Chapter Text
Death always has a weird way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.
Link is no stranger to it, especially after all of his close encounters with it. Everytime it comes too close, he easily beats it back. But only out of necessity really. He needs to survive because everyone depends on him to keep them safe… to provide hope for a future that not even he can see.
He always dreamed that when he died, he would be alone… in fact he’d prefer a quick death if he could help it. Like a knock-him-out-cold death and his family wouldn’t have to see him suffering. He’d have to tell Pipit to throw out all of his personal toys before Zelda— or worse his Papa and Bo found them.
Unfortunately a quick death is not so easy. Given that he should be dead but he’s still walking upright without issue. Unless he really is just a ghost at this point then he’d be pissed because Zelda would be sad…
He leans against a fence, catching his breath and checking over the wound. An arrow extends from his side, likely piercing his small intestine if the pain means anything at all. He’s sure the only reason they missed the second shot is because the gods just happened to smile on him. He’s really betting on that being the case because there really is no other explanation as to how he’s still here and breathing.
He’s sure Zelda is just returning the favor.
Maybe he just thinks that because he was the first person who ever really listened to her… or because he was the first to actually see her for all the effort she put in. Maybe it’s because when he first met her, it was when he became her knight. He didn’t even recognize her as the princess when he saved her… She just looked like a normal girl. Until he turned around and saw that her scarf had fallen off in the confusion, revealing her golden hair and absolutely humiliating him for the next four months in the process. After a few misunderstandings in communication.. He wants to think they’re getting along better now since she requested him back to the castle as soon as possible.
He stumbles but quickly rights himself before he could fall and make his injury worse.
Focus.
I’m really hoping she doesn’t see me tonight, I might as well be walking right into my grave if she did.
The lights of Castle Town’s gates shine bright over his head and he manages to scrape into the gates without question just as the gates close. I guess the sword is good for something after all.
Bzzt!
I was joking!
He catches a glimpse of blue light hovering over Zelda’s catwalk. Her white gown makes her appear a lost spirit in the blue light. He almost thinks she’s waving… as if she can see him from all the way up there.
Whether or not she is, he knows Zelda’s waiting for him. He won’t be able to see her at all if he doesn’t take care of this soon. And he doesn’t trust the nurses in the infirmary after the last time… they were way too nosey.
Thankfully there’s only a handful of people left wandering around so he can get out of the biting cold a bit quicker. That’s not counting the limp, however.
The weeping orifice hidden beneath all the layers of wool and bearskin has yet to cause him any severe pain but it’s difficult to maneuver when his muscles are locked up from the cold. The arrow is small but no less lethal than their Demon Carvers, that much he knows. Just as long as he doesn’t pull it out, he’ll be fine.
An attack on a Champion would cause outcry. And he is already tired enough as it is. He doesn’t need another slip-up to be the gossip for the next three months.
On the bright side of all this, they now have two less of those cave dwellers to deal with.
It’ll be fine, he’s got plenty of fairies and healing elixirs tucked away in his bag.
He would have stayed at home longer but he was requested to escort the Princess to the Great Plateau, and even if they wanted to be with their sister and Papa a bit longer, he knew he’d much rather be out of Bo’s watchful eye when he saw Zelda again.
“Mister— Y’all alright?” A voice calls down from one of the parapets above him and he comes to a screeching halt. It must be a soldier because they quickly correct themself when he gestures over his shoulder to his sword, “I-I mean— Captain-! Sir Link, how was your trip?”
“Fucking cold. I’m exhausted,” he grips the edges of his cape close as he peers up to glance at their face, sharp features, brown hair, the under armor is yellow, “How’s Karane doing? Still craving that wildberry pie, I assume?”
“As ever, Sir. The pregnancy is treating her well, no issues thus far,” Pipit scratches his head with a warm chuckle and quiets his voice some as he leans over the parapet to peer down at him, “Should I send word to the Princess that you’ve returned? She’s been asking every day since you sent to have your chambers readied. She won’t shut up about you when I’m guarding her chambers.”
“I’d appreciate it, thank you,” he forces a chuckle into the space despite the throbbing ache getting worse and the sticky heat pooling at his belts, “I’m gonna wash up and hit the hay. Send my regards to Karane for me? I’m heading out again in two days so I won’t be able to drop by to bake her that pie.”
“It’s a shame, I hope you’ll visit next time. Her appetite nearly rivals your own now and she’s been craving that pie since the Harvest!” A mirthful laugh tickles at his ears. At least if I die tonight I’d have gotten to see Pipit again.
“Can’t keep a Lady waiting, I’ll try to make your night patrols shorter if I can. I’m sure Karane would rather you be with her, right now,” Link shoots a lazy salute at him as he strolls to the door just out of his view, “Soldier,”
“I question if the King has given you too much authority sometimes…
“Oh-,” Pipit’s voice disappears down the catwalk too quickly for them to stop him, “I’ll open it for you.”
“That’s quite—” he reaches for his key in a panic but the door has already opened and Pipit is standing to the left of the archway with a sheepish grin, “Alright…”
“It’d be rude to keep you waiting in the cold,” he chuckles, “Yer shaking like a spring lamb,”
“Call me that again and I’ll have you shoveling horse shite,” he scowls, yanking the cape tighter around himself.
“I thought we were family!” he feigns offense, “Karane will be so upset! Her nose has been so sensitive lately.”
“Then don't call me lamb,” Link starts down the long winding hall with a growl, “It’s not appropriate to call a Captain, even if I am younger,”
“Ha! Yessir, you got it, you’re chambers will be ready for you when you get there,”
Finally scotch free— “Wait hold on—,”
Shit…
His boots squelch and he realizes his mistake in going this way.
I did warn you.
Shut up.
“Link,”
This is taking too long, just cut to it already!
His eyes screw shut and he takes a leveling breath. “What is it?” He forces an authoritative tone into his words.
“Yer bleeding,” the worry in his accent makes Link want to bite their thumb off.
“It’s fine,” he stiffens, fighting the dizzy spell that threatens to overwhelm him. It’s probably from the cold, “It-It’s just a cut, I’ll dress it later,”
“Your boots,”
“ What about them?” He huffs, bearing down against every urge inside him to cry for a parent that would not answer.
“Take them off,”
Knuckles whiten.
“It’s freezing outside.”
“They’re waterlogged. Take. Them. Off.”
“So what?”
“It’s not raining. It’s freezing ,” he iterates, “There’s no way that’s water when you’re clearly limping.”
His head dips as he holds his side, glaring daggers at the ink staining all down the front of his right pant leg.
“Not a word,”
“I have to report this—,”
“That is an order, Pipit!”
“And I’m not listening! You’re off duty, you’re injured and I am getting you to the infirmary whether you like it or not.”
He feels his bag lift from his shoulder and very nearly topples over were it not for Pipit immediately catching him.
His breath hitches and Link slaps a clean glove over his mouth.
“Not a word to the Princess. Or to General Naderi. This remains a secret,”
“Who did this?”
They wince as he lifts their arm over his shoulders.
“S-Sir— Link, tell me,”
“Stray boko,” he lies through grit teeth, his hands are shaking and slippery and can’t get a good grip on Pipit’s armor, “Lucky shot,”
“We can’t go to the infirmary if you want this to remain a secret. I think Casli is tending to your room, she’s trained with Mipha, I’m sure she will be able to help.”
His stomach churns in a bad way.
“ Shit… okay fine!”
“Anyone asks, yer drunk.”
“My hero ,” Link winces and takes a step forward only to be scooped up into Pipit’s arms when he starts to tilt too far.
“Keese-brain,”
“Owe you one,”
The lamp light flickers past and his vision goes dark.
—
Searing pain is the first thing he wakes to.
He tries to scream but he chokes up. Metal spills across his tongue.
“You’ve got to hold still! She almost has it!” a frantic voice rings in his ears.
He feels sick.
“This is gonna hurt,” a gentle tone warns.
“Hold on just a wee bit longer, Link,”
Flames lick at his side and he jerks away only to be forced back down.
“Turn him this way, we need to drain the wound,”
He feels hands on his arm and side. The world tilts and so too does his stomach. Whatever was in his mouth falls away, he coughs, and he spills over onto the floor.
“Damn it!”
“Casli— He’s not looking too hot,”
“Spirits! I’m going as fast as I can- I don’t exactly know what it looks like! It could have shattered inside him for all I know!”
He’s pulled back to the table and he sees the blue tapestries from the soldier’s quarters. Where is—?
An anguished noise tears at his throat but a rag is pressed to his mouth to silence it.
“We need to hurry! Someone is going to hear him!”
“Shut up, I know that, Pipit!” He feels a tug and he grasps onto the closest thing as it burns and stretches at the wound. Finally he’s left feeling hollow and through squinted eyes he can see the arrowhead wink at him in the firelight, “Give him the elixir. Now Pipit!”
The rag lifts away, and his head is lifted up as the bittersweet liquid meets his tongue.
He despises the taste.
“ You have to drink it!” Someone stresses, holding his head, preventing him from turning and spitting it out. His eyes open, spotting the familiar musty yellow tunic hovering next to him. He latches onto it and swallows the bitter concoction.
He’s laid back down and finally, the flames at his side are snuffed out.
“H-how is he?”
He gives them a thumbs up and he hears them both let out an exhausted sigh.
“It’s still closing up, don’t move quite yet,” she presses into the wound, soaking up the blood as he gasps and clings to Pipit with every dull ache. “With how much blood he lost, it will take a bit longer to heal completely… If Mipha were here, she’d be able to heal him fully but a wound like this will take days- if not weeks to heal with just an elixir…”
That’s way too many words that Link certainly does not have the strength to remember.
The aching slows and ebbs until finally breathing deeper isn’t so difficult anymore. He feels around the space, sluggishly trying to identify what could have been his resting place. He concludes that he’s on a table. Now it’s just a matter of where he is.
“W-here—?” He chokes up and winces at the stitch in his side.
“Soldier quarters, all of the men in this section were transferred to Akkala for the winter. It’s just us.”
“Th-the Princess?”
“She knows you’re here. Nothing more,”
“I want to—” he starts to sit up.
Pipit pushes him back down with a rolling chuckle, “ Easy, Loverboy, what would the King think of Zelda’s bodyguard visiting her room at this hour?”
“He can kiss my ass,” he scoffs, slapping at Pipit’s arm with a snort.
“Rutela, have mercy, what did you give him?”
“It’s just the bloodloss, we should get him to bed. He should be fine by tomorrow. Tired, a little sore maybe. But otherwise fine,”
“I’ll check on him after I finish my shift,” Pipit insists, “You’ve been a great help, Casli, thank you for helping me out,”
“As long as Sir Link is alright, I have no complaints here. But you do owe me,” the light green blob wipes down his stomach, slowly wrapping it while Pipit holds him upright.
“Of course, I’ll be sure to put in a good word for you,”
They look down when Link lets out a girlish laugh, “Karane is gonna be so pissed if yer late.”
“She’ll understand. Casli can you—?” He feels the world tilt again and grins like mad when he’s pressed against something warm.
“Mmm Zelly.. you smell nice..”
“He’s lost his marbles,” Casli breathes.
“Nah, just a lovesick fool that lost too much blood. Good thing Auntie Bo isn’t here,”
Pipit slides his arms under their bottom as they’re hoisted onto his back.
“Am I nekky?”
“No, Link, we changed your clothes,”
“Hm… feels like it,” he grunts and wriggles around until he’s tucked his arms securely against the warmth.
“ Hylia , isn’t he your Captain?”
“Younger cousin. Snuggly?”
“Like a bug,”
“Charming…” Casli chortles, her round fins glitter and sway around her face, mesmerizing Link with the movements for a moment.
She reaches up to clean his mouth and he turns into Pipit’s neck once she’s done.
“Ah…” he croaks currying in, “Peepers,”
He hears a giggle as he sways along.
“Is that a nickname?”
Pipit glances over at her and adjusts his grip, getting a tired grunt.
“Link was pretty shy growing up. It’s the name of a game I made up so he could whistle instead of talk,” he lifts his shoulder a bit, making Link’s head bob and his mop of hair swish. “It was good for keeping track of him since he was so quiet and liked to climb or hide in small spaces a lot. It also worked if he got lost and couldn’t find me.”
Their ears perk up when a quiet whistle echoes between them. Laughter erupts through the long hallway and Casli shushes them through her giggles.
“Quiet, we don’t want to wake anyone,” he chides and Link giggles into his shoulder like a kid who took seconds. He wouldn’t put it past them, they’ve done it before. “He’ll probably kill me for telling you.”
“It’s a shame… so many maids fancy him too,”
“I’m assuming you aren’t referring to him killing me,”
“No, I’m quite sure he cares too much for his men to do that. I just mean… that he carries a torch for—” she glances around, “You-know-who.”
“Oh, yeah, I suppose so, but whoever makes him happy, ya know? And she doesn’t seem to dislike him too much. Considering she kept coming to check if he was back—”
“What are you two doing here?”
Pipit goes ramrod straight, “Aun— General! I didn’t realize you were back!”
Link whines at the sudden increase of volume, rubbing his head into the warm shoulder.
“Is Li- Sir Crofter alright?”
“O-oh, y-yes! He’s a little uh… drunk..”
“He was drinking? He’s only sixteen,”
Link pipes up with a giggle, “I’m eighteen you ignorant slut.”
“ Link-!” Pipit hisses, jerking his head to look up.
Gods, he feels like an old man being jostled around like this. He rubs the dryness from his eyes, looking up into the lamplight. He’s met with a familiar looking woman in a deep blue and red royal guard’s uniform. The height and fiery short hair checks out. So do the blue eyes.
“Oh! Hi mama! Hehehe, I was trying to avoid you.”
‘Mama?’ Casli mouth.
Pipit nods, unhelpfully.
“That’s lovely, sweety,” her eyes crinkle as she forces a smile to her lips. She didn’t like that. “Where’s your tunic?”
“I threw up,” it’s not a lie, “It was gross,”
“Sages…” she breathes, rubbing her temple, “Make sure he gets to bed, he’s on a tight schedule tomorrow, the Princess will be in the Library at seven, I left the schedule in his chambers.”
“Oooh, real professional there, do I get a good night kiss with that too?”
“I will drop you,” Pipit warns, loosening his grip a little and letting them droop down his back.
“ Nooo , don’t drop me!” Their feet kick and skuffle back up his back like a monkey.
“Alright,” Pipit grunts, hopping a little to get them to a higher spot on his back.
“Sir. Miss,” the general reaches to touch Link but Pipit side steps left and quickly bids her goodnight whilst Casli takes the right.
“Night night,” they sniff and clear their throat.
“…Goodnight Link,”
He’s sinking into bed when he comes to again, feeling the cozy blankets pull up to his chin.
“I can stay here in case he needs anything,” Casli whispers, “I don’t need as much sleep and I’m sure he’d appreciate the company.”
“Where’s Zelda?” Link whines and wriggles under the bed, “Wanna cuddle..”
“You’ll see her tomorrow, Link, she’s looking forward to seeing you, I’m sure of it.”
“Mmkay…” he yawns and scuffles under the blankets.
“I’ll let you know when he wakes up,”
“Thank you. Goodnight then, I should get back to my shift, Cawlin won’t be happy working double,”