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Chapter Text

“Get behind that rock!” yelled Link as he was spotted by single Guardian.

The two had ended up in Ash Swamp, their luck slowly running low.

Zelda ran behind cover as Link stared down his enemy. The Guardians eye targeted Link with a red stream of light, beeping faster and faster as it prepared it’s attack. He had fought Guardians along the way, yet, in a quick moment of exhaustion, Link paused a second too long.

Link’s readied sword was no match for the explosive laser that followed, as the impact hurled Link into the air, making him land quite hard on his right side on the wet ground.

Powered by pure adrenaline, Link put all his energy into getting up and facing the beast again, charging forward and continuously swinging his sword at its’ steel plating and magenta-colored innards until it was defeated.

Link watched the Guardian power down and explode into purple smoke as he panted heavily, clutching the side he landed on with his left hand.

Link staggered to join Zelda behind the large boulder, still clutching his side.

As soon as his back met the rock he heard Zelda’s sigh of relief be followed by,

“Oh my gosh, you’re okay!”

“You?” Link made out between heavy breaths as he looked at Zelda with concern.

Zelda nodded.

“Thanks to you,” Zelda said as she gave a small smile.

Link peeked his head around the boulder, checking for more Guardians.

“I think I killed that one, and I don’t see any others…for now.”

Link returned his tired gaze to Zelda.

“You’re holding your side,” Zelda said, concerned.

“It’s fine.”

“You’re hurt!,” said Zelda as she came closer.

“It’s nothing.”

Zelda started to gently remove Link’s arm to investigate.

“Zelda, there’s no time for—”

“Ssss…” Link hissed, wincing when Zelda touched his right side.

“Your rib, it’s broken. We have to get to Kak—”

Zelda was silenced by the sound of another Guardian, prompting her to rush back to sitting against the rock as Link peeked around the cover again. Zelda stared at her knight attendant, her Link, with a genuine fear for his life, a concern for his well-being, a guilt for her role in it.

“Link…”

“What?” Link asked, still looking out at Blatchery Plains.

“If we don’t make it out…”

“Zelda…” 

“I’m serious.”

“No, I’m serious,” Link said as he turned around to face her, grabbing both of her shoulders, “Don’t worry about me. I will not let you get hurt. I can’t. No matter what. You have to trust me.”

“No, Link, that’s not it…I…”

But a sudden beeping brought them out of it. Link turned around to find that a Guardian had targeted him. 

Without a moment to think, Link ran away from Zelda, shifting the Guardians’ focus away from the princess and allowing Link to dodge the lasers.

As Link ran to Blatchery Plains, he was faced by an onslaught of Guardians, and he had no choice but to fight.

Zelda slowly peeked around the cover, her face horror-stricken to see Link facing two guardians at once while several others roamed the plains in the distance.

Zelda stepped out, focusing her terrified gaze on Link fighting the guardians with every ounce of his strength, every ounce of his courage. She shuddered to think of the pain he must have been ignoring, the suffering he had to endure, and she caused all of it.

She wasn’t watching him fight, she was watching him die.

As the two Guardians powered down, she watched Link stab his sword into the ground, knelling as he put all his weight into the hilt, and breathing heavily with his head down.

Zelda ran over, stopping behind him and placing her hands on his shoulders to say,

“Link, save yourself! Go! I’ll be fine! Don’t worry about me! Run!”

But Link didn’t listen. 

He leaned on the sword to stand again, yet he barely could. He stumbled backwards as he withdrew his sword from the ground and just stood there, panting.

At the sight of another guardian towering over the both of them, locking it’s targeting eye at Link, he did all he could do, all he had the energy to do, and that was stand, in front of the princess.

He was insistent on protecting her, his determination blocking his fear.

He was willing to die for her, and as the beeping quickened and red light began to widen, he quickly accepted that he would.

“No…not him too,” Zelda thought, standing there defenseless, useless, overwhelmed.

“I need him.”

“I love him.”

“I’ll die for him,” Zelda thought as she pushed Link aside and exclaimed,

“No!” just before the Guardian would have claimed Link’s life.

Zelda had pushed him aside and out of the outstretched the palm of her hand came of a wave of golden, glowing light, neutralizing the Guardians in all of Necluda.

Link sat, crouched, leaning on his sword as the slightest glimmer of pride in his eyes looked upon the golden silhouette in front of him.

“Was…” Zelda started, staring at her right hand in amazement of the symbol she just saw and the power that had come from it.

“Was that…?”

“The power…”

“Huh?” She retorted as the thud of Link collapsing to the ground turned her to her fallen knight.

“No, no…” Zelda said in desperation, running to sit by his side and supporting the backs of his shoulders to see that he was still alive.

“You’re going to be just fine…” said Zelda, leaning in closer.

The agony in his eyes told her otherwise, and with his last remnants of energy spent on protecting her, his last words were left in his thoughts, asserting themselves in one final glance before Link couldn’t hold on any longer.

Zelda exhaled at the sight of his eyes closing and the weight of his head no longer supported by the muscles in his neck. She felt as if someone had ripped her heart from the very depths of her chest

“No…” Zelda whispered as she buried her face in Link’s chest and clutched his mud-soaked blue tunic, crying into the fabrics that clothed the boy she loved, the boy she lost.

A sudden chime pulled her focus to the sword that was still held by Link’s limp hand.

“Your Grace, he can still be saved,” Zelda heard from an ethereal, almost ancient voice, her eyes widening at the revelation.

“The sword…?” Zelda replied, “So he can…He can still be saved?”

“Princess!” A distant voice yelled before two Sheikah came into view, kneeling in front of the princess.

“Princess! Are you all right?!” Said the Sheikah on the right.

“Take Link to the Shrine of Resurrection,” said Zelda, ignoring their inquiry, “if you don’t get him there immediately we are going to lose him forever! Is that clear?! So make haste and go! His life is now in your hands!”

Zelda took one last look at the face of her knight attendant without his blue eyes, without his sweet smile. 

At the thought of having to say goodbye, unable to shake the feeling that it would be a long one, she acted out of pure lust, kissing him on the lips before taking his sword into her own hands.

“Go!” She exclaimed, her voice almost breaking as the left Sheikah drooped Link over his shoulder like he was a limp doll.

Zelda watched the two Sheikah run west as her vision began to ripple from her watery eyes.

Tears began to stream down her face as she looked out at Dueling Peaks in the distance, thinking about the lives she had cost, drowning in the thought that he could be next.

Yet, two gentle, warm hands placed on her shoulders prompted her to turn around to find Impa, who had most likely followed just behind her brother, Robbie, and the other Sheikah. Her warm, red eyes welcomed Zelda to stand up and meet her eye line.

“Now there,” Impa said, wiping away Zelda’s tears, “Everything is going to be okay.”

Zelda sniffled her nose and nodded as Impa placed her arm around the princess, guiding her to a slow walk North.

“What do you say we get you somewhere warm? Kakariko is just over that ledge.”

Chapter Text

Zelda slowly opened her eyes trying to make sense of where she was, what she remembered.

Yet, it was all foggy, like she was still in a dream.

“She was exhausted once we got here. She barely said a word as she picked at the food I gave her and she fell asleep as soon as her head met the pillow. Do you really expect me to wake her?”

“Of course not, but I just…my point is that I feel like she would want to know.”

“Know about what?,” Zelda’s sleepy mind reeled.

“And I guess I’ll be here to tell her when she wakes up.”

“You are never going to grow out of your impatience, are you?”

“I don’t know, maybe when I’m a hundred.”

“Why? Because you’ll be so wise, Pfft.”

“No, because I would have had to grow patient dealing with you for a hundred years…little sis…”

“BIG sister…”

There was a silence that only added to Zelda’s confusion.

“You saw what happened, right?”

“Everyone saw it, Robbie.”

“No, no, I meant afterwards.”

“Well, yeah, I was right behind you guys.”

“It’s just so sad.”

“Goddesses, Robbie, keep it to yourself, for goodness sake. We don’t know why and we shouldn’t pry into other people’s business.”

“Let me at least finish my thought.”

There was an exasperated sigh.

“A princess and a knight attendant…”

“Knight attendant…he must be talking about Link.”

“Link…”

“Link!”

“Oh my gosh!”

Zelda sat up and rushed down the wooden steps, slowing her pace when she found Impa and Robbie casually sitting on cushions.

“For them to fall in lo—”

Robbie stopped at the sight of the princess, the both of them kneeling in her direction.

“Your Highness! I hope we didn’t wake you!”

“You mentioned Link. Is he okay?” 

Impa and Robbie stood up and exchanged apprehensive looks before Impa sat back down on the cushion and patted on the one beside it, signaling for Zelda to sit next to her.

Robbie stood in front of both of them as Impa watched Zelda impatiently await his words.

“He was one lucky boy, we made it just in time. He is indeed, alive.”

Zelda’s face lit up before she remembered their cautious faces, and the fact that there was a Link-shaped hole in the room, in her life, in her heart.

“Go on,” Zelda said, scared of what they were so tentative to say.

“The Shrine of Resurrection has proved quite effective in stopping Link’s death and has already began to heal his injuries. We felt a pulse, however weak, after just a few minutes.”

“You must understand, however, that the technology is largely untested. We’ve derived all we could from ancient texts just to turn it on…predictability, on the other hand…”

“What do you mean?” Asked Zelda.

“I’m not going to honey glaze it for you. Link’s injuries were severe. Heavy bruising, scrapes, cuts, second-degree burns, a broken rib, internal bleeding.”

Zelda’s hand went to her mouth at the sound of those words.

“With the extent of his injuries and our lack of knowledge, there’s no telling how long he will have to be in there until he is fully healed. It could be a few months, it could be a couple years. For all we know, it could be a hundred years.”

Zelda’s expression sank at the thought of it really taking one hundred years, at the thought of never seeing him again. She placed her hand back down to clutch at her white dress.

“Th-that was just an exaggeration, of course, I…I doubt it will take that long.”

“Right,” Zelda made out, quietly, her head downcast.

Robbie looked at Impa, hesitant to continue.

“A-also…umm…”

Impa nodded at Robbie as Zelda looked back up at him, afraid of what he would say next.

“Purah has some predicted…side effects to being in the Shrine. Disorientation, dizziness, fatigue, light sensitivity, hunger, and most likely, memory loss. All short-term, of course, except…”

“Losing his memory,” Zelda said, finishing his sentence.

“Of Hyrule, of me, of everything we’ve been through together,” Zelda thought as she buried her face in her hands.

The two patient Sheikah looked at her with concern until she spoke again.

“The rest of Hyrule?”

Robbie’s sad eyes told her everything she needed to know as she felt a cold tear roll down her cheek.

“Well, tell me!” Zelda exclaimed, frustrated at their furtive glances, their apprehensive silences. Frustrated at herself for causing the complete destruction of the kingdom she was once the princess of. Frustrated at the fact that she missed Link more than anything.

“Calamity Ganon took control of the Divine Beasts and the Guardians. Hyrule Castle, the town, Mabe Village and the Garrisons of the fields were a bloodbath, as they were the closest. Survival was highly unlikely. Stragglers on the outskirts of Central Hyrule fled to the pockets of safety spread across Hyrule that Ganon’s power has not yet accumulated the capability to reach. Gerudo Town, Rito Village, Goron City, Zora’s Domain, Kakariko Village, and Lurelin Village have established safe zones. And now, because of your power, Hateno has joined the list.”

Robbie looked at Impa with a smile.

“We’d like to thank you personally for that one, Princess. Fort Hateno’s defenses were dwindling. We were very worried for our sister, Purah.”

“Nonetheless, the Calamity still festers above the Castle, conserving his energy until he has enough power to truly lay waste to the land. Until, then his guardians roam the earth, machines with no mercy, as deadly as they would have been advantageous.”

Robbie sighed.

“All we can do offer is our apologies…”

“Your apologies?”, Zelda asked.

“You and your kingdom put your faith in our people, our technology. We…we destroyed ourselves.”

Just hours ago, Zelda would have said the same thing about herself, that she was responsible for all of it.

Yet, as she sat there, letting the information wash over her, she realized that there was someone she had yet to blame. 

“No,” said Zelda.

The Sheikah only ever tried to defend Hyrule, Link died fending off the Guardians, and she accessed her power in the midst of a disaster.

And all of it, the peril, the uncertainty, the unfairness, was all the fault of a primal evil.

“It was Calamity Ganon, not you,” Zelda said with furrowed eyebrows.

Impa smiled at Zelda’s statement. 

“You mentioned the Divine Beasts. Is anything known of the Champions’ fate?”

“No. The Divine Beasts are trapped, possessed by evil magic. It is unknown what horrors lay inside.”

Zelda nodded in understanding, in the acceptance of what she already suspected.

Her friends, Revali, Daruk, Mipha, Urbosa, were all dying arduously, if not dead already.

She felt after all of this, an uncontrollable angst, a small spark of fire ignite inside her, burning to avenge them, her father, the Hyrule that was once prosperous.

“So, what’s next?” Zelda asked.

“We were hoping you could answer that,” said Impa.

“What?” Zelda retorted as she looked to her right at Impa, overwhelmed by her faith in her.

“You are still the Princess of Hyrule, after all.”

Zelda looked back at Robbie at the sound of those three words.

She sat there, distressed by their expectation of her to pick up the pieces of the ruined kingdom she was obligated to.

And, at the thought of her having to do it alone, without her father, without Link, Zelda started to breath faster and faster.

Not wanting to make a scene of her helplessness, her panic thinking of her future and the future of Hyrule, Zelda said,

“Excuse me,” before hurrying back upstairs.

Zelda sat on the bed and buried her face in her hands.

“Let her adjust,” She heard Impa say downstairs.

As soon as Zelda’s eyelids closed, an image flashed in her mind of her dead hero, limp in her arms.

Forcing her eyes open and her head up, her glance focused on the Master Sword resting against a bookcase.

It had been tattered, shredded, covered in mud, losing it’s illustrious sheen, yet it still held an otherworldly essence, a legendary spirit, even as it lay dormant. Without it’s master, it’s other half, it was still an entity on it’s own.

It started to pulsate with an ethereal light and a distinct chime, like it had hours before.

Zelda, curious of it’s mysterious destiny, it’s history past the words of ancient text, past the misinterpretations of ages of inscriptions, slowly approached it.

She knelt down, reaching for the hilt of the sword, still unsure of the basis of her curiosity as she securely clasped it into her hand.

Zelda stood up, holding the sword in front of her, her focus slowly shifting from the hilt and gliding down to the very tip of the edge.

It was heavier than she expected, not just in weight, but also in purpose, in the burden that the sword always carried with it.

A burden once carried by her Link.

She took the sword with her as she sat back on the bed before resting it gently on her lap and running her fingers across it’s weathered surface.

As it started to pulsate again, she gave it a suspicious look, with the instinct that the sword held more than just a destiny, more than even a voice thought long lost.

A sudden wave of pulsating bright light originated from the sword, widening Zelda’s curious eyes until the light rendered the princess unconscious as she fell unto the bed.

“Your Grace,” Zelda heard among the black abyss of darkness.

All she knew about the voice was that it was familiar, oddly familiar.

“I am the spirit of the Master Sword. Your texts have forgotten my designation, yet, nonetheless, I was once called Fi.”

“Oh, reincarnation of the Goddess Hylia. Allow me to show you what I have witnessed.”

Zelda was ushered into visions, as clear as memories.

First, she saw a girl being enveloped into a golden light as a boy ran to her, desperately. The panicked boy arrived in front of her too late, as he banged his fists against an amber cocoon that encapsulated the sad girl. The boy cried at the realization of his loss.

Second, she saw a princess producing a cascading stream of light from the palms of her hands to stall the horrendous monster in front of her, aiding the gallant knight beside her as they shared a smile.

Third, she saw a woman, dressed like a queen, creating arrows of golden light out of nothing and smiling upon the hero she depended on.

Lastly, Zelda saw herself, in front of the castle, holding her hand out as Calamity Ganon surrounded her, before a yellow light was all she could see.

“I have witnessed,” Zelda heard the voice continue, “time and time again, the role that the goddess has played alongside her chosen hero. Do not lose hope, Your Grace, as your role is unfinished. Face Calamity Ganon, stall his scourge, and until the hero comes to bring your destinies to completion, await his return with hope in your heart.”

Chapter Text

Zelda slowly descended the stairs in her soiled, white dress, carrying the Master Sword with one hand on the hilt and the other around the edge that was wrapped in a banded cloth.

She walked stealthily to the exit of Impa’s abode, stepping lightly to avoid the creaking of the wooden floor.

Although the room was dark, Zelda could make out the door in front of her, releasing her hand from the blade to open the door.

“And where do you think you are going?” 

Zelda turned around to the origin of the voice to find Impa sitting in the center of the room on one of her cushions.

As she lifted her bowed head, her piercing red eyes were revealed from the brim of a large sheikah hat with anchor-like metal pieces hanging from the edges.

“Impa…”

“Very sneaky for a princess, but for a Sheikah?”

“I’m sorry, Impa.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I’ve snuck my way out of more places than you might think. Now, let me ask again. Where are you going?”

“To the forest, to return the Master Sword to it’s pedestal, so it can await Link’s return and heal it’s own wounds. And then…”

Zelda took an apprehensive pause, knowing that the next part was risky, that Impa may object to it.

“To Hyrule Castle,” Zelda continued, “To suspend Ganon’s accumulation of power until Link is healed enough to defeat him and…and rescue me from his grasp.”

Impa only nodded.

“A wise plan,” said the Sheikah.

“So…you’ll let me go?” Asked Zelda timidly.

“Oh dear child, I never said you couldn’t go. I simply wanted to know where.”

“Thank you, Impa, for everything.”

“You’re welcome, Princess.”

Zelda gave a small smile.

“If you chose this path, you will not see Link until his arduous task is at an end. He will see me before he sees you. Is there anything that you wish me to relay to him?”

“I love you,” Zelda thought.

“Oh gosh no, you don’t remember anything about the destiny you have to uphold and the girl you are sacrificing everything to save is in love with you, and you’ve never even met her?”

“Oh dear.”

“Other than that, there is only one thing that makes sense.”

“Free the four Divine Beasts.”

“Perhaps that will help him jog his memory.”

“As well as freeing those poor, tortured souls that I owe so much.”

Impa nodded again.

“I understand.”

Zelda turned to face the exit when she heard,

“Princess, there’s something else.”

The girl turned back around with curious, green eyes.

“Robbie and I were reluctant, but it would be wrong for you to leave without seeing it.”

Zelda stepped forward apprehensively, her wide eyes prompting Impa to reach in her pocket and pull out a pouch.

Link’s pouch.

At the sight of it, Zelda laid down the sword and sat down in front of Impa, slowly taking the pouch into her own hands.

“What’s in here?” Zelda asked.

“I don’t know, I wanted you to open it first.”

The princess smiled as she pulled out four apples.

“He always had apples with him.”

Next was the sheikah slate, to which Zelda nodded.

“I told him to put it in there for safekeeping. We knew we couldn’t carry it.”

Next was a stray piece of flint, a piece of raw meat, a couple of Hyrule herbs, and a pink rock of salt.

“Always ready for a meal. He must have been star—”

She stopped dead when she saw what was at the very bottom, her heart skipping a beat.

“Princess?” Impa asked, still caught in the whimsy of it all.

Zelda looked up at the Sheikah with astonishment, her eyes watering.

“It was just a few days ago. I was to turn seventeen the next day and make my way up Lanayru mountain.”

“We were at Sanidin Park. I wanted to get away from the castle, from my father, if even for just a few hours.”

“We ended up sitting and watching the sun set, in silence of course, but a comfortable silence.”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about turning seventeen, all the things that would change.”

“And when I thought about courting, the only person I wanted to court me was sitting right beside me, and couldn’t.”

“I had feelings I never thought I would for him. I was a royal, after all, marriage was diplomatic, I never expected to fall in love.”

“But, at the same time, I was a girl sitting next to my crush, and I was curious as to what he would do if he could. I wished I weren’t bound by the crown, imagining what it would be like if I could choose him.”

“So I asked him.”

“I asked him how he would go about courting someone, if he were to, and…”

She looked back down into the bottom of the bag.

“He…he said that he would start by…”

Zelda pulled out a Silent Princess, a flower with five petals of blue and white, crowning curling green leaves.

“By giving her her favorite flower.”

She started to gently run her fingers between the petals.

“And…then he added…that he would only do it if…if he really loved her…”

“And then I turned seventeen, and then the Calamity struck, and then I forgot it was my birthday, and then he died in my arms, and then I kissed him, and then I find now…”

“That he loved me the whole time…” the Princess said as a single tear rolled down her cheek, “and…he won’t remember any of it.”

“Love,” Impa started after wiping away Zelda’s tear with her thumb, “is an emotion greater than any power, any technology, it is not easily forgotten. It is generated by experiences, yes, but it transcends those. It becomes a part of us, not just a byproduct of our memories, but a force inside us, breathing in our lungs, running through our veins. You’re right, Link will forget you and everything he once knew about Hyrule, but…that doesn’t mean he can’t remember it again.”

Impa held out in front of Zelda a blue tunic with white lines, without blood, without dirt, without cuts, just as it had been when Zelda first crafted it.

Zelda took it, clutching at it’s folded sides.

“And anything,” Impa continued, “the sight of a familiar location, wearing his old tunic, feeling the soul of the people in his heart, feeling the breath of the wild through his lungs, hearing the guiding call of your voice ring in his ears with an oddly familiar comfort…could help him recall what he has lost.”

“Princess, I have no doubt that you will see him again as the Link you knew.”

Zelda couldn’t help but smile at the thought of seeing him again. 

Set in her goal, the princess stood up, taking the Sheikah Slate into her own hands.

“He should have this, when he wakes up.”

“You trust him with that? We only found one.”

“I trust him with my life, and…I…I think it will help him.”

Zelda placed the Sheikah Slate and Link’s tunic down in front of Impa before grabbing the Master Sword with both hands.

Impa, seeing the fear in her eyes as the princess hesitated turning towards the exit, thinking of the journey in front of her, walked forward, placed her hands on the princess’ cheeks, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“Don’t worry, child,” Impa said with a smile, “I’ll be right here waiting for you and Link. I have the utmost confidence in both of you.”

“You can do this,” said Impa as she retreated her hands.

Zelda took a deep breath before turning away from Impa’s concerned smile and opening the doors, exiting Impa’s abode.

So, the princess was awakened, now ready to face her destiny and to await her hero.