Chapter Text
The first two days following the defeat of Calamity Ganon had passed in a blur. Princess Zelda - could she still be called princess?- did think that, considering the semi-corporeal state she had been stuck in for a hundred years fending off the most vile evil Hyrule had ever known, she was justified in being more than a bit shell-shocked. She remembered an achingly familiar boy approaching her slowly with blood just starting to dry at his temple and eyes that held the exhaustion of more than just a lack of sleep and smiling at her. Hesitant and a bit afraid but a true smile nonetheless. Oh, how she had missed that smile.
‘May I ask…Do you really remember me?’
That was what she had asked him; her dear, brave knight Link who had overcome so much, all for a life he had not even remembered when he woke in the Shrine of Resurrection. The nod she received in return meant more than words ever could, and when she rushed forward to meet him, relief washing over her in waves and bringing tears to her eyes, she thought for the first time in many years that everything would be alright.
The next few days felt as if they were just an extension of the hundred year long dream state she had been in while keeping Calamity Ganon at bay. Reality did not yet feel quite real enough and somehow everything felt like too much and not enough at the same time. She had been so solely focused on keeping the Calamity at bay that it had deprived her of most other thoughts and feelings. To see it all now…to feel everything all at once again…it was extremely overwhelming. Old friends looked different than they had before, parties and celebrations were wanted, the very landscape itself had even changed in some places from the destruction of the Great Calamity. There was so much new for Zelda to wrap her mind around.
“Although Ganon is gone for now, there is still so much more for us to do…So many painful memories we must bear.”
There was a hill just outside of Kakariko Village overlooking Hyrule field. She had found it the night before and had sat at the crest of it well after dark just watching the landscape below her in the same sort of haze she had been in all day. Now she was back once more, this time with a mount and a saddle bag of supplies, and a dear friend by her side.
“Rebuilding will take time,” she mused, casting a long look over the hills and valleys below, “but I believe in my heart, that if all of us work together, we can restore Hyrule to its former glory.” She smiled and glanced at Link beside her. “Perhaps even beyond.”
He had smiled at her then, and she was struck once again at how much Link had changed. It seemed that this second shot at life, without the same pressures of knighthood, had allowed him to really embrace a side of himself Zelda had only seen in flashes during their time together 100 years ago. She had asked him back then if, given the chance, he might choose a different path. She had not received an answer then, and it had equally perplexed and frustrated her. Now she wondered if it was not a different path that would have made a difference, but the way he was allowed to live along that path. Though she was happy to have him along, Zelda had made it quite clear their first night in Kakariko Village that he was no longer sworn to her now that the Calamity was gone and the Hyrule Royal family dismantled. And yet, her dear knight and companion had chosen to stay by her side despite this.
Zelda drew in a long breath and then released it, squaring her shoulders and scanning the horizon once more in a way that gave her a feeling of something akin to hope.
“Let’s be off.” She said, turning on her heel and marching back up the hill where their horses were waiting. There was much for them to do, and all sorts of plans to be made, but it would all have to start with them if they were to make any difference in restoring the kingdom once more. There was hope and light for the future that Zelda had nearly given up feeling ever again. It shone like a glorious beacon just over the crest of a hill or on the edge of the horizon and all she had to do was run to it.
There was…one final thing, however, which perplexed her.
The white stallion Link had offered to her whinnied excitedly as she approached and she offered a kind pat on his snout as she stopped in front of him to look at Link once more.
“I…can no longer hear the voice inside the sword,” she mused, her eyes flicking to the blade at his back now safely sheathed in its scabbard. “I suppose it would make sense if my power had dwindled in the past 100 years…”
Link only tilted his head, watching her as she thought. The spirit of the Master Sword had saved Link’s life that day all those years ago…She had not necessarily hoped to hear the voice again, but at the same time, she felt as though she had. In a way. Subconsciously, she may have wished for it one last time if only to offer her thanks. Her power now, the sacred power passed down to her by the goddess, if it had truly dwindled, then what did that make her? Hyrule no longer needed a monarch; her position as princess no longer held weight. She was truly just…normal. Nondescript and with endless possibilities ahead of her as she had always dreamed of being as a girl.
“I’m surprised to admit it,” she said as she felt a wide smile grow on her face, “but I can accept that.”
And she could. She truly could accept that. Her smile turned into a chuckle and then into a full, bright laugh as warmth bloomed like a flower in her chest. She had no need for ancient goddess power anymore. The path of her life had been littered with heartache and turmoil the entire way until this point, but now, here, she could cast every bit of it aside and truly live. She could live her own life, one dedicated to everything she wanted to accomplish without any pressures or obligation. It would be difficult for sure - restoring a kingdom was no small task - but she was choosing it and she found, as she and Link mounted their horses and started off towards Hateno Village, that that made all the difference in the world.