Archive of Our Own ^beta

The blood moon had finally ended once and for all, its creators being either sealed or dead. Most of Hyrule's population from a hundred years ago had fled across the sea, and their descendants had been quickly returning in waves boosting the population of the kingdom by the thousands.

Of course, this meant the monarchy went suddenly from a title to a job, forcing the young queen and hero to leave Hatano and move to the speedily repaired castle and adjacent town. Their old house became merely a weekend home and with it the tranquility of the wild.

The princess's twenty-third birthday had quickly come and gone, and she was gifted a short break from the court after the festivities. 

"I'll confess, I have been putting something off for a while now," Zelda admitted as they rode in comfortable silence. She was in her royal blues, despite her adamant wish to wear her fieldwork clothes, and as such was focusing more on balancing atop Storm than her liking. The white horse was being followed by a sturdy stallion who was a dark brown, a stark contrast with the champion's leathers Link was wearing.

He looked up, trying to smooth over his face. He wanted to pretend that he was watching the landscape for threats, but in reality, he was watching how beautiful Zelda looked on her horse. It had been his idea to bring her out of the castle, so really he should have been paying attention to making sure they arrived safely on Satori Mountain, but the late-morning lighting had hit her shoulders just so-

Damnit, he needed to focus.

"I'm actually quite embarrassed to say it, despite the fact we knew it was coming."

They crossed Jeddo Bridge, the structure having been changed to oriental stone due to its increase in uses.

She breathed deeply, before turning to him with her face trying to stay as neutral as possible.

"The castle has been...argh, the court and the Sheikah have been pressuring me about heirs."

Alright, she was right about the fact they knew it was coming. It had been a disaster a hundred years ago with only one daughter of Hylia remaining, without an aunt nor a cousin to offer counsel, and it made sense that those who remembered would be determined to make sure they had a safety net for the future. Along with Zelda being lost not once but twice, with disaster ensuring, it was far more present than it would probably have been for the past monarchs. To be fair, Zelda has expressed her desire to have a family a few times, so it wasn't exactly a forced burden.

"Obviously... there is a solution to this I'm thinking of, but still..."

Oh, that's what she was thinking of.

Their relationship hadn't been public knowledge, but it wasn't private either. Those who worked alongside them frequently considered them a couple in all but name, and it was a popular whisper among the gossip mongers. Hylia forbid, the Lucky Clover Gasset has published four articles discussing the chances of the Hero becoming Hyrule's next king, which was more or less tossing Hylian pinecones into an already raging bonfire.

Link signaled for the Horses to stop, and they dismounted leaving them to graze in the expansive Nima plains below Sanidin Park ruins.

"It's up to you, of course. I-I don't want to pressure you into doing anything, and even more so, we would have to legally admit to marriage or at least acknowledge our relationship, and I still don't know if there will be backlash regarding it or if you will want to put up with any of the stuff I just mentioned, and..."

"Zelda." Link said flatly, cutting her off quietly.

“We have had this conversation before. The answer is yes. It has always been yes. It will always be yes."

He didn't like the shortness of his tone. He didn't want to make her feel upset, or annoyed, and he understood her worry. But he also wished he could completely convince her with unwavering faith.

She nodded, her shoulders relaxing. But there was still tension, hidden in her eyes. To make up for it, Link leaned over and gently kissed her.

Zelda's surprise quickly turned into content, and she halfheartedly reached around his waist to pull him back when he turned away.

They paused for a moment, both lost in thought amongst the tall grasses that clung to them, the buttercups and dandelions bending in the wind.

"We are quite close to the park, and I imagine it will be full with the clear weather. We should get going if we want to introduce this in the least scandalous way possible." Link remarked. Zelda flushed at the word 'scandalous'. It was true they had...been intimate more than a few times in Hatanoe, but luckily Purah had been foresighted enough to provide her with the proper amenities despite her original protests and horror at the thought.

Link proceeded to lead the way up the gently sloping hillside, where Zelda could see a shrine of light resting on the edge of a cliff surrounded by trees. She had thought his goal would be the cherry blossom at the top by the pond, but he veered away and instead walked to the shrine they had seen moments before.

Most of the orchards of Hyrule were in their nursery phase; only recently being grown. Hatano had a small one, only five or so trees that had provided for the village, but apple prices had become inflated while they still needed to be gathered in the wild.

So Zelda was quite surprised to see a flourishing grove of over two dozen apple trees tucked away in front of the shrine. Most of their branches were heavy with fruit, and despite the bounty of food, it was clear of foxes and birds with only a few crows hopping on the steps of the shrine itself.

"When did you find this?" Zelda asked mouth agape, and Link barred his hand to prevent her from continuing deeper in before speaking.

"I was shrine hunting; the auto-build turned out to be perfect for quickly collecting large quantities of materials, so it was easy enough to come back whenever I needed apples. Evermeans like to sneak in, though, so wait here for a moment."

Two of the evil tree monsters jumped out from the middle rather quickly when he stepped inside, but they were brought down with a quick slash. Link pocketed the apples that had fallen and been soiled, perhaps for the horses, before destroying the timber and saving it as well.

He beckoned for Zelda to come further in, and she gratefully did. Over a hundred years ago, she would be wondering why she was in a farmer's garden. Now, she was just impressed that none of the individuals setting up shop at Castle Town had further explored Hyrule for hidden gems like these instead of adding to the inns and restaurants.

The Evermeans had been kind enough to actually clear out a small space in the heart of the orchard, where the sky sprawled above them. Link had pulled out a blanket and placed it on the ground, before taking out a Zonai cooking pot. The Zonai forges were still active despite Minerus parting-a sore spot despite Zelda having already properly mourned both her new parents and aunt-and Link constantly dropped by to stock up on minor supplies. To be sure, he was still getting used to not always having some of the machines he had built, but smaller mediums such as the flame emitters were an advantage he made use of.

Zelda sunk against the tree bark, her skirts flowing around her, and she turned her attention to watching the clouds. Link himself was actually hardly paying attention to the fire he had started in the middle of a forest, safe or not, now, and was instead watching her face and the changing of the wind and how her dress moved gently against the red and white pattern below him.

Goddesses, he was head over heels.

Zelda took out a book that she had palmed from Storm's travel bag before leaving, resting against the wood. Link made a point to quickly leave while she was distracted, picking out golden apples amongst the red to bring back to the camp.

While he let the fruit simmer, he watched Zelda who was peeking at him over her book cover.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked. Her eyes dimmed before she vigorously shook her head. 

"Of course not. The apples will be cooking for a while, so come and sit." She patted the ground next to her for added effect, and her knight obliged.

They sat in comfortable silence, Zelda sneakily leaning to rest against Link's side while pressing her head into his shoulder before the conversation started again.

"I'll admit, I am not looking forward to a smug Purah once we announce it," Zelda said lightly, keeping the strain out of her voice.

Link chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest as Zelda pressed harder to hear it, before he spoke.

"Though perhaps this makes me a bad person, I'm looking forward to some of your self-proclaimed suiters' reaction."

"Suiters?" Zelda asked curiously.

"Most of them are knights and recruits, mainly the ones who came across the sea." Well, she could believe that. Being a knight had grown to be immensely popular and almost romanticized even before the population growth. The ladies in castle town were more likely to swoon over a general than ever, and they did so frequently with her appointed knight. Actually, it bothered her quite a bit, and while it was unlikely to stop it would at least subside once they knew he was off the market.

Hylia forbid, she sounded like a jealous schoolgirl. She tried to smooth out the tone in her head, but she still felt a boost of positivity in her mood.

"The others are some of the newer nobles; I frankly think they're worse."

He didn't elaborate anymore, and while curious she seemed content. The nobles were more lazy with their eyes, more crude with their remarks. While the knights were more fueled by beauty and possibly personality, the nobles had mostly social standing and lust on their minds. 

But there was no reason to trouble Zelda with any of that.

"I suppose I should start somewhat discussing the preparations that we will have to do with the council and a planner," Zelda said finally once she was sure she couldn't sway Link into finishing. It wasn't an engagement party, though that would soon follow. In fact, she could hopefully keep it into a short comment to the court in the castle. It would spread like wildfire, of course, but it would also give them the benefit of overestimating so that they wouldn't be immediately expecting to be with each other all the time every day.

Sure, they already did that, but she wanted Link to have some freedom.

The wedding and Link being officially recognized as king and consort would hopefully happen in a year, if not a few months after. Then Impa would finally silence about the baby jokes, Purah with the sex jokes, and Hyrule would be pleased. It was nice, considering having a daughter, if not several, and there was a happy pink fluff that encompassed the highly saturated images she came up with. 

Of course, Link was in each one.

"Your over thinking this." Link hummed, snapping her out of her mind space as he stood to pour the simmered fruit into bowls.

 "How did you--well, it's better to be prepared," Zelda replied with flush defensiveness. How he even knew she was lost in thought was beyond her. He was one to speak; the plans to get Hyrule Castle down had locked him in a hall with most of the staff in lookout landing before the inflation of people, and he temporarily turned in the stoic knight she knew a century ago. 

When Robbie had finally convinced them to simply destroy the pillar and let it drop-"It was already deserted and collapsing anyhow"-he had lightened up of course, but it still made her heart ache.

He sat next to her, passing the bowl into her hand. The sky was weaving a pattern of clouds far off against Faron, signaling Farore's season's arrival and Din's season's end. 

"What was it like?"

Zelda's eyes snapped toward her side, where Link was staring at the same clouds as she. But in the distance, towards the bridge of Hylia, an elegant green line made her way through the sky. Lighting accompanied the thunder dragon, and she easily made her way to the dry lands of Gerudo directing the winds at her behest.

"I didn't remember at first. My mind was hazy; too much relief to truly process everything."

He nodded silently, though she felt the ghost of his hand preparing to wrap around her comfortingly. 

"Then the nightmares came; being a dragon does not grant you permission to sleep; even if I didn't need it to survive, it's something I will never take for granted again."

Link remembered the nightmares; in inconsolable Zelda waking up sobbing, gripping onto him, and refusing to let go when he reached to comfort her. She had cried his name in his ear, begging the demon king occasionally to spare him and not let him die; at some point, she would pass out in his arms again, tears staining her face, and then she wouldn't get up until noon.

The scary part was that she never screamed, never kicked, never cried out. It was always quiet and desperate, turning into a whisper before she fell asleep.

He had conquered his dreams in the silence of the wilds on his first adventure; she had never been given a sanctuary where she could.

At that point Link thought it was only fair to pull her closer; the contact steeled his nerves as well as hers, part of his vow to never let her fall again.

She maneuvered onto his lap so that she was resting in his arms, skirts covering where their bodies met. 

"But I also got pieces of being a dragon; it was odd and uncomfortable, being so big. My memories changed over the years to fit the image of life I now had;  I saw you sometimes, but you were also a dragon."

She let out a shuddered breath.

"The worst was when Gannon resurrected. I saw...everyone die. I had front-row seats to the massacres the guardians commenced, the death of the champions. I contemplated helping, in the frozen moments when I saw through the veil the tear created. I think, I think losing memories and myself was more of a blessing than I thought. I don't know what would have happened if I had been sentient all those years."

"I would have joined you."

She looked up to see Link staring back at her, eyes blank.

"Mineru; she had told me of an alternative if I couldn't cope with...everything. She would give me her stone, and...I would have joined you."

Zelda let out a long shaky breath.

"Well, we're here now, aren't we? Speaking about marriage for goddesses' sake. I'm glad we both made it, that we are here now despite everything that was thrown at us, at you." 

Link looked like he wanted to argue in her favor about what she gave up, but Zelda wanted to move to a more lighthearted conversation. 

"What do you see, in the clouds?"

He looked surprised before turning to look at the sky.

"A bird." 

"Where?"

"Up to the north-near Lanayru."

"I don't see it."

Link grabbed a gloved hand, gliding a finger to point to the horizon. Zelda let out a small gasp.

"I see it!" She announced triumphantly, unwrapping her other hand around Link's waist to reach for the slate.

"What do you see?" He asked as she snapped a picture.

"Up there, near the coast; it looks like a flower."

"Like a silent princess." He said thoughtfully, shifting so that she was sitting on his legs to get a better view of the puffs of white above them.

"Yes, just like a silent princess."