A/N: So sorry for the delay! I got sick for a couple weeks, which messed up all my IRL stuff. I'll be going to an upload schedule of "whenever I can" until the IRL things are taken care of and I have more time to write. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Link was just on time. After a quick greeting and changing of the guard with Sir Bertrand, Link tapped the door to announce his presence.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning! It's me."

"Link!" The door swung open to reveal Zelda's beaming smile. "Come in! Naomi brought breakfast early today." She ushered him over to the seats and shoved a pastry in his hand. "Oh, you absolutely have to tell me everything that happened with Father, and when the meeting is! I am so excited!"

Link grinned and filled her in on the details of the meetings. "Sorry to surprise you with the Champions meetings today, but it was urgent and I thought you'd want to be included."

"Please, there is no need to apologize. This is perfect! I think…we'll need a map, some paper, and a pen," she said, eyes shining and already pulling things out of her messy desk. "Though I am afraid we don't have enough seats here for everyone."

"I'll stand. Daruk will probably be fine on the floor and I don't think I've ever seen Revali sit down anyway."

Zelda stifled a giggle. "He sits down!"

"Sure, but have you ever seen it happen?"

"Maybe not, but I am certain he is fully capable of it."

"He may be capable of it, but that doesn't mean that it won't mess up his poor feathers! What a disgrace it would be if he had a single feather out of place!"

Zelda actually laughed at that one. Link's mouth surged upwards in a smile on its own. She had a nice laugh, he decided. He'd like to make her laugh again.

Naturally, he couldn't help but to continue. "The day I see Revali sit down will be the day I die of shock."

She snorted.

And then immediately covered her face. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, please excuse me. I just need a moment to recover."

Link stood and gently pulled her hand away. "Your Highness, I solemnly swear that I have never seen anything more adorable in the world."

Zelda blushed bright red. Link was still holding her hand, and he figured he should probably do something about that. He raised her hand and lightly pressed his lips to the back of her hand before gently returning it to her side.

"And I've seen a lot of dogs too," he said, making eye contact with his boots and running his hand through the hair at the back of his head. "They're, uh, pretty cute." Link was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to compare a princess to a dog, and now he had messed everything up-

"...they are, aren't they?" Zelda whispered.

Oh. Okay, great.

Link felt a soft touch on his cheek and blinked before meeting Zelda's eyes again. She had a gentle smile and a soft light in her eyes. "I think you are pretty cute too."

If Link wasn't blushing before, he sure was now.

Zelda stepped forward very slowly, eyes slightly lower than his. It was weird, because she was taller and it must be uncomfortable for her. Maybe she was just too embarrassed to look him in the eyes at the moment. But she was getting really close-

And then he heard footsteps approaching the hallway.

Zelda nearly yelped and leaped away, her hand shooting away from his face. She began to frantically mess with the papers on the table instead, as if she could cover her blush by looking focused enough. Link swept the empty breakfast tray off the table and turned away from the door to set it down on Zelda's desk. Which was a mess, so he'd have to spend even more time clearing a space for the tray. Yep, that was definitely a task he needed to do. Right now. He peeked back to check for any threats, but it was just Urbosa.

"Good morning, Little Bird."

"G-good morning, Urbosa."

Urbosa raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

Link was running out of excuses to keep looking at the desk. He had to turn around and rejoin Zelda at the table. He ignored Urbosa's stare boring into his skull and refrained from thinking about looking at Zelda.

"Well…" Urbosa dragged the sound of that one word through the air.

"Y-yes?" Zelda stuttered out.

"Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry," Urbosa said as she glared at Link, who was very worried. "How have you been feeling, Princess? I hope you have been resting like Mipha told you to."

"Oh, yes, I have been."

"Good." Urbosa relaxed her stare on Link to smile fondly at Zelda. "Please take care of yourself. You are very precious to us."

"Thank you, Urbosa. I will do my best."

"Princess!" Daruk announced his presence with a shout.

"Maybe you should attempt to lower your voice before you bumble in. The princess is still recovering."

"Oh, right. Thanks, Revali."

Zelda giggled. "Good morning, both of you!"

Link made a quick nod when Sir Stephen arrived to take his post outside the door, but didn't leave Zelda's side. He was happy to watch as she chatted animatedly with the other Champions. Zelda was distracted, but he did not miss the way Urbosa pulled her chair so she would be seated directly across from Zelda, and by extension, Link. He tried not to flinch.

The sound of clanging metal interrupted Zelda's conversation and Mipha burst into the room.

"Apologies…I was tending to….a patient… Lost track of time."

"Have a seat, Mipha," Daruk said, helping her into the remaining chair.

"We are so happy you were able to attend at all. A slight delay is not any trouble." Zelda's smile was absolutely radiant.

Link gave Mipha a small smile and a nod. She didn't appear to relax, though.

"If everyone is ready, we can begin."

Daruk plopped down near the table and Link shared a smile with Zelda as Revali sniffed and crossed his arms, but did not sit down.

"My father has asked that we address some of the monsters with the divine beasts. Our soldiers have been patrolling and clearing areas near the castle and forts; however, a significant portion of our forces are weakened from the fight against the Calamity. If we can eliminate the strongest enemies, we would ease the burden on the soldiers and significantly decrease the amount of time needed to restore the kingdom."

The other Champions nodded in agreement.

"I thought it might be best to divide and conquer, so to speak. Each of you and your divine beasts will cover one region in particular, centered around your homes. I will draw the suggested borders here on the map - where is my pen?"

Link very gingerly stepped next to Zelda and handed her the pen off the table.

"Ah, um, thank you."

He gave her a small nod and returned to his place slightly behind her. Urbosa's eyebrow arched upwards again.

"As I was saying, I suggest these borders. It divides the area into four roughly equal sections."

"Princess, if I may," Revali interjected. "These borders would prevent Mipha from working in the infirmary at the castle. Why don't you entrust both the Rito and Zora area to me?"

"No need," said Urbosa, eyes briefly leaving Link's to glance at Revali. "Gerudo Desert suffered the least in the Calamity. My soldiers can take care of everything on their own while I look after the Zora area."

Revali puffed up, but Urbosa silenced him with a wave of her hand.

"Besides, logistically, it would make more sense if you flew by Gerudo Desert every once in a while rather than fly across the whole kingdom to Zora's Domain. You wouldn't mind, of course?"

"Of course not, I can handle it just fine."

"Then that's settled."

Daruk rubbed his chin. "This does leave the castle a bit unprotected though, if we're all at the corners of the kingdom."

"Well, Link and I will still be here. We can do whatever needs to be done," Mipha said.

Link nodded. "I can do some extra patrols at night and on my days off."

"Just make sure you both rest enough. I do not want either of you getting hurt for my sake." Zelda's hands folded neatly together, as if she could bury her worries inside the palm of her hand.

Urbosa's eyes lingered on Zelda, then briefly flicked back to Link.

Mipha smiled and assured Zelda that she would be careful. "Speaking of which, Princess, it is about time for you to rest again. Is there anything else you'd like to discuss with us while we are here?"

"Oh, no that was all. I apologize for keeping you so long."

"There is no need to apologize, Princess. Please, send for me right away if you need anything at all."

"Thank you, Mipha. You are so kind."

The Champions filed out slowly, wishing Zelda a very brief recovery and to let them know what they could do for her. Urbosa, last to leave, had smiled at Link and winked. "You take good care of the Princess for me."

She promptly left him alone with Zelda in the room, blushing quite a bit more than he should have been.