A Couple of Trials (ZeLink)

Chapter 7: A Task from Purah

Zelda woke up with a start. She pushed herself up in the bed, allowing the blankets to fall from her shoulders. Rubbing her eyes, she looked out the window. While birds could be heard chirping in the distance, a light snowfall had begun to fall. Yawning, she made to do her usual drill of climbing over Link so as to not wake him up. She quickly noticed, however, that he was nowhere to be seen. Disheartened, she looked around before realizing that the bed was no longer the way she had left it the night before. She had left it messy as she knew Link preferred it. It soon dawned on her that at some point during the night, Link must've fixed it for her.

With a saddened sigh, Zelda pushed the covers off before placing her feet on the floor. She continued with her routine, doing her hair and putting on her clothes for the day. She chose her usual black pants and sweater, something she figured would be good enough instead of her entire royal winter gear. Afterward, she headed down the stairs to find a cup of warm tea and a pair of rice balls sitting at the table waiting for her.

"Oh, Link," Zelda said quietly as she sat down at the table.

He was still nowhere to be seen, even when she went outside after eating to see if he was in the yard. With a frown, she walked around to the stable house, where she could see both horses in their usual places.

"Well, he's still in the village at least," she told herself.

She paused at her comment before frowning. She opened the gate to her horse's stable and guided him out. After placing and preparing Storm's saddle, Zelda leaped up and gently tapped on the horse's neck and began trotting across the bridge and through the village. She waved at the shopkeepers who knew her and ignored the glances of the Amira and Nikki, who sat at their usual spot near the well.

"Hello there, Zelda!" a voice called out as she trotted deeper into town.

Surprised by the sudden call of her name, Zelda pulled on the reins and brought her horse to a stop. She looked around before realizing she was next to the inn, where a familiar man sat on the high-raised balcony, leaning over the snow-covered wooden railing with a cup in his hand.

"Teli!" she called back, looking up at the balcony. "Good morning. What are you still doing here? I figured you would have gone back to your scavenging travels."

"While business is important, one as myself needs to stay rested in order to keep my dashing looks," he answered with a laugh, waving his cup around as he hiccuped. "If you want my advice, it looks like you could go for some better rest yourself!"

"Much appreciated, Teli," Zelda said with a frown. "That's most certainly what I needed to hear. Are you drunk?"

"Only just a little!" he said with a grin. "Come on, lighten up! It's all in good fun. You must have never had a drink before."

"You'd be surprised..." Zelda muttered, but Teli wasn't paying attention.

"Prima!" he shouted. "Prima? Can I get another drink?"

Silence filled the air before the door to the inn swung open, revealing the innkeeper. She was a pretty young woman, with silky brown hair that went just past her collarbone and large, yet sharp, dark eyes. Her long blue and white dress billowed as she crossed the balcony before grabbing Teli by the ear.

"You're being extremely loud this early in the morning!" she said angrily.

While she gripped Teli's long ear tightly, to Zelda's surprise, he barely flinched.

"Says you," he groaned. "Look at you shouting in my ear. I just wanted another drink."

"Again, it's morning," Prima said sternly, releasing his ear. "I've got way too many things to worry about besides babysitting you. Goddess, you do this every time you stay here."