Chapter Text

Part One

Chapter One

August 19th

One last glance in the mirror. Zelda wore a matching plaid skirt and jacket. Should she wear the hat? 

No. This is serious. Must be taken seriously . 

She tossed it from her head to the floor and ran her fingers through her hair.

Zelda's heart was beating faster by the second. She was quickly approaching her favorite time of day.

Over the summer, she had become a master of sneaking out.

She rushed across her room and dropped to a crouch in front of the dresser drawers by her bed. The bottom drawer was the only one with a lock. She reached in her shirt and dug around for the key that was hidden safely in her bra.

Within the drawer was a rolled up rope ladder. She'd bought it alongside a ton of clothes and snuck it in the house with the rest of the shopping bags many months ago. Now, she stood and began unfurling the rough material next to her open window.

Then a booming sound like thunder rattled her walls.

She dropped to her knees as if the sound carried the promise of gunfire.

Her heart leapt to her throat and her eyes squinted shut.

There was nothing scarier on this earth than the sound of her name being yelled by her father.

His voice, loud as a freight train, rang in her ears a second time.

"Zelda Hyrule!"

Zelda Hyrule? Hyrule ?

Her eyes shot open and she jumped to her feet. She couldn't recall ever hearing her full name from him. Him shouting "Zelda" had always been plenty to put the fear of God in her.

She looked down at her shoes. Mechanically, she kicked them off.

She rolled back up the rope ladder and locked it up, then stripped from her posh school clothes back into a t-shirt and pajama pants.

Zelda was a pro. All of this took less time than microwaving a pop-tart.

She checked her face again in the mirror. Was her makeup a dead giveaway she'd been going out? Maybe not. Hopefully not.

"Coming, Father!" she called, opening her door as she licked off her lipstick.

"My office!" he replied.

That's a given.

She ran down the stairs, sweat tickling her temples as the blood left her extremities.

"Zelda Hyrule?" was her final fragmented thought before pushing open the large wooden door to her father's office.

Senator Rhoam Hyrule was an imposing figure, nothing like his jolly-looking campaign posters. He was six-foot-two, with broad shoulders and a big round figure, always dressed in a three piece suit. His thick, prematurely white hair was always slicked back and his mustache and beard were groomed with precision. Zelda hadn't seen him look disheveled once in her life and ever since she was little she held the notion that he slept in a suit if he even required sleep.

Right now, there was a fire in his dark eyes like she'd never seen before.

He stood, arms crossed, leaning back against his desk as he stared bullets in her.

Zelda lowered her gaze and scuffled across the ornate maroon rug that lay between them.

"I didn't realize you were home, Father.”

A stack of papers was tossed to the floor in front of her. "What…?" She knelt down and picked up the top page. For a moment, she was so shaky and terrified she forgot how to read. When the letters blurred back into meaning she couldn't even find it within her body to react.

Her blood ran cold as her gaze drifted over bits and pieces of the page. Just enough to understand.

Full name: Zelda Sage

…

Age: 21

…

Course length: 6 months

Her college papers. A scanned copy of her fake ID. Curriculum. Course work. Schedule. The P.O. Box where she'd had all of these papers sent…

"How did this get here?" she asked distantly, letting the thin sheet of paper drift back to the floor as she sat back on her legs.

"I heard you sneaking out last week. Since I know you don't have friends, I found it deeply suspicious so I looked into it."

Her throat tightened when she met his eyes. There was nothing she could say. There was no excuse, nor could she sincerely apologize.

To have her night classes at the community college taken away was her worst nightmare. Of course, credits didn't transfer between identities, but she was learning so much. She felt well on her way to being able to pass the bar before she even officially started college. And high school was so boring. She'd been forced to sit still for so long; her mind, her longing to work, her driving, ever driving towards her goal. She couldn’t just stop. How could anyone stop? Life was about moving forward. Her talent was wasted on high school and summer vacations and shopping sprees. Without a higher pursuit of knowledge, life was meaningless to her. But that was nothing that could be explained to her father.

"You disobeyed a clear order, Zelda. We discussed whether or not higher education would be of use to you. Did you forget my answer? You asked and I said "no"!"

She flinched as his voice raised for the whole mansion to hear.

"Was I unclear?"

She stared into his eyes, trying to go numb. 

"Answer me! Was I unclear? Did you forget what I'd said?"

"No." 

He snapped his fingers. "Get up."

She stood, swaying on her feet, a few paces away from him.

"Come here."

Bile rose to her throat. She trudged forward until his sharp, bitter cologne burned her nose and she had to look up at him. She'd been through this before, but it had never been paired with something so precious being snatched from her hands. Her shoes rustled against the papers on the floor.

"Do you have any justification for disobeying me?"

She closed her eyes and her lungs begged for air. She tried so hard to breathe, but it felt impossible. 

"Father," her voice shook, but she forced herself to continue, "I disagreed with your decision."

" What ?"

"I saw no good reason for me to stunt my own growth. Knowledge is always a good thing. I was able to fit the classes around other responsibilities, even last semester at the high school. Besides," she bit her lip, gearing up for her strongest argument and the only one that might reach him, "I used my own money."

The sound of knuckle against cheekbone cracked in Zelda's ears before any other sense registered. She blinked. She was on the floor, on her hands and knees. Her vision spun and her ears rang as a powerful ache sparkled through the right side of her face.

"You have your own money, do you?" he barked.

Zelda dropped from her hands to her elbows on the floor, her limbs betraying her. The movement caused the pain radiating to her jaw to sharpen.

"Everything you have is given to you! What belongs to a little girl who has never worked a day in her life? I've handed you luxury after luxury, and yet you are so ungrateful you would claim you have the right to spend your own money as you please?"

"Father—." 

"From now on you will contribute to the welfare of the family in whatever way I see fit. You will not leave this house unless I say so. I refuse to spoil a daughter who is conniving and disobedient. Do you hear me?"

She barely nodded, still resting her spinning head on her forearm as the pain and heat in her face intensified.

"Go to your room and stay in it."

She felt like she was being held underwater as she picked herself up and stumbled blindly from his office. Tremors wracked her body as she climbed the stairs.

The window was still open and her school clothes were littered across the floor.

Her room wasn't safe enough. She shut herself in her walk-in closet, tripping on a high-heeled shoe as she dropped to the floor.

Her heart and lungs ached from exertion. Her face and head were pounding to the point it could not be isolated to one place; although the swelling was in her cheek, her teeth to the back of her neck screamed in pain.

She curled up in a ball and rested her head on the carpeted floor of her closet, closing her eyes and steadying her breathing to the point she thought it might just stop. Could she die here?

What was left? She hated High School. It was dull on the best day and on the worst she was being pinned to her locker by jocks who didn't care what she thought or felt.

No one cared.

Her maid came the closest to having affection for her, but was paid to serve Zelda, and was sent away at her father's bidding.

She had no defender.

She was completely friendless.

Less than an hour ago, she'd wanted for nothing.

Incredible, one aspect of her life was taken away, and everything crumbled to dust. If she couldn't escape this place, all was lost.

August 20th

There was no sense wallowing in misery. She'd faced an enormous blow to her career plan, but all she could do was fight; stand back up and start moving towards the goal, no matter how bloody and beaten she was when she reached it. Her cheek was still bruised purple at this point, and it hurt to move a single face muscle, but Zelda was well past being upset over that minor blow when compared with her bleeding heart.

By her calculations, there was nothing to live for if she wasn’t practicing for the bar. Zelda had been put on this earth as a defender of justice. She would be the light. She would uphold the sacredness of truth. She was born to argue. 

So yes, she would carry out her ambition or let the harsh cold of winter wipe her out with all the trees and flowers. 

No one would care.

Summer had abandoned her with the rest of her comforts, replaced with the chilly promise of brown and gray landscapes. Zelda had thoughtlessly ran outside without checking the weather. Yesterday had been warm and sunny. So she’d left the house without grabbing a jacket or even shoes, she was in such a hurry to get out without a chance encounter with her father.

The acre of pristine green grass spread in all directions around the house and up to the gated entry to the property. A road of flat, gray brick led from the gate to the big circle driveway and the side door to her house.

Now, standing in the plush grass at 8:30 in the morning, her feet getting wet with frosty dew and the wind sending goosebumps across her arms, she probably looked like she'd escaped an asylum. She laughed to herself, only affirming that image, and looked down at her white cotton dress. It was the quickest and first thing she'd found to throw on that morning only 15 minutes ago. As soon as her coffee had been brought to her door she'd changed and gone outside.

Her teeth chattered as she brought the straw to her lips and took a sip of iced coffee. She wasn't going to die. She couldn't feel her hands or feet, except for sparkling pain. Her cheeks felt wind-burned and her lips were blue. Still, it was her fault for not dressing for the weather and it was too late to do anything about it. She didn't plan to go back into her house-turned-prison until she had thought of a way to continue her work without losing any more ground. 

Could anyone help her? Zelda was surprised at herself for even considering the possibility. She’d never thought to enlist a confidant. Perhaps someone in a position of power. Someone to believe in her the way that she believed in herself. Surely there was someone out there- someone who could recognize her genius and help her out of this god-forsaken fenced in yard.

___

There was a beeping on the security pad of the gate that startled Zelda from her scheming.

Unusual.

She shaded her eyes in the bright morning sun as the gate mechanically slid open and a stranger walked through.

Their eyes locked the moment that he came into view.

A small guy in street clothes confidently strolled towards her, his features gradually becoming clearer. His messy, layered hair hung all the way past his shoulders and earrings glinted through small gaps in the honey-blond strands.

Zelda's eyebrows quirked.

His eyes were alight with recognition as they remained on her but his face was stoic, no hint of a smile on his full lips. His eyes subtly darted to her purple cheek before returning to her eyes.

"Aren't you cold?" His hands were tucked in his jean jacket pockets. His steps turned crooked, meandering, as he got to the edge of the stone drive, a few feet in front of her where she stood in the grass.

"Who are you?"

Finally, an easy smile spread across his face and Zelda was struck by a strange breathlessness. 

He’s really cute.

A man walking into her gated yard while she was alone might have startled her a week ago. Now, Zelda didn't have an ounce of self-preservation in her frost-bitten body.

He held out his hand, fingers decorated with pale blue nail-polish.

Zelda shook his hand, frowning down at it as the warmth of his skin nearly dissipated the numbness of her fingers. 

He whistled as she slipped her hand from his grasp. 

"You are ice. Are you sure everything’s okay, Miss?” 

She didn’t reply, instead, shrugging and giving him a listless smile. 

“I'm Link. I have a job interview here with Mr. Hyrule."

"Ah." She was satisfied with that explanation. Her father had been complaining about the need for a window-washer and a new on-site gardener for ages. This Link fit the bill for either position. You could look as counter-culture as you pleased so long as you worked outside of the house.

She almost laughed at this prospect as she met Link's eyes again. House arrest might be the tiniest bit less bleak with a handsome ruffian hanging around. At least her day might be spared a minute of boredom here and there. 

"I suppose you're the lady of the house?" he asked.

She hadn't realized she'd created an awkward silence. "My name is Zelda."

That wasn't exactly an answer to his question, but he nodded as though it was. 

Link brushed a hand through his hair and she noticed a bit of it was tied back in a knot.

She tilted her head, fascinated.

His hand landed on the back of his neck. "So, any particular reason you're out here freezing to death with an iced coffee? Some religious rite?"

She exhaled a laugh. "No. I…Well, I don't have a good answer. I just planned my morning walk poorly."

Link's eyes sparkled amusement and his pretty white teeth flashed visible as his smile broadened. "Hm. Seems painful. You know we can see our breaths out here?"

She hadn’t. But she realized this guy would be distracting her father for the next few minutes so she'd have time to sneak breakfast, get another coffee, and run back upstairs to hide until lunch.

"I was about to go back inside."

He tried to mask it, turning to walk towards the house, fist to his mouth, but she heard the squeaky giggle under his fake cough.

Zelda stepped lightly onto the driveway and shuddered at the frigid stone beneath her already frozen feet.

She walked on tip-toe a step behind Link, momentarily dropping to her heels just to confirm her suspicion that she was taller than him.

She studied his little half-ponytail, tied in a blue hair-band. It was kinda messy, but it suited him. 

He checked over his shoulder, slowing in step with her.

She averted her gaze and raised the straw of her cup of coffee. It was nearly a frappe now. It made her shiver.

She heard him exhale through his nose and her heart sped up in embarrassment.

He was different from anyone she'd ever met, she knew right away. He was nothing like the High School boys who pestered her constantly and wore five layers of body spray to mask their sweat. Her college night classes were filled with middle-aged full-timers trying to climb out of some rut or another.

She'd never met a guy who could affect the pace of her heartbeat; not in any way that was pleasant. He was older, clearly. She could tell he was more mature and storied just by the way he walked, eyes fixed ahead, carefully matching her pace. Plus, plus , she went to a stuffy, strict private school. She wasn't familiar with pretty guys with long hair and such strange, bold fashion.

She was so very fascinated by Link, she didn't notice they'd reached the door to her house.

A moment's pause and he opened the door for her.

"Thank you," she said, walking past him onto the rug. It burned her numb skin to return to a normally tempered room.

"It's good practice, huh?"

Whatever that means.

She shrugged.

"Could you show me to Mr. Hyrule's office?"

Absolutely not. 

She pointed down the hall that veered to the right past the large staircase. "Third door that way. Just knock. I'm sure he's there. He's always there." She thought she was a bit better at hiding her emotions, but after the week she'd had, she was too tired to hide. Her face pinched into a frown. She felt her already tingling cheeks heat-up. 

Link was standing in front of her now, about to follow her directions. He seemed to look right through her, as if unfurling a film roll of memories from her whirring mind.

"I hope all goes well for you!" she chirped so he’d quit looking at her like that.

He dipped his head. "Thanks, Miss Zelda. Hopefully I'll be seeing more of you." He locked his fingers and made a pleading motion.

That tugged a smile back to her lips. For once, a handsome older boy was flirting with her, and in an entirely respectful way. Flirting? She remembered the ugly bruise on her face and gravity pulled her heavily back to earth.

"Mhm," she mimicked the prayerful gesture, they exchanged a lingering smile, and parted ways. What was she thinking? Even with a bruise she was gorgeous. And that dress was figure-flattering. Ha. 

He’d flirted.

Chapter Text

Chapter Two

August 31st

By the first day of school, Zelda's bruise could easily be hidden with concealer.

Her boiling rage however, was impossible to hide.

She should've known that her father would carry out his threat to the highest letter.

That thug, Link, must've interviewed well. He got the job as a staff member of Rhoam Hyrule.

Good for him.

Ocean blue eyes met hers in the rear view mirror.

Zelda squinted. "Just so there's no pretense, I know exactly why you're really here. This isn’t a convenience for me; having a driver. You are my prison warden and a spy. I hope you understand that makes you my enemy. There will be no pleasantries between us from now on. Mark my words."

Looking back and forth between the road and the rear view, Link had no reaction. "Enemy, huh? Is it as bad as that?"

"Oh, it is and worse." She crossed her arms and huffed, slumping back in her seat. "I suppose he's told you of his rebellious, ungrateful brat who sneaks off like a typical teenager? You have no idea what's actually going on, so tell him my every move, collect your paychecks, but don't you dare think your job is noble."

Link had the nerve to grin. "Uh, I don't think you know why people have jobs. I'm not trying to be a hero here."

"I know you're doing it for the money, of course. I'm just saying there's no reason to feel good about it. My father is out of his mind, spying on his own daughter. There's nothing to spy anyway. You won't have anything to report."

"If that's true, why are you so upset about having a driver?"

"Because you're meant to be a spy!" She cleared her throat, embarrassed to shout at this stranger. "His worries are unfounded."

"So you weren't secretly taking evening classes at the community college?" He sounded so nonchalant.

Zelda's mouth fell agape and childlike shame rushed through her veins. "H-How dare you?"

He shrugged. "Sorry, you're right. I run my mouth, Miss. I'll try to nip that."

"You do that," she said in amazement.

He really was brainwashed by her father. To speak to her so bluntly, with no respect, his only job was as an evil henchman and he obviously meant to play that role to perfection.

Day two was uglier.

Zelda rushed past Link before he had the chance to open her door. She got in and slammed it shut.

She watched through the tinted window, hungry for a reaction.

He didn't even pause or jump-scare at the loud slam of the door. He turned and walked to the driver's side as if he had shut the door himself. He got in the car, looking obnoxiously pleasant.

Oh, Zelda was seething. "So, you're back for another day as a watchdog, I see."

"You don't need to be surprised to see me from now on, just so you know. I'm very dependable, Miss."

She could've spit. "With your obviously low standards and willingness to do dirty work, couldn't you have any old job? Why choose to be a professional stalker? Unless you're sick."

He feigned ignorance at her meaning. "I'm not sick. And this is an excellent job, much better than anything else I might find. It's not easy finding work." There he went again, looking at her through the rearview. It gave her the creeps. He should be keeping his eyes on the road anyway. He was going at the very top of the speed limit. 

If Father knew of this recklessness would he even care?

"Is it so difficult to find work?"

He smiled. "It was."

"Why? Are you a felon?"

Finally, she got a reaction, even if it was far from the one she wanted.

"Hah!" His eyes lit up in amusement. "No, Miss. Your father didn't hire a felon to drive you to school. Your relationship must be worse than I thought."

"If not a felon, what? Some small-time criminal record? Did your weed get confiscated?"

"Goodness," he grinned, shaking his head in amusement. "I'll tell you just to stop your guessing. I didn't get to finish high school. It's almost impossible to get a job without a diploma."

"Ah. That does make it hard to get rid of you. You'll prefer this to being a pizza boy or a sign spinner, I suppose."

"Yes. Sorry, Miss."

She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her phone, scrolling through pictures of people she barely knew who'd only asked for her socials to say they had a senator's daughter for a "friend". The app only held her attention for about ten seconds before she felt the need to say more. 

“This is a farce. Father may be frustrated with me but it is an obvious waste to make sure I go to school. I have a perfect attendance trophy sitting on my desk."

"That is weird. I wonder why he'd go so out of the way in this specific aspect if you never miss school. Where else would you be during the day? Your teachers could report just as well as I could. It must be centered around actually getting to and from school, even though I do guard you all day."

"Guard me?” Zelda scoffed. “Aren’t I lucky to have a protector! Don't you dare speculate with me as if you're on my side. This has nothing to do with you and if you knew what sort of man he was you would not wonder about my father’s erratic behavior. I am ruined in his sight now. He hates me and wants to punish me. You are the punishment. Is your curiosity satisfied?"

"I apologize."

"You can let me out here." They were a block away from her school and she didn't feel she could stand to be in this tiny box with Link another second. His presence was stifling.

"I can't do that."

Zelda nearly broke a sweat at the extra thirty seconds it took for him to halt at the entrance. Again, she refused to give him a chance to play "Gentleman Chauffeur" as if this was some luxury. She opened the door, got out, slammed it, and marched away without looking back.

September 4th

Saturday was the worst day of the week

"I wouldn't have expected you to hire such a suspicious person as my driver. Do you mean to leave my life up to chance?" Zelda was to the point of recklessness, to engage with her father at all, let alone with a bite to her words.

Her father flicked his newspaper down halfway and looked across the breakfast table at her.

"What are you on about? Have I played a trick on you, girl?"

She dipped her head, humbled, but not entirely swallowed by fear. "Your boy, Link. I understand you wish to monitor my coming and going, but I'm baffled at you hiring a random person off the street."

He raised a thick eyebrow and took a drink of his black coffee. The spread of breakfast between them would go mostly uneaten. They were both coffee addicts with no stomach for large breakfasts, but for some reason he insisted on these awkward Saturday mornings.

Zelda chased a strawberry around her plate with her fork.

"I am always sorry to hear when my daughter is ungrateful for my gifts. You know that is a sore-spot for me, Zelda."

"I didn't mean to be ungratef…"

"And yet every time I see you, you lash out, if I see you at all. You avoid me like the plague. I'd swear you wish for me to join your mother."

Every time. Every single time, he used her mother's death to shut her up. Because it worked. She swallowed her emotion with a drink of her iced coffee.

Zelda's mother, Meira, died when Zelda was six years old. She’d married Rhoam when she was still a teenager. Zelda resigned herself to the fact that she would never find out why. Meira told Zelda that she was a precious gift, curing her mother of loneliness in a big, usually-empty house.

Zelda clung to the memory of her as tightly as she could. Her mother was a beautiful, warm, kind person. In Zelda's recollection, her feet never touched the ground while her mother was alive for how much she was held. Meira carried Zelda around everywhere she went, covered her in kisses, pinched her cheeks, called her Little Bird, and sang her to sleep each night.

That was Zelda's one taste of love. She promised herself she'd never forget it. She'd never disrespect her darling mother's memory by forgetting what being loved felt like.

But, God, had she left a gaping hole in her wake.

"You're such a lonely child. Much of that stems from your naivety. You have no clue who can and cannot be trusted. Your punishment is a necessary means to an end in a situation of your own making. I have to know that you are where you are supposed to be. Now, I chose someone trustworthy that I thought would be enjoyable company. Not everything I do has some ulterior motive, Zelda."

She was still certain of the motive, but the conversation was over. "Yes, Father," she croaked.

He grumbled and cleared his throat before stuffing a bite of egg into his mouth.

It nauseated her so she looked down at her own plate. She took another sip of coffee.

"I suppose you checked the shared calendar?"

She barely nodded.

"And you won't argue over this?"

Zelda had been planning to argue about the schedule he'd laid out for her, but her spirit was broken. "No, I won't."

"Good. I'm delighted we've found a way for you to pull your weight. Link will drive you to the Dragmire building. Mr. Dragmire and his son have very graciously invited you to tour the building and see the view from the rooftop of the city. They have even prepared a luncheon. I was in disbelief when The Dragmires suggested this. It can only mean one thing. Ganon has taken notice of you at school. You will be the perfect, well-bread, picture of elegance. Your goal is to impress upon them what a happy family we are; that the Hyrule name is respectable. Mr. Dragmire controls the Dragmire conglomerate and it is considered the most influential vote for any city election. Gaining his vote is of the utmost importance."

Zelda felt a panic attack coming on.

She forced herself to meet his eyes as he continued.

"If my daughter is in a serious relationship with his son and is the picture of a perfect daughter-in-law, the vote is mine. I will remain in office and be able to continue providing for our family." He punctuated his words by stabbing his fork in the air between them. "Obviously, I have been working on Dragmire myself, but Ganon! How did you manage this?"

Should she be honest? Tell her father that every day last year the idiot jock slammed against her locker, pinning her in against it, and asked her out, touched her arm, bragged about his "big wins" in the most recent football games, and made her wildly uncomfortable with his advances? The second he'd seen her since school started back, his nonsense resumed. But this…He must've caught onto their fathers' back and forth and was using it as a pretense to force her on a date. If it wasn't so terrifying, she might be impressed with his cunning.

"I can't take much credit as far as charming him. Our lockers are near each other so we talk from time to time. He's quite friendly."

"Mm. Excellent. That is excellent. I am expecting big things from you today, Zelda. Remember, getting closer to his family is your prime objective until the election is won. I'm putting you to work. No distractions."

"Yes, sir."

"If you're done eating you may as well go get ready. Link will be here in an hour."

"Yes, sir."

"Quit pouting, Zelda! I swear, if there was a way in the world I could teach you just how privileged  you really are…But I have to play the doting father even if you are impossible to please behind closed doors."

"I…I'll go get ready."

He flicked his hand dismissively for her to leave and for once, she was grateful to the man. 

_

Link was in as good a mood as ever. He'd only gotten more irritating to her with each passing day. To think, upon their first encounter, she had found him attractive! Looking at him now, she realized she must've been insane from distress. It was the only explanation for why she'd take notice of such an odd, arrogant person. 

"So you work Saturdays?"

"I guess I do if you have somewhere to be."

She nodded. 

Her nose was still stuffy. She'd caked her face in foundation and concealer but she couldn't hide her bloodshot eyes and the fact that she had to bring a tissue to her nose every few minutes. She could tell by the look on his face when he'd opened the door for her that Link had noticed, but as a small mercy, he didn’t say anything.

She stared out the window at the passing trees, leaving their house about thirty minutes outside the city where it was still rural country-sides and scrubby forests. Zelda had a fresh cup of iced coffee that she was trying to conserve to get her through the forty-five minute car ride to the Dragmire building. Who toured some random sky-scraper anyway? Was it cool? Probably just a bunch of desks and windows, same as where her father's city office was.

"Have you been to The Dragmire Tower much?" Link asked, moving his gum to his cheek.

"Do you have to smack your gum so loud?" she countered.

Every word that came out of his mouth was perky. He seemed to find her suffering quite amusing. As if he'd read her mind, he blew a bubble, then met her eyes and grinned.
"Can you even see behind the car with the mirror angled in my face?"

"Yes, Miss. It's pointed at the back window. Since you're sitting in the back, though, it catches you in the crossfire."

"I am in no mood for your quips!" she spat, her face reddening.

He rolled down his window and spit his gum out.

She sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry." He actually sounded serious. "I was trying to cheer you up."

"That is unnecessary. I would much prefer peace and quiet on the way there. My nerves are bad enough as it is."

"Ah. Yes, Miss."

Why she kept talking was beyond her understanding. "I am under immense pressure with this meeting. My father expects me to single handedly win over The Dragmire family, with what? And that ass of a son- Link, I did not say that. Do not repeat me."

"I won't," he said. She believed him since he didn't react with even the tiniest sign of surprise.

"Well anyway, that ass, Ganon, is all over me at school. He doesn’t understand the word “no”. And I kid you not, this morning my father said that today I should act like "the perfect daughter-in-law". Throw me out of this car going one-hundred miles-per-hour if that oaf ever gets a ring on my finger."

Link saluted obediently. "We'll get you a fake passport and I'll sneak you over the border. How's that?"

"Even better than a violent death, I'd say."

Link replied with his now-familiar giggle.

Zelda understood even better why her father had picked this guy. He was manipulative. She'd almost forgotten he was a spy and her prison warden; the one literally driving her to this horror-show, just because of a few jokes and smiles pointed in her direction.

At least the exchange passed some of the time.

_

Ganon Dragmire required no description. Picture every 80s movie high-school bad-guy, bump up the height about 5 inches, and you've got it.

He was an enormous quarterback with beady eyes that made Zelda feel like he had x-ray vision and was using it to look through her clothes.

When Link opened the car door for her, she found for the first time, she was in no hurry to leave. Instead, she left her phone in her seat on purpose and leaned back in to pick it up. When she stood she met Link's eyes.

"Fake passport?" he whispered.

"Huh? Oh…I'll text you if I need a getaway driver," she said with a thin, forced smile.

"Always on the ready, Miss."

That weirdly made her feel better. She inhaled a sharp breath, straightened her tweed blazer and walked through one of the three rotating glass doors in front of the foreboding Dragmire Tower.

Chapter Text

Business suits rushed in and out of the doors around her. She closed her eyes as she entered the grand front room. The ceiling seemed so high it should reach the very top of the building, but she knew it didn't by a longshot.

Marble floors echoed with incessant clicking of shoes blending with a cacophony of voices.

Somehow, she saw Ganon almost immediately. He stuck out like a sore thumb in his letterman jacket, about a head taller than everyone else in the hall.

He raised a hand as she approached.

She faked a smile and waved back. "Hello, Ganon," she said once she was close enough to talk. She had to crane her neck to meet his eyes.

He grinned like a wolf. "Hey, cutie. Glad you showed up."

"Of course!" It was so insincere and they both knew it.

She gave him the nastiest frowns in her repertoire while at school.

That never seemed to matter.

"Come with me. We'll catch up with Dad in his office."

"Sounds good."

He put a hand on her lower back and she had to force herself not to shudder.

Zelda cringed at the fact that no one else caught the elevator with them.

So she was stuck with him.

"How's it going?" Ganon asked when the gold doors shut in front of them.

"Very well, thank you. It's a nice day."

"It is a nice day," he hummed.

"I hear there's a game next weekend. I'm surprised you aren't practicing today," she said with a smile.

He crossed his arms and gave her a smug look. "I don't need practice. But yeah, I'll only have about an hour for this thing before I have to go keep the team in line."

"Oh, what a shame." Her heart fluttered with delight. Her father probably didn't know what a brief rendezvous he was sending her on. She could hardly acquire a marriage proposal within an hour. Funny, driving forty-five minutes to visit someone for an hour.

"You know, Zelda, it's a big deal to me that you took me up on lunch."

"Oh I just-" she started with a nervous laugh.

He cut her off. "I've been thinking a lot. We make sense, you and I. We are both at the top of our fields. You, with your grades and nerd stuff or whatever. Me, star quarterback. And don't take me wrong, your nerd stuff is totally not a problem since you're hot. It's just ugly nerds that are at the bottom of the food chain. You're perfect."

"Oh, Ganon, I am far from perfect. You are out of my league, as you said. You're the star. I'm just…"

"You're perfect." He looked at her like he was the lead in a cheesy romance movie. It wasn't a good look on such a naturally menacing face. "You've got the face, long hair, and mini skirts. It's cute, what a prep you are. You'd look good wearing this jacket."

She had to control her face from turning incredulous when she looked at that gigantic jacket. It would reach her knees.

"And most importantly, you are the hottest girl in school."

"No I'm not! What about Riju?" Zelda bit her tongue. Why'd she throw Riju under the bus like that?

Ganon laughed. "Face it, Zelda. You've got the body. No guy could help from noticing."

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open just as Ganon was looking her up and down.

Her shoulders dropped and she exhaled silently as he walked out the door in front of her.

Regretfully, the pointless tour of the stupid building had to be canceled because of Ganon's practice schedule. He'd only found out yesterday about the change in plans and Zelda could sense his disappointment.

His father was surprisingly pleasant.

Demise Dragmire was slightly smaller than Ganon with ginger hair and a bushy mustache. His suit coat and tie were draped over the back of his desk chair.

Zelda couldn't help but be confused to see a man of her father's age and status look so casual and down to earth.

He shook her hand, looked her in the eye, and gave her a friendly smile.

"Hi, Miss Hyrule. It's so nice to meet ya. Ganon speaks very highly of you."

"Oh, I'm certain he exaggerates."

Ganon laughed sweetly, apparently a different person in front of his father.

"No, no, don't be modest," Mr. Dragmire said, gesturing for them to leave the office. "Ganon says you're the smartest girl in the whole school. And he says it's a fact! You have the highest grades of anyone, am I correct?"

"Oh, well I…I'm not sure about that."

"She's lying," Ganon piped up. "She has trophies for it."

Mr. Dragmire just chuckled at that.

The view from the roof was impressive, although Zelda had seen the city from many different angles, including taller buildings and helicopters. Still, she pretended to be wowed.

The lunch spread was nice. A table was set up near the concrete siding near the edge of the rooftop with a white linen tablecloth and settings for three.

Ganon pulled a chair out for her and she thanked him quietly.

He moved his chair closer beside her as his father settled across from them.

Mr. Dragmire gave a squinty smile as he looked at them, hands folded in front of him. "Cute," he said, as if she and Ganon were already a couple!

Zelda was surprised to be served red wine. She'd only ever had it at fancy parties in her own home, and even then she much preferred champagne.

"We have a vineyard in the country," Mr. Dragmire explained, evidently noticing she was caught off guard. "It's beautiful out there. Especially in summertime."

"It's not too far from the city," Ganon said. "Perhaps we can go sometime."

"Absolutely you'd be welcome," his father said.

"Ah, that's very kind." Zelda hesitantly took a sip of the bitter smelling stuff. She was well trained in social etiquette so she was used to pretending she liked whatever she was served no matter how much she hated it.

"Mm, that is excellent wine," she said, swirling it in her glass like she wasn't seventeen and with a much stronger affinity for Dr. Pepper.

Ganon watched her as she took a finger sandwich and a few sticks of little cheese blocks and put them on her plate. In fact, he didn't take his eyes off of her the entire time she ate. It was disturbing and gave Zelda no chance to check her smartwatch.

As they started on dessert she was given some chocolate cake that she felt was a peace offering from the universe.

The cake even took the bitter taste of wine out of her mouth. "May I ask, what bakery is this cake from? It's incredible." She only addressed the older Mr. Dragmire the whole time as she actually didn't mind his company.

"Kakariko Cakes," he said proudly. "Best bakery in town. Do you know about it?"

"I don't. I'll certainly be visiting now though."

"Yes, ma'am. They're down 71st. Big sign out front. You couldn't miss it."

"Can't miss it," Ganon repeated.
She had felt an energy coming from him for the past five minutes like he was gearing up to do something. His eyes looked like the devil.

"Everyone is hooked by the first bite." Well that was sinister.

There was rustling under the table cloth beside her. Then a hand landed heavy on her knee.

She gasped but Mr. Dragmire didn't notice. He was still talking about cakes.

Zelda angled away from him and cleared her throat.

He tightened his grip.

She broke out in a cold sweat and cut Ganon a sideways look.

He turned and met her eyes defiantly. 

He knew . He knew she was trapped because of her father's election. His hand trailed up and Zelda weighed what was scarier, this, or living with her father if she failed him. She bit down hard on her lip and mustered up every meager ounce of self respect within herself. She inhaled a deep breath, a second away from crying out and probably slapping the wicked meathead in the face.

Ganon's hand left her leg at that moment. He stood, his chair grinding against the concrete. He shook his head remorsefully, giving Zelda a pointed look. "This was all I had time for today."

Zelda paled and tightened her nails into her fists.

"Ah, has it been an hour already?" Mr. Dragmire exclaimed.

"Yeah. We'll do it again soon though, huh, Zelda?"

Her throat was dry. "Yes, thank you for lunch, Mr. Dragmire." All she could muster was to speak to his father. She couldn't possibly look at Ganon again.

"Of course! I trust my son's judgment, and I have been proven right in doing so. You are as lovely as he said you are."

"Ah-haha, I enjoyed this too," she said, her voice stilted.

"It's a date then," Ganon said.

And both men saw her off to the bottom floor, thank heavens. Who knows what would happen if Ganon and her were alone together again? She pushed the thought away as she waved goodbye to them and headed out onto solid ground and safety, out of the clutches, at least for the moment, of Ganon.

There was the shiny black sports car parked in front of the wide-open concrete path leaving the tower.

Link stood outside the car in a no-parking zone with his hands clasped together, staring up at the tall building.

"How did you know to park here and step out in front of my door all the sudden? I didn't tell you the meeting was cut short," Zelda said as soon as Link noticed her.

His eyes darted to the left. "Uh, I just circle the block. I happened to want some fresh air just now. Great timing."

She got in the car, heart still racing nauseatingly fast, and her head spinning with ways to get out of this. She was completely cornered. As Link merged into traffic and they started for home, Zelda stared into space, coming up with half-baked ideas and reasons they'd never work.

"How was lunch?" Link asked.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"That fun…?" he muttered.

___

Link was so nosy. She could feel him just buzzing with curiosity and she knew for a fact it wasn't just a matter of his duties as a spy. The way he'd been speculating about her and her father since his first day on the job proved he was intrigued by what went on in her household.

And really, him circling the block and stepping out for air was an obvious lie. 

At that realization her anxiety only worsened. Was she being paranoid?

She glanced at Link, then at her watch. A sudden realization struck her and her eyes widened. She'd forgotten to buckle up, which served her well to throw herself forward between the front seats to glare at him from closer up.

"You're tracking me!"

Link did not blanche. He met her eyes, not in the mirror, but turning his head so that he was right in her face. He gave her a look that said plain as day that she should've known.

"I'm really not supposed to say. If you go and yell at your dad about that, I'll be in hot water. I know you don't care but…" He didn't finish.

She threw herself back and tapped furiously on her phone.

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"Open your phone," she commanded.

"I'm driving-."

"Give it to me then."

"Come on, you know I can't do that."

"So it's not enough to know where you've dropped me off and stare at the door? You need to see exactly where in the building I am too?" She didn't notice that her voice had risen to a shout until just then. "I'm a prisoner. There are ears everywhere in my own home. I'm in plain sight at school. I don't get to drive there myself anymore," she pointed to Link. "And now, the one time I was alone, the one thing I did for myself, the classes I took out of money that I was told was mine to use…have been taken away and replaced with…" She couldn't even utter the words, the nausea rising from her tight stomach, so violently it felt like she might throw up. "My father is using me as a cheap whore!" she screamed, her whole body burning with hatred and anger as she shook involuntarily, unable to calm herself at all. "If I'm forced to date that boy…He really will…My father really is…"

"Zelda?" Link's voice was firm and louder than necessary.

"What?" she yelled.

"Did that guy from school do something to you?"

"What?" she said, quieted suddenly. 

"You said you didn't want to go to lunch with him. Is he hurting you in some way? In any way?"

For a moment, through her hazy vision, Link almost looked heroic.

She stared at him, amazed at the heat in his question and his tight jaw, like he cared, like he might do something if she said yes. She bit her lip.

He met her eyes in the mirror and she looked away.

Her head was killing her. She groaned and rubbed her eyes.

"It won't do to keep it a secret, Miss."

She realized suddenly he'd called her by her name a minute ago.

"If you feel threatened by someone, if you're unsafe, whatever conflict you and your father have, he needs to know."

Zelda's eyes snapped back to him. The pedestal she had momentarily placed Link on shattered into a million pieces.

He was the enemy. He was a spy. His only loyalty was to her father.

"Don't ever speak to me again. I don't care that we have to spend every single day together, I don't ever want you to talk to me again, Link." Her voice was low and robotic.

"I-I-Miss, I'm sorry. I only meant-"

"You don't need to talk with me. Everything you need to know is on your phone, where you watch my every move, right? So not another word." 

She hated how betrayed she felt. She knew he was against her from the moment he started this job. How foolish to have actually been roped in by yet another person who didn’t care. He was using her as much as anyone. He played nice with her and got paid at the end of the day.

"Miss Zelda, I didn't mean to…"

"It doesn't matter what you meant. I don't want to talk to you. We aren't friends. I don't think chauffeurs normally talk on the job anyway."

"Alright," he said quietly. "I'm sorry."

The rest of the drive was horridly quiet.

Link opened the car door for her and she walked past him, eyes downcast, like a prisoner marching to the noose.

_ 

Zelda pushed open the tall, heavy door to the house and shook off her jacket.

Impa, the maid rushed to meet her.

Impa was twenty-six with long, platinum-white hair and dark eyes. She had, in Zelda's opinion, the ideal figure paired with toned muscles. Everything about Impa exuded strength. Ever since she'd started working in the house five years prior, Zelda had idolized her; perhaps because she was the only person in the house who didn't fear Mr. Hyrule.

Impa took her blazer. "What happened? You look like a kicked puppy." 

"Where is Father?" she croaked.

"Ah, he was called away on business. He won't be back until way after dark."

It was too good to be true. Zelda went weak at the knees and Impa caught her by the arm.

"Whoa, there. Never mind what happened. I'm putting you to bed." She put a cold hand on Zelda's forehead and led her towards the staircase.

"Thank you," she replied airily.

Chapter Text

September 4th

The next day, before she'd even left for school, her father texted her as follows:

"?"

"Lunch yesterday went very well, I believe. Ganon asked me to be his girlfriend, more or less. And I hit it off well with Mr. Dragmire. He was pleasant. I was on my best behavior at all times. No mishaps"

"More or less"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"What's more or less mean?"

"Sorry yes he did ask me out. He didn't say the word girlfriend, but he said that he and I make sense together and that he'd like to continue going on dates. He was clear."

"Keep it up."

It was very painful to have to be honest with him, but she knew Ganon would somehow make sure her father found out his intentions, so she'd better get to him first.

At least it wasn't a face-to-face conversation. Hopefully she could avoid seeing Father until their next fun Saturday morning.

And on to the next awkward encounter.

Zelda stepped outside to the driveway without making eye-contact with Link.

The door was opened by an invisible presence, she got inside the car, and the door was magically closed.

Twenty minutes to school; the academy was in the suburbs that separated the city from the country.

She sipped on her iced coffee and played Korok Crush on her phone. It was an intense meditation.

See, hear, and think of nothing but whacking the little sh**s on the head to take their seeds.

Ugh, she tried so hard not to stew on it, but part of her regretted taking out her anger on Link.

Nothing was personal on his part. Really, as far as staff members went, he was going out of the way to be helpful, foolishly thinking that if her father was aware of what a cad Ganon was, he'd do something about it.

And it wasn't Link's idea to track her, to be sure.

All of this, every single problem was her father's fault.

So she had nothing personal against Link either. But he was her father's eyes and ears, and that meant she could not engage with him.

The silence remained.

September 9th

While every minute at home was spent camping out in her room, hiding from her father, and her car rides were miserable, school took the cake.  

Ever since last weekend, Ganon had gotten even bolder. She didn’t think that was possible. The whole school was aware of their relationship, and Zelda went from flying under the radar to being one half of the “it couple” at school. Every moment she spent out of class, Ganon’s arm was around her, his hand on her shoulder, creating finger-shaped bruises on the soft skin of her upper arm. 

Out of sheer indifference, Zelda avoided looking into the rumors floating through school about her. She wasn’t interested in what anyone in this place thought of her, as long as they left her alone. She was never left alone, though, and every lie somehow got back to her. She was baffled by how many girls were jealous of her. Baffled. 

Take him. Please. No, really, be my guest. 

With every nasty glance from a pretty girl, Zelda only felt frustrated at their lackluster approach. 

Don’t glare at me. Get to work and seduce him!

The rumors about her were uninspired. She’d been with the whole football team. She and Ganon had been together in secret ever since Junior High. She was a tramp. She was a slut. She’d somehow brainwashed Ganon into being with her through some feminine witchery. Alright, the one about her literally casting a spell on him was mildly amusing. 

But, like? What. Ever. 

Ganon held more sway in this school than she’d realized. He somehow got her lunch hour moved to match his and now she was forced to sit between him and “Master Kohga”, Ganon’s mindless lackey. She wondered if she was losing weight by picking at her lunch each day and holding her breath while the hoard of boys funneled their food. 

Ganon was quiet and smug when they were around other people. He only added the odd quip to conversations while the other boys yelled over each other and flicked napkins and straw rappers at each other. 

Ganon commanded respect. If he did speak, his team got quiet. 

The worst time of day was at the lockers. 

It was that time where Zelda had to switch out her thick science textbook for the history book and her French notebook. 

The science book was snatched from her hand and tossed onto the shelf of her locker. 

She lowered her eyes, resigned to the imminent manhandling. 

Ganon turned her around by her shoulders, causing her to stumble. He caught her by the waist with one hand and slapped his other to the wall, stepping forward until she was pushed so close she couldn’t help her little fists being on his chest. 

His dark eyes danced up and down her and he scoffed a laugh. “Hey, Princess.” 

“Hello,” she said, trying to avoid eye contact. 

“I missed you.” 

“Haha. We saw each other at lunch.” 

He leaned so close his hot breath was on her. 

“That was hours ago,” he said, his voice deep and tinged with a longing that sent goosebumps up the back of her neck. “You smell nice. Is that perfume?” 

She squinted her eyes shut, trying to project her consciousness to somewhere, anywhere else. “I’m not wearing perfume.” 

“Wow,” he breathed. “I guess you’re magic.” His hand dropped from the wall. He traced his fingers down her bare arm. 

“Ganon, please…You know I don’t…” 

“Shh. What would your father say if he heard you weren’t being a team player? We’ve all gotta play our parts, Princess.” His voice was such a horrid whisper. 

“Why me?” She kept her eyes lowered, nauseated by his hands drifting around her waist and arm. 

“Poor thing, you just don’t see it.” He clicked his tongue. “Somehow, I’ll make you realize why.” 

She inhaled a sharp breath. “It’s almost time for class.” 

“Mm. We don’t have much time.” He leaned in and her heart plunged to her stomach as she was gripped with horror. He brushed his lips along her forehead to her hairline. 

The bell rang like a sound from heaven and he froze. 

He let go of her, stepped back, and smiled like nothing at all had happened. “Bye. I’ll see you later. We’ll go out soon.” 

_

Zelda couldn’t stop shaking for the rest of the school day. When she walked to the car, she met Link’s eyes. She didn’t normally look at him, especially not if he was facing her. 

Something about locking eyes made her want to cry.

He gave her a small smile and opened the door for her. 

She cleared her throat, stifling the emotion that was trying to choke her up as Link shut the door behind her. 

—

A gentle pat on her hand drew her from a light, uncomfortable sleep. 

The car was parked in the driveway of her house. 

She picked her head up off of the window and rubbed her neck. She’d been pressed to the door so she supposed Link had awoken her this way instead of opening the door and letting her fall on her face. 

When he saw she was awake he gave her a thin smile and got out of the car.

September 10th

Riju was hot. Like, hot hot. A smoke show. And it wasn’t just her looks, although that went an awfully long way. She emanated cool confidence. She acted as though she was born to lead a small country and was just making do with this school. Zelda had always admired her utter disinterest in others, and the way she’d effortlessly climbed the social ladder while being the type of girl that every other girl secretly hated and longed to befriend. Yes, if Zelda cared anything about having friends and wasn’t allergic to popularity, she could see her and Riju being friends. 

Zelda didn’t run into her much, though. They were in the same grade and shared some classes, but being of seemingly similar temperaments, they never reached out to each other. There was no reason to. 

But now, with all the dirty looks that surrounded her, Zelda couldn’t help but think of The Queen Bee’s take on all of this. She was certainly above dating Ganon. She’d never been known to even have a boyfriend. 

So when Zelda walked into the girl’s bathroom to touch up her eyeliner and saw Makeela Riju at the sink, curiosity got the better of her. 

“Riju,” Zelda said, approaching the girl in the adorable grey vest, matching shorty-shorts, and a pop of color; yellow pumps. 

Riju tossed her long red hair over her shoulder and met Zelda’s eyes. Then, before replying, she bent down and scanned beneath the doors of the stalls. She straightened up. 

“Okay, what?” 

“I have a question.” 

Riju cracked a smile, probably because Zelda didn’t take the slightest offense at Riju not wanting to be seen with her. “Shoot.” 

“Do you hate me?” 

Riju’s eyes widened and she placed her hand on the side of the sink, leaning sideways against it. “Uh, no, Zelda. I don’t hate you. Why do you ask?” 

Zelda hugged her arms around herself. She was a good bit taller than Riju. Right now it just made her feel self-conscious. “Most girls in this school do. You’ve probably heard the rumors flying around about me.”

Riju laughed. “Yeah. I heard you’re an actual witch.” 

Zelda cracked a smile. “That’s my favorite one, as well.” 

Riju’s expression softened. “I don’t hate you. I just don’t understand you. You’re supposed to be smart. You always kept to yourself. Like…I thought, you could be popular if you wanted to be. But I guess you were just waiting for the right moment.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Dating the quarterback.”

Zelda lowered her eyes. “It’s utterly ridiculous how many girls are jealous. I can’t comprehend why—.”

“Wait. Do you not actually…like him?” Riju asked, whispering the last words. 

Zelda couldn’t answer. She just looked into Riju’s eyes. It was explanation enough. 

“Wow. That sucks. I don’t know what’s up, but, like, I hope you come out of this okay, girl.” 

Zelda dropped her head. “Thank you.” 

“I still won’t be seen with you. I have to survive too, ya know.” 

“I didn’t expect you to be my best friend. I just wondered what your perspective was because I’ve always respected you.” 

Riju gave her a wistful smile and took a deep breath. “Well, I gotta get to class.” 

Zelda just nodded.

The beautiful, dark skinned girl exited the room and Zelda started digging through her bag for her eyeliner. 

It felt nice to know at least one person in this school knew she wasn’t an airheaded slut. Not that it mattered what anyone thought.

Chapter Text

October 5th

Every morning, Zelda exited her house and Link was waiting in the sprawling circle drive right by her front door. He'd dipped his head and opened the door for her, and she sat down in the back seat without a look or a word to him.

She had no idea how he felt about these daily car rides to and from her academy since the incident in the city, but it was becoming unbearable for her.

She stared at her phone and sipped on her coffee, trying her best to pretend she was alone.

Ever since that day, he didn't speak a single word to her. Not a sound left his lips.
Zelda had nearly forgotten what his voice sounded like. Even his high-pitched giggle that had been so distinct was forgotten.

It had been over a month since Link started working as her driver, but now, they were perfect strangers in Zelda's mind. "It should've been this way all along," she'd think to herself. 

Link dropped her off at school and she stepped out into the sunlight. She  sighed. If she kept her sunglasses on all day, everyone would think she was hungover. Obviously she wasn't. She just hadn’t been able to sleep the night before, mind buzzing with ways to emancipate herself from her father without ending up as a beggar on the streets. She’d awoke at 6AM with her laptop open on a Wikipedia article about the history of atomic theory. Her estimation was that she’d finally filled her head with enough distractions to crash around 4AM. 

School was hell. The days wore on in a blur of meaningless social activities and classes she didn’t need. She’d had to go sit and clap on the metal bleachers a few times for Ganon’s games and practices. He caught her at her locker most days just to scare her, it seemed. He always toed the line, holding her just tight enough to frighten her, leaning just close enough for her to fear a kiss. 

Her father checked in now and then, and she’d report the latest “date” at school, or something Ganon had said that seemed like a furthering of the relationship, and he’d give her a nod or a grunt of approval. 

Zombified more than usual, she muddled through her day of classwork. Compared to what she’d been doing at her evening classes, this was all so simple she could do it in her sleep; fortunate, since she basically was. 

Ganon was the same as usual. Conversation over lunch rang in her ears and gave her a headache. Later in the day, he caught her after she’d already closed her locker, so he’d been a bit less friendly, instead grinning at passersby as he twirled her hair between his fingers. 

Zelda barely felt anything at this point. Even the harassment had become routine, since she’d grown practiced at mentally checking out, counting backwards in French in her brain or running through the periodic table. 

_

By the last class of the day, the weather had taken a drastic turn.

Rain beat against her classroom window so hard she thought it might shatter the glass. Thunder rattled her desk.

Zelda felt uneasy by the greenish color of the sky.

Her teacher droned on like nothing was wrong. She looked around the large classroom, filled with windows all the way up to the high, curved ceiling and she boggled at how none of her classmates looked worried.

She forced herself to take a deep breath and gripped the sides of her desk, waiting for it to end. Hopefully the storm will pass quickly. She hated the thought of driving, well, riding in this weather. 

After school, she braced herself to get soaked on her walk to the car. As always, she avoided the crowd of students bustling through the main doors, instead slipping to the side door near the cafeteria. It led close to where Link parked, anyway.

She'd never encountered anyone going through this door so as soon as she swung it open, her heart leapt to her throat. She nearly bumped into a boy crazy enough to be standing still as a statue in the pouring rain.

" Link ?"

He just dipped his head and opened up an umbrella.

She squinted, barely able to see through the rain spilling between them from the top of the doorway. "That won't do any good."

Link had the nerve to hand her the umbrella.

Chivalry is dead.

He shook off his long coat, ignoring her, and stepped closer, under the umbrella that was shielding the splash off of the roof as she stood within the building. 

She leaned back and frowned.

He didn't even meet her eyes as he draped the warm, heavy coat over her shoulders.

Zelda was too stunned to protest. Besides, her pink blazer and mini skirt were swayed. She stared at him, unable to breathe as he stayed in her space, still blocking the sheets of wind-blown rain with his own body, and reaching for the top button.

His hair stuck to his face and neck and sent raindrops dripping down his skin. He was flushed from the cold wind, and his eyelids were lowered as if he was lazily reading a magazine instead of standing in a violent storm.
Against her will, Zelda's eyes traveled down to his white dress shirt which was now stuck to him and see-through.There was something on his shoulder, barely visible under the sheer fabric. A tattoo winded from his shoulder down his right arm in a geometric square pattern. She couldn’t make out the details. Confused and inexplicably curious, she stole a glance at his muscled torso. Why didn't he have an undershirt?  It was weird not to wear an undershirt. She knitted her brows. He was still busy buttoning her coat, so she checked to make sure she hadn’t been caught staring. 

He was already looking her in the face. 

She dropped her eyes to her shoes, horrified at herself for studying him, and even more horrified at being caught. 

He stepped back and took the umbrella from her before turning on his heels and standing at her side. He angled the large umbrella close to her head so that her face and hair didn't get wet, then he grabbed her arm.

She tensed. That seemed unnecessary.

Link was unshielded from the rain and still his pace was measured so that he kept in step with her as she hurried to the best of her ability in her heels.

She wasn't looking ahead; focusing carefully on the puddles they were stepping past.

He stopped abruptly, and Zelda flinched. They were right by the back passenger door of the car. He reached for the handle.

"Um, Link?"

He looked at her, surprise lighting his big blue eyes. 

"I'd like to sit up front today." She had to speak loudly over the downpour.

He opened the front door for her and she slipped inside quickly, not wanting to keep him in the rain a second longer than she had to.

He might be her enemy, but she certainly didn't want him to suffer.

After her door was shut, Zelda assessed herself. There were barely any droplets on her hair or face; his coat had protected her all the way down to her stockings. 

Link got in the car, umbrella twisted closed at his side. He looked like he'd been for a swim.

Zelda's heart pounded as he started the car, maintaining the silence she'd requested three weeks prior. She inhaled a deep, steady breath and put on her seatbelt. "Thank you," she muttered.

He kept his eyes fixed on the road.

"I…I don't know what you were thinking, going to all that trouble. You're going to catch a cold now. Whatever nonsense Father told you about watching out for me in addition to spying, you shouldn't risk your own health just to keep me out of a bit of rain. Despite what you may think, I won't melt."

Silence.

"Like...The Wicked Witch." She didn't even bother hiding her cringing.

The windshield wipers screamed across the glass, barely knocking off any water before it was replaced with another splash. Zelda couldn't imagine how he could even see. She straightened up in her seat and gripped her hands tightly together, trying to stay calm as the car sloshed through the river that had replaced the street.

"It's very uncomfortable not to talk at all. It's my father who's in charge of you, so I don't know why you obeyed my request to keep from speaking. You've been so faithfully quiet. Um, please, will you…speak…if you want to?"

He must not want to. Why would he? After all the yelling and then ice…

He must despise me.

A crooked smile spread across his face. He cut her a brief glance. "The ban is lifted?" There was no bite to his words.

"Yes, I regret my outburst that day. I was harsh."

His smile remained and his eyes were unreadable.

"Don't worry about it." His voice dripped with amusement.

"That's it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Three weeks of silence and all you have to say is "don't worry about it"? Aren't you angry?"

He raised his brows and tilted his head. "Eh, you were pushed past your limit that day. There's nothing worth being angry about. Besides, I don't mind quiet."

Zelda twisted her whole body to face him. "I wouldn't call what we've had "quiet". It was icy, bitter silence."

"Was it?"

Zelda shook her head in amazement. "Weren't you wildly uncomfortable?"

He emitted that squeaky laugh, even taking a hand off the wheel to bring the back of his hand to his pretty white teeth as he giggled.

"Are you completely oblivious? Are you dull?" she exclaimed. She wasn't trying to make him laugh, but at the question she sent him into a further fit of laughter. "It's not funny! And will you pay attention to the road? We might die in this rain."

"We won't die, Miss," he said, calming down and putting both hands on the wheel.

Zelda huffed in irritation and brushed her fingers back through her hair. She mustered up more courage. "I'm curious about something, Link. I-If you really aren't angry with me, and you don't mind questions."

"Sure."

"What are your meetings with my father like? I know you won't give me details. I'm not mining for information. I'm just wondering, do you see him as a good boss?"

His smile didn't totally disappear but his eyes were serious now. "Uhhh, listen…Good bosses don't necessarily make good dads. Know what I'm saying?"

She shook her head "no".

"He pays me great. I don't report to him every night or whatever you might think. The only reason I'd have to talk to him is if you tried to skip school. I mean, in case you haven't noticed, I'm off the clock after I get you home from school."

"So you don't talk to my father much?"

"No. The job is just driving you around and sitting in the car. It's not the exciting stealth operation you're imagining."

"Did you tell Father about my outburst? That I called Ganon crude names and complained?"

Link shook his head "no", looking at her like that was a stupid question. 

“I wouldn’t tell on you for venting. I wouldn’t tell on you for much of anything, like I said. As long as you don’t run away, my lips are sealed.” 

“You’ve certainly proven yourself to be discreet,” Zelda said quietly. 

“Oh, with the not-talking? You have a lot on your mind and lots of people need silence while they think. Not like you have a lot of places to sit and think on your own, huh?”

“I spend all my time at home in my room.” 

“Mm. Then…maybe you don’t need solitude.” 

Zelda played with the plastic buttons on his coat, her face hot with embarrassment. “I would rather be alone than in bad company. If you weren't like-minded with my father, you might be good company.” The words tripped awkwardly off her tongue. 

“Like-minded? Who says we’re like-minded?” he exclaimed. 

“Aren’t you? You said that I should tell him everything about my time with Ganon, and you brought up my college classes disdainfully. I haven’t forgotten who signs your checks, Link.” 

He exhaled a deep breath, eyes fixed out the window, cheeks ruddy from the cold. “Okay. I messed up when I suggested you talk to your dad. I was wrong. I just knew that there weren’t a lot of authorities in place to protect you. I shouldn’t have said that. And the classes thing; I didn’t mean anything by it. I may rub you the wrong way, but that doesn’t mean anything I say is coming from Mr. Hyrule. I barely know him. I haven’t sworn loyalty or anything, I just work for him. You think every pizza boy is a mirror reflection of the owner of Pizza Cabin? Huh?” He leaned sideways towards her. He was being cute. 

The teasing look in his eye gave Zelda a rush. “I suppose I made some wild assumptions. I— Link !"

Link gave her a confused look as they idled at a stop sign.

"You're shivering."

"Mm?" He looked down as if he should see for himself.

Zelda frowned, scanning him. He had goosebumps and his whole frame trembled slightly.

"Is that all?" he mumbled, knitting his brows. "There's someone behind us." He resumed the drive.

The car was warm so he must've gotten so cold he couldn't thaw out.

Zelda began unbuttoning the coat she was bundled up in, again cast into guilt. "I'm so sorry. This is terrible." She shook out of the coat and looked over at him. "I'm not sure this will do much good with your clothes already wet but we must do something until we get home." She reached over, propping one leg on her seat to get closer and tossed the coat toward him.

He must be freezing because he let her drape the coat over his shoulders. He leaned forward as she tucked it behind his back and straightened it best she could over his wet shirt. "Oh, it's such a long drive," she groaned. "Let's turn the heat on."

"No. It'll fog up the windshield."

"Should we pull over somewhere? Is there a store?"

His grin returned and he exhaled a laugh. "Zelda, I'm fine. I'm going to drive you home, okay? That's the plan and it's a good and safe one too."

"It's too far," she whined.

"No it's not."

"After all of this trouble I’ve put you through, I may as well have you catch a cold," she mumbled. 

_

"Impa!" It was Zelda's turn to drag Link by the arm.

He had protested going inside, but Zelda was delighted to learn what a pushover he was.

He drug his feet as he walked behind her, still weakly pulling against her as she led him through the entryway.

"Should I take my shoes off?"

"Whatever you want. Impa!" She didn't let go of his coat sleeve for fear he'd make a break for the door.

He was looking around the sprawling front room that led to an excessively wide staircase up to the second floor.

On their left was an archway to the dining room, and on the right, the smaller of their living rooms.

Link's mouth was agape as he leaned forward to peak towards the living room.

"You've been here before. Why the inspection?" 

"Oh…I was on my best behavior. I made myself focus on where I was going. It's rude to gawk." 

"But now you can gawk?" 

"No, it's just a pretty house, is all."

"It would be polite to just thank you but I haven't anything to do with it. The architecture and décor was all done by professionals."

"It looks…professional," he said, still craning his neck to see as much as possible.

Somehow, Zelda hadn't noticed how young he looked. Up to that point, he'd carried himself so professionally. On their first meeting, she was struck by his maturity. Ever since, she was looking at the back of his head. Now she wondered as she looked at his baby-face if he was close to her age. 

He tore his gaze away to meet her eyes. "Um, where are we going?"

"Come with me. Impa must have something on the stove. She can't hear anyone when she's cooking." She let go of him, sure that he was too curious about the house to make a getaway.

He seemed to attempt memorizing the dining room as they passed through it to get to the kitchen.

"Link?"

He didn't answer.

"Perhaps I'll give you a tour sometime. Since you're part of the staff, it's only natural for you to be familiar with the house." As soon as she said it she felt a stab of regret. What if Father wasn't comfortable letting him in for fear of him stealing? Link was poor and might be desperate.

"Better not. I don’t think it’s good for me to even be in the house."

"No?"

She stopped before the door to the kitchen and they turned face to face. In her heels she was at least four inches taller than him. She couldn’t hide a smile at that. 

He tilted his chin up, meeting her eyes. He was still shivering.

"I mean, I'm the driver, not a maid. There's no good reason I should be here, as far as my job responsibilities go."

She looked in his eyes and placed her hand on the door. Link wasn't a thief.

"Come here. Don't feel uncomfortable, please. Father is away. He's been staying in his office in the city day and night lately. Besides," she leaned closer, whispering conspiratorially, "all the maids are scared of him, except Impa, but she doesn't talk to him either. No one will say you were here."

"Zel-Sorry, Miss. If I have a tracker on you, don't you think he has a tracker on me?"

"He does?"

Link shrugged as Zelda took his arm and led him through the kitchen door. "It's just a guess. Probably. He seems to like trackers." He said it so innocently.

Zelda wondered if he was just another victim of her father, desperate for a job, giving up his freedom.

Stop going soft on him, Zelda! He holds an umbrella for you once and all is overlooked? He's tracking your every move for your father!

"Impa!" The kitchen was empty and clean, no sign of cooking, not even meal prep. Zelda tilted her head and pouted. "Where is everyone?"

"Could they have left because of the weather?"

"They live here. Well, they live in the apartment out back. Perhaps they did take the night off, since Father won't be home and I don't care what they do. Hm." Zelda walked across the white and silver kitchen, her shoes squishing and clicking against the tile. The kitchen was a wide open space surrounded by a wrap-around countertop. Her face flushed and her throat went dry. Was she alone in her house with… a boy ? She needed to stay calm and remember the point of bringing him in here. He was soaked in rain. He needed to be warmed up…

Okay. Maybe don't look at the overarching issue, but the small steps she needed to take. What all had she intended to ask Impa to do for him?

Deep breaths.

"Hang on. Sorry. I'll handle everything."

"I'll just go home, Miss. Your maids aren't here and I told you I'm fine. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I'm not uncomfortable!" she cried, far too loud and hasty. "I'm putting a kettle on. You can't leave now. Take your shoes off so they don't make you sick." She took out the kettle before he could say a word and she rushed over to the sink. The window over the sink let in the sound of rain through the glass. It was starting to sound like hail was falling. The sky was dark but she still noticed a slight green hue to it. She frowned and filled the kettle with water.

Link had already turned the front burner on and was holding his hands over it, even while he twisted against the floor to wedge his shoes off. 

She set the kettle down and unbuckled her shoes. She threw them across the floor so they'd be out of her way while Link put his socks and shoes neatly in front of the cabinet. 

Zelda looked down at the little puddle surrounding her stockings. She looked down at her skirt, debating whether it would be crazy to remove them here and now. The knit stockings didn’t even reach the bottom of her skirt so it’s not like she’d be revealing any skin that would normally be concealed. 

His attention was back on the kettle anyway. His hands hovered at either side of it to keep close to the source of heat. 

“You like tea?” she asked, tucking her fingers under the dry lace top of her right stocking. She began rolling it down her leg, reaching the soggy fabric just above her knee. She grimaced at the unpleasant feeling. 

When Link looked at her, his lips tightened and his glance shot back to the kettle. “Yeah,” he cleared his throat. 

Zelda shook her head in remorse. “You’re already getting a cold, aren’t you?” 

He shook his head, his eyes darting to her for a split second. “Nah.” 

Zelda tossed her stockings across the floor to join her shoes. Why this was noteworthy, she had no clue, but she re-measured their height difference now that their shoes were off. Hm. He wasn’t much shorter. Maybe an inch. 

“Well, that’s enough dilly-dally from me.” She headed for the other door in the kitchen, leading to the hallway. She held up her finger and raised her brows, looking at Link. "Stay,” she commanded. "I'll be right back."

He gave her a small smile. "Okay." He breathed the word instead of speaking it.

As soon as she had a moment alone, panic overwhelmed her. The air was punched from her lungs and feverish heat claimed every bit of her. 

She leaned back against the door with her hands spread out at her sides, clinging to the frame, staring at the wall in front of her. She closed her eyes.

Deep breaths, deep breaths, deep breaths, deep breaths, deep breaths.

This morning, she wasn't on speaking terms with him! Now, she was holding him hostage in her kitchen. And…turning red at the memory of him standing so near, buttoning her up in the coat that still had traces of his own body heat, his face flushed from the wind, and his’ sacrificing his own comfort for her out of the kindness of his own heart. She closed her eyes and shook her head violently to expel these pointless, confusing thoughts. Then she remembered his mysterious tattoo and the spiral continued full-force. 

When she returned to the kitchen, Link was just moving the squealing kettle from the burner.

Wow, she'd worked fast. She was still catching her breath from tearing up the stairs, through her room, and back like a lunatic.

"Here." She handed him two big, pink, fluffy towels and a pajama set. She sat a pair of socks atop the pile.

He blinked down at them. "What's this? Whose clothes are these? I'm not taking anyone's clothes."

"I told you that you'll catch a cold if you don't take measures to combat it. And they're mine-But I've never worn them! See?" She held up the tag on the collar of the fleece shirt for him to see. “And they’re unisex. I brought you the blue set.” 

"I can't take your clothes, Miss. Did you forget I'm your dad's spy?"

The real answer to that question was a resounding "yes". 

"No. But that doesn't matter right now. Imagine how terrible I'll feel if you get sick on my account. Go dry off and change. I need to handle the tea situation."

His frown deepened as he looked down at his handful of towels and clothes.

"I don't need two towels either."

"Nonsense. Of course you do." She took the top towel from him and unfolded it. She stepped closer and swung it over the top of his head, covering his hair. "You need one for your hair. We're not heathens, are we?"

His face got redder but a smile pulled at his lips.

Wind howled outside and hail crackled on the roof. She stepped backwards and clasped her hands together.

"The restroom is out this door and to the left," she said, turning her back on him abruptly.

He barely put up a fight before obeying her order. She was glad, since her father kept the house cold and Link's face had never gained its normal color, still pale with a red flush across his nose and cheeks.

Link scuffled back into the room wearing the pajamas and thick socks with a towel still around his neck while his hair dried. It was bizarre to see him out of his uniform: a simple black suit and white dress shirt. And his bangs were fluffed into his eyes. He looked like a child who was up past their bedtime.

Cute .

Zelda forced herself not to get caught staring again and cursed herself for the way her heart fluttered.

"Alright, we have Green Tea, Jasmine, Jasmine Green Tea, English Breakfast, Oolong, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Chai, something called Mintha? that I've never seen or heard of…"

Her eyes widened as she glanced sideways.

Link was peering over her shoulder at the cabinet full of stacked tea boxes; five shelves of them.

"W-We also have lots of herbal teas. And we have multiple flavors of many of the ones I mentioned." Her voice had gone higher.

His hands were on his hips as he frowned up at the tall cabinet. "So you have every tea."

"Which do you want?"

"I don't care. I like everything."

She laughed even while her heart was beating so loud she was scared he could hear. "No preference at all?"

He shrugged with a blank expression on his face. "No. I haven't tried most of those. But I like everything."

"Something you've already tried then?"

"Okay."

"Which have you had?"

"Uh, the normal ones." He pointed to the bottom shelf, his arm brushing against her shoulder. "Black, Green, Chai."

"How about Chai? It's good for stormy weather."

He nodded and moved away from her, leaning back against the counter. He sighed heavily and crossed his arms. He pouted out his lower lip and fixed his eyes on the floor. "I should get going soon."

Some insane part of Zelda's mind had hoped he would stay; that tornado alarms would go off and the roads would flood and he'd be trapped.

She just nodded and fixed up their cups of tea.

 _

"Miss?"

"What started you calling me that? No one calls me that; none of the staff. Did you get that from Downton Abbey or something?"

He cracked a smile, his expression more familiar, like when he was in the car and in his element. Ever since they'd walked into the house he'd been shy.

"You and your dad both talk like you're in Pride and Prejudice. How was I supposed to know?"

Zelda scoffed. "It's called an English accent and it isn't exclusive to fiction."

He giggled.

"What were you going to ask?" She tapped her fingernails on her porcelain cup.

They were leaning side-by-side against the kitchen counter, sipping their tea, while Zelda tried not to become visibly nervous.

"Oh, well, I kinda wanted to say something. I wanted to say it for a while, but I worry it won't come out right."

Her stomach leapt. Again, wild delusions raced through her mind.

"About that day…"

"I didn't apologize properly, Link. I…"

He waved his hand. "No, I just wanted to explain. It might not matter, I dunno." He rubbed his nose and took another drink. "That day was the first and last time I used the tracker."

"What?" She pushed off the counter.

His face was going redder; the blush spreading down his neck. "My job description isn't to spy on you. The word your father used was "watch". I don't exactly like the idea of being a professional stalker." He laughed weakly and fidgeted with his cup between his fingers. "It doesn't make anything better for you, I guess it's selfish, but I like to think of watching as, um, looking out for you. You don't seem to have…Well, I shouldn't say that…" He took a sharp breath.

Zelda was shaking. "You can say. Please."

"It doesn't seem like there's a lot of people looking out for you. So that day, I went too far." His voice was so soft. "When you talked about that Ganon guy pushing you around at school and seemed worried about going in there, against my better judgment, I stuck my nose in it, and I opened the map. I could see if, hah…I'm an idiot. I could see if you got stuck somewhere. It had the building layout."

Zelda was reeling. "You were making sure I was safe," she said under her breath.

Link winced and rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. "I should go." He downed his tea in one go and checked out the window. "It's not raining as hard now."

"Are you sure?" She coughed, trying to hide the tremor in her voice.

He dipped his head. "Yes, Miss." He attempted a terrible English accent.

"Zelda," she corrected with a smile.

He sat his cup down on the counter and pulled the towel from his neck. "I forgot. I totally just left the other towel on the bathroom floor."

"It's fine."

"Oh God! And my clothes. My clothes are in there. Crap, that's my only suit." He started to go grab it and she caught his arm.

"Link, did my father buy that uniform?"

His face fell and he nodded.

"Just wear something else tomorrow. I'll have it dry-cleaned by the time we get back tomorrow evening."

His eyes flashed in panic. "But they'll know."

"That the chauffeur's suit needed to be dry-cleaned after the terrible storm the day before? God forbid," she said gently.

"I…Are you sure? I don't have anything nice for tomorrow."

She pursed her lips and gave his arm a pat. "You have a solid alibi for the whereabouts of your suit. Not a soul will hear about your' having a cup of tea."

He smiled and dropped his head, his hair falling in his eyes. "Thank you."

"I'm just trying to atone, Link. You needn't thank me."

"Well I thank you anyway. Where should I put this towel?"

Zelda took it. "The storm isn't too bad to drive in?"

"Nah." Reluctantly she began following him towards the kitchen door. He stooped to pick up his shoes, then they went through the dining room.

She saw him out, grimacing at the pouring rain and wind. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. See you in the morning, Zelda!" He skipped down the steps and gave her one last smile.

"Be careful, Link."

He saluted and got in the car.

She watched until the car was out of sight, then lingered a bit longer, hugging her arms tight around herself.

What was all that? What had just happened to her?

She walked back inside, rubbing her eyes and chewing her lip. Usually, her mind would be going a million miles an hour over an unusual social encounter. But she was too tired to think. It was rare that her brain so kindly shut up.

Zelda set about destroying any evidence of Link. She wiped up the water droplets on the floor, washed and put away their cups and the kettle, put the towels at the bottom of the dirty clothes hamper so that they'd blend in, and finally, she gathered up his suit off the floor.

She carried it to her room and hung it up neatly in her closet. She'd hand it to Impa in the morning. It would be perfectly natural for her to get it from Link if it needed to be cleaned. She was the only person in the house he ever saw. No, no one would suspect that Zelda had spent the evening alone with him.

She thrilled and grinned to herself at the scandalous concept.

When she'd changed and fallen into bed, her thoughts were hazy and scattered by approaching sleep.

He'd never properly spied on her. He hadn't reported her suspicious activities to her father. He'd worried about her during her lunch with Ganon. He was so dashing when he'd shielded her from the rain.

From there, her thoughts became less intelligible; images of his wide-eyed gaze as he entered her house, or when he'd wrapped his coat around her and she got a good look at his physique (she was too near sleep to be ashamed of herself for picturing it in every single detail), his shy smile, his weird laugh, his messy hair…

All of her stresses normally plagued her as she laid in bed.

Instead, tonight, she sunk into the most pleasant dreams of her life, which could wait to stress and plague her in the morning.

Chapter Text

October 6th, 7:00 AM

"I'm sorry I abandoned you last night, sweetie," Impa said. She was making the bed while Zelda changed into her school clothes.

"That's alright. I'm glad you got a night off. You deserve it."

Impa paused, holding a sparkly pink throw pillow. She looked at Zelda skeptically. "You weren't scared, here by yourself?"

Zelda laughed, heat rushing to her face. Why did Impa have to be such a morning person? She hadn't had a sip of coffee and already Impa was giving her the third degree.

"No. I'm not scared of storms."

Impa placed the pillow in the center of the arrangement and brushed past Zelda to gather up her pajamas. "Okay, well, we wouldn't have left except that Mr. Hyrule said for us to."

"He told you to?"

Impa stood up straight, right in front of her. "Since he wasn't worried about you running off in this weather." Impa never sugar coated things. If Zelda ever whined over receiving a cold hard truth, Impa would say "Don't be a baby." .

"Ah." Zelda dropped her head. "I'm sorry. I suppose that means you've been working overtime because of me."

Impa kicked back her heel in a little skip as she headed for the door. "I need the money," she said in a sing-songy voice.

Zelda scoffed out a laugh. She was dreading her task. She'd been so cool about it the night before, but now she had no idea how she was going to ask Impa to dry clean Link's suit without turning red. Impa would see right through her. Zelda didn't know what she'd see…but Impa would know and then tell her and that was the last thing she needed.

"Impa?"

"Huh?"

"I need you to take something to the dry cleaners today."

"What? You spill coffee on your Valentinos? Again?"

"No!"

Impa turned around to face her and cocked her head. "Well? Give it here."

Zelda shuffled across the room to her closet and took Link's suit off of an empty rack. "Link's suit got wet in the storm." Her face was red for sure.

Impa frowned as she took the suit and dress shirt from Zelda. "Link? You mean your new little cabbie?"

"Father's spy. Correct."

Good play, pretend you feel the same as you did yesterday morning.

"Aha, aren't you clever?"

Zelda sat down on the bed and grabbed her shoes, just to be doing something. "Whatever do you mean?"

Impa gave Link's suit a smack with her other hand and Zelda jumped with surprise. "I worried you wouldn't see past his pretty face. He was definitely just hired to make sure you didn't go anywhere on the way to and from school." Impa squinted. " Zelda has no business being anywhere but school and home. It's for the good of the family ." She had been perfecting her Rhoam Hyrule impression for five years.

"I knew he was a spy on the first day, Impa. As soon as Father said he was hiring a driver for me I knew the play."

"Atta girl. I should've given you more credit. I just got nervous when Paya started going on and on about him."

Zelda stood back up. Her eyes widened. "Paya…She what?" She fell in step with Impa as they left her room and headed down the hall.

Impa bumped her shoulder as she leaned sideways to Zelda and lowered her voice. "I swear that girl writes about him in her diary. You know she has a diary."

"Who keeps a diary anymore?" Zelda . Zelda still kept a diary.

"I know ! But anyway, the first time she saw him through the window, saw the little twerp just standing in the driveway, her face went bright red. She was loading the dishwasher. If I hadn't caught it she would've broken a plate."

Zelda met Impa's eyes, her face contorted in dismay. "Oh my God."

Impa shook her head and sighed. "I can't stand you having to ride around with him. How your father justifies seeing you off everyday with some twenty-year-old punk is beyond me."

Zelda furrowed her brows. "Twenty? Is he?"

"What, you didn't think he was older did you?" Impa squinted at her.

Zelda shook her head. "If anything, I'd guess him to be younger."

The pair stayed in step with each other while they walked down the wide staircase.

"Ah. Well, anyway, don't fault little missy." Impa had a habit of using codenames to gossip about people safely around the house. "She doesn't get out much so she's probably never even seen a real man. Let her daydream. But I'll knock her out if she goes near him. For her own sake, obviously."

"Uh-huh…" Zelda fixed her eyes on her shoes as she followed Impa into the kitchen. "You don't think she would…go for him, do you?" Now she was afraid her mask had cracked with the tremor in her voice.

"Ha! No way. She can't even look me in the eyes, she's so shy. I can't imagine her approaching someone romantically. Don't fret. There's no way this operation lasts."

"You mean Link working for Father?"

Impa shot her a look as they entered the kitchen, but her shoulders dropped when she saw that Purah was the only one in the room.

Purah was Impa’s big sister. She’d been hired in summer to help Impa out with the housework. She’d just graduated college, even though she was nearly thirty. Impa and Purah weren’t from a rich family, and so it had taken Purah a long time to achieve her goal. Now, she was working part time until she found just the right job to commit to. Apparently, she wanted to be a professor of some kind. Zelda didn’t know what she’d gone to school for, though. 

Purah looked a lot like Impa, if not a bit softer and with a smaller frame. She wore big red glasses and always had her hair twisted into some wild updo, her fashion sense far less practical than Impa’s. 

"Hey." Impa walked briskly to the other door to take the laundry out.

"Hey," Purah said without looking up. She dropped what she was doing and started making Zelda's coffee without a single glance at her.

"Zelda is trying to get us caught talking about people," Impa teased.

"Who are we talking about?" Purah grinned.

"We're talking about the new driver."

"Aaaah," Purah said knowingly. "And we are speaking freely about him, I see."

Impa gave a firm nod, clearly ready to dunk on him.

Zelda was sick of the conversation though. She was about to have to see Link, too. She needed to prepare mentally and emotionally. He'd be here any moment. Her heart raced and it wasn't because of dread or anxiety.

Help .

"Personally, I'm thrilled we finally have some eye-candy around here." Purah braced herself before Impa moved a muscle. She got a balled up sock thrown at the back of her head and she squeaked. "Here's your coffee, Zelda!"

"Thank you. Impa?" Zelda started chewing on her straw the second it was handed to her. "He needs it back by this evening. Father bought his uniform and he doesn't have a spare."

"Fine. Fine." Impa pushed the door open with her back and disappeared, her quick footsteps getting quieter as she headed for the laundry room.

Zelda heard the car pull up and her heart leapt.

Purah walked over to the sink, craning her neck out the window. "Grr, he's compact. I could just eat him up!" She checked Zelda's expression and laughed maniacally.

Zelda had no idea what face she was making. She sighed heavily. "Bye, Purah."

"Bye bye, Zelda. I'm just messing around. Don't fire me, ‘kay?"

"Okay." As if she had that kind of power.

_

"Hi!" Link waved as Zelda walked down the brick stairs to the car.

"Good morning," she said, forcing a smile through her panic. She was already worn out for the day from that brief conversation with Impa. And there was Link, wearing street clothes, not looking anything like a chauffeur. He was wearing a teal t-shirt that turned his eyes a brighter shade of blue, dark jeans, and some battered brown tennis-shoes. His tattoo was visible, turning from squared lines twisting inward into a black ring just above his elbow. 

"Y'okay?" He opened the back door for her.

Didn't she look okay? Did she have to sit in the back? Was that a rule? Did she have the nerve to ask him?

"I get carsick," she said suddenly, eyes wide.

"What?"

"Oh, um, I think I'll sit up front today, if that's alright. I realized yesterday, I…felt much better riding up front." Zelda wanted to kick herself. She couldn't breathe.

He was confused. Clearly , he was confused. She sounded like a babbling idiot. He shut the back door and stepped backwards, then opened the front door.

"Thank you."

She accidentally made eye contact with him as she stepped forward to get in and for a moment, they were only inches away from each other. Oh no, she'd paused. As soon as she realized she wasn't moving she hurled herself sideways into her seat. The coffee lurched in her cup with the momentum of her jarring movement. Thankfully, it only spilled on the rim of the lid.

The door shut and she took that moment to suck the coffee off the lid.

When Link opened the door, her mouth was still on the rim.

He grinned.

She blushed and switched to drinking out of her straw like a person.

"I thought it was the coffee making me feel nauseated but turns out it was not being able to see out of the windshield." She gestured to the windshield.

Why was she lying?

"Oh. I don't know why you were sitting in the back anyway." He exhaled a laugh. "It's probably like me calling you "Miss". I just opened the back door for you on the first day like I was a limo driver."

Zelda smiled. "I never know what is a rule Father has set and what is an affectation."

Link drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "Me neither."

Zelda fidgeted in the silent car. It reminded her of how she'd demanded they never speak again and the unbearable quiet she'd created for so many weeks. 

She'd been so awful. And he'd been so kind.

He'd checked on her while she was with Ganon.

Zelda almost felt dizzy at the memory of Link's words.

"That day was the first and last time I used the tracker."

She hadn't thought about it again until now, probably trying to preserve some level of sanity in her whirring mind. It was too much at once. For someone to change so drastically in her eyes in one day…How in the world was she supposed to act now?

"I'm sorry, Link."

It seemed he'd been as lost in thought as her. After a few beats, he seemed to register she'd spoken. He did a double-take at her and frowned. "Sorry?"

She picked up her coffee cup and stirred the ice cubes with the small radius of her straw, staring down at it. "I've treated you so horribly. From the very start I've been hostile and blamed you for things that were not your fault. And you couldn't even retaliate because it's your job to-."

"Zelda, I never wanted to retaliate." The softness of his voice made her heart flutter. "Anyone would be angry, put on such a tight leash. I mean, God, it's not normal, you know."

"But you weren't the one to be angry with." She looked out the window and realized they weren't too far from school. Disappointment and relief played beachball in her stomach.

"You weren't upset with me, I don't think. Especially that day. I just felt sorry for you but there was nothing I could do."

She swallowed a lump in her throat. "I don't deserve that," she said quietly. She took a drink, trying to swallow all the emotions at war within her.

Heavy silence.

"Why don’t we forget all about it? If you feel so guilty, make it up to me. I want you to quit worrying about it. All that stuff, the past few weeks, in this car, forget it. That’s my request."

She met his eyes. "How?"

He shrugged and smiled at her; that easy, careless grin that lightened her worries. "We'll be on pleasant terms. You see, there's only one person I see while I'm at work. It's not Mr. Hyrule. Besides, technically I'm not a spy, Zelda. That's not the job title. And I was never told I had to keep you in the dark about what I do and don't report. Was that implied?" He bobbed his head. "I've had a lot of time to think. And I know I can do my job well without totally," he inhaled a sharp breath, his gaze dancing around as he searched for the words, "ruining your life."

She smiled and bit her lip.

"I will inconvenience you with my presence, sure. But I'm not going to grill you or be responsible for taking away any more of your freedom than I already have."

"Like I said, Link, you're not the one at fault. In fact, you've been…very kind." She nodded as punctuation.

"Well I appreciate that." He mimicked her nod.

He slowed to a halt and Zelda startled at realizing they were now at the academy.

She grabbed her coffee and bag and opened her door. "Oh." She slowly brought her hand back and turned to Link. "I didn't mean to be rude. Should I have…Do I need to allow you to…" She realized how insane she was only as she started to say it aloud.

A wide, toothy grin spread across Link's face. "Listen, I'm sick and tired of being hindered in my professional responsibilities, okay? Let me do my job."

Zelda laughed but she was mortified. She eased the door to a close without tearing her gaze from his.

"Good." He got out of the car and rushed around to her side. He opened her door and contorted his face to keep from laughing.

She tucked her hair behind her ears and stepped out of the car.

"Watch the curb." He pointed at the pavement in front of her feet.

"Thank you," she said under her breath.

She shifted on her heels and waited as he shut the door and stood up straight.

His smile faded as he met her eyes.

She was doing it again. She was staying still too long. "Bye."

"Later!" He clicked his tongue, winked, and headed around to the driver's side.

 Zelda forced herself to turn around and move towards the school, across the long stretch of pavement as memories of the day before replayed in her mind. It was as if she could still feel his hand on her arm as he'd protected her from the rain. There were shrinking puddles here and there on her way to the side door to the cafeteria.

It doesn't get much more ridiculous than blushing over a puddle.

_

"How was school?" Link asked as Zelda got in the car.

She thought he'd close the door and she'd answer when he got in the car himself, but instead he propped his arm on the door and smiled down at her, his eyes bright and playful.

"Fine. Uneventful."

"Uneventful's good, right?"

She caught his meaning.

"Indeed."

Zelda couldn't keep the surprise off her face when it was Link who lingered, holding her gaze a few beats longer than was natural.

His eyes darted up over the car and he knocked on the roof before shutting her door and getting in on his side.

"Hungry?"

"Hm?" She tilted her head in confusion at him.

"Are you hungry?"

She wasn't sure. She never ate breakfast so lunch always felt like breakfast, especially since she had the earliest lunch hour, 11AM. By 3:30…Yeah, she was usually ready to get home and eat some pretzel chips to tide her over until dinner at 7. She checked her watch. 3:37.

"I don't usually eat until 7."

"Dinner at 7?" Link exclaimed. "God, I think I'd die!"

"When do you eat dinner?"

He frowned at her between checking the road as he drove. "Well I grab something on the way home as soon as I hit that Crispy Chicks outside of town."

She crossed her arms. Why'd he have to ask if she was hungry? She tried not to think about it. Now she felt the emptiness of her stomach.

"Then I eat dinner at 6ish."
"Crispy Chicks isn't dinner?"

"Dinner at 4? You're crazy. No, that's just to get me through the drive, changing, and cooking. I hate cooking while I'm hungry."

She grinne.

He's weird.

"If you aren't hungry when you make dinner, why do you bother with it?"

He scoffed. "Bother with it? It's dinner. Plus cooking makes me hungry. I'm starved by the time it's ready. Plus I'm a snacker. Are you a snacker? Is that how you get by?"

"I eat pretzels when I get home sometimes."

"Soft pretzels?"

"No," she smiled. "Pretzel sticks. I'll have a bowl of them and a Dr. Pepper while I study."

"That doesn't sound like enough. No. I couldn't do that. Anyway, are you hungry right now?"

"Yes."

He turned his blinker on a street earlier than he normally did.

"But we can't go anywhere except for school and home." She drew her legs up in the seat and faced Link worriedly.

He gave her a sly look. "I texted Mr. Hyrule to get clearance."

Zelda gasped. The idea of willingly texting her father over a trivial matter was the maddest thing she'd ever heard.

"I just asked him if food was an acceptable stop as long as I was supervising. He said it was fine, as I expected he would. As long as I'm here, right? That's the whole point."

"Th-That's lovely. I can't believe you just…asked him."

He shrugged. "Doesn't hurt to ask."

She raised her brows and laughed. "Yes it does."

He sighed through his nose. "What do you want? I'll take you anywhere."

She thrilled at the way he said that. "I don't know. I never go out."

"No favorite spots?"

She shook her head. Impa always cooked. The only times Zelda ate out was with her father at five star restaurants where he picked their orders.

"Hmm…" Link turned another corner. Clearly, he had something in mind.

This greasy diner in the middle of nowhere came under Link's highest recommendation. He said he got takeout here when he didn't feel like cooking dinner.

Zelda probably seemed foolish when they first walked in. She'd pinched Link's sleeve in both of her hands and giggled at him like a little child.

"It looks like the 1950s!"

She cringed remembering that statement and the way Link had laughed at her.

They sat across from each other at a booth next to a large window shaded by a poster advertisement aimed outside.

"Whatever you pick I'll want to try yours, but I'll share mine too. That's a tradition I'm staunch on no matter who I'm with."

"I don't know what to get," she said, scanning the menu frantically like she was being held at gunpoint.

"Need help?"

She nodded, feeling ashamed of herself. She could pick her own clothes, décor, and even meals at home. It was the idea of picking at a restaurant. It felt like it wasn't allowed. Father always picked the courses when they went out.

Her anxious spiral of self-discovery-turned-self-loathing was interrupted by Link sliding into the booth beside her.

He took the menu from her shaky hands and flipped it up in their faces. "Breakfast or lunch? They serve breakfast 24 hours."

She stared through the menu as their bare arms pressed together while he held the menu closer.

"Breakfast."

"Mhmm. Mhmm." He folded it so that only the breakfast side of the menu was visible. "Well, it's easy to pick. It's pretty much going to be a waffle or pancake stack of some sort with a combo of eggs and an option of different meats."

Zelda's heart was in her throat. She felt more sick with anxiety than she had at any point the day before. Not only was she having to pick her own meal at a restaurant, which she couldn't seem to get out of her own head about, but Link was breathing down her neck about it.

He nudged her arm and she reluctantly faced him. "Bacon, ham, or sausage links?"

"You pick."

"Impossible. Let's get all three. How do you want your eggs?"

"Scrambled."

"Excellent choice. Lastly, waffles or pancakes?"

She took a deep breath and looked at the pictures on the menu. "Waffles."

"Nice. They have the best Belgian Waffles ever." Link slid out of the booth and sat back across from her.

Her eyes drifted down to the pictures of milkshakes at the bottom. She couldn’t help but stare. It seemed like an essential part of a diner experience. They had milkshakes at the diner in “Grease”. It was so classic. The pink strawberry one looked so pretty with the whipped cream and cherry on top. 

"We'll have the breakfast #7 with ham, bacon, and sausage, all three, and scrambled eggs. And lunch #3, please. Zelda, what kind of milkshake did you want?"

"I-I'm not sure."

"Chocolate, Vanilla, Banana, Strawberry, go!"

"Strawberry!"

He grinned and leaned back in his seat.

The waitress grinned at her and smacked her gum. "Cute accent."

Link glanced at her and his lips turned up. 

Zelda's blush deepened just in time for her menu to be snatched away.

"What do you want to drink, hon?" the waitress asked Link.

"Oh, I'll have a coffee."

She turned and walked away, no more questions.

Zelda felt relief wash over her that the process of ordering was over. She exhaled her anxiety and folded her arms on the table.

"How did you know I wanted a milkshake?" she mumbled, chin resting on her arms.

Link tilted his head. "You kept staring at the bottom of the menu, where all the pictures of them are."

"Oh. You're very observant."

That made him furrow his brows, shrug, and look away. Whatever his reply was, it was too quiet for her to make out.

_

"You eat fast."

"Gotta eat it before it gets stolen, right?"

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm just kidding. Thanks for the bacon. I can't believe you didn't want it."

"I was full." Zelda looked at the two empty plates on Link's side of the table with a grimace and took another sip of her milkshake.

"Is that good?" he asked, gesturing to it.

She slid it closer to her. "Mhmm."

He gave her a smile so big that he squinted his eyes shut. "I'm glad."

She looked down at the table. "We should go."

He'd said he'd gotten permission, but this little field trip felt like the kind of thing that would get her in enormous trouble. Somehow, it didn't feel like an outing with her father's employee supervising; it felt like sneaking off to a restaurant with a boy . It felt almost as scandalous as being home alone with one.

He flagged down the waitress as he polished off his coffee. "Ticket, please!"

Link started digging through his inner jacket pocket. He got out a tattered brown leather wallet.

"Oh, Link, no. Allow me to pay, please."

"Uh-uh." His eyes were wide, almost blank. He took the ticket from the waitress, gave it a quick glance, then handed her a ten and twenty dollar bill.

"Want change?" the waitress asked.

He waved his hand and received an appreciative smile from the lady before she walked away. "Shall we?"

"I didn't intend for you to pay. It hardly seems appropriate since I am…"

"Forget it," Link chirped, interrupting. He stood and held out his hand to help her from her seat. "Let's get you home in time for dinner, aye, Zelda?"

“Thank you, Link.”

Chapter Text

October 9th

“Zelda, get down here!” her father yelled. 

Zelda scrambled out of her bed. She’d been bad. She was playing video games. She hadn’t indulged in a pointless hobby like that in months. She had always played her video games on mute so that her dad wouldn’t know she was wasting time, or remember she existed for that matter. 

She hit the pause button and rushed downstairs, wearing a hoodie and pajama pants. It wasn’t time for their awkward breakfast yet. 

“Yes, Father?” She was winded from running down the stairs. She was anxious, but could read his tone well enough to know he wasn’t irate. 

He was sitting at his desk, holding his phone at arm’s length, glasses on the edge of his nose, frowning down at the screen. “How do you make this font bigger?” 

Her shoulders sagged. 

The man was calm. 

Zelda walked over to him and tilted her head. “Settings.” 

“Where’s that?” 

“I’m not sure where you put the app on yours. It’s different on everyones.

“Hmph. What’s it look like?” 

“It might be easiest to just go to your search bar and type in “settings”.” 

“Where is the search bar, girl?” He was getting madder. 

Zelda knew better than to ask to just take the phone and do it herself. “Just swipe downwards.”

“Huh. Look at that. Okay. S…E…T…T…

What now?” 

Five arduous minutes later, her father was able to read with the phone at a regular distance from his face. 

“That’s not why I called you.” 

“Okay.” 

“I couldn’t get the calendar working today so I figured I’d just tell you in person, since I’m home.” 

“Yes, sir?” 

“Dragmire’s boy is picking you up for lunch.” 

Zelda frowned. She felt the sinking disappointment of having her Saturday ruined, but she honestly wasn’t surprised. 

Nothing went well ever since she’d been taken out of college. 

She sighed, forgetting to mask her dismay. 

Her father actually chuckled at the downcast look on her face. “Politics is hard work, isn’t it?”

“Why wouldn’t he just ask me out at school?”

“It was something he had to arrange with his father. He’s taking you to the art museum downtown. He pulled some strings to reserve it while they are closed this afternoon.” 

“I don’t understand why he didn’t just text me. He has my number.” 

Her father sighed in exasperation and put his phone down. “It was supposed to be a surprise. Act surprised, alright?” 

“Father…” Why was he sparing her a little trouble? 

“Go get ready.” 

She left the room stunned by her father’s erratic behavior. 

_

Arms wrapped around her torso and a chin rested on her head, Ganon sighed. 

They’d been staring at this frigging painting of an ocean for, like, five minutes by now. 

“I’m so glad I finally took the leap and brought you somewhere outside of school. It’s gotten so stale, the same old thing everyday. Stealing a few minutes between class, sitting with all those idiots at lunch. It’s incredible to finally be alone together.” 

Ganon let go of her and they moved on to a different picture of an ocean. 

“Uh-huh,” she replied, wondering how long they would stare at this one. 

He laughed and continued down a broad hall of statues of naked people. Zelda cringed. She didn’t understand art, and she’d be the first to admit it. 

What was so great about some guy’s junk carved out of rocks by some dead pervert? What was so great about a painting of an ocean for that matter? There were actual photographs of oceans now. Aren’t paintings obsolete?

“You’re not a romantic, are you, Zelda?” 

She was sneering at a statue of two naked people kissing. “No.” 

He laughed again. His laugh was deep and grating. “Be that as it may, I wanted to show you another side of me. I’m not some meathead jock. And I’m not just interested in your body.”

Zelda blinked in surprise, her face flushing and her stomach tightening. 

Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew.

“I want your soul too. We go good together in more ways than one.” 

“I don’t know how one gives away their soul, Ganon. I don’t even know what my soul would look like right now. I’m 17.”

“You’re inexperienced. That’s okay. You’ll learn what all of this means sooner than you think.” 

Could he say anything that wasn’t horrific?

“What size ring do you wear, Zelda?” 

He could not.

October 11th

“I think he’s going to propose.” Well, who else was she going to tell?

Link lost control of the vehicle for a moment, letting the car veer towards the grassy ditch to their right. 

“You’re kidding.” 

“He asked for my ring-size.” 

Link looked at her. 

She couldn’t see his eyes behind his dark sunglasses but it was easy enough to read his shock. 

"How old are you again?" 

"Seventeen." 

"That's what I thought. You're a baby. Your dad would have to sign papers!" His cheeks were red. 

So were Zelda's since he'd called her a baby. "I'm not a baby," she mumbled, a small smile on her lips. 

"Too baby to get married. Who is this creep anyway? I asked that one day…and you don't have to answer." Link pushed his sunglasses back onto his head, brushing his bangs back with it so she saw his whole face clearly. He took her breath away. 

She had to learn how to have a conversation with him without getting flustered every time their eyes met. 

"Has he hurt you?" His jaw was tight and his eyes pierced straight through her. 

Zelda blinked and looked away. "I don't know how to answer that," she said quietly. He looked the same to her as the first time he'd asked: heroic. "Not really." 

"Hm." 

She wasn't sure if she could tell him about the ugly truth of her relationship, the whole story; she wasn't sure she wanted to. "It's nothing dramatic. He's bruised my arm a few times. I'm not sure if he doesn't know his own strength or…Yes he does. He's got me trapped, Link." She sighed a trembling breath. She regretted every word that fell from her mouth. 

"Will you keep a secret with me?" 

She looked up at him, eyebrows raised. "What? Yes." 

Link barely nodded. "I'm turning off our trackers. I'll say there was a cell-tower down if your dad asks." 

"Where are we going?" Zelda felt more reckless today than on their last field trip. She was excited; no hesitation. 

"Just to get coffee. You always get to school super early. Let's be a little late today, yeah?" 

She smiled and bit her lip. "I'd love to." 

_

There weren't many options for coffee in the suburbs outside of the city. 

They returned to the diner. Same booth as before. 

A hot coffee was set before each of them with cream and sugar packets in bowls between them. 

Zelda was happy. She propped her head on her hands and stared into her inky cup of coffee. She could feel Link's eyes on her like the gentle rays of sun peeking through the windows. 

"I guess you brought me here so I could tell you all of my relationship woes," she said. 

She tore open three sugar packets at once and shook them into her coffee. "I don't want to tarnish the atmosphere of our diner with his name, though." 

Our diner. That had slipped off her tongue without a thought. She glanced worriedly at Link, checking his reaction. 

His face hadn't changed since they were in the car. At best, it was a neutral, stoic expression, but Zelda knew better. 

She added cream to her coffee and stirred, staring down as she created a tiny whirlpool in the center of her cup. With a small smile, "There isn't much to tell. He knows our dating is good for my father's career, and he knows that I can't displease my father. So if I ever protest against his advances, he threatens that he’ll get me in trouble. Sometimes I really wish I could hit him where it hurts when he—." She hesitated over that last sentence. A smile still hung on her lips. 

Link leaned forward, folding his arms on the table. "Zelda…" 

She cleared her throat and took a drink of coffee. "Mm. This is good," she said. "He's not done anything serious. He's just handsy. He gets in my face. He always does just enough to get his point across without being overt. Well, I suppose it depends what you’d call overt." She met Link's eyes. 

His usually bright, soft features were darkened with a frown. 

"You look frustrated and I…appreciate the sentiment. But you can't do anything. Nothing will change, so you may as well not be concerned. I've gotten used to him, anyway. He upset me terribly at first, but now, whenever I have to be around him, I just think of other things. I go somewhere else in my mind and he loses his power. I don't want to bother you if you've heard enough." 

Link took a drink of his coffee. "Go ahead." His voice was low. 

She was torn between her head begging her to stop sharing useless information with a person she didn’t know well, and her heart pushing her on to confess everything like a frightened child seeking comfort. 

After a few moments, she slipped off her blazer. She wore a white t-shirt underneath it. She turned to the side slightly so Link could see her arm. 

Black and blue fingerprints ran up from her elbow to her shoulder. "He's such a miserable oaf," Zelda said. Her heart was racing uncomfortably. She put her jacket back on and raised her coffee to her mouth with trembling hands. 

Link shook his head and rubbed his face. He swore under his breath, a stream of colorful words, seemingly placeholders for intelligent thought. "Something has got to be done." 

"Link, that's what I was afraid of. I want to talk with you but you mustn't try to fix things. Just, do your job and I will worry about myself." 

"You're getting beat up," he whispered sharply, fidgeting in his seat. 

Zelda leveled a stare at those wide, glimmering eyes. "I've had worse." 

Link blanched. He took a drink of his coffee and frowned down at the table. 

She wished he'd taken her here to have fun. There was no point in talking about all of the heavy things she couldn't change. 

"You are talking about…the day we first met, out on the lawn?" he asked after a long silence. 

Zelda shrugged. "What about it?" That whole period of time was a haze, a dream she couldn't quite recall. 

Link gestured to his right cheek. 

"Oh. Yes, that was probably the worst." 

He brushed his hands through his hair and looked out the window. "Your father?" 

"Link, can you really ask something so personal about your employer?" 

His eyes flicked back to hers. "What, are you going to tell on me?" 

Zelda recoiled at the sharpness of his tone and her face heated. “Have I made you angry?” she asked hoarsely. She coughed to clear her throat and fixed her eyes down on her blue plaid lap. 

She heard Link’s cup clink against the table as he sat it down. “Zelda?” His voice had softened. He exhaled a deep breath and slid all the dishes between them to the side towards the window. 

“Zelda, am I scary?” 

Her brows knitted. “No. I just regret…making you angry.” 

“Sorry. The last thing you need is to get more attitude thrown your way, huh?” 

“I…” She took a drink of coffee, not really having anything to say. 

“Do you know where I’m coming from?” 

Zelda felt like he was speaking a different language in his casual city vernacular. She shook her head “no”. 

“No?” He sounded surprised. “Zelda, we’re friends. I-I think of you that way. I mean, we talk everyday.” 

She couldn’t help the heat that spread from the top of her head to her ears, all the way down her chest. “Really?” 

“I-Yeah, I do. You’re nice. And…it makes me mad to see you getting knocked around all day, every day. Of course I’m angry.” He put his coffee aside and clasped his hands on the table. He stretched his arms until his hands were in front of her. 

He wasn’t scary. 

She smiled and scoffed, trying to regain her cool. “Who are you mad at?”

He was hunkered over the table. He flattened his hands on the table right by her coffee. 

The blue nail polish. It was sloppily done. He had a tattered braided friendship bracelet on his left wrist. 

“Your dad. Ganon. The universe?” he answered, tapping his fingers in front of her. 

“Who does your friendship bracelet go with?” 

He asked her an awful lot of personal questions, so she’d ask one herself.

“Huh?” He raised his left hand and rolled back his sleeve a little. “My little sister.” 

Zelda covered her mouth as she giggled. 

Link gave her a sparkling grin. “What’s so funny?” 

“It’s just cute.” 

“ Cute ?” His smile just got bigger. He picked at the braided pink and purple threads, looking at it fondly. “I guess it is pretty cute.”

“How many brothers and sisters do you have?” 

He held up one finger. “Just me and Aryll. You two would get along. She’s forbidden me from speaking to her lots of times.” 

Zelda’s mouth fell agape and her heart started pounding. 

“I’m sorry, too soon!” he laughed breathlessly. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” Zelda patted her cheeks, trying to make the flush go away. “Hah. She gives you a hard time, then?”  

“Yeah. This is her doing. You think I chose it?” He wiggled his fingers. 

“She paints your nails?” 

“Since she was, like, 6. She doesn’t live with me right now but…I don’t even know how I’d get it off, so I just put more on,” he mumbled. It was his turn to look shy. 

“Yes, you’d better keep it up in her absence, I suppose.”

“Mm.”

“How old is she?” 

“15. Wow, that’s crazy.”

Zelda smiled and picked up her coffee mug as Link straightened up in his chair and crossed his arms. 

“Question,” he said.

She just kept her eyes on his, at attention. 

“Don’t you have any little girlfriends you could keep around you to fend Ganon off? Surely he wouldn’t mess with you so bad around other people. Like, if you had someone to walk with you to and from class, or you walked in packs?” 

That question should depress her, but instead she leaned forward, amused. “That’s the wild part, Link. Every girl in school hates me now. Before, I was treated with comfortable indifference.” 

“Comfortable indiff…?” he breathed, looking confused. 

“Everyone seems crazy with jealousy. If they want Ganon so bad, take him for God’s sake. I don’t want him.” 

“The girls all…All of them? Not all of them.” 

“Surely not,” Zelda hummed. “But the only attention I get is negative, that’s for certain. And anyone who doesn’t want him still wouldn’t be seen with me. I’m walking social suicide. I’m forced to sit at the lunch table with the football team. I’m the only girl. Boys are disgusting. I can’t touch my food anymore, surrounded by those slobs. It’s probably part of Ganon’s play, making it impossible for me to gain allies. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one starting all those ugly rumors just to keep everyone away from me. Oh!!!” 

Link startled at her sudden cry. 

She rattled the table, jumping and slamming her hands down. “He has! He’s the one starting everything. He is isolating me. I hadn’t realized…He is cunning, Link. He must never be underestimated.” 

Link rubbed his temples. “And I guess those rumors aren’t fit to be talked about in public?” 

Zelda shook her head firmly. “Mm-mm.” 

Link groaned. “He really is making things impossible. And there’s no way to convince your dad that he’s trash?” 

Zelda sighed. “You know the answer to that.” 

“Would you kill me if I complained to him anyway?” 

That made Zelda’s chest sparkle with anxiety. 

Link saw it on her face, apparently. “Not implying you told me! Just if I said I had a suspicion, because I saw your arm…or…something, maybe?” 

“If you’re careful. Very careful. But you’d be wasting your breath.” 

“I know.” 

“As I’ve said, you can’t fix it.”

He nodded briskly, his irritation back in full force, although she didn’t find it the least bit nerve-wracking this time. “Why so many douchebags?” he mumbled. “This is making me hungry.” 

“Do we have time?” 

“Probably not.”

“Oh but you eat fast. It wouldn’t even add any time with how you…inhale your food. Really, Link, you could win contests. Not that I'd want to see that.” She felt dizzy with delight that she was able to make him laugh. 

He squeaked into his coffee cup. When he tried to take a sip his nose wrinkled. “Blech, this is cold. Anyway, we’re already late.” 

“How do you know?” Zelda grinned. “Both of our phones are off. My watch is off.” 

Link pointed behind her head. 

She looked over her shoulder. 

8:45. She gasped so violently she choked on her own spit and started coughing. “When did you see that?” 

“Just now!” 

“I’m finished. I’m dead.” 

Link nodded agreement and slapped a five dollar bill on the table as he scrambled out of the booth. His sunglasses were between his teeth and his suit coat was draped over his arm. He stuffed his wallet into his pocket and pulled out the key without losing any momentum. 

She broke into a run behind him as they left the diner. He opened the door with the whole side of his body and stumbled to a stop to keep it open as she passed him. 

His hand on her back as they rushed to the car electrocuted her. He threw her door open, which wasted time since they could’ve just jumped in at the same time. 

In the next second he was in the driver's seat starting the car. 

They turned and looked at each other at the same time, both gasping for breath. 

Link’s face changed from frantic to a sudden grin. His eyes sparkled. 

She was terrified. But for some reason she found herself mirroring his excitement. 

“This is completely up to you, so be honest,” he said. 

“Okay.”

“Do you want me to speed?” 

She bit her tongue and laughed. 

His smile grew. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” She had tears in her eyes from laughter. 

He flicked on his sunglasses. “This dies with us, Zelda Hyrule.” 

She squealed as he floored the gas pedal and peeled out of the parking lot and onto the smooth highway.

___

Could she do this? She hadn’t pulled a fast one like this in a long time. She felt like she could. 

She opened the door to her classroom. She knew the bell would ring in under 5 minutes. She’d missed the whole thing. 

Her hair was sticky with sweat. She had run all the way there and she was frantic; she wouldn’t have to fake that. 

Her teacher was a middle aged woman. 

“And where have you been?” Miss Magda asked loudly. 

Yes, Zelda was definitely going to be able to whip up tears. After a moment of pouting and her lip trembling, her eyes welled. She emitted a sob and threw her hands over her face. “I’m so sorry, Miss Magda,” she cried. “Can I please explain in private?” 

I’ve still got it.

Once she got started, it felt good, sobbing and sobbing, tears rolling down her hot red face. 

“Fine, fine! In the hallway. Everyone, the bell has not rung. You will continue conjugating verbs.”

The class groaned collectively. 

It was difficult to quiet back down and breathe calmly now that Zelda had worked herself up into a fit. 

Her teacher shut the door behind them. The hallway was empty and Zelda’s muffled crying echoed all around. 

“What? What made you late?” 

“I…never been…late before,” she stuttered. That was true. 

Ms. Magda nodded. “I know that. But you missed class entirely today.”

Zelda nodded and covered her face again, throwing her back against the wall and shaking her head miserably. 

“I couldn’t help it. It’s…” She wiped her face and looked into Ms. Magda’s steely brown eyes. “It’s my time of the month,” she whispered sharply. She resumed crying after neatly delivering her line. 

"Oh," Ms. Magda said, sounding calmer. 

"Ma'am, I don't think my father even knows women have that. If I came home with bad marks…" She turned her face to the wall, buried her face in her arms on it and emitted a high pitched moan of agony. 

"Hush. Hush. Settle down." 

She sniffled. "Hm?" She faced her teacher expectantly. 

"I will overlook this one indiscretion. But if you ever show up late to my class again, it is no mercy, young lady!" 

Zelda clutched her hands to her heart. "Thank you. Thank you, Ma'am. I'll never forget your kindness." 

The bell rang on cue and Ms. Magda shooed her away without a glance. 

Zelda made a bee-line for the restroom so she could fix her makeup before the next class. She exhaled a deep sigh of relief. Let's hope Link was as good at keeping himself out of trouble. Hopefully, she'd saved both their necks by covering this up early. 

_

"Hey, gorgeous." 

She'd heard him coming and moved quickly, changing out her books and slamming her locker shut before she got pushed into it. 

Zelda spun around, bag strapped across her shoulder, hanging at her side, and her books clutched against her chest in both arms. "Hello, Ganon." 

"You missed lunch." 

Zelda had decided to continue subtly feigning illness for the rest of the day, just to have a break in the monotony. 

She looked down at her shoes and pressed her lips together tightly. "I know. I'm sorry. I wasn't feeling well. I'm a bit under the weather today. I just knew if I stepped foot in that room full of the smell of different foods I'd, uh, toss my cookies." 

Ganon pouted. "My poor angel. I wish I'd known. We could've spent lunch somewhere private." His eyes were snakey. 

"Mm." She gave him a thin smile. 

"Are you still feeling bad? Need a ride home?" 

"Oh, that's very thoughtful but I've made up my mind to power through. Only two hours left." 

He grabbed her shoulders and she stiffened. "Don't overdo it, Princess. You're fragile." He brushed a hand across her cheek. 

It was difficult to keep her face pleasant. "No, I am not. I'm not fragile." 

He smiled. "Oh," he said as condescendingly as he could, "be strong then, Princess." He squeezed her shoulders, tightening his grip until she couldn't help but yelp in pain. 

He leveled a stare while her eyes watered. "Let's go out this Saturday." 

"Ganon," she pleaded under her breath. 

He'd never hurt her like this before. Slowly, the horrid glimmer in his eye dulled and his face returned to neutral. He let go of her shoulders and took her hands. He kissed both of them and gave her a bright grin like nothing had happened. "Saturday. Sound good?" 

She nodded once and he left her standing in the bustling hallway, full of people who had just seen a couple staring at each other, talking in low voices, and showing affection. Zelda leaned back against the door of her locker and stared down, stupefied, at the shoes bustling past. 

Instead of mulling over the reason her shoulders were now throbbing in pain, she found her mind wandering to Link. She thought of the way he’d played with the bracelet his sister had made him, how he broke the rules just to let her talk, the way he’d looked at her as they were running to the car, his gentle touch between her shoulder blades as he guided her to the door. 

She clutched her books tighter to herself and looked at her watch. The bell would ring in 5 minutes. She took off in the direction Ganon had gone, shouldering past students without even looking, eyes fixed on the staircase that led to the senior’s classrooms. 

She skipped steps, her second frantic race of the day. Her lungs ached for air by the time she reached the floor. There weren’t many students still standing around. She searched as she walked, looking from senior to senior while they all shuffled to their classrooms. 

She chewed her lip and narrowed her eyes. At the end of the hall there was a group of guys standing against a window. 

That was her best bet. She ran that way. 

“Ganon!” He was standing in the circle of five boys who were laughing and talking some filth Zelda did her best to tune out. 

Ganon had never looked so shocked. 

“Ganon, I’d like to talk for just a moment,” she said, doubling over with her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. 

“Okay. Get out of here.” He snapped his fingers at the boys who obediently shuffled away without argument. He nodded to Zelda. 

She sighed heavily, only having a small idea of what to say. “Ganon, I was hoping to strike a more amicable deal.” 

“Oh?” Ganon crossed his arms and smiled, still looking at her in amazement. 

“My shoulders hurt. You’ve left bruises on my arms. So I was just wondering, if I walk around with you and eat lunch with you and go on dates whenever you ask me to, why am I still being treated this way? I-I genuinely do not understand your reasoning.”

His shoulders slumped and he dropped his head. His whole body seemed to sink down a few inches. “You’re so right, Zelda.”

“If that’s the case then can’t we…”

“You are right,” he interrupted. “You don’t understand my reasons.” The look in his eyes when he raised his head made Zelda shudder. “It’s cute how naive you are. How could you know, though? How could you know anything about what’s really going on? And we’ll keep it that way. I know it’s confusing.” He placed a hand on her head and ducked down, eye-level with her. 

“Politics,” Zelda whispered. 

His mouth fell agape and he nodded as a scary smile spread across his face. “You are a smart one, aren’t you? So I’m going to teach you a lesson in diplomacy. Sometimes, in politics, the only way to survive is to compromise. Sell all that you possess to save your own neck. It’s a harsh game, isn’t it?” 

“Yes. And corrupt.” 

He chuckled, his eyes disappearing in his laugh. “This was a good talk. I better be getting to class, Princess. See ya’!” 

As soon as he turned his back, her face contorted to disgust. 

Can’t be late to another class. 

Zelda made it to History Class just a second before roll call began. She took a nap on her desk right after she’d said “here”.

_

“Hi, Link,” Zelda said, meandering towards the car. She covered her mouth as she yawned and while her eyes were squinted shut she nearly bumped into him.  

“Hey,” he said with a smile, catching her shoulders before she could fall on him. She was near-drunk with exhaustion, a rare symptom for Zelda, a post-panic-attack stupor. Her body had been in overdrive most of the day. Returning to safety meant turning to putty. Her head lolled and she let him hold her up even while his gentle touch on her injured shoulders ached. 

“O-oow.” It felt like she was losing her voice. 

“Hm?” He let go of her shoulders, but seeing she was still unsteady, he moved to her side and took hold of her arm. How sweet, he remembered which one she’d shown him was hurt. 

“You’re so sweet,” she slurred. 

“Are you okay?” He opened her door and eased her to her seat, not letting go until she was nicely positioned. 

She dropped her head against the headrest with a sigh, delighted to be done with school. She closed her eyes and the black behind her eyelids sparkled with the eminent promise of sleep. 

“Can you buckle up?”

She thought for a moment and shook her head “no”. “The strap would touch my shoulder.” 

“Hmmm.” 

She forced her eyes open and watched Link pull the seat-belt strap way out away from her. 

“Excuse me.” He leaned over her and buckled her in with the straps still held out away from her. He took her wrist and raised it just enough to bring the seat-belt beneath it. He fed the bottom of the strap around her lap and through the buckle until it was tight. “Okay,” he said, exhaling through his teeth. “This isn’t super safe, but better than nothing, right?” 

She didn’t know what he was going to do but she nodded contentedly. “Mhmm.” 

She didn’t know why that made him smile. 

He hooked the other strap around the back of her headrest. “Zelda, do you want your jacket off?” 

She nodded with a curl of her bottom lip. It was weird. She tried then and there to wake up, but her arms felt like jelly and the strain of lifting up her head felt beyond her capabilities. “I’m so useless.”

“Please, it’s no wonder you’re tired.” He was slow and careful as he pulled at the sleeves of her jacket, peeling back the top from her shoulders without touching them. 

She faded out briefly and when she was back he was setting her jacket on her lap. 

He got in the car and it rumbled into motion. He was quiet again, long enough for her to fall asleep. 

_

“Zelda?” 

They were parked in front of the gate to her house, sitting behind the thick row of trees that lined the fencing. 

She sat up, yawned, and rubbed her eyes. 

“Zelda, sorry to wake you up and all, but, he hurt you really bad today?” 

She sighed and let her eyes fall shut again. “I know it hurts worse than usual. But I haven’t looked.” She looked down at her shirt. “I have a camisole under this. Do you mind…? There’s not really anyone else I could show.” 

He just nodded, eyes gravely serious. 

She unbuckled and unwrapped the seatbelt from the headrest and let it all wind back up. She wiggled out of her t-shirt and when she was done, she found that Link was staring out the window. 

She looked down and sucked air through her teeth, wrinkling her nose. 

Link spun around and leaned over the console. He looked at the bright red, carpet-burned-looking skin and his lips pressed into a tight line. He just stared while Zelda poked around, turning it white as she pinched it. “The muscles ache. It looks like a sunburn,” she scoffed, smiling vaguely. 

“Put ice on it when you get inside. Don’t move around. And, uh, take a pain pill, okay?” Link’s voice was low and resigned. 

“Okay. I can do that. I’ll probably have Impa bring me dinner to my room tonight anyway.” 

Link nodded approval, his face still serious. “Promise me you’ll do all three things?” 

“Ice. Don’t move around. Take medicine,” she recited. She realized she’d shaken free of her exhaustion mostly. She could at least function. “I promise, Link.” 

He sighed and gave her a forced smile before driving on to her house. 

When she got out of the car, she put her jacket back on and stuffed her t-shirt into her bag. 

Link shut her door and stepped in front of her. His eyes danced across her face. “Promise. Don’t forget.” 

Zelda laughed and dropped her head. “I promise. Thanks for the nice morning, by the way. It was fun.” 

He smiled and his eyes brightened. “We can have fun now and then.” 

“Yes,” she grinned. “Oh! I forgot to tell you, I didn’t get any absent marks so we should be in the clear.” 

It took him a minute to register, but when he did his face lit up with a broad grin. “No way. How’d you manage it?” 

“Powers of persuasion. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Ha!” He put his hands on her arms, looking excited. His hair was flopped into his face. “You’re amazing.” 

“Quite true.” 

A blush was blooming across Link’s nose to his cheeks. He stood up straight, letting go of her arms and pushing his hair back. “Ha.” That laugh was a little choked. 

They stayed in place, holding each other's gazes for a bit longer than was normal, smiles frozen on their red faces. 

“Bye,” Link said softly. 

“Bye, Link. Drive safe. Don’t speed.” 

His eyes widened. “I never speed,” he whispered with a finger to his lips.

___

Zelda pushed open the door to the kitchen. 

Purah was chopping up celery next to a wok that was simmering other veggies already on the stove. 

“Hi, Purah.”

Purah looked up absently. “Hey, Chika.” Purah went back to chopping then looked back up at Zelda. She squinted and smirked. “What’s new?” 

She was taken aback over the very normal question. “Nothing.” The stove seemed to be heating up the whole kitchen for how Zelda’s internal temperature was rising. She headed for the fridge. 

“I thought you might have good news.”

Zelda opened the freezer door and stuck her face in as she scanned the frosty shelves in search of an ice pack. “I don’t.”

“Heard a funny joke, then?” 

Shut up, Purah. What do you want???

“Not recently. Do you know if we have an ice-pack?” 

Purah was still relatively new to the house, and only worked part time, so her knowing where much of anything was located was a long shot.

“Bottom drawer, towards the back. I was only asking because you were grinning like a little fool when you walked in here.” 

Zelda bumped her head on the shelf she’d been leaning under. She swore under her breath and groaned in pain. She stood up and rubbed her head, grimacing at the small drawer that she’d have to crouch to get to. 

“Couldn’t have been an after-effect from you and your adorable driver making moony-eyes in the driveway, could it?” 

Zelda slammed the freezer door shut, heart turned to stone, dead, lungs empty, fingers numb, mind…on pause. 

“I always look out the window when I’m at the sink. Saw you guys pull up,” Purah elaborated, as if Zelda’s issue was the how . 

Zelda managed a shallow breath, gradually re-animating. She spun on her heels and stared at the back of her insensitive maid’s head. 

Purah innocently stirred her veggies. 

“You misunderstood,” Zelda rasped, her throat dry. 

“Oh. Silly me. Did you find the ice-pack?”

Zelda shook her head “no” though Purah wasn’t looking. 

Somehow, her message was conveyed. Purah put the burner on “low” and turned to Zelda. Her mouth dropped when she looked Zelda in the face. 

“Aw, honey!” She rushed over and cupped Zelda’s face. 

Her hands were cool, and although Zelda was in shock, it felt nice against her burning cheeks. 

Purah raised her brows and pouted. “I’m sorry. I tease too much. Impa always says I’m crass. I’m sorry, hon.”

“Wha-at?”

Purah swept her aside and retrieved a long ice-pack that was perfect to drape over the back of her neck. “Where are you hurt?” She scanned Zelda’s weak, trembling frame, pity still written all over her face. 

“My shoulders.”

“Both of ‘em? How’d you manage that?” 

Zelda’s lower lip trembled. 

Purah’s eyes widened, her sharp gaze flitting all over Zelda’s face. “It’s that demon at school, isn’t it? The one your daddy sent you out with? He put his hands on you?” 

Zelda bit down on her lip so hard she tasted blood. 

“Oh, oh, oh,” Purah whispered, pulling Zelda into her arms. She smelled strongly of cheap perfume. She was wearing a black tank top instead of a work uniform. Her bare arms were boney and she stood nearly a head taller than Zelda. “I’ll kill him. I will. What’s his name? Dragmin?” 

“Ganon. Dragmire is his last name,” Zelda said under her breath. “His father’s tower.”

“That’s assault. We’ll file a report. I’ll take you to the police station right this minute.” 

Zelda threw herself backwards. “No!” she screamed. “You can’t do that! Purah, if you do that my life is over! Don’t you know anything?” If she wasn’t desperate to put out this fire, she’d be fleeing to her room. 

Purah’s face didn’t change. She walked over to a drawer and got out a hand towel. She wrapped the ice-pack up and returned to her. Purah leveled her a stare and cocked her head. “Take your jacket off.” 

Zelda obeyed, left with her thin white camisole that Link had seen her in just a few minutes ago. Her heart pounded in her ears and was beginning to make her chest ache. She closed her eyes as Purah gently placed the ice-pack on her shoulders. 

“How did you know all that?” 

Purah placed one hand back on Zelda’s face, wiping a stray tear from under her eye. “I pay attention.” 

A torrent of sobs erupted from Zelda without any warning. She didn’t have time to cover her face or step away; she was crying loud and hard only inches away from Purah. 

She was pulled back into another boney hug, rocked back and forth. For a split second, she could swear she was in her mother’s arms. Every thought that passed through her head only sent her into worse turmoil. 

Zelda never used to cry. She hadn’t cried since she was a kid. Now it felt like she was breaking down all the time. 

“It’s okay to get scared. You’re still very strong.” 

Zelda had always held the firm belief that Impa knew everything. It must run in the family. 

_

Half an hour later, Zelda was laying in bed, bundled up in blankets, a hot rag over her eyes, and pain reliever beginning to soak into her system. 

Purah was sitting on the foot of the bed, typing on her phone now that she’d gotten Zelda calmed down. 

“Purah?” 

“Yep?” 

“What about dinner?” 

“Are you hungry?” 

“No…it’s just, you left the stove on.” 

“I texted Robbie. He was in the back, in his apartment. He came inand is squaring it away under my close inspection.” 

Robbie was the groundskeeper, handyman, and pickle-jar-opener. Zelda barely ever saw him. 

“Inspection?” Zelda’s voice was sore but she was breathing easily, feeling worlds better on the other side of her panic attack, if not a little drowsy. 

Purah exhaled a breath of laughter. “I have him muted on video chat. He’s showing me everything he does.” 

“You can go. I-I’m fine now.” 

She heard Purah’s heavy platform boots thud, kicked off, one after the other, on the carpet. She shifted on the bed. “Mm. Nah. This is easier. He’s not totally incompetent. I’ve only had to correct him twice.” 

The rag was going cool. Zelda put it on the bedside table and wiped her eyes, sitting back against her headboard with a wince. The ice-pack had thawed. She sat it by the rag. “Hm.” A smile spread across her lips. “Purah, did I really look, um, what was it? mooney-eyed talking to Link? Did I look stupid?” 

Purah grinned and drew her legs up on the bed, facing Zelda. “You didn’t look stupid. It was cute.” 

“He…” Zelda’s heart fluttered and she debated continuing. She didn’t know Purah well and she was already trying to meddle in the Ganon situation. She clearly couldn’t be trusted. But Zelda was feeling that strange, loopy exhaustion coming over her like on the drive home. “He’s the one who told me to get an ice-pack and take medicine. He made me promise I would.” 

Purah clicked her tongue. “Awwwwww.” She pouted and smiled, hand over her heart. “You’re kidding. That’s so sweet.” 

“He’s really sweet,” Zelda whined, defeated, by what? She wasn’t sure. 

Purah sighed and fell backwards across the bed, staring up at the ceiling with her hands folded across her stomach. “He’s a cutie, for sure. I would’ve gone for him at your age.” She rolled over on her side and propped her head on her arm. “Then again, it might have killed my confidence back then. I was already tall. I would’ve felt so gawky next to him. Not now, of course. I love short guys.” 

Purah was every bit as gorgeous as her sister, if not more so since she dripped with charisma and a carefree air. She lacked Impa’s rough edges of bossy professionalism that always kept her at a precise distance from Zelda. 

Impa would never climb up on Zelda’s bed and talk about boys. After all, this was her place of work. 

Purah was far less attached to the job; Zelda had always sensed that. That to say, she held no reserve from Zelda. 

Zelda realized that suddenly and wondered if she could open up to her. 

“Purah, promise you won’t tell anyone…anything from today. In the kitchen, Ganon…If I ever retaliated it would only make things worse. He’s a member of one of the most powerful families in the city. Any crime he commits would go away before it ever reached a judge’s desk.” 

Purah closed her eyes and frowned for a few long moments, seemingly thinking hard. Finally she let out a deep breath and crawled to Zelda’s side. She laid back on the mass of pillows still arranged on that side of the bed. “You’re right. And Daddy Hyrule is a dead end. I’ll think about it.” She looked at Zelda from the corner of her eye. “I do promise. I won’t tell anyone what I know.”

“Not even Impa?” 

“Psh! Especially not Impa. Not that she’d ever breathe a word to anyone else. But she’d go crazy. I won’t tell her for her own sake.”

“What do you mean?” 

Purah shook her head in amusement. “It might kill her, she loves you so much.” 

Zelda closed her eyes and laughed. “I’m not crying again tonight, Purah. Let’s talk about something else. Or, if you don’t want to stay…” 

Purah sat up and narrowed her eyes. "No. You're stuck with me. You're stuck with me until we get you out of this mess." She took Zelda's hand and patted it. "It's going to be okay. It's tough right now. Really, really tough. But you'll be okay. And you'll look back on this, and think "Thank God I got out of there." Know why you'll think that?" 

She shook her head. 

Purah leaned close and squeezed her hand. "Because you'll be exactly where you belong."

Chapter Text

October 12th 

9:13 PM

“Hey! I just realized you might not have my number”

“This is Link”

9:17 PM

“Weird I didn’t think about it. I guess it just hasnt come up” 

9:22 PM

“Have a good night. See you tomorrow”

Zelda’s eyes widened as she picked up her phone. She unlocked it and opened messages with trembling hands. 

9:37

“I just saw your messages. I was playing a video game–hadn’t checked my phone.” 

That was very good. Boys like video games. Not that she was lying; she’d just defeated a level 48 dungeon boss in Treasure Tales, which she was still wound up from, so her brain was sapped. 

:38

“Which one?” 

“Treasure Tales.” 

“What level??”

“Just beat 48”

:39

“Lies!!!”

“I’m not saying what level i'm on and i'm not playing with you ever”

Zelda giggled and squeezed a pillow to her chest, leaning forward on it. She pushed her hair back out of her face and took a deep breath. 

:41 

“That makes me want to challenge you” 

“I refuse”

“Poor sport?”

“Very.” 

“How many????? I must know what level you’re on!” 

:47

“12”

“That’s not so bad! How long have you been playing?” 

“The new one?”

“yes”

“Since it came out”

“Don’t laugh!!!!!!” 

“I’m a busy person” 

“I can smoke anyone at Racers 8” 

“You’re on” 

:50

“Any time, any place, blondie” 

Zelda shoved the corner of her pillow in her mouth and screamed. She threw her phone aside and fell backwards, hitting the top of her head on her wooden headboard. She suffocated herself with her pillow, kicking and screaming and rolling back and forth. Her phone buzzed. She fought the pillow off of her face and snatched her phone back up. 

:51

“Better go. I have to get up super early for work tomorrow or else my supervisor lady will chew me out” 

He was trying to kill her. She typed out her message and then agonized over whether or not to use a “winking” emoticon. Was it too forward? He’d called her “blondie” so was anything  too forward? Yes. A “winking” emoticon was too forward. 

52:

“She sounds firm but fair. Goodnight, then!”

“night!”

October 15th

Father actually gave Zelda a pat on the back when she told him about the ring conversation with Ganon and their plans to go out this Saturday. 

He hadn’t texted her or been home from work until this morning so she was only telling him now. She’d apologized profusely for her delay in telling him, but he didn’t seem to care at all. 

Really, who is this man? 

“Is he picking you up?” He was distracted by a text message just then, disengaging, raising his phone up to his face. 

“No, he said to meet him at Fausta’s Restauranto and Vinerio. Doesn’t Vinerio mean wine?” Zelda shuffled her feet on the carpet in front of his desk, already dressed to the nines for school in a houndstooth coat, black beret, matching red top and mini skirt, and some black penny loafers. 

“Uh-huh. Something like that. Does Link know he’s driving you there?” 

“I mentioned it to him,” she said sheepishly. 

“Good.” 

Good??? I agree…

“Father?” 

He was borderline approachable with his nose in that phone. “What?” 

“Why do the dates always have wine? I’m 17. Isn’t that illegal?” 

“When was there wine?”

“At the Gerudo Tower, that first date.” 

He looked up, met her eyes, and his frown deepened. “You drank wine?” 

“I only took one sip to be polite. I don’t have any desire to drink alcohol, Father.” 

“Hmph. Vineria. Vineria. They serve food?” 

“Yes.” 

“Mgh. Order a soda.” 

“Ganon orders.” 

“They won’t serve you wine at a restaurant. You don’t have an ID, Zelda.” 

She stepped forward. This hadn’t occurred so far, but Zelda had a premonition and was trusting her gut. Ganon had never been up to any good, and he was taking her to a fancy restaurant.

“Father? I-I know you’re busy but—.”

“What, girl?” His eyes were back on his phone. 

“What if somehow…he makes it…happen?” 

His head snapped back to look her in the face. He squinted into her eyes. “You’re that scared of this kid? He can’t get you drunk. Just be smart. You’re smart.” 

Zelda took a deep breath. This was the weirdest conversation with her dad of her entire life. 

“Okay. Thank you, Father. I’ll get going. Link should be here any minute.” 

“Just tell him about your concerns. He’s in charge of you so if anything goes wrong on his watch he isn’t doing his job.” 

“Link?” she asked dumbly, her eyes wide as saucers. 

“Obviously. Go on.” 

Zelda floated from the room like a very confused ghost. 

_

“What’s with that face? Your dad’s home,” Link said as soon as they were both in the car. “What did he do?” 

Zelda took a deep breath and exhaled through her teeth, staring through the windshield at nothing while Link pulled out of the driveway. “He called me into his office for an update.” 

“Yeah?”

“I told him everything…positive, of course. The ring question. The date. And first off, he patted me on the back before he sat down.” 

“Wow.” 

“When I apologized for not updating him sooner, he cut me off and said it was fine. He…asked if you were driving me to the date tomorrow. When I said you were…Link,” she looked over at him, “he said “good”.” 

Link’s nose wrinkled and he squinted one eye incredulously. “ Good ?”

“I’m not even finished. I think an alien has taken his mortal form and is puppeting him. I was so shocked that I kept the conversation going. I think I wanted him to blow up on me so I wouldn’t be confused anymore.” 

Link clicked his tongue.

“I had been grappling with an ugly premonition.” 

“That Ganon would try to force alcohol on you?” 

She’d already shared her concerns with Link the other day. “Yes. Father…When I mentioned that I’d been served wine at Dragmire Tower, he actually seemed…irritated? He didn’t like it. And when I spoke of what I was worried about, he gave me—Link, he gave me advice .” 

“The hell?” 

“He said that…He said that I’m smart.” Her voice trembled on the last word. 

Link met her eyes, looking almost as bewildered as her. 

“And then, he spoke of his faith in you. He said to tell you all that I told him, and that it was your job to make sure nothing goes wrong. It’s as though he actually does think of your job as looking out for me.” 

Link swore colorfully and creatively. 

“No pressure,” Zelda laughed uncomfortably. 

“Are you kidding? I’m just wondering if your dad has a head-injury. Do you think he’s getting dementia?” 

“A head injury is more likely, since it’s come on so suddenly.” 

“Well…I guess there’s no sense in questioning a good thing, right?”

“You’re right. But I’m going to keep questioning it.” 

Link laughed and shook his head. “Maybe he’s actually starting to get freaked out about selling off his only daughter to a monster.” 

“Mm. That doesn’t sound right. We’d better keep guessing.”

After a minute or two, Link’s maniacal giggle broke the silence. 

“So does this mean, as I staaare through the window of Chez Garlic Bread, if I see Ganon try to play footsies, I can run in there and clobber him?”

Zelda threw her head back laughing. “You’re insane.”

“Am I wrong?” 

“Yes!” 

“Will you put breadsticks in your purse and give me ‘em?” 

“I don’t know…” 

“What if I dare you to?”

She frowned at him for a few beats. “I guess I’ll have to do it, then. What’s the bet?”

“Hmmm…”

Zelda snapped her fingers. “You have to play me at Treasure Tales in exchange for breadsticks.” 

Link banged his head against the headrest and groaned. “You drive a hard bargain, Zelda.” 

Her heart fluttered every time he said her name. 

Ridiculous .

“So what happens if I lose?” 

“It’ll have to be pretty great since we’ll technically both be losing. I won’t get breadsticks. It must be equal or greater than breadsticks and that’s really tough.” He glanced at her and inhaled a deep breath. “Lemme think.” 

“Okay,” she said, checking her watch. “You have ten minutes.”
“I know I have ten minutes,” he said, bobbing his head, feigning annoyance. 

They crawled to a stop in front of her school. Link put the car in park and placed his head on the top of the steering wheel, defeated. He sighed heavily. 

“Nothing?” Zelda asked gently. 

He shook his head while still resting it on the wheel. “It’s really tough.” He sat up, crossed his arms and turned his body to face her. “You buying me something doesn’t put you out at all; you’re beyond rich. We can’t go much of anywhere and I can’t actually get you into trouble like that. I mean, I won’t take you far from school.” He shrugged. “I give up.” 

Zelda smiled sympathetically. “I’ll tell you what, Link.” 

“Hm?” 

“I’ll think of something major, that would be equal or greater than breadsticks. Don’t worry about it another second. You’re just too nice to think of a proper consequence.” She was satisfied at drawing that pretty blush to his face. 

He was surprisingly shy; weak to compliments or questions that edged even slightly towards personal. 

“Fine. But you better take this seriously.” 

She saluted. “I’ll get the door.” 

He scoffed irritably. 

As she hopped from the car and gathered her things, she leaned back in the car and waved. “Bye bye.” 

All of the mock-moodiness melted from his face and he grinned. “You be good at school now. Listen to your teachers.” 

“No!” She slammed the door and headed to the school building with a smile and a skip in her step. 

_

“Excited for tomorrow?” Ganon hooked his arm around her waist and squeezed her to his side. He herded her towards the cafeteria, which was a stupid power-move since she was going there anyway.

She forced a smile, looking up at him. “Yes.” Her tone was unconvincing. She hadn't been bringing her A-game with him much lately. If he was going to treat her the same no matter what, she saw no reason to go through the trouble of acting delighted by his attention. 

“Well try to calm down about it. We’re in public, Zelda,” he quipped. 

She scoffed. So he had a sense of humor? 

“Ever been to the restaurant?” 

“No.” 

“Let’s not sit with those idiots today. How’s that sound?” he asked. 

Zelda raised her brows, craning her neck uncomfortably to meet his eyes. “That would be great.” She was able to say that sincerely. Sitting at that table was starving her out. The boys ate like animals. 

Ganon could tell she wasn’t being fake. He let go of her and clapped his hands together. “Pick us out a table. I’ll get us plates.” 

“Thank you.” Things were civil today. This wasn’t as topsy-turvy as her dad being nice. Ganon faked being a good boyfriend every few days. Paired together on the same day, though, it gave her the creeps. 

They didn’t do much talking while Ganon funneled his three lamb gyros. 

Zelda minced on her fruit cup and managed a few bites of pita bread and humus. 

He’d bought her a Diet Dr. Pepper instead of regular, so she didn’t drink much of it, but the lunch as a whole really wasn’t horrible. He wasn’t handsy. He showed her compilations of people getting hurt at water-parks on his phone, which was fittingly violent for his tastes, but Zelda was also morbidly fascinated by that sort of thing so she couldn’t judge. She was entertained. Lunch went by quickly. 

He pulled her to him and gave her a peck on the head before they parted ways. 

Zelda walked to class with a dumbfounded frown on her face. 

Ganon played nice sometimes. But never that nice. She was grateful for the respite from abuse; replaced today with a decent meal and watching videos instead of talking. She laughed to herself at what Link might say to her thinking fruit and pita bread was “a decent meal”. 

But seriously, what was going on? 

October 16th

Zelda got up bright and early even though Link wasn’t picking her up until 4:30 to get to an early dinner with Ganon at 5:15.

It was 7:30 AM and she knew Purah was the only one in the house. 

Zelda ran to the top of the stairs. “Purah?” she called. 

“Uh!” Purah yelled. “Just a minute!” 

Zelda returned to her room and started pacing. She hoped Purah would bring her coffee. She forgot to ask, but she needed some liquid courage for even this conversation. 

She rubbed her eyes and brushed her fingers through her hair, having rolled out of bed minutes ago in a panic. 

Purah knocked on the door and opened it, an iced coffee and a mug of black coffee in her hands. “Hi, sugar. Desperate for caffeine, are we?” 

“No, it’s not that,” Zelda said, taking her coffee from Purah’s hand. “Well, I am, yes, sorry. Thank you for the coffee.” 

Purah studied her, looking amused. “You’re welcome.” 

“Are you in the middle of something or could you possibly…?”

“Hey, why do you think I brought my own coffee?” Purah was wearing baggy jeans and a gray t-shirt, no shoes. Her hair was in a messy pile on top of her head and she had her big round glasses on. She sat down on the bed and crossed her legs. 

Zelda sat at her desk chair, facing her. She drank some of her coffee and Purah waited patiently. 

“I’m in a difficult situation,” Zelda finally said, her voice soft.

“Ha! No kidding, babe!” 

“No. No, Purah, I’m talking about,” she licked her lips and inhaled a shaky breath, “ Link ,” she whispered. 

Purah took a loud sip of her coffee, her eyes squinting in a smile. “Mm.” She wiped her upper lip, nodding, and cleared her throat. “What’s the situation?” 

“It’s embarrassing.” 

“It just feels that way because you’ve never had a crush before.” 

“A crush,” Zelda echoed, her heart clenching. “I haven’t told you the embarrassing part.” 

“Oh.” 

“Sometimes, even though he’s older, and… cute …and charismatic, all around just way out of my league—I’m not blind—But, all of that being said, I think,” she took a drink of her coffee. 

Purah didn’t exactly look to be at the edge of her seat.

“Sometimes, delusional and conceited as I might sound, I think he may return my feelings.” She felt like dying as soon as she’d said it. 

Purah’s expression didn’t change in the slightest but she dropped her head sideways. She stared at Zelda for a few beats, which was a cruel way to pass judgment, Zelda thought. 

“I’m not certain…It was just a fleeting suspicion…” There was no back-tracking, was there? 

“No, sorry, I had to reboot there. That’s so cute that you didn’t know. He’s so obvious. I haven’t even heard you guys talk and it’s obvious.” Purah giggled. “He stands around flirting with you every morning and afternoon. He made you promise to take care of your shoulders. Hey! Does that mean he knows all about Ganon?” 

Zelda dropped her head, slowly spinning her chair side-to-side with her feet on the ground. “He’s known nearly since the beginning.”

“Really?” 

“He drove me on my first date. I acted badly just after the date.” She scratched her face, wincing. “I told him not to speak to me. And, Purah, it was strange—.”

“Hm?” Alright, now Purah was leaning forward, elbows propped on her knees. 

“He didn’t speak again until…I asked him to. When I said that he shouldn’t have listened to me, and should talk whenever he wants to, he smiled at me, and was incredibly kind. He forgave me immediately.” 

“How long did you guys go without speaking?” 

Zelda sat her coffee aside just to bury her face in her hands. “Oh, Purah, I treated him terribly. I try not to think about it, but remembering it now, I can’t believe I said that he may harbor…feelings for me. How arrogant!” 

“How long, though?” 

“Three weeks,” Zelda said, feeling ill. 

That made Purah throw her head back laughing. “Oh my gawd, girl! You played hard to get. Clearly effective.” 

“I wasn’t playing anything. What I did is inexcusable.” 

“What got you back on speaking terms? I want to hear everything.”

_

Zelda had a headache by the end of her story. She felt more confused about her relationship with Link than ever before. Especially because of Purah’s delighted laughter over every exchange that Zelda recounted. 

In the end, Zelda dropped her head, dying over the stifling heat and lack of air in the room. She finished her coffee. 

“So…are you going to tell him?” Purah asked, meeting Zelda’s eyes. 

Zelda tilted her head, confused. “Tell him what? You think I should apologize again?” 

“Are you going to tell him how you feel?” 

Zelda’s mouth fell agape. “Of course not. Purah, are you mad? I’m in a relationship, technically.”

“Technically. I don’t think it counts.” 

“Even so, isn’t it unusual for the woman to make the first move?” 

Purah narrowed her eyes. “You don’t actually care about that. Don’t pretend with me. You’re just scared.” 

“Why shouldn’t he ask first…if he even did…care to—.”

“Only about a million reasons! Zelda, he can’t ask you out. He’s older, he works for your dad, he could get in huge, real trouble for running around with you.” 

“Why do you want me in trouble, then? And doesn’t that mean he’d say “no”?” 

“I hate to break it to you, but you’re already in trouble. I think you need to play things very smart. Don’t get in trouble. But…he seems to make you really happy. And he sounds like he cares about you an awful lot.”

“I’m not going to do anything. That is an absurd idea.” Zelda shut her eyes. There was no way she could look Link in the eye and tell him of her silly, childish feelings. Then again…if he did like her, but he knew he couldn’t be the one to…No! No. No. 

“Okay. You’re going through a lot. Don’t tell him. Just have fun, okay? Let yourself enjoy his company. Gotta hang onto the good things, right?” 

Zelda smiled wistfully. “Yes we do. Thank you, Purah. Thank you for listening.” 

Purah stood and clapped her on the back. “You silly girl. I like our chats. Besides, someone has to tell you that that Linky kid isn’t out of your league. That’s just nonsense. And he sounds crazy about you.” Purah shot her a smile and headed for the door. 

Zelda kept her eyes fixed on the floor, mind buzzing. 

Purah opened the door, then paused. “You okay?” 

Zelda nodded. “I feel better, believe it or not.” 

_

As they pulled up to Fausta’s Restauranto and Vinerio, Link turned to her. 

“Do you have my prize picked out? Something as good as breadsticks?” 

Zelda looked out the window. She could only come up with one thing, and the more her conversation with Purah sank in, the more her mind was made up. She just couldn’t think about it at all. And for God’s Sake just get the breadsticks. 

“Link, I’m getting those breadsticks. But, yes, I do have a backup.” 

Link grinned. “Good!” he chirped. “I’m almost so curious I’m rooting against you.” 

Zelda gave him a forced smile, clutching her chest and taking a deep breath. This was the most nervous she’d ever been at the prospect of seeing Ganon, and she knew why. She pressed down harder, hand over her heart, trying to slow it by force. 

“Hey Zel?” 

She blinked at him in surprise. 

“For what it’s worth, you look dressed to kill. Like, if I had to guess where you were going, I’d say off to war. With the,” he waved his hands around his eyes, probably alluding to her dark eye makeup, and then his eyes drifted lower and he pointed to his own lips. He jump-scared himself with that one. Maybe the compliment didn’t calm her but Link floundering was an effective distraction. 

“I mean, you’re deadly, right?” He gave her a small, shy smile. That was nonsense but she felt confident. No matter what, Link would be here when she got back. 

“Yes, I am.”

“A fork to the neck is even effective against a jock, I’d imagine. You don’t need me.” 

She patted his hand that was resting against the console. “It’s time for me to go.” 

He felt it too. He was acting differently over this outing. He nodded and got out of the car. His lips were moving, muttering, as he walked past the windshield. 

He opened the door for her and as she stood to get out, they stared at each other for a few long heartbeats, car door between them. It felt like they confessed to each other then and there. Something changed in his eyes—They turned transparent and she knew she mirrored it. A sadness passed between them like they saw the same end. 

She felt his eyes follow her as she walked down the sidewalk, her body on display, hugged by red silk that left most of her back and thighs bare. 

The dress was a gift, specially ordered and arriving in a box marked from Paris. She knew who it was from and she knew what it was for. 

But unapologetically, she was glad that Link had seen it first.

If this was a battle, she was nothing more than a martyr whose fate was long decided. With a deep breath, she pushed open the door to the restaurant. 

_

“An angel,” Ganon breathed, barely loud enough for Zelda to hear as she walked towards him. 

Their table was secluded and against an arched window covered in ivy climbing rot-iron just outside, softening the sunlight sparkling through. Ganon sat facing the door. 

He stood when she approached. 

She didn’t smile; she lowered her eyes when she reached him, and didn’t watch as he traced his rough fingertips down the length of her arms, then put his hands on her silky hips, barely reaching the skin of her bare back. 

As he leaned in for a kiss, she turned her head towards the window, letting him place a sensual kiss on her cheek. 

“Quite right,” he said. He pulled back her chair. “Wouldn’t want to risk messing up that lipstick.” 

They sat down and Zelda’s eyes fixed on the breadsticks sitting between them. The sight of them allowed her a deep breath. 

“This is a nice place.” 

“I was glad to hear you’d never been here before. I love showing you new experiences, Zelda.” 

She met his eyes finally and pressed her lips together in a tight line. 

There was a bustling of waiters and chatter on the other side of the room. They had a whole half of the chandelier-lit, marble-tiled room to themselves. 

“How do you like the dress?” 

That put a smile on her face. The memory of Link first seeing her as she left the house, his lip twitching and the hitch in his breath, him not saying a word and trying not to look at her the entire drive replayed through her mind in an instant. 

“I love it, Ganon. Really, your taste is surprisingly elegant.” 

He grinned and leaned forward. “I’m so glad you think so. I was a bit unsure what you’d say. Your day-to-day outfits are pretty sexy, so I hoped you wouldn’t mind something this flattering.” He shamelessly looked down from her collarbones to her chest to her torso, all that was visible from her seat at the table, partially covered by the white table cloth. 

She fixed her gaze back on the breadsticks. “Do they have Dr. Pepper here?” 

He laughed. “Zelda, your taste is surprisingly humble.” 

“Yes, when I think of Dr. Pepper, the first word that comes to mind is humility.” 

“I love your wit. It’s just as sexy to me as the rest of you.” 

Zelda crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “We’ve been here five minutes and you’ve called me “sexy” twice.” She didn’t bother keeping her voice low. “Anything else we can talk about?” 

His smile fell and his eyes narrowed. That wicked look was more comfortable to her than the fake smiles. “You really don’t know how to take a compliment.” 

“I won’t deny that.” 

He sighed at her through his teeth and snapped his fingers at a passing waiter. “I think we’ve decided.” 

Hilarious . 

She thought of Link at the diner, forcing her to figure out what she wanted. Every moment with Ganon was solidifying her determination. 

She had to have Link. Her plans would not be hindered. She was going to University. And she was keeping that boy with her at all cost. 

Ganon was ordering some Italian wine, trying to impress her with his pronunciation. When he paused before ordering food, Zelda looked up at the waiter. 

“Do you have Dr. Pepper?” 

The waiter didn’t bat an eye. “Apologies, Miss. Is Mr. Pibb alright?” 

It wasn’t but that was way too funny to pass up. 

“That’s perfect, thank you,” she smiled warmly. 

The waiter nodded and Ganon cleared his throat. 

He ordered something else in Italian. The words “fettuccine”, “parmesan”, and “spaghetti” weren’t in the order so Zelda was mystified. 

Zelda’s stomach tightened when the wine arrived and was poured in each of their glasses and the bottle was left in a bucket of ice beside them. 

“How do you manage this?” Zelda asked as Ganon sniffed his wine. 

“Mm?” He raised his brows in question. 

“The wine.” 

He scoffed. “No one would guess you have money. That’s such a lovely quality. You’re very down to earth, Zelda.” 

“So money? Money carries more weight than a legal ID? That makes perfect sense,” Zelda said, rubbing her hands up and down her crossed arms. 

He dropped his head in mock-resignation. “I didn’t make the rules. This is the way of the world.” 

“Uh-huh.” Her Mr. Pibb was set before her and she smiled gratefully. She tasted it. It was totally drinkable. Way more drinkable than Diet Dr. Pepper or wine. 

“I’m not going to drink alone, Zelda. This is a celebration.”

She bit down on her straw. The breadsticks were covered in garlic. Her $1000 purse was going to smell like garlic for forever. She doubted there was any way to clean the thing without destroying it.  

She had to bite; Ganon was waiting. 

“What are we celebrating?” She sipped her drink and forced herself to make eye-contact. 

He smiled as if he was a kind, vulnerable, shy man. Again, this was a horrible look for him. He raised his glass towards Zelda. 

She didn’t even try to hide her exasperation. She sat down her soda and picked up the wine glass. She clinked his glass and scowled. 

Just the smell of it made her wrinkle her nose. For some reason though, she decided to act like the girls on a crappy date in the movies. She choked down the whole glass like a shot. It was fancy wine so the glass was only like 1/4th full. 

Ganon coughed a surprised laugh. 

She sat down the glass and dabbed at her lips with a black cloth napkin. “It’s not so bad if you hold your breath and clear it at once. Like medicine,” she said flatly. 

Again, he was genuinely amused, snickering into his wine glass. He finished his off and poured them both another glass, filling them full. 

He really must think I’m an idiot.

Her face was hot and her throat burned. “So what are we celebrating?” 

Ganon cracked his knuckles and straightened his suit jacket. “I’m going to keep you in suspense until after we eat.”

“Then I’m hardly celebrating. If I don’t know what to be so happy about, well, why should I be happy?” 

“You don’t like surprises.” 

“I hate surprises.” 

She succeeded in annoying him. “I guess you can drink your soda and celebrate later, then,” he snapped.

Zelda shrugged placidly and picked up her soda cup. 

She’d finished her soda when dinner arrived. A big plate with a small, nondescript delicacy stared up at her. 

“Mm.” She nodded approval at the nice waiter who was in no way responsible for the awful time she was having. In fact, she felt comradery towards the man, since he’d brought her a soda. 

Ganon rubbed his hands together excitedly. 

“What is this?” Zelda asked, poking the spongy purple centerpiece in the middle of her dish. 

Ganon had the nerve to repeat the name of it the way he’d ordered it. 

“No seriously,” Zelda nearly cut him off. 

“It’s an eggplant puree.” 

“Oh.” 

“Try it.” 

Fair enough. Zelda would try it before she passed her final judgment, although she already felt pretty sure she wouldn’t enjoy it. She took a tiny squishy bite. Her mouth filled with a powdery bitterness. There was no getting around it; she washed the taste from her mouth with the bitter wine. 

The whole experience, everything happening in her mouth was nauseating. 

She sighed and took one of the six breadsticks out of the basket. She didn’t want to cut into Link’s share, but by god, he’d understand. 

She minced on the bread until Ganon finished eating. It felt very much like he was dragging out the meal on purpose. 

When she finished her breadstick, she buried her hands in her napkin, trying to get the butter off of them. 

“Was the entree not to your liking, Miss?” 

“I’m so sorry. I have zero complaints. I just stupidly filled up on breadsticks and Mr. Pibb,” she said, wide, innocent eyes fixed on her waiter. 

He laughed politely and dipped his head. “Very good, Miss.” 

The table was cleared. 

The setting was fresh and lovely. 

Zelda asked if she could get a to-go box for the breadsticks. Ganon said that she was kidding. 

Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit. dammit. dammit. 

A few brief moments of silence hung in the air once they were alone again. All that was left on the table was the crisp white table cloth and a red rose in a vase. 

Gravity was increasing on Zelda the longer Ganon looked at her. 

He placed his hand on the table, outstretched to her. 

She stared down at it like it was a bug she was psyching herself up to kill. 

“Ahem,” Ganon pushed. 

She wiped her clammy hand on the napkin in her lap and slapped her hand against his palm. 

His fingers trapped her with a painfully tight grip. His eyes turned violent. 

Zelda felt overheated to the point of dizziness. 

“Zelda Hyrule,” 

Oh god.

“I honestly don’t know if you will be shocked by what I have to say or not. I have something I’ve been planning to give you for a while now.” He laughed as if he was shy. 

Manipulative freak. 

He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a black velvet ring box. 

She thought she was prepared. Some part of her had been preparing. It was so obvious. It was obvious it was happening and it was obvious it would be today. 

Her heart still sunk at the sight of it and she felt sweat tickle her hairline. 

He let go of her hand and stood up, just to drop down on one knee in front of her. 

A collective gasp echoed from the other side of the room. 

Zelda was clenching her fingernails to her palms just to keep herself from fainting. 

“Zelda Hyrule,” he said, louder this time, making a spectacle, “make me the richest man in the world by being my treasured wife?” 

Zelda swallowed, her vision sparkling around the view of Ganon’s murder-filled eyes. 

“Yes,” she said. She surprised herself even, by how loud and clear her voice was. 

It was a little backwards. Only then did he open the ring box. 

She raised her brows. “Oh wow.” 

The gold ring had emeralds wound through it, leading to an enormous diamond in the middle. 

She didn’t know what she’d expected; something boring?

He took her shaky hand and put the ring on her finger. His eyes gleamed a clear message as he smiled up at her. Anyone who didn’t know him might think his eyes sparkled with the promise of tears. Zelda knew he was actually just high on victory. 

Every movement, every detail of his face screamed: “I won”.

He kissed her hand then stood, pulling her to her feet in the same motion. 

All the blood rushed to her head and she swooned. 

The crowd that had appeared out of nowhere “awww”ed as Ganon caught her by the waist to keep her from falling. 

She saw what was happening a moment before he tried it. He dipped her and leaned in. “Oh Ganon!” she cried adoringly. She heaved all of her weight upright and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug, placing her head on his chest. 

Cheering and applause and the subtlest huff from her fiancé. 

_

The tiramisu was great. Zelda had never met a dessert she didn’t like. It was a nice way of getting under Ganon’s skin too. He only got one bite of it. She funneled it, the engagement ring clicking awkwardly against her fork. 

“That was delicious,” she said. Her voice was still shaking so badly she could barely get her words out. 

“You sure look good in that ring,” Ganon hummed, propping his chin on his fist, again playing some warped attempt at a doting lover. 

She held her hand out but it was trembling too bad for her to keep still and look at. She put her hand flat on the table to inspect it. She knew perfectly well that Ganon was staring at her cleavage while she leaned over the table, but she was too exhausted and defeated to care. When wasn’t he staring through her with x-ray vision? 

The ring wasn’t half bad. It was too big for her taste and if it was a promise she cared about she’d be way too nervous about losing a ring this gaudy. But still, it wasn’t ugly. 

“The ring is pretty, Ganon. You pick this out yourself?” 

“Believe it or not.” 

Zelda shrugged. “I believe it. You’re a fashionable guy.” 

Ganon whistled. “Is that a compliment I hear? I guess it’s true what they say. A woman transforms immediately with a ring on her finger.” 

Zelda narrowed her eyes, anger gripping her, even drowning out the other million emotions burning through her body. “Any token I could get to transform you?” 

“Hey, easy. You’re such a firecracker,” he laughed. 

She looked up at him with a burning hatred like none she’d ever felt. “I want to go home.” 

“Sorry?” he scoffed. 

“Haven’t I done enough for today? Wouldn’t you prefer for me to leave before I vomit?”

“God, Zelda. I—.” 

“Ganon, if there is a shred of humanity inside of you, I would love for you to prove it on the day of our engagement. Let me go home,” she hissed sharply. 

He stared at her with a look that would normally be scary. She maintained that eye contact for what felt like minutes before he swore under his breath.

“Let’s go.” 

She didn’t budge. “You understand that I want to be alone? I want to go home alone.” 

He stood, face red. 

She wondered which of them was angrier. She still wondered this while he took her hand and crushed it as he pulled her from the restaurant in long strides. 

When they exited the building he tossed her hand down away from him aggressively and exhaled through his teeth. 

“You’re going to make this entire process as miserable as you possibly can, right? To get back at Daddy? Rich little brat, I swear I could just—.”

“I don’t really care what you think of me as long as you help with my father’s campaign.” She looked up at him with tired eyes. 

His eyes blazed, shock and rage evident. He scanned the row of cars in front of them, blocking their view of the street. He looked to the brownstone beside them. He barely nodded as if to himself before slapping her across the face. 

She stumbled in her black stiletto heels, catching herself against the brick wall beside her, skinning her elbow. She stared down at the concrete between them as the sting from his hand reached her cheek. She inhaled a shaky breath. 

“Aw,” Ganon said. His voice was trembling in anger. “Our first fight.” 

Zelda smiled and scoffed. “Yes, this really sets the tone for things, I suppose. Honesty is the basis for any solid relationship. I believe we have that in our favor, Ganon.” 

“Where are you parked? I’m walking you to the car.” 

She nearly jumped she was so startled. “Why?”  

Oh, he looked like a shark approaching a seal. “Isn’t your driver the first who will hear? I want to be there for the first time you give someone the news.” 

Her shoulders sank. She knew there was no getting around it. She wasn’t keen on getting smacked again; her cheek was swelling. 

So Zelda just turned and began walking towards the car.

_

Link was sitting back against the hood of the car wearing a nicer suit than Ganon’s. 

Link’s uniform always looked like a million bucks. 

Zelda realized looking at him now, he’d spruced up for today. 

His hair looked neater than it ever had, half of it pulled back, all smoothed down, no bedhead. His dress shoes were shiny. His white shirt was ironed and buttoned one button higher than normal (second from the top—He hated “fancy clothes”) and tucked in neat enough for his belt to show. The icing on the cake, undeniable proof this dress-up was intentional: he was actually wearing his black suit-jacket for once. 

He frowned down at his phone until they got within about six feet. 

He looked up at them. If he was unnerved, he didn’t show it. He raised a hand in greeting and walked around towards the passenger door, pretending to be a silent professional who didn’t engage with his wealthy clients. 

“Wait up,” Ganon said. 

Link paused and turned on his heels, tucking his hands in his pant pockets. His eyes flickered for a split-second to Zelda before he looked up at Ganon who towered over him like a giant wall. Link had to look up even from a polite distance away from him. 

“Yessir?” he said briskly. 

“Have you no rapport with Ms. Hyrule?” 

Link’s expression was neutral and indifferent. “Sorry?” 

“You haven’t said a word to the lady.” 

“I was going to open the door for her, sir. That’s usually the first order of business.” His voice held no heat. He was being the perfect chauffeur. 

Zelda, in her cloud of strung-out distress and jarred skull from being smacked by a gorilla, was mesmerized by Link’s performance. 

“And you’re all business, are you?” Ganon hooked an arm around Zelda. 

Link smiled, glancing confusedly between Ganon and the middle of Zelda’s forehead. “I am at work, sir.” 

Ganon held out his hand to Link. 

Link smiled politely and gave him a firm handshake. “I’m Link.” 

“Ganon Dragmire.” 

“Pleasure to meet you,” Link bowed his head respectfully. 

“Now that we are at least on friendly terms at your workplace, I defer to Zelda. Surely, after knowing each other for sometime, even with a professional relationship, you might share our news, dear.” 

She genuinely wasn’t sure she could do this. She’d been a shivering trainwreck since they were in the restaurant. Maybe she should have had that second glass of wine after all. She didn’t think she could hold her hand still enough to show off the ring. 

She tried to take a breath but no air seemed to reach her lungs. 

“We are engaged.” 

Zelda wasn’t even sure what reserves made it possible for her to voice that. 

There was no telling Link’s reaction. 

Zelda’s head was down as Ganon’s fingernails found the skin on her side and he dug in. 

“Congrats!" Link said it as though they were total strangers.  

He very suddenly entered Zelda’s field of vision. “Hey, what happened to your face?” He still sounded so clueless. 

Link was standing on the other side of her now, arms crossed, tilting his head as he frowned at her swelling cheek. 

Ganon let go of her side to avoid detection and turned to see for himself as if he didn’t know. “That wasn’t there before,” Ganon exclaimed. 

Link’s eyes were wide and only hinting at the mildest concern. “It looks pretty bad,” Link said with a wince. 

Zelda’s knees were soon to buckle. She silently begged Link to just get her in the car. 

“Zelda, do you have any food allergies?” Ganon asked.

“Food allergies?” Link said in disbelief. “I thought you were gonna say you got mugged. That’s a handprint.” 

Ganon placed his hand on her back, tracing circles between her shoulder blades. “Did someone hurt you, Zelda?” he asked, syrupy sweet. 

Zelda gave Ganon a bored look. “No.” She cocked her head and finally met Link’s eyes. 

She needed to get out of there. 

Link shrugged. “So weird. What a mystery. Sure looks like someone popped you in the face. This is a nice area though, so who would dare to lay a hand on a seventeen-year-old girl?” Link swung his gaze back up to Ganon and gave him a casual, pleasant smile. “Nice meeting you, Mr. Ganon. You have my congratulations.” 

“Thank you, Link. It’s nice to know someone so dependable is looking out for My Zelda.” 

“Bye,” Zelda chirped. 

Link dipped his head and rushed over to the back passenger door. 

“Nice guy,” Ganon said, eyes following Link. 

“ Bye , Ganon,” Zelda repeated. 

Ganon grabbed her head and squeezed. 

She whimpered. 

He kissed the top of her head and stepped back. “Bye, Princess. I’ll see you on Monday.” 

“Yes. See you then.” 

“Oh and Zelda?” 

“Yes?”

“Don’t tell anyone at school yet. And don't wear the ring. I want to do things carefully, okay?” 

She wasn’t planning on showing it off anyway, so fine. 

“No problem.” 

“Thank you, Zelda. Have a nice evening.”

Chapter Text

Zelda got in the back seat and Link shut the door without any communication, silent or otherwise. She stared into space while Link got in the car and started it. 

She was roused by the squeak of the rearview mirror. 

Their eyes met. They stared, both looking hollow. 

Link blinked and put the car in reverse. 

“Take me somewhere and park. Somewhere safe from him.” She figured he was already planning to, but she needed it to be a sure thing. 

_

He parked a block away behind a building, taking the spot that was next to a shrub so they were cut off from any view of the city. 

Zelda grabbed her purse and got out. She sat down in the front seat and Link turned the car off. He exhaled a joyless laugh. “So, fake identities? Hitting the border?” 

“Don’t joke about that, Link. You know I’d do it.” Her throat tightened so she could barely say the last bit. 

Link sighed heavily and shook out of his jacket. 

Zelda grabbed the back of it and helped him free. 

He thanked her under his breath and placed it on her lap. Her dress barely covered her. She had goosebumps. Of course, that’s not why she was trembling. She draped the warm fabric across her lap. 

“Gimme your hand."

Zelda held out her hand and he took it in both of his. 

His touch was so sharply, dramatically different from how she’d been treated through that horror-show. He held it close to his face with a feather-soft touch like it was something delicate.

Her conversation with Purah felt like it was years ago. She was a different person now. And she didn’t have a crush. That was far from the right word. 

“That’s a big rock,” Link scoffed. 

His face was white. She couldn’t see his eyes, he was leaning in so close to their hands. 

“I was surprised. It’s almost pretty.” 

He nodded, poking it like it was a slug. “I hate it. Is the green supposed to match your eyes?” 

Zelda grimaced. “Probably. I hadn’t thought of that.” 

“It’s wrong if so. Way too dark.” 

Zelda realized that she was breathing easily. She wanted her hand to stay in his. 

He pinched the gold band between his fingers and wiggled it. “Hm. Little big for you.” He slid it off of her finger. 

Her mouth fell agape. An indescribable feeling sparkled from her heart and lungs all the way up to the top of her head. It made that dinner feel like a nightmare that was turning into a forgotten mist as she awoke. 

“Can I see your purse, please?” 

She picked it up off of the floorboard and held it open. She didn’t have time to hand it to him before he pitched the ring into her purse. 

He clicked his tongue. “First try.” 

She gasped, a smile spreading across her face as she stared at him. “Nice shot,” she said in amazement. She felt free. She felt sure, again, of all that she was going to reach. She would never marry that monster. She would sooner die. She was going to college and she was keeping Link at her side no matter what. It was sure. 

“He hit you.” Link met her eyes. He looked miserable. 

“Yeah, but he held back. Way back. I didn’t fall.” 

“Zelda,” he said, high-pitched, reprimanding. He rubbed his head, resting his elbow on his windowsill. “Can I see?” 

“You were so perfect until you went off about that,” she said with a smile, having to turn all the way around in her seat, facing the back. She’d kicked her heels off and was sitting on her legs, his jacket now wrinkled in her lap. 

Shivers traveled down her spine as he held her chin between his thumb and forefinger. She closed her eyes, blissful as he tilted her head this way and that. 

“Well I was mad,” he muttered. 

“Hm?” 

He let go of her and sat back against his door, one leg folded in his seat. 

Zelda forced her tired eyes open and pivoted just enough to fall against the backrest. 

He leveled a gaze at her. Everyone was angry today, but somehow, Link’s was soothing to her. 

“I can only stomach so much.” 

She needed to stop smiling at him so adoringly. It was going to seem patronizing after a while, with his frown so pronounced. 

She bit down on her sticky red lip and forced her gaze off of him. Her eyes landed on her purse that had fallen back to the floorboard. 

“Oh,” she said softly, “Link, I lost the bet.” 

“Tch, Zelda, you think I care about that?” 

She tilted her head. “Maybe you don’t, but I’m a woman of my word. Well,” she chuckled, “except for my sham of an engagement—I committed myself to marrying a man with no intention of going through with it. And I lied to my father for almost a year, deliberately disobeying him. So, I’d better follow through on something , right?” 

His expression didn’t change. “Don’t take that stuff to heart, Zel. You know those situations are unfair and complicated.” 

She gave him a teasing look. “I know. If you really don’t want anything, we can forget the bet. But that’s no fun. And you might wonder what the prize was later. And…I’d never just tell you. It’s now or never, as far as…the bet goes. Okay?” 

“We both know I can’t stand secrets.”

She shifted in her seat. 

This is crazy. If there was ever a day to plead insanity, though…

“Uuuuum…” She did a proper misdirect, picking up her purse, peering inside it, and digging around. “Close your eyes,” she said, sounding distracted as she threw her wallet around the big, empty space. She was trembling again. She checked him. 

His eyes were squinted shut. There was the subtlest uptick to the corner of his lip. 

She waved her hand in front of his face. Now or never. She placed her hands on the console between them and pulled herself up on it as quietly as possible. Eyes on the prize, that flushing cheek. She felt him flinch as she placed her hand on the other side of his face, trapping him. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips just below his cheekbone. He didn’t resist in the slightest. Her heart fluttered in her throat. She greedily lingered a few more moments before properly smacking the kiss to his skin. With a soft caress, she dropped her hand from his face and opened her eyes. 

Link's eyes were still closed, his brows were knitted, and his lips were parted. He seemed frozen. But she knew he might reanimate any second. Reality cracked down on Zelda like lightning and she panicked. 

She fell back in her seat and threw his jacket over her head without another glance in his direction. She squealed and recoiled as far as she could against her door. Her squeal transitioned smoothly into a psychotic giggle. Her lipstick felt extra sticky, maybe smudged. That just made her feel more wild. She kicked her feet in her chair, trying to shake free of some of the burning energy rushing through her. 

He didn’t wear cologne. His jacket just smelled like jacket. She was totally concealed by it, holding onto the front of it for dear life. 

Her makeshift fort could only last for so long. Over the sound of her maniacal shrieking, she heard Link move. 

He was coming towards her. 

“No!” She gave a shrill laugh, trying to fight him off as he reached around to grab hold of the fabric. 

Right away he caught the bottom of his jacket and snatched it down off of her. She was still gasping for breath, pushing her staticky, tangled hair out of her face. 

She was instantly caught by Link’s big eyes fixed on her. 

His face was unreadable.

"You crazy girl,” he said, his eyes getting wider. He shook his head in disbelief. 

She bit her lip as her smile turned from a nervous reaction to genuine amusement. She had left a near-perfect red kiss on his cheek. 

His eyes were darting all over her face as if he’d find an answer somewhere on it. 

Tears of laughter were running down her cheeks and stinging her eyes. She wiped them with the back of her hands and saw that they were black. “Oh no,” she said, shaking with more laughter, causing more mascara tears to fall. 

Link continued to stare. Now he just looked silly. He definitely didn’t seem upset. Just confused. 

He looked at her too long and held onto his jacket too tight. 

He finally managed to make Zelda’s grin fade. She clasped her hands together. 

“Okay,” she said hoarsely. “Say something besides “you're crazy” so I know you aren’t going to reinstate the talking ban.” 

He inhaled a deep breath then exhaled a laugh, a smile spreading across his face. 

That powerful rush gripped Zelda again and she swallowed hard. Flames rose until the heat was choking her, the fire covering her body melting her brain like a marshmallow. 

How could he possibly be unaware? 

“I…didn’t expect that. I never would’ve guessed your surprise, Zelda.” 

“I didn’t think you would. But…it was all I could come up with.” She was trembling all over. "Anything I’d buy wouldn’t mean a thing, as you said. And there’s nowhere to go…Nothing to do.” She patted her burning cheeks and averted her eyes from his, which were way too sparkly and pretty just then, especially with the rest of him looking all ruffled up and that kiss on his cheek. “But that was something!” She dropped her head and wrung her sweaty hands atop her lap. “I had my first kiss available to bet…That’s something equal to breadsticks, at least on my end.” 

She glanced up at him. He wasn’t smiling anymore. His head was tilted like a confused puppy. His lips were pouting. No. Still too cute. She looked back down. 

“This bet wasn’t too easy, Link. First my breadsticks got taken off the table, then…someone else tried to kiss me. That would’ve ruined everything. I dodged it, though. So…I may have technically lost the bet, but you’ve got to hand it to me on a valiant atte—.” 

Link spread out his jacket, distracting her. He leaned forward and draped it around her shoulders. 

“Thank you." 

He was so close, holding onto the lapels of the jacket, meeting her eyes. 

“Zelda.” His voice was low. 

She drew closer, her eye-lids lowered, her gaze trained on him magnetically. 

"Thank you . But, your bet was too high. You upped the ante. Haven't you ever gambled before?"

Zelda drew closer; drawn in by Link, whose arms were now folded on the console. 

"It wasn't that kind of game. You said equal or greater value. The rules were clear."

"I forgot that part." 

"Mm?" Her eyes were on his lips. The tunnel vision was closing in. 

"I did make that rule. I guess I was being greedy." 

"That's okay," Zelda said, the words so quiet he'd have to read her lips. 

Link's jaw tightened and he inhaled a sharp breath, then dropped his head, his face going away so fast it made her dizzy. 

He kept his head down while he leaned back in his chair. 

Zelda was left frozen in place. A few heartbeats and she sat front-ways with her feet on the floor between her purse and heels. 

She shut her eyes and exhaled a shaky sigh. 

"Zelda?" 

He was smiling, almost apologetic. His eyes glittered. 

She got the message in his expression; he was begging her to pretend, to drop it. 

"The car is getting stuffy to me," he said.

Understatement of the century.

"Do you want to go home or…do you want to take a walk?" 

“Link, if I walk the streets like this people will think I’m a cheap hooker.” 

He choked on nothing and had to cough to clear his throat. 

Zelda shrugged innocently. “It’s just the truth. You look a bit suspicious, yourself.” 

Link faced her in surprise. “Do I?” 

“You have a little something,” she pointed to her cheek, “just there.” 

“Mm?” He flipped down his visor. 

Zelda turned on the ceiling light. 

Link’s face turned red when he saw and he seemed to try and fight it, but a smile spread across his face. He did his squeaky giggle. 

And her heart lightened. She combed her fingers through her messy hair, straightened her now very wrinkled dress, and did her level best to rub the lipstick and mascara from her face. 

Zelda winced. “You know what?”

“What?” Link was brushing his fingers through his hair to try and calm it down. 

“I can’t go home like this.” 

Link pursed his lips and nodded. “Yeah…We probably shouldn’t make a habit of gambling, Zel.” He cut her a sly grin and she cuffed his arm. 

_

Zelda walked barefoot with Link’s jacket buttoned up over her skimpy dress. She’d tied her hair up in a knot. 

Link walked confidently down the darkening street, the prize from their wager still marked on his face. His hands were in his pockets but he was walking close enough for their arms to brush every other step. 

She followed his lead, rushing down cross-walks with him whether the stop-light was red or green.

“Do you know this area?” she asked. 

“You kidding? This is the rich-people district. I live up past 104th.” 

“So you’ve never been here?” 

“No.”

She stared up at the skyscrapers and the soft glow of the shops they would reach as soon as they crossed the street. 

It was quiet for a Saturday night; probably because this street was devoid of nightlife spots. There were lots of alleys leading off to parking lots, assumedly for all the people who filled up the giant buildings. Those parking lots looked empty too, since these were 9 to 5-style businesses, it seemed. 

Zelda checked her watch as she followed Link across the street. “Have you thought of an excuse?” 

“For your dad?” 

She nodded. 

Link took her arm as he slowed to a stop in front of the first shop window on the stretch. “I think I’ll just call him. Do you want me to tell him the news?” 

Zelda looked at him in shock. “About the…?”

“Yeah. I am his informant, so if you want me to report that, I can.” 

Zelda crouched down to sit on the brick windowsill a foot off the ground beside them. She looked up at Link, starry-eyed, as he took his phone out of his pocket. 

“You’d do that?” 

“It’s no problem.” 

“That would be so lovely of you." 

"And I’ll explain that we’re going to be late.” 

She frowned, rubbing her chilly hands together. “How? What’s our alibi?” 

Link had a soft smile on his face. “Trust me?” 

She did. She had every reason to. “Yes, Link.” 

“Hi, Mr. Hyrule. Yes, everything is fine.” Link laughed. He sounded sincere but his eyes were dead. “Of course. It all went off without a hitch.” Link turned his back on Zelda. “That is, she accepted the proposal.” A long pause while her father spoke. 

Zelda’s hands were clasped, elbows on her knees, head on her outstretched arms. 

“Mr. Dragmire walked her to the car. Yes, Ganon. I thought you might want to know, however, since I am supposed to keep an eye on things—Yes, sir—She went into the restaurant just fine. When they got to the car, though, I swear she had a big red handprint on her face...Yes, way less than a block away. I was in the parking lot.” 

Zelda stared at the back of Link’s head, her heart pounding. 

“No, I mentioned it but he wouldn’t say a word…Of course, not. Of course she can’t. Right. Oh, sorry, one other, there was something else, yeah. She’s kinda shaken up, Mr. Hyrule. I was going to ask you if I could get her some air before the drive back. Just a coffee and…You think so? Yeah, there are a lot around here. I’ll see if she wants to. Thank you, sir. I’m sure she’d like for me to clarify,” he laughed, “she made no requests. I’m asking because—Exactly. Okay, thank you, sir." Link stopped short. "Sorry? No curfew? Really? Okay. Have a good night.” 

Link spun around, phone slowly drifting from his ear. 

“What was that?” Zelda rose to her feet. 

His eyes snapped to hers and he dropped his phone to his pocket. “Well that was something.” 

“ What ?” 

“He agreed that you must feel totally depressed after today. I think his word was “crestfallen”? When I asked to take you out for coffee…he said to take you shopping too, because the shopping district is right next to the restaurant, and that there’s no curfew.” 

Zelda went blank. “No, really, what did he say?” 

“When I told him about Ganon slapping you, he said that he believes it wholeheartedly. He said I could tell you so.” Link sounded more and more perplexed as he spoke. “And he said that you’d no doubt need some rest after today. That’s when he said the stuff about shopping and not worrying about coming home at any certain time.”

“Do you think it’s a trap?” 

Link shook his head “no”. “I think, Zelda, as mean and rotten as he is, he’s actually feeling guilty about this.” 

She dropped her head. “How strange.” 

"Eh. He let you off the leash for a few hours to go shopping. Now his tiny shriveled conscience is at ease and he can sleep tonight. He did say…we could go anywhere you wanted. A night on the town."

"He's gone mad." 

"Yeah, well, we should start by buying you some shoes.” 

“Before we clean up? Link, my makeup." She pouted at him. Her back was against the window, which was still lit but the blinds had dropped. 

Every time she looked at that kiss on his cheek it just made her want to put one on his lips. 

Oh…Her eyes were fixed on his lips as he took a step closer. 

She knew she should look somewhere else; that she was beyond caught staring, but that knowledge gave her a sense of peace. Why stop when it was too late for her anyway? 

He must know my intentions. 

She watched with full attention as a smile lit up his face. 

"Mhm. You look pretty nuts." 

She frowned, trying to seem mad while all she could think about was how close he was and how he'd ditched those top three buttons on his shirt  and rolled up his sleeves. 

He cocked his head, clearly trying to regain some of his usual pluck as his face settled into a look of amusement. 

"Where do you want to go?" His words were soft and spoken close enough to send a flush from her lips outward. That must look silly. 

She licked her lips and shook her head. "I just want my makeup off." 

He nodded and looked down at her clothes. He reached forward and adjusted the lapels of the jacket. 

"Your little feet must be ice by now, huh?" 

"It's not so bad. It just looks bad. It's embarrassing." She went on tip-toe, despite the pain, and tucked one foot behind the other. 

"It's tough," Link mused, "I'm not sure I could carry you while you're in that dress. It's kinda…" 

"One wrong move and a disastrous wardrobe malfunction occurs. I can walk a bit longer. I'm fine." 

Link stepped back and put a hand in his pocket. The other, he held out to her. 

She giggled as she took it. 

"We'll find the nearest store and get some shoes and you can wash your face." He looked back down at her feet as they started walking, then his gaze flicked to hers and he smirked. "Just like when we first met. You were standing out in the frosty grass all alone in a white sundress and I thought "This woman is either a ghost who lives in the mansion, or a weird, messed up kid who'd rather freeze than be inside." I remember you stepping on the pavement and trying so hard not to even shiver. And here you are now, walking barefoot down a cold sidewalk, acting tough again." 

"Plus I have a handprint across my face again. This is eerie." 

He sighed. "You don't just act tough, Zelda. You are tough." 

She turned and met his eyes as they walked hand-in-hand. "I know. The secret is, if your future is sure, the present can only hurt you so much." 

"And your future is all set?" 

She held his gaze, knowing a secret; that he was stuck inescapably in her plan. "It was set long before you saw me standing on the cold lawn that day. I've faced many setbacks, but I'll claw through, fight anyone in my way, and I'll reach what I'm after." 

Her chest felt lighter than in months. Saying it all aloud gave her back her steady heartbeat and her healthy lungs. She smiled up at the starless sky and drank in the distant sounds of horns and sirens and life. 

"Wow, Zel." He looked ahead. They were nearing a busier square with a cluster of stores that were still open and shoppers bustling by. Billboards glowed on the buildings overhead. 

"I've never had anything like that. I don't think that way, I guess. That's amazing. It does explain why you're so scrappy. Lemme ask you this, and only this." 

"Go for it." 

"Does anyone but you know this master plan of yours?" 

"Hmmm." 

Without a word or any deliberation, they walked through the sliding glass door of a large clothing shop. Zelda tip-toed behind the clothing rack nearest to the door. 

Link looked across the rack of clothing at her. "I'm going to go ask about a restroom and the shoe department." 

"Link, your face," she laughed, reminding him of the lipstick on his cheek. 

He made a face like she was being ridiculous. "It's fashion." 

She giggled as she watched him walk confidently towards the makeup counter. 

Three young cashier-girls seemed to be fighting over who got to help him. 

Zelda put a hand over her mouth to hide her laughter. 

The girl that won spoke with Link for a minute, pointing him in a few different directions as he nodded in understanding. 

The woman passed him a small box that he didn't seem to have to pay for and he walked proudly back towards Zelda. 

She dropped down to her knees behind the clothes to hide. Link drew attention and he was walking towards her. 

He crouched down in front of her, joining her in hiding, and he handed her the box. 

"Makeup remover!" Zelda whispered excitedly. "I'll be halfway decent now." 

Link bit his tongue and nodded enthusiastically. 

Zelda looked down at her black, red, and flesh-colored pile of makeup wipes with a shake of her head. 

"Forget what you saw, Link. Forget the image of me looking like a deranged circus clown." 

Link pouted. "But you were such a cute little circus clown."

"Your turn," she mumbled, tucking her legs closer to her on the rough carpet of the store's petite-misses section, behind a row of green blouses and matching blazers that shouldn't be matched because they were too close to the same color without being the same color. 

The makeup remover box and pile of used wipes sat between Link and Zelda. He sat with a hand on the floor, propping him up. 

"Does it hurt?" 

She gave him an incredulous look. "Does what hurt?" 

"The chemicals. Your face looks like, like you have red splotches where the makeup was. Does it burn?" 

Zelda couldn't respond for a few seconds. 

She blinked and suddenly he was stumbling into her kitchen in the pajamas and fuzzy socks, ready for his cup of tea…

She blinked again. "It doesn't hurt." 

He didn't look like he believed her. 

"I'm used to it and I was wearing a lot of makeup so I scrubbed hard. You have one little bit of lipstick. That will come right off." 

When the worried look would not go away, she sighed and got out another makeup wipe. 

"Come here." Her voice was silky, teasing. 

He hesitated. 

"Lean in, I don't bite." She used that same tone, wiggling her finger for him to come forward. 

He tilted his head towards her with his long hair falling to the side. 

She wasn't made of stone. Her hand was shaky as she reached forward and took his hair between her fingers. It was just as satin-soft as she'd imagined. She brushed it behind his ear, more slowly than she should have. Doing so revealed his face. His lips were tightly pressed together and his eyes were lowered, hidden by his lashes. It would've been an unreadable expression in and of itself, but the quick rise and fall of his chest told her that he was bracing himself. 

She placed one hand on his shoulder and her forefinger to his cheek, just above the kiss. "May as well be wiping it off with a wet rag," Zelda hummed, just before pressing the face wipe to his face. 

He had the nerve to suck air through his teeth like something was wrong. 

She narrowed her eyes and continued. It took upwards of 5 seconds to get the little red stain entirely gone. 

She sat back, tossed the wipe in the pile with the others, and rubbed her hands together. 

"Now, what went wrong with that?" 

"Nothing. Thank you." 

"Not too scary."

“No. Just cold." 

Zelda laughed a bit too loud for their position in hiding. "You're such a baby," she said, gathering the wipes and standing up, now that she could show her face to the world. She stuffed the box and the trash into her purse and sighed in relief. 

"On to shoes, right?" 

"Yes, right this way." 

They made sure to wind a path through the carpeted sections and racks of clothing, avoiding tile floors, until they reached the shoe department.

"Right. I'll look in this area. You go over there and find some new sneakers." Zelda pointed to the next section, the men's shoes. 

"What? What are you talking about?" 

Zelda dropped her shoulders and looked at Link sweetly. "Let's not bother with this back and forth. The sooner you pick out what I tell you to, the sooner we can go eat." 

His eyes lit up. 

She'd struck a chord with him. She knew he'd want new clothes anyway, he'd just waste a bit of time arguing about it first. 

"You're hungry?" 

"The servings at expensive restaurants are abysmal. Plus, I didn't even eat mine because it didn't look like food. Besides all of that, I don't see when you could've eaten dinner." 

"I didn't eat dinner," he said quickly, as if she'd entranced him with this promise of food. 

"So hurry and find some shoes you like, and don't cut corners. Actually look and get some that you'll wear. I'll get myself some. And then we'll get dinner." 

He was beaming. He took her hands. "Thanks, Zel." 

"Mm." 

Link's hands slipped from hers and she stared after him as he walked away. 

She thought of how she felt whenever Ganon's eyes were on her. She hoped she wasn't like him as she studied Link and had some less-than-pure thoughts run through her mind. 

If she wanted to simply enjoy this escape from reality; like Cinderella's one night at the ball, she needed to get her mind out of the gutter. 

She laughed and shook her head, walking towards a shelf of simple ballet-flats. 

" Does it hurt? " she mumbled. "How absurd."

Chapter Text

Zelda was delighted by the way the city got louder and busier the later it got and the further they walked. Cars whizzed around the large square of food trucks and vendors and crowds of tourists. 

Okay, so she and Link had wandered pretty far away from the high-class shopping district. But, they’d exhausted it. 

They found themselves in an entirely different burrow of the city now, a long walk from the car. 

The crowds and lights and noises were overwhelming to Zelda at first, but this was a place Link knew well, and he'd guided her through it with ease. She felt safe here with him. 

They sat on the sidelines near the road on a metal park bench table with their feet on the bench-seat. Shopping bags surrounded them on the table and seat. 

Zelda held a hot coffee in her hands, watching Link scarf down funnel cake. 

She was keeping count. He'd had 2 hot dogs, 1 cheese-burger, a chilly dog, and now he was on to funnel cake. 

She was baffled at how he wasn't sick. 

Zelda had convinced him to let her buy him clothes, and after that, their night was free of lulls in conversation or tense moments. He had said himself once that he didn't have nice clothes to wear instead of his suit. Zelda ended up getting him a whole new wardrobe of light, summery button up shirts, thick sweaters for fall, pants, jackets, shoes, and all manner of accessories like hats and scarves.

He was reluctant at first but she knew her enthusiasm had egged him on. He must've realized it was just as fun for her, if not more, than it was for him. 

Plus, they were both much more comfortable after changing out of stuffy dress clothes in the second store. 

Zelda wore a cute multi-colored beanie, dark, high-rise skinny jeans, a Sand Seal t-shirt, and a blue hoodie. She’d gotten some blue slip-ons that happened to match her hoodie and the stripes in her hat. 

Link wore his new green sweater and khaki pants. Zelda had talked him into a pricey pair of brown leather boots and she was so happy he’d let her buy them because they completed the fall ensemble she’d curated. 

So here they sat at 10PM on a park bench in Castle Town Square.

Over the course of the evening, they gradually got closer and closer in proximity. 

It probably started with Zelda holding shirts up to check their fit, tugging the fabric to his sides to make sure of where the seams hit. 

After the third store, walking on to the next, their arms kept brushing so much that Link just looped his arm around hers. 

It was breathtaking for a moment, but now it felt natural. It seemed awkward not to have him stabilizing her as they matched pace and direction. 

Dinner wasn’t a sit-down, singular event. 

They stopped at every food truck they saw and they ate while they walked. 

Eventually, they perched to take a break after their long shopping spree and walk.

Link dusted the powdered sugar off of his hands and sat the empty plate aside. 

He took a drink of coffee, then covered his mouth to mask a yawn. 

Zelda gave him a quick, sideways glance. If she turned her head to face him, she'd be too close, just a breath away, and she would have to kiss him. 

Can't have that.  

"Getting sleepy?" 

He shook his head. "No," he said with a yawn. He laughed at his own immediate contradiction. "I guess a little. I'll get another cup of coffee and be fine." 

"You're probably about to go into a food-coma after eating all those carbs." 

"Think so? I do feel a little too warm and cozy here. Full of yums, bundled up in this sweater, all the night-lights," he pointed around at the glaring buildings and ever changing jumbotrons. 

"These nightlights are a bit too bright for my taste. I'm not sure I could sleep under a fifty-foot flashing, color-changing light." 

“Yeah…” A comfortable silence fell between them. They sipped their coffee and stared at the passersby. Zelda couldn’t help but look at the couples and think how she and Link must look from the outside. 

No one would know she’d gotten engaged earlier that same day, to a very different man. 

"Ever slept on a park bench, Zelda?" Link asked. 

She grinned. "No. Have you?" 

He didn't answer, instead kicking his feet back and forth on the seat. 

"Why?" 

"Hm?" 

"Why did you sleep on a park bench?" Zelda asked. 

Link puffed his cheeks out. "That's a pretty rude question.” 

"You brought it up!" 

"Oh," he leaned back enough to turn and face her with a teasing glint in his eye. "I was nineteen and thought I was gonna die. It was the middle of winter and I needed a hard reset. So," he snapped his fingers, "I wandered out of my apartment and just started walking until I wore myself out. Then I laid down on a park bench and went to sleep.” He was grinning like it was a funny story. 

This time, it was Zelda who got to look at him in wonder at the terrible thing he was making light of. "Link, why did you think you were going to die?" 

Link squinted and took a drink of his coffee, then sniffed and scratched his nose. "I got dumped." He rubbed the back of his neck after he said it. 

"Ah." 

"Don't look so shocked. I was just super dramatic about it." 

Zelda crossed her arms and leaned heavily on Link's side. "I don't know much, but I'm pretty sure when you get dumped you're supposed to eat ice cream and cry while watching girly movies. So is the boy-equivalent of that sleeping on park benches?" 

Link chuckled. "No. There was also plenty of ice cream and movie-musicals." 

"Well did it give you the reset you needed?” 

“No. Just a nasty cold.” He said that like a punchline too. 

Their hands had been firmly planted beside each-other's with space between. At that Zelda placed her hand on his. 

With a small smile, he dropped his head to the side and interlocked their fingers.

“There’s no reset, is there?” she asked quietly. 

He sniffed with amusement. “I don’t think so. Just a slow climb out of the dark.” 

“I agree.”

He shifted back and forth, swaying her sideways. 

Both laughed shyly.

"It's a long walk. We should probably make our way to the car," Zelda said. 

Link pressed his lips in a line and held her gaze. “Want to?”

“No.”

“There’s no curfew.”

“But we have to go eventually,” she said slowly. 

“Not if there’s no curfew.” It should be a joke but Link sounded completely serious. 

Zelda clicked her tongue. “Then, what?” 

Link took a deep breath and scanned the city that surrounded them. “We could…” He bobbed his head as he thought. 

“We should go somewhere quieter.” 

His eyes widened and he nodded. “There’s a coffee shop a few blocks South of here that nobody knows about.”

“Let’s do that. My coffee’s getting cold.” 

___

Link carried most of the bags and still managed to keep his arm around Zelda’s. They walked in that same slow, crooked, back-and-forth way that Link normally did. 

Zelda enjoyed matching it and the way it brought him closer, almost knocking her down every other step. 

“Hey Link?”

“Yuh-huh?” 

“Any reason you perpetually walk like a drunk?” 

He giggled. “No. I’m just not in a hurry. And it’s not perpetual. I walk normally when I’m not carrying a bunch of bags and sightseeing.” 

“You walk like this every time I see you, though. You were like that the first time I saw you. I remember thinking it was funny.” 

“Is it that weird?” 

She shook her head “no”. “I just wondered.” 

He shrugged. “Guess…like I said, I’m just not in a hurry. We’ve never had—Well, that’s dumb. Nevermind.” 

“What?” 

He looked at her like he was carefully considering his next words. 

She didn’t realize the way her hand drifted up and down his arm until she noticed just how soft the fabric of his sweater was. 

“Hm?” she pressed. 

“You and I…are always in a time crunch. Like, there was the diner and the car rides. There’s always stress about being late though. That’s unusual…in a friendship, if you think about it.” The last few words came out stilted and hesitant. 

Zelda squeezed his arm. “That’s true. I didn’t mean to rush, saying we should head back to the car. It’s just because I’m not used to having time. I’m always on a schedule, no matter who I’m with. This feels like I’m doing something I shouldn’t.” 

“Sorry, Zelda.” 

“It’s not a bad feeling. It’s fun. I think if there weren’t such dire consequences, I’d be a rebel.” 

Link laughed. “I think you would be too. Besides, we are doing something we shouldn’t. Your dad may have approved a shopping trip, but I think someone else would quite disapprove of you going out on the town with me.” 

“Hm. Good. I like thinking it might kick him down a notch. I mean, he knows I hate him. But I think an added layer of The Great Ganon Dragmire being two-timed just—Not that we actually are! I just meant that that’s how he’d see it.” She cast her gaze down to her cute new shoes. 

“He’d be so mad. He didn’t like me the second he saw me. So yeah, this would piss him off beyond belief.” 

“There’s no way he’ll find out, though,” Zelda said, her stomach tightening. 

Link stopped short, pulling her to a halt, his hand drifting down her arm as Zelda accidentally walked a few steps ahead. 

He loosened his grip until his hand was on hers. He pulled her back to him. 

Link made sure her eyes were locked on his before he spoke, even tilting his head to see her gaze follow. “This is a random gift from the universe, the fact that there’s a break from him. From your dad, your house, your school, and him. So don’t worry about any of it. Not tonight.” 

“It’s a preview,” Zelda said, stepping closer. “Purah told me, someday I’ll look back and everything you just said, it’ll all be part of the past. So I’ll remember tonight as a preview, where none of that trouble can touch me. Where…” She swung their arms just to fidget. “Where things will be like this.” 

Link dropped his head with a grin, his long bangs falling over his eyes and nose so all she could see was that sweet smile. “We’re pretty close to the cafe now," he said quietly. "We'll preview that next." 

___

Zelda propped her chin on her fist and leaned forward on the table. 

"So…what does Link do on a Saturday?" 

Link fiddled with the handle of his coffee cup. "Just a random Saturday?" 

She looked up at the flickering light over their heads. They sat against a wall covered in old yellow wallpaper. 

The coffee shop was about the size of Zelda's bathroom (which was, admittedly, pretty big) and the sole proprietor of the place was in the back. The place was dead quiet except for their quiet conversation and the subtle whirring of espresso and cappuccino machines. 

"How about on a Saturday before work, where you're due to pick up your bratty passenger and drive her to a snobbish date?" 

"Ohhh, a Saturday like that?" Link drained the second cup of coffee he'd had. He'd downed one before they even reached the table, then turned right around and ordered another. 

Zelda was curious if Link was just used to an early bedtime or if there was another reason he kept rubbing his eyes and hiding yawns in his sweater sleeve. 

"Let's see. Starts with breakfast of course." 

"Of course." 

"On, just for example, this Saturday, I had three scrambled eggs, a pancake stack (I'm not sure how many), and a leftover fruit smoothie from the night before. Oh! And ham." 

"And coffee?" 

"Yeah. Sore subject. I drank it black because I forgot to buy creamer last night." 

"I'm sorry to hear that." 

"Thank you. So after I got ready, I went downstairs and got a good coffee. Did I tell you about that? I live above a coffee shop." 

"No! That's amazing." Into her coffee she said something she didn't mean to. "You've told me very little about yourself." 

He smiled shyly. "Guess so. Well, so I bought a coffee and a breakfast sandwich and I headed to my friend's general store. Because I needed coffee creamer—"

"Flavor?" 

"Plain." 

"Respectable." 

"Thank you. And then I helped him unload freight. All his stock came in late so he didn't have anyone scheduled to work with him. So we knocked it out and I got my creamer for free." 

"So is the store near your house?" 

"Yeah, just a few blocks away." 

"Mm." 

"What then?" he muttered. 

"You'd need to put that cream in the fridge." 

"Yes! I went home, cooked a few dinners for later." 

"Later?"

"Later in the week. And I made some soups and froze 'em. Then I called my sister and we talked for a few hours while I built a table." 

"What?"

"Well, not build. I assembled a table. For the cafe downstairs. Urbosa, the coffee shop owner's busy and I was just sitting around. And I like that kinda thing. Then, when I finished the table, I got ready for work and that brings us to picking up my bratty passenger." 

He folded his arms on the table and looked down at his empty coffee cup. 

"That sounds like a very full day in and of itself. There shouldn't be enough hours in the day to cook…several full meals, unload freight at a general store, and build a table before leaving for work at—what? 3pm?" 

He shrugged. "I get up early." 

"I suspected you were an early bird," Zelda said. 

"Yeah?" 

"Mm. I get the sense it's past your bedtime." 

"Hah! No way. I stayed up till like two last night." 

"Whatever for?" 

He looked as though he didn't remember. "I was reading." 

"And when did you get up?" 

"This is feeling less like getting to know me and more like an interrogation." He rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Indeed. The nature of my curiosity has shifted to my driver being critically sleep deprived." 

"Oh!" He sat up straight, his eyes wide and bloodshot. "No, Zelda, I would never put you in danger. I don't fall asleep easily. And I wouldn't drive if I was delirious or something." 

She laughed and placed her hand on his across the table. "I'm not worried about that. It just isn't healthy to overwork yourself." 

"I like to stay busy." 

"What time did you wake up?" 

"Zeldaaaa," he whined. 

She patted his hand. "I think you should say. I'm concerned." 

"Seven…ish. Almost seven. Later than normal. But I do normally go to bed earlier." 

It's like she hadn't seen the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes until now. "Link, you poor thing. You should have said something if you were too tired for all of this." 

“I wasn’t! I’m not. Zelda, this is great. I’ve overworked myself before on not-enough sleep. But we’re out in the city, and I’m having a great time. Besides, tomorrow’s Sunday. I can sleep all I want.” 

“You probably won’t,” she pouted. “You’ll get up and build another table.” 

A broad smile lit up his face and he laughed. “I’ve said too much.”

Zelda kicked at one of the shopping bags. “No, you’re right. This is a worthwhile reason to stay out, even for you. I’m so happy with these ensembles. I’ve never gotten to pick out clothes for a boy before. It’s so fun.” 

“I’m glad you think it’s fun. I’m totally hopeless at picking out clothes.”

“Well the simple black suit and white shirt totally works for you.” 

He brushed his teeth along his lower lip. “Yeah? Thank you. I feel like a fake in them. I’d never worn anything expensive. I’m always terrified of getting a stain on it or tearing it somehow. Those guys in your rich school wouldn’t think twice about that so they can, hah, swagger around in them. I imagine I look awkward, being so careful in them.” 

Zelda propped her chin on her fists. “I never noticed. Today, after being in that fancy restaurant surrounded by rich jerks and Ganon, when we walked up to the car, you know what my first thought was?” 

Link wrinkled his nose. “Oh God, what?” he asked. 

She knew this was making him squirm, but that was probably just because he wasn’t used to compliments. “You looked more sharp and fashionable in your suit than Ganon or anybody else in their stuffy pinstripes and ties. It’s like the total opposite of what you said. They all look—Well, you just know they’ve tried so hard. You’re effortlessly cool.” 

Link dropped his head to the table folded up in his arms. “Stop it,” he whined. 

Zelda moved her coffee aside and dropped down to her own arms on the table, looking at the top of Link’s head. “Want another coffee?” 

He nodded. 

Zelda laughed, rattling the table. “Will you ever sit up again? Forgive me for telling you that you look good in a suit?”

He shook his head “no”, sending her into another fit of laughter. 

She stood and placed her hand ever-so-gently on the top of his head. She ruffled his hair before walking to the counter. 

_

It would be a long walk to the car. They’d gotten here so slowly, with so many stops, so Zelda couldn’t possibly guess their true distance from the car. 

Link was so right about this night being a gift and she was far from ungrateful. She couldn’t help but be distracted worrying over Link, though. 

Zelda was carrying more of the bags now; she’d insisted. He still had the majority. And they still walked arm-in-arm.

“Want to get a cab?” Zelda asked. 

“I can take some of those bags, Zel. I told you that’s too many.” 

She gently elbowed his side. “No, silly. It’s just a long walk.” 

“Three miles,” Link replied. 

“How long will that take?” Zelda exclaimed, stopping short and dropping her bags to the sidewalk at her feet. 

“About an hour.”

“I’m calling a cab.” 

“Zel…” Link looked at her for a while.

She raised her brow. “You have no argument?”

He scanned the bustling street and then down the sidewalk they were headed down. It made him yawn. 

Zelda clapped her hands together. “Very good.”

_

"Stop that," Link said, nudging Zelda. 

She propped her arm on the door of the cab. She and Link were squished together in the back seat of a cab, about a minute away from their car. "What am I doing?" 

"You're being smug. It's written all over your face." 

"I am not! I'm just glad we didn't have to exhaust ourselves carrying those bags for an hour when we could take a five minute drive instead. I'm just glad." 

He drew close and pointed a finger in her face. "Smug." He shouldn't get so close or else she'd have to kiss him. 

Fortunately, the cab pulled to a stop. 

"Thank yooou~," Zelda waved at the driver as she slid out of the car. 

Zelda finally counted as Link sat each bag out on the curb. Eight shopping bags, not counting the small ones that were inside the other bags. That wasn't so many. 

Link shut the trunk of their car, which was now full of bags, and turned to walk around it. 

Zelda grabbed his hand and stayed planted behind the car. She pulled him back to her. “Where are you going?” 

His gaze darted all over her face as her hand slipped from his. “I–I was thinking I might get in the car if that’s okay by you.” 

She shook her head “no”. “I’m driving.” 

“Are you now?” He took a step closer and she cocked her head. 

“Are you going to argue with me?” 

Link held her gaze. “No, I don’t have the strength to go against you, Zelda. I lack the willpower.” 

Zelda placed a hand on his chest before slipping past him towards the driver’s side. 

She got in and slid down in the seat with a sigh, running her hands up and down the steering wheel. 

When Link got in, she looked sideways at him and grinned. “It has been so long since I’ve been behind the wheel. I’ve missed it.” 

“Yeah?”

“Mm. I’m a good driver, too. You needn’t worry. I could be a chauffeur, I bet.”

“You tryin’ to steal my job?” 

Zelda laughed as she started the engine. “Yes, I’m going to be your chauffeur for tonight.” 

Link stretched and leaned his chair back. “Ooh, luxury. I feel so spoiled. New clothes, any food I wanted, now I’m being driven around.” 

She laughed but really all she could think was how badly she wanted to care for him all the time; not just one night of so-called luxury. 

“This seat goes back really far, Zelda.” 

She looked over at him laying in his reclined passenger seat. 

“I guess fancy cars are like that,” he said, seemingly talking to himself. “This is more comfortable than my bed.” 

“Is that a statement about this chair or your bed?” 

“Hmm. The chair…I think?” 

She pulled onto the highway and her heart clinched at a sudden realization; Link lived in the city. He’d have to drive right back there. 

She stole a glance at him. 

He was staring up and out his window, arms crossed across his chest, a distant look in his eye. 

No. Absolutely not.  

She did not see it as necessary to tell him her decision. He wasn’t driving home at 4AM. If he was foolish enough to think otherwise, it wasn’t her fault.

“Do you have a girlfriend, Link?” 

“How could I have a girlfriend?” he grumbled. 

Okay, so he is practically sleep-talking if he didn’t react to that. 

“Why wouldn’t you?” 

Link rubbed his eyes and repositioned himself, laying further down. “I’m busy.” 

“You work normal hours. Good hours, even.” 

He scoffed through his teeth and shut his eyes. “I’m busy looking after you.” 

That test bit her back. Zelda stared ahead, focusing on the road. 

“I got a question,” he mumbled. “What’s your grand plan nobody gets to know? Is it a secret or has no one ever asked?” 

She raised her brows and checked to see if his eyes were still closed. They were. 

“I’m not sure. Definitely, no one has asked. So I never had to decide whether it is secret or not.” 

“Well, I wanna know.” 

“I’ll tell you later,” she said, a nervous rush flickering through her. 

"What? You think I’d make fun of your life’s dream, Zel?” 

“No one calls me Zel. I don’t recall when you started that but I like it.” 

“I can keep a secret.” 

“I know,” she smiled. She inhaled a deep breath and squeezed the steering wheel.

“I’m going to be a lawyer. I’m going to pass the bar as early as possible, even though I’ll do all of the possible schooling at University. But I’m in a hurry to get started. I feel I’ve been arguing my entire life. I’m ready to argue for other people. I’m so tired of feeling defenseless, of begging, of pleading my case. I want to help others…especially those who have been in a situation like mine, to have a defender. So I took night classes at a college to keep my mind sharp, because I will skip my last year of high school, since it is a waste of my time, and I will go to a University and do what I want to do. It may sound bad to say but I’ve been stifled in school. I always should’ve been following an accelerated course of study. I’m a genius. I have a genius level IQ and it is being wasted and suppressed by high school and drama and politics and that damn ring. But, none of that matters. I’ll make up for any lost time when I get where I’m going.”
Zelda had forgotten Link was there. She was yelling her truth to herself and to the universe.  

Link’s hand appeared in her field of vision. He took her right hand from the wheel and lowered it to his chest, against his heart, in both of his hands. “You clearly don’t need me to tell you this, Zelda, but you’ll do everything you set your mind to. Because you aren’t afraid of anything. You trust yourself more than anyone I’ve ever met.” 

Zelda took a deep, trembling breath and wound her fingers in Link’s, feeling his heartbeat against their hands. “Thank you,” she whispered. 

___

Link’s grip on her gradually slackened and his breathing deepened in sleep. 

She kept her hand in his, staring out the window as they entered the rural suburbs. 

He needed rest and he looked so peaceful. 

Zelda drove right past her house, running her thumb up and down his palm. 

“There’s a secret addendum to my plan. It really is a secret,” she said under her breath. She checked to make sure he didn’t stir. “I’m keeping you. It’s another surety.” 

Zelda drove an hour past her house, almost to the state line, before turning around and heading back.

She passed her driveway again. 

Link turned over towards her and pressed her hand to his slightly open mouth like she was a comfort-blanket. Her stomach did somersaults. 

Zelda parked at a gas station about 10 miles from her house in the shaded awning of the defunct car wash. 

The sun would be up soon. It was after 5. 

She reclined her own seat and rubbed her tired eyes. 

Two hours isn’t enough sleep for him. We’ll just wake up naturally…

No curfew. 

Chapter Text

October 16th

"Wha…Hm, uh, Zelsssswhat time's'it?"

Zelda shifted at the sound but resisted opening her eyes. "Hm?" 

"Zelda!" 

Zelda startled awake and sat up. "Huh?" she gasped. 

"Where are we?" Link was sitting beside her, wide-eyed, his hair fuzzy with static. 

Zelda looked out the window and took a deep breath. The car was off. She checked her watch and her heart stopped for a moment. 

"It's 9." 

"What?" She'd never heard Link raise his voice like that before. 

She pushed her hair from her face. 

He was going to be mad at her. 

"I'm sorry," she squeaked. 

He looked around through the windows and dashboard. "This is the old car wash by QuickGo, isn't it?" 

"You fell asleep," her voice came out higher pitched than she meant it to, "and you'd said earlier how you hadn't slept much and you looked so tired and I didn't want you to drive back to the city since it was so late and you'd gone to sleep so I drove around for a while, then parked here but I didn't  mean to sleep this late. I-I never sleep this late." She covered her face, afraid to look at him. It seemed so impossible to make Link mad at her but she must have. He could be in huge trouble for not getting her home. "I'm so sorry." 

Link moved his seat upright and sat back against it. She heard him take a deep breath. 

"Wanna go in—get some coffee?" It was hard to read his tone when his voice was still gravely from sleep. 

"Okay," she whispered. 

They didn't talk while they were in the gas station. 

They silently made up their coffees, Link paid at the counter, and they walked back outside. 

It was cloudy and gray. The air was heavy with the promise of rain. 

They sat down on the curb and Zelda sipped her coffee. She couldn't stand the silence, but she felt she shouldn't break it. 

The heels of Link's new brown boots crunched against the gravel in front of them as he stretched his legs out straight. He was staring ahead at the endless field of dead grass across the street. He swished a mouthful of coffee around between his teeth.

"I stop here on my way to your house sometimes," he said, his voice as low and unreadable as before. "They make pretty good coffee, huh?" 

She looked down at her cup, tearing at the protruding edges of plastic on the black lid. "Link, I am not much for small talk. If we could just get this out of the way, if you are stalling, please just—I know you must be angry. I understand how bad it is. Really. I'm selfish. I ruined things. If you had a blow-up, that would be warranted, to be sure." 

"What do you mean by blow-up?"

"I know. You're not that type of person. Whatever you need to do, I'm just telling you, I deserve it. I realize that…I don't know what I'm saying. You've just been so patient through everything. I thought…you might be too nice to express how you really feel. You don't have to hold back." 

Link ran a hand through his hair, holding his bangs back as he leaned away and met her eyes. "I'm not mad at you. I'm just trying to think of a way out of this and I don't see one." He dropped his hands behind him and leaned back with his hands on the pavement. "You got engaged yesterday. What happens if I get fired? I hadn't thought about it before." 

"I'm so sorry." 

"Quit that. You were being sweet. We both overslept. I just need to figure this out, Zel. We got carried away." 

She nodded. "Link, I don't believe there's a way around this. We'd better just go home and see what happens. Don't be scared for me. I'll be alright. But the thought of you getting fired because of something I did makes me sick." 

“Zelda.” He said her name with an infinite gentleness the likes of which she’d never heard. He just placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “It’s going to be okay.” He didn’t sound convinced, but the kindness, the quiet calm he’d maintained through a stressful situation that she’d created; it was beyond her comprehension. Tears stung her eyes and she placed her hand over his, holding it on her shoulder. 

They indulged in a few more moments of solitude before forcing themselves into motion. 

Nothing was okay, but she felt comforted all the same. 

_

Impa was out the door before Link had even put the car in “park”. 

Zelda dropped her head to her hands with a groan. “This is the second worst person to confront us.” 

“She looks upset.” 

Zelda got out of the car. “Hey, Impa.” She shut the door behind her and met Impa's dark, narrowed eyes. 

“It’s 10 in the morning. Where were you?” She stepped forward and took Zelda’s arms, seemingly checking that she was all in one piece. “I got here at 6 and found out you never came home. I’ve been listening for the car ever since.” Impa glanced past Zelda as Link’s car door shut. “What happened?” 

Zelda dropped her head. “Impa, it’s a long story. But it’s nothing like you might think.” 

Impa let go of her and stepped back, crossing her arms. “And what might I be thinking?” Her voice was raised, apparently for Link’s benefit. 

He walked around the car and stood in front of it a few feet from Zelda. 

Zelda sighed. “I’m not sure but the first thing you ought to know is that everything is fine and Link has been a perfect gentleman. He’s never been anything less.” 

“Then why’s he look so guilty?” 

Zelda looked back at Link curiously. He had the same gloomy expression that he’d been wearing all morning. “He’s not guilty. He’s upset that we’re late. Have you two met?” 

“We have not.” 

“Hello, Impa. I’m very sorry for getting her here so late.” Link looked Impa in the face. 

Zelda cringed internally. 

Impa’s face was bright red. “Link. You’re going to convince me nothing inappropriate happened between the hours of, I don’t know, 9PM to 9AM? In a car? Alone? Is that the story you two are going with?” 

“Impa, yes it is. Link hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s stayed professional.” 

“Professional?” Impa cried. “I don’t believe that. I don’t. Where were you all this time, huh?” 

“The city,” Zelda replied.

She barely nodded, eyes wide. “The city?”

“There really is an explanation, Impa. If you’d please be patient…It’s a long story.” 

“A long story where this one doesn’t lay a finger on you?” Impa cocked her head toward Link. 

Zelda huffed in irritation. “Yes.” 

“How am I supposed to believe anything you say in front of this boy? You’re not going to tell on him when he’s standing right here.” 

“Fine.” Zelda turned and caught Link’s gaze. She gave him a soft smile. “Will you go over there for a minute?” She pointed vaguely to the yard. 

He dipped his head. “I really am sorry about all of thi—.”

“Save it.” Impa turned her attention to Zelda. She took her hands and pulled her close as Link walked away down the driveway. 

Zelda watched him, worried. “If anyone should be guilty here, it’s me,” Zelda murmured. 

Impa squeezed Zelda’s hands and exhaled a heavy sigh. “I’m losing my mind over this, sweetie. He’s older and we don’t know him. If he did something, you can tell me. I need you to tell me what really happened.” 

Zelda snatched her hands away to wrap her arms tightly around herself. “He really didn’t do anything. And he could have. I assure you, if he had , I would’ve…” Zelda’s face went hot and she tightened her jaws. “He really was the perfect gentleman. He always is. Do you believe me?” 

“Wait, so you are the one…Where were you, then?” 

“It’s embarrassing. I’m an idiot, Impa.” She rubbed her eyes then drug her hands back through her hair. It felt strangely freeing to tell on herself to Impa. “He let me drive us home from the city. He-He fell asleep in the passenger seat. I knew he’d been up early that day and I didn’t want him to drop me off and go straight back home. It scared me to think of him driving home when I knew he was so tired. So I drove around for an extra two hours, and that should’ve been enough but I guess I got greedy and stupid and… So stupid . I parked at the gas station not too far from here. I parked and fell asleep in my own seat. Then we woke up at 9. So I’ve probably gotten Link fired when he didn’t do anything wrong except oversleep.” Her voice rose as she ran out of breath and her throat tightened. “He’s going to lose his job because of me, Impa. I’d rather just take another hit from Father.” 

“You hush. Don’t you ever say that. So that kid really hasn’t ever tried anything with you? Not ever?” 

Zelda dropped her head, rubbing her temples. “He’s been careful. Sometimes I think I might be tempting him but he won’t.” She tried and failed to take a deep breath. She grimaced like there was a bitter taste in her mouth. “He resists me.” 

Impa raised her brows. 

Zelda saw her face softening. 

“So where were you before? You’ve been gone since 4 yesterday.” 

And with the blood draining from Zelda’s face, she realized that Impa was oblivious to far more than Link’s character. “I was sent on a date with Ganon. Didn’t you know about it?” 

Impa’s eyes darted across Zelda’s face as she stepped closer, looking down at her. “I only got in this morning.” 

Zelda took a deep breath and looked out across the lawn. Link had wandered all the way to the stone fencing. “Can he come back? This all has nothing to do with him. He was just my driver. He’s kind of breaking my heart out there. It’s about to rain.” 

Impa followed her gaze. “He does look kinda pitiful.” She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Link!” 

“Link!” Zelda joined in. “You can come back now!” 

He broke into a run, returning. 

“By the way,” Zelda whispered, “he’s the only person I’ve ever met who fearlessly dislikes my father as much as you do.” 

“Putting in a last-minute word for the little scrap, are you?” 

Zelda nodded as Link reached them. “I really think you’d like him,” she said quietly. 

He didn’t hear. He was doubled over, hands on his knees as he caught his breath. 

“According to Zelda, you aren’t a creep.” 

“I’m not a creep,” Link breathed weakly. 

“Hm,” Impa turned back to Zelda. “Give me the bad news.” 

“The…Okay, Impa, it’s bad. I’m sorry. I hope you won’t hate me for not telling you.” Her lip trembled. 

Impa looked back at the door, then stepped close between Link and Zelda, leaning back against the car. She hooked her arm around Zelda. She looked over at Link, pursed her lips, and squinted in thought. She cocked her head at him and he sat up against the car beside her. She hooked her other arm around him and drew him close. Link and Zelda were both a good bit shorter than her, which made holding them hostage seem effortless. 

“Tell me.”

“It was a date with Ganon. I was sent out to a restaurant in the city to meet him.”
Impa only reacted by pinching Zelda’s sleeve. 

“I had my fears and suspicions when he sent me a slutty dress from Paris to wear on it.” 

“He made you wear…? And Rhoam gave this the go ahead?” 

“Of course he did,” Link snapped. 

“Of course he did,” Impa echoed. 

“Impa, it’s bad.” 

Impa turned her head, nose to nose as she looked down at Zelda. 

Zelda chewed her lip. “He proposed.” 

Impa let go of them both and spun on her heels. Beyond that she didn’t even react. Her face was blank. 

Link and Zelda inched closer to each other until their shoulders were brushing while they looked up at Impa.
“And what?” Impa asked. “What did you say?” 

Zelda grabbed her purse from where she’d placed it on the ground by the car. She rummaged through it until she found the awful gold ring. 

She dropped it into Impa’s hand. 

“She had no choice,” Link said. 

“So your father really is planning to sell you to some stranger for votes?” 

“That’s the other thing Impa…Something I should’ve told you a long time ago. I just thought maybe I could handle it and tell you after it was over so you wouldn’t be worried.” Zelda dropped her head, staring down at her slightly scuffed but still adorable blue flats. “He isn’t a stranger. He’s a boy from school.” 

“Not that boy from last year?” Impa asked, her voice shaking.
Zelda now felt both Impa’s and Link’s eyes on her. Her chest ached and her fingers began sparkling. 

“He is. He came back with a vengeance this year,” she coughed.

“He was bothering you last year too?” Link asked. 

She nodded. “Not like this. Impa, he…he treats me aggressively. At school, since we started -hah- dating, he’s given me bruises several times and he pins me into my locker. He doesn’t go so far as to be…Well, he’s threatening.” Zelda knew what Impa’s face would look like without checking. She couldn’t bring herself to look up. To her surprise, Link had more to add. 

“He hit her yesterday.” His voice was a low rasp. 

“It wasn’t bad,” Zelda said. 

“It’s bad,” Link and Impa said at the same time. 

Zelda laughed joylessly. “I told you that you two would get along.” 

“She had a freakin’ handprint on her face.” 

“Link, that’s quite enough,” Zelda choked. 

Impa took Zelda’s face in her hands, tilting her chin up. 

It wasn’t the expression Zelda was expecting. Her hot-headed maid had tears sparkling in her eyes. “He hurts you that much? All the time?” 

Link rubbed his nose and sniffed. “All I get to do is make sure she doesn’t have to share a car with that demon. But if I get fired, I’m afraid of how her situation will change. Also I can at least keep watch with the stupid tracker her dad put in my phone; make sure she isn’t locked up someplace she shouldn’t be.” 

Impa tilted Zelda’s face side to side, then brushed a finger over Zelda’s cheek. “There’s still a mark. We can’t exactly expect your bastard father to care since he takes his licks too.” 

Link swore under his breath. 

She continued running her thumbs along Zelda’s cheekbones. It was achingly comforting coming from the woman that Zelda adored the most. 

“We were out late because I called Mr. Hyrule.” Link took a deep breath. “I told him about Ganon hitting her. I told him the engagement was successful . And I said she was shaken up by all of this, which she was, and asked if I could grab her a coffee before we went home. He said, "Take her shopping too, and there is no curfew.””

Impa scoffed, laughed, then threw her head back and guffawed. “Father of the year. How cool is he?” 

“Uh-huh. So that’s what we did. We hit every store on the strip, ate at all the food carts, got coffee, people-watched at Castle Square, and then headed home. I’m not sure if you’ve experienced this, but I’m totally incapable of winning an argument with Zelda. She’s very wilful. So yes, she drove.” 

“No, I haven’t ever lost an argument to Zelda. But she’s had good practice with me, for sure. Besides, I don’t give a crap if she drives. She can drive.” 

Zelda’s eyes were closed as Impa held her face up. She was so tired and stressed she was getting sleepy. “Impa, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all of this sooner. I’m really sorry. But I’m losing my nerve and if we don’t go face my father soon I think my heart will explode. We really have been out here way too long.” 

“No, I needed all of the facts,” Impa said, moving Zelda’s head back and forth for “no”. 

“I know, but…” 

“You two go straight to the kitchen. Purah is there.” 

“No, we need to—.” 

“Link, get her inside. Panic attacks make her sleepy and dizzy. Sweetie, does your chest hurt?” 

Impa let go of her face and Zelda fell back against the car and rubbed her eyes. Her vision was getting spotty. “There isn’t time. I’ll be fine. I can fake it, Impa. We need to get through this and Link absolutely is not going in there alone.” Zelda’s legs were tingling and hurting as though she’d been running for miles. The feeling came upon her suddenly. She furrowed her brows and blinked at the ground, trying to breathe and clear her sparkly vision. 

“Did I ever say he was? I’m going to talk to Rhoam. You two go to Purah.” 

“Impa, I have to talk to him. You can’t go in place of me. Zelda? Of course, but this is my responsibility,” Link said. 

“No!” Zelda squealed. “He’s not going without me.” 

“If I don’t take orders from Miss Hyrule, I don’t believe I’ll take orders from her pipsqueak driver either. Come on, I’m handling this.” 

Impa turned and skipped up the stairs. 

Zelda took a shaky step forward and Link caught her arm. She didn’t exactly love the idea of falling all over Link right after Impa had come around on him, but she felt like she was drowning, like she hadn’t had a proper breath in minutes, and every movement spun her head and stabbed her chest. 

“Zelda?” Link was holding her arm with both hands. 

Impa looked over her shoulder. “It’s bad, Link. She gets bad, especially when it comes to her father.” 

Link nodded and crouched down in front of Zelda. He pulled her arms around the back of his neck, easing her forward. 

Zelda would give anything to remember Link carrying her on his back, sneaking through the entry-way after Impa made sure the coast was clear and rushing her to the kitchen. 

Sadly, the next thing she knew, she was sitting up in a dining-room chair leaned back against the wall in the kitchen. Purah’s pretty, smiling eyes were her first sight. A cup of water was pressed to Zelda’s bottom lip. 

“Hi,” Purah said sweetly. “Linky, we got her.” She tilted the cup and forced a few sips down Zelda’s throat, then lowered the cup and wiped the water from her chin with her thumb. 

Link appeared in Zelda’s vision. 

“Hey,” Zelda grinned at the blurry figure. It was hard to hold her head up. She wanted to go back to sleep but her stiff seat was too uncomfortable. 

He dropped to his knees in front of her chair beside Purah who was in a crouch. 

“Your hair is so pretty.” She brushed her hands through Link’s long, dirty-blond hair. “You too.” She ran her hand down Purah’s ponytail. 

Purah bit her lip and giggled, cutting Link a look that made her laugh harder. “You are so red,” she said, pointing at Link who scoffed and dropped his head. 

“What is this?” he mumbled. 

“She has a condition,” Purah explained, taking both of Zelda’s hands off of their resting places and folding them on Zelda’s lap while she held them. “She hyperventilates quiet for a long time until she just drops.” She looked at Zelda and wrinkled her nose teasingly. “You little sneak, acting all tough. Come on. Deep breaths. Wake up.” 

Link and Purah both looked Zelda intensely in the face, with Link checking to copy Purah’s motions a few times. They raised their hands in front of their chests and inhaled deeply, paused, and exhaled, moving their hands in rhythm. 

“With us,” Purah nodded. 

Zelda raised her heavy arms and imitated the motion, then the breathing. She looked between Link and Purah as the clouds parted in her mind and vision. 

She nodded and dropped her hands after a minute. “I’m good. I’m fine. So sorry.” 

Purah waved off the idea with amusement. “Why are you apologizing to me? I’m never bothered. You know this.” 

Zelda smiled. 

Purah cocked her head towards Link then cupped her hand over Zelda’s mouth as if confiding in her, even though Link was right by her side. “He’s just as dashing as you say.” 

Zelda smacked Purah’s arm. “What are you talking about?” she hissed. 

Link’s face was still red and he dropped from his knees to sit on the floor, but his hand was to his mouth and he was squeaky-giggling through his teeth. 

Purah met his eyes and laughed. “What? I agree. He’s a regular Clark Kent. All dorky and helpful.” 

Link’s face was in his hands now. 

“You do have his number,” Zelda said.

“I’m glad you’re awake,” Purah said, standing. “I think he’s a little scared of me.” 

“Purah, I hate to break it to you, but everyone is.” 

Purah blew a raspberry as she headed to the fridge. 

Zelda eased out of her chair and sat down cross-legged in front of Link. 

He looked up at her, shy and hesitant. 

“Sorry about them,” she whispered. “Impa and Purah will say anything, I swear.”

“Mm,” he smiled, his eyes warm and gentle on her. “Everything is okay.” 

“What happened, Link? I can’t remember much before…Oh, before we pulled into the drive and I started telling Impa everything…I was telling her about getting engaged…What happened?” Her heart started racing again. 

Link put his hands on her shoulders and raised his brows. “Zelda, it’s okay. Don’t panic again. It’s all okay.” 

“Is it? You keep saying that.” 

“Impa and Purah promise it is. Impa is talking to your father. I don’t know her plan, but Purah had no doubt she’ll save our necks.” 

Purah returned with three orange sodas and sat down beside them, creating a little circle. 

She handed the drinks off to Link and Zelda, then took a drink of her own. “It’s all going to be fine. Rhoam painted himself into a corner, anyway. He said “no curfew”. What does he expect? Kids stay out late, get sleepy, and heck, it’s safer not to drive like that. You two didn’t do anything wrong. It’s that simple.” She took another drink. “And I don’t care what happened in that car.” 

“Nothing happened!” they cried simultaneously. 

Purah looked between them like they were crazy. “I literally just said I don’t care.” 

Link and Zelda pivoted away from each other while they sipped their drinks. 

Purah was clearly eating it up. “Nice clothes. Are they from last night?” 

“Yes, Ganon had me in that skin-tight red nightie. If I’d taken a proper walk through the city I would have looked like a hooker.” 

Purah just laughed at that. 

“Plus, my heels were way too high. Even for me. I could hardly walk in them. It’s embarrassing, honestly. I’ve never met a heel I didn’t get along with.” 

“We’ve all been there, Sugar.” 

“Well that makes me feel better.” 

“So did you get our boy all sorted out?” 

Zelda frowned towards Link. “What do you mean?”

She pointed at him up and down. “You’re dressed up so cute. I just wondered if Little Miss Closet-the-Size-of-My-Freakin’-Room bought you a new wardrobe.”

Link had been innocently sipping his drink. “She did.” 

“Aw, Zelda, you have the best fashion-sense of anyone I’ve ever met. And I don’t think it’s even because you’re loaded. You have an artistic side.”

“Ha!” Zelda sat her drink down and straightened up. “I don’t even like art. Clothes are just clothes. I assure you the arts are beyond me.” 

“What’d’ya mean?” Link asked. 

“Well, like, Ganon took me to that art museum—.”
“Ugh! That doesn’t count. You were in a bad mood,” Purah cut in.

“Maybe. I really think I don’t care about it, though. I saw paintings of the ocean, statues of naked people, colors and shapes. It all seems pointless and irritating.” 

“So you don’t like art museums. Rich kid like you goes to see plays and operas or whatever. Books are art too.” Purah’s expression said she’d made her point. 

Zelda shrugged. “I went to one opera and I thought my ears were going to bleed. Reading bores me. If I read anything, it’s Wikipedia. And I rarely listen to the radio. I’m sorry to disappoint but I am hopeless. I like video games, if that counts.” 

“It counts,” Link said between fits of giggling. 

“What?” Zelda cried. 

“I don’t know. It’s just funny to write off entire forms of expression. It’s not even like… some books or some art styles. Just no to visual, auditory, and literary works.” 

“I’m sure there’s some of it that doesn’t bother me.” 

“Doesn’t bother you?” Link echoed, doubling over as he stifled his laughter. 

Purah cocked her head. “You don’t like pop music?” 

“Sure, I do. I listen to the radio sometimes, as I said.” 

Link was suddenly serious, spinning to face her. “Wait, what kind of music do you like?” 

“I don’t know. I’m beginning to feel interrogated.” 

“Come on, what’s your favorite band?” 

Zelda looked at Purah, as if for a hint, but she was just back to wearing that sly grin that said they were being cute. 

Zelda licked her lips. “I haven’t thought about it.” 

“You just haven’t heard enough to decide and shape your music taste, huh?” Link pressed. Apparently this was some kind of deal to him. 

“I suppose.” 

“I wonder if the car has bluetooth? What am I saying? Of course it does. One of those things that never occurred to me because I’m at work. Can’t have any bass booming at the school parking lot, huh?”

“Yeah.” 

“I’ll play you some stuff tomorrow. Well, hopefully—.” 

“Hey, Zelda, what’s that motto of yours?” Purah interrupted. 

“Hm?” 

“What you say about Impa?” 

“Oh. Impa knows everything.” 

Purah placed her hand on Zelda’s. “She’s my little sister. I can vouch for that statement.” 

“She didn’t know all of my secrets. She must be so hurt.” 

“Impa knows what she knows when she needs to know it. That counts as everything, just in a gradual sense.”

“Right.”

“Makes sense to me,” Link chirped. “Hey, Zel.” 

When she faced him, he put a hand on her forehead. 

Instantly her eyes fluttered shut and she leaned against it. 

“You feel all better?” He dropped his hand. 

She rubbed her face and groaned. “I’m not dizzy or breathing funny. But, no, I’ll feel all better when I hear of our fate.”

“Yeah…Me too.” 

When the kitchen door rattled open, Zelda knew she wasn’t the only one holding her breath. Impa poked her head in and spared them suspense by smiling and giving a tiny nod. 

Link, Zelda, and Purah all three exhaled. 

Impa squeaked across the floor in her sneakers and looked down at the three who were sitting in a kindergarten-style circle. 

“It’s all cleared up,” she said, sounding winded. 

“How?” Purah was kind enough to ask in their place. 

Impa shook her head. “Zelda, Rhoam wasn’t upset for a second. He stood by his “no curfew” crap and was just glad you accepted Ganon’s proposal. Link, all I’ll say is you don’t need to worry. You have some pretty solid job-security, as it was explained to me. Rhoam said the only problem would be if Ganon finds out anything that might set him off. He doesn’t care about anything but how things look from the outside.” 

Zelda slid down until she was prostrate, face-down on the tile floor. Her whole body went slack. She could finally relax. Link was safe. He wasn’t going to get fired. 

Impa released a heavy sigh, went to the fridge, grabbed a rootbeer and sat down in the circle. 

“Job security?” Link echoed, looking bewildered.

Meanwhile, Zelda curled into a ball and rolled sideways between Link and Purah until she reached Impa. She curled her arms around Impa’s waist and pressed her head to her torso. 

“Impa,” Zelda said, sounding like the scared, helpless twelve-year-old she’d been when she first met Impa and began relying on her. 

Impa wrapped her up in a hug. “Hm?” 

“You saved us. You’re magic. You know everything. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” 

“Shh. You’re alright, sweetie. Just try not to worry so much. We’ll get out of all of this.” 

“I know.” 

Purah rubbed her back as she remained curled up on Impa. 

“Linky, you’re a good one. You’re one of us, okay?” Purah held out her hand to him. 

Link muttered some unintelligible shy nonsense. 

Purah took his hand and drug him closer in. He sat down by her and Impa’s pile of Zelda. 

“Impa,” Link’s voice was small, “I have a little sister and I know how much I love her.” He coughed weakly. “So I know why you went in there and talked to Mr. Hyrule. That being said, I’m really, really grateful.”

Zelda’s head was down but she could feel Impa shift to look up. She must be looking at Link. 

“Rhoam can’t exactly fire Zelda. I didn’t want to see a stray kitten kicked out into the cold either.”

“Thank you,” Link said, sounding choked up. 

“Aw, Impa, is he not just the cutest little thing?” Purah pouted. 

Impa sighed sharply. “Purah, let go. You’re gonna scare him.” 

Zelda looked up to see Purah with Link’s chin pinched between her black-manicured fingernails. 

Link’s face was red and his smile was squished. 

Zelda smiled at him as his eyes met hers. 

I’m keeping you.

She wondered if she was thinking it loud enough to hear, if he could read the message in her eyes. 

Hard to say. He’d had a long morning and seemed a bit punch-drunk. 

“Sleep on the couch awhile and then I’ll make you lunch,” Impa said. 

Zelda fell back against her, overjoyed. 

Yes, stay here. Live here. Stay here forever and ever and ev—

“Thanks, but I better get home. I wanna get out of here before Rhoam changes his mind.” 

Zelda sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. “You’re going?” 

He nodded firmly and stood up. 

Zelda, Impa, and Purah followed suit. 

“Did you leave anything in the car?” Link asked. 

“I just had my purse.” 

Link looked around the kitchen, then pointed to the counter. “I brought it in.” 

“Thank you,” Zelda said, rocking back on her heels. 

“Sure.” Link stood still another few beats as if trying to remember something. “Thank you again, Impa.” 

“You owe me a drink,” she joked. 

“Impa, he’s underage, for God’s sake,” Purah said. 

“Oh right, I guess you owe me a coffee, then.” 

Link put his hand over his heart. “I will follow through on the coffee. And a drink in, like, eight months.”

“Oh, I was just kidding. You get out of here.”

“Okay,” he grinned. 

Purah gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t be a stranger. I’m a human coffee factory, Zelda can attest.” 

“It’s true. She’s the best.” 

“I believe it. You’ve got Zelda hooked on those iced coffees.” Link pushed open the kitchen door and raised his hand. “Bye. Thank you guys, for everything.” Zelda warmed when his gaze fell to her. 

“See you tomorrow,” she smiled as he disappeared out the door. 

There was thick silence until they heard the front door shut. 

Purah squealed like a dying balloon and smacked Zelda on the back 10 times in rapid succession. 

“Oh my GAWD!” Purah smacked Zelda on the arms when she turned around. 

“What?” Zelda tried to get through the question with a straight face but a grin betrayed her. 

Impa sighed and crossed her arms. “This is a lot of info all at once,” she said. 

“Thank you for saving him, Impa. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Zelda flung her arms around Impa again. “I couldn’t thank you properly with him here. I thought I might never see him again.” 

Impa rolled her eyes. “So dramatic.”

Chapter Text

October 17th

“Pixies!” 

“What?” 

Link stopped at a stop sign. “Make sure there’s no one behind us.” 

“Okay,” Zelda laughed confusedly. 

It was such a sunny day it looked warm outside.; it wasn’t. But through the tinted windows of the black sports car, it was a beautiful day. 

Link was wearing one of the outfits she’d bought him, and he wore the entire combination exactly as she’d intended it to be worn. 

Light blue sweater, black slacks, some really fresh black and white sneakers, and the icing on the cake…a leather jacket. 

When he opened the door for her this morning, she’d nearly broken a sweat. 

And he had his hair pulled back in a blue hair-tie just like the first time they’d met. 

Now, completing the look with his sunglasses and the iced coffee she’d brought him that made him steer with one hand, Zelda could hardly look at him. 

“Pixies. You like them?” 

“What is it?”

“Wha-What is it ? What are…Okay so you don’t know them.” 

“Is it a band?” Zelda asked with an innocent smile, checking the rear-view to make sure it was all clear. 

Link gave her a broad, toothy grin. “Yeah. It’s a band. That’s amazing. You’re like a newborn music-baby. This is incredible.” 

“It is?” 

He smacked his hand on the steering wheel and laughed, then put his cup in the cup holder. He pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and tossed it to Zelda. 

“Huh?” 

“Password: 1986.” 

“Okay.” 

“Go to the orange app with the music note.”

“Got it.” 

“Make it bluetooth.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Make the car connect to the phone.” He pointed to the screen on the car and Zelda tilted her head.

“I’ve not done that before.” 

“Well, me neither. I just use Aux chords. Please. We don’t just have a ton of time. Lots of ground to cover, here.” 

Zelda begrudgingly figured it out in two minutes. 

“Now type in Pixies.” 

“Which one?” 

“We’ll ease you in. Do “Here Comes Your Man”.” 

“It’s at the top one.” 

“Yeah.” 

Link drummed on the steering wheel and mouthed the words while Zelda bobbed her head and looked out the window, feeling awkward. It was so much pressure she didn’t know if she’d be able to decide if she even liked it. 

He didn’t put her on the spot. As the song faded out he just said “Dig for Fire.” 

Link sang louder to that one. He’d point at her when he said “Hah! No,” and it made her laugh. 

“I like them,” she said, biting down on her straw. 

“Yeah? Wave of Mutilation.” 

“Ooh,” Zelda said distractedly. 

“It’s my favorite one. We listen to it really loud, okay?” 

She nodded. 

“So don’t be scared.” 

“I’m not scared of loud music.” 

“Good because I wanna see what these high dollar speakers can do. I’m excited.”

“Me too,” she said quietly. 

He giggled. 

Link frantically paused the music when they neared the school. 

Zelda’s ears were ringing. “Why’d you stop?”

Link pointed ahead and her shoulders dropped in disappointment. 

She pouted at Link. “Circle the block. I like the loud one the best.”

His jaw dropped and he smiled dramatically. “She’s a rocker. I knew she was a rocker. It’s the deep anger within you, Zelda. It’s what this music is made for.” 

“I guess I am pretty angry.”

“Mhmm. Rightly so.” He slowed to a stop at the curb in front of her school. 

“I don’t want to go,” she sighed. “I had to bring the ring…just in case.” 

His face fell. “You can do this. Just, stay in the crowd and don’t take any crap from him…best you can.”

He opened the door for her. 

When she stood, he pushed back his sunglasses with a squint, shut her door, and leaned forward. “You gonna be okay?”

She clutched the handle of her bag in both hands. “What if I say “no”?”

He bit his tongue and his eyes darted towards the sky. “I guess you’d have to get back in the car,” he said slowly. 

“Then, no.” 

She held his gaze as he seemed to try to figure out if she was kidding. 

Finally, she smiled and fixed her gaze to her shoes. “I can handle it, Link. You know that.” 

He exhaled a breath and bobbed his head, letting his sunglasses fall back to his nose. “Okay. Don’t put up with anything. I can track you, ya know. You say the word,” he dipped his head, “I’ll track you down, girl.”

She bit her lip. “Thanks, Link. I’ll see you later.” 

Her feet barely touched the ground as with every step she thought:

He likes me~. He likes me~. He likes me~.

October 18th

Link and Zelda kept listening to rock music and it grew on Zelda with every new song. Link dressed cute the next day too. He seemed really fond of the leather jacket. 

The day before had been hauntingly silent at school. She ate lunch with Ganon at the table with the rest of his team. He barely spoke. He cut her a few sideways looks. That was it. He didn’t even show up at her locker. 

He was, as always, up to no good. That was stating the obvious. The only time Zelda didn’t suspect him of suspicious activity was in the moment that he was carrying out his badness in front of her eyes. 

Today, Zelda snuck in her side door and immediately felt eyes on her. It’s as if people were waiting for her to come in. 

Come to think of it, she’d gotten some funny looks in the courtyard before she’d even walked in. 

Well, Ganon could’ve given her a heads-up about announcing the engagement but of course he didn’t. 

It was worse than she’d expected. As she walked down the hall, one girl shouldered past her so hard she nearly fell down. 

She was getting shoved around to the point that she had to clutch her bag to her chest to keep from dropping it and have some shielding. She dodged through the throngs as best she could before her arm was grabbed and she was pulled sideways until she was behind a wall next to a trash-can. 

“Riju!” 

The elusive popular-girl had now positioned herself behind Zelda, hidden in the corner. “Hide with me.” 

Zelda gasped for breath, winded from being pushed around. 

“What is happening?” 

“You have no idea?” 

Zelda shook her head. 

“Everyone is talking. By the time you left school yesterday, probably. It started yesterday. People are saying you’re cheating on Ganon.” Riju’s eyes were wide as she spoke. 

Zelda stepped back, stupefied. “Huh?” 

“Everyone now thinks you are not only a man-stealing whore, but also a cheater.” 

“So this isn’t about the engagement?” 

“The what?” Riju crossed her arms. “Are you cheating on the love of your life or not?”

“I’m confused.” 

Riju took Zelda’s shoulders and looked up at her. “Someone saw you fooling around with your driver, either when he picked you up or dropped you off.” 

“Fooling around?” Zelda cried. 

“Alright. Don’t shout. I have to go.” 

“Who said that? You know I hate him but I’m not a cheater! Who started it, Riju?” Zelda asked Riju as she rushed back into the crowd. 

“Everyone,” she hissed. Riju vanished and left Zelda standing by the trash-can, staring into space. 

For the sake of investigation, Zelda felt she needed to find Ganon. 

And of course , he wasn’t at school on the one and only day he would be of use to her. 

That was probably intentional. 

It was definitely intentional. 

Zelda looked around her 3rd period history class, chewing her pink glitter pen and scanning the bored faces filling the room. Her heart was racing. She was surrounded by enemies. Mindless, oblivious, manipulated enemies, but enemies all the same. This rumor came with the promise of disaster. 

She’s a whore. She’s a witch. She’s screwed the whole football team. FINE. 

But, now, Ganon was turning his attention to Link. 

What could he do to Link? Zelda didn’t have an answer and these shrouded possibilities made her sick. 

Something sharp prodded her shoulder. 

She turned around, ready to kill. 

The kid sitting behind her was holding up a sharpened #2 pencil where he’d just poked her. “Quit chewing your pen so loud. I’m gonna have a nervous breakdown,” he whispered. 

“Oh. Sorry.” Zelda dropped her pen to her desk, then she dropped her arms to it, then her head. 

How come her head was always spinning through trouble-shooting without ever drumming up results? 

Am I dull? To think, I once had the gall to call myself a genius.

_

“Link, I can’t possibly apologize enough.” 

Link just shook his head. “Zel, you can’t do a thing about it. Besides, I don’t care what high schoolers at some private academy say about me, except that it means a storm on the horizon for you.” 

“I don’t think it’s that simple,” she said in a low voice. 

“Of course it is.” 

“Don’t be glib, Link. This is serious.” 

Link looked sideways at her as he drove. “I know. I said it’s serious. I agree it’s serious. You just don’t need to worry about me .” 

“And I’m saying I do!” 

“Why are you getting mad?”

“Because,” she said, staring at his stupid baby face as he looked at the window, “you are wrong. You’re being far too optimistic.” 

“Zelda, it’s going to be okay.” 

“What if it isn’t? I said that Ganon mustn't be underestimated. Did you forget that?”

“No, I’m just saying, even if he’s pissed about my existence, it’s silly to think that he’d waste his time on me.” 

Zelda’s jaw dropped. She scoffed. “So I’m silly now? Is it so delusional of me to think that the same man who just slapped me across the face and insisted on meeting you might have ill-intent?” 

“No! I didn’t mean it like that. I—Well, yeah, I guess that ties up the point. He was just gloating. Why would he do anything to me? He got his ugly ring on your finger.” He gestured to her bare hand. 

Zelda cocked her head. “How can you say that? You are so naive! Were you raised on an island? Were you really so coddled that you’d—.”

“Hey, Zelda, that isn’t fair.” 

“What isn’t fair is acting like I’m some kind of pessimist. Like, where have you been the last month?” 

“I’ve seen you going through hell.”

“So why are you immune? You think I’m just unlucky?” 

“No! No…The way you get treated makes me sick.” His voice was shaking with emotion. 

Zelda narrowed her eyes. “I’m used to it. Genuinely, you’re the one I worry about.” 

“I don’t get where this is coming from.” 

“Pull over.” 

“I’m not pulling over, Zelda. Let’s just calm down.” 

“I’ll calm down when you pull over.” 

“Why are we pulling over?” 

“I don’t like fighting in cars.” 

“Why are we fighting?” he asked, straightening his sunglasses. 

“Well even if we’re not fighting, just talking, I’d rather talk with the car stopped.” 

Link obediently pulled up to the grassy side of the country road. 

He took off his glasses. 

When she saw his eyes, she knew he was just as upset as she was. 

“Link, I shouldn’t have said anything about your character. I don’t know how you were raised.” 

“It’s okay.” 

“I’ll calmly tell you what I think.” 

“You’ve made yourself pretty clear,” Link mumbled. 

Zelda squinted at him. “Not clear enough, apparently. I’m saying that it is obvious Ganon is plotting against you and we need to be prepared.” 

“And I’m saying, you are worrying too much. And that is completely understandable but—.” 

“And I’m saying that you shouldn’t brush me off. I know more about his kind than you do.” 

“ I’m saying your dad’s done such a number on you, you think everyone who isn’t out to get you is powerless.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“You act like I’m a helpless kid and that this jock has some crazy card against me.” 

“So that’s how you see me? I’m a helpless kid? That makes sense. I thought you saw me as more but I recall all the talk of “looking after me” now. I guess that’s what you’re all about.” 

“You aren’t helpless. I didn’t mean you. I meant…Ganon is just a high schooler.” 

“You keep saying that! I am in high school!” She beat her chest as she yelled. “You’re putting me on the same level as him and underestimating both of us.”

“No—.” 

“You don’t believe the richest man in the city could ruin your life and you don’t believe it because it’s coming from a high school senior.” 

“Will you let me talk? You’re having a one sided conversation over there.” 

She crossed her arms and slammed back in her seat. 

Link took a deep breath. “This is just…I was only trying to help. I don’t want you to worry about something bad happening to me. You have enough to worry about without adding me to the list.” 

“So you were lying?”

“About what?” 

“You think he could hurt you. You’re just trying to make me feel better.” 

“Well, it would be pretty stupid to think there’s nothing he could do if he wanted to. I doubt he does. He’s just used me for another cheap rumor against you. That’s how I see it.” 

Zelda dropped her head. “Which is it? Are you scared or not?” 

“Why should I be? There’s nothing to do about it anyway. I just don’t want to get cut off from that. Other than that…I mean, it’s all idle speculation.” 

“But I could be right? Because you called me silly.” 

“I didn’t call you that. I just said the idea of Ganon wasting time on me is…It’s not very…rational.” 

“I am rational.” 

Link rubbed his eyes. “Yes, you are.” 

“Now, you’re just trying to get out of this.” 

“Get out of what?” 

“I think it’s pretty serious that you would devalue my very real suspicions just because I’ve had a rough year. If I’m waiting for the other shoe to fall it’s only that I’ve been promised it will.” 

“You’re right, Zelda. You are right. I mean that.” 

“I am right. I hope you do mean it.” 

He met her eyes, his frown deepening. “I’m not lying to you.” 

“You said that nothing bad would happen when you know it could.” 

“It doesn’t do any good to worry.” 

“Well, I like to be prepared.” 

“Okay…So that's you. We don’t think the same.” 

“You’re thinking wrong. You ought to know better than this.” 

He ran his fingers back through his hair. “He is an intimidating person. He’s big. He’s rich.”

“He’s smart,” Zelda added gravely, turning to look out the window. 

“Zelda?”

“It’s fine.”

October 19th

Zelda had felt wretched all evening, all night, all morning. She barely slept and she crawled out of bed much earlier than she had to. She opened her phone to text him then decided not to. 

No sense in waking him up if he was still asleep. Besides, it would be better to apologize in person. 

How could she fight with Link? 

I must be heartless. 

Admittedly, he’d been in the wrong. But his intentions were pure. Pure and naive. 

Maybe it was a lesson she had to learn: Link was the one who needed protecting. 

Zelda didn’t go downstairs for coffee until her usual time, after she’d gotten ready for school. 

Strange, it sounded like they had company. Zelda slowed three steps from the bottom of the staircase, fingers tracing the white wood of the banister. There was laughing and talking coming from Father’s office. 

She peered over the side of the rail towards the large oak door. Her heart stopped when she identified the voice that mingled with her father’s. 

Ganon. 

“ What ?” She mouthed the word to herself. Immediately, she was torn between fleeing to the kitchen and eavesdropping. Eavesdropping would be more tolerable with some caffeine in her system. But no. She tiptoed down the last few steps and inched towards the door. 

“He won’t be an issue, Ganon. He’s not a bad kid. I knew his family. He’s trustworthy.”

“Do you think he’ll go without a fight? Just take the money?” 

“God, I hope so.” 

There was a lengthy silence and Zelda had the sinking feeling those two were heading towards the door. 

She ran away without looking back. 

The kitchen was empty. 

Why? Why? Why?

There was no iced coffee prepared for her, but there was a half-full pot of coffee, probably for the conspirators. It was moments like these where Zelda remembered sharply that this was not her house. 

She poured herself a cup of coffee. It was lukewarm. She downed it black, purely for the hit of clarity, then doubled over gagging. She slammed her cup down on the counter and walked towards the kitchen door. 

It swung open before she reached it. 

She stopped short and craned her neck to meet Ganon’s eyes. 

She blinked. “Why are you in my house?” 

“I’m your fiance. Is it really so strange?” 

“Yes.” 

He sighed and smiled like he was being patient with her. 

She narrowed her eyes. Link would be here any minute. Surely, that’s who they’d been talking about. 

Something about Zelda’s very worst fears happening froze her over. 

“Why are you here, Ganon?” 

“Business. Also I thought I’d drive you to school since I’m here.” 

So that confirmed it. Zelda took a step back and squeezed her forehead. “How unusual,” she said. 

“Are you ready to go?” 

“To school?” 

He chuckled, hands in his pockets. “Uh-huh.” 

She brushed past him and opened the kitchen door. She didn’t care if it hit him in the face, she just headed for the foyer. 

Ganon’s arms were around her waist so fast she’d think he was giving her the heimlich. 

She cursed in shock. The front door just through the dining room opened and Link walked in. 

Zelda couldn’t even gasp before Ganon had slapped a hand over her mouth and lifted her off her feet, knocking the air from her lungs and hurting her stomach. 

“I was going to spare you. But actually, let’s watch,” he whispered, his breath repulsively humid against her ear.  

His hand was too big and flat. She couldn’t bite him. And she didn’t have enough breath to scream. 

Ganon had moved them behind the wall just in time to avoid detection from Link. All she could do was listen while the life was choked out of her. 

Rhoam walked into the foyer. 

“You wanted to see me, sir?” Link asked. 

“Link, there’s been a change of plans. You know, a lot has happened since you started working here.” Father didn’t seem exactly thrilled to be having this conversation. 

“Is something wrong?”

“Well, not necessarily. You see, I have an offer for you.” 

She felt Ganon laughing. Her lungs were aching and her body was going into panic mode over the lack of oxygen. 

“What? I’m sorry, I don’t think I understand, Sir” 

“To rip the bandaid off so-to-speak, Zelda won’t be needing a driver anymore. I think she’s grown up a lot and learned her lesson. And now that she is engaged, there’s someone else to look after her.” 

“Ganon?” Link cried. “He—Sir, we both know he’s violent. She needs someone watching out for her because of him.” 

“Now that’s none of your business. This is the crux of the issue. You have gotten too friendly with my daughter and she cannot be getting distracted from her duties as a fiancee and as a student. I’m not sure if you heard, but apparently people are talking about you. Right now it’s just kids at school saying Zelda’s having some kind of childish affair, but when that gets to their parents, well, it would very likely damage my reputation.” 

“How can you put your reputation over your own daughter? I don’t get this! Are you totally unreasonable? Are you going to ruin her life—?” 

“That’s enough!”
“No! Are you going to ruin her entire life for four more years in office? That’s—That’s evil!”

“You’re getting far too emotional. I know it’s stressful to lose a job but—.” 

“Not stressful enough to sell your kid over!” 

“I’m talking about you!” Well, now Link had gotten her father shouting. 

Zelda’s vision was fading. 

“I understand that but I’m talking about you. I’m genuinely curious how you justify this. He hit her! You know he hit her! And he’ll do worse. Are you okay with that?”

“He’s a kid. I’m sure he’ll cool off.” 

“Cool off? Are you crazy?” Link’s voice was shaking. She was pretty sure he was crying. 

“I’m not here to discuss my family life with you. I’m telling you that if you leave right now I will give you this.” 

Zelda tapped out frantically on Ganon’s arm. Ganon was kind enough to lower it just enough for her nose to poke through. 

She took the meager breaths and the ringing of her ears quieted enough for her to hear the conversation.  

“ A bribe ? Are you trying to buy me away from her?” 

“That is the easy way. Positive reinforcement instead of negative, understand?” 

“Sorry?!” 

“Whether you like it or not, what’s happening when you walk out the door is radio silence with my daughter. You will not text or call her. You will not meet her anywhere; not here, not school, not at that diner. Nothing. There is no reason you two should be talking.” 

“If I don’t work for you how come you can order me around?” 

“I can’t order you around but I can appeal to your better judgment. I mean, obviously you care about Zelda a lot more than I do, isn’t that what you think?”

“Is that a threat?” His voice had gone quiet.

“Damn straight. I can’t have some punk circling her like a vulture.” 

Link didn’t reply. 

Zelda closed her eyes and focused on trying to breathe; it still took tremendous effort; Ganon wasn’t giving her much space to do so. 

“If you come near her, she’s going to be a lot more unhappy than if you don’t.” 

“Are you threatening to hurt your own kid to…punish me? Is that what’s happening?” 

“No, I’m saying if you cause trouble for yourself, you’re going to cause trouble for her. This isn’t rock bottom. This wedding can be expedited. She can get locked in her room like a princess in a tower. And I can report you to the police.” 

“What for?” 

“For stalking a minor,” he said, his voice going chillingly soft. “She is under my roof. And don’t think Ganon wouldn’t do the same.” 

“This is crazy.” 

“I don’t want it to get that ugly. Believe it or not, I like you. I’d love it if you just took this money and left.” 

“Keep your money. And let me see her. Where is she?” 

Zelda squeezed Ganon’s arm, pleading. That got her breathing privileges taken away. 

“Kid. I called you a cab. It’s here.” 

Just as Zelda was fading out, the door slammed and Ganon dropped his arms. 

Zelda buckled to the floor, blind, shuddering, and wheezing. 

Ganon crouched down beside her and tilted his head as she struggled to sit up. 

“You ugly, pathetic rat bastard.” It burned her throat but it was satisfying to say. 

“Do you have your ring, my dear?” 

She nodded. 

He held out his hand. “Let’s put it on that pretty little hand and get to school. We have some rumors to clear up and an announcement to make.” 

“Give me a minute.” She went limp, relaxing face-down on the hardwood floor and letting her eyes roll shut. Her lip pouted out as she resisted a sob.

I’m sorry, darling. I’m sorry, Link.

Her heart twisted into knots and a hot tear rolled down her face. And that was enough. She rolled over and looked up at Ganon. 

A dazed smile spread across her lips. 

He smiled back. 

She emitted a shrill laugh. “I forgot for a second.” 

“What?” he asked gently, wiping her tear away with his fingertips. 

“I forgot what’s going to happen.” 

“Hm?” 

“Nothing.” 

I saw the future already. I am keeping Link.

Chapter Text

January 1st

Zelda had been invited to parties hundreds of times, being beautiful, wealthy, and well-dressed. She’d never even considered going. The results the next morning at school had been evidence enough; hangovers did not look fun. 

Maybe, it was impossible for even the strongest of wills to avoid going to at least one of these house parties. 

Gannon was buzzing with excitement and she could guess why. He kept looking sideways at her as he drove with one hand on the wheel and one on her thigh. 

Zelda picked her battles. One more millimeter up her leg and he’d get smacked. He pretty well knew those limits by now; not that he always honored them. 

“You seem awfully happy, Mister,” Zelda said without looking up from Korok Crush. Her fixation with killing the stupid squirrely creatures had returned with a passion. She was climbing the leaderboards. 

“You’ve never been to a party. How crazy is that? You know it’s crazy to be seventeen and have never gone to a party, right?” 

“Crazy, crazy, crazy.”

“Mm. You don’t know what you’re missing. This is going to be the best one yet, too. Kohga’s place being right on the outskirts of the city means he has been able to gather vast and varied amounts of refreshments.”

“How wonderful. I like that blazer, by the way. Pastels aren’t easy to pull off but the pale blue is working. Must be your complexion, since it doesn’t match your eyes.” 

“I always enjoy your fashion run-downs. Thanks. There’s nothing in the world like a tailored jacket.” 

Zelda smiled and bobbed her head. “Weird choice in the snow, though.” 

“My coat’s in the back.” 

“Gotcha.” 

“Want my fashion rundown?” 

Zelda looked back at her phone. “No.” 

Gannon threw his head back laughing. 

Her stoic exterior broke and she cracked a smile. It was a small bit of fun to defy him, remind him just how grueling all of this was for her. That just came off as playful teasing, though. Eh. If that came out now and then it only meant ingratiating herself with him, which meant occasionally better treatment. 

“Well, you know how much I love to give my unsolicited opinion.” 

“Do. I. Ever.” 

Blinker on, street full of big ol’ houses with white pillars and brick drives and perfect hedges. They were getting closer. 

“Even in winter clothes, covering every inch of you, you’re pure sex, babe.” 

Zelda gagged loudly. 

“The tights, the tight skirt, those hooker-boots, come ooon, you know what you’re doing.” 

She wiped out a whole army of Koroks in one blast. “I express myself through clothes. I like each of these pieces and I thought they would compliment each other. And you’re going to objectify me no matter what I wear so I may as well wear what I want. But I sound like a broken record at this point.” 

“Hey, uh, Zelda.” His voice went low. “Are you going to be a brat in front of my friends?” 

“I’ll behave myself, Ganon. May I remind you, I've been especially stressed lately. I’m doing my best.” She wasn’t even sure that was a lie. For the venom running through her veins, she was treating her fiance pretty amazingly.

He sighed and squeezed her leg. “I know, princess. I know it’s hard. Maybe this party will be good for you. Every single kid in this place is probably blowing off steam over some crap going on at home.” 

“I’m sure that’s true. That’s why people drink and smoke and whatever else, I suppose. I’m certain that isn’t my way of calming down, but I’ll look at these loud children with kinder eyes.” 

_

When they pulled into the drive of the last house on the cul-de-sac, beer cans and other trash had already been littered across the snowy yard. 

Her throat tightened at the way the house was practically shaking with the bass of the loud music inside. 

Still, she followed Ganon from his vintage sports car towards a place that was looking more and more hellacious. 

“Are we late?” 

“Fashionably.” He skipped up the steps and kicked open the door, which was ajar. 

The smell of liquor and smoke could’ve knocked her down. It turned her stomach. She wrinkled her nose and scanned the partiers. They were packed together so tightly that she didn’t see how anyone was doing anything. That could hardly be called dancing…

“AAAAYE!” Ganon raised his hands in the air. 

Many people returned his call. 

Zelda was completely hidden behind him. 

“I assume you don’t mind parting ways for a bit?” he yelled over the music at her, barely turning around. 

It was kind of amazing how he only disappeared on the rare occasion when she wanted him around. She shrugged. “Go.” 

“Zelda! Hey! Omigod, I never seen you at one-a these parties!” A girl with sandy blonde hair and smeared blue shadow on her eyes hooked her arm around Zelda. 

She was wasted. 

What’s her name again? Math class…Bindy? Bonny? Bailey?

“Hey, yeah, I don’t usually attend.” 

“I’ll show you the ropes!” 

“That’s okay.” 

“Naaaah, come on, le’s get you a drink.” She grabbed Zelda’s arm and drug her through the crowd with an impressive level of determination. They made it across the large, chaotic living room to the kitchen. 

The kitchen was littered with trash and dishes and broken glass and people sitting on countertops. 

“Hey, sweetie-pie. Who’s this, Brittany?” A guy was standing next to a stack of cups and drinks so maybe he was the bartender. 

“Don’t you recognize her? This is Ganon’s fiancee!” 

“Fiancee? How old are you, cutie?” 

She scoffed. “Seventeen.” 

“Wow.” 

“I know right? No one is as surprised as I am.”

“Tying the knot already. Phew. I’ll make ya’ something strong.” he said with a shake of his head. 

“Oh! Oh, no thank you,” Zelda exclaimed, waving her hands briskly. “I don’t drink.”

“It’s a special occasion.”

Zelda crossed her arm. “I don’t want a drink. You guys seem nice so can you not hassle me?” 

“We’re nice,” Brittainy slurred. “Just let him get you a beer.” 

“If you give me anything with alcohol I will not drink it. If you spike it I will notice. I’m not trying to be rude. I just don’t want to waste your time.” 

The guy’s brows knitted. “Uhhh, honestly, I don’t think I have anything non-alcoholic.” 

“May I have a cup? I’ll fill it with water and we can all pretend it’s vodka.” 

She wasn’t sure how that would land, but Brittany and the bartender laughed. 

He handed her a cup. 

“Thank you, kindly. Brittany, thanks for the welcome.” 

“Sure thing.” 

Zelda went to the sink and wedged her cup between piles of dirty dishes, careful not to let it touch anything while she filled it. 

When she turned to leave, her two new friends were making out. So everyone in the kitchen had paired off. 

That’s nice. 

Zelda opened the door to brave the living-room action again. She leaned back against an empty wall near the kitchen and sipped her water, trying to just stay out of the way, unnoticed. 

She pulled her winter hat down and tucked her hair into her scarf. She pulled her scarf up over her mouth and bobbed her head to the music that was just incoherent beeping over bass rattling her skull. While being as ninja as possible, she also tried to look like she was enjoying herself, raising her cup when everyone else did and bouncing slightly when everyone else bounced. 

Fifteen whole minutes went by this way and Zelda’s mood was beginning to brighten. Could she hide through this whole party? She was hesitant to poke around opening doors. If these people would do…what they were doing out in the open, she surely didn’t want to walk in on couples who’d sought privacy. But if she could find some really hidden nook she could play on her phone. That wouldn’t even make for a half-bad party. 

All good things must come to an end. 

The minute Gannon locked eyes with her, he busted out laughing. “If you aren’t the cutest thing!” 

She closed her eyes and exhaled, mentally preparing for the results of her defeat. 

“What are you doing, princess?” 

“Having fun?” Her voice was muffled by her thick scarf. 

He wiped a tear from his eye, evidently unable to calm down from the hilarity of the sight of her.

“Are you cold?” 

“Yes.” 

This sent him into another fit. She suspected he was not in his right mind anymore. 

“No you are not, you little freak.” 

And here it comes.

He grabbed her coat and whipped it off of her with a force that jolted her arms back painfully. The pig had the nerve to let it fall to the floor. He untangled her from her scarf and down it went with her coat. He cackled as he snatched her hat off her head. 

She gave him the nastiest scowl in her repertoire. 

He was eyeing her buttoned-up pink cashmere sweater. That wasn’t meant to come off. She only had a white camisole underneath. 

She looked up at him defiantly as he stepped close enough for her to smell the mix of weird smoke and beer all over him. 

“We’ll get that sweater off in a minute,” he growled. 

“Um, we will not.” 

He gave her a chilling look. “Maybe we will.” 

“Take off my sweater? That would screw up the whole look, Ganon.” 

“All I need you wearing is this ring, princess.” 

Her face flushed as he grabbed her hand and twisted it so that the ring was glaring right in her face. “I am still firm on our boundaries, Ganon. We’re waiting till marriage.” 

He scoffed. “And after marriage?” 

She stared at her shoes. “I haven’t thought that far ahead.” 

“That’s what I thought. You think you’re going to get out of this.” His words were getting louder and more slurred. “You think you’re going to be a runaway bride. You’re wrong but maybe if we got some things you’ve been putting off outta the way,” he grabbed her chin and tilted it up, forcing her to meet his eyes, “you’ll have a better attitude. If you think you aren’t mine, then I haven’t made myself clear enough, huh?” 

Her eyes were beginning to burn and she cursed herself for it. She wasn’t beginning to hyperventilate. Ha, passing out was exactly what this situation called for. 

“You are clear. We’re together. We’re a couple. We’re engaged. We are going to get married. We don’t need more.” 

He leaned in, bending his knees so that he could get eye level, nose to nose. “ I need more.” 

“The answer is no,” she said with an unfortunate tremor in her voice. 

He gave her a wolfish grin. “You are new to these kinds of parties. I’d be remiss if I didn’t give you a tour of the upstairs.” 

Her back was to the wall. “I don’t want that.” 

“Too bad.” He grabbed her arms and she screamed. 

Her voice was drowned out in the noise. “Ganon, Ganon, this is crazy.” She protested to deaf ears as he pushed her through the crowd. 

She hated crying in front of people but tears were blurring her eyes even while she gasped for breath that wasn’t reaching her lungs. 

She kicked and begged and screamed as they reached the stairs. 

He made a mistake by pushing her up the first two steps before he started. She gave one last kick, using all her strength, and hit her intended target. 

While Ganon doubled over, cussing her out under his breath, she shoved past him and made for the bathroom by the front door. 

Just before he could take a few strides and stop her, she slammed the door shut and locked it, then flicked the light on with a shaking hand. 

He was banging against the door and yelling her name almost as soon as she’d shut it.

The sound made her fall back onto the floor. She needed to breathe and keep her senses. That was top priority. But, beyond that, she couldn’t exactly run away on foot from him down an icy sidewalk. 

She needed help. This was a harsh lesson. It would’ve benefited her to learn at least a few of her schoolmates' names. She knew absolutely no one at this party. And even if she did, she hadn’t run into anyone sober. 

She closed her eyes, trying to clear her vision. Hot tears streamed down her face and she sniffled, scooting back against the wall and releasing a sob, and then countless more. 

Ganon hadn’t given up banging on the door. She was scared he was going to break it down. 

She got her phone out of her skirt pocket and clutched it to her chest. 

She had two friends. 

Impa and Purah. 

Her only two friends were currently about ten hours away in a hospital with their dying grandma. She took a second to sob and cry out in pain for her two friends' loss before she continued crying about her thing. There was no one. She was so desperate she would've called her father if he was available. 

She slid open her phone and opened it to her contacts. One name stood out right away. One person stood out always. 

He was the person she wanted to see more than anyone right now. 

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t. She couldn’t. 

She hit “call” and curled her head behind her knees as she shook with sobs. 

The banging on the door had ceased about twenty seconds ago, she realized when the only sound she could hear was the dial tone ringing. 

Now, there was a sharp knocking at the door. 

“Lemme in!” a girl yelled. 

“Hello?” 

Zelda’s heart stopped pumping and her tears dried up. “Link!” 

“Zelda?” He sounded out of breath like he’d been running. 

“Seriously, open the door!” 

“Are you okay?”  

“It’s okay, wait, wait, wait, I found the key!” another girl said behind the door. “It was on the doorframe. Hang on!” 

Zelda pressed the phone hard against her cheek. “Link, if by any slim chance you still have the tracker I’m—.” 

The door flew open and Zelda leapt to her feet. She shut her eyes tightly and gave one desperate plea. “Link, find me!” She dropped her phone to her side, preparing to run. 

“Riju,” she said, sighting the one person at this party who she knew and who also had a brain. 

“Move out of the way. I’m gonna puke,” she croaked, rushing for the toilet. 

She missed by about a foot, instead grabbing Zelda’s shoulders and vomiting bright red liquid all over her pink sweater. 

“Oh my god, oh no,” Riju said, crying about as hard as Zelda had been a second ago. 

“It’s okay! It’s okay, dear,” Zelda said quickly, checking that her phone was dry. It was but she’d accidentally hung up. She shoved her phone back in her pocket and took off her sweater, which had taken the majority of the spill. 

“I’m sorry-y-y-y,” Riju sobbed, dropping to her knees and putting her arms around the toilet seat. 

Zelda twisted up her sweater to the mostly dry-side and picked up Riju’s arms. She placed her rolled up sweater on the toilet lid and tucked the girl’s hair out of her face while she shuddered and hiccupped. 

A tall redhead rushed past Zelda. “I got her.” 

“You’ve got her?” 

“Yeah.” The girl dropped to her knees beside Riju and Zelda decided she had to make a getaway while she had the chance. She was right by the front door. She could do this. 

She walked quickly. Her phone was buzzing non-stop, keeping her grounded and alive, knowing the person she cared about most was at least thinking of her at this moment. He’d answered her call. Despite all the threats he faced, he’d answered her call. 

She wiped her face and took a deep breath, briefly scanning the room full of people. 

Maybe Ganon had gotten distracted. 

Zelda inched towards the door, trying hard to go unnoticed. Her hand was on the doorknob. 

She checked over her shoulder. She was caught. 

Ganon threw himself forward like he was in a football game. 

Zelda screamed and jumped sideways, missing him by a hair. 

He slammed hard into the front door while Zelda wasted no time wiggling into the packed throng of dancers. 

She ducked down and let drinks splatter across her face and in her hair. 

She coughed and trudged further into the living-room. 

“Zelda, come here! I’m sorry!” Ganon yelled. His voice traveled loud and clear over the rest of the noise. 

A few people looked at her when he yelled her name. 

Her breathing was getting dangerously fast again. She was packed between people so tight she couldn’t move. She had a sinking feeling that Ganon would not have that problem. 

The crowd parted like The Red Sea for him. 

“No,” she huffed, grabbing the nearest girl’s arm.

The girl took her hand sweetly, but Zelda was ripped away by Ganon in the same second. 

“We just need to talk.” He pulled her past everyone to the same wall of the living room as the front door. 

Zelda looked over at the exit longingly. 

“What’s this?” Ganon hummed, looking her up and down more slowly and carnally than ever before. He put a hand on her waist. 

Right. She’d lost her sweater, which left a skimpy white camisole. 

“You make all that fuss just to come back out here like this.” 

“Someone puked on my sweater,” she yelled. 

“Right.” He put both hands on her hips and leaned forward. “You reek of booze, Zelda.” 

She didn’t reply, focused on tilting her head back away from him. 

“You’re plastered.” 

“I am not!” 

“Aw, cute, cute, cuuute,” he hummed. “Feeling less stressed out now?” 

“No.” 

“Come with me.” 

“No!” she screamed as he turned towards the stairs again. 

That just sent him walking fast with his hand locked around her wrist. 

She dug her heels in, twisting her wrist back and forth and pulling away with all of her strength. 

“No! No! No! No! No!” She could barely hear her own voice over the music. She tasted salt as she screamed and cried and kicked at his ankles and punched his arm. 

He was like a wall.

Zelda felt like a ghost, no one could hear her and she couldn’t affect any change on her surroundings. 

She screamed and fought anyway as the stairs loomed closer and closer. 

Zelda was getting weaker because of her sobbing and hyperventilating. She threw all of her weight backwards and went limp like a toddler throwing a fit. This did nothing but hurt her shoulder and get her pulled across the stained living-room carpet even faster. 

Her phone was buzzing. How long had it been buzzing? She probably wouldn’t have felt it while she was running from him or fighting so it could’ve been ringing all this time, only noticeable when she quit moving. 

The brute was moving too fast for her to find her footing. When they reached the stairs, he yanked her upright and glared at her.

“Will you quit acting like that?” he said, yanking her arm again. 

She sniffled and blubbered and shook her head. “I’m not going upstairs. I’m not doing it,” she wailed. 

“Remember how you promised not to be a brat?” He pulled on her arm and she moaned in pain, her legs buckling again. 

“I’m not going up there,” she said, sniffling and gagging at the taste of salty tears. 

“Oh god, are you going to puke?” he dropped her hand and took a step back, grimacing at her. “You are trashed.” 

She closed her eyes. Her phone wasn’t ringing. That sent a new wave of tears rolling down her face. 

Link couldn’t get in touch with me. He really tried though.

She dropped her head and Ganon’s shoes stomped back into view. 

At first, it seemed to be a part of the song playing, a faint, mismatched synthesizer solo. 

Then it got louder. The louder the sound got, the more distinctive from the music it became. 

Zelda was frozen staring down at Ganon’s shoes. Based on the looks of his shoes, Ganon was frozen too. 

Police sirens. 

While every other person on that property fell into panic, Zelda heard salvation. 

Ganon grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. “We’ve gotta get out of here.” 

She shook her head “no”, ready to fight him all over again, no matter how futile. 

Then, Ganon’s face contorted to rage and someone took Zelda’s other hand. 

She turned, knowing who it was yet trying not to get her hopes up. 

Her mouth fell agape. “Link.” She had no voice.

Ganon must’ve been shocked too, because he let go of her. 

It was louder than before with the sirens and yelling added to the rest of the cacophony. 

Cops filed through the front door and Link slipped his arm around her shoulders. 

She let her head fall to his shoulder as she kept in step with him past the police officers and out into the freezing air. 

It was a pleasant change; the cold against her skin, the quiet that was now only unintelligible because of the ringing in her ears. 

Link was talking to her but she couldn’t yet make out his words. 

A police officer walked up to them and Link stopped. They’d reached the sidewalk. 

Zelda looked back across the yard to the door and gasped. 

Two cops were hauling Ganon outside. 

She huddled closer against Link. 

“Is that him?” the officer asked. 

Her hearing was clearing up. 

“Yeah, that’s him,” Link said. 

She looked sideways at him, her brows raised. 

“I’m going to need a statement if he was violent with you, Miss.”

“A statement?” she asked, still staring at Link. “Right now?” 

“You can confirm that’s the guy and that he forced himself on you?” 

She nodded. 

Link took her arm and held it up gently for the officer to see. 

Her wrist looked rug burned from trying to get free of Ganon.  

His eyes were dark and his jaw was set. He put his arm around her again as he spoke to the officer. 

Zelda didn’t hear another word of it. If she was answering questions, she certainly didn't notice. Her arms hung limp at her sides as she leaned all of her weight on Link and closed her eyes. She tried to focus on him instead of the aching of her lungs and that choked feeling of her heart in her throat. In the small breaths she could manage, she took in his familiar scent, soft and clean. 

He patted her arm. “Zelda?” 

“Mm?” She lifted her head and her vision blurred into focus on the police officer standing in front of them. 

“Tomorrow morning at the station then,” the man was saying. 

Link nodded. “Ready to go?” he asked Zelda, his voice hushed and gentle. 

“Thank you.”  

Chapter Text

Link had a pale yellow sedan parked a few yards down the sidewalk. 

It was painfully familiar, the way he rushed to open the door for her and helped her inside. 

She didn’t realize just how exhausted she was until she sat down, Link got in, the doors were locked, and she was truly out of the woods. 

The feeling had her melting down until her head was on her knees. 

“Zelda?” 

Tears welled in her eyes so she stayed put, not wanting him to see anymore of that than he already had. 

“Yeah?” she chirped. 

“Where you wanna go?” 

She shook her head against her knit tights. “I don’t care.” 

“My place actually isn’t very far from here. Does that sound okay?” 

“I was just being polite. That’s where I want to go.” 

He exhaled a weak laugh and started driving. 

The silence between them was maddening but what could she possibly say? She hadn’t even bothered to mention the fact that she wasn’t drunk out of her mind. 

And she tried her best to keep it down while she cried, but she was sniffling and every once in a while a sob would come with a soft whimper.  

The car stopped within a few brief minutes and Zelda sat up, cupping her hands around her face to hide. They were parked on the very edge of a gas station parking lot. 

Link got out of the car without a word. Was he angry at her for calling him? He was too nice. He would do something, but he mustn't be thrilled that she was getting him entangled in her life again. 

He opened her door and crouched down by her seat so that he was looking up at her. 

She sniffled and wiped her tear-soaked face with her hands before she faced him. She turned sideways in her chair, legs dangling from the car just before where Link stood on bended knee. 

It was the first time she’d actually looked at him. 

Those eyes, soft and sweet, were filled with concern. His whole face was like a picture come to life, as if she’d only ever seen him in movies. 

“Zel,” he whispered. 

In the next second, her arms were around his neck. There was no forethought to her throwing herself out of the car at him, but as his arms curled around her back and he put his head to hers, she didn’t regret it. 

He rubbed her back and rocked side to side slowly. She ignored the snowy concrete wetting her knees, drowning in Link’s affection.  

She didn’t hold back anymore. Her body was racked with sobs and her cries echoed across the empty parking lot until her voice was gone. 

As she settled down, Link took her elbows and helped her up. When they were standing he pulled her right back into his arms and his hand pressed to her head as she rested it on his shoulder. 

She was surprised she could even feel something else after the night she’d had, but a delicious heat saturated her skin as her body molded to his, a perfect fit. 

“Link,” she murmured, dropping one of her arms from behind his neck. 

“Hm?” He tilted his head to look at her. 

“It’s cold.” She touched his arm. He was just in a thin t-shirt. “You don’t have a coat.” 

“What about you?” He stepped back and took her arms in his hands. 

“Oh…that…Riju threw up on my sweater.” 

He raised his brows and nodded. “Okay. We’ll go in just a second.” 

Zelda swallowed hard and wiped her face again, then cleared her throat. 

“I just need to know if you're seriously hurt.” 

Her lip pouted out and she shook her head. “If you hadn’t been there…” She shook her head harder, forcing down more choked sobs. She took a deep breath and met Link’s eyes. “Ganon did not get his way.” She spoke robotically, forcing herself to say all that he needed to know. “I didn’t drink a drop of alcohol, I'm just covered in it. I only went to that party because he forced me to. Oh, I didn’t do any drugs either.” 

“I know you didn’t do drugs, Zelda,” he said, halfway sounding amused. He drew her back into a hug, which she obliged to like a ragdoll, wrapping her arms around his waist. 

“Mm, Link if you hadn’t gotten there…So heroic, showing up at the exact moment I needed you.” 

He raked his hand back through her tangled hair and met her eyes, looking to be deep in thought. “Let's go.”

Zelda examined the car interior in the brief moments before Link opened his door and got in. 

There was a pair of ballet flats and a melted tube of lipstick on the carpet. The whole place smelled like flowery perfume. This was a woman’s car. 

It was a bench seat with a small seat in the middle. 

Link got in and looked between Zelda and the middle seat three times before he said anything. “If you’re cold, you can sit in the middle here. It—.”

She moved over and buckled up in the middle. 

“It’s closer to the vents. This car’s old so the air comes out weak.” 

She nodded and pointed her bleary gaze at him. 

“Sorry, I wish I had a coat for you. I didn’t grab anything on my way out. I was in a rush.” He gave a small smile. 

She returned it. 

As he drove back onto the road, she forgot to look away. With starry eyes, she traced the lines of his forehead to his eyes to his nose to his lips to his chin and up again. 

The only thing that pulled her attention from his face was his tattooed arm that was against hers. She tilted her head. It was dark but she’d never seen it up close. Really, she’d not seen him up close much. Not enough anyway. 

Dark rings wrapped around his arm just above his elbow and twisted lines went up past his t-shirt sleeve. It took her longer than it should’ve to realize she was staring and to stop it. 

She was exhausted and she hadn’t seen him in months while thinking of him constantly and so she was mesmerized. 

Her mouth dropped when she realized what he must think he was risking. 

“Oh, Link. This should’ve been the first thing I told you; the threat of my father is neutralized. He is in a holding cell while under investigation for fraud, coercion, blackmail, bribery, money-laundering…The list is too long to recite but the point is, he won’t be calling the police on you. I never would’ve called you if that was still a danger. This only happened last week.” 

Link nodded. “I heard.” 

“Did you? I suppose it is in the news.” 

“My boss broke the story, Zel.” 

“What?” 

“I work at The Lucky Clover Gazette now. I’m an assistant to an investigative journalist. He was the first to find out about your father. I don’t know how you’ll feel about this. I felt weird about it, but…I helped write the article.” 

Her exhausted heart soared. Had he really been saving her in the sidelines all this time. “That is incredible, Link. My head is spinning. A reporter? That’s perfect for you. You’re so nosy. And street-smart.” 

“Those are the two most important qualities, my boss says,” Link smiled. “Why he hired me.”

She dropped her head but there wasn’t a headrest. She frowned. “Sorry, I…” 

“Uh-of course.” 

She dropped her head to his shoulder and her eyes fell shut. “When I was wondering who to call…Impa and Purah are out of town. The truth is, this was—My calling you, it was due to an emergency. But I’m glad you’re the one I had to call. I could’ve called the police. I didn’t think of that. In that moment, I could only think of calling you.” 

“I’m glad you did.” 

“Me too. That’s my point. I missed you.” 

She didn’t mind the quiet that followed. If this was his girlfriend’s car, if she was just a kid in his mind, if she didn’t see him again for a long time, she wanted to make the most of this. 

“I missed you too, Zelda.”

She hummed happily and scooted closer against him. His hair was longer. It smelled like plain soap. She placed her hand on his cold arm just to push her luck. 

_

Link turned down a long, dark alleyway, just off the main drag of bodegas and street lights and honking horns and bustling life. He parked in front of a run down coffee shop with all the lights off. 

“Oh right,” Zelda said, sitting up and stretching, “is this the coffee shop under your apartment?” 

His eyes sparkled like she’d just done something great. “It is.” 

They went through a glass side door that Link had to open with a key, then up two flights of old green stairs that led to a single dark wooden door in an old-looking hallway with a flickering light. 

He had a second key for that door. He dropped the key ring and swore under his breath. 

“Sorry,” he huffed, taking a second shot at unlocking the door. “Oh, I spaced. Zelda, my little sister is here. I forgot to tell you.” 

“Aryll?” 

Again, his face lit up. Did he really think she’d forget these basic things about his life in a matter of months?

“That’s great. I wanted to meet her.” 

“Yeah,” he opened the door. All the lights were on, it seemed. 

Zelda walked in after him, wonderstruck by the homey sight in front of her. 

A pale blue wall was at her immediate left. Where that space let out into the living room, there was a pretty, dark blue chest of drawers with picture frames and knick-knacks atop it. There was a coat rack and shoe rack on that wall just beside her. To her right was the kitchen, open into a v shape for the fridge, oven, sink, and dishwasher. The countertops surrounding were open to the hall and living-room. 

She could hear activity from the coffee pot across the way. 

Zelda leaned against the door and unzipped her tall, black leather boots and folded them beside Link’s sneakers (the ones she’d bought him). His leather jacket was hanging on the coat rack. 

Link kicked off the old shoes he was wearing and padded down the hall. 

Zelda followed, the goosebumps leaving her arms the longer she stood in this warm house. 

“This is lovely, Link.” 

He gestured for her to come into the living-room with a familiar, shy smile on his lips. He shifted between his feet as she walked past him. 

A dark green couch and loveseat rested on the far and left wall, complementing the soft blue wall nicely. 

There was a flat-screen TV on the right wall, and that was the only place she’d seen that was messy, but it was good-messy. Tangled wires led from the TV to multiple game consoles surrounded by stacks of game discs. 

Tall shelves on either side of it were packed full of paperback books, DVDs, CDs, more games, and records on the bottom shelves. 

“I wonder where she went,” Link muttered. 

Zelda pulled her phone from her pocket. 2AM. 

“Link, I’m so sorry for calling you so late. I honestly didn’t check the clock after getting to the party even once.” 

“Sorry you called?” He gently placed his hand on her arm and his eyes drifted across her face. 

She looked down. “No. But, I wish it was under good circumstances and with better timing.” 

“Aw,” he put his arm around her shoulders. “Now that that’s over, I think it’s both. Me and Aryll stay up all night lately so it’s not like…it was too late.” 

“I have more apologizing to do,” she said, a hand on his back, “but, I’ll save it for later. I’m too tired.” 

“Then I guess I’ll tell you not to later.” 

“You’re so sweet,” she said, patting his back. 

“No, no, no. Why don’t we get you some warmer clothes that don’t have drinks all over them?” 

She looked down at her stained cami and frowned back at Link. “Think so?” 

“Uh-huh.” He let go of her and walked to a door near the TV. He knocked. “Aryll?” 

There was scrambling behind the door. It swung open and out walked a girl that favored Link unmistakably. Same button nose, same bright blue eyes, same smile, if not a bit more mischievous. Her hair was in long curls down her back and she wore hot pink pajamas. 

She didn’t even look at Link, who’d been standing right in her doorway. 

She looked at Zelda and tilted her head curiously as she walked towards her. 

“Zelda?” 

“Hi.” Zelda felt a nervous rush.

Her eyes were sharp and clever. “I’m Aryll.” 

“Oh, I know. I hoped I’d meet you sometime.” 

“You too.” Aryll paused, looking Zelda up and down carefully. “Let’s get you a shower and some clean clothes. You smell like beer and cough syrup.” 

She casually took Zelda’s hand and led her back towards the door she’d come from. 

“You girls hungry?” Link asked, brushing past them to the kitchen. 

Aryll squinted at Zelda. “Yeah we are,” she called before bringing Zelda into her room. 

When the door was shut, “He just bought a waffle iron so when he asks that, just say “yes”. He just wants an excuse to play with it,” Aryll whispered. 

Zelda laughed, biting her lip, and nodded agreeably. 

Aryll’s was a relatively large bedroom, probably the master. There was an unmade twin bed in the corner and posters of boys all over the wall. The floor was littered with clothes and makeup and trash. 

The room smelled strongly of floral perfume. 

“Is that your car that Link was driving?” 

“Sure is. Come on. Bathroom is through here.” 

She had a small bathroom off of her room. The floor was completely covered in used towels and the sink counter had a colorful array of makeup, perfume, and all manner of hair and nail supplies. 

“You must be really into makeovers.” 

Aryll grinned. “Yeah. Why? You want one?” 

“Maybe so,” she said. “Link said you always painted his nails so I shouldn’t be surprised at your affinity.” 

“Yeah. Dummy didn’t take it off for, like, forever.” Aryll stepped carefully across the sea of towels and clothes towards a closet. “So, do you think this is a one time thing? You seeing him again?” Aryll returned with a towel and flung it over the shower curtain rod.  

Zelda’s face flushed. “A-A one time…? No, I certainly hope not. Well, actually, no. No, it isn't a hope. I am going to see more of him.” 

Aryll held her gaze for a moment longer. “I’m gonna find you some clothes. The shower is simple. Left is hot. Right is cold. Twist the knob in the middle to turn the showerhead on.” 

“Thank you, Aryll.” 

She gave Zelda a sweet smile that was comforting after being sized-up, then shut the door behind her. 

Zelda took a chunk of her hair and smelled of it. “Yech.” 

_

Zelda stepped out of Aryll’s room in an oversized sweatshirt and pajama pants feeling infinitely better than before. She’d washed the party out of her hair and she’d washed the feeling of Ganon’s hands off of her skin. Now she was wrapped in warm cotton jammies and her senses were filled with the smell of strong coffee and pancake batter. What remained was a pounding head and eyes that burned and ached. And a trembling weakness in her limbs. 

Zelda leaned on the bar right by Aryll’s door, and looked across the kitchen at Link. 

His hair was tied back while he stood over an electric waffle maker, flipping it over back and forth with intense concentration. 

The sight was so perfect she thought she was going to wake up in her bed far away and all alone on her father’s estate. 

“Zel, you want some coffee?” Link asked. “Or are you ready to go to sleep?” 

Her entire body begged to power down. But she wasn’t about to be the one to cut this night short. Not now, with him.

“I’ll have some coffee.” 

He flipped the waffle iron back over and it sizzled. That put a small smile on his lips. 

Aryll was laying on the loveseat playing on her phone. 

Zelda stepped around the bar and into the kitchen. “Do you often cook at 3 in the morning?” she asked softly, saddling up beside him, in front of the coffee pot. 

“Nah, usually closer to 2. Cups are right over the coffee pot.” 

She guessed correctly while looking for milk and sugar and doctored up her coffee, still at Link’s side. “I recall you springing for early dinners.” 

He sniffed out a laugh and dropped a fluffy waffle onto a plate. “This isn’t dinner. This is…Witching Hour Waffles. Ooh, how’s that?” He faced her, smiling more broadly than she’d seen all night. 

“Cheesy.” Up close, in the bright kitchen light, she looked into his face. Her smile faded. She’d been in such a haze, she only noticed just now that his face looked thinner and there were dark circles under his eyes. Maybe he was just tired. It was late. Something about the wan look of his skin made her uneasy though. 

He was holding her gaze just as unapologetically.

She wondered what he saw. Did she look worse? Definitely, she looked worse-for-the-wear tonight. But generally? She wasn’t any thinner. She wasn’t any paler. Physically, she’d stayed healthy. And she’d kept strong in his absence. She’d held Ganon back valiantly before tonight. 

She was with Impa and/or Purah every minute she wasn’t with him. And Purah had given Zelda all of her old college textbooks to study in her freetime, so she’d even managed to keep her mind busy preparing for the future. She lived with an ache in her heart ever since that day back in October. But she could always tend to that pain with her certainty. She knew that she’d get back to him, and here she was, being proven right. 

“Link?” She brought her coffee cup to her lips. 

It seemed she’d snapped him from a trance. 

“Hm?”

She checked over her shoulder to make sure Aryll was still on the couch, then she lowered her voice. “How have you been?” 

His eyes widened. “Fine. I-I’ve been good. Yeah.” He went back to the waffle-maker and reloaded it. “Got that cool job. It’s—I think, I may have actually found what I’m good at.” 

“That’s wonderful.” 

“And Aryll moved back in. You know, I’d really wanted her to come home.” 

Zelda smiled and tilted her head. A second ago he’d been content to stare into her eyes without any reserve. Now she couldn’t catch his gaze. “How is your grandmother, then?” 

“Ha. Her boyfriend has been hounding her to move in together for ages now, but she wouldn’t let him ‘cuz of Aryll. So I guess they’re happy enough.” 

“It’s good that she’s got company.” 

Link gave her a sly grin. “Zelda, if you met my grandma you wouldn’t worry about her having people around. Aryll was there because she wanted to be.” 

“Ah.” 

“Well, and since I didn’t make enough for her to stay here and go to school.” He met her eyes, his wide and honest. “Now I do. That’s what I’ve wanted ever since…she had to go, I’ve just been trying to make enough to get her back home.” As soon as he’d said it he threw his attention back to making another perfect golden-brown waffle. 

“I could tell just from the briefest conversations how much you adore her. It seems she’s right where she belongs.” 

Zelda walked around to the other side of him and looked at his left wrist. She reached forward and brushed her finger across the friendship bracelet that was still tied to his wrist. 

Link flipped the next waffle onto a plate. 

“Oh and look at that.” She held out her hand to show off her own pink, manicured nails. “She gave you a fresh look.” 

He grinned. “Finally, right?” He held out his hand beside Zelda’s. His nails were purple. “I told her something cool, like black or, I dunno, black. So she went with this.” 

“Black would be all wrong for you, Link.” 

“Why?” 

Zelda shrugged and leaned back on the counter. “Black is for dark, edgy, mysterious people.” 

“And?” 

She had to laugh at the adorable, innocently-confused look he gave her. “And purple suits you.” 

He just wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out like there was a bad taste in his mouth. 

She drained her coffee cup. Her eyes unfocused as soon as she finished it. “I missed you,” she mumbled, breaking a few minutes of silence as Link shut down the cooking station. 

“Hm?” He turned from wiping the batter off the counter. “Zel.” He drew closer, tossing his rag on the counter. 

Blood rushed to her face as he stood a few inches from her. 

“You okay? I know tonight was bad. Maybe it’s stupid to even ask but…” 

Her eyelids lowered. The coffee had done nothing but warm her up, making her even sleepier. “I’ve been doing good, actually. I’d been doing a good job of keeping you-know-who in line. I kept busy. And, I just stayed focused.” 

“Focused?” 

“On the plan.” 

“Ohhh,” he breathed. 

“I didn’t forget that the one night we had was only a preview. That’s what I kept in mind.” Her eyes had drifted down to his lips. She only realized that when his lip twitched. She met his eyes and it startled her awake. 

His eyes sparkled, betraying tears that were only just held back. 

She knew then that he was definitely thinner and that sort of complexion doesn’t come from one late night. She checked over her shoulder again. 

Aryll’s phone was beside her face and she was sound asleep. 

Zelda slowly pressed her hands to Link’s face and she traced her thumbs up and down his cheekbones. 

“Link?” 

In place of a reply, he closed his eyes. 

“Didn’t you know I was going to come back somehow? I told you that I would.” 

He took her hands off of his face and held them. He looked down at them like they were consuming all of his attention. “Seems like anytime I make up my mind about something it goes sideways.” 

“Had you made up your mind…this time?” 

His gaze traveled back to hers slowly. “I don’t know. I was trying not to…because I saw an end. But after it all went down, I realized I’d—.” 

He dropped her hands and stepped back, tucking his hands in his pockets, shoulders raised. “I shouldn’t.” 

“You realized you shouldn’t?”

“No. No, I shouldn’t say what I realized is…what I meant.” He was blushing.

“Say.” She stepped forward, closing the distance he’d created. 

“Zelda, I can’t.” 

“Why?” 

"I realized that I'd gotten my hopes up because of how disappointed I was." He rubbed his eyes and puffed his cheeks out as he sighed. “But it doesn't matter anyway. I’m older, ya know?” 

She grinned. “I knew it.” She returned her hand to his face, just a feather-soft caress to draw his eyes back to hers. “What’s your birthday?” 

“June 4th.” 

“I’ll be 18 in August.” 

“Uh-huh.” 

“So you’ll turn 21 and 2 months later I’ll be 18. Does that sound so horrible?”

He just stared.  

“What about 19 and 22? Surely you don’t mind 19 and 22.”

His voice was something between a squeak and a croak. “I don’t mind 19 and 22.” 

She stepped forward and he stepped back. “So 19 and 22. That’s in 2 years, of course. I could barely blink and 2 years would pass, I’ll be so busy at University.” 

The corner of his lip ticked up momentarily but he still had no voice. “Is that right?” 

“We’re very different,” she nodded, “like you said. We have different views. It’s way too big of an ask for you to stay single 2 whole years. That might seem like a long time to you.” She bit her lip in thought and danced with him again, with Link taking one step back and her taking one step forward. “So, even though I have grand designs, I like you enough to compromise.” 

“So then, it’s out in the open?” His back bumped against the fridge and she was glad for him to be halted. 

“What?”

“The-The, uh,” he took a sharp breath and bit his tongue, looking up and down between her eyes and mouth. “That we—we both…” 

She smiled for him to go on. It was reminiscent of her bet; her heart was racing and her skin tingled, but she wasn’t anxious. 

“...we both want this,” he murmured. 

“I thought it already was.” 

His brows rose while his eyes were still lowered. “Oh," he breathed. 

She knew he was going to try to kiss her from the way he kept swaying ever-so-slightly forward. 

Even while her lips burned, she placed her finger to his mouth preemptively, and she almost died over the crazed look that passed across his face. 

“But I’m still talking. Because, you’re still hesitating.” 

He met her eyes, his frantic. 

“19 and 22, I was saying. I’m decided already on keeping you. But I don’t mind if you just have to wait 2 years.” She inched forward and dropped her finger from his plump lips, dragging down his lower lip until she reached his chin, then ran her finger down his chest. “And you can do anything you want in the meantime with whoever you want. I won’t resent it, I swear . You just can’t fall in love.” She barely nodded, catching his dazed stare. “Okay?” 

He nodded once but he didn’t look like he was paying attention to anything but her body slowly leaning into his. 

“You can’t fall in love with anyone except for me. That’s the only non-negotiable part of our arrangement. And we do have an arrangement, Link.” She said his name like it was syrup sticking to the roof of her mouth. 

“Mm,” he whined impatiently, falling close enough for her to feel his breath against her own hungry lips. 

“That being said, I have zero issues with…not waiting.” She let her lips brush against his, electricity sparkling down her spine. “In fact,” she flattened her hands against his chest, “that’s my…preference.” 

He wrapped his arms around her waist, shaking his head “yes” over and over again as he pressed her against him. 

She shut her eyes and let him kiss her. 

Zelda had never been kissed before. 

She’d been so confident on the pitch, like she had some bargaining chip, making him want something from her. 

The truth was, she had no idea what to expect. 

If he hadn’t shown up in time, if she hadn’t fought so hard to keep every piece of her body and soul from Ganon all these long ugly months; it was unimaginable now. 

She’d been rescued and so much more. 

So, so, so much more. 

His hands trembled as he put pressure on the small of her back, keeping her in place as she was unable to withstand the force of his kiss, her back and neck tilting backwards even as she fought to keep from losing ground. 

She tangled her fingers through his long hair, holding herself up by the back of his neck.

She raised her brows and hummed as she tasted the sweetness on his tongue. 

It was an adrenaline rush. She was suddenly strong enough to throw herself against him, knocking him back against the fridge. 

She laughed into his mouth over the sound of ingredients rattling through the shelves. She felt him smile and placed her hands on his face, tilting her head to deepen the kiss even more. 

His hands ran up and down her back excitedly as she stood up on tiptoe just to make him tilt his head up. 

She kissed him until her jaws ached and they were both gasping for breath. Link was the first to break away, peppering her face with kisses and nuzzling his nose against her cheek as he gasped for breath.

He curled his arms around her waist and she let her head fall to his shoulder, cuddling against his neck. 

“Zel,” he mumbled into her hair. 

“Mmmm.” 

That was the extent of their deep conversation. 

It was odd, but they laid back against his fridge for who knows how long. 

“Um, pardon me.” 

Zelda was nearly asleep standing up. 

Aryll stood in the entryway to the kitchen frowning. 

Link and Zelda broke away and Zelda stumbled towards the coffee pot while Link rubbed his eyes. 

“What, Aryll?” he snapped.

“Sorry to interrupt fridge time. I was just gonna say, I’m too tired for waffles. Will they keep overnight?” 

“Waffles…” Link said dumbly, holding his hair off of his flushed face. “Will waffles keep overnight?” 

“That’s what I was wondering too,” Aryll said flatly. 

Zelda was playing with her empty coffee cup like she might drink out of it. 

He nodded repeatedly, squinting his eyes shut. “Yeah. Yeah. Just put them in the fridge. They’ll reheat.”

“Why should I do it?”

“I cooked them.” He walked past Aryll out of the kitchen. 

“Geez,” she said in amazement. “Guess I’ll put up the waffles.”

_

“You didn’t have to go through all this trouble. Thank you, Link,” Zelda said, clasping her hands and leaning forwards until her chin was on Link’s shoulder as he unfolded blankets over the couch. 

He huffed amusedly and squinted. “Go get in bed.” 

She tilted her head, still against him and hugged him from behind. 

“I’m sleeping here. You’ll sleep in the bed in that room.” He nodded straight ahead at the wall. 

“If that was a guest room, I suppose you wouldn’t be making a bed on the couch. So you’re suggesting I take your bed.” 

She felt Link’s muscles tense as he turned his head sideways, like he was scaring himself. 

He touched his nose to hers, as he repositioned her in front of him. “Tonight is the night I’ll win a battle of wills against you, Zelda.” 

She giggled, enjoying the feeling of her arms loosely draped around his hips. “You’ve already lost once. Are you going to make such grandiose statements this late?” 

His gaze darted up across the ceiling and he bobbed his head. “I’m feeling courageous.” The way his voice tickled her lips weakened her defenses. He had a new card against her. 

She was entirely untrained and unprepared for the power of seduction being used as an argument. 

He backed up and took a deep breath, then tucked her hair behind her ear. “The sheets are clean, the covers are pulled back, and one thing I’ve never cheaped out on is pillows. Why don’t you go see?” 

“Am I understanding properly, that you are trying to sweet-talk me into getting into your bed without you?” 

He shook his head “yes” emphatically. 

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. For my own self-respect, I cannot be charmed into sleeping alone in my—in an attractive man’s bed. That makes me sound like a real sap.” 

He laughed. “So be a sap. I’m ready to go to sleep, Zel. Look at me. I’m tired.” He pouted. 

Her eyes widened. Why was he suddenly good at this?

“Can’t you just go so I can sleep? Get out of here.” 

Zelda sighed heavily and hugged him. “Goodnight, Link.” She kissed his cheek. 

“Night, Zel,” he said, sleepy-eyed and smug. 

Zelda collapsed past him onto the couch and threw the blankets over her shoulder as she turned her back to him. “Could you get the light?”

Link sat down by her. His lips were close to her ear. “Not my night, is it?” 

“To win?” 

“Mm.” 

“No.” 

He sat up and sighed. 

She was asleep before he even turned the lights out.

Chapter Text

January 2nd

Zelda awoke with aching muscles and puffy eyes. Light poured in from the window and insisted on her waking. 

Her first sense was of the scent of Link that surrounded her. It pulled her back into dreamland; hazy images of his eyes following her every move and the feeling of his soft lips against hers. 

She sat up, realizing that what waited in the waking world was better than her own mind’s best concoctions. She sat up, combed her fingers through her hair, and forced her eyes open.

_

“Link, how could you?” Zelda laughed, leaving his room behind.

She scanned the living-room. The couch was covered in a tangle of blankets. 

She craned her neck to the kitchen and found him with his back turned to her. 

He was rattling around in front of the coffee pot. 

Zelda stepped lightly into the kitchen. She saw Link’s brow twitch and read that his expression was playfully serious. 

He pursed his lips tightly and kept his attention on the coffee. 

“How could you?” she repeated more quietly–More dramatic. She felt the impulse to wrap her arms around his waist and watch him make coffee from over his shoulder, but it wasn’t 3AM on an emotional high anymore and things didn’t feel quite as simple. 

“How could I what?” He turned around with two coffee cups in hand and gave her a squinty smile. 

She took the cup he offered, returning his smile. “You didn’t play fair, winning the standoff while I was asleep.” 

His smile broadened and his eyes got that familiar glimmer that said he was having fun with her. 

It lightened her heart. 

“It was too easy,” he said. “You fell asleep so fast. All I had to do was scoop you up and put you away.” 

She giggled. “You carried me?” 

“How else would you get there?” He leaned forward, his lips turning crooked. 

It was hard to breathe. 

Nothing was real last night; everything—It all felt like a distant dream. 

Now, she was standing in front of the boy who’d invaded her every heartbeat for the last two months. 

And, she’d had such an absurd amount of courage the night before. Could it really have worked? Was he hers? 

Zelda felt skeptical. He could’ve been under the same spell as her, in the same dream. No doubt all of his fear and hesitation returned as soon as he awoke. One kiss couldn’t allay every worry on his mind, no matter how good it had been. 

“Zel?” 

Her eyes snapped back to him and she took a drink of her coffee. “Mm?”

He laughed and tilted his head. “Where did you go? Are you just sleep-walking?” 

“No, I was thinking,” she chirped. “I got lost in my thoughts.” 

“Yeah?” 

She sat back against the counter beside him. “The coffee is perfect.” 

“Oh, thanks.” 

“It feels just like that first time you came to my house after the rain. In your pajamas, us holding our little mugs and leaning back against the countertop, staring at the floor.” Her face flushed as she spoke. 

Link turned his head to look at her and he held her gaze while he took a drink, his brows raised. 

The strange little gesture made her giggle. 

“It is like that. What a weird day.” 

“Maybe the weirdest day of my life,” she agreed.

“Really?” 

Zelda took a sharp breath and sat down her coffee mug so she wouldn’t spill; her hands were shaky. “I started that day mean and alone. By the end of it, I was…” She tucked her hair behind her ear and checked his face. “I wasn’t lonely anymore.” 

Link polished off his coffee and stepped in front of her. He took her hands in his. 

“I haven’t been lonely since that day,” she added quietly. 

He brought both of her hands to his lips and scrunched his nose against them, then dropped his head and pressed them to his forehead. “Zel, I’m gonna try real hard. I want to do right by you.” He dropped her hands, letting his swing at his sides. “I’m not sure I did the right thing that day, staying around so long. I kept doing whatever I wanted.” He swallowed a shaky breath. “Ever since it all crumbled, I keep going over it all in my mind, and when I look back, I don’t see myself.” 

“What do you mean? You’ve always been yourself; every second.” 

He shook his head and went back over to the coffee pot and poured himself another cup. “No. I don’t do fun stuff like that. The way we snuck around and stole our fun—Makes me think,” he exhaled a laugh, “you’ll be pretty bored if you hang around me now.” 

So it wasn’t some 3AM magic that made Zelda brave. 

Link acting tragic overwrote her anxiety with desperation; desperation to snap him out of it. 

She wedged herself between him and the counter, nearly making him spill his coffee. She placed her hands on his face and squished his cheeks as she smacked a kiss to his lips. She frowned, pulling away enough to look at him. 

“Link, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” She rubbed his shoulders and felt him relax just the tiniest bit. “Tell me one thing, okay?” 

He just stared as she curled her arms around his shoulders. 

“Are you going to give this a proper shot?” 

She watched the wheels turning behind his eyes. She tried to look calm and patient while her heart thundered inside her chest. 

“I want to.” 

“That’s not an answer.” 

“I’m older.”

“ Are you going to give this a shot? ” 

He kept her in suspense. 

She continued to stay cool while he thought. She didn’t let go of him, either. If he said no, God forbid, she’d let go of him then. 

He drug his teeth over his bottom lip as his eyes widened. “I am. I—I will.” 

Zelda shut her eyes and let her head fall to his shoulder. 

He hugged her close and kissed her head. “You know I’ve wanted to, right? It’s never that I haven’t. Zel, I’ve been going crazy ever since I met you,” he whispered into her hair. 

She sighed and a smile spread across her lips. “I know.” 

_

Link seemed to be dreading this more than Zelda. She couldn’t fathom why. There wasn’t much that Zelda could foresee going wrong when walking into the police station and giving her statement and carrying out her business. Ganon couldn’t do much to her while surrounded by cops. 

Still, as Zelda pulled into the parking lot of the station, Link was staring out the window, bouncing his legs, and scratching at his lower lip with his fingernail. 

She put Aryll’s little car in park and placed her hand on Link’s. 

He jumped and met her eyes. 

“Are you okay?” 

He nodded. “Uh-huh. How are you feeling about all this?” 

Zelda reached over and took his hand. She kissed his fingertips where his lips had just been. “I’m looking forward to handling all of this.” 

“Have you prepared,” he murmured, closing his hand in hers, “for the possibility of seeing him?” 

Zelda couldn’t help but laugh. “I intend to see him. I have a few things to say. You know…I was scared last night. But in the light of day, in public–I’ve spent two months on his arm, Link. I’m used to putting up with him. It actually sounds delightful to speak how I feel while he is restrained from retaliating like a stupid beast.”

Link clicked his tongue repeatedly while nodding his head and staring into space. “Good, good, good.” 

_

Zelda managed to stay fashionable even without her wardrobe available. She was re-wearing her black and white skirt with a black t-shirt of Link’s and his leather jacket. She arguably looked more stylish than she had for the party yesterday, especially when paired with her tall boots and a pair of sunglasses (also Link’s). It felt like the right look for the occasion. 

Zelda left Link at the bench seat by the door and she approached the first officer she saw. 

“Hello, I’m Zelda Hyrule. I’m here in regards to Ganon Dragmire.” 

The officer, a young, lanky guy with dark hair, picked up some paperwork at his desk. “Yes ma’am. If you’re ready to go ahead and start on this process we can step this way.” 

“Actually, would it be possible for me to see him first? It would be ideal if I can wrap things up with him in person before I begin looking into my options.” 

“Yes, I can take you back to his holding cell, but only for five minutes.” 

“Perfect. Oh, also, I have something to add to his personal effects if they are being held somewhere.” 

“Yes, I can get it to his locker on the way.” 

Zelda reached in her skirt pocket and retrieved her engagement ring. She handed it to the officer and felt an infinite weight evaporate from her shoulders. 

_

She’d never seen Ganon like this. It made her heart swell with a vengeful joy she hadn’t realized she was capable of. His hair was a mess from how he’d been tugging at it while he sat on the lone cot in the corner of the cell and he wore dark circles under his eyes.