The Silence Between Them | ✔

10) Damned

⚔ In which the pilots are made Champions ⚔

Zelda

I can't believe this.

I cannot believe this.

Link, of all people, chosen to follow me around all the time. This can't be real! He's so quiet, absolutely no fun, and destructive, from the display he put on at the lab! I can't believe my father would choose him. And I make that perfectly clear after Link shuts the door behind him.

"You cannot be serious!" I shout, jumping from my throne and facing my father. He doesn't flinch, and Impa purses her lips. "It can't be him!"

"He has exceeded expectations in everything. And, now that he's seventeen, he's able to take a full-time job like this. It was the obvious option," he says coolly.

I huff. "There has to be other knights here that can take the job-" I say.

He shakes his head, but Impa is the one to respond. "Zelda, do we really have to remind you? He's the chosen Hero. You two have to be able to work together if you are to stand a chance against the Calamity."

Right. I forgot about that part. "I can't believe this," I say again and stomp out.

I hear father sigh. "Impa, arrange and appointment with me and Link later today." I slam the door shut.

I stomp to my room, slamming doors and causing guards and maids to jump out of the way.

I can't believe this. I honestly can't. Even though Link is the chosen Hero, it's not like he'll be able to help with my powers. All he can do is swing a sword. Albeit a great sword, but it's technically the sword doing all the work.

Once in my study, I slam the door shut and sink into the chair sitting at my desk. I absentmindedly grab a bit of machinery and fiddle with it, not paying attention to what I'm doing. I picked it up to get my mind off Link, but in reality, she just thought about him more.

He seems so cold. Calculated, focused, and downright dull. He never speaks unless spoken to; even then, it's short, clipped answers. It's infuriating. If I must have a personal knight, I'd like to at least have a conversation with them. But that just doesn't seem possible with Link. He was the same three years ago – no, longer than that. Closer to four years, now – when he pulled the Master Sword from the rock. I vaguely remember what he was like before that. Smaller than the other boys but just as rowdy and annoying. He would jeer, fight, taunt, and laugh with the others in his unit. I wonder if he speaks to the same boys now that he's back and here to stay. His demeanor changed on a dime when he pulled the sword from the stone. It's understandable, I suppose, but it's been years now, and he hasn't changed much. And that was why he went to Hateno, to begin with.

But then again, I can't completely write him off. I have seen him more laid back when he doesn't think anyone is watching, like the other day, when I saw him eating at his parent's grave. He looked like a kid, not a soldier. And when we were going to Zora's Domain, and he was playing and talking with his friends, and when he tried his best to ask me to have breakfast with his family in Hateno, and when he offered to make me fruitcake because he'd heard I liked it. And the cake tasted amazing.

But still, he's an annoying, stern, complicated puzzle I can't figure out. It will drive me insane now that I have to spend hours and hours on end.

I toss the Guardian part on the desk, more frustrated than when I picked it up.

A knock at the door, and I turn in my seat. My handmaiden, Chloe, walks in with a note in her hand.

"Princess. Your father is meeting with Sir Link at the moment, but he wanted me to deliver this to you," she said, stepping in and shutting the door behind her. She hands me the note.