Chapter Text
Royal Knight Link Hallowell, Champion of Hyrule, was the most curious of creatures. He never spoke, even when protocol usually would require a response. Yes sirs were replaced with a deep nod of the head, respectful enough that no one would question it until long after the incident. If words were absolutely necessary, he would sign in Common, elegant gestures and sweeps of his hands confident enough not a soul ever spoke against it. His uniform was always impeccable, blond hair pulled back in a low ponytail, directly at the nape of his neck, never giving anyone a reason to even think about reprimanding him for his appearance. Since being assigned as Princess Zelda’s personal knight, Sir Link was never seen without the Master Sword, either strapped securely to his back, or firm in his grasp, blade out and ready.
Sir Link’s expression seemed to be permanently set on a blank face, his mouth nearly always downturned. Never once did his lips twitch sideways or upwards. His eyes were the color of spring water, blue so light it nearly hid the fact that Link’s eyes were always dull, if not almost hazy. Don’t be mistaken, he was always ever so focused, but Zelda saw no spark in his eyes, not even when he was cooking or off duty.
It was unnerving how her rage against him due to her father’s orders dulled to indifference, to concern. Zelda could not name a time she had seen any emotion on her knight’s face. Not when he was reprimanded in front of his entire squadron (oh, how Zelda loathed her father), not when he won spar after spar against the other soldiers, not even when he was given a whole week off duty to visit his family. It was as if he was made of technology, created without emotion.
However, Zelda knew he couldn’t be robotic. Not when he bled for the kingdom to protect her . Logically, Zelda also knew that, had Sir Link been a robot programmed to protect her, he still wouldn’t have hesitated to jump in front of her, but she was certain that her knight was human, no matter how much he acted like he wasn’t.
It seemed that it wasn’t a conscious act to Link. Zelda had watched him for far too many days to recognize that her knight was merely going through the same motions each day. He’d wake up far before dawn, before anyone else awoke, pack away all but his cooking supplies and get started on breakfast. Once the others woke up, he’d silently take his leave to get changed and take care of his and Zelda’s horses. Once the others were finished with breakfast and had started on breaking down the camp, he’d return to assist, before presenting their horses well-groomed and tacked. Then they’d continue their journey, only stopping as the sun set. They’d set camp back up as Link prepared dinner, eventually nodding off one by one. The order in which each Champion fell asleep never swayed - Revali first, then Mipha and Daruk. Zelda soon after, leaving Urbosa and Link to themselves. Then the day would repeat.
Having traveled with Sir Link and the other four Champions for months, Zelda could confidently say she knew most of their quirks and charms. She was proud of her knowledge that she had gathered (Mipha really liked the taste of honeycomb, Revali couldn’t stand the sound of cuccos in the mornings, Daruk favored a darker blue over the blue each Champion’s accessory was made out of, Urbosa’s favorite flowers were the tiny yellow blossoms that covered the fields of Hyrule), but for every tidbit she learned about the Champions, the more intimately she felt her knowledge of their fifth lacking.
Zelda was certain she could count the knowledge of her knight’s personal life on one hand. She knew he had a younger sister, he had a talent for cooking, and he liked to climb trees and roofs, much preferring them to the ground. That’s it. Three measly facts about her sworn guard.
She was ashamed of herself. So long had Zelda spent hating her knight because of her father - his superior - and now she didn’t know how to interact with him, how to treat him with the respect he deserved since day one.
She thought, idly, that the worst part of it, of everything , was that Link had never (and likely never would) complained about anything. Not of the rough treatment he got during his training, not of the blatant mistrust and disrespect Zelda, and dare she say, Champion Revali, gave him during the start of their journey together, not even of the unfairness of the whole situation. Link was twelve Hylian years old when he had pulled the Master Sword from its resting place deep within the Great Hyrule Forest. At twelve years old, Link had been whisked away from his family to be sent to military training .
Zelda wasn’t sure if he had been mute since birth (quite frankly, it was none of her business), but the thought of going through Hylian military training before even reaching teenage years was horrifying to her. She knew just how brutal the training and courses grown men were put through and she couldn’t imagine how barbaric they had been towards Link, especially considering the animosity between Link and the other knights. She wasn’t naive enough to think that he was respected during his time before this mission. As horrific as it sounded, Zelda didn’t think her poor knight had had a truly kind word said to him since before he stumbled across the Hylia-damned sword.
Though she was determined to bring that trend to a halt, every time she thought about complimenting, thanking, even acknowledging him, some outside force prevented it from happening. Urbosa would intervene, hovering over Zelda like a mother cucco. Or perhaps it was Mipha, stealing Link away to heal him in privacy. Or even Link simply disappearing into the shadows, only emerging once Zelda had forgotten about her intentions.
It frustrated her to no end. What good was Zelda to her people if she herself, the Princess of Hyrule, couldn’t pay her swore knight one measly moment of gratitude? She spent days stewing over the fact, trying and failing again and again to show her appreciation, until one day, it all came to head.
~⟁~
Link gasped, a nauseatingly wet sound that Zelda would be incredibly happy to never hear again in her lifetime. Her poor knight had gotten devastatingly injured trying to defend her from a Blue Maned lynel. It took the combined efforts of Revali, Urbosa, and Daruk to drive it away, all while Zelda did her best to stem the bleeding long enough for Mipha to heal him.
Absent-mindedly, Zelda noted that Link never screamed. Not when he initially got hit, taking a lynel blade directly to his unprotected stomach, not when his face grew sheet white with pain, nor even when Zelda swore his bone was visible before Mipha’s healing took charge. He merely gritted his teeth, clenching them so tightly they audibly ground together. She almost felt relief when he passed out from the pain, his body going heart-stoppingly still as she fumbled to find his pulse. Zelda would’ve felt awkward if not for Mipha doing the same to the pulsepoint on his neck.
“He’s stable, but only for a little bit. We need to move him,” Mipha said, urgently. She tilted her head up to look towards the other three.
“Daruk! Is the lynel still a threat? We must move him as soon as we can.”
The ground shook lightly as the Goron Champion made his way back over. “We should be good for now. Is the little guy gonna be okay?”
Mipha didn’t answer his question, instead turning to Urbosa. “Urbosa, I’m going to need you to carry him. We’re too far away from Akkala Citadel to get medical help there. We’re going to need to head to the East Akkala Stable.”
The Gerudo woman nodded firmly, kneeling down beside the two other women.
As she helped Urbosa oh-so-gently ease Link up and into the Gerudo’s arms, Mipha addressed Revali.
“Revali, I’m going to need you to fly ahead and help us navigate. Take the map if you must, but please take care not to lose it. It’s Link’s own creation. I’d hate to see it get lost in the wind.” Though her tone was gentle, Zelda could hear the bite in it. The Zora Princess left no room for argument, already ushering the rest of them to their feet to begin the trek to safety.
Anyone who observed the champions for even one afternoon could tell that, while she never played favorites, Princess Mipha most certainly did have a favorite. It was an unspoken agreement not to bring it up, especially since she and Sir Link never brought it to attention, however the pair were never at odds with each other. Not that Link quarreled with anyone, but Mipha always had an encouraging word for him and was the one who most caused his expression to grow less severe. While Zelda had never seen Link smile, she was certain Mipha had, likely both recently and ever, outside of his family at least.
Ever since the beginning of their journey together, Mipha and Link would sit together in the mornings while Link prepared the group’s breakfast. Though the knight stayed silent, the princess’s soft, lilting voice was heard just above the sounds of Link cooking, the topic nearly always about her baby brother, Sidon.
Zelda usually took her time getting ready in the mornings, waiting for Urbosa to awake to help her with her braids, so she wouldn’t have known if her knight had reacted, but she grew to realize the difference between good and bad mornings for her knight. If, by the time she and Urbosa had emerged from the cloth tent, Mipha was sitting quietly, a gentle smile upon her face as Link finished portioning out breakfast, it was a good morning. If Mipha was still talking, sitting a step or two closer to Link than what Hylian modesty allowed, her knight’s face blanker than usual, it was not a good morning.
She hadn’t realized that the other champions had noticed as well until fairly recently. Each Champion provided their own kind of support. During battles, Daruk would cheer encouragement to Link while Urbosa wordlessly provided cover for the two of them. Mipha would guard Zelda with her spear, giving Link one less thing he had to think about during battles and Revali would provide aerial support, swooping at any monsters he could that got too close to any of the other Champions.
Though their support first became visible on the battlefield, Zelda noticed how it bleed into their normal lives too. Daruk avoided talking super loudly when Link’s back was turned towards him, having accidentally startled the poor boy one too many times for it to go unnoticed. Urbosa was always quick to offer her assistance to Link when packing and unpacking, and, while Revali didn’t stop his snarks and insults, it evolved from genuine mean comments to teasing over trivial things.
At the present moment, however, everyone had a single minded thought: get Link to a safe space as soon as possible.
Revali and Urbosa took off almost immediately. Urbosa following Revali on her horse with Link carefully cradled to her chest. Daruk had sacrificed his champion’s sash to help Urbosa secure the knight to her body. Daruk, Mipha, and Zelda quickly gathered the rest of their belongings and packed them onto Link’s horse and Daruk’s back.
As soon as the last bag was strapped securely to Daruk’s back, Mipha took off on her horse, galloping in Urbosa and Revali’s trail. As much as she wanted to follow, there were still monsters in the area and Zelda was far too frazzled to try and defend herself. She also had to lead Link’s horse, Epona, to the stable since Daruk quite literally had his hands full.
The ride back to the stable went by in a blur, both Zelda and Daruk too busy worrying over Link to discuss anything with each other. Storm barely had halted inside the stable grounds when Zelda slid down from her saddle, hurrying inside the stable. There were a large number of people milling about outside of the unusually closed doors of the stable, however once Zelda entered the dark stable, she realized why. Mipha was kneeling over Link, hands on his bare chest while she poured her energy into her healing magic.
Urbosa was standing protectively near the stable entrances, keeping a watchful eye for anybody who tried to enter and Zelda saw Revali lurking in the corner, feathers ruffled as he paced nervously in tight circles.
Zelda quietly padded over to where Mipha sat, sleeves pushed up and hair tied back.
“How may I help?”
~⟁~
Hours later and Link was still unconscious. Zelda had never seen her knight so still for so long before. He was nearly always in motion, riding behind her horse as her silent protector, or practicing sword drills for hours on end. In the early days of their role as Knight and Princess, she wished he would stop moving so much and to leave her alone. Now, Zelda was fairly sure she would give anything to see him alert and moving again.
She shifted restlessly where she was sitting, hands smoothing out her already-smooth skirt for what had to have been the thousandth time. The wooden chair she was sitting on was not very comfortable, but it was the nearest object that she was able to drag over to Link’s bedside. She resisted the urge to check for his pulse, to make sure he was breathing. Surely she should know if he stopped breathing when she was sitting right there, right?
“Princess, if I may,” Revali started, talons clacking softly as he moved to stand next to her. She lifted her head up to face him, not bothering to paste on a smile.
“Please eat something. The stablemaster has allowed us to have the entire stable for us while Link recovers, however it would do none of us any good if you fell ill as well.”
She blinked tiredly at him before hauling herself ungracefully up from the floor beside Link, only to sink down next to Urbosa. Mipha gently spread a blanket over her shoulders as Urbosa handed her some warm rice balls. No one said a word when she only managed a few bites, nor when she fell asleep resting against Urbosa’s legs.
~⟁~
Zelda woke with a start, heart in her throat. She sat up quickly, ignoring the fact that she had been moved to a proper bed while she slept.
“Easy, small sips,” she heard someone soothe from across the room. Her eyes darted over and let out a relieved breath. Urbosa was gently supporting Link up with one hand, the other helping him drink from a flask. Though he was being assisted, Zelda felt immense relief at the sight of her knight sitting up. She quickly pulled the blankets off, not even bothering to pull her boots on.
Link looked over at the sound of her hurried footsteps, an unfamiliar emotion in his eyes as he waited for her to draw near.
“Link, oh, I was so worried,” she said, perching on the side of his bed, decorum be damned. Link’s eyes widened, as if he was confused why she was worried. Zelda felt something in her heart crack at the sight.
“If you ever do that again, I will never forgive you.” She didn’t know how to read Link’s expression. Zelda didn’t even know he could make that expression. A quick glance at Urbosa showed her that it wasn’t just herself that was feeling these emotions. She shifted closer, setting her hand on top of his. Nobody acknowledged the shudder that ran through his body at the contact, nor how he shifted a little closer to the sliver of warmth.
“Link, you’re not expendable. Surely you know how much we care about you by now, right?”
His blue eyes seemed to glow as she watched her sentences visibly process in his brain.
“Link, darling,” Urbosa said softly. His eyes flicked over to her, the only indication that he had heard her. “Let us help you. You’re not alone now, not again.”
The air felt still as they waited patiently for him to respond. Then, ever so slowly, Link nodded, eyes growing half-lidded as he let himself relax.
“There you go, that’s a good lad,” Urbosa murmured, helping him lay back down. “Please rest, Link. Allow us to take care of you for once.”
Zelda waited until Link’s breath evened out, then waited some more, watching him slumber peacefully as if to reassure herself that he was truly alright.
“Little bird, you should rest some more,” Urbosa said, gentle but firm. She carefully stood up from her spot next to Link’s bed, holding out a hand to Zelda. She sighed and took the chief’s hand, finally glancing around the room. At the sight across the stable, she halted, unsure if she was actually seeing what she was seeing.
“Um.”
“They’ve been like that since you fell asleep and I didn’t have the heart to move them,” Urbosa explained with a slight smirk in her voice. Revali sat, slumped against Daruk, both fast asleep on the floor by the tables. Revali was covered by a blanket which did nothing to conceal the fact that Mipha was cuddled up to his chest, fins wrapped tightly around herself while her head was tucked under one of his wings.
“Don’t worry, I already took many pictures on your slate for you.”
Zelda huffed, amused, as Urbosa led her back to her bed.
“Will you sit with me?” she asked softly, catching her wrist before she moved away.
“Of course, little bird.”
Zelda waited for Urbosa to settle beside her on her bed before she closed her eyes, shifting to press her forehead against Urbosa’s thigh.
“He knows we care about him, right?” she asked after an undetermined amount of silence. Both knew without it being said that she was talking about Link.
“I think he’s beginning to realize that, little bird. We’ll just have to prove it to him.”