(Sorry for the delay, I'm on a snowboarding weekend trip and barely have time to work. Xo -Ace)

——

"Link, there is something I have to tell you."

Little clouds of breath dissolve in front of our mouths. The sun has set, the sky is pink, and all the lights in the village have turned on. Even the endless rows of Christmas lights that connect each of the wooden buildings shine brightly in the company of stars.

Link loosens our hug slightly to look at me. "Okay," he says, patiently waiting for me to speak.

He must be able to hear my heart. It's drumming against my throat. My eyes hold his gaze nervously. He returns the calmest and most loving look, giving me the sense of home I was missing. I take a deep breath and exhale it slowly.

"A few weeks ago..." I haven't spend enough time thinking about my wording and I'm slightly freaking out as I go. "Something happened... I wasn't able to talk about it. Even now, I don't think I'm ready to say it out loud," I whisper in shame.

"That's okay." He doesn't even know what I'm talking about, yet he is sure to show me his compassion with those simple words.

"It's not okay... If I don't tell you, someone else might. I don't want that," my breaths quicken and the pressure is choking me from the inside. "If—if someone else tells you—" each breath becomes more of a struggle.

I don't want to talk about this, ever, but if I don't tell him, Ganon will, using the hickey as proof. I'm sure Karusa has told all his teammates what happened and plans to use it against Hyrule. Or they will tell Father and he will think I lied to him. Oh no. I didn't even think about that. What will Father think of me when they tell him that I asked for it? That I really did go to that frat house to party with them? He will believe them! Will Link share Fathers opinion about me? Will he see me as the shameful woman I was labeled as?

"If someone else tells you before I do, they might alter the truth, and—and then—and then they'll tell you something about me that isn't true or not fully true, you see? I'm scared that they'll say these things about me—and—and—"

"Hey," Link cups my cheeks, "Breathe," his soft voice tells me. "We've been over this. I don't believe what others say about you. You don't have to worry about that."

"But.... if you knew... you'd be mad."

"At you?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Not just me. Others too. I'm sorry, this is probably very confusing."

"It's okay. If you're not ready to talk about it you don't have to."

A visible sigh appears in front of my mouth. "Thank you. You're so patient and understanding. You have no idea how much that means to me." I fall back into his warm hug.

"Of course."

"No, seriously... I don't deserve this..."

"You do. Everyone does."

"Link..." I want to tell him but I also really don't want to tell him. I'm at war with myself.

"I'm not going anywhere," he says softly. "Tell me when you're ready. I'll be here."

I try to fight it, but his words return tears to my eyes. I manage to blink them away before our hug ends. Why do I always get so emotional when it comes to Link. I wish I could be stronger and control my emotions.

"Hey, I hope I'm not pressuring you into anything," he suddenly says, scratching the back of his head.

"What do you mean?"

"I just mean that you don't have to tell me anything."

"You're not pressuring me, I promise. You're doing the opposite of that."

"No, I also mean all the things I said since last night... you don't have to say any of it back just because I said it. You know what I mean?"

I'm pretty sure he is talking about his many confessions in regards to love. Why did he have to address this? Now I do feel the need to reassure him that I feel the same way about him. But when I say those words to him for the first time, those three special words, I want everything to be perfect. I don't want to waste a single thought on Karusa or Ganon, or worry about Mipha's feelings or Father's opinion while I devote my life to Link.

"I—" is all I can think of to fill the silence with something other than blank stares.

"I'm just saying, I hope you don't feel like you owe me anything."

"I don't." I have never even thought about it that way.

"Okay, I'm just thinking—I don't know if it's a bit too soon to date. You like taking things slow so I'm not sure if I'm rushing you. On the other hand we've been together for months now and we shared a room so I really don't know how to like—uh—I don't know. I guess I was just so scared of losing you, I just wanted you to know how I feel. Obviously that's not the only reason why I asked you to be my girlfriend. I've been thinking about it since my surgery. I mean, we talked about this; it already kinda feels like you're my girlfriend. It's what I want."

If my heart could beat any faster, it would. It would bore a hole straight through my rib cage to be closer to him. His words make me float. This feels like a dream. If only I had the courage to say these things too but whenever I try, I feel like an incompetent toddler, trying to utter its first words.

"Just so you know, I would have asked you out even if yesterday hadn't happened, but I probably would have waited a bit longer. It wasn't the right moment. Like you said, it wasn't romantic, so I'm sorry. I don't know, I'm getting off topic. Sorry, I'm not good with words. I guess I just want to make sure you don't feel cornered. If this is too much right now, I totally understand."

"I don't feel cornered at all. Frankly, I feel like I'm finally out of the corner," I tell him with a sincere smile. "For the first time in months I feel the pressure and burden lifted off my shoulders. I'm not saying that I feel perfectly fine, not at all. Leftovers of anger and despair still ruffle my thoughts, but I finally don't feel like I'm drowning in a sea of lies anymore. I'm so glad that we were able to resolve this with Mipha, Sidon, Revali, and Impa. I think, even if it all still feels strange for a little while, we will be fine."

"I think so too."

"Thank you, Link, for being such an amazing friend."

"Hold up," he gives me a confused look. "Did you just friend zone me?"

"No," I giggle. "You are very far from the friend zone. You and the friend zone are on different poles. Different planets. I'm just saying that you've been the kind of friend I desperately needed in the past couple of months. You've helped me though a lot and I'm grateful for that."

"Same to you," he smiles.

His reaction to me calling him a good friend was adorable. "Link?" I blush.

"Mhm?"

"I want... I want to be... I want us to be..."

His eyes widen as he deciphers my incomplete sentence. "You want to be my girlfriend?"

I nod shyly and a vast smile unfolds on his face. "However, we can't take that step today. Or this week for that matter."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because of Mipha. She just found out about us and got her heart broken. I don't want to come back home and announce that we are... y-you know? Kissing you right after Revali confessed his feelings was inconsiderate and wrong of her. We would be hypocrites if we did this to her, today of all days. Or am I wrong? I just don't want to do what she did. And I'm done keeping telling lies. So let's just give it a couple of weeks and do this the right way."

Trying to mask his frown with an understanding smile, Link nods and takes a step back. "How are we going to act then? Are we like taking a break until then?"

I haven't thought this through. "I don't want that."

"Me neither."

"We can just be us. We don't have to act any different."

"So... is it okay if I kiss you?"

I suck in a sharp breath as his words flip my stomach upside down. It feels like I haven't kissed him in ages, even if it has only been two days.

"Maybe not in front of Mipha," I mutter.

"What about when she's not around?" Link leans in.

"I guess that would be fine."

"Yeah?" He leans in closer. My body stiffens when his hand cups my cheek. I remember that the last person he kissed wasn't me and suddenly every urge to feel his lips on mine dissolves. I back away so quickly that I nearly slip and fall but Link catches me like a scene out of a novel. "Careful," he laughs.

"S-sorry," I nervously laugh and find my balance. "We should head back now. The others are probably waiting for us."

——

After dinner, I help Mipha with the dishes in the kitchen. Only a few words are exchanged between the two of us. The whole dinner was fine, everyone was talking to each other, but when it's just the two of us, the air suddenly feels much thinner.

"So," I stretch the words as I try to fit the last plate in the dishwasher. "This is awkward."

I want to hit my head against the cabinet. Why did I say that? Everything was totally fine until I had to make it awkward.

"A little," she admits to my surprise.

"Are you doing okay?" I ask.

"I think so."

"Good..."

"And you?"

"I'm okay," I say, and I think I mean it. Im really doing okay considering everything that happened.

"I—" we both start at the same time and politely wait for the other to speak.

"You first," I say.

"I'm really sorry for everything."

"Water under the bridge," I say along with a smile. "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

„Guys," Sidon calls for us. "Do you need a hand?"

"We're done, but thank you," I close the dishwasher and dry my hands with a towel.

"You guys are amazing! Thanks for cleaning up! Follow me to the living room!" He instructs.

Without questioning his unfounded enthusiasm for a common room, we follow him to the lit fireplace. I can't believe my eyes. Wrapped gifts are sitting beneath the beautifully decorated Christmas tree, the coffee table is covered by a card game and a large plate of cookies and what I assume is hot chocolate. Candles on the table, shelves and, window sim, create a whole new ambiance. But the cozy sight of a Christmasy living room is not why I can't believe my eyes. It's Revali in a Christmas hat.

I manage to swallow my laugh but Revali still glares at me. Link is wearing a Christmas hat as well and Impa is wearing a Christmas sweater and high reindeer socks.

"What's going on?" I ask into the room.

"We're celebrating Christmas Eve," Link says. He's sitting on the fur rug, a candy cane in his hand.

"Since we didn't get to do this last night," Impa reminds us. "Um, by the way, your dad left another voice mail. It's for you, so..."

"I'll do that later." It's too late to call him back anyway. It's past midnight where he is, so he will either not answer the phone or scold me for calling this late.

"Okay let's sit then, I have a gift for you!" She orders.

"You know I don't—"

"Shut up, you're getting a gift," she interrupts with a smirk.

Mipha takes a seat on the sofa next to Revali and Sidon while I join Link on the floor. He hands me a mug with—I take a sip—yep, hot chocolate.

"Hey," he whispers with a smile.

"Hi?" I giggle. It's been ten minutes since we've talked. Why is he blushing? He moves his arm to put it around me but stops himself and sits up straight instead to be closer to the table.

"Let's play some cards," Sidon shuffles the stack of cards.

"No, let's open gifts first," Impa gets up and walks over to the tree before anyone can object. She picks up a small, flat, gift, and hands it to me. "Here you go!"

"I haven't even put my gifts under the tree," I say as I open her gift. It's a postcard of Mammoth Lakes. I turn it around. 'Best friends forever' is what she wrote on it. But that's not all. She taped two concert tickets to it.

"Sheikah?" I raise an eyebrow at her. "I don't even listen to their music."

"But I do, and we are best friends, so I'm taking you," she explains with a proud smile.

I smile back up at her and thank her. I have never been to a concert even though Impa has been begging me to for years. I always worried about Father's reaction. I suppose this gift is more a gift to herself. I like it.

"Tickets?" Link peeks over my shoulder. "That's what I got you too."

"What?" I look at him to see if he's joking. "For what band?"

"Japan Airlines," Link says, casually dipping his candy cane in his hot chocolate. I'm too perplexed by his words to tell him that he is ruining his beverage.

"Oh," I nod with big eyes. I'm freaking out. What? What did he just say? Japan airline? What? What?

"I'm kidding," he chuckles. "I was going to do that but I need your passport information to book plane tickets." And consent. But okay, Link. "Besides, I found something better." He gets up, grabs a couple of small boxes from the tree and hands them to me, Mipha, and Revali. Revali unpacks his m first. "It's an arm guard," Link explains upon Revali's questioning looks.

"I know what an arm guard is. I'm more impressed that you know what it is."

"You forget I have a bow too," Link says.

"Okay. But I already have an arm guard."

"Yeah, but you always leave it at home. You can take this to school and leave it in your locker," Link shrugs.

"Eh... th... tha..." Revali is truly struggling but no one is jumping in to help. "Thanks," he spits and looks away. That was painful to watch.

"Oh," Mipha gasps, looking at a framed photo of them as kids. I recognize this picture. It used to hang on Link's wall. Why is he giving it away? "I forgot about this," she tears up.

Link doesn't say a word but he looks content. Is this his way of saying goodbye to her? Giving away the little reminder that she has a special place in his heart? I'm thinking too much into this, he probably just saw the photo and thought she might like to have it. Maybe it's just a copy. No, you can see the hole of the pin in it.

I focus on my own gift now. It's soft and slightly bigger than the other gifts. I carefully remove the wrapper without damaging the shiny paper. White fabric is the first thing I spot, followed by the 'Fly High' slogan and the school's logo.

"Nice, an HU shirt," Impa notes as I hold up the white t-shirt. She gives Link a smug look. "Too Bad you didn't know Zelda doesn't wear Hyrule merch."

Flustered, I fold the t-shirt back up and keep it on my lap as the others exchange some of their gifts. When they're done, I make a short trip to the basement to grab the gifts I hid there. Sidon shoots me a bright smile when he unwraps the waterproof earbuds, Mipha hugs me after receiving her personalized blue towel, and Impa probably causes an a avalanche when she unpacks the 100 chips  I got her for the arcade. Hopefully she can finally get that plush animal she's been after.

Link can't help his laugh when he rips off the wrappers around his gift. He rolls his eyes at me, knowing that the back brush is telling him to wash his own back during his lonely showers. I'm glad no one else seems to understand the inside joke.

After playing board games and eating sweets for the remainder of the evening, we take a couple of bad group pictures until we are satisfied with a half-decent photo of us all. The night is filled with laughter and good company. But at 3 AM everyone is slowly reaching their limit. Most of us didn't get any sleep last night so we call it an 'early' night and head to our rooms.

After brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed, I walk across the hallway to pay Link a quick visit. He is shirtless, tossing his socks to the floor when I enter his room.

"Hey there," he says surprised.

"Hi," I smile at him.

"Hey," he smiles back.

"Hi," I giggle and close the door.

"Oh," his smile shifts to a more confident one.

"That's not why I'm here," I scold him.

"You can read minds," he notes impressed.

"I came to thank you for your gift," I blush.

"Came to thank me privately, I see?" He smirks.

"This t-shirt.... You wore it the day we kissed for the first time."

"Technically I wasn't wearing it when we kissed but yeah."

"That's why you gave it to me though, right?"

"Pretty and smart."

"You're a flirt," I roll my eyes at him.

"Did you like it?" He asks, his cheeks turned a light rose.

"I... I love it," I nod. "I am going to sleep in it."

Now his cheeks are a bright red. "That's... nice," he tries to play it cool.

"I have another gift for you that I couldn't wrap," I step closer and his eyes widen. I love teasing him.

"Okay, cool," he nods, biting his lip.

"It's a playlist," I reveal. "You listen to so much music; on your jogs, during practice, when you're focusing before a big game... so I made a playlist with songs that remind me of us."

"Oh wow, Zelda that's actually perfect."

"It's nothing big or expensive but—" his lips cut me off as they align with mine.

"It's perfect," he whispers against my lips. Another kiss, and another. My mind has shut off. All I can sense is his love.

I wrap my arms around his neck as he pulls me closer by my waist. My pulse is racing and my lips can't get enough of this sweet taste of love. I missed him. I missed this.

He backs away to look at me. His eyes smile at me for a moment, then he kissed my nose, my left cheek, then the right, my forehead. My nose again.

"You," he kissed my chin, "are," a kiss to my jar, "perfect," his lips settle at my neck.

I shiver and push him away. "Don't kiss my neck," I urge.

"What?" He sounds startled, probably only mirroring my frightened expression. "What did I do?"

"Just don't touch my neck," I insist.

"O-okay? What's wrong? What did I do?"

"Nothing. Just... I don't like it."

"Oh."

I'm going to tell him. I have to. Say it. Say it, Zelda. Say it! Use words! He looks so guilt-ridden. I can't do this to him. Say something now!

"Someone..." I start with a quivering voice. "I... er... I got..." shit! I can't. I can't do it!

"Zelda?" He quietly says, taking a small step back.

"Someone did things against my will," I finally admit and feel the floor spinning under my feet.

"Things?" His chest is jumping up and down but his body is stiff.

"He... he kissed my neck," I cry. "And touched my skin," I try to point at my waist but Link's eyes are locked to mine.

"Who? When?" Link looks at the door as if the man in question was in this house. "Zelda," Link presses.

"L-Link," I plead. If I give him a name, he will start a fight and get expelled or arrested. I have to take Karusa down the legal way. Without involving Link. "I can't—" I gasp for air.

"Who?" He asks again.

I shake my head. "Please," I beg. "Don't force me to say any more. Please. I can't do this." I always knew talking about it would be hard but I never imagined it to tear me apart from the inside. "It hurts," I cry and fall into his arms.

He holds me security. I can feel him shaking. "Zelda," he utters in a broken whispers. "You can tell me."

"I can't. Not right now." Or maybe I'm the one shaking. I'm not sure... "I'm sorry. Please don't make me talk about it. Not yet. Please. Please Link. Please."

"Okay, okay," he breathes, stroking my back. "I won't. I promise."

"I'm sorry," I cry.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he is trying to sound calm but pieces of panic show in his quick breaths.

"I'm sorry," I repeat without thinking.

"Fuck," he mutters, tensing his muscles.

"Link don't be mad."

"I'm not mad at you," he says through his teeth, holding me tighter.

It's him. He is the one shaking.

"Can you just tell me when this happened?"

If I tell him it happened during the soccer game he will not only blame himself for failing to protect me, but blame me for showing up despite his warnings. He is better off holding on to the slight chance that this happened before we met...

"Please don't make me talk about it tonight."

"Okay," he pants, tightening his arms yet again. "Can you stay in my room? Can you sleep here please? I won't make you talk about it. Can I just hold you please? I don't want to let go."

"Sure," I quietly answer. "I'd love nothing more than to stay with you."

"Thanks."

"There is one thing I still have to do though... I need to listen to my father's voice mail. Is that okay?"

"Okay. Can you come back right after? Please?"

I nod and feel his arms slowly loosen around me. As I back away, he turns his head away from me to hide his flushed cheeks and glossy eyes. Oh Link......

With a heavy heart, I hurry back to my room and grab Impa's phone to find Father's voice mail. There are two voice mails, each less than a minute. I listen to the first one first as I wipe a tear from my face.

"Hello, Impa. This is Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, Merry Christmas to you. I was wondering if I could speak to Zelda. When you see her, could you please tell her to give me a call. Much appreciated. Oh, and, send my regards to your parents. That'll be all. Have a good day."

That wasn't too bad... I hope the second voice mail is just as formal and uneventful.

"Hello, Impa, this is Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule. I'm sorry for calling again, I just forgot to mention that I left Zelda's Christmas gift with the maid. She may pick it up at any time. Could you... please give her a hug from me. Zelda, not the maid. Thank you. That'll be all. Have a great day and Merry Christmas."

I have never heard Father stumble over his words like that. He sounded sincere and kind. Third time is the charm, right? Let's call the maid and find out what ridiculous gift Father left with the maid.

I call home. It takes almost two minutes for the maid to pick up. I forgot that it's the middle of the night. But I don't really care right now. I want to get this out of my head.

"This is Zelda Hyrule," I tell the maid in a rushed tone. "Father left a gift for me?"

"Uh, y-yes?" She answers.

"Well? What is it?"

"Oh. He expected you to be here and read it yourself."

"Read what?"

"The letter," she says.

"What letter?" Come one, hurry up, I want to get back to Link.

"Um, I'm not sure. I haven't read it. It's a letter and a document."

"What?" What kind of a Christmas gift is this? It sounds so formal.

"You should probably just look at these in person."

"I'm not coming home. You may open the letter and read it to me. And what is that other document?"

"A Transfer of Ownership, Miss."

"Ownership of what?" I'm so lost right now.

"It says right here that you are the new owner of a certain lodge in Mammoth Lakes," she reads from the paper.

"You're kidding me..."

"That's what it says. You should really read these yourself."

"He... father gave me the lodge?" I murmur. He... he didn't sell it? He kept it? For me? He kept this piece of Mother and gave it... to me? Father... My heart feels so warm... "Please read the letter out loud," I bid the maid.