The dining hall was quiet. Those who sat at the tables hadn't said a word since Zelda and Celessa's departure. Some simply sat with their arms folded, like Link and Teli, while others worked on other tasks. Prima had chosen to take a broom in hand and sweep the floors, something she hadn't truly focused on doing herself since her new employee joined her in running the place. Then there was Manny, who had his arms folded like the others but had fallen asleep while attempting to sit stoically like them. His snoring echoed through the hall, blocking out the winter ambiance that was blowing outside. After some time, Prima's broom came to a stop as she chose to look at him.
"I can't believe he managed to get himself another free night here," she said, watching as the large Hylian's head bobbed around with each snore. "So much for having him go home today..."
"Just because he's been here for a while already doesn't mean you can't still charge him," Purah said.
It was possible to forget that she was there with how small she was. She had returned to her chair next to Link, and for once was actually sitting in it properly, deciding best to use her time to go through whatever notes she had documented in her little notebook. Without looking up from the pad in her hands, she continued.
"If he's staying here free of charge today, one could ooooonly assume it's out of kindness. You might be getting a little soft, Prima."
"Soft? I wouldn't say that," Prima huffed, but when Purah raised her eyebrow (still without looking up from her work) the clerk blew air through her nostrils. "I'm not. If anything—"
She looked back over at the bobbing head.
"—he just happened to earn something for once. He did punch an assassin today."
"Those are some preeeeetty high standards you have if that's your starting point," Purah commented, but Prima's brow furrowed.
"Trust me on this. You don't know him the way I do," she said. "If anything, you should be giving him that tone for needing something like this to finally encourage him to do something that's not for himself."
"Was he really that bad before?" Purah asked nonchalantly.
"If you had seen the handful of crickets he had tried to give me, you'd understand," Prima said, something that finally made the little girl look up from her notebook. She looked her in the eye, which the clerk could only guess was a silent request for an explanation. "Minor details aside, it's exactly as it sounds."
"Hm," Purah hummed, choosing to turn back to her notebook. Apparently, this was one of the few things she decided wasn't worth her time investigating.
"Still, it's amazing he can sleep so easily while waiting," Prima said, looking back at Manny. "With Zelda taking the lead on their little journey, anything could happen..."
"If you're surprised he's sleeping through it, just look at this one," Purah said.
Without looking up, she pointed the little pencil she usually kept on her at Link. Raising an eyebrow, Prima looked at the knight, who had been sitting quietly ever since Zelda had left. It took a moment, but eventually, it finally clicked for her.
"He's asleep too," she mumbled, to which Purah nodded.
Though his body hadn't moved, with his arms still folded and his head sitting up, Link's eyes were closed and his breathing had become deep and rhythmic. Upon hearing Prima's words, Teli looked over in surprise.
"I hadn't even noticed," he said, now inspecting the sleeping knight. "That's incredible. He just blended in!"
"He had to sleep while on the road most of the time," Purah said. "Sleeping like this made it to where a malicious creature wouldn't notice him had it happened to walk by."
"More like any creature," Teli said.
"Him sleeping is even more surprising," Prima said, walking over to the table to get a better look. "I thought he'd be the most stressed here while waiting for her to return."
"He normally would be," Purah said. "Soooooo, if he's not, then maybe you all don't have much to worry about either. Relax."
"That's one way to look at it," Teli said.
"He's really had a hard time, hasn't he?" Prima said, folding her own arms with the broom handle between their folds. Her frown grew a bit larger. "We haven't made things easier on him. Out of everyone, he's probably had it hardest these past few months, and I hate that I'm somewhat to blame."
"Don't be too hard on yourself," Purah said, still refusing to raise her nose from her notes. "Even Zelda didn't believe. The Yiga is a strange clan, one trained in the arts of deceit. He messed with and fooled everyone. Even his being here was once an outlandish belief, for it's never happened here before. All you can do is accept what happened and keep moving forward."
"You make it sound easy," Prima said, to which the little researcher chuckled.
"Now it's your turn to trust me," she said, "because this is nothing compared to what Link and Zelda had to move on from."
"You say that," Teli spoke up, leaning over the table a bit, "but, you're speaking from experience too, aren't you?"
"Hm," she hummed again in reply.
"Speaking of her, don't you think she and Celessa are taking a while?" Prima asked. "They knew exactly where to go, so shouldn't they—?"
"We're here!" Celessa's voice suddenly called.
Everyone perked up and looked at the dining hall entrance. The sound of two doors closing echoed before the two women appeared hurrying into the hall.
"We got them," Zelda said as they came to a stop. "The fairies; we got as many as we could."
As Prima sighed in relief at the sight of them, Purah bounced up to stand in the chair she was sitting in.
"Welcome back," she said, closing the notepad in her hands. "I thought you'd be a bit more snappy than that, but that'll do. Did you get yourselves healed first?"
"We did—" Zelda began, but Celessa jumped in excitedly.
"We were blessed by the great fairy herself!" she exclaimed. "To think I'd actually get to experience something grande such as that!"
"Exciting," Purah said simply before turning back to Zelda. "With that out the way, we just need to wake Linky up to make the tonics."
"Wake him?" Zelda asked. She looked over to see her knight's sleeping face. "Aw... If he's asleep then maybe we could simply try to replicate—"
"No time nor the luxury to afford the quality being less than effective," Purah denied immediately. "We need him awake to make the tonics himself. He can rest properly afterward."
Zelda frowned. She really didn't wish to wake him right when he finally got a good chance to sleep, especially with how at peace he looked. Sure, he had rested in her lap earlier, but she had to wake him from that too. Regardless, it had to be done. With a disappointed breath, she stepped over and lightly shook his shoulder.
"Link," she called softly. He didn't respond. Gently, she brought a hand to his cheek and lightly rubbed her thumb against his smooth skin. "Link, we need you awake. Link?"
When he again didn't respond, Purah gave a sigh.
"I suuuuuper apologize, but we really don't have time for this," the little researcher said, waving her notepad at Zelda, a sign for her to back away.
Though she was slightly concerned, Zelda stepped aside. With her out of the way, Purah raised and smacked the back of her notes against Link's forehead. His head slightly went back from the force before he snorted awake. He looked around before stiffening, ready to stand until he realized who was standing around him.
"When did I doze off?" he asked Purah, bringing a hand up to brush his bangs out of his tired eyes. "Is Zelda back yet?"
"She is, and she's right there," the researcher answered, pointing a tiny thumb at the woman in question. Link quickly turned.
"Zelda," he said, relieved to see her safe. "I'm glad you're— What's wrong?"
"N-nothing," Zelda answered, dropping the look of horror she had on from Purah's methods of waking him up. "I'm sorry to wake you, but we need you."
"Were you able to get the fairies?" Link asked, standing from his chair. Zelda nodded."Then I guess it's time for me to cook then. How many were you able to get?"
"Quite a few," she answered as Link held his hand out, silently asking for the slate. Taking the slate and placing it in his hand, she added, "you can thank the great fairy. She seemed rather fond of you."
"The great fairy, huh?" Link murmured as he went through the slate. "Those sisters are an interesting bunch..."
"They are, speaking of which," Zelda mentioned. "She said she'd like you to visit her again. Something along the lines of you'd understand?"
"U-um..." Link stuttered, looking up from the slate. "She's probably talking about clothing upgrades..."
"Clothing upgrades?" Zelda asked. "The fairies have the power to enhance clothing? That's a useful ability. Why haven't we gone before, and why do you seem hesitant about it?"
"Uh... Well..." Link stammered, trying to find the words, but was saved as Purah loudly cleared her throat.
"You two are adorable, but we reeeeeaaaaally need to make it snappy with those tonics," she said impatiently.
"Y-yeah, sorry," Link said, now focusing properly on looking through the contents of the slate. Everyone stood in silence as he counted the bottles of fairies.
"Well? Is it enough?" Celessa spoke up. After a few more seconds, Link looked up with a tired smile.
"It should be more than enough," he said.
Zelda felt the weight that had been in her chest start to lighten. She felt tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes as she exhaled in relief.
"It's good to see that again," Link said suddenly. Confused, Zelda glanced at him, silently asking the obvious question on her mind. He gave his smile a bit more energy. "Your smile... I missed it."
Surprised, Zelda brought her fingers to her lips. She was smiling, along with everyone else around her.
"Did you hear that?" Celessa said, aiming a smile of her own at Zelda. "Jules will be fine."
"I didn't realize how long I had gone without paying attention to that," Link mumbled quietly to himself, allowing a shed of disappointment to show before turning to Prima. "Do you mind if I use your cooking pot?"
"By all means," Prima said, gesturing her hand toward the front wall where the stove hung from the roof of the built-in furnace. "I don't think anyone's ever passed on in this inn, and I'd like to keep it that way."
"Then I'd better get to work," he replied. "Give me just a few minutes to cook."
A small cheer came from the group as Link made his way to the furnace. Allowing relief to continue consuming her, Zelda took a seat in the chair Link had just left and exhaled all the stress she had been carrying.
"Are you sure you healed yourself? As dashing as you are, you still look exhausted," Teli asked, giving her a proud grin.
"I may be healed, but I guess my body is still exhausted," Zelda answered.
"Why don't you go rest? I think you've earned it," Prima offered from across the table, but her employee shook her head.
"Not until she's healed," she declined. "I don't feel I have the right to rest easy until she's absolutely going to be alright."
"Still stubborn, as always," Prima sighed, however, she returned her focus to her task of sweeping, knowing full well she wouldn't be able to change her mind.
"How long will making that tonic take, Linky?" Purah asked, still standing on her chair.
"Not long at all actually," Link answered, tapping the front of the slate once the pot had reached the proper temperature above the fire. In a flash of blue, the multitude of fairies— now freed from their bottles— appeared in his arms. "Alright little guys, you know what to do."
Somehow understanding his words, the fairies gracefully flew from his arms. They flew around the pot of boiling liquid and started bobbing above it as if they were dancing to the bubbles. Everyone watched as they glowed, sprinkling their sparkled essence into the pot. Soon the dull liquid began to glow a pale pink. While everyone seemed enchanted by the fairy's dance, Zelda was the most entranced by the sight.
Surprisingly, it wasn't the dance that had her so focused on the scene. In fact, it was the knight standing in front of the dance. The pink light shone against his front as he calmly stirred the pot, allowing the essence to evenly mix together. It had been so long since she had seen him so calm— so at peace.
"That's enough," Link said suddenly to the dancing fairies. "Thank you for your help. We all appreciate it."
With one last bob from each fairy, they began flying in a spiral before shooting away, vanishing into nothingness. Tapping on the slate's screen again, one of the now empty bottles appeared in a flash of blue light. Taking a spoon from the counter, he scooped the pink liquid from the pot and poured it into the bottle before sealing it with a cork.
"Fairy tonic," he said, turning toward the room. He held the bottle up to show. "Ready to heal whenever you guys are."
"Thank you very much," Purah said, jumping down from the chair. She hurried her little legs over and snatched the bottle out from Link's hands. "With a concentration this thick, she'll be healed up completely in a snap! I'll be taking this up now. Prima. Celessa. If you would?"
"Wait a moment. What about me?" Zelda asked as the two who were called headed to the dining hall exit. "I need to be there too—"
"That Jules girl isn't the only one who needs to be healed," Purah said, heading to the door. "You can come up afterward."
As the three disappeared through the door, leaving Zelda to ponder what Purah meant, Teli stood from his chair as well.
"If you'll excuse me, as well," he said. "I need to get this one upstairs too. Come on, Manny. Get up."
"Huh? Wha...?" Manny snorted awake, having been shaken by the merchant. "Did they get back?"
"They did. Now come on," Teli said, pulling Manny up by his large arm. "Let's get some sleep. Men like us need that to stay as handsome as we are, you know?"
"Yeah... Right," Manny yawned. With a stretch, he followed Teli out the door, leaving Link and Zelda alone in the room.
Sitting in silence, Link looked down at the now empty pot, something that made Zelda realize what Purah was trying to say.
"Link, did you not make any for yourself?" she asked. "Did we not gather enough?"
"You did, don't worry," Link answered, still looking down into the empty pot. "There were some that we can use for later."
"For later? But you need to heal now," Zelda said, standing from the table and moving toward him. "You're in bad shape."
"I don't want to heal," Link said simply. "At least, not like this. I need to heal normally."
"Why do you feel the need to do that?" she asked, stopping by his side. She gently placed a hand on his arm. "You don't need to suffer anymore. Please, I don't like seeing you in pain."
"I know, and I'm sorry," Link said, "but, I feel like this is something I have to do. Look, I told you before that, had I not been the hero, I would have died, right?"
"Yes, I remember," Zelda said. Link frowned.
"I got lucky. If I had been anyone else, or if the sword had left before, I wouldn't have made it," Link said. "I won't have another freebie with the Master Sword gone for now, nor will I be able to count on getting another one even when I get it back."
With a deep breath, he placed a hand on his chest before lightly gripping the torn and blood-stained blue tunic.
"I don't want to take another easy way out," he said. "This happened because of my actions, and I need to heal normally to understand that my actions do have consequences."
"It wasn't just your actions though," Zelda said sadly, but Link shook his head.
"Maybe not, and I understand that— I do," he said sternly. "But, ultimately, had I not entertained that Yiga, this all could have been avoided. I was the most reckless out of anyone here."
"Link..." Zelda called gently, but Link looked away from the pot to meet her eyes.
"Please," he said quietly. "Let me learn from this. Maybe I'll finish off with a tonic a little later, but for now... I need to do this."
Zelda gave him a sad look, but after a few moments, her eyes softened.
"Is this what you feel is best?" she asked. Pursing his lips in guilt, he nodded. With a small breath, Zelda nodded. "Alright then, but is it alright to ask you to take the tonic once you feel you've learned? Must you really wait so long? I still want you to take care of yourself."
"I think that's fair," Link said with a small smile. "I can do that."
With a sigh of relief, Zelda stepped forward and lightly wrapped her arms around Link's torso. With a guilty smile, Link wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I'm sorry for worrying you again," he said.
"Nonsense," Zelda whispered in return. "I'm just glad you're here. We still need to have that talk..."
"We don't need to have it now," Link said, something that made Zelda pull back and look him in the eye once more.
"Link, you shouldn't run away again," she said. "I want to talk, just like you said we should. I want to truly listen to you, and come up with a solution. I don't want to rush you like before, but... but I really think—"
"I'm not running," Link said, placing a finger on her lips. "I just think we're way too tired right now. We can talk a little later, after a bit of rest. Deal?"
Zelda gave a tired smile from behind his finger and nodded.
"Looks like you two have come to a snappy conclusion," a young voice said from behind. Both turned to see Purah standing at the door with her hands on her hips, with Teli towering behind her.
"Purah... Will Jules be alright?" Zelda asked nervously.
"She hasn't woken up yet, nor will she for some time," Purah said, waving a small hand around. After a dramatic pause, she grinned and adjusted her glasses. "But... her wounds closed up completely. She'll make a full recovery— or, I guess she already has thanks to the tonics amaaaaaazing properties."
"That's a relief," Zelda said, allowing her chest to become even lighter. Clasping her hands together, she bowed to the little researcher. "Thank you, Purah. I'm sorry we had to drag you into this."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," Purah said, folding her arms. "You know I've always got your back. You t00, Linky, even if you both make me want to malfunction."
With a sigh, she raised her hand and snapped as she headed towards the inn's front doors.
"Come on, Teli," she called as she walked off. "Take me home. I've got research to do and I'm sure Symin is taking this chance to stay awake and study for longer than he should."
"Sure thing," Teli chuckled. "Though, I'm sure you just don't want to worry him any more than you already have."
"Come, Teli," Purah said again, this time a bit more feisty.
With a playful sigh, he gave Link and Zelda a wave before following Purah to and out the door. Alone again, Link looked over at Zelda.
"I guess now's a better time than any to go up and see how Jules is doing," he said. "Shall we head up?"
"Yes," Zelda answered. "I believe we should."
...
The chirping of birds filled her ears from the darkness. She groaned, rolling over in the sheets she felt over her body. Taking the pillow she felt herself laying on, she grabbed it and put it over her head, wanting nothing more but to fall back into the world of dreams, and yet, her body wouldn't allow her. Putting her wish to sleep some more aside, she surprisingly felt good. Her body felt perfect, as if nothing was wrong with it, or had been wrong with it. She could have sworn she had hurt her ankle. In fact, now that she thought about it, she also remembered a different pain—
With a gasp, she sat up, allowing the pillow that had been covering her head to fall. She pushed the sheets off of her before lifting the front of her clothes up to inspect her stomach. Not even a scratch remained. It boggled her mind so much, she questioned if any of what she had remembered even happened, that was until she looked over.
Sitting in a chair next to her bed was— of course— her. Slouched over in the chair, having clearly fallen asleep while waiting for her to awaken, was Zelda. Her cheek was resting on her shoulder with her lips slightly parted. Strands of loose hair had fallen, with one strand having been caught in the corner of her mouth. Breathing quietly, she continued sleeping as Jules sighed tiredly. She looked over at the window, wincing slightly at the light that shined through. The moment her eyes adjusted, she could see the little bit of snow still falling from the cloudy sky, though it was clear the rays of sun that shone through were coming from a rising sun.
I guess everything worked out, she thought to herself, leaning her back against the bed's headboard, and I ended up injured. Who would've guessed that's how it would turn out? Why did I even bother going?
Running her fingers through her messy violet hair, she glanced back at Zelda before grumbling to herself. After a few moments, she spoke up.
"Hey. Hey," she called. With a small gasp of her own, Zelda jolted awake.
"H-huh? What...?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes before looking around.
"Come on. How long do you plan to just sit there and watch me sleep?" Jules asked gruffly. "It's kinda weird, to be honest."
"Jules!" Zelda said loudly the moment she was awake enough to process the things around her. "Finally. How do you feel? Is there any pain anywhere? We had to use a tonic, but it took so long to get it, so we aren't sure if there's any lingering effects or pain—"
"Hey, woah," Jules said, scooting away as Zelda leaned in to inspect her body. "I'm... hey, wait— Hey. I'm fine."
"O-oh, yes, of course... Right," Zelda said awkwardly, sitting back in her chair properly. "Purah said the tonic worked completely, so, um... hm."
"Yeah," Jules said, giving Zelda a strange look. The two sat in silence before she uncomfortably cleared her throat. "I guess since we're here and alive, I guess things worked out?"
"Y-yes," Zelda answered.
"How's Celessa?" she asked. "And are...? Well, are you...? You know..."
"Both fine. Healed just as you were. Celessa's sleeping just a few beds away," Zelda answered again. With the smallest sigh of relief, Jules looked at the window before lifting her arm up to run her fingers through her hair again.
"And... Uh..." she muttered quietly. "Is...?"
"He's fine. He returned and saved us, though just by a hair," Zelda explained calmly. "He's actually in the bed right next to you."
Surprised, Jules looked away from the window and sure enough, there was Link, sleeping in the bed next to her. His body was completely sprawled—along with his sheets— as he lightly snored away.
"Doesn't he look comfortable?" Jules snarked.
"He doesn't usually sleep like that," Zelda said. "It's usually a lot less... sporadic. He must be allowing himself to truly sleep."
"I wish my sleep was as good as his," Jules sighed. "He still looks hurt though..."
"It was his own choice not to heal immediately," Zelda said, watching as Link adjusted himself in the bed. "He said it was to learn his lesson."
"You didn't scold him, did you?" Jules asked sternly. "He really doesn't need any more—"
"I didn't," Zelda replied. "He really did choose himself. Though I wish he had just healed then and there, upon listening to his words, I understand where he's coming from."
"You listened to him, huh?" Jules said without looking at her. After a brief pause, she asked, "what ended up happening?"
"He let him go," Zelda said, something that surprised Jules enough to cause her front to falter. She gave Zelda a confused look.
"He let him go?" she asked. "After everything that happened?"
Zelda nodded.
"I don't have all the details," she said, "but, from what I gathered, he chose not to give into that anger he had, and swore he wouldn't allow the Yiga to manipulate him anymore."
"And the Yiga just... left?" Jules asked.
"Link said we won't have anything more to worry about," Zelda said, glancing over at her sleeping lover, "and I trust him. He's better Jules... Look at the way he's sleeping now."
"I can't argue with that..." Jules mumbled, looking back at Link.
With a deep breath, she slouched in the bed and closed her eyes, once again wishing she could use her newly acquired relief to put her back to sleep.
"What are you doing over here anyway?" Jules asked with her eyes still closed. "Shouldn't you be over there watching him?"
"I... I just wanted to make sure you would make a full recovery," Zelda said, averting her eyes. "Is that so wrong?"
"Well, I've recovered," Jules replied. "No need to worry about me. You can go over there if that's what you want to do."
"I..." Zelda hesitated. "I... Why... did you do it?"
"Hm?" Jules hummed in question.
"Why did you come to the house? Why did you try and help?" Zelda asked. "Especially after everything I had said and done... You were right about it all—?"
"I wasn't," Jules sighed. "I took it too far. Someone needed to tell you what you needed to hear, but... I went about it wrong. I also forced myself into places I didn't need to be in, so... It's not like I was perfect either..."
The two sat silently again before Zelda lowered her head.
"I-I'm sorry," she said quietly. "For how I treated you. It... It wasn't right. I was just so... Well..."
Jules opened her eyes and glanced at Zelda, who was still looking away. Her eyebrow twitched the moment she saw her cheeks had turned a rosy pink. With a groan, Jules laid back down in the bed and turned away.
"You just have to be so..." she muttered to herself before telling Zelda, "I get it. I do, and... I'm... sorry too. Now go away and sit by your lover, I need to sleep more and I don't like the idea of someone sitting over me while I'm out."
With a tiny smile, Zelda nodded to Jules's backside and stood. As she walked past the bed she paused and murmured a "thank you" before going. Jules watched as she sat by Link's bed before turning over in hers again to avoid the view.
"Yeah, whatever..." she said quietly. She closed her eyes, trying and failing to fall asleep before adding, "I guess, I'm glad you're alright too."
