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awkwardspontaneity · 3 years

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Battles And Bananas

BOTW Link x GN!Sheikah!Reader

Part 3 of Memories of You

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Decide to post another part of this series, tbh I’m not sure how many parts I’m gonna write just yet cuz I have so many ideas. This one was exciting to write because I’ve never written action scenes before but the trope of having a conversation in the midst of battle is so fun to me I had to write it.

Anyways all of this is memory so no italics. :)

Link was running as fast as he could, a tight feeling constricting his lungs, stealing his breath. How could he have been so stupid. He had been so distracted with trying to reconcile with Y/n he had allowed the princess to slip away on her own. Both her and his partner were angry with him, although one he could handle more than the other, but that didn’t mean he wanted to.

Link was a personable guy. And with his new position as the princesses appointed knight he found himself lacking close friends. Of course he had the Champions, but he couldn’t see them all that often. And the one Champion that he should see often had been too busy.

Y/n had been away from the castle often after the incident in the Zora Domain, something he felt responsible for. The Sheikah had been tense since they had left Ploymus Mountain. They had snapped at him for throwing them off the waterfall and stormed off to find Mipha.

That led him to this moment. Chasing down the runaway princess for the millionth time despite her resistance. It was bad enough she would demand he keep his distance in Hyrule, but in the Gerudo Desert? With the Yiga clan running around? He shouldn’t have gotten distracted.

Reaching the top of the sand dune, Link was able to see the runaway princess. Surrounded by the Yiga. Instinct took over and in the blink of an eye he was there. Time slowed as the Yiga lunged only to meet Link’s blade. Using all the force he could muster, Link thrust his blade forward meeting the Yiga’s chest plate and knocking them back.

He crouched in front of the princess as the other three Yiga hesitated, sizing him up. They seemed to decide they could take on the Hylian because all three lunged at the same time. Link was quick to dodge under the first, spinning up to drive his sword through the second's abdomen. He parried arrows with his shield, twirling his sword to block the first Yiga’s sickle. Twisting his own sword, Link locked the sickle before throwing his head forward.

Ignoring the burst of pain, Link spun to face the final Yiga, lunging to meet their blade. A short clash of swords ensued before Link gained the upper hand, disarming his opponent before he slashed their chest.

He tensed as he heard the faint crunch of sand from the Yiga he had headbutted jumping at him. He wouldn’t be able to dodge them without injury. He heard Zelda cry out when an arrow shot past his face. He froze as the sound of porcelain cracking under the sharp arrow rang out, and the Yiga fell.

The eyes of both Hylians snapped up to the sand dune where a horse stood. Y/n hopped down from the horse, taking the reins as they walked down the hill. Link felt that same coil in his chest as he took in the stoic look on the Sheikah’s face.

“Are you alright princess?” The white haired teen reached out a hand to the princess, carefully helping her stand.

“Thank you.” The blond smiled wearily at her friend, glancing towards Link, “Both of you.”

Link nodded, carefully sheathing his sword. The coil loosened when he met Y/n’s eyes and saw the small smile slip across their face.

“You really should watch your back.”

He missed their smile.

------

Zelda had taken the horse back to Gerudo Town leaving the two Champions to track down the Yiga. After they had checked on the princess they had found one of the Yiga was waking up. The trio questioned the traitor, not without much resistance, and had found out that the Yiga clan was making a hideout in the desert. That was all it had taken for the Champions to decide they would be best to check out the camp.

And that was how Link found himself hiding atop the cliffs next to Y/n. They had found the camp pretty easy seeing as the Yiga were still scouting the area with only a small group.

“So this is what they’ve been preparing for.” Y/n was glaring at the group working below them. It still made Link feel tense seeing his partner look so serious. But it was their words that caught him this time. They knew more about the Yiga clan than he thought.

Apparently they had caught his questioning gaze because the Sheikah pulled themselves away from the edge to face him.

“Impa told me that our scouts noticed the Yiga clan seemed like they were making plans. Y’know being more sneaky than usual, stocking up on bananas, the usual craziness. Just... more.” Y/n looked exhausted, something that made Link feel guilty for. He had really thought they had gone away because of him when in reality it was about the safety of the kingdom. “Anyways, I’ve been tracking the Yiga down, trying to question any lone scouts to figure out what’s going on. But they’re very secretive. I get being willing to die for your cause but come on.”

Link couldn’t help but let a snicker escape him at Y/n’s tone towards the end. “I’m glad you’re back okay.”

Y/n gave him a soft smile glancing towards the setting sun. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. It came out of nowhere and I had to run off.”

Link coughed slightly, embarrassment clawing at him. Was he that transparent? He was sure he had hidden how much it bothered him to no longer be accompanied by their chatter and glowing smiles.

Suddenly a shout came from below and the Champions looked down to find all the Yiga staring up at them.

Shit.

The Yiga sprinted to their weapons as the two scrambled down from their overlook. They landed on the sand right as the first Yiga came rushing back. Link was the first to meet blades with the Yiga, locking swords as Y/n slashed their chest with one of their blades.

The two shot off into the fray, knocking down Yiga until they were pushed back together again.

“I meant it y’know…” Y/n stepped back before shooting forward and slashing down three of the Yiga with their twin blades. “I was really a jerk to you back when we went to the Zora Domain, and then I go and run off without a word. I’m-”

Link cut them off by grabbing their hand. He pulled them into his chest as he struck down the Yiga behind them. “Y/n, I threw us off a waterfall, you’re allowed to be upset.”

“Yeah, but you did it to save our lives.”

Another slash as Link threw himself into a spin attack.

“But I could have found another way.”

Link cut down one final Yiga and Y/n shot down the last before the two met together in the center of their impromptu battlefield.

“Well I could’ve-” Y/n snorted, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “We’re arguing like kids”

Link laughed at that grinning at his friend, “I guess we are. Sorry about that.”

Y/n laughed loudly, their voice echoing off the rock walls. “What matters is that we’re both okay. We may not have the best of luck,” they gestured to the damage surrounding them, “but I can handle the chaos as long as we’re doing it together.”

Link squeezed their hand in response

“Together.”

#botw x reader #botw link x reader #breath of the wild x reader #breath of the wild link x reader #legend of zelda x reader #legend of zelda link x reader #gn!reader #reader has sheikah features like hair and eyes #awkwardspontaneity

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zelink-appreciation · 3 years

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Runaway!Zelda for this WIP Wednesday.

I thought about leaving another extract from my body swap au but because I’m just editing now and not writing anything new, I ran out of out of context/not too spoilery things to post.

So instead there’s this little idea which wouldn’t be more than a one shot.

Because it’s a one-shot, I’ll probably finish it soon. I really hope it won’t turn into a multi-chapter thing...

Her mother was named Zelda and the mother of her mother was named Zelda, and her mother, then the mother’s mother and the mother before her were, too, named Zelda.

She herself was named Zelda; the only thing she did right so far.

The scissors gleam on her nightstand. In five minutes, the guard will change shift, letting a small window in which she would be unguarded. Several times she checked her bag. Thousands of rupees in but no small money. Only gold and silver one. It would make trade hard.

Her fingers crept closer to the blades. No going back. In a swift motion, locks fell flat on the floor. She thought it would weight on her like her failure did the past ten years, but nothing. She felt lighter, even. With her left hand, she wrote a note and pinned it with her hair on the nightstand.

We have her.

Short. Effective.

Her legs carried her throw hidden passageway and deserted halls. The castle, never silent, bustled with guards and knight. She plunged in the shadow. Her sheikah set muffled her step. Soon, she sprinted down the bridge, avoiding a snoring guard. Beneath the moon, she shed her name, everything that made her the princess.

Now, she was really just a failure.

#Zelink #botw #no edit #WIP Wednesday

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oceanera12 · 4 years

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Linked Wilderness (Part 1)

More Linked Universe featuring Wild and his sister! ... Wait, what sister?

I was going to do Sky next but this idea popped into my head and I couldn’t type it fast enough. Whoops?

“Soooo...” Twilight tapped his foot impatiently, “Are we in your world or not, cub?”

Wild frowned, trying his Sheikah slate for the hundredth time. “I mean, that’s Twin Peaks and that certainly looks like my Hyrule Castle in the distance.” He slammed his hand against the tablet, “But this thing isn’t working and there should be a shrine right there,” he pointed at an empty clearing near their current stable. “Also, I don’t recognize anyone here.”

“And that’s odd because...?” Sky asked.

Wild blushed. “Well, I’m pretty sure I’ve talked to everyone in existence in my Hyrule. Usually the strangers are Yiga in disguise. But even the stable owner is different!”

“So...” Time stood up from sharpening his blade. He slung the sword on his back and then crossed his arms, “This Hyrule could be yours in the future. So... a new hero?”

Legend rolled his eyes, “Seriously? We haven’t had a new member in months!”

“But it is a possibility,” Four replied, his eyes flashing violet for a second. “Maybe we should talk to someone?”

Wild hesitated. “Stables have people that come and go. The owner might have sold the place to another person. Not to mention that many people are coming back to Hyrule because the Calamity is gone. Let’s head to Hateno. It’s only half a day from here. We can figure it out from there.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Wild was very confused. On one hand, this was very much his Hyrule. On the other, there were too many differences to ignore.

The ruins looked “newer”, there were less travelers (and those that were traveling were very suspicious of the nine-band group), it felt like there were more enemies, and there were guardians.

Full-working guardians that wanted nothing more than to kill Wild again.

He really hated guardians.

Therefore the alleged “half-day” turned into a full day, with the battered and beaten group grumbling up to Hateno. No serious injuries (Four had most likely broken his ankle) but a night of rest sounded much too nice after the insanity of the day.

A blonde woman stood guard at the foot of town. Wild frowned at the sight of her. He did not recognize her. She wore a light pink tunic, tied with a turquoise sash. There was some old knight armor on her right arm and a light chainmail skirt that went to her knees. Under the mail, she wore simple trousers and boots. A sword was strapped to her side, along with a quiver and bow on her back.

The blonde watched the group approach, clearly on guard. “Halt and state your business!” She called out when they reached a respectful distance.

Wild stepped forward, “We’re looking for a place to rest.” He was not sure if he should bring up the fact that he owned a house in the village. He was not even sure if the house would be his, at this point.

The girl’s eyes widened at Wild. Her mouth dropped open and the color drained from her skin. Her drawn sword dropped every so slightly. She did not speak for a moment, only gaping is shock.

Wild shifted uncomfortably. “Uh... are you alright, miss?”

Her expression turned hard, her next words a hiss. “How dare you.”

Wild flinched, despite himself. Something inside his gut twisted into tight knots. He didn’t like the girl upset. He wanted her to smile. His words were stuck in his throat and when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.

The girl brandished her sword at the group, her intentions very clear. “Leave now and I’ll grant you your lives you filthy traitors!”

Time put out his hands in surrender. “We’re not here to fight, nor do we wish you harm. But we have injured and need--”

“We don’t help Yiga here,” the girl hissed, her sword raising again. “Go back to your filth.”

Wild’s brain was too confused to make sense of what was happening.

Twilight stepped forward, “We’re no Yiga.” His gaze was suspicious. “Although, I’m beginning to suspect you are.”

The girl physically recoiled at the accusation. “I’m not the one with a fake hero!”

Legend and Twilight both growled in anger at that comment, the latter stepping in front of Wild in a protective matter. Several of the other Links came to the immediate defense of Wild, and at least one of them drew a sword.

“Link has given more--”

“--you little--”

“--dare you insinuate something so--”

“Wild is a good man!”

The girl was practically radiating anger now, her sword replaced with a bow at the blink of the eye. She roared, “MY BROTHER IS DEAD!” then loosed a warning shot that missed Hyrule by an inch. “NOW LEAVE BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND!”

Wild’s scrambling mind came to a screeching halt at that.

Brother?

The rest of the group had a similar reaction, with most of them stepping back a few paces. Wind looked like he had been slapped, “You never said you had a sister!”

Wild’s head was starting to hurt. He squeezed his eyes shut and heard his current sword slam into the ground. “I... I don’t...” His hands came up and grasped his hair, “I don’t... I don’t... I don’t.” The headache suddenly spiked into a piercing flare. He dropped to his knees and actually screamed at the white, hot, dagger that was attempting to cut through the memory fog.

Someone was talking but all Wild could see was white and pain. This wasn’t right. Nothing was right. What in Hylia’s name was happening to him?

The last thing he remembered before succumbing to the white was a very soft voice.

“Big brother?”

--------------------------------------------------------

It took much too long to get Wild inside his house.

Wind was helping the injured Four hobble across the wooden bridge to the very familiar house in Hateno... only this one did not have a sign that labeled the owner. In fact, this one had a horse in the stables.

Said horse cried out at the sight of the unconscious Wild. She trotted forward and blocked the path, licking and nuzzling his face in concern.

The sister hadn’t said a word since the gates, but she did so now. “Epona, dear, we need to get him inside.”

Wind suspected he wasn’t the only one who’s eyebrows shot up at that name, but no one said anything about it.

Epona nuzzled Wild one more time before trotting back her food.

“Good girl,” the sister smiled. She opened the front door. “Lay him near the fireplace. I’ll start up a fire.”

--------------------------------------------------------

It took time to explain the group to Wild’s sister. She hadn’t interrupted once during the tale, nor had she stopped dabbing Wild’s forehead with a wet cloth. Time took point on the story, with people chiming in when they thought it important. Twilight explained what he knew about Wild’s adventure, including the amnesia thing.

The sister had taken it all in, in silence. When the tale finally ended, she remained silent for a long time. Gentle hands traced the scars on Wild’s face, tears filling her eyes. “So... my brother is somewhere in a cave right now on the Great Plateau... asleep?”

Time hesitated for a moment, cursing whoever made the portals and Hylia who had dropped them in Wild’s world. They had just gone back about a hundred years. It explained the increased Guardian activity, the lack of Shekiah technology, and, of course, the long forgotten sister. “I would assume so, miss. Yes.”

She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks and a few broken sobs broke free.

Wind stood up and pulled the girl into a hug. She buried her face in his tunic and cried. The rest of the group quietly tended to Four’s leg and let her mourn.

The sobs slowed and she gently pulled back from Wind, a soft smile on her face. “Thank you... um...”

“Wind,” the boy smiled back. “I have a little sister too.”

“Oh!” the girl leaped to her feet. “Where are my manners, you all must be hungry! And I haven’t even introduced myself or asked for your names or--” she cut herself off, blushing furiously. “I’m Rhea**.”

The Links introduced themselves while Rhea started on dinner. Good cooking skills appeared to run in the family because Rhea’s stew smelled heavenly. Legend commented on this and Rhea smiled. “Mother taught Link, who then taught me.” Her smiled died a little. “I’m glad to hear he remembers some things...”

“What was Wild like? As a child?” Warriors leaned forward, eager.

Rhea thought for a moment. “Well... he’s always been a bit wild.” She laughed, “Did you know he was appointed as the princess’s knight because he deflected a laser from a runaway guardian with a pot lid?”

Twilight coughed up his stew. “He what???”

“It’s true!” Rhea laughed. “Link has always had an affinity for turning cooking tools into weapons.”

“Oh Hylia,” Legend groaned into his hands. “Please tell me the ladle thing hasn’t always been around?”

“It’s one of my first memories,” Rhea giggled. “Big brother Link keeping a stray moblin at bay with nothing but a wooden ladle... at least until father came in with his actual sword.”

Several Links groaned in annoyance.

Perhaps it was the familiar sound that stirred Wild. He moaned loudly, causing a hush to fall over the group. Rhea grabbed a bowl of the stew and hurried to his side.

Wild opened his eyes, blinking into the fire. He jolted back from it out of pure instinct.

Rhea did not say anything, but put a hand on his shoulder. When Wild looked at her, she smiled and then gave him the bowl of stew. He looked at it suspiciously, before taking a small sip. His eyes widened and he quickly downed the rest of it.

Rhea appeared pleased. ‘I take that you like it?’

Wild started at the sign. It took a moment for the motions to process before nodding. ‘Yes.Thank you, ma’am.’

Rhea’s smile fell.

No one knew what to say. Wild looked around “his” house, clearly confused. The table was shoved in the corner, two beds were shoved against the wall, and there was no weapon displays on the walls.

“Where are we?” he asked no one in particular.

Twilight felt a stab of sympathy for Rhea. He knew all to well the pains of a sibling not recognizing you. “Cub... there’s no easy way to say this.” He pointed at the girl. “This is Rhea. Do you recognize her?”

Wild tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, clearly concentrating. “You were the guard at the gate.”

Rhea nodded, the expression stiff.

“Good,” Twilight encouraged. “Anything else about her seem... familiar?”

Wild squinted even harder. He rubbed his temples. After a long silence he finally sighed. “No.” He looked guilty. “Should I?”

Wind jumped up, clearly angry. “She’s your little sister, Wild! How could you ever forget her?”

“Wind!” Time reprimanded.

Wild blinked, looking back at Rhea. She waved, timidly before slipping into sign. ‘They told me what happened to you. I am sorry.’

“Are... are you really my sister?”

‘Yes,’ Rhea sighed heavily. ‘Although, it has been several years since your... disappearance. I have grown since then.’ She smiled. ‘I was only this tall when you last saw me.’ She held up her hand about a foot lower then her current height. ‘I was only eight. Now I am seventeen.’

Wild scrunched up his face again. He thought and thought and thought, before sighing. “I don’t remember... I’m sorry. Truely, I am.”

‘It’s fine,’ Rhea’s smile looked forced, but she did not appear angry. ‘I’ll go get more firewood. You rest.’ Then she turned and left the house.

Wild buried his face in his hands and moaned.

Twilight quickly sat down next to him. “It is okay, Wild. It is not your fault. She does not blame you for what happened.” He glared in the direction of Wind, “You have no control over your memories.”

Wind was receiving a very harsh and very quiet reprimand from both Warriors and Time. He looked sorry and had his head down in shame. The kid really needed to learn to think before he spoke.

Twilight turned his attention back to his prodege. “Think about it this way: now you can learn things about your past that you didn’t even know. Maybe the memories will come back, maybe they won’t. But do not give up hope. Alright?”

Wild looked down at his hands. He slowly looked up to reveal the tiniest of smiles. “Alright... Her name was Rhea, right?”

“Right,” Twilight smiled. “And you taught her to be an excellent cook.”

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**-Okay, so I didn’t want to go with Linkle as the name (because who names their kids Link and Linkle. Seriously?) and I thought Aryll was the generic fall back for Wild’s sister’s name (just because Link’s spirit is reborn and always named Link does not mean his sister suffers the same fate). I did look into a few fanfictions to see what they went (and didn’t like any that I found), so I looked up names that meant something to do with nature. Rhea was the Greek goddess of “the mountain wilds” and I thought it suited her well enough.

On a semi-random note: did you all know that “Zelda” is a an old German name that means “dark battle”??? At least, according to the website I was on.

Also, stayed tuned for part 2!

Also part 3...

#linked universe #fanfic #wild #lu wild #linked universe wild #wild link #link wild #wild's sister #link's sister #botw #time travel is confusing #especially if you are dead #part 2 will be soon

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fatefulfaerie · 4 years

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Hindsight: Part Two

A couple weeks ago I posted a Yiga!Link oneshot because of a request. But, as it happens, doing so caused a bunch of ideas along that tangent to roll along in my head, so…it’s got multiple parts now, what can I say?

How many parts? Maybe six in total? Goodness sake. I only got 13 notes on that last one so you can tell I’m writing this stuff basically for me. Not that I don’t also love and appreciate you guys as well :)

Because of COVID-19 concerns and self-isolation, I’ll try my best to get these up as soon as possible to make things a little less lonely for you guys.

Zelda looked over her shoulder at a sudden noise, stopping her pacing as she eyed the tree behind her, the bush.

She was lucky enough to lose the Yiga, evading him the entire day.

If he even was in pursuit of her. A part of her doubted he could put two and two together.

That she was the Princess, that she had dressed herself up as a Sheikah, ran away straight into a Yiga Clan member, and somehow got away with it.

The freedom she sought came at a cost, it seemed. She should have considered how much she’d have to look over her shoulder. Running away from being a princess, from all her obligations, meant running straight into a dangerous world with no protection.

Alone.

And because everyone else saw her as the princess she didn’t want to be, she was a target.

A great one at that.

With a sigh she returned her forward gaze, continuing to walk. She was now in the tropical forests of Faron, strolling along cautiously.

Suddenly, one step pulled her leg and flipped her completely upside down, Zelda letting out a shriek in her surprise.

The entire world was backwards as she spun, her heart beating.

This was it.

She was caught.

“And here I was excited I’d caught the Princess,” she heard, whipping her body in strange ways to see the blue-eyed Yiga, with crossed arms and smirk.

Zelda furrowed her brow, even as she started to slowly spin around again.

Did he seriously not figure it out? Her disguise wasn’t that good.

Not that she was about to tell him.

“You really are horrible at your job, aren’t you?”

The Yiga chuckled.

“Actually, I’ve been looking for you.”

“Me? Why m--”

She started, but she had started to spin around again.

She felt a hand suddenly brace her ankle, stopping her turning. Link turned her to face him.

Now kept in place, she looked up at him and asked,

“Why me?”

“It’s obvious you’re a runaway Sheikah. If you need some place to run away to, I guess you could say I’ve got a job offer.”

“You want my help to find the Princess?”

She barely even saw him take out his vicious sickle, one swift stroke cutting the rope she was suspended by.

Zelda met the ground with a thud and a small yelp.

“If you agree to.”

Her eyes were still closed, a wince in her expression at the pain in her back.

“First tip,” she said. “This is not how you catch a woman.”

Link offered his hand.

“It’s how I caught you,” Link reasoned.

Zelda ignored his hand with a roll of her eyes, standing up on her own and brushing herself off.

“Yeah, if this is some weird attempt to hit on me, I’m going to go ahead and excuse myself.”

She started to walk off.

“If that were that case, believe me, I definitely would not be this blatant,” he called after her with a smirk. “Sheikah are just as adept at stealth as the Yiga, and if you aren’t going to stay in Kakariko and serve them, then I figured you wouldn’t mind an offer like this.”

Zelda stopped in her tracks, her back still facing Link.

“Keeping mobile, tracking the Princess’ movements as she tries to stay away from other Yiga...”

When Link stressed the word ‘other’, Zelda turned her head to her shoulder.

Her eyelids blinked as she thought.

If she could pull this off…keep up this pretense...fool this Yiga...

Zelda turned around, preparing to nod in the affirmative.

#yiga!link #link #zelda #alternate universe #botw au #botw #breath of the wild au

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inlemoons · 6 years

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smoke

The first time she left as a runaway princess, crying for four hours of the ride then drinking too much vodka and turning into a sour-lemon bitch for most of the rest of it, seething over every little thing she’d experienced in the time before she left. Now, she thinks of nothing, sits straight amidst the smoke in her cracked-leather seat, a star-crowned rail-queen flying through her thousand cities.

Story: Waterwheels Pairing: Midna/Link Rating: M

Midna watches the silver of the city shine then shimmer then disappear. She decides that she doesn't care. She decides that she will care later. She decides that six months from today, from this very moment where she’s departing on the Capital Flyer, so desperately indifferent to leaving, she will have sorted out whatever was not bothering her at the moment, or whoever was not bothering her at the moment.

She pulls the window screen back down and is firm in her apathy. Her fingertips do not remember the feel of his cheekbone when she lightly brushed it--they do not hum.

///

Six months back when the Flyer pulls into one of those tiny border towns, he sits across from her, because of course she does, and starts to talk to her in an almost-familiar drawl, because of course he does. It catches something in the back of her head and two weeks later she finds the courage to call her cousins. They hate her back home, one of them tells her, but she’s still family, says another, still the rightful bloodqueen of their tribe. The twins had ruled well in her absence, were fair and kind and all that shit, but they would step down.

Of course they would, she thought, stopping herself from saying it aloud. That was the first night she and Link went out, the first night she brought him home and let him see her apartment, let him see the lack of bedroom curtains and the screaming yellow restaurant sign blinking through the window until the sun broke the next morning. He tolerates the neon so well she suspects this is his norm, but he still doesn’t sleep; she decides to tolerate his clearly-broken heart in all the following hours when he freely admits that ever since his arrival, he’s wanted to go back home to Ordon.

It’s never worth it, she tells him, almost meaning it, and later, his mouth kissing over her nipples and his fingers pressing on the inside of her, she can tell he nearly believes her.

///

The observation car is loud and crammed but it’s got bigger windows than her private room. Stretching far into the distance, old Twili and Sheikah shrines blink blue on starry black mountains. Infinitely stunning in the dark, undeniably decrepit during the day.

“You’d think they’d restore the walls or something,”some asshole mutters, and if they knew even the tiniest amount of Lorulean history they’d know --

“Would you like another coffee, Miss?”

Midna stares up at the car attendant as the train begins to slow for its next stop. The smoke begins to gather and settle, more noticeable than it’s been in awhile, because it’s usually nice, like green apple candy or someone unexpectedly grabbing your hand but now---now it tastes like not talking to your mother in five years, or crumbled, sacred dust.

“Plum tea, if you’ve still got some?” She doesn’t understand how it comes out so smoothly. The girl smiles and nods and walks off and the train slides to a stop. It’s the last one before the border.

“You can really see the decay in the dayti--”

“They’re not meant for the daytime,” she finally snaps across the aisle. “Look out at them now--can’t you see what they’re supposed to be?”

///

The jar is next to his foot and he sticks his fork in and glares out the window.

“I don’t know why I even came here, I just--”

“Because you were miserable?”

He shoves a pickle into his mouth and crunches down. “Yeah, but it’s more...”

Midna rolls her eyes and rubs the glass with a finger. There was exactly one store in the entire city that sold pumpkin-rind pickles and ever since she knew him, he would keep some in stock for two-in-the-morning emotion-fueled vodka sessions.

“More what?”

“It’s not that easy, you know. Not that easy when you don’t have a clear reason.”

“What’s a clear reason matter, anyway? Cheating? Hating each other? Someone leaves their shoes scattered on the floor?”

“I could’ve dealt with her cheating, maybe even hating her.”

“Not her shoes? Did she have horrible taste in footwear?”

He pauses, then reaches into the jar and pulls out another pickle.

“It’s hard to explain. Everyone there tolerates shoes on the floor.”

Midna leans over and plucks the pickle out of his hand and pops it in her mouth. “I mean, it’s not like it’s different here. You’ve still got to deal with stray footwear. Or casual pickle addiction. Or--”

“It’s not just that, it’s--” He groans. “It’s different.”

“But how?”

“It just is.”

His windows have curtains, but they’re thin and the lights still flicker through, a peculiar mix of red and blue and green and violet, onto the floor, the bed, his skin. It isn’t until now, as the train flies through Ordon station without stopping for the first time since she’s ridden it, she realizes she believes him.

#midlink #midna #link #twilight princess #alternate universe #waterwheels

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