As a reminder, you can find MORE of this on my SubStar (dot adult slash KajaWilder), it's posted up past chapter 75 there... And if you guys haven't seen an update in at least a week, please let me know! I have a busy life, and I get distracted and forget things. This story (and PTaL) are supposed to be updated WEEKLY from now until they're both caught up with each other (like I was doing with FwB until this weekend).
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A NOTE: This story now has official cover art, too! The image was genned by me, and did take significant editing, inpainting, and art creation outside of the generative AI process (using Krita), thus I own it. Please don't use it without permission- I'm pretty generous if you ask though. ;)
Chap. 38: Hateno Ranch
As the beautiful young woman stepped into Zelda's room with two steaming buckets of water, she found the princess already naked, standing just out of sight behind where the door opened. Prima filled the bath without noticing Zelda's presence, so the taller young woman slipped the 'do not disturb' tag onto the outside of the door and shut it quietly, then flicked the lock closed. Prima didn't react to the door locking. Probably, some part of the princess knew, she hadn't even heard it over the pouring water.
It took Zelda four steps to cross the distance between the door and the bath where Prima was just standing up and starting to turn. She smoothly took the buckets from the other woman, then stepped into her while the brunette gasped. "Z- Zelda?"
"I can't wait," the princess moaned huskily. Her hands were already moving quickly, one trying to remove the buckets from the Innkeeper's daughter's hands, while the other tried to find the ties to her practical but pretty dress. "I need it- I need you. I'm sorry, I can't- I just can't wait any longer."
Prima tried to protest as Zelda's hands roamed quickly over her clothes, touching her in places only a few of her 'extra clients' had touched before, "I can't yet, I've got more work to do, Zelda. I have to work in the- in the- in-"
The last abortive word was moaned into the princess' mouth as she kissed Prima hungrily. Their tongues danced madly, like some forest fey lost in cavorting endlessly, drunk on wine and music. But Zelda had not imbibed since the single glass she'd had with lunch hours earlier, and Prima's breath was sweet with strawberries, but no alcohol. Whatever was affecting Zelda, it was not being drunk. At least, not drunk from liquour or spirits.
She was drunk with lust, and a desperate, burning need, but it was not from that. She had to climax. Something else, something besides her fingers, had to make her orgasm, and soon, or she would truly go mad. She kissed Prima again, harder, more fiercely, and nibbled on the woman's plump lower lip, then tugged on it with her own until Prima sighed in pained bliss. Eventually, the other woman sighed as her lip popped free from Zelda's mouth, and the second bucket clattered onto the floor.
"Make love to me," Zelda whispered, the words coming to her unbidden, but meant profoundly. "Be mine, at least for tonight."
Her only answer, or the closest thing to words, was a soft whimper from the slightly shorter woman in her arms. That, and Prima reaching behind her waist to pull at the bow knot that held her apron in front of her chest. After that, she raised both hands behind her short, well-cared-for hair, and untied the neck strap, too.
After that, the brunette stepped back, eyes glistening with some strange light and moisture both. With no ties to support it, the apron hung off Prima's buxom chest for several seconds while Zelda watched it inch lower and lower. Eventually, gravity's call was too much, and the cloth shivered downward. Prima's dress, a pale green with blue flowers woven into the material, was the type that tied over the bosom, and the princess was delighted to see it already loose, but stretched as far as the dress could reasonably go.
"You're beautiful," she said softly, and forced herself to stand still, two feet distant, with her hands clenched at her sides. "Take the rest off for me, Prima."
"Okay," the inn-girl murmured shyly, strangely so. Zelda had no time to process the reason though, or even try to puzzle at it, because Prima was already reaching up to shrug first one shoulder, and then the other, out of the top of the dress. Her eyes stayed locked on Zelda's as if she was mesmerized by them. The strange glint continued all the while as Prima eventually bared her top, the rest of the dress falling around her waist.
She knew it would only be polite to ask, but Zelda could not make herself do that. Instead, she reached out with both hands, one to heft Prima's large tit in her palm, bouncing it there a few times to test the weight and feel of it. The other palmed the front, trapping the young woman's engorged nipple between the base of her middle and pointer fingers. She gave it a squeeze before doing the same with the breast as a whole. The treatment, brief though it was, had Prima gasping and leaning in as Zelda forced herself to pull away once more. "Take off the r- rest."
"Yes, My Lady," Prima replied. Her chest heaved enough to make her breasts roll and swing as she twisted the dress around her waist for easier access to the ties at the back, and her eyes stayed locked on Zelda's still as she untied them.
Once the last bits of the outer dress had fallen, only a petticoat skirt and her stockings and shoes remained, the former hanging from the same belt that supported the garter-style stockings. Somehow, despite the desperate hunger to possess Prima, Zelda was still able to restrain herself while she removed the skirt, too. But when it came to the stockings, Zelda's resolve crumbled.
She moved forward once more in a rush, and nearly tackled Prima to the floor. Her lips nibbled and moved against the girl's neck, and her hands, just starting to develop warrior's callouses on the fingertips and palms, sent dozens of shocks through Prima's body as they roamed over her back, or followed the swell of her wide, gently sloped hips.
Zelda stepped forward again and again, trying to get closer to Prima, even though their breasts were already smashed together. Prima's larger, softer ones molded around Zelda's firm, tear-dropped shaped tits, but their nipples were nearly at the perfect height to press against each other, almost like small fingers poking and prodding in addition to their hands. The inn-girl stepped back in time with Zelda's continued advanced, until finally, with a squeal, she fell backward onto the side of the wide, soft bed.
The princess fell atop her, but did not stop her attack, either with lips or hands. "M- My Lady, Z- Zelda," Prima tried to protest, even while her own hands slipped through the golden locks of Zelda's hair over her own small back, or gave the tight buttocks a squeeze to demonstrate her own growing need. "I have... I have to work, my- my father will wonder-"
"Let him wonder," Zelda said sharply as she pushed herself onto her elbows so she could look down at her lover's face, framed by golden strands. "Tonight, you belong to me, not him. Not the inn. Not the other customers. Me."
She did not know where those words came from.
They did not come from the same strange source that had prompted her earlier declaration, the one that had set this very encounter in motion.
No, they seemed to come from a darker, more primal part of Zelda. Almost like she was a petulant, greedy child who had just had a toy taken away, and wanted it back. But whatever the source was, she also knew it was part of herself. The other words might have been from her previous life, or the tutoring of statesmen, or for all she knew, the Goddess Hylia herself.
But those words, the ones that laid claim to the gorgeous young woman that lay all-but bare beneath her, those came from Zelda herself. Not Zelda the princess of a fallen land. Not Zelda the adventurer, or the warrior, or assassin.
Zelda the woman, who wanted a womans' touch above all else right then.
She demanded it.
All Prima could do was whimper a soft, "Yes, My Lady," as the princess lowered her head to claim her lips once more.
Soft breasts moved and rolled beneath Zelda's urgent hands, and one knee slipped between Prima's legs, then higher, urging the woman beneath her to open them further and further. When the more aggressive woman's knee touched Prima's core, she found it wet and slick, furry, unlike Sagessa's well-trimmed bush, or Zelda's completely bare one. The differences were stark, but just then, she did not care. It was Prima's sex she was touching with her thigh, and that was enough.
Her leg pressed in further, enough to make sure the woman felt it, really felt it, while she gave one breast a harder squeeze. Then, more tenderly, Zelda stopped the kisses on Prima's mouth and made her way down to her earlobe, her neck, where she suckled sharply enough to make the girl gasp in pain.
Then lower, to her clavicle, where Zelda's soft tongue swirled and laved on one side. Lower still, to the top of a large, soft mountain of glorious fatty tissue. Lower, to the areolae, wide and pale, dusky brown, to swirl around that nipple, then nibble it lightly with her teeth. Her other hand twisted and tugged almost too-roughly at Prima's other side, until the girl arched her back toward Zelda, seeking more, even as she whimpered in pain.
Zelda sat up when she did, but kept Prima gasping, panting in ragged breaths now, on the bed with one hand between the large breasts. The other dipped lower, the pads of her three longest fingers swaying from side to side as they dragged down Prima's taut stomach, dipped briefly into her navel, and then down, down...
Once they reached the thick, soft brown thatch of curls, Zelda gripped a fistfull, then tugged lightly. Prima moaned again, "That hurts, mistress."
"I know," Zelda told her, "but it feels good too, doesn't it, my dear?"
She had no idea how old Prima was. The inn-girl certainly seemed older, probably was in terms of lived experience. She was definitely more worldly, judging by her under-the-table (and under the covers, Zelda thought with some amusement) side-profession.
But in truth, Zelda was over a century old, and had at least a few lovers before Prima, so she was no blushing virgin either, even if she didn't remember almost any of them.
Her body responded like she was experienced, even if she didn't recall why, and that was what mattered. Two fingers of the same hand slipped through Prima's folds next, then tunneled inside to the base as she twisted her palm to press it against the girl's clitoris.
Prima moaned huskily, "Oh, Goddess," as she did.
Zelda delighted in the sound, for it sounded almost as hungry for more as she had been when she stood up from praying at the Shrine to the very diety Prima was likely referring to.
Her fingers scissored open and closed at the same time that Zelda worked them in and out, and her outer digits kneaded and prodded or stroked at Prima's labia, while her free hand supported her weight at the elbow and her mouth went back to work on the woman's luscious, full tits.
She could see what the stable-man was leering at her for, Prima was a beauty for certain. Zelda would not be surprised if at least half the men in Hateno lusted after her, for she was probably the objectively best-looking woman in the town.
It was certainly that which had called Zelda to her at first. Princess or not, she was not above noticing or being attracted to beauty.
"Cum for me," Zelda urged the woman as her breath became even faster, uneven, and her soft eyes began to dilate strangely. "Orgasm on my fingers, girl. Climax for your mistress."
It didn't take long after that before Prima did just that, sending a small jet of water against Zelda's palm, blasting past her fingers and leaving a puddle on the floor while her hips jerked and shook uncontrollably.
She pulled the hand free, then stuck one finger in her mouth, where she suckled greedily... then slipped the other inside Prima's. The woman gasped in surprised, tried for a moment to push her hand out, but Zelda was already pressing it against Prima's tongue.
After a moment, her eyes drifted shut, along with her lips, and she felt the woman's tongue move eagerly against her finger. "You do taste delicious, my dear," Zelda told her honestly. "But I think I've had enough of you getting all the fun. It's my turn."
"I've, er, I've never, um, d- done that with a w-woman, Mistress," Prima murmured, suddenly red-faced and shy. "It's not that I'm not willing, I am, I just- I don't want want to, er, disappoint. My Lady."
"You would not," Zelda told her, and sincerely. It was a bit surprising to the lust-mad princess that she believed the young woman, but if most of her clients were men, it wasn't that hard to imagine. "We can do it this way..."
She used the strength the Goddess had bestowed upon her with the first and now most recent blessing to lift one of Prima's thick, luscious thighs against her torso, where it came to rest between Zelda's pert breasts. Then she scooted in, holding it there with one hand as she threw one of her legs over Prima's other one.
Their labia made contact, and Zelda felt searing, burning heat...
And rightness.
Her lover. He, the knight, her Champion, her friend, the enemy she had not wanted who had become the person most dear to her, had become her lover at last. The first man inside her, the first to claim her fully. She could not yet see his face, but she knew his body as it moved over her, in her.
She saw the tears of joy, of relief, that rolled down his face from eyes that were not there.
She knew them, because they matched her own.
He was hers, and she was his. There was no thought of propriety, of a political marriage, of maintaining the dynasty of her family. There was only him, and her, and the quiet, peaceful night they had become one for the first time.
That was right.
Zelda knew, from the brief fragment of time, that it was no mere imagination, but an actual memory. Though short, it was among the most clear she had of her time before the Calamity had changed everything, nearly stolen her from the whole world. Had, for a century.
If her Champion being her lover, at last, had been right, good, perfect, as it should have been...
Well, she could not say that Prima being her lover was as right, as perfect, as good... but it was right all the same. At least, for now.
Zelda's hips rolled and turned in circles, grinding and mashing her pussy against Prima's, who was awkwardly doing the same beneath her, while the inn-girl's arms clutched and pulled at Zelda's legs, trying to pull her closer.
She understood the feeling. This was enough.
The Ancient Screw had temporarily satisfied her need. The Octorok Tentacle, too. Even the Moblin's horn. They had all done the job, but it was only taking the edge off. Sagessa had been different. It had done more, but also less. Felt better, but relieved the pressure from, for lack of a better way to explain it, 'the other side'.
But Sagessa, while a skilled lover and someone whose company Zelda would be happy for again, was not right in the same way Prima was.
Prima, at least for tonight, belonged to her. And making love to her, their bodies twisting and tangling in passion and yes, burgeoning love for all they'd only known each other for two days, was right. When Prima climaxed again, Zelda did, too, gasping and panting just as hard as the other woman was.
Their bodies, now naked aside from just one of Prima's stockings which was around her knee instead of the middle of her thigh, collapsed together in a sweaty tangle on the bed, one of Zelda's legs and one of Prima's arms the only things under the blankets.
Somehow, they had ended up facing each other still, and Zelda, grinning madly, sleepily, leaned in to give one last, gentle kiss to the other woman. "That was amazing. You're amazing."
"You are too, My Lady," Prima said shyly.
This time, with the passion abated, she had the time to think about responding to the title. "Why do you call me that?"
For all their nakedness, the sex, which had been wild, that question made Prima blush furiously. She even looked away and nibbled on her still-swollen lip, which made Zelda ache to lean in and suckle it once more. "I... It just seems... appropriate, somehow. You remind me of my grandma's stories, that's all. Noble and fine women and men used to come through here, she said. Several fine knights came from our town, or... something. You just remind me of those stories, that's all."
"Oh," Zelda murmured.
The thought made her pause. Was there, then, some element of nobility and royalty that she exuded in her bearing, perhaps? The way she carried herself? And she never even noticed?
It would explain a few things, like how several people she'd met since leaving the Plateau had responded to her...
Her mind was circling, lost in thought, tired...
Prima had been gone when she woke up sweaty, but the fresh water in the tub had been hot and full.
Somehow, the girl had filled it without waking Zelda, and she felt a rush of gratitude as she bathed herself. Memories of the night before filled her body with heat, but it was a satisfied type, which felt... strange.
She would definitely enjoy more, even right then and there, but Zelda did not ache with need as she had before. Even after Sagessa, the desire had come back quickly. Now, after a wonderful, glorious, perfect and right night with Prima of the Great Ton Pu Inn, Zelda felt... well, satisfied. She would be good, she thought, for at least a couple of days.
So when she had her gear packed up and ready to go, and Zelda stepped out of the room with the key in hand, she was a little distracted by the cake on the ground, and literally put her foot in it. "What the...?"
It was a simpe-looking thing, but there had been some attempt to frost and decorate it. The cake itself was perhaps four inches across, round, and two high. Yellow icing covered it except where Zelda's boot had smeared a hole down one side, and it was carefully wrapped inside a bowl of parchment paper with a bow over the top, to which a short note was affixed.
This is to thank you for your help again. Sorry it's not much. Prima told us this was your room. We owe you one. It's an Electro-Fruitcake. Should help if you ever run across one of those annoying sparking Keese, or get caught in a thunderstorm or something.
-Meghyn and Nat
Zelda smiled as she read the note, then glanced around the empty hall before stowing it in her satchel. The gesture was definitely unnecessary, but it was appreciated all the same. Prima was not visible when she entered the common room, but she suspected the girl had gone to her own bed since it seemed her night's work was done. Her father was there, his head on the counter, snoring into a pile of drool. He looked exhausted.
Had her keeping Prima in her room made him work that much harder...? If so, she would definitely have to apologize later. But not now... she would let the man sleep while she tried to think of an excuse for doing it in the first place.
Zelda found the Hateno Ranch, which was really the central buildings of what looked like several smaller ranches, near noon.
There were at least six individual corrals, with two different breeds of cows, a separate pair of smaller ones with two bulls, one for water buffalo, and two more for several dozen sheep. One of them, she noticed, was empty... and had a rather blatantly broken fence, with pieces of it broken and shattered all over the road.
It had been a good hike up the valley, following the winding path as it narrowed from three carts wide to just one, past several windmills and increasing distances between the farm houses.
But the sign outside this one did indeed read Hateno Ranch, so it was here that Zelda stepped off the road.
When she knocked, the door was thrown open violently, and a trio of sharp iron spikes hit Zelda's stomach immediately before she registered a sharp, angry grow. "Back for more, are ye? Well, you ain't gettin' any more of my sheep! Not today, you- oh. Oh! Sorry!"
Fortunately, the pitchfork had been held more to ward off an attack than to kill, or else she might have seriously needed medical attention.
A sixteen year old girl, if Zelda had to guess, was standing just inside the door, with the implement in a tight grip with both hands. She was a little on the short side, somewhat stocky in a handsome way, more solid than waifish or chubby, with a square jaw and hot, burning brown eyes over what looked like a perpetually scowling mouth. Her hair was back in a plait that hung past her shoulders, but as Zelda stood on her porch the girl backed off a bit. "Sorry about that," she muttered, glancing at the princess' stomach, "Uh, n- no harm done?"
"No, I'm alright," Zelda assured her, though she did run a hand over her traveler's clothing to make sure. "Surprised me, that's all."
"Yeah, sorry about that," the young woman muttered again, "We've just had a lot of problems with Bokoblins, lately."
"That's why I'm here, actually. I saw a notice board asking someone to help with some that were stealing sheep...?"
"Oh, thank the Goddess," the woman sighed, and quickly set the pitchfork against the door. She must have thought better of it, though, because the girl snatched it back up and marched past Zelda close enough to bump shoulders with her. "Come on, I'll show you what's going on."
Thankfully, the young woman didn't bother taking Zelda back down the road. Instead, she only waved the empty hand at the gap she had already passed, "They broke that one two days ago. Just last night, they broke a different side of the fence, the sixth one. I don't know why they don't just use the same damned hole if they're gonna steal all our sheep. Little viscious thieving fuckers."
Zelda was a bit amused to hear that kind of language come out of a younger womans' mouth, but whoever this girl was, she seemed to take her sheep-guarding duties seriously.
She marched Zelda around the wide, low house, and up a hill nearby that overlooked another bluff far below. She could see a narrow, winding trail that lead from beyond the ranch at the valley's end down to the beaches and coast below.
"That's where they're at," the woman said, jabbing a finger at a twisting, wide platform that rose from the water a couple dozen feet off shore. "I've seen them dragging our sheep down there. Got a little paddock and everything they keep the poor things in before they get cooked."
"Hmm," Zelda replied, setting her sharp eyes to the task. "Any idea how many there are?"
"Lots," was the only response. At least, at first. After several seconds, the girl added, "Probably more'n any of your guards can handle. I think that's why all of 'em turned me away when I asked. Weaklings. You... you sure you can handle that? No offense, you don't look all that tough."
Zelda made herself smile even as she felt one eye start to twitch. It was true, she didn't think she was that 'tough' either, but she had been through quite a lot, and hunting Bokoblins was becoming a bit of a speciality of hers. "I think I'll be alright. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."
"Well, if you're sure," the girl muttered darkly, sounding quite unsure. "Name's Koyin, by the way."
"Zelda."
"Alright, Zelda. See, I figure you've got two good approaches. From the water, they won't be expecting an attack. You can get a raft, row it up along the shore. Down side of that, there's another of those fucking encampments they make a mile or two down the beach. See, that little pillar of smoke? Fucking Lizard-things."
"Lizalfos?"
Koyin shrugged, as if she didn't care what they were called. "Anyway, that's a worry from that side. On the other side, if you can sneak around, there's a rise to give you some cover- but you've gotta either hike down the mountain way past the Lab and circle around, which'd take some time and doing... or cross where they can see you on the beach. Take the old trail down, but that takes you right past the camp. I guess you can do that to do a frontal attack too, but... seems like suicide t'me."
Zelda frowned, "Yes, I think the same. I can kill a few Bokoblins in a straight fight if I must, but... being smart about it is more my thing."
"Good," Koyin replied, and levelled a significant glance at the princess. "Because I killed a pair of red Bokos last night. If my count's right, there's only two of them left. There's at least one of the giant fuckers, a Moblin or whatever, down there. Four or five more blue Bokos."
"That... that does sound like a lot for just one person," Zelda murmured. Koyin scowled, so she hastened to add, "But I think I can handle it. The blue Bokoblins are as much of a threat as a Moblin, more or less. One on one. If I can separate them, or use some bombs to take out a few at once..."
"You have bombs? That'll help," Koyin nodded seriously, "Just don't blow yerself or my sheep up while you're doin' it. Uh... maybe I should mention that Moblin's got blue skin, too."
Zelda actually heard herself gulp.
"I... alright. I... I think I can handle that, still. I'll be careful."
"Alright," Koyin nodded. "That's it, so far as I know. I think the Moblin's in charge, but... they don't tend to be as smart as some of the blue Bokos from what I've heard. Bigger, but dumber."
Zelda agreed, "That matches the few I've fought. I haven't seen a blue Moblin yet, but if they are as much stronger than the red ones as a blue Bokoblin is to a red one, it... it'll be tough, but I won't be going in straight. I'm a decent shot, so between the bombs and my bow I should at least be able to thin their ranks. I'll break and run if I have to, come back another time after they think they're safe."
"I like you already," Koyin huffed, as if she was saying something far less pleasant.
Zelda felt a strong wash of affection for the sour-faced but cute young woman who seemed determined to deal with a burden most adults would balk at. "I'll do what I can to get all your sheep back, and stop the attacks. I promise."
"Good. More'n most would do. Listen, I ain't got much. Ma died years back, and ever since then we've struggled. But those sheep are all we got left of her, and half our income. We don't eat without 'em. Even just one would help. But it ain't worth your life too, lady. If you get in over your head, I won't think nothin' less of you if you gotta turn back."
"I appreciate hearing that," Zelda told her honestly, "but I'll do everything I can. In fact... I think I'll go take care of that before I do my own business at the Lab."
"Suit yourself," Koyin told her with a half-hearted shrug, "I gotta get back to making lunch for my brothers and sisters anyway. Listen, it's like a half-day down there and most of one back. If you ain't back by... well, two sundowns from this one, I'll see if I can get some men together to look for you. No promises, but... just in case."
"I..."
Zelda didn't know what she wanted to say. She knew what Bokoblins were like. So she swallowed down the first instictive, "I'll be fine," and instead said, "I appreciate it. Thank you. Wish me luck."
Koyin just gave her one last nod, then turned and started making her way back down the hill.
Zelda did the same, only in the opposite direction, toward the trailhead that wended its way to Hateno Beach, far below.
She had some cattle rustlers to slaughter.
