Zelda sat at the table in the Ancient Tech Lab, hunched over the old texts of the mysterious book. Her nose almost touched the paper as she tried to decipher what was written underneath the splotches and faded ink.
Link sat next to her and was talking agitatedly to Symin, who was still rummaging around bookshelves, occasionally looking over his shoulder as he answered the knight.
Across from her Purah still sat bent over her notes, scribbling and now and then flipping through different books. Whenever Zelda found something new of interest she told Purah, who then wrote it down between her other notes.
Hours had passed since Link had stormed in, looking frantic and a little panicked. As soon as she had seen him she knew he was worried and she had felt incredibly guilty about that.
She imagined him sitting in front of his house, looking up at the road every once in a while, as he was preparing dinner. Her heart ached at the thought of his increasing worry and the frown that would slowly settle itself on his face.
She still hadn't eaten anything, but she was too busy to care. The texts were so intriguing, so extensive. She couldn't help but wonder what more secrets were written in there.
As Purah sighed and put her head in her hand, elbow leaning on table, Zelda noticed the way here eyes were small and a little red. She looked exhausted. Now that she thought about it she felt a little tired herself.
Stifling a yawn, she reached across the table and looked at the Sheikah Slate, telling her it was 3 o'clock. She rubbed her eyes and put it back down, before standing up.
Three pairs of eyes settled themselves on her and she chuckled excusingly, dragging her hand through her hair. 'We should probably all get some sleep. Maybe we will get further once we are rested.'
Link nodded approvingly and rose to go as well. He placed the book he had been flipping in back on the pile and let Zelda go before him, towards the door.
With a little wave, not bothering to say a proper goodbye, considering they would be back soon, they left and silently mounted their horses.
Zelda could see Link from the corner of her eye, looking serious as ever, vigilant and sharp. Deep down she knew he probably blamed himself for not keeping a closer eye on her. Nothing had happened, but he hadn't known that as he rushed up the hill.
'I'm really sorry, Link,' she heard herself say.
He looked up at her, his piercing blue eyes kind as ever, not showing any sign of accusation. His lips curled up in a small smile and he nodded once. 'It's really okay, Zelda. I'm just glad you're okay.' He looked back down. 'Something could have happened up there and I would have been too late. I only blame myself for letting my guard down.' He grabbed the reins tightly, making his knuckles go white. 'I'm still your appointed knight, sworn to protect you.'
'Please don't blame yourself, Link. I am the only one to blame here. I lost track of time a little and in all my excitement I forgot to send you a message. That's inexcusable. You are not to blame for anything.' She kept looking at him intently, until he finally looked back and showed a tight smile, not completely convinced but not arguing either.
'Don't forget, I know how to use a sword now,' she said, smile evident in her voice.
He chuckled slightly at that. 'And how...' he muttered, glancing at her, a teasing look in his eyes.
She laughed and softly pushed his shoulder in mock offence. Secretly she was immensely relieved he seemed to be back to his old self a little. The serious, dutiful knight he sometimes became was by far not as fun as the relaxed, cheerful Link she had gotten to know.
When they reached the house they were both too tired to bother much with cleaning up. Each of them just dropped themselves in their respective beds and soon Zelda felt herself drifting off.
In the morning she got up slowly, feeling mostly refreshed and full of energy again. The thought of discovering something new today helped her with an additional boost of energy.
When she got downstairs she discovered everything was still as it had been the night before. As she looked behind her, she discovered Link still lying in a pile of blankets, deeply asleep.
She realised suddenly she had rarely ever seen him sleep. He always woke up early, not seeming to need much of it.
For a while she stood there, unsure of what to do, studying him and the peaceful expression on his face. He looked so much younger like this, with his smooth jaw and his hair pointing in all directions.
Suddenly Link let out a soft groan and turned around, startling Zelda so she quickly turned away.
When she realised he didn't move further she carefully glanced his way, seeing how he still lay tightly rolled up under the sheets. She let out a relieved sigh and started placing out breakfast.
It was around 11 o'clock already, but she now started to feel the hunger that hadn't been there before. She decided Link could take care of himself and quickly ate her share, before heading outside.
The fire had been reduced to embers by the time they came back last night, the soup at the edge now cold and looking a little weird. She figured it might do more harm than good now and threw it in the grass a little further away.
She then got to cleaning the gear Link had used. After finishing up, with Link still not having shown his face, she reset the fire for next time, refilled the water, washed herself thoroughly and checked on the horses.
Just as she was heading back inside to see why it took Link so long, she collided with him in the doorway. In instinct she grabbed onto him and clamped her hands around his biceps.
For a few seconds time seemed to be frozen, as she stared at him, his face only inches away from her own. When he looked back with big eyes she could clearly see the little green dots on his Irises.
When his mouth slowly quirked up in a grin, she realised she was staring and quickly stepped back, releasing his arms. She cleared her throat and brushed of her clothes, looking anywhere but at him. The amused smirk he was giving her was almost palpable.
With a curt nod Zelda then grabbed his shoulders, moving him aside, as she brushed past him into the house.
While Link was outside, she kept herself busy rummaging through some cabinets, waiting for the burning of her cheeks to die down. Why did she have to embarrass herself like that?
When she finally felt safe enough to look him in the eyes again, she went back outside. He was sitting under the tree, munching contently on an apple.
Just looking at him made her feel uncomfortable again and she was certain her cheeks were a bright pink, but she bravely squared her shoulders and walked over.
'Morning,' she said, while sitting down as well. 'I assume you slept well?' She asked, her eyebrow raised suggestively.
Now it was his turn to blush a little, as he rubbed the back of his head and grinned. 'Yeah... I guess I was really tired.' He looked at her, eyebrows raised. 'Did it bother you?'
'Not at all!' She quickly replied, mentally slapping herself for the exaggerated outburst. 'I felt like you needed your rest, considering I kept you up all night.'
Link cocked his head to the side, an amused grin appearing on his face again.
As Zelda realised how that sounded she felt her cheeks start to burn again. She shuffled nervously, but decided not to comment on it. She would only make it worse.
Eventually Link seemed to feel a little guilty for making her so awkward and chuckled. 'I see you've kept yourself busy. Saves us some time. Now we can head up to the Lab as soon as you'd like.'
Zelda beamed up at him, already forgotten about her embarrassment from before. She did, however, notice how he kindly steered away from the topic and internally thanked him for that.
Within a few more minutes she was ready to set out, Link not far behind her. They gently rode their horses through town, greeting villagers as they passed. They had become a common sight here and the people enthusiastically waved, while clearing the path for them to pass.
On their way up, Zelda felt completely at ease with Link again and they talked amiably. The short ride seemed to be over in no time at all and she was almost disappointed when they dismounted in front of the Lab. Almost.
All day long they were busy finding more clues and deciphering more of the old texts. There was barely any conversation at all, safe for the occasional note of interest.
Link barely spoke, since he didn't really know what he should be looking for. He flipped through texts and notes, little scribbles and tiny drawings, sometimes lingering a while on a page, before moving on.
Zelda looked at him every now and then from the corner of her eye, making sure he wouldn't become completely bored. She noticed him spending more time on texts about certain rare animals or plants, studying the tiny letters with his nose almost on the paper.
She couldn't help but smile as she saw his interest in things totally different from what they were looking for. Part of her felt bad for dragging him into this, knowing he would much rather be out hunting or something.
As she searched the text for clues of the Ancient Sheikah she realised how generous it was of Link to do this for her. Up til now he had spent this time to do his own thing, but since he seemed to feel regenerated in his role as her appointed knight, she doubted he would leave her alone a lot in the near future.
A sudden squeal jerked her abruptly from her thoughts, making her head shoot up to look at Purah, who now excitedly jumped up and down on her chair.
'This is it! I found it! Here! Look! Oh, snap! This must be it!' She was rambling, as the other three quickly gathered around her.
Zelda looked over her shoulder at the little scribbles Purah had written down. There were little drawings of the Sheikah Slate, Towers and Shrines, as well as the Divine Beasts, all kinds of arrows drawn to connect them together.
At first she couldn't make anything of it, and it was clear from his expression that Link understood even less. He shrugged at her, grinning and raising his eyebrows. She chuckled, but focused her attention back on the papers Purah was pointing at, her finger bobbing up and down with her jumps.
All of a sudden, realisation hit Zelda. Her eyes grew big and her lips parted as she sharply inhaled. This research seemed to be far from over.
She gently pulled the doors closed behind her. It had gotten late again, the sun close to disappearing behind the mountains on the horizon. The air was still quite warm, but a little breeze brought some relief.
When she turned towards her horse, she noticed Epona still standing there. Frowning she looked around. Link had left earlier, finally getting tired of the endless stream of words.
At first he had tried to understand what they were going on about, but eventually he gave up and sat at the table for a while, before getting up and saying he would go ahead and maybe start dinner.
Zelda had promised not to be too late this time, keeping in mind that he would be waiting. She didn't want to disappoint him again. So not even an hour after he left, she regretfully told Purah she should be leaving.
The old Sheikah, looking like a six-year-old, had nodded understandingly, giving her a suggestive wink.
Now Zelda was about to leave, she was suddenly surprised by Links presence. He hadn't really left after all. Why hadn't he?
She spotted him, standing under a tree not far from the blue flames in the furnace. He had his back towards her and seemed to be staring off into the distance, where Mount Lanayru rose high into the sky.
Carefully she approached him, her mind running in a thousand different directions. Her excitement was still present, like a wave of adrenaline not wanting to leave. Her curiosity now spiked again, not only of adventures to come, but also of Links behaviour. Through it all she couldn't suppress the feelings that usually accompanied the sight of him.
No matter what she told herself, she always seemed to take a few seconds to take in his good looks; the way his hair waved in the wind, how his tunic was wrapped tightly around his broad shoulders, his arm raised against the tree he was leaning on, sharply outlining his bicep, the contours of his jaw, a clear contrast with the skies behind him. Her stomach fluttered as she got closer, her cheeks getting a little flushed.
She shouldn't think like this. He might look like he did a century ago, but he was different. He was not the one she had gotten so close to. Why did it have to be this difficult? If only he could remember.
She finally reached Link and stopped beside him, her shoulder almost touching his. She saw him giving her a glance from the corner of his eye, before returning his gaze forward.
'You didn't leave,' she stated, not bothering to make it a question.
He shrugged. 'I couldn't. I just... I felt like I needed to be here.' He pushed himself off the tree and crossed his arms. 'I needed to think.'
Zelda felt a strange clenching feeling in her stomach at his words. He seemed so... distracted.
'Are you okay?' She softly asked, briefly placing her hand on his shoulder.
He finally turned towards her, dropping his arms down his body. He nodded and a gentle smile appeared on his face, seeming to scare away his strange mood.
'I understand we are to do some research on the Divine Beasts while we are there,' he changed the subject, immediately spiking Zelda's interest. 'I just hope to be of some use to you in that. You seem to know what we should be searching for, but I have got no clue.' He grinned sheepishly.
Zelda smiled at him as reassuringly as she could, giving him a light squeeze in his shoulder before dropping her hand. 'I'm sure you'll be of great use, don't worry. I'm sorry for boring you with all our talk of this,' she added seriously.
Link shook his head and waved it off with his hand. 'You didn't. It's just out of my area of expertise. I'll gladly leave you to it, though.' He laughed, the sound filling Zelda with joy.
She couldn't help but return his grin and they grew silent again, staring off into the distance. Slowly she leaned a little towards him, until her shoulder gently bumped his. He gave no reaction, but she did see the small smile on his lips.
After a little while of comfortable silence Zelda started to feel the slight chill that was settling for the night. She shivered slightly and did a little step further towards Link, who didn't protest.
She turned to look at him, realising his face was only about ten centimetres away now. As she tried to suppress another shiver, she clasped her hands around her shoulders.
'Link?' She whispered. He immediately turned to look at her, giving her a clear view of the small green specks in his blue eyes.
'Hmm?' He hummed, raising an eyebrow to signal her to continue.
Zelda could feel his chest against her hand, the warmth radiating off him making her feel a little better.
'It's getting colder,' she whispered, almost breathless, as he seemed to look right into her soul. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up at him through her eyelashes, scared of what he would say.
'Yeah, we should probably head down,' he said, while gently extending his hands to rub her bare arms, which were covered with goosebumps.
Zelda smiled down at the ground as she enjoyed the feeling of his body heat on her skin. She saw his feet stepping a little closer and lifted her head to look at him, feeling how she was now pressed against his warm chest.
He looked down at her, a smile still present on his lips. That alone was enough to warm her up from the inside.
She could not contain the broad smile that appeared on her face, as she felt a little scared of what he might think. There was probably an intense happy, longing look in her eyes and she desperately tried to hide it, but most likely failed at that.
She realised they were still standing like that, him holding her in his embrace, instead of moving towards their horses. Maybe he wanted to stay like this just as much as she did.
As she looked at him, she could she how he was studying her face, maybe looking for things he remembered, or only giving his eyes something to look at. It didn't matter. She would give anything for him to look at her like that again. The way he used to do.
For what seemed like an eternity, they just stared at each other, an invisible connection keeping them from moving away or breaking the silence.
Eventually Zelda stopped thinking, her mind no longer running wild, but instead a peaceful calmness brushing over her. She knew clearly what she wanted, for what seemed like the first time since leaving the Castle.
Very slowly she pushed herself up to her toes, bringing her face level with his. She looked at his eyes, those beautiful piercing blue eyes, that had still not broken contact, looking for a sign. What sign that would be she didn't know. Maybe some form of protest or awkwardness, or maybe hope and anticipation.
As she got even closer to his face, she still couldn't decipher the meaning of his expression, but he hadn't pulled away yet. Maybe there was a chance he remembered his feelings. Maybe they could go back to how it was before.
She now felt her nose gently brush his, making it hard for her to keep looking at him. She was about to close her eyes, when she suddenly saw his go wide, a look of shock and horror on his face.
His eyes abruptly left hers, leaving her feeling strangely empty. His arms disappeared from around her, allowing cold night air to brush against her skin again, immediately bringing back her goosebumps.
'I can't', he said while softly pushing her away by her shoulders. He then quickly turned around and ran past the tree, away from her. She saw him taking out and unfolding his paraglider, before jumping of the cliff and disappearing from sight.
Deeply shocked Zelda stood still for a moment, but then ran towards the edge where he dove off. She saw him flying there, quickly becoming smaller and smaller, until he was a black figure against the dark land. He then completely vanished from sight.
Zelda stood there, watching the place where she had last seen him, her heart aching and her mind full of wonder. What had just happened?