#zeldaelmo writes

[zeldaelmo]

For @zelinkcommunity ‘s zelink week 2023 - forbidden

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

Set between BotW and Totk. 

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

Rumors have wings

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

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

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

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

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

"Yes?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zelda giggled and shot him a playful, warning look. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"That was my job!"

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

"And?" Karin pressed on.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A click of fingers, urgent.

"Yes, Azu?"

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

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

"Oh."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You mean platinous.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The children surpassed each other with propositions now.

"There has been an evil Oracle!"

"An attack of cuckoos!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

Edit: Link to Ao3

[cooking-with-hailstones]

HOLY CRAP I wrote something! For a prompt that was posted in August! But @zeldaelmo did say there was no deadline so, yanno, I made it eventually. Thank you for the prompt, Zelmo! This was super fun to do.

Anyways, please enjoy some domestic Zelink post BOTW fluff.

Memories After Midnight

Read it here or on ao3! (Gen, domestic fluff in Hateno, established relationship)

A storm was raging fiercely overhead, thunder and lightning echoing through the hills. Link had repeatedly assured Zelda that Hateno was used to such storms, that the warm summers on the coast often brought whipping winds and lashing rain. But even now, months after the Calamity’s defeat, the roar of thunder still gave her shivers. 

Link had built up a small fire, and was busying himself making a pot of warm safflina tea while Zelda curled up on the floor cushions by the fireplace. He hummed to himself as he sprinkled a pinch of a Gerudo spice mix into the tea. Zelda smiled. He never used to sing, in the before times. Link had such a lovely voice; it was such a precious gift to be able to hear it every day. 

She sat up as he walked over to her, two steaming mugs in hand. “Thank you, my love.” She smiled as he handed her a hand-made mug glazed with a deep blue lacquer. He had acquired a stunning variety of new skills in the time since waking up in the Shrine of Resurrection two years ago - throwing pottery, woodworking, sewing, among others. Every month it seemed she discovered something else that he’d made for the house they shared.

He sat down next to her, crossing his legs and draping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into this familiar gesture of comfort. One of the many luxuries she was now content to freely indulge in. 

“I never used to be scared of thunderstorms. But every clap of thunder just sounds too much like the roar of the Calamity...” A shiver ran down her spine, and Link pulled her in closer, tucking her more deeply into her blanket cocoon. 

“You know, I often wonder if this is how Lion must have felt,” she mused. 

“Lion?” Link’s brow furrowed. “Do you mean a lynel?”

“No, Lion. He was... your dog. Your family’s dog. Before...” 

Link froze. “Oh.”

Zelda silently cursed herself. This was not the first time she had done this, accidentally stumbled over a painful reminder that everything from Link’s life before had been ripped away—the only exceptions being the scant few memories she had been able to leave with the Sheikah slate. They had both lost everything, but at least she still had memories of life before. Every time she’d done this before, they had both immediately dropped the line of conversation. But tonight, something shifted. 

His voice was small, and so soft she could barely hear it over the lashing rain. “Can you tell me more about him?”

Her heart ached, but she blinked back her tears and swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. “Of course. You told me about him on a night like this one, while we were camping out during a sudden downburst. He was golden brown and very friendly and absolutely terrified of thunderstorms. When you were a little boy, he would come running to you and curl up under your bed every time a storm rolled through.”

“Okay,” he said, his voice somehow even smaller than before. “Was there... Do you know anything else?”

“Link, we don’t have to talk about this if you don’t–”

He cut her off. “I want to.” Her mouth snapped shut. 

“...Okay.” She took a deep breath. “I... I don’t know a lot about Lion. You only mentioned him a few times, but you would often come back from a visit home absolutely covered in dog hair. I remember Captain Rusl reprimanding you about it once. That was before we were friends.” She remembered laughing about it with her maids, mocking one of his few moments of carelessness. She regretted that, now.

“Hmm,.” he muttered, his eyes closed, safflina tea long forgotten on the table beside him. 

“You told me he was big and friendly, and he would play with the children in your village.”

“Where was my village?” he whispered.

Zelda froze, steeling herself for what must come. “Deya.”

He nodded. “I... I had a feeling that might be it. There was something about it that hurt more than the other ruins.”

“Link, I’m so sorry...”

He slumped down to the floor, head falling into her lap as he stared into the fire. “Tell me about my family?”

She paused, stroking his hair and trying to dig up those little details that slipped out on long days in the saddle. 

“Well... Your mother was named Gineve. She was a wonderful cook, used to make a freshwater fish fillet that you complained you could never get quite right when you tried to make it yourself. I think she learned it from the Zora, but put her own twist on it. You fed me several of your attempts at recreating it while we were on the road. I never got a chance to see your house, but you told me it was small. The other guards told me that when you got your own quarters after becoming my knight attendant, you were uncomfortable with the amount of space you had all to yourself. You shared a room with your parents and your little sister, Malia. She had just turned 10, before...”

She paused. Before the Calamity. Link had been frustrated that he wasn’t granted leave to go home for her birthday, but given its proximity to Zelda’s 17th birthday and the looming threat of the Calamity, the generals had determined that it would be “an inappropriate breach of responsibilities” for him to take leave at that time. 

She couldn’t tell him that. Already she could hear him softly weeping.

“Do you want me to keep going?” she murmured, resting her hand on his shoulder.

A slight nod.

“Okay.” She took another deep breath, dredging up every possible detail she could. “Your father, Tonu, was a knight in my father’s service. Competent, but not high ranking. He was so proud when you drew the sword. I think he didn’t realize how much pressure he put you under, but he loved you so much and wanted only the best for you. I do know that he was particularly impressed with the pay raise you got when you entered my personal service.”

That got a laugh, though one that was admittedly quite damp.

“Every time you travelled, you would bring back something for Malia. I only met her once, at the ceremony for the champions we had at the palace. She was a squirmy little one, hair just like yours, but a little bit curlier. I had thought that she was going to try and run up to you in the middle of the ceremony. She wouldn’t stop fidgeting in her seat, I think it drove your mother to near distraction.”

Zelda smiled to herself as she recalled the story. She remembered Malia quite well, having been fixated on this fidgety blonde girl, half hoping she would disrupt the entire melancholy affair. She herself had done her best to disappear as soon as the ceremony was over, only rejoining the champions in the courtyard much later. 

She shook herself out of that reverie. This was for Link, not her own musings. 

“Whether it was Goron City or Gerudo Town, you always had something for her. A pressed flower, an interesting rock, a little toy from Rito Village. You always made sure to send something home, wherever we were.”

“I think...” Link started, pausing to take a few shuddering breaths. “I think I remember that. Being at the Rito general store, seeing a colourful little pinwheel, and thinking ‘this would be perfect for her.’ I couldn’t remember who ‘she’ was.”

“That must have been it.” Zelda said. “I remember you trying to figure out how to package it so it wouldn’t get squished in the post.”

Link was still gazing into the fire, but even from this angle, Zelda could tell his eyes had the glassy stare of a memory washing over him.

“My father died,” he said simply. “Before... before it all happened.”

“Yes,” she whispered. 

“...Yiga?” he asked, waiting for her confirmation. 

“Yes,” she said, shivering. “It was the closest attempt they made on us after the desert. It happened while we were on our way to the Spring of Courage. Your father was in the scouting party that discovered their ambush...” she trailed off. Link looked glassy again.

“Funeral,” he murmured. “You held my hand, covered it with your sleeve so people wouldn’t see.”

Zelda almost laughed. She had been so afraid that someone might see them, but Link had looked so wretched. He needed some comfort, even if back then he couldn’t possibly have admitted it. 

That was only three months before the Calamity struck. How small any other fears seemed in retrospect. 

She reached down, lacing her fingers in between his own. “I’ll keep holding on to you.”

He brought their clasped hands up to his lips, pressing the softest kiss onto her knuckles. “Thanks, Zel.”

She didn’t sleep that night. Link was always exhausted after any memory overtook him, and he had nodded off in her lap not long after their conversation. She had gently lifted him out of her lap, shrugging off the blanket that had been around her shoulders and draping it over him. 

She carefully started rummaging around in her desk, looking for... there it was! The sketch paper she had bought for making field notes and drawings. She knew she couldn’t rest until she finished this. He lost his memories in service to her. It was the least she could do to hold on to everything she could, to give back everything she still had.

Her hands trembled as she sketched under the weak candle light of the dining room table and occasional flashes of lightning. She was far more used to drawing interesting insects, curious mushrooms, and technical diagrams. This was a true test of her skills, and she cursed under her breath every time her charcoal went awry. She sketched and sketched, until her eyes blurred and the candle burned all the way down.

...........................

Link woke early the next morning, the sun just starting to peek through the shuttered windows. He stretched, turning to see Zelda slumped over, asleep on the dining room table. He smiled to himself. It was hardly the first time she had fallen asleep while going over field notes, or working on some project or other. He walked over to the kitchen to start boiling the kettle. She always appreciated some electric safflina tea to get her going after a long night of work. 

He came back over to the dining room table, wondering what work she could possibly have been doing last night during the thunderstorm. She had a small pile of crumpled papers around her, evidence of what was undoubtedly a frustrating project. He leaned over to see what she had been working on.

He froze. There, outlined in rough charcoal, slightly smudged from where her face was resting on the page, was a sketch. A man in the uniform of the royal guard, sporting a mustache that couldn’t conceal a mischievous smile and a twinkle in his eye. A serious looking woman, strong from years of farm work, holding a little girl on her hip. The girl had curly hair valiantly held back by a couple of ribbons. She was holding a pinwheel in one hand, the other wrapped around her mother’s shoulders. And at their feet, a big dog with shaggy, mottled fur. 

Link sniffled and wiped his eyes, suddenly aware that he was crying. Zelda, always a light sleeper since the Calamity’s defeat, startled awake at the sound.

“Link!” she yelped. “What time is it? Are you okay? What..?” She blinked the sleep from her eyes, focusing on what was in front of her. “Oh Link, I... I’m sorry, it’s not very good, I just -” 

He cut her off with a kiss, and she melted into him. 

“Zelda,” he whispered. “Thank you.”

She looked at him, green eyes full of grief and love that he knew all too well. 

“The least I can do is try to give them back to you.”

Thank you @ladyhoneydee and @alucanid for betaing. Genuinely the fact that y'all jumped into this story for me after not having written anything for MONTHS means so much :') Also, if you love one shots, Dee is currently doing a month-long daily fic challenge and it's DELIGHTFUL.

[adrift-in-thyme]

Congratulations on the milestone! 👏🏻

What about— "why didn't you tell me the nightmares are back? you know I never minded helping you with them." for skyward sword zelink?

Thanks so much!! <3 And thanks for sending this great prompt!

Nightmare | Skyward Sword Zelink | T

“Zelda!”

His shout splits the air as Link catapults upright in bed, arms outstretched to catch someone who has already slipped through his fingers. 

Or really, someone who isn’t even falling.

His breath hitches and he tips forward to rest his head on his knees. When he squeezes his eyes shut the gaping maw of darkness is there once more, opening its jaws to devour her. 

A dream, he tells himself even as tears roll hot and fast down his cheeks. Zelda’s alive, she’s safe. And Demise–Demise is dead. He can’t hurt her anymore.

But the curse…

Desperately, he grasps at the soft fabric of his sleep trousers, making fists of the material. 

Don’t worry about that now. It’s just a dream. It’s just–

“Link?” 

He looks up and she’s standing in the doorway, clutching a shawl about her shoulders. She looks so worried, so tired, and his heart aches because of it. 

“I’m okay, Zeldie,” he manages, sounding anything but. “You–you can go back to bed.”

She’s beside him in an instant, easing down beside him and reaching out to rub his back.

“You think I’m just gonna leave you like this? Come on, Sleepyhead, you know me better than that.”

Link inhales shakily. More tears cascade down to plunk onto the sheets, and he stares at the little wet spots, shadowed in the dim light. 

Zelda scoots closer so their bodies are pressed together, and drapes one-half of her shawl over his shoulders. He can’t resist leaning in and resting his head against hers. 

“I heard you shout,” she murmurs. “The dreams are back, aren’t they?”

Slowly, he nods. 

“For how long?”

“A month or two.”

At that, Zelda pulls back. She reaches up and grasps his chin, turning his face toward her. 

“Why didn’t you tell me? You know I never minded helping you through them!”

He swallows, hard. A lump is still wedged painfully in his throat and looking into her eyes, so filled with love and concern, only makes it worse.

“I…I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Link!” she chides, but he shakes his head.

“You’ve been through so much, Zelda. I didn’t want to put you through more.”

Her gaze softens, and she rubs her thumb along his cheek. “You’re not putting me through anything. Whatever happens, we go through it together. That’s how it’s always been and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She leans forward and presses a gentle kiss to his lips. “So, please, Sleepyhead, let me help you.”

That’s all it takes to bring his resolve crashing to the ground. Something between a hiccup and a sob tears its way out of him, and Link collapses into her waiting arms. 

“I’m s-sorry,” he manages between shuddering breaths. “I–I’m sorry I let you fall.”

Gentle hands guide his head to rest against her chest. He can hear the beat of her heart, feel the rise and fall of her chest. 

“You didn’t, Link,” she murmurs. “You saved me. I’m here with you, and I’m not going anywhere.”

And though he knows she can’t guarantee a promise like that, he clings to her words like a lifeline.

[drsteggy]

Uh... Tail. 😄

I have a story about cats so…

Louise flicked her long fluffy tail and strode to the end of the bar, stretching out as she did.

[zelinktines24]

Hi there, @zeldaelmo here!

Zelinktines is a casual zelink event in February.

Choose a prompt of your liking, get creative with it and post it on the prompt date! Art, stories, music, moodboards, whatever you feel inspired to!

Everyone can participate! We recommend picking one or two prompts but of course, we'll stop no one who wants to do more. Just take care of yourself!

To make it easier for us to reblogs, tag us ( @zelinktines24 ) when you post! There will also be an Ao3 collection in February.

NSFW content is allowed. Please blur NSFW art with the 'mature' feature and hide explicit writing under the cut here on Tumblr (more info here).

If you have a question, send an ask!

Have fun!

Many thanks to the team @aquaticpal, @itcantbe, and @deiliamedlini for their support!

[zelinkcommunity]

Zelink Week 2023 Masterlist

The Zelink Community team​ would like to give a BIG shoutout to everybody who participated in this year’s Zelink Week! Whether you drew, wrote, composed, or just sat back and enjoyed, we are truly grateful for your support and contributions to this event. Overall, we had 194 entries by 58 participants on Tumblr, making this the largest Zelink Week to date!

To show our appreciation, we have compiled all of the Tumblr entries into this one massive post. Check out all of the incredible entries below the cut. For best viewing, use desktop!

And -- if that isn’t enough, visit our Twitter and AO3 Collection too!

DAY 1 - YEARNING

FANFICTION

Lonely at the Top, fanfiction by @zeldaelmo  Yearning, fanfiction collab by @linksthoughtbrambles & @bellecream The Minstrel and the Prince, Chapter 1, fanfiction by @flutefemme Yearnings, fanfiction by @rachaeltad Begin Again, fanfiction by @bahbahhh To Control Fate, fanfiction with fanart by @writingnocturne With My Own Eyes, fanfiction by @destined-to-never-meet Yearning, fanfiction with fanart by @jimmyjims Hylia x Link: The Unique Hero, fanfiction by @legofanguy Phantom Touch: Chapter Two, fanfiction by @alphascorpiixx All in Good Time, fanfiction by @sciencelings-writes Love Me (and Leave Me to Die), fanfiction by @aurathian Adore: Chapter One, fanfiction by @mistresslrigtar Yearning, fanfiction by @cowboytwilight Revelations in a Time Past, fanfiction by @hyylia Need, fanfiction by @hlizr50 (*Rated E*) You Still Would’ve Been Mine, fanfiction by @writingissues Waiting For You, fanfiction by @sparrowsworkshop Yearning, fanfiction by @sidonswhistle Waiting, fanfiction by @haste-waste The Hero Enraged, fanfiction by @morekerosene​ (*Rated M*) Chapter 1: Yearning, fanfiction by @youwouldntbelievehowigothere  Yearning, fanfiction by @theangelicstoryteller Oblique, fanfiction by @sparklyfaerie In the Light of Morning, fanfiction by @aegon-targaryen

FANART

Yearning, fanart by @maqiisan Yearning: Pt.I / Pt.II, fanart collab by @linktheacehero & @aheavenscorner Yearning, fanart by @achiepy Yearning, fanart by @doritopretzel Yearning, fanart by @stellarbunni Yearning, fanart by @lady-delamort Yearning, fanart by @hylianzs Yearning, fanart by @euphorichumanart Yearning, fanart by @faeleine Yearning, fanart by @ap-zelda3

MISC.

Falling Through Memories, music playlist by @batgirlsay Yearning, moodboard by @jedi-giraffe The Silence, amv by @cindiquilsnivy --

DAY 2 - FORBIDDEN

FANFICTION

The Minstrel and the Prince: Chapter Two, fanfiction by @flutefemme Begin Again: Chapter Two, fanfiction by @bahbahhh Embrace, fanfiction collab by @linksthoughtbrambles & @bellecream On Forbidden Ground, fanfiction and fanart by @writingnocturne False Worship, fanfiction by @sparklyfaerie (*Rated E*) Forbidden, fanfiction and fanart by @aheavenscorner Adore: Chapter Two, fanfiction by @mistresslrigtar (*Rated M*) Rumors Have Wings, fanfiction by @zeldaelmo Tale of the White Devil: Chapter Five, fanfiction by @linktheacehero ToTK: A Princess Left Behind, fanfiction by @legofanguy Home: OoT Roleswap, fanfiction by @destined-to-never-meet Hollow Hearted, fanfiction by @aegon-targaryen A Queen’s Choice, fanfiction by @the-knightmare The Ballad of Frost and Flames, fanfiction by @sciencelings-writes Cooking Lessons, fanfiction by @hyylia You’re Always Out of Reach, fanfiction by @writingissues Love Me (And Leave Me To Die): Chapter Two, fanfiction by @aurathian All I Am: Chapter One, fanfiction by @sparrowsworkshop Forbidden, fanfiction and fanart by @jimmyjims and @thismousedraws Chapter Two: Forbidden, fanfiction by @youwouldntbelievehowigothere Gaze, fanfiction by @theangelicstoryteller Forbidden, fanfiction by @skyyknights

FANART

Forbidden, fanart by @maqiisan Forbidden, fanart by @marzy-fanarts Forbidden, fanart by @doritopretzel Forbidden, fanart by @stellarbunni Forbidden, fanart by @lady-delamort Forbidden, fanart by @euphorichumanart Forbidden, fanart by @zeldaseyebrows Forbidden, fanart by @ap-zelda3

MISC.

Forbidden, moodboard by @jedi-giraffe --

DAY 3 - LETTERS

FANFICTION

Pink Heart, fanfiction by @sparklyfaerie The Minstrel and the Prince: Chapter Three, fanfiction by @flutefemme Adore: Chapter Three, fanfiction by @mistresslrigtar (*Rated M*) Affection and Affectation, fanfiction collab by @linksthoughtbrambles and @bellecream Begin Again: Chapter Three, fanfiction by @bahbahhh A Simple Request, fanfiction and fanart by @writingnocturne Nerves, fanfiction by @destined-to-never-meet Letters, fanfiction and fanart by @linktheacehero The Comfort of Words, fanfiction by @the-knightmare Letters, fanfiction and fanart by @jimmyjims Letters, fanfiction by @aegon-targaryen Phantom Touch: Chapter Four, fanfiction by @alphascorpiixx A Letter, fanfiction and fanart by @aurathian Letters of the Past, fanfiction by @legofanguy1999 Parting, fanfiction by @minstrelsmusings Letters, fanfiction by @skyyknights Dear Zelda, fanfiction by @three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat Link’s Conjecture, fanfiction by @linkcities Written, fanfiction by @theangelicstoryteller Welcome Home, fanfiction by @sparrowsworkshop The Space Between Heartbeats, fanfiction by @zelink5ever

FANART

Letters, fanart by @maqiisan Letters, fanart by @euphorichumanart Letters, fanart by @stellarbunni Letters, fanart by @faeleine Letters, fanart by @lady-delamort

--

DAY 4 - HAND IN HAND

FANFICTION

Freefall, fanfiction by @sparklyfaerie Begin Again: Chapter Four, fanfiction by @bahbahhh His Hand in Hers, fanfiction and fanart by @writingnocturne Adore: Chapter Four, fanfiction by @mistresslrigtar Hand in Hand, fanfiction by @legofanguy1999 Sun Fête, fanfiction by @linksthoughtbrambles and @bellecream Stay in Bed, fanfiction by @the-knightmare Hand in Hand, fanfiction by @aurathian Vows, fanfiction by @destined-to-never-meet The Minstrel and the Prince: Chapter Four, fanfiction by @flutefemme In Time, fanfiction by @aegon-targaryen Hand in Hand, fanfiction and fanart by @jimmyjims Our History, fanfiction by @linkcities With Your Hand in My Hand, fanfiction by @ladyhoneydee The Fable of the Dragon and the Phoenix, fanfiction by @sciencelings-writes In Your Eyes, fanfiction by @hlizr50 (*Rated M*) Chapter Four: Hand in Hand, fanfiction by @youwouldntbelievehowigothere Follow Me, fanfiction by @sparrowsworkshop I’ve Got You, fanfiction by @theangelicstoryteller Something to Hold Onto, fanfiction by @morekerosene Escaping Together, fanfiction by @legofanguy Clickbait, fanfiction by @zelzenik

FANART

Hand in Hand, fanart by @aheavenscorner Hand in Hand, fanart by @linktheacehero Hand in Hand, fanart by @hylianzs Hand in Hand, fanart by @euphorichumanart Hand in Hand, fanart by @illcamp Hand in Hand, fanart by @maqiisan Hand in Hand, fanart by @faeleine Hand in Hand, fanart by @achiepy Hand in Hand, fanart by @laine-o Reunion, fanart by @zeldaseyebrows Hand in Hand, fanart by @lady-delamort​ Hand in Hand, fanart by @stellarbunni​

MISC

The End, amv by @cindiquilsnivy

--

DAY 5 - BY A THREAD

FANFICTION

String Along, fanfiction by @sparklyfaerie Superglue, fanfiction by @zeldaelmo Adore: Chapter Five, fanfiction by @mistresslrigtar The Minstrel and the Prince: Chapter Five, fanfiction by @flutefemme Breathe Life Into My Soul (So That I May Kiss You One More Time), fanfiction by @linktheacehero At the Edge of Calamity, fanfiction by @writingnocturne If I Falter, fanfiction by @aegon-targaryen Making the Perfect Craft, fanfiction by @legofanguy1999 By A Thread, fanfiction by @aurathian Begin Again: Chapter Five, fanfiction by @bahbahhh Phantom Touch: Chapter Five, fanfiction by @alphascorpiixx Stay With Me, fanfiction by @destined-to-never-meet By A Thread, fanfiction and fanart by @jimmyjims Visceral, fanfiction by @linksthoughtbrambles and @bellecream Stitched Together, fanfiction by @theangelicstoryteller The Hero’s Scarf, fanfiction by @legofanguy

FANART

By A Thread, fanart by @euphorichumanart By A Thread, fanart by @faeleine By A Thread, fanart by @illcamp By A Thread, fanart by @maqiisan​ By A Thread, fanart by @lady-delamort​

--

DAY 6 - IN ANOTHER LIFE

FANFICTION

Duet of Time: Chapter One, fanfiction and fanart collab by @aheavenscorner and @linktheacehero Just Rewards, fanfiction by @sparklyfaerie Adore: Chapter Six, fanfiction by @mistresslrigtar Shop Rules, fanfiction by @zeldaelmo In Another Life, fanfiction and fanart by @jimmyjims Another Life, fanfiction by @destined-to-never-meet Greetings Connect, fanfiction collab by @linksthoughtbrambles and @bellecream From This Life to the Next, fanfiction and fanart by @writingnocturne Love Me (And Leave Me to Die): Chapter Three, fanfiction by @aurathian Five Paces Back, fanfiction by @hyylia Like Mortal Men Do Mortal Women, fanfiction by @theangelicstoryteller Phantom Touch: Chapter Six, fanfiction by @alphascorpiixx Across Time, fanfiction and fanart collab by @minstrelsmusings and @maqiisan In Another Life, fanfiction by @legofanguy1999 Begin Again: Chapter Six, fanfiction by @bahbahhh​ Possibility, fanfiction by @zelink5ever​

FANART

In Another Life, fanart by @sidonswhistle In Another Life, fanart by @science-lings In Another Life, fanart by @euphorichumanart

MISC

In Another Life, moodboard by @jedi-giraffe

--

DAY 7 - FREE DAY

FANFICTION

Adore: Chapter Seven, fanfiction by @mistresslrigtar Flowers, fanfiction by @pl0xm4st3r (collab with @jimmyjims) Nightfall, fanfiction by @destined-to-never-meet From This Moment to the Last Moment, fanfiction by @hlizr50 HyMart, fanfiction by @aurathian A Gift, fanfiction and fanart by @writingnocturne Nearly Free, fanfiction collab by @linksthoughtbrambles and @bellecream A Princess of Two Worlds, fanfiction by @legofanguy Stories of Flying, fanfiction by @flickerintwilights Phantom Touch: Chapter Seven, fanfiction by @alphascorpiixx One is Never Enough, fanfiction by @theangelicstoryteller (*Rated E*) Sweet Home, fanfiction by @sparklyfaerie (*Rated E*) A Gaping Hole Where My Heart Should Be, fanfiction by @nodos-still-breathing

FANART

Flowers, fanart by @jimmyjims (collab with @pl0xm4st3r) Free Day, fanart by @euphorichumanart Free Day, fanart by @stellarbunni Free Day, fanart by @desireofthestage Free Day, fanart by @ciayuun Free Day, fanart by @achiepy Free Day, fanart by @mizukkay​ Free Day: Breakfast in Hateno, fanart by @maqiisan

[kenlair]

It's that time of year: the Writing Train! What did I accomplish this year? I have 1 ongoing story that I finished an arc of, 2 finished stories, and 8 chapter rewrites from a previous story. This year, I wrote a grand total of 366,588 words!

All artists who made the art in the book covers this year (and one from the past! All of them commissioned and or offered specifically for my stories)

@between-star @hanaberin @lunarartistry13 @deiliamedlini (Since she uses this platform LMAO) I nominate @zeldaelmo @flutefemme @spices28 and @shameless-fujoshi to show how much hard work they've put in this year to create some beautiful pieces of literature!

Thank you to everyone who's helped me either shoot ideas out, edit, and more this year! @captnmoss @spices28 @deiliamedlini @lunarartistry13 @aveganrican To the next year!

[the-depths-au]

FAQ

*this post continues heavy totk spoilers

How did it start?

A lot of people started posting some really cool art of a TotK ending where Zelda returns as a hybrid dragon creature thing. I saw a few that called it a “bad” ending and I noticed she was often portrayed with dominantly human-features just like, with horns or a tail, or the purple eyes, etc. I love to play video games(clearly) and I enjoy the challenge of seeing various endings, not just “secret endings” (think Heavy Rain, Until Dawn, The Witcher 3, Drakengard- anyone else play this?) I got to thinking about how her coming back didn’t really like a true “bad ending”. To me, a bad ending, really, would be one in which she didn’t get to magically, miraculously come back in any form. A bad ending to me would be Mineru’s warning held true. And in doing so, it would become The Legend of Zelda because she becomes the stuff of myths. Of true Legend. Fulfilling destiny (botw-era and the series as a whole). My brain sort of took off from there regarding the implications this would have on Hyrule and specially, our boy Link.

How could you! A Bad ending? Is this story at least hurt and eventual comfort??? Does it have a happy ending??

I could tag this hurt and comfort, but usually people who read these types of stories have certain expectations of what “comfort” is (and that’s okay!). Same with a “happy” ending. I don’t need stories to be wrap up in a bow with warmth to enjoy them. Honestly, some of the stories that have touched me the most over the years have had “sad” endings/negative character arcs/tragedy. That being said, I don’t particularly enjoy pure whump, either. What I feel is most important and what I am to do with this story, is to make any suffering meaningful. With purpose. And hopefully- maybe- you’ll see the “comfort” that is possible even in these types of stories.

Wait! So Zelda remains a dragon?

Yes. They defeat the demon dragon. Rauru and Sonia appear in a silent thanks, then they disappear and Link falls from the sky alone into the water. The Light Dragon continues along in her flight above him.

Link is also the only one who can see/has ever seen the Light Dragon.

Are there any other major changes from TotK?

It follows the game pretty closely. It’s just hard to say exactly what is in this story from TotK because there is just so much. In BotW, I headcanon Link took his time. He doesn’t remember anything. He is alone, lost, and the world is a vast, broken place. Therefore, it is plausible/ realistic in my head for all the side questions to be done prior to the ending being reached. In TotK, especially with the headcanon he and Zelda were together in the time between BotW and TotK, I had a hard time imagining Link would waste much time on anything unnecessary to save Zelda. So, with this in mind, I’ve had to justify the side questions to include in the story. Link’s journey is a bit different than my own. Whereas I actually spent 80% of my playthrough exploring the depths, this Link only went down when necessary. Meaning many of the lightroots have not been unlocked and he only has part of the armor of the depths. In the Linktober and the early concept, he has the entire set but this has been changed for the main comic.

How far after the events of TotK does this take place?

Five years.

Is it completely planned out?

Yes. I have a complete rough story outline done. It’s 17 chapters. I am anticipating some editing as I go, but regardless, it’s a big project. A huge shout out to @zeldaelmo and @fioreofthemarch for helping me get the story set. They are both phenomenal writers for the LoZ fandom so be sure to check them out!

What happened to the comic?

I made the decision to tell this story (initially) in writing. I have a very specific style in mind for this story as a full comic and honestly, I just don't feel like my artistic ability and overall proficiency is where I want it to be at this time. I'm still learning! I will be continuing to post art, concept art, and some comic panels here as I go and eventually, I would love to adapt the story into a full comic, but for now, I'll be telling the main story in writing.

How long have you been drawing?

I’ve been drawing all my life. Just for fun, although I took a few classes in school. Digitally, self-taught, since fall 2022. Still very new to this with lots to learn! I have a minor in creative writing and feel much more confident and comfortable with that.

Feel free to send me a DM with questions anytime! I plan to update this periodically.

Last updated 2/26/24

[zelinkacrosstime]

Every story begins with a couple of words—we’re happy our writing mod ZeldaElmo narrates Across Time with us! You can find her on Tumblr and Ao3 @zeldaelmo!

[thecagedsong]

Hehe, this prompt gave me the excuse to finish this one, I wasn't quite sure where it was going until I added the prompt. @zeldaelmo Great job on the followers!

You may notice some similarities to Dear Hero. But that's just how fic writing goes. I hope you enjoy some more TP zelink, this time just after midnight.

Lanayru’s glow lit every corner of her cavern, the collapsed archways and hidden nooks, the clawshot grips and underwater plants. The lights spirit hadn’t been physically manifested for this long, in a long time. It felt nice, being allowed to truly stretch and lounge in her domain. She smiled down at the floating mortal, one of the few whose courage, wisdom, and power made it possible for the divine and mundane to co-exist.

“We’ve gone over economy, prophecies, politicians, military, agriculture, and I’ve told you all I know of the old legends and your ancestors.” Lanayru said, “What else would you like to discuss?”

“Marriage is my next important decision, I know,” Princess Zelda said, floating on her back in the cool spring water. Her white dress had been soaked hours ago, when she first dove in. “I haven’t let myself think about it beyond mental lists of people I’ve met that I don’t want beside me. I knew I wanted the decision to come up only after I claimed the throne, otherwise the decision of my husband would be highly influenced by either my father or the council. As queen, the decision is completely mine. For some reason, that almost makes the concept more frightening. I’ve asked for guidance on this decision from the goddesses, but they have yet to answer that particular prayer.”

“Of course they are silent,” Lanayru admonished, flicking her tail against the water, “When life was created, it was the goddesses, your patron Nayru in particular, who bestowed mortals with free will. They cannot violate their own laws by taking this choice away from you.”

“What if my choice is to turn it over to the goddesses?” Zelda asked, drifting to a standing position on a rock, her shoulders barely clearing the water, “What if my choice is to bow to their infinitely superior wisdom and foresight? Will they then send me a dream or a sign of my future husband? Perhaps inscribing their name or their next words to me on the inside of my wrist, letting me know that they are chosen for me?”

“That is a coward’s answer, and a fool’s,” the light spirit scolded, “Nothing is truly fore-ordained. Even your battle with the Hero against the Usurper was not pre-decided. At any point you could have made a different choice and let darkness reign. The goddesses merely know your soul and trusted you to make the right choice. When you made the right choice, then they were allowed to help you. That is the order set forth by their rules. Being afraid of making a mistake, so choosing not to choose, mocks Nayru’s gift and begs for you to be led astray.”

“So despite all my powers, despite the importance of this decision to the wellbeing of Hyrule, I must make this decision without aid?” Zelda asked with a frown.

Lanayru flicked water at the princess with her tail, “Work for goodness, and trust the goddesses to keep Hyrule from ruin. They will warn you if your decision is poor. In the meantime, while I am here, I can offer what wisdom I have. What do you seek in a consort?”

This may have been an odd conversation for most people to have with a guardian light spirit, who was most likely asexual and without gender, despite the feminine tones of her voice. Zelda imagined most women had this conversation with their mothers or other female relatives. Lacking those figures in her life, Zelda was here.

She hadn’t been sure what to expect during her Cleansing, a twelve-hour ritual before she would make her way to the Temple of Ages in Castletown, where she would be coronated by the three priestesses. Solitude, self-reflection, and possibly a visit from Lanayru, where she would ask the light spirit for a blessing, be blessed, and be sent on her merry reign, possibly.

Instead she spent time being rejuvenated, her magic and body were absorbing and rejoicing in the power of the spring, while picking the brain of the ancient being who saw Zelda as a naive younger relative. Zelda didn’t mind the implication and embraced a being who was willing to be blunt with her. It wasn’t as though she could discuss her future husband with anyone in Castletown, not without rumors sprouting.

“I want someone…who is good for Hyrule in the long run,” Zelda answered, “Someone who can bear their half of the crown well. So many proposals are based on the immediate aid they can offer Hyrule, like a noble’s wealth or a foreign prince’s trade agreement, but I want someone who will be good for Hyrule lifelong, and someone I can trust. The crown is heavy, I want someone who will be willing to bear their share, and only their share, for the rest of our lives.”

Zelda was expecting the ‘humph’ this time.

“Those sound like things that can best be learned over the course of your marriage. If you spend everyday waiting for someone to show who they will become, life will be ending when you find the right person, and they will have taken a chance and be with someone else. Try again,” Lanayru demanded.

Zelda thought a little longer, but the light spirit was patient, and it wasn’t like they were going anywhere until tomorrows’ dawn. “Very well, I want a suitor who has shown the potential for those things previously mentioned, by having enough life experience under their belt already to know they wont crack under pressure. I want someone who treats me as capable and respects my decisions. I want someone who knows how to work, but not someone too old to learn and be taught how to be king beside me.”

Lanayru snorted, but a little more good-naturedly, meaning Zelda was getting closer to the wisdom the spirit wanted to impart, “Hard work is the domain of commoners. Either marry one of them or listen to them and what they say about the suitor. Amongst other commoners, they will speak their mind about work ethics.”

“Maybe I will marry a commoner,” Zelda teased, “After all, the decision is completely mine. I know of two ancestors that did.”

“Politics and governance can be brutal. If you do pick someone unaccustomed to it, ensure it is someone either charismatic enough to win over your court, or someone who can call a nest of vipers home.”

Zelda kicked off her rock to float on her back again, “Sound advice. Although, it sounds as though you already have a type of someone in mind. Are you willing to share? Or is that too close to relying on the goddesses’ wisdom to be my own choice.”

Instead of the expected eyeroll, Lanayru was serious as she continued, “My final piece of advice is not to discount affection, as you have thus far. Much of what you will need your consort to be can be achieved if they care for you beyond your power.”

Zelda treaded water to look up at the large serpent. The serpent nodded at Zelda’s unasked question.

“Another is coming, and while his presence does not drive me away, the goddesses call me back to the sacred realm as midnight strikes. Go forward with my blessing, Your Grace, Daughter of Din, Farore, and Nayru, our Beloved Hylia. I predict you will reign with courage, wisdom, and power, my friend.”

Zelda swam to the center stone platform and raised her hand to touch the snout of the light snake with care. “Thank you for speaking with me, for setting me on a good course. Return home now, Lanayru, may you go with peace. Until we meet again.”

The spirit’s eyes closed and the body faded under Zelda’s touch. The scruff of a boot against gravel brought her to the other part of Lanayru’s parting message.  

            Another is coming.

Zelda took a silent but deep breath and slid under the water. She didn’t know what she was going to do, and she needed time to prepare. There were guards surrounding the cave, no one should have gotten through. They were stationed to have visual in every approachable direction, but far enough away that they would not be able to hear her.

This danger would have to be faced alone.

Her fingers pressed into the vines that grew down into the water, anchoring herself. Zelda’s magic wasn’t an issue at this spring, she could summon a Bow of Light, and she had enough knowledge of water magic to hold herself into the air.

Come out ready to attack, assess the threat, then dispose of it.

Zelda swam to a spot where she wouldn’t catch on any plants and set her plan into motion. A surge of water at her feet, air rushed around her and into her as she breached the surface with water continuing to support her, and she didn’t give herself more than a second before summoning her weapon, twisting in air to locate the intruder, aiming for the head.

“Link?” she gasped. The half-naked hero gaping broke her concentration. The Bow of Light dissolved from her fingertips and she flopped into the water below with a yelp. Water rushed into her nose and mouth as she involuntarily sucked in a breath, and it took a couple of seconds of treading water to expel it.

After wiping her face clean of tears and snot, she swam to an underwater pillar for standing, the water only coming to her knees here, and glared at the still gaping hero.

“What-what are you doing here?” she coughed out, her voice scratchy with the recent water intake.

“I…I can’t remember,” Link said, clearly flustered, “Ah, apparently I was being attacked by a water goddess, Milady.”

“Don’t mock me,” Zelda huffed and coughed out a bit more water, “I have seven guards surrounding every possible entrance to this cave, did you not think to ask them why?”

Link blushed and couldn’t seem to meet her face, “Oh, er, I didn’t see anyone because I swam directly to the spring entrance from the water temple. I didn’t mean anything improper by it, honest. I’ll just leave now.”

The clothes he had already discarded belonged to a set of Zora armor, that part was true enough. He turned to don the tunic again and flinched.

“It seems you remember your purpose for coming here,” she said, her voice amused now. The hero of her land was another human Lanayru said could commune with the light spirits with ease, especially now that Twilight has left his shadow. It was some mystery of the goddesses why Lanayru had to leave.

“Er, I was in the water temple cleaning up something nasty that had settled there, Ralis asked me to. It’s a small injury though, a red potion and some sleep will cure it just as well. I’ll leave you to your business Princess,” he explained, giving up on dressing in front of her and starting to limp towards the entrance with his clothes in his hands.

Zelda watched him for a moment, then shook her head. Four hours of conversation with Lanayru was already a strange purification ceremony beginning, might as well try for consistency if normality was unattainable.

“Come in the spring,” she encouraged. Link stopped hobbling away, “What I’m doing would be rather sullied if I refused the healing powers of the spring to another.” His brow pinched, but he softened when she smiled and gestured to the water. “As you can see, there is clearly enough space for two.”

Link hesitated for a moment, glancing back at the entrance to the spring, before limping towards the water. None of the pain he must have been feeling could be seen on his face, the only evidence was his uneven gait. At this angle she could finally see the injury, a large gash that started near his knee and carved a jagged line up to his hip, and another bloody line from the tip of his right shoulder across his collar bone.

Slowly, he made his way to the side of the cavern, where he could just drop in. Too slow, some water magic would pull him in quicker. No, that would be rude.  

Once he was in the spring, Link couldn’t look at her, or speak, and he seemed to have decided that the best course of action would be to obey her commands while pretending not to exist.

 If Zelda had tossed him into the water, there would at least be disbelief, possibly indignation, instead of painfully awkward silence.

“So, do you still spend your days solving problems for other people?” she asked with honest curiosity.

As a princess that among her greatest skills would be getting people to talk and listening to them. Her second greatest skill would be using that information well. Her third greatest skill would be talking so that others would listen and obey. Link’s discomfort with her presence would be dispelled before he was healed, she would make certain of it.

He jumped at her voice, and tilted his head, “Pardon, but what do you mean by ‘still’?”

“Midna was often irritated with your efforts to help others, much of the time she felt the bigger picture of saving Hyrule was neglected as you spoke with and aided Hyrule’s denizens. And something about petting cats. She was often irritated with your progress, but wise enough to not comment. I was wondering if you still spent your days listening to people and helping them when you can.” Zelda explained.

Link’s eyebrows rose and his mouth fell open as she talked. Apparently, Midna had never explained Zelda’s presence and limited awareness during the second half of their adventure. She waited for his answer.

“I suppose I do,” he said slowly, turning away from her to talk at the wall. “Someone’s got to help the little guy.”

“Midna was irritated with it, but I never was,” Zelda clarified for him, her eyes drifting to the wall as she recalled that time, “I was glad. I was glad that the chosen hero knew how to serve others, that it is a way of life for you. Growing up in a community as small as Ordon, everyone must have helped each other.”

“Yeah, I reckon so, Princess,” Link said, and she saw him start to tap his fingers. His body was almost turned towards her, but he kept his eyes in the other direction. His fingers stilled, and his body turned back to face the wall.

Eventually he sighed and looked away. No good.

Well, no good for conversation, but it would be a lie to say the sight of his bare back to her was entirely unwelcome.

“You may call me Zelda,” she said.

He spun around, “It wouldn’t be proper, Princess!” 

Zelda smiled, letting her eyes crinkle, “Neither is calling Prince Ralis by his first name alone. Titles are verbal signs of respect, while lack of titles, when respect is present, signifies closeness and… familiarity. Do you extend this closeness to Prince Ralis, but deny me?” Her voice was light, teasing.

Hopefully she got her tone right. She hadn’t been able to speak like this since her father died. Back when she was a woman first and a monarch eventually. Back when marriage was her largest decision, and she was concerned with flirting and diplomacy over power and politics. It seemed like an age, instead of a measly three years.

Link’s gaping mouth was enough of a reason to keep going. Marriage was once again her largest decision, it wouldn’t hurt to practice flirting, she reasoned. He was certainly handsome enough to warrant a little of it.

“I-um, I didn’t mean,” Link stumbled over the words, eyes drawn downwards as a flush crept upwards. “It’s just you’re my princess, and Ralis—I mean Prince Ralis and I didn’t want-I didn’ mean you’re mine like a possession—”

Zelda laughed, softly, cutting him off.

“Don’t fret, I’m only teasing.”

Zelda swam closer to where he was leaning over the ledge. She gripped the vines beside him. He blushed redder and redder the closer she got. She pulled herself up to mirror his position, their elbows touching.

“Please look at me,” she asked.

He forced his eyes upwards.

“I would like for you to call me by my name, Link.”

Link swallowed, his throat bobbing, “O-okay, Zelda.”

Zelda smiled and nodded, then dropped back down into the water, hooking her foot around a vine to anchor herself near him. She wasn’t looking at him now, but his eyes were still on her.

Good.

She took the time to play with her unbound hair in the spring water, waiting.

Link spoke next, “Er, can I ask what you’re doing here? And who you were talking to?”

Ah, that had been his question. She released her hair and looked over the cavern.

“I was consulting with the Light Spirit Lanayru,” Zelda said, imagining the warm serpent that had been there minutes before. “It was her voice you heard. My coronation is tomorrow, and spending the night bathing in a sacred spring is a purifying ritual to prepare me, as well as seeking the blessing of the Light Sprits over my reign.”

“Apologies!” Link said, shaking his head, “Thousand apologies, Milady-I mean Zelda. I didn’t mean to interrupt something so grand!”

“You didn’t,” Zelda quieted him, “Lanayru has spent the past three hours counseling me, it was time for her to return. As for the purification ritual, well, I was planning on meditating for the next several hours, which is as boring as it sounds. Stay and talk for a while, please?”

Link seemed to struggle, but eventually said, “If you’d like, Princess.”

Despite his agreement, he seemed content to heal, tense and silent beside her, instead of speaking.

“Tell me Link,” Zelda said eventually, “I was a little cut short with Lanayru when I asked her about the proper qualities for a King. What are your thoughts?”

“A king?” Link asked, his eyebrows pushing together, “A ruler should be concerned with the needs of his people foremost. They should be someone that can make alliances, and someone who prefers peace, but is prepared for conflict. You are already all that and more, P-Zelda,” he forced himself to correct when she made a face, then repeated, “You are already that and more, Zelda.”

Zelda pulled herself out of the water to sit on the ledge, taking a moment to wring out her hair, “I’m glad you think so highly of me,” she smiled, hopefully hiding the way hearing him say her name made her blush.

Link had turned to face the wall as soon as she pulled out of the water, but his shoulders were relaxed as he responded, “All of us in the kingdom think that highly of you, I’m just one of the lucky folk that get to see it for myself on occasion.”

Zelda never seen a man completely undressed, and despite the wound splitting his thigh and hip, Link retained the Zora greaves. Zelda had seen soldiers practice without their shirts occasionally, and, if memory served, Link was muscled differently than most of her soldiers. A breadth and sturdiness that must come from farmwork as well as swordsmanship. He was certainly shorter than many, but the picture of coiled power rather than a runt. Broad, strong, and hair like the wheatgrass that covered Death Mountain’s foothills in summer.

Zelda shook her head, wringing her hair some more. A couple of minutes of practice flirting and she was back to silly daydreams.

“My question wasn’t concerning the qualities of a good ruler for myself, per se, but rather, what qualities I should seek in a husband. I was hoping you would have some insight as to what makes a good couple, possibly a good match for me. What should I take into account when deciding on a consort?”

He had tensed up again, and Zelda refused to entertain the thought of massaging his shoulders for more than a moment. There was flirting, then there was abuse of her station and harassment.

“Why would a husband be on your mind?” Link asked carefully, still staring at the vines climbing the wall in front of him, “Lots of folk assumed that you fought so hard to be crowned unwed so that you could guide Hyrule without a king trying to tell you how to do it, but I want to know from you before I say anythin’.”

There were many answers to his question. One prominent answer was that Zelda only wanted the choice for herself, and she wasn’t foolish enough to leave Hyrule without a successor forever. Dismiss the question by saying Hyrule knew little of her motives. Explain the greater political position being crowned while unwed would give her in the future, as her husband would become a prince consort and need her approval to become king, rather than both her coronation and her husband’s being at the discretion of the Council. All these answers were true.

 Something about the moment drew out an answer far more personal. Maybe it was the lingering peace from the light spirit, maybe her already soaked appearance and his half-dressed state encouraged vulnerability. Or maybe it was the fact that he was one of the few people who asked questions about her reasoning before telling her what to do or what she was thinking.

“The decision is entirely my own now. As a queen, no one could possibly have authority to decide for me. And . . . and I think I’m tired of being alone,” she said softly, combing her hair with her fingers and staring at a dripping stalagmite across the spring. “I have proven to myself and my kingdom that I am worthy of my crown, that I am strong enough alone. I know I don’t need anyone. But I want someone. Is that…okay? Am I allowed to wish for someone to serve Hyrule by my side? To want . . . to want to be loved as a wife is?”

Zelda glanced at Link, who was finally looking at her. He seemed to be studying every aspect of her face, committing it to memory, and she felt pinned in place. No, he wasn’t trying to memorize her, he was shifting his image of her. This had happened a couple of times before, with very special people, when they realized that there was a person behind their princess. She let out a breath and gave a smile, letting him see her, forcing herself not to shy away.

“Rusl and Uli,” Link said at last, looking away abruptly, his ears turning pink at the tips. “When I think of marriage, I think of this young married couple from Ordon. Rusl taught me how to fight and hunt, Uli taught me everything else. They just…love and respect each other so much. Though they have different responsibilities and skill sets. They complement each other, and listen to each other, and they have the same goal for a happy home they are both always working towards.”

She let his words hang in the air, and she knew that one day soon she would have to meet these two. Perfect complements. Rusl of Ordon sounded familiar though, maybe she had already met one of this pair. She shook her head.

“I believe that you choose who you love,” she said, letting herself slide onto her back and stare at the ceiling, “My current plan is to pick someone who will be good for Hyrule, someone who I know respects me. I will choose to love them each day for the qualities I originally admired and look for new things to love about them each night. Is that possible, do you think? Will that give me a relationship as supportive as Rusl and Uli’s. Or is that an Occa’s milk dream?”

There was nothing but the sound of water for a while. Her feet dangling into the spring, she laid on her back and watched the mysterious light of the spring reflect through the water and dance upon the ceiling. The one daydream she allows herself still, one that had supported her through the worst of the Invasion, to lie beside someone she loved with perfect peace.

“Love always seemed more like blowing up a boulder to me,” Link said at last, and Zelda raised herself and twisted to raise an eyebrow at him. He shrugged and continued, “Telma, for instance, she was making her way through life, then met Renaldo, and boom, she sees things differently, a boulder is cleared from her path, letting her be somewhere new, someone new. You can’t re-wind time so that the boulder isn’t smashed anymore, you’ll always love that person from there on out. Renaldo didn’t have a boulder smashing moment, so Telma’s there alone, grown some and in a new place, until another boulder smashes and she goes somewhere else, hoping that person meets her there.”

Zelda couldn’t help it, she giggled. She couldn’t force it into a more respectable laugh, and was stuck there, giggling at the Hero of Twilight, “Love is like blowing up a boulder. I love it.” She turned around and flipped onto her belly and folded her arms to match Link, only she was out of the water completely while he was still soaking his body. Their faces a foot apart. “So, have any boulders blown up for you?”

Link huffed and turned his head to look at a wall, “Okay, so I stink at metaphors. Point is, there are parts of it you can’t control. I think your way of thinking and acting would forge a really strong bond and partnership. A steady love with a solid foundation, but pick someone that affects you and is affected by you. Makes you guess, makes you think, makes you shiver occasionally, otherwise there’s nowhere to go and nowhere to grow, as Uli would say.”

“Someone’s a romantic,” Zelda teased, and watched his cheeks and ears grow red again, all the while thinking about what he said. It was uncomfortably familiar. More seriously she replied, “Lanayru said the same thing, or close enough. Her advice was to remember that affection and attraction can build the rest of the qualities I would like to see my future husband display towards ruling the kingdom, and it would make me happier, knowing he found me beautiful and loveable.”

Link fidgeted, but it was a much shorter silence before he asked his question, which Zelda considered a roaring success.

“What guys are available for you to consider? Is there a pre-approved list somewhere?”

Zelda giggled, and then sighed at the thought, her head coming down to rest on her folded forearms. “I suppose it is important to have suitors before choosing between them. Several people presented themselves as suitors for me before the council, but all were rejected at my insistence that my energy was needed for re-building, not courting. After my coronation, any potential suitor would have to come before me on my throne and ask permission to court me. It would certainly be a test of courage.”

“So men have to present their suit?” Link asked, raising an eyebrow. “Seems like a poor system, those who go after power are rarely those who should be trusted with it.”

Zant and Ganondorf were present in both their minds.

“I could always go a courting,” Zelda mused then laughed, ducking her head to hide her smile. “That would be hilarious. Nerve racking surely, but men have been doing it for ages, I’m sure I have enough courage in me to try my hand at it.”

“You mean…” Link asked, trying to picture it.

“Exactly,” Zelda said, laughter still evident in her voice, “I go knocking at his door, gift in hand, and ask for permission to court him from his family. I invite him on rides through the countryside and I ask him to dinner. We discuss families and politics and friends. I’ll brag about my scars from the war and he’ll ohh and aww over my grit. Then I ask him to marry me. A perfect fairy tale, right?” She laughed again, eventually having to put her head all the way down to quell the snickers. “Oh my, the man willing to let me court him would certainly have enough humor to be king.”

“I think it’s a brilliant plan,” Link said, grinning at her, “You’ll stay in control of the relationship without forcing anyone to do anything, like it would be if you asked straight out as queen. You would know they respected you and your decisions, and you can practice finding things to love about them before anything is irreversible.”

Zelda started, “You really think so? I assumed a man would be embarrassed to let the relationship be so far out of his control. Would you let a woman court you, instead of the other way around?”

“I’d be flattered. I’d want a bit more a say though, so maybe we switch off choosing and organizing activities, show off some of my own scars. Though if I didn’t like her, I’d also be okay with sayin’ no during one of the dates.”

“Hmm,” Zelda said, closing her eyes and letting herself imagine it. Knocking on a little house (say it was in Ordon) The nerves of being turned down combatted by the fluttery feeling of not being alone as he opens the door. (Link smiles because he said he’d be okay with it and this is just an example imagining anyway.) Of taking control of her life and going to court someone, asking only for their time in the beginning. (Maybe they could ride Epona together, it had been exhilarating last time, though much of that due to the battle.) She stayed in her day dream for a minute, feeling warm and safe, then she felt a small splash.

“Link?” she asked, dragging herself onto her elbows.

“Of, Er, sorry,” Link said, shaking out his hair, “It’s just, I think I still have some slime from the monster in my hair. I was trying to rinse it without bothering you.”

“I don’t mind,” Zelda said, shaking the relaxation out of her eyes, “I’m not supposed to fall asleep anyway, and I was fairly close. Do you have any other questions to keep me awake? Do you need soap from your pack?”

“No, I’m fine,” he said, blushing.

Zelda sat up again, shifting to put her feet back over the water. “So Link, you’ve told me that you want a complimentary and respectful relationship modeled after your friends Rusl and Uli, but what does that mean for you? What would you like to see in your future spouse?”

“I’m not quite sure,” he admitted, “Give me a second to think and get this slime out.” Zelda nodded and he disappeared under water. While she waited, Zelda used light magic to make figures of light above the spring.

Once upon a time, Zelda would have been scolded for doing so, her teachers demanding she treat her magic with reverence and save her power only for the most dire of circumstances. But Zelda wasn’t a student anymore, she wasn’t a child, and with the constant magic rejuvenation of the light spirit’s spring, there was no reason not to practice. Using beams of light, she drew a triforce, then the Master Sword. Hyrule’s crest came next, a ladybug on a flower. The ceiling looked like her notepad after one of Councilwoman Myra’s excessively long rants about the Gorons and how difficult trade was with them because they didn’t need the same things that Hylians and Zora needed.

That was when Link surfaced. The portion of the Zora armor he was wearing must have expanded his ability to stay underwater, but not indefinitely without the full set. Her light doodles were reflected in his eyes as he glanced between her and her creation.

“That’s beautiful,” he said, letting himself drift back next to her.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile, then let the light disperse, “Sometimes I like to remind myself that magic can be used for more than life and death. Now, do you have an answer for me yet, or do you need more time?”

Link sighed and pulled himself up to sit beside her. A quick glance showed the cut on his thigh had become a thinner red line, their time would be up soon.

“I said I wanted a complement, but I don’t know what that means for me,” Link admitted, “Someone as independent as me, I guess. I have lots of friends in lots of places, and I wouldn’t want a wife who would keep me from visiting them. She could be willing to come with me, or be fine on her own while I go out helping people and visitin’. I want her to have her own hopes and dreams, something to work towards, and I could help her with. I want to know that she’s fine when I’m gone, but happy to see me, because I’m me and while she doesn’t need me, she wants me.”

“A woman of ambitions and goals? I could see that,” Zelda said, smiling at the thought of Link’s partner being a force for good, just like he was, but with direction.

Link laughed, “Really? I’ve felt like it’s a stupid idea. I feel tired a lot of the time, and logically the cure for that is someone who’s peaceful, knows how to make a home to come back to. But a larger part of me says that ain’t right, that when I’m somewhere peaceful, I enjoy it for an hour before I feel un-needed and move on. I know what a home looks like, thanks to Rusl and Uli, but they aren’t my home. I guess I want my company desired on a personal level, but not needed, and my abilities needed on a different level, but not always wanted. So not only am I a romantic, I also seem to be real picky.”

“I wouldn’t consider someone picky because they wanted a partner of ambitions and goals,” Zelda argued back. “Those are the most interesting people.”

Link made a noise of agreement, then changed position to float on his back in the water. Zelda made herself slip back into the spring, to help her stay awake and cool some of the blush in her cheeks.

Zelda might not be the most experienced in relationships, but the only thought on her mind when Link spoke about someone with ambitions and goals, was I have ambitions and goals. She was twenty-two, she was the literal bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, and it was still a little embarrassing to admit she and Link had basically been describing the other.

She let herself look over his floating form, safe from him knowing about her assessment. Was the answer both so simple and so complex? Did Link realize what he had been describing? Could he ever be interested?

Tired of these thoughts, she took a deep breath and dove under the water. On the stone floor, she let out the rest of her breath and folded herself into a mediation pose, closing her eyes. Leaving her sunk. Here, she could hear her heartbeat. Here was a warmth to the spring. When her lungs grew tight, she used her hands and a spell to draw air from the water, separating the molecules at the edge of her lips, and took a breath to sustain her peaceful meditation.

Her heartbeat. Her rule. Her family.

The goddesses would not let her stray down wrong paths. She had a plan, even if just her silly courtship idea. Zelda could meditate properly now, eyes-closed, magic being expended at a sustainable rate, and she could truly think about all the things she had talked about with Lanayru. The kind of person she was, and who she needed to continue to become to be the queen the people of Hyrule needed. She wanted to build. She wanted to research and start a university. She wanted to build up trade with Holodrum, and start political relations with Termina. She wanted to build two new bridges now that the old—

Her head was thrust forward, and foreign air forced into her lung through the press of lips. Her eyes burst open, only to be covered a second later as a helmet was jammed on her head, and she was pulled upwards.

“Zelda! Princess Zelda!” Link yelled, as soon as they hit air, hauling her onto a pillar only a few inches below the water level.

She slapped away his hand, startling him into being quiet.

“What are you doing?” she demanded and yanked his Zora helmet off. Angrily, she then had to yank all her hair out of her eyes to glare at him properly. It took only a second of looking at him to realize what had happened. In her efforts to get away from thoughts of him, she hadn’t told him her plan. He had seen her, looking lifeless at the bottom of the spring, and had done everything he could to save her from drowning.

“I, er…” Link fumbled. Zelda knew she should calm down, it was a perfectly reasonable assumption to make, and all actions taken were for the preservation of her life, but he had kissed her to breath air into her, and he was still shirtless, and they were both bright red and she didn’t feel like calming down. “I thought you were drowning,” he said at last.

“I figured that out,” she said haughtily and opened her mouth to say more, but Zelda didn’t have a logical continuation of the thought. Nor was this the proper road to take if she wanted him as her friend. Certainly not if she ever wanted him as something more.

Taking a deep, obvious breath, she slowly released the air, making her focus on that. A better course of action.

“I’m sorry I lost my temper,” she said, her cheeks burning. “I had cast a spell that allowed me to extract air from the water around me, and I should have told you to keep you from worrying. I’m sorry.”

It was the best she had come up with in her flustered state. Link let out a breath of his own, though it looked like they were back to square one in terms of how comfortable he was with her. She needed something better.

“I could show you,” she offered hesitantly. It was common curtesy to never bespell anyone, and rude to even ask. It was all she could come up with, as flustered as she was.

He looked at her and her cheeks flushed. This time her eyes darted away, remembering the brief moment of warmth and air when his lips breathed for her. She couldn’t look him in the eye, and for some reason, that made him relax.

“Sure, that sounds like an interesting experience,” Link said, and she glanced up at him. This time he was smiling, trying to put her at ease.

Sitting on the edge of the underwater pillar, Zelda took a couple of extra breaths to steady herself, regain control and focus. When she was ready, she started making the proper motions and pulling at the magic inside herself, the magic that sang through her blood.

Link was sitting beside her, watching her hands, and she hesitated only a moment before reaching forward and brushing her fingers against his lips, laying the spell there. He blushed again, but didn’t do anything else as she finished.

“It’s pretty pure oxygen, so unhealthy for an extended period of time, but it pulls it directly from the water and releases the hydrogen in bubbles,” she explained while crafting a second spell for herself, “While I can support one person indefinitely in this spring, we should be good for ten minutes, with me supporting the spell for the both of us.”

 “I just dive?”

“Breathe normally. You’ll feel water at your lips, but only air will enter your mouth.”

“Here goes,” and Link slid off the pillar.

Zelda took another few steadying breaths, reapplied the spell to herself, then slid after him, her skirt was carefully tied to her thighs to prevent it floating up too much.

Link smiled as she joined him in the center of the spring. He hesitated, then asked, “Can we talk?”

 “Yes,” Zelda answered needlessly, “How does it feel?

Link examined his fingers, “It’s different than Zora armor. Your magic feels…bright. Bright and clean. I like it.”

“How did Twili magic feel?” Zelda asked.

Link shrugged, “Zant and Ganondorf felt clogged and confusing, like the spells didn’t know what to do, just that it wanted to harm. Kinda like the Castletown sewers. Midna’s felt deep, I think. Old and deep, like being in an underground temple. Kinda musty. Sorry, but that’s the best I got.”

“No, I understand what you mean,” Zelda said, thinking about her own experiences with the respective magics. She shook her head, and let out a flirty smirk, “Want to race?”

“I still have the zora greaves on,” Link said, flicking the fins on his feet.

“Well, what do you usually do while under water?”

Link shrugged, “Get to wherever I’m going, usually. Sometimes watch the fish if I’m taking a rest. I’m not normally underwater with someone else. What do you do when you’re underwater with someone, besides racing?”

Queen Rutela had been the one to teach her this spell during her nineth summer at the Domain. Zelda had learned to swim, they had played with metal ball toys, and . . .

“Were you taught how the Zora dance?” Zelda asked.

Link shook his head.

“Would you like to learn?”

He searched her face for something, and evidently found it, because he nodded.

“I’ll teach you the simple step, since there is no music,” Zelda said. “Maybe I can teach you more if you are going to Ralis’ coronation at the end of the summer. But for now, take my hand.”

His hand was wider than hers, his fingers thick with callouses. Zelda arranged them in the proper grip and stepped slightly out of alignment with him.

“The dance is meant to be accommodate currents and circular within this singular space. The best dancers don’t move  out of a six foot radius from their starting position during the entire dance. These hands press flatly,” she said, holding up her free hand, which he pressed lightly against hers. “And think of this like a scissor step. We both move our right feet out passed the other’s hip, then snap our legs together.”

She did one, and Link was slowly dragged through the water by their held hands, until they returned to the starting position.

“Step 1-2, Snap 3,” she paced the motions to the count. “Step 1-2, Snap 3.”

She repeated it until Link caught on. First over spinning them, then off count, making her laugh as she was accidentally flung wide. His greaves were the real problem, but she didn’t mind, she was having fun as they figured out the medium of his steps. Then the reverse when Zelda’s right leg grew tired. Zelda taught him how to counterbalance the movement so you didn’t go too far towards the surface or the floor.

Finally they were moving on count, and Link grinned at her, breathing heavier for the workout. Zelda automatically reached forward and touched the corner of his mouth, checking her spell work.

She caught his eyes in that moment and froze.

His breathing didn’t get lighter as her fingers continued to linger there. Zelda knew she was taller than him on an intellectual level, but at that moment he seemed to engulf every part of her vision, and part of her thought that this was how he would always look, if his outward appearance reflected even a smidge of the greatness he had found inside himself since the first time they met.

Her eyes drifted down to his shoulder, where the wound was long gone, then back up to his eyes. A wolf, for all that they were in the terrain of fish.

Link’s free hand copied her motion, his thumb pressing against the corner of her mouth.

“Is this the next step you’re going to teach me?” he asked.

“No, I wanted to check my spell,” she said, dropping her hand. He dropped his at the same time. “I don’t remember the other moves well enough to teach you.”

“Then I suppose we’ll learn together at Ralis’ coronation party,” Link said. “Though I should probably go tell him he can use the temple for it, now that it’s cleaned out. He couldn’t plan anything until I killed the scalera there.”

“Oh, of course,” Zelda said. “You are healed, and you should probably find a way to leave through the lake, my guards might take issue with your presence, should you be noticed.”

He nodded, and began to swim upwards, Zelda a beat behind him, only letting go of hands once they reached the surface.

They both climbed out of the spring, and Zelda turned her back to allow Link to re-don his zora armor.

“Thanks for the dancing lesson, Zelda,” Link said, and she turned back to see him all packed up. “And for letting me use the spring even though you’re here for something special.”

“Of course, any time,” Zelda said, a little helplessly.

He gave her a last smile then headed for the exit.

No, Zelda was brave enough for this.

She got to her feet and latched onto his gauntlet. Link turned back to her. The words she wanted to say shriveled on her tongue.

“Prince Ralis is attending my coronation, you won’t find him at the Domain this eve,” Zelda said instead. “There is a seat for you, during my coronation I mean, if you wish to attend. You can inform Prince Ralis there of what you have accomplished.”

“Oh, alright then,” Link said. “Why would you have a seat saved for me?”

Because there is no Hyrule without him? Because she hoped he’d come, even though he hadn’t set foot in Castletown since dropping her off after their return from the desert? Because if he did come, Zelda wanted him to see her accept her crown, and so he needed a spot she would be able to find quickly.

            Be brave.

“Because I had hoped you would come, even if the invitation I sent to Ordon went unanswered,” Zelda said. “Is that alright?”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “I guess I haven’t checked my mail at home for a while. Thanks for saving my seat. I’d love to see you take up your crown. Though it’s not like anyone else could after the light spirits acknowledged you as the rightful ruler.”

Awkward. She wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that.

“Is . . . uh, that it?” Link asked, lightly tugging on his hand to remind her she still grasped it.

            BE BRAVE.

“No, could I . . . may I call upon you in Ordon?” she said, unable to keep the red from her cheeks. “Perhaps, two weeks from now? During the day, not just after midnight.”

Zelda helplessly watched Link put it all together, hoping she looked more confident than she felt. Hoping she hadn’t been imagining things and that he hadn’t just been polite.

Slowly, his lips spread into a smile. “I’d like that, Princess.”

[mistresslrigtar]

Missy's 2024 Birthday Challenge Master List

The prompt was BIRTHDAY and I had wonderful friends write some sweet drabbles, short stories, and create a mood board and fanart for me. TY again @daemosdaen, @louwhose, @bahbahhh , @sparklyhyperbole, @knomeofzurich and @zeldaelmo Be sure to check out all their works on AO3!

and of course, I wrote something for my own challenge 😁

[zeldaelmo]

Bridgerton is trending? Well, that's my cue to finally share the art I commissioned for my Regency AU The Promise!

It's from @hylianzs! Thank you again! 🫶🏼

Here's an excerpt from the scene in chapter 7:

He held his breath and prayed for the words to come, this time. His trembling hand sought hers and, as if she knew she would make speaking tenfold easier, she opened up and allowed his fingers to curl in hers.

“Zelda.” His voice broke over her name anyway. “You don’t have to share what upsets you, I will never press you to do so. But you cannot quench my wish to help you carry your burden, whatever it is.” He looked back at the four-poster-bed, the blankets and pillows partly hidden by forest green-colored curtains. “I offered because… I know you haven’t been treated well since your father died. You said you wouldn’t mind sleeping in the common room, and although I admire your dedication to our… goal, I still want to… want to…"

Her eyes had grown wider, the grip on his fingers firmer and Link already felt the words in his mouth getting plush and difficult to get out. Damn it, he hadn't even made his point yet!

"I want y-you to reach blindly for your stirrups because you know I'm there to set them for you,” he pushed through. “I want—I want to lead you up the stairs so often that you have forgotten how it is to walk them on your own. I want you to speak quietly because you know that I'll listen and not because someone drilled into you that your opinion has no value. I want that frown you wore with your family gone. I want your smile to grow unconscious because I hold the door open so often. I want you to roll your eyes at me because I’ll help you from your horse again.” She swallowed hard, her eyes shining with unshed tears. He hoped they were the good kind of tears. Link squeezed her hand, gathering courage to continue. “I want you to get used again to the respect you deserve, Zelda. Grow tired of it, if you must, but I won’t rest until then. So please, let me sleep in that armchair.”

She closed her eyes, forcing two teardrops to break free and fall into her lap. She had his hand in an iron grip, but her lips remained sealed. Had he gone too far? Was it too early to offer her his loyalty?

Read the story here:

[spices28]

The Midnight Revelry - An Pre!Calamity masquerade/secret love notes AoC/BotW Zelink fic

Someone has been writing Zelda secret love notes. And now that same someone has plans to meet her, all three nights of the masquerade ball.

or Link has three nights to convince Zelda not to throttle him when she figures out he’s been writing her love notes under the guise of a secret admirer.

This was written for @zeldaelmo’s 1,000-follower celebration on Tumblr! Congratulations ZeldaElmo!! The prompt was: Just After Midnight.

Read the first chapter on Ao3! I have the entire story drafted with a goal of uploading at least one chapter a week. Hopefully more/sooner.

[bahbahhh]

@zeldaelmo your fic “Stitches - Prompt 31- Hurt&Comfort” from whumptober 2021 was nominated by @silentprincess17 for fanart!

Gosh, this fic is just beautiful. Zeldaelmo, you have a real gift for making little, everyday moment so significant in your writing. It is really on display in this piece.

"Is that… a horse plushie?"

She nodded.

"Oh, wow. That's the cutest thing I've ever seen. Look!" He pointed at the plushie. "It has a mane and a tail!"

"I know, Link, I made it," she explained and chuckled.

Read the rest of “Stitches - Prompt 31- Hurt&Comfort” on Ao3

Mind the author tags - whump*

[drsteggy]

8 and 29 for the ask game! 😁

Thank you so much for the ask @zeldaelmo !

Original fic ask here

8 Do you prefer writing one shots or multi chapter stories?

My work list strongly suggests I like one shots, lol as there’s exactly one multi chap thing. I think I just have only enough brain to deal with short ideas. The multi chapter was written in 2020 and it was a different time.

I do have 2 multi chapter pieces in the works though. One will definitely show up later in the summer. Idk about the other.

29 what is the part of the writing process do you enjoy most?

Hmmmmmm I think I like the actual writing part. Like, I really love when I can just throw words down and get ideas down. I don’t do a ton of outlining. I do do a ton of daydreaming. Sometimes I get to a point where the day dreams need to get put into a Google doc.

[zelinktines24]

Hi there, @zeldaelmo here!

Zelinktines is a casual zelink event in February.

Choose a prompt of your liking and get creative with it and post it on the prompt date! Art, stories, music, whatever you feel inspired to!

Everyone can participate. We have a form where you can choose up to three prompts (you can do more prompts outside the form but don't burn yourself out). It's not required to fill out the form but it helps to see which prompts are still free. (Double entries are fine! But maybe you're inspired by several things and prefer to cover a free day/prompt)

Collaborations are encouraged! Keep an eye out on the common zelink/loz discord servers to find a partner or here on Tumblr! Consider your own post that you want to collab, too.

To make it easier for us, add @zelinktines23 and tag us when you post! There will also be an Ao3 collection in February.

NSFW content is allowed. Please blur NSFW art with the 'mature' feature and hide explicit writing under the cut here on Tumblr. Don't get too crazy with the NSFW content (more info here), this is an event with the focus on the romantic relationship of Zelda and Link and not kinktober.

Big thanks at the team @aquaticpal, @deiliamedlini, @Farore-or-less, and @itcantbe! Also a huge ❤️ @between-star for letting us use the art!