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Zelda jerked awake to a knock on her door. Heart racing, she held her breath as she listened for it again, tensing when she heard the barely audible tapping. It paused, then knocked firmer. Looking outside her window confirmed it was the middle of the night. Taking a deep breath, Zelda calmed herself. This wasn't the first time it's happened.
Typically, when Link knocked, he wouldn't be there when she answered the door. Unnerving though it was, it was something she had gotten used to. He usually stopped if she didn't answer the door, though that made her feel guilty for ignoring him. But honestly, why would he knock if he didn't want anything? He didn't even need to knock to get in! She knew that firsthand, as she had spent time in her house with him standing in the corners menacingly.
She waited, hoping he would simply stop, but after a few long moments, he knocked again, a little louder. Her heart beat hard every time this happened, her mind racing with possibilities. Though he had never been aggressive toward her, or those that had done no wrong, admittedly...he scared her a little. Perhaps this time he was luring her away to be killed, her time overdue, or maybe there was another danger, and he was trying to warn her before it was too late.
Arriving at the door, hair rumpled, nightgown creased, she steeled herself with a long breath, then flung open the door.
As expected, he wasn't there. Peering into the darkness, she looked for her knight, eventually spotting the slight glow of his visible eye, peering at her from the sunken ravine next to the bridge. Only the top of his head was visible, and she had no idea how he would be standing there. Logically, there was nothing but air below him. Perhaps he could float - though he's never demonstrated that ability before. He simply stared at her, the dark around him seeming oppressive, his gaze heavy. His bloody, matted hair rested over the majority of his face, as usual, and only a single eye was visible.
"Hello?" she called to him. He didn't respond, didn't move, and she felt the hair along her neck and arms stand up. Shivering slightly, she looked around for dangers. "Is there...something you wanted?" No response.
Despite looking around for a good minute, Zelda saw nothing and was about to shut the door with a soft 'goodnight' when she spotted it, a little figurine sitting on her doorstep. Taking care to keep him in her periphery, she stooped to pick it up, turning it over and over in her hands as she mulled it over.
It seemed to be a crude figurine of the goddess. The base of the body was a thick stick, with some sort of long grass or fiber balled up and tied with crude twine to make a head. Similarly, that same long fiber crossed her torso in an X, tied to her body to make wings. Other than that, there were no defining features.
"Oh," Zelda sighed, looking back up to Link, still in his previous spot. "Did you...make this? For me?" She didn't expect a response, but after a few moments, she saw his head bob ever so slightly, small enough that she could've imagined it. "Oh..." she smiled at him, though it was strained. "Thank you so much..."
She mulled over why he gave this to her, of all things. It wasn't really clear what he remembered from his time living. He never really spoke and didn't often respond to direct questions, especially when they were too complicated or about his past life. Most of what they've deduced about him had come from observations. Did he remember her strained relationship with the goddess? Was it a token of support? A warning? It was likely she would never know.
"Well...I am going to go back to bed," she told him. "...Goodnight, Link." Zelda closed the door slowly, waiting for him to react, but he didn't, still staring from his place in the ravine, so she shut the door with a soft click.
Sighing, she padded back upstairs to her bed, setting the angel on her bedside table. Tucking herself back in, she felt tears well up in her eyes and blinked them away. Despite her protector hanging around, she felt alone, and she felt grief. Mostly, she just hoped he wouldn't knock on her door again.