Zelda shook her head and slowly opened her eyes. The moon was shining in through the double doors, lighting the room. She could faintly hear Ella giggling in her crib, and a soft, barely audible voice talking to her. Since the baby was born, Zelda'd taken to sleeping in her future room, to nurse her. Bertrand had reluctantly begun to patch up his trust of the queen, and Zelda had, with great difficulty, hung onto her promise to not seek after Link.
Zelda shuffled and sat up, smoothing her hair back out of her face with her fingers, and she studied the hunched down figure that was next to the crib. Not Bertrand, he rarely ever played with his daughter. Zelda didn't know if it was because it was a girl and not a boy, or if it was because the girl had curly strawberry blond hair and solemn blue eyes. She slipped out of the bed and padded over to the crib, crouching down next to Link. His beard had gotten longer, and he looked tired. "She's pretty," he muttered.
Zelda lowered her gaze. "Thank you."
Ella giggled and smiled at Link, grabbing his one finger with her chubby fist. He sucked in a deep breath and smiled brightly; it lit up his whole face and brought tears to his eyes. "Hello, pretty girl…" he crooned in a low voice.
Zelda scooted back a few feet and stood. Her lower back ached, and Ella would need a feeding soon. "You can pick her up," she said softly.
Link scooped her up with both hands and straightened, holding her and rocking her gently. Ella stared up at him with her huge eyes. He paced in the room, talking softly and gently tickling under her chin. Zelda sat back down on the bed and looked away. It was touching to see him so affectionate. "Beautiful," he muttered, kissing Ella's forehead. Ella giggled and squealed in excitement. Zelda rubbed her mouth with one hand. She'd always known, from the minute Ella was born and had no reaction for Bertrand, that she was not his child.
"Where've you been?" Zelda asked softly. Link turned back towards her, rocking Ella, who'd fallen quite asleep.
"All over. The ocean… other countries." He gently set Ella back down in her crib and covered her with a blanket, sitting next to Zelda on the bed and looking at her. "How've you been?"
Zelda smirked bitterly. "I hate my life. I hate… my marriage. I … like my husband, I love my daughter, but the rest… nothing. It doesn't mean much to me anymore."
Link didn't have to ask her why. Instead, he looked down at his hands. They sat in an uncomfortable, stifled silence for a few minutes, and Zelda sat there, desperately wishing that he would push her down and handle her how he used to, kissing her and biting. "I should go," he replied with a sigh, getting up off the bed.
Zelda watched him, tears in her eyes. "Link… come back soon. I think she'd like to see more of you."
He stopped and turned back to look at her. "I'll try."
She thanked him quietly, watching as he left through the balcony. Zelda took a deep breath to control herself; she hadn't felt this upset in a while, but really she hadn't felt anything in months. Even if her heart was breaking all over again, she was happy to feel it.
-
It was years later. Ella was a young woman. As Zelda watched her grow, she could see how much her daughter was nothing like Bertrand. She was an excellent shot with a bow, a master with a sword, and her interest strayed towards hunting and fishing as opposed to embroidery and waltzes. And said husband had never really latched on to his alleged daughter. Zelda never asked her daughter if she had ever seen a figure sneak into her room at night, and Ella never brought it up. As her time for proper courting and engagement grew near, Zelda took more and more time staring at the hidden rings, that she'd moved to her bedside dresser in the room she now shared with Bertrand.
"Mother?"
Zelda looked up, holding the box in her hands. Ella hesitated near the doorway, looking at her uncertainly.
"Come in, sweetheart." Zelda moved over on the bed, and Ella walked in, sitting next to her mother. She eyed the wooden box curiously.
"What's in there?"
Zelda opened it and showed Ella the carefully-polished rings that still gleamed like new inside of the box. "These are… a family heirloom. When you marry, I want these to be your wedding rings."
Ella took one ring out, looking it over. "They're nice… why don't you wear them?"
Zelda cleared her throat, feeling uncomfortable. "Because they're for you." She smiled, glad of that save. The last thing Ella needed to know was the truth about her father.
Ella nodded and put the ring on her thumb, flexing. It was a little tight, but she smiled. "Thank you, mother."
Zelda hugged Ella and kissed her forehead. "Go get ready for dinner, dear."
-
He was there.
Link watched Ella grow up outside, lurking in the woods near her play area. He watched her aim grow sharper, her arm stronger. It was hard to not help her, to not be by her side and show her how to hold the bow properly. At least Zelda had indulged her daughter's peculiar interests, enlisting the second best teachers in the country. She could not hire the first; Bertrand would not have allowed it.
-
Ella smiled, sitting with her new husband and holding his hands, giggling. Zelda and Bertrand sat on either side of the married couple, picking at their food.
"Come, dance with me," Ella's husband urged, standing up and taking her hand. She laughed and ran with him to the hall floor.
Zelda watched them dancing, feeling tears in her eyes. "I'm going for air," she sighed, straightening and going to the balcony. She folded her arms and stared out at the snowy landscape, chewing her lower lip. At least Ella was happy, and found someone she actually wanted to be with.
"Don't look so sad," murmured a low voice. Link sat on the balcony. Zelda closed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head.
"You're still haunting me," Zelda replied, shaking her head.
Link snorted. "I'm the one visiting you. I just can't stay away." He climbed down off the balcony and walked over to her, touching her cheek.
Zelda turned her head away sharply. "Don't, please." All the old memories, the fire, the pleasure, came rolling back.
"I want to dance with the bride, one more time," he said with a smile. Zelda shook her head, smiling, and Link brushed past her. She turned and watched as he approached Ella. She smiled uncertainly, and nodded, but there was something in her face. Ella knew him. Maybe she didn't consciously recognize him, but she knew.
Zelda glanced over to Bertrand. He didn't look happy, but the good man that he was—he remained seated, clutching his wine goblet tightly with one hand. Ella danced with Link with a smile, shy but polite. When the dance ended, Link kissed her hand and headed back out to the balcony. "She's a beautiful girl."
Zelda nodded her agreement. "She's a lot like her father."
Link slowed down. "Does she know?"
"I haven't told her."
"Mm." He looked back at Ella, who had rejoined her husband in a dance. "Well. Maybe I'll come by again, some time."
He climbed over the balcony railing and gripped onto the rough surface, climbing down. Zelda watched his escape, watched as he ran off on his horse.
"Mother?"
Zelda turned and smiled at her daughter. "What is it?"
"Who was that man?"
"That… was an old friend of mine."
Ella tilted her head slightly and smiled curiously. "Do I… know him?"
"You met him when you were very young." Zelda put a hand on Ella's shoulder and squeezed, smiling, before looking down at her thumbs. She smiled at the matching rings. "Ella… are you happy?"
Ella laughed in confusion. "W… well yes, mother. Sebastien is very kind to me, and… he's warm, and I love him, mother. Isn't that what matters?"
Zelda nodded, tears in her eyes. "Yes darling. That's the most important thing." She kissed her daughter's forehead and patted her shoulder. "Go back to Sebastien."
Ella turned to do so, and Zelda stared back out towards the snowy landscape, watching a dark figure on horseback get further and further away.