Getting to Know You~BotW ZeLink post-Calamity Fanfiction

Part One Section Four: There's no repudiating a Princess-Zelda

Zelda realized during that thought she was staring at the golden-haired hero. She looked down at her hands, folded neatly in her lap.

"Link?" He looked at her, bangs in his eyes. "Can we go to Hyrule castle?" Zelda asked, already knowing the answer. She wanted to see what happened to everything she knew and loved. She had to face it eventually, might as well face the music now instead of putting it off.

"I'm not sure if-" She looked back up at him, challenging his unbeatable eyes with her own.

"I must go. That is my past. I have to see what happened. I need to retreive some things too. If there's anything left at least." She announced. Link fidgeted, the gears in his mind turning.

"Princess Zelda, if I may, that castle is filled to the brim with enemies. It's dangerous to go there, especially after a century of relentless battle. Not to mention-" Link paused, his eyes darting down and then back up to her own once again. "You don't have experience with any sort of defense. I can't trust that I can keep you safe in a place so dangerous." Zelda scowled, knowing he was right. She had to think of a compromise then.

"You can just leave me here, and go fetch a couple of my belongings yourself." Link shook his head no.

"Your unguarded here. I don't want-" He wanted to say more but reframed from doing so, his mouth closing. Zelda looked at Link, her eyes narrowing.

"Take me to Hyrule castle." It wasn't a request; this was an order and they both knew it. Link pursed his lips, his fists clenching.

"As you wish princess." He said. As much as he tried to hide it, she could tell he was frustrated.

"And don't call me princess, just Zelda. Always Zelda. No princess, no more formalities." Link nodded
"Of course-" He hesitated, "Zelda." They sat in an awkward silence as he stirred something around in the pot. "Do you still have your sealing magic?" He asked. Zelda looked over at him. She was shocked. He has never said a word without being spoken to beforehand. Zelda knew the answer right away.
"No. I have reason to believe fighting the calamity dwindled it down to nothing, and I have no reason to see why it would come back. It served its purpose after all. Why would I need it when its job is done?" She said. Link gave her a nod of acknowledgement. Zelda's eyes traveled to the grass. Useless once again. No power, no abilities, nothing. "You have to teach me how to use a sword." Zelda said, looking up. Link stared off in the distance seeming to ponder the idea, hand coming up to brush his choppy bangs back just for the unforgiving hair to fall back in his face.

"We'll see." He said, using a ladle to spoon whatever had been brewing in the pot into a bowl and handing it to her. It smelled so good, and Zelda was starving. Zelda couldn't tell what it was, but her stomach was the driving force to eat the stew. So she did, and the small sip she took was not in vain because it was delicious. Some sort of pumpkin stew, with carrots and mushrooms. Zelda couldn't help it. She was famished and the stew was so good that Zelda downed the whole thing without drawing the bowl from her lips. She then realized she was in Link's company and shouldn't be so impolite. Zelda set down her bowl and wiped her mouth, clearing her throat. But Link didn't even seem to care. He stood and walked towards the house, slinging his baldric over his shoulder, the master swords pummel glinting in the morning sun.

"Get ready, we're going to Hyrule castle."