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On their way to pay a visit to Rito Village and investigate on the condition of Divine Beast Vah Medoh, Zelda had insisted on prolonging the trip for one day in order to make an additional stop at Warbler's Nest, an archaeological site which saw erected a group of sculpted stones arranged in a circle. There, a new shrine had emerged from the ground but the previous year, after Link had followed the guidance of an ancient song, passed down by the Ritos from generation to generation. The late appearance of the shrine had of course demanded for an in-person survey of the premises.
Early in the afternoon, as Link sat with his back against the trunk of a large tree at the very location, Zelda crouched at the base of the odd conical structure of the shrine, basking in the blue light of the active Sheikah circuits, lost in the bustle of her examination. Having already interrogated Link extensively on the mechanism which had unearthed the entrance outside the stone circle, she was seeking to understand its physical connection with the pedestal at its centre. She went back and forth for the better part of an hour and, only when she had inspected the shrine to her satisfaction, she finally made her way towards the tree under which Link was sitting, walking past his stretched legs to join him in the shade on the side farthest from the circle of stones. Rubbing the dirt off her hands, she slid down next to him and hummed in thought. She was still basking in a blue hue, this once offered by the surrounding wildflowers and the coolness of Rito Village in the backdrop.
In looking at her, Link thought she was eerily real. In her closeness, she had presence and she had voice.
“No method of mechanical communication can be uncovered between the entrance and the pedestal without excavation,” Zelda was saying, her eyes narrowed, still on the problem on her mind, “which I suppose is out of question given the need to preserve the integrity of this historical site. The stones hold great importance to the Ritos. Nevertheless, it can be determined that, despite the delayed emergence, the shrine suffers a level of decay comparable to that of the shrines which have emerged one century ago. As for the specifics of the deterioration, the clay protecting the circuits has started to brittle and the emissions of light are still dropping in intensity. It must be the recent shortage of power that makes the elevator inoperable.”
Matters of machinery were easy to understand for Link, but hard to articulate. When she spoke, he felt it was more appropriate to listen than to provide a half eloquent answer. Remaining silent also made it easier to stare at her and it was nice to stare, especially now that he was allowed to. Just before leaving Hateno to back the efforts for the reconstruction of Hyrule, they had come to an understanding after she had brought up the question of their feelings. The new state of things gave him full permission to revel in her moods, from when they were at leisure and she was sweet, to when she was deep into her studies and swung between excitement and severity.
Now she was concentrated, neat in her discipline. Link very much wanted to mess with her. He waited for her to wrap it up, words and thoughts alike, and rest her head against the bark.
"Hey Zelda, do you want to know a really curious fact?" he asked her casually.
"A really curious fact?" she repeated. It looked like he had her attention.
"Ha-ah, I am sure it will be of interest to you."
"Then it must be, what is this fact?"
"So, among the Ritos," Link started, then stopped.
Incredulous, he saw that Zelda was taking out her travelling journal and readying herself to take notes. He took an imperceptible breath. This was going to be funny.
"Among the Ritos,” Link began anew, making sure that she had time to write everything down, “there is a song that narrates of a princess."
"Which princess?" Zelda enquired, on task.
"No names are given in the lyrics."
“Then what names are proposed by the scholars.”
“It’s not a song for scholars. Just let me finish, it all comes together at the end.”
"All right. What does it say about this princess?"
All of Link’s replies had been uninformative and vague. Zelda was always eager to learn, yet, after this exchange, she had become dubious. She was not attempting to write it all down anymore. He could see that she was sensing a ploy. Even so, he could still toy with her.
Under the cover afforded by the tree’s canopy, her face was tinted a cosy grey. Her eyes, unbothered by the sun, were trained on him. She was waiting for his response with her head inclined, a lock of hair falling onto her cheek, grazing it.
"This song says a couple of things about this princess,” Link resumed. “For one it says that she was formidable, but most importantly it says..."
It was hard not to smile and force himself to continue. He took advantage of the small pause to lean towards her and lift the grazing lock of hair off her cheek, taking it between his fingers. The move succeeded in breaking her dull stance and making her blush.
"It says that this princess was very, very, very…" at the peak of the ruse, Link’s cadence increased just before trailing off.
He fiddled with the golden lock in his hand. He could read it in her downcast eyes that, red all over, she thought that he was going to say ‘beautiful’.
When she was cooked all right, he then exclaimed, "…very much in love with her attendant knight!"
Having said that, he shut up, a bit too smug, and thus retracted his hand.
Zelda's eyes snapped up, her mien all of a sudden outraged. Link burst out laughing. Her nose was puckered. He was no longer used to being the recipient of her temper and he had never experienced it before on such an occasion in which he did not also fear real anger.
"Do you laugh?” Zelda scolded him, placing her fists on her hips. “Then I believe it must be a joke."
"What joke?” Link rebutted, endeavouring to wave his laugh away. “There is a bard who is singing about it all day long. His name is Kass, he does live in Rito Village and he is the disciple of your court poet!"
At the mention of someone they had known, Link could see how her instincts made her suddenly aware that he was telling the true. A more detailed account followed. The more he explained the events to her, the more she abandoned her outrage in favour of private concern. Though her gaze was wide, her brows were slanted, preoccupied.
"So everybody knows?" she asked softly, as if begging for reassurance that this was not the case.
"I don't know,” Link said, as if it was no big deal, then grinned, “But I know."
At least the widespread knowledge of the intimate contents of her heart lay in ambiguity. Zelda’s attentions shifted on another less worrying, more infuriating aspect.
"When have you first heard this song?" she demanded.
"Some months before heading to the castle," Link answered.
"So you have been knowing."
"I have been knowing.”
"You knew and you let me confess?"
So that what was making her fume.
"Hey, let's be a little more fair to me,” Link started to defend himself. “I didn't expect you to confess. Had I expected it I would have stopped you, or, better yet, I would have saved you the ordeal by informing you beforehand that I was very much for it. But we were sharing a house and a bed, so, as far as I was concerned, we were just taking things at a slow pace."
"Oh, look at how clever are with your words,” unappeased, Zelda replied. “How come your tongue can run for so long when you are using it against me?”
In a way, she was really distressed. A moment later, she stood up apologetically, finding herself in dire need of some space and ample room to pace. She circled so much that Link was afraid she might accidentally step on a switch and reveal a second shrine. While she walked, she spoke, methodically enunciating for her own benefit what she thought were the tells that had given her away, what she remembered being the actual facts as they had happened, to which extent it was likely for the information to have spread and of what kind the repercussions of her exposed feelings could be.
Standing up from his quiet spot under the tree, Link warily extended an arm towards her, remaining at a distance, not sure of how to reach for her.
He had meant to rile her up. Just not this much.