Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sun was warm, much warmer than it was on Skyloft, Zelda had learned. Its touch left her skin feeling toasty as she took a moment to rest in a small clearing beneath a tree, her hair pulled back into a ponytail as she watched her friends and townsfolk work around her. A deep breath escaped her lips as she wiped a small amount of sweat from under her bangs.

Around 3 months had passed since Link had triumphed over Demise and saved the surface from terror and destruction. She had kept to her word, wanting to reside on the mainland below to keep watch over the Triforce, but preparations had to be done before she could do so comfortably. Link had of course agreed to do the same, but even though she knew he would, hearing him say so made her heart skip a beat. Zelda had grinned at him, before haphazardly laying her harp down and jumping into his arms.

She smiled at the memory, feeling her face heat up, but not from the sun. At this point now, Zelda could officially say that Link was her’s, as the hero had put together an evening of flowers, dinner and a splash at Floria Falls to ask her 4 simple words, “Will you be mine?’ to which of course she said yes, she had almost asked him herself right before she was quite literally thrown into her destiny.

Zelda felt herself beginning to be whisked down memory lane when she was interrupted, “Zelda. Zelllldaaa!” A deep voice boomed from nearby, startling her back to reality.

“Wha- huh? Ah, Groose! Sorry, I sat down for a quick break and must’ve gotten a little distracted,” the golden haired girl glanced up at her friend, who was holding two pieces of lumber with ease, one under each of his arms, “did you need something from me?”

“Unless you have any goddess powers to help levitate things into place,” he snickered, “nah. Just wanted to make sure you were doing alright. Building a whole new town sure takes a lot of work, even for someone as buff as me, so I can only imagine what you’re able to do,” Groose looks down and smiles fondly at Zelda, shifting the wood around to sit more comfortably.

Zelda did her best to ignore the goddess comment, but then returned the smile, “I’m alright, truthfully I’ve not done nearly as much hard labor as you, Fledge, Pipit and Link. Everyone’s pretty much appointed me as the main coordinator of this project, despite my protests, so I’ve got a lot more mental work, but somehow I escaped that today,” she explained, recalling all of the excuses she had tried to use on her father and the other older Skyloftians as to why she should not be in charge of planning the building of an entire town nearly by herself. This should absolutely be a group vote! She had put it out there. But as the reincarnation of Her Grace, your choices are clearly in the best interest of us all, Zelda. They had said back. She bit her lip a little.

“Yeah…” Groose nodded once, “But you’ve gotta get where everybody’s coming from, I mean, it’s not every day that someone is revealed as the deity you’ve been worshiping all your life!” He laughed, truly meaning the best intentions, but unfortunately it didn’t resonate well with Zelda. But before she could reply, a distant call for the buff redhead turned both of their attention away, “Well, guess I’m needed- but when am I not?” Groose smirked childishly, “see you around, Zel, don’t work yourself too hard!”

Zelda waved a little as she watched him hunker away, and a deep sigh found its way past her lips, her hands moving up to gently rub her temples. The past 3 months have been filled with wonder and delight for most reasons, but also filled with annoyance and dread for another. Discovering that she was the incarnation of the goddess of time nearly flipped her life around completely, and truthfully, she wasn’t very thrilled about it.

“Now isn’t the time…” she muttered to herself, pushing off the ground to stand back up, brushing any dirt off of her clothes, “I have other things to tend to, distractions to find while still reaching my goals,” she clenched her fists as to try and keep her motivation in check, nodding once and adjusting the tightness of her ponytail before continuing where she left off. The blonde wrapped a satchel of supplies she had with her back around her shoulders, before trekking off towards the nearest building foundation, of which was to be a home for her… and Link.

And speaking of, there he was, shirtless and shiny from sweat, Link. He was stacking logs and securing them with plaster made from a material they had discovered and named ‘clay,’ and using ropes to tie the ends of the lumber together to prevent sliding and falling. Zelda couldn’t help but stare. Karane had teased her, telling her she was stuck in a “honeymoon phase,” but really, she couldn’t care less. Everytime she laid eyes on the hero, her heart skipped a beat just as it had nearly every time they had interacted for the past few years, even though she knew she had no reason to hide it anymore.

Silently snapping herself out of it, Zelda softly knocked against some of the wood to announce her presence, careful to not startle him and disrupt his progress. Everyone had learned that building houses wasn’t really… easy. Except for Jakamar, who has been nearly everywhere to assist with anything he could, as this line of work was definitely his calling, “Knock knock,” she spoke, stepping around tools and scraps of supplies to walk over to her lover.

Link lifted his head and turned, a smile growing on his face when he saw who was there, “Hey there, Sunshine,” he spoke, quickly tying a tight knot around the logs he was working on, before hopping down and somewhat stumbling his way to Zelda, wrapping his arms around her waist and gently pulled her close to him, “been keeping yourself busy? I haven’t seen you much today,” a small twinge of worry could be seen in his eyes, which Zelda quickly dismissed.

“I’ve been doing quite a lot of physical things today, mostly helping with delivering tools and extra supplies to everyone who’s working,” she explained, reaching up to brush his messy hair out of his face, even though it was a little damp with sweat, she didn’t mind, “I’m just thankful I can be out here with you all, instead of cooped up in the main tent with my father and the professors,” she rolled her eyes slightly, to which Link chuckled, as he placed a quick kiss atop her head, “but speaking of, I’ve brought you more rope and another mallet.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Zel,” he gave her another head kiss, a bit longer this time, to really show his appreciation, “I might not have made it much longer if not for you,” he joked, bumping his forehead to hers. 

She couldn’t help but giggle at his comment, “you’re ridiculous, Link,” she whispered, rubbing her nose to his once or twice, before stepping back and sliding the bag off her back to hand to him, “but you’ve been doing okay? I assume Pipit is taking a break, because you know I’ll never let you live this down if I find out you’re working alone,” her smile faded and one of her eyebrows raised at him, calling suspicion.

“You know I’m not that stupid, Zel,” he tilted his head at her, a small, genuine smile forming on his lips, “he went to get us both something to eat, I promise.”

Her expression returned to normal, and she nodded reassuringly, “Alright, I believe you, I just don’t want you- or anyone for that matter- getting hurt during all of this construction. Especially when I’ve essentially been put in charge of it all, “ she blew a raspberry and crossed her arms, to which Link reached out suddenly and wrapped her into a hug, kind of taking Zelda off guard.

“Hey, don’t think too much about it. I’m not going to be reckless and neither is anyone else, and if for whatever reason someone does get a little injured, nobody’s going to blame you for it. It’s not like you’re a puppeteer pulling our strings. We all know how to be safe. Please just promise me you’ll focus on you and your safety,” he mumbled into her ear, carefully rubbing little circles on her arm with his thumb, “I know you’re stressed, Zel.”

He was right, of course. Her behavior has definitely been a little off, especially as of late, not to mention she had literally told him she was stressed out not too long ago, “I know… I promise I’ll look out for myself.” She pulled her head back and met his eyes, blue staring into blue, and quickly leaned in to peck his lips, “but unfortunately for us both, I have more errands to run.”

“Aw… okay,” he frowned, releasing her from his embrace, letting his hand slide down her arm before meeting her fingers, giving them a tight squeeze, “meet you back on Skyloft most likely then?” The time was mid to late afternoon by now, and loftwings still refused to fly at night, so he was right, the next time she’d see him was very likely going to be when they returned to the sky, as no buildings on the surface had been completed yet, and everyone opposed the idea of staying in a tent or otherwise, despite Zelda arguing she’d be fine in the temple.

“Meet you back on Skyloft,” Zelda returned the squeeze to his hand, before stepping backwards until their hands could no longer touch, and she turned around to traverse the mess of progress and leave the site.

The new town was being constructed relatively close to the Sealed Temple, in a relatively more open section of the forest. The Kikwi had directed her and Link to it when she told their elder, Bucha, of their idea to return to the surface, and he was absolutely thrilled to be getting new neighbors. Of course, Faron herself had a set of rules that needed to be followed as well, but though she would never admit it, was also pleased to see more life return to her woods, even at the cost of trees needing to be cut down for the process.

Faron Woods also just made the most sense, logically, for a new civilization to grow. Eldin was too scorching for anyone who wasn’t a Mogma, and the ground wasn’t suitable for the crops that the Skyloftians wanted to grow. Pumpkins need a certain type of soil, Kina had made clear. And forget Lanayru, there just wasn’t any soil unless there were timeshift stones active, and nobody really wanted to live in two time periods at once, anyway. So Faron it was. Anywhere we go we’d have a connection to the Goddess still, the townsfolk had laughed, Zelda will be with us!

The golden haired girl grimaced at the memory, shaking her head as she walked off, not really paying much attention to where she was going. Ultimately, Zelda decided to go for a walk. If anyone needed her at the moment, they’d just have to wait until she returned. She walked through the brush and brambles, straying away from the big clearing. She recalled a place she had seen briefly once, in the ancient past after she had gone through the Gate of Time with Impa in Lanayru, as the two of them were returning to the Temple of Hylia. 

Pushing her way through rows of trees and vines, eventually she had found what she was searching for, and despite a thousand years having passed, the small pond she had rediscovered appeared relatively untouched. It seemed to be an off-shoot of the waterfalls, as a small stream poured into it from their direction. It would be easy to miss the pond, as thick trees covered the clearing, and a short rock face on the side of a hill blocked it in from the other side. If she hadn’t seen it in the past, she would’ve never known of its existence in the present. Zelda liked that. A small, peaceful place where she could go alone and have no company, which is just what she needed for the time being. 

Letting out a relieved sigh, Zelda sat down on the little bank of the pond and carefully removed her boots, setting them behind her away from the water. She let her feet slide into the water, and it was cool, a perfect temperature given the heat from the sun today. Did she feel a little guilty for telling Link she had more errands? Slightly. Truthfully, she had planned to stop at every other building site to check in on everyone, but then her mind began to wander, and plans changed. Zelda leaned back, her hands behind her head in the soft grass, and tiny waves lapping against her lower legs as she relaxed.

Originally, she was just going to stay at the pond for a few moments to clear her head and unwind, but unfortunately for Zelda, she didn’t realize it when she began to doze off, drifting into a nap that she didn’t realize she needed, only waking to the sound of one of the smaller surface birds fluttering beside her head. Her eyes drifted open, to see the orange sky, and Zelda immediately bolted upright, the energy of it nearly sending her forward into the water.

“Oh no, oh no,” she muttered, changing the pitch each time she said the phrase, barely even putting her boots back on before she brought her fingers to her mouth and whistled for her loftwing, Skye. Luckily, it wasn’t too late, and she heard the familiar cawing of her bird get closer, before blue-ish purple feathers dropped down in front of her, “oh thank the goddesses,” Zelda exhaled, giving Skye a quick scritch on her head, before climbing onto the bird’s back, “to Skyloft,” she breathed, and the bird took off, understanding the command perfectly, “I’m not gonna hear the end of it,” Zelda suspected, looking down to see the trees and pond slowly get smaller and smaller, “...oh well.”

Chapter Text

The air temperature steadily dropped the farther Zelda ascended from the ground, and the only sound besides the wind in her ears was the gentle flapping of Skye’s wings. A million thoughts raced through Zelda’s mind. Yes, it wasn’t completely past sundown yet, but the townsfolk had all agreed to return to Skyloft for the evening as soon as the Kikwi began their own routine for the night, and she knew it was well past then by now. The Kikwi were early to bed and early to rise, being plant creatures, they followed the sun’s patterns. And since it was late, she knew she’d be the last to arrive at the sky island, and for sure she was going to get an earful from everyone, especially Link and her father.

Finally breaking through the cloud barrier, she huddled down a little closer to her bird, as a chill ran down her spine from the coolness of the oncoming night, especially at this elevation. Skyloft was warmer than the vast sky at night, due to magic, so she never bothered bringing a blanket or shawl with her on her visits to the surface for this reason.

The route wasn’t too long, and sooner than later, she had arrived. Skye dropped her off on the ledge near the Light Tower, where she was rewarded with a little treat and more scratches on her head, before she flew off to nest for the night. But before Zelda could turn around, she could already hear the hurried footsteps approaching her, followed by her name being called.

“ZELDA!! Where have you been?” Link gasped, immediately checking her body for any potential injuries or causes for her lateness, “I didn’t see you when we all gathered to leave, and I assumed you were just doing your own thing, but then when you hadn’t arrived for a while I was worried that…” his voice trailed off, and met her eyes, “it doesn’t matter. You’re here, and you’re safe. What kept you?”

“I just fell asleep, Link,” she murmured, already feeling the guilt and embarrassment from the whole fiasco, “I just meant to rest for a second and ended up dozing off. Truth,” she looked down at the cracks in the stone at her feet. Shifting her weight, she asked, “So… how mad do you think my father will be?”

“He’ll be relieved more than anything, you know that,” he whispered to her, interlocking a set of their hands and using his free one to tilt her chin up to look at him, “just like how was the other times you were late to return in the past.”

“But it’s different now, and we both know that,” she hissed, shaking her head at her hostile reaction, “sorry… it’s just that I know he’s going to start a speech about how I’m the goddess and I need to be kept safe at all times, as if I’m not capable of protecting myself! I went through the knight academy! I know how to use a sword and how to defend myself! I… ugh,” she leaned forward and rested her forehead on his shoulder, “I don’t know.”

Link squeezed her hand, “we can just head to bed, if you’d like? Deal with it all tomorrow once you’ve rested?”

“No… I need to let him know I’m here, and I’d rather just get this over with, even if I already know what he’ll say,” Zelda murmured, stepping back, her hand still in Link’s, “will you stay with me?”

“Of course I will, Zel,” he promised her with another quick little compress to her hand, “I’ll lead, come on,” he reassured her, and began walking down the path to the Knight’s Academy. By now, it was almost nearly dark, and Zelda looked out to the dying sun the entire time they walked, letting him pull her along in the right direction. How she wished she could follow its path, and duck below the covers… clouds in the sun’s case, a blanket in her’s.

The pair walked up the staircase to reach the top level of the academy, where the professor’s and headmaster’s offices were. She could already hear the loud voices of Owlan, Horwell and her father, Gaepora, “...needs to be assigned a guard or something, sir, she’s too important. We cannot risk something happening to her, even though the threat of monsters is gone.”

“A guard would be a good idea, someone to prevent her from wandering off. Likewise, we could just deny her access to going around by herself today. She likes working in the tent with us, right? That way we could personally keep an eye on her.”

Zelda winced at what she was hearing, and tightened her grip on Link’s hand. He returned it, and stopped walking right in front of the doorway to her father’s office, “I’ll stay with you, if you need me to,” Link offered, trying to get her to meet his gaze again, “does that sound okay?”

“No… I’d rather deal with this myself, I think. Plus, I don’t want them to somehow rope you into whatever they’re planning for me. I’m not the only one who was revealed to have an important past life, after all,” Zelda stared at the doorknob in front of them, her mind going blank to try and ease the thought of what she’ll be scolded for inside, “could you just get the bed ready for me? I’ll meet you there when I’m done here, promise.”

Link hesitated, his eyebrows furrowed with worry and concern, but eventually he agreed, albeit reluctantly, “alright… please be careful, sunshine.” He leaned in to kiss her cheek, both for love and good luck, before letting his hand slip from hers. He disappeared down the stairs to the bottom floor of the building, to do as was asked of him.

Zelda waited until she couldn’t hear his footsteps anymore, the only sound being the 3 voices inside the room ahead of her. Slowly, she raised her hand and curled it into a fist to knock, and before she could back out of it, she rapped her knuckles against the wooden door three times. The voices stopped mid sentence, before one of them, her father, replied to the knock with, “come in.”

With a shaky, deep inhale, Zelda turned the knob and opened the door. The only sound was a long creak from the hinges as it was continuously being pushed. She looked up to see all 3 men watching her carefully, her father’s mouth hanging open slightly with relief, but his eyes seemed to say otherwise, “where have you been, young lady?” He demanded, his hands flat on the table as he leaned across it, “we’ve all been worried sick.”

“I just fell asleep… I didn’t mean to be late,” she answered, her hands intertwined tightly in front of herself, “I-”

“You really should be more careful, Your Grace,” Horwell cut her off, “your role in the building of this new town for us is very important, what would the townsfolk think if they knew their goddess wandered off to nap while they all worked hard?”

Zelda opened her mouth to protest again, but was once again shut down, “I agree, we’ve put it off for now per your request, but sooner or later you’ll have to take a leadership role. That was already likely the plan considering Gaepora is the headmaster of the school, but now it seems your destiny is bigger than we originally thought. The people want you to lead them if they are to move to the surface,” Owlan added, “taking on a mayoral role is likely what’s next for you once the town is complete.”

Being mayor wasn’t the problem, it was the reasoning for why she’d be mayor that was, “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night, I just needed a little-”

“While I believe you, that isn’t a valid excuse,” Gaepora spoke flatly, “You are so much bigger now than you were a year ago, Zelda. You went on a whole journey around the surface learning this, I just can’t understand why you aren’t acting more studiously. This is quite literally a blessing, for our people to have their goddess walking among them.”

Every word felt like she was being chased by a swarm of wasps, and they were catching up to her. She knew that the three of them would never understand how she felt, but she at least thought her father would listen to what she had been trying to say ever since Demise was defeated, “...” she had no words left to say. It was useless to try and defend herself here.

“I’m glad you are safe though, truly,” her father continued, his tone changing as if nothing had happened, “tomorrow we will figure out a course of action when we travel to the surface. For now, why don’t you focus on getting some sleep, Zel. Perhaps you’ll feel better?”

She nodded slowly, “sure… I’ll see you all tomorrow, then,” she murmured, before turning to get out of the room as fast as possible. She heard her father say ‘I love you,’ but she felt choked up just thinking about trying to return the words right now. Zelda dashed down the stairs as fast as she could, glad that everyone else was already turned in for the night. She didn’t want to have any other potential conversations with anyone who wasn’t Link.

Zelda fumbled with the doorknob to get it open, and almost slammed the door behind her just to get it shut as fast as possible. She stood in front of the door silently, her bangs covering her eyes as she looked down at the floor. Candlelight and moonbeams were the only sources of light that were inside the bedroom. Link wasn’t there, but she assumed he just went to use the restroom or something else. 

Moving carefully, as if one wrong step would start quaking the island, Zelda made her way to the dresser to grab her nightgown. She held the fabric in her hands for a short while, just letting her fingers feel the threads and small imperfections that the gown had developed over a few years of wear now. Looking up slightly, Zelda noticed a flash of purple-ish blue atop a pile of white, and with a gasp, she slammed the dresser doors shut. She had forgotten that was where she stashed the goddess attire that Impa had given her to wear while she purified herself in the sacred springs.

Zelda stood near the open window while she changed, hoping that the cool air would help ground her and clear her thoughts, but to no avail. She was back in the surprisingly warm water of the Skyview Spring, unsure of what to expect. She was alone, directed solely by the old woman’s instructions, “You must purify yourself in the waters of the spring,” she had said, “some of your memories will awaken within you if done correctly.”

It was not even a year ago now, yet Zelda longed for the naivety she had then. She was so fascinated by the world of the surface and was just happy to be exploring the area. Sure, she had been told that she was a very important figure in an upcoming journey, but she had just been thrown from the sky and was alone in an unfamiliar world, there was a lot going through her mind then. 

She had waded to the middle of the spring and focused on the towering figure of the goddess statue in front of her. The waters had seemed to be sparkling, and before she could react, it was almost as if she had been instantly teleported a thousand years backwards. She could see, but any movement was not her doing. There was a man near her, tall, blond and stoic. He almost looked like Link, in a way. There was a woman as well, even taller, thin, darker skinned and had a long strand of hair on the one side of her face. She had tattoos on her face as well. Zelda later learned that was Impa, and Hylia’s Chosen Hero.

Zelda doesn’t know how long she was in the spring waters for, but she was shown quite a few scenes while she was there. She saw the forging of a sword, and its spirit, graceful and delicate, clad in blue and purple. And there were dragons… grand, extraordinary dragons. Races she had never seen, a tribe of rocky giants, a group of mole-like beings, aquatic creatures who truthfully were quite sassy, a population of robots who were created to serve and harvest stones that could shift the time period around them, and of course, the Kikwi, of which she had met on her way to the spring.

But she also saw the formation of a fissure in the ground, and darkness emerged from within it. Monsters, demons, and at the front of them all, a towering man-like being, with fiery hair and dark, scaly skin. She did not hear any words during that vision, but it was the last of the ones she was shown, and coming back to present day, one word was on her mind, Demise.

“...da….elda….zelda,” the blonde faintly heard her name being called, but she didn’t know where from. She was still in the spring, her fingertips and toes were pruny from the water, and the white dress was heavy from- “Zelda.”

Loud and clear this time, she snapped her head upright with a startled squeak. She was in Link’s bedroom, their bedroom, at the academy on Skyloft. Her hands were in a protective position in front of her chest, and her eyes wide as she stared at the person who was calling her name… Link.

“Hey hey hey, you’re okay, it’s okay,” he spoke in a hushed tone. He had a small plate with a sandwich on it which was lazily set down on his work bench as he moved towards Zelda, “it’s just me, Zel, I think you were stuck in a memory again.”

Staggered breaths formed in Zelda’s chest as her hands slowly retreated from her chest, her left one moving to her side, and the right one ran through her hair, trying to find a familiar touch to bring her back fully to reality, “I… mm,” she formed a loose grip on her blonde locks, and turned her gaze to meet Link’s. He was right in front of her, his left hand outstretched to touch her, but he hesitated, as if waiting for permission. He said nothing, he was just waiting for her to move first.

And move she did. Zelda darted forward and wrapped herself tightly around his torso, her head buried between his shoulder and neck. Her eyes were threatening tears, but she was fighting so hard to keep the floodgates closed. He can’t know how hard she’s trying to keep it in, “thank you…” she mumbled, heavily muffled by his shirt.

“It’s okay, I promise, I’ve got you, love,” he whispered to her, one hand keeping her close to him, the other drawing little shapes on her upper back, “it… didn’t go well, then?” he asked, carefully moving them both to the edge of the bed, sitting down and pulling her into his lap, “I… brought you dinner, I don’t know when you ate last.”

“Give me a few…” another muffled request, “just want to… be with you right now,” Zelda spoke in broken sentences because she knew that if she tried to speak fully, those tears would fall, “thank you… I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he bumped the side of his head gently on hers, “and of course, honey. Let me know when you’re ready.”

The couple stayed still for a good while, Link never ceasing with tracing shapes, moving from circles, to hearts and stars, all while softly humming little tunes for her to listen to. Zelda felt her breathing steady, and she could ever so faintly hear his heartbeat from where she rested. After she felt calm enough, Link got up to bring the food to her, and once she smelled the aroma wafting from it, she realized just how hungry she really was. Link couldn’t help but chuckle at how fast Zelda ate the sandwich, “and you’re always making fun of me for eating fast, huh?” He teased her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Pbtbtbtt…” she stuck her tongue out at him, setting the plate down on the nightstand, “thank you… really, I mean it.” She pulled the blankets over them both, and rested her head on his chest, hoping to hear his heartbeat again.

“You don’t have to keep thanking me, Zel, I promise,” he kissed her head, “...I know you haven’t been sleeping well lately, please wake me if you need something, okay?”

“Okay,” she tilted her head to look up at his face, but a big yawn escaped from her mouth, “I’ll see you in the morning… I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Chapter Text

A month had passed since Zelda had fallen asleep accidentally beside the pond. Gaepora and the professors had convinced her that if it happened again, the other Skyloftians would be outraged, but really, Zelda wasn’t even sure if they knew about it to begin with. In their eyes, there was nothing but praise and love for her, she could do no wrong. After all, she was Goddess Hylia, reincarnated as a mortal. How lucky are they, to have their divine deity walk among them?

The sky was cloudy today, threatening a rain shower later, but the spirits of all the citizens were lively despite this. Their town on the surface was complete, and a celebration was in order! Due to the chance of a downpour, most of the festivities were being held in the town hall, as it was the biggest indoor community space. The aroma of a feast in progress and the sounds of laughter and conversations could be heard all around the area.

Link and Zelda stood side by side in the grass out front of the building, greeting everyone who stepped inside. Bertie and Luv were first, as Luv offered to supply drinks for the evening, and of course their little baby was swaddled on Bertie’s back, as per usual. Cawlin, Stritch and Groose were next, promising to be the entertainment for the night. Karane, Pipit and Fledge were close behind, too excited to not get there early, they had said… and so on.

Zelda felt her arm growing tired from shaking hands and leaning in for hugs, but she knew there wasn’t any way she could take a break, at least not until everyone had arrived. It had been decided from the beginning that she and Link were to be like centerpieces for this event, partially because Zelda had been tossed into the line of becoming mayor, but mostly because of who they were in their past lives. 

“That was everyone,” Zelda spoke, turning her head to glance at Link, “but… I think I want to stay out here for just a bit longer. The air is nice, and I’ve still never really experienced rain before.” The clouds were darker now, but no raindrops had fallen yet.

Link smiled faintly at her, “yeah… I’ll stay here with you. Besides, I don’t know when they’ll realize we haven’t come in, we might not have a lot of time to ourselves for the rest of the night,” he sighed, his head tilting up to watch the sky. The clouds were moving faster now, the different shades of gray swirling around together. You could never see this from Skyloft. The clouds always remained a creamy white color and hardly moved.

Zelda followed his gaze for a moment, before deciding to study his attire more closely. Together, the townsfolk had hand made an outfit for each of them for this occasion. Link’s was very similar to his Knight Academy attire; a green tunic with a golden chainmail accent on the sleeves and edges of the garment, tan pants that were more form fitting than the ones he usually wore, a green hat to match the tunic, golden colored shoulder armor pieces that were clearly not real gold, but it was a very good illusion regardless. And the main piece of the outfit… a glorious red scarf that he kept pulling at, “I hate this thing… glad it’s only for tonight,” he laughed, adjusting the fabric for the 5th time in a few minutes, “it’s itchy.”

Zelda giggled at him, her hand moving up to cover her mouth as she did so, “maybe Mia’s fur got sewn into it?” Link swore up and down that the Remlit is actually evil and tried to attack him a few times at night, but Zelda is convinced he’s just allergic and being dramatic about it.

“I’m telling you, Zel! She’s a monster and she lunged at me!” He stammered, recalling the terrible, awful memories, “her claws are terrifying and her eyes glow an eerie yellow.”

“Mhm, sure thing, my brave knight,” she teased, adjusting her own clothes this time. Her’s was uncomfortably similar to the dress she had worn during her journey across the mainland in awakening her memories as Hylia. It was the same length, with equally long sleeves, but the ends faded into a light blue, periwinkle color. There were stitched feather patterns along the sleeves as well, and the same periwinkle fabric had been made into some ribbons for her to put into her golden hair. Truthfully, she did like the outfit, but the thought process behind making it still stuck out to her like a sore thumb.

Before Link could retaliate, he was stopped by a single drop of water falling from the sky to land on his face. He looked up again, and another drop hit him right on the nose, “ah!” He exclaimed, “it’s so strange still how water can just… fall from the sky, and it’s normal!” He had experienced rain-like weather before inside the Thunderhead, before Levias was cured from the parasite within him, so to see it as a natural, non-threatening thing was still shocking.

Zelda smiled with a chuckle as more raindrops hit her as well, the pace of them growing faster by the second. By now, music had begun to play from inside the building, and it was loud enough for them to hear clearly outside, “Say… dance with me?” She extended her hand to him, her head tilted slightly with a big grin, “I think it’d be fun! And… Well, I think we could both use some fun.”

Link didn’t hesitate in grabbing her hand, immediately taking the lead and whisking her away from the main doorway to a small clearing not too far away, “I’d love to, my darling,” he smirked, putting his other hand on her waist to lock them in a waltz. 

As the couple began to spin, the rain came down harder, but that didn’t seem to put a damper on their motives at all. Their clothes were flowing with each move, slowly getting darker with each drop of water that fell on them, but despite this, their eyes never left each other and their smiles stayed true. They matched the melodies from indoors, Link lifting his arm to whirl Zelda around, water now flying off the ends of her dress as the downpour ensued. 

Both of them were soaked at this point, but it was almost as if neither person noticed. Zelda’s bangs were weighed down by the water and beginning to block her sight, but she didn’t care. Link’s scarf was slowly falling off of him and getting dragged in the mud, but he didn’t care either. Without warning, his hands found home on her hips as he lifted his partner off her feet and spun her around in the air a few times, deep laughter and pure joy coming past her lips as she set her hands on his shoulders. Zelda didn’t remember the last time she had laughed like this… she needed it. More than she thought she did. Slowly but surely, Link began to lower his lover closer to the ground again, but not before his lips were able to meet hers. Both of Zelda’s hands were clasped on the back of Link’s neck, holding his head still as she kissed him passionately. Sure, she still kissed him every now and then, but they had both been too busy and stressed lately to even attempt something like this. He’s been by her side this whole time, but Zelda hadn’t realized just how much she had missed Link, anyway.

Unfortunately for the two lovebirds, their absence had been noticed, “Link! Zelda! What are you two doing in the rain?! You’ll catch a cold if you stay out here, and- Oh no, your outfits! They’re soaked!” Wryna wailed from the front door, the warm light from inside flooding out behind her, and the little shape of Kukiel was peeking as well, “come inside now, I’m sure we’ve got towels or something to try and dry you off,” she huffed, disappearing back inside the building, but leaving the door open for them to join.

Zelda couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the comments, before turning her attention to Link, “I suppose we should, before anyone else comes out here to try and force us.” With her hand still locked with his, the two ran from their little dancefloor towards the main steps of the town hall, where Wryna was waiting with the towels she had promised.

Both halves of the couple were wrapped up and bundled in the blink of an eye, all of the women of the town surrounding them to help where they could to try and clean them up. Zelda couldn’t help but start snickering again at all of the ladies treating her like she was five years old again. She remembered when she thought swimming at night was a good idea to see if the moon had any different effect on the water like the sun did. Wryna had helped her then like she was helping her now.

Groose had noticed all of the commotion as well, and a hearty laugh erupted from him as well, “Bahaha! Look at you two! You’re drenched! What, did Faron herself get her claws on you? If so, what in the world could you have done to piss her off?”

Both Link and Pipit both couldn’t hold in laughter of their own at that, and soon the chuckles, giggles and smiles had moved onto everyone in the room, even Gaepora, who had almost stomped right up to his daughter to scold her for her behavior, but realized it wasn’t worth it when everyone else was enjoying it.

Being out of the downpour now, Zelda was aware of just how heavy wet clothing was. At least her goddess robe from Impa was lightweight regardless, but this dress was crafted from the same fabric Skyloftians used for their everyday clothes, high above the clouds. The cloth was sticking to her skin from how dense the garment was from the rain. Overall, she decided it was worth it, because her mood was actively higher than it has been for awhile now.

“Well, now that our guests of honor are…finally here,” Gaepora cleared his throat, slowly silencing the crowd as attention focused on him, his eyes quickly darting to Link and Zelda, “...Let’s eat!” 

Cheers erupted from the masses, and nearly immediately the sound of shuffling feet and casual chatter started up again. Zelda started to move when suddenly, a huge arm found its way around her and Link, pulling them both together, “C’mon you lovebirds,” Groose snickered, pushing the two of them towards a pair of grand chairs at the head of the table, “perfect for a goddess and her hero.”

Zelda pursed her lips together slightly, hoping to ignore his words to keep her good mood alive as she took a seat in one of the chairs, Groose’s arms retracting from her, “You guys can sit and relax, dry off a little more. I’ll get Fledge to help me bring you your servings, you can count on me!” A dumb grin was plastered on the redhead’s face as he sauntered off in the direction of the buffet.

Link shook his head with a sigh and a smile, before adjusting the towel to dry off his hair, before draping it over his back in hopes of absorbing any excess water. His blue eyes met Zelda’s, and he tilted his head and showed her a small grin, “It smells delicious, doesn’t it, Zel?”

Zelda matched his expression, wrapping her own towel around herself to keep warm and dry up the water, “it does… ah, I don’t remember the last time I had fresh pumpkin soup from the Lumpy Pumpkin,” she inhaled the sweet smell of the delectable bisque, sitting nearby on the buffet table, “it’ll help me warm up, at the least,” she shivered a little, “Wryna is right… I might catch a cold, but still…” Zelda reached out to intertwine her fingers with Link’s, “I needed that. To dance with you out there. It was refreshing and new, I haven’t felt this happy in awhile,” her lips curled up into a laugh, and Link could’ve sworn he saw a sparkle in her eyes.

He opened his mouth to reply, when a heaping bowl of Pumm and Kina’s pumpkin soup was placed in front of him by Groose, and Fledge followed up with Zelda’s, “Dig in! And don’t worry, if you can handle more, there’s a Levias sized batch over there, Pumm said help yourself!” Groose bellowed, wrapping his arm around Fledge, dragging him away before he could say anything to Link or Zelda. The couple laughed, before doing as instructed.

Just like the rain, the celebration continued all through the night. Bottles of mead were brought out once Wryna and Jakamar decided that Kukiel was due to go to bed for the night, with Piper and Gully following soon after, but despite being down a few people, the party only got livelier. A lot of Skyloft’s men had each claimed a bottle for themselves, where almost everyone else was doing just fine with a glass or two. Link and Zelda had gotten separated, each caught up in conversation after conversation all night. Luckily for Zelda, most of the talk was just everyone wanting to know how she’d been doing, as she was all over the place with the building of the town, but sadly, luck does run out at one point.

While Link was stuck in a one sided gossip with Peatrice, frequently shooting glances towards his lover, Zelda was caught off guard by a very intoxicated Peater, while talking with Orielle and Parrow, “Soooooo Zeldy… or should I say, Her Grace, Hylia?” He blabbered, his hand on her shoulder suddenly, sending goosebumps along her arms and back.

“Uh…” She stammered, not turning her head to look at him, instead receiving concerned glances from the siblings.

Before she could say anything else, Peater continued, “I was wondering if uhhh,” he hiccuped, the stench of alcohol was thick on his breath, making Zelda grimace, “you had any goddess powers you could use on me to improve my swor…swordsman skills,” he stepped around slightly, wiggling his eyebrows at her as he talked.

Orielle and Parrow had stepped back at this point, choosing the bystander route instead of helping distract and remove Peater. Zelda stood still, her mind going blank and her feet refusing to move from their spot, as if they were glued there, maybe from the stickiness of the mead that the older man had downed already, “P…please-”

“Ooooo and maybe something to guarantee whoever my darling little girl ends up with will be purehearted and good for her, hmm?” He cackled, a little too close to Zelda’s face, and she visibly jerked her head back at the smell, “c’mon Hylia.. You’ve gotta have some kind of cool powers to do somethiiiiing, right? Maybe make me lose a few pounds too, help with my swing, y’know?”

Zelda’s eyes stared forward, her body screaming to go into fight or flight but she just couldn’t get her limbs to listen to her. Could nobody else see this? Or hear it? Or if they could, did they even care? Then again, she knew that her peers didn’t see her situation as Hylia the same way she did, so to them, maybe this was just an awkward scenario with a drunk man. But still!

“You could do a lot for us, y’know, I’m surprised you didn’t use any… levitation or something to help build the houses,” he pouted, his arm moving to wrap around her, “but it’s alright. I suppose I could forgive you if-”

Before Peater could finish, a flash of green and red darted between him and Zelda. There was Link, with his hand clutched insanely tight around Peater’s wrist. If looks could kill, this would be one of them, almost certainly. Link’s eyebrows were furrowed and wrinkled with anger, and his eyes, once a calm blue, were now similar to a raging ocean, “I think it’s time to put down the mead, don’t you, Peater?” He spoke, his voice hiding the fury he clearly expressed, “maybe head out and go to bed?”

Zelda spun around to face the two men, backing up until she felt the wooden wall behind her. She couldn’t control her deep breathing, to try and hide it, and her eyes were wide from shock and fear. She said nothing, only watching what would happen next, “Ah, ouchy there, Link, why don’t uh, why don’t you let go at least a little there? I was only asking some simple questions, honest!” Peater whined, his eyes dancing back and forth, looking for anyone to help him.

His daughter was the first to run for his aid, getting in Link’s face, “let him go!” She demanded, her lips turned into a frown and her arms crossed. Link did what he was told, and Peater immediately began to rub his bruised wrist with his other hand, to add pressure, “you had no right to do that, Link!”

“Oh, really? Because to me it seems like he can’t handle his liquor and decided to get a little too close and personal with Zelda!” Link retaliated, taking a step back to protect and hide his girlfriend from the curious eyes of everyone in the room who had tuned into the commotion, “And I did in fact hear your ‘simple questions,’ and they all were greedy, selfish desires for your family’s own gain that you were asking for!” His body was still, but his hands were balled into tight fists at his sides.

“My father would never, how dare you accuse him of such lies!” Peatrice hissed, her weight shifting around, seemingly due to her own intake of the mead that was dispersed. She stepped closer to Link to try and provoke him, “He is a good man who wants the best for his neighbors, he would not ask the goddess for such things!”

Zelda winced again, her eyes shut tightly as she tried to back even farther away, but the crowd of bodies and walls kept her trapped right where she was. All she could do was continue to listen. Link opened his mouth again, but was interrupted before he could even get out a sound.

“ENOUGH.” A voice bellowed, followed by a loud rumble of thunder from somewhere in the ongoing storm, and Gaepora stepped between Peatrice, Peater and Link, with Groose, Horwell and Owlan close behind him, “I think it’s about time this event ended anyway,” Zelda peeked from behind Link to see her father’s expression as a mix of concern and frustration, “Everyone can head to their new homes for the night. Be careful of the storm. Peatrice, Peater, Link… I expect better from you all.” 

Link remained still during all of this, as people shuffled past him to get to the door to leave. Peatrice and Peater appeared frightened by Gaepora, and stumbled to get out of the building first, as if they knew they’d be punished otherwise. Only once they were gone did Link turn around to face Zelda, his hand brushing against her cheek and cupping it gently, “let’s leave, Sunshine, I’ve got you.”

Zelda nodded, and allowed Link to guide her out of the town hall, his arm and torso forming a protective hold on her body so she would feel safe.

“Wait, Zelda!” She heard her father call, “Zelda!” She turned her head and made eye contact with him momentarily, but just as quickly turned back around once the rain hit her head again. She didn’t have the mental strength anymore to hold another conversation. She had a feeling that her newfound happiness was too good to be true, and as it left, it took away her ability to speak, too.

Rushing through the rainfall, the duo soon made it to their new home, stepping inside to the candlelit main room. No one spoke as they removed their shoes and excess garments, and Zelda slipped away to the bedroom to change first. Link soon followed, with a glass of water for her to have, and he too, changed out of his wet outfit into comfy, night clothes. Zelda managed to take a few sips of the water, before setting it down on a small table. Link stood in front of her, and soon as she looked up at him, the waterworks began.

Zelda couldn’t hold the tears back like she had before, her mouth opening to take over breathing as her nose would soon become stuffy from crying. Link immediately embraced her and held her tightly, his head pressed against the side of hers as he listened to her sniffles and sobs. Her hands were pressed against his chest, and her eyes were buried in his shoulder. She could feel the heat from her breathing getting trapped between her body and his, but she couldn’t bring herself to care at all.

She doesn’t know how long she cried for, she only stopped when it hurt to continue. Gently and lovingly, Link led her to the bedside, having her sit down, “I’m going to fetch you more water and a cloth to wipe up, I’ll be right back, I promise,” he kissed her forehead, and dashed away. Zelda watched him go, her eyes on the door, but her vision was blurry from the crying. Link returned, as quick as he promised, and helped her settle under the covers, before joining her on the other side.

Zelda snuggled against him, wanting nothing else but his warmth and to hear his heartbeat as she went to bed, “I… love you,” she mumbled quietly, barely above a whisper.

“I love you more, Sunshine,” he replied, holding her close and beginning to hum an all too familiar tune, one her mother used to play for her when she was little. She had told Link about the song, as it helped her sleep even on the roughest nights… she’s glad he remembered.

Chapter Text

The weather was perpetually cooler now, and the leaves were turning gorgeous shades of oranges, reds and yellows, before breaking free from the limbs of the trees and floating down to a new home on the ground. Almost everyone had fully moved from the great sky island above to the woods below, “As much as I’ll miss Skyloft, our true home is down here on the surface,” Karane spoke, a crate set firmly in her arms as she walked beside Zelda, “I mean, that’s what the old legends had always said, too. Her Grace had lifted all the humans upwards on a hunk of rock to protect them from the war on Demise and his army, and now that you and Link took care of him… I guess it makes sense that we come back to where we’re from, huh?” Karane was good about keeping Hylia separate from Zelda, as she had noticed her friend’s body language grow tense whenever someone else referred to them as one.

The golden haired girl nodded in response, “Absolutely, and besides, even if we had stayed, our descendents would have to do something later, anyway. The island is only so big, resources would only diminish the more the population grew, not to mention housing and shelter,” Zelda shifted the weight of her own box she was carrying as the two of them walked towards the new Bazaar, “I think we were only meant to live up there until now, really.”

“You’re probably right, Zel,” Karane smiled, “fair points all around. So… how’s the nagging from your dad going about naming this place? I know he and the instructors have been poking at you and Link every chance they get with the ‘this settlement needs a name!’ and ‘as you’re in line to be mayor, you should be taking charge!’”

Zelda’s blue eyes rolled nearly fully back into her head, “Don’t even get me started, Kar,” she groaned, “it’s so stressful… They have such high expectations from me and I don’t know how to meet them, nor do I really want to. They just want me to do this stuff because of who I was in a past life, and I get that… but I’m only 18,” she sighed, her hands gripping the edges of the crate tighter, “I just want to experience life at my own pace but now I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance to.”

The pair reached the edge of the Bazaar, outside the entrance to the food wing, where they set their boxes down beside a pile of similar ones, all containing supplies for Piper and Henya to work with in meal prep. Karane tilted her head and had an empathetic expression on her face, “have you tried explaining that to them?”

“Of course I have, but everytime I try, I get cut off with speeches about how I need to ‘think of my people’ and lots of ‘as the goddess’ stuff that I’ve given up trying,” Zelda admitted, “at this point it just seems easier to grin and bear it and do what they ask. If I can figure out a good name for this place, maybe they’ll back off for a bit.”

“Maybe…” Karane frowned, “I can tell you haven’t been yourself lately, or really, for awhile. My best thought process here is see what you can do in terms of names, and after that’s settled, see if you can sit the three of them, or even just Gaepora down, and tell them how you’re feeling. They’ve got to have noticed, too, I’d hope?”

“You’d love to hope…” Zelda held onto her left arm and tugged at the sleeve on her dress, “but you’re right, that does sound like a good course of action to take, thank you Karane,” she smiled at her friend, and offered a quick hug. “Maybe I’ll head home now and try to brainstorm. If this goes as we're planning, I’d rather this be done sooner than later just for my own sake.”

“Best of luck, Zel. You know where to find me if you need me,” the auburn haired girl grinned, and waved goodbye before opening the flap of the Bazaar’s doorway and disappearing inside, taking her original box of food supplies with her. 

Zelda turned on her heels, a small smile on her lips as she took off in the direction of home in a sped-up walking pace. The new town was larger than Skyloft was, but because she had been so involved in its creation, she could remember where she was and where she needed to go immediately. Her route home did involve passing by quite a few others, to which she gave small waves, but didn’t try to stop and have conversation with anyone.

She did see Peatrice out of the corner of her eye, and Zelda whipped her head around and picked up the pace to avoid even making eye contact with her. Despite no trouble brewing from the encounter that night with Peater, Zelda still tried to keep her distance from both him and his daughter, and they appeared to do the same with her and Link.

Zelda finally made it to her home, which was neatly decorated with autumn flowers that the Kikwi had told her about, a small replica of a house with a single hole cut into it for the tiny surface birds that was dangling from the roof overhang, and a cute stone pathway that led to the front door. Spending the time to add her own personal touch pleased her, and she looks forward to doing something different as the seasons changed.

The seasons are something else she learned about from the Kikwi. While the temperature and weather was relatively stagnant up in the sky, down on the surface things could change very easily. Rain was common everywhere in the forest, not just exclusive to one location like in the thunderhead storm clouds, and the temperature liked to play games as well, sometimes requiring the people to lighten their clothes, and other days they would need to add to it. Zelda adored that the surface had lots to offer, each day was like a gift wrapped with a bow for her, no clues as to what it would contain.

She sat down at a desk that had been made for her by Jakamar, fiddling around for a quill and paper. She had all the peace and quiet she needed for now, as Link was likely out training with Pipit or Fledge, and so she began writing down various words and phrases to begin, “To start out, this is absolutely a town… too large to be a village, from what I have read in the books in the library, too, plus with me being highly advocated as mayor, it definitely cannot be a village,” she scribbled down on the paper, not focused on the legibility of it for now.

“Town of… Faron? No… as much as the dragon would love it, I cannot imagine the people would care for it much,” Zelda tapped the quill feather against her cheek, “Kikwiville? Er… no, that doesn’t roll off the tongue as nicely as it could, plus it looks silly written down… hmm… Wood Town? Oh, Gods no,” Zelda shook her head, drawing a line through the words almost as immediately as she had written it down, “that’s incredibly boring sounding… ugh, I need to think like I’m not the one making this. What would I want my hometown to be called if I were Karane… or Mallara or whoever else?”

She placed her elbows on the tabletop and cupped her head in her hands, gently tapping each finger consecutively on the sides of her face, her eyes squinted at the scrambled and crossed out words below her. Blowing a raspberry, Zelda picked up the quill again, fresh with ink, and slowly wrote out the letters ‘H’ and ‘Y,’ before stopping. She hated to admit it, but going in the direction of the deity might be the right call here.

Zelda began to sound out words and phrases with ‘HY’ in front of them, but nothing seemed… right to her, until, “Hy…land? Hy…topia? Hy…rule? Hyrule… Hyrule Town…” she mumbled, repeating the name in different tones and pitches to make sure it sounded okay no matter who would be saying it, “Unfortunately… it has a good ring to it.”

Grabbing a fresh piece of paper and dunking the quill into the little ink pot to write ‘Hyrule Town’ across the page neatly and professionally. She liked how it looked, how it sounded and how it felt, therefore deciding that it was good enough to show Owlan, Horwell and her father. Zelda pushed herself out of the chair, nearly knocking it over in the process, and began rushing out of the door with the title in hand.

------

“This is… perfect!” Gaepora exclaimed, a smile peeking out from beneath his mustache, his right hand finding a place upon his daughter’s shoulder, giving her a slight squeeze in the process, “it has a great ring to it, Zelda.”

“Thank you, father,” she replied, her hands locked together in front of her as her eyes looked up to meet his, “I figured…” she hesitated slightly, planning out her words before she spoke, “...that everyone would like to have Her Grace’s name incorporated somehow, so I did my best to go with that thought process.”

“Well of course, especially since we’re aware that you are Her Grace, after all,” Instructor Owlan chimed in, “your people love you, Zelda.”

I just wish they still did as they had before I was whisked from the sky… Zelda’s expression remained calm, but a sinkhole seemed to have opened in her belly, devouring any previously positive thoughts she had. Her head bobbed once, to reply silently to her peer.

“Hyrule Town… maybe Hyrule for short, if needed,” Gaepora mumbled, his free hand rubbing the bottom of his chin gently, a storm of ideas seeming to brew within him, “Say… maybe your first step towards mayor can be announcing this to the town? I’m sure everyone would love to hear it directly from you instead of just idle gossip.”

The sinkhole expanded, “Ah, yes of course, should we try and gather everyone now? I’m just so eager, I would hate to wait any longer, you know!” Zelda forced a laugh, hoping that the three older men couldn’t see through her facade, “let alone keep everyone else waiting, either. I know they’ve been anxiously waiting for a name.”

“This is true,” Horwell agreed, “we cannot really call ourselves Skyloftians any longer, since we no longer reside there,” he began to make way towards the door of the town hall, “I’ll go ahead and start gathering everyone to have a meeting soon, say around when the sun begins to lower beneath the trees? That should give us enough time.”

Zelda peered through one of the windows. The sun was starting to droop closer to the ground, the sky around it turning the familiar orange-pink color. The treetops were not too far from it, but she knew that the time would move much faster than she anticipated. The tips of her fingers were cold, and her feet felt nailed to the planks beneath her. Better now than later, she knew, but that didn’t make her any less nervous, “yes, that’s fine, thank you Horwell.”

He nodded with a smile, and exited the building. The door closed, sounding much louder than usual to Zelda, resulting in her flinching a little. Her father noticed this, but said, “why don’t you go with him, Owlan? We can get everyone here much faster that way.”

“Oh, yes of course, sir,” the other professor agreed, and followed suit out the doorway.

“Are you alright, my dear?” Gaepora asked, his brow furrowing with concern as he studied his daughter’s body language. Still yet tense fingers, no idle movement, blank, zoned out stares towards the window.

“Um, yes,” she lied, “Just a little nervous about this, is all. I’m not sure how I feel about being mayor,” she explained, trying to smile to ease his concern.

“Hm.. alright. Just remember that these are people you’ve known your whole life, there’s no need to be nervous. Just as Owlan said, everybody adores you, they always have. Your destiny has not changed that!” He exclaimed, pulling her into a side hug.

Zelda wanted to believe him, but she knew deep down that it wasn’t true. She noticed every slight little change in the way they spoke to her, having started doing a curtsy or bow until she asked them not to, the way they interchange between calling her Hylia and Zelda. The casual and subtle Your Grace’s that are put into sentences as they speak to or about her. Yes, they all still admire her, but not in the way they used to. It made her feel sick to her stomach, “yes, of course father… thank you.”

As he was about to continue, the door opened with slight force to reveal a slightly sweaty, very disheveled Link. His immediate expression showed worry and anxiety, but as soon as he noticed the Headmaster was here, he adjusted himself quickly.

“Zel, I- Oh, hello sir,” Link cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his hair to try and tame it, having obviously been at the training grounds, “Horwell mentioned a meeting?” His eyes darted back and forth between Zelda and her father.

“Why yes of course, my boy! The very first mayoral meeting of our little town, which is soon to have a name!” He boomed with a hearty laugh, and gave Zelda another squeeze, having her still pressed against his side by his arm.

“Um, father, could I step into the back room and rehearse a little beforehand? Just to be fully prepared,” Zelda began to back out of his hold, her eyes never once glancing away from Link, silently pleading for him to come with her. He gave her a very small nod to reply.

“Oh, why yes of course, dear. I’ll call for you when everyone has arrived, then,” Gaepora relaxed his arms, looking between the two of them.

“Thank you,” Zelda mumbled quickly, before nearly darting towards the small door in the back of the building, Link close behind her. The hero shut the door carefully as Zelda plopped herself down into a chair, her hands immediately reaching up to grip onto clumps of her hair, a frustrated sigh escaping past her lips.

Link kneeled before her, his head level with hers as he waited patiently for her to look up at him, not saying anything just yet. One of his hands moved to rest on her knee, gently rubbing back and forth to signal that he’s ready to listen if she needs to speak.

“I knew this was going to happen the second I brought the idea to them, why am I still so anxious and shocked regardless?” She asked, the question being rhetorical, which Link understood, “I’m so tired, Link.”

“I know, sunshine, I know...” He murmured, trying to meet her eyes, but she wasn’t ready yet, “what is it that they’re expecting of you tonight? To announce a town name and that’s it?”

“I think so… truthfully I wasn’t paying much attention to their conversation,” Zelda admitted, her hands letting go of her hair, “I hope this doesn’t drag on.” Zelda finally peeked through her bangs to look at Link, seeing a worried frown develop on his lips upon studying her, “Hope that nobody has any questions… no comments or concerns. They shouldn’t, I incorporated her name into the town name, so… they should like it. Hyrule Town.”

“Zel…” Link started to speak, but trailed off, words evading him for the moment. The best he could do for her is grab her hands, holding them tightly, “I love you, you know that, right?”

“I love you, too… and of course I do, you’ve proven that to me several times now.”

“And I’ll do it several more times,” he promised her with a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll stay near you during this, alright? You can fall back on me. I might not be the choice for mayor but they all know that I’d rather die than leave your side. I’ll intervene if needed,” he promised, a slight fire of anger burning within him at the memory of what Peater did, “we’ll get this done with and head home, you can take the whole night to relax, perhaps a nice hot bath will do?” 

A tiny smile made its way to her face, “a bath sounds nice,” she whispered, “thank you, Link. I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t here.”

“Let’s not think about that though, okay? Gotta keep some happy, silly thoughts in that mind of yours,” he chuckled, “like that time where you had to come save me from that pile of Remlits.”

She giggled, “they had you pinned down on the bridge! Nobody could cross unless they wanted to get wet or go through all the work of calling their Loftwing just to fly 10 feet!”

“It was the deadliest cuddle session I’ve ever been in. I didn’t think I would make it, but then my beautiful savior came and helped me break free of the fluffy curse!” He exaggerated, bumping his head to hers in the process.

“Oh shush,” Zelda stuck her tongue out, blowing a little raspberry at him in protest of the compliment, “all I did was lift them off of you, one by one. You would’ve been fine.”

“If nobody had helped me I would’ve been a goner by nightfall,” he insisted, “you saved my life, sunshine, I swear!”

Zelda was about to bicker back at him, but a double knock at the door cut her off, “Zelda? Everyone’s here,” her father spoke, muffled slightly through the door.

Her smile faded, “well… let’s go.”

Link helped pull her to feet, his hands holding her’s protectively, “are you ready?”

“No, but… I don’t think I will be,” she admitted, her feet shuffling, making a scuffling sound against the wooden floorboards.

“...Are you okay?” Link followed up, leading her to the door.

Zelda pushed the door open and stepped out, not answering audibly, but instead knowing that he would understand her answer, anyway.

Chapter Text

With her hands gripping the edges of the podium she stood behind, Zelda was convinced that if she didn’t loosen her hold, she’d give herself splinters. In front of her stood the whole town, idle chatter filling the room as they waited for her to gently shush them to begin her speech. The pit in her stomach was still there, daring to grow larger by the second if she let it. Link was over to the side, visible to her through her peripheral vision, his arms crossed against his chest as he watched her, keeping his promise that he would stay nearby.

Her father, Owlan and Horwell had dispersed into the crowd, mingling and talking as well, but she could see them occasionally shoot glances her way, silently asking her when she would begin to talk. 

Starting with a shaky, deep inhale, followed by a slow, silent exhale, Zelda raised her head to avoid hiding her face in her golden hair, and cleared her throat, trying to make it as loud as she could without sounding sickly. A few heads turned, and soon everyone was quiet. Eyes locked onto her as they waited for her voice to tell them why they were here tonight.

“Hello, everyone,” Zelda started, her gaze crossing over the room once, “thank you for coming on such short notice, but my father and the instructors insisted that this news would be welcomed. I’ve come up with a name for our little town,” she spoke, no longer feeling her fingers on the podium. Was she still clenching it? She couldn’t tell.

A chorus of excited murmurs erupted immediately, faces turning to look at each other and then back at her, waiting for more information.

“And I won’t hide it, I know you’d much rather me cut straight to the point,” she laughed awkwardly, hoping that it would fly undetected. Zelda quickly checked to make sure Link was still there, and he was. His head was tilted slightly with a small smile, reminding her that he was there.

Another sharp inhale, “Hyrule Town, or just Hyrule, for short,” she announced, a wave of relief washing over her after having finally gotten the words out. She could live with the name, it didn’t really bother her much. Rather, it was the fact that she had to make the name, and be the one to announce it, just because of who she was in a past life.

A loud cheer came from the center of the crowd, followed by loud clapping sounds. Groose always did know how to put attention on himself. But it wasn’t even more than a few seconds later before everyone else began to join in, the thundering sounds of hands repeatedly coming together in a celebratory manner.

Zelda felt a smile start to curl on her lips subconsciously, and she regained the ability to move her fingers, which now had indents from where they were pressed against the wood, “I’m glad you all like it,” she remarked, glancing around at everyone’s faces to make sure they approved.

Another eruption from the crowd, everyone talking over each other to agree and practice saying their new town name. She could see grins on every face. This is good, Zelda thought, they should all be content with this.

“Well, that’s all I really wanted to announce for you all tonight, so-” Zelda began to finish, never intending for this meeting to be longer than it was, when she was cut off.

“Hold on a second now, we’ve been called out here on such a short timeframe, we might as well stay for a little while longer,” Henya interjected, heads turning to look at the older woman, “you’re basically the mayor now, chickpea, and yes we’ve all known you for your entire life now, but I think I speak for some of us when I say we wanna know more about the divine side of you. We haven’t really gotten the chance to talk to you about being Her Grace or anything.” 

Murmuring voices followed after Henya’s spiel, with nodding heads and eyes looking her way. A bolt of lightning shot straight up Zelda’s back, and she could swear it made her hair stand on end like how Mia’s did when she was frightened, “Um…” she began to speak, noticing Link move out of the corner of her eye, his stance having changed to be ready to jump in and pull her away if needed, “...s-sure, that’s fine, I suppose.”

It was as if she could feel Link’s eyes widen, and she turned her head to confirm it. His expression read many pages of concern and worry, and all she could do was give an awkward grimace in response. It wouldn’t sit well with her neighbors if she declined, and she just hoped the questions weren’t too overwhelming.

“Would… would anyone like to go first?” Zelda asked reluctantly, avoiding making eye contact with anyone in front of her.

“I’ve got one,” Orielle piped up, raising her hand, “It’s nothing too major, but I’ve always been curious; where did the chunk of land come from that Skyloft resides on? I assume it’s somewhere around here, considering that the Isle of the Goddess fit perfectly nearby with the Sealed Temple.”

Zelda let out the breath of air she didn’t know she was holding, “Ah yes, that is nearby, I do have a memory of raising it from the surface. The crater it left behind is North of the temple, in an area we haven’t traveled much in yet,” she answered honestly.

“Oooh, awesome, maybe we should start heading out that way soon!” Orielle grinned, mostly talking to her brother instead of Zelda, “thanks!”

Zelda nodded, before scanning her peers again, “any others?”

“Well yes, I’m the one who initiated this,” Henya scoffed, “surely you’ve had to have some clue that you were the goddess, yeah? Strange visions or what not, there’s no way that you just opened your eyes and knew. I remember you said somethin’ about a lady in the temple who helped ya?”

Zelda paused, suddenly aware of her own heartbeat, “um… well, I guess I did sort of hear a voice calling out to me a few days before the tornado knocked me down,” she admitted, recalling how she had looked out to the cloud barrier after saving Link’s loftwing from being trapped by Groose, “but otherwise no… not that I can recall. I always felt… normal.”

“Well that can’t be entirely true,” Peatrice’s voice echoed from the back of the room, “you and Link have always been mighty close, you know, and you’re not the only one with a known past life, here,” she jeered, “it’s in the legends that Hylia had eyes for her chosen hero, and now here you both are, reincarnations of both, happily in love.”

Zelda felt the bitterness in every word that Peatrice spoke. She knew that the item check clerk had developed feelings for Link over the course of his journey, but she didn’t know that those feelings still seemed to linger. Her face got hot, mixed with emotions of embarrassment, anger and even a twinge of jealousy, perhaps, “what are you saying?”

“Zelda,” Link stepped forward, his hand reaching out slightly, “it’s not worth it.”

“I’m saying how do you even know that your love isn’t a forced destiny? It totally could be, given all of the other information we’ve learned, anything seems to be possible,” a smirk was plastered on Peatrice’s face, knowing that she was getting to Zelda.

Cold, little bumps rapidly spread over Zelda’s arms, leaving her with a chill, as her mouth opened slightly, absolutely appalled at what she was hearing, “Th-that’s not true,” she stammered, before repeating, “It’s not true.”

Link was at her side now, his hand gripping onto her arm slightly, his eyes desperately trying to meet hers, but she wouldn’t let him.

Peatrice shrugged, and leaned back against the wall, “Whatever you say, Your Grace.”

Zelda was certain that her face was red, but she wasn’t going to back down and just let Peatrice win here. She could answer more questions, it would be fine, right? She noticed that everyone was mumbling and talking amongst themselves, heads turning to look back and forth between the two blonde girls. Peater, of course, was looking smug and rather proud of his daughter, while Gaepora was staring at Zelda, his brows furrowed with confusion and possibly concern.

“Well, it doesn’t matter, everyone can think what they want, I guess,” Zelda fumbled for her words, “but does anyone else have anything that they want to ask?”

“Zelda, are you sure? It’s okay if you want to stop,” Link hissed, his grip intensifying a little as he still faced her, “you don’t have to keep doing this, we can just go home and-”

“It’s fine, Link. I’m fine,” her head whipped around to face him, finally, her eyes wide but surprisingly blank, “if they have questions… then I have answers. I’m fine, it’s fine.”

Link’s head bobbed back a little, his eyes having turned to pools of worry and doubt, but he wasn’t about to make a bigger scene and try to keep reasoning with her in front of everyone right now, “okay, alright… just, be careful, sunshine.” He began to back away from her, his gaze never leaving her face.

Zelda’s hair swished with her as she faced the group again, looking for anyone who seemed to speak up. She could still feel her heart pounding in her chest, it seemed to be pumping faster than it had been. An awkward level of volume fell over the room, confused murmuring in groups and the shuffling of feet was the main source of sound. Zelda tapped her fingers impatiently against the side of the podium, “does… anyone else have something they’d like to ask?”

A hand rose up from the crowd, belonging to a girl with pumpkin shaped hair, “I do. I just wonder, my father and I are going to continue to grow our pumpkins to make our soup and foods for everyone, but from what I understand, the surface has much different weather patterns than the sky, so, well I guess what I’m asking is, what will you be able to do for us as mayor if the ground becomes unable to support the crops as it gets colder?” Kina piped up, the people in front of her stepping aside to let her speak more clearly, “how are we to support ourselves and function as a business if we can’t supply our pumpkins?”

Zelda blinked, words not being able to form properly in her mouth for a response, “Well-”

“Yeah! If I can’t grow pumpkins for a whole section of the year, what am I supposed to do?” Pumm interjected from behind his daughter, his arms crossed against his chest, “I assume you’ve got some magic goddess powers or something that can help us, right?”

The golden haired girl felt her breath get caught in her throat for a moment, the walls seeming to slowly inch closer to her, the faces in the group meshing into them, “I-I don’t-” she couldn’t continue.

“You don’t?” Pumm repeated, turning his head to point his ear at her mockingly.

Zelda cleared her throat aggressively, her fingers having gone numb from all the tapping and tight grip, “I don’t have magic for that, n-no, but I’m sure that we-” a sharp inhale, “-I, can probably figure something out! M-maybe we can learn about newer crops from the Kikwi!”

“Newer crops? But pumpkins are the best! Pumm’s soup is a staple for us, I don’t want to part with it even for a few months!” Keet called out from the back of the building.

“Oh you all need to hush,” Piper snapped, her eyes turned to slits as she gave a warning glance to Pumm, “we have plenty of new resources at our disposal, and that includes new crops to plant and new ways to grow them, I’m sure you’d be able to find a way to grow them inside somehow,” she muttered, and then turned her attention to Zelda, “what I want to know is, what is your plan for us as it begins to get colder, or even warmer? Sure we made it through the heat when we were building Hyrule Town, but now it’s about to start getting frigid from what I’ve gathered, and we’re used to the cold elevation but not to the point where frozen water will be falling down on us! Do you have any powers for that?”

“U-uhm…” Zelda’s voice cracked, and she felt frozen in place, her forehead starting form beads of sweat which she became hyper aware of, each one almost seeming like a target on her of which her neighbors were aiming, “n-no I-”

“What about academics? Now that we no longer have any threats we should really focus more on normal school instead of knights and whatnot,” Wryna spoke up, Kukiel in her arms.

“No way, fighting skills are soooo much more important, plus we can start hunting for more stuff now!” Stritch’s voice rang out from somewhere around the back.

“Everyone’s getting off topic,” Peater shouted, making himself look big, “what we really need to ask is what Zelda’s gonna do for us with her powers, I think she’s holding back, and as our goddess she has to-”

Something inside Zelda seemed to break. She could swear that she actually heard a shattering sound as a hot, bubbling feeling began to brew within her as she heard all of the comments and yelling from everyone in front of her. Her vision seemed to blur and she stepped back, feeling her balance shift, and her hands went up to hold the sides of her head, trying to concentrate on what she was feeling. She didn’t like it.

Link was calling out her name, but he sounded so far away. She could feel the vibrations from his footsteps getting closer to her, the voices from the crowd hitting her like a wave of smog, feeling like it was encasing Zelda in a thick, smoky cocoon, so much so that she couldn’t see anymore. Everything was blurry, that bubbling feeling now resembling the heat of Eldin’s lava rivers, and she herself felt like the volcano, ready to erupt any second.

Link’s hand met her shoulder, and it was the final earthquake to make her explode. With a scream, a blinding, yellow-white light burst into the room, its center coming from Zelda. The smoke prison dissipated from around her, and there was absolutely no sound that she could hear, but through her shut eyelids she could still see the remnants of the blinding light, so cautiously, she opened her eyes.

What Zelda saw was everyone in front of her backed as far away from the podium as they could get, clinging to each other with desperation. Their faces coated with shock and fear, of which she didn’t understand. Her head turned to find Link on the ground against the wall, one of his hands covering his squinted eyes, watching her with distressed eyes and his mouth agape, “Z-Zelda?”

The golden light was still present in the room, but as she began to search for its source, she quickly realized that it was her. Two golden triangular patterns on the backs of both her hands were present, radiating the intense light across the walls, creating shadows that looked like they could hide demons and monsters within them.

Zelda’s heart sank all the way to her stomach at the sight of the Triforces present on her skin, her eyes growing so large she thought they’d pop out of her head, “N-no, no no no,” she mumbled, stepping back as she whipped her head around, seeing the scared faces of the townsfolk, most of them still cowering, except for Karane, Pipit, Groose and her father, who were all trying to make their way to her, and Link, who had almost pulled himself to his feet, his hand outstretched to her, desperation and anxiety spread across his face.

“Zelda-” He started.

“N-no, stay away from me,” she cried, a hot, uncomfortable feeling beginning to form in her eyes and she started to scramble for the back room’s doorknob.

“Zelda, calm down, please,” Groose called out, Karane and Pipit at his side as they helped Link fully off the ground, “we want to help you.”

She shook her head vehemently, tears now brimming at her eyelids as she swung the door open, the last thing she saw before slamming it closed was Link about to cry her name out again. Zelda was acting on impulse now, rummaging around in the room for the chair she was seated on earlier, shoving the top of it beneath the door handle to stall and deny them entry to the room. Her hair was sticking to her now from the sweat, and she was fighting it to clear her eyesight.

The moonlight led her to the window, where she pushed it open with all her might as the doorknob began to shake and throttle at them trying to get inside, to get her. She could hear her name being said, muffled through the walls, as well as other words she couldn’t make out, nor did she want to.

Zelda rushed to pull herself off the ground and up to the window, feeling the frame push against her stomach painfully, but she ignored it as her weight shifted to allow her to fall outside, landing with a thud on the grass. She coughed, the wind getting knocked out of her chest, but she quickly scurried to get herself upright, starting to run as soon as her feet were both flat on the ground.

“Zelda? Zelda!” A voice she recognized as Link’s hollered, paired with the creaking of the front door being opened. She didn’t let herself turn around to look, tears now dripping from her eyes and streaking her face as she moved. Her hands were still glowing with the yellow light of the Triforce, and it made her want to rip her flesh off. Instead, she just kept sprinting away from the town hall. 

It was dark, and the moonlight barely helped her navigate through the thick cover of the trees above her, but she didn’t stop, she couldn’t. She had to get away. Barely able to make out the outline of tree trunks, Zelda stumbled quite a bit through the woods, tripping over hidden roots and stones, and slipping at random dips and patches of damp grass. No matter how many times she fell, she pushed herself back up just as fast, still hearing Link’s voice behind her in the woods.

Not only was she blinded by the darkness, but the tears in her eyes were persistent as well. She couldn’t see anything besides her tears, which caused her to miss a branch in her pathway. She tripped with a shriek, and tumbled down a bit until she landed on her left side in a clearing, a horrible pain shooting all throughout her arm, and she had to stifle a scream. She tried to get back up despite this, but ended up letting herself fall back down to her knees at the sight of where she was… the same little pond she had found in the past, and again a few months ago.

Gripping at her skin above where the pain ended, Zelda tried to blink away her tears, her breathing heavy and fast, leaving a burning feeling in her lungs as her vision began to clear. She became aware of how cold it was outside, feeling goosebumps form on her arms and back, highlighting all of the soreness she now had from hitting the ground multiple times, “aa-aahh,” she whimpered, fully letting herself relax onto the ground, her eyes shut in a wincing at the pain she felt.

Her relaxation was cut short however, at the sound of leaves crunching and boots stomping. Her anxiety spiked, sending shockwaves up her spine as she whipped around to face the entrance to the clearing, trying to pull herself up, but no longer having the energy to.

Link burst into the clearing, his chest heaving with every breath he took, clearly having run the entire way here just as Zelda had. His expression showed fear, but not in the way that the townsfolk had. His fear was different… he wasn’t scared of Zelda, he was scared for her.

His gaze landed on her, and she could see the relief wash over him, “Zel,” he whispered, beginning to walk towards her, but Zelda shuffled back, making him halt in his tracks, “Zel?” He asked, the concern coming back to his face.

She gulped, her heart feeling like it was going to pump hard enough to burst through her ribcage, “s-stay away from me, it’s for your o-own good.”

Link only looked at her, his feet remaining still in the position she had stopped him in. He reached his hand out to her, hoping that she would take it, or at least know that he wasn’t going to get closer to her unless she moved towards him, herself.

Zelda shook her head rapidly, her breathing still fast and rigid. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, but instead kept her eyes focused on his outstretched hand. The hot feeling returned to her face, and she could tell that she would start crying again soon. Her hands were still emanating light from them, and when she noticed, the waterworks broke within her. Her body began to heave with every sob, and the tears began to leave fresh watermarks on her cheeks, “I-I… I can’t-” she choked out.

“Can’t what?” Link dropped down to her level, still at the same distance away, even though it clearly hurt him to stay there, “talk to me.”

Zelda’s breathing never slowed, but she tried her best to finish her sentence for Link, anyway, “I can’t d-do it, I can’t!” She wailed, her vision once again blocked by her tears, “I can’t be the mayor! I can’t give them what they need! I can’t be Hylia, I can’t! I can’t keep living like this where every day I’m put on a pedestal and no longer treated for who I am! I’m just treated as Her! That’s all they see!” She whimpered, her eyes looking around the clearing with a sort of frenzy, before landing on his form, “I don’t want to be her- I’m NOT her- I refuse to be!” Her unbroken arm reached up to grab a fistfull of her hair, “I can’t go back now I’m sure I’ve tarnished their view of Her because of my fuckups and inability to do what they want!

“Zelda…” Link started to say, but he was quickly cut off again by her.

“I’m glad the surface is safe but why did it have to be me? My life was turned around and try as I might I can’t turn it back. And what if Peatrice was right? What if-” she couldn’t finish, she just started sobbing harder, the light from her hands seeming to get… brighter.

A pain seemed to stab right through Link at Zelda’s words. He knew she was just distressed, there’s no way she actually believed that, right? He was distraught over not being able to comfort her physically, but he also knew that she didn’t want to be touched, and he would make it worse if he tried. He just needed to listen to her for now. His eyes landed on her hands, the intensifying glow now catching his attention, “...Zelda?”

She didn’t hear him, her heartbeat was pounding in her ears and she couldn’t focus on anything around her except for it. The heat on the backs of her hands went unnoticed to her.

A strand of light began to emerge from both triangles, warping their way up and around Zelda’s body, and as Link watched them, they seemed to change hues to a more… amber color. “Zelda? Zelda, I know you’re stressed out of your mind but I need you to focus on calming down, okay?! Please?!” Link panicked, going against his previous statements and moving closer to Zelda.

“I can’t, I can’t do it!” Zelda sobbed, her breathing still staggered and harsh, her body planted firmly where she sat in the grass, eyes shut as tightly as she could get them. The glowing from her hands now formed a very loose outline for a crystal around her, eerily similar to one she had created before far back in the past.

“You can, sunshine, I know you can, okay? Listen to me, please,” he begged, the panic rising within him quickly, nearly immobilizing him where he crawled, “Peatrice can go live with the Remlits for all I care, none of what she said is true. I have loved you for years now, Zelda, long before we even had aspirations for the surface. I fell in love with the way you drew little doodles on your notes during lessons, the way you’d make matching accessories for us and our loftwings, how you’d always sneak into my room after hours just to ramble to me about something that had happened that day that made you mad, all of these little tiny things that all made me fall more and more every single day. If our love had been orchestrated from the start, I’d have just fallen for you for no reason, but I didn’t! I love you because of your quirks and charms, your beauty, I fell for who you are, I can wholeheartedly promise you that.”

Zelda’s grip on her hair loosened as she listened to his speech, but her body was still on high alert, refusing to relax, “w-what about everyone else? And their problems they want me to magically solve?”

“We’ll remind them that you’re human,” Link answered immediately, “that you may unfortunately have the goddess’ spirit and the blessing of the Triforce, but you’re not a miracle maker. Groose, Fledge, Pipit and Karane will help us. You can’t make things perfect, nor can you snap your fingers and make everything instantly better, but I know you’re smart, and you have us with you, we can work together, you’re not alone, sunshine.”

Zelda was able to manage her breathing to the point where she didn’t have to use her mouth anymore, but her heart was still threatening to pound its way right out of her chest, “you… you promise?”

“I promise,” Link whispered, watching the amber color begin to slowly fade away, “I’ll have the 4 of them explain what happened tonight, and we’ll find a way to get back to the point where there won’t be any more ‘Your Grace’s or anything… Just Zelda. Because you said it yourself, all those months ago… You’re still my Zelda.”

The outline of the crystal diminished, retracting back to Zelda’s hands until the light faded altogether. The only light that remained was that of the moon, which barely illuminated the clearing the pair was in. Zelda’s eyes were open now, tears still sliding down her cheeks as she looked at Link, her uninjured arm now slowly moving to reach for him, to which he accepted, intertwining their fingers together. He was about to pull her closer, but she butt in before he could, “Um… just be careful holding me… I think my left arm is broken,” she sniffled.

“Oh honey,” Link whispered, before taking extra care to pull Zelda into his lap, allowing her to rest herself comfortably before he wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he possibly could without harming her.

“You’re warm…” Zelda mumbled, letting her body finally relax completely for the first time in awhile, “I’m sorry. I should’ve talked to you, told you how I was really feeling. I just thought that if I could keep it all to myself, I wouldn’t have to give anyone else any stress, but I guess I was wrong.”

Link carefully placed a kiss on Zelda’s head, allowing her to rest for a little before he would pick her up and head back to town, “it’s okay, sunshine. I know you just always want the best for everyone, but I hope you understand now that you are a part of everyone, as well,” he chuckled, to let her know he wasn’t scolding her. 

She nodded against him, sniffling as the last of her tears dripped down her face, “yeah… I love you.”

“I love you, too, Zelda.”