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Chapter Text

Once, Link told Zelda why he never speaks.

When they first met, Zelda thought he was arrogant, so arrogant he thought he didn’t even need to boast to be admired. Everyone around him praised him for his excellent swordsmanship and his loyal, steadfast service to the King of Hyrule. Everyone but Zelda.

She saw no need for a silent, proud knight who wouldn’t even talk to her while he followed her around endlessly. She’d be frustrated by a piece of research, or sad, remembering her mother, and she’d turn around to see him standing there like a silent ghost.

“Just stay away from me,” she warned him once. “It’ll be better for both of us in the end.”

He didn’t listen. That was the only time he didn’t listen to her.

Months later, after he’d thrown himself in front of a Yiga footsoldier to save her, they’d begun to open up to each other, and she thought she’d begun to understand him. Still, she didn’t understand why he never spoke.

Zelda always supposed she knew that Link could speak, that he at least had the ability to produce sounds if he wanted to- she’d heard him grunt and yelp in battle more times than she could count. But she’d never heard him actually speak words , and neither had anyone else she’d ever met.

In the days before the Calamity, people at court used to gossip about Link. Some people said he was ordered by King Rhoam to never speak, while others claimed to have seen inside his mouth, and that he’d had his tongue cut out for rebelling during his training as a youth. 

Zelda still giggles when she remembers asking him about that rumor after she’d heard it, and bowling over laughing when he immediately stuck his tongue out at her in response.

No, Zelda’s father hadn’t ordered Link to hold his tongue, and he certainly hadn’t cut it out either- but while she knew all of these things to be true, she still had no idea why he stayed silent. So, late one night, she finally gathered up the nerve to ask him, when he was standing guard outside her study.

“Link?” Zelda asked softly, poking her head out of her study door. “Could you come in here, for a moment, please?”

He nodded his ascent, as if he’d ever refuse a request from her, and followed her into her study. When she motioned for him to sit across from her, he paused, giving her a curious look. 

“Please, Link,” Zelda said, smiling warmly. “I just… wish to know you a bit better, is all.”

Link’s cheeks went red, but he sat, tilting his head in question at Zelda when she sat across from him and nervously smoothed out her skirts. How he managed to be so expressive without words, Zelda would never know.

“I’ve been thinking… I wanted to know, wanted to ask you, that is,” Zelda started, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as she spoke. Link watched her intently, as he always did, alert and attentive. “Why is it that you do not speak?”

He just looked at her. This had not gotten off to a good start.

“Or, can you speak?” Zelda asked, eyes wide. “That sounded a bit rude. I don’t mean to be rude, I just…” she looked at her hands in her lap, starting over. “I wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help you. Or to understand you better. I feel as if you’ve done so much to help me, especially since we left Gerudo Desert, and I just…” she trailed off, unsure of where she was going next, looking off over Link’s shoulder in embarrassment. 

“Zelda.” A voice snapped her attention back to Link, who was speaking to her . “I can speak,” he said, in a low, quiet voice that sent chills across Zelda’s skin. 

“I… well, I suppose I can see that now,” she said, a faint blush creeping across her cheeks. His eyes seemed so much bluer than they ever had at that moment, and it was so strange for her to be staring at his mouth, knowing that words had just emerged from it.

He sat forward a bit, his hand leaving the Master Sword where it rested on his hip for the first time since he had followed her into the room. “I can speak,” he repeated, staring not at Zelda but at the low fire she kept lit in her study to keep the night’s chill at bay. “But I prefer not to.”

“Oh,” was all Zelda said, watching the way Link’s fingers curled around his knee. “Well, you can always speak to me, or not speak to me, if you want to.”

“Thank you,” Link said, still staring into the fire. They sat quietly together for the rest of that night, until Zelda drifted off to sleep in her chair, and woke up to a freshly stoked fire and a blanket tucked around her shoulders. Link’s seat was empty.

***

The next time Link spoke to Zelda, it was after she’d taken a near-miss of a hit from a Guardian when she had gotten too close while studying it. She was just so fascinated by the idea of controlling the strange beasts, and had chosen this exact moment when the researchers were on their break to investigate one up close.

Link, as usual, had said nothing while following her to the research site, but he had given her a vaguely amused look when she disregarded several danger signs.

Zelda fell back with a scream of shock, not pain, but Link was at her side in an instant, gripping her arm and staring at her side, where the Guardian’s beam had grazed her.

“ Are you hurt? ” he’d asked, his voice rushed and full of fear. 

Zelda was too stunned to respond, simply staring at him with her mouth hanging open. When Link inevitably took that as a sign of shock, he examined her closer, frowning when he failed to find a wound. 

“I- I’m fine,” Zelda said finally, when Link looked like he was preparing to throw her over his shoulder and take her into the castle. His eyes met hers, clear blue disbelief, and she smiled to show him she was alright. “Truly, I am. You just startled me,” she said carefully, watching as his fingers remained tight around the handle of his ever-present sword. “When you spoke.”

Link blinked, once, then twice, then nodded, sheathing the Master Sword on his back and offering her a hand to help her stand up. He was back to his normal self, silent and stoic and always agreeing.

But Zelda remembered what his voice sounded like.

***

The third time Zelda ever heard Link speak, it was late at night, like the first time, but on this instance, she had not invited him in.

Zelda was on the floor of her bedroom, kneeling in front of the small goddess statue she kept facing the foot of her bed, as a reminder to always be as devout as she could. Tears streamed down her face. She would travel to the Spring of Wisdom in just over a week on her seventeenth birthday to pray to the Goddess Hylia to awaken her sacred power, and even now, with the Calamity looming over all of Hyrule, she could not bring herself to feel even a shred of divinity.

All Zelda felt was stupid.

She let out a sob, leaning forward and placing her hand on the statue’s forehead, and let out a choked, “ Why? ” 

Everything Zelda had ever worked for would amount to nothing if she kneeled at the Spring of Wisdom and failed to awaken her power. Everything she was ever meant to be, everything she was born for… it would all go to waste, and all of Hyrule would perish.

And it would all be her own fault.

Suddenly, a mere moment after Zelda’s cry, the door to her bedroom burst open, and Link stood at the ready, Master Sword brandished to attack. He stared at her, blinked, and stepped back, bowing in apology. He must’ve heard her cry and thought she was in danger.

There were dark, dark circles under Link’s eyes. Technically, he was released from his duties to sleep every night when Zelda went to bed herself, leaving several royal guards posted at her door to watch over her as she slept. Recently, Zelda had been awake deep into the night in prayer, and sometimes she peeked out of the window in one of the castle’s towers of worship to see Link beating himself bloody on the training grounds. 

Evidently, they were both on edge, and it couldn’t help that neither of them were getting much sleep.

“Link,” Zelda said softly, somewhat surprised, but also fundamentally not. She wiped her eyes, embarrassed, and shook her head. “My apologies. I’m alright. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

She looked away from him, at the wall, hoping he would just leave her alone to cry at the feet of the statue late into the night. But she heard rustling from Link’s direction, and when she looked up again, he had taken a knee next to her, the Master Sword returned to its sheath on his belt. 

Zelda scrubbed at her face again with the heel of her hand. “Really, it’s fine. I was just upset, you see…” she trailed off, looking into the face of the goddess statue, and something in it reminded her so much of the features of her own mother’s face. Her bottom lip quivered, and she had to bring a hand to her mouth to mute the sobs that threatened to escape.

“I’m sorry,” she said, turning away from Link once again as she gasped for air. “I don’t know what’s come over me.”

“Don’t apologize,” came a voice from next to her, nearly startling her out of her tears. Zelda looked up, curiously, and was perhaps even more surprised to see Link offering her a hand than to hear his voice.

She took it, cautiously, and he squeezed her hand, his warm, calloused fingers feeling sure and comforting wrapped around hers. He sat next to her, staring into the face of the statue in front of them. “Are you struggling with your power again?”

“Yes,” Zelda whispered, vividly thinking he had never asked her a real question before, other than to see if she was hurt. “It… it tortures me. I feel so worthless.”

“I used to feel the same when I first became a knight,” Link told her, his voice barely above a whisper but feeling as though he were screaming into her ear. He let go of her hand, and Zelda found herself mourning the loss. “People were always placing expectations on me, even when I was a child. I felt as though everyone was always watching what I was going to do next.”

“Yes, exactly,” Zelda said, and when Link met her eyes, he gave her a wistful smile.

Looking down at where the Master Sword rested on his hip, Link said, “When I was young, I often found that my voice failed me when I needed it most. It wasn’t something I could rely on,” he explained. “When I was supposed to say my oath to become a knight, I choked. I couldn’t speak my vows that day, and had to write them instead… I could tell everyone was wondering what was wrong for me.”

Zelda’s heart broke in that moment for young Link. She had been told that he was knighted at thirteen, the youngest to ever do so in Hyrule, and the innocence of that age always struck her as poignant. 

“From that day on, I seldom spoke. I told myself that I would become something for others to rely on, loyal, reliable, always there… even if I couldn’t speak to it,” he finished, toying absently with the fibers of the rug they sat on. 

“So that’s why you rarely speak,” Zelda said, a revelation. She looked at Link then, and took his hand again, a determined look in their eyes. “Link, I want you to know that you will never be obligated to speak around me, or anyone under my rule. It is your voice, but you are more than that.”

He smiled, truly smiled , and the sight was like the brightest scale from Farosh- Zelda’s stoic, silent knight, squeezing her hand and smiling on the floor of her bedroom… It felt like a dream. But right then, it was just what she needed.

“Thank you,” Link told her, his voice low and sure, so solid that Zelda wondered how he had ever found himself unable to speak. As if he could read her mind, Link said, “It still fails me all the time. When I think about it least, it seems the easiest. I try to talk to myself, sometimes, and I can’t get the words out. It feels so unnatural, now, that I rarely want to.”

“You never have to,” Zelda said, and she meant it. He had gotten along just fine thus far, he didn’t need to speak to fulfill his duty to her, or to Hyrule.

Then, Link looked her dead in the eyes, and she’ll never forget how he sounded when he said, “Zelda, the only person I’ve spoken to in the last five years is you.”

When the Calamity came and went the first time, Zelda was locked in Hyrule Castle fighting Ganon for a hundred years, but it all felt like a blur. She didn’t feel like she was truly alive again until the moment Link stepped into the Sanctum and drew his legendary sword against the malice.

She wasn’t sure, wasn’t positive, but he seemed like the same Link she had known all those years ago. The way he fought, the way he looked at her when they had both finished sealing away the evil… he was so steadfast, so sure, that it had to be him. Not just a new man in the same body, but her very own knight. 

Still, she didn’t know for sure until she looked him in the eyes and asked, “Link, do you really remember me?”

She could tell he didn’t have his words at that moment, but when he smiled, she knew it was him.

***

Zelda was shocked, to say the least, when she and Link traveled across Hyrule following the Calamity and people from every corner of the map greeted Link like an old friend… and expected him to speak . 

She put two and two together very quickly when Link scratched his head when a friendly stablehand greeted him by name and asked him a question. Once the initial surprise passed, she realized that the Link who lived directly after waking up from the Shrine of Resurrection and the Link she had known one hundred years ago were very different people in the same body.

After all, one had memories of his relationship with speech, and one had no idea who he was.

Then, after the Calamity, Zelda knew a version of both men that had melded together as he slowly remembered who he was on his way to rescue her. She knew, after they defeated Ganon, a man who waved to merchants on the road to Kakariko, who played with little children on the coast of Lurelin and shouted with joy after winning an eating contest with a Goron… but still, a man who never spoke.

He didn’t speak to Zelda, not once, those long five years after the Calamity, and before the Upheaval. And Zelda didn’t mind- she missed his voice, and his kind words to her that night in her room, but she knew why he didn’t speak, and she never faulted him for it. In fact, she loved him all the same, even when he gave her uncertain looks when he thought she wasn’t looking, because she could tell he was wondering if he was worth as much to her silent as he was speaking.

Truth be told, Zelda still thinks she’d love him even if he never let out another sound in his entire life. She’d still let him follow her everywhere if he never shut up, as well.

That was just how she felt about Link.

Today, Zelda is waking up from what feels like the deepest sleep she will ever know. Now, Zelda is free from centuries, perhaps even millennia of silent duty… she wonders, faintly, as she wakes, if this is how Link feels.

When Zelda turns back into Zelda, the first thing she does is look at Link.

He’s staring at her, intent as always, the lines of his face creased with worry. He has a few new scars, one above his ear that wasn’t there before. There’s a certain windblown quality to his hair that she doesn’t recognize, and it’s a little longer, a little more wild than before. There are bags beneath his eyes that she hasn’t seen in years, and a residual sparkle across his chest that seems to match her own faintly glowing skin.

But he’s still Link. 

Just as he was there the first time they fought evil together and won, he’s here now, and he hasn’t left her side.

“Oh, Link,” Zelda breathes, feeling him watch the way her face breaks out in a smile. “I’m home!”

She launches herself at him, uncaring that he’s still without a shirt and they’re both soaking wet. The intricate beading of her Zonai dress digs into her skin through the fabric, worse on Link’s bare chest, probably, but Zelda does not care. She’s back home, and they’re free, and nothing will ever hurt them now.

She feels Link startle underneath her, but he immediately wraps his arms around her, holding her tightly like he’s afraid he’s going to lose her again. Water runs down both of their faces, and neither of them are fully sure if it’s tears or pond water, Zelda suspects a mixture of both, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is the fact that they’re together again.

All that time, ever since Zelda swallowed her Secret Stone, she can only remember feeling cold. She imagines now that the metal of the Master Sword quite literally regrowing from her body had something to do with it, but as she roamed the skies high above Hyrule, she was chilled to the bone, the type of frigid feeling that you can’t quite shake.

Now, here, in Link’s arms, she is warm again.

Zelda hears a small hiccup , a choked, abated sob, and Link’s hand clutches the back of her dress tighter. She tries to pull back so she can see his face, but he holds onto her too tight.

“Link,” Zelda says softly. “Let me look at you.”

He releases her enough for her to sit up and cup his face in her hands. And, oh , there are tears welling at the corners of his eyes, brows knit together as he stares at her. Zelda may have been asleep for all that time, but Link was here, and he remembers what it felt like to know for certain that he’d never see her again.

“Oh, Link,” Zelda says, brushing away one of his tears, and she watches as Link strains, evidently, he’s trying to speak, but she can tell his words are failing him once again. 

“Shh,” Zelda says, pulling him close again, letting him hold her to his chest as tightly as he wants to. “I know, I know. It’s alright. You don’t have to tell me. I know.”

But Link, stubborn and emotional as ever, lets Zelda go after the worst of his tears have stopped, to pull the Purah Pad from its latch on his waist. He fumbles with the device, one-handed, because it seems even in his rush to do whatever he’s trying to do, he refuses to let Zelda go.

Link presents the pad to Zelda after a moment, proudly showing her a few words written digitally in his shaky, horrible handwriting. 

I missed you.

Zelda laughs, wiping a wayward tear from her face, and squeezes his hand. “I missed you, too,” she whispers, and they reach out for each other again, holding each other until the sun is low in the sky and Zelda’s eyelids are heavy.

***

Their first stop after the events of the battle with Ganondorf is Lookout Landing, after Zelda woke up to the sun rising on Hyrule Field in Link’s arms, and they were both too embarrassed to talk about it. Link had pointed at a spot on the map of the Purah Pad, and Zelda smiled at him, and off they went. 

Zelda tells Link everything that happened in the past as they walk. He insists, via writing, that she’s too weak to warp, and they fell from the sky only a few hours away from Lookout, anyway. Zelda complains about Link being overprotective, but secretly, she’s grateful for the time alone with him, before the rest of the world finds out she’s home.

She chronicles tales of a Hyrule before any of them would know of, telling him all about King Rauru and Queen Sonia and the Sages. Some of this, Link already knows, she’s sure, but she tells him anyway, because he looks so happy to listen. It feels a bit like the old days before the Calamity, when he followed her all across Hyrule, just the two of them.

Link makes a surprised noise when Zelda mentions Mineru’s death. “Link?” Zelda asks, looking at him curiously. “Did you learn about her?”

He nods, thoughtfully, then gets the Classic Link Expression where he’s lost in thought about something very important. Zelda falls silent as they continue to walk along the road, humming to herself, wondering what Link is thinking about. She’s sure all the dots will connect later on when they both speak to Purah, but for now, she’s content to stay on their path while Link is off inside his head.

A scout from the Landing sees them before anyone else, hurrying up into a tower to blow a horn to alert the others. Zelda waves, excited, but the man eyes her suspiciously, and stays at the top of the tower until a cart comes rushing down the road.

“Hello,” Zelda calls out, but the cavalry at the front of the cart just stands at attention, looking at her warily. She turns to Link, confused. “Has something happened?”

He nods, looking slightly amused, but then points back at the cart. Purah jumps down from it, refusing the helping hand of a soldier when she dismounts. She runs up to Link and Zelda, stopping to stand right before them, not even panting.

“Well, well, well,” she says, looking Zelda up and down. She then looks at Link and asks, “Is this our girl, or did the Demon King clone you, too?”

Link takes Zelda’s hand and nods, a small smile on his face. “Hello, Purah,” Zelda says, cautious, as everyone seems tense for some reason she doesn’t understand. Purah just launches herself at both of them, squealing with joy as she pulls them in for a tight hug.

Link yelps in surprise, while Zelda just laughs. “Good job, Linky!” Purah says, boop ing Link on the nose, which makes him look disgruntled and slightly confused. She then takes both of Zelda’s hands, squeezing as she says, “It’s good to have you back, Princess.”

“Thank you,” Zelda tells her, returning her smile. “It’s good to be back.” She looks at the scattered soldiers around Purah’s cart, and they’re all cheering now, seemingly celebrating Zelda’s return. “I am a bit confused about my reception, though.”

Purah pats Zelda’s cheek fondly. “Linky didn’t tell you? Oh, right,” she says, waving Link off when he gives her an exasperated look. “The Demon King had a puppet version of you running around Hyrule, keeping everyone away from his juicy secrets! We had to make sure we were seeing you -you, and that you and Linky actually got the bastard this time.”

Zelda’s eyes widen in horror, and when she turns to look at Link, he’s giving her a look of grim agreement. “Ganondorf sent his mirage of me into this era as well? Oh no, how awful…” she muses.

“It’s okay now, because you’re back with us, and that guy is history !” Purah exclaims, taking Zelda by the hand and dragging her back to the cart. “Everyone, the princess of Hyrule is back , and the Demon King is dead! ”

A cheer goes up amongst the soldiers, and when Zelda looks at Link, his eyes are twinkling.

***

Thankfully, all of the Sages made it back to Lookout Landing safely. They had ventured into the fight armed with Travel Medallions set for the Landing, so when the first of them (Riju, somehow, this didn’t surprise anyone) woke and escaped to see Link fighting the Demon Dragon in the skies, she gathered up the rest of them and took them back to Purah.

Riju holds Zelda’s hand as she tells her the tale of the Gibdos and the sand shroud and the Lightning Temple, with Link nodding along to the side, confirming everything she says. “Urbosa and the ancient Sage of Lightning would be proud,” Zelda tells her, and they both pretend not to see the tears gathering in Riju’s eyes.

While Yunobo is excitedly recounting everything that happened in the Depths to Zelda, Link slips off, and when Zelda turns around, she sees him playing a game of Don’t-Get-Caught-In-The-Gust with Tulin, whose shrieking laughs warm Zelda’s heart.

“It was so cool , Princess!” Tulin tells her, excitedly flapping his little wings. “I got to speak to my ancestor, the Sage of Wind, and then I got to help Link fight the Demon King with my Secret Stone… I think my dad will totally flip when I tell him everything!”

Zelda laughs, smiling at the little Rito. “You’re growing to be quite the formidable warrior, Tulin. And the youngest Sage ever, I’ll bet.”

The boy’s eyes go wide at that, and he nearly blows everyone’s eardrums out when he shrieks, “ I can’t wait to tell Harth that one! ”

Sidon takes one look at Zelda and says, “Princess, forgive me if I’m overstepping here, but you look like you could use a long rest.”

She shakes her head, trying to stay awake, but the movement is interrupted by a yawn and Sidon gives her a knowing look. “Apparently, centuries of existing as a dragon have taken their toll on me,” Zelda says sheepishly.

The Zora prince laughs his glorious laugh, startling poor Robbie, who was talking to Josha behind him. “You and Link should visit the Domain! Ever since we cleared away this horrible sludge, the waters have never felt so tranquil and relaxing. It is the perfect place to unwind after all you’ve been through.”

Zelda wants to say yes, but… “It sounds lovely, but I’m sure there’s far too much work to be done here for me to even think about leaving yet. I’ve just gotten back, and there are two new levels of Hyrule for me to deal with…”

Sidon’s eyes sparkle, and he turns on his signature charm. “Yes, I’m sure you and Link have much important work to be done all across Hyrule. Where better to start than the Domain? I’m headed back there first thing tomorrow morning, and I would be delighted to prepare a welcome banquet to celebrate your return and my ascension to the throne. It would be a political masterpiece.”

Politics have been difficult in the years since the Calamity, especially with the Zora, who have always been more independent than the other Hyrulean races. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt to discuss it with Purah and Link,” Zelda tells him.

“Oh! And how could I forget? While you were gone, I became betrothed and married my beautiful new queen! Yona has been so eager to meet you.”

“ Really? Congratulations, Sidon! We’ll prepare to leave first thing!”

Link, who has been watching this whole exchange from over Zelda’s shoulder, smiles into his glass as he takes a sip of Riju’s celebratory Noble Pursuit. He knew Sidon would wear her down. 

Chapter Text

They warp to Zora’s Domain two days later, Link equipped with a bag of Goron Spice from Yunobo and a fresh quiver of arrows from Tulin.

Sidon promised to greet them with a victory feast and a stunning new trade deal between his government and Zelda’s, and a budding friendship between the two Hylians and Queen Yona.

What Link doesn’t know is that Riju pulled Zelda aside the evening before they left to say goodbye, and handed her a nondescript-enough package wrapped in brown paper.

“What’s this?” Zelda asked.

Riju winked at her and said, “A present. Best of luck, princess.”

When Zelda retreated to her room that night, she pulled the paper off of the present and gasped in surprise when a slinky, bejeweled set of Gerudo-made undergarments fell onto the bed.

She stared at the admittedly beautiful bra and underwear, ruddy-cheeked, and picked up a small note that fell out alongside them.

I’d imagine your knight may appreciate these, but even if he doesn’t, you deserve to look stunning wearing them for yourself.

Always your friend,

Riju

Zelda made an unseemly noise and shoved the set into her bag, pretending not to think about it when she fell asleep, hours later.

Now, Link is falling in step beside Zelda as she steps out of the shrine beneath the domain. “Wow,” she murmurs, looking around at the multitude of waterfalls surrounding the beautiful blue stone. “Have all the Zonai shrines that popped up been in different places than their Sheikah counterparts?” At Link’s nod, she smiles, thinking. “How interesting.”

Link gestures to a sweeping staircase to their left that looks recently-built, and it leads them up to the Domain proper, where Muzu is standing in front of the statue of Link and Sidon with his characteristic grouchy expression.

“Princess!” he calls, waddling over to Link and Zelda and bowing deeply in front of Zelda, taking her hand and kissing it. “How wonderful to see you returned.”

She smiles fondly at the elderly Zora, saying, “Thank you, Muzu. I’m happy to be back in one of my favorite places.”

Muzu makes a hmph noise, glancing at Link, who looks slightly amused. “Master Link,” he says gruffly. “King Sidon and Queen Yona will be most excited to see you. This way, please.”

They follow him to the throne room, where Sidon is speaking to a green-skinned Zora with gorgeous eyes. They both turn toward their visitors, faces lighting up when they see them.

Sidon bounds forward, reaching them with only a few strides of his long legs. “Link!” he says, sweeping Link up in a hug that has him giving off a surprised yelp as if he hasn’t just seen him in the last few days. He deposits Link on the ground, and settles for kissing Zelda’s hand gallantly as she giggles, then gestures broadly toward the Zora woman. “Princess Zelda, meet my beautiful wife, Queen Yona of the Zora!”

Yona meet’s Zelda’s eyes with a smile, and gives a deep curtsy. “Princess Zelda,” she says warmly in greeting. “It is so wonderful to finally meet you, Your Royal Highness.”

Zelda laughs, taking Yona’s hand and pulling her in for a handshake. “Please, Your Majesty, as a queen, surely, you outrank me. Call me Zelda.”

Yona shakes her hand firmly, leaning in conspiratorially. “Then you may call me Yona. I’m so delighted to make your acquaintance. I was so happy to hear of your return,” she says, then they both glance over at Sidon and Link, who have begun to arm wrestle on the floor. Sidon is clearly besting Link based on size, but Link matches him in sheer enthusiasm, throwing his whole body into it, so their struggle has become rather violent.

“Oh, my,” Zelda murmurs.

“Men,” Yona says, deadpan, and they both laugh. “Always bound to get themselves into a mess.”

Zelda smiles. “I’d be inclined to agree, but I am the one who ended up hundreds of thousands of years in the past by falling into a hole.” She glances at Yona, whose mouth has fallen open in shock, and rushes to explain. “Oh, my apologies. Perhaps that was a bit much.”

“Of course not,” Yona says. “I admire your honesty, princess- I mean, Zelda,” she says, giving Zelda an amused look. “When Sidon returned from the battle, after I spent the whole night holding onto him so he wouldn’t leave again, he told me everything that happened. It sounds like an exhausting experience.”

Suddenly, it hits Zelda just how tired she is, and she stares at Yona, almost falling over in her place. “Yes,” she says, breathless. “I suppose it was.”

“Oh, look at you,” Yona says, with an air of sisterly concern. “Come with me, we’ll get you settled into your room.”

Zelda tries to wave her off, but Yona links their arms. “I haven’t even greeted everyone yet-”

“Nonsense,” Yona tells her, already leading her away. “We’ll get you into bed and let you rest. A few months back, Sidon took a break from his Sage training to help me organize a new outfitting of guest rooms for the Domain, complete with feather-down beds for all of our non-Zora guests!” She shoots Zelda a smile, whisking her down a hallway to a beautifully carved door.

“Here,” Yona says, motioning for a servant, who brings over a key. “We just had this room remodeled. I like to call it the Queen’s Suite.”

Zelda tilts her head, taking the key with a smile to the servant. “Wouldn’t that make it your room?”

“I’d imagine we’ll have a new queen of Hyrule soon enough,” Yona says with a wink, and Zelda feels a smile spread across her face, tired as she is. “Now, go in and get some rest. We’ll see you for the welcome banquet tonight.”

Zelda touches Yona’s arm gratefully. “Thank you so much, Yona. You’re truly wonderful, inside and out.”

Yona squeezes her arm back. “Of course, Zelda. I’ll leave you to it. We can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for Hyrule.” She starts to move down the hallway, but stops, turning back before she turns the corner. “And Zelda?”

Zelda looks up from the silver key in her hand. “Yes?”

“Your room has a connecting door to Sir Link’s.” Before Zelda can process that, the Zora queen gives her a giddy smile and turns the corner, leaving Zelda standing alone in the hallway, with a shocked look on her face.

She remembers the gift from Riju, and, cheeks burning, opens her door and throws herself into the incredibly comfortable bed for a nap.

***

Zelda wakes, not long later, to a gentle hand on her face, pushing her hair back. “Hm?” she mumbles, opening her eyes, to see Link standing over her, blue eyes blinking. 

She sits up suddenly, remembering she’s only wearing her shift from under her gown, and rubs her eyes. “Link?”

Link leans back, as if he’s as startled as Zelda, his eyes wide. He shoves the Purah Pad at Zelda, and she takes it, noticing it’s open to the rune he uses to write to her. She has to squint to read his scrawl, but it says:

Did you know there’s a door between our rooms?

Her cheeks burn red, but she nods, biting her lip. “Yona told me earlier. I believe it locks, if it makes you uncomfortable…”

Link frantically shakes his head, taking the Purah Pad back from her and using his forefinger to scribble on it. Zelda watches him curiously, taking it back from him when he finishes, reading:

It’s locked already. And so is the door to my room from the hallway?

“Oh,” Zelda breathes, looking up at him. He takes the Pad back, and she bites back a smile at the way his tongue pokes out from between his lips when he writes. 

I just wanted you to know that I’ll be outside your door, just to make sure no one tries to get in.

Zelda laughs at that, shaking her head when Link looks at her incredulously. “Link, no one’s going to try to break into my room. You can go spend time with Sidon, I’ll be fine.”

Then, Link yawns into his hand as he shakes his head, obviously protesting her decision to not let him guard her. And Zelda thinks, as her brain is trying to wake up, Oh .

“Just stay in here,” she blurts out, and Link’s eyes snap up to meet hers, surprised. She ignores the blush that rises on her cheeks and says, “With me.”

Link’s mouth drops open a bit, and Zelda rushes to say, “You’re clearly exhausted, Link! We both are.” She moves over in her bed, patting the spot next to her softly. “I know you’ll never listen if I tell you to leave me alone. So… you should get some sleep, before the dinner. We both should.”

Link just blinks at her.

“Obviously, only if you want to,” Zelda says quickly.

Link nods. Then, slowly, he reaches over his shoulder and undoes the buckle on his quiver, pulling it off his shoulder and setting it on the floor. Zelda swallows, trying not to watch him in what seems like an earth-shatteringly intimate moment, despite the fact that she’s seen him do the same countless times over.

Zelda knows how his routine goes before he lies down. He takes off his quiver, then his shield, if he’s carrying one, and unbuckles the strap that holds the Master Sword to his belt. She’s seen him do it over and over again. It’s never provoked such a… reaction… before.

Link lays the Master Sword down on the floor, and Zelda looks at him questioningly. He always sleeps right next to it, and when he looks from her to the floor, she understands.

“Link, we’ve shared a bedroll on the road before,” she says, and it’s just above a whisper. 

His eyes flick up to meet hers again, and he nods, placing the Master Sword on the nightstand. It used to serve as a reminder to Zelda, in those days before the Calamity, and sometimes even after, a reminder that Link had found his calling long before she did, that he had never failed in his duties as her knight, while she had failed time and time again to awaken her power. 

But now, the Master Sword is a reminder of something else: Link’s steadfast loyalty and dedication to keeping her safe. An even better reminder of that is the man standing before her, the man who sits on the edge of the soft mattress, hesitantly looking at her as she sits next to him.

Zelda tuts slightly, leaning over and undoing the buckle on the shoulder piece of the Champion’s Leathers. “This can’t be comfortable,” she muses, lifting the piece of armor off of Link’s shoulder and setting it aside next to the Master Sword. She gets to work on the front piece, undoing the center buckle that keeps the front attached to the back, and says, “You know, when I was working on this, this was the piece that gave me the most trouble.”

Link makes a tiny noise, and Zelda pulls back, brows knit together with concern, and says, “Have I hurt you?”

He shakes his head frantically, his eyes blown wide in an unfamiliar way. Zelda looks from his hands, uncharacteristically loose at his sides, to her own, still on the buckle of his armor, and gets back to work helping him remove it. “The stitching was so hard to get right here,” she whispers, pulling the front piece off and setting it aside. “I’m glad you wear the Leathers so often. I was rather proud of them.”

She looks up at Link, and the expression on his face is unreadable, intense in a way she’s never seen. She clears her throat, and he blinks, then nods, and turns away, lying on his side to face away from her. 

Zelda lies down next to him and tries to remember how to breathe.

***

As dinner winds down that night, Sidon turns to Zelda as Yona is charming the table and says, “I have to tell you something.”

She turns to him, curious, and tilts her head to the side. “What is it?”

Sidon’s gaze flicks down the table to Link, who’s listening to Baz talk at length about something. “Link informed me earlier that he intends to go down to Shatterback Point tonight.”

Zelda looks at Sidon, confused. “What? Why?”

“He told me on that rather interesting device- truly, it’s wonderful technology, but that’s neither here nor there- either way, Baz reported that a red Lynel has made its camp up on Polymus Mountain, and Link intends to clear it out,” Sidon explains, talking animatedly with his hands. “There used to be one living there, but he killed it ages ago, so this must be a different one. I assume, since we defeated the Demon King, that there will be no more Blood Moons, and Link wants to remove the threat to the Domain for good while he’s here.”

“ What? ” Zelda asks incredulously, glancing down the table at Link. “We just returned from Lookout Landing. You’ve all only defeated the Demon King less than a week ago… he can’t really mean to go fight a Lynel.”

Sidon shrugs, giving Zelda an apologetic smile. “I can assure you that I tried to talk him out of it, but, well, you may have noticed… Link doesn’t exactly respond well to talking.”

Zelda snorts out a laugh, then brings a hand to her mouth, covering it. Sidon laughs in surprise, raising his glass to her, and they clink glasses, each taking a drink of Zora wine, which Zelda thinks is dangerous in large quantities. “I suppose I’ll have time to talk him out of it after dinner,” she says, but when she looks down the table, Baz is talking to Yona, and Link is gone.

“Oh, Goddess,” she says, throwing back the rest of her wine and standing up quickly, forgetting to say goodbye to anyone as she grabs the Purah Pad from her room before heading out to Polymus Mountain.

She follows the map on the Pad, huffing out a breath that sounds suspiciously like “ Goddess save you when I find your ass, Link, ” and by the time she gets to the foot of the mountain, she can already hear Link’s battle grunts intertwined with the roars of a pissed-off Lynel.

Zelda sighs, sitting down on a rock, and contemplates whether or not she should try to help. On one hand, she did defeat the incarnate of all evil while locked in a castle for one hundred years, but on the other hand, she also couldn’t avoid falling in a hole that led hundreds of thousands of years in the past, and she thinks a red Bokoblin could get the best of her if it really tried.

So, she sits, catching glimpses of Link’s golden-blond hair in the wind every once in a while as she hears the sound of the Master Sword against a rock hard Lynel horn. Zelda grips the edge of the rock every time Link yells and wonders if this is how he felt when he got visions of her in the past. 

Eventually, finally , the Lynel kicks its hind legs up as it gives one final roar, and falls to the ground, dead. Zelda gets up right away, running up the hill and standing in front of Link before he can even catch his breath, and he blinks in surprise, still brandishing the Master Sword in his right hand. 

“ Link ,” Zelda says, walking up to him with her fists balled at her sides. “What are you doing? You could’ve gotten yourself killed . What were you thinking? I know I can’t control you, and you’re not even my appointed knight anymore, really, but I hoped that you considered us close enough to understand that I would want to be informed before you ran off to your probable death-”

Link cuts her off by grabbing her shoulders, his blue eyes boring into her soul, and Zelda belatedly realizes that she’s still wearing her ceremonial dress from the dinner, so her arms are bare, and so is the top of her chest. Her lips part in a surprised oh , just as Link presses his lips together and looks at her. 

Zelda wonders, distantly, how it’s possible for someone to say I’m sorry without opening their mouth.

“Right,” Zelda says, straightening her spine and trying to look put together, but Link’s hands are still wrapped around her biceps, and her head is spinning. “I know you didn’t mean to worry me. I’m sorry for my- oh my goodness. ”

There’s a gash on Link’s thigh, his blood flowing freely, and as soon as Zelda looks up from his leg to his face, she sees the grimace of pain in his expression. So, without a word, Zelda grabs Link by the arm and drags him down the mountain. 

He makes a yelp of pain, possibly confusion, so Zelda just says, “We need to get that washed out. Come on.”

There’s a small pond at the base of the mountain that Zelda spotted on her way up, so she stops there and nearly shoves Link into the pool. He grunts, and she winces. “Sorry,” she says, turning her attention to the wound on his leg, studying it closely. “Luckily, it isn’t too deep. Hold on, I’m going to try to clean it.” Then, she swallows, not meeting Link’s eyes. “Can… can you pull your trousers down?”

When she looks back up, Link is staring at her, but he nods, undoing first his boots and pulling them off, following suit with his pants. He stands in only his blue tunic and dark blue underwear, and Zelda focuses her attention on the wound on his thigh.

Slowly, carefully, she pulls Link into a sitting position on a flat rock, cupping her hands and pouring water over the cut, ignoring Link’s pained hiss as the blood rushes away from the wound. She moves away for a moment, feeling Link’s curious eyes on her as she does, and opens his pack, taking out a bottle of fairy tonic. “Drink this,” she orders, shoving the pink liquid in Link’s direction and avoiding his eyes.

She can hear him swallow, which is ridiculously responsible for the heat thrumming under her skin, somehow, and she also hears the clink of the bottle resting on the rock when he finishes. Then, inexplicably, she’s blinking away tears. 

Zelda feels the weight of Link’s hand on her arm, a question in his gaze. She looks up at him, internally curses his damn blue eyes and immediately looks away. She has to say what’s on her mind. “Link, I just got you back.”

She still feels his eyes on her, always on her , from the moment he first saw her, like clockwork. Then, one day, gone. She fell off of that stupid cliff and thought she would never see him again. 

“I missed you so much when I was in the past. I… I sobbed my eyes out the day I decided on draconification, I thought I would never, ever, see you again. I was sure we would never see each other again… I was sure I would never get to tell you… get to…” 

Zelda collapses in sobs, unable to finish her sentence, her head in her hands. She doesn’t know how to continue, faced again with the horrible feeling that she faced alone in the past, sure she wasn’t only going to lose herself but also lose Link in the process.

“I love you.”

Zelda freezes at the sound of Link’s voice, a sound she hasn’t heard in years . A sound she wasn’t sure she was ever going to hear again, dragon or not.

She lifts her head from her hands slowly, only about half sure she heard him right. For once, Zelda just looks at Link, and Link speaks.

“I have always loved you,” Link continues, his eyes wide but determined, the way his mouth moves lush and smooth around his words, so rare but so, so valuable. “I loved you since the first day I saw you, but I think I really started to love you on the day you yelled at me and ran away. I had always known you, at least distantly, but that was when I first really started to know you, and it was when I realized that I would never love anyone else the way I love you. You are everything to me, and if you think I didn’t want to die the moment I realized I would never see you again, then you’re not the brilliant, perfect woman I thought you were.”

Zelda is speechless, and when Link leans forward and takes her hand, she’s trembling. “I love you,” he says, his voice breaking. “And you don’t have to say it back, but I couldn’t go another minute without telling you-”

She cuts him off by surging forward and capturing his mouth in a kiss so sudden they both gasp, even Zelda, and she’s the one that initiates it. The kiss is short, a warm press of lips, and when she pulls back, her eyes are blown wide. “I… I just…”

“Wait,” Link says, breathless, and he looks at Zelda like she hung the moon and stars. “Okay,” he whispers, less than a second before he grabs her by the jaw and kisses her like he’ll never have another chance. Link makes a sound, a life-giving, beautiful little sound, and Zelda sighs into his mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting him kiss her senseless. 

She gives as good as she gets, pulling his bottom lip between her teeth and sliding her tongue into his mouth, feeling the way his hand wraps around her waist and fists the fabric at the small of her back. 

When they come up for air, Zelda looks Link dead in the eyes and says, “I love you, too, Link. I love you silent, and I love it when you speak. I loved you when you were stoic and strong before the Calamity, and I loved you when you ran amok in Hyrule afterward, bringing joy to people from coast to coast.” 

She gives him a peck, then, and he chases her mouth, but she pulls back, smiling. “Let me say this. For a while I didn’t know that I would ever be able to.” She leans in, tracing her mouth along his jawline, and whispers, “I love you.”

“I know,” he says, and when she pulls back to look at him, his eyes are sparkling. He kisses her once, on the forehead, and then she pushes him back onto the flat rock, kissing him until they’re both gasping for air. 

When they walk back to the domain, it’s hand-in-hand. Zelda and Link find Baz at the Northern gate, slumped against his spear. He sits up when they walk up to the gate, startled, then relieved. “Oh, thank the Goddess,” he says, yawning into his hand. “King Sidon was worried you’d both died. I’ll fetch him, one moment!”

When Sidon walks out, clad in a hilarious metal version of what must be a Zora bathrobe, he gives the two of them one look and says, “So, shall I arrange for a quiet, double-date dinner with Yona tomorrow night?”

Link scratches the back of his head, embarrassed, and Zelda smiles. “That would be lovely.”