Zelink

Zelink is the het ship between Link and Zelda from the The Legend of Zelda fandom.

The Legend of Zelda
Ganon leads an army of evil to Hyrule and gathers the Triforce of Power. He seeks the Triforce of Wisdom that Princess Zelda has so she scatters it into eight fragments before he imprisons her. She sent her maid Impa to find the hero to save her which ended up being Link. Link gathered the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom. He managed to defeat Ganon and save Zelda.

Adventure of Link
A few years have passed since Link's defeat of Ganon and he noticed an imprint of the Triforce of Courage on his hand. Impa told Link the story of the original Princess Zelda who was placed into a deep slumber by an evil wizard. She explained to him that he must go to six palaces to place crystals and then defeat an evil in the Great Palace while avoiding minions of Ganon who were attempting to revive him. Link succeeds in awakening Zelda who gives him a kiss afterwards.

A Link to The Past and Link's Awakening
In the Downfall timeline, On a stormy night, after the other six maidens were sent into the Dark World and the King of Hyrule was murdered, Princess Zelda had been imprisoned. She woke Link up by sending him a telepathic message and asked him to go to Hyrule Castle and save her. Zelda tells him how to sneak into the castle and he eventually saved her from her prison cell.

Link manages to take Zelda to the sanctuary by escaping through a secret passage. He leaves her there as she would be safe while he goes to retrieve the Master Sword. However, once Link obtains the Master Sword, Zelda is captured by Agahnim and calls for Link. He arrives just in time to see him send her into the Dark World. Zelda is imprisoned inside of a crystal inside of Turtle Rock and is saved by Link way later. She and the other six maidens help him enter Ganon's Tower.

After Link manages to save the world, he sets out on another adventure. He rides on a ship somewhere in the sea but is caught in a vicious storm and is shipwrecked. Link later wakes up in the house of a girl who found him on the beach and saved him. He refers to her as Zelda but the girl corrects him and tell him that her name is Marin. Link did not get to see Zelda or hear from her at all after that as he was stranded on Koholint Island.

Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask
Link and Zelda had dreams about each other before they even met and these dreams turned out to be premonitions. The Great Deku Tree eventually sent Link to meet Princess Zelda at Hyrule Castle. She was initially startled that he managed to sneak in but noticed that he was from the forest and wondered if Link was the one from her dream. The two then make plans to stop Ganondorf.

Per Zelda's instructions, Link manages to obtain the spiritual stones. However, Ganondorf ends up pursuing Zelda so she is forced to flee and left Link with the Ocarina of Time. He tries to stop Ganondorf from chasing her and is blasted to the ground. After grabbing the ocarina, Link receives a telepathic message from Zelda. She apologizes for not being able to stay and teaches him the Song of Time. Link manages to pull the Master Sword but is sealed in the Sacred Realm for seven years because he is too young to be the Hero of Time.

Link awakens as an adult and notices that Ganondorf has taken over Hyrule. He is sent to save the sages while a man named Sheik helps him through this process. After Link awakens the sages, Sheik reveals that he is actually Princess Zelda in disguise. She gives Link the light arrows but is then captured by Ganondorf. He manages to defeat Ganondorf and the two escape the collapsing castle together. Ganondorf turns out to still be alive and turns into a giant monster. Link and Zelda work together to defeat him and seal him in the Sacred Realm. However, in another timeline, Link is killed and Ganon is able to extract the entire Triforce so the sages are forced to seal him away in desperation.

After saving the world, Link and Zelda are floating in the sky together. Zelda thanks Link for returning peace to Hyrule and holds his hand while asking for the Ocarina of Time. She explains that she can send him back in time and wants him to have the childhood that he missed out on. Zelda sends Link back in time to a point before they even met. Link goes to see Zelda and warns her about Ganondorf. They manage to expose him and have him arrested before he can cause any damage. Because Zelda sent Link back in time, it would cause a split in the timeline creating three timlines.

In the child timeline, Link decides to go search for his fairy companion Navi as she left him after they were returned to the past. As he was leaving, Zelda had a conversation with Link. She had given him the Ocarina of Time and told him to always remember the Song of Time. Zelda then watched Link as he left on Epona. Link briefly has his ocarina stolen by the Skull Kid but manages to get it back and remembers this moment with Zelda.

Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
Princess Zelda sends Impa to retrieve Din and Nayru who end up being kidnapped. As such, she has Impa seek the help of Link to save them. It is unknown whom Link saves first but while he is on a quest to save the second oracle, Koume and Kotake take advantage of Link being gone and kidnap Zelda. He is then forced to go save her as well before they sacrifice her to revive Ganon. Link dashes in and manages to stop Zelda from being sacrificed so the witches use themselves to revive Ganon instead and Link manages to defeat him. After the world is saved, Zelda gives Link a kiss.

Four Swords
Link and Zelda seem to be childhood friends. Princess Zelda is worried about the seal on Vaati in the Four Sword Sanctuary and asks Link to go take a look with her. Soon after their arrival, Vaati breaks out and captures Zelda. Link is forced to draw the Four Sword which splits him into four in order to defeat Vaati. After reaching his palace, the four Links manage to defeat Vaati and rescue Zelda.

Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass
In the Adult timeline, Link first sees the pirate Tetra when a giant bird known as the Helmaroc King drops her into the woods on Outset Island. Link obtains a sword and goes to rescue her only for the bird to come back and snatch his sister Aryll. He jumps off of a cliff after her so Tetra grabs him and tells him not to be reckless. Later, Link asks Tetra and crew to take him aboard their ship and help him save his sister. They reluctantly agree since Link saved Tetra earlier which also led to Aryll's capture.

Tetra helps launch Link to the Forsaken Fortress but misses which causes him to drop his sword. She uses a charm to communicate with him telepathically and helps him navigate the fortress. However, when Link reaches Aryll's cell, the Helmaroc King arrives and throws Link out into the ocean. He is assumed to be dead until he steals some of the bombs from the pirates and Tetra yells at Link. However, she is secretly worried about Outset Island being destroyed like Greatfish Isle was earlier.

Link later returns to the Forsaken Fortress and makes to Aryll's cell once again. Tetra arrives with her crew to help rescue her and orders her crew to return Aryll home. She notices that Link now has the Master Sword and realizes that Link has an important task at hand. When Link confronts Ganondorf, Tetra arrives to help him and is choked by him until Valoo and two Ritos arrive to save them.

Link and Tetra return to the land below the sea which is the old Kingdom of Hyrule. They meet the King of Hyrule who reveals that Tetra is actually Princess Zelda. She is forced to remain down there in hiding while Link finds a way to restore the Master Sword to full power. Zelda apologizes to Link for everything that has happened so far and warns him to be careful as he leaves.

Link later restores the Master Sword and returns to Princess Zelda in Hyrule Castle. However, he finds out that he was too late and that Ganondorf has already captured her and taken her to his tower. Link heads to Ganon's Tower and finds her asleep in a bed. Ganondorf later manages to extract Link and Zelda's Triforce of Courage and Wisdom but his wish is stolen by the king. Afterwards, Zelda takes Link's Light Arrows and helps him defeat Ganondorf. The two are later returned to the surface and rescued by Tetra's pirate crew. They go on a journey together to find a new land.

Link and Tetra end up being on the pirate ship together while searching for a new land. The crew eventually stumbles upon an abandoned ghost ship. Link and Tetra decide to explore it together but Tetra is taken away by some spirits and Link is forced to go on another adventure to rescue her. Link later finds the ghost ship again and sees that Tetra has been turned into stone. She returns to normal after Bellum is defeated. Link and Tetra later awaken back on the ghost ship and find that they have only been gone for ten minutes. The two later find a new land and name Hyrule.

Four Swords Adventures
Princess Zelda contacts Link and asks him to join her while she and the six other maidens investigate the seal on Vaati. While he is there, Shadow Link appears and captures all maidens including Zelda, sealing them into dark crystals and scattering them across Hyrule. Link has no choice but to pull the Four Sword and save all of the maidens. He eventually saves Zelda and she helps him reach the Realm of Heavens and stop the source of the Shadow Links. Ganon eventually captures Zelda but is later rescued and combines powers with Link in order to defeat him.

Minish Cap
Link and Zelda are childhood friends who have spent a lot of time together. The princess would often sneak out of the castle in order to go visit Link at his house. One year, Zelda went to get Link and take him to the Picori Festival on his way to deliver a sword to Hyrule Castle. They enjoyed their time together and Zelda won a prize. She picked a shield over two other more extravagant prizes so that she could give it to Link. Vaati later attacked everybody at the ceremony and although Link attempted to protect Zelda, he was easily pushed aside and the princess was turned into stone. Link went on a quest to forge the Four Sword and was eventually able to save her.

Twilight Princess
Link first meets Princess Zelda as a wolf in the Twilight Realm. Midna introduces them to each other and Zelda notices that Link had a shackle around his ankle. Way later, when Link is once again turned into a wolf, he seeks guidance from Zelda. She tells him to find the Master Sword and transfers her soul into Midna so that she can continue to help him. Later, during the final battle against Ganondorf, Princess Zelda rides on Epona with Link and helps him by using Light Arrows.

Spirit Tracks
Link first meets Zelda at his ceremony to receive his train engineer certificate. He immediately looks up at Zelda and blushes when he sees her. Chancellor Cole yells at him for this but Zelda silences him and presents the certificate. Before Link leaves, she gives him a letter asking him to meet her. They later meet in secret and Zelda asks him to sneak her out and give her a ride to the Spirit Tower as she is worried about the Spirit Tracks disappearing.

Link manages to sneak Princess Zelda out of the castle and takes her aboard his train. However, the tracks disappear so he is forced to make an emergency stop. Afterwards, they are attacked by Chancellor Cole who reveals himself as a demon along with Byrne. Link and Alfonzo attempt to protect her but her spirit is removed from her body. Link later awakens back at the castle and is found to be the only one besides the Lokomos who can see Zelda's spirit.

Princess Zelda accompanies Link on his journey to return the Spirit Tracks and get her body back. Whenever he wandering through the Tower of Spirits, she is able to possess a phantom and work along with Link. At one point, the two fight Byrne together and manage to defeat him, noting that they make a good team. Malladus eventually possesses her body and the two later have to chase them into the Dark Realm.

Link and Zelda fight Chancellor Cole and the latter's possessed body and manage to defeat them. Zelda re-enters her body in the sky and falls due to no longer being able to float. Link catches her and she hugs him, causing him to blush. She helps Link fight Malladus and they perform a duet to call upon the power of the Lokomos. After the final battle, the two walk off while holding hands.

Skyward Sword
Link and Zelda are childhood friends and both attended the Knight Academy together. Groose seemed to notice their closeness and bullied Link because he had a crush on Zelda. She was to play the role of the Goddess Hylia for the Loftwing Ceremony. Link ended up winning so they got to perform the ceremony together on the statue. Afterwards, the two flew on their Loftwings together until Ghirahim creates a tornado that throws her off of her Loftwing.

Link later manages to travel to the surface and find that Zelda has been by but his always ahead of him. He later catches up to her and learns that she is the incarnation of the goddess Hylia. They go one thousand years into the past where Zelda goes to sleep to insure the seal on Demise. Link was initially upset but gets to see her wake up in the present. He cradles her when she stumbles out of the crystal.

Ghirahim shows up and manages to capture Zelda again. Link is angry and immediately draws his sword in preparation to fight despite the fact that he is apparently injured. He later manages to defeat him and Demise, would later places a curse on them where their descendants (the ones with the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero) would continue to battle with the incarnation of his wrath (Ganondorf) throughout the ages. Afterwards, Link and Zelda stand on the Statue of the Goddess in the sealed grounds. Zelda tells Link that she dreamed of seeing the surface and wants to stay there. She asks him what he wants to do and he simply smiles at her, implying that they stayed together at the surface.

A Link Between Worlds
Link meets Princess Zelda when he goes to Hyrule Castle to warn her about Yuga turning the sages into paintings. She entrusts him with the Pendant of Courage and asks him to seek Sahasrahla. Yuga later casts a barrier around the castle which forces Link to get the Master Sword. However, he is too late and Zelda is turned into a painting and used to revive Ganondorf. Link goes into Lorule and meets her counterpart Hilda. After obtaining the Triforce of Courage, Zelda gives Link an Arrow of Light to help him defeat Yuga. After being freed, she helps convince Hilda along with Ravio to let Link return to Hyrule with their Triforce. Link and Zelda both felt bad about Lorule's impending doom so they wished on the Triforce together to have Lorule's Triforce restored.

Breath of the Wild
Link was assigned to be Zelda's bodyguard, as well as to be one of the five Champions. At first, Zelda wasn't happy with the idea of being followed and watched while she continues her research and tries to awaken her hidden powers. By the awakening of the Calamity, however, Zelda grew very close and attached to Link, perhaps even developing romantic feelings for him (it should be noted that, in one of Kass's songs, he actually states that his teacher was infatuated with the princess, but that Zelda "only had eyes for her knight attendant." Another theory is that Zelda's love for Link was what awakened her sealing power, as in Breath of the Wild, in Memory #17: Zelda's Awakening, Zelda's power finally awakened when protecting Link from a Guardian.)

When Link almost died, she ordered two Sheikah to bring him to the Shrine of Resurrection. 100 years later, when Link was fully healed, she aided him throughout Hyrule and helped him to defeat Ganon, and at the end of the game, she is shown for the first time smiling - genuinely smiling - at Link. When looking at the Japanese version of the game, Link's mission quests are written in his perspective, like a diary. In one of these particular passages, after recovering all the memories, Link writes about how he remembers the events from 100 years ago. The literal translation of the last sentence is "I want to see her smile, with these eyes of my own." This makes Zelda's smile all the more symbolic.

Throughout Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, which is an alternate timeline to Breath of the Wild, there are signs that could be interpreted as romantic interest between Link and Zelda, and Zelda's power still awakens from attempting to save Link. However, due to the survival of the Champions in this timeline, it's very possible that Link could end up with Mipha instead.

Tears of the Kingdom
Before the game starts, Zelda moves into what was originally Link's house, and claims it as hers (As confirmed by the NPCs that call it "Zelda's house"). There is only one bed in the house, and Link can sleep in it. For context, Link only sleeps in bed that he has permission to sleep in or that he owns. Zelda's diary is on top of a desk, detailing her experiences and the location of a secret well behind the house. If Link goes down the well, he will find Zelda keeping his old hairband in a chest, and another diary that notes that Zelda hid the Champion's Tunic in the castle, in a place where Link couldn't find it, so she could surprise him.

As the game starts, Link and Zelda are seen exploring the Zonai ruins underneath Hyrule Castle, as a mysterious substance called Gloom (akin to Malice) had started seeping from below. When they reach the end of the ruins, they see a mummified figure, held down by a glowing right hand. The hand collapses, releasing its hold on the figure, and it sends out bursts of Gloom that take away most of Link's health and stamina containers, along with shattering the Master Sword. It then raises Hyrule castle with its powers and causes the floor to crumble. Zelda falls down, with Link trying to catch her with his ravaged right arm, but misses, before Zelda is teleported away. Link is caught by the arm, and lifted to an unknown place.

After Link finally defeats the Demon Dragon, He appears with the Light Dragon (Zelda in dragon form) in front of a bluish background, and the spirits of Rauru and Sonia appear. After pouring light and time energy through Link's hand onto the Light Dragon, it turns back into Zelda, unconscious and in Hylian form. Link's arm is also turned back to normal. The background disappears and Link and Zelda plummet through the sky. Link now has the option to catch Zelda; now, he reaches out with his right hand, and firmly grasps Zelda's arm, pulling her into his embrace as they plummet into the lake below. After Zelda wakes up, she questions whether she's dreaming. She mentions that she awoke from a "warm, loving embrace" and that she was finally home, while Link smiles off camera, as found out by fans. Note that in Japanese, she says "ただいま(tadaima)" which is something you usually say when you come back home to people you are close to, family or lover.

Fanon
Zelink is a very popular ship and is probably the most popular ship in the entire Zelda fandom. The reason for this is the fact that Link and Zelda are the two main characters and appear in all Zelda games (except for Link's Awakening in Zelda's case). Most games imply at least some romance but Spirit Tracks is the first game that really implied this as Link is shown blushing at her multiple times. Skyward Sword goes even further into their possible romance as Zelda almost teases Link about kissing him and it is implied that they might have ended up together. Some fans ship Link with Sheik or Tetra and consider those ships to be separate from Zelink despite Sheik and Tetra being different aliases of Zelda while others consider them to be the same.

Even though Link is the main protagonist, Zelda is the titular character of their Nintendo game series, leading fans to switch their roles to have Zelda as the legendary heroine and Link as the young prince, in a roleswap AU for fun. While the similarities between Breath of the Wild and Princess Mononoke has inspired a few fans to portray Link and Zelda as Ashitaka and San, due to Link's archery skills and Zelda being a princess who stands up to those who threaten her home land.

Fandom
FAN ART

FAN FICTION
 * Link/Zelda tag on FanFiction.net
 * Link/Zelda tag on FanFiction.net

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TWITTER

Trivia

 * Nintendo had a "romance trailer" for Skyward Sword that hinted at a possible romance between the two.
 * This ship can be applied to all games or a single game due to there being multiple incarnations of Link and Zelda.
 * In Breath of the Wild, it is suggested that Zelda made the royal blue tunic specially for Link, as all the other champions got regular strips of cloth that were tied on.