Zelink [One Shots]

| Sleeping Princess

"Your presence is requested by the King, Master Link." The soldier clad in shiny armor informs the blonde warrior, his stature a few inches taller than Link, though his eyes show a certain reverence towards the young hero.

Link looks up with tired yet alert blue eyes, noting immediately how the day has gone by incredibly quickly - by the pallete of colors the sky has started to show, it's closer to dinner than he thought it would be. His muscles are sore due to the position he's been sitting in for over a couple of hours, his back rigid from leaning against the rocky wall of the Princess' study.

Standing up in a neat moment, he's quick to nod and stretch his muscles as the soldier excuses himself, walking through the small bridge that unites the study with Princess Zelda's quarters.

A quick thought immerses through his mind. Why would the King want to speak with me?

Now Link has never been afraid of a single thing ever since his father taught him the basics of knighthood when he was still a small child living in Hateno Village. Not when he wandered through the Lost Woods all alone and pulled the Master Sword from the pedestal. Not when he courageously parried a beam from a guardian with a simple pot lid in front of the royal family. Not when he was knighted nor when he became the Princess' own appointed knight.

So it takes him by surprise when a cold chill descends from his back.

He turns to the wooden door, alerting the Princess that he will be absent for a few minutes, before making his way towards the sanctum.

Reaching his destination, he kneels in front of the king, who's sitting on his throne, his face neutral and somewhat authoritative.

"You may rise, Link."

Standing to his feet, the young soldier lifts his gaze towards his superior.

"I asked of your presence because I'm in need of knowing a few things regarding my daughter." Link tenses immediately upon his words. The discussion between father and daughter a few hours ago is still fresh on his mind, the powerlessness he felt when he heard the King say such things to his daughter and not being able to do anything to help her reemerging in his blood. "You follow her everywhere, I believe."

His eyebrows furrow in question, somewhat doubtful.

"Yes, your majesty."

The king nods his head, thoughtful. "All I ask of you is honesty," He voices, his tone soft. "Is my daughter telling the truth?"

"About what, your majesty?" Link asks, his tone just as neutral as his face.

"About focusing on unlocking her powers. I know she has been outside the castle more and more nowadays. However, I'm not so sure she is completely single minded about what she needs to do. Perhaps you know more about that?" He asks, and although they're surrounded by soldiers in every single corner and the sanctum is indeed a very wide dome, at this moment it feels like they're both alone.

He sees in the King's eyes the obvious distress regarding the current situation. He sees years of loneliness and heartbreak. However, the fact that his eyes turn sad when he mentions his daughter just shows Link that the king is just trying to be something he wasn't ready to be. Someone. Someone that died too early to pass on to her daughter the secrets to unlocking the power laying dormant in her. Link sees all that and suddenly he understands the reaction Zelda pulled from the King hours ago.

"The Princess is doing everything she can, your majesty." He answers without hesitation, his tone firm. "I've been witnessing her struggles through every Spring, and her pleadings to the Goddess as well." Link finishes, putting it simply but truthfully.