Link's Silence

Part 2: Rediscovery

          Hyrule: Link's First Life

          "Mom! Look at me! Haha!" Link was walking around on his hands, and he couldn't help but laugh. His mother looked over from their conversation. 
          "That's wonderful, Link! Just make sure your shirt doesn't fall down." Before he could think about it, Link lifted his arm to tuck in his shirt, and toppled over on the King's feet. He stopped giggling.
          "Sorry, your majesty."
          The King gave him a serious look. "You are in serious trouble, boy." Link looked down at his feet. The King let out a laugh. "If you don't practice, you'll never master it one-handed." Link smiled again, looking back up. 
          "You really think so, your majesty?"
          "I do."
          Link paused. "Your majesty, where is Zelda?"
          "She is studying in her room. Quite busy, too, although I can't imagine how a little girl her age stays so focused on it." He was mostly talking to Link's mom, now. "She is very intelligent, that girl. So is your boy. He will grow to be a great young warrior."
          "Thank you, your majesty, and for having us here, as well."
          "Of course. I know how good of friends your boy and my daughter are. I'm sorry she was busy this time around." The King went to look back at Link, and found he was gone.

          Present Day

          When Link had cleared his mind, he returned to the castle, and was told Zelda had stormed off to her room. They told him it wouldn't be wise to go in there, but he already knew that. He walked to the west tower, through the outside passage, and into Zelda's room. She sat at her desk with her face in her hands. She turned at the sound of his footsteps, and jumped out of her seat. 
          "Oh, Link." She exhaled to calm herself. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scold you like that. It was childish of me, and-" she stopped when she saw the crusted blood covering his palm. "Link, your hand...this is my fault. I shouldn't have let my temper get the best of me." She looked at it for a moment, then proceeded to lead him to the kitchen. She took a washcloth, soaked it up, and cleaned off the dry blood. He winced, but made no move to protest. Zelda was very focused on his injury, and her touch was soft and gentle. After a few minutes, she'd narrowed it down to a deep cut on the bottom of his palm. It stung, but he'd certainly experienced much worse. 
          When Zelda finished, she gently squeezed his hand, still looking at the cut. "There. That should fix it up." She paused. "Again, I apologize for my behavior. I don't know where it came from..." She stopped again, losing herself in thought. 
          Link pulled her into a hug. He felt he didn't need to say anything, though she needed to stop beating herself up over these things. He wished he knew how to help her. She seemed to relax, grateful for his patience. Her hair smelled like roses. When she pulled away, she didn't look at him. She let out a small sigh. 
          "I should be getting back to my studies." He nodded, and walked her back to her quarters. She turned to him before closing the door, still looking down at the floor. "Thank you. I'm sorry."
          He walked back down the stairs of the tower, still thinking back to their conversation. He wasn't mad at her, and he knew she'd need some time to herself to recuperate. As confusing as he thought he might have been, she was certainly a puzzle. He approached his own quarters, and soon fell asleep in his bed. 

           Zelda couldn't sleep. After an hour or two from her conversation with Link, she had asked the servants what he was doing, and they told her he was sleeping. She'd thought he deserved sleep. He worked just as hard as her, perhaps harder. She'd spent the rest of the afternoon trying to study the ancient tech books she'd pulled from the library, but her thoughts had been wandering to Link. To herself. When her servants came to inform her of the time, she realized it was dark out, and that she'd been sitting at her desk for hours. She'd thanked the servant, and laid in her bed for what also felt like hours. She tossed and turned, but her anxiety from that day wouldn't leave her alone, so she got out of her bed and padded barefoot to the outside passage from her room.
           The moon glowed brightly over the grassy area, illuminating the plant life and animals skittering about. A small breeze blew through her hair, and she shivered, though it wasn't from the cold. The moon did shine on the life residing in Hyrule, but that included the terrible beasts and monsters ranting day and night. Zelda mourned for her people, living in such fear. These things were everywhere, more appearing each day, each blood moon. They'd soon overcome her kingdom. It was odd now, calling it hers. Though it had been that way her whole life, it was different now. As the only living heir and therefore queen of Hyrule, her coronation bore an unprecedented weight. The people had said, even some who knew she was listening, that she was heir to a throne of nothing. Just as her father had said, mere weeks before his death. 
          Perhaps they were right. The guards hadn't been able to do much to protect her beloved people. She couldn't harness her power when she needed it, much less protect everyone at once. She was only one person. Unlike her, Link managed to bear many burdens on his shoulders without a word in otherwise. She sometimes wished she could be more like him in that way. Though he'd had difficulty with it, he'd said he felt he needed to bear his burdens silently, as everyone relied on him and his ability. She'd relied on that thought for a while, but the more so she did, the more that seemed only part of the reason. Of course, that could cause people to stop expressing their feelings outwardly altogether. 
          Zelda realized that she could see light on the line of the mountains. Goodness, she'd been up all night! She went back to her room to get what sleep she could before the day began. 

          Link watched Zelda's golden hair flow behind her back to her room. After he'd awoken late into the night, he'd sat on his windowsill and watched her. He couldn't see the details of her face all too well, but he didn't have to. He knew her beautiful features by heart. He liked to imagine her smile, a face he'd seen few times since her mother's death, and none of after her father's. Even when she'd tried to make him eat a raw frog. He couldn't help laughing out loud, then he frowned. He missed that Zelda. Her crown was too great a burden to her. Perhaps he'd take her someplace nice today to calm her nerves. Maybe even make her smile again, which might have been hoping against hope, but it was worth a shot.