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Chapter Text

The moment King Rhoam's voice booms out in the Great Hall, Link's nerves are set on edge.

"Lords and Ladies of the court: I welcome you to the Midwinter Ball. I need not remind you that we live in trying times. However, it is through honoring our traditions that we as a kingdom endure, unified and strong."

Two paces forward and to Link’s right stands Princess Zelda. She's the picture of grace in her formal gown, standing with her hands clasped before her. But Link knows her well enough now to see the sharpness in her gaze, the tense set of her shoulders.

Link shifts from one foot to the other. He has no specific reason to be wary of the king tonight. And yet... more often than not, Rhoam's words are biting and cruel at Zelda's expense.

"Midwinter is a trying time," Rhoam says solemnly, his gaze passing over the crowd. "The sun's passage over the dome of the sky is short. The warmth of summer is but a memory. Midwinter is at the peak of this darkness, and yet we still come together at celebrations such as this across the land to bring good cheer. We come together every year, without fail, to banish the darkness of winter.

"And so tonight, we've gathered. The festivities have begun: the wine flows, the tables are laden, heavy with the finest fare." The king spreads his arms and smiles. "All that remains is dance!"

Laughter passes through the courtiers. It is a surprising display of good cheer from the king. Perhaps Link's anxiousness is misplaced. Perhaps the king will urge everyone in attendance to dance and he'll finish his speech without mentioning his daughter.

But Link's hopes fall when Rhoam turns to face Zelda. "I spoke of tradition. The Midwinter ball's first dance is a blessing; a sign of the good times to follow. Who better but to open tonight's dance with a waltz shared between my daughter, Princess Zelda, and the Hero of Hyrule?"

An excited hum arises from the crowd. The eyes of the court, quite literally, land on the two of them.

Link stiffens. His vision spins for a moment until he forces himself to focus, focus... He manages to school his expression into a neutral one, but it's a very near thing.

Zelda draws in a sharp breath, and Link eyes her. She's composed, if being flushed red and wearing a small frown counts as such.

A waltz? With Zelda? Requested by their king and sovereign himself?

Link knows how to waltz, that's not the problem. 

The problem is the rapid beat of his heart, the swoop in his stomach at the very notion.

King Rhoam's voice booms out once more. "Zelda: it is your duty to usher in light against the darkness and prevail against Calamity Ganon. Tonight those of us gathered here to celebrate the arrival of Midwinter similarly desire for you and the Hero to lead us in this, the first dance of the night. Do you accept this joyous responsibility?"

Ah, so there it is. There's the king's small lesson for the night: be prepared, for there may be no warning. In the face of the unexpected, Princess Zelda, and Link along with her, must dance to fate's song.

Link draws in a fortifying breath and then takes the two steps forward to be at her side. He offers her his hand.

Zelda's eyes meet his, still round with her shock. He'll be calm, he'll be steady. He'll be her partner in this. He tries to convey this for her with his offered hand, his small nod. A half-second later and Zelda answers with her own.

As Zelda slips her hand into his gloved one, she draws herself tall, sets her shoulders back. With her head held high, she takes the first step toward the open dance floor and Link follows.

The lords and ladies around the open space are expectant and shrewd in the looks they cast at Link and Zelda.

Once they walk into the cleared space, she drops into a curtsey and Link bows. He still holds her hand during his. Zelda's voice rings out clear, "We accept, father."

"Excellent! Then I bid you to lead us into the celebrations tonight!"

With those words, Zelda gracefully rises out of her curtsy and Link follows suit, lifting from his bow. She pivots on her slippered feet, her eyes meeting his. She's nervous, but it only shows in her shoulders, ever so slightly higher than normal.

Link steps close. With a fortifying breath, he gingerly places his free hand on her waist just as she brings her own hand up to rest on his shoulder. He lets go of her hand so that she can readjust, to hold his in the manner one should for a waltz.

Zelda's voice is a low murmur. "Please tell me that you know how to waltz?"

He gives her hand a small squeeze. "I know how to waltz."

Link can feel the relief in her posture as she sags ever so slightly into his embrace. "Good. Excellent. I trust then that you'll lead?"

"I'll lead."

Zelda nods. Link nods. 

"Are you ready?" 

She nods once more.

He takes the first step and Zelda follows. The music joins them on their second step. And then...

They're waltzing.

The Princess and the Hero of Hyrule are waltzing. Together.

Link tries his very best to ignore the blur of faces around them, to ignore everyone watching, watching, watching. But it's difficult to shut them out. The eyes of the court look on, expectant and hopeful, for he and Zelda are an example: they're meant to be Hyrule's best, both tonight in opening the ball and later when the land will need them the most.

Zelda gives his shoulder a squeeze and his eyes snap back to meet hers. She whispers, "Ignore them. Focus on me instead. I'm far more interesting anyways!"

He chokes on a laugh and almost botches a step in the dance. It's such an unexpected thing for her to say, and yet it's so very true!

She grins. "You know I'm right!"

He nods, his own response is soft. "I do. You're so right. Hey! I'm going to twirl you around, if you're up for that?"

"Oh, please do!"

And so he lets go of her waist and he raises their joined hands above her head. Zelda wheels away with a graceful spin. They pause for a beat and then she twirls back to him. In an easy, fluid motion, she slips her hand back onto its place on his shoulder, and he places his hand on her waist once more.

Back in each other's arms, they share a laugh, soft and surprised. That worked! They're dancing together and that worked!

Zelda draws in a deep breath as they glide across the floor. Her head tilts down for just a second, but when she looks back up, she gives him a smile, soft and warm.

Zelda, cheeks dusted pink, smiling at him. Zelda, the princess, his friend of the last few months. Zelda, passionate researcher, spirited and lovely girl.

The crowd of onlookers is forgotten. It's the easiest thing in the world for him to keep his attention on her.

The rest of their dance passes by in a blur.

He leads, but only just, for Zelda is a skilled dancer. He didn't know this about her. Maybe he'll ask her about it later?

He feels lucky. Her eyes are locked on his. His hand shifts at her waist. He feels lucky.

The waltz swells and builds, they perform another twirl and when they meet again, they come together a little closer than they were before.

But alas, the final chords of the song ring out. Perhaps that's a good thing, because then he doesn't have time to worry about how anyone else might also notice they're a little closer than they were before.

The song ends and, with regret, Link takes a step back, his hand slides off her waist and he releases her hand. Zelda curtsies and he bows and then, wham!, the presence of the crowd is brought back into his awareness. There’s applause and there’s a pressing, pulsing buzz of conversation that surrounds them.

Zelda straightens from her curtsy and meets his eye. There's a spark in her look and then she extends her hand toward him once more and he takes it. In the look she's giving him, there's something expectant and sweet. And there's something else that he can't quite parse...

Confused, he nods and immediately senses that was the wrong thing to do when disappointment flashes across her face. But then her disappointment is gone as quickly as it had appeared. She smiles once more and they walk off of the dance floor together, with her hand still clasped in his gloved one.

Realization hits him a moment too late: Zelda had wanted him to kiss the back of her hand. This is customary in court, if the lady desires it once the dance is over. Zelda had desired it. She'd looked at him with hope and longing.

Link, far too wrapped up in the moment, hadn't understood. He'd passed up a chance to lift her hand to his lips and lay a kiss on the back of it.

Augh. By the golden three, he's an idiot.

"Princess, you were such a sight to see, twirling around on the dance floor like that. You've got a lot of skill. Very elegant!"

"Oh! Thank you very much." Zelda smiles and ducks her head to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

Purah rounds on Link. "And who knew our Link here could dance?!" Her tone and look border on accusatory.

Link's shoulders rise, which makes the large collar of his uniform rise, too, and it's almost as if he can hide the reddening of his cheeks a bit behind it.

Impa rolls her eyes. "Oh please. Why should this come as a surprise? Master Link is a skilled fighter. A dance is so much like a choreographed fight on the battlefield."

Purah plunks her hands on her hips and grins wickedly. "So he's a good dancer because he's a good fighter?" 

Impa frowns. "Yes, that's what I'm saying."

"But you're a terrible dancer, so how do you explain that one?"

"Hey!" Impa huffs, her hands clenched at her sides, her face reddening.

"Wellllll. What's your explanation?" Purah cups a hand around one ear and leans closer to Impa. "I'm all ears!"

"Augh! You're impossible!"

For the first time since their dance together, Zelda shares a glance with Link. His eyebrows raise at their antics. Zelda grins and he can’t help how his face heats once more.

The Sheikah sisters, once they start on an argument, are difficult to interrupt. When Zelda says she'd like to find refreshments, Purah waves distractedly at her.

And so Link and Zelda walk away together, silent and shy. This seems to be a side-effect of their dance. Or perhaps, more accurately, Link's failure to kiss her hand. 

Link berates himself. Why hadn't he understood what she'd wanted!? Maybe he should say something to her? Maybe he should try to explain himself? Maybe he should just tell her he would like to kiss her hand, if she'd give him another chance? But, he can't very well do that here and now in the midst of the entire court. Maybe he's lost his chance? Maybe she's no longer keen on it? Maybe the offer is completely off the table?

As they walk along, the crowd parts wherever Zelda walks. Nobles turn to give her hasty bows or curtsies. Zelda tips her head in acknowledgment. Her smile is kind and warm.

But it's not hard to see how some give her sharp and assessing looks. Noble women hold up fans, they speak rather brazenly behind them. "If her powers were awakened, do you think we'd be able to tell?" "Why does she wear her hair so plainly?" "If the two of them can dance that well together, then maybe there's hope for us yet." "I think purple would be more flattering on her." It's not as though the fans mask the sound of their voices, so why do they behave like this? Link concludes that they intend for Zelda to hear them.

Zelda never falters, she forges on. It's been like this at the handful of other gatherings where he's spent time with her. For Link, their behavior is exhausting and it's not even directed at him. He imagines it must be far worse for her.

Suddenly, Link's decision is made before he can really think it through. He lengthens his strides to reach her side. When she looks at him, surprised, he leans in to whisper, "Hey. Do you wanna leave?"

Zelda's eyes go round, she draws in a sharp breath. 

The way she's staring at him makes him nervous. Perhaps he's been too familiar in a courtly setting? Despite these fears, he repeats himself. "Do you wanna leave? With me?"

Zelda's expression is overtaken with a smile, as bright as the sun. She whispers back, "Oh, don't I ever!"

Link grins and then glances around. "If only there were some kind of... secret passageway to sneak away in."

Zelda tilts her head, her expression pensive and coy. "Why a secret passage?"

"I dunno? I guess it'd be more covert, more discrete. And it'd be cool," he finishes with a grin.

"Ah, of course." There's a gleam in Zelda's eye. "How silly of me not to consider that as a factor."

Link nods as he glances around the Great Hall, considering their options. The balconies and gardens are closed, the snow and cold are too intense outside. He chews on his cheek and then releases it with a "Tsk." He murmurs, "I suppose we'll need to leave through one of the main doorways..."

Zelda eyes him slyly. "All we need is a good old-fashioned excuse, of which I have many for retiring early from such occasions."

"Oh yeah? Well, what'll it be tonight then?"

She purses her lips in mock contemplation. When she speaks again, it's with a playful lilt. "I could say we're leaving so I may show my appointed knight some secret passageways."

He rolls his eyes and Zelda grins. "Well now you're just teasing me! There's no such thing."

Now there have always been persistent rumors that there are secret passageways that only the royal family knows of. Some say it's hogwash, that the Royal Guard knows the castle back and forth, up and down, that there'd be no way for such passages to go unnoticed for so long. She’s… she’s teasing him.

Zelda hums, a mischievous light dancing in her eyes. And then she clears her throat as she gathers her skirts. "In that case then, I'll simply say I've been inspired for late night devotions and that you're accompanying me."

As they walk together at a brisk pace toward the nearest exit, a large entryway attended by castle staff, they share a glance. She smiles once more, a bright and lovely thing. Oh, how Link can feel his face heat... 

Zelda giggles. Link has to look away.

Chapter Text

For a moment, the large wooden door refuses to open.

"Oh dear, is it stuck?" Zelda whispers. Well, at least she thinks she's whispering, but her giddiness makes the volume of her voice into more of a whisper yell. A whisper yell that echoes in the stone corridor.

When he turns to her, her cheeks are flushed and her eyes sparkle. Conspiratorially, she glances up and down the corridor. Satisfied, she meets his eyes once more and a nervous giggle bubbles out of her.

He swallows and considers. They could go somewhere else, perhaps the East Wing? It would meet Zelda's criteria of getting far away from the Great Hall. Far away from the ball they just slipped out of, hopefully unnoticed and unmissed. Far away from the king's unexpected requests and reproachful remarks. Far away from the courtiers who see it as their Goddess given duty to sneer and make snide remarks at Zelda's expense.

But the East Wing is closer to the Royal Guard's barracks. And for reasons, perhaps for Link's own parental unit reasons, he would like to avoid that.

Well. If the door's stuck, soon it'll be unstuck. "Nah, I got it."

Link grits his teeth and puts his shoulder into it. With a sharp, calculated shove, the heavy door finally swings open.

As the door gives way, his momentum takes him forward into the room. But Link knows momentum, Link knows how to maintain his balance and keep himself centered. He doesn't fight the forward motion, instead he uses it to grip on the door knob and pivot around on the heel of his boot. He wheels about and comes to face Zelda with a grin.

A lovely smile blossoms on her face. "You've breached the keep, Sir Knight."

He holds out his arm to signal she should enter. "All in your name, my princess."

The entryway into the room is wide. There's plenty of space for her to walk through, yet she opts to pass close in front of him. Her closeness is such that her skirts brush at his boots. Her eyes dart to meet his, somehow both shy and bold all at once, and then she turns away to look into the dark room ahead.

Link stares after her for a moment and then comes back to himself with a shake of his head. He pushes the door closed with a thud and hears the latch click home.

"This is one of father's lounges," Zelda says pensively. She stands in the middle of the room, on a large, plush rug. A band of moonlight streams in from the windows and bathes her in a silvery glow.

"Lounges? Plural? You mean he's got more than one?"

Zelda turns about and tilts her head. "Yes, lounges, plural." Her eyes dance in the moonlight. "One can't have too many lounges."

"Mmm, I suppose not." Link glances around the dark space as he walks deeper into the room. "What does he use this lounge for anyways?"

"I believe he uses this one to thoroughly bore foreign dignitaries."

Link can't help the nervous laugh that escapes him. By Naryu, maybe they shouldn't be here? Maybe Rhoam himself will burst in to find them here, together!?

Not that anything untoward is happening for that matter. It's just...well, sometimes Link worries.

"Don't you worry," Zelda says and he swears to Hylia that sometimes she can read his mind. "If father planned to use this room for leisure tonight, a fire would be lit and the room would be appointed with late night snacks and apéritifs."

"Yes. Right. Of course. Apéritifs..." he murmurs as he glances about.

Along the east facing wall there are four tall windows. Outside, snow has piled up and covers part of the lowest panes. On the opposite wall there's the large, dark hearth. Over the plush carpet, chairs and oddly shaped fancy sofas are arranged. Further into the room is a large, heavy desk. Likely the kind of desk that King Rhoam sits at and frowns at trade agreements or taxation proposals. The back wall is lined with bookcases.

Movement out of the corner of his eye pulls his attention back to Zelda. She draws her arms around her midsection as a shiver passes over her.

Link startles. "You're cold!"

"It's nothing, I'll be quite all right."

"Nonsense! We can have a fire started real quick." He begins to stride across the room.

"Really, I'll be alright! You needn't go to such an effort!"

He turns about and continues to walk backwards, grinning at her. "So we pull off a daring escape from the ball, only to spend the rest of the evening shivering in a cold, dark room?"

Zelda tilts her head to the side and gives him a look. "There's more than one way to keep warm." 

Did she just--? Was that--? Her words, the amusement in her voice, and the look in her eye, by the Goddesses, she'll be the death of him. She'll-- "Oh, look out! Behind you!"

The backs of his legs hit something. Link doesn't often lose his balance, but right now he's off-kilter. Oh, she will be the death of him: he's doomed, he's falling, maybe he'll crack his head on somethi--

Poomf! Link's back lands on something plush and bouncy. Whatever he fell on is comfy. He blinks up at the dark rafters as Zelda's laughter rings out. "Oh dear!" And then she fills his vision as she leans over him with a wide smile. Her hair spills over her shoulders and hangs near his face. It catches the moonlight. It's lovely... She's lovely.

Link swallows. He clenches his hand into a fist. He has to look away. He glances to his right where he can feel his arm pressed up against a plush vertical surface. In the dark of the room, he manages to make out ornate, patterned fabric in a deep, rich tone. He lets out a breathy laugh. "A sofa. I fell onto a sofa."

Zelda hums in agreement, and he eyes her. Her closeness makes him flush. But thankfully, lamentably, she stands straight once more and smooths down her skirts, putting some more distance between them. "Indeed, very lucky of you. Although, if we're to be more precise, this is not a sofa, it's a settee."

With that statement, Zelda extends her hand to help him sit up. He accepts, her dainty hand pulling him upright as she takes a step back. Once he's sitting, he lets her hand slip out of his. He stares up at her from where she stands before him. "A settee, huh? Are you sure this isn't a divan?"

Zelda clicks her tongue. "Quite sure. Do you doubt, Sir Link, my ability to identify ornate categories of sofa?"

He grins. "Oh, I would never."

Zelda's giggling, without fail, always makes his heart skip a beat. The corners of her eyes crinkle with mirth and he thinks he knows enough now to understand that the look she's giving him is fond. They stare at one another, all soft laughter and smiles in the dark, and that's when it hits him that they are very much alone.

There's a shift in the air. Link looks down at the floor and clears his throat just as Zelda's slippered feet take one, two steps away from the settee. When he looks back up at her, she's wrapped her arms around herself for warmth once more.

Her eyes dart over the settee and then meet his once more. It looks as though she's considering something, it looks as though she's both determined and shy all at once. She opens her mouth, a round little circle, and then a mighty shiver passes over her frame. Her shoulders shoot up toward her ears and her teeth chatter.

"Oh Hylia," Link springs up, "You really are cold! No ifs, ands, or buts: I'm definitely starting a fire."

She stares a moment longer at him, her eyes darting between him and the settee, and then she nods.

Moments later, they both crouch before the hearth. The impracticality of his uniform's white gloves is acute when it comes to dealing with building a fire in a hearth. Soot and white gloves don’t get along, so it's best for him to just take them off. He folds them neatly, puts them aside, and then gets to work stacking logs within the fireplace.

"You know, most of these rooms do have another means of egress."

Link pauses in his work to eye her. Zelda sits close-by at his side, her legs hugged up to her chest with her chin resting on her knees. The look she gives him is coy and secretive.

"'Another means of egress'?" Link frowns.

"Mmhmm," she hums as she raises her eyebrows expectantly.

"Wait." He twists one way in his crouch, eyes scanning over the walls first in one direction. He then twists the other to take in the rest of the room. There's nothing obvious. But then again, there wouldn't be if... "There's a secret passage? Here?!"

A laugh bubbles out of her.

"B-but... Okay. Sure, there have always been rumors. But how would the Royal Guard not know about secret passages, right? We memorize the layout of the castle, in and out, it just wouldn't make any real sense..."

Zelda hums as she watches him with amusement. And then her arms unwind from around her legs and she scooches even closer to him. He draws in a breath at her sudden closeness. She holds up a finger and says, "I would posit that if they existed, would they not be designed to obfuscate?"

"I-I suppose that would make sense."

Zelda nods, still leaning close into his space. Her voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper. "Indeed. If you should like, that is how we may take our leave of this room later?"

His mouth goes dry. Here's Zelda herself telling him that the secret passages are real. And she's inviting him to steal away into the secret depths of the castle with her.

Link's imagination runs wild. He imagines Zelda taking his hand, her green eyes dark and beckoning as she pulls him behind her into a narrow passage. He imagines her whispering about how no one will know where they are or how to find them. He imagines that deep in the passage, far away from anyone else, that she would pull him to her and kiss him. In this fantasy, somehow there are lit torches throughout the secret passage, but he doesn't stop to ponder the ridiculousness of that. No, instead he imagines how that torchlight would cast warm light on the long, slender column of her neck, he imagines how he'd kiss her starting down near her collarbone and then work his way up. He imagines how she'd make soft noises and then he'd capture her lips once more and--

"Well?" She arches an eyebrow at him.

Oh. Right. She asked him a question. And he should really, really say no.

Instead, he swallows and says, "Sure."

Chapter Text

The fire casts a merry and warm circle of light around the hearth, making the king's lounge appear at least a bit less dark and dreary.

"Your turn," Zelda says.

They're sitting in that circle of light, on the carpet before the fire. Zelda sits with her legs tucked to the side, her skirts flared out along the floor. He sits across from her, cross-legged.

Link frowns down at his cards. Then he looks up to study Zelda's face, his eyes narrowed, hoping she might give something away. She raises an eyebrow and grins, but offers no clue as to what her next play is. He sighs and draws a card from the deck.

"When did you learn how to waltz?"

His eyes snap up to hers again. "Huh?"

"Waltzing. When did you learn?" Her eyes dart between her cards and his face as she places a pair of cards on the ground before her.

"Oh. When I was thirteen."

"Ah. I see..."

They fall silent for a moment. Zelda must be pondering his answer. At thirteen, he'd appeared as Hyrule's young hero wielding the Master Sword. That’s the year he'd been swept up into court life. He'd been taught a great many things, like how to properly hold a fork or how to understand the difference between a duke and a baron or how to drop down into a bow and stay there without fidgeting until he was bidden to rise.

Link clears his throat. "My mum insisted on it when she realized I'd need to appear in court. She made Aryll and I practice together." He huffs out a laugh with a shake of his head. "We kind of hated those lessons... But, they were also sort of fun. I suppose I should thank her, because apparently I've remembered something from them."

"Mmhmm, you should! When we stepped out onto the dance floor, truthfully I wasn't sure what to expect. But you surprised me. You are quite the dancer!"

Link lets out a breathy laugh as he feels the heat rising on his cheeks.

Thinking about their dance invariably means that his mind jumps to his lost opportunity: the fact that he didn’t kiss her hand when she’d offered. A perfectly normal and valid reason for him to kiss her, and yet he'd passed up on the chance. 

Link had screwed up. 

He snaps out of his thoughts to look Zelda in the eye. She’s apparently been studying him and her eyebrows raise in question as she brings her cards close to her heart.

A brashness overtakes him and he blurts out a question, "Hey, do you wanna dance again?"

She blinks. "Right now?"

"Yeah, right now!"

"But there's no music!" She casts a glance at the open space before the hearth. "And there isn't much room!" 

Link puts his cards down and scrambles to stand. "That's okay. We can improvise." He offers her his hand and has to push down his nerves to ask her once more, "So... Do you wanna dance?"

Zelda tilts her head to the side. Her eyes dart to his hand and back up again. He swallows, waiting, and then to his great relief she carefully puts her cards facedown on the rug. "Very well, Hero," she looks up at him with a grin and holds out her hand primly for him to take. "Let's, as you say, improvise!" 

He laughs as he helps her stand. 

"Oh, your hand is warm," she muses as her eyes travel up and down the length of his arm. "I've never seen a royal guard uniform without gloves. I actually quite like the look."  

"Heh," he rubs at the back of his neck with his free hand. "This is definitely not regulation. If the commander sees me like this, he'll have my head."

Zelda quirks a brow but chooses not to comment on how he's referred to his father by rank. "Well, we can't have that. Your secret, non-glove wearing ways are safe with me."

Link ducks his head with a laugh. He bites his lip and eyes her through his fringe. "C'mon," he gives her hand a tug and tilts his head toward the center of the room, "Let's dance!'

Link pulls her away from their card game, toward the center of the room. 

It's true: there isn't a lot of space, but he thinks they can work with it. He stops and turns to her with a grin, and that's when his nerves really hit. There are butterfly flutters in his stomach, his heart beats with a rapid ba-dum!

These feelings don't abate when Zelda steps close, when her hand finds its place on his shoulder. His hand settles onto her waist for the second time this Midwinter Night. With how his hand is now bare, he can feel the warmth of her through her gown... 

By the golden three, they're standing so close, poised for a dance, and they are very much alone.  

Lately, Zelda will sometimes stare at Link through her lashes. In those moments, the look she gives him manages to somehow be both shy and bold. And this is certainly one of those moments. 

Spirits, does she know what she does to him with that look? Link flushes. In fact, he feels warm all over. He wishes he could adjust his collar...  He wishes he could remove his surcoat...

Zelda hums, a satisfied sort of sound. She looks amused with the crinkles at the sides of her eyes. This would suggest she has some idea of the effect she has on him. She must know? Right...?

Zelda's question cuts through his thoughts. “How, Sir Link, would you suggest we improvise?"

He draws in a deep breath in a rather poor attempt to clear his head. It doesn't work. "I-I know a song. From back home. I'm pretty sure it's in waltz timing." He pauses to think through the first couple of measures. “Yeah... It's a waltz. So, it should work?"

Zelda quirks a brow. "I suppose we'll find out?”

Link nods. "I can't promise my humming will do it justice, but, well, here goes..." 

He clears his throat and begins to hum. Zelda's eyebrows shoot high as she stares at him. And then she starts to bob her head in time with the beat as she takes it in.

Once it's clear that Zelda's gotten the timing down, Link takes the first steps and she follows. He's quick to gauge the space they have to work with, to make their steps smaller accordingly, as the space forces them to dance in a small circle. That circle is girded by the hearth to one side and as they wheel slowly about, the settee he fell on earlier comes into view. There's another ornate chair opposite the hearth as they revolve around more. Two more odd chairs, one with impractically high armrests and another that might actually just be a foot rest, Link's not sure. And then... they've already come full circle when the hearth comes into view once more.

As they revolve about, the light from the fire casts an ever changing glow on Zelda's upturned face. She watches him and, now that he's figured out their steps and the size of the circle they can make, he takes to watching her, too. When his eyes lock on hers, a jolt goes up his spine. His humming falters for a second, but he quickly picks up the tune again.

"Does this song have words?" 

Link nods.

"Will you sing them for me?"

Link shakes his head.

Zelda makes an offended sound. "But you've got such a nice voice!"

Link shakes his head again, and she jostles his shoulder playfully. He snorts, and his humming of the tune suffers a bit, but he valiantly keeps at it.

Zelda rolls her eyes and lets out an overly dramatic sigh. "Well, if you won't sing it for me, the least you can do is tell me its name?"

He hums for another measure before stopping to answer her. "It's called 'Stars Fell on Akkala.' There's a lady in our village, Sena, she's a good singer, and this fellow, Wert, plays the mandolin to go along with her and... Yeah. They sound really nice together."

"'Stars Fell on Akkala'... It sounds fantastical..."

"Mmhmm. Legend has it that once there was a crazy meteor shower over Akkala. There were so many shooting stars that they say the fields glowed from all of the star fragments that had fallen. There was one massive shooting star that fell. Do you know what the legend says happened?"

Zelda shakes her head.

"When the largest one fell, a giant flower blossomed where it landed. When some brave Akkalans approached it, Mija, the Great Fairy, appeared."

"Fascinating! That's completely different from the origin story that the Sheikah have for Cotera. Oh, whenever we do travel to the Spring of Power, we must stop and investigate this further! I doubt such sociological records exist in the castle library. They really ought to be documented! We should definitely interview the musicians, folklorists, and perhaps-- 

“Oh. You're giving me a funny look. Why are you giving me a funny look?"

Ho boy. Link has been called out. He lets out a nervous laugh. His palm feels sweaty, and he hopes it isn't grossing her out. "I just like it when you get really passionate about something—“ he shrugs "—s’all. I really didn't mean to interrupt you. You were saying you want to interview musicians, folklorists? Please continue."

A beat passes as Zelda stares at him, and for a moment he worries, worries that maybe...  somehow that was the wrong thing to say? 

But then Zelda smiles, so bright and earnest! She shifts in closer, her hand on his shoulder slides around to the back of his neck. He sucks in a breath when she turns her head and rests it on his shoulder. She's so warm and soft and, and...

Oh, goddesses. He can't let himself dwell on what it feels like to have her pressed up against him. Such notions can only lead to thoughts that he cannot entertain.

"Yes." Zelda continues, her tone determined. "We'll interview musicians, folklorists, any local historians." As she speaks, he can both hear and feel her words. His hand slides from her waist to the small of her back. "And you know, perhaps the Citadel's library might have something on this subject?"

"Hmm. I wouldn't count on it."

"Why not?"

"The Citadel's library really only has military history books, analyses of battle strategies, tomes on the art of warfare... That kind of thing, you know? Local folklore and history haven't been a priority."

Zelda clicks her tongue. "Well. That is disappointing. We shall have to change that."

We shall have to change that. Statements like this confuse Link. Sometimes it seems like Zelda means 'we' as in both her and him, together. But... what could she mean by that? And so Link doubts and instead reasons that she more likely means 'we' as in her and other people, in an abstract sense. 

But still... he nods. He nods and hums in agreement. Right now, with her in his arms, slowly circling around in a gentle waltz, he wants that 'we' to mean her and him. It's nice to think that she means it as the two of them, together...

It's a foolish notion. He can't let himself dwell on this either.

Zelda makes an affirmative sound in response and then they both fall silent. For a moment, the only sounds are the fire crackling in the hearth and their shoes padding on the rug as they slowly revolve around in their dance.

But then his heart skips a beat when Zelda picks up humming the song from his village.

Ohhh... She doesn't know it, but it's a romantic song... It's about tender looks and about one's heart beating like a hammer. It's about arms winding around one another tight. It's about kissing, in a field of white...

There's a sweetness to her voice that he likes. To have her so close to him, to hear and even feel her humming like this... A wild surge of affection passes through him. He feels lucky, he feels curious, he feels reckless, he--

"I've never heard you hum before!" The words tumble out of him, reverent and eager, before he can even think to stop them.

Zelda's humming stops with a laugh. "Is it really that surprising?"

Link flushes and is glad she can't see his face. "I suppose not. I've just never heard you hum or sing or do anything musical at all really..."

"I've had music lessons now and then since I was a girl. A Hylian princess must be cultured, you know? Although, admittedly, I've never been very diligent in my musical pursuits."

His hand slides a little further up her back as he asks softly, "Is that when you learned how to dance?"

"Oh! No. Those were an entirely different set of stuffy and demanding lessons."

Her words cause them both to laugh. When their giggles subside, silence falls once more.

“Hey. Uh… earlier... I screwed up.”

"Huh?" Zelda pulls back to look at him.

His throat works as he swallows. Perhaps their conversation has loosened his tongue? Or perhaps humming a romantic song from back home has messed with his sense of duty? This is dangerous, reckless territory... 

And yet, now that he's started, he can't stop. "I-I hadn't understood. We danced and, and, and it was amazing! Zelda, you're such a good dancer! I had so much fun with you. I felt so lucky. It all happened so fast and then we were done and everyone was clapping and, and then you gave me your hand and," his voice warbles and cracks, "and I didn't understand. Not fast enough at least. And... well... I screwed up."

"Ah," she breathes out. A beat passes as she searches his face. And then she ducks her head, her forehead landing on his shoulder as she giggles. He lets out a breath, one he didn't know he'd been holding.

She lifts her forehead off his shoulder and her smile is blindingly bright. "You felt lucky to be dancing with me?"

"Of course!"

"Of course..." Zelda repeats back softly, like she's trying to decipher what his words mean. When she speaks again, her voice is playful. "Well, if you believe that you 'screwed up,' as you say, then we can try again once more?"

“Try again?” Link swallows. He almost feels dizzy. "Once more?"

Zelda nods. "If you'd like, of course."

"I would." The swiftness of his response makes her smile. 

Zelda clears her throat and takes a step back. She slips out of his embrace and drops once more into a curtsy. Link is slightly late to follow, but he’s quick to mirror her with a bow. 

And then Zelda rises out of her curtsy, and Link straightens. He feels a swooping sensation in his stomach: he can’t screw it up this time.

She extends her left hand toward him. 

And there it is: an invitation, once more. 

His heart hammers as he takes her hand. And then he leans down, lifts her hand and... with a soft press of his lips against the fabric over the back of her hand, Link kisses her. 

Electricity, another jolt, from where his lips touch her. 

Zelda gasps, light and breathy. Maybe she felt it too? Or something like it?

He glances up as he lifts his head. Zelda's eyes are wide, she stands with her right hand clutched before her heart. She bites her lip. "You know, we've technically danced twice this evening. So... y-you may kiss me twice." 

A blush paints her cheeks, and yet she owns her statement with how she tips her head up in a haughty gesture he's become rather fond of.

Link’s nerves, they're on high alert, warning bells ringing, ringing...

And yet... there's part of him that feels exhilarated, playful, and very reckless. He raises a brow. "I may?"

Zelda nods. "You may. But, um," her flush deepens as she says, "I would prefer that you kiss me--" she points upward with her right hand, tilts her head offering her cheek "--here."

Oh, Link really shouldn't. He super should not do this.

Zelda lowers her pointed finger slowly. The look she gives him is hopeful and sweet.

Link swallows. Oh no. He's going to do this. 

He nods and her smile is oh so bright.

Suddenly Link feels as though his breathing is awkward and loud. It's as though every movement he makes is the noisiest thing. As he steps closer to her, he hears his uniform shift, he hears his boots make annoying leathery sounds.

His heart pounds, a rapid ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, at their closeness. 

Zelda’s staring at him as she gently lifts her left hand out of his. And then she uses that very same hand to grasp his baldric, the fine crimson rope that lays diagonally across his chest. She does this while her right hand smooths over his surcoat until her fingers reach the edge of it. Once they do, her fingers curl around it, and with that she...

Oh goddesses, she's tugging him closer to her.

He stumbles forward and they both let out soft laughs. His hands find their way to her waist. They're so close that their breath mingles...

Zelda's giggling subsides, and she draws in a shaky breath, turning her head to offer her cheek.

Link leans in and pauses for a split second of panic. Perhaps Zelda senses this, for she tugs at his baldric and surcoat, a gentle urging. 

Oh, courage be with him, Link closes the distance and--

Her skin is soft and warm. His thumb brushes along the fabric at her waist and she lets out a small, breathy gasp. This sound lights a small fire in the pit of his stomach.

He lingers a second longer than he should, but, with regret, he pulls away enough to meet her eyes once more.

And that's when a realization hits him: he's greedy, he wants more. He wants to see what he can do to elicit another gasp, he wants to press a kiss on that spot where her ear meets her jaw, he wants to feel what it's like to have her pressed close to him, he wants, he wants, he wants... 

He swallows.

And there, in her eyes, is that look again. He saw it earlier this evening, at the end of their dance. At the time he hadn't understood what it'd meant. But now he understands what it means: it's longing. 

Princess Zelda, staring at him, with longing.

Link wonders... he wonders if his own yearning shows through? Can she see it in his face just as he can see it in hers?

His throat feels tight. His voice is hoarse when he manages to ask, "Didn't screw up this time, did I?"

Surprise flits over her face and then she laughs, her fingers curling into the fabric of his surcoat. And then she tugs and--

They're kissing! Just like that, they’re kissing, her soft lips on his. Soft and insistent and, oh... oh...

May the twilight realm take him... Link’s kissing Hyrule's crown princess.

And yet, he doesn't stop, not at all. He does the opposite: he darts his tongue out, he licks at her upper lip, playful and eager, and, goddesses, goddesses, she parts her lips and lets him taste her.

When Link's grasp on her waist tightens, Zelda gasps. He can't help but let out a small laugh at her reaction and she swallows it with her kiss.

They break apart and Link rests his forehead on hers. Their breathing comes fast, breathing one another in. 

As they stare at one another, sharing the same air, her fingers play with the small hairs that don't quite make it into his ponytail. In response, he runs his fingers through her long hair and when his fingers reach the very ends, he gives her hair a playful little tug in response.

They both giggle.

Link can't believe this is happening. 

He's so lucky. 

He's smiling. Just a big dopey smile to match her own lovely one.

Augh, Link’s greedy, he wants more, he drops down to her neck, kissing the space above her collar. Zelda's hand cups the back of his head, her palm pressing over his beret, holding him there as she lets out another laugh.

Then she’s pushing him backwards, and he doesn't think much of it since he’s rather busy with peppering kisses up along her jaw up toward her ear.

But after a few more steps backwards he whispers, "Where are you taking me, princess?"

Zelda keeps the two of them moving, her forward, him backward. Her response is breathy. "I want you on the settee.”

"I want a great many things," he blurts out before he can stop himself.

Zelda laughs and pushes at his shoulders until he leans back enough for her to see him. There's a gleam in her eye when she asks, "Do you now? Like what?" 

His mouth works, unsure of where to even start. 

All his self-control and propriety, hammered into him since he was young, since his father told him he’d join the royal guard like his forefathers had before him, are just gone, torched away in the last few minutes with their kisses. 

Sure, since he and Zelda had started to get along in the last few months, he’d been tested here and there, on a more and more frequent basis. But, importantly, he’d managed to keep it together, for Hylia’s sake.

But now that’s gone. What's happening here, right now: it's a conflagration, burning up his solemn oaths to the crown, burning up his careful boundaries of chastity and virtue when it comes to his friendship with Princess Zelda. 

Since that’s now all burned up, gone far away, there’s nothing to do but answer her honestly. "If you want me on the settee, then I want you to shove me down onto it."

Zelda’s flush flares a shade deeper and her eyes flash in challenge. 

It’s at that moment that the back of his right leg hits the settee. The two of them pause, stilling now that they've reached Zelda's goal. Her hand leaves the back of his head and then she places both hands flat on his chest. She repeats his desire lowly. "You want me to shove you down onto it?" He nods, and she grins. "Well, I can oblige." 

Zelda pushes, her action accompanied by a cute little grunt of exertion. He falls backwards and-- “Oof!” -- his back connects with the cushions along the horizontal surface, knocking the wind out of him just a bit. The back of his head brushes against the pile of pillows at the end of the settee, pushing his beret up over his forehead and covering his eyes. He’s lying lengthwise across the fancy sofa, his left foot still barely on the floor, while his right leg dangles above the ground.

Link manages to breathe out a laugh, propping himself up on one elbow while he pushes his beret off his eyes. When he can see again, the sight he’s met with is Zelda gathering up her heavy skirts. 

Her eyes meet his, and they both laugh, a combination of nerves and excitement. 

Hylia. This is happening. Whatever exactly this is, it's happening.

Zelda stands with her skirts gathered in her hands, biting her tongue in concentration. It's so cute. She’s so cute. But he doesn’t know what it is that she’s trying to do? 

But that’s answered quickly enough when there’s one, two thumps on the plush carpet as she kicks her fancy slippers off.

And then, with her slippers left behind on the floor, she's crawling up onto the settee, her left knee wedging between his leg and the settee's back. Link is helpful in that he sits up enough to kiss at her neck and to make her giggle. He's helpful in that while he licks at the skin above her collar as he shifts, makes room for her on the settee. She shimmies, shifts, crawls her way up, which is hard given her skirts. And so Link's helpful in grabbing a handful of those skirts for her.

And he's helpful in that he's encouraging when he murmurs, "C'mere," as he pulls her toward him.

He’s quick to capture her lips again, to tease at her lower lip with his tongue. His hands grasp at her waist while her hand presses onto the cushion beside his head as she props herself up over him. 

She pulls back, interrupts their kiss with a breathless and teasing question. "Was that a command from my appointed knight?" 

Link grins as he gives her waist a squeeze. "It can be, if that's what you want, my princess."

She clicks her tongue. "There are a scant few with whom I'd tolerate such behavior." The look she gives him is sly as she takes to tracing her finger over the embroidered crest on the front of his uniform. "But you may be the one exception."

He lets out a pleased hum as his hands slide from her waist around to her back. "Well then.” His voice is oddly low. “In that case, kiss me, princess.”

And, ohhh, does she ever.  

Zelda's kisses come hot and fast. Their mouths work against one another as Link rises off the cushions to meet her. Her fingers splay over his chest, she laughs against his lips as she pushes him, forcing him to lie back down flat on the seat. She crawls a little higher, she’s now straddling his hips, her soft thighs pressing along his sides. Link can feel this, but he can’t see it with how her skirts fan out over her legs. But he doesn’t have long to ponder this, for she’s on him again, her tongue parts his lips and she makes a little “mmmf” sound that goes straight to the pit of his stomach. 

Zelda breaks away from their kiss, and he lets out a pathetic sound, whining at the loss of her lips. She grins as her eyes flick up and she reaches up. With a little push-- boop! --off goes his beret, gone, discarded somewhere behind his head on the pile of pillows. 

And then her fingers are carding through his hair and it feels so good. The sensation causes his eyes to roll back in his head. 

"Does that feel good?"

He groans. "Y-yeah."

Zelda's gaze follows the motion of her fingers running through his hair. "For a long while now, I've wanted so badly to touch your hair." 

"Really?"

"Mmhmm." She bites her lip. There's something funny in her expression when her eyes meet his. There's a sheepishness, but there's also something roiling and fiery. "Perhaps... perhaps this is greedy or possessive of me to say, but... I've wanted you for myself for so long now." 

“Zelda,” his voice is hoarse, “I’m yours.”

She makes a sound, high pitched and breathy.

Link surges up, kisses her with abandon, suddenly desperate and needy. She shifts on the settee and plops more firmly down onto his lap. 

Unnnf. They're both greedy then: they both want so much. 

Link's treasured their friendship, he's been so eager to get to know her better. And in getting to know her better, he's felt a great many things, some of which he knew would need to be locked away, never to see the light of day. And yet, Zelda, for months now, has been seeking a way in. She's found the passage to his heart, not so secret after all, with her curious mind and her lovely smile and her playful teasing and, and, and-- 

She shifts and her inner thigh rubs against him in a very certain way.

“Oh goddesses,” Link chokes out, his hand fisting in her skirts while his other seeks out the curve of her hip.

They pause a moment, breath hot on one another's face. 

She must feel him. His desire for her is so obvious, pressed as it is against her inner thigh.

Zelda swallows. 

Link’s throat feels tight. "O-oh, fires of Din. I, uh...whoa. S-sorry, s’embarrassing..." He's incoherent, hot and bothered, ashamed.

"Do I make you feel this way?" she whispers.

He chokes out a "Yes."

Zelda shifts slightly on his lap and the movement causes him to let out a strangled groan. Her pupils are blown and her voice is low and warm. "I like that."

"Hnnng," Link's grip on her hip tightens. 

With that, Zelda surges forward and they're kissing again, her teeth teasing at his lower lip, his fingers pressing into the curve of her hip.

It happens naturally, Zelda begins to rock against him, maybe it’s an intuition, an instinct that this would feel good for both of them and, by Hylia, it does.

Zelda kisses at his neck, her tongue laves over his pulse point. He squirms under her, panting and disheveled, his hands clamped tight on her hips. 

And he's not alone in this. Zelda's hair, usually pin straight and kept so neat, is messy, flyaways catch the firelight and stick out from under her tiara. She's flushed, her cheeks a deep red, her lips kiss-swollen. She's so pretty. No, she's fucking gorgeous, she's--

A metallic rattling causes them both to freeze. They stare at one another, eyes wide. Suddenly, the pounding of his heart is very loud in his ears. What… what was...

The rattling happens again, coming from the direction of…?

The door.

They must have the same realization for Zelda jolts up, her head snapping in the direction of the heavy wooden door. Link pulls himself upright, one hand still on her hip and the other gripping the back of the settee as he stares wide-eyed at the door.

The metallic sound rings out through the room again and this time it's unmistakable: it's the door knob. Someone's trying to get into the room.

He can barely discern muffled voices outside in the hall. 

Reality suddenly crashes back down on Link: here he is alone with Princess Zelda. She’s seated on his lap, their clothing's askew, hair all mussed up, they're flushed and breathing hard. 

It's pretty obvious what they've been doing. 

Panic washes over Link, like cold water down his spine. Being caught in such an inappropriate position with Princess Zelda, in one of the king’s own lounges? 

Link will face serious consequences for this. 

He'll be reassigned, to a garrison away from Zelda, but close enough for Link to be there when the Calamity strikes. Or he'll be imprisoned in the castle, thrown in the dungeon and made to wait until the battle is upon them. 

If the information is made public, scandal will fall upon the two of them. Zelda will face even more scrutiny than she already does, the rumors will abound. And Link’s been so careful, for years now. It was apparent to him even as a thirteen year old that maintaining an image would be imperative for himself and those close to him. 

And his father, oh goddesses… 

His father will have his head. 

Since Link was old enough to walk, that man has made it clear how he believes current and future members of the royal guard ought to carry themselves. His father has held Link to an even higher bar, forcing him to go above and beyond those protocols. Link has never put a toe out of line, not until tonight when he decided to take a giant leap over it.

The door knob rattles again. A feminine, high-pitched giggle sounds outside in the corridor. A lower voice accompanies it, speaking muffled, incomprehensible words.

Zelda lets out a frustrated huff. Link peels his eyes off the door to look at her.

She whispers, "It would seem another pair have the same idea as us, sneaking away from the ball and finding a nice, cozy spot. They do seem rather determined, don’t think? I don't think they'll give up..." 

She turns to look at him and starts. "Oh my! You're white as a sheet."

Link's mouth works, but nothing comes out. 

"Come now!" she whispers with a grin as she shifts off of him to stand. "You and I shall make our second daring escape of the night!"

The rattling at the door continues, the lower, deeper muffled voice sounds frustrated.

"Soon he may put his shoulder into it, just as you did." Zelda takes his hands, pulling him off the settee to stand. "Remember: we do have a clandestine means of escape via the passage, let’s make use of it!"

Oh, the secret passage! Zelda's ‘other means of egress’! How could he have forgotten?!

Relief floods through Link. He follows as Zelda leads, his hand clasped in hers, toward the bookcases at the back of the western wall opposite the windows.

Zelda stops, her finger held up to her chin as her eyes scan over the large bookcase. Nothing sticks out to him as out of the ordinary. But this wall would make sense, for it faces toward the interior of the castle.

Link bites his lip, eying the door as the attempts to enter the room sound more rigorous. 

"It should be... Ah! Yes, here we go," Zelda whispers excitedly as she lets go of his hand to crouch down. She presses what looks to be a perfectly normal, uninteresting notch of wood at the side of the bookcase.

But the notch isn't normal, it depresses inward, like a button. And pressing it causes the stone wall to the left of the bookcase to silently move inward about a foot and then slide out of sight to the right. 

And there it is: the pitch dark entrance to one of Hyrule castle's long fabled secret passages.

The sounds at the door are louder, the people on the other side are persistent in their attempts to enter the room.

Zelda takes hold of his hand once more. "C'mon, let's go!"

"But, how about a torch or something...? It's super dark in there," Link murmurs.

Zelda looks giddy. "Forget about it. Trust me, we don't need one. You'll see!"

Her enthusiasm is heartening. Despite his panic, he lets out a small laugh. "Okay then. Lead the way, my princess."

And so that's that: with his hand clasped in hers, Zelda pulls Link into the darkness. 

They pause a few paces into the passage. Zelda touches something on the wall. She wheels about to watch as the stone wall begins to move back into place. 

Their view into the lounge grows ever narrower. Warm light from the warm firelight cast over the passage's wall diminishes as the stone wall closes, the rectangle an ever shrinking light against the dark wall at the entrance of the passage. 

Link can't help it, he squeezes her hand. He's not afraid of the dark, but his nerves are frayed and this secret passage is quite literally uncharted territory for him.

The entrance narrows, narrows, narrows, becomes a mere sliver of light and then…

The door to the passage silently slides shut.

Darkness, enveloping and complete, surrounds them.

Chapter Text

Absolute darkness.

Inky thick and enveloping, it feels oppressive, almost as though the darkness itself has a weight. 

Link is not afraid of the dark. 

But the darkness here in the secret passage... This darkness feels different. 

He's grateful to have Zelda's hand clasped in his. He draws in a breath. "Zelda?" 

"I know," she whispers, "it's impossibly dark, isn't it? I just need to find..." She trails off just as she gives his hand a tug. "Put out your free hand and feel for the wall."

Together they take a cautious step toward where Link's sense of direction tells him the wall to the north should be. His free hand is outstretched, he takes another step forward and--oh!--what relief when his fingertips touch the stone wall to the north.

"Found it," he murmurs.

"Excellent!” The excitement in Zelda’s voice is grounding. She says, “Approximately four paces in from the entrance of the passage, there will be a smooth circle on the wall. By my estimation when we walked into the passage, we took just about that many paces into the tunnel, so we ought to be close. Please feel along the wall for that circle, it will be about as high as your hip off the ground."

"A smooth circle..."  Link repeats back as he runs his hand blindly over the wall's surface. 

They fall silent, focusing on the search for the circle on the wall.

The sound of their breathing, their voices... It's all oddly muffled in the passage. Normally, sound echoes off of stone walls, but for some reason in this passage the sound feels as though it’s dampened in an oppressive way. 

That's only mildly disconcerting.

For a moment, the search almost feels like it's in vain: an impossible task to search for a smooth circle on a wall in the pitch darkness. Link bites his lip, continuing to feel along the wall in the direction back toward the secret entrance. He mustn't allow himself to get disoriented. The wall he's touching is north and to his right where the secret entrance is would be east.  

His hand brushes over more plain, boring stone. He takes a small step toward the entrance and Zelda follows him, their hands still clasped together.

More stone, nothing of note. Just more bumpy, rough, boring stone--

He sucks in a sharp breath as the tips of his fingers come in contact with something curved that feels markedly smoother than the rough hewn stone of the wall. 

"I think I found it," Link murmurs just as he flattens his palm over it.

"Wonderful!" Zelda gives his hand a squeeze. "I must be the one to touch it, so if you would be so kind as to direct me?"

"Ah, okay." Link keeps his right hand plastered over the smooth circle as he pulls her in front of him. He lets go of her hand and takes a small step closer to her so that her back is pressed against his front. Zelda laughs breathily at the contact.

Link may not be able to see her, but at least he can feel her and hear her. He finds her waist and he relishes in the contact. 

Zelda places her hand on his forearm. Slowly, her fingers travel down, down, over the length of his arm, over his wrist. Despite the darkness, despite their panicked flight from the lounge moments before, Link shudders at her touch. 

She seeks out the back of his hand and then her fingers slip over his own. 

He's just about to ask what the circle is for, why must she touch it, how is it so dark in here, when suddenly--LIGHT!--blinding and blue, a blessed thing, floods his vision.

Link grasps at her waist, blinking rapidly. "Ah!"

"There we go!" Zelda says with an excited whisper.

Now he can finally see the circle on the wall under their hands. The circle glows blue: it's the same blue that Link's seen on the Sheikah Slate, on the guardians, on the Divine Beasts, on other strange whirring and glowing bits and baubles in the Royal Tech Lab. 

A straight line extends out from the circle, traveling along down the wall further into the passage and then there's another circle, glowing the very same eerie blue. A line extends from that one further inward to connect with a third circle. Glowing nodes connected by lines, almost like a constellation. Some of the nodes are higher along the wall, some are lower. From the third circle, the line continues and disappears onward into the impenetrable darkness. 

"What... what is this?" Link whispers.

Zelda shifts in his embrace, her hand lifting off his own. He loosens his hold on her waist as she spins around to face him.

By Hylia, how eager and lovely her smile is! 

She grips at his upper arms and then does a little hop in place. "Isn’t this just fantastic?! The passages, as you can see, utilize Sheikah technology! I am authenticated to the system, so it reacts to my touch."

"Oh." His eyes trail over the three glowing circles, the lines connecting them to one another. "You're... uh, 'authenticated', huh?"

Zelda nods. "Indeed! Let me show you how the lights work. Stay right here, I'm going to step further down into the passage."

Link lets go of her, and Zelda steps away from him about five paces. The light directly in front of him turns off and another light further into the passage behind her flares to life. 

"See?!" Zelda says excitedly. "Okay. I'm going to take another few paces inward. Oh! And don't panic."

"Don't... panic?"

Darkness plunges over him and suddenly her words make sense.

"Oh, fuck..." he murmurs. "Uh, Zelda?" That muffled, oppressive silence, it's returned. His voice doesn't echo, it doesn't carry like it should in a stone passage. "It's, uh, really dark again." 

He receives no answer. 

It's a blessed relief when the light on the wall beside him flares back to life and an even greater blessing to see Zelda's smiling face once more as she practically skips back to him.

"Do you understand? When an individual's authenticated to the system, the lights activate in that individual's presence." Zelda steps close, and Link lifts both his hands to grasp hers. Her fingers intertwine with his as she continues to explain. "As I move along the passageway, the lights before me activate. Behind me, the lights deactivate. And it’s more than that: the darkness is absolute in a way that we don’t yet understand."

“Can confirm,” Link says. “I couldn’t see you, like, even at all. And I couldn’t hear you either.”

Zelda gives his hands a squeeze. "Yes! Very perceptive of you. The passages seem to dampen out noise, when the darkness falls. We're not sure yet if the noise dampening is controlled by the same mechanisms that control the oppressive darkness." She pauses to look around. Her next words are pensive with a touch of sadness as she murmurs, "I would love the chance to study this technology more..."

He tilts his head to the side, studying her while she studies the walls around them, the glow of the lights reflecting in her eyes.

Zelda draws in an eager breath and meets his gaze with a smile. "Come! Let's go further in. I want to show you one of the control rooms."

"Control rooms...?"

“Mmhmm!” She then releases one of his hands, she turns about quickly and pulls him forward, his hand still clasped tightly in her own as they begin to walk down the passage.

"Yes, a control room!” Zelda says breathlessly. “We're not actually sure how many of them there are! Truly, father and I know very little about the secret passages. But, we do know of three control rooms."

Father and I know very little about the secret passages... Link stares at the back of Zelda's head as she tugs him behind her. Is there anyone else who knows about them? 

As if she's read his mind, she throws a glance over her shoulder. "The passages are a long kept secret in the royal family."

Link's eyes widen while Zelda turns forward to keep her sights on the path ahead.

"When I was very little," she continues, "just old enough to understand and follow instructions, mother brought me inside. She explained that it's possible something dangerous could happen in the castle. She explained that an attack could come so suddenly that the Royal Guard may not be able to protect me. She impressed upon me how I would need to find one of these passages and hide from the threat. If that ever happened, she or father would come to find me. And if neither of them came, then I would need to know the passages well enough to be able to escape."

Staring at the back of her head, Link repeats, "Escape?"

Zelda nods. "Yes. There are actually at least three clandestine ways out of the castle using these passages. One exit is below the level of the moat, you must dive into the water, swim through a tunnel and then carefully make your way out of the moat. Another leads to one of the gatehouses. And the third leads all the way to Lon Lon Ranch, believe it or not! I am certain there must be more, but I've yet to discover them."

Suddenly Zelda stops walking and angles her body to look at him. "I will show them all to you. I'd like for you to become as familiar with these passages as I am. This may prove to be vitally important one day. Perhaps... perhaps we can come to understand these escape routes together?"

Link swallows. "Y-yes. Yes. I'd really like that."

Zelda's smile in response is shy and soft. "Excellent."

Zelda spins about once more and resumes walking. "Once we get to the control room, I'll authenticate you. The system is a little cryptic, but I think I will be able to figure it out. Once you're authenticated, you'll be able to move about freely, just as I do. It is important to me that you learn as much as you can. Father will agree, I'm sure of this."

Unasked questions jostle around and compete in his mind. Would King Rhoam be angry to learn Link's in one of these secret passages right now? Will the King agree Link should be authenticated, as Zelda believes he should be? And who else beyond Zelda and Rhoam, if anyone, knows about these passages? 

How extensive are they? How has he never figured out these were here, despite studying the castle blueprints with fellow guard members? Have they ever been used in a real emergency scenario? How ancient are they? Are they as old as the castle is itself...? 

Oh goddesses. These secret passages were surely not designed for the purpose of clandestinely slipping away from a room where the princess and her appointed knight had just happened to be doing some rather intense kissing. Surely they were not built by the ancient peoples of Hyrule for such an amorous and inappropriate purpose. 

It's one thing for King Rhoam to agree with Zelda on allowing Link to familiarize himself with the passages, but it's another thing altogether for the King to ever learn of the circumstances of how Link first came to use these passages.

"You're thinking very loudly." 

Link startles, realizing that Zelda's peering over her shoulder at him.

He breathes out a nervous laugh as he rubs at his neck. "I am?"

Zelda's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Yes, you are. You know, that used to bother me." She stops walking, halting their forward progress once more. She raises a brow and says cheekily, "But I've come around on it, just as I've come around on you." Her eyes glimmer as she gives his hand a squeeze. "You look so serious when you're thinking loudly. I think it's cute."

Link flushes. "Cute?"

"Indeed." Zelda flashes a smile. "Very cute."

She turns and begins to walk once more, pulling him along behind her.

A moment of silence passes before she clears her throat. "So. What is it that's making you think so loudly?"

Oh. Right. Zelda surely wasn't commenting on his loud thinking as just a simple observation: she wants to know what's on his mind. He's had to work on understanding this sort of thing, he's had to work on being better at communicating with her.

"I just... I have a lot of questions," Link says. He jogs a little bit, coming to walk at her side instead of being pulled along behind. She squeezes his hand as he falls in step beside her.

"I would imagine that you would, considering before tonight you didn't even know the secret passages existed!"

He laughs. "Yeah... I just don't... Okay. How many people know about these secret passages?"

Zelda holds up her free hand to count off. "Father, myself, Impa, and Purah. And now you. That's it. That would make five people."

Link nods, absorbing the information.

"And Impa and Purah only learned of the passages in the last year," Zelda says. "I convinced father that we needed to understand more about them. I felt Impa should know, since she provides my father with so much strategic advice and intelligence. And I thought Purah could investigate them from a scientific standpoint. Father was reluctant, but eventually he agreed with me. He insisted on very strict access and that no one else would know of Impa and Purah's research. I had to accompany them at all times during their sessions here. And afterwards, they weren't allowed to write up reports with their observations, lest those reports should ever find their way into the wrong hands..." Zelda draws in a deep breath before she eyes Link. "Truthfully, father was quite anxious about the whole thing."

Link blanches. "And you're... you're certain that he'll be alright with me being here?"

Zelda looks ahead, her head held up high. "You are different. You are the Chosen Hero. You are my partner and as such, you should know all that I know about these passages. Father will simply have to agree."

She sounds confident, determined. Link should trust her on this one.

She glances at him. "What else would you like to know?"

The next ten minutes or so Link asks questions as they walk hand in hand. The passage begins to slope down. They reach a fork and Zelda directs them to go right. That passage then begins to slope upward.  

Link learns just how little Zelda and her father actually know about these passages. She assumes they're as old as the rest of the Sheikah technology. But also... it's hard to say? 

How they fit into the architecture of the castle is also unknown to Zelda. When Link asks about this, she says something very confusing: "Sheikah technology has already been shown to have the capability to bend the rules of space. Take, for example, the storage capacity of the Sheikah Slate. It's capable of storing many items in what appears to be a small space. How do you think this is possible?"

"I-I don't know," Link fumbles in response. Truly, he'd never given it much thought. But now, when posed with the question, it confounds him. He suggests, "Well... maybe it shrinks them down in size? Or maybe it sends the items somewhere else... But if that's what it's doing, where would it be sending them?"

"I don't know!" Zelda hops as she walks along at his side, her grip on his hand tightens. She's breathless as she says, "But you're asking the right questions! How is it possible that so much can be stored? If it's teleported somewhere, then where is it going exactly? No one, not even Purah, knows how this works!" She gives him a brilliant, mischievous grin. "My best guess would be that the passages are bending the very laws of nature and physics themselves. Now, Sir Link--" she leans closer, eying him, "--what do you think of that?"

"I think... I think that it's all very mysterious."

Zelda nods. "Yes. Very mysterious, indeed! But, I have faith we'll figure it out..."

As she trails off, for the second time this night, Link is made to wonder about her usage of 'we.' When she says such things, does she mean her and him, together...? Or does she mean her and some other people, in a more abstract sense?

It'll do him no good to be in his own head, wondering, when she says things like this...

He should just ask her. 

And yet, despite coming to this sensible conclusion, he feels shy.

Link remains silent.

Chapter Text

Other paths appear along the passage, unnatural deep dark voids that Link and Zelda walk straight past. Eventually they reach a fork and Zelda directs him to the right one. He’s been trying to keep his bearings: he believes they're headed southwest. His sense of direction is usually quite good, but he's feeling disoriented, so he could actually be very wrong. 

Shortly, they come to a glowing circle on the wall that's a bit larger than the rest. 

"Here we go," Zelda whispers as she bounces on the balls of her feet. She flattens her palm against it and pushes. 

Just as in the king's lounge, the blank, seamless wall before them cracks, pushes inward, and slides to the right to reveal a cavernous room beyond it. Lights hum to life as the two of them step over the threshold. Once they’re a few paces into the room, Link glances back over his shoulder to watch as the hidden door slides silently back into place behind them. 

"This--" Zelda lets go of his hand and spreads her arms wide as she twirls deeper into the space "--is a control room!"

Link gapes, his attention drawn to the center of the room where a large, glowing bulb-shaped entity rises out of the ground. It’s reminiscent of those big things inside of the Divine Beasts. On this one there's a panel covered with many small circular lights as well as crystalline stones that rise out of the panel. The stones and the lights are connected in a web of lines across the surface of the bulb, half of them glowing orange and the other half blue. The whole massive thing glows, pulses of light start at the top where the bulb connects to the ceiling and travel downward in regular, continuous waves. From where the top of the bulb connects to the ceiling, more glowing circles and constellations scatter outward and away from the center, across the ceiling. The walls themselves, they’re covered in lines of Sheikah text that glow a soft blue.

The large, glowing bulby thing here and the ones in the Divine Beasts remind Link of a bulb of garlic. Months ago while on Vah Naboris, this observation slipped out of him. Urbosa laughed and Zelda scoffed, offended. To say that she hadn’t liked him so much then would be an understatement.

But that was then. And this is now. 

Proof of how much things have changed between them comes in the form of Zelda’s joyous laugh, in how her eyes sparkle as she bounds back to him. The smile she gives him is radiant as she grabs his hand. She tugs him forward and he gladly follows. With her free hand she gestures expansively at the giant garlic. 

Her voice is reverent as she says, "And this is a control unit."

Humming appreciatively, he gives her hand a playful squeeze. When she looks at him, he throws caution to the wind and teases, “I still think these things look like garlic.”

With a roll of her eyes, she says, “Of course you do!”

A flush overtakes his face and he huffs out a laugh.

Zelda’s voice drops low and affectionate. “Come.” She makes their joined hands swing between them. “I’d like to authenticate you.” She tips her head toward the control unit. 

They step closer, and Zelda releases Link’s hand to study the small panel. “Let's see, let's see..."

It’s not clear exactly what she’s doing as she presses a few circles on the panel. At first nothing happens, and she huffs out a sigh. But she's persistent, her tongue caught between her teeth as she concentrates. She tries pressing another sequence of circles and protruding crystals, but again, nothing happens. The third time she tries, a strange voice speaks, "Welcome, Princess Zelda Sonia."

Link startles, a swear slipping out as he turns about, searching for the source of the disembodied voice.

Zelda shushes him, amusement dancing in her eyes. She clears her throat and addresses the disembodied voice, "Greetings, Yuusei."

"Salutations, Princess. Please state the nature of your visit."

"I would like to authenticate my companion, Link."

Three deep sounds chime, then the voice speaks again. "Understood." 

Walking a couple paces around the unit, Link tips his head back, trying to see where the voice is coming from. 

"Booting up authentication sequence. Please stand by."

The voice is somehow emanating from within the control unit itself. The glowing pulses change to match the cadence of the words spoken. 

“Well, the Divine Beasts definitely don’t talk like that.”

“No...” Zelda crosses her arms, her brow furrowing as she looks up at it. “Although I wish they could. I’d like to figure out how Yuusei works. Perhaps it’d be possible to equip the Divine Beasts with a similar system.”

“Where’s a name like ‘Yuusei’ come from?” Link asks.

“Mother said it was an Ancient Sheikah name,” Zelda muses, “That it meant ‘helps someone’ and ‘blue’.”

“How could it mean both of those things?” 

“It has to do with the two characters used to spell the name.” She shrugs. “On its own, one of the characters would mean ‘blue,’ but combined with the other character it becomes part of a name. It seems quite fitting actually, much of the tech glows blue.”

“That’s true.” Link walks around the unit, studying it. When he circles back around to where Zelda’s standing at the panel he teases, “Yuusei is very formal.” 

She quirks a brow. “How so?”

“It calls you Princess Zelda Sonia.” Link shrugs. “I feel like I only hear your middle name during formal ceremonies.”

“Ah! Yes, well, it does need some way to keep us all straight!” Her eyes trail over the control unit and her voice grows pensive. “Theoretically an unbroken string of my ancestors have been authenticated to this system, going far back in time…” 

Link hums. That is a wild thought, something he can’t really comprehend how far back in time that could mean.

"Authentication sequence is ready. To the individual named Link who shall be authenticated, please place your hand on the primary cabochon for a biometric scan."

Link looks at Zelda, confused. "The primary what-ba-what...?"

Zelda laughs, grabs his wrist, and places his hand on a large, smooth crystal on the panel. As soon as he lays his hand on it, it begins to glow and a deep gong resonates from within the giant garlic.

“Oh. It’s actually warm,” Link murmurs. He’d expected the stone to be cool to the touch.

“Mmm.” Zelda nods. “By Purah’s estimation, there’s a lot of power coursing through this system.”

"Fingerprints recorded.” Yuusei says in its stilted, artificial voice. "Do not lift your hand from the primary cabochon until genetic profiling is complete. Genetic scan commencing: Hylian, male. Scanning... Scanning..."

Link bites his lip. "Genetic scan? What does that mean?"

"...Scanning..."

“We don't know!” Zelda practically vibrates with excitement. “Isn't that just so thrilling?!"

"...Scanning..."

A laugh bubbles out of him. "I've never seen someone so thrilled over not knowing something!"

"...Scanning..."

"Well, that's because it is thrilling!” Zelda begins to pace, and he watches her from where he’s standing stuck in place with his hand on this cabochon crystal thingy.

"...Scanning..."

Zelda turns about, her hands steepled before her heart almost as if in prayer. “We’ve managed to decipher some of the ancient texts on biology. They tell of intriguing concepts–”

"...Scanning..."

“--such as how all living things have a unique genetic code. Purah believes this genetic code must be stored in the cells–” 

"...Scanning..."

“--that make up our bodies. However, our microscopes simply aren't powerful enough to see something that’s so small!” 

"...Scanning..."

Zelda stops her pacing and notices his wide smile. “What? What is it?” 

Link shakes his head and laughs. “Nothing. It’s just… I like it when you talk about this science-y stuff.”

"...Scanning..."

“Oh!” She gives him a soft smile, her cheeks dusted pink.

Three beeps sound, drawing their attention back to the control unit. "Genetic profile complete. Link may remove his hand from the primary cabochon. Link is not a member of the Hylian royal line. An override is required to proceed with authentication. Princess Zelda Sonia, please provide sufficient justification for an override."

Zelda and Link exchange a look. Her brow is furrowed as she says, "Yuusei, I don't understand. Please elaborate."

The control unit responds, "Authentication outside of the royal lineage is not automatically granted. Sufficient justification is necessary to perform an override. Princess Zelda Sonia, please provide an override justification."

Link lets out a nervous laugh, "It's okay. We don't need to do this, I--"

"No." Zelda's response is firm as she lays a hand on his arm. "I'll handle this." 

She steps back and places her hands on her hips as she stares at the control unit with a frown. "This is ridiculous, but I am the one in charge here, not Yuusei. The system will obey my request, I must simply provide it with sufficient justification." She chews on her lip. "Examples would help though." 

Her voice becomes commanding as she directs her words at the control unit. "Yuusei, please provide the history of past authentication overrides."

"Very well, Princess Zelda Sonia.” The control unit gongs and then begins to speak in a droning cadence. "A history of overrides, starting with the most recent going back in descending order. Year 10,112, individual: Rhoam Bosphoramus, King of Hyrule, updated justification: marriage to Queen Zelda Regina of Hyrule. Year 10,110, individual: Rhoam Bosphoramus, Duke of Tabantha, justification: official betrothal to Princess Zelda Regina of Hyrule. Year 10,085, individual: Jamus Krand–"

"Oh. That's grandfather," Zelda murmurs as she stares up at the unit.

"--ika, King of Hyrule, justification: marriage to Queen Zelda Lucinda of Hyrule. Year 10,084, individual: Jamus Krandika, Earl of Hebra, justification: betrothal to Princess Zelda Lucinda of Hyrule. Year 10,057, individual: Jules Brimbeldon, King of Hyrule, justification: marriage to Queen Zelda Victoria of Hyrule. Year 10,055, individual: Jules Brimbeldon, Marquess of Faron, justification: betrothal to Princess Zel--"

"Ah, Yuusei, st-stop.” Zelda’s voice warbles. “That will be sufficient." 

She fidgets, her fingers wringing together. Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes dart to meet his. She lets out a nervous laugh, “Quite a pattern, wouldn’t you say?”

A string of betrothals and marriages going back three generations certainly does make for a pattern. 

Link feels a swoop in his stomach at the thought. He swallows and echoes back, “Yeah... Quite a pattern...”

Spirits, his words managed to come out in an overly wistful tone, now didn’t they? 

Zelda’s flush deepens and she smiles shyly. She looks down, suddenly very preoccupied with her fidgeting.

It was awfully presumptuous of him, a lowly knight, a commoner, to talk to her, the Crown Princess of Hyrule, like that. 

Link should apologize. He should walk it back a few notches.

This whole evening Link’s been far too brazen with her. It’s wildly inappropriate, the way he’s been behaving.

As his thoughts begin to spiral, Zelda shuffles one, two steps over until she’s standing at his side. She keeps her gaze fixed downward as she slips her hand into his own. She peeks at him, graces him with a small, shy smile and gives his hand a squeeze.

Hylia. 

His heart begins to beat a rapid staccato. He dares to run his thumb over her fingers.

She peers at him a moment longer, smiling shyly then she breathes out a small laugh.

Then Zelda turns and fixes her gaze on the control unit resolutely. With a commanding tone she says, “Yuusei, the justification for authenticating Sir Link is that he is the Hero of Hyrule and the bearer of the Master Sword. He is the most esteemed knight among Hyrule’s ranks, the very paragon of courage, the Champion of Farore.”

He’s already giddy, elated, flushed; her dignified description of him further fans the flames. He feels light-headed when he repeats back, “‘The most esteemed knight’? ‘The very paragon of courage’?”

Zelda holds up a finger to her lips, playfully shushing him as they wait for Yuusei’s response. 

Link feels a wild surge of affection. He runs his thumb over her fingers again. 

The pause that follows feels long.

What a strange evening. By all measures, Link doesn’t deserve to be here with her in this secret place. And yet she stands here at his side, holding his hand, asking an arcane system to include him in an important and historically guarded part of her world.

Finally, the gong chimes. "Justification understood and accepted. Authentication complete. Please stand by."

“Yes!” Zelda turns and throws her arms around his neck. “It worked!” 

Her forward momentum pushes Link backward and he wraps his arms around her, taking her with him back one, two steps. And then he keeps going, picking her up and giving them both a whirl around. A peal of laughter bubbles out of her, and her hold around his neck tightens. 

As Link settles Zelda back down on the floor, he knows that the smile he’s giving her is so dopey. She reaches up, cups his cheeks in her hands, pulls him close, and–oh!--her lips press against his and he lets out a surprised “Mmph!” 

Zelda’s kisses are insistent, and he’s eager to oblige. She yanks at his collar, drawing him closer. She teases at his lower lip with her tongue, and he makes a needy sound. 

Oh, he wants to kiss her neck. He’s going to, he’s going to do it. But then she nips at his lip and he shudders and gets distracted. He really wants to hear her gasp like she did back in the lounge. He wants to–

A strident chiming emanates from the control unit, interrupting their kissing. Their heads whip around to look at the source of the sound.

“Holy giant garlic!” Link breathes out the phrase like a curse.

"Booting up defense protocol activation sequence. Please stand by."

“Defense protocol activation sequence?” Zelda’s own breathing comes quickly. She releases his collar and lays her hands flat on his surcoat.

The lights on the unit begin to pulse faster, brighter.

“What’s…” He swallows, trying to get his own breathing under control, and asks, “What’s it doing?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea.”

"Pulse signal sent to the Master Sword, no verbal response received. This is within predicted and acceptable parameters. Falling back to resonance frequency scan to detect presence of the Master Sword. Please stand by."

Zelda’s gaze snaps to the hilt of the sword strapped on his back. Link cranes his neck to look over his right shoulder at it.

Wordlessly, they part from their embrace, Zelda steps back as Link reaches for the sword and unsheathes it. 

His heartbeat thrums loudly in his ears, the sudden swing from kissing her to this confusion has caused his adrenaline to surge.

He holds the sword out for the both of them to see clearly.

The blade reflects the blue and orange lights of the tech around them. It’s…  innocuous, unremarkable, unchanged. 

"Resonance frequency of the Master Sword detected. Logging presence of the Master Sword in the defense protocol activation sequence. Proceeding onward to the pylon status check, sending pulse signals now. Please stand by."

“Intriguing.” Zelda’s voice draws his gaze to her. She certainly looks more composed than he feels, although she’s still a bit flushed. She raises a brow and says, “The giant garlic is able to detect the sword.”

The unexpected use of his silly naming makes Link laugh, and he feels some of the tension leave his shoulders. He flashes her a grin. “Yeah, I guess so!” He tilts the blade around, as if that’ll give them the answers they’re looking for. “But how?” 

“Well…” Zelda chews at her lip. “There are theories that all matter resonates at specific frequencies depending on its compositional makeup. Theoretically it could be possible to determine the frequencies at which the Master Sword resonates. But I can’t even begin to imagine what sort of technology that would require, it’s not even–”

"Responses from pylons one, three, four, and five received and acknowledged. Resending pulse signal to pylon two, please stand by."

Link eyes Zelda and murmurs, “What in the name of Hylia is a ‘pylon’?”

She shakes her head, whispering, “I don’t know…” 

"Response from pylon two received and acknowledged. Logging initial non-response as a low-grade error. Low-grade errors are within acceptable fault tolerance parameters, as such the defense activation sequence may proceed.

"All pylons are operational. Proceeding onward to locking mechanism release."

There’s a pause, the air still and silent save for their soft breathing.

A mighty sound, like a crack deep within the earth, reverberates around them. 

"Locking mechanisms successfully released. I recommend securing a sturdy handhold. System now proceeding onward with pylon deployment--" the very ground between their feet lurches "--now."

Link and Zelda stumble, the ground pitches first one way and then another, forcing them toward the control unit. 

Zelda manages to slap a steadying hand on its surface. “Hylia almighty!”

The tremors make sheathing the sword challenging. Through a precarious balancing act, Link manages to do it. 

With his hands now freed of a sharp weapon, Link stumbles to Zelda’s side at the control unit.  The unpredictable quaking causes his shoulder to slam into the control unit’s hard surface. He grimaces. “Ah!” He sucks in a breath with a hiss. “Ouch.”

Concern flashes across her face as she scooches closer. “Oh my, are you alright?”

Rubbing at his shoulder, he shakes his head. “I’ll be fine.” He glances around the room. “But I’m more worried about–oh whoa.”

A deep rumbling sound–shunk!–accompanies a more aggressive shake of the ground. Link slips his arm around Zelda’s waist and pulls her close.

That first shunk is followed in quick succession by one, two more–shunk, shunk. The sounds are deep and resonating, the kind that you feel in your bones. 

And with each shunk, the ground heaves. On the third one, they pitch forward, losing their footing altogether. 

Time seems to slow as they fall, Link tightens his hold on Zelda, he twists them about midair. Time rapidly speeds up again as his back connects with the ground and he lets out an “oof!” Zelda’s head is tucked safely against his chest. At some point during their fall he must’ve cupped the back of her head gently against him.

Shunk, shunk–Zelda shifts above him, she grips at his surcoat as the ground quakes and then–

All goes still.

Link and Zelda lie there, frozen, listening, waiting…

Zelda draws in a deep breath and lifts her head up off his chest. Her eyes dart around the control room before she looks down at him. He’s guessing that her confused expression must be a mirror of his own. A moment passes and then they both begin to laugh, all the nerves and adrenaline catching up with them.

"Pylon deployment complete."

Yuusei’s voice makes their heads whip around to look at the control unit. 

Oddly, the lights that were orange on the unit have turned blue. 

"The defensive force is in stand-by mode. Booting up the interlock safety protocol. Princess Zelda Sonia and Link, the Hero of Hyrule, your input will be required. Please stand by."

Zelda scrambles to lift herself up and Link supports her with his hands on her upper arms as she pushes up and off of him. Once she’s standing, she leans down and offers him a hand, which he gladly accepts.

“Are you okay?” she asks breathlessly as she looks him over.

“Yeah, I think so.”

Her nod is both very serious and very cute. “Good.”

She turns about and promptly addresses the control unit. “Yuusei, please explain what just happened?” Her hands wring before her heart and her voice warbles. “Tell us, has Calamity Ganon struck?”

Zelda’s question startles Link. He hadn’t considered that that’s what could have been happening over the last few minutes, but now that she’s asked it, the fear grips him.

The seconds while they wait for a response are agonizingly long. 

Finally, Yuusei responds, “Negative, Calamity Ganon has not been detected. The defense protocol has been activated.”

Relief floods over him and at his side, Zelda’s shoulders lower a fraction. 

A gong chimes. "The interlock safety protocol has now booted up successfully. Please step away from the control unit."

Hastily, they heed its words and step backwards. And it’s a good thing too, as the ground begins to shake once more. But this time it feels much smaller, more localized.

A short pedestal rises up out of the ground in front of the unit. It locks in place with a thump.

"Interlock safety protocol is ready. Your input is now required to activate the fail-safe. Please place the Master Sword into the pedestal."

Link and Zelda exchange a surprised look and then together they step up to inspect the pedestal. Lo and beyond, right on top in the center is a slot, perfectly sized to accommodate the blade. The slot itself sits inside of a circle and surrounding the slot are two circles of what looks like small, inactive lights.

“Yuusei,” Zelda huffs, “we won’t do what you’re asking unless you explain what the interlock safety protocol is! This is all–” she waves her hands around “--very jarring and you’d do well to give us more explanations!”

Despite all the literal quaking of the ground and fear he’s felt in the last few minutes, Zelda’s tenacity still manages to make Link grin. 

"Apologies, Princess Zelda Sonia." The control unit begins to drone in explanation. "The defense safety protocol is a finite state machine, it was programmed in the first century of the Age of Hylia. This finite state machine was programmed to only have two entry points for activation. The first entry point is the combined presence of Princess Zelda, the Hero of Hyrule, and the Master Sword: when these three conditions are met, this triggers the automatic activation of the protocol. The second entry point is when the presence of Calamity Ganon is detected.

"However, an analysis of the system was performed in the third century of the Age of Hylia. I regret to inform you that the second entry point was found to contain flaws. These flaws indicate the potential for sabotage and further analysis of the code suggested a Yiga origin."

From where Zelda stands at Link’s side, she sucks in a sharp breath.

"Thus, the analysis concluded that the hidden entry point was intended for Calamity Ganon to hack into, gain control of, and exert his will over the system. This is considered to be the highest level threat to the defense protocol system.

"At that time, it was and remains impossible to edit the defense safety protocol finite state machine. However, it was possible to code an additional system on top of it. Therefore, a fail-safe mechanism was added: the interlock protocol. This fail-safe locks out Calamity Ganon and/or any other external, nefarious forces from gaining access to the system. Your input is now required to activate the fail-safe. Please place the Master Sword into the pedestal."

They turn to one another. Zelda lets out a breath with a puff and then says, “Well, ‘flaws of Yiga-origin’ do in fact sound quite dire. What do you think?”

Link nods. “I agree. But… what does it want us to do with the Master Sword? If the sword needs to stay here then… Well, that’s not going to work.”

“Hmm, excellent point.” Zelda lifts her chin high and turns back toward the control unit. “Yuusei, Link and I are concerned about the Master Sword. Must it remain here in the pedestal?”

"Negative. After the activation of the interlock protocol, the Master Sword should be removed from the pedestal. Your input is now required to activate the fail-safe. Please place the Master Sword into the pedestal."

“That’s reassuring.” Link catches her eye and asks, “Well, what do you think?”

Zelda quirks a brow. “It seems important. I say you should do it, hero.” Her eyes sparkle with mischief at using that title.

Link huffs out a laugh. “As you wish, my princess.”

He steps closer to the pedestal and then unsheathes the sword. He lines up the blade with the slot and then pushes it down. The blade, perfectly fitted to the slot, slides home.

Once the blade is as far as it can go, there’s a click sound and then the circle that the slot sits within rises out of the pedestal a couple inches higher above the rest of the surface.

And then a shock of green light flares to life along the inner of the two rings of lights that surround the slot. The green lights animate: one of them alights and then winks out immediately as the next one begins to glow, then onto the third, then fourth, and so on. 

“Green!?” Zelda kneels down excitedly at the pedestal and runs her fingers over the animating lights. “The Sheikah tech has never glowed green before! What could this mean?! Oh! Perhaps the lights are instructing you to turn the sword in a clockwise direction?”

Link nods, adjusts his grip on the hilt. He turns and… nothing. He grits his teeth and tries again. 

“Oof.” He releases the hilt and shakes his hand out. “That’s not budging.” The surface of the pedestal around the blade goes dark again.  “Oh, the lights stopped?”

Zelda runs her fingers along the inactive lights with a frown. “Indeed, they have.” She glances up. “Grab the hilt again.”

Just as Link’s fingers wrap around the hilt, the green lights ignite once more, winking on and off again in an animated circle around the blade. 

“I thought so!” Zelda whispers with an excited spark in her eyes. “It has something to do with your touch!” 

“Huh!” He tilts his head, studying the pedestal’s surface. “But why is the outer set of lights still dark?”

“Excellent question, I’ve no idea!” Zelda bounces up from kneeling and begins to pace. After a moment, she spins about and studies the sword. “What would happen if I were to…”

Before Link can process what she’s doing, she takes a couple quick steps closer and reaches out for the hilt.

Once he realizes what she’s doing, he grabs her wrist. “Zelda, wait! It’ll hurt you!”

She catches his eye and says, “Please, just… Let me try something? If it hurts me, then so be it. But I have a theory that I’d like to test.” 

Link studies her. He draws in a deep breath and nods. “Alright. Okay.” 

He lets go of her wrist and she gingerly lays her hand above his on the hilt.

The outer set of lights comes to life, blue in the way that the Sheikah tech usually is. The lights illuminate and flicker on and off the same way that the inner, green set does. 

“Hey, wow, lookit that!” Link says with awe in his voice. He glances up at her, his brows furrowing in concern as he searches her face. “You’re alright? The sword’s not hurting you?”

She smiles. “I’m quite alright! I’m pleased, that’s one half of my theory borne out.” 

“And what’s the other half?”

“Let’s turn the sword together, clockwise.”

“Oh.” Link adjusts his grip on the hilt. “That’s clever. You’re clever!”

Zelda flushes. “I suppose I do have my moments.” She draws herself tall and fixes her own grip on the hilt. “Come on, we have a theory to test! Alright, how about on the count of three? One… Two… Three!” 

Together, they exert pressure on the hilt. It turns easily, the circular portion of the pedestal glides clockwise.

Link had expected that it’d be difficult, that it’d require them to brace their feet, to place both of their hands on the hilt.

But doing this together, like this, it’s effortless. 

The blade goes a quarter turn and keeps going. Finally, at 180 degrees, they meet resistance and the blade doesn’t budge any further.

“Okay.” Zelda whispers and then she carefully lifts her hand off the hilt and Link follows her example.

There’s another click sound and then the circle containing the slot and the two rows of lights slides back into the pedestal, making it flush with the surface once more.

For a couple seconds, nothing more happens. But then suddenly the control unit gongs, drawing their attention away from the pedestal and to the unit itself. 

The lights at the control unit’s base pulse brighter. As the pulse moves up the length of the unit, the lights it leaves in its wake change to become a mix of both green and blue. When the pulse reaches the top, where the unit connects to the ceiling, the wave spreads outward and away from the unit.

Link cranes his neck back to watch as the constellations on the ceiling go from blue to the combination of blue and green.

“Wow,” Link whispers reverently. 

Pulling his gaze away from the changing lights, Link looks at Zelda. She stands with her head tilted back to watch the pulse move across the ceiling. Her eyes are round with wonder and she holds one dainty hand up before her mouth. She must feel his gaze on her, for she turns to look at him.

“Wow, indeed,” Zelda says.

Art commission by larart666

The control unit gongs, causing them both to jump. "The interlock protocol has been activated. The defense protocol is now secure. The defense force is on stand-by, but can be activated at either of your commands. Would you like to activate the defense force now?"

“No, Yuusei.” Zelda eyes Link and continues, “That’s already been quite enough excitement and upheaval for one night.”

"Understood."

It certainly has been a night for upheaval, literally for the very ground beneath their feet.

It’s then that a worrisome thought occurs to Link. His heart begins to pound, his palms go sweaty, a nervous energy buzzes up his spine.  

He swallows. “Zelda?” 

The tone in his voice pulls her attention to him. “What? What is it?”

“Do you think everyone else in the castle just felt that earthquake too?”

Zelda’s expression flickers from shock to fear. She draws in a sharp breath, about to speak, but then cuts herself off. She brings her hands together before her, steepled once more in thought. Finally, she speaks, “More likely than not, yes.”

Link curses. He runs his hand through his bangs and begins to pace.

“But… but perhaps not?” Zelda says pensively. “Do you remember earlier how you were observing how the secret passages don’t make sense given the architecture of the castle?”

He nods.

“What if while we’re in here, we are, in fact, in some other kind of realm!” She’s starting to get excited, her words become breathless. “Yes, yes! A realm that’s entirely separate from that of the castle? So perhaps… perhaps the earthquake was localized to this realm that we’re in? It would then stand to reason that you and I were the only ones who felt it!”

“Oh.” Link stops pacing. He likes that explanation, it could make a lot of sense. This whole experience in the secret passages and control room has been wrapped in mystique, so it feels as plausible as anything else. The tension in his spine begins to loosen. 

“I like that.” Link smiles. He echoes what he said earlier. “You are clever!”

Zelda’s own smile is radiant.

Rhoam observes the Midwinter Ball from where he sits on the raised dais. 

These sorts of affairs always follow the same beats. The evening starts out with hesitant and polite revelry. Later, when the wine has flowed long enough, the courtiers loosen up and the merrymaking grows louder, more wanton and raucous.

Rhoam recalls a night so many, many years ago now, when he himself had been brazen and careless once. It had been a ball like this one, he’d walked right up to the princess and asked her to share a dance with him. She could’ve said no, she could’ve snubbed him, but instead she’d laughed and practically pulled him onto the dance floor. That had been the first of many dances that he’d been lucky enough to share with the woman who would one day become his wife.

Now Rhoam presides over these events alone. He’s felt morose about this reality in the past, but tonight his spirits are higher. 

It’s an odd, but welcome change.

He nods approvingly at the orchestra, he smiles at dancers, he even lets out a booming laugh when Impa makes a snide comment about Robbie’s wild and flailing dance style.

It has not escaped Rhoam’s notice that his daughter and the young hero had slipped out of the ball not long after the dance they shared to open the night’s revelries. Rhoam feels somewhat vexed by this: Zelda should understand the importance of being present in the court, she should understand the importance of forging alliances with those who will be her subjects one day.

It would’ve been a small thing to send Impa to retrieve them. But… Rhoam’s feeling oddly magnanimous. He’s decided that for tonight, he’ll let Zelda do as she pleases.

It’s then that a mighty rumble shakes the floor, the walls, the very castle itself. 

There are screams from the dance floor. Rhoam bolts out of his seat. At his side, Impa stands at the ready, her kodachi drawn as her head swivels around the ballroom trying to get a measure of what might be happening.

The ground begins to shake again, an awful sort of quaking and rumbling, one like Rhoam’s never felt before.

People around the ballroom lose their footing, falling over. Some more foolhardy souls attempt to run, but they don’t get far, as the heaving of the earth throws them to the ground.

Rhoam drops down into a crouch and Impa does the same. They share a tense look. 

Impa studies the rafters above them, her brow furrows in concern. “We need to get you somewhere safe, Your Majesty.”

He’s not keen to be whisked away during a crisis. “No. I'm staying here.” 

Impa’s lips thin, but she doesn’t contradict him.

Could this be it? Could the Calamity be striking now, on Midwinter’s day?

“Look!” Someone shouts and points to the tall windows that line one side of the room. 

The shout is followed by more screams as others begin to see whatever it is that the first person is pointing at.

Rhoam grits his teeth and stands. He stumbles off the dais without incident. He makes his way to a window, a difficult feat of not stepping on someone or falling down himself. 

He sees the eerie blue glow before he even reaches a window. Once he does, he braces his hand on the stone wall next it. 

“Your Majesty!” Impa yells above the din. “Be careful, the glass might shatter!”

Rhoam ignores her, because he can’t make any sense of what he’s seeing outside.

A massive pillar is emerging out of the earth, covered in the glowing blue dots emblematic of the Sheikah technology.

Rhoam has seen wonders with the Divine Beasts, massive machines that his people dug out of the earth.

But he’s never seen anything like this.

With a terrible sound–shunk!--the massive pillar seems to lock into place, its movement halted.

Two more mighty shocks–shunk! shunk!--and the ground pitches. Anyone who hadn’t lost their footing yet loses it now, Rhoam included. He falls back on his bottom. “Argh!”

A fourth and fifth shock rumble the already battered castle and Rhoam finds himself praying for whatever this is to end.

And… 

It does.

Silence. Everyone seems to hold their breath.

And then someone wails and all at once there’s a buzzing chatter, shouts fly asking, “What was that?!” “What just happened?!” “Is the end nigh?!”

Rhoam gets to his feet and he takes stock of the situation. At least in the ballroom, it seems that no one’s gravely injured. Some of his guards rush up and he gives hurried orders for them to get reports from other positions within the castle. 

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!” Impa implores breathlessly. “Outside. Look outside.” 

Rhoam turns about and he watches as the blue lights on the surface of the pillar begin to change from the ground upwards: a bright green glow now dots the surface, sprinkled among the blue.

What in the name of the Golden Three is this sorcery?! 

Rhoam sets his jaw, his eyes narrow while his gaze remains fixed on the massive pillar. He has a hunch, a feeling about who just might be involved in this incident, whatever exactly it is.

His voice is a low rumble when he commands, “Find my daughter. And Link. Bring them to me in the Sanctum.” 

Rhoam can feel the gazes of his guards and Impa upon him. They’re not moving, likely rooted in place from the shock of all that’s just happened. 

Rhoam rolls his eyes and turns about, his voice sharp as he insists, “Well go! Now!”

Snapping out of their stupor, the guards sketch hasty bows, Impa nods curtly, and then they all rush off.

Rhoam surveys the ruined ball. He draws in a deep, steadying breath and shakes his head.

What a night.