Chapter Text
As it turned out, defeating guardians was more a matter of strategy than brute strength. Unlike organic monsters, the behavior of machines was predictable. They had a certain radius they patrolled, and they did so in a pattern. The trick was to catch it off guard and slice off one leg, then another, and then another, until it could no longer move. Then the rest would, theoretically, be smooth sailing. Link would be lying if he were to say the mechanical beasts didn’t still scare the living shit out of him, but at least he had a method for dealing with them now. Most of the time it even got him out of battle unscathed.
The ones in the castle town required a slightly different strategy than those in Hyrule Field; with so much rubble and debris, it was hard to make out their huge, spider-like forms before they spotted him, which made the first step a bit tricky. But in the same breath, compared to the open plains, there was much more to use as cover. He’d managed to gain the upper hand on this one by hiding behind a single wall, the only remains of the building that had once occupied the space. Within a couple of minutes, he’d gotten it to short circuit and collapse into a pile of parts. It was almost a clear shot to the castle gate now.
Months had passed since he’d first woken up on the Great Plateau, stark naked and barely aware of his own name, yet burdened with the duty to save what was left of a once mighty kingdom. He had freed the divine beasts, recovered all of the memories the Princess had left him to recover… the only thing left was to face the cause of it all: Calamity Ganon. For weeks going on months, saving Princess Zelda had been his only motivation. At first, he’d followed the orders of the late King and Lady Impa in hopes to uncover information about his own identity. But as he began to remember the princess more clearly, his motivations shifted, until she was all he could think about.
Link crouched down, collecting the parts from the defeated guardian and stuffing them in his pouch. Any memories he had independent of Princess Zelda could come later, he reasoned. Once this was all over, if he defeated Calamity Ganon, he’d have the rest of his life to uncover the missing pieces of himself. And if he didn’t defeat Ganon… well then, suddenly it wasn’t his problem anymore. A morbid way of considering his own mortality maybe, but he’d already cheated death once, more than once if you counted even half of the bullshit he’d been through in the last couple of months. He needed to feel some level of emotional detachment from the possibility of his own death. It kept him from breaking down completely.
‘It’s now or never,’ he thought, dusting off the knees of his trousers. It was then that something in the rubble caught his eye. Leaning against the crumbling wall, covered in 100 years-worth of dirt and debris, sat a beautiful little doll.
---
“Big Brother!!”
A blonde little girl, not more than seven or eight years old, shouted and rushed across the street towards Link. Her white dress and long hair flew behind her. She clutched a beautiful little doll in her right hand.
Link picked her up when she reached him, tossed her in the air and caught her again just to hear her giggle. “Hello Ayrll,” he said, reaching into his pouch and pulling out a small bag of honey candies. “I brought you something.”
Ayrll squealed with joy, grabbing the bag and jumping from his arms, “My favorite! Thank you!” Once her initial excitement calmed down, she a moment to eye her brother up and down. Link could see the gears turning in her head as she assessed him, and then, finally, said, “I’ve never seen you wear that tunic before. I like it! It’s pretty, more pretty than your regular uniform.”
It was the first time Link had worn the bright blue tunic made for him by Princess Zelda. After the ceremony with the other Champions, the princess had excused herself to her room, quite nearly slamming the door in Link’s face. Trying not to let her obvious resentment get to him, he took it as an opportunity for an evening off. It would likely be his last one for a while.
“There’s something we need to talk about,” he told her. “Let’s go for a walk.”
As they walked, Link did his best to explain to her everything that was going on. He was officially Princess Zelda’s appointed knight, and Champion of Hyrule, as of that very morning. He was to follow her wherever she went to protect her while she was in public. Because of this, he explained, he would likely be gone much more often. The time between their visits might be longer.
“But I will always come back,” he said. “No matter how long I’m gone. I promise.”
Ayrll was quiet for a long moment, her face very serious despite the childish way she walked along the rim of the fountain in the square. She squeezed her brother’s hand suddenly, and whether it was with concern for his words or simply to catch her balance, he couldn’t tell.
“Link?”
“Yes?”
“Everyone—the other girls, the Sisters when they think we can’t hear them—they’re talking about a big scary pig called Ca… Clamity Ganon. You know, from the story Mummy used to tell me? They say he’s coming back.”
“…So I’ve heard.”
“And the story, the story says that even though Clamity Ganon tries to do a lot of bad stuff, the princess and her brave knight put a stop to him,” her volume dropped, almost to a whisper. “Is it true? And… doesn’t that make you the hero?”
Link’s pace slowed to a stop. How could he tell her what was true, when he didn’t even know himself? In only so many years, Calamity Ganon had gone from an old legend to a very real threat, with himself and the princess at the center of it all. Was he going to protect everyone? He didn’t know. He had the sword that sealed the darkness, but was he truly worthy of wielding it? The other champions all seemed formidable, but would that really be enough? The only thing he knew for certain was that he was terrified, but he couldn’t tell Ayrll that. Her childhood—his adolescence—had been wracked with instability since the death of their parents. He was her only pillar of support in this world, and he couldn’t let her know that said pillar was slowly breaking into pieces, crumbling under its own weight; that he was made of sand, only pretending to be steel.
Link had been wearing a mask for years, hiding the worst parts of himself—his fear, his anxiety—from the rest of the world, even from his own sister. She was too young to know the truth. He needed to be strong for her, even more-so than he was for everyone else. So he adjusted his mask, crouched to her level, and gently put his hands on her shoulders. “I need you to listen to me, Aryll,” he said, softly. “No matter what happens, I promise I will keep you safe. I won’t let you get hurt or leave you all alone. Do you understand?”
Ayrll nodded. Link hoped his words were more reassuring to her ears than they were to his.
---
Link vomited.
It was a stronger reaction than he’d had to any memory so far. Holding the princess as she cried in the rain following their escape from the castle had caused his heart to ache, recalling his own near-death at Fort Hateno sent chills up and down his spine for days afterwards. His memories of the Champions had been bittersweet, knowing they had been lost. But this… for this there was no comparison.
He’d had a sister.
A family.
And he’d failed her.
He hadn’t found her on the day of the Calamity. He hadn’t kept her safe. And even, even if he suspended all doubt and clung to the impossibility that she’d somehow escaped the carnage, even if he dared to hope she’d gone on to live a long and happy life… he’d still lied to her.
He didn’t come back.
Had she died alone? Afraid? Did she spend the last moments of her life calling out for him, believing in a way only a child could that he’d keep his promise, that he’d come and save her? Did she have time to realize he’d lied to her before—
For the first time since waking up, Link sobbed.
Crying itself was nothing new, it was practically a regular occurrence. He’d cried after recovering other memories and he’d cried to himself at night when he was feeling especially hopeless, but he had always done so quietly. Dignified. The kind of silent misery which was acceptable for a man to display. This was anything but dignified. It was loud. Messy. If there had been anyone within miles of the castle town, they surely would have heard his anguish. But no one else dared come so close. He was alone, truly alone, and the thought of his own loneliness only made him sob harder.
It was hours before he could even bring himself to his feet, frozen to the ground with despair. He gazed up at the silhouette of the castle through blurry eyes. His mind drifted back to the princess who waited for him there, struggling to keep Ganon sealed, and for a single, terrible moment… he blamed her. If only she had been able to unlock her sealing powers sooner, Ganon could have been stopped before he had a chance to begin. If only Link hadn’t been burdened with her safety, he could have taken the time to ensure his sister’s. He almost considered turning around, going back to Hateno and leaving her there, giving up and letting the chips fall where they may. It would serve her right, he thought.
But then as soon as the anger had appeared, it vanished, leaving Link feeling disgusted with himself all over again. Not only had he failed his sister, now he dared even think about taking his anger out on Princess Zelda. This wasn’t any more her fault than it was his, and to give up now, when he was so close, would be to fail her as well. She had saved his life, sacrificed herself for him, imprisoned herself in the castle for one hundred years for the safety of her kingdom. No, there was only one being in all of Hyrule who held the blame for what had happened to Ayrll, and it was sharing Princess Zelda’s prison with her.
With new resolve and tears still staining his cheeks, Link began his final push towards the castle.