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Only three hours after the destruction of Calamity Ganon, Zelda knew something was wrong. She and Link were on their way to Kakariko Village to inform Impa of the victory, but Link’s pace was uncharacteristically slowing. She watched him out of the corner of her eyes as they walked. As he always had, he’d met her concerned questions with a smile and a nod every time she’d asked if he was alright. But Zelda could tell otherwise.
They were almost to the canyons which led into the village when Link stumbled to a halt, almost doubled over, trying in vain to regain his composure. A breathy whimper escaped through gritted teeth, and seconds later the Hero pitched forward, landing on his hands and knees with a pained grunt.
“Link?!”
She was crouched by his side in seconds, memories flashing through the back of her mind, memories of turning back just in time to see him fall, of clutching his burned, bloodied, lifeless body, frantically begging him to awaken, to live. For a few agonizing seconds, she thought she was losing him again.
He wasn’t wounded or corrupted by Malice— thank Hylia, the Three, and every other deity she could name— but the young knight’s skin burned with fever, the kind of fever that took much more than three hours to build. Link was not only sick, but had been for some time.
“Link…! Why didn’t you tell me you were ill…!”
Zelda held her arms out, helping her old friend to his feet. He leaned heavily against her, panting as she took his weight onto her and they pressed onward as best they could.
Unfortunately, at the canyon entrance, the Hero’s strength finally ran out. His knees buckling, he went limp entirely, almost taking Zelda to the ground with him. The determined princess awkwardly gathered her unconscious companion over her shoulder to make the final leg of their journey.
Kakariko Village greeted her with horrified stares and gasps at the sight of the gentle young man that had done so much for them draped pitifully over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“I need—“ Zelda panted to the guards, “—to see Lady Impa…!”
Link let out a soft moan, as if to confirm the urgency of the situation.
When she entered Impa’s house, a profound silence fell, broken only by a teacup falling from Impa’s hand as though she had just seen a ghost.
“P… Princess... Zelda…?!”
“Lady Impa, I… I can explain things later, Link needs help…”
~~~
“So Calamity Ganon is no more…”
They sat around Link’s bedside, Impa absentmindedly stroking the boy’s hair. Paya watched from the doorway, doubtless also worried about Link’s well-being. A damp cloth sat on his forehead, and his skin was unhealthily pale, with the exception of his flushed cheeks and tips of his ears. He had been fading in and out of consciousness, not only feverish, but exhausted as well.
“Yes. Thanks to Link and the Divine Beasts, I was able to harness the power of the Triforce and destroy the Calamity. We… we did it.”
Impa smiled at her, tears shining in her eyes.
“Your Highness… I want you to know… that I am so very, very proud of you. Many nights I stayed up worrying myself sick about you. But… you… You saved us all…”
The dam of emotion building in Zelda for a hundred years finally burst. Impa moved her chair to sit beside Zelda as the poor girl broke down into tears. She held the young princess in her arms, and Zelda accepted the embrace in a heartbeat, clinging to Impa for dear life after so long with nothing but the scourge of Malice against her skin.
Impa carded her fingers through Zelda’s hair, holding her close, just as she had when she was a little girl, letting the stressed youth cry until no more tears would come. She hummed that familiar melody, passed down through the millennia, softly into her ear, just as she did when she’d come to her in dire need of comfort after the tragic passing of her mother. She’d sought comfort from Impa over her own father. Impa had always thought that Rhoam was a terrible father, from what little she knew about the relationship from his poor daughter. Now more than ever, it was clear that Princess Zelda was not simply a weapon against the Calamity or a vessel of divine light, but a person, a person in need of love and compassion like any other.
Even after Zelda’s tears had stopped, she still remained in Impa’s embrace. She only pulled away at the sound of Link groaning, prying his eyes open and struggling to lift his head to gaze at her with bleary, half-lidded, fever-clouded eyes.
“Prin...cess…” he croaked, unsure if he had her attention.
He had her undivided attention.
“I h… I haf’t’ tell you…”
Link swallowed hard, grappling with both the physical and psychological effort of speaking.
“Th’ frogs… I tried ‘em… ‘n’ they work…”
What little focus in his eyes Link could muster faded, eyes rolling up in his head as his head flopped back down onto the pillow.
Zelda couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Oh? What’s so funny? And what was that about… frogs?”
Zelda could barely contain herself.
“Once, I, I — hehehehehe! I tried to get him to eat a hot-footed frog to study its effects... hahahaha!”
Impa laughed along, and that was the moment that Zelda began to realize that things would be alright.
“Come, Your Highness. I’ll show you how to make Kakariko’s famous pumpkin soup. They say it works wonders for you when you’re sick. I think poor Link could use some.”
Impa smiled at Zelda’s excitement. Her father would be outraged at her learning how to cook. But her father was dead. And he could no longer bully her.
“Thank you, Lady Impa!”
“I’m sure it’ll taste better than those frogs he says he’s been eating!”
It felt so, so good to laugh.
~~~
“Link… you were amazing.”
...Mipha?
“I… have to admit. I… really couldn’t have done it better myself…”
REVALI?! The feverish teen desperately pried his eyes open, squeezing them shut again at the flood of teal light.
“Link, you can hear us?!”
Squinting up, Link could see the beaming spirits of his fellow Champions.
“He… can,” said Revali, looking away.
“Hey, Link!” grinned Daruk.
“It might be the fever,” said Urbosa, “There have been accounts of such things before, where an altered state of consciousness has led to increased perceptive abilities. And you seem to be very sick, Link…”
He felt very sick, too. He was somehow too hot and too cold simultaneously, aching like his bones were cracking open. His exhausted body trembled pitifully, which hurt in and of itself with the state Link was in.
But he hadn’t had time to nurse an illness. Zelda. He had to free Zelda. He had freed Daruk, the last of the other four Champions, and then there was no time to spare. He had to gather his supplies and face the Calamity. The girl who he remembered now, who had treated him and his fallen fellows as her family, the girl who stood up and defied her abusive father’s will in showing him such kindness, had been suffering in that castle for 100 years. If his action could help her in any way, he had to act immediately. Princess Zelda deserved nothing of what she received, both from fate and from King Rhoam.
Mipha had healed him during his grueling battle with Calamity Ganon, and was clearly distressed that her power would have to recharge, leaving her able only to watch as Link squirmed and whimpered, his face flushed and his thick, fluffy blonde hair matted with sweat and clinging to his head.
“Hang in there, Link,” said Daruk, a gargantuan spectral hand patting the small Hylian on the head.
Link smiled blearily up at them, eyelids gradually drooping shut.
“Yes, you should get some rest. You need it,” came Urbosa’s voice from beside him.
~~~
The next thing Link could sense was Zelda, speaking gently to him and pressing the back of her hand against his fevered brow. Her words came into focus as more of Link’s awareness returned.
“Impa and I have made some soup for you, here…”
Link gladly accepted the steaming, delicious-smelling bowl from Impa, Zelda helping him sit up enough to eat. He hadn’t realized just how hungry he was. It felt so good to eat a hot, delicious meal surrounded by people who might as well have been his family. A full stomach soon soothed Link into a deep, peaceful sleep.
—-
Link’s fever had broken as the sun set. Zelda sat at his side, patting his hand. She had sensed the spirits of Link’s fellow Champions, comforting him… it warmed her heart.
“U-um, uh… Your Highness?”
“Oh! Hello, Paya, what is it?”
She kept her voice down, not wanting to disturb Link’s much-needed slumber. Paya was practically vibrating in the doorway. Standing up, and stretching a bit after some time spent waiting to welcome Link back to consciousness, she joined her.
“P-Princess Zelda… I, I just wanted to say...Impa has told me so much about you. It’s an honor to finally meet you. And… and…”
Zelda looked at her, patiently but expectantly.
“And?”
Paya blushed bright, tomato red.
“I, I just… You and Link… are such a sweet couple…!”
“...What?!”
Paya looked shocked.
“...Paya. I have no siblings by blood. Link… Link is my brother. The Champions and I… we were a family. A century ago, I put my life on the line for him, and then all of Hyrule. And he did the same for me. Because that… is what family does. Paya… I mean no offense by this, but not everything is about romance. Some things… are more important.”
Though Paya was absolutely floored, it felt so good for Zelda to hear her feelings coming from her own mouth. For years, family meant bloodlines and smothering restriction. It meant King Rhoam.
But now… Hyrule’s future could be anything. Family could be anything, transcending blood and race and working miracles as they stood together. The former princess of Hyrule left Impa’s speechless attendant to return to watch over her sleeping, healing knight, her brother, quietly planning their future— free, as a family.