Chapter Text
The pair were high above the kingdom of Hyrule, soaring through the clouds. The princess, Zelda, had been afflicted with a terrible curse centuries ago, during a time that she had stumbled upon by complete chance, brought about by her swallowing of Rauru’s secret stone in order to restore the master sword, so that someday in the distant future, or rather, the present, the young hero Link could reclaim it. She had put her faith in him all those years ago, trusting that he would rise above the heavy expectations placed upon his shoulders by her and the people of Hyrule. And he did so, time and time again. He spent countless hours slaying hundreds of monsters and defeating the fiercest of enemies, all in an effort to save her and restore peace to Hyrule.
Link reached out his right hand, feeling a presence other than his or the dragon that he was floating a few feet above. In a few moments, the spirit of Rauru, the first King of Hyrule, along with the spirit of his wife, Sonia, appeared behind him, imbuing him with a powerful light, which he directed at the Light Dragon. Slowly, the dragon’s long, scaly body began to slowly dissipate, before bursting into a pool of light. As the light began to fade, Link slowly opened his eyes back up, before letting out a sigh of disbelief. It was her. Princess Zelda. He was sure this time. It was really her. They began plummeting back down to Hyrule, with Link seeming miles above her. He desperately tried to catch up to her as she fell. ‘Come on… just a little farther! I won’t let you fall this time, Zelda!’ the words rang out in his mind. ‘I will save you this time!’
After falling for what seemed like an eternity, Link extended his arm as far as it could possibly go. He took hold of her hand, pulled her close, and braced for impact with the lake that laid below them. With a loud crash, they hit the water. He lost hold of her for a moment, drifting in and out of consciousness. Jolting himself awake, he desperately scanned the murky water for a sign of the princess, when a faint gleam of light caught his eye. Her necklace, the stone that she found the day she disappeared deep below Hyrule castle, was giving off just enough light for Link to see it. He dove deeper and deeper, until he finally caught her again, then began kicking as hard as he could, dragging her limp body back to the surface. He struggled to keep her head above water, slowly making his way to the edge of the water. With one final heave, he pulled the princess from the lake, laying her down on the soft grass that surrounded it. Angling her head to the side, he waited patiently for what seemed to be an eternity for any sign of life within the princess. Nothing. For a moment, he was expecting the worst. He tried to push back tears, but they began to flow despite his best efforts. The princess that he had sworn an oath, had given his very life to protect, lay motionless on the ground before him. For the first time in a long time, he felt completely and utterly powerless.
Then, all of a sudden, her eyes flew open, water spilling up from her lungs. She coughed profusely for a few seconds, before pushing herself up to her knees, taking in her surroundings for a long while. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She was back in Hyrule, but it wasn’t the same Hyrule she had begun to know, but rather the Hyrule that she knew the most. The castle, still suspended in the sky, was in ruins. In the sky, she could make out many different floating structures that she did not recognize. Although there was so much unfamiliarity to it, she was sure this was the same Hyrule she had once called her home. She had been trapped, suspended in complete darkness for all those years, and now she was finally home. Emotions bubbled up from deep within her chest. She let out a loud cry of relief, tears flooding down her flushed cheeks.
She wiped her eyes after a while, turning back towards the brave hero that had saved her yet again. She saw his tears as well, and couldn’t help but let free some of her own. ‘My valiant hero, Sir Link, the mightiest warrior my people have ever known. This is a sight I never expected to see.’ she thought to herself. Crawling close to him, he embraced him in her arms, and there they knelt, holding each other tightly, crying as one.
“Link. You did it, my brave knight. You’ve saved me. You’ve saved us all, once again. I knew that I was right to put my faith in you. All those years… I… I-” she couldn’t get the words out anymore. She leaned into his muscular frame, finding comfort in his arms. She wept tears of joy, of pain, and of sheer relief. She was finally saved. The Demon King Ganondorf had been defeated, and Hyrule had peace once more.
“I’m glad I could save you, Zelda. I thought you were gone this time. I really did. You have no idea how relieved I am to see your face again.” Zelda looked up at him, her eyes wide. She had a shocked expression on her face.
“You’re… speaking, Link. After all this time. You’re finally talking to me. I thought that you-”
“That I couldn’t speak? Why wouldn’t I be able to?”
“I-I don’t know! I just thought… I didn’t know… That’s all.” Her already flushed face grew a full shade of red.
“Of course I can speak, Princess. I’ve just never felt it was my place before. A knight is to serve his monarch. Nothing more, nothing less. I just thought that, after all we’ve been through, it might be time to let you know how I truly feel about you, princess.”
Zelda’s chest tightened. She had been so absorbed in her studies that she had never even considered that Link may have developed any kind of feelings for her. Then again, she hadn’t even considered her own feelings for Link. Sure, there were nights that her imagination had run wild, thinking about what it would feel like to be in his arms much like this. His broad shoulders, his beautifully sturdy frame, shaped by his years of relentless training and fighting. His face was truly adorable to her, the way he looked at her with such loyalty, such faith in her every action and word. His hair had grown longer than she had remembered, and she quite liked the wild, disheveled look it gave him. He was indeed attractive to her, but she had never taken anything farther than a simple one-sided conversation with him, since he’d never truly spoken to her before. But she was glad that he felt he could talk to her about his true feelings now.
Bathed in anticipation, she looked into his deep blue eyes.
“And, how might that be, my knight? How do you truly feel about me?”
Link took a moment to consider his answer, looking down to his knees. Smiling, he glanced back up at her, locking eyes with her. The sudden eye contact caught her heart off guard, and she felt herself falling for him. He opened his mouth to answer.
“I want to be honest with you. Over the past 100 years, I’ve occasionally questioned my loyalty to you. I wasn’t aware of the extent of your resolve to keep this kingdom safe. But after all of this, after you spent all those years locked in that dragon form, all just to repair and deliver the master sword back to me. All those years, with only your faith in my ability to finally put an end to the demon king, you suffered in darkness. I’m now certain of it. I swear my life to you, my majesty. I will die for your cause, if necessary. I will put my life in your hands, Princess. It is yours, and only yours. For as long as I live.”
Zelda, not expecting this response, seemed slightly dejected by it. She smiled to herself, closing her eyes softly. ‘Of course Link wouldn’t have those kinds of feelings for me.’ She figured to herself. ‘He’s a royal knight after all. Forged from discipline and loyalty to the throne of Hyrule. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up at all.’
“Oh Link, that’s so kind of you to say. Thank you, my knight. You are truly the hero of the Hyrule kingdom. You’re my hero.”
Noticing her subtly saddened expression, Link grew curious about what the princess was thinking at that moment.
“Apologies, princess, but could it be that you expected a different response to your question?”
“W-w-why, not at all!” she stammered shyly “I would expect nothing less from a devoted man such as yourself. I thank you for your honesty, Link. And thank you for opening up to me. I have no doubt you didn’t have complete faith in me in the past. In all honesty, I barely even had faith in myself at many points. But hearing you say these things fills me with determination. I will not let you down again, nor will I let any of my people down either. You are all so important to me, and I promise you that I will not fail you again.”
Link couldn’t help but be moved by her words. He stood up from the ground, reaching out his hand to her. That was when he realized that his arm, the arm that had been severed in the initial meeting with the demon king, had fully healed. He smiled, thinking of Rauru’s gift to him, and how he had given so much as well to ensure the peace of the kingdom would return. Zelda grabbed his hand and stood up alongside him. Together, they made their way back to Lookout Landing, where Lady Purah and the others were surely anticipating their arrival.