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Legend’s day was going great. And by great, he meant he took one step through a portal from Wild’s Hyrule in the Hebra region, and then plummeted at least ten feet straight into an ocean. Talk about a shock to his system.
When his head came above the surface again, he panicked. His vision had been blurry from the saltwater and their various bags of supplies looked like the wreckage of his ship. An old scar ripped open his heart and he was very afraid the last two years had been a figment of his imagination and he was seventeen again.
That is, until the other voices registered in his ears.
He had wiped the saltwater from his eyes and the forms of his companions became visible to him. Hyrule was clinging desperately to Sky to keep himself afloat. In the back of his mind, he remembered Hyrule had no idea how to swim but he was eighty-three percent sure he was going through a panic attack, and that made it hard to focus on anything other than the fact that he was in the ocean once again, trying to keep his head above water.
Legend never mentioned it, but he figured the others could tell after the many times they called for his attention but he just couldn’t answer them.
After what felt like an eternity, Wind started to yell and bob in the water waving his arms around. Legend hadn’t even noticed the ship approaching them until it was almost on top of them. Being on the ship did nothing to ease his panic-ridden mind.
When they were all safely out of the water and aboard Wind’s friend’s ship, the others relaxed considerably. They walked on and below deck as they allowed Wind to show them around but Legend’s knees had locked together at the gentle rocking of the ship. He sought out an empty spot at the edge and sat with his legs hugged to his chest.
It was absolute torture being back on a ship after two years. He winced every time he heard the mast groan and remembered the feeling of lightning coursing through his body and the force of the mast breaking sending him toppling into the water. He’d hit his head on some debris and that had been the last thing he remembered before waking up to the best dream he would ever have.
He was brought out of his thoughts by a loud argument where things were starting to be thrown.
Wind’s Zelda—or as she’d much rather be referred to as Tetra—was yelling at a short and stubby old man who looked downright terrified of a girl who barely pushed five feet. The way the old man was dressed reminded Legend of the council members back in his time. They were always pestering Zelda about one thing or another and it seemed like the same could be said across the timelines too.
“But, your highness, this will be the first winter solstice the kingdom has celebrated since the great flood.”
Tetra crossed her arms and glared at the man. Wind was hiding behind a stack of barrels, probably hoping he wouldn’t get dragged into the argument. The others were scattered around the ship watching all this unfold in varying degrees of amusement.
“We can have the stupid festival and the ball if you really want it, but there’s no way I’m participating. You can forget that!”
A tall woman came to join the short man. “Your highness, It has always been tradition for the princess of Hyrule to open the Winter Ball with the first dance. We already have the best instructors waiting for you back on the mainland.”
“Tradition?” Tetra screamed. “Last I checked I’m the one ruling this country so if I want to throw out traditions from a kingdom at the bottom of the sea them I can damn well throw them out! Link!” The sight of Wind jumping a foot in the air made a laugh bubble up inside him which eased Legend’s anxiety slightly.
“Get your sorry ass over here and back me up on this one!”
Wind cautiously peeked his head over the stack of barrels. “Actually, I think I’m good over here—ah!” Tetra wasn’t having any of his excuses and grabbed his ear and dragged him back over to the two council members. “Ow! Ow! Ow! She’s right!” He rubbed his ear with a pout at the pirate princess.
“If you force her to do it you’ll only be making the rest of our lives a living hell. Besides I pity the guy who’d have to be her dance partner. He won’t be able to walk after she breaks all his toes.” Wind smirked and Tetra didn’t take too kindly to it as she opened her mouth to give Wind hell about his comment. She was stopped by the Councilwoman gasping.
“Oh!” She pushed her glasses up with a determined glint in her eye. “We have spent many weeks wracking our brains over who would be the best fit to be the princess’ dance partner when he has been right under our noses this whole time.”
Wind and Tetra paused their would-be fight with Wind having a hold of both her wrists and she had a fistful of his hair in one and the front of his shirt in the other. They looked at the Councilwoman like she’d grown a second head before they realized what she was insinuating. The two shared a glance before letting go of each other and took a few steps away from each other with bright red faces.
“I’m not dancing with him/her!” Both child-pirates yelled in tandem but both council members weren’t listening any longer.
“This will be perfect,” the man said. “The Hero and the Princess sharing the first dance at the Winter Ball. The people would just eat that up!” The more Wind and Tetra tried to fight and argue it, the more neither adult listened to them. Legend couldn’t help but remember a very similar occurrence happening to him with his Zelda and chuckled silently.
Time, who had been conversing with Tetra’s first mate, was laughing along with the guy while looking at the two kids fondly.
The two council members continued on talking as they headed for the door that would lead them below deck.
“Now, if you would excuse us, princess, we should go and finalize the rest of the plans for the ball. I must thank you greatly. This has been weighing on my shoulders for quite some time now.” Both council members bowed to Tetra ignoring her sputtering. They were already down below deck before she could form words again.
“Excuse you? Excuse you?” Wind had to hold her back from storming below deck and giving them a piece of her mind. “This is my ship! How dare you think you can just do anything without my permission you no good dirty motherf—!” Wind covered her mouth with his hand and dragged her away from the door.
Unfortunately for Wind, he dragged her over near Warriors’ vicinity. The Captain whistled at the youngest hero and his princess. “That’s not how you dance with a lady, sailor!”
“She’s not a lady!” Wind yelled, his cheeks still dusted with pink. Tetra made a strangled outraged scream and Legend knew Wind was in for it. She stomped on his foot and elbowed him in the gut hard enough to knock him down.
The poor kid was laid out flat on his back. He stared at the sky with a why me sort of expression.
“I am too a lady!” Tetra stood over Wind with her hands on her hip.
Time called over helpfully. “Sailor, this is where you nod and say ‘yes, dear’.” Tetra turned her glare over to Time who—having met Malon—Legend assumed was completely immune to at that point.
The girl huffed and helped Wind stand. “Don’t think you’re getting out of this. Not even that stupid shadow your chasing is going to take priority over this. If I have to suffer through the stupid ball alone, I will personally hunt that shadow down on my own and destroy it with my bare hands. And then you will have to run from me because you will be next.”
Wind didn’t look too put off by the threat and gave her a teasing smile. “I didn’t realize death threats were ladylike.”
He dodged a blow meant for his face but she didn’t try again so she must not have actually intended on hitting him.
“Why are you so mad about this anyway? Weren’t you excited about the solstice ball? Didn’t you tell me your new dress made you feel pretty and special like a real prin—?” Tetra moved fast to cover up Wind’s mouth with both of her hands but not fast enough. They all knew Wind wasn’t the greatest at keeping a secret. He never thinks his words over before he says them.
One of Tetra’s crewmates laughed heartily. “Our captain was a bouncin’ ball of joy for the upcoming festivals until she found out about the dancin’ bit! Miss Tetra’s got two left feet!”
Tetra turned to glare at the pirate who quickly went back to doing his job but the laughter remained in his eyes.
The crew on this ship was an odd one. For starters, Legend was baffled by the fact that they had allowed a little girl to be their captain when they were all far older and more experienced than her. It was obvious they all loved and respected her. It was their own family aboard this ship, not unlike the comradery he’d found with the other heroes.
A man who Legend had once been introduced to as Linebeck, descended from the crow’s nest with a flourish that reminded him of Ravio. The comparison made Legend shudder.
“Do my ears deceive me or did I hear someone is in need of dancing lessons?”
“No, Linebeck. We don’t” Tetra growled.
Linebeck carried on as if she hadn’t said anything at all. “Well, fear not, Link. Miss Tetra. For the one and only, Linebeck has most humbly decided to become your personal teacher!”
Wind put his hands in front of him. “We don’t need a teacher, Linebeck.”
The older sailor grabbed both of them and dragged them out to the middle of the ship where it was open with lots of room. They ended up right in front of Legend. So much for being alone.
“Now. First thing’s first. Link, grab the young lady’s hand and placed your hand on her hip—but not too low or we’ll be in for another talk, you two.” Both Wind and Tetra looked at Linebeck blankly for a second before turning as red as a ripe strawberry. They started to yell over each other. It was hard to understand their embarrassed words but Legend gathered the gist of it. The others snickered either openly or behind their hands. No one was going to let Wind live that one down any time soon.
Linebeck ignored their outburst and arranged their arms and stances, Legend figured Linebeck was going to teach them how to waltz. He was reminded of the countless hours they made him practice dancing those stiff ballroom dances with Zelda. His bones still ached at the memory of the instructor’s cane that doubled as a whip on him most days.
"Keep your back straight!"
"Stop looking at your feet!"
"Posture, hero! Where is your posture?"
It was so rigid with so many rules completely unlike the freeing dances Din taught him in Holodrum. But those dances weren’t proper for the Princess and the Hero. They weren’t acceptable enough to grace the great halls of Hyrule Castle.
Ballroom dances fit Zelda but they never fit him. Looking at Wind and Tetra, a waltz was the last kind of dance they would feel comfortable learning. Neither of them were particularly great at following rules. And with how far apart the two were standing from each other, Legend knew it wasn’t going to end well.
It didn’t end well.
Tetra and Linebeck were screaming such profanities at each other it would have made the tutors from the castle in charge of beating manners into him faint. All the while, Wind was curled up on the ground nursing his bruised foot while crying silently by the mast.
The other heroes were loving it. Calling out helpful—not so helpful—tips every now and again, and teasing them non-stop with whistles and cries of: ‘your hand’s getting awfully low there, sailor!’
It had been hilarious to watch and even Legend laughed a few times along the way, but it mostly frustrated him to no end. Linebeck may know how to dance but did he know how to convey that knowledge in a way normal people can understand? Absolutely not.
He tried to think of a dance that would fit the two better but still looked professional enough so they could perform it in the halls of their new castle.
A few seagulls squawked overhead and he would blame the smell of saltwater and the sound of the waves crashing against the hull of the ship for bringing the memory to surface.
Marin laughed as she raced towards Toronbo Shores dragging him behind her. Their fingers were laced together tightly and that was the only thing he could focus on at the moment. How had he gotten so lucky to meet a girl like Marin? For once in his life, he wasn’t on the run from soldiers. He wasn’t looked down on or cursed as he walked through the streets. Everyone on the island welcomed him into their lives with open arms.
Once he woke the Windfish and freed them from the tormenting monsters, he was going to stay there. He might return to Hyrule one day to apologize to Zelda for leaving without much notice, but right now? Right there? With the pretty red-haired island girl whose smile was brighter and more beautiful than any jewel in the world? By the goddesses, he felt at home.
They reached the ocean as giggling messes. The stars were out and the moon was high in the sky making Marin look all the more beautiful. They’d given Tarin the slip by sneaking out of the house. It wasn’t the first time they snuck out past their curfew and it probably wouldn’t be the last either.
Link had pressed a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth before she took off towards the water, tying her dress up higher so it wouldn’t get wet. Not that they wouldn’t be completely soaked by the end.
They stripped themselves of their shoes and ran in kicking and splashing.
“Give me your hands, Link,” she said and if he were to ever refuse her, may Hylia strike him down right then and there. His number one weakness was her eyes. She had a dangerous magic power in her eyes. All it took was a single glance from her and his knees went all wobbly and weak. So he gave her his hands but really, they were already hers to begin with. All of him belonged to her: his body, his heart, and his soul.
Goddesses. Is this love? If it was, he never wanted to lose that feeling. He never wanted to lose her.
She took his hands in hers and brought them up to her sweet mouth and kissed his callused palms. His heart did all sorts of flips at the action and he was pretty sure he was getting light-headed from all the attention she was giving him.
He couldn’t help himself from wrapping his arms around her and hugging her into his chest. He whispered his confessions of love for her into her hair over and over again until she started to giggle up another storm.
She pulled away and took his hands in hers again. “Be serious. I want to teach you something.” Link gave her a lazy grin and brought her hands up to his mouth so he could kiss each and every one of her fingers.
“I am being serious. I am seriously listening to you as I seriously love you.”
Marin laughed brightly again. He tugged on her hands so she would come closer to him. He lowered his head down so he was inches away from her face.
“And I’m now going to seriously kiss you and seriously enjoy it.” And boy, did he enjoy it. Kisses from Marin were the best thing in the entire world. He had stolen so many that if they were back in Hyrule, he was sure he would be branded a criminal again and it would be well worth it.
He distracted her again and again until she cut him off from kisses until he let her teach him whatever it was she wanted to teach him earlier. He pouted exaggeratedly until she brushed her lips against his ear making it twitch embarrassingly.
Marin loved making his ears twitch since her and everyone else on the island all had weird rounded ears that didn’t do that. It didn’t matter how many times he’d tried to explain that he got a funny feeling when she did that to him, but it was her favorite way of making him blush.
Now that she had his full attention, they stood ankle-deep in the water as she held his hands. It was a dance they did often on the island when they threw parties. It wasn’t as loose as the dances Din once taught him a few years ago but it wasn’t as stuffy as the ballroom dances Zelda forced him to learn either.
They stood a little more apart than what Link would have liked but they stayed connected by their intertwined hands.
It was clear Link should be the one leading, but it was a dance that made it feel like they were equal in it as they twirled and hopped around in the water. That dance was them. They were going on a journey with no clear leader but they did so together. They danced for hours that night until the morning rays of the sun started to peek above the horizon. They danced to no music but the sounds of the waves and their laughter.
Legend was brought out of his daydream by Tetra’s yelling—though now she and Wind were the ones arguing. A few tears were pooled in Legend’s eyes and threatened to fall. He made sure to wipe them away quickly before anyone saw.
He stood on somewhat unsteady legs and walked over to the squabbling pair without thinking this through. They weren’t big on talking about their pasts so the fact that he knew how to dance was never brought up before that moment.
He approached Tetra first and said the same thing Marin had that night in the ocean. “Give me your hands.”
The shorter girl slapped his hands away, still in her attack mode. It was probably an automatic response. “No way, you pervert!”
Legend almost wished he could have seen his own face and the look he gave her. “You’re five years younger than I am and my heart died two years ago.” She still looked at him questionably so he rolled his eyes and offered his hand to Wind. “Fine. Wind give me your hands I’ll teach you first, then.”
He didn’t give Wind the option of saying no as he took Wind’s hands in his. Legend didn’t mind taking on the girl’s part even if he was taller than Wind but there wasn’t much of a difference between the two.
To his left, Four snorted. “Since when do you know how to dance, Vet?” He elected to ignore it and instead gave Wind instructions on how to move his feet. It was much easier for Wind to understand it than the waltz Linebeck had tried to teach them.
For a while, the others ribbed and reamed him for being so light on his feet and kept badgering him about the other dances he knew. That is, until they realized that Legend knew what he was doing and became captivated by it. After a while, Legend was certain Wind knew the steps well enough that he made Tetra join in.
It took a while to convince the two to hold hands and Tetra did trip over her own feet often but the more they danced the less either one tripped.
Legend stood back with Twilight and Sky as Tetra and Wind danced together, laughing at their blunders now as opposed to screaming at one another for it. The waltz had been all wrong for them. Tetra wasn’t one to be led around and Wind wanted nothing more than to be by her side neither ahead nor behind her.
They were equals in that dance as they both pushed and pulled like the ocean’s tide. Time had offered to provide music for them but the two had waved him off. They much preferred to dance together to the music of the ocean and the melody of the ship and its people.
Legend watched on proudly and yet a sadness that he hadn’t felt in years poked at his heart. He gripped the front of his tunic and watched as a seagull perched itself on the sail.
I’ll dance with you again one day, Marin. But for now, I have an important job I need to get done. Even if it takes decades to see you again would you wait for me, please?