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samuel-de-champagne-problems · 3 years

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I Can't Help It If You Look Like an Angel

Summary: Spencer is not that kind of doctor, but he'll always come when Y/N needs him, even if germs are involved.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem Reader

Warnings: One cuss (sh!t), kisses, small insecurities

Word Count: 2.5 k (was not supposed to be this long but I'm a monster)

Author's Note: From this list (3, 12, 14) since I hit 300 followers! Thank you! This request is from @willowrose99 (look for the bold)

I Can't Help It If You Look Like an Angel

Spencer’s half done with his third book that weekend when his phone rang. A weekend spent in the company of Nietzsche and Sartre is, according to Spencer at least, a weekend well spent. He can feel the relaxation that settles in his bones come crashing down as he phone rings.

Thinking it’s Hotch calling the team in for an unexpected case, Spencer, lethargically, walks over to answer the phone. However, realizing the caller is not his boss pulling him away from a restful weekend, but Y/N, his heart rushes with a sudden urge of excitement.

“Y/N,” Spencer starts. He’s more than happy to have Y/N interrupt his weekend; they even made plans for a day out on Saturday at the new Anthropology museum that opened downtown. But all of Spencer’s made up plans fall in front of his face, as he hears Y/N’s quiet sniffles.

“Spencer, I’m so sorry to bother you. I know that you’re probably enjoying your rest, but I guess I have a cold. One of the kids at school, I suppose,” Y/N tells him in between sniffles. Her voice is scratchy and Spencer tries not to think about how his brain seems to short circuit at the way his name sounds.

“I’m coming over,” Spencer says, cutting her off. He doesn’t like doing that, in fact he hates when that happens to him, but right now he knows that Y/N is going to try her hardest to stop him from coming over.

“No Spence, it’s germs. You hate germs and I’m really gross and snotty and—”

“Stop, Y/N. Don’t say another word. I’m on my way” Spencer says. He feels a little guilty for hanging up on her, but he knows that if he stayed on the line any longer she’d end up convincing him that he didn’t need to rush over. There’s not a lot of people in this world that can convince Spencer to change his mind, and he’s pretty sure that Y/N is one of them.

Spencer walks into his bedroom, looking for some supplies like a man on a mission. He decides to pack a small bag for the next three days. He’s off from work anyway, why not spend that time making sure Y/N gets better. Spencer packs away a couple of sweaters, flannel pajama pants and two thermal shirts. In the back of his drawer he spots a very old college tee shirt.

A memory, an early memory with Y/N, comes flooding to the surface. They got caught in a rainstorm after a picnic in the nearby park. Spencer changed into his comfortable tee shirt and pajamas. He would never forget the look on Y/N’s face; the way the rain collected on her glasses and for some reason she had yet to wipe them off. She called him an angel. Maybe it’s for bringing her some warm clothes or maybe she’s slightly on edge from their dash into Spencer’s apartment. Whatever it was that made her call him an angel, Spencer never wanted her to call him anything else. Besides his own name, in that scratchy sick voice that made him feel a little guilty for liking so much.

Spencer collects some other things he needs for his stay. A toothbrush, toothpaste, a hair brush, and his hair serum that Y/N says she likes the way it smells. When she told him that, Spencer could hardly wait to buy the entire supply from the CVS down the street. He tucks away in this bag with a small smile.

Walking out of his apartment, Spencer locks up and makes his way down to his car. He glances at his watch, realizing that it only took him a couple of minutes to get ready for Y/N. Quicker than what it takes for him to get ready for an emergency case. Then again, tending to a sick Y/N seems much pleasurable then looking at served bodies and mangled limbs.

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After making a pit stop at a small convenience store near Y/N’s apartment, Spencer pulls into the guest parking spot near her complex. He attempts to shoulder the weight of his go bag; even though he only packed a couple philosophy books, they are quite dense. In his hands, he grasps the grocery bags.

Y/N’s apartment, thankfully, is on the first floor. Spencer approaches the door and thinks twice about knocking or ringing the doorbell. The last thing he wants to do is wake a sick Y/N up. He rummages in his pants for his car keys. Attached to the keys is a cat keychain with a spare key to Y/N’s apartment. Balancing the groceries and his own bag, Spencer quietly attempts to open Y/N’s door without possibly waking her up.

Once he finally gets the door open, Spencer realizes all too late that a large orange cat guards the tight hallway entrance. Spencer Reid, though a genius in his own right, is completely aware of the fact that he has two left feet.

“Oh, Zelda! Oh shit!,” Spencer yells as he trips over Zelda, Y/N’s orange cat. Zelda, scared from the noise, leaps from her spot guarding the hallway to the kitchen. Spencer brushes himself from his fall and picks up the groceries that fell during his tumble.

“Zelda, baby?” Y/N calls from what sounds like the couch from the other side of the wall.

“Hi Y/N, it’s just me. It’s just Spencer,” He says, placing the oranges back in his canvas bag and on the kitchen table. He sees Y/N laying on the couch. Surrounded by a pile of crumpled tissues, she smiles weakly at Spencer. He walks over to her and like an involuntary muscle, she scoots her feet so Spencer has room to sit.

Spencer, setting the beg on the floor, tucks Y/N’s legs over his. He rests a comforting hand on her calf that’s covered by a worn quilt.

“You didn’t have to come Spencer. I’m really okay, I just wanted you to know that I wasn’t ghosting you this weekend,” Y/N explains. The TV has been left on, but on mute. The colorful lights illuminate Y/N’s face in her dimly lit apartment.

“Nonsense, Y/N. What are friends for,” Spencer offers, wondering beyond belief if he messed up calling them friends. Their relationship had been quite strange for the past couple of weeks. Intense moments of silence where Spencer thinks he’d have the time to memorize every freckle on her nose or small grazes from fingers to wrists where Spencer swears she left scars that he hope would never heal.

“Friends,” Y/N says quietly. Spencer, offering a tight lipped smile, leans forward to straighten the blankets under Y/N’s chin. He presses the back of his hand towards Y/N’s forehead, feeling her warm skin under his knuckles. He’s not sure if the heat he feels is from her bug or from the adrenaline coursing through his veins at being this close to Y/N.

“You’re hot,” Spencer says, not moving his hand from Y/N’s forehead. She, loving the way his ears turn pink when he’s embarrassed, uncovers her arm from under the blankets and holds onto his wrist, keeping him attached to her forehead. Not that he’d want it any other way.

“So are you,” Y/N says. Spencer flinches and moves his hand from her forehead like she scorched his hand. In reality, her comment pierced his heart with hope.

“How much cough syrup did you take?” Spencer asks, choosing to face the situation with humor. There’s no way in the world Y/N could ever find him “hot” without the aid of cough syrup or another mind numbing substance.

“None,” Y/N says, reaching around to turn off the television. Spencer, getting increasingly nervous as the minutes of that intense silence passed, mentions to Y/N that he needs to put the groceries away.

“You really didn’t need to do that, Spence. I feel bad enough that you came here just to get sick yourself,” Y/N says. She’s folding the blankets that she was just resting under.

“I’ll always come when you need me to, Y/N” Spencer says, his breath catching and his eyes latching onto Y/N. He looks at her too long and there’s that intense silence again. Silence that is as thick as fog. Spencer can’t see facts through all the love that swallows him whole looking at Y/N.

“Maybe I knew that, and maybe that’s why I called you,” Y/N murmurs quietly, almost like she’s more scared to admit it to herself than to Spencer.

“Maybe,” Spencer says, breaking her gaze to put the half melted tub of green tea ice cream in the freezer.

“I think I’m going to shower, I need to put a fresh pair of pajamas on. I’ll be right out,” Y/N tells him, turning on her heel and leaving Spencer along with his thoughts.

Spencer can hear the water from the shower turn on. He estimates that Y/N will take at least 5 minutes in the shower, accounting for a margin of error, he supposes that he should start to heat the soup he bought from the store now, so it’s ready for Y/N when she’s done in the shower. Too bad all Spencer’s brain power is good for his statistics and numbers, not recipes and romance.

As it turns out, not a single statistic, nor a single digit could account for the possibility of Y/N walking out her bedroom, her hair damp and skin practically glowing, wearing Spencer’s worn college tee shirt. Spencer reckons that his eyes must have been bugging out from his head, given the spirited smile Y/N wears.

“I’m sorry, Spence, you know how much I love this tee shirt. I was putting some of your stuff away in your drawer and I saw this and I just couldn’t help myself. God it even smells a little bit like that hair gunk you wear,” Y/N rambles. She stands, leaning on her door frame, staring at Spencer who holds a wooden spoon that he used to stir the soup.

“You look like an angel,” Spencer says before he can stop himself. He just knows that his face is flaming red.

“You remember that?” Y/N asks, her voice light and hopeful. Spencer recognizes something in it. It’s the way his voice sounds when he talks to her, about her, with her. He can only hope that this is the way she always talks to him. He hopes with every fiber of his being that she uses that light and hopeful voice with him and only him.

“Of course Y/N. Then again, even if I didn’t have an eidetic memory, I’d still remember every single detail about you,”

“Now you’re making me feel guilty about stealing your shirt. You’re being all sweet and kind with me, it makes me fuzzy in the head,” Y/N confesses. She walks to her kitchen table, slowly closing the gap between her and Spencer.

“Keep it, it looks better on you anyway,” Spencer tells her. Her eyes grow big at his words and she presses her lips together like she’s holding something in. But something in her switches. Something in her grows a little sad and Spencer watches before his eyes as Y/N withdraws into herself.

“You can’t say that stuff to me, Spencer. You can’t say that stuff to me and not expect me to love you more than I already do,” Y/N says, her eyes shut and her lips pinched so tightly that it almost looks painful.

“Y/N,” Spencer starts, unsure what he’s supposed to say. His brain always seems to be playing catch up around Y/N. “Can I say it if I do love you back?”

Y/N eyes flutter open and narrow at Spencer, as if she’s reading him. Her eyes scan for any sign of a joke, of a prank, of Spencer trying to trick her. Maybe he should be upset that Y/N is doubting him, but all Spencer can feel is hatred for the person that made her doubt herself so much to not believe him.

“I’ve never felt what I feel when I’m with you, Y/N. No one else has made me feel truly me except you, Y/N,” Spencer professes, setting down the wooden spoon on the counter to reach Y/N’s hand.

“I never thought you’d feel the same way, Spence. I love you, God. That feels so good to say,” Y/N says, letting out a strained laugh. Spencer standing up next to her, places his hands on Y/N cheeks, and tries to lean in lower to kiss her, but Y/N’s finger on his lips stops his movement.

“I’m so sorry, I should have asked. I thought that this is-” Spencer stammers, suddenly very concerned that he violated Y/N in some way.

“Shhh, angel. It’s okay. I want you to kiss me. I really do, but I just want you to tell the facts on you getting sick if you kiss me,” Y/N says, not moving her finger from Spencer’s soft lips. He kisses her finger and grasps her hand with his.

“Sorry, I just had to do that,” Spencer smirks, “but to answer your question, unless you have a bad cough, and some of the respiratory mucus has made its way into your saliva, the cold virus will not be transmitted by kissing,”

“That’s good, so please kiss me, Spencer,” Y/N practically begs, eager for Spencer to leave pieces of him all over her. Eager for him to leave physical evidence of the marking he’s already left on her heart.

“You just might have to take care of me next week,” Spencer counters, peppering kisses over her jaw, knowing he’s purposely avoiding her lips.

“Spencer, I’m sick! Don’t tease me, just kiss me,” Y/N whines, and Spencer caves. He leans in slowly, meeting his lips to Y/N’s. It was the kiss that Spencer knew he’d be waiting for. A kiss that seals fate without a return address. A kiss that reminds him that he’s alive. A kiss that says forever and always.

Spencer, resting his chin against Y/N’s head, closes his eyes. The intense silence that existed between them, now is this light and hopeful air.

“Y/N, do you use my hair gunk?” Spencer asks. He can’t help but giggle with her and breathe in the familiar scent of her hair. He places three kisses on Y/N’s head and gently pushes her hair to the side to kiss down the back of her neck.

“I’m not sure what I love more, the smell of your hair gunk or the man that wears it,”

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headcanonsandhijinx · 3 years

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Breaking Point

Edit: this was originally called ‘Wild Angst Oneshot’ as I couldn’t think of a name, but due to a great suggestion by Narutofan8762 on AO3, it’s now titled ‘Breaking Point’.

I was scrolling on tiktok and saw an acting video with an audio that was from Supergirl, basically yelling at someone who had abandoned her and my brain immediately went ‘Wild yelling at Hylia!’ So I had to try and write this, and then I turned it into a Linked Universe fic because I’m kinda obsessed.

Under the cut, because as usual, my oneshots tend to get pretty long, pretty quickly...

***

She was cold.

That was all he could think as his heart thundered in his chest. She was cold in his arms.

He had finally defeated Calamity Ganon and as the beast finally disappeared from the land that it had long tormented, she had appeared. Zelda was finally free.

He had been running towards her before he even realised and had pulled the princess into a hug with repeated apologies falling from his dry, cracked lips.

Zelda had wrapped her arms back around him and managed to speak into his ear before she went limp in his arms. He had let his body move down to the ground to keep her cradled in his arms, but it was too late.

As soon as he took her face in his hands, the light left her eyes and she breathed her last.

That was how he stayed for hours. In the middle of Hyrule Field, with the body of the woman he was supposed to protect as he cried and her final words repeated over and over in his mind.

“You have nothing to apologise for, Link. You saved us all”

***

Several hours later, found her body draped across his lap, with one of his hands gently holding the back of her head and the other wrapped around her back, while he rocked back and forth as he cried out his grief to the world. He had sat there and screaming and crying for hours over her body.

Then when morning came, he picked up Zelda’s body, called over his horse and began the long trek back to Kakariko Village.

***

Impa had been distressed to see the princess’ body, and it wasn’t helped by the state of Link’s injuries that he had neglected in his grief. A broken arm, 4 cracked ribs, scrapes, bruises, and a concussion.

Impa had insisted that he stay in Kakariko while he healed and the funeral was planned. The time seemed to go by in a blink and before he knew it, the day of the funeral arrived. In a strange turn from the blur of the past few days, the ceremony seemed to last longer than the hundred years he’d slept as Link watched the body of the one he swore protect be laid to rest.

Link was just thankful that the gravesite had been moved from the original plan to bury her near the remnants of the castle, but he couldn’t bear to lay her body to rest in the place where she’d been trapped for a hundred years. She was being buried by the pond atop Satori Mountain. Link had regained a memory of visiting it with Zelda and she’d been amazed by it, so he had brought up the idea of burying her there with Impa, who had agreed to his signing and changed the plans.

Once the ceremony had concluded, Impa had invited Link stay in Kakariko and after a while, he had surprisingly accepted the offer. However, Impa didn’t tell him that she was scared he may do something drastic and he did, just not in the way anyone expected.

He just stayed in the spare house he was staying in, seemingly okay with secluding himself away from the rest of the world. Thoughts of his failure and weakness became his only constant companion as he wouldn’t leave the house for anyone. No matter who came to see him, he wouldn’t answer and if someone journeyed inside, he wouldn’t reply to any questions. And the more they tried to help, the more he pulled away. Eventually, Impa had to ask everyone to keep monitoring him but to leave him alone, out of fear that he may run away and never been seen again if they pushed too much.

They still tried to help, but in little ways that included minimal interaction, if they even saw him. Food would be left outside the door for him and it would be eaten, but only just enough to keep himself alive. He would train and practice constantly during the day and the nights where he couldn’t sleep for fear of failing Hyrule again, often passing out in the middle of the floor sometimes for desperately needed rest.

And that was the way it stayed for six months. A constant cycle of self-loathing and punishing himself for not being good enough.

Until a gang of travelers had walked into Kakariko.

***

“We’ve been walking for ages.” Wind complained as he panted with his hands on his knees and he wasn’t the only one. The group had been walking for almost an entire day and still hadn’t found a settlement or village to rest at, and they’d found this Hyrule’s Beadle who had given them directions, but the group was questioning how accurate they were.

“Well Beadle said Kakariko was this way and he said it wasn’t far, but I think he was just trying to get rid of us before Sky bought all his bugs.” Warrior joked as he stood beside Sky, who elbowed him in the side.

“Come on, he said we should be there by midday if we were quick enough and then we can rest there.” Time chimed in from his place walking at the front of the ground. There were several groans but no more complaints as they continued walking.

It was around two hours later when they finally saw the entrance to this Hyrule’s version of Kakariko Village and upon seeing it, the groups let out several sighs of relief as they journeyed inside.

There were only a few people around the village from what Twilight could see. As he walked in, he spotted a man painting, a little girl sitting by a fire, another younger girl running around and some guards standing in front of a set of stairs that lead up to a building.

“Okay, we should ask later and see if we can find this Hyrule’s hero.” Twilight suggested as he turned around to face the rest of the group, who were all surveying the village as well.

“You’re looking for the hero?” A small voice came from behind him and as he turned, he saw the little girl that was running around a moment ago.

“Yeah, we are. Do you know where he is?” Wind asked the girl.

“Yes, but daddy says he’s ill so he never leaves the house.” The little girl answered before they heard another voice and a man came over to join them.

“I’m sorry sirs, I hope my daughter wasn’t being any trouble.” He said as he looked down lovingly at the girl.

“Oh no sir. She was just telling us where we could find someone that we are looking for.” Time replied.

“Well, perhaps I may be able to offer you some more assistance. Who are you looking for?” The man asked kindly.

“We’re looking for the hero, presumably goes by the name ‘Link’.” Legend spoke up and it was quite jarring to see how quickly the smile left the man’s face.

“You should all come with me.” The smile didn’t return.

***

They’d been herded into a house at the top of a long staircase after that and introduced to this Hyrule’s Impa. She had quickly filled them in on the situation as much as she could and it was a lot to take in.

The land had been decimated by this Hyrule’s Ganon and had suffered for a hundred years, until Link could finally defeat him. (she hadn’t told them about Wild’s death. That would be something for the boy to explain on his own terms. Impa tried to give him control over the very little that he had a say in. She wouldn’t take this explanation away from him too.)

They’d then been left alone in the room and were trying to think of how to approach this new Link when Legend spoke up.

“You heard how they talked about him! How are we supposed to break it to him? Huh, just dump it on him when these guys have said that he’s ill.” Legend snapped. “Hey, we’re all reincarnations of the hero and we’ve all defeated some kind of evil that has threatened our Hyrules. Now Hylia is grouping us all together on a new quest so we can figure out who is behind all these black blooded monsters and stop them. If she’s brought us here then we need you to help us. You’ll probably need to say your goodbyes because she’ll make you join us whether you want to or not. How does that sound?” He snapped sarcastically, already done with the situation.

But nobody spoke, not even to scold him for his outburst and Legend turned around to see this Hyrule’s Link standing in the room’s doorway, presumably having just heard his rant about their quest.

Fuck.

But that wasn’t the worst part of the situation. The worst part of the situation was this Link’s appearance.

The group didn’t know what was worse about it. The painful looking scars that covered part of his left cheek creeping up to cover his ear and snaking down his neck to presumably cover his body as well, or the blank look of numbness on the boy’s face. He had walked in with Paya as he stared into the distance at nothing, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings as he stood there. Warriors had been closest and he recognised the look in this Link’s eyes. It was the look of someone who had completely given up and retreated from the world. He’d seen it on lots of fellow soldiers on the battlefield and off it. Men who’d retreated into their heads because the war was too scarring.

That was when the new Link had pulled something from his belt and vanished in shards of glowing blue light, teleporting away before anyone could even say anything.

“Great. Now what do we do?” Wind questioned, unsure of how to precede.

“I fear there is nothing we can do, apart from wait for his return.” This Hyrules Impa spoke up. “Link knows how to hide when he doesn’t want to be found and the more we try to force our company into him, the more he resists it.” The group were reluctant to accept this at all, but eventually conceded after Impa told them that he would probably return soon, once he got his head around what was going on and came up with a plan. (She didn’t tell them that she was even more worried about Link then they were.)

***

Link walked through Hateno Village as he headed towards the house he had bought almost a year ago, hoping that one day he may be able to take Zelda there. However, that would never happen now.

The wooden bridge beneath him creaked as he moved across it. His eyes now set on the item before him that was his reason for coming here at all. He strode fowards and wrapped his hands around it before it vanished in streams of blue light into his slate. He opened the map, selected his next location and disappeared.

Leaving Bolson and Karson behind as they looked at each other worriedly. They hadn’t seen him in months and he hadn’t even seemed to hear them calling his name.

***

He walked inside with the sledgehammer he had taken from outside his house as he set his sights on the aim of his journey.

The statue of the goddess Hylia, in the Temple of Time.

The goddess who had ignored her peoples suffering. Who had left her people to die. Who had let everyone he knew die. Who had ignored Zelda’s prayers and pleas for her help with her dormant powers, and had ignored his silent pleas for years.

Who was now demanding his help again, threatening to rip his world away from him once again if he refused.

Walking to the base of the statue and shifting his stance, he swung the hammer into the side of it. Before pulling it back and hitting it over and over and over again, parts of the ancient statue crumbling to the ground as the hero released his fury.

“You were supposed to protect us! You were supposed to protect your people! Protect the land and people you created!” He screamed the first words he had said in months, his voice hoarse and rough in his throat. “You were supposed to protect her! She trusted you, she believed in you!” His voice cracked and his throat ached as he yelled, unused to being used at such a loud volume.

Then he stopped and let the head of the sledgehammer rest on the floor as Link realised something.

“I... I believed in you.” It was practically a whisper.

“I trusted you.” It was louder now.

“I trusted you! I thought you’d help us. I thought you’d help me, but you abandoned us! You just left us all to die! You let me die!” He couldn’t breathe because he had trusted her and look where that trust had gotten him.

Nowhere.

“I lost everything.” He thought outloud.

“Do you hear me? I’ve lost everything because of you and your stupid quest!” His ears were ringing as he started screaming again as the hammer was back striking at the statue of the goddess even harder then before.

“I lost my family!” A family he couldn’t even remember.

“I lost my home!” Another place thats memories were lost to him.

“I lost everyone I’ve ever cared about!” That was something he could only assume. He must of had a family at some point, maybe even some friends? He just didn’t know.

“Daruk” His back throbbed with phantom pain in memory of how hard his congratulatory back ‘pats’ were. How loud his voice was, even when he was trying to be quiet.

“Revali” Even though they had mainly been at odds with each other, Link still remembered a few things. The way he would preen whenever he got any amount of attention, or the sound of his wings gliding through the air.

“Urbosa” The sound of her voice rang through his ears, how she’d always sounded so confident and sure of herself. How proud she was of her people and her culture.

“Mipha” The girl he was supposedly in love with, and he could barely remember anything about her. He could remember how soft her voice was but how she was also incredibly fierce in battle when defending those she loved, but that was it. There was practically nothing left.

“Ze-Zelda!” He hit the statue so hard that his hammer shattered into pieces, as he thought of the few things that he could actually remember about her. The way her eyes light up when she talked about the Shiekah technology or a rare species of animal or flower. The way her nose would slightly scrunch up and her eyebrows would furrow when she was annoyed at him. The way her hands shook when she held him as he died in her arms.

“I’ve lost everything because of you! I have nothing left anymore! I’m done. Do you hear me? I’m done with you!” He was no longer screaming, but he wasn’t done yet.

Looking up at the partially ruined statue before him, he dropped to his knees among the stones that now littered the floor. And dropping his head into his hands, he took a deep breath, before he threw his head back...

And screamed.

It was long and loud and every time he ran out of breath, he just took a deeper one and started again. The screams were haunting, heartbreaking and full of grief because Link, after years of mounting pressure, trauma and incapacitating grief, was finally breaking down.

***

When Link awoke he hadn’t realised that he’d fallen asleep, or more accurately, that he’d passed out after screaming for hours. His throat was sore and he felt like he was drifting in that weird feeling numbness that usually occurred when he had a breakdown, although they had never been this bad before.

He looked at the destruction around him and to his surprise, he didn’t feel guilty about it. He’d expected to feel guilty like he always did these days, blaming himself for everything that went wrong. Even if he knew that, logically, there wasn’t any possible way that he could be responsible for it.

But this? This left him feeling hollow instead. Because there was nothing left of him anymore.

He was tired and emotionally drained and he wanted to stay here in his Hyrule. He didn’t want to be forced into being the Goddess’ pawn again, and yet he had no choice. He never had a choice when it came to the Goddess and her will, that was a lesson he learned a long time ago.

He took a moment to breathe and took out the sheikah slate to teleport back to Kakariko.

‘Time to face the Goddess’, he thought as he tried to prepare himself to once again succumb to the Goddess’ wishes and relinquish any thoughts of freedom.

It wouldn’t do any good to imagine a luxury that he would never be granted.

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toweroftickles · 3 years

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ZELINK FIC - TICKLES THROUGH TIME

This is for @dyingtoleeya who suggested that I write about my “first ship ever.” That sent me on quite a nostalgia trip! Lol I’m a 90s kid, so most of my influences come from there. I didn’t expect to crank this fic out so fast, but something about it just inspired me. Hope you guys like it. :)

The fall of Ganondorf had seen the kingdom of Hyrule, though still shattered and broken, return to hope. The Hylian peoples had come together to rebuild, to settle into their old lives after seven long years. But for Link, and for Zelda, they had finally earned their rest.

It was a late night in the castle garden. Torches gleamed against white stone walls. The small stream that had once been present before the King of Thieves’ reign was dammed, but its mouth still bubbled peacefully through slabs of fallen rock. The stained glass windows, though broken, still cast their colorful lights into a swirling dance of shapes on the nighttime grass. Fireflies fluttered around. One landed squarely on the princess’ nose, and she giggled before returning to rest her head on the Hero of Time’s shoulder. They said not a word to each other, only breathed in the cool air, and listened for the sounds of a land returning to life. But finally, the princess spoke.

“So many years I dreamed I’d see you again,” she whispered, not looking directly at Link. “It’s funny...we only knew each other so briefly, but whenever I lost hope, I could always see you clearly in my mind. Waiting for you to wake up...was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

Link silently brushed Zelda’s long hair behind her ear and gently stroked her cheek. They smiled at one another, and Zelda couldn’t help but reminisce.

“You probably remember better than I do...when I used to sneak out to see you?”

Young Link and Zelda relaxed on the beach of Lake Hylia. As Zelda watched the swirling Guay chase Navi overhead, Link waded barefoot into the water and flung a rock with all his might.

Twice...three times...six whole skips! The Goron Bracelet definitely helped. Link grinned, pumping his fist triumphantly. Zelda laughed and clapped for him, and he returned to the grass beside her.

“This is so much fun,” Zelda sighed as the wind blew her headdress around. “I wish I’d been able to have a whole childhood like this.”

Link smiled happily at her and retrieved a small sandwich from his hammerspace pouch.

“Hey, Link...why are you always so quiet?”

Link stopped to think about the question. He’d barely spoken a word to the princess since that fateful day they met in her garden. He supposed, he was just never sure what to say to her. Navi usually did the talking for him.

“It’s because he liiiikes you!” the annoying fairy chimed in. Link’s eyes bugged out in horror and he instinctively smacked Navi through the air. Zelda giggled.

“No! I don’t!” Link stammered - perhaps the first full sentence he had said in her presence. “It...I’m....uh...”

“It’s ok,” Zelda said with a reassuring smile. “Come on, what are you hiding? Tell me!”

Almost on instinct the young princess reached out with her hand and playfully grabbed Link’s side. A huge grin appeared on the Kokiri boy’s face.

“Heehee-Hee! *gasp* Heh-Heh Ha!” Link giggled and pulled away from her. Zelda was delighted by his reaction...she smiled uncontrollably and kept squeezing at his tummy with both hands.

“Come on, say something!” she laughed. Link fell back onto his side in the grass, and Zelda followed on her knees. Her fingers grabbed and poked and tickled, and Link couldn’t stop laughing. With a mischievous twinkle in her light, Navi darted inside Link’s tunic and fluttered her wings against the boy’s ribs and belly. Link squirmed and tried to cover his stomach with his arms, but it was no use.

“Haha-Haha Haha-Haha Haaaa, Ha! *gasp* Haha-Haha Ha!” Link giggled and gasped for breath. Zelda’s own reactions weren’t much different. She could barely utter her command “Say something!” through her own gleeful excitement.

Then, suddenly, Zelda stopped poking Link’s stomach and turned around. He could breathe, at least for a moment. With both hands she grabbed Link’s right foot and stood up, lifting his leg off the ground while the rest of him stayed flat. She looked back at him, smiled like a kid on Christmas morning, and wiggled all ten of her fingers along the bottom of his foot.

“Ha-Ha Ha-Ha Ha-Ha! *gasp* Aha-Ha! Ah Ha-Ha Ha-Ha! Uggghhhhyeeehh, Heheh! Ha-Ha Ha-Ha!” The poor boy laughed loudly and rolled around on his back, trying to pull his foot away from Zelda’s devious little fingers. Navi’s buzzing magical energy still tickled his tummy.

“Do you give up?” Zelda teased him.

She didn’t wait for an answer. After another moment of giggling, Link felt his bare foot drop back into the grass. Navi flew out of his tunic, laughing to herself. It was over. As the young boy attempted to suck air back into himself, he pondered what had just happened...it had been surprisingly fun. At least...when she did it. Zelda dropped to her knees again and looked down at his exhausted face, and both smiled. But Link’s energy was all wound up, and as if loaded on a spring, he reached up with both hands and tickled Zelda’s armpits.

“AHH!” she squealed excitedly. Her arms instinctively snapped back like a pistol shrimp’s, drawn tightly to her purple top as she jumped back. Link’s fingers dropped lower and started to dance on her sides.

“AHH Haha-Ha! Haha-Ha! *gasp* Ha-Ha! N-ho, no faihair!” Zelda squirmed around and pretended to be resistant, but in truth she was having far too much fun. Link bounced up into action and dove on Zelda. With a surprised yelp she fell back across the knoll, and before they knew it, the two kids were rolling down the grassy hill toward the sand, Zelda laughing and squirming in Link’s grip. He held her close to him and tickled her belly and sides nonstop as they rolled.

“Whoooaa-OOOO-ooooooh, Heehee! AH Haha-Haha! Ha-Ha Ha-Ha Ha! Th-hat tickles!” she cried out.

Within moments the two had collapsed in the sand, both grinning rapturously and unable to stop giggling. The rolling and wind had tossed Zelda’s habit-like headdress aside, and its fabric stood out colorfully near the top of the hill. She had such short hair for a girl, Link thought. But he also couldn’t stop thinking about how cute she looked. He blushed and tried to hide his expression from her, but she was laying on her side, eyes shut and breathing out her last few giggles. Then Link noticed something else had gone missing from the princess’ possession when they rolled down into the sand - one of her slippers.

He had to act quick, before she noticed! The youth grabbed a nearby piece of straw...dropped from the local scarecrow...and he grabbed her ankle. In his right hand he held her right leg still, sole-up, against the sand, and he began to wiggle the piece of straw right in the middle of her foot.

“HAA, Ha-Ha Ha Ha! Haha-Haha! L-hihink, stop it!” Zelda slapped her palms into the earth. She flailed and desperately pulled her leg. But the smile on her face betrayed her true feelings - she was happy. She was playing with a real friend. For one of the few times in her life, she was having fun.

Link tossed the straw aside and stopped tickling. Zelda’s toes still wiggled involuntarily, and she curled into a ball while the squeaks subsided.

“*inhale*...*exhale*....Heheh! I’m sorry. Are we even now?”

Link was lying down beside her, smiling just as much as she was.

“I talk...when I feel like it.”

The two burst into laughter all over again and reclined. Navi, who had been intentionally avoiding the rough-and-tumble tickle roll, finally sauntered down to the sandbank. She knew, looking at Link and Zelda, that the two had a future. The lake’s calming breeze blew their hair around, and sand dusted up against their cheeks.

Soon, Link would be off to Jabu-Jabu. But he wanted to enjoy his time with the princess, just a moment longer.

“Remember when I lost the slingshot game ? I almost cried, but then you won me a Bombchu,” the adult Zelda murmured dreamily.

Link couldn’t help but grin. These events seemed so recent to him, but for Zelda they may as well have been lifetimes ago. He put his arm around her shoulder and she watched the lights flicker on the ground.

“Hey...are you still ticklish?” Zelda asked him, trying to contain her excited smile. Before he could answer, she darted a hand in and jabbed all five fingers into his abs.

In truth, despite his recent physical adulthood, Link had lost his entire 11-17 growth period...his body was matured but lacked the experience and resilience that came with living through puberty. His immune system was still weak, he had basically no callouses, and he was still very childishly ticklish.

“GYAAHHH!” he yelled out, twisting away from Zelda’s fingers. The princess giggled and kept poking all over his stomach, and Link couldn’t avoid the chuckles building in his throat for long.

Seizing an opportune moment, he reached in with his leather gauntlets and launched his own tickle assault on the now-grown princess’ tummy. To his delight, it worked.

“AH! Hmhm-Hmhm Heheh-Heheh Heh! Hm-Hm Hm!” Zelda giggled through her sealed lips and pulled her arms in tight. Almost instantly she was in the grass, flat on her back, her sides quivering beneath Link’s strumming, spidery fingers.

Suddenly, he stopped. Zelda breathed. For the first time in seven years, she was at peace. She looked up at Link, smiling above her, and in her eyes bounced a light show of firefly acrobats, around Link’s head like a halo. Link had never seen anyone or anything so beautiful. He stroked her cheek and tussled her hair again.

There is rarely a single, isolated moment in a relationship where a boy looks at a girl and realizes for the first time, “I love you.” And there was no such moment for Link or Zelda either.

But this one came pretty close.

#tickle blog #tickling #ticklish #tickle #tickling community #ticklish feet #foot tickling #headcanon #tickle fic #tickle fight #tickling headcanons #loz zelda #zelda fandom #link ocarina #ocarina of time #zelink #legend of zelda #tummy tickling

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ferallymine · 3 years

Text

Twilight Princess: In Her Place

A/N: I forgot how much i love TP and I decided Iris deserved past incarnations. Here’s a thing I wrote and it’s 2:32am so goodnight.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The hidden village above Kakariko was finally accessible, thanks greatly in part to the Gorons’ efforts. Link and Iris had ventured up, but the day was almost over, and they hadn’t come back down yet. The sun was setting, giving a crimson hue to bounce off the rocks in the gorge. Dust rose with the gentle wind, creating small whirlwinds around the town.

Talo began to get fidgety, “They’ll be back soon, right?”

Luda gave a small nod, “They’re strong. Should be back any minute.”

“That Iris girl seems awfully close to Link, doesn’t she?” Beth leaned against the railing on the roof, trying to get a better look of the path leading up the mountain, “What’s Ilia gonna think when she remembers him?”

“Who knows,” Malo shrugged and hopped off the wooden crate he’d been using to see over the railing, “But maybe the real question to ask is- are we too biased in our favor to Ilia to see if Iris is actually a good match for him or not?”

Beth stomped her foot, “She’s clearly not! She’s a witch! She makes monster plants and stuff! She’s a bad influence and doesn’t deserve our hero.”

Luda put a finger to her chin, “Father used to be close to botany witches in his younger years when there were more of them. I remember him telling me that they helped cure ailment-“

“Here they come!” Talo jumped and pointed at the two figures emerging from the shadows into the sunset light.

-----

Renaldo, Link, Iris, Ilia, and the children all gathered in the shaman’s house. The tension of anticipation was thick, as if one of them could cut it with their sword.

Would this work? Ilia had the key to the last piece of the Mirror of Twilight locked in the back of her memories. What if this didn’t work? What would they have to do?

Link pulled out the charm that Impaz had given him and placed it in Ilia’s open palm. A stillness pierced the tension- everyone holding their breath at once.

“I… made this…” Ilia’s voice whispered quietly. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, “The scent of hay…”

Link didn’t notice the look on his face, but Iris did. The yearning- the need beyond the missing key for her to remember. For her to remember him. It chipped Iris’ heart, just a little bit.

Ilia opened her eyes, a sudden excitement on her face, “Link! I…I remember!” She leapt into his open arms, a tight embrace. Link spun her around, pure joy in his eyes. He set her down and she grabbed his face, kissing his face all over. The kids cheered, jumping in ecstatic glee. Iris forced a smile, hating how much her heart twisted over something that should be a happy moment.

Renado began to gently usher them out, “Let’s give them a moment.”

-----

Iris rounded the corner, leaving the others to go to the spring. The chill of the water sent a shiver up her spine as her feet entered the water. The children’s echoes of laughter danced along the chilly air.

Midna appeared in her shadow form beside her, “Hey witch.”

“Hello, Princess.”

“…in my opinion, he’s making a huge mistake.”

“Thanks.”

Silence as the moon rose over the village.

“She spilled about the memory, but she’s keeping him there to catch her up on everything.” Midna rolled her eyes and cocked her hip, “Men and their egos. Sometimes he makes me wonder if I chose the right beast.”

“He’s the wolf, I’m just a panther.”

“Wolf or no- you’ve proven yourself more dependable and worthy of your triangle lately.” Midna reached behind her, using her power to pull out the Dominion Rod.

“What are you-“

“Take this to Impaz- that old woman you both just saved. You’ll get more information about getting to the sky for the Mirror shard.”

Iris took the rod, weighing it in her hand, “Midna.”

“Iris.”

“…Thank you.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Hey, Midna?”

“Hey, Iris?”

“I really love him.”

“…If it helps, I was rooting for you.”

“It doesn’t, but I appreciate the sympathy.”

Midna turned to leave, but paused. “Remember the temple in the lake?”

“We almost died.”

“You saved us from what would’ve been certain death by Zant.” A wind picked up, making Iris shiver as Midna spoke, “And the look in Link’s eyes watching you bleed out like that was true heartbreak. I think…I think he’s suppressing his emotions because he doesn’t want to feel that again if he loses you.”

“You sound like Zelda.”

Midna shrugged, “She did put her life into me. Anyway, I’m trying to say to not give up, even after what you just witnessed. We never said he was smart.”

Iris chuckled, “Sure.”

-----

“See! Link loves Ilia!” Beth jumped in a circle, hands held with Luda- which drug the poor girl along for the spin.

Talo and Collin pumped their fists in the air, chanting “Link! And! Ilia!”

Malo nodded, “Indeed, he loves her.”

“So he does.”

The kids stopped their celebrating, turning to see a somber Iris. The firelight from the window cast dancing shadows over her face. A slight glisten off her cheek where a single tear had fallen.

Beth stuck out her tongue, hands on her hips, “You’re a witch. Link deserves better than you.”

“Hey.” Luda stepped away, “They’re not all bad-“

“No…” Iris raised her hand, “I know my place in his life now. When he comes out, tell him it’s okay.” Iris toyed with a rod looped to her belt at her side. The kids didn’t know what it was, but Iris kept talking before they could ask, “If he asks…tell him I’m finishing what we started.”

And with that, she walked off into the darkness of the night.

-----

Impaz checked over Iris’ hand, silver triangle glowing subtly against her skin. “No doubts about it! Oh, I’m so happy that the Harmony piece of the Triforce has reemerged. The founder of this village often told stories of the Harmony Avatar bringing balance wherever they went. You’ll set all this right, I just know it. You even managed to get the rod of the heavens! Oh, happy night!”

Iris smiled, “Thank you. I’m honored that the Goddesses picked me to carry on this power.”

Impaz turned, walking into her abode. A chest lay in the back against a dusty old wall.

“Here we go, Miss!” She turned, handing the witch an ancient booklet.

Iris inspected it, being careful with the pages to not tear them, “Thank you for your service, Impaz. I’m forever grateful. Please, don’t seclude yourself here any longer. Go into Kakariko Village tomorrow morning and meet the lovely people there.”

“If you insist,” Impaz gave a little smile, “I have always wondered what lie beyond that pesky rockslide!”

Iris waved goodbye and began her journey back down the mountain.

-----

Ilia leaned against Link’s shoulder, arm snugly wrapped around his. She was fast asleep.

Link was sleeping peacefully, until a hand nudged him awake.

“What are you doing?!” Midna’s annoyance was very clear.

Link sat up, trying to not wake Ilia, “What are you talking about? I’m sleeping- do you know what sleeping is?” He returned the attitude in a harsh whisper.

“You had a touching reunion, but you’re not gonna continue our mission? She gave you what you needed- let’s get a move on!”

“It’s 1am. I need rest. Let me sleep in peace.”

“Least you could’ve done was tell Iris you intended on sleeping with your hometown side-hoe.” Midna leaned against the wall, arms behind her head.

His face flushed red. Then went white with realization, “Oh fu-“

“Language! You have innocent ears there.” Midna giggled.

Link freed himself from Ilia’s grasp and stood up, “Is she outside?”

“Am I Iris’ keeper?” Midna rolled her eyes, “Go out and find her yourself, coward.” She dived into his shadow.

Link opened the door, greeted suddenly by wind and the sounds of crickets. He looked to his left towards the spring, but didn’t see Iris there.

“You okay?” Link jumped at the sound, but calmed when he realized it was just Luda on the porch of the next-door house, “You look a little stressed.”

“What are you doing up so late?”

“I like the night. Plus Beth kicks in her sleep, ahah.”

Link sighed, “Hey… did you see Iris at all?”

“She was upset,” those words made his heart sink, “The kids were making fun of her. She said to tell you this though. She said that it’s okay, that she knows her place in your life now.”

Link held his breath, “Is Iris still in the village?”

Luda shook her head, “She had a weird stick thing on her belt. She said to tell you that she’s finishing what you both started and walked that way.” The girl pointed towards the path to Impaz’ village.

“Thank you, Luda. I think you should go inside and get some sleep now.”

She shrugged, “Okay… Oh, Shad came out while you and Ilia were talking. Iris was with him and they were pointing to some spots on her map. She then said she was headed back to Ordon. I don’t know why she’s doing that at night or even without a horse but I’m not gonna judge her capabilities.”

“Oh, really?” Link looked around, finding Epona tied to the fence across the street, “Thank you, again, Luda. I’m going to go track her down- she wasn’t supposed to leave without me.”

The girl stood up, “I’m in no place to judge your relationships, so I’ll just say good luck.” Luda opened the creaky, rust-filled door and went back inside.

Midna popped up after the girl was gone, “So we warping or are you seriously gonna ride your horse all the way back to catch her?”

Link shook his head, “We’re warping.”

-----

“Alright owl statue.” Iris waved the rod in a circle, “Move!”

The green hues lit up the surrounding hills thanks to it still being dead of night. Crickets and other bugs scurried away from their moss-covered home at the sight of this new and strange light. Several little hops later, the statue was out of its alcove. Desummoning the rod’s powers, Iris stepped to the symbols that it had covered.

“Ah…gotcha.” Iris scribbled down the ancient writing onto the extra paper Shad had provided before her departure.

A familiar buzzing sounded behind her. Iris rolled her eyes and sighed, foolishly thinking that she’d have at least until morning.

Midna popped up first, “In my defense I grew tired of waiting.”

Link looked angry. His footsteps were heavy as he marched towards Iris.

Iris rolled her eyes and summoned the owl statue again. It began hopping backwards.

“No you don’t!” Link raced to the alcove. He squeezed through the space before the owl fully closed off the opening.

Iris and Link stood face-to-face, cramped together in the small space. The light from the Dominion Rod gave them just enough to see each other’s faces.

“How did you get the rod?” Link searched his brain for questions and didn’t know where to start. He figured that was the best way to go.

“Take a guess.”

“Midna?”

“Congrats, you win.” Iris’ face wasn’t impressed.

Link took a breath, “Iris… I didn’t forget about you or anything I just-“

“No.”

“What?”

She closed her eyes, eyebrows furrowing, “No excuses. I don’t care about your love life. What I do care about is being led on.”

“I didn’t mean-“

“Furthermore,” Iris continued, “Now that I know my place in your life, I decided to utilize my skills to continue the mission while you enjoyed time with your lover.”

“She’s not my-“

“Link, stop.” She sighed, “I said no excuses.”

“I’m not making excuses!” Link caught himself nearly yelling at her. He took a breath before starting again, “Did I once love Ilia- yes. Yes I did. But before I loved her she was my best friend. I’m not going to save the world and leave my friends to the wayside to fend for themselves or not help them with impossibly hard tasks.”

Iris sighed, “You let all your friends kiss you? You spin them around and then sleep next to them all snuggled up and holding each other?”

“…I…” Link froze, trying to think, trying to find how to say exactly what he’s feeling.

She scoffed, “Yeah. That’s what I thought. You made this bed, now lie in it.” The rod’s light brightened as Iris used it to move the statue. It made two hops before Link grabbed her wrist.

“Stop…please…” His voice shook.

Iris stopped, sudden concern on her face. She’d never heard his voice waver like this.

A breath, “I need you to understand that I’m never good with emotions or saying the right things. But I’m going to try and convey them now.”

“Then spit it out.”

Iris felt Link’s hand tremble. “When we first met in the Twilight I didn’t trust you. But as we went along and had this journey I… I realized I couldn’t have done half the things we accomplished without you.”

“Link-“

“When I caught your hand before you went over the edge in Goron Mines. When I almost was squashed by the falling logs in Faron. All our battles as beasts in Twilight. Hell, even Yeto’s mansion was filled with traps that almost killed us.”

“I-“

“But it was Zant’s attack…” He looked up, tears welling in his eyes. Iris’ heart hurt. “You… you were bleeding so badly and I couldn’t stop it in my beast form. I had to drag you to safety after you passed out. And I couldn’t stay because I had to take Midna to Zelda.”

“I’m still here, Link.”

“I shut down after that.” He closed his eyes, tears flowing, “I didn’t know if you were dead or alive and I couldn’t take it. Midna can even attest I was so distraught that I became physically unwell. When the Master Sword changed me back I vomited, seized, and passed out. I couldn’t carry on like that and I decided that having no feelings was better than having that deep of a sense of despair.”

“So when Ilia got her memories back…” Iris placed a hand on his cheek.

“The suppressed feelings came out. I was so happy and starved from any emotion besides nothingness that everything came out at once. I had my best friend again. Talking to her for so long was therapeutic. I didn’t intend to abandon you or make you feel used I just…” he clutched his chest, “I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you again.”

“So you’re reasoning was to push me out.”

“I never said it was smart, but that’s what I rationalized at the time.”

Iris pulled Link’s face close, letting their foreheads touch and eyes close. “From this point on, don’t push me out.” A gentle whisper for only him. “Let me help you. Don’t be afraid of your emotions.”

“I won’t… I’m so sorry…”

#iris #link #midna #the legend of zelda #original character #twilight princess

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urdbell18 · 5 years

Text

A Seed Hidden In the Heart Chapter 14: The One Where Paris isn’t the City of Romance pt. 2 side A

Zelda arrived at Charles de Gaulle a little after 6am. She was tired both physically and mentally, she could never sleep on planes and being next to Faustus didn’t help. She couldn’t relax enough to even micro sleep not when every time Faustus moved it made her jump out of her skin. According to the itinerary that Faustus gave her they would spend the majority of the morning and afternoon settling into their hotel and then after some of the groups would do a night tour of one of the museums. The groups that weren’t going on the tour where going to a movie that was playing not that far from their hotel. Zelda’s group wasn’t going on the tour and for that she was grateful, she didn’t think she could muster the energy to walk around and pay attention to her students.

Between the airport and the bus Faustus took charge, the students listened well enough to him so all Zelda had to do was make sure there were no stranglers and do the occasional head check. When they got to the hotel it was still serving breakfast and the hotel was kind enough to let them eat while Faustus collected the keys to their rooms. When they were done they moved to an unoccupied meeting room so they weren’t crowding the lobby.

“Attention students.” The students loud chattering instantly died down. Zelda might not like Faustus anymore but she did respect the power he had over his students. “I have your room assignments. There will absolutely be no swapping, any student who is found outside their assigned room will lose the privilege to go into the city no excuses. Any student found with an unauthorized person in their room or outside after curfew will also be banned and you will be suspended once we return to the Academy. Before I hand out room assignments I would like to point out our guest. Everyone this is Ms. Zelda Spellman.” Faustus pointed at her and with everyone's attention on her Zelda nodded politely. “Ms. Spellman is taking the place of my wife so treat her as you would Mrs. Blackwood. Now for the rooms…” Faustus then spent the next fifteen minutes handing out rooms to both students and teachers. When they were done they headed to their rooms in small groups. After the last of the students that went up with Zelda entered their rooms Zelda entered hers and collapsed onto the bed with a soft groan. With hours until their next activity Zelda could do what she wanted.

There were two things that Zelda at the moment wanted, sleep and a hot shower. Sleep was unattainable, she had coffee at breakfast and now she was wide awake. So she decided to shoot for the attainable. Using the luggage rack from the closet Zelda propped open her suitcase against the wall near her bed. When she opened her suitcase something felt… off. She was sure it wasn’t the way she packed it but couldn’t say it for certain. After all she packed almost half a week ago and a lot has happened between then and now. She tried not to let it bug her until she saw it under a stack of shirts. Now she might not remember everything that she packed but she knew for a fact that Ambrose’s laptop should not be in her suitcase. She pulled it out, the power cord was still attached but coiled neatly in a manner that Zelda appreciated. When she opened the lid there was a single post it note on the screen that said: in due time. Only Mary would be that cryptic and Zelda, wondering what her girlfriend had planned, placed the laptop on the table but went back to finding her toiletry bag.

With her bag and fresh underthings Zelda entered the bathroom. It was nice and spacious, the smooth marble felt cool under her feet. The light tan color of the floor and the shower stall made a nice contrast to the white fixtures of sinks and the bathtub making it easy on the eyes instead of blinding like a pure white bathroom would do. The second Zelda laid eyes on the tub thoughts of taking a shower left her. The tub was clawed foot with a high back and little gold legs. It looked absolutely inviting and Zelda decided to give in. As hot water filled the tub Zelda looked around the bathroom to see what was provided; soap, shampoo, lotion, and towels, basic hotel things. After measuring the towels and finding even the biggest towel a little too short Zelda left the bathroom to get a robe from the closet. She was still alone in her hotel room, she was suppose to have a roommate but so far they were a no show. Despite being alone Zelda locked the bathroom door behind her, she felt more secure with the door locked. When the tub was halfway full Zelda added some mint bath salt in the water, the scent wafted in the air to create a nice subtle aroma. When the tub was ready Zelda, after placing a towel on the floor and her hair in a bun to keep it dry, got in. A moan of absolute bliss escaped Zelda’s lips. The hot water felt absolutely wonderful on her tired muscles. What would have made this moment absolutely perfect was some soft music and maybe some wine but this was pretty good on its own. She was in the tube for about twenty minutes before the water became too cool for her liking. After towel driving off and placing on her fresh underwear she wrapped the robe around her body, making sure it was tired nicely in place and covering everything she wanted covered. Stepping out into the main room sent a chill down her spine but the robe kept some of the warmth from her bath so it was short. The warmth and relax feeling didn’t last.

“What are you doing here Faustus?” Faustus turned from the full length mirror where he stood. Faustus was the only person that Zelda knew who would travel in a three piece suit. His jacket was folded over the back of a chair and the color of his shirt was popped up. He was unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt when he saw her.

“Staff room arrangement were made months ago I saw no reason to change them.” He gave Zelda a look of indifference as though he didn’t understand why she was making a raise of them being in the same room. Oh, there were plenty of reasons why Zelda could object but Faustus just turned into the bathroom leaving her just standing there. Zelda huffed and went straight to her suitcase to get dressed, she quickly pulled on some pants and a new shirt. A few minutes later she heard the shower go off, it was her chance to make a quick escape. After grabbing her roomkey, purse, and book she left. When she got into the elevator she let out a sigh of relief, it was the first breath she could release without her chest tightening. After she arrived at the lobby she went to the front desk to inquire about a different room, she wanted to be moved into a single but the person behind the desk apologized and said they were full. Zelda understood, it was the holidays and people traveled. It looked like she was stuck with Faustus. Her only saving grace was Faustus was old fashion so she had her own bed. If they were sharing Zelda would have packed up her things and left Hawthorne be damned.

Not wanting to go back to her room Zelda spent a minute thinking where she wanted to go. The hotel had a bar and she could go there order a glass of wine or some scotch as she read her book but it was early and she was in Paris. Paris was known for a lot of things and its been years since she’s been to a cafe. That’s where she went, there was a cafe on the same block as the hotel and the weather was nice that she could sit outside in the parisian air while looking over the seine. She was harder to find this way which sealed the deal. Or so she thought. For about an hour she was undisturbed, she ordered some tea and sipped it off and on as she read her book which she planned to introduce to her French 3 class during their final month.

“Ms. Spellman.” Zelda looked up from her book to see Prudence. Even though it had been a few years Zelda remembered Prudence. Prudence and her friends Agatha and Dorcas are what Sabrina calls ‘the mean girl clique’ of the Academy. Zelda did not deny that Prudence had a power over the teachers that other students didn’t posses. In her tenure at the Academy Prudence had gotten away with several rule breaking actions with little to no consequence all because of her connection to Faustus. Illaginament or not Prudence milked the fact that she is Faustus’ daughter to anyone who crossed her. Zelda knowing that this trip would go easier if she was on Prudence’s good side put on a respectful smile.

“Prudence nice to see you.”

“I’m surprised to see you. I haven’t seen you at the Academy in almost five years.”

“I needed a change of pace.”

“To a public school where you’re overworked and paid very little? Father said that your principle makes you teach all of the foreign language classes all on your own with no break.”

“Funny I don’t remember asking for your or your father’s opinion.”

“Rumor has it you left the Academy due to a personal falling out with Father.”

“Well I can’t help what you children think.”

“It’s not us who think this. It’s the teachers. It was all forgotten until Father mentioned that you would be joining us on this trip. Some even objected to you going.”

“I’m sure they did. Now if you are done boring me with ancient history I would like to return to my reading.”

“Certainly. But as the saying goes history comes back to haunt us. See you later Ms. Spellman.” Zelda watched Prudence go. While she remained perfectly composed her blood boiled. She didn’t need Prudence to bring up her past or remind her that she was at risk of relieving it. She knew that the second Constance said she was taking her place. What she will not do is fall back on those old ways, she was better, had to be better than that. For herself and more importantly for Vida. No longer in the mood to read she downed the rest of her tea despite it going cold and left.

_______________

It was late when Zelda and her group returned to the hotel. If she remembered her military time 22:50 meant it was almost eleven and they had to be up early. Even though it was only 5:00 back home Zelda was exhausted. With Faustus on first patrol she enjoyed the freedom of being alone. Though she kept as much distance between herself and Faustus as she could without making it obvious this was the first time that she could relax. She dressed in her nightgown and while she was applying lotion to her elbows her phone rang. She cursed at being disturbed but when she saw Mary’s name and picture flash on the screen she scrambled to answer it.

“Hi!”

“Is this a bad time?”

“Not at all. I miss you. God I’ve only been gone for less then a day and I miss you and Vida so much.”

“Well I have something that could help with that. Did you find the surprise I left you?”

“If you’re referring to Ambrose’s laptop I did. How did you get that in my suitcase?”

“I have my ways. Now here’s what I want you to do. Power on the laptop.” Zelda whispered an okay and went to the table that she placed Ambrose’s laptop. As it booted up she found an outlet to place the plug in.

“Alright it’s on.”

“Okay first are you connected to the internet?” It took Zelda a minute to figure out where that would be displayed on the laptop and then connect to the wifi of the hotel. When she confirmed that she was connected Mary continued. “Okay I want you to open a web browser and you should see a link on the home page that says Skype, click on it.”

“Okay then what?”

“Wait for it.” After clicking the link Zelda waited for the website to load, she noted that it was all set up and on the screen was a symbol that looked like a phone in a green circle and under the button it said ‘call home’. Zelda pressed it and a minute later Mary was on the screen with her cellphone pressed to her ear smirking at her. Zelda sat in her seat in complete disbelief. She couldn’t believe that Mary was really there, yes she was seeing her through a screen but she was there. And that overwhelming feeling that filled her made tears form, a few fell. “Don’t do that when I’m not there. You know how I am when I see you cry.” Zelda did know. Mary’s overprotective nature made her go on the defense when someone she cared for was hurt. Zelda might not be the most forthcoming with her emotions but everytime she displayed hurt Mary was there in a nanosecond doing what she can to make it better rather it be a hug or threat of harm on her behalf. It made Zelda miss her that much more. It took her a minute but Zelda was able to compose herself, to push back her tears.

“How’s it going over there?”

“You mean is your house still standing? It’s perfectly intact.”

“And Vida?”

“Rough. According to Hilda she didn’t sleep at all last night. She went from one room to the next but never settling down. She’s been sleeping off and on all day.” Zelda didn’t think it would be possible for her heart to break even more than it was but at that moment it did. Hearing her baby suffering because she wasn’t there, it made her wonder if Vida was truly okay when she spent those nights at Mary’s. But Hilda would have told her if something was wrong and this was completely different. Vida was already vulnerable emotionally, her leaving just added fuel to the fire. It meant drastic measures must be taken and she made a mental note to call Hilda when she was done talking to Mary. “Hang on a second Zelda.” Zelda nodded and Mary left the screen. Where Mary’s head used to be was a picture, it was a bit blurry but something nagged at Zelda that she had seen it before. The longer she stared at it the more the feeling grew and that’s when it hit her. It was her brother’s wedding picture which was hung on the wall just outside the kitchen. Mary was in her house. Why was Mary in her house? Mary came back, in her arms was Vida. “You want to say hi to your Mommy?” Zelda could pick up the faint whine of her daughter as she lifted her head from Mary’s shoulder. Zelda knew instantly that Vida was tired, her eye’s didn’t have that shine behind them and she looked a little pale.

“Hi baby.” Some color came to Vida’s face when she could register that the image on the computer was real. A grin, a smile that Zelda always associate with Vida, spread across Vida’s face. To Zelda it felt like it happened in slow motion but in reality was a nanosecond but seeing that light come back into her daughter, it made her feel a little better.

“Mommy!” Vida got as close to the computer as she could, taking up a majority of the screen. The screen shook and Zelda could hear Mary telling Vida to back up a little and after some readjusting Zelda had a good view of Vida and Mary. “I miss you Mommy.”

“I miss you too baby. Just five more days and I’ll be home. Mary says you’ve been sleepy. What happened why couldn’t you sleep last night?”

“Missed you.”

“Did you remember what I said?” Vida, after stifling a yawn, nodded. “Good. I expect a lot of good stories from you. Do you have plans?” Vida shook her head but Mary nudged her.

“Yes you do. Remember we’re going to the aquarium on Tuesday.”

“Oh yeah.” Mary and Zelda smiled at each other. Vida was a combination of tired and emotionally drained, there was only so much they were going to get out of her. Out of the corner of her eye Mary looked at something and it caused her to frown.

“We only have two more minutes. Is there anything else you want to say to your Mommy Vida?” Vida just shook her head and started to squirm out of Mary’s hold. She ran off the second Mary put her down. Zelda, though crushed, understood why her daughter ran, she couldn’t handle another goodbye. “Zelda I-”

“It’s okay. I have to tell you something and I better make it quick. I have a bottle of my perfume on my vanity squirt some on her blanket, the small blue one and wrap Oso in it. From Vida’s books take Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? I don’t recall if I have it in english I know I have it in Spanish. It should knock her right out.”

“Okay I think I can manage.”

“One last thing. Why are you in my house?”

“Vida needed me.” Zelda smiled and after saying goodbye Mary vanished from the screen. Zelda sat at the computer for a minute still trying to process what happened. Some time, Zelda didn’t know when, Mary set up this Skype thing to help her through this ordeal. And she dropped everything to go to her house to help with Vida on top of watching her when Hilda was away. While Zelda kept saying she was ready for Mary to take on more she didn’t expect Mary to take on this much so quickly. Zelda even revealed her secret bed time routine for when Vida needed that extra bit of comfort. Thinking of it now she did have Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? in English but Vida responded better with the Spanish version. It would be interesting to hear how it went with Mary. The door to her hotel room slammed closed and Zelda turned around to see Faustus enter, his face full of exhaustion.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Zelda turned back to the computer and shut it down. Behind her she could hear Faustus move around but she wasn’t tense. She was completely relaxed, not jumpy or on edge. She settled into her bed, not given Faustus any mind and fell into a deep sleep.

_______________

Being a chaperone was if anything tedious. Zelda’s duties were limited to making sure that the students that were in her group stayed in eye sight and were respectful to whoever was their tour guide at the moment. She tried to do something that would reflect her role as not only a teacher but someone who knew the language and the city. She was shot down every time, dismissed or ignored like she didn’t say anything. Eventually she just kept her mouth shut. Though not treated like an equal she still had the same duties like taking a night shift. Night shifts were split into three hour blocks where a chaperone like herself would overlook the hallways that housed the rooms that were occupied by the students. Staff patrol started around eleven and the last shift was at 5. If on the first patrol they would do a bed check and a final head count before Faustus would put tape on the doors. Her job was to make sure the tape didn’t break. It was a boring job, one that Zelda found herself almost falling asleep on.

Tuesday was relatively going to be an easy day. The students were scheduled to take one of the featured tours then after lunch to explore the museum on their own to work on some project they were assigned, Zelda was never given any details nor asked. They arrived at the Louvre just as it opened, it was an early tour. A tour guide was supposed to meet them outside the museum to start the tour with the museums bigger pieces; the museum itself. There guide wasn’t there and that cause Faustus to go into a tirade with the person running the ticket office. His tantrum, as Zelda saw it, attracted the attention of one of the museums curators. The curator apologized but said that there was some sort of mix up in confirming the tour and that all their tours for that day were full. They were offered audio tours free of charge but that didn’t please Faustus. He scoffed and waved at his deputy saying to handle it. He stormed off, no one made a move to chase him. The deputy after cutting the tension that Faustus storming off caused moved the students to collect the audio tours. Zelda hung back even as the students and some of the chaperone’s moved into the museum, she was too focused on the curator. The second that Zelda saw the curator she couldn’t help but think she saw this woman before, it was on the tip of her brain but she couldn’t grasp it. The curator, when the last of Zelda’s party had moved on, looked at her the same way.

“Zelda? No it can’t be.” The curator stepped closer and Zelda, who was about one second to go onto the defence, didn’t when she saw the name of the woman’s badge.

“Isabeth. Long time no seen.” After embracing they kissed each other’s cheek, a common greeting in France.

“What are you doing here? I distinctly remember you saying that once you left you’d never return which you know broke my heart because I was never leaving.”

“It’s a long story.”

“Ooh. This I’ve got to hear.” Isabeth offered Zelda her elbow, she took it and they walked into the museum.

______________

“So why are you in Paris?” Zelda looked at Isabeth over the rim of her tea cup. Isabeth led her through the back tunnels of the museum to her office. It was quite impressive with a large oak desk and several paintings on the wall. Zelda and Isabeth sat at the tea table that was next to a large picture window that offered an amazing birds eye view of the main floor of the museum. Isabeth’s assistant brought them a tray of warm tea and some small pastries. Zelda wasn’t hungry so she just took tea.

“I’m filling in for another teacher.” Isabeth’s eyes went wide and she started to laugh like she just heard the greatest joke ever.

“You’re a teacher!? I don’t know who I feel more sorry for you or your students. Tell me you don’t work for the man who behaves like a five year old?”

“For the next three days I do and after that I hope to never see him again. And considering I have a four year old I resent that.” If it was possible Isabeth’s eyes went even wider but this time shock.

“You have a kid!? Now you must start at the beginning.”

“Where do you want me to start?”

“How about when you left Paris. What happened to you ma cherie?” Zelda took a generous sip of her tea before setting down her cup. She sat there in silence, watching the liquid swirl around inside the cup and running her thumb over the edge of the rim.

“My brother found me the second I stepped foot off the train.”

“No!”

“Mhm. Took me back that same day. My mother was furious.”

“And what she punished you by making you became a teacher?”

“No that’s my own doing.”

“What do you mean?”

“My brother and his wife died orphaning their daughter, my niece Sabrina. At the time I worked as a midwife but the hours were so inconsistent that I had to find another job that would let me be home at night with Sabrina so Hilda could work. It’s how I got tangled with Faustus.”

“Who?”

“The man that was yelling in front of your museum.”

“Ah. The five year old.”

“I told you I take offense to that. My four year old is perfectly well behaved.”

“Yes yes you’ve mentioned that and we’ll get back to that little tidbit later for now I want you to tell me about this Faustus guy there’s history I’m sure.” Isabeth took a silver case out of her pocket and pulled out a cigarette, she offered one to Zelda but she declined. Zelda quit officially when she and Hilda got permanent custody of Sabrina.

“Faustus and my brother worked together. They started a school back where I lived and it became successful. When Edward died Faustus took over the running of the school. When I needed a more stable job that’s where I went and he started my teaching career. At the time I wasn’t qualified and knew nothing about teaching but Faustus knew my skills in languages and used me first as a teaching aid and then later I became a full blown teacher. We… got much closer than we should have. He was married and that was a line I never thought I would cross but I did. I kick myself every time I think about that first time because it created this… need in me and I couldn’t have chosen the worst person to satisfy it. It went on much longer than I’m proud to admit it did. I then committed the greatest betrayal there was.

Faustus hired me to be a midwife to his wife, she was having trouble maintaining a pregnancy and he thought I could help. I took the job and even knowing that he was trying to create a family I still saw him intimately. A consequence is that I became pregnant. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I knew I was capable of raising a child because I’ve been raising Sabrina since she was not even a year old. I was also having a married man’s baby, my child would be the same age as his wife’s. And did I also want to bring a child into this world knowing the only reason she existed was because of an affair? I couldn’t come to a decision on my own and some stupid part of me though it be fair that I get Faustus opinion. To this day I can’t get over how he snarled at me like it was my fault that this parasite was growing inside me. He gave me two options, keep the child and never set foot in his eyesight again or get rid of it and never talk about it again. You know what choice I made.”

“For the better I hope?”

“Walking away was the best thing I ever did. I might despise Faustus but he gave me the best gift ever, my daughter.” Isabeth gave a small smile and nodded to herself.

“May I?” Zelda took out her phone and pulled up the pictures she had of Vida. She had several, ranging from back when Vida was a baby to now. There was a few of Sabrina, Ambrose, and Hilda, it would be the first time that Isabeth would see what her sister looked like instead of having to rely on the description that Zelda have given her. “Adorable. Looks just like you, and for that I am sorry.”

“Hey!”

“Not like that. If she is anything like you with the brains to match that beauty the rest of us are in trouble.”

“So Hilda keeps saying.”

“Who is this?” Isabeth turned the face of her phone to her to show a picture of her Mary and Vida from Christmas. They were in their Christmas pjs sitting on the couch. Vida was curled between them and Zelda had her head on Mary’s shoulder. Mary’s finger could just be seen tangled in her hair. If memory serves Zelda well it was Sabrina who took the picture.

“That’s Mary she’s my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend as in romantic? Zelda nodded and Isabeth gasped in shock. “Zelda! Well at least your taste in women is better than your taste in men.” Zelda just glared but a moment later she smiled. She wasn’t quite sure how much of Isabeth’s approval she wanted but she was glad her old friend didn’t judge her. Her phone started to vibrate and Faustus’ number flashed on the screen.

“I have to get going.”

“Very well. It was nice catching up with you Zelda, I’ll walk you out.” At the elevator Isabeth hugged her and they kissed each other’s cheeks one last time before Zelda look the elevator back down to the main floor of the museum. Faustus was in the lobby, he wasn’t very happy with her but Zelda waved him off. It was nice to confide in someone, catching up with an old friend made it that much better.

___________________

Zelda could not express the joy she felt on Thursday. She was going home tomorrow! They were taking the early flight home so she would be back in Greendale, back home with her family before dinner. She wished she could talk to Mary but this wasn’t the first time she cursed the time difference. Since talking with Mary on the Skype she had this strange feeling, an empty open air kind of feeling whenever she slept on her side. Sleeping on her back was fine but on her side she felt like something was missing. It was Mary, Mary was missing. She was missing the warmth of Mary pressed against her back as she slept and she wondered when she grew accustomed to that feeling. How she slept without it. Zelda couldn’t dwell on it, the more she thought about her family the more eager she was to go home. She needed to stay calm, focused so she wasn’t on edge.

That afternoon was a bus tour to see the parts of the city they didn’t have time for and then they went back to the hotel so the students could work on their assignments. Zelda took the time to pack, she kept a set of clothes out but made sure that her suitcase was neatly packed and that the items that she needed like her passport were in reach. After some debate she packed Ambrose’s laptop, she wanted to talk to Mary and her daughter one last time but she also didn’t want to forget it either. When she was done packing she turned around to see Faustus, he looked like he was in discomfort.

“Is something wrong?”

“The rest of the faculty members and myself are going to have dinner at the hotel tonight you are welcomed to join us.”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on Zelda it’s just dinner. I know you’ve felt like you haven’t really been apart of the group but you worked just as hard as the rest of us. You have every right to attend.”

“I’ll think about it.” Faustus gave her a smile that once upon a time Zelda found charming but now it sent a twisting feeling in her gut. He left and Zelda was left to think about the offer.

She decided to take the dinner offer. She found a dress that she packed just in case and went down to the lobby. She told the matradee that she was joining another party and gave him Faustus’ name. He led her to a table that was set for two. Though the martdee left her Zelda was hesitant on sitting down. Faustus said this was a staff dinner there was more than just two of them. What was going on? Against her better judgement she sat down and waited for Faustus. Faustus arrived fifteen minutes later, he was lucky she was going to leave in five more minutes.

“Zelda.”

“You said this was a staff dinner.”

“Yes everyone else had other plans.” Zelda didn’t believe him but she had no proof and she was hungry so she bit her tongue. They sat in silence minus them ordering their food and that was fine with Zelda, she wouldn’t choose Faustus as a dining companion if he was the last person on earth. “How is your sister?”

“Excuse me?”

“Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“Don’t.” They didn’t talk again and when their meal was done Zelda was finishing off her wine before heading back to her room.

“Zelda there is something that I want to talk to you about.”

“Make it quick.”

“I want you to come back to the Academy Zelda, the school isn’t the same without you. I miss you.”

“I’m not coming back Faustus.”

“If you won’t come back at least can I get to know her.” Zelda’s heart ran cold at the same time her blood ran hot with rage.

“You bastard. You have no right.”

“She’s my daughter Zelda.”

“You didn’t even want her!”

“Zelda calm-”

“No listen to me very carefully Faustus. You gave up any right to her when you said for me to get rid of her. I made the choice to keep her, she’s mine you have no right to her and I would die before I let you have any part of her.” Zelda not caring who was watching her stormed out of the restaurant. She could not believe Faustus would pull this crap. He had no right to suddenly change his mind for whatever reason he thought was a good reason. It made her sick and when she got to her room she hastily changed and left with her suitcase in hand.

It wasn’t until she was in the sky on a flight to London that Zelda allowed herself to process her emotions. She was angry, flabbergasted, that Faustus would want to, after five years, be apart of Vida’s life. She was also scared. Faustus was a man with means and she knew his reputation of getting what he wanted in the end. What did that mean for her? For Vida? Whatever he wanted Zelda wouldn’t allow it. He made up his mind, she made up hers. There was no hope in changing it.

____________________

When she got off of her connector flight it was early in the morning. She didn’t want to cause a panic so after picking up her suitcases she took a cab home. It was more costly that way but it was the best option. Seeing her house set a wave of emotion through her. She was home. Entering the house she heard her family in the kitchen sitting down for breakfast.

“When’s Zelda’s flight coming in?” From where she stood Zelda could see into the kitchen without herself being seen. Hilda was buzzing around setting down a plate of eggs, Sabrina and Ambrose were in their usual place on the bench, and Mary was next to Vida. Her spot at the front was left vacant.

“Early afternoon I think. If we leave here around noon that should make up the time for us to get there and her going through customs to meet her at bag check.” Mary cut up Vida’s pancakes before moving to her own. Vida wasted no time, she shoved two pieces into her mouth covering her face in blueberry.

“Vida slow down before you choke.” There was a collective gasp before everyone turned to her. Vida was the first to recover, she scrambled out of her seat and ran to her.

“Mommy!” Zelda picked up her daughter, squeezing her tight. She missed everyone but she missed Vida the most. And with Faustus… Zelda tried not to think about it. Zeld went around the table to hug her family, when she got to Mary they shared a kiss before she took her seat with Vida in her lap. Everyone talked over each other as they ate but Zelda didn’t mind. She was with her family, with her daughter and Mary. She was home.

#Madam Satan #Zelda Spellman #madam spellman

9 notes · View notes

liv-andletdie · 7 years

Note

zelda sneaking away from the castle to spend time with link.

You didn’t specify a game so I’m going with my all time fave Twilight Princess (this turned out way longer than I expected so it’s under the cut forgive me)

Restful days and moments of silence were a rarity in the Princess of Hyrule’s life. Since the invasion and the subsequent rebuilding of Castle Town, the young monarch’s diary had been filled with council meetings and public engagements. The people of Hyrule were desperate and eager to see the woman who would become Queen

For The Princess, the chance to meet and talk to the people of her country, to listen to their problems and to offer her support, was an invaluable experience

But for Zelda, the constant never ending parade of nobles and councilmen, issues and problems, all needing attention and solutions; was an exhausting and soul sucking experience. She ached for the days when she could curl up in her library, content to warm her feet by the fire and get lost in the pages of a silly romance novel. Her mind drifting to fantastical stories of princess running away with farm-boys, Noblemen dueling for the hand of young flower girls, and Kings leaving their fortunes to the bravest in the land

Those days were long behind her now.

The only saving grace was the almost constant presence of her Hero. Link had been a pillar of support since the downfall of Ganondorf. During the rebuilding he had helped organize and distribute rations and building materials, offering his skills were he deemed necessary. During the nights he would retire to the taverns with the workmen, joining in the drinking and singing. Raising morale and sharing tales of his dangerous adventures, telling stories of how he befriended the new King of the Zora, how he searched high and low for attendees to a Bug Princess’s ball, and how he beat the Gorons in a sumo match.

He kept the best stories for a more private audience however. When it was just himself and his princess. Then he’d share with her stories of how he freed the light spirits from twilight, how he traveled to the city in the sky and battled a fierce dragon high above the clouds, how he fought as a proud wolf against the darkness and the Usurper King. Zelda delighted in hearing of his adventures and cherished the time they spent together.

Link was so different to the noblemen she’d been coerced to associate with before.

Even as the rebuilding drew to a close Link continued his work in Castle Town. Running errands for shopkeepers, playing with the children, and training the knights of Hyrule. He returned to Ordon briefly to check in on his family and his friends. But he had quickly returned to the city that was fast becoming his home.

While the Princess wouldn’t admit it, she was happy that he had stayed with her. Perhaps it was a selfish and childish desire to be like the princesses in her stories, having romantic dalliances with brave knights. Or Perhaps it was the simple joy of having a friend beyond the castle walls.

A Friend that she did not often get to see.

However, it was in these rare moments of silence that she found herself in his presence.She had stolen away to the garden for a brief moment of reprieve before descending into the lion’s den that was the council room. Breathing in the floral perfume of the rainbow of flowers, their colourful petals creating a paradise in the realm of mortal men.

“Must be nice to get some time to enjoy the flowers” the Hero’s soft timber had broken her relative silence, stunning her for a second. She turned to face him, a soft smile playing at the corner of her lips.

“I agree Hero. What point is there to having an expansive garden if I am not afforded any time to explore it?” Her smile clear in her words. Link stepped closer, his hands clasped behind his back… was he… nervous? No. The Hero of Twilight was never nervous.

“I agree, your highness” His smile was far more clear, stretching across his face, his sapphire eyes shining in the late spring sun. Goddess he’s beautiful Zelda thought. She allowed herself a moment to just bathe in his light, enjoying the peaceful silence.

“Your highness? Is everything okay?” Oh shit, was she staring?

“Yes, yes everything is perfectly fine Hero. Sorry if I worried you” Oh Nayru bury me now. She hadn’t noticed that he’d been talking, he’d asked her something.“What is you needed?”

“I..I uh don’t.. I don’t need anything. I was just wondering… that is if you’re free, Me and the rest of the resistance were going to go to Telma’s tonight… and I’d lo…well we’d be honored if you would join us” Goddesses he is nervous.

Zelda felt her heart race, an evening away from the castle sounded sublime. Dealing with stuffy nobles throughout dinner was growing incredibly thin and perhaps spending time away from royal life was exactly what she needed. And the fact that Link had asked her personally to join them didn’t hurt either.

However, as the Crown Princess and Future Queen, she had a duty. Propriety and tradition dictated her every move. She couldn’t throw centuries of expectations away for one night could she?

Link had noticed her silence, perhaps taking it as a sign of rejection. She watched as the light dimmed in his eyes, his smile falling. It broke her heart.

She made her decision.

“What time shall I arrive?”

—

Coming up with a plan to escape had been easy, putting it into motion however was proving quite difficult.

She had faked an illness during dinner, a stomach cramp the left her unable to dine. Various young Nobles had requested to help escort her to her rooms. she had shrugged each of them off, claiming that she could manage by herself. Sir Jonah though had been particularly persistent. He had led her the long way around the castle, once she finally relented to having an escort, regaling her with tales of his own exploits. Nothing as impressive as Link’s achievements she had noted letting his dreary monotone voice wash over her. Responding only with nods or small lines of encouragement when he paused for breath.

It was no secret to her that Sir Jonah was interested in asking for her hand in marriage, half the eligible young nobles in the country were for Farore’s sake, and while he was a decent man of good social standing, all Zelda could think about was the small wooden stool next to Link’s in Telma’s bar with her name on it.

Eventually Sir Jonah stopped at the door to her room, where he insisted on escorting her inside and staying with her until the maids came. On other nights his devotion to the crown would have been applauded, he’d have been heralded as a model citizen. However, on this night his constant excuses and prolonged company were more of a nuisance than anything else.

That’s when she decided to up the ante.

Zelda had pulled out her fan, claiming to suddenly feel quite faint. Surely that would cause Sir Jonah to call for the maids and leaver her alone. But instead the poor man panicked, he called instead for the court physician, claiming it a matter of national emergency.

This is it, she thought, I’m going to get found out! I’m sorry Link.

She felt her heart sink as Jonah let the doctor into the room. The one person with the power to scupper her brilliant plan to escape the life of a princess for one night. As the old physician shuffled closer she felt her pulse race in her ears, and a sickening feeling sink into the bottom of her stomach. She clutched her silk skirts in her sweaty palms as the doctor laid his cold, wrinkled hands on her brow. She waited patiently as he concluded his examination.

“Well?” sir Jonah demanded “What’s wrong with her?!”

This was it. The end.

The old doctor stood up straight, packing his equipment into his satchel. He was silent for a few moments, prolonging the young princess’s agony, before he finally spoke up.

“It seems the Princess has a slight fever. Nothing too serious though I do suggest that she be left to rest until morning”

Wait

What?

Did… did he just… lie for her? Zelda turned to catch the old man’s gaze, watching in astonishment as he winked lightly at her. By Din I’m going mad she thought.

“Are you sure that’s all she needs?”“Yes yes young sir, no need to worry”

“But-”

“I do think it’s time for us to leave. Shall I call for the maids your Highness?”

Dazed, Zelda nodded, not trusting her voice to carry as strongly as she wanted it too. She watched as The Doctor led Sir Jonah out of the room, the young noble’s cries of protest echoing through the halls. A fog came over her mind as she relaxed against the back of the couch she had draped herself over. That was a close call, if the physician hadn’t been on her side she would have surely been found out and reprimanded for causing everyone such worry.

The fog didn’t lift from her mind, even as the maids came in, un braiding her hair and dressing her for bed. It didn’t lift as they tucked her into bed and set out her clothes for the morning. It even remained until after they left. Sharp realization lifted Zelda’s head from her pillows, She’d been lying in bed for too long, surely Link was waiting for her in Telma’s bar.

She lept out of bed, reaching under the mattress where she had hidden a set of plain clothes. A simple blue dress, a white cotton chemise, and a thick brown woolen cloak. Rushing to get ready she haphazardly tied the back of the dress closed over her chemise and stays. It was messy but it would do it’s job. Throwing the cloak over her shoulders she set about starting the second phase of her plan.

Since Link’s arrival in Castle Town the soldiers and the Knights had improved exponentially. Gone were the cowardly men who fled from the twilight battle, gone were the “entitled rich boys” as Link called them, nobles playing at being warriors. In their place stood a proud and competent army, ready to lay down their lives for Queen and country. Their constant protection was a comfort to the Princess, however tonight it was a challenge.

For the castle guards had been trained by the best of the best. None other than Link himself.

Zelda knew that behind the door 2 guards stood. If they saw her she’d be caught meaning she couldn’t use that exit. Unfortunately the only other exit was the window. It would be a 6 storey drop to the ground if she were to jump, meaning certain injury or death. Even the rope she made from her bed sheets wasn’t enough to reach the ground safely. But it was all that she had. It would have to do

Anchoring the makeshift rope to her balcony she began her descent. The sheets clutched tightly in her hands, her feet braced against the castle walls.

The silk sheets slipped under her sweaty fingers, her legs ached as she tried to control her drop. The rope came to its abrupt end outside of the window to one of the guest rooms on the lower floor. Steeling her nerves Zelda reached out one pointed toe to land on the window ledge. Her arms aching as she tried to support her weight. Getting the toe of her boot safely onto the window ledge she pushed her foot forward, trying to get a more stable footing so she wouldn’t fall. When the heel of her foot felt stone beneath it she started moving her other foot. Edging it along the wall until it joined its twin on the ledge.

Now came the tricky part.

Bracing her legs she began to lean forward towards the window. There would be enough room on the ledge for her to stand, provided that she was leaning against the window. However, if she were to time her push wrong, she could end up losing her balance and falling onto the patio below.

Closing her eyes she focused her breath, counting in her head. Once I get to Three I’ll push, she told herself. The rope slipped in her hands as she counted down.

One

Two

Three

For a terrifying moment nothing seemed to happen. Then she felt her stomach lurch and the cool feel of glass beneath her hands. The breeze blew past her face, cooling the sweat that had accumulated on her brow.

Then she opened her eyes, nose pressed against glass. She’d done it! Now she needed to find a way inside without falling. Concentrating, Zelda focused on the window lock, reaching her hand down to touch it from the outside. She imagined the metal beneath her fingers moving, the lock sliding open. She felt the window pane give way to her gentle push as she opened it enough to crawl through.

Thank the Goddesses for Magic she thought to herself.

Once she made it inside, she immediately fell to the floor. Her heart racing with adrenaline, her mind scolding her on how reckless she was being. But she was safe now, lying on top of a plush wool rug in a cosy guest room. She wouldn’t get found here, she wouldn’t fall to her death. She gave herself a moment to rest, to calm down and breathe before she continued on her way out of the castle.

Once she felt her pulse return to normal she pushed herself up from the ground. Using her powers she unlocked the door as she had with the window, and let herself into the dark corridor.

This part of the castle, she knew, was mostly abandoned. Only ever used when foreign dignitaries or ambassadors came to stay in her company. She felt her confidence return with the knowledge that she was unlikely to get caught, and set off on her way; sticking to the shadows just in case.

She kept walking, freezing every time she heard the voices of guards in the distance. Her pulse thundered in her ears and she tried to keep hidden. She needed to get to the garden, she’d be able to sneak out of the castle grounds from there. But the darkness and the shadows made travel difficult, the corridors seemed to twist trying to confuse and distract her. She ignored it, pushing onwards in the direction she believed to be right.

She saw a light in the distance, it’s soft amber glowing in contrast to the dark stone around her. Eagerly she followed it, knowing that it would lead her to the servants corridor and out into the garden, to freedom. As she neared the light she could hear Chef ranting to the scullery maids about something she couldn’t quite catch. But knowing Chef it could be anything, he was a loud and opinionated man, but he was good and kind. He also made an incredible fruit cake. Biting down a smile Zelda focused on her task at hand.

With how close she was now to the lamp, she found herself fully illuminated. If someone were to come out of the kitchen now then she’d most certainly be found. Luckily the servants would be more lenient about her sneaking out, even if they were more likely to gossip.

Opening the service door as quietly as she could, Zelda made her way into the brightly lit corridor. Chef’s booming voice became more clear as she rushed down the small stone tunnel.

“And then he practically excused me of poisoning her!” “Chef you know that isn’t what he meant”“Oh is it not Marie? He said that if my cooking hadn’t made her ill he didn’t know what else could have done it!”

“Oh Chef-”“I’ll tell you what could have done it Marie, Stress! They’re putting her highness under too much stress. She needs a rest, even the Hero agrees with me”

Zelda froze at the mention of Link. He’d been talking to Chef? About her? Anxiety started clawing at her heart. What did he think of her? He thought she was stressed! Granted she was, endless work at the castle had limited any time she had to relax and recuperate. But she was fine… mostly! Did he think she was a failure? That she couldn’t handle it?

“The Hero’s just worried about her”“But he has a point Marie. That DAMN LORD has the GALL to suggest that I am the one who has made her Highness feel faint!”

He was worried about her? He cared?

The anxious feeling bled away slightly, leaving a warm hum in her chest. She made a note to apologise to Chef, her false illness at dinner had caused a disturbance in the kitchen. Perhaps she could visit him tomorrow, thank him for his service and assure him that his cooking was not the cause of her ailment.

But now she had to focus on the task at hand, hearing footsteps coming towards her Zelda ran. She ran down the corridor as fast as she could, desperate to make it into the open air and starlight in the garden. Her boots echoed as she flew down the tunnel, less worried about drawing attention to herself now that she was so close to freedom.

The stone tunnel gave way to the fresh night air as she finally found herself in the garden. The scent of the flowers bringing back memories of earlier when Link had asked her to join them. She once again kept to shadows, determined once again to stay hidden. She followed the trees that lined the gardens, making her way towards the front of the castle. She spotted the guards in the distance, torchlight glinting of their polished armour.

Her heart leapt into her throat once again as she got closer. Praying silently that she wouldn’t be spotted she ducked behind a bush. She was close enough know to hear their voices but not their words. A soft chime could be heard from the City below and the voices of the guards fell quiet.

Zelda recognised the sound as the old clock tower. The chimes continued ringing eleven times and the guards began to disperse. A memory flashed to the front of her mind, something Link had told her when they’d been discussing changes to the castle security. It was one of her less fond memories because the visit hadn’t been a social one. But never the less she held it with her, any time spent with Link was to be cherished she thought to herself. She remembered Link had went into detail about the night watch and the guards on the castle grounds.

“At eleven the guards at the front of the castle will change over, then after 30 minutes the guards at the far gates will change over and so on. That way you’re always protected rather than having all the guards change over at once”

Thanking Link’s tactical mind Zelda made a break for it. Running past the front of the castle while the guards were preoccupied. She knew if she took her time and stuck to the shadows on the walk down to far castle gates that led to Castle Town. then she could reach them by the time the guards changed over.

She kept listening out for the 30 minute chimes from the clock tower, her feet steady. She was so close. She could practically taste the ale and hear the songs that would no doubt be filling the air at Telma’s.

She finally got to the gates just as the clock tower chimed. Waiting in the shadows once again for the guards to switch. Her muscles tensed, ready to make a break for it. The guards at the gate were taking longer to change over, perhaps the others hadn’t arrived yet, perhaps she would have to use magic to knock them out. It would be risky, if the other’s found them asleep when they came then they would know something was up! There’d be a search and security would be tightened. She’s never get to meet Link in Castle town.

She counted, focusing her breath to try and stay calm. Maybe she could cause a distraction? Get the guards to leave so she could get past. Focusing her magic, she willed a ball of light to appear. A soft blue glow appeared above the guards heads. Their attention drawn upwards, Zelda pushed the ball of light to move out and away. It wasn’t a subtle distraction by all means, but it was the best she was able to make given the circumstances.

Predictably the guards followed the light, leaving their post. She kept quiet, sticking close to them in order to sustain the ball of light. Once she was certain she could run and make it to the city without the guards noticing her she dropped her distraction and ran. The light disappeared leaving the guards in darkness, confused shouts could be heard as they tried to draw their weapons to attack what ever non existent foe lay before them. Further up the path, by the gates Zelda could hear the new shift settling into position. Their cries echoing over the path and fading into the distance behind her.

Her heart pounded in her chest but this time it wasn’t fear that set her blood rushing.

She’d done it. She was free!

—

Zelda opened the double doors that led to the square, the stone heavy and rough beneath her fingertips. The expansive square opened up before her, the torches casting a warm amber glow over the fountain, reflecting off the water making it appear as if liquid starlight was pouring over the stones. The red flags bearing her family’s royal insignia stood proudly waving gently in the wind.

It was beautiful.

But it was not the proud flags or the monumental fountain that stole the breath from her lungs. Link stood gazing into the fountain, lost in endless thought. He hadn’t noticed her arrival. Zelda took a moment and let her gaze wash over him. He’d dressed smartly, not as smart as the “Rich boys” in the castle, but smart enough for an evening drinking with friends. His trademark green tunic had been replaced with a rich sapphire blue and his boots had been recently polished.

She stepped closer, wincing at how loud her steps were in the silence of the night. Link’s ears twitched in her direction but he still didn’t look up. Confidence growing Zelda walked to where he was standing. She came to stand by his side, noting how he’d worn boots with a slight heel, making him just a little taller than her.

She cleared her throat, and finally Link turned his attention to her. A smile instantly broke out on his face. Once again Zelda found herself struck by just how beautiful Link was.

“I’m glad you could make it. I was a little worried you’d stood me up for a second there” His voice was joking, but his eyes revealed his true feelings. He’d been genuinely scared that she wasn’t going to show up, that she’d change her mind at last minute and leave him standing alone by the fountain.

She matched his smile with one of her own, surprised at how happy she felt. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world Hero”

The two stood there for a second, drinking in the way the moonlight and the torchlight danced across their features. Link offered his elbow, a habit he’d developed from watching the Nobles in the Castle, and shot her another winning smile. Goddesses if he keeps smiling at me like that I don’t think my heart will be able to take it.

“Shall we go your highness?”

She laid her ungloved hand in the crook of his elbow, pulling herself closer to him. Catching his eye she gave a smile of her own, a smaller more discrete smile. “Lead the way”

The walk to Telma’s bar was blissful and silent. The only sound shared between them was the sound of their boots echoing across the rough stone paths. Their steps were soon drowned out however by the sound of laughter and singing. Every tavern and bar in Castle Town was alive with music, the sound brought joy to the Princess’s heart. Her breath got lost in her throat as the life from the city began to burrow its way into her bones. Excitement welling up in her chest.

Link led her down a set of stone steps. Noise growing louder as they neared a wooden door. Link stopped short, turning sharply to face the Princess. A look of worry passed over his features but was soon lost as opened his mouth to speak.

“Zelda” he said, meeting her gaze with his own. “The folks inside are… well they’re not like people you find in castles. They’re… they’re a little loud and they’re really drunk. A-and if that makes you uncomfortable or you change your mind about joining us… I can… I can take you back to the castle if you want. B-but I’d really like it if you could stay”

Zelda took a step forward, closing the distance between her and Link. The fact that he’d called her by her name, and not by her title, wasn’t lost to her. She dropped her hand down to reach his, the skin on the tips of her fingers grazed lightly against the back of his palm. This is ridiculous she thought the slightest touch sets me alight! I’m a disgrace.

Link dropped his gaze to where their hands met, his breathing became deeper and his shoulders became tight. She heard him swallow as his turned his palm over, lightly holding her fingers in his. The touch was soft and gentle, his calloused fingers caressing her silken skin. With difficulty she tore her gaze from their joined hands, bringing it back to his face.

His cheeks have gone pink.

She took in everything, from how his blue eyes seemed to shine in the darkness, how his messy windblown blonde hair settled against his brow, the dignified point of his ears, the way his eyelashes brushed against the top of his cheeks when he closed his eyes, and the slight sadness she felt at having their brilliant blue blocked from her gaze.

Her eyes trailed downwards, following the slope of jaw to his chin and finally his lips. He was so close. Not for the first time in her life she felt herself grow envious of the holder of courage. For she had been blessed with Wisdom. If only their triforces were swapped, then should could muster up the resolve to lean in and take his lips with her own. To feel his beautiful smile pressed against her own.

She tore her gaze back to his eyes, desperate to shake all thoughts of kissing him from her head.

They are treasonous thoughts she reasoned. Imagining anything more than friendship between the two of you will cause only pain.

The feel of his thumb grazing lightly across her knuckles sent her heart into overdrive.

“Link” she whispered, her voice heavy and needy and pleading to her own ears. “Please”

She hoped he would understand her hidden request, Please take me inside the bar, please let me have one night of freedom, please… please kiss me. The corner of his lips quirked up in a half smile as he lifted her hand to his lips. Pressing a kiss against her knuckles. She felt her heart soar as he held her hand there for a few more seconds than strictly proper.

Dropping their hands, he offered her his elbow once again. His smile proudly displayed on his lips, his eyes twinkling with unabashed joy. Zelda took his offer eagerly, distraught at the idea of distance between them.

We’re just friends she scolded herself as he opened the door to the bar, music spilling out into the street. Nothing more, nothing less.

—

“YOU DANGLED FROM YOUR BALCONY?!” Link’s amused cry could be heard throughout the bar. Zelda hid her smile behind her flagon, slightly embarrassed at the incredulous tone he had taken.

They had entered the bar a few hours ago. Link had introduced her to the other members of the resistance who had welcomed her with open arms. The still formality she was worried about did not appear as Auru greeted her as an old friend. The others had followed his lead; Ashei had offered the seat next to her, Shad had ordered her drink. Link had taken her cloak and left it with the friendly bar keep. Rusl had asked about her work in the castle and inquired if she would ever visit Ordon. Then they had decided to get roaring drunk.

The drinks had been poured and the conversation flowed freely. Laughter rang out from the small table in the corner. As time passed on the other occupants grew tired and left, staggering home until only a few remained. Rusl had been the first to leave, claiming he had to get up early for his trip to Ordon. Auru was next, he had blamed his old age and quickly departed. Ashei and Shad had left together, leaning against the other for support as they stumbled their way upstairs.

The bar had emptied of other patrons, leaving the Hero and his Princess alone.

“There’s no need to be so loud” She giggled, Link ran his hands through his hair. He’d asked her to recount for him her own adventure, as he often did for her. He’d been curious as to how the monarch had managed to escape from her confines in the castle. He hadn’t been expecting to hear of how reckless she had been.

“That was so dangerous! You could have fallen” amusement turned to slight panic as he thought more on the logistics of her escape. “Zelda you could have been hurt!”

The young Princess simply rolled her eyes, touched by his worry “I’m fine Link”

Maybe it was the relative solitude they shared, maybe it was the alcohol flowing in her veins giving her courage, but Zelda leaned forward. She placed a hesitant hand on his knee, hearing his breath catch. Zelda’s eyes searched his face, unable to read his expression. His eyes seemed heavy gazing deeply into hers.

Zelda tore her gaze away from his, gulping down her drink greedily. She could feel his eyes on her, causing an odd feeling to bloom in her chest. She felt rough fingers lightly cup her chin, turning her head back to face him.

“I know” he said, his voice rough as he traced his fingers lightly down her neck, “I just worry sometimes that’s all”

Zelda tried not to be distracted by the feel of his fingers against her skin, unconsciously tracing circles on his knee with her thumb.

“Is that why you talked to Chef about me?” As soon as the question left her lips she regretted it. He withdrew his hand from her skin, the sudden loss of contact causing a chill. He took his flagon into his hand, staring into the liquid inside.

“You know about that?”“I overheard him mention it”

“So you were eavesdropping?” The humor came back into his voice as he took a sip of his drink. Zelda blushed at the accusation, stilling her hand on his knee she tried to look innocent.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping intentionally”

“I know I know don’t worry” She felt her cheeks grow warm as eyes met hers once again. “Me and Chef… we’re just concerned that you’re not getting enough rest. The council are working you to the bone, the rebuilding is done and Hyrule is thriving. But still they don’t let you rest”

The care in his voice warmed her to her core. She reached forward, pulling the flagon from his hands. Holding his gaze she traced her fingers along his jaw, his pulse raced beneath her fingertips.

“That’s why you asked me to join you tonight?” “Partly” he conceded, his free hands moving to rest on her legs. His touch was like fire across her skin, she found herself gazing at his lips again. The idea of leaning in became far too tempting.

“Partly?” she questioned, moving her hand to play with the hair at the back of his neck. He closed his, a soft sigh escaped his lips.

“Partly because…” His hands came to stop at her hips “Partly because I wanted to see you again”

Maybe it was the relative solitude they shared in the quiet hours of the morning, maybe it was the alcohol flowing in her veins giving her courage, or maybe it was the closeness they shared. Zelda surged forward and pressed his lips to her own.

His response was immediate, kissing back with a passion that matched her own. His lips were soft against hers, and she could feel his smile against her own. In that moment her heart became light. She felt him pull her hips toward his, shifting her into his lap. Her hands left his face, wrapping around his shoulders in an attempt to pull him closer to her.

When they broke away, leaning against each other, Zelda couldn’t stop the giggle that bubbled up from her throat.

“It’s getting late” he reminded her, making no attempt to move from his position wrapped around her. She hummed in response, moving to press a kiss against his temple.

“I should be getting you home” “If you can get past the guards”

A short laugh left his lips as he leaned in to kiss her again.

—

The journey back to the Castle was a short one. Link knew all the shortcuts, all the gaps in the guards views. They were able to sneak back onto the castle grounds without arousing any suspicion. He led her to the patio beneath her balcony, her makeshift rope still wafting in the breeze. Pulling out his clawshot he aimed at the stone above. Zelda wrapped her arms around him waiting for the unmistakable sound of metal on stone. The two were pulled skyward and Link helped her safely onto her balcony.

“This is where we part ways”

“I suppose it is” She agreed, leaning forward to press her lips to his forehead “Until tomorrow my Hero”

“Until tomorrow my Princess”

A melancholy filled the air as Zelda stepped back to the doorway, she watched as Link lowered himself down to the ground safely, flashing her a wink as he disappeared from view.

She could live without her breaks in the library, she decided. She could make do for now without the silly romance novels.

She had something even better.

#zelink #tp zelink #fanfic request #zelda #link #loz #legend of zelda

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anotherlifefic · 4 years

Text

Chapter 46: A Red Moon Rises

Zelda promised to look into the matter of the apparition when we visited her. Especially my description of the man in the mirror had her concerned, though she tried to assure us that no harm could come to our family while we were in the immediate vicinity of the castle and promised to keep us updated on anything she might find. With our minds slightly eased, we returned home. Link was on the pasture with Gareth, playing with the horses, while I was doing the laundry in a big tub that was located at the back entrance of the house, where I could still watch my husband and son. While I scrubbed one of Link‘s undershirts over the washing board, I caught a glimpse of a reflection on the water‘s surface. Just a hint of something or someone standing behind me. The hair at the back of my neck stood up and I clenched my hands into fists to stop myself from panicking. Tiny spikes of ice started to spread over my hands, the wet fabric, and the water in the tub, until chunks of ice were floating around in it like tiny glaciers. Then, someone touched my shoulders. I immediately flinched and spun around, a dagger made of the frozen washing water in my hand, only to be met with the blue eyes of a very, very startled Malon, with Jalon in her arms. I immediately dropped the make-shift weapon, causing it to melt back into a small puddle of dirty water. „Malon! By the Goddesses! I almost killed you!“ „No kidding“, she said, her eyes still wide with shock. „I just delivered some milk to the castle and thought I‘d drop by and let Jalon and Gareth play for a bit. I didn‘t expect to be greeted like this though.“ I took a deep, calming breath. „Some things happened lately that made me a bit jumpy. Sorry that I startled you.“ „It‘s okay.“ She hugged me lightly, making sure not to crush Jalon in the process. He, adorably, also tried to hug me with his tiny baby arms. I looked at the almost finished laundry. „Just let me hang up the last pieces of laundry and then we can join Link on the pasture.“

Link‘s face lit up with a smile when he saw me enter the pasture with Malon and Jalon in tow. „Malon! So nice of you to visit!“ She hugged him as a greeting. „So nice of you to have me!“ Then she set down Jalon on the ground next to Gareth. „I thought our boys might want to play for a bit.“ The two toddlers eyed each other like curious puppies. For a moment, I was worried. While five months of difference in age didn‘t mean much to adults, for infants, it was a lot, and I feared that Gareth might not understand that and accidentally hurt Jalon. But Gareth crawled away, only to return soon after, excitedly showing Jalon a crushed bug, making the younger boy squeal in delight. I just hoped that Gareth‘s way of showing affection would develop past that eventually. And if it didn‘t… well, there were plenty of bugs on the pasture. Malon and I sat down on the grass, while Link excused himself. „I don‘t want to be in the way of your ladies‘ talk. And someone has to keep an eye on the kids.“ With that, he jogged after the boys, who had taken a keen interest in the water trough. „I still can‘t fully believe it“, Malon said as we were watching them. „So much has changed in such a short amount of time.“ I fully understood where she came from. Our childhood felt so close, as if it had just been yesterday we were running around the marketplace, pretending to be proper princesses searching for their knights in shining armor. And now we were both wives and mothers. I had become a warrior and mage, she had learned how to be the head of her family and run the ranch. „True“, I agreed. „So, how is everyone at the ranch doing?“ Malon chuckled and plucked a daisy out of the grass, rolling the stem of the fragile little flower in between her fingertips. „They‘re all fine. My father adores being a grandpa, and treats Matthias like the son he never had. And Ingo… well, he‘s being Ingo. I don‘t think he will ever change. But I did catch him babytalking to Jalon once.“ „Aw, that‘s adorable“, I commented. Deep down, I had always known that Ingo was a big softie underneath all that grumpiness. „So, care to tell me what makes you so jumpy at the moment?“, she asked. „That‘s a long story, and I don‘t think I should tell you.“ „Since when do you keep secrets from me?“, she asked, pouting at me. I wrapped one arm around her shoulders. „You‘ve got enough on your plate running the ranch and raising your boy. I don‘t want to burden you with my problems.“ „Hmhm… But if you ever need my help, you know that you can rely on me. Right?“ „Of course.“ I kissed her cheek.

Malon‘s visit had done a lot to calm me, and as I saw her ride off on her wagon, I couldn‘t help but smile. Whatever the visions meant, and whatever the future held, Link and I would never have to worry about facing it alone. And with that comforting thought, we returned to our usual schedule.

That comfort lasted precisely until I went to bed that night. As soon as I had drifted off to sleep, the nightmare began. At first I was in an endless void, the kind of blackness that swallows all light and even seems to muffle any kind of sound. Then, in the midst of that darkness, a flame sprung to life. A flame that began to spread, to become bigger and bigger until it shaped something vaguely human. The flames forming the body soon began to dull, leaving behind a soot-like grey-ish black substance, while what would be the hair still burned and danced around in a non-existent breeze like a flame. And within the blackness of the creature‘s face, two eyes like glowing embers opened. This… this man was huge; at least twice the height of a grown man, if not more, and impossibly muscular. He opened his mouth; it was packed with sharp, crooked, black teeth like daggers of obsidian. He stretched out his huge, clawed hand. „My puppet may be free of my grasp now, Glaces. But do not be mistaken. I will rise again. A circle has no end.“ I woke up with a startled yelp, with the man‘s words still echoing in my mind. A circle has no end.

„That‘s what he said?“, Link asked me to confirm what I had just told him. After waking up, he had gotten me out of bed and down to the kitchen, where he brewed some calming tea for me. And now we sat at the table, with me clutching the cup in my hands. „Yes. That‘s what he said.“ Link sighed and rubbed his eyes. „We need to go see Zelda again once the sun it up.“ „We can‘t keep bothering her with this. She said she‘d look into it, and that‘s all we can expect of her right now. Remember that she‘s the sole ruler of Hyrule now. She has more important things to deal with than my paranoia.“ I put the cup down. „It‘s just me having these visions, right? Maybe it‘s really just paranoia, and trauma, and my mind being too weak to deal with everything that has happened.“ „Rebecca.“ Link put his hand on mine. „You are a lot of things. But certainly not weak-minded.“ „Still. We cannot push this on everyone unless there‘s more evid-...“ Link put up his hand, and at first I thought he wanted to insist on telling Zelda again, but then I saw the look on his face. His eyes were wide open in shock, his mouth slightly open. And then I felt it too. A sudden uneasiness, that soon turned into full-blown fear. The hair on my arms and the back of my neck stood up, and then I noticed it. The pale, silvery light of the moon, which was streaming through our windows, suddenly turned red. Blood-red. Link and I jumped up and ran to one of the windows facing the castle. And behind the castle, a red moon rose, with a red aura spreading from it over the sky, like ink in water. „Go upstairs and get Gareth. We‘re going to the castle right now!“, Link ordered, and I didn‘t hesitate. That was the proof I had been waiting for. Something was very, very wrong. Hopefully, Zelda knew something more.

Zelda was already rushing out the gate when we arrived. „Link! Rebecca! I was just about to send a messenger to come get you!“ She threw her arms around both of us and hugged us. „Are you hurt?“ „No, we are alright.“ „Zelda! The moon… what does this mean?“, I asked, voice thin with terror. „It means danger“, another voice said, and my breath hitched in my throat when I saw Ganondorf step out from inside the castle. „YOU!“, I shrieked, blasting a spell from my free hand while holding Gareth with my other arm, but Ganondorf parried it without much trouble, sending it toward a wall instead. „Impressive, considering you barely seem to know what you‘re doing“, Ganondorf said dryly. „But now is not the time for games.“ „Do I look like I‘m playing games?“, I hissed, readying another spell. „Rebecca!“, Zelda cut in. „Enough. Ganondorf knows what is going on, and has offered to help.“ „Help?! For all we know, he is the source of what is going on!“ „We have already confirmed that that is not the case“, Zelda insisted. „Please. And Link, you too.“ Link, who had unsheathed the Master Sword, sheathed it again. „Fine. We will hear him out. But that does not mean that we will trust him.“ „I do not ask that of you. But remember that the Triforce of Wisdom does grant me a certain foresight, and this time, I see no ill intentions in him.“ I let the magic in my hand fizzle out. „...Fine.“

Zelda led us to the throne room, where to my surprise not only the Sages but also Cassandra, Cia and Lana were waiting. Cia was tied up in a rope made of magic. „Link!“, she yelled and tried to lunge for him, but the magic rope crackled with energy and held her in place. Naboru stepped forth first, glaring at Ganondorf before turning her attention to Zelda. „With all due respect, Your Majesty, but it is foolish to even allow him to walk freely inside the castle.“ „Still holding onto old grudges, Naboru?“, Ganondorf asked mockingly. Again, she merely glared at him. Princess Ruto approached. „We should kill him now, while he‘s weakened, and spare ourselves the trouble of having to deal with him later. Besides, pretty much everyone in this room apart from maybe the witches and his little servant still have a bone to pick with him.“ „Wife“, Cassandra corrected her in a deadpan voice. „I‘m his wife.“ „Whatever!“, Ruto snapped. „Point is: Whatever information he has certainly is something we can find out without having to rely on this… this… monster!“ „Enough!“, Zelda yelled, causing everyone to go quiet. „I have already made a decision in the matter. And while I greatly value your counsel, that decision is final. Do not worry. He is under constant surveillance while he is at the castle, and any suspicious behaviour will be reported to me immediately.“ Ruto narrowed her eyes. „Oh please!“, Cia called. „Let the Hero kill him. Oh how I would love to see my hero in action again!“ „Cia!“, Lana hushed her. „Okay, and why is the witch here?“, I asked, nodding in Cia‘s general direction. „For questioning“, Zelda explained. „We have reason to believe that Cia‘s sudden turn to evil and rapidly declining mental state are directly linked to the figure that has appeared to you.“ „Oh?“ I settled down a little, but still found myself eyeing both Ganondorf and Cia warily.

#Another Life fic #The Legend of Zelda #fanfiction #OC

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raggedyrenaann · 6 years

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“Let your weird light shine bright so the other weirdos know where to find you.”

Hey! You found me! I knew you would!

I’m your friendly local woodworker & maker, prepper, Star Wars aficionado, tea granny, and nacho connoisseur…and that’s just getting started! Want to know more? Who is this mysterious woman behind all the wood shavings and paint splotches who has mastered the use of the sarcastic #hashtag? Carry on, oh curious minds!

This is a little Q&A post that I like to call:

It’s time for you to…

Meet Your Maker.

(and her dog).

Whew, that was terrifyingly epic and super up in your grill (see: ‘personal motto’, below).

Just sit back and relax…let’s get to know each other. Sort of like a first date. What’s that? I didn’t bring you flowers? Damn…ok, think of this as more of a job interview then. No, no! I said relax! you look so nervous! Why are you nervous? I’m the one being interviewed! Wait….now I’M nervous. Should I be nervous if I’m technically interviewing myself? Wow…that got awkward fast.

*ahem*…so…let’s shed some light on this mystery woman behind RRA Restorations!

Partying the night away, or chill at home?

I am a raging introvert, so definitely chill at home. Ok, maybe introverts don’t rage…so more like quietly and unobtrusively smoldering in the corner, but you get the idea. I love to enjoy the comforts of home, and when I do occasionally go out I have a code word for my husband so that he knows when I am ‘peopled out’ and need to return to the sanctuary of my home. Since I love being home so much I really try to turn my house into a comfortable little nest. I am SUPER tactile, so I have plush blankets, cushy slippers for my tired toes, and soft yoga pants for every occasion. Basically, if I touched it and liked touching it, I kept it. Although it is getting a little bit difficult to explain to my husband why I need THIS many scarves (they make me feel pretty, Ok?!).

What is one thing you can’t live without?

I know I’m supposed to be all mushy here and say my husband and my dog…but seriously, I just bought a milk frother and my London Fogs have been on point lately! We’re talking about a huge quality of life upgrade here!

You know it’s hard out here for a mutt.

My husband and my dog are obviously very important as well, I mean, look how adorable they are! (But did you know that you can order vanilla syrup from amazon and it will deliver right to your door? I will never have to leave my house for Sbux quality drinks again!).

Don’t judge, I’m only kidding. Mostly.

What is your personal motto?

“If you can’t overdo it, it’s not worth doing.” I figure, if you’re going to paint something in a really snazzy bright colour you may as well add glitter! I have trouble knowing when to stop adding…minimalism is a challenge. #thestruggleisreal

Another thing I try to do every day is to wake up and say “something amazing will happen today”…and the crazy part? Something amazing usually does happen! Of course, not everyday is easy and on rough days I always tell myself that “things always look better in the morning”. As they say, you may as well look on the brighter side of life…none of us get out alive anyhow!

So how did the ‘biz’ get started?

I took a personality test once that totally pegged me. It said that I would likely have many careers over the span of my life due to carrying wildly differing interests, and that I am happiest stepping out of the box and creating an independent life outside of restrictive corporate culture. In my young life I’ve already been a golf course turf care queen, barista, gold explorer, ‘black gold’ hunter, geologist, and lab analyst. That said, let’s flash back to several unhappy years ago when I was working for a company that I felt didn’t care about me, and I was getting totally burned out. I had been with this company for three years when the economy sputtered in Alberta, and in 2015 both my husband and myself were laid off within a week of each other (from two different companies). I knew then that I needed to do something different because I couldn’t spend another miserable moment working for someone else. We began to lay the groundwork for businesses that we could build and grow with.

I’ve always been creative and, much to my husband’s chagrin, I always have a project (or two) on the go. My interests have always been varied and far reaching. I like to think that I have a curious and wandering soul…I am more than just a personality test, after all! I crochet, write, paint, and am learning photograpy. I’ve taken clay working classes, water colour classes, acrylic painting classes, and I am a self-taught Popsicle structure artist (I attempted to build a miniature scale Titanic out of Popsicle sticks when I was 14…I say ‘attempted’ because it turned out it required more Popsicle sticks to finish it than I could afford with my allowance…#embarrassing). I even play a few instruments, and do a bit of scrap-booking & card-making. Eventually my projects began to overrun the house…I loved making things but was running out of room to put everything so I started to think about selling the things I make. I loved making, and didn’t want to have to stop just because my house was starting to look like a hoarder lived in it!

RRA Restorations was born as much out of a need for me to feel like a productive and working member of society as it was a deep need in my soul for me to feel that I was doing fulfilling work that allowed me to make my own decisions while being a little wild and free (which these days means working at midnight because apparently that is when my brain gets totally jazzed on creativity).

What is your favourite thing to make?

I love Alberta and everything that makes this province the unique and beautiful place that it is. I love to make wooden art signs with the shape of our gorgeous province of Alberta painted on them, and as an adorable added touch I paint little hearts on the location of people’s hometowns. I love custom wooden sign orders, there are some wonderfully crazy people out there and I never know what they are going to ask me to design! Right now I’m working on a sign in the shape of a pooping dog…don’t ask!

I also love up-cycling and reclaiming things that had a past life into something new and fun! The tagline for my company is that this is “where history and handmade meet”. I love that so many of my items had a story before we got our hands on them, and that with a little bit of love from us their story didn’t have to end. Living in the country (a.k.a the boonies) I am lucky enough to have access to a lot of weathered farm wood so I can make gorgeous barn board signs, or something like these cute little coasters cut from wooden fence posts salvaged from local farms.

I’m also currently restoring an antique treadle sewing table that I’m super excited about! It is so intricately handcrafted, and shows such pride of craftsmanship. The damn thing still works over 100 years later! They sure don’t make ’em like this anymore.

You know I can do a mean chicken dance.

So…this prepping thing…?

The zombies are coming and I’m not going to be the first to get eaten.

I kid! I live in an area that is prone to natural disasters and I have an obsession with making sure that I am prepared for anything. I’m currently saving up for a generator to deal with power outages (which frequently occurs living rural), and am working on prepping a garden plan in which the plants will complement each other and provide benefits to each other so that everything grows in a happy little symbiotic harmony. I’ve always been interested in being self sufficient and independent. Sort of like the Alaska Bush People, but with running water and television…I’m not a caveman.

I’m totally into personal safety and preparation for any emergency, and I love to help everyone around me get interested in it too! If you think that this is something that you might be interested in be sure to check out my blog post on how to create your own Family Emergency Plan and build your first Bug-out Bag. You will feel so much safer and prepared, and your family with thank you!

You seem totes wacky and I want to know more!

Aw shucks! Well, thanks! You can always keep up with my newest antics by signing up here for my blog updates, or you can check me out on my website here, or check out my latest projects on my Instagram here!

One last VERY important question…

Best video gaming platform?

Hands down Nintendo 64, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise…you know I would win because Legend of Zelda taught me mad chicken-slaying sword skills.

There you have it! A sneak peak into my world. Until next time…

Check us out on Etsy here!

It's time for you to...Meet Your Maker! I'm a weird and wacky maker in Southern Alberta and wanted to say hi! "Let your weird light shine bright so the other weirdos know where to find you." Hey! You found me!

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tanmath3-blog · 7 years

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Richard Alan Long is a very kind man. He has a great sense of humor and always seems happy. He is a family man with twin girls. I can’t imagine how he gets any writing done. I can tell you he adores his family and loves to talk about them. He is passionate about his writing and wants to make sure his books are as perfect as they can be before he releases them. If you haven’t read his stories please pick one up and don’t forget to leave a review. Make sure to say hello to him and send him a friend request. Please help me welcome Richard Alan Long to Roadie Notes…….

1. How old were you when you first wrote your first story?

I was always writing stories as far back as I can remember. When I was a kid it was these crappy comic strips based on the ‘Garbage Pail Kids’ which I was obsessed with. I’d draw them with marker pens and crayons. I wrote a whole series based on the characters. As a kid I obviously didn’t know the movie was considered the worst movie ever made, me and my friends thought it was awesome. We’d trade the cards at school which probably lead to me being a completest later in life. As I got older I’d write stories. Always had a good imagination. Although my teachers at school said I was a daydreamer. One day I wrote a poem. Teachers didn’t believe it was me. Kids came up and said ‘no way did you write that poem’ It got put in the school newspaper and I’d still get kids coming up stamping a finger into my chest saying ‘You didn’t write that!’ But I was always creative. I am an only child and like most only children I spent a lot of time alone, creating worlds with toys and drawings.

2. How many books have you written? Two novels, three novellas, fourteen plays, about sixteen short stories and hundreds of poems…getting them where they need to be is another story. Some are published and some I doubt will ever see the light of day but I like to look back over the old ones to see how much I’ve developed as a writer.

3. Anything you won’t write about? Not interested in torture porn and gore just for the sake of it. It has to fit in with the story. Story is number one for me. I like to go on a journey with characters. I don’t like books where characters are merely created just to be killed off in outlandish ways. That gets boring for me very quickly.

4. Tell me about you. Age (if you don’t mind answering), married, kids, do you have another job etc… I am married with two kids. Besides writing I’ve worked a spectrum of jobs. Mostly retail and hospitality. It gave me some great characters. At the moment though, being a stay at home dad and writer is the best job I could ask for.

5. What’s your favorite book you have written? I quite like ‘Words Apart’ I wrote it when I was young and it has a young person’s conviction and determination. I did a play over ten years ago. I wrote it, a mate directed it and some friends acted in it. It was a great time. Rehearsing and performing. We did it purely for the love of it. I remember all the plays in my region at the time were either comedies or Shakespeare and I wrote this play that was like a Stephen King book if David Lynch had directed it with the budget of a Troma movie. It was great working with such dedicated people, many I’m still friends with.

6. Who or what inspired you to write?

I think I was inspired by being told I couldn’t do it. School had told me I was better off leaving, my grades were awful and I felt completely useless and the education system reinforced that. If you segregate kids and tell them they are the bottom class, that the most they can ever achieve is a E grade then unfortunately at a young age you start to believe you are worthless. I remember one teacher used to shout at me as I walked into to school ‘Not be long before you can sign on the dole.’ So it made me think, especially at a young age that I was a failure and I was stupid. But the best advice I got was the school telling me to leave and go to college. I went to college and it was a joy. The lecturers knew how to nurture talent and get the best out of students. They made you feel like you mattered. In terms of writing and inspiration it came from a few different writers. The first book to truly inspire me to want to write was ‘Salem’s Lot’ by Stephen King. It is beautifully written. It is scary. I remember reading it late at night and I felt right there with Ben Mears when he’s exploring the Marsten house. It’s still to this day my favorite book. At college I started writing and studying plays and I was very inspired by Harold Pinter. I still am. He inspired me to write better dialogue. I love his plays. Everything appears normal and English but there is an oddness to it all. Off the top of my head some writers or books that made a massive difference and inspired me where ‘The Woman in White’ by Wilkie Collins. Collins had such a way of capturing human emotion. ‘Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D. Salinger is another book I found inspirational. I read it and I was blown away. It is sublime. I think I read it in two sittings. Also I must mention William S Burroughs. I have read most of his books and I think he was a genius. So yeah I was a kid that got told I was thick and useless but I was reading William S. Burroughs and Wilkie Collins for fun without realizing I was actually self-educating myself.

7. What do you like to do for fun? When not writing and not looking after my family I enjoy playing Nintendo. I am a massive fan of the Legend of Zelda. Have been since day one when I used to play it with my late father. I’m a bit of a geek for Italian horror cinema but don’t get much chance to have Dario Argento marathons anymore with my kids in the house. Obviously I read. Loving Richard Chizmar’s work at the minute. I also and this is very rock n roll, but I have a favorite chair in my garden and I love a cup of tea on an evening and get the chance to just to sit and stop everything. To take a moment to think about my late parents, to remember the good times and too think about my friends. My dad passed away just over a year ago and the end was tough. It’s nice to just take a moment and remember the good moments we shared. On a lighter note I love a Monday night when the family goes to bed and I relax and watch the new Twin Peaks. David Lynch is my favorite director. The guy is a legend. I like music too, don’t go to gigs as much anymore. I’m still old school. Still buy my music on CD’s.

8. Any traditions you do when you finish a book? None. I just think…fuck me this is going to take some editing.

9. Where do you write? Quite or music? I generally write to music. Rock music or soundtracks. But when I’m second drafting or working over a scene I prefer silence.

10. Anything you would change about your writing? Not getting kicked out of school and being told I was a failure from every educational body at a young age might have helped. It took years for to meet people who had confidence in me and my writing. Advice for any writer. Find someone who believes in you. My wife has been a rock of support for me.

11. What is your dream? Famous writer? Don’t really think much in those terms. All I want is to make a living at it and hope I can entertain people. Everything else is a welcome bonus.

13. Pets? It’s a tough one. One of my daughters is terrified of dogs, cats, Kermit the Frog and anything that moves. Yet my other child is like Steve Irwin, grabbing any bug or slug and holding them close and saying ‘Hello cutie pie’ My wife wants a dog but I’m still undecided.

14. What’s your favorite thing about writing? Freedom. Freedom to just get lost in a story. That all its about at the end of the day. I suppose it’s not even about getting published. It’s a therapy. Some people take drugs, others drink. I write.

15. What is coming next for you? Preparing to release a novella ‘About A Witch’. I’ve got a few short stories due out too with different publishers. and then hopefully once they’ve done the rounds I’ll have a deal for a novel on the table. Also I’ve never collaborated with another writer before so hoping to work with someone soon. ‘About a Witch’ is out soon as well as my work with Hellbound Books Publishing LLC

You can connect with Richard Alan Long here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-dbs/author/ref=dbs_P_W_auth?_encoding=UTF8&author=Richard%20Alan%20Long&searchAlias=digital-text&asin=B00AKU2RS8

Some of Richard Alan Long’s books:

Getting personal with Richard Alan Long Richard Alan Long is a very kind man. He has a great sense of humor and always seems happy.

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anotherlifefic · 5 years

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Chapter 17: Reunion

Two days later, I was just on the way back to my room from another walk when I heard horses whinny. The castle gate was nearby, and I approached it, expecting to see Malon on her wagon standing in front of the entrance to the castle kitchen. And there she was, hopping off of the coachman's seat and beginning to unload the crates of milk. I felt the unmistakable tingle of joy rise in my chest as I ran up to her, while she placed the last crate on its place. „Malon!“ She turned around upon hearing my voice, and grinned when she recognized me. „Becca! It's so good to see you!“ We hugged, and I felt myself breathe a little easier with her close to me. Ever since Link had left on his journey, I had scarcely ever stopped thinking about him. Even all of my daily conversations with Zelda had revolved around him. But now, upon being reunited with my best friend, the worry which had been my constant companion during the past days, seemed to finally ease off a little. There was so much to say to Malon. How would I explain to her why I was here at the castle and not at home? When I let go of her again, I saw a tear in the sleeve of her dress, and a slight scrape on the skin underneath. „Malon! What happened?!“ She looked at the injury, then at me again. „Haven't you heard? There have been more and more monster attacks lately. A group of monsters attacked me on the way here and tried to break the milk crates, but I managed to escape.“ I hugged her tightly, a sudden chill running down my spine. „Oh by the Goddesses. This is horrible.“ „I'm fine“, she said soothingly, stroking my back. When I let go of her, she smiled. „Link was at the ranch a few days ago, by the way. He looked... pretty tired.“ The way she said 'pretty tired' had me fearing the worst. „If you still have time before you have to return to the ranch, tell me about his visit. Was he injured? Badly?“ Then I clasped my hand in front of my mouth as a sudden wave of nausea hit me. „Maybe you should sit down“, Malon said worriedly and urged me to sit down on the load area of the wagon. „As I said, he was tired and had a few scrapes. Nothing too bad. He wouldn't tell me where he had been or what had happened, he just told me that you were staying at the castle for a while and that I shouldn't worry.“ „Ah yes, he has a habit of doing very worrisome things and then telling people who care about him not to worry“, I said, hoping that the nausea would pass without me throwing up. „S-sorry for being so pushy, but Link left about a week and a half ago, and I haven't heard from him since, so I'm grateful for any kind of news about his whereabouts.“ „Oh no, you poor thing“, Malon sighed. „And now you're sick, too.“ I managed to form a small smile. „No, not sick.“ She looked at me confusedly, but then her eyes lit up. „What... already? Wow! How far along are you?“ „That's a bit hard to tell“, I said while patting my belly affectionately. „But the little one already causes quite a bit of trouble for me.“ „I can tell“, Malon chuckled, then bent down until she was on one level with my stomach. „Hey there little guy... or girl. It's your Auntie Malon talking. Be nice to your Mommy, okay?“ Maybe her words really had some kind of effect, or maybe it was just her lighthearted way of speaking, but the nausea finally faded, and I found myself giggling. Once Malon sat upright again, I gave her a peck on the cheek. „And now it's your turn. How are things on the ranch?“ „As good as they can be with the constant monster attacks“, she said. „We found a new farmhand. A guy named Matthias.“ She blushed. „He's... pretty nice.“ I raised my eyebrow. „Pretty nice, huh?“ „I shall say no more!“, she said theatrically. Then she grinned at me. „Father keeps bugging me about marrying him, because then we can take over the farm together.“ „Once all of this is over, I'll come to visit you. And take a close look at him.“ Malon leaned on me. „Don't scare him away. Please.“ „I promise I'll be nice about it“, I replied cheerfully. „Alright then.“ Malon hopped off of the wagon. „I have to get going. Goodbye, Rebecca. I'm sure that Link will come back to you soon. And if he doesn't, I'll find him and drag him back to you!“

After Malon left, I felt a lot better, so I returned to my guestroom. I looked around there, not quite knowing what to do with myself. I hadn't brought any of my supplies for sewing or knitting. I would have started making clothes for the baby to keep me occupied otherwise. With a sigh, I sat down at the table close to the window again, looking out on the road. Would my entire life from now on be like this? Link embarking on increasingly dangerous adventures and missions to save the world, while I was waiting for him, not knowing if he was alive or dead? „All of that worrying can't be healthy for us“, I told my stomach, despite knowing that my baby probably couldn't hear me yet.

Weeks passed. At some point, I had asked for work in the castle kitchen, just so I could keep my hands and thoughts occupied. I saw Zelda less and less during that time. She never told me what kept her so occupied that she couldn't even take her daily one hour break anymore, but I could guess that it probably had to do with Ganondorf and his activities around Hyrule. And during all of this time, there was no news of Link's whereabouts. No message, no rumour. Nothing. I kept looking down at my stomach, which was slowly starting to show a slight bulge, and wondered if I would ever see my husband again.

About two months after I had come to the castle, I just returned from my work at the kitchen and sat down at the window again, feeling tired but satisfied. It wasn't quite as good as working on the farm, but the work kept my thoughts from stressing me out. I was just looking out the window, when I noticed the figure of a lone rider following it. I stepped closer, so I could get a better look. I could not see any distinguishing features yet, but hope made my heart soar. Could the waiting be finally over? And the closer he came, the more I could see of him; the first thing I recognized was Epona, powerful as ever. Then there was the green tunic of the rider, and the blue ball of light flying next to him. I had to surpress a slight squeal. Link was back! He had come back to me! I turned around and ran out of the room, on my way to the courtyard to greet my husband.

I did not even manage to approach him before stopping dead in my tracks. It was Link, alright, but he looked awful. His tunic was torn and stained with blood, his left leg was wrapped in a bloodstained bandage. But when he saw me, a smile lit up his face. „Rebecca!“ I felt tears roll down my cheeks as I pulled him into my arms. „Oh by the Goddesses, Link. What did they do to you?“ He sighed into my shoulder. „I found Ganondorf's new stronghold, but I got too close to it. It's guarded more closely than Hyrule Castle! But can we please discuss that inside? I'm cold and tired.“ „Of course. Zelda has probably already been informed that you are here.“ He chuckled. „Zelda? So the two of you are on a first name basis, now?“ I blushed. „Well... yes. I got to know her a whole lot better while I was here.“ „That's good“, he said. He sounded like he hadn't slept in days, and when I looked closer, I noticed that there were dark circles under his eyes. Just as we approached the entrance to the castle, Zelda stepped out and let out an audible gasp when she saw the state Link was in. She rushed to his side. „Link! Oh no...“ „It's alright, Zelda“, he said. „Just a few scrapes.“ Zelda looked at me. „Let's take him to the doctor's office.“ „No“, Link said sternly. „I'm alright. A healing potion or two and I'll be fine. And the things I have to tell you cannot wait.“ Zelda looked like she was about to object, but then she sighed. „Alright then. But at least let someone wash out your wounds, so they don't get infected.“ „I can do that!“, I offered. „I will have a bowl with hot water sent to the tearoom, then“, Zelda said as we walked inside.

We had barely taken our places when a two maids came in, one carrying a large bowl with steaming water, fresh bandages and a clean washcloth, the other a tray with tea. I moved my chair closer to Link so I could take care of his injuries. While I was taking off his bandages, he talked to Zelda. „Ganondorf's new fortress is actually outside of Hyrule, in the mountains past Lake Hylia. I found it after I happened to stumble upon a group of his servants on their way back to him. All I had to do was stay hidden and follow them. I could not see much of what was going on inside of the fortress myself, but I sent Navi to scout out the courtyard.“ The fairy came to rest on the table. „Ganondorf was gathering an army of monsters. Lizalfos and Stalfos and some kind of pig-like monsters walking on two legs. Unfortunately, the guards noticed me as I flew back to Link, so we had to run away.“ „Do you think Ganondorf is planning an all-out war on Hyrule?“, Zelda asked. „Judging by what Navi saw, I'd say he does.“ Link took a sip of his tea, sighing deeply. „And after all, what else would he need a place this big for, if not to gather an army?“ The room fell silent for a moment, until Zelda raised her voice again:„At least now we know where the attack will be coming from. That alone is worth a lot. And it means that you can now stay here and continue your training.“ „Looks like that is just what I need“, Link said dryly and then looked to me. „What about you, Rebecca? How have you been?“ „I've been missing you terribly“, I confessed. „But I managed. I started to work in the castle kitchen for a bit, as far as my condition allows it-“ „Condition? Are you sick?“, he asked, concern in his voice. I bit my lip. Then I took his hand and gently placed it on my stomach. It took a moment for him to understand, but when he did, he did not seem to know how to react. „Rebecca... Wow.“ He wrapped his arms around me. „I'm sorry that I left you alone with this.“ „You did what you had to do“, I comforted him. „Why didn't you send a courier to find me? Or a carrier pidgeon?“ I sighed. „Because nobody knew where you were. And I did not want to distract you from your mission.“ He hugged me closer. „One more reason to put an end to Ganondorf's plans. So our child can grow up in a peaceful Hyrule, and won't be forced to take up arms before they reach adulthood.“ Then he looked at Zelda. „I will return to our house, and I will take Rebecca with me again. It's about time she gets home.“ „Of course“, Zelda said with a barely noticable smile.

#The Legend of Zelda #Another Life #fanfiction #OC

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