The pair had only managed to get as far as unpacking and getting off their boots before both heads came up at the knock that sounded at the door to their small room. Liesl’s hand even went to the hilt of the Master Sword out of reflex where it was hidden under her cloak on the bed, but Zelda brought up hers to still the movement as they exchanged a look. That’s right, they were safe. They were at an inn, and no one knew they were there. Okay…a few people did, but it wasn’t like they were the enemy.

So, Liesl straightened, took a deep breath, and answered the door. True to her word, Itin was here with the food, clothes, and even some fresh towels. All within minutes of their arrival. How she managed to tuck it all under her arms while still holding onto the tray of food was beyond Liesl, but she quickly opened the door further and ushered the young woman in.

“Phew, made it!” Itin said in the same cheery voice she used to greet them downstairs. A few steps brought her to the table, where she set the tray, then to the bed, where she placed the clothing and towels. Whereupon she turned and looked at the meager belongings that had been unpacked. “Wow, you two weren’t kidding. You barely have anything!”

“Yes, well,” Zelda said before stepping forward and picking up the shirt on top and letting it fall open. “It appears you were able to find us some clothing?”

“Oh yeah,” Itin said with a nod. “Those are some old ones from my brother. Not much, but it didn’t seem like you needed anything fancy, right?”

“Quite right. In fact, the less fancy, the better.”

“Whatever you say!” The young woman turned with a shrug and started back toward the door, but stopped just before going through. “I’m going to bring your basin up now. The water is already boiling, so I should be done filling by the time you finish eating. The soup has ham and some vegetables, by the way, and we made the bread this afternoon.”

“Thank you,” Zelda said before watching Itin bounce out the door and down the hall. Whereupon she turned to Liesl and raised an eyebrow. “I’m beginning to understand where the name of the inn comes from.”

Liesl couldn’t help but snort in amusement before stepping up to the bed and doing much the same as Zelda. “I wonder if they named this place before she was born, or it became a self-fulfilling prophecy…”

The shirt she held up was definitely bigger than she needed and had been worn so much that it was soft to the touch. Two buttons allowed it to open a little further down from the neck, no doubt useful when working in the hot sun or perhaps in the kitchen? But it was clean and looked comfortable, and at this point, Liesl couldn’t care less that it was once someone else’s.

“And at least we’ll be able to sleep in something fresh tonight after getting washed.” Which would also make it easier to keep cleaner out on the road by switching them out and washing the one not in use.

“True,” Zelda agreed before turning and making her way to the table. “Shall we? I’m so hungry the smell alone is making my stomach twist into knots.”

Liesl nodded and then moved past her, grabbed the chair, and pulled it out. “It does smell good, doesn’t it? We can’t do anything else until Itin is done, anyway.”

“Really?” At first, Zelda only peered at the chair before raising her head and an eyebrow. “It feels pointless out here, don’t you think?”

“No,” Liesl said and held firm until Zelda came forward and sat in the seat like she was bid to do. After she sat, Liesl pushed her in, then bent to kiss her cheek. After checking the door for Itin, of course. “Just because you aren’t in the castle doesn’t mean you aren’t a princess, you know.” Her voice was low to keep others from hearing, but Liesl meant every word. Just because they had to flee didn’t change that. Didn’t change what they were.

“Once again, you’re too good to me,” Zelda snorted before reaching out with her spoon and dipping it into the soup. “Now, you’d better sit across from me and enjoy your meal, too. Or you will feel this princess’s disfavor.”

“Yes, yes,” Liesl agreed. “How could I do anything else…” When that’s what Zelda commanded.

The two mainly ate in silence then, mostly because Itin appeared over and over again as she filled the tub. And honestly, that was entertainment in and of itself. Sometimes she hummed, other times she was actually singing a song. One time, she even tripped slightly and sloshed water on the ground. Which prompted reassurance from both women that it was fine. Finally, once the tub was full and the meal was done, Itin disappeared, leaving instructions to fold their dirty laundry by the door to be washed and returned the next morning.

“What an interesting girl,” Zelda noted before bringing up a hand and indicating the tub. “Alright, let’s get washed up. You’re first.”

“Me?” Liesl asked before turning to her friend and narrowing her eyes. “But you always go first.”

“And? We’re in a new place, aren’t we? And I want you to so I can help you wash.”

“Zelda…”

“You said I’m still the Princess, right? So, that means you still have to listen to me, my Hero.” A cheeky grin kicked up on Zelda’s lips following the assertion, and Liesl knew she wasn’t going to get out of this. “Besides, it will help me relax to help. Like it’s just any time back at the castle.”

But it wasn’t just any time, was it? Here they were in a tiny room, in a tiny inn, with a “bathtub” barely big enough to sit in. Let alone hold any great amount of water. No, it would mostly be a cloth that would be responsible for getting that water where it needed to go. However, if it helped Zelda feel better to be the one doing it, could Liesl really deny her? Could the Hero deny the Princess?

“Alright, alright,” Liesl said with a sigh of defeat. “I’ll go first.”

“Good,” Zelda said before nodding as if to say she should proceed with getting undressed.

Right here? Right in front of her? No, way! At the very least, she would turn and begin to slip from her clothing. Maybe move toward the corner after standing from the chair, too. However, as soon as she did so, Liesl heard a snicker. “What?” She asked, eyebrows furrowed as she looked back over her shoulder.

“Even after everything, some things don’t change…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you’re still getting undressed with your back to me,” Zelda teased.

Of course, she was! Not everyone was so comfortable being naked in front of others! It wasn’t like Liesl was the royal here. “Yes, I suppose some things remain the same.” For now, at least. While they still had a normal place to bathe, like an inn. She continued thereafter, still with her back turned, as her shirt, pants, and undergarment were removed. All made easier by the fact that Zelda had only teased her but hadn’t actually stood there and ogled.

Instead, she moved back to the bed to continue unpacking and organizing the few things they had as well as the new items they’d bought. It wasn’t until Liesl hurried over to the tub and sat inside that she finally roused from what she was doing and joined her.

“How does it feel?” Zelda asked as she brought a chair over and sat down. Behind Liesl.

“Heavenly,” Liesl replied without hesitation, despite the circumstances. She could feel the hot water melting away the stresses of the last few days, along with the grime and dirt that had built up in that same time.

Again, Zelda chuckled softly behind her. It didn’t have the same kind of mirth it once had, but it was still good to hear after so many days on the road spent mostly in silence. And certainly better than the tears that had fallen before. “I expect so.”

She wasted no time dipping the cloth into the water, and Liesl gathered her long, blonde hair into a ponytail and held it off her back to not impede the long strokes. They fell back to silence then, Liesl tracking every gentle swipe of the cloth over her skin. And was it just her imagination, or was Zelda being especially tender today? Not that Liesl minded the affectionate touch after so long.

Her mind wandered over the past few days in the meantime, and it wasn’t until she looked down to allow access to the back of her neck that she realized how dirty the water was becoming. Ugh, this is why she wanted the Princess to go first!

“Zelda, the water.”

“It’s fine,” she assured her. “We’ve shared spit, you know. Some water isn’t going to kill me.”

Goddesses, why did she have to put it like that!? Liesl could feel her face heating at the assertion, and she even leaned forward and rested her face on her knees. A groan followed, as did more soft laughter, before Zelda leaned forward and planted a kiss on her now clean shoulder.

“I suppose we’ll have to figure out how to bathe on the road, though. We can’t always wait until we come across an inn.”

“You’re right. I feel like my clothes could’ve stood up after I took them off they were so dirty.”

“Yes, I can feel how gross mine are, too. But now that we have an extra pair…kind of, we can start washing them, too? And I’ll offer to buy the soap we’re using now.”

They should probably go through their bags and look for other items they needed now that they had the time. “Alright, that’s a good plan.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

This time, it was Liesl’s turn to chuckle because that sounded very much like the Princess Zelda she knew back at the castle. One who was confident and knew what needed to be done. That allowed Liesl to relax a little more and straighten up from where she had tried to hide. Which permitted Zelda to do what she needed to finish, including washing her hair.

Then it was Zelda’s turn, and she undressed while Liesl took a few minutes to dry herself off and slip into one of the provided shirts. And…well, only that. But thankfully, the oversized nature of it meant that anything sensitive was covered, and she joined Zelda as soon as it was her turn in the tub. And where Liesl had been shy about showing off her own body, she didn’t hesitate to look over her friends. But not to admire Zelda’s beauty as she usually did. No, this time she wanted to see how it had changed in the preceding days.

Zelda had never been anything other than dainty despite the food available to her. A wish of her father, no doubt. But it meant that she didn’t have much to lose, and Liesl didn’t like how thin her friend had become. Not only that, there were now a plethora of bruises and minor cuts that marred her once-perfect skin, unavoidable when moving through undergrowth and traveling all day long. At least she hadn’t sustained any serious injuries during their flight. Still, she should’ve been able to heal away these marks, right?

“Zelda,” Liesl started before grabbing the cloth and doing much the same as she had, delicately removing the dirt and grime.

“Hmm?”

“Why aren’t you healing yourself? I can see all these little injuries?”

For a moment, Zelda only blinked and looked down, raising an arm as if she needed to see what Liesl was talking about. “Oh, well…I didn’t want to push myself too hard. What if you needed healing instead? These aren’t so bad.”

“But I’m the Hero, I’m supposed to get hurt.” The wielder of the Master Sword, and a warrior, even if she didn’t feel like it.

“No,” Zelda corrected before turning slightly and reaching up to stab a finger in her chest. “You are not supposed to get hurt, and I won’t have you thinking you need to run off into danger or suffer an injury. And in any case, if you are supposed to get hurt as the Hero, then I am supposed to heal you as the Princess. Got it?”

“Don’t be reckless,” Liesl said with a snort of amusement. “Got it.” Yes, Zelda could heal her all she wanted as long as Liesl was the one who needed it.

An approving nod preceded Zelda turning back around, and Liesl got to work soon after, using water that had become lukewarm at best. Even if the Princess wouldn’t complain, Liesl tried her best to hurry up and insisted that Zelda get out of the water while she washed her hair. By the time it was all said and done, the two actually appeared more than halfway presentable.

“Sometimes I wonder if I should cut all this off,” Zelda said after letting her towel drop from atop her head to rest on her shoulders and grabbing a fistful of her hair. “It would certainly be easier out here.”

For her part, Liesl looked stunned that she could suggest such a thing and actually let her mouth hang open in surprise. “But your hair is so beautiful!”

“Maybe, but it’s such a pain to take care of, and it’s not like we’ll be styling it anytime soon. That alone makes me want to chop it off. Not that father would approve.”

Well, Liesl wasn’t so sure the King would ever be able to disapprove again, considering all that had transpired. But she wasn’t about to bring that up and remind Zelda that his fate was uncertain. If she wasn’t already thinking about that very thing.

In the silence, Zelda eventually sighed and moved toward Liesl, her hand coming up to reveal it was clutched around something. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. The Master Sword makes a poor instrument for such a thing, anyway. For now, we’ll simply have to tame it. As well as yours.”

When she finished, her hand opened to reveal a comb of all things, much to Liesl’s surprise.

“Where did you get that?”

“It was in the bag.”

Really? Liesl hadn’t noticed it before, so maybe it was stuck at the bottom. Or in a different pocket? “He packed a comb for us,” she muttered in disbelief. Oh Goddesses, was she really about to fall apart now of all times? When they were finally safe? But of course, he did. Rowan was always thinking of the small things, always looking out for her in more ways than a mere mentor might.

Zelda must’ve sensed the impending sadness because her face filled with sympathy as she reached out and wrapped an arm around Liesl’s shoulder. “Alright, to the bed. Let me brush your hair.”

Liesl let herself be guided forward and eventually sat toward the foot to leave plenty of room. She felt the bed dip, and then Zelda scoot up behind her, but her eyes remained fixed at some inconsequential spot on the blanket. However, instead of the tines of the comb in her hair, Zelda’s arms came from behind her and wrapped her in a warm, gentle embrace. One that Liesl melted into while she tried her very best to keep those tears at bay.

“He was a good man,” Zelda whispered into her ear, delicate as if they might cause Liesl to fall to pieces. “And he loved you very much.”

Well, too late for that. The first streak fell and Liesl made no move to wipe it away, as if that would somehow do his memory harm. Instead, she let the next fall, and the next, silently leaving streaks down her face.

“It’s not fair,” Liesl said, her voice cracking with despair. “They’ve taken two fathers from me.”

“I know.” Zelda’s hug became tighter, and she nodded against the side of Liesl’s head. “We’ll make them pay,” she said, steel in her voice. “We’ll get stronger and we’ll send each one back into the darkness they spawned from.”

Now that sounded like a good plan to Liesl, and hopefully, they could find help at their destination. Allies and people to teach them what they needed to know. Why would Rowan send them there otherwise?

“We will,” Liesl said with a gentle nod. “Every last one of them…”