Whumptober 2020: Day 20

Previous / Chapter Index

Zelda sat beside Link, crouched behind a large boulder on the edge of the nearest town. He looked at her, taking in her wild appearance. At first, he’d considered sending her in to grab the fresh clothes, but in truth, she’d draw more attention at this point.

“I can try,” she offered again.

After sitting through most of the stormy, cold night in wet clothes, Link had woken in the morning feeling less than ideal.

He shot her a bland glance, though it had very little effectiveness when he couldn’t keep his eyes open enough to give her a dirty look. Instead, he tugged at his damp shirt and steeled himself for the quick run to the laundry line.

“No matter what, just stay here, okay?” he asked, managing a cautionary look in her direction.

“Fine,” she muttered, getting comfortable in a place where she was hard to see, but had a decent view of whatever he was planning to do.

Link dodged around the rock and ducked behind the outer wall of the nearest house, checking the dirt street before taking all the clothing Zelda had pointed out. He was not too proud to admit to her that he wasn’t entirely positive which items she’d need. He hadn’t lived with a woman since before his capture, and he attributed the rest of his obliviousness to pure negligence to pay attention to details.

He hurried back, arms full of fabric, and tore his shirt off, tossing it aside with a harsh shiver before reaching for his new one on.

Zelda stared at him, too confused or surprised to have taken in any details before he’d tugged the sleeves on, covering any part of him that she might have caught a glimpse of.

“I’m not changing with you here,” she said simply.

“Oh,” he said, halting his hasty change. “I’m sorry. I just… I wasn’t thinking. I wanted to change, I forgot it would offend your royal eyes.”