4 - Salt

Zelda stood in the Skyloft Academy kitchen, her cerise sleeves rolled up, her blonde locks tied back, and a small apron wrapped around her small waist. She had been given special permission by her father to use the academy kitchen to practice her cookery skillset. The student had been tasked to present a menu for the next graduation ceremony, so naturally, she decided to rope her lover Link into helping with the taste testing of each dish.

In the weeks leading up to today, Zelda had dragged him to the library most days to research new and exotic dishes. Most of the time she found Link would find a chair down one of the shelving aisles and fall asleep in the time it took her to collect everything she needed. While she was thrilled her lover was supportive, she did wonder if he enjoyed being dragged about to the library every-other night and gently forced into taste-testing her cookery creations.

Trial and error had always been Zelda's best asset, as a naturally clumsy person, particularly in the kitchen. She recalled the time she had baked Link a sweet pumpkin pie for his birthday, it had taken a least three attempts to perfect. She sighed to herself, checking off the ingredients she had previously laid out with her notes, listed in a leather-bound notebook. Link watched as she counted, studying the way her face creased with concentration. A happy smile appeared on his lips, and she turned to check on him.

The blonde's cheeks flushed crimson, "What are you looking at me like that for, Link?" she cried, checking herself over. The boy laughed shaking his head, reassuring his princess that was nothing to be concerned about. Zelda let out a little huff, sounding more like a squeak. Link gave her a worried smile and waved his arms towards her. He loved looking at his girl, he believed she was the most beautiful girl in the whole of Skyloft, if not further afield.

She met his smile with hands-on-hips, "Whatever you're thinking, it better be something nice," she gave him a little giggle. The noise made his heart skip a beat. Link nodded in reply frantically.

"Right then, let us begin. Are you ready?" Link gave her a single nod, "Then let us begin," Zelda beamed with confidence as she began measuring her ingredients. She began with her dessert course, being the most time consuming of the three. The student was particularly proud of the last pie she had baked and decided on making something similar. To celebrate their village of Skyloft, Zelda had chosen to use the native fruit that bore the trees, juicy red apples. Naturally sweet in flavor, they were perfect to use for a pie.

Zelda mixed her ingredients together to create a soft dough, before kneading and rolling into a thin sheet. She carefully lined three baking tins with the pastry, leaving a little leftover, "Always better in threes," she smiled at her companion. Link raised an eyebrow, what had she not told him, "Speaking of my last encounter with a pastry dish, of course." Link nodded at her reply and continued to watch her work intrigued.

The blonde placed the trays in the oven to blind bake, before returning to her work station. She began peeling and de-coring the apples. She handed one to Link with a spare knife, "Say Mister Hero, would you mind helping?" she smiled sweetly. Her companion blushed to accept her gift and began to copy her. Zelda beamed, it was lovely for him to assist with her work, making it enjoyable for the pair of them. The student chopped the apples into small cubes before placing them into a bowl. She combined a spoonful of flour with a sprinkle of cinnamon to the apple chunks, mixing it well. Zelda moved to the oven to check the progress of the pastry shells, all three had darkened to a beautiful brown, perfect. She removed them from the oven, carefully setting them to one side to cool before moving onto her main course – baked salmon fillet. Zelda was lucky, Link had offered, in his own special way, to catch a couple of salmon so she wouldn't have to worry about sourcing the fish. Due to her sensitivity to animals, her father had asked the academy cook to pre-fillet the salmon before Zelda started her prep. She was thankful for all the assistance she had received in the making of her menu.

She began by lightly seasoning her salmon fillets with crushed rock salt, before placing inside a terracotta tray. Zelda added some fresh local herbs and a few slices of zesty lemon. The student placed the tray into the oven, allowing it to cook slowly on a lower heat. She picked up a potato and held it up to Link, "Would you mind peeling these for me, please?" Link outstretched his hands, taking a hessian bag from his companion before peeling the potatoes. This allowed Zelda to return her attention back to pastries. She lightly touched each shell, ensuring they had fully cooled. She smiled, happy with the outcome of the three, they had turned out a lot better than her previous attempts. Practice makes perfect! Zelda carefully scooped a little of the apple mix into each pastry shell. She went back to the leftover pastry, kneading and rolling into a thin disk. Carefully she cut the soft pastry into strips and began creating a lattice over the apple base. Once she was happy with her work, she returned the three trays to the oven to bake.

Zelda returned to Link's side, watching him peel the final potato. He looked up at her smiling, holding out a bowl of freshly peeled potatoes, "Thank you," she kissed his cheek, taking the bowl from his hands. The blonde began chopping the potatoes into quarters before adding them to a large pot. She then filled the same pot with water and placed it onto the stone stove. Zelda allowed the potatoes to boil away while she returned to the oven to remove her pies. She carefully placed them upon the granite counter, the sweet smell of cinnamon and apple wafted in her companion's direction. Link placed a finger to his lip, drooling slightly. They smelt heavenly. The hero outstretched his hand towards the hot pies but was immediately batted away by a wooden spoon. He quickly withdrew his hand, his mouth hung open in surprise.

Zelda shook her head at him, "Please wait a little longer, Link. I'm almost finished," she pleaded, knowing full well how desperate he was to sample the food. Her companion huffed, rubbing his sore hand as his stomach began to growl. He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. Zelda folded her arms across her chest, pretending to be angry, however, she couldn't keep up the charade for long, breaking out into her own giggle, "Not long now," she smiled grabbing hold of some large mushrooms. Zelda twisted the storks from the cups before washing them underwater. She ushered Link to a cupboard, he followed her hand, taking out another baking tray and handing it to his companion before taking his seat once more.

The student placed the freshly washed mushroom cups in the tray, she drizzled a little oil on top before adding a circle of goat's cheese in the center. Zelda topped the mushrooms with a pinch of fresh herbs and a few handfuls of breadcrumbs before putting in the oven to bake. While she waited, the blonde gathered some plates ready to dish up her menu. After ten minutes, everything was cooked to perfection – or thereabout. Zelda first plated the mushroom starter, setting them to one side as she went to drain the potatoes. Link assisted her by taking it upon himself to set the table ready with cutlery, glasses and a jug of freshwater.

"Thank you," Zelda smiled plating up the last of the menu, with her companion's assistance they carried all the plates to the table. They sat down together, the hero's mouth already watering, "May I?" The blonde asked waving a hand at the plates of food. Link nodded kindly.

"To start we have a goat's cheese stuffed mushroom with a herb crust. For main a baked salmon with potatoes and vegetables, and to finish the menu we have a baked apple pie with honey cream," Zelda explained pointing at each dish as she spoke. Her companion lapped up her every word, his mouth salivating.

"Please tuck in," she gestured to her partner. Link did exactly as told cutting into his mushroom cap, the melted cheese oozed from the center. He stuffed a cut chunk into his mouth, chewing quickly without realizing how hot the cheese was. He grabbed his water, consuming the full glass.

Zelda loving placed her hand onto his arm, "Maybe you should slow down a little," she smiled sweetly before returning to her own meal. Link nodded, his cheeks resembling a hamster. His companion giggled softly. The starter went down perfectly, this was the recipe she would use for the graduation ceremony. The pair pushed their plates to one side before pulling the main course in front of them.

"Admittedly," Zelda began looking at the dish in front of her, "I was nervous about cooking the salmon. Every book I read on cooking it suggested how terribly it can go," she waved her hand allowing her companion to tuck it. They both started on the potatoes, boiled and seasoned to perfection. The vegetable medley also went down a storm, but the problems rose when Link took a bite of his baked salmon. After taking the first bite his face twisted but he continued to tuck into his meal. The hero took a few more bites, Zelda watched inspecting her fish, had she cooked it wrong? Link began to cough, the color in his cheeks faded.

"Link," Zelda place her hand lovingly on his arm, noticing the change in his face, "Is everything okay?" He replied by shaking his head, his stomach lurching. His companion refilled his glass of water and he immediately snatched it to drain the contents. He let out a sigh of relief, his stomach returning to normal. Link let out a small burp, apologizing to his partner. Zelda continued to ponder about her fish and decided to take a bite for herself. She coughed as soon as she swallowed the fish, it was far too salty.

"I'm sorry," Zelda cried hanging her head, "I didn't realize I had over seasoned the fish." Link placed a hand on her arm to reassure her. 'Accidents happen' he thought smiling at her. She nodded in reply.

"Should I leave the fish off the menu?" she asked. Her companion shook his head and made a gesture with his hand, "You're right, Link, less seasoning next time is a simple fix," she smiled gazing up at him, "Shall we move onto dessert?" Link smiled nodding his head like a dog and licking his lips.

Zelda moved the previous meal to one side before placing the dessert plates in front of the pair of them. She gestured for the final time this evening and allowing her companion to begin his course. After his first bite, he was in love, savoring every mouthful he took. She smiled at him happy to know after a disaster of the main course she could still win him over with a sweet treat. The student began tucking into the dessert herself, the cream tasted beautifully silky with a hint of sweetness from the honey. She let out a little hum as she ate, happy with the outcome of the cream. Zelda moved on to her apple pie, a little hesitant after her previous pumpkin fiasco. She looked over to her companion, he was happily chowing down on the pastry without any negative reviews. She took a small bit of the pie, the pastry was baked a lovely golden brown, sweet and crispy in texture. Inside the baked apple had become soft, the juice oozing into an almost sauce, and mixed with the cinnamon had a sweet taste but with a slight tang of cinnamon.

"The dessert came out lovely. I'm glad I choose something a little different," Zelda smiled pushing her plate to one side before she placed her head on her hands, "How did you find it?" she asked. Link lifted his head away from the plate, his cheeks were puffed out again, full of food. He swallowed his mouthful and grinned his companion. He rubbed his now full belly and nodded.

"Glad you enjoyed it, Mister Hero," she teased. Even though she had a little disaster with the baked salmon for the main course and she did feel sorry that Link had leaped straight into his meal without tasting a small piece first. But that was Link, whenever food appeared, he would always jump straight it, enjoying every mouthful. Zelda was very pleased with herself, she had chosen the correct person to trial her menu on. The couple sat at the table a little longer, holding hands and savoring their time together.