-A Silent Lily- (A BoTW Fanfic)

~'Chapter 14'~

The closer the group gets to the castle, the more thoughts cloud Link's mind. Did Zelda know about this prophecy before? If so, why did she keep his memories away from him? Why did she do it even if she didn't know about the prophecy? Link shook his head, trying to get the thoughts out and clear his head but to no avail. He didn't even notice when they entered the great gates of Hyrule castle until Sidon's voice pierced through his dreamish state. "Hey, we've arrived. Are you alright?" Sidon asks, concerned. Link looks at him with a troublesome look on his face and gives him a short nod as an answer. "I... Need to talk to Zelda.." He murmurs as he gets off his horse and lets the stableworkers take care of it, along with the other horses. 

Link takes a deep breath as he walks up to Zelda and gently taps her shoulder. She quickly looks over at him "Yes?" she asks. Link quietly whispers, only loud enough for Zelda to hear "Can we talk in private...?". Zelda's eyes widens, shortly after saying "Oh, ofcourse." with a faint smile. Link quickly walks inside and off to one of the many storage rooms, having Zelda right behind him. The pair steps into a room littered with old and no longer used furniture, and Zelda shuts the door behind them. "So? What do you want to talk to me about?" She asks, turning to face Link. He looks away from her, taking a deep breath for courage before he asks "... Why did you keep so many memories from me?". Even if Link isn't looking at her he can feel how taken aback Zelda gets by the question, and it takes a long while for her to formulate an answer. "I-... I didn't want you to feel empathy for the other races, I thought would be easier for you then to-". "Kill them off?" Link interrupts her with, looking up to meet her eyes. Zelda stutters for a moment.

"I-... I-.. Yes. I-I had never heard of this prophecy before and I-.. Didn't want you to remember the ones we used to interact with.." She murmurs, looking at him with gloomy eyes. "Then why did you let me remember Riju? And Revali? Why didn't you let me remember the ones I held dear before my memory loss..?!" Link pleads desperately. Zelda sighs, her eyebrows narrowing as she adverts her gaze. "It was a-... Selfish act from my side." She admits "I didn't want you to-... Get closer to them than with me.". Link looks at her, shocked by these news. "Zelda.... What happened while I was gone? What made you so jealous of some of our past friends to shut me off from them?" Link asks in a quiet voice, desperately trying to regain eye contact with the princess. Zelda sighs deeply before she looks back at Link "Just a year before you were ready to wake up Sidon he... Told me he used to visit you. He spoke about conversating with you, just as if you could reply and when I-... When I told him that I was planning to wake you the following year his face lit up. I- I didn't want you to meet him I-.. Didn't want him to change anything between us." she says, her face looking unsure. "You kept me away from him because you knew that our relationship would not be the same if I met him?" Link asks, a heavy feeling creeping it's way up his back. "Well was I wrong?!" Zelda spits out, taking Link by surprise. Link stays silent for a long moment, before mumbling "... No, you're not..".

The two hylians stay silent for a long while, until Link breaks it with asking "Zelda... If I ask you something, do you promise to tell the truth..?". Zelda gives Link a soft smile and a "Ofcourse" as a response. "... Do you love me?" Link asks, trying to hide the nervous fidgeting with his fingers. by hiding his hands behind his back. Zelda looks away for a moment to think before she quietly responds with "No... Not like the lover the kingdom wants me to love you. The kiss I stole from you all those months ago didn't change anything for me no matter how much I wish it had." Zelda admits, tears forming in her blue eyes. Link softly pulls her into his arms, holding the shaking princess tight. "... Your heart belongs to her, doesn't it..?" Link asks, thinking back on the way Zelda looks at the gerudo chief, a way she'd never look at Link no matter what people want her to. Zelda nods slowly "... And your heart belongs to him.." She mumbles, earning a nod from Link too. "But we'll always be the closest of friends, no matter what we have to make the kingdom think due to our ancient rules.." Zelda says, looking back at Link and getting met by a warm smile from the other hylian.

"Now let's go, we have a Hyrule to save."