"What do you mean by extra guards ? I can protect the Princess on my own!" Link nearly shouted at Captain Reinhartd right before lunch. "Why the hell are we being assigned more?"

"Link, please calm down."

"When have I not done my job?

"Link-"

"Tell me!"

"These are not the King's orders!" The captain raised his voice, cutting Link off. "These are from Lady Impa." He sighed, knowing exactly what was to come for spilling the beans.

"Impa." The captain didn't like the tone in Link's voice when the name came out dripping in venom. Link bet it was probably her who sent the spies rather than the king. "It's a field survey. What the hell is going to happen?"

"I don't know, but please, it's only today."

Link crossed his arms and huffed. Extra guards for a single day, what the hell kind of thing was that? He's been protecting her solo for almost six years now, what changed now?

"You need to start curbing that attitude." The captain's tone was stern, cold and hard. "And don't let His Majesty hear you speak like that, he'll throw you right off the Royal Guard and you know he will." Link remained quiet, letting the man continue. "I don't know what happened while you were at the Spring of Courage, but your possessiveness? It stops now." When he expected a response, none came from Link. "Am I understood? I will pull you myself if I have to."

"Yes sir. Understood." He muttered like a kicked puppy. Seeing that the captain was done scolding him, he stood up and moved to the door before being stopped again.

"You don't want to know who it is?"

"Sure, tell me." He stood in front of the door, arms crossed, expecting a terrible response.

"It's Sir Thompson and-"

"Thompson?! Are you serious?" He resisted the urge to return to the desk and slam his hands down. "She really chose that guy?"

"Wait… What's wrong with him?"

"He tries to get with anyone with a pulse! He's impropriety personified Captain! Why do you think he got his ass beaten in a bar three weeks ago?"

The captain stayed quiet, thinking back to the bar fight that he'd had to 'scold' Link for abandoning his comrades there. "Oh! Well, there's nothing I can do."

"Fine, fine. Who's the other?"

"Sir Jiran." Link kept his mouth shut even though he could feel his blood boiling within his veins. Not only had Lady Impa chosen two of the most sexually unhinged -In Link's opinion- Alphas, but she'd willingly put them next to the Princess.

He couldn't open his mouth, or he knew that the only words that would come out would be curses, profanity and other very colourful language he tended to reserve for if he slammed his fingers into the door or the dresser.

"You're kidding." He grit his teeth, trying to quell the frustrations that were bubbling within. "They're not even part of the Princess Guard…" Link seemed more disgusted than anything, like he was holding back bile in his throat. "Does she even have the authority to designate Her Highness' personal guards?" He was pretty sure the answer was a hard no since it was quite literally his job description as Captain of the Princess Guard.

"As a Servant of the Goddess, technically she can, but she shouldn't be overstepping like that. And no, I am not kidding. The two will be waiting at the front gate after the first lunch bell. " Link nodded silently, pushing down his thoughts. Barnabus sighed once more, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Oh and before you leave for the survey, better go grab something sweet or you'll scare the Princess with that look.."

Link didn't verbally respond, instead choosing to flip him the bird as he made his exit.

This morning was starting off terribly.

When Link stands next to the princess' door later that morning with one of his guards, a young girl named Caya, he finds himself turning his head the other direction, slipping out an inconspicuous yawn and returning to his position and refusing the urge to rub his eyes.

"Not enough sleep sir?" The guard's quiet voice picked his attention.

"I slept fine." He pushed another yawn down, biting his tongue in his mouth to distract himself. He hadn't had his cup of coffee that morning, and he'd taken longer than expected to wipe the pile of papers from his desk the night before. "I am very much awake."

He opted to ignore the well disguised snort and looked at the wall in front of him, hoping for something, anything, to happen. "Sir, If you want, I can fetch some coffee."

"No, it's fine."

"Captain, you're falling asleep standing up." Just as he sent a pointed glare in Caya's direction, the door of the Princess; chambers flew open, along with a very cheery voice.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning, Princess." The two guards greeted her in sync, both bowing their heads briefly before returning to their positions beside her door.

She smiled at both of them, causing Link to raise a brow in question. What in the world had gotten into her this morning? He wondered if it was the fact that she seemed perfectly healthy all of a sudden, as if she hadn't had a cold the last few hours. Even her throat sounded much better, the remnants of her sore throat simply gone.

"Come, Sir Link. We're off to my prayers."

Princess Zelda was happy to go to her prayers ?! Link had to fight the urge to question her on the spot about her sudden uplifted mood regarding her usually dreadful daily activity, but he held his tongue due to the younger soldier watching them.

Link held his respectful three paces behind her, following dutifully behind her until they left the hall, where he took a few bigger paces and walked less than his usual one pace behind her.

"What's got you in such a good mood this morning?" He asked quietly, rounding the next hall's corner.

"I can breathe," She said, starry eyed as if it was the greatest gift she's ever received. "My throat is fantastic, and it doesn't hurt to swallow!" Yeah, he'd be pretty happy too.

"Well, after you then, M'lady." They reached the chapel where he took his position outside the door while Priestess Adina let her in, equally smiling brightly like the princess.

No less than an hour later, Zelda emerged from the chapel, uncharacteristically still smiling. Was Link going to keep questioning her sudden happy mood? To himself yes, but he wouldn't dream of asking and accidentally ruining her good morning.

"When do we leave for our field survey?" She asked cheerfully, brimming with excitement.

"Um… First lunch bell." He informed her. "But we'll also have additional guards with us." He tried to smile, but the anger from earlier was still fresh in his veins.

"That's fine, as long as they don't interrupt my studies or trample my specimen." Her smile remained, still bright as ever. "Who might it be today? Dame Mara? Sir Ren? Oh perhaps Sir Balar? I haven't seen that fellow in quite some time."

"Miss Mara and Sir Ren have some training today with Captain Arn and Sir Balar is on Heat Leave actually. It's two new ones."

"Oh?"

"Sir Thompson and Sir Jiran from the Third Division."

"I… I don't believe I've met them formally yet. But I've heard of the first one, I think it was from the pub incident a few weeks prior?" He nodded silently. "I didn't realise you'd expanded the Guard."

"I didn't. This was an impulse decision from Lady Impa." He tried not to let slip his current disdain for the woman, but he wondered just how much of a good job he was doing when he caught the slight crease of the princess' brow.

"Really? That's quite unlike her to overstep your duties." Link shrugged and told her about his conversation with the captain, keeping out his scolding and the comments about his attitude out of the story. "Well, no matter, let's go grab some breakfast and we'll get ready to leave."

It takes until roughly midday before he realises he is way too relaxed for someone who is on the job. He's currently sitting under the shade of a tree, eyes on the Princess as she hops from one plant to another giddily as if she's just opened presents on the winter equinox.

He loves the way the sun hits her hair, reflecting liquid gold back to him. Nevermind that she's got the most divine smile he's ever seen, but it's a near constant since they've arrived. The glimmer in her eyes is so much brighter than the sun ever was today, and he loves that they're directed his way so often as she waves at him or lifts something into the air to show him.

He inhales deeply and lets his head relax against the bark of the tree he's using. Two extra guards today meant that he was allowed to sit some distance away. He didn't have to stay right next to Her Highness every second, not that he really minded.

Why did Lady Impa assign two extras today , he wondered nonchalantly. He glanced over in their direction.

The two were whispering with each other about something, but he didn't seem to mind. He wished they were a bit more perceptive, being on guard and all. He knows they're relaxed due to the fact he's there relaxing in the shade. Zelda wouldn't try to run with all three of them sitting there watching her, even if it is passively.

The wind blows into his face and he closes his eyes, enjoying the coolness of the air against his warm skin. He finds that in that moment, he rather enjoys the smell of sweet flowers, particularly the Hyrule Herb that grows so often in the field. He gets a hit of warm safflina, Zelda more specifically, and he knows she's happy as can be. Except it's rather strong.

He opens his eyes and she's right there in his face. He nearly jumps out of his skin at her speed; he hadn't heard her approach.

Maybe he's a bit too relaxed.

"Look! There's so many by the pond!" She thrusts a frog into his face —it's a hot footed frog— and he nearly jumps back when it threatens to jump from her hands. "Research from the castle shows…" He stops paying attention, too enraptured in the way her eyes almost sparkle when she gushes about the frog in her hands. He quickly has to push down the urge to grab her face and kiss her, he can't just tell her she's beautiful when she goes off like that, dumbass one and two are standing so close they're within earshot.

When did they get here… His eyes are wary now, how did they approach so quickly? He's really too relaxed right now. He's suddenly on his guard, his hand inching towards the sword that's leaned beside him. The guards are looking at him as if he's a danger and he can't figure out why.

He starts getting the feeling that they don't like him too much right now. It's the look he gives to suspicious travellers who give the Princess a bit too much of their divided attention.

When he brings his eyes back to the Princess, he sees that she isn't talking about the frog anymore. She's got something in her eyes, it's like the spark from earlier but different in a way he can't put his finger on. He's seen it before, recently even, but it escapes his mind.

"Link?" Her voice is too adorable. "What's wrong?" Her hand lands on his arm and he nearly jolts away at the touch. He finds that he regrets pulling back, he rather liked her hand there.

His eyes slowly leave Zelda and he glances at the two guards who have continued to whisper among themselves but he notices their hands are going to the swords sitting on their hips, even worse that they keep motioning at him.

He steadies his breathing and feels a tingle in his senses; It's the warm safflina and something else invading his senses. Maybe it's the Princess' proximity but he's finding it a bit harder to fight the urge not to take her into his arms.

What is that sweet thing he's smelling, he starts naming things it could be in his head without taking his eyes off from the guards who are arming themselves for some reason.

Cake? Fruitcake? He quickly crosses that off his list. Jams? No, he didn't detect the tanginess of fruits right now. Another dessert perhaps? The guards began their approach slowly, hands grasped around the hilts of their sword. Link's eyes stayed on them as they inched closer and closer. .

Protect Zelda. Don't let them near her. His brain was screaming at him. Why, he wasn't sure. They were supposed to be friendly, he reminded himself, but the pit in his stomach said otherwise. It was as if lead had formed in the pit and he couldn't ignore it anymore.

Link shifted up onto one knee next to his charge, trying his best to ignore the need to deeply inhale as he got closer to her. "Princess," His voice came out deeper than he had expected it to. He finally identifies that sweet thing as being similar to honey and it's not something he generally ties back to his Princess. "Did you apply a perfume this morning?" He inquires, cautiously eyeing the other two.

"Hmm, no why?"

His gaze catches hers and he sees it. Her pupils are dilated, her lips are curling mischievously, and the way her eyes rake him up and down makes him weak in the knees.

Oh.

Oh.

The next breath he takes has his senses enraptured. The next second, he's facing two guards head on as he's shoving Zelda behind him. His eyes scanned the two Alphas who now stood within lunging range. Neither of the guards had their eyes on the smaller blond in front of them.

They were purely on Zelda.

"What's wrong Link?" She leans her hands against his broad shoulders, her fingers digging into his tunic in a prodding manner. He feels her fingertips tracing and pushing and massaging into the hardened muscles of his neck and delts.

You don't like this. You don't. Stop thinking about it. He repeated to himself, trying to ignore the way her fingers expertly dig into the tense muscle.

"Step aside." Sir Jiran is the first of the two to speak. .

"I don't think I will." He retorted back, brandishing his sword defensively. "Step away from the Princess." He commanded, sharpening his eyes towards the two whose swords were drawn now.

"Linnnk~" He felt shivers run down his spine along with an expertly manicured nail circling along the neckline of his uniform.

Don't say my name like that…

"Get to the horse." He whispers, knowing her face is inches away from his. He feels her breath against his neck and his ears, and it feels hot .

"Whyyy?" She whines in his ear. She doesn't move away from him, but her fingers never stop dancing over his skin.

"Just do it." He commands without realising it. He knows she's giving him bedroom eyes behind his head as she's backing towards their horses, and he tries so hard to ignore it.

"Don't leave me waiting." Her sultry tone sends sparks flying to his groin and his nerves feel energised with lightning. It was also then that the two guards pounced, causing Link to jump into action. The sound of crunching grass behind him alerts him that Zelda listens to his orders just as his hand goes to his pouch to grab a small injector.

Sir Jiran is a piece of cake; Link drops the sword and quickly grapples the guard with one arm and slams the injector into his shoulder with his other hand. When the first goes limp in his arms and slumps to the ground in pained moans, Link turns his attention to sir Thompson who's quick to tackle the smaller alpha into the ground.

He quickly finds that he can't use his hands, they're pinned to the ground, a knee on his chest to keep him on the ground.

"Let me go." He growls as he pulls at his restrained wrists, hoping the guard actually listens but he doesn't have much hope. He's among the lightest and the smallest in the guard and he curses his small stature in that moment.

Sir Thompson leans in closer to him and he starts wondering if he should spit in his face. "Maybe I'll show Her Highness what a true Alpha is." He feels his blood boiling and his body move on its own. He brings a knee up full force and slams it into the opposing knight's groin, causing him to double over and briefly release the force on his wrists.

He easily rolls out from underneath the bigger guard and his hands find his pouch and grabs the second suppressant, jabbing him in the shoulder before he has time to recover from the knee to the crotch.

Link mutters a curse when Sir Thompson doesn't collapse in the same way Sir Jiran had. Of course Thompson needs more than one. The other is bigger and stronger, commanding more presence than his friend had. He reaches into his pack and grabs his third–and last– and looks between the small medicine and Zelda, who's watching him, worry etched into her face like she wants to try to help him.

Self control… Right. He curses himself for being careless and jabs the other Alpha in the side without a second thought and watches him glare back, slowly losing consciousness as he does so.

He makes a mental note to take a look at their files when he gets back to the castle to see if he has to update them, but the thought is quickly pushed aside when he sees Zelda again and his only focus is to get her back to the castle before another incident has the opportunity to start.

He hastily sheathes the discarded Master Sword and runs to Epona and Storm where Zelda waits for him, that thing in her eyes begging him to come to her. He ignores it as best he can and throws his riding cloak around her shoulders, ignoring the tempting sweetness in the air around her, and helps her onto Epona, knowing that she's the faster of the two horses and Storm would follow naturally.

Link quickly mounts behind her without another word and snakes an arm around Zelda to grab the reins and gives a sharp tug, launching his mare to her top speeds. He prays to every deity that his cloak is enough to mask some of her scent so he can focus long enough to get to the castle.

"My hero~" Why did she choose to sit side-saddle? Why did she have to look at him with those Goddess-damned bedroom eyes now? .

Link feels his control slipping bit by bit. "Zelda please, you have to-" Before he can finish his sentence, her lips are on his and her tongue is in his mouth, prodding and caressing his own eagerly.

The urge to reciprocate quickly wins over while one of his hands bunches the reins together and his free one laces into the princess' hair to deepen their kiss. It's different from every kiss they've shared, far from the innocent ones he's given her since they returned from the cave. It's hungry and intoxicated, infinitely more so than the cave incident two days before.

This one is electrifying and energised to the point he feels like his mind is swimming and his focus is sinking like a rock in the sea. .

It isn't until Epona jumps over a rotten tree trunk that Link feels a jolt of pain in his backside that he remembers that his focus shouldn't be on kissing Zelda but rather getting her home where she'd be safe from unsuspecting hostile knights.

Of course, she whimpers at the vanishing of his warmth on her lips, but he focuses on the path and speeds through the fastest shortcut in Castle town as far as he can, ignoring the random people who are looking at him confused. He prays they can't smell the Princess or himself, that they don't piece together what happened. He hopes that they think she's just injured and that's why he's rushing through.

Focus, resist. It's barely a whisper, but he hears it through the thickening fog in his brain. It's a quick glance to her eyes that has him screaming to focus. He grabs the hood of his cloak and brings it over Zelda's head, shielding his view a bit better, covering the hunger that darkened her eyes. Maybe if he didn't see the lust in her eyes, he might have better control over himself.

He hoped his theory was good, but he had a rather strong inkling that he was dead wrong as he passed the first set of gates into the castle, turning off from the main path.

Link opened the secret passage near the barracks, the wall flipping open, and pulled Zelda into the castle hastily. She was lagging back a bit, but he could hear her heavy breathing bordering on moans.

He pulled her along by her hand, climbing multiple sets of stairs before feeling her tug him back. Before he could realise what was happening, his back hit the dark stone wall and Zelda's mouth was on his again.

His mind remained on the softness and welcoming warmth of her lips against his. He wasted no time in letting her in, tongues clashing as she pushed her body against his. He could feel his body reacting positively to her hands roaming and gripping his tunic. He could feel the sharpness of her nails through his clothing, electrifying his senses every time she took handfuls of his shirt into her hands.

His hands quickly weave into her hair, bringing her impossibly closer. It takes him no time to gain control, Zelda turning to mush in his arms as his tongue drives deeper into her mouth, brushing hers incessantly.

Her soft moans drove him for more, he craved more.

When his lungs begin to burn, they separate only for the necessary breaths before coming back together like two magnets. His only thought is her name repeated on loop, the warmth spreading through his body from one of her hands travelling lower. He hadn't noticed that she'd slipped her hand beneath his tunic, he doesn't care, he just loves the skin contact. He loves her nails' raw touch against his skin, sneakily unbuckling his belt.

He craved the scraping of her nails, he desperately needed her to leave marks of his skin. He needed the scratches and the stinging. He feels the burning desire to take her right then and there, to make her his.

His mouth leaves hers and trails to her jaw, leaving a wet, hot trail of languid kisses as he slowly makes his way to her neck. It wasn't nearly enough to satiate the burning desire in his veins but he would take what he could.

His lips find her pulse point and starts a slow and steady suck, earning a low purr from the princess in his arms. Fuck. His grip grew stronger, bringing her flush against him and he continued to lick and nip her neck gently,

"More, please." She gasped, fingers finally undoing his belt and ripping it off him.

He ignored the thud of the belt hitting the floor, his undivided attention solely on Zelda. "What do you want, Omega?" He growled in her ear, not unaware of the shiver that wracked through the princess.

"T-touch me! Please! Anywhere!" How could he not indulge the breath-taking princess? He was all too happy to serve.

He brought one hand from her hair and moved down, ghosting over her tight riding pants and rested his palm against her clothed heat. "Here?" He asked, eyeing her hungrily. She gasped loudly, leaning her head against his shoulder as the pads of his fingers pressed against her core. "So needy." He murmured as his fingers massaged through her pants, keeping an eye on her expressions. Even through her clothes, he could feel just how much she wanted more, his fingers damp immediately.

"More." She pleaded, her breaths heavy and moans quiet. "Please." Her voice was sweeter than honey, more addicting than anything he'd ever felt before. .

Listening to the princess, he slipped his hand through the waistband of her pants and her underwear and brought two fingers to her folds.

"You're going to be the death of me." He muttered, drowning in the way she clung to him as he kept rubbing gently. Her mewls continued like a record playing in his ears, pushing him to continue. He wanted to listen to it forever.

"In." He heard her whisper between quiet cries.

"What do we say?"

"Please… Please !"

"That's it, such a good girl for me." He felt her body wrack with shivers, a moan escaping her lips louder than the others she'd done. He tested her, slipping one finger in and thrusting slowly, experimenting with what she liked. He was more than happy to see that she responded eagerly with whatever he did. He slipped another, thrusting and searching for the spot that would make her break in his arms.

Her hands suddenly gripped his shoulders tightly, her nails digging into his skin out of nowhere. "Look at you." He's not sure if she heard him through her ever growing whimpers and shaking but her moans begin to quicken.

"Keep going, Alpha! I want more!" She's biting him through his tunic, and it feels divine. He wishes he wasn't wearing it right then and there, he wants her to bite his skin, to mark him as hers.

Grunting through the dull pains of Zelda's teeth against his shoulder, he presses the palm of his hand against her clit, continuing the thrusts just as she asks. A high pitch whine resounds from her lips as he does so and he feels pride bubble in his chest.

"Look at me." He orders as she tries to hide her face in his shoulder. She looks at him through half lidded eyes, flushed cheeks, and pleasure in her eyes as she finally breaks. He commits the scene to memory, the way her eyes roll back a bit, her teeth gritting together and her hands tightening as much as they physically could. "That's my good girl."

She's slumped tiredly against him so he lowers them to the ground gently, his hand pulled out from her clothes and wrapped securely around his princess. "Link… Good?" She spoke, pants separating her words. Her eyes still hold the same spark from earlier, telling him that she's far from done with him.

He kisses her deeply in response, separating and threading his fingers into her hair. "You were fantastic." She keens against him to his words, soft purrs emitting from Zelda. He's in love with the way she presses herself against him, her warmth nothing but pleasant to his senses. "

"Link~" He's pleased by the tones of her voice. "I want more." He's pleased to hear that too. He barely has to move for Zelda to throw herself over his lap, legs straddling him. Her hands are fast at moving his tunic out of the way, allowing a clear view of the bulge the shirt hid so well.

"You don't need to." He whispers breathlessly, eyes hazy and limbs heavy.

"Mhm, I want to." He spots the spark he recognises when she wishes to learn something new and he can't help the smile that crosses his lips.

Hylia, what did I do to deserve this? A whimper leaves his throat involuntarily as Zelda takes his swollen cock out of his trousers and takes him into her hands.

"I've never seen one before…" She gives an experimental pump and watches him carefully just as he did to her. "What else can I do?"

"You can do anything to it." He mutters, almost desperate for her achingly slow pace to speed up. Her hand continues to stroke slowly, occasionally tightening her grip around him.

"Can I…" She trails off, as if to think of what she could do to it. "Can I taste it?" He wastes no time in nodding and watches her through half lidded eyes as she bent down, pausing briefly before licking the tip, sending shudders through his body.

The haze in his mind thickens and he lets his head hit the wall, enjoying the warmth overcoming him when the princess starts to take more and more of him into her wet mouth.

He groans out her name, broken and silent as he lets his control slip, instinctively thrusting occasionally when she takes him deeper. He savours every languid tongue swirl and stroke, her hands at his base working him.

"Yes… Like that…" He impulsively thrusts into her mouth in a jerk motion, causing her to gag accidentally and he groans at the gag reflex of her throat. " Shit. " He curses loudly as she tries to do it again, gagging every few times.

He can't help but get his hand into her hair, fingers gripping her hair gently enough without pulling on it, and pushes her down on his dick, growing needier with every swipe of her warm tongue.

With a few final deep pushes of his cock into her throat, he feels the familiar pressure building up fast at the base of his cock. Feeling the pressure release and his knot inflate, Link grit his teeth as he pulls her mouth from the base, her mouth stilled around the tip of his cock as he felt himself release.

"Oh Goddess… Zelda?" He lazily glanced over to the princess leaning over his lap and audibly gulped at the sight of his semen dribbling from her wet lips. She used her thumb to wipe up the excess, licking his seed afterwards.

It wasn't a sight he'd be forgetting for a long time.

Looking around, he could feel the fog clearing up as he remembered just where they were.

The pathways. He nearly threw her off in surprise, jolting upright in realisation. It wouldn't be long before someone stumbled upon them, likely Impa, he was sure of that one. If she'd gotten news that they'd returned but hadn't been sighted in the castle, her first place to look would be here.

Through the thick haze in his mind, fuelled by omega hormones, he looked around for his belt and spotted it nearby. He quickly relooped it as best he could, making sure it didn't seem too noticeably just what they'd been doing there.

Of course, anyone with a half decent nose would know immediately.

Focus. Get the Princess to safety. He feels exhausted, his breath still gone from his orgasm, but he clings to what sanity breaks through the thick, nearly impenetrable fog. For once, he's thankful for the reality post-nut clarity brings him.

When he focuses back on the princess, he almost loses it again. She's wiping his semen from her lips with that look in her eyes. Her eyes are darkened with lust, entirely directed at him and he drinks in the sight like a man lost in the desert with no water. "Alpha~ let's do more!" She begs him, tempting him with a power only she possessed.

He watches, almost hypnotically, as her hands start undoing the buttons of her blouse,

Do more. Princess wants more . The voice was overwhelmingly loud in his ears, his own thoughts barely breaking through to fight back. It was only when his hands went to his item pack that his focus returned in a small piece. He'd felt a bit of glass and an idea suddenly broke through his mental haze.

I need to get her to stop… His lucidity was merely a whisper now, overpowered by the sheer volume of the other one. He knows that if she keeps talking, he's going to lose the battle again and it's a near certainty.

"Princess." he smiled, stroking her cheek lovingly.

It pains me to do this… I'm sorry. Her eyes were the brightest he'd ever seen them, clearly very eager for any contact with him.

"Does my princess want a surprise?" Her mouth quickly morphed into a smile. He quietly instructed her to close her eyes first, before sneakily reaching into the item pack and pulling out a vial.

"Keep your eyes closed, remember? Be a good girl." Her entire being seemed to vibrate to his praises and it only guilted him more.

He slowly but surely removed the cork, completely noiseless and took some of the elixir into his mouth, making sure not to swallow any of it. He placed the empty vial quietly on the floor next to him, ensuring no noise or clinging of glass would alarm her.

His hands reached up to cup her face gently. Forgive me. He brought his lips to hers, pushing the elixir forcefully into her mouth.

"Swallow." He commanded. It took Zelda no more than one second to figure out what had happened before he could see fatigue overcome her features, her body acting to his words. Her eyes slowly closed, her body coming to slump against him.

Now to calm down and get her inside… he hoisted her up, cradling her body comfortably into his arms and let his head fall hard against the stone wall. He willed his focus to return through the haze, trying to rebuild his energy.

Impa had been minding her own business when she walked by the front gate of the castle. If it wasn't for the animated shouting at the closed gate, she'd have kept walking.

"Where is he? He's dead!"

Oh? Impa listened closely trying not to show herself as an eavesdropper.

"I'm sorry, I can't divulge this information."

Looking closely, she saw not one, but two men, dressed in the knight's armour yelling at the guards. She quickly recognised them as the guards who'd been assigned to guarding the Princess for the afternoon.

But why were they shouting?

"Tell me where the short bastard is!"

Ah, they were talking about Link. Had he done something to anger them? And what had he done to do it so intensely…

"He-He passed through about an hour ago with the Princess!" The female guard cowered out when one of the knights pulled out his sword and directed it at her.

"Drop the weapon, Sir Jiran!" A loud voice boomed from around the corner. Impa turned to see a burly man, dressed in the Royal guard's uniform, Royal bow in hand and an arrow aimed at the two.

Despite the warnings from the captain she didn't know, the knights disobeyed.

It took no time at all for two more guards to surround the two knights, one spearwoman and two swordsmen surrounding them.

"What's going on down here?" She heard another come around the bend, sword in hand, confused. This one she recognised as being in Link's company often.

It was instantaneous; the captain's nostrils flared and his gaze hardened on the two before them. "Where in the Goddess' name is Captain Link and the Princess?" His tone was strict, commanding, and terrifying at the same time.

"They passed the gates about an hour ago, Captain!" It was the only words he needed to hear from the female guard's stutter before he sheathed his own weapon and left running up the hill.

Impa looked at the group awkwardly before following the captain's steps, knowing that whatever had happened couldn't have been good. It took a moment before she caught up to the older man's pace, but they entered the castle and rushed through the halls and past scurrying maids and confused guards.

"Sir-" Impa panted as she tried to keep up. "What's going on?" she managed to get out as they rushed up a set of stairs.

"Those two were in ruts. They weren't this morning." He said in a single breath, no sign of exhaustion from their running. Impa nearly tripped on the last step upon hearing those words.

If they weren't in that state before leaving, and they had come back in a rut, wanting Link's head on a platter, she could only imagine it meant one of two things.

One being that Link got himself into yet another rut by accident, despite his ending just last week, or two being that Princess Zelda had presented and there was a struggle where Link may have beaten their behinds into next Sunday.

But she was willing to place a wager that it would likely be the second option.

Don't tell me the Princess chose to present today of all days… If her suspicions were correct, which they probably were, she had very likely sent all three men into a rut by sheer accident and Link had been forced to take unfortunate measures.

Which prompted her further thought.

If the two guards were already so riled up and clearly out of their minds and looking for blood, how far gone was her knight? She knew he possessed a much stronger amount of self-control compared to the others in the castle, but just how long would he hold out against what was clearly a very powerful influence?

Opening the secret passage behind a statue, she quickly slipped into the wall securely, the captain close behind, and readied herself.

Goddess… all the signs were there… How did I miss it? Impa nearly slapped herself silly thinking about it. First it had been a fever and a cold that had subsided so quickly it should have been impossible. No one should have been able to heal in a few hours like that. Second had been how she had found both Princess and knight together in bed in the late evening. She was practically wrapped around him when she had discovered them, yet Link had seemed none the wiser at the time.

Yet he also hadn't separated himself from her like he usually would have.

Did Link know this whole time?! No, she scrapped that idea immediately. If he had known, he wouldn't have even allowed even the thought of her leaving the castle. She assumed he'd been in the dark just as much as everyone else had.

"Impa." Her thoughts were cut short as she rounded the corner. Before they could even come into view, he had called out her name.

He's still lucid. That's good.

She approached around the corner and the two came into view.

Link was seated against the cold wet walls of the caverns and in his arms was Zelda, cradled against his body protectively. The two were clearly dishevelled, but Impa wasn't quite sure why. They were both still fully clothed, so it clearly wasn't from that . The Captain's hands immediately went for the sword on his waist, ready for anything.

Is she… unconscious? Impa approached cautiously, her hand settling closely to her kodachi.

"You need to take her." Link said, desperation obvious in his voice. Impa pulled her hand away from her kodachi, frowning. He was worried beyond measure, his eyes were screwed shut and he could barely speak without something breaking into his words.

"What did you do to the Princess?"

"Sleeping drought." He motioned to the empty bottle that had been presumably thrown to the side. Impa observed for a second. His grip was tight on the Princess, he didn't seem physically open to letting her go.

Impa cautiously approached, keeping her eyes on the knight rather than the Princess.

It was then that she heard it. A deep growl.

"Lady Impa." The captain muttered just loud enough for her to hear. "Exercise caution." He advised. "Do not make yourself a threat, he will lunge at you."

"You're kidding."

"I am not. He may have some lucidity, but any sudden movements and it's gone."

Stay away. You're gonna get hurt. Why should she have expected anything less from one of the best and most skilled warriors on the continent.

"Link. You need to give me the Princess." The captain calmly stated. He cautioned a few steps forward, but paused at the second low growl.

He's too far gone. He won't be able to. Her hand moved to the weapon at her side. She could hear the captain beside her approach, his boots resounding almost inaudibly against the stone floor.

Inch by inch, he approached, Link's eyes glued solely on him. He didn't pull his sword and kept his hands in sight until he was nearly beside him. A third much deeper, more territorial growl followed, along with his grip wrapping securely around the Princess, though gentle enough not to hurt her.

She could see the cold possessiveness in his eyes, the drive to keep her by his side, the will to do anything to protect her. It sent chills down her back, watching the other man approach him.

But she could see why he would try; she caught the glimmer of uncertainty in his eyes. She could see Link's mind weighing his options of giving or keeping her by his side.

"Link, you'll see her in a few hours." She heard the captain say. "Can I take her?"

Link looked between the sleeping Princess and his superior, remaining quiet. The captain made no move to grab her, instead staying still next to the hero, arms still open.

"You promise?" His voice was quiet, barely a whisper and filled with hesitation.

"Promise."

She watched Link move his hands away from Zelda, tightening the cloak around her form before nodding. The captain was careful, no sudden or jerking movements as he passed an arm under her knees and another to support her upper back.

"You'll get her back before you know it." He reassured Link, slowly taking the Princess into his arms and standing up.

Walking past her, he motioned for them to walk back into the castle, Link reluctantly following behind, though incredibly sluggish lagging behind in his pace.

They'd taken a few steps, reaching the first stairs before Impa spoke up again, shaking her head in disappointment. "You shouldn't make false promises like that, he'll–"

Her whispers were cut off by the sounds of the dirt and rocks shifting and a blade unsheathing had her pivot instantly, her eyes coming face to face with the point of the legendary glowing blade only mere inches away from her face.

He'd finally cracked and his eyes were glued to her in a fire she wished was never directed at her.

She'd had just enough time to pull her kodachi and deflect the incoming blade before it could make contact.

Goddesses have mercy please…

"Her Highness is in no condition to do so!"

Where am I?

Slowly opening his eyes, his vision was assaulted with glaring white lights and the lack of any other colour. The hospital wing. He slowly lifted his head, attempted to sit up, only to find his wrists had limited movement, a sharp pain aching into his wrists.

Restraints? He tugged lightly, finding both attached securely to his bed.

"Good morning sleepy head." He heard Impa call out to him. She stepped into his area, moving a curtain aside. "Slept good?" He quickly noticed Captain Reinhartd to the side, watching him with an air of vigilance and caution to him.

"Why am I here?"

The Sheikah cocked her head. "You don't remember?" Seeing the blank stare in his eyes, she sighed. "We had to wrangle the Princess from your arms about three hours ago."

Oh… Right… I went into a rut… He deadpanned and let himself fall back against the bed.

"You sure did a number on me though. Sweet Hylia, you went straight for my neck there."

What. "Huh?" He glanced up and immediately took notice of the bandage wrapped snugly around her neck, sitting right beneath her chin.

"Your sword, you practically attacked me." She tapped the sword strapped to her waist. "Took four suppressants to knock you out."

Four ?!

"Why didn't you just… bring me to my room? It seems like a drag to bring me here."

"Well, considering Lady Impa used four times the recommended dosage of tranquillisers on you, we had to make sure it hadn't done anything permanent." The captain stated, unamused. Impa chuckled as she scratched her head. "You're surprisingly very resistant for your size…"

From his memory of the tranquilisers, it usually only needed one to knock out a fully matured adult, two if they were above average in height, size or build. The specially designed medicine was made to momentarily repress aggressive ruts to save time if they were ever in need.

He'd been thoroughly briefed on the application of said medicine when he'd been appointed into the Royal Guard, and then briefed into deeper details upon his appointment as Knight Attendant to the Princess.

But for them to need to use four on him was something he wanted to know at this very moment but he compartmentalised the information for later.

"I will be escorting you back to your room in a bit once you're cleared to go," the Captain said, and Impa bowed her head to him and turned to leave, but stopped when she was addressed. "And you," Link looked surprised at the captain, who pointed his glare to the Sheikah woman. "What the hell were you thinking? Saying shit like that when he's in that state."

"I know, I know, I wasn't thinking. No need to repeat yourself!"

"No, you need to think before you say something like that. You're lucky you had backup or he would have killed you," the captain took a deep breath to calm his sudden outburst, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's always you three." Link and Impa averted their eyes from the Captain's glare. "Lady Impa, I believe you have other duties today?"

"Yes sir. I'll be on my way." Impa bowed her head briefly before leaving quickly, not wanting another scolding.

"And you, rest up."

Link sighed loudly and let himself fall back against the bed. He tried to think back, tried to remember what had last happened but his mind blanked out after he'd arrived at the castle. Panic rose into his chest at the thought of accidentally claiming the Princess down in the hidden paths.

"Your self control is quite remarkable, you should know that. I commend you for it." His eyes snapped to the Captain. "You might've attacked us, but when we found you, you were still a bit lucid."

"Did I…" His voice drifted quietly.

"No, it doesn't seem like you did anything." He reassured him. "You and the Princess were both still fully clothed and everything. I think your little stunt with the sleeping drought might have been your saving grace. Genius idea, really."

"Sleeping drought?" He couldn't remember a goddess-damned thing from the paths apart from brief flashes of running through the stairs.

"Mhm. You ran out of injectors so I think you used it to calm the Princess down. All three of yours were used up in your pack." There was a pause before the captain spoke again, a softer tone to his voice. "Rest easy, you didn't do anything."