Hero by Heart

Chapter 19

When Zelda woke up she was greeted by the smell of cooked eggs. The sun shone through the cloth that made her tent and warmed the air around her. Before long it was getting too hot to stay there and she crawled out.
     The first thing she saw was Link crouched near the little fire, cooking eggs in one of his pans. His hair was tied together in a bun, in true Sheikah fashion, and he wore his blue tunic and Hylian trousers.
     As Zelda looked at him in the bright morning light she felt her heart flutter. He was incredibly handsome without even making an effort. And those eggs he was making almost looked better than he did.
     She sat down next to him and smiled at him, as he greeted her with a grin.
     'Goodmorning, Princess,' he said, his voice a little croaky. 'How did you sleep?'
     'Very well,' she smiled. 'And you? Wasn't it too cold out here?'
     Link shook his head. 'No, I slept great. I love the night air, no matter how cold.'
     Zelda smiled lovingly at him, even though he didn't see it with his attention on the eggs. She thought back of the previous night and almost couldn't believe it had truly happened.
     A few minutes later Link handed her a plate with her breakfast, before sitting down close to her. He smiled knowingly, but didn't say a word.
     They ate in silence, Zelda's thoughts wandering to her research, as she looked up at the impressive Divine Beast.
     Would Link be able to help her find something? Was there truly something hidden there at all? Maybe she was wrong. There was no way of knowing that, so maybe they would have to search forever.
     As her mind was filled with doubt she absentmindedly chewed on the end of her fork, until Link gently placed his hand on hers, dragging the fork away.
     'If you're gonna ruin my gear, please do it for something useful,' he laughed. 'They are quite difficult to make, you know.'
     Zelda looked at him in shock and quickly put away her plate, looking at him apologetically.
     'It's alright,' Link said. 'I get that you're a little stressed. But we will find it. If it's there, we will. Don't worry.' He gave her his most reassuring smile and Zelda actually felt better by it.
     'Let's get our stuff cleaned up and then we can start, there is no use in delaying it,' Link said, while standing up.
      Zelda nodded and quickly helped him pack up the gear and store it neatly in their bags. She started to feel anxious of going in there again, almost urging Link to hurry up.
     Finally he was ready and she dragged him by the hand to the entrance of the Beast. He just laughed and let her pull him along, gently squeezing her hand.

The rest of that day they spent inside, searching every nook and cranny. Link pointed out things that stood out to him and Zelda researched them in great detail.
     She wrote everything down in her journal, but couldn't exactly determine if it was important.
     There were scribbles of her thoughts, descriptions of the area, and even little drawings of designs and mechanisms that she encountered.
     It was all greatly interesting, but she didn't come here to learn more about the controls. She had to find a clue of something bigger.
     Eventually, when it was already late in the afternoon, she decided they had searched everything and that it was time to head out.
     'I think I might have it in here,' she said to Link, holding up her journal as they walked through the massive hall. 'I just don't know what it looks like. Maybe it's best if we try searching in one of the other Divine Beasts. I could cross reference my findings there with these, which may lead me in the right direction.'
     Link nodded. 'We should head back to the Domain anyway. I don't have any more wood left, so we cannot make a fire. It will be too cold to stay up here.'
     He looked at Zelda with regret in his eyes, telling her he was sorry that they hadn't had the big breakthrough she wanted, but she shrugged it off. Most research wasn't completed in a day.
     Back at their little camp they now packed up the tent as well. As Zelda followed Link to the edge of the peak, she looked out over the lands below, marvelling at the view.
     Link noticed how she had stopped and walked back to stand beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. 'It's beautiful, isn't it?'
     Zelda just nodded, leaning into his side. She felt so safe here, in his arms, high above everyone else. Just for a minute she could forget about the past, about the Calamity. She had finally gotten her knight back, was now finally able to live her life. But she would have to do it without her father, without her friends and the champions that she had grown so close to. Worst of all, she had to live this life without the wise counsel and warmth of Lady Urbosa, whom she had loved as her own mother.
     Urbosa had always known all her secrets, all her struggles. She had known how Zelda had taken a liking to her appointed knight and how she struggled to let him know. Zelda now wished more than anything that she could tell her that it had worked out. Even before the Calamity, when they had finally kissed, she had never been able to tell Urbosa.
     Zelda wanted to talk to the Gerudo, to see her and hold her one last time. To tell her how she had had to wait one hundred years for Link to return, only to have everything shattered into pieces as he told her he didn't remember her. She wanted to talk to her about the despair she had felt, about the loneliness and helplessness. She wanted to tell Urbosa that she needed her. But she couldn't. She had to solve everything on her own. And now it had turned out alright, she could be happy with Link, but she would always long to tell the proud Gerudo Chief. Who could she talk to now? Everyone she had known was dead.
     As Zelda looked at the beautiful land under the warm rays of the sun, with Link holding her close, she felt happy, but at the same time her memories left her feeling alone and grieving for what she had lost.
     Tears were slowly making their way down her cheeks and when Link noticed he gently brushed them away. He smiled at her knowingly and pulled her even closer. He didn't say a thing, sensing she just wanted to be held, so instead they both stared out into the distance.
     Eventually Zelda felt herself calm down and she took a deep, shaky breath. She then looked at Link and smiled, nodding almost imperceptible.
Link pulled her into a hug and softly kissed her forehead, making Zelda feel warm and loved. She was so lucky to have him by her side.
     After a short moment they broke apart and Zelda nodded, more determined this time. Link smiled back at her and unfolded his paraglider.
     Without delaying any further they jumped off the mountain and glided back to the path, landing on Ruto mountain, near the peak.
     Link packed up his glider again and started walking down towards the Domain, but Zelda grabbed his arm and pulled him back. 'Wait,' she said, giving him a puzzled look.
     He looked at her questioningly and she shuffled her feet a little embarrassed. 'I don't think we should tell people yet. About us.' She chuckled nervously, feeling weird saying that. Was there even truly an us? Maybe Link didn't want to go that far.
     He looked at her with his kind, sweet eyes and nodded. 'I understand. It's still very new to us too. Let's just take our time getting used to this first.'
     Zelda nodded, looking down at her feet. She then looked up at him and smiled, determination set in her mind.
     'That does mean that we never know when the next opportunity will be,' she said. 'So...' She smiled mischievously and pulled him closer by his tunic, wrapping her arms around his neck.
     As she saw the startled expression on his face, she smiled lovingly and closed her eyes, leaning in to kiss him.
     For a second Link didn't respond, but then she felt him melting in her arms and returning the kiss enthusiastically. He wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her even closer, making Zelda feel like she was floating.
     She put one hand through the back of his hair, while the other gently rested on his face.
     They stood like that for what seemed like forever, both completely lost in time, until the princess gently pulled away.
     She looked into Links eyes, seeing the broad smile on his face and the way they seemed to light up. He hugged her tightly before letting go completely.
     Zelda now started walking towards the Domain, with Link falling into step right behind her. Still, she could not seem to wipe the smile from her face.

As they entered the Domain again, they were greeted by Sidon, standing close to the statue of Mipha. He looked up expectantly and turned towards them. 'So?' He asked. 'How did it go? You found something, didn't you?' He turned to Zelda, who still held a big smile on her face, but she shook her head.
     'Not really. I want to investigate the other Divine Beasts to see if there is a connection.'
     Sidon seemed a little confused, put off by the contradiction of her words and her expression. He then looked at Link and suddenly he squinted his eyes suspiciously.
     Link kept his face neutral, but refused to meet the eyes of the Zora.
     'Well, I'm going to freshen up before dinner, if you don't mind, Sidon,' Zelda said, giving him a friendly smile.
     The prince nodded and let Zelda pass, but as Link followed he held out his hand and stopped the knight from passing him.
Zelda smiled to herself as she kept walking. She knew Link would probably tell the prince everything, but that was only right considering Sidon was the one to push him to leave the past behind.
While the two men talked somewhere else, she freshened up and put away her stuff, before heading out into the Domain again. She had no true purpose, but hoped to meet someone to talk to.
Before she could really start her walk she was already stopped by Link, who looked a little flushed.
'Zelda!' He called out, quickly making his way over. 'Sidon has invited us for dinner tonight. I told him we will probably be leaving tomorrow, so he wants to spend some time together. Are you okay with that?'
Zelda smiled fondly at her knight, nodding quickly. 'Of course, that sounds great.'
     Link nodded and turned to go tell Sidon. 'I'll freshen up as soon as I have told him. Hopefully I'll be on time.' He grinned and started walking back towards the stairs, but Zelda stopped him with a hand on his arm.
     'You go clean up, I'll tell him.' She said. 'No need for you to be late. I have time enough.'
     Link nodded and smiled gratefully, before gently squeezing her hand and walking off towards the inn.
     Zelda looked after him until he disappeared from view and then turned and headed up the stairs.
     As she expected, Sidon stood close to the entrance of the throne room and saw her approaching. He grinned broadly and waved at her. 'Good evening, Princess!' He said in his usual enthusiasm.
     'Good evening, Prince Sidon,' she returned.
     'I assume Link has talked to you about dinner?'
     Zelda nodded, a smile on her lips at the look on Sidons face.
     'Great! I look forward to catching up with you two,' the prince said with a wink.
     Zelda laughed at the sight. 'I take it Link told you what happened up there.'
     Sidon nodded excitedly. 'I'm glad he took my advice, to be honest,' he added, a serious expression now on his face. 'He has had so much troubles, he deserves to be happy for once.' He gave Zelda a blinding smile. 'And you do too. You two are really great together.'
     Zelda smiled back, a light blush on her cheeks.
     'Don't worry, by the way. I won't tell anyone. This is your life and you should handle this your way.'
     Zelda nodded. 'Thank you, Sidon. That means a lot.'
     The Zora prince showed his broad grin again and put his hand on her shoulder. 'Anything for my friends.'