If I were Link, where would I run off to?

That was quite the ambiguous question Zelda realized, peeking her head around another corner. Although, apparently the library wasn't her answer.

She sighed and continued down the vacant hallway, her soft soled shoes making no noise on the hardwood floors as she peeked into every room. Not in the kitchen, library, dining room, veranda or even the parlor.

"Where in Hyrule is he?" she murmured to herself as the parlor door slid back into its original position.

The villa they'd been given wasn't that large, and Zelda was certain she'd searched every inch of it. And yet, there was no sign of her husband.

She absentmindedly twisted a loose lock of hair around her finger, chewing on her lip in thought. This was simply one of the worst times for him to disappear without a trace; the two were due to meet with the chancellor of this fine country any minute. What was she supposed to tell them if he didn't show?

"My deepest apologies, but I seem to have misplaced the king of Hyrule."

She physically shook her head at the thought. There was still plenty of time before the planned meeting, and if there was anyone who could find him it was her...hopefully. Link had always been a free spirited soul, and Zelda knew that would never change, but some days she really wished it was socially acceptable to chain a person to a chair. By now, she was accustomed to him forgetting about pre assigned court days or other prestigious events because of some other reason; which usually involved being distracted by a stray kitten. Yes, he was quite an unusual case for a king, but he really did try and that was good enough for her. She could brush off a missed consoul meeting here and there, but a treaty arrangement with another country? That was a different story.

Zelda pushed open the door of their villa, perhaps with a bit more force than necessary, and stepped out onto the smooth wooden planks that made a raised porch. She brought her hand up to block out the blinding sun reflecting off the water and chalky sand, eyes scanning the surrounding area for Link. There were a few of the villagers, most of whom were carrying baskets full of fishes and exotic fruits, but no blond headed Hylians.

Straightening out the folds of her simple dress, Zelda headed down the stairs and onto the beach. Warm sand washed over her sandaled feet as she walked in the direction of the water, hoping that at the very least someone had seen her husband.

"Pardon me," she called out to a pair of women with baskets on their hips, "have either of you seen a blond Hylian? He should be wearing a crown similar to this one," she gestured up to the crown on her head, which had a near identical twin belonging to Link.

The two women exchanged a few quick words in their own tongue. The younger one gave a small push against the other's arm, nodding her head, urging her to speak to the queen.

"Errr, yes," she said slowly, carefully pronouncing her words, "we have seen this man, he has hair like the sun and eyes like ocean, yes?"

Zelda nodded, "Could you please tell me where he is?"

Again the women conversed among themselves. The younger must have said something amusing since they both broke into fits of giggles. Goddesses, please let Link not have done something embarrassing, Zelda silently prayed, twisting the fabric of her skirt with the tips of her fingers.

Regaining her composure, the older woman spoke again, "He is down by the ocean."

Zelda nodded her thanks to the women and set off for the water, walking as fast as she could while still regaining her composure. The sand was a much more difficult terrain to walk on than she was used to, its constant shifting and churning making it hard to keep her balance while her eyes were scanning every inch of the sandy village.

Her ears perked as a couple of playful shouts reached them from the direction of the beach. Now that seemed a very likely palace for Link to be.

Her steps quickened as she reached the edge in the line of villas, a few glints could be seen as the water came fully into view. There was only a few meters of beach until the water, and a clear view for miles down the coast; thankfully though, Zelda didn't have to look far. True to her assumptions, there was Link, in all his kingly glory, playing with a group of local children in the surf.

Zelda sighed in relief at finally finding him. She paused at the thin line of tall tropical trees for a moment, casually leaning against one as she observed her husband. Like her, he was wearing mostly white to keep away the hot sun, his shirt a artistic blend of the village's traditional clothes and classic Hylian fashion, paired with a comfortable pair of brown trousers. Though, apparently, he hadn't found them comfortable enough as they had originally been. She couldn't stop the small smile at his hasty fix; his trousers, like all the others, were rolled up and away from the salty lick of the surf and the flowing sleeves of his shirt rolled nearly to his shoulder, the lacing on the front of his shirt, meticulously crafted and styled, was now completely udon to loosen the collar as much as possible. Perhaps the whole outfit might not have looked strange, if it weren't for the golden crown perched jauntally on his head.

Zelda amusedly watched them play their game for a few minutes, a local one she'd seen the children play often which consisted of skidding a ball skilfully across the shallow surf, before remembering her reason for coming out here in the first place. She took purposeful steps as she approached the group of about ten, keeping her head held high as she'd been taught to do. One of the boys, she guessed around fourteen, stopped his playing and nudged the king in the ribs, his head nodding in the direction of the other Hylian. Link whirled around, his grin widening once he caught sight of his wife. Zelda returned his smile with a grimace as she stopped near the water's edge.

Link held up a hand of apology to the others and took off running towards the shore. He stopped in front of his wife, his hand lacing their fingers and his lips planting a quick peck on hers in one fluid motion.

"Fancy seeing you here, Love," he gave her another wide grin, "come to join in the fun?"

Zelda gave a low laugh as she brushed a bit of sand from his tanned cheeks, a hint of red tinting his face from exertion and exposure to the sun. He didn't look terrible, she had to admit, just not exactly presentable. His clothes were all salty and covered in sand, and his hair was curling in around his crown or sticking up at odd angles from sweat; a look she found quite endearing, but that was her opinion and probably hers alone.

"I am here to collect one King of Hyrule, actually," a smile played across her face, "I would be so grateful if you could point me in his direction."

"Har har," he grinned at her, "that's right though, we have the signing soon, don't we," he muttered the last part out, more to himself than her.

"More than soon," Zelda brushed a few bangs from his eyes, "we have it right about now. And where are your shoes?" she asked as she caught sight of his bare feet. Of course it shouldn't have surprised her, he always ditched his shoes the first chance he got.

He just shrugged, "Is it really though? We always show up so early, and then we just wait."

"Link really, we-" Zelda protested as he gently tugged her towards the water.

"Relax, I just want you to meet them, then we can go, I promise."

Zelda reluctantly let him lead her to the water, slinelty glad her dress was shorter than normal as the warm water swelled around her ankles.

"This better not take long," she muttered to her husband as they drew near the group, "we really do need to go soon."

He just squeezed her hand in response, his other coming up to greet the small group again. Zelda forced a smile onto her face as they waved back, all gathering nearer to say hello. Link pointed out each one and told her a fame to match the face, and each one waved or managed a simple hello in Hylian. They seemed like a pleasant group, about ten in all and ages ranging anywhere from early to late teen, and Zelda would have loved to meet them, had it been at a different time. She shifted her weight slightly from foot to foot as Link engaged a few of the older ones in conversation, the younger ones, whom Zelda assumed were not yet fluent in Hylan, resumed their game.

"Link," she muttered and gave his hand a warning squeeze, which she hoped sent him a clear message to 'hurry up'.

One of the girls, about eighteen years in age, noticed the small gesture; unfortunately, she interrupted it completely wrong.

"Would your wife like to learn to play?" she asked Link, smiling sweetly at Zelda and giving her a small wink.

"What?" Zelda asked, her eyes widening, "No, I-"

"How 'bout it, Zel?" Link piped up,an innocent smile growing on his face.

"No," she tried more firmly, though it came out more sheepish than she would have like, "really Link, we should-"

"I never thought you were afraid of the water," he interrupted with a mischievous glint in his eye, dropping her hand as he said it.

"Link, don't you dare-," she tried to step away as she saw what he was trying to do. But unfortunately for her, his reflexes were much faster than her own.

She let out a small gasp or surprise as he easly scooped her up, effortlessly holding her bridal style. There were a few giggles as he rocked her back and forth, feigning throwing her at the height of the arch.

"Link, don't you dare!" she breathed out icily, hands gripping onto his shirt as he very nearly did drop her into the water.

"Relax princess," he whispered back to her, the grin growing on his face, "I'm not going to actually throw you."

He finally stopped his little game and did a few twirls, with Zelda still holding on for dear life. True to his word, he never did drop her. However, he never promised anything about not tripping.

"Hinotishmata!" a rich voice boomed out the local greeting, easily carrying across the beach and startling everyone in the water.

Most everyone jumped at the sudden loud noise, though the Hylian royal couple didn't get away so easily. Link had been finishing up a spin when the voice startled him, causing him to fully lose his already unsteady footing and send both him and his wife into the shallow water. Both sat up, rubbing the water from their face and spitting the salty liquid from their mouths. Zelda recovered quite quickly, standing up from the foot or so of water they'd landed in and doing her best to wring the water from her soaked skirt. Link on the other hand, sat for a moment in the surf, a sort of awestruck face stuck on his features; that was until he started laughing. He did his best to rise to his feet, his laughter making it hard to keep his balance.

Zelda laid him under an icy gaze, "It' is not funny, Link."

"Oh come on," he said in between laughs as he walked up to his wife, his arms sliding easily around her waist, "It's a little funny."

Now forced to look at him, Zelda tried to keep the smile from her face, her hands pushing fruitlessly against his elbows.

"It's not funny," she told him again, though her failed attempt at smiling wasn't helping her.

He didn't bother arguing with her, seeing as they both broke out into fits of giggles.

It was a clearing of a throat that brought both their attention back to the group of spectators they'd altogether forgotten.

"Am I to assume you are the queen and king of Hyrule?" a middle aged man asked cooly.

Zelda felt the blood drain from her face as they both turned to face a man dressed in bright robes adorned with gold. His voice was no doubt what had startled Link, but Zelda was more worried what the tall hat perched on his head was a symbol of.

"Chancellor," she breathed out, pushing Link's arms away from her waist, "my deepest apologies that we were running late," she atteptem her best curtsy and fixed her crown, which had been resting at an odd angle from the fall. She stood up straight and jerked her head at Link, thankfully he understood and promptly dipped into a bow.

The Chancellor waved his hand dismissively,"Never mind that now," he turned to an attendee standing next to him and consulted a wax tablet that was held out for him. "I suppose this evening at the banquet would be as good of a time as any?" He gave the couple a questioning glance.

The two exchanged quizzical looks," Pardon me, good time for what, exactly?" Zelda asked crisply.

"Why to sign the treaty, of course," he now offered them a small smile.

Zelda and Link exchanged stunned looks now, not quite believing what they were hearing. They had planned to stay at the very least a week to work out the details of a treaty, after all the province of Lurelin was very independent and had refused any meddling from the 'industrialized Hyrule'. For their chancellor to agree with a treaty so willingly was surprising, to say the least.

"Just like that?" Link blurted out.

The chancellor's smile grew wider and his hands spread out simply, "Just like that," he confirmed, "I have seen many royals come into our home, but never a pair quite like you two."

Zelda was still too stunned to say anything. Not only were they late to their pre-arranged meeting, but here they were, standing an absolute mess while dripping wet.

"Most leaders are too tight," he explained with a wave of his hand, "they see themselves as above the people and are, quite frankly, too afraid to have a little fun." He took the tall hat perched on his head and handed it to his assistant with a huff, "as for myself, there is nothing I want more than to get out of these itchy robes and have a nice glass of tea."

Zelda and Link both raised their hands as he waved to them, before turning on his heel and walking briskly back to the villas.

"Well whaddya know," Link breathed out, taking off his crown and running a hand through his wet hair, "us being absolute messes actually helped us for once," he grinned at his wife and set his crown back at an angle, "I like it here. No nobles running around with sticks up their butts."

"Link!" she chided, thought a smile was creeping onto her face.

"And now we have a week all to ourselves," he told her happily, resting his arm around her shoulders.

"A whole week," she murmured back, turning to face him, gently rubbing their noses together.

Maybe they weren't the most practical or even well respected royal couples, but there was something to be said for unprofessionalism. It was one of the reasons Zelda had married Link, he took every rule she'd had etched into her mind from a young age and threw them out the window. Together they created a sort of harmony, working together to weave the life of royalty and commoner into one. And thanks to that, now they had a whole week in a tropical paradise.  

A/N 

Wow, it's been a minute, hasn't it XD if u somehow stumble upon this,  may u have a good day haha