Work Text:
The harsh sounds of a pen tracking across paper filled the air of Purah's lab as she furiously copied the notes Zelda had taken when she conducted her studies on Link's robotic arm. The Hylian pair had come up to the lab for their weekly get together with the 'young' Sheikah scientist and her assistant, Symin. They were currently sat on some cushions placed on the floor in front of the activated guidance stone, both nursing a cup of tea and bathed in the gentle glow coming from the structure behind them. Symin was flitting between the bookshelf on the opposite side of the room and his employer, who remained at her workbench. Occasionally, she would ask for a specific tome or set of records and Symin would immediately fetch it for her.
Link had worked out early on in his quest that if he wanted anything from Purah, and he wanted it to be done as smoothly as possible, it was quicker to simply give her something before he asked. So, as soon as they had been invited into the lab up on the hill, Zelda had offered up her own research notes.
“Thought you might want to give these a skim through.”
This had left Symin with the task of remaining the only polite soul left to get the visiting pair settled and offer them a drink as Purah had practically flown to her desk to retrieve her own research journal. She had been avidly scribbling down all the information she had been given since, and when she was finally done she hopped off of her chair with Zelda’s work in hand.
“I must thank you for these, Princess, these will no doubt be invaluable. Link may have chosen his side but I am glad you still recognise who is the greatest benefit to you,” Purah sniffed, eyeing Link sourly as she returned Zelda's notes to her.
As the small Sheikah spun back around to fetch her own pillow to sit with them, Zelda leaned into Link to whisper, “what did you do?”
“I let Robbie tinker with my arm instead of her.”
“Ooooh,” she winced in reply, returning to her previous position before Purah returned.
“Right,” Purah chirped, flopping down onto her cushion and crossing her legs, “what can I do for you today?”
“It's not like we only ever come and see you when we need something,” Link muttered, his words half disappearing into his cup as he drank.
“I'm sorry, what was that?” Purah said airily, her glasses flashing in the blue light from the guidance stone as she turned to peer at him.
“Link just means that we like coming to see you, not just because we want something from you,” Zelda replied, quietly amused by the turmoil her knight had unwittingly caused for himself.
“Hmm,” the bespectacled girl before them pursed her lips, “but you do need something from me, yes?” Her answer was two sheepish looking Hylians, “and there we go.”
Deciding not to beat around the bush any longer, Zelda unclipped the Sheikah Slate from Links belt and presented it to Purah. “Do you have any idea if this has the ability to transport more than one person?”
Symin came over to hand Purah a cup of tea before returning to the bookshelves as she considered her answer, accepting the proffered Slate. She tapped decisively on the screen, scrolling down the displayed page with one hand while she continued to sip from the cup in her other. With a nod to herself, she handed the slate back to the Princess, watching with a steadily rising eyebrow as Zelda re-clipped it back onto Link's hip. Neither seemed to mind the proximity of the other. She therefore concluded that they were simply that comfortable in each others presence and discarded the thought from her mind. She had more important things to think about.
“There's nothing there in the programming to suggest that it can't carry more than one person. I'd imagine you would both have to be in contact with the Slate, however, so we can test it with a short trip to the Shrine by Link's house,” Purah suggested.
“Our House,” Link said, reflexively, but before Purah could latch onto that comment Zelda took over.
“Hopefully that works. It'll be so much more efficient to be able to travel instantly from one side of the Kingdom to the other. Actually, Purah, as we're on the subject...”
The next hour passed by amid conversations that included making the travel gates more widely accessible, and the prospect of introducing the use of ancient technology into the field of prosthetics for the whole Kingdom. Out of the corner of Zelda’s eye, she could see that Link's attention had been diverted elsewhere and he had managed to get Symin to sit beside him. They were comparing images from the Slate Compendium to ones the other Hylian man had illustrations of in his books. She couldn't suppress the fond smile that appeared on her face fast enough before Purah noticed. Upon looking back at the Sheikah once more Zelda was met with a smug, knowing smile. An expression she resolutely ignored as she turned back to address the man sat next to her.
“Link, I think it's time we got going. Purah has things to do, no doubt.”
The afore-mentioned researcher inhaled suddenly, jumping to her feet. “You're right! I can't sit here chatting with you all day. As entertaining as you are, I have many projects to contend with,” she assured them, tottering over to her workbench.
Chuckling, Link nodded and stood up; turning around to give Zelda a hand he completely missed the smirk Purah shot them both from across the room. Symin led Zelda to the door, finally able to talk together themselves as they walked outside, but Link lagged behind and shuffled back to address Purah in a whisper.
“Any luck with that challenge I set you?”
The tiny researcher gave him a condescending smile.
“Oh, Linky Link, who do you think I am?” She hopped up onto the worktop and opened the top drawer, retrieving an object that looked like two tubes, the length of his arm, stuck together with handles on their undersides. “Give it a try.”
Link took the device, grabbed each of the handles as he held it above his head and tugged them apart sideways. White and blue fabric unfurled from a roll within one of the tubes in a continuous length of cloth before there was a click and resistance. Spring loaded support bars sprung from the side of each tube to lock the other in place and provide the fabric sail with some slack. He waved the contraption from side to side, watching the Sheikah patterned cloth catch and billow as it passed through the air, the geometric shapes along the tubes lighting up blue with the movement.
“This is perfect, Purah,” Link beamed, looking toward the genius inventor with such joy that her previous misgivings about him were washed away.
“You're welcome, Linkidink! But,” she wagged a finger threateningly at him, “you be careful with her you hear? That paraglider won't fail her but you can't go and do your usual reckless stunts with the Princess along for the ride.”
He gave her a reassuring smile, as he snapped the support bars back into place and let the two tubes roll together again. “You don't have to worry; her safety will always be my top priority.”
[You know that]
“Link, are you coming?” Zelda asked, appearing back in the doorway, a confused Symin standing behind her. “I've waited over a hundred years for this moment. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep my calm.”
“Coming!” he assured, deftly placing a diamond on Purah's desk behind his back, where it was quickly swept away into an open drawer by the young Sheikah.
----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------
Finally making good on his promise, Link and Zelda's next stop was to go inside the Shrine by Link's house. The teleportation from the Hateno Ancient Tech lab was a success, and the pair had dissolved into streams of blue light before Symins eyes as he waved them good-bye. Reforming on the Shrine platform, back in the village, Zelda tipped sideways into Link for a second while her equilibrium sorted itself out.
“Oh, sorry!”
“It's ok, you did better than me for your first time.”
While Zelda would dearly have loved to find out just what exactly had happened after Link's first teleport, she was too excited for what was to come. She was almost bouncing on the balls of her feet impatiently in the entranceway of the Shrine while Link activated their descent down into the main area below. Zelda couldn't help but wonder just how all of this was powered, among many other things. How has this been kept safe for thousands of years, deep in the earth? How did they build this? How-
Her thoughts blanked, however, as the open space of the Shrines interior came into view and she was left speechless. This place was huge and nothing like she had imagined. It was so much grander
“This was a fun one,” Link informed her, nonchalantly, stepping off of the platform as soon as it came to a stop on the Shrine floor and he started walking towards the stairs that led up to the apparatus control terminal. He turned around when he realised Zelda had not followed him, “You coming?”
“Huh? Oh, yes,” she answered, weakly.
She stepped off of the platform more carefully than Link had, eyes roaming over the walls containing the cavernous space they stood in. Her gaze moved from the open ceiling above them made of light to the seemingly never ending dark void below the walkway she was crossing. Eventually, she refocused on Link, who was waiting for her up ahead, a big smile on his face and a hand outstretched towards her. She placed her hand in his as she hurried over to meet him and they walked up the stairs together.
“This place is incredible,” she breathed, “how many of these Shrines were there in the end?”
“One hundred and twenty.”
“Good heavens.”
They reached the landing at the top of the stairs and Link directed Zelda to stand in front of the Slate Terminal.
“If you press the slate here you can control that maze in front of you,” Link said, pointing to the gigantic suspended maze, which had somehow escaped her notice, despite everything. It was frozen in space and completely un-tethered.
“Control it?” Zelda questioned, completely perplexed as she handed her research notes over to Link for him to hold for her.
“You'll see,” was all he said in response, tucking the journal to his chest and stepping back to let her figure this out on her own.
It took Zelda all of ten seconds to get the hang of controlling the maze orientation with the corresponding movements of the slate. She struggled with timing her tilts to ensure that the ball stayed within the maze, and after about fifteen minutes she placed the slate back down, the orange glowing ball falling into the depths below having just missed the ramp it needed to land on.
“I can understand the mechanics and the goal of this, however, I am a little confused as to how this could have benefited you. Other than dexterity training with the slate, perhaps?”
She inspected the slate in her hands, turning it over to assess it from another angle. The maze in front of her copied the motions.
“Wait,” she said, squinting hard at the maze, the terminal and then back again, “wait.”
Firmly bringing the slate up to her eye-level, watching the maze at the same time, she flipped the slate over in one fluid motion. The maze followed suit, exposing a completely flat underside onto which a new glowing ball was dispensed. She felt her jaw drop and she could hear Link laughing delightedly behind her, as she guided the ball over to one edge only to flick it up into the air and watch as it fell onto the neighbouring ramp. It rolled all the way down to it's destined resting place, fitting snugly into the hole and the markings of the bevelled floor surrounding lit up blue. A chime resounded throughout the Shrine marking it's completion.
“Sometimes, it's not about the solution presented to you, but how you would solve it.” Link came up behind her to disengage the Slate from the Terminal and swap it for her Journal. “After this, there would have been a Monk waiting in the room that just opened up. They would give me a Spirit Orb. If I had enough, I could trade them in during prayer for some of the stamina and vitality I lost over the years while I was in the Shrine of Resurrection. Then the Monks would just sort of … disappear.”
That sounds horrendously gruelling, at least he found some of these Shrines fun. To think if he hadn’t have completed all of these challenges, he wouldn’t have been restored to his original state.
“Were all the Shrines puzzles?” Zelda queried, after a moment of silence as she processed all of this new information.
“No.”
She fixed him with an expectant stare, which he returned with a blank stare of his own, prompting her to vocally encourage more information out of him. “Are you going to elaborate?”
“Oh! Sorry. Well, some of the Shrines were a challenge just to activate. They usually ended up being a room with only a Monk present to give me an orb. They were called Blessings.”
There was a lengthy pause, but Zelda could tell there was more. She squinted at him and without verbal prompting this time, Link continued.
“Others had mini Guardians in them.”
“I knew it!” Zelda shouted, throwing her hands up and nearly tossing her research journal into the abyss below. Link knew from personal experience that things dropped into the depths of the Shrines did not come back unless it originated within the Shrine in the first place. She continued to stare victoriously at the ceiling, mentally heckling all the people that had dismissed her research a century ago, before she decided to explain the situation to Link. “I knew the Shrines had to hold some sort of combat training that the Hero must complete in order to ready themselves for the battle against Ganon. But since I could never get into the cursed things, even after giving you the Slate to try for yourself, I had no way of proving it. It seemed so obvious once I was in spirit form that the Towers needed to be found and activated first in order to create a network for all the Shrines to be powered from. Alas, there was so much pressure on us we couldn’t see the wood for the trees.”
Link absent-mindedly noted that the phrase 'spirit-form' really wasn't in just anyone's casual everyday vernacular, and yet here they were. He also noticed that Zelda was looking at him with a hesitant expression and before she could pose the question that was forming in her eyes, Link preceded her.
“Yes, the shrines still exist. The guardians reformed after every Blood Moon. Your doing I assume?”
The grateful smile Zelda received was enough to cause her ears to heat up and her lungs to seize for a second before she could get herself under control. He did notice.
“Yes, that was me. While Ganon was busy gloating as his powers surged, I was able to send a burst of power into the land of Hyrule, causing plants to grow rapidly and replace those that had been collected. I guess it also gave energy to the Shrines so they could rebuild destroyed constructs. I take it you found it useful?”
“Oh, Zelda, you have no idea,” he heaved a huge sigh at this and she felt a great sense of self-fulfilment. Sometimes, she couldn't quite believe how his gratitude bolstered her so compared to the deep resentment she used to feel towards him. “I take it you would like to see one in action?”
The question caught her unawares for a second and it was only by the grace of her excellent self control that she did immediately blurt out what crossed her thoughts in that moment. Why yes, I would like to see you in action.
“If you wouldn't mind,” was what Zelda said out loud instead.
“Sure thing, but which one...” Link opened the map on the Sheikah Slate, dragging his finger across the screen to see the different parts of the Kingdom in more detail. “Ah! This one is located in a cave in Hebra's Peak. We can have a little excursion once we're done with the Shrine.”
With that in mind, the pair hurried back to the Shrine entrance. They needed to fetch some better winter clothes from the house if they were to survive the unforgiving temperatures of upper Hebra.
----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------
Decked out in their new heat resistant outfits commissioned from Claree, and a flame weapon each strapped to their backs, Link and Zelda materialised at the Shrine tucked away within Hebra's Peak. A Major Test of Strength, apparently. The researcher among them was intrigued to note that within the Shrine itself the temperature was closer to that of a summer day in Hyrule Field than it was to the world above them.
“Oh, it's so much warmer down here,” Zelda spoke a loud, tempted to remove the Flamespear from her back.
“Thank goodness, or I wouldn't be able to do this,” Link announced, selecting the Ancient Armour set from the Sheikah Slate as he spoke. Once his gear was all set into place his turned towards her, but she couldn't actually see his eyes. How does he see?... That armour looks really good on him.
“Once I trigger this challenge this area will be cut off from the battle arena. You need to stay here if you want to watch, ok? I can't fight it with all of my attention if you're in the arena with me.”
She nodded, assuming that this would be the case from the start. Link inclined his head gratefully and then turned away to walk towards the centre of the arena where a section of the floor was missing. Once he was halfway there, gates dropped down to separate the entrance room from the arena and a small, but well-armed, guardian scout rose up along with the centre floor piece. It had a special crest adorning it’s helm, obviously denoting it’s elevated status for this particular challenge.
Link had admitted that it had been a while since he had fought one of these, but he felt confident that he could still deal with a Major Test with little problem. He even refused to use the laser burst ability in his right arm. Despite these drawbacks, Link was dealing with the Guardian masterfully, allowing Zelda to worry less about his safety and concentrate more on his assailant.
Cross-legged on the floor with her notebook open in her lap, she was taking quick notes as she watched the fight intensely. She noted how the Guardian seemed to have a set pattern of attacks and would then switch to a new tactic when its previous pattern was proving to no longer be effective. Currently, it was holding its weapons out at its sides and then spinning rapidly towards Link. He would dodge cleanly out of the way of the Guardian’s path allowing him to land blows on the temporarily stationary automaton at the end of its attack. This time, however, as the Guardian geared up for another spin Zelda spotted Link wince, and his leg hitched upward suddenly. He had a cramp. Oh no, she thought, praying that it would pass before the Guardian got close but Link was only able to twist slightly out of the way as it careened past him.
The Guardian’s Great Battle Axe swiped a clean slash directly beneath Links chest plate, opening a deep gash across his ribs. Air was punched out of his lungs in shock as he dropped to one knee before the Guardian, and all Zelda could do was scramble to her feet and press herself to the gate. He had pressed a hand to his chest but blood dripped onto the floor from in-between his fingers, and she immediately started to call out in attempt to distract the automaton. As the Guardian swivelled back around to face Link once more it was met with the sight of Link's outstretched robotic arm, palm-open as light gathered into the blue gem embedded in the centre. The crested helm was blasted from the Guardian’s body and it's weapons fell to the floor, legs collapsing beneath it as it shut down.
The completion chime sounded and the separation gates lifted, allowing Zelda to rush forward into the main arena. Link was hissing gently, trying to straighten up but the pain from his chest was making it difficult and the blood loss was starting to make his vision swim. Just as he was about to tip over backwards a teal aura bubbled up around him. Wisps of healing energy swept over him, coalescing against his ribs and sealing the injury closed without a trace.
Zelda skidded over on her knees just in time to see the last vestiges of light leave his skin, allowing him to breathe and take his hand away from the site of the wound. There was now a slash through the fabric of his armour that would need fixing but the skin beneath was undamaged. Link raised his eyes to hers with surprise clear in his blue depths, only to see equal surprise reflected back in Zelda's emerald stare.
“Was that...?”
“Mipha,” Link finished. “I think- I think she left me her healing gift. A burn on my elbow healed out of the blue a while ago, but I was distracted so I forgot to mention it.”
With an expression of wonder he looked back down at his chest, while Zelda closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Mipha, thank you…
“Of course, even in death she would make it so that you could always be healed. She knew you very well after all.”
… but if you had left your powers behind, why would they have activated on a superfluous injury such as a minor burn?
Zelda smiled as she helped Link back onto his feet, regardless of the finer intricacies of Mipha’s Grace, she was grateful that Link still had it. The pair of them looked down at the remains of the Guardian, both of them deciding to salvage as much of it as they could into the Sheikah Slate before leaving the Shrine. Link made sure to change into his more climate appropriate clothing and gear before they stepped back out into the cold of Hebra.
----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------
Standing on a ledge just below the cave that housed the combat Shrine, Link was introducing Zelda to the paraglider he had asked Purah to make him. She was touched that he had thought to get her a glider to match his own, and she appreciated the touch of Sheikah technology in it's design. She was incredibly hesitant about actually using it, however.
“It's a straight glide down to that area over there,” Link encouraged, drawing her attention to snowy area across the ravine below them. “That's Hebra Headspring,” he explained showing her the location on the map compared to where they currently stood. “See, it's really not that far.”
Zelda willed herself to embrace such an experience, but the sheer drop in between where they stood and her destination was fairly daunting and she knew it would be certain death should her grip on the paraglider fail.
“Here,” Link said, obviously seeing her trepidation but not willing to give up on her, “take the Slate. If at any point you think you're going to fall just hit a Shrine point on the map. I'll come and find you, ok?”
She nodded dazedly, taking the Slate from him and securing it, screen outward, firmly to her belt. Hovering a hand over the screen, she confirmed that she could select a travel gate should she need to in a panic. She gave Link a thumbs up, face uncertain but mind now determined, as she took her glider in hand and snapped it open.
Taking several quick breaths to steel herself, she braced herself at the knees and propelled herself off the cliff edge. The sudden drop before the updraft caught in her sail nearly stopped her heart, but soon she was drifting across the gap on a sure course for the Headspring. She distantly heard cheering over the rush of wind past her ears and soon enough her feet landed solidly in compact snow. Lowering her arms down, feeling the adrenaline shaking her limbs, she turned to watch Link glide in after her. He snapped his glider shut to land down next to her.
“You did it!” He congratulated, “how do you feel?”
“I feel...” She paused, before a pleased grin broke out over her face, “I feel really good.”
She received a boyish grin in return and Link tilted his head back, “come on, let's have a wander around.”
Wander around they did, traipsing through the snow and occasionally kicking up flurries of white powder. Link pointed out a fast flowing river ahead of them, and their pace picked up as they walked towards a set destination. The water was dark, and the bubbles caused by the turbulent current made the water appear murky, but Zelda knew that the water would be incredibly pure.
“Don’t get too close. No amount of frost resistance will spare you from the cold if you fall in.”
Zelda didn’t have to ask how he knew that. The only reason this water had not frozen solid in a place with such low temperatures was due to its strong current. She dreaded to think how deathly cold it must be, but her thoughts were interrupted as Link suddenly had her wrist in a tight grip. She had time to turn to him and open her mouth to ask what was wrong but she heard him hiss and she closed her mouth again as he whispered to her.
“Sorry.”
He then gave her a quick and forceful shove down so that she fell into the snow at their feet. Propping herself up onto her elbows, she stayed down but tilted her head up to watch as Link whipped out a bow and had a flame arrow drawn back ready to fire at something he’d spotted in the distance before she could even blink the frost out of her eyes. A Lizalfo. At this distance she couldn’t determine whether it was an Ice variety or a Silver; she prayed for it to be an Ice type. Judging by the ammunition her protector had prepared she gathered he was thinking along the same lines.
He released the arrow and they both watched it soar across the air to hit the camouflaged monster between the eyes. It instantly disappeared into a puff of acrid purple smoke, leaving behind only trace pieces of itself. Zelda noticed that Link’s stance had relaxed a little and was about to congratulate him when she saw alarm cross his face a moment before the snow behind him exploded.
Clawing through the air was another ambushing Lizalfo, and this one was armed with a nasty looking club. Link attempted to pivot and aim upward to catch the Lizalfo with another flame arrow while it was still suspended above him, but he couldn’t release the shot fast enough before the club was brought straight across his face. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as the force of the blow spun him around to teeter dangerously close to the rushing waters beside him. The bow and arrow in his hands were flung away from him to land just a couple of feet in front of Zelda, who was still half buried in the snow. She heard a splash and at once her body felt cold, despite the layers of protection she was wearing against the elements. The croaking and chirping she could still hear meant that it was in fact Link that had fallen into the water and she couldn’t hear any further splashing. He had been knocked unconscious.
The Lizalfo was coming closer and Zelda’s eyes were drawn to the bow in front of her, an arm was already tensed to snap out and grab it before the rational part of her mind clicked on. You don’t know how to shoot a bow, Father wouldn’t let you learn! It’s too close! Ice. Fire. Flamespear! Mipha taught you once!
It had been barely ten seconds since Link had hit the water and Zelda was already swinging the Flamespear off of her back to drive it up into the torso of the approaching Lizalfo. A surprised yelp left the monster before it also disintegrated, but her attention was now on the fast flowing, icy river. She spotted his bright blue form several meters downstream and fear seized her.
Oh no, what do I do?! No. I can't jump in, I'm not a good enough swimmer for this; we'd both just die. I need to stop him. Water. Stop
The Slate was still in her possession from the glide over.
She wrenched it from her belt, flinging the Flamespear aside to jam a finger down onto the Cryonis rune and select a patch of water just ahead of Link. A column of ice appeared on the surface of the water catching him before he could drift too far downstream, and Zelda was running down the riverside to catch up, activating the Magnesis rune and swiping through to Link's weapon stash as she went. A big and heavy Claymore materialised in her hand and she immediately dropped it in favour of controlling it with the Slate. She swung it around to point over to where Link's body was being held in place by the column of ice, his face mercifully still above the water, and directed the Claymore over towards him. Don't think 'body'. He's fine. I can get him and take him home. He'll be fine.
She positioned the claymore underneath him and then started the drag it up his torso, pulling back on the slate to draw Link closer to her. A couple of time the claymore slid out from under him, but she was able to jerk it back into place and eventually haul him up onto the snow-covered river bank. She broke the connection between the Slate and the blade, surging over to Link's prone form, his skin almost as pale as the snow surrounding him. She grabbed as much of him as she could in her hold and selected the Shrine by their house.
A mere second later they were back in Hateno village, and Zelda opened her mouth to scream.
“BOLSON! KARSON! HELP!”
There was no way she would be able to drag Link's body all the way back to the house on her own, but she could make a start. Standing up, she planted her feet firmly on the ground either side of Links body and crouched down to hook her arm around his back, and pull one arm across her shoulders. Straining she straightened her legs, taking Link up with her but he had a lot of muscle and was weighed down even more by completely drenched, thick clothes.
She managed to slide them both down the bank to the bridge leading to their house before she heard heavy footsteps coming towards her. Karson had outpaced Bolson and was already diving in to help her support Link's weight.
“What happened!” Bolson heaved, skidding to a stop next to them, only to retreat back on himself out of the way as the trio staggered forward.
“Hebra. Link got knocked into the water,” Zelda breathed and she found herself quickly but gently being manoeuvred out of the way as Bolson took Link’s arm from around her shoulders.
“We've got him, lead the way,” he said, none of his usual chipper attitude present as his face was set in grim determination. His co-worker wore a similar expression.
Zelda nodded gratefully, jogging ahead to unlock the front door of their house and keep the door open for them to come inside. Bolson jerked his head towards the stairs and Karson angled Link to follow him up. Once in the loft the construction pair were able to place Link down onto the bed and turn to Zelda for more instructions.
“Thank you so much, I can take it from here. I'll let you know how it goes.”
“Sure thing,” Karson nodded, breathing heavy from the adrenaline rush.
“You yell for us if you need anything, you hear?” Bolson said, making sure she understood him before they made their exit.
Zelda's first task now was to remove the wet and frosty clothes from Link's body. Normally, such an act would have her freezing up in hesitation and awkwardness, but right now she didn't have time for that vulnerable part of her. Right now, she was being methodical and clinical as she stripped Link of his winter gear, throwing it into a haphazard pile on the floor. He was completely motionless, and his breathing was near undetectable but as she held him to take his armour off she could feel his shallow exhales against her ear. The lack of shivering was deeply concerning and she was quick to get him under the covers of their bed in nothing but his under-shorts.
Scurrying downstairs to the store room, she grabbed as many blankets as she could carry and hurled them onto the bed once she was back up in the loft. Arranging some extra cushions between him and the wall, she stripped herself of her own clothes and tucked herself into the bed on his other side. The best way to warm someone was through direct skin contact and she was too high strung to worry about how this would look from the outside. With her in nothing but her own pair of under-shorts and a crop top to secure her chest it was easy to establish a lot of skin to skin contact. That was all she cared about at this moment in time.
A last minute thought crossed her mind and she reached back and over the side of the bed to rifle through her own pile of clothes for the Sheikah Slate. Summoning every flame based weapon Link owned, she placed them around the edge of the bed hoping the heat they radiated would warm the air around them. With that done, Zelda finally allowed herself to cave to exhaustion with Link tucked securely in her arms.
Just as her consciousness fled her she noticed that the Guardium made arm didn’t feel all that cold. How odd.
----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------
She didn't sleep well for the next two days. Far too worried to stay asleep for more than a couple of hours at a time, after her initial stress-induced nap she was able to confirm that Link’s temperature had risen and he had begun shivering. This allowed her enough time to don a robe and inform Bolson that Link was recovering.
Intermittently, as more hours passed, she would try to rouse Link enough for him to eat something sugary and take a sip of water, often with some hearty elixir mixed in. Sometimes she was successful, other times she was not. Link still had not woken up fully but his breathing was regular, albeit wheezy, and he was no longer cold to the touch, his shivering ceasing. He hadn't moved much either. Occasionally, one of his hands twitched or a leg flexed but other than that, his body remained still even as Zelda got in and out of the bed. While she no longer needed to stay in direct skin contact with him, the temperature under the many layers of bedding was high enough that putting clothes back on would have been uncomfortable.
Heaving a deep sigh, eyes closed and fingers tangled in Link's hair, she allowed her mind to drift off into her own head-space for a while. She had full confidence that he would make a full recovery, so his current state did not worry her too extensively, but she did not like to see him suffer. His body was clearly going to bear some repercussions after getting knocked out and thrown into frigid water. It brought a sour taste to her mouth and she unconsciously hugged him harder.
“Hmm?”
Zelda froze, eyes snapping open and immediately flicking down to the tangled mess of blonde hair tucked under her chin. Arching backward and ducking her head slightly she was able to gain Link's attention; blue eyes she hadn't seen for what seemed like days locking onto her face.
“Hey, you're awake,” she breathed, relieved despite the fact that she knew he would be just fine.
Link breathed in, she could hear restricted airways protest beneath his ribs, and he lifted his head up onto the pillows, Zelda's hand falling away as he moved. He rubbed his face against the cool fabric slightly.
“Where am I?”
“Home, your home. It’s ok, I’m going to look after you,” Zelda tightened her hold around him and smiled reassuringly, running a hand up the back of his hair.
“Hmm,” Link shuffled in her arms slightly and closed his eyes for a second. Then he opened them again, “who are you?”
Had Zelda been anyone else in her situation she probably would have had a greater reaction than blinking quickly and swallowing hard. However, after years of forcing herself to contain any emotional upheaval, for fear she would be seen as even more weak than she already was, she pushed the fear and heartbreak back. This therefore allowed panic to set in. Here they were, both of them in nothing but underwear, hugging incredibly close in the same bed, and she had been stroking his hair.
“I’m your wife,” she blurted.
Even in his dazed and semi-awake state Link looked taken aback and then he seemed to be thinking it over.
“Really?” he mumbled. He sounded so tired, but he was trying.
Zelda could only nod, still inwardly screaming, he can tell you’re lying even when he’s sick, unbelievable. But was that slight hope I just heard?
“Oh.” Link looked over her head at the far wall for a second, before focusing on her again, “I am one lucky guy.”
The internal screaming got louder but for an entirely different reason. She also was not sure if she should be more worried about how readily he accepted things told to him at face value or because he welcomed the lie. Physically fighting with herself not to give any external clues, she blinked and made the decision to run with it.
“Damn right you are,” Zelda grinned at him cheekily, still calculating this situation in the back of her mind. “I need to get up now, I’m afraid your personal heater needs to make some food. You hungry?”
Link gave a pathetic whining noise as he tucked his head under her chin, and Zelda’s heart hurt for some reason she was unwilling to identify at this present time. Withdrawing her arms delicately, she patted him on his side and lifted her head away from his. He whined some more as she left the bed and immediately curled up into a ball to conserve heat. She made sure to tuck the blankets in around him so he was well insulated, before turning on the spot in her under-garments to put a clean hylian tunic on.
Looking over her shoulder she saw that he was fast asleep and she allowed herself to desperately hope that the memory loss was temporary.
Or maybe, he could just forget this specific event happened. That would be great.
----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------
After Zelda had made herself some mushroom omelettes and cooked some tomatoes, she went back up into the loft to check on Link only to find him awake again. He was squinting slightly at a space between the floor and the top of the loft railing ahead of him.
“Link?” Zelda ventured, creeping closer quietly.
“Hey, Zelda,” Link answered, his focus had turned to her before he looked mildly surprised at how croaky his voice was, “ugh.”
He remembers me! … What else does he remember…
“How are you feeling?” She asked, coming to sit next to him on the side of the bed so he didn’t have to raise his voice.
“Everything aches, my head feels like it’s about to explode or implode, and my eyes won’t focus. Also,” he paused, squinting again, “I can’t tell if I’m floating or not.”
Zelda decided to assure him of the most pertinent point first.
“You’re not floating.”
“Oh … good.”
He was clearly coming down with some sort of illness, as he continued to squint at her, blinking slowly a few times before curling up even more tightly under the pile of blankets. Tired eyes closed and each inhale was long and deep; Zelda could still hear the intake of air rattle through to his lungs. Lung infection, probably in his throat too. I wonder how different this scenario would have been had he gotten sick while in the Castle? she considered, sitting down on the edge of the bed gingerly. Would he have insisted on trying to carry on with his duty even though his body was failing him, or would he admit defeat knowing he posed more of a risk in his depleted state?
“You know it really is quite outstanding how such a complex organism such as ourselves can recover from a series of malfunctions like this.”
“This … is recovering?” The borrowing Hylian asked, preferring to keep his hands in the warm safety of the bed.
“You're awake, aren't you?” She said while thinking to herself, and you remember me now. “What do you remember?”
“Snow and a sneaky Lizalfo. Also cold.”
“So, nothing else then?”
A pair of unfocused blue eyes appeared over the edge of the blanket hill, assessing her with a faraway expression and raised eyebrows. There was an insistent nudging at her thigh as Link tried to stretch his legs out so she shuffled along to make room for him. With his legs now fully extended and his arms stretched out before him, he held this position for a few seconds before quickly withdrawing his arms back under the covers. Apparently, he was still feeling too cold to be out from the under the safety of the many blankets for long, which explained his reluctance to sign rather than speak despite how little energy he must have.
“Want to sit up? I can make you some tea if you can,” Zelda asked gently, slipping off the bed to stand closer to the headboard.
She could see his ears wiggle as he considered the idea before he rolled over and tried to lever himself up to sit against the headboard by himself. He didn't get very far. Bracing her hands against his arms when he placed them down on the bed either side of him again, she could feel the muscles on his left side tense as he pushed himself up. Just as his hands were about to slip from under him, Zelda pushed his arms back providing him with the support he needed to sit upright. His head fell back against the wall behind him, eyes closed, as he breathed in and out slowly through his mouth.
“I feel like telling you to stay put is redundant, so I'll just say that I'll be right back with tea.” She almost reached out to stroke his hair but aborted the gesture so her hand faltered in mid-air for a second before she dropped it back to her side. “Actually, do you want something to eat?”
Link seemed to be giving it some thought, that or was he dissociating into a feverish brain fog. Eventually, he shook his head and Zelda couldn't help herself by making a joke.
“Goodness, you really must be ill.”
The former knight's response was to tug the blankets up a bit, stick his tongue out at her and then pull the covers up to his eyes with a petulant expression. Zelda nearly shrieked with laughter but contained herself at the last minute.
“I'll just bring you some tea instead then,” she said, calming down. “What's bothering you most at the moment? Head? Throat? Muscles?”
Link freed his artificial hand to point at his throat, emphasising this action by swallowing and wincing. With a sympathetic face, Zelda patted him on the shoulder and moved downstairs to make some tea, running over a list of medicinal plants they might have for a sore throat.
Lemons, I definitely need lemons. Cinnamon would be good too, but adding honey would probably make drinking it easier.
She placed a kettle full of water on the fire to boil, and then walked into her research room. Peering around, she located one of her many research journals, flicking through the pages to see if there was anything else to know about sore throats or muscle ache.
Oh, Thyme is good for muscles, I doubt he'll want to get into a bath right now though. Maybe when his fever has broken. Garlic is also good for colds but I'm not about to mix that into tea, Link will thank me later for that.
Pleased with her knowledge, she put the book down and went over to a wall full of drawers. Each drawer contained a different herb or dried plant material in alphabetical order. Zelda had been considering re-organising the drawers into a system based on region of origin but considering many of the plants were found in multiple locations she was unsure how she would separate them.
Maybe I should group them based on ailments? But then, again, there is a lot of crossover … I'll just leave it for now.
Crouching down for the drawers starting with 'T' she pulled open one to find it filled to the brim with Thyme. Nodding in satisfaction, the drawer was closed once again, with nothing having been removed, and she moved onto the 'C' section.
The Cinnamon labelled drawer was less full but there was enough in there to crush a teaspoon's worth for some tea. Zelda made a mental note to arrange another excursion with Link when he was fully rested to collect more materials for her stores.
Walking back into the main part of the house Zelda set her hand full of cinnamon sticks into a mortar, and then walked over to a wooden barrel by the door. Bending over it she sorted through the pile of icy chu-chu jelly to find a yellow fruit. She had to pass by many oranges, a couple of palm fruits and the odd peach before she found a lemon near the bottom. Pulling it out and turning it over to inspect it for damage, she deemed the fruit to be suitable for her purposes. She returned to the kitchen worktop and pulled a squeezer out of a drawer along with a cutting knife. The lemon was sliced in half and pressed down onto the squeezer; Zelda twisted the fruit while bearing down to get all the juice to collect in a small bowl at the bottom.
I knew being interested in herbal medicine would be fruitful one day, she had to stop pressing the lemon to shake with silent laughter at the unintentional pun before she could finish.
She had been passing her time lately by practicing herbal remedies and trying to combine them with amplifying magical materials. It had been an interest of hers from her previous life that of course her Father had considered to be a waste of time for someone in her position. However, one of the Hateno villager’s had been able to receive an elixir from her, only a week ago, that alleviated his wife’s labour pains when she was giving birth to their daughter. The delivery had gone flawlessly and the couple had been so overjoyed that when Zelda had insisted that she didn’t require payment they had gifted her with a basket of assorted confectionaries.
By the time the lemon was nothing but rind, the kettle had started to make a pinging noise that indicated the water was boiling and spitting within the container. Sliding over to the fire, Zelda used some heat resistant mitts to bring the kettle off the heat and back over to the counter top. She placed the kettle onto a stone slab so it didn't burn the wood of the worktop and opened the lid carefully to judge the volume of water within.
It needs the juice of one full lemon, Zelda recalled, reaching for the other half of the cut fruit, and half a teaspoon of cinnamon per cup, so for a full teapot that would be...
The second half of the lemon was pulverised while the Princess turned Researcher did some mental calculations to get the correct amount of cinnamon to add to the hot water. The collected lemon juice was poured into an empty teapot, and a tablespoon of honey followed.
Now turning her attention to the cinnamon sticks sitting in the mortar she located the pestle on the other side of the worktop and started grinding them into a powder. Once she was happy with the consistency, she measured out enough powder to stir into the lemon juice and honey. The hot water was the last addition to her concoction and she stirred it around with a spoon to make sure the majority of the components dissolved.
Placing the lid back onto the teapot she found a clean cup to pour out some of the drink, steam rising from the amber coloured liquid. She tapped her fingers against the side of the cup and found the temperature was not too hot to hold and therefore it would be comfortable to drink.
Zelda picked up the cup and gently blew across the top as she walked back up the stairs to find Link was once again lying down and staring at the railing. He blinked slowly every so often, eyes slightly narrowed with his focus much further away than any object within the house. She walked directly into his field of vision and offered him the cup.
“Can you try sitting up again?”
The incapacitated knight inhaled deeply, his gaze refocusing on Zelda, before breathing out slowly as he began to move. Or, at least, again, he attempted to move. He tried a different approach this time; managing to shift onto his side and propping himself up onto his right elbow, but his left arm couldn't hold his weight. As he placed his palm down onto the bed to level himself up his arm buckled and he was back to resting on both elbows. He looked down at his arm and frowned, as if he were confused as to why it was being so pathetic.
Placing the cup down onto the side table, Zelda sat down on the bed and once more helped support Link's weight. Once he was upright, Link smiled gratefully at her and happily accepted the cup of hot drink she handed to him.
"You're actually quite gracious in defeat," she observed, making sure to place a glass of water within easy reach of a bedridden Link while he drank.
"I've been defeated a lot since I woke up, you learn to accept it - you can’t win all the time." He sighed, waiting for his throat to relax again only to be accosted by a painful sneeze. He rolled his eyes and brought up his hands. [You save it for the battles that count]
"Are we sure we didn’t swap aspects, because that sounded very wise."
[No. but I’m used to having my ass kicked] Link grinned, completely unashamed as Zelda snorted, so he continued. [I don’t like feeling bitter. So, I let things go]
He gestured weakly at his prone form still under two blankets and sandwiched in by pillows, before clearing his throat and resting his arms. "This is not a battle I can do much about but as you say 'let my body deal with it'."
Zelda nodded in approval, "it pleases me to know that you are listening to me."
She patted his head in mock condescension, as he wiggled his way back under the covers, before standing up and walking over to the stairs. Just as she was half way down the stairs she could have sworn that she heard a voice muffled through layers of bedding.
"I always listen to you."
----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------
“How bad was I?”
After five days Link’s body started to come back online to a degree that he deemed acceptable. After extricating himself from the ‘bed of quarantine’ he had felt disgusting and ached all over. So, while Zelda heated up some tea and soup, Link went to have a bath filled with thyme to cleanse himself of all the toxins he sweated out during his sickness. By placing his flame weapons in the bath tub while it filled with water it was made blessedly warm. Link had discovered the trick while on the road and had Zelda not called out to him that she had food he needed to eat he might well have fallen asleep in there.
“You were not bad at all, actually. A little clingy, but I think I can forgive you considering you must have felt utterly miserable. A condition I can only empathise with I’m afraid.”
Link winced as she said ‘clingy’, blood rushing to the tips of his ears, before taking another sip of soup.
“You’ve never been sick?” He asked, setting his spoon back into his bowl to fetch more delicious broth.
“The blood of Hylia appears to prevent me from falling to any illnesses or diseases. A protection for all her progeny and to ensure the line has a greater chance of continuing I suppose,” she speculated, inwardly grimacing as she mentioned the responsibility she hadn’t yet taken into account. She wrapped her hands around her warm mug of tea, taking a small sip, before broaching her next topic. It was a subject that had been weighing on her mind ever since they had walked away from Hyrule Castle and was now even more prominent. “There was a moment where you didn’t remember who I was.”
Admittedly, Zelda probably should have timed her statement for when Link wasn’t inhaling his food but she hadn’t thought that far ahead. The result was her former knight nearly choking while she hurriedly pushed her mug of tea across the table for Link to drink and calm his airways.
“I- I did?” he spluttered
“I don’t know whether it’s a common ailment of such an illness, or whether it’s because your memory is becoming unstable,” Zelda explained in a rush, her sights set on her fingers as they compulsively rubbed over each other on the wooden surface of the table. “I recognise that the Shrine of Resurrection took a huge toll on you and frankly I am amazed that you woke up at all, and such a thought horrifies me. Yet, you do have some memories, but not all of them. Such selectiveness does not speak of a mind that has been whole once again and I must ask,” she turned her gaze up to look at Link, “did you follow all the images I left behind?”
The Hylian Champion set his bowl aside and rested his arms on the table, crossing them as he leaned forward, expression completely serious.
“I found all twelve locations you had taken pictures of and that were stored in the Sheikah Slate. I recalled the events that led up to, or followed, the moments those pictures were taken but no matter where I go, it’s the times in-between those moments that are missing. As well as all the times before I met you, of course.”
At this, Zelda tilted her head ever so slightly, her desperate expression slowly morphing into confusion and suspicion. Twelve?
“Admittedly,” Link continued, “Hyrule is a vast place, I could easily have missed another prominent location, but without an image to guide me I could be at my search for a while.”
He sat back in his chair and caught sight of the mug still in front of him. It was very nice tea. Pointing at the mug, he silently gestured at Zelda to ask if she wanted it back but she merely waved him off, clearly distracted. Link shrugged and started to take measured gulps of the tea, closing his eyes and enjoying the sweet taste of fruits with the cleansing sensation of mint in his mouth. Meanwhile, the former Princess was coming to some very delayed conclusions and they were so obvious now she couldn't help but be disappointed in herself.
“… You never,” Zelda began, causing Links eyes to open again to peer at her over the rim of the mug but he kept drinking. “You never had chance to go back to tell Impa you matched the locations to past memories. You found the last memory just before you rescued me, honestly Zelda!”
The rightful Queen of Hyrule smacked herself in the face with one hand, groaning into her palm with deep self disgust and reprimand. Link nearly dropped the mug he was holding in favour of reaching across the table to pry Zelda’s hand away from her face lest she hit herself again.
“What are you-?” but Link was unable to finish his question as the woman before him fixed her slightly manic stare to his face.
“Impa… she was going to give you the final place to recall a memory. I asked her to have a painting made of a specific location, I couldn’t … there wasn’t time to use the Slate to take it.”
She looked humourlessly around the house interior, as if what she said brought a bitter taste to her mouth. A slight widening of her eyes, which grew into a look of horror, was followed by a slow turn of her head as she focused on Link once more. These were the only warning signs Link was given for what was coming next.
“You … you would have had to go there alone. I nearly made you deal with that … that … event all alone. Oh!” She attempted to wrench her hand out of Link’s grasp to collide it with her head again but the knight was having none of it.
He cradled her hand under his own against the top of the table and squeezed it reassuringly, but pushing down with enough force that she was unable to raise it from the surface of the table. Reaching out, he gently grasped her other hand, still feverishly fretting against the wood grain, and brought it towards her right, where he covered it with the comforting weight of his guardium-made palm. Maintaining eye-contact he asked her for clarification; firm, but calm.
“Talk to me. What event? Where?”
She looked like she was about to cry and Link, honestly, would not have judged her if she did. It seemed as though many things had been stressing her bit by bit and perhaps they had all stemmed from a greater underlying concern she herself may not have been privy to until this moment. Instead, Zelda sniffed and physically braced herself, back straight and eyes now clear.
“The final memory … it’s your final memory. Link … it’s where you died.”
Really, there wasn't much one could say to follow that sort of announcement. Link sat back into his chair, letting his hands drag over hers as they were drawn back across the table when all the tension in his body left him.
He looks so tired, Zelda thought sadly, watching him as his focus turned inward and he debated this dilemma with himself. On the one hand, it was a problem that he didn't have that last memory as it could very well be the key to unlocking all of his memories from a century before. Conversely, having to go through that ordeal all over again was not an option she wished upon him. Nobody should have to experience the fear and uncertainty of their last moments twice.
“I...” He started to speak but then a broken hum sounded in the back of his throat and his sentence ended before it even began. His hands twitched on the table top before he slowly raised them up.
[Do I need the memory?] his movements were precise but he took his time stringing the signs together for Zelda's benefit and her heart melted.
“I think the memory may be the catalyst you need to unlock your previous experiences, but … No. You do not need them,” she emphasised. “Ultimately, I believe you are the same person you always have been,” she leaned across the table to poke him in the chest. “Spirit of the Hero aside, you have always been a person whose main interests lay in the happiness of others. I want you to decide what would make you happy, right now.”
She got up from her seat to walk around the table and stand next to him, gripping his still intact shoulder. He had watched her walk to him and was now staring up at her, obviously debating with himself what his next action should be. A decision was clearly made when he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face into her stomach. A muffled 'thank you' was both heard and felt by Zelda, as she scratched the top of his head. He eventually tilted his head back so he could look up at her but he didn't seem to want to let go of his hold on her to sign a response so he swallowed before speaking.
“One day, could you take me to where I need to go?”
With a smile and a nod, she bent down to give him a hug but he suddenly placed his hands on her shoulders, pushing her away, as he twisted around in his chair. A powerful sneeze into his own arm followed seconds after and he shuddered.
“Ugh,” he whined, slumping over the table sideways with his robotic limb splayed out towards the opposite side of the table, a soft glow emanating from it in slow pulses. His other arm came up to cover his face. “I hate this.”
Zelda sighed fondly, raking her fingers through his hair gently before starting to rub circles into his back.
“More tea?”
“Holy trifecta, please.”