The Smile as Bright as the Sun {BOTW Link x Reader}

1

'...You must help Link!'

Zelda's words still rang in your head. You knew of this Link, and you had heard an earful about him from Zelda. She'd always thought him annoying for following her everywhere (although you knew it was simply his job, and had mentioned that little detail to her numerous times), but over time grew to respect his bravery and loyalty, and especially his go-getter attitude. But even if you'd heard about him, you never really got the chance to meet him. He didn't seem bad at all, though you had been skeptical of the boy when Zelda first mentioned him. She always did have a talent for making anyone sound like a foul little demon. Either way, you knew you wouldn't have much of an issue with him, and he'd better get used to you since you were now tasked with helping him.

You picked your way down the steep, rocky slopes, said slopes being steep enough to make your toes level with the heads of pine trees. However, you managed to get all the way down with minimal sliding.

You gazed around at the bright scenery, a sigh escaping your lips. How were you meant to track down Link? 'If I was an adventurous, brave boy, where would I be?', was all you could really think, despite it being a useless thought. You'd just have to explore a bit and see if you could find him. He couldn't be too far, right?

As you were walking, you came across the Temple of Time, and the sight of it caused a frown to etch onto your features. Time had reduced it to ruins, parts of the large structure's wooden frame being revealed. The century that had passed had caused the pristine white to fade to a sad gray. The whole aura of it made you feel sick and melancholy, as if it had been left forgotten and lonely all these years. You felt related to it, in that sense- the only difference being that you hadn't aged a day. Shaking off your thoughts, you refocused on the task at hand and continued walking. Soon enough you caught sight of smoke from a campfire coming from over a hill.

"Oh, thank Hylia," you sighed, admittedly happy to know that you weren't alone anymore and that there were other people here. Unless it was a monster campfire instead, in which case you would have to kill them. Brushing off the thought and deciding to think positive, you jogged up the hill and were relieved to find an old man sitting there, a confused looking boy talking with him. When the old man spotted you, he smiled, pausing his conversation to beckon you over. You returned his smile and walked up to them.

"Hello! Sorry to intrude, but do you think I could rest here for a bit?" you asked politely, lacing your fingers together in front of you.

"Oh, by all means, go right ahead!" The old man replied, gesturing for you to sit down. "You may also help yourself to those baked apples, if you'd like."

You nodded, thanking him, and sat cross legged on the ground. The fire was nice and warm, and the baked apple you took was delicious. You didn't even realize how hungry you were until you bit into it.

The two males continued to talk, the old man seemingly introducing the boy to the area, you listening silently as you munched your apple. But when you saw the boy pull out a Sheikah Slate, you choked on the bite you'd taken, roughly swallowing it down. The pair looked at you oddly.

You cleared your throat, smiling embarrassedly. "Sorry, took too big of a bite," you explained sheepishly before you got to your feet. You decided to change the subject. "I don't believe I've introduced myself. I'm Y/n. Who might you two be?" you questioned with a smile, looking between the two. Really, you just wanted to know their names to see if one of them was Link, but you obviously wouldn't tell them that.

The man made no move to speak up, so the boy decided to reply. He hesitated before he said it, as if he weren't too sure himself, "Link."

Your eyebrows raised, and you took the chance to actually get a good look at him. He certainly wasn't bad looking with his messy blonde hair that had been tied back into a low ponytail and his rather built frame. He had these big bright blue eyes, ones that seemed to reflect the sky's hue, and tan-peach colored skin which lacked blemish. He seemed to be about your age, which you found a little surprising as you had expected him to be older. And his current attire was ragged, as if it had been lying around for the century that you had been unconscious for. He wasn't the tallest guy out there either, but who were you to judge? You were a few inches shorter than him.