Author's Note: Only have a few more chapters left! Everyday I'm getting more follows/favorites/reviews and each time I hear my email go off, I get really excited again. Thank you guys so much!
She dreamed of his voice, calling to her, coaxing her to open her eyes.
"Zelda, wake up..."
She could lay there forever, listening to the smooth, low tones of his voice. So comforting.
"I'm here now..open your eyes, Zelda."
Zelda didn't want to open her eyes. If she did, his voice would fade away
"No..." she muttered softly, letting the coolness of the darkness and the soft call of his voice soothe her. His voice paused for a moment, then came back louder, more urgent.
"Please, Zelda. I need you to wake up."
She smiled. I need you. She liked those words. The way they rolled off his lips, coated in his deep voice. Her nose tickled.
"I've got something for you.."
Steam caressed her face, pulling her from the easy embrace of darkness. The steam grew warmer and a sweet pumpkin aroma encircled her. The black started to fade into dark orange, then a soft apricot color, gradually growing lighter until her eyelids slid open. Her eyes were blurry, still unfocused, but she was able to see a blob of gold, then tan, and two blue eyes.
"Link?" she murmured.
She felt arms wrap around her, and heard his muffled voice stream from her hair.
"Zelda! Thank Hylia!"
The Queen giggled against his shoulder. "Is this a dream?"
His arms wrapped around her tighter. "No."
Zelda giggled again, still locked in a sleepy stupor. "Did I just ask that out loud?"
Link pulled back, cupping her face in his hands. "I need you to stay awake for me. Can you do that?"
The words tumbled around in Zelda's head. "I need you.."
"Okay." she said, grinning as his face finally came into focus. His eyebrows were scrunched together, hanging low over his concerned eyes. "But you have to stay with me." Zelda said, slowly bringing up her hand to play with the strand of blonde hair hanging in his face. "Can you do that?"
His worried expression fell away, replaced with a relieved smile. "Of course I can do that." He laughed, crawling into bed next to her. "Dr. Borville's coming. He's got your medicine. You have to stay awake until then."
Zelda only hummed in response, leaning against his chest.
"Are you hungry?" he asked. Zelda shrugged, listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat.
"You should eat something." Link said. "Ashei went down to the kitchen to get something besides soup.
"I like the soup." Zelda mumbled.
"You can have soup," Link let out a breathy laugh, "but you need to eat solid food too. The soup alone isn't enough."
"Hmm." Zelda sighed, reaching her hand back to snag a few locks of his hair.
"What are you doing?" Link pulled her fingers from his face, trying to keep her from jabbing him in the eye.
"You have nice hair." Zelda laughed, untangling her fingers from his and trying again.
"You're delusional." Link grabbed her wrist, ignoring the Queen's whiny protests. He sighed in defeat. "Here," he said, dropping her hand into his messy blonde hair. She laughed and twisted the golden strands around her fingers.
"I bet I have a lot of paperwork to do." She mused.
"I've done some of it," Link comforted her, "and Shad has been helping in the office. You remember him, right?"
Zelda nodded leisurely. "The smart guy with the glasses."
"Yeah," Link chuckled, "him."
The door slid open and Ashei appeared, carrying trays of baked goods in her arms.
"Good to see you up, Your Highness," she said, sliding the trays on the bedside table. "Have some bread." She extended a loaf to the Queen, who took it hesitantly. "It'll taste great with the soup."
"Thanks, Ashei."
"No problem," the soldier replied with a bright smile. "I'm just glad to see you up again. Can you imagine Link trying to rule this kingdom by himself? Utter chaos."
"Asheeiii," Link whined, causing the girls to laugh.
"You know I'm right." Ashei jested, smirking at his glare.
"I know," Link sighed, burying his face in Zelda's hair, "No need to remind me."
"Whatever. You two have fun," Ashei said, turning to the door. "I better make sure Shad is in line."
"Bye, Ashei," Zelda waved weakly, "tell Shad I said thank you." Ashei nodded before closing the door behind her, most likely heading off to reprimand Shad about something.
Link took some bread a cheese off the tray, studying where Ashei had stood moments before. He rested his chin on Zelda's head, remembering the lecture Ashei had given him the previous day. It was..eye-opening, to say the least.
"Now have soup for wife, uh." Yeto dropped the barrels of soup into the cart, ignoring the whimpers of the terrified Castle Town soup crew. Despite Link's assurances that Yeto was friendly, they still quaked at the sight of the yeti. "You give wife soup, you tell her you love her, uh. You take care of wife."
Link nodded, unable to conjure the words to show Yeto his appreciation.
"Thanks, Yeto," Ashei chimed in, "I don't know what we'd do without you."
The Yeti bobbed his head, giving them his biggest, most terrifying smile. Behind, the soup crew gasped at Yeto's fangs, now fully exposed as his lips drew back in the smile.
"Y-yeah," Link managed to finally find his words. "You're the best, Yeto. Give Yeta a hug for me, okay?"
"And you give Zelda hug too, uh." Satisfied by Link's nod, Yeto stomped off, shaking the whole Zora Domain with his footsteps, and then disappearing into the snow. The soup crew started off at once, spurring their horses into action and dragging the soup wagon along behind them, more than happy to get away from the Yeti and the storm. Link and Ashei mounted their own horses, falling into step behind the wagon.
"You know," Ashei said to Link, though her eyes were locked straight ahead. "you could learn a lot from that guy."
"Yeto?" Link frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," annoyance flashed through Ashei's voice, "the way he is around Yeta. I only saw them together for half an hour, and even I could tell that they love each other."
"So?" Link asked, watching her with guarded curiosity.
"So," Ashei stressed the word, irritated with his ignorance. "You could follow his example a little." She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, and seeing his obliviousness, she continued. "Look, I'm not one for romance, but I still have eyes, and with those eyes I can see that you don't treat Zelda like you should."
Link blinked, a curtain surprise falling over him.
"I don't know what happened after you defeated Ganondorf, or what you lost, but you've been a lot..colder since that day. Secluded, like you're trying to hide from everyone." Ashei said, still not meeting his eyes. "Zelda's got it tough-she's awful young to have all that responsibility, and she needs someone to be there for her."
Link felt his cheeks heat up, and he stared down at Epona's chestnut mane. He hated the guilt that settled into his gut.
"I think she really loves you, and you should give her a chance. She deserves that much." Ashei finished, dropping the conversation to silence. Link finally looked up and responded in a quiet voice.
"I'm trying, Ashei, I just don't know-"
Ashei led her horse in front of Link and stopped, blocking him off from the rest of the caravan.
"Link," she said firmly, staring him down. "Do you love her?"
Link was silent, searching for the right words, but was only able to open his mouth and shut it repeatedly.
"You don't act like you do." Ashei said coolly. "Tell me honestly, do you love her?"
The King snapped his mouth shut, but nodded. "Are you lying?" Ashei asked, squinting her eyes at him.
"No."
"Then if you really love her," Ashei said, ignoring the questioning shouts from the caravan, "you need to show her before it's too late."
Link felt his stomach drop at her words. "Before it's too late.."
"..and you need to start taking some responsibility for your kingdom. It's not fair to put all that weight on Zelda's shoulders, especially if you're telling the truth about your feelings."
The caravan stopped, and a few servants called out to them, seeing if they were alright. Without another word, Ashei turned her horse and rode to the wagon, whipping the drivers back into action.
Link waited a while before moving, letting Ashei's lecture set in. With a rush of guilt and embarrassment, Link buried his face in Epona's mane.
"I'm an idiot," he berated himself, gripping Epona's coarse hair in his fingers. "I'll make it up to you, Zelda. I promise."
With a new goal set in his mind, Link spurred Epona into action and sped after the wagon.
"..want a piece?" Link's eyes snapped into focus as a slice of cake was waved in front of him.
"Uh," Link blinked, "sure. Thanks, Zel." He reached for the plate, but Zelda yanked it away just as his fingers grazed the porcelain platter. Zelda's laugh filled his ears.
"Whoops," she said, offering the plate again, only to pull it back before he could take it.
"Zelda," he whined, only making the delirious Queen laugh harder. The cycle continued several more times before Link was finally able to snatch the plate, much to Zelda's chagrin. Link fought off her hands as she tried to reclaim the cake.
"Split it with me," Link told her, giving her one fork and taking another for himself. Zelda shifted to face him and they set the cake between them, each taking bites and occasionally swatting at each others' forks.
It wasn't until after the cake and the soup were long gone that Dr. Borville returned, barging through the door without knocking.
"Queen Zelda!" he gasped, delight filling his tired eyes as he saw the Queen up and smiling. "You're awake!" As he said it, a yawn left Zelda's mouth.
"Link woke me up," she said, smiling fondly at the remnants of the cake they shared. Link pointed to the empty bowl of soup and a look of understanding passed over the old doctor's face.
"Well, My Queen, it is quite a relief to see you up. You had us worried." Dr. Borville said, pushing up his glasses. It was only then that he noticed how close the King and Queen were, and a slight shock traveled through him. Rarely had anyone seen them stand so close together, and certainly not wrapped in the same blanket.
The doctor blushed, embarrassed to interrupt the rare moment, and handed Zelda a vile of liquid. The Queen turned the bottle in her hand, studying the pink aura it cast, softly glowing against her pale hand.
"What is this?" she asked, trying to uncork the top.
"It's medicine, Your Highness," the doctor beamed, his smile reaching all the way to the rim of his glasses. "I've taken ingredients from all over Hyrule, the best of the best healing mixtures."
Zelda's fingers slipped over the cork, unable to pry it from the bottle. Link took it from her before she dropped it and shattered all the doctor's hard work.
"Let me do it," he said, gingerly removing her fingers from the glass vial. "You're still weak from all that bedrest." Zelda frowned as he easily popped the cork out.
"I'm afraid he's right, my Queen," Dr. Borville interjected, gloomily nodding his head. "It will take some time before your strength comes back. We must be patient until then."
Zelda's eyes fell to her lap. She was already so behind in work..
"Drink it." Link told her, holding the glowing vial to her lips. Zelda wrapped her hands around the smooth glass. Looking at the luminescent mixture, she was reminded of the rosy fairies in Kakariko Spring. Her fatigue set in quickly, eyelids already lowering.
"Zelda," Link's voice halted her descent into darkness. "I'm sure it won't taste that bad."
She smiled at Dr. Borville's indignant hmph.
Link's fingers covered her own, securing the bottle and guiding it to her lips. The liquid slowly slid over the glass like honey, falling on her tongue like cold sugar. The sweet taste was slightly deluded-sweet enough to make Zelda smile, but not too sweet.
Link's hand fell away, leaving only her own hand holding the vial steady. By the time she had drained the contents, the Queen had already felt her senses clearing slightly, the foggy haze lifting from her mind.
"Well," the doctor's face loomed before her. "how do you feel? Has the potion kicked in yet? It is designed to rapidly improve the body's defenses in mere seconds." he rambled. "All the ingredients are fast acting.."
Zelda smiled Dr. Borville's large glasses and beady eyes, watched her expectantly. She fell back into Link's arms.
"I can already feel the improvement." She said softly, chuckling as fierce joy and triumph rushed over the doctor's face, much different from the unamused-and-slightly-irritated expression he usually wore.
"Thank you, doctor," she said, stifling a yawn. "this must have taken much time and thought." He bowed his head, a grin spreading across his face. He blushed at the Queen's praise.
"It's my pleasure, Your Highness." he said. As a doctor, those kind of statements were almost mandatory, a polite gesture that he hardly ever meant, but seeing the radiant, hopeful smiles of the Royal Couple, Dr. Borville knew he meant it.
"How are you feeling today, Your Highness?" Zelda glanced up from the paperwork that lined the silk bedsheets. Though she was still at bed rest, the Queen refused to fall farther behind on her work.
"I'm feeling much better," she looked at the old man tenderly, smiling as he pushed his overly large glasses up on his nose, "thank you, doctor."
Dr. Borville nodded, his lazy wisps of pale hair dancing with the motion.
"Are you ready for your medication, now, Queen Zelda?" He asked, producing the rosy vial from his coat. Zelda took it, thanking the doctor again.
"Need help?" Link inquired, scooting closer and setting down the paper he had just signed. Zelda shook her head, her fingers tightening around the vial as she raised it to her mouth.
"I'm getting stronger," she told him. "I think I can do this by myself now." Zelda parted her lips and drank the glowing contents of the vial, handing it back to the doctor when the last drop disappeared. It was such a small action-lifting a single vial on her own strength, but it still brought a grin of joy to her face, and to Link and Doctor Borville as well. It was the first day she was able to do so without Link's assistance.
"I can already see your strength returning, my Queen." Dr. Borville bowed. "I'll have the next dosage ready by tomorrow." Zelda bobbed her head, making her braided side bangs dance. As Dr. Borville left, the Queen turned back to her work. The monotony of her job had faded, considering Link was always beside her, taking half of the paperwork for himself.
Zelda smiled at her husband, leaning up against him.
"Zel, what does this mean?" He asked, pointing to a particularly long word.
"Excogitate," she answered, scanning the sentence to better understand the context. "We humbly plead you to excogitate our proposal.."
"It means to put an idea under careful consideration." Zelda explained, watching him nod and write the word down, repeating it a few times before copying down the definition.
"Thanks, Zelda," he said, signing his name and planting a kiss on her head. "You're the best."
The Queen blushed and forced her attention back on the document before her. Her blooming curiosity bested her, as it always did, and she slid a peek at the long list of words Link had started to carry around. Definitions were scribbled by each one; Zelda recognized them all as words she had shown him while they worked together. He often asked her what a word meant, and she was always delighted to tell him because she was always rewarded with a sweet "thank you," and an even sweeter kiss on the head.
Despite her efforts to be sneaky, Link caught her eyes and gave her a smile that could melt the SnowPeak mountains.
"If I'm gonna be King and all that," he said, holding the vocab list up in the air, "I've got to speak the language. I have to be.." he quickly glanced at the paper before turning his eyes back to Zelda. "perspicacious."
Zelda raised her eyebrows and grinned. "You'll be talking like a spoiled Nobleman in no time."
"That's what I'm going for." He responded cheekily, scribbling a signature and taking another paper.
"Your Highness?"
Zelda and Link both looked up to see a young servant at the doorway.
"Yes?" they said in unison.
"The council meeting will commence soon," the servant said, "will His Highness be able to attend?"
"I'll be there," Link nodded, thanking the servant before dismissing him. Link leaned close to Zelda, whispering in her ear. "Commence- to begin," Zelda laughed as his breath tickled her ear. "I knew that one."
"Link," Zelda said as he rose from the bed. "Try not to fall asleep, okay?"
Link leaned down, giving her one last hug before he slipped off to the meeting. "I would never," he smiled, ignoring Zelda's doubtful laugh. "I promise," he said, pulling back and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll take these things more seriously. No more falling asleep or goofing around." he folded his vocab list and stuck it in his belt pouch.
The Queen was surprised to see a shadow of guilt pass over his beautiful eyes. "You won't have to deal with all of this on your own, anymore." He said softly. Her shock didn't fade, even long after he had left the bedroom, the feeling of his warm lips still burning against her cheek.