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Over one hundred years ago, Link had vowed to his king and before the goddesses, that he would face and vanquish any foe that threatened the life of the Princess of Hyrule. As a boy of only seventeen, he swore on his sword to never rest and that he would go so far as to sacrifice his life if that meant keeping her from harm. The boy was now a man, one who had kept his oath, defeating the greatest of evils without batting an eye. Twice.
It turned out, however, that he was unable to protect her from the one enemy that threatened her now: a fever.
… … … … … … … … … … … … …
The day began fairly insignificantly. Link awoke and stretched out a hand to find the other side of the bed empty. He groaned and peaked open an eye in the hopes that he would glimpse her sitting at her little table, scribbling in her journal, but no, the loft too was completely empty. He rose and readied himself for the day, trying in vain to minimize the disappointment that he was the only one in the house.
Again.
They had only been back in Hateno for about a month, and he had hoped a return to the home they shared would give them the chance to spend some time together. In the years since the Calamity, his duty had transformed into a friendship that desired to blossom into something more unspoken in his heart; it was something he had been willing to keep secret and his alone, fearing that bringing it to light would bring him to ruin. However, recent events had made him realize he had become too comfortable and almost complacent with their living and working arrangements. A resurrection shrine and a constant supply of fairies had started to make him believe they were invincible, but when he almost lost her during the Upheaval, truly and irreversibly, he made a vow that if he could somehow get her back, he would tell her his feelings and treat each day with her as though it was a precious and sacred gift.
Zelda, however, had not made such a vow. Upon the defeat of the Demon King, she had quickly returned to exerting all of her efforts into restoring Hyrule to its former glory. It wasn't unusual for her to begin her day in one part of the kingdom, only to travel to Lookout Landing, Rito Village, Kakariko and back, all thanks to the Purah Pad and the many Skyview Towers he had activated. The first time she had gone traveling all on her own, and she returned home to a very worried and agitated Link greeting her. After that, she would schedule multi-village visits in advance, and she always made sure to invite him to accompany her. The Purah Pad on their nightstand beside him signaled that she was still in their village, somewhere.
As he left the house and began to search for her throughout Hateno, it seemed she was always one step ahead of him, at least based on the number of people who told him, "You just missed her!" Deciding that staying still was the better option, he turned for the schoolhouse, first making a quick stop to visit Uma and to harvest the fresh crop of hearty radishes along the way.
Symin was all too happy to have Link join him while he hurried to set up the lesson on local flora Zelda had developed and dropped off earlier. Link was in the middle of donating some of the plants he had on hand to the schoolmaster, when the sound of the princess's voice caused his head to turn towards the door. She walked in with children swarming her, excited about her visit. Almost as soon as she entered the room, her emerald eyes looked straight at him, causing his heart to jump. He gave a little wave, which she returned before bending down and saying something softly to the children. A second later, they turned to look at him and greeted, "Good morning, Professor Link!"
He chuckled and walked over to greet the three children who were present. After he exchanged hellos, asked where Karin was (they didn't know), and caught up with each of them, he asked, "Do you mind if I borrow Miss Zelda from you for just a moment?"
The kids agreed and ran to Symin excitedly.
"Good morning," she said sweetly to him, putting a hand on his arm before pulling it back suddenly. As if she realized something, her eyes widened. "I didn't wake you this morning, did I?"
He shook his head.
"Okay, good. I spent the morning working with Robbie and then checked in with Reede and Clavia because Karin…" She carried on detailing her day so far, telling him about the people she had spoken to, but all he could think was how happy he was to be with her. "Link, did you hear me?" she asked, pulling him from his thoughts.
"Sorry, yes, why did I come here?" he said, repeating her last question. "Oh, I… I wanted to see you… er… what you would like for dinner."
"Dinner…" she said, turning away. For a second, he could swear he saw something like disappointment in her expression, but it was gone as she looked at him excitedly. "Surprise me!" she said. "You've learned so many new recipes recently, I'm happy to try anything."
He gave a bow, more in jest than actual reverence, since she had long ago told him such formalities were no longer expected around her. "As my princess wishes."
It was only after he had said his goodbyes and began the walk home that he realized his mistake. He had said "my princess" when he had intended to say "the princess" like normal. He could feel his face heat up, but he pushed it away. Maybe she hadn't heard, he convinced himself and tried to forget it had ever happened.
… … …
Dinner that night consisted of a cheesy tomato appetizer with a main course of a gourmet spicy meat skewer and a side of steamed mushrooms. Everything was new except for dessert. He decided to make a simple fruitcake for her; that way, even if his confession did not go well, he could use her favorite sweet to show there were no hard feelings on his part.
Link served their food, and he ate as he normally would, albeit a bit nervously, but once he had finished, he noticed Zelda was merely pushing around the meal like he had served her a well-done rock roast. He had thought everything had turned out tasty, but perhaps the new Hateno cheese was not something she enjoyed eating. He was about to ask her if she wanted something else when he heard the scraping of the chair across the floor.
"I'm going to work in my study," she said as she stood and grabbed the Purah Pad.
"Wait!" he called before she had moved away. "I… I want more," he muttered as she looked down at him.
"More? Oh!" she said, and then grabbed her plate. "Here, have mine."
He had been so surprised by her unexpected response, and really her whole preoccupied behavior that evening, that she was already out of the house by the time he came to his senses. Jumping up, he dashed out the door and found her just around the house. "Zelda," he called, and she turned around surprised. "I didn't mean food. I want more… with you."
"More what, Link?"
"More…" he said, suddenly not sure how else to say it. He was known for being quiet in the past, but that was by choice. He had never before experienced such a loss for words. "You are special to me, but I don't want to just be your knight."
"You're not 'just my knight,'" she said, leaning awkwardly against one of the poles that supported the house. "You're one of my closest friends and trusted companions."
He shook his head. "I don't want that," he said. A look of sadness washed over her face, and he realized how that must have sounded. "I mean, I don't want to be only that. I want to be more to you." How was he supposed to explain it? He wanted her to look at him with the same excitement she had when she had a breakthrough in her studies. He wanted to kiss her, hold her, and- "I want more… intimacy between us."
"Link, we live together, we sleep in the same bed, you know everything about me. How much more intimate are you talking?"
"Emotionally and also-" He could only mutter his reply, prompting her to ask him to speak up. "Physically," he said again, feeling his face and ears burning red.
"Oh… oh!" she replied, turning red herself.
"But if you don't-" he began, but she cut him off.
"I… I need a minute," she said, raising her hand to her forehead. "Can we talk about this later? I just need to finish writing Symin's lesson for tomorrow."
Link could only nod dumbly at her request and watched her walk to the well that concealed her secret study. After a minute standing alone, he walked back into the house to clean up the dinner he had made. She had not returned by the time he had finished. All he could do was wait for her, so he dropped his head into his arms and closed his eyes for just a second.
… … …
He woke with a jolt that nearly caused him to fall from the chair. How long had he been sleeping?
"Princess?" he called. It was very dark out now. It had been hours. Had she really come in and gone to bed without waking him? He walked cautiously up the stairs to the loft, but no, the bed was empty. "Is she still…" His question lingered as he walked out and headed to the well. He called her name, but there was no reply. Had she left? Maybe she went up to the school to drop off the lesson. He was about to set off to check, when something in his stomach pulled him towards the well again. Deciding a quick look would be better than repeating his chase that morning, he slowly descended the ladder.
He had tried to respect her privacy, especially after he had used invasive investigating tactics while he searched for her during the aftermath of the Upheaval. Desperate times, as they say. To make amends for prying, he had stayed out of her private study, no matter how badly he wanted to read her diary again to get a peak at her inner thoughts. But right now, he had to find her.
Before he had fully descended the ladder, he glimpsed the blue of her clothing. Satisfied that she was safe, he started to climb back up when it occurred to him that she hadn't answered him.
"Princess?" he whispered and dropped down the rest of the way. She had her face pressed down against the pages of her diary in a most uncomfortable way. Had she also fallen asleep?
He walked over to her and brushed his fingers on her shoulder. She let out a small moan. "Link…"
Instantly he knew something was wrong. As much as he wanted to think she was dreaming about him, there was something in her voice that gave him cause for concern. He rushed to her side, and managed to catch her as she slipped from her chair.
"Princess?"
Her eyes began to flutter. "Link?" She pressed herself against him, fully depending on him now to support her. Her face was pale and clammy. "Where am I?"
"Home," he said, pressing a hand to her forehead. She was burning up. "You have a fever. Do you think you can climb back up the ladder?"
She only groaned in reply.
"Okay," he said, scooping her into his arms. He grabbed the Purah Pad from her desk and looked for the nearest travel point. Rauru's shrines were long gone, leaving only the Skyview Towers. It would be quite a walk to carry her back home from the closest one, even from the Ancient Tech Lab would be a hike. And then there was tomorrow and the inevitable number of people who would drop by the house asking her for help or advice. She needed rest and time to recover, without everyone demanding this and that of her. With only one destination in mind, he selected the travel point, and they both disappeared in a swirl of blue.
… … …
Zelda awoke disoriented. The world felt as though it was spinning all around her, but all she could do was grip the bedding tightly and wish for it to stop. She could hear a guttural moan, not realizing at first that it came from her own throat. A wave of warmth like the lava of Death Mountain flowed over her, and she pushed the covers off and tried to remove any clothing she could manage to take off in this state.
"Now now," she could hear a voice say, and it seemed to echo in her ears making it garbled and unrecognizable. Blankets smothered her once again, wrapping her in warmth.
"Hot," she uttered, weakly fighting against them.
A hand pressed against her forehead. "It's the fever. You might feel hot, but your body is shivering. If you don't keep warm, you are going to be very sore tomorrow."
"Not sick," she protested.
"Sure you aren't," the voice agreed. "But let's just say, for argument's sake, you were. That doesn't make you weak. It just means you have overexerted yourself and your body needs a little rest."
"I have too much to do."
"You are the only one asking that much of yourself," it scolded her gently. "No one expects you to rebuild the kingdom in a few days."
"But it's my fault-"
"Shhh, none of that. Sleep, princess."
… … …
The next time she awoke, the dizziness was gone, but her vision was somewhat clouded. Even if she could see clearly, it was very dark… too dark for the brightbloom lit well or even the bed where she usually slept beside the window. As she tried to move, her limbs felt heavy and every inch of her ached to her core. She tried to call out for her knight, but all that managed to escape from her was a hoarse gasp. Becoming worried, on the verge of giving into fear at her current state of helplessness, she cried out again, this time with all of her might.
Within seconds, she could hear the pounding of footsteps running across wooden floors, which seemed to beat in rhythm with the throbbing in her head. Both increased rapidly until one ceased suddenly. A rough, leathery hand took hold of her own, and she opened her eyes to the last thing she ever wanted to see.
Red.
Blood red, but for a white mask. Although she couldn't see it clearly, she knew exactly what the symbol on it bore in red: the upside-down eye of the-
"Yiga!" Her scream may have come out more like "Ee-a" but that didn't lessen the fear that washed over her. She tried to move away, but the wall that had once been next to the bed was not there, and she felt herself falling head first to the ground.
She felt a pair of arms wrap around her. "Gotcha," the Yiga said, and heard an "Oof" as she landed on top of them.
Sensing this was her chance to escape, she pushed them down, slamming their head on the floor. Blindly, she fled from the room with her arms outstretched to try to prevent her from running into things in this unknown place. Was it a Yiga hideout? The Sheikah had shared with her the rumors that the clan was beginning to take over new locations, spreading out from their isolated holdings at the edge of the Gerudo Highlands. Whatever it was, she couldn't quite grasp the layout, and easily tripped on a low table in the center of the room.
"Nope, stay with me," the Yiga said to her, grabbing her from behind and pulling her backwards.
"Don't wanna…" she said, struggling against him. She'd heard clearly this time that it was definitely a male voice speaking to her from behind the mask.
"Hm… what do you want then?" he asked, stopping although she continued to fight against him. "Something to eat? Water?"
"...nk"
"What was that?"
"Link. I want Link," she said, and out of fear, frustration, loneliness, or some combination of all three, she felt tears begin to well up in her eyes and then spill down her cheeks. She wasn't sure if what she had said even came out coherently, so she continued to repeat his name.
He didn't respond at first, and his silence caused her to stop struggling. "You don't want that guy. He's pretty irritating."
This only served to make her cry harder. "I didn't tell him that I… I…"
The Yiga shushed her. "Don't tell me. Isn't that something you would rather tell him?"
"I'm captured… I'll never…"
She felt herself deposited back in the bed, with the covers pulled up to her chin. "I'm sure he's probably on his way to get you now. He's pretty stubborn after all. Very handsome too. Just sleep, and when you wake up, this will have been nothing more than a nightmare."
"Promise?" she murmured as she felt her eyelids growing heavy.
"Yes, I promise."
Such a strange Yiga, was her last thought as she drifted off to sleep.
… … …
Link dropped to the floor with his head in his hands and his back pressed against the wooden bed. "Idiot," he scolded himself as he pulled the mask off his head. She was already sick, he hadn't meant to frighten her half to death too.
They'd had many conversations about the time between her disappearance and return, but there were still some not so minor details about his search for her that he had not gotten to just yet. One such example was his infiltration of the Yiga Clan and his subsequent rising through their ranks. It wasn't exactly a simple conversation to have with her. The only reason he had even been wearing the uniform was because he had just returned from checking in with them. He did it occasionally so as not to arouse suspicion about their newest star member, but he also wanted to make sure they were still unaware of her current condition and wouldn't use her sickness as an excuse to launch an attack against them. Of course he'd meant to change before checking on her, but from the second he had arrived at the Ulri Mountain Skyview Tower, he suddenly became very anxious about her and ran to get back to her. Changing clothes hadn't crossed his mind until it was too late.
No sense worrying about it now. What's done is done, he told himself and stood. As quick as he could, he changed into his normal trousers and tunic and returned to check on his patient. Her fever hadn't broken. She didn't seem to be improving, but he wouldn't know for sure if her symptoms were better until she was awake. Hoping she would sleep through the night, he knelt beside the bed and soon fell asleep holding her hand.
… … …
When she awoke to morning light pouring into the room, she was utterly confused. Her surroundings were unfamiliar. She did not recognize the bedding or any of the furnishings she could see nearby. The odd structure made no sense to her; it wasn't like any home in Hyrule, and it definitely wasn't her home. If anything was familiar, it was what looked like weapon displays similar to the eyesores Link had all around his house before he had invited her to live with him.
She dropped her legs over the side of the bed and tried to stand. Wobbling a little like a newborn foal, she fell back, too weak to support her own weight. Determined, she tried again and was successful in standing, but had to use the building's supports to help her get around. Finally making it to the weapon racks, two of which displayed rare and probably valuable swords, one a greatsword with two blades twisted together and the other a slender claymore that seemed to glow with ancient energy, although it was nowhere near as bright as the Master Sword. She ignored them both and dropped to her knees in front of the third and strangest item on display: a single, worthless torch. She stared at it, trying to fathom why such an insignificant thing would be amidst such a valuable and deadly arsenal.
Footsteps could be heard coming up the nearby stairs. She kept very still in the hopes that her kidnapper might not see her and think she had already escaped. As he headed for the bed, he set the tray he was carrying on the table and pulled the blankets aside.
"Princess?"
Link? It looked like her knight, so much so that she almost called out to him… almost. He had warned her soon after her return about how the Yiga had taken to replicating her appearance as a disguise. It wasn't much of a stretch to think they could also copy him.
This Link turned around and his blue eyes stared directly at her, relief washing over his face. "Princess!" he said as he crossed to where she was.
"Stay back!" she warned, scooting away. He didn't listen, and with the last of her strength, she stood and put a hand around the grip of one of the swords on display.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his hands raised to show he was not holding a weapon.
"I warned you to stay back, Yiga!"
Normally he wouldn't antagonize her, especially in this condition, but his curiosity got the better of him. "What are you going to do?"
Her face scrunched up angrily. "This!" She tried to lift the sword, but she was too weak, knocking it over and causing herself to fall in the process.
"Nice try, Hero," he snickered as he caught both her and the sword, setting the latter back in its place before scooping her up in his arms.
"Link?"
"Good morning, princess."
"What's going on?"
"You're sick," he said. "You've been mostly asleep for three days now. I found you passed out in your study and brought you here. And before you ask where 'here' is, I have something to show you first."
He carried her not to the bed, but instead over to a large open area. There was a small garden and a pool that served as a balcony overlooking the sea. The sunrise over the water was beautiful as the light danced and shimmered across the water. She hadn't really seen anything like it before, at least, not that she could remember. He set her down on the edge and sat beside her.
His mind was clouded with the many things he wanted to say, but couldn't find the right words. So much for the legendary courage he supposedly possessed.
Her head pressed gently into his shoulder. With a sideways glance, he could see she was still awake, but barely. He stretched out his hand and pressed it gently to her forehead.
"Still have a bit of a fever," he said to himself. He heard a soft sniffing sound, and looked down just in time to see a tear run down her cheek. "What is it?" he asked, expecting her to be upset about not contributing to the kingdom's rebuilding efforts.
"Are you…" sniff "...going to…" sniff "...leave me?"
"Maybe for supplies eventually, but-" My answer only made her start to cry. "Princess, what?"
"You built a new house with only a single bed."
"Oh," he said. "When you were gone, our house was… the silence was eerie. One day, I was here helping Hudson and Rhondson with something, and, well, this just happened. It was my escape more than anything," he said as he looked out at the water on the horizon. "I missed you. Zelda, I missed you so much, and I needed a retreat where I didn't see your smile haunting me everywhere I looked."
"I missed you too," she whispered. "I kept myself occupied every second I was in the past because any time I stopped, my mind replayed our last moment together and I watched helplessly as that monster mutilated your arm."
"There was nothing you could have done that day," he reasoned. "And you sacrificed so much after…"
"I had to help you-"
"I thought I lost you," he said, his calm demeanor breaking. "Impa was convinced she would find a way to bring you back, but all other evidence pointed to there being no hope for you to return."
"I lost you too, remember?" she whispered. "Twice. Once, long ago you nearly died in my arms, so don't pretend I don't know how much it hurts." There was a stillness between them, a heavy silence filled the air. "I want more too, Link." Her sudden confession made him turn to look at her, mouth agape. "I was unwell evening, but I remember that you spoke of wanting more-"
"Princess, we don't have to… right now."
"No, Link, it has to be said. Even if I desired the same thing as you, a relationship and romantic intimacy between us, that will not stop you from always throwing yourself into danger to protect me." She gently pressed her lips against his cheek. "I want more too, but more than anything I want more for you than to just be a servant of destiny. I want you to be free to choose the life you want."
"I choose the exact life I want every time I stand by your side. Prin… Zelda. My destiny is to cherish and protect you, be it from the greatest evil or a tiny cold."
This made her laugh a little.
"Goddesses, I've missed that sound," he told her as he stood. "Now, I'm going to draw you up a bath to help you get this out of your system."
He started walking away, when she reached out and called, "Wait, Link. What about us?"
"We'll figure it out," he said, turning to her with a hopeful smile. "It's in the open, and I'm not going to run away, no matter what is decided, so for right now, let's just tackle one thing at a time. Is that okay?"
She gave a nod as he helped her to her feet.
"Think you can walk?"
"Yes. I am feeling a bit better."
He chuckled as he helped her to her feet. "That's good. It was really touch-and-go there for a bit."
"You're telling me," she agreed as she took his arm for support. "I think I had some really crazy dreams too."
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Yeah?"
She nodded. "Actually, a few nightmares too. There was one with a Yiga," she went on to say. "He was actually nice, and I think he called you handsome. Bizarre, huh?"
"Oh, yes," he said as he scratched his head. "Good thing it was just a dream." No way was he touching that subject right now. He would have to save that discussion for another day.