Hero by Heart

Chapter 5

Zelda woke the next morning to a comfortably crackling little fire. She felt warm and rested again. When she opened her eyes however, she found that Link was gone. His stuff was still there, as was Epona. That meant he couldn't have gotten far, yet Zelda still felt uneasy.
     She got up and went to stand in the doorway, that had miraculously survived all this time. Down below she finally spotted him, crouching through the grass, bow in hand and arrow notched. He was hunting.
     Zelda smiled inwardly, for this was a strangely familiar view. She was quite hungry, so she hoped he would be successful. In her saddlebags was some more bread and fruit, but a piece of meat would be nice too. Maybe some fresh herbs as well. She would have to see what her appointed knight brought back.
     While she waited she put some more wood on the fire and took in her surroundings. Now that the rain had stopped and the clouds were gone, she could see part of Hateno Village, lying above them on the mountainous terrain. It would not take long at all to reach it, so she wondered why they had spent the night here. The longer she thought about it, though, the more she began to think Link just wanted to spend the night outdoors.
     She was happy they hadn't pressed on, for they would have arrived in the twilight. She preferred the daylight to get accustomed to a new surrounding and new people. If she was honest, she was perfectly happy staying here, away from people, just her and Link. But she had a duty to fulfil.
     Her mind wandered back to the previous day and the things they had seen. It was hard to believe that they had passed the very place where they had failed all these years ago.
     As she had realised the enormity of the Guardian army that lay down there, she had realised how hopeless their situation had been. She tried to gauge Links reaction, but he remained his calm, stoic self. Nothing showed a hint of him remembering that place.
     Zelda had felt strangely upset by that. How could he not remember the day he almost died? She wanted him to know, wanted to feel like they still shared that trauma.
     When he told her that night that he indeed remembered, she had felt immensely relieved. That was immediately followed by guilt and shame, as she realised how terrible it was to have to remember that. Her feelings had taken the better of her and Link had soothed her, as he used to do. That was when she felt like maybe they would get past this. Maybe he hadn't changed that much after all.
     Her thoughts were interrupted by Link, who now walked back up the hill. He had a bag slung across one shoulder that seemed pretty full and in his hand he held a fox at the fur in its neck. A broad grin was plastered on his face.
     'Goodmorning Princess! It truly is a lovely day today!' He walked over and dropped his load next to the fire. Zelda looked around and realised he was right. The sun was shining again in a clear blue sky. It wasn't too hot yet and all around them they could hear animals going on their daily business.
     'You're right, Link. I see you immediately made the best of it.' She smiled and looked down at the food. Curiously she lifted a part of the bag between two fingers to see what was inside. To her delight she saw some apples, a couple of spicy peppers and even two hearty radishes.
     Link smiled at her from where he was now cleaning the fox, throwing everything he didn't need down the hill. As they were sitting there, another fox crept closer and started feasting on the remains. Not much later a small boar joined. Birds gathered around as well, seemingly unbothered by the presence of humans.
     Zelda knew Link had always been quite the cook, a quality he didn't seem to have lost, as he took some pans out of his bags. With his knife he chopped up the apples and radishes and let them boil for a while. He cut the meat in pieces and boiled those too, before roasting it above the fire for a while. He cut the peppers and rubbed them on the flesh, before producing some other spices from his inventory and finishing off the meal.
     Link equally divided the food, together with a slice of bread, over two metal plates he always carried and offered one to Zelda, which she gladly took. It smelled absolutely delicious. She took a bite and widened her eyes in delight, as she gave Link an impressed look. It was really amazing.
     As they ate, Zelda studied the animals down the hill. They had almost finished the scraps and were slowly disappearing among the trees, probably looking for their next meal. She absolutely loved nature and seeing it thrive like this. Everything had its purpose.
     When she looked back at Link she noticed him looking at her. She smiled awkwardly, wondering how long he had been doing that. He grinned and carefully placed his plate beside him. He then stretched his arms high above him, yawning exaggeratedly. She could see some skin under his shirt and quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to embarrass herself. Link then let himself fall backwards and now lay stretched out in the grass. Zelda could hear him sigh contently, but then it went quiet.
     A few minutes later she started to feel restless, unsure what to do. Was he sleeping? She didn't dare disturb him. So she quietly got up and took the cooking gear, along with the plates, down to the river behind her.
     She threw the scraps in the water and watched a big fish snatch it up from below. She smiled as she remembered that as a little girl, she had been terrified of fish. She still believed there was reason in it, since they lived deep in the dark water, invisible until they came to the surface. They could attack from below without anyone ever knowing.
     The fear, however, had slowly faded and when she was about 14 years old, she had decided it was a stupid fear. She had been visiting Zora's Domain with her father and realised that most of these people were somehow part fish.
     She had met some of the children and they had taken her out playing down below near the river. They had taught her to swim properly, making the most use of what they called useless stumps, for she had no skin between her toes or fingers. She had even learned how to dive, which had given her great satisfaction.
     The Zora had been incredibly kind and helpful, treating her with respect and never letting her out of their sight. She had felt completely safe in their company and the thought of some giant fish gobbling her up had disappeared from her mind.
     As Zelda was thinking of the past, she absentmindedly scrubbed the same pot over and over, staring at the water in front of her. That was until a sudden sound made her jump up. She lost her footing on the slippery bank and slid down, right into the cold water.
     She gasped for air and looked around frantically, searching for the source of the sound. That was when she noticed Link, halfway down the small hill, sitting awkwardly on the ground, his hands extended behind him.
     He looked at her in shock, his eyes big and his lips slightly parted. Judging by the look on his face and the way he was sitting there, Zelda realised he must have slipped down and landed on his rear. The image forming in her mind was so insane that she burst out laughing. The wave of adrenaline she had just experienced only made her outburst worse.
     Link looked at her confused and even more shocked, but then his face slowly split in a broad grin. He started laughing too, the sound of it filling Zelda with joy, leaving her so happy she could float. So that was what she did.
     She pushed herself away from the bank and floated on her back towards the middle of the river. Link now worked his way up to his feet and carefully walked over.
     'What are you doing?!' He yelled at her, still silently laughing.
     'Come on in!' She responded, motioning with her arm. 'It's lovely!'
     Link grinned and then took of his boots. He set them down neatly next to the cooking gear and then took of his tunic as well, laying it on top of the boots.
     Zelda couldn't help but stare at him. His toned body was clearly visible to her, including all the scars that littered his chest. She let out a soft gasp, but he didn't seem to hear.
     With his toe he tested the water, looking a bit betrayed at her as he felt the cold. He then walked in until the water was reaching his abdomen.
     'You're lucky I'm such a dutiful knight, Princess, or I might have left you here alone in the cold water.' He dragged a hand through his hair, a pained but playful expression on his face. 'Lovely!' He exclaimed disapprovingly. 'You're mad!' He laughed at that, to show her he meant no harm.
     Zelda felt far from harmed. She loved this silly, playful side of him. As a bonus, she also loved to see his body, but she would never admit that. So she just laid back down and let the water carry her.
     The splashing of water indicated that Link had finally entered the water completely and she felt strangely vulnerable laying here, not seeing him. Where was he? What would he do?
She then felt something softly stroking her back and for a second her fear of fish came back to her, but her rational mind told her it was Link swimming underneath her. That thought was confirmed when she heard the splash of his head coming up and the gasp for air followed by it. He shook his head to get the hair out of his eyes and Zelda noticed from the corner of her eyes that he looked extremely handsome like this. She quickly tried to shake the thought out of her mind and turned to face him.
'Maybe you were right, though,' he admitted, smiling broadly at her.
For a while they both took pleasure out of swimming freely, no worries or duties on their mind, just enjoying each others company.
They then sat down on the wall of a structure that had crumbled down and was now flooded. It was the perfect temperature to enjoy the sunlight with their feet dangling in the fresh water.
'Princess?' Link carefully started, but Zelda raised a hand to stop him.
'Please, Link, just call me Zelda. There is no need for all that formality.'
He seemed to think about it, maybe trying it out in his head, before smiling at her and nodding. 'Okay then, Zelda,' he said, winking. She felt her breath catch in her throat and her face go red. It sounded so good when he said her name. Not to mention that wink. It made her feel light in her head and for a second she did not know what to do with herself. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she desperately tried to calm herself down. She had to stop being this weak around him. A princess had no time to be weak. She allowed herself to take a few slow breaths and finally felt in control again.
A few more moments passed and she was still waiting for him to continue, so she looked at him sideways. 'What is it, Link?'
He smiled at her fondly. 'I only wanted to tell you that earlier I regained a short memory.'
Zelda looked up in surprise. An excited squeal came out of her throat and she chuckled, slightly embarrassed. But her excitement overcame her shame and she sat almost jumping up and down, signalling him to go on.
He laughed, before staring at the water in front of him, trying to recall the details. 'I believe we were travelling to Zora's Domain. I don't know why, though. It was already afternoon and we were at the crossroads with Akkala and Death Mountain. We decided we wouldn't make the entire trek up to the Domain in time, so we set up camp, a little way down the road. With an improvised little tent set up and our gear all laid out we had some time to kill, so we decided to go fish in the river.' He looked over at Zelda and she nodded. She knew what he was talking about. But even though she knew the story, she loved to hear him tell it. It meant he remembered.
'I used my bow and arrow to shoot a Staminoka Bass and it came floating up and started drifting down the current. You ran along the banks, laughing and trying to catch up. It got stuck on a rock and you climbed down a little to get it. I walked after you and looked down as you bent forward and lifted it from the water.' He paused for a moment and took his time to let his eyes follow a small twig floating on the water. He then continued much softer: 'You had the happiest smile on your face, as you stuck it in the air and came running back to me. In that little moment, you made me forget my destiny.'
Zelda watched him and noticed to her surprise that his face was slightly coloured. Was he embarrassed? She wouldn't know why. To her it sounded incredibly sweet.
'That's where it ends', he quietly added. He looked up at her with uncertain eyes, almost begging her for more memories.
Zelda felt her heart break at his look and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. The feeling of his warm, soft skin and the muscles underneath distracted her for only a moment.
'We went back to camp and cooked it into a delicious meal together. Afterwards we talked for a long time, until the moon had already begun its descend. It was a great night.' She smiled at him fondly, as she saw his face go peaceful again.
He nodded. 'Thank you, Zelda.'
She didn't answer, but instead squeezed his shoulder again. A silence fell over them, but it was a peaceful and comfortable one. One that she wanted to have more of. She could imagine her life with him by her side.
As that thought crossed her mind she was shocked by it and tried to push it away. This was not something she should be thinking about. She had to stay focused.