"I have to go," she whispered to his chin.
Link was silent for several minutes, stroking her shoulder with his knuckles. "I know," he murmured in reply.
Zelda was exhausted, but it was midday already, and she did not know how long Bertrand's mercy would hold out. Best she return home, wash up, and maybe lay with him later that evening. Her skin crawled at the thought. It felt like a betrayal to everything she and Link had together. She squeezed his hand tight, kissing his fingers. "I will return as soon as I am allowed to return."
Link frowned. "As soon as you are allowed to? But you are the queen."
"And I have a duty to my people to act as one, by being at the castle." She reluctantly pulled from his hands, gathering her clothes up. Link helped her dress, his rough fingertips grazing on her skin.
"Send me a letter," he whispered.
"Can you read?" She regretted it immediately, because Link's eyes snapped a quick fire with the insult.
"Of course I do. Why would I ask you to send a letter if I didn't?" He turned away, getting his pants and a shirt and dressing, his back to Zelda.
Zelda reached out to tell him that she wasn't trying to insult him, but she dropped her hand and sighed heavily, rustling from the bedroom and to the door. She didn't look back as she walked out, not knowing that Link watched her go.
"You're back quite soon," Bertrand said in surprise when Zelda walked into the castle.
Zelda looked back at him in equal shock. "Well, I supposed that…" She rubbed her arms with her hands, feeling lost and out of place. "I… sleep better here." Not totally wrong; she did not have Link lying with her, tempting her to spend every second of their togetherness in sex. She bowed her head to her husband and slipped off to bathe, alone.
She soaked in a full tub, a wide circle with a small fire underneath to heat the water. Her hair hung out of the water, silky and wet, having carefully combed it out. Zelda sighed, her sore body relaxing in the water. She closed her eyes, fully intending to nap in the tub. A gentle creak of the floorboards; she raised one eyebrow, but left her eyes closed. Another creak, and she honestly grew suspicious; but it was too late when Link was splashing into the bath, grinning devilishly at her, pulling her close by her legs and tickling the back of her thighs. Zelda laughed and kicked. "You cheeky rogue! How dare you interrupt a woman in the privacy of a bath!"
Link laughed in response and kissed her wet neck, licking the warm skin at her collar. "I suppose you were hoping to be clean after this," he growled, biting her neck savagely.
"How much longer are you planning to lie?" Ruto studied Zelda, who stared into her cup miserably. "Zelda?"
The Hylian looked up and studied Ruto. "Honestly?"
"Well, obviously." Ruto took a sip of her drink, narrowing her eyes.
"As long as I can," Zelda replied. "I love him, Ruto. And no amount of… no noble marriage that I could have could change that."
Ruto nodded and sighed. "How many months until the wedding?"
"Five."
Ruto looked up. "Does Link know?"
Zelda lowered her cup into its saucer harder than she expected. "Of course he knows. I told him so that he would understand why… why I will have to end it." She felt a lump bob in her throat at the thought.
Ruto reached across the small corner of the table and took Zelda's hand, holding it and giving it a squeeze. "He'll understand. No matter how much it hurts."
Link lit his pipe and paced his house again. He hadn't meant to snap at her. His heart was worn out from this constant push and pull, and the endless waiting. Link had never done well at waiting. He had to be doing something at almost all times. Zelda didn't know why he took up smoking, but it was because the motions of filling and lighting a pipe gave him something to do while he waited for her. Waited for her to finish her breakfast, to finish in the bath, to finish crying about her undesired husband-to-be.
And now he had to wait for her letter, wait for her return. He paced around the house twice. The letter would take a few days to come through. He would find something to do until then.
Zelda smiled kindly at Bertrand, and he noticed with a sinking heart how she had calmed. She chatted politely with him about minor concerns over the country. "Any trouble from the reports today?" she asked softly.
"No, no, the… reports were surprisingly good, today."
Zelda raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Oh? That's… a relief." They sat awkwardly for a few minutes, before separately resuming their dinners.
Bertrand had paced around the house, wondering when Zelda would return. He should have given her a time limit, so that he would know when she was destined to return. A few days? Would that have been long enough? He was surprised at her restraint, when she was back the next day before dinner. And horrified at how content she became. He would never be able to match the man that inspired that reaction in her.
She climbed into bed with him, unrequested, and curled against his back, kissing his neck and shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear.
Bertrand cleared his throat. "Just trying to make you happy," he replied in a choked tone. Zelda kissed him again, reaching up and curling her fingers into his hair. A part of her didn't want to do this; how foolish could it be? She didn't love him, and wouldn't something like this only hurt him more?
"Let me make you happy," she replied, wrapping her arms around him.
Bertrand sighed. "The only way you could do that is to stop seeing him."
Zelda pulled back and rolled over onto her back, closing her eyes and exhaling deeply. She did not have the courage to tell him that would never happen. They lay there in silence, estranged husband and wife. Bertrand turned to her and reached out, putting his hand on her breast and squeezing. Zelda shivered. Bertrand pulled her close and climbed overtop of her, kissing her mouth. She tasted and felt the same as she did on their wedding night, before he knew this horrible secret. Zelda made a soft noise and put her hands up in his hair.
They made love, but it felt false to her. Bertrand rested his cheek on her chest, listening to her heart. She ran her fingers through his hair and stared up at the ceiling, blinking away a few tears. She'd cried so much lately, it felt like she was either crying or fighting lately. There were more bags under her eyes, and Link's love bruises took longer to heal. She ate little. Zelda kissed the top of Bertrand's head, and laid awake until dawn, her husband snoring on her chest.