Not This Time

The sun began to set as a pair of travelers entered the road between the dueling peaks. Rain from the day before made the mountains shine almost as brightly as the female’s face when she breathed in the warm summers’ air. It was all so perfect. An eastern wind, accelerated by the tight chasm between the peaks, warms the shirtless traveler in an attempt to comfort his weary soul. Had it not been for Zelda’s hand firmly grasping his, the sword on his back would be out and ready to deliver deadly blows.

Link’s mind is a mess. Feelings of pure euphoria combat others of worry and dread for the knight’s attention. Zelda was back. How? That did not matter at the moment. All that matter was making it to Hateno Village alive. Alive. That simple word ment so much and yet so little. Zelda was dead. He saw her die, it was impossible to reverse the dragon-fication process. But yet, the prediction was shattered. Almost as shattered as…

“Link! Look at those beautiful horses!” Zelda exclaimed. Link snapped back to reality, as unlikely as it seemed. He wanted to sign “yes” but Zelda wouldn’t let go of his hand. Should I speak? Is that what Zelda wants me to do by holding… “You know, the Zonai didn’t have horses,” Zelda rambles on “That’s why they developed many of the Zonai devices, as means of transportation. I tried to find a probable ancestor for our modern horses but I couldn’t because…” Zelda quiets down quickly, not finishing her sentence. She wonders if telling Link about her sacrifice would be appropriate. Yet, her eyes remain active. Spotting Fort Hateno, she is filled with excitement. “Oh look! Fort Hateno, it’s great to see it again! The Fort hadn’t been built in the past. I had overheard one of Rauru’s guards mentioning something about how this would be a great place for a fortification. But there weren’t any homes in the field yet, so another guard said it wouldn’t be worth it to fortify empty land. I wonder when it was eventually built.”

Link kicks a bokoblin horn into some tall grass. Zelda shouldn’t know who was using the fort during her time away. At least, not yet. In time all things will be made known, and all matters settled. Maybe then they could settle down in Hateno. That’s what Link hoped for.

It really doesn’t matter where we end up. Link thinks. As long as I’m with her. One would think that after seven years Link would be used to Zelda as his girlfriend. Well, he had been. That night by lover’s pond just a month before the Upheaval, Link was going to ask the question. But something had come up. He couldn’t remember it now. Most likely his fear of what she would say, compound with his difficulty speaking, stopped him. I messed up. Was Zelda dying my punishment? Is this a second chance?

The sun was below the horizon by the time the pair made it to the monster fort at the top of Marbold Plain. Crickets grew louder as the cicadas in the tall grass added to the ruckus of the night. Most of the heat has left the air leaving only a blanket of humidity as if tucking Hyrule into bed. Stars began to come out of hiding as the darkness of the night overtook the vivid colors left by the breathtaking sunset. Zelda takes in all in, the colors, the sounds, the smells, the humidity as it hugged her. She’s more tired now, growing weary from their long walk and lack of food. The fatigue slows her down, silencing her soft voice. Thankfully, Zelda doesn’t need words to tell Link how perfect it all is. She simply squeezes his hand.

Link notices the squeeze, he desperately wants to collapse and rest. He hadn’t slept in days. He tried before the fight with Ganondorf but every time he just couldn’t sleep. It’s no matter, I’m sure we’ll get plenty of sleep when we’re home. When we’re safe. A shiver goes down Link’s naked spine. Are we safe? He slowly peers over his shoulder. Not like this. It can’t be, the last one happened last night. I am NOT losing her again. The moon is blood red.

Link forcefully lets go of Zelda’s hand. “What’s wrong Link?” Zelda cautiously asks. No response is signed or uttered, that would interrupt the frantic searching of the hero’s pouch. Link pulls out a blue bottle. A swiftness elixir. Link quickly pops the top off and chugs it all down in one gulp. He’s happy he remembered to add nuts when making it, they wouldn’t heal him but at least his stomach could stop causing pain.

Link scoops Zelda off her feet and begins to sprint. Paths are no longer necessary as they rush down Marbold Plain and into Midla Woods. Now extremely worried, Zelda turns her head to see what spooked Link. It’s hard to clearly see through the tree branches flying overhead, yet Zelda spots the ominous red orb in the sky. She turns to look at Link, his face is empty but his eyes dart around in fear. Pure fear, the fear of death. Not his own, but that of his beloved. It has happened before and Link will not let it happen again. Zelda is worried; the night’s sky turns red and gloom starts rising from the ground.

Every muscle in his body is screaming in pain. But the pain pushes Link forward. Not like this. I’m so close. I can’t fail. Not this time. Not like this. These phrases fly around his subconsciousness. Link’s main attention is focused on not falling when running up the hill to Hateno Village. The tall grass rustles in the wake of the travelers. Moist from the previous day’s rain, dirt clumps fly in the wake of the travels. Bugs cannot move out of the way fast enough and a cricket flies into Zelda’s hair as Link sprints toward the bridge. The humidity is no longer a friend, instead causing sweat to pour down the hero’s face.

Racing across the bridge, Link uses the last of his energy to sprint for the door. He only slows to reach out a hand and crack the door open. Moments later and Zelda is sitting in a chair inside their house, while Link is standing at the door — master sword drawn and breathing heavily. But the sword does not glow. The blood moon will not be complete for at least another hour thus Zelda takes the opportunity to calm down. She regulates her breathing and runs her fingers through her hair. Finding the cricket, she chuckles “What a day, huh Link?” Upon hearing her calming voice, Link begins to breathe more easily. He doesn’t move from his post at the door however. Zelda peers out the front window. Normally the air itself is red by now, but this time it’s… fading? “Link, you should come see this,” Zelda says. He doesn’t move. Zelda grunts a little and pulls Link over by his arm, “It’s important you need to see this.”. They both gaze at the moon. Its’ bloody red look has been replaced by a pinkish hue as if its normal white color is shining through. The air lightens and is soon returned to its normal darkness. Minutes pass and the moon is now its normal shade of white. What was once a full red moon is now a waning gibbous.

What on earth? Does that mean… “The blood moon wasn’t successful, Link,” Her arms wrap around him with glee. “I think the Demon King’s magic has finally been broken.” Zelda exclaims. Link is confused at first. He takes a moment to calm down. Deep breaths. It’s over. It’s all over. We’re safe. I should tell her. He works up the courage to speak. It is somewhat poetic. The royal knight. The one who fought a world ending monster and a literal dimi-god while still emerging victorious, cannot bring himself to speak to the only one he is comfortable with. Link squeezes Zelda back. I am not going to let this happen again.

The room is quiet. Link draws in his breath, and opens his mouth to speak. His heart rate accelerates. Zelda can feel it as they equally squeeze each other more. Link may suffocate before he says what’s on his mind. Zelda’s stomach has other ideas. It rumbles loudly, breaking the precious moment. “Oh, excuse me,” Zelda giggles, “We must have forgotten dinner.” She lets go of Link and begins walking towards the cupboard. “I’ll make dinner,” Link signs. “I can help,” Zelda responds. “Thank you, but it’s ok. This will not take long,” Link signs back. He sets his pouch on the table and pulls out some raw meat, rice, rocksalt, and flint to start the fire outside.

Once outside, Link’s heart rate returns to normal levels. Cooking is one of his favorite means to calm himself down. Lighting a fire, he is reminded of Zelda’s recipe. It’s the same one those traveling cooks hinted at outside the Riverside Stable. Zelda may not understand the significance of him cooking this particular meal, but Link will. He sears the raw meat through, adding crushed up rock salt then flipping it over. Once it is done, he carefully tears it up into smaller pieces and places them on top of bowls of soft rice. He was calm. He was finally happy.

After Link had shut the door, Zelda began to unpack Link’s magical pouch. Carefully folding his clothes and putting them in their dresser under the stairs, just as she had done after all their adventures during the past seven years. Link would object, and she knew it, but it was oddly therapeutic. That is, until she found the Champions Tunic and his very well worn hairband. A mixed feeling of grief and happiness rushed over her as she lovingly folded the hair band into the tunic. “He must have read my diary, but why would he do that?” Zelda ponders as she closes the dresser.

There was no time to think however as Link opens the door and sets down two Meat and Rice bowls. He notices Zelda sitting by the dresser. “You didn’t have to do that,” he signs. “I know. You know I like to though,” she responds while moving her chair to the table. “You know — the Champions Tunic was supposed to be a surprise,” Zelda teases. Memories flood Link’s weary mind as he sits down to eat. They’re more like a nightmare for him. He read the diary after finding all of Zelda’s tears. He had known her fate. Half the reason for going to Hyrule Castle in the first place was to retrieve the tunic, the closest he would get to ever having her back. Link’s psyche is broken once again. His appetite is gone. Link stares at his food, his mind disconnected from his body.

The room grows quiet. Silence only being broken by the slow crackle of flame as it burns down the table top’s candle wick. It isn’t an awkward silence, one may be forgiven for thinking it was rather peaceful. But the look in Link’s face told tales of sorrow — tales of great pain and anguish. Candle light is no traitor, merely bouncing off the walls of the cozy house softly illuminating anything it’s rays grace with their presence. Zelda begins to eat.

It takes a few minutes for Zelda to notice something was very wrong. At first, she thought he was being polite by waiting for her to begin eating. Then his face dropped, alerting her to his pain. “Link, is there something wrong?” Zelda cautiously asks. Normally if she hurt him, he would say something. They had grown better at communicating over the years. This time was different, very different.

The candle on the table flickered as Link pushed himself away and slowly walked up the stairs. His face never changing, only showing ever more pain. The stairs creak and groan under his normally light footsteps. It is as they feel his pain and are pleading to the goddess for relief. Link sits on the bed as Zelda rushes up the stairs. He shakes from lack of food, his body was broken after the fight with Gannondorf but he had not let that show until now. It is impossible to hide his emotions, his body language speaking when he will not. Noticing his shaking, Zelda wraps a blanket around him and sits down next to him. Taking his hand, she speaks again, “You need to tell me what’s wrong, Link.”

“After you died…” Link takes a deep breath, it’s the first time he’s spoken in over a year, “The tunic was-s.. the closest I would get to having you ba-”. Tears roll down his face as he utters a muffled sob. “Oh Link!” Zelda leans in to comfort him. “Why would you have ever thought I had died?” Her voice is uneasy, she fears the worst has come to pass. Maybe, somehow, Link had figured out what happened?

“The TEARS Zelda, YOUR TEARS. When you became a dragon you shed tears all throughout Hyrule. They gave visions of your memories. I saw everything. I saw your talk with Sonia and Rauru about me.” At that comment, Zelda turns very red. Thankfully, Link doesn’t have his head up. “I saw Sonia’s death. I saw the imprisoning war. I saw you swallow…” Link can’t finish that sentence. He begins to sob uncontrollably.

It began to make sense to Zelda. It sounded like these dragon tears were similar to the memories Link had experienced after the calamity. That would mean… He’d really seen everything.

After the Calamity, Link didn’t remember anything. His memories helped him piece together his identity, his purpose. Even now, he’s still not fully recovered. But this time was different. He did remember everything. He had his purpose. He had… too much information. Zelda couldn’t imagine what he must have been through.

For her it was different. She had been very sad that she would never see her loved ones again. But she had full faith in Link. She knew that somehow Link would save Hyrule. Maybe, even herself. It was a sacrifice she had willingly made. Now, it was over. She was back. Her painful memories were little more than a nightmare. Nightmares from which she would always wake up with Link by her side. This time was no different. Literally.

But for Link… He still had not told her how long it had been since that fateful day they descended into the depths below Hyrule Castle. Had it been months.. years? The whole time preparing to face the one who directly caused Link’s death. Zelda’s mind began to imagine how she would’ve reacted to Link being in her place.

Zelda begins to cry. She notices and tries to muffle it. For the past seven years they had been together, Link had been her solid rock, her foundation as she navigated the trauma of the Calamity. She knew how therapeutic it was to cry. Pulling Link down into bed, she lets him take as much time as he needs while in her loving embrace. As the minutes go by, Link’s sobs become quieter, his breathing more regular, and soon he is fast asleep. Zelda doesn’t move, instead settling down into the bed for the night. Let the food grow cold. Link hadn’t told her the last time he slept.