Zelda woke in her bed. A stream of golden sunlight was caressing her face, making her feel safe and warm. She was still in the blissful place between sleep and wakefulness when the events of last night flooded the peace and she sat up sharply, breathing quick and panicked.
Hyliadamnt!
The noble, whoever it was that saved her, and how she ended up back in her room. She brought her hands up to her chest, as if to protect her privacy against an invisible enemy, and tried to remember everything she could about last night. Tattered pieces of sentences and blurs of colors came back, but no specific faces, no clear words.
Suddenly a name came back, a name that made colour creep up to her cheeks.
Of course. Of course it was Link who saved me.
When will I ever stop owing him?
She thought for a moment, weighting different options, then decided she wouldn't run from what happened any more. She would pluck up her courage and go talk to Link.
His door was closed. Zelda took a deep breath and softly knocked. Link opened it quietly and before Zelda could say anything, he put a slender finger to his lips. He glanced at the window and Zelda followed his gaze.
A tiny, fluffy bird was hopping on the windowsill, shaking its sun-bathed wings and pecking at the small pile of seeds Link had obviously provided. It was looking slightly agitated from the noise at the door, but Link walked over and kneeled down, very gently stroking the spine of the little animal. Somehow, incredibly, the bird relaxed, fluffing its feathers with great dignity and continued exploring the windowsill, squeaking and twittering.
This was the first time Zelda had ever seen Link smile. Although it was tiny, hardly noticeable, it made him look younger, more natural, like a seventeen year old boy rather than a knight with the entire kingdom on his shoulders. It lit up his face, shone through his mask of emotionless silence like a mini sun wrapped in cloth.
"Princess? Is there something you wanted to speak to me about?"
Zelda started, torn away from the scene of peace to a subject of pain.
"..." How to begin? Luckily, Link spared her the awkwardness of searching for words.
"Last night." It wasn't a question. Link's bluntness took Zelda by surprise.
"So it was you."
"Yes."
"How did you find me?" Zelda's heart started pounding. Link had seen her completely vulnerable, in a moment of weakness. Did she mind that it was Link specifically? Well...
"I was on watch nearby. I heard you scream and thought the worst. In fact, what was happening to you was worse than worst."
Zelda looked down. Link went back to the bird, who was now hopping on his palm.
"I hate these balls!" Zelda burst out, unable to keep in her anger any more. "I hate how these nobles care only for the throne and my beauty! I hate wearing dresses that show too much skin for comfort! I hate how my father want me to find one of these snooty, selfish, disgusting men who are so privileged they probably never had to walk more than ten steps in their lives! I hate how they think they deserve everything handed to them as a birthright! Their pure-blood makes them unbearable! But, of course, it's my responsibility to marry, isn't it? Just like my praying! And look how much I progressed over that!"
Link was quiet for a while. The bird in his palm was settling down, closing its beady black eyes in relaxation, basking in the pool of sun flowing in from the window, thrown wide open.
"You'll want to marry eventually, Princess." His words were soft, almost inaudible. "Everyone finds love sometime in their lives."
"Oh really?" Spite and bitterness laced her voice. "You'd think monthly balls ever since I was fourteen would have amounted to something at least! But every man I've met loved not me, but the title before my name! And with my seventeenth birthday so near..."
"You need to keep faith, Princess." Surprisingly, there was a light hint of sadness in his eyes. "It is out of my power to ease this for you. I cannot help you in such matters."
Zelda sighed, looking away. "I don't expect you to. After all, I need time to find someone. However, time is the one thing I don't have."
Watching Link gently stroke the bird who was fast asleep, Zelda was suddenly struck by how safe she felt, considering what happened to her last night, to be in a room alone with a boy. Maybe it was the shining sun flooding the room with warm radiance, maybe it was the quiet atmosphere, or maybe it was just Link's presence, the one who saved her life and her dignity.
She ended up staying in his room for a while, watching him softly smile at the little bird snoozing in the comfort of his hand.
That night, after another day of praying at the Statue right outside Hyrule Castle Town, Zelda was lying on her bed, mulling over her thoughts.
****
Sheik looked around the corners of the Castle Hall before sneaking on with the silence only a Sheikah can achieve. Heading down to the Knight's Training Room without being noticed normally was easy, but tonight there were more servants around than normal. Nevertheless, she made it safely to her night-time practice room and looked around.
It didn't seem to have been in use for a while. The straw dummies were neatly piled away in a row, and the blades were shiny and flawless. Pulling out a long hunting knife, she set up a dummy and practiced her basic moves, cursing how rusty she was at blades. She was just closing off a finisher when a sword stopped her blade mid-air. The clang of metal and metal echoed around the room.
Sheik gasped. She wasn't alone.
A hooded figure whose face was thrown in darkness was facing her, a blade outstretched, blocking hers.
"Well well... who have we here?"
There was something familiar about his voice, but Sheik couldn't think about that now. Assassin? Monster? At least her disguise should work, she hoped. The mask covered her lower face, and the particular way her hair was done hanged into her eyes, blocking their distinctive green tint. The Sheikah clothes masked her body shape that defined her as a girl.
A hand was stretching out from underneath the robes of the stranger. When they met hers, her breathing hitched. Gently, softly, they adjusted her fingers, turning her grasp into a stronger, more suppled position.
"Who are you?"
The stranger didn't answer. He was holding out his blade to her, in an obvious invitation to duel. Swallowing nervously, Sheik touched her knife to his, crossing them.
Then the duel began. He didn't look it from his size, but he was fast. Sheik spun away from the offensive and counterattacked, but she didn't have the advantage of experience that the stranger had. He ducked and swung his blade, timing it perfectly, and stopped his attack a hair's width from her neck.
The light of battle was lighting up Sheik's eyes. She twirled away and attempted an attack on his back, but then he turned just before she could manage to land it, and parried her attack effortlessly. Twisting out of the way, Sheik darted forwards while the stranger was still recovering from the shock and attacked, jumping to the side as he blocked and, in a defensive position, met his attack with her blade, and thrust it back at the stranger so the impact would stun him for a few seconds. However, he wasn't at all fazed and saw her move coming a moment before it did and counterattack swiftly. His blade, once again, ended up at her throat.
"Good..." His voice, that familiarity again. "So you've improved over all these years."
Sheik's eyes widened. It can't be. Not possible. But then...
The stranger was reaching up, slowly pulling down his hood. His face was down, still masking his identity, but when he raised his eyes to meet Sheik's, she let out an audible gasp.
"Ty-Tyander?"
A/N: Okay. So. How many of you have I fooled into thinking it was Link 🤣?