Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the lovely feedback. It makes an incredible difference to my day, and makes me far more eager to get the next installment out. For those of you looking for the more adult version of this chapter, the link is here (Remove the spaces): games. adultfanfiction. net ? no=600088365

Link was starting to be amazed at how quickly Zelda seemed to be able to pull herself together, from a nervous wreck to being calm and in control of herself again. Her breathing slowly levelled out and most of the tension left her body. "You going to be alright now?" he asked, his hands shifting to her shoulders, looking carefully at her eyes, only her face.

She nodded, rubbing her face briskly. While she was still flushed, he couldn't spot any sign of tears, and her face was composed again, if not relaxed. In a businesslike manner, she pulled her hair forwards over her shoulders. Much to Link's relief, it was just long enough to cover her breasts, the lowest curve was still visible if he were to crane his neck to look. He carefully didn't, but it was a relief not to panic when he accidentally glanced lower than her shoulders. Keeping his gaze above the waist was much easier than above her neck.

Zelda bit her lip briefly in thought, then turned to the bed, prompting Link to tilt his head hurriedly up to the ceiling to avoid seeing anything he shouldn't. "You can look now…" she said a few moments later, her voice actually tinted with amusement. He turned back to see her with the heavy quilt wrapped over her shoulders and around her waist. It wasn't a very practical garment, of course, but it was better than nothing, and Link clearly couldn't offer her anything of his. She smiled up at him. "Thank you, for preserving my dignity." At his clearly incredulous look, she chuckled, then amended, "Well, as much of it as possible. That was very gallant of you, Link."

He could feel his own cheeks reddening now as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'm sorry I froze like that…"

"Completely understandable," she said, setting one hand on his arm, the other holding her makeshift robe shut. "I'm sorry I snapped at you... I just couldn't stand the thought of it... of him..." she broke off with a shudder. "You know, I think I need to bathe. I'll be back in a while," she said, heading to the small room just off of the main one, closing the door behind her.

He could hardly blame her, he just hoped she'd be able to do what she needed to with the basin of tepid water and small cloth. He rather thought he'd need a full plunge in an icy river, or a long, long, scorching hot soak in the Goron hot springs to feel clean after what she'd just been through. Expecting her to be in there a while, Link took to wandering the room, studying it for any weaknesses, or at least for anything of interest.

As he'd expected, he'd made two full trips around the room and watched a new maid come in to drop off lunch by the time Zelda emerged. Her hair was damp at the ends and the skin he could see was pink from scrubbing, but she looked much more relaxed as Link turned from looking out the small window. She smiled openly when Link held up a meat roll and handful of berries, and came over to take her share of the food. After a bite, she sighed, "Now, that's better. All we need now is a good library and we could settle in for a pleasant afternoon."

Link stared at her for a moment, then laughed, surprised at how good it felt to laugh and what a relief it was that Zelda felt like telling a joke. Although there really wasn't much to occupy themselves with, the afternoon passed surprisingly well. They could see a surprising amount of the castle from their vantage point, and Zelda told him anything that came to mind about the different rooms and areas she could point out. Much of it had been destroyed by Midna and Ganon, but stone bricks could be reassembled, and the repairs were going quickly. He could almost forget the circumstances they were in, and was momentarily surprised when Zelda abruptly pulled away from the window and climbed onto the bed, flicking the quilt out and turning away from the door. He looked around to see what had startled her and saw the door creeping open for the delivery of their evening meal. Link picked up the flat breads with cold chicken slices and brought them over to the bed. She rolled over when she heard the door close, and looked up at Link. "Sorry… the rumors must be bad enough, and this would only make it worse." Being captives was damaging enough to public opinion, she didn't want them gossiping about her nakedness too.

Sitting up carefully against the wall, she pulled the quilt up with her and tucked her knees to her chest so Link could sit comfortably beside her without worrying about seeing anything he'd be embarrassed by. He sat down, passing her the food, feeling slightly awkward again. When they'd been looking out the window it had been easy to pretend she was wearing the blanket for warmth, but now, with her shoulders and arms bare…

It was too easy to remember the softness of her skin under his battle-worn fingers. And although he resolutely pushed the memories away, refusing to even think about how she'd looked, he still had to shift slightly away from her, looking steadily down at his food as he ate to get under control.

While she let him think he was sparing her feelings, that she hadn't noticed, Zelda had, of course. She'd seen the way he looked at her before, horrified at the circumstances but unable to help his body's enjoyment. And while he shifted ever-so-casually, she knew well what he was trying to hide. But he had his own pride as much as she had hers, and she was willing to let him believe he was sparing her dignity as well as his.

To change the subject, distract him as much as herself, she asked, "So, last night didn't you mention something about wrestling Gorons?" The question caught him so off guard that he turned to look at her in surprise, then grinned.

After managing to get a surprisingly lengthy anecdote out of him, they were both feeling more relaxed again. They managed to keep the conversation to light topics until the room was dark enough it was becoming hard to see. Zelda shifted so she was lying down against the wall again as they talked, and eventually Link lay beside her, right on the very edge, as far from accidentally touching her as he could get.

She made a sound that was almost a snort of laughter, and shifted on the bed, unwrapping herself from the quilt and tossing the end over him. "Relax, Link, it's too dark to see anything anyway, and I don't want you falling out of the bed in the middle of the night." He didn't answer her, but she did hear him shift to a more comfortable position after a moment, and the quilt shifted as he moved more properly under it. The room wasn't icy cold, but it was cool to sleep without any sort of covering… and he wasn't fully clothed either. "There, better? Goodnight," she said, reaching out to brush his shoulder. She felt his fingertips briefly touch hers, then he settled on his side to sleep.

There were hands on her, horribly familiar, too-large, not truly there hands. She was back in that awful, not-quite world, where her spirit had gotten trapped after losing her mortal body, and that burning, powerful mind snagged her and pulled her out. The touch of Ganondorf's magic was a unique, unpleasant sensation on her unguarded soul, making her feel filthy and violated before he even did more than anchor her spirit in place for her body to painstakingly reform. And then, once she was fixed in place and unable to move, her spirit still horribly weak from expending her life to save Midna, he began to play.

The worst of it was, she knew what he would do before he did it, because this had already happened. She expected the hands to form, and it was worse when they did, moving inexorably towards her spirit self. She felt the caress, more intimate, more violating than it would be on a physical body, worse because she had no body to pull away, no voice to protest, no hands to push his back. He imagined her body to be and so it was, and she was helpless to keep his mind, his body away from hers, his weight was oppressive, his magic overpowering. The invasion of her mind-body-spirit was just as horrifying as she knew it would be, as she remembered it being. She abruptly knew she was dreaming and it didn't help in the slightest, trapped in the dream as she had been in that awful not-life. She was struggling to scream, trying to push him away from the unbearable, filthy pain and intrusion… she could hear Ganondorf's rich, deep voice whispering her name over and over again as he violated her mind…

"Zelda!" Abruptly Link's voice cut through the nightmare, the feeling of his hands on her shoulders banishing the shadowy visions and feeling of Ganondorf's oppressive presence. She gasped, and reached blindly for him, sitting up and throwing her arms around his chest, her body wracked with sobs. After a moment, she felt Link shift slightly to a more comfortable position and he wrapped his own arms around her, pulling her gently against him. "What happened? You were screaming in your sleep…"

"It was… he was…" she started, stuttering over her own words. She took a deep breath and started over. "It was a nightmare. I was remembering being trapped by Ganondorf… when I was… after I healed Midna…" At least she devoutly hoped it was just a dream. Her skin was crawling with the memory, her mind still felt his slimy touch, and she wouldn't put it past him to have been using magic to play with her memories in her sleep.

"It's okay. It's done now, you're fine," he said, holding her, his chin resting on top of her head. "What did he do to you to make you scream like that?"

Zelda was silent for a while before answering. "I… it's a hard question to answer. I'm not entirely sure what exactly he did, so much of that time is vague. Time doesn't have the same meaning when you're out of your body… but he snared my mind out of the nether regions like a fish out of water, and I was so… so completely helpless…" she broke off again, just concentrating on breathing.

She felt his lips on her forehead, heard him murmur, "Don't worry, forget I asked. Just try and relax, calm down."

"I can't," she said firmly, trying to ignore the tremor in her voice. "Because he's going to do it again." She knew it as absolutely as she knew the sun would rise in the morning. "And I'm not going to be able to stop him any more this time than I was then," Her voice was bitter, but resigned.

"There's got to be something we can do… some way we can get out of here, stop him…" he said, his arms tightening protectively around her.

"You know there isn't just as well as I do," Zelda said flatly. However, if she couldn't prevent the inevitable, she could at least try and do it on her own terms. "Link…" she said softly. "I… I think I need to ask you to do something…"

"Anything," he said instantly, with the same determined courage that had served him well, but also gotten him into trouble.

She smiled slightly despite herself. "You really shouldn't be so quick to agree to everything. I need you to… would you… Goddess, how do I even phrase this… Link, you aren't still a virgin, are you?" She wasn't sure if she could ask him to do what she needed if he was. Nobody should have their first experience like this, in these awful, forced circumstances.

From the way he froze, she knew she'd taken him by surprise. Much to her relief, he replied a moment later with, "No, I'm not…" While she could hear the tinge of reluctance and embarrassment in his voice, she couldn't feel a lie in his words.

"Good." She said firmly. "Because if I'm going to become his… his plaything, I'm not going to go as some pristine, celibate maiden." Before Link could protest, or before she started imagining Ganondorf's haunting, hair-raising touch again, she shifted to her knees, turning to face him. Her hands slid up from his chest, resting lightly on his cheeks. It was too dark to see more than his vague outline, although the dim light from her Triforce showed her at least the barest hint of his nose, a trace of his hair, and then she was too close to see anything anyways, her lips pressing softly against his.

He froze again, too shocked even to breathe. After a moment she kissed him again, more firmly this time, and was relieved to feel his mouth responding to hers, if only briefly. He pulled away from her slightly, his hands on her shoulders. "Zelda… are you sure about this? I don't want…. You've been put in some awful situations, I don't want to take advantage…" His voice was soft, barely more than a whisper, but she could still hear the roughness in it, the desire.

"I'm completely sure," she said firmly, shifting a leg over his so she was kneeling across his lap. "I want you before he ever has a chance to touch me." While a good monarch couldn't afford to waste all her time dallying with people, she'd had a couple of pleasant, if mild, experiences before Ganondorf took her captive and expanded her horizons so brutally. She wanted to have something good to cling to, a positive, caring, thoroughly enjoyable experience to wipe the slate clean of the memories of her incarceration, and she was determined to get it. "Please, Link…"

Whether it was her words or the way she pressed her body against his, her lips brushing lightly over his ear, Link abruptly decided to stop questioning her. She gasped softly as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight to him. He tilted his head slightly, kissing her first on the lips, then the side of her mouth, her jaw, working his way down her neck. Her hand trailed slowly up his back, into his hair, encouraging him.

Link was relieved to feel her contented sigh, her fingers in his hair. It's true that this wasn't his first time… but it was only his second. The widowed innkeeper he'd chased some brigands off for, what seemed like years ago, had been so grateful she'd decided to keep his bed warm that night. While she'd been experienced enough to ensure he got a thorough grounding in what she liked, Link hadn't had the chance to try it with anyone else until now. Although… while the circumstances were hardly what he'd have liked, he couldn't imagine someone he'd rather touch. Everyone in Hyrule was at least half in love with the wildly popular head of state, and that was before he'd actually gotten to know her.

She could sense his slight hesitation, but also his growing enthusiasm. When his hand slipped around to cup her breast, she let out a soft moan, her fingers tugging on his hair slightly, her other hand running down his back. Apparently taking that as a good sign, his fingers started to slowly rub the soft flesh, stroking over her smooth skin.

He continued to explore her body with both hands and lips, growing bolder as she responded encouragingly. While Zelda enjoyed the soft, almost worshipful caresses, she was starting to grow impatient, wanting more from him, needing to chase away the nightmares. She kissed him thoroughly, her tongue brushing over his lips, teasing them apart.

Slowly, she eased him backwards to the bed, pulling away from the kiss, her hands running slowly down his chest. Link tried to reach for her, then his arms dropped back to the bed with a soft, incredulous curse as he felt her hands sliding his pants off, leaving him as bare as she was.

She was back on top of him then, kissing him again, her fingers caressing lightly over his length. He moaned with pleasure, amazed at how much better her hand felt than his own ever had. His own hands caressed down her luscious curves, over the smooth, perfect shape of her hips, pausing when he felt the slick folds of her entrance.

Zelda sensed his hesitation, and said in a soft, breathless voice, "Yes, Link, right there…" Emboldened, he caressed over her core, his fingers exploring, rubbing, searching for what made her whimper with pleasure or exclaim with delight. He was fascinated enough to continue indefinitely, but she crawled forwards abruptly, guiding him into her with one hand as she sank onto his length.

Link let out a groan of pure animal pleasure, as Zelda sheathed him with a contented sigh. This is what she needed, she thought to herself as she started to move on him. This was chasing away the shadows, the fear. Although Link would have been content with her riding him until morning came, eventually she lay herself back, pulling him upright. As he carefully, gently slid into her, Zelda moaned with delight, her back arching, his hands holding her hips against his.

He was gentle with her, even as his thrusts sped up and his need grew. Zelda writhed with pleasure under him, and resisted his attempts to pull away from her body. "Fertility, or the lack of it… is just another aspect of healing, Link… I want you… I need you inside me…" That was all the encouragement he needed, and he leaned over her with a moan of pure animal pleasure, burying his face against her neck, lips and teeth and tongue all pressing against her skin in a desperate kiss before he slumped against her, breathing heavily, exhausted with pleasure.

Eventually he stirred, kissing her neck softly, then shifting up enough to kiss her mouth, his lips less hungry now, but no less enjoyable for that fact. He slowly slid out of her with a groan, pulled her around so her head was on the pillow beside his, and curled up against her, one arm draped over her waist. She pressed happily back against him, having no doubts that she'd sleep well until morning now. Tomorrow would bring what it will, but tonight was hers, hers and Link's.