Chapter Text
"May I ask... Do you really remember me?"
The question hung in the air as the princess and knight looked upon each other for the first time in a century. It was almost funny. They had found each other just the way they had left one another all those years ago. Zelda with dirt in her hair, her dress torn and sullied. Link scraped and bruised from battle. It was like nothing had changed. But, that was not true.
When Link did not immediately answer, it was a confirmation of that and Zelda's stomach dropped. Her hands stayed tightly clasped, as if praying, despite the urge to hug her sides. Better yet, her face didn't quiver and she still gave off the light and hopeful air that she had asked the question with. Unlike Link, the princess was never good at masking her emotions but right now she was on par with him. Eventually, her gaze did fall to the ground, unsure whether she would be able to handle whatever he might say—or might not say.
"Yes," he croaked. Zelda's head snapped up. For a moment, she was teleported back to the first time Link had spoken to her. It had been just prior to Calamity Ganon and despite still growing used to his presence, she had felt honored in a way, knowing he was a quiet swordsman. From then on, she tried to preserve his voice in her memories. After so many years, she thought it would be lost to her.
Link cleared his throat, bringing Zelda out of her reverie, and scratched his head, embarrassed. "Yes."
The princess found herself letting a small laugh escape. Then, to her surprise, tears followed. Zelda thought she had done away with crying ages ago. But, she realized, these were tears of joy.
Her feet were moved on their own and she reached out for Link who met her with an embrace. And like a hundred years before, the princess was crying in the arms of her knight. Only this time, it was different.
Before heading to a nearby stable, Zelda had asked Link for one last look upon the castle. It had been hard enough to walk through the desolate town ruins but to see the remains of the palace was bittersweet. It was once her home and her prison. She wondered how a place could be the holder of her sweetest and saddest memories.
Looking at the destruction, she was reminded of what the gossip mongers once called her, Zelda, an heir to a throne of nothing. They were only partially right, however. The spires that had jutted out of the ground had turned blue and as she looked overhead, no longer did she see red and black churning but a beautiful, blue sky. It was true she did not have a throne to sit on but it inspired her to build Hyrule anew. How she would do it, she was unsure.
Zelda turned to Link as an indication that she was ready to leave. She didn't completely feel like she got closure but she decided that she would just have to keep on moving. So, they started to head back towards Hyrule Field. Yet, after only taking a few steps, something compelled both the princess and the knight to turn back. For a moment, atop the castle, Zelda thought she saw something similar to the glow of luminous stones. This instilled a renewed feeling of hope and this time when she turned around, she was ready to restore glory to Hyrule.