Spring of Wisdom
Don't overreact she said. Link had his back turned while watching Brigdo and Hina as well. They had better keep their backs turned. No one was turning unless he heard danger nearby.
Unsettling. This wasn't the same from his visions. His vision had her in a white robe during blessings. The same white robe she was in when she held back Ganon. She hadn't done that. Instead they were in the freezing mountains near Hateno. He had once rescued Naydra quite close to there. They all had to have extra warm outfits so they didn't freeze to death.
Princess Zelda had arrived with warm clothing, but she had taken it off. She stood naked in the freezing water, only surviving by the goddess' graces is what she told him.
////"Chosen Knight of Hyrule," she said with a flippancy akin to royalty that didn't care for a commoner. She flipped her hair.
Link watched her, she was angry with him following her. She always had been, she didn't appreciate his presence. Link wasn't there to make her happy though, he was there to make sure nothing happened to the Princess of Hyrule. It was his duty.
"I don't have a choice in this," she said lightly. "I can't afford to be sick. Not with Ganon able to attack at any time, and father will not make you leave my side. But!" She flipped to look back at him, a stern warning with her finger. "You still have to face away and you shall not look at me unless an unlikely monster attacks."
Link didn't know why she was angrier than usual as she started to remove her shoes.
"Turn around, Knight," she commanded. "This isn't a blessing for power like usual, I am asking to be healed. I have a cold and father demands I get healed before it becomes serious."
Link still didn't understand but he turned around. He usually stayed turned around anyway.
"Turn around back this way and I'll use my own sword on you."
Feisty. He heard her get in the water and kept lookout as per usual, until he turned just right and caught a glimpse of her clothing she had worn. It was on the side. All of it?
Oh. That's why she wasn't happy. Link was careful to keep his eyes completely straight.
Princess Zelda was praying in the streams, naked.
Forget Princess Zelda being mad, if Link looked, King Rhoam would cut him down himself!
"I hate this," she admitted from behind him. "Once I start to pray, it's the same. If you hear a monster, you must take care of it. While I am in here, I cannot leave the area until the blessing is done. To leave, even due to my life in trouble is a sin against the goddesses. I? I am at my most vulnerable point. When I was younger, my mother used to help me with this. When I got older, I dealt with sickness like anyone else did. With Ganon's time coming closer, father won't let this go. So, please? Just. Don't look but don't go anywhere. Now more than ever, please don't leave."
Link nodded. She may not trust him yet, but her father gave her no choice but to trust him. A strange man, only slightly older than her. He would give her no reason to doubt him.
She would always feel safe and protected in whatever form her praying had to take.////
Link snapped out of it again. He remembered that moment clearly. Princess Zelda had not got along with him yet, and she had no choice but to trust him at her most vulnerable position. King Rhoam insisted that even a cold could turn into a flu and weaken the chances of her finding her powers. Hyrule wouldn't fall because the Princess had a cold, he declared loudly to her.
Now, she did trust him, but she also had to trust Hino and Brigdo, and possibly Nekk who flew high above everything on lookout farther away. She had to trust them completely with so much. Even a small peek and she would have never known.
So even now, he was keeping his eyes casted toward Hino and Brigdo too. He was learning to trust them, but unlike Princess Zelda, he didn't have to put his whole trust in them.
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Please take this away. Please. Zelda begged for extra help. Freezing yet remaining focused. Hoping she could get something more. More help. New advice. I will take my spot as the royal of Hyrule. I will bring it all back and I will have children and we will be well prepared for the next time Ganon arises. If you please, find it within you to release me from this curse Ganon has put inside of me. Please. She felt malice ooze from the top of her chest. Nothing more or less than last time. No matter how much she pleaded, they never helped any extra. The same amount. An amount to leak away that was safe, that never hurt her skin or her clothes, but they would never remove the malice within her heart. Ever forming. Ever growing. A substance that never could be completely drained away it seemed.
Once, Hyrule had been covered thick in spots with it. After Ganon's death, it was no more. Only within the monsters, and only within her. Like he had kept back a slight amount, to make sure her life would remain a hell for standing against him.
She went back to the side and grabbed a blanket to dry herself lightly as she got her warm gear back on.
She would visit the other springs later. She couldn't visit the same one over and over, the goddesses had never appreciated that. If she wanted more help, she would visit another spring next time. She wouldn't revisit until she had gone to all springs.
She did it though. She did it to keep the malice back as much as possible, from growing too far. It was deep within her heart, but she didn't want it any deeper.
Zelda looked back down at her chest as she came toward Link first. "I have to visit Gerudo soon. I have placed it on hold for some time." He touched the top of his chest, signaling worry over hers. She covered her top up better. She hadn't completely dried off, she just wanted to get warm, so her clothing had stuck wrong. "It's always there. I'll be careful, I always am. Let's just get out of here."
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