Chapter 11

And the next day came, and the forests of Bubinga, and all the ivy-lined trees and uplands beneath them. And when Link took his hunting bow afield in the morning, the world lay open like a book made fresh for him to dip and press a pointed quill upon; for each step he took felt as if he trounced upon newfound land, so following the fateful night before. Here they would find goat and deer, and even the occasional solitary boar; their tracks and scent made difficult to follow in the early hours of day. They led over the downs and disappeared from sight and smell, much like the many worries of life appear and disappear on the gentle borders of the wood, just as they had tiptoed into a world unbothered by such things. Even the blue sparrows perched in the mossy branches of the wizened elms reflected this otherworldly truth, where their treble song serenaded their intrusion upon an open field untouched by man nor monster, and his track of the game faded utterly. At the centre of this clearing, beneath a haloed beam of yellow sunlight through cracks in the clouds, they came upon a small pool of water, where he led both of their horses to drink of it.

And amongst all these inviting sensations of the wood, there distant, somewhere far off yonder perhaps, he could even hear the chime of a playful korok. It had been many months since he had taken Zelda along for one of his hunts, and many more than that since he had welcomed the peace of it all to encompass his mind and steal him away from his troubled life. The swaying of the branches, the ceaseless chirping of crickets. He noticed many things here, and in the midst it all he felt her hand take his own for a brief moment where their fingers interlaced, squeezing tightly, and then releasing just as quickly. And at this time there met an exchange of glances. Her slight angle of the head, joyfully lidded eyes, and peaceful smile appeared to him like an artist's addition of beauty, painted upon an emerald-green landscape. Princess Zelda wore her comfortable riding leathers, a dark cloak to dangle waist high, and spurred boots to aid her on horseback. Her soft, oval-shaped face enduring a zephyr through the trees was framed like a golden veil by her long, flowing tresses. Often her skin was nearly unblemished, almost too perfect to look upon; it left no trace of age or flaw, whiter it was than the freshest milk of a Hateno cow. She was colourless, save for a slight blush of the cheeks when his blue eyes met her verdant own.

Beforehand, they had met in the early morning, on the nebulous borders of twilight and daybreak. Seldom had he seen her with a lavender horizon above them, the lengthy clouds a partition between it and the starlit, deep-blue sky above. Walking amongst the twilight, they had shared to each other their hopes and dreams for the future. For their child, the coming heir of a kingdom reborn. He had come to know and love the dewy dawns of Hyrule, ambling along at this hour much like he always did, but never had he suffered such emotions as he did now. Up on the hill beneath the levitating ring ruins, a falling star twinkled and flashed, arching across the sky like a flaming arrow shot into the cosmos. And Link, who had stilled to watch it, heard by vibrations the tread of her soundless feet, where she laced her hands together over his navel and placed her chin upon his shoulder to embrace him from behind.

He had not turned to face her, nor said a word as they caressed; he had sorrowed for her long the years past and especially through the night. He had yearned for her as a mortal may yearn, for all that he was—heroic in nature and the stuff of future legend—he was but a man, and corporeally bound to this physical plane, much unlike his noble spirit. There up above, the Goddess's sign beckoned them to follow it, and they had decided to take up the road for the morning and perhaps after the noon, to walk her forests and gentle woods, to hunt and partake in its benevolent offerings.

Presently he saw Princess Zelda smile at him, slyly so, as a fox would with its white chest puffed out and long ears keen.

"Well, it is a hopeful morning," said Zelda. With a wrinkling of the lips, two indentations formed upon her rosy cheeks much like how a fox moves its whiskers.

"It is many things," Link replied, reaching into his satchel on his courser. From it, he withdrew a medium-sized flask of water. With an outstretched arm, he offered it to Zelda. "Drink?"

She nodded her thanks, and took it from him. Between sips, Zelda said, "We have come far, but the day is still young. There is yet a chance for us to bring something home."

Link patted his courser gently. They had gone through so much together on his many journeys. "It will not be too much longer now," he said evenly. "Sir Toren is near the tree line, in search of a new trail for us to follow."

The princess turned away from him, but perhaps because she had looked off into the green distance to try and spy her knight from behind the many trees.

Her knight, he found himself thinking. Very personal knowledge had come to Sir Toren. Indeed, Zelda had told him of her confidence in her attendant. It was as he always suspected; the brown-haired knight was aware of his forbidden relationship with Zelda, and even she now carried his unborn child. In the past months of loneliness, she had come to entrust things to the knight, things which would no doubt prove problematic if passed on to other minds. He was a trustworthy man, however, and Link knew he would safeguard such private matters with his very life.

"Where has he gone off to?" Zelda asked. A mild concern had taken foothold in her previously calm features.

"The forest keeps him," Link said quietly. With an evident carefulness, he reached to take her left hand in his right, giving a gentle squeeze. "Let us take it as another sign, and enjoy this brief moment of solitude together." He hesitated. And after a silence made deeper by the wispy wind passing through the forest, he whispered, "Do you hear it too?"

It seemed almost a silly question. He had said it so softly, at the very bottom of his voice. None could have heard it, save for the ear he whispered it into. But his expression was so intense, so focused, she could do nothing but bid him answer.

"I did," she said. "Her voice is like a songbird's, spoken through the winds as a melody would."

And moving very slowly then, very deliberately, Link reached around her shoulder to claim her other hand and brought it to his lips, as if he were swearing another oath anew. With her flask discarded, he kissed her fingers, her knuckles, and even the royal signet of Hylia on her little finger. He kissed her like he worshipped her, as he always longed to do all these many years in servitude to her.

"You are mine now," he said, in a queer voice. "The Goddess has made you mine. I thought . . . I thought I would never hold her blessing. Here."

He kissed her again. The back of her hand was soft on his lips, and when he touched her there he felt a tingle, and the quickening of his pulse.

She seemed to be feeling something, too. Fighting for composure, Zelda asked, "Are we within a dream? Only there, on the boundaries of fantasy, have I bore your love as now."

His sorrow was still there, but somehow it seemed calmer, gentler even. Less encompassing. He said, quite tenderly, "If this is a dream, then I swear upon this blade at my side I shall never awaken. Zelda, I have given in. There will be no more mysteries between us, no more misunderstandings. You cannot hold back any longer, nor can I." He placed his hand firmly beneath her navel. "Nor can this child. Like the day closes to night . . . and the night's curtain rises to day, nothing shall come between us any longer. The moon and sun will guide us; the wind, and the Goddess's own good word."

And now, finally, she should understand. Not the difficult sum of which he tried to convey, but the thing which mattered more than anything else: the source of his love, his undying will to stay her side, and his eternal vows which need not be uttered aloud.

She was silent a long moment, thinking hard. Then, "This must truly be a dream," she said. "Before morning takes us back, hold me just a bit longer. Wrap your arms around me, hard, like you would not ever let go. Be it a dream, or not. There may come a time when we must wake, though I would give everything to impede it."

Something flickered in his mind. "I will never let you go," he said, pulling her tight against his chest.

They were both silent then. Be it a dream, or not. Link pushed that thought away as best he could. He became aware her hands on his chest were trembling, and her heart was pounding, much like his own. Link did not move. She looked so beautiful, like that. He glanced away, uncertain again, and saw all around them the forest moving, dancing, as if stirred by their loving embrace if it were a troubadour's music.

"Look!" he said, delighted and awed.

She looked around, and smiled then, deep from the heart.

"You have garnered her favour," she said.

Beyond them and west, across the forest and in the fields of green, there came a distant voice. Link could hear it, whistling like a strong wind. Link knew what it meant. This was the first time he had truly noticed it, truly, but he still understood. Overhead, the radiant sun seemed to poke holes in the clouds, its lashing rays of gold and amber shooting down to highlight them in its brilliance. And the many flowers around them, white, and yellow, and more, open to its warmth and beauty.

He swallowed, and summoned his courage again. He said: "This is no dream. It is like you said before, there on the cliffs of Akkala. This is real."

"I know," Zelda said softly.

And then she moved against him, finally, raising her hands further to touch his face. Seconds later, they were both lying amongst all the young white flowers. He had not realized how they ended up like that. He released her palm then, but only to take her face between his two hands, so carefully it seemed as if he feared he might bruise or break her underneath his very touch. Over the rapidly growing thunder of his pulse, Link heard her whisper his name once, as if she had been praying to the Goddess, and he had time to answer with hers—with all of her name, and titles—before he lowered his mouth to fit perfectly over hers.

She could not have spoken further after that, for the desire and need to taste each other bore her away from such thoughts as something—a pebble in a stream, a grain of sand on a beach—forgotten and unremembered like the perished thoughts of the dead. He was with her, though. They were together here in this untroubled place, in this circular clearing, and then he thought for an instant they might have been naked lying upon this grassy field like this, if they were truly alone. Naked like the young flowers sprung up in the newly christened spring.

And as she drew him further down and into her, feeling the willingness of their longing and the need of their aching desire, Zelda looked up at him for a moment, glancing past his shoulder to gaze up at the sky beyond, and all the numerous islands floating up there in the heavens where only dragons may dwell. And it came to him them, as a wonderful and joyous thought, that every time they coupled like this should be betwixt wind, and grass, and tree.

Then, something in Zelda's verdant eyes changed, and seeing that awakened his own desire, and all his thoughts scattered from him like dust strewn between those tiny islands. She moved her head so her mouth could seek and find his own, and he closed his arms around her and gathered her to him and closed his eyes, and when he found the portal he so longed for, they let that passion carry them further along the springtide morning of the forest.


Later that day, his bow and arrow found a woodland boar. But the next hour, he found himself riding out of the wood and through that wonderful boundary to enter Hyrule again; and saw the great expanse of mountains ahead of them and the arch of smoke from the stable beneath it. It was after noon now, and the three of them were weary from their hunt. Before they took their path back toward Kakariko, they would find rest and nourishment there. As the day wore on, they found themselves in front of a warm fire, near the coming and going of men and carts who would have nothing to do with them. They sat there silently, enjoying the beauty and peacefulness of the day or their own impudent thoughts, or the rare moment when another interested party would greet them in kindness.

Near them in the hayloft of the stable, there came a shrieking sound he knew only to be that of a monster. Too keen to such a noise, Sir Toren took his blade in his hands and Link stood with his own made ready in its sheathe. The door of the stable was wide open when they came upon it, and when they entered they had seen the ladder to the hayloft, clamped to the wall by iron; but amidst the whickering and trouncing hooves of uneasy horses, they could hear nothing.

Princess Zelda, lingering close behind them, paused at the raised arm of Link who had silently commanded her to stay back. With their glittering swords drawn, one magical and the other mundane, Sir Toren and Link stepped further into the stable. It smelt of blood. Large quantities of it. A curious gathering formed further away, interested in what the commotion was. The princess, with kindness in her voice asked them to step backwards, and returned her gaze to that of her two knights. Their cloaks billowing, Link looked up the ladder to try and discern what had made such a screech. And when he had placed his foot upon one of the rungs and began his ascent, a rumbling came up from above and another shrieking scream—this time more piglike than anything—and near the back of the stable, where the double doors had lain open, he saw a grotesquely monstrous figure leap down from the hayloft. The jump was nothing to the beast, and it landed with a great thud and an impudence about it which bespoke its wild origins. The bokoblin, black in colour and ugly, reared its head and roared at its intruders. In its sharp claws was a large chunk of flesh, probably from one of the horses of the stable.

Presently there came another roar of the bokoblin and several resounding yelps of terror in response from the crowd at the front of the stable, where they had begun to scatter in every direction knowing what prowled in their midst. Link heard Zelda yell out something behind him, but his focus was on his blade, now pointed sharply at the beast, and Sir Toren as he raised his own weapon to bring it down upon the foul creature. Hounds outside barked loudly, horses screamed and beat against their gates. The unarmed beast, dodging Sir Toren's strike with a devilishly fast sidestep, lobbed the hunk of flesh through the air to strike Link squarely in the chest. He had been caught off guard by that, though recovered no less quickly as he stood again to see the monster lunge at Sir Toren with a bestial cry. Like a great shadow he fell upon the knight, striking him across the body with its large, terrifying fists. His sword was knocked from his grasp. Their narrow arena proved difficult; Link had trouble finding the right angle to strike at the foe. Sir Toren, recuperating from the attack, regarded Link with shame upon his face knowing he had been disarmed. And the monster, ever brighter than one would take it for, bore the well-crafted sword for its own.

And then with a whirring, the Master Sword flung through the air, whistling, and shrieking its own shrill call. It was quick, almost impossible to see, but the monster had brought its weapon up to match the magical steel in the very last second. Link, locking his steel against his enemy's, pushed with the strength of ten men, forcing his opponent backwards and out of the stable. Beyond them the tall trees rose up, riddled with leaves and ivy which climbed up the trunks. A breeze passed by, and what followed was another roar before Link dashed forward and leapt at the beast mercilessly. The hounds in their pens behind them barked madly, spectating their fight which had become everyone's spectacle at this point. Another clash of steel came about, perhaps even sparks from the union of steel against steel. The monster was formidable, but Link was no mere wanderer of the land. Seconds later, the beast knew it had met its match, and soon its defences were cut through. So vast and ceaseless a demise was not yet made clear to the terror of the monster, for its sharp understanding of the land had not allowed it to cross paths with such an opponent. With an effortless parry, Link cleaved through the beast's arm mid-swing, and Sir Toren's sword flung through the air in an arch to embed itself into the soil some twenty feet away. And the beast, looking down at the one who had killed it, roared its last before Link eviscerated it with an upward, diagonal wrenching of his blade.

He gazed with pity down at the creature's corpse as it began to dissipate. When Sir Toren came behind him, its body had already begun to turn to smoke and ash. From his pouch on his side he withdrew a piece of parchment, and he wiped down the bloodied Master Sword.

Sir Toren regarded him with another shameful look. "How careless was I," he uttered dismally. Pulling his sword from the dirt, he continued, saying, "I should not have underestimated the enemy like that."

"Do not think so poorly of yourself," Link said admonishingly. "Even the most seasoned knight suffers defeat at some point. I know I have."

The large knight stepped forward, watching Link sheathe the Master Sword at his side. Eventually, his hardened face softened slightly. "You are right," he then said; "but I will take this defeat as an opportunity for growth. A great many battles have passed since I was last made to look weak."

Link experienced a weird, fleeting moment of pity for the knight who had ultimately replaced his role as Princess Zelda's sworn attendant. He was young in his years with a sword in hand, so he would no doubt learn from this failure.

Beyond them he could see Princess Zelda approaching swiftly, bearing an expression of worry. She always worried whenever he took up the sword like this. When she saw the decaying corpse of the monster, she rose a hand to her mouth.

"The beast has been slain," Link said evenly.

Zelda shook her head. "Why did it come here in the first place? These random attacks are troubling to behold. For many months we have had no word of such things."

Link gave his small characteristic shrug. His eyes moved away from Sir Toren, canting right to come and rest upon Zelda. In the background, the gathering crowd which had dispersed in fright began to grow once more. Now, even residents of the inn had come out to see what had transpired.

"We may never find an answer," Link said crisply; "but this is why the Knights of Hyrule exist, to protect the innocent from such things. Come, let us be on our way. Impa will be awaiting our return."

Zelda nodded, and then looked at Sir Toren. "Are you unhurt, sir?" she asked.

Sir Toren, nodding his head firmly, said, "I am, because of Sir Link's quick thinking. He is the one who vanquished the monster, after all. Forgive me, your highness."

Zelda, smiling softly, turned to gaze at Link. "There is nothing to be forgiven," she responded kindly. "It warms my heart to see both of you unharmed. But Sir Link is correct; we should return to the village now."

Her knight's mouth tightened, but he said nothing. Link saw his grip tighten on the pommel of his sword, but after a moment it loosened. Sheathing his blade, Sir Toren said, "As you wish, Princess."

Soon after, they saddled their horses again and took them up the dirt road. Some time later, they crossed over the Kakariko Bridge, and found themselves entering into the chine. The sun, formerly high in the skies above, had finally begun to descend for the day. A great serenity came in the pale blue sky, and the small clouds leisurely floating through it turned to a glowing yellow, and eventually a flaming orange. It was a peaceful scene to behold, and as the day wore further on, they found themselves graced with the pleasant sight of the village once again. Link, turning his head to look at Zelda, saw her offer him a soothing smile which she knew he loved. She rode her palfrey well, for she was well-trained in the honoured arts and long-standing traditions of horseback, much like her mother before her. And when they came upon the sleepy, lazy village which was Kakariko, and he saw the sun fall over the horizon to bring about the end of the day, Link felt himself straining to stay focused. He knew what they were to go about to do tonight. And now the sunlight was gone from the highest places, and the moon was shining over the ring ruins, filling the air with a strange, blue tint. He felt bewildered, looking up at the starry sky which seemed to have come too swiftly, and a whim came upon him of what might take place soon; and while this whim was on him he tethered his horse and helped Zelda down from her palfrey.


As the evening which followed began to fade away, Link had taken it upon himself to escort the princess down from the hall. Beforehand, they had dined with Chief Paya and Impa. Even Tauro, who had returned in the afternoon from his expedition, had been summarily invited to their feast. Afterwards, when the guests had dispersed, and Link and Zelda found themselves alone beneath the counsel of the old, wise Sheikah, they had propositioned their plan for them to wed against all the laws of the land. She had not yet bid them reply, offering only for them to return the morning after, so she might study the many tomes made safe from the great fires of the Calamity. "Perhaps," Impa had said to them, "there may very well be a way." Afterwards, the old wise woman had retired to bed.

So black was the moonlit night her words of caution were all which permeated his thoughts now. She was no less supportive of their pursuit of love, but she had equally advised restraint in their . . . passionate doings, so to speak. But they could not heed warnings given too late. For all her portends and omens of a child ill-begotten and born from an unsanctioned union between princess and knight could not stave him from his overwhelming desire. Nor could the same guidance be cast upon Princess Zelda—who, by all accounts, had passed three months with child—much like a witch of old would cast a spell upon her runes.

Zelda, who had sent away Sir Toren to the tents to bathe and rest himself, looked sideways at Link with a heartwarming smile. Her face was glowing brightly in the blue-tinted light of the fullest moon Hyrule had seen this year. But none other than he was there to see her at such an hour, for the threat of darkness was already felt in the village and abroad, and all the peoples were warm in their houses and already abed. And soon, he was come by an uncertain pathway up the hill and further the mountain, to which the winds of the night blew from afar. And when they climbed the pathway further, they had found themselves up high above all else, overlooking the Lantern Lake and even the great hall below them. They walked like that, their bare hands interlocked, and fingers laced lovingly underneath no eye ever-watchful. Between the nebulous border separating them and the village slumbering below, there was no man nor woman who could pry them apart, or think cheaply of the Princess to have her knight hanging about her like two young lovers would. They walked with a gravity about them like that, fully understanding the finality of such things. With every venerable step they took further, blue eyes locked to green, the world seemed to be lost to them. They—their love, more precisely—had engulfed each other completely now. Thus they went on over the hill to lay down near the dip into the canyon below, where the waterfalls flowed endlessly from the half-circle lake born from a spring hidden by rock.

And up and down, up and down, the owls called out from the darkness. They called like they strove to announce in song the birth of a new love to play out beneath the cloudless, moonlit sky above them; the last bastion of a romance which would shake the foundations of the land; and all the many eons to come.

Lying on their backs, arms around each other to stare up at the very same moon, Link looked over at his princess, feeling the calm and silence of the twilight suffuse him. He felt happiness there, like the burdens of the world had been lifted up off his shoulders. For the moment though, however brief this moment might be, everything seemed perfect.

He said, "You never were skilful at hiding your feelings from others."

Surprisingly, she turned her head to look at him. She was flushing, clearly. Link grinned. He shifted position and came closer to her, placing his hands on her navel. She remained about where she was.

"Have you anything to say to that?" he asked playfully. He really did feel so remarkably well. More than well, he realized. He wondered if such a happiness would last. "Come, Zelda, do not be so quiet now we are alone . . ."

Zelda, her emerald eyes wide, looked at him with a growing mirth.

That was the reaction he so desired. Reaching over her further, he said, "Let us not speak love with words, then."

Zelda rose slightly then, tall, and slender as she was, her golden hair uncoiled and free-flowing far beneath her shoulders now. "If you are so," she murmured, bending forward to meet him, "insistent of such things, then so be it."

Her soft, full lips met his own in that moment.

His tongue had passed the barrier of her mouth in an instant. She seemingly carried no qualms about that, as her own toiled greatly against him, eager in its reception. The kiss was brief, elusive, delicate. She pulled back, laughing then, and then drew fully back from him. He suddenly remembered Zelda could be so playful when they were alone like this. Then, he watched as she slid her gown from her left shoulder, slowly, tantalizingly so, until the cream of her fair skin was made visible in the deeply-blue moonlight.

"What is it?" she asked playfully. "You were so talkative beforehand . . . Have you no words now?"

His turn to laugh, helplessly, and then, not too long after, to stop laughing as he watched her further remove her gown with an effortless allure no mortal could match. She truly was like a goddess. Or perhaps she was a witch? A witch ensnaring him with her foulest, most corrupting magic. He was enthralled by such magic, truly. In response, he quickly began to remove his own garments, and soon he was bare-chested, barefooted, and nearly naked, save for his trousers.

When she came further upon him to taste the hollow of his throat, and then down toward his chest, and down further again, all words—all thoughts even—were truly forgotten. Words were a distant memory now as she mounted him. Then she moved again, in a swirl of flowery scent, perhaps even mint sprigs, and a rustle of the grass to release his painfully large sex from its dreadful confines.

She was like a silhouette there against the backdrop of the dark blanket of a sky. In the moonlight, he saw her misty shape and the gleam of her golden hair flowing around her shoulders. She was laid bare before him like that, above him in her full nudity to display every inch of her perfection to him, so vague it was.

"I am patiently waiting for those words," Princess Zelda said gravely as, with a smooth, uncomplicated motion, she lowered herself upon his sex.

The twinkling lights of the stars now seemed to shine beyond in the dark skies above. The winds passed through to catch her beautiful hair like the whisper of a voice challenging him to reach out to her. The waterfall ran softly below, aiming for the lake beneath it. Link felt Zelda's movements above him like the rhythmic motion of water. He lifted his hands to her pear-shaped breasts, and began to trace the outline of her in the darkness. When she bent over to bring her lips to him, his fingers found the softest lines of her jaw. He tried measurably to hold in his moans of pleasure, but for merely a second he erred in such control.

"Zelda," he cooed aloud, voice tinged with emotion.

With that very soft utterance, her hips seemed to come further alive. Her spoiled sex was utterly accommodating for him. And when at the edges of every rise and fall of her hips, she seemed to stiffen momentarily, drawing her own sounds of pleasure. Her teeth, nipping playfully at his neck, retreated abruptly as she arched her back in pleasure. She began to moan his own name quietly. The beautiful sound of it captured his every attention. She weaved it from a thread of emotion much like the creation of a new song. Oh, Goddess! He had not much left in him, he realized. He grasped at her breasts futilely, ran his fingers over her nipples and upwards her neck to thumb at her agape mouth. Eventually, feeling his inevitable release coming, his hands slid downwards to her hips, where he aided the princess in her efforts. She began to wail loudly, matching the strength of the waterfall below them. He was so close, and Link knew she was too, feeling her stiffen and jerk in her own loss of control.

"Link!" Zelda whined outwards to the night sky.

Everything became nothing. His ecstasy replaced all notions of thought. All of his energy had been sapped entirely by her skilful work. And when she was finished alongside him, Zelda collapsed onto him with all absolute abandonment. He reached his arms around her, drawing her in close like that so where she might not ever forget the feeling of his arms and chest.

He must have slept, afterwards, though he did not know for how long. When he had awoke, Zelda had already dressed herself, and she was sitting to look out at the ascending sun over the horizon. Rising slightly with his head angled toward her, he saw the light spread; he saw the wonder of sunrise; the gloom of the night vanishing quickly with her majesty heralding such a change in the world. Through the gorgeous beauty of that heavy air which sought to cast out the darkly world, all earthly things awoke. Long rays came through the clouds to beckon the birds, and at the bare edges of the mountain he stood and dressed himself. Taking her hands in his own, they looked over the waterfalls to see them glittering like gold, the bright beams of light shining through their crystalline waters to reflect the glamour of a new age.

And Link and Zelda held themselves like that, watching the morning turn further into day. He would never dare to forget this moment. As long as he drew breath, he would keep this memory close to his heart, where such things of importance were stored from memory.

When he saw the strangeness of the blooming sun warp and twist the world further under its irradiating magic, the village below them began to come alive. And presently, the folk about the village seemingly came to watch the sunrise with them. And when he saw that beautiful mass of clouds in the distance above the highest peaks of the mountains, and the many hundreds of islands dotting the skyline above that, Link said to Zelda, so she may never forget of it: "Here is her blessing, there upon the sky."