Selection (Zelink)

Effervescent

When his turn finally came, Link leisurely walks towards Zelda, his lips curling up into a playful smirk. When she sees him, she gasps, cerulean blue eyes wide in shock.

He sits down on the sofa next to her. "We meet again, Zelda."

Zelda's eyes widen in total shock. It was only the day before that she had told herself she would never see this man again, believing that indulging herself in the foundings of infatuation would lead to only disappointment and desolation. She had experienced similar things before, being allowed to only befriend people of royal standings. It was a habit of not expecting much from casual meetings that generally kept her in her own secluded world.

She knew not what to say, her mind completely void of even a single coherent thought. Link is still grinning, enjoying her distraught facial expression. She was normally a calm and composed person, always knowing way lay ahead, always prepared...

And within an instant, that distressed look was gone, replaced by a confident and calculating facade. "Nice to see you again... Link." Link grins widely at her, intrigued by her spontaneous facial expressions. She really was fascinating.

Link strides forward, nimbly sitting uncomfortably close to her on the sofa. She instantly tenses up, not expecting this sudden nearness. He can imagine the envious expressions of the men behind him who probably would never get this close to the princess.

Some deep part of him liked seeing her out of array and nervous. He thought it quite endearing and adorable. He liked being the only one to be able to affect her in such a way.

She inches away from him, attempting to compose herself and rid herself of her reddened cheeks. Link sees her trying to sort out her bewildered emotions, and it greatly amused him.

"Why not come a little closer? Princess..." Smirking dangerously, he shifts closer to her, so their shoulders gently touch. She intakes a sharp and unsteady breath at this physical contact. "So, how have you been? Zelda..." He says this in such a playful and teasing manner that her cheeks instantly flare up in a burning vivid red. "I-I'm good. And you?" She stutters as Link inches closer and closer to her on the sofa. Her words leak of nervousness and for some reason Link just found that so damn adorable, and it took all his willpower to not just crush her in a hug.

Zelda attempts to build up that confident 'know it all' facade again, failing miserably. "I'm just fine, thank you. and yourself?" Any other person probably wouldn't have seen through her, but Link was very observant. He could tell how nervous she was by the slight shaking of her hands, the rose tint to her cheeks, and a small tremble to her pristine voice.

"Oh, right..." Link murmurs, loud enough so Zelda can hear. "I have not formally introduced myself yet, your highness. My deepest apologies..." Link positions himself on one knee below her, kneeling. He takes her nimble fingers in his own, and lightly kisses the top of her hand. Link stares up at her, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. This was but an act of common formality with royalty, but a simple touch of the lips on her hand sent Zelda's heart fluttering.

Link is abruptly pushed out of the way by a tackily dressed nobleman, one of the 50 men from The Selection. The man then roughly takes Zelda's hand from Link. "Sorry, but the 5 minutes is long up. I would also like to speak to the princess..." He obviously wasn't sorry and just seemed to be mocking Link.

Zelda instantly got the creeps from the guy. It just wasn't right, the way he held her hand, running his fingers over her palms although they had just met. She wanted to wrench her hand away from this man, but didn't want to make a scene, so she plastered on a smile. "I'll see you later, Link." She give him a dismissive gesture with her hand and heads back onto the couch with the creep, dreading the awkward conversation ahead of her.