Fortune Favors the Courageous

Chapter 16: Reunion Part 1

reunion
n. an instance of two or more people coming together again after a period of separation
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It's funny how the simple effects in life become luxuries when you forgo them long enough.

On her fourth birthday, after the young princess had brushed her teeth, said her prayers, and been tucked snuggly into bed and kissed goodnight, Papa snuck back into the room with a caramel apple. Don't tell Mama, he'd whispered with a smile. Happy Birthday, Beautiful. Apples had always been a favorite snack of the young princess, but the addition of sweet caramel sauce shot the flavor straight into the stratosphere. It took every ounce of her budding self-control not to gush about it to Mama the next morning.

For a tradition that didn't last past her sixth birthday, it sure felt like an integral part of her special day. The seven-year-old princess stayed up all night waiting for the silhouette of Papa's beard to emerge from the sliver of hallway light. When she brought it up to her Papa the following morning, he'd dismissed her to the kitchen to request one, but the apple they'd prepared then wasn't half as sweet as the treats delivered in secret.

On her fourteenth birthday—shortly after her first menstrual cycle—Princess Zelda, utterly mortified, was venerated as a woman. How cramping and bloating became cause for such celebration was beyond her, but when Papa's smiling face poked through her door that night, none of that mattered. Apparently, this transition into the next phase of her life had sparked fresh hope that the princess would be ready to receive her divine birthright. Zelda, unaware that this would become the last caramel apple her father would ever give her, decided she had never tasted anything so sweet.

Princess Zelda was currently undergoing the same distance-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder phenomenon in the bath house behind Lady Impa's Hall. It had taken several minutes of scrubbing and multiple rinses to get every last bit of mud, sand, and sweat from her skin before dunking herself into the tub of warm water with a weary moan. Impa had offered her granddaughter's help with washing and detangling the princess's hair, but Zelda declined. This time alone was exactly what she needed—a safe, personal moment to soak away all her aches, both physical and mental. The only reason she didn't relax longer was because she was too eager to see what awaited her at the ruins.

After she'd dressed in a camisole, leggings, and a large sweater from Paya and dried her hair, Zelda opted for a braided crown, at the very least to keep some of her tresses from tangled doom anew. When she reentered Lady Impa's Hall, Link was recounting their travels to the two Sheikah women.

Paya's cheeks were flushed attractively and her gaze kept jerking away from Link like a hand on a hot stove. "Y-you're very brave," she squeaked.

Link laughed and scratched the back of his ear. "Well, I dunno about that. I just do what I have to."

"Welcome back, Princess," Impa said, spotting her first. "Are you feeling refreshed?"

Zelda glided fully into the room. "Very much so, thank you."

Link, from where he was kneeling, looked up at her and smiled adoringly. "Maybe I need one of those."

"Please, by all means feel free," Impa said. "Paya will run a new bath for you. Would you like her assistance washing?"

Link coughed, and Zelda bristled. Paya's face burned the impressive equivalent of her crimson irises, which darted sharply to her grandmother. "M-m-m-me?"

Zelda assessed Link, whose ears had also heated one shade of red, but his response was cool and easy. "That's alright, I got it. Thanks, though." With that, he got up and left himself.