A Couple of Trials (ZeLink)

Chapter 28: A Familiar Face

"So Zelda's come down with a cold, huh?" Prima asked as she pulled sheets from off one of the mattress beds on the second floor of the inn. Link, who was standing near her with his hands in his pockets, nodded. "Well, she'll definitely need a few days off to recover then. It can't be helped. I've been working her pretty hard, and for someone who's not used to it, I'm honestly surprised it hadn't happened sooner."

"Yeah, Celessa said something similar," Link said.

Though he was engaged in his conversation with Prima, his eyes weren't on her, instead choosing to focus on the traveler who was sitting in a chair next to one of the freshly stripped beds. It was the same man he had pelted with a snowball a week earlier, though now the welt on his forehead had almost entirely disappeared. While Link was eyeing him, the traveler seemed unaware of him, as he was invested in the map he was holding in one hand and a snack in his other.

"How's he doing?" Link asked, refusing to take his eyes off him. Prima, who was shoving the sheets she had pulled off the beds into a large basket, paused and looked up to see what he was looking at.

"You mean the traveler you gave a concussion?" she asked.

"That's an exaggerated way of putting it," Link mumbled.

"He's better. In fact, he's leaving later today," Prima replied, ignoring his condemnation.

"Today, huh..."

"Hey, no funny ideas, you," Prima said, pointing a finger at him. "You're the reason he's been here as long as he has in the first place. If you're so worried about someone taking Zelda away from you, focus on Teli; he's one serious flirt."

"He wouldn't try to do that," Link said immediately, yet Prima simply rolled her eyes before heaving her basket of sheets off the floor. "He wouldn't! Besides, Zelda wouldn't fall for someone like him."

"I dunno, Link. You aren't much of a charmer yourself with how you've been acting," she shot at him as she began heading down the stairs, ignoring Joute's drunken call for another drink near one of the other beds. "You're making her desperate."

"Yeah, actually, speaking about desperation," Link said, following after her. "That was your idea, wasn't it? The whole maid front she put up?"

"Oh, so she actually followed through with it?" Prima grinned as they made their way down the stairs. "Have you come to thank me?"

"I wouldn't say thank..." Link mumbled, yet Prima only cheekily glanced back at him.

"Are you saying you didn't like it?" she asked. Link could only frown. "That's what I thought. How far did you guys get?"

"Not far at all because she got that cold," Link sighed before shaking his head to recompose himself. "That's beside the point; I'd rather not have to deal with random silly ideas right now—"

"You're so boring, Link," Prima sighed as she set the basket of sheets next to the front desk. "That's why Teli has a chance to take her away from you, as small as it might be."

"What about me?" Teli yelled from the dining hall.

"Nothing! Stop eavesdropping!" Prima yelled back. She faintly heard him mumble something about simply hearing his name before turning her attention back to Link. "I'm just saying, she wants to be seen as a woman, not something that simply needs to be protected."

"And I wish I was seen as a person who knows what he's dealing with instead of being tricked into dropping my guard," Link said. "I overheard Celessa and Zelda talking about that."

"By the goddess, Link," Prima groaned. "She wanted you to look at her first and foremost. She wasn't trying to trick you or anything. Yes, she wanted you to rest, but that was more of a bonus than anything."