IV: Do You Trust Me?

Before the Calamity

Zelda's P.O.V:

I felt him staring at me the entire ride to Foothill Stable. It almost seemed as if his intense gaze could penetrate my clothes... it was quite uncomfortable. I wondered if he had some words bottled up inside his brain that he was waiting to get out, but it was hopeless. He never said anything. Maybe he never would.

"You know," I muttered, "I find it rude that you haven't said a word to me. Are we just supposed to not say a word to each other all the time?"

Nothing. Honestly, I didn't even want him to speak. I liked having control over something... I liked intimidating him. Maybe I would always have a step up if I had something to hang over his head. It was nice being in charge.

"You're lucky, you know," I began. "You're a knight. You can make your own decisions. Plus, you don't have any royal duties you have to uphold. Well, I guess you have to protect me, but... it's not much of a job considering I can take care of myself just fine."

We rode in expected silence for a while. The time allowed my superiority complex to calm down. I just wanted to get to Goron City so I wouldn't have to dwell in the awkwardness anymore. At that point, I was okay with just making conversation so I wouldn't feel his uncomfortable presence lurking silently behind me. He was so weird, I couldn't understand it.

"Sometimes I wonder what it's like..." I said sarcastically.

I looked back at him where I saw a confused look spread across his face.

"You know... To be free?"

I sighed. Of course, I didn't expect him to answer me. I rolled me eyes and turned around to face the front. However, after a moment of thinking, he responded in a way that I didn't expect. I heard him click at his horse, and before I knew it, he was next to me. He looked at me with his wide blue eyes. There was something about his eyes, and I just couldn't put my finger on it. It annoyed me... He seemed like he didn't have a single flaw. His perfection seemed to only enhance my imperfections.

However, I felt a sense of safety in his gaze. I hated to admit that he was... good at doing his job, even if it was merely looking at me. I couldn't stand him.

As he looked at me, his eyes seemed to ask me if I trusted him. I did... although it was for some strange reason I did not understand. He held out his hand which was firmly gripped by his fingerless gloves. I looked at it, pondering if it was worth it to grab his hand and let go of my grudge. 

I watched his hand for a little bit, extended out and waiting for mine. I was hoping to find reassurance in his eyes, but he looked the same. I thought it would make him look foolish if I didn't grab his hand, but I was really very curious about what he had up his sleeve, so I decided to take the chance.

Slowly, I reached my pale hand out and gently placed it in his. He aggressively gripped my hand... it actually really hurt. Does he know how hard he is grabbing me? I thought. He looked down at Epona, and with his other hand, he patted her neck with the reins in his hand. 

Link gave a slight click and his horse eased into a trot. Storm heard the click and began to trot along side Epona. I was slightly caught of guard, but Link's hand kept me from falling. 

It was... incredible! I had never experienced anything like that before. I felt nothing but pure bliss- the wind blew slightly through my hair as we sped up, and I couldn't hold back my laughter. I saw Link barely grinning out of the corner of my eye. It felt like I was one with Storm- it felt like I could completely let loose.

I threw my head back and held my other arm out into the cool breeze. Now that I think about it, I've probably never smiled bigger in my life. 

♦ 

Narrator 

Zelda had never felt more alive. The horses were at a mere trot, but she seemed to have reached a previously unattainable ecstacy. She let out many cries of joy with one hand in Link's and the other hand stretched out into the sky. It was quite out of the blue, and Link was very surprised at how much she was enjoying it. They weren't even going that fast.

"Can we go faster?" She asked softly as her emerald green eyes sparkled. "Please?" Link saw the utter longing in her wide eyes as she waited for his response.

He nodded, and made a kissing noise. Epona sprang into a canter and Storm followed to keep up. A gust of wind blew in their faces, and Link turned to look at Zelda's face, beaming with light.

Without any thought, she looked up into the air and let out a scream that had been long overdue. She let out all of the bottled up stress and sadness from always following royal code. She screamed for all of the emotion I felt from never being able to have fun. She screamed in the gratitude for her knight which she had not yet recognized she harbored.

Zelda was overwhelmed with emotion. Never in her life had she been able to canter along a path through the wild. Never in her life was she allowed to be anything but proper... to be anything but a princess. 

Never was she allowed to be so free as she was just then with Link. 

Zelda reached her left arm out and brushed her hands along leaves hanging off of the trees. She looked to her left and watched the golden sunset before turning to Link on her right.

"Thank you," she said. "Truly."

Link looked at her for a moment and said nothing. But he did smile. Zelda was slightly embarrassed at how overwhelmed with glee she was. She did not mean to open up to Link as quickly as she did. 

Zelda released Link's hand and looked down, realizing what she had done. "It's getting late," she said quietly. "We must be getting close to Foothill Stables. I can feel it getting hotter." 

Link nodded his head. He must have travelled those roads many times. The horses slowed back into a walk, and they continued following the path to the stables. Link looked at the path and watched intently ahead. As the night grew more dim, he knew he had to be on the lookout for any dangerous night lurkers- especially the Yiga.

The sound of the horses' hooves against the ground were in sync, and it was soothing. Link turned slowly and noticed Zelda drifting to sleep atop Storm. Her body moved in beat with every step Storm took, and she seemed to be very frail.

Link almost said something to wake her up, but he didn't. He just watched her. He noticed in that moment when the dimming sunset behind her lit up her figure, how truly beautiful she was. He never denied her beauty, he just never really recognized it. She always seemed way too unattainable for anyone who wasn't royalty. She was merely his duty to protect, nothing more.

As the horses continued on, Zelda started to slip a little to her right. Her body leaned more and more over the edge with every step forward. Link scooted Epona closer to Storm in case Zelda needed to be held up. Her left foot smoothly slipped out of her stirrup and she fell over the edge of Storm and into Link's arms. He pulled her up with ease and layed her across the front of his saddle, her head resting on his shoulder. Link felt slightly uncomfortable to be so close to her... what would the King think? This was far from his duties... He decided to brush off all thoughts and just focus on getting them to Foothill stables safely.