#I was hopping Zelink would get me out of it

[legend-of-zelink]

I just tried writing a little fan fiction but somehow I gave Link depression and anxiety but I don’t know how that happened because I went into this with the plan of writing some fluff. I think this says something about me…

#poor link is having a whole panic attack and I don’t even know how I got here #it was supposed to be fluffy I swear! #this is like the seventh time this has happened to me #maybe this is why I stopped writing for a decade #I was hopping Zelink would get me out of it #but who am I kidding Zelink is ALL angst #maybe that’s by fate to just be an angst writer #dang it I’m probably going to give Zelda anxiety too! #I had the most wholesome monologue thought out in the shower and now I’m writing it and it’s just angst #is there something wrong with me? and I THE PROBLEM?! #yeah probably

[needfantasticstories]

Zelink snippet from TBD:

Contains: romance, Gerudo vai set, sudden disembodiment.

AO3

(post BotW, pre LU if I decide to tie it in later)

Zelda sat across from Link, a large omelet divided between them.

“No, your expression looked just like this!” Zelda made her eyes wide with mock terror and her mouth agape, then broke into a laugh, “You truly thought Farosh was about to eat me!”

Link smiled, “I never saw her land on the bridge before, and I didn't know you had the topaz earrings on yet! She came out hours earlier than I expected. I mean, I was still cooking the elixirs when you ran off to the bridge, shouting—” 

“With a back-up pair of earrings for you,” she interrupted with a grin, “I never thought you could put on that rubber fish suit so quickly!” She laughed, “An elegant dance you performed, hopping as you ran.”

“I still can’t believe Farosh let you touch her face. She’s never stopped for me, let alone let me touch her.”

“Maybe it’s because I’ve never shot her,” she winked. 

“Or maybe it's because you’re a goddess. One who would absolutely shoot at her to get your own dragon parts,” he laughed back, “but out of all people, she would mind your arrows the least.”

Zelda laughed, and asked, “Do you think…” her smile mellowed, and she looked aside in wonder, “Do you think they would ever let me…ride them?”

He laughed hard, and at her taken-aback look he explained, “for you, perhaps they’d make an exception again, but I tried riding Dinrhaal once. Only once,” he said, digging into his  omelet, “I had my fire suit too. But I rolled down her entire back, flames everywhere, before I fell a few hundred feet because my glider tore on her scales. I had to replace all the armor and pay generously for a stronger sailcloth. It’s honestly one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. I don’t recommend it for anyone except you…unless…then again, I never tried…” he looked lost in thought, “if I use that in the elixir…” 

She watched him with amused horror, “You really will try anything, won’t you?” And she muttered, “I suppose I’m glad I didn’t see every adventure you had.”

He laughed and answered, “Well, you’ll read and study just about any subject, won’t you? It’s almost the same.” 

“That’s…somewhat true,” she conceded, looking at the looming mountain of books she’d collected alongside his weapons stash, “But my books don’t usually light me on fire.”

“We should find you some more exciting books,” he laughed,“So, Impa’s training. How was it?” Link asked, setting his empty plate aside. 

“Oh, well,” She thought of the least interesting parts she could share without giving it all away, “we talked about my ideas for a school here in Hateno. She liked the idea so much she taught me some of the ancient Sheikah language. Paya even started gathering books for it!”

“That’s kind,” he observed. 

“She is also confident that my… condition… is nothing to worry about, and will fade as I continue to adjust to a mortal form.”

He listened intently. It had happened a few times now, both while they were watching the stars at night on the road home from Laurelin. They’d ridden horses the whole way there and back so she could see the whole road, one she’d never taken. On the road back, they’d stopped at a hot spring where they relaxed and cleaned up after eating. They were getting ready to sleep when they both dipped their feet in the water and watched the stars. Then, she began to glow. He’d taken her hand only to find he could not. He called her name, and she saw herself, and returned.

It happened again just before they returned to Hateno and slept under the stars. She stared at the sky for a long time, then began to glow. This time he was quick to call her name, and at dawn they left for the Kakariko shrine and Impa. 

“I only hope she’s right,” Zelda sighed, “Honestly, I had a terrible dream last night. I walked into the castle on my coronation day, but when I stepped into the sanctum… I just…I disappeared again. I couldn’t hold on to anything. I couldn’t even see the world as I did back then, only darkness.”

Link sighed. 

Silence held them for a moment as they stared at the empty plates. 

Link looked up at her, eyes firm with certainty. “If you were truly going to fade away, you’d have done so by now. I believe Impa.”

“Why do you think that? How are you so certain?” 

“I’m not, but I guess when you go through something big like that, you can lose yourself, for a while, but eventually it all comes back,” he answered.

“Your memories,” she nodded. 

He nodded back, “And that day, when we left the field and walked to the inn, you kept glowing. I didn’t tell you, because I didn’t know what to say. Every time, I thought it was the end, that you would disappear along with the others; but, you came back. That’s part of why I held your hand that whole day. But when we made it to the Inn, you held the slate and fixed it so we could both use it. That's when I knew it would last. You survived, like I did. You saved us both.”

“I think… I know that now. It’s just been so strange, adjusting to a physical body, needing food and sleep, and I suppose Hylia forgets, or takes over when I’m feeling overwhelmed by things,” she blushed.

They cleaned the plates together; him washing and her drying. 

 He paused and looked at her with a smile, “Are you still hungry, Princess?”

Zelda looked at him with curiosity. Weeks ago, after meeting rulers and citizens for days, she grew tired of being called  “Princess” at home too. She had insisted he call her Zelda in private. He usually did, but when he presented an idea or plan that he wanted her to agree with, he would revert to her title. She wasn’t sure if he was aware of his habit. 

“I could eat a little more, yes,” she answered, wondering just what strange meal he had in mind. She hoped it wasn’t monster extract again, but curiosity compelled her. 

“Then could you grab something from my pouch for me?” He held up his soapy hands. 

She nodded and moved to his back.

“Could you grab, uh, …let me see if I remember…wheat, sugar…two apples, and some winterberries?”

Fruitcake! She grinned and opened the pouch. She had learned a trick to getting items quickly by simply thinking about them, which had proved invaluable in the wilds as Link guarded the slate. Not even Purah had learned her trick yet. 

 “Oh, I can certainly manage that,” she laughed, and her thoughts rushed. It had been a few weeks since they had shared fruitcake with Teba and  ———‘s family. Little Tulin had eaten half of it before they even cut it! But Zelda had already prepared another. Oh, how she missed eating it with her mother and father. Before the Calamity, Lady Urbosa used to make it for her whenever Zelda visited…how she missed her Gerudo surrogate mother…

“What’s this?” She said in confusion. Instead of the wheat she intended to grab, out came a sheer, silky blue fabric. 

“Oh! Uh, yeah, definitely not that,” Link blushed as he saw her holding up his Gerudo veil.

“Is this what I think it is?” She laughed, and took out the rest of the set, “It’s beautiful. Link, is this for me?” she held it up, “Hm, for some reason, it’s a little big,” she laughed at his deepening blush. 

“You know all about it already,” he laughed and quickly dried his hands. She’d seen so many of his journeys, he’d learned, and while it felt less embarrassing that she already knew, but he still could not help feeling a bit warm. 

“I couldn’t have looked away from the Hero of Hyrule sneaking into an all-women capital,” she smiled, “You disguised beautifully. I’d love to see you wear it again,” she held the clothes up to him and nodded in approval. 

“Would you?” he replied, taking the veil. 

“Indeed,” She smiled like a child asking for a toy, her eyes big, “Purely for research, of course. The sociological and philosophical implications of—.” 

“If you want to see it that much, I guess I’m compelled. And will you promise not to document this research?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

She said quietly with a smile, “In memory only, I swear. You shall remain an anonymous participant.”

He saw the childish joy on her face, stunning and contagious. He smiled back, “Alright, for your research.”

He went upstairs and double checked all the windows. Then he carefully put on the whole set, even adding a pair of earrings to complete the look, knowing he’d get a bigger laugh. 

He came down to find a surprise: a Sheikah warrior, exactly the Princess’s size, washing berries.  

“Oh, we have a visitor?” He asked her.

The masked Sheikah turned and laughed. 

“Oh! You look stunning!” Zelda said, examining him. she turned herself around and smiled, “And what do you think?” She stepped back and held out a stick of sugarcane threateningly in place of a knife, striking a fighting pose.

“We’ll, I’d never challenge you in a cook-off,” he laughed and grabbed a shield of the Sheikah people from the wall for her to add.

She held it uncertainly at first, but finally hoisted it up and posed with the sugarcane again. 

“You look fierce,” Link said. She could probably cut someone with that sharp sugarcane tip if she chose to.

“You mean that,” she said with surprising sincerity, setting the shield and sugar cane aside, “Thank you,” she said, and hugged him. 

Link held her in return. He had no desire to move. They lingered a moment, beyond simple gratitude.

“I guess we should get on with the cooking. I won’t make you stay in this,” Zelda said, and touched his veil. He released her, but she stayed near, reached up, and slowly unclipped his veil.  

Link smiled. Her blue eyes had caught him like magic. Mesmerized, he gently pulled down her Sheikah mask, revealing her gentle smile. She was studying him, he realized, as she drew a little closer.

He drew nearer too. His pulse raced.

She moved a loose strand of hair behind his ear, and let her hand rest on his shoulder, then pulled him down to close the small gap remaining between their lips. 

He met her kiss. 

She stroked his neck, and he caressed her hair as they kissed. 

Catching his breath, he pulled his face gently away, “I’m…I’m no prince. I don’t want to harm you, Zelda, or make things difficult for you, or the kingdom, or…,” he let her go.

She gently pulled him close again, and looked at him with terror and hope, “I will take no other,” she whispered. She brushed away the hair that had fallen over his eyes, and smiled, “I am already yours.”

He set his mind free, and kissed her, closed his arms around her, pressed her beautiful body into his, and she did the same. 

They left the kitchen for the stairs, leaving a trail of discarded shoes and weapons behind. 

She put out the candle, and they sat on the bed facing each other, caressing each other’s faces and gently massaging one another’s arms and hips. They slowed, their kisses drawing long. They cooled a bit, and helped each other undress slowly. 

As Zelda’s Sheikah top dropped from her chest, she began to glow.

She gasped, and shivered. He wrapped her in a blanket and took her in his arms again until the light faded.

“Let’s talk to Impa in the morning,” he said, holding her tight, terrified she really would disappear this time. She nodded, and for the first time they shared the small bed.

#legend of zelda #loz breath of the wild #breath of the wild #link #the legend of zelda breath of the wild #zelda #zelda botw #princess zelda #zelink #zelink botw #romance #zelda fanfiction #linked universe #eventually

[adrift-in-thyme]

Congrats on 200 followers!! That's a lot!!

For my request, can I ask for some 100% cannon oot zelink secret marriage where Link is doing something absolutely ridiculous just to get to give Zelda a kiss?

Tysm Lou!! 💚💚 And YES you absolutely may! 100% canon oot Zelink marriage, my beloved

Cuccos | OoT Zelink | G-rated

Zelda is halfway into reading the first of many boring documents when she hears a scream.

She jolts upright, dropping her pen on the desk. Multiple more terrified cries follow the first, and she rises, snatching her rapier from where it hangs on the wall.

Heart pounding in her throat, she rushes to the door, prepares herself for the worst, and throws it open. Then, she stops short, feeling somewhere between befuddled and immensely annoyed.

The castle isn’t under attack at all, at least not in the sense she supposed it was. There are no armed soldiers, no monsters. No, the only combatants present here are hordes of cuccos.

The birds are everywhere. They flap up and down the hallway, pecking at the feet and heads of anyone and everyone, squawking angrily the entire time. Clouds of feathers float through the air after them, and Zelda waves them away as she steps out into the chaos.

“Your Majesty, watch out!” a maid shouts just in time for Zelda to hop out of the path of destruction of a particularly furious cucco. It speeds off, screaming its grievances loud enough to be heard in Goron City.

A councilman runs by, waving his arms wildly to keep away the two birds flying around his head. Five others ran along the ground after him, aiming for his ankles. Zelda watches him go, a laugh bubbling up within her.

“Oh, this is terrible!” Someone shouts in between cries of pain. “Who could’ve done such a thing?”

“Someone with evil intentions, no doubt.”

A familiar voice carries over the ruckus and Zelda turns to see Link rushing down the hallway.

He skids to a halt before her, a deadly serious expression on his face. If she didn’t know him quite so well, Zelda would have missed the twinkle in his eyes. She lifts an inquisitive eyebrow, but his facade doesn’t budge one bit.

“We must get you somewhere safe immediately, my Queen,” he says, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder and nudging her back toward her study.

No sooner have they entered the room than he turns and quickly shuts the door behind them. When he looks back at her, all pretenses of business are gone, replaced by a massive, mischievous grin.

Zelda crosses her arms, a knowing smirk on her face. “Please tell me you’re not the one behind this invasion.”

“Why, Your Majesty, I’m a loyal knight of the crown!” he scoffs, in mock offense. “Why would I choose to flood the castle with those cursed birds?”

She plucks a stray feather off his tunic. “Hmm, I don’t know. Perhaps to get a moment alone with your wife?”

“Perhaps.” Link draws her into his arms, and Zelda smiles, reaching up to cup his face. “Perhaps, I grew tired of us being interrupted every time we’re together. After all, falling out of windows and hiding in closets gets a bit old after a while.”

Zelda chuckles. “Well,” she murmurs, running a gentle thumb along his cheek, “I don’t think anyone will bother us for a while.”

“Good,” he replies and kisses her.

#trin writes #200 followers celebration #loz #oot #zelink #fluff #link #zelda #100% canon oot zelink secret marriage #lou my beloved

[fatefulfaerie]

Mortality

Zelink Week 2021 prompt #7/7 @zelinkweek2021

Word Count: 3,684

Incarnation: Breath of the Wild 2 (pre)

Additional Prompts Followed: Forsaken Fates, Lost Eternities

Inspired by this art by @morniae

A big thank you to @braidy-maidy and @linktheacehero for beta-ing!!

He wasn’t expecting a fairytale reunion as his horse trotted slowly, arriving at the Forgotten Temple with next to no fanfare. All sorts of geniuses from every race of Hyrule had gathered to study this place, to pull it from its lost state and unearth its secrets, to discover the reason behind its eternity and maybe even why its fate was to be forsaken and forgotten to all of history.

Link left his horse with the many others that were being cared for on the left side of the canyon and began to navigate the ruckus on foot. It seemed crowds of scientists and historians alike were out here securing their tents, making food, and languishing in a well-deserved rest. Link felt as if he stuck out like a sore thumb with his small brain, but no one paid him any mind, not even her.

In fact, she was nowhere to be found.

Perhaps he was expecting some fairytale reunion as he peered his head around every Sheikah, Goron, Rito, Zora, and Hylian in sight. He didn’t care that there was no fanfare, in fact, that may have made it even harder to spot her if it were a big deal that the hero of Hyrule had arrived. Thank Hylia these ruins were more interesting, that no crowd had congealed into a true tidal wave of obstacles. He missed her dearly, after all, no matter how short a time two weeks was in comparison to a hundred years.

He made his way all the way to the shrine in the back when he finally saw her. Zelda smiled when she spotted him and bounded over, clutching the Sheikah Slate.

“Thank the goddesses you’re here,” she said, pecking his cheek. “They haven’t made anything good for dinner in days.”

She walked right past him. Link’s mouth popped open as she practically flew to another inscription of the ruins being studied. Purah, following close behind Zelda, approached Link as he looked over.

“Two weeks she hasn’t seen me and I get a colder welcome than ten thousand year old ruins.”

Purah clicked her tongue and began to cross past Link.

“Sounds like you better get cooking.”

And so he didn’t see his blur of a girlfriend until dinner, when he was serving a ladle-full of meat stew to everyone who passed by with a bowl, salty chunks of meat and sweet carrots swimming in a broth that radiated a scrumptious scent for at least a mile.

The last person he served came up wearing a forehead beaded with sweat and sticky blonde hair from a hard-days work. As she approached, she lightly hit the empty wooden bowl against her hand, and pursed her lips taut with eyes almost apologetic. Her steps shuffled in the sand.

“Look who it is,” Link said before she could muster an apology. He looked more amused than upset, anyway. Zelda sat on her heels in front of the cooking pot and handed him her bowl.

“Sorry,” she said, “it was just a busy day. We think we’re close to finding--”

Link and Zelda’s eyes met. They both knew what she was going to say. The entrance to the caves. The hidden reason why this expedition was such an extensive operation. Only Purah and Impa knew the true reason, after all. Everyone else was just here for research. Bless their hearts.

They knew they needed to find it, but not finding it meant more of an excuse to not go down there.

Yet.

To not let go of the illusion of peace.

Yet.

To not face their mortality once again.

Not yet.

Link looked down to pour soup in her bowl. With everyone else fed--and Zelda more than likely went to the back of the line on purpose so that she would be the last one to eat--Link poured himself a bowl as well. They soon sat down in front of Zelda’s tent.

“When are Impa and Paya arriving?” Link asked.

“Tonight,” Zelda replied, but she swallowed hard, regretting taking another spoonful with a “mm”. 

“Oh my gosh I almost forgot!” she said enthusiastically. “You should have seen it, Link. The reunion between Purah and Robbie? They just marched up to each other, both short, old, and wrinkled, said each other’s names and walked off. It’s hard to believe they used to be lovers.”

Link choked on his stew.

“What?”

“Did I not...mention that?”

Link was still coughing, eyes tearing up.

“No?” He croaked, before coughing a couple more times. “You’d think I would remember something like that.”

“Believe me I wish I didn’t,” she said, before changing the subject. “Oh yeah, how did the meeting go?”

“Horrible,” Link said between spoonfuls.

“What do you mean?” Zelda inquired, slightly disappointed. She had hoped diplomacy would work.

“If I had known that Kohga had an eight year-old hiding somewhere in that hideout, I never would have attacked him,” Link started. “Apparently we needed him to keep his son in check. The kid is so hell-bent on revenge that he didn’t even read the treaty. He’s determined to hunt us down until the end of our days. Even his guards think he’s taking it a bit far. I could see it in their faces when Sooga was going on and on about his forces being strong and ready to fight. Those poor men and women are tired.”

“I thought the Yiga wore masks?”

Link shook his head.

“Not anymore,” he replied. “Sooga wants them to be proud of themselves, whatever that means. Goddesses, that whole meeting was like getting a child to eat their vegetables. I’m pretty sure Riju was about to slap him at the end, the little runt recycling the dogmas of the Yiga that are ten thousand years old now. Even when I ask him why he said such things about Hylians, he doesn’t give a straight answer. He knows less about history than I do and I had amnesia. He’s just been conditioned, raised to hate.”

“That’s unfortunate, but not hopeless,” Zelda said. “I’m sure Riju and the rest of the Gerudo will be able to work it out if the entirety of the clan no longer backs him. Is there any danger until then?”

Link shook his head and swallowed his current spoonful.

“Not yet,” he said once he could. “The only reason they haven’t attacked here is because he wants to find the entrance of the caves as much as we do. He didn’t say it outright, but he’s waiting for us to do it for him.”

“That’s not frightening at all,” she said sarcastically. “We’ll have to increase security when we do eventually go down there, make sure he doesn’t follow us.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Zelda,” Link said. “He’s only eight years old, and he’s pretty short and lean.”

Zelda smiled as she sipped her soup.

“I remember a little eight year old like that who could best adult knights,” she said with a smirk. “People say he saved Hyrule.”

“Really?”

“Never grew an inch after eight years old though.”

Link scoffed.

“I can and will pour the rest of this stew over your head,” he said as he held it up. Zelda laughed, but put her arms out in defense.

“Don’t you dare!” She exclaimed. She stood up and began to back away “I’m a princess!”

“Not anymore,” Link said, forgetting about the soup and tackling her. They wrestled playfully, rolling down the rocky slope and laughing joyfully until they stopped suddenly in a gulch, Zelda hovering over Link and sharing with him panting breaths.

“I win,” she said.

“By chance,” Link argued. He brought a hand up and lightly coaxed her head to lower. It, however, did not take much effort, as Zelda more than willingly met his lips to his, exploring his mouth and enjoying the sensation. She felt her cheeks warm. Kissing was all they had ever done, so being flush to him was frankly exhilarating, but she didn’t mind it in the slightest.

They both heard the reigns of horses, the clatter of a covered wagon, the jingle of Kakariko-style bells, but it blended too much into the rest of the ruckus for them to think anything of it.

“Paya, you brought us to the wrong place,” Impa said. “I wanted to go to the research expedition, not a mating ritual exhibition.”

Zelda pushed herself off Link and attempted to fix her hair, composing herself as best she could. Link stood up, but he let his messy hair be.

“H-hey Impa,” Zelda said, walking towards her oldest friend. Despite her feeble frame and short stature, Impa hopped off the wagon like a child. “How was the trip?”

“Long,” Impa said, bruskly.

“She’s a bit cranky,” Paya explained as she stepped off and started to untie the two brown horses from the wagon. “Where do these go?”

“Over there,” Link said, pointing over to the mini-stable on the left of the canyon. “And your tent is the one next to ours. If you’re hungry, there’s probably some stew left.”

“Please,” Impa said, allowing the young man to lead the way to the appropriate cooking pot. She even let him help her walk when the terrain wasn’t the smoothest.

They had left Zelda alone, but it gave her the opportunity to help Paya with unloading the wagon, and to catch up with one of her newer friends before they all turned in for the night.

Zelda was surprised to find Paya as reserved as she was when they first met, but after a bit of grilling she admitted to Zelda that Impa had told her of their true purpose here, that sealing Calamity Ganon may not have been an ending they could trust. Her red eyes were sad and apologetic for learning the secret but Zelda wouldn’t have it, insisting to Paya that it was okay, that it won’t be a secret for long, and that Hyrule was going to be okay.

That last one was a lie Zelda thought about well into the night.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Zelda.”

He opened his eyes to the dark tent, the edge where tan cloth met a small patch of dry grass.

Link couldn’t believe a whisper was what woke him up. Still half awake and already turned away from the center flap of the tent, he kept his eyes closed, hoping he could doze off again.

“Zelda, wake up.”

Someone gently shook Zelda’s foot, and Link guessed the voice belonged to Paya.

Link felt Zelda’s arms slide away from holding him and he tried to slow his breaths. They both would feel so guilty for waking him.

“What is it?” Zelda asked, the rustling that followed suggesting that she got out of the tent. “Should I wake up Link?”

Paya must have shaken her head, or said something to suggest that it wouldn’t be necessary, because that was the last Link heard of the conversation.

He inwardly wrestled with the decision to get up anyway since he was, in fact, awake, but his comfort insisted otherwise and he drifted off before he made up his mind.

“Link.”

The sunlight was bright, even through the dulled filter of the canvas tent.

He felt Zelda’s hand on his shoulder, and he rolled over at the gentle prompt. Link found her green eyes.

“We found it,” she said. “An entrance to the caves.”

Link closed one eye and scrunched up his face. Zelda knew he did that when he was both tired and confused but with his messy bedhead she saw it as adorable.

Link moved his arm to the other, pinching his own skin somewhere around the wrist and, once he felt pain, his entire body sighed exasperated. He faced the top of the tent and closed his eyes far too tight to go back to sleep.

He opened the blue gems one at a time and took a deep breath.

“I assume we are leaving as soon as possible?”

Zelda nodded.

Link didn’t say another word when he got up and started getting ready, almost ignoring Zelda and how she sat on her heels in her own silent and undetectable bout of sadness. He even left her there in the tent but Zelda let him have his space, let him breathe his last breaths in this wild, fresh air, let him hear the birds and see the sun before she dragged him down to hell, back down to war, back down to fear and panic and worry and trauma and everything he had worked so hard to heal from.

It wasn’t until they were several steps into the caves that his stoicism really started to wear at her. One statement and all of him was left in the tent. He just…walked, looking forward, not saying a word. Zelda hated it as much as she did a hundred years ago. She tried to remember that he wasn’t really mad at her back then, so he couldn’t be mad at her now…

Right?

She looked over at his profile again.

Right?

“Link?”

The hooves of the large, blue ox behind them clapped along.

“I, uh…” she began when he gave no response. “I’m sorry about all this.”

“It’s not your fault,” Link said quickly and briskly.

Zelda’s lips parted. Her pacing slowed to a halt. If she hadn’t stopped pulling the ox along, it would have rammed into her.

Link looked over his shoulder when he realized he was the only one moving, turning around completely to see Zelda with a slightly furrowed brow.

“Why don’t I believe you?” Zelda asked.

He decided to look elsewhere as he hugged his arms close, the stone ground, the cavernous chasm above them, the rocky wall, anywhere but Zelda.

“I’m not mad at you, I...” he said quietly, “I’m just feeling a little off, okay?” He said quietly. “I had trouble breathing when I left the tent this morning.”

Zelda’s expression softened. She closed the distance between them and attempted to comfort him with a hand on his shoulder.

“You could have told me that,” Zelda said. “I’m nervous too. We have a right to be. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Yet Link still refused to look up.

“I almost collapsed, I felt so weak,” Link said. “The dread, the fear of facing it all again, the thought of losing you…it gathered, I felt it here.”

He placed a hand on his chest and he started to pant. His fingers began to clutch at the brown leather, the blue cloth and he stumbled to his knees.

“Link!” Zelda exclaimed as she grabbed him under his forearms, kneeling down with him. His breaths were shaky and fast, and he stared down at the ground.

“Link,” she repeated. “Link.”

The next sound from Link was the combination of a spurt of fresh paint and a croaking frog, warm vomit spilling from his mouth in smelly chunks of beef and carrots. It was instinct that Zelda stood up with a yelp and backed away with arms floating up, the gathering of vomit ending up mere inches from her toes. If she had stayed where she was, her pants would have been covered in Link’s partly-digested dinner.

“Oh gosh, Link,” she said once she got over the shock, rushing to his side and drawing circles on his back. He didn’t react though, only staring at the mess on the floor with his weight on his hands.

Zelda’s eyes stung with tears as she ran her fingers through his hair, some drops even lopping onto Link’s mess. She held him as best she could while still giving him the distance he needed, but that could never stop her from the occasional kiss on the side of his head and whispering sweet assurances of love into his right ear.

After a couple fruitless lurches of his back and neck, Link hurled a second time. As ironic as it was for her to hope for anything from the goddess anymore, Zelda prayed it was the last one.

“Zelda,” he said between heavy breaths. It was apparent his lungs were exhausted. He coughed a couple times.

Link looked into Zelda’s eyes, finally, although they veered towards horror, the green marbles conveying desperation for how to relieve this poor young man.

“I know,” she said, trying to smile. She wiped away Link’s tears. “I know.”

Wary of the mess near them, she brought him into a proper embrace, rocking him back and forth and holding him in such a way that she was sure he knew he was held. She wasn’t sure how secure he could feel on the cusp of embarking into danger, but she would try her best.

“I’m scared, too,” she said. “Down here is an untouched wild that was left alone for a reason we know not of. Nothing is scarier than the unknown, especially for us who have been hurt again and again by the unknown. Hope has betrayed us too much for us to readily depend on it, but we have to try.”

Link looked up, tilting his head to see her.

“How?”

Zelda lips parted. She stammered speechlessly. He seemed so hurt by her hopefulness.

“Together,” she said, attempting to fake her confidence. There was still a small question mark at the end of her statement that she didn’t mean to expose.

Link stood up and faced away from her. He crossed his arms.

“Do you know how long a version of Ganon has been terrorizing Hyrule?” Link asked. “How long he has been reincarnating?”

Zelda, who was now sitting on her heels, shook her head.

“No,” she said honestly.

“Do you know what makes us any different from the people who tried to stop him in the past?”

“No,” Zelda repeated, again, honestly.

Link nodded.

“I don’t either,” he said. “And that scares me.”

Zelda stood up.

“Link, we—”

“I can’t lose you!” Link exclaimed, turning around quickly. “I ignored it, okay?! All this time when you talked about there being caves, there being another journey, I ignored it! I put it off! I casted it aside! I focused on us.” His voice broke. “I thought that was all there would ever be…”

He placed his hands on his hips and collected himself.

“This morning it all collapsed,” he said. “Right before my eyes. Everything I could have ever hoped for.”

Zelda scoffed.

“Do you think I was happy to have found these caves?” Zelda asked rhetorically. “To have been woken up in the middle of night and told that this place I saw in my nightmares was indeed real, that I was to investigate a threat that hasn’t been faced in ten thousand years of Hyrule birthing warriors more capable than you? I had to keep a straight face, but Link, I wanted to scream so loud that even Lurelin could hear me!”

Zelda released her residual anger at the world in heavy pants of her breaths. Once she sighed herself calm, she snagged a small rag from the heaps of resources strapped to the patient and by now likely deaf ox.

Zelda stepped forward and washed Link’s stunned face clean of vomit.

“Then I thought of our future,” Zelda continued. “I was angry because coming down here means jeopardizing that. I scorned myself for how selfish that was. I told myself that this wasn’t about me and you, that this is about a peaceful Hyrule. That helped but...do you want to know what really helped?”

“What?” Link asked.

“The people of Hyrule want to live in peace, and so do we. They want to raise families without worrying about another Calamity.” Zelda smiled. “I think we do too, when the time comes.” She perished the thought. That was a long while down the road. “But this isn’t just about a peaceful Hyrule, it’s about our peaceful Hyrule. I’m no longer a princess, distanced from others by a pedestal, and you are no longer a knight, distanced from others by a sword. We actually feel like a part of Hyrule this time. Of course we loved the Champions, my father, but we aren’t acting as Hyrule’s weapons anymore. We don’t feel like cards to be discarded or pawns to be knocked off in a game of chess. All of this is voluntary. We can’t blame a kingdom or a calamity this time. The possibility of losing each other is already giving us stomach-churning guilt because no one told us to go down here. We came down here because we want to preserve peace for all of us, preserve peace beyond even our lifetimes.”

Zelda placed a hand on Link’s cheek.

“And we will,” she said. “We have to believe we will. If we don’t think we’ll get out of here, then there is no chance we will. This is our first on-our-own decision and it’s a damn risky one. We can always turn back if--”

“No,” Link interrupted.

Link’s hand went to hers and his thumb stroked her soft fingers.

“No,” he repeated, however shakily. “We are going through with this. I just need to process it, that’s all. I didn’t think we would actually be doing this. I think we both held on to the fantasy of peace. I definitely held on to it too much.”

He finally let her touch soothe him.

“I’m here,” Zelda assured him softly. “I’m right here.”

She took his hand and placed it on her heart, the rhythm of which pulsated through his own veins.

“I’m not supposed to be alive right now,” Zelda said. “I should have died an eighty year old queen about thirty years ago but here we both are, young and spry. These caves are filled with dangers we don’t know, but with my heart in your hands and your heart in mine I know we can dare to do the impossible again.”

Link met his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. He tried to breathe the way she was, to feel her calm and to adapt it into his own body.

“Okay,” he said. “I’m ready.”

#zelink #zelink week 2021 #zelinkweek2021 #zelda #link #forgotten temple #botw #breath of the wild #botw 2 #breath of the wild 2 #botw sequel #impa #paya #purah #robbie

[keichanz]

Safe

i realize that moroha doesn't have a human night/period of weakness or whatever. for the sake of this oneshot, let's pretend she does.

written for my dear friend @mamabearcat ​ ❤️❤️❤️i know it's a rough day for you and i hope this brings a smile to your face. love you!

Read on AO3

@lavendertwilight89 @born-for-eachother @mandirox89 @arcprz @bluejay785 @malditamigs @xfangheartx @bluehawaiicat @zelink-inukag @clearwillow @wenchster @anabananaxq @superpixie42 @midnightsilver16830 @heathersmusings @theinuyashareader @danycontreras90 @liz8080 @blairex @lordofthechips @itzatakahashi @sailorbabydoll92 @raisinraven @sticky-llama-perfection @dangerouspompadour @digital-art-monster @joaniemae @boostyourmind-blog @anxietyaardvark @simply-zerah @nsr0716 @caribmiko @witchygirl99 @mamabearcat @redflamesofpassion @tuxedochevaleresse @umacaking @hnn-wnchstr @juliatheanimelover7 @lemonlushff @eringobroke @youarenotmyhomelandanymore @hikaruwrites @horriblehowl @lady-dark-69 @sssuperbartola @eternalnight8806-3 @morganashimi83 @shnuggletea @pinkpigeonstudio @memusicmuse @cyncyn981 @yurawiththegoodhair @kagometaishostory @chickpow @ladyphoenix0711 @the-rebel-alchemist @nartista @soliska @cammysansstuff @karina-inuphantom

“Mama?” 

“Hm?”

Pausing in the task of cutting up the behemoth fish gifted to her courtesy of the village headman for the successful delivery of his second grandchild she’d overseen just that afternoon, Kagome cast a brief glance at the four-year-old sitting by the fire before continuing to prepare that night’s dinner. And several other dinners thereafter. 

“What is it, baby?” she asked, a little distracted as she pushed aside one section of freshly chopped up meat and started on the next as a small frown furrowed her brow. The thing really was huge. Where the hell had Kinso gotten it? Had to be some kind of mutant from freakin’ outer space or something...

“Where’s Papa?”

Kagome’s thoughts were immediately derailed from mutant alien fish at her daughter’s question and for the second time her hands stilled what they were doing. The softness of her tone coupled with a hint of something Kagome couldn’t quite place prompted her to lay down the knife and give the child her full attention, grabbing a damp rag to wipe her hands with as she turned around with a gentle smile.

Sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest, surrounded by toys both gifted by Shippou and handmade by her father, Moroha’s gaze was fixed on the fire as she idly poked at it with a stick. When she noticed her mother’s gaze on her, however, she lifted her head and turned her attention to the older woman, wide eyes meeting identical brown. 

Kagome resisted the urge to frown as she answered, “Papa’s away with Uncle Miroku getting rid of some bad youkai that are causing problems in another village, sweetheart. They left early this morning.” Her smile widened and she tilted her head. “Did you forget because you were still half-asleep when he said goodbye?”

Moroha wrinkled her nose and stared back into the fire. “I remember,” she murmured with a slight pout. “I just...thought he’d be back by now.”

Realization dawned. Ahh, so that’s where this was coming from. Kagome’s expression softened in understanding and she moved forward to kneel down and tenderly sweep her daughter’s hair away from her eyes. Moroha looked up at her again, dark eyes wide and pleading for something Kagome was unable to provide.

“Well,” Kagome started softly, gathering her words carefully. “Sometimes these trips can take a long time, or even longer than what was originally planned. Remember that time we went to visit Kouga and his sons, but we arrived a day late because of that unexpected snow storm?”

Moroha blinked and then nodded.

“It’s the same thing,” she continued. “Maybe something unexpected happened that’s making Papa be a little later than normal. You never know.” 

The four-year-old digested that in silence and then gave a single nod of acceptance a minute later. She still looked troubled, though, and Kagome smiled a little sadly as she ran a hand through her daughter’s hair.

“Are you missing Papa?” she asked, her voice soft. 

Biting her lip, Moroha hesitated before giving another short nod. It was obvious she was trying not to cry and Kagome’s smile widened just a little. Her tiny tough girl, wanting to be just like her papa. 

“I miss him, too,” Kagome revealed and tucked a strand of ebony hair behind her daughter’s small ear. “I miss him every time he has to leave, but you know what?” She waited until Moroha blinked up at her in silent inquiry before assuring, “I bet he’s on his way home right now. He knows what tonight is, baby, and we both know that he’ll do anything in his power to make it in time. He hasn’t missed a single one yet; I doubt today will be the time he does.”

She smoothed back Moroha’s bangs and smiled again, hopping to assuage her lingering doubts, but when there was no change in Moroha’s expression, Kagome was starting to wonder if this went a little deeper than she’d originally thought. Her smile dimmed and her brow furrowed with concern as her eyes roved her cherubic face.

“Moroha? What’s wrong, sweetie?” Kagome settled down beside her and dropped her hand to rub up and down her back. 

Moroha squirmed a bit, worried her bottom lip, and when she lifted her head once again to meet her gaze, Kagome abruptly sucked in a sharp breath at the look on her daughter’s face. There was genuine worry etched clearly on those dear features, her little brow furrowed as she continued to bite down on her lip. But what truly broke her heart was the honest to god fear that swam in those beloved eyes, so like her own, and Kagome’s chest constricted.

If she hadn’t already accurately guessed the true reason for her upset, Moroha’s next words solidified her suspicions.

“If Papa’s not here,” her little girl began and the audible tremble in her voice had a very real ache developing in Kagome’s chest. “T-then who’s gonna protect me? It’s not safe without Papa here...right?”

With every word that Moroha said, the knife dug a little deeper into her heart and Kagome felt the burn of tears prickling the back of her eyes. Her throat suddenly felt tight and she swallowed several times to dislodge the lump that had formed there, but to no avail. God, their little girl really thought she wasn’t safe without her father here to defend them, and while Kagome should have felt a little offended and insulted that she apparently couldn't rely on her mother to protect her, she also understood where she was coming from. Out of the two of them, Inuyasha was obviously the strongest and Moroha had witnessed him on numerous occasions effortlessly dispatching some rogue youkai that had the balls big enough to enter the village, or when they were traveling and they were unexpectedly attacked. Kagome herself contributed with arrows if necessary, but tasked with keeping their daughter safe from harm, she hardly assisted most of the time and let her more than capable husband deal with the threat himself. 

So it stood to reason at her young age Moroha would believe if her strong papa wasn’t around to protect her, she wasn’t safe. So no, Kagome didn't fault her one bit. If anything she blamed herself for allowing her to think she wasn’t safe with her own mother, but she sought to rectify that right now. 

“Oh, Moroha,” Kagome murmured and swallowed again as she reached for her daughter and pulled her into her lap. “Oh, baby, no. No, don’t ever think that you’re not safe, okay? Mama will protect you, no matter what.”

Small hands fisted in her robes as Moroha curled herself up against her with a quiet sniffle. Kagome held her close, crossing her legs and settling her daughter into the cradle of them as she gently rocked her, pressing her face into her hair and kissing her head.

“Sweetheart,” Kagome began and pulled back enough to gently cup Moroha’s face in her hands, urging her gaze to meet her own. Her heart nearly broke at the tear tracks on her cheeks and tenderly Kagome wiped them away with her thumbs as she offered a trembling but reassuring smile. 

“Moroha, just because your father’s not here doesn’t mean that you’re not safe, okay? I’m here, and I promise I will always protect you. I’ll never let anything happen to you, ever. And you have Aunt Sango, Uncle Miroku, Kohaku, and even Grandma Kaede. They all love you just as much as your father and I and I know they would protect you too, if something were to happen when your father isn’t here. So don’t ever doubt that you’re not safe, okay, my love? I’ll protect you. I promise.”

She sealed her promise with a kiss to her daughter’s forehead, as much an act of comfort as it was to hide her cracking facade. Kagome closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to stave off the tears she could feel building behind her eyes, her arms tightening around her precious little girl.  

“Promise?” Moroha whispered a minute later and Kagome’s heart constricted again. 

“I promise,” Kagome repeated and rained kisses upon her daughter’s face until soft, watery giggles reached her ears. Smiling in relief, Kagome leaned back and smoothed a wayward strand of raven hair away from Moroha’s face. 

“Do you understand?” Kagome gently pressed, needing to hear her say it. “You’re always safe here, Moroha. No matter what. Okay?”

Sniffling once, Moroha looked up at her with great brown eyes, nodded, and Kagome was gratified to see that the fear and worry had left her face. She heaved a mental sigh of relief and couldn't stop herself from pressing one last kiss to her forehead.

“Okay, Mama,” the quarter-youkai said. “I understand.” She paused. “Does that mean Papa will be back soon?”

Kagome could have laughed. “I’m sure Papa will be back before you know it,” she assured and tapped her daughter’s nose. She was rewarded with another giggle. “Now there’s still a couple hours until dinner time, so why don’t you go outside and find the twins to play? They were here looking for you earlier when you were taking a nap.”

Finally, finally her little girl gifted her with a brilliant smile and several enthusiastic nods of her head. “Okay!” 

Hopping to her feet, Moroha placed a wet kiss on her mother’s cheek before bounding out of their home, shouting for Kin’u and Gyokuto at the top of her lungs. 

Blowing out a breath, Kagome slumped back onto her hands and let her head fall back onto her shoulders as she closed her eyes now that that crisis was averted. 

“Alright, dogboy,” Kagome muttered a minute later as she climbed to her feet. “You’d better be on your way here right this second or so help me god…”

Sighing, Kagome wrinkled her nose, shook her head, and got back to cutting up the gargantuan fish for that night’s dinner, however this time her thoughts centered around her hanyou husband and their daughter rather than alien fish from outer space.

Hours later, just before sunset, Kagome was outside hanging up laundry on the clothes line she’d had Inuyasha construct for her and there was still no sign of said hanyou anywhere. Of course it wasn’t particularly unusual for him to be so late, but she was more worried about Moroha when she’d come inside for dinner and discover that her father still had not returned. 

With a frown and unable to shake off the anxious feeling that had taken root in her gut, Kagome pinned one of Moroha’s tiny kosodes to the line and worried her bottom lip as she straightened out the fabric. She knew her husband, knew he’d made a silent vow to himself to always be here during this particular night because he never wanted his daughter to feel as he had in his own youth. She was positive he’d do everything in his power to make it in time, just as she’d claimed to Moroha hours earlier, so she refused to entertain the thought that he was lying in a ditch somewhere, bleeding and unconscious and helpless--

“When I get my hands on you dogboy…” Kagome muttered darkly to herself as she just a little viciously tossed one said dogboy’s kosodes onto the line.

“Sounds promising,” a familiar voice rumbled in her ear as strong arms circled her waist from behind and Kagome gasped. 

Dropping the pair of hakama in her hand, Kagome spun around and was greeted with the sight of warm amber eyes and a fanged grin. Momentarily forgetting her ire toward her husband, Kagome beamed and threw her arms around his neck to pull him into a long welcome-home kiss that he eagerly reciprocated. 

“Mmm,” Inuyasha hummed against her lips and stole another kiss. “Miss me, wench?”

“Hmm…” Nuzzling his nose with hers, Kagome smiled and dug her fingers into his hair to cup the back of his neck. “Maybe. You had me worried for a minute there, dogboy. You’re late.”

“Mm.” Inuyasha grunted and buried his face in his wife’s neck, inhaling her scent and holding her for a minute, relishing the feel of her in his arms. Granted, it had only been just that morning when he left his family, but he hated being apart from them for any stretch of time. 

Happy to have her beloved hanyou home, safe and in one piece, Kagome sighed and simply held her husband, letting him breath her in, relax, and wind down after what she assumed was a successful slaying mission and the long journey home. She smiled; she knew he’d make it.

Even if he was cutting it a little close this time and giving her premature gray hairs.

“What happened?” she questioned after another minute or so, knowing he had to have some explanation as to why he got back so late.

Heaving a sigh, Inuyasha reluctantly pulled away but kept his arms wrapped loosely around her waist. “It was definitely unexpected. The ‘youkai’ that was terrorizing the village actually turned out to be a forest deity trapped in a curse and after finding this out, me and the monk had to travel all over hell just to find out what happened. Long story short, we talked to about twenty different people to find out how to break it, used a boat to get to some small ass island in the middle of nowhere, uncovered a buried artifact, and smashed it to bits.”

Kagome stared up at him with wide eyes, not expecting such a turn of events. “Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“Was the deity freed?”

He shrugged. “Assume so. When we got back to the village to collect the payment - the monk’s insistence, not mine - it was nowhere to be seen, and a few miles away there was a large area with blown back trees and scorched earth.”

Shaking her head, Kagome nonetheless accepted the explanation and tipped him a smile, lifting a hand to seize a furry ear and rub the soft flesh. She was immediately rewarded with a low rumble of approval and her smile widened.

“Well, I’m just glad you’re home,” she said and Inuyasha gave her one of his rare smiles, the one he reserved only for her and his daughter. And speaking of…

“She missed you,” Kagome murmured. Then she paused, and Inuyasha must have seen something in her expression because he frowned slightly.

“What happened?” he prodded and Kagome sighed before giving him a condensed version of what had happened earlier.

Predictably Inuyasha did not react well to the news, his ears flattening into his hair and the guilt was writ clear as day on his face. He grimaced and Kagome smiled a little wryly as she switched to his other ear, seeking to comfort him. 

“Stop,” she said before his thoughts could get away from him and was expecting the scowl that crossed his features. She shook her head. “You’re here now. You didn’t break your promise and that’s what matters.”

As she continued to massage his ear, Inuyasha’s scowl gradually lessened until he was glaring a tad mulishly at his wife and her cheeky grin told him she knew exactly what she was doing.

“I hate it when you do that,” he grumbled and then sighed, his expression relaxing. 

“No you don’t,” Kagome chirped and Inuyasha snorted. Laughing softly, she released his ear and reluctantly stepped out of his embrace. 

“She outback?” he asked as he let his arms drop to his sides, his nose confirming what he'd just asked seconds before his wife answered him.

“Last I checked on her,” Kagome replied and stooped to pick up the hakama she’d dropped. 

Inuyasha grunted his acknowledgment then caught her chin to pull her into one last lingering kiss. And another. And another. Until finally Kagome giggled and had to push him away and he brushed by her with a low chuckle. 

Walking around their home toward what could be considered a backyard of sorts, Inuyasha found his daughter as he knew he would, kneeling barefoot in the dirt and constructing...something out of rocks, sticks, and what looked like several of Sango’s missing dishware. 

He withheld a snort of amusement and crossed his arms as he leaned against their hut, a smile lifting the corners of his lips despite himself. His child was a little thief and he wasn’t sure if he should be proud of her apparent stealth or disappointed at her...well, thievery. 

Oblivious to her father’s presence behind her - unsurprising given the time of day - Moroha continued to build whatever it was she was making, humming quietly to herself as she stacked the clay bowls, now covered in dirt, on top of the rocks and filled them with pebbles. She muttered something about bugs having somewhere to sleep and now Inuyasha wondered if he should be worried instead of proud or disappointed. 

He was content to watch her for another few minutes as the sun sank lower into the sky until finally he decided to make his presence known.

“Whatcha buildin’ there, kiddo?”

Gasping, Moroha shot to her feet and spun around so fast she knocked down her rock, bowl, and stock formation but she hardly noticed. Spotting the figure clad in red cleaning casually against the wall of their home, grinning at her with warm honey eyes, the quarter-youkai released a squeal of pure delight and darted towards him with a mile-wide smile spreading across her face.

“Papa!” she shrieked and Inuyasha knelt down just in time to catch her in his arms as she barreled into them.

Holding her tight against him, Inuyasha stood with her in his arms and buried his nose in her hair, breathing in his little girl’s scent and letting it wash away the last of the tension that seized his muscles. Kagome’s soothing scent was only half of what he needed; his Moroha completed him in ways he hadn't even known he needed until she was born.

“I missed you,” Moroha murmured into his shoulder, her small arms locked tight around his neck and Inuyasha closed his eyes as he tightened his arms around her. 

“Missed you too, babygirl,” he rumbled and kissed her temple. “Sorry I’m late. Forgive me?”

She nodded against his shoulder, refusing to relinquish her hold or pull away even an inch. 

“I’ll always be here to protect you, Moroha,” Inuyasha vowed, his voice a low, earnest rumble. “No matter what, I’ll keep you and your mom safe. Now I need you to do something for me, okay?”

Moroha shifted against him and turned her head so she could peer up at his face with wide eyes, dark and beautiful just like her mother’s. She nodded once, always happy to do something for her papa whenever he asked.

Inuyasha nodded in approval. “If there ever comes a time that I’m not here and the village is in danger, I need you to trust your mom to keep you safe. She’ll do anything to protect you, just like I will, so you never have to worry about not being safe. Okay? Can you do that for me?”

His daughter blinked up at him, her eyes wide and slightly awed, but then her little face grew solemn and she nodded again, lifting a wee hand to gently pat his cheek.

“Okay, Papa,” Moroha agreed and he caught her small hand in his own. “I can do that. I know Mama will protect me, just like you do, and Aunt Sango, and Uncle Miroku, and Kohaku, and Gramma Kaede.”

Inuyasha smiled down at his little girl and pressed a kiss to her hand. “That’s my girl,” he murmured and Moroha gifted him with a brilliant smile, happy that she made her papa happy. 

“Alright,” he said, sniffing the air once, twice. “I think your mama’s got dinner ready, so how about we go inside and get some grub? Dunno about you, but I’m starving.” 

He tried to eat her hand to prove just how starving he was and Moroha’s gleeful laughter echoed into the night as the sun finally sank below the horizon.

Kagome looked up as her husband walked into their home with their fully human child in his arms and she smiled at them both before walking over to smother her daughter in kisses just to hear her laugh. Inuyasha took the opportunity to steal another kiss of his own from his wife before all three of them settled down by the fire to eat the seasoned fish and rice and the parents were content to listen to their daughter fabricate a story about the humongous fish the headman had given them.

Later, dinner put away, the fire crackling softly below a gently bubbling kettle for tea, Inuyasha sat against the wall with his daughter fast asleep in his arms and wrapped securely in his suikan. The only noticeable difference of the loss of her youkai blood was the lack of claws and fangs, but otherwise she looked completely the same. 

Clawed fingers tenderly brushed away tendrils of onyx hair as golden eyes stared down at the slumbering child, wondering, soft, the love he felt for her so obvious it nearly put Kagome in tears. She didn’t bother offering to put her to bed; if he’d wanted, Inuyasha could have done that himself so she knew he was content to sit there holding their sleeping daughter and honestly, she couldn't blame him. Kagome loved holding her, too, but watching her husband as he caressed their daughter’s face, brushing back her hair, staring so lovingly at her as she slept on...it was truly an experience and she had to wonder if Inuyasha felt similarly when watching her hold their daughter. 

Abandoning the cup of tea she was in the middle of making, Kagome crawled over to them and cozied up against her husband’s side. Inuyasha shifted and tugged her closer with an arm around her shoulders, dropping a kiss to her head as Kagome let it rest on his shoulder with a content sigh. 

Together they watched the steady rise and fall of Moroha’s chest, listened to her even breathing, reveled in the powerful, overwhelming love they had for her and for each other as they sat in their home, warm, happy, and most importantly, safe. 

#safe #inukag #inukag fanfiction #inuyasha fanfiction #inuyasha #kagome #moroha #oneshot #keizfanfiction

[snidgetwidgeon]

My excitement rivalled Impa’s here when @jabberwockyface brought this scene from my story to life. It is a true delight and I adored the addition of the cuccos!

I have been working on my longfic for quite some time now and was only intending to publish when complete, but this art has me so pumped I thought I’d drop a ‘trailer’ XD

Please enjoy Chapter 1 of Insurrection, a ZeLink story set mainly after the fall of Calamity Ganon

The Horizon

Impa woke early and sighed as she looked up at the large wooden beams in the ceiling of her house. One of the small, lidded lanterns hanging there, usually alight with a soft, golden glow, had gone out during the night. No matter, she thought. An oil refill would just be one of the mundanities to be dealt with over the course of the day. She had always been an early riser, though for the past two decades or so, her aged bladder was demanding she be up at sparrow’s fart to cater to its whims.

She was nestled atop her three red pillows which were stacked like a pyramid. This was where she liked to stay these days, meditating and even sleeping. Her granddaughter, Paya, had long since had the upstairs bedroom to herself.

Rising to stand atop her pillow tower, with quite a few bodily creaks and vocal sound effects, Impa hopped down. She gently removed her large round hat and placed it in the vacated spot, then saw to her ablutions before a morning walk. She poodled around the ground floor of the spacious living quarters, which also doubled as the town hall. Having the largest house in the village was one of the perks of being the Elder. Her seating platform was centrally located toward the rear of the room and looked out across a spacious, open floor plan. Dark blue mats decorated with a diamond pattern sat neatly aligned in rows and served as a comfortable place to sit when village meetings or festive gatherings took place. Her pillow tower looked straight down an aisle, lined with a blue rug, toward large double doors that led outside to the veranda.

Set in a free standing wooden frame behind her perch was a canvas tapestry. Its earthy color palette and tribal art style depicted a very specific history of the Kingdom of Hyrule. There was a large monster embroidered in the center, and it was flanked by what seemed to be a divine person on the left, and a warrior on the right. There were hundreds of machines surrounding them and in each corner were strange animals ridden by pilots of varying races. Due to the nature of the design, it was unclear if they depicted any of the races residing in Hyrule today.

The platform was flanked by two staircases which rose to the back of the house and then turned on ninety degree angles to meet in the middle at the top. To the right and left of her platform on the outside of the stairs were four posts topped with frog guardian statuettes. They bore the red Sheikah symbol on their bellies, an open eye drawn in a minimalist style with a central tear. Various banners and lanterns hung from the rafters, and low shelves lined the walls. Like the other dwellings in Kakariko Village, furnishings and household items were sparse as most Sheikah lived a simple and humble life, free from clutter.

Impa regarded her wide and wrinkly face in the water basin that sat on one of the low shelves. The reflection reminded her of how much time had passed. She splashed the sleep out of her eyes and made her way upstairs to check on Paya, as she did every morning. She favored going up the right staircase, so she could come down the left in a satisfying circle.

Reaching the second floor, she went over to the bed against the back right corner to look upon her sleeping granddaughter. The young woman usually slumbered well into mid-morning as she tended to pray until very late at night. Impa pressed her forehead against Paya’s and their matching, but different colored Sheikah eye tattoos touched. Though she hadn’t meant to cause a stir, Paya yawned and whispered, “Grandmother?”

“Shhh, it’s still very early, dear,” Impa cooed. “Go back to sleep.” She wanted to tell Paya that she stays up much too late praying outside to the village guardians. But she knew the young woman was doing her best to help bring success to their courageous Hero. He needs all the help he can get, she thought earnestly.

Satisfied that all was well with Paya, she headed back down and paused to view the large painting which hung above the low shelves on that side of the house.

The verdant marsh it depicted was spotted with just a few trees and a grey range of hills in the backdrop, topped by fluffy clouds in a blue sky. Toward the rear of the landscape, to the left and right of the center of the canvas, were two weathered stone ruins indicating that this area had not always been a marsh. Spread out in the foreground were some strange looking, bell shaped machines. The one closest to the viewer on the left side of the frame had a single eye-like protrusion in the middle of its bucket-shaped head.

They were all partially sunken into the marsh, becoming overgrown by time. The furthest one had a single, tentacle-like limb sticking out from its wide base, as if it had once been going in that direction. Overall, they seemed oddly out of place- yet also part of the greater scenery. Impa sighed and wondered, like so many times she had sighed in this spot before, if that fateful marsh would ever again reclaim being just a beautiful field.

Time to get moving before breakfast, she decided as she headed for the front door. She had just started to open it before realizing she had forgotten her hat. She tut-tutted herself as she headed back to claim it. One had to look proper if going outside. Her large, straw hat had a very wide and circular red brim which swooped up into a tall metal ornament that brought it to a point. The Sheikah symbol was prominently featured in red on the front. It also had five chains hanging from the brim with axe blade-esque ornaments that swayed metronomically as she walked. Placing her beloved hat on her head, she headed outside.

She was greeted by a bright, blue summer sky and squinted as her eyes adjusted to the golden glow of sunlight spilling over the valley walls. She never tired of this tranquil vista. Tall, steep mountains with weathered, rounded peaks flanked her view to the right. These were aptly named the Pillars of Levia. She followed a flock of ducks with her gaze as they flew over the mountain vale in a perfect v-formation. They passed a lone peak on the left which towered above the forest on the hill behind the village. This small mount had a more flattened mesa at its peak rather than a weathered mound like the others. Another group of birds she couldn’t make out through the bright sunlight swirled around the top.

As she descended her long front steps, she felt content, taking in the sounds and smells of her home. The breeze which blew through the valley from the west carried with it the scent of the grassy slopes and the wooden chimes that were suspended from ropes between posts all around the village, were gently teased into their soft rattle by it. The cuccos added their crow to the morning chorus.

At the base of the steps was a wooden-framed, open gate. She tilted her head slightly to the side so that as she passed under, the ornament of her impressive hat could avoid catching on the three banners hanging there. On either side of the gate were some young plum trees. The lovely white blossoms they produced in spring were something she looked forward to seeing every year. These plum trees, as well as the others scattered around the village, acted as the residents’ protectors, just like the frog statuettes. They also symbolized endurance and prosperity, two values which Impa had instilled in her people for the better part of a century.

She nodded to the guard who kept the late night and early morning watch at her gate. He was adorned in standard Sheikah attire, a pair of beige trousers and a tunic with a high back collar and red trim. A dark blue undershirt could be seen that matched the blue diamond-shaped pattern on his straw hat. His hat was much different than Impa’s in that it appeared to be a woven disc of straw that he folded over his head and strapped under his chin. It also sat prominently forward to allow for his high, white bun to stick out at the back of his head. Some red chopsticks poked stylishly out of the side of his big bun.

Cado returned the nod with a short and respectful bow. “Lady Impa.” He waited for the Village Elder to take several paces before retrieving his quiver from against the gate and followed at a polite, but observant distance. Though her residence was always guarded, he felt he should be extra vigilant about her safety when she ventured out, especially since there had been an unexplained theft not too long ago.

He checked over his gear as he followed Impa through the canyon pass that led north out of the village. On his back he carried a darkwood Phrenic Bow, good for long distance accuracy. On his waist was sheathed an Eightfold Blade, the traditional, single-edged sword of the Sheikah people, and one of the remaining vestiges of their ancient technology. Etched at the blade’s base was the tell-tale eye symbol, believed to offer the user an extra layer of spiritual protection.

Impa walked along at a slow but comfortable pace, enjoying the sound of the breeze whistling through the canyon walls. As she approached a large open gate, one of three marking the entrances to the village, she paused at the sound of a rustle. She looked back at Cado who had drawn nearer, with one hand reaching for the handle of his blade, ready to react to the disturbance.. She merely smiled and shook her head. After taking another step, a lizard dashed out of a tuft of grass and made its escape up the canyon wall.

The north canyon did not lead out of the village as such. After about a ten minute walk, the narrow walls fanned open to a natural platform which offered a scenic, if slightly restricted, view of Hyrule due to the high cliffs on either side. The serenity of this place and the breathtaking view overlooking Hyrule had inspired the community to recognize it as a sacred site. Here they paid their respects at the graves of their loved ones. Unlike Hylian graves, which tended to spread out over an area, the Sheikah piled narrow, upright stones on the left side of the clearing. They were placed without any inclination to create neat rows, and their jumbledness added a certain charm. The only markings were caused by the passage of time, demonstrated by how weathered and overgrown with moss they were.

To the right was a single, large tree, its shade offering a welcome respite to those who visited during the hottest hours of a summer day. Just past the tree stood a simple wooden fence. A precaution for children, or perhaps for those foolish enough to get too close to the drop off overlooking Lake Telta.

At this time of the morning, the sun had yet to reach the clearing, so it was still in the shadow of the cliff walls. Impa slowly shuffled up near the fence, her head bowed in respect as she passed the graves. To offer Impa privacy with her morning prayers, Cado held back just before the canyon opened up.

Goddess Hylia, she prayed, keep Princess Zelda safe within your womb. Lend her your strength so that one day, with the aid of the chosen Hero, she may overcome and banish the Calamity. Even now, as over the course of a century, the Princess was trapped in the castle, bound in an endless battle of wills with the malice of Ganon. Impa would never forget the night the poor young woman had come to the village in ruins.

In those days, she had been assigned as an Adviser to the Royal Family of Hyrule. Her duties in this capacity focused mainly on heading the research into various ancient Sheikah technologies. Her older sister Purah and another scientist, Robbie, ran their own divisions under her guidance. Princess Zelda had eventually joined their ranks as well after she showed a great aptitude for scientific research. During her spare time outside of devotions, she possessed an unrivaled curiosity for a wide array of subjects, which was beneficial to the research teams. Having such a high connection within the Royal Family meant that their work was well funded continuously.

Their efforts were in answer to a prophecy that had been delivered to the Royal Family. It spoke of the revival of a legend known as The Calamity, a primal evil which had risen to plague the land ten thousand years ago. King Rhoam was hoping to use the same means their ancestors had to defend against the possible return of The Calamity. The more they uncovered, the more they realized the legends were true.

Relics, which came to be known as Divine Beasts, were unearthed in various locations across the land. Impa’s teams began an intense study of these artifacts, as well as the many Shrines that dotted all of Hyrule; though they were, as yet, unable to ascertain how to gain access to their inner sanctums. They also uncovered the smaller, autonomous Guardians. Robbie took a great interest in these contraptions and even brought some back to working order.

But Calamity Ganon had outsmarted them.

~~~

As the sun was setting, a young Impa and her team of scientists were concluding their experiments for the day and packing up under the stone pavilion in the castle courtyard. Suddenly, a large rumble echoed around the area, followed by a short earthquake. Everyone fled out from under the roof in case it collapsed but immediately froze in shock upon seeing the castle being engulfed in a swirling pink and black miasma. It circled around and took the shape of a boar-headed demon. A cloud continued erupting into the sky and started to spread, mirroring the overwhelming sense of dread everyone was now feeling. No, we’re not ready!

Before they had time to react, globs of malice erupted from the castle and began to rain down on the ground. The creature roared menacingly to the sky from the epicenter as if to announce its freedom and dominion over all. Impa watched a large glob soar over them like a meteor. She turned northwest to follow its trajectory. Is it possible it was headed for Rito Village?

Someone screamed and she snapped back around to see that the stationary Guardians they had been working with had become active on their own. They were glowing magenta with an evil energy, their heads spinning back and forth as if they were calibrating. Her instincts kicked in and she ordered everyone to grab the most important things. “Take the research! We must get it safely to Kakariko!” At once, people ran in all directions trying to gather their most important work.

Purah ran over to her younger sister and looked at her frantically. “Impa, the Guidance Stone!”

Impa closed her eyes and bowed her head. “We should only save what we can-”

Purah grabbed her arms and Impa looked back up at her in surprise. She was hardly ever so serious. “Anything we take from here will be useless junk unless we have the Guidance Stone to access it. This is not a discussion. It’s a necessity and you know it.”

“Fine. But just us. I’m not risking anyone else going in there.” She looked up towards the high pointed towers of the castle, some now covered in a dark ooze.

“Fine,” Purah acquiesced and started to walk away. “Just us, and Robbie.” Robbie, who had been stuffing schematics into a satchel whipped around at the sound of his name.

Impa grabbed her sister’s arm and pulled her back. “What did I just say?!” Suddenly, one of the Guardians stopped spinning its head back and forth and now focused its single blue eye on the Sheikah women, who were too wrapped up in their stare-down to notice.

Robbie paled. “Oh... shit!” They had seconds. His eyes darted around for something, anything... There! A Royal Guard, easily identified by his red tunic under a gold embroidered dark blue tabard, was running their way carrying a large, half-bodied shield.

The Guardian began emitting an ominous beeping noise and a red laser targeted Impa. Robbie pounced on the guard and grabbed his shield away. “Sorry, my man!”

Purah gasped when she saw the red laser on Impa’s shoulder, and utterly terrified, yelled, “Jump back only when I say!”

Impa’s eyes widened in fear as the beeping got faster. Robbie scrambled over to them as the Guardian made a piercing noise, and blue energy shot out of its eye with the intent to destroy. There was a massive ricochet as Robbie parried the energy back at the Guardian with his pilfered shield. Its eerie pink glow fizzled out and it blew to pieces, cogs and gears flying everywhere.

“WOOOOO!” Robbie exclaimed. “Yeah!” He pumped his fists and stretched out a bit. “Man, I saw the Champion do that once and have been wanting to try it ever since.”

Impa, who had ended up huddled on the ground with Purah behind the thrill-seeker, now stood and pulled her sister up as well. “Right, so it’s just us, and Robbie.”

She watched as the rest of the Royal Guard’s unit arrived and set upon the other stationary Guardians before they also had the chance to start working. Robbie returned the shield to the guard he had ambushed and instructed him on the technique to parry the blasts. “The shield should withstand a number of hits this way,” he explained.  

Impa’s mind was a flurry of questions. Was the miasma poisonous? How did it take control of the Guardians? Could they make it to the Guidance Stone?

The Royal Guard unit had now taken out the other three legless Guardians, but she feared it was a small victory. The research team tried to settle now that the immediate danger in the vicinity was over, but every noise set them off, causing them to pause and look around like prey at a watering hole.

She then heard members of the Garrison yelling from the Western Gatehouse, “They’re coming out of the pillars! DOZENS!”, “Hylia above, they’re headed for the town!”

Her stomach flipped over as she thought of those monstrous contraptions overtaken by evil. The very machines that were supposed to protect them were instead destroying everything in their path. All those people...

They had to get out. Now.

Her researchers started to panic after also hearing the desperate cries. She had to focus again, lead them. She addressed them in her authoritative tone, “Everyone, stay calm. We’ll make for the docks. The south exit is... compromised.” Impa looked over to see the Royal Guard leaving to heed the cry from the Western Gatehouse.

“Sir Karane!” she called out. She ran over from under the pavilion to hail the Knight who had just led the assault on the stationary Guardians.

Karane held out an arm to stop her men. When the last one fell into line, she turned a pair of steely blue eyes toward Impa and crossed the same arm over her chest, tilting her head forward in respect. “Adviser.”

Impa regarded the soldiers, some of whom seemed itching to get to the battle. Luckily, she had a better fate in store for them. “The ancient tech research team requires an escort. It’s imperative we get this material safely out of the castle.” Karane spared a glance at the scientists stuffing papers and artifacts into any available containers they could find.

“We have a possible escape route via the docks,” Impa continued. Best case scenario is obtaining some horses and a cart for this gear,” Impa continued.

Sir Karane bowed curtly and then turned sharply to address her unit, her red braid whipping behind her. “You heard her men! We are now on special assignment for the Royal Adviser! Three of you with me,” she gestured to the men on her left. “We’re going to commandeer ourselves a ride. You four, make sure the way is clear to the docks. The rest of you escort our scientists!” She held an arm out to Impa and they clasped each other’s wrists.

“Thank you, Sir Karane.” Robbie and Purah came up beside Impa and she nodded their way to indicate to Karane that they would be working together. “We must retrieve the Guidance Stone. We’ll do our best to meet you there. If these things find you,” she looked towards the felled Guardians, “then leave without us!”

“I’ll give you an hour.”

Impa nodded. “If we don’t make it, there is another stone at the Royal Ancient Lab. I imagine they are doing the same and taking what they can.” She regarded the remaining regiment. “Can you spare your fastest guard from this lot and have them instruct the other team to rendezvous with us in Kakariko?”

“A solid plan, leave it to me.” Karane walked away and yelled, “Konba! I hope you’ve had your rushrooms.”

Impa then left her team in good hands as she went to fetch the Guidance Stone with her sister and Robbie; who was grinning, as he’d acquired himself another shield.

It was a rather large blessing that when they arrived at the docks, the research team was still there, unharmed. It seemed like they got ahead of the Calamity just enough to slip out the back, though the same couldn’t be said for the residents of Castle Town. Impa tried not to think about it as she helped shove the cart with the Stone and its activation pedestal onto the boat.

They made it across the river in the two boats which had been moored at the docks, and battled their way up the sloped bank. The ones who weren’t pushing stared blankly across the river at the scene of destruction unfolding before their eyes. The ones who didn’t want to see busied themselves with helping. Once they reached the grassy Irch Plain, they moved quickly without resting to scale the Elma Knolls. These would at least provide them some cover before heading east. It was unsettling to be so close to a pillar behind the castle, but it appeared that, at least for now, the invasion was focused on Hyrule Field.

After retreating to her village, which was currently safe in the mountains, Impa had sent out a search party for Zelda. She stood in the same spot near the graveyard under the tree, looking in horror at the castle across Hyrule Field. It was still engulfed in a swirling black and magenta miasma. The giant pillars, the existence of which she was aware but had never seen before they had risen out of the ground, were angled toward the castle. They had originally been meant for protection and housed the Guardians that, in the past, defended Hyrule. But all the Guardians had been turned against them, and the pillars were now menacing rather than a comfort. She thought they looked like the fingers of a demon come to enclose the castle in its grasp.

At the base and to the left of the ominous cloud was a wide, orange glow. Castle Town was destroyed; engulfed in flames.

~~~

When Zelda was later escorted into Kakariko, Impa discovered she was there on a mission, and had come bearing a request. She was a bit weak on her feet, but refused rest and clean clothes. Even though she was muddy and her white prayer dress was in tatters, she would not be deterred.

The worst had befallen the Kingdom and she just had one hope: that their Hero would return one day, as she saw when the Master Sword spoke to her. She sat in Impa’s old house at the time, bathed in a soft yellow light from the lanterns. She explained to Impa and the other scientists, her friends, Purah and Robbie, “Link must regain control of the Divine Beasts! Ganon has taken them from us. He controls them now and… and the Champions were… they’re gone.” Her hard stare and exhaustion made it look as if she was going to cry, but at this point she was out of tears, trying desperately to replace them with determination.

Impa felt a weight pool in her gut at the news. So the malice she had seen heading for Rito Village was meant for Vah Medoh, and spelled Champion Revali’s doom. She thought of each Champion, having returned to their Divine Beasts, only to find a deadly trap. She was silent for a moment, unsure; wondering if she should offer comfort or if that would merely be a distraction at this point. Her sister was fiddling with random items she could reach on the table, but rather than be annoyed, she knew it was Purah’s way of dealing with stress.

Zelda then gave a weary sigh and continued. “There’s a chance that Link may not retain some of his memories while in the shrine, so I have an idea of how to help him when he wakes.”

Impa nodded and silently agreed with Zelda’s sentiment. It was when he wakes, she thought, not if he wakes. It was best to be thinking positively in such dire circumstances.

“Purah,” Zelda looked at Impa’s sister, who stopped braiding the frayed threads of the tablecloth as if she’d been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. “I sent the Slate with Link and the Sheikah who found us to the Shrine of Resurrection. He’s going to need it when he awakens.” She paused and then added, “For guidance and access.”

She thought back to her discovery of the towers underground, the existence of which she had not yet been able to discuss with anyone due to trying to keep her research a secret from her father. He would have her only praying to awaken her power, rather than try to help in any other way. So she had been biding her time, not knowing that it would soon run out.

Now, there was only time to act, so she focused on the most important things and didn’t bother to elaborate. Telling Purah and Robbie about the towers was pointless anyway since only Link, as the chosen Hero, would be able to access them.

“I need you to take the contents of the Compendium out of the Slate and keep them in your Guidance Stone. Hopefully the images, or visiting the places where I took the pictures, will help him remember things.”

Purah agreed and nodded, “The Guidance Stone will keep them safe.” She stood from her chair and looked over at Robbie. He seemed to be lost in the shadow of self-loathing, head down and fists clenched at his knees, all previous bravado gone. “Robbie, let’s go see to Link. He’s not going to heal himself.” Robbie looked at Zelda sadly as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t bring himself to. Purah snapped his attention away. “Quick smart!”

They made to leave the house and prepare their things when Zelda called out, “Purah wait! The last picture in the Compendium. Can you delete it but keep a paper copy like the one you made of us before? When the Champions were alive and happy. He should remember that last. It was where he… where I…” She tried, but couldn’t bring herself to talk about what had just happened, “it was where we parted,” she finished, while lowering her eyes in emotional defeat. “I don’t want him to be overwhelmed right after he returns to us.”

Purah blinked her red eyes, suddenly feeling trapped into a sense of responsibility that felt heavier than putting Link into an untested machine. That’s going to be fascinating- Focus Purah!

“I… of course I can make a copy, Princess.” She looked furtively over to Impa. It was one thing for the Guidance Stone to hang onto something in its database, but she, personally? She thought of the state of her workspace at the Royal Ancient Lab, which probably didn’t look so different now that it had most likely been reduced to rubble.

Impa knew her sister well and fought off a massive eye-roll in the presence of the Princess. “Once you are finished in the Shrine, bring me the picture and I will keep it safe for Link,” she offered reassuringly.

Purah visibly relaxed. “Sure thing, Sis.” She prodded Robbie to open the door as he was nearest.

Robbie slid it open and before stepping out, softly spoke to Zelda. “Good luck.” He couldn’t manage much more than that.

Purah looked back at Zelda, looking so small and forlorn, and stuck her chin out with conviction. “Zelly,” she said, “You give that Ganon bastard what for. And don’t get dead!” She followed Robbie out and the room suddenly felt heavier in her absence.

Impa placed her hand on Zelda’s shoulder, and though the young woman was doing everything she could to remain brave and strong, she was shaking. Impa was certain that there was a good amount of fear behind that shaking, but if any part of it was due to lack of nourishment, she wasn’t having it. “Let’s get you something to eat and drink before you go.”

Zelda’s head snapped up. “No, I should leave right away. I’ve already stayed too long. The more time I take, the farther the Guardians can go. They’re laying waste to the Kingdom!”

Impa tutted, “As if I’d let you face Ganon on an empty stomach. What would Sir Link say!?”

~~~

Since that day, Impa prayed for her Princess, overlooking a horizon that never changed. She eventually married, had a child, and then a grandchild. And though her life had known massive loss, and this sacred ground where she stood was for mourning, it was also a place of hope. Hope that one day the Hero would return, and things would change. As more time went by, she became uncertain if she would see Link again. She had started to seriously consider passing Zelda’s message on to Paya should he wake after her death.

But he had come, and with him, an ever-changing vista as he reclaimed the Divine Beasts from Ganon’s control one by one. His successes were revealed to her when she would come out here to pray. The Beasts aimed their divine light as red beams towards the castle from their respective perches across the land, ready to fire when the Hero finally faced his evil foe.

Now there was only one hurdle left, though it was certainly the highest. Before Link was awake, Impa had given most of her prayers to Zelda. But since his return, she prayed for his boundless courage to succeed in the fight against Calamity Ganon. For if he failed, she couldn’t imagine the dark world her granddaughter would inherit.

Impa finished her prayers and raised the brim of her hat to look at the castle on the horizon. She sucked in a breath as she took in a change to the scenery she’d been waiting to see for a hundred years. The cloud of malice had gone. “Eeeeee!” She gave a toothy grin and smacked her thigh.

At the sound of her shriek, Cado rushed over, his weapon drawn. “Lady Impa, what is it!?” She practically barreled past him at top old lady speed, leaving him confused as to where the danger was. He, too, then saw the castle and chin dropped silently agape.

“Cado!” She yelled, while hobbling back to the village. “Get everyone to make preparations. The Princess is coming!”

She rushed toward the house and almost ran over a cucco that unfortunately strutted in front of her gate. It squawked and flapped out of the way at the last second, allowing her to huff up the stairs. Cado, who was following just behind, picked up his panicked cucco and scratched under her wings until the cuddle calmed her down.

“You’re ok, my lovely. The mean old lady was rude, wasn’t she?” He whispered. He waited until Impa was safely inside before walking across the main path to the Inn to inform Ollie to prepare a suitable place for the Hero and the Princess. Lady Impa would want only the very best hospitality that Kakariko could offer.

Ollie blinked as he groggily woke up from sleeping at his desk, and stated, “Hey, no cuccos allowed in the- wait,” he squinted, “a princess is coming?”

Cado lifted an eyebrow and sighed in annoyance. “I’m holding her, she just had a scare.” He stroked the cucco’s tail feathers. “Did you not hear anything I just said?” The Innkeeper just blinked slowly again, so he raised his voice, “The Calamity is gone, Ollie. The Hero was successful, and now Lady Impa is sure that he is to arrive here with the Princess at any moment!”

Ollie now made an ‘O’ of realization with his mouth and gazed off into space. After a moment passed he looked back at Cado. “Well, I’ll be.”

“Yes. So make sure they have every comfort,” Cado repeated as he turned around to make his way back to his post. He paused at the open door and looked back at Ollie, his cucco now tucked under one arm clucking softly. His stern stare implied that he needed affirmation.

“Right, right.” Ollie waved with a dorky half-smile. Cado, now satisfied, slid the door closed behind him. Ollie immediately slouched again. I’ll get to it in a bit, he thought before swiftly falling back asleep. Claree, who ran the tailor shop in town, was convinced he was actually a cat who could shapeshift into a Sheikah because of how often he slept.

As Impa entered the house, she yelled for her granddaughter “Paya! Paya, wake up!”

Paya’s eyes flew open and she kicked her covers off, her feet thumping on the upper level as she rushed to her grandmother’s call. Impa had only made it halfway up the lower steps when she ran into a descending flurry. “Grandmother! What’s wrong?! Are you ok?” Her two red hair bun chopsticks, which she usually forgot to take out before bed, had come loose during sleep and fell out, clattering down the stairs. She paid them no mind as she dropped to her knees in front of the small woman to immediately begin looking for injuries.

Before she had a chance to become too frantic, Impa took Paya’s hands into her own and gave a toothy grin, wherein a gap on the top left added an endearing charm of age. “Be still, child. I’m fine. All of Hyrule will be fine. Our Hero has done it!” She squeezed Paya’s hands in excitement. “Sir Link and Princess Zelda have rid us of The Calamity!”

Paya gasped. She began thinking of so many things at once. Is Link ok? Is the Princess ok? Did her fervent devotion help them even in some small way? How can she help now? “But Grandma, does this mean-?”

“Yes, dear. I think they’re coming.”

“Eeeee,” Paya jumped up suddenly, “I have to clean my room!” She rushed back upstairs and then turned around and came back down to grab her chopsticks. Then she scurried up the stairs again. Impa chuckled as she heard furniture moving and things being tossed around. It was amusing because Paya’s room was already spotless; but yes, a place would need to be made for Zelda. And she would be welcome to stay as long as she’d like.

Impa made her way slowly down the stairs now and back to her pillows. At long last, she thought. Today was certainly no longer mundane. Ah, yes, the oil. “Paya!” She barked as she settled onto the top cushion, “When you’re done up there, one of the lamps needs a refill!” Can’t have the place looking anything but perfect for the Princess.

“Yes, Grandma!” Came the muffled reply.

Impa looked over at the painting on the wall again and thought back to a time when this future was still uncertain.

Link had just returned to her after visiting the place detailed in the frame. He seemed very unsettled and wasn’t his usual self. Or, at least, he was unlike his new self. He was actually emulating his old self quite a bit. Stoic, measured, and a bit guarded. Zelda was right. It would have been too hard for him to remember so much all at once. He now reminded her of how Zelda had been the night she left to face Ganon on her own, trying to be so brave.

“You’re troubled by what you’ve remembered.” She peered at him from her perch in a way that made him feel like she could tell what he was thinking. “You haven’t lost your courage though. So what’s weighing on your mind?”

Link sat on his knees before her on one of the blue mats, free of his gear which he had left leaning by the door. He carefully considered his answer. Looking down at his blue Champion’s tunic, he let out a soft, ironic sniff at how it was the very same he’d worn that terrible night. The night he almost died. It must have either been remade entirely, or so lovingly repaired, that it did not show any of the damage it had once sustained.

His eyes moved over the painting on the wall and he marveled at how a decoration, which before today was so unassuming and almost lost to the background, could now stir so many emotions from one glance. The Guardians in the frame, which were now still and decaying, had been there in the marsh, glowing magenta under Ganon’s control. Hunting them.

As he remembered, he was surprised at the sense of fear that it brought back. In the past few months he had become proficient in fighting all types of Guardians, especially with the ancient weapons that Robbie had since created. But experiencing that night again, hearing the sound of the gears turning, and the thumping of their spidery legs on the ground as they searched for anything and everything to destroy, that really unsettled him. Perhaps because he had failed.

The Chosen Hero had managed to defeat so many of the machines as he and Zelda fled south from the castle; a feat that no other warrior of Hyrule could accomplish. But they never stopped, never tired. They were relentless. And when he had nothing left to give but his very body as a shield, a golden light and a comforting warmth spread over him, and somehow he knew that he was finally free to relax, to let go. Zelda was holding him, and then there was darkness for a century, until her voice reached him, urging him to wake up.

He focused again on Impa, who, in her wisdom, was waiting patiently for his response. He thought the Princess now seemed familiar. But she also still felt like someone he did not know. “I’m just not sure what to do for her if I defeat Ganon.”

“When.” Impa corrected.

Link smirked, “Very well. When.” He couldn't seem to stop the smirk from turning into a genuine smile as he considered her faith in him. He appreciated the interjection of positive thought, even when it was delivered with a bit of sass.

There he is, Impa mused.

“As her sworn Knight Attendant,” she began, then squinted at him and added as an aside, “should you wish to still honor that oath?”

Link nodded his head forward slightly in agreement, so she continued, “Then it would be best to simply follow her wishes.” She paused a moment and, after considering other possible outcomes besides the ideal, mentioned, “Of course, should she be worse for wear, bring her to Kakariko and we will take care of her. At least here she will have someone who knows her if you have not regained your memories by then.”

Link stood and bowed respectfully before taking his leave. He knew that she had not meant the statement to be a slight, but it still stung. Not remembering his past made him feel like he was failing all over again.

#breath of the wild fanfiction #writing #fanfiction #fanfiction art #Insurrection #snidgetwidgeon scribbles

[syilcawrites]

for your zelink prompt,,,how do you feel about a modern AU where the two bike to the beach and have a picnic?

a/n: I added ‘high school’ to the prompt too hope you don’t mind asghjjhas (’: Also this turned out a lot longer than I planned hope that’s okay ;-; I want to practice writing in Link’s voice more so this is in his pov!! Anyway! I hope you enjoy this, and thanks a lot for the prompt <3

ao3

hot buttered apples with chamomile tea

There are two types of monsters: ones that sleep under your bed and ones that sleep behind your eyes. For Aryll, it's the former.

And Link saw a lot in the latter.

He rubbed his eyes to try to erase the bags that rest stubbornly underneath them, but he wondered if he was just making it worse. Probably. But why did it matter anyway? He usually got three hours of sleep tops, so he always liked to think that darkness had become a permanent edition to his features. He tapped his toes against the pavement, waiting, peering around the corner of the school's brick fence, trying to catch a glimpse of the black car that Zelda usually pulled up in. With five minutes left until school started, he was beginning to worry—she was never late. And for the first time in his entire high school career, he was early.

It was a last minute trip they had planned, when they had snuck onto the school roof after class yesterday.

"I want to see the ocean," she had told him, under the summer's unrelenting heat. They were both sticky with sweat, even though they were sitting under a shady area, and the next thing she said made no sense to him. "I've never been to the beach before." Living here and never once going to Hateno Beach? He thought she was kidding at first. But she stared at him dead in the eye with her lips pressed into a thin line, as serious as ever. When he jokingly proposed that they ditch school the next day to go to the beach, she didn't hesitate to say yes.

It had taken him practically the whole day yesterday to convince her to sneak up onto the rooftop, and yet she was completely fine with ditching an entire day of school to go to the beach.

She was weird and unpredictable and he loved it.

He decided to check his backpack again for the twelfth time in the past hour, just to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. His memory was pretty terrible to begin with. He always found something new that he had forgotten whenever he went to check his backpack. The first time he checked, he realized he didn't bring any cups. Just that one thermal bottle whose lid doubled as a cup. The second time he checked, he realized he had forgotten napkins. If worst came to worst, he guessed he could just offer up his jacket or something, if she really needed to clean her hands or wipe her mouth—would that be any better though? When was the last time he washed his jacket?

"Link?"

Before he could try to sniff his sleeve, Zelda's voice pierced his thoughts.

He zipped up the backpack once more and peeked around the corner again—and finally, he saw her familiar twin braided blonde hair bobbing up and down as she ran toward him.

With… a frenzied kind of pace.

"Link!" she shouted again, breathless, as she waved her arms up and down in panic. Behind her he could hear another person shouting—but it was hard to hear their voice, since it was drowned out by the sound of Zelda urgently telling him to go, go, go.

Fumbling, Link lifted the bike away from the brick fence and rolled it out, hopping onto the front seat.

"I thought you said you had two bikes!" Zelda exclaimed, quickly tossing herself over the second seat without missing a beat.

"I mean, this is kinda like two bikes isn't it?" She only learned how to ride a bike three days ago and he wasn't comfortable with leading her down a rather windy road to get to the beach on her own. The last time he taught someone how to ride a bike was Mipha, years ago, and she almost face planted into a cliff because he let go of her bike and had forgotten to tell her how to brake.

Besides, he had to bribe Aryll fifty rupees to take the tandem bike out today. If he wanted to borrow her regular bike, she would've asked for a hundred. That was equivalent to a week's worth of mowing Tokk's front lawn.

Link was probably getting scammed by Tokk, but he was only 40% sure about that.

"Won't we look ridiculous riding this around?" Zelda scoffed as they began pulling out onto the road. "I thought we were supposed to be discreet? A tandem bike—Oh Hylia!" She kicked his shin with her foot, urging him to hurry. "Impa's coming!"

"Who?" Impa? He didn't think Zelda had mentioned her before.

"Miss Zelda!"

Link glanced at the direction that Zelda had come from, and he saw an angry looking young woman in a black suit racing toward them at an alarming speed. A chill ran down his spine as they locked eyes.

"You!" Impa shouted, pointing a furious finger at him. "Who are you!"

Without a second left to waste, Link clicked into gear and pedaled away fast before that angry finger could intentionally poke out his eyeballs. They shot down the road, with Zelda's exhilarated laughter mixing in with the sound of the rushing wind whistling by them.

For some reason, it was a strange and distinct sound, like it was reverberating all around him; he felt trapped in it.

Until her laughter abruptly stopped.

"Look out—!"

He looked up; but by then, it was too late. An apple that hung low from the tree smacked him square on the forehead with a resounding thud.

——————————————————————

"You know," Zelda said, accepting his hand as he helped her down the rocky cliff that led to the shoreline, "the beach looks different from above."

Link hadn't been to Zelda's home before, but he knew what it looked like from below. It was an odd-looking building that used to be an abandoned lighthouse, but then someone moved into it a couple of years ago, and that someone had hammered on weird platforms and objects to it, so now it looked like Hateno's novelty sculpture.

"Your room's at the top of that lighthouse building right?" Link asked, grunting as he jumped down onto the sand with a hefty thud. He turned around and held out both of his hands to her.

"Mhm. Purah let me have the upper loft when I moved in with her. The view's amazing at night, you can see all the stars." Zelda crouched down and gratefully accepted his hands. Her hands were rough. She jumped down.

Link couldn't see the stars from his bed, because a gigantic tree was right in front of his window.

Her prickling stare withdrew him from his thoughts—she studied his face as if she was observing every detail on it. He could count the sun freckles that had begun appearing around her cheeks; heat climbed to his cheeks as he leaned back a little, finally aware of how close they were.

"I hope that apple won't leave a bruise on your forehead," she muttered, her eyebrows furrowing together, with that little crease appearing between her brows. Always one crease, never two. "You took quite a hit back there."

"I—" he paused, his mouth still slightly ajar.

What was he gonna say? That he was too focused on the sound of her laughter to the point where he wasn't paying attention to the road?

She tilted her head quizzically, waiting for him to speak.

Link let go of her hands to adjust the straps of his stiff backpack. "I know a spot near the rocks," he muttered, turning to a cluster of boulders near the water. It was flat enough that they could place the blanket down and set the lunchboxes and thermal bottle without having to worry about them falling over.

They walked side by side.

"The patterns on the rocks are so symmetrical," she murmured, tapping her chin with her finger. "Like the cliff we just climbed down from—you could tell during high tide the water reaches it, just barely though. I've always found it fascinating that exposure to water erosion could create such beautiful patterns. Don't you agree?"

Link nodded, and a smile quirked up on her lips. The hop in her step was a little higher than usual as she sped up to reach the cluster of rocks faster. He liked listening to her observations of little details, even though he didn't offer much opinion of his own. It was nice to hear and see Hyrule through a different kind of lens.

She was already climbing up the rock by the time Link reached it, and she stood there proud and tall with her hands on her hips, facing the vast ocean.

"We should eat before the food gets cold," Link called up to her, unzipping his backpack to hand her the picnic blanket. It used to belong to his mom. At one point he stole the key to his dad's chest and opened it up to find a bunch of things that used to be hers, probably, because there was a picture of her in there, squished in with a bunch of other stuff. He stole that picture too. And to this day, his dad still hadn't noticed anything was missing.

Link wondered if his dad knew, and just let him... have it.

"Of course," she said, her eyes glinting hungrily. She grabbed the blanket from him, and with it, his thoughts.

She spread it out as he climbed up to her.

Her reactions were always funny whenever Link brought food for her. For some reason, she always tried to mask her excitement—but she was terrible at hiding the anticipation that gleamed in her green eyes, and even more terrible at trying to keep a smile from erupting on her face while he pulled out the two lunchboxes.

"Chamomile tea," Link stated, as he pulled out the thermal bottle next. He paused to watch her, and her mouth formed an 'o' as she greedily grabbed it from him, opening the cap up. He popped open the lid of one of the lunchboxes and slid it toward her.

There were sliced hydromelons, egg pudding, honey crepes and fruits, and her favorite—

"Hot buttered apples!" Zelda exclaimed, reaching for one.

In the other box he had a handful of savory foods—maybe he should've opened that one up first.

"I'm glad you took my suggestion." Her fingers paused just before she picked the slice up. "But first, the tea," she said quickly, as if she was reminding herself. She poured it into the lid of the thermal bottle, handing it to Link.

"I want to see your expression when you try it," Zelda insisted, beaming. She was smiling a lot today—more than she has in the past two years that he'd known her. "You take a bite out of the apple first, and then drink the tea, and then it tastes amazing."

"Just like that?" he asked, eyeing the light crisp color of the chamomile tea she handed to him. It reminded him of apple cider.

"Trust me, Link. You'll want to keep eating it," she promised, tugging down at her two braids. She always did that when she was waiting for something—every time she was standing in line at the vending machines to get the both of them candy pop sodas at school, she did that same little tug. "I'm picky with my food, so you know I wouldn't simply be saying this without meaning it."

Link picked up the slice—the hot buttered apples had turned into warm buttered apples by now, but he figured it wouldn't change the taste all that much. As soon as he took a bite out of it and took a sip from the tea, her eyes sparkled.

The combination of the two warmed his stomach—the pinch of cinnamon she had recommended he put on it really kicked it for him, and he had to refrain from shoving at least ten more into his mouth. Considering how much she was staring at the hot buttered apples, he wanted to save the majority of it for her.

"Good? Right? They both have that toasty taste but it's a different kind of toasty. The chamomile tea, when brewed correctly of course, has that touch of floral kick to it too! And the hot buttered apples with that sprinkle of cinnamon just melts in your mouth and it's the most wonderful thing ever, isn't it?" She quickly thanked him as she accepted the tea when he handed it to her, and she picked up a slice to take an eager bite of her own.

"It's really good." He wasn't the best at expressing himself through words, but despite their simplicity, it seemed to have gotten through to her, as that gleeful glint in her eyes only gleamed brighter. "Did your parents—" He paused mid-chew, realizing just a little too late that his question was going to dampen her brightness.

And it did, just a little.

Idiot.

Whenever he asked about her immediate family, she would tense up—just like now. She cast her eyes down at the lunchbox, eyeing all of the food that he had prepared, her lips pursed. She would always be on the brink of telling him, but then she would turn away in the end.

Maybe… she needed a little push, to talk about it.

"My mom hated apples." The words felt weird in his mouth—he's never spoken about his mom to anyone, and he only brought her up once to his dad. Link raised his eyes to meet hers. Zelda had stopped chewing too, and looked at him with wide, curious eyes.

"That's what my dad told me at least, when I asked him what she hated the most." No one in his family ate apples that much, and it all made sense when he found out about that little fact a couple of years ago. It was hard for his dad to talk about her—time didn't heal the pain behind his voice when he told Link those three simple words: She hated apples.

And behind those three simple words were years upon years of grieving, and he never asked his dad about her again.

He watched as Zelda picked up another slice, her mouth parting slightly. "My mother loved making all sorts of meals with apples."

Loved, Link thought.

Past tense.

They sat in silence for a bit, just munching on those hot buttered apples, while passing the tea back and forth between each other.

"My mother made a snack for me that always involved apples in some way—whenever I was sad, angry, or when she was proud of me." He expected her to look lost in thought as she spoke, but she wasn't. She was as present as she could've been, and he was... it made him feel a little better. Less alone. "Hot buttered apples with chamomile tea was my favorite. She made it for me quite often," she said, chuckling. "What was your mother like?"

She gave him the last slice.

He hesitated; both in accepting the last piece and at her question. The only thing he had was a worn out picture of her, weathered down by age. And that blanket. "I don't know, I don't remember anything," he admitted, taking the slice from her.

Her gaze softened.

Link once punched another classmate in grade school because they asked him, how could he be sad? If he had no memories of his own mom? What was there to be sad about, since he couldn't remember anything? And for the longest time, he didn't let himself be sad over her. How could you be sad about someone you had no memories of?

But one day, Aryll barged into his room—her face red, with snot running down her nose, crying, because she had an argument with their dad. "What if I forget about her, Link?" Aryll had said to him in between her choked up sobs. "I feel like if dad never talks about her, she'll disappear forever."

He knew then that there was pain with memory, and pain without memory. One wasn't more valid than the other.

Because either way, no one won anything in the end.

"I wish I could've met your mother," she said. "I'm certain I could've changed her mind about apples."

There wasn't a lick of a tease on her face. She was serious.

For the first time in a while, Link laughed.

#zelink #botw #breath of the wild #sorry i took a hot second but I just kept adding stuff to it and then it became kinda long LOL #my fanfics #thank u sm for the prompt!!! #the-astrumnauta #syilca answers #one more prompt to go baby!

[cascadena]

Rekindled - Prologue & Ch 1

SUMMARY: Post-BotW. Zelink. Hyrule now turns to an exhausted Princess Zelda to pick up the fragments of the fallen kingdom. Link, who is still piecing together his own past and traumas from his own journey, realizes that he has to be the one to help Zelda back on her feet. Together, they travel the land to begin the rebuilding process, and uncover a new, mysterious threat along the way...

GENRE: Adventure, Romance, Hurt/Comfort

WORDS: 44K

STATUS: Complete

RATING: T for Teen | Contains Action/Violence, Blood, and (Of-Age) Alcoholic Beverage Consumption, Kissing Scenes.

[Read on FF.Net] - The ENTIRE story is already posted there for your reading pleasure!!

[AO3 Posting coming soon!]

-

PROLOGUE

Link

The clouds of malice curling above me dissipated upon the Princess’s eradication of Ganon, leaving behind an untainted sky that shone with a more vivid blue than I had seen since awakening from my slumber. Rising from where I’d landed with my paraglider after sending the final ancient arrow right into Ganon’s core, I rubbed a particularly sore spot on my right shoulder where Calamity Ganon managed to land a more severe blow with an ancient blade in our duel at Hyrule Castle. The bleeding had slowed from my adrenaline rush but it would only hold off the pain for so long. I gripped my arm as I cautiously approached the girl whose voice I had only heard in my mind since my revival. Though we’d just destroyed the malicious Calamity Ganon, my heart still beat quickly in anticipation of the reunion with the beautiful girl from my memories.

The Princess lowered her arm, facing away from me as she took a slow, deep breath. I flinched when she began speaking. Her soft voice was just audible over the whips of wind as the last of the malice storm cleared around us.

“I’ve been keeping watch over you all this time… I’ve witnessed your struggles to return to us as well as your trials in battle. I always thought—no, I always believed—that you would find a way to defeat Ganon.” She paused for a moment as she seemed to consider her next words. “I… never lost faith in you over these many years,” she said. 

Finally, she turned. A strangely familiar warmth pulsed in my chest as she faced me for the first time since I died in her arms a hundred years ago. Her small smile was familiar to my memories. I wondered how in the world I’d ever been able to keep my focus on the demands of my duty to protect her in the past. 

“Thank you, Link...the hero of Hyrule.” Her expression softened. I nodded and swallowed a smile, unable to speak as hot tears welled in my eyes. Zelda seemed to notice, and a weight visibly lifted from her shoulders as she clasped her hands in front of her. “May I ask… Do you really remember me?”

“Yes, Your Highness, I do,” I managed to reply, but my voice cracked as a tear escaped down my cheek. Zelda smiled as she clasped her hands over her face as she suppressed a cry.

“We’ve finally done it,” she breathed, and then her balance shook. 

Within a second of seeing her waver, I leapt forward, just in time to catch her in my arms as her legs gave out beneath her. I cushioned her as the weight pulled us both to our knees. I wondered if holding Hyrule’s Princess so close was proper for her Appointed Knight. However, when I felt her arms tighten a little in gratitude around my shoulders, I knew it was acceptable in this circumstance. “Even now, you protect me from any harm when it threatens me,” she said into my shoulder. 

A smile dared to cross my face, until I realized my wound had begun to bleed onto the back of her dress. I inhaled sharply as the pain began to throb. The adrenaline was wearing off for both of us.

“Link!”

My head flipped to the right towards the source of the voice. A covered wagon charged towards us from the East. I instinctively reached to the hilt of the Master Sword at my shoulder but relaxed when I saw a familiar girl hop out and run ahead of the caravan to meet us.

It was Paya. The Sheikah had come to help us.

-

-

CHAPTER 1

Link

Everything that happened next was a blur. The Sheikah caravan halted and Dorian and Cado jumped out to assist Zelda into the wagon. A million pains began pulsing through my body.

“M-Master Link… We left as soon as we heard the rumble of Vah Ruta’s laser,” said Paya. She took one look at my arm before she fetched a makeshift bandage from the wagon and handed me a water skin. “Please, let us assist you…”

We began the journey back to Kakariko Village, where the Sheikah could help us. I insisted on riding Epona, my horse, to give Zelda more space in the wagon, as the exhausted Princess had passed out shortly after being helped inside. Epona was a tough girl, and though she was exhausted from the battle with Ganon, I knew she could make it to Kakariko after Paya fed her a hearty mix of swift and endura carrots.

Epona followed the wagon on a lead as we made our way towards the Dueling Peaks. Hyrule seemed so peaceful as usual, and I briefly wondered if any of the civilians were even aware yet that the calamity had finally been destroyed. Surely, the Sheikah weren’t the only ones to witness the Divine Beast lasers fire. 

I glanced into the open flap on the backside of the wagon and could see Princess Zelda sleeping in a shaft of sunlight. Her mouth hung open as she curled up on the cushion inside. After a hundred years of fighting off Ganon, her nap was well deserved. Looking upon the exhausted Princess in her dirtied, bloodied prayer gown, I felt a wave of guilt pass through my gut and my jaw clenched. If I hadn’t fallen a hundred years ago and just slayed Ganon back then, she would not have had to suffer and fight for so many years. 

Her pain was a result of my own failure.

I knew I would have to apologize to her at some point. But how could one possibly apologize for a hundred years of suffering and a fallen kingdom? My thoughts began to drift as my consciousness faded away with the rhythmic thud of Epona’s trotting. The shadows of moblins, guardians, and lynels flashed through my mind in a hazy dream as my brain processed all I’d just endured. I had fallen asleep on horseback a few times previously, but never for very long stretches of time. It was a miracle that I didn’t fall off Epona and drown in the river right there. 

The golden light of the sunset fell over the mountaintops surrounding Kakariko Village, casting the village in shadow so that only the warm illuminance of the resident’s windows brought light into the streets. When our caravan arrived in front of Impa’s house. I jolted awake as Dorian’s small children called my name. A few other curious villagers crowded around before Dorian shooed them away. 

Zelda awakened, and I was grateful that the evening light would prevent us from drawing much more attention from the villagers as we ascended the steps to the elder’s home under the cover of darkness. Only as I climbed the steps did I begin to realize how exhausted my body felt: navigating through the rubble of Hyrule Castle, defeating Calamity Ganon, and then riding all the way back to Kakariko all in the same day had done a number on me. However, I couldn’t complain, because the girl stepping up next to me had just fought off the ultimate demon for a hundred years straight.

We had not even reached the top of the stairs when the doors to the house flew open. Zelda gasped from beside me, faltering before she whispered. “...Impa?”

Impa grinned down on us. “It has been a long time, Your Highness.”

-

Before she began preparing food, Paya fetched a red potion from Impa’s cabinet for me. I felt  the pain in my arm and head dull considerably with the first sip. I then went to sit down with Princess Zelda where she kneeled beside Impa’s cushion. We briefly made eye contact and she smiled, though I could see fatigue clouding in her emerald green irises. I offered a crooked grin of my own in return. A flash of surprise crossed  her face, though she said nothing of it.

“You look like you haven’t aged a day,” said Impa as she placed a hand on Zelda’s own. “Some of us aren’t so lucky, unfortunately… At least Link has all those scars to prove he battled in the calamity, even if his memory is still imperfect.”

I almost choked on my potion with Impa’s joke. Robbie must have talked with Impa about how he confirmed my identity. 

Zelda glanced over at me with a raised eyebrow before she shook her head. “I was locked in a state of stasis. Even now, I don’t fully understand how everything has changed since I last walked through Hyrule.”

Impa chuckled softly then nodded. “I am sure it will take quite a while for you to process everything that has come to pass.”

Zelda clasped her hands on her knees in front of her. Her white dress, though stained from the events a hundred years ago, still fell around her in graceful, unwrinkled folds. “We… we must immediately plan the next course of action,” said Zelda.

“Indeed,” said Impa, shifting to lean forward in her seat. She put her hands on her knees and leaned forwards. “Hyrule looks to you, Your Highness.”

“Well, yes…” Zelda’s eyes flickered wide for a moment as if it had only now occurred to her that the leadership of the kingdom now fell solely on her shoulders alone. I frowned as the memory—though still a bit broken in my head—came back to me. A hundred years ago, we’d fled the castle in a hurry when the Guardians corrupted around us. Zelda had not seen her father die in the castle that day, but I knew of his fate from speaking with his spirit. 

She may have not had any time to even consider his death at all, until now.

“Impa… tell me, as my Royal Advisor, what do you think we should do?” Zelda asked in a low voice. Her hands fidgeted with the folds of her skirt.

Impa tightened her lips. “I believe we should start with the restoring of the castle. It is the heart of Hyrule Kingdom.”

Zelda swallowed and looked down at her hands. “Right, the castle…”

“There are monsters everywhere inside,” I said. Zelda glanced at me when I spoke. “We will need to get them out first. I also think there are some things inside that could possibly be salvaged.”

A hint of hope glimmered in Zelda’s eyes but it was lost a moment later. “Who will help us do this? The entire army is gone. The last of our soldiers fell in the battle at Akkala Citadel.” She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. “We could do nothing to save a single soul.”

“The Sheikah have always served the Royal Family,” said Impa. “I will see to it that we do everything we can to assist. Perhaps you can ask the other races of the kingdom for help too.”

I could tell Zelda’s mind raced as her fists clenched the fabric of her dress. “Perhaps. Thank you, Impa.”

“I am sure they will be willing to help,” said Impa. Zelda nodded but fell quiet. 

A few minutes later, Paya placed a tray of steamed vegetable skewers in front of us. My mouth watered at the sight of the colorful vegetables. I hadn’t eaten since I swiped some  raw mushrooms from a moblin’s hoard in the castle’s ruined dining hall. Zelda reached out to take one of the skewers, and I suddenly remembered something.

“Eat slowly,” I said before she even touched the hearty radish on the skewer. She sent me a questioning gaze. I blushed when I realized I’d given an order to Her Highness. I needed to clarify. “Uhm… when I woke up after a hundred years, my stomach rejected food for a few days.”

Zelda nodded, now understanding, and narrowed her attention as she delicately pulled off the radish on the end of the spear. I dug into my own skewer without much regard for table manners, savoring the sustenance while Paya and Impa watched me, a hint of amusement evident on their faces. Apparently, I used to be a slightly more... refined eater when I served in the castle.  After only a few bites, Zelda put a hand on her abdomen and offered the rest of her skewer to me. My hunch was right—her body was still fragile from her long stay in stasis.

Paya served the rest of the meal to us: meat, rice, and fortified pumpkin pie for dessert. I ravenously enjoyed the meal, much to Paya and Impa’s entertainment—but Zelda only took a small taste of each dish to be polite before she said she felt too nauseated to continue. After the meal, I cleaned my hands and asked Paya if I could assist her in washing anything, which naturally sent her into a flustered frenzy as she declined any help whatsoever from me or the Princess. 

-

I found Zelda outside on the back porch later that evening, leaning against the wooden guardrail, her head inclined up to the starry sky. Her dress, though stained with the blemishes of battle, still reflected the silver light of the moon.  The trickle of the nearby waterfall and stream broke the silence of the night. She glanced over her shoulder when she heard me approach. “May I join you, Your Highness?” I asked. 

She nodded. I stepped up beside her and leaned against the railing. “Are you feeling alright?” I asked.

She bobbed her shoulders and I knew that probably meant ‘no’ but she would not admit it. “I am…” She paused, considering her words, before continuing. “I am worried… the races of Hyrule will be angry at me as I am responsible alone for the state of the Kingdom. I owe them all an immense apology for failing them, and I do not think I can ever repay them for it.”

My heart sank with hers. I leaned an elbow on the railing. “I believe the ones who helped me cleanse the Divine Beasts would each take up the role of becoming Champions—leaders to assist in leading a rebuilding effort—if you wish to designate them.”

Zelda tightened her lips. “It is because of me that our old Champion friends, their greatest warriors, perished in battle.”

“That was because Ganon corrupted the Divine Beasts before we even knew what happened,” I reminded her. “Besides, they will all warmly welcome you with the news of Calamity Ganon’s defeat. That is good news for all.”

Zelda nodded and looked down at her folded hands. A frog jumped into the water below us with a splash. A quiet beat passed before Zelda spoke again. “Thank you for the prompt warning about eating earlier,” said Zelda. “I suspect I would have become quite ill had I forced too much food on myself so soon after coming out of many years of stasis. I’m sorry you had to experience that.”

“You’re welcome, Your Highness,” I said. “I wouldn’t want you to feel sick either. Fighting Ganon was more than enough pain for one day, let alone a hundred years.”

Zelda cracked a small smile. “You know, we never spoke nearly this frequently a hundred years ago. You used to be so quiet. I always wished I had more opportunities to talk with you like this.”

I straightened up a bit and stared at Zelda as I processed this information. Had my personality really shifted that much since my memory reconstruction?

If so… What would she think of me now? How would she feel about me?

Zelda drummed her fingers on the guardrail as she continued. “I do wonder how we will both fit into this world now. We have not aged like those around us who are left that we knew before the calamity.” She shook her head. “I’m still processing the drastic difference of Impa’s age, to be honest. When I first saw Paya, I thought she was Impa because she has such a striking resemblance. But no, she is her granddaughter.”

I nodded. “It’s been strange meeting people who knew me from before, though I didn’t remember most of them at first.”

Our conversation was interrupted by the shriek of one of the villagers in the plaza behind us, followed by the cry of a bokoblin. 

Instinctively, I grabbed Zelda’s hand led her into the safety of Impa’s house. I pushed through the front doors to view the commotion in the village below. I halted when I saw that Dorian and Cado, Impa’s guards, had already taken care of the stray bokoblin and its body disappeared into thin air.

Several villagers gathered in the area below, nervously discussing the monster. Zelda appeared beside me and I heard her exhale heavily in stress. One of the villagers noticed her and called up at us. “It’s the Princess!”

All of the Sheikah turned their heads to look up at us. A few cheered in delight as the crowd migrated towards the base of the stairs. Several people began yelling things at us at once.

“Princess!”

“Did you finally defeat the Calamity?”

“Are you really Princess Zelda?”

“Why are there still monsters attacking us?”

“What was that giant laser?”

“Will you defeat all the monsters around the village too?”

Zelda held a hand to her chin and took a step back as the villagers yelled all of their questions at her. Dorian and Cado waved their arms in an attempt to quiet down the excited villagers.

“Enough.”

Impa’s voice boomed over the village and the crowd fell silent. I glanced over to find Impa at the top of the stairs. She crossed her arms and frowned down at her villagers. 

Zelda cleared her throat and I could see her hand shaking as she lowered them. “I assure you I will see to the concerns you have,” she called down to the crowd. “Please know that Calamity Ganon is defeated, and Hyrule will rise from the ashes.”

Several of the Sheikah cheered upon the news of Calamity Ganon’s defeat. However, one of the young child villagers ran forward in the crowd. “Then why are there still monsters attacking the village?”

Zelda pursed her lips. “We will investigate,” she said.

More villagers began to ask all kinds of questions. I glanced at Impa and she nodded at me, as if to understand my thoughts. I reached over to Zelda and grabbed her hand before I gently pulled her back towards the door to Impa’s home.

“I will take all of your concerns for the Princess in due time,” Impa called as I pulled the door open. “For now, good night, and stay on your guard for stray monsters.”

-

Zelda let go of my hand when we reached the sanctuary of Impa’s house. She paced around in a circle and sighed. “Why did a monster come into the village? Monsters should never come into a village on their own, right? What are we going to do about this?”

“Your Highness, it was just a stray bokoblin—“ I started.

“The monsters should all be tame now. We defeated the calamity. They have no reason to feel irrational anger and come to attack people now. We should be able to live in peace with them.” Zelda held her arms to her head and leaned over as she panicked. “I did seal it away, right?”

“Your Highness…” I tried again.

“I must research this. The Calamity may not have been properly sealed away—“ Zelda stopped when I placed a firm hand on her shoulder. She flicked her head around and faced me. Though she was slightly taller than I, her green, anxious gaze pierced directly into my eyes. I prayed I was not acting out of line by touching her without permission.

“It was just a bokoblin. They aren’t very smart. It probably just wandered in behind us when it saw the caravan. Dorian and Cado took care of it,” I said while looking into her eyes. “Everything is fine. You don’t need to worry.”

She looked straight into my eyes with such great intensity that I wondered if I should step away before she broke the eye contact and looked down at the ground. She sniffed and nodded as tears began to form around her eyes. “I’m sorry, I think I’ve… overreacted…”

Impa cleared her throat. “I think the Princess needs to get some more rest. How about we clean you up and then send you to bed? We can continue talk of Hyrule Castle and monsters when you wake up in the morning.”

Zelda nodded slowly and Paya escorted her upstairs to her personal quarters. I wanted to follow and give her a tight hug, although I knew that would probably be way out of line to my duty as her appointed knight. Impa told me I was welcome to stay as well but I decided I would stay at the inn that night to offer them all a little more privacy. 

I attempted to fall sleep early that evening but my mind kept drifting to the events earlier with Calamity Ganon. I decided to instead use the time to address my arm wound once more. I probably should have been seen by a doctor but I was not in the mood to answer a million questions about the battle yet. I retrieved a fresh bandage from Epona’s saddlebag and walked to the peninsula at the pond where Kakariko’s Goddess Statue resided, and sat myself down under the light of the torches. 

The red potion had luckily healed much of the delicate internal damage I’d acquired but the wound from Calamity Ganon on my shoulder would take some time to heal completely. I removed my tunic and undershirt before I applied potion-infused ointment to several minor wounds all over my torso that I accrued from monsters and malice burns in the castle. I smirked when I looked down at my abdomen. A Gerudo woman had once scoffed at me for not even having visible abs early on in my journey but there was… some muscle defined there now from months of climbing Hyrule’s mountains and cliffsides. It was clearly enough muscle needed to defeat Calamity Ganon, anyways.

My ears twitched when footsteps treaded on the grass behind me. I instinctively thought to grab my sword, but then came a quiet, “Link?”

I looked over my shoulder, and relaxed immediately when I saw the figure behind me. “Your Highness, shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

Zelda folded her hands in front of her. Her golden hair was tied up behind her head in a bun and she wore a blue sleeping gown underneath a Sheikah robe that Paya must have lent to her. “I...wanted to thank you for calming me down earlier before I settled in for the night. I was just a little overwhelmed at how suddenly everything has changed.”

I turned around and wiped the remaining healing ointment from my hand onto my arm. “Nobody else seems to understand exactly what we’re going through right now.” I muttered. 

She nodded and pulled the collar of her robe up around her chin as a chilly breeze floated between us. If we weren’t having such a serious conversation, I would have considered more how it was quite a cute thing to do. She held her palm to her face as she sighed. “I...I do not think I am ready to go anywhere near the castle yet. Though it’s been a hundred years for everyone else, the memory of the destruction and loss is still too fresh, too painful in my mind...”

I stepped closer to her and she looked into my eyes once again. The light from the torches behind me flickered shadows onto her fair face. Fear and exhaustion plagued her face. 

My heart ached for her. 

She had just fought an unimaginable horror in the castle for a hundred years and now was expected to immediately begin facilitating the reconstruction of Hyrule. The villagers didn’t understand how they had set off this expectation in her mind, of course. Impa was correct that the castle needed reclaimed as soon as possible—but did Zelda really have to be there immediately?

I realized she had said something to me again but my mind had been lost in my thoughts. “Sorry, can you repeat that, Your Highness?” I asked, shaking my head.

“I said, I can see all of your scars... You have collected so many, if you don’t mind me saying. You’ve endured so much pain for us,” she said with a frown.

I looked down. The scars, a mix of the severe mortal ones I’d endured a hundred years ago and newer ones from my journey, littered in violent slashes across my body. I tightened my lips. People so easily understood I had been through pain when they saw my scars. However, nobody else seemed to notice Zelda’s struggle right now. 

I was probably the only one who could even somewhat understand what she went through with the events of the calamity. And now, she faced the immense pressure to rule Hyrule by herself. Such pressure on a single person was incredibly difficult to bear. In the past—as Zelda had reminded me earlier—the intense pressure of being the chosen wielder of the Master Sword had driven me to silence. I could not let Zelda fall to a similar fate of anxiety. 

  “Your Highness, would you like to go somewhere? To get away from everything for a bit?” I blurted before I could consider my own words.

She blinked in mild confusion. “Leave here? What about the castle? Hyrule?”

“With all due respect, Your Highness, you won’t be assembling the castle by yourself. You just defeated Calamity Ganon. Let some other people begin work on the castle.” I put my hands on my hips. “Your Highness, you need a rest, even if a brief one. To be perfectly honest, I need one as well.”

“What about my sworn duties?”

I laughed. “The land has lasted a hundred years without an active ruler. The people can wait just a little longer for you to recover. A lot of people don’t even know that you’re still alive.”

Zelda folded her arms and tightened her lips. “Where would we go?”

I thought for a moment. “Hateno Village? I have a house there. It’s very safe there, and nobody would bother you. We could visit Purah’s Lab.” I tapped my jaw as I considered the other perks of Hateno. “There’s also a beach nearby, so you could see the ocean.”

Zelda furrowed her brow as she considered my proposal. “It does sound like a lovely place... I’ve never visited there before, actually. I would love to see Purah again too.“ A smile graced Zelda’s lips as she nodded. “It’s decided then. I will direct Impa to lead the Sheikah to begin the reclamation of Hyrule Castle, and inform her that I will be taking a short rest before I begin the rebuilding process.”

I smiled back at her and nodded. “We’ll leave at first light in the morning.”

“Wonderful,” She bowed her head lightly. “Good night, Sir Link, I’ll see you in the morning,” she said cheerfully before turning away and retreating back to Impa’s house.

My cheeks heated against the cool air when she used the formal title. It only then occurred to me that she’d never used any kind of title with me before that I could remember.

...Exactly how close had we been before the calamity? 

#Botw Zelink #Zelink #zelink fanfic #zelda fanfic #link x zelda #botw #Legend of zelda #LoZ #botw2 fanfic #zelink fic #breath of the wild #botw zelink fic #fanfiction #My fanfics #THIS IS IT YALL #MY PROJECT OVER THE LAST 2 MONTHS #I'm going to make individual posts here for each chapter BUT it's all finished on FF.NET if you want to binge it already! #btw I made that artwork at the top if anyone is wondering! #I also want to make a proper cover art but my hand isn't cooperating atm so I'm using this other fanart of a scene from the story for now #anyways ENJOYYYY happy 35th anniversary to LoZ

[lemonlushff-iy]

Chapter 17 Teaser: NOW LIVE! 

You can read the full chapter 17, and earlier chapters, on my patreon HERE now!

The full chapter 17 will go live on A03 and FFN on 10/9 because you all rock and totally beat my challenge!

Summary: Kagome comes home to Montana from her new life in California…only to be greeted with hostility and the demons of her past. Some mistakes can never be forgiven. She just hopes that maybe this one can.

Story inspired by Clearwillow​’s “New Moon Ride”, written with permission and for the March 14, 2020 White Day celebration…and slowly uploaded much sooner…

Awards:

Best Angst by Feudal Connection 2020 2nd Quarter

“Is that why you came tonight?”

He felt his ears flatten against his head, and he winced at her tone. It was so...despondent. 

“I just...I got home from it, and I needed to see you,” he whispered, shifting his weight uncomfortably. 

He felt her hands on his shoulders, turning him around to hug him, and he buried his face in her hair. He let her scent wash over him. Let it calm him and soothe him. Let her hands rub his back. Let her whisper soft words to him...words he couldn’t understand...didn’t care to understand...Not when being in her arms felt so good. So damn right…He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and nuzzling her hair, and suddenly…

He was home. 

This was home.

She pulled away from him far sooner than he would have liked, but also...he was appreciative of it. 

“Let’s go,” he mumbled, bending down in a clear request to get onto his back. 

“You can’t be serious…” 

He looked at her over his shoulder and scowled. 

“Course I am. Don’t wanna wake anyone up.”

“But I’m not fifteen anymore, Inuyasha! You can’t...We’re going to get hurt! Let’s just take the stairs.”

“And wake everyone up?”

“I’d rather the whole damn town know we’re going for a ride than die jumping out the window!”

“...That makes one of us.”

She rolled her eyes, turning around to open her door. “I’ll see you down there then, but there’s no way I—Inuyasha!” she yelped as he scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder. 

“Calm down.” 

“I will not calm down until you put me down!”

“I will when we’re down stairs.”

“Inuyasha…” she warned and he just smirked, hopping up to her sill. “Inuyasha, I swear to God…”

“I woulda thought ya’d be praying instead,” he snickered, leaping down from the sill with her to gracefully land in the Higurashi’s front yard. She squealed as they dropped through the air, and when he did finally put her down, she scowled at him, positively livid.

“Inuyasha…”

“You’re fine.”

“That’s not the point,” she snapped through gritted teeth, smacking his pectoral. 

“Why don’t you give me what for on Bessie then?” he grinned cheekily, and she just rolled her eyes, still simmering. 

“You think I won’t? I’ll give you more than what’s for. I’ll give you a whole fucking dissertation on how big an ass you are.”

“Complete with a cover page?”

She went to smack him again, but he just caught her hand and placed a finger over her lips. She tried looking at it, going cross eyed in the process. 

God she was adorable. And sexy as hell when she was angry. 

“Don’t wanna wake up the whole town, remember?” he teased, and she glared at him as he removed his index finger. 

“I’m not that loud.”

He bit his tongue, trying - with great restraint by the way - to not comment.

He failed. Only a little. 

“Sure ya ain’t,” he smirked, offering her a hand as she mounted Bessie.  

“I’m not!”

 “Ok then.”

“Inuyasha!”

He just shook his head and climbed on after her, pulling her flush with his body as he encouraged the mare to start trotting in the direction of the cliffs. 

“So...How loud are ya then? I’ve always wondered.” 

He could feel her confusion before understanding settled in over her and she began yelling indignantly at him. He didn’t really care though. He loved teasing her. Loved seeing her get all huffy and flustered. Ruffling her feathers...He’d missed it.

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#inuyasha fanfiction #inuyasha fanfic #inuyashafanfic #inuyasha #inukag #DAMNIT CARRA #Ode to Carra #Clearwillow #rancher #cattle rancher #western #romance #angst #one last ride #lemonlushff

[kaymaystar]

A Hundred Years Gone: Chapter 11

Chapter 11 of my BOTW Zelink fanfic is posted on AO3! And as a special treat, a little snippet below the cut. 

Legends say the Goddesses’ created the desert to test the strength and courage of those who dwelt in the land of Hylia. Those who dared to traverse its deadly expanse would be subject to the sweltering heat of day and the unforgiving chill of night – and if you made it through to the other side alive, you counted your blessings.

 Zelda is currently cursing said Goddesses as another large lump of sand wedges its way into her sandal.

 “I told you not to wear those.” Link brags, shifting their travel pack on his shoulders. He is drenched in sweat, his hair wet and plastered around his forehead. Zelda glares at him, digging a finger into the sole of her shoe.

 “I thought it would be practical!” She huffs, hopping on one foot. Link chuckles, stopping in his trek to watch her over his shoulder. Sand pours out from the side of her sandal and she sighs with relief as she puts her foot down and continues on to catch up with him on the trail. He waits for her, a small teasing smile on his face, and reaches out a hand in offering when she approaches. Zelda sticks her tongue out at him, but takes his hand with a smile of her own anyway.

 They have been travelling in the direction of Kara Kara Bazaar for nearly half an hour, and Link had made promises of chilled, juicy hydromelon and blessed shade in abundance once they get there. She quickens her pace, keeping with him step for step. Her riding pants stick uncomfortably to her thighs with sweat, and her back is soaked through the thin fabric of her blouse. They only trudge along in the sand for another mile and a half before Zelda can feel the cool air of the oasis breeze caressing her face.

 “Oh, thank Hylia.” She sighs as she spots the inviting pool of water in the middle of the vast and endless sand. Link tugs on her hand, urging her faster.

 “Come on,” he says eagerly, “the faster we get there the faster you can get changed.”

 She hums in avid agreement, lightly squeezing his fingers. He had revealed to her before they had left the stable that her own set of Gerudo clothes would be her best adversary against the relentless heat – and that he could get them at a bargain while they rested at the bazaar.

 Zelda knows better at this point than to ask, and so she had simply commented on how wonderful that would be and went about packing up the rest of their things. Now though, as they near the lone stone building at the edge of the water and Link shrugs his pack onto the ground – slipping his hand out of hers and throwing a quick “be right back!” over his shoulder as he begins to scale the side of the structure like a hightail lizard – Zelda really thinks she should have asked.

 He is gone for barely more than five minutes before he is descending from the top on his glider, a small bundle of sheer fabric tucked under his belt. He leaps to the ground, kicking up a small clous of dust with a wild grin on his face, and swaggers over to where she stands at the base of the inn. He presents her the colorful handful of cloth with a slight bow and a glint in his eye.

“Your desert clothes, my lady.”

 “Certainly this can’t be all of it!” Zelda scoffs, the silky garments slipping across her fingers as she takes it from his grasp. “I would be utterly indecent in this.”

 Link barks a short laugh, placing his hands on his hips.

“Ah, watch your tongue. You haven’t yet seen me in mine.”

#my writing #Zelink #zelink fanfiction #botw zelink #botw #Link/Zelda #longfic

[fatefulfaerie]

Flight

Zelink Week 2021 prompt #3/7 @zelinkweek2021

Word Count: 1,874

Incarnation: Skyward Sword (pre)

Additional Prompts Followed: Loftwings, Free Fall

Trigger Warnings: near-death experience, broken bone trauma

The Loftwings flew in perfect circles, their flight at all times parallel to each other as they followed the tail of the other, again, and again, blue and red and red and blue, crimson and purple and red and blue. It was an eternal race that none would win.

And it was obvious there would be no champion, as the loftwings were carved from wood and flew only by mechanism, circling like hawks above the crib of a child with shining blue eyes and honey-blonde hair. She laughed and giggled at the sight of Loftwings in flight, reaching out stubby hands as if to lazily reach for the illusion. She gabbled and her mouth buzzed a particular “v” sound. Her smile was infectious.

But nine years later, she frowned, stomping towards the plaza in the midst of a tantrum, fists balled and shoulders up to her ears.

Her father once told her that friends come and go but not him, never him, never that way. A new, more exciting best friend and he was up and away without a care in the world, not a single look of concern for the friend he left in his dust.

Her father told her not five minutes ago that her time would come as well, that she too would be matched with a Loftwing when the time came. Link merely was a few months older than her.

But the damage was done. Gaepora had already gone on and on about how splendid the match was between the rare Crimson Loftwing and Link, how the connection was uncanny, and how it usually takes years of training for someone to fly their bird like that. Zelda was green with envy and it did not become her.

She was jealous even now as she watched Link, her pale pink dress swishing in the breeze. Zelda wondered that perhaps if she had worn her blue dress, Link would not have forgotten her, perhaps her lavender, or her yellow, perhaps her hair in braids or perhaps her forehead covered by bangs that she saw some of the older girls wearing. Yet, of all the colors and all the options, green seemed to stick out the most when people saw her at the ceremony, her brow shaded with envy as the ten-year old boy with a cream shirt and patched brown pants just hopped upon his fancy, new Crimson Loftwing.

Zelda hated as well that she couldn’t even chase him down, couldn’t just hop on her own Loftwing and ask what was so insignificant about her for Link to fly away in such a rude manner, leaving his best friend behind. Gaepora didn’t think it rude at all, as the boy had literally smiled at Zelda before testing out this unique bond with his Loftwing, but Zelda saw it as the end of the world.

Her own Loftwing.

She bet she could ride a Loftwing just as well, and she bet that the Goddess Hylia knew she was more than ready. She bet that the Goddess was just as upset as her, and she bet that there already was a Loftwing in the skies for her, just for her, maybe even rarer than the crimson breed. She bet all of that on her life, foolishly employing her little nine-year-old legs and running off the edge of the island in the sky, believing completely that her Loftwing would come below her.

Her own Loftwing.

The free fall was exhilarating and she enjoyed it. Never before had she felt so unrestrained, so rebellious.

Her own Loftwing.

So she whistled, wanting to chase that feeling atop a Loftwing, to ride the rims of the clouds and pursue the horizon, to wonder at what laid beneath the clouds like everyone secretly did.

No Loftwing came.

She whistled again, but she was reaching the clouds. Fear twinged a chord in her heart and the note was sour. Her confidence wavered. No one survived a fall to the clouds. No one.

Her mother, Link’s father, Groose’s uncle, Cawlin’s sister, Stritch’s cousin.

None of them ever returned.

What was she thinking?

No Loftwing came.

She felt the wind knocked out of her and she almost upchucked her lunch into the blue skies that she was being lifted from, Loftwing talons secure around her small frame and the occasional red feather drifting across her eye-line.

She tried to flip over to look up at Link, but the hold on her was too tight. So she just laid limp like a doll, basking in the wind of her stupidity and thinking that maybe, just maybe, what she did wasn’t the best idea.

Link had never rescued someone before, so he was more than relieved when his Loftwing caught Zelda without a flinch of hesitation. He had even braved looking down to make sure she was okay, before setting his sights on Skyloft, on the Plaza where he would drop her off and make sure she really was okay.

Yet the Loftwing let go sooner than Link expected. They were much too high for it to be a soft landing on Zelda’s part and the shrill cry that ensued because of it told Link everything, his insides churning with worry.

“Zelda!” He practically jumped off the Loftwing as soon as it was close enough to the ground of the Plaza and he ran, ran with all his might to the little girl who sat clutching her bent leg and crying into her knee. Link knelt before her, panting.

“Zelda, are you okay?”

There were legends of a blue flame, that burned hotter and brighter than any fire hued red. Link didn’t think such a thing existed until Zelda looked up, her eyes enraged and fuming.

His lips parted. He wasn’t sure what to do and before he could think to do anything Zelda had balled a fistful of dirt and thrown it in his face, before returning to her kneecap and shaking and crying and whimpering.

“Okay,” Link said in response to the dirty welcome. “I’m sorry. The Loftwing and I are both new at this. I’m sorry we dropped you and…well…I wanted to take you with me on my first ride but you’re not allowed to take someone with you that doesn’t have their own Loftwing. If something happens your passenger has to be able to take the reins, or call their own Loftwing to ride to safety. It’s a rule and you know it.”

Zelda shook her head.

“No?” Link asked, trying to understand, but she kept shaking her head.

“Link,” she said incredibly weakly. “Hylia above, it hurts so much.”

Link scooted closer, lifting his hands slightly but not knowing where to put them.

“Where?” He asked. “Where does it hurt?”

Zelda spent the moment after the question just trying to breathe, to award her lungs stable breaths that they sorely needed. Link tried to be patient, tried to give her the time to tell him what was wrong, but for some reason he needed to know now.

He took a guess and lifted the hem of her pale pink dress slightly, revealing something that hurt his heart and made his entire body wince.

It was no doubt that her leg was broken, Link could see the horrid swelling that almost looked like another calf, that ebbed with hues of red and purple. Link didn’t know if he was going to cry or throw up first.

“Oh goddess, okay, I’m gonna get you some help,” he said. Zelda nodded as he picked her up, and neither had time to be surprised at Link’s strength.

By the time they reached the headmaster’s office, Link was in tears and Zelda had passed out from the pain. Link went on and on apologizing to the headmaster, expressing his guilt over literally breaking the daughter of the tall, orange and red-clad man. Gaepora, however, wouldn’t have it, telling Link that a daughter of the headmaster should have known better than to let her jealousy consume her, but ultimately the priority now was to get her treated.

Potions were acquired immediately from the Bazaar and Zelda slept like a baby as she healed. Link grasped her hand with the intention of being there all night long, of letting her know wordlessly that her friend was here and that she was okay. He wanted to be there in case she woke up, in case she was scared, in case she...

“Link.”

The booming voice of the Headmaster was what told Link that he, too, was dozing off. The wooden chair must have been more comfortable than he previously thought.

Gaepora smiled at Link’s big blue eyes. He walked forward with the large strides of a grown-up and Link was almost impressed that someone could be that tall. Gaepora held out his hand.

“I think you would be more comfortable in your own bed.”

“But…”

“Zelda will be fine,” Gaepora said in the most calming voice he could muster. Link’s next breath brought his eyes down and he nodded. Link looked over at Zelda and smiled.

“I’ll see you in the morning sleepyhead,” Link said. “I promise.”

Link returned his big eyes to Gaepora and took his large hand, the headmaster leading the orphan to his room downstairs and treating the lad like he always had.

Like a son.

The next morning was one of the few where Link got up on his own, where he didn’t sleep in for hours and was in fact excited by the prospect of morning. Most ten-year old boys got up early to fly their new Loftwing, but Link was far more concerned with another friend, one that he had known much longer, one that was sitting up with a bowl of oatmeal when he entered her room.

Link beamed a smile, and so did Zelda.

“Zelda!” Link exclaimed, entering the room completely and approaching her. “H-how are you feeling?”

“Better,” she replied. “It hurts a lot less, but I should probably stay off it for a while.”

“Yeah,” Link agreed, nodding. He looked at her leg, braced with packs of ice and resting on a stack of soft pillows. It looked far more painful than she was letting on and remembering how it looked yesterday, Link doubted it could be anywhere near “better” this quickly, even with potions.

“I’m sorry.”

They both said it at the same time, so their heads snapped to each other.

“Zelda, I broke your leg,” Link said abruptly. “What in the clouds are you sorry for?”

“You broke my leg?” Zelda questioned, not believing her ears. “Goodness sake, Link, it was my fault, not yours. I should be thanking you for saving my life. I shouldn’t have tried to get my Loftwing, I…”

She stopped herself, and looked down at the patterned blankets she was in.

“I thought getting a new best friend would make you as jealous as I was.”

It was nothing more than an ashamed mumble, but Link heard it well, taking a couple steps to sit on the edge of her bed. He took her hand.

“No one will ever replace you as my best friend,” Link insisted. “Do you understand me?”

Zelda nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yes.”

#zelink #zelink week 2021 #zelinkweek2021 #link #zelda #skyward sword #tloz #the legend of zelda

[tfloosh]

Stray Animals

This prompt was the best because how can you not write about TP Zelink with a prompt like Stray Animals

“Link?” Zelda asked one afternoon. “What is this?”

“It’s a dog,” he smiled back at her.

“I see that,” she pursed her lips. “Why is there a dog in the castle?”

“It was abandoned on the streets,” Link explained.

Zelda raised her eyebrows.

“And it was hungry, so I brought it back here to feed it.”

Zelda sighed, “Just this once, alright? I know how you get with animals, and I will not have this castle overrun with stray animals.”

Link frowned as if she had insulted the dog, “It wouldn’t get overrun.”

She fixed him with a disbelieving look.

“It wouldn’t.”

***

“But there’s stables and fields for the horses,” Link argued. “This wouldn’t be any different.”

“We don’t have the room to house dozens of small animals,” Zelda countered. “We have no structure for them, no space, and we would have to keep them separated from the horses.”

“What if it wasn’t on the castle grounds?” he asked. “We could build a shelter in the city. There’s already been talk of expanding past the city walls. This could be the start of that.”

“Then you would have to speak with Castletown leadership,” Zelda consented.

“Well, my sway as Prince Consort will finally come in handy.”

***

“Link, you know I dislike cats,” Zelda huffed as a feline curled around her legs, peered up at her, and gave a loud meow.

“Really?” Link frowned as he pet another cat behind the ears. “I thought it was just Louise since she stepped in your food that one time.”

“No, I dislike all cats,” she frowned back as yet another cat hopped on a nearby table. “They are so cold and stand-offish. At least dogs desire to see you and are happy once in a while.”

“Yes, I do agree that dogs are better,” Link smiled knowingly. “But cats aren’t all bad.”

Yet another cat padded their way across the desk, knocking over Zelda’s tea and leaving wet footprints all over the books and documents laid across the surface.

“I thought this would be a great way to advocate for a shelter,” Link apologized as he picked up the offending cat off the desk. “There is a real problem in Castletown with homeless animals. If we can get them off the streets and into a proper home, then it will benefit everyone in town. Diseases transmitted by animals will decrease, and the threat of feral or dangerous animals will go down as well. The city will become a safer and healthier place.”

“I wholeheartedly agree, my love,” Zelda smiled. “I’ve seen all the research you’ve done on this topic. I’m sure the city council will agree to your proposal.”

“Here’s hoping,” he sighed. “It’ll take a lot of money to build a whole animal shelter. But the jobs it will create should outweigh some of those cons.”

“So you’re ready for your presentation tonight?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Link stood, that determined look in his eyes. “But will you help me move all these cats?”

Zelda rolled her eyes but spent the next two hours wrangling cats anyway.

***

“This is it,” Zelda smiled as they walked to the new development outside the city wall. “Less than a year and it’s opening.”

“I know,” Link was practically bouncing as he walked. “This is my first big project as Prince Consort, and it was so successful. The council told me it came in under budget, too. Can you believe it?”

“Of course I can believe it,” she smiled at her husband. “You were heading this project.”

They arrived at the grand opening of the Castletown Animal Shelter. For once, Zelda took a step back and let her husband take the spotlight as he cut the red ribbon in front of the entrance and led tours of the interior.

“You must be so proud,” Rusl smiled at the Queen. “Link is always trying to help others, even the smallest, forgotten animals. I’m glad he finally found a way to channel his desire to help the community.”

“As am I,” Zelda nodded. “Otherwise my castle would be overrun with stray animals.”

“It would not have been overrun,” Link said as he passed them.

***

“Link, darling,” Zelda smiled when she finally found her husband. “It’s time to go. It’s getting dark out.”

“Zelda, look at this pup,” Link lifted the dog for her to see.

She took the puppy from him. It was a young Hylian Terrier with dark grey, almost green fur and a white underbelly, and its eyes were a startling blue.

“It looks just like-”

“I know,” Link grinned widely, showing off those pointed canines that had never really returned to normal. “We should take him home.”

“Link, we can’t,” Zelda started.

“We would be setting a great example for the community,” Link talked over her. “If the royal family can take home a shelter dog than so can any family in the country. We wouldn’t be able to keep animals in the shelter; people would be adopting them as soon as they came through the door.”

Zelda sighed. Link had thought about this a lot. There would be no talking him out of it.

“This will be your dog,” she handed the puppy back to him. “You will take care of him and train him properly or else.”

“You are the best wife ever,” Link stood up and swiftly kissed her on the cheek. “I love you so much.”

“Yes, I know,” Zelda smiled as the puppy yapped happily, as if it knew it was going to a new home. “What will you name him?”

“I was thinking Wolf.”

“You can’t name him Wolf.”

“I thought you said this was my dog.”

“Fine. Name him Wolf.”

#zelink #zelink month #zelink month 2018 #tp zelink #twilight princess #loz #flooshfics

[iwroteinapastlife]

Zelink Month Day 15!

Week 3: The Passion of Friendship

Day 15: Recipe

Dear Diary,

Today has been a day riddled with nostalgia.

Prince Sidon is every bit as sweet and charming as he was when he was young. It’s incredible to see him so grown up. Knowing Zora lifespans as compared to Hylians, I thought I knew for sure back then that I would never see him pass adolescence. Yet here is another strange blessing wrapped in the curse that was Calamity Ganon—getting to see Sidon as the brave and charismatic prince that Mipha always wanted him to be.

He and the rest of the Zora people seem to hold a great deal of respect and appreciation for Link, and not just for taming Vah Ruta. It would seem that here as well he has spent a great deal of time accomplishing tasks for the civilians. If as a queen I can ever be half as helpful as Link has been to the people of Hyrule, I will be content.

Though Zora Domain isn’t the trading center that Gerudo Town is, it is still a beautiful travel destination for many people across the map, and with Ganon gone, tourism is up here now just like in Gerudo. And just as we observed with Naboris, it would seem that Vah Ruta has returned the dormant state in which we found it initially. I am beginning to suspect that the Sheikah programmed the divine beasts to only become active amidst the presence of a danger as destructive as Ganon. Let us hope that they never have to awaken again.

Being among the Zora was a very strange experience—in a good way. Unlike everywhere else, a vast majority of the Zora were around for the calamity, and many of them even remember me. I cannot adequately express the way it squeezed my heart every time one of the Zora people today greeted me as if an old friend returned from a long journey. Even though I was never very close to them, and only visited the domain a few times, they still remember me as the Hylian princess from all those years ago and expressed immense gratitude and relief that I am alive and well now. It was…cathartic.

We left Zora Domain early in the day to start heading south again. Link said he wanted to get as far as we could because he wanted to leave plenty of time for us to get to the place he wants to show me tomorrow. He still won’t tell me where exactly that is, but he promises that I’ll love it, so I just have to trust him.

Surprisingly enough, the nostalgia didn’t end today with us leaving Zora Domain. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this yet, but Link is a really good cook. In the past, of course, food was his one true love, so he had a basic understanding of it. But the things he made back then were fairly simple. Mushroom skewers and grilled meats made up most of his meals. Truth be told, I think that might have been where most of my success came from back then when I got him to open up over meals—I made him slightly more novel meals that he wasn’t as used to.

Now, however, he’s gotten very creative. He throws together so many ingredients that I never would have thought to mix, and they come out absolutely delicious! He says it’s because he didn’t know how to make anything when he woke up and just had to start trying random things to see what would happen. Apparently, he made a few unspeakable horrors along the way, but for the most part, he’s learned a plethora of scrumptious recipes!

The reason I bring it up though is because earlier, once we had set up camp for the night, he did the sweetest thing with regards to cooking. Even though I love Link’s cooking, and I enjoy cooking myself as well, I admitted that the one thing I really miss about living in the castle is the food. Our chef back then was a creative culinary genius the likes of which I haven’t seen anywhere else. He used to make the strangest, most delightful things that you would never see anywhere else.

A moment later, Link had hopped to his feet and was rummaging through the ingredients we had. When I asked him what he was doing, he refused to answer, just saying it was a surprise. Just about at my limit for surprises, I kept leaning over to watch what he was doing. He eventually caught me trying to sneak a peek though, and ordered me to turn around.

I felt like an impatient child on time-out as I sat there just playing with the grass while Link made all sorts of clattering and clanging behind me. But the wait was well worth it. When he finally told me I could turn around, I found myself confronted with a cute little purple horned dessert—Monster Cake, just like the chef used to make. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Apparently Link had found the recipe whilst making his way through Hyrule castle.

I think I surprised him when I set the cake aside and kissed him instead of eating it.

-Zelda

P.S. I did eat it eventually, and it was delicious.

#zelink month 2018 #zelink month #zelink #loz #botw #the passion of friendship #recipe

[castletownranger]

What He Couldn’t Do

Living without all his memories is hard. Dealing with the aftermath of gaining them back is even harder.

Just an angsty little idea I had for a one shot.

Pairing: Zelink, slight Miphlink

—

Three days. That was how long it took for another one of Link’s memories to resurface, after they had sealed away Calamity Ganon.

Zelda was the one who found him. When Link’s horse came back without a rider, the princess knew something was horribly wrong. Link wasn’t the type to just leave Epona unattended, and Epona certainly wasn’t the type to wander off without Link. Zelda’s pulse quickened. She hopped on  Epona and just as she expected, Epona started trotting back the way she came.

When she saw Link, Zelda dismounted as Epona was still trotting.

The hero was on the ground. Curled on his side. Both arms curled around his head as if to shelter himself from something.

“Link!”

The princess ran toward him and dropped to her knees. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and with gentle movements rolled him onto his back. Link relaxed slightly under Zelda’s touch, but wouldn’t remove his arms from his face.

“Link?”

A sharp intake of breath. He flinched, turning to roll back on his side, but Zelda held him firm.

“Link, talk to me. What’s going on?” Her voice wavered a bit, but she hoped to Hylia that Link couldn’t register that. “Link?”

“I can’t…” Link’s voice dropped off. He took another gasping breath, “NO!” It was less of a word and more of a sob. Zelda’s heart broke at the sound of it, but she knew she had to remain calm to help him. She had to talk him through whatever was happening.

“What can’t you do, Link?”

Link’s shoulders began to tremble up and down in quick motions, but it was clear he was trying to hide it.

With a heavy heart, Zelda placed her free hand on one of the arms covering his head. She guided his left arm away from his face, and then his right. The hero’s face was streaked with tears.

Zelda was speechless. Despite all the hardships she’s seen him face, she had never truly seen him cry before. It made her blood run cold.

If she couldn’t get Link to talk about what was bothering him, she could at least provide him some comfort. Carefully she moved his head onto her lap, and ran her fingers through his hair to soothe him.

“Shh it’s okay, you’re okay…”

Link cried freely. He gave up on trying to hide it, turning onto his stomach to cling Zelda’s waist as he sobbed. Zelda rubbed his back with one hand, and kept the other hand gently in his hair. The hero’s shoulders heaved, and every outcry sent a stab like a knife through Zelda’s body.

“I’m here Link, everything’s going to be okay.”

After a while, the hero’s sobs stifled. His breathing became deeper in an effort to calm himself down, but there were little hitches of it every here and there.

Zelda did not say a word. She knew Link wouldn’t talk about it unless he wanted to,  and felt wrong trying to force an explanation out of him. The hero had always kept his emotions on a short leash. She continued to rub his back and stroke his hair, gently letting him know that she was there for him if he needed her.

The first words he spoke were so quiet Zelda wasn’t sure if she heard them. “I got another memory back.”

The princess leaned down closer to hear. “What?”

“A memory…” Link let go of her waist and slowly sat up. His eyes looked downturned and heavy. “I just remembered something again.”

Zelda reached out softly to hold his hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Link was silent. He stared at the ground as if it held the answer to Zelda’s question.

“It’s okay,” Zelda said, “You don’t have to. I’m sorry for whatever it was that you saw, Link. I never expected the Resurrection Shrine to have thisdegree of an impact on-”

“You don’t have to apologize for anything, Zelda. You saved my life,” Link said, locking eyes with the princess. His gaze shifted, and Zelda could see the gears turning inside his head. He looked like he wanted to talk, but was having trouble finding the words.

Eventually the gears locked into place. Link took a breath, “My memory was about Mipha. And the other Champions.”

Zelda nodded in understanding. This made sense; she and Link were off to check up on Vah Ruta, which had begun to act strangely. Of course the memory would focus on the Zora Champion, Link must’ve been thinking a lot about her and Zora’s domain on their journey. Usually visual clues set off memories for Link, but Zelda supposed the concentration of his thoughts could unlock them too.

Zelda gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. It’s okay Link, I’m here to listen.

Link took the cue. “It was the day Calamity Ganon awoke. All the Champions went to their Divine Beasts, and I went to the Castle. The guardians turned on us. You were commanding the soldiers to fight. There was fire everywhere, and buildings were falling, and people were screaming…”

Link closed his eyes. His lip quivered. Zelda was struck once again by how wondrous and paradoxical his nature was; Link was a knight, a hero, an expert swordsman who cut down threats with no hesitation. But he was still such a gentle soul on the inside. Zelda already knew how this memory was going to end. She braced herself for the rest of Link’s words, helplessly knowing full well why it had the effect on him that it did.

“The Divine Beasts got as close as they could to Hyrule Castle,” Link continued. “Calamity Ganon and the guardians became distracted by them. Giving me the perfect opportunity to strike. But…Vah Rudania was closest to me. I saw it light up red.”

Zelda could picture it all as if it were yesterday. She knew she would ever forget what it was like seeing the Champions fall, for as long as she lived.

Link shifted a little. “Vah Naboris was next. Then Vah Medoh. I could see these…things inside them, attacking the Champions. The Blights that Calamity Ganon created to destroy them. I turned just in time to see Vah Ruta turn red. I didn’t know what I was doing, I wasn’t thinking, but then next thing I knew I was running towards it. There was an awful screeching sound from inside, and the sound of spears clashing. I began to climb. The closer I got, the louder Mipha’s voice became. She was in pain…she was praying to the Goddess Hylia as she fought, asking her to protect the Domain when she was gone. I got inside just as… just as Waterblight ran her through, with a spear. Mipha looked at me…” Link’s words became choked. Tears were flowing down his face once again.

“She asked me for help. Or at least that’s what I think she said, I couldn’t hear her. I tried to run forward, but Waterblight grabbed me. I was screaming, but I don’t remember what I was saying. It threw me out of Vah Ruta and the last thing I saw was Mipha reaching out to me. I couldn’t save her…”

Zelda closed her eyes and let her own tears fall freely. That day was burned into her mind, it still haunted her dreams a century later. She remembered finding Link unconscious on the ground, instructing two soldiers to lift him into a cart, and setting out for Hateno where the last Hylian stronghold was located. Hyrule Castle was lost. Link eventually awoke with a far away look in his eyes, and their caravan was attacked by guardians who managed to kill everyone but the hero and the princess.

They took off towards a nearby forest. Link held Zelda as she broke down, all the while Zelda knew that Link was close to the edge as well. But the ever strong, ever silent hero remained stoic to help her, even though he’d just witnessed the most horrific thing that could ever happen.

And that’s exactly what he did right now too. Zelda froze as she felt a thumb wiping away her tears, and looked up to see concern on Link’s face. She felt ashamed. He was the one who just had relived a life shattering event, it was Link who truly needed the comforting.

Zelda reached up to take his hand, and brought it down to her lap. “I’m sorry you had to remember that. If I could’ve somehow kept that memory from ever resurfacing, I would have.”

“It’s okay,” Link mumbled. Each word sounded like it held the weight of the world, “One way or another, I need to have all my memories back. I won’t feel whole again until I do.”

But what if those memories end up shattering you even further?

“I just feel bad that the nature in which you regain them is so…drastic,” Zelda admitted. “If there’s anything I can do to make bearing them easier, I will.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re not alone, Link. You never have to be alone.” 

#here have some ANGST #breath of the wild #link #zelda #mipha #zelink #miphlink #zora champion #princess of hyrule #hero of hyrule #botw #botw fanfic #legend of zelda #loz

[syilcawrites]

archived memories | 7

Series: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Type: Multi-Chapter Main pairing: Zelink (Zelda and Link) Rated: T Tags/Genre: pre-calamity, fluff (middle chapters mostly), hurt (toward the last chapters lmao), pining Summary: bits and pieces of zelink scenes strewn in between the canon memories in botw! Snippet from Ch 7: “And it only grew larger when he tilted his head up at her and smiled—not those small smiles he usually gave her—but a smile that reached his eyes. She had never seen one of those before, and a selfish desire to keep that smile only to herself flourished alongside that fear.” A/N: Between Memory 9-10 Obligatory beach chapter! :^D

You can also read it on ao3! Click here to see all chapters on tumblr

chapter 7: sweet summer sea

She stared in awe at the view in front of her—the sun was at its highest point, and the swaying sea water reflected its illumination, casting a glowing shimmer over it. They were situated in a small gulf of water, with high cliffs on either side of them.

It had been a long time since Zelda stepped foot in sand, and the feeling of it under her toes reminded her that she was here, in the present.

“Breathtaking,” she exhaled as her eyes shifted from the sea to the sky. A gust of wind rushed toward them, lifting her ceremonial dress to reveal the waterproof one piece suit she had worn underneath. Zelda dropped her sandals from her hand and pressed her dress down, face red, and darted her eyes over to Link. He was conveniently crouched down, observing a seashell.

“Well, this is absolutely stunning,” Zelda declared, poking his thigh with her big toe. He jumped at her touch, startled.

“Uh, yeah! I thought you’d like it here. My family used to visit the beaches near Lurelin sometimes, since the water is really warm.” He snuck a glance at her. “This is between Aris Beach and Clarnet Coast. It’s a secret spot though, so don’t tell anyone.” He brought a finger to his lips, smiling cheekily at her.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Zelda said, laughing. She always found his smiles contagious. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been near Lurelin…” She had went once, with her parents. When her mother was still alive.

“You ready?” The sound of his voice prompted her to look over at him. He stood up and proceeded to take off his Champion’s tunic in one swift pull over his head. Her fingers twitched as she watched the muscles on his back move—she wanted to trace her fingers along them, but decided to be courteous instead and looked away.

“Ready for what exactly?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow up.

“We’re going in the water,” he declared. When she looked back at him, his trousers were replaced with shorts, and he faced the waves with his hands on his hips.

“We are?” Zelda asked, pointing at herself. He nodded enthusiastically, his blue eyes sparkling with happiness. Zelda frowned, glaring at the rippling water. She felt conflicted—the reason why she avoided the beach for so long was due to her growing dislike for water. But when she glanced back over to Link, his encouraging smile was hard to say no to.

“Well, maybe a little dip will be refreshing,” Zelda murmured in agreement, beginning to slip out of her ceremonial dress. She paused, halfway through pulling it off as she narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you going to watch me undress?”

He looked away, cheeks red. Zelda chuckled to herself at his amusing response. She neatly folded it and placed it next to a palm tree, then placed her sandals snuggly beside it.

Another gust of wind made her hair fly all over her face—one of the many downsides of having long hair was having to constantly tame it. Zelda had contemplated on cutting it every now and then, but could never muster up the courage to do so. She swatted at the stray strands that made its way into her mouth.

“I’ll join you in just a second… I’m going to braid my hair.” She shuffled around in her bag for a hair band, and when she pulled it out, Link tapped on her shoulder, holding his hand out.

“I can do it.”

“You can braid?” Zelda asked, surprised. She situated herself down on the sand, smiling in content when her skin hit the warm surface. Warm and comfortable, the two things she enjoyed. Link let out a hum of affirmation, sitting behind her, as he carefully combed her hair with his fingers.

“I have a younger sister, so I used to do her hair a lot.”

“You have a younger sister?” Zelda almost turned her head around, but stopped herself. “You’ve never mentioned her before! There’s always something new with you isn’t there?” Zelda smiled as he let out a small laugh. She focused on his fingers brushing through her hair, and on the sound of the waves that washed up onto the sandy shores. She had forgotten how pleasant the sea sounded.

Ever since she was unable to visit Hateno with him, he had promised to take her to secret spots around Hyrule that his father had taken him to, given that they were around the same area as their initial destination. She had looked forward to these various locations—although, that was before the overbearing pressure of obtaining the power.

No, the pressure was always there, but it had been suffocating her to hurry as of late. She had no time for such pleasantries, and decided to immerse herself in unlocking that damned sealing power to the point of exhaustion.

In the latest incident, she collapsed on horseback when they had gone on a trip to Rito Village to speak with Revali. Luckily he was riding beside her, and caught her before she could tumult head first into the rocky ground beneath them, but not without sustaining a couple of nasty scabs that still marked her legs. Link had fallen off of his own horse to dampen her fall and cushioned most of her damage. As he wrapped bandages around her legs, she tended to his head wounds, all while expressing her discomfort with him recklessly putting himself in harms way. It had been hard to keep the sternness in her voice when the pain from her legs kept causing her to grit her teeth though.

Zelda frowned upon that memory—if there was one thing she had to pick about him that she disliked, it would have to be how self-sacrficing he was.

After that incident, he seemed insistent that they take a small break to one of the many locations that he wanted to take her to, but reluctantly, she had always refused. Zelda did feel a little bad that she kept rejecting his proposal to take a short one-day trip, so she agreed to wear her bathing suit under her ceremonial dress for this trip, since he continuously mentioned that it would make her feel less uncomfortable while she was in the water when she prayed.

Of course she didn’t believe him—but she did it to humor him anyway.

And then this happened.

As she readied herself for another day of praying at the Spring of Courage, he lifted her onto the back of his horse, hopped on himself, and then sped off toward the coasts near Lurelin with her in tow.

Not that she hated being here. Rather, it was quite the opposite, but the stress was still there and the guilt for abandoning her responsibilities for the day were ever blooming in her chest.

“There, done,” Link exhaled with satisfaction.

Zelda turned around to face him, beaming. “Oh, we must take a picture!” She quickly grabbed the Sheikah Slate and pulled his arm toward her. Their heads lightly bumped against one another as she took a quick snap.

Link blinked rapidly afterwards, unprepared.

Zelda smiled down at the picture she had taken—her grinning and Link looking alarmed and confused. His expression reminded her of the first photo they had taken with the other Champions. She set the Sheikah Slate on top of her dress and felt around her hair.

“Why, you did quite a good job! I don’t feel much looseness in it.” Zelda pulled her braid over her shoulder, admiring it.

“There’s still enough time to go to the Spring instead, if you really want to.”

She caught that teasing tone of his—always lightly settled underneath the seriousness of his voice whenever he decided to poke some fun at her.

She scoffed and stood up, brushing bits of sand that had stuck to the back of her thighs.

“Come on, you need this too.”

------------------------------------------------------------------

She didn’t go into the water immediately. Instead, she watched Link attempt to catch fish with his bare hands for the first hour near the rocks. Halfway through, with no progress, he decided to try to stab them with his Master Sword, as if it would increase his chance of success.

Which it didn’t, to her amusement.

After he had gotten out, she decided to try her own fair share of the beach experience.

She tentatively stuck her toes in first to check the temperature of the sea, but it was surprisingly warm—nothing like the times where she stood in the shallow waters of the Springs and prayed. It was refreshing and inviting.

It was… peaceful.

Zelda wiggled her toes, watching the wet sand slip in and out between them with the water for a moment.

She looked behind to wave at Link, who decided to settle on the sand, sprawled. He waved back lazily, his eyes fluttering close. She waded in a bit deeper, submerging her body, trying to at least enjoy the warm waters without thinking of her responsibilities. At least for a little bit, if anything.

When she sat down, the water was up to her neck, and it felt like she was getting hugged by a warm blanket. As she relaxed, her eyes wandered across the sea. It was clear enough that she could see the rocks beneath and the different variety of colorful sea life. Zelda hummed, moving her hands under the water to watch the ripples it created. She chuckled as some of the little fishes around her darted away, swimming deeper, toward the rocks.

As her gaze trailed their path, her eyes caught a glimpse of a shine off to the side—something sparkled under the waves, just in the distance. She simply had to wade a bit deeper. She glanced back to Link, who now had his arm over his eyes in an attempt to shield the sun out.

She debated whether or not to bring the Sheikah Slate, but found herself already treading toward the sparkle underneath the crystal blue sea.

Her heart flipped as she drew closer to it. More colorful groups of fishes dispersed when she neared, scattering all around her. She knew why she had been so drawn to it—the gem sparkled like the color of Link’s eyes, bright blue against the rough grayness of the other rocks.

An Aquamarine gem.

She figured a quick duck under would suffice—but of course things appeared closer than they seemed underwater, and she was under the surface for longer than she anticipated. A little overestimation didn’t hurt her though, as she retrieved the Aquamarine easily enough. She didn’t rise up to the surface immediately after picking it up. Instead, she admired how it looked under the rays of the sun in the water.

The sound of Link’s muffled voice calling her from above drew her out of her admiration. She took one last glance at the gem in her hand before grasping it tightly, wiggling her way back up to the surface.

“Hey! I’m right here!” Zelda shouted once she broke through, waving her arms in the air. She swam back, hardly that far from shore in the first place, and rung out her braid of water as she smiled brightly at him. “I just found this stunning—“

“Why’d you go out so far?” he asked, panic wrapping around his voice. Her smile faltered.

“Link, I went approximately fifteen feet away,” Zelda stated, bewildered. “It looked like you were sleeping so I didn’t wake you up.”

“Regardless of what I’m doing you should’ve told me.” He ran his hand fervently through his hair, sending sand flying everywhere. He looked confused and troubled, as if he had startled himself awake from his own nap. Zelda tightened her grip on the Aquamarine in her hand, frowning now.

“If you’re resting, I’m not going to wake you up to tell you I’m walking fifteen feet away from you. That’s absurd.”

He stayed silent, and she knew what it was—closing up, deciding to keep his mouth shut. He did that now and then, and it was something she had accepted, but it didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to keep him from falling back into his old habits. She wanted him to speak for himself, for him to voice his own opinions without worrying. At least… with her.

“Link, you deserve as much rest as I do. You need to put yourself first—“

“Your safety is my priority,” he stated firmly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The fact that he had said it so easily angered her.

“Well, you’re my priority!” Zelda declared back stubbornly, shoving the gem into his chest. He grabbed it, but didn’t tear his eyes away from her. “I found this because I thought of you and I thought you’d like it. A-And as Princess, I declare you to put yourself as your own priority!” Zelda sharply twisted around to trudge back into the water.

“Don’t follow me!” she demanded. His soft footsteps that had trekked behind after her paused. She let out a huff of irritation as she submerged herself once more into the sea, going far enough so that she could sit down with the water just below her mouth. She blew bubbles into the water in hopes to blow off some steam, but the tempered anger didn’t linger very long anway. She kept glancing over her shoulder at him. He sat in the sand, looking sullen and glum. She couldn’t find it in herself to stay annoyed for too long.

After a short while she waved her hand at him, letting him know that he could come if he wanted to.

He had to sit a little ways behind her if he didn’t want the water to cover his nose. They sat there quietly for a couple minutes, simply listening to the sounds of the coastline.

“It’s pretty, thanks,” he said, breaking the silence. She nodded in response.

“I know it’s pretty, you’re welcome.” Zelda continued to blow bubbles into the water, her arms still crossed.

Eventually she scooted back and stopped once her back hit him. She drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around them.

“Link. Did you ever hate me?”

Her question startled him—she could feel him shift as the water around them rippled.

“Why would I hate you?” He sounded genuinely confused.

“Because I was nothing but rude to you at first,” Zelda stated matter of factly. “I don’t know what compels you to be so kind. Ever since the beginning you’ve been nothing but that.”

She patiently waited for a response, but his extended silence began to unnerve her. Soon, the little voices of doubt began creeping up into her thoughts: he must’ve been nice to her because he had to—how could he be rude to her, if she was the princess?

“The world is already cruel to you, so I thought you’ve had enough of that,” he said quietly. Her chiding thoughts halted shortly after, fading. Not even the voice of doubt could compete against his words, because if there was one thing Zelda was sure of, it was his honesty.

They sat there until their fingers grew wrinkled and pruny before she decided to finally look at him.

“I know you’re just concerned about me, but getting agitated over such a thing was quite unnecessary you know.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.” Link rubbed the back of his neck.

“But I do appreciate your concern,” she stated, standing up. She turned around and held out a hand to him. He didn’t grab on immediately and glanced up at her first, hesitating. Zelda had a ghost of a smile on her lips, assuring him that she was okay. But there was still an unresolved tension under her skin that she couldn’t quite pinpoint.

He gripped her wrist as he pulled himself up. It took all of Zelda’s strength not to topple over, but she felt slightly proud for not falling on top of him this time. Their weekly training sessions were definitely paying off.

“I was ready for you to fall into my open arms,” he said with a playful lilt of his voice.

“I’m sure you would’ve loved that just so you could have something else to make fun of me for,” Zelda replied back with a scoff. The chill of the wind made her shiver, and they walked back to the shores, with Zelda rubbing her hands up and down her arms. Link was quick to grab some towels that he left on some nearby rocks and wrapped it around her shoulders before he did the same to himself.

The tension under her skin snapped.

“See—that’s exactly what I’m talking about!” Zelda exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him.

He blinked, confused.

“You always do that. You make sure I eat first, make sure my tent is up first. You always make sure that I’m comfortable first before you are comfortable yourself!” She said quickly, halting. The waves crawled up to their ankles before drawing back into the sea. It continued that constant rhythm as they stared at one another.

He raised an eyebrow, as if he was saying so what? Zelda frowned and stood a bit straighter as she spoke. “From now on, I insist that you take care of yourself first, before you start concerning yourself over me.” He opened his mouth, as if to counter her point, but she immediately continued before he could say anything. “I see you as a companion, Link. As a dear friend, not just some associate of mine. I know that it’s your duty to ensure my safety, but I don’t want it to be at the expense of your own. It happens time after time, and it pains me to—“ she halted, sighing. She realized it seemed ridiculous that she had begun spewing this out simply because he had given her a towel first. But with him, she found herself more impulsive than usual.

And she wasn’t sure if it was necessarily a good thing.

At that point, Zelda had clasped her hands in front of her, casting her eyes elsewhere. Before she continued, she returned her attention back to his now softened gaze once she had found the words she had meant to say. “Take care of yourself more, Link. Won’t you?”

She admired his recklessness, but also feared it. Feared that it would make him meet a brutal end. The mere thought of it chilled her, and as if he knew she was plummeting into the depths of her thoughts, he brought her out of it with the brush of his skin against hers.

His fingers moved a stray piece of damp hair that had stuck to her cheek, making her realize how tense her expression probably looked.

“I’ll be okay,” Link reassured her. But it wasn’t the answer she was hoping to hear.

“Link,” Zelda grabbed his wrist before he could pull away from her cheek. “You’re not invincible,” she whispered, her voice grim.

A heartbeat passed between them.

“I know.”

But did he really? Her eyes traced the various scars covering his legs, arms, to the ones that trailed up his torso. The scars were long, thin, short, wide. Some deep, others superficial. There were even some on his neck. His skin was riddled with marks and burns, and that wasn’t even taking into account the backside of him.  Zelda tore her attention away from his body and met his eyes once more.

“Truly?” she asked.

He nodded, and she relaxed when she noticed that any semblance of humor had left his features. Zelda let go of his wrist, drawing her hands back to latch onto the ends of the towel hanging around her shoulders.

“I’ll hold you to that then,” she warned, letting lightness back into her tone. “Don’t you dare forget.”

“You’re so demanding today,” he exhaled, feigning annoyance. He shifted away from her to walk further up the shore, and Zelda followed suit.

“I’m exercising my right as future Queen,” Zelda insisted curtly, tugging at his ponytail gently. A smile of her own quirked up on her lips after she got a laugh out of him.

“Okay, fine. But I’m not going to put myself first every time. If you’re shivering from head to toe I’m giving the blanket to you first.” Link covered his feet with dry sand, wiggling his toes underneath it. She copied him and did the same to her own feet.

“As long as you don’t risk your life, I suppose I’ll agree to your terms,” Zelda replied back solemnly. He chuckled at her intentional usage of her princess-esque tone.

A click clacking sound prompted her to look up from her feet. She glanced back toward the waves, ears perking up. Her eyes latched onto a nearby ironshell crab, sauntering its way alongside the waves.

“Oh!” she said, her eyes brightening. “And lest I forget…” Zelda carefully made her way toward it, “I do wonder if I could study these local crabs alongside the hot-footed frogs. Will these crabs also produce some interesting effects, or will they simply be good for dining?” She raised her hands up, her fingers wiggling in anticipation. The moment the ironshell crab turned its head, Zelda latched onto it, being mindful of its claws.

She turned around to face Link, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “I have seen these crabs in some of our flora and fauna books in the royal library. I’m sure the name ‘ironshell’ wouldn’t have appeared out of the blue if they weren’t known for just that. If we take its name into consideration, perhaps it can offer some sort of increased sturdiness, which would greatly benefit you!” she rambled, peeking up to a nervous looking Link.

“Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to eat this one just as it is,” she promised. “Unless, in the name of research, you would be willing to try it this time?” Zelda held the crab up to him, and she burst into fit of laughter when he instinctively paced ten steps back. “I’m merely joking, Link!”

He let out a shaky, albeit relieved, laugh of his own. Although it would’ve been fortunate for her studies, the last time she urged Link to try a critter, he was less than willing to. She was hoping that maybe a crab would be up his alley, but she figured that eating live critters raw was probably not something anyone, even Link, would be too keen on trying if he didn’t have to.

“Get a bottle for me, will you? I want to take it back to the castle.”

As he shuffled in her bag for a glass bottle, Zelda carefully made her way back to him while avoiding its sharp clippers. They sat down across from one another, with Link holding out the bottle, and Zelda meticulously placing the ironshell crab into it. She sealed it with a pre-stabbed cork top. She wanted to enable some breathing air for her captured critters, since a live specimen was far more valuable to her than a dead one. She lowered her head to get a clearer view as the numerous experiments she was planning on conducting were already whirring around in her head.

“Let’s come back here with everyone else once we seal Ganon,” Link said, his voice quiet against the wind. Zelda raised her eyes from the glass bottle to his face, a bit taken aback from his declaration. He was looking down at her hunched form, staring at her. Even now, it was hard to tell what he was thinking sometimes, despite her best efforts to decipher his expressions.

“Once we seal Calamity Ganon,” she echoed back, agreeing with a nod. She leaned back, clearing her throat, but the uncomfortable lodge stuck in it did not disappear. And she knew exactly what it was.

Her fear, growing and evolving into something more twisted and deafening than it already was.

And it only grew larger when he tilted his head up at her and smiled—not those small smiles he usually gave her—but a smile that reached his eyes. She had never seen one of those before, and a selfish desire to keep that smile only to herself flourished alongside that fear.

“I think we should visit the Spring of Courage again before we head back to the castle. We still have two days left,” Zelda murmured, casting her attention back to the clear blue water.

“Are you sure?” Link asked, drawing his eyes in the same direction.

Zelda nodded, letting out a long, hard exhale.

They both stared out toward the sea, relishing in its peacefulness for one last time.

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