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Zelda found herself quite surprised at Link’s answer. She’d been rather straight forward.
“Do you remember me?”
A pause.
“Kind of?”
Kind of. Kind of? What sort of answer was that?
But she was willing to leave Link’s rather lackluster answer to her question aside for the time being. She was exhausted after the battle against Ganon, and the return to her human body had been rather rough. She hadn’t left it in great shape before beginning her 100 year death grip on the calamity, and all of the aches and pains of the desperate flight that day and the various wounds she’d accrued had come roaring back once she had assumed her corporeal form. For now, she wanted nothing more than a bath and a hot meal. She would worry about what he did and did not remember later.
They had stopped to camp somewhere between Hyrule Field and Hateno Village, where Link said he’d bought a house. He built up a nice fire, and showed her to a nearby shallow pond where she could wash and change into something that wasn’t her gross prayer dress. She couldn’t wait to take the awful thing off and put a firm end to the life she lived back then, to fully shed the trappings of a princess enslaved to fruitless prayer and the demands of the goddess. But … She stole a look back through the trees, where she could see the back of Link’s head as he bent over the cookpot, preparing their dinner. She definitely wanted to hang on to some things from her old life.
Clean and refreshed, clad in a soft tunic and trousers of his that didn’t quite fit but felt wonderful anyway, she sat across the fire from him and took careful bites of the savory stew he’d given her.
“So!” she said brightly. “Kind of. Hmmm.”
She kept her head down but looked up through her lashes at him to see a blush bloom across his face. That was something new. She could count on one hand the number of times she’d seen him blush before. Or, truthfully, on no hands at all.
“Well … I found the memories you’d left me, but they didn’t make much sense. In some, you liked me. In others, you definitely didn’t.”
“I see.”
“And, honestly …” He paused and fidgeted with his spoon and bowl before continuing. “That’s all I remember. So yeah, I kind of remember you. But not really.”
“Well, you remembered enough to come to my assistance, and that’s all that matters.”
“Ha ha, yeah, I guess so.”
Link rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. Zelda could tell that he wanted to say more, so she kept quiet to give him the chance. A small, shy smile curved his mouth and she stared at it in fascination. He had rarely smiled before, and at the time she had cherished each one like a gift. But in the short time since she’d been back he’d already smiled three times by her count! She wondered what other treats were in store for her with this new version of Link.
“I was hoping … and I know I’m asking a lot … and you don’t have to …”
Zelda smiled. Something else new. Link before was always in control, and if he ever felt uncertain or shy or embarrassed or anything, he didn’t show it. But she’d already observed four separate emotions on this Link! She wished she had one of her journals so she could take notes on all of the differences, but for now, she’ll just have to file them away in her memory for later.
He still wants to ask her something, and she should probably help him, say what she knows he’s trying to choke out, but she doesn’t. She can’t help it, he’s just so cute when he’s flustered.
Finally he seems to get it together.
“Well, I was just hoping that maybe … maybe you can help me remember? More?”
Her smile widens.
“Of course I will.”
Zelda fills him in, tries to flesh out his memories as best she can. She gives him some basic information, like his parents’ names, and what he had told her about his family — which wasn’t much. He wasn’t exactly chatty, before. What she can tell him is what they did together, what she remembers about life in the past, with him.
His favorite foods hadn’t changed. When they arrive at his home in Hateno he proudly makes her spicy meat curry for dinner.
“You’d make this for me all the time when we were on the road. It’s one of my favorite dishes of yours.”
He blushes at that. It’s been almost a week and she still hasn’t gotten over just how different he is, now. She's discovered she just loves making him blush.
“Really? Ha, something told me it would be a good choice.”
Another shy smile crossed his face. By this point Zelda has happily lost track of how often he’s smiled, too dazzled by each one to remember to count.
“It’s … it’s one of my favorites too.”
She feels like she wants to pull her hair and scream at the intense joy she feels. He would never say anything like this before. He made the dish frequently but never admitted to it being one of his favorites, though she could guess. He’d invariably tell her he made it because the spice was warming and the vegetables had a lot of fiber. Which was endearing in its own way, she admits, but she prefers him making it because it’s something they both enjoy a lot more.
She feels almost high on the smiles and blushes and thoughts and feelings he’s revealed in the brief time since they’ve reunited. She’s glad he trusts her, after everything, how he’s so accepting of each tidbit she remembers about him from before. She could almost tell him anything and he’d believe her. The thought gives her pause. Would he? Suddenly it’s as if she’s possessed, the words leaving her mouth before she can stop them.
“You’d also make me fruit cake.”
Link pauses, his spoon filled with meat and vegetables and dripping into the bowl, speckling his rice with curry sauce.
“Huh.”
He looks into the distance, as if combing his sparse memories for verification. She holds her breath to see how he reacts. She wasn’t being totally dishonest, not really. He’d once bought her a slice of fruit cake from her favorite bakery in an effort to cheer her up after a particularly harsh lecture from her father. But he was always so health conscious when he cooked for her, only making well-balanced meals that covered many nutritional bases, because “it’s important to maintain your strength and stamina when traveling, Princess.” The thought of him willingly making her a cake at a campsite seems so ridiculous as to almost be absurd.
But when she wakes up the next morning, it’s to find a fruit cake waiting for her on the table.
After that, she just can’t help herself. Of course she tells him the truth, more often than not, and she would never tell him anything dangerous or hurtful. But she can’t resist influencing him, just a little bit.
After a couple of weeks of recovery in Hateno, she finally feels up to making the trip to Kakariko. They spend a wonderful evening with Impa, and though it was strange seeing her friend so elderly, once they got to talking it was as if no time had passed at all. Soon it was nearing midnight, and after a day of travel and full of food and the local plum wine, it was all she could do to keep her eyes open. She and Link head off to the inn, and as soon as they’re out of view of Impa’s guards, she “remembers” something for him.
“Whenever I was tired you’d always offer to carry me on your back, no matter where we were.”
He looks at her sidelong, and then stares into the middle distance for a moment, a habit he’s developed since she began sharing memories with him. As if he’s locking it into his brain, or seeing if it jogs any other memories loose.
“Is that so?”
“Oh yes, you were a very dutiful and devoted knight, happy to serve however you could.”
“I see.”
Zelda worries she may have gone too far, but then he crouches before her and angles his arms back. She doesn’t hesitate, aware of the importance of maintaining her level of confidence to really sell these new “memories.” She drapes herself over his back, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck while being sure not to choke him. He wraps his arms around her knees and hefts her up without much effort, then walks them both to the inn. She yawns, pleased that her body is cooperating with her ruse, and then lays her head down on his shoulder and gives a happy little sigh. She really is very tired, and he’s so warm. He easily supports her weight so that she doesn’t have to hang on to him too tightly or feel like she’s going to fall. And his hair smells nice. It’s only a short walk to the inn but the gentle swaying motion as he walks nearly puts her to sleep before they get there.
Zelda had thought Link was handsome before, especially when he’d wear his royal guard uniform for special occasions. Not that she was alone in that, his quiet stoicism giving him an air of mystery that had half the castle pining for him. But once she’d gotten over her irrational hatred of him, and they’d become friends, she found she appreciated him in new ways the more time they spent together. He was an excellent listener, content to let her rattle on about whatever caught her fancy. He was observant, and caring, and devoted. But there had always been a deeper core to him she could never quite reach. It hadn’t stopped her from falling in love with him, in the end, but it had stopped her from ever telling him.
But Link, now, was handsome on a whole different level, his eyes bright and his face open and constantly smiling and laughing. Sometimes he’d catch her staring, but she couldn’t quite shake her fascination with his new expressiveness. He’d still listen as she rattled on, but now he’d comment and ask questions, and they’d frequently spiral off into increasingly elaborate plans that they were definitely going to do when they had the time. And he told stories! Stories of all the things he did after waking up, the people he’d met, the things he’d done, the places he’d visited. Zelda thinks that before, he might have said 100 words to her all together. But now the words flowed from him like a waterfall, and she couldn’t get enough of the sound of his voice.
A couple of months after her return, they began to travel Hyrule, visiting the various settlements so she could see the divine beasts and thank the departed spirits of her friends, as well as pay her respects to the leaders and inform them of the calamity’s passing. Before they’d left Link had told her how much he had been looking forward to taking her around, and showing her how people had prospered and thrived despite the calamity. And she had practically glowed from the wave of warmth that spread through her, that he had thought of her this way, as a person, and not just another aspect of his quest. That he had wanted to spend time with her, still, even when he didn’t have to.
If she thought she had been in love with him before, it was nothing to how she felt about him now. The things she had loved before — his thoughtfulness, his kindness — were all still there, but were just more now. There were so many things he had hidden away from everyone before that were out in the open now, like his sense of humor, which she had never seen before (and resulted in some truly terrible jokes that she laughed at anyway). But still she didn’t quite have the courage to tell him how she felt, afraid she might be rushing things, that she would scare him away. But, she thought, perhaps she could nudge things along with some of her “memories.”
They had brought their horses along on their journey, but just as frequently they would walk while the horses trailed behind them, led by the reins. Link told her he walked most of Hyrule on his journey, finding his constant need to mount and dismount his horse to be tiresome.
“Sometimes I’d find the horse had just wandered off while I was fighting bokoblins or whatever. And then I’d have to hunt it down. It got to be such a pain! It was just easier to leave the horses in the stables.”
“I used to wander off too, you know, and you’d have to hunt me down. It was quite the event! I know they had a running pool in the barracks for how long it would take you to notice I was missing and how long it would take you to find me.”
He laughed. Zelda still wasn’t used to his easy laugh, and drank up the sound.
“Well, perhaps I should have left you in the stable then!”
She gave an offended squawk and shoved him lightly. But it gave her an idea for another “memory.”
“Of course you wouldn’t do that. But … you would hold my hand, while we were out. You know, so I couldn’t escape.”
“Is that so?” he asked quietly.
She held her breath and kept her eyes on the ground, afraid to look at him. Then she felt his hand slide gently around hers as he wove their fingers together. Her face burning, she finally gathered her courage to peer around at him only to find him looking at her with a small smile.
“There, now you can’t get away from me.”
She swallowed heavily, trying to keep her heart from climbing out and throwing itself at him, and focused on the feeling of his hand in hers for the rest of their walk.
Late that afternoon they set up camp, Link getting the fire going while Zelda foraged for mushrooms. He said he always carried a small container of salt and other spices so that even when he had to hunt or forage for his meals, they would still taste as good as something he’d make at home. She brought him what she was able to find and he went to work slicing the mushrooms and cleaning the fish he’d caught, seasoning them all with shredded Hyrule herb and pinches from his spice jars. It was delicious, of course.
Later, after they had cleaned up, he made them a pot of tea to enjoy before they went to sleep. She commented on how impressive his resourcefulness was, and that she was glad he lived well while on his journey before coming to the castle.
“Well, just because you’re living rough in the wild is no reason to suffer! And once I finally met up with Hestu, I was able to carry so much more with me without it being a burden. I’m just glad I’m able to provide you with the kind of camping you're probably used to.”
“I’m no stranger to roughing it! We camped all the time, before.”
He gave her a skeptical look at that, and she had to admit, camping as a princess wasn’t exactly “roughing it.”
He turned back to the fire and the tea he was pouring into mugs for them.
“Do you … remember anything else, about our camping trips before?”
She plastered a thoughtful look on her face as she scrambled to think of something plausible, yet to her advantage. The season was winding down into autumn, and the night air was chill. Despite the fire, she had hunched down over herself to keep warm.
“Oh! On colder nights you would bring me a blanket so I wouldn’t be cold.”
She looked up to see him, two steaming mugs in hand, and a folded blanket tucked under one arm.
“Well, I’m glad to see I haven’t changed that much.”
Zelda smiled at him as he handed her a mug, setting his down so he could shake out the blanket. She decided to press her luck a bit.
“And … you’d sit next to me, and put the blanket around both of us. To … to share the warmth.”
He gave a thoughtful hum, and before she knew it, he was sitting right next to her, so close they were touching all along one side, the blanket wrapped around both their shoulders. She definitely did not need to worry about keeping warm, his presence burning along the side of her body. She swallowed against the dryness in her mouth and wiped her sweating palms on her trousers before reaching down to pick up her mug of tea. She was glad to have something else to focus on for the moment.
“So, what else do you remember?”
His voice is soft, and she turns to look at him only to see he’s so close, their noses only an inch or so apart, and she swallows again, her tea having helped her dry mouth not at all. She jerks her eyes away from him and stares back into her mug. She licks her lips, and fights to keep her grip on her mug … how can parts of her be so dry, while other parts of her are so sweaty? A mystery she’ll need to study at a later time.
“And … and sometimes you’d … kiss me.”
Her heart pounds in her chest as she waits to see what he’ll do.
“Is that so?”
She can hear the hint of amusement in his voice. He must be on to her, by now, and yet she’s determined to keep trying.
“Mmm hmmm,” she hums in agreement, then raises her finger to point to a spot on her cheek. “Right here. If I recall.” She hopes he can’t see how her hands are shaking.
“I see.”
And before she can get over her hubris in asking for something she’s wanted for over a century, she feels his lips on her cheek, a gentle press that lingers for just a second. She considers fainting from the shock of it, but she’s on a roll and refuses to stop now.
She debates if it’s a good idea to “remember” anything else, when suddenly Link’s fingers are on her chin, and he gently guides her head around to face him. He’s even closer than before, and she finds herself captivated by his blue eyes, as she so often was before. It’s as if he can see right into her soul, and she realizes he wasn’t fooled by her false memories at all.
“Do you remember, did I ever kiss you anywhere else?”
Another swallow, this time more of a gulp, as it feels like her heart is trying to escape and take her soul with it. Zelda feels so many different things at once it's a wonder that her body can contain it all: hope, elation, nervousness, terror, excitement, it all roils around inside her so that she can hardly think.
“I remember … you’d kiss me … here,” she whispers, and brings her fingertips up to her lips.
“I’m so glad you remembered all of these details,” he says, and leans in and kisses her.