard duty.

He really didn't want to wear his Royal Guard garb with the stiff collar and ridiculously high boots. Link cursed whoever it was that designed the damn thing for it made him look even shorter than most things did.

He clipped his blue tabard, trimmed and embroidered in golden thread and reluctantly brushed his bangs clean from his face, tucking in every stray hair as protocol deemed before throwing on the beret.

Easy to fight in, his ass.

Oh and the gloves. The ridiculous white leather gloves that reached his elbows. He always found it hard to pen down notes or hold his sword firmly.

Clipping the leather belt around his waist and securing the red aiguillette across his chest, he flattened out any unflattering creases along his shoulders and back. I'm not walking out of here with a duck tail again… He grumbled at the memory of the weirdly tucked backside of his dress, flattening it out.

The last time he'd worn the damn thing, Captain Randy had called him Captain Quack and he hadn't lived it down ever since and he just hoped Arn wouldn't join in this time. He dreaded the duck imitations that would no doubt be heard if he encountered the older captain.

He grabbed his keys from his nightstand and left his room, locking the door and jogging down the steps of the hall, leaving his sword behind. He doubted he needed it, he was just going to be checking his papers.

Besides, if he needed a weapon, he had the matching royal claymore in his office; a sword that was taller than he was, and that was the blade alone without including the hilt.

He quickly found his office door and hastily unlocked it, wanting to get his crap done before the Princess woke up -or when he'd need to wake her.

When the door opened, Link was less than pleased.

A stack of papers and sealed envelopes sat on the large desk.

My fault for holding off for a week and a half. Figures. He muttered more profanities as he unceremoniously took his beret off and threw it onto its nearby hook for later. He slumped into his comfy chair, letting it spin around once before stopping it and grabbing the first pages.

Schedules for Mara and Ren… He flipped to the next pages. A map of Central Hyrule with small red Xs dotted around. Monster camps. A chart followed with another soldier's name. Heat leave notification for Balar… He finally arrived at a sealed envelope with his name written in terribly illegible block letters, sealed shut with a decorative red wax stamp.

He grabbed a letter opener from the drawer and carefully opened it and pulled out a letter, signed from Captain Barnabus Reinhartd

Captain Link of the Princess Guard, 4th Division

I'm not sure when you'll receive this considering I dropped it during your rut, but there's an upcoming meeting next Saturday concerning security details for the social events of His Majesty and Her Royal Highness for the upcoming Nayru's season.

Commander Cassian and Captains Arn and Randy will be in attendance, as will I. We shall be meeting in the Commander's office prior to breakfast, please arrive by sunrise.

P.S. It's going to be a busy four months.

P.P.S And get your dancing shoes polished. You'll thank me later.

Captain Barnabus Reinhartd, 1st Division, 2nd In-command to the Princess Guard.

Next Saturday was tomorrow, Link wanted to smack his head onto the hardwood table. Maybe I shouldn't leave this stuff last minute… As much as he thought it, he knew he'd likely repeat such a thing again very soon.

And his dancing shoes? He could already feel the aches and jabs that were going to hurt his feet. Was he probably going to be used as a dance partner for Waltz Practice? He could feel it was almost a certainty.

He tried to think of the upcoming events of Nayru's season. He knew there was Zelda's upcoming 22nd birthday and Nayru's ball off the top of his head. Five years since the Calamity was supposed to arrive. He felt his shoulders slump at the thought of Calamity Ganon's arrival. He knew the Princess would be stressed beyond what she could handle. Its prophesied return on her birthday was continuously being delayed and, with every year that passed, he could see it wearing her down more and more gradually.

No doubt Rhoam would push her to her prayers more as well, and he knew there'd likely be etiquette lessons mixed in, dancing, and a crash course on the important figures at court for him specifically.

He wasn't looking forward to the last part. It consisted of Captain Reinhartd and a councilman showing him various charts of court ladies, all single, that they claimed were important to know for the Princess' sake, but Link clearly saw through their ruse every year.

He knew he'd likely be in charge of the security for her birthday, jumping between the Captain, the Princess' side and other guards for reports all night while simultaneously being forced into boring conversations by court nobles.

Could delegate some of that… He looked at some of his guards' files, pulling those of two girls named Mara and Caya. Both took the night shift outside Zelda's chambers on most nights, excelled in hand to hand combat and one was an excellent archer. He debated on whether to place Mara or Caya near Zelda throughout that ball, but he made a side note to finish those plans later and discuss it with them.

Nayru's day… The festival… Zelda's birthday… Lessons… Is that it? He'd find out tomorrow morning.

He flicked through the other papers, scanning the level of emergency for responses and pulled those deemed for immediate work, wrote a few lines of notes, signed his name and sealed the papers with his signature blue stamp, writing the recipients' name on the front for the Page to go find.

His eyes flicked to the window where he could see the sun rising above the horizon. A few minutes until breakfast. A few minutes before he had to go wake up Zelda if she wasn't already awake and trying to get out of bed.

He finished a few more pages, storing the maps and charts into folders inside his desk for later review, kept under lock and key, and quickly sorted through his work of lesser importance. He'd take care of that later when everyone went to bed.

He made himself a promise not to let the work pile up again, hating having to rush through the numerous pages. He would definitely keep that promise to himself.

"Princess?" Zelda heard knocking on her door once the sun shone through her blinds. Steadily, it grew louder and louder before the lock clicked open.

Unable to get out of bed due her joints aching and her legs feeling like she'd worn armour to bed, every twitch and attempt to shift out of her four-poster bed was met with a groan and a sniffle.

She tried to avert her face using the blanket when Impa waltzed in, a few items in her hand. "Your knight wasn't at the door, really, he knows this is his job." she began before finally laying her eyes on the princess. She nearly dropped her papers when she caught sight of the red nose and the sound of a congestion. "What in the world? Princess, what happened? You weren't nearly this bad yesterday!"

"I'm fine." Zelda was sure it wasn't convincing. She could hear her own blockage as if she was talking with her nose covered. The failed attempt at breathing through her nose may not have helped convince the Sheikah woman either.

Her hands went straight to her waist and her face went to stone. "Fine eh? Should I go find Sir Link?"

"No!" Zelda pushed herself into a sitting position, ignoring the grimace she was currently sporting. If she had to describe what it felt like, she'd have probably said she had fallen off of Storm one too many times on the track.

Ignoring the sighs from her advisor, she slowly pulled the covers back and let the cold air of the room hit her skin, with a loud, almost dramatic shiver. "Great Goddess, lay down Princess!"

"No, I have to work!"

"No you're not! You're not going anywhere, work can wait."Zelda struggled against Impa, who continued to threaten her with her own knight. "Try to get out of this bed and I will go find him."

Zelda scoffed lightly. She knew what getting Link meant. First he'd probably blame himself for her fever, something she saw firsthand yesterday on their ride back to the castle. Then he'd probably fuss over her much like Impa was doing, safe for being a bit less forceful. At least it's not like the cave again … She felt herself blush at the memory.

She didn't really mind that he took care of her. It was far from a terrible thing.

"I like you just the way you are."

The words from that night echoed back into her brain once more, as did their kiss and subsequent activities involving his hand's exploration of her breasts and skin.

He liked her. A lot.

She felt the blush creep up to her cheeks once more as she let Impa man-handle her back into her blankets.

"See? You're feverish!" She huffed out as she threw the blankets back over the Princess. Zelda opted to ignore the other words slipping out of Impa's mouth.

Wouldn't be so bad to have Link take care of me. A barely audible voice echoed in Zelda's brain; she found herself agreeing with the voice quite quickly.

As she watched her advisor run around her bedroom like a madwoman, gathering things into her hands and talking about 10 different things Zelda cared little for, the little voice grew stronger.

Ask Impa to have him fetch some tea, it wasn't a terrible idea, she had to admit. She'd get to see her knight. No, she couldn't do that, it'd be abusing her authority.

He lives to serve you, Princess. Ask. While she didn't say anything out loud, Zelda found it quite odd that she was now arguing with a voice within her head.

A voice that had some tempting ideas.

His first stop was the chapel since it was on the way from his office to the Princess' room.

He'd encountered Priestess Adina outside the chapel, seemingly waiting for the Princess with a smile. He apologised profusely and left her to wander back into the sanctuary on her own. So Zelda hadn't attended devotions.

Was her cold that bad? Could she not leave her room? She definitely hadn't left because he hadn't heard the alarm bells of the tower to report a runaway princess. Or she wasn't caught sneaking out. He wondered if she would try that again outside of his rut, knowing he'd catch her immediately.

So where was she?

Something told him there was something wrong. It wasn't like the Princess to stay in her room so far past sunrise without warning him. She had always told him if she was planning on staking out her room to avoid the bustling castle life.

Usually he'd shrug and fetch her breakfast and a small pot of tea to silently support her small fight back against the relentless priestesses and clerics of the castle.

And so that's what he did.

He made his quick detour to the Royal Kitchens where he requested her usual black tea, a small slice of savoury fruitcake and a small bowl of berries as a side.

None of the guards glanced a second time at him, this being a semi-usual routine for him. It was common knowledge that the Princess often had breakfast and lunch with him, sometimes privately, sometimes publicly.

When he finally arrived back to the Princess' quarters, he spotted Impa at the end of the corridor, vanishing around the corner, leaving only a short glimpse of her back to him.

He wondered briefly as to why the advisor had been in the Princess' quarters. Most of Impa's old duties had gone to him as her personal knight attendant. It hadn't taken long for his duties to begin evolving into slightly more personal requests, leaving Impa to care for Sheikah related matters with the Crown.

He quietly knocked on the large wooden door, leaning an ear against the door. "Princess? I have tea." A short rustling of heavy sheets and a cough, but nothing more. He knocked once more. "Princess?"

Pure silence.

Is she sleeping? Just as he was about to leave the door, he looked back at the tea pot. But this late? He pursed his lips and knocked again, a bit firmer this time. He reminded himself that she was likely still sick and resting in bed. No, she needs to have something to eat.

"Princess? May I come in?" He waited a few moments before finally picking up a quiet "Yes." He manoeuvred the tray in his hands and clicked the door open.

His eyes caught hers and narrowed. Her skin glistened with sweat, her face was red and she was tightly wound up in her thick blankets. Then a hoarse cough slipped out.

Great job. You got the Princess sick last night.

"Ah… I should have grabbed ginger tea…" Link's shoulders slumped lightly. He knew they shouldn't have ridden through the rainstorm on their way back. Camping overnight would have avoided the Princess' sickness. Staying in the cave was definitely the smarter idea.

"This is fine! Thank you!" He felt a pang of guilt upon hearing her roughed up voice, paired with the deep sound of being stuffed up. "Could you bring me some please?"

He quickly set down the tray and poured a cup and dropped in part of a cube, watching it dissolve in the hot liquid. Attempting to ignore her hoarse tones was one thing, but the pit only grew upon each breath he could audibly hear from his side of the room.

"I'm really sorry…" He apologised profusely, watching her shiver beneath the thick comforter.

A loud sniffle came from the bundle, followed by a cough. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known the storm would do this." He tried not to visibly cringe at the laboured breathing.

It is entirely my fault… "If there's anything I can do, say the word."

"I'm glad." She smiled, untucking her head from the sheets. "Keep me company, dear knight."

"Of course." He picked up the bowl of berries from the platter and held them out to her. "Wildberry?"

Her eyes lit up as her hand emerged and delicately plucked the small red berry from the bowl. "Thank you." She let out a silent moan as she plopped it into her mouth.

Goddess, even sick she was ridiculously cute.

By midday, he'd discarded the tabard of his uniform and the Princess had thrown his beret to a corner of her room. He'd removed the ridiculous boots and gloves and sat on her bed wearing the black pants and the red undershirt.

She'd ruffled his bangs out of their formal placement he'd put them in and sighed when the hair fell in front of his eyes. "You look so stiff." she had said when she plucked his bangs back in front of his face. It was kind of the point, he was supposed to look like that on duty.

But what he had no idea of, was how he'd managed to be used as a pillow for the Princess. At the moment, her head was on his lap, arms wound and gripping him tightly, with one of the thin sheets covering her body. She'd complained that her comforter had been far too warm, and after deeming her fever to have gone down ever so slightly, Link let her throw off the big blanket.

A few times he doubted if she was asleep or not due to the occasional pressure he felt on his forearm. He heard her quiet snores, much much better than her terrible breathing from the morning, but he was oddly confused as to why it felt like she was testing the firmness of his arm.

The Princess does weird things in her sleep. He knows this. His lap has been used as her pillow on multiple occasions.

But never did she feel up his arm in her sleep.

For the third time that hour, he shifted forward to glance at her face, serene and relaxed from slumber. Her hands had fallen into a strange rhythm of featherlight kneading on his arm, much like a cat trying to make its bed.

He found it odd that Impa hadn't returned a single time that morning. He'd seen her leave in a hurry, but why hadn't she come back? Was it because of him?

He looked at the pot of tea he'd brought in earlier, she'd barely finished a full cup before choosing to snuggle into her sheets. She'd taken a few bites of the cake, he understood that having a cold could make someone's appetite change a bit, cutting it almost completely.

I should go get soup. He debated shifting her off his lap, but found her grip to be tighter than he'd realised.

Nope, he wasn't going anywhere without having to wake her up first.

She likes you. He attempted to ignore the voice that began teasing him. He still remembered his embarrassment from the night in Lurelin. All the sleep he had wanted that night had vanished and no sleep had come following those words slipping out. He'd barely slept that morning, maybe he'd gotten two or three hours, but he hadn't rested since Lurelin.

He silently shut out the whispering voice within his mind, not wanting to deal with the inner teasing.

He felt Zelda shift against his leg, burying her head into his leg before incoherent sounds left her lips. No more than a second later, she was quiet and back to the way she'd been for the better part of an hour.

He was glad she was resting but Goddess forbid anyone apart from Impa or Purah walk in and see him, half his uniform discarded on the chair, Princess asleep on him.

That'd be fun to explain.

"Link?" Her voice was groggy, her hands moving from his arms to support herself on the bed, her head shifting up.

"Just sleep." He told her, resting his hand atop her head, motioning for her to return to her position. She hummed and laid it back onto his lap, her eyes closing softly. "I'll be back, I'm going to get you something." He carefully shifted her off his lap, another small hum of acknowledgement telling him he could.

He hastily threw on his discarded uniform parts and even bent underneath her work desk to grab his beret before leaving her room quietly.

He made it a few steps out of her room, rounding the corner of the hall before coming face-to-face with a taller man, also adorning the uniform of the Royal Guard.

"Good afternoon, Captain Link."

"Afternoon, Captain Randy."

"I haven't seen you in quite a bit. It's good to see you out and about." Link smiled at the gruff words of the middle aged captain. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" The Captain bent down to Link's level, looking at him curiously.

"The Princess has requested lunch in her chambers."

"Understood. Shall we be expecting you at the meeting tomorrow morning?"

"Yes sir."

"My, always the talkative one." The older man jokes, patting Link on the shoulder before walking by. "Oh and Link?"

Link turned his head, waiting for the captain to continue. His eyebrows creased when he saw the captain smiling deviously through his thick facial hair.

"Quack." Link's hands flew to his lower back, indeed feeling the small flap of his tabard sitting atop his belt. He groaned internally before grabbing the bottom flaps of the back of the fabric and pulling it tightly and getting rid of the problem.

I'm going to kill him, I'm gonna kill him and his stupid smirk. Link hurried off to the kitchen, ignoring the distant laughter of the captain who frustrated him so much.

My big thank you to my beta Moss and my buds who helped look over my chaps, i love you you guys so much