#zeleon

[jimmyjims]

Day 1: Yearning

Zelink Week 2023 ~ @zelinkcommunity

Despite his inability to speak, Leon still found it a bit difficult to translate words onto paper. He sat at his desk and tapped the pen on his chin methodically. He was writing about how his day went, but so much had happened that he was not sure how to limit how much he wrote in order to focus on the good parts of his day. Today, too many good things happened. How could he fit it all on this small sheet of paper? Should he just draw instead? He usually added small sketches under his journal entries but Leon decided that there were truly no words to describe how his day went. So, he began to sketch whatever came to mind first.

A small line here, a curved line there. Was that a smile? Maybe. Keep going. Round eyes full of wonder and light. He wonders who they belong to. Curls that caressed round cheeks. Everything about this was round, he realized. What else should he make round? Maybe he should extend the drawing a bit to explore more of this character he was unconsciously creating. Taking a moment to take it in before he continued, Leon gasped in realization. He dropped his pen and covered his mouth with his hand. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was a few more moments before he finally looked down again.

There she was. The Princess looked up at him sweetly, her round eyes sparkling at him. Her gorgeous head was floating on the paper, but he couldn’t bring himself to finish. Leon’s cheeks flushed as he tried shaking away the feeling that gnawed at his heart, but he only gained a stronger will to finish the drawing. He decided to give her a flower to hold, the flower whose seeds they had planted this morning. Each stroke was gentle as he finalized the details he had memorized of the Princess: her freckles that scattered across the sky of her face, the dress she wore today that gently hugged the curvature of her body, and the beautiful gold jewelry that highlighted her ears, fingers and wrist.

Once he was satisfied, Leon tapped his pen on his desk and smiled tenderly. He had ignored her beauty since he met her, but now, he embraced her perfect appearance. But…there was something he could not ignore. Leon sighed as he glanced at the folded letters that sat at the top right corner of his desk. He took a peek inside of one of them and felt a guilty stab in his heart. Leaning back, he tilted his face towards the ceiling. He knew it was wrong to yearn for the Princess; his heart belonged to someone else, despite being so far away from home. He knew this and yet, he couldn’t shake away the tingling sensation from his hands as he remembered the accidental touch he shared with her this morning.

Leon forced himself to try to imagine Mathilde, to remember her. She felt too far away to be palpable, making it a bit more difficult to capture her true magnificence. What was her touch like? Leon ran his thumb across the tips of his fingers. Like a shock, perhaps? Her eccentric nature might have energized her touch. What had she looked like? Leon tried to draw her in his mind, only for him to realize that it took too long for him to distinguish the details he had memorized in his time with her. The day he left. Her somber expression. Her last touch. It had left him feeling lonely after they let each other go. Their last embrace was bittersweet and felt like little more than a brief convergence. A convergence that left a sharp and painful feeling in his chest. If he touched her again, would she feel like a knife?

His little fairy companion was amused by Leon’s inspection of his hand, noticing that his face showed pain. She had noted the lack of a journal entry, which was rather odd considering he was having a grand time with the Princess the entire morning. Why was the young hero rubbing his fingers all of a sudden?

“Did gardening make your hands numb?” Tradi asked, pulling Leon away from his thoughts. He jumped at her tiny voice and turned to find her resting on his left shoulder. With a furrowed brow, Leon shook his head and looked back at his hand. Knowing she wouldn’t get a real answer, Tradi flew in front of him to annoy him. Leon grimaced and joined her in her game, only for him to give up after multiple turns of his head. He finally pointed at the drawing he had made and crossed his arms. Tradi laughed in her triumph and hovered over the paper. Leon glared at the teasing fairy while she analyzed the drawing that caused so much guilt within him.

“Wow! Lovely work, Leon!” Tradi giggled. Leon stuck out his lower lip and let out a huff.

“Aw, come on! I’m being honest!” she insisted. “I think you should show this to her!”

Leon quickly shook his head and criss-crossed his arms across his chest. He was already angry with himself for drawing her for today’s journal entry; showing it to Zelda would only make matters worse. Tradi sighed and rested on his shoulder once again.

“Has Mathilde sent you another letter?” she asked, her tone sharing his concern all of a sudden. Leon lowered his eyes and nodded, gesturing at the pile of letters he was collecting. Tradi wavered around the papers and lifted a corner of the paper at the top of the stack.

“Something feels wrong,” she noted as she read a bit of what was written. A twitch from Leon’s lower lip only worsened Tradi’s fears. Knowing that feeding Leon’s concern would not end too well, Tradi knew she had to give him at least a sliver of hope. “Don’t worry too much about it, Leon. Maybe she’s getting busy, like you are!”

Leon’s eyebrows creased his forehead with worry. Is that all this was? Maybe he had been overthinking it. He wanted to believe Tradi, but he still couldn’t ignore the feelings that had surged within him. He started to suspect that this was a test of his love for Mathilde— and he was failing. Leon stood from his chair and went out to pace around the balcony adjoining the room. Tradi watched as he thought to himself, his face contorting at each new one that emerged. She felt helpless watching him become more and more unsure of himself.

They both turned quickly at the sound of the window doors opening. Princess Zelda walked out and took in a deep breath of the fresh air. Too startled to move, Leon found himself staring at the Princess with wide eyes. It took a few more moments before she finally met his eyes, her own widening in response.

“L-Leon! What are you doing out here?” she chuckled nervously. He glanced away and shrugged, still too taken aback to properly react. The Princess gave him a sweet laugh and walked towards him until a few steps of distance were between them. She hid her hands behind her back and shifted a bit shyly.

“I never thanked you properly for helping me this morning,” she said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Leon bit his lip,  staring at his feet. A smile from the Princess was attempted, but she still couldn’t get anything out of him. She started to give up before Tradi reappeared and laughed.

“Sorry, Princess! He’s a bit tired from today. I think he will be able to chat after his nap,” she suggested. Princess Zelda laughed and nodded.

“Yes, he probably is tired after hearing me talk to him all morning,” she teased. Leon finally looked at her and shook his head.

“Oh?” Princess Zelda questioned. She watched as Leon’s hands possibly moved a bit too rapidly for her to interpret. Thankfully, the little fairy was an expert interpreter.

“I had a nice time with you today, Princess. I was just thinking about what Mathilde has told me recently,” Tradi said. Zelda frowned slightly and held her hands in front of her chest.

“But you look a bit upset,” she noted, tilting her head. “Is everything alright with her?”

Leon thought for a moment while he started to rebuild the wall between them. His feelings for Mathilde had to prevail; he had loved her for so long. So why did he feel like he was making a mistake?

“Leon,” the Princess whispered, her hand resting on his arm. The shock he felt was unlike what he remembered Mathilde’s to be. It was a more soft and comforting feeling that only made him long for more. A more roundness to her touch made his heart ache with desire. His breath got caught in his throat, and he started to feel uneasy by her magical touch. This wasn’t right. None of this was right. He loved Mathilde, he did. He had to return to her or else the Princess would replace her in his heart. He did not want that. Or did he?

“Let’s get you inside,” the Princess insisted. Leon clenched his trembling fists and nodded, following her inside. Maybe he really did need a nap. Yes, he was too tired to discern his feelings, much less the longing he felt for the Princess to touch him again. His thoughts lingered on how the roundness of her fingertips sent him into a quiet frenzy with the touch they had shared in the morning. No, he could not let that happen again. He decided her touch was to be avoided at all costs— maybe he should avoid her as much as he could. His duty as her knight would make it difficult, but he had to do it. For Mathilde. For his own sake.

[hijoke]

Crocodile Pirate Chef, inspired by Zeleon's suggestion.

[jimmyjims]

Day 4: Hand in Hand

Zelink Week 2023 ~ @zelinkcommunity

The blades of grass were welcoming to Leon’s aching body. They had been traveling for so long that their legs were becoming ChuChu jelly, and their backs demanded the comfort of a feathered mattress. Beside him, Zelda was nestled into the grass, her hands resting on top of her stomach, her eyes looking towards the sparkling sky. Leon copied her, wanting to understand how she was feeling after they had made their escape from the castle.

A small sigh escaped through Zelda’s nose, capturing Leon’s attention back to her. She was still thinking about what had happened, Leon thought. He had felt for the loss of the castle, but it was nowhere close to how Zelda had felt after losing the home she once knew. She was stronger than him, despite his supposed power. Much stronger.

“I’ve been thinking,” Zelda started. The grass swished at the turn of Leon’s head, his eyes examining her sullen expression.

“I’ve been thinking about this destiny we all have. Our purpose in this life.”

She paused, inspecting the stars as she gathered her thoughts.

“If our purpose is to save Hyrule, then how do we know how many lives we will save before we meet our end? Will we save one life, two, a hundred? An entire village? A whole kingdom? How many?”

She took another pause to clear the quiver in her voice, not wanting to worry Leon any further. He was looking at her intently, his brows furrowed as he tried to follow her thoughts. She gave him a quick glance before she took another deep breath, steadying herself for her next question.

“If you were destined to save one life, whose would you save?” she asked, then silently cursed herself for the sudden fragility in her voice. She hadn’t looked for Leon’s reaction when she asked the question that had been plaguing her, but when she finally did, she met with his cool, calm eyes. She felt the grass beside her tremble as Leon’s hand grazed it, his eyes not leaving hers. She felt the light tap of his fingers on her hand, sending tears to Zelda’s eyes. She had expected him to mention his father or his brother, but instead, he had chosen to save the life of the Princess that had lost everything. Everything except for her hero.

“What about you?” Leon signed, his eyes searching her face again. Taken aback, Zelda’s mind went blank. She could not save her parents. She could not save those who worked in the castle. A tear escaped her eye. Who could she save?

Leon grasped her hand and gave it a tight squeeze, bringing her back to the moment where they lay beside each other. Why would she not save him? He was there when she lost everything. He saved her. So why could she not do the same? She could. She would.

Zelda returned his tight grip, more tears soaking into the ground where they fell.

“I would save you,” she wept. The memories of them running and fighting through the hordes of monsters came across her mind, but Zelda pushed them away, wanting to forget the events that destroyed the life she once knew. She felt guilty for doing this, for erasing the last moments she had in her home and with her parents.

“Let it all out,” Leon said. “Hold my hand tightly and let it all out.”

Zelda did not wait another second before she did just that, letting her emotions break through the dam she had built.

[jimmyjims]

Thank you for reading! 💖

I hope you enjoyed reading about Leon and Zelda as much as I enjoyed writing about them! ☺️

Check out the colored version below! ✨

[jimmyjims]

WiP