A Hidden Kindness

1723 words



It was almost noon time when Kaikoura arrived at Sheik’s house in Kakariko Village. It was later than she’d intended - her morning shift had gone over half an hour which made her run late for their date. She dug the keys out from the bottom of her bag and unlocked the door.

“Sheik?” she called. She stepped into the living room and frowned. There were piles of folded sheets and blankets sitting on the couches, which had been flipped around so the backs faced each other. A bunch of pillows were on the floor between them. Kaikoura kicked off her shoes and set them in the closet. “Sorry I’m late, I got held up at work!” she called as she walked around the mess towards the kitchen. Sheik was standing at the counter, chopping up some vegetables.

“That’s alright,” he smiled. “I’ve just started preparing lunch. How was work?” he asked as he chopped up a pepper. Kaikoura moved into the kitchen and stepped up beside him. Sheik pressed a kiss to her cheek and she smiled.

“It was alright. Busy today, and the person taking over for me was late coming in,” she said, bumping his hip with hers. Sheik scooped up the peppers onto a plate of veggies, cheese and sandwich meats.

“Grab the bread?” he asked as he headed to the living room. Kaikoura grabbed the bread rolls and set them down on a side table. Sheik grabbed a folded blanket and handed it to Kaikoura, then grabbed another and started shaking it out.

“What are you doing?” Kaikoura asked.

“Well, it’ll be impossible to get into any restaurants today, and it’s too snowy to have a picnic outside. So we’re going to make a blanket fort for an indoor picnic,” Sheik said. He spread the blanket across the backs of the couches and weaved in some fairy lights while Kaikoura added her blanket to the fort. Soon they had a nice cozy space under the blankets, with a door facing the kitchen. Kaikoura crawled in first and Sheik handed her the plates and bread before he followed her in. The soft glow of the fairy lights gave them just enough light to see each other as they curled up on the pillows together.



“Link, what are we doing here so late?” Zelda asked. She took his offered hand and dismounted Epona. It was the middle of the night and they were in a snow-covered Hyrule Field. There were a few chairs set up in the snow and there was nothing in sight save Lon Lon Ranch in the distance. Link offered one of the chairs to Zelda and sat down close beside her. He set a blanket across both their laps and another around their shoulders, then wrapped an arm around her waist.

“We’re stargazing,” he said with a smile. Zelda smiled back and set her head on his shoulder.

“What’s that one?” Zelda asked, pointing at a constellation. Link tilted his head, considering.

“I think that’s Gemini,” he said after a minute. “Oh hey, do you see the dog?” Zelda giggled.

“I think it looks more like a horse!”

“Hm… you’re right, it does.” He pulled her closer and rested his head on hers.



“Rabiaaaa!” Petra called up the stairs. “Finn is here for your date!” Rabia groaned to herself and looked in a mirror one more time. She was wearing a floor length, slinky, strapless gold gown with a long slit up the leg. She hooked on the necklace Vaati had given her, flipped her hair over her back, and headed downstairs. “Oh, you look… nice…” Petra said, looking her up and down. “He’s waiting in the living room. Have fun!” she waved and walked away. Rabia grumbled to herself and entered the room.

“Hey,” she sighed. “Let’s get this over with.” Finn stood with a smile.

“Rabia, you look lovely.” He offered her his arm, which she ignored. He rolled his eyes and held the door open for her anyway. “I thought it’d be a nice night for a short walk to my house.”

“Heels on cobblestones?” Rabia raised an eyebrow.

“It’ll be fine,” Finn stated. They walked to his place, Rabia cursing under her breath every time she tripped. Finn grabbed her by the elbow and steered her inside.

“Ow, let go!” she scowled. Finn ignored her and led her to the dining room, then pulled out a chair for her. She sat down and stared at him as he sat across from her. Servants came filing into the room as soon as he sat down and laid out plates of food.

“So? Did you think about what we discussed?” Finn asked as he sipped his wine. Rabia raised her eyebrow at him.

“We didn’t discuss anything.”

“We did,” he insisted. “You’re the only person my parents approve of me marrying. I’m the only person your parents approve of you marrying. I think you know where I’m going with this.”

“Is that… supposed to be a proposal? Because that was lame as fuck and also no.”

“Now Rabia, be sensible about this,” he said. He set down his fork and looked at her seriously.

“I’m being very sensible right now. Why would I ever want to be with someone like you?” she snapped. Finn’s eyes narrowed. Then, he smirked.

“Oh, I see… you think you love him. That king of yours,” he said. “You don’t love him”

“...Excuse me?”

“You can’t,” Finn stated.

“He makes me happy,” she crossed her arms and stared at him.

“Sure he does,” Finn shrugged. “I never said he didn’t. But you don’t love him. He doesn’t get under your skin the way I did.”

“You were a parasite,” she hissed. “He isn’t - part of the appeal, actually.”

“You’re lying to yourself, Rabia. He doesn’t make you happy the way I did. He doesn’t make you feel butterflies in your stomach. You love him because he’s safe. He’s smart, funny, and kind, but he’s safe.”

“Don’t make me laugh – you didn’t give me butterflies and you never made me happy! You made me sick!” she snapped. “Safe is fine with me when it means I’m not going home with bruises like I did every damned day I was with you.”

“You don’t want safe. I can see it in your eyes - you want recklessness and passion and danger. You need it,” Finn said with a smirk.

“And you think you have all those things?” Rabia snorted. “Please.”

“Well, what other choice do you have?”

“I can be single for the rest of my life. Or date literally anybody else,” Rabia scoffed. “It’s not like I don’t have about a billion other options, Finn. I don’t hate myself enough to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Alright, well, you can’t say I didn’t give you the choice.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” she stood from her seat and glared at him. “Fucking try me.”

“Have you met my friend, Gideon?” Finn asked. A huge, grey-skinned man with dark blue eyes and a white cape entered the room.

“You brought a friend to a date?” Rabia asked. Finn grinned, but his eyes were hard. Rabia shook slightly and took a step back. “What is this?” Her eyes flicked between the two of them.

“I brought him along in case you needed a little extra… persuasion,” Finn stated.

“... Okay… great, nice to meet you. I’m gonna leave now,” she said. She stepped quickly around Gideon towards the door. Gideon grabbed her roughly. Rabia screamed as he shoved her against the nearest wall and pinned her by the throat. She struggled as he started chanting in a strange language and a dark mist surrounded them. The necklace around her neck glowed brightly before she passed out. Gideon released her and she dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.

“Good work, worm. She will be a useful tool in my efforts. Bring her home - tomorrow she will be compliant with our demands,” he hissed. Finn nodded and Gideon swept out of the room.

~ VAATISPURPLEBUTTVAATISPURPLEBUTTVAATISPURPLEBUTT ~

Dear Ganondorf,

I miss you. Your eyes, your smile, your laugh, your voice, your presence… and I keep writing you letters that I can’t send to you but I hope you know that I miss you deeply. It’s an ache so deep I feel it in my bones, and I don’t think it’ll ever go away. My parents still won’t allow me to contact you in any way because they think you’re too dangerous.

It’s Nayru’s Blessing Day and I know I should’ve told you this back in December at your birthday, but I love you.

I have feelings for you
You’re everything to me
I can’t do this without you
I love you.

I also owe you an apology. Against my better judgement and everything I feel for you, I agreed to a dinner date with Finn tonight. I promise, it didn’t mean anything to me. At least, I don’t think it did. I don’t really remember what happened and it’s confusing me because there’s an empty spot in my memories where this evening should be. All I remember is arriving at his place, waking up on the floor, and walking home. I have bruises on my neck and arm that I have to figure out how to cover, too.

I’m sorry I betrayed you by going out with him. I should’ve known better than to go on a date with him. Every time I’m with him he finds a way to hurt me. I know that I’ve hurt you by going out with him. I’m sorry. I don’t love him. I don’t like him. I don’t want anything to do with him. But I’m afraid, because my parents won’t allow me to don’t want me to be with anyone else and I think I might end up stuck with him.

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I’m sorry I betrayed you, I’m sorry I let him hurt me again, I’m sorry I can’t see you, I’m sorry I kept you a secret for so long. Every day I wish I’d stayed in the desert with you instead of coming home. That was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.
Bi és su n. (1)
Always yours, Rabia