What Must Be Done

Chapter 13: Embers

She didn't let go of his hand. She held onto it with such strength that his fingers were turning purple. He didn't complain, though. It made getting dressed again awkward, and they had to help each other with their belts and buttons. She still held on.

They'd been gone for a good few hours. They could see the beginning of the sunrise through the only small window in the room, and they had locked themselves in there at around dinnertime. They didn't talk much during those hours. They didn't sleep either. Instead they exchanged kisses, caresses and embraces. Little pleasantries that ignited the fire within them again. This time, the Princess forced her Knight to lay on the floor so she could take charge.

They were bruised after their rowdy lovemaking on the hard-stone floor, and she definitely had splinters in unfortunate places because of that rickety old table, but none of that bothered her. Her worries were others.

When time came to leave, she still held onto his hand.

"Zelda," he caught her attention by staring at their joined hands. "I don't believe that'll be seen as proper," he added with a playful voice.

"Will you leave?" Her voice nearly as sorrowful as it had been that night they shared near Kakariko. Her eyes became glossy for the umpteenth time that day.

"Why do you believe I'll leave now all of a sudden?" he questioned, confused. Her abrupt fear made no sense to him. He'd been here a while already, going through all the wedding planning with her and everything.

She heaved a sigh as she finally unlocked the door and let go of his hand. After poking her head out to make sure no one was around, she exited the small storage room with her Knight following close behind, keeping a proper distance, like nothing had happened. She answered his question then, "because of what you've remembered."

"Why would remembering make me leave?" She heard him ask.

Now it made sense. He hadn't remembered that. "Never mind, Link. I'm just being silly," she brushed his question away. His hand reached out to hers to pull her back, presumably back to the storage room, but she pulled her hand away. "We will talk," she promised.

"Zelda, you're merely two days away form your wedding. There's no way we'll have more time to talk."

"We will. Meet me tonight," she assured him, smiling at him with her stunning Goddess-like smile that did things to him. Things like obey. It wasn't fair.

They parted ways.

**

"Shouldn't you be with the Princess?" Link asked Yolant, who was currently at Link's house in Castle Town, laying uncomfortably on the floor, claiming the flat surface helped her with back pain. The wedding was incredibly close now, so it made no sense for her to get a break on this day.

"Shouldn't you?" She questioned back. She smiled at his answering smirk and closed her eyes as if to nap. She was right, he should have been in the Castle right now, too. But being there became harder and harder as the time went by. He didn't feel needed, so he slid away and hid at his house, where he could be found in case something occurred, but where he knew he wouldn't be bothered otherwise. Seemed Yolant felt the same way.

The Knight sat on a chair beside her, fiddling with the book he'd taken from Zelda's room. A book of children's stories that supposedly told tales as old as the world itself. He found himself drawn to it strangely, not to any of the stories in particular, but to the feeling of the old bound leather in his hand. The texture, weight and smell of the thing oddly familiar.

As Yolant napped on the floor, he looked through the pages, itching to discover even more familiarity within it, and finding none. He held it to his nose once more, taking in the smell of old paper, old leather, past lives. It didn't just smell like a book. To him, the scent reminded him of a jungle. A jungle in the surface, where he'd spent countless days by his Princess, way back in the day. Back when they'd first met. Back in Skyloft.