A sentence that follows a single quotation mark and is italicized indicates a thought

EX: 'Darker times; they're telling boulder heavy lies'

Chapter 1: A Cozy Campfire

It had been about three days since Calamity Ganon suffered his rightful exile from Hyrule. Zelda and Link were embarking on a journey to visit Zora's Domain, and had set up a camp for the night. Divine Beast Vah Ruta was not functioning properly, and it needed to be inspected. On top of that, they wanted to offer King Dorephan, Mipha's father and current king of the Zora, closure.

As Zelda lay there observing the nighttime sky, she couldn't get her mind off of one thing—rather, one person: Link. She took her attention away from the stars and put it onto the sleeping hero. She was madly in love, there was no denying it. "I wish I could figure out your desires, hero," she whispered, trying not to wake the sleeping beauty. Zelda hoped that their journey together would allow them to grow closer together. Before the Calamity struck, she didn't like him. He was everything she wanted to be, but could not be. However, her feelings changed when he saved her from the Yiga Clan in the blistering heat of the Gerudo Desert. He hadn't thought twice about it; he put his life in danger for her, and without saying a word. That was the moment when she realized that she wanted—no, needed—him by her side. Zelda came out of her recollection, still staring at the bare-chested boy. Just looking at his shirtless physique sent her into a silent craze. Her craze was short-lived however, as she noticed that he was shivering throughout his entire body. She picked up her blankets and laid down beside him, covering both of them up. Link, being a relatively light sleeper due to the dangers of the Calamity, awoke to Zelda trying to get situated next to him. "Zelda, what are you doing?", Link asked in a half-groggy state. Her face instantly became bright red as she felt his gaze on her. However, this wasn't a uncommon occurrence. As of lately, she couldn't help but blush whenever he looked at her with his warm, blue eyes. "Um-I was-I'm just-I'm really quite cold and thought that I would…" she said quietly. She wasn't cold at all—she felt her temperature rise because of Link staring at her. He gave a soft, reassuring smile, which nearly sent her over the edge. "Sure thing," he said understandingly. "Just please try not to kick me. You have a tendency to kick in your sleep," he remarked, a teasing expression covered his face. He shoved his face back down into his pillow.

"Link?", Zelda called quietly.

"What is it?"

"Thank you." It came out almost inaudible.

"Anytime Zel—"

"For everything."

Link lifted up his head from his pillow and looked Zelda in the eyes. "It's nothing really. I mean, I would do anything for you," he whispered. When he finished saying this, he found himself admiring Zelda's beauty. 'She truly looks like the Princess of Hyrule. Her beauty is unmatched throughout this land,' he thought to himself. He felt his face warm up and quickly put his head back down. "Do… do you really mean that?" Zelda wondered. She thought that her heart was about to jump out of her chest. "Of course," Link replied, making sure Zelda couldn't see his blushing face. "We have a long day tomorrow. I think it would be best for us to rest," Link stated sleepily. Zelda nodded in agreement, and turned over, facing the wetlands. However, sleeping was the last thing on her mind. She kept replaying Link's words over and over again in her head. As she pictured his sweet face saying those, she felt an arm wrap around her and pull her closer. It was Link's; Zelda felt like she was about to faint. She never wanted this moment to end. She would be perfectly content to lay in his arms until the end of time. She fell asleep with one thing—rather, one person on her mind: Link.