Author's Note: Back from the mountains! By the way, I'm planning this story to be about 10 chapters, most of which I already have written out. So here's chapter 4, and thanks again for your support and patience.
Zelda stared blankly at the ceiling as she lay in bed at Kakariko Inn, unable to fall asleep. The temperature had only cooled a few degrees since nightfall, and it was still hot enough that the blankets wrapped around her like a smothering weight, and her hair clung to her neck. Even without the temperature, Zelda felt as though she was radiating with warmth, considering her mind kept returning to the comforting embrace Link had given her a few hours earlier. She sighed, wishing he was still with her.
The Queen adjusted her pillow and stuck her legs out the side of the blanket, enjoying the open air on her toes. Eventually, the Queen threw the blanket to the ground to rid herself of the smothering heat. She groaned and rubbed her eyelids, pulled them down, squeezed them shut as tight as she could, but for some reason, she couldn't get them to stay shut. It didn't help that everytime her eyes closed, she envisioned Link's smile and his cerulean eyes gazing down on her, so full of life. She could feel his fingers curled around her own, and his leather glove rubbing against her palm.
"Stop it!" Zelda smacked her forehead with her palm. "It was just one hug!" she reminded herself. "That doesn't mean he loves you. He was just being nice." Zelda's voiced lowered with the last statement, dropping from a shout to a deluded mumble.
She sat up, paced the tiny room, sat back down, stood up, and repeated the movements several times before she threw herself back down on the bed and buried her face in the uncomfortably warm pillow. The Queen grumbled into the soft headrest, her words so indecipherable that even she had no clue what her lips had uttered. After a few muffled groans, she pulled her face from the pillow so that she could breathe. Her drooping eyes rested on her hand, where the faint outline of three connecting triangles lingered.
"Wisdom, huh?" She said to the triangles. "Any advice, O goddesses of the Triforce?" Zelda waited for an answer, knowing full well that it wouldn't respond. If it did, well, she would really be in trouble then. Add insanity to her list of problems...
The Queen rose and started towards the only window in her bedroom. It was small, but enough to give her a breathtaking view of the Fairy Spring. She laid her head on her hand, watching the luminescent orbs dart about, performing their surreal dance. With growing fascination, Zelda studied the softly glowing fairies as they cast a gentle fuchsia shadow on the water. Her lips gradually curved into a tender smile. She wondered if the Twilight Realm had such beautiful creatures-such captivating sights. Would Link have been happier there, wrapped in the soft turquoise arms of the Twilight Princess? Would he have missed the rolling fields of Hyrule, the vibrant Fairy Springs; would he have missed her? Zelda shook her head vigorously to clear away the thoughts. There was no use in asking painful questions, especially if she already knew the answer.
Her eyes returned to the Fairy Spring, but for the first time, she noticed another figure lounging in the shadows. Two, actually. The Queen strained her eyes, trying to pull a face from out of the darkness. After some adjusting, her eyes picked up dark hair and white robes on the taller figure, and golden locks on the shorter person. Renaldo and Link.
Zelda's attention strayed from the fairies in favor of the two men, who appeared to be deep in conversation. Their voices couldn't reach her, but Zelda saw Renaldo moving his hands, no doubt giving an explanation of some kind. At the same time, Link dropped his chin and crossed his arms over his chest, his boot meaninglessly toeing the water. After a few seconds, the blonde King raised his head and nodded, exchanging a few more words with the Shaman before Renaldo patted Link's shoulder and strode back to his hut at the edge of the Spring. Link didn't follow, but stood where he was, seemingly engaged in the Fairies' dance as well. Zelda smiled, watching him shift his weight between feet every few seconds, and tilt his head from side to side to get a better view of the fairies. A fairy came right up to his nose, staring him down. Link lifted his finger to the pink orb and it rested there for only a second or two before speeding off to join the others. Link dropped his hand to his side and his shoulders slumped slightly. Zelda frowned, her eyebrows lightly scrunching together.
"Is he alright?" the Queen thought to herself. As if he heard the Queen's silent question, Link turned and looked at the Inn, right into her window. Zelda immediately dropped to the floor, her face turning brighter than the fairies. "Please tell me he didn't see that!"
Her heart beat was so loud, the Queen was surprised it didn't shake the entire Inn. Zelda squeezed her eyes shut, picturing how ridiculous she must have looked-the shocked expression she wore before collapsing to the ground. She would have laughed if her face wasn't pressed so forcefully into the floor. Zelda waited, counting her breaths until twenty before she dared stand up again. Slowly, her Royal Highness peeked over the window frame, eyes squinted in deep concentration as she searched for his lean figure. She scanned the Spring up and down, left to right, but Link escaped her gaze.
"Where is he?" Zelda gritted her teeth and gripped the windowpane with more strength than necessary. "He couldn't have-"
Knock, knock.
The sudden noise made Zelda jump into the air, smacking her nose against the windowpane. She hissed and covered the wound with her hand. Her teeth clenched against the sharp pain. With one eye open and the other squeezed shut, Zelda made her way to the door and opened it for the late night guest.
"Link!" She exclaimed loudly, her hand instantly falling from her injured nose.
"Shh," he hissed, quickly checking over his shoulders. "You're gonna wake everyone up," he warned her in a low, whispering tone.
"Sorry," Zelda covered her mouth as if she could retract the shout.
"Zelda, I was wondering," Link started. His eyes stared intently at the ground, then suddenly shot up to her face. "If, uh, what happened to your nose?" He cocked his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows. Zelda's hand flew back to her nose, finding a little splotch of blood where she had hit it.
"I fell." She said quickly, praying that her blush wouldn't betray her. Link's face took on a confused expression, which made Zelda want to giggle like a little girl, but he didn't question her.
"Uh, okay.." he responded, his hushed voice still twinged with hesitant doubt.
"You were saying?" Queen Zelda prodded, desperately wanting to change the subject to anything but her cut nose.
"Oh, yeah," Link nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to see if you were busy. Sleeping, or, something."
Zelda blinked, figuring that she had misunderstood him. She replayed the words over in her mind, and still couldn't believe them. Her mouth opened and closed several times before anything came out.
"You want to do something?" She asked. Immediately, her mind berated her for the words. "That's what he just said! Could you phrase that a little more awkwardly, O Bearer of Wisdom?" A little voice inside her head mocked.
"Yeah." Link answered, rubbing his neck again. "But I see you're in your sleeping clothes, so maybe another time." He started to turn away.
"No!" Zelda shouted again and snatched his arm before he could slip away. She winced at the volume of her own voice. "I mean," Zelda spoke again, much quieter this time, "no."
Link's eyes switched between Zelda's hand around his wrist and her adorable expression, with her lips still forming an oval from the "no." And, despite his warnings against loud voices, the Hero King burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" Zelda craned her neck to see him as he doubled over in his laughing fit."Link?"
When his laughing finally subsided, Link grabbed her along and pulled the Queen after him. "Nothing," he replied with a wide smile gracing his face, "let's go."
The Queen didn't object as he led her out the stuffy building, their fingers still intertwined together.
"Where are we going?" she stumbled after him.
"That depends," he answered with a side smirk. "Where do you want to go?"
Zelda walked behind him quietly, different sites around Kakariko piling up in her mind. Like a stack of papers, the Queen shuffled through the ideas until she found the ideal location.
"Not the graveyard-too creepy at night," she thought. Then, the image of floating spheres raced across her eyes and she grinned.
"The Fairy Spring."
Link nodded his approval, and they were off.
Zelda grabbed the sides of her indigo nightgown, pulling it past her feet so that she could dip them into the cool spring water. Link pulled off his boots and followed her example. They had only intended to go that far into the water, but as the night drew on, the lure of the fairies increased, and before long, the King and Queen were in water up to their hips, watching as the balls of light darted around their heads. Zelda laughed as a tiny one made a nest in Link's hair and refused to move, no matter how much he tried to snatch it away.
"Pink looks good on you, Link!" Zelda teased him as he tried in vain to rid himself of the unwanted guest.
"Whatever," Link sighed and slumped, leaving the fairy to enjoy its home in his golden tresses. The fairy's glow cast a rosy shadow over his hair, making parts of it a soft shade of crimson. Link smiled at her and blew a strand of hair away from his eyes. She blushed, noticing that they were only inches apart, but she didn't back off. No way she was going to let this moment pass by.
The light caught in his eyes, making them swirl with a thousand different shades of blue. One second, Zelda felt as if his eyes reflected the innocent shine of a spring sky, then it changed to the rich gloss of a blue rupee. The next instant, Zelda felt as if she was gazing into the depths of Lake Hylia, so calm, yet so powerful, so sincere, so-pink?
A fairy darted between them, making Link and Zelda jerk apart in surprise. The Hero laughed.
"Aren't they beautiful?" Link asked, holding the fairy up on his index finger.
"Yeah," Zelda watched in captivation as his eyes changed shades. Neither realized that they were talking about two completely different things. Finally, Zelda tore her eyes away from him and watched the pink shadows race across the water. She cleared her throat, building up the courage to speak.
"Link, thanks for today." She could see his head turn to her in the corner of her eye. "For supporting me." The Queen gently chewed on her lower lip. "I didn't want to look weak, but it's just hard, thinking about what those people, my people, had to suffer through. I'm glad that you were there," she told him, "I don't know how I would have held up if you weren't." He nodded silently, and remained that way for a few moments.
"You aren't weak, Zelda." he finally spoke, his voice barely audible over the gurgle of the spring. "I never thought you were. A weak princess wouldn't have stood by her people instead of fleeing that day." Zelda closed her eyes, thinking of the day he spoke about.
Standing by the throne, sword in hand, she struggled to repress her hatred, her dread, as the Royal Soldiers fell one by one. Then he came, armed with two Twilight Beasts. At the sight of him, her two remaining guards trembled in terror, but refused to abandon their Princess. As for the Princess, she watched him with hopeless rage, barely contained under her mask of confidence.
"It's time for you to choose:" the Twilight Conqueror's raspy voice echoed around the cold halls of her falling kingdom, "Surrender or die."
The Princess gritted her teeth, but made no outward indication of her emotion.
"Oh, yes," he continued, "a question for all the land and people of Hyrule."
Princess Zelda's eyes flitted to one of her soldiers, suspended in the air by the midnight claw of a Twilight Beast. He struggled, pried at the claws and kicked his legs, but the Beast held strong.
"Life?" The voice rasped, calling back the Princess' attention, "Or Death?"
Beside her, the two guards gasped, turning their petrified eyes to their Princess. She could feel their fear and the fear of the remaining soldiers. Her eyes passed over the Hylian knights, their once gleaming armor now dulled and matted with blood. Some of them continued to fight against the powerful grips of the Twili Beasts. Others lay still. With a sinking heart, the Princess knew that the still soldiers would never move again, and the ones still fighting would soon join them in an eternal rest.
It was then that her mask shattered, and a ragged breath past her trembling lips. She had lost. Surrender, or let her people suffer the same fate as the bleeding soldiers.
Her fingers weakened and the sword slipped from her grasp. The clatter of the blade falling to the marble floor resounded throughout the silent hall of the Princess' Court..
Link's hand tightened around Zelda's once more, bringing the Queen from her thoughts. She hadn't realized that she had been crying until little drops fell from her eyes and splashed into the Fairy Spring.
"You did it to protect them," Link reminded her. She nodded. "And you did." Zelda met his eyes, letting the warmth flow through them and calm her thundering heart. "And you haven't changed at all." Link smiled. "With the soldier today, you saved his life, Zelda." His voice grew in volume with each word he spoke. "You can't do that and be called 'weak'. Crying because you're mourning the death of your people is not weak." Link cupped her face in his hands. "You're strong, Zelda. So strong. Don't you ever call yourself weak again. Do you understand?"
The Queen didn't break eye-contact as she slowly nodded, her face bouncing against his hands.
"Say it." he commanded
"I understand." Zelda mumbled.
"What do you understand?" He pressed further. Zelda blushed, feeling slightly childish.
"That I'm strong." she said softly. Link shook his head, blonde hair flying in all directions.
"Not loud enough. You gotta mean it."
"That I'm strong." she repeated, voice louder this time.
"What are you not?" Link asked.
"Weak." A tiny smile began to blossom on the Queen's lips.
"Repeat after me," Link demanded, his hands still cupping her rosy cheeks. "I, Queen Zelda of Hyrule.." He waited as she repeated the phrase. "Am not weak.."
"Am not weak.."
"because I am strong." Link finished.
"because I am strong."
"Good. Now say it all together." Link grinned and lightly tapped his hands against her cheeks. She complied hesitantly, feeling a blush spread across her face, followed by a small grin.
"Louder!" Link shook her face for emphasis, making the Queen laugh. She said the phrase again, still not as loud as Link wanted.
"Looouderrrr." He slurred, giving her face another shake. Finally, she knocked his hands away and stepped back, tilted her head back, and shouted as loud as her lips permitted:
"I, QUEEN ZELDA OF HYRULE, AM NOT WEAK, BECAUSE I AM STRONG!" She paused a moment to catch her breath, noticing that all the fairies had flown as far away from her as possible. A few seconds of silence passed between the King and Queen, both grinning stupidly at each other. Finally, the voice of a soldier leaning out the window of Kakariko Inn broke the quiet.
"Queen Zelda? Is...is everything alright?"
Immediately, Link and Zelda collapsed in unrestrained laughter, holding their sides and falling into the spring. All the grief, guilt, and sorrow melted away from the Queen as she rolled around in the spring, her laughter mixing with Link's. They continued that way until both of them were drenched in spring water and their voices were hoarse. Several times, the laughing had ceased, and the two had sat up, just to see each other again and fall into another fit of laughter.
Renaldo watched the two with his hands clasped behind his back. "If that boy would just let the past be the past, he would be much happier." The Shaman smiled as the Royal Couple rose from the water and their eyes connected. Instantly, they fell back into the spring and the laughter picked up again. Renaldo let out a breathy laugh of his own. "They're good for each other." He muttered. "Whether they see it or not." He let their laughter fill his ears as he strode away, still smiling. "They'll see it eventually. Some things just take time."