NOTE: This story can be read on Archive Of Our Own. Click here to read on that platform.
Link heard a dull thud as Zelda landed on the dirt behind him. “I still don’t see how spending the rest of the day exploring is a good use of our time.”
Link rolled his eyes. When he had suggested the idea to her, he had no idea she would refuse it so quickly. He had managed to convince her to do it, but she was not happy about it.
“Because, once we get off of this plateau, we can’t go straight to Ganon. We’ll need to build up our strength. By exploring.”
Zelda sighed, but she followed him begrudgingly. “Alright, fine. Are we going to head back to Oman Au? I saw a few things over there that looked interesting.”
Link nodded and leapt into the small pond that guarded the shrine, before he began to swim across. He paused to look behind him to see how Zelda was doing, and found her making her way across my paddling freestyle.
Link continued to swim, and he soon reached the shore. Zelda waded onto land after him, and they soon reached the shrine again.
Link noticed Zelda turn on Magnesis, and soon she had broken a few metal crates and pulled two metal chests out of the water. She opened them, revealing two opals, which she put in the Sheikah Slate.
Zelda wiped the hair off of her forehead, before she pointed to a long metal beam. “That was in the pond too. Where do you think it should go?”
Link looked around and pointed at a bog in the distance. “Maybe there,” he suggested.
Zelda nodded, picking up the beam as they walked towards the bog. Link noticed two stone chests on a platform in the middle of the bog, and a log on the shore.
Zelda seemed to catch on as well, and set the beam onto the log and the platform.
“Here, let me do it.” He gently moved Zelda aside, before he climbed onto the beam. He slowly walked across, soon reaching the platform. He knelt down and unbuckled the chests, revealing two bundles of five arrows, but something was different about them.
The first arrows had tips bright red, painted and carved like flames. The second were tipped with ice-blue snowflakes.
Link grabbed the two arrows and carefully walked back across the metal slab, before he jumped onto the ground next to Zelda.
He held out the two bundles and Zelda quickly slid them into the slate. “It says
here that these arrows are able to freeze monsters or set them on fire,” she said, reading the slate. Zelda looked up, her bright emerald eyes glowing a faint blue with the light from the slate. “I think we better hold onto these. They look like they could be useful in a pinch.”
Link nodded as Zelda pulled open the map on the Sheikah Slate. “I think we should go defeat some bokoblins next. Get some more gear and stuff.”
“That sounds good,” Zelda said. “There are a few small camps to the south of the tower, if you want to head there.”
Link nodded and they began to make their way there, but Zelda held out her hand, a signal for them to stop.
Link watched Zelda as she quickly activated Magnesis and fished a boulder out of the pond, before she carefully guided it into a tree stump.
“Ya-ha-ha!” A Korok popped up out of the air surrounding the stump, sending out pink and green sparkles. “Good job! You found me!” It handed them a Korok seed with a tiny arm, before it continued to hover mid-air from its leafy propeller.
Link turned to Zelda, amazed. “How’d you figure out that a Korok was there?”
Zelda smiled as they continued towards the first monster base. “Well, the first Korok said to be sure to check out anything unusual, so I did!”
Link shook his head as they reached a monster camp. Luckily, it had a structure to hide behind, so they were not immediately spotted.
Link looked out from behind the structure cautiously, noticing that there were three bokoblins gathered around a campfire. A few barrels painted bright red were set up on the edge of the camp, and Link began to formulate an idea.
“Follow me,” he whispered, before he began to climb up the structure. The walls were pretty smooth, but Link managed to slide his fingers into the cracks and climb up. Sure enough, a boulder sat on the top of the structure. As Zelda hoisted herself up over the wall, Link pushed on the boulder.
Soon, the rock fell off and hit an explosive barrel, detonating the others. The bokoblins screeched as they flew off, vanishing into violet dust.
“Well done, Link!” Zelda said, jumping off of the structure, with Link following suit. “I’ll get the materials, and you can get their weapons.”
Link nodded and walked over to the weapon rack, which was really just a log with their weapons propped on it. Link picked up the two wooden clubs and the shields. When he turned around to give the weapons to Zelda, he noticed something gleaning in the fire. Setting down the weapons, Link noticed a piece of meat in the flames.
Link took a deep breath before he shoved his arm in and fished out the meat, shaking his arm to try and douse the flames. Zelda quickly noticed and ran over, shaking her head. “You’re ridiculous!” She muttered, putting the weapons and meat into the Sheikah Slate.
Link grinned. “Glad ya finally noticed. Where should we head next? I remember there was a camp of bokoblins right next to the tower.”
Zelda nodded, opening the map on the Slate and tapping the tower icon. Link felt himself break apart into particles of blue light, before he reformed standing on the
tower.
Link sighed as he and Zelda began to hop down the ledges. “It’d be easier to go down if we had the damn paraglider.”
Zelda shook her head slightly. “Link, you need to have patience. Besides, if we got a rune at the Oman Au shrine, we’ll probably get one at the other three, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Link said as they landed and quickly ran behind one of the wooden barricades around the bokoblin camp. “I just-it would be a lot easier. To do a lot of stuff.”
“I know,” Zelda mouthed, before she pulled out her bow. She quickly stepped out from behind the barricade and fired a shot, before ducking behind it again.
“I took out the sentry, so we have the element of surprise,” Zelda explained, seeing Link’s confused face.
“Ah.” Link pulled out a bokoblin’s club, and Zelda unsheathed her sword. Despite the fact that there were only a few monsters, it was getting late, so the monsters had probably eaten and had more energy. Plus, it was three against two. They needed the stronger stuff.
“One, two, three!” Link hissed. Zelda and Link leapt out from the barricade, and Link managed to hit a bokoblin on the head, killing it immediately.
Zelda engaged in a battle with the bokoblin wielding a club, while Link advanced towards a monster with a bow.
Link yelped as an arrow thudded into his shoulder, and he quickly raised a shield. The bokoblin continued to step back as Link stepped forward, eventually walking into the lake.
Link ran forward to shoot the bokoblin with an arrow, but quickly realized the monster had drowned. Link walked over to Zelda, who had climbed up onto a platform that a chest rested on.
Zelda walked down the ladder and showed Link the opal that had been in the chest, before putting it in the Sheikah Slate. “What should we do next?”
Link sat down next to a campfire that the bokoblins had been gathered around. “It’s late. We should eat and sleep.”
Zelda nodded and sat down, handing Link two canteens. “The bokoblins had these. If you can get some water from the lake, I’ll cook something up.”
Link nodded and walked down the hill, crouching down next to the lake. He filled the canteens, before heading back up.
Zelda had roasted some mushrooms, and she was currently eating one. Link handed her a canteen, before sitting down next to her. He began to eat one of the mushrooms. It was funny, how Link hadn’t really realized how hungry he was until he had begun eating.
After they had finished eating, Link curled up, ready to sleep. Zelda, rubbing her eyes, lay down next to him.
Panic rushed through his veins. “What-what are you doing?” Link asked.
“We’ll be warmer this way,” Zelda murmured. Link sighed, knowing that he’d be fighting a losing battle trying to convince her to move.
As he fell asleep, Link looked up at the sky. “It’s been a crazy day,” he whispered into “the wind, “and I’m sure that life’s going to find even more ways to surprise me.”
Story Notes
I am so sorry this is a week later than I said it would come out!
This chapter was based on the first day in my new BOTW game (I know, I know). I thought that it would make a great fluffy Zelink pre-relationship chapter, so I decided to write it. That’s all, really.
-bakergamerwriter
Tales for Teens 
Leave a comment