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zeldaelmo · 10 months

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For @zelinkcommunity ‘s zelink week 2023 - forbidden

Summary: Link joins Zelda’s class so that her students can learn first hand about the knights of Hyrule. Turns out they aren’t as prepared for the children’s questions as they thought...

Set between BotW and Totk.

No warnings apply, rating: General. Words: 3031. Big thanks @mistresslrigtar for editing this for me! Check out her zelink week pieces!

Rumors have wings

"Oh, but just look at him! He even has a red feather thing on his helmet!" Aster, one of the four children shifting on tiny benches in front of Hateno’s school, whispered behind her hand.

"That's a plume, Miss Zelda explained it last week, you doof—", another child, Karin, started to answer, but was interrupted by their teacher.

"Children! Please calm down," Zelda exclaimed, raising her hands to get her students' attention. The small smile the children managed to elicit from her whenever she saw them adorned her face. While the morning sun warmed her back, she observed them fondly and waited until they were ready to start the lesson. "As you've already noticed, we have a special guest today. Link is kind to attend our lesson so that you can learn firsthand about the knights of the kingdom that ruled over Hyrule 100 years ago."

"A new mission for our spy team, I'm sure, Sefaro!" Azu whispered to his bench neighbor. "My A-zoom senses are tingling!"

"Miss Zelda?" Aster raised her hand so high in the air that her behind nearly left the stool.

"Yes?"

"Is Link the reason that the lesson is outside today? You said weapons aren't allowed in school, and he has this"—she gestured toward the spear in Link's hand—"thing."

"You can't call everything 'thing'," Karin hissed out the corner of her mouth. "Miss Zelda will surely tell us the correct name if we wait."

Link cleared his throat and moved his weapon from his back to rest the tip on the ground in a motion done so often that it had become subconscious.

"This is a Royal Halberd,” he explained. “Only the most trusted knights who guarded Hyrule Castle's throne room were equipped with it. Its ornate design was applied by a craftsman in service to the royal family."

A lot of 'ohs' and 'ahs' came from the children's mouths, and Zelda giggled into her hand. She could not deny that Link was a sight to behold in his full armor, and these kids had never seen a knight before. It was a shame that Link wouldn’t wear it more often. He only bothered with the full armor when he accompanied Hoz’s Monster-Control-Crew and they had their eyes set on a particularly nasty bunch of enemies. He claimed it was for their morale and not for his protection, but she knew he had become gradually more responsible about his well-being with every year that had passed after he defeated Ganon.

"How do you know that about the knights?" Sefaro asked, his eyebrows drawn together in a skeptical frown. He was a spy; he wouldn't easily fall for this story. "I've seen weapons like this hanging from a Hinox's neck. So how would you know they were given to the knights who guarded the throne room?"

Link made eye contact with Zelda and winked. As always, it made her stomach flutter. Then, he turned back to the kids and leaned conspiratorially closer, all of his armor clanging together. "I was one of them. And Zelda's father, King Rhoam, gave it to me."

"No way!" Aster cried. "You're the weird guy who lives with Miss Zelda in the house behind the bridge! No way you're a knight! You can't even remember the Bolson dance! I bet you just bought the armor in the Ventest Clothing Boutique!"

At these terrible (but not untrue) accusations, all four children jumped from their places and started to inspect Link up close. They tugged at the gauntlets and pricked at the chainmail, all while Link hid his face in the little stand-up collar so that only his eyes twinkled under the helmet, and nobody but Zelda saw him chuckle.

After they had assured themselves that at least the armor was authentic, they strolled back to their seats.

“Alright, kids. Now let’s review what you already know about knights. Who wants to start?” Zelda asked and looked expectantly from one to the other until Azu raised his hand.

"They were responsible for guarding the royal family and the kingdom. I heard there was a horrible test to pass if you wanted to become one. Something about a monster fight that only half of the candidates survived." He paused. "That's why I'm a spy and not a knight."

"It was a Stalnox," Link explained quietly. "And the older knights jumped in to beat it back if it was obvious a candidate wasn't ready. But, of course, it was still dangerous. One of my fellow knights got his nose broken and lost his sense of smell."

Azu snapped his mouth shut, and Sefaro shifted uncomfortably on his bench. The story was a little too detailed to be fake. Right? Aster, now also hooked, raised her hand, and at Zelda's nod, she asked, "So just everyone who could beat that monster could become a knight?”

“Goddess, no!” Zelda laughed. “Only the best soldiers could become a knight. Not only combat skills were important, but character, too. Only those of a pure heart and extraordinary courage were offered the opportunity to reach knighthood."

Karin scrutinized Link. "You don't look very courageous."

Link choked on a laugh when Zelda said, "You'd be surprised," and he added, "Some prefer the term reckless instead of courage."

Zelda giggled and shot him a playful, warning look.

Karin's eyes went from one to the other. She crossed her arms and said, "Well, I heard that knights and princesses weren't allowed to court. So since you are courting Miss Zelda, this is clearly a fabrication to pull our legs. You can’t be a knight."

"What—what if—" Azu shot forward so quickly that he nearly fell from his bench. "What if it's a secret relationship? Se-sefaro! We've got a new case!"

"Some spy you are," Sefaro murmured, rolling his eyes in mock disinterest. "The rumor that Miss Zelda is courting him has been around forever. There's no secret about this. At all."

Link pointedly stared at the tree behind the children in the courtyard. If he took one glance at the grinning Zelda, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from breaking into a fit of laughter that would last several moments. After being the center of the rumor mill a hundred years prior, the gossipers here in Hateno were so refreshingly harmless that they never felt the need to clarify any shift in their relationship with anyone. Zelda preferred it that way and insisted her private life was hers and didn't concern anyone. Link couldn’t care less about what they said about them, but the whole topic had become a bit of a tender subject ever since Impa had the guts to ask Zelda about an heir to make sure the bloodline of the Goddess wouldn’t run dry.

Zelda clapped her hands. "Back to the topic, please! Any more questions for Link or me?"

Karin raised her hand again. "So, is it true that a knight wasn't allowed to be with a princess or prince?"

Zelda sighed. "This really interests you, hm? Alright. It's a bit more complicated than that. Link was not only a guard who watched over the castle, but he also became my appointed knight. That means he accompanied me everywhere and—"

"Sometimes she ran away from me, so not everywhere, but pretty much everywhere," Link whispered, the back of his hand directed toward Zelda as if only the children were supposed to hear him.

"Hey!" Zelda cried, boxing his armor (regretting it instantly), and laughing.

"It's true." Link winked at the kids.

"Well, who constantly stared at me judgingly without uttering a word?"

"That was my job!"

"I think they're married," Azu whispered toward Sefaro, who gravely nodded. Maybe he had been wrong, and there was, indeed a spy mission in disguise at hand here.

"And?" Karin pressed on.

"Uh, and? Ah, right, the rules. Yes, my father was very strict about us not being allowed to court. Link had to write reports and all that. I think they feared I would distract him from keeping me safe somehow."

"As if I would let anything happen to you," Link murmured, but nobody had heard him this time.

"Forbidden relationship, write that down," Azu hissed from the corner of his mouth. Sefaro chewed on his pencil, thinking, before he nodded firmly and jotted a few words down—definitely a new mission.

“I don’t know.” Karin crossed her arms. “Both can’t be true because if you were a knight, you wouldn’t be courting Miss Zelda.”

Slowly but surely Link was becoming overwhelmed by the situation, and tipped his head toward Zelda. She would know what to do; she always did. He didn’t mind the children knowing about their relationship status and hadn’t the point of coming here in full armor been so they learned about knighthood? That effort would be in vain if they didn't believe that his knowledge was firsthand. But then again, if the children knew… not soon after, the whole village would know, and then the whole Kingdom and the pressure was back on their shoulders.

Zelda paused and tapped her index finger on her chin — a gesture she had picked up from Purah during the countless hours they spent in the lab. The children regarded him with various stages of skepticism; Karin pouted with her arms still crossed, Azu frowned and licked his lips, and Aster outright made a dismissive hand gesture and rolled her eyes. Only Sefaro still scribbled in his notebook, but bullet points like ‘patrol’ and ‘scouting spot’ didn’t hint at his eagerness to follow the lesson's topic.

"Okay…" Zelda started. "We need to go a little farther back than I anticipated, but it's alright."

She put a hand on Link's pauldron. "You're correct and, at the same time, not. Link made several oaths and promised to follow the rules my father, King Rhoam, set. But you all know that the kingdom no longer exists, so the rules hold no value anymore."

A click of fingers, urgent.

"Yes, Azu?"

"Is that like the thing when you don't have to do what your parents say when you're all grown up?"

"I—" Zelda swallowed, and Link shot her a concerned gaze. These children didn't know that talking to their parents and not to a cold stone was a luxury. "Yes, a little bit."

"Oh."

Zelda glanced back at Link, sighing in resignation. Kids immediately knew if they weren't taken seriously, so there was no way around it.

"So… yes, Link and I are a couple. But…" She stepped closer and crouched at the benches, waving them to join her. The children gathered around her, eyes wide, knowing instinctively that they were about to hear something important.

"You know that I'm not only a teacher, but the princess of Hyrule, too, right?"

The children nodded eagerly, and Aster opened her mouth but got silenced by Karin's elbow in her side.

"As a princess, I have a lot of responsibilities, and a lot is expected of me... if everyone knew that Link and I are together, people would expect even more of us. And Link has given so much already for Hyrule…” She chuckled. “I want to give him the opportunity of being the weird guy I share the house with a little longer.”

“Heh!” Link laughed, crossed his arms over the handle of his halberd in mock offense, and tipped his chin up.

The children chuckled but turned back to Zelda the moment she spoke again. “Don’t worry about him; he’ll come around again,” she said. “What I wanted to ask you is… You’re a team of spies, right?”

“Not all of us,” muttered Sefaro, and Zelda winked at him. “Well, now you all are. My team of royal spies, how does that sound?”

“R-royal spies!?!” Azu nearly fell from his bench again. “Sefaro, this is the coolest day ever! We’re so having a new mission!”

"All of us?" Sefaro mumbled with a side glance at the girls.

"Yes, all of you. And the rest of the village kids, too," Zelda added, knowing very well how the kids who were too small for the lessons lurked around the school and pretended to be spies, too.

"We will be the best spies around, Miss Zelda, I promise!" Karin said with sparkling eyes before she leaned over to Aster, whispering, "What exactly is the job of a spy?"

"Why, spying, of course!" Aster answered. What a stupid question!

Zelda, satisfied with the children's reaction, took another look around. “Ok, so your most important task is…” she beckoned them even closer and whispered, “...that nobody finds out that Link and I are married, alright? This order is in effect as long as I don’t give another, contrary order, understood by everyone?”

“Yes, Miss Zelda, understood,” Sefaro hissed. “Your team of royal spies is at your service! As the head of the spy team, I assure you we will do everything in our power to ensure the success of this mission.”

“Who said you are the boss, stupid Sefaro?” Aster was not happy about this development and tried to kick Sefaro’s shin.

Link stared at the tree behind them so intently that he feared the leaves would turn red and fall to the ground. Countless years he had trained to school his face into a stoic mask, and had endured several situations that had put him to the test, but these kids were giving him trouble not to burst out laughing.

"Ok, I'll take that as your word that I can count on you all." Zelda smiled at their eager nods. Perfect. She had struck a chord in them. Maybe they could keep up the fog surrounding their relationship like the lost woods a little longer. They both weren't against the idea of their own children, far from it, but they had lost so many years to prepare for the return of Calamity Ganon that they both wanted to live a little first. There was so much to see in the world; just the other week, they had discovered a whole new species in Faron! They would continue to help rebuild where they could, and one day, they would make their relationship official. And yes, then they would talk about children, potential consequences for the monarchy, and whatnot but not a moment sooner.

Well, that was if the village children managed to keep their little secret…

“Link actually has another set of armor we want to show you,” Zelda said. “It’s the set of a royal guard. I’ll help him change, and you can take a break here in the school yard so that you’re well-rested when we’re back.”

The children cheered and ran off — who didn’t love an unscheduled break?

Inside, Zelda fumbled with the strap of the helmet under Link’s chin while he chased her cheek to give her a kiss. “Hey!” She laughed. “Stop messing with me, or I’ll never get you out of this thing. You’re lucky I don’t mind doing a squire’s job!”

“Oh, messing with you, is it now? I remember when we got married, you were much more—” Link stopped, frowning at the voices that came through the window.

“...tell everyone who says they’re courting that they’re plutonic friends!”

“You mean platinous.”

“Yeah, pla-pla— what you said! Just friends.” They could practically hear the quotation marks that Aster made with her fingers. The children must have gathered directly under the window sill. One of the kids started to toss a ball against the wall, the tap-tap-tap allowing Zelda an undiscovered giggle about their little confusion.

“But that’s boring. Nobody is going to believe that,” Sefaro’s voice now rang through the open window. “We’re going to tell everyone she kicked him out of his house, and they’re loose acquaintances at best.”

“What?” Karin’s voice was high-pitched — she must have even gotten on her tiptoes to be more intimidating. “Miss Zelda would never! She’s the nicest person in Hyrule! She saved his life 100 years ago; she would never kick him out of his house!”

“But that’s the point,” Azu argued. “We want to distract from the rumor of them being together. But maybe you’re right, and it’s too crazy. What about he's just her swordsman running around Hyrule and doing errands for her? You know, because she's his superior or whatever it was called 100 years ago.”

On the other side of the window, Zelda helped Link pull the royal guard uniform over his head so he didn't need to bother with the buttons. "Hmm… taking advantage of your duty to me," she whispered into his ear when his face was free again and chuckled. "That's a new one."

Link snorted and pulled her closer, softly biting her earlobe. Raising his mouth a few inches higher, he whispered, "You dramatically overestimate the motivational factor of duty, my love. I wouldn't have made it off the Great Plateau without your sweet voice beckoning me like a siren."

Zelda blushed at the implications of that, but any risque answer was cut off by the ruckus the kids made outside. She quickly placed the spiffy cap on his head and winked at him.

The children surpassed each other with propositions now.

"There has been an evil Oracle!"

"An attack of cuckoos!"

“She got captured by the bad Sheikah, the… Yoga!”

“Stop! How should that help to distract? You’re all so mean, I don’t know if I want to play spy anymore,” Karin pouted.

“Hm, ok, nothing evil anymore. What about if someone spots Link walking around the house in his undies again, we'll tell everyone that’s a new order of Princess Zelda to… to… keep the spirits up!”

Everyone giggled at that idea, and their laughter coaxed Link to grin.

“Oh, hush!” Zelda cried quietly, not without suppressing a smile herself, and adjusted the red cord of his armor. “This was a bad idea. They’re going to spread so much nonsense about us!”

“Oh, no, this was one of the best ideas you ever had,” Link whispered back and kissed her, well hidden from the eyes of the village, from Impa, and the rest of Hyrule, thanks to the newly-established royal spy team taking their duty very seriously.

Edit: Link to Ao3

#zelink #zelink week 2023 #totk spoilers #botw #totk #legend of zelda #zeldaelmo writes #rumors have wings #Now with banner!

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smilesrobotlover · 25 days

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AO3

King of the Gerudo- Chapter 1: Forgotten Foundation

Summary: it’s been three years since Calamity Ganon attacked Hyrule, and everyone was recovering well from it. Until the strange substance gloom appeared, making people sick when they touched it. Wanting to find answers, Zelda and the champions went beneath the castle against her father’s wishes to try to solve the problem. Meanwhile, the King of Hyrule hopes to use Impa’s help in interrogating master Kohga about the gloom, despite the Yiga leader knowing very little about it. Little did they all know, that a great threat was brewing beneath Hyrule castle, waiting for a seal to break.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was cold and damp as Zelda, Terrako, and the champions traveled underneath Hyrule castle, the light from her torch being the only thing illuminating the dark hallways. It was uncomfortably quiet as the group walked down the staircase, the strange gloomy substance floating through the air menacingly. Zelda studied it for a minute, her eyes narrowed as gloom danced in front of her. Strange…

“This gloom is rather misty down here,” she stated, reaching out to feel it phase through her fingers. It was soft, and didn’t seem to harm her as it went through her hand. She pulled her arm back and studied her fingers, which seemed untouched.

“Careful Zelda, people have been getting sick when they touch the gloom,” Urbosa warned, stepping down the stairs where Zelda was. The princess looked up at her and smiled.

“It’s alright, there doesn’t seem to be a high enough concentration of gloom down here to hurt us. I think we’ll be safe,” Zelda looked behind her as the rest of the champions walking down the stairs, all muttering quietly to themselves. She turned back at the darkness in front of her where Terrako watched cautiously and took a deep breath. “We’ll be safe for now.”

The princess of Hyrule continued to walk down the stairs, Urbosa and her little guardian friend following closely behind her. She heard Daruk grunting as he squeezed through the tight halls, and there was the occasional grumble from Revali, but overall the group was silent, which didn’t help Zelda’s nerves. As she reached a landing of the stairs, she heard Link quietly catch up to her, his stare intense as he looked down the hallways, the gloom seeming to get thicker.

“I didn’t realize how deep this goes,” Mipha muttered, mostly to herself. “It’s hard to believe that this has been down below Hyrule Castle this whole time.”

“Yes,” Zelda responded quietly. It was strange, she felt like she'd explored every inch of the castle as she studied and trained herself for the calamity. Finding new, untouched areas of the castle was surreal… and exciting. If only the gloom didn’t make the situation frightening. She continued on, moving past Link who was still staring, and almost stepped down the stairs when Urbosa stopped her.

“Something’s not right,” she said in a low voice, eyeing Link with an intense glare. Zelda gave Link a confused look, who had his brows pinched together, staring at Urbosa. The Gerudo chief gestured to his sword, and Zelda gasped.

“Your sword, Link! It’s glowing!” She exclaimed, walking closer to the hero who had the master sword out, studying the glowing blade. “That’s not a good sign… Something is up ahead, we should proceed with caution.”

“Why don’t you stay back while we continue further,” Mipha suggested. “It might be too dangerous for you.”

“I’ll be fine, Mipha, I want to get to the bottom of this.” Zelda turned and continued onward, not allowing Mipha to argue any further. As the group walked, Zelda couldn’t help but study the walls and ground around her. She remembered her father telling her to stay away from beneath the castle, that generations before her were strictly given orders to leave it be, meaning that everything she was seeing was being seen for the first time in centuries. Though there has been nothing special about the halls they were traveling, she couldn’t help but feel giddy over being the first person in centuries to see it. She wondered what they would find down here.

Soon the group reached a long hallway with pillars and statues she'd never seen before. She gasped and jogged to one of the statues, admiring the sheer size and workmanship of it. They seemed to be resembling a creature with a long neck and big ears. Could it be…?

“Zelda!” Urbosa and Link ran up to her. “Don’t run off like that! We don’t know what’s down here!”

“Apologies, Urbosa, but just look at this!” Zelda took out her Sheikah slate and began taking pictures of the statues. “I believe this may be a Zonai!”

“A Zonai?”

“A Zonai! I read about them in my studies, and it was believed that they possessed godlike powers and descended from the heavens!” Zelda moved to the side to get a new angle on the statue, the champions watching her patiently as she took pictures. “Look at those ears! They kind of look like us, don’t they?”

“Give or take a few features,” Revali muttered, studying the statue intently. Zelda giggled and took one more picture before looking at the other statues and ruins in front of her. She frowned and walked towards a fallen pillar.

“They were descended from the sky… but why are their ruins underneath the castle?” She wondered, tracing her fingers along the cold and bumpy stone. She finally stood up and walked to the doorway, with the champions following her. As soon as she crossed the doorway, however, two keese ambushed her, and she yelped as she jumped back from them. Link sprinted towards the monsters, killing them in seconds, with Terrako giving angry beeps at the dead monsters.

“Are you alright?” Mipha asked worriedly, and Zelda waved her hand.

“Oh I’m alright, just a little startled,” she breathed, laughing slightly.

“It’s bad enough that we’re disobeying the king’s orders to stay away from here, the last thing we need is for his daughter to get injured,” Revali said, crossing his wings in front of his chest. Zelda laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head.

“Sorry, I’ll try to be more careful.”

Revali’s glare softened and he rolled his eyes. Daruk let out a sigh of relief as he squeezed through the doorway, stretching his arms above his head.

“Thank Din, a big room!” He cheered, nearly smacking Revali as his arms fell.

“Watch it!” He shouted, and Daruk simply chuckled carelessly. Zelda smiled at the two and glanced at the wall in front of her. It wasn’t like the rest of the walls, and she jogged towards them, straining her neck to look at them fully.

“Why, what is this?” Zelda gasped as she moved her torch to see better. In front of her were murals etched into the walls, the style similar to the Sheikah murals of the calamity she’s seen so many times. A figure stood out to her, it resembling the Zonai statues from the other room, with seven strange shapes floating around it. She took a step back and looked at the whole thing. “Why, this must be the written history of Hyrule!” she exclaimed, pulling out her sheikah slate again and beginning to take pictures, worry making way for excitement as she clicked. “Look! The Zonai were descended from the heavens! And they appeared to have bonded with the Hylians and found Hyrule!” Zelda took a picture of the Zonai and Hylian figure holding hands and she glanced over at something far more ominous. A large imposing figure stood over the Hylian, with the strange shape floating above them. Figures of monsters and the evil figure were shown to be attacking Hylians, with it ending with the Zonai fighting back. Zelda gasped at the realization at what this meant. “This not only shows the founding of Hyrule, but it shows a great battle the young kingdom faced! Of course! It all fits my studies! This shows the great war… the imprisoning war!” Zelda spun around to face the champions, a huge smile on her face. “We have seen history that’s been lost to time! This is a huge discovery!”

The only champions that were listening to her ramblings were Urbosa and Mipha, who were politely and patiently watching her. Link, Revali, and Daruk were simply arguing with Terrako running circles around them.

“Oh! Uh…” Zelda looked down awkwardly, putting her sheikah slate away. “Apologies, I got quite excited back there. No reason to waste time with these murals…”

“No, princess, it is quite fascinating!” Mipha said, joining Zelda’s side and looking up at the mural. “That beast the Zonai is fighting, it looks to be calamity Ganon, doesn’t it?”

Zelda smiled slightly. “Yes, but it’s not Ganon. Apparently that beast was the demon king who stole power from Hyrule…”

Mipha hummed. “I wonder who the Demon king was. There’s not a lot about him.”

“No… there’s not.” Zelda continued to stare at the murals, and her eyes traveled to the rest of the wall, which was blocked off by rock. “It seems the rest of it is blocked…”

Urbosa walked up to the two princesses and stared at the rocks. She turned around to the men who continued to argue. “Daruk! Get over here!”

The argument ended abruptly and the goron champion trotted towards the group. “What’s going on? Is everything ok?” He asked, and Zelda giggled.

“Destroy this rock, Zelda wants to see the rest of the mural.”

“On it!” Daruk pulled out his weapon and walked closer to the rock, but Zelda realized something.

“Wait! You might destroy the mural behind the rocks!” She shouted, running to Daruk. “We’ll need to carefully remove the rocks if we don’t want to damage it. This is a priceless piece afterall.”

“Oh,” Daruk stepped back and put his weapon away, a disappointed frown on his face. Urbosa turned to Link and Revali, who were now staring silently away from the group.

“Link, you’re handy aren’t you? Remove this rock,” she ordered, but Zelda shook her head.

“No, it’ll take too long to remove this rock. There are more important things to worry about right now,” Zelda stared at another doorway, dread beginning to rest within her stomach. “The mural can wait,” she said softly, walking to the doorway. She heard the shuffling of footsteps as the others followed her, the air around her only getting colder and thicker. The misty gloom turned into a fog, making it difficult for her to breath. The dread was getting worse, and she felt like she wanted to cry as she got deeper and deeper. Her legs were shaking terribly, and she needed to grab the wall in order to keep her balance, but she kept moving, with the champions following closely behind her. Finally, she reached the end, and she was met with a large open room covered in gloom, and in the middle was something she’s never seen before.

A person, rotten and decayed was being held by the chest of a glowing green arm, with green magic swirling from the top of it. Gloom poured out of the chest of the corpse, poisoning the room with its haze, and as Zelda looked further, the mouth of the corpse was open, as if it was screaming before it met its end. As Zelda cautiously stepped closer, the arm’s light began to flicker, and she gasped as it went dark and fell to the ground, causing a yellow stone to break from its bracelet, landing right in front of Zelda. She kneeled on the ground, picking up the strange stone. It felt warm in her hands, and the light was almost soothing. She felt something within her began to grow as she held it, and she traced the delicate etchings on the stone with her thumb.

“What is this…?” She started, when the corpse in front of her began to move. She jumped up and found herself pressed up against Urbosa, who had an intense glare as the corpse’s head began to twitch. The sickening crack of its bones filled the air, and its head suddenly turned to look at the group, glowing eyes full of malice appearing to stare back at them. Zelda felt her heart drop to her stomach and she instinctively moved further into Urbosa. Gloom suddenly shot out, aiming straight for the two. The princess let out a scream, bracing herself to be struck, but Link was in front of her, swiping at the gloom with the master sword. It retreated for a moment, until it shot out again. Time slowed as Link swiped again, and the glowing sword that sealed darkness away shattered into pieces, one shard slicing the corpse’s cheek. Link let out a pained cry as the gloom suddenly covered his arm entirely.

“LINK!” Zelda shouted, catching him before he crumpled to the ground. Mipha was at his side in seconds, and the champions stared at the corpse as it began to rise.

“Was that the sword that seals the darkness?” Its raspy voice echoed through the room, the malice filled eyes never leaving Zelda’s. “That sword shattered under a fraction of my power, Rauru placed his faith in you, and that was all you could do?”

The creature was standing straight now, it towering over the group. Link began to get on his knees, panting in pain as he glared at the corpse, but its eyes stayed on Zelda, and it began to laugh. A sick and uncanny laugh that echoed through the room.

“Zelda,” It said, its rotten mouth curling into a smile, and the princess whimpered. “It’s been a long time…”

“H-how do you know my name?” Zelda asked, her voice shaking uncontrollably. The corpse smiled at her, making her feel alone despite being surrounded by the champions. Its arms were brought to its chest, where high amounts of gloom suddenly swirled in front of it. Gloom was shot at the ceiling, causing the ground to shake violently. Zelda couldn’t see anything, she couldn’t breathe, and she didn’t know if she was still near the champions. She heard the distressed cries of Terrako near her, and she hugged the guardian tightly as she searched for the champions. She heard the cries of them as the ceiling began to rise, and she crawled across the ground with Terrako in her arms, but the ground beneath her suddenly gave way, and she let out a yell as she and the guardian plummeted towards the darkness below.

“ZELDA!” She heard someone cry, and she saw Link reaching out to her, his decaying and broken arm reaching for her, but it missed. Zelda screamed as she plummeted, desperately reaching for something, anything, that could catch her. She felt a warm tingling coming from the stone she still had clutched in her hand, and warmth surrounded her whole being. As she stared at the helpless champions, a bright light appeared in her vision, a dizziness overcame her, and then there was nothing but darkness.

#king of the Gerudo #smiles writes #FINALLY posting this 💀💀#totk spoilers #age of calamity #dunno when the next update will be but it will happen when I finally finish it #cuz good grief it’s giving me struggle lol

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aheathen-conceivably · 10 months

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🎶 Lost in the Light 🎶

After hours of trying to sleep, Zelda rose from her makeshift bed in her parent’s workroom sometime before dawn. She paused momentarily to ensure that Violette was well asleep and then headed to the front door of the cottage. Her feet still knew the path in the darkness as though it hadn’t been over a decade since she had last done this.

Stepping out into the night was almost like stepping back in time. The air swirled with the same sounds and smells that she had known her whole life, the same ones that she had always relied on to clear her mind and cradle her thoughts when she couldn’t sleep.

When she entered a clearing that she recognized from her youth she stopped to look up at the shivering leaves. Far too embarrassed to speak aloud in the silence, Zelda spoke in her mind, Poppa, I suppose if you are anywhere you must be here. Are you with Mother and Rosella? I would like to think so, to think that none of you are alone.

She stopped for a moment, hearing the morning birds begin to sing and taking a deep breath. There was no answer to her question. No sounds other than the songbird. As if refusing to admit her own perceived foolishness, Zelda quelled her disappointment and continued,

How is Antoine, Poppa? Can you see him? Can you hear him? It’s been so long since I’ve heard his voice. Over two months now, and Violette asks after him constantly. Even she knows that we should be home by now, that it has been longer than I intended to be here.

A momentary anger rose in Zelda’s throat, one that she had been stifling every day since she boarded the steamer. She told herself that she had considered staying in England for Violette’s future, for her safety and happiness; but she knew that her daughter couldn’t have that without her father.

No, she had considered staying here out of spite and fear, of keeping Violette away to make Antoine suffer for her loneliness. She was angry, inordinately angry that Antoine wasn’t there - that he hadn’t boarded a ship to come and find her as the weeks went by. But that was the thought of a young girl with young dreams, the type that had once wandered these woods with her mind full of romance novels and grand gestures.

Her years in New Orleans and the harshness of the world had tempered the girl she had once been; for Zelda knew that Antoine’s memories of the bloodshed of war here were blinding, and that her absence wouldn’t change the reasons he had stayed. It would only cause him to dig his heels in deeper and fall further into the trenches of his own mind. After almost ten years together she knew that she couldn’t pull him out, and that he had to want to let go before she could truly help him.

And she wanted nothing more than for him to let go, to experience the same freedom that she had felt in England, the unexpected lightness in her soul and her heart when she realized that she was no longer afraid of the things which once brought her so much pain.

For to her great surprise, she had borne every ounce of grief and memory without breaking. She had found an unexpected peace here that could perhaps bring more stability and security for herself and her daughter. Yet it was also devoid of the life and love she had found in New Orleans. For as much memory as was in this place, she couldn’t deny that it felt no more like home than after her father died. The strongest bonds to her family were now all truly gone, each of them nothing but memories amongst the leaves of the Bramblewood.

She knew that she could spend her days tilling the fields that her father had sown and attempting to replace the fulfillment that being somewhere ever-changing brought her. But it also meant the loss of her daughter’s trust and the love of her life; for despite his actions she did still love him, deeply, and wanted nothing more than to be with him. Although she knew what the safe choice was, her months here had shown her that the pain of being apart was even worse than the pain of being together and that she was at home with the family she had found in New Orleans.

Poppa, tell me please, what do I do?

#1929 #sims 4 historical #ts4 historical #ts4 decades challenge #sims 4 decades challenge #sims 4 legacy #ts4 legacy #sims 4 story #ts4 story #the darlingtons #1920s #zelda darlington

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newtabfics · 8 months

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Twisted. Ganondorf x Zonai Princess Fic. Chapter 1: the tragic princess

Summary: Ganondorf notices the way the princess shies away from him and enacts a plan to manipulate her. Little does he know, Zonai are much more animalistic than the stories lead him to believe. You can't fight your instinct when it comes to your mate. Triggers for manipulation on ganondorf's part. Hypnosis/Mind Control magic. Murder. blood. But more, oh so more importantly...We do be fucking Ganondorf so like...snoo-snoo ;)

Princess of Hyrule.

Daughter of Beautiful Sonia and Benevolent Rauru.

Daughter of Hylia's Grace.

Whore of the Demon King.

These were titles Y/N held long after the Imprisoning War. No one ever knew what had happened, only that she was twisted by the magic of the Demon King. It was a long-since-forgotten shame of the kingdom that even Zelda knew nothing of.

Y/N was a quiet young princess who wanted only to serve Hyrule, hoping to one day rule the same as her parents and keep peace among her people. While she had no hopes of marriage, there was no denying the connection she felt.

His amber eyes studied the royal family before locking onto her. Her heart jolted as he blinked, keeping a stone face as he quickly fixed his gaze down.

She took a slow breath as her body began to surge with some foreign sensation. It only spurred again when she'd been walking towards the gardens and saw him.

Y/N bowed gracefully as he reciprocated the gesture. "I've heard a lot of stories about you from the soldiers," She said, breaking the silence. "You're truly a great warrior?"

"It is how I earned my position to the throne," He said simply.

His voice sent a shudder through her body as she tilted her head. "Pardon if this seems presumptuous," She began, making him straighten. "I heard that a Gerudo male, born only every hundred years or so, was given the throne as his birthright."

Ganondorf nodded. "You are correct, but my people are of warriors. We wouldn't let just anyone rule unless they earned it. However, my upbringing is what sowed this outcome."

"Your birthright, but earned," she muttered, smiling. "I see. Thank you."

"Do you study Gerudo Culture?" he asked, watching her reactions. She was a young thing, likely only just entering adulthood, though small. She was about the same height as that cousin of hers, Zelda, who was in her twenties. Though he wondered if height meant anything in age regarding Hylians. She was so naive.

"As much as I can from here," she offered. "My duties keep me anchored to the castle and unable to do much else." She studied him for a moment before asking, "Lord Ganondorf, would you like to walk with me through the castle? Or even see the garden?"

"The Garden of Time, correct?" He asked, correcting his face to mask his eagerness. "I had heard stories of it. I never thought I'd see it myself."

Y/N smiled and nodded, turning before leading him. The king watched her as she walked. She was completely at ease, showing no fear or even a hint of awareness to his intentions. Her father was a fool in keeping him close to the castle, unaware that the Gerudo would manipulate his precious daughter. The moment she turned his back to him, her fate was sealed as his alone.

He followed her out to the garden, studying the sacred place. It wasn't anything extraordinary, he realized until he saw the Temple of Time looming over as the bells tolled lowly.

Ganondorf watched the constructs end their duties and return to their stations for the evening. The sun was dipping slowly down, sending a glow over the garden. Even he confessed the beauty of the place aloud, making the princess smile as she led him deeper in.

"The constructs work hard to maintain it, but the magic training does help," she confessed. Upon his blink, she tucked her hair behind her long ear. "The garden is sacred because it has more of a connection to our goddess, Hylia. At least, that's what my mother tells me often."

Ganondorf watched her lift her hand, as though cupping water as a small orb of light flickered into her palm before vanishing.

"You need to master it still," He realized, earning a nod. "Perhaps, I can help. Magic is rather difficult to learn."

"I'm aware," She sighed softly before smiling up at him. "Any advice at this point is welcomed," She chuckled. "I know I'll get it eventually but it helps learning from others that use it."

He nodded and looked around. "A private place to sit?" He asked her, earning a nod before he was led to a quiet area in the back of the garden.

The constructs were humming idly in their stations, waiting for the morning bells as they found a small pavilion to sit at. Or at least it was small with Ganondorf inside it.

Y/N giggled as she'd let him sit first, getting comfortable before humming and sitting beside him. He had blinked at her closeness, studying her flushed face as they spoke.

This princess was infatuated with him, he realized. His confirmation was the soft purr that rumbled in her throat when he cupped her hands in his, seeing how small she was in comparison to him.

"Is something wrong, Princess?" He asked softly. He was practically cackling at the flushed look as she ripped away from him like he was a flame and she were a parchment. "Princess Y/N?" He asked again.

Her heart hammered as he carefully took her hand again. Everything in her body was screaming with joy as she tried to understand why she was suddenly flustered by his touch.

The sun dipped below the trees, concealing them as he asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just uh…" She cleared her throat. "I should get back."

"Not until you tell me the truth," he insisted. "You're…purring? I think you enjoy my touch, but don't know what to do."

Y/N gulped thickly as his thumb pressed along the inside of her palm, making her heart skip as she took in the warmth of his skin. "I-I know–" She cleared her throat again. "I know why it's happening. It's just…a strange feeling."

"Then follow your instincts," he said softly, leaning closer. Her heart hammered as his eyes darted to her lips before locking with hers. "You have more power than I do here."

With that, Y/N was lost as she gave into her instincts and kissed him, damning her spirit to never find peace again as his hands quickly found her waist to pull her in.

Part 2

#ganondorf x fem!reader #totk ganondorf #demon king x fem!reader #demon king ganondorf #totk fic #totk smut fic #twisted series #tw gaslighting #tw manipulation #tw mind control #tw brainwashing #tw blood

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africanamermaid · 1 month

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Had another dream and this one was about Twilight Princess Link.

So, it was about several years after the whole debacle about Zant, Midna, Ganon, etc. Link was happily married to a dark-skinned beauty with fluffy chestnut hair (not one of the fishing sisters lol) and had a highly intelligent, old-soul daughter who was 6 years-old. He adored his family and they all lived in a two-story home designed to look like a cute cottage. They lived near Lanayru on the field, like, they weren't too far from Lake Hylia. So, in the dream, Link and his wife were always very close and intimate. He was a loving and mature husband he was an awesome dad even though sometimes he marveled at his daughter's intelligence. Like, he would sometimes jokingly ask her "whose kid are you anyway?" She would always laugh and be all "well, I am my father's daughter!" And, he'd laugh and hug her.

But, not all was paradise. Link would actually miss slaying monsters. He snuck out some nights to take down some monsters dressed in his old tunic and hat. He used to get caught by his daughter or wife. His daughter would show concern because she didn't want to lose her dad to a mishap. Wifey felt the same but she would add in that things were much more peaceful now and there was no need to fight anymore. Also, he has a family now and if he were to die or become permanently injured, things wouldn't be the same for their little family. Link knew this and tried to fight the urge to "be the hero" again. But, he always told himself "that he misses the scent of monster's blood and the less monsters in Hyrule means that he was protecting more of her people."

So, one summer night, he snuck out again after not sneaking out for nearly a couple years because the urge became too much. He went down to Lake Hylia and discovered a little girl a few years under his daughter's age (who was now 10) being chased by a Stalfos. He jumped in, normal sword flashing in the moonlight, and fought the monster, the whole time smiling and chuckling at one point. Once it fell and turned to dust, he helped the little girl up and with a kitten's voice she asked for a pocket watch that the monster apparently stole from her. Link did notice the trinket while fighting and picked it up and gave it to the girl. She took her little hood off and got it from Link with a squeal. Link asked her why was somebody so little out here so late at night? She looked up at him with honey-brown hair and deep blue eyes and said that her mommy was sad that a bad monster attacked her carriage earlier that day and took her "sleeping" grandpapa's watch." I assume, the girl meant HER granddad and her MOM'S father. But anyway, Link was speechless looking at the little girl.

She looked exactly like Zelda.

So, he convinces the little girl to take her away from the lake and see if he can keep her safe with his wife and daughter and the little girl happily agrees and he picks her up and walks off to his home. When he returns, he sees his daughter peeking out of the upstairs window and he sees her and whispers to not say anything and that he found a small child out in the darkness of the lake. She nods and does a lock-and-key gesture near her mouth and he returns it with a happy nod (the have a connection obviously after all lol she IS her father's daughter). So, he thinks he's sneaking in but he suddenly finds his wife, wide awake, and walking down the steps with his daughter. His daughter looks like she's trying to distract her mother but it doesn't work. The wife sees Link and is absolutely DONE with him. Link clumsily tries to explain his situation while the wife is volcanic with him but she notices the little girl mentioning her daughter who is also staring at the little girl confusedly. The wife doesn't say anything and looks at Link and Link panics saying that he found the girl at the Lake being attacked by a Stalfos. Link explains her story and before the wife rips him a new one, the little girl squeals "it's true! Mr. Knight saved me from the bad monster and gave me back mommy's favorite pocket watch! Look! Look! Isn't it pretty?" The wife sees the pocketwatch and sighs tiredly. The daughter volunteers to take the girl to her room for now and the mother tiredly allows it. While the adults are settling down, the two girls sit in the CUTEST (but messiest) little girl's room I ever saw in my life.

The last part of the dream is the rescued girl squealing "is this your room? It's so pretty! Are these your toys? Can I play??"

Lol. I don't know why I dreamt that. XD

#legend of Zelda #Zelda #loz #legend of Zelda twilight Princess #the legend of zelda link #the legend of zelda #legend of zelda link #link legend of zelda #LoZ link #link LoZ #twilight princess #twilight Princess link #link twilight Princess #link #I keep having these dreams what's my brain telling me lol

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catyo90 · 10 months

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Fighting Fate: Chapter 3

Ch.2

(This one is a bit shorter as I am sick, but I still wanted to at least get something out for you guys.)

Ganondorf awoke to the bright sun above him, luckily the trees around the oasis had blocked most of it, and he felt one of the sand seals licking him awake. He nudged the beast away before bringing a hand to his head, he struggled with nightmares for many nights after his true purpose was shown to him. The voice of Demise echoed through his mind for a moment before realizing he had fallen asleep outside, though not uncommon for him he hadn’t planned it. Even more unplanned when he looked beside him to see Zelda had fallen asleep on the rug slightly cuddled against his arm which he hadn’t realized until now.

Looking down at the sleeping form of her beside him made him realize how small she was, her short hair making a somewhat halo around her face as she breathed steadily. Suddenly the vile voice of Demise echoed in his mind.

“The stone...” The voice was as cold as the Hebra mountains, Ganondorf eyed the sacred stone on her necklace and realized what the voice wished of him. His eyes grew wide as he reached with his other hand toward it, feeling a small humming coming from it clearly filled to the brim with power. It may not be the Queens stone, but perhaps it would be enough power...enough to quench his lust for this never-ending want of power. Her sudden movement made him halt as she breathed out lightly clinging to his arm a bit more making him pause in his action. He sighed as he moved his hand away from where the necklace lay.

It was not the right time...after all, he still needed to learn a way to end this vicious cycle of rebirth. Until then he would have to wait. His thoughts wandered to the still very probable way this whole marriage was simply a trick.

He eyed her form once more and noticed her hair was slightly disheveled now, he brought his hand to move the bits of hair away from her face. Her face reminded him once more of when he was younger.

10 years ago

He looked over the wide vast grasslands of Hyrule seeing the many wild horses surrounding the plains. He stood over the hill looking down to see Sonia, Princess to the Hyrulian family kneeling next to him picking at the flowers, carefully collecting them for her studies in the medical field that she was most prominent.

He had been tasked with guarding her while his elders spoke with her father about the lack of trust in the trades between his people and hers. He hated the idea of her father, he was a simple-minded man who only focused on the prospect of his kingdom. If his people sent word of any hylians attacks or raids on their people, he simply coughed it up to bandits and thieves that would be dealt with appropriately... though he never did.

He shook the thought from his mind when he suddenly felt a light touch on his arm seeing Sonia standing next to him where he saw she had placed the basket of herbs on the ground. He couldn’t help but laugh as she gestured to pick her up. He placed her on his shoulder keeping an arm on her legs for support to keep her from falling backwards.

“The sky is a lovely shade this evening. I only wish it was a bit cooler, this summer air always makes me feel exhausted.”

“Could be worse...you could be harvesting hydro melons in the desert. Believe me, it is no easy task. Though you would probably eat them before anyone else could.” he chuckled as she gave him a slightly unamused look. But soon she gave a smirk in return.

“Don’t forget how you get when you get your hands on any meat...my goodness you scarf it down like a horse to an apple.”

He gave a slight groan as he listened to her laugh at the look on his face. He looked up at her, her beauty was almost too much for him, her short golden hair covering her face like a goddess, the white hylians dress she wore along with the small crown upon her brow with it a few accessories from each kingdom, from the Zora, a belt of gold accompanied by blue stones, from the Gorons a red gem on a ring that he could feel the warmth from even though it was faint, from the Rito a feathered pair of anklets. He remembered the gift he had brought for her which he smiled at as he noticed the earring on her lift ear, it was a yellow gem and with it an etched-in symbol that he himself gave to her only a few days prior. As he looked at her he wondered....was he worthy enough for her...the way she made him feel was a feeling he had never felt with the other Vai of his homeland.

She looked down at him...

“Gan...”

“Hmm...”

“I’m glad you are here... it's been far too long since you last visited...after all, I always enjoy your company.”

She looked down at him, he was probably the tallest and strongest man she ever knew. But she knew there was always something troubling him, he wouldn’t say and whenever she asked...he simply said he was fine. Clearly, a lie, but she would not push the subject any further than he wished. She leaned over and laid her head against his as she smiled to herself watching as the sun set.

“Promise me you will visit more often...”

He was about to object but soon hearing her humming to herself, he simply smiled to himself as they both overlooked the sun setting over the two of them.

The memory saddened him a bit as he realized how long time had passed and how much she had changed since their time together. He looked down at Zelda and realized he should probably wake her up before she did herself and possibly get the wrong idea.

He brought his hand to her shoulder and gently nudged her as he called her name. A bit surprising when he couldn’t wake her up. Then again this did give him a fairly funny idea. He smiled as he whistled to his seal that moved toward her and smiled as it brought its large tongue across her cheek making her wake up immediately as she shot up still clinging to his arm as the seal continued to lick at her face.

“Ah, goodness. Is it morning? Oh my, I suppose I should have...Uhhh.” She looked at her arms which were still slightly wrapped around his arm making her move from him just a tad with a much-embarrassed look on her face.

“I must apologize. I hadn’t realized...”

“It’s alright. You must have been cold during the night. Though I suppose if you truly needed to stay warm...there were many other ways that could have happened.”

“That would be quite too...vulgar for me Ganondorf. “

He had a smirk on his face as he brought his face a bit closer to hers, that was until his seal jumped out from the sand landing square on him causing him to hit the ground hard as Zelda looked down to just smile smugly at him as she spoke.

“I see Blubber and Flipper were quite fed up with you messing with me...”

He scoffed as he moved the seal off his back before causing the seal to roll down the hill as the other followed suit.

“Far from it...they simply are in a playful mood.”

She smiled as he stood up and brushed the sand off of his clothes offering a hand to her to help her up.

“Come, we should return.”

Suddenly a pain came to his mind as he brought his hand away from her to his head hearing the voice once again this time is was clinging at him, the voice was louder this time he kneeled down from the pain. Zelda was a bit shocked but became worried when he groaned in pain.

“Ganondorf...are you alright?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Clearly its not. Look...at least let me try something. I promise...it wont hurt.”

He merely watched as she walked up behind him placing both hand on the side of his head gingerly letting him lean his head back as he felt a small hum from her hands as small gold particles moved around her hands. The voice actually did disappear , much to his pleasure as he sighed a small relief. He let out a small sigh as the gentle touch from her was quite welcome but the sight above him made him wonder for a moment on a thought that plagued his mind ever since he first saw her.

“Zelda...an issue has been on my mind for awhile... please answer honestly.”

“Hmm.” She gave him a puzzled look as he took a hand to her wrist looking up at her with those very vibrant golden eyes.

“I have known the royal family for some time...” He said as he move his head away from her hands still holding her wrist in his hand but this time kneeling before her matching her gaze.

“Sonia had no siblings and Rauru only has his sister who dedicates herself to lore and study. Sonia’s family is thin and you are clearly too young to be related directly. And anyone with any intelligence in them would know all too well that “distant relative” act. So...how are you related to her?”

#zelgan #zelda #ganondorf #ganon x zelda #fightingfate #the legend of zelda #fanfiction #fanfic #hope you enjoy

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mistresslrigtar · 5 months

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I Belong to You - Chapter Twelve - Falling Away With You

It's here! The final chapter of my grad school au I Belong to You!

I’m posting the final chapter early because today is a special day. This is the day my RL one true love and I went on our first date and by the end of the night we were hopelessly in love. We are proof that true love can happen in a moment with one look, one gesture, one touch. He’s my reason and my life, the father of our children, and to this day, through all the ups and downs, I love him with all my heart. This is for you, @thisgeekyweek.

Excerpt:

“Okay. Just remember you asked for it.” His fingers glided over the keys, and as he softly sang, the sun rose, brightening the room from gunmetal gray to rosy pink. Link painted a picture of the moments they shared and then recklessly threw away, if only briefly. Zelda closed her eyes and let the lyrics and music wash over her.

‘Staying awake to chase a dream, tasting the air you’re breathing in. I hope I won’t forget a thing.’

The earnestness that tinged Link’s voice quickened Zelda’s heart, and she wanted nothing more than to soothe him. She rested her hand on his knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

‘Memories I will never find, memories I will never find.” Link’s hands stilled, but remained curled over the keys.

“What does that mean?” Zelda asked.

Link shook his head, wrapping an arm around Zelda’s back, pulling her closer. “Oh, it, uh, means all the moments we could’ve lost if we hadn’t worked things out.”

Zelda relaxed against his side, savoring the peaceful moment. If only they could stay like this forever and forget about everything outside these walls. The rising sun and the fading shadows however were a reminder that the world continued to turn around them. They could only move forward, but the last two days had proven that she and Link were better, stronger together. She blew a shaky breath, feeling something subtle and unspoken shifting between them.

“I’m so glad I met you.” Zelda pulled away to look at Link, searching and finding what she felt reflected in his bright blue eyes.

“Me too, Zel. Me too.” Link tugged on her hands, pulling her to stand with him. “Let’s go back to bed, and I’ll make you breakfast when we wake up. Do you like pancakes?”

“I’ll like anything you make.”

Many, many thanks (which will never be enough) to @zeldaelmo and @hyylia for their outstanding beta work. Thanks so much, friends!!

If you liked this story, I'd really appreciate a reblog. Thanks!

#legend of zelda #zelink #the legend of zelda #tears of the kingdom #breath of the wild #college au #loz college au #grad school au #inspired by muse #songs by muse

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airplanned · 1 year

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Silence. 5

Table of Contents....Chapter 1...Chapter 4

Everyone in the abbey did chores. Most likely, someone would say it built character, but really it was to keep the abbey running. It wasn't as if someone was going to cook for them. Or make repairs to the building. Or do laundry. Or tend the garden.

That was Zelda's job that morning. Over time, the monks got a sense of everyone's strengths and weaknesses, and of all the things you could say about Zelda, no one could deny her talent with vegetables.

She wondered sometimes if her father had sent any instructions about what she was not allowed to do. No studying bugs. No climbing trees. No guardian parts. Whenever the abbot assigned her to the garden or had her repair the drain pipes, she wondered if he was secretly going against her father's wishes. Maybe it was a little, silent nod in her direction that he believed in her.

Maybe he just desperately needed someone to fix the drainpipe.

Maybe her father hadn't said anything at all, and this whole drama lived entirely in her head.

Whatever the reason, she would make the abbot proud and show her appreciation for the opportunity he had given her here. In every chore she did, she tried to make the abbey better, more efficient. She tried to be as helpful as possible so the Goddess would approve.

As they rose from breakfast to begin their chores, handing their plates to the acolyte on dish duty, the abbot gestured Link close, squeezed his shoulder, and then steered him into following Zelda.

She wondered if the abbot knew about their meeting on the roof.

Keeping her face calm, she nodded, making eye contact with Link before turning towards the door. She could hear him following.

As she lifted the hood of her tunic over her head, she wondered if Link would think this was some show of piety as she tended the tomatoes. She actually just sunburned easily. When she looked back, he had covered his head as well. Oh well, it would keep him from getting sunburned too.

She got him started weeding while she inspected the tomatoes, tying new growths to the trellis with twine. As always, they had way too many cucumber, and she set Link to harvesting them. The marigolds seemed to be working to keep the bugs off the strawberries, but there were more signs of squirrels.

Someday, Zelda was going to do something about the squirrels.

But first she had to do something about Link, who wouldn't meet her eyes as he harvested cucumber.

She should leave him be. But that felt cruel. Isolating when he probably already felt alone.

But the whole point of the abbey was for solitary contemplation. So what was she doing getting into his business?

Despite everything, she reached out and squeeze his arm, drawing him to look at her and giving him a questioning look. Are you alright?

Kindness wouldn't bend her vows.

He sighed, then nodded in a determined way that meant not really, but I'm trying.

She ought to have stopped the conversation there. Maybe squeezed his arm and offered him a smile and had him help her haul out a bag of fertilizer to keep him occupied.

Instead, she nodded her head towards the temple. What happened in there?

I'm sorry if I was too something.

What?

He held three fingers to his lips in shame.

Oh. He was feeling guilty about their talk last night as well.

Slowly, she nodded. Right. Yes. But she couldn't help but ask again, Are you okay?

That he was willing to answer. The voices. I hear them louder here. He gestured around them at the plateau.

Louder? she asked, making a mouth of her hand and stretching it wide before clapping it together.

He nodded. The gesture shifted into him shaking his head as he looked up at the sky for explanation.

Obviously, none came.

She patted his arm again to get his attention and tried, Maybe the voices are louder because everything else is quiet. Then she tried to explain that the voices in her own head were loud here too, and she tried to explain that back at the castle everything was so loud that the voice in her head was quiet in comparison, but that wasn't really true once she thought about it. Her own negative self-talk was always very loud. But then again, a lot of actual people with actual voices had said a lot of the things that she now found she told herself. Here she had to do it herself.

He didn't seem to really follow most of what she tried to convey, which was probably good, because she wasn't sure she believed it.

And it was probably good because they shouldn't be talking like this. They'd just established that.

Deep in thought about what she had said (or about something else, who knew?) he nodded.

She tapped his arm again to draw him out of it (why did she keep touching him?) and offered him her brightest smile. He looked down at her hand (because she still hadn't pulled it away), and a timid smile stretched across his face as well.

She put him to work hauling the bag of fertilizer.

Chapter 6

#Zelda #my fic #Silence AU

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blueskittlesart · 2 years

Note

yknow ur mention of the empty gestures of zelda’s whole purifying thing reminded me i think a lot about how fucked up it is that zelda spends all of her teenage years and i think some of her childhood standing in freezing spring water for hours completing rituals that are lost to time because her father (who cannot even BEGIN to comprehend the immense burden the actual descendants of the goddess are forced to bear) tells her that it’s the thing that’s gonna unlock it

yes i am wine drunk sorry for the inevitable typos but YES IT IS FUCKED UP. idk i go back and forth on the king like i know he wasnt malicious and his shittiness definitely comes from like a genuine desire to to right by his kingdom but he is so CRUEL to his SIXTEEN YEAR OLD DAUGHTER for NO REASON. he genuinely has no reason to think that it's her fault. that she's not trying hard enough. there could be something they haven't tried or some other underlying reason but instead of looking into that he IMMEDIATELY shifts the blame onto her despite the fact that she is a CHILD who so desperately wants his approval. it's literally the only thing she wants. she isn't even doing the rituals because she wants to save hyrule shes doing it bc maybe if she does her father will fucking love her. AGHHH FUCK THE KING ACTUALLY HOLY SHIT. AND THEN A HUNDRED YEARS LATER HES LIKE SAVE MY DAUGHTER :(( MF SHE WOULDNT NEED TO BE SAVED IF YOU WERENT SUCH A DICKHEAD

#NOT smart to answer loz asks while drunk but idc #asks

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redisaid · 10 months

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The World Will Only Darken Without Candlelight - Chapter 2

Solider, Poet, King

I’m just having some fun with this one. Been a minute since I’ve written a modern AU, much less a retelling, and I forgot that I love both of those things.

In which Link can definitely make it up to that Divine Beast on his own this time. In which Zelda gets to say fuck, several times. Also in which I accept that my estimated word count for this thing is far too low, and weep softly to myself about that.

8287 Words

Read it on Ao3!

There will come a soldier, Who carries a mighty sword, He will tear your city down. Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord.

Opening day of the renaissance faire always managed to make the chaos of rehearsal week seem worth it. Mildly worth it. Almost worth it.

But being simultaneously ambushed by the smell of caramel corn and a group of excited kids as soon as she stepped out onto the faire grounds proper served as a good reminder for Zelda of why this was supposed to be fun.

Stay in character, was her immediate reminder to herself. Something repeated to her over and over throughout her childhood. She didn’t need to remember that so ardently, but she thought it anyway.

She’d been playing the character of Princess Zelda for fifteen years, after all. She knew what to do. She could do this in her sleep.

It was something she was apparently better at than her academic career, for all her trying. Zelda wondered how her father might react if she told she wanted to be a washed up actor just like him one day. It’d always been his idea to make her a carbon copy of her mother. What a fitting punishment that would be, to offer him instead a mirror of his own failings.

A question from a little boy in her crowd of admirers broke her reverie, “Who’s that?”

Zelda looked to find the child pointing behind her.

No, not again. Rehearsal was over. Surely he’d leave her alone?

But upon following the child’s gesture, she found Link. Link, yet again five paces behind her, saying nothing and looking as lively as a sack of potatoes.

“That’s our new knight, Link. I’m sure he has something much more interesting to do than accompanying me. Don’t you have a demonstration on swordsmanship to give, Sir Link?” Zelda improvised.

She had no idea what his schedule was. He hadn’t really followed one even during a full day run-through. He’d just followed her yet again.

Link shrugged an answer to this.

“His sword is bigger than he is!” the little boy exclaimed with a clear and palpable delight. “Can we see it? Please?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until the tournament tonight,” Zelda explained, bending as much as her dress and the corset beneath it would let her. She didn’t quite make it to eye level with the little Hylian child, but it was an effort at least. “Sir Link here will be fighting to prove himself worthy as one of my Champions.”

That was enough to defer the kid to start asking his parents if they could go to the tournament. In fact, the news scattered most of the crowd with similar questions. Enough that she could move.

Enough that Zelda could send Link a venomous glare over her shoulder, and gesture for him to come walk beside her, instead of behind her, for once.

Surprisingly, he obeyed.

“I’m serious about having somewhere else to be,” she muttered under her breath as she gave another group of fairgoers her best princess wave. “Rehearsal week is one thing. I didn’t understand the purpose of it, but I let that slide. But I have a job to do. I know how to do it without your assistance. In fact, I know far better than you how to do it. Between you and me, I don’t particularly care what my father has to say about that. So, let’s both agree that you will stop following me as of today, hmm?”

She’d had many such one-sided conversations with Link in the past week. It was rather stifling to constantly have him as her shadow, but she’d tried to make the best of it. He was good for carrying things. He made a decent sounding board for opinions she didn’t want to be contradicted. He didn’t expect her to make jokes, nor would he laugh at them if she did. Her sense of humor was awful anyway. The world was a better place without it.

But that attitude was only something that lasted as far as this father-sanctioned stalking had an end date on it. And if that wasn’t the case, well, it would have to be.

To her surprise, Link seemed to process what she had to say, and nodded.

He was even shorter than her when she was wearing her heeled boots. She felt all the more regal for it, getting her way and looking down at him from the glorious three or so inches she had on him as they walked side by side.

If that wasn’t dedication to character, Zelda didn’t know what was.

“Good. If the King has a problem with it, tell him to speak with me and not to blame you. You are dismissed, Sir Link,” she said, picking up her tone and old-fashioned accent to get back into character again.

Her route, like her speech, had only changed slightly. It was easy enough to remind herself of her various destinations throughout the day as she watched Link fade into the crowd.

There was plenty of time for her to get across the faire and still greet guests and interact with them. This, of course, was her main job--to be paraded and shown off as the perfect little princess.

Nope. That would not help. Positive thoughts. Positive thoughts only.

“Revali,” she whispered, coaching her memory. “Revali first, archery demonstration.”

Secondarily, her job was to visit all the Champions in their corners of the faire, and interact with them to promote the tournament. She could do that. She could definitely do that.

Plus, sometimes it was fun to watch Revali make fun of the crowd.

Her journey to the little version of Rito Village that inhabited the western edge of the faire was relatively uneventful. She encountered a lost little Zora girl in a fairy costume and helped her find her parents. She consoled a Goron teen who’d dropped his rock dog on the dirt. As it turned out, he didn’t need the consoling. He picked it up and ate it anyway, then gave her an awkward compliment that the dirt of her kingdom was tasty.

The miniature version of historical Rito Village was as faithful a recreation that could be made both on a small scale and small budget. A large, long scenery wall had been constructed out of fiberglass and covered in fake rock texture. Onto this was mounted a sort of wooden boardwalk, and then little Rito-style open huts mounted on stilts to give the illusion they were suspended in the air. Some even had some fake snow still attached to their roofs. Nevermind that it had yellowed over the years.

But still, it was close enough to give the fantasy. Rito Village these days was, well, Rito City. Hyrule had a penchant for an extreme lack of creativity when it came to naming places. And while it still had the historical city center around the great rock spire, the opposite shore of the lake surrounding it was home to high rises and office buildings, parks and schools. Not a lot of roads, though. The Rito still flew most everywhere and had little use for cars beyond logistics.

Zelda had been there once as a child, and had spent many an hour watching the people dive from their balconies and into the air. She found herself jealous of them, wishing she too could fly away from home with such ease.

Thinking of flying had Zelda searching for Revali among the other Rito performers. His navy blue plumage was usually relatively easy to spot. He’d told her several times that it was rare for a Rito, a sign of greatness.

Sure it was.

He held court on his own little rocky spire, upon which the replica of Vah Medoh was perched. The massive fiberglass sculpture of the Divine Beast of legend loomed over the archery targets he practiced on. But it was just that, a sculpture, sitting on a tower of fake rock.

But the man, the myth, the barely tolerable asshole that Zelda knew Revali to be, was nowhere to be found at the moment.

Was she early? Surely she wasn’t. Not after the rock dog incident.

She should have tried to sneak her phone to keep the time. Zelda cursed herself for being a good little daughter in the moment of that decision and leaving it in her locker.

As she scanned the crowd, she did find one familiar face. One that made her mutter a quick and very unprincessy, “Fuck,” under her breath.

Link stood out front, right by the archery range, looking for someone.

She should have known. Mute and short and strange as he was, she’d learned over the last week that he was not stupid. Not by any means. He was still following her, but obviously had taken to memorizing her schedule to meet up with her again.

During rehearsal week, she’d tried to lose him many times with both her usual tactics and some she invented especially for him.

Zelda thought for sure that introducing him to the food vendors on the last full rehearsal day would be the end of her woes. And while Link had been momentarily distracted then, he’d only taken all of five minutes to catch up with her, turkey leg and frozen lemonade in hand.

The frozen lemonade had been for her. One of her favorites, eagerly offered with the tiniest and briefest of smiles and the shaking insistence of his skinny little arm.

How had he managed to find that out? Or order it? It had been five minutes. He didn’t speak.

Zelda had pondered all this as she enjoyed the lemonade anyway.

Link didn’t seem to see her from his position, at least. She might have had the hair-braiding stall to thank for partially obscuring her.

Good, let him look. She had at least until Revali made his appearance before she had to make hers.

As if to remind her that no, she wasn’t getting out of anything today, Revali came soaring through the air and landed just in front of Link on the demonstration stage. Zelda couldn’t be sure exactly where he came from, but she had a hunch. He liked to linger in a storeroom on the backside of Rito Village for longer than he was supposed to, with his usual excuse being that he, “didn’t feel like mingling with the riffraff today.”

But he didn’t hesitate to give Link a quick stare-down, and then immediately improvise a little monologue at him.

“Impressive, I know,” Revali said as he hopped onto the railing that separated his range from the crowd. “Very few can achieve a mastery of the sky. Yet I have made an art of creating an updraft that allows me to soar. It’s considered to be quite the masterpiece of aerial techniques, even among the Rito.”

Honestly, as much as Revali hated Link for stealing his shot at the spotlight, he was a perfect scene partner for him. Someone who didn’t speak couldn’t stop his ranting, or try to take a piece of the scene for themselves.

For his part, Link’s reaction to all this bragging was just a slight narrowing of his eyes and furrowing of his thick eyebrows.

Revali assumed a heroic pose and went on, “With proper utilization or my superior skills, I see no reason why I won’t best you in tonight’s tournament.”

“Leave the little guy alone!” a guest shouted with a wave of a beer mug, his cheeks red from clearly having enjoyed himself with it already.

It was ten in the morning. The faire had only been open for an hour. The mystery of how someone could already be that drunk was almost as unexplainable to Zelda as how Link had managed to buy her a frozen lemonade.

Revali ignored him. He was too deep into his own heckling to respond to a guest’s. “Now then, my ability to explore the firmament is certainly of note,” he continued, hopping down from the railing to pace around Link--and the small audience forming around them--on the grass around the archery range. “But let’s not--pardon me for being so blunt--let’s not forget the fact that I am the most skilled archer of all the Rito. Yet despite these truths, it seems that I have been asked to compete with the likes of you. All because you happen to have that little darkness-sealing sword on your back. I mean, it’s just…asinine.”

Revali gestured to the crowd, expecting to get some agreement. Instead, he was meant with mostly silence. A little Gerudo girl booed at him.

But, to his credit as an actor, which Zelda would rather die than tell him herself, he rolled with it, looking back to Link with a challenge and bending down to get in his face, “Unless…you think you can prove me wrong? Maybe we should just settle this one on one? But where? Oh, I know! How about up there?”

Revali gestured widely behind him, up to the looming shadow in the morning sun that was the sculpture of Vah Medoh.

Then he laughed. “Oh, you must pardon me. I forgot you have no way of making it up to that Divine Beast on your own!”

Revali then, ever the showman, took this opportunity to swoop upward, leaving Link’s hair and tunic ruffling in the wind he created to propel himself upward.

“Good luck sealing the darkness!” he taunted as he flew up the three stories of his tower with ease, landing on top of the sculpture that perched atop it with a bow.

He got a few claps here and there. A bit of confusion too.

People were honestly more interested in Link, whose stationary nature helped him seem like he was playing the part of the brave hero through all that. He’d stood perfectly still the entire time, at least. Unflinching.

Nevermind that the archery tower had a set of spiral stairs surrounding it. Vah Medoh was hollow. Zelda found a joint that Revali had hidden in it once. She’d helped repaint it two years ago. Link could very much get up there.

And maybe that’s why he looked upward as the sculpture, confused.

Revali let a little sigh slip before announcing, “Lords, Ladies, Jesters alike. The morning’s archery demonstration shall begin in a few minutes.”

And that’s precisely when Link looked away from him, and spotted Zelda.

He stuck around for the entire demonstration, watching her watch Revali and pretend to be interested in him while he pretended to be very good at this. To his credit, he was pretty good. Not perfect, but he hit most of his targets and performed his usual tricks with the flare of both a seasoned archer and performer.

That, at least, was how her dad had met Revali in the first place. He was another washed up actor, of course. He’d been on Rito soaps when he was younger, most famously playing one female lead’s evil gay cousin and stealing away her various love interests. The role had suited him quite well.

But soap operas hadn’t been trendy for decades. Zelda was two when Revali had his last show credit, or at least according to IMDB. Not that she’d been petty and looked it up one year when he was being particularly difficult to deal with. Not at all.

And when the show ended, Zelda couldn’t find any sign of Link’s blank stare. Not in the crowd around her. Not at the stall selling salmon skewers, baked apples, and sugary crepes. Not even at the bowyer’s.

Good. He had something else to do. His own schedule, surely. No need for him to follow her through her own.

---

Zelda’s hopes were dashed an hour later, when she made it to the miniature version of Goron City on the faire’s northeast side.

Because there Link stood, dwarfed next to the mass that was Daruk, as he went through a little scene of his own.

Goron City was perhaps the cheesiest of all the faire’s recreations. Death Mountain itself was represented by a massive wooden cutout that was secured to one of the old castle’s crumbling walls with some scaffolding. The shops and booths were caves, again made of fiberglass and fake rock. Sand that had been dyed an obnoxious orange was meant to represent the lava, marking paths lined with stepping stones leading up to the various attractions of the area.

But, of course, the highlight of the scenery was the sculpture of Vah Rudania that sat perched on a particularly large boulder. But Daruk had not been content to keep his Divine Beast a mere sculpture. No, he’d had to make it move.

The large robotic lizard was, well, robotic inside. That is to say, it moved its head and blew smoke out of the area that resembled a mouth. Daruk controlled all of this with a little remote he could easily hide in the palm of his massive hand.

And even though the effects seemed a bit sad to Zelda these days, she watched as the children in the crowd jumped and screamed with delight as this Divine Beast moved.

“I think I’m finally getting the hang of controlling this Divine Beast,” Daruk shouted, both to the crowd and to Link. “I’ll tell you what, it sure is a blast to have this thing at my command.”

He gave a grin and turned to Link, continuing on with, “Let those other Champions know, they better eat their gravel if they wanna keep up with Daruk!”

This actually netted him far more cheers than Revali could ever muster. Zelda wished that the Rito actor would take some hints for his character. There was a way to be confident and still be likable. Everyone liked Daruk.

“Speaking of which,” he went on as he turned and gestured to the fake mountains around the little stage beneath Vah Rudania. “Can you believe this view? Just look at all those delectable rocks sprinkled on those mountains. Mighty tasty. I’m just a humble blacksmith, and I may not know much about this tournament thing, but mark my words, I’ll represent the Gorons with all my might! Right, little guy?”

Daruk wound up the one massive hand that wasn’t curled into a fist to conceal the remote and gave Link a big slap on the back.

And Link, to his credit, only staggered forward a little bit from the sheer force of it.

Daruk let out a booming laugh as Link did his best to recover. He then turned to the young man, grinning again. “Hey, by the way. Congrats on becoming the princess’ appointed knight. That is a really big deal, protecting the king’s daughter,” he said with a nod, engulfing Link’s shoulder with his massive hand as he added, “No pressure!”

What? Appointed…what?

This was news. And apparently, a narrative reason her father had concocted for Link to be following her around.

Was she going to have to deal with him the entire summer? Day in and day out, just blankly staring at her with those infuriatingly blank blue eyes of his. Not even a thought seemed to dance behind them, yet she knew they must.

Goddess, he probably fucking hated her.

Yet there was Daruk, still going on. “Seriously, though. The princess is a strong personality--so strong she can’t quite see the range for the peaks. Remember that and you’ll be fine.”

A strong personality. Really? Really dad? Or was Daruk himself to blame for this?

Zelda was so tired of being too much and too little at the same time. She was always told she talked too much, but apparently according to that internship program, she didn’t have anything worthy to say. Aside from all these weirdos she’d grown up around at the faire, she had a hard time keeping friends. Hell, even her dating life had been difficult for these reasons. Her last girlfriend--who may have not considered such terminology mutual--had called it off after their third week together, saying simply, “I thought you’d stop, you know, trying so hard at some point.”

What was she supposed to do? All Zelda had done her entire life was try hard. And it won her nothing. Nothing except being considered a “strong personality”.

She started to storm off, but realized that she was due to attend Daruk’s blacksmithing demonstration in a few minutes.

Of which, of course, Link watched her watching. Hell, Daruk even had him come up and throw some axes he’d crafted for a bit.

Link, unlike Revali, didn’t miss a single one of his targets.

Nor did he speak, of course, but by now, it seemed more of the crowd had gotten word of this new Silent Knight, and they were loving it. Loving him.

Meanwhile, Zelda was just trying her best to get through her usual act without being too much of a “strong personality” about it.

That was the character, right? Stuck up, regal, formal princess. The Champions were vying for her favor, not her for theirs.

Though answering the question of why anyone would was where Zelda got stuck.

---

The lunch hour was Zelda’s to do with as she saw fit. On a better day, she might choose to spend it near the large congregation of food stalls at the center of the faire, greeting guests and pretending to check on the various vendors and make sure they were serving the needs of the “Lords and Ladies” who were guests at her upcoming tournament.

She’d sneak a bite to eat herself back at the dressing rooms before running out to Urbosa’s dance at around two in the afternoon, then head toward the water show in Zora’s Domain.

But on a not so great day, as this one was shaping up to be, Zelda didn’t quite have it in her to brave the lunch crowds. Nor did she take Revali’s route and hide backstage. Instead, she frequented the more boring and lesser-visited spots at the faire.

The old Great Fairy Fountain was a good spot. It was dilapidated and not quite as showy. Cotera, the buxom woman who had been playing the fairy since Zelda could remember, wouldn’t bother her and was more than willing to cover for her. When she was younger, she used to sneak a paperback in her ever-useful dress pockets and go read by the fountain. Unfortunately, the textbooks she’d brought home to study over the summer were far too large to smuggle in such a way.

However, Zelda chose option two today. The Shrine. No one ever visited the Shrine. Maybe a few teens here and there, looking to write their names inside of it with a sharpie, as so many had done before them. Maybe someone looking for a family photo op, who was willing to ignore the chipped paint of yet another fiberglass sculpture of Hyrule’s ancient history.

But no one would take notice of Princess Zelda idly admiring the Shrine or sitting on its platform for a quiet moment or two. They would just think it was part of the show.

As Zelda quickly looked over her shoulder to confirm she was alone, it became her favorite part of the show thus far. No Link in sight. He’d once again disappeared after Daruk’s demonstration.

It was almost a little shameful how she smiled at the thought of him looking for her around the food stalls or even trying to go ahead to the Gerudo quarter to find her there. Appointed Knight be damned.

Zelda appointed herself to enjoy the quiet, admiring the sculpture that nature was trying so desperately to reclaim. Here on the north side of the castle ruins, both the Shrine and the authentic ruins that surrounded it--these mostly being some columns and archways that made up an old courtyard and formal garden--were covered in moss. Tall trees, perhaps the grandchildren or great grandchildren of the trees that once stood in that historic garden swayed softly in the wind. Well, at least when they weren’t punctuated by some weird accordion music in the distance. Kass must have been nearby.

This place, this moment, felt very much in line with Zelda’s feelings on the faire. The past was fun, and not just fun, but perhaps even beautiful in its own way. All the myths and legends that surrounded this country and its history were certainly a treasure all their own. This was all a good thing to celebrate, surely. But Goddess above, did they have to do it in such a cheesy way?

Footsteps crunched on gravel. Only very lightly, very slightly. The footsteps of a small person who was trying to keep quiet.

Footsteps that Zelda had become all too familiar with.

“I thought I made it clear that I am not in need of an escort,” she said as she turned to face Link, then found herself walking right up to him.

He stared back at her.

She hated this. She hated that he was always looking at her. Mister Perfect. Mister doesn’t miss any of his targets. Mister somehow has all the personality of a dead fish, yet still draws the crowd’s attention with ease. No wonder father favored him enough to make him this year’s winner. He could do it all without even trying.

All while she burnt herself out time and time again, trying too hard.

“It seems I’m the only one with a mind of my own,” Zelda went on, looking away just briefly enough to confirm that there were enough guests close by that she had to keep this rant in character. Very well, challenge accepted. If they wanted a strong personality, she’d give them one. “I, the person in question, am fine, regardless of the king’s orders.”

For a moment, just a moment still, Link’s face changed. His eyebrows knit just slightly closer together. His eyes seemed to soften from stony neutrality. A tiny bit of a frown seemed to tug at the corner of his lips.

Well, what did he expect? She was supposed to be difficult. And if he hadn’t intended to stop following her, he should not have agreed to her request that morning.

Too bad.

Zelda walked past him, making sure to brush his shoulder with hers. Well, more like her upper arm.

Short. Short, mute, annoying. Bane of her summer with his stupid little wolf tail and stupid, piercingly blue eyes.

“Return to the castle,” she said, giving her most regal of orders to her wayward knight. “And tell that to my father, please.”

She heard him turn around, pivot and start jogging to catch up with her.

Zelda didn’t look back as she added one last demand that she was quite certain wouldn’t be followed--both for script reasons and whatever plan it was that her father was trying to act out with this nonsense, “And stop following me!”

---

Gerudo Town was perhaps the most faithful recreation of the various ancient racial capitals that the faire had to offer. Which, was perhaps a better way of saying it had been the easiest to recreate. Yet even more fiberglass and steel had served as a foundation for yet more fake rock texture to masquerade as the adobe buildings of the desert tribe. Water too, was easy, as were tile mosaics to cover the channels in which it ran. The fake palm trees, though, Zelda thought maybe they could do without. Still, they had their purpose.

Vah Naboris stood in the center of it all, surrounded by jewelry shops and tailors and a traditional massage parlor. The great camel’s two cage-like humps now served as a stage for belly dancers, and for a show combining swordplay and dancing that Zelda was far too early for.

Early enough for Urbosa to spot her, snatch her, and immediately drag her backstage. She was under some much needed shade behind the replica of the chieftain’s palace, with a bottle of water being pressed into her hands in mere minutes.

“Drink,” was Urbosa’s first command.

“I don’t have heat stroke again, I promise,” Zelda informed her, but took a sip away.

“Then why are you all flushed, little bird? You’re as pink as a ripe voltfruit,” Urbosa said, poking to her cheek with concern.

Zelda pushed away her hand. “I ran here. Power-walked, really. Still being very princessy about it, I assure you. I was trying to get away from Link,” she explained. “Urbosa, please, I should have asked this earlier and realized how stupid I am just now, but--”

“--You’re not stupid.”

“Stop that for just a second all right? Let me ask my question. You can be all positive and wise and motherly about your answer later,” Zelda attempted to defer. “For now, can you just tell me if Link is supposed to follow me all day?”

Urbosa’s face twisted in confusion. Enough to make Zelda almost want to laugh at the ridiculousness of this, but not enough to make her look any less beautiful. No, decked out in her garb that was fit for both fighting and dancing, complete with traditional blue lipstick, Urbosa was nothing short of stunning.

“I thought you knew.”

Zelda only groaned in response.

“Drink your water,” was Urbosa’s sage advice to that, as if proper hydration would fix anything.

“All day! All day Urbosa! I’m supposed to deal with him all day, every day? Just staring at me all day?” Zelda asked, wanting very much to throw the water bottle instead.

“Quiet now,” Urbosa warned. “Or you’ll spook the guests and the sand seals alike. But, I don’t understand. Rhoam told me he ran all this by you. He said you’d be thrilled at this new storyline.”

“It’s a fucking fairy tale,” Zelda muttered, crunching the water bottle in her fist a little feeling the plastic biting into her palm as it formed a sharp edge. A little water spilled from the top onto her fingers, but she ignored it. “Captain historical accuracy decided to go whole hog on a fairy tale so I could get stared at all day by some weird mute who--”

“He’s not mute.”

“--What?”

“He’s not mute,” Urbosa repeated. “I’ve seen him talking to Rhoam. He can speak. He just usually chooses not to. As someone who chooses to speak her mind perhaps too often, I was hoping you could be understanding of that.”

“Well, obviously he can speak,” Zelda course-corrected. “But still.”

“Listen, little bird,” Urbosa said, steadying Zelda by the shoulder with one hand and taking the bottle from her before she could crush it more. “It was wrong for your dad not to tell you, yes. You have every reason to be angry about that. I’m angry about it too. But, that’s not going to help anything. The show must go on, hmm?”

Zelda took a deep breath. Funny how Urbosa’s voice had such a soothing quality to it. Irrational and silly if she thought about it for too long, but still soothing.

But she was right. She was always right. She’d been right ever since Zelda had known her, long before the faire had even started.

Because Urbosa hadn’t been one of her father’s list of odd characters. No washed up actor. Not even a lost soul that happened to be looking for work in the area.

No, Urbosa had been her mother’s friend. Not her father’s.

So, for her, Zelda nodded through another deep breath.

“Now, calm down, take a rest back here. No one will come looking for you. I’ll keep your dad and Link away for a while. You’re smart. You’re very smart, Zelda. You are and you know it, so don’t argue with me,” Urbosa threatened. “Take a break and think about it for a moment. Think about your options. And I’ll certainly be thinking about what I have to say to your father about this.”

“I’d rather not have to think about any options,” was Zelda’s reply, but the words seemed childish and petulant as soon as they left her mouth.

So much so that she didn’t even remember falling asleep in the shade, sitting on a discarded rug that would have to be clean enough not to make Purah come after her for abusing her costume.

She stirred from this inadvertent nap, squinting at the sun to try to determine the time. It wasn’t too far in the sky. Maybe still before the dance?

She was never good at this shit anyway. Historical reenactment too, she could add to her list of many failures. What kind of renaissance woman was she, if she couldn’t tell the time by the sun?

But what she could tell were familiar footsteps, this time on the packed earth that made up the ground behind the Gerudo Town facade. Not the click of Urbosa’s heels, but again, soft and light. Trying their best to make as little noise as possible.

Zelda slammed her eyes shut again. She’d rather be caught sleeping on the job than deal with him again so soon.

Only it was Urbosa’s smooth voice that had an answer to Link’s approach. “Ah well, you certainly got here fast. I should have expected as much.”

It was only then that Urbosa’s heels did make impact with the hardened dirt as she stepped close to Zelda. Protectively close.

Even in her feigned sleep and seeming lack of witness to him, Link chose not to reply.

So Urbosa went on, “She wore herself out, trying to get away from you. Still as the sands now. So, spill it boy. Have you two been getting along all right?”

What was the point of even asking? Urbosa knew Zelda’s answer on the subject. And she’d said herself that Link would most likely not choose to volunteer one on his own.

Still, she asked. She gave him the opportunity. And Link still said nothing.

“It’s okay, I know,” Urbosa told him after a moment, letting a little chuckle slip before adding, “Your silence speaks volumes. She gets frustrated every time she looks up and sees you getting praise. It makes her feel like a failure when it comes to her own role here. But don’t worry. It’s not like you carry the blame for any of this.”

Zelda loved Urbosa with all of her heart. She really did. She thought of her as a second mother. She’d grown up beside her, guided by her. Hell, she texted and called Urbosa a lot more than she did her dad. And Urbosa was always happy with her achievements, never pushing her to do more. Never criticizing.

But damn if she didn’t have a bad habit of psychoanalyzing the ever-loving shit out of everyone she met.

Zelda was beginning to regret her decision to fake sleep now.

“She’s put in more than enough work,” Urbosa went on. “Ever since she was a young girl, she’s just tried to make her father proud of her. She once passed out from heat stroke doing this stupid bit we used to do with a magic spring. And what did she get to show for it? Rhoam yelling at her afterward for ruining the scene.”

Zelda remembered that, unfortunately. It had only been five years ago. What a way to spend her seventeenth birthday, getting screamed at and over in the ER, as both her father and Urbosa argued with her and each other about whose fault it all was.

“That’s what’s motivating her to try as hard as she always does. To care as much as she does,” Urbosa offered in explanation. “I’d be doing the same thing. But, she really is quite special, you know. You be sure to protect her, you hear me?”

Protect her? From what? Handsy drunks? Tripping over a guest’s shabby costume? Forgetting her lines?

What in all of Hyrule would Link need to protect her from at the fucking renaissance faire?

Urbosa turned, likely looking toward the exit they’d ducked into earlier. “It’s nearly time for the show. Best I wake her. Your choice if you want to be seen here or not, boy.”

Link, for all his silence, made that choice loud and clear. He did not move.

“Suit yourself,” Urbosa said, then bent down to shake Zelda awake.

She put on her best acting to ensure she seemed to be truly surprised to find them both interrupting her nap. “Urbosa!” Zelda said as she stirred, then looked over to Link to find him staring back at her, as usual. “Wait, what--how did you--what are you doing here?”

Urbosa let forth a deep chuckle at that, then less-than-subtle a reminder, “It’s nearly showtime. Would you two care to watch me dance?”

---

After Urbosa’s advice, Link seemed to have seen fit to avoid Zelda. She didn’t see him in Gerudo Town, even if he would have been easy fodder for the guards there to pick on for being a voe. He wasn’t hiding from her in any place she would have chosen to lay low. Not the sand seal stables, nor at the bar. Well, they probably wouldn’t let him in there anyway, with how much he looked like a teen.

Short, scrawny, annoying, and yes, she had proof now that he was a coward.

Good, let him run. Maybe he’d go back to her father for her, save her the trip. Because that’s where she headed after this--straight to the replica castle within the ruins of the real castle to give him a piece of her mind.

But first, the damn water show.

Zora’s Domain sat barely suspended over the most shallow pool possible. It was…an effort, certainly, at getting the look of the actual thing right. And while Zelda had to admit that building a city suspended over a lake by elegant pillars, cascading with waterfalls would have been a feat well beyond the budget of the faire, this was still a rather lame attempt at it.

At least the sculpture of Vah Ruta seemed semi-functional, spraying a constant stream of water out its trunk from its vantage point on top of a replica of Ploymus Mountain so short that it made Link seem like he too was making an effort at tallness.

Link, who was perched atop said Vah Ruta, on said fake mountain, sitting next to Mipha as she mimed healing his arm.

“Fucker,” Zelda muttered to herself as she got to watch yet another of these sickly little scenes unfold.

“I was thinking,” Mipha began. The small red Zora was just about Link’s height. For once, the scenery and his partner doing something to make him seem less miniscule. “This reminds me of the time we first met. You were just a reckless child, always getting yourself hurt at every turn. Every time, I would heal you. Just as I’m doing right now.”

Great. Just wonderful. Amidst all this cheese, they were going to play Mipha as being some childhood friend turned love interest? Zelda was half-tempted to call Revali over and ask if he’d seen this shit--if it reminded him of his days on the Rito soaps.

“I thought it was funny how, being a Hylian, you looked grown-up so much faster than I did.” Mipha’s delivery was as saccharine as the script.

Zelda found that she had to admit that this was the perfect thing to do with her. The perfect way to draw interest to her character again. Rowdy guests only had so much patience for a mostly pacifist version of a Champion, who had been given the win a scant few times by virtue of her compassion and grace. Being a googly-eyed love interest was at least something different.

“I was always willing to hear your wounds,” Mipha went on, looking up to gaze at Link with doe eyes straight out of a grocery store romance novel. “Even back then.”

This was some sort of cue, enough to make Link stop miming being healed and pull away. He examined his arm, making a show of it having been magically mended.

In reality, Zelda actually did like Mipha. She was a little shy and reserved, but a nurse by trade. A travel nurse to be precise. Her passion had always been for the ren faire, though, and for promoting Zora culture and history. So she worked as a nurse in the colder months, and came back to Castle Town year after year, ready to once again teach about the ancient ways of her long-lived people.

“So, if this tournament does happen tonight, what can we really do? We’ll be up against one another, you realize. But know this, no matter how difficult your battles may be, or who they may be with, I will heal you. No matter how bad the wound,” Mipha said, looking away again, out over the audience and offering a conflicted nod that had even Zelda convinced of her concern. “I hope you know that I will always protect you. Once this whole thing is over, maybe things can go back to how they used to be when we were young.”

But the last line had Zelda almost retching for the sickly sweetness of it.

“You know, perhaps we could spend some time together,” Mipha said with a sad little smile.

But the crowd was eating it up, full of a mixture of aws and applause at the scene.

Only a whistle distracted Zelda from her disgust.

She turned to find a familiar Zora, a similar shade of red to Mipha, but easily three or four times as large.

“Good day, Princess Zelda!” Sidon beamed as he announced, far too loudly and far too exuberantly for her to hope to blend into the crowd any longer. “May I interest you in some fine Zora wares before the water show begins?”

Sidon was Mipha’s younger brother, in the Zora equivalent of his late teens. His massive shark-like grin and constant aura of positivity were too much for Zelda sometimes, but at least he meant well.

And he sold ice cream. Hardly a traditional Zora treat, but damn if he wasn’t proud of it. Mipha had landed him this job, of course, and if there was anyone at the faire that matched Mipha’s genuine passion for it, it was her very tall and very loud brother.

“Uh, no thank you good sir,” she offered, waving her hand.

To his credit, Sidon only tried to sell her ice cream in character three more times during the water show.

---

Hyrule Castle within the ruins of the castle was, well, a cinderblock building that yet another fiberglass facade had been built on top of. Because her father just had to make himself an office that was shaped like a castle, and occasionally step out from it onto a balcony to wave at the adoring crowds. Owning the ruins of an actual, real, historical and intrinsically interesting castle wasn’t enough. No, everyone had to know he was the king.

The king of her anger, Zelda decided.

She’d moved past putting the blame on Link. He was just following orders, surely. He didn’t have to be so annoying about it, or good at secretly tailing her, or somehow wildly successful and engaging with his silent acting. But, he was still just following orders.

No, she was going to lay the blame where it belonged. Zelda had time before the tournament preparations began. Usually, this was her dinner break, but dinner be damned. She wasn’t going to be followed around for three whole months.

She made her way to the door of the office, finding it closed. Muffled voices sounded from inside. Definitely her father’s baritone, and another she couldn’t make out. Probably Impa or Purah.

So Zelda didn’t even hesitate as she turned the knob on the door and peeked in.

But she did as soon as she saw that it was Link speaking to her father.

The office was large and cluttered--littered with decades of old props that had no better place to be stored or no reason other than sentiment to be kept. Among them was an old floral-patterned couch that Zelda felt she’d spent years of her life on. She would wait there as a child while Rhoam presided over his little mock kingdom, speeding through her summer reading list or doing crosswords or playing video games on her handheld.

“What a patient child,” people would say. “What a good girl you have there.”

Not anymore.

But for all the distance between the desk where the two men stood and the door, and all the crap in-between, Zelda couldn’t make out what Link was saying.

His voice was too soft, too gentle. Just barely above a whisper. Enough not to seem weird, but, you know, still kind of weird.

Rhoam however, had no such lack in volume as he answered what seemed like a question. “I warned you she’d be difficult about it. You said it wouldn’t be a problem.”

Ah, great, another conversation happening about her that she wasn’t meant to hear. Zelda was about done with this. She was more than ready to hang it up and go home and not speak to her father for at least a week. She was ready for another very long, very hot shower and perhaps another ill-advised amount of late night pizza.

But she still had that damn tournament to sit through.

Link shrugged to this, shoulders sinking afterward in an oddly honest gesture of defeat.

“Listen, boy, I wouldn’t ask this of you if I had anyone else that could do it. Beyond you and Urbosa, I just don’t trust anyone else with this,” Rhoam went on, reaching out to grab Link’s shoulder. “But I know what you can do. I know she’s in good hands. And I trust you. I trust you do what’s right for all of us.”

What was he even talking about? Her father had the air of a man defeated. Even in the ostentatious glory of his king costume, he looked almost…deflated. A popped balloon. A spilled box of popcorn. A dropped ice cream cone, its contents merely a smudge of melted pink upon the pavement.

Nevermind that Zelda had seen all of those things on her way to the castle.

Link nodded to this, seeming to perk up a little.

“I’ll have a talk with her. I don’t know what I can say that she won’t pick apart, but it’s best she doesn’t know for now. I love my Zelda more than anything. I may not be the best at showing it, but I do. And if I know her, she’ll be on this like a dog on a bone,” Rhoam explained. “She’ll try to fix things. But this isn’t something she can fix. No, it’s better she doesn’t know.”

Link said something in reply to this, gesturing outward with his hands. It was the most lively she’d ever seen him.

“I understand your concern, son, but the cops would just shut us down. I can’t have that. For your sake, my sake, and the sake of all the people that work here and depend on this faire to get by, I can’t have that,” was Rhoam’s answer.

The cops? What? What was going on? What was he hiding?

Zelda must have leaned too much onto the door in her outrage, and the hinge squeaked loudly, alerting both Link and her father to her presence.

“Ah, speaking of my princess,” Rhoam said, beckoning her in. “We were just, um, we were just talking about you. Why don’t you come in and have a chat with me and Link here?”

No, that was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do right now. Her father was hiding something from her. Her newly appointed combination of a scene partner and bodyguard was in on it. And so was Urbosa.

Of all the betrayals, hers stung the deepest. No wonder she’d said something weird to Link about protecting her. Protecting her from what?

Zelda had the right to know, but she was very much done with being talked over and around. It made her feel like she was back in that ER again, crying her eyes out and being made to feel guilty for everything. For not being strong enough. For not being, well enough.

For being too much.

“I…I was looking for something for Purah. Seems it’s not here. I’ll leave you two to it,” Zelda offered as a cover, and quickly saw herself out.

She went to just about the only place she was guaranteed to be left alone at the faire. The castle had another room, not as nice or large as her father’s office. Not even really all that functional. Atop a rickety set of spiral stairs that made even Revali’s look structurally sound was a little tower on the western side of the castle. It had a room all its own, a high-walled balcony of sorts that Zelda’s father had constructed for her so she could wave from it when she was younger.

But the high walls of her tower top room made for a good place to hide. Grown as she was now, twenty-fucking-one years old to be exact, she barely fit up here anymore. But still, she curled into herself enough to make it work.

Zelda took deep, steadying breaths. One after the other. Counting to ten, then one-hundred. Then thinking about the book she’d been reading about the mysterious Zonai culture of prehistoric Hyrule. Then thinking about how she could find this out, how she could understand what was going on, or get someone to at least just tell her.

And by the time sunset began to paint the sky in orange, marking her nearly overdue for the tournament, she had a plan.

#zelda #breath of the wild #zelink #fanfic #the world will only darken without candlelight #this baby can fit so many rewrites of memory cutscenes into it #in which i also speedrun zelda being mean to link so i can get to them being cute faster #i promise that isn't going to last much longer

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1tsjusty0u · 19 days

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another quastion. how does zelda feel about the castle. pre and post calamity. have people gone into the castle after the calamity and could she sense them/how does her telepathy work/what can she see if anything

HM!!!

ok so. this had me rethink a Lot about my zelda because. trying to tie her into the story and/or give her thematically relevant motives/problems is Specifically Hard with the theme i chose (if you can even call it a theme). and also i had to go over what she would actually think in her situation and it. not really tying into how she thought of it beforehand. im still going over it honestly and canon botw makes this so much harder why did they Do That…. this especially complicates her father and hers relationship at least from normal fandom standards but at the very least i can deal with that

castle time ok!!! pre cal its mostly just her house. one that has stupid rules sometimes but otherwise shes doing pretty great!!! the sheikah tech are extremely abundant near the castle, both seen in the memories (including the champions dlc memory) but also makes sense given where the sheikah tech was buried to begin with. her relationship with her father gets. More Strained as time goes on. to be clear he does care for her and the whole reason he bans her from the tech in a memory is so she can prove to everyone how she isnt a failure. the problem with that though is that he prohibits her only real solution to her powers, the one tangible thing that Can stop the calamity. id also feel like at he end of conversations he would ask about her training which could lead to arguments. shes still able to infodump things to him (only really more towards the beginning though), which he takes more to heart once hes dead. and he kind of has to unban her from the sheikah tech at one point, nearing the calamitys arrival. it leads to a Hell of an argument from both of them because he Wants to keep her banned or grounded more than ever before, but well. circumstances have changed. but back on topic castle wise everythings chill. most of the knights or soldiers cant go into the castle having like. 2 rooms where they are allowed, and the guards are just like maids and such to her. theyre there and they dont intrude Too Much. gestures to the post she doesnt want to Not be a princess she doesnt want to be a Failure of a princess, and the castle doesnt really remind her much of that. her room might..? but theres no signs to that when you go into it when its broken and such. there isnt even a goddess statue in there. so. yeah! i may add that? BUT ANYWAYS.

post cal!!! mixed feelings. on one hand? Anger. anger that the calamity revived There, angry that it came early when she was so close, angry that the payoff she hoped for never came and she had to do all of that only for the castle to get destroyed and 100 years to pass and her friends to die. she doesnt think she did it for nothing, but shes Close to thinking that just by proxy of how events happened. she needs to go in there eventually to retrieve Her Stuff (plushies, printed photos that werent taken by purah, diagrams, books etc) and it just. messes a bit with her how everything is destroyed and how the grass and trees are all dead from malice and guardians. if she rebuilt the monarchy she’d likely leave the old castle in ruins, building another one in a different location, leaving the old one as a monument of sorts to What Happened. she wouldnt view everything as her or links failure she’d just view it as a stupid stupid moment that didnt have to happen but did anyways. especially because she Has Her Powers Now. she got to the springs she has her powers shes a Princess. she didnt fail at what she was supposed to do, its just her monarchy is a failure rather than her if that makes sense??????????? she has no place to Be a princess after she spent so long trying to be one. an ending that wasnt worth it. so the castle is generally unpleasant to be around. shes upset about everything being destroyed but also pretty mad about it. she keeps it there more to hurt herself than anything else. she thinks its a reminder and in part it is its just not a useful reminder of any kind . not to say the monarchy was good mind you just the circumstances in which it got destroyed, Especially For Her, werent great!

people have gone into the castle after the calamity!! or at least before link wakes up but during when zelda is still fending ganon off. that mostly aligns with canon surprisingly as npcs can tell you how they Used to be able to get into the castle for gear but now theres monsters all over the place. i think that ganons malice was still there and the cocoon was also still there he just was less actively fending off the castle because there was no need. priorities 🔥🔥🔥. i..! think she could sense them, but not really realize it was them for lack of a better word. like she knew someone was in the castle but she either was A not able to focus on it too much or at all or B could focus on it but had no idea What It Was. like it couldve just been a feeling when someone was in the castle but she’d have no idea thats what that feeling came from if that makes sense. once link wakes up shes able to focus on other things more outwardly but still focuses more on ganon. her telepathy i think works based on ganon and sheikah tech alerts :] like for example theres apparently a control unit for the towers underneath the castle. if ganon was using that accidentally then zelda would also have a tie to that just by proxy of being eaten by him. its like. she could visually see or audibly hear something change, and that goes for when the divine beasts yell when you come near them and she warns you of them if you havent talked to impa or when ganon yells when you come to the castle. she was able to wake you up to do the shrine of resurrection letting out an alert of some kind. how it works or even if its connected to the castle at all i dont know though. maybe a hivemind or a message system like the divine beasts? where the shr actually the shrine of resurrection Is Technically a divine beast so it could absolutely have a messaging/alert system. how it gets to the castle i have no idea. either the castle is also a divine beast or theres a main control unit under there. or the alerts from the SoR get broadcasted across the main tech that needs it, though i dont know why theyd do that… but the tower is more straightforward thats connected to the castle. the five minutes after playing she just has no idea what links doing and tells him to head there out of necessity . the divine beasts yells are just Loud and more loud to her specifically because ganon has a hand in that. ganon yelling is self explanatory. how shes able to talk to link telepathically to begin with ? no clue. it probably has something to do with whatever her powers are or how zeldas of the past were able to use telepathy, but its more likely just a result of her powers. i think she more or less found out via ganon though. either he can also do that or she just. kind of Had To after being eaten.

for what she sees….! thats tough. i saw a comic once that had zelda be able to see through hylia statues, which is cool however thats kind of bogging her down to being hylia 2.0 which. she isnt. and also considering her Issues with hylia i almost feels mean. she Could be able to see through the divine beasts possibly ? whether im doing that is up for debate though. Though it could make for some accidental horror? like having a divine beast constantly Facing Your Direction no matter how far away you are, or when its moving in a circle it suddenly just doesnt turn and either stands and stares at you or goes towards your direction. horrifying and i dont think zelda would be able to do that (more looking through them rather than controlling them) but i like divine beast horror. anyways considering the divine beasts have consciousness? i dont know if she’d be able to. do that. like hijack it just to see whats happening

inside ganon she can actually see things.! not from the outside mind you but its not just pitch black. whether its a different world, pure malice, just sheikah tech, is up to debate. or up to how i design it honestly i need to figure . that out. but yeag. i shall draw it once i have an idea of it

also please note how she feels about the castle is . Subject To Change. i feel like a conspiracy theorist trying to make her work here. but for now!!!!! yeah!!!!!! im going to try to expand her when i expand the champions. or when i decide how the relationships are going to work and what works better . 👍

#wreath of the bild #HI. THIS WAS TOUGHER THAN IT SHOULDVE BEEN

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zeldaelmo · 1 year

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I'm collaborating with the wonderful @bahbahhh who creates a piece of art for this story!

Excerpt from 'Dismissed'

"Ah, Sir Link. I appreciate your swift arrival." The King gestured toward his desk and Link approached his usual spot, the thick carpet swallowing the sound of his steps.

"The matter I have to discuss today with you is a bit surprising to me, but it is what it is."

A frown crept on Link's forehead, but he smoothed it out immediately. The King usually only talked in crisp orders to him, at least here in his study. On the training field, he allowed himself a much looser tongue, but here, he was King, and head of the army.

Link narrowed his eyes, watching the King folding his hands on his desk and tapping them on the wood a few times, pressing fingers on the respective knuckles on the other hand. He shifted, just an inch so that the King wouldn't notice. The King’s agitated gestures made him twitchy, it was unlikely for the man who liked to brag about the fact that he was the sovereign under whose reign Calamity Ganon was beaten to fidget.

"Sir Link. You fulfilled the service as my daughter's appointed knight with great vigor and even greater diligence. I can not thank you enough in the name of the Kingdom but as her father, too, for saving her life on so many occasions."

Link pressed his toes to his boots, the rest of his body standing still like an oak resisting a winter storm. What on Hylia's green earth was this about? He had gotten a shiny medal for his deeds, hadn't that been accompanied by enough commendation already?

"So, it is with tremendous sorrow that I have to follow her wish and release you from your appointment. I have an equally important responsibility for you, of course, one that is befitting for a man of your abilities. I thought about you building up a special forces team with the other races, but we can discuss the details after the holidays."

"What?" The word didn't slip out, no, it crashed from his tongue into the King's study like a Boulder Breaker.

"You asked for a few days off to visit your family for Hylia's Day?"

"No, I mean, yes, I did." Irritated, Link shook his head, protocol to be damned. "What did Princess Zelda ask you?"

The King lined up a stack of folders, drove his thumb over the edge, and met his eyes. "She asked me to dismiss you as her guard."

#wip Wednesday #age of calamity #zelink #legend of zelda #zeldaelmo writes

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silentprincess17 · 1 year

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Congrats! Good job making it to 350 and I hope you'll get more attention in the near future. For the zelink prompts, maybe BotW zelink in the castle gardens. Again, congratulations.

Hi @zeldalinkohmy! Thank you so much! Very kind of you :)

So I've gone with children!zelink and this is their first time meeting in the castle gardens. Kindly beta read by @zeldaelmo :) AO3 link:

A surprise encounter

Zelda tugged the stupid pink ribbons out of her hair. They were too tight and she wanted her hair to fly! Fly in the wind like the Sheikah, all secretive and shadowy like Impa taught her. Maybe the Sheikah tied their hair back, actually. Oh well, it didn’t matter, she was going to be a hair-flying Sheikah warrior –

Bang!

Zelda tumbled to the floor, falling on top of a green blur. Some Sheikah warrior she was.

She heaved herself up using her palms and then stared at said green blur which had tackled her.

A pair of startled blue eyes with wispy blonde hair, half of which was tucked inside a strange cone green hat, and blue hoops – did boys wear earrings?!

Wait – she was missing the obvious!

“Who are you? How did you get here? What do you want? What’s your name? How come you're in the castle gardens? How old are you?”

The boy blinked, before a blush crept across his face. Did he… not know how to speak? Was she –

Zelda looked down. Ah. She was still lying on top of him. Maybe she was squishing him. Or maybe boys got shy about that kind of thing. She wouldn’t know, all her friends were girls.

She pulled herself up fully, and held out a hand to him. “My name is Zelda. Sorry. I like to ask a lot of questions.”

He nodded, still blushing, as he held her hand. “My name is Link.”

Huh. “Like the Hero?”

“Maybe? I don’t know. I um. I’m sorry I forgot your other questions.”

She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, want to play? I’m being a Sheikah warrior at the minute.”

His eyes lit up. “Oh!” He opened his pouch and pulled out a plastic frog. “You know they say one of the Sheikah’s powers is to launch frog missiles?”

Zelda’s eyes were huge. “Really?”

“Yeah! I visited Kakariko village once, with my dad. They had these stone frog statues everywhere. You give them all an apple, and then –” He stuttered, and the blush started up again.

“What happens?”

“Well – dad didn’t believe what I said.”

“Adults are stupid sometimes. My father doesn’t believe most of what I say either.”

Link’s eyebrows raised sky high, his mouth an open gaping hole. “Did you just call your dad stupid?”

Zelda cast a quick glance around. “Don’t go telling anyone!”

He burst out laughing. “I won’t. See, this is what happened, a little brown…” He made some motions with his hands, gesturing the size, “blob? With a face made of a leaf? Appeared. It talked too! It said I had found it.”

Zelda leaned closer. “And then?”

“And then it smiled and hung around. Until someone moved the apples and it disappeared again.”

“We must investigate Link! This could be a new species! We have statues in our castle gardens. Maybe… Maybe it’s not only frogs?”

Link nodded, and she realised she had never let go of his hand. Well, it proved useful now, as she tugged him across to the Zen Zone of the garden, where Hylia’s statues were placed.

“But Zelda we need apples!”

She stopped. “Oh, you’re right. Wait, let’s go this way first then.” They hurried into the orchard instead, and suddenly, a worker came into view. Sheikah warrior mode activate!

She pulled Link behind the vines, and he stumbled, opening his mouth to question her but she slapped her hand on top. With the other, she motioned to the man, whispering, “Link, we need to sneak past him to reach the apples on the far left. Any ideas?”

He looked around, before settling on a row of terracotta pots lined up against the wall. He leaned closer to her ear and it tickled! She had to stop herself laughing! “We can use those!”

“Yes but how? We can’t just smash –” He was nodding violently. “Really? But won’t he see?”

“Zelda, on my signal, we each run and grab a pot. This orchard is in rows. So what we’ll do is we each pick a different row to hide in. We smash the pot on a count of ten, and then we leg it to the apples, whilst he’s distracted.”

“Okay! Let’s do this!”

They watched and waited, for the worker to disappear, before scrambling towards the pots and splitting to go into a different aisle.

One, two, three… Ten!

Zelda smashed her pot, running under the foliage as fast as she could, grabbing her hair into a fist so it wouldn’t get tangled. Link was right beside her, and he climbed the tree, throwing apples she caught in the folds of her skirt. A ruckus kicked up in the centre of the orchard, and Zelda made hurrying motions to Link.

Soon enough, they had ten, and Link quickly descended. Zelda directed him to a secret door, covered in green that led to them making a speedy escape.

They burst out laughing as they re-entered the Zen Zone, safe from the screams and questions echoing from behind them.

“That was so much fun! It’s so relieving to smash pots, Link!”

He nodded. “Right? I always break pots.”

“Where do you get them?”

He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. “Uh, let’s just say a lot of places. Zelda, I can help carry some apples now if you want.”

Changing the topic! Oooh! She smirked, giving him half the apples. “Can we go to one of your ‘places’ next time we meet Link?”

He choked, blushing bright red. “O-okay Zelda.”

“Silly bean! You’re so easy to tease.”

He flushed brighter red, and fiddled with the end of his cap.

They rounded the stone cobbled pathways, and the large hedges for walls slowly curled down, the decorative flowers subsided. The semi-maze was replaced with an open air valley, featuring flowing water pathways and giant lilies.

A series of waterfalls provided the backdrop for Hylia’s statue, featuring a tall woman with a smile etched onto her face.

“Here She is Link. Do you know about Hylia?”

“This is Hylia?”

Zelda frowned. “Why? Do you know of another Hylia?”

“Um. I… Well, we aren’t very religious but…” He struggled, “I just– I assumed she’d be… prettier?”

Zelda burst out laughing. “She’s meant to be wise and all knowing!”

“She’s also a Goddess!”

“And what? Goddesses are meant to be pretty?”

He side-eyed her. “Yes? Have you never seen the plays about The Golden Goddesses? They’re like… sparkling. And if they made Hylia I assume she’d look nicer than this… stone… version.”

“Ohhh I get what you mean now. I don’t think this is a real life representation, Link. I assume she was more majestic than this.”

“That’s the word! Ma-jes-tic.”

“Just for your future reference Link, majestic does not equate to pretty.”

He slumped his hands onto his face. “Words aren’t my thing, Zelda.”

She ruffled his hat. “It’s okay, we’re friends now so I can help.”

He smiled, nodding. “Let’s try it Zelda!” He cried, before grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the statue.

“Shall we both put one in? Is it in the bowl at her feet?”

Link nodded again, and they tentatively placed two apples inside.

A wooden whimchime rang out, “YAHAHA! You found me!”

Zelda squeaked, “It’s real!”

Link clapped his hands. “It worked!”

They fell to their knees to investigate the weird brown apparition further. The little creature was so cute! Its face flipped between Link and Zelda. “Hero! Princess! Hello!”

Zelda blinked. “You can talk to us?”

“Wait– Princess? Hero?”

“One at a time! Or I’ll get confused!” It did a little dance, the twig in its hand holding a red berry shook with enthusiasm.

Zelda swallowed. She suddenly realised she’d never told Link who she was. But still! He had rubbed off her Hero comment hadn’t he? “What is your name?”

“I am Zafa! A Korok! You can have this seed, pretty Princess!”

Oof. She was going to get caught at this rate! “Thank you. If I may ask, what is a Korok?”

“We are wood creatures! The Deku tree is our creator. We live in the Korok Forest!” Zafa replied, in a sing song voice.

Link chipped in. “So how come you’re here? And in Kakariko?”

“We’re everywhere! It’s called seed dispersal Hero!”

Link frowned. “But don’t you miss home?”

Zafa sunk a little, his twig dipping to the floor. “Yes. But Hero and Princess together makes me happy! It’s nice to have visitors.”

Zelda’s heart hurt for this little creature, and she offered him another apple. “Do you like apples? Or should I bring a different fruit?”

“Apples are Zafa’s favourite! Thank you! I will go now, bye!”

“Wait–” But Zafa had already disappeared, in a rush of sparkles.

They blinked before shrugging at each other. Zelda crossed her legs in front of Hylia, and offered an apple to Link, who also repositioned himself more comfortably. “That was so cool! I wonder why Zafa left.”

“Maybe he needs rest in between apparitions?”

“It’s strange that he’s never showed up before. We always put food by Hylia…”

“Could it be that he'll only appear with apples?”

Zelda’s eyes widened. “Oh you are definitely right. We’ve never offered apples. It’s always really fancy things.”

Link nodded sagely, and bit into his apple.

“Hey, Link, we should continue this investigation, but I’ll have classes soon. Are you staying in the castle or…?”

He shook his head. “My dad’s a Knight. So I follow him around, and today he was in the castle. But… I think we’ll be going to Zora’s Domain tomorrow.”

“And then you’ll come back?”

He hesitated, hand absently rubbing his neck. “I– I don’t know. I’ll try but…”

Oh… tears pricked at Zelda’s eyes and she wasn’t even sure why. Well, maybe she did know. It was rare to have friends and the one she’d managed to make, was already leaving. “I’ll bunk then. We’ve got to make the most of today, eh, Hero?”

“Are you Princess Zelda?” She spluttered on her apple and he knocked hard on her back. “Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine, yes. And… yes. I am.”

She eyed him closely, but all he did was nod. “You’re super smart and really cool so it makes total sense.” Wait, he didn’t describe her looks? That was – “Hey does that mean I’m famous?”

She frowned, derailed from her thoughts. “Why?”

“I know the most famous person in the country!”

“But that doesn't make you famous!”

“Does too!”

“Does not!”

Their laughter echoed out in Hylia’s courtyard, and the rest of the day flew by in a series of antics and games and all around good fun.

Surely but steadily, the sun dipped closer to the horizon, and they knew the day was about to end.

Zelda was covered in mud, leaves and blotches of dirt across her dress, Link in a similar state, his hat long lost and his hair a mess in the flying wind.

As they neared the entrance to the gardens he stopped, and pressed a half-rumpled tulip into her hand. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything better but this was the prettiest one of them all.” It was half blue and white, a marble effect she hadn’t seen before. “It– it reminded me of you when I saw it.”

She hugged the tulip close to her, those tears from earlier threatening to come out. “You’ll come back Link?”

He nodded vigorously, his face blotchy and red. “I’ll miss you.”

She hugged him tight, and his arms squeezed back, his face buried in her hair. “I’ll miss you too.”

“Link? Link are you still in the gardens? Son, we have to leave!”

She wasn’t ready to let him go, but that voice was coming closer and she had to escape before then.

“I’ll see you soon Zelda.”

She nodded, before haphazardly pressing a kiss to his cheek, just to watch him blossom red. “Goodbye Hero.” Oh, she’d miss him, the little green-wearing boy who she’d become such fast friends with. She turned, running to the castle entrance, and not looking back. He’d come back, he promised and she equally promised to never forget the friend she made in the gardens, and vowed to research flower preservation to keep his tulip in bloom until he returned.

For their friendship wouldn’t end on this day.

There was more to come, of that she was certain.

#zelink #legend of zelda #botw #breath of the wild #zelda #link #zelink fanfiction #zelink fanfic #silent writes #child link #child Zelda #play time #castle gardens :)#korok #a surprise encounter

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