An attempt to go enjoy the gardens of her own home was futile when she realised that this particular morning, she was heavily guarded by not one guard, but two guards and a captain.
An incident had apparently occurred, none of which she knew the details and she doubted Link knew either considering his continued absence in the castle, and she found that she was allowed to go to five different places within the castle.
The chapel where she did her morning prayers with the Priestess-in-training, Adina, who welcomed her with a warm smile that day. Her prayer itself had been no more than ten minutes and she spent the better part of an hour gossiping with the Lady about every day gossip.
The kitchens were another place she was allowed for obvious reasons. Eating was permitted but even that wasn't as freeing as it usually was. Her food had to be tested first before she could take a bite, which set off alarm bells in her head.
What happened for everyone to shift back into such a routine?
The third place, her favourite of the five, was her bedroom. She grabbed her books and her notes from her study tower and brought them to her room where she stayed most of the day with the guard who had accompanied her to Castle Town the other day. She learned her name was Caya and the poor girl was just one big bag of nerves since that day. Zelda and Impa had to swear the girl to secrecy concerning the pregnancy and, for safe measures, kept her with them all day. She had no doubts that she hadn't told anyone, Zelda nor Impa had heard any rumours around the castle surrounding Link or herself, so she assumed herself to be in the clear.
And so she studied the ancient engineering of the guardians and other ancient magics that the Sheikah utilised during the remaining hours of the day.
The fourth place she was allowed, she didn't dare go. She didn't want to look her father in the eyes after the conversation from yesterday. To know that her father had to put his signature on each of those legislations to allow them to pass through angered her endlessly.
No, if she saw him, she was sure to burst at the seams and it wouldn't end well for anyone.
The only other place she could go was the Royal Library where she could read the endless amounts of books in their archive, but only one topic really had her itching to go, but she just couldn't satiate that itch.
Pulling books on pregnancy was sure to raise suspicions with either the Captain by her side or one of the two guards. She desperately wanted to know more about her predicament, but how to go about it without sending alarm bells to Link's colleagues or superiors was going to be very difficult. She couldn't afford any rumours about a pregnancy to circulate, especially right now.
She found herself a bit lucky at the timing of the pregnancy. The social season would be over in a little over a month from now; her birthday ball, Nayru's Day ball, and one or two stray celebrations taking place within the nobility itself. She could hide any growing belly until the end of it, she would just need to figure out how.
It wasn't the belly that worried her the most though, it was the sudden unease she carried with her whenever she left her room. It constantly felt like she struggled to keep her food down, as if she had indigestion, but it wasn't that. It caused her to fidget, to shift her eyes everywhere to see if anyone was noticing even if they weren't. When she tried to walk or stand as she normally would, it became very apparent to her that it was clear she was hiding something or something was bothering her.
She wrung her neat white gloves into her hands when she descended to the kitchen for a snack, she worried the maids or the cooks would notice her appearing more often than not. They were small snacks, but they were frequent to the point someone had joked they could just bring her some to her room if she so wished, but Zelda waved her off immediately, hoping to dispel whatever the woman could have been thinking.
It was only after the princess left the kitchens that she realised she was only more suspicious when she did that.
If there was one thing she knew in all of this, it was that a Castle under lockdown might as well have been one of her worst nightmares thanks to the people constantly checking on her.
The paranoia of getting caught was starting to get to her by the afternoon when she got hit with a first wave of nausea. Now whether it was from her constant fear of being discovered doing something she shouldn't or if it was because of the pregnancy, she didn't care to choose the cause when she doubled over the toilet of her own bathroom.
Her guard, Dame Caya, was quick on her feet when the princess first dashed for the washroom from her writing desk. Her hair was pulled out of the way as she wretched out whatever snack she last had, she couldn't even remember what it was she ate.
Then no more than five minutes later, there was a knock at the door and her guard had rushed out a "Her Royal Highness is indecent! Give us a moment."
The diversion gave her enough time to swish mouthwash in her mouth and into the sink—something that also caused her to want to puke—but she pushed it down with all her might and fixed herself.
Of course, it was Captain Reinhartd doing his half hour check-ins as he had all day today and most of yesterday. The moment he saw that she was still in one piece, he bowed and excused himself once more.
It was after three more check-ins that she finally got fed up.
"Dame Caya? Why am I so heavily guarded today?"
Based on the surprise and the shock on the brunette's face, Zelda quickly assumed that either she was a fantastic liar or genuinely had no clue.
Why would they tell a rookie what's going on? The brunette tried to explain that she didn't know but she thought something may have happened somewhere on the grounds that could warrant a higher security around her, which made enough sense.
Another idea hit her then.
Caya seemed inconspicuous enough, quiet enough to blend in despite the ostentatious royal uniform. She had three guards total while walking around, what would be wrong if one guard suddenly disappeared for an hour or so?
"Dame Caya, do you read?"
"R-read, Princess?"
Zelda nodded.
"How well do you know the royal libraries? Do you read novels or books?"
Caya stammered, trying to piece together an appropriate answer. "I know of the layout, but I'm afraid I'm not much of a reader, Your Highness."
Zelda looked at her pile of books on the desk, then to her personal bookshelf for a moment. She didn't need much, but if she was going to be confined to the palace, mostly her room, she should be using that to her advantage to gain more information on her situation.
"If I give you an hour to go to the libraries, should that be enough time for you to go grab me a few books and bring them back to my chambers?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific on the topic of these books, ma'am."
"Books on pregnancy. Especially the first few weeks." Zelda explained simply. "I'd like to know more about my predicament, you see, but it's awfully difficult to ask about such a topic without alerting half the castle." She watched out of the corner of her eye as Dame Caya nodded, understanding her. "You would need to hide them, of course, but it's imperative they get here without being seen by anyone, save for Lady Impa. Can you do such a thing for me?"
"Of course." The woman bowed crisply and rose. "How many would you need, Princess?"
"Three? No, four? Oh, make it five if it's possible?" The woman nodded slowly. "Thank you so very much, Dame Caya, you're truly a blessing." Zelda smiled brightly, causing the woman to flush a pink and stammer before leaving the quarters in a hurry.
Now,to go bother people again. Zelda left her room, a plan in mind to distract Captain Reinhartd and Sir Marian for the hour.
She hoped desperately that the woman wouldn't be found out. Dame Caya already knew enough about her pregnancy and the fact that her own commanding officer was directly involved in the making of it, Zelda didn't need that spreading around the Guard or the staff if any dared to see her and assume.
Link had a hard time wrapping his head around everything he'd been through in the last few days.
First the king was keeping him away from Zelda, then it was the library crap with the missing pages, then it was the surprise vacation right before her birthday. He worried he wouldn't be allowed to return until after the day. He was given no return date, which was odd, but nevertheless, now he had even more on his plate.
Things about magical reserves and past lives were messing with his mind.
He tried to call out to the spirit that claimed to be him in a past life, but the past Hero never seemed to answer back. He had no way of replicating the first time—the hero of the skies had possessed him—and now, Link could have used some of his guidance more than ever. Surely that guy had to know something about magic and bonds?
He didn't even want to think of how he was supposed to tell Zelda about that experience a whole two months after it initially happened. She wasn't going to be happy about having that kept from her, he was sure of that.
And what was she going to say when she finds out he can access the magic she believes she doesn't even have? Link shivered at the thought.
The months of insults being hurled at him endlessly flashed through his mind. Zelda hated him with a passion back then because she had thought he had no hardships while she struggled with no end in sight.
And now he could use her magic as well.
That conversation was not going to end well.
Purah recommended he tell Zelda as soon as he could, but he wasn't sure if he should, was that anger really worth it?
She'll get over it. She will definitely get over it… oh who am I kidding, no she won't.
The most Link could do is turn to prayer and hope she didn't rip his head off when he did give in to that death wish.
It was a normal day until lunch time came around.
What was a day in his life without something happening?
Link was not surprised when his father came back into the house, a knight standing behind him in a weirdly rigid way. He could smell the stress coming off him and he wasn't quite sure what to make of this.
In Fredrick's hand was a sealed letter from the castle, the bright red wax seal contrasted greatly against the white envelope.
If a knight had come all the way from the castle to deliver a note, there was no way it could be good news, Link knew that much.
"There's a situation at the castle. Grab your stuff." His father said.
"Situation?" Link's attention was now entirely on the knight and his father.
He could feel his heart beat faster as he awaited the next few words. Link took the letter and ripped the seal off without hesitation. He didn't want to know the news coming out of anyone's mouth, knowing it was never good if it came while he was away, but he had to know.
"From what I heard from this fella, it's about an escaped prisoner." his father shot a questioning glare at the knight before turning back to Link.
"Prisoner?" His mother stepped into the room. "Link, since when do you deal with prisoners? You're a Royal Guard. Isn't that the knights' job?"
The letter was all but good news.
It detailed an ongoing investigation they were keeping secret where one Sheikah woman and one knight were found dead in the lockup. The door to a prisoner's cell was found wide open without another trace of his presence anywhere. The only description of the scene was that a separate convict being held in the lockup had mentioned seeing it happen, but had offered no additional details to what had happened.
"Link?"
They looked at all the prisoners in the lock up and had only found the one missing. The Yiga that had been brought in a little over two months ago was nowhere to be found.
He remembered the way he was pinned in the grass with very little room to move. He remembers those taunting words that got his blood going as if they were spoken just yesterday.
"Maybe I'll show Her Highness what a true Alpha is."
It was enough that those words rang in most of his nightmares, it was enough that his father had forced him to think about what could have happened that day. Why did the fucker have to get out of his cell? How did he even manage? Why did he have to escape while he wasn't there?
"You'd be dead. And Princess Zelda? Would you like to know what would have happened to her?"
The reminder of his father's words two days prior had him clenching the paper until it nearly ripped in his hands.
"Link? Is everything alright?" He didn't care to look at his mother who took a step forward.
He crumpled the page into his hands and took a deep breath before rising and leaving up the stairs, ignoring everyone who called out to him.
He slammed the door to his room shut and began packing his things carelessly, throwing everything into a bag.
The only thing preoccupying his mind was the assassin.
How did he get out? There were supposed to be spells in place to counteract Yiga Magic, to stop this exact scenario from happening, so why did it even happen?
No, the celldoor was found open. He reminded himself. The door couldn't be opened from the inside. The windows and food latches were kept far away from the lock and door handle to insure no one could slide their arms through to reach it.
It took Link no time to deduce the fact someone had to have opened the door.
The only person that should have had the key to that door was the knight watching it, but he was found dead, alongside a sheikah. Why kill someone who helped you? He deduced it as unlikely that the guard and the Yiga were in cahoots with each other, but it wasn't an impossible scenario.
An inside man was the more probable way to get out of prison, but the knight? If there was a sheikah found there, it would have been the absolute worst timing to get a friend out of their cell. He'd have done it while they were alone.
He'd have to go talk to the other inmates to see what they might've witnessed or heard. Otherwise, they were going to have hit a dead-end.
"You're worrying your mother with that silence, boy." His father came into the room, arms crossed.
Link remained quiet in thought as he pulled the drawstrings of his bag shut, slinging the bag across his back.
"You're not going to tell me the contents of that letter?"
"He's out."
"Out? Who's out?"
"Remember how I told you I got into a fight with two knights a few weeks ago?" His father hummed. "The Yiga imposter, he got out."
"The one who threatened the princess, I presume?" Link didn't bother answering the obvious question. His father sighed. "I'll grab the hasty carrots and get Epona saddled up."
He was left alone with the crumpled letter and his empty room.
He wondered if the Yiga would have left the castle or stayed to impersonate another person. Leaving to report back to whoever it was in charge would be the intelligent move, but he knew intelligence wasn't their strong suit.
But this one got out. He's not dumb. No, he definitely left. He thought it was highly probable that he left, but Link decided he'd keep his guard up and his eyes focused on any strange behaviour.
He trained his guards to be able to do the same, but he wondered how fast they might pick up on anything strange if it was one of their own that was impersonated. With Impa, they knew her vaguely and she was easy to figure out, but one of their own? All they needed was an excuse about an off day and they might just brush it off.
Zelda's safety worried him the most. While she was capable with a bow, she still froze when directly face with the Yiga. Hand-to-hand was something she knew little about, and disarming was far from a skill in her repertoire.
I need to get back now. Link quickly neatened up his room and bed before leaving the room and walking down to the foyer where his father was waiting with a small bag of carrots and his sister stood there, confused.
"We'll be in Castle Town next week," his sister started. "You'll tell us if anything happened?"
"If I'm allowed to." He muttered.
He took the bag of carrots into his hands and gave his mother a goodbye.
"The knight outside is to be your escort, I know you're in a rush, but do try not to lose him along the way." His father reminded him before going outside with him. "Write home as soon as you get to the castle."
The plan was going mostly smoothly for Caya down in the library.
Mostly was the key word here.
The moment she was dismissed, she had dashed to her room one floor below and retrieved her messenger bag and had gotten to work on her secret assignment, hand-given by the princess.
Her heart beat in her throat at the thought of being involved in something so big, yet so secretive.
The Princess trusts you! You can't blow this opportunity, you got this, Caya! Caya aimed for a permanent position on the Princess' personal guard; she'd been aiming for such a prestigious position for two years now since she was assigned to the small squad of guards.
Now was finally her chance to prove her trustworthiness to the Princess, and indirectly, to her captain. She was sure the princess would give Captain Link a good word in for her.
Only if you don't get caught, Caya. Don't get caught, she repeated in her mind as she made her way to the library as innocuously as she physically could. She didn't notice too many eyes on her; most were friends from the other squads, some were knights with whom she was friendly, simply nodding a silent greeting, others waved as she made her way down the numerous steps.
She had a plan she was sure would be easy to pull off.
She would grab a few books, some varying in subjects in order to muddle up the stash she would be carrying in her bag.
Some nature subjects, making some on the animal kingdom, mix in the pregnancy here and there, maybe a book on art as well.
She was sure it would work nicely.
Entering the library, she waved at the archivist nearby and made her way to the first shelf, plucking a random book about plants and slipping it into her bag before moving on to the biology and health related shelves.
No, no, no, no, she skipped over the titles that meant nothing to her, most seemed to be about psychology and behaviour, some were about the brain, some were about blood, but none she was really looking for.
It wasn't until she looked up at one of the higher shelves that she saw what she was looking for.
Why are pregnancy books so high off the ground? She thought it an odd place to put that exact subject, considering someone could fall and seriously hurt themselves, but she shook it off before grabbing one of the ladders and sliding it over to the appropriate place.
She climbed a few steps up and began perusing the covers, plucking the first book she saw with the title Everything To Know About Pregnancy.
She moved onto the next, one about introduction to conception—whatever that meant— then another about Omega pregnancies.
"Caya?" A feminine voice called out from the floor. Caya froze, hand still on the book.
Caught… She swallowed thickly before looking down and seeing her fellow guard, Mara glancing up at her curiously.
"What are you doing up there?" She asked, stepping closer between the shelves. "Aren't you supposed to be with Her Highness today?"
She tried to act naturally, continuing her finger along the titles, but keeping her eye on the one she wanted.
"I-I am! She-uh…gave me a break…?" She tried to say with certainty.
"A break? Oh lucky! You should see Sir Marian right now! The Princess is outside running him through drills!" Mara laughed. "I'd say it's appropriate karma for stealing my spiced eggs yesterday."
She remembered how Mara had kept a hidden stash of spiced eggs beneath her bed as a midnight snack, only to have their friend sneak into their joint room and steal them in broad daylight.
The pros and cons of sharing a room with the Guard's best source of gossip were plentiful. She could find out who was hooking up with who behind the barracks at any given time, she could easily find out who was fighting with who about what.
But it also served its worst cons at the worst times.
Leave Mara… Please! Caya knew the longer the woman stayed there, the more chances there would be that she would discover what exactly she was up to.
She knew how that would go. First she would clue in, then she would tell Balar, then he'd tell Samuel and Ren, then half of the guards would know before the end of the day.
"So, what are you looking for?" Mara stepped up to the ladder and looked up. "I'm surprised I even found you in here, I didn't take you for a reader, Cay."
Caya laughed nervously. "I uh… heard that it's good to expand your knowledge! Captain said so, remember?"
"Eh?!" Mara exclaimed, shocked. "You're right, he did say that!" The woman looked up at her curiously, then to the bookshelf. "But uh… I don't think he had this in mind when he said that…"
That's because he never said such a thing. Think Caya, think! She cursed inwardly. She needed to find a way to get Mara to go away.
"This is for personal use, you know, it's never bad to know about this." She tried. "The more shit you know, the better."
"Wait… Caya, did you get someone pregnant on your last rut?!" The other woman gasped, a smile reaching her lips. "A little late to be finding out eh?" She teased from below. "Wasn't your leave like five months ago?" She snickered.
"It's not like that!"
"No wait, are you pregnant? Oh my Goddess! You are!"
I didn't even answer… oh well. If the other woman was going to give her an out, she was going to take it, no matter how extreme it seemed.
"You caught me, silly me…" she laughed nervously.
"Oh we have to tell everyone!" Mara gushed quietly, remembering she was in a library of all places. "Oh! Maybe we can tell Captain and he can bake you a cake!"
"No!" She quickly let out. "No, no, really it's fine. You can't tell anyone!"
It was almost as if she could see the bubble pop, her excitement flitting away and being replaced with suspicion.
"Hold on, why not? You're usually the first to celebrate this stuff, what's different now?"
Her eyes looked around quickly for anything she could use, when finally, she landed on a book cover titled Difficulties of an Alpha Pregnancy.
"Oh you know us, we don't uh…usually carry full term and all… touchy subject, very touchy." She explained awkwardly, hoping she wouldn't pry.
It seemed to do the trick for Mara's expression shifted instantly to one of regret, shame and embarrassment.
"Oh my Goddess, I forgot! I keep thinking you're like me," the other guard began rambling out apology after apology, asking for forgiveness about prodding such a sensitive topic. Mara did often forget that not everyone was a beta like herself.
Caya hadn't exactly lied; being an alpha made it significantly more difficult to carry to term, but she did definitely lie about being pregnant, but what else could she have done? Tell her the books were for the Princess? Tell her their Captain was the one responsible for all this business? Tell her they were likely going to be guarding a little prince or princess in a few months time?
"So yeah, can you not tell anyone? I don't want people's hopes up, that's all."
"Your secret's safe with me, Cay!" Her friend pretended to lock her lips and throw away the key.
Mara turned and left, leaving Cara alone up on the ladder.
Slowly plucking more books off the shelf, she sighed, knowing she had both failed and succeeded in her mission. She wasn't sure her 'secret' was entirely safe, but what else could she do about this situation?
Just get back to the Princess before anyone else sees.
It was just before sunrise when Link finally rode into the Castle courtyard on Epona, bag slung over his shoulder, a day after he left home.
If he had to admit it, he did miss the castle grounds more than he let on. The looming stone walls and the expertly trimmed trees and flowers, the statues, and the patrolling soldiers that lined the pathways were always one of his most welcome sights.
He eventually reached the stable where he untied his mare's saddle and bridle, hanging them up neatly and brought her to the open area, clipping her in and grabbing a bucket.
Upon sensing the sound of the bucket and the sound of running water, a loud neigh echoed in the stable.
"This is your fault, Epona. You took that run through the swamp, not me." Link scolded her as he grabbed the bottle of shampoo and poured a few cap-fulls into the water, mixing it around with his hands until it was sudsy. "You asked for this bath." He heard her neigh loudly again, attempting to move her head around with the attempt failing due to the two clips holding her in place.
He took the small pitcher of water and gently poured water over her legs first, moving up her body as she slowly stopped squirming. He brushed the water to her skin using his fingers, digging his fingers into the tough muscles before grabbing the sponge, covering it with the soapy water and sitting it on her back. "You're so dirty." He grunted out between swipes across the coat. "Why'd you go swim in the bog?" Epona stomped twice against the floor with a front hoof in response. "Yeah yeah, you get to roll around tomorrow, now hold still." He cautiously moved around Epona to get her other side, soaping her up to get his scrub brush ready.
"If you think I'm going to bed with a crusty horse, you have another thing coming, you demon." He began scrubbing her coat with the brush, dislodging any dirt stuck beneath the rough fur.
His hands worked the shampoo into her skin for a few minutes, curses falling from his lips occasionally as Epona whipped her tail at him a few times, expressing her displeasure at the bath. He eventually finished, grabbing the bottle and pouring some of the shampoo into his hands and began rubbing it into her mane, ending with her tail. He was somewhat surprised at the lack of complaining, finishing up faster than he'd expected, moving back to the clean-water bucket.
The tail whipping quickly restarted and Link shot a glare at Epona. "You're almost done. Stop it you." He gently smacked her back thigh before grabbing a pitcher and rinsing the soap pour-by-pour, smoothing the soap off with his free hand.
Lovable piece of work.
He quickly rinsed the remainder of the soap and dried the excess water off with a rag and emptied the buckets into the nearby drain, putting the brushes away so he could finish grooming Epona in the morning. Link unclipped Epona from her restraints and led her back to her stall, passing her a few apple slices and locked the stall.
Giving her one last glance, he watched her plop to the floor and rub into the straw on the floor of her stall. Sighing, he shook his head, letting a small salt block fall into the pen and moved on to the neighbouring door, holding the Princess' less demonically temperamental mare.
He slid the lock to Storm's stall, giving her an affectionate pet to the nose as he slid the door open to take a look at her. She stood tall and confident, as she should be, and her coat had been freshly washed earlier, the lack of dust and dirt evident. "You've been good?" He asked as he took one of the gentler brushes over her chest and neck, and lightly went over her coat where he knew she liked it. She gave a light stomp with her left hoof, as if saying "yes".
Finished with the brushing, he put it away and took out a small pocket knife and an apple from his bag. "Don't tell the stable boys I gave you this." He laughed as Storm nudged his hand as he cut a small slice, avoiding the core. Holding every piece into his hand individually as he cut, he smiled as Storm greedily went after the offered pieces.
On the final piece, he took a small bite, leaving the other half for Storm to eat, giving her the ridiculously small piece. "You get your sleep, you hear? We're taking you out tomorrow." He told the mare, petting the sides of her pristine coat.
He stepped out of the stall, sliding the lock back into place and grabbed his bag, leaving the stable, still half wet from Epona's bath, and made his way to Cassian and Arn's offices, dropping a letter saying he returned, and quickly made his way to his chambers in the private residential wing.
Arriving at this door, he pulled out his spare key and slid it into the keyhole, pausing for a moment. His nose was immediately assaulted by the Princess' heavy presence, though it emanated from the door rather than the hallway.
How much time did you spend in my room, he wondered incredulously, wondering just why her scent was so heavy before he could even open the door. It was almost like she was directly on the other side of the door at that moment.
He immediately recognised the hints that were laced into the smell. Sweat and something else. Something very tantalising.
You naughty girl, I swear… He slowly turned the key, bracing himself to be hit by the large wave of pheromones coming from his room. He could already feel his blood warming within his veins as he creaked the door open.
As he expected, it hit him at the moment he stepped foot into his bedroom, the intense smell of her arousal wafting into his nose. Just when I thought I could go straight to bed. Shrugging, he closed the door, cracked a window open and lit his bedside candle. Only then did he notice that half of his bedding was missing. Comforter and pillow had both vanished.
What… Where did it go… He dead panned. He opened his closet, seeing only clean sheets, but no pillow. Nothing under his bed.
His brain could only think of one thing. Only one person.
Zelda.
Pillow thief.
He returned to his closet and pulled out a comforter, not bothering to be organised with it and threw it over his fitted sheet. He quickly undressed himself and jumped under the sheet, grabbing a clean shirt and bunching it into a make-shift pillow. Closing his eyes, he curled himself into a ball, his eyes jolting awake when his leg touched something damp.
Why are my sheets damp? He threw the cover off of him and touched the fitted sheet with his hand, bringing up his damp hand to his nose.
Knowing Zelda had been in his room doing things, Link realised he had set himself into a trap by smelling his hand, for his nose was assaulted with very recent pheromones, and he knew exactly where this specific kind originated from.
It took approximately two seconds for his brain to catch up to his dick, realising that Zelda had been doing things in his room, in his bed, barely a few hours before. Images of the Princess touching herself quickly flooded his mind. Her fingers playing in her heat, the other pinching her nipples as she moaned, he could practically see and hear it already.
If he was lucky, he might be able to get some sleep, but now he doubted that.