Blood Moon: A Story Before the Calamity

Chapter 21

     Zelda lay in bed, unwilling to leave the warmth of her blankets. She had tossed and turned all night, until pure exhaustion pulled her under. She couldn't stop thinking and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't fall asleep. 

     Thoughts chased each other like dogs chasing their tails, nothing intelligible, nothing coherent. To distract herself before she lost her strength and drowned in the ocean of pain, she racked her brain to what was on today, but came up with nothing.

     Oh yeah. She thought dully. Riding. With Link.

     Slowly, she changed out of her nightgown and put on her field clothes. The Sheikah Slate was sitting on her desk, so she took that as well. 

     A few touches of colour had faded from her life, seen from eyes clouded with grief. What was so exciting a week ago had suddenly become... uninteresting, unappealing. What she wanted, more than anything, was to stay in bed. But, of course, she recognized the signs of harmful grief, from 10 years ago. She couldn't do that, or else she would feel worse.

     She supposed riding wouldn't be too bad, especially with Link there.

     She hopped off her bed and knocked on Link's door. He opened immediately, head cocked in question. There were shadows underneath his eyes, suggesting a restless sleep as Zelda's had been.

     "Link." Even her voice was tired. 

     "Princess."

     "Want to go riding? It's my free day."

     "Why not?"

     Then, he closed the door and went to get ready while Zelda headed down to the stables.

     She had heard that there was a new horse caught near the Sanidin Park, and he was spotlessly white coated, the hair sleek and shiny, and had more endurance and speed than any other breed of horses. It was being kept for her use specifically, and intrigued in spite of herself, Zelda wanted to take a look at the new specimen.

     And there he was, calmly nuzzling the oats in the feeder. He was as beautiful as they said, and Zelda could see the muscles rippling smoothly underneath the skin. However, she had also heard tale of the wild temperament of this horse, which made him feared and practically untamable. However, Zelda wanted to try her hand at it. 

     The horse eyed her warily as she neared him, mistrust evident in his eyes. Gently stretching out her hand, she didn't even manage to touch the nose of the great beast when he suddenly bucked, kicking out his legs, and started puffing agitatedly. Zelda recoiled, shocked. Was she doing something wrong? That couldn't be. All the other horses didn't react so dramatically when she offered her hand to stroke.

     Link was arriving at the stables as well. He found Zelda standing in front of the white stallion, taking in the sheer power of this horse. 

     He has a way with animals. Zelda remembered, thinking back to the baby bird, hopping unworriedly in his palm.

     Zelda moved over and Link took her spot, gazing at the wild eyes of the horse. Never breaking eye contact, Link slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out an apple. Standing far away, he cupped the apple in both hands, showing both the fruit and his still fingers, in sight. The horse regarded him for a while, then carefully bent its head to take the apple. While the horse was busy with the treat, Link very, very gently touched the side of the horse's neck, every muscle relaxed to show that he was no threat. When he let him stroke the side of his neck, Link touched the horse's muzzle, a sign of affection. The horse relaxed visibly, nuzzling his hand in the hopes of another apple.