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As the smoke cleared and the blinding light that had banished Calamity Ganon away into nothingness disappeared, the skies of Hyrule that previously glowed blood red began to fade until they returned to their peaceful blue. The grass that had once blown this way and that in the violent wind suddenly grew still once more.
Golden hair and sacred white skirts rustled in the breeze as the newly freed princess stood with her back to her hero. She could feel the chill in the air on her bare shoulders as the overwhelming warmth from her power receded. When she spoke, she told him the truth, of her watchful eyes over him as he had fought and bled and ventured to follow the destiny that had been thrust upon him. She told him the truth of her utmost faith in him, of how her belief that he would come to slay the beast had never wavered even when he seemed to have his own doubts, or when he grew tired and his determination faltered, or when he grew curious and strayed from the path to explore the unrecognizable land that they could barely call home. She thanked him sincerely for all that he had done to save Hyrule, to save the people of the land, to save her .
Then, she turned to him and dared to ask the one question she had been dreading the answer to for years, from the moment Link had been first placed in the Shrine of Resurrection. She was deathly afraid of such a question, for even though she had seen him recall the memories of certain moments they had shared together - the good and the bad and the awful and the absolute worst day of their lives - she could not truly know the extent of his recollection.
“May I ask… Do you really remember me?”
She didn’t expect him to answer right away. Come to think of it, she really had no idea what to expect. After a century apart, even if he did remember her and even if he was exactly as he had been back then, how could she know what he would say when seeing her for the first time since he had woken up? He had spent the last year facing countless trials - and not just physical; he’d had to find himself again, regaining memories of his time in the service of the king.
Despite her attempts at being open to every possibility of what he may say or do, she couldn’t help the sinking sensation in her heart as they both continued to stand there in silence. They stood mere feet from each other in the open field, staring at each other without either of them breaking away.
“Link?” she finally said quietly, fighting to hide the pain in her voice.
His only response was to lower his eyes and then raise them again, as if he was looking her up and down. She couldn’t help but suddenly feel a little self-conscious of her bare shoulders, her clasped hands tightening against her chest.
Link opened his mouth slightly; a small glimmer of hope rose in Zelda that he would finally speak, but it was immediately put out as he closed it again.
Zelda had seen many of his interactions with the people of Hyrule on his journey, and she knew that his quiet nature from a century ago had seemed for the most part to dissipate - he had talked to many complete strangers without question or reservation, even made friends with a handful of them - so why, of all the times in the last year he had blossomed into a social young man, did he have no words for her ?
In that moment, she knew how selfish she was for expecting something like this out of him. How could she expect him to be ready and waiting to come back to her and act like they were old friends, when all she had left him was a few photos and a team of people from their past who had thankfully still been alive when he finally woke up?
Another thought came to her mind, but she immediately shoved it back down, not even giving it a second of her attention because she knew where it would lead her.
In the silence between them, another blast of wind swept across the field. It elicited a shiver over the land, for this new complete silence was deafening.
Slowly, Link raised his hand and took a small step toward her.
Zelda’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the sight and she almost threw herself into his arms right at that moment, but she held back.
He seemed to hesitate, his eyes shifting up and down between his hand and Zelda’s eyes, before he lowered his hand back to his side.
Zelda refused to feel discouraged. She could see him trying, so she would also try and meet him halfway. She raised her own hand and held her palm open to Link. Her gold wristbands glinted against the sun, but not as bright as the smile she gave him. “It’s alright,” she said softly, as though they weren’t the only two living humans on this field.
His eyes shifted between her piercing gaze and her extended hand. The torn expression on his face was clear as day as he slowly raised his own hand again. Then his hand slid into hers, a gentle press of his fingertips as they crossed over her palm, and then their fingers wrapped around each other and held on for dear life.
For a fleeting moment, they both just stared at each other, and Zelda swore her heart was about to burst out of her chest with how fast it was racing. But then as the warmth of his hand seeped into hers, she saw his eyes snap back up to her face, wide with some kind of shock. She was about to ask him what was the matter, but then he was letting go of her hand, and the next thing she knew, he had sunk to the ground.
He kneeled before her, his head bowed so that she couldn’t see his face, and she felt a pang of unwanted familiarity. This wasn’t what she had meant. Of all the things for him to remember, she hadn’t wanted this - for him to remember his days of kneeling and bowing and catering to her, as though he were a lesser creature than her, as though his life did not have the value that hers had carried.
“Oh Link,” she said softly. Without hesitation, she shifted to her own knees to be level with him again. “Please, there’s no need for that!” She shuffled closer to him until her knees brushed his.
Slowly, he raised his head to meet her eyes.
On an impulse, she reached up to brush his bangs out of his eyes - he didn’t flinch, merely blinked at her.
“You did it, Link,” she said, giving him a warm smile. “Ganon is gone.” Her hand came to rest on his cheek, which was smothered in a layer of dirt and debris. “You did it.”
Link shook his head, his eyes filling with a glint of something that wasn’t familiar after the two had been separated for a hundred years. When he finally spoke, it was so quietly that Zelda might wonder if she had imagined it.
“ We did it.”
She had heard bits of his voice as she watched over him on his journey, but the sound of him speaking to her for the first time in over a century held nothing in comparison. Her hand lowered to give his shoulder a gentle squeeze, encouraging him to continue.
“I…” he began, his voice strained. “I don’t remember everything.” That was not a surprise - it would have been miraculous if he did. “It’s all mostly in bits and pieces…” Of course, that was alright, “...but I do remember you, Zelda .” He looked her directly in her eyes as he spoke those last words.
Zelda felt a rush of emotion, and the familiar sting of tears pricked at the corners of her eyes; she could not stop them as they fell and streaked down her cheeks - not from grief of how little he remembered, and not from his confession of remembering some things . No, it was from the way he had said her name . “And that is more than I could ever ask of you.” Her voice broke, and she had to look away from Link to keep herself from breaking into sobs.
Link took her hand still on his shoulder and grasped it in both of his, giving it a comforting squeeze. He didn't say anything, only held onto her to keep her steady.
“It’s good to see you, Link,” Zelda said, managing to get her tears somewhat under control.
For the first time in a century, she saw Link's smile with her own eyes. “It’s good to see you too, Zelda.”