FOREWORD: In case you've somehow missed the Mature tag on this story, this is the one and only reminder I'm going to put before a chapter in case you didn't actually sign up for NSFW content. It ends up okay, but I'm sure the contents of this chapter will make some uncomfortable. I'm saying this now because when the mature stuff appears in a more positive light, I want it to be a pleasant surprise and not spoiled by a big ol' "NSFW WARNING" at the top lol 💞
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A crack split the stone beneath them.
"Watch out!" Link shouted as one of Zelda's legs collapsed with the falling rock, but it was Link's half of the platform that gave way completely.
"Link!" Zelda screamed, scrabbling closer to the safe center of the ruins and watching with horror as he fell away with the sundelion. With a grunt, he slammed on the platform below, and the knight slid towards the edge. "Link!"
His eyes wrenched open and locked onto the sundelion, uprooted and lying a few feet away on an even more precarious edge.
"Forget the flower, Link!" she cried, already knowing exactly what he was thinking.
"But we came all this way..." he grunted, barely audible from above. His arm reached out slowly.
"We'll find another one!"
Outstretched fingers paused, but only for a beat before they continued inching closer.
"Get back up here!" she yelled as the rocks groaned and popped. "It's a damn royal command!"
"After I get the flower..." he gritted, darting his hand the last few inches and hooking it by a leaf as the ground underneath him cracked again. It crumbled slowly, dragging the knight's lower body over the edge. He bit down on the sundelion's stem and with both his hands free, managed to grab onto the last bit of rock before the platform underneath disintegrated completely.
Zelda pancaked on the ground, distributing her own weight as evenly as possible to prevent further collapse and extended her hand down to Link. Not good enough; they were too far apart. Link attempted to pull himself up, but as soon as he tested his weight against the ledge, it dropped more rubble.
What was she supposed to do? They had no grappling hook, no paraglider, no magical ability that could reverse the clock and lift the rocks back into position. For a brain that was constantly overrun with thoughts and ideas, it was suddenly infuriatingly vacuous. Why did Link go for the sundelion!
Finally, an idea. Frantically, Zelda shimmed out of her sweater from Paya and dangled the sleeve down to Link. She was nowhere near strong enough to pull him up, but she didn't have to be. She just had to hold on while he pulled himself up. So she twisted the sleeve twice around her wrist and hooked her ankle around the sturdiest rock she could. "Grab on!"
Blue eyes leapt first, testing the jump for the rest of his body. Then his hands flashed for the sleeve, the sudden movement destroying the last of the platform.
The sweater stretched so drastically, for a moment Zelda feared Link hadn't grabbed it at all. The fabric hissed in protest to his weight, and so too did Zelda's wrists and shoulders. Ignoring the biting scrape, she shifted her strength to the leg that anchored them both.
Link, flower still between his teeth, clutched the fabric in fists, attempting to climb it like a rope. The neckline tore a bit when he grabbed it, so he readjusted. When Link was close enough to reach, his fingers sought the sturdiest rocks. Zelda cast the sweater aside and snatched his collar, pulling him to safety with all her might as he heaved himself up onto the plateau.
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Fortune Favors the Courageous
Fanfiction"Princess!" he yelled after her. "Where are you going?" "Back to the castle," she replied without stopping. "Not by yourself you're not!" "I'm sorry,"-she whipped around-"I didn't realize you were my father?" "Your father, the king, would execute me...
