6From the Ashes
By: dontwaitupxx
Her hero loved adventures.
It was something that came with the territory of holding the Tri-Force of Courage, and yet, it was something Zelda really didn't notice until after the Great Calamity – after one hundred years.
After her hero had completely lost his memory.
She supposed, in a way, some things never changed, and yet: she did not remember him to be as adventurous a century prior than he was now. It could be pinpointed back to his duty one hundred years prior: he did not have the flexibility before to drop everything, and take down that lone Talus, or to go help some random person in some far corner of the continent with some menial task. No, he had always been guarding her, always been assisting her, and thus had to swallow his pride and send his men off to take care of the quest, instead of having the opportunity to do it himself.
With the loss of his memories came the loss of his inhibitions: she found that Link was much more open with her now than he was as her appointed knight. With the threat eliminated, he no longer had the weight of protecting the world on his shoulders, and her need for an appointed knight was completely unnecessary.
Though, if you asked him, he would very clearly reiterate, once again, that he would protect her until the day his blade fell.
Her hero was also one for the theatrics.
She would always nod and smile, as he would tell her with great, swooping gestures of rumors he had heard of a long lost treasure, with only an antagonizing riddle as his guide. His enthusiasm was like a wildfire – constantly burning, and ceaselessly contagious. She would rest her head upon her hand, her eyes shimmering in complete adoration, as her knight would tell her of legendary quests, where the treasure was still undiscovered. Sometimes, she would join him on these quests – "You'll never be able to decipher these riddles without me, so I might as well go with you." – and other times, she politely declined – "You want to go fight that silver Hinox in the Lanayru Wetlands? Well, you be sure to be home by supper."
Her hero would always dive head first into whatever quest he had stumbled upon, and would always emerge with that same stupid grin on his face, even as he was covered in Hinox guts or scratched and bruised up from a dungeon. He would always return to their little home in Hateno with some grand story – probably a little over embellished. His smile would light up the room, as he trekked in monster guts and blood and dirt all over the floors – even after she had specifically told him to keep his boots outside after such an adventure.
But it didn't matter – any scolding she had on the tip of her tongue would vanish upon seeing the pure, unfiltered joy on his face: and that was something that, even a year after the Calamity was vanquished, she was always desperate to see.
Most of his adventures he would tell her about were fairly predictable: a Lynel here, a dungeon there, or helping out Koyin with their Bokoblin infestation down by the beach.
However, when he had suggested he venture into Hyrule Castle, she felt all of the blood drain from her face.
"Why would you want to go back there?" Zelda had blurted out, her heart racing in a way she hadn't felt since the months following the Calamity – waking in a cold sweat against some unwelcome nightmare.
"It's filed to the brim with treasures and secrets," Link was explaining, his eyes lighting up in a way she had never seen before, "When I came in to rescue you –"
"I never needed rescuing."
"– I passed by so many treasure chests and hidden passage ways," Link continued, as though she hadn't said a word, "Just to get to you sooner. Just so I could see you smile again. Just think of what we could find."
"Probably things that belong to me and my family, since it was our castle," Zelda said, pointedly, earning a bashful look from her knight.
"Well, yes, but if I don't go in and snatch all that for you, imagine who will. It will be thieves and robbers and people with not the best intentions at heart, and they will take things that had been yours, and you might never see them again."
"Oh," that thought hadn't crossed Zelda's mind, "Well, I hadn't thought about that."
"I've thought about it a lot," Link admitted, standing up and resorting to pacing. He always got like this, whenever he got too excited. He had to be moving, to get that energy flowing. Otherwise, he would completely burst, "It's been a year since we've defeated the Calamity – it's about time that we go back and take whatever relics survived the century and the malice."
"Link –"
"Just think," he rambled on, "the last time you were in the castle, you were fighting Ganon, and now, a year later, we get to go back and take back what is rightfully ours – I mean yours, of course!"
"Link…!"
"We could show him who's boss, one final time, and show him that he can't reign supreme over this land any longer."
"Link!"
Zelda's hands were shaking, her tone pleading as she stared at Link from across the kitchen. During this time, Link had all but strapped the Master Sword to his back – he had already donned his boots and his pack. He looked up from his spot near the front door, confusion evident on his face, until he saw Zelda's trembling form, and his face quickly melted into concern.
Her heart was pounding against her ribcage as she was brought back to the castle: back to the cold hallways with molding tapestries, back to destroyed rooms with broken chandeliers, back to the library – her library – with the pages of her books all faded away to ashes. The memories made her body tremble in ways she had yet to be able to control, and she found herself gripping the back of her chair and the table to stabilize herself.
"Oh Zel," he strode over to her in two long strides, kneeling down before her trembling form, "Shit, I should have known better."
"I'm not going back there," Zelda whispered, the promise like a mantra on her lips.
"And you don't have to," Link reaffirmed, rubbing the tops of her arms with his hands, "I didn't realize – I wasn't thinking. That was stupid of me, and I'm sorry."
He knew that memories of her constant vigilance against the Calamity still plagued her even a year after his demise. He knew that the thought of returning to the castle made her palms sweat and made her heart race despite any constant reassurance that the threat was gone. He knew better – he just didn't think half the time, and that was the problem.
When Impa had suggested not long after they had returned from the castle to Kakariko, that Zelda regain the throne and rebuild the castle, it had taken hours for Link to talk her down from whatever panic riddled notion she had set off in her head. From that moment forward, Link had kept Zelda clear of Impa's suggestions and foremost thoughts, and had to pointedly agree with the old hag when she had suggested that the two make for his little cottage in Hateno Village – away from the castle and away from any reminder of the past one hundred years.
Zelda sniffed, cooling her frayed nerves and giving her hero a brave smile. She was getting quite good at this, after all, "But don't let me stop you," she whispered, grasping his shoulder and giving it a little shake, "You – go – bring me back something shiny."
"Zel, I don't have to go, I can stay here with you," Link tried to reason, but Zelda had already made up her mind. She knew that her hero loved adventures.
"Who else is going to man down the fort while you're gone?" Zelda teased, the corners of her lips turning upwards despite the few lone tears still present on her face.
"I won't be gone long," Link promised, leaning in to press his lips lightly to hers in a chaste kiss, "You'll barely even know I'm gone."
"I'm going to hold you to that promise," Zelda said, the light from the candles shining off of her eyes.
"Alright," Link said, before he stood up, grabbing the Master Sword from its spot by the door, "Something shiny," Link whispered, almost to himself, before he ran out the door, a faint "love you," just barely audible on the wind.
Oh, her hero certainly loved adventures.
The next few days passed in a monotonous routine as Zelda kept herself busy. Most days, she went up towards the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab, as desperate to keep herself busy with the ancient Sheikah relics as she was for the company it provided. In the year that she had lived with Link in Hateno Village, she was reluctant to say she really hadn't made the attempt to make friends throughout the town. Her circle really only consisted of Link and Purah, with the occasional word from Symin. But to her, that was perfect. They were the only ones that she could be open and honest with.
Still, it didn't mean that she didn't long for the company of others from time to time.
Other times, when she didn't want to overstay her welcome at the lab – though Purah had made it quite clear to her that she was always welcome – she would busy herself around the house, either tidying their already immaculate kitchen and living area, busying herself with various tasks or chores that she probably could have done well enough without, or she would find herself with her journal in hand, under the canopies outside the cottage. Writing was soothing to her, and it was a way for her to cope through the trauma of the last one hundred years without the judgment she felt she received from others.
Again, it had been made very clear to her that she would never be judged for the horrors she faced, but still – she worried.
And then finally – finally – after days of isolation, she saw her hero coming up the hill towards their little house on Epona, his smile positively blinding in the late afternoon sunset. His satchel was bursting beside him, and Zelda could not help but grin that he had, indeed, brought back some trinkets from the castle.
He leapt down from the back of Epona and landed just before her, embracing her gently and placing a light kiss on her forehead. The gesture was enough to make Zelda swoon. She couldn't help but still be positively head over heels for him.
"Welcome home," Zelda whispered, tilting her head back slightly and pressing forward on her tiptoes, her lips inching towards his.
His lips met hers instantly, and Zelda felt the world stop spinning around them as butterflies erupted in her belly. He smelled of sweat and campfire, with a thin layer of grime covering his skin. He was absolutely disgusting, and yet she found herself pulling him in even closer, closing the space between their bodies.
It had only been a few days, yet it felt like a lifetime. She always felt like this every time he returned from one of his grand adventures. She never wanted another moment to go by without him if she didn't have to.
"I got you something," Link's breath fanned out over her lips and nose, and she giggled pulling back as he reached into his satchel.
"What did you find?" She asked, her eyes lighting up as Link began pulling things out.
"Well, I raided the Royal Treasury," Link began, pulling out silver and gold rupees, amongst various diamonds, rubies, and sapphires.
"Thief," Zelda shot back, the corners of her lips turning upward.
"Guilty as charged," Link grinned, "You had said to bring you back something shiny."
"Indeed I did."
"But this isn't it."
"No?" Zelda laughed, as she followed Link back inside their little Hateno home, as he placed the rupees and jewels down on their table.
"Not quite," a small smile brushed against his lips, his eyes glimmering with the prospect of a well-kept secret. He looked like a little boy with a gift for his beloved, "My intent was to simply raid the treasury, but then I got an idea."
"What idea was that?"
"Well, I went up into your room to see if I could find anything worth bringing back to you," Link began, "However, nothing in there would have survived a trip out of the castle and back to Hateno, so I left it all there. That is, until we can figure out a way to get them safely moved without destroying them."
"Okay…" Zelda prompted.
"So," Link said, his hand reaching into his satchel, "I went in search of other rooms, and I found this."
From his satchel, he pulled out an exquisite silver necklace, with the Hyrulean Royal Crest engraved on it. It was adorned in sapphires and diamonds, and Zelda would know that necklace anywhere because –
"That's my mother's necklace," Zelda whispered, tears springing to her eyes as she gently held the shining metal, watching the way the jewels glimmered and sparkled in the candlelight, "I haven't seen this in… well, over a century, of course, but before my mother passed away."
"I thought you might like it," Link whispered, his hand reaching up to her arm, his thumb rubbing small circles in it, "I wasn't quite sure whose it was, but I found it in your father's chambers, hidden in a jewelry box, and I had a feeling it must be important."
"Oh, it's more than important."
"Yeah, it's shiny too."
Zelda looked up at him then, a faint glimmer in her eye as the tops of her lips tugged upwards, clutching the necklace to her chest. She had nothing – nothing from her time before the calamity, save for Link and his lack of memories. This… this was even better. Not only was it something tangible – something she could feel and touch and smell – from her life so long ago, but also it dated even far enough back to her mother. The only thing she had from her mother were memories addled by time. She had only been six years old when she had passed on.
But now, she had her mother's necklace, which now roared to life in her memories, complimenting her royal blue gowns. Now, she had something tangible to remember her mother by. The sapphires reminded her of her mother's eyes – how had she forgotten them? The shape of it reminded her of how it rested on her chest, with shoulders held back, neck held high. She truly was divine, the pride and joy of her people.
It was no wonder that her death had sent her father spiraling, and he was from then on scarce to look at her.
The tears began falling before Zelda could stop them, each droplet hitting her hands and the pure silver of the pendant. Try as she may to convince herself that they were happy tears, anguish accompanied each sob that threatened to break her chest in half. Instantly, Link's hands were on her shoulders, and she was being led to a chair. He sat her down and knelt before her, his thumbs caressed away each tear, smoothing out each line of her face, calming each frayed nerve that threatened to explode in sparks.
"Oh, Zelda," Link whispered, his words like a prayer, and it only made Zelda cry even harder, clutching the necklace to her chest, fruitlessly hoping that in the next moment, her mother would be there, clutching her baby girl to her chest and singing her favorite lullaby.
She couldn't help but miss her.
"I'm sorry, Zel," Link said, his forehead creasing with deep lines. He looked regretful, almost, and looked towards the door of their little house, "I didn't realize. I thought you would like it."
Her head snapped towards his, eyes puffy and lips swollen. He thought she didn't like it.
"I do like it," Zelda whispered, looking achingly at the long lost necklace, "That doesn't do it justice. I love it, Link. This is the greatest gift you could have brought me."
Link looked in her eyes then, an understanding look on his face, "I understand. It doesn't make it hurt any less, though, does it?"
"No, it doesn't," Zelda nodded, before placing the necklace down on the table, leaning forward to wrap her arms around his neck, "Thank you for bringing this to me. You have no idea how much this means to me."
"You never told me what happened to her," Link breathed against her hairline, placing a small kiss there.
"No, I didn't," Zelda said, a tone of finality in her voice.
"I understand," Link said, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I understand far too well the pain that comes with reliving a memory."
She pushed back from his shoulder, looking him in the eyes for a moment before lowering herself to the ground beside him. They leaned back, so their backs were against the small little wall before the stairs, "I was young," Zelda whispered, "So at the time, much of it had been sheltered away for me."
She shifted, wringing her hands out in her lap, "Yet, by the next year, excavation on the Divine Beasts had come into full swing, and I was destined to unlock this power without a teacher. Without mother," she clutched at her chest, the lack of necklace jarring as it still sat upon the table, "Father called me to his study and explained that I was to learn this power, and quickly at that, for the same forces that killed mother would be out to kill me too."
She pulled in a shaking breath, and shuddered, a lone tear falling across her cheekbone. Her hands began to shake, "Father then told me that mother had been the target of a successful assassination attempt from the Yiga Clan. He told a seven year old this. He told a seven year old that the same people that killed mother were out to kill her too."
Her shoulders caved in, shaking with each sob she tried to suppress, and Link moved forward to grip her shoulders and steady her in his embrace, "And I… I never got to say goodbye. I didn't realize that my last memory with her would be my last."
Link pulled her into his lap, as he sat crisscrossed on the wooden floor of their little home. He rubbed her back gently, tucking her hair behind her ears to keep it out of her face, "You're the first person I've ever told about this. I didn't even tell you about this before the calamity struck."
Link breathed, in, his eyes once fixated on a point above the fireplace, turned back towards her, meeting her puffy, red eyes, with his own blue ones, "I'm glad you've told me," Link whispered, his thumb caressing her arm, "Has this been hurting you for the last century?"
"Well, I had been a bit distracted for most of the century," she bit out a laugh, pushing the heel of her hand into her cheek to wipe away the tears, "And really, I had kept most of this pain down for the last century. It only really bubbled up now upon seeing her necklace."
Link looked thoughtful for a moment, before hoisting her up so she sat up in his lap, "Tell me," he murmured, "What's your favorite memory of your mother?"
Zelda looked down at the floor for a moment, as she stretched her mind back – far back to her childhood. During her time sealing the Calamity within the castle, she had nothing but memories to sustain her. However, it was mostly memories of Link and the other Champions that fueled her onwards. Very rarely did she dive farther back into her memories – for most of her memories of her childhood were ill met with sorrow and rigorous training while the other children of Castle Town got to be just that: children. However, one memory popped out amongst the rest, something she hadn't thought about in over a decade – well, one hundred and ten years, to be exact.
"There was one night," Zelda began, "I must have been four or five, and I couldn't sleep. I had snuck out of my room that night – I was very good at sneaking out."
"I know you were," Link whispered with a knowing glint in his eyes.
Zelda rolled her eyes, "Anyways, I made my way to the library. It was my favorite place to be. Though I was young, I loved to read, and was slowly devouring every book that the library had to offer. I went in there, and made my way to where my favorite books were – the ones that comforted me the most. That's when I heard mother's voice echo out, 'young lady'.
"I was frozen. I was out past bedtime, so I knew I was in trouble, and I thought, 'well, maybe if I don't move, she won't be able to see me,'" Link laughed at this, adjusting his arm around her, "Well, she did, and she walked over to me, her skirts billowing and as majestic as every queen's should be. She had asked me what I was doing up, that 'Princesses should not be awake at this hour'. And I told her honestly that I couldn't sleep.
"I thought she was going to march me back to my room and make my nurse stay up and watch me with a careful eye. But she didn't. Instead, she held out her hand and said, 'Come with me'. She took me to the kitchens and began taking stuff out of the pantry. I said, 'Mother, what are you doing?' and she looked at me and said, 'When I can't sleep, I like to keep myself busy. Pass me the sugar, would you?'
"We started mixing things like Tabantha flour and sugar and eggs and butter and milk together," Zelda whispered, a light in her eye, "And then she showed me how to light the castle oven's fire and how to place the baking pan in the oven without burning myself. After twenty minutes of me asking her what we were making and her saying 'You'll see', we finally took it out of the oven, and mother gave me the task to frost the cake while she went to the ice box."
The corners of Zelda lips turned upwards, as the memory played in front of her, "Mother came back with grapes, raspberries, blueberries, limes, and oranges. She sliced up the limes and oranges and told me how to decorate the delicate cake. I had my first slice of fruitcake that night," Zelda whispered, "And to this day, it is still my favorite dessert."
She tucked her head under Link's chin, listening to the way his heart beat against her cheek, "That's my favorite memory of mother."
"That's what you should remember every time you look at that necklace," Link replied back, resting his cheek against the top of her head, "Never forget the bad things, of course, but never forget the good, either. It sounds like your mother loved you… so much. Also, it explains a lot about where you get your rebellious side from."
That earned Link a well deserved hit in the chest. He laughed.
She sighed, "I feel better, now," she said, lifting herself up from Link's lap. Link followed suit, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Link whispered, as he gently leaned in to steal a quick kiss, "You know you can tell me anything, right?"
"I know," Zelda whispered back, as she turned towards the table, picking up the necklace. She fingered the corner of the silver pendant, frowning, "Sometimes it's hard though, reliving past memories."
"But you don't have to do it alone," Link whispered, as he took the necklace from her, moving her hair out of the way. He gently clasped it behind her neck.
She turned around, placing her hand near the pendant on her chest, "Well? How do I look?"
"Divine," Link whispered, and it was true: she looked like a queen.
She sighed, her eyes lighting with joy, before they stole away, as they looked towards the door. Her fingers gripped the pendant lightly.
"I think…" Zelda whispered, her eyes tentatively coming back to meet his, "I think I would like to go with you… next time… to Hyrule Castle."
"Are you sure?" Link asked, "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."
"I want to," Zelda whispered in reply, "Where there's one of my mother's things, there's bound to be more to have survived in the last one hundred years. And things of my father's. I want to recover them. I want to see them."
She looked at him then, a mischievous look in her eye, "And I know my way around that castle better than anyone, so you're going to need me if you want to find all of the secret passageways."
Link smiled then, his eyes shimmering with joy.
Her hero loved adventures.
fin.
