𝐊𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐎𝐑- a zelink fanfic

peachy

Zelda, Link, and Riju had decided to meet up with Teba and Sidon at a stable near the Great Plateau. The stable wasn't far from Gerudo Town, and Riju only had to ride on the back of Link's horse for a short while after letting go of a spare sand seal she had grabbed outside of Gerudo Town.

"So you really 'seal'ed the deal that fast, eh?" Link said, winking at Riju. She laughed heartily.

"Of course! If it gives me a chance to get away from my life of sitting in a chair with a booster seat, doing nothing, being guarded by a prick, and having my entire life thrown away to a throne of youth and incapability? Yes, I will 100% attend," Riju joked. Link and Riju trotted along on Epona, but Zelda stopped and turned around, looking at the view of Gerudo Town. She smiled and sighed. She gazed at a small ledge a few yards away. She blinked a few times as she began to picture a memory she had.

Zelda watched Urbosa and Link in disgust, arms crossed. She hated that knight. She hated him! The Gerudo Tempest and Knight with the Sword that Seals the Darkness were flexing and comparing the sizes of their biceps, laughing. Zelda hadn't gotten the chance to talk in private with Urbosa like she intended to. She felt her anger boiling inside her.

"Go home!" She burst, stamping her foot. Link turned around, eyes wide. "You heard me, go home!" Urbosa turned to Zelda, one hand on her hip and one brow raised. "Go back to the castle, or wherever it is you go when you're not watching over me!" Link's eyes saddened and he nodded, climbing onto Epona and waving to Urbosa. He gave Zelda one last sad, apologetic look before riding off. Zelda walked towards the edge of the ledge and collapsed, head in her hands.

"Little bird... why do you treat your knight the way you do?" Urbosa asked calmly, sitting next to Zelda on the ledge and stroking her hair.

"He's so... he's just so..." Zelda stuttered. She didn't even have a reason that allowed her to spare her dignity. Tears welled in her eyes and she sniffed. "He's so perfect! He's so successful! He's so skilled! He has perfect looks, a perfect personality, everything!" Zelda sobbed into Urbosa's shoulder.

"No one is perfect, Zelda. Do you ever wonder why he never speaks?" Urbosa asked, looking at Zelda with comforting eyes. Zelda sniffled and looked back at her silently. "Do you ever wonder if it may be because he has so much pressure on him? Ever wonder if he cries silently, alone at night because of all the weight on his shoulders?"  Urbosa asked slowly. Zelda's mouth opened slightly.

"Oh Hylia, I feel awful! What if that is true?! And I snapped at him just now, I-"

"Yes, Little Bird. Nobody is perfect. Not even Link." Urbosa said, smiling and cupping Zelda's peach, tear-stained face with one hand.

"I treat him so horridly, no wonder he never talks to me! I'm not even like a friend to him- just a bratty Princess who yells at him all the time! I care about him, Urbosa, I really do-"

"Now don't overthink, Zelda. Perhaps you should apologize for snapping at him and attempt starting a conversation." Urbosa said, resting a hand on her shield. Zelda stood up and sprinted towards her horse, climbing on it and waving farewell as she galloped after Link. Urbosa shook her head and smiled. "Oh, Little Bird... you have so much to learn. More importantly, you have so much to learn about yourself."

Zelda flinched at the sound of Link's voice.

"Zel? You coming?" He called, turning towards her. She shook her head and wiped her tears. She turned to Link and nodded. Link could see something was wrong, but figured she wouldn't want to talk about it in front of Riju. Zelda halted her horse in front of the stable and Link carefully let tiny Riju off the back of his horse. He was about to climb down when Zelda held up a hand, stopping him.

"Do you mind coming to look for truffles with me?" She asked, acting as though she didn't know truffles didn't grow in that area. After renewing that memory in her head, she wanted to spend as much time with Link as possible. Link knew that they didn't grow there too, but smiled and nodded. He looked behind Zelda's head to notice Sidon and Teba, waving from the entrance of the stable. Link waved and shouted to them.

"We're going to look for truffles, maybe talk to Riju while we're gone?" Sidon nodded, not knowing what Teba, Link, and Zelda knew. But Teba tilted his head and scrunched his feathery eyebrows.

"But truffles don't grow-"

"See you later!" Link gave a short Hyah! and Epona and Storm took off, their riders beaming as they galloped in the field. They stopped at a forest full of nooks and crannies under the roots of trees, and it was also infested with deactivated guardians. Link hopped off his horse and quickly ran over to Zelda to help her down. Zelda giggled as Link took her hand and guided her off her horse. She brushed off her lap and crouched down in front of a tree.

"I wonder if we will find any big ones! The big ones with the faded tops are my favorite..." Zelda said, peeking through the grass.

"I wonder if we will find any at all..." Link said under his breath, kicking a root from the tree next to her and smiling.

"They're almost a fuzzy texture, and they look like they would be sweet, soft- but on the inside, they're actually hard and rich. But that's only if you crack the surface. They kind of remind me of me, actually." Zelda said, crawling around on all fours. She stopped at the sight of her favorite flower. "And these! These remind me of you, Link. Not only did they begin to grow back when you were resurrected, but they are completely silent until the moonlight is shed on them. I like to think of the moonlight as anyone that makes you genuinely happy. Which, I suppose, includes me. Then, the moonlight makes them glow! Glow ever so beautifully..." Zelda said, gently touching its blue petals. Zelda heard nothing. "...Link?"

Suddenly, she was grabbed by her torso and yanked up behind the tree she was crawling near. Her mouth was covered by a gloved hand. She squealed and tried to remove the strong hand from her face, clawing at it relentlessly, kicking her feet. The other hand gently held her side, almost... comfortingly?

"Something's not right..." She heard a familiar voice whisper dangerously close to her ear. The person's warm breath went down her neck and she shuddered. She was no longer screaming- she knew exactly who this was, but she still had questions.

"Mfh?" Zelda tried to talk through his leather glove.

"Shh... quiet Zel, things are about to get a little rough..." Link whispered as he jumped out from behind the tree and lunged at whatever had been silently stalking them through the forest.

hehe :) more fighting before more sweet stuff and i promise there will be more progress with their relationship in chapters to come! merry christmas and i hope yall enjoyed this chapter!

*ill delete this later but i was looking up art for this chapter and discovered people are sexualizing riju?! like bruh shes TWELVE. i made her 13 in this chapter because time progression but she. is. twelve.*