Sorry this one took a little more time than the past have. School seems to get in the way some times...
Enjoy!
Time was a fascinating thing. How can one day seem longer than another, when they are, by definition, the same amount of time? How could an hour pass without realizing it? How could a week feel like an eternity?
A whole week passed before Link saw Zelda again. This was by Link's design, of course. He had been summoned three times for lunch, but declined each time. He put the blame on how much work he had to do. This was true, of course, but Link was sure he could make the time if he wanted. But he didn't want to be around Zelda. He thought that a week or so with focus on work would help him get over her.
He was mistaken. While immersed in work, Link could successfully distract himself from too-frequent thoughts of Zelda, but he was kidding himself if he thought it made him love her less. It made his non-working hours miserable, and it made his work less enjoyable than it otherwise might have been.
Nonetheless, it had been his hope. When the week dragged on for years, he determined complete avoidance would not be the solution. Besides, he needed to discuss certain issues with her.
"Link!" the Queen said happily when he entered her workroom. It was furnished with a large desk situated in the middle of the room, chairs on either side of the desk, one for her, and several on the other side for those she met with.
Link sat and gazed around the room. His feet rested on a comfortable rug, while the walls were adorned with beautiful art. The windows let in the sunlight to highlight the beauty of the room. Link smirked as he thought of his own workspace: a single, small room—its own building—off to the side of the training fields. It was plain, with no art, stone floors, and windows that were not clear enough to allow in adequate light.
"Queen," Link responded.
Zelda scoffed. "Oh, Link. Don't you dare call me that. I would think our relationship is stronger than these titles, don't you?"
Link smiled and nodded, but inwardly scowled. She would not make it easy for Link to distance himself and try to keep a professional relationship with her. Link had hoped that if his friendship with Zelda took a step backwards to make room for their new duties, his feelings would diminish. But now he realized Zelda might not let that happen too easily. With the constant invitations to lunch and now the warm greeting, Link didn't see an easy way out. And for that, half of him was grateful.
"So, tell me how you've been, Link."
Link hesitated for a moment. The answer to her question briefly popped into his mind. Miserable. It felt like he was falling from a great height—scary, endless, and with his stomach constantly in his throat. Link then thought to just respond in a short and nonchalant manner.
How time had changed things. A week ago, he would have gladly enjoyed a long conversation with her, in which he would tell her of the monotony of work or the funny experience he had had with Mako. She would explain the hardships of being stuck in a castle going over tax reforms and acting as judge over trivial cases when she'd rather be out riding her horse.
But that was before he decided to get over Zelda. And every minute of conversation with her had him fall more for her. To hear her problems and want to fix them or to hear her laugh and want to do anything to hear it again…that was not good for him. He needed to keep the relationship as professional as possible.
"Fine, thank you," Link responded. And before Zelda could interject, Link continued. "I've been going over the taxes devoted to the military, and I've found some problems."
Zelda looked taken aback at Link's brevity and down-to-business approach, but responded accordingly. "Okay, what are they?"
"Simply put, I don't know where the money has gone. The Gorons and Zoras each pay a fee to have us protect them from outside forces. Termina, Locklia, Traland, and now the Dark Land which we didn't even know existed five months ago could attack either of those lands, and we wouldn't hear about it for two days! Where is that money going? Also, the Kingdom averages twenty percent tax on its subjects, and yet the military doesn't see more than two percent. I would think that national security would rank a little higher on the list."
Zelda frowned. "Yes. I agree. I see you've got more?"
Link handed over a long parchment which he had spent the better part of the week drafting. "This has many of the details, but in summation, this is a funds request, including a budget and timeline for preparing an adequate army for Hyrule."
Zelda peered quickly through the plans. "I see you've been hard at work, Link."
They sat in silence for a long moment as Zelda read quickly through the plans, mumbling the main points as she went. "Mandatory army training for all able men, funds for month of training, they return to their homes and jobs, but can be called on in time of war." Zelda looked up. "Why not just have a professional army at all times?"
"We will," Link responded. "But it will only be large enough for basic defense and communication. Not only would a larger organization be more costly, but less efficient, as we speak through ten commanding officers before the one carrying out the order gets the message."
Zelda nodded, and Link continued. "However, war time may come, and I think it wise for all men—who would have to fight anyway—to be trained and capable warriors."
"Very well," Zelda said. "I will look into this more in depth, counsel with the Elders, and get back to you by the week's end."
"Thank you, Zelda." Link stood up and turned to leave, but before he took two steps, Zelda's soft voice reached his ears.
"Link…" He stopped, closing his eyes slowly, and turned around. "Something is the matter. What is it?"
Link sighed and looked back at her.
"Get behind me, Zelda!" Link shouted, gazing up at the fire monster in front of him. The monster was a huge snake-like creature, but its skin would flap open along its body and fire would emit. So, attacking from behind or the side was out of the question.
The enormous monster would periodically strike the ground, causing giant rock formations to thunder down from the cavern roof above. Dara, Link's fairy, pointed out that striking the ground left the monster stunned for a moment, so if there was a time to attack the head, it would be then.
But Link was having a difficult time addressing the monster in front of him with Zelda unsafe behind him. There was hot lava surrounding them, stones falling from above, and small monsters would emerge from the lava to attack them. Link knew Zelda could take care of herself, but that didn't stop him from worrying and being distracted by her presence.
For twenty long, exhausting minutes, Link fought the beast, getting in several decent shots, and suffering only a mild burn. Meanwhile, Zelda was using his bow to take out the smaller enemies that tried to attack. But then, everything changed in a moment. The great monster flopped to the ground with a powerful force, shaking the whole cavern. As was necessary before moving in for the attack, Link looked up to see if any stones were about to fall on him. What he saw terrified him.
A stone the size of Epona had dislodged and was headed straight for Zelda. As Link's eyes darted downwards, he shouted for Zelda to get out of the way. She had been unable to look up because she was fighting off a fire bat, but heard Link shouting and jumped away from him. The stone came down and landed right where she had been standing.
Link gazed on in fear, not knowing if she had reacted quickly enough or jumped far enough away. But he couldn't see her getting up, so he feared the worst.
Tightening his hold on his sword, he charged the monster, still lying on the ground, stunned from the impact. He knew that if he went to check on Zelda, they would both be dead. There was only one way to help Zelda—end this.
So he charged, and as he neared the giant snake, it began lifting its head. Previously, Link would swipe at the creature. But now he needed to do more than hurt it. He needed to kill it. The snake lifted up, saw Link, and struck. Link angled his body and swung his sword upwards. As the snake's mouth closed in around Link, his sword slid up through the roof of its mouth and into the brain of the creature.
It jerked suddenly, and Link shifted his body so that his shield would prevent the mouth from tightening on him. Finally, the snake jerked for the final time, and fell to the side, its dead weight being too much for Link to hold up.
Sliding out of the snake's mouth, Link rushed over to the stone. As he turned the corner around the fallen boulder, he was relieved to find that she had jumped out of the landing area. However, at a closer look, Link found her unconscious. A piece of the rock had come off and struck her head. She was bleeding quickly from a gash above her right ear.
Ripping cloth from his shirt under his tunic, Link quickly made a make-shift bandage, and wrapped it tightly around her head. He then carefully lifted her up, supporting her head, and walked towards the exit. Several minutes later, he found himself back in the Goron village in the mountain. Porgon, one of the Gorons he and Zelda had befriended, was waiting for him at the entrance.
"Link! So good to see you! The shaking has stopped. Did you find the cause of it?"
Link panted as he ran up the last of the stairs, exhausted, but unwilling to slow down. "Yes, Porgon. But I have no time to explain. Do you have a healer, or infirmary?"
Porgon suddenly grew somber as he saw what it was Link was holding in his arms. "Right this way!" And he rolled into a ball and down the corridor.
Down the hall, up some stairs, and into the third room on the right they went. Link set Zelda down onto a stone bed and he collapsed to the floor, leaning against the wall. In his last conscious moments, he told the attending Goron healer between great heaves of air, "I may fall asleep for a while. I'll be awake in a couple hours. You focus on her!"
And his eyes grew heavy as his body and mind gave in to exhaustion.
When all was said and done, Link should have been grateful for the hour and a half he spent unconscious. It was that much less time he spent at Zelda's bedside, holding her hand, and sick with worry.
When he awoke, he barely touched any food, just drinking water. He accidentally offended the healer when he ridiculed the stone bed she was on. Despite needing more sleep and to have some burns and cuts looked at, he refused treatment. Instead, he sat at Zelda's side, unable to keep unhappy scenarios from playing in his mind.
One such scenario caused Link to begin speaking to her unconscious form.
"I need you to wake up, Zelda. I need you to be okay. I promised your father I'd look after you, you know. And…I don't know what I'd do without you. I need to tell you something. I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't…
"I'm falling for you, Zelda. You are amazing. You are beautiful and smart. You are funny and caring…
"I know it's not right. I know it can't be. You're a princess, and I'm a shepherd…so I know it can't be, and I know you can't possibly feel the same, but I needed you to know." Link smiled. "Even if only your subconscious will have heard this."
Link bent down and kissed her forehead softly.
"Well," Zelda said, bringing him out of his reverie and restating her question. "Is something the matter?"
Link shook his head slowly, his heart falling. "Don't worry about it; it's nothing you haven't heard before, Zelda."
Big A/N: So, I'm actually a few chapters ahead at this point, and I've reached the climax of the story and want to do a big Zelda flashback, too. Unfortunately, this really takes us out of the climax for at least two chapters or one very long chapter. So, my question to the readers: do you want the flashback? Should I try to edit it down, and lose a lot of her story? Should I keep this distinctly Link's story, and perhaps post hers as a seperate story or just drop it entirely? Let me know what you think and why you think it and I'll be able to finish the story. Thanks!