"It's actually rather fascinating once one understands the incredible level of understanding the Ancient Sheikah must have had." Zelda moved her hands around in the air ecstatically, missing the way Link was looking at her.
Looking up from her makeshift pillow that was Link's chest, she met his eyes as she began reciting one of her tales. "Once I attempted to dismantle one of the legs and the accompanying claw, following Robbie's more recent recreation of era-appropriate maintenance tools of course, but I couldn't ascertain the method by which only three can hold up a mass like that of a Guardian, let alone propel it along the ground so swiftly. I was convinced it wasn't a purely mechanical method, as we already have a basic understanding for how they utilised water pressure to control and constrict the limbs in specific ways, but I was still determined to identify the means it used to fuel the movement." She waited for him to nod for her to continue. She paused for a moment to take a breath, not fully realising that she was speaking so fast she was forgetting to breathe between her sentences.
She looked into his eyes and saw him trying to piece together the information she was dumping on him. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but Hyrule suffers from quite a number of architectural failures each year, primarily in bridges. I managed to identify the system which held aloft the bulk of the Guardian Core Section on such appendages; we could attempt to incorporate them into our own structures in the near future and prevent such collapses. However, despite my best efforts, I was only able to extract two significant pieces of information." Once she sat the understanding in his eyes, she smiled and continued, ecstatic that he was catching on.
"Alright… So I'm going to make a guess this involves energy being carried out evenly on each side? Like the bridge right?" He was hesitant in his wording, visibly unsure of if that's what she meant, but she nodded and acquiesced after seeing him try to demonstrate energy moving with his fingers.
"Yes! Firstly, each of the segments of a Guardian Leg carries a sort of relay which transitions energy both up and down to adjacent sections. This includes the claw, which seems to also have this ability in conjunction with the ground, allowing it to draw energy from a surface it's gripping or to expel it as a way of creating nearly perfect traction on most solid surfaces."
"Well that sounds pretty efficient." She could see him thinking of the ways a Guardian might be able to travel in his eyes, the nod to himself amusing her. "But I'm assuming soft terrain like sand is a no-go?"
"Precisely. Sand is too loose and thus is a terrible way for a Guardian to maintain steady traction, but it's also the reason snow is a better conductor for the grip; it compacts easily compared to how loose sand is." He took a moment before nodding, knowing her information was correct from his time spent up in the mountains of Hebra and the Gerudo Desert.
"Secondly, the leg segments are actually the same material as the rest of the Guardian. Yes, I was as surprised as you, but it's true! The white leg pieces, the hulls of the Guardian, the casing of the Cores, even the exteriors of the Shrines are all the same kind of artificial stone, simply different shapes and with different layering patterns. However, their chemical and material properties are identical when tested in trace amounts. Only when they become larger wholes do they actually present different attributes. However, when evaluating the various components, I discovered that the focusing lenses of the Guardian Laser seem to be of a different composition. This led me to a hypothesis: the joints and segments of the Guardian legs are actually layered and folded at the molecular level, into a sort of spring-like shape when viewed perpendicular to the bends. This allows them to better absorb forces, but also provides a natural conduit for energy to flow into them and then out as mechanical force."
"So… If I understand what you just said," he made a wide motion with his hands, gesturing to her long explanation of her studies. "One can think of it like the joints in my armour, say where my elbow or my shoulder is located. The layering of my armour facilitates motion, but the more there is, the better it can move, but still keeps layers of defence."
"Precisely."
"And that's built down to a level I can't physically see without some of your fancy equipment." She nodded, thinking briefly about the way he had converted her information into a way he could understand. "And there's probably hundreds of these little joints put together into one leg?" She nodded and watched his face give away the impressive feat. "Ooh, that's pretty cool."
"I know! I theorise that Guardians draw power from the ground after establishing a grip, and pulling up energy into their legs which its superconductivity reinforces to support the body." When she met his eyes again, she quickly realised she may have lost him somewhere along the way.
You're rambling, Zelda. You'll bore him. She froze, unsure of if she should continue. She reminded herself they weren't quite in the right place to be discussing guardian technology and the engineering geniuses of the Ancient Sheikah, seeing as they were still cuddled up in her makeshift nest, bare as can be.
Engineering likely wasn't the best post-sex conversation, she glumly reminded herself.
"I-I'm sorry, I'll stop talking about-"
"Why?" He cut her off. "Why are you stopping?"
Looking up, she saw confusion in his eyes, trying to make sense of her last statement. Does he understand? Wait no, is he just saying that to save my feelings?
"We can talk about something else." She smiled uneasily, hoping he wouldn't feel bad.
"But I like hearing you talk about Sheikah stuff."
She wasn't sure what to say to that. Why would he enjoy it if he didn't understand it like Robbie and Purah? It made no sense to her. She could always see the confusion and struggle of trying to understand the complex subject in his eyes, and she couldn't fathom how that could be enjoyable in any way. She hated not understanding something, not being able to join into a conversation, but Link liked it?
"You… Like hearing about Guardians?"
"Yes." He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "That and I love the sound of your voice." Her cheeks burned at the words, unsure of what to do with the information, instead she chose to hide her face into his chest, causing him to laugh a bit. "Goddess, Zelda, you're adorable."
What was she supposed to say to that? Thank you? It took her a moment before realising he must mean the way she sounded in bed.
She heard him whine lightly, clearly disappointed. "Why'd you stop? It's so relaxing to hear you talk."
Wait… so it's not about sex then? She looked up to meet his eyes and found them peering down at her curiously, trying to read her. His expression was soft in a way she had never seen before.
"Stop looking at me like that."
"How am I looking at you?"
"Like I'm food, stop it."
"Well if you're food then I'd like to savour that meal as long as I can."
She hid her face again, having no idea how to respond to such a smooth delivery. Curse Link and his food analogies.
"I can't believe the week's done already…" Zelda muttered, sinking into Link's arms in bed. His arms tightened around her form, bringing her face to rest against his chest in their messy tangle of limbs. "What happens after today?" She looked up at him, their eyes meeting.
"What do you mean?"
"Well… This." She squeezed him to emphasise what she meant. "We've spent this week doing… all manner of things… but what happens after today?" she asked again, her voice wavering. "We won't have this opportunity again until next time…and that's if they allow you…" Her voice grew quiet at the mention of the possibility.
If.
It was a good question. They'd done everything under the sun together during the last week. He couldn't imagine being purely professional with the Princess anymore. What would happen to them after today? King Rhoam likely wouldn't let them be together so easily, that much he knew. If he was such a stick in the mud about her duties and staying focused and on task, he definitely wouldn't allow her to see him like this on a regular basis.
He would essentially become a 'distraction' and the King would take him away just like he did with most things that brought her joy.
He wouldn't be allowed to see Zelda.
That thought scared him more than he'd hope to admit. He didn't want to have to refrain from seeing her. He wanted to see her every day; see her as the first person everyday and the last person when he retired for the night. He couldn't imagine returning to daily drills with his squad or being sent off to Akkala.
Maybe being her personal guard had spoiled him a bit, but he enjoyed her presence too much.
"What do you want us to be after today?" he asked her quietly.
It was the quiet exhale that got to him. The silence that followed the silent breath. What was she thinking? Did she want to be more? Did she have a plan if that's what she wanted? What if she didn't want to pursue anything further? That would be her choice of course, he had no say in such a matter but he would support her nonetheless.
He just wanted to see her happy.
"What do I want?" she asked herself out loud. She remained quiet for a short moment. It wasn't until he felt her dig her face into his chest harder that she spoke the words that rang into his chest. "I want to be with you."
"Then we're together." He kissed the top of her head and hugged her tightly. "We'll manage somehow."
"Mhm. Somehow." She hummed quietly against him, enjoying the heat from his body and the comfort of the bed.
"Can you just promise me one thing?"
"Hm? What is it?"
Zelda looked away, a blush on her cheeks as she looked down at her hands. "Can you not tell people about this?"
"This?" He raised a brow and propped himself onto his arms.
"You know… What we did… All of the things we did…"
It finally clicked in his mind what she meant exactly. "Why would I tell anyone about this?" he asked, scooting down to be face-to-face with her.
"I don't know… Ego or pride or something… Bedding the Princess has to impress some people and-"
"Zel," He cupped her face into his hands, gazing into her eyes. "No one's going to find out about anything unless you want them to," he told her before kissing her. "I promise you that. I'm honestly a bit surprised you think I'd kiss and tell."
"It was a bit more than kissing."
"Don't need to tell me twice, remember I was there." He pecked her lips with a smile. "Besides, you think I have the nerves to tell anyone that I get to do this?" He proceeded to glide his fingers down her chest and stomach, slipping them between her legs. "You think I want anyone else imagining you like this?" He gazed down at the numerous bruises he had left all over her neck and chest, some starting to lighten, and felt a sudden desire to make them as dark as the others he'd left the night before.
His hand came to rest over her heat where he could already feel her spreading her thighs.
"Only I get to do this," he muttered into her ear. "Why would I want to tell anyone?" His fingers slipped inside of her, earning him a quiet gasp from the Princess. "Forgive me for being selfish, but I'd like you all to myself."
His lips closed on her neck, licking and sucking greedily on the spots he'd left before. He couldn't get enough of her supple flesh and the way it called for him to claim it as his; to have Zelda be his.
She arched into his touch, desperate for more while Link was happy to give her exactly what she wanted,
He looked up at her, hunger in his eyes as she took in the sight of Zelda flushed and breathing heavily. His fingers were slowing down their pace inside of her, curling to get the little noises she would make. "Who do you belong to?" He was distinctly aware of how deep his voice is, how it had that hint of growl, by the way Zelda looks at him with her hazy eyes.
"Y-You, I belong to you!" She threw her head back into the pillows and tightened her hold on his hair, pushing him to return back to her core. "Please, I need more."
Pushing a third digit in, he watched her writhe and gasp, pleading for more. He kept his pace slow and agonising; he enjoyed hearing her begging too much, each word more intoxicating than the last.
Lowering back to her core, he met her eyes with a smile. "As you wish."
If Impa had to admit one thing, it was that there was nothing more boring than standing guard at the Princess' door from sunrise to sunset.
"How the hell do the guards do this?" she grumbled out, frustrated that she was still forced to be disguised as Link. Her voice came out deeper than her usual one, everything about her body had been changed to match the man shorter than her, and she was growing more and more frustrated by the day.
Not only was she forced to wear the stiff garb of the Captain of the Royal Guard, but she also had to glamour one of her swords to resemble the illustrious Master Sword unless she felt like carrying a claymore heavier than her around all day. That had been a pain in her ass. She could go on about that all day if someone asked her; she wasn't experienced in disguising other objects that weren't a physical part of her.
But if you asked her what was the worst part of this entire experience, it was having to guard her two closest friends who were about as quiet as a herd of angry lynels.
"Link! Harder, please!"
Impa desperately wanted to smack her face against the stone walls.
She cursed the damn silencing spells, she really did. They were fantastic spells for everyone who wasn't the caster.
Having casted the spell herself, it meant anyone who walked by Princess Zelda's room would hear nothing but silence, but for Impa, it meant that she had to hear every single sound imaginable.
Every moan, every "Zelda", every "Link", every single utterance of the words "harder, faster, more" had unfortunately graced the Sheikah's ears and it was becoming an inner battle of wanting to shoot herself and disappearing and never coming back.
The worst part wasn't that Zelda was loud, no that definitely wasn't it. It was that Link was the louder of the two and he made that abundantly clear from the moment he was escorted in.
"Who do you belong to?"
"Y-You, I belong to you! Please, I need more!"
Goddesses, Impa was having a terrible time. For being a so-called silent knight, he certainly wasn't very quiet when it came to the bedroom. Impa tried to ignore the little sounds that followed, wanting nothing more than the peace and quiet everyone else got.
Only a few more hours and then it's over, she happily reminded herself.
In a few hours, she knew that one of the other captains would be escorting Link back to his room until tomorrow morning, when he should be cleared out of his state, while the doctor was to come find Zelda and clear her from her heat state. She was sure if she wasn't cleared today, she might be tomorrow, seeing as the numerous sounds and their acts were slowing down in frequency.
She was just happy they weren't constantly at each other like they had been day one and two.
Their third day had shown significant difference in the fact that they were actually just talking for most of the day about nothing of importance. Their fourth day being today, she'd only heard them once and it was nearly lunch time, and that one time was right now.
Lunch. Impa felt her stomach rumble loudly. She could go for food.
It didn't take long for her shift change to show up in the form of Captain Reinhartd with a mug of coffee in his hands.
"Sir Link, you may go for lunch."
"Fuck! Link, more!"
"Sweet!" Impa nodded and reverted back to her regular form —that of a woman— and happily ran down the hall, chasing after the wonders of getting away from her two loud friends.
She knew she'd be back in an hour to resume the dreadful post, but she was fully prepared to enjoy her small moments of freedom.
Impa wanted to go back to lunch.
"Captain, will you still be teaching us hand-to-hand next week?"
"Yes."
She hoped Link wouldn't mind too much that she was likely messing up his schedule by making false promises.
"What about one-handed melee? Captain Arn wasn't too good at it."
"I'll see what I can do."
Impa believed the guards that had taken the leisure of pestering her were called Caya and Balar, two guards assigned under Link's Princess Guard.
Impa had taken to mostly neutral responses, but as their questions grew more specific, she found it harder to keep up the neutrality. The two hadn't seemed too happy to be told wishy-washy answers that could have gone either way.
"Sir, as much as I enjoy the teachings of Captain Randy and Captain Arn, they're just not on your level. They're too lenient."
Well aren't your little ones feeding your ego. She nodded along to their words, wondering what else they might say.
"Sir, you promised you would show me that spear trick from last week. When are you going to show us?"
"I'll try to find some time in my schedule." Impa wished she could take back that answer the moment it left her lips. The short brunette was narrowing her eyes suspiciously at her as the second guard cast a brief side glance to his companion.
They know. There wasn't much she could say to convince them otherwise. Silent Knight was Link's moniker for a reason. The more she could try to talk, the less they would believe her.
Impa didn't miss the way both of the guards' hands mirrored each other in the way they were reaching behind them.
"Balar, Caya! There you are!" The two guards spun off their heels and met the friendly face of Captain Reinhartd, who was smiling back at them. Their stances remained rigid and at attention, ready for anything.
"Sir, we have a code yellow." The male guard didn't wait for greetings or formalities, going straight to the point.
Code yellow?
The captain only smiled back at them, ready to congratulate them. "Ah so you've weeded out our fake then, good on you!"
"A fake?" The two guards looked back at her and back at the captain. "Was this a test?" The brunette asked, a hopeful tone in her voice.
"Yes! You're the first pair to have noticed actually! Congratulations!" She watched the excitement slowly seep into the two rookies' expressions. "I'll be sure to pass along the message to your captain about your fantastic work."
"Fuck yeah!"
"Language, Dame Caya," Reinhartd reprimanded the girl. The captain sighed as the two high fived each other, ignoring his words.
"Thank you sir." The two bowed their heads before turning to Impa. "And Lady Impa, our captain doesn't teach Spearmanship, he teaches hand-to-hand and one handed melee training."
Ah, so that's where I blundered.
"And he isn't chatty. He's very curt and to the point," the boy deadpanned as if that was the more obvious giveaway of the two.
"Understood, good work," she replied back, improvising off of the captain's save. The two bowed their heads respectfully before running off down the hall to attend to some other business. "So how long have you been standing around that corner?"
"Most of the day." She looked at him with a raised brow. She hadn't sensed him there at all, only hearing his footsteps when he turned the corner itself. "And I won't be telling you how." He turned his heel and began walking down the hallway. "I would listen to his rookies if I were you. They're trained to detain and disarm at any means necessary and they're very efficient at their jobs."
When did Link have the time to train them like this? Impa couldn't help but wonder just what the extent of their training was. Link kept a relatively small squad, eight to be specific, consisting of two women and six men, and it was by far the smallest division of the guard. The third division consisted of the largest, sitting at thirty-seven guards while the others' numbers sat comfortably between ten and twenty-five.
She remembered that he only ever added a guard or two every six months or so whenever physical skill examinations were undertaken by the knights, weeding out some who could have potential.
Of course he would train them one-on-one. She knew he'd undertaken their training himself to ensure the quality and individual problems could be handled at the source rather than as a group.
Link was good at his job, she could give him that.
