Take Flight

!Link                                           Rito Flight Range

I love a challenge.

I feel as if my heart could melt all of the snow on Hebra Mountain. When Y/N said she wouldn't give in to me...

I can think of nothing else but how I can make her give in to me.

I never had a woman make me so weak by declaring four simple words.

Sometimes I ponder what I was like before I was put to sleep in the Shrine of Resurrection. Did I love Zelda before my memories were erased and she simply became a voice in my head I couldn't recognize? Or is the guilt I feel something deeper? Am I neglecting Hylia's plan for me by forging my own path in love?

But when I look at Y/N, I can't envision a life without her. I can't even remember how I existed without her.

Nor do I want to.

So, there is only one thing I can do.

Convince her to give in to me. To give into the love that has consumed me since we first met.

To give into fate.

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The Tabantha Frontier was merciless with its cruel wind. Your thick hair offered no protection against the frosty gusts of wind. Your scalp began to prickle with chills as you pulled your jacket up over your nose, attempting to shield yourself from the cold. Evening had descended upon the mountain, and with it a silence as piercing as the gales.

You and Link approached the cave, grateful more Moblins didn't show up and ransack your minimal belongings.

Epona let out a shrill neigh, ushering Link to run over to the pot of soup that was about to boil over. "Hmm, we beat them just before dinner was ready. Impressive."

The man had a one-track mind when it came to food.

"Can I help?" Your question was an olive branch. You couldn't seem to collect your feelings. One moment you were both all over each other, and the next you were acting like strangers. The constant back and forth with your heart was draining, but you had no one to blame but yourself.

How ironic that the 'silent knight 'is the better communicator.

"Just relax. I've got it." Link had two wooden bowls in Epona's saddlebag. He dished it out, the steam vaporizing into a hazy shape that looked like the Hero of Time's face. You were hypnotized.

While the soup sat to cool, warm notes of peppered curry wavered through the air. Link gave Epona and Reisz some apple slices, and in an almost inaudible murmur, he began reciting your melody. It was only through his voice that you heard another voice that you were beginning to know all too well.

Your head whipped toward Link, the trance severed by an image of the Hero of Time leaning on the paneled fence and playing his ocarina.

"Link!"

He turned around, continuing to hum with his face remaining completely tranquil. Until he took a gander at your own.

"Epona's song. All along, it's been Epona's song. You sank to your knees, burying your face between your palms. Another answer leads to yet another handful of questions. You felt the warmth of Link's body seated beside you. He kept patting your back as if he were trying to burp an infant. The gesture warmed you more than the spice of the soup would. Of that much, you were certain.

"Y/N, Help me understand." Link pleaded.

Your voice was brittle. "I can't talk to you about it, Link. Anytime I mention it, you become upset. It is my riddle to solve. My baggage alone to carry. And your shoulders bear enough weight on them as it is."

His fingers lifted your chin to meet his gaze. "These shoulders have become strong so that they may carry your burdens as well. You never have to go through anything alone, so long as I remain on this planet."

You were hit then with the amazement of the growth that has occurred between you both. The Link you first met, so terse and strict, is nothing like the romantic poet who sat beside you in this moment. You began to blink, his words piercing you like a flying arrow lancing a wild deer. Tears seared the inner rims of your eyes.

"What you said... was it true? That I have forced you to stand up to your own fate? What did you mean by that?

"Before you, I never desired to make more memories. Why possess something that could be stolen again? I would accept what Hylia wished for me. I would fight for Hyrule and continue to be Zelda's knight. I must be honest; if you hadn't come along, I may have married Zelda. Not because of love but because of obligation. And now I'm here, processing emotions I never processed and questioning things I never questioned. You made me realize I deserve to be happy, and with you is where I'm most happy."

He shimmied his eyebrows upward at you. "And if I may add that kiss, the motive was foolish, but the feeling I got from it was anything but."

Your lips had been so close to his inside the mountain's fissure. Now you ogled them again, remembering how you lay in bed fantasizing of their touch in Hotel Oasis.

In that moment you realized Link wouldn't be the only one stealing something from the Queen.

"Maybe we can try again sometime... if you ever decide to give in to me."

If you decided to jump into the fire, you wouldn't feel anywhere close to as hot as Link's words made you feel. The thought of the inescapable heartache waiting at the end was enough to act as ice being dumped onto the flames of desire engulfing your body.

"Link, I have to protect myself from-"

"From yourself." Link finished. You sat silently, wondering if he had a point.

"Saying you are a historian and that you can stop history from repeating itself is like a medic saying they can prevent themselves from ever being ill. Like me as a knight saying I will never lose a fight because I can wield a sword. Besides, history is what brought us together, is it not?"

You remembered how your hands touched and Link's eyes devoured yours, and then the article about the Hero of Time. It was then that you decided not to divulge the visions to him.

Not yet.

"Are you going to tell me about what is troubling you?"

You gave Link a crooked smile. "And risk the soup getting cold?"

Link's stomach roared, and he gave you a grateful grin.

"Alright, but after we eat, we are going to talk."

You got up and grabbed two spoons from Epona's saddle bag. You waved your spoon at him. "No, after we eat, you're going to actually teach me what the heck to do when I'm fighting a mob of Moblins."

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The next two days passed with you and Link enjoying pleasant camaraderie. The carnal stares and light, breezy touches continued, but Link seemed tamer than when you were bundled together in the fissure.

You knew it was best, at least for the time being. But you couldn't help but crave his touches like one would crave sugar; you found your morale crashing without them.

"Say Link, I am not as well traveled as you, but isn't Rito village burrowed in between the Tabantha region and the Hebra Mountains? It feels like we've been traveling for quite some time."

Link strolled next to you and Reisz atop of Epona. "Well, you would be correct except for the fact that Teba tends to hide at the Flight Range at Hebra Mountain's base."

"Teba," The name had a surge of strength that rolled off the tongue when you said it. "I assume he is the Rito champion. I didn't recall seeing him at the coronation."

This made Link respond with a dry chuckle. "Well, the Rito are an interesting group. The Gerudo are merchants at heart; they can sell the clothes off your body with their charms, but they take their culture seriously. Rito are different. Even in death, Revali refused to accept or acknowledge my skills as a knight. The Rito are swift aerial archers and excruciatingly proud."

"Perhaps they're just grumpy because of this horrendous cold. I can vouch for them."

Your response just made Link laugh again. "Chin up, Y/N. We are almost there."

You eventually came across a quant shack with the Hebra Mountains serving as a backdrop. Link slowed to a stop. "Alright, let's be quick. I'm sure Epona and Reisz would like to find camp and graze by a warm fire."

"They aren't alone." You groaned through chattering teeth.

Link knocked on the door of the shack, and it swung open with a screeching creak.

A squawk greeted you from beyond the door. "Father! Visitors!"

A Rito fledgling stood, his curious blue eyes crackling like ice breaking. He had feathers that were whiter than the snow falling from the sky. Three straggly feathers crowned his forehead, giving him a ruffled bedhead look.

He was simply the cutest thing you had ever seen.

"AWWW, HYLIA, HOW CAN HE BE SO CUTE?"

Link raised his arm, shielding you. "Ah, Y/N I wouldn't-"

"Cute?!" The fledgling cawed as he dashed forward in a feverish gust. His sweet, googly eyes were wild like a stampede marching toward you.

"Tulin! Fall back, this instant!" A flat, authoritative voice stopped the fledgling in his tracks.

Or, wings, rather.

"But father, I am not cute."

"Tulin, that's enough. Not everyone communicates like us Rito. Being a good warrior is a great goal, but being more worldly isn't a bad one to strive for either." The source of the voice sauntered forward in the form of a Rito with the same white feathers as the fledgling known as "Tulin." The ends of his wings were dipped in an ashen gray that matched the harsh, downset brows that emphasized the savagery of his brown eyes. He kept his wings clipped behind his back as he paced forth from the shadows.

"Ah, well, well, what has the wind from Hyrule Castle blown our way? Welcome Link."

"Teba. Sorry to come unannounced." Link turned stiff. These Rito certainly knew how to ruffle feathers.

"Well. Don't mind Tulin. He is cranky from archery training. And it seems you've brought a guest."

You gave Teba the same half-bow you gave Riju. "Hello, my name is Y/N. Pleased to meet you."

"Y/N, I'm not familiar, but I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

"We come to discuss an important matter."

Teba laughed. "Let me guess? That Blood Moon that's about to pummel Hyrule? Yes, to be honest, this matter holds much significance. I am rather surprised the Queen has not accompanied you. Has there been a lover's quarrel?"

You concentrated on your feet, trying to ignore the stab of pain at the combination of the words "queen" and "lovers" in Teba's sentence.

Link opened his mouth but only for Teba to continue his peroration. "You know, whatever it may be, you have the support of the Rito and the privilege to possess Vah Medoh's aid. But I must make a request of my own."

You could see Link's jaw clench. "Not so long ago, I asked you to prove your worth by taking flight and proving you could match the Rito as an aerial archer. I would like to find someone of equal competition to challenge my Tulin. Perhaps your mysterious partner here would be up to the challenge."

Now your jaw was clenched in unison with Link's. "Y/N is undergoing her knight training; perhaps she would be a worthy equivalent to Tulin?"

"Link!" You growled beneath your breath.

"Ah, now you're talking! If we are to fight the very moon itself, then I'd like to know the knights of Hyrule Castle are training as rigorously as us Rito."

"Very well, now I shall make a request of my own." Teba raised a brow at Link.

"Let's make it a double challenge. Y/N and myself against you and Tulin. Then we talk business."

Tulin chirped in elation. "Can we father? Can we please?"

You turned to Link and begged. "Can we not Link? Can we not, please?"

Link and Teba stood toe to claw. Despite one possessing a beak and the other possessing lips, they both seemed to manage the same feral snarl.

"You're on!"

Edited:8/27/23

*** IS BABY TULIN NOT SO FAWKING CUTE THOOO! SQWEEE 🥰🥰🥰🥰***