#⌜AU 8 –––– the world is vast and meant for wandering. there is always somewhere else to go.⌝

[luxdea]

(   𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒  𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄  𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄  𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒  | @corferox​​ )

❛  why didn’t you wait for me ?  ❜

     HER EYES WERE still fluttering open at the sound of link’s voice, & despite her attempt to stifle a yawn, it slipped out anyways. the sheikah slate was sitting in her lap, still open to the camera, & she brushed her hair out of her face as she sat up properly to face him.

     ❝ my apologies. i didn’t mean to stay out for so long. i woke up early  & you were sleeping so soundly, i didn’t want to wake you. ❞

     IT WAS A partial truth. she had woken up early–––– startled out of her sleep by a nightmare of her time with the calamity so frightening that it was a wonder she hadn’t screamed upon her waking. luckily, most of the others in the stable had still been asleep, & those who were awake were too focused on their own affairs to notice her deep, shaking breathing & trembling form. she could have just waited for him to wake up, but she didn’t want him seeing her that way, so she grabbed something warm for the morning chill, clipped the slate to her belt & decided to take a walk.

     THE PLACE WHERE she had settled hadn’t been far, but she had probably been difficult to spot within the trees of the forest just across the path from the stable.

     ❝ i thought it would be a good time to add a few things to the compendium. we were missing a few different mushrooms, & i managed to get some of the animals in the forest as well! ❞

     SHE HAD EVEN managed to stay quiet enough to finally get a deer registered. though it had noticed her shortly after, she considered the mission a success.

     ❝ i was only going to sit for a moment before i came back! but, i suppose i was still a bit tired. ❞

     WHICH EXPLAINED THE state he found her in–––– having just woken up, roused by the sound of his approaching footsteps. she was still blinking sleep from her eyes, & most of her weight was still pressed against the tree she had fallen asleep against. it was clear, if given the chance, she could easily go right back to sleep.

     ❝ i’m sorry. i didn’t mean to worry you. ❞

     PERHAPS IT WAS a bit presumptive of her to think that he had been concerned, but in her still tired state, it didn’t concern her.

[luxdea]

(  breath of the wild sentence starters | @corferox​​​ )

❝  i’m sorry you had to see me like that.  ❞

     ❝ it’s alright. ❞

     THIS WAS NOT the ideal way to speak about the ordeal they had been through. she couldn’t look him in the eye without distracting from her current focus, & that most certainly would not do. she kept her touch as gentle as possible as she applied the salve to the cut on his cheek. the one on his arm had already been treated, as has the one on his shoulder–––– she was almost finished with the one on his cheek, & she would take her time with the one on his forehead.

   ❝ if you think you scared me, you are certainly mistaken. i don’t know what would have happened had you not leapt into action. ❞

     IT HAD NOT been the first time they had run into yiga. they had seemed to appear in every region that they traveled since they had first appeared when they were leaving kakariko. until now, they had been more than a pest than any sort of threat–––– particularly when it came to herself, who was very clearly not their target. she never minded, because it meant that she could attack with her bow without distraction ( not that link had ever truly needed her help with them ) & whatever assassin was sent out to harm them was dispatched quickly.

     BUT THIS TIME had been... different. for starters, they had come in a group of four: an archer, a blade master & two foot soldiers ( at most zelda had seen two a blade master & an archer, & that was still quite rare ). & secondly, they had turned their sights on her.

     ZELDA WAS ASHAMED to say that they had scared her, reminding her far too much of the situation she had been in a century prior, & she had hesitated because of it. by the time she had snapped herself out of it, the foot soldiers were too close for arrows, the blade master had engaged in battle with link & the fact that the archer was out of sight was making her panic more than she wanted to admit. between her inexperience with the sword & the way they had caught her off guard, it took them no time at all to knock the weapon from her hand.

     THE SIGHT OF their sickles swiping at her would be ingrained in her memory for a long time. But, she held her own, making use of the slate as a weapon & dodging what she could. & then, the archer had reappeared. their arrow met it’s mark.

      SHE REMEMBERED THE pain, she remembered falling to the ground & crying out–––– & she remembered link.

     THE WAY HE ended the fight with the blade master without so much as a blink. the way he rushed over, moving faster than she’d ever seen him ( except, maybe, once before, but she wasn’t supposed to know about this & didn’t know if he even remembered ). the way he’d rushed in to turn the foot soldiers’ attention to him instead of her, standing in front of her in a similar way he’d had once before, but not before she caught sight of his face.

     A CENTURY AGO he’d handled the situation with the mask of the hero. the same careful neutrality that he handled almost everything. this time, he’d looked angry. focused & yet furious. she’d missed most of his fight, as while he took on the foot soldiers, she grabbed her bow, despite the pain in her arm, & kept the archer off of him until her own arrow struck true & they made the decision to vanish in a puff of smoke. but, when he’d turned to her, she could clearly see that he hadn’t made it out of the fight unscathed either.

     HER OWN WOUND had been taken care of first, at his insistence, but it was his turn now.

     ZELDA ROSE UP on her knees. one hand brushed his bangs from his face, while the other applied the salve. both touches were as gentle as she could make them. her own expression was focused, her eyes on the wound.

     ❝ had you not done what you had, i’m certain that i would not be here with you right now. ❞

     PERHAPS IT WOULD have been him placing her in the shrine of resurrection. though her own thoughts intended for it to be something of a joke, the image made her shudder. she ignored link’s questioning gaze, because azalea certainly wouldn’t know enough about the shrine to say anything about it, & so she pretended she hadn’t noticed–––– that her only focus was treating his wounds.

      ❝ i have no healing abilities from the champions, & we have no more healing elixirs. just a brave, reckless, wonderful hero as a travel companion. ❞

     THE OINTMENT HAD been applied, but she didn’t move. her hands pushed his hair back just a little further, & she pressed a kiss to his head, just to the side of his injury. her focused expression was gone, & a smile had spread across her face. she settled back, letting his hair fall back where it wanted.

      ❝ thank you, link. ❞

[luxdea]

(  Put “You’re beautiful.” in my ask box and watch my muse’s reaction. | @corferox​ )

“You’re beautiful.”

     SHE HAD BEEN wonderfully patient. knowing well that they would need several elixirs for their trip to the eldin region, zelda had gathered her ingredients & waited until the cooking pot was free for the evening. the last thing she’d wanted to do was spend time hogging it while someone was waiting patiently to make their dinner–––– no, she waited until the travelers had set off for their sunset journeys & those staying in the stable had been ushered off to their purchased beds before tying up her hair to keep it out of the way & taking her position at the cooking pot.

     WITH VARIOUS MONSTER parts to compliment the fireproof lizards they had gathered, no two elixirs were exactly the same, & she had to keep glancing at her journal to ensure she was doing things correctly. she was certainly making faces in her concentration ( a wrinkled nose here, a bit lip there, an all around pout as she struggled to make sense of her own calculations ). link was somewhere off to the side, fiddling with the sheikah slate–––– she had assumed planning as much of their route as he could without the full map, though she would soon find out that she had been wrong–––– & she didn’t think much about him other than attempting to calculate how many elixirs he might need until the sudden sound of a shutter stole her attention. 

    HER HEAD TURNED sharply, & , quick as he might be, link was not fast enough to hide his sudden lowering of the sheikah slate. at least he had the good sense to look somewhat embarrassed ( there was a redness on his ears that she easily could have blamed on the warm colors the sunset was baring down on them, but she had a sneaking suspicion it had nothing to do with it ), but even so he was smiling.

     ❝ is that–––– how did–––– did you just take a picture? ❞

     EVEN UNDER THE guise of azalea she didn’t stutter often, & so link must have found her latest verbal blunder funny, for he couldn’t seem to stop the laughter that tumbled out of him, no matter how hard he pursed his lips in attempt to keep the sound inside. it was a struggle not to laugh with him, to at least feign offence, & yet even a few giggles of her own slipped out as she asked, ❝ why? ❞

     IT WAS CLEAR, with most of the travelers gone, his guard was down. he’d become a bit bolder in the approaching night. there was a grin on his face the size she had never seen even before she had placed him in the shrine of resurrection, a look in his eye that was so soft that she didn’t dare name it as he leaned towards her, tilting his head just enough to the side that she was almost sure he was purposefully attempting to be endearing.

     ❝ you’re beautiful, zel. ❞

     EVERYTHING WAS SUDDENLY still & quiet, the only sound she could register was her frantic heartbeat in her chest ( when did it become so strong, so loud? why was it all she could hear? ). there was a sudden feeling of weightlessness, as if she could leap from the bench she rested on & land right in his arms if he so chose. with it, came the feeling of guilt like a weighted chain against her ankle, the reminder that he didn’t know just who he was calling beautiful. it was intended for azalea the researcher, not zelda the princess of hyrule. & yet, it wasn’t enough to quell her happiness.

     HE THOUGHT HER beautiful. the thought made her smile, her cheeks pink in the dying light of the evening.

      & YET, INSTEAD of a proper response, she turned back to the cooking pot, hoping to hide her blushing face as she gathered her elixirs & attempted to change the subject.

      ❝ here. you should keep as many of these on your person as you can tomorrow. they’ll keep you safe as you travel. can’t have you bursting into flame, now can we? ❞

      IF THERE WAS a smile still on her face & a blush on her cheeks, if her fingers lingered against his a little longer than usual as she passed him the elixirs –––– she was grateful that he didn’t say.

[luxdea]

( Tired / Exhausted / Feeling Very Weak - Starters | @corferox​ )

“I might have been in the sun for too long…”

     ❝ i should say so. ❞

     HE HAD FRIGHTENED her dearly, returning to the stable drenched in sweat, with goosebumps along his skin complaining of fatigue. a check of his pulse found it rapid, but not strong, & she had immediately set to work cooling him down. a cool compress, water, fresh & lighter clothing. she worked hard to lower his temperature, & it wasn’t until he was cool enough that she felt she could relax that she indulged in conversation.

      ❝ luckily, it doesn’t seem as though you were out long enough to have heat stroke, just a bit of heat exhaustion. ❞

    EVEN AS SHE spoke, she placed another cool rag on his forehead, pointedly eyeing the cup of water until he gave in & took more sips. she wasn’t quite satisfied, but she continued anyhow.

     ❝ you need to be more careful. you were wearing far too many layers for this weather. had you been out any longer, you could have fallen seriously ill. ❞

      & THAT WORRIED her more than she knew that she could admit. she had remained at the stable, making use of the cooking pot to make a decent batch of spicy elixirs to ensure they were prepared for their trip into the hebra mountains. he had gone off on his own, & she had watched him help others & fight monsters so many times that she hadn’t considered the consequences of him going unaccompanied. now, it was all she could think about.

     HAD HE FALLEN ill, no one would have been there to help. had he collapsed before he could make it back, she wouldn’t have known where to even begin searching for him. had he gotten hurt, most of the supplies had been with her. they would need to be smarter in their preparation the next time they separated–––– though, if it was up to her, she wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen again.

     SHE WOULD NOT lose him a second time.

     ZELDA LIFTED THE rag, resting her hand against his forehead to monitor his temperature. he had certainly cooled, & she couldn’t help the sigh of relief she let out. she knew that, for a moment, her touch was a bit too gentle, her gaze a bit too soft, but she allowed to take the moment to relish in the fact that he was here, alive, & with her.

     ❝ your commitment to helping the people of hyrule is most appreciated, & every day i am in awe of your selflessness, but you must remember to look after yourself. you have the courage of your convictions, & that courage is certainly great, but you are only human. ❞

     HUMANS HAD LIMITS. they could get injured & tired, they could get too hot or too cold, they could get sick, they could bleed–––– the list went on & on. she hoped that he looked at himself as human, as a person, as more than just a fighting machine like the guardians. for he had a spirit that they couldn’t comprehend, & it was what made him link, & what allowed her heart to resonate with his own.

     ❝ now, then––––.   ❞

     SHE RETURNED THE still cool rag to his head, sitting back as she watched him. her posture was much more relaxed, & she smiled as she continued.

    ❝ why don’t you tell me what request you accepted that had you running around in the heat so long, hm?   ❞

[luxdea]

( Tired / Exhausted / Feeling Very Weak - Starters | @corferox​​ )

“I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”

      ❝ link, that really isn’t necessary. ❞

     BUT, IT WAS appreciated. she had worked her way into exhaustion, & the only remedy was a full night of rest ( & it was possible that she would need a bit more than that ). but, it had been work born of excitement, & work well done.

     THEY HAD BEEN approaching faron when some passing travelers had mentioned zonai ruins that they had stumbled upon. zelda had been curious, of course, & had spent some time asking them about their experience. they were travelers, not scholars, & as such many of her questions couldn’t be answered, but they had encouraged her to seek the ruins out herself. of course, she had hesitated, knowing that they still had much to do in terms of travel, far too many check marks on their list to warrant yet another one of her detours. & yet, she had still approached link to ask.

     TO HER SURPRISE, he had already known she would ask, & had already decided that they would visit before their next task. her excitement had been immeasurable–––– as had her gratitude.

     SHE HAD SPENT the entirety of the trip researching. the stables in the area had books detailing some discoveries made about the zonai & their ways of life, & many of the locals had been quite generous with their stories. these had been the cause of late nights & early mornings, excitement keeping her up & rising her early.

      & IT HAD been more than worth it.

     HER DAY SPENT among the ruins had been fruitful. her research journal had been filled with hypotheses & discoveries, markings & ideas. she would have spent the entire day on her feet had link not been insistent that she sit down to break for their meals. she only sat down herself, voluntarily, when the sun finally began to set & she knew they would have to return to the stable in which they’d left most of their supplies–––– & even then, it was more of a collapse the way her legs folded underneath her to allow her to sit  beside him. the next day they would return to the road, searching for shrines, heading towards the next divine beast, but this day had been a wonderful break from destiny.

     WITH NOTHING TO keep her energy up, zelda’s exhaustion caught up with her quickly. it was her third or fourth stumble, another failed attempt at keeping her eyes open even as she walked, that her legs were suddenly scooped from under her, & she found herself tucked into link’s arms, his own stride never faltering.

     ❝ i’ll carry you the rest of the way, zel. ❞

      & DESPITE HER meager protest, he didn’t set her down, simply continued their walk to the stable.

     SOMEWHERE IN HER exhausted mind, she couldn’t help but wonder if he would have done such a thing had he known she was the princess of hyrule. perhaps not, if protocol still reigned. but as it was, she had just spent hours running around ruins & days excitedly rambling on about her theories. she didn’t feel much like a princess in that moment.

     SHE WAS ALLOWING herself to be zel, to be with link, to enjoy herself & allow protocol to be the very last thing on her mind. & she hoped that would continue, perhaps even long after this journey was done.

[luxdea]

     SHE HAD IMAGINED seeing link for the first time in a century more times than she could count since leaving the castle. many of them were daydreams born of the heartache of missing someone who she had treasured so dearly at her side. daydreams of a happy reunion, of held hands & tears, of hugs & reassurances, only for it all to come crashing down around her when she realized that he more than likely wouldn’t remember a thing about her. her imagination would then conjure up awkward introductions, questions she couldn’t answer, ways to avoid his inquiries, & so on & so forth. but, no matter what she imagined, nothing had prepared her for the reality.     

     ZELDA HAD TAKEN brief trip away from her campsite after her archery practice ( her camp wasn’t far from the dueling peaks stable, which she had considered staying at until she heard or caught sight of link, but with a limited amount of rupees for an undetermined amount of time, she had thought better of it, using it for resources instead ) & movement from the nearby camp of bokoblins caught her attention. for a moment she just thought they were restless –––– they became such from time to time, it wasn’t unusual. but, then she caught sight of blond hair & patchwork clothing & realized that they were attacking someone.     

     HER BOW WAS in her hand without a second thought, her feet carrying her forward to join the fray. her attention was on one bokoblin in particular, moving towards the traveler ( who was moving towards her, she could see in her peripheral vision, but he wasn’t her focus ). she nocked an arrow, aiming carefully, though the shot was a bit too close to the traveler for comfort. so, she waited for the moment where the bokoblin had a club raised, ready to strike them in the back, when she knew it would be the most still.       

     ❝ go right! ❞   

      & SHE WAITED only a moment to ensure that her command was obeyed before shooting, striking the creature right in the head. with the immediate threat gone, her head turned, hoping that she could ensure the safety of the other before either of them continued, but she froze.    

     ONE LOOK UPON his face & she recognized him immediately. it was a face she knew she could never forget, one that she had last seen as she cradled him in her arms, bruised & bleeding & dying. & she knew, looking at him now, that he remembered none of it. that he’d forgotten her.     

     BUT, THIS WASN’T the time to linger on the thought. not when she had just made it out of what had looked like the end of a serious fight.      

     ❝ are you alright? ❞     

     SHE HAD TO bite her lip to stop herself from saying his name before he’d introduced himself.                                                                                                        

                                                                                                       ( au starter call | @corferox​ )

[luxdea]

AU:  the world is vast and meant for wandering. there is always somewhere else to go.

     WHEN LINK AWAKENS, so does something within zelda. a power that she hadn’t known was possible allows her to separate from most of her divinity, leaving most of her power with ganon to continue to hold him back in the castle, but her body & self appear in the sanctum where she had last stood a century prior. the memory of her time locked a century with ganon is blurry & nonlinear, & , as such, lost is any of the reasoning & understanding of how she had done such a thing & the reasoning behind such a conclusion that it must be done. but, she knows the reason she has been set upon the world.

     TO BE A guide for link.

     AFTER A BRIEF, sneaky scavenging trip throughout the castle for clothing & an impulsive decision to cut her hair ( a bit longer than botw2 length ) to ensure anonymity, she enters the world anew, coming up with the alias of  azalea

     HER FIRST ORDER of business is to acquire lodging & food ( curtesy of the rupees gained from selling a few of the relics & materials she’d brought with her from the castle ), & then she can set upon her task to find link once he descends from the great plateau. though she has questions about just how to find him & how she can convince him to allow her to join him, there is no one to ask. she’ll just have to tackle each problem as they come. 

     BUT WITH ONLY a bit of her already unreliable power at hand, it all falls to her trust in herself.