The Legend Says I Love You | Zelink

Chapter 1: Subdued Ceremony

(A/N: I'm in the process of proofreading, editing & updating this with the changes but I low-key haaaate it because it removes people's comments within the chapters ;; like the comments are still there, but not pinned to the paragraph y'all commented on :< I'm gonna miss the running commentary.....thank you everyone who left one!!)

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Link is chosen to be the appointed knight to Zelda, princess of the royal family of Hyrule. Zelda does her best to facilitate the fabled "ceremony of legend," as suggested by Daruk, but her own insecurities are laid bare.

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Of course her father would assign him as her appointed Knight. Of course her father would even insist on an appointed Knight in the first place. Link couldn't just be the Champion, the Hero of Hyrule. He had to be hers, because she didn't have anything else. He was a bitter reminder of her duty and her failure to adhere to it. She could barely look at him as he kneeled before her father, who had gone through the grand motions of knighting him in front of the whole court in Hyrule Castle's throne room. It had been a ploy to both reassure the people of Hyrule and to kick Zelda, his own daughter, in the teeth in one go. However, despite the Hero's emergence, the court gave a mere quiet applause upon his Knighthood; as if the perilous balance of Hyrule's future could be tipped by the loudness of their premature celebration alone. And they were right to be cautious – sure, they had found their Hero, but the powers of their Princess had yet to make an appearance. Link's daily presence in her life, somehow, was supposed to change that. Like he had drawn the sword that seals the darkness from the stone, her father believed he could draw Zelda's powers to the surface. He was to lead her by example; walking in front of her with that shiny, darkness sealing sword strapped to his back.

His fate, quite literally, could be held in his own hands. And she resented him for it.

Every prayer she sent to the Goddess was a shot in the dark. Her rituals, intricately crafted and meticulously performed, meant as much as penning a beautifully handwritten letter and attaching it to a keese, rather than a carrier pigeon. A stable boy of un-noble birth, sweaty and tired and half-heartedly yanking on the sword as a joke, had meant more to the Goddess than any prayer Zelda had uttered. Zelda loathed to hear the story of how it happened; how light had erupted in the Temple of Time; how Link had scrambled to put the sword back as if he had broken it. He had no idea what he had done. He had done it all without trying.

And now, he was bearing it all without a word. He rose to his feet, shoulders squared, as her newly appointed Knight in full, shining armour. Sun poured from the great circular window behind them, high above her father's throne, and casting the wings of the royal crest upon the hall's floor. Link stood in its very centre, with the nobility in a half-crescent around him and Royalty before him. For a previous lowly squire, Zelda thought, he managed to hold his own well in court as the ceremony concluded and audience filtered out; her father, being first to leave of course. The chattering and rustling of gowns across the carpeted floor began to fade as the crowd dispersed, leaving only Link and Zelda left in the great hall, with a few of her maids hovering near the Royal exit.

Without any prompting, he bent the knee. "Don't," Zelda warned him quietly.

"Princess--"

"Save it. There is yet another ceremony to be held. You are to escort me to the Sacred Grounds, where the other Champions will await." She gestured to her maid, Lora, who scrambled forward with a blue bundle in her hands, blushing furiously. Zelda fought off a frown. Must her maids be so transparent? Did the Hero of Hyrule have to be attractive, on top of everything else?