Sorry for not posting this chapter last week, I had a very important test last Friday.
But good news! I'm currently writing the ninth chapter! And I'm going to add the second genre as drama, because it's fitting.
Note: Kalel is Rusl's daughter, Colin's sister. Uli was pregnant during the events of Twilight Princess, remember?
I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I do :) And Generala, the scene I promised you is coming ;)
Have fun! And don't forget to review!
::
::
Chapter Five
::
::
Zelda was, to say the least, amazed by the nature that surrounded her. The tall trees with their leaves of every imaginable shade of green cast a cool shade around her, cooling down hers and her stallion's temperature. She let her knights stand guard on the gate that connected the Deep Woods to the southern portion of Hyrule Field. It was the only entrance, as well as the only exit, to Ordon Province and it was obvious that if someone were planning to attack her there, they would have to pass through her guards first.
The only person she thought that was skilled enough to go through the woods was the man who took away her father's life. She trusted his words that he wouldn't be the one to take away her own.
Her horse halted and neighed, hitting its hooves on the earthy ground as it protested. Zelda lowered her gaze from the morning sky to the hanging bridge before her, and swallowed. She nudged her stallion forward anyway; there were people living here and if the bridge didn't fall down yet, it wouldn't so soon. Her horse was as cautious as she was, but granted they made it through in one piece; it may have swayed slightly once or twice, which made her heart beat as fast as a hummingbird's, but besides that it went fine.
She was more than glad when the horse's hooves touched solid ground - it was too for it neighed happily - and Zelda urged it to move a little bit faster than before. They passed through two clearings before they entered a narrow pathway and emerged in the small village of Ordon. She dismounted her horse, took it by the reins and walked forward, striding in the direction of one big bald man who seemed to be the only one in sight. He stopped midstep as he crossed a small wooden bridge over a stream of water and glanced from her toes to the top of her head twice before his eyes focused on the crown in her head.
"Princess Zelda," he approached her quickly, "what an honor to have you here!"
She smiled and raised a hand before he could bow to her. "The pleasure is mine, Mayor Bo. I was passing by Kakariko and decided to visit Ordon as well."
Bo clasped his hands together and rubbed them, an obvious sign of anxiety that didn't go unnoticed by her. "The last time you've been here you were just a small kid, I remember well."
Her horse snorted and her hand immediately flew up to pet it on the back of its neck, giving the attention it wanted. "I am here to run some errands, too."
"Ah, well, you see Your Highness," he started, lifting a hand to scratch the side o his head, "I was going to meet Hanch now... I can talk to him later though."
The princess shifted her eyes back to his face and nodded once. "There is no need to. In that case, I think someone that works at the ranch will do. Where may I find him or her?"
He internally sighed in relief; having the Princess of Hyrule suddenly over for a brief visit and having to let her waiting while he discussed with Hanch about the wolf pack wandering in the woods wasn't the best way to treat her, especially when this was the first time she visited after around fifteen years. "Since Fado is out of town, you should ask for Link instead. Would you like me to take you to the ranch?"
"I believe it will not be necessary, thank you." She already figured that to get to the ranch you had to follow the only path with hooves imprinted on the ground. "I just have to follow the path, right?"
"Yes, right." He smiled and stepped aside, "Make yourself at home, Lady Zelda." She giggled lightly at this and pulled her horse by the reins as she made her way towards the ranch.
As she approached the ranch, unfamiliar sounds reached her ears and Zelda associated them with the goats that produced the best milk in all Hyrule. It was a shame, though, that they didn't give Ordon as much fame as the Goron Mines gave to Kakariko. She knew you couldn't compare milk to precious stones and well crafted jewels, but in her eyes the milk, for its simplicity, outshone the shiny accessories produced by rock eating beings.
Her horse neighed once again and Zelda came to a stop just outside the closed gates. She watched, amused, as the herder circled around at least twenty goats, thus making them run towards the wooden pen where they resided. The man dismounted his horse to close the doors, and now that he wasn't moving around Zelda was able to get a better view of his features.
She smirked. "Who would have guessed that the very man who killed Ganondorf herders goats in his free time?"
The man turned, smirked once he recognized her and proceeded to approach her to open the gate. "Who would have guessed that one day the Princess of Hyrule would come after a goat herder, of Ordon of all places?"
Zelda guided her horse through the now open gates and released the reins, letting it join the other horse. "Do not say that, Link, Ordon is an amazing place."
"So you now know my name." He commented as he trailed behind her and wiped his hands on his pants.
He saw her wearing an expression different than any other he had seen, but the glint in her eye immediately gave away that this was the face she did when she was about to tease someone. Her eyebrows were arched up and her mouth was somewhere between a pout and a constrained smile; it was different, but he liked it nonetheless. "Well, since you did not bother to tell me your name, someone had to."
Link crossed his arms and tilted his chin up to match her teasing expression, but nothing came to mind for him to say. He eventually dropped his arms to his sides and approached her; Zelda, on the other hand, held her breath as he came to stand very close to her. "Well, why would her Royal Highness go after a goat herder that likes to assassin people?" His fingertips slowly trailed up her bare arms and the princess suddenly wondered why she had to pick the gloves that reached her wrists only instead of the ones that covered a great amount of skin. "Or an assassin that likes to herd some goats?"
Her breath hitched and her fingers softly grazed the fabric of his shirt. "I came here for the fresh goat milk you spoke so highly of on my birthday party," she said, voice just slightly lower than usual.
"So I am not the reason?" He murmured in her ears as he held her in place by the shoulders.
She hummed, "I fear not," and moved her glance up to look at him. "Oh, only a month and you are slightly taller than me."
The assassin chuckled, the sound making her shiver at the closeness of the sound to her ear and something stirred inside of her. "I am still a little short for a nineteen years old goat herder assassin."
Link felt as her nails lifted the hem of his shirt and barely grazed his skin as she raised her hands to place them on his chest. "You said you were two years younger only."
"Three more months, My Princess, and then you can make your move."
At that she leaned forward, her breath fanned his lips nicely and Link gave his all not to close the undesirable gap between their faces. She breathed out, "Who said I want to make a move on you?" And pulled back with a giggle, stepping back to put some space between their bodies.
It was hard for him not to growl out in frustration, so instead he ran a hand through his unruly dark golden locks and lightly pulled at them. "That's playing dirty, Zelda."
She whipped her head in his direction, "What did you just call me?"
"Oh shit," he cursed under his breath before both his hands ruffled his hair roughly, "I am sorry, Your Highness, that was disrespectful of me."
She laughed then, the sound so unknown to his ears that he felt compelled to look up and associate her laughter to her crinkled eyes and wide grin. "It's fine, really!" Zelda gasped in for breath after a moment or two, "Formalities can be tiring sometimes. I'm glad that you feel, ah, comfortable enough around me I call me by my name."
He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, "Well, I hope that from now on you'll drop the formalities as well."
"Only when we're alone, though. You know, I have an image to keep and all that stuff." Link chuckled at this and she quickly changed subjects before he could start again, "Why did you lock the goats away? It's only midday."
Link took her hand this time and ran his thumb gently on her knuckles, "One of the goats ran away just before you arrived. I had to gather them before another one could escape."
"I hope it doesn't get hurt." She whispered and kept her eyes focused on his fingers.
The Assassin moved his hand and laced his fingers with hers, though he could not say nor do anything more for he heard urgent footsteps approaching and had to drop her hand with a sorrowful gaze. "Link!" A man Zelda hadn't seen before was running in their direction, "Link, the kids went into the woods again!"
He turned and met his worried gaze, "Again?" And he was moving away from Zelda with each passing second. "Stay with Kalel and keep Princess Zelda entertained while I'm away."
Both Zelda and the nameless man watched as he mounted his horse and galloped away in a matter of seconds, leaving them alone with a heavy silence in the air. Her horse neighed in protest and made to follow the Assassin, but the man was quick enough to grab its reins and keep it in place. "Not so fast, boy, Epona is no match for you."
"Princess," he addressed her at the same time he offered her the reins, "I'm Rusl and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep you entertained for too long in this small town," he finished his sentence with an apologetic chuckle.
She smiled when he bowed shallowly and petted her horse's mane lovingly as she spoke, "We can start by drinking freshly milked goat milk, Rusl."
"Nice choice, Your Grace," he clapped his hands once and motioned her to follow him towards the pen.
::
::
It was already mid afternoon by the time Link convinced the kids to stop playing hide and seek with him and drag them back to the village. He sheathed the sword he had left near the ladder of his house for emergencies and pressed his fingers on his temples, praying that Zelda didn't die out of boredom.
She didn't, he was glad to say so; she was very much alive and mounted on her horse as she rode towards the hanging bridge he and the kids were currently crossing. He smiled apologetically at her and pulled Epona by the reins so they could get to her faster.
Before he could say something, though, one of the kids spoke up, "Are you Link's girlfriend?"
"Talo!" Link hissed and wished he was wearing his hood so he could hide his burning face.
Zelda merely brought a hand to her lips and giggled against her fingers before she motioned to the crown on her head with the same hand. "I am the Princess of Hyrule, and his friend."
"Princess?" The only girl in the group asked, eyes shining and hands clasped tightly before her chest. "When did you meet him, and Link, why didn't you tell us?" She directed the last question to him, looking in his direction with a glare to emphasize.
"Yeah! Why?" The same kid from earlier, Talo, asked loudly as he pumped his little fist into the air.
Link pointed at them, eyebrows drawn down as his voice faked indignation, "I don't have to say every little detail about my life to some kids!"
"She's the reason why you're always traveling, isn't she?" The girl inquired as she placed her hands on her hips. He looked up to the kids perched on Epona's back and said nothing. "Isn't she, Link?" She pressed further, now crossing her arms over her chest.
"Partially." Zelda answered which caught the attention of Link, the two talkative kids and the two quiet ones. "He helps me at the castle sometimes, with the horses in the stables. He also delivers goat milk to Castle Town, as well as Hyrule Castle."
"Link never said he visited the castle." The quiet blond kid in the back spoke up in an equally quiet voice. The Assassin met his gaze and smiled slightly with a shrug of his shoulders.
The princess pulled at the reins of her stallion so it would stay in place and would not approach Epona. "Link is a man full of secrets. I've been kept in the dark too, kids." Link pierced her with a playful glare and Zelda stuck out the tip of her tongue at him. "Well, I must get going. I have to be back at Castle Town before evening approaches."
Link petted her horse's nose briefly as he looked up at her. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you today."
"It's fine." She grinned, "I requested you to be the one who's going to deliver more milk in a few days. Stay over for tea and," she moved her gaze to the kids that were intently watching and listening to her, "bring the kids too."
Three of the four kids were clearly pleased by her invitation; the youngest one kept silent. Zelda shifted her gaze back at him and mouthed a goodbye to which he responded with the most beautiful smile she had seen him give her so far. The princess kicked her heels and urged the stallion to trot forward and carefully cross the bridge.
"Yeah, we're going to visit Link's girlfriend's castle!"
"Be quiet, Talo! And off my horse, the four of you!"
Zelda laughed openly and urged her horse to trot faster towards Hyrule Field as the kids groaned and hopped off Epona's back.