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Another night brought the same routine. None other than the princess' appointed knight, Link, was trusted to guard her quarters.
Every night, no exceptions. The princess needed to be kept safe in the event of a surprise attack in the night.
That was his job after all, keeping her safe.
Link suppressed a yawn. He would much rather be in sleeping than shivering in this drafty corridor.
Zelda couldn't sleep. There wasn't a reason to still be awake, she just couldn't relax.
She sighed as she rolled from her back onto her stomach in an attempt at comfort.
But in a few minutes she was face up again, staring at the ceiling.
The room was pitch black except for one small sliver of moonlight from an open shutter.
She should be asleep by now.
Just a few more hours, Link thought to himself.
The door made a creak as it opened, startling him.
It was unusual for the princess to come out during the night unless something was wrong. Lately it’s been nightmares. She insists it’s nothing to worry about, but she always seems exhausted.
"Can't sleep," Zelda said softly as she came out into the hallway.
"I think a walk will help me clear my head. Would you like to come?"
He nodded and let Zelda take the lead.
Link had to go with her, of course. Saying no would violate his vow to her safety, letting her go off by herself in the middle of the night.
But duty aside, Link wanted to go with her. A little adventure on this boring night.
And he quite liked to spend time with Zelda when time allowed.
Sometimes Link dreamed of him and Zelda becoming closer. But those were just dreams. Anything more than professional between them was strictly forbidden.
Link followed a few paces behind the princess as she walked down the corridor.
Zelda led Link to the gardens. A perfect place to escape from the castle and provide the peace she needed. She shivered as they stepped out into the night. She hadn’t thought to bring a coat.
She continued on to one of the large flowerbeds. No flowers grew at this time of the year, leaving the plot empty. Zelda took a seat in the grass.
Link joined, her taking a seat next to her. He looked up, admiring the endless expanse of stars in the clear night sky.
It was ethereal, the gardens shining with a soft moonlit glow. The clouds from the day had gone, revealing a glittering sea of stars
A perfect night for stargazing. Just what Zelda needed to escape from her thoughts.
She just needed some time to get her mind together. Her head never seemed to stop racing, full of thoughts about everything from the upcoming threat of the Calamity, the recent encounter with the Yiga just a few days before, and the fact that she was finally coming to terms with having Link around.
Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
Zelda no longer hated him. Friends, even. But there was something more. Feelings that she would never truly admit to anyone. Not even herself.
None of those feelings would ever mean anything anyways.
His voice quickly pulled her out of her thoughts.
Link rarely spoke, so it was always a bit of a surprise to hear his voice.
"Princess," he said softly, pointing up at the sky.
"A shooting star!"
Zelda gasped. A small, glimmering ball of light shot across the sky, leaving behind a wavering trail of light. It really was a shooting star. She had never been lucky enough to see one before. She read in a book once that they only occurred on special occasions.
What was different about tonight?
But the biggest surprise was the second one. Another shooting star, just following the first. This was unheard of!
Tonight must be something truly magical.
After the initial shock, Zelda quickly closed her eyes to make a wish before it was too late. She wished for her power to awaken soon.
Even though the goddesses never acknowledged her continuous prayers day after day, maybe the stars would listen to her pleas.
Link and Zelda stayed there in comfortable silence for a while, admiring the striking dark sky above them.
Zelda's thoughts began to wander again. Thoughts of her knight beside her.
He's been nothing but kind to her these past few days. She doesn't deserve that after the way she treated him before. The amount of times she yelled at him.
Zelda wouldn't be surprised if Link still hated her.
The night grew colder, a gentle breeze rustling through the grass.
Link would stay with Zelda for as long as she needed, but they should probably return soon. He didn't want her to get sick from the chill.
She had turned to face him. Goddesses, she was beautiful.
He hadn’t realized how close she was until now. Too close. But neither of them moved away.
He reached out to brush a strand of hair away from her face, fingers gently caressing her cheek as he tucked it behind her ear.
Link let his eyes stray to her lips for just a moment before catching himself. They couldn't do this.
Zelda's eyes widened.
Link didn’t hate her. In fact, it seemed like the opposite.
Her heart began to race. They both knew that this was a bad idea.
But no one was here to witness this moment. No one had to know.
She leaned in and nervously pressed her lips to his.
The nervousness dissipated as Link leaned in to the kiss and loosely wrapped his arms around Zelda’s waist. Her hands ended up buried in his hair.
Zelda broke the kiss first, stopping to catch her breath for a moment.
What had she just done?
What if he didn't feel the same? What if this is just devotion to his vow?
"Princess," he whispered.
"Please, stop calling me princess," she replied softly.
“Right now, I am just Zelda"
"We should go back inside, Zelda."
She gave him a nod as she stood up, shaky on her feet.
They returned to her quarters, and Link lingered for a minute to make sure Zelda got back to bed.
His head was spinning, still taking time to process what had just happened. He had just shared a kiss with Princess Zelda of Hyrule herself.
The same princess he has sworn to protect.
The same princess he had fallen for.
Back to his post. Just like every other night, nothing has changed.
At least, that's how it should be.
Link found himself wanting to stay, stay with Zelda.
He mentally shook his head. There it was again. His feelings getting in the way of duty.
They should have never done that. Because now it was all he could think about.
"Link?" Zelda whispered
"I-I want you to stay. Just for tonight."
He hesitated for a moment. What if someone noticed he was gone? What if someone found out?
Just for tonight.
Zelda laid down in her bed, and Link removed his boots before joining her.
He sunk into the mattress, much softer than any other he had slept on before. The bed was quite large, so there was enough room for both of them to fit comfortably without touching.
Link yawned, the exhaustion finally catching up to him.
“Goodnight, Zelda,” he managed to murmur before drifting off.
Well, that was a great idea.
Zelda still couldn’t sleep, and now she’s sharing a bed with her appointed knight.
Her heart couldn’t stop racing. Why did she ask Link to join her? She’s breaking the rules. Rather unfair rules, but rules all the same
She turned to face him to find that he had already fallen asleep.
How Zelda wished that she could do that. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. But sleep still wouldn’t come.
In addition to her thoughts racing, she was cold. Even under the plush sheets of her bed, she still shivered from the chill.
She shifted closer to Link. He was quite warm.
Zelda sighed. First a kiss, and now she was considering cuddling with him? Nonsense. She would come to terms with her feelings later. But for now, she needed sleep. She turned to face away from him and closed her eyes once again.
Sunlight streamed in through the windows.
Link squinted at the bright light as he awoke. Where was he?
After a moment, the memories of last night came back to him. He was in Zelda’s bed, after their moment in the gardens.
But what Link didn’t remember was her curled up against him. She was currently pressed against his back, her head buried in his shoulder.
She still seemed to be sleeping, He wasn’t going to wake her, at least not yet. This was nice, and Link wanted to savor these last few minutes of peace.
As soon as he got up, it was back to work. Back to his knight status. Everything else, forgotten.
She would no longer be Zelda, but rather just “princess”.
And how he wished that could change.