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The rain beat down and slid upon her back as she wept, all of her weight upon Link. It didn’t just feel as though it were the end of the world – because she couldn’t harness the holy power, it was. It was her fault. All of this was her fault.
She truly was a failure of a princess.
Link let his chin rest on the top of her head. He had not spoken a word. He didn’t need to. There wasn’t anything he could say now. The best he could do was offer physical comfort, but not even that would really help anything. Still he held her within his strong arms, right against his chest where she hid her face.
There was a tremor in the distance, and once again Link’s instincts kicked in. They needed to get out of there at once.
Gently, he lifted the princess up, letting her use him as a crutch. While standing, she let herself lean against his chest one moment longer, before she backed away.
“We need to get out of here. The Guardians are swarming now, and we cannot let them find us.” She sniffed, wiping her eyes with her hands.
Link nodded once. They linked hands and began to run once again. They didn’t make it far, however. They trees soon broke and they found themselves in plain sight within Hyrule Field.
“Link, we must get somewhere that’s not out in the open–”
She was cut off when suddenly Link hurried her behind one of the trees again. They stood there, hardly breathing, while a Guardian passed by. It was searching, and moving fast.
Link held up a hand to her and waited until she nodded before he peered around the tree. Zelda pressed against his side, still holding his other hand.
He suddenly jerked back. They heard another Guardian hasten by.
“We’ll be seen.” He spoke softly, brain rapidly trying to configure another way to get out of there. He needed to ensure Zelda’s safety. The river was too dangerous in this storm to swim across. The forest wouldn’t protect them forever, yet all around them was open space. Their best bet was to try and sneak across with the cover of the storm, avoiding the main path. Waiting it out was not an option.
“We must head for Kakariko Village. Maybe if we stayed alongside the river…” She drifted off.
Link contemplated her suggestion and decided she were right. He squeezed her hand then took off back into the forest to go out alongside the river.
Thunder crashed overhead, surprising Zelda. She kept tripping, finding it hard to keep up with Link. Not only was she not as fit as he was, but her attire was not suitable for running. Her sandals were slick and hurting her feet, and the rain sent a deep chill throughout her body. The sheer white dress she wore did little to help.
They kept going, heading for Owlan Bridge. When they came upon it a lone Bokoblin took notice, screeching in delight as it saw them. Its cry alerted a nearby Guardian.
“Link!” Zelda shrieked.
In a split second he slayed the Bokoblin, before it could even grab its weapon. He grabbed Zelda’s hand yet again and nearly dragged her across the bridge. They were breathing hard, running as fast as the could, adrenaline pumping through their bodies. A red laser appeared on Link’s back and just as they reached the safety of the trees, the Guardian sent a blast at them. It scorched part of Link’s leg, and he gave a small cry of pain.
Zelda gasped, “Oh no! Link!” She helped him limp into cover, crouching down as they examined his leg. “It’s not too bad, but I wish we had some sort of salve, or anything to put over it. Maybe I can–”
“There’s no time.” Link winced in pain as he put his weight on the injured leg, and took Zelda’s hand once again. “Come on.”
He pulled her through the trees that surrounded Batrea Lake, thankful for their cover. It felt as though they were soaked to the bone, their feet splashing in puddles. The rain hadn’t given up yet, but truly it was a small miracle. It helped give them extra cover.
Past the trees was another open field, but the Dueling Peaks were right in front of them. They managed to sneak by successfully for the most part. By the time they got between the peaks, Zelda could not go on any further. She was panting, and her hand slid out of Link’s so she could support herself on her legs. Her sides were cramping, and the pain was so sharp she had to rest.
“Link, I must take a break. I can’t keep moving like this. I’m not used to it.” She gasped.
He helped her lower to sit on a rock, then stood with his sword out. His senses were sharp and he was constantly surveying the area.
Zelda suddenly noticed a bunch of frogs bouncing around her feet. They appeared to be running away from the direction they were heading. It gave her a foreboding feeling. Her heart clenched and she shuddered. How could something so small once give her so much joy? She glanced up at Link, who was in full protector mode, and her heart sank. He was the man she loved. She wondered if he, too, thought she was a failure. Did he resent her now, for not being able to awaken her power? No, Link’s not like that… She felt so insecure, she wasn’t sure anymore.
She shakily stood up. She felt weak and was freezing, but they had to push on. Link heard her move and turned around to check on her. She nodded to him and they started once again, except when they got to the end of the tunnel, the worst scene imaginable awaited them.
There were Guardians. Everywhere. Dozens of them. They glowed an angry fuchsia and dark blue, their tops spinning as they scanned the area and furiously scuttered around. Fire burned throughout the field form the colossal amount of damage the Guardians had induced.
“Oh no.” Zelda whispered, horrified.
Link tucked her behind his back quickly, eyes darting everywhere to try and figure out how to get out of this situation. Climbing was out of the question. He wouldn’t be able to make it up himself with his leg hurt, let alone carrying Zelda. And the rain made the rocks too slick. Going back wasn’t a choice either. They had snuck past several other monsters on their way here.
“We’ll have to go through…” Zelda whispered. She had come to the same conclusion as him. “We will have to be careful and sneak around and pray that they don’t see us.” Not that praying had ever done anything for her anyways.
They slowly made there way across the field, trying to use trees it had as cover, and trying to keep close to the edge. Link went first, sword out in one hand, other hand holding onto Zelda. He made sure she was close. If anyone was going to survive tonight, he would make sure it would be her. They had made it most of the way across when finally a red laser appeared on Zelda’s chest.
She gasped, and Link threw himself in front of her right as it fired, trying to push her out of the way. It narrowly missed, but the beam badly burned his arm.
“Link!”
Zelda’s cry went on deaf ears, he charged towards the machine to fight, and Zelda could only hang back and watch, feeling sick from fear.
Somehow, he managed to defeat it, but only for another one to take noticed and fire another beam at him. This one hit directly, and Link’s cry of pain was too much for Zelda. She ran towards him, just as he took down the second Guardian.
He struck his sword into the ground as a crutch, and knelt down from the pain. He was bleeding, and losing too much blood, and they both knew it. Zelda’s hands rested on his back, holding on to him. She was at a loss of what to do.
More Guardians scurried by, and one final one took notice of them, crawling up to them.
“Link, save yourself! Go! I’ll be fine! Don’t worry about me! Run!” She pleaded, panic-stricken.
Link gasped as he forced himself up, sliding his sword back out of the ground. He stumbled, and reassumed postion to defend her again. But he wasn’t in any shape to fight and she knew it. She stepped away, heart beating fast. She was going to lose him. She couldn’t lose him, oh God, she couldn’t lose him.
The Guardian stepped onto the two defeated ones and set it’s laser upon link, getting ready to fire.
“NO!” Zelda screamed. She bolted in front of Link, shoving him out of the way and instinctively put her hand up to the Guardian.
A blinding flash of white emitted from her hand, triforce glowing upon it, and the light enveloped the whole field. When it dimmed, the Guardian promptly dimmed and the power dissipated from it, as did the rest in the field.
Zelda slowly brought her hand back down, gazing at it in wonder. “Was… Was that..? The power…” She breathed.
Link grunted in pain. Zelda gasped and turned around in time to see him collapse.
“No… no… Link! Get up!” She cried, running to him. She knelt on the ground next to him, gathering him in her arms.
He coughed weakly, yet it racked through his entire body, which was trembling.
“You’re going to be just fine…” She tried, a horrible feeling spreading throughout her chest.
Link weakly lifted his head and made eye contact with her. His eyes were dim. He finally lost all of his strength, and his head rolled back into Zelda’s arms as he died.
She stopped breathing. The grief sank into her body, eyes widening as she realized he was gone. And then she broke into sobs, gasping for air as she rested her head on his chest for the second time that day.
She had lost him. She had lost Link. Her knight, her protector, her Hero, her friend. The man she loved.
She had lost everyone.