Fictober 2023: The Legend of Zelda Oneshots

You Deserve It

AN://
Ship: Zelink
Prompts: 1, 9, 12, & 30
Tags & TWs: child abuse mention, pre-calamity, angst, fluff
Summary: When Zelda is at risk of never seeing her horse again, Link decides he can't let that happen. And if making sure that doesn't happen means sneaking her out for a midnight ride to Sanidin Park? Then that's what he'll do. Because she deserves it.

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Link patted Zelda's back. "He'll change his mind. He changes his mind sometimes. He loves you."

"He doesn't. He loves the kingdom, and he loves who I could be if I wasn't so... consistently unsuccessful."

He grimaced. It was true, he knew. King Rhoam clearly didn't love Zelda. Whether under the guise of tough love or not, people don't treat the ones they love with such cruelty. Link decided not to voice his thoughts. He pushed forward, determined to make Zelda feel better. "Have to ride her to get to your training. He can't take him away, even if he wanted to."

"You're right, you're always right. But... oh, Link. What if he replaces her? Link, what if I never see her again?"

He paused. That was a possibility. He had thrown away Zelda's favorite toy when he caught her playing with it instead of training after her mother's death. He had scolded her even when she had had mental breakdowns, saying she wasn't trying hard enough. As a child, he had praised her for her strength, but now he punished her despite what it took to maintain it. Link knew it wasn't too unlikely for him to replace her horse.

"Who will take care of my precious Storm?"

"I will," he insisted, not knowing what he was going to say until it came from his mouth. "If he gets rid of her, I'll find him and he can be my horse. I'll have two. He'll be okay. Promise."

She knew Link had money. He could do it. Though it was clear she believed he would try, there was little chance he would succeed in buying a royal horse. More likely, he would go to a nobleman as a gift, or something similar. Though maybe Link could get it into the king's head that it should be a gift to Urbosa. She didn't have a horse, after all. She didn't need one often enough to own one, but King Rhoam was Hyrulean, and Hyrulean leaders tended to see things through the lenses of 'I know what is best and that of course means everything about me is correct, and if you differ from me, it is a deficit on your part' which meant if Link made him think it was his own idea, maybe he would start to believe Urbosa needed a horse.

Zelda collapsed onto him in sobs. "What if I never see her again? What if she's lonely? What if... what if... oh, Link!"

He stopped signing and rubbed soothing circles onto her back. He swore to himself that he would make this better. He had to. Zelda deserved it.

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Zelda's room was dark when he snuck in. Well, he said snuck, but really it was more him telling the guards outside her door that he would be guarding the princess tonight, and it was top secret, so if they told anyone, they'd get in big trouble. They either believed him (they had no reason not to) or didn't and wanted to take a night off when it was offered.

He opened the door, crept across the room, and gently shook Zelda awake.

She shot up immediately. "Link! Help!" she called, seemingly on instinct. He was glad he had dismissed the guards. They wouldn't say anything, but they may have been uncomfortable. Zelda certainly looked uncomfortable. She cringed. "Oh, it's only you. Sorry, I didn't realize. It's funny, though, isn't it? Me calling for your help when it's you here?"

He didn't find it funny. He felt guilty he had scared her.

"What is it? Is something wrong? Why are you holding a riding crop?" she raised an eyebrow and smiled cheekily. "Are we about to have the strangest but most enjoyable night ever?"