Chapter Text
103 PC Day 265 Morning
Kakariko Village
It has been so long since I last wrote in this journal. Time keeps getting away from me. I swear when I sat down to write it was the dawn of the new year, but Paya insists it is the first day of autumn. Two Hundred and sixty-five days raced passed me and I cannot remember any of them. There is just too much to do, too many people to help, too many conversations to have that begin with explaining that I am in fact not dead. Were it not for the long history and extensive mythology that surrounds all the Princesses of Hyrule, especially those named Zelda, I fear I would have to put in far more effort to convince them. Though I am sure I could simply turn to Link and his word would be enough for them. The people trust him so completely, the Hero of Hyrule needs only speak a few words and their faith in him removes any doubt they might have about anything.
Link…what more can I say of my Loyal Knight than the people of Hyrule have? He has been my constant companion since we defeated Calamity Ganon over two years ago. On several occasions I attempted to release him from his appointment, but he refused saying, “Only the king or queen of Hyrule can release me from my duty.” I have since decided it was best not to press the issue. I want him to live his own life now, free from the burdensome weight of being the Hero of Hyrule, free from being the Champion chosen by the Sword that Seals the Darkness, and free from me or rather the responsibility he feels for me. How can I possibly accomplish this?
Link deserves to live as he wishes after a life, no, two lives in service to the crown. I suppose I do too. In another life perhaps…
Zelda closed the pen in her journal as she tried to stretch the physical manifestation of her exhaustion from her neck. Will I ever feel rested? She glanced over to her bed then frowned, it looked so welcoming yet she knew she could not return to it. With a heavy sigh she placed her journal in the desk drawer and stood preparing to face the world outside this small sanctuary. The Princess walked over to the window, drawing back a curtain so she could look out over the village she currently called home. She could hear the sounds of work and chatter. Just beneath her window she saw the young Sheikah chief Paya and her grandmother discussing something. Paya looked flustered, while her grandmother, Impa, looked calm and collected as she always had. The other denizens hurried about the village carrying tools, lumber, decorations, and all manner of other supplies needed to prepare for the coming harvest season. Zelda, as she often did, volunteered to assist without consideration for her own desires. How could she not offer? After all, Paya was kind enough to give her a room and ensured that The Princess wanted for nothing. I do not deserve this. A feeling of guilt crept up from the depths of her mind and she did her best to suppress it.
Kakariko Village was so peaceful, so safe, and yet it did not feel like home. Zelda loved these people, but life with them did not sate her longing for a place to belong. In another life perhaps. Zelda started to pull the curtain closed when she spotted a familiar shade of blue flapping in the breeze. Hanging from a post, in front of the inn across the village from the chief’s residence, hung the Champion’s Tunic she had made for Link a century ago. Zelda allowed herself a smile when she spotted Link working a drawknife along a beam he was shaping. The smile did not last, because even at this distance Zelda could see the scars that criss-crossed Her Knight’s back, arms, and chest. “I am sorry, Link.” she whispered, she blamed herself for all the pain Her Knight had and would suffer, “I would take them all from you if I could. In another life perhaps.”
*******
Link brushed the wood shavings that had accumulated on his arms and trousers as he gave his final check on the work he had done. He gave an affirmative nod to the two Sheikah he was working with and they shouldered the beam and carried it off to where it was needed. The Hero of Hyrule stepped away from his station to grab a cup of water from a nearby basin and drank. He leaned against the fence in front of the inn he had called home since The Princess accepted the Sheikah’s invitation to stay in Kakariko Village until Castle Town could be rebuilt. Work to that end was slow due to the need for negotiation for supplies, manpower, and more importantly fealty. Hyrule had survived the Great Calamity and had gotten along without a king or queen for a hundred years and they were asking them to accept the rule of a princess they all believed was dead or a myth until she and Link entered their lives. It was a hard sell, but Link would stand by The Princess each time they had to try.
The Hero of Hyrule scanned his surroundings, smiling and waving to those that caught his eye. The Sheikah were a good people, a proud people, and an industrious people, but they weren’t Link’s people. It was over two years on from his awakening in the Shrine of Resurrection and Link had some memories of who he was before the Great Calamity. Though only vague impressions from before he was chosen by the Master Sword. Link was a Hylian Knight in service to the Kingdom of Hyrule. It’s all he knew, and as much as he could remember, all he had ever wanted to be. At least that’s all he wanted before he and The Princess Zelda had defeated Calamity Ganon. Now he was unsure who or what he desired to be. He was known in all four corners of the ruined kingdom as the Hero of Hyrule and that title carried a burden he wasn’t prepared for. Link could hardly travel from one end of Kakariko Village let alone across Hyrule itself without someone seeing the unique blue of his tunic and running to ask for his help. Could I ever say no? I’m a knight, isn’t that part of my duty? He was pulled from his thoughts as the Sheikah pair returned with a new rough hewn beam ready for final shaping.
Link gave them a nod and a weak smile before he tossed his cup back into the basin and gathered his drawknife. Would living the life of a carpenter be so bad? Could I be happy as a carpenter of Hyrule? He shook his head to clear it as he began to shape the beam in front of him. This was not the life he wanted, he knew this in his core, but without the Sword of Evil’s Bane, without that blue tunic, without his duty to The Princess Zelda what was he, who was he? His father had been a knight and Link, as far as Zelda had told him, had always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. He had no clear memories, but it felt correct. In his heart Link knew he made that choice. He could see himself training daily, hoping to one day be worthy of serving Hyrule, and leaving his home to serve after being granted his father’s and his sister Aryll’s blessing. He was sure that is how it happened, at least until destiny intervened. On his thirteenth birthday Link heard the call of the Master Sword and he traveled from his home to the heart of the Karok Forest and drew The Sword of Legend from its stone pedestal. When he returned to his village with the Master Sword, all the village cheered, all except his father for he knew what was to come. Shortly after his return the King’s Royal Guard arrived to take Link away to train him to serve as the personal guard of The Princess and to face the coming darkness alongside her. At least that was how he remembered it. Link wasn’t sure exactly, all his memories were hazy, though he was sure that Aryll had made him promise that he would return with stories of his adventures and of The Princess Zelda, but fate and the coming of Calamity Ganon had forced him to break that promise. No, not now. There’s work to do. Link worked through the sorrow that threatened to consume him. He would face those old memories at a later time, today he had work to do.
*******
The Princess had hardly the chance to take in a breath of the air outside before she was bombarded with questions from Paya. The young Sheikah chief spoke a mile a minute and Zelda could barely keep up. She would attempt to answer one question and Paya would hit her with another, “Paya, please,” Zelda raised a hand to halt the deluge of questions, “I have not had my morning meal yet. Can these questions wait until after?” She did not want to be rude, but Zelda wanted to get away, needed to get away, and she could only do that if she was with Link. No one would question what she was doing or where she was going if she was with the Hero of Hyrule. Yet another burden placed upon us.
“Of course Princess,” Impa said as she placed a hand on Paya signaling her to stop. By the look in the old Sheikah’s eye Zelda could tell she felt her desperation to escape., “I am sure we can handle these trivial matters until you return.” Paya nodded in agreement, though the look in her eyes showed her disappointment and the stress she was under. “Come, child. We mustn't keep The Princess.”
Letting out a sigh of relief, Zelda clasped Paya’s hands in thanks and stepped out into the village. A twinge of guilt hit her as she heard the door to Paya’s home close behind her. The chief meant well and was only showing deference to The Princess, the heir to the throne her tribe swore to serve, but there was no throne. No throne, no castle, no crown, there was just a Princess that awoke in a world recovering from the Great Calamity she failed to stop in time. No, this was not your doing. You know this. Everyone was unprepared and you lost your teacher at such a crucial time. If mother were there we would have been prepared. Taking a deep breath Zelda let the guilt float away in the breeze then took on the regal posture she was so accustomed to keeping. She made her way across the village towards where she had seen Link working.
As she approached, Link hurriedly handed his drawknife off and rushed to get himself cleaned up, “Link, do not stop your task on account of me.” her Appointed Knight hesitated for a moment and then settled for grabbing a drink of water, “I was just coming to ask if you wanted to take a short break and share the morning meal with me. It has been some time since we last sat alone and talked. Perhaps we could take your camp kit and dine in the clearing in Kakariko Forest?”
Link nodded, “Of course, Princess. If you would allow me a few minutes to clean up I’ll be there to prepare the meal for us.”
“Oh, take your time. I can take your kit and cook while I wait for you,” Zelda could have sworn Link made a face at her offer to cook. “Though, I do know how you love to cook.”
“Just leave it to me, Princess,” He said as he pulled his blue tunic off the nearby post. “I have something special in mind.”
Zelda smiled, “I will leave it in your capable hands then.” With an exchange of nods she parted from Link. After a few strides she looked over her shoulder and locked eyes with Her Knight. He ran a hand through his hair as he gave Zelda a nervous smile before he headed into the inn. The Princess chuckled as she continued on her way to prepare to meet Link.
The clearing in Kakariko Forest lay to the east of the village and had once been home to the Lakna Rokee Shrine, but it was nothing more than a mound of crumbled stone, more akin to a pile of sand than anything else. With all that Zelda had seen in the nearly three years after the defeat of Calamity Ganon this was true of Sheikah Shrines all across Hyrule. Even the smaller items of Sheikah tech had crumbled to dust, much to Purah’s and Ancient Tech Lab’s dismay. A fair trade. She would often come to this clearing to have a momentary escape from the responsibility of being The Princess of Hyrule. Princess… Do I have any right to claim that title or assert that authority? The Princess let those thoughts fade and turned her attention towards finding a good place to set up. Link will want to stay somewhat obscured. She adjusted the pack she carried as she moved toward the tree line, stopping just before stepping into the shade of the trees. No, I want to sit in the sun. Zelda stood straight, “No.”
“No, what?”
Zelda spun around, startled by the voice, “Oh, Link, you step far too quietly.” She feigned annoyance and Link shrugged in return, “I want to sit in the sun. I know you may object, but this time I am exercising my privilege as The Princess of Hyrule to override your objections.”
“As the Princess wishes, though I would not object. We’re in a safe place,” Link knelt down and began to set up his camp stove, “It feels strange though, being in a safe place. It wasn’t so long ago that I would be walking through trees like this on guard for monsters or Ganon’s Guardians.”
The Princess opened her pack and pulled out a blanket and two pads for the pair to sit on while Link got a fire going under his stove and organized the ingredients he brought along. She sat and quietly watched him as he got to work cooking. In the past she would have tried to engage in small talk with him, but she learned over the last year that when Link felt they were safe he got lost in the moment. Cooking and food in general were the two little indulgences that Her Knight would allow himself and his love for the craft brought a smile to her face. After a few minutes Link passed her a plate with a collection of small rounds of cake he had fried in butter and coated in honey. They smelled amazing and tasted even better, “Link, truly the Goddess smiled upon you. What you are able to do with a simple camp stove must be a divine gift.”
“You are very kind,” Link looked down at his plate trying to hide his face, “I just like food. Why waste time on food that doesn’t make you and those you care about happy?”
“I understand completely,” Zelda said as she ate another of the cake rounds, “We all need something that brings us joy and peace.” She held back the frown that threatened to appear. I wonder what it is like to have that. This is the closest I have, time alone with my Appointed Knight. Who is obliged to spend time with me. She set her plate down and shifted to face Link, “Do you ever just want to get away from all of this? Just leave your life as a knight behind, shed the mantle of Hero of Hyrule? Just be Link.”
Link swallowed and looked into Zelda’s green eyes, as though he was trying to find whatever clues he could to the answer she was seeking. All he would find was the pain and desperation that she often tried to hide from him. He took a deep breath, “I don’t know. So much has happened to me, to us. As my memories return I’m able to piece together who I was before the Calamity and I believe I always wanted to serve Hyrule, to be a knight. I can remember now the look on my father’s and sis…” Link paused and took a deep breath to steady himself, “on my father’s face when I told him I was chosen by the Master Sword and then later appointed as your personal knight and protector. He was so proud. I had surpassed all of his hopes for me. It feels wrong to think of escape when The Princess I vowed to protect is still in need of Her Knight.”
“What if we both escaped?” Zelda tried to keep her voice calm and steady, “What if we both just left? We leave The Princess and Her Knight behind and just go somewhere. You could find a place to just be Link and I someplace just to be Zelda.”
“Princess, I don't know that we can.” Link said, almost sounding defeated. Zelda’s shoulders slouched, making no effort to hide her disappointment, “There is so much to do in this new Hyrule. I just don’t know if we can escape.”
Zelda stood up and turned sharply from Link for fear that he might see the tears forming in her eyes. She did not know what she expected Link to say or what she wanted from him, but she had hoped he would set the role of knight aside for one moment, “Can you not even just imagine it? Is there nothing else that you want?”
“I don’t know.”
With a deep breath she took on the stiff posture of The Princess of Hyrule, “It is nothing more than a silly diversion anyway. In another life perhaps.”
*******
Link desperately wanted to say something to stop The Princess walking away from him, yet his voice was trapped in his throat. All he could do was watch her go and when she disappeared from sight he growled in frustration and threw the plate he still held. It hit the side of a tree and shattered, Link let out a heavy sigh and began to clean and pack his camp stove. All I had to do was say, yes. She needed you to be her friend, not Her Knight just for a moment. With their little camp stowed, Link made his way back to the inn, closing himself away in his room. He tossed the camp gear towards the closet and growled when he heard a series of objects fall onto the floor. Feeling defeated he slumped onto the bed and then slid to the floor. Why didn’t you say yes? Link sat on the floor with his head hanging for a few minutes before deciding feeling sorry for himself wouldn’t accomplish anything. He looked over where he carelessly tossed his pack, he knocked the sliding doors of the closet from their tracks and they knocked down the shelves inside leaving their contents spread across the floor.
Better deal with this now. Link got to his feet, “Fix the closet first, figure the rest out after that.” He grabbed the doors to stabilize them as he kicked the papers and clothing that had fallen to the floor out of his way. The first door set easily, but the second gave him trouble enough that when it finally fell into place a feeling of defeat washed over him, in this moment it all seemed so pointless. He was so concerned with his knightly duty to The Princess he forgot his duty as a friend to Zelda. The two had become close before the Great Calamity and closer still after they defeated Ganon. Zelda would often share with him her thoughts, her fears, her dreams. This time though it filled him with an emotion he wasn’t accustomed to, fear. What am I if not Her Knight, who am I if not the Hero of Hyrule, who is Link anyway? All those that knew me have long since passed from the world and I barely know myself.
He started gathering the loose papers on the floor and set them in a slightly neater pile, he then began to pick up the articles of clothing, shaking out the wrinkles before placing them on the bed. He grabbed an old pair of trousers and when he shook them he heard a metal clink. Link reached into the pockets and found a battered pair of keys. He rolled them in his fingers for a moment then clenched them in his fist, “That’s it.” he said much louder and more excitedly than he intended. Link began to laugh and hurriedly packed a travel bag, strapped a sword to his back and ran out of the inn towards the stable.
103 PC Day 266 Early Morning
Kakariko Village
Link made quite the commotion today as he rode out of the village. This behavior is so unlike him and I cannot help but feel that I am the cause. I know that Link would never act as he did without good reason. All the same I am concerned. I spoke to the innkeeper and the stable master and neither knew where Link was going, only that he said he would return before the evening meal. That time has come and gone, we are well into the night now and he has yet to return. Were it not for this morning I would not worry, but he was always so stoic. Even before the Great Calamity, when he opened up to me it was rare that he would show any emotion that would present vulnerability or weakness. He had said that with so many enemies around us he could not be vulnerable otherwise it could leave me open to attack.
He held onto that, gripped it with all his might. Link let himself go completely and became the Champion that wielded the Sword that Seals the Darkness. He stayed strong and steadfast in the face of it all. Our friends dying, Ganon seizing the castle, the rampaging Guardians, and my weakness. To his death my Appointed Knight stood between me and the darkness overtaking our world. It was his expression of loyalty and sacrificial love that finally allowed me to awaken my power, but not soon enough to save him or Hyrule.
When he awoke from the Shrine of Resurrection he did not remember any of it and only reclaimed bits and pieces of his memories as time passed and he marched ever closer to defeating Ganon. That amnesia was a gift of sorts because it freed Link from the burdens and expectations placed on him. He could express himself freely without fear. I wonder now if the slow return of his memories are causing conflict in his heart and mind. Could it be that who he was and who he is are in conflict? Are the Champion and the Hero of Hyrule at war inside him?
I will speak to him when he returns, we need to sort out who we are and are not. I owe him that much. Link is…
Zelda was pulled out of her thoughts by a tapping on her window. She slowly closed her journal and pushed back from her desk. The tapping came again this time followed by the whistling of the first few notes of a very familiar tune. “Link?” she whispered, then moved to the window and whistled the next few notes of the lullaby as she opened the window to find Link crouching on the small balcony. He was wearing his traveler’s cloak and a drab gray Hylian style tunic, “Where have you been?” she hissed.
Link pulled a bundle tied with twine from his pack and handed it to her, “Here, put this on. I have Storm saddled up and ready for you.”
The Princess reflexively took the bundle from Link, staring at it briefly before her frustration got the best of her, “Do you have any idea how concerned I… we were after you galloped out of here like a mad man. What if something happened to you out there? How would we ever know? How could I ever help you? I rely on you. I need…”
“Princess, please,” Link said softly, “I know, it was wrong of me, but if you’ll let me I’ll make it up to you. It starts with you getting dressed though.”
She looked down at the bundle, undid the twine, and opened the heavy paper packaging to reveal a folded garment, “A dress? What is this?”
“A chance to escape.”
“Link…”
“Zelda,” She froze upon hearing her name slip awkwardly past his lips. He had never spoken her given name before and the sound of it in the tones of his voice crashed into her like the icy waters of the Akkala Sea, “don’t hesitate now. We have to take this chance, we can’t let The Princess and Her Knight be all we are. We have given so much to Hyrule, sacrificed our hopes and dreams to create a better future for its people.“ He reached up and opened his hand revealing a pair of simple earrings made of a polished green stone, something a commoner would wear, “Link is asking Zelda to come with him.” Her name rolled off his tongue with less effort, but she could still hear something underneath it. “To ride out into the night and find a place where we can be who we want to be, if only for a short time.”
The Princess looked into her knight’s blue eyes and saw something she had never seen before, fear. This boy had faced monsters, deadly machines, the Great Calamity, and death itself and not once did she ever see fear in his eyes or heard the tremble of it in his voice. Her heart pounded in her chest and her mind raced. Every memory of her father telling her what her duty to the kingdom was whirling around her mind. The Princess desperately wanted to refuse and close the window, but Zelda reached out and took the earrings from Link’s hand. She gave him a smile and could see the fear fade from his eyes. She drew the shades and retreated into her room. She ran over to her desk, opened her journal and grabbed a pen to finish today’s entry.
Link is taking Zelda away on a grand adventure.
******
Link shifted from one knee to another as he knelt on the balcony outside Zelda’s room, his nerves were getting to him. In this moment he realized that he never considered what he’d do if she actually said yes. He raced out of town to find that dress for her without a second thought, she needed to escape and Link was going to make that happen. He agonized over the style, the material, the color, what would Zelda wear anyway? He had only ever seen her as The Princess and The Princess never wore anything beneath her station, even her travel clothes were made of finer materials than Link would have been able to afford. It’s fine, if she doesn’t like it we’ll find her something new later. “I hope she likes it.”
*******
It was a simple affair, a soft cream colored linen smock that came just below the knees, an emerald green kirtle pulled over top, with a white apron tied at the waist, a simple brown leather belt holding it together, and a pair of soft leather boots completed the ensemble. Zelda admired her new attire in a mirror, she loved the dress, but something seemed off. It just wasn’t Zelda enough. She turned to the left and right and was unable to find what was bothering her. She shook her head in frustration and began gathering her long blonde hair over her left shoulder and began to braid it. ”That’s it,” Zelda whispered and grabbed the twine from the packaging that once held the dress and she tied it tightly around her hair. She went back to the window and thrust her hand out of it, “Knife, please.” After a hesitant moment she felt Link place the grip of his camp knife in her hand. “Thank you.” Zelda stood back in front of the mirror and gripped her hair tightly and placed the blade a few inches above the tightly knotted twine. She took two deep breaths and then drew Link’s knife across her hair and let it and what was left of The Princess fall to the floor.
As she tucked the knife in her belt she felt as though she stood a little taller, could move a little easier, and felt free. Zelda looked down at the pile of her discarded locks and was hit by a twinge of guilt. She looked back into the mirror and flashed herself a nervous smile as she surveyed the aftermath. Her hair now fell unevenly just at her shoulders and she loved it. Perhaps she had been rash, but maybe Zelda was a little rash now. She didn’t know, but she was going to find out.
“Princess” Link called from the window. “If it’s not too much trouble could you hurry? I would like to leave before dawn.”
She smiled, “Didn’t your father teach you to never rush a lady?”
“If he did, it was over one century, one death, and an amnesia ago.”
Zelda pushed through the window, locking eyes with Link, “Not funny,” she struggled to suppress a laugh, “And patience is a virtue. You should think of embracing it. If you’ll recall I waited one hundred years for you to wake up, you can wait ten minutes.” Link raised his hands in a show of surrender. Zelda smiled, “I’m ready now though.” She held out her hand and Link took it, assisting her out onto the balcony. “Lead the way.”
Link helped guide her down off the balcony to their horses, Epona and Storm, he had ready for them just outside of the village. Are we really doing this? She stood looking down the path they were about to travel on. She had been on this road dozens of times, but this time it felt like she was about to head into the unknown. Where were they going? What were they about to do? What did Link have planned? He finished the last minute checks and stood next to Storm and helped her into the saddle, “Riding would be easier if you hadn’t chosen a dress.”
He was about to reply when a familiar voice called out to them, “Might I ask where The Princess is going?” Link and Zelda turned to find Impa standing on the path from Kakariko village. “You don’t normally go on rides so late.”
Zelda’s heart started to race, they had been caught, Is it over already? She sat straight in her saddle and with all the confidence and authority she could muster she spoke, “The Princess isn’t going anywhere, Zelda is leaving with Link and she will return when she is ready.”
Impa smiled, “Oh, my mistake. You bear a striking similarity to The Princess. The hair is wrong though. I will just have to look elsewhere.”
Zelda nodded to her friend then turned to Link who quickly mounted Epona and together they left Kakariko Village behind.