#v:z:tp

it's international kissing day! send 😘 to kiss my muse. | @kcmorebi

Over Lake Hylia, the sun was setting, turning the sky to orange and lavender and the lake itself into amber glass. A thick bank of clouds hung near the top of the sky, tinted a deep blue by the fading light, while those thin whips threading through the sky seemed to turn candy pink instead. 

Every time, the sight made Zelda catch her breath. When she was a little girl, the Royal Family had spent the week just after the spring equinox at Lake Hylia; those visits had come to an end after Mother had died. Zelda had never brought it up with Father.

And so the lakehouse had been sitting empty and dusty for nearly nine years. But when Link had told her he was travelling to Lake Hylia, she had offered its use for him as a place to stay, and when he asked if she would come with him, she only hesitated for a moment before agreeing. The time for mourning had passed. Honoring the dead lay in remembrance, and in living.

Sitting and watching the sunset, Zelda felt a rush of gratitude for Link’s easy presence. He’d told her stories of his travels during the twilight, and listened to hers from her childhood; stories she had not thought of in quite some time. It almost felt effortless, how he lifted the shadows around him, but Zelda knew it was not. She was grateful all the same. A breeze tripped past them, catching the edge of her skirts and ruffling Link’s hair. She reached for his hand, and he turned to her. She found her gaze tracing his lips.

He leaned in slowly, and she met him there, her other hand coming up to cup his face. It lasted a moment, maybe longer, and when he pulled away, Zelda was smiling. She looked back across the lake. The light on the water was blinding.

song of achilles rp starters | @kcmorebi

She’d been laughing at a story he’d been telling, about the Ordon goats and a particularly prized pair of shoes, and she’d been making a weak attempt at hiding her laughter behind a hand, a habit that was hard to drop, even in private as they were. Still -- her eyes had crinkled into half moons, the upturned corners of her mouth peeking out from between fingers. 

Then he’d said that, and Zelda blinked, her hand lowering despite herself, the hidden grin fading to an ‘o’ before smoothing out. A slight blush started to pink her cheeks.  She was used to fawning flattery, but this... was different. Her gaze flitted down to the floor before catching his again, her grey eyes warm. 

In truth, she felt that if anyone was the sun, it was Link; he brightened up any space he was in, and people were drawn to him like moths to light. And for good reason. Despite everything that had happened to him, he somehow still remained one of the kindest people Zelda had ever met. There were few lives in Hyrule that he had not touched. There were many that could learn from his example. 

But at that moment, Zelda was struck by the way the sunlight falling through the window caught the lighter strands running through his hair, the gentleness in his blue eyes that made her ache. There was a piece of hair falling into his face, and though she wanted to tuck it away, she kept her hands where they were.

Even though the twilight had lifted, Zelda still found herself sleeping uneasily; she would awaken after four or six hour intervals, mirroring nightmarish guard rounds that were no longer coming. On especially hard nights, she could only get two hours of sleep at a time before waking to stare blearily at the walls of her room. 

She had thought it would be easier once she was within her own rooms, instead of in the highest tower of Castle Hyrule. Then she thought that perhaps her journey with Link would provide enough of a difference for her mind to finally rest easy. But Zelda shifted in her bedroll and blinked her eyes open to see the campfire’s flames wavering in the night breeze, tiny sparks flying to the grass before they winked out. She let out a breath, then unclenched her hands, realizing they had tensed up while she was dreaming.

Though long ago, the kingdoms of Aurunia and Hyrule had stood hand-in-hand, it had been years since a monarch of one had visited the other. Bonds that had once been strong had fractured, then faded. Queen Zelda had set to repairing her country once the Twilight had lifted, and that included mending alliances that had frayed centuries ago.

Zelda had spent the morning with King Aage, Prince Edvard, and the crown prince’s wife, Ulla. The afternoon, however, was open for the Hylian delegation to do as it pleased until dinner that evening. Zelda had decided to venture out into the village outside the castle in order to form her own impressions of the people and see the lay of the land. 

Princess Zelda shut the door to the small dining room behind her, then turned to reveal an unusually harried expression, the space between her brows furrowed and her lips tight at the corners. 

The day had grown long, and for the first time in a while, dusk had passed and settled into night over Castle Town. In one of the few surviving rooms of Hyrule Castle, however, the two of them had merely lit candles and stayed awake. Now that they were finally reunited, Zelda could admit she was hesitant to be separated from Zamir for long. 

the legend of zelda: twilight princess sentence meme | @bravelink

"..."

It seemed the goat had them locked in a standoff. Zelda did not have much experience with animals that are not cats, lapdogs, or horses - and even then, the only one she'd personally owned had been a horse. Link, with all his goat-expertise, had unfortunately found himself locked on the other side of the heavy iron fence. Short of his climbing it, she was on her own, with only his shouted commentary.

She eyed its halo of horns, the way it was nonchalantly chewing on a corner of the envelope. Well. There was nothing else to be done. If she sustained an injury, it was fortunate that she was well versed in the ways of healing.

song of achilles | @somnium-led

Princess Zelda's grey eyes sweep over the woman, resting only briefly on the birthmark on her forehead before returning to the her face. Zelda's own face, as it usually is, is stern, but she means no harshness by it.