prompt: protection

game: a few months after Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass.

disclaimer: I don't own Zelda.

The shore of New Hyrule, as the crew had dubbed it, was all harsh crag, all jutting rocks that kept them from finding a place to safely land. And they needed a place to land—they'd been at sea for weeks on end, and none of them wanted to survive another night of stale biscuits and salted pork. Leaning out against the deck's railing and peering through Aryll's telescope, Link couldn't help but feel unwelcome in this unfamiliar land that was to be their new home.

But they had to try. He swung the telescope around to point towards where Tetra stood at the helm, the wind whipping her blond hair back from her face. In the light of the setting sun she looked wild and powerful and lovely, like the sea during a thunderstorm, like she could tear apart the land with her bare hands if she wished.

When she spotted him watching her, she scrunched up her face and made a rude gesture in his direction. Link laughed and lowered the telescope. The wind was too loud for him to hear her, but he could be sure that Tetra was cursing like the pirate she'd once been—like the girl she'd once been, before the King of Red Lions saddled her with an impossible task.

They finally found a small cove where it would safe enough to anchor for the night and rowed the short distance to shore in the lifeboats. By then, night had lowered its cold shroud over them, leaving them to navigate by moonlight and torchlight alone. Link helped pitch the camp while the rest of the crew went in search of dinner, returning with a few fish and the small crabs scuttling along the rocky beach.

Tetra settled down next to him, leaning her back against a boulder. "We had to get here at night," she grumbled. "Too dark out there to even see what our kingdom looks like."

"Yeah," Link said absently, prying the shell off of his crab with his belt knife.

"I hope the whole place isn't like this beach, all cold and wet and rocky."

"Yeah."

She elbowed him in the ribs. "What's with you? You're quiet."

"I'm always quiet."

"Still," Tetra said impatiently, taking the cooked fish impaled on a stick that Niko passed to her. "Even for you, you're quiet."

Link let out a breath. "It's just…now that we're finally in New Hyrule…" the words felt strange in his mouth, like clothes that didn't fit. "It's all over."

"What's all over?"

"Our life. Our…freedom. I mean, is this what you really want? You don't even like to be called Zelda!"

She didn't reply for a moment, scuffing her boots in the sand and not looking at him. "It's a name fit for a queen," she admitted slowly.

Link's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I'm still angry with him," he muttered sullenly. "He didn't ask what we wanted. He never did."

Tetra snorted. "I don't believe you for a second. You're not mad because of what the king wanted us to do—'cause you know, somewhere in there—" she tapped her knuckles against his skull, "you know that it's what we were born for. You're just mad that he died."

Link had nothing to say to that. She was always right. He thought of the things he saw in his dreams sometimes—a magic ocarina, a blue fairy who knew his name, an evil king who wouldn't stay dead, and her, her, her, in every hazy memory Link had. She knew him better than he knew himself.

"I miss him," he said finally.

"I know. But this—" Tetra waved a hand to encompass the sea, the beach, and whatever lay beyond. "It's what he wanted for us. For you, especially."

"So you'll be queen," Link stated.

She gave him a smile that was equal parts wistful and exhilarated. A year ago, she would have just scoffed at the idea. "I'll be queen," she repeated. "And I'll need your help too. This kingdom we build will be something worth fighting for, Link. Something that needs our protection."

He laughed quietly and looked up at the stars, casting their light down on them. "I guess I can help with that."

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When he woke by the fire's dying embers, dawn was spreading rosy color in the eastern sky. Tetra was tugging at his arm, telling him to get up. Link stumbled to his feet and followed her blearily.

"You're too slow," she complained, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him up the hill that was just past the beach, ignoring his sleepy protests.

Link stopped short when he saw what was over the hill. Land stretched out for miles and miles before them. Below the hill was a field of lush tall grass, whispering in the wind; beyond that was a forest so thick and dense that Link couldn't see anything through its leaves. To the north there were snow-covered mountains that stretched far to the east. And a massive tower, stone darkened and mossy with age, stood over it all.

"New Hyrule," Tetra said, her voice hushed with awe.

They stood together, hand in hand, and watched the sun rise over their home.

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