Link stopped just a few inches shy of the Sandin Park ruins and inhaled a breath of air at the sight before him. The horse statue, although a magnificent sculpture that stood out in the lands of Hyrule, was nothing that he hadn't seen before. He looked beyond it, to the other side where the Princess was standing, looking out over the acres of land that, despite the end of the Calamity and Ganon's defeat, still suffered greatly from it. Her golden hair was flailing around in the cool autumn breeze, and her head rested in her hands upon the concrete barrier. A humming sound escaped him as he continued through the ruins and made his way around the horse statue.

Zelda had been lost deeply in thought until she heard the crunching of autumn leaves under feet and spun quickly to see her appointed knight steadily approaching. She greeted him with a small smile, even though she was feeling fairly far from joyous after all that she had seen during her travels around the kingdom throughout the day. Over a hundred years in which all of the people of Hyrule had seen great damage created by Calamity Ganon and his monsters.

"Link, please… forgive my ill manners, I did not notice you here before now."

As a sign of respect, Link bowed his head before responding. "Nothing to forgive, Princess, but I have been searching for you since you disappeared from Dueling Peaks stable." He informed her politely. "Is there any particular reason why you disappeared without a word?"

Zelda turned so that she was once again facing the view that the Sandin Park ruins offered and glanced sideways as Link appeared next to her, leaning his hands upon the concrete of the barrier.

"Pardon me, Princess. I did not mean to intrude."

"It's alright." She smiled again. "And please do stop with the Princess, I think we are close enough now for you to refer to me as Zelda."

Link nodded and chuckled. "Zelda it is." He smirked.

"It's just…" She paused, biting her lower lip as she thought over what she was about to say. "Traveling through Hyrule today… I never really grasped just how much damage had been done until I saw it for myself, and without a ruler there are no definite calls for repairs." Silence ensued when she paused again as he waited for her to continue. "By the time we had reached Dueling Peaks, it had become too much to bear, and I needed some time to think things over, so I came here."

She finished speaking and adjusted her head to see Link staring at her, his expression seemed to be a mix of realization and sympathy. She swallowed a gasp as she realized something herself; he had probably seen much worse during his time wandering Hyrule alone than she had, and mentally kicked herself for her lack of sensitivity to that fact.

"I- I'm sorry. No matter what I've seen today, I am certain that it could never compare to the things you've seen during your travels before defeating Ganon."

"No it's okay, Zelda. You and I have both seen our fair share of horrors, we've watched our dearest friends fall even. That being said, your encounters and feelings towards the destruction of the kingdom are just as valid as my own." He assured her. "You are wrong about one thing though…"

Zelda frowned as his words sank in, but she didn't need to ask before he explained. "Hyrule does have a ruler, she just hasn't claimed her throne yet."

"Link!" She scolded, before her harsh eyes softened. "We should head back to the castle, it's starting to get dark."

Though he wanted to press further on the subject, he decided against it since he knew how angry she could get if he overstepped, and instead gestured for her to walk ahead of him as they made their way out of the ruins. Neither of them spoke much on the way back to the castle, Zelda too tired to think of anything to say and Link existing in his own head as he used to. It was only when they were within the castle walls that the silence was broken, and even then it was barely a sentence.

"Goodnight, Link." She said in little more than a whisper.

"Goodnight, Zelda." He returned, and watched quietly as she ascended the staircase and eventually disappeared from sight.

Alone again, Link headed off down the hall of the castle and towards the room that had been called his own. It had been a while since he had last stayed and he had gotten so used to his house back in Hateno village, it felt almost wrong to be staying anywhere else, but as Zelda's appointed knight, it was easier to stay closer to her location in case of any trouble that should head her way. Though he couldn't help but wish that she wouldn't be so cold with him at times, it made it all the more difficult to understand her. He did enjoy her company, but there were times where he couldn't stand her. That didn't stop him from holding on to the hope that things would improve between them now that peace was restored and they were almost the only ones left standing.

Rito Village was one of the luckier areas when it came to surviving; not much of its base had been destroyed by Calamity Ganon and since the restoration of Vah Medoh, the majority of the residents had become much happier.

Zelda smiled as she watched, along with Saki and Tulin, from the Flight Range as Link and Teba shoot down targets for fun. It was only when she felt a tug at her royal blue dress that she tore her eyes away from the playful pair.

"Tulin! Where are your manners?" Saki scolded before she could address the young bird that was responsible for the tug.

"Sorry, Princess." Tulin pouted.

She couldn't help but laugh. Though it was expected of people to be respectful around her, she did not expect too much formality and that resulted in her often having to remind those around her.

"It's quite alright." She assured both Saki and Tulin.

"I just have a question…"

"Ah, then please ask away."

"What is it like to live in a castle? It must be so enormous!" Tulin chirped.

"Well I-" Zelda began to respond when suddenly the ground beneath them quaked and the wooden flooring of the Flight Range cracked down the middle.

Before she could process what was happening, Tulin's voice pierced through the air. Her eyes widened as she followed the direction of his stare. Saki's wing had been impaled by splintered wood and the half of the Flight Range floor that she had been standing on had begun to slide. Saki clung with her other wing to the edge to keep from falling.

"I'm gonna help you, just hold on!" Zelda called out and looked around frantically for a way to get to her.

A frown spread across her face and without a second thought, she looked back towards where Link and Teba had been shooting down targets. That proved to be a mistake as she saw Teba, with Link on his back, soaring high in the air as the latter launched a hoard of bomb arrows at a gigantic bird-like creature that she could see little more than the shadow of. Her attention was brought back to Saki as Tulin's cries grew louder and she looked around to see Saki now over the edge, with the other half of the Flight Range threatening to break away.

Spinning around, she took note of a rope that had been discarded on the top of a unit where arrows were once kept. Taking a second to weigh up her options, she grabbed the rope and turned back to the situation at hand. With the flick of her wrist, she sent one end of the rope towards Saki, who reached out to take it. Another quake and this time, it threw Zelda across the wooden floor and as the other half fell, Saki went with it earning a chorus of shrieks from Tulin.

"No!" Zelda cried out, and whimpered as another quake sent her over the edge. Dangling over the large chasm, she clung on to the creaking wood until her knuckles were white. "Link!"

Link's eyes widened as his name echoed throughout the flight range, and shooting one last arrow at the bird-like creature, he turned his head towards the collapsing gazebo and spotted Zelda hanging over the edge. Teba followed his stare and gasped in horror as he saw the Princess seconds away from falling and his son, Tulin, hovering above the damaged wood.

"I'll get us as close as I can, Link, you grab the Princess." He stated.

Teba flapped his wings once and, despite the bird-like creature's shrieks of protest, soared down towards where Zelda was hanging. Once they were close enough, Link leaned over, holding onto his Rito friend with one hand and reached out to Zelda with the other just as her grip slipped, and grabbed her by the arm, stopping her from plunging to her death.

Zelda squealed in shock and panic as she began to slip from his grip. Link hesitated briefly and let go of Teba to grab hold of her with both hands, and then pulled her up onto his back. Their eyes met briefly, and the faintest hint of a smile graced his lips.

"Don't worry, I've got you." He assured her. "Teba, could you get us to solid ground? We'll be able to fight better without being suspended in the air."

"I'll do my best." Teba promised. "Tulin, get out of here and back to Rito Village. I will be with you as soon as I can."

"But-"

"Just go!"

Young Tulin hesitated, but as the last of the Flight Range collapsed, he turned and flew away in the opposite direction. Teba, no longer having to worry about his son, flew up to higher ground. As soon as he landed, Link and Zelda climbed off of his back, with the former nodding a silent thank you.

"Teba, I am so sorry. I tried but I couldn't…"

"Sorry for what, Princess?"

"Saki… I tried, but I couldn't save her." Zelda admitted remorsefully.

Teba's eyes widened before his expression softened with a hint of sadness. There was no time to dwell on his loss though, because as he was about to speak, the bird-like creature screeched and he took to the air once more.

"Zelda, duck!" Link yelled.

"Huh?"

Zelda turned around just in time to see the creature soaring at full speed towards her and she ducked down as she'd been told. The creature missed her by mere inches, colliding with Link instead and knocking him off the cliff's edge.

"Link!"

In a panic, Zelda awoke in the darkness of her bedroom. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest and sweat trickled down her forehead towards her eyes. Moments later, the door to the room burst open and Link barged in with his sword ready in his hand and his shield raised. He scanned the room once and then did a double take only to find nothing. No piggish bokoblins, no lizalfos, no visible threat. He exhaled a sigh of relief as he spotted Zelda sitting in her bed and discarded his sword and shield before going to sit on the bed in front of her.

"Another nightmare?" He inquired, his eyebrow arched.

"Oh, Link. It was awful. Just awful." She said, clearly distraught. "The Flight Range… Teba and Tulin, and then Saki… the bird creature… and you…"

"It's alright, it was just a dream." He reassured her, placing his hand on her shoulder and lowering his head to catch her eyes. "None of it was real, not all dreams are messages."

"But it felt real enough." She commented. "It was like I'd lost you all over again."

"That's not gonna happen, I will never let it happen."

"You're all I have now." She sighed softly.

"And you are all I have." He responded. "It was just a dream, nothing to be afraid of."

Zelda hung her head. "I'm sorry for being so awful to you sometimes."

'Did she really just apologize to me?'

He never thought he'd see the day. They had grown closer since the end of the Calamity, but there was still some frost between them, and the last thing he'd expected was for her to show remorse over how she sometimes treated him. She had never apologized to him before. Link couldn't bring himself to say anything else, he didn't have any words that were fit for the moment. Then, she surprised him even further by throwing her arms around him. His eyes widened at the unexpected, but strangely comforting, embrace and he hesitated before placing his own arms loosely around her.

'She has never hugged me before…'

As she released him, he dropped his arms by his side, still astonished by her actions, and then got up ready to exit the room. Zelda scrambled across the bed quickly and grabbed hold of his hand.

"Please, don't go…" She pleaded.

Link frowned, unable to form any coherent thoughts as he looked down at her begging eyes.

"I don't wanna be alone." She added. "Stay with me?"

He froze, almost certain that he was dreaming and would wake up at any second. Though he knew that he wasn't. He was standing in her bedroom in the middle of the night as she asked him not to leave. It was as real as it could get.

"Link?"

"Alright." He agreed. "I'll stay."

And he did. He sat himself down on the bed as she made herself comfortable again, and for a while they sat in silence until eventually sleep took her once more. Link, on the other hand, did not sleep a wink. He lay awake in the dark with only his own thoughts for company as he listened to the sound of her even breaths, keeping guard as she slept. Even as his eyes grew heavy with exhaustion, he forced them to stay open. Sleep could wait for now.