Across the Wild | A Zelink Story

Chapter 12: Link

Well that's not good. I hope she doesn't stay mad for too long. I decide to go out and try to talk to her.

As soon as I walk out the door, something wet and dense hits me in the face. At first I think it's a Chuchu, but then I get a whiff of earth and water: mud. I wipe it off my face and open my eyes, looking for the attacker.

Zelda is standing by the pond under the apple tree, hands muddy, laughing hard. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who launched that mud at me. That was a big mistake.

I sprint toward still-laughing Zelda, lower my shoulder, and truck her into the pond. She falls back-first with a yelp and a splash. I chuckle smugly and start walking back toward the house.

Behind me, I hear Zelda jump out of the water. I whip around, and she grabs me by my shirt and throws me into the pond. I sink into the clear, cold water with a gurgle.

When I resurface, I decide to be the mature one, and get out of the water with my hands up. I fix her with a resigned glare and plod back to the house, water dripping from my clothes. I dig a crate out from under the stairs that has a few sets of clothes in it and pick out a black Hylian tunic and tan Hylian trousers. I also grab a Rito-made Falcon Bow and a quiver of arrows.

I quickly put my clothes on and walk back outside. Zelda is doing her best to wring out her clothes while still wearing them, and I can tell that it's not going too well. "Go inside and change," I tell her. "There should be something clean in there. I'm going hunting, and I shouldn't be long. If you want, finish the fruit cake; follow the recipe book. See you later."

"Bye, Link," Zelda replies, walking inside. I walk across the bridge and down the main road in Hateno, past the gate, and into the Hinner woods. I sneak around, hoping to find a boar.

Something growls behind me. I whip around, raising my bow and firing a single shot through the chest of the angry, club-wielding blue Bokoblin. I remove the arrow from the Bokoblin's corpse and continue to hunt.

After a few minutes, a grazing boar catches my eye. I turn slowly, aiming my bow at it. Somehow, it sees me out of the corner of its eye and runs. I dash after it, dodging bushes and low-hanging tree branches.

I jump up and grab a tree branch with one arm, holding my bow with a nicked arrow in the other. I fling myself forward and up, pulling back the arrow as time seems to slow. I line up my shot and the arrow flies off, striking the boar's head with lethal accuracy.

I hit the ground hard, but land in a way that ensures I don't break or sprain anything. I walk up to the boar and efficiently butcher it, extracting two large chunks of meat. I wrap them in leather that I brought and run back to the house.

~~+~~

I cross the bridge to my house a mere twenty minutes after leaving. I push open the door, saying happily, "Zelda! I brought some foo—" I stop dead.

Zelda's standing by the table, washing her clothes in a basin. In her underwear. We sort of gape at each other for a few seconds, then I get my wits back. Face and ears turning red, I beat a hasty retreat out the door into the yard.

Still flushed red, I take my meat over to the cooking pot and remove the pot. I roast the meat on the open flame, fire adding to the embarrassed heat on my face. Right now, I feel like putting on my Flamebreaker armor and hiding in the caldera of Death Mountain. Or hiding in one of those creepy trees in the Lost Woods. Or in the cave that hides the Hebra Great Skeleton and the Shrine that lies within. Really, anywhere I can hide where no one can find me.

Obviously, I'm not just going to strike out and leave Zelda here alone. Plus, we're supposed to be going to Lurelin on vacation. I'm not going to bail on her now. That said, I kinda need to figure out a way to apologize if I don't want to spend the "vacation" in stony silence. What to do...?

I'm still thinking hard when Zelda comes out, thankfully fully dressed. The ambient temperature rises about ten degrees. I turn red again. I can sense embarrassment radiating off her in waves. Not really looking her in the eyes, I say, "Sorry about that, Zelda. I...didn't know..."

She lightly touches my shoulder. "It's okay, Link. You didn't know, I understand." A somewhat relaxed pause. "So what's for breakfast?" Well, she knows how to get to me. I'm glad she didn't make a big deal of me walking in on her.

"I'm going to finish the fruitcake. We'll have sandwiches for lunch, then after that we should probably head out to Hateno Tech Lab. I'm sure Purah has a lot to discuss with you, and while you talk with her, I'll head to Lanayru Promenade and find that artifact you were talking about. After that, we can go over to Lurelin."

"Don't you think I should come?" Zelda asks neutrally.

"Look, Zelda, there are a lot of monsters over there, and it's easier for me when I fight alone. Plus, can't you just tell me where you left it?"

Zelda thinks this over for a minute. "Ok, you win. I left the crate by the fountain. It's made of iron with an anti-rust coating, but shouldn't be too heavy. I could carry it no problem."

I nod and finish making the cake. We eat a late breakfast of the cake, talking with each other about random topics and joking around. We haven't really had a nice meal together where we just talk with each other since...before the Calamity. It's really nice.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. When we eventually finish the fruitcake, I clean the dishes and gather equipment for my trip to Lanayru Promenade. I would wear my lightweight yet durable Champion's Tunic, but Yiga Clan stole it. I decide to just wear a Hylian Tunic that I bought the first time I was in Kakariko Village. It was upgraded by the Great Fairies to the max, so it offers relatively good armor while still being pretty light. I also put on a Hylian Hood, and add some leather armor to my trousers.

I find a lightweight Ancient Bow that Cherry made for me, and strap that to my back. I also get an Ancient Shield, plundered from a Test of Strength Shrine, and of course the Master Sword. I pick the Ancient Shield because it's compact and light, yet has nearly unmatched defensive capabilities.

I pack a small pouch of provisions, then head out the door and walk over to Zelda, who is readying Storm for her trip to Hateno Tech Lab. She also has a Soldier's Broadsword I lent her, as well as a wooden shield and a Korok-made Forest Dweller's bow, along with a small quiver of arrows. That, along with her simple travelling clothes and short hair, make her look stronger and tougher than the delicate Princess I used to know.

I like this version more.

"Ready to go, Link?" Zelda asks. "Will you be ok without the Sheikah Slate?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine without it. I should be back by tomorrow night or the morning after that. Good luck with Purah," I reply.

"Thanks." Zelda steps closer. "Link, don't die, ok?" She wraps me in a crushing hug. As I wrap my arms around her, I realize that this will be the first time in over a century that I'll be too far away to help her.

"I won't die. You stay safe too," I tell her. We pull away, smile at each other, and go our separate ways.

Yo, me here again. Just so you know, updates won't be coming as fast in the future. I will still add new chapters as fast as I can. I was able to add the first 11 chapters pretty quick because I Al just always had at least one chapter already written before the previous one came out. But lately school's been kinda hectic so I fell behind. Sorry about that. 

Anyway, thanks again for reading and see you next part.

Masrex