Chapter Text
They were going the long way. On the path. Link tried not to mind — after all, Zelda wasn’t in the physical shape to take the short way across the mountains, and even if Link tried to use Revali’s Gale to push her up the whole way, she didn’t have a paraglider, and Link didn’t have an unlimited amount of uses for each of the Champion’s abilities either.
She was a very slow walker, too.
Link had to bite his tongue more than once, since she kept stopping repeatedly. Going from Hyrule Field to Kakariko — where Link had brought Zelda after the final battle to see Impa — hadn’t been as frustrating of an experience because Link had been so relieved that she was okay that he hadn’t thought about how slow they’d been moving. Even the walk to Hateno wasn’t this bad, probably because of the shorter distance. He tried to be amused by Zelda’s stopping to chase frogs and crickets, but he found his impatience rising instead.
What was going on? He’d never felt frustrated like this before.
“Come on, Navi! Can’t you walk any faster?”
Link sighed a little. Memories were coming to him more frequently now since the one on Ploymus Mountain. How old had he been? How had he managed to defeat the Lynel at such a young age? Had he pulled the Master Sword yet?
What was his father’s name?
Who was Navi?
Zelda stopped walking. Link, lost in his thoughts and used to having no obstacles on the road, bumped straight into her, knocking them both off balance. He grabbed her arm to prevent her from falling to the dirt while managing to regain his footing at the same time. He muttered an apology and took a couple steps away, his face hot.
She didn’t look upset. If anything, she almost looked amused. Zelda folded her arms and asked, “What troubles you, Link?”
He blinked. “Uh.”
He considered his choices. He could simply ignore the question, which pleased that corner of his mind that nearly made him panic each time he tried to talk with her. Or he could lie and say nothing was troubling him at all.
After an agonizing minute of deciding, he finally sighed. “You walk very slowly,” he said honestly. “It’s already late afternoon, and at the rate we’re going, we may not reach the Wetland Stable before sundown, and then we’ll be at even greater risk to monsters. The open road is safer than the woods typically, yes, but that doesn’t mean they are completely safe. There are Keese — which aren’t that hard to kill, they’re just annoying in a swarm — and tons of Stal enemies. There’s a couple monster camps on the way.” He set his hands on his hips. “Personally, I would not like it if I just saved you from Ganon only for you to get shot and killed by a blue Bokoblin with one of the weakest bows I’ve ever wielded.”
She tensed slightly as though offended. “I’m not that weak. I can handle a shot.”
“Not with a fire arrow,” he said, struggling to keep his tone even as panic rose in his throat. “Hyrule is not completely safe. You are not completely safe, and especially not at night.”
“Do you have any other ways to get to Gerudo Town quickly, then?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” Link pointed to the Sheikah Slate on her hip. “I’ll need that, though.”
All annoyance and amusem*nt fled from her face. Beaming, she handed the Slate to him without question. “Are we going to fast travel?” she asked, excited.
Link just shook his head as he flipped through the Runes. He selected the final one and pressed the button to activate it — the Master Cycle Zero, the reward for conquering the Sheikah Monks’ final trial. He swung his leg over the seat and spun the bike around in circles for a bit, enjoying the rush of being on it again. Each crack between the plates of stone-like black material glowed blue with the hum of ancient technology.
Zelda looked as though she were about to explode from joy. “Oh– wha– wh– where did you get this? When did you get this? It’s marvelous!!”
Link smirked. He held his hand out to her, beckoning her to the bike. With the brightest smile Link had seen from her yet, she clambered on behind him, not hesitating to wrap her arms around his waist. He revved the bike, turned in the general direction of the Gerudo Highlands, and set off, ignoring the squirming feeling in his lower belly at the feeling of her arms pressed against his abdomen. The wind in his ears carried away the sound of Zelda’s shriek as they accelerated. One reason Link loved riding the Master Cycle was it only had two speeds: off and super fast. At least, in his driving experience. There were probably other speeds on the bike, but Link didn’t have much experience with them. He was very enthusiastic to share the thrill of being able to ride on something that was so nimble and fast with Zelda — if the memories he’d gathered so far were true to her personality, then she enjoyed a little adventure, right?
Maybe. Hopefully. Link figured it would be a bit awkward if she somehow fell off somewhere like the Digdogg Suspension Bridge and only found out she’d been eaten by the Hinox there by the time he’d reached the Kara Kara Bazaar.
He glanced over his shoulder to see her bury her face in his neck, gold hair whipping around in the wind behind her as they moved at a speed she had probably considered impossible. Link could nearly hear her heartbeat on his back. Frowning, he skidded to a stop. Was she okay?
Zelda lifted her head. Her face was red from her hair to her neck, but she didn’t look upset — rather, there was a wild joy in her eyes as she looked at him.
“Why did you stop?” she asked, panting.
Link felt embarrassed. “I . . . You were . . . tense.”
“Well, of course I’m tense. This seat has no back. But I’m not afraid.” She hesitated. “Okay, yes, I’m absolutely terrified, but this is exhilarating! Please, keep going!”
He nodded once, turned back around, and revved the bike again without another word.
They didn’t say much over the next few hours of travel. Link kept to the side of the path best he could, though he couldn’t avoid frightening a few passing travelers or running over a few birds — it wasn’t exactly his fault they were in the way — and he certainly couldn’t avoid the trio of Stalblins that dug themselves out of the ground less than an hour after sundown, or that Stone Talus in Lake Kolomo (he decided it was best if he didn’t tell Zelda it was there), and especially not that blue Hinox on the suspension bridge. Luckily, Zelda had buried her face in his neck again and didn’t see the massive monster until it had stopped pursuing them.
Finally, Link stopped the Master Cycle in front of the Gerudo Canyon Stable at one in the morning. He gently tugged Zelda’s arms away from his waist, slid off the bike, then helped Zelda off. Her legs were shaking so badly she nearly fell against him, but Link caught her before her knees could hit the canyon floor.
“Are you okay?” he asked, a little amused.
She huffed, blowing stray hair away from her face. “Yes, of course.” She broke out into a wide smile that lit her eyes as she managed to stand up straight. “That was quite the incredible experience, Link! Thank you! You know, I’ve heard stories before of ancient technology capable of transporting a rider at incredible speeds across the land, though I always figured it was meant for a Champion, perhaps even the Sword’s Chosen one, but it wasn’t one we’d managed to extract from the earth before the Calamity. I’d wondered how one would be able to possess such an extraordinary vessel! How did you do it?”
Link suddenly felt shy. Why was explaining things to her, specifically, so difficult? “I . . . well, there was a trial set up by the ancient Sheikah monks. There was this dungeon under the Shri—”
“Link! How are you?” one of the stable hands called.
Link tried not to let his relief show at the interruption. “I’m well, thank you!” he called back. He walked up to the man at the front counter and dug through his pouch for some rupees. “Two special beds, please,” he said, handing the man a silver rupee.
As the man tossed his rupee into a drawer under the counter and gestured for Link and Zelda towards the beds, Zelda asked, “A dungeon? Like the Divine Beasts?”
Link shook his head, then considered. “I mean . . . not exactly. It was not shaped like any specific animal, just a box with cylinders on the sides. I was able to enter and control it, and it worked very similarly to the others, so I suppose you could classify it as a Divine Beast, but . . .”
“Fascinating,” whispered the princess. “Was there a trial beforehand? One that was planned from the beginning?”
“Yes.” Link gestured for her to sit on a special bed and sat on the one beside it, feeling the mattress sink under his weight. “The monks called it the One-Hit Obliterator Challenge. I was given a weapon that dealt infinite damage on any enemy, but it also depleted my health so I could die with a single hit.” He shrugged, pretending like he hadn’t nearly died at least fifty times in that challenge alone.
Zelda’s green eyes were wide, glinting with curiosity and the lingering adrenaline of the ride. “How long did it take you?”
“A few days, I think?”
“Whoaa.”
Link smiled slightly, enjoying her fascination. “You’re welcome to study the Master Cycle at some point if you’d like, granted you don’t take it apart. I’m fine with it.”
She gasped, tenting her hands over her mouth. “Really? Are you sure?”
He nodded. He kicked off his boots at the foot of his bed and stretched back on the feather-stuffed mattress with a little sigh. The Master Sword’s scabbard dug into his back, so he undid the buckle attaching it to him and set it against the bedpost. Zelda removed her own boots and the metal band she wore around her ribs and dropped them beside the sword.
Link was aware of the way she watched him. He glanced at her, blue eyes meeting green, and tried to ignore the odd feeling in his stomach that rose whenever she looked at him.
“Thank you, Link,” she said, low enough that only he could hear. “Not only for this research opportunity, but . . .”
He let himself smile a little. “I’m only doing my job, princess.”
She shook her head. “You were always under my father’s command, not mine. With my father gone and our government destroyed, you are no longer required to stay and protect me as you have.” She gave him a shy smile. “I am technically not your responsibility anymore, but you have still decided to be there for me these past few months, even though you may not remember me much. So, thank you, Link, for not only being my knight, but also . . . a friend.”
Link watched her settle into the bed, pull the covers up to her chin, and relax. How peaceful she looked when she was asleep — all tension gone from her shoulders, those lines in her brow fading with every breath.
He knew he wouldn’t be relaxing like she was anytime soon.
He stared up at the cloth canopy overhead, listening to the residents of the stable settle in for the night. Someone was humming, someone else shuffling papers, someone outside putting out the campfire.
Princess Zelda had just called him her friend.
As he rolled onto his side, he was struck with a rather disquieting but odd thought.
He was her friend, but was she his friend?
He had friends, of course; little Koko in Kakariko, young Nebb in Hateno, Sidon, Kass, Yunobo, Riju, even Teba, proud as he was — but he’d never stopped to think about whether or not Zelda was his friend.
Which Link had been her friend? The Link in his memories, or Link as he was now?
