1350 words

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I shakily knock on the sanctum door. I know Zelda hates it here, but this is the throneroom and the most secure one of the castle.

"Come in," Her voice sounds, strong and proud. I walk in. I don't know where she is, or where I am, either. I needed tremendous help to get here. "Link! How good to see—'' I just barely hear her flats tap on the tile. Two hands touch my shoulders. "What happened?"

I hand her the slate. Actually, I hold it out and she takes it, knowing what to do.

"Your Majesty, unfortunately I'm blind, mute, and anosmic. In other words, useless to you. I just figured I'd let you know not to call me on any missions until I learn to fight this way, and trust me, I will." The slate chimes. I hear it, clear as day, despite my hearing issues lately. Maybe the monks took pity on me.

"Oh, Link, no..." I hear her stifle tears. "How did this — the monks did it, didn't they? Did they punish you for not passing a test?" I nod. "Oh, Hylia, Link! I — how can I help you?"

"Clear out the training room from six to nine, p.m." The slate chimes as I sign.

"Done."

Another soldier walks in, and Zelda insists on having him escort me to my chambers on the castle. I hate this, being so fucking helpless, but I can't do anything about it, at all.

I can only pray to Hylia that my hearing remains.

For a queen, I'm surprisingly free to roam the castle. I can't leave, but why would I want to now? I've seen everything there is to see, roamed Hyrule with Link by my side. Now is the time to settle. I'm eighteen now, and it's time I started acting like it.

I wanted to pay Link a visit, and I know where he is. In the training room, undoubtedly working on fighting blind. Of course not being able to see his opponent isn't going to stop him. I sigh loudly, announcing my presence. He turns, missing my location by a few feet.

I pull out a replica of the slate, one without the runes, so he can have the original. He hears the clicking and whirring, I assume, and starts to sign.

"I kind of got this down," the slate chirps. I miss Link's voice, though, with its high pitches and dripping sarcasm. "But I think it might look stupid. I don't know. I'm kind of blind."

I snicker. Even in a situation like this, Link can make a joke. I know I couldn't. Sitting on a bench near the wall, I watch him sign something to a Sheikah contraption and it comes to life.

"TRAINING LEVEL: ONE. STOP WITH 100% DAMAGE TO ENEMY. END TRAINING AT WHICH COMMAND?" Hylia, it sounds worse than the slate. Link signs something, face cold and expressionless. I wish I could read minds, then at least I wouldn't need a machine to talk to him. "END TRAINING WITH COMMAND 10-7-49. STARTING IN 3, 2, 1, GO."

Link is unarmed. Maybe because he's blind and doesn't want to misjudge where his sheath is, resulting in him cutting his head off; maybe because he wants to practice his hand-to-hand combat; maybe he doesn't realize he's unarmed.

The training robot comes to life, albeit slowly. It swings, but — get this — he dodges, whacking it in one of its crevices. The robot looks a bit like Cherry, that robot at Dr. Robbie's house up in Akkala.

The fight's over in fifteen minutes, tops. Link is breathing heavily, staring at empty space. I wonder what he thinks is there.

"Link? Over here."

He blushes and turns to look at me. "Goddesses, level one? Fifteen minutes? What have I become, Zelda?" The slate helpfully chimes. I strapped it to my ear, this one is very small and fits comfortably there. I could wear it all day every day, and I will if I have to.

"You've gone mad if you think you can fight blind, just like that. Give it time, 'Kay?"

"Yeah, thanks a lot. I have to go." If the slate spoke with emotion, I assume it would be an icy tone.

When I snap out of my train of thought, he's gone, and I'm alone in the training room.

"I am so utterly fucked, Sidon," the slate chimes in its boring voice. I don't know why, but it drives me crazy, hearing Link speak through a machine. He sighs, cupping his face in his hands.

So far, he can still hear me, and he's admitted to hearing better since being blind. But he'd swap it in an instant for the way it was.

He puts his head on my arm, and I bet he would've closed his eyes if it made a difference. "Tell me... do you see me as weaker?"

"No, of course not," I say. I'm lying.

"Well. If I could see you, I'd bet you were smiling. Are you smiling? Can you make me a deal?"

"Sure."

"When you do something I can't see, like rolling your eyes, can you tell me?"

"Of course." I pat his head. I'm almost glad he can't see me, because now I can grin dumbly at him almost any time I want. He looks up at me, beautiful blue eyes seeming duller, pupils unnaturally large in their struggle to find light to see.

I find it eerie when he looks right at me, because I never tell him where I am. Occasionally I'll simply walk in, and he'll turn his head towards me. It's super creepy.

By now, I figured the Domain would've found out, but nobody has questioned anything. He walks beside me as if nothing was amiss, every once in a while brushing my arm with his hand to make sure I was still there.

Overall, this is a bad situation, and I know he hates being this dependent on others. But selfishly, I find it cute. I think it's adorable how after a bout of silence, the slate would chime "Sidon?" And I'd respond by what he thought was tapping the top of his head. What I really was doing was kissing it.

He lets me help him with everything, save for getting dressed and showering. Yes, that includes eating, but the only thing I do is guide his hand to the utensil and the plate once, then he does the rest. He can even fight a little now, going to the castle regularly to train with the 'bot, but every day he's here, he spars with me for an hour.

It occurs to me he's here a lot.

More than usual, I mean.

On a weekly basis, he spends sixish days here. That's much more than before. The other Zora have started questioning it, but not in a bad way. They like him, and are wondering if he could stay permanently.

"Sidon?" The slate chirps, and I kiss the top of his head. "Oh. Okay. Thanks." Pause. "I wish I could sleep."

"Why can't you?"

"I can, but when I wake up my eyes burn because I forgot to close them. Everything's dark anyway. So I sleep less lately. It's like a cycle — I'm focused on keeping my eyes closed, so I don't fall asleep quickly, and it's the same feeling as if I had just kept my eyes open, kind of."

I never knew one could forget to close their eyes before sleeping. "I—oh. I'm sorry to hear that, Link."

"I know I sleep on you a lot. Sorry."

"I don't mind." That's an understatement.

"I... I know you have other things to do than take care of me," I almost hear sadness in the slate's mechanical voice. "I wish I could take care of you like I did when you were little."

There was heavy silence. "You do," I say. "You take care of me just fine, Link. Not in ways you think, but you take care of me nonetheless, okay?"

He nods, then closes his eyes.