Zelda tried, Goddesses know that she did. She coupled with Bertrand often, inciting him into passion with a gentle bite on his ear, or a frisky wink. But the more she seduced him with these meaningless little gestures, the less honest she felt. When they were together, she dug her nails in and made all the little noises of pleasure that she felt sufficed, but it made little difference. When he was hunched over her, groaning and thrusting, she let her eyes close and remembered the way Link moved over her, rougher, faster, more into the act. He became an animal when they were in bed, fierce and savage, biting at her skin, but having to do so below her neck, so that her father wouldn't see a mark and grow suspicious.
"Run away with me."
"What?" Zelda looked over at Link in surprise.
He looked dead serious though, his hands behind his head. "Come away with me, Zelda. We'll go somewhere else for a little while, build a little home. I'll teach you how to farm." He chuckled a bit at the last part.
Zelda shook her head. "Link, you know I can't do that. I have to stay, for my country." He sighed, his grin fading, and rolled away. Zelda looked over his back, at the scratches she left, red and raw. "If I could leave with you, I would in a heartbeat," she murmured, rolling and cuddling up against his back, lightly kissing one of the red welts. "But I need to stay."
He rolled back over to face her, and pulled her close so that their skin rubbed together in all the right places. "You're going to forget me some day, when you're so busy with pregnancy an' running the country," he muttered. Great, Link was having one of his moods.
Zelda pulled him closer, against her breasts. "I'll never be able to forget you. You're amazing. You're my hero."
Link scooted up, resting his head on the pillow next to her face. He gently thumbed a red mark on her shoulder from his own teeth, smirking briefly when he saw it. "We just love to claw each other up, don't we?"
Zelda looked at the mark as best she could, and then back at him. "Yes, I guess so."
He pulled her close, kissing her neck lightly, exhaling a deep breath. "You're beautiful."
Zelda stroked Bertrand's hair. "Thank you." She kissed him gently. But she just couldn't connect with him, neither physically nor mentally. For now, she held him, closing her eyes and trying not to dwell on her loss, the only thing she really wanted.
"Tell me something about yourself that no one else knows."
Link kissed her shoulder, his arms wrapped around her waist and holding her hostage in his lap as they stared out the window at the dawning sky. "That I'm happy," he muttered in her ear.
Zelda shook her head. "Come on. Something real, a secret."
Link raised his eyebrows and nodded, thinking it over. "Hm… When I was younger, living with the Kokiri, I never felt like I was one of them. I was closest to Saria, to be sure, but even then I had… a detachment from them. I sort've always knew that I wasn't one of them, even before I was told I was a Hylian. But I played along, even when I felt alone, because I thought it was normal."
Zelda turned her head to look back at him. "Have you felt connected to anyone now?"
He chuckled and nudged her with his shoulder. "Well yeah, I mean, there's you, for the obvious answer." She nodded, satisfied with this, and turned her head back towards the window, burrowing deeper in the blanket they'd dragged to the chair from the bedroom. "What about you?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. What sort of great secrets does the Princess Zelda hold from her champion?" He kissed the nape of her neck, where her hair ended, and she shivered, but she knew the answer in a heartbeat.
"I don't want to marry Bertrand. I'd much rather my father find someone else to rule Hyrule after him, instead of me. Especially now."
Link held her tight, giving her a squeeze.
"It's not that he isn't cordial or kind. I just… he isn't a very interesting person to me." She put one of her hands over Link's. He sighed and rested his cheek in the curve of her neck.
"Breakfast?" Bertrand asked her in the morning, the sun catching in his hair and turning it a deep auburn, as opposed to the usual dark brown. Zelda looked at it. She could appreciate that it was beautiful but she just. Didn't. Care.
"I… actually, there's something I have to do today," she replied in a low voice. Her stomach rolled.
Bertrand looked up at her with a worried frown. "What would that be?"
Zelda sat up. Eight months since she'd seen him, two months she'd been more willing to couple with Bertrand, and it hadn't changed a damn thing inside of her. "Something I've been wanting to do for ages," she whispered back in a choked tone.
Bertrand sat up and grabbed her arm. "Zelda, don't do this. Please, you promised you wouldn't."
Zelda looked back at him, tears in her eyes. "You said you loved me. If you do, would you just let me go do this one thing? My heart is breaking without him, Bertrand! I'm sorry I can't love you like I love him. Please, just let me go."
Bertrand stared at her, sighing. "Alright." He let go of her arm and turned away.
Zelda watched him for a minute longer, hesitating, before she ran and pulled on her bedroom robe, her heart pounding in her throat. Bertrand did not look at her again, even as she slipped out of the bedroom and put on her riding shoes, dashing out to the stables and through the morning fog. Her horse was surprised at how early she was slipping out to the stables, especially as Zelda had not bothered with her in so long. She climbed on without bothering with the saddle or reins, as her horse knew the path to Link's.
And they raced; thundering over the ground, Zelda eager, hoping with all her heart that he was there, curled up in bed with his pipe, waiting patiently for her return.
The ride was longer than it had ever been because of her impatience. Her poor horse was foamy when they finally arrived at the little cottage. Zelda slipped off her back and ran to the door, pushing it open. "Link!" she cried, stopping and looking around. No sign of him in the kitchen; the coals were heaped in the hearth. He heart was pounding again, but for a different reason. Was he gone? Had she missed him? She crept through the house, to his bedroom, and peered in. No one. Zelda shook her head. He'd left, as easily as she came here. Well of course he wasn't going to wait around after seeing her at her wedding. What would be the point? She rubbed her arms with her hands and shook her head, staring down at the floor. "Fool," she muttered, closing her eyes so the tears wouldn't fall. Something creaked behind her, and she whipped around to face the door.
Link stood there, one foot in, two smallish rabbits held in one hand by the ears. He looked at Zelda unknowingly for a few minutes. It'd been so long since her presence was in the house that he convinced himself she was a ghost, a hallucination. They stared at each other across the room for several minutes, Link cautiously stepping up and into the house, quickly going to the counter near the sink and getting a knife and chopping block, starting to skin the rabbits. Great; she was still haunting him.
Zelda walked over cautiously, reaching out and putting one hand on Link's. "Hey," she whispered.
He stopped and looked at her again, closer this time. "You're really here?" he asked with disbelief.
Shyly, Zelda nodded. "At least, I believe I am."
He stopped skinning his dinner and turned, pulling her close by her waist and kissing her once, gently, on the lips. Zelda sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing into his body. She was aching for him, desperate for his attentions. Link forced her away, holding her out at arm's length. "What about your king?" he asked in a low voice.
Zelda shook her head. "He let me go, to be here with you."
Link stepped back, leaning against the counter. "Zelda, it wouldn't be right." She stared helplessly. "You shouldn't be here," he muttered, looking at his boots.
Zelda threw her hands up in the air, and stomped one foot on the floor. "Link!" He looked up at her with a frown. "We do not care about what is right by the law! We care about what is right in our hearts! And what is right for us is that we be with you when we can!"
Link stared. She'd rarely ever used the royal 'We', unless in a passion or a righteous anger. He pushed himself away from the counter, brushing by her. "If you hadn't come back, this wouldn't be as hard as it is," he muttered angrily, pacing. "I am trying to do the right thing and let you go!"
Zelda tried to stop his frantic pacing. "Link, I love you. I cannot stay away while I feel this way for you. I tried, for months I tried, and it was the worst hell I had ever experienced."
He looked at her, ceasing in his brisk path. "Zelda." It was too easy to return to her, the familiarity of her mouth and the softness of her skin under his hands. He held her by the shoulders, kissing her deeply and moving his mouth downwards to bite at her collarbone, hard enough to leave a mark. Zelda shivered and gripped his arms, digging her nails into his skin.