Archive of Our Own

“I will send these back to Purah for testing,” Zelda said, safely tucking the third vial full of Link’s blood into a little pouch. After securing the goods, she made sure to follow up and put a bandaid on his pricked arm. It was one of the ones Kilton sold—it had silver bokoblins all over it, smiling happily up at them.

It’d been three whole days since Zelda had turned back from her dragon form. She wasted no time running tests on Link, seeing if there were any trace amounts of the King of Hyrule left in his body. Thus far, her testing had resulted in nothing, which was great. It was great. Nothing meant that Link wasn’t going to up and vanish for whatever reason due to his once-necrosed arm.

Link frowned, wiggling his arm a bit to test it out. He’d described regaining his arm akin to losing it; there was still an odd sensation of a phantom limb, but his entire arm was there and whole.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked.

“You,” he said. He curled his fingers and set them in his lap, staring up at her with his familiar-little frown and his pretty blond eyelashes. “How are you doing?”

He asked her this a lot. After Calamity Ganon, he whisked her away to Hateno so she could recover in relative peace. She didn’t talk as much back then, could barely get out of bed and brave the sun on her skin. So he just stayed by her side, like he always did, feeding her and reading to her and checking her temperature. She wasn’t nearly as reclused this time, but he was always still so concerned.

“Same as this morning,” she said, and grabbed his curled hand in his lap and interlocked their fingers together. “And you?”

Her time spent as a dragon was long—but it was hazy, like she had been asleep. Link had spent the better part of a year gaining the strength necessary to defeat the Demon King, and the period between losing Zelda and regaining her did not pass in the blink of an eye. He seemed weary, even more than before.

“Same as I’ve always been,” he said. It wasn’t as comforting as he made it out to be.

Link had been handsy. Zelda didn’t mind, she didn’t mind at all, really, but she could tell he was nervous. He was notably more antsy this time around, jumping at every sound, side-eyeing every stranger (not every traveling salesman was a Yiga Clan member in disguise), checking the perimeter of their home three times over before going to bed. Even then, he would be jittery all night, his arms squeezing her around her torso, making sure she was still there. He hardly ever slept.

He would wake up, if he did manage to sleep, with phantom pain in his now-whole arm. Zelda was a light sleeper, she didn’t mean to be, so he’d wake her up, too. He’d kiss her fervently on the lips and then give her a pained look masked by a smile, muttering something about hearing a twig snap, and then he’d do another three checks around their home. Once he was satisfied, he’d get back into bed with Zelda, and she’d place her hand on his racing heart. He would never sleep, then.

During dinner, he placed their respective plates in front of each other and they sat by the cooking pot outside, a normal, springy Hateno night. Zelda let the setting sun kiss her skin, the grass tickle her feet. She’d sat out here many times with Link.

After she was a bit of the way through her meal, she decided to speak. “You worry me,” she said.

She didn't look his way when he responded. “You worry me.”

“A cheap response,” she muttered in her fish, rolling her eyes. She heard a huff, which meant Link thought she was being indignant and funny at the same time. “When was the last time you slept?”

“Last night. A few winks,” he said, like that made it any better. He took another bite of his meal and smiled, pieces of fish stuck in between his teeth. Any other moment, any other time, this would have been endearing, but not now.

“I meant properly. When was the last time you got some proper sleep?”

“Hm,” he said, setting down his meal to think. He wiped at his face with a sleeve, which she had told him when unruly and improper many-a-times. “Depends on how we define proper sleep.”

“Link.”

“Not for a long time,” he said. He stared at his new-ish hand. “I thought I would be able to sleep better with you back, but I am afraid that if I close my eyes, you will disappear again.”

“I am right here,” she insisted, setting her meal aside to sit next to him. She grabbed his old-ish hand. “I am right here. I am not going anywhere.”

“Is that true, Zel? How can you be so sure?”

She couldn’t be. Any moment now, she could be plucked by the Goddess Hylia to stop another apocalypse from catastrophizing Hyrule. She really thought that was it with Calamity Ganon, but she had been proven wrong after a few peaceful years rebuilding Hyrule while spending time with Link in Hateno.

“See?” he said in her silence. “What’s the next thing? Another ancient civilization has us finish their business? And I didn’t clean up all of the Yiga Clan, I don’t know where their leader is, and now that you are back—”

“Even if something does happen, and it will not,” she said pointedly, “we can spend that time in between being happy and with each other.”

He liked to brood. He was silent by nature, only opening up to people he was close with, so brooding was a natural state for him. He also liked to think, and he did have big emotions that were hard for him to express, so he sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking about her words, thinking about the next inevitable apocalypse that was going to strike their home.

“I do not want the time in between to be tainted. I want to spend every moment with you. Happy,” she emphasized.

“I do, too,” he said softly, closing his eyes after a painful moment. He liked to keep his hair down, now, so Zelda took it upon herself to lean closer and run her fingers through it. He leaned into her touch, her other hand still wrapped around his. “I want to be happy with you. Just you.”

He didn’t like to talk about that period of time while she was in her dragon form and he was unaware. She had heard snippets of it from Purah and the new sages, but Ganondorf had paraded a puppet of her around Hyrule to taunt Link. Yiga Clan members used Link’s ambition to trap him. There was no doubt in his mind that this was his Zelda, but he wasn’t too keen on having her leave his sight anymore.

They sat next to the fire of the cooking pot in silence, listening to the wind hit the leaves of their apple tree. The fire crackled in the setting sun, and Zelda sat in her thoughts.

It wasn’t as bad for her, naturally. She’d been a dragon for thousands of years, but it was more like a dream for her. The few months she spent with Rauru and Sonia were difficult and painful, especially without Link by her side, but it was nothing like chasing apparitions of your partner throughout Hyrule only to find out they were a puppet used as a tool to distract you.

“You know what we need?” she decided, perking up at the thought. Link blinked his tired eyes open, his pointy ears perking up at her enthusiasm. “A vacation!”

“Zel…”

“Oh, come on! We have been hard at work restoring Hyrule for the past five years, I just returned from a dragon sleep for the past—however many thousand years, you just spent the past year chasing the ghost of your girlfriend—” the look on his face indicated he did not appreciate the reminder, “—the least we deserve is a vacation!”

“A vacation,” he repeated, the words sounding foreign on his lips. Now that she thought about it, when was the last time Link had ever taken a vacation? He became a royal knight at such a young age, and then he was appointed her knight once he pulled the Master Sword, and then the calamity happened, and then he died…, then one hundred years passed, then he woke up and stopped the first calamity, then they immediately started on the restoration of Hyrule, then obviously they decided to check under the castle… and here they were.

“I do not think you have ever taken a vacation!” Zelda gasped, affronted by this information. She felt absolutely horrible. Her boyfriend, her appointed knight, had never relaxed a day in his life. He was going to die at one-hundred-and-thirty at this rate! His shift was never truly over, he literally lived with her, always protecting her. “Oh dear, we are going to have to go somewhere you will not have to worry about me.”

“I don't need a vacation,” he said. And then, “Also, I'll never stop worrying for you no matter where we go.”

“That is the least comforting string of words you have ever said to me,” she said. She tugged on his hand and grabbed it a little tighter. “Oh, Lurelin village is absolutely wonderful this time of year.” Then a realization hit her. She remembered that she and Link were going to investigate the pirate problem that had plagued the sweet little coastal village, but that was slated for the week after they were to investigate under the castle. It had been almost a year since then, perhaps there was no Lurelin village left! Where else were they supposed to take their vacation?! “Link!” she yelled, startling the wildlife around them. “The pirates!”

Link laughed for what felt like the first time in forever. His laugh was sweet and soft, like him. “What is so funny?!” she squeaked, embarrassed and endeared and so deeply in love all at once. She felt a variety of strong emotions anytime she was around Link.

“Zelda, I took care of that months ago.” She frowned, so he leaned over to give her a sweet, staccato kiss on her lips. He pulled back with a smile, squeezing her hand.

“All by yourself?”

“Who else would have helped me?”

“I would have!”

“You were a little occupied at the moment,” he said. Zelda eased up on her frown so Link gave her another kiss. She didn’t let him lean away, removing her hand from his to put it around his shoulder, grounding him in place. After a moment, she took a breath. “I helped Bolson rebuild it and everything,” he said. “He didn’t remember me, though.”

“You were just some guy he built a house for years ago,” she said. “Which the Princess of Hyrule stole from you.”

“Stole is a word you could use,” he said, and then gave her one final, sweet kiss. “I prefer borrowed.”

“Hm,” she said. “Lurelin village, then?”

“If that is what you want.”

“Oh, do not be like that,” she mumbled, suddenly feeling tired. She leaned forward to rest her head on his shoulder. He was still a bit sensitive there, so he shifted her ever so slightly to make the position more comfortable. “I want you to want a vacation.”

Link thought for a moment, weighing his options. Zelda sometimes wished she could just take a small little peek inside his brain when he went silent like this. She knew he was collecting his thoughts, figuring out the right thing to say with the words in the proper order, but she talked so much in comparison…

“I think it would be nice if we went to some place where no one recognized us,” he said. “The people of Lurelin are nice, too nice, honestly—they won’t accept my money after saving their village and they keep referring to me as their village savior. It’s nice, but—”

“Uncomfortable,” Zelda finished. “And where would it be that we would be unrecognized?” she asked, because truly—she was the Princess of Hyrule, she was beginning to think that there was not a corner of their nation where she might go unrecognized.

“What if we went somewhere outside of Hyrule?” Link suggested tentatively. Zelda raised an eyebrow. She’d heard, of course, of the nations outside of Hyrule, but she tended to be confined to a particular task for long periods of time, so it had never occurred to her that she could… leave? Even for a vacation?

“There is an island nation just a ways south from Lurelin,” Link continued. “After saving Lurelin and fixing them up, Chief Rozel established communication with them, and they’ve been ferrying Hylians and the like for the past few months. Something like a sister village to Lurelin. I believe some of Rozel’s family is from there.”

“Oh, the island nation of A’Akoa!” Zelda recalled, sitting up from her position to talk animatedly. “I am not sure if you knew this, but before the calamity, the royal family was meeting with the sovereign nation of A’Akoa to establish a better relationship with them, because previously our history was strife with colonialism and violence. I believe, was it two-hundred years ago—well, now it must have been three-hundred—that they achieved independence from the nation of Hyrule, which of course caused a bitter relationship for the next two-hundred or so years. Before we found the divine beasts, there were talks of trading routes between the Kingdom of Hyrule and the island nation of A’Akoa—they have a type of fish that is absolutely delectable, by the way—but they were very tentative plans. This motion was passed by King Rhoam himself.”

“In that case,” Link suggested, “they wouldn’t recognize you. Or me.”

“Oh, this is wonderful—perhaps this is an opportunity to foster trust between our two nations—”

“Zel, remember it’s supposed to be a vacation.”

“Oh, right,” she backtracked. Maybe this was good. She could take a vacation with Link in a place she wouldn’t be recognized, all the while scoping out their receptiveness toward a relationship with the Kingdom of Hyrule. Trade was probably the most prosperous means of their economy in Hyrule, and Zelda, of course, recognized the importance of building trust between nations and strengthening trade relations. She would absolutely love to figure out a way they could trade with A’Akoa, and she was sure they would appreciate the influx of travelers from Hyrule to bolster their own economy. Though, that was if they were receptive to the idea at all, and didn’t hate her guts for being the Princess of Hyrule, two things she unfortunately could not control.

“If you don’t want to do that, that’s fine—”

“Oh, shush,” she said quickly. Link ran a hand through her hair. He smiled at her, soft and sweet and a little bit painful for her, and so she smiled back. “I would love to go to A’Akoa. I think it would be a wonderful opportunity for me to experience a different nation and culture, all the while being unrecognizable. Oh my goodness—I do not think I have ever been unrecognized! How amazing of an opportunity!”

“If we go—you have to promise not to try to establish a relationship between Hyrule and A’Akoa, at least while we’re on vacation. We’re supposed to be relaxing.”

“What about scoping it out? What if I wrote down a few notes?”

He frowned at her and shook his head. She sighed and yawned, leaning back into him. “You make things so difficult,” she said. He ran another hand through her hair, grounding her. “Not even asking questions? You know I am curious by nature.”

“You’re funny,” he said. “Let’s talk about this tomorrow?” he suggested, his voice sweet and tired. He kissed her on her temple and shifted her, making a motion to get them into bed. He stood up from his position and hoisted her up with him, directing her toward the door.

Once inside, they went through the motions together. They shoved off their shoes and put on their sleep clothes in tandem. Zelda’s head got stuck in her sleep shirt, one of Link’s old shirts, and Link just giggled and laughed at her for a minute before deigning her with help. Afterward, they brushed their teeth in giggly silence, their sleepiness making everything funnier than usual.

Once Zelda was properly adjusted in bed, her head against Link’s chest, she decided to speak again. “Do you really want to go on a vacation with me?” she asked. “Really?”

A moment of silence lapsed before he spoke. “Yes,” he said. “Really.”

“Are you lying to me?”

“Have I ever lied to you, Zel?”

That was a good point. Zelda huffed and Link laughed under his breath at her, pulling her a little closer for a proper snuggle. This was good. She liked proper snuggles.

“You will sleep tonight, then?” she asked, her mind already drifting off lazily. She was especially tired lately. Maybe turning back into a human from a dragon did that to a person.

“Probably not,” he said, and then kissed the tip of her ear.

He managed to catch a few, dreamless hours that night, which was much better than what they were working with before. Once she had woken up from her sleep, she fully committed to her vacation idea. 

“The Princess of Hyrule needs a vacation, too, yeah?” she muttered to herself, writing down a list of things she had to do before they could leave. She was looking at a vacation only a week out, which was pretty good time considering this idea came to her only the night before.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Link asked, and there was—but only after Zelda went into a long spiel about all of the things she needed to get done.

“Well,” she said, setting down her journal, “I am in the process of drafting a letter to each region in order to continue our efforts toward the restoration of Hyrule. Of course, the letter to King Sidon takes priority, naturally, because he had of course been crowned King during my absence and I never got to give my proper congratulations. This, of course, needs to be done in person—after sending over a letter of correspondence, of course, so they will be expecting my visit.”

Zelda opened up her journal and showed the calendar to Link, who was pretty adept at feigning interest. She tapped a day. “If I give myself a week to iron things through, and then a week in A’Akoa, we will be able to visit Sidon soon after A’Akoa. In that case, I would certainly need to bring a present to the King, but A’Akoa will probably have proper gifts for the Zora people. Of course, that would be among the many souvenirs I will bring home for us. Do you think there is a proper gift for the Zora King I could find in A’Akoa?”

“We have a week there. There’s plenty of time.”

“You are right,” she said. “Anyway, I need to get the letter sent to King Sidon today, just to make sure he has time to prepare for our arrival. The letters to the other regions can wait until later in the week, or even after our vacation, but I would feel better if they were sent sooner. I also have to tell Robbie to tell Purah where we will be for the week, just in case she has any information about your blood samples.”

“It’s a vacation. She doesn’t need to know where we are.”

“But what if something important comes up?” she insisted. Link tilted his head and frowned, so she shelved that argument for another day. She still had a week to go. “Oh, we will argue about this later. Furthermore, I need to find a substitute for the school—oh no!” she yelled, dawning with another realization. “They have been without a teacher for a year!”

“Symin hired some new people, Zelda.”

“Oh, did he?” She paused for a moment to blink. “Oh, anyway, I also need to find someone to take care of our garden while we are gone—”

“These are all very important things,” Link agreed, a smooth way to interrupt her rant. “But we have a week before we’ll leave. We can do it. Let me help you.”

Zelda was very poor at delegating tasks to other people. Link had his own way of doing things, and while not wrong, they were definitely different. He was good at a few things, though—and so Zelda tasked him with preparing their food for their trip. Money was no issue, but Zelda tended to prefer Link’s food above all else, so he prepared a few meals for breakfast and other occasions.

Their week of preparations went by in a blur. Zelda got her letter out to Zora’s Domain in record time, checking it for spelling errors a few times just in case. She did manage to pen a rough draft for the other three regions, but she didn’t manage to eke out their final forms in time. She then sent a letter of correspondence to Paya to let her know of their whereabouts and to send any questions or concerns to Robbie. Robbie did not appreciate being her mailbox for the moment, but she had to make do.

Zelda also met with the new teachers. They had an odd taste for fashion, too mushroom-ish for her liking, but they were wonderful with the children, and that was all that mattered. She ironed out her school schedule with Symin, and they agreed on her being a substitute teacher for a little while, as they continued their restoration of Hyrule.

Symin was also tasked with taking charge of her garden, which Link managed to keep alive while she was absent. The tomatoes needed some work, of course, but he managed just fine without her.

While Zelda was working on her various tasks (writing a letter to Hudson about the expedition of the Hyrule restoration project, a letter to Purah inquiring about a Purah Pad functionality that would probably make it to her once they were in A’Akoa, tidying the house, packing her bags and repacking Link’s), Link moseyed down to Dueling Peaks Stable to bring their respective horses with them for an easier trip.

The trip from Hateno to Lurelin was less than a day by horse, and so with only one night before they left in the early morning, Zelda was properly prepared. She had hers and Link’s pack sitting by the door, their tableware and dishware were all washed and tidied, her several drafted letters tucked neatly into her desk. She had prepared a little basket for Symin so he could take care of their garden while they were gone.

Once in bed, Zelda drifted off aimlessly, securely in Link’s strong arms. He woke up once or twice due to nightmares, but it was something they both weathered through.

Early the following morning, the two of them dipped out of Hateno before the sun had fully risen, their packs strapped to their horses.

At the Lurelin village gates, Link was attacked by no less than four children. Two clung to his legs, one was attacking his shirt, and another was running around him in circles. Zelda snuck out her Purah Pad to take a quick picture, but it didn’t go unnoticed by Link. He just rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

“Oh, kids, you’re going to injure the village savior—then what would your parents say?” someone said, coming into Zelda’s vision. It was Rozel, the village chief, an old, old man—graying hair and smile lines and sun spots. He seemed just as sweet and gentle as the last time Zelda saw him, despite his village getting attacked in the interim.

“Rozel,” Link greeted. He picked up one of the kids by the armpits, the one clinging to his shirt, and swung him around for a bit. The little kid squealed and squealed with joy before Link sent him tumbling into the sand. “How has it been over here?”

“The kids have certainly missed your face. You promised another boating lesson with them, remember?”

Link blanched and then picked up the next kid to throw into the sand. “Ah, yes, I certainly did promise them that…”

Rozel laughed and ushered the kids away, who all yelled “Goodbye Mister Link!” in increasingly squeaky voices as they ran away, pushing each other into the sand.

“Princess Zelda,” Rozel greeted, bowing ever-so-slightly to show his fealty. Zelda appreciated the lack of grand gesture from Lurelin—they’d always been more laid back with royalty and those related customs, probably because they were so far away from the rest of Hyrule, anyway. “I am pleased to see that you have returned safe and sound despite your disappearance. Is there anything we can do for you? All amenities are free, of course.”

“We’d love a ferry to A’Akoa,” Link spoke, shuffling a little closer to Zelda. He placed a gentle and reassuring hand on her back, letting her know that he was there. “I’ve heard a few Hylians have visited the neighboring nation. We’d love to check it out.”

“A’Akoa,” Rozel mumbled, rubbing a hand to his chin. “I have a few cousins who live there. Have I ever told you that?”

“You have,” Link said.

“Ah, curse my poor memory. I mustn’t bore you, then. Unfortunately, we only offer the ferry early in the morning, Garini takes the trip before he opens his general store. Garini would be more than happy to halt running his store—I’ll be sure to ask him.”

“Oh, Hylia no—we do not mean to impose at all,” Zelda interrupted, waving her hands around. “We do not mind staying the night. In fact, I would love it! And I would love to eat something from Kiana, Azure Bay, I mean, if you would not mind…”

“Princess, it is our pleasure to serve you,” Rozel insisted, waving them toward the small little restaurant. Someone came over to assist with the horses and their packs, promising them that they would be in safe hands and that their packs would be at the inn once they arrived.

Kiana and Zelda greeted each other quite dramatically, but Kiana truly was one of Zelda’s closest friends, though she admittedly had many. Kiana regaled Link’s heroism while she cooked for them, and while Link insisted she was definitely making it seem a lot grander than it was, there was no doubt in her mind that Link truly had been that heroic for Lurelin.

Once dinner was finished, they met with Chessica, the innkeeper, who had procured a suggested itinerary for A’Akoa. Chessica had some family that lived there, a few cousins, and so she had gone over a few times even before they opened their borders to other Hylians. Zelda thanked her profusely and the two of them were led to their room, where their packs were placed neatly on the two beds provided for them.

That night, once everyone had already retired for the night—even Chessica had turned in—the two of them snuck out to Soka Point, the tip of the peninsula that protruded from Lurelin village. Once Zelda had turned back from a dragon, the geoglyphs had also disappeared from the land, only leaving behind a faint impression of the image that was once there.

The two of them walked down the peninsula hand-in-hand, the full moon highlighting Link’s muscles and freckles and the little dimples he had whenever he smiled.

Zelda recalled the first few months after he had rescued her from the calamity. His memories were still spotty and she was still recovering, nothing short of a recluse and shut-in, so nothing really… hastened with regard to their relationship. She remembered, after one of her panic attacks, Link would soothe her by placing her head against his heart so she could listen to him undeniably alive. She remembered counting his freckles at night with only the moon’s light to aid her. She remembered that he would snore sometimes, something akin to a piglet, and that one time he had woken up from one of his own snores. He was such a fascinating specimen back then, someone who was somehow in-reach while also unfathomably unattainable.

“You’re quiet tonight,” he noted, pulling her out of her thoughts. She startled slightly, and then tripped over a protruding rock in the sand, but Link was always so steady and careful, so he grabbed her by the hips and hoisted her upright before she could fall any further. “And distracted,” he said. Their pace slowed but didn’t stop.

She was so embarrassing. Link put his hand back in Zelda’s and swung it in the space in between them. “I am just thinking,” she said after a moment, not wanting to admit that she had gone quiet and tripped simply thinking about his freckles under the moonlight.

“You do that a lot,” he ribbed, and then placed a gentle kiss on her temple. “Want to tell me about what?”

“Impa has been bugging me about the coronation,” she said, which wasn’t something she was not thinking about—perhaps just in a more backward way, because naturally dating Link led to… well, if she were to be the Queen of Hyrule and to be officially crowned, she would, of course, need a King Consort of Hyrule, and well—

“Hm,” Link said noncommittally, squeezing her hand a bit more. Zelda knew how Link felt about the coronation—or Impa’s insistence, specifically. Link was in the I’ll do whatever makes you happiest boat, but Impa was in the Hyrule needs a Queen, not a Princess boat, and Zelda was… not quite there yet. “She couldn’t wait until after our vacation to bug you about this?”

“Well, I did not tell her about our vacation,” Zelda said, smiling a bit. “So in her mind, it was probably the perfect time to bring it up.”

“Hah,” Link laughed, pulling her closer to him. He smelled like the beach and brightbloom flowers. He always smelled like brightbloom flowers. “I feel like manners call for at least a month after you’ve been undragonified.”

“She has been waiting for over one-hundred years, to be fair.”

“Does that mean you’re going to do it?”

“I never said that,” she backtracked quickly. They finally reached the end of Soka Point. Zelda started stripping off her shoes and socks so she could sit at the very edge with her feet in the water. Link followed suit. “Hyrule needs to be rebuilt before it can be ruled,” she said, grabbing Link’s hand again once he was finished.

She led them to the edge of the soft sand and sat, their feet touching the ebbing salt water, the moonlight bouncing off the tide.

They sat in amicable silence for a little while, listening to each other’s breaths and hearts and making sure that they were both alive. Zelda laid her head on his shoulder and sighed, closing her eyes. She imagined that they were one hundred years younger, without the titles, just two twenty-somethings in love and happy without the weight of an entire kingdom on their shoulders.

“Do you want to be Queen?” he asked, his gentle voice cutting through the waves.

Zelda loved her people. She loved her kingdom. She understood the need to continue the royal bloodline, simply because of the power of the Goddess that coursed through her veins. She understood that everyone was expecting her to become the Queen and that the only person holding up the coronation was her. There was always just a… stopper, a wall when it came to the intricate formalities of becoming the Queen. It sounded so formal. There was no one there to stop her from rucking around in the dirt as Queen, but would her people look down on her still? Was she ever going to be formal enough, royal enough, to be Queen?

“You think too much,” Link said, kissing a scar on her temple. “Your head is going to explode.”

“It should have by now,” she mumbled back, suddenly tired. She could just fall asleep right here, listening to the wind and the way Link’s breath curled in his lungs.

“Are you tired?” he asked, not one to press her about these types of things.

“No,” she lied, and then yawned.

“You need to give that big brain of yours a rest,” he chided, tapping her on her scar. She had gotten that scar a few years back when she’d fallen face-first into a pile of rocks while surveying a spot where Purah wanted to put the Skyview Tower. “I say we set a rule. While we’re in A’Akoa, no Princess or Queen or royal knight talk. It’ll just be Zelda and Link.”

“What if I burst from not talking about it?”

Link sat on that for a moment. He was very aware of her need to talk about anything and everything, just to get her thoughts out. But he was also aware that they needed a vacation away from—everything. “Hey, you brought that big journal of yours, right?” Zelda nodded. “If you have a thought you need to say about something royal or Hyrule, write it down. That way, you’ll still get your idea on paper, and if it’s really that important, then we can talk about it once we come back.”

“You think that will work?”

“Worth a shot, right?”

Zelda nodded, content with that idea for now. “Do you know when Garini leaves tomorrow?”

“Six.”

“They should rearrange the time for me,” she said nonsensically. She didn’t really mean it, she hated being treated differently simply because she was the Princess, but she was so tired, and it was so nice just sitting here next to Link…

“You are the Princess, after all,” he teased, kissing her on the crown of her head. Zelda’s eyes began to droop and she thought about the way Link’s strong arm curled around her shoulders, the way his thumb was rubbing her skin attentively and gently just below her sleeve, how his hair tickled her forehead whenever he breathed. Being alive was so wonderful, she thought, if this was what she got to have every day of her life.

“C’mon, sleepy Princess,” he muttered, gently prodding her awake. The moon was higher in the sky the last time she remembered. “Let’s get you back to the inn.”

And so, hand in hand, they stumbled back to the inn, inconsiderately giggly and annoying.

At five-fifty-eight in the morning, Zelda and Link stood at the pier with their bags in hand and Garini arranging his boat. While A’Akoa was an up-and-coming tourist destination for the Hylians, it was just the two of them and Garini today, which eased Zelda somewhat. If there were other tourists on the boat, they might’ve tipped off a local as to who she was.

“It’s no royal carriage,” Garini said, shucking off something to the side, which landed in a plop next to a suspicious puddle of mud, “but it’ll do.”

Zelda didn’t care about that. “Does not matter to me,” she shrugged, and then threw her bag next to the suspicious puddle of mud. Link had waterproofed it years back, so she didn’t really care what happened to the outside of it.

Once she sat down, she saw Link meander over to where her bag was, pick it up, wipe it off, and then set it down in a drier spot. Then he set his bag next to hers, nearly identical except for the green color (versus her blue). Once he was satisfied with the placement, he sat next to her, placing a fleeting kiss on her cheek.

“Thank you, Garini. We appreciate you,” Link said.

“Link, you’re the one who got me this boat for free. I’d do anything for you, you know that,” he said. Link tucked his head, looking bashful. He was so strange sometimes.

“Oh, look Link!” Zelda said, pulling something out of her waist bag. Two pairs of matching sunglasses. “I bought these from Cece for our vacation!” They were hideously mushroom-shaped, but they did the job just fine. Link laughed at the spectacle and then put them on as she did.

Once Garini had adjusted everything that needed to be adjusted, they were on their way. Link already had a nice tan going, freckles blooming across his nose and his shoulders. His arms looked especially nice tanned.

Zelda burned like a piece of paper in a fire, so she had brought a jug full of Sheikah-tech approved sunscreen. She would probably attempt to sneak some on Link’s face, just in case.

The boat ride to A’Akoa was less than an hour. During this time, Zelda admired the shining blue of the ocean, and even sketched a few passing schools of fish. She’d smudged one of the poor fishes because Link had leaned over too close to give her a kiss and her hand slipped. This had made her angry for all of two seconds. Link amended his mistake with another kiss and an attempt to fix the fish with his own hand, but his drawings were shaky at best.

After a bit more, Garini waved them over and pointed out the cluster of islands that they were approaching. Zelda leaned over out of the boat to see, and almost tipped out if Link were not there to grab her. “That big one,” Garini said, pointing to the largest island that they were approaching, “that’s the mainland there. They have a couple of smaller settlements on those other islands, but most everyone lives there.”

“Do you have any family there as well, Garini?”

“Not that I know of. Maybe some distant cousins. My family has been in Hyrule for a long time.”

Link applied a dollop of sunscreen to Zelda’s nose.

Eventually, Garini pulled into the port and parked his boat at the pier. He waved down one of the workers who tied them to the boardwalk while Link grabbed their bags. Once secured, Garini helped the two of them out of the boat. Zelda took her time to look around while Garini restocked his boat.

It looked different than the illustrations in her history book had depicted, but it was the same amount of difference between present-day Hyrule versus the Hyrule of her original time. The nation of A’Akoa seemed lively and spirited from the small part she could see. Workers at the port were filling their boats with supplies: fishing rods, bait, nets, traps. Men and women were hauling crates of items that were replacing Zelda and Link’s spots on Garini’s boat. The port led up to a cluster of trees that blocked out the rest of the island from where she stood.

“I’ve heard that the Hylian Princess has returned,” someone said next to her. Zelda whipped around, caught off guard and a little concerned, but the individual wasn’t talking to her—he was talking to Garini.

She had discussed this with Garini already. Zelda was just Zelda while in A’Akoa, not the Princess of Hyrule.

Garini’s eyes darted toward her and Link moved forward slightly, but Garini turned his attention toward his friend. “Sure has.”

“D’you think you could send this letter of correspondence to her, then?” the guy asked, pulling out a letter and placing it in Garini’s hand. “If we’re opening borders to Lurelin, we’d like to discuss trade with the rest of Hyrule.”

Zelda barely contained her joy with that prospect. She wanted nothing more than to run over to that man and give him a big kiss on the cheek and yell, “Yes, please! We would love to trade!”

Garini stifled a laugh, which thankfully went unnoticed by the man. “I’ll be sure to send this to—um, her residence.”

With everything loaded on the ship, Garini discreetly handed Zelda the letter with a wink and waved them goodbye. “Have fun, you two!” he said, and then he was off.

Before any other moves could be made, Zelda whipped out her journal to write down her thoughts.

ZELDA’S NON-VACATION VACATION THOUGHTS

1. Prospects for trade between Hyrule and A’Akoa already look bright. Will return later for more thoughts about this.

Once she was satisfied with that quick blurb, she tucked the journal under her arm and faced Link, who was staring at her. “Hm?” she asked, wiping at her face. “Did I get some of Garini’s boat juice on my face?”

“Bleh,” Link said, and then kissed her squarely on the lips. “Never say boat juice again.”

“Now, if Chessica’s guide is to be believed—” Zelda said, directing her attention to the matter at hand. She pulled out the neatly folded piece of paper and straightened it out, “—there should be a person to guide us to the inn just past that cluster of trees over there. Luckily, A’Akoa really is not that big, so we will not be needing a horse or carriage or anything to get around.” She placed the paper in Link’s hands and then grabbed his wrists, pulling him closer. “Is this not exciting?!”

“Yes,” he said, without much enthusiasm but his passion was evident. He leaned in to give her a kiss, which she always accepted. “I’d heard from Mubs that you can surf on the waves here. I’m pretty good at shield surfing on sand and snow, so I think it’s something I’d be able to pick up fast.”

“Not on your shield, I hope.”

“No, I think there are special types of boards for surfing on the water. I don’t believe it would work with a shield.”

“Interesting,” she muttered, and then pulled away to bring out her journal once more.

2. There is a type of surfing here that is done on the water. A special type of board is required. I wonder if this sport can be taught to Link and me, whether or not we can teach the people of Hyrule.

“Hm,” Link muttered, looking at her writing in her journal. “Is this going to be a common occurrence?”

“You know I have a lot of thoughts,” she said.

“That’s fair.”

“Let us go to the inn so we can drop off our bags,” Zelda prompted, tucking away her journal for safekeeping. She started pushing Link over to the cluster of trees. “Then we can learn more about this water surfing. Or are you hungry? I remember Chessica said something about a restaurant called Koholā Cove that has a phenomenal baked fish—the type of fish escapes me, but we will find out soon enough, I suppose.”

“That sounds great. I’d love to eat.” He did love to eat.

Once they passed the trees, Zelda was greeted enthusiastically by a short kid. She waved her arms up and down to get their attention. “Hello!” she yelled. “I’m supposed to help you to the inn!”

“Oh!” Zelda said, caught off guard, albeit still appreciative. She had tight curls of black hair, a button nose, and deep pools of brown, nearly black, eyes. She stood a full head shorter than Link and she was missing one of her front teeth. “What is your name?”

“Halia! My mom owns the inn—it’s that one,” she said, pointing to the right side of the island where a building bigger than the rest stood. It was surrounded by a tree Zelda couldn’t name, the lights of the building sporadically turned on as each resident awoke. “Finder’s Keeper. Our last name is Finder—d’you get it? It’s a play on words.”

“Oh, that is a lovely surname,” Zelda said. “Hey, do you know what that tree is called?” she asked, already grabbing her journal to take notes. “And do you know if they are an invasive species? Are they deciduous? What is their ideal climate? Do you have easy methods to propagate them?”

The little girl stared at Zelda blankly.

“Zel, I don’t think she’s going to know that,” Link said.

“No, but my brother is a botanist. He would know.” She scratched at her ear. “What’s deciduous mean?”

“It means it loses its leaves annually.”

“Oh, yeah—then it’s that.”

3. Beautiful, rotund trees that seem to be native to A’Akoa. Deciduous. Will find out more later.

Zelda’s stomach grumbled, so she decided to get a move on. Halia led them through the winding streets of A’Akoa, answering any questions she could.

4. What are their houses made out of? Do they use a type of clay that is only found in A’Akoa? What is the type of thatching used for their roofs?
5. The children here seem to be incredibly intelligent and well-spoken. I wonder if I could borrow some of their teaching techniques for the school in Hateno.
6. Impa sent me a long list of Sheikah-approved flowers for my coronation. I wonder if there would be any way to import these beautiful flowers, or is that not feasible…
7. I need to remember to read the letter that man gave Garini.

After a considerable amount of time, because Zelda quite literally kept stopping to smell the flowers, they ended up at the inn entrance. She knew that there were a few other Hylians staying there, but she was hoping that they would just turn a blind eye. Once Zelda properly thanked Halia for all of her help, the two of them finally checked in.

There was only one worker, which must have been Halia’s mother. Her name tag read Mea. After introductions, Mea led them to their room, on the third (top) floor, where each floor only had three rooms. It was definitely small, but it was no smaller than the inns Hyrule currently had. Zelda had a question in her head about efficiency and optimization regarding hotel rooms, but she couldn’t find the words to write it down in her journal.

Their room was homey and beachy. There was one bed in the center of the room, a sliding glass door on one side, and a little cooking area on the other side. There was a little wooden dresser that had seen better days, but Zelda didn’t mind, so she just plopped her bag on there and ripped off her shoes in haste.

Link followed suit, and the two of them fell into their bed in a warm and sleepy heap. They were both considerably hungry, but Link had packed enough snacks for them for now, and after last night’s late-night excursion, Zelda was already tired.

“Any objections to a nap?” she said to the room, Link’s arms already securely around her. There was a moment of no response before Zelda heard his little piglet snore.

Their nap was longer than intended, but any chance for Link to get some proper sleep would not be forfeited, so it was something Zelda didn’t actually mind. They woke up in time for lunch, and so the two of them, after unpacking and arguing about where their clothes should go (Zelda took the top two drawers, Link the bottom two), walked down to Koholā Cove hand-in-hand. Koholā Cove was nested against the beach on the east side of the island, the same side as the inn but further south, further away from the port.

Zelda was wearing her bathing suit, a dress that sufficiently covered up her pale arms, a brimmed hat, her mushroom sunglasses, and some open-toed shoes. Link was wearing his swimsuit and a loose top, shoeless. She had gotten him to wear some sunscreen, though.

Zelda’s bag only held the essentials: an entire jug of sunscreen, her journal, three writing utensils, a mathematical compass, two towels, a book, Link’s hair tie, a pressed flower, three Korok seeds, and a piece of string and a tack for drawing circles. Ever since they had defeated the calamity, she noticed that she had drawn a lot more circles than before. It was an oddly useful tool, considering.

The two of them ended up not needing a guide or a map, because the scent of baked fish had Link’s nose on hold. Their slow pace quickly hastened, and Link was quick and hungry, so Zelda ended up foolishly following him with a half-jog.

In due time, they were seated at one of the outdoor seats that gave them an astounding view of the ocean. They placed their orders, both the baked fish, but Link also got several side dishes and three drinks.

17. The fish is called Mahi-Mahi, which means strong in their local language. I will report back with my findings regarding the taste. I wonder if there is any way to bring this delectable fish back to Hyrule in order to cultivate it…

Zelda continued to journal, sketching the pretty blue of the ocean and sky, comparing it to the blue of Link’s eyes. His was a far more beautiful color, but she was incredibly biased in that regard, so it was not a true scientist’s test. She sketched the softness of the white sand, which was not common in the land of Hyrule. Perhaps the ocean in A’Akoa had a certain pH level that turned the sand white, softened it… Next time she was out here, she would bring her testing kit. She wrote that down as a thought to bring up later.

Later, the waitress, who was named Kiko, returned with their meals. Link managed to finish two side dishes and one of his main dishes before Zelda got halfway through hers.

19. Mahi-Mahi is truly one of the most amazing dishes I have ever tasted. I would not want to replicate it and bring it to Hyrule, in fear that I would be taking away business from Koholā Cove, however, I do wonder if there is any way to make these fish thrive in the oceans of Lurelin.

Link kept making appreciative noises and gestures, somehow slowly taking away nibbles of Zelda’s own food, even though they had gotten the exact same dish. Their legs were intertwined beneath the thatched seats (straw, she guessed), their knees pressed up against each other. Physical contact, she learned soon after the calamity, was an absolute necessity for her. Link knew this, and he wasn’t one to shy away from her shameless needs.

The tips of Link’s ears were red. She must have missed a spot with the sunscreen. She made a mental note to put some more on the both of them before they lay out in the sun.

After they paid for their meal, the two of them sat for a little while more under the shaded table (with permission from the owner of Koholā Cove, of course—there were not a lot of other customers). Link digested his meal(s) while Zelda continued to sketch, but she had focused elsewhere. She sketched Link sitting across from her, the way his hair brushed against his neck, the way the soft wind picked up the tips, mussing it slightly. She sketched his pink lips, his pointy (sunburned) ears, his blue eyes, prettier than the prettiest ocean, the way his bangs fell in front of his face. She took special care to define his musculature, the divots of his torso and the way his skin stretched across his muscle. She was so lucky to have someone who cared so much about her.

After a little while more, Link seemed to have finally digested his gluttonous meal, the two of them walked down to where the beach met the ocean. Zelda pulled out the two towels from her Korok-enlarged pack and laid them out on the sand while Link procured a water surfing board from a small little rental shack. She then pulled out the Purah Pad and took the appropriate amount of pictures. Link set the board down on the sand and pretended to ride it on a wave while Zelda snapped a pic. Link sat down on the board, his fist against his chin, looking contemplative, and Zelda snapped another pic. Link sent up a peace sign and Zelda snapped another pic. Link did a handstand on the surfing board and Zelda snapped another pic. This went on for a while.

Once she was satisfied with the amount of pictures she had taken, Link took the board out to the water to test it for a bit. He had always picked things up quickly, so he was out on the waves in no time. Only a bit of time passed before he started attempting a handstand on the board, yelling at Zelda with a, “Hey, Zel! Watch this!” Zelda hadn’t actually taken her eyes off Link for this entire adventure, but she pretended like she had been engrossed in her book. She did snap a few pictures for good measure.

The rest of the day was spent in a similar amount of leisure, a type of calm and laziness that Zelda had truly never known. She was so lazy, in fact, that she hadn’t written in her journal since topic number nineteen, when they had eaten at Koholā Cove. She had become content just doing nothing. She was fine with this: kissing Link, taking a nap, eating some food. Kissing Link some more. Falling asleep again. Playing beach volleyball and failing, attempting to surf as well, kissing Link some more. They hadn’t even been in A’Akoa for a full day and she was already enamored.

They had six days left, so they decided to retire early. Link had properly gotten all of his energy out while surfing, so she was hoping it would be an easy night for him. The two of them got ready for bed in tandem, their routine the same even if they were in a different location.

Once the two of them were settled for bed, Zelda turned on the lamp light to look through her thoughts of the day. Link was awake and ready to listen. They had decided, since she had so many thoughts, that it was probably for the best if she got them all out every night instead of waiting for the week to end.

“Link, we have to meet with Halia’s brother tomorrow,” she said, after discussing the water surfing with Link in great length, “to find out the type of tree near the inn.”

“We can ask Mea tomorrow.”

“Oh, that is a wonderful idea. I had forgotten that the botanist was her son.” She went to the next point. “I had been thinking about the thatching used on the roofs here. I know that Bolson used Hylian rice stalks, which is wonderful, but their roofs here seem to be a bit more robust. I wonder if it is a native plant here that we do not have in Hyrule. Though, I was going through different types of thatching materials in my brain, and I believe that their roofs seem to be combed wheat reeds.”

“D’you just have different types of thatching materials stored in your brain?”

“Of course! It is a necessary piece of knowledge for the restoration of Hyrule.”

“You could also easily find that information in a book.”

They argued about this for a moment, which Zelda of course won. She continued on throughout her list, discussing various teaching techniques that they could implement in Hateno—it was another thing added to their itinerary. They were to speak with one of the teachers either the next day or the day after that. Zelda kept the coronation to herself because she didn’t want to bring up an old argument.

They further discussed their tasty lunch (it also turned out to be their dinner), but the both of them agreed that the cultivation of the Mahi-Mahi fish was probably the least of their worries. Finally, Zelda brought out the letter. “I had almost forgotten,” she remarked.

She ripped open the letter with a type of haste she hadn’t known she was capable of. She smoothed it out for a show of decorum, but Link knew her so well that it was futile.

Dear Princess Zelda,

We have heard of your safe return to the land of Hyrule. After the defeat of the Calamity years prior, our people discussed opening our borders to the land of Hyrule, but the elder of A’Akoa, my father, had barred this discussion. He had been alive during your time and never sought out a reconciliation of you and your people.

He has since died. As I am now the leader of the sovereign nation of A’Akoa, I extend open arms to you and your people. I would love to discuss a political treaty with you, as well as a discussion of trade between our two nations. I believe that we have many native wonders that are not present in Hyrule.

We wish you and your prince our best,

Kahiko, the leader of the sovereign nation of A’Akoa.

Despite the entirety of the letter, Zelda’s eyes caught on the word prince. “Oh,” she said, “they called you my prince! That is so cute!”

“I wouldn’t be a prince,” Link said, frowning. “When we marry, I will be the King Consort of Hyrule.”

“You do not need to get hung up on the details,” she said, setting the letter next to the lamp. “And you are quite confident that I will want to marry you.”

“The only reason you wouldn’t want to marry me is to delay the inevitable of becoming Queen,” he said. So rude! He kissed her frown.

“Now I definitely do not want to marry you,” she said.

“Yes, my Princess,” he said dryly, and then kissed her again. She sighed and breathed into his mouth, letting him kiss her. She was so malleable under his skin and skillful hands.

“Oh, be quiet,” she said after a moment, feeling the way his chest laughed under her hands. She wondered if she could just kiss him forever, for a long while.

After they completed their ministrations, which went on for a longer time than Zelda had properly anticipated, the two of them cuddled up against each other, warm in their small space, bare skin against bare skin.

“Will you sleep tonight?” Zelda asked, tucked up against him, secure in his arms. Link’s right hand was tracing an indistinct pattern down her arm, lulling her to sleep.

He kissed the tip of her ear in response. “I promise I’ll try.”

Link did sleep that night, though it was a particularly difficult night for nightmares. He’d woken up three separate times, two of them he’d woken Zelda up as well, his arms around her stiffening and relaxing as he tried to make sense of where he was and what he was doing.

Kissing him, running her hands over him, only seemed to calm him down the first time. Link held onto her like she was going to dissipate away, like he’d wake up and there’d be nothing left of her. He held onto her hips, holding her in place, while she placed her hands on his face, promising him that she was right there. I am right here, Link. Look at me. Look at me. I am not going anywhere. I am right here. I am right here.

After the third nightmare, Link had given her a chaste kiss and gotten dressed, quickly pulling on his pants and nightshirt. “My love,” Zelda whispered, propping herself up to look at him in the still-dark night, “where are you going?”

“I didn’t check the perimeter last night,” he said, pulling both hands through his shirt. He looked antsy, so full of anxiety that he might burst. “I’m sorry. I need to check.”

“We are on vacation,” she said. “We are safe.”

“I know, I know,” he choked out, and then sat next to her to brush a stray piece of hair out of her face. He grabbed her chin and placed a strong, succinct, full kiss. “I just need to check. I need to make sure.”

“Can I go with you?”

He shook his head. “Please stay here. It won’t be long, I promise.”

Zelda wanted to argue, would have argued and won, but the look on Link’s face was so panicked that she couldn’t find the words. “Okay,” she said instead, watching him not even put on shoes before he left through the window.

It wasn’t long, like he had said. Only ten minutes or so had passed before he had come through the window once more, looking at her apologetically. Zelda had scarcely moved from her position, waiting for him with her knees against her chest. She had put on a shirt while he was gone but otherwise was mostly unmoved.

“Did you find any dangers, Sir Link?”

“No, my Princess,” he said dutifully, carefully stripping himself of his pants and shirt until he was in nothing but his underpants. Once properly undressed, he tucked himself back into bed with Zelda, who had laid back down. She placed a hand against his chest. His heartbeat was still racing.

“I’ll be sure to check the perimeter before we go to bed,” he said. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“I do not mind,” she said truthfully, tucking her face into his bare chest. He wrapped their legs around each other, much like earlier that day. “I want to support you. I want to make you feel better.”

“You already make me feel better.”

“That is not what I mean—”

“I know what you mean,” he said. “And you don’t have to do anything. Just you being here is enough for me right now.”

Another argument that she was sure she could win, but it was not the time nor place for it.

She felt like she was missing something, a critical component of the way Link was going about his nightmares ever since she had returned.

“Okay,” she said instead, and was lulled back to sleep by Link’s breaths.

For Link’s part, despite his lack of sleep, he did seem pretty up-and-at-’em the following morning. They had a late start, but that was mostly because Zelda took her sweet time getting out of bed.

Breakfast was their first hurdle of the day, but Link finally managed to get Zelda out of bed by promising her that he’d cook for her. It was a relatively simple meal, there was a small place for items to be cooled or frozen, because Link had only brought so many ingredients. Nevertheless, it still managed to get Zelda out of bed.

Their first stop of the day was with Mea, who directed them to her son’s, Launi the botanist, greenhouse. Zelda was inordinately excited about the greenhouse, and triple-checked to make sure that she had her journal and an appropriate amount of writing utensils in her pack.

Once at the greenhouse, Zelda discussed with Launi at length about the flora of A’Akoa. She soon found out that the tree she was particularly fond of was called a Banyan tree, and learned a great deal about that particular tree. Her hand began to ache as she wrote down everything in earnest.

22. The tree is called a Banyan tree. It is very peculiar! The Banyan tree cannot simply be grown from seed to land—the botanist Launi has taught me many words in the course of our discussion today. He told me that the Banyan tree is an epiphyte, which means that to grow the Banyan tree, the seed must be planted inside another tree, which will eventually kill the host tree! Furthermore, the Banyan tree has aerial prop roots—a type of root not seen in the entire nation of Hyrule! I believe that the Banyan tree would thrive in Lurelin and other similar tropical locales, it will not do well in a place that experiences frost.

Zelda also learned of the spiritual significance the A’Akoa people held for the Banyan tree. They believed that the birth of their people originated from the breast of the Banyan tree, and that all life came from the hollow trunks of the trees that were scattered throughout their island nation. The Banyan tree that sat on the crest of their island, at the very top of the highest mountain, is where the Goddess Hylia was born.

Once they were done with that excursion, the two of them shopped around for a while. There was nothing particularly ornamental or touristy yet, as the ports of A’Akoa had only been open for a few months, but Zelda did walk away with a few choice pots and pans that were crafted by the A’Akoan people. She considered commissioning a vase by one of the craftspeople, but she ended up deciding that it would probably take too long. One of her flaws was that she was rather impatient.

They did see many more Hylians than the day prior, but Zelda became adept at turning away, hiding behind Link’s back, or just simply putting on her sunhat. It was likely that the Hylians who were vacationing there as well were not expecting the Princess of Hyrule to be meandering around. She was unsure if many of them even knew that she had returned from her absence.

The rest of the day they spent simply being lazy (for them) and content. Link surfed some more, mastering the headstand on the board, while Zelda sketched Hyrule castle in the sand. Once the ocean washed it away, she began to plot out the necessary dimensions of a saltwater aquarium to begin cultivating the Mahi-Mahi fish. She knew this was probably a fruitless endeavor, because fish needed a lot more space than it seemed, but it kept her mind occupied.

Once the day neared its end, the two of them washed each other's bodies in the bathhouse, with Link making a ridiculous mohawk of her hair with the suds of the soap they used. He also emerged with a fully white soap beard more than twice.

Once they returned to the inn, Zelda quickly opened her journal and began discussing all of her thoughts that had occurred throughout the day. Link was patient, he always was, and responded to all of her inquiries with his own thoughts. Her journal list was shorter than the day before, but they talked for much longer about each subject, so it balanced out.

Once done, Link checked the perimeter. Zelda waited for him patiently, engrossed in the dimensions of a bathhouse that she’d like to build behind their home. The A’Akoa’s heating system was a mystery to her, which she was going to inquire about tomorrow to whomever owned the building. Even if she were not to use it for the infrastructure of Hyrule, it’d be a wonderful addition to their home. They were currently using a ruby wand to facilitate warm baths.

Link took much longer than the night before. Zelda had moved on from the bathhouse back to the fruitless aquarium, and once she was done with that, she had begun writing out a detailed plan for cultivating a Banyan tree in Lurelin. As she was finishing up her sketch of the Banyan tree, Link still hadn’t returned.

Zelda shut her journal and placed it on the nightstand next to the lamp, going onto the balcony to await his return. She sat on the straw chair, propped her feet up, and admired the waxing moon. It’d been almost two weeks since she had been undragonified, and here she was in a nation long severed from Hyrule, enjoying a vacation with her partner. She still had her worries, of course, her journal was evidence of that—but it felt, still, that her mind had somehow slowed down and calmed in the demure nation of A’Akoa.

Zelda only realized she had fallen asleep when she was woken up by Link carrying her to their bed. “Hmph?” she mumbled, eyes and body tired.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, placing her in bed and tucking her in. He soon stripped of his clothes and crawled into his rightful place, next to her. “I didn’t mean to be gone for so long.”

“Any danger?” she asked, her mind slowly blanking and falling back to sleep with his warmth behind her.

The pause was long, even in her tired state. “No,” he said eventually.

She was suddenly much more awake. “Link,” she said, sitting up to look at him. He looked back, his face blank, but she knew him too well to be fooled by his expressions. “What is wrong?”

“There’s nothing wrong, Princess.”

“You would lie to your sovereign?”

That must have bothered Link particularly, as he shot up to face her and shook his head. With only the moon’s light to aid her, he looked exhausted. “You never pull rank,” he said.

“You never lie to me,” she countered.

“And I still do not,” he said. “There is no danger, Zelda. You know I would never lie to you about your safety.”

“And what of yours?” she asked. “Link, you worry me—”

“If I tell you that there is no danger, you must believe me—”

“You have had nightmares ever since I have returned,” Zelda interjected, finally addressing his general… state. She was hoping that this could be resolved after their vacation, but Link was steadily getting worse every night, even if he was doing fine during the day. “I do not know how to help you without you telling me what is wrong. I tell you every night that I am here and I am safe and that I am not going anywhere, Link—”

“It’s not something you can just simply fix, Princess.” He sounded angry. This was great! Maybe she would actually get somewhere in that thick skull of his.

“Do you not wish to be here?” she asked. “Because if that is the case, we will ferry back at first light.”

“No, Zelda, that’s not the case,” he said quickly. Zelda grabbed his hands and he looked at her, blue eyes dark in the moon, his hands squeezing her tightly, making sure she was still there. He looked afraid. Zelda, in all of their years together, had never seen him look afraid. “I love being here with you. I love you. I’m glad to be here.”

“What are you hiding from me?”

He swallowed thickly, looking away to the point in which their hands were connected, and then looked back to meet her eyes. “How am I to protect you when these nightmares plague me nightly?” he asked softly, his voice carrying across their room like a whisper. “I couldn’t protect you those first two times,” he continued. Zelda would have interjected, but he was finally getting somewhere, so she kept her quiet while she could. His eyes shifted toward her shoulder. “The guardians, and the—the—when Ganondorf awoke from under the castle, both times I failed you. You would not have had to trap yourself to tame the Calamity Ganon nor turn yourself into a beast for tens of thousands of years because of my failures.”

“Link…”

“And I know you will say it's not my fault,” he continued, “that it would diminish the great evils that both Calamity Ganon and Ganondorf have plagued on Hyrule. But I still have to sit and wonder how I could have saved you each and every time, the things I would have done differently. Had I used my other arm to grab you, had I learned to parry properly with my shield to protect you from those guardians, had I been the one standing on the edge so it was I who had fallen.”

“After the first calamity, Calamity Ganon, you were not as anxious, nor antsy, and you did not have nightmares then,” Zelda said. “What has changed now?”

“I have lost you twice, and I’d loathe to lose you again. The second time around was so much more foreboding, so much more raw, because I’d see you in the sky, your sacrifice laid bare to me and all of Hyrule, while I meandered around gathering the strength to defeat Ganondorf without the guarantee I’d ever see you again.”

“To be fair,” Zelda said, trying to find a way to lighten the mood, “Ganondorf ate your entire arm. Anyone would be a little depressed over that.”

The shock of the statement forced a chuckle out of Link, who, despite it all, smiled at her. All blue eyes and pink lips and strong arms and hands.

“And of the dangers you saw tonight while checking the perimeter?”

Link closed his eyes slowly and shook his head. “None of the physical kind,” he said ominously. “But I have begun to see visions of the monsters I have slain. Gloom hands returning to the land to come and claim the hand returned to me, Phantom Ganon’s hiding in every corner to strike me down, the monsters in the Depths tainted by Gloom, every hit slowly taking away my very vitality…”

There was a connection there, between the monsters Link was seeing and the nightmares he was having, but the night was late and the moon high in the sky, so Zelda could not make the connection. Perhaps tomorrow, when she was properly rested and could have time to mull over the information Link had provided.

“In my nightmares,” he continued, his hands trembling in Zelda’s as he spoke, “you have not only escaped my grasp, but you have died in my arms. You have died in every which way, from falling down a pit, to the beam of a guardian, from Ganondorf crushing you beneath his palm, to the Gloom hands claiming you and choking you as I watch. I have watched you die by my hand, more nights than I can count. I have seen you slain by a Lynel, skewered by a monster lurking the depths. And every time I am helpless, I watch you die over and over again, and I have failed you every time and in every which way.” He had started to cry, his hands gripping Zelda with vice.

“I cannot lose you again, my love,” he said, pet names from him so rare but so sweet, “I do not know if I could survive it.”

Zelda had begun to cry as well. She had not realized the severity of his nightmares, had attributed them to a passing folly… But they were detrimental, preventing him from even continuing a normal life. He had only kept face until now, acting like he was fine in the day when he was plagued with images of her dying over and over again in the night.

“Has this vacation made it worse?”

Link opened his eyes and shook his head. “In some ways. Being in an unfamiliar place has made me on high alert, but during the day I am better than I have ever been. Little naps seem to be fine, and I believe it is getting better the more I get used to it here.”

“Do you wish to leave?”

“No, I do not,” he said—and he had never lied to her. “I do not wish to go back to Hyrule right now. I want to stay here with you.”

“I wish to discuss this more with you,” Zelda said. She squeezed his hands and he smiled, despite it all. “I want to listen and I want to learn. If there is a way for me to help you, to alleviate the nightmares even just a little bit, then I will find a way.”

Link had nightmares that night, as he did most nights, but they worked through them as they always did. He had only woken Zelda up once, and instead of shying away like he normally did, he let her talk to him and calm him down. Zelda took note that when she kissed him just under his ear and ran her hands down his body, giving special attention to his abdomen, his nightmares suddenly dissipated. She would have to write this down in her journal for future testing.

The following morning was as easy and lax as the morning before. They went through their typical routine, eating a hearty breakfast and getting ready for the day.

The day was more clinical than the others; they had a long list of errands to run to assuage Zelda’s errant mind. They first met with the school’s teachers to discuss teaching techniques and ways to improve the literacy rate of their growing school-age population. Zelda wrote down their ideas in earnest, from the smallest tidbit to the grandest idea.

Their next appointment was with the bathhouse owner, who had described in great detail how he managed to build a heating system under his bathhouse to warm their tubs. Zelda easily drew conclusions to that of the great springs, particularly in the Eldin region, and began sketching out a plan for their planned bathhouse. She had the dimensions figured out and the type of pipes she would use before Link pulled her away to their next errand.

They further met with Launi to discuss the type of flowers that Zelda was interested in regarding her coronation. Her coronation was something she hadn’t brought up, particularly, but Link had pushed her into thinking about it a bit more, and the flowers still felt vacation-y enough to allow herself to check them out. She was particularly fond of the A’Akoa Hibiscus flower, a bright red flower that looked good tucked behind Link’s ear. She discussed means of transporting the flowers back to the nation of Hyrule for an event, though she did not specify which event.

Launi then directed them to the local zoologist, a building only a short walk from the greenhouse. The zoologist was named Ali, a young woman, probably around Zelda’s (pre-calamity) age. Zelda then asked about the local fauna, writing down descriptions and habitats and mating habits as fast as she could. Once her hand ached, Link took over for a short while, but his handwriting was absolutely abysmal, so she took back over soon enough.

She hadn’t any plans for the native fauna of A’Akoa, but it was nice knowing about them and writing them down so she could return to her journal for any information that struck her fancy. Link was critical of this notion, he believed that she was already planning an animal sanctuary once the castle was rebuilt, but that was silly—she was hoping to keep the Nene bird as a pet.

Once she was done discussing fauna with Ali, it was well past noon and time for lunch, so they went back to Koholā Cove and ordered a different baked fish dish this time. Once they were done, Link attempted a backflip while surfing, but this seemed against the logic of physics so it predictably went nowhere.

While Link was occupied with his surfing endeavors, Zelda’s eyes caught upon a Nene against one of the rocks bordering the ocean just a ways out. Without much thought nor preamble, she grabbed her journal and a writing utensil to stake it out. She thought about leaving Link a note to inform him of her whereabouts, but she figured she wouldn’t be gone for too long, so she quickly scratched that thought out and continued.

The Nene was conversing with another of its species. Zelda wrote down several characteristics she found similar to that of native Hyrule birds, taking special care to denote the way the feathers sat against its neck, the way the light and dark feathers created a pattern unknown to the birds of Hyrule. She sat down in the sand to observe its characteristics, only inching forward if she thought she wouldn’t scare it off. It was a small bird, no bigger than the gooses found in Hyrule, and an absolutely wonderful specimen. The Nene disappeared behind the rock for a moment and then returned with four little Nenelings. Zelda squeaked in joy and surprise, quickly sketching them down in the center of her page.

She hadn’t realized how much time had passed until the sun started to droop further into the sky. They had eaten lunch around two, and she had probably left to observe the Nene around three-thirty, it must have been past five…

She got up and stretched her tired limbs, tucking away her journal under her arm. Before she could make her way back to where her items were, she heard her name called, Link’s voice panicked and hoarse.

Zelda hadn’t realized how far away the rock was where she was observing the Nene; she had been too distracted by the color of its feathers to notice. The rock was tucked behind several other rocks, and she soon realized that she must have been out of Link’s line of sight the entire time.

“Zelda!” he yelled, his voice carrying down the waves, the panic in his voice chilling her. “Zelda, Zelda—please,” he begged, “fucking—fucking Hylia, shit, fucking—” he seldom swore, and so she picked up her pace.

Link careened around at her footsteps, and instead of embracing her as she had thought, he pulled out the Master Sword and let it sit against her throat menacingly. His sneer was distraught and broken, a sight she had never before seen on his face. He was tense, both of his hands gripping the Master Sword as he shook. He almost looked like he did when he was in the throes of a nightmare.

“Link!” Zelda squeaked, falling back onto the sand. The sword followed her, the very tip of it only mere inches away from her throat. “Link, it is just me!”

“I’ve fallen for this twice now. I will not fall again.”

“Link!” Zelda yelled, some of her golden power coming off her in waves. Her journal fluttered down to her side, opening to the page where she had sketched him only days before. “Set the sword down,” she commanded, her voice softening with his features. His face panicked, realization set over him as it came to face that he was about to sever the throat of his girlfriend with the very Master Sword that was supposed to protect her. “Link, set the sword down. Come here,” she prompted.

Link dropped the sword into the soft white sand and fell to his knees, his body overcome with overwhelming mortification and pure fear. Zelda crawled to him, grabbed his hands that covered his face, and wrapped her body around his, speaking soothing words into his skin. He cried and cried, the sound so painful and desperate to Zelda’s ears. His hands shook as they wrapped around her, pulling her close to him, letting him feel the points where their skin connected.

“You can’t keep doing this to me,” he said, and then, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” His voice was small and weak and so unlike the brave and courageous knight she knew. His body trembled in her hands, his fingers looking for purchase across her skin, trying to find a spot that would calm him down. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“Only apologize to me when you have done something wrong,” Zelda muttered into his skin, trying to smooth out his tense muscles with her deft hands. He was not calming down as she expected.

He pulled away for a moment and looked at her critically, his face wrought with tears. “I almost fucking killed you.”

“And you told me that the Yiga had become accustomed to disguising themselves as me to distract and trick you. I should not have left without informing you where I was and what my intention was. I should be the one apologizing.”

“You shouldn’t have to inform me of your every move,” he said. He grabbed her face and kissed her desperately, his lips salty and sweet. Zelda let him kiss her, let him ride out his emotions with a desperate attack of his lips to hers. He pulled away, breathing heavily. “I thought She had taken you again from me,” he said. “Or that the Yiga had mounted their attack while I was distracted.”

“But I should, naturally,” she said. “You are my appointed knight and I am your charge. It is in your very job description that you know of my whereabouts at all times.”

“Does that make us coworkers?” he asked foolishly, an attempt to lighten the mood. Zelda laughed at his silly joke, and then kissed the track of tears under his eyes. He kissed her again, less desperate and more sweet, his mouth pliant and warm under hers. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and tugged him close, letting their bodies touch so he knew she was there, she wasn’t going anywhere.

They stayed like this for a bit, the sun dipping below them and warming them down to their very toes, their kisses drawing in each other, his sweet little gasps in her mouth deepening their kiss. His hands were placed on the bare skin of her waist, holding her in place for him, letting him squeeze to make sure she was real.

They pulled away after a long while, when things had progressed probably a little too much for being on a semi-public beach. “We need a code word,” Zelda decided, after putting everything back in place. The two of them slowly made their way back to their belongings. “I don’t believe the Yiga will try to impersonate me anymore since I have returned, but to ease your mind, I believe this to be the best course of action.”

“Something that only you and I know of,” Link agreed. He had calmed down considerably, the tear streaks long gone during their… actions, his hair a beautiful amount of strewn about because of Zelda’s wandering hands.

“Not to bring everything back to the Banyan tree, but since it is native to A’Akoa, and I seem to be the only one interested in it…”

Link laughed at her antics, and then grabbed her hand in his once they gathered all of their items. The walk back to the inn was mostly silent, save for the bustling of everyone getting ready for bed in the streets.

Once they returned to their room, Link finally spoke. He was in the motion of brushing his teeth. He spit out his toothpaste, washed his mouth, and smiled at her. “I like Banyan tree. It’s a good code phrase.”

“Phrase, yes,” Zelda agreed, spitting out her toothpaste and setting her toothbrush next to Link. Once they were settled in bed, the night followed much of the same course as the previous nights, with the two of them discussing her journal. She pointed out the Nene bird in her drawings, and the little Nenelings as well, and began to ramble about their disposition, mating habits, and any other conclusion she could draw from the short time she observed them on the beach.

Link made a comment here and there, but he mostly listened to her ramble on, his eyes never straying from her face and lips, nodding in all of the right places. He was so patient with her, always willing to listen to her talk on and on about what had interested her that day.

Once she was satisfied with her observations, Link checked the perimeter. He was back in record time, practically leaping into bed with Zelda only to grab her and cuddle. Zelda was lulled to sleep by his chaste kisses.

There was only one nightmare incident, and Link had mostly slept through the night. The day was much the same as the day prior: they met with multiple people of A’Akoa to discuss things that had caught her interest—she spent a long while with Ali again, discussing the domestication of the Nene.

She had finally found a suitable gift for the King of the Zora; she had commissioned a duplicate crown of his own, only that it was made out of the clay only found in the nation of A’Akoa. She took a bit of the clay herself to test it at home with a kit, but she believed that the clay had a large amount of kaolinite in it, a type of mineral that strengthened the sculpture while simultaneously giving it a fragile and sheen look. The commission would be finished by the time their vacation was over. She had exchanged some of her rupees for the A’Akoan form of currency, and then continued to pay the artist double (plus a tip) for their expedience. They were planning on going straight to the Zora once they returned to Lurelin, so no time could be wasted waiting around for the sculpture to be finished.

Zelda was also beginning to suspect that the people of A’Akoa truly did know who she was. It was not every day that an eccentric blonde Hylian graced your home shortly after the return of her Princess, and this eccentric blonde Hylian was also incredibly wealthy, astoundingly intelligent, and had a penchant for asking the most inane questions that only the Hylian Princess would truly care about. For their part, most vendors and A’Akoans turned a blind eye to her antics—even if they were to imply her lineage, Link managed to shut them up rather quickly with a stern look.

Zelda also found that she truly was not the slightest bit lazy on vacation, even if she had believed so originally. She was very adept at pulling Link around to the most obscure ventures, like testing the acidity of the ocean with a taste of her own—Link had joined in for his part, but then decided that this was an inefficient way to test the pH level, and so Zelda put some in a vial and placed that alongside her clay sample to test when she returned home. She also decided that it was in her best interest to construct a surfing board of her own, because while Link had attempted to teach her, she was not a quick learner in that aspect.

She found a suitable teacher while her surfing board was being commissioned, but she was particularly impatient that day, so she stood next to the person she had commissioned and even convinced said artist to have her help. Having her help turned into teaching her how to make a surfboard out of the Banyan tree wood, which in turn turned into constructing the surfboard herself. The artist told her the specifics of the board, how much it should weigh in her hand, how tall it should be when standing next to her, the type of wax she should use to make it ride easier in the waves, how to balance yourself on the board if the surfboard was crafted with a tilt. She, of course, wrote all of this wonderful knowledge down in her journal.

She did not have the time to complete the surfboard herself, so she did get a few lessons from a surfing teacher. The teacher was unfortunately handsy, but this was a given because of the nature of the sport. Link did not appreciate her handsy teacher, and she did not learn at a much better pace than before, so Link became her teacher once more.

She had managed to stay stable on the surfboard for a good ten seconds before a man on the beach, near their towels and packs, waved her over. Link helped reign her back to the beach, pulling her and their rented surfboard out of the water to place them erect in the sand.

The man was the same man who had given Garini the letter of correspondence to her. She waved at him and he blushed, waving a letter to her. “Is this for us?” Zelda asked, taking the letter out of his outstretched hand. She flipped it over and read the scrawled letters, unmistakably Purah’s handwriting.

To: The Princess of Hyrule and her knight

From: Purah

URGENT INFORMATION. PLEASE RESPOND IMMEDIATELY

That was embarrassing. Now everyone definitely knew that she was the Princess of Hyrule parading around as a commoner. Her embarrassment quickly faded at the memo and the amount of urgency noted in Purah’s handwriting. Her handwriting wasn’t particularly great in the first place, but it was definitely rushed by the looks of it.

“Thank you for this,” she said, scrambling to remember this man’s name. “Remind me of your name?”

“I never offered it, Princ—” his eyes drifted to Link, who shook his head, “I mean, um—Zelda. The name is Makaio. I’ll leave you be,” he said, and then made his quick escape.

“There is no need to scare that innocent man!” Zelda reprimanded, ripping open her letter. “I am aware that my disguise is futile now.”

“You are not good at pretending to be someone else,” Link agreed.

Hey Zelda. I don’t have time for the formalities. You’ll have to forgive me later.

I have tested the blood samples you sent me and I have some troubling news. Physically, Link has never been better. He completed all of the shrines and gained back his vitality with ease. However, because the time between you becoming a dragon and thus becoming undragonified was such a long stretch of time, the spirit of Rauru and Sonia waned significantly. While they restored Link’s arm, I believe that they did not rid him entirely of Gloom.

I know you did not discuss at length with me what was particularly wrong with him, but I believe that the Gloom left in his blood may contribute to it greatly. I am currently at the Hateno Tech Lab with Robbie creating something that might fix this problem. I know you are on vacation right now, and I loathe to bother you, but I know that you would like to receive this news as soon as possible.

What to do next is up to you. It might be easier to come and see me for yourself rather than send a letter.

Best, Purah.

“Link!” she yelled, her heart dropping down to her stomach. There was something wrong with him, there was something causing these nightmares.

All of the monsters he saw in his dreams were of the Gloom personified—the Gloom hands, the Phantom Ganon, the monsters covered in Gloom in the depths. It made so much sense that Zelda felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. On the outside, he looked fine, great, even, if you asked Zelda—but his blood was still tainted with the miasma of Ganondorf.

“What is it, Princess?” he murmured, grabbing the letter carefully from her hands and reading it over. Zelda’s eyes prickled with tears. She had forced Link on this vacation without understanding what was truly wrong with him, and they were a ferry and horse ride away from curing this ailment. She was so selfish!

“Why in the name of Hylia are you crying?” he asked her once he was finished, tucking the letter into his pack. He placed a sweet kiss on her cheek, wiping up a stray tear with his lips.

“If I had known—” she said in between sobs, covering her face with her hands like an embarrassed toddler, “—I would have never forced you to go on this vacation with me—we could have cured you days ago for all I know, who knows how long it takes to get a letter out here—”

“Zelda,” he murmured, plucking her hands away from her face, “when have I ever implied that I was forced to go on this vacation with you? I have been having just as great of a time as you have, save for the nightmares. There was no way for you to know that it was a physical ailment, I certainly had no idea.”

“Stop trying to make me feel better!” she yelled, her voice hoarse and wet. “I am wrong and you know it!”

“I will very much tell you when you are wrong, and I will gleefully do so. That is not the case right now.” Zelda stayed silent and let the mortification take her. “What do you wish to do?”

“I would love to crawl under a rock and waste away my years.”

“As my charge, I simply cannot allow that.”

“Hm.”

He still held her hands in his. “I know you prefer the long way to travel, but what if we warp to the tech lab and speak with Purah ourselves?” he asked. She was very inefficient in this way; she very much did prefer the long way of traveling. “Perhaps her cure is already ready, maybe she can provide me something to rid me of my nightmares, or even simply subdue. We figure that out, and then we can warp back to Lurelin, have Garini ferry us back.”

“You still want to vacation with me?”

“When have I implied otherwise?”

“Perhaps we can use a travel medallion,” Zelda suggested. “Do you think it would work outside the lands of Hyrule?”

“I don’t know why it wouldn’t,” Link said. “While A’Akoa is sovereign now, they were once considered a part of Hyrule in the past, and the island nation is not too far from the borders of Lurelin.”

Thus, they had a plan. The two of them gathered all of their items and returned the surfboards to the vendors with a small wave. They came back to the inn and placed all of their items back in their rightful spots, their bed made by one of the inn workers. Link gathered one of the travel medallions he had placed throughout Hyrule, this one was the one he placed in Tarrey Town, and plopped it on their balcony. Link did not want it in the middle of the living space, said it looked too gaudy.

Zelda grabbed Link, their bodies connected to make sure that the slate took the both of them, and they warped to the Hateno Tech Lab.

It still wasn’t too late in the day, most of the people of Hateno still hadn’t eaten their dinner. Zelda was still in her sundress and bathing suit, her face properly freckled and burnt for being on a vacation, sand in places where sand should not be. Link was as tanned as ever, his nose peeling despite Zelda’s best efforts, the tips of his ears perpetually burned.

Link knocked on the door and waited for no answer, pushing it open to see Purah hunched over a stack of books and lab equipment, yelling at Robbie for something.

“When will that blasted royal get back to me…?” she mumbled to herself, zooming in one of her loupes on an item she was working on.

“Is now a sufficient time?” Link asked, ripping Purah away from her task. She squeaked in surprise, nearly dropping a vial to the ground, before swooping it up with a deftly timed hand.

“It was a fair question!” Purah defended herself before Zelda could get a word in edgewise, plopping the vial back to the table and tearing off her loupes. “I thought the Rito postmen were much more efficient than this turnaround.”

“When did you send your letter?” Zelda asked, sitting down at one of the open seats. There were not a lot, most chairs were stacked to the ceiling with books.

“Well, I ran the tests like you asked, and once Robbie informed me of your location, I sent the letter as soon as I could. I must have sent it the day you left.”

“It has been five days since then,” Zelda said, scrambling for her journal. “An abysmal amount of time for a Rito postman. This division of the Hyrule restoration project should be expedited. Link,” Zelda said, patting her pockets, “did I bring my journal?”

“We left it back at the hotel room,” he said.

“Oh dear.”

“I guess it doesn’t matter now,” Purah said. “Because Robbie and I just finished the trial version of something that might cure Link.” She beckoned them to follow her deeper into the lab, which was plenty more sterile and organized considering they were working with biological substances. “I don’t want to bore you with the mechanics of it all—”

“Oh, please,” Zelda said, already vibrating in excitement. “I’d love to hear the mechanics of it all.”

Purah then went into a long spiel about Link’s ailment and the cause, of which she had already covered in her letter, and then went into great detail about how she and Robbie had come up with a cure. The curative properties of the sundelions seemed to be mostly in the stamen, which was a far cry from where they had officially hypothesized—the ovary. Instead of cooking the flower whole, they extracted the curative properties from the stamen itself, which was a much purer form. From there, they used this concentrated version with the antibodies from Link’s blood. His body was fighting back, notably, but it just wasn’t doing that great of a job at it—Purah’s suggestion was mixing the antibodies with the concentrated form of the sundelion to create a sort of vaccine that expedited Link’s own immune system.

Zelda did not have her journal to assist her thoughts, but Link had somehow procured a pen and paper for her to write on in the meantime. “Wonderful,” she noted as Purah continued on, actually pulling out graphs and diagrams to assist her lecture.

“And will he have to take the medicine for an extended period of time, or will he be done in one shot?”

“Well, this was done as a rush order, so there’s no guarantee that the first dosage, or even the second, will bring us the results we desire.” She handed Link a piece of paper, who, after looking at it for all of five seconds, handed it over to Zelda to mull over. “Robbie wrote up this medicine plan. We are going to continue to develop a proper vaccine in the meantime, but we suggest Link take a vial of medicine every morning and night for a week. Once you’re done with your vacation, we suggest another blood sample test to ensure that it has gone smoothly.”

“I will have to adjust the next three months of plans, of course, but I believe we can make another blood test work between our vacation and our visit to Zora’s Domain.”

With Purah’s explanation out of the way, Link took his first dose of medicine under the watchful eye of Purah, Zelda, and Robbie (who had appeared all of a sudden). Once completed, Purah ran a few tests (with unneeded input from Zelda) to make sure that there were no adverse reactions. Once she was satisfied, she quite literally pushed them out of her Tech Lab with a terse, “Now get back to it, lovebirds!”

“Tasted like iron and bokoblin snot,” Link told her once they had warped safely back. Link picked up the travel medallion and stuffed it back into the Purah pad, which was a functionality that Zelda was still unsure of how it worked. She quickly grabbed her journal and wrote down that thought for another time. Once she was satisfied with that, she also stuffed the pages of notes she had written down about the vaccine into her journal. It was getting heinously large and difficult to maintain.

Link had no nightmares that night. He was wrapped tightly around Zelda, nearly dead to the world except for his steady breathing. Zelda had woken up, anyway, just to check on him. He didn’t even open an eye or wriggle when she touched his soft cheek. Maybe the medicine also had a drowsy effect?

The following morning, after a breakfast of sketchy medicine and wrapped sandwiches, Link had far more energy than he had during the entirety of their vacation. Getting him to expend all of his energy was a fruitless endeavor, but Zelda still tried.

The day was far less clinical and tactical than before. Instead, they spent their time doing all of the excursions Link favored. They hiked to the tip of the highest mountain, where the Goddess Hylia was said to be born from this very Banyan tree, and ate their lunch in between giggles and kisses. Considering it all, and her being the vessel of the Goddess Hylia Herself, Zelda did feel a faint connection to that particular Banyan tree.

Zelda checked in on her unfinished commissions, and received a few more surfing lessons from Link. Once Link grew bored of that activity, he ran around the beach for an hour or so, attempting cartwheels and backflips in the unsteady sand. He was actually getting awfully close to landing a backflip on a surfboard. Be it Link to defy the laws of physics.

Running around soon bore Link, and so they went through the central shops that they had not visited prior. Zelda walked away with two new bathing suits, three bandanas for her hair, a handcrafted quill, and a little sculpture that suspiciously looked like a Korok. Link, feeling particularly gluttonous that day, walked away with several cookbooks, a bagful of ingredients (and more if he could have fit it), a matching suspicious Korok sculpture, and a new pair of earrings that helped the chill of the ocean.

Night quickly approached, the days seemingly and impossibly growing shorter the more they enjoyed their time together, and Link took another vial of medicine.

The following days played out much the same. Zelda had forgone her disguise, if she could even call her pathetic attempt at one a disguise, and did not shy away from the local people of A’Akoa calling her the Princess of Hyrule. They did not treat her any differently, she was not their princess, so it was much the same as before.

She still hadn’t met with Kahiko, but she did return a letter to Makaio for Kahiko, who continued to blush and be bashful in her presence. Link did not appreciate Makaio for that reason.

They ventured out to the grand Banyan tree one more time at Zelda’s request, who decided to send her devotions skyward at the moon. She thanked Hylia for sending her Farore’s champion, for finding someone so perfectly crafted for her to help her rebuild Hyrule. With him at her side, currently Gloom-less and now capable of a backflip on a surfboard, she wasn’t so afraid of the coronation anymore. She still believed that Hyrule needed to be rebuilt before it could be ruled—she had plenty to work on, particularly that of the Rito postmen, the restoration of the ruined villages, and even the type of flower she wanted at her coronation. Until then, she was fine being the Princess and Link was fine being her knight. It was far into the future she would be known as the Queen and Link as the King Consort.

Once she was done with her prayer, she leaned back into the Banyan tree to observe Link shirtless and sweaty, trying to do a one-handed handstand. It was their last night in A’Akoa and she savored every moment. Tomorrow morning, she’d pick up her gift for King Sidon and her commissioned surfboard (Link’s she had placed at a later date—it was supposed to be a surprise but she was rather poor at keeping surprises and secrets), stuff all of her souvenirs into her pack, and then they would ferry back to Lurelin with Garini. From there, they’d take their horses and materials back to Hateno and meet up with Purah for testing on Link. Then, they’d prepare for their journey to Zora’s Domain.

In the meantime, she was fine just like this. Her shoulders were peeling, her hair unwashed and sandy, her bathing suit digging into her hips, and she was unsure if she had ever been happier.