Courage at the Front Part 2/2
Second part of my WWII Zelda fic!
Part 1 | Part 2 | AO3
Zelda
Zelda woke stiff and uncomfortably warm. Sweat had dripped down her back leaving a damp spot where shirt met waistband. She had slumped down overnight from her place against the wall to a crumpled position on the floor. Her head was pillowed gently in Link's lap with his hand resting heavily on her shoulder. He was still asleep above her and she took the opportunity to really look at the soldier. With his uniform in disarray and missing his helmet, Zelda found herself really seeing him for the first time. He was young, probably twenty or so. His features were delicate and feminine. Not quite what you expect from a tank man - though his slim build was likely an asset. He had long lashes and pouty lips and soft blond hair that wasn't regulation length. He was the prettiest man she'd ever seen.
"If you keep staring like I'm an animal in a zoo, I'm going to charge you five rupees."
White stars erupted in Zelda's vision when she startled and thrust her head out of Link's lap. The tight quarters ensured that her violent movement bashed her head into the nearest steel wall. She groaned in pain and humiliation before setting her head right back where it started. Link gave her an awkward pat on the head which only made the shame worse.
"Come on, Lieutenant. Let's see what's out there today." He said bracingly.
They awkwardly disentangled their limbs and Zelda spent a moment adjusting her clothing and Link's bandana back into something resembling respectable. It was obvious that she had spent the night on the floor with a man.
Link had immediately began peering out the repaired periscope and nodded to himself in satisfaction. He cautiously opened the hatch just enough to allow his head to pass and gave a full circle survey of the landscape.
"Seems quiet, ma'am. We should be able to step out for a bit safely. Inspect the exterior and try to get this thing going."
"Ok, the gas gauge is nearly empty so we'll need a refill before we head out."
Link nodded again and grabbed his rifle before pulling himself out the hatch. Zelda heard a few scuffling noises before "Clear!"
She pulled out after Link and began sifting through the supplies strapped to the M4A2. No extra fuel.
"Damn Zora. Can't they keep supplies on hand? Sargent, any ideas?"
She glanced at Link who was gazing at a tank about a half kilometer away. Dammit. He was probably right that it was the only option.
"Ok, I see it, Sargent. You go for that one and I'll head to the one in the east. One of us will probably get lucky and find something. Meet back here in twenty minutes."
They both took one last look around for the enemy before heading out. Zelda breathed a small sigh of relief that her direction was slightly less trampled and there were fewer red stains on the ground. She was still careful with unfamiliar bits of shrapnel though. Her heart pounded with every cracked branch and every shuffle of leaves under her feet. It was terrifyingly silent without her small noises. Her target was getting steadily bigger as she crept closer and closer.
Link
The gas was easy to find on the decimated hunk of garbage that remained of the Lanayru machine. He was halfway through cutting the jugs loose when he realised he had a bit of a problem. The problem was the voices of at least two men that Link could hear speaking on the other side of the tank. Enemy.
He held his breath and tried to cut through the mesh as silently as possible. They didn't know he was there based on the level of noise they were making. They seemed comfortable. Secure. Arguing in dull voices about bananas. His knife dragged through the netting another time and the jug slipped just a little. Just a tiny scrape. The voices stopped. Muffled footsteps began to creep closer. Link shoved his knife through another hunk of netting. The tension from the weight of the jug caused the breakage to snap. A boot scuffed. Link gripped the handle of his knife with one hand and the jug with the other and took a breath in preparation.
He ripped the jug free of the netting and swiped his knife to the side where a Yiga soldier jumped out at him. Knives swung between them and Link barely managed to drop the gas in time to catch a fist heading for his balls. It was too late to also catch the knife that slid forward and cut deeply into the back of his forearm. He cursed loudly into the man’s face and shoved him backwards onto the dropped jug. It clunked on the ground and Link used the obstruction to twist the soldier sideways so he was pinned against the fraying netting and supplies. A quick bit of footwork took the man to the ground and knocked his head with a sickening crunch. One down. One to-
Link froze. The unmistakable feeling of a muzzle pressed against his back.
“Drop weapon.”
Link immediately dropped his knife. His rifle was slung over his shoulder still and he carefully spread his hands to the side and shrugged until it slipped down his arm and bloodied on the hilt of the knife still sticking out of his skin. It felt like he lit his arm on fire. The knife had hit bone. The enemy pressed harder into his back for a tense moment while Link shook in pain before stepping back a tiny amount to grab at the rifle.
It only took that space of a moment for Link to turn and bash the man’s face with the butt of his dangling rifle. A gunshot rang out in the still air. Link screamed in pain as the knife ripped from his arm. He didn’t stop though, and bashed again and again until the man was down and would never come up again. He wasn’t shot. He was pretty sure. He patted himself down with his good arm and confirmed there wasn’t extra blood coming from anywhere.
Eager to get out of there, he slung his rifle over his back again. Picked up the gas and took off running back to as much safety as can be found behind enemy lines.
Zelda
Zelda began running back to their tank when she heard shouting coming from the direction Link went. When a gunshot rang out she hit the dirt and crawled the last distance to the tank. She cowered behind the treads for a moment fumbling with her pistol and squinted at the figure running full tilt towards her. Slowly the shape formed into a man carrying a box. It must be Link with the gas. He was struggling awkwardly with the canister, but she wasn’t about to run out and help while someone was firing at them. She averted her firearm and watched carefully for movement behind Link. He seemed to have won whatever fight he was in.
It felt like ages before Link was close enough to see. He was bleeding freely and slowing down.
“All clear!” He shouted.
That was all it took for her to burst into action, running to him and grabbing the tank of gas off him. It was full and very heavy, maybe 20 liters which wouldn’t last, but should be enough.
“You’re wounded.” She was afraid of what that could mean. She didn’t know much about medicine.
“Yes,” He grit out between clenched teeth. “The bastard jabbed his knife in my arm. It fell out. Don’t worry about it.”
She squinted at him for a moment, but turned to climb up the side of the machine to put her paltry offering into the fuel line. She kept an eye on Link as he shed his rifle and shirt to get at his arm. It didn’t look good, but that could have been all the blood. He poured out a measure of water onto the wound and it was looking a bit better. Thank god it was the back of his arm instead of the fleshy underside. It was deep though, and wide.
Zelda tossed the empty jug to the side and climbed a little higher to grab the med kit she had hooked at the hatch. A bit of alcohol would clean it out and a pressure bandage would be as much as they could do for now. Luckily, the Zora had a bit of gauze she could use to help clean him off too.
She offered him the bottle of alcohol, but Link just stretched his arm out to her and silently looked the other way. Zelda sighed, unstoppered the bottle and unceremoniously dumped a healthy measure onto the gash. Link grunted, but otherwise kept still and silent. She let the sting dissipate for a moment then swiped at the blood with the gauze. That got him to gasp and whip his head around at her.
“You could have warned me!” He bit out the words.
She shrugged and kept pouring and wiping until the wound and surrounding arm looked clean enough. The bandage was quickly shook out and pressed on carefully. She tried to be a little gentler with the ties and checked in on his face a few more times. He was a little pale, but seemed otherwise fine.
“Come on, let’s get back in this hunk of metal and head home.” Zelda picked up his rifle and pulled it over her shoulder while he gathered his shirt and gloves. Now that he wasn’t in danger of bleeding out, she was able to look at the rest of him. He looked pretty good. Really good. Strong, too.
She looked away before she noticed anything else and helped him climb up to the hatch.
“Put your shirt back on, Sargent.”
Link
"I think we're far enough."
Zelda slowed to a stop and Link gave a sigh and ducked back into the tank from where he was looking through the hatch.
"I don't recognize where we are, but we're on the edge of a copse with a decent sized field and a little creek. Should be enough landmarks to find us. Want to try the radio?" He asked.
Zelda nodded and motioned for him to swap places with her. He followed her direction and slid into the seat for the co-driver. His neck was aching after an hour of constantly surveying the horizon and tensing at every movement and glint of sun. His arm pulsed in pain in time with his heartbeat. Zelda fared better as the driver, but still seemed hesitant to start up the radio.
"Don't worry," He said, "We're about five kilometers from the last enemy troop we saw. We're definitely safe now."
She nodded absently at him and flipped the radio switch. It crackled to life and she silently waited for a moment listening to the static. She turned the tuner channel from the Zora setting to the one marked Hylian ally and let the static play for another minute. Finally, a voice came through reporting a supply convoy. Zelda met his eyes and they both released sighs together.
"Break, break," Zelda said, "Hotel Four-Zed, Hotel Four-Zed this is," she referenced the serial next to the radio, "Golf Tango One-Two."
The radio fell silent, and then...
"Proceed Golf Tango One-Two, this is Hotel Four-Zed." The crackled voice was the best thing Link had ever heard. They were going to live. He didn't really believe it until this moment.
"Hotel Four-Zed, this is Golf Tango One-Two. Code yellow, little bird returns. Unknown location. Traveled roughly 8 kilometers west from last known location. Over."
"Golf Tango One-Two, this is Hotel Four-Zed. Roger that. Stand by. Over."
Link waited quietly for an explanation of what Zelda had just done. What was "little bird”, what did that mean? She was a mechanic which wasn't exactly important enough to merit a code name. Something wasn't adding up. He did his best to let his displeasure known without directly questioning her. It was unlikely she would be intimidated by his glare, but it was worth a shot.
"Little Bird?" He repeated.
"Yes," She said crisply, "That's me."
The radio crackled to life again. A different voice was on the line this time.
"Golf Tango One-Two, this is Hotel Four-Zed. Come in, over."
"Hotel Four-Zed, this is Golf Tango One-Two," Zelda said into the machine, "Go ahead Urbosa, over."
The voice sounded furious, "Little Bird you stay where you are. I say again, stay where you are. Your location is confirmed. What is your status?"
"I'm fine, Urbosa. I'm not on my own. We're safe for now, but we've got wounded."
"Don't move an inch. We'll be at your location within four hours. Over and out."
Okay, he had four hours to get to the bottom of this. Zelda set down the radio and began pulling her uniform back into place where she had loosened it.
"Come on, Sargent. Let's get out of this heat."
He reluctantly followed her out and found himself breathing fresh air and taking in some sunlight.
"It'll be dark by the time they get here, ma'am. We should find something to eat while we can still see."
"What? No, they'll be here in less than ten minutes."
Link startled and said, somewhat stupidly, "But she said four hours?"
Zelda just waved him off and drank from his canteen. Ten minutes. She must be from intelligence and have actual information to pass on. He's been wandering around enemy territory with a spy. No way was he going to question her. She'd probably have it all twisted around in minutes and would be questioning him. Or she'd been doing it this whole time and he's accidentally spilled his guts. What had he told her? He couldn't remember.
They waited in a tense silence until suddenly eight people melted out of the shadows in the trees to surround them. All of their weapons pointed directly at Link. His frightened yelp was the only sound of the whole experience.
"Oh, stand down." Zelda said, annoyed. Guns were instantly moved to not technically be pointed at him, but still close enough that Link didn't put his hands back down from where he had them raised. Zelda must be a really important spy.
Zelda was about to speak again when the sound of a chopper overhead caused the commandos to shuffle closer and point their guns even more menacingly at places very close to where Link stood. It landed perfectly on the little stretch of open land available and an enormously tall and beautiful woman stepped out like a movie star. Every movement was sensual. Link glanced to the side to see Zelda's reaction and was surprised to see her looking rather penitent.
"What the hell were you thinking!?" The beautiful woman shouted at Zelda as soon as she was in earshot, "Nevermind. Get in the helicopter immediately. We are returning you to the rear where you belong."
The woman didn't touch Zelda, but made it clear she expected compliance. Zelda grabbed Link's good arm and dragged him behind her.
"What? No, he can return with the Ops. Do you have any idea how worried I've been? You disobeyed orders, left your command, terrified me, and I won't even get into what this has done to your father."
Despite the beautiful woman's words, Zelda didn't let him go and Link was dragged aboard the chopper. Beautiful woman gave him an annoyed look and he returned a bewildered one. He rattled his name and serial number off. Hopefully that would be enough to keep her from tossing him to the squad of people with guns pointed not-at-him.
They sat stiffly in the helicopter during the fifteen minute ride. Link tried not to look at the beautiful woman, the beautiful woman alternated looking disappointed at Zelda and suspicious of him, and Zelda watched the countryside go by. They didn't speak.
Finally the chopper landed and the beautiful woman reached over and pulled him back from Zelda.
"You leave last. Let her get to the ground before you step out."
It was an odd order, but Link wasn't about to get in the way of orders surrounding a high-level spy.
The beautiful woman opened the door and stepped out.
"I'm sorry." Zelda whispered to him before following the beautiful woman.
He gave it a beat before making his way to the door and looking out. He froze before he could step out because not four feet away from the edge of the helicopter blades was the King.
Zelda
Father was waiting for her when they landed. Zelda wasn't sure if she was surprised or not. Since she was missing for a time it probably made sense that he was here. It would look horrible if he was already in the country and wasn't there to greet his daughter on her return from being MIA. Zelda stepped in front of him and gave the best curtsy she could in her grubby mechanic uniform and Link's bandana. She was not looking the part of Princess at all.
Behind her, Zelda heard a gasp and knew that Link had finally put it together. Or at least realized that he was in way over his head. The suspicion around the codename had raised some questions, no doubt. But lots of people had codenames in the grand scheme of a war. Fewer had a King waiting for their return.
Zelda waited until she could hear Link's footsteps shuffling as close as he dared before...
"Father," And Link gasped again. "I want this Sargent to be awarded a medal for bravery. I owe him my life."
Link's training held and he was silent by Zelda's side. She couldn't quite see him from this angle, but she was sure that he was just over her left shoulder.
"Hmm," The King said, "Personal service to the crown merits more than a simple military award. Urbosa. Have my daughter and this man discharged immediately. The Princess will return to the palace and begin working again. The man can come at a later date for his investiture."
With that, he turned and left for the car awaiting him.
Zelda let out a breath and looked at Urbosa to see if she was going to start yelling. She wasn't. Papers were already in front of her face. No doubt they were discharge papers that she had already prepared. She tended to be one step ahead of everyone else.
"Your... Highness?" Link spoke quietly, "What... just happened?"
He looked completely bewildered. It was fun to see him so off balance after his calm and focus during their tumultuous escape. He was still a little pale from his injury.
"Oh, Link. We are going to be seeing more of each other, I think. You're no longer in the army. Or you won't be in a minute. You're to come to the Palace soon and get Knighted. I imagine you'll be getting a few titles actually, my father will want to make a point. No doubt you'll be weighed down by medals and then made my personal knight attendant or something equally archaic."
"...Knight?"
"Oh yes, there's no way you're getting out of this without a knighthood."
He was silent for a few minutes, absorbing. "So you’re… the princess?"
Zelda laughed.
