Chapter 9

"I've got a guest room you two could use," Hera said, the three sitting in the sitting room once more. Link took a sip from the water he had been given as the smells of cooking food filled the air. "That way you two can rest up and I can see how well your bodies are reacting to the chemicals."

"Thank you very much," Zelda offered.

Link looked her over, her sitting in the chair facing the empty fireplace. She had taken down the bun, letting her hair fall around her shoulders, and had removed the armored gloves and surcoat to leave the metal chest plate bare.

"Now, pardon my rudeness, but why would the Darknut be after you two specifically?" Hera asked.

Link held tight to his water, his stomach still on edge from what it went through, as he looked over at Zelda.

The girl looked down at the cup in her hands and lowered it to her lap. "I'm sorry for how much we've hidden from you," she started with. She raised her head and looked Hera in the eyes as she said, "I am Queen Zelda of Hyrule, a warrior of the Sheikah Clan and bearer of the Tri-force of Wisdom."

Hera visibly changed at mention of the Tri-force, leaning forward as she held her right hand up for him to see.

Dropping her hand, she motioned towards Link and added, "He's Sir Link of Hyrule, Hero of the Light Sword and bearer of the Tri-force of Courage."

Hera looked across the short table, signaling Link to hold his left hand in a fist to show the man the mark on the back of his hand.

"We have reason to believe the Darknut has the third piece," Zelda said, drawing Hera back to look at her as Link dropped his hand to his lap.

"So that's why he's after you," Hera said, sitting back in his chair. The ringing of bells called him to his feet. "That'd be my dinner, give me a moment," he said, walking around them to the kitchen through the doorway.

Link took a sip of his water only to notice Zelda keeping an eye on him. He lowered the cup and smiled back at her.

"Your stomach feeling better?" Zelda asked.

"Better," Link said with a nod of his head.

Zelda gave him a nod. "I wish we had milk and crackers," she said.

"Don't have any milk, but crackers I do have!" Hera called out from beyond the doorway.

"Thank you!" Zelda called back, leaning back in the chair to look passed Link.

"Zelda, do you want something to eat?" Hera asked, poking his head around the corner.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything without salt?" Zelda asked, looking around Link.

Hera let out a laugh as he retreated out of sight. "Will do," he called out.

Link took a sip of his water, his eyes falling on Zelda. A part of him felt she shouldn't have her hair down in front of the old man, like it was something only he should see. He sat the cup on the short table in front of them and shook his head to clear the thought from his mind.

"So when's the wedding?" Hera asked as the man stepped back into the room.

Link turned around to see the man handing him a little plate of square crackers before giving Zelda a plate of what looked to be steamed greens.

"Who would've thought an old man like me would be asking a question like that," Hera said as the two teens offered their words of thinks. He stepped into the hall, disappearing for a moment only to reappear with his dinner of steamed vegetables and some meat on a plate and water for himself. Going back to his chair he added, "It's been a few years since anyone cared to celebrate."

"The wedding's supposed to be in the second month of spring," Zelda offered. She looked at the greens on her plate and asked, "How do you have vegetables? We were told nothing grows anymore."

"I figured out how to have an underground garden," Hera offerd as he started to eat. Swallowing he asked, "How long have you two been together?"

"How do you know we weren't betrothed?" Link asked as he snacked on the thin bread.

"Because at one time I was and so was Charlo," Hera explained. "The two sisters we had never wanted us and their brother wasn't happy with the woman he had been forced to marry."

"I'm sure not all betrothals are like that," Zelda tried.

Hera gave a shrug, ending that line of conversation to leave Link to say, "Three years."

"So I'm sure two of such stature will have a grand wedding," Hera said, eyeing Zelda.

"Don't remind me," Zelda said, closing her eyes.

"Not the response I was expecting," Hera admitted.

"The lady in waiting at the castle's been forcing her ideas into the wedding." Link explained.

"Why are you going to let her then?" Hera asked. "It's your wedding, not hers."

"Go over Lady Impa's head?" Link asked, ideas running through his mind.

Hera looked at Link a moment before turning to Zelda. "What would you want?"

Zelda swallowed what was in her mouth to admit, "I'm not sure. Defiantly something not so big. A friend of ours got married a few months ago and Lady Impa seems to want to step it up from how fancy that one was. I'd rather something smaller."

"Mido joked about eloping a couple of years ago," Link said, remembering his friend's words.

"Kinda hard with you being queen," Hera pointed out.

"I never asked to be queen," Zelda said.

"You weren't born into it?" Hera asked, surprised.

Link let Zelda tell the man of their adventures, memories of Grandfather playing in his mind as the old man appeared in the tale. In a few more months he was about to go through another big event in his life he had always thought the old man would be around to see, even thought he would walk Zelda down the aisle after learning about her daydreams and her father's death. Who would walk her now?

By the time Link turned back into their conversation Zelda was saying, "-with which Link defeated the Black Shuck." She leaned forward and sat her empty plate on the table, as if a way to signify that was the end of her story.

"How long have you been a knight?" Hera asked, looking over at Link.

"Almost two seasons now," Link offered, finishing the snack he had been given. He sat the empty drinkware and plate on the short table and sat back, glad his stomach seemed to have almost calmed down completely now.

"Why the delay? It sounds like you should've been knighted long before just recently," Hera said, eating the last of the cooked meat from his plate.

Link let out a yawn, almost caught off guard as he quickly reached up to cover his mouth. Dropping his hand back to his lap he said, "I had to finish my training. Most get knighted when they're sixteen or seventeen so I managed to just catch up."

"Oh, my apologies," Hera said, leaning back to reach into his pocket without getting to his feet. He pulled out a smaller version of the time piece he had used in the workshop only to say, "No wonder you're tired, it's past midnight." He put the time piece back in his pocket and sat the plate with his remaining dinner on the table before standing up. "I can give you the grand tour in the morning if you still want, but for now I'll show you the way to the guest room."

"Thank you again for all the help," Zelda offered, getting to her feet.

"Of course."

Link rose to his feet and grabbed the gloves and helmet he had taken off, grabbing the baldric strap that still held his sword, before following the two down the hallway once more.

"Toilet's the last door here," Hera offered, stopping before a set of stairs to reach his hand into the doorway. He turned a nob and ignited the gas light, letting the two see a chair with exposed pipes below and a sink.

"A bottom floor toilet?" Zelda asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"A pipe system drops all waste into the magma below us," Hera said, pride in his voice as he turned the light off. "And the water brought in is from the same filtered water. Took me longer than I'd like to admit to make sure those two systems didn't cross but I've finally gotten the kinks fixed," he said as he led the two up the steps.

The steps went back to the house, letting Link take in another hall of doors.

"This is my room, if anything happens in the night don't hesitate to wake me," Hera informed, knocking his left hand on the first door from the steps. Continuing to the next door he pushed opened the door and stepped in to turn the light on. "Sorry there's only one bed, I don't normally have company up here."

"We'll make do, thanks again," Zelda offered as Link followed her into the room.

Link stepped over to a table holding a water basin, the jug full of clear water, and sat down his gloves and helmet. He leaned his sword in the corner of the table and wall.

"Good night," Hera offered, turning to leave.

"Good night," Link offered with Zelda echoing him. He turned away from the man as Hera pulled closed the door and left, taking in the small room.

Two gas lamps hung from the wall lighting up the room only big enough for the bed sitting with the head rest against the wall under a glass covered window. The table beside Link was the only other piece of furniture in the room. He let out a sigh and pulled the crocheted blanket off of the foot of the bed, saying, "You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

"No, there's enough room on the bed," Zelda said, walking around the bed to sit on a side. She looked up in surprise as she rested her hands behind her, giving a bounce on the mattress. Looking at Link watching her, she said, "Sit down. Is it just me or is this more comfortable than our beds back home?"

Link raised his eyebrow in confusion, only taking a moment before he sat down on the opposite of the bed. Under him the bed sprang back against his weight, surprising him. "It's weird," Link offered, unsure what sleeping on something like this would be like. Movement felt through the mattress from behind him got him to turn around to see Zelda bending over to take her shoes off. Realizing the two would be in their underclothes, Link mumbled, "I don't know about this."

"Well I'd rather you not wake up sore from sleeping on the hard floor," Zelda said, sitting her shoes aside before standing up to work at taking off the armor. She worked on loosening the chest plate as she looked over her shoulder. "Just think of it as seeing if we can actually sleep together."

"And if you won't kick me off the bed?" Link offered as he turned away from her to work on his own boots.

"Exactly," Zelda said before the clinking of metal alerted Link to her pulling her armor off.