"You've never opened up to me, you barely even told me what you enjoy or like. You always tell me what I should and shouldn't do. You're like a machine. You don't care Link. You act like you do but you don't. You won't open up at all. And... it hurts to watch. I don't know what I did to you. I would be willing to apologize for anything and possibly everything but you're not even giving me that chance." I said, grabbing both of his hands, moving them away from my face. As sad as this is, I have to break him. He won't speak to me so I have to take drastic measures. He... chose this. Tears now overflowed from his eyes, his whole demeanor changing. He took a haggard breath, absolutely devastated. I had never seen this side of him. He never expressed his emotions. He never cried, he never responded to pain or comfort. He would simply just stare and not say a word about how he felt. I tried my best to completely disassociate but still be present to watch him react. I had to make it seem like I went blank as he always did. He looked at me for a couple seconds, before looking away, silently crying in front of me. He continued to look back at me and then at the ground, each time he looked at me, he broke even more until he was sobbing out loud. I felt his pain so much that I started tearing up until I couldn't go blank anymore because just him crying had also brought me to tears. Link suddenly pulled me into his arms, burying his face into my shoulder, continuing to sob silently. He was shaking so much and I could feel his pain now from head to toe. I wanted so badly to tell him everything that bothered me that he did but the other half of me wanted to cradle him until he couldn't take it anymore.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I wasn't enough. I'm sorry I was silent. I'm sorry I can't be there for you. I'm sorry... so sorry." Link barely got out, being choked by his own tears.
"You don't have to hide anymore-"
"No. You still don't understand. I can't... Princess I can't and shouldn't be doing any of this. I'm so sorry but I can't give you this. I shouldn't even be in tears right now. I shouldn't even be this close to you and yet I'm selfish. I can't even follow your father's orders that I swore to. Hylia should curse me because of that." Link said, holding onto me like this was his last hug he would ever receive. My... father? What does he have to do with any of this?
"What do you mean? You swore to protect me... not to be..." Reality hit me so hard then. My father had asked more of Link than I had originally thought. I knew exactly what my father had asked him to do. Link could tell I had figured it out for he froze in place at my gasp of realization.
"He... asked you to stay silent because he didn't want you to distract me with finding this power. He... broke you down until you couldn't bear it any longer... You... crumbled. You're... no different from me... That sword weighs on you just as much as my quest does." I was in shock. I somehow didn't think about this at all. My father... put all this onto him and he took it because he had no other choice. It wasn't his decision to remain the way he did, my father had asked so much of him to the point of Link not even being able to not hear someone's voice. Everything seemed to stop when Link relaxed for the first time in my arms. His warmth seemed to surround me and every burden was washed away by that simple action. I couldn't help but shiver a bit at the feeling. There had been so much tension between the two of us and now... it merely disappeared within seconds. Peace had finally settled between us. Everything's okay now. Link exhaled before separating from the hug, not smiling but I could see so much resolve in his still teary eyes. I took a breath, letting out a small laugh, happy that he finally got some sort of comfort. I had never seen him... the real him... and now he was a lot clearer to me than before. I wanted more from him even though I knew that was selfish.
"Let's be off then." I said with a small smile on my face, gently taking Link's hand in mine, tired of the distance that was created between us by my father, wanting to know Link more than ever now. Link seemed to hesitate in walking next to me.
"P-Princess-"
"Don't call me that anymore. Just... call me Zelda." I said, wanting to break the distance between us so badly. I have had enough of my father's ruthlessness. He won't take this away from me. It's time for me to stand up for myself whether he wants this or not.
"But-"
"That's an order." I said, giving him a look. Link seemed to think for a second before responding.
"Yes Princess- Your Highness- Zelda." Link shook his head a bit, embarrassed about something. I laughed a bit at him.
"Had to go through both titles before you listened but that's alright. I'm sure you won't struggle as much in the future." I said, teasing him slightly.
"It's... breaking protocol to call you by your given name." Link said, rolling his eyes.
"Not if it's a command that I gave you." I countered, laughing a bit at him. Link thought about this for a minute before answering.
"I... suppose you're right. My apologies."
"Do you always talk so formally?" I asked, wanting to know everything about him now that he was freely speaking.
"Also breaking protocol if I don't talk like this in front of royals." Link said, laughing slightly at me. I squeezed his hand gently in reuserance.
"There's no need to be anything you're not. I want to know what the real Link is like. No faking, no acting, just you. And that's a command if need be!" I bumped him teasingly. He smiled a bit, looking at me in a way he never had. He was grateful but there was also something else that conveyed so much. He stared at me as though he had never seen anything like me. There was confusion but also... desire? That can't be right. I'm reading him wrong again even after I told him he could be who he was.
"Z-Zelda?"
"Yes?"
"You don't... have to stay in your thoughts all the time. You don't have to listen to all the voices that tell you how you're not enough for the people around you. You're... more than you could ever see. You're beyond... anyone I've ever met. You see people in a way that is both observant and you're somehow able to call them out when they're not listening to you. You're... a good person... no matter what anyone else says about you, no matter how much they talk about you. You're more than you see." Link said, smiling a bit at me. Wow... What... do I even say to that? I struggled to even find words. I laughed at myself before I answered.
"I'm... afraid you've left me speechless. I... don't know what you're seeing." I answered, looking back at him.
"Maybe not but if you could see yourself the way I see you... you wouldn't have any doubt about yourself at all." Link said, looking out at the sunset that was forming slowly.
"Once again... you don't need to talk like that around me. I'll take the real you-"
"Yes my lady." Link said, smiling at me softly. My heart skipped a beat at that. I wasn't sure why but for some reason that response had caught me off guard. It was still formal yet almost gave a different meaning.
************************************
"You like to cook, don't you? You always get this sort of glimmer in your eyes whenever you make anything." I said, sitting by the fire that Link had made, the time seeming to have come to a complete stop so that Link and I could share this valuable moment together. And, for the first time, learn about each other's pasts and secrets that we never told anyone. Link laughed at my comment.
"I love cooking. It's always been something that I've been passionate about. Everything has a different taste and smell. Mixing things can make horrid pictures or perfect masterpieces. I try to stick to the basics but sometimes I like to adventure and play with things. It's like... having the freedom to do whatever your heart tells you." Link said, smiling a little. Doesn't... he have freedom to do what he wants? I frowned a bit.
"Don't get me wrong, I have... a sort of freedom but-"
"You're tied to the duties placed at your feet. Your worry stays with you and the burden that is placed on your shoulders hurts to carry all the time." I said without thinking, still stuck in my thoughts, trying to figure out why he wouldn't feel like he had freedom.
"Couldn't have said it better. Enough about me though... You like research right?" Link asked so cluelessly. I scoffed.
"Research as a whole? No, I like to know everything about everything. Research is a small way of putting it. It's an action I perform but it's not half of what I'm doing. Once I figure something out, I have to apply the knowledge that I get into the real world. It changes things drastically. I'm specifically interested in those strange ruins that just appeared magically but I also find some interest in potions and the effects if you change one thing." I said, staring at Link as he stirs some liquid in a small pot above the fire.
"I actually know how to make most potions. They require a lot of strange things but... it's possible to do it without trading-"
"Really? How?" I asked, very intrigued, standing from where I was sitting, walking over to Link." He laughed at me.
"I can't show you right now. I have to finish making this." He said, smiling a bit to himself as he added some sort of spice to the liquid.
"Fine but you have to promise that you'll teach me about everything you know!" I commanded, staring at him. Link smiled.
"I promise." He said, rolling his eyes teasingly at me. I smile back at him before going back to where I was sitting.
"Can you... promise me something else too?" I asked, a thought popping into my head that made me question everything that had happened a couple hours ago. Link looked at me, telling me that he was listening.
"Don't ever go silent again... You can continue to be silent around others but please... don't leave me again. Promise?" I asked, having wrapped my arms around my knees, looking up at Link. He smiled slowly, setting the spoon down that he had been mixing with, walking over to me, crouching down to my level. He had so much compassion in his eyes when he looked at me. He seemed to stare into my soul before talking to me. It wasn't creepy and it didn't scare me. It somehow gave me peace about everything around me. Don't ever look away. Let me melt into your eyes. Let me disappear into your ocean blue eyes.
"I'll never go silent. I won't leave you ever again. You don't have to worry anymore. I'm here now because of you... I'm not going anywhere."