Snowflakes slowly descended from the darkened clouds above, adding to the already thick sheet of snow that covered the ground and the purple-colored top of Jules's head. She quietly sat against the wooden wall of the stables next to Link's house, listening to the sound of the horses chewing on whatever snack Link had given them earlier before he began his practice out in the field. She watched as he swung around the burned, curved blade in his hands with nothing on but his trousers and boots- tempering his bare upper body against the cold.
She hadn't bothered saying anything to him. For the past few days–ever since he had seen whatever it was on the village rooftops— he had subjected himself to ignore just about anything that wasn't related to training. At least, that's what it looked like. It was unclear to her how he acted around Zelda since, by the time she returned home from the inn, Jules was already either leaving or gone. Despite this, she could take a pretty good guess about how things were going judging by the few glances she recently got of Zelda early in the mornings at the beginning of her workday, and she didn't seem too happy.
Because of this increasingly unapproachable aura around Link, Jules resorted to simply watching from afar, acting as whatever moral support she could be. Still, in the back of her mind, even she believed that it didn't mean much if anything at all.
With a depressing sigh, she reached up a cold hand and brushed the thin pile of snow collecting on her head before doing the same to the sheet on her legs. She looked up, allowing the gray clouds and falling snowflakes to mesmerize her. While the sight of Link dancing with his sword could usually hold her attention for hours on end, now that she could see what encouraged him, it almost didn't seem right to feel so awestruck. For her, it was one thing to be prepared, but even she could see when things were being taken too far, and the ever-growing darkness under his eyes only supported this. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and leaned the back of her head against the stable's wooden beams.
"Isn't it about time you took a break?" she said quietly to herself. "Even if it's just a short one?"
"I'm going to take a breather in just a moment," Link suddenly called back as he continued to swing his sword. Jules, who had slightly jumped at his unexpected words, returned her gaze from the clouds and back to him.
He heard me? she asked herself. Is he really that alert?
"So you're finally going to put the sword down, huh?" she asked, trying to continue on as normal as possible. "I didn't think you had it in you."
"It's just a bite to eat, and then I'll be back at it," Link said simply. He swung a few more times before bringing the blade down to his side.
"You could use a bit more than that," Jules said as he began to walk back over, wiping sweat from his forehead with his free arm. "Maybe a nap?"
"You know what I'm gonna say to that, Jules," he said as he walked past her. "Do you want me to make you some of whatever I'm eating?"
"I'll never turn down something made by a master chef," Jules said, twisting her body to watch his backside as he made his way toward the tree and cooking pot on the other side of the house.
With a grunt, she pushed herself up to her feet and dusted the rest of the snow off her dress before following him. By the time she arrived at the cooking pot, Link had already squatted down to light the wood from under it. Taking a seat next to the pot, she watched as he moved his hands, adjusting quality sticks while finding a good piece of flint that remained from the last time he had started a fire. Taking the sword he had placed in the snow next to him back in hand, he tapped the blade against the flint, which finally allowed a fire to spark. Instantly, Jules felt relief wash over her body as the heat washed over the front of her.
"Wait here," Link said as he pushed himself to his feet.
He leaned the curved blade against the large tree before leaving and entering the house behind them. After a few moments, he returned to the snow, carrying a few ingredients with him, all of which were tossed into the pot, along with two bottles worth of milk. After stirring a few times with a ladle, the beginnings of a soup began to mix and boil inside. Once at the right temperature, Link nodded and took a seat in the snow on the opposite side of where Jules had planted herself.
The two sat in silence, listening to the bubbling of milk and the crackling of the fire that sat beneath it, with Link standing every now and then to stir. Jules watched as the occasional ember flew from the flames below, illuminating the surrounding snowflakes in orange before vanishing into the air. Soon, her eyes trailed from the flames to the one sitting across from her. Though his face seemed calm and collected, despite how tired his eyes looked as they stared into the flames before them, his fingers were rapidly tapping against his knees where his hands were placed. Jules frowned; even now he was alert and anxious. Eventually, her eyes found themselves on the sword he had been using to practice for the last few days, still leaning peacefully against the tree as the orange light of the fire illuminated its blade.
"What happened to your other sword?" she asked through the silence. "The purple one. You always had that on you before. I always just assumed it was your favorite. Did it break?"
"No, it didn't," Link answered after a brief pause. "It's, uh... It's inside. I just can't use it right now."
"You can't use your sword?' she prodded curiously. "Why? You seem to be able to use one just fine."
"I can use a sword, I just can't use that one," Link tried to explain. "Look, that sword is different. It's... tempting, or I guess reminding me, constantly. It wants me—needs me— to go do something and it's something I can't deal with right now, as much as I want to. You wouldn't really understand."
"You seem to say that a lot these days," Jules said. "You look so tired having to think about whatever that is and this Yiga. Look, I know Zelda is on you about it— and you know I disagree with how extreme she is— but I really think you should take it easy. Just for a bit."
"Ugh, Jules..." Link moaned, rolling his head back in irritation, yet Jules refused to back down.
"I'm just saying," she insisted. "How are you really supposed to catch this Yiga like this? I know I just said I disagree with how she wants to handle things, but she is right about one thing: you do need to get some of your energy back."
"Here we go..." Link mumbled, bringing a hand up to rub his eyes.
"Link—"
"You know, why is this a big deal anyway?" he asked suddenly. "This isn't new, staying up like this. I did this all the time when I was on the road freeing the divine beasts."
"Yes, that's true, but it felt different before," Jules said. "You always seemed... I don't know... positive?"
"Positive?" Link repeated, furrowing his brow.
"It just felt like you had an air of joy and confidence around you," she continued. "It was as if you knew that... everything would be okay, even if you had doubts on how, at least during the times I saw you. You wanted to help people and... and help her. It just feels a bit different now. Your eyes; it's like they lost the light they once had. Your mind just feels... gone."
"Yeah? Well..." Link said quietly. "Seeing your friends die before your eyes— reminding you of what you lost, and then knowing full well there's an assassin out there taunting you and threatening to take away more will do that."
"That's–" Jules tried to say, yet Link had already begun pushing himself up to his feet.
"–something you wouldn't understand," he finished. "I'll be back with bowls."
With that, Link disappeared back into the house, leaving Jules to wallow in defeat.
That went well, she thought to herself. With a sigh, she brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs. He's right, I can't understand him. He lives in such a different world than I do. The only person who could possibly hope to understand what's going through his mind is Zelda... and that's going wonderfully.
After a few moments, the door to the house opened once more, revealing Link walking back out with two bowls in hand. Jules watched as he strolled through the snow before stopping in front of the cooking pot next to her. Balancing the bowls with one arm, he began stirring the soup with the ladle once more. Once the broth was to his liking, he filled the bowls and handed one down to Jules, who thanked him for the meal. With a nod, Link sat next to her before beginning to quickly scarf down his food. While Jules usually would laugh and make fun of him for his strange mannerisms, this time it only bothered her. It felt as though he were simply rushing to finish his food in order to continue his monotonous training.
What am I supposed to do now? she continued internally, bringing the edge of the warm bowl to her lips. Do I just sit here and continue to be whatever useless support I try to be? Is there anything I can do like this?
The two continued to sit in silence as they ate, with Jules taking slow thoughtful sips while Link had practically already finished his bowl. After ensuring there was nothing left he could possibly taste, he placed his bowl in the snow and made to stand.
"It's been over two months..."
This made Link pause. Confused, he looked over at the purple-haired woman, who had lowered her bowl into her lap.
"What?" he asked.
"The day you came alone to Gerudo Town, when you were injured and were waiting to speak to Chief Riju and Buliara about the Yiga," Jules clarified. "I asked you when your birthday was. You said a month or two, and then you'd be of age. It's been over two months... has your birthday already passed?"
This took Link aback. He hadn't thought about his birthday at all since Jules had brought it up in the Noble Canteen all those months ago, and even back then he hadn't really taken the time to think much about it. After a few seconds of thought, having to remember what day it was, he answered.
"It's this weekend," he said, pushing himself up to his feet. A light appeared behind Jules's eyes, but before she could say anything, Link immediately added, "no."
"I didn't say anything," she said, watching as Link pushed himself to his feet.
"I'm not going to the inn this weekend," Link said, calling the woman's bluff. "I can't afford to be goofing off like that. That would clearly give the Yiga time to strike. I refuse."
With that, he walked around the cooking pot, took his sword in hand, and returned to his place in the snowy fields on the side of his house. As he began his dance, Jules brought the bowl of soup back to her lips with a dejected look.
I really don't have a choice, do I?
* * * * *
"It's been snowing every day this past week..." Celessa said, sitting in a chair next to one of the dining hall windows. "I hope everyone is staying warm. It looks like the brunt of winter is finally starting to show itself."
"Well, we can't complain too much," Prima said, adding wood to the lit furnace under the hanging cooking pot in order to keep the place as warm as possible. "We've had it pretty easy considering how late in the year it is. It was bound to happen eventually."
"With all the snow we've had?" Zelda asked, walking into the hall while carrying a tray full of used mugs. "I thought this was a pretty normal winter..."
"Maybe for you, who's used to living down in Hyrule Field, but for us in the mountains, it's been fairly tame," Prima explained. "If I'm honest, we've been a bit lucky so far, but it'll certainly get worse. We better be prepared in case a storm hits."
"I wonder if Jules is okay," Celessa wondered out loud. "She's been out there a lot recently, and today the snowfall is only getting heavier."
"I promise you she's perfectly fine," Zelda said sourly as she roughly placed the tray of mugs on the counter. Both Celessa and Prima glanced at each other, taken aback at her sudden change in tone.
"Um... Is there any particular reason you say that?" Prima asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, is there something going on?" Celessa added.
"Nothing is wrong. Everything is perfectly fine," Zelda answered, beginning to wipe down the dirty mugs with a rag. "I just know that Jules is perfectly fine since she has taken a liking to stopping by my house to hang out with Link, is all. She's done it every day for the past week and I'm positive she's there now, so there truly is nothing to worry about."
"Ah, there it is," Prima said cheekily. At this, Zelda immediately turned around to glare at her.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Do you take issue with Jules hanging around Link, Zelda?" Prima asked.
"I do not," she answered blatantly. "What I do take issue with is the fact that she's encouraging his self destructive nature."
"Is she trying to help Link find the Yiga?" Celessa asked curiously. "Is that why she's been so busy this past week?"
"That's the only conclusion I can make–"
"Hold on," Prima suddenly cut in. "Conclusion? Doesn't that mean you don't actually know?"
"Oh, Prima, what else could they be doing together?" Zelda asked, setting her rag and mug down before placing her hands on her hips. "With her agreeing with him and how distant he's been these past few days, I can only think that's what they're doing! She's always at the house with him, he seems to talk with her more than he does to me when I'm home, he's getting quieter around me—"
"While I'm sure you are worried that she's encouraging him," Prima cut in again. "Doesn't it sound a bit more like you're... jealous?"
"Jealous?" Zelda repeated. "What makes you believe that?"
"Well, you seem a bit more focused on the fact that they're spending time together than what they could actually be doing," Prima explained.
"Come again?" Zelda said. With a sigh, Prima continued.
"Look, you said that they're often at your house," she explained. "If that's all they're doing— sitting at the house— then that doesn't really sound like she's encouraging him to actually go do anything."
"Wha— Then what else could she be doing over there? Tell me!" Zelda demanded.
"If I was being honest, I'd assume that she's just... there," Prima said simply.
"I'd... kinda have to agree with Prima on this one, Zelda," Celessa spoke up, which instantly gained the employee's attention.
"You too?" Zelda asked. "Celessa, you heard how Jules was talking the other day! She supports and wants to help Link catch this guy–"
"That's not exactly true," the traveler cut in. "She wants him to heal just like you do, she just doesn't like how you're going about it. She didn't say anything about pushing him or helping him find the guy, she just said it didn't seem like a bad thing that he's being cautious."
"Are you agreeing with her?" Zelda asked, folding her arms.
"That's not what I'm saying, and you know that," Celessa corrected. "I'm also not saying that she isn't helping him try and find the Yiga. What we're saying is, it sounds like you're frustrated that Jules is hanging out with Link, and you're trying to avoid saying that by coming up with possible reasons that may or may not be true."
With a guilty frown spreading across her face, Zelda looked between Celessa and Prima before taking a deep breath.
"Despite not having actually seen it, I truly can't help but believe that she may be intervening in our situation," she said slowly, "but... I would be lying if I said that I didn't like how much time she spends with Link..."
"Do you not like the idea of Link hanging around other girls?" Celessa asked, to which Zelda shook her head.
"I'm not that petty!" Zelda exclaimed. "It's just... She can hang around and talk to him so easily, and he responds too. I can see them talking every time I return home, only for them to stop when they notice me coming. He's distant from me, even more than before. It feels like he's just my appointed knight again. Something's going on– something new– and it bothers me that Link feels the need to keep it from me."
"You know, that alone is enough for most to consider something like an affair going on," Prima said nonchalantly. "You'd be surprised with how many travelers come to the inn because their significant others found out they had someone else."
"Link would never," Zelda said confidently, something the innkeeper fully expected. "As much as I hate to say this, if he finds it important enough, he will hide things depending on the situation. He only does this when he feels there's danger around, in this case, possibly the Yiga. Link would never indulge in something like an affair. That I'm sure of."
"If that's how you feel, and he's really not having an affair, then maybe there's something you need to consider," Prima responded. "You should probably think about what Jules was saying last week."
"What?" Zelda spit out, dumbfounded at the sound of Prima's words. Before she could manage to give a proper response, Celessa chimed in.
"I was kind of thinking the same thing," she said, leaning her elbow on the windowsill. "Look, I was there when you and Jules were going back and forth. I know it was a bit harsh the way she put it, but maybe she has a point."
"You think I should indulge in his fears?" Zelda asked, yet Celessa shook her head.
"I think you should consider everything Jules said," she clarified.
"She said that fighting makes him happy, right?" Prima mentioned. "I can't help but notice you do seem to want him to stay here in the village more than he's used to. We all know he likes to be out there in the wild. Wouldn't it be fine to let him clear his head with a weapon every now and then if he likes fighting out there so much?"
"I–" Zelda began, yet the image of Link staring down the old statue on the mountainside as it spoke its eerie words formed in the back of her mind:
I've tampered with your essence enough for me to sense when it's near. I can also tell. When. It. Is. Not.
"I... I just can't permit that," Zelda said, guiltily balling her hand into a fist. "I just don't believe he could help going after the Yiga. I... I have my reasons as to why."
"What if we tried the maid outfit again?" Celessa prompted. "We could try to get his attention back to you instead of the Yiga, and maybe pull it away from Jules if you're so bothered by it."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Prima spoke up as Zelda began to glow bright red. "Last time, Link started to feel like she only did that to influence him instead of getting her feelings across. If he's being even more paranoid now, he'll probably assume that's what she's doing again."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Zelda asked, walking over to sink into one of the table chairs. "I... I am jealous. I feel so disconnected from him. I used to be the one he confided in and now it's her. I'm his lover. I want to be the one he trusts with these things..."
"Then give him a reason to."
All three of them turned to see the purple-haired woman standing in the doorway. Immediately Zelda stood from her chair.
"When did you get here?" she asked. "Were you listening?"
"I just got here, and no I wasn't. I only heard that last part– not by choice," she said when she saw a glint of anger in the employee's green eyes. "I've come to talk with you, all right?"
"With me?" Zelda asked guardedly. "May I ask what about?"
"Link, if it weren't obvious," Jules said, folding her arms. With a sigh, she leaned her shoulder against the doorframe. "Look... You may think he's giving me some special treatment, but he's not. He's as distant with me, if not more. The only reason I can get him to talk is because he knows I actually believe him. That doesn't mean he listens to me any more than he listens to you."
"What do you mean by that?" Zelda asked. "What are you trying to get him to do?"
"Rest, but not the way you want him to," Jules said simply. "I still think you're being way too controlling over him, and I'm not budging about that."
"Oh no," Celessa groaned from across the room while Prima brought her fingers to her nose.
"Then why did you even bother coming to talk to me?" Zelda asked, gripping the back of the chair she stood by in anger. "If you have no intention of trying to understand my reasoning, then honestly speaking, I don't believe we have much to talk about–"
"You are the only person he will possibly listen to," Jules interrupted in a calm voice. When Zelda didn't say anything, she continued. "Because of this, the idea I have is something I need your help with."
All the anger vanished from Zelda's features. Shocked at Jules words, she blinked before turning to the other two in the room, who looked almost as surprised as her.
"W-what is it you need me for?" she asked, breaking the silence that had spanned for a few seconds.
"Link trusts me, even if just a little, so I won't say why or what he's doing," Jules began to explain. "But, I'm sure you can see that he's more focused on this Yiga than ever before. While I still agree with him that he needs to be cautious, he is taking it too far. He needs a break, even if just a small one, but he won't listen to me when I tell him."
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but he hasn't exactly listened to me either," Zelda said.
"I know, that's why I want to try and give him a reason to slow down, one that a Yiga wouldn't attack in," Jules said.
"And that would be?" Zelda asked suspiciously.
"I want to celebrate his birthday here at the inn," Jules said.
"His birthday?" Zelda repeated. "Right... He did mention his birthday before, didn't he?"
"You forgot?" Jules asked judgmentally, to which Zelda furrowed her brow.
"It's not that I forgot, it's just..." she tried to explain. "Birthdays are kind of a tough subject for me personally. I didn't think about it, and it doesn't help that there's been a lot going on recently..."
"Still," Jules said sternly, to which Zelda looked regretfully at the floor.
"T-that's no excuse, is it...?"
"So you want to have a birthday bash for him?" Celessa cut in, noticing the slight pain in Zelda's features.
"I can only guess you want to have it here," Prima chimed in, to which Jules nodded.
"A Yiga wouldn't do anything with a ton of people around, especially by himself, right?" Jules asked, catching Zelda's eye when she looked back up. "I think differently but... I'm taking a gamble here. I'm trusting you know what you're talking about."
"We can celebrate it during the usual weekend bash," Prima said. "Most are bound to be here regardless, and I'm sure the villagers would like to celebrate with him, especially with how much he's helped them out this past year, and I'm sure they'd want to reconnect with him. He hasn't been distant with just you two."
"I think it could be fun," Celessa said. "Even he has to loosen up on his birthday, right?"
"That's what I'm hoping for," Jules nodded to the traveler before turning back to Zelda. "What do you say?"
"I think celebrating his birthday is a wonderful idea, despite my own history with them," Zelda answered after a brief pause. "Knowing how the villagers get, they're sure to make it fun, but... Why do you need me specifically?"
"What do you mean?" Jules asked.
"You said you needed my help, but you could have set this up on your own," Zelda explained. "Sure I would have had to help since I work here, but... You specifically came looking for me. Why?"
The two stood in silence for another brief moment. For the first time during their chat, Jules allowed a little bit of jealousy to show on her face before looking away.
"Because you're the only person who could convince him to come to the inn to celebrate," she finally answered. "If anyone can pull him away from his focus... it's you, so. You love him, right?"
"To no end," Zelda answered immediately. With a sad deep breath, Jules turned her back to them.
"Then I'm counting on you."
With that she disappeared into the lobby and up the stairs, leaving the three women in the dining hall alone once more.