Fortune Favors the Courageous

Chapter 40: After. Part 2

Early Spring
5 Years After Calamity

Life was good.

Much like Link envisioned, he and Zelda spent the years after Ganondorf's defeat traveling across Hyrule to help wherever they could. They chopped down fresh lumber in Lurelin, bolstered the old bridges in Rito Village, and helped the Gorons remove any remaining marbled ore from their mines. Castle Town had been repaired enough to allow displaced families to finally return home, as well.

Considering its extensible damage, the young dyad had taken up residence in Hateno during its reconstruction. Thanks to their prolonged stay, Zelda and Link made friends with the townsfolk, helped Purah catch up on lost research, and even built a brand new schoolhouse for the children. The head teacher and Purah's former lab assistant, Symin, invited Zelda to guest-lecture, and it was one night while she zealously rambled about her day with the students that Link suggested it.

Why not stay?

Even with her heart pounding yes, yes, yes! it wasn't an easy decision to make by any means. There was still more work to do—Zelda was in charge of an entire kingdom, after all. But the longer time went on away from the complexities of the throne, living peacefully and devoting themselves to humbler joys, the harder it was to envision being anywhere else.

So, in a bold move that shook her kingdom to its core, Princess Zelda decided to dismantle the age-old monarchy of Hyrule. With the help and guidance of Hyrule's other leaders, they established a self-governing system that would empower the people and ensure more equitable representation.

This ambitious decision was not just a political shift but a profound act of self-liberation, one that reflected her commitment to both the wellbeing of her people and her own happiness.

Link was deeply proud.

And life was good.

The birthdays that used to end with caramel between her teeth now began with caramel between her legs. She and Link cultivated a garden at their new home, had home-cooked meals every night, and began the much-anticipated Hyrule compendium in their spare time. Zelda, offered a full-time position as a teacher at the schoolhouse, was already a celebrity with the students. Link even more so when he stopped by to drop off lunch or other supplies for her. Oftentimes the children showed up at their house after school, begging Link and Zelda to share stories of the Calamity. If Zelda really needed to get work done, she'd retreat to her secret underground study. And if Link had something cooking on the stove, he invited any visitors—young or old—in to eat. It was the sort of thing that made Zelda swoon with infatuation.

In fact, every day she fell a little more in love with her husband.

Link woke up before the sun every morning, bringing Zelda tea in bed before leaving to take care of the animals. Despite his former aversion to ranches, the duo had seen how bravery brought blessings, and Link decided to reclaim his previous dream of being a farmhand. In no time at all, the hard and honest work at Hateno Pasture rekindled his love of farm life—and the occasional milk and cheese he was able to bring home endorsed his real passion: cooking for others—especially his wife.

Over dinner, Zelda would yap and yap about the garden, her research, or the school day, and Link would let her, because he loved when she did. He gazed rapturously the entire time, so much so he even forgot that there was food in front of him half of the time—which was saying a lot. Just as she fell deeper in love with him, so too, did he fall deeper in love with her.

Yes, as preposterous as a younger Zelda would have thought it, life was good.

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