Her father—hiding the truth from her! It was simply bizarre!
Zelda rushed down the hallway, determined to find her father. His office was the best guess since he was probably over there looking something up.
She had gone over to her room to hide the book and the diary she grabbed from down in the basement before going over to her father. She didn't want him taking them away from her, anyway.
Maybe I'm just overthinking it? Zelda turned a corner and was met with her father's door in front of her. Or maybe it's all the truth.
She clenched her fists before relaxing them and taking a deep breath, opening her father's door.
Just as she suspected, he was behind his desk with a bunch of papers and books scattered on his desk. To sum it up, he looked stressed.
Zelda walked up to him, waiting for him to look up from the book he was frantically reading. When he didn't stop to look up, she spoke out saying, "Father, what's down there in the basement?" She knew well enough what was down there, but she was testing her beloved father.
He jumped up from slouching and panicked as he tried to cover the books and papers not-so-subtly. "Oh, Zelda! I didn't know you came in."
Zelda walked closer to his desk and crossed her arms. "Yes, I'm here, but what's in the basement?" She glanced at the stuff lying on his desk and gestured toward it. "And what are those?"
Rhoam started to grow a bead of sweat on his forehead. "Uh— Nothing. For both."
Zelda pursed her lips and frowned. "Are you sure?"
Her father nodded, trying to seem confident. "Yes."
That was when Zelda felt a sigh leave her mouth. "Father...I know what's down there."
Rhoam looked down, not seeming to be high and mighty anymore. He ran a hand through his hair and a shaky sigh came out of him. "Did you really?"
It surprised Zelda at his soft voice, but she nodded nonetheless. "Yeah. It... Why do we have paintings of the Princess from long ago?"
Rhoam didn't look at her when he inquired, "Was she with a man?"
"Yes, she was." Despite the confusion of what was down in the basement, and with how it slightly frightened her, she was eager to hear about it.
"Well, uh..." Rhoam leaned back in his chair and sighed stressfully, reluctant to tell his daughter anything.
Zelda wanted to know everything though—her father was hiding things and she didn't like it, especially for it being hidden from her all her life. The question about the mansion's origin had been wanting to slip past her lips ever since she walked in, but she waited as patiently as she could.
Rhoam continued. "Well, that's the Princess and the other Princesses from ages past." He forced himself to look into Zelda's eyes. "That's it."
"But, no one else had seen them. Not even historians; it's been centuries and ages since the events from long ago happened and those drawings were made, surely someone would've at least had them to share out with the public." Zelda was letting out all she had within her—she wanted answers. "And, may I inquire," she held up a finger, "why do we have them?"
Rhoam was silent then, unsure how to answer without giving too much away. "Um, well, Zelda...you see..."
Zelda wasn't able to hold it in anymore. "When was this mansion made?"
"Zelda—"
Zelda asked again, emphasizing her question. "When was this mansion made and why do we have furniture, papers, drawings, and books from way back then?"
The look on her father's face was enough to show that he was trapped in a corner. "This-this mansion—our home—was made many years ago. I...I didn't make it. So, I cannot tell you."
"It's not that you can't tell me, you just don't want to," exclaimed Zelda. "You own this mansion now, you should have the right to know it's origin."
Rhoam stuttered to bring out his next words. "Zelda, I...I really can't." Out of nowhere, he frowned, continuing his statement. "I...am afraid to do so to ensure your safety."
Zelda was taken aback, confusion clearly all over her features. "My safety?! Father, why is everything all about my safety?!"
Rhoam couldn't hold back either. "Because if I tell you the truth then you'll be in danger!"
Zelda set her foot down. "Just tell me the truth!" She was heaving by then, clearly tired of her father delaying their conversation.
"I can't, Zelda!" Rhoam was desperate to get his point across. "Why can't you just understand?!"
"Because I'm already having a hunch that this," Zelda furiously pointed at the ground, "mansion we live in used to be Hyrule Castle!"
Defeated, Zelda concluded, was what her father looked like at that moment. He struggled to say anything else, all his excuses dying in the back of his throat. Instead, he had sighed angrily. He clearly didn't want to say anything to Zelda, but he decided there was no use anymore to hide anything. He started saying, "Fine. Do you really want to know the truth so badly?"
A nod from Zelda was enough for him to leak. "Okay," he said, "first of all, this mansion wasn't one long ago, it was Hyrule Castle—" Rhoam stopped to look at his daughter intently, watching her expressions—"so you're right."
"So...we live in the rebuild of Hyrule Castle?" Zelda muttered softly.
Rhoam wasn't sure if she was talking to him or to herself, but he still responded. "Technically, this is Hyrule Castle. It would've been if castles were still existent, but monarchy died so long ago that what had used to be called a castle is now what we call a mansion."
Waiting for her to respond—which she didn't—Rhoam was unsure how to form his next words. He opened his mouth, but it closed just as quick as it opened.
It was silent between the two, mainly because Zelda was taking her time to comprehend and her father was cautious. But, he ended the silence with his next words.
"Um...I..." Rhoam sighed, scared to say the rest. "I'm unsure of how to tell you another thing."
"I-it's okay. Just...please tell me everything, though." Zelda was calm, subtly encouraging her father to go slow because she was still having a moment to take all he had said into context.
Rhoam nodded and took a deep breath and collected his thoughts before speaking out once again. "So...a big thing is that your last name isn't...really...Bosphoramus."
Zelda's eyes widened right as her heart sank to her stomach. "W...what?"
Rhoam merely nodded. "Yes. Your...last name is actually Hyrule. Bosphoramus was just a cover up; it's my middle name."
Wait. Zelda felt her heart sink lower than the first, her words coming out choked. "D...does that mean—"
Rhoam, solemnly, nodded. "I know what you're thinking. And yes, you're right—we are apart of the royalty bloodline. Which means you're the descendant of former Princess Zelda."
Zelda stared at her father, mouth agape. If anything, Zelda should've been excited, but she was actually...scared. Her, the descendant of a goddess reborn? It didn't add up. It just didn't. It couldn't be real, either. Surely, her father was just joking...right?
Zelda was about to cry, her pent up anger coming out into overwhelming tears. She choked on her words as she struggled to release them. "Why didn't you ever tell me this?'"
Her father was silent, refusing to answer. He bounced his leg up and down underneath his desk, debating whether to answer his daughter or not.
But, Zelda was impatient. "Father, why did you never tell me this?"
All Rhoam did was look silently at his desk, no words coming out. Either he couldn't tell her, or he just didn't want to. Either way, Zelda was fed up with her father and turned on her heel, practically running to the door before she opened it and ran out of his room.
As she rushed over to her own room, she wiped away her tears as she was unsure of what to do with all she had found out. This is so...crazy! Why did he never tell me?!
Zelda turned a corner, apologizing to someone she bumped into before continuing on to her destination. Who would even believe me if I told them this? Surely no one here would. Not even Lana, probably!
Once Zelda made it to her door, she slammed it closed right after opening and entering. She grabbed a random backpack she had lying somewhere in her room and walked over to her desk, laying the bag on her desk to put the diary, the book, and the phone's box inside the bag—the phone was so Link could help her start it up. She zipped it closed after settling her things in there and put on the closest pair of shoes she found lying around, which happened to be the ones from the day before.
Zelda, having just awaken about an hour ago, was not fazed by how she looked—same clothing from the day before, hair a mess. Luckily, her hair wasn't so messy so she was able to run her fingers through it and pat it down the best she could. The bathroom was in another room and she wasn't going to go back out to brush her hair.
Zelda had no time to waste, quickly grabbing a mint from out of the drawer attached to her desk and popping it in her mouth right as she swung the backpack over her shoulder.
She made sure it was strapped correctly before heading over to her window, in a haste just in case her father would go and find her.
Right as she stepped outside her window, she knew just the person who she would go and find.
~0000000000~
Zelda knocked on the door, fidgeting with her hands as she waited for an answer.
This is stupid, she thought. I didn't even message him to tell him I'd be over so what if they aren't-
The door opened to reveal Impa, interrupting Zelda's thoughts.
The smell of food was what hit Zelda immediately after the door opened, so she frowned as she remembered she didn't eat breakfast. Nonetheless, she continued on.
"Hi, Impa," Zelda greeted, a polite smile on her face.
Impa smiled, clearly content seeing Zelda despite the unexpected visit. "Oh, hello! What brings you here? Link didn't tell me you were coming. "
Zelda laughed just a bit, holding onto the straps of her backpack. "Yeah, well, Link doesn't even know either. I wasn't planning on coming but something happened and I came here out of the blue to come talk to him about it—in person, I would prefer to, which is why I didn't message him or anything."
Impa nodded, understanding Zelda's point. "I see what you mean, well, come in." Impa stepped aside for Zelda to enter. When she did, Impa closes the door behind her and watched as Zelda looked around as if it were her first time there.
"Um...where is Link, anyway?" Zelda turned to Impa, the tilt of her head enough for Impa to understand her curiosity.
"Oh, he's down that hallway in his room, sweetie." Impa lead Zelda's eyes with her finger toward the hallway behind Zelda. "You can go and check on him if you want; if he doesn't answer then he's probably sleeping so just go on ahead and enter to wake him." Impa started walking back to the kitchen, but she turned back to the girl. "I'm making breakfast, would you like some? It's an omelet."
Zelda nodded, relieved she'd be able to eat. "Yes, please, thank you so much."
Impa nodded, a smile going out to Zelda before she entered the kitchen again.
Zelda turned around and made her way over to the hallway, looking at everything around her: pictures, yearbook photos, photos of scenery, family photos, holiday celebrations, furniture, T.V., etc.
Zelda stumbled upon a table that had family photos right at the entrance of the hallway, and a child Link was amongst it. His hair was parted in the middle—shorter than she'd ever seen it—and he had a tooth gap when he smiled, so it was at that point she had assumed it'd been fixed before she met him.
Least to say, he was absolutely adorable. But, she carried on and continued over to walking over to Link's room, which was literally at the end of the hallway. It was obviously his room, Zelda concluded, when she made it because the front of his door was covered in old, scratched-up stickers that consisted of soldiers, army men, swords, and shields. It had seemed like Link wanted to get rid of them at some point, but he ended up giving up.
Zelda still smiled, for it was a cute feat adding on to Link's passion. She raised her arm up to knock his door with her knuckles, letting the sound of Impa's cooking hover in the air after the knocking seized.
About a minute had passed, yet there was no answer. That was when Zelda decided to open the door for herself, which was fortunately unlocked.
She quickly walked in, first peeking her head in to make sure Link was somewhere inside before stepping in all the way. He was in the corner of the room next to his closet as he was facing his articles of clothing, his phone in his hands as he was messaging someone.
Zelda blushed, for his bare back was clearly in view—hair down. Her mouth felt dry as she opened her mouth to try and speak out, but she couldn't say anything at the time. She wanted to speak out, but her words always got caught in her throat. Curse her mind for she was thinking inappropriately—dare she even say Link looked insanely attractive even as he turned around and gave her a front-view of his chiseled chest and toned stomach.
He was facing the ground as he read over a few messages, smiling to himself with slight laughter. When he turned off his screen and placed the phone down on his drawer, he removed his earphones from his ears as he looked ahead of him, getting ready to stretch until he saw an unexpected visitor.
Like the man he was, Link yelped in surprise and quickly scrambled to grab something to cover his body, which was a muscle shirt that had been thrown onto the ground.
Zelda turned red, unsuccessfully making it seem like she hadn't been looking—Link knew she was, unfortunately.
"I-I'm sorry!" Zelda used her hand to cover the corner of her peripheral vision with her head facing the other way, her heart racing. "I...I didn't know you were up, I thought— I thought you were asleep..."
Zelda heard Link quickly rummage through his closet as he picked out a random article of clothing to put on, telling Zelda it was okay to look afterward.
"It's...it's okay." Link pursed his lips, looking shy as Zelda looked back to him. He ran his fingers through his messy hair to the back of his neck, rubbing the nape as he fidgeted bashfully on the spot.
Zelda watched as he adjusted his sweatpants under the loose t-shirt and crossed his arms over his chest, unable to look into her eyes. "I'm just...not really comfortable showing my body out to people like that," he laughed out.
Zelda knew what he meant, and she suddenly felt bad about thinking of such a lewd way about him but her mind wasn't able to move away from it. "I'm sorry I was looking. I... You were just there!" Zelda laughed to clear the tense air. "I knocked but I suppose you had your earphones on with music or something."
"Oh..." Link licked his bottom lip and swallowed a lump in his throat, reaching over to grab his phone and then waving it in front of her with a smile on his lips. "Y-yeah I had music, but I was actually messaging you good morning, but I guess there was no need for that since you're here." Link paused, a laugh bubbling out. "Quite unexpectedly, might I add."
Zelda laughed at the truth of his words. "Well...I was in a bit of a rush. What I want to talk to you about is something I had to tell you in person—I dunno how I'm gonna do it, but I'll find a way. But...," she pursed her lips, nervous, "c-can we talk about it in private later on?"
Link had a confused smile on his lips as he grabbed a brush from his desk, brushing down his hair. "Okay? It must be crazy then, if it's hard to say." He glanced at her backpack straps. "And if you brought a bag." He ran his brush through his small tangles, flattening his hair and settling his bangs. "We could later go to Korok Forest, it's the most private area I know."
Zelda puffed air out of her cheeks, shaking her head. "Oh, you have no idea, Link. Korok Forest sounds great."
Link nodded his head in understanding to her words, gesturing his head to his bed. "You can put your backpack on my bed, if you'd like." He set his brush down and removed his rubber band from his wrist to messily tie his hair into his signature ponytail, puffing out his cheeks as he blew his bangs away from his face.
"I should cut my hair, like seriously." Link adjusted his bangs and walked up to Zelda right as she was setting her bag on his bed, sitting on his bed right after.
Zelda looked up at Link, her hands rested on her lap as she watched him stand in front of her, a smile growing upon his lips. She felt her heart flutter, for such a sight was too sweet for her own eyes. But, a thought hit her. She was then saying, "Hey, Link. You know, I forget that you're actually a little shorter than me."
Link pouted and crossed his arms again, a slight push to his bottom lip. "Well, look who's taller now, Princess."
Zelda laughed, her chest getting the pang she'd known all to well by then. She squinted her eyes playfully, frowning in a way to tease Link as she looked up into his eyes. "I don't know...I don't think I see anyone up there, I think you're stepping on a stool."
Link feigned offence, putting a hand to his chest as he stepped back from the hit of Zelda's words. "Ouch. That hurt, your great majesty."
Zelda smirked playfully, placing both of her hands on the edge of the bed on either side of her, leaning forward. "Well, Sir Link, I'm 'your majesty' so I have the right to say what I can."
The look on Link's face made Zelda want to retract her words, but it was then when he smirked and bent down to look her in the eye that she started blushing. He was too close—closer than expected.
Link was aware—a blush was visible on his cheeks—but he needed to keep his act in place. He grinned, their noses almost touching as he uttered, "I believe that is where you're wrong, Princess Zelda."
Zelda almost started to sweat; their close proximity, their breaths so close Zelda could feel the heat, and Link's beautiful, cerulean eyes...it was enough to make it hard to refrain from doing something she had no experience in, something she knew she'd regret doing—kissing him. She couldn't, but he was way too close that it was becoming difficult for the two to hold back from leaning in any further before—
"Hello, hello." Impa peeked her head through the doorway, her eyes searching for the kids until they landed on the scene before her on Link's bed.
Link slowly pulled back, his heart dropping low into his stomach as he realized his aunt caught them in a not-so-best position. Zelda had already backed away to the wall, trying to make the scene look as innocent as possible.
"Oh, wow. Did I interrupt anything?" Impa smirked seeing how red her niece had gotten, laughing as she saw Zelda turn just as red as her irises.
Zelda shook her head, trying to steady her heart rate and breathing. "N-no, nothing at all!"
Impa rose an eyebrow, moving her eyes from Zelda to Link, who was shaking his head as well. "Nope," he said. "We were just talking. Wh-what is it you're here for?"
The Sheikah smiled, her mindset of a mom taking over. That was when she knew she'd have fun talking to them whilst they ate. "Well, first of all, breakfast is ready. Secondly, if you guys are gonna get touchy, as least close the door, kids."
The door closed, indicating Impa left to go back downstairs, just like how the two teens were left alone once again.
Link stumbled over his words, finding it hard to face Zelda. "S-so...breakfast?"
Zelda nodded, biting her bottom lip as she crawled out of his bed, apologizing for her shoes on his bed. "Yeah. Uh, breakfast."
~0000000000~
"So...what were you guys doing back there in my kid's room?" Impa cut a piece of her omelet and stuffed it in her mouth with her fork. She chewed as she watched Link stumble to form any words, Zelda staying quiet as she silently cut up her omelet with a pink face.
"M-my room, to clarify—" Link glanced over to Zelda, looking for any kind of support, but she wasn't even looking up so he continued back over to his aunt—"w-we were just talking. Like, no lie, we really were just talking. Nothing happened."
"But," countered Impa, a teasing grin on her face, "you guys were awfully close."
"Link just went to check if there was anything in my eye," stated Zelda. She bit her lower lip and nodded, "confirming" her words. "The reason we acted the way we did when you came in is because you scared us—we knew the position we were in didn't look very appropriate."
Link swallowed his food, but it went the wrong hole right as Zelda finished speaking so he subtly tried to choke it out. "M-m-hmm." He coughed and drank his juice, chugging to get rid of the lump of food. "Ah, sorry." He cleaned the corners of his mouth and nodded, trying to ignore the amused looks his aunt and friend were giving him with a pink tint to his cheeks. "Wh-what she said."
"Just eat, kids." Impa laughed lightly and cut up another part of her food. "Clearly this is rubbing the wrong way on you two."
Zelda didn't say anything, looking at her food as she cut it up and stabbed it with her fork, eating right after.
The table was silent as they ate, but Zelda spoke out eventually. "Y'know," she was saying, looking up to Impa, "this is actually really good."
Impa smiled politely nodding her head. "Thank you, Zelda." She turned to Link, raising her cup of juice to emphasize her point to Link. "Take notes, Link. At least someone appreciates my cooking."
"H-hey!" Link frowned and paused his movements to refrain stuffing his food into his mouth. "I eat everything you make, thank you very much. I even say thank you when you hand me the food."
"You gotta try harder." Impa smirked and went back to eating, laughing as she saw Link finish his plate already. "You're just always hungry, but yet you're still a stick."
Link rolled his eyes playfully, nodding his head toward Zelda—the one who was laughing off to the side. "Zelda's here, please don't embarrass me."
"You always embarrass yourself, Linky," stated Impa.
Link furrowed his brow and turned to Zelda, watching as she sipped her juice and shrugged, smiling as she giggled. "She isn't really wrong, Linky."
Link pouted at her mocking words and stood up, moving around the table to place his plate in the sink for later cleaning. He sighed and dusted off his hands, turning to face the table full of his favorite people. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," said Zelda, not looking at him as she ate her food in peace.
Impa watched the two interact—Link's smile as he walked over to the restroom after announcing he was going to brush his teeth giving her hints on her bet with Lake.
Speaking of Lake, Impa perked up. "Oh! Wait here, Zelda."
Zelda watched curiously as Impa walked over to one of the many hallways in the house, shrugging as she continued to eat, only halfway done because she wanted to keep her food down slowly. That was until Zelda heard barking that she gasped excitingly and stopped eating all together.
"Lake!" Zelda watched as the dog barked happily and bounded over to her, Zelda readily moving her position to sit on the side of the chair to face Lake as he ran over to her.
Lake jumped up onto her lap and started licking her face all over, making her hysterically laugh in joy as he was all over her. "I've missed you!"
As Impa walked back to the dining room and laughed as she saw Zelda interact with Lake, she saw Link standing at the entrance of his hallway with his toothbrush in his mouth, a smile on his lips as he saw the scene between Zelda and his dog. That was when she smirked and turned back to Zelda, keeping quiet about his appearance.
"Okay, okay!" Zelda laughed and pushed Lake down, shaking her head as he tried to eat her food. "No, Lake. My food." She laughed as he whined and ruffled his brown fur, scratching him behind the ear. "Some other day I'll get you something; I promise you that."
Lake seemed to have understood her as he growled playfully and rolled onto his back, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. Zelda pet him with her foot before turning back to her food, eating quickly so she could play with Lake as much as she can.
Cute. Link turned around with a smile on his lips as he quickly went back to the bathroom to spit out his toothpaste. As he did so, he was unaware of what he was referring to when he thought of the word cute... Probably Lake, he assumed. But, he was lying to himself. He knew that.
Zelda, on the other hand, was already playing with Lake, sitting on the ground in the living room as she ruffled his fur.
"Have you been a good boy on your stay here so far, Lake?" Zelda laughed as the retriever shook his body and trotted around her in a circle before deciding to climb into her lap, getting cozy.
Zelda looked up at Impa and chuckled as she ran her fingers through Lake's fur. "How's he been around you guys?"
Impa walked over to Zelda and took a seat on the couch nearby, resting her chin on her palm with her elbow on the armrest. "Oh, he's been really cooperative, and he liked us very quickly—" she laughed—"only because we gave him tons of meat."
Zelda laughed and caressed the dog's hair, smiling at him as he enjoyed being pet with closed eyes. "He's very well loved... And I'm afraid if I move I would wake him but I could be at risk of my leg falling asleep."
Impa laughed at Zelda's words and stood up, bending down to pick up Lake even as he whined from being awakened. "I believe he's a little too loved." She set him on the couch and let him go back to sleep after he got comfortable, turning over to the sound of Link coming out of the hallway.
"Dressed up, I see." Impa smiled and walked up to Link, eyeing his clothes for the day. Almost the same as always, but instead of a hoodie it was a jacket with the same green t-shirt he had on for breakfast with slightly tight khakis. For once, he didn't look bummy.
Link watched as Zelda picked herself up from the ground, stuffing his hands in his pockets in his jacket. "Well, Zelda and I were going to go out today. We know it's sudden, but...it's something we'd like to discuss somewhere that's private."
"Oh." Impa glanced at Zelda as she walked up to stand beside her, her red eyes squinting a little as she found ways in her head to form her next question. "Um... Where're you guys going?"
Link seemed a little put on the spot, but he shrugged and said, "Probably somewhere in the park that's empty."
"Ah," Impa nodded, smiling at her kid. "Alright. Are you guys heading out now?"
"Uh—" Zelda held up her finger, wanting to say something but seemingly shy about it—"b-before we do go...do you guys have any spare toothbrushes? I...uh...came here out of the blue, so I had no time to brush."
"No wonder your hair's a little messy," Impa joke. But, she had still pointed over to the direction of the bathroom in Link's hallway. "In Link's bathroom there should be a spare toothbrush under the sink; check there."
Zelda smiled politely at both Link and Impa, nodding in thanks before walking past the two to head over to the hallway.
Once she disappeared, Impa waited a few seconds until she heard the door open and close before speaking. What she said was, "So, Zelda doesn't know about the Lost Woods?"
Link shrugged, feigning innocence. "I don't think so. I mean, she's positively heard of it but never been there. I...I don't plan on taking her there, unless...you let me?" Link knew it was a long shot—he'd already been taking Zelda over to the woods, even the forest within the woods. It was better safe than sorry, he told himself.
It took a little time before Impa gave Link his answer. "Just...just Korok Forest okay?" Impa lowered her voice, making sure she was as quiet as possible in case of Zelda being able to hear despite being careful beforehand. "Just...be careful. Okay? If you stumble upon anything you've never seen before, do not go to it. Don't even touch it."
Link sighed, slightly in irritation. It was weird to hear those words come out of his aunt's mouth, but she hadn't said them in almost years after he claimed his tree and told her about it. Apparently, the Lost Woods was more than just some part of ancient history—but Link didn't exactly take her word for it because he hadn't seen anything suspicious. Besides, what else was there besides Korok Forest? Sometimes, his aunt made no sense.
"Okay," he simply said.
His guardian smiled, a small one. "Now, I have another thing to ask—do you like Zelda?"
Link tried to play it cool once the question was out, but he stumbled some on his words and scratched his head, trying to look his aunt in the eyes. "Y-yeah, I do. Why?"
Link knew what she was asking, and it became even more obvious when she shook her head and rephrased her question. "No," she corrected, "do you love her?"
To say Link turned red was an understatement, but he ignored the question. Impa didn't drop it, though, for she was waiting on his answer.
He cursed silently in his head, peeking over to the hallway before turning back to Impa, quietly saying, "I suppose."
Impa practically threw her fist in the air. "I knew it!"
Link panicked, holding out his hands as he kept glancing over to the hallway to make sure Zelda was deep within. "Not so loud, Impa!"
Impa grinned, crossing her arms. "Now, all we need to do is wait."
"Wha— wait?" Link tilted his head, confusion all over his face. "What do you mean wait?"
Impa shrugged, a smug grin on her lips. She refused to answer, and she was fortunate enough that Zelda had been heard closing a door and coming out into the opening.
"Hi," she greeted. She had her backpack with her, her hair more neatly brushed despite it being set free from any kind of style, her teeth cleanly brushed for the morning. "I decided to just grab my things, since we're leaving anyway." She looked over to Impa, a smile on her lips. "Thank you, for having me here for breakfast and letting me brush my teeth."
Impa laughed at that, Link being occupied with thinking over what his aunt had told him. "It's not problem, darling," she said.
"Well," interrupted Link, "we can head out now."
"Alrighty." Zelda walked over to Lake past Impa and Link, bending down to give him a soft kiss on the head and to lightly scratch the back of his ear before saying, "I'll see you later, sweetie."
Unknown to her, Link had felt a swelling in his chest seeing Zelda interact like that with their dog—Impa, being very observative, had not missed his look.
Wow, his aunt thought, smiling even as he walked up to Lake himself and ruffled his fur with a farewell, he really does have the hots for her.
"Anyway," uttered Link, "we'll get going." He walked over to Impa and gave her a goodbye-hug, the two squeezing each other playfully before letting go of one another. "I'll see you later."
Zelda was watching from the distance, smiling at the interaction the two were having—that was until Impa strode over to her and enveloped her in her own good-bye hug, one where she was squeezed as well.
Zelda was surprised by Impa's strong arms, but she had hugged back, either way. She pulled back, smiling sincerely. "Thanks, Impa. I'll see you later."
Link grabbed Zelda's arm, linking his own with hers right as Impa said, "No problem, honey." But, when she saw the two start opening the door, she said, "Be careful, kids."
The two teens nodded her way, standing in the doorway as they waved farewell. "Will do," Link said. Zelda nodded in agreement, right after.
Then, they started their walk over to the park right after they closed his house door.
~0000000000~
"We...are going to Korok Forest, correct?" Zelda tentatively asked, for they seemed to be heading in its direction.
Throughout their walk, they went from linked arms to intertwined hands. It was such an impulsive move whenever they held hands, it was then becoming an natural instinct for the two that it wasn't even uncomfortable or surprising when the other did it.
"Yes," answered Link. "I said park because...well, my aunt isn't as approving as you would expect her to had been about me taking you to the Lost Woods." He saw Zelda squint her eyes, but he shook his head, "She's okay with it now, though. Trust me, you're fine within the Korok Forest now." Link smiled after his sentence, the Lost Woods seemingly closer in the distance.
"So...," she was saying, "after all this time, your aunt wouldn't have approved of us going to the woods, in general, if she knew?"
Link shrugged with a nod, feeling Zelda's hand loosen in his. "Pretty much."
Zelda stopped walking and was going to let go to scold him, but he quickly tightened his grip on her hand. "B-but don't worry now! She-she's okay with it. She's just very scared of what will happen to someone I bring within the woods without her permission because, as I've said, she was the one who taught me how to even maneuver around the Lost Woods."
Zelda didn't say anything but instead stared at him, many thoughts swimming through her head. "I...I guess... So, it's okay now?"
Link nodded, bringing up his other hand to gently place it over Zelda's to have her hand sandwiched softly between his own. "Yes." He was speaking softly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but...seeing you so...excited is something I want to see." He smiled, his next words coming out with a little push of confidence. "And seeing you smile is the best part."
That was when Zelda started to blush, her feelings going all over the place. She stuttered as she opened her mouth, unsure how to respond. "O-oh...," she uttered. She laughed sheepishly and used her other and to cover her mouth as she smiled. "Thank you, I suppose..."
Link grinned by then, his own blush coming out of it. He released her hand and gestured to the side with a nod. "Great. Let's get going."
The two started their walk again, their red faces slowly departing.
Zelda was a little shy by then, but their hands were apart and she wanted to feel his warmth despite feeling bashful from his words before. Thus, she reached for his hand—tentatively, at first, but when Link felt her pinkie brush against his own he had reached to grab her hand along the way, their hands tightly locked together.
Oh dear the gods... Zelda was slightly panicking on the inside. Her heart was beating fast, but she was happy to be holding his hand.
Link, too, felt his heart rate blow up. He hadn't felt the way he did ever since he first fell for...Mipha... But, his mind dwelled away from that. He was over her now. And as inappropriate as it sounded, he was starting to fall for Zelda. He couldn't help it. He didn't mean to—she was just a stranger before, but by then...it seemed as if he'd known her for ages.
Oh goddesses, they both had thought, their hands bringing them closer together, I really am in love with her/him.