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Chapter Text

    Zelda wiped the sticky, foul sweat pooling on her brow before the pool became so full that it overflew into her eyes and temporarily blinded her.

     She couldn’t have that.

     She needed to focus.

     “Deep breath in… and out.” She exhaled slowly.

     Urbosa always told her that quick and shallow breaths were for boosting your adrenaline, getting your heart pumping, blood flowing, letting more oxygen get to your brain faster, which would help if you were, say running for your life… or just running a marathon.

     Shallow breaths would not help you focus.

     No, that’s what the deep breaths were for. Centering yourself, calming your nervous system down, so you could really focus.

     Which is exactly what Zelda needed right now.

     To focus.

     She tried to raise her bow, but lowered it again.

     She wasn’t quite centered. One more deep breath should help.

     “In…” she inhaled again, “and out…” she forced the air out of her lungs even slower this time.

     Why was Zelda so nervous? Oh yeah!

     Because this was the most important thing she’d ever do in her entire life! (Or so she thought)

     Zelda was in the middle of her final round of the test.

     That’s right.

     The test.

     The test that would not only prove that she was competent enough at combat with the sword, bow, and fists, but also strong enough to endure days without food or water, clever enough to identify all of the poisonous and venomous plants and animals (as well as the ones that were harmless), and brave enough to join the Vai Vure, the most elite group of vai warriors in Gerudo Town who all served under Chief Urbosa as her personal confidants and army.

     The Vai Vure (or Vs for short) always remained at Urbosa’s side, but most of the members carried out her tasks secretly, away from the public eye.

     Once you joined, you were automatically assigned your post, which you would assume for until the appropriate age of retirement, or death. Whichever comes first.

     Usually death comes first.

The test was called the Sav’orq Test or the Goodbye Test (the Vai Vure weren’t the best at naming things, but in this case they meant that the test would determine what they’d be saying “Sav’orq to.” 

     The Sav’orq Test would first determine whether you were hello’d into the team or goodbye’d. 

    Then it would determine your rank.

     There were five ranks.

     First were the Sand Seals. They tripled as Gerudo Town's desert rescue, monster hunters, and patrol. They often spent many long days and nights away from Gerudo town, which is why all the vais called them, “Deserters”.

     Second were the Muldunas. They handed all things, “war”. Whether it be strategy, weapon production, enemy whereabouts, you name it. If it’s anything to with war, the Mulduna’s do it.

     Third were the Thunderwings. These women are the Gerudo’s main source of enemy intel. The spies, in layman’s terms. If you joined the Thunderwings, you were immediately assigned a new identity, position, and location at any of the four major kingdoms (the Zora’s Domain, Hyrule Castle, Goron City, or Rito Village) and sent away for almost the rest of your life.

   Fourth were the Durians. The Durians made groundbreaking research in medicines and cures for the various illnesses that plagued Gerudo Town, as well as biological weapons to use in war just in case)

    And finally, last but certainly not least, there were the Vah Nabori. They acted as Urbosa’s personal attendants, guarded her day and night, accompanied her on her missions, and travelled with her to the other nations.  

     It had been Zelda’s dream for longer than she cared to count to join the Vai Vure. She honestly didn’t care what position they assigned her, just as long as she could join.

     But anyway, she was getting sidetracked. Back to the task at hand. 

     “In… out…” Zelda felt herself inhaling all peace and tranquility and exhaling any doubts. Now was not the time for thinking. Now was the time for focus.

    She drew her bow once more and felt her muscles tense and start to ache from all she had put them through this past week.

  She trained her eyes on the target: A majestic white crane. Well, not the crane itself, but the string tied onto its foot that held up a tiny pendant. 

     The crane was flying in a circular pattern about 100 yards away from Zelda’s perch on one of the many lookout platforms scattered through the desert to help the Sand Seals spot any monsters.

      Alright… you’ve got this… you’ve worked too hard to mess this up now…

      Yeah, Zelda always managed to “inhale” more doubts to replace the ones she  just “exhaled.”

     Alright… now!

     Fwing!

     The arrow seemed to launch from the bow and silently slice through the air.

    Zelda strained her eyes and held her breath as she waited that split second to see if she hit the string and not the bird. Injuring the crane would be an automatic disqualification.

  Then she saw it: the shiny pendant caught the sunlight as it fell to the ground.

     “YES!” Zelda screamed. She had done it! All that training had paid off!

     “Thank you Goddesses!” She kissed both her palms and blew them toward the sky.

    She didn’t care that they tasted like blood, sweat, and grime; she was far too happy for such a trivial matter.

     Something caught Zelda’s eye in the middle of her celebration.

     It was big… covering the entire horizon, even slowly blocking out the sun.

     It black… or maybe that was just the effect of the sunlight quickly draining from the sky as it covered it.

     It was fast… rushing towards Zelda at maybe 100 miles per hour.

     It was strong… winds stirring up sand and flinging dead trees and cacti needles and other debris haphazardly. Even though it was still maybe a mile or so out, Zelda could feel the winds slapping her face and tangling her golden hair.

     It was… a sand storm.

     Uh oh.      

     These beasts were no joke. Once you were caught in one, your only hope was to bury yourself in the sand and pray to your favorite goddess for survival. Sand and dust would fill your mouth and lungs quickly suffocating you if you were unfortunate enough to forget a proper face covering.

     Yeah, the desert’s a bitch.

     But the thing about Zelda was, she considered the desert her bitch.

     And she wasn’t about to let some sandstorm (albeit an especially scary looking one) stop her from collecting that pendant. The one thing that would prove she passed the final test.

     Zelda took a moment to study the storm.

      Alright, considering the wind speed and the distance of about a mile or so… I have maybe 5 minutes or so before I’m swallowed by it. Perfect! That’s more than enough time!

     Zelda (once again) took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for the sprint of a lifetime.

Sand whipping against her face, chest heaving, eyes stinging, Zelda pushed her legs to move faster. She could feel the ground giving way beneath her as the sand was sucked up in the high pressure winds, but she wasn’t going to let one little sandstorm stop her from achieving her dream.

She could barely see now, the sky had gone dark as the sand storm had nearly blocked out the sun; she couldn’t even see the spot where the pendant had dropped. She was just going off of memory, a gut feeling, and a stupid amount of reckless courage and luck.

The storm was right above her now, if she didn’t hurry, she’d surely be swept up in the raging winds or torn to pieces by the debris flying haphazardly within.

Come on, Zelda! You’re almost there! Just a little farther!!!

Zelda could feel the sand start to fill her lungs, she tried to clear them but her speed wouldn’t allow her to keep up the pace without a steady intake of oxygen.

Zelda quickly pulled her shirt over her face to slow the intake of sand.

Zelda’s legs were burning, her lungs were heavy, sand was hitting her face and blurring her vision. She knew she couldn’t keep this up much longer. 

She was almost completely enveloped in the storm now, she had to find the pendant.

Now.

Finally, she reached the area that she estimated it falling in; her legs gave out underneath her and she began digging in the sand with her hands.

Zelda dug, and dug, and dug, but her efforts were useless. No matter how much sand she cleared away, more would just be blown over, and cover whatever she had just unearthed. Zelda’s fingertips were bloodied, and sand had pummeled her face to the point of bruising, cuts, and rashes.

“Ugh, where the fuck is the pendant?!” Zelda yelled above the roaring winds.

Everything inside Zelda was screaming that she needed to leave if she wanted to make it out alive, but her heart was telling her that she would never forgive herself if she failed.

That she’d be a disappointment.

That she’d never be good enough.

That…

No.

Zelda would rather die than fail.

…

Zelda couldn't see anything, the storm had completely blocked out the sun; sand was building up all around her,

Zelda was about to give up and accept her fate when her fingers stroked something cool and metallic. This sent a shockwave of energy and determination into her fatigued body. She enclosed her fingers around the object and struggled with all her might to pull her arm free from the dune of sand that had formed around her. She placed both arms on either side of her and attempted to pull herself out of the dune.

One leg was freed…

Zelda’s body burned with the effort, but if she didn’t free herself, she’d die.

Soon her other leg was freed.

Zelda barely made it up on her own two feet before the raging winds threw her to the ground again.

It was no use, she’d have to crawl. If she was closer to the ground she could use gravity to help keep her upright.

Little by little, Zelda made her away across the sand.

She knew based on countless times scouting the area, that there was a cave somewhere nearby. If she could just get to it…

Zelda coughed; her shirt wasn’t helping clear the air for her anymore. It was practically useless. She could barely breathe in between her coughing.

She knew she needed to breathe but with every breath sand would fill her mouth and her lungs and send her into another fit. 

Zelda tried desperately to pick up the pace, to reach the cave she knew was close by, as she could see the familiar scraggly rocks that rested a few meters away from the mouth. If she could just get there, she could survive this storm…

She would succeed.

Suddenly, she saw it.

A slightly darker patch of darkness just up ahead.

She did it! She found the mouth! She’d survive this!

Zelda picked up her arduous albeit slow pace.

She was so close! Any moment now, she would be able to breathe, she could rest…

CRACK!

Stars flooded Zelda’s vision as she felt herself tumble forward into the sand.

A tree branch or some other piece of debris had smacked right into the back of Zelda’s head.  Although she couldn’t see because it was so dark, she knew the world was spinning from her dizziness.

Try as she might, her limbs wouldn’t respond to any commands she tried to give them.

The pain in her head had overridden all of her efforts to move.

Zelda’s lungs once again started filling with sand as it blew all around her and began to pile up; trapping her.

It was hopeless… soon she’d be buried alive and suffocate.

She would be nothing more than one of those corpses discovered by chance long after their death, when all memory of her had all but vanished from the minds of the people that she loved.

It was over. Zelda couldn’t get out of this.

She would die, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Suddenly, she felt a tiny voice cry out.

It’s not over yet! 

But it is, I’m going to die. Zelda responded, despair filling her soul as she accepted her fate.

Don’t give up! Live Zelda! LIVE!!

She felt her whole being vibrate with the voice's reply.

Something inside her seemed to wake up that moment, her entire body began to burn with a strange new power. Her very soul seemed to hum with energy.

She felt like she was on fire. This pain was consuming her.

What’s happening? What do I do?!?

Zelda mentally cried out.

Then it hit her all at once.

“I’m not done! Let. Me. LIVE !” Zelda shouted… and everything… stopped.

Chapter Text

Zelda slowly rose from her position and dusted the sand off her face and spat out the sticky, muddy substance from her saliva mixing with the sand. She cleared it from her lungs, practically vomiting from the force.

Then, she looked around her.

Not everything had stopped, like she previously thought.

No.

Somehow, she had sent a shockwave of power that blasted the storm out of existence.

The thought gave her goosebumps. She looked down at her right hand and turned it over. Something about it felt strange…

The fire burning throughout her body that was present only a moment ago, faded to a dull humming-like sensation that tingled her entire being.

“I can’t believe it… I’m alive. I’m alive! I’m ALIVE!” Zelda sprung to her feet and shouted into the sky. She did it! She not only survived this horrendous storm, but she swept it away! On her own! 

Suddenly she remembered. The pendant! The whole reason she was out here in this gods-forsaken desert! She quickly looked down at her left hand and found it safely tucked between her fingers.

“Phew! That would have been a pain in the ass if I’d lost it!” She brushed the sand away from the cool and metallic surface in order to get a good look at it.

It was a silver circle with a rose gold compass design within. The design itself was about the size of Zelda’s palm, and it hung from a silver chain. It was beautiful… no doubt forged and crafted by one the expert silversmiths from Gerudo Town. They specialized in taking valuable gems, such as diamonds or rubies, and turning them into pendants, circlets, or earrings. Somehow, they managed to take the very essence of the gem and imbue it into the jewelry, giving the wearer abilities like faster swimming speed, heat or cold resistance, or resistance to electric shocks. All of which could be very helpful depending on where you were planning to travel.

Zelda fastened the pendant around her neck and started jogging back to her original look out site, where she had left her equipment. 

“ZELDAAAAA!” A booming feminine voice shouted. Zelda spun around in the direction of the voice and saw a figure moving steadily towards her. It was small, and almost impossible to make out any definite shape. Although the figure was so far away, she wasn’t surprised that she was able to hear her voice carrying across the desert, for she knew exactly who it was.

Zelda halted where she stood and waited for the figure to catch up to her.

Eventually, a vai surfing on a shield tethered to a sand seal came into focus.

“ZELDAAA!” She shouted as she got closer; Zelda covered her ears to prevent them from bursting. The vai pulled at the rope and the sand seal skidded to a stop; showering Zelda in a fresh coat of sand.

“Pleh! Emati! What the hell?? I’m already covered in sand, you didn’t need to make it worse!” She shouted and glared, as she frantically dusted off her arms and legs.

“What’s a little more sand… WHEN YOU’VE ONLY RISKED YOUR FUCKING NECK GOING OUT IN A SAND STORM IN ORDER TO GRAB A STUPID PENDANT!!!” Emati screamed. Zelda jumped with a start.

Right, I forgot how protective she can be of me… I probably shouldn’t have gotten so pissed at her… Zelda mentally scolded herself for forgetting how passionately her friend cared about others’ safety; especially hers.

She sighed, “You’re right. That was pretty dumb of me. But look what I got…” She flashed Emati a smug smile as she flashed the pendant around her neck.

Emati gasped. “You got it! Omigosh congrats! I’m so proud of you! You’re a Vai Vure now!!!!” She immediately wrapped her tanned muscled arms around Zelda and squeezed her so tight she could feel her bones crack.

“Ugh, Emati, I… can’t… br… breathe.”

“Oh! Sorry!” She set her gently back down. “Hold on a sec… I’m still mega pissed at you for almost dying back there! You really need to be more careful! What would Urbosa say?”  Emati raised a narrow eyebrow at her.

Zelda groaned. “I should think before I act…”

Emati’s green eyes brightened. “There you go!” She clapped a strong hand on Zelda’s back, practically knocking the wind from her lungs and sending her flying forward.

“Now, come on. We should really get going, the rest of the crew were really worried about you, seeing the storm conjure up so quickly and all.” She side-eyed Zelda. “ Most of them believed you wouldn’t be stupid enough to stay out in the open, but I had a feeling you weren’t that wise.”

Zelda scoffed. “You would have done the same thing and you know it!”

Emati didn’t reply, she just shook her head and turned her attention to her sand seal.

“But it doesn’t matter anymore, I survived, and I get to join the Vai Vure!” Zelda squealed to herself. She still couldn’t believe it! Her dream would finally come true!

Once she ended her private celebration, she looked over to Emati, who was gently stroking the spiky mane of her sand seal.

Emati was considered one of the most skilled rookie Vai Vure, she had taken the exam 2 years before Zelda had (since you weren’t allowed to take it until you were 17), and she passed with the highest accolades, earning herself a position in the Vah Nabori. 

Zelda eyed the uniform she was wearing, a green breast piece with gold trim, and light lavender pants that puffed out and cuffed around the ankles. She also wore golden ankle boots with a sharp heel to them, and her beautiful, long red hair was swept up in a high pony with a gold clasp. A green circlet with gold trim rested on the top of her hairline and extended down her forehead.

Zelda smiled to herself. She would soon be wearing this exact uniform…

And exchanging the clothes she was wearing now for it. A blue cropped blouse with gold trim that extended down just above her belly button, Zelda’s skin is far more fair than Gerudo's skin, her being a Hylian and all, so she opted for a shirt with slightly more coverage. White pants with a grey crescent moon pattern puff out and hug the ankles. She’s also wearing blue pointed-toed shoes that curl slightly up at the ends.

“What are you gawking at?” Emati chuckled when she noticed Zelda staring.

“Oh, just your rippling muscles and rock-hard abs!” She pretended to swoon.

“Woah, easy Casanova! I’m saving myself for someone special!” Emati winked. “But seriously, we should really get a move on. You can hitch a ride with Sandy and I and we’ll get back quicker.”

Zelda shook her head. “I can’t. I need to get my bow and the rest of my equipment back at Devil’s Lookout.”

“You can grab that later, or Chief Urbosa will send someone else to. Right now we really need to get back.”

Zelda hesitated. She really shouldn’t leave her equipment out unguarded, as it would be prime pickings for the Yiga Clan, but Emati had a point. Urbosa was probably worried sick about her, and she’d want to know she was okay as soon as possible. “Okay, fine. You win. Let’s go.” Zelda hopped on to the shield behind Emati and grabbed onto her shoulders.

“I still don’t understand why you named a sand seal ‘Sandy’. I mean, couldn’t you think of anything better?” Zelda teased.

Emati shrugged. “What can I say, it suits her.” She lovingly patted the seal before flicking the rope, signalling her to start moving.

***

After a long, bumpy (not to mention sandy) ride, Emati and Zelda finally made it back to Gerudo Town.

Emati and Zelda hopped off of Sandy and approached the entrance. Emati passed the reins off to a young vai who ran the Sand Seal Rental Shop, who also housed the Vs seals, as it was primarily how they traversed the desert.

“Ganeko, Rutel,” Emati nodded at the two armoured vais holding golden spears standing guard at the gate, one of the few entrances within the city’s high sand stone walls. They nodded back and allowed them to pass. Really the only requirement for entrance into Gerudo town was being a part of the female sex, due the majority being females and the wish to preserve the young vais purity until they reached the age of 17 (when they were recognized as adults) and were able to journey out of Gerudo town in order to find a Hylian mate. Unless of course, you joined the Vai Vure, then you would be dedicating your life to the safety of the Gerudo people and marriage was strictly forbidden.

Once inside the gate, Zelda was immediately greeted with the usual hustle and bustle of the city. The savory smell of freshly grilled meat from nearby food stalls made Zelda’s mouth water, as she hadn’t eaten since this morning (and it was now late afternoon). The chorus of voices belonging to various vais shouting information about the goods they sold surrounded her. Gerudo town was known for its active merchant life. 

Zelda and Emati passed by dozens of stalls, all selling rare plants and medicinal ingredients, gemstones, different types of armors and weapons, arrows, or clothing. Zelda could spend countless hours roaming the paths and checking out all the merchandise of the stalls, but there wasn’t any time for that now.

Emati and Zelda kept to the main path that would lead straight to the Royal Palace, where Chief Urbosa resided. 

Zelda knew they were getting close when she heard the soft sound of rushing water. The palace had small pools and waterfalls surrounding the perimeter of the palace, each were remarkably shallow with the bottoms being decorated with beautiful blue mosaics. The palace stood taller than any building in Gerudo town, even taller than the walls that surrounded the entire town. 

The palace itself had been carved into the bottom of a natural rock formation. The base was thick and rectangular, but from the roof sprouted three skinny trunk-like rock towers, but soon blossomed into a thick sphere-like shape with flat tops. Each rock formation had its own waterfall cascading down into the palace.

Zelda looked at this place with fondness, she remembered when she first set foot in Gerudo town and was taken to the palace almost 12 years ago… 

Time sure does fly by when you aren’t thinking about it… She thought as they approached the main gates.

Zelda and Emati climbed up the staircase that led to the front arch, terraced waterfalls accompanying each side. The arch was painted in beautiful gold and green symbols, a language belonging to the Gerudo of The Ancient Time, one that was mostly dead, except for a few eccentrics that could still read it today. Zelda always thought the language of the Gerudo fascinating, and she would have loved to study it some more if she had the time… but there wouldn’t be any real point to learning it. Most of the Gerudo spoke regular Hylian, except for a few choice words that were already a part of Zelda’s vocabulary.

“Halt!” The two vais guarding the gate ordered Emati.

She frowned darkly. “Isane! Sulak! What is the meaning of this?” She folded her defined arms across her chest. “I have returned with Zelda, Chief Urbosa should be expecting us!” Emati spat out venomously. 

Uh oh, I better step in quick before this gets out of hand… I know that Emati is one of the Vs, but Isane and Sulak are still our elders, she should treat them with more respect…

Emati was well known among the Vs as impatient and quick to anger. Even though these vais were Zelda and Emati’s elders (by about 5 years), Emati (since she was a part of the Vai Vure) surpassed them in rank. 

“Let us through!” Emati shouted. A nerve on her temple was bulging. 

The vai on the right (Isane) shook her head. “Lady Urbosa insisted that no one was to disturb her.”

“Bullshit! Let Chief Urbosa know at once that Zelda has returned!”

Isane and Sulak showed no signs of emotion. “My apologies, but these were the orders directly from Lady Urbosa.”

 She turned to Zelda and rolled her eyes. “Can you believe this?” She jerked her thumb back at the vais. Zelda didn’t respond. She wasn’t used to being denied entrance into the palace… clearly something important was happening in there.

“Come on ! Just tell Chief Urbosa that we're here! We didn’t travel hours across the desert to be denied entrance into…”

Emati’s voice faded away as Zelda hurried around a corner. She hugged the walls as she evaded some of the palace guards on patrol.

If I know Urbosa, she’s probably having a conversation in her meeting room…

Once she reached the southeast wall of the palace, she crouched behind some foliage underneath one of the glasses-less windows carved into the sandstone. She could make out a very heated conversation.

“–very existence puts the lives of our people at risk! It’s too dangerous, you’re putting not just our people’s lives at risk, but the entirety of Hyrule!” 

Bosu? Urbosa’s sister? What’s she doing back? She was stationed in Zora’s Domain dealing with foreign affairs…

“I know Bosu! I just… I can’t. We don’t even know that the prophecy is accurate!”

“Since when have the prophecies of The Ancient Time ever failed us? Urbosa, listen to reason. You forget yourself, and your duties as Chief of our people.”

There was a long pause.

“You’re right. I’m being selfish. One way or another, this will be seen through.” Zelda heard footsteps receding out of the room, leaving Zelda with more questions than answers. 

What was that about? What existence is putting the Gerudo people in danger? Why did Bosu say that Urbosa was neglecting her duties and selfishly putting our people at risk? Urbosa would never let anything come between her duties as chief and protecting her people… would she?

Shit! How long have I been sitting here? I have to get back before Emati realizes where I went! Otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it!”

Zelda sprang from her hiding spot and hurried as fast as she dared back to the front of the palace.

Oh good… Zelda breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Emati still arguing with Sulak and Inase.

“Zelda!”  Emati called when she spotted her. She raised a suspicious eyebrow at her. “Where did you run off to…?”

Zelda felt her cheeks burning. “I… “ she frantically searched her mind for a believable excuse. “I, uh…” She suddenly spotted the rushing waterfalls and a lightbulb just went off in her head. “I had to pee!” She was never the best liar, but this was at least a plausible explanation. She just hoped Emati would buy it.

“Oh-kaay…” She studied Zelda’s face for a few moments. “Guess it must have been pretty urgent, for you to rush off without saying anything.” She chuckled and clapped her on the back.

Zelda released the breath she’d been holding. She was in the clear! At least for now…

“Haha, yeah…” She laughed nervously. Thankfully Emati jumped right back into her argument with the guards, so she didn’t notice her awkwardness.

“Inase! Sulak! The Chief wanted me to let you know that visitors may now be permitted to enter.” Another vai-guard approached from within the arch.

Emati’s face brightened. “Ebi! It’s about time! Those two were giving us the hardest time!” She threw a glare in the vais’ direction. 

Ebi’s face bore an exasperated look when she replied, “Emati, you know they are just doing their jobs. Now hurry to the throne room. Chief Urbosa is expecting you.” 

“See! I told you guys she was expecting us!” Emati scoffed and charged through the arch, leaving Zelda trailing behind.

The archway almost immediately leads them into the throne room, with a rich maroon carpet leading straight ahead and up some stairs to the large sandstone throne in the center of the room. 

The Gerudo Chiefs never cared for the gaudy displays that most palaces had, hence the room was stripped of nearly any kind of decoration or carpeting. The walls were smooth sandstone, but the roof was rough and uneven, due to it being made from the base of the rock formation. 

Urbosa stood facing one of the many large openings in the wall in the back of the throne room, most likely enjoying the view of the vast desert.

She turned once she heard the two approaching.

“Ah, so you’ve arrived at last.” She paused. “I’m glad to see you safe.”

Urbosa was known throughout the Gerudo desert as the most skilled warrior of her time, even before she discovered she had the ability to conjure a lightning strike from the sky with a single snap of a finger. This power came to be known as “Urbosa’s Fury”. 

Her thick and beautiful bright red hair was tied at the top of her head with a green and gold band, and was tied again at her back. She wore a blue, red, and gold breast piece with matching shoulder guards. A similar styled belt gave way to a beautiful blue skirt that left her right leg exposed, no doubt for an easier time with combat.

She had flawless honey-colored skin and striking green eyes. Her blue shaded lips upturned into a small smile when she caught Zelda’s eye. 

“So, little one,” She started down the steps, her tall green heels clicking on the sandstone, and the bangles on her wrists jangling, “How did the big test go?”

Zelda was helpless to stop the smile forming on her face.

“Amazing! I did it! I passed!!” She flashed the pendant still hanging from her neck.

Urbosa smiled in return. “That’s great! Congratulations! I’m so proud of you. I trust the storm didn’t cause you much trouble out there?”

Emati scoffed. “If by ‘not much trouble’ you mean, ‘running head first into the storm and almost  dying,’ then yeah. The storm was just peachy.”

Urbosa’s smile dropped. She lowered her eyebrows and crossed her arms. “Zelda, what does Emati mean by ‘running into the storm’?”

Shit! Busted! No way out of this now…

“Ugh,” Zelda nervously scratched the back of her head. “I was fine! The pendant dropped and I couldn’t just leave it there, so I went and got it. End of story.” She shot Emati a warning glare.

Emati shrugged as if to say, “You brought this on yourself.”

Urbosa sighed deeply and began to massage her temples.

“Emati, can you give Zelda and I a moment alone, please?” Emati nodded and bowed to Urbosa, hastily exiting the room.

Just before she disappeared, she looked back at Zelda and did a slicing motion across her neck. 

She’s going to kill you…

Zelda held up her middle finger in response.

Fuck you, traitor.

“Zelda!”

Uh oh… don’t tell me she saw that…? Zelda slowly turned around. Urbosa was glaring at her and tapping her foot impatiently.

“You done?” 

“Yeah…” was all Zelda could manage. Urbosa shook her head exasperatedly. Then motioned Zelda to follow her. Urbosa led her out onto a balcony, facing the sun, which apparently had enough of today and decided to begin retiring under the horizon.

Urbosa sat on one of the simple green blankets sprawled across the floor. She patted the spot in front of her.

Zelda sighed. She knew what was coming. The “you need to think before you act” speech. She had heard this one too many times. The last time being when she jumped in front of Vah Naboris’s foot in order to save a hot-footed frog that Beedle had brought with him to Kara Kara Bazaar.

With a haughty huff she sat down, and Urbosa undid the blue and gold clasp holding up Zelda’s golden blonde hair up in a high pony upon her head. Urbosa began brushing the dirt and grime out of her hair. Zelda normally found this sort of thing relaxing, but she was too tense to enjoy it awaiting the scolding she was sure to receive.

“Little Bird, do you remember the day I took you in?” Zelda closed her eyes. Running the events of that day in her mind as Urbosa spoke, “You were a scrawny little thing. Dirty too.” She chuckled softly. “I would have sworn on my life that you were some sort of creature rather than a Hylian.” Urbosa’s hand stopped momentarily. “You were so skinny, I wasn’t sure how you were even alive. Wandering through the desert as long as you did…” She resumed brushing.

“But the look on your face. I’ll remember it as long as I live… the grief and despair was plain as day on your face, but your eyes… held a fire. A need to survive. A need to fight. A need to live.”

Zelda knew exactly what event she was talking about. Zelda’s parents were medicinal researchers and doctors for the Royal Family of Hyrule. They were extremely talented and respected among their trades. They had saved countless lives throughout their years with their medicinal discoveries. But… There was an incident. While visiting Gerudo Town in order to discuss foreign trade with the Gerudos, King Hyrule was murdered. Someone had slipped some poison into his wine during a celebratory feast over the trade agreement. 

The Queen was furious and blamed the Gerudo for the assassination; she waged war only days later. Thousands of innocent lives were taken that day…

A few months into the battle someone had discovered evidence of the poison plot within the notes of the two highest medicinal researchers employed under the King… Cazon and Eme Rulehy. Zelda’s parents.

They were hung for their alleged crimes that day. But something inside Zelda knew, even though she was only six years old, with all her mind, heart, and soul, that they were innocent. She couldn’t explain how, or why, but she just knew. To this day that feeling, that feeling that they weren’t responsible, still ached in her chest.

Zelda couldn’t bear to stay in Castle Town any longer and packed a bag of her belongings and some of her parents’ mementos, stowed away in a carriage, and left. Never once looking back. Her parents told her just days before their deaths that if anything were to happen to them, to go to Urbosa in the Gerudo desert.

Eventually she found herself in the Gerudo desert. She wandered for days, no food or water. She was nearly dead by the time Urbosa and her soldiers found her lying in the sand one evening during a patrol.

Urbosa had met her once before, when she was a baby, Cazon and Eme were close friends of hers, and she travelled to Hyrule to meet Zelda shortly after she was born. 

She gave her food and shelter, and as soon as Zelda recovered and told her the news of her parent’s deaths, she decided to raise her like her own child.

And Zelda’s lived with her ever since.

“Little Bird,” Urbosa rested hands on Zelda’s shoulders. “That child that I met that day had a drive to live and fight unlike anything I had ever seen before. So I’m asking you, for her sake as well as mine, don’t treat her with such little respect by throwing yourself into danger with every chance you get. One of these days, you won’t be so lucky. Actions have consequences, and sometimes those consequences are death. So, I’m telling you,” she shifted so she was looking Zelda in the eyes, “My vehvi, think before you act.” She placed her hand on Zelda’s cheek and wiped away the tear that slid down her face. 

Urbosa smiled. “And especially don’t go running into storms all for some stupid pendant!” Zelda gasped.

“It’s not stupid! It’s–” Urbosa held up her hand. Zelda groaned. “Fine, I won’t run into a sandstorm for a stupid pendant again.” Urbosa raised an eyebrow. 

“And…?” Zelda buried her face in her hands. 

“And I won’t run into a sandstorm for any other reason again.” 

Urbosa smiled. “There! That wasn’t so bad, was it?” She began brushing Zelda’s hair once more. “And you know… you could have just let that pendant get lost in the storm and taken the test again next year.”

Zelda jerked back. “There was absolutely no way in hell I was waiting that long! I’ve dreamed of this my entire life!” She turned to face Urbosa, who was smiling and shaking her head. Zelda huffed and crossed her arms. “And besides, I was fine. I was able to blow the storm away with some power that awakened within me.” Urbosa’s hand stopped mid-motion.

“What…? What power?” Something in Urbosa’s voice had changed.

“I don't know exactly, it just felt like something woke up within me, and I was able to blow away the dark storm. It was like some sort of shockwave of power just–”

“Zelda!” Urbosa spun her around and grabbed her shoulders. A serious look was painted on her face. “This is really important so please try and remember. When this power awoke, did you hear any voice speaking to you?”

Zelda was about to say no, but then her memory flashed back to the moment before everything had shifted. A voice had been calling out to her, telling her to live.

“Yes, there was!”

“What did this voice say to you?” Urbosa’s blue-painted fingernails were digging into Zelda’s shoulders.

“To live. It told me to live.” Urbosa’s eyes widened. She jumped to her feet and rushed inside.

“Urbosa! Wait!” Zelda scrambled after her (not without almost tripping on the blanket multiple times).

She stumbled into the throne room only to find Urbosa rushing around carrying a pen and a paper. She hastily scribbled out a message.

“What are you doing? What’s going–”

“Ebi!” Ebi rushed in through the arch.

“Yes, Chief Urbosa?”

“Bring Sigat to me at once.”

“Of course.” Ebi bowed and hurried out of the arch. She returned a moment later with

 shorter, paler Gerudo with a red bob cut and a white uniform.

“You sent for me, My Lady?”

“Yes,” Urbosa thrust the paper into her hand. “Please send this to the Hyrule Castle at once. This is urgent.” Sigat’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth with a gasp.

“Of course! Right away my lady!” She bowed and dashed away.

“Urbosa!” Zelda shouted once everyone had gone. “What’s going on? What was that message you sent?” 

Urbosa took a deep breath before replying. “The message I sent was to the Royal Family of Hyrule. The Priestess foretold in The Prophecy from The Ancient Time has awoken.”

Zelda blinked stupidly for a few moments.

“What the–”

Chapter Text

Fuck. Link dropped his pencil onto his notepad. I overdid it again in training today… I can’t even hold the damn pencil without my hand shaking all over the place and messing up my lines! 

Frustrated, Link pushed his desk chair out and leaned his head back against the wooden head rest.

It’s no good… I might as well quit for today and try again tomorrow. This is nowhere near good enough for Aryll…

Link sighed audibly. He’d been working on a drawing for his little sister, Aryll. He planned on giving it to her for her birthday, which was in exactly one week from tomorrow. But at the rate he was going, he might as well give up and buy her a bouquet of flowers or something. Which would honestly be saying, “Hey, I barely tried at all and don’t care about you whatsoever! Here’s some cheap flowers! Enjoy!”

Link picked up the sketch and looked it over. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he thought…?
Nope. Still awful. He wanted to sketch his little sister dancing in a ballet-like style in a courtyard of flowers, but so far all it looked like was a stick figure with two broken legs and a misshapen head standing in the void.

Link wasn’t normally this bad at drawing, he was actually quite skilled. Many a court lady and gentlemen called upon Hyrule Castle in hopes of getting the artist who sketched and painted the Royal Family’s official portrait to sketch them. Not that they knew that he was the artist behind it sadly…

I don’t have that much time left… he looked at his right hand. Now that my hand has stopped shaking, I’ll try again.

With a new resolve, Link picked up the pencil once more and started stretching a basic outline of his little sister. (he erased the previous attempt of course).

After making a little bit of progress, Link’s hand started spasming and he knew he had to quit this time.

Well… at least it looks better … but maybe if I add some–

“LINK!!!!!” Suddenly the door to his room bursted open and slammed against the wall. A pair of small, fair arms threw themselves around his neck and squeezed him tight.

Shit shit! She can’t see this! With as much movement as the intruder would allow, he quickly threw some official looking documents over his sketchbook.

“Watcha doing?” The intruder pressed her cheek against his and sang out the question.

Link reached across his desk and plucked the top paper from the pile; it looked official enough to count as a reasonable excuse for being holed up in his room. 

He softly tapped the intruder’s arms, signalling her to release him. Once she did, Link turned around in his chair and handed her the document. She greedily snatched it and began pouring over it. Link let out a breathy chuckle as he watched her reading it with such interest. It was probably just some invitation to appear in one of the royal courts or something like that…

That was his little sister for you. Always interested in whatever he was doing, no matter how boring.

Aryll truly was the pride of the Kingdom of Hyrule. She stood at about 4’9”, with flaxen blonde hair that rested just above her shoulders. Her bright blue eyes were always teeming with energy and excitement. Her face was round and still slightly pudgy, as she was only 12 and though she didn’t like to admit it, hadn’t quite grown out of her baby fat. She was dressed in a royal blue dress that fell to her knees, and blue and gold slippers covered her feet.

Link’s eyes eventually settled on her left leg, or more specifically, the crutch resting against it. He frowned at it. Aryll had been a miracle baby, Queen Hera and King Daizeus shouldn’t have been able to bear a child, but somehow, perhaps with the recent advancements in medical technology, they’d done it. But, the miracle had its drawbacks, for Aryll was born with almost no function in her left leg. She could barely crawl as an infant, and ever since she took her first steps, she’s had to use a crutch.

Link felt his chest start to tighten, so he forced his eyes back up to his sister’s face, which now bore the wickedest grin.

Link cocked his head at her and raised a suspicious eyebrow, as if to say, What is it…?

Aryll giggled. “Are you sure you meant to show this to me…?”

Link frowned. What are you talking about?

She waved the paper in front of his face. “Usually you hide anything that Mipha sends you…” She teased, “I especially didn’t think you’d wanna show your innocent little sister such a passionate declaration of luh-ove!” Aryll threw her head back and started snickering wildly.

Uh oh. Just what exactly was that document that he gave her…?

“My dearest Link, I cannot express my affections towards you in mere words on a paper, but I must try. I love you, passionately, hopelessly, extensively–” The color from Link’s face drained as it dawned on him. Fuck. I have to get that away from her! She was not supposed to see that!

He lunged out of his chair and tried to snatch it away. Aryll, using her left crutch as leverage, hopped out of the way.

“The flames of my heart forever burn for your sake. Thoughts of you keep me awake at night, your brawn, you brilliance… Won’t you accept my love? Won’t you be mine for all eternity? Won’t you marry–” Link chased her around the room and finally snatched it from her thieving fingers.

Aryll was giggling uncontrollably, practically rolling on the floor with laughter.

Link threw a glare in her direction as he stomped over to his desk, shoved the letter in a draw, and slammed it shut.

“Oh brother,” Aryll wiped a tear from her eye as she sat up. “You shouldn’t be so serious! You might upset the one who loves you ‘passionately’!” And with that she was on the floor again, laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face.

Link, on the other hand. Was not laughing.

He marched over to her, scooped her off the ground, opened the door to his room, and (gently) set her back down on the ground. Then he slammed the door in her face.

With an angry huff he went back to his desk and tried to focus on his drawing again.

“Aww, come on, Link! Don’t be like that! I was only messing around! It was just a joke!” Aryll whined outside his door. Link ignored her and continued to draw.

“Liiiiiiink! Please let me back in! I promise I won’t laugh anymore! Or read any of your letter out loud… even though it was really funny !” Link had to strain his ears to hear that last bit.

“ LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINK !” Link sighed. I guess I better let her in… I won’t be able to get any work done when she’s making this much noise. 

With an audible groan, he pushed back his chair and trudged over to the door.

He quickly pulled it open.

“Wahhhh!” Aryll, who must have been leaning against it, fell backward onto her back. She looked up at Link, who was standing above her. Her mouth was open wide and her curtain bangs fell forward, exposing her forehead.

Link folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. You done?

Aryll nodded. 

With an obvious roll of his eyes, Link stepped aside and went back to his desk. This time he pulled out a book of combat strategies and started making detailed notes in the margins.

He heard Aryll scamper as fast as her leg and crutch would allow her across the room and throw herself onto his bed. Link did his best to ignore her. Hopefully she'd be quiet…

Scritch scritch was the sound of his pencil marking up the margins.

“Hey Link?” Aryll called. Link didn’t respond.

If I pretend I don’t hear her… maybe she’ll leave and I can actually get some work done on her drawing!

“Link…?” Just keep writing… He told himself.

“LINK!” Suddenly something soft smashed into the back of his head. Link whirled around in his chair and glared at Aryll, prepared to scold her. But, her normal satan-spawn of a smile wasn’t present on her face. For once, she looked serious… worried almost. She turned to him, her blue eyes wide with concern.

Link furrowed his brows. What is it? 

“It’s just…” Aryll paused and bit her lip. “Mipha’s proposal… are you going to say yes? Are you…” She trailed off and hugged her knees to her chest. Link waited for her to continue. Her voice was muffled as she buried her face in her knees. “Are you going to leave me?” 

Link was taken aback. He had no idea that this would affect her this much. He rose from the chair and strode over to the bed, taking a seat down beside her. The bed creaked with his weight.

Aryll peaked her head up slightly.

Why would you think that? He signed to her.

“Well, Mipha’s nice. And, I can tell she really loves you. And… I can tell that you care about her. And you’re already 18, if you don’t marry now you’ll likely never find someone again!” Aryll was rambling hysterically now. “This is your only chance! Who else will accept you?? Soon you’ll be old and wrinkly and be alone forever so why wouldn’t you marry Mipha?? What if–” 

Link held up his hands to stop her. She dutifully closed her mouth and waited.

First of all, calm down. He signed. Aryll frowned and opened her mouth to protest; but Link’s glare silenced her.

Second of all, I’m not going to accept Mipha’s proposal–

She sat straight up with shock. “But, you love her don’t you?! Why wouldn’t you accept?”

Link blushed at her response and his fingers faltered slightly.

That-that doesn’t matter! The point is, I’m not going to say yes, and I’m not leaving. Okay? 

Aryll nodded. “Okay.” She whispered, a slight hitch in her voice.

Link smiled softly at her. 

I really should be more careful about what I show her… she doesn’t need any of my burdens.

He lovingly patted her head and tousled her hair.

“Heyyy! Stop that!” Aryll laughed. She looked up at him.

Link grinned and signed to her, Why don’t you go to the kitchen? I heard Martha is making her Strawberry Chocolate Cookies.

Aryll’s face brightened into a childish joy.

“Actually?! I better hurry before Mother tells me I can only have 1!” Aryll jumped off his bed, grabbed her crutch, and scurried out the door. Link shook his head.

She never changes…

Smiling to himself, he pushed himself off his bed, picked up the pillow Aryll threw at him, and straightened the plain blue comforter. 

“Link?” He turned. Aryll poked her head through the doorway.

Yeah? He titled his head.

“Thanks.” She smiled.

For what? He signed, but she was already gone. He could hear her happy humming gradually fade down the hall.

***

Link groaned and stretched his sore arms. He’d been sitting here for a while after Aryll left, studying combat, trying to work on her drawing, answering letters. He checked the time on the clock hanging above him: 6:47 p.m. 

Damn, that late already? I should hurry and get ready for supper… Hera will kill me if I’m late. Not that she wants me there anyway… maybe I should just skip…?

Suddenly his stomach growled loudly.

Better not. 

With a groan, he hurriedly rummaged through his closet for some clean (and presentable) looking clothes. He smelled one of his shirts.

Fuck that reeks! How long has it been since Anna and Bella came up to collect the laundry…? Try as he might, he couldn’t remember. Hera’s probably keeping them busy with her hundreds of thousands of outfits that need to be washed one at a time. He scoffed. I’ll have to do a load tomorrow…

Finally, after searching for about 10 minutes, he found a decent tunic and pants.

It was a royal blue long-sleeved tunic with gold trim around the sleeves, the hem, and the color that dipped into a V-neck. The crest of the Hyrulian Royal Family was patterned onto the front with gold thread. He stripped and left his brown trousers and rustic blue tunic (which he normally wore) crumpled on the floor. He’d pick them up later. He slipped it on over some off-white trousers that he found and pulled on some shiny black knee-high boots.

He was about to rush out the door when he caught sight of his reflection in the full-length mirror next to his wardrobe. 

Oof, I better fix this mess… or Hera will have my head. Link ran his fingers through his wild dirty-blonde hair and tied it back the best he could with his handy blue rubber band. He managed to tie most of it back, besides his bangs and the two pieces of hair that always framed his face.

He looked himself over in the mirror. Instead of looking like someone distinguished going to dinner with distinguished people, Link looked like someone who hurriedly threw on some fancy clothes and was about to rush out the door for said dinner. Fitting.

Oh well, not like I can do anything more about it now…

With that he rushed to the door and took one last look at his room before heading out.

It was simple, to say the least. Faded royal blue carpet covered the floor. A bed with a simple wooden frame with a blue comforter and matching pillows sat in the center of the left wall. On one side there was a nightstand with an oil lantern atop it, on the other there was a small wooden bookshelf bursting to the brim with books of all colors and sizes. On the left side of the room, there was a mahogany wardrobe and a full length mirror. His rough oak desk faced the wall on the right side of the door.  The last bit of sunlight for the day streamed into the room, illuminating all the rumpled clothes scattered about the floor.

Link chuckled to himself. Imagine if The Lucky Clover Gazette saw this room. I bet they’d never expect the infamous “Prince of Hyrule” slept in a room akin to a commoner’s. Imagine the scandal!

DONG, DONG, DONG DON–

Shit! It’s already seven!?! I better haul ass to the dining room!

Before the clock even finished its fourth chime, Link was already halfway down the red and blue carpeted hall.

The thumping of his boots against the carpet and the steady rhythm of his breathing were the only sounds Link heard as he dashed down the hallway. The East Wing of the castle usually felt pretty empty, for Queen Hera resided in the West Wing, so naturally all the staff would too (in order to attend to her every whim 24/7 365).

Even though it was largely abandoned, at least as far as Link was concerned, the East Wing still matched the rest of the castle in terms of impressive decor. The stone walls in the hallway were lined with windows, tapestries, suits of armour, you name it. All were slapped with the Hyrulian family crest somewhere, in the rare event that one of these pieces were somehow lost, everyone would know where to return it.

The many windows weren’t the only source of the light for the large hallway, for gold and crystal chandeliers dangled from the ceiling about every 10-15 paces. They swung ever so slightly as Link dashed past, their crystals clinking together softly.

Link passed by an old grandfather clock, and he just managed to make out the time before speeding by: 7:03 p.m.

Shit shit shit shit! I’m so late! I better pick up the pace if I wanna—

CRASH! BANG! CLATTER!!

Before he even realized what had happened, Link was sprawled painfully onto the carpet.

Damn that hurt! What happened…? He slowly opened his eyes; he was lying on his stomach surrounded by the remains in silver cups and polished china plates. He groaned. Why was he running so fast??

“Oooh ow…” A high-pitched voice groaned beside him. Link immediately pushed himself to a sitting position.

Squelch! He looked down at his right hand. You’ve got to be kidding me…

His hand was covered in the corpse of what looked to be a sandwich. It was kind of hard to tell… with it being smashed and all. Fat, sticky globs of orange marmalade dripped onto the floor.

Gross…

“Omigosh! My apologies, Your Grace! Please forgive me!” Link turned his attention towards the voice in question. It belonged to a young maid in her early 20s; she had beautiful blonde hair that was styled in spindly curls. Her traditional black and white maid’s costume, as well as the cap on her head, were covered in a brown liquid. Link sniffed, it smelled like coffee. Aside from all of that, something about her seemed familiar…

Oh that’s right! She’s one of the new maids that Hera hired last week to prep for Aryll’s party. Jacqueline I think…? 

Link vigorously shook his head and pointed to his chest. No, it was my fault . 

Are you okay? He signed to her. But there wasn’t a spark of recognition behind those brown eyes…

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I’m afraid I don’t know what you are trying to say.” She smiled apologetically. 

Link sighed. Honestly, why do I even bother anymore… it’s not like anyone in this castle can read Sign Language. Aryll, Bella, and Mrs. Greyson are the only ones in this entire gods-forsaken place!
“Oh no!” Jacqueline (Link decided he’d go with that for her name, it wasn’t like he had any way of asking her). “Your clothes! Please allow me to wash them for you right away!” Link looked down at his tunic and trousers. They were covered with splotches of brown coffee and marmalade.

So much for looking presentable… Link thought bitterly.

“It won’t take long, I promise!” Jacqueline insisted. Link shook his head and gestured to himself and pointed down the hall.

“Oh, I see. You are expected somewhere, yes?” Link nodded. Link rose and started to leave, but saw the mess of broken plates and teacups, and he hesitated.

I really should help her clean up… I mean what kind of asshole crashes into someone and doesn’t even offer to help clean up the mess? 

He stooped down and began picking up the broken bits of china and laying them on the tray.

“Please, Your Grace! Don’t concern yourself with the mess! I’ll take care of it!” Jacqueline frantically tried to get him to stop. Link frowned at her and shook his head, continuing to help her clean the mess.

“Well, if you insist… Thank you.” She smiled bashfully at him. Her cheeks flaming red.

Once the two had finished cleaning up the mess, Jacqueline thanked Link once again and hurried off down a different hallway that would lead to the kitchens. 

Well, she was certainly polite. Must not have heard all the rumors about me yet… I wonder what would happen if–Fuck! What’s the time?? Hera is going to castrate me for being so late!!
And with that he took off down the hall full speed ahead, even faster than before. He clearly didn’t learn his lesson from five minutes ago…

About five minutes later Link finally reached the grandiose doors to Royal Dining Hall. He stood before the gold handles, trying to gain the courage to open them.

It’s already 7:30, they’ll be finished with the first course by now…

Link knew that the longer he lingered outside the doors, the angrier Hera would be when he finally opened them. So, with a deep breath to steady his resolve, he grasped both the handles and pulled the doors open.

Chapter Text

“Oh Aryll, my darling, you’re such a good girl! Now tell me more abo–” and the lively dinnertime conversation ceased as soon as Link pulled the doors open. He immediately felt all eyes dart over to him simultaneously.

Great… this isn’t awkward at all… Link straightened his tunic (which was still covered in marmalade and coffee), and tried to casually walk over to his seat at the table. He felt all the eyes following him. Most of these eyes wouldn’t necessarily bother him, but one set in particular gave him pause: the ice blue ones that belonged to none other than the famed Queen Hera Hyrule of Hyrule Kingdom herself.

Queen Hera truly made any space she was in feel smaller somehow, less important. Even the grand dining room, with its high ceilings that were decorated with beautiful paintings of the myths and legends of the kingdom, with the darkwood table with the bright red table cloth that spanned the length of the center of the room, with the golden crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, and with the many tall and narrow windows lighting up the room, felt tacky and insignificant compared to her. Her presence was so large, sucking up all the air in the room, enclosing the entire space. Link felt like he was suffocating under her cold and judgemental gaze; like something was squeezing all the life from his body.

His chair squeaked painfully as he pulled it out and sat down across from Aryll, still trying to put up a casual and unconcerned air. He picked up the golden silver utensils and began to cut into the meal on his plate. Filet mignon, usually a meal he enjoyed, but the first bite was cold. He wasn’t surprised, why would they bother with waiting to bring it out until he arrived?

Aryll was the first to break the awkward silence, and per usual, she was oblivious to the tension around the table.

“Link, Link! You wouldn't believe what Mother just told me! There’s going to be a–”

“Aryll, dear!” Hera cut in. “Why don’t you run along with Mandrake and fetch us some of Martha’s Chocolate Strawberry Cookies?” She smiled sweetly at her. Aryll looked momentarily confused at the sudden subject change, but evidently she was too young to realize when she’s being told to scram. “Okay, Mother!” She practically jumped out of her chair and hurried out of the kitchen.

Link almost flinched when he felt those icy eyes shift their focus to him. While those eyes were filled to the brim with love and pride for Aryll, the only things present when looking at him were contempt and disgust. 

“I see you couldn’t even be bothered to make yourself presentable for this dinner.” Hera scorned, venom practically dripping from every word that left her lips. Link forced his ocean blue eyes to meet her own. 

Queen Hera’s royal air was present in everything about her. She was dressed in a royal blue gown that hugged her skin and bowed out at her silver heels. The gown accentuated her sharp edges and showcased how thin she was, something she carried proudly no doubt. Nothing about her was warm, her blonde hair was so light it was almost white, but it perfectly framed her face, with sharp and defined cheekbones, angular chin, narrow colorless lips, ice blue and unforgiving eyes. Even her crown felt… unsettling. A silver tiara with three steep points and three sapphires in the center of each. The rest of her jewelry matched, with her glittering sapphire necklace, and the large sapphire wedding ring on her ring finger. She had a strange kind of beauty to her, a deadly one. She had always reminded Link of the Nightshade flower, beautiful, but lethal.

Hera scoffed. “Well? Don’t you have anything to say?” Link knew better than to reply. Anything he did would just make her angrier. Unlike Aryll, Hera made no effort to learn sign language in order to communicate with him. 

“Sign Language is for the deaf, ones who have to use it. You aren’t deaf, you are simply choosing not to speak. I refuse to waste my time indulging your laziness. If you want to have a conversation with me, you’ll have to talk . Using actual words. It’s honestly pathetic, you stupid, lazy creature!” That was what she had said to Link the first time he tried to sign to her, when he was just 8 years old. After that, he never tried to again, despite the fact that it meant he basically ignored everything she said. And Hera did not like to be ignored.

“Hah! Typical.” Hera laughed sarcastically. “Can’t even bring yourself to apologize for your despicable behaviour.” She sighed. “I suppose I can’t expect anything better… from my husband's bastard child.” She took a sip from her bejeweled silver goblet of wine. 

Just ignore her, it’ll be over soon enough… Link told himself. He broke eye contact and continued to eat his steak.

“Honestly, what a wretched creature you are. I swear I would have killed Daizeus for sleeping with that whore if you hadn’t first. If only you had been the one to take the poison.” He could feel Hera’s menacing glare boring into the side of his head. Link’s grip tightened around the fork. He forced himself to ignore her. This was normal after all… it would be over soon.

Link hated it when she brought up these things, it stirred up painful memories that he tried to suppress.

The most unpleasant of them being the story of his father’s death.

King Daizeus was a kind man, a good father. Although he was busy with his duties, Link had never felt unloved by him. He was proud of who his father was, a kind and just king. When Link was just 6 years old, he and his father travelled to Gerudo Town, in order to meet with Chief Urbosa to establish a trade system and a proper peace treaty. Link never understood why it was just him and his father, but since Aryll had just been born and took up all his father’s attention, and being the child that he was, he was just happy to have his father all to himself for a change. The night it happened was supposed to be a celebration, a way to commemorate peace between a long-lasting rivalry between two of the most powerful nations… but then it happened. Wine was served to go along with the dinner… Link was just trying to play a harmless prank on the king… he had been served juice and thought it’d be funny to see his father’s reaction to the peculiar taste when he switched the glasses… but he didn’t react. At least, not the way he was supposed to. He remembered it clearly, the way his father’s face suddenly contorted painfully, then went slack as he crashed head first onto the table… dead.

What Link remembered after that was in bits in pieces, flashes, not in any particular order. He remembered screaming, attacking, blood, being rushed out of the Gerudo Palace, being back in the castle, where instead of comfort for the loss of his father, the only thing he received was scorn and hatred. 

Hyrule then went to war with the Gerudo, blaming them for the assassination of the king. Soon, it was discovered that two of the Royal Family’s medicinal researches had been behind the poisoning, so peace was made and the king’s death soon faded into a painful memory for everyone involved. Everyone except for Link… and Hera.

Even though he hadn’t been the one behind the poisoning, Link knew it was his fault. Hera told him as much. It didn’t matter though because it was true. If he hadn’t switched the glasses, his father would still be alive today. 

Even when his father was alive, Link could tell that Hera didn’t particularly enjoy his company. She was able to hide her distaste for him well though, for Daizeus nor the rest of the Royal Staff never caught on. Link had always thought that he was the reason for the distance between them, maybe it was because they never talked? He had been an especially quiet child, only speaking with those he trusted, and hardly at all even then. He had always preferred the company of his own thoughts to a conversation with another person. After his father died however, Hera’s hatred for him grew more brazen. Instead of quiet dislike, she expressed her hatred for him loudly, yelling at him, blaming him… hitting him. Link went from hardly ever talking, to becoming completely mute in a matter of months. This only seemed to increase Hera's disdain, but what could he do about it? 

After a while, mostly out of sheer boredom, he chanced upon a Sign Language book. He taught himself the language alongside his baby sister Aryll. She learned Sign Language while she was learning to speak, which is why she was so proficient at it. Even though she was only two, Aryll had been hit hardest with his sudden inability to speak. She would cry and beg him to talk to her… but he just couldn’t. He never even told her the reason why, for she had no knowledge of Hera’s abuse. By some silent and unspoken agreement, Hera and Link kept their hatred of each other a secret. Link hadn’t wanted Aryll to grow up thinking her mom was evil, and he didn’t want to be the wedge that strained their relationship. Eventually, Aryll stopped asking when he taught her sign language, and hasn’t asked since. Link could only speculate at what she might think his reasons were…

“Didn’t I teach you proper manners!” Hera shouted. She must have been lecturing him or something while he was spacing out. “Look at me when I’m talking to you, you miserable wretch!” Hera slammed her first on the table. 

Why should I? Why should I give you the luxury of seeing the expression on my fucking face while you’re spewing this shit about me! Link wanted to tell her. Wanted to scream at her. But, he raised his head and met her eyes anyway. The look they shared was the same: mutual loathing towards the other party.

“What kind of look is that? I ought to have you flogged for looking that way at your queen! You are–”

“Mother, I’m back!” Aryll sang as she made her way into the kitchen, Mandrake trailing close behind with a tray full of cookies.

“Thank you so much, Darling!” Hera contorted her vile frown into a loving smile. 

Funny, you wouldn’t think a bitch like her was capable of a fake smile, let alone a real one… Link thought to himself. He had to admit, it was kind of impressive how quickly she could change from Mommy Dearest to Mother Teresa. 

Link tore his eyes away from the scene and focused them back down to his plate. Suddenly the Filet mignon didn’t look so appealing…

He pushed his chair out and bowed to excuse himself.

He started to leave when Aryll caught his eye. Are you okay? She signed.

He flashed her a reassuring smile. Yeah, of course! He might not have picked up the skill of flipping his emotions on a dime from Hera, but he did manage to master the skill of hiding behind a smile.

Aryll returned his smile, relieved. 

Good, she seems to have bought it… 

“Oh mother!” Aryll turned to Hera. “Before Link goes to bed, you should tell him the good news!” 

“Oh right,” Hera glanced over to him, managing to reel in her contempt to formal civility. “I suppose you should know. Two days from now, Chief Urbosa and her ward will be arriving at Hyrule Castle.”

Link furrowed his brows in confusion. What business could they have here…?

“Tell him why, mother! Tell him!”

“Yes, dear, I was just getting to that part.” She turned back to Link. “I’ve just received word from Gerudo Town… the Priestess from The Ancient Time has awoken.”

Link blinked. What the–

Chapter Text

“–Hell is going on here!” Zelda shouted at Urbosa, who was running around her room, packing bags.

“Zelda, I already told you,” Urbosa said as she grabbed an armful of Zelda’s clothes hanging in her closet and stuffed it into a traveller's bag, hangers in all. “Because you’ve awoken those powers,” she paused, struggling to stuff the clothes into the bag that was already overflowing with various articles. “We have to report to the Kingdom of Hyrule immediately.” She finished after she finally zipped the bag closed.

“Phew!” She wiped the sweat off her brow. “Now, what else to pack… oh yeah! Toiletries!” Urbosa immediately headed into Zelda’s bathroom. The sounds of objects being thrown about, dumped out of drawers, and snatched out of cupboards caused Zelda to cringe. 

Why can’t she just let me pack my own stuff! 

“Because I know you won’t do it.” Was Urbosa reply when Zelda had complained when this whole business started. She was right, but that didn’t stop Zelda from being pissy about it.

Soon Urbosa emerged from the bathroom carrying an absolute mess of different products, half of which Zelda was sure she wouldn’t need.

Why is she packing so much…? It’s not like I’m moving in…

“Alright, now that that’s done, what else..?” Urbosa tapped a blue painted nail against her similarly colored lip. “Right! Food!” Urbosa rushed out of Zelda’s room and returned a few minutes later with another pack full of food for the journey. 

“Anything else I’m forgetting…?” She crossed her arms in thought.

“Yeah,” Zelda rolled her eyes as her patience was wearing thin, “An explanation! What the fuck is happening? Why did you say I was the priestess? What do those strange powers have to do with this? And why are we leaving so suddenly to that place ?!” Zelda frowned and crossed her arms.

“First of all, don’t use that kind of language when you’re speaking to me, young lady.” Urbosa shook a finger at her. Zelda rolled her eyes at this. Why should it matter if she cursed or not? She was an adult for gods sake! She could do what she wanted! “Second of all, I told you an explanation would be in order after I finished packing! We don’t have time to waste if we want to be on the road by dawn tomorrow.” Urbosa matched Zelda’s menacing glare.

Zelda snorted. “Well, as an adult, I can make my own decisions! And I don’t have to come on this stupid journey if I don’t want to, do I?”

Urbosa’s eyes widened, and she inhaled sharply. “You may be 17, but you are by no means an adult! You live under my roof and will follow my rules. Are we clear?” Urbosa leaned down close to Zelda’s face.

Had she been younger, Zelda would have been intimated by this talk and immediately backed down. But she wasn’t young anymore, and besides, she knew she could win this time.

“I’ll just leave then. If I leave, I won’t have to report to that place , and you’ll have to explain to those Royal Bastards why I didn’t show up!” Zelda leaned forward also. After a moment of tense silence, Zelda sighed. “I just wanna know what the hell is happening, is that so much to ask?” Zelda pleaded.

Urbosa’s face softened into a look of defeat. “I suppose you’re right. Packing can wait, you do deserve to know what all this means.” Urbosa finally gave in and moved to sit beside Zelda on her bed. Urbosa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Alright, I’ll now tell you about The Prophecy of The Ancient Time.”

Zelda gasped. She remembered learning about this in her school lessons. She was always very fascinated by the story, but she couldn’t remember most of the details as most of her free time was spent training instead of studying.

“Long ago, one of the Gerudo bore a male, the first Gerudo male in existence. His name was Ganondorf.” A chill slithered up Zelda’s spine. She shivered. For reasons unknown to her, the mention of that name filled her with extreme dread, like a weight was constantly resting on her chest. Of course she had heard the story before, but this was different. She felt connected to it. “He became the King and led the Gerudo people against the rest of Hyrule. He was a blasphemous warlock, who opposed the very goddesses that gave birth to this world. He used his dark magic to create monsters, and used them to lay waste to the soldiers, the land… everything. When all hope appeared to be lost, the Hero with the fabled Sword that Seals the Darkness and the Priestess with the Sacred Power to Seal Away the Darkness rose up and turned the tides of the battle. Ganondorf and his armies of monsters were slain and Hyrule knew peace once again. But…” Urbosa hesitated. “The Gerudo were never truly forgiven, for birthing the warlock. Especially after it was prophesied by the Ancient Prophet Cassandra that the cycle of Evil’s Rebirth, the Priestess, and the Hero would continue every 10,000 years, or about every 500th generation. It was also prophesied that a Gerudo woman would be the one to bear said child. And with the knowledge of what happened in the desert, Little Bird,” Urbosa turned to Zelda and laid her hands on her own, “I am confident that you are the Priestess of our era. Which also means,” Urbosa’s soft smile hardened into a solemn frown. “that the Hero as well as Evil’s Reincarnate, also exist within this lifetime. And as such, Hyrule Castle is in the most imminent danger with the news of the Priestess’s awakening, which is why we must immediately report to the castle tomorrow in order to plan the next steps.” 

Zelda was speechless. Sure, she’d heard this story before, but never in her life would she have dreamt that she would be bestowed the power passed down all the way from the first Priestess from The Ancient Time. She almost laughed at the insanity of it all.

Me, the Priestess from Ancient Legend? No fucking way… She groaned. This was far too much to take in all at once. She massaged her temples to soothe the upcoming headache she felt.

“Wait!” She turned to Urbosa. “So does that mean that the voice I heard in the desert today… was–”

“Was the Priestess of The Ancient Time. Yes, I believe it was.” Urbosa finished.

Holy shit… and just when I thought I had it all figured out… 

“Now, I should finish preparations for tomorrow.” Urbosa rose and straightened her skirt. 

Wait a second, does this mean– ”Hold on!” She held up her hand to stop Urbosa. “I understand this whole priestess thing, but why do I have to go to that place !” Zelda said. “You know how much I hate them and everything they stand for. I don’t understand why I have to buddy-up with those Royal Bastards after everything they’ve done to me and the Gerudo people!”

Urbosa took on a no-nonsense tone when she replied. “Like I already told you, Hyrule Castle is in the most danger with this news, since it is the symbol of Hyrule. If the castle falls, then the rest of the lands will struggle to hold their own against the forthcoming evil. That is why we must go there, and regardless of what they may have done in the past has no place to affect what must happen in the future. Are we clear?”

Zelda groaned. Urbosa may have made a valid point, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. 

“Zelda?”

“Yes, we’re clear. How long are we going to have to stay at that place anyway?” Zelda huffed.

“Oh not long.” She laughed. “Now, try to get some rest, Little Bird.” She bent down and kissed the top of Zelda’s head. Zelda smiled weakly in reply.

“Goodnight.” She said before she shut the door.

“‘Night.” Zelda called back.

“Ughhh!” She flopped back onto her soft, red quilted comforter. “Why now? Why did all of this have to happen now?? Just when I finally achieved my destiny!” Zelda grabbed a nearby pillow and pressed it to her face, screaming loudly.

I guess I can’t do anything about it now… Zelda sighed. She might as well focus on the things she could control, like getting ready for this journey.

“I suppose I should bathe, it’s been a long time since I’ve done that.” She lifted up her arm and sniffed under it. “Uhleck! Maybe too long…”

Zelda hurriedly stripped off her clothes and tossed them in a basket to be washed later. She then headed into her bathroom, which was simple enough. Embedded in the sandstone was a heated bath with a waterfall streaming into it, which connected to one of the greater waterfalls flowing from the three peaks in the palace. A pearly white sink and mirror sat next to it, and a toilet sat in the corner, next to the closet that Urbosa had completely ransacked.

Zelda sighed. She’d have to clean that up eventually. She was far too tired to let her usual wish for tidiness win today.

She hopped into the bath and practically melted into the hot water. 

I almost forgot how good a relaxing bath felt after days like this… 

Soon the water grew murky and brown as Zelda scrubbed all the dirt, grime, and sand from her skin and hair. After rinsing off once more in the waterfall, she grabbed the robe that always hung near the bath and hopped out. 

Ugh, these knots are going to be a bitch to comb through… She noticed as she tried to run her fingers through her hair.

I suppose there’s no use whining about it… She stood at the mirror and began the battle against her hair.

***

Finally, after about thirty minutes of brushing, pulling, and ripping at the knots in her hair, Zelda finally was satisfied.

Oof, that storm really did a number on me… She stared at her face in the mirror. Plenty of small cuts and bruises covered her usual olive-toned skin. 

Those should clear up soon… I hope. 

Zelda never thought too much about beauty, since she devoted most of her life to training, and study when she got the chance. And plus, when you live amongst only vais your whole life, you don’t feel the need to doll yourself up for any guy. Regardless, Zelda knew she was pretty, at least compared to the average Hylian. With her honey-colored hair that flowed like liquid gold and reached the length of her backside (which is why she normally tied it high above her head), her big, emerald green eyes, long dark lashes, thin blonde eyebrows, and small button nose, and large, pointed ears that were almost symmetrical. She was rather small compared to most of the Gerudo, reaching only 5’7”, and although she wasn’t as… womanly as some of the Gerudo, in her opinion, she still had some nice curves. 

“I guess that’s enough vanity for one night,” Zelda chuckled to herself as she walked out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom.
The sandstone floors were rough against her bare feet, which is why Zelda often wore slippers in her room. It was decorated with rugs of various colors and patterns, blue, reds, greens. Zelda loved the exotic feel it gave off, like she was never stuck with one boring color. A work bench for repairing her weapons rested on the right side of her room, next to the door to the bathroom. On the right side, her bed, which was rather large for just her, was decorated with a red blanket and matching pillows. There was also half a wall in the back of the room filled with bookshelves. Fairy Tales, research on flora and fauna, studies and research of philosophy, religion, culture, technology, history, and plenty of other subjects lined the shelves. When Zelda had a rare day off from training, she loved to study these things, but days off were far and few in between. And she was often far too exhausted to study or read any of them after a full day of training. Next to the book shelves was an open air balcony, where she could gaze at the northern part of the desert.

After changing into some night clothes, Zelda climbed under the covers, turned out the light, and fell asleep as soon as she laid her head on her pillow.

Chapter Text

Zelda was standing in the courtyard… back then. Back when it all happened. Back when…

“Traitors!”

“Murderers!”

“Put them to death!”

“Hang them all ready!!”

The shouts of the crowd pounded in Zelda’s ears. There were too many people… all faceless… surrounding her… trapping her… shoving her… pushing her… she couldn’t breathe… couldn’t think… she had to get out, run, anything! But she was trapped! She couldn’t get out!

“Someone, help!” She cried out. She was calling out to… to…

but her pleas were swallowed up by the competing screams from the crowd.

“Die!”

“Drop dead!”

“Die!” 

“Die!” 

“Die!”

Zelda tried to see what the crowd of faceless people were shouting at, but she was too small. She couldn’t see. She wanted to see… no, she needed to see. She had to see! She started elbowing her way through the crowd, she needed to get to the front! She couldn’t miss it! She pushed, and pushed, and shoved, and practically swam through the people, but the crowd was endless. She’d never make it to the front in time!

Suddenly, she spotted some wooden crates near an alleyway. She pushed her way to it and scrambled to the top. Once at the top, she scanned the top of the crowd… and saw it.

A man and a woman were standing at the gallows. Ropes were dangling loosely from their necks. The man was young, couldn’t be much past thirty, and the woman was a few years younger than that. The man had dark brown hair that fell to his shoulders, it framed his pale, chiseled face. His green eyes looked tired, defeated. His face, normally clean-shaven, had a rough stubble. He was thin… they hadn’t been feeding him properly. The woman didn’t look any better. Her luscious gold hair was damp with grime and sweat, it was matted and knotted. Her beautiful blue eyes were bloodshot, and her soft, kind face was streaked with dirt and tears.

“Mom, dad!” Zelda cried out. Her chest hurt, tears streamed down her face.

“MOM, DAD! DON’T DO THIS! PLEASE… don’t go!” Zelda screamed, her throat hurt.

She saw her dad whisper to her mom, then she looked up and spotted Zelda. She smiled sadly at her and tried to shout a reply to Zelda. But… before the words could reach her ears, they were swallowed by the endless torments of the crowd below.

“Die!”

“Traitors!”

“Murderers!”

Zelda strained her eyes, her mom was trying desperately to get the message across to her. What was she trying to say? What was it??

“MOM, I CAN’T HEAR YOU! SPEAK LOUDER!” She screamed. “MOM!! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY??”

Suddenly the crowd's voices stopped. The sudden silence felt almost painful, but she heard it.

“Zelda, don’t forget what I told you! You must never forget! Zelda, you must–

“WAKE UP! ZELDA, WAKE UP!”

“Waahhh!” Zelda sprang up. 

What the fuck just happened…? She looked around… she was in her own bed, Urbosa was standing over her, looking concerned.

“You alright?” She raised an eyebrow. Zelda managed a shaky smile.

“Yeah, just had a strange dream.” Zelda faked a yawn and tried to stretch lazily. Urbosa gave her a look that said she didn’t really believe her, but she didn’t press her.

“Okay… Well get up and get ready. Shamil’s breakfast will be ready in about ten minutes.” Urbosa called to her as she walked out of the room. Zelda felt her mouth start to water at the thought of Shamil’s cooking… She was Urbosa's (and the palace’s) personal chef. Urbosa made it a point not to keep many servants in the palace, except for a couple housekeepers and Shamil, the rest of the people that worked here were part of the Vai Vure.

Zelda thought back to the strange dream and what it might mean. It's been awhile since I’ve dreamt of that day… but what was she trying to tell me? Did that really happen or was I just imagining it…?

“Oh and Zelda?” Urbosa’s head peered through her doorway once again.

“Uh, yeah?” 

“You should bathe. You stink.” And with that, Urbosa disappeared again.

Pfft, as if! I just took one last night. She touched her forehead… damp. Hmm… must have been the dream… She sniffed under her arm. 

“Bleh! Urbosa wasn’t kidding!” With a groan, Zelda flung the covers off of her and trudged to the bathroom. The water was cold, turning her skin red as she scrubbed the sweat off her body. Neither Hilda nor Blima (the two housekeepers employed at the palace) were up at this hour, so naturally all the baths were cold.

Once she was finished bathing, she brushed her hair, tied it up on top of her head with her favorite golden clasp, and got dressed for the day. She decided to go with something similar to yesterday's outfit, but the colors this time were a sage green instead of a light blue. As soon as she was satisfied, she grabbed the packs that Urbosa so kindly stuffed to the point of the seams almost bursting, and headed out of her room and into the dining room.

“Great, you’re finally out! Breakfast is on the table, so hurry up and eat! We’ll leave as soon as you're done.” Urbosa said and disappeared down a hallway, probably to prepare more bags for the journey.

Zelda pulled out a chair at the simple wooden table for two and sat down in front of the plate of a steaming eggs on toast and took a bite. As expected of Shamil, it was delicious, but Zelda could only manage a few bites. Food wasn’t something she could eat before 8:00 a.m., usually she stuck to protein drinks in the morning (granted, they weren’t very good, but they got the job done). After a bit, she wrapped the plate in a cloth and stuffed it in her food bag, she could eat it for lunch. 

“Right, I’ll just mix up a protein shake and–”

“ZEDLA! Time to go!” 

“Ughhh, guess I’ll have to do without…” Zelda regretfully slung her bags over her shoulders and headed outside, where Urbosa was waiting.

“You ready?” She adjusted the ginormous travel backpack on her shoulders. Zelda stifled a yawn and nodded.

“Alright, let’s go.” 

The walk through town was quiet at this hour, everyone was either in their beds sleeping, stumbling home from the town’s bar, or out on night patrol. All of the booths were empty, all of their merchandise hidden away. Sure it was peaceful, but silence like this always made Zelda uneasy… There was something so haunting about a once lively place being so desolate. 

But, the upside of the lack of activity on the main road, was they were able to reach the Sand Seal Rental Shoppe much faster.

“Alright, Chief! Two Sand Seals, just like you requested.” A small Gerudo girl handed Urbosa the reins of two sand seals. 

“Thank you, Yosa.” The young Gerudo turned beet red and she stumbled over her next words, “Of c-course, M-my Lady!” She then disappeared into a stable nearby.

Zelda smiled, Urbosa truly was a great Chief, making a point to learn the names of the people she employed.

“Alright, Little Bird. Saddle up and let’s go!” Zelda rolled her eyes, but she grabbed an old wooden shield and tied it to the sand seal’s reins (her own circular, golden, bejeweled one was far too nice to damage for this).

“I’m finished, Urbosa.” Zelda said.

“Let’s head out then.” Zelda nodded and was just about to flick the reins when a voice shouted from across the town. 

“ZELDAAAAA!!!!!”

Uh oh… she’s going to wake up the entire town…

Zelda waited a few moments for her friend to catch up.

“Emati,” she frowned at the vai who was doubled over panting from sprinting across town to reach her, “Be quiet! Some people are trying to sleep!” She hissed.

Emati placed her hands on her hips and glared. “Well, some people can go fuck themselves for all I care! I can’t believe you were going to leave without saying goodbye to your best friend! Dick move, Z.”

“I–well… I was…” She was right. She’d kill Emati if she ever did the same thing to her. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Sorry.” She mumbled.

Emati’s glare immediately brightened into an excited smile. 

“Bitch, I can’t believe you’re the Priestess now!” She slugged Zelda in her shoulder. 

Oof, that’s going to bruise…  “I heard about your fancy-ass goddess powers, and I wanted to say congrats! You’re gonna give me so much street cred from the other Vs when I tell them about my badass bestie!” She beamed. 

“Like you need any more street cred, but thanks. Truth be told, I don’t know what to think of this whole, “Priestess” thing, I’m just hoping nothing will change too much…” Emati laughed loudly. 

“Nothing will change? Girl, you’re the fucking Priestess now! Everything’s gonna change! But trust me…” She threw her arm around Zelda’s shoulder, “You’ll be great. After all, you tamed the fucking desert! Not everyone can say that the desert’s their bitch!”

Zelda smiled, Emati was right. She could do this. Couldn’t she…?

“Zelda, we should get going.” Urbosa laid a hand on her shoulder. “Emati. I trust you’ll help look after things…?”

Emati immediately straightened out and saluted Urbosa. “Of course, Chief! You can count on me!”

Urbosa smiled. “Good.” She headed back to her sand seal and flicked the reins, sending a cloud of sand up into the air as she sped off.

“Bye, Em. I’ll see you soon!” She gave Emati a quick hug, then climbed on her shield and flicked the reins.

“Bye, Zelda!! You better be the best fucking Priestess this age has ever seeeeeeeen!” She shouted, her voice fading as Zelda sped farther and farther away from Gerudo Town.

It was still early morning by the time Zelda and Urbosa made it to the edge of the Gerudo Desert (travell by sandseal took significantly less time than on foot), they then had to continue walking on the path through Gerudo Canyon on foot, as the sand seals couldn’t travel without sand.

The path through Gerudo Canyon was rocky and uneven, even the smallest kick of a pebble would send echoes flying around the canyon. Urbosa and Zelda didn’t talk much around here, though there hadn’t been a major avalanche in the last few years, it was always a possibility.

They finally reached the end of Gerudo Pass late that evening, and encountered a small stable on the DiggDogg Suspension bridge (it was a series of bridges over small rock formations across a great lake) where they spent the night. Bright and early next morning they rented some horses from the stable and set out at a comfortable trotting pace. After breaking midmorning to rest and water the horses, and again for an en route lunch, Zelda and Urbosa finally reached the small, but bustling, town at the base of Hyrule Castle: Castle Town.

Zelda and Urbosa dismounted their horses and led them through the town, careful to avoid the many people walking around and shopping at the various market stalls. The main courtyard of the town was cobblestone, with short buildings lining the various streets. Signs signalling clothing stores, apothecaries, bakeries, and various other shops swung softly in the light breeze. The weather was surprisingly cool for late summer, even the sun shining down without a cloud in the sky didn’t cause anyone to sweat. 

Zelda couldn’t help but notice how differently the people dressed and looked here, the men wore simple work trousers and tunics, whereas the women dressed modestly, with either comfortable looking pants or long skirts with matching blouses. There also seemed to be an overall lack of color and diversity here, unlike Gerudo Town where browns and other neutral colors were a rarity, the only bright colors were worn by the members of the Royal Guard. They were dressed in blue berets, pristine white boots and trousers, and a beautiful royal blue tunic with red accents.

Zelda felt this air stifling, the smells unpleasant and industrialized (though there really wasn’t much industry to speak of here), the people boring and annoying (not to mention the stares they received walking through the center of town were unbearable), and the overall town to be drab. She longed to return home to Gerudo Town. This wasn’t her first time in Castle Town, for she lived here with her parents for the first five years of her life, but their murders tainted this place, everything here brought back the cruel memories of their deaths, the way the crowd cheered it on, the way they looked, the way… the way their bodies swung silently after their necks had snapped.

Zelda tightened her grip on the reins of her horse.

I can’t wait to leave this fucking place… She decided to keep her head down; the sight of these people in this horrible place were starting to make her sick.

I just have to get through these first couple of days… then I’ll be able to leave and go back to Gerudo Town, where I’ll finally be able to become a Vai Vure… then I’ll never have to come here again…

“Extra! Extra! Read all about it! All about the Royal Family of Hyrule! Scandals, secrets, and more!” A young Hylian boy was shouting at the crowd. He was standing on a small soapbox, a pile of unsold newspapers laid beside it. His face was smudged with either mud or ink, and his clothes were covered in patches and holes. Zelda stopped in her tracks and pulled a coin out of her pouch. She felt sorry for him, after all, he was only a child, trying to make ends meet. He didn’t do anything to Zelda personally, and it wasn’t his fault that the Royal Family were a bunch of good-for-nothing selfish bastards who lied and framed and murdered and slaughtered innocent people.

She offered him the coin.

The boy's face brightened. “Thank you, Miss! Enjoy!” He eagerly snatched the coin and handed her the newspaper. Zelda didn’t reply, but instead stuffed the paper in her pack and continued walking. There was no time for reading it now, for they were nearly at the gates to the castle. 

The sight of the castle did nothing to ease Zelda’s discomfort at being here. Maybe it was the way the dark stone seemed to suck all the light from the day, making it appear like a stain of black on the lush blue horizon. Maybe it was the way the three stone spires on each side rose higher and higher, all competing to reach the very top tower that stood taller above the rest. It boasted its height and girth to the other less, smaller spires, as if wanting to remind them that there could only be one at the top, there was no room for anyone else. Or maybe it was the way the tops of each of the spires rose up to a needle-like point, and seemed to pierce the sky, intruding on the never-ending blue. Maybe it was the sculptures of the Hyrule Royal Family Crest, two eagle’s wings stretched out, with a triangle sitting on top, and an arrowhead with two eagle’s talons protruding underneath the wings. Maybe it was the dark-iron gate with razor-sharp tips at the top that kept the life of the town out. Maybe it was the way the guards standing at the gate appeared sullen and unfeeling, no life left in their eyes, only a sense of emptiness. An emptiness that could easily be manipulated into a kindness or a cruelty, a gain or loss, all depending on the one doing the talking.

They barely acknowledged Urbosa and Zelda when they approached them, instead simply staring ahead at nothing in particular. 

“Ahem.” Urbosa cleared her throat impatiently. “I believe the Queen should be expecting us. Would you mind showing us in?” Urbosa’s tone sounded neutral enough, but the subtle clench of her jaw told Zelda that she was pissed at the lack of hospitality for the Chief of Gerudo Town. 

Silence. The guard she was addressing barely glanced at them before returning to his stare. Whatever he was looking at must be hella interesting if he’d rather look at that than Urbosa… Zelda thought bitterly.

“Hey! I’m talking to you!” Urbosa snapped her fingers in front of the guards faces.

BOOM !

A small bolt of lightning struck in between the two guards, charring the ground black and sending a shockwave of power at them.

At this the guards finally awoke from whatever trance they were in. Life flickered within their dead eyes, they blinked stupidly and looked wildly around them, as if they’d been asleep the whole time and were just now waking up.

“Wha…? What happened…?” His eyes finally focused on Urbosa. “Oh, m-my apologies, Miss! I–”

“Welcome, honored guests! Allow me to open the gates!” A middle-aged Hylian male called from one of the two watch towers overlooking the gate. He was dressed in a white button-down shirt with a sleek black suit jacket with coattails that flowed behind him as he hurried down some stairs. A few moments later the gate creaked and groaned as it lifted up.

He stepped through and quickly approached. “My apologies for the delay, I hadn’t realized you would be arriving in such a small company.” He lifted a white-gloved hand and bowed to the two. A hair from his gelled back black hair came undone as he did so. “I am Mandrake, the head butler of the Royal Family. Allow me to show you inside at once!” He rose and smiled widely at them, revealing a row of pearly white teeth. Zelda noticed they were slightly pointed at the ends. But that wasn’t the only strange thing about his smile, it didn’t quite reach his liquidy amber eyes. Unlike the guards, he seemed fully aware.

Zelda and Urbosa started to follow him through the gate, shouldering their packs once more.

“Oh don’t worry about your possessions, Lila and Lucy will take care of those.”

Who’s Lila and Lu– Suddenly two maids stepped out from behind him and before they could react (or protest) took the bags off of Zelda and Urbosa’s shoulders, they shared the same empty look in their eyes as the guards outside did.

“Luke and Lucious will take care of your horses.” Zelda felt someone grab the reins from behind her. She whirled around to find two young stable hands already leading the horses down the courtyard of the castle.

“ How did they…?” “Do that” was what Zelda meant to say, but the words were lost in her throat as Mandrake started walking down the cobblestone path towards the front doors of the castle.

“No time to dilly, I'm afraid, Her Highness was expecting you over an hour ago.” 

Zelda turned to Urbosa and frowned. Was she going to let him talk to her that way? Who was this guy to tell the Chief of Gerudo that she was late??

But… Urbosa didn’t meet her gaze. She merely followed Mandrake in silence, the only sounds were the clicking of her heels on the stone.

What’s up with her…? Zelda hurried to catch up with them. Now that she thought about it, Urbosa was acting a little… off. She hadn’t brought any of the Vs for one thing, something she always did when travelling due to foreign relations. But she didn’t. Why was that…?

“Alright, we’re here.” Mandrake stopped in front of the front doors. And without giving them anytime to prepare, he swung them open and stepped aside, allowing them to pass through.

“Your Majesty, Chief Urbosa and her ward Zelda, have arrived.” 

Zelda almost gasped at the majesty of the room they were in. Though it killed her to think like this, even she couldn’t deny the scale of this room. They stood on lush red carpet, bathed in the golden light of a brilliant crystal chandelier hanging up above from the toweringly high ceilings. Zelda had to crane her neck to see the ceiling. Straight ahead was a balcony with a grand double stone staircase leading up to it. And from the balcony stood one of the most terrifyingly beautiful women that Zelda had ever seen in her life. 

“Welcome to Hyrule Castle. Please,” She gestured around the castle, “make yourselves at home.” She smiled warmly. Her royal blue gown spread out behind her as she walked further out onto the balcony. One of the sapphires resting on her magnificently huge necklace caught the light from the chandelier, lighting the room with translucent blue light. Zelda felt her guard immediately rise as her eyes landed on the crown resting atop her shiny blonde hair.

Right, she’s one of the Royal Bastards… She scolded herself for allowing herself to get lost in the scheme of things. I can’t let myself forget that again… 

“Allow me to introduce you to my daughter and,” She briefly hesitated, “My son. Aryll, Link, won’t you come out here and greet our guests?”

Zelda’s nails dug into her palms, and she felt her eyebrows and mouth form a frown at the Queen’s words. Her blood started to boil, and she felt her face start to heat up. That name… how could she have forgotten… the whole reason she despised this place and everything it stood for.

Link.

Chapter Text

“Aryll, Link, won’t you come out here and greet our guests?”” Hera was once again using her Mother Teresa voice. Link sighed, he really didn’t want to go out and greet whatever stuffy-ass royal official was out there.

I guess I don’t have much of a choice though… He reached his hand up to the thick red curtain that separated this hallway from the balcony into the Grand Entrance Hall. He caught sight of his royal blue shirt cuff. 

“Here, wear this to greet the guests this afternoon.” Hera had presented him with a royal blue velvet jacket that was loosely tied together with a dark brown belt. She also handed him a clean white undershirt and white trousers. 

“ Don’t spill gods-know-what on these, they cost me a fortune to have tailored.” Link must have looked confused, because the next thing she said was, “I wouldn’t have spent this money at all if I wasn’t sure you would have made an utter fool out of me if I left dressing yourself to you. Now, leave me.” She had shooed him away, like he was nothing more than a fly to be dealt with. “And if you embarrass me, I trust you know what will happen.” Link had bowed in thanks and hurried out of the room before she could have said anything else.

Link very well did know what would happen if he screwed this up, she’d surely have him locked in his room for gods-know how long. Or maybe lock him out of his room all together. Either of those he would prefer to what she did to him when she was really angry though… she’d–

“Link, you there?” Aryll pulled at his other cuff. Link was immediately startled out of his trance.

Crap! How long was I spacing out? He flashed his sister an embarrassed smile and scratched the back of his head.

Aryll chuckled softly. “Don’t worry, it wasn’t long. Are you alright though?” Her blue eyes widened with concern.

Link smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

Yep! Just fine!

“Then what are you waiting for? Pull the curtains back already!” Aryll whispered. 

Link nodded and once again prepared to pull it back, but… he hesitated. Too afraid of the possibilities. What if he messed up? What if he did the wrong thing…? Or said the wrong thing? Not that he could say anything, but still. What if that bothered the officials, what if he offended them, or embarrassed Hera, or–

“Come on , brother! Let’s go! Mother will kill you if you make us late!” She giggled as she took his hand and flung the curtains aside, immediately charging (as fast as her crutch would allow her) through without a care in the world.

Link tried to smile back at her, and he knew she didn’t mean what she was saying literally, but… she didn’t know just how close to the truth she was.

“There you are my dears!” Hera smiled brightly at them. Aryll dropped Link’s hand and scampered over to her mother’s side, leaving him rooted in place, just beyond the balcony’s entrance.

Hera laid a loving hand on Aryll’s shoulder, then she turned her icy-blue eyes over to Link.

Don’t stand there like the worthless fool you are! At least pretend you’re not an incompetent, bastard child! Get over here before you embarrass me!

That was what she told Link. With just that one look. He felt his palms grow cold and clammy, but he managed to dislodge his disobedient limbs and walk over to Hera’s right side. Close enough to not raise any kind of suspicion, but not far enough away for comfort. Link could smell the spearmint perfume she doused herself in. It was strong, burning Link’s eyes and nose, he fought back the urge to sneeze. No doubt she wore this much to mask the scent of her rotten soul. 

Link visibly flinched when he felt Hera lay a cold, dead hand on his shoulder.

Shit! Hope no one noticed that… I have to give her props though, it must have taken so much effort for her to touch me and not act grossed out. She certainly has a talent for keeping up appearances…

 “Now, let me introduce you to my children. Princess Aryll and Prince Link.”

Aryll grabbed the hems of her royal blue gown and curtsied deeply. “A pleasure to meet you both.” Hera smiled approvingly at her. 

Link then felt her dig her fingernails into his shoulder, telling him to greet them. He bowed deeply to the two, but said nothing. He could feel Hera frowning in disapproval at him, but what could he do about it? It’s not like signing to them would help any…

When he rose he finally laid eyes on the two visitors for the first time. The first was an extremely tall, extremely beautiful Gerudo woman. She bore the look of a chieftess, that was for sure. Everything about her exuded power, from the way she stood, the way she watched him, everything. His eyes shifted to the girl next to her.

What the? A Hylian…? That’s strange… why is the ward of the Chief of the Gerudo a Hylian?

The girl glared at him when she met his eyes. Link quickly looked away.

Whoah! Why the heck is she staring at me like that? How can she already hate me when I haven’t even done anything yet? Link took a deep breath to calm his anxious thoughts.

Calm down, she probably doesn’t hate me personally, maybe she’s just really tired…? Yeah, that has to be it… 

Once he gathered up the courage to look at her again, he found (much to his relief) that she wasn’t looking at him anymore. Her emerald green eyes were darting around the room, taking in every detail. Link took this opportunity to study this Hylian, although she appeared as if she embraced the Gerudo lifestyle more than the Hylian one. She was dressed in Gerudo-style pants and a green blouse, and even styled her golden hair similarly. A bejeweled shield and a Zuliqar style sword, a thick sword with that divided into two points and curved inwards slightly at the end, hung on her back. 

Wow, that sword is beautiful! I can’t believe that she wields something like it… if only I could get a closer look at it…

Link wasn’t much of a reader, but he did enjoy studying the different weapons, combat techniques, and fighting styles of other cultures. Link began to wonder how this girl’s–he must have zoned out when Hera introduced them–fighting skills compared to his own. By the looks of her, she would at the very least give him a run for his money, if she didn’t mop the floor with him. 

“Mandrake!” was the word that forced Link to once again pay attention to the conversation. “Will you show our guests to their rooms? I’m sure you both must be exhausted from your journey. Please rest up, and Mandrake will collect you for dinner at 7:00.”

“Thank you, Queen Hera, for your hospitality.” Link watched as Mandrake led them to the doors underneath the balcony they were standing on. Though he didn’t venture much into the main hall and the West Wing of the castle, Link knew the bedrooms that they would be taken to were located on the second floor in the West Wing, and based on their rank they’d probably be given the nicest one: the one with the view and balcony overlooking the castle’s private garden and courtyard in the back.

“Alright, now that that’s over, I have some things to attend to before dinner. Aryll, dear,” She smiled down at her daughter, the apple of her eye, “You did wonderfully. Link,” She frowned slightly at the bane of her existence, “I expect you’ll be on time tonight?” She raised a thin, perfectly groomed eyebrow at him. He nodded back at her.

With an eye roll that only he could see, she replied. “Good. Now, I’m sure you have things to attend to?” He nodded again.

“Good. I’ll see you both tonight then.” And with that, Hera glided back through the balcony door, taking the oppression and the stifling air in the room with her, but leaving behind a trail of sickly spicy perfume.

Ah-CHOO! 

Link sneezed. He hated the smell of spearmint.

“So…” Aryll started mischievously. “Wanna go horseback riding? Or raid the kitchen? Or bug Mrs. Greyson to tell us the story of the princess who fell in love with her knight?” She gazed hopefully up at him. Link almost laughed at the last one. Aryll was the only one who enjoyed hearing that story from their teacher, who gave them private lessons. Although she was really only Aryll’s tutor nowadays.

He shook his head. No, I can’t. Sorry. 

“Whaa?! Why not! You don’t actually have stuff to do, do you?” Aryll pouted.

Link thought back to what Hera told him. What she really meant when she asked him if he had things to attend to was that she didn’t want him to show his face around the castle while the guests were here. Not until dinner at least.

Yeah, I do. He signed to her. She frowned.

“What sort of things…?”

Boring things. Things that wouldn’t interest you. You know, typical prince stuff.

Aryll smirked. “Liar. You’re so going to write to Mipha, aren’t you?” She teased.

Link felt his cheeks start to heat up. No, I’m not! I just have some documents to look over and official letters to reply to! He quickly tried to defend himself. He did actually have stuff to do, despite Ayrll’s accusations and Hera’s commands. Like laundry. Lots, and lots of laundry.

“Yeah, right! I don’t believe you!” Aryll giggled.

I’m not lying! I really have other things to do! That are not answering her letter! Link forced his fingers to move faster.

“Sureeee, well, seeing as you are definitely, super busy, I guess I’ll go bother Mrs. Greyson myself then!” She laughed as she too disappeared behind the curtains.

Uhh, what a pain in the ass! Well, I suppose I better get started on my laundry, before Hera catches me “skulking” around the palace unsupervised. With a sigh, he pushed his way into the hallway and made his way back to his room.

~

Kill me… Link groaned at the piles, and piles, and piles of clothes littered all over his floor. How’d I let it get this bad? Again?! 

Link grabbed his nearby laundry basket, which, ironically, was the only place that didn’t have any clothes. 

Looks like I’m going to have to make multiple trips… he thought as he compared the size of his small wicker basket to the amount of clothes on the floor. He stooped down and began grabbing clothes by the armfuls and throwing them in the basket. On his way across the room, he passed by his mirror and caught sight of his reflection.

Shit! I can’t wear this to do laundry! I’ll be in deep shit if I stain this! 

Link stripped and threw on the nearest shirt and pair of pants that didn’t smell like ass. It ended up being a ragged brown old long-sleeved shirt and some darker brown pants. He decided to change out his shiny black boots with some old work boots to match. Even he knew those things wouldn’t look good with his current outfit. Then he looked himself over in the mirror as he tied his dirty blonde hair into a messy bun on top of his head. That way it wouldn’t get in his way while he was doing laundry.

If anyone important saw me in this, they’d have an aneurysm! He chuckled to himself. Even he couldn’t pull this one off. Link was widely regarded as “unfortunately handsome” or “a waste of a pretty face” by most of the kingdom’s populace. With his wild and unruly dirty blonde hair, his deep, ocean blue eyes, long dark lashes, thick blonde eyebrows, steep nose and smooth jawline, and his pointed ears that were pierced with two rusty-blue hoops. He was a little shorter than he would have liked, standing tall at a grand total of 5’2”, but he couldn’t complain. This was just the hand he was dealt with in the physique department.

Once Link gathered as much clothes as his laundry basket would hold, he set off out of his room, down the many (many) flights of stairs that led down to the main hallways from his tower in the East Wing, down the main hallway, down some more stairs, and finally, he reached the laundry room. This room was on the ground level of the castle just within the West Wing. 

Upon entering, he was immediately greeted with a blast of heat to the face. The laundry room was quite big, spanning about the length of 3 of his bedrooms. Along each wall were many iron basins filled with just-below boiling water, where young women and a few young men were scrubbing clothes on washboards. Link wrinkled his nose at the smell of ammonia and other cleaning chemicals and tried not to sneeze as it burned slightly.

He lugged his clothes to an unoccupied basin and dumped them in. After making two more trips up to his room and back, he finally gathered up all his clothes and began scrubbing them.

Now you’d think that the prince being in the laundry room doing his own laundry would cause quite a fuss amongst the serving staff, but very few of them even questioned it, as this was pretty standard. Link knew that Hera ordered them not to do his laundry because “it would waste their time,” when they spent so much of it washing her own clothes.

After a few minutes of scrubbing, he heard two laundry girls speaking in low voices two basins over from him. He strained his ears to pick up their conversations.

“Did you hear about the guests?” A young girl with orange hair asked one with a black pixie cut. The pixie cut shook her head.

“I heard that she…” Link couldn’t make it out because Orange whispered in Pixie Cut’s ear.

Pixie Cut gasped. “No! Really?” 

“Shhh! Lucile! Not so loud!”

“Oops, sorry!”

“Anyway, I think she–” The two abruptly stopped when they saw Link approaching. He’d decided that this was far more important than the laundry he was doing at the moment. They watched him curiously as he pulled out the green, leather-bound pocket notebook from his pocket (one that Aryll gave to him for his 16th birthday) and began to write in it.

Could you tell me what you were talking about? He held up the notebook towards them.

The two girls blushed deeply and bowed their heads. “We’re so sorry, Your Grace! We shouldn’t have been talking instead of working!”

Link waved his hands at them, trying to signal to them not to worry about it. 

I’m also curious about the guests here. He wrote and showed them. The girls looked relieved.

“Oh, is that all it is?” Orange chuckled. “Well, I was just telling Lucile that I heard that one of the guests here today is the Priestess from The Ancient Time.”

Right! I completely forgot that the Priestess was coming today! Wait… he thought back to the girl who arrived today. She’s the Priestess! No way… she does not seem like the holy-type…

Link shook his head at those thoughts and wrote another note.

Can you tell me anything else about her?

The orange one’s face brightened up. Clearly she loved the thrill of rumors and gossip.

“I heard that she’s stunningly beautiful! I mean, I haven’t seen her yet, but I talked to Emory, who talked to Meela, who talked to Lily, who saw her while Mandrake was showing her to her room. She’s got hair the color of gold and eyes the color of emeralds!” Well, that part of her story checked out, so this information was at least somewhat reliable.

“Tell him what you told me, Maxine.” The pixie cut (Lucile apparently) nudged her.

“I was just getting to that!” She glared at her friend. “Anyway, I also heard that she’s a Hylian, and that she used to live here a long time ago, but then she suddenly left for some reason.”

That’s odd…

Why did she leave?

Maxine shrugged in a “what makes you think I’d know” kinda way. “Hells if I know! Maybe she just wanted a change of scenery?” She picked up her basket of linens, preparing to take them to dry. “Is there anything else, Your Grace?” 

Link would have liked to press her for more information, but he felt guilty taking up this much of their time already.

He held up one of his fingers.

What’s her name?

Maxine smiled broadly. “Now that’s something I do know! I remember it clearly because it’s such a foreign-sounding name! Now…” She tapped a finger on her chin. “What was her name Lucile?”

Lucile rolled her eyes. “It was Zelda.”

“Right! It was! That’s such a pretty name don’t you…” Link wasn’t listening anymore. Something about that name seemed so familiar somehow, but he couldn’t quite place it. No one in the castle had that name, he knew for sure, but where had he heard it before…?

DING DING! The clock rang at two o'clock.

Shit! I gotta finish washing my clothes! Link hurriedly scrubbed the rest of his garments, threw them in a basket, and hung them out to dry on a clothesline outside.

Alright, now that that’s finally done, I think I’m going to see what else I can find about this Zelda girl…

Link made his way through the various halls, passing by many maids and butlers and various other staff members, all bustling in preparation for the dinner that evening or attending to the guests. Not many of them gave him a second glance as he passed by them, but he was used to that kind of treatment from most of the staff. He was well aware of his reputation of
“A lazy, useless prince who couldn’t give a damn about the populace of Hyrule” and so plenty of the staff, unless they were new or had taken the time to get to know him, either ignored him completely or treated him with silent disdain. He was still the Prince of Hyrule though, so they’d never say or do anything to his face. Little did the staff and the general population know that he literally couldn’t do anything for them even if he wanted to. He wasn’t allowed to leave the castle, so visiting the commoners wasn’t allowed, and denying the rumors spread about him were literally and figuratively impossible due to his inability to speak. 

As Link got closer to the East Wing (where the library was located, along with anything else that Hera considered “undesirable”) the passerbys he passed thinned out considerably, until he passed by no one at all. 

The carved wooden doors to the library were ancient, but still beautiful. The artist who carved the design–an openbook split between both sides of the door with words flying out of the text–was lost to time, but their work still remained. As an artist himself, Link could appreciate all their hard work poured into the beauty of their creation. In fact, he’d much rather admire the artwork on the door than enter the library at all, for it was drafty, cold, and dusty. But he’d brave these dangers for a good enough reason, and finding out more about this “Priestess” was as good enough as any.

The ancient doors creaked on their hinges when he pulled them open, sending an echo throughout the vast chamber. The library itself was one of the largest rooms in the castle by far, with its high ceilings, two floors full of rows and rows of bookshelves, tables and chairs and cozy cushions for reading, as well as a state of the art cataloging system. But, for as vast as this room was, it wasn’t very well kept. Dust lined the wooden surfaces of the bookshelves and tables, the bright red carpet looked like it had seen better days. Link wasn’t surprised that Hera didn’t require the cleaning staff to take care of this room, for the only thing stopping her from remodeling it completely into a ballroom or something was the fact that it had been his father’s favorite room when he was alive.

Alright, now where should I start…? Maybe Hyrule’s Census of the last decade or so? If she did live here she should be listed…

With that goal in mind Link raced across the padded carpet (kicking up quite a bit of dust) and threw open the library’s catalogue book. Once he found the listed position of the census, (1st floor, 2nd bookshelf, top shelf) he climbed up the old, rickety rolling ladder and searched the shelf.

Census… census… Census! He hurriedly snatched the book from the shelf and almost fell off the ladder from the unexpected weight.

What the hell? Why’s this thing so heavy…? Who was the smart ass who came up with this bright idea to keep the heaviest book on the highest shelf… Link grumbled as he unsteadily stepped down the ladder. Twice he almost dropped the book, but he managed to catch it by almost dropping himself off the ladder. Needless to say, he was not enjoying himself.

Alright, now that it’s finally off the shelf, let’s hope it was worth it…

The census itself was a faded green leatherbound book, and looked to be about at least 30 years old, for there were holes and worn out spots on it, and the pages were yellowed and musty-smelling. The book itself was at least 6 inches thick.

Guess no one’s updated this thing in a while…

He opened it up.

You’ve gotta be kidding me… The handwriting was a spidery cursive, and yeah, it was handwritten. It was also very tiny and smashed together on the page. And to make matters worse, the names of the citizens were listed in alphabetical order. By last name.

Ughh! Why didn’t I ask the maids for her last name! This is going to take me forever !!

After about 30 minutes of searching, he finally found it.

Yes! Finally! He mentally celebrated.

Okay, let’s see here… Zelda Rulehy, sex: female–yeah, I didn’t need to be a detective to figure that one out–5 years old, birthday: February 21, year… wait! She’s only 17? That’s around my age… parents: Eme Rulehy and Cazon Rulehy. 

Those two names gave him pause. They gave him a much stronger sense of deja vu than her name did. He went on to look at the information listed for her parents.

Eme Rulehy: sex: female, spouse, Cazon, age, yada yada yada occupation: head of medicinal research for the Royal Family. Hold on…

He looked at what was listed under Cazon’s occupation: assistant head of medicinal research of the Royal Family.

Holy shit! Are these people who I think they are…?

He flipped to the next census that had been taken 10 years later, and just like he thought, their names weren’t listed. 

Okay, then they should be listed under the deceased…

He flipped to the back of the book, where all the deceased citizens of Castle Town were listed. Sure enough, he found one Eme and Cazon Rulehy listed there.

Okay okay, if these people are who I think they are, there should be a new article from the Lucky Clover Gazette somewhere around here…

Link hurriedly rushed back over to the library’s catalogue and found the location of the archives of all the newspapers. After rooting around amongst the various newspapers, he finally found the one he was looking for. This story had made the front page, in big, bolded, exclamatory words.

“King dead! Royal Researchers to blame!” And under it: “The Kingdom of Hyrule is reeling at the newest evidence that proved the assassination of King Daizeus was plotted and executed by none other than the head and assistant medicinal researches for the Royal Family: Eme and Cazon Rulehy. A notebook listing the type of poison used and their plans to place it in the king’s drink at the Gerudo Peace Feast was discovered in the office of Eme Rulehy by none other than–”

“Here we are! The Royal Library!” A voice echoed across the library. On impulse, Link slammed the census with the newspaper shut and looked up. 

Uh oh… I’d recognize that energetic shouting anywhere… he peeked around the nearest bookshelf, careful not to be spotted.

The person who interrupted his work was none other than Aryll, and the person holding her hand was the daughter of the people who assassinated his father: Zelda Rulehy

Shit shit shit! They can’t see me, not like this! He looked down at his raggedy work outfit. Yep, still as trashy as ever. 

Hera will actually kill me if she finds out The Priestess saw me wearing this! I gotta get out of here before that happens… plus, it’s probably not in my best interest to hangout with her, considering—

“Hey, is someone there?”

Shit shit! Time to go! Now!

Link tiptoed as quickly and as quietly towards the door, managing to slip through it while Aryll and Zelda were distracted with another shelf.

Phew, that was close… he sighed when he was out the door.

Oh shit! I left the article back there! Ughh… there’s no chance I can go back for it now…

With regret hanging heavily over his head, Link made his way back to his room, swearing to come back later and finish reading the article.

Chapter Text

“Z elda, you should really stop that and get some rest, it’s been a long few days…” Urbosa kindly advised Zelda, who was currently scurrying about the room, taking down every sign of the Royal Bastards’ crest. Paintings, sculptures, tapestries, you name it. Anything and everything was branded with the crest of those fools. Zelda didn’t want to be here in the first place, but if she had to, she could at least make it very clear that she was not okay with it.

“I’m fine. You go right ahead though.” Zelda said as she pulled yet another blue and red embroidered tapestry with the royal crest embossed in the middle with golden thread down from the wall and shoved it in the darkwood dresser.

“Fine, suit yourself. And I hope you know the only reason I’m not stopping you is because I’m too tired to care.” Urbosa yawned and disappeared into the bedroom, closing the white door behind her.

“Yeah, yeah.” Zelda mumbled to no one in particular. She looked around at the newly stripped-bare walls, “Looks better already.” She smiled in satisfaction. 

“Now… what to do…” She flung herself onto the turquoise colored couch and was surprised at the softness of the cushions. “I gotta admit, these Royal Bastards sure know how to decorate a room…” She said as she looked around the room.

Zelda and Urbosa had been shown to a room on the second floor of the West Wing of the Castle, and, according to Mandrake, were given the best of the bunch. This room in particular was furnished with turquoise plush carpet, a marble fireplace near the turquoise couches and chairs, a bathroom (with pristine laminate flooring and everything), two separate bedrooms, and a balcony looking over the courtyard and garden. 

“Ughhh, I’m so bored!” Zelda groaned. Normally, in her spare time, she’d read anything she could get her hands on, but she stupidly left all her books at home and the only books in here were all the Royal Bastard’s propaganda. Yeah, she wouldn’t be touching those. 

Zelda rolled onto her stomach and suddenly heard an odd crinkling noise.

“What the…?” She pulled out a crumpled up newspaper from her pouch. “Oh yeah! I remember this! I bought it from that Hylian kid in the town square.” Looking back, she had just bought it on impulse, not really caring what it was about.

The front cover read: “The Royal Family Exposed: All the Juicy Gossip, Scandals, and More!”

“Ugh, seriously? Of all the newspapers I had to buy, it had to be one about them ! Well… I guess I have nothing better to do…” With a sigh of resignation, she turned the page and read the article. Most of the stuff in there didn’t really interest her, Queen Hera spotted in the garden with a young swordsmen standing awfully close and whispering in each other’s ears, ooh! So sexy! An in depth interview about what it was like working for the royal family from a recently retired maid (Zelda skipped this section once she found out the maid had only good things to say about them), Princess Aryll’s favorite things to do in her freetime, and plenty of other junk like that. Overall, there really wasn’t anything that could be considered a “secret” or “scandalous”. That is until she turned to the last page: “Everything We Know About Prince Link: Hyrule Kingdom’s Recluse.”

“Recluse? Oh, this should be good!” Zelda smirked and kept reading.

“The public continues to be frustrated at Prince Link’s lack of public appearances. When asked, one Hylian had this to say, “I hate that stupid prince! Never comes out of that cushy castle, thinks he’s too good for us! Sitting up there, high and mighty, can’t be bothered to visit his own gods-damned people for once!” Another citizen added, “In my opinion, he sucks. Never did a damn thing for our kingdom, won’t even speak to us neither! When’s the last time anybody ever heard him speak to any commoner in public? Never, that’s when. If you ask me, he don’t belong here.” Even a young orphaned child said, “Fuck him! I hate his fucking attitude and the way he fucking acts! Princess Aryll and Queen Hera always visits us here in this fucking orphanage, but that fucker can’t even fucking be bothered!” We even got an interview with the former head butler of the castle, Miriam Bloke. “Useless, and lazy too. Never in my life have I met someone who did less for their kingdom. Always holed up in his room doing gods-know-what. And, you didn’t hear this from me, but I personally believe that Aryll should be crowned the Heir to Hyrule, not that lazy Prince.” We reached out to Prince Link for an interview, but were informed by the new head butler, Mandrake Musko that he couldn’t be bothered to speak with us. Said, and I quote “I don’t want to catch those filthy commoner’s germs.”
And there you have it, in short, this is all we know about Prince Link. He’s an awful good-for-nothing prince who can’t even be bothered to show his face to the public, let alone speak to him. Please, donate to this cause today, the “We Hate Prince Link” foundation where all proceeds go to publishing hate speech about him.

Zelda scoffed. “So they didn’t even bring up the fact that… that… ugh!” Zelda was too angry to even think about what he did. She was about to throw the newspaper down when she noticed at the very bottom of the page, in very small print (almost indecipherable, really), “Continued on page 10.” She turned the page, and sure enough, there it was, printed in the tiniest of font, but still. 

“And my editor tells me I have to include this, but according to our sources, there is in fact one singular good thing that Prince Link did for this kingdom. That was–”

“What the hell! Why would they call what he did good for the kingdom!?! And print it in tiny font!!” Zelda roared. She scrunched the newspaper between her hands and sprang off the couch.

“I’m going to find that kid and take my gold coin back! This is absolute trash!” Zelda rushed out the door, flung it open, and charged down the hall. “Ooh, when I get my hands on that little brat I’m gonna–”
“You’re gonna, what?” Zelda jumped at the sound of a small, sing-songy voice behind her. She turned and came face to face with Princess Aryll. She truly was like the paper said she was, like a ray of sunshine with her flaxen hair, bright blue eyes, fair skinned face. Her aura was a stark contrast to Queen Hera’s. Where Hera’s aura made Zelda feel nervous, cold and clammy, Aryll’s was warm, comforting almost, like her light could dispel all the darkness of your anxieties and fears. Her pleasant demeanor almost made Zelda forget her hatred of the Royal Family for a moment.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just wondering what you were going to do with the little brat when you found him?” She asked again, smiling sweetly up at Zelda.

Zelda felt her cheeks grow red, as she struggled to maintain a stoic expression (for this was the only proper way to speak with a member of the Royal Bastards) “Oh, uh, it doesn’t matter!” Her words tumbled out of her mouth. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, it wouldn’t do to act all flustered. “Anway, what are you doing outside my door? Is there something I can help you with?” Zelda’s eyes travelled down the Princess’s shorter, royal blue dress until something caught her eye. A crutch resting under her left arm.

Is she wounded…? Zelda thought. She scanned her left leg, and noticed that the ankle was twisted inward at an unnatural angle, but her face didn’t appear to be in any pain. Zelda felt a pang in her heart when she realized. No, she was born like that…

Aryll noticed Zelda staring at her crutch and quickly hid it behind her back.

“I’m not hurt, you know.” Her sunny smile turned downwards into a stormy frown. “Or defective. This is just the way I am, so stop pitying me.” Her face brightened up when she said, “As my big brother would say, ‘this is just the hand I was dealt in the game of life!’”

Zelda was taken aback. “Oh, I, uh… I wasn’t.” She bit her lip and looked away, caught red handed. She should have known better than that, I mean, she must have been treated differently her whole life. Who was Zelda to give Princess Aryll pity? 

“Yeah, sure. Whatever, it doesn’t matter, because I was just on my way to ask how you’re–” Zelda watched as Aryll’s ocean blue eyes flicked down to the crumpled up newspaper in her hands. “What’s that you’re reading?”

Crap! She can’t see this! It’ll look really bad if she finds out I was reading a gossip column about her family!

“Oh this?” Zelda held it up, carefully blocking the title with her fingers. “It’s nothing!” She tried to hide it behind her back, but Princess Aryll was too quick. In one fell swoop, she leapt forward and snatched it out of Zelda’s fingers before she could blink.

“It doesn’t look like nothing…” She giggled as she flipped through the pages.

“Oh no, I just bought it from a poor boy selling them! I didn’t really think it was a…” She trailed off when she noticed that disappointed look on Princess Aryll’s face. 

“You really shouldn’t read this stuff you know.” Her voice was quiet, reflective. No, there was something behind her calm tone. It was… anger? 

“It’s all lies.” Princess Aryll gripped the newspaper so tightly in her hands that the edges were beginning to tear.

“Lies?” Zelda asked.

Princess Aryll nodded. “The stuff about Mother and I are mostly true, with a few things exaggerated here and there, but my brother Link…” Zelda felt herself stiffen at the name. She clenched her jaw, but managed to bite her tongue.

“What they say… it isn’t true. They say he’s useless, and lazy, and doesn't care about the people at all, just because he never leaves. But, you mustn’t believe it, Zelda!” She looked up, her eyes shining with unshed tears, her face pleading, “Please, don’t believe it Zelda! Don’t be like the rest of those bullies, don’t judge him before you get to know him. I don’t know why my brother never leaves the castle, but he must have a good reason for it! He’s kind, and he cares, so there’s no way what they say about him is true!” She threw the newspaper at her feet and hopped forward, trampling over it. “And they say that he thinks he’s better than everyone because he won’t speak to anyone of lower class, but that’s not true either!” She dropped her crutch and grabbed both of Zelda’s hands in her own. They felt so soft, so frail, but… so cold.

“He doesn’t talk to them because he doesn’t talk to anyone. He can’t !” The tears pooling up in her eyes flooded over, dripping down onto her rosy cheeks. “So please,” She squeezed them tighter, “Don’t hate him because of that stuff.”

“Don’t worry,” Zelda bent down, so she was face to face with the princess, “I won’t hate him because of that stuff,” She took a turquoise handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at Princess Aryll’s tears, “I…” hate him because of what he did to me . To my parents. She finished silently. For some reason, she felt an immediate kinship to this girl, the world had also been cruel to her, and she was also paying the price for society’s mistakes. Fate had not been kind to either of them. She decided right then and there that she liked this girl, and that she would keep her hatred of her brother a secret from her. After all, she had no hand in the affair. It wouldn’t be fair if she held the same contempt for her as she did for her brother.

Once Zelda was finished drying her tears, Princess Aryll smiled. “Thanks. Sorry, that was a bit too dramatic, even for me.” She chuckled. “I just,” She tucked a strand of yellow hair behind her pointed ear, “I just get so angry when someone talks about my brother that way. You see, he doesn’t have many friends because of how he is and everything that’s said about him, he doesn’t even have a girlfriend! I mean, what kind of loser doesn’t have a wife by 18 in this day and age!” Aryll huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Hey,” She looked at Zelda with a hopeful smile, “I don’t suppose you would like to be his girlfriend, would you?”

Zelda felt a wave of nausea crash over her. 

“I…” Nope. Never. I would choose a fate worse than death over having anything to do with that guy. Zelda mentally protested. But, of course she couldn’t say any of this to her new friend, so instead she answered with, “I can’t say I’m interested in any of that at the moment.” She practically choked out the words.

Aryll sighed pitifully. “I suppose that’s the answer I was expecting, but that doesn’t make it any less upsetting. Hey! I know! Why don’t you let me take you on a tour around the castle, as your way of making it up to me!” Without waiting for a reply, she excitedly grabbed Zelda’s wrist and started to pull her down the hallway. “I’ll show you my room, the kitchens, the stables, the Library, the–” 

The what??

Zelda stopped dead in her tracks, causing Aryll to fall forward.

“Did you say… library?” Aryll looked confused for a second, before her face widened into a big smile. “Yep! We can go there first if you want! It’s super big! And there’s a lot of fancy-schmancy old dusty books there!” 

Finally! Something to do here! Zelda mentally celebrated and let the young princess drag her down the hall.

***

     “This is it! The Royal Library!”

     All the breath left Zelda’s lungs when she stepped foot into the space.

     “There’s… there’s so many…” she barely managed to get the words past her awe.

     “Well, yeah!” Aryll raised an eyebrow and chuckled at Zelda. “What did you expect from a library ?” 

     It took Zelda a second to realize that Aryll was teasing her. “I, uh, I guess I was expecting something smaller. We don’t have any libraries this size in Gerudo Town…” Zelda smiled, embarrassed. “But this…” she stepped further in, “is beautiful.”

     “Really?” Aryll cocked her head. “It’s dusty, run down, drafty, and so boring! You think this is beautiful?”

     “Definitely.” Zelda nodded. And unable to contain her excitement any longer she dashed straight for the nearest shelf, she felt like her heart was going to burst. There was so much to look at, so many different kinds of books to browse. Romance, adventure, realism, nonfiction, fiction, textbooks, travel books, anything and everything was here amongst the shelves. 

She heard Princess Aryll’s uneven gait creep up behind her as she plucked a light novel from the fantasy shelf. It was titled “What a Pain.” 

“Hmm, a guy with fantastical powers trying to have a normal life while trying to avoid falling in love? Seems totally unrealistic…” Zelda mused. But, she didn’t put it back on the shelf. “I suppose that’s the draw of these sorts of books…” She mumbled, smiling to herself. 

“You can borrow that if you want.” 

Zelda turned to face her, gripping the book tightly in her hands. 

“Really?! Are you sure?” She lunged forward, scanning the princess’s face for any signs of trickery.

“Uh… yeah, if you want. Go ahead.” She took a step back. 

Zelda was helpless to stop the smile from blossoming across her face.

“Oh gods! Thank you thank you thank you! This means so much to me, Princess Aryll!!” She leapt forward and threw her arms around the princess, squeezing her tight. “How can I ever repay you?”

“It’s really not a big deal, no one uses this place anyway.” Princess Aryll said. “And Zelda,” Aryll tapped her back, “Could you let me go? I can’t breathe…” Aryll said painfully.

“Oh! Sorry! Of course!” Zelda immediately released her.

“That’s some grip you have there…” Aryll chuckled as she bent over, trying to catch her breath. “But anyway,” She sprang up with renewed energy. “If you really wanna thank me, call me Aryll! No one really calls me ‘Princess Aryll’ anyway.”

If the entire kingdom counts as “no one” then I guess that’s true… despite Aryll’s exaggeration, Zelda couldn’t help but laugh.

“Alright, Aryll it is.” That coaxed a broad smile from Ayrll’s lips, filling Zelda’s chest with a warm feeling.

“There you go! Now come on! Let’s finish the tour!” She grabbed Zelda’s hand and pulled her towards the entrance.

“Wait! I haven’t checked out the rest of the library yet!” Zelda protested. Trying desperately to remain rooted in place.

“Whaa?” Aryll pouted, but seeing Zelda’s pleading look, she sighed. “Finneee, you can look at one more section. Then we leave.”

“Deal!” Zelda pulled her hand from Ayrll’s and bounded over towards the section in the eastern corner of the library, where the large, beautifully bound books were located.

After perusing through the section for a while, Zelda spotted an old, dusty book lying open on a table nearby. 

“Was someone here recently…?” She thought aloud to herself.

Curious, she picked it up and checked the cover. “The Census of the Kingdom of Hyrule”. She flipped back to the open page, it was a list of names of people who had died in the kingdom. 

“What’s this…?” She picked up an old newspaper that was hiding underneath the book.

“King Dead! Royal Researchers to Blame!” was the title page, in big, bold, black letters.

Zelda felt her blood starting to boil. 

“What the hell…” She whispered. “Is this someone’s idea of a sick joke? Who would be reading this!!”

“Zeldaaa! Let’s goooooo!” Aryll called, snapping Zelda out of her trance.

“Coming!” She called back, not able to mask the tremor in her voice. She folded the newspaper up and stuck it between one of the pages in the novel she was borrowing.

“Question,” Zelda started once she caught up to Aryll at the front of the library, “Does anyone else use this place?”

Aryll furrowed her brows. “No… not really. Except for my brother, but he only goes in here to study combat or art and stuff.”

Zelda stiffened at the response. 

“I see…” She managed to get out through her clenched jaw.

“Why do you ask?” 

“Hey Aryll?” Zelda ignored the question. “Do you mind if we postpone the tour? I’m suddenly not feeling well, so I want to rest in my room before dinner.” Zelda tried her best to smile through the anger bubbling up inside her chest. She couldn’t believe it! That bastard had the nerve to research her parents’ deaths! As if he didn’t even remember?!

“Aww man! Really?” Aryll’s sunshine-y face fell. She sighed. “That really sucks, but I understand. I can show you around later when you’re feeling better. Do you want me to call the royal doctors–”
“No!” Zelda interrupted. She didn’t want anything to do with those people. 

Aryll blinked, stunned. “A-are you sure? It’s really no trouble–”

“I said no!” Zelda snapped. Then, seeing the hurt look on Aryll’s face, she took a deep breath to calm herself, “Sorry, that was rude. I think I’m just tired is all, I’m sure I’ll feel better after some sleep.”

Aryll nodded, her eyes still downcast. “Alright,” She looked up at Zelda, and said with a smile, “I hope you feel better!”

“Yeah, me too.” Zelda replied, “I’ll see you at dinner then?”

“Of course! You can count on it! Martha always pulls out all the stops when guests are over!” Aryll giggled. Then she walked Zelda out of the library, where they parted ways once they neared the hallway leading to her room.

“Sleep well!” Aryll called as she hopped along down a different hallway.

“Thanks, but I doubt I’ll be doing that.” Zelda whispered her reply. All at once she felt the anger from before surge into her. She rushed to the door and slammed it open, only to find Urbosa, standing over a backpack, shoving her things into it.

“Zelda!” She looked surprised to see her. “Where were you this whole time?” She rested her hands on her hips.

“What are you doing? Why are you packing?” This question seemed to irritate Urbosa, for she turned away and continued packing.

“That’s what you do before a journey. You pack.” She replied, her tone even.

“You know that’s not what I mean.” Zelda rolled her eyes. “ Why are you packing when we just got here? Are we actually leaving already??” Zelda felt a spark of hope form in her chest. She could leave! She didn’t have to suffer in this hellhole any longer! Zelda was elated! Joyful! The world seemed brighter, the colors more vibrant, nonexistent birds were singing “Hallelujah! Kumbaya!” The world was finally right again! It was–

“ I’m leaving. You’re staying here.” Urbosa replied calmly, as if what she was saying was nothing more than talk about the weather.

 “ What. ” Zelda felt that flicker of hope be doused with the cold, harsh reality. 

“You heard me.” Urbosa folded a skirt and stuffed it in the pack. Why she unpacked everything in the first place, was beyond Zelda’s understanding.

Zelda charged in the doorway, tossing her book onto the couch.

“Why are you leaving?? We were supposed to stay here a few days to-ge-ther! ” Zelda raised her voice, all the anger bubbling up inside flooding out through her mouth.

“That was the plan, but things changed. I just received word from Ebi that there are some problems back at Gerudo Town that I must attend to.” Urbosa stuffed another shirt in the backpack, refusing to look Zelda in the eyes.

“Fine then! I’m coming with you then!” Zelda sassed. This, got a reaction.

“No,” Urbosa turned, her pointed eyebrows forming a sharp glare. “You’re not. You are staying here, where you will be working with Queen Hera and Hyrule Kingdom as the Priestess of Hyrule.”

Zelda curled her lip in disgust. “As if! You can’t make me stay!” She sneered, balling her hands into fists.

“Zelda, calm down. If you just–” She reached out towards Zelda.

“No! I won’t calm down!” She slapped her hand away. “Not when you haven’t even told me what my fucking job is as a ‘Priestess!’”

Urbosa lowered her hand slowly, if she was bothered by Zelda’s treatment, she didn’t show it.

“Fine. I’ll tell you then.” Urbosa towered over Zelda, her face becoming shroud in the darkness of her glare. “Your job will be to remain here. You’ll become the new guard to Prince Link of Hyrule. As I’m sure you know, you have the power of the Priestess of the Ancient Time, and so it is now your duty to protect him, the heir to the kingdom, from the looming threat of Evil’s Rebirth.” 

“How long?” Zelda’s voice went quiet.

“Indefinitely.” 

No fucking way… 

“What the hell!” Zelda shouted. “You fucking liar! You said we’d only be staying a few days! And who are you to decide what I’m supposed to do here?? Who are you to tell me I have to guard that bastard!” She stepped close, yelling in Urbosa’s face. “When did you have time to figure this out! Huh?? We just got here!”

“This afternoon. I made all the arrangements with Queen Hera.” Urbosa, despite the menacing glare present on her face, still kept her tone even.

Zelda, on the other hand, was still spiraling out of control. “Oh yeah?! And why wasn’t I included in this decision! Why did you decide everything without so much as asking me about it!! Why did you–”

This however, finally seemed to get a reaction out of Urbosa. 

“Because!” She snapped. “I knew you would act like this!”

“Like what!”

“Like a child, Zelda! Like a spoiled brat! And children don’t get to decide these things. And because you are incapable of thinking about anyone else but yourself, I knew you would never agree to it if I was honest with you! That’s why I hid it from you! You will remain here, and I will be leaving tomorrow morning. And that is final.” She threw down the clothes she was packing and stormed into the bedroom.

“Urbosa, no! You can’t make me stay here! I’m going back with you! And I won’t become his personal guard!!” Zelda screamed after her, stopping Urbosa in her tracks.

“Zelda, enough!” She whirled around. “Enough whining! Enough with the temper tantrum! Don’t you see that Evil’s Rebirth will destroy everything? Our people will die! Hyrule’s people will die! You must do this, not just for your own people, but for the people of Hyrule!”

“I don’t give a damn about the people of Hyrule!” Zelda’s throat was beginning to hurt. She felt hot angry tears prickle in her eyes. “I never asked to be Priestess! This was forced upon me, and I will not be forced to work with the one person who’s the reason for my parents’ murders!”

“Zelda!” Urbosa stepped forward, her face pleading and angry. “Do you think I asked to be Chief? Do you think I asked to be responsible for the lives of thousands of our people? To be the one who must take on the burdens and bear all the blame when things go awry? No! This was thrust upon me, just for my being born, and it’s the same for you. We can’t choose the roles that fate assigns us, we can only choose how we play them.”

“But, what he—“

“Zelda, enough! You were a child when it happened, he was a child! You can’t blame him for that, do you honestly think he was the one that planted the notebook in your parents’ office?”

Those words rung throughout the room. For a brief moment that seemed to last an eternity, it was silent. Zelda felt her heart beating painfully in her chest. She bit her lip to try and stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. She finally said it. The reason Zelda loathed Link with her entire being. He was the one. It was because of him. It was his fault. He might not have planted the evidence in her parents’ office, but he might as well have. If he hadn’t found it, the necks of the ones most important to her wouldn’t have snapped. The eyes of the people who were her whole world wouldn’t have closed. The hearts so full of love for her wouldn’t have stopped beating. Her parents wouldn’t be dead.

Urbosa’s next words were softer. She closed the gap between them and laid a comforting hand on Zelda’s shoulder. “I’m not asking you to forgive him, but I am asking you to put aside your feelings for our people. It’s your duty, not only as the Priestess but as my daughter, the daughter of the Chieftess of the Gerudo.” And with that, she disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Zelda all alone.

Again.

Chapter Text

It’s gone? Link thought as he frantically searched underneath the census, the table, the chairs. He couldn’t find the newspaper article about Zelda’s parents’ conviction anywhere.

Seriously! Just when I was about to find out more about what happened too! Link slapped a hand over his face and groaned.

But who could I have taken it…? No one comes in here accept–

The memory of Aryll and Zelda bursting in flashed into his mind.

Right… they were here… one of them must have spotted this out and taken it…

He sighed, Guess I’ll just have to find another newspaper somewhere, considering that it was such a big event, there has to be some more around here…

Try as he might, Link couldn’t find a single mention of the event anywhere . He scoured through hundreds and hundreds of newspaper articles, but nothing came of it.

Why the hell don’t they mention it anywhere! This should have been the event of the century, so why was there only one newspaper written about it!

Suddenly Link heard the doors to the library creak open. 

Not again… he thought bitterly.

“--should be able to talk in private now.” 

Hera? What’s she doing here…? Link wondered as he crept to a nearby bookshelf. Sure enough, Hera was standing in the center of the room, her back was turned to Link towards another person. From his position, Link could make out a silver, metallic cane standing next to a pair of brown work boots. The figure was hunched over, with a dusty brown hood obscuring his face except for a long, silver beard.

Why is Hera talking to someone like him? Normally she wouldn’t be caught dead speaking to a peasant inside her castle…

“Good.” The figure spoke, his voice low and gravelly. 

“Shall we go over it once more?” Hera asked, her tone serious.

“Before that, there is something I want to confirm.” The figure hesitated before continuing. “You’re positively sure about him? You’re certain that he is practicing the dark arts?” 

Link felt his heart stop in his chest. Cold anxiety spread throughout his limbs. What did he just say…?

“Yes, I am certain. I witnessed such an event myself. And I found this.” Link watched as Hera pulled out a thick, black leatherbound book from the recesses of the plush royal blue coat she was wearing.

“I see. Perfect. Now as for the plan—”

THUMP!

One of the books that Link was leaning against crashed to the floor.

“It seems this conversation is no longer private.” The stranger mused.

“Who’s there! Come out by order of the queen!” Hera commanded, her tone harsh.

But Link was already out the door, fleeing down the hallway.

Shit, shit, shit shit shit! How did this happen? He looked back, to make sure no one was pursuing him. Empty. At least they didn’t see me, but how did she–

CRASH! 

Link collided with body before stumbling back and falling flat on his ass. Again.

Not again… He groaned and rubbed the sore spot where he hit the floor.

He looked up to try to apologise to the person he crashed into and felt his eyes widen and his jaw drop. For right in front of him, sprawled onto the ground in a similar state that he was, was none other than the Priestess of the Ancient Time herself: Zelda Rulehy.

“Ow, what the hell was that for…” Zelda groaned, rubbing her forehead.

All at once Link remembered his manners and quickly scrambled to his feet.

Damn it! I can’t believe I just bulldozed her over! How am I supposed to apologize!?!

He quickly extended his hand to her, hoping this was enough to communicate his feelings.

Zelda opened her eyes and stared at it. Her emerald green eyes flicked up to his face, then darkened as recognition set in. She then put both hands behind her head and sprung up to her feet, completely ignoring Link’s offer.

Embarrassed, he retreated his hand. Shoot! She’s mad ! How can I make this up to her? Link frantically searched his pockets for his notebook. I’ll just have to write out my apology! Yeah, that should work! 

Once he found his notebook he scrambled to write a message, but his fingers fumbled and it dropped, making a dull thump against the carpet. Link dove after it, cursing his sweaty hands for letting the pen and book slip through his trembling fingers. As soon as he finally got a firm grasp on it, he looked up, sensing an unpleasant aura above.

And… he was right. Zelda was towering above him, her face darkening under her thin blonde eyebrows. She had her arms crossed over her chest, and she was tapping one of her fingers impatiently against it, like she was waiting for an apology from him.

Oh shit shit shit shit! Waitta fuck up your first meeting with the Chieftess’s daughter, Link! I can’t–

He stopped his train of thought. He heard something. Something terrifying. Something akin to the library door creaking open and the dull sounds of footsteps padding against the carpet. Well, not akin to those sounds because they were those sounds.

Link felt his entire body tense up in an instant. Not even during his training sessions, when he would scale the stone walls of the castle above the raging moat, or when he’d practice swimming by plunging into the freezing cold river did his muscles tense quite like this.

No, this kind of muscle activation was reserved for one individual in particular.

Hera .

As he heard the footsteps turn the corner, something lurched inside of him, like the release of the arrow from the taut drawstring. Before he could process what he was doing, Link leapt up, grabbed Zelda, yanked her into a service closet and closed the door so only a sliver of light escaped into the small, dark closet.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing–” Zelda started to yell in protest, but Link quickly clamped her mouth shut. She started to struggle, clearly not happy about the arrangement, but his mind was too preoccupied with one thought in particular to notice the feel of her lips against his hand, or the way her warm breath was moistening his fingers, or the way her back was pressed against his chest in the tiny closet. Alright, maybe he was paying attention to them a little. But regardless of how tiny the room was or how tightly they were pressed together, or how hot the room was becoming, the cold shiver of dread still clung to Link tighter than all of it.

He felt his heart pick up the pace as the footsteps got closer to his hiding place, it was hammering in his chest. He began to feel lightheaded from how shallow his breathing had become. Now, one would think getting caught in his own home wasn’t that big of a deal, at least not one to make such a big ordeal over. But Link knew what would happen to him if Hera found him here, outside of his room, near where Hera just was and if she found him here she would definitely figure out it was him who was eavesdropping on her, after she explicitly told him to stay in his room. And if she caught him in the closet with the Priestess of the Ancient Time of all people? One who was supposed to be treated with reverence and respect? Link didn’t want to think about the things she might do if she found out.

But… What would she do to him if she found out?

He felt his free hand travel to his back. Would it be the flogging…? That was the one of most common punishments for him, usually if he was caught in the West Wing where he was forbidden from venturing into without a good reason, or was rude to a royal guest, or sometimes even if he was late to the royal dinner that was held every night.

He felt his hand travel down to his stomach. Would she lock him in his room again without food…? This was the punishment she’d use when she didn’t wanna see him at all. When his face was too much for even her to bear.

Of course, she herself would never administer the punishment. Her hands were too fair to be stained with his blood. No, the hands that would carry out those unsavory duties would most often belong to Mandrake, the head butler and her most trusted advisor.

He felt his hand travel up to his mouth. Or… would it be waterboarding? She had only used this on him once, when he was little. He had… Link shook his head to clear away those thoughts. She wasn’t going to catch him.

Suddenly he felt Zelda’s teeth bite down on his fingers.

“Ahh!” He cried out. He immediately removed his hand from her mouth and onto his, tasting fresh blood from the bite.

The footsteps froze. Link felt his heart stop.

“Is someone there?” Hera called with a suspicious tone.

Nononononono! She can’t find me here! Not like this! Not with her!! Link’s thoughts were whirling around like a hurricane in his head. He almost didn’t notice Zelda laying her hand on the knob and starting to twist it.

No! Don’t! You can’t! Link reached out and seized her wrist, yanking her back. Zelda spun around and faced him. Even in the dark he could tell what face she was making, and it wasn’t a nice one.

Link tried to tell her that doing that would not end well. With his eyes, with the subtle squeeze of her wrist with his trembling hand, with the shake of his head.

Zelda’s darkened emerald green eyes softened, if only slightly. Link didn’t know if she understood what he was trying to say, or if she was just too confused to do anything else. Either way he was grateful. Even more so when he heard Hera’s footsteps back away from the service closet door and continue down the hall.

Link let out the breath he was holding and felt all the tension in his muscles leave him in an instant. He released Zelda’s wrist and leaned back against the wall, sliding slowly to the floor.

That was a close one…

Zelda slammed open the door, letting in the sunlight, which blinded Link for a good 30 seconds.

Once his vision cleared, he laid eyes on Zelda, once again impatiently waiting for something. But this time, her expression was that of annoyance. Her lips were set in a thin line and an eyebrow was raised.

“Well?” She started.

Link blinked and titled his head stupidly.

Well… what? He wondered.

Zelda rolled her eyes. “Well, don’t you have anything to say for all of this?”

Link continued to blink stupidly at her. 

Say what? Then it dawned on him. He jumped to his feet, ripped the notebook and pen from his pocket, and scribbled out the sloppiest message he had ever written.

I’m so sorry.

Zelda huffed. “Oh wow! You’re sorry! For what exactly?” Zelda sneered, curling her lip up in disgust. “Let’s see, is it for crashing into me and giving me a nasty bruise on my elbow?” She pointed to a blue bruise forming on her left elbow. “Or maybe it’s for dragging me into a closet without my consent! Or maybe,” She began to raise her voice and threw her hands up, “it’s for almost suffocating me while practically shoving your nasty-tasting fingers down my throat!” She put her hands on her hips, waiting for him to speak.

Link turned the page and felt his cheeks turn red with shame as he scrawled out another message.

All of it.

He bowed to her. 

She leaned forward and peered at the message, still wearing that angry look on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it.

“Yeah, whatever. Just stay out of my way.” And with that she stepped aside started down the hall behind him. 

Well, that could have gone better… He thought as he watched her walk away. All the way to the end of the hall where she turned the corner, probably to head back to her room. Still, he didn’t take his eyes off where she had been, not until the thought of the reason he was in this whole mess popped back into his head.

You’re certain he is practicing the dark arts…?

Yes, I’m certain.

Damn! Shit! Fuck! I gotta go! Link started sprinting back to his room. Down the hall, up the winding staircase to the tower where he resided. He burst through the door and charged in. He practically dove under his bed and tore off the loose floorboard where he was hiding it.

But, the dark space was empty except for a few cobwebs and bug carcasses. it wasn’t there. The book wasn’t there. His biggest secret, one that would forever tarnish his reputation, one that would surely break the hearts of everyone he cared about. One that he could be executed for if found out, wasn’t there. 

So they really did find it… he felt his legs go numb as his heart and breath sank down into the empty space under the floorboard. 

What am I going to do…? He buried his head in his hands. Hera already knew what I was, but there was a chance, if she never found out, there was a chance she would have changed her mind about me… she would have been wrong, I could have shown her, proved to her she was wrong about me. I could have explained that what I’ve been doing doesn’t make me what she thinks I am! That I’m not a monster! That I’m not… that I’m not … Link didn’t let himself finish that thought. It wasn’t worth thinking. Entertaining such nonsense wouldn’t do him any good. The fact would remain unchanged, that Hera and whoever she was talking to had found out about him. That he was a practitioner of the dark arts. Dark magick, seen by the entire kingdom as the greatest evil known to any Hylian, Gerudo, Rito, Goron, or Zora alike.

Magick wasn’t something that just anyone could practice, it was well known amongst the legends that only those–

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! POUND! WHOOSH!

Suddenly Link’s door slammed open and Aryll burst in, red in the face and panting heavily.

“Link, guess… what… I… just… found out.” She let her crutch fall to the floor as she doubled over, trying to catch her breath.

Link hastily replaced the floorboard just before she looked back up at him.

I thought I told you to knock before bursting in here! What if I was naked? Do you want to be scarred for life?? He glared at her as he furiously signed to her, his anger masking his panic of being interrupted during his almost mental breakdown.

Aryll’s face fell and became slightly pale. 

“You make a good point, I didn’t think that far ahead…” She shook her head as if to clear away any unpleasant thoughts and continued, “But that doesn’t matter! As your little sister, it’s my duty to tell you what I found out from Mother this afternoon!”

Link sighed, figuring that no matter what he said about her bursting into his room without permission (for the umpteenth time), it would go in one ear and out the other, and she’d just do it again the next time.

He titled his head. What did you find out?

Aryll’s face broke out into a wide smile, showcasing her pearly white teeth. 

“Zelda is staying! Permanently! She’s not going back with Chief Urbosa tomorrow! Can you believe it??” She squealed. 

Link blinked. Then furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Why would she be staying here permanently? He signed.

“That’s the best part, Link! She’s going to become your personal guard!”

…

…

…

…

What.

Chapter Text

Zelda was back in her room, lying on the couch, letting the recently setting sun bathe her in a warm, golden haze. She was trying to concentrate on the book she borrowed from the royal library, but her thoughts kept wandering back to what happened in the closet… with him .

When she thought about it, the way her grabbed her, pulled her close to him, put his fingers on her lips, practically breathing in her ear, Zelda only felt one emotion:

Rage. 

She was so unbelievably mad, angry at his nerve, yanking her in there without her permission, almost suffocating her with his salty-tasting fingers, forcing her to be so close to him in such a tiny space! 

Before she sunk further into her spiral of rage, his ocean blue eyes flashed into her mind. The expression…

“It was dark,” She rested the book on her chest (giving up on reading completely for the time being) “so I could have been imagining it, but he seemed… afraid.” Zelda mused. She thought back to the way his hand trembled even though it was squeezing hers so tightly, or the way his heart was racing in his chest as she was pressed against him. The sound of his shallow breathing, or… the look in his eyes. Haunted, afraid, like a deer afraid of the hunter's sword, or the dog afraid of the master's hand.

“But, why was he so forceful when he shoved me into the closet?” She sat up suddenly, the book falling to the floor.

“I mean, I could understand wanting to avoid a lecture for crashing into me, but this goes beyond that. But why would he be afraid of his own mother?”

She thought back to when she first met Hera, the feelings she gave off, the words Zelda herself thought when she first laid eyes on her:

Terrifyingly beautiful.

But, that didn’t mean she was terrifying, maybe Link was just a coward…

“Yeah, a coward!” Zelda jumped up from the couch. “What kind of guy is afraid of his own mother! I mean,”  Zelda began to get angry. “At least he has one, the ungrateful bastard! Mine was taken from me! Stolen! And it was your fault!” She slammed into the wall, and immediately regretted it as sharp pain shot down her knuckles.

“Ow ow ow! Fuck!” She cradled her fist in her hand, cursing herself for forgetting the most basic fact in fighting; never punch with your knuckles, or the only blood spilled and bones broken will be your own.

“Zelda!” An angry voice shouted from the next room. “What do you think you’re doing?” Zelda spun around and found Urbosa standing in the doorway to the bedroom, hands on her hips, lips pursed, eyebrows looming menacingly over the darkened glare on her face.

“Uh, nothing.” Zelda quickly hid her hand behind her back.

Urbosa sighed, “Whatever, I don’t even care. Just put this on.” She tossed Zelda an article of clothing. Zelda caught it and held it up: it was a sky blue Gerudo-style skirt that would reach Zelda’s knees but the slit in the side would surely showcase her upper thigh. A row of little golden charms hung from the hems, jingling slightly as Zelda held it.

“Oh, and this too.” Something flew at Zelda and landed on her face. Zelda muffled a groan as she peeled off the matching breast piece, which was definitely more revealing then she was used to, it looked more like something Urbosa would wear rather than Zelda.

“What’s this for…” Zelda walked to the nearest mirror and held the outfit up to her.

“For tonight. We’re having dinner with the royal family. So put that on, and fix your hair. You look like you’ve been caught in a sandstorm.” Urbosa gestured at Zelda.

“What! No it doesn’t!” Zelda bent down near the mirror, examining her hair. But… she couldn’t deny that her pony was slumping down and hair was sticking out in all different directions. Must have been her “Fun time” in the closet with the bastard prince.

“Urbosa, I–” I want to talk about what happened. I don’t want to stay here without you, I don’t want you to leave me, I understand it’s my duty, but… 

This is what Zelda had wanted to say to her, but Urbosa had already disappeared into the bedroom behind a closed door.

Zelda sighed, “I wonder if she’s pissed about our fight.” She muttered, as she traipsed into the bathroom and began changing into the outfit Urbosa gave her. 

“But, it’s not like it was all my fault,” Zelda tried to convince herself as she brushed her hair and tied it back up into a high pony on her head. “She was the one that was being unreasonable, I mean, forcing me to stay here! Lying to me! Then up and leaving me here at a moment’s notice! I…” Zelda trailed off. “Uhhh, she’s right! I’m acting like a child, I’m the Priestess now, and whether I like or not, that means I’m stuck here. For now, I’ll stay, but,” She stared at her reflection in the mirror, wanting to make sure that the girl staring back at her understood the conditions of this arrangement, “I am not, under no circumstances, becoming buddy-buddy with the bastard prince. Got it?” The girl nodded. “Good, now that that’s over with, I better fix up my makeup.”

~

Remind me again why I agreed to stay here…? Zelda mentally asked herself as she stared at the reflection in the shiny silver plate in front of her. Urbosa, Queen Hera, Aryll, Prince Link and her were all dining on Beef Wellington and expensive looking wine (or juice in Aryll’s case) at the longest table Zelda had ever seen before in her entire life. 

I bet the entire Vai Vure could eat at this one table …

“Psst! Zelda! Isn’t this great! All of us eating dinner together like one big, happy family!” 

Aryll, who had practically begged Queen Hera to allow her to sit on Zelda’s right side, whispered eagerly into her ear. Zelda almost choked on her wine at the mention of the word “family”. As if she’d be anything more than enemies with the Royal Bastards.

Zelda was about to reply with a “haha, yeah right,” when Urbosa, seated across from Zelda with Prince Link on her right, cleared her throat and gestured to Queen Hera, who was seated at the head of the table, her presence looming over everyone as they dined.

“Ahem. So, Queen Hera, would you mind telling Zelda about some of the duties entailed in becoming the Priestess and Prince Link’s personal guard?”

Queen Hera’s nude pink lips turned up into a small smile.

“Why, of course! I’d be happy to!” Her gaze shifted to Zelda, and she couldn’t help a shiver travelling up her spine. Despite the warm smile she was trying to uphold, Zelda still felt all the warmth from her body vanish in an instant, leaving a dull cold behind. But the cold ache in her chest warmed with anger as Zelda remembered that Queen Hera had as much to do with her Parents’ deaths as the bastard prince did.

“First of all, I would like to formally apologize, I know this is all so sudden and I do wish, for your sake, things could move a bit slower, but,” She sighed, “I’m afraid fate has other plans. As I’m sure you know, the discovery of your powers extinguished any doubt in my mind that the Prophecy will come to pass within this lifetime. More than likely Evil’s Reincarnate has already been born and will come to pass soon, if it hasn’t already.” She paused, whether it was for dramatic effect or she just forgot what she was going to say next, Zelda wasn’t sure. But after a beat she continued. 

“In any case, I’m sure you know that Hyrule Castle is always hit hardest, which is why you have been assigned here, to protect the heir to Hyrule’s future, Prince Link.” She gestured to her son. He , however, didn’t raise his eyes from his plate, continuing to poke and prod at the barely-eaten meat.

What’s his problem…? Zelda wondered.

“Now, for this next week or so, Urbosa and I have decided that you will spend your time training and developing your skills as a Priestess. And while we don’t possess anyone on our staff able to teach you about your powers, since they are a once in 10 millenia occurrence, we do have quite an extensive collection of records and details about the prophecy and the Priestess’s sacred powers that should help you with your studies and training.”

Queen Hera continued to drone on and on about all the logistics, but all Zelda could focus on was, negating the fact that Queen Hera must love the sound of her own voice, the sweet warmth of relief at something real and tangible. Something she could work towards. A goal. Training, she could do it. Studying, she could do it. Working with the Bastard Prince… that would take some work. A lot of work. Work that Zelda would fight tooth and nail to avoid. So, like any responsible young adult would be, Zelda was happy to procrastinate the source of all her troubles, anxieties, and anger, if only for a week or so.

“...long week ahead of you, Zelda.” Those were the first words Zelda heard when she finally tuned back into the Queen’s lecture. “How about you turn in early?”

Before Zelda could even think about her answer the Queen continued, “Mandrake will collect your plate, and…” She glanced around at the table, “Link,” her gaze settled on him as he started up a little too quickly at the mention of his name. “He can walk you back to your room.”

WHAT! Zelda wanted to scream, but instead, she calmly replied. “Oh that’s really not necessary, I can find my own way back.” She tried to smile, but found her lips were rooted in place with a slight frown.

Queen Hera, however, was persistent, “Oh no, I insist. Besides, you can take the time to learn a bit more about each other, especially since you’ll become his personal guard in due time.” She smiled widely, but it didn't reach her cold, icy blue eyes.

Zelda looked over to Urbosa, hoping for some help. Urbosa gave Zelda a small smile and shrug as if to say, Just go with it .

Great… I guess I don’t have a choice then …

Zelda took a deep breath before pushing her chair back and rising. 

“Shall we?” She nodded to him. The chair screeched as he practically jumped out of his chair and hurried to the door, holding it open for Zelda.

Why didn’t the butler guy, Mandrake, open the door for him…? She glanced at the Butler, he was standing attentively along the wall closest to the Queen. He flashed Zelda a pointy smile when his amber eyes caught her looking at him. She quickly averted her gaze and hurried out the door.

The sun had completely gone under as the two walked down the hallway. Streams of blue moonlight tried to shine in through the windows, but were quickly swallowed up by the golden light of the chandeliers that hung every few paces.

I wonder if these people are afraid of the dark… Zelda thought. The light in the hallway almost mimicked the daylight hours. She was sure if someone had covered up all the windows, she wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between day and night in this place.

 After a minute or two of listening to the soft padding of their footsteps while walking behind the Bastard Prince, and once Zelda was sure the party in the dining room was out of earshot, she called up to him, “I can find my own way back. You don’t need to lead me there.” Like some stupid animal, she wanted to add, but managed to resist.

He froze in his tracks, then turned to face her. He furrowed his brows and titled his head, the golden lights casting shadows on his face, Zelda didn’t like how… angelic they made him look. Like he wasn’t just a bastard.

“Helloooo?” She scoffed. “I said you don’t need to lead me there like I’m some stupid, helpless dog! Go back and finish your dinner or something.” She waved back to the party.

Zelda watched as his eyes flicked from her face back towards the hallway, after thinking about it for a few moments, she saw his ocean blue eyes cloud over. He bit his lip and quickly shook his head before resuming his trek down the silent hallway.

Zelda stood there blinking stupidly.

“Heyy! Don’t just walk away!” She practically had to sprint to catch up to his fast pace.

After many failed attempts to get him to leave her alone, Zelda gave up and followed him in silence back to her room.

“Stupid bastard, won’t listen to a word I say,” She muttered under her breath when they finally reached the front door of her and Urbosa’s guest room. After she opened the door, she turned to the Bastard Prince, preparing to hurl one last insult or complaint at him, but he was already halfway down the long hallway.

“Tch. Bastard…” Zelda huffed and slammed the door shut.

***

“Alright, Zelda. Focus, deep breath in… and out.” Zelda closed her eyes and concentrated on drawing out the power within her body. She found that this part was always the hardest, trying to access her Holy Magick. Whenever she did this, she felt like she was searching the recesses of her mind for the spark of power that would ignite the flames she felt before, in the desert when she was almost swallowed up by the storm. Back then she’d heard a voice, a sort of guiding light that helped her, but now her mind was quiet. Zelda learned later that this “voice” she was hearing was actually the voice of the goddess Hylia, whose soul and power dwelled within Zelda now. Zelda was still her, she was sure, but whenever she accessed the Holy Magick she felt another presence awaken within her, like she was no longer just Zelda, but part of something bigger and beyond her understanding.

“Come on Zelda. You can do this, focus, clear your mind…” Zelda pushed all thoughts out of her mind. She thought of that feeling before, tried to picture it in her mind, summon the power sleeping within her. Then, she felt it. The spark. She focused harder on it, the spark grew warmer, brighter, she felt her body grow hotter. Yes! This was it! She just needed to focus harder, feed the flame, brighten the light…

Yes!

All of the sudden she felt the spark explode into a fire of power and energy. That familiar burning feeling returned along with the feeling of her whole body being alive and excited, it was like the blood in her body was warming up. The very soul inside her was humming with the energy surging within. Next, she concentrated on directing that power to the tips of her forefingers. The energy ran like liquid fire, she felt the heat travel down her left arm into her fingers, leaving the rest of her limbs chilly with its absence. She drew her fingers along the surface of her sword and felt the power leaving her body and embedding itself into her sword. The sluggish feeling that had become oh so familiar over these past few days returned as the power left her body, something that Zelda discovered happened after the magical energy left someone’s body. The more power you used, the more exhausted you became. This was something that could be strengthened overtime, but that took time and training. The thing that frustrated Zelda most was the fact that one couldn’t use more power than they were capable of. The power running through one’s veins was a lot like the oxygen expelled from the lungs, you can’t use it all at once, not unless you have a death wish.

“Alright, one more time. Deep breath in… and out… and go!” Zelda popped her eyes open and charged at the wooden dummy a few meters ahead of her. She jumped into the air and sliced a clean, diagonal cut from the dummy’s shoulder to left hip. Before her foot even touched the ground the upper half of the dummy slid off and fell on the grass in the training field behind the castle.

“YES! Zelda: 1, Dummy: 0!” Zelda celebrated. But, her moment of victory was interrupted by the sudden weakness in her body. Her sword slipped through her trembling fingers as she quickly kneeled to the ground.

“Fuck… not again.” She panted. This process of getting stronger was stupidly slow.

“I guess that’s enough for today, I’ll just study for the rest of the day.” Zelda slowly and unsteadily rose from the ground and dusted her knees. The sun was glowing a fiery orange, a swift breeze swept across the long grass of the meadow and almost masked the sound of Zelda’s growling stomach.

“Scratch that, maybe it’s time for dinner.” She sheathed her sword and started walking back toward the castle.

The days ever since those “incidents” with the Bastard Prince had gone by pretty smoothly. After Urbosa had left for Gerudo town that next morning, Zelda had focused on studying up on the Priestess’s powers and the Prophecy and all the ancient accounts of the recurrences. She found a handy little spell book written by one of the previous Priestesses, Esmeralda Lorien, that detailed all sorts of things one could do with these holy powers. Zelda’s favorite was imbuing her holy magick into her weapon of choice, the Zuliquar sword, which would strengthen its attacks significantly, as well as more easily vanquish monsters wielding the dark arts, such as the Gloom or Wizzrobes. She’d also learned quite a bit about the magick in this world through her studies of the various different histories and accounts of the time periods, dating back to the Ancient Time. Some of the things she’d learned were this:
The magickal energy itself was called aima, the Ancient Hylians, who were known to be extensions of the very goddesses themselves and could freely use this power, christened this power after the Ancient Hylian word for “blood”. Magick within the world today was incredibly rare, according to legends the Hylians started abusing this power so the goddesses stripped them of the power, declaring only the most worthy in the time most needed would such powers resurface. Now, individuals born with this ability only surfaced along with the cycle of Evil’s Rebirth. Though it wasn’t specifically mentioned in the prophecy, almost every 10,000 years, 5 individuals with the ability to wield aima would be born. These would include the Priestess, along with 4 other people, known as Champions. The Priestess and the Champions would always be from each of the 5 races existing in Hyrule, the Hylians, the Rito, the Gerudo, the Zora or the Gorons. This time around, the Priestess was a Hylian (Zelda), but in the different chronicles of the ages the Priestess has surfaced within each of the races before. The Hero with the Sword that Seals the Darkness (or the Master Sword for short), could also surface amongst any of the races and amongst any gender, but according to Queen Hera, the hero this time around was a Hylian like her. Not much was known about them, not their whereabouts, name, age, or even appearance. Queen Hera claimed that the carrier pigeon she sent out to each of the four leaders of the different races came back with no news of their location.

Zelda also learned that there were 7 total categories of aima: Aigos Magick (Holy), Anemos Magick (Wind/power of flight), Nero Magick (water/healing), Gi Magick (earth/shielding), Fotia Magick (Fire), Astrapi Magick (Lightning), Bronte Magick (Thunder). The Priestess was always born with Aigos Magick, and each of the 4 champions was born with the ability to wield one of the six remaining categories of aima. In today’s age, the Goron’s Champion was Deruk, who used Gi Magick, the Zora’s Champion was Mipha, who wielded Nero Magick, the Rito’s Champion was Revali, who used Anemos Magick, and the Gerudo’s Champion was Urbosa, who wielded Astrapi Magick. (Zelda recently learned, or maybe just never questioned why Urbosa was able to conjure lightning with a single snap).

The Priestess however, was different. The magickal energy running through her veins was known as an elevated form of aima, called pneuma, the Ancient Hylian Word for “spirit”. She was always and only able to use Agios Magick, and unlike the other champions, the very soul of the goddess Hylia lived inside her, allowing her to wield such power. 

The Hero was like the Priestess in this way, the spirit of the Hero of the Ancient Time lived in them as well, but the Hero was not able to wield any kind of aima. Instead, the Soul of the Hero was able to bind with the Mastersword, making the Hero the only one in existence able to wield the ancient sword. 

What was the most unsettling thing Zelda found within her studies of these chronicles, was how little was known about Evil’s Incarnate, the power he was able to use, or just any information in general. What Zelda did learn however, was that he was always a Gerudo male and always born with the ability to wield Nekros Magick, or more commonly known as Accursed Magick, or the Dark Arts. Evil’s Incarnate was not born with aima flowing through his veins, but something unholy, called miasma, literally translating to “defilement”. How it worked or what it could do weren’t mentioned anywhere. But what was even more unsettling than the lack of information, was the information she did find. Apparently, anyone can acquire miasma, as long as they know the correct way to do it. In fact, some people already have. The Yiga Clan is the most widely known, a clan that worships Evil’s Incarnate and dedicates their entire lives to nurture his revival and carry out his will. Zelda had always known that the Yiga were privy to using some evil magick (which was seen as an opposition to the goddesses themselves and therefore a practice shunned by society), but she hadn’t known that it was possible for the common man to get a hold of. She thought the Yiga were just some subhuman creatures that had bred with the monsters able to use miasma and wield Nekros Magick. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), the method to acquiring miasma wasn’t mentioned in any of the chronicles, but if the Yiga got a hold of the information, it must be somewhere. She shuddered at the thought of what would happen if people like the Royal Bastards got a hold of such power.

All of this information whirled around in Zelda’s mind as she lay in bed that night, along with the fact that Aryll’s birthday was tomorrow, and Zelda still hadn’t gotten her a present.

“I guess I’ll just have to head into Bastard Town tomorrow and pick something up for her…” she decided as she felt her eyelids growing heavy as the exhaustion of the day bore down on her.

“Hopefully… tomorrow… I won’t have to… talk with… him…” Zelda thought before drifting off into a peaceful sleep. 

Chapter Text

Why is it so hot in here…? Link pulled at his royal blue shirt collar with a white gloved hand. Queen Hera had gone all out for Aryll’s 13th birthday party; the ballroom was decorated with black dahlias and red spider lilies sitting in pots along every window, strung along the grand staircase that sat in the center of the room, and even hung from the enormous silver, crystal chandelier (that was about length and width of his bedroom) casting golden light onto the scene in front of him. Their black and red petals were scattered about the black polished tile floor where ballroom dancers swept them around with their extravagantly long dresses and shiny black shoes. Royal officials that were normally stationed all over Hyrule had attended, even a few representatives from the other races were there, Link spotted a few Zora, Rito, and even a few Gorons. The Gerudos were the only chieftain that weren’t present, if you disregarded Zelda.

“Care for an h'dourves?” A young maid held up a gleaming silver tray with miniature fancy looking crackers with fancy looking meat on top. Link politely declined, though he considered himself a glutton, his seemingly bottomless stomach was filled with knots, nervousness, and nausea wherever he was surrounded by a big crowd, or eating with Hera. But, this time it was the crowd of elegant party goers either mingling about the ballroom, or waltzing along to a harp and strings playing classical music on a stage in the corner.

Link caught sight of himself in one of the big windows he was standing by.

Ugh, I can’t believe Hera made me wear this! I look so stupid!

He was dressed in a royal blue button down coat with golden thread and golden stitched epaulets along with pristine white gloves, spotless white trousers, and sparkling black knee high boots. 

This kind of gaudy outfit does not flatter me whatsoever…

He stepped closer to the window and tugged a few strands of hair loose from his gelled back low ponytail. Link always thought his forehead looked far too large without his unruly bangs hanging lawlessly over it. 

There… that’s a little better. I don’t look as alien now. I can’t believe Hera thinks this is okay! Gelling back my signature wild bangs? I mean, I’m not known as “ruggedly handsome” for nothing… or wait? Was it “unfortunately handsome”...?

 Link had been standing by himself in the corner of the room near the giant windows, trying desperately to appear invisible and to avoid any attention for the past half an hour. But even in such a large room, he was finding it hard to stay out of people’s way. Shoulders and elbows, knees and toes, feathers and fins, and in multiple cases people’s asses kept brushing up against him in the crowded room.

Link had never been good around crowds, probably because Hera didn’t like showing him publicly, plus the fact that he was certain most of the people hated him here. His lack of ability to communicate with them didn’t help either.

“Wine?” A young serving man offered a tray of dark red wine, this time Link heartedly accepted.

Maybe a drink will help calm me down … 

Link guzzled it down in one gulp, not bothering to savor the flavor of the obviously expensive wine. He finally felt his nerves beginning to settle after he downed the second glass of wine; he was about to reach for a third when a hush fell over the room like a blanket, and Mandrake’s voice rang clearly throughout the ballroom.

“And may I present, Queen Hera!” A noble tune was played on two trumpets standing beside the grand doors with golden trim and the Hyrulian Family Crest plated into the middle. The crest split in half as the doors swung open; Queen Hera, looking as regal and terrifying as ever in a silver dress that clung tighter to her skin than her spearmint perfume did. Her velvet royal blue plush cape drug behind her, scattering more red and black petals as she descended the red carpet. The room, momentarily frozen by her presence, quickly erupted into polite applause.

“And now may I present, the guest of honor for whom we are all gathered here to celebrate her 13th birthday, Princess Aryll!” Another noble trumpet tune, and Aryll stepped out. Link couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her. She looked so much more grown up than she usually did, her usually plain flaxen blonde hair was braided into a crown that wrapped around her head like a headband. She was wearing a royal blue ball gown with golden swirls embossed on the bodice that bowed out on all sides, almost like she was gliding on a soft blue cloud. For once, she looked serious, regal almost, like a real princess. She wore a prim and proper expression, but Link couldn’t imagine how hard it was for her to not be bouncing off the walls. He watched her lingering at the top of the staircase as her eyes scanned the crowd while they clapped for her. Once they met his, her face immediately brightened with a wide smile. She waved enthusiastically at him. Link chuckled to himself and waved back.

Glad to see there’s still a child underneath that getup… wait, what’s with that smile…? Aryll, no! Don’t!

Link watched helplessly as Aryll refused Mandrake’s hand to help her down the stairs and instead, put her crutch underneath her arm, hiked up her dress, hopped onto the railing, and slid all the way down to the bottom.

The room was silent. Everyone was looking at her, and at Hera, wondering how to react. Link felt his pulse picking up as he watched Hera’s expression. He half expected her to raise a hand to Aryll for being so improper, but he knew better. Hera cracked a smile and even chuckled softly.

“Oh, Aryll dear, you’re such a silly girl! Don’t you know the proper way to enter your own party?” She patted Aryll’s head softly. Link, along with the whole room, breathed a sigh of relief and the festivities, drinking, eating, and dancing resumed.

Damn, I thought I was going to have a heart attack for a second… Link took some deep breaths to calm his fraying nerves and reached for another drink from a passing waiter.

Suddenly, a voice whined at his side. “Liiiink! Don’t tell me you’re planning on standing there drinking all night! Come dance with me!!” Link almost choked on his wine when the caller jabbed him hard in the side.

He turned sharply to find a pair of demon spawn eyes and an evil grin to match.

What the hell, Aryll! Can’t you say “hi” like a normal person?? Link laid his glass on the window sill and signed to her.

Aryll merely shrugged.

“What can I say, it’s my duty as your little sister to torture her big brother. And it’s your job as my big brother to come and dance with me!” She grabbed his sleeve and started pulling him towards the dance floor.

Link shook his head vigorously.

No no no no no! Not in front of all these people! He wretched his arm out of her animal-like grip and signed.

Aryll frowned in response.

“Come on ! Just one dance! Pretty please…” Aryll folded her hands together in a praying gesture and flashed the most manipulative look known to mankind.

Link sighed. He did a quick scan of the room, Hera was occupied speaking with Zelda in the opposite corner of the room, her back was against the dance floor, so she probably wouldn’t notice him there if he did dance with Aryll. She was the main reason he didn’t want to do it, Hera didn’t exactly like the idea of him doing anything that would draw attention to himself.

“The more people looking at you, the more you’ll embarrass me. It’s amazing they can’t tell just by looking at you that you’re a bastard child…” is what Hera would often tell him when he begged her to let him enter his art into a competition when he was little, or when he asked to visit Castle Town, or if he asked to come along with her to visit a foreign nation. It didn’t take long before he got the hint and stopped asking all together.

Fine. Only one– he surrendered.

“Yay!!!” Aryll grabbed his arm and practically yanked him across the ballroom towards the dancefloor. The sea of people parted instantly as Aryll led him through.

Once they found an empty space, Link stuck his fingers under her armpits and lifted her off the ground, that way they could waltz along without having to worry about Aryll tripping over her leg. This was the way they’d been doing it ever since they were very little, and it never ceased to bring a smile to Aryll’s face.

“Let’s go faster! Now twirl me around! Higher!” Aryll ordered Link.

She’s getting heavy… Link felt his arms growing tired after the 3rd piece of waltzing, but the smile on her face and the joy in her eyes made him hesitant to stop (even though they were way past “just one dance”)

After about 2 more songs, Link felt like his arms were about to give out, so he gently set her back down on the ground.

“Aww, come on! Just one more dance! You promised!” Aryll frowned as Link massaged his sore muscles. He frowned.

I said one dance. That was way more than one. 

She laughed. “Dang it, thought I could get away with that one! Well… why don’t you show me what you got me for my birthday then! Since you’re being a little jerk by not dancing with your little sister on her birthday!” She huffed and crossed her arms.

Link rolled his eyes, but decided to let that “jerk” comment go… this time.

Fine, I’ll go get it. It’s just in my room.

“Whaaa! But that’s like a million miles away! It’ll take foreverrrr! I’ll be a withered old hag by the time you get back!” Aryll dramatically feigned a fainting spell.

Cut that out. I won’t be long. Link signed before exiting the dance floor and started to push his way through the crowd towards the exit.

Once he did, he looked back. Aryll was still standing right where he left her. She smiled widely and held up her hands high, signing,

Hurry up, dummy! I’m not getting any younger over here!

Link shook his head but was helpless to stop a grin forming on his face.

What an idiot… He laughed to himself.

Link opened the door and stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him. Immediately the laughter and music faded into a gentle hum as the silence from the halls of the castle enveloped him. Link began the long journey back toward his room, all the way in the East Wing. 

Something about the castle halls at this time felt… off. Eerie almost. He passed no one, not even a maid or servant. It was as if the party was the beating heart of the castle, all the life of it was back there. He picked up the pace into a slight jog. He didn’t like how lonely the halls felt. Or how the only sounds he heard were the softing padding of his footsteps along the red carpet and his steady breathing as he kept up the pace. Or how the only sign of life was his own shadow accompanying him.

After climbing up all the stairs towards the tower where he resided, Link burst through the door to his room. 

Now… where did I leave it… aha! He spotted the drawing laying flat on his desk, where he’d been working feverishly the past few days and nights. He picked it up. It came out better than he’d hoped, Aryll was frozen in a pirouette in a moonlit courtyard. She was facing towards the viewer, her eyes shining above a small smile. A crown of daisies sat on top of her hair, some petals flying off in a trail behind her. 

Link smiled, this was some of his best work. Sure, he could have painted this instead of sketching it to bring to life all the colors in the scene. But there was just something about sketching that added a bit more intrigue and mystery to the drawing, like it was daring the viewer to imagine a color palette fitting for such a pretty scene.

Damnit, I forgot to frame it… Link cursed himself. 

Can’t do anything about it now, Aryll’s definitely going to complain if I don’t hurry up…

He quickly, but carefully, closed the loose paper into his sketchbook, tucked it into his arm, and started his jog down the stairs and down the hall back to the party.

Again the solitude pressed down on him as he made his way down the dark, daunting hallways back to the party.

Now… where did she get off to…? He thought when he finally reached the ballroom again. His eyes scanned the crowd:

Dancefloor? No… with Hera? No… Near the musicians…? No… where could she be?

Suddenly he spotted Mandrake at the end of the staircase, scolding a young maid. 

I’ll ask Mandrake where she is.

Link pushed his way through the crowd further into the ballroom.

“Whoah! Sorry about that!” Someone bumped into Link. He cried out as his sketchbook flew to the floor. He bent over and quickly scooped it up, breathing a sigh of relief when he found the picture undamaged. He decided to tuck it into his coat so it would be safe for the remainder of the party.

Now, I wonder who bumped into me…

 It was Zelda, and her face immediately shifted from embarrassed and apologetic to irritated and relieved when she laid eyes on Link.

“Oh, it’s only you. Whew, I thought I bumped into someone important.” She breathed a sigh of relief and straightened the skirt of the rich, dark green Gerudo-style dress she was wearing. Her signature sword and shield still remained at her side and on her back, somehow complimenting her outfit. Link felt a pang of jealousy, Hera would have a cow if he tried to wear a weapon to a party.

Okay, that one strings a little… Link thought. But, at least she wasn’t yelling at him or anything.

“Well, I’m going to go this way. And I know you may want to think differently, but yes. I am totally avoiding you.” Zelda waved carelessly and started to walk off.

Wait– Link reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“Ugh! What is it with you and my hand? Do you have a finger-fetish or something?”

It took Link a minute to remember what he wanted to ask her.

I mean… she does have nice hands… ughhh! Focus Link! Now is not the time.

He held up a finger while he dug in his coat pockets for his pen and notebook.

Have you seen Aryll anywhere?

Zelda furrowed her brows at the message. “No… wasn’t she with you? I thought you guys were dancing together this whole time?” 

Link was momentarily caught off guard.

She was… watching? He quickly shook his head to banish those unimportant thoughts and scrawled out another message.

If you see her, will you tell her I’m looking for her?

Link watched as skepticism flashed across Zelda’s face. She hesitated before saying, “Sure… is something wrong?”

Link hurriedly shook his hands and head.

No nothing like that! He scribbled another message, realizing that she probably couldn’t interpret his gestures and looks like Aryll could.

Nothing’s wrong. I just want to give her her birthday present, that’s all.

“Alright, well… I’ll tell her to come find you if I see her.” 

Link bowed his head in thanks to her, when he rose he caught a flash of a yellow head and a big blue dress weaving through the crowd.

Aryll! He quickly stepped around Zelda and squeezed through the bodies of people mingling throughout the dance floor. He followed the blue dress all the way to a small door on the other side of the staircase. Suddenly a flirtatious (and certainly not sober) couple cut him off.

“Oh Thomas! We mustn’t! Not here in front of all these people…” A flushed woman with red cheeks giggled as a young man whispered seductively in her ear.

“Let them watch if they want! I know I certainly don’t mind…” He started kissing her neck, causing the woman to giggle even louder.

Ughh! I don’t have time for this! Link bulldozed through the couple and hurried to the door. When he opened it, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

Damn those dumbasses, they couldn’t wait a second longer to get all hot and heavy with each other!

The door closed behind him with a clang. Link stepped further into the hallway. The air was thick with an earthy scent. It was familiar to him… was it dirt?

As much as Link would have loved to stand here all night and analyze all the scents in the air, he had a little sister to find.

Aryll… where could you be…? It’d sure be nice if I had someone to call out her name for me right about now… maybe I should’ve asked Zelda…?

Zelda’s menacing glare flashed into his mind.

Nope! That would’ve been bad! 

“Hey! What are you doing?! Stop that!!” Aryll’s shrill cry sliced through the silence around Link, shooting a surge of terror through his veins. The echoes of her shouts bounced off the stone walls, making it difficult to tell how far away she was.

“Help meeeeee!!” she cried. Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream pierced Link’s ears, sending him into a dead sprint down the hallway. 

Aryll! What’s happening to you??

Flashes of her smiling face and memories of her childish antics played in Link’s mind, the times when she broke into his room with important news that just couldn’t wait… all the games of tag or hide and seek they played around the castle… the times when she’d smile at him and say just the right thing to make him feel like he was needed here, that someone wanted him here, in a place that had all but forsaken him. Aryll was everything to Link, she was the reason he stayed here all these years. The reason that he’d endured all the pain and suffering from Hera’s abuse. The reason he could still get up each morning and eat dinner each night with a stepmother who hated him for existing. The reason he had any worth at all. Link promised himself that he’d protect Aryll, no matter what. That he’d never leave her, even if that’s all Hera ever wanted, because if he wasn’t there to protect her, who would? Sure, Hera might since she adored her, but if the person she took out all her frustrations on wasn’t there, would Aryll become the next target? Link wouldn’t take that chance. 

Aryll screamed again. She was close. Link pushed himself faster now, faster than the time he crashed into Jaqueline when he was late to dinner, faster than the time he ran from Hera when she’d discovered his secret, faster than he’d ever gone before. His chest was heaving, his legs were burning by the time he whipped around the corner and found her.

Aryll was struggling against the grip of someone. Tears were streaming down her face, flowing over a large welt on her right cheek. She must have been struck.

Aryll! That bastard! What did he do to you! His mind wanted to scream to her.

Her bloodshot eyes lit up when she spotted him. “Link, help me! Please, help me!” She cried. Her attacker yanked her closer to him. He was taller than her, his face obscured under the shadows of a dark cloak. A shiny, silver beard streamed out from underneath it.

So it’s him… the guy who was talking to Hera… 

The man cursed. “Stop struggling.” he barked at her. “And you,” He lifted his head, his face still obscured. “Don’t come any closer, unless you want her blood to spill.” He pulled out a dagger and pressed it against her throat.

Link felt something familiar begin to shift and stir inside of him… he remained still. Everything in him was whirling with rage and emotion, he wanted to rush over there and rip that man apart. He was supposed to protect Aryll, no one was supposed to hurt her. He felt pricks of pain in his palms as his fingers dug deeper into his skin as he tightened his fists.

“Good…” The figure growled. “That’s good. Now just stay there… this wasn’t how I wanted this to go. You weren’t supposed to find her here,” he squeezed Aryll tighter. She whimpered. Her eyes wide with fear. She was scared, she didn’t want to get hurt. She looked to Link, pleading with him. She didn’t have to speak, Link knew what she was saying. What she was begging.

Help me, Link. Please! You’re supposed to protect me! I don’t want to get hurt!

Link felt that thing shift again… his blood grew cold… his vision began to darken at the edges…

“Hah!” The man laughed. Still his face remained cloaked in a shadow.

Link darkened his gaze. He tried to stare daggers at this man. He tried to communicate with his face what he couldn’t say out loud.

Are you fucking serious?! Are you actually enjoying this!!

“I can tell you’re angry with me, you want to hurt me… don’t you? You want to see me suffer for what I’m doing to your precious little sister. Maybe you want to do this to me.” With his free hand, he punched Aryll in the gut. She began to cough and retch violently. Her hands clutching at her stomach as she cried tears of agony. 

Stop it! Why are you hurting her!! She’s just a child!

His senses grew duller, the darkness at the edges of his vision crept forward, everything else but Aryll and the man was shrouded in black.

“No? Perhaps you want to do this then…” He wrenched Aryll’s arm from her stomach, enclosed his hand around her finger, and jerked it upwards, breaking it.

“AHH!” Aryll howled. She screamed. She cried. She was in pain. She was in pain and Link was just standing there. Doing nothing! He was watching! He wasn’t the one hurting her but he might as well be! He was letting it happen!

“Hmm… I guess that wouldn’t be enough now… would it? You want me to suffer greatly. But how much…? Maybe you want to slit my neck, like this…” The man pressed the tip of his dagger into Aryll’s throat, drawing a drop of ruby red blood. Aryll’s eyes went wide with fear, then she slumped forward, fainting. It might have only been a tiny drop, but that tiny drop, a drop the size of a pinprick of a needle, was all it took to set Link off.

Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT! You’ll pay for this! I won’t let you get away with this! He screamed inside his head. He howled. His entire body seethed with anger. He couldn’t feel anything else, the darkness was closing in on him, consuming him, the thing stirring in his chest had woken up. Link could feel a surge of power shooting through his veins, a cold icy sensation that spread throughout his entire body, from his chest, to his arms, to his legs, even the tips of his fingers radiated with this cold, dark energy. It felt as if his entire being was being snuffed out, that the thing inside his chest was taking over, he tried to think but his thoughts were being overridden with another’s. A greater consciousness, mushing all of his anger and memories and emotions into one thought, one message.

Kill.

You must kill him. Kill him. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

I must kill him…

Link lifted his right hand and shot a burst of dark energy at the man, he jumped to avoid it. The blast destroyed the nearby wall. It shook the floor. Bits of plaster, stone, and wood flew out in all directions.

“Ooh, that was a good one! But, you missed.” The hooded figure laughed maniacally as the dust from the blast cleared. Aryll was still unconscious, the dagger was still at her throat, the man wasn’t dead.

I must kill him…

Link lifted his hand once more, he felt all the ice in his veins flow from his chest and legs to the tips of his right hand. He fired another shot of dark violet light. And another. And another. And another. Glass shattered as Link hit the windows in the hallway,  golden light bursted as multiple chandeliers crashed to the ground near him, crystals scattered at his feet. Rocks flew in all directions as Link knocked down the walls in the castle. 

Link fired again…

And again…

And again…

Dust was everywhere, the only light in the halls were the stars and the moon shining through where the walls of the halls once stood. But the man was still standing. His clothes weren’t torn, his face was still covered, his beard wasn’t even dusty from all the pulverized plaster.

“Great effort! I really must say this show was better than I expected!” He shifted Aryll so he was holding her under his arm and began clapping slowly. “It’s too bad I was the only one to see this little display of yours though, truly it’s a shame.”

He’s still alive… kill him.

Link raised his hand once more.

No, that won’t work… Try this…

Link felt all the cold energy in his hand spread evenly throughout his limbs again.

Do it… release it all… and with that all the energy erupted from all parts of his body. Violet darkness was everywhere, beams were crashing down, stones were flying, walls were falling down.

Link felt all the ice draining from his veins, warmth slowly started creeping back in with its absence, the colors and light began fizzling into his vision once more, the thing in his chest was slowly falling back to sleep, the other presence that snuffed out his consciousness was slowly fading,

Good… this won’t be the last time we meet…

And it was gone. All the strength left Link’s body, and he fell to the floor with a thud. 

“Hahahaha! That was brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!” Link heard the man laughing somewhere behind him, but he couldn’t lift his head. His vision was blurring in and out… he wouldn’t be awake much longer.

“It’s a good thing I’m fast, otherwise your precious little sister and I would both be dead.” A pair of brown, muddy work boots stepped into Link’s field of vision.

Aryll… is.. She... okay? 

“Don’t you worry though, I left her in a room near the door to that big party you were throwing. Someone will find her soon enough. Aww man, don’t tell me you’re falling asleep already?” The man crouched down. Link felt fingers dig into his hair and pull his head upwards. The man leaned towards Link’s face, the hood was no longer obscuring his face in darkness. Through his flickering vision, Link could make out a pair of black, soulless eyes, a hook-like nose, and a crooked, yellow smile. Although his beard was long and silver, the man didn’t have any wrinkles. His skin was smooth, and pale, practically white. 

“I guess that was a little too much for you, huh, little princling?” The smell of rot flowed from the man’s mouth, “I can see we’re almost out of time, so how about you put on a better show for me next time we meet?” He released his grip on Link’s hair and his head fell to the ground. “Sweet dreams… Link…”

Those were the last words before Link’s consciousness flickered to darkness, and he blacked out.

Chapter Text

Where could he be…? I thought he was supposed to be looking for Aryll, so why did the Bastard Prince just rush off like that! I mean, it’s been like 15 minutes since he left, I wonder if he needs hel–

“So, Miss Zelda. Would you care to join me for a dance?” The young man who had been flirting with her the past 15 minutes jarred Zelda back into the conversation. He was some important court person for some nation or something. Zelda hadn’t been paying attention.

“What was that?” The young man looked surprised for a second, as if baffled by the mere thought of someone losing interest in what he had to say. Zelda had sized him up before he even said a word and determined he was exactly the kind of person she hated . Cocky, pretentious, and a playboy. She made the decision well before he introduced himself to zone out. It would be the only way to get through a conversation with this prick without punching him. She hated talking to this guy almost as much as talking to the Bastard Prince. I mean, at least he let her get a word in edgewise, unlike this guy.

Quickly, before Zelda could skillfully make up an excuse to leave for the powder room, the young man shifted his shock into a sly smirk.

“Oh, I see how it is… you were hoping for more than a dance with me…” His brown eyes glossed over with something… dangerous. A hunger, not unlike the way a predator eyes up its prey. He seized her wrist and pulled her to him, immediately a musky cologne invaded Zelda’s nose.

“Perhaps, we should go somewhere a little more… private… ” He whispered in her ear, his breath hot against her skin. Zelda almost threw up as an unpleasant shiver raced up her spine.

“Don’t touch me!” Zelda shouted as she wrenched her wrist out of his grip, grabbed his arm and pinned it behind his back. She had been tempted to draw her sword, but she didn’t feel the need to waste it on this insect of a man. He posed no threat to her.

“Ow, what the heck! I thought you wanted that! Most girls usually fall to the floor when Duke Reginald Margrave the III touches them!”

Zelda jerked his arm back further. The young man howled in response.

“Well, I’m not ‘most girls’ and I don’t remember saying you could touch me !” Suddenly Zelda noticed the noise in the room. Or, the lack of noise in the room. The orchestra had stopped playing, the dancers had stopped dancing, the minglers had stopped mingling, and everyone was staring at them. At Zelda.

She immediately released the pig of the man and cleared her throat nervously. He glared furiously at her as he rubbed his sore arm.

“You insolent wench! How dare you raise your hand to me! You’ll pay dearly for this! I’ll have you–”

But Duke Reginald Margrave the III never got to finish that sentence.

BOOOM!

Bits of stone flew across the room.

The people closest to the blast were thrown down to the ground and trampled as a group of monsters stormed in. bokoblins, moblins, lizalfos, chu chus, horriblins, and just about every other monster stormed in through the fresh hole in the castle wall. 

People everywhere at once, screaming:

“What’s happening!!”

“Help meee!”

“Run!”

Zelda was frozen for a few seconds. She couldn’t bring herself to move. It felt so surreal, one second she was getting yelled at by some human garbage and the next, monsters, people, blood, carnage.

Then, a scream pierced through the air. It was close to Zelda, but it snapped her back into reality and she sprung into action. A young woman was lying on the ground, a white moblin had raised its axe in the air, preparing to bring it down and kill her. Zelda drew her sword and dashed to the scene. Just as the axe was about to fall, Zelda leapt in front of the woman and blocked it with her sword. She felt a sharp pain shoot up her arms as she countered the force of the moblin. 

With one last push of effort, she shoved the moblin back, it lost its footing, this was her chance to strike. Zelda shot forward and plunged her sword into its gut. The moblin howled in pain and swung its axe, trying to strike her from behind. Zelda ripped the sword out of its stomach and sliced the hand holding the axe clean off. The axe fell to the ground with a clang, black blood quickly staining it and the tile around it. The moblin screamed in agony, clutching at the stump where its hand used to be. Zelda used this opportunity to end it. She jumped forward and stabbed it in its white, ugly throat. The moblin let out a gurgling sound as it choked on the blood bubbling up in its throat, but after a split second it fell to the floor with a thud, dead.

Zelda turned to the woman who she saved, but found no one. She must have ran off in a panic. But Zelda hardly had any time to think about that, more and more monsters were streaming in from the hole in the wall. More people were screaming as monsters ripped them to shreds, Zelda was overwhelmed with the metallic smell of blood. 

She tried to help when she could, but there were too many monsters, too many people to save, and not enough time. Hyrulian guards soon entered the scene, but they too were overwhelmed by the monsters. Zelda had never felt so useless before, people were dying but she couldn’t help them! Even her Agios Magick couldn’t stop this carnage, for she could barely use any power before she was tapped out. Again and again Zelda drew her sword to kill a moblin or lizalfos, but her efforts were useless. For every one she killed, ten more would take their places.

“ZELDA!” Someone screamed. She could barely hear it over the sounds of death, agony, pain and suffering in the room. The sounds of terror as people were running, trampling each other, pleading to the goddesses for mercy in a desperate attempt to survive. She could barely hear the scream over her own screams. Screams for people to run, to evacuate, to hold on because she was going to save them, but she wasn’t faring much better. Monster after monster jumped at her, scratched her, bit her, swung their bats and swords and clubs and axes, she barely had time to dodge one attack before another one began.

“Zelda!” The scream again, it was closer. At Zelda’s side. Zelda turned to her, it was Hera. She looked horrible. Her perfect dress was torn to shreds, her face was bloodied, her crown was gone. She was telling her something. Zelda couldn’t hear her over the screams of the people, the snorts of joy from the monsters. Hera grabbed Zelda’s shoulders and pulled her close, shouting into her ear.

“Find her! Find Aryll! Please!” Zelda pulled back and looked into Queen Hera’s eyes. They were desperate, full of tears, full of terror not just for herself, but for her daughter.

Zelda leaned in and shouted her reply, “Don’t worry! I’ll find her! Get to safety!” Queen Hera nodded and started to reply, but Zelda was already halfway down the hallway, sprinting for her life. She jumped over bodies, arms, legs, heads, guts, blood, she almost slipped a couple times. She dodged monster after monster until she made it to the hallways behind the fresh hole in the wall where a door used to be. The door that she watched Link disappear into what felt like an eternity ago.

There were less monsters in the halls, the guards must have been doing something right if they were able to prevent them from getting much farther than the ballroom. Zelda rushed forward to slay a nearby bokoblin when she heard a soft moan from a nearby open door.

“Aryll! Is that you!” Zelda rushed into the room and saw her, lying on the ground, unconscious.

“Aryll! No! What happened to you!” She fell to the ground and lifted Aryll’s upper body into her arms. Zelda leaned down and listened for her breathing.

“Oh thank Hylia you’re still alive!” Zelda breathed a sigh of relief. Other than a welt on her face, Aryll looked completely unharmed. Suddenly, Aryll moaned and shifted in Zelda’s arms.

“Zelda…?” She asked, her voice groggy and hoarse.

“Yes! That’s right! Aryll, are you okay?” the words tumbled out of Zelda's mouth. She felt like she would die with gratitude, she was safe. The monsters hadn’t gotten to her. In fact, she looked even better than Zelda did in terms of injuries.

“What happened? Why is your face all bloody?” Zelda touched the fresh cut on her cheek that a lizalfos gave her when she cut her parry a little close.

“Oh that? I’m fine! But we need to get you out of here, monsters have stormed the castle. Can you stand?” Aryll didn’t reply. Her blood shot eyes went wide and she sat up quickly.

“Monsters! Here? Is everyone okay? Where’s mother?!” Zelda held up her hands to calm Aryll down.

“Your mom is fine, and she’ll explain everything to you when we see her. But right now we need to get you out of here.” Zelda sprang to her feet and started to lift Aryll up with her.

“Wait! Zelda! Where’s my brother? Some bad dude captured me and was trying to kill me, but Link was there. He was trying to help me!” Aryll clutched Zelda’s arms, her eyes wild and desperate. “Zelda, where’s my brother? Where’s Link!?”

Zelda shook her head at Aryll. They needed to get moving and they needed to do it now . Who knows how much longer they’d have before more monsters stormed the hallways and found them?

“I don’t know, Aryll! But we need to leave! You come first!”

Zelda tried to pull Aryll out of the doorway, but Aryll broke free from her grip.

“No, Zelda! You have to find Link! I’ll be fine! I can manage getting out of here on my own, but he might be hurt! Link might still be fighting that man! You have to save him!”

Zelda wanted to punch a wall. Why wouldn’t this girl listen to her?? Doesn’t she know that she’s risking her life by trying to convince Zelda to help her brother instead of her?!

“Aryll, I’m not leaving you alone, I–”

All of the sudden Zelda heard a chorus of voices ringing through the hall and the sounds of heavy armour clinking together and footsteps pounding on the ground.

She peeked her head out of the hallway; dozens of soldiers were clamoring down the hallway, carrying swords, spears, shields, dressed in full suits of armour, like they were going into battle.

“Alright, fine! You win!” Zelda surrendered. “Hey! Guards!” She shouted at the men passing by. A few of them stopped. “Take Princess Aryll and get her to safety! Don’t leave her side and protect her!” She barked at them. 

“Alright! We’ll take her out a back way, monsters haven’t made it past the West Wing yet so she should be safe!” One of the guards then stepped forward and grabbed Aryll, carrying her bridal style. Him and three others turned the other way and dashed back down the hall.

“Zeldaaaa! Find hiimm! Find Liiinnnkk!” Aryll’s shrill shouting echoed down the hall as Zelda watched her being whisked away.

“I will, for your sake, Aryll.” Zelda promised once she could no longer see her. And with that, Zelda was off. He wasn’t in the party room, and since Aryll said she saw him fighting someone, he must be in the hallways of the castle. 

“But that still leaves about 99% of this gods-forsaken place!” Zelda shouted to no one in particular while she struck down a red bokoblin that was skulking around the hallway.

Once its corpse hit the ground, Zelda stepped over it and picked up her pace.

“If I were a Bastard Prince, where would I be hiding…?” Zelda wondered. The hallways had become silent now, no longer did she pass by any guards or monsters. The further down she travelled, the darker it became. The golden chandeliers started dimming, then flickering, until Zelda entered a part of the hallway that was dark. The scent of fresh pines and pollen tickled Zelda’s nose. A cold draft made her shiver.

“What the…?” Zelda said as she heard a crunching sound beneath her feet. She lifted her golden heel and saw bits of plaster and stone stuck to the sole. 

“Plaster? How did this get there–” The rest of that sentence got lodged into her throat. She couldn’t believe she didn’t notice it until now, but the room was completely destroyed. The walls all around the hallway were… gone. The remains were scattered all over the carpet, turning it from a plush red to a powdery white. Moonlight shone in through the right side of the hallway where a wall used to be and illuminated thousands of tiny glass shards strewn about the room.

“What happened here…?” Zelda carefully stepped over the large bricks of stone, kicking up plaster and glass shards. As she got further down the hallway, a blast of cold air hit her. It felt like walking into an icebox. Zelda began to shiver.

“Was it a monster…?” She wondered out loud through chattering teeth as she looked around, but there weren't any signs of them. No tell-tale claw scratches on the wall or heavy footprints on the carpet.  If this were a Wizzrobe who blasted the walls with energy, they surely would have left traces of whatever element they’d used behind. But Zelda couldn’t see any signs of frost or scorch marks from fire anywhere around the room.

“Whatever made this mess must have been human…” Zelda shuddered at the thought. A human, capable of doing this much damage…?

“Must have been the guy who kidnapped Aryll.” Zelda pressed forward towards the center of the room, the temperature dropping the further she got.

Suddenly, she spotted something strangely humanoid-looking lying in the very center of the room, it wasn’t moving. As Zelda crept closer she realized:

“It’s a body!” She felt her heart drop. “Could it be Link…?” She hopped forward over more stones and broken glass until she reached it. Sure enough, it was the Bastard Prince in all his glory.

He was lying face flat on the ground, arms and legs sprawled out underneath him, like he’d passed out. Zelda immediately knelt down onto the floor and tried to flip him onto his back. As soon as her fingers touched his arm a sharp and cold pain shot through her fingers and up her arm.

“Ah! What is this?” Zelda hissed. She looked at her hand, the tips of her fingers were bright red and cold to the touch, like they were on the brink of frostbite.

“Did that man that kidnapped Aryll do something to him…?” Zelda looked around her. They were still alone, not a single soul in sight. The man must have done something to him, because it seemed all the cold energy in the room was radiating off of his unconscious body. Zelda tucked her hands into her skirt and used it to grab his arm and flip him over. She could still feel the stinging cold, but it was bearable this time. Once he was flipped over, Zelda leaned down and put her ear to his slightly parted lips to listen for breathing. She flinched as the small puffs of cold breath hit her left ear.

“Well, at least I know he’s alive.” Zelda silently cursed him for being so high maintenance.

“Now how am I going to warm you up…?” She wondered aloud, a habit she picked up during all her days spent training alone for the Vai Vure. It helped her sort her thoughts out easier, and made her feel less alone.

She looked again at his sleeping face. His long lashes twitched slightly under furrowed brows. He moaned softly, like he was in pain.

“Yeah yeah, hold your horses. I’m trying to figure out how to warm you up without me freezing to death!” She complained to him, like he could respond. 

“Somehow I don’t think either of us would enjoy it if I tried to use my body heat… so what could I do…?” Zelda bit the side of her lip and twirled the bracelet on her wrist. One that her mom used to wear, somewhere over the years Zelda had picked up the habit of fiddling with it whenever she was anxious or in deep thought.

“Well… if that man did this… then he must have been using some sort of Nekros Magick, since only the champions can use forms of aima… so…” Zelda drew a blank. She knew this had to mean something, but what was it!

All of the sudden the solution hit her smack-dab in the center of her big, dumb forehead.

“Fuck me! The answer was right in front of me this whole time! I’ll just use my magick!” Zelda slapped her big dumb forehead once more.

“It’s a good thing it’s been a bit since I last used my Agios Magick, otherwise you’d be toast my friend!” She chuckled to herself before taking a deep breath to center herself. She searched the recesses of her consciousness again after pushing everything else out. Then, she found it, the spark. She was getting faster at finding it, maybe it was because she knew where to look, or maybe the spark was growing more potent so she could find it easier. Whatever it was, Zelda was grateful.

She braced herself for the familiar fire lit under her skin, it spread quickly through her veins, chasing the cold right out of her. She concentrated, and focused all the aima into the palm of her hand. She could feel the heat radiating off of her hand, and she could even see the light shining from it through her closed eyelids. 

She opened them, then laid her hand in the center of his chest, where all the cold energy was concentrated. She felt a prick of pain as she did so, but it soon vanished under the holy energy. 

After pushing out all the thoughts about how firm his chest was, Zelda took another deep breath and visualized all the aima inside her veins flowing out of her hand and into Link’s chest. She felt her limbs grow colder as the fire slowly cooled off, and she could feel herself growing more sluggish, but the air around them seemed to warm up, if only a little.

Good, now just a little bit more and–

“AHHHHH!” A scream dripping with pain and agony forced Zelda out of her trance. Link had woken up; he was writhing in pain on the ground, his fingers clawing at his chest, tearing the fabric, his ocean blue eyes were wild, darting all over the place, his mouth was wide open, screaming. 

Zelda ripped her hand away from him, immediately stopping the flow of magick. She scrambled back, unsure of what was happening.

“Hey! Royal Bastard! What’s wrong??” Zelda called to him, but if he heard her, he showed no signs of it. He was still writing in pain on the ground, he tore the jacket apart and was clawing at the skin of his chest where Zelda’s hand had been.

“Heyy, stop that!” She leapt forward and wrenched his wrists from his chest. She was too late though, thick scratch marks across his chest were already oozing dark maroon blood.

Link continued to howl, trying desperately to break free from Zelda’s grip, he jerked his wrists up and down, tugging Zelda along with him, but she held strong. 

“Hey, look at me! Stop that! Calm down!” Zelda shouted back in his face, trying to get his wild eyes to focus on her, maybe that would stop whatever fit this was. Link, however, was immune to her efforts, he pulled himself up into a sitting position, lifted one of his legs, and kicked Zelda in the gut. 

“OW, FUCK!” Zelda screamed, her grip relaxing as a dull but intense pain blossomed in her stomach. Link used this opportunity to wrench his wrists out of her grip, then went right back to clawing at his chest. Whatever Zelda had done to him must be making him go insane from the pain, perhaps it was because of this guilt that Zelda was trying so hard to help him.

“Oh no! You’re not getting away that easily!” She threw herself on top of him, her chest colliding with his. Link continued to struggle against her, trying to push her off of him. Zelda wouldn’t have that though, she shifted her weight so both her legs were on either side of him, so she was straddling him. She grabbed both of his flailing wrists and pinned them on either side of his head, stretching them as far as her arms would allow her to.

Her face was inches away from his, she could feel his rapid breath hissing in and out onto her face, blowing her golden hair in all sorts of directions. Sweat was glistening against his deathly pale skin, tendrils of dirty blonde hair sticking to his forehead. Still his blue eyes wouldn’t look at her, they were darting around, rolling back into his head, focusing anywhere but on hers.

“LINK!” Zelda shouted breathlessly, the intensity of their struggle weighing down on her.

“LOOK AT ME!” She screamed. This, finally, seemed to get his attention, his blue eyes finally focused on hers, and she watched as recognition slowly flickered into them. She could feel his arms relaxing as he stopped resisting her.

Zelda breathed a sigh of relief.

“Finally, I was worried you’d never stop…” Zelda felt all the tension in her own muscles fade away, and she allowed herself a moment of relief. When she opened her eyes, Link was staring quizzically at her. She could see a slight pink in the cheeks of his previously pale skin.

Zelda frowned. 

“What are you looking…” She trailed off when she realized the position she was in. She felt a blaze of heat emitting from her own cheeks.

“I’ll have you know that I was only doing this to stop you from fucking yourself up! You’d have clawed out your own heart if I wasn’t here!” Zelda huffed. But you probably wouldn’t be doing it in the first place if I hadn’t tried using my magick on you… Zelda finished in her head. She didn’t feel the need to mention that to Lin–the Bastard Prince–though.

What was up with that… in all the accounts of the Priestess’s powers in the ancient texts, Agios Magick isn’t supposed to harm people when used the way I was, it’s supposed to allow the user to transfer the user’s aima into another person, which can help banish curses and drive out darkness within someone… but no one has reacted like that before… maybe I did it wrong…?

She looked back at Link.

Why did my magick react to him that way… if he was cursed or inflicted with Nekros Magick it should have helped…

“Hrulp!” Suddenly Link’s face didn’t look so good, not that it did before, but it looked worse. He widened his eyes and shot one of his hands to his mouth, covering it.

“Uh… you good?” Zelda raised an eyebrow.

Link started shaking his head violently. He jerked up into a sitting position and flipped himself onto his hands and knees, sending Zelda tumbling off him.

“Hey, what’s up? Are you okay–”

Link retched violently, his back arching as he spewed a dark, sticky liquid onto the dusty torn carpet. Zelda wrinkled her nose at the vile stench wafting towards her. It smelled like rot, it smelled like death. 

“What was in him…?” Zelda mumbled as she reached to rub his back while he threw up, something that Urbosa did for her whenever she was sick or had eaten something that Zelda had cooked herself. She laid her hand on his back, it was damp to the touch. Whatever that episode was must have done a number on him. He seemed to tense up at her touch, or maybe he was just tense from the act of puking his guts out.

“Damn, you really must not be doing well…” She mumbled as she rubbed tiny circles across his back. Link’s only reply was more retching, causing Zelda to inwardly cringe at the sound of more icky black stuff hitting the ground.

Once he was done, he sat back on his haunches and wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve. He looked a little better, some color had returned to his cheeks and his breathing was calmer. Though Zelda would never admit it, she was relieved at the improvement since she felt somewhat responsible for his condition. 

Link caught her staring at him and flashed her an awkward smile as he rubbed the back of his head with the hand that didn’t have vomit on the sleeve.

“Are you alright now?” Zelda prompted him, remembering that she was supposed to be getting him out of the castle.

Link nodded.

Zelda jumped to her feet.

“Can you stand?”

Link nodded again, and unsteadily rose to his feet, leaning on a large piece of destroyed wall for support. 

Zelda frowned, this wouldn’t do.

“Can you walk?” She was starting to grow impatient, the clock was ticking, any minute now monsters could come bursting in, and neither of them were in any condition to fight them right now. Hell, Link looked like he just rose from a grave, and Zelda sure felt like she had.

Link took an unsteady step forward, swaying violently to the side. He swayed right again and crashed back into the wall to keep himself from falling to the ground.

Zelda groaned, “Goddesses, help me,” She mumbled.

“Can you walk with out support?” She crossed her arms anxiously.

Link shook his head, eyes downcast, like he was apologizing for it.

“Ugghhh, fine! Here, lean on me!” Zelda groaned as she slipped underneath his left arm and slung it around her shoulders. She felt him flinch slightly when she wrapped her other arm around the small of his back. Zelda was curious about this, but she didn’t have time to think about it more.

“We have to hurry, monsters have stormed the castle, lots of people have died already. We need to get out of here.” Zelda huffed as she and Link made their way back down the hallway. Link halted. Zelda looked over at him, his eyes were wide with worry.

“What is it now?” She grumbled. Then, it hit her. He must be worried about Aryll. “If you’re worried about Aryll, don’t be. She’s safe, a few royal guards escorted her out a secret tunnel or something.” She tried to move again, and this time Link budged. 

“Where’s the nearest exit?” Zelda breathed, she could feel her strength beginning to wear out, Link was becoming harder and harder to support, and they’d barely made it past the blown up bits of the destroyed part of the hallway.

Link pointed towards the very end of the hallway to a corner to the right.

“Alright, no big deal, come on Zelda, don’t lose strength now!” Zelda mumbled to herself as she pushed forward with Link. Whatever strange coldness that had been infecting him seemed to have disappeared, but the smell of death still clung to his clothes.

All of the sudden, Zelda stopped. Something felt… off. Something in the air had begun to smell sour, faint vibrations hummed beneath her feet, something was coming.

Link felt it too, the arm slung around her shoulder gripped her tighter, and Zelda could feel him tense up beside her.

She turned to face him, “We have to go, now .” Link nodded, his face grave. Zelda started jogging as fast as she could towards the corner while still supporting Link.

“Almost there,” she panted, “Just a little bit more–”

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

The monsters Zelda heard just moments ago came into view, barreling down the hallway towards them. Fangs dripping with saliva, eyes hungry for a meal, sharp claws twitching for carnage, tongues lolling out for a taste. Moblins and bokoblins and horriblins and boss bokoblins carrying clubs and axes and swords and spears piled down the hallways toward them. They were going to cut them off before they reached the corner that would take them to the exit.

“Come on! We have to go!” Zelda pulled at Link, but he hung back.

“What are you doing??” She turned to him, furious at his delay. Did he want to get them killed?

Link shook his head, his eyes widened with panic. Zelda looked back down the hallway, the hoard of monsters and swallowed up the corner, sweeping all hopes of a quick escape into the folds of their never ending bodies.

“Fuck! There goes that way, come on! We’ll have to find another way out!” Zelda shot a nasty glare at Link before dragging him down the way they came. There had to be another way out if they just travelled long enough… right?

So they ran, as fast as they could on the limited strength they had. Zelda’s legs were burning, the arm snaked across Link’s back was thick with perspiration. She could tell he was about to give out, his breath came out in shallow bursts and the deathly pale returned to his face. Zelda hoped he wouldn’t vomit on her.

“Don’t stop! They’re gaining on us!” Zelda looked back at the hoard of monsters, the gap between them was shrinking, before long they’d be overwhelmed, torn to shreds, mauled to death, mutilated beyond recognition.

Then, Zelda saw it. A familiar door just ahead, the one that led to the courtyard of the castle that she’d discovered her 2nd day here. The hope of escape surged into her veins, renewing her energy.

“There it is! A way out! Let’s go!” She pulled Link forward, she didn’t look at him, she didn’t look back. Her eyes were focused on the door, on the way out, on their escape. They would survive! They would live –

Before Zelda realized what was happening, she was thrown violently to the ground. Someone was on top of her, she was tangled up in limbs and arms, she couldn’t move. The stench of sweat and death was thick around her. 

“Hey, get off me! Bastard Prince, we have to go!” Zelda shouted at Link to move, but then she felt it. The cold dark energy in the air, zapping up all the warmth. The air stung her lungs as she tried to breathe. Something was happening, the ground was rumbling, and then… She saw it.

She saw why Link had tackled her to the ground and out of the way, somehow, he saw it before she did. The violet miasma wafting through the floor just inches in front of Zelda’s face. In the span of a second, the wisps grew bigger, until it was streaming upwards. The rumbling in the ground grew stronger, until the ground right in front of them burst open. Blocks of stone, plaster, nails and wood flew in all directions. Hands made of the violet miasma shot up into the air in all directions, horrible yellow eyes blinked in their palms. The darkness radiating off of them swallowed up all the light around them, Zelda could barely see except for the glowing yellow eyes staring. Staring at her. Staring at Link. More and more eyes appeared, the ground kept rumbling, Zelda wondered if the floor beneath them would collapse, if she’d be swallowed up by a different darkness, the darkness of falling to your death. 

Zelda heard coughing, or maybe it was hers. She couldn’t breathe, the miasma was suffocating her, she felt her life draining away, like a candle being snuffed out. The eyes were getting closer, she could feel cold fingers wrapping around her legs, arms, neck. Zelda tried to struggle, but her limbs were too heavy. She tried to clear her mind to call upon her magick but her brain couldn’t think, it felt too far away, like all the thoughts in her mind and the magick in her veins were being lulled to sleep. She closed her eyes, or at least she thought she did. It was too dark to tell.

Is this how it ends…? She wondered, maybe if she’d been faster, if she’d been stronger, she could have saved them. But now, it was too late, this was it for her. Zelda would–

“HOLD ON! I’M COMING!” A voice broke through her thoughts. Zelda felt the cold being beaten back. She opened her eyes, the world wasn’t so dark anymore. The hands had been severed, she could move, she could breathe. Zelda rolled to her stomach and started coughing, spitting out sticky black ooze. Zelda moved to wipe her mouth but found her hand entwined with another’s. Fingers laced together in a desperation trembling with fear, tight with tension, slick with sweat.

When did that happen…?

She looked up at Link, he was coughing too, but he was alive. Zelda felt the anxiety in her chest lighten a little, they weren’t dead yet, but who had come to their rescue?

“LOOK OUT!” A masculine voice shouted as a miasma hand raced towards them. Just before it reached their faces, a sword glowing a bright iridescent blue light sliced through it, the hand splattered to the ground, quickly dissolving into a bubbling puddle of black goop. Zelda recognized that sword, it was the Master Sword! The Sword that Seals the Darkness! So that meant the one wielding must be…

Zelda looked to the one holding the sword. He was a swordsman dressed in a green tunic and brown trousers and a brown cloak. His pointed jaw was clenched, matching his dark brown eyes full of determination that were shadowed under thick dark eyebrows. His brown gloved fingers brushed the curly curtain bangs that hung loose from his mop top of chestnut brown hair out of his face, revealing sharp cheekbones. The fierce brown eyes darted towards Zelda and Link. 

“You guys need to go! Now ! There’s too many of them, I won’t be able to hold them off for long.”

Zelda looked to the miasma monster in front of her, then at the hoard of monsters crashing towards them behind.

“How will you fight them off by yourself?” She shouted. “You’ll be killed!”

This brought a smirk to the young man’s lips. “You shouldn’t underestimate me, Priestess! After all, they don’t call me the Hero of Hyrule for nothing!” He resumed slashing the hands as they rushed forward to grab them, he was so fast. Zelda had never seen anyone like him before, the way he effortlessly dodged and attacked. Everytime Zelda thought a hand would grab him, he’d jump out of the way in the nick of time, then, in the blink of an eye, the hand would be severed.

Zelda shook her head, she was getting distracted. She had to do something! She couldn’t let this guy save them all by himself!

Zelda wrenched her hand out of Link’s, wiped his bastard prince germs on her skirt, and reached for her sword, unsheathed it, and prepared to join the fight.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The young man shouted, slicing another hand clean off.

“What does it look like? Helping!” Zelda grunted as she shot forward and stabbed the eye of one of the hands, it shrieked hideously before the entire arm dissolved, splashing the black ooze onto her hand.

“You can’t! You need to leave! Queen Hera ordered you to protect the Prince!”

“But I can help!” Zelda looked to Link, he was on his feet, but unlike Zelda, he didn’t have a sword at his side. He was busy trying to fend off hand attacks with a piece of torn wood. He didn’t look great at the moment, swaying unsteadily, like he would drop at a moment’s notice.

This is so unfair! If it weren’t for this stupid prince I wouldn’t even be in this mess in the first place! 

“Where are we supposed to go?! All the exits are blocked!” Zelda screamed over the pounding footsteps of the monsters.

The young man looked back towards the monsters and frowned. 

“You’re right, there’s only one way out…” He rushed to the left side of the hall, baiting one of the miasma hands to follow him. At the last second he jumped up, and the hand crashed into the wall, blasting a hole into the outside. A split second later the man landed, slicing the arm in two.

“You’re going to have to jump. Do it now!” 

With a grumble, Zelda quickly sheathed her sword, and rushed to the hole in the wall, Link close behind. She looked out the window, a raging moat rushed below them, so they’d probably survive the jump since they weren’t too high up. But… the thought was a little nerve racking, Zelda had never been the best with heights. Sure she could still scale a mountain and dive down a waterfall, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t terrified while doing it.

“Come on, Zelda! Get a grip! This is nothing!” She hissed to herself. Why was she freaking out now of all times! She’d be killed if she hung around.

Zelda felt something warm squeeze her hand. She snapped her head to the side. Link smiled encouragingly at her, and although he wasn’t speaking, Zelda somehow knew what he was trying to tell her.

Let’s jump together.

Zelda took a deep breath and nodded, then faced the moat again. 

Have I really fallen so far that I need the Bastard Prince to offer me encouragement…?

She thought bitterly before turning to Link. “On three,” She told Link, he nodded.

“One…” the roaring of the monsters was upon them now…

“Two…” the miasma hands were rushing towards them…

“Three–”

“ Don’t trust him… ” Zelda felt a presence at her side, the whisper was so quiet she could barely hear it. But Link had already jumped, she felt him pull her with her. She looked back as she fell, the young man’s face watched as they fell.

“I forgot to tell you, take the prince and gather up all the champions! Get them back here and join the fight! Evil’s Rebirth is upon us!” His voice grew fainter the further the two of them fell. A second later, they hit the water, and everything went black.

Chapter Text

Link was back there, back to a memory buried deep within his mind. One that he kept buried, hidden, locked behind a wall of trauma and anxiety and other unpleasant emotions. If he wanted to, he could have recited every little detail, from what he was wearing to the position of the room he was in when it happened. But he never wanted to, so he never did. 

Only at times like these, when his subconsciousness was given free rein over his thoughts, and he was powerless to stop it from opening up the Pandora’s Box of his mind, did this memory ever resurface, despite his best efforts to erase it from existence.

He was seven when it happened, a mess of short legs and still pudgy cheeks, of big blue eyes still delighted by the simple things that world had to offer, with a brain still naive to the cruelties of the world beyond a loss, and with tiny arms not quite strong enough to carry the weight of the grief from his father’s death, even though it had been almost a year later.

“Um, Miss Hera?” Link’s little voice squeaked out after the smallest knock on the largest wooden door. 

“Enter.” A cold, unfeeling voice stated in reply.

Link had to stand on his tippy-toes and still he could barely reach the golden knob. It took all of his strength to push the heavy door open.

Hera was sitting in her study, looking over some court documents. The sound of the stamp of the royal seal thunked against paper after paper. Link was lingering in the doorway, worried that he’d used up all his courage asking permission to enter.

Hera looked up, her icy blue eyes trained on him. Link felt himself shrinking in size, he felt like nothing more than an insect on a fresh fruit pie or a red stain on a white sheet under her gaze. 

“Well, speak. I haven’t got time to waste on you. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m extremely busy.” She gestured to the shallow pile of paperwork sitting in front of her.

Link’s pudgy little fingers tightened around the canvas he was holding. He took a deep breath and started to speak.

“Well, I, um–”

Hera frowned. “I can’t hear you. Didn’t I tell you not to mumble under your breath like a coward? Come closer!” She ordered. 

Link felt his heart stop. He’d practiced for so long on what he would say, how he would ask her, but every line he’d composed and rehearsed left his brain the instant she spoke to him.

But, Link wouldn’t give up that easily, this was far too important to him.

He stepped into the doorway and slowly approached the desk where she was sitting. He had to crane his neck in order to see her face glowering down on him.

“What is it? Hurry and speak your piece, insolent brat!”

Link swallowed painfully. He pushed the painting onto the desk towards her, hoping she’d understand.

“What’s this?” Hera looked down onto it, frowning. “A painting? What do you expect me to do with it? I certainly hope it isn’t some sort of gift to me!”

Link took another deep breath, another swallow. Wiped his sweaty hands on his pants.

“An art contest. Mrs. Greyson told me about it. I was hoping I could enter it.” Link looked down to his shoes, too scared that the expression on her face would reveal her answer.

Hera laughed. It was sharp, short, sarcastic, not a trace of humor.

“Enter a contest? With this horrid little thing! I doubt they’d let you near the contest with this thing! It’s positively hideous!”

Link felt his tiny heart breaking, but he prepared himself for this. And this was important to him, he’d taken up painting after his father died, his teacher Mrs. Greyson said it was a good way to express yourself and help you “process complex emotions”. Whatever that meant. So he tried it out, and found out he had a knack for it. Mrs. Greyson had even praised him on it. Over the months he kept at it, and after he finished this painting, she suggested that he enter into the Young Artists Competition in Castle Town later that week. This was important to him, he found something that he was good at, that people praised him for, something he had fun doing, and Link didn’t want to take “no” for an answer, especially when he already asked for so little from Hera.

“P-please, Miss Hera. I can go into town myself, I’ll use my allowance to pay for the entry fee, I won’t trouble you at all with this!” Link pleaded, his voice raising as he gained more confidence. He’d never spoken up to her before, usually he would have given up by now, cut his losses and accepted it. But not this time.

Hera stood up suddenly, her chair rocking backward as it dragged against the carpet.

“You won’t trouble me at all with this? You already have, stupid brat!” She shouted, her lip curled up in disgust, her chin held high as she looked down on him, the room seemed to grow colder under her icy gaze.

“Why should I let you enter into a contest? Why should I let you show your face around the kingdom? You are an embarrassment to the throne, I don’t want you anywhere near Castle Town. You’ll stain Hyrule Kingdom’s reputation, and Daizeus’s memory with this garbage! It belongs in a waste bucket.” Hera paused, then huffed haughtily. 

“Why don’t I save you the trouble and throw it out for you?” Hera grabbed a nearby letter open and shredded the canvas. Link watched in horror as all his hard work was reduced to shreds. With every cut into the canvas, he felt his own heart bleeding.

When Hera was done, she dumped it into the waste bin beside her desk. Link felt hot, angry tears prickle in his eyes. He stumbled towards the waste bucket and grabbed his painting, cradling the pieces in his arms. He sank down to the floor. He couldn’t believe Hera had done this, something this cruel.

“Now, leave me. I don’t wish to be interrupted again.” Hera sat down and started stamping more documents, like she hadn’t just destroyed her seven-year-old stepson’s hopes and dreams with a letter opener.

“Why?” his voice cracked, his throat thick, tears streaming down his face.

Hera paused her work. “What was that? If you have something to say, say it to my face. How many times have I told you not to mumble!”

Link wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve and rose from the ground, his legs trembling with anger.

“Why? Why? Why! Why did you do this?! Why did you wreck it! I love my painting, and you tore it up! Why do you hate me so much? It’s not fair, what did I ever do to you?” Link was shouting now, he’d never shouted at Hera before. He hadn’t known his little lungs were capable of such power.

Hera slammed her hands onto the desk, startling him.

“Why do I hate you so much?” She shouted, “I hate you because of what you are, what you did. You are a bastard! Your father fucked a whore and you were the result! You are not my child, I am not your mother, you should’ve never been born! And it’s your fault,” Hera pushed the chair aside and marched over to Link, towering over him, “You killed him. How could you do such a thing? Kill your own father! Have you no remorse for what you did? You haven’t even apologized! Most people are put to death for your crimes, but are you dead? No! You get off without a scratch because you’re his son!”

Link stepped back, he couldn't breath, he couldn’t understand what was happening.

“B-but, it’s not my fault. I didn’t kill Father.” He choked out through his tears.

Hera raised her hand and slapped him across the face. Link fell to the ground, clutching his stinging cheek.

“Don’t say that, you horrible thing! Daizeus wouldn’t be dead if you hadn’t switched his glass, you evil little whelp! Take responsibility for your sins!”

“I’m not, I’m not evil. I didn’t kill Father! It wasn’t my fault!” Link cried, trembling with fear, sobs racking his entire body.

“You are. You are the epitome of evil, the definition of it, you are the evilest creature in the world! The most unholy thing to walk this earth! You may deny your sins, but you can’t deny that your very existence is a sin! An abomination, your birth was a direct opposition of the very goddesses who created this realm! You should be put to death just for breathing!”

Hera leaned down, fury coloring her otherwise pale cheeks, “And do you know why? It’s because the whore your father fucked was a Gerudo. Your birth will cause thousands upon thousands of innocent women, men, children to be slaughtered. You will kill them all.”
Link’s fragile mind struggled to comprehend what Hera was screaming at him. What his seven-year-old mind could put together was that Hera didn’t like him because he wasn’t her son, but Link already knew that, his father told him that his real mother was an amazing woman that he loved dearly, but why did Hera hate him because of that? And why did she keep saying he would kill a bunch of people?
“I won’t kill anyone! I’m a good person!” Link wailed. He struggled to wipe the tears and snot flowing from his eyes and nose.

“You will.” Hera spat. “You will kill them all because you are fated to. After all, you are Evil’s Incarnate.”

Something in Link’s chest stirred in the moment, when he heard that name. His mind flashed back to the lessons Mrs. Greyson gave him about the Prophecy of The Ancient Time, he couldn’t remember all the details, but some evil man who hated the holy goddesses destroyed Hyrule until a Hero and a Priestess stopped him. And it said in the Prophecy that everyone would be reborn again and again. Link was him? The evil man? But he wasn’t evil, he hadn’t hurt anyone…

Everytime Link tried to deny it, the thing in his chest stirred painfully, until a voice suddenly whispered in his mind, sending ice through his veins.

So you’ve finally figured it out… yes it is true… I am he who tried to destroy Hyrule many a millenia ago… and with your help we shall kill them all… all who oppose us… and rule Hyrule just as it should be…

But, I’m not! I’m not a bad person! I won’t hurt anyone!

Link grabbed the sides of his head, trying to shut the voice out of his mind. He plugged his ears and screamed, but he still heard its whispers.

Don’t worry… you will soon come to accept the truth… there is no escaping what has been foretold by fate…

And the voice receded. Link felt like he could breathe again, the thing in his chest settled back to sleep, and the ice in his veins began warming up with each beat of his heart.

But he wasn’t out of the woods yet…

“You little wench! You can’t even be bothered to pay attention when I’m talking to you! I’ve had enough of your face. Mandrake, take him away.” she called through the door, Mandrake stormed in and ceased Link’s arm, yanking him to his feet within seconds. 

“How would you like me to punish him, Your Majesty?” He squeezed his arm tighter, causing Link to cry out.

“Use the water. I don’t care how long, just make sure he knows not to talk back to me again.” Hera glared down at Link, the hatred and disgust evident on her face.

Mandrake nodded, then looked down at Link and smiled with his pointy teeth.

“Come along, little prince. You’ve been naughty, and naughty boys must be punished.” And with that, he marched out the door, dragging Link along with him. Link screamed and cried, but Hera wouldn’t look up at him, she simply sat down and continued her work, while Link was dragged down to the depths of the dungeon.

“Come on, Prince Link, we mustn’t delay.” Mandrake yanked his arm harder as he pulled Link down flight upon flight of stairs.

“Here we are,” He said when they arrived to the locked wooden door with a sign reading, “Torture Chamber.” Link felt his knees start to shake when he saw that. The door creaked upon, and the smell of mildew and moisture, sweat and fear, blood and vomit wafted through. Link gagged.

Mandrake pulled him into the dark room and threw him into a wooden chair, then wrapped his wrists and ankles in leath bounds. He pulled them tight, the leather scraping through his skin.

Link was trembling violently now, what would happen to him? What was Mandrake going to do to him?

“Don’t worry, Prince Link, this shouldn’t take too long…” Mandrake chuckled, his amber eyes glazed over, his pointy teeth flashing in the dark. He pulled out a black bag from somewhere and held it above Link’s head.

“P-please Mandrake, don’t do this.” Link stuttered, his small voice quivering. Mandrake hesitated, and for a split second Link thought he wasn’t going to go through with whatever Hera ordered him to do, but the hope was crushed in an instant when he smiled.

“My apologies, Prince Link, but I’m afraid that even if I could disobey Queen Hera, I just wouldn’t want to. You see,” he bent down close to Link, so close he could smell the spearmint cologne he was wearing, sharp, suffocating, toxic, so close that Lnk could feel his moist breath in his ear when he whispered, “I want to watch you suffer .”

And with that, he pulled the scratchy felt bag over Link’s head and tied it tight around the neck. Link began to hyperventilate, he felt his heart pounding in his chest, he strained his wrists against the leather, cutting his skin. He needed to get out. He tried to scream but his voice wouldn’t come out, he was so scared.

“Tsk tsk tsk, we haven’t even started yet, so why don’t you settle down? Trust me, you will want to conserve your oxygen…” And with that ice cold water was poured over the bag. It tasted like rot and mud and all things unwanted. Link couldn’t breathe, he coughed and tried to spit the water out, but Mandrake poured more over it. 

“You know, Prince Link…”

More water poured into his mouth, the felt bag clung to his skin, to the inside of his mouth when he tried to breathe. He closed his mouth as the next round of water was poured onto him, he tried to hold his breath as long as he could, his lungs were burning, screaming for air. 

“If I could offer you a piece of advice…”

More water, more coughing, less breathing, he felt like he was drowning. He tried to move his head out of the way of the stream of water, but a strong hand grabbed his chin and held it in place. Link struggled against the restraints, tried to scream through the water, coughed and coughed.

“Don’t talk back to Hera anymore…”

More water, he wanted to vomit, more coughing, more struggling, less breathing, he couldn’t keep this up much longer…

“In fact… if I were you, I wouldn’t speak at all.” 

More water, more water, a waterfall of water, too much, he couldn’t struggle, he couldn’t cough, he was going to drown… the room was growing darker, soon his limbs wouldn’t move, he felt his subconscious being slowly lulled into sleep, water filled his lungs, he just let it happen… 

Am I going to die…?

Then, before he knew what was happening, the bag was ripped off his head, the restraints removed, he was on the ground, coughing, vomiting putrid water, he could breathe again. His throat was raw, his lungs were stinging, but he was alive.

His vision was blurry, but he saw Mandrake leaning down towards him, a frown stretching the lengths of his face,

“What a pity. You didn’t last long at all.” 

Link didn’t reply, his brain was too focused on breathing. In… and out… in… and out… 

And he kept on like this. He kept breathing, in and out… in and out… until the room went black.

After that incident, Link never argued with Hera about whether or not he killed his father, In fact, he’d never argued again with her. The morning after the incident, Link didn’t speak. He didn’t speak the day after that either. Or the day after that. It didn't matter that he didn’t talk back though, because Hera kept telling him over and over and over and over that he killed his father… Soon he had forgotten what it had felt like to think otherwise. After all, he had been the one to switch the glasses. But… no matter how often she told him, Link could never bring himself to accept the fact he was… what she said he was. He wasn’t. Link told himself that over and over, because he’d prove it. He’d prove to everyone: Hera, Mandrake, and all of Hyrule Kingdom that he wasn’t what the Prophecy said he was. That he wasn’t a bad person, that he wouldn’t slaughter thousands of innocent people. He’d prove to them that the Prophecy didn’t mean shit. That he could fight against it, and that he could win. That fate wasn’t the end all be all. He would prove to them all that he could escape his fate.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Bastard! Get UP!” Link felt something kick his stomach. His eyes popped open and he coughed, brown water foaming out of his mouth. He blinked, it was bright, a pair of muddy feet stood in front of him.

Where am I…? He wondered as his muddled brain struggled to remember what happened.

Let’s see, I remember the party, dancing with Aryll, looking for her, fighting, Zelda, fighting with Zelda, walking with her, running with her, a strange guy with a sword, jumping with her… so the person who’s standing with me must be…

He looked up. Yep, it was Zelda. The pretty green 2 piece gown she was wearing last night was covered with mud, algae, and river gunk. The fabric looked ragged and torn. Zelda herself was quite ragged as well. Her bejeweled shield had disappeared, but her Zuliquar sword still hung in its sheath on a leather belt around Zelda’s waist. Cuts and bruises covered her arms and face, probably from the monsters that had attacked. Her normally golden blonde hair was turned a rich honey color, well the bits that weren’t covered in mud and algae were honey color. It hung all the way down to her waistline, Link hadn’t realized it was so long when she had it tied up. Her clasp must have washed away in the river. He watched as she blew a curled piece out of her face and she stared back at him.

He sat up and looked at his own clothes, his white pants were stained brown and green as well, and torn to shreds. The front of his shirt was almost completely gone, scraps of blue fabric barely clinging together across the large, dark maroon gashes on his chest.

He touched them, immediately they began to burn, and his memory flashed back to a pain similar to burning alive, he remembered being overwhelmed, thinking the only way to make it stop was to claw out his insides.

Wait, where is it?! Link frantically felt around for the sketch book he had tucked into his coat.

“You looking for this?” Zelda pulled the sketch book from behind her back. She tossed it over to Link. He caught it, the pages sopping wet and squishing together with a squelch.

It’s ruined… He thought bitterly. As much as he wanted to see if any of his drawings survived, the pages would likely rip if he tried to now. So, with a sigh, he tucked the book back into what remained of his coat.

Where are we…? Link wondered. He wanted to ask Zelda, so he searched his pockets for the notebook and pen he kept handy. 

Guess that’s out… he thought when he pulled out a sagging sloppy mess of paper.

Time for plan B… he turned to the ground. The mud felt cool and slimy under his finger as he wrote out a message.

Where are we?

He felt Zelda peering over his shoulder as he wrote. When he was done, she didn’t reply right away. He watched her emerald green eyes take in their surroundings, the river bank, the dirt road just behind them, the mountains in the distance, the winding river in front of them.

“We should be right near Kakariko village.” She stated. Link’s eyes widened. How did she know where they were??

How did you know that?

He quickly drew another message.

Zelda snorted. “I’ve been on this route plenty of times with Urbosa. When you’ve travelled as much as I have, you start to get a feel for the places on the map, even if you were passed out on the way there.” She smiled to herself, looking quite proud.

Link raised an eyebrow skeptically, something in her voice told him that she wasn’t telling him the whole truth. He looked behind her and a picket sign caught his gaze. He could just barely make out the words, “Kakariko Village,” on the higher sign pointing up the road that led up a hill.

Liar… Link thought. But he didn’t have time to question Zelda further, because she said,

“We should really get going. I don’t know about you, but I’m cold, hungry, and tired. And I don’t want some sort of fungus to start growing on me under these wet clothes.” Zelda rang out the ends of her dress to make a point at the stream of water flowing from it.

When she was done, she turned on her heels, and started walking towards the road. Link scrambled to his feet and followed suit.

~

It was nightfall before the lanterns of Kakariko village finally came into view. They had been walking on a small dirt trail in between two cliff sides for what seemed like hours. They hadn’t spoken, each too concerned with hunger plaguing the sides of their stomachs, the blisters blossoming on the bottoms of their feet, the rash budding across their skin underneath their still damp clothes, the sandpapery feeling of their mouths slowly drying out from dehydration.

Kakariko village was a small settlement inhabited mostly by the Sheikah Clan, who were responsible for protecting Hyrule Kingdom from enemies of mankind, such as monsters, dark magick users, and the Yiga Clan. The culture and decor were vastly different from most places in Hyrule. Red lanterns hung from strings criss-crossing the paths all above them. There were small wooden buildings with thatched roofs and sliding paper screen doors, each with the signature crest of the sheikah, a red eye with a teardrop falling from the center, painted on the front. High cliffs enclosed the small village, preventing much growth, but it helped it remain hidden and deterred monsters from raiding it.

Link was blown away by it all, he’d never been anywhere but Castle Town after his father had died, Hera forbade it. His eyes were darting all over the place, drinking in everything the village had to offer with a childlike wonder and curiosity. He was so absorbed in the novelty of it all, that he didn’t even notice all the eyes staring at him and Zelda while walking down the main path. He didn’t notice that the farmers stopped tilling their gardens, the old ladies stopped feeding their cuccos, the little children stopped dead in their tracks during a game of tag.

“We’re here.” Zelda stopped suddenly in front of a small wooden shop, a massive stick torso-figure wearing a blue fabric shirt rested on the front of the roof, Link guessed it was some sort of clothes shop.

Zelda was hesitating at the door. After a beat, she turned slowly towards Link, her face grave.

“I don’t have any money. My pouch with all my coins washed away in the river.” 

After a minute, he realized that Zelda was asking without asking if he had any money that they could use to pay for some new clothes. He patted the sides of his pants and checked the recesses of what was left of his coat, but came up empty.

He shook his head to Zelda.

“Fuuuuck!” She cursed. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but I guess we don’t have much of a choice.” She pulled the small emerald earrings dangling from her ears and unclasped the small gold necklace hanging from her neck. She glared at him when he caught her eye.

“Well don’t just stand there! Don’t you have anything we can sell?”

Oh right! Duh, I can’t let her be the only one selling her valuables… Link undid the silver cufflinks holding his sleeves together that somehow weren’t ripped off and added them to pile in Zelda’s outstretched hand. 

“And those?” Zelda nodded up at his rusted blue hoop earrings. Link’s hands immediately shot up to covet them possessively. He set his mouth into a frown and shook his head violently, those earrings used to belong to his father, the one possession of his he had given to Link before he died, so Hera couldn’t steal them away.

“Look here, asshole!” Zelda snarled. “I’m selling mine, and I’m damn well not going to be the only one. So take. Them. Off.” She spat.

Link shook his head again and glowered back at her. She wasn’t going to bully him into this. He crouched to the ground and drew a message into the dust on the road.

They were my father’s. It’s the only thing I own of his.

Link looked back up at Zelda, her face softened slightly. He watched her right hand stroke the bangle bracelet on her left wrist. She turned away.

“Fine. This should cover what we need.” She closed her fist around the jewelry and started towards the door. “Stay here. I won’t be long.” She called over her shoulder before disappearing behind the door.

After about 5 minutes of waiting obediently outside the door, Link began to get bored.

Come on… what’s taking her so long? Link looked around and spotted a pond with a small wooden dock leading out to a statue of the goddess Hylia.

Guess it wouldn’t hurt to check that out… she probably won’t be out for a while yet… he glanced back at the door before hurrying over to the shrine, eager for something new to explore. The wood creaked beneath his boots as he stepped onto the dock. He heard some frogs croaking, and fireflies were blinking, casting a green glow on the clear water dotted with lily pads. The air felt different here, peaceful. Link stepped further onto the dock and approached the statue of the goddess. It was beautiful, her motherly face looked ahead, stone wings sprouted out from her sides, hands clasped together in prayer. Link’s fingers twitched, he wanted nothing more than to sketch her, but his sketchbook was still sopping wet.

Well, if I can’t sketch, I might as well ask for the goddess’s blessing… Link stepped forward, clasped his hands together and bowed his head.

  Dear goddess, please watch over Aryll and–

Suddenly a voice echoed into his mind, bouncing off the sides of his brain, it wasn’t loud but it was so powerful it masked everything else he was feeling.

Stop at once, blasphemer, you are a defilement… ask not for my blessing, for you have been cursed by him… leave! Before you are destroyed!

All of the sudden his chest was on fire, it burned, he felt like he was being scorched alive from the inside, he was overwhelmed with pain and agony. Before he could do anything, Link was blown back with a powerful force, he landed on the grass in front of the dock. He landed hard onto his back, the wind knocked from his lungs. The burning faded into a dull ache, and he quickly felt something rising in his throat.

Link rolled over and vomited a black, sticky ooze. It bubbled against the green grass, quickly staining the ground black. He watched as the grass absorbed the black goo and slowly wilted, the green life quickly draining out, leaving it sad and wilted… and dead.

What the hell is that stuff…? Link wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve, and his memory flashed back to the incident with Zelda. He had woken up to a glowing light from Zelda’s hand, (which now he figured must have been her Priestess magick) After she tried to use it on him, he had felt that same feeling, of being roasted alive from the inside. He’d also puked up this gross black stuff. 

That can’t be a coincidence…

You are correct, it is not… the thing sleeping in his chest stirred awake, and the presence he dreaded filled his mind, freezing him in place, turning his blood to ice.

Fool… the goddess’s magick will destroy us… do not do that again… and with that, the voice receded, Link felt like he could breathe again. He wiped the cold sweat off his brow and took a deep breath, savoring the warm night air of Kakariko village. 

I guess I better keep away from any goddess statues, but how am I supposed to prove I’m not Evil’s Incarnate if I can’t get near the most holy beings in all of Hyrule…? Link sighed bitterly. 

“Hey! Bastard Prince! What are you doing? I thought I told you to stay put!” Link jumped to his feet to find a very angry Zelda marching towards him. She was dressed in a light blue tunic with a white bodice, dark brown trousers and tan leather boots, fingerless gloves and a black cloak. 

She crossed her arms and glared at him, waiting for his answer.

Link nervously scratched the back of his head and pointed to the goddess statue.

Zelda rolled her eyes and muttered underneath her breath, “Can’t leave you alone for five minutes…” she perked up when she noticed Link staring at her.

“Well, whatever. Here, take these.” She tossed a bundle of clothes at him. He caught them, barely.

Ah! Link cried out when a small pouch slammed into the side of his cheek. He glared at Zelda.

What the hell was that for? 

Zelda shrugged. Link rolled his eyes and opened the pouch. In it, he found a handful of gold and silver coins. He looked up at Zelda with furrowed brows and tilted his head.

What the hell is this for?

She rolled her eyes. “That’s all your cufflinks were worth. Now come on,” She started trotting towards another shop, “You get us a room for the night at that inn,” She gestured towards a shop with a young brunette woman sweeping outside, she perked up at the mention of potential customers, “And I’ll get us some supplies over there.” She gestured to another shop across the path with a large pot molded into the roof, the sign for a general store. She started to head towards the general store when Link reached out and grabbed her hand.

“Ugh, again with the fingers? Dude, you need to get that fetish under control.” Zelda scoffed. Link shook his head at her.

I’ve never done this sort of thing before, I don’t know how any of this works– He wanted to tell her, but she interrupted.

“Look, if you’re worried about money, don’t be. That’s more than enough. Now I gotta go before the store closes. Meet me out when you’re done.” And Zelda rushed off before Link could tell her that he didn’t have any way of talking to the innkeeper without his notebook.

He sighed. Guess I’m on my own… he took a deep breath, smiled and nodded his head at the brunette who was staring at him, and strode through the door into the inn. 

The first thing he noticed was how loud it was in there. He had stepped into a pub serving some sort of alcoholic drink that was too cheap to be wine or champagne and steaming plates of food. 

Link felt his stomach growl and his mouth beginning to water. He hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, more than 24 hours ago. 

Come on Link, focus! Now is not the time for drooling over food! He shook his head and walked to a desk where a burly looking man with a bald head and black beard stood writing notes in a ledger. He looked up when Link approached. After giving Link’s appearance a good look up and down, he cleared his throat,

“Can I help you?” Link pointed to a sign that listed the rate for a room per night. The innkeeper blinked. 

“Uh, you need a room?” He said with uncertainty.

Link nodded.

“Alright, that will be one silver coin.” Link pulled one out of his pouch and handed it to him. The innkeeper took it, looking a little surprised. 

With the way I’m dressed, I wouldn’t think I could pay for a room either…

“Sign your name here while I get your room ready.” He slid a clipboard across the desk with a list of guests' names. Then, disappeared down a hallway. Link started to sign his name Link Hyrule, but quickly scribbled it out.

Better not, don’t want anyone knowing I'm the prince. With my reputation, I’d be lucky if they stabbed me on the spot… but what do I write instead…?

After debating for a minute or two, he decided to go with the name of the author of one of the combat strategy books he studied extensively as a kid.

Sef Mildri

The innkeeper returned, took the clipboard back and frowned at the first crossed out name. He apparently didn’t care enough to press Link about it, for he simply shrugged and said,

“Alright, Mr. Mildri, you’ll be in room 132.” He dropped a large rusty key with a leather tag reading “132” into the palm of Link’s hand and turned back to his work. “Room’s down the hall to the right.”

Link nodded a “thank you” and instead of going down the hallway, he turned back around and went out the door. 

Zelda will probably be pissed if I waste time checking out the room…  he shuddered at the image of her berating him for taking so long.

“Finally!” Zelda shouted at him when she spotted him leaving the inn. She hurried over to him. She was carrying two enormous travel packs on her back along with an armful of other curious items.

“You get the room?”

Link handed her the roomkey.

“Good.” She looked relieved, like she had doubted that he’d be able to do it.

“Here,” She pushed a small bag into his arms. Link opened it and found a glass bottle with the label “Shampoo,” a towel, and a fine-toothed comb. When Link frowned at them, she replied, “It’s for the public baths.” she nodded at a big building down the path. “The lady working the shop said you needed to bring your own soap and towel. I’m going to drop this stuff off in the room, then head over to the baths myself. You should get a head start, I’m surprised they even rented you a room looking like that.” She scoffed and raised an eyebrow before pushing past him into the inn.

I guess she’s right, I’m starting to get a rash from these clothes…

~

Link was toweling off after spending a good 20 minutes scrubbing off all the river gunk and grime. By the time he was done, the water had turned a dark green color. In the bath itself, he noticed something a little… off. The scratch wounds in his chest weren’t really healing, instead of scabbing over, dark, maroonish black spidery vein-like threads were spreading from it in all directions. Link had tried scrubbing it off in the bath, but it seemed to be strained underneath his skin.

Maybe this is what holy magick does to me… He wondered. Link decided to ignore it for now, since it wasn’t hurting him or anything.

After he was done drying his hair, he began to comb through the knots in his hair in front of the mirror.

CLANG! He dropped the comb onto the tiled bathroom floor.

No no no nononono! Fuck! This can’t be happening! He bent forward in the mirror, refusing to believe that his eyes weren’t deceiving him. In his wild dirty blonde hair, were streaks upon streaks of bright red running from his scalp all the way to the ends.

Damn it! He wanted to scream. The dye was supposed to last longer than this!! And of course I don’t have any with me! Then Link’s memory flashed back to when he and Zelda first entered the village. They had passed by a peculiar shop with vials and vials of colors sitting outside.

Maybe that was a dye shop! I bet I’ll be able to buy some there! He hurriedly pulled on his dark blue boxers which miraculously hadn’t been damaged in the river and threw on the clothes Zelda bought him. Tan trousers with matching leather boots, a dark red tunic with leather wrist guards, and a black cloak. He hastily tied his hair into a pony and pulled the hood over his face to hide it. He shoved his soap, towel and brush, and still mucky clothes into his bag and hurried outside down the pathway towards the dye shop. His mind flashing back to a similar memory…

“Father, why do I have to put this stuff in my hair?” He’d asked King Daizeus who was helping him dye the streaks in his hair to match the rest of it, which was dirty blonde. 

“To dye your hair.” His father replied, smiling.

“But why do I need to dye my hair?” Link whined, getting antsy from having to sit still for such a long time.

“Because, son, the red in your hair was from your mother. And it would make the kingdom very sad if they knew you weren’t Hera’s real son, so that is why you must dye it.”

“But I thought you said my real mother was an amazing woman? So why would the kingdom be sad if they knew I was her son?” Link looked up. His father didn’t answer right away, he seemed to be lost in thought, a sad smile on his face.

“She was, son. She was the most amazing woman I had ever met. But that doesn’t matter to the people, some people might even try to hurt you if they found out you have red hair. So promise me, Link,” he had grabbed his shoulder, the smile had vanished from his face. “Promise me that you won’t let anyone find out about your red hair.”

“Okay, father.” Link had nodded, not really understanding how his hair color could make people want to harm him. Later, he had realized just what his hair would tell people if they ever saw it, that he was a Gerudo male, and therefore must be Evil’s Incarnate. It wouldn’t matter what Link would try to tell them afterwards, that he was a good person or that the prophecy didn’t mean anything, they’d already be after him with their pitchforks and torches.

He shook his head to clear himself of those memories when he reached the dye shop. It was an open air plan, from here he could see bottles and bottles of different colors on shelves, different clothes on mannequins half dyed blue and greens. Splotches of all the colors of the rainbow splattered onto the walls and floors. A sign nailed onto a support beam read, “Recently relocated from Hateno Village”. A short pale Hylian with a receding hairline and bright red hair who was currently dying a cloak a bright pink spotted Link and hurried outside towards him.

“Hello, dear customer! What can Sayge do to help you? Are you hoping to dye this cloak a sage green? Or perhaps a bright red?” He pulled at Link’s cloak. Link quickly backed away. “Oh! My apologies, you want to see the other colors Sayge can offer you, don’t you? Well come on in, don’t be shy! Tell Sayge exactly what you are looking for!” Sayge ushered Link into the shop. 

Link held up a finger and searched his pockets for his notebook, but then remembered that it was still sopping wet in his bag right now.

Wait, what’s this? He felt something in the other pocket of his tunic. He pulled out a blue leather bound notebook and a pen.

How did this get in here…? He smiled to himself when he realized that Zelda must have bought him one at the store. She probably only bought it for him because it was necessary for him to communicate with her and her to understand him, but still, he was grateful.

He scribbled out a message and held it up for Sayge to see.

Do you have any hair dye?

Sayge didn’t seem phased by Link’s style of communication. “Hair dye you say? Of course Sayge has it! What color were you looking for? We have pink and purple and blue and orange! Or perhaps you would like to match Sayge and dye bright red?” He pointed to his head and laughed a snorty, cackle-ly laugh, it reminded Link of a bird.

Link’s eyes widened and he shook his head.

I would like this color. 

He carefully removed a piece of blonde hair from underneath his cloak and showed it to Sayge. He studied it for a moment, then clapped his hands excitedly.

“Ah of course Sayge has it! I shall grab it for you.” He rushed over to the nearest shelf and plucked a small bottle off it.

“This color should work.” He held it up to Link’s hair and nodded. “Now if you’ll follow me,” Sayge led Link to a small chair. Color splatters stained the wood and the floor around it.

“Now if you’ll just have a seat, I’ll gladly dye your hair for you, no extra charge.” He pushed Link into the seat and reached up to grab his hood. Link seized his wrist and held it there.

“Um, sir, don’t you want Sayge to…” He cut himself off when he saw Link’s glare. Link squeezed his wrist tighter and rose from the chair. After a beat, Link released his wrist and backed further away from Sayge. 

Sayge began to stutter, his black eyeliner starting to run from his sweat, “M-my apologies, s-sir. I shouldn’t have b-been so presumptuous. Just the dye for you then?” Link nodded. 

“A-alright, that’ll be one silver coin.” Link pulled one out from his pouch and tossed it to him. Sayge handed him the bottle of hair dye with trembling hands, and Link left the store.

Phew, that was a close one… Link thought as he headed back to the inn. Sure maybe he would have thought I dyed my hair red, but I can’t afford to take any chances here… 

Link soon reached the inn and entered, and this time he went down the hallway until he reached room 132. He tried the knob and found it unlocked, so he pushed open the door and found Zelda lounging on the only bed in the room in the corner. Her hair was damp and she looked much cleaner than when he saw her last. She sprang up when she saw him.

“Finally, I’m going to get a bite to eat in the pub. Watch the stuff, and let me back in when I’m done. I don’t like the looks of some of the customers here…” She rushed out the door before Link could ask her anything and soon, he was alone.

I wonder what she meant by not liking the look of some of the people here…? He wondered as he looked around the small room. 

Geez, this room is smaller than my bedroom…

A single twin-sized bed with a fluffy looking pillow and a soft looking brown comforter sat in the corner next to a nightstand and a small lamp. A small wooden desk sat in the other corner bathed in the white glow of the moon underneath a small window. Link set his bag onto the desk and strode into the small bathroom. A small toilet and a sink and mirror were the only things that the small bathroom could fit.

Finally I can pee! I’ve been holding it for hours! After using the bathroom, Link got to work dying his hair. He unclasped the cloak and removed the pony tail. His hair fell just past his shoulders when it wasn’t tied up, which is why he usually tied it up. Dealing with hair getting in his face while training was a pain. 

Next, he ducked underneath the faucet and wet his hair down, again. Then he poured the bottle onto his head and used his fingers to massage the dye into every square inch of his head. When he was done, he combed through it, making sure not a single hair was still red.

There, that oughta do it. I look like me again. He smiled at the undoubtedly handsome boy looking back at him.

After exiting the bathroom, he saw that Zelda still wasn’t back yet. His stomach growled.

Ughh! I have to find a way to take my mind off my hunger, otherwise I’m going to go insane… oh! I know! I’ll sketch something!

He pulled out the finally-dry sketchbook sitting in the bag and opened to the page where Aryll’s drawing had been.

Oh no… the drawing was ruined. The pencil lines had blurred into each other, and the murky brown river water left stains all over the picture. He couldn't even tell what it was supposed to be anymore, it just looked like a mess of black blobs.

Fuck… I spent so much time on it, and Aryll never got to see it… suddenly he wasn’t in the mood for drawing anymore.

Before he had time to mope though, Zelda bursted through the door.

“Damn, that meal was good!” She laughed. “Here, brought you something, Bastard Prince.” Her cheeks were flushed, Link could faintly smell alcohol on her when she handed him a plate and a mug of amber liquid.

Link didn’t hesitate, he tore into the sandwich like a wild animal. It was gone in seconds. He couldn’t even tell what was on it, he swallowed it so fast. He downed the amber liquid in one gulp too, but this time he tasted a honey-like flavor mixed in with the usual alcohol.

He immediately felt the effects of the booze hit him, the warmth curling in his chest, the heavy feeling setting in his tongue, his thoughts became calmer, and his muscles more relaxed.

What kind of drink is that? He scrawled the message and showed it to Zelda. She scoffed.

“What, you’ve never had mead before?”

Link shook his head.

“Must not have been refined enough for you bastards…” Zelda sneered.

Link chose not to reply to that. Better not start anything with the one he’d be spending the night in the same room with. Instead, he decided on a different tactic.

Thank you for the notebook. 

When Zelda read the message, she quickly turned away. In the split second Link was able to see her eyes, he thought she looked a little happy. 

“It’s nothing. It’d be so fucking annoying if we had to make a pit stop and watch the ground everytime you wanted to say something.” 

“Anyway, if you really want to thank me, let me have the bed tonight.” she looked back at him, wearing a haughty smirk.

Sure. It’s all yours. Zelda’s eyes widened, like she didn’t expect him to give it to her without more of a fight.

“Alright, well, get some rest, we’re leaving for Zora’s domain at dawn tomorrow.”

Link frowned. Why Zora’s Domain?

Zelda glared. “Um, because it’s the closest? Weren't you listening when the Hero told us to gather up all the champions and bring them back to Hyrule Castle?” She paused, Link didn’t answer. “To help with all the monsters and Evil’s Rebirth? Ringing any bells for you or is that pretty little head of yours just for show?”

Oh right, I remember now. That guy with the master sword, who must be the Hero, told us as we were falling into the river. I guess it’ll be a while before we get back then… and I’ll be stuck with her the whole time…

Link wanted to cry. He wasn’t sure he could handle this abuse for the next few weeks or so. With an audible groan, he wrote one last message before tucking the notebook back in his pocket.

Yeah, I remember now. Goodnight.

Zelda didn’t reply. She turned out the light and tossed a blanket down onto Link after he settled onto the floor a few feet away from the bed.

Thanks… he thought but didn’t say it out loud. It didn’t matter though, within a minute he heard Zelda start to snore softly. Link’s mind began to wander to Hyrule Castle and everything that happened that night.

Aryll, I hope you’re alright, I’m sure the Hero will be able to protect you. Just hold on… stay strong until I come back… I love you.

He hoped his message would reach her as he drifted off into a deep sleep.

Chapter Text

Zelda opened her eyes. She had been lying there for about an hour, slowly letting herself wake up so she wouldn’t be exhausted when she finally got out of bed. She yawned and looked at the clock hanging on the wall beside the bed: 5:28 a.m. She smiled to herself, over the years, she had trained her body to wake up at dawn no matter how much sleep she had gotten the night before. She was glad to see her circadian rhythm had not failed her, even in these unusual circumstances.

“Alright, now to figure out what path to take…” Zelda mumbled to herself as she reached for the map she bought at the general store that she had left resting on the nightstand.

“If we go down here… then through the marshes, it should only take a few days on foot, but if we invest some horses we would get there faster… but then we can’t bring all the way to Zora’s domain…” after many a back and forth debate, she finally decided on journeying on foot, since the horses wouldn’t be able to cross the marsh or Zora’s Domain, and walking would ultimately only lose a few hours.

Zelda packed her map into her bag and almost tripped over Link, who was still sleeping peacefully on the floor. She reached to gently shake his shoulder to wake him up, but then she remembered how he held her hand with out her permission two nights ago, and she remembered the incident in the closet she still hadn’t forgiven him for, and she remembered that it was his fault that her parents were dead. Anger and bitterness and rage welled up inside her, and so she kicked him in the back instead.

Link woke up with a start, looking wildly in all directions, panic and fear distorting his tranquil expression from moments ago, when his eyes focused on her, he quickly shifted his panic into confusion and something else… relief? Zelda shook her head, thinking she’d imagined it.

“It’s time to get up. Unlike you , I actually have a job to do. Which is following Queen Hera’s orders and taking your sorry ass all the way to Zora’s Domain and beyond. And if playing chauffeur wasn’t bad enough, I also have to play babysitter! So get. Up. NOW!” Zelda shouted. Link blinked back at her, his eyes wide. He immediately scrambled to his feet and scribbled out a message in his notebook

Sorry, I didn’t mean to oversleep.

Zelda glared at the message. “I don’t want your ‘sorry’ I want your ass up and packed in the next 5 minutes. We have to hurry if we want to be on the road by 6:00.” Zelda saw the color drain from Link’s face.

“Is there a problem?” She laid her hands on her hips impatiently.

What about breakfast?

Zelda scoffed. “What about breakfast? We don’t have time for that! If you’re that hungry you can eat one of these after we leave.” She dug in her bag and pulled out a wrapped oat bar and tossed it to Link. He looked at it skeptically before sighing sadly and tucking it into his pocket.

The next 10 minutes were spent packing the bags and getting ready for the day, then, at 6:02, they closed the door to the inn and started down the path out of Kakariko village. The sun had already risen past the horizon, Zelda could tell by the time, but because the village was surrounded by high cliffs, it still remained shrouded in shadow. Despite the darkness, most of the village was awake. The farmers had begun tending their soil, men and women were hauling lumber from the forest nearby, other young people were carrying baskets of laundry down to the washhouse. The air smelled like fresh dew and sizzling bacon and eggs as people cooked breakfast in their cooking pots outside. Zelda felt her stomach churn, food always made her nauseous in the morning.

She looked over to Link, he was munching ferally on the oat bar she gave him. When he was finished, he caught her eye and stared at her hopefully, reminding her of a puppy begging for food at the table.

Zelda chose to ignore him. Soon, they left the village, but Zelda kept her ears on high alert, listening for the sounds of people tailing them. Last night when she had entered the inn and again while she was dining at the pub, she noticed a group of 2 scruffy looking men and a hard-eyed woman sitting at the table. They hadn’t been talking, but they were watching Zelda. She tried to tell herself that she was probably just being paranoid, and they were just curious why a lady like her was dining alone, but the feeling she had the night in the pit of her stomach wouldn’t go away. So she decided to leave earlier, and if they chose to follow her, she’d catch them pretty quickly.

“I wonder what was up with those people back at the inn, and why they gave me such a bad feeling… maybe they’re bandits? Well, it’ll be fine. I’ll kill them if they try to mug me…” She mumbled underneath her breath. 

Link and Zelda walked on in silence, Zelda walked ahead with Link a few paces behind her, down the mountain path, past fields of natural herbs and long grasses, small groves of trees, past monsters camping in makeshift towers and skull rock formations. Zelda’s shoulders were aching terribly from her heavy pack, and her feet were starting to feel numb by the time they stopped for lunch at the start of the Lanayru Wetlands. 

“Alright, we’ll stop here for lunch.” Zelda threw her pack onto a patch of grass and rubbed her sore shoulders. Link did the same. Zelda immediately began busying herself with meal prep, she unhooked the travel pot from her pack, gathered some branches and twigs for a fire, and dug out some of the ingredients she had bought from the store: some carrots, some milk, some cheese, some apples, and a block of salt. She tossed them all into the pot and watched them start to sizzle and fry above the pan. She grabbed a wooden spoon from her pack and started stirring it, which is what she felt she should do since the concoction looked more liquid than solid. She felt Link’s eyes on her the whole time she was cooking, but she did her best to ignore them.

A bizarre smell wafted up as the milk and cheese started bubbling and boiling and the apples and carrots burned to a crisp. And the block of salt… was just sitting there. Zelda took the back of her sword and whacked it, trying to crush it into powder. She succeeded, kind of, instead of powder the block of salt broke into miniature blocks of salt. Once it looked… finished? Zelda grabbed some bowls from her pack and ladled the… creation into them.

“Here.” She handed Link a bowl, he looked down into it and frowned. She watched him tentatively lean forward and sniff it, then jerk back in disgust. 

“What a bastard, doesn’t appreciate all the effort I put into making this, fine then he can starve.” Zelda muttered as she sat down criss-cross applesauce a few feet away. She knew she wasn’t the best cook, but at least she tried. Unlike him who sat on his lazy ass and made her do all the work.

“Guess I’ll dig in…” She peered over the rim of the bowl. To say the meal (if it could even be called that) was gross looking was an understatement. Somehow, all the perfectly good ingredients turned into a bubbling pot of brownish greenish blackish sludge with chunks of burned carrots and apple floating on top.

“Damn it! I really thought it would work this time…” she mumbled. Ever since she was young, Zelda had never been a good cook. No matter who tried to coach her, Emati, Urbosa, Ebi or Sulak, she could never grasp it. She knew what ingredients were used in cooking, but she could never figure out which ones belonged in each dish. And even when someone told her exactly what ingredients to put in a dish, she still managed to light it on fire or char it or liquefy it somehow. Most of the things she cooked either made her vomit, and in the best case scenario she would almost vomit, and in the worst case scenario gave her food poisoning and made her bedridden for days.

“Come on Zelda, you can do this. You are starving , and you have to eat this.” Even though she said that, she felt no appetite when she dipped her spoon into the sludge and raised it to her trembling lips. She had to pry her mouth open, and just as she was about to stick the spoon in her mouth she felt a light kick on her foot. Zelda quickly dropped the spoon back into the bowl and looked up, secretly grateful for the interruption.

Link was holding up his notebook:

Thanks for the meal.

Zelda immediately jumped up, knocking over her bowl, the sludge spilling out and violating the grass below.

“Wait, hold on, you actually ate it??” He nodded. Her gaze darted to his bowl. It was empty. Her jaw dropped. She couldn’t even bring herself to take a bite, and she was used to having to eat her own cooking. “How?? You’re not delirious or anything, are you?” She lunged forward and slid her hand under his wild bangs to check his temperature. His forehead felt normal, so he didn’t have a fever, which was a good sign…

Link pushed her hands back and scribbled another message.

I was hungry, so I ate it. 

Zelda felt her jaw drop again. She was baffled, flabbergasted, was the boy sitting in front of her even human…? He couldn't be if he was able to stomach that .

“But, wasn’t it horrible? It smelled awful ! Did you actually ike it??” She drilled him, determined to find out if maybe she wasn’t as bad of a cook as she thought she was.

It wasn’t the best thing I’ve eaten, but it wasn’t as bad as it looks.

He turned the page in his notebook and wrote another message.

The taste might have been a little strange, but it filled me up, so thank you.

For a good 30 seconds, Zelda was stunned speechless. Someone was exactly able to finish a dish that she made, she hadn’t thought such a person existed. To think it was the Bastard Prince of all people… it was so ironic, the person she hated the most had said the nicest thing to her about her cooking. It was laughable. 

“Haha!” Zelda laughed, it wasn’t sarcastic. It was genuine, happy, she laughed and laughed, so hard that her sides began to hurt. She looked over at Link, he was giving her a confused smile.

“You know,” She said as she wiped a tear from her eye, “that’s probably the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me about my cooking. In case this shit wasn’t enough of a clue,” She kicked the bowl with spilt sludge, “I’m not much of a cook.” She laughed again before bending over to pick up the bowl and spoon. She reached to grab Link’s when she saw another message he was holding.

Yeah, I could tell. He smiled softly at her. Zelda rolled her eyes and took the bowl from him, careful so her fingers wouldn’t graze his.

“We should probably get going,” She said as she stuffed the bowls into her pack and hung the pot from the back. Link nodded and shouldered his pack, and they were off.

~
If the walk down the mountain was brutal and unenjoyable, the trudge through the marshes was 10 times worse. Mosquitoes constantly buzzed around Zelda and Link’s faces and ears, skillfully evading their hands when they’d try to slap them off. Green swamp water gradually soaked their boots and seeped into their feet as they fought through the sticky mud. The stench of rotten eggs clung to the low bent trees and leaves that spilled into the water. The only sounds they heard were the occasional slap of a mosquito, the bellow of a bullfrog, or the suction-cup sound of prying their boots from the mud.

The sun hung low in the sky, red and orange spilling out like an egg yolk into the sky, and their shadows stretched out far in front of them by the time they reached the end of the swamp. 

“Finallly! I thought that fucking swamp would never end!!” Zelda grumbled as she threw her bag onto a patch of soft springy grass nestled between two tall boulders and sank down into the cool grass, the perfect remedy for her aching muscles. This is where they decided to set up camp for the night. Zelda allowed herself a moment of rest before springing to her feet and handing out orders,

“Okay, I’ll make dinner, you get a fire going.” She pointed at Link, who was sitting with his back against the boulder. He perked up at the mention of food. 

“Let’s see, how about if I use apples and honey this time with the cheese…” Zelda rummaged through her bag again. She could hear the sounds of twigs breaking and feet shuffling behind her. She snuck a glance back, Link was making a ring of stones and setting up a teepee formation with logs and sticks he gathered.

“Well I’ll be damned, he isn’t totally useless after all…” Zelda scoffed. Once she grabbed an armful’s worth of random ingredients, she hurried over to the pot over the now roaring fire to start preparations. Link stepped in front of her. His ocean blue eyes were determined, his face was grave, he looked like someone about to enter into hostage negotiations.

“Hey, what’s the deal? Don’t you want dinner?” Zelda glared at him. Link held up his finger and pulled out his notebook.

Let me make dinner tonight.

“Pfft! You? Cook? Don’t make me laugh.” Zelda said, and she tried to step around him. She could feel her stomach practically shrinking she was so hungry, but Link stepped in front of her again.

Please, I insist.

Zelda hesitated, she really didn’t want to let the Bastard Prince do anything for her, but she also really didn’t want to eat her cooking again. She hadn’t eaten lunch or breakfast and she wasn’t sure she could survive the trip tomorrow if she skipped another meal. Zelda was waffling back and forth on this decision when her stomach rumbled loudly. Link arched a blonde eyebrow at her, she narrowed her eyes at him. After a beat, she finally surrendered. 

“Uggh! Fine! You can make dinner.” She dumped all the ingredients into his arms, “But if it’s disgusting I swear I’ll kill you in your sleep.” She marched back down to the boulder and sat down with a huff. She watched the Bastard Prince, scrutinizing his every move. She watched him stalk over to her bag and put the cheese and carrots and apple back in there, she watched him pull out a chunk of salt and an armful of tomatoes and a wooden spoon. She watched him pour two jars of milk into the pot, immediately sizzling and hissing.

“Hmrph! I can do that…” She crossed her arms over her chest, but still she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He pulled a small dagger from one of the leather straps in his tunic and started slicing the tomatoes straight into the pot, each one making a satisfying plunk sound as it hit the milky broth. Without realizing, Zelda began to scoot closer to him, wanting to learn more, curious about how a spoiled bastard prince who dined on beef wellington every night seemed to know what he was doing.

She watched as he held the block of salt over the top of the simmering stew and started scraping the top off, sending tiny crystals straight into the pot. Somewhere along the way, Zelda’s eyes drifted from his hands to his face. It was red from the heat, a bead of sweat slid down his forehead down the side of his cheek bone to his smooth jawline. His ocean blue eyes were narrowed in concentration, even the tip of his tongue stuck out at the corner of his mouth.

He must have sensed someone staring at him, because his gaze flashed to Zelda and his lips upturned into a small bashful half-smile. He scooted over to give Zelda more room near the pot, then tucked his dagger back into his tunic and started stirring the stew.

Zelda immediately tore her eyes away from him and scooted forward.

Tch! Did he think I was staring at him?? As if! I just want to see if his dish will turn out as bad as mine, that’s all! 

She focused her attention on the delicious smell wafting up from the bubbling stew that was making her mouth water. She licked her lips in anticipation. It looked so good…

A soft tap on her shoulder ripped her from her fantasies of eating. 

Could you grab the bowls?

“Uh, sure.” She hopped to her feet and practically tripped over herself trying to get the bowls and spoons as fast as humanly possible. Link nodded to her in thanks, then ladled the simmering soup into two bowls. He passed one to Zelda, their fingers brushing slightly as she took it from him.

Zelda didn’t waste any time, she dipped her spoon into the stew and shoved it into her mouth.

“Owoowowow! Hot hot hot!” She cursed as the hot liquid scalded her tongue. But the taste was too good to stop. The saltiness complimented the natural sweetness of the Hylian Tomato, and the milky broth slid down her throat like butter. She shovelled more and more spoonfuls into her mouth. Once her bowl had dried up, she shoved it to Link for seconds. Then thirds, then fourths. She noticed Link was tucking the stew away even faster than she was. Between the two of them, Zelda, who hadn’t eaten properly all day, and Link, who had eaten all day, the pot disappeared faster than you could say “Fruity Tomato Stew”.

“Whew! That hit the spot!” Zelda patted her bloated stomach. She forgot how hungry good food made her, and just how much she could eat when it wasn’t her own cooking.

She glanced over at the bastard prince, he was wiping down the bowls and putting them back in her pack. He sat back against the boulders when he was finished, watching the sky above them.

“Hey, tell me something, Bastard Prince, why do you know how to cook? Don’t you have servants serving you those fancy-ass dishes morning, noon and night?” She asked as she threw another log onto the dying embers of the fire. The sun had completely disappeared under the hills, taking all the warmth along with it. A few stars began to peek out from underneath the twilight veil, winking down on them. A gentle breeze tickled her cheeks and played with her low braid. 

She watched Link stiffen and sit up straighter. He flashed his gaze to hers and narrowed his eyes at her slightly, he seemed to be trying to read her and her intentions, as if wondering why she’d ask that. After a minute, he pulled out his notebook and scrawled out a response.

I was bored, so I wanted to learn.

Zelda raised an eyebrow, “I don’t buy it.” Link simply shrugged. He didn’t reply but turned his gaze towards the fire. Zelda bet he was seeing whatever he wasn’t telling her in the flames, memories flashing through his mind. Zelda scoffed.

He’s clearly lying to me… but the question is why? Why would he need to learn to cook if his meals were prepared for him…? Unless… her mind flashed back to the incident in the closet. How terrified he seemed of his mother catching them, how despondent he’d been at dinner that one night with Urbosa and her, and how reluctant he’d been to disobey Queen Hera’s order to escort Zelda to her room, despite Zelda’s protests.

Maybe they don’t have a great relationship…? Whatever, serves him right. Why should he get to have an amazing relationship with his mother when he stole mine away…

She felt a soft kick to her foot again. Zelda jerked away and glared at the Bastard Prince, she was not in the mood to talk to him right now. She was about to chastise him, but she stopped short when she saw the concerned look on his face.

I heard footsteps.

Zelda nodded and held a finger to her lips, telling him to quiet down so she could listen. He nodded. Zelda strained her ears against the crackling of the fire and the crickets singing nearby. Then she heard it. The crunch of footsteps on the gravel path. The sound of low voices whispering. Zelda crawled over to the side of one of the boulders and peaked around it, she saw 3 dark figures walking slowly along the road. The shortest one in the middle saw the light from their campfire and nudged the other two. The three figures picked up the pace into a jog and rushed towards where Zelda and Link were sitting.

Zelda quickly moved back to where she was sitting. Her heart was racing, could these be the people that were staring at her in the inn? Were they bandits or human traffickers? Zelda shook her head.

Calm down Zelda, they could be completely normal travellers in need of directions…

Zelda threw another log onto the fire, her hand resting on her sheath, ready to draw it at a moment’s notice. She had to act natural, she didn’t want to start a fight if they turned out to be normal. She felt Link scooting closer to her until he was sitting right beside her.

Coward… Zelda thought, but she didn’t dare speak out loud or take her eyes off the travellers approaching them.

“Ho there!” The three figures stepped around the boulders towards Zelda and Link, the orange glow casting shadows on their faces. The first two were tall, burly and surly Hylian men with buzzed hair and sizable muscles, both wore the same frown on their faces. 

Wonder if they’re brothers…

The third one was a small woman with long brown hair and a wide smile.

“Thank goodness we found someone out here! Me and my brothers have been wandering this road for hours. We seemed to have taken a wrong turn somewhere on our way to Hateno Village, and we were hoping you kind folks wouldn’t mind sharing this fire for the night?” She spoke with a southern drawl, and her words seemed genuine enough, even her wide smile seemed natural, but there was just one problem. These were the same people who were watching her at the inn, and there was no way in hell Zelda was going to let her guard down, even if there was a perfectly plausible explanation for their behaviour.

“Sure, go ahead.” She gestured to the fire.

“Oh thank you so much! Y’all are too kind!” The woman and the men sat down close to the burning embers. Zelda snuck a glance at Link, he appeared perfectly calm, watching the strangers intently, but she noticed that he had flipped up his hood at some point, covering his hair and most of his face. Zelda tried to copy his calm demeanor and she placed her free hand on the ground next to her and leaned into it, hoping she gave off a lazy, relaxed air.

“No problem.” Zelda replied, her other hand gripping the sheath of her sword tighter. Something didn’t feel right about these people. The woman’s eyes dipped down to Zelda’s sword, and her smile stretched out even wider, revealing teeth that looked a little too pointy to be normal.

“So what are y’all doing out here? Going anywhere in particular?”

Zelda felt Link scoot even closer and close the gap between them. Their shoulders were pressed up against each other, the side of his leg brushed against her knee. She resisted the urge to turn to him right then and there and yell at him to move, she didn’t want to tip these people off that they weren’t normal travellers.

Zelda squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, looking the woman dead in the eye.

“I don’t make it a habit of telling strangers personal things like that.” Zelda thought the woman would get angry, but she merely smiled even wider (if that was even possible).

“Oh bless me! Where are my manners? My name’s Dolly, and these fellows here are Duncan and Damian,” She gestured to the right and left men. They nodded curtly. “Now, we aren’t strangers no more.” She laughed. “So what are y’all’s names?” She shifted her gaze between Zelda and Link. 

Zelda opened her mouth to reply when she felt something graze her wrist. Link was tracing his finger on the back of her wrist beside her.

What the hell is he doing?? Is he really that scared that he needs to hold my hand?

Zelda was about to jerk her wrist away when she felt the lines he was tracing become familiar. He was drawing letters on her wrist. Zelda couldn't help but feel a little impressed, the scooting close, the pressing up against her, all were tactical maneuvers to get a message to her without the strangers noticing. In some ways this worked even better than if he could speak to her, since they were so close they had absolutely no idea of what he was doing. It probably just looked like they were a couple or something and that’s why they were sitting so close. 

 Zelda focused her attention to what he was trying to spell out, while keeping up the ruse that she was still invested in the conversation.

S…

“I’m Mel, and this is Luke.” She nodded to Link. Dolly smiled. Zelda resisted the urge to shiver, Link’s finger tracing lines on her skin was sending a tingling feeling up her arm and down her body. Must be revulsion, Zelda concluded.

I…

“Well it’s certainly nice to meet you both. Now, are you two going anywhere special? A romantic getaway maybe?” 

C…

Zelda felt bile rise in her throat, but she quickly swallowed it and replied. 

“No, nothing like that. Just visiting relatives in Tarrey Town.”

K…

“Well that’s real nice. Tarrey Town’s lovely this time of year.” A cold breeze swept through the camp, sending sparks and ash flying towards the faces of the strangers. Zelda noticed Dolly didn’t even flinch.

“What about you three?”

L…

Dolly smiled again. Her dark eyes gleamed in the orange glow. “Oh nowhere in particular, just wherever the wind takes us.”

E… S-I-C-K-L-E… Sickle? What? Where?

“I thought you said you were headed to Hateno Village…” Zelda trailed off as she searched up and down the bodies of the travelers. Then she saw it. The gleam of silver peeking out from just under the coat of the Damian on Dolly’s right. Zelda squinted her eyes and could just barely make out the distinctive half moon outline under the fabric.

Dolly’s smile faltered. “Did I? Oh well, I suppose it doesn’t matter…” Dolly, Damian, and Duncan rose to their feet. Before Zelda could blink, Damian lunged forward and drew his sickle. Zelda didn’t have time to draw her sword before it came crashing down towards her face. She rolled out of the way, the sickle nicked the back of her ear.

Zelda sprung to her feet and drew her sword and the wooden shield she had purchased at Kakariko Village. All of the sudden a burst of smoky violet miasma shot out from the three strangers. The smell of death and rot polluting the air. It cleared in an instant, and when it did, all three of them were wearing bright red jumpsuits that clung to their skin, white masks that completely covered their faces and bore the sign of the Yiga Clan, an upside-down version of the Shekiah symbol. One burly one wielded a sickle, the other a broadsword, and the smaller one had a bow already drawn with an arrow. They released it, the arrow whizzed straight for Zelda’s face, she jumped to the left, just barely avoiding an arrow to the eye. The figure cursed. 

Shit, I’ve got to get to Link. He’s unarmed, and it’s my duty as Priestess to protect him! 

Zelda rushed over to Link, who was currently dodging blows from one of the burly men. She noticed the man was aiming for his head with the back of his broadsword and his fists.

Weird, is he trying to knock him out?

The other burly man jumped in front of Zelda before she could reach Link. He slashed his sickle, Zelda blocked it with her shield, making a dull thud sound as the sickle bounced off. Zelda swiped at the burly man’s arm, attempting to cut it off, but he jumped back.

Fwing! 

Another arrow shot forward, striking Zelda’s shield. The sickle came swinging again, Zelda caught it between the points of her sword, sparks flying as the metal scraped against each other. Zelda leaned forward and kicked the man in the gut, and while he was struck off balance, lunged toward him and stabbed him in the chest.

One down, two to go. She thought as she ripped the sword from his chest, the metal dripping with blood. Again she rushed towards Link, trying to reach him, he was still staving off the burly man’s blows, he had pulled out his pitiful dagger and was trying to strike the man, but without a proper weapon he couldn't risk getting too close to him, so dodging was really about all he could do.

Fwing!

Another arrow grazed the side of her shoulder, tearing the fabric. Zelda sprinted forward and swung her sword towards the neck of the small one, but they jumped out of the way. They drew another arrow, Zelda shot forward and sliced the bow in two. The wood crackled as the bow split in two. She then swung her sword once more, this time, lopping the head of the small one clean off.

One more… Zelda rushed towards the third man, trying to stab him in the back while he was distracted with Link. But before she could get close, he whirled around and swung sideways at Zelda’s left hand, knocking the shield from her grasp. Zelda cursed, she should have seen that coming. The man turned his attention to Link, but Link wasn’t looking, he’d been distracted by Zelda, only for a split second, but that split second can be the difference between life and death.

“Link, look out!” She shouted when she saw the man raise his fist, preparing to strike Link in the head. Zelda rushed forward and shoved him in the shoulder, pushing him out of the way. The man’s fist smacked Zelda’s right shoulder instead, pain blossoming all around it. Zelda cried out. She’d dropped her sword. She tried to lift her arm but it wouldn’t move.

Damn it! Must be dislocated!

The man raised his broadsword above his head, preparing to strike down on her, but Zelda wasn’t finished yet. She dove down to the ground, scooped up her sword with her left hand and shot back before the man’s strike could slice her clean in half. The man struck the ground, and in the split second when he was still couched over his sword, Zelda stabbed him in the stomach, kicked the broadsword out of his hands, and pushed him to the ground. She walked over to him and removed her sword from his stomach, immediately dark maroon blood started spilling onto his red jumpsuit and onto the ground.

“Why did you attack us?” She pointed the sword at the man’s neck. 

“I don’t answer to the likes of you, I only answer to Master Kohga.” The man replied, his voice deep and slightly muffled underneath the mask.

“Oh yeah? Who do you think you should answer to? The woman holding a sword at your throat and perfectly willing to dig it into your throat, or the master who’s not even here?” She dug the tips into the man’s throat, drawing the tiniest bit of blood.

“You think you can surpass the almighty and powerful Master Kohga?” He laughed maniacally. “Then you clearly aren’t as wise as the Prophecy makes you out to be, Priestess.” Zelda felt her blood freeze. How had he known she was the Priestess? She hadn’t even used her holy magick since it still took too long to call upon, and she was too inexperienced to properly use it in battle, especially when Link’s life was at stake… even though she hated the guy it was still her duty to protect him.

The man turned his head towards Link, who was still standing to Zelda’s right side.

“Don’t worry, we shall return for you soon enough, my lord.” And with that, he vanished, bursting into scraps of red talismans. 

“What the hell was that about…?” Zelda wondered aloud. She turned to Link, he shrugged as if to say,

Hell if I know .

“Ah fuck!” Zelda yelped when she poked her right shoulder. Pain shot up and down her entire arm. Yep, still dislocated. Link rushed over to her.

Are you okay?

His ocean blue eyes lit up with concern, and flicked from her shouler to her other shoulder, to her ear and back to her face. He managed to spot all her injuries, Zelda would have given him a gold star if she wasn’t in so much pain.

“Oh yeah! I’m just peachy! Having the time of my life over here!” she hissed, cradling her injured arm in her other arm.

Let me help you with that.

Link reached forward, Zelda hopped back.

“Hell no! You’ll just make it worse! I’m perfectly capable of doing this myself.” Zelda scoffed. “Besides, what do you know about treating injuries?” She watched Link’s face fall at her words. He looked hurt.

More than you’d think. He then quickly turned the page, as if he regretted telling her that, and scribbled out another message before Zelda could reply.

Please let me help, it’ll be my way of thanking you for saving me back there.

Zelda searched his face. As much as she hated to admit it, there only seemed to be sincerity and hopefulness there, no deceit or trickery. Zelda sighed bitterly. Even though she hated the thought of receiving help from the Bastard Prince, she knew how awful it felt when you couldn’t pay back a debt to someone, so she relented.

“Fine, I guess you can help me.” Immediately Link brightened up, there was a slight bounce in his step as he led her back to the dying fire.

Where did all the blood and bodies go…? Zelda wondered as she looked around the camp. There wasn’t a Yiga corpse in sight. 

Did they teleport…? But how could they if they were dead… the thought was unsettling. Zelda chose not to think much harder on it, especially since she’d need all her attention tyring to make sure the Bastard Prince didn’t fuck her injuries up even more.

Link gestured for Zelda to sit against the boulder. She obeyed, with some grumbling. Link grabbed some bandages, safety pins, medicinal alcohol, and a clean handkerchief from Zelda’s bag before sitting down in front of her. 

He poured a bit of alcohol on the handkerchief and reached for Zelda’s shoulder, then frowned.

Can you roll up your sleeve?

Zelda nodded but then realized her other arm was out of commission. “Actually, no, I can’t.” She gestured to her limp arm. Link’s cheeks turned a bit red from embarrassment.

Oh right. Sorry.

 He grabbed the edge of Zelda’s sleeve and pushed up Zelda’s arm, until it was above the wound on the front of her shoulder. Zelda didn’t like the way this made her feel, she knew they weren’t doing anything lewd, but it still felt strangely intimate, like he was reaching to take off her shirt. 

Focus Zelda! Now is not the time for those sorts of thoughts!

Link took the handkerchief and dabbed the large cut on her shoulder gingerly. Zelda sucked in a sharp breath as the alcohol stung the cut. Once the wound was clean, he wrapped the bandages around her arm and kept them tied with a safety pin. She watched as Link pulled out another clean handkerchief and poured more alcohol onto it. He then turned toward her, his eyes focused, his jaw set. He leaned forward, his face nearing hers. Zelda felt her breath hitch, what was he going to do…? She felt her heart pick up the pace in her chest, her skin grew hot and itchy. He was so close to her now, just inches away from her face, so close that she could smell the scent of fresh cut grass and pine needles clinging to him.

He smells so much better than the rot and death of the Yiga… Zelda thought. After a beat, she noticed Link wasn’t coming any closer. He was frowning. He looked at her and jerked his head to the side. Zelda blinked.

Uhh… What does he want…?

Link made a short and annoyed huff before tenderly laying his fingers on her jawline and turning her head gently to the side. She then felt him start to dab at the cut on the back of her ear.

Zelda felt red crawl up her cheeks from underneath where his fingers held her jaw.

What was I thinking?? Of course he was trying to clean the wound on my ear! She felt relief wash over her, clearing the blush of embarrassment from her cheeks. 

Thank goodness he didn’t try anything, I would’ve castrated him right then in there…

Once he was finished cleaning her ear, he sat back on the ground in front of her. He took out his pen and notebook and scribbled out a message.

Are you ready to pop your shoulder back into place?

Zelda felt her mouth drying up. She’d never dislocated her shoulder before, but she had heard that the worst part was popping it back into place. She swallowed painfully and nodded at Link. he smiled reassuringly at her, and then he grabbed her right elbow with one hand, and her left shoulder with the other. He held up three fingers.

On the count of three…

Link nodded once,

One…

Zelda took a deep breath. 

Alright, brace yourself Zelda, almost tim– ”AHHHH!” the motherfucker jerked her elbow up, popping the shoulder back into its socket before the count of two. Zelda screamed horrifically, “Ow ow owwww!” She cried, pain radiating up and down her entire arm, it felt like a million tiny needles were being jabbed into her arm on all sides from all directions. 

“You bastard, dick, motherfucking fucker!” She shouted at him, hissing through her teeth, “What happened to ‘on the count of three’?!” Link smiled.

Sorry about that. I thought it would hurt less if you weren’t expecting it. 

“Yeah, that sure worked!” She panted sarcastically. After a minute of cursing and insulting Link, his mother, and his family, the pain faded into a dull ache. Zelda rolled her shoulder, relieved she could move it again.

“Well,” She turned to Link. “Even if your methods were a bit fucked up, I guess I should thank you. I still think I could have done it by myself, but it wouldn’t have been as quick. So thank you.” She stared down at the ground, the words “thank you” felt strange and alien in her mouth when directed towards the Bastard Prince.

Link smiled and nodded.

You're welcome.

His eyes then widened and he hurried to scrawl out another message.

Do you happen to have a spare sword I could have? I think it'd be better for both of us if I had the means to defend myself.

Zelda stared at the message and felt the color drain from her face. She groaned and buried her face in her hands.

“Uggghhh, I’m such an idiot! How could I forget!!” Zelda shouted into her palms, her voice all muffled. Even though she couldn’t see Link, she could imagine the look of worry on his face, so she pointed to the bag. “Check the bottom of my backpack.” She said without lifting her head up.

This whole mess could have been avoided if it weren’t for me forgetting to give it to him!

Zelda groaned again in unison with the sounds of Link rummaging through her bag.

She peeked through the cracks of her fingers and saw Link unsheathe the sword. The white steel gleamed against the dying firelight, turning it a brilliant orange color. He looked at it in awe and wonder, then jumped to his feet and sliced the sword down with a strike that could have rivaled the Yiga with the broadsword. Zelda felt shame creep into her thoughts as she thought of how much easier the fight would have been if only she’d put the sword in his hands a little sooner.

“I don’t know much about swords, but the guy at the blacksmith in Kakariko village said it was a Bastard Sword, so I just knew it’d be perfect for you, Bastard Prince.” She chuckled. She stopped when she noticed Link wasn’t laughing. Not that he did when she made fun of him, but this time was different. He was frowning at her.

Why do you keep calling me “Bastard Prince”? I have a name you know.

It took Zelda a minute to process that question. Then another to remember why she kept referring to him that way, but when she did, it made her so unbelievably angry.

“Are you fucking serious right now?” She rose to her feet. Link’s eyes widened at her sudden harsh tone.

“ You of all people shouldn’t be asking that. It’s actually a lot nicer of a name than what I should call you, considering what you did to me!” Her voice began to rise in volume. She felt her skin grow hot as her blood began to boil. She tightened her fingers into fist, struggling to stop herself from punching him in the face.

Link stepped back, his eyes blinking fast, he looked frightened and confused. His fingers clumsily fumbled with his pen as he tried to write in his notebook.

I’m sorry, I don’t understand. What did I do to you?

Zelda stepped forward and slapped the notebook out of his hands. It flew across the dirt and skidded to a stop a few feet away from them.

“You don’t remember?? How could you not remember! Don’t play dumb with me, I saw you reading the newspaper about my parents’ deaths! And you have the nerve to tell me you don’t know what you did after fucking reading it in a newspaper a few days ago??” She was shouting now, she had stepped closer to him, so close that she was sure he could feel the rage radiating off her body like fire.

“It’s your fault! Your fault they’re gone! If you hadn’t found that notebook in my parents’ office, which was obviously planted by the fuckers who run your kingdom, they never would died! Your bitch of a mother wouldn’t have hung them!” Tears filled her eyes and spilled out the edges, streaming down her cheeks as the words flew out her mouth. She felt the dam that held back all the anger and resentment she held for this bastard that had built up over the 17 years she’d been alive, burst and flood into every word she said.

“And now you tell me you don’t know what you did?? Were their deaths so inconsequential to you that they weren’t even worth remembering? And you want me to call you by name when you couldn’t be bothered to remember theirs?!” Link’s eyes flicked over to his notebook, she could tell he wanted to say something to her, but she wasn’t going to let him. She was done listening.

“Oh don’t even bother! I don’t want to listen to whatever shitty excuse you have to offer me, save it for your ‘loyal subjects’ that you never bother to visit.” she looked him up and down, fear, panic, confusion, worry were all present on the face of this sorry excuse for a man. He seemed to shrink into himself, the few inches she had on him in height seemed to grow larger. It could have been a trick of the light, but she swore she could see him trembling. Zelda couldn't contain her disgust for him any longer, she spat on the ground at his feet.

“Aryll was wrong about you, you’re not kind at all. You really are just a good-for-nothing, selfish, lazy, entitled, spoiled, useless bastard of a prince.” And with that, Zelda turned around and walked out of the camp. She couldn’t stand to be around him any longer, the air had gone sour with her anger and his cowardice. Zelda felt she’d suffocate if she stayed any longer. As she left, she half-expected him to reach out and grabbed her wrist, like he did many times before, but he didn’t. And so Zelda stalked off, stepping out of the warm light of the campfire and into the cold embrace of the dark night.

Chapter Text

It had been exactly 11 hours, 27 minutes and 3 seconds since Link and Zelda’s argument. Link wasn’t even sure it could even be called that, since an argument involved two people with opposing opinions talking . And he hadn’t been talking, not after Zelda slapped the notebook out of his hands. Even before that it was mainly just her yelling at him and insulting him, while he just listened.

Link felt wobbly and nauseous during their walk along the path that ran alongside Zora River. He constantly tripped over the overgrown and uneven path, and the hot sun shining down on his face did nothing to ease his discomfort. The path they took constantly wove in and out of the Tabahl woods, one minute they’d be under the cool canopies of the emerald green leaves hanging from the trees that towered above them, and the next they’d be walking alongside the rushing river. Link wanted nothing more than to take off his boots and wade into sweeping current, but he was too afraid to ask Zelda, and the breakneck pace they were moving at didn’t seem to be lighting up anytime soon.

Link stared ahead at her and wondered for the 17th time since they packed up and left at dawn if he should try to explain what happened. Well, if he was being honest he didn’t know what he would explain to her. In fact, he had no idea whatsoever what she was even mad at. She claimed that it was his fault that her parents were hanged and that he found the notebook that proved they were guilty, but Link had no knowledge of that even happening. He knew for a fact he’d never even set foot in the Head and Assistant Head of Medicinal Research’s office. He’d been near it sure, when he was still allowed to roam the castle halls freely, but the room always smelled like strong oils; spearmint being the most prominent. And he hated spearmint. He’d tried to explain this to her late last night after she had returned from whatever she’d been doing in the woods, but she wouldn’t have it. That night had been sleepless for him, so he’d gotten up early to cook an “apology” breakfast, but she refused to eat it.

Link was starting to get worried, what if she never talked to him again? She hadn’t spoken a word to him since their fight. He’d grown to like her, even with her constant berating and insults, she was still one of the nicest people he’d even gotten to know other than Aryll, and he could tell that she was a good person underneath all the rough edges. After all, she stuck with him when he was injured in the castle and even tried to comfort him when he was puking his guts out.

Well… nothing’s going to change if I don’t try to talk to her…  

Link hiked his pack up his shoulders and jogged up towards her. When he caught up to her, she immediately side-eyed him and stiffened. Link felt a pang in his chest, why did this have to happen now? She was finally warming up to him and now their relationship was back to how it was when they’d first met. No… it was even worse. At least she spoke to him back then.

He took a deep breath in, tasting the water droplets in the humid air near the river.

It’s now or never…

He pulled out the blue leather-bound notebook she had given him and scribbled out a message.

Can we talk about what happened yesterday?

He held it up in front of her, but Zelda wouldn’t look at it. She turned sharply to the side, flipping her golden-haired braid in front of her. She seemed to have suddenly found the sparkling river beside them very interesting at that moment, for no matter what Link did to draw her attention away from it, whether it be poking her shoulder or trying to hold the notebook in front of her face, she wouldn’t look at him.

Eventually, Link sighed bitterly and slowed his pace, so he was once again trailing behind her. If Zelda noticed, or cared that he was no longer walking beside her, she showed no signs of it. Link turned his gaze to the river, watching the salmon and basses jump out of the water, their bright green and orange scales glinting against the hot sun. Link felt his mouth start to water when he thought of how good one would taste if it were roasted over a fire…

Mmm… I bet if I added salt or Hylian Rice to it I could make some delicious Seafood Curry… or if I had some goat butter I could make a Risotto! Or maybe I could make some fish rice balls, or a fish pie! 

Link’s stomach began to grumble as he thought of all the delicious delicacies he could make if only he had the ingredients, or the time… he glared up at Zelda.

Ugghh! If it weren’t for this stupid fight we could be eating lunch right now! But of course she has no plans of stopping anytime soon! Guess I’ll just starve…

This phrase triggered a memory from his childhood to surface. He was probably eight or nine at the time, Hera had caught him playing tag or hide and seek with Aryll in the West Wing of the castle. She had been in a good mood that day (and maybe it was just because Aryll was around), so instead of the usual whipping, she sent Link back to his room without dinner. He remembered feeling so hungry that he would eat just about anything, even the potted cactus in his window sill had begun to look tasty. So he snuck out of his room, hoping to beg one of the nice maids for a snack when he caught a whiff of something tasty wafting through the castle halls. So, like any good kid, Link completely disregarded Hera’s punishment for him and traipsed through the halls, determined to locate the source of the smell. 

He followed it all the way down to the kitchens on the first floor of the East Wing. These kitchens had largely been abandoned, as Hera had moved all the chefs to attend to her and Aryll in the West Wing constantly.  Link stopped at the edge of the doorway and peeked around the corner. The sleek metal counters were all coated in dust, and the nice wood burning stoves had started to rust with disuse. Cobwebs covered the ceiling and every corner, dirt and grime blocked out the sunlight streaming in from the nearby window. A beautiful young maid, who couldn’t have been any older than 17 or 18, with raven hair, tanned skin, and dark brown eyes was singing an old folk song for cooking while stirring a bubbling pot over a stove.

“Stir, stir, stir, it up

One, two, three a’cup,

‘Tatoes, carrots, cabbage and beets,

Add the salt, or’ll taste like feet!

Bubble, bubble, bubble, it boils,

I stir and add a quart of oil,

Once all the stew is thick,

I douse the stove and take a sip,

It’s hot, so hot it burns my tongue,

But then I know my stew is done.”

Link watched in awe. He couldn’t believe someone could cook something that smelled so delicious, he felt his mouth begin to water, and his stomach growled loudly.

The young maid whirled around at the noise, her voice frantic and full of panic, 

“Who’s there?” she shouted.

Link timidly stepped out from behind the door frame. He watched the color drain from the young maid’s face.

“Oh, Your Grace! I’m so sorry, I know it’s against the rules for me to be cooking down here! Please forgive me!” She bowed her head, Link had noticed her hands were trembling.

It’s alright, I smelled something really tasty. What are you cooking? Link signed to her, he had just learned how to only half a year ago, so his fingers were still a bit clumsy, often tripping over each other as he tried to form the words.

Her face brightened up as she watched his hands.

“That’s a relief. I was just making some of my grandmother’s famous vegetable stew. You’re welcome to try it if you’d like?” She gestured to the pot. 

Really? I would love some! He rushed into the kitchen, where the young maid directed him to sit in a chair at one of the counters. After she dusted it off, she ladled some soup into a bowl and served it to Link. He eagerly slurped it up, downing his bowl before the young maid had even started hers.

She smiled at him fondly, “My my, you really can eat, young prince!” She giggled.

May I have another bowl? He looked at her hopefully. She smiled again and served him another one. Once he was finished, and quite full, he asked her another question.

How can you read sign language? No one in the castle can.

The young maid’s dark brown eyes glazed over with something sad… grief. 

“My grandmother was deaf, and she could only communicate through sign language. My whole family learned to talk to her. She was the one who taught me how to cook. Whenever I feel homesick and miss her, I come here to cook her favorite dishes, since the kitchens in the West Wing won’t let me.”

Link paused. He wasn’t sure what to say, it’d been so long since he’d had a conversation with someone other than his sister.

I’m sorry, she sounds like a nice lady.

“She was.” She sighed sadly. After a beat she looked back at Link and giggled. “Here, Your Grace, let me get that for you,” She pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at the corner of his cheek. He felt himself start to blush and grow fidgety, he wasn’t used to this sort of motherly affection.

What’s your name?

“Bella.” She held her hand out, Link shook it.

That’s a pretty name. My name’s Link, just Link.

Bella smiled at this. “Very well, thank you, Link.” She began clearing up the table and washing the dishes, “Would you like to join me again sometime?”

Link eagerly nodded his head before dashing back to his room. That evening they had spent over good food had become one of many more, and it wasn’t long before Bella began to teach Link all the recipes her grandmother, who he learned later had been a prestigious chef who had cooked for his father when he was a prince, had collected over her many years travelling. Link and Bella had grown close over the years, she had been one of few he considered telling about Hera’s abuse, but she got transferred to the West Wing Kitchens before he got the chance. He hardly saw her at all these days. He was happy for her, since she could cook delicious meals all day, but he missed talking with her.

The sound of Zelda tossing her pack to the ground finally jarred him back to the present. They had stopped right near the Oren Bridge a few meters away from the riverbank. The grass was thick and moist, the wind was harshly blowing. There were few trees dotted along the grass, but they didn’t offer coverage from the biting wind. Link shivered and looked to the sky, some bulky black and gray clouds were swiftly moving in, blotting out the setting sun, draining the light from the sky.

Hope there’s not a storm coming in…

 Link threw the pack from his shoulders and started setting up a ring of stones for a fire. If it was going to rain he better cook dinner beforehand, otherwise he’d be dining on raw ingredients. He was about to ask Zelda if they should set up the rain tarp in case it rained, but when he turned around she was already slinking off towards a small grove of oak trees in the distance. 

What’s she doing…? Link wondered. He quickly finished the fire ring and got up to follow her. Link wasn’t exactly soft footed, but the long grass and the howling wind masked his footsteps. Once Zelda reached the edge of the small grove, she stopped. Link hid behind a nearby large boulder and watched her. She drew her sword, took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Link watched as a bright golden light emitted from her hand, the light shifted to her fingertips and she dragged it along the edge of her sword, imbuing her weapon with a holy light. Zelda then began striking the tree, practicing complex strikes and feints against the imbolie enemy. Each slash left simmering burns deep within the tree.

Wow, I didn’t know she knew how to do that too… Link thought back to his meticulous years of training with the dark arts. He memorized everything in that book under his floorboards, from cover to cover. It detailed all sorts of spells and rituals you could do with Nekros Magick, like imbue it into weapons, shape shift, charm people, create weapons and powerful blasts using the miasma in your veins. Though Link knew how to do those things, he’d never tried shapeshifting or charming. He tried to avoid any spells that he couldn’t justify being used for good, after all, people already viewed dark magick as something unholy and evil. Maybe it was, but Link had been given these powers, although unwillingly, and he’d be stupid not to use them. Link remembered when he first found the book, shortly after his discovery of the… thing living inside him. He remembered feeling drawn to a room deep within the castle’s basement, something had been calling him there. He’d found it sitting on a pedestal in the middle of a dark room, it had felt like walking into a wall of ice. He felt as pull to the center of the room, and when he picked it up, he felt connected to it, almost like a bond to the strange book. He never knew why the royal family had the book in the first place, but no one seemed to notice that it had disappeared. Link found out later why it had been locked up for what seemed like centuries. It contained a step by step ritual on how to acquire miasma. For anyone to acquire miasma. He felt a pit form in his stomach when he thought about the fact that Hera knew that he was a Nekros Magick user and now had the book in her possession. Something had been tugging his brain ever since that day,

What were Hera and that bearded guy talking about before they came into the library? It sounded like they were planning something, something that involved that bearded guy taking Aryll hostage, but why would Hera do that? She loves Aryll, and what did that have to do with my dark magick? 

Suddenly worry twisted his stomach into knots and dampened his palms.

Will Aryll be okay back there?! That assasin guy got away, and if Hera planned it she might do something when I’m not there to protect her! 

Link had to shake his head to clear away those thoughts.

No, there’s nothing I can do about that now. Besides, if the old man and Hera wanted Aryll dead, he wouldn’t have saved her from my dark magick blast… but why did he say that I wasn’t supposed to find them there in the hallway? Where was I supposed to find them? And if Hera knew I was a dark magick user, then why would she order the Hero to tell me and Zelda to help find the champions instead of just having me executed?

The more Link thought about the whole string of events, the more and more confused he became. The questions were swirling around in his mind like a hurricane when he felt a blast shake the ground. Link was thrown violently to the ground, small pebbles bounced up and down, the trees shook and some crashed to the ground. Link lifted his head just in time to see a shockwave of light rushing towards him.

Oh shit… was all he had time to think before it hit him. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for an impact, but the wave of light didn’t smack into him like he thought it would, it simply passed through him. But his troubles were far from over, for as soon as it passed through his body, the burning sensation he had become all too familiar with returned in his chest.

“Ahhh!” He cried out as he felt his body start to convulse with the scorching heat. It started at his chest, then spread throughout his limbs. It felt like the skin near his heart was being torn apart. A sea of red flooded his vision, he couldn’t focus on anything but the agony he was in. Link curled into a fetal position and tried to wait for the pain to fade. The last few times he’d been exposed to Agios Magick, it hadn’t lasted longer than two minutes, he hoped this time would be similar.

Link was right. After a minute, the pain in his chest dulled from a fiery sensation to a pin-prickling ache, like how it felt to rub something against a burn. Pain still radiated outward though.

Not again… Link thought as he cautiously pulled his shirt back from his chest and looked downwards. More dark maroon spidery veins spread further across his chest, stemming from the wounds near his heart. He poked them tentatively and pain immediately blossomed across his chest, the spidery veins glowing a violet light and spread the tiniest fraction forward.

Great, won’t be doing that again… He sucked in a sharp breath. Then instantly regretted it when a wave of nausea hit him and he retched more icky black goo.

Note to self, stay far away from Zelda when she’s practicing her magick… Link thought bitterly as he unsteadily rose to the ground and took in his surroundings. The small grove that Zelda was practicing in was completely destroyed, all the trees had either fallen to the ground, or were blasted to bits, leaving only splintering and jagged remains of their trunks behind. Small wisps of smoke were curling into the air from the smouldering trunks.

   He spotted Zelda standing in front of the groove, swaying gently from side to side. She struck her sword into the ground and leaned on it for support. Link could see her chest heaving.

He heard Zelda curse breathlessly.

“Fuck…” Zelda was clutching her hand, a small stream of ruby red blood ran down her fingers and dripped onto the emerald green grass. He rushed over to Zelda, but she heard his footsteps before he could get too far.

“What… the hell… are you doing here? Stalker…” She panted, sweat dripping down her forehead. Link felt his heart drop. She was still mad at him.

Well, at least she’s talking to me now… that’s an improvement. 

Link frantically searched for an excuse and spotted a nearby twig. He snatched it up and presented it to her.

I was gathering firewood.

Zelda raised a blonde eyebrow skeptically but replied.

“Don’t bother… It’s going to rain…” She whispered. Zelda wasn’t looking so good, her face had become white as a sheet, and her eyes began fluttering and rolling to the back of her head. She swayed to the side, her sword falling to the ground. Link felt his stomach drop.

No no no you don’t! Don’t you dare pass out! Link’s thoughts roared as he shot forward to break her fall. He was too late though, she had already hit the ground, eyes closed. 

Shoot shoot! Please be breathing, please be breathing! Link dove down above her and put his ear to her lips. Shallow, short breaths tickled him. Link felt a cool wave of relief wash over him.

Good, she’s still alive…  

Link sighed and shook his head at her.

She had used too much magick and exhausted all her energy. As long as she was still breathing, she’d be fine. Link knew from all his years of self-taught training in Nekros Magick. She’d wake up in a few hours with a nasty headache and a ravenous appetite, similar to that of a hangover.

How could you be so stupid? Don’t you know how easy it is to use just a little too much energy and kill yourself? He thought to her as he shoved his hands underneath her and lifted her into his arms. She felt heavy, Link’s own depleted strength was faltering as he stumbled back to camp. 

Isn’t the Priestess supposed to be the wisest person in the world?

Zelda groaned softly and her head lolled to the side. Link gently shifted her, so her head was leaning against his chest. Link suddenly realized that he’d never seen her sleeping before, at least not up close. Her dark long lashes fluttered slightly as a breeze swept across her sleeping face. Her hair flowing like liquid gold framed the sides of her face. She looked so… peaceful, like she had completely let her guard down. Link blushed slightly when he caught himself staring at her rose-pink pursed lips for a beat longer than he should have. He swallowed painfully as he came to the conclusion that Zelda was really, really pretty. 

And that he was an idiot for not realizing it sooner.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t the sound of pouring rain pelting the top of the tarp she was under, or the steady drip of water hitting her exposed palm, or the cold that nipped at her nose and ears, or even the howling wind that woke her up. No, it was the sound of a soft whimper beside her. She sat up with a start, and it took a minute for her to gather her bearings.

She was laying on top of her bedding and covered with another underneath the rain tarp she had bought in Kakariko village for nights just like these. Her head was pounding, fuzzing her vision with each painful beat. She felt weak and ravenous, like she hadn’t eaten in days. She heard the soft whimper again and she snapped her head to the sound beside her, but immediately regretted it as her vision swam in dizziness and her head pounded harder.
Her vision (eventually) cleared to reveal the Bastard Prince slumped against the boulder beside her; his cloak draped over his legs as a makeshift blanket. His face bore a pained expression, but other than that he appeared to still be sleeping. He groaned again and shifted to the side; this time Zelda noticed that his hand reached up to clutch at the fabric of his red tunic covering his chest.

“What the…?” She whispered as she scooted closer. “Maybe those scratches on his chest weren’t completely healed yet?” She reached a tentative hand out towards his shirt collar, telling herself this was definitely not creepy or any form of sexual harassment since she was concerned for his safety. She gripped the fabric damp with sweat and her fingers brushed against his collar bone. Suddenly Link jolted awake, like Zelda had shocked him with her touch.

His eyes flicked down to her hand and back up to her face. Relief and confusion spread across his face as he furrowed his eyebrows and titled his head.

What are you doing? He seemed to be asking.

Zelda ripped her hand away from him and tucked it under her arm.

“I-I wasn’t trying to jump you or anything creepy like that! I was trying to check if the wounds on your chest had healed yet, because you know if you don’t keep putting ointment on it has a big chance of becoming infected. And gangrenous wounds are the leading cause of death for any traveller travelling unprepared.” Zelda was becoming flustered, “So you are extremely lucky that I was there and thinking ahead, or else you would have met an early grave, or…” She trailed off when she noticed the small smile on the Bastard Prince’s lips. 

“What!” She shouted. “What’s so funny!” She fiddled impatiently with her bracelet as she waited for Link to pull out his notebook.

I’m just glad you’re finally talking to me again.

Zelda felt her mind go blank. She hadn’t been planning on speaking to him for the rest of their journey together, but clearly that didn’t work.

“Yeah, well don’t get used to it.” She huffed and crossed her arms over each other, sulking like a child. She was still beyond angry with him for not having enough decency to remember the fact that it was his fault that her parents were dead. All of the sudden Urbosa voice flooded into her mind,

“I’m not asking you to forgive him, but I am asking you to put aside your feelings for our people. It’s your duty, not only as the Priestess but as my daughter, the daughter of the Chieftess of the Gerudo…”

Zelda sighed bitterly. Urbosa was right once again, she would never forgive the Bastard Prince, but she needed to work with him to bring all the champions back to Hyrule in order to defeat Evil’s Incarnate. After all, it was her duty to protect him as his Royal Guard and as the Priestess. And she was under Queen Hera’s orders to escort him to all the nations, probably as some sort of foreign envoy on behalf of Hyrule Kingdom. And since he was the heir to the throne, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for him to stay at Hyrule Castle, since it was under attack and everything. The safest place for Link would be with Zelda, as much as she hated to admit it. And she had thought about sending him back many times during their journey. Regardless of her feelings toward him, she couldn’t do her jobs if she wasn’t willing to work with him. And just because they were working together, didn’t mean that she had to like him or be his friend. She was surprised at the ache in her chest at this thought. Had she wanted to be his friend?

Zelda quickly shook her head at the thought. 

Remember the promise you made… you’re not under any circumstances, becoming buddy-buddy with the Bastard Prince…

She turned to Link, preparing to deliver her preach on a soapbox.

“Okay, look, Bastard Prince. Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t like you, and I won’t forgive you for what you did to my parents, but whether I like it or not, we have to work together.” She held up her hand at Link when he started frantically scribbling in his notebook.

“And I don’t want to hear any excuses about that incident, nothing you say will change my mind.” She clenched her jaw, civil conversation was not her strong suit. 

“I’m not proposing that we become best friends, but I am proposing a truce. At least until the end of our journey.” She held out her hand to him. Link held up a finger.

I have one condition before I agree.

Zelda scowled. He wasn’t in any position to be making conditions on this, but she nodded at him to continue.

Call me by my name and only my name from now on.

Zelda reeled at this request. Who was he to demand this of her?? But… maybe it was the hopeful look in his ocean blue eyes, or maybe it was their close proximity that was making her flustered, or maybe it was his long lashes or wild dirty blonde hair that someone how flopped just the right way to look immensely good but also like he didn’t try at all that was distracting her, but she agreed.

“Okay, fine. You have a deal.” She extended her hand once again, this time Link took it. His grip was firm and rough, calloused palm brushing against her own. She had expected his hand to feel soft and pudgy, like he’d never worked a day in his life.

She quickly removed her hand. Link raised an eyebrow and nodded at her.

Well? He seemed to be asking.

“Really? You’re going to make me say it?” She groaned. Link crossed his arms and frowned.

I’ll wait.

“Ugggghhhhhh! Fine! You have a deal, Link. There, happy?” Link nodded and smiled, then held up his notebook.

How is your hand?

“My hand…?” Zelda looked down at her right hand, it was bandaged. Suddenly everything came flooding back, practicing Agios Magick at the tree grove, becoming frustrated and angry at her lack of progress, becoming more frustrated and more angry at the Bastard Prin–er– Link for what he did, and finally releasing as much Agios Magick as she could in a single blast. The force of the blast leaving her body had torn a gash through the palm of her hand, leaving a wide chasm in its place. She also remembered seeing Link pop out from behind the boulder, yelling at him, and then passing out.

“It’s… uh fine.” She said, refusing to acknowledge the fact that Link mostly likely carried her to the campsite after she passed out.

“How are the wounds on your chest?” She nodded at him. She saw something hitch in Link’s gaze, something akin to worry quickly flashing across it. But just as quickly as it came, it was replaced with a nonchalant gaze and a thumbs up.

She raised an eyebrow at him, but decided not to push it any further. If he wanted to suffer in silence, then he could be her guest. Zelda then felt her stomach growl. Loudly. She felt heat rise to her cheeks, and she rummaged through one of the nearby bags for an apple or something, when she felt a soft tap on her shoulder.

She turned to find a plate held in front of her face. She took the plate from Link’s hands,

“What’s this?” She asked, examining the contents. About a dozen slices of steamed Hylian Tomatoes circled the plate, complete with a spice garnish.

Steamed Tomatoes. I thought you might be hungry when you woke up.

Zelda plucked one of the now cold slices and laid it tentatively onto her tongue. Immediately a sweet-sour-salty juice bursted and coated her mouth as she chewed. The texture was smooth and slimy, and though it was no longer hot, Zelda couldn’t get enough of it, and soon the entire plate was cleared.

“Whew! That hit the spot!” She patted her now quiet stomach, apparently satisfied with the meal. Again the thought flashed into her mind,

Why does a prince know how to cook so well when all his meals should be prepared for him…? But she quickly shook the thought away when a bolt of lightning struck the ground a few meters away from them, lighting the landscape in a white light for a brief moment. The tarp shook as a deafening clap of thunder boomed. Zelda groaned.

“Of course it’d start storming as soon as I wake up! Now I’ll never get back to sleep!” She whined.

She glanced over at Link, he was staring ahead at the pouring rain, lost in thought. “Here, you can have this back.” She rolled up the bedding and chucked it over to him, he practically jumped out of his skin when it crashed into his cheek. Once he saw what it was, he smiled and nodded to Zelda.

Thanks.

“Ptch. Don’t mention it. Not like I gave you my right arm or anything.” She scoffed as she snuggled underneath her own bedding. Her voice was muffled and quiet, and she wasn't’ even sure Link could hear her when she said,

“Thanks for the dinner. It was good.” She listened for Link’s reply, but the only response she heard was the shuffling and rustling of him crawling into his own bedding. Zelda rolled over,

“We’re leaving at dawn. Get some sleep.” She called to him before rolling back over and falling asleep to the raging winds, pouring rain, and roaring thunder.

~

Zelda woke to the sounds of birds singing and the smell of wet grass and rain. She rose and stretched, cursing at how stiff her muscles were from her training last night. As much as she wanted to sleep in more, she knew they needed to leave now if they wanted to make it to Zora’s Domain before nightfall, and Zelda did not want to spend another night sleeping next to the Bastard–to Link again if she could help it. Besides, she was still grimey from the marsh trek the other day and she was starting to stink from lack of a bath.

“Well, the sooner we leave, the sooner we get there. To a bed, a bath, and some fresh clothing.” She looked down at her tunic and pants, both were stained with splotches of mud and swamp water. She wished she’d bought more than one pair of clothing at Kakariko Village, but she hadn’t wanted to waste all of the funds they made from selling their jewelry right away, especially since prices of goods tended to fluctuate between the nations. Looking back, she probably could’ve asked Link to order them, as the prince of Hyrule, to give them the goods for free, but that would go against everything she stood for, as a hater of the Royal Family. She couldn’t stand the thought of using royal influence to benefit them when it would wreck the livelihoods of the merchants, especially since they were just trying to survive. She wouldn’t be a part of injusticing other people when she herself had felt the injustice of the Royal Bastards. And besides, she wasn’t sure it would’ve even worked, since the public’s opinion of Link seemed… low. She figured it would be best if no one under his reign found out about his identity, lest they start hunting them with torches and pitchforks.

“Speak of the devil…” Zelda muttered when she saw Link stir awake. He sat up and yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Mornin’, sleeping beast! ‘Bout time you got your ass up and helped me take down this tarp.” Link nodded sleepily, before removing the ponytail from the back of his head and shaking his hair out. Zelda stared as he ran his fingers through his wild, shoulder-length dirty blonde hair and tied it back once again. How did he look… like that without putting any effort in?

Zelda tore her eyes away from him, her blood beginning to boil. 

“My hair never looks like that in the morning… I have to brush it for at least 20 minutes to get it to cooperate.” She scowled to herself. 

After Link and her packed up the bedding and the tarp, and after a lengthy debate with Link about the importance/unimportance of breakfast, Zelda finally convinced Link to stop his whining and eat an oat bar for breakfast, so they could get on the road sooner.

The journey was long and arduous, and mostly silent. The silence wasn’t tense or fraught with a recent argument though, it was… comfortable. Like nothing or no one was forcing them to talk to one another. Here in the wilderness, they were far away from court and social obligations. They passed through the woods over the hours, following the trail to Zora’s Domain. It quickly became rockier as the path continued up the mountain and along the cliff sides. They passed many a sign warning them of falling rocks along their journey, some of which had been crushed beneath large boulders, an ironic twist of fate. As the sun began to set, the lanterns scattered along the trail starting to light up, one by one. The Zora had placed these luminous stone (a fluorescent blue stone native to the Lanayru mountains) lanterns many decades ago so travellers wouldn’t slip off the edge into the water below. The lanterns bathed the path ahead of them in a bright blue hue, perfectly illuminated the end nearest to the edge of the trail, which Zelda made a point to steer clear from. Anxiety crept into her thoughts every time she looked over the edge, so she tried not to do it that often.

Finally, after about 4 full days and 3 nights of travelling, Zelda finally completed the first leg of her mission: getting Link to Zora’s Domain. Well, almost. They still needed to inform Mipha of the situation, but Zelda was too caught up in the grandeur of Zora’s Domain to pay attention to any formalities. 

She gasped in awe at the sight. Zora’s Domain was completely on the Ruto Lake, a giant body of water with waterfalls gushing into it and cliffs all around it. The entire city was built from Luminous stones, so it glowed a turquoise blue against the dark water and rocky bluffs. Stilts rose up from the bottom of the dark water rising up to a hundred meters, and supported the main outline of the city, a large ring of bridges. Most of the city was composed of bridges and gazebo-like structures along them. 3 separate bridges stretching to the southern, eastern and western cliffs stretched out from the center. Zelda and Link walked across the Great Zora Bridge, which led straight from the southern cliffs into the center of the town. Their feet padded along the metal bridge, dull echoes ringing through the air. 

Zelda couldn’t keep her mouth shut at the beauty of the city, and she hadn’t even made it past the front gates. Of course she’d been here once before, when Urbosa had been traveling here to make a formal alliance with King Dorephan, the ruler of Zora’s Domain. But it had been at least 6 years since she stepped foot in the place, and her eyes jumped from one thing to the next, from the beautiful lines and grooves running up the sides of the stones in the bridge, to the detailed craftsmanship of the lanterns, the familiar awe of her first time here sparkling in her eyes. She looked at Link, most of his face was obscured by his black cloak, but she could see the curiosity and childlike wonder illuminating his face. Once or twice she caught him pulling out his notebook and hastily making a few marks, before frowning and pocketing it again.

“What’s he doing…?” She murmured. But she didn’t get the chance to ask him about it, for they’d reached the entrance to the city, a large blue arch with runes carved along it. Two burly Zora guards standing about 6’5” each brandished their white steel tridents at Link and Zelda when they tried to pass through.

“Halt! Who goes there?” The one on the right said, a blue Zora who was slightly taller than the other one. The Zora were always a fascinating race to read about when Zelda had the time, they often stood taller than any Hylian, but their features were more… aquatic. With flat white underbellies, and long arms with fins sprouting out at the sides, and webbed feet. Their faces were often pointed, almost like a shark or a dolphin’s, and most of them had flaps of skin that hung at the side of their faces that almost looked like hair. They also often had a dolphin-like tail hanging down from the back of their head. The frontside of every Zora was white, but the backsides and faces were any shades of blue, green, or red, or purple and the only clothes they wore (regardless of whether they were male or female) was usually a helm, an iron chest plate of some sort, or a decorative jeweled belt that Zelda couldn’t see any purpose other than it looking stylish. Despite their outlandish appearance, the Zora were known across Hyrule as the most beautiful and graceful race, outperforming any of them with their swimming and water combat skills. With the slits on the sides of their ribs serving as gills to breathe underwater and their webbed feet and hands for swimming, it wasn’t hard to see why they had every other race beat. The Zora could even beat back against powerful currents and swim up waterfalls. They also had the longest lifespans of any other race, only reaching maturity at 50 years and living to last centuries.

“Hey! My pal was talking to you! Identify yourself!” The Zora to the left thrust his spear forward, narrowly missing Zelda’s gut. She jumped back and glared.

“I am Zelda Rulehy, Priestess of Hyrule Kingdom. I am serving as Prince Link of Hyrule’s escort, and I have urgent business to discuss with Princess Mipha and King Dorephan.” The blue one put a hand on the green one’s signalling him to put his spear away.

“I see, my apologies, Priestess. We’ve heard of your awakening from Queen Hera, but recently all communication has abruptly ceased, and monster attacks and Yiga invasions have grown much more frequent in the last few days, leaving everyone on edge.” Zelda nodded and wondered if they knew Hyrule Castle was invaded and overrun by monsters with Evil’s Rebirth. The blue Zora rolled his eyes and scoffed as Zelda and Link walked through the arch into the main part of Zora’s Domain. Unlike Gerudo Town, with the constant hustle and bustle of shoppers and vendors, Zora’s Domain was much more peaceful, with no food stalls or merchants in sight. Zelda and Link passed few citizens as they made their way through the square, and each of them stopped to stare and whisper amongst each other as they passed. In the center of the square sat an enormous fountain with a statue of a strong looking female Zora holding a trident in a throwing pose. Water spouted from the openings alongside her feet into the base, which was covered with lily pads and fleet-lotus seeds floating atop the glowing water.

Again Zelda saw Link pull out his notebook, mark it, and frown.

“What are you doing?” She asked before he could pocket it, startling him. He frowned and tilted his head.

What do you mean?
“You keep frowning and scribbling in your notebook.” She nodded at the notebook in his hands.

I wanted to sketch the fountain, but this notebook is too small.

Zelda raised an eyebrow. “You draw?” She asked in a surprised tone. She hadn’t expected that, first the cooking, now the drawing… what else was he keeping from her? She had alway pegged him as a posh spoiled brat, with a belly bloated from fine cuisine, hands smooth from everything in life handed to him, and an attitude sharpened by never having to work a day in his life with an affinity for murder and torturing animals or something. But her image of him wasn’t really fitting what he was telling her, and she was having a difficult time reconciling the two. 

Link nodded. I have a sketchbook, but it got ruined from the river.

“Got it.” She hesitated, wanting to ask him more, or crack a joke about why a prince who has everything would even want to waste his time drawing, but she refrained, because they had reached the entrance to Zora’s Palace. She knew because of the giant open-mouthed luminous stone fish sitting on the roof, stretching so high up it seemed to pierce the sky with its flipped up tail.

Zelda and Link passed through the gates with no trouble, and soon they were inside the throne room of Zora’s Domain. The room was circular in shape, with a dome roof and skylights. The room was decorated with chiseled tablets of retellings of ancient Zora legends and ancient battle scenes carved into the luminous stone walls. A giant luminous stone lantern hung from the ceiling, casting the entire room in a blue glow, reflecting off the silver trim lining the open air windows. Zelda’s boots echoed across the chamber as she and Link approached the throne of King Dorephan. 

Now King Dorephan was the oldest Zora in all of the nation, although Zelda wasn’t sure of his exact age, she knew at least a few centuries. It wasn’t only his age that was impressive, but his size as well. He was almost as tall as the ceiling, with his enormous frame making the room feel much smaller. He was a rich blue Zora, with eyes spaced far apart on his head and a long frog like mouth. When he noticed the pair approaching, he straightened up the best he could and adjusted the red sash he was wearing so it wasn’t wrinkled.

Zelda kneeled down to a bow on the cold, smooth floor, Link followed suit. She waited for him to speak, as was proper when addressing someone of higher rank. Though, as the Priestess she technically should outrank him, but she didn’t want to disrespect him, especially when she was sent to send his daughter, Princess Mipha, onto the front lines of Evil’s Rebirth.

“Come now, there is no need for such formalities. To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from you and Prince Link to our Domain?.” His voice boomed, bouncing off the high walls of the chamber. He wasn’t shouting, his normal volume was just that powerful. Zelda shuddered to think about how loud he was when he was yelling.

Zelda rose from the ground.

“Greetings, King Dorephan. I’m glad to see you are in good health since the last time I was here.” She watched his blue brow furrow, then soften with recognition.

“Ah yes, I remember you. You are Chief Urbosa’s Ward, are you not, Priestess?”
Zelda nodded. “Yes, I am. I’ve come here on Queen Hera’s orders to deliver some terrible news.” Zelda took a deep breath as King Dorephan’s beady eyes zoned in on her, and wiped her sweaty palms on her pants when she saw him stiffen in his silver throne.

“Evil’s Rebirth is upon us.” Dorephan’s face fell, and his brow wrinkled with worry.

“That is certainly… troubling news, although not surprising. Rumors have been circulating recently, but with no confirmation on Hyrule Kingdom’s part we are all in a state of confusion. We all knew this was coming, but to think it would happen so soon… ” He hesitated, lost in thought. After a beat, he shook his massive head and continued, “What is the state of Hyrule Castle?”

Zelda felt her stomach twist with anxiety. She’d been so focused on getting Link to Zora’s Domain that she hadn’t even thought about the state of the castle. Scenes of the blood shed, gore, and carnage flashed through her mind. The screams, the explosions and destruction.

She took a deep breath, and exhaled all the unpleasant thoughts out of her.

“About 4 days ago, Hyrule Castle was overrun by monsters, hundreds of them. And these awful miasma hands bursted from the ground, there were so many of them. We were only in the Western Wing at the time, but I would assume this was going on all throughout the castle, if it follows what the Prophecy states.” Zelda felt a lump form painfully in her throat, and she had a hard time keeping her voice from wavering.

“So many people were slaughtered that day…so much death and bloodshed.” She added quietly.

“I see… this is most distressing…” King Dorephan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “And how are Queen Hera and Princess Aryll?”

“They are safe.” I hope . Zelda added.

“Good.” Dorephan nodded. “It seems we have much to discuss, but it is late, and you both must be weary. We shall discuss the rest in the morning. Rotunu! Please show the Priestess and Prince Link to the finest room in the palace.” He ordered a female Zora guard standing next to his throne. She nodded and briskly approached the two.

“If you’ll follow me.” And with that, she was off, quickly walking down the hallway, not waiting to see if the two were behind her. Rotunu led them down a hallway to the right of the throne room and up a flight of stairs. As soon as they reached the top, she led them to a door embossed with silver patterns. Rotunu layed a scaly hand on the blue knob and pushed the door open, and Zelda stepped through the doorway. Immediately a soft floral scent tickled her nose; the room felt cool, but not cold. 

“King Dorephan wasn’t kidding when he said this was the best room in the house…” Zelda whistled long and low as she turned around. The room was completely open and circular in shape (like most of the rooms in Zora’s Domain Zelda gathered), the walls were decorated with chiseled artwork and silver trimmed patterns. It had no windows, a section of the outer wall was cut out and barred with a large railing. Zelda hesitantly approached, they must be right under the giant fish’s mouth, for they looked over Zora's Domain. Zelda could even make out the two Zoras standing guard at the gate to the bridge.

She turned to the side when she heard the gurgling sound of water. To the right of the room was a ginormous bath built into the floor. The water bubbled and simmered lightly, catching the light of the large blue lantern chandelier built into the dome like ceiling. Zelda looked up, the entire ceiling was covered in chiseled artwork of the Zora, some were swimming up waterfalls, others were catching fish, and one was even fighting a Lynel. Next to the bath was a paper changing screen and a luminous stone vanity along with a small door. Zelda figured that must be where the toilet was. She was grateful that wasn’t part of the open floor plan. 

On the left side of the room sat a large bookshelf filled with beautiful silver trimmed books, a fine plush couch next to a small luminous stone fireplace, and a large round stone table with two matching chairs. As far as she could tell, this room was perfect. 

Except for one, tiny, thing. There was only one bed. 

The bed sat in the very center of the room, and it was easily the largest bed she’d ever seen. She figured that the entire Vai Vure could sleep on the bed and still have space to spare. Zelda’s eyes flashed to Link, he was also eyeing the bed. Staring at the fluffy down feather pillows, at the fine silk sheets, at the warm and cozy-looking fluffy comforter…

Zelda quickly turned to Ronutu, who was at the doorway, spear held at attention. 

“This room is beautiful, but is there another one with two beds maybe?” Rotunu’s eyes narrowed.

“No. We don’t have many rooms suitable for your kind.” She stated, her voice sharp and her tone short.

Our kind? What’s that supposed to mean…? Then her mind flashed back to a Zora biography she had read a few years ago. It mentioned that Zora slept in the lake of water known as a “sleeping chamber”. 

Yeah… I’d rather not sleep there…

“I see.” She replied, trying to fight the shame and embarrassment coloring her cheeks. She turned to stare at the bed again. It looked so comfortable, she was getting sleepy just looking at it…

“Would it be possible to get some dinner–” She started to ask, but when she turned around, Rotunu was already gone, the door shutting behind her.

“Well, that biography didn't say the Zora were known for their hospitality and warm personalities…” She muttered to herself.

“Alright!” She pointed a finger at Link, who had been peeking into the wash closet. His head snapped to attention. “I’ll use the bath first. And just to make sure you don’t get any pervy ideas about peeking…” She stomped over to the changing screen and dragged it in front of the bath. It didn’t even stretch all the way across the diameter. Guess she’d just have to steer clear from the far edge of the bath.

Link practically jumped out of the bathroom area and hurried to scribble out a message.

Of course. Take your time.

Zelda scoffed. “Yeah, whatever. If I catch you tryna catch a glimpse, you’ll find out next morning that you’ll be missing a very important part of your anatomy. Got it?” She leaned forward, hands on her hips.

She watched Link’s Adam's apple bob as he gulped painfully and nodded.

You have my word. I’ll just be over there. 

He pointed to the parlor area. 

“Good.” Zelda nodded, satisfied. She then ducked behind the changing screen and peeled off her muddy, sweaty, and dirty clothes. She threw them carelessly over the screen and dipped her toe into the rushing water. It was hot, but not scalding. The perfect bath temperature. Zelda immediately plunged into the water, it was about 6 feet deep in the center so she didn’t crash into the floor.

She surfaced and slicked back her hair.

“Damn that felt good…” She swam to the edge, where a ledge lined the outer edge of the bath, perfect for sitting and relaxing in the current. She found an indentation in the floor next to the edge of the pool with shampoos, conditioners, and body washes. She instantly lathered the product into her hair and scrubbed all the dirt and grime off her body.

The water was so relaxing, she felt all the tension just melt away in her muscles as she lounged on the edge. Eventually, her skin turned pruny and she figured she’d better get out and let Link have a turn. So she toweled off with one of the towels hanging on the wall near the bath and changed into a silver silk robe hanging from a coat rack next to the towels.

She walked out from behind the changing screen to pick her clothes back up, but found them gone.

“What the…?” She asked, her eyes darting around the room. She quickly spotted two bundles on the table in the parlor. One bundle was a folded silver silk nightgown with a note on top reading,

We will return your clothes fully washed tomorrow morning

-The Palace Maids

The other bundle was a folded silver nightshirt and pants twin to her nightgown.

“Tch. Of course they’d be matching. News flash everyone! We’re not a couple! Last I checked, it wasn’t standard protocol for a royal guard to match her prince.” She frowned, those words felt strange in her mouth. “I mean, the prince.” There. That was better.

“Hey, Bastar–I mean Link! Bath’s free!” She called after she’d changed into her night gown and sat at the vanity to brush her hair. The gown was so soft and smooth, it felt like being hugged by liquid silver. Assuming liquid silver would feel as smooth and soft as pleasant dreams.

She expected to hear the sound rustling of paper and the scritch scritch of a pencil, or feel the surprising tap on her shoulder. And when she didn’t, she called again.

“Link?” No response. She turned in her seat. Link was passed out fully clothed on the left side of the ginormous bed. He hadn’t even bothered to take off his shoes.

Zelda sighed and rose from her seat.

“Seriously? Are you that incompetent?” She whispered to him. He’d fallen asleep with a large water damaged sketch book on his chest and his pocket notebook across his face. One hand hugged the sketch book and the other flopped to the side still gripping the pen she’d given him.

Zelda shook her head at him while she tugged off both of his shoes and laid them at the foot of the bed. Link didn’t stir in his sleep.

“Damn, you must have been tired…” She murmured as she removed the sketch book from his chest and reached to pluck the pen from his fingers. When she pulled the pocket book off his face, he moaned and rolled to his side towards the edge of the bed. His dirty blonde hair fell over eyes and mouth.

“Sure, you can take your ponytail out, but you can’t even take your shoes off?” She scolded him as she bent down and brushed the hair behind his ear. She didn’t want him choking on it and dying in his sleep or anything. His cheek felt warm and soft, Zelda released a breath she hadn’t known she was holding.

I’m glad it’s nothing like the last time … She shuddered when she thought of the time she found him lying in the castle halls, surrounded by debris, ice cold like a corpse. He had looked… dead. This was nothing like that, he felt warm… alive.

“Okay, Zelda, that’s enough caressing his cheek!” She ripped her hand away from his face, suddenly realizing that she’d been touching him longer than was appropriate. Much to Zelda’s relief, Link didn’t move or stir or take any notice whatsoever. His chest simply rose and fell in rhythm with his soft breaths.

She then grabbed one of the blankets folded at the end of the bed and spread it up to his chin.

“Don’t want you getting sick and slowing us down…” She muttered. Zelda moved to turn off the lantern on the nightstand next to the bed when she caught a glimpse of the open page of his sketchbook. It was ruined, water had blurred all the lines and covered them with brown spots. She squinted and tried to make it out what was, or used to be, but she couldn’t. She flipped through the other pages, but she didn’t have much luck. Then she noticed his pocket book, still open to the page he was looking at. She quickly grabbed it and poured it over.

He had been sketching the fountain, and it was remarkably detailed for a sketch. It was so lifelike, he even nailed the determined expression on the statue's face, from the hard set of her lips to the narrowing of her eyes. His lines were cramped and seemed to overflow off the page.

“I see what you meant when you said you needed more room…” She flipped through more pages. There were sketches of the gates to Zora’s Domain, of the fish on top of the palace, even one of King Dorephan, his rotund size and all. And all of them were really good. There was a sort of… liveliness to them. Like they weren’t simply captured moments in time, but were living and breathing. She felt like his drawing of the Zora guards would yell “Halt!” And point their spears at them at any moment. And she swore she could see King Dorephan’s big belly shaking as he spoke to them.

“These are beautiful…” She set the pocket book down and gazed at Link’s sleeping face. “You can cook, you can draw… what else are you hiding from me…?” She wondered. She suddenly felt a familiar pang strike her chest. 

“Obviously not enough… you didn’t even try to hide the fact that you didn’t know what you did to my parents… to me…” Her throat felt tight, and she tore her eyes away from him.

“Come on Zelda! Stop thinking like that!” She slapped her cheeks, trying to pound some sense into her.

Knock knock!

Someone was softly rapping on the door. Zelda hurried to answer it. A short purple Zora pushed a silver tray with two steaming plates into Zelda’s hands and hurried off.

“Oooh dinner! This looks so good !” She practically squealed along with her rumbling stomach and hurried to the table. The Zora had given her two plates of salted steamed crabs slathered in butter and two glasses of dark red wine. Zelda eagerly shovelled the first plate of food into her mouth and slugged the first glass of wine. It was delicious, but weirdly, not as good as the steamed tomatoes and tomato soup Link had cooked for her their first and second nights together.

Her stomach growled again, still not satisfied. Zelda looked at the second plate full of steaming crab and butter. She looked at Link, he was still sound asleep. She looked at the plate again, then at him.

“Oh fuck it!” She stuffed the rest of the crab into her mouth. “Just because it’s not as good as his cooking, doesn’t mean it’s not good enough for seconds!” She said in between mouthfuls of food. Once she’d finished she washed it down with the second glass of wine and patted her stomach.

“Phew! That hit the spot!” She licked her lips, savoring the taste of salt, butter, and wine still on them. She felt the alcohol and her full belly start to take effect as she began to grow incredibly sleepy.

Zelda yawned. “Guess I’ll hit the sack too…” She turned out the lights, grabbed the other blanket and stared at the bed forelongingly. 

“I mean, it is big, so it’s not like I’d be sharing it with him…” Zelda shook her head.

“No. I can’t. I won’t. I’m too good to stoop down to that level.” She huffed, snatched a fluffy pillow and blanket from the bed and laid down on the couch in the parlor area.

So, with a full stomach, listening to the sounds of the crackling fire and Link’s soft breathing, Zelda fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Chapter Text

Are you kidding me?! Link glared down at the two empty plates resting on the table. He had woken up just moments before to a growling stomach and a ravenous appetite. He had been so tired he passed out on the bed before they served dinner, and he never missed dinner if he could help it. 

He scowled over in Zelda’s direction. She was sleeping peacefully on the plush couch, no doubt with a full stomach from eating his portion of dinner. His stomach rumbled loudly.

Well, I guess I’ll have to find something to eat in the kitchens, there’s no way I’m falling back asleep like this…

He glanced at the clock hanging above the fireplace: 1:33 a.m.

Yeah, there’s no way I can make it 6 more hours… Link thought as he slipped on his shoes, grabbed his cloak and slung it over his shoulders, and tiptoed to the door. The hallway glowed a soft blue, as he made his way down the stairs and into the throne room again. 

Alright… if my memory serves me right the kitchens should be down the hallway and to the left…

Sure enough, his childhood memories hadn’t failed him. As quietly as he could, he padded around the kitchen and grabbed enough ingredients to make a pre-cooked fish sandwich, since that wouldn’t require any cooking. Once he finished it, he bit into it, and immediately memories of eating this same sandwich over 10 years ago flooded into his mind.

Daizeus had been good friends with King Dorephan when he was alive, and would often bring Link along to visit. He remembered clearly his first visit there, his dad had been busy catching up with Dorephan, and Link was incredibly bored, so he snuck outside the castle gates and decided to play near the waterfall outside Zora’s Domain. Being the stupid 5 year old that he was, he ran around playing swordsman far too close to the edge, and he tripped and fell. He plunged into the cold water and was thrown against a boulder, cutting an enormous gash in his leg. He had thought he was going to drown, but a young Zora child rescued him and swam him to shore. She was a pretty young red Zora who looked to be about his age. She was able to heal his wounds, and promised not to tell anyone about the incident. She even snuck him into the palace kitchens for a fish sandwich afterward. 

Link later learned that the Zora that helped him was King Dorephan’s daughter, Princess Mipha. After that fateful day, the two became childhood best friends, and they still were close to this day. Link regretted that he wasn’t able to visit Mipha because of Hera, and it always pained him that he couldn’t tell her the reasons why. He always made up some excuse about being too busy or not feeling well whenever she asked him to visit in her letters. But, he was here now, and it would have been the perfect time to catch up with her, if not for one, little, thing.

The–”Link? Is that you?” A voice whispered from the doorway. Link whirled around, sandwich still stuffed in his mouth. Standing in the doorway, bathed in a soft blue hue, was Mipha. Link quickly swallowed his sandwich and rose from his seat.

Hey, Mipha. It’s been awhile.

Mipha was considered the most beautiful Zora in all the land, she was slender and incredibly short (even shorter than him). Scales the color of a rich dark wine covered her back and sides, the scales on her front gleamed the color of pearls in the light. Her tail was smaller than the other Zora, but it was still long and reached her lower back with soft pink spots dotting the sides. Mipha tilted her head when she spotted the crumb-filled plate resting on the counter, the silver headpiece that she always wore clinked softly.

I fell asleep before dinner and woke up starving. Link quickly signed to her. 

Sorry, I thought it’d be alright.  

He watched Mipha’s cherry red lips curve into a dainty smile and her golden eyes brighten.

“Oh don’t worry about it. You know you’re more than a guest here. Even if you haven’t visited in a while…” She said that last part softly, causing a lump to form in Link’s throat. He cleared it awkwardly and continued,

So, how have you been? Mipha shook her head and whispered softly. 

“We shouldn’t talk here, we’ll wake the servants up. Follow me,” She quietly led him back down the hallway and out a secret side door that she had shown them when they were kids. Apparently it was built as an emergency exit for the royal family in case of attack, but Link and Mipha had always used it as a way to sneak outside without the guards noticing. Once she was outside, she led him towards a small balcony overlooking Ruto Lake in between the southern and eastern bridges, and conveniently out of sight from any of the guards. Mipha strode confidently towards the balcony and leaned over the edge. She didn’t say anything, but Link knew she would once he joined her there.

“I’ve been well, considering the circumstances.” She said, her voice soft and silky sounding. She’d always had a sort of calming effect on Link, usually just hearing her voice would immediately relax him.

“How have you been doing with everything? I can’t imagine it’s been easy for you, Father told me that Evil’s Rebirth destroyed your home just days ago. And so many people lost their lives… You must be worried about everything, about Aryll.” She gazed at him, the moon illuminating the concern on her face.

Link nodded. Yes, I have been. But I know she’s safe, Hera wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She loves her. She’ll protect her. He signed to her.

“And you?” Link turned to her, puzzled.

What about me?

“Isn’t Hera supposed to love and protect you? Why do you speak about her like she doesn’t care about you? She’s not just Aryll’s mother, she’s yours too.” Mipha’s amber eyes hardened with anger. Not at him, but at her. Hera.

No, she’s not… Link thought. But he didn’t sign that to her. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. It would be so easy, it's just 3 little words… but that’s not something that was an option for him. Not anymore.

Of course she loves me. But I don’t need protecting, Aryll does. Link signed to Mipha, his fingers fumbling and his chest tightening with each lie he told. He hated it.

Mipha searched his face and frowned slightly, her amber eyes glinting in the moonlight. After a beat, she sighed.

“I wish you’d tell me the truth. I know something’s been bothering you, not just Evil’s Rebirth, a different something. And it has been for a while now. I can tell. I wish you trusted me enough to tell me what’s going on. I promise I can help, Linny…” She laid her hand on top of his, squeezing it reassuringly. Link felt his throat tighten. She’d used his childhood nickname. One that only her and their other friend Koda used. It’d been a while since he heard it, and it brought all the memories of their fun times together flooding back. It took him a minute to focus back on reality, and their joint hands. Link stared at them for a moment and wondered once again if he should tell her. Tell her how hard it's been living in that place , how hard it’s been to be hated by the kingdom, to be trapped there, to be beaten and punished and put down just for existing, and how hard it’s been to pretend none of it had been happening for Aryll’s sake. But, just like he had done all those years Mipha asked about it, ever since after his father died, he slipped his hand out from under hers and forced a smile onto his face.

There’s nothing going on. I’m perfectly fine. You don’t have to worry about me.

Mipha set her lips into a hard line and frowned.

“I know that’s not true! I just–” She paused mid sentence and took a deep breath.

“Look, I didn’t bring you out here to rehash old arguments. It’s just… I miss hearing your voice, that’s all. I thought maybe this time…” She shook her head, as if clearing away her thoughts.

But Link knew what she wanted to say. Ever since he’d stopped speaking eleven years ago, Mipha had been devastated. Not only at the fact that he couldn’t talk anymore, but also the fact that he wouldn’t tell her why. She begged and begged, but he just… couldn’t. She had been one of the only ones who dedicated herself to learning sign language though, and Link loved her for that. He just wished she would drop it. He wasn’t going to speak again, his voice was lost long ago. She just needed to accept that.

“So, I’ve noticed you haven’t answered my letter yet.” She turned to him and smiled, a tinge of pink coloring her cheeks. Link felt the heat of embarrassment rush to his face. He nervously scratched the back of his head.

Yeah, sorry about that. I meant to, but things have been pretty chaotic with Zelda’s arrival and Evil’s Rebirth, and I didn’t get the chance.

Mipha nodded. “I understand, I’m not upset or anything, I just…” Mipha trailed off. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“When I think of you,

My heart skips a beat.

This feeling isn’t new,

But it’s one I intend to keep.

It’s your eyes, your smile, your voice,

Your kindness and far away stare,

That make me so sure of my choice,

The choice I hope proves that I care.

Forgive me if I stumble and stutter,

If I fumble my words or my voice holds a shudder,

But the love in my heart is just so full,

It overflows all at once, and I can’t ignore the pull,

Of my desire to be with you forevermore.”

Once she finished, she opened them and turned to Link, a determined look set on her face.

That was a beautiful po–

Mipha helped up a scaled hand. “Please, let me finish. I know you haven’t had a chance to give me an answer to my proposal, but I want you to know I was completely serious. I love you, with all my heart, mind, body and soul, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you.” Mipha’s voice was strong, but Link could hear the subtle tremor in it, and he noticed she clasped both her hands together to prevent them from shaking. Link had to look away, he couldn’t bear to face her knowing the answer he was going to give her. He stared out the balcony, onto the dark mass of water beneath them, onto the tall mountains surrounding them, onto the hundreds of stars glimmering against the inky sky. When the aching in his chest subsided enough so he could breathe again, he turned back to Mipha. To her eyes gleaming with hope, to her hands trembling with anticipation, to her face fearing the worst.

Mipha, I–

“Wait!” She suddenly shouted, holding both hands in front of her. “Before you answer, please close your eyes.” 

Link’s brow furrowed in confusion, but he obeyed. He heard Mipha step closer to him, so close he could smell the scent of the river clinging to her.

“Please tilt your head down a little.” She whispered, her breath warm on his face. Again, Link obeyed. All of the sudden he felt the cool smoothness of Mipha’s scaled hands as she cupped his cheeks and then something cold and smooth and sweet-tasting pressed up against his lips. 

Link’s eyes popped open. 

She’s kissing me?! Now?! Right before I was about to reject her!? His mind raced a thousand miles a minute. His heart was beating so fast he thought it would burst, or he was going to vomit. Mipha was the first to pull away, Link was frozen in place. She gave him a bashful smile, her eyes shining with joy. 

“Wow, that was absolutely amazing! I can’t believe we haven’t tried this sooner, what did you…” Mipha trailed off. He watched her face shift from excitement and wonder to worry and confusion.

“Link,” she stepped forward, her brow wrinkled with concern, “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

Link tilted his head in confusion. He wasn’t… he touched his cheeks. They were wet. 

Wait, why am I crying? He touched his cheeks again, more tears had flown down his face: hot, itchy tears. Then he remembered. 

Oh, that’s right. You cry when you’re sad… 

He felt pain well up in his chest and lodge in his throat. Pain and guilt. He was crying because he used to want this, he had wanted to marry Mipha, she was one of his closest friends, he loved her, and he’d been in love with her until just last year. But he had decided that this wasn’t an option for him, even though It’d be so easy to marry her, she’d treat him so well… But, he couldn’t. He couldn’t be the man she wanted and deserved, not when he was… what he was. A Nekros Magick user. She’d be killed if the public found out about him, especially since they’d assume he was what everyone would think he was before hearing them out. His chest was hurting so much he couldn’t breathe. He felt like he was drowning in guilt and sorrow. Guilt for deceiving her, She’d fallen in love with the mask he wore for everyone, not the broken, fucked up mess he really was. He had led her on to believe he was someone strong and kind and dependable, someone who wasn’t broken beyond repair, someone who’s scars didn’t run so deep that there was no hope for healing them. Mipha was a healer, and he knew she’d try to help, but the pain and hurt and trauma he kept locked behind the floodgates of his heart would drown her, and he knew she’d die trying to save him. She’d try to save him from the dark river of his pain, the rushing waterfall of his hurt that he could barely keep his head above most days, but Link knew she’d be the one to drown. He could never be the one to make her happy, he didn’t have anything to offer her, only hardship and suffering. He wouldn’t be able to support her through her hard times when he could barely stay afloat during his. 

How could he hug her whenever someone touched his back all he could think about was being beaten and whipped under Hera’s orders? How could he hold her hand when all he could remember was being led down to that torture chamber again, and again, and again? How could he kiss her when her cold lips reminded him or nearly drowning and choking on the ice-cold water? How could he live everyday to the fullest with her when he’d be constantly looking over his shoulder? Worried Hera would come back, find him, punish him for disobeying her? When the public could execute him at a moment’s notice if they discovered the truth? How could they have any arguments when he wouldn’t be able to see past the arguments with Hera? How could he hope to love someone when he wasn’t sure what it felt like? And how could she love someone so broken?

That’s why he was crying. But the one thing that grounded him, that always grounded him when he felt out of control, when he felt like he was suffocating in his pain and sorrow, was Aryll. His purpose, his reason for living. He remembered his vow to protect her, to stay with her and make sure she was happy, that she’d never be treated the way he was treated, that Hera would take out all her frustrations and hatred and cruelty on him so she could be the perfect mother for her, and give all her love, adoration, and attention to her.

Link wiped his eyes on his sleeve and tried to compose himself.

Mipha, I’m sorry, but I can’t marry you. I’m so sorry. Link hurriedly signed to her. He watched as Mipha slowly comprehended what he was saying. Small tears that shone like tiny diamonds welled up in her eyes and dripped down her cheeks.

“Oh, I see.” She struggled to keep her voice even. She removed a small handkerchief from her blue sash and gingerly dabbed her eyes. “May I ask why? Am I… am I not good enough?” Her voice cracked.

Link felt his heart breaking under the weight of his guilt.

No no no! It’s nothing like that! You are more than good enough for someone like me. 

“Then why? Why don’t you love me?” Mipha whispered, bigger tears rolling down her cheeks. She was closer to breaking down than Link had ever seen her, Mipha wasn’t someone who showed her sadness to others that often, at least she never did to him.

I do love you, but… not the way you love me. I’m sorry. 

“Well, that’s…” She tried to keep herself composed, but she was failing. “Forgive me, but… I have to go.” And with that Mipha rushed away. Link longed to run after her and comfort her, but that would only make things worse. So he leaned back over the balcony, and finally allowed the full force of his grief come crashing down onto him as he cried.

“Hey… are you okay?” He suddenly heard a voice behind him call out. Link slowly turned around, afraid it was a palace guard. But… it wasn’t.

Standing there, her silver nightgown gleaming in the starlight, looking unsure of herself (something Link had never seen before), was Zelda. The absolute last person he’d ever thought he'd see in one of his lowest moments. Just his luck.

Chapter Text

Zelda woke up. She wasn’t sure why, but something in the room felt… different. She couldn’t place her finger on it, not until she rose from her couch and glanced over at the big and still extremely comfy looking bed nearby. It was empty.

“What the…?” She asked as she sprang from the couch and rushed over. “What happened? Where did he go? Was he kidnapped? Shit shit!” Zelda felt herself start to spiral into a panic attack, her breathing fast and her heartbeat loud. 

“Calm down, Zelda, deep breath. In… and out… Okay, his shoes are gone and so is his cloak. If someone kidnapped him, they probably wouldn’t bother with that since they’d be in a rush.” She walked over and touched the bed. “It’s still warm, so he couldn’t have been gone long.”

“Well, it is my duty to protect him, so I guess I should go and find out where that bastard got off to.” Zelda slipped on the soft silk slippers that came with her nightgown, strapped her belt, sword and sheath to her waist, and stalked quietly out the door, not wanting to wake anyone up who might be sleeping nearby.

          The hallways were dark (except for the soft glowing of the blue stone), she passed not a single soul as she tiptoed down the stairs and into the throne room.

          “Now, if I were a sneaky bastard, where would I go…?” She thought back to everything she had learned about Link the past week. 

          “Let’s see… he loves drawing, being annoying, hands and… food!” Her mind quickly flashed back to all the times he complained to her about being hungry, and since she ate his portion of dinner while he was asleep…

“Shit, I better go to the kitchens then and make sure he’s not getting into any trouble.” She groaned and set about finding the kitchen. After many wrong turns and opening the doors to the wrong rooms more times then she would have liked to admit, Zelda finally found them.

“Psst, Link? You in here?” She called, straining her eyes against the darkness. Nothing. She did however spot an empty plate on the counter, so he was here at some point. 

She suddenly heard the sound of a door opening further down the hallway. Zelda sprang out into the hall and followed it. She caught up just in time to see two figures disappear into a small passageway. 

After plenty of twists and turns (and she even lost them a couple times), Zelda finally opened a door onto a balcony looking over Ruto Lake, where under the twinkling stars and white moonlight, she was able to see who they were. Link and Princess Mipha. Now Zelda had met Mipha once, when she visited Zora’s Domain a few years ago. Zelda had grown up a lot since then, but Mipha looked about the same, like time had not touched her face when it had left scars on Zelda’s.

They appeared to be in the middle of a serious conversation, so Zelda ducked behind a nearby Zora statue and listened.

“I wish you trusted me enough to tell me what’s going on. I promise I can help, Linny…” Mipha grabbed his hand and something unpleasant seized Zelda’s chest. She shifted into a crouching position, ready to jump out at a moment’s notice in case Link needed help fending off this creep.

But, he appeared to have it under control. He flashed Mipha a smile that Zelda knew was fake (she couldn’t exactly tell how she knew, just that it was the smile he always gave her when she asked about his past) and pulled his hand away.

He then signed to her.

Damn it! Of all the times someone can actually understand him without his notebook… Zelda cursed. 

“I know that’s not true! I just–” Mipha started to shout. Whatever Link had told her must have been a cheap lie, like the ones he always told her. Zelda felt the unpleasant feeling in her chest subside.

So I’m not the only one he lies to… For some reason, this made her feel relieved.

“Look, I didn’t bring you out here to rehash old arguments. It’s just… I miss hearing your voice, that’s all. I thought maybe this time…”

Wait! WHAT?! He could talk?! When? Where? How? Why doesn’t he talk anymore?? Zelda was dumbfounded. She had never really given it much thought before, the reason why Link couldn’t speak. She had always looked at it like some weird quirk that made things much more difficult. And annoying. Especially for her. But, for the first time she wondered why he couldn't speak, if there was some reason behind it. And she didn’t like the guilty feeling that came along with those questions.

Zelda finally tuned back into the conversation when Mipha started reading some extremely sappy and stupid sounding poem. It wasn’t even that good… she couldn’t even repeat it if she’d wanted to.

“I know you haven’t had a chance to give me an answer to my proposal–”

Wait wait wait wait! She what?? She proposed to this guy??

“--but I want you to know I was completely serious. I love you, with all my heart, mind, body and soul, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you.” 

Link then tried to sign something to her, but Mipha interrupted. Zelda watched in horror as she stepped close to him and… kissed him!!

Zelda wanted to hurl. Didn’t these two have any self respect?? Kissing in front of her like that…

She was about to leave the Sleazy Bastard to his own devices when she caught a glimpse of his face. He didn’t look like he was enjoying the kiss. In fact, when she pulled away, he started crying. This halted Zelda in her place.

He’s… crying? But why? She felt a surge of anger bubble up in her chest. Surprisingly enough, for once, it wasn’t directed at him. No, it was at Mipha. For making him cry. 

Wait, why am I angry at Mipha? It’s not like it matters to me why that bastard is crying or anything…

She was shocked at how… protective she felt. And how him crying seemed to make her own throat tighten and eyes burn as well.

Hey, body! We’re supposed to hate this guy, remember??  

All of the sudden, Mipha rushed out of the balcony, just narrowly missing Zelda’s hiding place.

Damn! Did he just reject her? Zelda looked back to Link. He was leaning over the balcony, sobbing softly. Zelda rose from her hiding place and stepped towards him. He looked so… broken. She’d never seen him like this before, and Zelda, for the first time, was at a loss for words. What should she do? Should she leave and give him some privacy…?

Yeah, I should probably leave… she was turning on her heels to leave when suddenly a thought jumped into her brain.

He just dumped his girlfriend, he’s all alone, on top of a tall balcony, a rushing river is below, so who’s going to stop him if he…? Zelda turned back around and cleared her throat.

“Hey… are you okay?” Link’s sobs immediately quieted as he perked up, he turned his head slowly towards her. When he saw her, his bloodshot eyes widened and he quickly wiped his tear stained cheeks on his tunic sleeve.

He nodded quickly as Zelda approached him. She took a spot on his right on the balcony railing, trying not to think about how far the drop was…

“So…” She started awkwardly when Link didn’t say anything else. “Look. I’m not going to lie to you, I heard the whole thing. And, saw the whole thing.” She glanced over at him. He was scowling at her, his bloodshot eyes darkening.

“Hey, it’s not like I meant to! I woke up, you weren’t there, and as your personal guard, I had to make sure you weren’t kidnapped or anything.” Zelda held up her hands in defense. Link shook his head and patted his pockets for his notebook. She watched him turn them inside out, but to no avail.

Shit, I probably should have just left it on his face…  

He looked around frantically for something to write on, then his eyes settled on Zelda’s hand. He glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow, looking at her expectantly.

“What? My hand? Again with the fetish?” She groaned, but gave it to him anyway. Link turned it over so her palm was facing the sky and began drawing in it, sending that familiar tingling feeling all over it, and a shiver up her spine. Zelda did her best to ignore it and focus on what he was saying.

How about a heads up next time? Before you decide to eavesdrop on my personal life.

Zelda couldn’t believe what he was telling her! She was trying to help that bastard, and this is how he was treating her?

“Look here, buster! I was only doing what a good personal guard would do, and I just didn’t want to interrupt your little makeout sesh with your girlfriend!” She shouted at him. Link curled his lip up in disgust, then began furiously drawing on her hand.

A good personal guard would leave as soon as they saw the conversation was private! Not stick around to enjoy the show!

“And some show it was! I thought I was going to vomit watching you two get all handsy with each other!” 

We were not getting handsy! It was one kiss! A kiss that I didn’t know was going to happen, and frankly, didn’t want it to happen! I was just about to reject her before she did that! 

Zelda paused. Suddenly some of the blanks in the conversation began to fill in.

“So, why did you reject her then?” Zelda asked, her voice suddenly quiet.

Link hesitated, holding her hand in his own. He just stared at it for a long time, Zelda wasn’t even sure he was going to respond at all. Then he bent down low over her hand.

Okay, here’s the deal. I felt… that I misled her into thinking I’m this great dependable guy who has it all together when… that’s not true. 

Zelda gasped, feigning surprise. “What? It’s not? I could’ve sworn you were perfect!” 

Link scowled at her.  Zelda felt a rush of guilt flood her face. 

“Okay, okay, sorry. Bad timing. Continue.” 

I know that’s the person she fell in love with, the one who’s got it all figured out… but the real me is a mess. 

“Tch. Don’t I know it? I bet she doesn’t know that you practically killed this girl’s parents.” She pointed to herself with her free hand. An instant later Zelda realized she took it too far with that comment. But before she could take it back and apologize, Link’s ocean blue eyes had darkened into a stormy grey overshadowed by his thick dark eyebrows that hung low above his eyelids.

I didn’t kill your parents! He was drawing so furiously that his nail was scraping the inside of her palm.

“Hey, ow! Take it easy!” Zelda yelped. “And yes, you did. You found that notebook in my parent’s office! You probably planted it there too!”

And how can you be so sure it wasn’t actually theirs?

This set Zelda off. Gone was the guilt and pity she felt for him a moment ago. Fiery rage boiled her blood and tensed her muscles. Her fingers twitched, she was just itching to clobber the bastard in his stupid pretty boy face.

“Listen here, bastard!” She poked Link in the chest, stretching upwards to gain a few more inches on him so she could tower over him. “Don’t you fucking dare accuse my parents of murdering the king! They were not those kinds of people! I knew them! I know deep in my bones that they are innocent! Besides, what did they have to gain by poisoning the king??”

Link wasn’t backing down, he stood firm, rooted in place, despite the height difference. 

Everything! Money, power! Political gain! They could have created an opening for the kingdom to attack the Gerudo people! War is money, and they’d be making a fortune with their medicines to use in combat!

Zelda couldn’t believe her ears. Each word he wrote was like an arrow shot straight through her heart. He hit every secret doubt she’d kept locked away right on the head. She felt tears spring up in her eyes and a pain seize her heart. It felt like a void was spreading across it, stealing her breath, she couldn’t think, she swore even her heart stopped beating. She tried so hard not to cry, she hated crying in front of other people. So when that one tiny tear spilled out and slid slowly down her cheek, she hated herself for it.

She needed to leave. She couldn’t be here anymore, not when the pain threatened to overthrow her and ruin everything. She didn’t care that Link’s face contorted from anger to horror when he saw that single tear fall down her face. 

“Whatever, fuck you. I’m done.” She ripped her hand out of his and calmly walked away. Then she felt a force tug at her hand when she tried to walk forward. Without turning around, she said,

“Link, do not fuck with me right now. It’s taking everything in me not to punch you in the balls, and if you don’t let me go right this second I can’t promise I won’t do it.” She jerked her hand back, but the grip tightened around her wrist.

“Alright, that does it!” Zelda spun around to face him, her fist held high. She threw a punch right at his stupid face. Her fist made a cracking sound as it landed square on his jaw. Link dropped her hand and stumbled back, stunned. He held his hand to his mouth and coughed violently. Splatters of blood flew through the cracks in his fingers and dripped to the ground.

“I warned you.” Zelda shrugged, then turned to leave again. Once again, his hand enclosed around her small wrist and tightened, harder this time. Zelda turned and threw another punch, this time Link jerked to the side, narrowly missing her fist. Before she could draw it back in, he grabbed it with his other hand and yanked Zelda forward. She crashed straight into his chest, where she felt his arms wrapped around her shoulders, pinning her arms to her sides.

“What the hell are you doing?!” She struggled, trying to slip out of his grip. “Let me go!” She roared.

Link didn’t listen, instead he tightened his grip on her.

Not until you listen to what I have to say! He drew onto the back of her shoulders.

All at once, Zelda felt the fight leave her body. The blood boiling rage she felt a moment ago subsided into a sluggish and exhausted feeling. All her tensed muscles relaxed. She rested her chin onto his shoulder, noticing the piney grass scent that always clung to him.

“Fine,” she surrendered. “What more can you say to hurt me? That my parents are Evil’s Incarnate or something?” She felt Link tense up.

That’s not funny. I would never call someone that.

And he released her, apparently confident she wouldn’t run away. Zelda immediately felt the cold of the night air replace the warmth of his body. She shivered and drew her black cloak tighter around her shoulders.

“Well, what is it you want to tell me?” She held out her hand to him. He took it, his grip firm.

First of all, I’m sorry for what I said about your parents. I didn’t know them, so I have no right to make judgements about their character.

Zelda scoffed and rolled her eyes. But Link continued, unhindered.

Second of all, I didn’t plant the notebook in your parents’ office. And I wasn’t pretending to forget about them. I truly had no idea it was what was used to prove them guilty. 

“Even if you didn’t plant it, you still found it though. They wouldn’t have died if you hadn’t found it.” Zelda felt a lump form painfully in her throat, and she struggled to keep her voice from breaking. Link widened his eyes and frantically shook his head.

I didn’t even find that notebook though! I’ve never been in their office before! It always smelled like spearmint, and I hated spearmint. I still do! The smell of it makes me sick.

“I know that’s a lie!” Zelda shouted. “There were newspaper articles about it! It was the biggest story of the year! Prince saves the country and stops a war by finding a crucial piece of evidence that proves the royal medicinal researchers did it! Those were the headlines! It was even detailed in the newspaper you were reading that day in the library, so how can you sit there and fucking lie to my face? Do you think I’m stupid??” She watched confusion spread across his face.

I never finished that article… I never knew that story was being told… His finger hurried to trace the lines in her hand.

Zelda felt the gears beginning to turn in her brain. Could that be why he acted like he had no idea about her parents' deaths or names? And why he acted like he didn’t know what she was talking about whenever she mentioned that it was his fault? Was that why he was reading the newspaper and census in the first place? Because he truly didn’t know? Was he telling the truth?
Zelda’s green eyes searched his face, looking for any hints of deceit. He seemed genuine and sincere, but…

“How do I know you’re not lying to me?”

Link looked up at her and shrugged.

You don’t. I don’t have any way of proving to you that I’m not the one who planted it or found it. Just as you have no way of proving that your parents didn’t own the notebook and didn’t plot to kill the king.

Zelda glared. “I do! The writing, it wasn’t their handwriting. The phrases, the way they kept their notes, I had it all memorized. I was obsessed with the science of medicine. After they died, I was allowed to look through their office and keep whatever wasn’t stripped away for evidence, and I caught a glimpse of the notebook. It wasn’t at all similar to the way they catalogued their chemicals or journaled about their findings. But when I tried to tell those bastards, they wouldn’t listen.”

This seemed to give Link pause.

Okay, I believe you. 

“Well,” Zelda hesitated, starting to really consider for the first time if he truly wasn’t the one who planted or found the notebook there. “If you didn't, who would have? And why would they lie and say it was you? And who would’ve plotted to kill the king in the first place?”

Link shrugged again.

My father had a lot of enemies, for all I know it could’ve been the Yiga who planted the poison. But if I had to guess who planted the notebook, it was probably Hera. 

“Hera?” Zelda raised an eyebrow. “Why would she do that? Wouldn’t that just make her kingdom look bad?”

When my father was poisoned, she overreacted and blamed the Gerudo people, even starting a war with them. She probably saw there wasn’t a way of winning, and without any true way of catching a culprit, she planted a notebook in order to find a culprit and save face. Your parents were probably a convenient excuse.

Zelda nodded, as much as she hated to admit it, his theory was starting to make sense.

“Hold on though,” She furrowed her brows, something he was saying was bothering her. “Why would she say it was you? And then not even tell you about it? Isn’t that a little weird?”
Who knows? Maybe so it wouldn’t look suspicious or something? I never understand any of the things Hera does to me… 

Zelda tilted her head, confused. What did he mean by that? What else does Hera do to him…?

She opened her mouth to ask him more about that when a voice boomed behind them.

“Freeze! Who goes there?!” Zelda and Link whirled around to find two spears pointed at their faces belonging to two female Zora. Zelda and Link held up their hands above their heads, trying to appear like the weren’t having a violent fight just moments ago,

“It’s just me, Zelda Rulehy, the Priestess. And Prince Link.” She nodded over to Link.

The two Zora lowered their spears, looking relieved. 

“Oh. Well this area is off limits to non-members of the royal family. Please vacate the premises and return to your quarters. We will escort you.” The one on the left barked orders at them. 

“Of course, we were just leaving.” Zelda sidestepped behind the two Zora and walked with Link back through the secret passageway, the two Zora trailing behind them.

Once they reached the door to their room, the Zora made sure Zelda and Link both went in and closed the door. Zelda heard their footsteps recede down the hall a few moments later.

Zelda sighed exhaustedly. “Alright, they’re finally gone.” She turned around to further their discussion, but Link was fast asleep snuggled under the covers.

“Ughh, of course the guy falls asleep as soon as I wanna talk to him!” Zelda groaned and slipped off her slippers and cloak, then crashed onto the couch where she fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter Text

Link yawned. He’d woken up early and eaten a quick breakfast in order to be stuck in a slow meeting that seemed to stretch on forever. Dorephan and Zelda were arguing about whether or not Mipha should be sent to Hyrule as a healer right away to help on the frontlines for Evil’s Rebirth.

“With all due respect, King Dorephan, hundreds of people are dead already because of Evil’s Rebirth.” Zelda tried her best to keep calm, but Link could see the subtle clench of her jaw and the not so subtle fists forming at her sides. Link was sitting next to her at a large round meeting table, and King Dorephan, some Zora advisors, and Mipha were sitting across from them.

“I understand that, Priestess, but I cannot afford to send my daughter, Princess Mipha, so early on in the fight. If she dies, there will be no one to heal the champions during the upcoming battle.” King Dorephan’s voice rumbled and shook the entire room.

“But if you don’t send her now thousands more innocent lives will be lost!” Zelda slammed her fist onto the table, startling the officials in the room.

“No. My answer is no. And I will not tolerate this kind of conduct in my–”

“Father, if I may.” Mipha held out her hand and immediately the room quieted. Her voice, although quiet and subdued, seemed to captivate the entire room.

“I think it is my duty, as the only one of this lifetime blessed with Nero magick and the ability to heal others, to go help those risking their lives for the sake of all of Hyrule.” Mipha’s face was determined, not a trace of what transpired was present on her face. Link tried to meet her eyes in order to tell her she was doing the right thing and he believed in her, but she wouldn’t look at him.

I guess I deserve that…

Dorephan’s frog-like mouth drooped into a long frown, but he nodded.

“Alright, if that’s what you wish.” He turned to Zelda. “Very well, Priestess, I will send word at once to Hyrule Castle that Mipha the Healer is coming.”

A Zora Royal official then cleared his throat. 

“If I may, your Majesty, what if Evil’s Incarnate were to somehow intercept this message? We know not who he is, he could be anyone in Hyrule…” The amber eyes of the royal official focused on the members around the table, including Link. He shifted in his chair and tried his best to look unaffected.

“Hmm… you make an excellent point, Nerom.” King Dorephan rubbed his massive chin thoughtfully. “Perhaps it would be best for Princess Mipha to make the journey unbeknownst to the public to prevent any unnecessary rumors.” His beady eyes zoned in on Zelda.

“Perhaps that is why Queen Hera ordered you to escort Prince Link yourself instead of simply sending word to us…” King Dorephan nodded approvingly. “Yes, I must applaud her thinking, she must have known how wary the other kingdoms would be about a possible breach in Hyrule Castle’s postal system with the rumors about it flying like wildfire and no confirmation on their part, or any of the other kingdoms messaging systems since Evil’s Incarnate could be anywhere, if he is not at Hyrule Castle, so she sent the heir of Hyrule with the Priestess of Hyrule on her behalf to prove it to them all individually, therefore gaining their trust and proving their word… yes, a stroke of genius.” He looked to Link. “Do tell your mother that when you see her next, won’t you, Prince Link?” 

Link felt an unpleasant taste rise in his mouth at the word “mother”. But he smiled and nodded. 

Zelda spoke up, “I’m glad we could come to an agreement. That way no more lives have to be needlessly lost…” She trailed off, her green eyes glazed over. She seemed to no longer be present in the room, but somewhere far away, a world that only she could see. And by the shine in her eyes and the slight hitch in her voice… it didn’t seem like it was a pleasant one.

The meeting then dissolved into discussions of Mipha’s departure and the details surrounding that. Link couldn’t focus on that. He was lost in his own thoughts, he couldn’t stop hearing the words that Zelda and Mipha had told him.

“So many people lost their lives…”

“Hundreds of people are dead…”

He thought back to the moment he released all of that dark energy at once… all that energy, concentrated into one place… his mind flashed back to his book of the dark arts: “Monsters are attracted to the miasma that radiates off of one while using Nekros Magick. Using large quantities in one area will attract hordes…”

In the moment, when the man threatened to slice Aryll’s neck open, Link had felt something take over. Something told him, no, something made him release all of that magick at once. It wasn’t his fault, he didn’t mean for the monsters to storm the castle and kill the people at the party. He didn’t mean to attract all of those miasma hands and destroy the castle… he didn’t mean to cause Evil’s–

Link shook his head.

No, I didn’t cause that. It had to be a coincidence, it wasn’t my fault all of those people died…

“So many people lost their lives…”

“Hundreds of people are dead…”

Zelda and Mipha’s voices played again in his mind. Link tried to push their voices out of his head, but they wouldn’t leave. Over and over they rang, like a sour chord on the piano pounding in the insides of his head.

“Your birth will cause thousands upon thousands of innocent women, men, children to be slaughtered…” 

No, it won’t… I haven’t killed anyone! 

“So many people lost their lives…”

“Hundreds of people are dead…”

No, th-that wasn’t my fault! I didn’t kill them! Link mentally shouted, trying to drown out the chorus of voices overwhelming his being.

“So many people–”

“--are dead.”

“So many–”

“–hundreds”

“--are dead.”

No! I didn’t kill them! I’m a good person! The voices were so loud, too loud, he couldn’t think, he plugged his ears, but that just made them louder.

“You are the epitome of evil–”

“Hundreds of people–”

“--lost their lives–”

“You are the evilest creature in the world…”

No! I’m not! I’m not evil! It wasn’t my fault!

“The most unholy thing to walk this earth…” 

“Your birth will cause–”

“Thousands more innocent lives–”

“--Women, men, children to be slaughtered…” 

No, I haven’t! I won’t kill anyone! I– He felt his voice shrinking, the voices were drowning him, he couldn’t breathe. He felt his palms getting cold and calmly and his heart knocking against his chest.

“So many–”

“–hundreds”

“--are dead.”

No–

“--thousands–”

“--slaughtered–”

“Women, men, children–”

“Will be lost–”

“--So many–”

“--Dead–”

“--Hundreds–”

“--will be lost–”

–NO!--

“–You should be put to death just for breathing–”

“So many–”

“–hundreds”

“--are dead.”

“You are the evilest creature in the world…”

–I’M NOT–

“--The most unholy thing to walk this earth–” 

“Your birth will cause–”

“Thousands more innocent lives–”

“--So many–”

“--Dead–”

“--Hundreds–”

“--will be lost–”

“-- You will kill them all–”

NO! NO! I WON’T–

“-- You will kill them all–”

“--So many–”

“--Dead–”

“--Hundreds–”

“--will be lost–”

“--thousands–”

“--slaughtered–”

“--You will kill them all–”

“Women, men, children–”

“Will be lost–”

“--So many–”

“--Dead–”

“--Hundreds–”

“--will be lost–”

“–You should be put to death just for breathing–”

“So many–”

“–hundreds”

“--are dead.”

“You are the evilest creature in the world…”

“--The most unholy thing to walk this earth–” 

“Your birth will cause–”

“Thousands more innocent lives–”

“You will kill them all–”

“–You should be put to death just for breathing–”

“So many–”

“–hundreds”

“--are dead.”

“Your birth will cause–”

“Thousands more innocent lives–”

“You will kill them all–”

NO! I WON’T! I WON’T KILL ANYONE! I'M NOT EVIL! I WON’T KILL ANY–”

“-- You will…You will kill them all because you are fated to. After all, you are–”

“Hey, you okay?” Suddenly all the voices quieted, like the conductor had cut off the chaotic symphony of thoughts he was drowning in. Someone was gently shaking his shoulder. Link looked up. Zelda’s eyebrows were knit together in concern, eyes shifting subtly as she scanned his face, lips parted slightly, like she wanted to say something.

Link darted his own eyes around the table. Everyone was staring at him. Just what had he been doing…?

He wasn’t sure what he should do… he felt frozen under everyone’s gazes, pinned to the wall by embarrassment. Almost subconsciously, in a daze, his fingers moved of their own accord when they plucked the notebook and pen from his tunic pocket. His eyes weren’t even focusing on the ink flowing out of the pen onto the paper, but somehow the incoherent mess of blurry lines and shapes formed a sentence.

Sorry for the interruption, but I need to step out for a minute. I’m suddenly not feeling well.

Link didn’t wait for a response, pushed his chair back, bowed to the King, and hurried out of the room, hoping his fast pace would conceal the fact that he was trembling. He pushed past the guards standing by the door and rushed down the hall, looking for the nearest bathroom. He felt like he could finally breathe again once he was safe behind the closed door, like no more eyes were boring into him, silently judging him, speculating about his secrets…

Link rested his hands on the edge of the white porcelain sink and took a few deep breaths. He glanced up at his reflection, and he almost didn’t recognize the boy staring back at him. This boy looked a sickly pale, as white as the whipped cream on his favorite Hylian Pie, and dark reddish-purplish bags hung low under his tired eyes, sweat glistened on his brow under the fluorescent light, a bluish bruise blossoming on his jawline where Zelda had punched him. With quivering hands, he turned on the faucet and splashed some water onto his face, trying to wash away the remains of whatever that fit was back there.

Calm down… it was just a panic attack… it’s over… Link dried his face on the linen towel resting near the sink. He’d dealt with panic attacks before, whether it was from crowds or a fight with Hera, a few minutes alone usually did the trick. He stared at his reflection again, he looked a little better, less like he wasn’t just freaking out.

He hardened his gaze, It’s over now, you’re okay now… He tried to make himself believe it, although his hands were still trembling.

All of the sudden, he felt something cold and icy seize his chest and slowly spread throughout his limbs, and the thing sleeping there stirred awake. A voice filled his mind with feelings of fear and dread, but he knew by now it was useless to try to drown it out.

You are wrong… it is far from over… it is just beginning… the voice whispered, sending a pin-prickling pain across his body.

What’s beginning…? Link thought, but his voice felt small compared to the enormous presence of the other one.

Your struggles… you try to deny it, try to deny who you are… but time is running out… you have been marked by the Priestess and the cursed goddess herself…  

Link’s chest began to burn, he cried out and doubled over. He practically tore his shirt off and watched the spidery dark maroon veins glow a bright violet and spread further across his chest. They had begun creeping up towards his collarbone as well, the wispy ends nearly touching it. The epicenter of the veins was the wounds across his chest and his heart, dark scratches of maroonish-violet that almost seemed to pulse with energy. Link noticed it synced with his heartbeat.

You were born with a darkness, and their magick has angered the darkness flowing through your veins… even now it threatens to spill from your body… if you do not succumb to my will it will tear you apart… and you will die…

Link’s mouth went sandpapery dry. His heart beat painfully his chest. He broke into cold sweat.

Can’t you stop it? Stop the darkness from consuming me?

The voice laughed, Link felt it reverberating through his entire being, sending tremors throughout his arms and legs.

I could… but why would I? I will be reborn in the next life… it matters not to me if you waste yours…

With that the voice withdrew, leaving behind a sense of hollowness. Every thought felt so much louder. A wave of nausea hit him and his stomach lurched, sending something unpleasant rushing up his throat. He retched more icky black goo into the sink. This time however, among the bubbling simmering gunk, was splotches of a maroonish red. He dipped his fingers into the red splotches and cautiously sniffed it. Among the familiar scent of rot and death, was the metallic scent of blood.

Crap crap… was that thing telling the truth? Am I going to die…? Link quickly rinsed the goo down the sink and pulled his shirt back on.

No no no… it was probably lying, trying to convince me to be–that I am what everyone thinks I am… yeah, that’s gotta be it… He glanced nervously at the sink where traces of black goo still remained. He turned the faucet on once more, practiced contorting his worried frown into a casual smile, then strode out the door back into the meeting.

~

After the rest of the meeting, which was mainly discussing travelling logistics, Link and Zelda spent the rest of the afternoon busily packing and preparing to leave that evening. The Zora were going to give them rides on their backs down the Zora River all the way to the end of the Lanayru marshlands, where they’d continue the journey on foot. King Dorephan had graciously given them food and supplies that would last them all the way to Death Mountain, along with some extra pairs of tunics, cloaks, and pants (since they hadn’t purchased any others at Kakariko village). He’d also gifted Zelda Zora shield, a small lightweight silver shield.

Link was stuffing the last of his tunic into his already overflowing backpack when he heard a soft rapping on the door.

Who could that be…? He wondered. Zelda had gone out to the kitchens to try and persuade them to give up some meli for the journey (an wine-like alcoholic beverage that the Zora were known for, apparently made from fish scales and crab guts and was supposed to be delicious, despite the ingredients), but she wouldn’t be knocking on her own door.

Link zipped up his pack and opened the door, revealing Mipha who was carrying a flat, large, circular shaped bundle that was wrapped in cloth. 

“Hey, can I come in?” She smiled softly at him, but her amber eyes still flickered with sadness.

Of course. Link signed and stepped aside, letting her through. Mipha walked into the room and immediately laid the bundle down on the bed. She sat down on the edge and patted the seat next to her, Link obeyed, the bed dipping down under their weight.

Mipha turned to him, “I saw you leave the meeting earlier, and I was wondering if you were–” She paused, then shook her head, thinking better of it. 

“What I mean to say is that you look better now, and I’m glad.” Link nodded at her, not wanting to get into any details.

“I also wanted to give you this…” she handed the bundle to him. Link carefully removed the cloth to reveal a silver Zora shield, it was similar to Zelda’s, but his had more extravagant accents and luminous stone accents, along with a large ruby in the center. Link gasped, this shield was truly beautiful, he ran his fingers along the smooth surface. He was too afraid to touch the gem, not wanting to smudge it. Rubies were exceptionally hard to come by in this region, meaning Mipha would’ve had to go through tremendous lengths to get one for it. His fingers twitched, longing to sketch it.

“The Zora traditionally craft armour for the one they want to marry, but I felt you’d get more use out of this.” She met his eyes, “After all, I knew I wouldn’t always be able to protect you, but with this, it feels like I still can.” She smiled and tapped the ruby softly with her finger, making a small clink sound.

“Did you know that rubies are supposed to represent courage and love? I figured it was perfect for you, I wanted to give you all the courage and love you would ever need, but…” She turned away, “I know now that it’s not possible.”

LInk swallowed painfully.

Thank you for this, it’s really beautiful. And… I’m sorry. 

Mipha shook her head. “It’s alright, I sort of knew, deep down, what your answer would be. Just,” Mipha laid her hand on his. “Just promise me this. Promise me you’ll be okay?”  Her voice cracked slightly. Link didn’t respond, instead he pulled her into a hug, trying not to flinch when her hands gripped the back of his shirt tightly.

Mipha never asked for a response the whole time she was in his arms, and he never gave her one. How could he? And he didn’t want to lie to her. Not when he didn’t have to.

Chapter Text

“Yes, what a haul!” Zelda laughed to herself as she carried about 10 bottles of Meli back to the room. After some lengthy discussion with the kitchen staff, she finally convinced them to give her some bottles of the Zora’s most famous alcoholic drink. Zelda had drank some before when some royal officials visited Gerudo Town on King Dorephan’s behalf. As weird as it sounded, it was actually one of the best drinks she’d ever had.

The bottles clanked together as she climbed the steps to their room. Right as she was about to open the door, it swung open, knocking them out of her hands. With some masterful maneuvering, Zelda managed to catch them before they smashed to the floor.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, are you okay?” A quaint feminine voice sounded.

“No worries, no harm–” Zelda looked up and the words were caught in her throat. There, coming out of her room, the room she shared with Link, and who had made him cry just the night before, was Mipha.

Her face brightened when she recognized Zelda.

“Oh Priestess Zelda! I almost didn’t recognize you for a second. This is excellent timing, I was actually hoping to have a word–”

“What were you doing in our room?” Zelda stood up suddenly and interrupted. Mipha paused and tilted her head.

“Pardon me, what was that?”

Zelda frowned, “I said, what were you doing in my room.” Mipha’s eyes went wide.

“Oh! My apologies, I was under the impression you were sharing this room with Link.”

Who does this bitch think she is?? Coming in my room, without my permission! She probably just wanted to make out with Link again!  

Mipha’s eyes shifted to the side under Zelda’s intense gaze. After a beat, Zelda finally responded. “Right, well, if you’ll kindly move out of my way, so I can get into my room.” Zelda started to push past her and into the room.

“Wait, Priestess Zelda, could I speak to you for a moment?” Mipha’s eyes flicked to the door then back to Zelda. “In private?”

So in other words… she wants to talk about a certain boy she may or may not have made out with… 

“Fine.” She replied shortly, then quickly set the bottles down outside the door.

Mipha led Zelda out to a balcony on the second floor of the Palace and stood at the railing, a soft breeze carrying the scent of the river played with the end of her red tail. Zelda took her place beside her, trying not to look down.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Mipha sighed, then turned and smiled sadly.

“I proposed to Link yesterday. And he… rejected me.” Zelda felt her jaw drop.

Did she seriously just bring me out here to vent about her rejection? We barely know each other!
“Oh. I’m sorry, that… sucks.” Zelda felt all her snarkiness dissolve under the brutal honesty of the conversation.

Mipha shrugged. “Yes, it does. But I swear I didn’t bring you out here to complain. I just…” she began twiddling her fingers, not looking Zelda in the eye. “I really love him, and I wanted to be the one to protect him from… all the pain he’s bearing all on his own.” Mipha paused, took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and turned to look Zelda in the eye.

“I realize now I won’t be able to do that, so please Priestess,” Mipha grabbed Zelda’s hands and held them in her own, “I beg you. Please look after Linny for me. I pray you’ll be the one he’ll finally open up to, however much I might wish it could have been me.” Mipha dropped her hands and wiped the small tear trailing down her face.

Zelda didn’t speak for the longest time. Her mind flashed back to their fight, when she finally figured out that he didn’t have anything to do with her parents’ deaths. She had held onto this anger and pain and directed it towards him for so long that she felt a sense of emptiness without it. She had no reason to hate him anymore, so… what did that mean? Were they friends? Could she care about him? Did she care about him? Could she promise Mipha that she’d be there for him…? Did she even want to…?

She was reminded of the first time someone had begged her like this, Aryll. She hadn’t really listened to Aryll’s pleas the first time, and she ended up being wrong. And Zelda wasn’t eager to make the mistake again.

Zelda tucked a stray piece of her golden hair behind her ear and made a decision.

“Look, Princess Mipha, I’m going to be honest with you. Until just recently, I hated Link.” Mipha’s eyes popped open, like it hadn’t occurred to her how anyone could hate him.

“And when I say hated, I mean hated. I’m talking if both him and the guy who dislocated my shoulder were both hanging off the edge of the cliff, and I had to pick someone to save, I would choose the other guy.”
Mipha’s hand shot up to her mouth, masking a gasp.

“Hell, if there was a choice between saving him, and getting all my fingernails ripped out with a pair of rusty tweezers, I still wouldn’t have saved him.”
Mipha’s eyes continued to grow wider until they were the size of large amber stones.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you felt this way about him. You masked it so well. I’ll just–”

Zelda held up her hand. “I wasn’t finished.”

“Oh goodness! Is there another level of hatred I’ve yet to understand?” Zelda would’ve socked her if she was being sarcastic, but Mipha sounded sincere, so Zelda continued.

“I said I hated him until recently , but yeah, my level of hatred for him would’ve gone much deeper. But, I found out that he wasn’t the one responsible for the deaths of my–” the words seemed to catch in her throat. “For the deaths of some people I cared about. So now, I don’t know what to think.”

Mipha nodded. “I’m sorry, that’s awful.”

Zelda shrugged, “Don’t be. It wasn’t your doing. It wasn’t his either.” She turned to face Mipha.

“Look, I can promise you this. As his personal guard and as the Priestess of Hyrule, I swear to protect him from harm. But, as, well… as me, just Zelda, I… I’m not sure. I’m sorry, I really can’t promise any more than that.” Zelda thought back to all the times she was so rude to him, for no good reason. A big ball of guilt formed in her chest, pain radiated up to her throat and down to her stomach. She realized now how foolish she’d been, how childish and immature… she didn’t know what her relationship with Link would look like from now on, whether they’d be friends or stay coworkers, but she did know that she needed to apologize to him.

“Thank you.” Mipha smiled, her ruby-red lips upturning, revealing two dimples on the sides of her cheeks.

“Well, I suppose I should head back and finish packing. I want to wish you well on your journey, and as the Princess of Zora’s Domain I want to thank you for your service to Hyrule.” Mipha bowed deeply.

Zelda nodded, but didn’t say anything. Mipha waved goodbye to Zelda and disappeared back inside.

~

The next morning, after saying goodbye to King Dorephan and Mipha, and after a long, bumpy, (not to mention wet), ride on the backs of two burly Zora, Link and Zelda finally started their journey to the next region where the champion who wielded Gi magick was located: Death Mountain in the Eldin Region.

The next few days felt very… awkward between Link and Zelda. Ever since she figured out that he in fact wasn’t responsible for her parents’ deaths, she wasn’t sure how to talk to him. Should she be casual and pretend like nothing happened? Should she go back to insulting him? Or should she just ignore him? None of those options really sat well with her, so she settled on trying to find a way to apologize, but at every opportunity the words would stick in her throat and she’d chicken out.

Eventually, on the 2nd night, Zelda and Link decided to bunk down at the FootHill Stable, a nice stable nestled where the land was just starting to become bare with red rock, a trademark of the Elgin Region. The night was warm and dry, but a cold breeze blew off the Cephla Lake, bringing with it the smell of algae and fish. After finishing her final Agios magick exercise for the night (she’d developed a series of exercises to practice every night to help refine her techniques and increase the amount of aima she could use before tapping out), Zelda decided to grow a pair and just apologize. 

How was practice? Link held up his notebook for her when she made it back to the stable grounds. Highland cows mooed and chickens clucked softly as some stable hands fed them their supper. A few other travellers were gathered around other campfires nearby, some were laughing loudly over ale and wine, and others were singing old hymns and thanking the goddess for the meal. Zelda suspected she’d be doing neither of those things tonight. 

“It was good. Same as usual.” Zelda sat down on the log bench next to him and bit into the seasoned meat skewer Link had handed her. Immediately juicy and tender meat melted into her mouth, leaving her craving more. Zelda had grown quite accustomed to Link’s cooking, she’d even caved and let him cook breakfast a few times. She still couldn’t eat much before her nausea kicked in, but it was almost too good to care.

Link’s three skewers he had cooked for himself were gone in under a minute, and Zelda watched as he popped the cork off of a bottle of Meli and took a sip.

“Hand it over, will ya?” Zelda nodded at the bottle at his lips. Link frowned and raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t argue. She snatched it from his fingers and downed the ale in a single gulp. She needed some liquid courage. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Link glaring, but she quickly held up a hand.

“Before you get all pissy about me stealing the drink that I brought along, I have something I want to say to you.” She turned in her seat so she was facing him.

“So, here’s the deal… I…”  Zelda began to get nervous, her eyes went everywhere but his. She stared at his pointed ears and noticed one pointed slightly higher than the other, she looked at the two rusted hoop earrings that she almost killed him for, she stared at his smooth jawline (not even a trace of a stubble), she stared at the unruly blonde bangs that flopped over his forehead and wondered for the first time how running her fingers through it would feel…

Zelda, stop it!! You are supposed to be apologizing!

She slapped the sides of her cheeks, startling him.

“Okay! Here it goes. I’m sorry. There, I said it.”

Link titled his head. For what? 

“You know… for… the way I’ve been treating you ever since I met you. I blamed you for something you didn’t do, and I was pretty horrible to you because of that. I said some pretty horrible things too, like when I called you a good for nothing bastard prince who’s lazy and entitled…” Zelda pulled at the sides of her hair, “And I wouldn’t let you tell your side of the story. So, I’m sorry. I was wrong, you’re not any of those things.” She finally looked into his deep, ocean blue eyes when she said,

“Can we start over?” Link grabbed his pen and notebook.

No.

“Um, excuse me?!” Zelda rose from her chair. How dare he reject her attempt at repairing this relationship!

“Look here, buddy, I’m really trying here! So I’d appreciate it if you–” Link shut her up by raising a finger.

No, I don’t want to start over, I like the Zelda I know now.

Zelda stared at the message, she felt heat crawl up her neck and to her cheeks. Something about seeing her name written like that, in his handwriting, made her feel… good? She never noticed that he’d never actually said (or wrote) her name out loud, it wasn’t like he needed to, but she hadn’t realized that it was actually something she wanted until he did it.

“Oh. I see. Well then…” She reached into her bag and grabbed two more bottles of Meli. She popped both the corks and handed one to Link. “Friends?” She held her bottle up. Link smiled and clinked his against hers.

~

About two hours and 6 bottles later, both Zelda and Link were pretty drunk. Now Zelda could hold her liquor, but after about 4 bottles of Meli, anyone would be drunker than a sailor.

“Soooo… new best friend!” Zelda slung her arm across Link’s shoulder and pulled him close to her face.

“I just mreaized somthun!” She pressed her cheek to his. “Now that we’re newbestfwriends, you dunno nythin’ ‘bout me, do ya?” She looked to Link. He was wearing a lopsided grin, and his face was flushed. He hiccuped and shook his head.

“Mmhm! That’s what I-erm thought! Now, whaddya wanna know? I’mma open book! Ask away, Linky!” She laughed again, ale sloshing out of her half downed bottle. The pen slipped in and out of his grip as he sloppily wrote a message in his notebook.

“Whawha wait!” She jammed a finger to his lips, even though he wasn’t about to speak. “Whatever queston you as’ me, I getta as’ you, got it?” she drug her finger lazily against his lips. Link hiccupped again, and nodded.

𝖂ℎ𝓪𝘵 İꗟ 𝙮ഠ𝕌𝒓 ⨍𝓪𝑽ഠ𝒓İ𝘵e ℎഠხხ𝙮?

Zelda started giggling uncontrollably. “Oh you dirty boy!” She slapped him across the back. 

“My favorite hobby would be… reading! I LOVE readin’ and studyin’ an’ learning everything Ican ‘bout the world and the way it works and all that jazz!”

Link’s lopsided grin grew wider, revealing a nice set of pearly white teeth.

𝕿ℎ𝓪𝘵'ꗟ 𝒓e𝓪𝙇𝙇𝙮 𝘊ഠഠ𝙇. 𝕴 𝕕İ𝕕𐒐'𝘵 eӾ𝞀e𝘊𝘵 𝘵ℎ𝓪𝘵.

Zelda snorted. “Yeah, mos’ people don’t. I spen mos’ of my time training to be a Vai Vure. I’ve wanna be part of them ever since I was lil.”

This seemed to peak Link’s curiosity. 𝖂ℎ𝓪𝘵'ꗟ 𝘵ℎe 𝖁𝓪İ 𝖁𝕌𝒓e?

“It’s this really super cool group of bad-fucking-ass lady warriors that guard Urbosa, travel the world undercover, research science and strategize, I’ve wanted to join them ever since I was a lil’ girl.” Zelda took another slug of her drink and belched loudly. “I finally passed the last test, but then my Priestessy powers awokened and I couldn’t…”

The grin faded on Link’s face and was replaced with a small frown. 𝕺ℎ, 𝕴'♏ ꗟഠ𝒓𝒓𝙮 𝘵ℎ𝓪𝘵 ℎ𝓪𝞀𝞀e𐒐e𝕕. 𝕴𝘵 ꗟഠ𝕌𐒐𝕕ꗟ 𝙇İǨe 𝓪 𝒓e𝓪𝙇𝙇𝙮 İ♏𝞀𝒓eꗟꗟİ𝑽e 𝙜𝒓ഠ𝕌𝞀.

Zelda nodded. “Yeah, it was… hey! Tha was two questons! You lil’ cheater! Now you get punished…” Zelda leaned back so her head was resting on Link’s lap and the rest of her body was stretched out across the oak wood bench.

“Ahh, that’s m’better. Now answer! Hobbies, now!” She pointed up to his face.

𝕯𝒓𝓪ᗯİ𐒐𝙜 İꗟ ♏𝙮 ⨍𝓪𝑽ഠ𝒓İ𝘵e ℎഠხხ𝙮. 

Zelda nodded. “Whaddoya like ‘bout drawing?”

𝕴𝘵 𝙇e𝘵ꗟ ♏e 𝘊𝓪𝞀𝘵𝕌𝒓e ხe𝓪𝕌𝘵İ⨍𝕌𝙇 ♏ഠ♏e𐒐𝘵ꗟ İ𐒐 𝘵İ♏e 𝓪𐒐𝕕 ♏𝓪Ǩe 𝘵ℎe♏ ♏𝙮 ഠᗯ𐒐. 𝕿ℎe ⨍İ𝒓ꗟ𝘵 𝞀İ𝘊𝘵𝕌𝒓e 𝕴 e𝑽e𝒓 sketched and painted ᗯ𝓪ꗟ ഠ⨍ ♏𝙮 𝕕𝓪𝕕, 𝕬𝒓𝙮𝙇𝙇 𝓪𐒐𝕕 𝕴. 𝕬⨍𝘵e𝒓 ℎe 𝕕İe𝕕.

“Do you miss your dad?” She felt Link’s legs stiffen underneath her head. She worried she offended him somehow, or that he’d just ignore her. But after a minute, she heard the familiar skitch skitching of the pencil.

Yeah, I do. A lot. But I try to focus on the people that are here with me today. Like Aryll.

Zelda patted his knee, “I’m sorry he was poisoned. At least you have your mom?” she wasn’t intending for the jealous tone to creep into that last word, but she couldn’t help it. She’d sell her soul to the Yiga Clan if it meant one of her parents could still be here.

Do you miss yours?

Zelda hesitated when she saw the question and felt the effects of the booze begin to wear down her usual boundary about sharing information about herself. She rolled onto her side so she was facing away from Link, so he wouldn’t see the tears beginning to shine in her eyes.

“Yes, everyday. They were great, taught me to be curious about the world and how far knowledge could take you in life. My mother would always hold me in her arms before bed and read me stories about all the greatest scientists of our time’s achievements, and my dad would always bring me to his office to help him do these awesome experiments. And, whenever I was sad, my mother would always hold me in her lap and stroke my hair until I stopped crying… I just,” Zelda’s chest began to hurt as she felt a lump rise in her throat. She struggled to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over. She didn’t like thinking about them, it always made her sad, so instead she’d focused all her energy and emotions on her anger, rather than her grief. It was her anger that had kept her alive when she was wandering endless through the desert, it was her anger that had motivated her to grow strong enough to protect Gerudo Town by joining the Vai Vure, and it was her anger that allowed her to ignore that fact that her parents’ deaths was a gaping wound, still fresh and raw.

All of the sudden she felt a gentle hand stroke the top of her head. It gently caressed the hair out of her face and continued smoothing it out. She felt the tears start to roll down her face as she began to cry, for the first time in a long time, for her parents and for her grief.

Zelda wasn’t sure how long she stayed there, laying in the lap of the boy she used to hate more than her own cooking, allowing him to stroke her hair and comfort her like she was a small child again. She wasn’t even sure how she made it back to her bed that night, but one thing she did remember was feeling safe and cared for, like no one cared if she wasn’t strong all the time, and like it was okay to be broken.

Chapter Text

The next morning Link’s head was still pounding from all the alcohol he and Zelda drank the night before, making the trek underneath the bright sun up Death Mountain an absolute hell. As they walked, he thought back to all they had talked about, and he felt like he understood her a little better. Why she acted the way she did, why she was so angry at him before… he couldn’t believe she’d actually apologized to him for thinking that he killed her parents. It felt… strange. He was glad that she did, but he hadn’t been expecting one. No one ever apologized to him for anything… it was usually him who handed them out.

He looked forward to Zelda, she was hiking up in front of him, her golden low ponytail was flying out behind her as a strong wind swept down the mountain, and he felt a blush heat up his face when he thought about how… friendly she was acting. He had a hard time keeping his mind off the way her head felt nestled in his lap or how soft and smooth her hair felt when he was stroking it…

He cringed when he thought about that though. 

Hopefully Zelda doesn’t think I’m some sort of pervert… I was just doing what I’d do for my little sister when she’d wake up crying from a nightmare or something… I’m glad she didn’t bring it up this morning…

Link shook his head and forced himself to focus on the arduous hike up the red sandstone mountain.

The way up Death Mountain was known to be… dangerous. Not to mention unpredictable. With falling rocks constantly blocking paths or causing them to cave in, the hundred degree heat, the occasional eruptions of the volcano, or monsters conveniently setting up camp in the middle of the road, most travellers stayed clear. Really the only people that could make it up all the way to Goron City were skilled adventures, or the Gorons themselves. The Gorons were especially equipped to handle the heat of Death Mountain, since their skin was made up of a rock-like substance. They looked rather like rocks themselves, with a big round frame, giant boulder-like heads with grey marble eyes. Their backs had spiking stones growing out of it, and they had this special ability that allowed them to roll up into a ball and launch themselves in any direction, making life on Death Mountain relatively easy. Their champion and chief, Daruk, was especially impressive. He was given the ability to use Gi Magick, and could control the element of earth. Link had never seen Daruk in action, but he had heard that he could conjure boulders from the palms of his hands to use as cannonballs or create an impenetrable shield around himself.

It was Daruk who had proposed the original trade agreement with King Daizeus over 20 years ago, promising to provide precious metals to the Hyrule Kingdom for infrastructure and defense production. The Gorons were mainly responsible for almost all of the mining of Hyrule’s gems and valuable metals, since Death Mountain was a treasure trove full of them, making them a valuable ally for Hyrule Castle.

Later that evening, when Zelda and Link’s clothes were both soaked with sweat and their feet raw with blisters and their shoulders were burning from the backpacks, they reached Goron City. Unlike Zora’s Domain, Goron City was more lax with their visiting policies, Zelda and Link passed through a large dark steel arch with two sleepy-looking Gorons guarding it without so much as a second glance. Link looked around the city with curious eyes, eager to drink the style of the structures and the color of the people in. He was already picturing how he’d sketch the giant huts carved from natural boulders where flecks of gold, silver, and even some precious gems were embedded into the rock, and the giant statue of Chief Daruk resting in the center of town inside an iron fence in the middle of a pit of lava. Their boots crunched on the gravel paths and clanked on the steel bridges that led over pools and small rivers of lava, and occasionally had to jump out of the way when a large bubble burst and splashed some lava onto the path. Metal posts held glowing red stones the size of Link’s head that served as lanterns to light up the paths, although they probably didn’t need them as the lava provided more than enough light.

Link wrinkled his nose at the smell of sulfur that coated the air all around them and pulled at his sweat drenched collar. He shifted the metal sheath at his side so that it wasn’t resting directly on his leg, it was beginning to feel like it was branding him it was so hot. He and Zelda had each purchased some cooling potions at the stable, which was the only reason they weren’t bursting into flames right then and there, but it could only do so much.

Please tell me the inn has some sort of cool swimming pool or something…

But Link when the only thing he saw was a bunch of signs advertising the hot springs in the town. Eventually, they reached the chief’s hut, which was located on the very outskirts of Goron City. The chief's hut was built from a darker grey stone that stretched much taller than the other huts, and was painted with white symbols and drawings. There was no door separating the outside from the inside, so Zelda and Link immediately walked straight into the hut.

The first thing Link noticed was how low the ceilings were, considering the size and height of the Gorons, they could barely stand in there without their heads bumping against it. A large throne composed of sheets of red and white painted metal sat in the center next to a small waterfall of lava. Other than that the room was bare, except for a small doorway which must lead to the chief’s private quarters.

The second thing Link noticed was the group of Gorons in a huddle, speaking in low voices about something that seemed important. One of the Gorons spotted Link and Zelda standing awkwardly in the doorway and whispered something in the ear of the largest one in the center of the huddle. He had a large white beard and hair that spiked out around his head like a lion’s mane, along with blue marble-like eyes, and a chainmail sash. Immediately the large one looked up and a large smile stretched across his face.

“Ahoy there! I didn’t see you guys there! Come in come in!”

One of the Gorons held up his giant orangish hand. “But Chief Daruk, we were in the middle of discussing–”

Daruk slapped the Goron on the back. “Don’t worry about it! We can always talk about that stuff later, it’s not every day we get Hylian Visitors!!” Daruk laughed, a deep rumbling sound.

“Come on in, little Hylians!” Without any hesitation, Zelda stepped forward and approached Chief Daruk. Link quickly followed suit.

“Greetings, Chief Daruk, we’ve come here–”

“Zelda, is that you?” Daruk suddenly shouted, leaning down close to Zelda’s face. “You’ve gotten so big! Last time I saw you, you were only up to here!” He held his hand down to the top of his leg, which was about 3 feet tall.

Zelda smiled and nodded. “Yes, it’s been awhile.”

“I heard you’re the Priestess now! Congrats, tiny lady! That’s a big honor!” He winked and gave her a thumbs up. “Or should I say, tiny Priestess!” He laughed again and clutched the sides of his large stomach.

“Now to what do I owe the honor of an official visit from the Priestess of Hyrule and–” His marble blue eyes finally honed in on Link, immediately he felt his palms begin to sweat, he was never comfortable under the gaze of someone in a position of authority. “Who’s this little fella?”

Zelda’s gaze flashed to him and back to Daruk. “This is Prince Link of Hyrule.”

Daruk’s eyes widened. “Wowee, the prince! I never thought I’d lay eyes on you! Nice to meet you, little guy!” Daruk stretched his large hand out to him. Link smiled and shook it, wincing at Daruk’s strong grip.

“I remember Daizeus telling me all about you, I couldn’t get him to shut up about you when he’d visit! Said his kid was so amazing, even promised to bring you by sometime! Man, I was sorry to hear he passed,” Daruk scratched his chin thoughtfully, “Daizeus was a good man, and a good King.”

Link felt a warmth blossom in his chest at his words, it was nice to know his father cared enough about him to brag about him to other people. At the same time the familiar pang of guilt struck him, his father was dead, and it was all his fault…

“Well! What do I owe the pleasure of the Priestess of Hyrule and the Prince of Hyrule!”

“I’m afraid we have some bad news…” Zelda took a deep breath. “Link and I are gathering up all the champions of all 4 regions because Evil’s Rebirth is upon us.”

Link expected Daruk to gasp or immediately dive into a frenzy of orders and preparations, but he didn’t. His cheery expression darkened into a grave seriousness. But he didn’t look surprised.

“I wish I could say I was surprised but… come with me.” He started walking out of his hut. Link shared a look with Zelda, matching her frown and furrowed brows, each seeming to say,

How did he know?

They followed Daruk up a small and narrow path up further up the mountain until they reached a small bluff overlooking the western side of Death Mountain. They were very high up, they could see all the way back to the rolling green fields of the Hyrule plains, even the beginning of the dark patch of the Lanayru Marshes. 

But something caught Link’s eye, more than the beauty of the landscape, right where Hyrule Castle should be, was a dark cloud of violet maroonish miasma swirling around the center, drinking up all the gold and purple of the sky and covering the area around it in a dark haze.

“One of our miners saw it about a few days ago, we tried to send word to Queen Hera and Hyrule Kingdom to see if they needed any help, but we haven’t received any response.” Daruk turned his gaze to Link and Zelda.

“We were just discussing what we should do when you two arrived. But now there’s no need for any more debate. We know now for sure this is happening.”

Link looked over at Zelda, whose face was slowly draining of color, she was training her emerald green eyes on the castle in front of her instead of the drop below her. Link stepped closer to her, his shoulder brushing against hers. He hoped this would help ease her worrying, he’d noticed back when they jumped that she had a fear of heights.

If Zelda noticed his attempt at comforting her, she didn’t say anything. She turned to Daruk and asked, “So will you join the fight?”

Daruk spun sharply to the side and raised a white bushy eyebrow at her. 

“Are you kidding me? How is that even a question! Of course I will! I’m a Gi Magick user after all!” Daruk slammed his fists together and immediately a rocky shield spread all around his body. A minute later it dissolved, revealing his proud smile.

“As the Priestess of Hyrule, I thank you for your service.” Zelda bowed to him.

“Oh please, tiny lady! No need to thank me! I should be thanking you for coming all the way here to tell me the news in person! In fact, why don’t we hold a special feast in your guys’ honor! We’ll serve prime rock roast, and then I can take you guys down to the hot springs!” Daruk laughed and led them back down the mountain as the first stars began to peak out of the twilight sky.

~

Well this looks… interesting… Link poked the prime rock roast sitting on his plate in front of him. The dish itself was pretty much exactly how the name made it sound. It was a bunch dark rocks held together by bits of molten lava around a sandstone bone. Link wasn’t sure how to even begin eating this thing…

He looked around the giant table all the Gorons were sitting around. Zelda was to his right, and Daruk was to his left. Zelda apparently decided against eating it, she had busied herself talking to the Goron on her right, an older looking Goron with a long white beard. He was telling her tales of the times when he was a small rockling. Link noticed she was discreetly pushing her rock roast onto his empty plate, no doubt hoping he’d forget he’d already finished his. Link couldn’t help but smile to himself at that.

She never changes…

“Hey, little guy! What’s the matter? Aren’t you going to dig in?” Daruk turned to Link, a wide smile on his face.

Link pulled out his notebook.

I would, but I’m not sure how to go about eating it.

If his writing in a notebook phased Daruk at all, he didn’t show it.

“What do you mean ‘how’? How else! With your mouth of course!” Daruk picked up his own rock roast and bit straight into it, tiny pebbles flying every which way as he chomped loudly on it.

Okay… here goes nothing…

Link cautiously lifted the ginormous, not to mention heavy, rock roast to his mouth. Then bit right into it. His teeth clanked against the hard rock, but surprisingly, he was able to chew it. The flavor wasn’t bad, it tasted a bit like he thought it would (like dirt and gravel), but the liquid magma added a nice spicy kick to it. Overall he’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

In the middle of his 2nd bite of the roast, he felt someone nudge his shoulder.

“You’re actually eating that?” Zelda leaned forward and whispered in his ear.

I’m hungry, so why not? Besides, it beats eating your cooking.

Zelda’s jaw dropped. Her emerald green eyes wide with surprise.

“Take that back, right now! There is absolutely no way my cooking is worse than eating literal rocks .” Zelda hissed to him, her breath tickling his ear.

Link flashed her a devilish smile and took a large bite out of the rock roast, earning a slug to the shoulder. Though she wouldn’t show it, Link could see the tiny smile playing at the corners of her rose-pink lips.

Link felt his heart skip a beat when he saw that smile, he hadn’t realized before how pretty she looked when she was smiling, like a beacon of light amongst the darkness, a flash of color in a world of black and white. He felt a warm feeling curl in his chest. He wanted to see her smile again…

“Whew wee! That was some good roast!” Daruk slammed the sandstone bone onto the plate and patted his big belly.

“You guys ready to hit the hotsprings?” He turned to Zelda and Link. 

“Sure!” Zelda hurriedly stood up, just as the old Goron sitting next to her finally noticed the rock roast on his plate and was eyeing her suspiciously.

“That sounds nice! Come on Link,” She grabbed his forearm and yanked him up from his chair, “Let’s go there right now!”

“Someone’s eager for a soak with you, little guy!” Daruk elbowed him in the ribs, causing what Link was sure would be a bruise the next day. Then he leaned down and whispered, intentionally loud, to Link,

“Lemme know if I need to leave you two love-rocks alone.” He raised a bushy eyebrow at Link and smiled.

Link turned to Zelda, who opened her mouth to say what Link assumed would be a denial, but the old Goron next to her looked like he was about to say something, so she quickly added, “Haha, you know me! Always wanting to spend every waking minute with my prince!” Zelda laughed awkwardly. “So let’s go already!”

And with Zelda charged ahead down the path pulling Link along with her, with Daruk trailing close behind.

After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached the hot springs. A big pool of simmering turquoise water surrounded by high red rock cliff sides on all sides sat in front of them. It was large enough to fit the entirety of Kakariko village and then some. A few elderly Gorons relaxed on the far side of the hot springs, but other than that they had the place to themselves.

“Usually this place is packed 24/7, but with everyone at the prime rock roast feast there isn’t much foot traffic tonight.” 

Suddenly Daruk slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead.

“Oh! I almost forgot, you’re a lady, little lady!” He turned to Zelda. “There’s a small hot spring that no one knows about just up the path. It’s hidden behind a large grey boulder. Feel free to soak in it as long as you want, just don’t go telling anyone, ya here!” He laughed loudly, sending echoes up the peaks.

“Why would I need to use a separate one?” Zelda crossed her arms in confusion.

Daruk stopped laughing.

“Oh that’s right! I keep forgetting you guys aren’t from here! Well, you see, little lady, it’s customary to soak in the hot springs buck naked. Death Mountain’s waters have special healing properties that unfortunately don’t work as well absorbed through your clothes. You see long ago–”

Link caught Zelda’s eye, and for a brief moment he imagined her–

Nope! Bad Link! Don’t let your mind wander down that path! 

He pushed any indecent thoughts out of his brain and trained his eyes on Daruk.

“--And that’s why they only really work if you’re naked.” Zelda nodded, a slight pink dusting her cheeks. Her eyes flicked to Link again before she said,

“I see, well in that case I’ll take you up on using the private hot spring.” She turned on her heels and headed up the path before calling back,

“Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone! And Daruk, don’t get Link pregnant! Use protection!” Zelda didn’t get the chance to witness the nasty glare Link aimed at her back, but he was sure she heard Daruk’s boisterous belly laughs.

“Your Priestess sure has a sense of humor, don’t she, little guy?” Daruk wiped a big tear from his marble blue eye. “All I can say is treat her well, you don’t find a woman like that everyday!” He clapped Link on the back, knocking all the wind out of his lungs.

“Come on! The spring won’t soak itself!” Daruk called and unhooked the chains holding the giant stone club like weapon from his chest and began untying the loin cloth he was wearing as Link struggled to catch his breath.

Daruk dropped the loin cloth and the chains on the ground next to him, and waded into the hot springs. Link couldn’t help but stare.

So that’s what a naked Goron looks like… it’s certainly… impressive…

“Well don’t just stand there! Come on!” Daruk ordered.

Link began by unhooking the sheath from his waist and his sword dropped to the ground with a clang (he’d left Mipha’s shield hooked to his backpack, he never fought using a shield as he needed a free hand to wield Nekros Magick). Next he peeled off his cloak, boots, socks, trousers, but just as he was about to pull his tunic off, he noticed the spider veins on his chest and the black slashes in the center.

Crap crap crap! I can’t let him see this! Link pulled his shirt back down.

“What’s the matter?” Daruk called. “You shy or something, little guy?” 

Link’s eyes widened and he nodded vigorously, clutching the shirt tighter to his chest. He’d take any excuse he could get.

Daruk laughed as he stepped out of the spring and lumbered towards him.

“Well don’t be! I’m sure whatever’s under there is nothing to be ashamed of!”

Oh it most definitely is! Just not in the way you’re thinking though…

Link was getting panicked, what else could he say to keep Daruk in the dark about his curse?

“Here, let me help you! The sooner you take them off, the better you’ll feel!” Daruk reached down and grabbed hold of the front of Link’s shirt collar. 

Nononononono! Don’t do that! Link tried to break free from his grip and reach down to grab the notebook sitting in his cloak pocket, but Daruk’s grip was too strong. It was as if the collar of his shirt was encased in iron.

“Now I’ll just help you pull it off…” Daruk began to lift the shirt up over Link’s head, but Link fought back. He grabbed the ends of his shirt and pulled it back down, struggling against the force of Daruk.

“Hold on, it seems to be stuck on something, I’ll just yank it up.”

No no no nononononono! Do not do that! I’m begging you! Link shook his head violently and tried desperately to worm his way out, but Daruk paid no heed to it.

“And there we go!” With one yank Daruk tore the shirt clean off Link’s chest. Not even a scrap of fabric remained to hide it.

“Oops, sorry about that, little guy, guess I don’t know my own strength…” He trailed off. Link watched as his gaze settled onto his chest, horror slowly creeping onto his face. For a split second, everyone was frozen, the shirt still clutched between Daruk’s fingers, the horror still present on his face, his mouth still frozen wide open. Then, as if someone flipped a switch, Daruk sprung into action.

“Whoah whoah whoah, little guy! You’re cursed by the Dark Arts?! How did that happen? When did that happen!? Why didn’t you tell me! We need to get you to our elder, stat! Or better yet, Zelda! She should be able to cure curses with her Priestess Magick! Come on, let’s go to her now!” Daruk dropped the shirt and grabbed Link’s arm with his meaty right hook. Link dug his heels into the ground, feeling the gravel and small rocks dig into his bare skin.

No no no! Not Zelda! Anyone but Zelda!

Link pulled at his arm, so hard he was worried it would dislocate.

Daruk turned around with a frown. “What’s wrong, little guy? Don’t you want to be healed?” He loosened his grip, Link took the opportunity to pry his arm free. He shook his head vigorously and stepped out of Daruk’s reach.

He furrowed his bushy brows. “Why not? Isn’t that painful?”

Link held up a finger as he searched for his notebook.

Yes, but it’s fine. I’m fine. There’s no need to get anyone else involved.

“Look, little guy. I don’t know much about curses, but what I do know is that they’ll just keep getting worse unless you do something about it. So come on, let’s go get Zelda to take care of that for you!” he reached forward and snatched at Link, but Link jumped out of the way and scowled.

No, I can’t involve Zelda in this! I’m fine, and besides, this isn’t a typical curse. I’m not even sure she could help.

She’d just make it worse… Link thought bitterly, remembering all the pain she’d caused him.

“All the more reason to ask her! She’s the Priestess of Hyrule! The Goddess’s power lives and breathes within her! How could she not be able to help you? Where would you even get a curse she wouldn’t be able to heal??”

She just can’t. Look, I can’t tell you anything more. You’re just going to have to trust me. I know what to do.

Link hardened his gaze, trying to convey confidence and determination, when in reality he had no idea how to get rid of the curse. For a long time, Daruk didn’t say anything, he frowned and stared back at Link. After what felt like forever, he sighed and held up his hands.

“Alright, I’ll trust you. You obviously know how you got into that mess, so I’ll just have to believe you when you say you know how to get yourself out of it. But at least soak in the hot spring, it might not cure the curse, but it should help a little.” Daruk waded back into the pool, gesturing for Link to do the same.

Link felt the weight of relief crash down on his shoulders, he released the breath he was holding and wiped the cold sweat that had formed on his brow.

Phew, that could have been bad… if Zelda found out, she’d probably kill me trying to heal me…

Link sighed as he stripped off his boxers. When he was done, Daruk gave him a cheeky smile and a thumbs up.

“See, little guy! I told you there was nothing to be ashamed of!” He nodded down at his… Link quickly waded into the pool. The water was hot, but not boiling. He immediately felt all the tension and soreness in his muscles melt away in the bubbling water. He felt relaxation seeping into his veins and spreading throughout his body. He’d never felt so relaxed before, like he could fall asleep in this blissful bath…

His gaze shifted to his chest. The spidery veins began receding, little by little.

Is this actually going to cure me?? Link thought excitedly as he watched the veins recede until they were just above his pectoral muscles. But it seemed there was only so much the water could do because they didn’t recede any further.

Well, at least it helped a little bit… Link decided this was a win. Then he allowed those thoughts to melt away in the hot water and tried to relax once more.

~

A few hours later, Daruk and Link decided it was time to go. They redressed and headed back to Goron City, where they parted ways at the inn.

Zelda had already checked them into a room (which was bare except for a small twin bed that was basically a glorified rock bench with a blanket and pillow and a small closet with the tiniest bathroom in all of Hyrule). Zelda was practically rolling on the floor laughing when Link recounted the events of the hot spring to her (he left out the part about his curse and Daruk finding out about it). And after he stitched up the rip in his tunic, Link took his spot on the floor near the bed.

He tried to close his eyes and fall asleep, since they’d have an early start the next morning, but thoughts of Hyrule Castle and how it looked, like it’d been completely swallowed up by darkness, kept him awake.

“Hey, you okay?” Link heard Zelda whisper softly. Link sat up and turned on the red stone lamp.

How did you know I was awake?

It could have been a trick of the light, but Link swore he saw Zelda blush.

“It doesn’t matter. The point is, you’re not sleeping, and we have an early start tomorrow. Can’t have you slowing us down if you’re exhausted. So…” She threw up the blanket and sat up,

“What’s up?”

Link sighed, wondering if he should tell her or brush her off like he always did. Something about the way her brow was wrinkled with worry and the way her green eyes were widening with concern and genuine care for him made him want to, but… his habit won out and he lied. Again.

I’m alright. The prime rock roast isn’t sitting well with me, that’s all.

He watched the gears turn in Zelda’s brain as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, debating on whether or not to believe him.

“Nice try, wise guy. But I’m calling bullshit. If your stomach could handle my cooking with no trouble, dirt and lava should be a breeze. What’s really going on?”

Link sighed again.

Looks like I’ll have to tell her the truth… she probably won’t let this go otherwise…

Okay, you’re right. I’m just worried about Aryll. I didn’t know that the castle looked like… that.

Zelda leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands, pondering what to say next.

“That makes sense. I mean, she’s your little sister after all. But… something tells me she’s alright.”

Link furrowed his brows and titled his head.

What do you mean?

“It’s just a feeling I have. Like a small voice inside is telling me she’s safe. Along with your mother too.”

Link stiffened as a pang struck his heart at the word “mother”. He wished she’d stop calling Hera that…

“And besides, the Hero of Hyrule is there with them. With the Sword that Slays the Darkness or whatever, he should be able to handle a few monsters.”

She reached forward to turn off the lamp.

“Now, get some sleep. I won’t be letting you sleep in this time.”

This time? When has she ever let me sleep in? Despite himself, Link smiled, and closed his eyes, this time with a calmer mind. He trusted Zelda’s words, Aryll was safe. Knowing that made it easier for him to focus on the job ahead of him. Journeying to the Hebra and Gerudo regions to recover the last two champions.

Chapter Text

Zelda sighed bitterly. It felt like all they’d been doing the past few days was walking, and walking, and more walking. And they still hadn’t gotten through the Deplian Badlands. She was bored, to say the least. The scenery never changed, except for the fact that the green grass and trees near the Typhlo Ruins were gradually choked out by the barren grey rock. Resources were starting to get scarce, they passed by fewer streams and even fewer animals. It didn’t help that half the supplies Daruk had gifted them had tumbled down the cliffside into the abyss below when Zelda had gotten a little too zealous chasing after a mountain goat.

So, in short, she was bored, tired, hungry, and starting to go a little stir-crazy. She was even to the point where she wanted to talk to Link, just for something to do, but she had her pride to think about, especially considering what she did that last time they “talked”. She cringed at the thought of her crying drunk with her head in his lap. She decided never to speak of it again.

“Ughhhhh! I’m so bored!!” She called to the rocks in front of them. They didn't reply. Not that Zelda was expecting them to, but it would’ve been entertaining.

“I would kill for something exciting to happen right about now.” She turned to Link (her pride lost out) who was trailing close behind, “Wouldn’t you?” She slowed her pace so he could catch up.

Link shrugged.

No.

“What? Why!” Zelda demanded.

Because “excitement” means earthquakes, rock slides, or monster attacks. All of which are dangerous, and I’d rather not add to the bruises Daruk gave me.

Zelda rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to reply with another smartass comment about him being a coward when the top of his head caught her eye. His somehow always perfect sandy blonde hair was in a bun on top of his head held up with two chopsticks, which was different from his usual messy pony.

“Oh yeah? Did Daruk give you this also?” She tapped the top of his bun with her palm. Link immediately ducked and shooed her hands away. He looked up and frowned, pursing his lips into a straight line.

Yes, actually. He graciously tied my hair up for me after he snapped my ponytail holder when he tried to rip it out..

Zelda tried to stop the smile playing at her lips.

“And why did he try to rip out your pony tail holder?”

Link shook his head.

Don’t ask.

Zelda chuckled and smiled to herself. When did she start to actually enjoy talking to him? It seemed like one moment she hated his guts, and the next she… liked him? Enjoyed his company? Zelda had no reason now to actively avoid a friendship with him, and she sort of liked having the freedom of any guilt for wanting to.

“Well, don’t worry, it doesn’t look too bad.” She teased him. But she was lying, or at least not telling him the whole truth. It didn’t only “not look too bad”, it looked incredibly, “not too bad”. Almost to the point of looking really good. Something about the way his bangs fell out of the messy bun onto his forehead just… worked.

Thanks, I guess. And with that Link pocketed his notebook, apparently deciding he was done with the conversation. Zelda noticed that this happened a lot, and it ticked her off. She was naturally an extrovert, and she loved being around other people (when they didn’t piss her off). She loved talking to them, getting to know them. She looked at people like she did books, each of them telling a different story, if only she had the patience to get past the introductory chapters. So it really got under her nerves when Link would just shut down at times, mostly when she asked about his past. How could she tell what kind of story he told if he wouldn’t let her get past the first few pages?

Whatever, guess I’ll go back to being bored then…

They walked a few more hours in silence, when all of the sudden Zelda heard the pair of footsteps behind her halt.

“What is it–” She turned, but Link quickly held a finger to his lips. Zelda was confused, but she obeyed.

Then, she heard it. Well, felt it would be more accurate. A soft vibration on the ground that was steadily growing stronger. Zelda unsheathed her sword, preparing for the fight she knew was coming.

Finally, some excitement… She thought, ignoring Link’s efforts to tug her off the main path. A few moments later, when the vibrations grew so strong that they turned into a rumbling against the cliffsides, a hoard of white bokoblins with a boss bokoblin at the back flew around the corner, their yellow teeth dripping with saliva, their tongues lapping up the drool spilling from their mouths, their pig-like snouts twitching at the scent of Hylians. This marked the second time Link had been able to sense a monster attack before Zelda, and that pissed her off.

She bent her knees, assuming a fighting stance as the monster hoard got closer. Then she closed her eyes, emptied her mind, and in a second, only a second, she found the spark and felt the fire light up within her body. Her entire being radiated with energy. In a split second, she shifted the power to her finger tips and imbued her sword with it. She then charged forward and sliced the head clean off the white bokoblin in front of her. The head fell to the ground, the stump simmering slightly. 

Thanks to all her practicing every single night, Zelda was able to access her power almost instantly, and she felt she was able to use more before passing out too. But her troubles were far from over, there were about 10 more white bokoblins to take the place of the one she just beheaded. They swallowed up the corpse into the folds of all the bodies, trampling over it with no regard for their comrade. 

Zelda slashed and stabbed a few more, concentrating on the magick within the sword. Even though it wasn’t a part of her body, the magick within was still connected to her. She focused on making it stronger, transferring more aima into it, and it worked! The light of the sword began to grow stronger and Zelda’s attacks were more powerful, it didn’t take nearly enough force to slice the bokoblins in half than it should have. It felt like slicing through a tender steak.

The effects of the energy drain began to slow her limbs and cloud her vision, but Zelda wasn’t finished yet. There were still more monsters and she still had more tricks to try out. She glanced over at Link, he was skillfully perrying attacks and slicing through them like he’d held a sword all his life. Sweat glistened against his brow and his bangs flew behind him as he charged forward.

Satisfied that he didn’t need her help, she turned back to the battle.

Alright, Zelda, come on now, just like you practiced… She threw her shield to the ground and closed her eyes. She cleared her mind, and forced all the energy her weak body had to offer towards the palm of her hand. 

Alright, focus… She felt her limbs growing cold and starting to tremble as she moved the aima towards her hand, but it still wasn’t enough. She needed more. She dug deeper into her mind, calling up more and more aima, forcing it out of her blood stream. She felt her heart slowing in her chest, her breath coming out in rasps, it was as if her very life force was being drained away, she couldn’t feel the hand holding the sword or any of her legs. But still she continued. She needed to know that she could do this, she needed to know what was possible, what her limits were. If she wasn’t strong enough, she’d never be able to save Hyrule Kingdom, so many more innocent lives would be lost. She needed to prove to herself, prove to everyone that she could do it. 

Alright, any moment… and… now! Her eyes popped open just as the monster in front of her thrust its sword into her side. She didn’t feel it, she couldn’t feel anything but the enormous amount of energy stored in her palm.

Don’t do it!

She felt a presence enter her mind and shout, something warm and pleasant stirring awake in her chest. But the voice was too late, because before the monster could even pull his sword out of her side, Zelda released the energy, it was like a cannon going off. A big boom, and everything in front of her was gone. All that was in the hoard’s place was a dark smudge and a few smoldering toes. The blast echoed throughout the canyon, shaking the ground, causing rocks nearby to tumble down.

But Zelda couldn’t feel any of that, she knew as soon as she released the magick that she’d over done it. She couldn’t feel anything, her limbs had gone numb and cold, she crashed to the ground, but didn’t feel the fall. Her vision was starting to swim in black. She wasn’t sure she was breathing, she couldn’t feel any air escape her lips. The only pain she felt was the painful beats of her heart, but they were so slow and far in between, soon, they stopped.

Am I… going to die?

The last thing she saw before the darkness overtook her was Link, kneeling down, blood streaming down his forehead, black goo dripping down his chin, and a wild, unbridled terror in his eyes. Then, he was gone.

~

Zelda woke slowly, first to the slow, but steady, beats of her heart. With each beat she became painfully aware of the sharp pain at her side. Then her other senses slowly creeped in, the chill that gripped her body, the skitch-skitching sound of the pencil on paper, the scent of fresh cut grass and pine needles close by.

Zelda opened her eyes, her vision still swimming in a blur. She was lying on her bedding, covered in another’s. The sky was dark. No stars or moon in sight, both were covered under dark clouds.

Zelda turned her head to the side, Link was sitting against the cliff wall, sketching in his pocket notebook. His tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth. The fire crackling beside them cast an orangish glow on his face.

I wonder what he’s drawing…? She thought as she tried to sit up, immediately her vision blurred again and things started spinning, the pain in her side crippled her.

“Ow! Fuck that hurts!” She lifted up the side of her shirt, white bandages stained with dried blood covered the wound. Her left hand was also covered in a fresh bandage, the wound must have opened up again. She sighed, Link must have patched her up. Again. She turned to Link, and she watched as relief spread across his weary face. He handed her a plate of steamed greens and a canteen of water.

Zelda gratefully accepted it and began eating slowly. Any fast movement aggravated her side.

How are you feeling?

Zelda smiled smugly, “pretty good, all things considered. Especially since I found out the moves I’ve been practicing actually work on the battlefield!” She started rambling excitedly to Link. She felt like she was finally seeing some results from all her training, real proof she was improving. And it made her so unbelievably happy. She’d taken another step forward to proving to everyone she could be the Priestess the world needed, and she could save them all. 

“And if I keep practicing I’ll only get stronger! There’s still so much more I haven’t tried! I have to find out more about the strength of my attacks and how much I can use before I tap out, but think of how much damage I’ll be able to do fighting Evil’s Rebirth and Evil’s Incarnate once I perfect it! The fucker won’t know what hit him!”

She stopped talking when she noticed Link didn’t look as happy as she did about her Agios Magick progress. His eyes were downcast, shadowed underneath his lowered brows.

“Yo, what’s with the face? I’m telling you about a big life achievement here! How about a little ‘that’s so cool, Zelda!’ or ‘You’re so amazing!’?”

Link looked back up at her, wearing a scowl.

How about an apology first?

Zelda was taken aback. What did she have to apologize for??

“Uhh, why would I apologize? I’m getting stronger, that’s a good thing. It’s my job as the Priestess of Hyrule.” She said in a “duh” tone of voice.

No, your job is to protect people, including yourself. You nearly got yourself killed with that idiotic power blast. 

Link practically shoved the notebook into her face, Zelda brushed it aside, her temper flaring.

“I had it under control. Besides, I’m fine .” She scoffed and gestured up and down her body.

You call getting stabbed in the side by a bokoblin fine!? You call not breathing fine?? You call your heart stopping for 5 whole minutes fine??

“Yes, I do!” She spat, anger spilling into her voice.

Link’s breathing was fast, his face flushed with rage.

It’s NOT fine!! You are the Priestess of Hyrule! You have to act responsibly! The world would’ve been doomed if you died! You can’t be making these reckless decisions!
“It. was. Fine! I had it under control! Don’t you dare pull this “responsiblity” crap on me! When you know damn well I've been taking care of your ass this entire trip! Without me, you would be dead in a ditch somewhere!”

Link made an annoyed noise, curling his lip up in disgust.

Maybe, but at least I didn’t put both of our lives in jeopardy.

Zelda opened her mouth to yell something back, but froze.

“What do you mean “both” of our lives?” She frowned.

I mean you nearly got both of us killed! That blast of yours knocked me halfway across the canyon!

“Well, You should have stayed out of my way then! You’re making this way too big of a deal!”

Link blinked, as if not understanding a word she was saying.

I’m making this too big of a deal?? You’re not making this enough of a deal!! What if you’d been killed?? What if that bokoblin aimed its sword a little higher and stabbed you right in the heart?? What if you used too much power and killed yourself?? 

“But I didn’t! I’m fine, I’m alive! I didn’t die!” Zelda's voice raised in volume, she was shouting now. Her heart was racing, pumping boiling blood through her veins.

But you did die! Your heart stopped for five minutes! You stopped BREATHING for five whole minutes!! YOU WERE DEAD FOR FIVE WHOLE MINUTES!

Zelda hesitated, pondering his last sentence. She watched as the anger drained from Link’s face, leaving it white as a sheet. He turned the page, writing slower.

You were dead, and there was nothing I could do about it.

Zelda paused, considering for the first time how he felt. How she would feel if the situation was reversed. How terrified she’d be if his heart suddenly stopped beating, how helpless she’d feel if she thought he was dead and there wasn’t a thing she could do. Her mind flashed back to her parents, how she felt watching them die. That was one of the worst feelings in the world, watching the ones she loved being ripped out of the world. Zelda felt the pang of guilt hit. He was right… she’d been stupid and reckless and an absolute idiot. She’d put not only her life at risk, but his also. That’s not what the Priestess was supposed to do, she was supposed to protect people. She'd thought that protecting others meant getting stronger, but that was only part of it. She couldn't be so reckless with trying to improve that she'd get killed. And she was Hyrule's one and only priestess, the only one for the next 10,000 years…

“Think before you act…” Urbosa's voice rang in Zelda’s head. Funny how Zelda only remembered her wisdom after she made some of the worst decisions ever…

She took a deep breath in and released it slowly, trying to exhale all the anger and stupidity and pride from her mind. When she’d finished, she turned back to Link. This time her voice was even.

“Look, you’re right. That was really dumb of me, I’m sorry. For risking your life and mine. I’ll be more careful, I’ll think before I act.” Zelda had to spit those words out, feeling the shame of her stupidity crash down on her in full force.

Link nodded, some color returning to his face.

Good, I’m glad to hear it.

For the first time in the conversation, Zelda noticed the edge of a fresh cut peeking out from behind his bangs, and the hand clutching at his chest.

“Lemme see that cut.” Zelda leaned forward (ignoring the stabbing pain in her side) and tried to slide her hands under Link’s bangs. He jerked back violently and pushed her hands off him.

It’s fine, I can clean it up myself.

Zelda glared at him. “No, it’s not fine!” She lunged forward and tried again, Link dodged her. “Come on! Let me see it! This will be my way of repaying you for patching me up!” She tried again and again to grab his face and look at the cut, but Link wouldn’t let her. He dodged and shooed her away, brushing her off at every possible opportunity. Finally, Zelda had enough.

“Ughh! What’s your deal?? You’ve never had a problem with me touching you before! Why is now any different?!”

Link froze mid dodge, then quickly wrote.

Actually, I’ve always had a problem with it.

Link held the notebook up to her, then he looked back at it. Panic widening his eyes as he quickly turned the page and scribbled another message.

Forget it. I didn’t mean that.

“Oh nonono! You don’t just get to say something like that and just retract it! What do you mean you’ve always had a problem with me touching you?? Am I not good enough or something? Is a lowly commoner not good enough to touch her prince? Am I that revulsive to you??” Zelda shouted, trying to disguise the hurt in her voice.

Link frantically shook his head and hands, desperate to clear the situation up.

No, it’s nothing like that! I just mean people in general, not you specifically.

Zelda leaned back, stunned.

“People in general?”

Link again looked horrified at what he wrote, she could see his wish to take everything he’d just told her back plain as day on his face. But he couldn’t, and he needed to clear this up for her. She needed to know it wasn’t her, that she wasn’t the one he was bothered by, that it was someone else…

“Link, what do you mean, ‘people in general’?”

But Link wouldn’t look at her, he began chewing his lip, tapping his pen against the edge of the paper nervously. After a minute, he finally picked it back up and began writing.

It’s just hard sometimes. To separate the gentle touches from… the rough ones.

He stared ahead at the path in front of them, his face thoughtful, and sad almost. Zelda wanted to reach over and stretch out his cheeks, anything to get him to stop making that face. The face of someone who’d been hurt in the past, and was afraid of getting hurt again. Zelda knew because she was certain she’d made it countless times.

But she didn’t reach out. She didn’t touch him. She was almost scared to do anything. She felt like she was close to something, some information. She felt he was going to tell her something that would reveal to her more about his past and the way he acted the way he did. Something Zelda hadn’t realized she wanted as badly as she did until that moment. Her mind was racing, should she say something? What could she say? What did he even mean by gentle touches versus rough ones? Had something violent happened to him before? Had someone–

And then it clicked. Her mind flashed back to every time she touched him, how he tensed up, how fear would always come first before relief, the same fear that she recognized from all his interactions with his mother. She thought back to everything that seemed a little… off about the way he’d always interacted with him, the fear in his eyes when he hurled her into the closet with him in order to hide from Hera, his not wanting to disobey her order, even after Zelda practically threatened to kill him if he didn’t, the way he picked at his food at dinner with her, when Zelda knew for a fact he was a glutton, and suddenly everything became clear. 

“Did your mother ever… hit you?” Zelda saw him flinch. Whatever he just thought about wasn’t pleasant. Zelda hoped he wouldn’t lie to her… not about this.

Link scratched his pen across the page, writing and crossing it out, rewriting and scribbling it out again. Finally, he held up the page for her to see, not looking her in the eye.

No, Hera doesn’t hit me. Zelda felt a cool wave of relief wash over her body, hot with tension and anxiety. Her heart stopped the instant she realized that Link wasn’t finished. He turned the page and was still writing.

But she has Mandrake do it. 

Zelda had no words. All the thoughts in her head went blank as soon as she saw that. If she had any doubts about him not being a pretentious snob who was too good for commoners or too lazy to deal with them, they vanished. 

“What does he do to you?” She was almost afraid of the response. Her heart was hurting for him.

Link’s fingers started shaking, his pen froze above the page.

Whips me mostly.

“Link, I… don’t know what to say.” that was a lie. She did know what to say, she was just having a hard time saying it. She fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist, trying to keep her voice calm. “I’m sorry… for punching you, and kicking you, and slapping you. And for being so rough with you all the time. I didn’t know.” She felt so guilty all of the sudden, though it was true she had no idea, she felt that she should have. She should have guessed earlier on from all the time she’s seen Link and his mother’s interactions, but she’d been blinded by her hatred and jealousy of him. Jealous that his mother was alive, when hers wasn’t. But what he was telling her went beyond a mother laying a hand on her child, he’d been tortured .

You don’t need to apologize. It’s my problem, for being such a coward about it.

Zelda nodded, again she didn’t know how to proceed. Comforting other people wasn’t something she did often (or at all really), she wasn’t very good at it. Sure she could handle tears (she usually just handed them a handkerchief), but confessions about deep-rooted family trauma? That wasn’t something in her current skill set.

“Is that why you seemed so… so scared that day? You know, when you shoved me into the closet.” Link looked up at her, his face grave. He bit the side of his lip and nodded, eyes flicking to the side.

“And why you never leave the castle?” Again Link nodded. 

“That’s… awful. I’m sorry. I always knew your mother was a bitch for what she did to my parents, but this is a whole ‘nother level.”

Link stiffened, she watched the gears turn in his head as he silently debated on how to respond. 

She’s not my mother. 

Zelda wrinkled her brows. 

“Huh? Wasn’t she married to your dad? Doesn’t that make her your mother?”

Link shook his head.

She’s my stepmother. I’m the illegitimate prince of Hyrule.

“………WHAT!?” Zelda surged forward, right up to Link’s face. She looked him up and down, trying to figure out why she didn’t know this before. Was there some clue hidden in his features? She stared at his ocean blue eyes,

I always knew those eyes and his somehow always perfect hair were too good to be from the Royal Bastards!

She quickly realized she was too close to his perfect hair and eyes, and backed up.

“How did that happen?”

Link snorted and raised an eyebrow.

How else? Through a little thing called sex? You know, when two people get together, take off their clothes, and—

Zelda pushed the notebook down before she read the rest.

“I know how it happens. I meant, how as in… how?”

An affair.

“Oh. So who’s your real mother then?”

Link shrugged. My father wouldn’t tell me. And then he died, so I never found out.

“Is that why your mother,” Zelda paused and corrected herself, “I mean step mother hates you so much?”

He nodded.

Zelda fiddled with her bracelet. She couldn’t believe how much she was learning about Link. His story was a lot more interesting now, but she wasn’t sure that was a good thing. She felt sorry for him, she couldn’t imagine what it was like to live in a place where the only parent he had was one who hated him. The urge to hug him and try to make all the pain disappear suddenly gripped her.

“Hey Link?” She asked, forcing him out of whatever he was thinking about. 

He turned to her, titling his head.

Yeah?

“Is it okay if I hug you? I promise I’ll be gentle.” Link gave her a strange look. A look that said “why would you want to do that?”

“Please? I feel like I’ll die if I don’t hug you right now.” Zelda needed to do something, anything to help him.

Link took a deep breath in, and before he could nod yes, Zelda had already pulled him into her arms. She felt Link tense up before slowly relaxing again, and she felt a pain in her chest because of that.

She wanted to squeeze all his pain and sadness right out of him, but she didn’t want to hurt him. She thought back to Mipha’s pleas, about protecting him from the pain he was in.

I guess this is what he never told Mipha… and why she wanted me to look out for him…

She thought back to her promise to Mipha, that she’d protect him from harm. She hadn’t thought about it at the time, but it still applied here. She wanted to protect him from anyone who tried to hurt him. Including that Bitch Queen Hera. And she would. She felt confident now, if Mipha asked her that same question again, Zelda would answer yes, in all aspects.

Chapter Text

Link and Zelda woke up at dawn the next morning and continued the journey to Rito’s Village. They soon left the barren badlands behind and reached the bitter and unforgiving cold of the Tabantha Snowfields, where they purchased some more supplies and winter gear, along with some horses, which made the journey 10 times faster.

The whole time, Link kept a closer watch on Zelda than before, enjoying the sense of closeness and comfortableness he felt in her presence, but those feelings came with a sense of worry. He was happy he confessed all those unpleasant truths about Hera’s abuse to her, including the fact that he was the illegitimate prince, something that not even Aryll knew. He had never felt such relief, like a heavy burden was lifted off his shoulders. Not only that Zelda listened, but she believed him. She believed him over Hera, over Mandrake, over everyone in the kingdom that claimed Hera was the best and he was the worst. They hadn’t spoken anything more about it that next day, but Link could feel a new bond forging between them. He felt he could trust her, that she actually cared about him. And this was something new and foreign to him, sure he’d had people he cared about and loved, but none of them knew everything about him. The person he was behind the mask he always wore, and for the first time he took it off, and Zelda wasn’t revolted or scared and she hadn’t run away, instead she looked straight at him and hugged him.

But this wasn’t the only reason Link decided to keep a closer eye on her. With this sense of closeness came a constant worry about her. He couldn’t look at her without remembering the terror that seized his chest when he felt her heart stop beating, at how pale she looked, at how cold her body felt. How much blood she lost… luckily she seemed to be back to normal. She was only limping slightly on her left side where the bokoblin had stabbed her.

I guess the Priestess must heal quickly… he thought.

But all of those things weren’t things he could simply forget. He made an effort in making sure she was okay, and that she wasn’t going to do anything like that again. She had begun to mean something to him these past few weeks, and he had very few of those people. He didn’t want to lose her, he wouldn’t lose her. He made a vow right then and there that he’d protect her, right along with Aryll.

After one last night sharing a tent in a harsh winter storm, Zelda and Link finally made it to the edge of Lake Totori, a wide lake settled deep into a pit in the earth where a bunch of small islands bursted out of the dark waters up the edge. Zelda and Link carefully crossed the rope bridges connecting to different islands until they reached the main island located in the center of the lake, Rito Village. The climate settled down here, the harsh wind and frigid snow of the Tabantha Snowfield dissolved into gentle breezes and soft springy grass. Lake Totori was unique in the fact that the water was said to be warm, like bath water. Hylian and Rito scholars believed it most likely due to an underwater volcano with vents heating up the lake, which in turn kept the climate around Rito Village warm when the areas outside the lake were cold and snowy.

The Rito population could best be described as humanoid birds. They stood on two feet, but their entire bodies were covered with feathers ranging from pearl white to sky peach pink, they had wings in place of arms and large beaks instead of mouths and noses. The Rito were known for their excellent bowing prowess, it was said that they could hit a flea off a Hylian Cow’s back from 5 miles away. They also were the only race in all of Hyrule with the ability of flight, making it so they alone dominated the skies. Although they had many advantages as a race, their population still remained quite small, due to the harsh climate all around them which made resources scarce. Although all of them were able to fly, the only Rito with the ability to use Anemos Magick was Revali, who was also said to be the most skilled archer of all the Rito.

Rito Village was small, but that didn’t make it any less beautiful. Link loved how different it was from Hyrule’s Castle Town; the entire town was built up on dark wooden stilts and stair cases with long and narrow landing platforms jutting out over the lake for the Rito to land on. Suspended rope bridges would connect different small wooden huts with painted roofs to each other all across the small island, that curled around a ginormous rock formation the shape of a bird head, making it so the entire village never touched the ground.

As they climbed up the wooden stairs leading up to the center of town, Link made frequent stops to sketch rough outlines (he’d fill in the rest when he had the time) of all the colorful roofs and the tall pine trees that grew nearby. He especially loved sketching all the Rito doing their daily activities, some with baskets in hand shopping at markets, some flying down onto the landing pads, children playing games of tag or keep a way, and even a curious Rito that looked remarkably like a parrot with his white face, black beak, and turquoise feathers who was singing songs and playing an accordion.

Link paused longer than usual to sketch him. After sketching him for a few minutes, Link finally surrendered to Zelda’s demands that they keep moving. But just as he was about to turn to leave, the parrot Rito caught Link’s eye and called out,

“Ho there! A fellow artist I see! May I ask what you were sketching?” He paused his playing as he strolled over to them. Link felt heat rise to his cheeks as he showed the parrot his drawing.

“Well, I’m honored you chose to make me, Kass the Bard, the inspiration for your piece!” Kass laughed, a happy squawking sound. “I must say you drew me exceptionally well! So well in fact, that I would like you to finish it. I’ll go back to playing, let me know when you're done!” He walked back to the edge of the balcony he was standing on and continued playing.

Link looked over to Zelda, hands in a pleading position.

Please let me finish drawing him…

Zelda sighed exasperatedly. “Fine. I’ll go get us a room at the inn. You better be finished by the time I’m done.” Zelda raised an eyebrow, Link nodded eagerly.

Yes, of course!

After about 20 more minutes, Link finished the drawing of Kass. He held it a few inches away from his face, satisfied.

Some of my best work, if I do say so myself.  

He tapped Kass on the shoulder to let him know he was finished.

“Ah, my good fellow! How’s it coming along?” Link showed him the paper. Kass smiled widely and laughed. “This is beautiful! My wife will absolutely adore something like this to keep her company on those long lonely nights in my absence! May I keep it?”

Link smiled with pride, it’d been awhile since someone complimented him on his work. He liked the feeling of being appreciated. He nodded and started to tear the page from the notebook when Kass held up a wing to stop him.

“No, that won’t do at all, young artist! What kind of artist would I be if I simply accepted your exceptional work without giving you something back in return?!”

Link held up his hand and shook his head, trying to tell Kass that he really didn’t need any payment, just knowing someone actually wanted his work was enough, but Kass wasn’t listening.

“I know!” He brightened. “I’ll trade you for it. I’ll play you a song for your picture. Sound fair?”

Link nodded.

Kass took a deep breath, then began.

“The kingdom of Hyrule is a vast and storied land,

Oft grasped in the palm of a villainous hand.

A dark force of destruction, many times undone,

Rises once again–Ganon, the calamitous one.

But hope survives in Hyrule, for all is not lost,

Two brave souls protect it, no matter the cost.

A goddess-blood priestess and a fearless knight,

They appear in each age to fight the good fight…”

And the song continued, but with each line, Link felt himself growing more anxious. He hated hearing anything about… that thing and anything to do with it. With every verse, Link’s head began to pound harder, he felt sick. As soon as the song was over Link tore the page from his notebook, shoved it into Kass’s wings, and rushed off before he could say anything. Suddenly the walls felt like they were closing in on him, too many people, too many eyes, he felt like he was suffocating. The chitter-chatter of all the villagers suddenly became too loud, like they were yelling at him. He needed to get somewhere quiet, open, away from everything. So he rushed across bridges and up and down wooden stairs, pushed past mothers and fathers and children, until finally he stopped.

He found himself on a small island disconnected from the main one that Rito Village was located on. The entire island was an archery range, targets resting at the edge, atop tall pine trees, and even suspended in the air. Link gradually forgot all his troubles as he strolled through the empty range. He spotted a simple bow and a few arrows cast aside against the trunk of a nearby tree.

It’s been awhile since I’ve practiced any archery, I hope whoever owns this won’t mind if I borrow it…

Link looked around to make sure no one was watching before picking up the bow and notching an arrow to it. He drew the string back to his ear and focused on the target at the far end of the range. The arrow made a whizzing sound as he released it. It shot forward and landed smack-dab in the middle of the red dot of the target.

Yes! Link pumped his fist in the air. Looks like I’ve still got it! He notched another arrow and shot at a target nailed to the top of the tree and at another suspended in the air. He only made it to the second ring on both of those much to his disappointment. He was about to shoot another target when he felt a gust of wind hit his back and heard something land behind him.

“Well, well, well. You must be the elusive Prince Link I’ve heard so much about. To think I would find you here, trespassing on the Rito’s private archery range used only for military purposes is quite interesting.” Link turned to find a tall Rito with chocolate brown feathers, an orange beak, and cat-like neon green eyes standing with his wings crossed over the front of his body.

Crap! I didn’t know this was private…

Link quickly pulled out his notebook.

Sorry, I didn’t realize this wasn’t a public range.

Revali looked disgusted at Link’s method of communication.

“Oh, so I’m just supposed to believe you happened to miss all the signs?” He gestured towards the back of the range, where about three signs stating that the range was for private use only stood.

Link felt his cheeks grow red with embarrassment.

I guess I must not have seen them. My apologies.

The Rito scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“She was right… you are an idiot.”

Link furrowed his brows and tilted his head.

Who said that?

“The Priestess. She asked me to go looking for you, she thought you might have gotten lost in our small village and begged for me, Revali, the most skilled archer of all the Rito, to find you.” Revali flicked his braided feathers that sprouted out from the back of his head to the side, “Naturally I accepted. Far be it from me to ignore a woman in distress.” he turned back to Link and gave him a once over, “I can see why she was worried you were lost.”

Link frowned, something about this guy’s high and mighty tone was starting to bother him.

What’s that supposed to mean?

“Well, you obviously have no sense of respect, making the Priestess meet with Chief Kaneli to bring the horrible news of Evil’s Rebirth all by herself while you were playing soldier at the Rito’s archery range. And since no respectable Prince would let his Priestess do such a thing alone, the only logical conclusion is that you’re an idiot. Or an asshole. Whichever you prefer.” Revali’s golden beak curled into a sneer.

What is this guy’s problem? We just met and he’s trying to pick a fight with me?? Link scowled at Revali’s response.

But Revali paid no heed to it, instead his neon green eyes flicked around to all the target Link hit.

“You’re absolutely incompetent with a bow. I mean, you call this pathetic attempt at archery, good?” Revali gestured at the targets.
“I’m embarrassed to admit that I expected more from the heir to Hyrule’s throne.” He shook his head in mock sadness. Link rushed to write a response when Revali held up a hand.

“Don’t bother, I have interest in speaking with someone who doesn’t even have the decency to tell me things to my face. Only a coward hides behind words on a page.” He flashed Link a nasty stare.

“Here, let me show you how a real archer does things.” Revali beat his powerful wings and flew up into the air. He slid a bow and some arrows from his back and, in the blink of an eye, so fast that Link couldn’t tell when one arrow left the bow before another one was released, Revali shot bull’s eyes on every single target in the entire archery range except for one. The one Link already shot.

When he was done, he descended wearing a smug smirk.

“See, that’s real archery. Not whatever you called that previous performance.” Link tightened his fists at his side. This guy was really starting to get on his nerves. He wasn’t sure he’d met someone so annoying. And that was saying something, since he dealt with Zelda on a daily basis. Link suddenly had the urge to put this guy in his place, which surprised him, usually he just backed down and accepted whatever insults were thrown his way. Must be Zelda’s influence…

He glared at Revali before notching another arrow onto his bow and drawing it to his ear, and just as he was about to release it, he felt Revali whisper in his ear,

“Your technique is atrocious. I’ve never seen anything so pathetic.” And Link released the shot, missing the target completely. Link whirled around, his eyebrows hanging so low over his stormy blue eyes Link was sure even Revali would apologize for pissing him off.

“Tch. I figured. I doubt you’d be able to hit something right in front of your pathetic face with a stance like that.” Revali drew his bow, standing directly in front of Link. With a smirk, he released the shot, just barely grazing the side of Link’s cheek, dark maroon blood dripping down the side of his face. He didn’t need to turn around to tell what the crunching sound was that he heard behind him. Revali’s arrow had gone straight through his own, splitting it in half in order to hit the bull’s eye. 

Revali laughed, a dry bitter sound. He leaned forward, his green eyes glinting, “Oops, sorry. Looks like I nicked you. You’re lucky I wasn’t aiming for you.” He laughed again, then hooked his bow back onto his back.

“I’d offer to help clean that up for you, but I’m worried your idiocy will rub off on me.” and with that, Revali flew up into the air back to Rito Village, leaving Link glaring up after him.

“LIIIIIIINNNNK!” An angry shriek pierced the air. Link didn’t have to look down to know who it was, he’d recognize that yell anywhere…

Uh oh, she sounds mad… He thought as he watched Zelda race towards him. She looks mad too… He noticed when she got closer, her rose-pink lips were pursed and her emerald green eyes darkened.

“What the hell happened to ‘wait for me here, I’ll be back in 20 minutes’!!” She shouted once she reached him.

Link winced, he’d forgotten about that.

Sorry, I got distracted.

Zelda shook her head. “Well no shit! You got so distracted that I had to meet Chief Kaneli by myself! Do you know how bad it looks for the Priestess who’s supposed to be guarding her prince and escorting him to all the champion’s regions to show up with out her prince and have to explain that she doesn’t know where he is?!” Zelda’s face was turning red, Link could practically feel her anger and annoyance at him radiating off it.

“And the cherry on top of this shit sundae is I had to ask that bird-brain-bitch Revali to find you, because I couldn’t!”

You’re right, I’m sorry. I should’ve been there.

Zelda opened her mouth like she wanted to yell and scold him more, but she thought better of it. She took a deep breath in and released it.

“Whatever. What’s done is done, now come on. They’re serving dinner at 5:30 at the inn, and I don’t want to be late.” Zelda grabbed his hand and started pulling him across the field. But after a minute she quickly let go.

“Sorry, I forgot. That… that sort of thing is hard for you.” She began fiddling with her bracelet and avoided his eyes. Link felt guilty, guilty that she felt guilty for touching him. And that she was now afraid to. He had begun to realize, especially after she hugged him, that he wasn’t reminded of the painful memories as much… like her touch somehow softened them, if only a little. He even found himself a little sad when she let go of him, something he hadn’t felt for someone in a long time…

It’s alright. Come on, let’s go. He smiled at her, a real one , not the phony ones he was used to giving people. When had that changed? When had the mask begun to crack to reveal the smile of the boy he was so scared of showing people? Try as he might, he couldn’t pinpoint an exact time, an exact moment when it happened. But he knew it was because of Zelda, he felt that ever since he met her he began to enjoy life a little more each day. The things that scared him scared him a little less, and the things he enjoyed he enjoyed even more because of her. Something nice suddenly blossomed in his chest when he looked at her walking beside him, and he reached out and laced his fingers through her own. She looked up, startled. But before she could say anything he smiled back at her and started sprinting towards the other end of the island, pulling her behind him.

Eventually they reached the inn, and their hands finally parted in order to feast on meat rice bowls and fruit pie for dessert. After about 3 bowls and 2 slices of pie, Link’s stomach finally stopped whining for more and he went back to the room, finding Zelda lounging on one of the beds in the center of the room, golden hair damp from a bath and her face buried in a book. She looked up when she heard him close the door.

“Finallly done?” She raised an eyebrow at him. Link nodded and patted his stomach, then flung himself onto the other bed next to hers. Zelda rolled her eyes.

“Seriously? You’re not going to shower first?” Link sat up.

I guess that would be a good idea, it has been a while… 

“Well, least we finally have two beds this time. Beats sleeping on the floor.”  She laid the book on her nightstand and stretched back against the down feather pillows. Link nodded, the bed sure was comfortable, from the silky-warm comforter to the pillows that felt like lying on a cloud. But she was right, he really should shower while he had the chance. He regretfully rose from the bed and headed to the bathroom.

“Oh, and one more thing.” Zelda called to him just as he was about to close the door. “We’re leaving at dawn tomorrow. For Gerudo Town. I already sorted everything out with Chief Kaneli and bird-brain-bitch. No thanks to you…” She muttered that last part. Link flashed her an apologetic smile and closed the door.

The bathroom was small, but nice. A shower head spouted from the wall in the corner into a wide basin disguised to look like a barrel. A small sink and toilet managed to fit in somehow also.

He pulled the chopsticks holding his hair up out and removed his trousers. After he pulled his shirt off his head he froze. The marks, or curse or whatever it was called had caught his eye. It had gotten significantly worse since the incident with Zelda. He had lied to her when he said being thrown across the canyon was the reason she almost killed him. What he was really referring to was the pain of the Agios Magick hitting him had never been worse, he had felt like he was going to die in the moment. But this was the first time he actually looked at the results. The spider veins had spread completely across his chest now, the ends creeping under his arm pits and over his shoulders. The bottoms had travelled all the way down to his lower abdomen, almost to his bellybutton. And the tops of them stretched past his collar bone, the ends just barely touching his neck.

Damn it! This is going to be so much harder to hide now… I better get serious about finding a cure or else…

He thought back to the hot springs in Death Mountain, how they helped beat back the veins.

I know those worked, so after all this is done, getting the champions, defeating Evil’s Rebirth, then I can go back and fix this…

Despite his efforts to reassure himself, Link felt the doubts begin to creep into his mind. He tried so hard to keep them away, but the words the thing that slept in his chest had said to him that day in Zora’s Domain filled his head.

You have been marked by the Priestess and the cursed goddess herself…  

Their magick has angered the darkness flowing through your veins… 

Even now it threatens to spill from your body… 

If you do not succumb to my will it will tear you apart…

You will die…

Link tried to ignore the words, to forget them. But he heard them. Over and over again… he heard them while he was bathing, he heard them while he was re-dying his hair, he heard them while he was cleaning the scratch on his face, he heard them as Zelda said goodnight, he even heard them as he lay against the softest down feather pillows on the silkiest sheets. 

Even in his dreams the words still tormented him.

Chapter Text

Link was back in Hyrule Castle. Standing in the hallway. But it wasn’t the Hyrule Castle he was used to. The ceilings were taller, stretching so high they dissolved into darkness before he could see the top. The walls were different too, barren, devoid of any paintings, lanterns, windows, or decorations of any kind. The air was brisk, chilling him to the bone. The floor’s red carpet seemed to go on forever, not a corner or passageway in sight, just an endless straight line. Link walked and walked but nothing seemed to change. He could hear the faintest sounds of indecipherable whispering, darting from one location to the next.

Still, Link walked on. Still, the hallways never changed.

Eventually the sounds of whispering grew louder, jumping from wall to wall, ear to ear. He could tell what they were saying:

“Murderer!”

“Evil’s Incarnate!”

“You slaughtered them all!”

Link stopped walking.

Who are you?! His mind shouted into the darkness, eyes darting around the room. But the hallway was still the same, same grey stone barren walls, same blood red carpet, same non-present ceilings. He could recognize the voices now, Hera’s, Mipha’s, Zelda’s.

“Don’t play dumb with me, you know what you did!”

“Hundreds are dead because of you!”

“Thousands more will die!”

He heard the voices laughing, shrill banshee-like cackles. Link started running, trying desperately to escape the laughing, the accusations, the torments.

“Why are you even alive?”

“You should be put to death just for breathing!”

“Your birth was a curse!”

Link pushed himself harder and harder, feet pounding against the carpet, breath ragged, sweat pouring down his face and legs. Still the hallways never changed.

“You were put on this earth to kill people!”

“You will bring death and destruction onto us all!”

“Your birth is a curse to the goddesses themselves!”

Link felt his heart knocking against his rib cage, he felt wild, out of control, blinded by his own panic. He felt like the hallways that never changed were closing in on him, getting closer and closer as he ran down toward the darkness ahead, but somehow never got closer.

“You’re a liar!”

“A murderer!”

“You are Evil’s–” All of the sudden Link stepped in something, and the voices quieted down in an instant.

What the…? He lifted up his shoe; he’d stepped in a pool of something dark and maroon, metallic smelling, and sticky. He felt his insides freeze when he realized what it was…

Blood.

A voice just up ahead was crying softly, Link wanted to turn back but he found himself creeping forward, further into the blood on the floor, further into the darkness ahead. He stopped when he reached a girl, her back towards him, kneeling on the ground, red blood staining her white legs and soaking into the ends of her blue dress. She was haunched over something, soft sobs racking her shoulders.

Link took another step forward towards the girl, heart pounding in his chest. He cautiously reached out and touched the girl on the shoulder. She stiffened, then slowly turned to face him.

Link stumbled back, it was Aryll. But not the Aryll he knew, this Aryll’s face was pale like porcelain, her normally blue eyes were swallowed up in a sea of black, her flaxen blonde hair was frayed and torn, bald patches covering her head, like hair had been ripped out. But the most unsettling thing was her tears, red streaks filled the sockets and spilled down her cheeks.

“Why? Why, big brother?” She croaked out, her voice hoarse. More drops of blood rolling down her sunken cheeks.

Why what? I don’t understand… Link signed to her slowly, his breath stolen by the sight of her. He felt a cold sweat begin to soak his pits, his forehead, turning his hands clammy.

“Why did you kill them? Why did you kill them, big brother?” Aryll crawled forward, her hands and legs bending and cracking in unnatural angles. 

Kill who? Link started to tremble.

“Them.” Aryll lifted a finger bent horribly back and pointed ahead towards the darkness.  Link strained his eyes, and suddenly the darkness parted like a curtain. Revealing bodies. So many bodies. Hundreds, thousands, piled up on top of each other. Piled up so high they touched the darkness of the unseen-ceiling, and stretched beyond it. Bodies of women, children, men, fathers, mothers, daughters, sons… all with the same black empty eyes, the same pale porcelain skin, the same black ooze stained on their chins and fizzling down their gaping mouths. Holes the size of Link’s hand were present in everyone’s chests, dark maroon blood gushing out, feeding the pool of blood beneath his feet. 

Link fell to his knees, the cold blood soaking his pants. He couldn’t breathe, he felt like he was drowning in their blank stares. Though it was silent in the room he felt like they were screaming at him, blaming him, cursing him, wishing he was dead…

No, no no no… I didn’t do this, I didn’t, I didn’t… I didn’t kill them. Link grabbed the sides of his head, tears prickling his eyes. He heard the sounds of bones crackling, he looked up. Aryll was crawling back to her spot, she resumed crying.

Aryll, Aryll, Aryll! He shouted to her mentally. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her towards him. Aryll, I didn’t kill those people! I didn’t! That wasn’t my fault! I didn’t kill them!

He signed, his fingers slick with sweat, his hands trembling with desperation.

Aryll shook her head, weeping more blood.

“Stop lying to me, big brother. That’s not what big brothers are supposed to do.”

I’m not lying– he started to sign, but paused, looking at his hands. They were covered in dark maroon blood, violet miasma, and black ooze.

“You killed them, you killed her.” Aryll gestured at the thing she was haunched over. Link wanted to vomit. It was Hera. Her head was resting in Aryll’s lap, but she had the same pale skin, black empty eyes, hole in her chest sputtering blood, and black ooze foaming from her mouth.

“Why would you kill her? Why did you kill mommy? She loved you, why did you kill her? Do you hate me? Is that why you did this?” Aryll cried, gripping Hera’s head against her chest.

No! No! Aryll, I didn’t do this! I didn’t kill her!

“Why did you do this?! You promised you’d never leave me, you promised you’d protect me! Why? Why? Why? Why? Why why why why why–” Aryll rose from her position, walking unsteadily towards him, her voice gradually raising in volume. Link stumbled to his feet, backing away slowly.

“Why why why why why why why!” Aryll was shouting now, running toward him. Link turned and started sprinting away. Away from the bodies, from the blood, from his dead stepmother, from the accusations and the curses, from his sister’s constant questions. He ran back out of the fold of darkness, into the hallway that never changed. He ran past the whispers and shouts and barrage of voices. Still he could hear the crackling of bones moving in unnatural places, the “whys”, the sobbing, he pushed himself faster, and faster, and faster and–

THUMP!

He hit the ground, sprawled on the floor, legs tangled up in something. He scrambled to a sitting position to see what he tripped over.

No no nononononono! Please no! Goddess, please no no no! He crawled over to her. He grabbed her head and cradled it in his arms, her golden hair stained red under the blood escaping the hole in her chest. Her white dress was covered with splatters of black and maroon, her green eyes were inky black.

Link felt tears fall down his face as he laid a hand on her cheek. It was cold.

Zelda! Zelda! ZELDA! WAKE UP, PLEASE! He wanted to scream, to shout, but no words would escape his lips.

“Why, big brother? I thought you loved mommy, I thought you loved me, I thought you loved her . Why did you do this?” Aryll had caught up to them, but Link wouldn’t move. He didn’t want to leave her side. 

“Why, big brother?” Link clutched Zelda’s head tighter to his chest, he looked up, blue eyes shining with tears.

I didn’t do this… he thought weakly.  

He watched Aryll stumble forward, fall to her knees, then to the ground. Link reached forward, trying to break her fall, but he was too late. She hit the ground. He gently laid Zelda’s head down and crawled over to her.

Aryll, Aryll! He shook her shoulder. She shifted her head, her black eyes blinking up at him.

“Why Link? Why did you kill me?” She lifted a frail, broken hand up to her heart where a hole was spreading throughout her chest. She coughed, black ooze sprayed from her mouth.

Link watched in horror, he pressed his hands against her chest, trying to stop the bleeding.

“You won’t answer the question, but that’s okay…” Aryll whispered, her voice making a gurgling sound as she tried to speak through the ooze.

“You killed them, you killed mommy, you killed Zelda, you killed me… you killed them all… because you are Evil’s Incarnate.” And with that her hands fell to her side, limp. Her body turned frigid, the shine of her black eyes turned empty. She was dead.

Link felt a pain seize his chest as he sobbed. A pain so intense he thought his insides would explode, his vision swam in a sea of red as the burning sensation grew stronger. He felt like someone was branding his chest, over and over and over… the pain was so intense he tried to claw his insides out, anything to get it to stop. He screamed, loudly, painfully.

And just when he thought he wouldn't be able to take anymore, his eyes shot open and he was awake. Link sat up and clutched his chest, a dull throbbing was the only evidence of the pain from the nightmare. Link sat there, breathing fast and hard. 

Calm down, it was just a nightmare… It’s over now… it wasn’t real… he repeated this over and over like a mantra until the worst was over. With trembling hands, Link peeled the sweat soaked sheets from his body and tip-toed over to Zelda’s bed. 

Link released a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he saw her chest rise and fall.

Good, she’s still breathing… He scanned her face. It looked normal, no foam staining her lips, no porcelain pale skin, no black soulless eyes. He touched her cheek, it was warm. He lifted the cover back slightly.

Phew… no hole either.  

He felt relief wash over his sweat soaked body. He couldn’t shake the feeling… of seeing everyone like that… dead. He couldn’t get their faces out of his head, he felt sick just thinking about it. He knew it was just a nightmare, but the feelings of despair and fear still lingered into the waking hours. He felt like he hadn’t woken up yet, like at any moment he’d see a pile of corpses in the dark corner of the room.

Maybe a walk will help… Link thought after a few more minutes trembling in the dark. He got up and opened the door out of the room then remembered what happened the last time he left in the middle of the night and didn’t tell Zelda.

      Maybe I should leave a note…

     He tore a page out of his notebook and left the note on her night stand:

Went for a walk. I’ll be back in a bit.

-Link 

He cringed at how shaky the handwriting looked, but his handwriting wouldn’t improve until his hands stopped shaking. And that wouldn’t happen anytime soon. With one last look at her sleeping face to double check that she was still breathing, he left the inn and stepped out into the cool night air.

~

Link found himself at the training ground again. He’d been in a daze the entire time, not paying attention to where his disembodied feet were taking him. He looked around, trying to spot any wayward souls who might have had a sleepless night, but no. He was alone.

Well… maybe some training will help take my mind off things…

Link walked to the edge of the island where some straw dummies with targets bolted onto their chests sat and began practicing his sword skills. He perried, stabbed, feigned and dodged. Once he was warmed up, he decided to practice his Nekros Magick, since he hadn’t gotten the chance in the past few weeks. Link felt his pulse quicken in his chest, he always hated this part…

Come on. Don’t chicken out now! This is necessary, how am I supposed to prove this power is good if I’m too scared to use it?

He took a deep breath and cleared his mind. He had gotten pretty fast at this part, from his years of training. So once he decided to search for it, he found it. Instantaneously he felt a block of ice form in his chest, spreading throughout his veins, numbing his limbs. This had been the hardest part, learning to keep control of his arms and legs when they were so cold he couldn’t feel them. He felt his pounding heart slow into dull thumps, so slow they were almost intelligible. Black clouded the edges of his vision, turning the bright blue night into a dull grey. The thing sleeping in his chest stayed asleep, for that he was grateful.

Link focused the miasma to his finger and imbued it into his Bastard sword, turning the white steal to a dark violet that pulsed with energy. All at once, he jumped forward and sliced the dummy in two.

He laughed bitterly. Well, that didn’t put up much of a fight…

He set his sights on a giant boulder at the other end of the island. He sprinted over to it, it was easily double his height and triple it in width.

He smirked. This should be fun…

He began striking the boulder. Slashing it with all his strength. Dull clangs clattered through the quiet air as he hit it over… and over… and over again. He was determined to break it. He started gathering miasma into the palm of his hand and firing shots at it, lasers of energy, he poured more energy into his sword until it was vibrating with energy and struck the boulder. He combined his shots with his strikes and slowly but surely, the boulder began to crumble. Bits and pieces flew off in all directions as he continuously struck at a diagonal line through the center.

As much as Link wanted to cut through the boulder, he wasn’t like Zelda. He knew better. His energy was running low, he could feel it in the sluggishness of his limbs and the warmth beginning to return to his body. He figured he probably had one more hit in him before he needed to stop, so he mustered up the miasma lingering in his body and powered up his last, giant attack and struck the boulder.

This time, he sliced all the way through.

He stood back, chest heaving as the top half of the boulder slid down and fell to the ground with a thud. Link smiled with pride as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

That’s what I’m talking about… OW! He doubled over, clutching his chest, the pain had started again. He peaked down his shirt, the veins were glowing and spreading again. He felt it, in the painfully slow beats in his chest, the numb tingling of his limbs, the darkness consuming his vision, that he went too far. He felt the burning spread, up his neck, across his arms, down his stomach. But he was so careful! He knew how his body reacted, so why was this time different?!

No no no! Damn it! Using my dark magick causes them to spread too!?!… Is this what it meant when it said the darkness was angry and threatened to spill out and consume me!?!

He coughed, spitting out more black goo and maroon blood.

All of the sudden he heard slow clapping behind him. He turned slowly around, stumbling from exhaustion, his vision still flickering in and out of darkness when he came face to face with Revali, looking smug as always, neon green eyes flashing in the dark.

“Well, well, well, I must say! That was impressive!” He stepped closer, Link felt hot anxiety rush to his face.

Damn it! How much of that did he see?? He tried to keep his nerves in check, just in case it wasn’t as bad as he thought.

“Now, how ever did you manage to slice a boulder of that size and girth?” He stepped even closer, tilting his beak downward so he could look Link square in the eye.

Link didn’t answer, worried his face would give everything away.

“Oh? You don’t want to tell me? Are you worried perhaps?” He leaned closer, so close Link could smell the musty scent of pride and satisfaction on his breath.

“Worried that you might say something you shouldn’t? Let something slip?”

Revali smiled. Link felt his tired heart beat faster and faster.

What does he know?? If he saw me use dark magick why is he being so calm about it??

“Well, I hate to break it to you, but I’m afraid it’s a little too late. I saw your whole display while doing my nightly rounds around Zora’s Domain.” He clicked his tongue and shook his head in mock disapproval. “To think Hyrule’s very own Prince Link is a Dark Arts user! I must confess even I didn’t see that coming. I guess I should’ve known… the scent of miasma clung to you ever since we met.” He whispered in Link’s ear, “The stench of rot and death.” Link jerked back reflexively. Revali held up his wings in surrender, the same maniacal smile stretched across his face.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you. I can’t say the same about her though.” He nodded towards the inn. The inn Zelda was sleeping peacefully in. 

“Did you think you could hide it from her? That she wouldn’t find out that the person she was travelling with is actually the very person she’s supposed to be fighting against?”

Link felt frozen. His whole world was shattered, turned upside down.

This is a bad dream… it has to be! There’s no way… no way I let another person find out about me! What am I going to do??

“Did you really think you , one of the filth cursing the goddesses, could stand by the Priestess? The most holy being aside from the goddesses themselves?” Revali laughed, a dry and brittle sound.

“No, even you aren’t that stupid.” Revali pretended to check the time on his wrist. “Oh! I’ve spent far too much time here, it’s really about time I tell the whole world about you.” He smiled and stretched out his wings, preparing to fly.

No no nonononono! What do I do? What do I do ? He’s going to tell everyone! They’ll find out about me! They'll say I’m it ! They’ll kill me!! And what will Zelda think?? His mind flashed to all the fun times he had with her, eating supper with her, fighting with her, laughing with her, he thought about her smile, and how finding out about him would be like a fist to all her teeth. She’d hate him, he’d lose the friendship with her that he’d worked so hard to get. He’d lose the one person in his life that’d he’d been able to tell everything to… the one person who listened and wanted to be there for him… the one person who believed him…

When he thought about that, losing her, he felt his hands curl into fists. He wouldn’t let that happen. All the sudden, the thing in his chest stirred awake and the all too familiar presence entered his mind.

Charm him…  it ordered him as Revali flew up into the air.

I can’t… I can’t use it for evil–

Charm him… or face the consequences…

I can’t!! I don’t even know how!

You do… charm him before it’s too late… you’ll lose everything… you can’t afford the Priestess as an enemy right now…

I’ve used too much magick already! I can barely stand, I’ll die if I use more!
The voice seemed amused by this.

You’ll die either way… unless you allow me to help you…

Link watched as Revali got father and father away, he knew he had to make a decision. 

Was everything he had worth it?

Okay, fine. He replied. He tried to slow his ragged breathing and take a deep breath. He braced himself as the thing started taking over. One by one, stealing his senses. Black crawled across his vision until he could see nothing but Revali, numbness spread throughout his limbs until the only thing he could feel was the right hand he lifted, the sounds of crickets chirping and wind whistling through the trees gradually dulled into silence, even Link’s own presence within himself was merged with another’s, until Link couldn’t tell where he ended and the thing began. Together, he and the thing summoned the miasma and directed it to his hand, then, before Revali could get out of reach, they fired, hitting him right in the wing. Revali crashed back down to the island, hitting a tree on the way down.

They walked slowly to the spot, finding Revali laying in a nest of broken branches, cradling his right wing which looked horribly bent out of shape.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! You could’ve gotten me killed!” They didn’t answer, they stepped closer and held the palm of their hand up toward Revali’s face.

For the first time since they’d met him, that smug smile and arrogant glint in his eye wer gone. He looked… afraid. He scooted back, trying to duck out of the way of their hand.

“S-stop that! You can’t kill me! I’m the champion Revali! Everyone will know it was you!” 

They didn’t answer. They were concentrating, pouring a single thought into the miasma running through their veins. “Nihil”.  Together, they lifted their arm and the thought melted into the miasma and poured from their fingers. The miasma wafted through the air, absorbing into Revali. Soon, the thing started to recede, giving Link his senses back.

Good… you did well… this is but a fraction of the power you will wield when you succumb to my will… and it went back to sleep. Link felt the life drain crash down onto him, he fell to his knees. He was breathing hard, sweat pouring down his brows. He was trembling, he felt horrible. Something unpleasant gurgled in his throat and he spewed out black ooze and blood. Lots of blood. He was dizzy… so dizzy, he couldn’t see. 

When Link didn’t notice any snide comments about how pathetic he was from Revali, he looked up. There he was, still sitting in the nest of broken branches, still cradling his wounded wing, but all the expression, the fear, the pride, had vanished from his face. An empty look in his neon green eyes overtook his entire face. He looked like a shell of his former self. 

Is he okay…? He crawled forward and waved a trembling hand in front of his face. Nothing. He reached out and gently tapped him on the shoulder. With that, Revali jolted up. He looked at Link, but his eyes weren’t focusing on him. It was as if he were looking through him.

“I better get back to bed.” He stated, his voice dull and almost robotic. Without saying anything else, he walked back across the island.

Did it work? Did he forget he saw me…? Link almost passed out from relief. I did it! I fixed it! I… Then it hit him. He charmed someone. For the first time since he discovered his powers, he’d done something he couldn’t justify. He’d done something evil . He forced his will onto someone else… he manipulated someone with his magick. He swore he’d never use it… but he did, and there was no taking it back.  

Link wasn’t sure how he made it back to the inn that night, he felt closer to death than he had in a while. Each step felt like agony, like the life was leaking from his body and he’d crash any moment. Somehow he managed to make it to the inn at nearly dawn, and just barely remembered to grab the note he left before crashing out.

The next morning Revali seemed more or less back to normal, he didn’t say anything to Link about last night and no one was coming to kill him so Link assumed it worked. But Link knew something was off. The Chief Elder had also. It was Revali but… it wasn’t. His eyes were still empty, he still seemed dazed.

Revali may have seemed normal…ish. But Link sure wasn’t. Usually the life drain symptoms faded the next morning, but this was different. He could barely move, he felt light headed, his mind was foggy and his vision was still blurry. A chill had gripped his body even though the morning sun was blazing.

But Link did his best to act normal as him and Zelda were saying their farewells to the Chief and shouldering their freshly filled packs and starting on their journey once again. But Link couldn’t get that night out of his head, he felt like he lost something, a piece of himself that he could never get back. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this irreversible thing was something that set him on a path that he didn’t want to walk down. It felt like jumping off a cliff and realizing the bottom was sharp rocks instead of water. 

What have I done…?

Chapter Text

“Hey, you listening?” Zelda waved a hand in front of Link’s face. He was spacing out over his plate of salt grilled fish. He jumped out of the trance and nodded at her, gesturing at her to continue with her story about the time she nearly got herself killed jumping in the sandstorm during her Vai Vure training.

They were camping for the night off the road near the Rayne Highlands, under a bright starry night and a cool breeze that whistled through the tall pine trees around them. The horses they’d rented knickered softly from the tree they were tied to. 

Zelda did continue, but the whole time she was talking she felt uneasy. Link looked like death: pale, dark bags hanging under his eyes, a dazed expression on his face. He seemed to be far away, ever since that one night they spent in Rito Village. He’d been almost falling off his horse all day, and she couldn’t help but be worried. She’d woken up shortly after he left and found the note, so she hadn’t been worried. But when he returned at dawn the next morning and now he’d been acting like this the whole way here…

I wondered if something happened…

“You have any interesting stories? You just spent the last half an hour listening to me talk.” Zelda chuckled. But all Link could manage was a weak smile.

Maybe another time. I think I’m going to turn in, I’m not feeling the best.

Zelda’s eyes flicked down to his plate, he’d barely touched it. And this was his first serving. Link noticed her staring and raised an eyebrow, offering the plate to her.

You want the rest?

Zelda shrugged, “Sure. Be a shame to waste it.” She finished the plate as Link rolled out his bedding and crawled underneath it. Zelda watched him for a while, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. After a few minutes, she heard the faint scritch-scritching of a pencil on paper.

“Hey! I thought you said you were going to sleep?” She shouted.

Link rolled over, wearing a sheepish grin on his tired face.

I’m working on it.

Zelda scowled. “Hand it over.” She held her hand out to him. Link widened his eyes and gave her a pleading look.

Zelda shook her head. “You’re not going to feel better unless you actually rest. As in sleep. Not stay up all night drawing.” She shook her hand at him. Reluctantly, Link dropped the notebook into her hand.

Zelda raised an eyebrow. “The pencil?” Link sighed exasperatedly as he dropped the pencil into her hand also. 

“Thank you.” She set them to the side, out of his reach. “Do you have a fever?” She reached to touch his forehead, but stopped herself, remembering what happened the last time. Link shook his head. He reached for his notebook to respond, but Zelda glared at him. Link rolled his eyes and held out his hand, she instinctively gave him hers.

I’m fine, just tired is all. Zelda tried to ignore the fluttery feeling in her stomach as he held her hand in his and instead focused on how warm it felt. Feverish. Link looked up and caught her emerald green eyes with his ocean blue ones.

“Liar.” She whispered, her breath hitching in her chest. Link tilted his head, playing dumb.

“You’re hot.” She replied, her face serious. Link raised an eyebrow and drew on her hand.

Thanks? 

It took her a moment, but then Zelda understood and a ferocious blush heated her cheeks.

“No, that’s not what I meant! I-I meant hot as in warm not as in hot as in hot –” She paused when she saw the wide smile stretched across his face.

I know what you meant, I was just messing with you. Zelda rolled her eyes, helpless to stop the small smile playing at her lips.

“Okay, well, the point is you do have a fever so you should go to bed, for real this time.”

Link nodded and took the chopsticks holding his hair on top of his head out. His thick dirty blonde hair fell just past his shoulders.

Zelda swallowed. He is hot… as in… hot. Before Zelda could scold herself for thinking such… thirsty thoughts, Link’s eyes had widened and his hand shot up to cover his mouth. He quickly stumbled away from their camp. Zelda jumped up and ran after him, she caught up just in time to hear the awful retching noises he made as he vomited into some shrubs.

Zelda quickly knelt down beside him and without thinking, dug her fingers into his hair and pulled it back for him, lest he ruin it with his puke.

Wow… his hair is so soft and thick… she was surprised: she thought his hair would be rough and coarse, like a horse’s mane, but this was soft and smooth. She felt her heart picking up the pace inside her chest as she thought about how… nice it felt. She had to actively stop herself from running her fingers through it. When she got too tempted by the notion, she dug the spare pony tail she’d bought at Rito Village and tied his hair back for him.

When Link was finished, he sat back on his haunches and wiped his mouth, his breathing labored. He looked even worse. His face was pale and he was trembling. He pulled the cloak he was wearing tightener against his shoulders and up to his chin.

Zelda wordlessly slipped underneath his right arm and snaked her other arm around his waist, pulling him to his feet. His body was warm… he was burning up. She walked him back to the campfire and helped him into his bedding.

“Here, take this.” She started to spread hers over him when he stopped her. Grabbing her hand, he said,

I’m fine, really. You don’t need to give me your bedding.

Zelda scowled. She was starting to get pissed off.

Why does he care so much about my health but doesn’t give a damn about himself?!

“No! You need it! You're shaking like a leaf right now!”

Link shook his head, gripping her hand tighter.

I can’t take your bed! You’ll get sick! 

“No, I won’t! Just take the damn bedding!” she shouted, her temper flaring.

Link shook his head again.

What kind of jerk would I be if I made you sleep on the ground?!

Zelda was fuming now. Why wouldn’t he listen to her?? It was absolutely asinine to be arguing over an extra blanket when his fever was so high and he’d just puked out what little food he’d eaten!
“Fine. Have it your way.” She snorted and spread her bedding out on the ground, right next to his. She crawled underneath the blanket and rolled over so she was facing him.

“Turn around.”

 He furrowed his brows.

Why?

 She rolled her eyes. “Just do it!” she ordered. This time Link didn’t argue and switched to his other side. Satisfied, Zelda rolled onto her side and scooted over so her back was pressed against his. 

“You better not be complaining over there, if you’d just taken my blankets we wouldn’t have to shack up.” Zelda scoffed. She hoped the harshness in her tone would disguise how flustered this was making her… she’d never slept with someone else before, let alone a boy. She was suddenly aware of every little detail, from the heat from his fever radiating off his trembling body, the ends of his pony tickling the back of her neck, the subtle flex of his back as he breathed in and out. She found herself having to resist the urge to press closer to him, for she had her pride to think about.

She wouldn’t ever admit it to him, but she was grateful when his trembling slowed and his breathing became less labored.

“If you tell anyone about this, I swear I’ll castrate you.” She whispered to what she was sure was deaf ears. Link’s breathing had become slower and softer, so he must have fallen asleep.

“Now that he’s asleep…” Zelda pulled out the notebook she’d confiscated from Link and began flipping through the pages, eager to see the new drawings he made while they were in Rito Village. Again her breath was stolen by how… realistic all the drawings were. The life and love within the lines…

She flipped through the sketches of the Rito shopping or flying through the air, the giant bird rock in the center of the town, even the mountains all around them. She flipped back to the beginning and was shocked at how many pages were filled with drawings and the different conversations they had, it felt like she was strolling through all the memories she had with him, from the moment she first gave him the notebook to now.

She looked over at him, still sleeping soundly. “Things sure have changed between us… huh?”

 She was about to set the notebook back down when a dog eared page towards the end of the book caught her eye.

“What the…?” She mumbled as she opened it up. Her jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe what she was looking at. It was… her. She was staring straight ahead, her lips turned up into a small, devilish smile. Her hair down, tumbling down her shoulders and stretching to the end of the page. Her eyes were shining with a glint that seemed so… alive. Like she was looking at someone… real.

As beautiful as it was, it wasn’t finished, there were still gaps in the shading and eraser marks that weren’t present on any of the other drawings.

“Why is this drawing the only one that he erased stuff on?” She wondered and turned the page, where she saw a small inscription.

Zelda, thank you. What you did for me that day when I told you everything, meant more to me than you could ever know. I don’t know how I could ever thank you for everything you’ve done, but I hope this will serve as the start.

Your friend,

Link

Zelda smiled, she was happy. Happy that he drew this for her, happy she helped him somehow, that she’d done something right for once. Happy that he was going to give this to her, that she'd be able to own something that he created, just for her.

The one thing that didn’t make her happy was that last word. “Friend.” For some reason an icky unpleasant feeling curled in her chest when she thought of that word, coming from him.

“But we are friends… so why does it make me so…” Unhappy was the word for it. The word she was scared to say outloud. Zelda shook her head to clear away those thoughts and reached for her bag and pulled out a brand new leather-bound sketch book she bought for him off of Beedle at the Rito Stable. She’d been putting off giving it to him, worried he might think it was weird. But now, after seeing the effort he put into his drawing, she knew it was time. She was about to put it next to him when she thought of something. She quickly wrote an inscription on the front page and another one on the last page, a secret one that part of her hoped he’d never see. She leaned over him and laid the notebook on the other side of him and stopped short when she caught sight of his face. She thought back to what he told her, about him being the illegitimate prince of Hyrule. She hadn’t had time to really think too deeply about it, but it was pretty significant information. If word got out, he would no longer be considered the heir to the throne and it would pass down to Aryll. So why did he tell her such important information?

“He trusts me.” She whispered, bringing a smile to her face. She felt closer to him, knowing this secret about him that no one else did.

“I wonder which parent he looks more like, his mother or father…” She murmured as she scanned her eyes across her face. Did his mother have the deep blue eyes that he did, the soft sandy hair, the sharp jawline and his smile? Or had he inherited those traits from his father?

Her eyes dipped down to his lips. And for a moment, just a moment, she imagined what they’d feel like pressed against hers. But before she could scold herself, she spotted something.

“Wait, what’s that…?” She noticed a red stain on his chin below his mouth and a similar stain on his fingers. Zelda felt her heart drop.

“Did he vomit… blood?”

Zelda didn’t sleep much that night, she couldn’t stop worrying about him… she’d get up and check his fever, to make sure he was still breathing. What if this illness was more serious than she thought…? She racked her brain for the type of illnesses that would fit his symptoms. Pneumonia seemed to fit the bill, but the progression wouldn’t be this fast… unless?

“Has he been hiding this from me… this whole time?” That to her was a scary thought. How long had he been suffering? And what exactly had he been suffering with?

Part of Zelda felt betrayed, did he not trust her enough to tell her what was going on?

All these thoughts plagued Zelda as she tried to sleep, the only thing that kept her sane was the hope that Link would be doing better in the morning.

But… he wasn’t. When Zelda opened her eyes, he was there. Like, right there. Sleeping on his side, his face inches away from hers. His sandy blonde hair had fallen forward, veiling his eyes. Zelda reached out and slid it back, noticing his skin felt hot and feverish to the touch. Link moaned and stirred in his sleep, shifting closer to her.

“Hey, Link. Link! ” She gently shook his shoulder. She watched his ocean blue eyes squint and open slowly. She watched confusion dance across his face before recognition set in. He blinked at her, waiting for her to speak.

“How are you feeling? Any better?” Link blinked again, seeming to struggle comprehending her question. Then he nodded.

“Good.” Zelda pushed herself out of the bedding and began scurrying around packing up the rest of the camp. When she noticed Link still hadn’t gotten out of the bed, she rushed back over.

“Hey, yo! Sleepyhead, it’s time to go!” When he didn’t respond, she crouched down to his level. His eyes were squeezed shut, he’d fallen back asleep again. 

“Link! LINK!” She shook him awake. Again Link slowly opened his eyes and seemed dazed when she tried to question him. 

“Hey, are you sure you’re feeling better? You don’t look it.” Link nodded and pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Zelda nodded, satisfied.

“Alright, I’ll get you something to eat.” She rushed over to the bag of food and pulled out some milk and one of those oat bars she always gave him when he complained about breakfast. Ideally, she’d like to cook him something, but anything she made would probably make him more sick.

She brought the meager meal back to him and found him slumped against the tree they’d been camping under, asleep. Again. Now Zelda was starting to get worried, she glanced at the sky, it was dark and cloudy, large clouds billowing up into the sky, tumbling unsteadily upwards. A cold wind swept down the road, bringing with it the smell of a storm. 

“Shit, how are we supposed to get to a stable and get him help if he can’t stay awake for 5 whole minutes?” She bent over and shook his shoulders once again.

“LINK! Wake up!” She held the oat bar and milk in front of his face. “Do you think you can eat any?” Link nodded slowly, his head lolling forward and backwards. She definitely didn’t trust that he’d be able to do it himself, so she unscrewed the cap and held it to his lips. He opened his mouth to take a sip when he started coughing violently. Zelda watched in horror as he coughed and vomited up black sludge and dark maroon blood onto the front of his shirt.

“Okay, food is a no.” She noted as she wiped his mouth with the back of her sleeve, trying desperately to keep the panic at bay. 

“Hey, hey! Stay with me!” She shouted as Link’s eyes began to flutter closed again, she slapped the sides of his cheeks (gently), but his eyes would only open for a moment before shutting. Then she noticed it. Zelda felt something cold and unpleasant seize her chest. His eyes… it was as if his pupils were bigger, seeming to swallow the beautiful ocean blue up into a sea of black ink.

“Shit shit shit! Fuck fuck!!!” She cursed. Link was looking worse than she’d ever seen anybody , not only was he trembling violently and his fever felt so high that his clothes and forehead were damp with sweat, but his breathing was shallow and strained and he kept coughing up blood. And his eyes… she’d never seen anything like it.

She rumaged through her backpack to see if maybe maybe she had some medicine or an herb to help him, but no. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. And of course all the flora native to the Hebra region wouldn’t help any of his symptoms. Maybe if she chanced upon a cooling lizard or dragon fly, but those were so rare this time of year.

“Okay, okay, Zelda, calm down! Calm down!” She commanded herself, fiddling with her bracelet and pacing back and forth. “What do we know, let’s see,” She began ticking things off on her fingers, “No medicine, no helpful herbs, he hasn’t eaten or drank anything since yesterday afternoon, and what little he ate he threw up, there’s a storm coming, we’re at least a full day by horse from any stable, he’s in no condition to ride, and I can’t even keep him awake!” She threw her hands up. Despite the hopeless situation, Zelda’s mind began running with ideas, trying to piece together a plan from the options she had.

“I guess I don’t have a choice, he has to ride. It’s not like anyone else will be riding down this road today…” Zelda quickly loaded the baggage onto the backs of the horses and led her horse, Fafe, over towards Link. She threw a blanket and her cloak around Link’s shoulders. She then slipped under his shoulders and practically dragged him over and shoved him onto Fafe. She hoisted herself onto the saddle in front of Link. 

“Here, hold on to me.” She instructed as she grabbed Link’s hands and wrapped them around her waist. She shuffled so he could rest his head on her shoulder, that way he could still sleep.

“Sorry, it’s going to be bumpy.” She turned to Fafe, “Hiya!” And they were off. Galluping as fast as possible. Zelda could feel the pounding of Fafe’s hooves on the ground falling in time with the pounding of Zelda’s heart as the sky grew ever darker, sucking all the light from the sky. She looked behind her, Quincy (Link’s horse) was trailing behind them thanks to the lead being tied to Fafe. She glanced over at Link, he was more or less okay. But Zelda still felt uneasy at his body trembling against hers, and the fact that he still hadn’t opened his eyes. Even when he vomited all over her shoulder.

They’d been galloping at full speed for about an hour when Fafe’s pace started to slow, her coat was drenched in sweat.

“Come on, Fafe! We have to keep going!” She dug her heels in her sides, a pang of guilt like a slap to the face when Fafe reluctantly picked up the pace again. Zelda felt horrible forcing her to keep going, but she was so scared. Scared that Link was so sick, scared that he kept coughing up blood , scared that they wouldn’t make it to the stable in time and they’d be drenched in rain or hail. 

Zelda looked up, the sky was completely covered in a veil of thick black clouds, shrouding the entire landscape in darkness. The storm would hit soon, she’d be lucky if they had an hour before they were–

BOOOOOM!

A lightning bolt hit the tree to the right and a deafening clap of thunder shook the ground. Fafe reared up, sending Zelda and Link tumbling off her. She hit the ground hard, landing on what Zelda hoped was the pointy end of Link’s sheathed sword.

“Fafe, NOOO!” She shouted over the howling wind. But it was too late, Fafe had taken off down the path ahead, Quincy trailing behind her. Zelda shot to her feet, attempting to chase after them, screaming from the top of her lungs. But it was no use, after a few steps a sheet of rain pelted her and the horses disappeared from sight. Zelda was soaked within seconds, her shoes squelching in the now muddy path as she made her way back to Link.

Zelda wanted to break down and start crying when she saw him there, lying on the ground, unresponsive. Her only hope had been to ride to the stables, but that had been stamped out in seconds. 

“Come on Zelda! It’s not over yet!” She slapped the sides of her cheeks and bent down to Link. He was still breathing (albeit shallowly), and she was still walking. She grabbed him and hoisted him onto her back, she’d just have to give him a piggyback the rest of the way.

“No big deal, you’ve gone through worse.” She told herself as she trudged through the flooded path. It wasn’t long before her muscles started burning from the strain, but she forced herself to keep going.

“I’m the Priestess for Hylia’s sake! It’s my duty to protect my prince!” She screamed over the pelting rain and roaring wind, the crashes of thunder and the rasps of her heavy breathing. “You think a little rain is going to stop me! Huh?!? I’ve heard of that fucking saying! When it rains, it fucking pours! That won’t stop me!!” She shouted. Apparently the storm did seem to think that, because the next moment pebbles of hail started falling, hitting Zelda and Link, bruising them, cutting them. But still Zelda pushed forward. The wound in her side that hadn’t completely healed yet (despite her apparent fast healing), started aching horribly. She couldn't feel her arms, her legs, she wasn’t even sure she was still walking at times. But still she pushed herself to keep going. She wouldn’t fail, she’d save Link, even if it killed her. She once again thought of her promise to Mipha, to herself… to Aryll. She’d promised Aryll she wouldn’t hate him, Zelda almost laughed at that. Her feelings toward this boy were so far from hate it was almost insane. In just a few short weeks Link turned from the bane of her existence to her friend, someone she trusted with the parts of her she didn’t like to show anyone, not even Urbosa or Emati, someone she cared about, cared for . He became so much more than someone she was forced to stand beside and protect, he meant something to her… she might have even lo–

All of the sudden another lightning bolt struck the ground in front of them, sending Zelda flying backward. She hit the ground hard, her vision blinking in and out.

“Link…” She cried, her voice barely a whisper. Her whole body hurt, she could barely move. She spotted him lying a few feet away from her. Zelda clawed at the mud, dragging herself to him. Once she reached him, she grabbed his head and pulled him to her chest. She clung to him as the rain and hail pounded all around them, as the wind roared in anger and the thunder crashed. She didn’t let go of him, not even when she felt the pounding of hooves hitting the ground, not even when an intelligible voice shouted to her, not even when everything went black and her consciousness faded into silence.

Chapter Text

The sound of a door creaking open and slamming shut pulled Zelda from a nice dream where she was getting hot n’ heavy with–

With who wasn’t important Zelda decided when she opened her eyes. She was lying in a bed propped up against some pillows in a small bedroom that she recognized to be a stable bedroom, due to the way the roof slanted upwards as most stable roofs were dome-shaped. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with her sore and stiff muscles as she took in her bearings; the room was small but comfy, with a small wooden nightstand near the bed, a nice green wool rug covering the floor, a few wooden sconces nailed to the walls, orange sunlight streamed through the window onto the wood floor, and a handsome young man with dark eyes and curly chocolate brown hair dressed in a forest green tunic and dark brown trousers was standing in the doorway carrying a steaming tray of bacon and eggs. His stoic face brightened with a warm smile when he caught her eye.

“Ah, good morning Priestess! Did you sleep well?”

Zelda didn’t answer, she was trying to figure out where she’d seen this guy before…

“Ah! I got it! You’re the hero!” She shouted triumphantly. The young man’s smile shifted to a smirk.

“Ah, so you’ve heard of me?” He raised a flirtatious eyebrow. Zelda must have given him a look, because he shook his head and smiled, genuinely.

“I’m joking. I know we’ve met before under… unfortunate circumstances. How did the fall treat you?” 

Zelda’s mind flashed back to the jump she and Link made into the moat of the castle as giant miasma hands were ransacking it. It was not a pleasant memory.

“I survived.” Zelda stated plainly. The Hero waited for her to elaborate, and when she didn’t he awkwardly said,

“Right, well, I suppose that’s all one can hope for in these times. Here, I’m sure you're hungry.” He handed her the trey. Zelda immediately tore into the food in front of her, suddenly noticing how weak she felt. She finished the entire plate within minutes. 

Link would’ve finished this much faster… she smiled to herself as she washed the food down with a glass of fruit juice.

Wait, Link!

“Hey, where’s Link?? How’s he doing?? Is he okay?!” Zelda surged forward and grabbed the Hero by the shoulders, a crazed look in her eye. The Hero waited for her rave to end, then calmly grabbed her hands and removed them from his shoulders.

“Rest assured, Priestess. Prince Link is resting in the other room. He was in pretty bad shape when I found you guys… you both were.” He nodded at Zelda, his dark eyes glistening with sympathy.

Zelda leaned back against her pillows, simultaneously relieved and skeptical.

“How did you find us? I thought you were supposed to be at Hyrule Castle fighting off Evil’s Rebirth?” She raised a suspicious eyebrow.

“Ah yes, well…” He was hesitating, not meeting her gaze. “That’s not the best news in the world…”

“Spit it out already! I don’t have all day!” Zelda suddenly shouted, her patience reaching its end.

The Hero paused, taken aback by her rudeness.

There’s more where that came from, buddy…

“Right, apologies. You see, there’s a bit of a problem at Gerudo Town.”

“Problem!! What problem?!” Zelda lunged forward again and grabbed his shoulders.

“Yes, a problem. Queen Hera and Hyrule’s forces and I were camping at the edge of Castle Town when we received a distress message from Chief Urbosa requesting immediate assistance.”
“About what??” Zelda’s mind was whirling a million miles per minute.

Was that why she had to leave the castle all the sudden? What could be happening? Is she okay? Anxiety crept into her voice and thoughts and she began spiralling.

The Hero shook his head. “It didn’t say. Queen Hera sent me to fetch you guys so we could all make our way over there together. Given the severity of the message, she thought it’d be best if Hyrule’s best were there to help. That’s when I found you guys lying in the middle of the road. Nearly ran over you…” he chuckled at his joke, quickly trailing off when Zelda didn’t join in.

“I wonder what it could be about…?” Zelda wondered aloud, trying to disguise the unease in her voice. She tried to tell herself that Urbosa and Gerudo Town were fine, after all, they had the Vai Vure to look after them. If only she’d been able to become a Vai Vure… maybe she could have helped…

“Hey, where are we?” She turned her attention back to the hero, trying desperately to distract herself.

“The Tabantha Bridge Stable.”

Damn it!! That’s still a ways away from Gerudo Town… she thought. It must have been a long ride, I hope Link’s okay…

“Alright, well. I’m going to see Link.” She threw off the covers and stood up suddenly. A wave of dizziness crashed over her, she almost fell forward.

“Whoah, careful! You’ve got a nasty bump on her head from your fall!” The Hero reached out to steady her, but Zelda refused, leaning on the bed post. Once the wave passed, she felt the back of her head and sure enough, a large lump was there, tender to the touch.

“Wait a second…” Zelda looked down at her outfit. This was definitely not what she’d been wearing when she’d passed out. She was dressed in a simple brown night shirt and loose beige pants. She glared at the Hero, accusations in her eyes. 

“Did you–”

“NO!” He quickly interrupted. He cleared his throat, trying to erase the desperation in his voice.

“One of the stable maids took care of that. I wouldn’t dream of such an act.” Zelda nodded slowly, relieved. She then left the bed post and slowly made her way to the door, she could hear the Hero trailing close behind.

“Which room did you say it was?”

He gestured to a room a few doors down. “That one.”

Zelda nodded. It felt a little strange that they were sleeping in separate rooms, after all, they’d been sharing a space for the past few weeks. She reached to open the door, feeling uneasy at their separation and anxious to see him.

She noticed the hero hovering close by.

“I don’t need a babysitter, ya know.” She snorted, hoping this guy would get the hint and leave. She didn’t need a supervisor to watch her talk to her prince.

“Right, of course, I just…” He trailed off and bit his lip nervously.

“You just… what?”

The hero hesitated, “It’s just… I’m worried that’s all, about your safety.”

Zelda frowned, what the heck was this guy talking about? 

“Safety? What do you mean? You think I’m going to trip over the doorframe or something?”

“No, that’s not it…” he paused, trying to search for the right words.

“Well, just… be careful, alright?” He leaned close to her, Zelda could smell something on his clothes… something unpleasant . A spicy scent clung to him, stinging Zelda’s nose. The scent was so familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“He’s not what he seems.” Before Zelda could question him any further, the Hero quickly sped down the hallway.

“Pfft, weirdo.” She tried to shrug off the weirdness, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong here… in fact she remembered the hero saying something similar to her just before she jumped out of the castle.

“Don’t trust him…” He’d said.

“What does he mean by that…? Link isn’t dangerous… at least not to me. Monsters on the other hand…” Zelda recalled the times she’d seen him in a fight with a monster. “Wouldn’t want to be on that end of his sword…” Zelda laughed to herself and opened the door.

She felt her heart skip a beat when she saw him there, sitting up in bed, drawing in the brand new sketch book she’d given him. She breathed and audible sigh of relief when she saw them. His blue eyes, the color of comfort and promises, no longer drowning in inky black. Those beautiful blue eyes brightened above a smile when he saw her.

“Hey! How’re you feeling?” She crossed over and plopped onto the edge of his bed, leaning over to catch a glimpse of what he was working on. Link noticed and quickly flipped it shut. He shook his head disapprovingly at her. He reached for his pocket notebook but Zelda quickly thrust her hand into his. She preferred this way of communicating with him, it felt much more… intimate.

It’s not finished yet! 

Zelda rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the familiar tingly feeling she got whenever he did this.

“Geez, you’re like a superstitious bride on her wedding day.”

Well this superstitious bride doesn’t want you to see his drawing until it’s finished. 

“Whatever, have it your way, Bridezilla.” She rolled her eyes.

Thanks by the way, for the sketch book. Link grinned at her, a goofy grin, like the kind that a child gives on Christmas when they receive a new present.

“No problem. Thought you could use one.” Zelda smiled back, eager to change the subject. “So how’s the fever?” His hands felt normal, not too warm. She scanned his face, he looked better, color returned and the bags were much lighter.

Completely gone. I should be good to go whenever you guys want to leave.

Zelda raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. 

“Yeah, like I’m going to believe that.” She reached forward and slid her hand under his bangs and felt his forehead. It felt warm, but she couldn’t tell how warm. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his.

“I knew it, you’re lying. Again. You still have a fever.” Zelda leaned back and glared at him, the red coloring her cheeks not only from her anger.

Link wouldn’t meet her gaze, he hung his head guiltily.

Sorry, I just don’t want us to waste anymore time. The hero told me Gerudo Town is in danger, I don’t want to be the reason that we might not make it to help in time.

Zelda nodded, this she could understand. But didn’t he understand that he could relapse if he didn’t take care of himself? That she couldn’t focus on anything else but him when he was sick like this? 

But on the other hand they really couldn’t waste time, she didn’t want anything to happen to Gerudo Town and Urbosa, what if they really need their help? Zelda looked to the clock hanging on the wall nearby, 3:30 p.m., she had her excuse.

“Look, I get it. I’m super worried too, but I really think you should rest. We’re not going to be of any use to Gerudo Town if you’re too sick to do anything, and I won’t be any use if I’m constantly worried about your sick ass the entire time.”

Link nodded, running a hand through his thick blonde hair absentmindedly.

“And besides,” Zelda continued after being momentarily distracted, “The day’s almost over, so you and me both might as well use it to rest.”