Take the Reins. Link x Reader

   Taking your hand, Link confidently led you towards his trusty steed. She was too busy grazing a dewy patch of grass to even look up at the two of you, but a slight flick of her ear let you both know that she saw you. "Come on, you don't have to be so timid around her. Epona's not going to hurt you, I promise. She's too sweet to even think about that."

"I know that. A-at least, I know she wouldn't hurt me on purpose." Of the opinion that animals could smell fear a mile away, you hesitated to get any closer to her. "Still, what if she gets spooked and throws me off? I could break an arm, or a leg, or worse. Now that I've given this some thought, I'm starting to think that I maybe shouldn't do this."

"That's not going to happen. As much as she's been through, nothing spooks her anymore." Still holding your hand in his, Link gave you a reassuring squeeze. "You're worrying over nothing." Now standing right next to Epona, he gently ran his fingers down her soft white mane. After feeding her a minty smelling treat from his pocket, Link turned to you and smiled. "Here, let me help you up."

Feeling more and more nervous by the second, you began to twist and pull at your fingers. "Are you really sure that's a good idea? I've never done this before. What if I do something wrong? I don't want to stress her out either. Animals can be really sensitive."

"You won't do anything wrong, and yes, I'm sure." Sharing none of your apprehension, Link quickly helped you onto Epona's back before you could make any more excuses for yourself. He wasn't going to let you talk your way out of this, no matter how hard you tried. "See, you're on her back and nothing bad has happened. If something was going to go wrong, it would have already happened by now." He nodded, agreeing with himself. "I told you there was nothing to worry about."

Since this was your first time ever being on horseback, you couldn't help but be nervous. "I guess you were right."

Hoping you would calm down a bit now, Link swung himself onto Epona's back so that he was sitting behind you. Reaching around you, he grabbed onto the leather reins and placed it in your hand. The moment he'd taken hold of the reins, Epona had stopped grazing and lifted her head, finally giving you and Link her attention. "Here, you'll need this if you plan on going anywhere."

Furrowing your brows together, you looked down at the reins and frowned deeply. "Wait, I'm leading her?"

"Yes, that's why you have the reins." Giving you no time to argue with him, Link made a quiet, clicking sound. This sound was all that was needed to start Epona moving. "I leave the rest to you." With a relaxed sigh, he placed his hands on the saddle behind him and leaned back in a lazy fashion.

It was obvious that Link wasn't at all worried, but that didn't change anything for you. Still, you knew he wasn't going to let you walk away from this. You had to at least give this a try. "Well, here goes nothing." Swallowing hard, you firmly grasped the reins in your hand and began leading Epona towards Lake Hylia. As nervous as you'd been, it didn't take you any time at all to realize that all of your worrying had been for naught. Feeling sheepish, you shook your head and sighed. "This isn't as hard as I thought it would be."

"I told you." Suddenly leaning forward, Link placed one of his hands over yours. "Hold on." Using his free hand, he gave Epona's backside a gentle slap. The second his hand made contact with her, she stopped her lazy walk and started to full on run. "Don't let go of the reins. You've still got to lead her."

"Why would you do this to me?" She wasn't going anywhere near her fastest, but the change still made your heart race. "I don't know how to lead her when she's moving this fast."

Chuckling in your ear, Link placed his other hand over yours and helped you. "I'm only going to help you until we pass that fence up there. After that, you're on your own."

"Fine, but when I run us clear off the side of a cliff, into an ambush, or anything else, I'm blaming you." You wanted to believe that Link was only teasing you, but you knew better. When he said something, he meant it. Knowing this, however, didn't change the fact that you had no idea what you were doing. As the fence approached, you tried to calm yourself down. Your palms were sweaty, your heart was pounding and your stomach was in knots. And no matter how hard you tried to calm down, the closer you got to the fence, the worse it got.

"I'm letting go in three, two, one." As promised, he released your hands the moment you passed the fence, giving you full control. Now that Epona was at a full gallop, he placed his hands on his hips so he wouldn't fall off. Had you not been so concerned with the task at hand, this action would have been more than enough to make you blush. Right now, however, you didn't even notice where he'd placed his hands. All you knew was that they were no longer helping you guide the way. "Don't just sit there. You've got to give her direction."

Clutching the reins so tightly that your knuckles had gone white, you half screamed your response at him. Your excitement only caused Epona to run even faster. "I-I'm trying. I swear I am. Where should I lead her?"

"It doesn't matter where you take her. Just lead." Leaning into you so that his chest was flush with your back, Link honestly contemplated taking back the reins. Why he didn't, you weren't sure, seeing as this probably would have been the wisest thing for him to do.

"You're supposed to be teaching me, and you're no help at all. I hope you know that." As Epona galloped down the grassy plain that led straight to the lake, you felt yourself freeze. If she kept going straight, she'd run directly into the water. It was only at this moment that you were hit with the realization that you hadn't made her change direction even once since you'd begun. What was worse, was that you had no idea how to do so. "L-Link."

"What are you doing? Lead her away from the water." Understanding the problem too late to correct it, Link let go of your hips and tried to grab the reins. It was no use though, Epona had already reached the edge of the shore. The second her hooves touched the cold water, she came to an immediate halt, throwing you, and Link off of her back and into the lake.

The cold water brought you back to reality. Simply glad no one had gotten hurt, you started to giggle. "Well, that was fun."

After spewing out a mouthful of lake-water and pulling a very unhappy fish from his tunic, Link turned his attention to you. "Now you're laughing." He sighed. "Riding a horse scares you to death, but being thrown from its back, into a lake makes you laugh. That's not normal."

"I'm laughing because we're not dead. I'm pretty sure not being dead is a good reason to laugh, and, completely normal." Pursing out your lips, you splashed him playfully.

As the icy water made contact with his face, Link shivered. "Don't do that. I'm already freezing." Terribly eager to get out of the water, he began to trudge back to shore where Epona was happily rolling in the sand.

Quickly catching up to him, you wrapped your arms around one of his and grinned. "It's your fault we're all wet, you know."

Looking down at you, Link tried to determine if you were being serious or not. After a moment of trying to figure it out, he gave in. "How's that? You were the one that led all three of us into the water."

"It's your fault because you should have broken this lesson down into at least three separate parts." Now back on land, you began to wring out your drenched clothes. "I told you that I had never ridden before and you tried to take me straight to galloping." In all honestly, you weren't upset with him, not even in the slightest. Just in case he couldn't tell, however, you hugged him to make sure he knew that. "That was a bad idea, and you should have known it."

Not about to argue, Link shrugged, then happily returned your hug. "I didn't think you'd need it broken down, but I guess you're right."

"Exactly." Perfectly aware that he was just trying to appease you, you placed your cold hands on his cheeks and kissed him. "Even if I'm not right, I told you I was going to blame you if something went wrong." Smiling sweetly, you kissed him once more before snuggling your cheek against his chest. "Don't worry though. If I mess up next time, it's all on me."

"Good to know." Link smiled, blushing lightly from your kisses. "I want you to know that I'm going to hold you to that." Chuckling quietly, he brushed a wet strand of hair from your face and released you from his soggy embrace. "Now, let's go home before we both catch a cold." Lifting his hand to his lips, he whistled for Epona, then smirked down at you as she came running. "I think I'll do us both a favor and take the reins this time. I don't want to end up in the water again."

You thought about retaliating with something clever, but feared that he might actually take you seriously. For this reason, you thought it better to keep your sarcasm to yourself. At least for now anyway. Smiling widely, you gave him a firm nod as he helped you to Epona's back. "I couldn't agree more."