𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒- a zelink fanfic

IV

TW: MENTION OF SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION!

Zelda smiled at the feeling of the warm sun on her skin. She watched as the guards hurled her final things into the carriage, grunting. She was so unbelievably excited that she felt a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time- true, genuine happiness. She lifted her dress and walked back towards the main gates of the castle, away from where the carriage was parked. She placed a gloved hand on the cobblestone half-wall and looked up at her father's balcony. Sure enough, he stood, stone-faced, watching disapprovingly. Zelda grinned at him and waved politely, making sure she moved her wrist incorrectly to make him angry. He suddenly brought a gentle, frightening smile to his face and waved. Zelda shuddered with fear, but she cleared her throat as she walked back to her carriage. She could not let the stirring feeling that her father had a plan ruin her day.

Zelda climbed into her carriage, sitting on the cushioned seats as the carriage began to move along the bumpy road. She fidgeted with her silky gloves and played her favorite game with herself. The game was called 'Boom'- in which your fingers are cannons, and you must try and take out the other side's canons before all of yours can be blown up by tapping the other's fingers. Zelda played alone- and, shocker, Zelda won. She sighed after her 5th round and rested her head on the wall behind her. She sat up and looked out the window, and suddenly noticed there were horses trailing behind the carriage. Her eyes widened as she desperately searched for Link, but didn't see him. She noticed one of them looked familiar- but then again, all of them did. She saw them at the grounds all the time. I mean, he only had blue eyes. Plenty of people had blue eyes.

-

It had been a few hours. Eventually, she had dozed off, falling asleep with her head rested on the wall behind her. She was awoken with a sudden bump, the wooden wheel going over a rock and launching it elsewhere, the carriage bumping off the ground a solid few feet. Zelda flew from her seat, yelping, and fell back onto it with a thud. She gave a breathy laugh and rubbed her eyes as she looked out the window. It was dark, and all the stars glistened like glitter thrown carelessly at the Earth. Zelda hopped out of the carriage, lifting her dress up as she walked. She bit her lip with excitement as she walked along the main path of Hateno, hoping to visit Purah. But she heard clinking behind her. She spun around to see a knight, wearing metal armor that jingled as he followed her. It was the one she had recognized earlier.

"May I ask what in Hylia you are doing?" She demanded. The knight refused to look her in the eye. He watched the top of her head, stone-faced.

"I was instructed by the King to protect you as you venture Hateno," he said monotonously. Behind the layer of emotionless manner, the knight looked... off. Almost- sad.

"I have no need for you. I am completely fine on my own," she said sassily, hands on her hips. "So you might as well just go off and do whatever it is you knights do nowadays. Cut down a tree or something," she growled. She started to walk back towards Purah's house, lifting her dress as she walked up the large hill. Then she heard the clinking again. She spun around. "Will you stop following me?!" she shouted, and the knight jumped, looking offended. But he swallowed and looked at the ground.

"Yes, Princess." And he walked away. Zelda felt a pang in her heart, and it took her a while to identify the feeling. Was it... uh... guilt? No, Zelda could not be feeling guilt. Not for that stupid knight- following her without consent. Her father did not own her- she was nearly an adult. She was close to not even needing a parent/guardian. So with that, she continued up the hill.

Zelda was not far from Purah's house when she saw the moon disappear and her shadow vanish underneath her. She furrowed a brow and looked up to see the sun covered by a large, gray mass. The dark night sky had been blanketed with a dark cloud that rumbled loudly. She looked up and Zelda yelped as the cold rain splattered down on her, muddying the ground and ruining her hair and dress. But she didn't care about that half as much as the lightning.