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bahbahhh · 2 years ago

Text

begin again

Chapters: [2 ] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

The Calamity is gone. The remaining leaders of Hyrule gather for a Summit to determine the future of the kingdom, starting with how to repurpose all the Sheikah Technology. Zelda is among them, and while everyone still calls her Princess, she’s not sure she wants to lay claim to an old throne. What she really wants is to move on. She wants to continue her research, to prove her worth beyond her bloodline, and to spend as much time with Link as she can…which sounds an awful lot like what she wanted a hundred years ago…

[ A story set between BotW and TotK, containing many spoilers for TotK as it was born from my need to explain many of the changes we see. A tremendous thank you to @zeldaelmo who volunteered to beta read this before she knew what she was getting herself into. I am immensely thankful for your eagle eye and your patience. ]

chapter 1

for the prompt “yearning”

Zelda doesn’t have a bed.

She thinks about this lying on the spare one in Purah’s study. She’s staying with Purah for the Hyrule Restoration Summit, which is what they are calling the first official gathering of Hyrule leaders since the fall of the Calamity, and the more she thinks about it, technically speaking, it's a cot.

It’s not unlike the one she uses when they are in Kakariko, albeit a few inches shorter, like everything else customized for a child in Purah’s lab. Zelda has to lay at an angle to fit and even so, her feet dangle over the edge when she straightens her legs. Symin offered her his bed, as Paya had in Kakariko, and like there, Zelda declined.

When she traveled a century ago, families were forced to give up their entire homes to host her. Royal quarters were permanently built in Kakariko, Rito Village, Gerudo Town, and Zora’s Domain. Due to the hostile environment surrounding Goron City, the Gorons agreed to travel to Akkala Citadel whenever there was official business with the Royal family which, in addition to a military fortress for the Hyrulian armed forces, acted as a second residence for her family. Another bed.

But that was all before. Akkala Citadel is in ruins, all the Royal quarters have since been repurposed by their respective domains, and Zelda will never ask anything more of the people of Hyrule so long as she draws breath.

Still, selfishly, and in the safety of her own thoughts, she yearns for the comfort of a real bed. Nothing extravagant, no need for anyone in Hyrule to forfeit their comforts on her behalf. Just somewhere she can readily count on for rest when sleep decides to visit.

That’s what Link says: a visit of sleep.

They are alike in this way. Their internal clocks recalibrated in the prolonged absence of waking, such that their bodies don’t readily cue the need for sleep. In the beginning, it took her weeks just to register the sensation of fatigue again. She stayed awake for two full days after the final confrontation on Hyrule Field before collapsing abruptly during the climb up to Kakariko’s western entrance. Link had to carry her the rest of the way. She slept for ninety-two hours straight.

When Zelda finally awoke, someone was smoothing her hair out of her face. Another sensory experience she needed to register again: touch. Not toxic oil on her skin, claws of shadow raking down her spine, or darkness pulling so tight it feels like it might become one with her. Actual human touch.

She hoped it might be Link in a delayed return of her affections for a heartbeat, but when she opened her eyes, it was an old Sheikah woman at her bedside. Zelda’s expression must have soured or pulled with confusion, because the woman began to laugh. Laughter. Warm and inviting and familiar. The sound vibrated inside Zelda like a bell. She gasped, set her hands on either side of the women’s face and felt a sudden and painful ache that has accompanied every subsequent realization of her losses.

She will never age like she was meant to. With the people of her time, with the people she loved.

And after a century in stasis, she is on the verge of being completely left behind.

“Now, it’s not that bad, is it?” Impa teased.

Zelda didn’t answer. She wept.

It has gotten a little better in the months since she returned to her physical form. She’s started to suspect Link is “visited’ by sleep out of preference more than necessity. But really, he slept for a hundred years, so she can’t blame him for rejecting a more traditional sleep cycle. She, on the other hand, was frozen. Not sleeping, not waking, just there—like gravity itself. Holding everything and everyone in place, unnoticeable until she wasn’t, when the Calamity would slip free of her grasp, swirl about the castle, and remind Hyrule of the horrors that awaited them if she failed again.

Zelda smudges a tear against the side of her face and turns onto her back. Regardless, she can’t help but feel like having a bed, a ceiling overhead she recognizes, and the freedom to get up and roam down to a kitchen for a slice of fruitcake when the night is still young, that she might be visited by rest more willingly when she wants it. Needs it.

Like tonight.

“So, what you're really talking about is wanting a home,” Zelda tells herself, a habit formed in the decades of solitude. Sometimes, in periods of dormancy or resignation, the Calamity would growl back at her in a tone that was almost human. But for the most part, she started talking to herself in and out of days and throughout the years until her sense of time too was a thing Hylia claimed in penance for her failures.

“That’s not accurate,” she chides herself and flips onto her stomach. Blaming the Goddess is a bad habit she is trying to change. When she finally unlocked her Powers, suspended in divinity, the closest to holy she’s ever been, the Goddess didn’t even answer her then. It was just the sound of her own voice, echoing back at her from inside the Calamity.

A bed. Something simple and fixed, like the one Link has in his house right on the outskirts of the village. Zelda’s caught glimpses of it when they’ve stopped there to replenish supplies; nestled against the wall on the second floor, beneath the only window so natural light kisses him awake when he finally decides to rest. He has a small dresser for linens and travel spoils, and a bedside table that is home to a painted vase from Rito Village he often fills with fresh flowers.

She wonders which flowers are watching over him right now. Has sleep visited him? Or is he rolling about his sheets, worrying about the Summit, trying to break old habits, or craving something warm from the cooking pot down the stairs?

If he is awake, it is likely the latter. He would be able to sleep on a night like this. The air is cool. Everyone at the Summit knows him personally; is indebted to him in some way, although he carries no ledger. He is known. Respected. Tomorrow is just another day. Sleep will visit.

Zelda’s role in all of this is yet to be defined. While news of Calamity Ganon’s defeat spread quickly, there was no whisper of the lost Princess’ return at first. Rumors focused on the disappearance of the shadow around Hyrule Castle and then later, turned into formal requests for Link’s presence in the aid of investigating the Divine Beasts sudden malfunctioning. No one asked about her.

And it was nice.

For a brief moment, she fantasized about cutting her hair, burning her dress, and letting Zelda disappear with the embers into history. Maybe she would accompany Link as a traveling scholar under another name? Or join the Sheikah and train with the weapons she was forbidden to touch a hundred years ago?

Impa, however, had other plans. She suggested Zelda travel with Link to investigate Vah Ruta so the Zora could verify her identity. They found her old travel clothes, Link presented her with a descendant of her horse, Storm, and the dreams of obscurity ceased. The Zora instantly recognized her, adding credibility to the announcement of her return and soon, her identity grew heavy with an unspoken claim to a throne that needed rebuilding.

No one has officially said anything, but there is a generous amount of speculation surrounding tomorrow and the opportunity to reestablish a centralized and unifying governing body. If they asked it of her, she would have no choice but to accept, right? It is the duty tied to this life. This title.

Maybe she could convince them of her usefulness as a scholar? She no longer has any restrictions on time spent researching. She could help the Sheikah redesign their technology. Perhaps to aid in the great restoration…if she could just get the Divine Beasts up and running again, they would prove so useful in the rebuilding!

This part of her, shunned by her family and now forgotten with them, could be the key to proving her worth beyond a head to carry the crown. She will show them. She has to. They don’t seem to know what else to do with her, otherwise. Rarely does anyone use her name, even after they realized who she is.

They all call her ‘Princess’.

Except for Link.

Zelda turns onto her side and inspects the empty sliver of cot beside her. She runs her hand across the weaving and thinks about how she used to be able to visit Link. When the Calamity was dormant and her Power was still new and untaxed, she would separate a part of herself from Hyrule Castle and ride the wind to the Great Plateau. She watched the seasons turn by Link’s side in the shrine until the Calamity would wake and pull her back into herself like a rubber band. This went on for decades.

When he finally woke up and the shrine’s toll for restoring his life was realized, Zelda felt her strength begin to waver. She is not aware of a word that accurately describes the feeling of being forgotten by the person you tethered your heart to; to have it remain connected to that person and witness it drift behind them, becoming more of a dark cloud than guiding light.

Her love for him burned for a hundred years. Somehow, in the depths of a living, breathing, rageful hell, it grew. It grounded her within the swirl of eternal darkness, the unyielding burn of malice, the mourning of time. As his memories of their kingdom, their comrades, and of her, returned to him, his reckoning of it all remained indistinguishable.

The last six months between them were uncomfortable. He never outwardly answered her question on the field. He extended his hand and led her away from the castle. He was gentle yet reserved, closer than the three paces he once stood as her appointed knight and still somehow further than when he sunk into the glowing waters of the shrine and she stepped into the center of the darkest night. Did his love die with him on the field that day? Was it left in the spot where he bled out, where flowers now grow? Has one unknowingly ever made it back to his bedside table? Could he recognize it now?

Did he want to?

She glances over her shoulder quickly, half expecting him to be there like he always was all those years ago, appearing out of thin air, as a part of her as her own shadow.

But there is no one else in the room. Her shadow is empty. Her window shut.

Zelda turns her attention back to the empty spot beside her and begins to imagine the weight of his arms around her. The sound of his sleep. His breath on her face. The cot is small, like his bed, but in the way she imagines they might fit together, it would be enough for sleep to find her. Even on a night like this.

But there is no one else in the room.

Just her and a bed, that's not even a bed, that doesn’t belong to her.

—

Sleep doesn’t visit her.

Zelda eventually gives up and pours her energy into drafting up a proposal on how to repurpose the Sheikah Technology. The Divine Beasts will be a tremendous asset. Vah Ruta can create new water reservoirs. Vah Medoh can mass transport supplies and people across Hyrule. Vah Rudania and Vah Naboris will be essential for maneuvering the harsher terrains of each region.

She is confident she and Robbie could reprogram the guardians and assign them different purposes. She will recommend they remove all of the mechanics for combat, save for a select few machines that will be assigned to aid in monster defense.

Their greatest challenge will be finding a new power source. When Zelda obliterated Calamity Ganon from the realm, her Light purified every non-living thing it held influence over; every pool of Malice evaporated instantly and every guardian -earthbound, skyward or decayed- from the North Akkala Beach to Daval’s Peak stopped working. Robbie has yet to find a working ancient core and hypothesizes Zelda “nuked the network”. Whatever that means.

The Sheikah Towers and shrines remain functional, so once they isolate the remaining source of power, she is confident Robbie and Purah will be able to design and power up new cores.

If only she had access to the old blueprints in her study…

On her way down to the main floor, she scribbles a note about returning to the castle upon acceptance of the proposal. She folds the pages carefully and tucks them into the small leather satchel Link gave her. Purah assumes ownership of the Sheikah Slate whenever they come to Hateno, so Link presented her with a satchel enchanted by the koroks so she can carry multiple items outside of the Slate on her at all times. Link has an identical one.

He jokingly calls it an ‘adventure pouch’.

Purah, Symin and a few others are already buzzing about the lab. Purah has the Sheikah Slate in the Guidance Stone, a tear drop of crystal blue bouncing between the stone and the Slate every few seconds. Zelda always thought it was interesting that information takes the shape of a teardrop. Was it intentional by the Sheikah who created the technology all those years ago? Or is it just the natural form of data? Of memory?

There is so much for them to learn.

“Good morning, Princess!” Purah says without looking up from her work. Zelda decided earlier this morning, just as the sun started peeking through her window, not to fight the title of Princess anymore. She would help them rebuild the kingdom, sit on a new throne if they asked it of her, but she would have a hand defining the responsibilities of the title.

“Good morning,” Zelda answers.

Purah rapidly flaps her hand in Zelda’s direction. Zelda moves into the spot beside Purah, who is balanced on her knees on a pillow in order to sit level with the table. There are sketches of the Sheikah Slate, looking very much like a six year old drew them, along with an unflattering portrait of Symin, and handwriting Zelda won’t even attempt to decipher.

“I think I can duplicate the Slate,” Purah says, snapping her fingers.

Zelda grins. She imagines each region having their own Slate. The possibilities for research, for communication. How quickly Hyrule could share information…the problems they could solve!

Link pushes open the door to the lab. Zelda imagines how his shoulders might relax the more Hyrule becomes connected. His burden would finally be eased...then maybe…

“Good morning!” She practically bursts.

Link waves and crosses the room to the cooking pot. Symin starts explaining what he is cooking and Link casually dumps the entire contents into the fire. Symin sighs in relief and pulls out a notebook. Link produces the ingredients one by one from his pouch, displaying each carefully so Symin can copy the recipe. A dozen eggs, Hylian tomatoes, assorted mushrooms, a handful of greens, and a tiny bottle of Goron spice. Zelda’s mouth waters before he even starts cooking.

She watches Link demonstrate how to slice the tomatoes before setting Symin to work, involving Symin in the salvaging of the meal and in doing so, lessening the blow of his failure. It is a change in Link’s behavior she has loved witnessing: he is eager to share his knowledge after awakening from the shrine; to spread it generously with everyone who asks for his help. In this way, he is teaching Hyrule how to need him less in the long run, a step forfeited a century ago by the pressure he felt and the structure of the role assigned to him.

Hero, knight, swordsman; whatever title he is to carry moving forward, she will protect his freedom to define it as well.

They eat quickly and head down the hill toward the village together. Hateno is the chosen location for the Summit because it has the largest settlement of Hylians, who, as a whole, have been without formal leadership for over a century. Central Hyrule was initially considered given the proximity for all participants, but the general consensus is six months of calm is not enough time for anyone to meet comfortably in the shadow of the castle.

“I heard this is the first time King Dorephan has left his domain in two hundred years,” Purah whispers to Zelda as they turn the corner down the split in the road to Hateno Pasture. A farmer named Dantz offered up his land, which borders Lake Sumac, to host. The water provides an added measure of comfort for the Zora. Zelda spots King Dorephan sitting close to the shore with several elder Zora and Prince Sidon.

There are a handful of Hylians mingling with leading members of the Sheikah, Rito, Gorons, and Gerudo.

Purah and Symin split off to join Impa, who is sitting in the shade of a nearby tree with Paya. Their movement pulls the attention of the crowd in Zelda’s direction. She watches recognition ripple across the group. The conversations soften and then die off completely at the mere sight of her. Just like old times.

Zelda flexes her fingers.

Suddenly, there is a hand in hers. She jumps, glancing to her side where only Link stands. He’s looking right at her, the same way everyone else is, but she doesn’t feel the weight of the crown on her shoulders in his gaze. He squeezes her hand and nods her forward.

“Right. Okay, then,” Zelda whispers.

Link leads her around the crowd so she can make introductions before the Summit starts. She is already known to the Sheikah, who are represented by Impa, Robbie, Purah, Symin, Paya, and Cado, and the Zora. Prince Sidon embraces her and compliments Link relentlessly.

It is Zelda’s first time meeting the Goron Boss, Bludo, who introduces Zelda to a young Goron named Yubono and emphasizes he is a descendant of Daruk, as well as the Rito Chief, Kaneli. He is joined by a Rito warrier named Teba, and his son, Tulin, who begs Link to go shooting with him later that day. Link offers the fledgling a thumbs up and then gestures like, you want to go now, quick?

Teba scolds them both.

Her favorite introduction is the last one. Chief Makeela Riju, who insists Zelda calls her Riju, informs Zelda the Gerudo sun has missed her and personally invites her to come meet her pet sand seal.

There certainly is a lot of personality, but Zelda feels certain the proposal will appease them all equally. The fact Link’s hand has remained in hers the entire time only boosts her confidence. Should she request the floor immediately or wait to see if there are region-specific needs she can weave into her proposal? She wants to emphasize the importance of each region’s involvement.

“I think it’s time,” Impa makes her way out of the shade with the other Sheikah and takes the spot closest to Zelda. “that we begin again, don’t you all agree?”

“Well said. The Zora recognize the start of the Hyrule Restoration Summit,” King Dorphean says.

“As do the Rito.”

“And the Gerudo.”

“The Shei-kah!” Robbie throws his hand in the air and postures.

“Gorons,” Bludo grunts.

“The Hylians have elected four representatives: I, Reede of Hateno Village, Elder Rozel of Lurelin Village, Hudson of Tarrey Town, and Traysi for the Stable Association. We recognize the start of the Hyrule Restoration Summit.”

“I officially call this meeting to order.” Impa claps her hands together and sits. She thanks everyone for traveling and for the village of Hateno for their hospitality. She summarizes the objective of the meeting as a gathering of the people of Hyrule in preliminary discussions about plans for a massive restoration following the purge of Calamity Ganon. She explains the forum will be open, but organized, in order for accurate minute keeping. Everyone motions in favor of detailed records. There are too many nameless ruins, too many stories and lessons lost to time scattered across Hyrule.

“Since there is no old business to attend to, I suppose it might be best to open the floor up to hear any initial recommendations for the restoration?”

Link raises his hand.

He so rarely speaks out loud that the anticipation of it commands the attention of the entire Summit immediately. It might be her imagination, but Zelda swears the wind stops, too.

“Let the record show the Hylian Champion and Hero of the Wild, Link, has the floor,” Impa dictates and gestures for Link to continue. Zelda fishes her proposal out from her adventure pouch and folds it in her lap. Whatever he says, she’s assuming he will have some brilliant suggestions on how the former trade routes can be optimized or offer insight into the state of Central Hyrule for an exhibition, it will provide the perfect opportunity for her to follow.

Link turns and smiles at her as he rises. It’s small. Relaxed. The kind of smile that’s only meant for the space between two people. Which means it is meant for her.

She smiles back.

With her plans for the Sheikah Technology, which will no doubt be strengthened by Link’s expertise, they can face this new Hyrule together. Self-chosen, this time, not forced by fate and the responsibilities of an old kingdom.

Her heart flutters so rapidly at the thought, it takes her brain a moment to register what he actually says:

“I propose the first step in the restoration of Hyrule should be the destruction of all Sheikah Technology.”

#totk spoilers #totk #totk fanfiction #totk fanfic #totk zelink #botw zelink #botw #breath of the wild #loz #legend of zelda #tears of the kingdom #loz totk #zelinkweek2023 #zelinkcommunity #bahbahhhart #bahbahhhwrites #begin again

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aspiring-writer-hidden-voice · 2 years ago

Text

BOTW Link x F!Reader ~ Pt. 6

SFW

Something weird was definitely going on with the Hylian Champion.

You hadn’t the foggiest idea of why he was acting this way either.

Just what had come over him?

One of your brows rose when seeing azure glare at you from over his shoulder for the seemingly thousandth time in the last four days. If there’s something you want to say then I’d rather you do so instead of staring at me like that, your lip curl accompanied by a grimace conveyed. Anything would be better than those constant glances. The hinge of your jaw gave way when his head snapped forward with a huff. You remained silent though.

Pushing for answers or any sort of action may make this worse…whatever it was.

A traveling merchant selling wares you had yet to encounter was friendly enough, even offered a free sample for the two of you, which had been outright refused by the silent swordsman courtesy of a huff. They were forgiving though and was appreciative of your business while accepting some rupees. With a tip of their head they were gone down a path the two of you took opposite of.

Your patience was beginning to wane of this oddly distant side of Link.

Even at the stable he barely even looked at anyone save for the way his gaze burned a hole in your back whenever it was turned. The hand, who recognized him, assured that another stable currently was taking care of Epona and had even offered to fetch her for them, but the blue eyed Hylian didn’t grace either of you with indication if he wanted the steed or not. You declined the generous offer with much more finesse than he. Turning in his last known location, you were met by an empty space then spotted him exiting the stable’s protective tent.

Any other person, probably one a bit more sane than yourself, would think “perhaps the Champion needs some time alone” or “he is the Princess’ Knight, of course he would have a lot on his mind” then there may be some who left well enough alone.

Not today.

Not you.

All through midday meal did he wordlessly stare at you from across stone being used as a makeshift table. Something had to be done before you went mad. Or worse.

Unfinished food was placed upon the cloth used for storage, your hands slowly enclosing it within then placed in inventory. The palms of your hands rested upon the rock as you stood then fixed him with a pointed expression with raised eyebrows. Care to explain?

His answer was a huff while also storing the unconsumed food; definitely an odd occurrence.

You plopped back down to the ground with crossed legs neatly tucked beneath when he stood, crossing your arms when his gaze met yours. I’m not going anywhere until you give me some sort of reason why you’re acting strange, your entire body language said. And judging from the defiant raise of your chin, you were prepared to wait however long it took to get answers.

Within those azure eyes shifted a shadow that corresponded to various things appearing within his aura; paw prints and armor specifically.

“Time and Twi, I don’t want any interference with this. Same goes for all of you others. I want him to tell me what’s going on so I can understand why he’s behaving so differently.” The tone of finality left no room for argument and the presences faded, leaving just Link’s. Later you’d find some way to thank them. Arrowheads failed to compare against your stare that threatened to pierce his being.

Azure narrowed at your unspoken challenge. The last night’s stay at Zora’s Domain replayed within his mind despite the echoes of the other personas’ protests, images of Sidon and you beside Mipha’s statue burning themselves within his mind’s eye. “Give it back.”

Immediately your hands rose to the circlet, heart clenching. The voice that came from between his lips belonged to the Link you knew, yet it didn’t at the same time. Only once have you heard him use this tone: against a Hinox that had stumbled upon the camp you’d setup. That order rang loudly within your ears the following day, telling you to run without stopping until he told you to. To hear such a tone being used against you made every drop of blood tremble. Loss filled you when he didn’t offer any explanation as one of his hands extended with palm facing upwards. Words rose up your throat meaning to deter or demand to know why but they became tangled within a choking knot when seeing the seriousness in his face intensified. Tears threatened to form along your waterlines, blinking them back furiously as your head shook slowly.

He could tell you had been shocked by his words. What the Champion would later appreciate was the reluctance radiating off your figure while attempting to remove the accessory. It proved that you’d developed an attachment to it and knowing it was his gift receiving your adoration made this all the much harder for him. The metal was still warm when you shakily placed it within his waiting palm.

To your horror, he effortlessly crushed the diamond after removing it from the circlet, his upper lip curling. “What are you doing?!”

“Luminous Stone.” Shock filled you when he disgustedly tossed away the remaining dust lingering within his hand. He looked livid and something told you that the shopkeep who had sold that particular accessory felt a chill down his spine. “Sidon warned that it wasn’t a diamond, just painted to look like one. The fall in the river and exposed to all that rain revealed that fake for what it really was.” Flames worthy of Death Mountain’s volcano appeared within his gaze when it fixated upon the remaining metal of the accessory.

If that greedy little Bokoblin knew what was good for him he’d hide anywhere out of Hyrule’s borders if to be safe from retribution.

On their own, his eyes drifted away from the ruined piece of jewelry to find your distraught figure listlessly staring off into space. Large tears spilling down your cheeks shone brightly before being absorbed into the fabric they fell upon. He was confused though. Shouldn’t you be angry at the counterfeit gem? Dropping to one knee, he rested a hand upon your shoulder.

“I don’t care that it was fake,” you sniffled, refusing to meet his gaze, “it was a gift from you. That’s what mattered most to me…and you broke it…”

“Not good enough.” He rummaged around within his inventory for a moment before revealing something that nearly blinded you when the sun’s rays reflected off an item.

That was the only explanation he offered as an unfamiliar cloth was procured while beginning to continue walking.

Numbly, still reeling from the destruction which had occurred, you rose to stand and followed his trail, wiping away the tears that you’d been unaware of shedding. Silence once again fell over the two of you but this time it was much lighter. As if whatever weight had been lifted. You should feel relieved by that knowledge, however it left you only feeling empty since he still seemed reluctant to speak anymore.

And so the two of you continued onward.

Other travelers offered greetings when passing which each went unanswered by the somber traveling party, until the blonde haired Hylian stopped when encountering a Goron. They conversed lowly as you took a moment to rest upon a rock, gaze rising to the sky with a sigh. Something crawled up your arm, not even having to look down to know it was a Restless Cricket, unflinching even when the sun become so bright it would make any want to shield their sensitive eyes.

A shadow fell over your form, momentarily blocking the harsh rays threatening to burn your skin, one that belonged to someone very unexpected. “Oi, traveler of little guy!” The Goron introduced himself as Fugo, giving off the energy of confidence along with determination. “Excuse me for a moment.”

For a moment you were stunned as the bulky being took hold of your left hand to raise and examine it for several seconds before letting it fall back to rest at your side.

“All done! And let me be the first to congratulate you both!”

Confusion made your brows furrow as Fugo lumbered back to where Link had been waiting. What was all that about? The hand he had closely observed rose to your eye level, as if looking at it would possibly answer your question, yet none came after a few moments. So back to your side the left limb went.

The two continued to converse as the sun traveled across its path through the sky until it brushed the horizon. Even then the Hylian and the Goron kept their heads bent over whatever they were focused upon.

This left you to your own devices. A fire was made after you’d returned with small, successful hunt game which you proceeded to skin then cook with honed concentration until the half moon faintly illuminated the land in its light. Seasoned brown meat was quickly removed from the fire to instead be placed within wooden bowls with matching eating utensils. A large prime meat steak was offered to the Goron, who whole heartedly accepted the offering, however the blonde haired Hylian refused to look away from whatever task was at hand. So you left his own supper beside the rock he had sat upon then returned to the fire where your own was waiting.

It was finished slowly as the twinkling stars appeared above your head as Fireflies and Restless Crickets emerged from the tall grasses. Dirty dishes were collected, part of you wounded when finding Link had not touched the food you’d prepared, but went about clearing the site once ensuring all scraps were properly disposed within the crackling fire; better to stem off any curious monsters following a trail to the two of you.

Golden flames were just diminishing to glowing embers when one of the mighty Dragons appeared within the sky, glowing brilliantly with its ethereal scales and energy waves. No matter where or how often you saw one they always left you breathless and awestruck. Your eyesight wasn’t adequate to see well in the dark but for a moment you thought there was a black figure hovering near the mighty beast before it plummeted toward the ground in pursuit of something shiny which fell.

For several days that was the cycle you knew.

Days were spent with Link working alongside Fugo.

Night was where you found solace while watching the stars and dragon.

Until the third night you were woken by a gradually growing pressure that were recognizable arms wrapping around from behind which was oddly accompanied by a twist within your gut.

Earlier you’d noticed a single blue flower seeming to dance its way through the grass until lightly bumping against your knee.

Numerous times you’ve seen Link include the plant within several dishes. It was safe to eat, as far as you could tell after examining it for several seconds. The hour had been too late to make a fire, plus it would earn unwanted attention, but the faint rumbling of your stomach protested when considering to place it within storage. A little late night snack never hurt anyone.

A warm breath of air tickled the fine hairs at your neck’s nape, earning shivers down your spine, the heat coming off his being seeping into yours which further stemmed off the night’s chill. Sleep clung to your consciousness as realization made to raise its ugly head along with anger’s. However both went back to slumber as you turned within his embrace so as to nuzzle into his being.

A hand rose to rest pet the back of your head, encouraging you to drift with slow, drawn out strokes, the rhythm of his heart luring you to the gentle waves of his breath which carried you closer to the realms of dreams. It wasn’t until you had drifted off did the swordsman release a breath of relief. He was fully prepared to pay for making you wait so long. Azure rose opened hearing a the distant grunts of a monster. They sounded far off enough that the two of you could rest for tonight.

Come morning though it would be time to move.

And so his eyes drifted closed as he too drifted off to slumber, Fugo keeping close watch then striking up conversation with another Goron who happened by.

…

You were not prepared for the come light of dawn. Why? Because that was how you found Link, tending to the fire, serving generous portions of a delicious smelling breakfast. The smile raising his lips was lackluster though as you accepted your share.

He sat incredibly close to you while eating, immediately refilling your plate when it became empty despite your objections. Breakfast was finished quickly enough as your belly became stuffed but was prevented from helping to clean dishes by his hands resting on your shoulders when moving to stand. Stay, his eyes bore into your own, there’s no need for you to do more than enjoy the morning.

The need to question his actions was suppressed when noticing a certain Goron had disappeared. That answer came courtesy of the Master Sword’s wielder directing your gaze up towards the distant volcano. So he must have continued onward to his home.

An ache filled your chest.

Home was something you didn’t have. It was gone, destroyed, left in ruins thanks to monsters summoned then empowered by the Blood Moon. All of your family and friends had left you behind while they went on to the next plane.

Calloused fingers lifted your chin until you were met with a pair of azure gemstones. They were filled with concern while the tip of a finger trailed up your cheek then withdrew far enough away to reveal a teardrop upon his bent knuckle. “(Y/n)?”

A shake of your head was all you could offer as sorrow wrangled its way up your throat to become a choked sob. You could see his lips moving yet no sound came from them. Brilliant blue faded to black as the landscape became night. Little by little the heart in your chest cracked with each tear which slipped down your cheek until it threatened to shatter. The faces of your closest relatives who had resided within the village swam in your mind’s eye, but they were expressionless and lacking of emotion with crimson blood staining their skins. What started as sadness morphed into terror when more joined the pair. Arrows and various other weapons were the source of their lifeblood spilling down their figures to pool at your feet. Pure white hands rose from the rippling liquid surrounding you, gnarled fingers with claws for nails reached for your face as the closest villager opened their jaw to reveal rows upon rows of serrated teeth.

“(Y/n)!”

Someone shouted your name, making the horror waver for a moment. A breath whooshed past your ear, one that was warm and carried faint hints of spiced grain, compelling to take a long, deep inhale. Claws dug into your skin where they left deep crevices that bled large rivers of red. Up your throat rose a scream of terror and pain when the porcelain arms began to wrap tightly around your frame. “Link!” Terror gripped your very soul as twin slitted eyes with golden irises appeared within the darkness, radiating unadulterated evil when a large, gaping maw opened to reveal several rows of serrated teeth. “Link!”

Link grunted as you fought against his hold. Never had you called his name in such a way that tore his heart in half as it rendered you hoarse after minutes of begging for him to save you. Distress filled you features when he successfully managed to still your erratic movements. No matter how many times he called your name there was no indication that you’d heard even though his mouth was beside your ear. Nails, teeth, you used everything in attempts to find freedom. The entirety of your body was convulsing with froth gathering around your splayed jaws, blown out pupils sightlessly darting erratically.

Poison.

Wracking his brain, he attempted to recall where exactly you would have encountered something so dangerous. The Zora were trusted allies so they would never be responsible. Perhaps a traveling merchant you had done business with recently? He faintly remembered you had spoken to a few. No, none of them seemed to have given you anything suspicious.

So how?

“I gave her a flower to match her beauty,” a small voice whispered, drawing his attention to a nearby rock to find a tiny green Korok who looked upset, “I didn’t think she would eat it.”

He could have laughed at the bizarre twist of events. You, the person who reacted so cautiously against him eating anything, had eaten something you shouldn’t have? Oh, he would certainly be giving you a hard time in the future for this. Blue Nightshade wasn’t meant to be eaten like a salad after all. Though perhaps he was to blame after all. If he had been paying more attention instead of becoming short sighted than maybe he would’ve been able to prevent this accident. Although he should have been careful to explain which particular plants were safe to consume raw versus cooked.

That can be another lesson for the future.

His head snapped upwards as more of the small sprites began to appear. They’re offering was accepted by means of him taking firm hold upon your writhing body while standing. Deep within himself Link felt a presence, Twi was the name you gave it, begin to whisper occasional warnings a split second before your body moved as if capable of predicting then instructing where he should adjust his hold. Part of the blue eyed Hylian felt conflicted when finding the aid helpful with each successful restrain of your flailing limbs.

The Koroks were speedy as they led him through the misty Lost Woods, taking care to ensure the Hylian Champion was close, then continuing onwards. One was always ready to correct where his footfalls went. Neither were necessary for him.

This was not the first time he’d ventured here.

None too soon did the crunching of twigs and grass beneath his steps become cobbled stone which led to a familiar pedestaled platform illuminated by a few golden rays of sunshine. Silent Princess flowers glistening with dew lined the triangle shaped, man-made dais, swaying gently in a breeze which caused your disheveled hair to threaten to obscure your face as he came to a stop within it’s center. Around him appeared several more Koroks who made to welcome him yet grew silent when beholding your now whimpering form as their fellow spirit hurried to crawl up the trunk of a mountainous tree, earning a soft sigh.

“You have returned,” the tree called lowly in a voice which made the earth itself seemed to vibrate with its vibrato, “chosen wielder of the Sword Which Dispels Darkness.”

Link’s mouth made to open.

“You need not explain. The situation speaks of itself.” Several Koroks appeared from the Great Deku Tree’s canopy. They cooed and whispered softly amongst themselves while accepting your unconscious form from the swordsman. “I shall take her into the spring which resides within my branches. There she shall recover and rest as the Nightshade is removed.”

Calm azure watched as your figure disappeared within the leaves until they fell to rest upon the mighty tree.

The aged deity regarded the swordsman, if that were possible. “I see you have been busy with those side quests of yours.”

A twitch made Link’s brow rise slightly.

“No judgement do I have to pass,” the tree chuckled. “Though I was curious as to when I would share a presence with you once more. We have much to discuss.”

….

Breathing heavily, he sheathed the Master Sword with a flourish, the singing note of metal ringing through the air. It was stronger now thanks to the trials which had pushed both steel and swordsman beyond their limits. Sweat covered his being from head to toe as he quickly shed the near ruined tunic, allowing Koroks to carefully take each article of clothing from his hold for repairs and washing, until left with only the sword and undergarments. Even the worn warrior had to internally admit they had been strenuous upon both the mind and body. Changes had come over his physical being not in the form of scars but newly mastered muscles which had surpassed average bulk to become lean, power concealing additions to his weaponry. His head rose upwards where sharp eyes combed over the canopy overhead.

How much time had passed?

What was your condition?

“You have returned.” Azure rose to the mighty tree as, if it were possible, the Great Deku Tree had taken a long, deep inhale, as if mentally preparing himself to speak. “You have done well in strengthening the Master Sword, chosen wielder of the blade which is capable of dispelling darkness. Well done.” A part in the canopy prevented Link from climbing the trunk, gaze locked upon where a hidden spring resided, forcing him to instead slide down back to the foliage undergrowth. “Your friend—”

“Ya-ha!”

Confetti exploded from behind him, raining down in multicolored sparks and leaves, accompanied by a wooden xylophone and the familiar shakes of maracas. There was a sound though which made his being warm and turn: laughter. Not just any though. This one, which made his eyes widen when finding their source, made the heart in Link’s chest swell.

There you were, beside an enthusiastic Hestu, with your own pair of maracas, wearing a blinding smile while dancing to music the Koroks conducted.

“—is doing quite well. All traces of the poison have been removed from her being with the help of the Koroks and fairies alike. A simple task for them if truth were told.”

So transfixed by seeing you with fully restored health that he failed to notice you falling still while taking in his appearance.

The few rays of sunlight glistening off his lean form, toned muscles moving fluidly beneath his tanned skin, those blue hued eyes of his shining brighter than any gemstone could hope to compare, even the few additions of scars across his body left you in awe. Had his chest always been chiseled? Or those shoulders so wide? Eyes of his were sharper than any blade could hope to be as they traveled across your being, leaving a near burning trail. No way had he looked so…

“Dear girl,” the great tree rumbled when you failed to make any move or sound, “your dear traveling companion has returned from his trials at long last. For you it has been many days but time passes differently when within the sacred realm which he has emerged from.”

All functions of your brain screeched to a halt at the ancient’s revelation. Maracas were caught by Hestu as they left your grip. A path was made through the grass and underbrush as you broke out into a sprint.

Waking to find yourself in such a place had been startling, frightening even, despite the assurances of the giant talking tree you were within. It was always daytime here so it had been impossible to tell when it was time for rest if not for the mighty tree’s gentle guidance. Eventually you found strength once again which allowed descent from the sacred spring. A large welcome party of Koroks were waiting at the tree’s base. Fanfare of music and food were what they used in attempts to keep you preoccupied despite your glances towards the lone Master Sword upon its pedestal. None could offer you explanation of where the Hylian had disappeared to. Until the mighty tree itself was unable to take your worried expression a moment longer just that morning.

A stone caught on the tip of your shoe, stealing away your balance when attempting to reach him, resulting in you falling face first into a firm chest and pair of arms which readily enclosed around your smaller form.

“(Y/n)…”

Tears spilled down your cheeks when he whispered into your ear, relishing in the tight embrace as your own arms rose to wrap themselves around him. Warmth sourcing from his being made the sunlight pale in comparison, farther proving that this was no delirious dream or hallucination. Tension lingering within his being as you clung to him began to dissipate as he took a deep inhale through his nose, bringing with it your natural scent that he internally relished. There were traces of recent battles radiating off of Link and there were new scars within his collection. “I’m alright,” you soothed when his breath hitched, feeling him nuzzle into your neck, “I’m back to full health thanks to everyone.”

Deep within him rose the personas who took their turns in examining you themselves; Time noticing the healthy pink tint of your skin, Sky admiring the style of your hair, Twi noticing that the bruises you’d sported before had vanished to leave unblemished skin, and Nox seeming to breathe a sigh of relief when your weight rested against Link’s. In the backs of his mind came Sea Song’s melody that played along the Korok’s music. After nearly a full minute they receded one by one until the hero was alone with his thoughts.

You really were here, healthy, and within his embrace…

…where you belonged.

He swept you up in a twirl, making you laugh and cling to him more, as cheers rose from the surrounding Koroks. All of the worry and concern he’d been harboring while undergoing the trials evaporated the longer you remained within his hold. A smirk lifted his lips when placing you back on your feet, earning your cheeks to tint pink.

“You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?”

“Not a chance.” Link could have laughed at your purse lips before those same lips were mushed against his for a moment.

You retreated with a huff, unable to meet his widened gaze. “That’s for successfully completing those trials.”

The swordsman was unprepared for the sudden meet of your fist against his core, causing him to drop to a knee with an exhale; perhaps he had trained you just a bit too well.

“And that is for stealing my first kiss back in Zora’s Domain!”

Hestu, and a few other Koroks, seemed to sympathetically regard the hero as you stomped off to where you’d been sleeping within the Great Deku Tree’s trunk. Low, rumbling laughter filled the air sourcing from the ancient being. “Ah, young love,” it seemed to smile as Link recovered while rising to stand at his full height. “Though you have spent much time alongside the Princess of Hyrule it seems you’ve still much to learn about females.”

Azure rose to the tree then fell to lock on the place where you had disappeared, calloused fingers swiping over his lips which tingled with the phantom memory that was your mouth.

That night, he looked up from the sword being polished as you settled against his left side. He couldn’t help but notice how perfectly you fit, as if you were always meant to be here, with him. For a moment his head rested against your own, earning a soft hum. Wheat hued tresses intermixed with yours where the flickering campfire light made them appear to be golden ribbons decorating your hair. The trials had given plenty of time to fine tune what Fugo had started but it was in that moment which your initial anger at him about the circlet hit the battle honed warrior full force when seeing its empty place upon your being. “It wasn’t good enough.”

No question had to be voiced because you immediately knew what he was referring to. “I still liked it,” you began slowly, “and it was a gift from you. Of course I was upset when you wanted it back and then you destroyed that stone like it was nothing.”

One of his arms snaked around your being to lightly grasp your left hand, earning a surprised gasp from you as something foreign was brushed against your skin, blinking in awe as his calloused hand raised it to reveal a ring now resting on the digit between the pinky and middle.

It shone brightly even in the minimal light, gently hugging your finger which was faintly visible from between the interwoven vines. An eye similar to the one on his slate sat in its center with a piece of Luminous Stone within its iris while a diamond droplet dangled beneath that was its tear. It covered most of the space between your knuckle down to where the finger met the hand, the vines intricately braided with care that must have taken several hours to get just one in the right position.

“Unlike that…fake…this is true silver sprinkled with dragon scale dust and a diamond. The metal of the accessory was the only purest property and redeeming quality.”

Your eyes widened. “Link, I didn’t care if it—”

“I did.” The palm of his hand coaxed your head to turn to face him, finding his azure gaze to be warmer than the crackling flames and an unreadable expression upon his face. He bent at the neck so your temple met his. Puzzle pieces put themselves together as he mentioned that Fugo was apprentice to the blacksmith in Goron Village; the ring was what they had been working on! “You deserve more than it was worth, (Y/n), but the ring is what I could manage so you would have something more worthy.” One of his brows rose when you failed to offer anymore objection then found out the reason with a tilt of his head.

His pants had been repaired quickly enough, tunic a whole different story, and though he possessed multiple different outfits the Hylian Champion opted to remain without upper clothing tonight. A strange sense of pride filled him when your breathing quickened. There, just faintly visible due to the way your hair had been styled thanks to the Koroks, he could see a pulse point moving faster than normal.

A bright blush was across your cheeks, eyes practically feasting every inch of his exposed upper torso.

You weren’t looking so bad yourself though. Cloth had been replaced by large durable leafs then carefully tailored to your figure, allowing every feminine curve or dip to be accentuated. Internal appreciation was given when the neckline of your bodice, which was lower than anything you’ve worn until now, revealed fair skin untouched by sunlight and beginnings of shapely mounds.

Heat was steadily growing within your cores as azure met your gaze. The hand still holding your own interlaced weapon worn fingers with yours, easing your body to turn in his direction courtesy of the tilt of his own. Deep within the depths of your gaze rose something that he himself was beginning to feel the more he was within your presence. As if the goddess herself was encouraging him to explore this new feeling, your gaze drifted down to his mouth, a slender tongue slipping out to moisten your lips.

An invitation if he ever saw one.

Smelling of wildflowers, a blend of Silent Princesses and Armoranth, a few smaller blooms interwoven into your hair that threatened to entice one closer once within the vicinity around you. They were unnecessary, in his opinion, as they paled in comparison to the natural scent of you. It still haunted him at night when awake during watch while you slept mere feet away.

And now that you were this close, just a breath away, it was raging attacks upon his senses with each breath you exhaled.

“You say that I stole your first kiss,” he whispered, the husky tone within his voice causing you to shudder slightly and his heart to clench in response, the idle hand of his falling to rest on your thigh and earn a catch of your breath, “however I do not deem it or the congratulatory one earlier worthy of that title…”

The lids of your eyes, and his, slid closed in unison, hearts hammering with suspense—

“Perhaps you should reconsider the location of which you share such intimacy.”

Begrudgingly, the two of you separated at the Great Deku Tree’s wise spoken words, finding quite the assembly of Koroks gathered as if to watch.

Ignore them, a voice whispered within his ear that sounded oddly familiar as he watched you converse with the small spirits, you shouldn’t care about anyone who is of no importance.

A twitch appeared within his blonde brow. Having all that time with just himself left the past personas of heroes gone by plenty of opportunities to engage the blonde swordsman. Needless to say, there were few moments of true silence.

You’ve been separated for days, according to the tree. Healing without you at her side from poisoning must have been difficult. While you were off focusing upon strengthening the Master Sword, you neglected her needs and left the forest dwellers to fill your empty place.

Deep within his heart rose an ache as the image of you fighting against lingering affects with tears in your eyes filled his head. Had you been able to rest at all? Surely the Koroks had been capable of bestowing some sort of comfort for you in his absence.

What he recognized as Time’s pressured presence rose, as if preparing to drive away Nox, but Twi’s animalistic growls made the aged being pause. The armor clad hero warned that they should not meddle in Link’s life anymore than they already have, that he should be the one to decide such matters this sensitive, while the other two pushed that their predecessor shouldn’t be a coward any longer by confessing his inward feelings for the companion at his side. Sky kept Sea Song from interfering as they seemed to wait for Link’s chosen action.

“Link?” You lightly tapped his shoulder, the breath stalling when seeing commitment enter his gaze as it met yours.

Calloused fingers found yours, entwining them together, then using them to encourage you to stand. Come, they said with a squeeze, walk with me. Though he didn’t leave you room to object following him was something you’d gladly do without prompting. Relaxed silence filled the space between you two as he led past each Korok who attempted to convince you to play a game. They were quick to disperse when seeing the swordsman’s gaze fixate them with warning looks. He would never harm them…at least not intentionally.

It wasn’t until he began climbing that you debated upon questioning his actions. Why would he lead you to the Deku Tree’s back then encourage you upwards? Wasn’t it going to make the deity upset?

A light tug on your hand redirected your gaze to find Link waiting patiently for you to decide on following.

All you had to do was give a sign or indication and he’d return you to the Koroks. There had to be a good reason for him leading you this far so curiosity made you want to follow. Trust though was what compelled your body to move forward, accepting his assistance while maneuvering through the branches.

Up and up the two of you climbed until he settled you upon a branch oddly shaped like a swing just big enough for the two of you, settling to your right with a content exhale. The twinkling stars high above your heads captured your attention, effectively giving him a moment to quiet each persona who made to spur him onwards by means of an internal glare, then fixated upon your awestruck face.

This was something he wasn’t familiar with. Emotions alone were near foreign languages but pair them with actions relating to them left him at a near complete loss. How did most people handle these feelings?

Sensing conflict, your gaze wandered until meeting his shadowed own. Whatever was bothering him must be heavy. What could you do to help him? “I don’t know what’s on your mind,” you began with a voice barely above a whisper so as not to ruin the ambiance created from flickering fireflies mimicking the stars dancing upon the night’s breeze, “but I’ll listen if you…”

His lips brushing against your own stole away the rest of your sentence. Heat threatened to rise within his cheeks when you squeaked softly, retreating when your shoulders haunched. He hadn’t expected your head to turn in his direction, being so lost within his thoughts that he’d failed to notice your cheek not being in its original position.

Internally the personas were as shocked as he was when your widened eyes blinked rapidly for several seconds. They did, however, praise the hero for his action when you sputtered wordlessly. Amusement and approval of the events turned to bewilderment when your bottom lip quivered.

“Not good enough.”

Blonde brows rose when your palms met his face, nearly smooshing it, then felt heat pool into his core when your lips made to meet his own only for them to instead meet the sensitive skin of his neck courtesy of the breeze suddenly becoming a gust.

You were mortified by the sudden push of invisible hands which definitely belonged to a Korok. Adrenaline began to race through your veins when hearing what had to be the ghost of a moan sound from the man’s chest now pressed against your own. A similar sound, though a different timbre, rose up your throat when lips met your own neck the second you’d pulled away far enough for him to reach.

A thrill slid down your spine when his large hands drew you closer, the tip of his nose encouraging your head to tilt in his direction courtesy of a nuzzle, hooded azure meeting your clouded gaze. There was no doubt within your mind. This was what you wanted. Like curtains obscuring a window, your eyes slid closed as he began to cross the remaining space.

Near audible choruses of disappointment sounded when, thanks to an overly excited Korok who had been watching took action to push the warrior faster, sounded when the two of you tumbled off the branch to land in the spring with twin splashes. Personas within the warrior debated upon rallying against the now cowering spirit until finding the two of you sharing smiles at the absurd turn of events. They simmered when watching you playfully splash Link, resulting in a full on water fight.

There were surely to be more opportunities in the future.

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

A/N: Nightshade is actually a very serious poison so I decided to go with its meaning here since she (reader) didn’t cook it; which worked in the way I intended.

Pt 1: Blood Moon Encounter

Pt 2: Distant Howls

Pt 3: Identities Unknown

Pt 4: Rupee Struggles

Pt 5: Between a Rock and a Wet Place

Pt 7: Hotter Than Lava 🔥

#botw!link x reader #botw!link #the legend of Zelda #link x reader #f!reader #link x f!reader #botw!link x f!reader #loz #loz: botw #link x y/n #botw!link x y/n #link x you #botw!link x f!you

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triforceangel13 · 2 years ago

Text

A Service to the King Ch. 1 (A SidLink Omegaverse Story)

Chapter 1: Help

Knight. Champion. Hero. All these words were things that one would use to describe Link, the savior of Hyrule and the one that took down the Calamity and then years later destroyed the Demon king with the help of the sages.

Never once would someone have thought he would be brought before the former king of Zora's Domain, asking for his help in something that didn't require a sword.

King Sidon and his wife Queen Yona had yet to produce an heir or even attempt to conceive. It had been months since the Demon King had been killed and peace had been restored once more. Yet Sidon had never made a move on his own queen.

The council was becoming irrate with the king, questioning his loyalty to his wife. Sidon promised them he did love his wife but Dorephan saw otherwise. Of course he loved Yona, but not in the way that others sought him out to be. He was sure that was for another.

Sidon never lit up around Yona as much as he did with Link. The fomer king could clearly see something there brewing within his son.

He was sure he was in love with the champion but never once made a move. And even more so now never did anything now that he was wed, despite not having a wedding.

But he wasn't sure if those feelings were there within Link. He was always busy and seeking to help others that Dorephan never got to see the Link beneath all that.

At the very least he just wanted someone to talk to his son that wasn't himself. Who better than to call upon Link, Sidon's best friend?

Princess Zelda had accompanied him, the two insepearable ever since the defeat of the Demon King and she had been found.

Though once receiving the request of help, her reaction was something he hadn't expected. She wanted Link to decline, that he couldn't.

That it was better that he not.

Dorephan sighed from his seat, looking down at the two of them. Zelda clutched at the edge of Link's cloak. Whatever had happened to the princess during that time she was missing really had shaken her up.

She wasn't quite the same any longer.

Link scratched his face a bit with that odd arm of his and looked up at the former king.

“I'll do what I can do help him,” Link said to him.

“Link!” Zelda said with a frown.

Link sighed. “He's my friend. I should help and figure out what's going on. If there is something bothering him that keeps him from being with Yona, then I should at least try to figure out what it is, shouldn't I? Besides, he's helped me more than once on much more difficult things, this is the least I can do.”

“But you...” Zelda began and then shifted closer to whisper in his ear. “Link, you could get hurt if you figure it out.”

Link sighed. He knew that she meant well but he had to do something. Honestly he was the only one that could do this. Sidon was never open to anyone but him.

His own feelings for the new Zora king had to be buried deep. He didn't need the council taking the crown from Sidon. He knew how much it meant to him.

Plus deep down he was a little selfish. He wanted to know what was going on. Receiving the news about Sidon being wed to Yona now had dug deep at him. He tried his best to hide it and he had been successful until one night Zelda had caught him lost in thought with a stray tear rolling down his cheek. Not his finest moment.

“It's a risk I'll have to take,” Link finally said to her and then looked to Dorephan. “I'll do this service to the king and help him. For the better of the king and the better of the Domain.”

“Thank you Link,” Dorephan said.

Link had a hard time swallowing what Yona had said to him as soon as they met. She had no idea of course of the feelings that burned within him. No one knew except Zelda of course. Link had made sure of that.

The amount of dread he felt of never having a chance had filled him. To be completely honest he had put his whole mind on the task of saving the Zoras to keep his mind busy. There were a few sleepless nights however after that with trying to mend a broken heart that Sidon had no idea he had broken in the first place.

Sometimes the news still ended up plaguing him.

Fiance at that time. And now they were King and Queen. Sidon had taken up the throne of being king and had pronounced Yona as the queen right as he stood beside him in front of the zora people. The smile he had to force had nearly cracked his teeth.

Zelda had learned of it after she had returned from her dragon form after all of those years. She felt for him.

It was no wonder that she was so bent on keeping Link from doing this task. She had been angry when Dorephan had told them what he wanted Link to do. To talk to his son about what was troubling him with his wife.

More or less Link had to convince him to at least have a child with her so the council would leave him alone and not start anything.

How he went about this really was a test of his own character. The right thing to do was to talk with Sidon, figure out what was going on and then perhaps offer a way for him to be happy but also appease those in the Zora court.

The wrong thing to do was to tell him to leave her and live a life with him. Of course he wasn't thinking really of that. He could make himself an enemy that way and since when did he have the courage to tell Sidon how he felt?

He had been haboring these feelings for years Who was to say that he would end up doing it now that the moment presented itself.

He had courage in other things but when it came to his own feelings he felt ike he was a wimp, someone who wouldn't dare speak a word.

Zelda was right, he might get hurt out of this but how he could say no to Dorephan after he had brought them all this way and practically begged.

They took residence in one of the inns for the night. Sidon as out on some duties out of the kingdom so it was best they both get some rest.

In the shared room Link sat on his own bed, taking his shoes off. He needed some rest after the long jounrey.

Purah pad or not there was still a bit of travel that had to be done to get there.

“Link...you are sure that this is a good idea?” Zelda asked, shifting a bit and rubbed at the spot on her neck. “We've been through so much and you deserve as little stress as possible.”

“He's my friend Zelda. I don't want to see something happen to him because there wasn't a friend here to lend a hand,” Link explained.

“But it's more than that,” Zelda sad to him. “And you know it.”

Link sighed, laying himself back down onto the bed with a thump, staring up at the ceiling.

“Even with those scent blockers on I know that you aren't happy about this,” she tried again. “I know you love him Link, and it'll only hurt you more if you do this.”

“I'm unhappy either way Zelda,” Link told her wit ha frown. “I may as well just do the one route where it helps others.”

“Oh youre always so stubborn,” Zelda huffed at him. “There has to be another way. There is always another way to things.”

Link frowned at her and she flushed, turning her gaze away. She knew he was upset about the whole dragon thing, being the only way. Though he was sure there had to be another some how than putting herself through that.

It was behind them now. He wasn't about to keep holding that over her head. It had only been a few months since he had helped restore her normal form so it was still rather fresh in his mind at the moment.

“At least in this scenario I would think there would be another way,” Zelda said. “I just don't want to see you get hurt.”

“I know,” Link finally sighed. “But I wanted to at least to try to help.”

With her nagging him he wasn't sure still what he wanted to do.

“Just promise me one thing,” Zelda said as Link peered at her from across the room. She rung her hands together, looking scared and nervous.

Zelda had been through way too much. She of all people deserved a vacation. And he understood why she was so protective.

After seeing the passing of two people that she had grown closests to in the past she wanted to keep all those she cared for alive and happy.

Hopefully one day she'd ease her own mind, for now Link would need to do that for her. But he knew this was something he had to do.

“What is that?” Link asked her.

“Promise me that if things are going wrong with whatever it is you're planing...that you'll leave it behind. That you will save your own skin instead of doing the good of the people,” She finally finished in a breath.

Link sighed but nodded, turning to stare up at the celing.

“I'll do my best to take care of myself.”

Around dusk was when Link finally woke up from a nap and set out to find the king. He had been told by night fall Sidon would be returning back to the domain and from the buzz that was going on around he was sure he had returned.

He stepped around the statue dedicated to himself and Sidon, gazing up at the stone that captured a moment that would forever be buried in his mind.

He was surprised they had moved Mipha's statue and placed this one there. He didn't think he was nearly as great as Sidon or his sister after everything yet here he was.

He felt small fingers touch his arm and he glanced down to see a young zora admiring his arm as if it was some strange thing.

He felt a little uneasy especially when his mother came up and took her son by the hand to keep him from touching.

“So sorry Sir Link,” the zora woman said to him. “I didn't mean for him to touch your...arm.”

“It's alright,” Link said, watching as the mother and child stepped away. Link idly rubbed his arm with a sigh. Still to this day people still thought it weird.

And still he was self concious about it.

“Well I for one think it's extrodinary,” came a familiar voice behind him. Link smiled a bit, turning to see the king.

Sidon beamed at him, stepping away from Yona who had walked next to him.

It was more than obvious of the distance between the two of them, but still Yona laid a gentle face on herself to try to hide how she felt.

“Your majesties,” Link said, bowing to the two of them. Yona nodded her head as a sign back to Link that she acknowledged him.

Sidon however wrapped him up in his arms and hugged him tightly, lifting him up to his full height. Link let out a laugh, hugging him.

“Such formalities. You don't have to use them with me,” Sidon beamed, setting him back on his feet. “What brings you to the Domain?”

Link glanced at Yona who walked off with a frown.

“We need to talk,” Link said to Sidon.

I’m open for written commissions

want to support? my patreon (triforceangel)

my a03 (triforceangel) as another place to read my fics

#tears of the kingdom #sidlink #a service to the king

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yeonsclover · 11 months ago

Note

Hi! Can I request a depressed Noelle? Thank youuuu <3

Thank you for sending this(not proof read) I tried my best

Walking through the corridors of the black bulls hideout Asta walks through the passage way to the common room. “Have you guys seen Noelle? We’re patrolling the noble realm today”

“Now that you said something I haven’t seen at all in a while” finral says “last time I seen her she said she was going out and left.” Zora said “And when was that.” “Like last week.” “cmon we’ll go search the kingdom” Asta grabbed finrals hand “why do I have to go?” “How else are we supposed to get there?”

“I have a feeling I know where she could be. Let’s split up” Asta added before finral could protest.

Walking through crowds of people saying excuse me every 10 seconds asta finally arrive at the Silva estate. Luckily he knew by now to take the back way inside. The guards at the estate aren’t prone to let commoners set foot in house Silva. Let alone black bulls. He’d had been here before many times. Noelle always set a latter outside for him to climb up without anyone noticing.

As soon as he stepped foot in the estate he could hear screaming, and sobs calling for help ,and he swore he also heard laughter. “Here we go again.” Asta already knew what was going on. He thought that he had but a stop to it for good. Apparently the two oldest Silva didn’t know when enough was enough. He walks down the stairs of house Silva

Asta was fuming. How dare they? How could he have not noticed. How could he have let this happen again, how could the squad let this happen again. All of the sad looks, the declining of missions which was never like noelle, the refusing to eat. And wave of sadness washes over him. She’d been gone for a whole week! How did no one notice.

The sounds of Noelle’s cries, nebras laughter , and solid casting magic spells all became less that distant. That angry he once had came back at the sight in front of him.

He grabs solids wand, and snaps it in half stopping him from finishing he’s final spell. He lands a punch right dead center on solids nose sending him flying. He turns to the sight of noelle on the ground coved in water to being able to catch her breath. “I’m here it’s ok now he Scoops her up in his arms walking towards the exit

“You’re lucky I don’t but my hands on women.” He turns to nebra. He had almost forgotten she was there. “Well I for one don’t give a damn” Vanessa bust through the doors to the estate immediately pointing her wand at Nebras neck.

The rest of the black bulls behind her “we got it from here kid” yami puts his hand on Asta shoulder. Standing beside him is Noelle’s eldest brother Nozel Silva. “Take good care of her. I got the other two.” Asta can see the pain in his face he Nozel wants to have a relationship with noelle. Asta decided a long time ago that if he want it he’d come around eventually.

Walking through finrals portal Noelle still in arms he’s in Noelle’s room at the black bulls base. He gently sits her in her bed then heads for the door. “You’re just gonna leave me? Please don’t go im scared.” “Then I won’t.”

“ I’m sorry” Asta shakes his head “don’t apologize you did nothing wrong. We should’ve stepped up. We should’ve paid more attention to you, and your needs”

“You don’t look like yourself noelle.”

“I know.” She says before closing her eyes

“Asta my clothes are wet.”

“Do you want me to change them for you?” Asta says in the most cheeky innocent voice ever

“Get out! Of course not” she says pulling the covers over her face.

#black clover #blackclover #noelle silva #asta #noelle #blackclover headcanons #noelle black clover #nozel silva #black clover scenarios #nozel #yami #asta x noelle #nozel and noelle #black clover x reader #black clover nozel #vanessa black clover #finral roulacase #zora black clover #yeonsclover

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aikoiya · 2 years ago

Text

LoZ Wild Masterlist

Lore:

The Dragons

My Thoughts on Napsack Koroks

Happy Sidona Marriage

International Relations

Lynel Question

Missing Ordona Province - Original Post

Missing Ordona Province - Convo 1

Missing Ordona Province - Convo 2

The Wild Series is an Inevitable Event at the End of All 3 Timelines

Greater Hyrule & the Hyrule Alliance

The Symbolism Behind Link's Rings & Sage Handshakes

Link's Personal Diary

Sailing Around the World

Light Spirit Springs in TotK

The Secret Stones

The Gerudo Feel Responsible For Ganondorf

Wild Might Have Alexithymia

Figuring Out the Depths Script

The Depths Are A Liminal Space - Plus Depths Map

The Seven Heroines Symbol Analysis

Mabe! (Not Mine)

Shrines of Light & the Origins of Monsters

Blacksmithing:

Blacksmiths

Zora Weaponry & Zoridium Steel

Namikaze no Odori Katana

Zora Weapons - Blood Warrior?

BotW VS TotK Weaponry

The Elemental Weapons

Zonai Mysteries:

Zonai Tech

Where TF is Rauru & Sonia's Child!?!?

Rito in the Sky With Constructs

Divided Sky Ruins

The Zonai Are Remlits

Ancient TotK Map

Food:

Goron Spice

Sky Island Fruits

Sundelion Oddity

Dragonsbane Flower

More Meat Variety

New Ingredients: Flora & Fungi

Fashion:

Thoughts on the Cece Hat

Cece Brand Fungal Pirate Set

No Cece-Brand Wedding Gown?

My Thoughts on the Gerudo Vai Set

Desert Merchant Set

Random Fashion Thoughts - Gerudo Maternity Wear

My Opinions:

Link With Sheikah Tech Automail

More On Link With Sheikah Tech Automail

Discussing Zelda Hate

Link & Sidon as Bros

Reincarnated Goddess

Why There's No Vai Set in TotK

How is Hyrule Imperialistic??

PLEASE, Don't Sexualize the Gorons, Ya'll

Why I Think Zelda Couldn't Unlock Her Magic

Yiga!Link is a Riot

The Issue With Sheikah Tech

Injustice - Too few GanondorfxFem posts!

Rhoam Mischaracterization

More Depths Art, Please

Rhoam the Outdoorsman

Wild's Dad

Gameplay:

Things I'd Change

Wandering Merchants Map

Hyrule Settlement Restoration Map

Glitch in Hebra

Remnants of a Shrine in Hebra

Shitty Horse Wanted

Ideas for Future Wild Games

The Magic Rods

Master Beds & Hyrule's Possibly Declining Population

Beastiary Expansion

Rahdo the Endurance Master of Mount Granajh

Other Stuff:

Urbosa the Matchmaker

A Sorcerer in Hyrule

Thoughts On Link 1/2

Multi-Xover - Glutton Gang

Other People's Thoughts:

Spirit Wolves AU by @mmmn-thirsty-for-vinegar

Dark Link in the Depths by @vioshortforviolence

Zora Domain Lore

Distance Between Hyrule Castle & Hateno

Link's Hand PTSD

Ganon Fucked With The Weapons!!!

How Zelda Could Understand Rauru & Sonia

Discussing Stuff With Jullbnt <- I'm having so much fun! 😁

Other Zelda Masterlists:

LoZ General Masterlist

LoZ Wild Masterlist

LoZ Cultural Masterlists: 1 & 2

LoZ Scenario Help Masterlists: 1, 2, & 3

LoZ My Fanfic Masterlist

LoZ Great Fics Masterlist

LoZ Linked Universe Masterlist

Other Useful Masterlists:

Aikoiya's Writing Tips Masterlist

Master Masterlist <- Go here to see some of the other fandoms I mess around with.

#loz #botw #totk #masterlist #legend of zelda #tears of the kingdom #breathing #loz wild series #loz masterlist

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vilandel · 1 month ago

Text

Bedroom Birthday

Summary For the first time since his mother died, Nozel Silva finally got a real happy birthday...

A/N And another oneshot I once wrote for Nozels birthday, this one from two years ago 💜 Nothing much, just the Silva siblings being a proper family, along with Vanessa, Zora and Asta 💘 (I'm sorry that there is no Rosette, but back in 2022, I was just starting creating her, so... But trust me, she would have given Nozel some great gift)

Ao3 link

♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣

Due to the snow that wouldn’t stop falling since the afternoon, the bells of cathedral sounded like from far, far away. But still, Nozel could hear very well how many times the bells were ringing.

Twelve times.

Midnight.

The beginning of a new day, even though it was still night. 30th of December.

His birthday.

Nozel sighed. It wasn’t usually a happy day for him. Especially not since the day he lost his mother. He never organized a party for his birthday since, making it just a work day like any other. Oh, he got the nicely fake and flattery congratulations cards from other nobles, not to mention those disgusting marriage proposals. Royals birthdays always seemed like a perfect occasions for noble families to court, trying to marry into one of the three royal houses.

Fuegoleon, Kirsch and his Vermillion aunt always tried to make some birthday party or dinner for him, but he always declined. Nozel remembered what his mother used to do and sadness always filled his soul then. He never really got over his grief and his overwhelming guilt made him believe that he didn’t deserved it.

He really needed to work on his guilt issues… among other things.

But even though there wasn’t any party for his birthday, it never stop his siblings to have presents for him on that day. Nebra, Solid and even Noelle never forgot to get him something for his birthday. Oh, he never asked them, they never gave them to him in person and it never had been something they did together, of course. Nozel still wondered why his siblings would do it in the first place.

But still, at the end of the day, there were always presents on his bed. Although, while Nebra and Noelle actually always seemed to put some thoughts in it, Solids gifts were always rather useless. But all of them were precious to Nozel and it hurt for years, because he considered for so long that he didn’t deserve that kind of kindness.

He never supposed that it would change one day.

But it did. Over the past year and a half, many things happened to change his cold heart, to make him reconsider, to openly accept kindness others were ready to give him.

And one of those reasons was in his arms in this very moment.

“Happy Birthday,” Vanessa whispered, kissing him softly at the corner of his lips.

Nozel didn’t reply. He just closed his eyes and allowed himself a soft smile, savouring her presence, her touch, her hold… all of her.

He never excepted to fall in love. Especially with a person out of his circles. Even more that they came together in not a kinda classical way.

But love was something that doesn’t come in a logic way and it’s not something anyone can decide according to a plan.

They bonded over occasional talks, that came deeper over time. Something grow between them, deeper feelings than just friendship… and now, here they were. Together, in love, already having faced difficulties and hardships, ready to face others that surely would come.

Their relationship was now public knowledge and many nobles of course refused to accept that a prince would rather choose a Black Bull witch over many of the eligible noble candidates.

“You did promise me that you won’t spend your birthday brooding, like the other years, don’t forget.”

“It’s not like you gave me a choice.”

Vanessa laughed, her voice filling his bedroom with a joy he haven’t known for years.

She had been quite shocked to learn how he used to spent his birthdays. Almost offended even, Vanessa always said that birthdays were one of the most important dates and she refused to let him continue to be sad to every 30th of December. Not on her watch, she had said.

Since dating Vanessa, Nozel knew it was pretty useless to say no to a witch. And he loved her too much to continue to feel he didn’t deserved it. Vanessa helped him to finally start to forgive himself. Nozel was still cautious with that and it was still a work in progress, but Vanessa was always there to help him.

He had no idea what she prepared for his birthday. He hoped that it was at least not something crazy, knowing Vanessa. But Nozel knew one thing. This birthday wouldn’t be sad and filled with guilt. To be honest, deep down, Nozel was also done spending his birthdays like he used too. In the end, it was draining and not only made him unhappy, but also people he cared about. He needed time to admit it, but he had enough.

“It feels really nice to be first one wishing you a happy birthday, honey,” Vanessa giggled, cuddling against him. Nozel sighed, holding her closer to him, diving his face into the soft curls of her hair.

How strange it was, giving his siblings a hug still felt awkward, not wrong, but awkward and still trying. But with Vanessa it just felt so natural, it fascinated him.

“Thank you.”

“What for, honey?”

“For… being there. Not just today, but… in general. I mean… for helping me, for giving me hope. I don’t know if I can put everything in words.”

“You don’t need to. And thank you as well, because you do the exact thing to me. We carry each other, after all.”

Nozel wondered sometimes how he, of all people, carried the most joyful and loving woman he knew. He knew about her tragic past and he did his best to help her cope with it. If he did fine, that was another question.

“You should try to get some sleep, for now,” Vanessa said in a smile, lying down on the mattress, pulling him with her.

“Did you organized something crazy for the day?”

“Oh no, don’t worry. Although… for you Silvas, it doesn’t need much for something to be considered crazy.”

Nozel scoffed. It was a simplistic way to put it, but she wasn’t wrong.

Still, he closed his eyes and hold his beloved tightly against him. He felt her warm breath against his skin.

Vanessa was by far one of the greatest gifts he ever got in his life.

He felt her shifting a bit in his arms, only to hear her whisper in his ear., “You are loved, Nozel. Never forget that.”

When she was saying it, it was so easy to believe.

♣♣♣

“Alright, little Eagle, time to wake up.”

Nozel still kept his eyes shut, mostly to tease her. He didn’t often had the occasion to tease Vanessa and sometimes it was just a too perfect opportunity to miss.

Not to mention that it always made Vanessa laugh.

She indeed she giggled, before actually climbing on him to shake him even more.

“Come on, birthday child, let’s not making them wait-“

Vanessa squealed as Nozel suddenly pulled her down to him, kissing her passionately. He was so used by now to first kiss her when he woke up.

“Good morning,” he said after they parted, finally opening his eyes.

“My, you just can’t wake up properly without a kiss. That’s almost naughty, honey.”

She lied on him, giggling, before she stood up. For some reason, she turned around, almost dancing. Her nightgown float and turned around her with every step, looking almost like a giant white rose. It suited her.

Vanessa usually never wore and even own any nightgowns, preferring to sleep either naked or in her underwear. Which pretty much startled Nozel at the beginning of their relationship.

But that nightgown here, she loved it and that meant so much for Nozel. Because this nightgown once belonged to his mother. It was one of the few things from his mother he kept, unable to throw it away. There was an entire box of his mother’s belongings in his closet and he only recently started to use some of those.

His mother loved that nightgown, even though it had been a bit too big for her. And that she stumbled more than usual when she was wearing it, due to the layers. But it was Aciers favourite nightgown and like every memory he had of his mother, he cherished those bonded to this piece of clothing.

Nebra and Noelle never wanted it, it wasn’t their type of nightgown. But after years in the box, Nozel decided that he couldn’t just let it in there. He wanted that this nightgown was used again, binding new memories with the old ones. And so, Nozel decided one day to give it to Vanessa as a gift.

Despite how hard it was to let go of something that belonged to his mother, he never regretted that decision. Vanessa loved that nightgown, it even fit her perfectly and she took special care of it. He told her that it came from his mother and it meant so much to Vanessa that he gifted her something like this.

“Honey, you look dreamy again. Am I really so breathetaking wearing an old nightgown?”

“I’m sorry. It just looks… indeed breathetaking on you.”

“Thank you, handsome. Well, I don’t mind if you’ll look at me like that for the day, but other people are waiting outside, for your special day.”

She laughed again and went to open the door.

“Vanessa, I REALLY hope you weren’t joking when you said it was okay to come in MY brothers bedroom on his birthday in pyjamas!”

“Sweetie, what you’re wearing is a nightgown, not a pyjama.”

“Details, I’m still wearing sleep clothes. Ah, Nozel, why are shirtless? Don’t answer, please!”

Nozel had no idea if he should be surprised or not. Well, it was a sight he never saw before; his siblings and his sisters boyfriends in his bedroom, only wearing their sleep clothes.

Noelle and Nebra were in elegant nightgowns with simple spaghetti straps, although it irritated Nozel that Nebra’s nightgown was maybe a bit too short. Noelle’s had the perfect length, stopping right at her ankles. As for Solid, Nozel still debated with himself if he should tell his brother or not how ridiculous he looked in those chequered flannel pyjamas. Well, at least Solid was wearing pyjamas, Asta and Zora just had some shorts and big shirts. Were those the kind of clothes peasants usually slept with?

Well, he wouldn’t criticize. First off, Nozel usually slept with only his pyjama pants on, preferring his bare chest for the top. And second, he already made so many efforts to accept and even appreciate the men Noelle and Nebra chose to grow old with. He would never throw those efforts away.

Nozel looked at Vanessa, who was giggling, apparently happy with this surprise. Of course this was her idea. Neither his siblings nor Asta and Zora would have come up with something like that. And he couldn’t help but love her more for this idea.

“It wasn’t our idea to appear like this in your bedroom, brother,” Nebra said, trying to hide her blush while she put something on his desk. “It was Vanessa’s, of course and she wouldn’t let us in peace until we accept it. And sorry that the peasants show up like… that. Noelle and I tried to clothe them in some acceptable pyjamas, but they just refused to listen to reason.”

“Don’t complain, your Highness,” Zora immediately fought back, of course. “At least, what we’re wearing is better than the clown outfit your lil’ bro is wearing right now.”

“It’s a pyjama, made on the finest flannel in the kingdom,” Solid replied weakly, while looking down unsure at the blue and cream chequered fabric.

“Still a clown outfit. And the other bro doesn’t even have a pyjama top.”

“I prefer to sleep like that,” Nozel just said. He wasn’t even upset at the remark.

Not to mention that Vanessa loved that he slept shirtless.

“Really? That is cool, sir! If I knew, I would have come bare chested too!”

“Don’t be so loud, Asta. And don’t you dare taking your shirt off! One is enough, I can’t handle more! Um, no offense, Nozel.”

“None taken, Noelle.”

Nozel smiled. Honestly, it was already such a great gift that he had finally a proper sibling relationship with Noelle. With Nebra and Solid as well. Not to mention that his siblings were also on much more better terms with each other. There were still some awkward moments, especially with Solid, but less sad than just ridiculous. Nozel could live with that.

Should he also consider as a gift that he was getting along quite well with Asta and Zora? And that those two and Vanessa were now on good terms with each of his siblings? He probably should and he was.

“Thank you,” he whispered, holding Vanessa closer to him by the waist.

“You’re welcome, birthday boy,” she replied, putting a peck on his cheek.

“Ugh, gross.”

“Shut up, Solid!”

Nozel couldn’t help but chuckle. Even though Noelle still get flustered and Nebra rolled her eyes when they saw Vanessa kissing him in front of people, even if it was just once in a while, they would always get a Solid when he dared to say gross to the very same thing. Or when Asta and Zora happened to be affectionate in public, which was strangely rarer than for Nozel and Vanessa.

“With what should we start? Cake or presents?” Asta asked and it was only then Nozel saw the… package in his hands. He didn’t know how this was supposed to be a birthday present, it looked like nothing he knew, was wrapped in some brown paper and the rest of old newspaper and the ribbon was… a bit of rope?

But Asta looked so proud of his package and knowing him, Nozel was certain that he didn’t had any ill-mannered intentions. Not Asta.

“We wish him a happy birthday, of course, idiot!” Noelle scolded her boyfriend, before looking like she just realized something. Nebra and Solid as well.

“Happy birthday, big brother!”

All three spoke at the same time, before eyeing each other vaguely irritated. Nozel just looked at his siblings, touched and surprised at the same time. Vanessa giggled, Zora snickered and Asta just looked at the three younger Silva siblings back and forth, trying to understand something.

“I obviously said it first,” all three said, again at the same time. Vanessa now took a pillow to muffle her laugh.

“It’s difficult to say, your royal highnesses,” Zora snickered, clearly enjoying the situation. “It took me so much concentration to recognize each voice that I couldn’t tell which one was the first to be heard.”

“That’s mean, Zor,” Vanessa said, only to muffle her laugh again in the pillow.

“It’s fine. I… like that you said it altogether.”

What was wrong with him today? Or rather, what was the matter with him today? Whatever it was, it just didn’t feel wrong to Nozel.

Noelle, Nebra and Solid just looked at him, clearly flustered. Nozel hoped that he hadn’t embarrass them too much.

Asta looked like he was more than happy with what just happened, Zora snickered but somehow softer and Vanessa just gave Nozel her gorgeous smile. Seeing her smiling, Nozel swore that time just stopped for a moment.

“Okay, you know what, let’s start with the presents, because some people in this room are just too impatient to finally give them to Nozel already,” Nebra finally said, flicking her hand. A clear indicator how flustered she was.

“You more than anyone, my royal, glorious and annoying girlfriend, you just couldn’t stop talking about it for weeks” Zora snickered, before turning towards Nozel. “Captain Braids, you better gonna love what your sis got you, because who’s going to endure the complaints if you don’t? Dear old me.”

“Don’t go all dramatic, Zor. Nozel loved his birthday presents every year, there is no reason he won’t love it today.”

“He did?” Noelle asked, looking all excited, relieved and grateful.

“Geez, Nozel, you’re really serious with her,” Nebra said, trying to make it sound like a complain, but it sounded more like gentle teasing. “You showed her our flower garden, you gifted her mother’s favourite nightgown and she’s wearing it right now, she already knows that you loved the past birthday presents and she organized this crazy bedroom birthday party. Seriously, when are you going to propose?”

“We’re not there yet,” Nozel replied, deeply flustered and he could see that Vanessa was also blushing.

“Yeah, let’s take time with that matter,” Noelle said, also blushing, before actually gave Nozel her present. “For you, big brother. I hope you like it.”

Nozel just nodded, unable to put his thanks into words. It was so foreign to open his presents in front of his siblings. But it shouldn’t be. This was something he finally came to understand and today, he’d rather get over his stupid embarrassment than going back on that lonely road.

He still opened the present slowly. Still because he was flustered or rather because the savouring the joy a bit longer? Nozel honestly couldn’t tell.

Noelles present was a volume of one of their favourite poets. Poetry was one of the first topics he could discuss freely with his sisters without feeling awkward, so the gift was especially meaningful to him. And looking at the volume, it seemed that it contained all of his favourite poems of this specific poet.

“I… thank you, Noelle,” Nozel just said, putting the volume softly on his bed, like it was one of the most precious treasures. Well, it was for him.

“You’re welcome, Nozel,” Noelle replied, shyly but visibly happy.

“Please, open my next!” Asta screamed excitedly, putting his package into Nozels hands.

It took some time to pull the rope away and to get rid of the thick paper, but Vanessas and Zoras help, Nozel managed finally to open it.

Astas gift was… quite something. Some kind of ugly, purple bird figurine, although it wasn’t clear if it was an eagle or a vulture. When you pushed on the head, the figurine spread the wings(?) let go a strange bird-like noise, that only stopped when you pushed the beak.

“It’s so cool, right? I tried to find it in silver, but there wasn’t any and thought purple would be fine too. And it can move the wings too, maybe we can make it fly with some mana!” Asta exclaimed. He seemed so genuinely happy about his present that Nozel couldn’t help but find it touching. Although he wouldn’t say that out loud. Yet.

“That’s not how it works, dumbass.”

“Zora’s right, so let’s not risk to destroy one of my brother’s birthday gift today already,” Nebra said while rolling her eyes, before handing to Nozel her own present. “There you go and you better be happy about it, since I give it to you in person for the first time.”

She was clearly flustered. Nozel just smiled as he opened her gift, which was far easier to achieve than with Astas package.

He was quite surprised and even happy when he hold a volume with the complete novels of Janet Ausen, one of their mothers favourite authors.

Solid took a glance and of course, immediately made a face. “Aren’t those romance novels?”

Zora immediately snickered again, “Uh, nice leverage. Who would have thought captain braids has a thing for romance stories?”

“Good romance novels, if you please,” Nebra protested. “Janet Ausen was an amazing writer and just so you know, she was our mother’s favourite author.”

“Okay, I take it back. My bad, little Miss Royal.”

“Well, my darling peasant, how about you stop being so smug and reveal your present now?”

Which was an eagle plushie. A big one even.

Nozel suspected that Zora meant it like a joke, given the way Vanessa, Noelle and especially Nebra glared at him. But Nozel wasn’t offended. He didn’t wanted to, anyway, it would be draining and the joy of having his siblings, his girlfriend and even his two future brothers-in-law with him today was too big.

Besides, that eagle plushie reminded him somehow of the one his mother gifted him one day, when he was still a little boy…

Solids gift was, of course, something completely random and useless, like every year. This time, it was some kind of rubber duck with a crown, with a spoon added at the end.

Nozel took his best efforts to not laugh. But honestly, he had no idea what was even exactly funnier. The fact that it was such a ridiculous gift or the fact that he wasn’t only used to Solids questionable present attempts, but was also really touched by it.

Vanessa took a pillow again to hide her laugh, while Zora of course didn’t hold back his own. Nebra and Noelle just took a look at the rubber duck before apparently starting to scold Solid and making him a lesson how to choose a proper birthday gift. Asta was the only one present who actually seemed to like that silly duck.

But Nozel didn’t focused much on that ridiculous birthday gift anyway. He didn’t show it, but he had been waiting to open Vanessas gift since he woke up. Which wasn’t since too long ago, granted. But it was the first birthday gift Vanessa had for him and that fact alone really made it special.

“Wait… it’s that a blanket?”

“A huge blanket.”

“But why? Nozel already has so many blankets, he doesn’t need another one.”

“Shut up, Solid, that is not a nice thing to say!”

Noelles, Astas, Solids and Nebras voices were just mixed up in a chaotic discussion, while Zora laughed smugly over their antics.

Nozel just shake his head. Weren’t all of them supposed to be grown adults? And today, he somehow didn’t mind it. Maybe such silly, light moments were was the Silvas lacked and needed. He was sure his mother would have loved it…

“It’s a cuddly blanket,” Vanessa giggled, interrupting the discussion.

“A cuddly blanket?”

“Yep, and it’s so big because I made it for two persons. Just look.”

Vanessa took the silver and burgundy fabric from Nozels hands and draped it around the two of them. It was really fluffy and warm, but Nozel couldn’t tell if it was the blanket itself or more Vanessa, who made him blush and his heart race so easily.

“Thank you, Vanessa. I… I really love it.”

“Well, you’re welcome, honey.”

Without letting go of the blanket, Vanessa turned in Nozels arms and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

“Ugh, gross.”

“Shut up, Solid!”

“Oh my, the prince and the witch are getting naughty.”

“What do you mean, Zora? They’re just loving with each other.”

Vanessa broke the slowly, so that Nozel could still savour the lingering of her lips on his.

“So, until now, do you like it, handsome?” she whispered, so that he was the only one to hear her.

“Yes.”

Vanessa smiled, before turning around and clap her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, people, he opened all the presents and now it’s time for cake.”

Nozel smiled. He just felt so happy, like he never did for years on his birthday. Honestly, he would love to have something blissful like that again next year. All seven of them together, so casually and genuinely happy.

They started eating the cake and ended up spending the whole day in his room.

#Black Clover #Black Clover Fanfiction #My Writing ☘️♣️#Nozel Silva #Vanessa Enoteca #Noelle Silva #Asta Black Clover #Nebra Silva #Zora Ideale #Solid Silva #Silva Siblings #Happy Birthday Nozel #Solid is not good at giving gifts...#Nozessa #Astelle #Zobra #Nozel x Vanessa #Asta x Noelle #Zora x Nebra

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askganon · 1 year ago

Note

Hello sir. I am approaching with the single plea to be in your presence and maybe something more, like holding hands and dancing in the next royal ball. You are free do decline if you want,

Best wishes, a zora vai who's loyal to you.

You may be in the presence of greatness all you desire, but I do not touch those I do not know.

#Ganondorf #Legend of Zelda

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radioactivepeasant · 1 year ago

Text

Snippets: Free Day Thursday

Fighting Writer's Block Prompt: Link gets adopted by Hudson and Rhondson but remains oblivious

Link liked Tarrey Town well enough. The brightly colored box houses were a little funny to him sometimes, reminding him of children's blocks, but he didn't judge. (Anything was better than the Shrine of Resurrection.)

He hummed quietly as he nudged Epona along the path into Tarrey Town. There were more flowers than the last time he'd been here. A smile tugged at his cheek as he suddenly recalled the woman at the Hila Rao shrine, and her fervent overprotection of her maze of blossoms.

A familiar face caught his eye, and he swung down from Epona's back. It took surprisingly little time to recover from the feeling of having been on horseback for too many hours. But then, he'd been accustomed to ignoring pain for the sake of duty since he was far, far too young.

Sometimes Link wished he hadn't recovered some of those memories.

Link buried thoughts of hard-faced kings forever comparing him to his late father and finding him lacking. Instead, he turned a light smile to the sturdy figure approaching.

"Heh," he called, waving.

"Link!" Hudson beamed and spread his burly arms wide. "I thought that was you! What brings you back so late? We were starting to worry about you, you know!"

Link rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He supposed that was one downside of making friends all across the continent. It did take a while to visit everyone, even with the magic of teleportation.

"Sorry about that," he signed, "I've been down in the Plateau, helping Zelda."

Oops. Probably should've said "Princess". I don't think there's a lot of other Zeldas though...

Hudson smiled until his eyes almost vanished behind his cheeks. "Princess Zelda! Moving up in the world, you are! Come, come, you must join us for supper! Rhondson and I want to hear all about your travels!"

Well, far be it from Link to turn down free food.

In the little cul-de-sac that made up Tarrey Town, Rhondson and Grayson were the strongest, bar none. As they came up the path, Link spotted Rhondson carrying six cords of wood to the house as if they weighed no more than a bundle of twigs. Oh, Link would have loved to have that kind of physical strength. But he was a Hylian, not a Zora or a Gerudo or a Goron, and he had to make do with being a slightly scrawny seventeen year old.

One hundred and seventeen, technically, he reminded himself.

Rhondson set the wood down beside a saw horse and plane, then glanced up to see Link and her husband. She put her hands on her hips and laughed.

"Well look who it is!"

Moggs and Monari, their neighbors, peeked over from their front stoop, not recognizing Link. Hudson strolled over to the space between houses and said conversationally, "You remember our boy, Link? He's been helping the princess down in the valley!"

Rhondson raised her brows. "The princess? Sav'otta! She's a beloved sister and friend of Gerudo City, you should be very proud, Link!"

Link squirmed a little. "She's a good friend, I'm proud to know her," he agreed.

The little blush coloring the tips of his ears said more than his hands did.

"Oh, Link! Of course!"

The speed with which Monari agreed suggested that the elderly woman didn't actually remember Link. He wasn't offended.

"He's certainly gotten...tall!"

Link knew for a fact that he had not. The neighbor was definitely thinking of someone else.

Why do Hylians have to be this size? Why can't I be as tall as a Gerudo? Or Sidon!

Dinner was a lively affair, featuring local plants and fish, plus fruits Rhondson had brought from the desert. Link had offered to contribute his own supplies from his traveling, but Hudson had looked into his sack of hot-footed frogs and slightly mushy apples and politely declined.

Link didn't get why everybody had to judge his dietary habits. You ate what you could find! He wasn't picky like everyone else!

"Tch. Doesn't anyone eat in the Plateau?" Rhondson asked as she scooped another helping of fish and peppers onto both her own plate and Link's. "I know Hylians grow differently, but it can't be healthy for vevhi your age to be the same size as a twelve year old Gerudo! We need to build your muscles, Link."

Link puffed out his cheeks and rolled his eyes. "That's the same thing the Gorons tell me."

"Let the boy be," Hudson chided with a smile, "Hylian youngsters don't really hit that last growth spurt until twenty. He'll get there on his own time."

"Actually I'm 117," Link mused, "Does that mean I'm just always going to be this size?"

Hudson and Rhondson looked at each other and then chuckled.

"One hundred and seventeen! That's a good one, kiddo." Hudson elbowed him. "But no, you're not getting my grog."

Drat. He'd guessed exactly where Link was going with that.

I give up. I'm never going to get to try that stuff unless I make it on my own.

It would not occur to him until the following evening when he'd once again settled into the guest room that they insisted was his "whenever he wanted" that there was something kind of familiar about the way they were treating him.

He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Oh well. If it was important, he'd probably remember it later.

#fic prompts #writing prompts #loz botw #botw link #legend of zelda #botw Rhondson #botw hudson #tarrey town #Rhondson and Hudson were like 'oh he's so skinny and reckless'#and then Link was in Tarrey Town so much they were like 'lets adopt him'#that guest room says Link's Room on the door and he hasn't noticed yet #they're going to see him eating rock roast and lose their minds #side note how strong ARE Link's teeth?! he eats rock roast and never so much as chips a tooth!#if all else fails boy could beat Ganondorf just by biting him probably #free day thursday

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pupika-samika · 10 months ago

Text

A King is Nothing Without His People

Chapter 9

Dive into the Unknown

CW: None

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Spoiler alert. It did not work out. At least, not how Link hoped it would. He could have predicted about a hundred things happening before he predicted what was currently happening! He stood in front of King Dorephen and Prince Sidon, mouth much too dry considering where he was. "W-What did you say?" The two Zora towered over him, making the mighty hero feel small and powerless. A mere worm compared to the giant sharks in front of him. They- he can't be serious? There's no way she planned this far!

Link looked over at Mipha, the small Zora standing next to her younger brother. She looked surprised as well but unlike Link, she was much better at hiding it.

Link looked down at the parchment paper again, letting the words sink in as he memorized the contents. He knew what they said, he knew they were important but he couldn’t get it in his head that it was real. "Father, are you sure about this? This hasn't come to light in over a century, are you sure you still want to honor that kind of contract?" Sidon asked his father, looking as shocked as Link felt.

Now you might be wondering, Link, how did we get to this point? To be quite honest, Link was wondering that himself. It started at 6 am, the time Yunobo woke up. The Goron woke up later than Link, which gave him plenty of time to make breakfast for them both. Two rockroasts for the Goron, and three omelets for the Hylian.

"Good-" a yawn broke through the sentence. "Morning, Goro! Do you always wake up so early?" Yunobo asked as he sat beside Link, picking up one of the offered roasts. The Hylian had to admire Yunobos cheerfulness so soon after waking up, even he didn't feel so happy right after waking up. Link didn't answer the question, instead watching his friend's reaction as he ate the rock.

Yunobo took one bite of the roast and lit up, chewing the rock much more enthusiastically. Taking another, much bigger bite he asked, "woah Link! Where'd you get this roast from, Goro!? It tastes delicious!" He praised, taking more chunks out of the rock.

"Oh I made it. I found the recipe somewhere and wanted to do something nice for you." Link lied. It was much easier saying you found a recipe than explaining you had your friend's dead grandfather explaining how to make it step by step. "Is it really that good? I should've made one for myself."

"It's delicious! Here, you can have the second one! You shouldn't miss out on a meal as good as this! You need strong rocks to grow big and durable, Goro!" Yunobo praised as he held out the rockroast. As tempted as Link was, he had to decline.

With a shake of his head, Link held up a hand to stop the offending rock from entering his personal space. “I already ate Yunobo, but next time I’ll make sure to make one for me too. I made those for you so you should eat them.” He explained, giving his friend a smile. With much convincing, Link was able to get Yunobo to finish both the rockroasts by himself.

They finished eating breakfast at almost 6:30, the perfect time. If he planned everything correctly then his meeting with Dorephen wouldn't take too long. Hopefully less than an hour if it could be helped. Then he could spend the rest of the day in Vah Ruta, maybe spend the night in the machine if-

"Oh, Link! I forgot about the promise I made last night!"

Yunobo cut Link out of his thoughts. Promise? What promise- Oh!

"There's been some really, really strong monsters hanging around lately! They even have gold pelts, it's crazy Goro!"

"What?" Link asked, dumbfounded. Gold pelted monsters? That's ridiculous, there's no way there's golden pelted monsters…Right? "Where are they? I'll see if I can clear them sometime soon."

"We've already gotten rid of most of them, there's just that one Lynel near those whale bones up north but no one ever goes there so it shouldn' be a problem. You shoulda see them Link, Goro! They're so strong, it's takes two Gorons to take down a golden Bokoblin!" Yunobo raved, excitement sparkling over him. If it were any other race, Link might've been worried about how many monsters were in the area. But knowing how strong the Gorons were, Link felt he could put this issue on the backburner. At least for a few days.

Link gave a hum in acknowledgement as he thought over the monsters. He could leave those be for a few days, until the next blood moon. The two spent a few minutes watching the sunrise, the sky becoming more blue and orange then black and red.

“Well, I guess it's time for me to get going. Thank you again for the gift and information Yunobo." Link smiled, briefly glancing at the crimson ribbon inside his slate before switching to his map screen. He wouldn’t wear it now, only because his current hair tie was almost broken. He’d wear the ribbon when the tie finally broke. His fourth hair tie lasted much longer than the others, being bought during the last leg of his quest and seeing less hardship than his other three. "I'll visit again really soon, in about a month. I'll even stockpile on some rock-roasts for everyone to try."

"Be careful, goro. And if you ever need help, I'll be right there! Just- give me a warning if you think you'll need my help with something," he paused, seeming to work himself up to say something. He waited, allowing Yunobo to gather his words. “And Link? You’re always welcomed here. Not just to my house but to the volcano, to the city, goro.”

Blinking in surprise, Link stared at Yunobo. The Goron looked away from him, seemingly embarrassed. “Thank you, Yunobo. I promise to come visit more often.” He promised, shooting a smile at the Goron. Yunobo fidgeted for a few seconds, making Link wonder what else he had to say. “Anything else on your mind?”

It happened so fast that Link thought he had gotten attacked. One second Link was standing, staring at Yunobo with his slate in hand, and the next he was being awkwardly smushed into a rocky chest.

The feeling of being hugged by a talus lasted for only a few seconds, not nearly long enough for Link to wonder if he should hug back. Yunobo let go and pushed Link back, stuttering out apologies for the hug. "I didn’t- I don’t- that was- I’m sorry for-" Yunobo was cut off when Link let out a laugh before giving Yunobo a hug back. While his arms couldn’t reach all the way around, Link hugged the Goron as best as he could.

"If you wanted a hug, you could’ve asked for one, big guy.” He said, not letting go until he felt Yunobo hug him back. “Thank you, Yunobo. For everything you’ve done.” He thanked as he let get of his rocky friend.

Link dragged the cursor over to the Lanayru region, then zoomed in until he saw the Ne’ez Yohma shrine located in Zora's domain.

Yunobo, watching Link get ready to leave, smiled at him. “Make sure you visit soon! We can make rock roasts together!”

"I will. Stay safe Yunobo." Link bided before clicking on the Ne'ez Yohma shrine. He looked down at Fostri, watching as his friend floated up to grab a few strands of his hair. Would that be enough contact to teleport? Hopefully it was because Link already pressed the button.

---

Link's world blipped into millions of blue particles before he was deposited on the base of the Ne'ez Yohma shrine. It had barely been a minute but Link was quickly regretting going from boiling hot to freezing humid. He threw on his Zora armor, barely registering the crimson leather that greeted him until he saw the Zora of the group floating up the overflown, watered stairs. Link looked down at his Zora armor then looked to the others of the group, two of which seemed amused by his silent panic. “Is this too weird? I could go to Hateno and redye it." He offered, feeling like his color choice could have a different meaning other than pretty colors.

"Why change it? You've already shown the Domain. Plus, I think you look good in red." Urbosa complimented, a mischievous smile on her face. Link was not reassured by that smile but seeing as he was already here (and she did have a point. Hell, Dorephen and Sidon said he looked good in red which, now that he thought about it- you know what. He’s just going to stop thinking) and he only had a few days till Impa reached Hateno. He needed to use his quickly dwindling time wisely. An annoyed huff later and he began making his way up the stairs, looking up to the sky. Unlike the first time he had been here, the sky was clear, not a cloud to be seen. The suns’ rays were beating down, gleaming harshly on the water. If he wasn’t here on borrowed time he’d consider going for a swim in such nice weather. Unfortunately, that will have to wait as one of the people he has to meet with is currently bounding his way over to the Hylian.

“Fostri, you can go explore if you want, I’ll come get you when I'm done.” Link quickly and quietly whispered to the Korok who had fixed its seating arrangements and was now sitting on his shoulder. The Korok shook his head, only clinging onto a few strands of hair to voice his refusal.

"I wonder, why does Mr. Link want me to leave so badly?" he started, standing on Link's shoulder to get a better view of the incoming Zora. "Could it be that Mr. Link doesn't want to introduce me to his friend?" He asked almost sadly.

Link sucked in a breath, thoughts conflicting with each other. "It's not that, it's-"

“Link! It’s so good to see you again!” Sidon boomed as he stood near the stairs, shark tail slowly wagging behind him.

“I can’t believe he hasn’t gotten over that habit, it’s been over a century. Surely father would’ve tried correcting him.”

“Well it took you being dead to fully correct that, I’d say it takes time. Even then, sometimes you still wag your tail when-"

“Hey Sidon,” Link greeted his friend, ignoring the loud conversation in front of him. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“It has been! What are you here for today? Some fishing? Do you want to go on a swim? Oh, maybe we can go fight that Lynel up on Ploymus Mountain! I’ve heard from some of the warriors that they’re saying it’s turned into a golden Lynel, that must be exciting to fight! So how about it, Link? What are we doing today?” Sidon excitedly asked, tail swishing faster and stars lighting up in his eyes

Link frowned and looked away from his lo- his friend. With how excited Sidon was, he was beginning to feel guilty about the topic he needed to bring up. "I'd love to but I really need to talk to you and your dad about something. It’s important- I’d rather not talk about it down here.” He explained, motioning around to the very open area they were in.

Sidon momentarily froze, before composing himself. “Ah, this wouldn’t happen to be about why Vah Ruta fired a laser about a week ago, would it?” Sidon asked as he backed up and began walking up to where his father resided. Link followed after him and nodded, idly waving to the shopkeepers and weaving around giggling groups of guppies.

“It is. That’s why I have to talk with your father. And you- since you're a prince. Don’t worry, I’ll answer any questions you have when I’m done.” Please don’t give the sad eyes. Please don’t give me the- damnit Sidon. Link pointedly did not look at Sidon as he could see the slight pout on his face from the corner of his eye. The conversation died out as the two climbed up the overflowing stairs, King Dorephen being easily heard from the bottom of the steps.

The Zora proudly stepped into the chamber, eyes flickering briefly between Muzu, who had already been in the royal chamber, and Link, before greeting his father. “Father, we have a visiter. Link requested a private conversation about Vah Ruta,” Sidon paused, glancing at Muzu. At the older Zora’s refusal to move he added, “he asked it be held privately.” Muzu looked to King Dorephen for permission to refuse but grumpily left when Dorephen asked him to leave. He left the chamber room, grumbling on how he’d be back.

Alright, I got this. Just- explain what happened. It’s not that hard and you’ve done this before… his thoughts trailed off as he saw the expectant look on King Dorophens face. He took a deep breath to steady himself before he started. “A few days ago Vah Ruta fired a laser aimed at the castle. You probably noticed by now that Calamity Ganon isn’t surrounding the castle anymore. That’s because I was able to defeat him with the help of the beasts and the princess, they both had incredibly important roles in the fight. After the battle ended, the princess was infected with too much malice to survive. Her body was safely taken to the place where I was resurrected but only time will tell if she will survive.” He summarized, thinking over if he missed anything.

“Tell them how you're king now- but don’t make a fool of yourself like you did with the Rito.”

“Revali I’m sure he was going to say that next, don’t rush him.”

Link was trying to ignore them, he really was. It was taking everything in him to not turn around and ask what the hell they were talking about this time. He must've made a face as Sidon asked if he was alright. He waved the concern aside, thinking over how to word his next statement.

"During the princess' last moments she had one request for me. She asked that after her death, in her steed I become-"

"King of Hyrule,” King Dorephen cut in. “Ah, such a shame those precautions must be used." He frowned, heaving a sad sigh. Prompted by their confusion he continued, "the princess had come to me over a century ago, months before the Calamity, and asked that I sign a contract with her. If, by some chance, she and her father were to both fall to the Calamity then I was instructed to help the next King of Hyrule. Which would be you, Link. In return I, and by proxy, the Zora, will get more contacts with the other races. Especially the Gorons, us two races have climates that challenge the other so it's difficult to arrange meetings." He rambled on, clearly forgetting the important matter at hand. "I've only met a handful of Gorons in my life, all surely dead by now. The first time I met a Goron was-"

"Father, can you please get back to the topic at hand? You said you formed a contract with the late Princess?" Sidon intercepted, deciding the rambling was not important enough for this conversation.

King Dorephen took a moment to orientate himself, abruptly realizing he had gone off topic. He cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes, as I was saying. The late Princess Zelda had come to me and we signed an agreement. If you'd like to see it, it's in the chest over there," he pointed in the general direction behind his throne. Sidon and Link made their way to the chest, King Dorephen twisting his upper body to watch them. There was indeed a chest behind the throne and inside there was a parchment paper. It was aged and yellowing, plus water damage was clearly eating at the edges. But the ink was still legible. From the signatures to the clause, even the fine print was readable. Link blinked in shock. There wasn't- she couldn't. That was the princesses handwriting, he spent too many nights up late reading her work to not recognize it.

Now that you're all caught up, let's continue.

There Link stood, Link looked down at the parchment paper again, letting the words sink in as he memorized them. He knew what they said, he knew they were important and the signatures weren’t forged but he couldn’t get it in his head that it was real. "Father, are you sure about this? This hasn't come to light in over a century, are you sure you still want to honor this kind of contract?" Sidon asked his father, looking as shocked as Link felt.

"It's a signed contract between two nations. As a King and as a friend of the late Princess it's my duty to not only honor her last wish but her last contract. Besides, no one has as much time nor experience to teach you as I do. So Link, will you allow me to help you? Will you allow me to fulfill the Princess' last wish?" King Dorephen asked, keeping leveled- as leveled as he could- eye contact with Link.

He thought over this… could it even be called an offer? It seemed more like a demand- or even a plea to him. Nonetheless, Link had to accept. Except…

"I'd love to take your help, but Lady Impa from Kakariko already offered to teach me everything. She's headed to Hateno as we speak, she should be there in around five days. I could try to bring her here so you can both teach me at the same time but-" Link started, a slight pressure building behind his eyes as he thought over how to solve this problem. He wasn't even an official King, yet he was already becoming stressed like one. He’ll be grey before he even reaches a hundred and twenty at this rate.

King Dorephen, seeing the spiral Link was headed into, cut him off. "There's no need for that. I'm sure Lady Impa can handle your training on her own. Though, before you leave for your next destination, come back here. I'd like to give you a letter for Lady Impa." He requested. If someone else offered to teach him, especially someone as close to the royal family as Lady Impa, then he figured he could offer some breathing room in his schooling.

Link nodded at the request, figuring it wouldn't be too much of a hassle especially as he would’ve come back before he left to say goodbye. Besides, he couldn’t feel the smallest bit of annoyance when the pressure to learn so much so quickly was lessened slightly. Only slightly. Not a lot. Just by a tablespoon. Or teaspoon? Whichever was smallest.

"Don't worry, Link. Even if this proves too much for you, don't forget that we're here to help you. While you might not have any memories from a hundred years ago we do." Mipha offered comfortingly, a hand moving to rub his arm but stopping just short of touching him. While the comfort never made contact it still did its job in calming him down.

"Thank you for offering to teach me. If I ever need help I'll be sure to come to you. Lady Impa is still a few days away from Hateno so while I'm here can I look at Vah Ruta? I'd like to fix him up a little, just enough to get him running if he needs to."

There was barely a second's hesitation before Dorephen nodded in approval. "I don't see a problem with that. Be careful, some Zora say they hear monsters within the beast. Who knows what's made its way inside since the last blood moon."

With little else to go over, Link was ready to bid his goodbye. “I think that's everything I needed to talk to you about. Unless either of you have anything you want to ask…?” He trailed off, looking between the two Zora to see if they had anything to say. King Dorephen is the one who speaks up, a somber look on his face.

“How did she die?” He asked softly, as if he knew the question could set him off. Sidon yelped out a quiet ‘Father!’ in response to the question, yet they knew he was curious too.

Next to him, Urbosa winced at the question, looking at him with pity. That was a sore subject for everyone, especially with how recent it was. “Well, better to be forward and get a straight answer than dance around the topic and get a misunderstood answer. I’d say that’s a terrible way to deal with a trauma victim but a good way to get information.”

“It’s also a good way to make him cry.”

“You… are an insufferable bastard. Do you know that?”

Setting aside the twos’ bickering- were they always arguing? He’s only had them around for less than two weeks and it’s already gotten old to him, was this what Mipha and Daruk had to deal with for a hundred years? He thought over what Urbosa said, specifically the last part. Him? A trauma victim? He wasn’t a trauma victim! …Whatever trauma was, he wasn’t a victim of it!

“She died- she died in my arms. She was infected with malice and wouldn’t have made it. She begged me to kill her as soon as The Calamity was taken care of. I put her in the shrine I was revived in, so now all that’s left to do is wait and see if that helps her. It may not help her but… I’ll remain hopeful until the end. The shrine worked a miracle once, I’m hoping it can work one more.” Strangely enough, he almost didn’t feel the pain in his chest whenever he thought of Ze- the princess. Nope- he still can’t even think of her name without feeling choked up.

He bit his lip as he waited for someone to speak, anxiously looking between Sidon and Dorephen. The two Zora looked at each other, the two having a silent conversation only heard to them. After waiting a while for either to acknowledge him, he slightly bowed his head and turned around, careful not to make Fostri fall while making his way out of the chamber. Right as he got to the entrance he heard King Dorephan speak up, causing him to pause his walking. “Don’t doubt yourself Link, they would be proud of you. All five of them would be incredibly proud of you, especially her.” He vaguely stated, not specifying who ‘Her’ was. That confused him- which Her was he talking about? He didn’t let himself think over it too hard, letting his body go on autopilot. He heard faint chatter from inside the chamber but he tried not to eavesdrop, he was no longer a part of that conversation.

He idly listened to Mipha talk about Ruta as he pulled out his slate, moving it from the Ne’ez Yohma shrine to the Vah Ruta teleporter. Fostri had sat himself on Link's head, his tiny feet kicking back and forth to keep himself entertained. They occasionally hit Link's forehead but he couldn’t find it in him to care too much.

“I can’t wait to see Ruta again, I’ve missed him terribly these past few weeks. I wonder if-”

"Link! Wait up!” An excited, familiar voice cut the small Zora off. "Link! Would you mind if I accompanied you to Vah Ruta? I would feel awful if you went to fix that beast by yourself while I sat around doing nothing." Sidon had jumped off the top of the stairs and landed slightly in front of Link, easily righting himself.

Link stumbled back as the large Zora jumped in front of him, almost falling over from the surprise greeting. If it wasn't for Sidons hand quickly grabbing his arm he had no doubt he’d be absolutely soaked, more than he already was. Once he could stand on his own he lightly tugged his arm away from the Zora, giving an appreciative smile. “You want to come with me to Ruta? Are you sure?” Though the question was directed at the prince he sent a side glance to the four champions now crowding the two.

“He can come with, you could use the extra set of hands. And it’d do you some good to talk with someone who isn’t dead,” Urbosa pointed out. He didn’t want to admit that she was right. The past few weeks he hasn’t really talked to anyone unless he had to- or they were a ghost who followed him around when he didn’t want them to. He gave the idea a bit more though before reluctantly nodding, Sidon cutting himself off at the action.

“Ok, you can come with me. But it will take us a while to get up there- I usually teleport there but I’ve never brought another person with me.” He explained as he looked over the area surrounding Ruta, his sentence growing quieter as he thought. How long would it take to get up there? He’s never walked up that mountain before, only glided down it and occasionally scaling the smaller cliffs.

Luckily he didn't need to think too hard for too long because the small voice of his best friend piped up. “But Mr. Link, you always teleport me with you. Can't you do the same with Mr. Prince Sidon?"

If Link knew what a lightbulb was there would have been one blinding everyone. Unfortunately I don't think lightbulbs exist in the Zelda universe so a metaphorical torch appeared above his head. Fostri was a genius! Link wanted to send a grateful look his way, to hopefully convey every positive emotion he was feeling, but he thought it'd be weird if he did that in front of Sidon- who he was sure couldn't see the Korok.

"Actually, give me a minute to check something over and I'll take you to Ruta. I'll be back in a little bit, wait for me by the shrine- '' Link quickly told the Prince, pausing just long enough to see the nod of confirmation before he felt the dizzying yet familiar feeling of being stitched and rewoven into reality. He opened his eyes to the sight of Vah Ruta looking worse for wear. He openly frowned at the beast but didn't have the time to openly study it like he wanted.

Faint chatter was heard somewhere off to the side yet he didn't want to eavesdrop. If he was meant to hear that conversation they'd be louder. He gently picked up the Korok from his shoulder and dropped him in the air. A startled yelp was heard before faint twirling replaced it, the Korok holding its trusty leaf to hold him in the air. "That was rude Mr. Link!" Fostri whined, making his way back to Link's shoulder.

"No Fostri, you have to stay here. I don't know how many people I can take at once and I don't want to risk it." He tried reasoning, thinking of anything to try and distract the Korok. "Why don't you go with the others and try to survey the damage? Then I can get to work right away and we can leave sooner. So stay here while I go get Sidon?"

The sound of rushing water, birds and faint chatter was all he could hear for a few moments, the Korok in front of him seemingly deep in thought.

A tiny, reluctant huff sounded from his friend. "I'll stay here, but I expect an apple in return for my troubles Mr. Link!" He said with a laugh and zoomed over to the now hushed group of champions who were openly watching the pair.

I'll bring so many apples. I'll even get the biggest, juiciest ones from the Hateno Orchid. He thought as he went back to the Ne'ez Yohma shrine, double checking that the Korok wasn't going to try and sneak back with him. He closed his eyes as blue consumed his vision and opened them when he felt the hot humidity of the domain surrounding him.

Sidon wasn't there yet but he couldn't be too far away- nevermind, there he is. Was it just Link or did the Prince look more handsome than two minutes ago? The Zora looked ethereal. Divine even. The sunlight streaming behind him, the soothing dripping of the water streams, his bright smile. Link had to pause, his brain refusing to process anything other than pretty Zora standing in front of me what do I do Hylia help. Luckily he was saved from further embarrassing himself by Sidon speaking up.

"You beat me. I was hoping to make it here before you," Sidon all but whined as he glided down the stairs to meet Link. Could sharks glide? Apparently handsome, tall, red ones could.

"I told you I'd be back soon. Couldn't leave you behind, not when you asked to come along." He replied back, quickly ducking his head to look at his slate. He was sure his cheeks were flushed red but didn't want to make it obvious. Well, more obvious than it was. Hopefully he could blame it on the humidity. As he spoke Sidon moved closer, leaning to peer down at the screen between them. "We'll need to have physical contact for this to work, but I've never tried this on anyone bigger than a very small child. I don't know how much is required for it to-"

Before he could finish his sentence, arms wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug, shoving his face into a toned stomach. He stilled, mind processing what was happening.

"Is this enough contact?" Sidon asked with an excited grin, tail furiously wagging behind him. Link could only nod and keep his gaze on his slate. He clicked on Ruta's teleporter and off the two went, the very fabric of their beings being torn apart and stitched back together with royal blue threads of fate.

The two reappeared on the ground before Ruta, the champions nowhere to be found but clearly heard from within the machine. He could faintly hear an argument happening along with the sound of rushing water. He could only wonder what they were fighting about this time.

"Ruta… how far you've fallen," he heard Sidon mutter off to the side. Link spared a glance at the prince, seeing the crestfallen look on his face. He then looked up at the beast, taking in its features for the first time.

The trunk, he learned that's what it was called from Mipha, sagged heavily against the ground. Its head was downturned and the bottom of its chin was barely hanging off the ground. It was truly a sorry sight. Link turned to Sidon and gave him a comforting squeeze of the arm. "He'll be alright Sidon, we're going to fix him. Have some faith in us," he said softly, giving the prince a smile before releasing his arm.

Link turned his face to his slate, looking away too soon to see the loving look Sidon sent his way. He was less than happy with how few ancient supplies he had but he'd have to make due. "Be careful, I don't remember if there were any electric monsters or currents inside. And anything could've made a home in there since I first defeated the beast." He said, swiping to his clothing section. The wind had grown frigid, leaving the Hylian to shake slightly from the cold.

Seeing as they'd be here for a while, Link decided to take off his Zora headpiece and put his ruby circlet on instead. It kept him just warm enough to not freeze, that would have to do until he got his body moving. That couldn’t be soon enough. "You ready?" He asked the prince, getting a delayed nod in response.

With some help of Revali's gale, plus a particularly strong mighty and tough elixir, he was able to get both of them to the entrance of Vah Ruta. Urbosa was waiting for him at the entrance but the other champions- and his korok companion- seemed to be further in the beast.

"No monsters in here. Even checked all the secret rooms Mipha remembered. The other four are looking over the back half but we found some areas that need fixing." She summarized, her gaze falling to Sidon every few seconds. Said Zora was looking around the machine, clearly on guard and ready for something to pop up.

Link put a hand in his tense forearm, making Sidon look down at him. “There’s no monsters in the main room so there shouldn’t be too many elsewhere. You can relax a little.”

Sidon looked like he wanted to disagree, even opened his mouth to do so, but seemed to back out at the last second. “...If you say so, Link,” he paused and gave the room another look around. “While I do trust you, I’ll keep my guard up for a little while longer. Being inside this beast gives me a bad feeling.”

"If anything dangerous pops out I'll protect you," Link promised, sending Sidon a reassuring look.

Urbosa, who had been quietly watching the exchange between the two, let out an amused buff. "Are you two love birds done or must I stand here and watch this go on for several more minutes?"

Link jumped and tried to keep the heat off his face, having completely forgotten the Gerudo was even there. "We should uh- go get started on this," he stammered, avoiding looking Sidon and Urbosa in the eyes.

The Zora prince, unaware of their audience of one, nodded and followed behind Link. While he looked relaxed and openly eyed all the mechanisms of the beast, his hand never let go of the Ceremonial Trident he used to fight with.

Link sighed as he accepted that Sidon would stand guard the whole time they were there. He followed Urbosa, occasionally running into another champion who helpfully (or unhelpfully. CoughRevalicough) told him where something had to be fixed.

Three quickly became five, then ending at seven as the rest of the champions and Fostri met up with the group. As he got to work on repairing some of the broken parts he couldn't help but listen in to the conversations around him. Although he knew they were there for almost the entire length of his journey, he couldn’t help but forget since they barely talked about it. It was times like this that he was quickly reminded of this fact when he heard Urbosa and Revali making bets in the distance. He couldn’t hear much of what they were saying, just enough to know they were making bets on him and Sidon. He opted to not listen, saving himself the embarrassment of knowing they knew about his love life- and lack of it.

They were about halfway through the day when Link remembered the topaz jewelry he'd had custom made some time ago. He only remembered after the third time he almost accidentally electrocuted himself, standing much too close to a puddle of water while working with electricity.

"Oh by the way,” pausing his work, he got the jewelry out of his slate and offered Sidon a pair of gems. "In case there's any electric enemies, this should help keep the effects from being too bad.” He rushed out, heat creeping to his face when he saw that Sidon was already looking at him.

The Zora prince gratefully took the gems, tail slowly wagging behind him. "Thank you Link! I'll be sure to return them when we get back to the domain!” He beamed, pinning both gems on his sash. The yellow gems complimented the navy fabric and stood out against his white scales.

Link shook his head, using the movement to look away from the prince. “You can keep them. I bought a few more gems for the other Zora that frequently go to areas with electric Lizalfol.”

He heard Sidon moving and before he knew it, there were two arms around him, carefully dragging him to Sidons chest. “I greatly appreciate this Link,” he beamed, . “You’ve done so much to help us Zora. Words alone can’t express how grateful I am for all you’ve done for us.”

Link started to squirm, unsure how he should be feeling about being in the Zora's hold. He only stopped when Sidon spoke up, his tone hesitant yet heavy.

“Link… I…” He started, tightening his grip around Link. “You’ve been so distant these past few weeks. Is it something I have done?” He asked, voice going quieter with each word. “Have I done something to upset you?”

The silence was thick as Link thought about the question. He slowly shook his head, deciding that now was the time to tell him. “No,” he started, unsure how to go about this. “No, you haven’t done anything Sidon. I’m the one that should be saying sorry.”

Sidon was quick to speak up at that. “Link, you don’t have to be sorry for anything. I understand that you’re incredibly busy rebuilding Hyrule and protecting her people. I just wish to know what I have done to upset you.”

Link shook his head again, more firmly this time. “No Sidon, you really haven’t done anything. Maybe we should sit down and I’ll tell you everything.”

So they did. Link sat on the side of one of the pools while Sidon floated near him. Here, Link told him everything. How he was slowly getting his memories back over the course of his journey, and with them his feelings for people long dead. He told Sidon about Zelda, how he felt about her and how she felt about him. He told Sidon about the secret dates and the research trips that always took longer than necessary. He spoke of the long days watching Rhoam berate her and the late nights comforting her. Lastly, he told him how they planned to get married and start their own family after everything was done.

It didn’t need to be said how that never happened.

Sidon was silent through everything, patiently listening and waiting for Link to finish before speaking up. “Do you still have feelings for her?” He quietly asked, no judgment in his voice. If anything, his eyes held nothing but sympathy and understanding.

He didn’t know what to say after that. Some days his heart ached to be with the one he loved, staring at his sword for hours at a time. Those days are the ones where he was Link from a hundred years ago, feeling guilty for the kingdom he couldn’t protect.

Then there were some days where he hated her. Hated her for putting this responsibility on him, this kingdom and her people. Those days are the ones where he was some random boy born into a world he had to save even if he didn’t know why he had to.

All he could do was give Sidon a halfhearted shrug, unsure of the answer himself. “I think so. I don’t know.” He whispered, looking away from the Zora. "Everything's so confusing. I feel like all these emotions I have are from the old me. But then I talk with Impa, Purah, Robbie. You and your dad. I don't know what to feel when I talk with anyone who I knew before." He ranted, frustration with himself building as he felt the tears threatening to fall.

Sidon said nothing, making Link keep his head down in anticipation. Would he be upset at him for keeping this secret? Betrayed that Link has feelings for another? Would he be mad and leave? He didn't want to know.

"Link? Would you look at me, please?" Sidon asked softly, the sound of water gently splashing as Link saw his shadow moving closer.

He didn't want to look up in fear that his fears would come true. Nonetheless he did, wanting to know what Sidon wanted to say.

Looking up at Sidon revealed none of that. Sidon had a sympathetic smile, nothing but complete sympathy and understanding on his face. “When you do figure out your emotions, do be sure to let me know. Until then, I shall wait for you for as long as you need. If you ever need a friend to talk to, please don't hesitate to ask me. I shall help you however you need, as it would be my pleasure.” The Zora stated, holding a hand over his heart. A vow he was always willing to hold.

And suddenly, Link didn't see Sidon anymore. He saw Mipha offering a healing hand while ranting talking about her day and the domain, or scolding him for getting injured again. He saw his childhood best friend who always had his back no matter what. He saw the sister to the one he loved, the Zoran princess he couldn't save.

"Link, how many times must I tell you to be careful? You Hylians are fragile, please take better care of yourself." The red Zoran princess scolded, gently holding Link's injured arm in her hands.

The knight shrugged, looking away from the princess in front of him. They were having their weekly chats, sitting on Vah Ruta's trunk this time, Princess Mipha having recently gotten crowned as the beasts pilot.

Princess Mipha sighed but held a webbed hand over the slash, letting her healing water wade over the wound. Link bit his cheek as a hiss threatened to leave him, training and desensitization being the only reasons he didn't flinch from the sting of the healing.

It was quiet, the sound of water softly swishing being the only noise until Mipha spoke up. "I worry about you Link," she said softly as her healing faded, the slash leaving barely a car behind. "You constantly throw yourself in harms way for Princess Zelda and hold no regard for your own health. I worry your duty to the princess will get you killed." She confessed, tracing the freshly healed scar with a clawed finger.

I worry too Mipha. But I have to protect the princess, it's my purpose. Link thought to the Zora, willing her to understand his thoughts.

Another sigh passed from her lips, letting go of his arm and allowing him to take the appendage back. "I suppose there's nothing I might be able to say to change your mind, is there Link?" She guessed, a sad smile on her face.

Link shook his head, knowing that even if he wanted to, being the princess' knight was his duty till he died.

"Then there's nothing else I can do but be here to heal your every scrape and wound. I promise to you that I shall always be here to heal you, even if I leave this world." The Zora stated, placing a hand over her heart. A vow she was always willing to hold.

Link stared at her until he blinked and saw Sidon once again, who was making his way out of the pool.

Sidon stood next to Link and held a hand out to help him up. “Now, I quite believe you said there was more work to be done here?” He asked, looking around the space they were in.

Relieved that he was changing the topic, Link wiped his eyes and nodded. He cleared his throat as well for extra measures. "Yeah, you're right."

Neither of them pointed out his misty eyes or rough voice.

~Bonus content~

After Link and Sidons conversation, the two spent the rest of the day working on Ruta. Link felt that he could be turned on (don't ask how, he just had a feeling) but decided not to.

Or well, he tried.

Honestly, his first mistake was saying his thoughts to Sidon. The Zora was so insistent that Link felt he had to turn the beast on. So with a warning of the noise and vibrations the beast would cause, Link set his slate to the control unit and allowed it to wake from its slumber once again.

The Zora was enamored by the beast now that it wasn't trying to flood his home, begging Link to sit atop it's back. Seeing as Link couldn't say no to him, the two watched the sunset from Ruta's back while Mipha enjoyed some time with her previous life partner.

The champions, who had been kind enough to not comment on their conversation, were spread across the beasts back to give a semblance of privacy.

Link sighed, feeling at peace for the first time in a long, long while.

~~~

It's been almost two years since Link (now known as Link Durim Hyrule across his (HIS!!!!) people) had been crowned as King of Hyrule. His rule isn't perfect, he still messes up and burdens people with his mistakes. But it's a learning experience. One he and his people are learning through together.

It's nearing the last day of the festival, the Miracle Festival some people have been calling it. On this day two years ago he defeated Calamity Ganon once and for all. The festival took place in the center of Castle Town. The once destroyed town was still destroyed but it was quickly being rebuilt into an even better version of itself. Bolson got his team together (including Hudson's mismatched band of races) and they got working on the new town.

Their hard work was truly paying off. The town was usable for the first festival, even if only the town square was able to be used. But this year almost the whole town could be used! Most of the buildings had been fixed up so store owners could store their wares or travelers could rest in one of the temporary lodges.

Seeing Link's kingdom, his people, his friends, his family. Seeing everyone come together to celebrate his victory? That was doing terrible things to his self-esteem. Hylia knows it was already too big.

The coming sunset signaled the time for the festival to come to a close. Store owners gave away the last of their wares and travelers bedded down one last time before the long journey home the next day. Link decided to go check and make sure no monsters were lurking in the shadows of the walls. After waving off the champions ("No I don't need company"), Paya ("I promise I won't rip my outfit again"), and Fostri ("I'd rather you stay safe in town. I'll bring you back some apples when I come back.") he set off to do a quick perimeter check.

He switched out his 'formal' attire (a shirt that was nice quality and ripped far too easily with pants that probably would've cost both his arms a century ago) and into his sheikah set. You could never go wrong with a classic. His Hylian shield and savage lynel sword were his chosen defense and offense for today.

As he neared the walls he got this sinking feeling in his chest.

Something was wrong.

Something was there.

He narrowed his eyes and quietly got his sword out, holding it parallel to his body. His whole body tensed up as he heard voices on the other side of the wall, every muscle in his body pulled taut.

"Does anyone know who’s Hyrule this is?”

“Fuck if I know! Four threw up on me and passed out!”

“Poor Four. Here, take this and give him to me.”

Link quickly opened his slate and downed a stealthy elixir, stalking as close as he could to the walls. He started scaling the walls, throwing his sword in his slate to make the move more quiet.

“When he wakes up he’ll be put on laundry duty. Whenever we find somewhere to settle down. Warrior, don’t you think this looks like Castletown?”

“If it is, it’s much quieter than most of ours. Could be ‘Rules?”

“Not mine, not enough magic in the air.”

“Kinda looks like mine but too big ta be. An' too quiet for the old mans.”

Link finally got to the top of the walls, peering down over the other side of it. There he saw eight people, two kids, two teenagers, and four adults. He glared, wondering if the children were taken against their will. While he didn’t recognize them, it wasn't impossible that there were some people he hadn't met yet. Perhaps they could be from out of Hyrule? But that doesn’t make sense, someone had asked who’s Hyrule they were in. Were there multiple kingdoms named Hyrule?

He didn’t question it for much longer before he grabbed his Great Eagle Bow, lined it with arrows and spoke up. “Put your weapons down and your hands up or I’ll be forced to shoot.”

The whole group spun around trying to find him, hands flying to the swords on their backs. Link was going to shoot until he saw one with a wolf pelt look up at him. Something about pelt seemed so… familiar. Pelt slowly raised his hands, making Link loosen the hold on his arrow. He didn’t harm people that were surrendering. “We don’t mean ya any harm.”

“Uh Twilight, I think he’s the one that should be saying that, not us!” One of the teenagers hissed, one with pink hair.

“You don’t question the person with an arrow aimed at you who looks like they're prepared to shoot!” The adult with a long, blue scarf hissed back.

Link let an arrow fire past Pinkys head, watching his hat swish from the sudden movement. He didn’t have time for people to question him, not when he could feel Tenk laughing at him and his lack of authority over the situation. Of course the one spirit he couldn't get rid of is the one spirit that couldn't help him. “State your name and business for being here. I have to get back and I’d rather not have to escort you to jail.”

One Eye spoke up, hands slowly coming down from above his head. “We’re here to find the hero of the land? We need to speak with him.”

“Busy. State your name and business for being here.” Link pointedly said, aiming his arrow at One Eye.

"Hey now! You wouldn't harm an already injured man, would you?" Blue scarf hissed, glaring up at Link. "Wouldn't kill you to set the bow down." He scoffed and threw his arms down, hand much too close to his swords handle.

Link decided Scarf would be a better target as he let another arrow fly, this time snagging at the edge of his tunic. A rip was heard as the arrow nicked the bottom edge of the fabric, keeping the piece pinned to the ground.

The silence was thick as Link instantly lined another arrow. "I will say it once again. State your name and business for being here."

"I bet if you threaten one of the kiddos they'll be more inclined to answer." Tenk unhelpfully offered, lazily floating next to the kid in a colorful tunic.

The kid in blue must've seen his eyes lingering on the other kid as he shouted "Don't!" Before a gust of wind knocked him down from his perch on the wall.

Goddamit Tenk, Link thought as he fell. He prepared himself to feel the air leave his lungs and his back to snap.

He didn't prepare himself to get swallowed by a swirling mass of purple.

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