Chapter Text
In a witty gesture from nature, Link encountered two more deer during his escapade through the forest. Now that he knew of Paya's affection for the animal, he couldn't possibly justify shooting one and dragging it back to her. Instead, when a stray woodland boar crossed by his line of sight, he took his chance and fired a string of arrows.
They'd have bacon with their breakfast for the next couple of days.
He didn't want to leave Paya for too long, even if she wasn't any more than a few hundred yards away at any point. His mind was still fixated on the abrupt kiss. It had been exciting, spontaneous, and completely foreign to him. He couldn't remember ever thinking about something so benign yet thrilling before. It had been an unbidden whim with implications that he didn't take the time to think through. What happened now that the moment had passed? How did normal people under normal circumstances go about things? Surely marriage wasn't the next logical step? He didn't have anyone to ask about that sort of thing, so he'd have to improvise. He'd grown accustomed to learning things along the way.
He went back to her with the meat from the boar and a few birds cleaned and stored in his bag.
She was pleasantly preoccupied when he found her again. She was sitting down, leaned back against a tree, fondling with a string of something colorful. As he approached, he made out a chain of wildflowers that she was fastening together.
“I got a boar,” he reported, eyeing the streak of colors in her hand. “What's that you're making?”
Paya looked up, a whimsical look hanging on her features. “I've never seen so many different flowers before!” She held up the braided strand with great enthusiasm. “We had them in Kakariko Village, but this is like… a rainbow!” She tucked one end into the other, forming a loop.
“There's different flowers all over Hyrule,” he said, smiling at her. “Even some that grow up in the mountains. They're beautiful.”
“I can't wait to see them!” Paya enthused. She lifted the flower circlet and placed it on her head. The agrestal crown formed a halo around her joyful face. Link couldn't look away.
“...I can't wait to show you,” he managed. The pink petals brought out a low flush in her cheeks that he hadn't noticed before.
“We can head out again tomorrow,” she decided definitively. “I'm feeling better already.”
“We’ll take it easy for the rest of the day at least,” he advised gently. He finally tore his eyes away and back towards the direction of the stable. His sense of direction was well honed.
The pair spent the afternoon resting as Link had proposed. Paya had evidently been more tired from the riding than she had let on, and he filled the time she spent napping with going through the requests saved on his Sheikah Slate. He tried to approximate how much time it would all take. Some things were simple, like fetching restless crickets or wheat. Others would be more complicated, like mining various ores and helping build Tarrey Town. He'd be lucky to have everything done in under a year.
In some ways, it was a relief to know that he wouldn't have to think about anything past errands for the foreseeable future. There was some amount of stability that he’d found in chaos. A sort of rest in running.
When Paya woke up again, they spent the spare hours of the afternoon lounging around the stable. Evidently, the pair of them weren't well versed in being sociable. While other visitors quickly caught one another in conversation, the two exchanged few words as Link cleaned their dirtied clothing in the pond and hung them off a tree branch to dry.
The swelter of the summer air loosened as the evening sun slowly took shelter underneath the hills. After they shared dinner together, Link and Paya took to people watching as the patio outside the stable grew more populated. More visitors were coming with their horses and gossip. The stable began to come alive as meals and haughty criticisms were shared over supper.
The airy tune of a flute drifted through the air alongside the fireflies and gossip. Link lifted his head, intrigued by the sound. He identified the father of the melody as an older man leaned against the frame of the stable. It was a light, cheery tune that merged with the conversations being had amongst the variety of guests.
A man of middle age drifted towards the sound holding onto the hand of a woman in a yellow dress. The two locked hands, and in a flicker of a moment, began to dance.
A hoot from the woman provoked laughter from the group as the two spun around in a methodical swoop. Link couldn't help but smile as the music provoked more people to stand and begin to move along with it. Various couples came together, some married, some strangers, all united under the guise of song.
Link felt his cheeks light up as he caught Paya’s glance. There was an innocent desire buried back in the amber of her eyes. A bird’s intuition to fly when given the chance. He stood up slowly, holding his hand out to her. Words weren't needed, and they couldn't be mustered either way. Paya took hold of his hand, and the two floated in the direction of the opening that had been appropriated by the dancers.
Link didn't know how to dance. Like kissing, it was something so foreign to him that he had a hard time believing he knew the first thing about it even in his old life. He took note of the other dancers and tried to mimic them. He held her hands. They exchanged awkward laughs as they watched one another’s face grow red. He moved himself back and forward on his heels, trying to catch the bout of beautiful bizarreness that seemingly came so easy to the other guests. At least Paya was possessed by the same confusion, and the two fell into a perfectly shoddy attempt at dancing. Their laughter made up for it, and Link felt himself captured by the remnants of the sunset and the way the nearby fire caught her eyes.
This was a different type of chaos; one that was unfamiliar but all the more fulfilling. They turned about in a circle, trying to capture the tune in their clumsy footsteps. He lost the confusion of the dance and took on its energy instead. He lost himself in the sweat and laughter and imperfection.
“Attention, attention please!” A voice cracked through the music like a whip. The flute shuttered to a halt, and the spontaneous clumsy song that had developed among the guests was dispersed. The source of the interruption was a Hylian man with ink colored hair who was standing atop a table. He had a sword sheathed in his belt and a look of determination resting between thick black eyebrows. “Pardon me, but it's important!” The small crowd exchanged looks of confusion. “My name is Sherri, and in case you haven't heard yet, Princess Zelda is back!”
Link felt his entire body grow frigid at the announcement. Her mere name was enough to trudge him back into the hollow caverns of his mind. Thoughts began to swarm in his mind like gnats. He hardly noticed Paya’s nervous glance.
“What about her?” A man called, obviously peeved by the interruption.
“Well, word is she's just made an agreement with the Zora ‘bout bringing back the monarchy!” The black haired man scorned.
“What the hell is that?” called another man. “Won't you shut up, Sherri? What are you doing up there?”
“I'm gonna explain why you outta care, if you'll give me a damn second!” He chastised. He paused for a moment, regaining his composure. “...The issue is, we're all about to be made subjects of a ruler we haven't needed for 100 years. How will you like it when you have to start sending a quarter of your crops to a big palace, huh?” He pointed at an individual woman in the crowd. “Pila! How'd you like it if your son got drafted into her army, hm? Cause that's what kings and queens do. They leech off the rest of us! Off our money, off our grain, off our kids!” He hit his foot back against the table.
“Well, what are we supposed to do about it?” Pila asked, though worry coated her tone like oil.
“That's why I'm here. I'm asking the lot of ya to sign this!” He unfurled a piece of parchment that had been rolled up. “It's a petition, saying we ain't gonna accept a queen, whether it's Zelda or the Zora or… or nobody! And, if necessary, we'll fight against it!”
Link felt his stomach tighten. A petition against Princess Zelda. He couldn't identify the new emotion that coursed through his veins. It was as hot as panic, but as strong as steel. He put his hand on Paya’s arm. “We should go,” he murmured to her.
“Fight? Fight with what?” Another woman from the crowd called. “None of us are fighters!”
Paya nodded slowly, her arm tensing under his touch. She moved against him, and he cradled her under his arm.
“It would be better to fight with sickles than give up the grain we harvest with ‘em!” Sherri insisted, his voice growing in command and passion. “Better to give up our blood than our kids, or… or our homes, or our freedom!”
“Let's go,” Link encouraged under his breath, slowly stepping back from the crowd. They could slip away, avoid the entirety of this.
His motion was identified in Sherri’s next call. “You!” He called out, gesturing towards Link. Link froze. “You're afraid! You want to run from this, but you can't! The princess just got the support of one of the most important people in Hyrule! How long before she comes knocking at your door?”
Link felt his cheeks burn like coal. “I…” he stammered, unable to conjure up a convincing defense.
“Sign it, son!” He encouraged, holding up the paper. “I know you're scared, but if we don't do this, it'll be our kids picking up the mess some day!”
The weight of the eyes on him was suffocating. The air grew weary and heavy. Debilitating. He didn't know the first thing about politics. Any life he'd lived under the control of a monarch had been forfeited 100 years before. He knew only the laws of nature, the justice of death, the civility of mourning doves.
Murmurs shuffled through the crowd. Mentions of freedom and taxes wove through the crowd of Hylians like a stream. Link felt like his chest was burning.
He moved forward towards the table. He didn't know what compelled him to, but his legs moved and his arm pulled away from the gray haired Sheikah girl. There was ringing in his ears like that of a thunderstorm. He could hardly see, and yet he could make out the ink pen being offered to him. He felt the weight of stares and expectation. He took the pen.
“Go on, do it!”
He looked down at the parchment which had been set on the table. Sherri had stepped off the table and was beside him now, gesturing him ahead. He didn't read the petition. It didn't matter what it said. He didn't have a choice. He let the tip of the pen hit the paper. It glided across the blank space on its own accord. It was over in a second.
As he turned away from it, he saw an eager crowd ready to mimic his dedication. His head began to grow heavy. He could hardly see as he passed along the ink pen.
“Good job, son. Good for you for standing up for what you believe in!” Sherri said, taking hold of his shoulder.
A concentrated pressure blossomed in the front of his head. His leg felt light. He forced himself away from Sherri, away from the crowd. He stumbled towards the lake. He wasn't missed by the crowd that had merely needed the encouragement of a stranger to sign the document. He stumbled towards the croak of toads, unable to think of his own name.