Chapter Text
Granted, it was to be expected she thinks to herself. Slumbering for so long. Waking with no memories. Thrust into an arduous quest out of duty. There was bound to be changes in her knight as he adapted, relearned, and faced a new enemy.
She saw a brief glimpse of this new Link once he had defeated Calamity Ganon. Unhindered emotion plastered freely across his features. A rare laugh she had never heard so full a hundred years prior. A knight left to the wild.
Then he slept. A full two days unconscious to the world as she knew he had sacrificed many nights to fulfill his quests. He deserved the rest. The weight of the kingdom no doubt had taken its toll.
Those two days she had spent deep in thought mulling over next steps, all lengthy and grand plans to rebuild the crumbled kingdom. Once her companion had rested, the work and traveling would begin.
Then Link woke up.
As if a dial had been turned, so returned her stoic closed off knight. Link had always been a companion of very few words. The princess recalling the number of times he had spoken verbally on one hand. The hand speak he used as a young child was common for Zora, and was his primary method of communication.
As she went over the plans to travel to each leader of Hyrule, he remained quiet. Silently looking at the Sheikah slate map as she traced their route. Stiff nods. Hands placed neatly behind his back. A blank expression plastered across his face.
She stared at him, filling the space in their tent with a long silence. A muscle in his forearm pulled at his tunic sleeve slightly though his features lay still.
"I would like to set out as soon as possible, once provisions are ready. How long do you need to prepare for our journey?" Zelda asked, hoping to find a sliver of the new knight she had glimpsed just a few days prior.
The knight without hesitation raises a single hand, all fingers splayed.
"Five days? Very w-"
Link clears throat. Gives a single shake of his head, and he repeats the hand signal.
"Five hours?" Zelda asks, brows furrowed. "Please, my dear knight, do not push yourself to ready us in mere hours."
Holding a hand palm up, Link steps forward and stares at the slate in her hand.
Still searching his features, she hands him the slate. With an ease she isn't familiar with, he opens the slate inventory and hands back the device. He takes a step back and straightens back into his upright and stiff posture.
She examines the inventory, her eyes widened as she sees the full scope of his past few months. Every meal slot full, potions, a wardrobe full of highly enchanted clothing, monster parts of every type, fruit, vegetables, meat, herb, spices, weapons, and a monster compendium nearly completed.
She glances at her knight, still readless. He again holds up a hand.
"Five minutes…"
He gives a short nod.
Exasperated, she returns to the inventory. She knew she had asked, no- commanded, an expansive task of Link when he woke. The situation was dire. Champions gone. The country is in ruin. She knew he would be out in the wilds. Surviving. This… well she didn't know what to expect, but this was beyond her own comprehension.
"Are those dragon scales!?"
Again her knight giving a blank curt nod.
Zelda sighed and placed the slate down on the small table in front of her.
"The nearest stable is half a day's walk. We will need to find a suitable steed for me so we may continue to visit the new champions and begin rebuilding."
Link stared at her. This time holding a single finger up at her and stepping to the entrance of the tent. Just as she opened her mouth to inquire, Link let loose a high pitched whistle. He turned back to her in the tent, bowed in half, one arm holding the flap of the tent open for her.
Zelda picked up the device and walked to the front of the tent just as a very large black horse stopped in front her.
A small flare of anger washed over her. Prickling at her nerves. Though her father was long gone, along with his dismissive rules, coddling, and extravagance, something about Link's preparation felt akin to the king's belittling.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to release her frustration. She should've at least had the forethought to make some plans with Link. She could've avoided her own fluster had she just waited for Link to recuperate.
"Well then, it seems you have most everything prepared." She turned to the tent, Link posed stiffly in front of the door. "I will gather my things quickly so we may leave shortly."
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Two months later, Zelda frowned watching Link clean their food bowls outside of the Woodland stables.
Traveling just the two of them, she had hoped to see the statuesque demeanor begin to fall away. Banking on muscle memory of traversing the wild alone, that perhaps he would subconsciously forget her presence. To her chagrin and disappointment, only the tiniest flickers of emotion skittered across his frame the entire trip.
Countless attempted conversations about his experience on his own met with short answers in old Zoran handspeak.
'It was my duty.' 'Nothing of note worth.' 'The people are well.' 'I made due.'
They had first gone to Hebra to visit the Rito as it was through a messenger that informed them of Vah Medoh breaking apart. The Rito messenger recognized Link immediately, giving him the letter with a warm smile. The feathered carrier bowed to the Princess and fluttered away.
Once in the village, Rito of all ages descended upon Link with greetings. Excitedly withholding hugs and accepting his silent nods glancing at Zelda as if awaiting permission. The Rito leader Teba mimicking Link's head bob greeting with a smirk curling at the corner of his beak.
"Princess Zelda, we rejoice to see you in our village so quickly," Teba boomed with a shallow bow in her direction. "We did not expect you for at least a week."
Zelda smiled at the elder. "Yes, well it seems my trusty knight knows these mountains well and we made great time with his preparations."
Teba glanced at Link who had resumed his pre-calamity position behind the princess's right shoulder. "I am not surprised, Princess. Surely his experience in Hebra has taught him the value of preparation in these unforgiving peaks." Teba concealed a chuckle, glancing back at her. This brought Zelda's attention to her knight behind her.
Link looked down to clear his throat. Quickly disguising the brief emotion that surfaced from the leader's statement.
"Despite your quickness," Teba continued, "I fear Vah Medoh is past salvage," the Rito gazed skyward to the perch above them.
To Zelda's horror the wing and tail of the ancient beast was missing. Precariously the body balanced on the perch.
"What happened?" she asked breathlessly.
"Shortly after the Malice had cleared from the castle, Vah Medoh turned off," Teba stated. "The following week the tail began to crumble. Followed by the wing. Pieces lost to the lake surrounding the village."
Zelda turned to the leader. "Has anyone attempted to pilot the Beast?"
"No. With its crumbling mechanics, we felt it too dangerous to attempt."
"Then we must investigate to uncover why the ancient beast is deteriorating. Link, the Sheikah Slate, please, so I may teleport to Vah Medoh."
Zelda held out a hand to Link.
When he made no movement, Zelda gazed over her shoulder.
He shook his head once.
'Too dangerous. I will go instead.'
Zelda sighed. Part of her had expected a different Link. The one she had experienced after Calamity Ganon was more open, carefree, comfortable. One that had the influence of the wild. Ease that came with adaptation and survival. She had hoped that her return would mean he didn't have to do everything on his own.
He seemed to have taken her sigh as a sign of relenting and before she could discuss why she should enter the divine beast, he had deftly pulled the slate and transported. Zelda blinked in shock, staring at his empty spot.
Teba barked a laugh, "I expect nothing less of him, honestly."
"What do you mean?" she questioned curiously.
Teba shifted, feathers fluffing and smoothing back down. "Link is not one to wait, Princess. Let alone allow others to possibly be in harm's way." He turned his sight upwards. "Whatever has become of our divine protector, Link will surely uncover it."
Adoration seeped into every word from the white plumed leader. Respect built upon prior time with Link had so visibly colored their words with unwavering confidence in her knight.
A pang of envy coursed through her. Clearly through Link's quest he had created bonds with the leaders and people of the various villages and tribes. Connections and experiences that Link had yet to share with her.
As much as she now knew so little of him, she couldn't imagine the distraught of amnesia he had experienced. And could still be experiencing for all she knew.
This Link had no full memories of his life before waking up in the Shrine of Resurrection, and yet here he was nestled back into his emotionless facade. The quiet faithful guard. She despised his lack of connection to his former self, his past, his friends. She couldn't imagine how lost he felt not even knowing who he was as Zelda had thrust such a journey on him.
If he still had no recollection, and if he desired to seek those out, she would spend all the time she could in research to aid him in that journey. It was the least she could do after saving Hyrule.
The sound of wind whipped fabric pulled her from her thoughts as Link deftly paraglided and landed behind her.
"Were you able to find answers?" Teba inquired.
Link nodded. A slight brow twitch before returning to a blank calm face. 'Vah Medoh has served its purpose. It is no longer required. All divine beasts will deteriorate to prevent another calamity.'
"Served it purpose?" Zelda questioned, "Wh- how did you get that information?"
Again a slight scowl flittered on his forehead before disappearing. He glanced at Teba and back at Zelda. 'We should've realized that once the danger was gone, the need for divine beasts would cease. The slate had no effect on the console.'
"That still doesn't answer how you got that information, Link. Especially if the slate didn't work," Zelda pressed.
Link looked off to the side. Then at Teba.
"Revali," Teba chirped. "I take it he couldn't resist one last message?"
Link straightened, clasping his hands behind his back and gave a nod.
Confused, Zelda looked between the two. "I fail to understand, may someone please explain?"
"It seems our former champion," Teba began, "wanted to stick around to relay this information to us… I'm sure it was a… smooth explanation?"
Link failed to cover his incredulous laugh with a cough.
Zelda recollected how Revali reveled in flustering her knight. Any opportunity to showcase Link's failures boisterously, Revali took it.
"Nevertheless, with this new information I am sure the other divine beasts will also begin to deteriorate if they haven't already," the Rito leader quipped.
Zelda adjusted her cape across her shoulders, her mind scrambling to refocus as the weight of coming back shuffled this new information into her already full plans for each visit. "Yes, I will draft letters to the other leaders to inform them of the now expected demise of the divine beasts so no injuries befall their citizens. I will also send word to my Sheikah researchers in Hateno in case anymore Sheikah technology begins to self-destruct."
"I will be sure to have messengers ready, Princess. Now let's get your lodgings prepared for your stay. How long do you intend to stay with us here in Rito?"
They had stayed three weeks in the Rito village. Setting up trade plans, reconstruction, monster encampments to dispel, needs of the village post Calamity, on top of efforts to help reconstruct Hyrule. All the while her knight shadowed her in silence.
Next they traveled to Goron city. Link as usual prepared with potions and food for the scorching journey.
Elder Bludo and Champion descendant Yunobo eyed Link curiously behind the Princess. Surely noting his reserved demeanor, though never bringing attention to him. Through the entire stay, Link had only left her side in the very early mornings to sell off precious gems he had stockpiled in the device, which she didn't know about until their last day.
The three weeks with the Gorons flew by as they began their journey to the Zora Domain.
Now at the stable, with a short day's ride to the Domain, Zelda was beginning to wonder if she would ever see her knight fully relaxed again. She could tell in these small moments like cooking and cleaning he would fall into a sort of rhythm. Well practiced motions pulled from a fountain of expertise. Confidence in the smallest movement, however any peek of emotion was nowhere to be seen.
He gazed at the stable doorway where she stood. The sun quickly setting, his eyes scan the landscape, surely calculating time or just being extra vigilant of the area. His gaze pauses in the direction of the Domain. Link's deep breath puzzles her. Though she quickly stifles that line of thought as he makes his way to the stable inn.
"Is all well?" Zelda questions as he passes.
He meets her gaze and gives his typical nod before turning to his cot. Quickly removing his boots to lay down.
The princess decides not to push him and imitates his shoe removal. She falls asleep quickly once she settles into the cot.