Scars Of Honor

Disclaimer: In case anyone was wondering, I do not own the characters of Legend of Zelda.

~~LoZ~~

"Hyah! Yah! Aiyah!"

It was early morning, the sun barely risen on a beautiful, warm clear day. Yet the sounds of combat rang out, and it was this that pulled the Princess from her sleep. Startled, she woke abruptly and jerked up quickly, her hand over her heart as she looked around wildly.

But after a few moments she calmed and laughed a little softly at herself, the tension leaving her body. It wasn't combat she was hearing, but Link doing his normal training. It was still a little disorienting, hearing such things again. She had gotten used to silence over the hundred years she was trapped in her destroyed palace, keeping Ganon sealed there with her until Link could heal and awaken again. She glanced around and sighed softly. The camp looked as undisturbed as it had last night when she'd gone to sleep, watched over by her knight protector. The hand over her heart clenched a little and she smiled. He was always protecting her, always vigilant. She had no doubts that though he was hidden just out of sight as he worked on his training, his senses were on full alert and positioned on her and their small camp.

It made her feel warm inside, as warm as the sun's rays as they touched her. She tilted her face into its welcoming heat, her smile just as sweet as before, though now touched by a certain wistfulness.

Father, I... I wish you could see the sunrise with me once again. It's so beautiful, as always. You would have loved it.

It had been a small tradition in days now long past; they would both rise and ready for the day, then meet on one of the highest parapets of the castle to watch the sunrise together. Even in later days, as her seemingly fruitless struggles to access her power had driven a wedge between them, they had still met and quietly spent those early mornings together. The only times they hadn't done so was when she was traveling – and then she had watched both the sun rise, and Link training.

A light blush stole across her cheeks at that last thought. He was so dedicated and single-minded when it came to his training even now, and his skill with his weapons was just as beautiful to watch as the sun rising. In the past, it had often made her feel frustrated and unworthy of her own position, she would admit. Despite that, she had still been unable to keep herself from watching him when she could, especially as she had gotten to know him more. There was no doubting that he was a handsome man, and she was woman enough to enjoy that fact – even if she'd never really showed it back then.

Not that she'd had the chance to voice her admiration, of course. Ganon's rising had destroyed more than just Hyrule itself. But now... well, now was a different matter. The monster was gone once again, her and Link's utmost duty to the land fulfilled for this lifetime.

She had other duties to the land, though... duties that she now had the time to consider.

Blush deepening, she shook her head and brushed those thoughts off. It was time to rise and begin the day.

Throwing back the heavy blankets that Link had provided her, she rose carefully to her feet and brushed her fingers through her hair. Reaching into her pack, her searching hand just touched her brush, and she tugged it out. She quickly pulled it through her hair and tamed the blonde tresses, then braided it at the crown, leaving the rest to wave down her back.

After using some of her water to wash her face and clean her teeth, she dressed quickly in fresh garments and nodded with satisfaction, feeling ready to face the day. She could still hear Link practicing, and with another small flush that she couldn't stop, she turned towards the sounds and made her way over the little hillock they'd camped on the leeward side of.

That blush deepened against her will when she realized that this time he was practicing without a shirt on. She could see every muscle outlined by the sunlight, his perfectly defined chest and tight abdomen gleaming. Link was one of the most fit men she had ever met, his constant training leaving him with not an ounce of extra weight anywhere. He was slim yet immensely strong, and terribly attractive for all that.

He always had been.

The other ladies in the palace had certainly been aware of it, and there had been much speculating about who he would choose to marry. Almost every young woman in Castle Town would have loved to have been his bride, his handsome face and social position drawing them in droves. After all, he was a knight, a noble, addressed as Sir Link or Sir Knight by all. After he'd been appointed her protector and Hero of Hyrule by her father, though, she had stopped addressing him properly for a long while.

It hadn't really been well done of her, she could admit. Looking back, she'd allowed her frustrations with her own struggles with her duty as Princess of Hyrule to spill over to him, and she felt a hint of guilt once more at that remembrance. Things had changed between them, of course, as they'd gotten to know each other, and she was very glad they had. When he'd asked her to stop calling him by title and address him by name, she'd been honored, and she'd slipped very easily into that habit. Now she only used his title when they were in formal circumstances, such as when they visited the leaders of the other races.

But when they were out in the wilds of the kingdom, traveling around, well... that was different. Perhaps it was now time to tell him to set aside his own formality with her. Out here, such things had little consequence, anyway. Out here, they could simply be Zelda and Link, not Princess and noble Knight-Protector.

Freedom was a wonderful thing, she realized. She'd forgotten what it was like after a century trapped like an animal in a cage with a horror such as Ganon. It was taking her a little time to get used to her new circumstances. Sometimes when she first woke she was disoriented, thinking Link's coming and rescue of her and the kingdom all a wishful dream. Oh, she'd always had faith that he would return, but the reality was something different. Time was needed to heal, not just for Hyrule, but for her and her knight as well.

Link had stopped practicing and turned to her while her thoughts had wandered, his gaze curious, and she approached him with a small smile. She opened her mouth to greet him, but stopped abruptly and snapped her mouth closed, the smile falling off her face as she got close enough to really see his skin. Shock widened her eyes, and her lips parted on a gasp.

"Link..." her voice trailed off and she raised a hand to touch him, then yanked it back and shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.

She hadn't really thought about how terrible his injuries from a hundred years ago had been in such an immediate manner. There'd been no time for it, and he'd never been this undressed in her presence since receiving them. A hot tide of guilt washed over her at the physical evidence of what he'd suffered for his dedication to his duty as her protector and Hero of the kingdom. He'd almost lost his life to it, and she shook her head, a tear shimmering as it slid down her cheek despite her attempts to keep from allowing it.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, wiping it away with the back of one small hand. "Do they still pain?"

He looked aside, his jaw tightening, and reached for his discarded tunic. "It's of no concern, Your Highness. I'm sorry you had to see that. They aren't very pleasant to look at, I'm sure."

"Stop that!" she demanded as she reached out again, hesitating only briefly before placing her hand against his skin, palm flat against his chest. She flushed, but didn't let her embarrassment or his surprise stop her. "You got those wounds protecting me and Hyrule. How could I look down on you for them?" Her voice was low and anguished as she met his startled gaze. "Each one of these scars are beautiful, never think otherwise, and I honor you most deeply for them. Link... without you the kingdom would no longer exist – and neither would I. I could never thank you enough for all that you've done, and are still doing to protect me and every citizen of this country."

The young man's cheeks turned a dull red at the princess' touch and her passionate words, not having expected them at all. Truthfully, he'd forgotten about his old injuries as he'd practiced, and hadn't thought anything of stripping away his shirt as he worked his muscles in the familiar forms of combat, just as he did every morning. The day was already warm, after all, and he was unused to traveling with another now, after waking in the Shrine of Resurrection with no memories – or anything else - to call his own. As he'd gone on the journey that had ultimately honed him into a man able to fulfill his duty to Hyrule and its Princess, he'd been alone and not needed to consider anyone else.

It hadn't been very long now since Ganon had finally been sealed away again and his Princess rescued from her self-imposed exile in the remains of Hyrule Castle, a mere two weeks. She'd more than fulfilled her own duty in his eyes, keeping the Calamity from escaping its confines for one hundred years while he'd slept that time away in what seemed like a dreamless moment to him. A surge of guilt went through him at that thought... he felt like he'd failed as her protector. She should never have been left alone to deal with the Calamity as she had – and for so long. In the end he'd fallen, and she'd saved him, not the other way around as it should have been.

He shook his head, his features tense. "My memories are almost fully returned. I remember what happened back then. If I hadn't failed in my duty, none of the last hundred years would have been necessary. There was no honor in my fall - I was defeated and you and Hyrule suffered for that. These scars tell the tale of that failure, speak of my shame. You shouldn't have had to see them."

"No!" she snapped. "What happened then was no one's fault. We had no true idea of just what we were facing, and circumstances at the time did not allow for us to access what we needed to understand and defeat Ganon. Not then. I think... no, I know that things had to happen the way they did. As awful as it was, there was nothing either of us could have done to change what took place. What matters is that you returned as soon as you were able, and together, we defeated the Calamity and returned peace to our land. That is where honor, yours and mine, lies."

She looked down, and slowly allowed her fingers to trace some of his scars, a look of sadness and a touch of self-recrimination now on her face – an expression the young man couldn't stand to see on her. He started to say something, but she shook her head at him again, and he fell silent.

"I'm only sorry that your duty left you so injured, so close to death. You... you almost died, Link. I was so frightened that I would lose you, and grateful to that sword in your hand for the chance to save you, grateful that I could hear its voice when it truly counted. And I am so much more than thankful that you're still here, still with me. So very alive – and well."

"Princess-"

She trapped his gaze with hers at that, and he stopped abruptly at the look, suddenly feeling a little breathless. She was still touching him, and his skin tingled wherever her fingers moved. The feeling was much more than he'd expected, and the high color on his cheekbones intensified.

"No more. Unless we are visiting the leaders of the other races and formality is called for, I want you to use my name from now on, Link. Please, grant me that much at least from the man who gave so very much for me and all Hyrule."

"I-"

She cut him off once again. "If I must make it an order, then I will. But I would rather not."

After a moment, he nodded. "If you insist, then I will obey," he said, though with a small smile in her direction.

That smile made her heart flutter rapidly in her chest and her eyes widen a fraction at him, and it took her a moment to realize that she still had her hand on him, and that her fingers were still caressing his scars. With yet another blush she pulled back, smiling tentatively in return.

"Then let me hear my name in your voice," she replied. "I have waited long for the chance."

His cheeks matched hers again at her command and the warmth of her tone, but he responded after a moment.

"Zelda," he offered slowly, as though still uncertain he should really be speaking to her so familiarly.

When her smile blossomed fully it was like the earlier sunrise, and Link abruptly remembered what the Deku Tree had said to him a few months before.

"She has a smile like the sun. I would do much to feel its warmth upon me once again."

He'd always known she would be a beautiful woman, since she'd been a beautiful girl even when young. He remembered the first time he'd ever seen her up close. He'd been little more than a child himself when presented at court by his father upon beginning his training. Before that, even living in Castle Town with a father who was a knight in the palace, he hadn't formally been introduced and so had never seen either the King or his daughter from more than a distance. He wasn't sure if she remembered, though he rather thought not since she'd never said a word about it, but he'd gaped at her in wide-eyed wonder when he'd gotten close enough, almost forgetting to kneel for the King and Princess as was proper. His father had been forced to hiss the command at him before he'd been recalled to his senses and managed to join the other knights and new trainees on their knee.

The man had bemoaned his 'lack of social graces' for a while after that, though really his sire had just been teasing him, and he knew that. It had still been very embarrassing, though.

"Thank you," Zelda breathed in reply, her smile turning a bit shy. His voice was a pleasing tenor that had never failed to send a little shiver through her, but when he'd spoken her name it had deepened just a bit in a way that sent far more than a small shiver down her spine. "It was worth the wait. I will be glad to hear it from you frequently from now on."

Link just shook his head at her with a wry smile of his own. "I can't promise I'll remember to call you by name so easily, but I will try, since it's what you wish. Please don't be angry at me if I forget, though."

"I will just remind you if you do," she laughed, happy to share this moment with her oftimes stoic knight. He'd told her once that he'd felt he had to be so after being chosen as her Knight-Protector and Hero, but she hoped that with time he would loosen up a little bit and let that unnatural, stern quiet go. She wanted to see him smile more, hear him laugh often with simple joy that he didn't feel the need to hide.

The moment turned a little awkward as a small silence fell, and then Link cleared his throat. "I'd better get cleaned up. We should head out soon. We're near Zora's Domain now, and if we leave shortly we'll make it just before nightfall. It's still very dangerous out here, even with Ganon gone – the monsters haven't dwindled much yet."

Zelda nodded. "Yes. Though at least we should no longer have to worry about the blood moon. With the Calamity sealed once again, his influence here in Hyrule will fade." Then she turned away with another, smaller smile. "I should gather some water from the stream. My bottle is getting rather low, and yours as well," she finished, then left him to ready himself for the day.

Link watched her go with a bemused smile, still blushing a little. He was deeply honored that she'd requested he use her name rather than her title, and if he was strictly honest with himself, it was an honor he was glad to have earned, an honor he'd always wanted to have.

He hoped it was never one that he lost, because he couldn't deny that he wanted to be closer to her, and this was definitely one step in that direction. Even after waking with his memories of her, himself, and everyone else gone, the moment King Rhoam's spirit had revealed her existence and plight to him, her name had resonated inside him in a way he could never have ignored. He'd known immediately from the depths of his soul that he would do anything it took to defeat the enemy and free her from her prison inside that derelict castle.

All the legends of the Princess and the Hero spoke of the fact that their souls were bound to each other and Hyrule through time, and he found he had no problem believing that, considering his reaction to her name even with his mind bereft of any knowledge of himself or her. It gave him peace of heart to know that, truthfully, because he always wanted to protect her.

With a slight shake of his head his smile turned rueful, and he headed for his pack to gather a clean tunic and discard the one still in his hand before going for the stream himself to wash up.

If the two blushed a little more frequently that day as they traveled together and danced that much closer to each other, it was to be expected...

And neither truly minded, anyway. It was good to be together once again.

~~LoZ~~

This is my first LoZ fanfic, though I've been a fan of the series since the very first LoZ game came out in the eighties. I played it frequently, and still have it and the original system. (Yes, I'm that old. I was in my early teens when Nintendo first became a thing.) I never really thought about writing a story based on the games, though – not until Breath of the Wild. I hope I've done the two and their personalities in this iteration justice, what we see of them through the game. This was just an idea that came to me when Robbie asked to see Link's scars to verify his identity, and so here it is.

I hope LoZ fans enjoy.

Amber