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"Come on, Link! You need to join the archery competition!" Zelda stage-whispered into Link's ear. "I'm sure they'll let you join."
She had her face turned away from Link and was looking directly at the innkeeper, Pagho, who was taking down names for various competitions for the new year.
"We agreed that it was unfair for me to join any combat competitions," Link said shortly.
"We agreed that it was unfair for you to join swordplay competitions," Zelda clarified, "Besides, archery is more of a hunting competition. Come on. You've been a stick in the mud all day long. This is the last competition before the sun goes down."
Zelda's loud whispers and unblinking stare had caught the attention of Stad and Okil. Both men were stringing bows and listening unashamedly. They ambled over with a faux-casual air.
"So, Link," Stad said, "Are you going to join us or not. I know you pulled the Sword, but surely that doesn't make you a better shot."
"Or are you worried about your soldier training?" Okil asked, "I know you were stationed as an archer at Fort Hateno before you got all high and mighty. Maybe we should make this more of a challenge for our resident knight."
Link just gave the two a sour look. Zelda beamed at the backup and rushed over to Pagho to sign him up while he wasn't paying attention.
"You'll want to show off a little," Okil continued in a low voice, "You would hate to have your lady friend's head turned by another man. She's the most beautiful woman ever to visit this village. Every man here is waiting for you to mess up."
Link's frown got deeper.
"Including us," Stad said, "If that's what Castle Town women look like, then I think I'll have to find my way to the capitol as well."
"You're free to go to Castle Town. Hylia is out of your league." Link said.
"I don't see how you have time to meet women while guarding the Princess all day," Stad retorted. "I could find a beautiful woman too!"
Zelda picked that moment to march back to the three men.
"You're all signed up!" She exclaimed, "I worked it all out with Mister Pagho. You'll have an appropriately difficult challenge for your skill level."
She waved her hand in the air to brush off Link's grunted disagreement.
"It's too late to complain now; he's already written your name on the board."
Link just huffed a little and glared once more at the group at large before turning to the small weapon rack full of hunting bows. He chose a bow but left his soldier's issue weapon strapped to his back. He wasn't going to use his advantages in the competition, but he also wasn't going to disarm even partially. Zelda was still the Princess even in disguise, and he was the only guard in attendance at his hometown festival.
While Link turned his back, Zelda winked conspiratorially at Okil and Stad. She shooed the two off towards Pagho with a wave.
"I think you'll do well!" Zelda said to Link, "It will be good practice for the Farore's Day tourny in a few weeks. I know you've signed up for those competitions."
"The Farore's Day tournament is an exposition of skill among Hyrule's soldiers and knights. I will be competing against my peers." He tested the weight of the bow he selected.
"Archery competitors, listen up!" Pagho shouted over the crowd's chatter. "Find your ladies and get a good luck kiss before you line up!"
The crowd laughed and started jeering at the suddenly nervous group of men. A few wives and sweethearts came up for a little kiss, and one man swept his wife into a dip and gave her a lingering kiss to a great cheer from the crowd. Zelda was shoved forward by Pagho. She stumbled and tripped into the group. Link recovered from surprise fast enough to catch her. He helped her back to her feet with red cheeks.
"Ignore them," he whispered in her ear.
Zelda smiled good-naturedly and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Good luck, Hero."
She had a bit of mischief in her voice. When Link turned, deeply crimson, to the targets, he realized why.
There was a line of nine round archery targets about thirty yards away. They were good targets for men used to hunting in the forest. On one end, there was a tenth that was covered partially by fabric. Nails pinned the fabric carefully around the edges, leaving a much smaller and much narrower target in the shape of the master sword. Pagho had also placed the mark a good twenty feet further back. Not as far as the typical tournament distance, but easily far enough to provide a challenge when combined with the odd and very narrow shape.
Zelda met Link's look of reproach with an innocent smile.
Link took his place at the sword target in line with the other men and pulled an arrow from the cluster at his feet. Pagho gave the signal for the first shot. Link scuffed the ground with his back foot before settling into his stance. He stood upright and pulled the string back gently. He kept his breathing even and slow while he lined up the shot. He let the arrow fly and watched it shoot in a graceful arc to the Sword. It hit the target just to the right of dead center. The narrow shape meant that the arrow was closer to the mark's edge than the exact center. Link frowned.
Pagho called for the second arrow. Link scuffed the ground again and resettled his stance. He pulled back the arrow and let it fly when he exhaled. It sored to the target and embedded itself into the exact center of the Sword bullseye. Link gave the shot a short nod of approval before picking up his final arrow. The last two arrows didn't have the speed that this arrow did, and it clipped the edge of his second arrow before digging its way deep into the straw.
Link rolled his shoulders back and glanced down the line at his competition. Stad was a terrible shot. His target only had two arrows in it. Okil's was much better with all three arrows sticking out and two near the bullseye. Several of the remaining competitors shot at least one bullseye, and a stocky man at the opposite end got all three clustered in a tight group just north of his bullseye.
"It looks like our clear winner is our local knight and the Hero of Hyrule!" Pagho shouted to the crowd. He yanked Link forward and dropped an antler crown on his head. The rough headpiece was little more than two antlers lashed together with leather; it matched the winners of the other six competitions of the day. Link slouched his way into the lineup of winners to the cheers of the townspeople. They all stood around, clapping each other on the shoulders, peacocking for the crowd, and arguing good-naturedly.
"Let's give our winners a cheer!" Pagho shouted, and the crowd roared in approval. "And let's get this party going!"
The band took Pagho's words as their cue to start playing a rousing jig, and young women of the town pulled the seven men to the makeshift dancefloor next to the cookpots. A pretty redhead pulled Link along behind her and convinced him to swing her around in a familiar country dance. Link could see Zelda following the blacksmith to the floor as well and tripping over the novel peasant steps. She was elegant and sophisticated compared to the villagers. The dark umber of the hair dye they had used for her disguise gave her a dim glow instead of the bright shining light that usually surrounded her. She was still the most beautiful thing Link had ever seen.
Link danced with what felt like every woman in the town. In between dances, his partners offered him food and drinks. He slowly became more relaxed and began to enjoy the party. His head was getting a little fuzzy, and his body warm from all of the drinks while Zelda charmed her way through each unfamiliar dance.
"Your lady friend is charming." Pagho poured two drinks and handed one to Link. "You ought to dance with her. She keeps looking at you. She's going to give up on you soon if you don't go for it."
"She's not my lady friend. She's just an acquaintance from Castle Town. We're just friends."
"Maybe you're just friends, but that girl is sweet on you." Pagho was talking far too loudly. "She's been singing your praises all day to anyone who will listen."
Link did his best to keep his face from turning red again. "She's just kind. Excuse me."
Link downed his drink and walked away from the conversation as quickly as possible. He went over to where Zelda was chatting with Stad to ask her to dance. Not because Pagho told him to. He was just in the mood for another dance, and he wanted to be a good host.
But, Stad took her hand before he got to her and pulled her onto the dance floor. Link found another drink and sipped it while he waited his turn. Then Zelda switched partners to another man. Then another, then Okil, then that first blacksmith again.
"Looks like you missed your chance." Pagho swung past him with his wife. "Better hurry. There's only one more dance before midnight."
Link was pretty tipsy at this point.
He sat down on a bench and tried to come to terms with the fact that he was jealous of the blacksmith. He did want to dance with Zelda. More than that, he wanted Zelda to want to dance with him. But, she was more interested in literally any other man at this festival. They had barely even spoken after the dancing started.
He was wallowing in self-pity when the object of his thoughts plopped down next to him. The energetic dancing had left a pleasant flush on Zelda's face, and her skin had a light sheen of sweat. Link tried not to imagine her looking like this in his house without prying eyes.
"Would you like to dance?" She asked.
"Yes," he said much too quickly. Then his brain caught up, and he flushed to the tips of his ears. "I mean... yes..."
Zelda took his hand and led him to the dance floor. The musicians took up a slow ballad to end the old year. It was a sweet song that was far too intimate for a dance with a Princess. Link tried to think of Zelda as Hylia, a ladies maid from Castle Town, rather than his future sovereign. She placed his hand on her waist and took up his free hand in hers. Link tried to pull himself together and started the steps to a court dance she would know.
She beamed at him. "I didn't know you could do my court dances! I would have been dancing with you all night instead of making a fool of myself trying to learn new ones."
Link's heart skipped a beat.
"You seemed to be having fun. "
"Yes, I've had a good time. Thank you for letting me stay. I know I shouldn't have just shown up on your time off." Zelda looked down at her feet even though Link knew she had all of the steps by heart.
"I'm always happy to have you around, Zel. You're my friend, and I love spending time with you."
Now it was Zelda that couldn't keep the red from her face. She tried to turn her head to keep him from seeing, but Link took the motion as an invitation to pull her a little closer.
"I love spending time with you too. Getting to know you has been an adventure," Zelda's voice was a little muffled by his tunic. He wished she would look up so he could see her expression. "I hope that it's an adventure that keeps going."
"I don't have any more secrets, Princess. You know more about me than I do."
"Well, you'll have to work to surprise me, then," Zelda said with a smile in her voice. The song was coming to a close, so she began to pull away from him. He wouldn't let her go. They stopped with the music, and she finally turned her face up to his again.
He steeled himself. She looked content and expectant and nervous. He was nervous too, and if he hadn't had three more drinks than necessary, he probably wouldn't even be thinking about what he was about to do. He would almost certainly regret it in the morning when he considered his career trajectory and the effect on their friendship and his plans for not dying of a beheading.
Their lips touched.
Zelda sighed into the kiss, and Link could feel her hands slowly run down from his shoulder to grasp at the front of his tunic. He leaned back and took a ragged breath before capturing her lips again. His hands pressed against her back to keep her body against his own as tightly as possible. Each point of contact was a new shock of electricity to his system. Link thought that the moment couldn't get any better until she let out a small whimper. The sound made him forget everything around them. Her title was gone, their circumstances are gone, the village was gone.
She pulled away.
"Take me back to your house," He couldn't deny her anything when she spoke with that breathy voice full of need.
Link dove in for one last kiss before leading her by the hand through the crowd. They slipped away from the party quickly before running, laughing, up the hill to his house.