Something compelled Link to the quiet stable of Rito Village - tricked him into coming, and then captured him once he was there like a fly in thick, golden honey. It could have been the music that matched in beat to the rickets of the windmills, or the way the mountain ranges captivated Zelda so thoroughly that his job was just that much easier. Was it the cool breeze that was so unique to the Hebra region? The same breeze that it caressed Link’s skin with a gentle coercion of freedom?

Maybe it was the eagerness that engulfed his being when Zelda dismissed him for the night, a knowing smile on her face when she watched Link bow in practiced grace, before leaving with quiet steps - his expression only rippling when the curtain were closed.

Link didn’t sleep in the same hut as the princess. He never did in Rito Village, even when they offered him his own room right next to the her. His quiet rejection wasn’t frowned upon like it would in other domains, and most the time Zelda herself was the one most adamant of her own privacy. It was something Rito Village would provide, if ever it was anything more than a facade in the open-windowed town.

He didn’t sleep with Zelda, nor at the small settlement at the foot of the bridge into the domain. He could have rented a bunk, could have even treated himself to a Rito-down bed, but why waste rupees when you had an open home, and welcoming arms that could take you instead?

“There you are. If you were expecting me to chase after you, you are sorely mistaken, Link.” Revali chided, earning an eye roll from the Rito that stood by him, adorned in the same warrior regalia, but much brighter in his feathered complexion. Link was grateful this Rito knew not to come in defence of Link, aware his silence spoke a language of its own. Anywhere else, anyone else would have thrown themselves in his defence uselessly. It was nice, if not a rarity, to be treated as just ‘Link.’