To Capture the Heart of a Hero

Chapter 39 – Farewell, Ordon

The rest of the day passed by rather uneventfully. After Zelda and Ilia had finished bathing their horses, they went their separate ways. Zelda ended up spending the remainder of her time with the villagers, visiting with them and getting to know them better. By this point, she felt like she already knew the children pretty well, but there was still plenty to learn about the adults. Zelda took pleasure in talking with them, sharing stories and learning more of the tiny village's history as well as its day-to-day activities.

Eventually, night fell and the villagers congregated once more in the center of town. Here, a large bonfire was constructed, and everyone soon took seats around it, using nothing but various logs and rocks as furniture. Fost complained that he was hardly comfortable on such rugged surfaces, but Zelda simply shushed him, insisting that he be polite to their hosts. Before long, a dinner was served to them. It was a meal that was much more meager compared to the feast of the night before, but it tasted just as delicious.

At some point, someone began playing some light music in the background. Upon hearing the familiar songs of old, the village couples quickly linked up and began dancing in front of the bright flames of the bonfire. Zelda was simply content to watch them from afar, but she ended up being roped into the scene as well. She shared a dance with Beth, the only person who had been brave enough to request such a thing from her. Zelda simply smiled, happy to give the girl some of the attention that she always seemed to crave from the Princess.

As she danced, Zelda couldn't help but spot Link and Ilia out of the corner of her eye. The young couple was locked together, just like all the rest, and they slowly swayed to the music. Even at this distance, and even in this darkness, Zelda could clearly see a genuine smile planted on each of their faces.

Zelda just tore her eyes away from them with a frown. She knew that she was being spiteful, but she honestly didn't care to see the Hero like that. She didn't want to see him basking in the embrace of another woman, even if the two of them seemed to be meant for each other.

And that wasn't the only issue that bothered the Princess either. Even now, echoes of her earlier conversation with Ilia still plagued her mind. Zelda hated to admit it, but Ilia's words seemed to have had a profound impact on her. She suddenly found herself filled with her own concerns and doubts concerning the Hero.

"Does he really belong in a castle? Don't you think that his days might be better spent living peacefully in Ordon rather than gallivanting across the Kingdom?"

Zelda shook her head. Those words had stung her, and while she had valiantly fought against them, they had still left a dull pain in their wake. The pain of realizing the possibility that Link might not belong at her side. That Link truly belonged here, in his home, with his friends and loved ones by his side. With Ilia by his side.

Zelda sighed, which only caused her dance partner to look up at her in alarm.

"What's the matter, Princess?" Beth asked with an innocent stare.

"Oh, it's nothing," Zelda assured her with a small smile. "Thank you for inviting me to dance, by the way."

The girl immediately beamed, dropping all of her concerns. "You're welcome, Princess!"

And so, as always, Zelda kept her thoughts and feelings to herself.

With the next day's dawn came a bit of a bustle in the small village of Ordon, for at last, the tour's final day had arrived, and it was now time for the travelers to pack their bags and depart for Castle Town once again. That morning, Zelda found herself feeling a little somber as she gathered her things from Ilia's room. She had truly enjoyed her time here in Ordon. She felt that it might be a little hard to leave it all behind. But on the other hand, she had been away from the castle for weeks, and she now held a strong desire to return home. To return to her desk and her courts and her duties and above all else, her dear father.

Focusing on this line of thought, Zelda managed a small smile as she secured her luggage and carried it downstairs. There, she found her lovely hosts waiting for her.

"Do you have everything packed, Princess?" Ilia asked with a smile.

Zelda nodded. "Yes."

Bo smiled as well. "Then I suppose it's about time to see you off."

"I suppose so," Zelda agreed. She decided to set down her luggage before grabbing a hand from each of her hosts. She then flashed a sincere smile before bowing her head. "Thank you for graciously welcoming me into your home. For providing me with food and a room and a warm bed. Your kindness has been greatly appreciated, and I promise that it won't soon be forgotten."

"Oh, it was no trouble, Princess," Ilia replied, suddenly looking a little shy.

Bo gave a strong nod at his daughter's words. "Agreed. Having you stay here has been a great pleasure. And should you ever decide to visit Ordon again, please know that you'll always be welcome in our home."

"That is very kind," Zelda said with another bow. "Thank you, Mayor, Ilia."

The three of them soon broke hands and Bo snatched up the Princess's luggage before she had a chance to say boo, politely carrying it for her as they all shuffled out the door. Once outside, the bright rays of the early sunrise greeted them, casting light and warmth under a lavender sky. As they approached the caravan of horses and wagons, Zelda could spot her guards moving about, trying to disassemble their campsite and get it packed away. Many of the villagers congregated to this spot as well, offering an extra set of hands wherever they were needed.

Bo soon went off to join them, depositing Zelda's luggage as he did. This left the two girls alone, and naturally they ended up turning to each other.

"It's been so wonderful to meet you, Princess," Ilia said, flashing a smile and extending a hand. "Thank you for gracing Ordon with your presence. It's been a lot of fun."

Zelda politely accepted her hand and shook it. "It's been nice to meet you as well, Ilia. Thank you for sharing your home with me."

"I hope we can see each other again sometime," Ilia continued. "It's like my father said. You'll always be welcome here if you ever wish to return."

"I imagine I will," Zelda assured her. "I've come to enjoy this little village so much that I'm starting to think it might be hard to leave it behind. But I have a home that I must return to, so I'll simply have to wait until the opportunity to visit strikes again."

Ilia giggled a bit. "Hopefully that day comes sooner rather than later."

Zelda smiled. She felt her gaze soften as she looked over this simple Ordonian girl. Admittedly, the Princess had held more than a few reservations about her. There were quite a few times where Zelda had grown tired of her personality, and wished to have nothing to do with her. But now that she was on the cusp of saying farewell, Zelda couldn't detect any such hostility residing in her heart. If anything, she felt genuinely sad to part ways with Ilia, and she too wondered when their paths might cross again. They may have had their differences, but Ilia had treated the Princess with nothing but kindness and respect, and she intended to return the favor regardless of any personal feelings.

"We'll see," Zelda finally answered. "In the meantime, if you ever find yourself in Castle Town, feel free to stop by the castle and say hello. My doors will always be open to you and your father."

"Really?" Ilia asked. Zelda just gave a sincere nod. "Wow, thank you, Princess. That means a lot."

"It's my pleasure," Zelda insisted.

Ilia then smiled for a moment, while the soft rays of the morning sun reflected in her beautiful green eyes. "I wish you a safe trip home then. Oh, and Princess? Please remember to keep your promise. I'm counting on you to keep him safe."

Zelda blinked for a moment, but soon gave a firm nod. "Of course. No harm will befall him as long as I have anything to say about it." She then paused, feeling a painful tug at her heart as her mouth naturally produced her next set of words. "And Ilia? I'd like to ask that you continue to watch over him and make sure that he's well taken care of here in Ordon. It sets my heart at ease to know that our Hero always has a peaceful home that he can return to."

This time, Ilia blinked, as if shocked by these words. However, she soon flashed a wide grin that was brimming with confidence. "Of course. I'll always take care of Link. Don't you worry about that."

Zelda smiled and nodded back. Truth be told, a part of this killed her. She didn't want Ilia to be the one looking after Link. She didn't want them to be together. But in this moment, none of those feelings seemed to matter. She had no thoughts. No spiteful remarks or jealous comments. She just succumbed to a sad feeling of emptiness.

After this, Zelda parted ways with Ilia, and took a moment to scan the village. During the earlier parts of the tour, whenever Zelda had departed from a town that she had visited, she always made sure to address the citizens of said town as a collective, thanking them for their hospitality and wishing them all a bright future. This time, however, Zelda wished to do things differently. She soon went around, greeting the villagers and families one by one and providing each of them with a personal farewell. After having spent so much time alongside these people, she honestly felt like it would be rude to provide them with anything less.

The villagers were more than happy to accept her goodbye. Many of them brightly smiled as they shook her hand and wished her a safe trip home. A few of them even seemed quite sad to see her go. The children were especially disappointed after having had so much fun with her. Still, they all smiled and encouraged her to visit again soon. Beth requested that she share more stories of the castle the next time she visited. Talo asked her to show off her archery and swordsmanship. Finally, Colin mentioned that he might like to challenge the Princess to a duel, surprising even himself as the words spilled out of his mouth. Zelda just giggled and said that she would gladly accept that challenge when the time came. She then bid them all farewell, softly smiling as they waved their small hands goodbye.

Zelda continued making her rounds until there was only one person left to say goodbye to. One person whom she had specifically been saving for last. To no one's surprise, she found him working alongside the soldiers, helping pack the last of their provisions in the wagons. All it took was a light tap on his shoulder to get him to turn around and step aside.

"What's up?" Link asked with a smile.

Zelda simply smiled back. "It looks like we'll be heading out soon, so I came to say goodbye."

Link just raised his eyebrows, looking a little lost. "Goodbye? Um…what do you mean? I'm coming with you, aren't I?"

Zelda's expression saddened a bit as she shook her head. "I figured that you would be staying here. At this point, the tour is over. All we have to do is make the short trip back to the castle. And, well, considering that Ordon is your home, it wouldn't make much sense for you to come with us."

To her surprise, Link just frowned and shook his head back. "What? Don't be ridiculous. I promised that I would join you for the entirety of the tour. It wouldn't be fair for me to back out now."

"And it wouldn't be fair for me to force you to tag along," she insisted.

Link just sighed, letting his shoulders sag. "Zelda, you're not forcing me at all. I made a commitment."

"One which I am freeing you of," Zelda said with a small smile. Link quickly went to argue some more, but she just held up a hand, calling for silence. "Link, I know how you feel, but trust me when I say that I'm happy to let you stay here. You've been away from home for weeks. I don't want to keep you away for any longer, especially not for something as insignificant as this short trip back to the castle. The tour is over. You have played your part and Hyrule's spirits have been lifted. Now please, I wish for you to relax after a job well done."

Link frowned. As if he could ever accept an outcome like this so easily. "I get what you're saying, but wouldn't it be better to have me along for the return trip? I mean, what if there's danger?"

Zelda smiled some more. "Link, there hasn't been any danger throughout the entire trip. It seems like Hyrule is truly at peace now. And even if we did run into trouble, I still have a dozen guards ready to stand up and defend us. I am certain that we'll be fine."

Link furrowed his brow, still feeling unsatisfied. "Maybe I should just tag along until you're out of Faron Woods then. Just to be sure."

Zelda shook her head a bit before eyeing him. "Tell me, Link. Have you packed your bags?"

The Hero paused. "Well, I just left everything at home since I figured I'd be coming right back…"

"Is Epona prepared to depart?"

"Well, not yet but I just need to put her saddle on her."

Zelda shook her head again as she flashed an amused expression. "It sounds like you already have your answer."

Link promptly shut his mouth, realizing that the Princess had lured him into another one of her verbal traps. He had basically just admitted that he wasn't ready to leave! He soon cursed himself, as well as the Princess's ever-present ability to bend any argument to support her own goals.

Zelda's expression softened as she spoke up again. "Link, please don't misunderstand. I don't wish to confine you here or leave you behind. I simply wish to give you a well-deserved break after all that you have done for me and our Kingdom, and I think we both know that you…" Zelda paused, suddenly struggling to finish her sentence. She didn't want to utter these words, let alone believe them, but after listening to Ilia and spending so much of her time in Ordon alongside Link, she no longer felt like she could deny them.

"You belong here," she finished quietly.

Link just stared at her for a long while, before eventually crossing his arms and sighing. "I guess you have a point," he agreed. "It would be nice to stay here and relax now that the tour is over."

"Then please do so," Zelda encouraged him. "You've earned it."

Link smiled as he gave her a grateful nod. "So this is really goodbye then?"

"I suppose it is," Zelda said, nodding back. "Link, I can't thank you enough for joining me on this tour. Having you by my side really has made this trip so much more enjoyable than I could have ever hoped. And now, because of our efforts, I feel closer to all of Hyrule. I truly believe that this has been a successful venture."

To her surprise, Link laughed a bit. "You almost took the words out of my mouth," he teased. "I wanted to thank you for inviting me on this tour. You've honestly given me so many good memories to look back on. Not to mention, it was so nice to travel and see all the different parts of the Kingdom again. My adventures across Hyrule may have ended, but I'm always happy to have a chance to explore and visit old friends."

Zelda smiled, truly grateful for his words. "I'm glad to hear that, Link."

The Hero nodded in return. He then stared at the Princess for a while, as an amused smirk slowly formed on his lips.

Zelda just raised her eyebrows, feeling a bit shy under that gaze of his. She always did. "What?"

Link's smirk grew wider as he shook his head. "It's funny. We haven't known each other for very long, but I feel like you've already become one of my closest friends."

"Oh," Zelda replied, her cheeks immediately starting to redden. She had never expected him to say something like this. "Link, you truly mean that?"

"Of course I do," Link said with a grin. "We've been through so much together, and I feel like you really understand me. Plus, I think that you're always fun to be around."

Despite her best attempts to compose herself, Zelda could feel her heart start hammering away inside of her chest. It was beating so hard that she could practically hear it ringing in her ears. Never in her life had she expected Link to bestow her with such a high honor. An honor that was likely only shared with others such as Midna and Ilia. The honor of being his close friend.

"That…That's so generous of you to say," she responded quietly.

To no one's surprise, Link just flashed a look of both concern and confusion. He hadn't expected the Princess to seem so out of sorts after his comment. "Um…is something wrong?"

Zelda quickly shook her head, hoping to contain her nerves and quell his concerns. "Oh, no, it's nothing."

"Was it something I said?" Link persisted, now looking guilty. "I mean…you think of us as close friends too, don't you?"

Zelda's eyes widened as he asked this. Oh, she had really done it now. First her behavior had started to concern him, but now it was plaguing him with doubts as well! She quickly shook her head and went to respond in the most sincere voice she could muster.

"Of course, Link. You and I are close friends. After everything that we've been through, I can't imagine us as anything less."

Link finally smiled, letting his doubts fade away. "That's what I thought."

Zelda returned his smile as she gave him a long, lasting stare. It almost felt kind of surreal to be standing here next to him. To know that she enjoyed his company so dearly, and yet they were about to part ways. She didn't want to leave him behind, but she felt like she ought to. Even now, the questions posed by Ilia still haunted her mind. Link belonged here, and despite her best attempts to believe otherwise, Zelda feared that it would only be a matter of time before he gave up on Hyrule and the castle and being a Hero altogether.

And worst of all, it might only be a matter of time before he abandoned Zelda too.

It was as she stewed on this horrible thought that Link softly called out her name, just as he always did whenever she was distracted and feeling down.

"Um…Zelda?"

"Hmm?" she murmured, blinking a bit. "Yes?"

"It looks like it's about time for you to go," he said, gesturing to the caravan of wagons and horses. "The soldiers have finished packing everything away and they're starting to saddle up."

Zelda followed his finger, only to see that he was correct. Nearly every soldier was mounted and even Fost had settled into his carriage after saying his goodbyes. Now it was time for the Princess to do the same.

Zelda gazed at Link again, and just took a moment to take him in. She looked into his eyes, which were bright and innocent. His face, which was hardy but friendly. His hair, which looked messy yet perfect. His tunic, which reminded her of the forest he hailed from but also of courage and strength. This was her Hero. Her friend. A man whom she had spent so much time with and yet wished to spend so much more. She honestly wished that this moment could last forever. That they didn't have to say goodbye. That they weren't destined to fall apart as Ilia might have led her to believe.

"Link, I…" Zelda's words died in her throat. She didn't know what to say to him. Her time was short and her doubt was great. But even so, with a nervous expression and a voice that threatened to waver, she asked the question that she was most afraid of learning the answer to.

"...I'll see you again, right?"

Fortunately, her fears were completely unfounded. To her immediate relief, Link's lips twitched a bit before he fell into a brief laugh, almost as if she had asked him some ridiculous question. He looked at her much the same, with a confused smile planted on his face. "Um, of course I'll see you again. I'm still part of the Roundtable meetings, right?"

His voice was so reassuring, so casual and obvious, that Zelda immediately breathed a sigh of relief while also feeling like such a fool. Yes, of course she would see Link again. Why had she ever doubted that? Link was still the man that she believed him to be. A brave Hero who would stand by his Kingdom and ride to the castle whenever duty called. It all seemed so clear to her now. There had never been any reason to doubt her assessment of Link's character, or his desire to help others. If anyone was wrong about this matter, then surely it had to have been Ilia.

Yes, Zelda thought. I should have known better than to believe anything else.

With a grateful smile, she took a step forward, intending to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. However, so great was her relief and gratitude that before she even realized what she was doing, Zelda had loosely wrapped her arms around Link's torso and pulled him into a hug.

Through this action, Zelda seemed to have stunned herself by her own forwardness, as her mind soon went completely blank. Link also seemed a bit startled by her actions, for the Princess had always seemed rather reserved when it came to matters such as this, but he soon smiled and wrapped his arms around her in return.

A few seconds of deafening silence passed before the gears in Zelda's mind began to turn once more, and she realized the full extent of what she was doing. Even though she had only intended it as friends, she couldn't stop the powerful blush that was assaulting her cheeks. Now that her wits had forcefully returned to her, she found the strong desire to pull away from Link's embrace.

"Um, thank you for everything," she mumbled, her eyes now glued to the grass below. Before she realized it, her feet soon began to carry her away from the Hero. "I'll see you later."

Whether Link was being kind or just didn't think anything of it, he made no comment on her behavior. Instead, he just returned her grateful smile with his own as he nodded his head. "Yeah, see you later, Zelda."

And it was at these words that Zelda fully turned away and walked over towards the line of horses and wagons. As she did, her mind was a haze, barely processing what she had just done. She had never imagined herself being so forward with a man with whom she should have been keeping her distance, and yet, she couldn't help it. The action of hugging him had just felt so natural. So right.

The next thing Zelda knew, she was mounted atop of Reina and the guard at the front of the line gave the signal to move and she was smiling and waving while villagers and buildings passed her by. Although, she barely retained any of this as her mind was now a complete web of scattered thoughts and conflicted emotions.

In this moment, Zelda felt like her feelings for Link were stronger than ever before. Her feelings of admiration and trust and interest and affection all threatened to bubble up within her and spill out of her heart. After having spent so much time with him, throughout the tour and their time in Ordon, she realized that she had come to develop a newfound appreciation for his company. His presence now meant more to her than ever before.

And it was because of this that Zelda suddenly felt the strong urge to leave Link behind in Ordon and keep moving forward, for she truly feared that being near him would only cause her more pain.

A pain that she wasn't sure she could withstand.

And with that, the Ordon Village section of this story, as well as the tour in general, has reached its conclusion. Man, it took a long time to get through it all, but I truly did have so much fun with it. I hope you all did too!

Now, I have a bit of an update. Moving forward, I'm going to slow down releases for this story to just one chapter every two weeks. This will give me some more time to work on future chapters for this story, as well as start releasing some other projects that I've been working on in the background. Speaking of which, feel free to tune in to my profile next week. There won't be a new chapter, but I do have a special little one-shot that I've had in the works for a while now. It's TP Zelink focused, and of course, it's very fun ;) Hope to see you there!

As always, thank you for reading and thank you for the support! It truly means a lot to me :)