Link, as had been the case at the Springs of Courage and Power, stood by the edge of the sacred pond, his back turned and The Master Sword held in front of him in its sheath, point down to the ground.
It was the posture dictated by the King. A compromise that allowed for the Princess' appointed knight to be there, ready to act if the enemy was bold enough to invade the Holy Grounds of the Springs, while not intruding on Princess Zelda's prayers to the Goddess and compromising her privacy as little as possible.
Link was focusing on ambient noise as well as he could. Anything but the Princess' voice as she went through her practiced recitations. She'd move on to more personal, improvised pleas afterward, if the scripted prayers didn't yield any result.
Those more sincere prayers were the ones Link was trying not to listen in on. He'd failed THAT miserably last time, at the Spring of Power, and had ended up doing the unthinkable: he'd turned around and looked straight at the distraught princess while she was still waist deep in the sacred water. There had been tears in her voice, her frustration and fears boiling over in spite of the amount of control she usually imposed on herself to not ever let those feelings show, and in the moment, concern had overtaken his senses.
She had heard him. She'd gone quiet, turned her head to look back at him, and to Link's horror, apologized for her outburst. He'd babbled something or other, apologized for intruding, and turned back, mortified.
He didn't want to put her through that again. He should not have been paying attention to her voice, he should not have noticed. An invisible presence was what was required of him when she prayed. It wasn't like he could bring her any comfort – although she no longer resented him for it, he was still a living reminder of her struggles.
Therefore, he stood with his back to her and listened to everything but her. Or tried to.
Her sobs cut right through his focus and resolution. He winced and clasped the handle of the Master Sword's handle harder. He was the last person she needed.
The sobs intensified into full on crying, along with splashing as the Princess punched the water around her.
Link discarded the notion that he was the worst person to comfort her. He was the one who was here, he had to try.
He dropped the sword and ran into the water to her. She turned and collapsed into his arms, shaking. He held her, not knowing what to say, not knowing what else to do. Her prayers going unanswered again was not good news, there was no denying that. With the calamity growing closer and closer, the need for the Princess to come into her power was urgent.
She eventually grew quieter and quieter. "I am simply not worthy," she croaked. "I truly am the failure they say I am. All my prayers, all my devotion, are merely gestures that cannot possibly compensate for who and what I am. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Link. I'm failing you, I'm failing my father, I will be the cause of the destruction of Hyrule! And I will be the end of you!"
"That's not true, Princess," Link said. Had she just put losing him on the same level as losing the Kingdom? She couldn't have. He needed to stop fantasizing and to focus. She didn't deserve this pain. "Your power will awaken when it's needed. I'm sure of it."
She laughed, a bitter sound empty of any joy. "Either that, or I will perish at that time."
Link's heart skipped a bit. That was definitely not an acceptable option. "I won't let that happen," he said.
She moved her head back enough to look at him. "I... I know," she said. "I'm sorry. I keep putting you in the most awkward of positions. I should... I should follow your example, and not burden others with my problems."
She pulled away from him and stood. He averted his eyes but spoke. "I would gladly take that burden."
There was that line between courage and recklessness crossed yet again. He was speaking so out of turn that she had every right to have him flayed.
She sighed. "Of course you would. Because unlike me, YOU are the best Hyrule has to offer!"
He heard some splashing as she left the water. He turned the opposite way to resume his proper position on the bank. He couldn't do anything more for her, as much as he longed to. It was best to bring her back to their friends – they may be better able to help.
"I simply don't understand why you think I could be worth saving," she suddenly said from the far bank. "Link... if because of me, we cannot save the Kingdom, you'll no longer owe me any loyalty. I would argue that you hardly do now."
"Nobody else ever asked me why I was so quiet," Link said. Reckless. Far too reckless. Mipha was right, he really couldn't help himself.
A bird sang. The water in the spring gurgled. Hylia was as silent as ever.
"I was merely trying to get to know you better," Zelda said. "To strengthen our bond."
Link clenched his hands on the Master Sword and forced himself to keep his head still. The urge to blurt out exactly what he meant was getting stronger, but it was out of the question. The Princess had enough problems as it was, he didn't need to add to them by declaring to her and forcing her to deal with his entirely inappropriate feelings.
"You did," he said. And immediately felt his cheeks flare. That was not much better than a declaration, it was too much, it was beyond disrespectful, it was...
"I have good reasons to believe I am at fault," Zelda said in a coarse whisper. "Before, I was resentful and I was allowing myself to wallow in self pity. And now... now my dedication is divided. I pray for the power to save Hyrule, but my heart desires the power to save you even more, for entirely selfish reasons. I still wish to strengthen our bond, ever further."
Link turned to face her so fast he nearly dropped the sword again. He was more than likely reading more into her words than he should. His own feelings were affecting his judgment.
Zelda was looking at the water between them, hands joined in front of her heart.
"Perhaps my sins might be forgiven, if I fully admitted them to the Goddess," she said. She raised her eyes then, and finding his, smiled sadly. She bent down and picked up a pebble.
Link's heart started hammering. When he'd read up on this shrine and the various rules surrounding it, he'd come across a decree that forbid anyone from taking anything from the Spring and the immediate area around it, unless it was to give to the one person they wanted to bond their souls to. His thoughts on it at the time had been divided: on one hand, he'd immediately felt intensely jealous of anyone in a position to do such a thing. On the other, it seemed more like something a mortal would come up with than a deity, which just made it arbitrary.
Zelda was walking in the water again, towards him. He put his sword back on his back and walked in the water too as if in a dream. When he reached her, she reached for his hand and deposited the pebble in it. It was smooth like a pearl, about the size of half a thumb, and a soft grey in color, nearly perfectly uniform.
"My duty to Hyrule will always come first." She was staring at the pebble. "Always, I will carry my duty, even if it is at the cost of you. But, Goddess forgive me, it would cost me my heart and soul and I would weep through it." She looked up, locking eyes with him. "Link. The same sense of duty draws the truth out of me now. Even though you offered to share my burdens, I tried to spare you this one. But I am divided. Even if I would never choose my own interests, or yours, over my Kingdom, I would wish to. I confess here before Her Grace Hylia that I love you, with all my heart. And in the name of this love I implore you, if it is unwelcomed, state so."
Link felt tears well up in his eyes. He felt too full of emotions, as if he was going to explode from it, and what little he could let out of his eyes didn't seem to be making a difference. She loved him. She had just given him something she was only allowed to give to her soulmate. She loved him.
Not in his wildest dreams would he have imagined the feelings he'd developed for her returned. He tried to speak. The words refused to come out. Her hand was still on his, so he gently lifted it to his lips and kissed her wrist, eyes still locked on her.
She smiled, and for one moment, the coming calamity was forgotten.