Zelda sat in her small study on a chilly winter afternoon, staring into nothing. She had been doing that alot lately, not that it was by choice.

Sighing, she felt around on her desk for her water, a small smile coming to her face as her groping fingers found the cool glass. ' Celebrate the small victories'. Those were the words she lived by now, each day holding on to the small battles she won as she struggled. Setting her glass down again she picked the string she had been working with, her fingers stumbling over one another as she worked on a knot. She sat there for an excruciating fifteen minutes before dropping the string, no matter how hard she tried her fingers refused to work gracefully without the help of her eyes.

She dropped her head into her hands in despair, not even attempting to stop the tears from flowing. Her thought wandered back to that certain day, as they often did. She had gone to her physician after a council member had voiced concerns about her troubled vision; they told her that perhaps she needed some spectacles to aid in her seeing. How wrong they had been.

It had been eight months since that day, and Zelda still vividly remembered the overwhelming fear that consumed her. It was incurable, they said. Cataract, an illness of the eyes. Each day she woke up fearing to see nothing, to have the nothingness consume her. It wasn't sudden though, each day the words on the papers she signed became harder to read, faces slowly became blurred, colors dulled. The doctors tried every remedy they could think of but nothing worked. Now here she was, left with nothing. All she could see were small shifts in light, but that was minimal compared to the vivid world she used to know.

Tears still flowed from her unusable eyes and she remembered her terrible journey. She was just a useless princess now, not able to truly help her country just sitting here in her study and trying to see with her hands. All she was now was a pretty face. That's not even true anymore, she reminded herself. Everyone said she looked fine, but she knew. Her once vibrant blue eyes were a dull clouded grey now, like eyes that belonging to the dead.

Zelda tried to stop the flow of tears. Despite the circumstance she still had to keep trying, honing her other senses was the only option now for normalcy. She took a few shuddering breaths before searching with her hands for her dropped string. Successfully grabbing it she set to work again on the knot, using her other senses to keep alert. As she worked she heard the soft creak of the door open. Probably a servant with some food, she thought as slow footsteps traveled across the wooden floor.

She stopped her work, the footsteps piquing her curiosity. It wasn't the usual sound of the servants soft shoes. No. If she had to guess she'd say they belonged to a pair of boots, perhaps of the leather variety. Tears came to her eyes unwillingly as a certain pair of boots came to her mind. A pair of boots that had been seen leaving Hyrule years ago.

Her heartbeat quickened as the footsteps stopped next to her chair, a familiar smell of pine trees and hay reaching her nose. A smell she thought she'd never smell again. Tears streamed freely down her face now, she wouldn't let herself hope that he'd come back after all this time.

She felt a hand touch her face and a thumb brush the tears away, the hand was calloused, most likely from years of holding a sword and shield. Zelda brought her own and up to rest on it, hoping against hope she wasn't leading herself on. Tentatively she reached out a hand to feel her visitors face, the only way for her to see them. 

Her hand came to rest against smooth warm skin, moving her thumb she felt soft lips pulled into a smile, her fingers brushed against a pointed nose. She felt a smile bloom on her face and continued moving her hands, the familiar face forming in her mind. Two pieces of soft hair framed their face and jagged bangs fell into their eyes. She moved her hands farther to feel the hem of what she knew was a green hat resting on his head. 

The chair scuffed along the floor as Zelda launched herself into where she knew his arms were waiting for her, a joyous laugh mixed with her tears. She breathed in his scent as they huddled on the floor, relishing in every moment. She felt his hand in her hair as both cried in eachothers arms. Her silent hero had finally returned.

Link placed a kiss on the top of her head, his warm embrace tightening around her.

"I'm here now Zel."

Zelda felt the air leave her lungs in a gasp. She had always dreamed what his voice sounded like, hoped that one day she might be able to draw a word out of him. Even when he had been in the heat of battle, never before had he uttered a word. They had always communicated by body or sign language, at moments she even doubted her could speak.

But now he had, and his voice was better than she could have possibly imagined. Soft and deep, with the slightest hint of an accent. She cupped his face gently in her hands, it felt sharper and more maturne than she remembered.

"I know," she replied back sofly.

He took her hand and placed a small kiss on her wrist before pulling her into another hug. Zelda sat there, thankful to have him back. Of course her blindness wouldn't go away now that he was here, but he was a beacon of hope for her. He always had been and always would be. For her and Hyrule. 

I'm soryyyyy X) I wrote this today off a whim of an idea, and it hasn't been edited ( I barely read though it so sorry X))

And yes I know the title is rough

~Wolf00Link Has Left The Chat