Chatterbox

"You don't talk much, do you?"

Link shrugged his shoulders-an eloquent response by his standards, not even conversation by hers. Or, by the standards of anyone else in Hyrule. Heck, even bulbins talked more than the Hero of Light.

"You can talk, you know," Zelda said as they walked the palace gardens. "I'm willing to listen."

In some ways, the silence was a blessing. A change from "village x needs foodstuff y" or "tax a is too high, while tax b isn't high enough." All part of being queen rather than princess now, and the difference was sometimes enough to make her wish that Zant's plan had succeeded. Still, it hadn't, and she was stuck with the worst of both worlds. People who wouldn't shut up on one hand, and a fine...not bad looking man on the other. If the goddesses really controlled the actions of mortals, then they had a strange sense of humour.

Humour...maybe that was it. Maybe it was time to stop humouring her friend and get to what was troubling him.

"It's Midna, isn't it? You miss her, don't you?"

Link nodded, which was more than Zelda could expect. It wasn't that surprising really-she could only imagine what it would be like to have a hyperactive imp hanging around you from day to twilight. Imagined that given the look on the Ordonian's face when she severed the link between realms, the two had done quite a bit of...bonding. Maybe it was from being a wolf, maybe it was because Link gravitated towards trouble as surely as that weird Tingle guy gravitated towards rupees, but either way, he was missing his...link...with the twilight princess. If Zelda didn't know better, she'd say his silence was a sign of grief.

"I miss her too," Zelda admitted. "But you can't stay silent forever, Link. You've been appointed chief of Ordon, even if you won't accept it. You'll have to talk in the real world, you know."

The hero started walking away. Walking away. From her. Queen of Hyrule. He had nothing to say...or wouldn't say it...

"Hey...hey!"

He didn't stop. That insubordinate...

"Chief Ordon, I'm talking to you!" the queen yelled, using the hero's honorific title for good measure. "I am Queen Zelda of Hyrule! Your ruler! You will speak to me now and apologize!"

Link stopped, letting out a frown. Well, let him frown, Zelda thought. He can't stay silent forever. He'll apologize. He'll give me my due and be a better man for it, talking freely and-...

"Well excuuuse me, princess!"

...scratch that.

She preferred Link as a silent individual.

A/N

The idea for this came from a poll conducted by IGN in the context of Skyward Sword, as to what changes fans might like to see in the nature of the series. One of the results was that while most people would like voice acting as opposed to just text, there was a consensus that Link should remain a silent protagonist. Amongst the comments was the...well, a certain quote from a certain cartoon that I think most people would like to forget. 0_0

Anyway, gave me the idea to write this as a result.