Chapter Two

The following morning, Zelda woke up early and began packing for the journey to Zora's Domain. She packed her old leather satchel with bandages, her journal, and an elixir that would only be used for emergencies. She slipped behind her changing screen and changed out of her nightdress into her blue tunic and black leggings.

"Come in," Zelda called to the knock at the door.

"Princess?" Mira said as she retrieved Zelda's night dress off of the floor, slinging it over her arm. "Where do you think you are going at such an early hour?"

"Link and I will be making our way to Zora's Domain." She slung the satchel over her shoulder, "There is a problem that needs to be tended to."

"If that's the case, should I have someone escort you to the horses?"

She shook her head, "That will not be necessary."

"Very well. Oh, but, princess, I just thought you would like to know, Master Link has been out in the training yard since early this morning."

Zelda frowned. "Is that so?"

"Yes, apparently he's been training since before the sun came up." Mira shrugged and smoothed the nightdress out on the bed. "Everyone wonders if he ever sleeps."

She had made sure that he had gotten some sleep last night, but now she wondered if he had actually slept at all. If he was up before the sun was, he must have only gotten a couple of hours at most. He needed to give himself some time to rest but he seemed completely determined not to.

"Thank you, Malyna. I should go speak with him before we depart."

She bowed a little. "Safe travels, princess. May Hylia watch over you."

Zelda gave her a small smile before she turned to leave, clutching the strap of her satchel. The excitement that had kept her awake all night resurfaced and added a little skip into her step. But, instead of heading for the training yard, Zelda decided to take a detour, following the halls and staircases that led her deeper into the Castle. She pushed through a small door and her nose was immediately invaded by the smell of baked goods. It seemed like she had stopped by at just the right time.

A man wearing all white stopped what he was doing and smiled, eyes sparkling with surprise.

"Ah! Princess, I'm surprised to see you here so early!" He wiped his hands on his apron, "I apologize for the mess. We've been busy making apple pie all morning."

"They smell wonderful!" It would explain the strong smell of cinnamon and sugar that lingered in the air. "But I'm afraid I won't be able to try them."

"Oh..." His smile fell a little. "That's too bad..."

Feeling slightly awkward now that she had dampened the mood, Zelda fiddled with her hands.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, princess?"

"You don't happen to have any spare apples, do you?" It wouldn't be a full-course meal, but she hoped Link would at least eat it. Something is better than nothing, after all.

"I believe that I do... Let me check for you."

Zelda smiled, "Thank you."

The baker walked off and Zelda looked around. She had never stepped foot into the Castle's kitchen much. When she was a child she tried to sneak sweets only once but she was caught by her father, the king, in the process. He hadn't been pleased with her behaviour and banned her from ever going back. It felt strange to step foot in the kitchen that had been mostly reconstructed by memory.

"Here you are, princess," the baker said as he set down a weaved basket on the counter. It was full of the reddest apples she had ever seen. "Take as many as you need, I won't be needing all of them."

"That's kind of you, thank you." She took only two from the top of the basket and smiled at the baker who took the basket away again.

Zelda left the kitchen and slipped both apples into her satchel.

When she arrived in the training yard, she stopped in her tracks with her breath caught in her throat. Just like the night before, Link was training with the Master Sword, swinging and slicing it through the air with such force that Zelda shivered. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like on the receiving end of one of the swings, it must have been terrifying. She hoped that she would never have to find out.

Also, like the night before, he was without a tunic covering his back, leaving it exposed to the elements of a beautiful sunny morning. The scars on his back were even more obvious, a darker shade than the rest of him, evidence of how deep the wounds he had once suffered had been. The toned muscles of his back were even more apparent during the day. Link wasn't built, he was lean muscle all over, which she could not entirely confirm.

Zelda blushed and quickly looked away, having thought too far about the latter.

She cleared her throat, trying to cool down her face.

"Good morning, Link."

He flinched and looked over his shoulder. Spotting her with the corner of his eye, he lowered his sword, his shoulders relaxing until he finally turned to face her.

"You have been training all morning again, haven't you?" He refused to meet her gaze and Zelda grunted in annoyance. She didn't need a word out of him to know that he had been. "Well, here. I brought something for you."

From her satchel, she pulled out both of the apples. Link's eyes followed them eagerly. It was obvious that he had been working too hard again.

"Here." She tossed one to him.

Link stabbed the Master Sword into the grass and reached out with both hands, meaning to catch the apple. Successfully, he did, but promptly dropped it, letting it fall onto the grass.

Zelda's brows furrowed with worry. Had he caught it and decided that he no longer wanted it? The facial expression that he had shown for a brief moment suggested that there was something else going on. When he caught it, he looked like he was in pain.

He picked the apple off the ground, cleaned off the dirt by rubbing it against his thigh, and took a bite. Seconds later, he took another, practically inhaling the fruit.

As he was preoccupied, Zelda approached him. "Link, may I see your hands?"

Not even for a second had he looked up from the apple which already had most of its core exposed. Had he even heard her request?

Crossing her arms over her chest, Zelda called his name but more sternly this time. Link froze and looked right at her, his eyes wide as if he had been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.

"Let me see your hands," she demanded, forcibly pulling them away from him. Accidentally, she took in a sharp breath. His blisters, the ones that covered both of his palms, had opened up and begun to bleed. His fingers were covered in his own blood. "These need to be patched up, Link..."

Quickly he yanked them away and turned his back on her, walking over and grabbing his tunic off the grass.

Frustrated with his behaviour, Zelda went after him. He needed to learn to take care of himself, but he absolutely refused to do so and it was beginning to bother her. Why was he so careless when it came to his own health?

"Link, you need to stop pushing yourself so hard. If you keep doing that your hands are only–" She bumped right into his back.

When he turned to face her, he was standing really close to her, so close that she could feel his breath on her face. She took a shuddering breath before she remembered what she was previously saying.

"They need to be bandaged before they get any worse." She grabbed his wrist and pulled him onto the grass, sitting across from her with his legs folded under him.

They sat in silence as Zelda reached into her satchel and pulled out the roll of bandages. She carefully wrapped up both of his hands, apologizing quietly when he winced.

"Thank you," Link said softly.

No longer as frustrated with him as before, she lifted her gaze up to his and gave him a small smile. At least she was able to do this for him.

He heard the footsteps approaching first and turned his head. Zelda briefly looked over at what had grabbed his attention. It was Malyna, standing with her hands folded in front of her.

"Princess, the horses are ready."

She felt Link's eyes on her again as she replied, "Okay, thank you. We will be there shortly."

Malyna turned and left, leaving them alone in the training yard once again. The silence settled once more and Zelda remained intently focused on patching up his hands, trying to ignore the fact that he was sitting so close and even leaning in a little to see her progress. His closeness made her a little uncomfortable.

"There. The bandages should provide enough cushioning to prevent any sort of rubbing against the open wounds." She stuffed the bandages back into her satchel, "We should get going. Prince Sidon will be awaiting our arrival."

Link nodded and pulled his gloves back onto his hands, adjusted the sleeves of his undershirt, added the wraps back around his arms and attached the brace to his right forearm.

Together, they headed to the stables below the Castle and retrieved their horses, Storm and Epona. Link assisted her until she was properly settled in the saddle and Zelda held tightly to the reins. It had been quite some time since she had last ridden on the back of a horse, possibly since before the Calamity.

"I'll ride beside you," Link said just as the stable boy opened the doors. "I don't know what the trails are going to be like now that the Calamity is over."

"I would appreciate that." Storm, Zelda's white horse, stirred under her, eager to go. "I want to get to Zora's Domain as quickly as possible, so I believe the most time-efficient path would be the best to take."

He nodded. "I agree. The best way that I know of is through the marshes."

"If that is the best way, we need to take it."

Link reached over for Storm's bridal as he tapped Epona's sides with his heels, gesturing her forward. They started slow out of the stables and made their way toward Castle Town.

"Keep Storm at the same pace as Epona." Zelda nodded and grabbed tighter to the reins of her horse, forgetting to breathe as he let go. "Let's go through East Castle Town, it's not as busy."

"Okay..."

They rode their horses through Castle Town and followed the cobblestone path until it turned into a simple dirt trail. It led them through the expanse of Hyrule Field, through valleys and trees. However, because they had left at a later time than originally intended, it was dark before they could even get out of Central Hyrule.

"Keep your eye out for anything that moves," Link warned as the sun disappeared over the horizon. "Monsters often attack when your back is turned."

As safe as his warning made her feel Zelda steered her horse closer to his, keeping close beside him. Hyrule was a completely different place when it got dark, covered in shadows that looked as if they would jump out at you any second. Because of that, it was often considered dangerous to be out in the dead of night.

Link directed them past a forest, purposely avoiding it. But, as she rode past, Zelda caught a glimpse of something that moved within the trees.

She swallowed, keeping her eyes open. Storm stirred uneasily under her, grunting and pressing against Epona a little which only made her a little antsy. Zelda pulled gently on the reins, trying to get her horse back on track, but he refused to listen.

"Link, there's something wrong with Storm. He's acting strange."

Epona made a strange noise that sounded almost like a growl. With his lips pressed together, he leaned forward and patted her on the neck.

Zelda glanced over at the forest, catching the briefest look of a glowing eye within the trees. She reached over and touched Link on the arm, collecting his gaze.

"What is it?"

"There's something in the trees," she whispered. "I think I just saw..."

"Zelda? What did you see?"

There was a loud crack somewhere in the woods and from the canopy of the trees, a black swarm rose into the air, screeching horribly.

Storm stirred restlessly and fought back as she tried to lead him in the right direction. She held tight to the reins and tried to stay on his back using the strength of her thighs. Zelda could already feel her muscles burning.

"What is that?" She asked, her eyes wide with horror.

"Keese," Link said as he unsheathed the Master Sword. "A whole swarm of them."

The black swarm of Keese stopped midair and their eyes glowed an eerie yellow as they stared down at the two Hylians.

"Link, what do we do?" Her heart was pounding so loud that she couldn't really hear herself speak.

"Just keep going straight, follow the road! I'll ride behind you and try to keep them back."

"O-okay," Zelda breathed, hitting Storm's sides. She gasped as her horse took off down the road at a full gallop. As the wind whipped at her face, it became harder to breathe. She glanced over her shoulder. "Link!"

The Keese hoard was right behind him, flying low to the ground and screeching with anger. There had to be hundreds, maybe even thousands of them, all with eyes glowing crimson.

Storm suddenly jumped over a branch that had fallen over the road and the landing nearly knocked her out of the saddle. She gasped for breath, feeling as if she had just been punched in the gut. Gripping the reins tighter, she looked back again, watching in awe.

Link was riding backwards in the saddle with a bow in his hand. Epona cleared the tree in the road with ease and it didn't seem to faze him, not even as he aimed at the swarm that gained with every second. Her eyes hadn't left him for more than a second and she managed to miss the moment when he released the arrow, or even when he had knocked it.

The sky exploded bright orange with an ear-splitting bang and Zelda flinched. She was on the back of a beast that was well ahead and she still felt the devastation of the explosion.

"Link!" She cried, not seeing any evidence of him or Epona anywhere. Harshly, she pulled back on Storm's reins, he reared with a scream. "Link!!"

As the smoke cleared, she watched more and more Keese carcasses fall to the ground, no longer moving and disappearing in puffs of purple smoke. The air was sharp with the smell of burning flesh and monster blood.

Staring and lost for words, she sat there as Storm eased, no longer feeling any sort of monster-like threat. Zelda wanted to run into the smoke and search for him, but she couldn't move, her legs frozen.

Then she heard coughing. Sitting up straighter in the saddle, she turned Storm toward the cloud, hope rising in her.

Epona emerged with Link in the saddle on her back, coughing and leaning forward.

"Link!" Gently, Zelda gestured Storm forward and pulled up beside Epona. "Are you okay?"

He coughed and then looked at her. "Yeah..."

She looked at him, examining his face which was covered in black ash. There didn't seem to be any injuries on him.

"Are we going to keep going?"

"No," Link said immediately. "It's safer to stop for the night."

Zelda nodded and let him lead the way off the path and into the forest. Just on the outside of the forest, they stopped their horses and tied them to a tree. As she removed their saddles, Link started a fire with the branches he found laying around, its glow providing enough light for her to keep doing what she was doing.

Once the horses were settled, Zelda took a seat by the fire and released a sigh of relief. Riding on horseback was never too bad, it's only because she had been doing it for so long. It was nice to relax.

The warmth of the fire touched her cheeks, making her eyes feel heavy and fatigued. She lay down and tucked her hands under her head, trying to ignore a sharp stone that dug into her side. She watched the flames dance and recalled everything that had happened that day before her eyes finally dropped too low for her to fight back. Under Link's watchful gaze, she fell asleep.

*~oOo~*

She groaned in immediate discomfort as she slowly pushed herself up, her muscles aching everywhere possible. She should have guessed that was going to be the case after not riding a horse for such a long time.

Zelda massaged her neck with her hand, but it did nothing but make it worse. She grimaced as she shifted, turning her head to look for Link who had seemingly disappeared from the campsite they had created the night before.

Moments later, he appeared from the forest, cradling bird eggs and meat in his arms.

"Good morning," she said, sitting up a little straighter. "Where did you get those?"

"Found them," he replied before cracking them into the cooking pot that he must have also found and set over the fire. "How many do you want?"

"One is enough, thank you."

Link glanced at her briefly, making sure that she was aware that he was open to her if she wanted to change her mind. He cracked three eggs into the pot and a loud hiss filled the air. After the eggs, he set the meat in as well. The pot hissed louder.

Zelda waited in content silence, watching him as he prepared breakfast for the two of them. When a delicious aroma filled the air, her mouth began to water and her stomach growled angrily.

"Here," he said, handing her a wooden bowl with an egg and some bacon.

"Thank you, Link. It smells amazing."

He gave her a nod before digging into his own food.

They ate mostly in silence, except for when they needed to discuss what the next stop on route to the Domain would be. Thankfully, they would be arriving at a stable before nightfall if all went to plan.

After she was finished eating, Link collected her bowl and walked off, disappearing into the woods again. In the meantime, Zelda greeted the horses and prepared them for the next part of the journey.

With hands that were free from the dishes, Link joined her, once again providing his assistance as she pushed herself onto the back of Storm.

They steered their horses back onto the path and continued following it toward the next stop, Wetland Stable.

By the time they arrived, Zelda could not have been more grateful. She carefully slid off of Storm's back, allowing the friendly stablehands to take care of him for her. After thanking them, she hurried inside and sat on the edge of one of two beds that Link had rented for them both. Every muscle in her body sighed in relief, no longer making any unusual movements that it had not been used to. It had been too tough on her, riding for almost two days straight, her body wasn't ready for such physical activity yet.

As she reached to take the pins out of her hair –the ones that kept her braids in place– she grimaced. Even her armpits were sore!

"Zelda?"

She froze and looked over at Link who was standing on the other side of his own bed, holding the sheathed Master Sword. His eyes held concern.

"Is everything okay?"

"I... Yes, I'm okay." She lowered her arms slowly. "My muscles are sore, that's all. It has been a while since I've ridden on a horse for such a long time."

Somehow she managed to remove her braids from her hair without making any unnecessary movements. But as she set her clips aside, she felt the mattress dip a little under her.

"Which muscle is it?" He asked, looking into her eyes.

"I really don't know... It hurts everywhere, to be completely honest."

Zelda's breath shuddered as a chill crawled up her back caused by the brush of his fingers against her skin. Gently, he touched her shoulder.

"Is it here?"

"Mostly..." She nodded and touched the muscle between her shoulder and the base of her neck.

Before she could say anything further, his hands rested on her shoulders and his thumbs pressed into her muscles.

At first, it had been unexpected and even hurt, but after a while, she forced herself to release a breath while relaxing her shoulders. Gradually, she grew more comfortable with it and thanked Hylia for placing someone so compassionate in her life. Her lashes fluttered and she groaned softly, beginning to lean into him a little and only after that did she feel herself growing tired.

The tension slowly evaporated and when she fell asleep, she could have sworn her muscles had never felt better.

Leaning even further into him, Zelda gave in to her exhaustion and let herself fall asleep.