When the two rode into Kakariko together the next morning, Impa was already waiting for them at the entrance of the village, her sister by her side.

Impa crossed her arms with a huff. "So, why did you want a place ' more private than a castle' ? Your home isn't safe enough?"

"I would have loved to discuss it in the castle, but some days, it's starting to feel like the walls have ears." He muttered flatly. "And quite frankly, with how Rhoam is acting the last few weeks, I would like to avoid any trigger-happy accusations he might be itching to throw my way."

He wasn't wrong about the walls having ears. Link still hasn't forgotten about the incident when he and Zelda had travelled to Lurelin and the Spring of Courage when he knew they'd been followed. He still didn't know how, or have any suspects as to who had tried to follow them that time, but he was sure that they hadn't reported anything, seeing as he still had his job and all.

And with General Lance's suspicious business and questionable offer, Link wasn't sure he wanted treason or something similar hanging over his head.

"That much is understandable, yes. We'd like to avoid anything too unpredictable." Impa commented.

She led to her home in the centre of the village where Purah greeted them at the entrance, she waved ecstatically at them and invited them in and immediately offered tea and snacks.

Once comfortable, he brought them up to speed with his suspicions of people spying on them, their worries about the pregnancy, as well as the book he'd been given (though he left out who gave it to him and didn't take it out of his bag).

They all listened aptly, allowing him the table to speak and go into details, all cataloguing it for later.

The issue of their incomplete bond was then brought up and Zelda quickly took control of that conversation.

"My father will no doubt be angry when he finds out."

Rhoam had put so much time and energy into her suitors and everyone knew there would be some kind of punishment in store for Link for having deflowered and impregnated the royal princess.

No one had any interest in seeing such a punishment though, that was for sure.

"So does anyone have any suggestions as to how we keep Link in one piece, alive and out of prison?"

"Untransferred would also be nice." Link mumbled quietly.

Impa smacked his shoulder with a smile. "We'll stick to our first three criteria."

"And if he does end up transferred in Akkala, we could always use his help at the lab with our new device!"

He sighed and let his head hang back off the chair. "When did I agree to this?"

"Say Link, would you be free for an experiment-"

"No."

"I didn't even say what it was!"

"Not interested." He answered flatly.

Impa snorted. "Maybe one day he'll accept being your willing guinea pig, Purah."

"Fat chance. I like being in one piece."

Zelda and Impa watched the two go back and forth, with Purah trying to tempt him in various different ways and Link rejecting every offer until she started bringing food into it.

"I can make you spiced poultry."

There was a split second of hesitation on Link's part. "No."

"Add fried rice."

"No."

Impa leaned over to Zelda. "I think she might actually break him for once."

"One week's worth of meals?"

He paused. "Two weeks worth and I will think about it."

"I think I see how that rumour started." Zelda stated, unimpressed. She was glad that Link had told her of that rumour yesterday, but she was also cursing him for it.

On one hand, she was glad to have been made aware of it the moment he found out, but now she swore she was seeing things and hearing things.

"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Especially him." Urbosa once advised her many months ago.

"Deal." The two shook on it.

They're just friends. Nothing more.

"Can you add some egg to it please?" He asked.

Just friends.

"Of course!"

"Back to the topic, shall we?" She interjected with a smile so forced it almost hurt.

"Mhm right," Impa hesitated, chancing a glance at Zelda and the others. "Were there any solutions that either of you came up with?"

"We did think of one way, but it's a bit permanent," Zelda told them. "Bonding, or rather completing it."

Impa and Purah shared a brief look before turning back to them, waiting for them to continue.

Silence fell over the four of them, with the only sound being a teacup placed down into its saucer. It echoed painfully in the room.

"Well, what do you think of the idea?" Zelda asked further, hoping for their honest thoughts.

Purah was the first to speak. "I think it's an excellent idea, but how much have you discussed it together?" She looked straight at Link as she said this, something Zelda noticed.

"We've discussed it enough." He answered plainly. "We've spent weeks talking about this in-depth, the only thing we need to do is decide."

"As grateful as I am that you've elected to include me in this conversation, I don't feel as though I have an appropriate place in that sort of thing." Impa told them. "I have no clue what goes on in bonds and all and I will never truly know, but I can assure you, that the Sheikah Tribe will do our best to ensure Link's safety."

"It's not often that monogamous couples maintain a one-sided bond, you know?" Purah looked between the two. "Usually it goes both ways in the heat of the moment. And while Link is in a precarious position at the moment, this is a discussion meant to be shared between the two of you." She smiled and held Zelda's hands, squeezing them reassuringly. "The Sheikah support you both wholeheartedly, regardless of what the King might say."

"I'm just worried about Link," Zelda muttered. "The nurse I saw wants me to gain more mass; she said I'm too underweight and it could be an issue."

"And people are going to know very quickly, you're going to be showing soon."

"My father won't hesitate to reassign Link to Akkala or to the Garrison when he finds out." The princess stayed quiet for a moment. "I'm afraid he might throw him into the lockup if nothing else."

She shared a glance with Link who squeezed her hand. It was good to have someone there to reassure her beyond the ways Impa or Purah could.

Purah sighed. "We cannot override the King's orders, so if you get reassigned, it happens. We can protect you from the shadows, but luck is not on our side here, Link."

He nodded, knowing it was going to be a difficult uphill battle. He'd known this for months now, almost years really.

"If that did happen, how would I see him?"

The sisters shared a look that didn't convey any positive confidence. "You likely wouldn't."

"They'd keep him busy, they might have him do office work. Overwork him definitely, but not incapacitate. They still need him for the Calamity."

He hated that the only thing keeping him from being chopped to pieces and thrown into the moat was the fact that the Calamity hadn't risen yet. It would only be so long until someone said enough was enough and called it a hoax. His sister already thought so, meaning she likely wasn't the only one.

"May I have a word with the Princess alone?" Purah asked.

Link and Impa shared a look and nodded, leaving the room.

"Is everything alright?" She asked quietly.

Purah smiled. "Of course! I was just wanting a private discussion with you. It's been a few days since we could properly get together, that's all."

The Sheikah woman poured Zelda a cup of tea and slid the cup over as she made herself comfy once more.

"I think it's been about two weeks right?"

"Mhm, something like that. I was running tests to find out if you were pregnant." Purah poured herself a cup before grabbing a few papers from her satchel on the ground. "And that's something I wanted to talk to you about without them around."

Zelda's grip tightened on the teacup, unsure of if she should be happy or nervous about that. Purah seemed in a decent mood, so surely it wasn't bad.

"Did something happen with the test?"

"Nothing bad, don't worry." Zelda sighed in relief. Purah put the papers down on the table for her to see. Numbers, lots of numbers. "I got the results last week but I haven't been able to get them to you, social season and all. Anyway, I calculated around thirteen weeks, give or take a few days."

"So I should be at fourteen then?"

"That would probably be more accurate. I drew your blood two weeks ago. You should start showing any day now."

Zelda laughed quietly. "I know, Link noticed the other night." She stood up from her chair and untied her waist belt, laying it on the chair. She untucked her blouse from her pants and shifted it up, revealing her navel and stomach.

Sure enough, Purah could see it. An ever-so-faint bump protruded enough to be noticeable without clothes.

"Your dress-makers are going to notice." she remarked.

"My plan is to suck in," Zelda joked. The plan was incredibly flawed and she knew it, but what could she even do at this point apart from tighten her corset just a bit more?

The princess would be lying if she said she didn't look at that bump obsessively since it'd been pointed out to her the first time. Seeing and feeling it made it feel real, legitimate, less akin to a dream. Hearing it was one thing, but seeing it and knowing was different.

"Do you know how your father might react when he finds out Link is the father?"

Zelda sighed and tucked her blouse back into her pants neatly, tying her waist belt back on and took a seat. "It won't be good. I suspect Link will lose his position."

"That likely won't be it, you know. I fear His Majesty might try to get Link fully thrown out of Hyrule. I think that might be the lightest punishment if I'm being honest."

"How so?"

"First off, you're not married and you're pregnant with his baby. Goddess, you're not even bonded to him, they could execute him if they really wanted to, just because he dared touch you. Do you have a plan on how to break the news to King Rhoam?"

Zelda sat quietly in the chair. She wasn't expecting the conversation to turn so fast against her. she didn't have a plan, the thought terrified her. The Council could easily tear them both apart, neither of them had a solid explanation for their risky rendez-vous, the embraces in the dark. None of it was supervised, and the day she'd gotten hit with her heat, that wasn't something she wanted brought up to anyone. They hadn't had physical sex that day, barring a bit of touching, but no one would believe them, no matter the details they gave.

"I don't have a plan…" She admitted. "We've been trying to research completing the bond-"

"But you're not getting anywhere with that, are you?"

She nodded. "Link told you?"

"Every detail, but it seems you've both learned much more recently."

"Thought so," She sighed again and drank a mouthful of tea. "I just… I need to know the full ramifications of that bond. I know Link said it's permanent and there's magic involved, but I can't do anything with that. It's not enough."

"I can always share what I already know?" Purah offered.

"Please. Anything." Zelda was desperate for any information.

"Well," she started. "If you complete that bond, you'll be considered at the same level as a married couple. Matrimony laws will apply to the both of you. Do you know them?"

She shook her head. "I know the gist of it, but nothing specific. All I've really been taught is that it's seen as an exchange of goods and property."

Purah visibly cringed a bit. "You're not wrong per say, but it's a very crude and materialistic way to look at it."

Most of what her father taught her was seen in a materialistic way and with their image in mind. A good way to summarise any decision she could take was to ask herself "what would people think?" and if it was in any way negative, she shouldn't do it. It didn't stop her though.

"As an unmarried omega woman, your father still has a say in what you do, no matter what it is. In a sense, you're a free pawn he can use as he pleases." Purah said. "If you gain the status of a married woman, that transfers over to your husband. In that sense, it's an exchange of goods."

"So… My father wouldn't have a say in what I can do then?"

"No, but Link would. I understand it's not ideal-"

"Perfect, I'd much rather someone who sees me as a person. At least he doesn't criticise every opinion and decision I make."

"Zelda please."

"No, I'm serious. I'd be fine with him. He's very insistent on me making decisions for myself that benefit me, not anyone else." She really couldn't see him questioning and guilting her about any decision she wanted to make. It was actually quite difficult to even envision the very idea.

"I don't think you really understand the ramifications of that—Zelda you're to be queen one day. Queen. You open that world up to him, that's going to give him a decent amount of power over you." The researcher sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Listen, I'm not saying he's power-hungry, but I am saying you should still worry about yourself in all of this."

"I'm very much aware of my position if I did marry him. It's never been ideal, but I can say with certainty that he's not interested in politics. He's got no interest in discussing with the Council over laws, and he certainly doesn't have the desire for public speaking." She laughed at the last part. Apart from yelling commands in the courtyard to guards, he always dreaded speeches or public speaking to crowds bigger than ten people, even going as far to feign an injury or a sick day to avoid it.

"Princess…"

"We'll sort out the logistics with him later. As I've said before, he's always been insistent that I make decisions concerning my own well-being and my health and he stands up for me if I cannot find the courage." She smiled, fondly remembering the way he told her he would defend her from her father if he ever dared speak out of line with her or disrespect her. "If there's anyone I trust with power, it'd be him."

"If you trust him, then I do as well. I just need you to know what might happen if you choose to complete the bond. It's not something you can take lightly. You have to be a united front against your father, he will try to do something about it."

"Thank you Purah. I appreciate it, I really do."

"Now that that's out of the way, I have a little favour to ask of you!"

"Really? Go on then."

"I've gotten the teleportation function finally working on the slate and I'd like to test it on him."

Zelda blinked. "Who have you tested this on so far?"

"An apple and a banana. It sliced up the banana the first time, but the apple was fine. I've theorised that solid matter remains unaffected bythe warping."

Zelda sighed.

They left their horses in the forest behind Kakariko Village knowing they'd be trekking up the mountain by foot and spending the night. It was wholly unfair to leave the horses down in the Eastern Pass alone for so long when they had no idea when they'd be back.

And so, they rode until the opening of the pass could be seen and dismounted, passing the reins of both Storm and Epona to the sisters and bid their goodbyes.

The journey wasn't too long, they'd done it multiple times, so neither bothered with a map this time.

Zelda changed into her clean white prayer gown, jewellery and attempted to slip into her sandals, only to be given a pair of boots by Link instead. No more than one counter argument later, he'd already made a very valid point concerning her attire and a snowy mountain.

She didn't know too many pregnant women who trudged up a snowy dangerous mountain in a dress and sandals in a raging blizzard, and he made sure to point that out to her.

He knew he couldn't do anything about her dress, it was ceremonial after all, but the sandals were not, they were only aesthetically pleasing to the eye and that was all. Zelda always shed them before going into the sacred pools.

"The least amount of cold exposure, the better," he told her. He threw his cloak around her shoulders at the base of the mountain and they leisurely made their way up, trudging through the fresh powder and winds.

She smiled and let him take care of her. It was nice that he was finally more open about this side of him. She wished she'd seen more of this side prior to his rut three months ago but she understood that he couldn't prior-and he still couldn't to the full extent he desired.

Every time she remembered how he took care of her during her heat, she blushed and smiled like a silly schoolgirl. She'd been very fortunate to have had someone so thoughtful by her side, as per Purah's words. Most didn't get that luxury for their first few cycles.

That reminded her.

"Hey Link?"

His ears perked up and he turned to face her, eyebrow raised. "What's up?"

She tried to hide her smile. She really wanted to know now. "If it isn't too personal," she started, "how did your first rut go?"

He froze in his tracks, his expression turned from curiosity to that of stone. If she hadn't known him for ages, she'd have wondered what he was thinking about, but a second glance to his eyes told her enough. He was recalling past embarrassing memories.

Oh this should be good.

"I would rather not." He turned abruptly and continued walking up the path, suddenly there was more determination in his walk.

She jogged up to catch up and grinned. "Please?" She shot him her special begging eyes and he refused to look, turning his head away.

"No," He whined under his breath. "It's terrible."

"I won't tell anyone," she pushed lightly.

He grunted silently, "It was bad. I was…" He gagged and visibly cringed.

"It can't be that bad." She wondered what could have been so bad. He would have been feverish? Sick for a bit? Famished, she was sure, she still visibly remembered him cooking himself a feast beneath Zora's Domain a few weeks back during their last visit.

He'd probably been too horny to function properly, it being his first. She wondered just how much of a shock that must've been to his usual self-controlled self. She vaguely remembered the stress and worries etched into his features the day she presented. Still had flashes of how terrified he'd been of potentially putting himself in a position where he could take advantage of her, despite how much she'd desired him.

What had been so bad?

"How old were you?"

"Fifteen." Wow. Almost nine full years since he's had his first.

Oh as a fifteen year old, he'd have been terribly hormone-laddened and it likely would have been out of control…

"Fine." He muttered. "You know the captain of your father's guard?"

"Captain Arn? Yes I know him." She smiled and listened aptly.

"Well, before I lived in the barracks, I used to live with him." He started explaining. "Dad lived in Hateno and they're very close, so I was staying there."

"Oh I didn't know you were so close."

He shrugged. "He's essentially my uncle in all but blood," He told her. "Anyway, I was living there."

"Go on," She tried to hide her smile. "What did you do?"

He turned his face away, but she saw the tinge of pink on his cheeks through the clouds of air from her breath. "I uh… I kept picking fights with him."

She bit her tongue to stop from letting out a giggle. The thought of Link trying to pick fights with adults twice his size was quite funny. All she could imagine was Revali's pompous, overconfident attitude put into Link's body and it was a truly silly image.

"Verbal or physical?" She inquired further.

"Physical." He whispered almost inaudible.

The giggles slipped out. The thought of Link trying to establish physical dominance was hilarious. She remembered how scrawny he'd been at the tender age of fifteen. He was much much smaller at the time, still trying to build some semblance of muscle, everything he wore at that time looked grossly oversized no matter how well it fit him.

"Did you ever actually win?"

He shook his head.

"How long did you do this for?"

No response.

"A few days?"

He shook his head.

"A week?"

"Longer."

One full week was a long time to have been in a rut. From what she'd read, the average was four to five days from start to end. He'd been at it longer than a full week?

"Two weeks?" She hesitated.

"Seventeen days."

She nearly tripped over her own feet. That was three times longer than the average. She thought four days was plentiful for her cycle, she couldn't imagine seventeen days of that mindless crap taking away her sanity.

"Were you aggressive?"

"Let's just say I had more bark and less bite." He chuckled to himself.

"Arn kicked your ass every time, didn't he?"

The silence was deafening.

"No…"

"He did! He wasn't taking any of your shit and he beat your ass!" She laughed. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the castle?"

"Yes…"

"How'd he get you so manh times?"

"No further comment." He pushed the topic away.

"Very diplomatic, Sir Link. I shall go ask Captain Arn all about this embarrassment myself." She teased him.

"You will not." He silently begged her. "Please, I haven't done that since."

"Oh I'm sure that was the only time."

"I swear."

"Mhmm, I believe you." She chanced a glance at him and nearly laughed loudly again. He was bright red and clearly wishing for a hole to bury himself into. Maybe I'll stop teasing him for now. She did not believe him one bit though.

It wasn't until midday that they were nearly at their destination. It was a comfortable walk with pleasant conversation, mostly Zelda telling Link how she was able to convince her father to let her come up the mountain with so little warning.

"I'm sure I nearly sent him into cardiac arrest," she laughed. "He was half asleep in his comfy chair when I ran into his office."

Link tried to force his smile down. He could imagine the old man falling out of his chair.

"Who's he to deny a trip to a Spring when I claim to have visions of a goddess?"

"Is that what you told him?" He inquired, lighthearted.

"I said something about glowing statues in my dreams, I'm surprised he believed me at all."

With the Spring finally in sight, Zelda pulled the slate off Link's belt and tapped the screen a few times, summoning a large pack on the ground.

They quickly assembled the tent, with Link digging the fire pit while Zelda laid out some of her belongings inside.

Link was quiet as Zelda sat in the flattened snowbank he'd created using his two cloaks, engrossed in the book he'd given her.

The first words upon setting her eyes on the booklet was "Where did you get this?" in which he was obligated to tell her that the General, along with some choice words, had given it to him recently to look through.

It belonged to the King, straight from his study apparently. Zelda showed him the property stamp hidden in one of the page corners; it was a little crown stamp. She didn't seem to care about it afterwards, which was a breath of fresh air, and she dove into the pages with a legendary concentration.

So it was legitimate, definitely legitimate. And it made Link sweat.

Link had stuffed his notes and references into his satchel, folding them carefully so as to not rip the parchment. He spent all night rewriting the notes so they'd be legible, he knew Zelda had a terrible time trying to read his handwriting, calling it a mix of chicken scratch and doctor's handwriting. That was a series of habits he'd accidentally adopted from Zelda.

He watched as she occasionally cross-referenced with his notes, skipping between pages to double check supporting information, but she did so quietly with the faintest of nods.

He didn't know what to do in the meanwhile. Zelda had seventy pages to go through, and she was about a fifth way through so he muttered about finding firewood, walking to the spring that stood within his line of sight. She only waved him away without tearing her eyes away.

He brought back numerous piles of pine branches back, smacking the snow off and storing the wood in his tent for now to allow it to dry. He hadn't yet built a fire, instead he packed many spicy elixirs for now. He'd build the fire later at night for light and heat purposes, but for now, it was a fairly clear day on the mountain. It was nice not to be caught in a blizzard for once.

He paid a visit to the Spring, his eyes watching the Goddess statue with indifference. He waded through the chilled water up to the statue, touching the stone with his bare hands.

It was then that his eyes caught an odd detail. A flat wall behind the statue? He exited the water and walked up to the wall, brushing any soft snow away. He quickly found odd crevices in the stone, almost as if there was a door or a perfect rectangular shape in the stone.

He tried to push with his strength in the middle of the shape, but he didn't feel anything budge, not in the slightest. A door was pretty useless if there wasn't a key for it.

But then again, it was entirely possible it wasn't a door at all and just the remnants of an old carving.

Seeing nothing around him that might lead him in, he left to go rejoin Zelda. The sun wasn't quite on its descent yet, but it wouldn't hurt to get the fire started now for a warm meal.

When he returned, Zelda had gotten through half of the booklet, somehow even more concentrated than ever. Her eyes were intense and unblinking, and her bottom lip was being chewed almost obsessively.

There would be no pulling her out of that state until she came out of it on her own.

He shrugged, instead digging a pit in the snow and throwing the kindling he'd accumulated into his tent earlier.

"Link, can you come here?" The sound of her voice had him bounding over. She'd broken her concentration.

"Everything alright?" He asked, offering her a small spicy elixir.

She remained quiet, picking up one of the pages of notes. "How positive are you of the authenticity of this booklet?" She asked him as she bookmarked the page.

He shrugged. "I don't really know very much, that's more your field, isn't it?"

She hummed. "It's what we've been looking for." She said with hesitation, clear in her voice. "This is a lot to take in, I'm sure.I just hope I'm not wrong about its origins." She muttered to him.

She wasn't wrong in that regard. It was a lot to take in, it was a shock really, but Link had had over three days to get over the initial surprise. It was her first time even seeing it.

"What do you think?" He cautioned.

"How many times have you read this? Thoroughly read it, I mean?" She asked, wrapping the book up in the protective cloth covering Link had originally brought with him.

"Three, maybe four times." It was probably more than that.

"If we bond… If we truly complete the bond, you do know what happens right? You understand what happens to our statuses? To yours specifically."

He hesitated. "I do."

The book detailed elevating the non-royal partner to a near equal status, regardless of blood-origin. The act of reciprocating a divine bond such as that one had permanent consequences, an unbreakable physical and mental bond, one believed to tie the souls together.

To forever tie yourself to someone in such a way meant that person had to be special.

"Link," She whispered. "You'd be eligible to take my father's place on the throne." She stated plainly. "Is that something you would allow for yourself?"

He was glad she understood the consequences so well detailed in the book. He worried when they first bonded that she didn't truly understand and comprehend what it meant to bond with someone, but it was clear to him she understood way more now than she did three months ago when it had happened to them the first time.

"It's not a decision that's up to me, Zelda." He tried to tell her. "As we are now, we can still…we can still break it. I don't think it'd hurt the baby but you could still pick someone better suited."

She studied his face, searching for something.

"Link… I love you. I trust you. But… But this isn't a decision I can make on my own; I need to know how you feel about this."

"It's your throne. It's entirely yours, I have no right to it." He told her, taking her hands into his. He cupped them and blew on them, noticing the pinkness appearing at the tips of her fingers. "I'm terribly versed in politics, and I know nothing of laws and courts, nor do I know anything about the Council-"

"Link, I don't care about that. I really don't." She cut him off. "I don't want a stuffy noble who'll only use me to further their own agenda. I don't want some alpha who's going to lord themselves over me to usurp everything I've worked for."

"I know nothing of politics, they'll be looking at me for that stuff. You need someone better-"

"Are you really trying to make my decision for me right now? Aren't you the one who's been telling me to be selfish for once? Asking me what I really want?" Her voice began rising, and he was glad they were at the top of the mountain where no one could hear them. He remained quiet as Zelda's frustration began leaking out bit by bit. He didn't dare interrupt her.

"You're the one who's been telling me to be selfish and pushing me to make decisions for me. Not for the Link." She stopped to take a breath, using her sleeve to brush away a tear that threatened to fall. "Don't you dare tell me what's better for me when you're the one trying to teach me about autonomous decisions, damn hypocrite."

She ripped her hands from his and roughly grabbed the back of his head with both hands, taking him into a harsh kiss.

"Dammit Link, stop thinking you're not good enough for me. We're having a baby for goodness sake. A baby. Does that mean nothing to you?"

Rather than respond verbally, he didn't even know what he could say, he returned her kiss with as much fervour as she had mustered.

"If you don't want to be with me, tell me the truth. Don't spew me bullshit about not being good enough." She said between kisses. "There's not a man alive on this continent that's better than you are."

All he wanted to do was hold her, have her to himself, call her his.

He didn't have a way with words, he couldn't express the way she made him feel nor did he think he could ever probably verbalise such thoughts and feelings.

She was the sun breaking through a freezing blizzard, the rain after a drought, the key to a cell of repressed thoughts and feelings.

He could never talk to anyone about the things he talked about with Zelda. He could never love someone the same way he loved her, he could never dare look at anyone the same way. He was prepared to spend his life pinning away with no way out, forever entranced by heavenly eyes and a divinely beautiful voice that could put all four Goddesses to shame.

But despite the thoughts that there had to be someone better for her, he kissed her. He kept kissing her.

She broke apart, hovering so close they could share a breath. "Link, there isn't anyone else I could ever want." She whispered. "Do you believe me when I say this?"

Yes. He believed her. He would always believe her.

"What do you want, Link? Be selfish."

What did he want? He didn't want the world, he didn't want endless riches and he didn't want a crown. He didn't want land, endless livestock, vassals or subjects.

He wanted peace of mind. He wanted peace. He wanted to live life. He wanted a family. He wanted Zelda. That was what he wanted.

His eyes locked with hers, breathtakingly green against the snow. His hands held hers, small and gentle. That's what he wanted, he was sure of it.

"I want you Zelda. I want you as you are."

"Then have me. I am yours."

He didn't need anything else from her. He let her hands go and cupped her cheeks, kissing her soundly. He wanted to memorise the way they felt, he wanted her warmth for himself.

He could be selfish for once.

His arms wrapped around his princess, pressing her against him in a tight embrace.

He never wanted to let her go.

...

She pushed him back against his lain cloak, capturing his lips with as much fire as she could muster. Energy thrummed through her veins madly, she barely knew what to do with it.

"Goddesses Link, you're perfect." She told him, straddling him without letting go of her grip on his tunic. "You'll never understand just how wonderful you've been to me."

He hummed with a blush on his skin. He was so warm, so comforting in the way he held her dearly. She blindly trusted these arms of his, they would never let her go.

"I want you in my life, and I want you by my side." She pushed the need to let the tears flow. The thought that he didn't think he was worthy enough to be by her side hurt.

"I want to be by your side." She could hear it in his voice. It was rare he spoke with emotion, with such loving conviction. She could never doubt anything that came out of his mouth.

She wanted to complete their bond. She wanted to be his forever. Sure she was young, but she's never been more sure of a decision. She gazed into his eyes. "Link?" She loved the redness of his cheeks from the wind..

"What is it?"

She was sure of her decision. "I want to bond with you. I've never been so sure about anything."

She noticed his breath hitch and his Adam's apple bob. "It's permanent… There'll be no undoing it." She let him talk. "I'll always be in the back of your mind, Zelda." He swallowed thickly. "Your privacy will no longer be your own."

She nodded, understanding. She's had access to all of his privacy in the last three months, even going as far as to feel his injuries on herself.

He was a swordsman, a powerful one with an unbreakable will. She would feel so much more following today.

"I know."

His eyes softened ever so lightly but she caught it, the subtle shift of his pupils and his eyelashes. The more she looked in his eyes, the more she could see. She could see dozens of his fears; responsibility, so many responsibilities, fighting, the impending stress of the Calamity, the fear of making a mistake, the fear of letting her down. The most glaringly obvious was one of wanting to give in to his desires but with a looming feel of possible regret.

She was glad she was already well acquainted with his feelings up until now. She was thankful now that she'd accidentally bonded with him without sealing it. She knew most of these feelings, though they'd never been as heavy as right now.

"Zel… If I die early-"

There it is. The worries made sense, they clicked together like pieces of a puzzle.

"It's permanent I know." She kissed him sweetly for a moment. "I would rather be with you for a short while and be happy, than wait an eternity and be miserable." Zelda smiled as she pulled out the two vials of red liquid from his discarded pack next to them. "You said these will keep us warm for three hours right?" She popped the cork and tossed it aside into the snow.

He nodded. She barely noticed his eyes roam her. She tipped back the vial and drank the contents without losing eye contact.

She didn't seem to care much about the snow or the fact they were outside; there wasn't anyone for miles, and the closest might be sitting at the base of the mountain in the Eastern Pass.

"I want you to take me here," she whispered. She took his hair tie and pulled it free slowly before slipping it on her wrist. "Link, I want you to claim me."

He stopped breathing for a moment. "Even after everything I told you?"

"I don't trust anyone more than I trust you, Link."

It was all he needed to take the vial in hand and drink, discarding it to the side immediately and ripping his tunic over his head and tossing it aside.

He lifted and supported himself up with a hand, threading the free one into her hair behind her neck and brought the princess into a searing kiss. "You'll tell me if you want to stop?" He gazed into her captivating green eyes for any hint of hesitation.

"I know what I want."

Her eyes drifted over him, scanning over everything and settling in the small scar on the side of the base of his neck. A bite hard enough to leave a scar. Two actually, she noticed one that was still pink against his skin, fresh from the day she'd bit him too hard.

"Will it hurt?" She breathed out.

"I didn't notice when you did them to me," he answered without needing any more details. "Do you still want to?"

She nodded without hesitation. "I just… I want to prepare myself for it."

"I'll be sure to make it as painless as possible."

Their kiss was slow and sensual at first, their tongues caressing gently, melding until their lungs burned.

"I've got you." he wrapped his arms around her securely and shifted her onto his soft cloak.

It was as if the snow didn't exist, like they weren't on one of the highest peaks of Hyrule. They melded together naturally as if having done the dance hundreds of times, the cold only an afterthought, and the wind carrying away their worries.

There were no further words needed to be shared between the lovers as they became one once again.