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The Torin Wetlands smelled of moss and autumn. What autumn smelled like, Link couldn’t tell you. She dismounts Kuris and leads him by the reins, the bite of autumn cooling her exposed skin.
She adjusts her arm bracer, the pale cyan of her tunic the only bright color in the dull orange and red landscape, various trees and ruins beside the lake, flashes of shimmering green and orange scales in the water. She bent and cupped some water to her mouth, Kuris beside her and drinking his own fill.
She stood and sighed, taking the slate from her side and checking her map. Once out of the wetlands, she would head north, towards the cliff, to Robbie. Apparently, he could create weapons to fell Guardians-
A ringing noise sounded, followed by a sound that froze her to her core. She turned quickly, a decayed Guardian focusing on her. She dodged to the right, Kuris knowing to run from it, escaping safely as the Guardian refocused on her. She gripped her shield and slowly counted in her head.
One, the Guardian began aiming.
Two, the Guardian began warming up.
Three, the Guardian began to fire.
Four, the Guardian fired.
Five, Link parried the blast, the laser hitting the Guardian into it’s eye.
The machine contorted and eventually died, collapsing and giving Link pieces of it’s core and springs. She scavenged them, tucking them into her pouch, before going to find Kuris.
Decayed Guardians were not as hard to face for her, she found very quickly, it was the ones with legs that made her freeze. She whistled and heard his answering neigh, turning towards the noise. As she turned, she came face to face with her worst nightmare.
A Guardian, all six legs, metal skin brandished and shiny, walking before her, before turning it’s head to face her. It began to focus and Link’s hands shook, her mind screaming at her body to move, get her shield, save herself, save herself, save herself!
As it fired, Link pulled the shield from her back and it ricocheted off the metal. But she didn’t parry it, like she normally does. The shield shattered in her hand, the metal breaking under the force and power of the blast.
Link looked up, tears wetting her cheeks as the Guardian fired once more. The pain of the blast was so familiar, as it ripped through her body, her left side burning into nothing as she fell.
“LINK!”
She sat up, groaning at the pain in her head. She opened her eyes and looked down at the small face.
“Link, Mama wants to see you before you leave today.” Itel pouted at the words she spoke, soft red eyes watering. Link smiled and petted her head, swinging out of her bed.
“Alright, tell her I’ll be out.” Itel nodded and ran out of the room. Link stood in the middle of her room, looking around.
Why was she here?
Didn’t she die?
Was this her afterlife?
Who would save Princess Zelda?
Link crossed the room to the closet and pulled out some trousers, pulling them on, tying them closed, before pulling the under layer of her tunic on, the soft cream and dotted designs of orange and brown, an ode to her hometown, before she pulled the pale cyan tunic over, tying all the leather straps.
She fixed her bracer, adjusting her archer’s glove, before making sure the Master Sword was in place on her back, the weight of it so familiar and so heavy. She tapped her boots out at the front door, turning to take one last look at the house, before closing it.
She crossed the bridge, the water rushing under it, the wood new and sturdy. Itel ran with some children from town, in circles around the two horses in the road. A mighty white stallion and a sturdily built brown mare, who greeted Link with a whinny and shake of her bright white mane.
The woman atop the white stallion smiled, tight and small, to Link, before looking away, the small cloak over her shoulders not enough to keep her from shivering, the ceremonial white dress, small accents of gold.
It was that day.
The last one.
She was going to die today.
Again.
Link turned, a tall and lithe woman to her left, with long ashy white hair tied into a loose bun, most hanging down loose, brushing the top of her hips at the very edge. She wore an ankle length dress, of heavy cotton, the sleeves ending at her elbow, embroidered gold designs at the collar and edges of the dress. A top that was a black outer corset and a dirty white apron, flour and egg brushed against it.
Ephel looked at her daughter and raised a hand to touch one of Link’s braids, the one with the small navy blue feather in it. Link stepped closer, smiling at her mother. “Link. I won’t see you again.” Link furrowed her brows, shaking her head.
“Mother, it will only be a few weeks, just like all the other times.”
“No. You won’t come home.”
“Alright, Itel, watch mother, alright. Make sure she rests,” Link kneeled and took Itel’s shoulders, rubbing her thumbs over it, the loose lavender dress crinkling under her touch. Itel nodded. “I’ll be back. “
“Link.” Ephel took hold of her hand once more and Link turned to her. “I named you after the great heroes. You drew the Master Sword. You’ll save us. Even if it’s not today.” Link sighed and nodded. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Link pressed her lips to her mother’s forehead, before pressing their foreheads together. Link kneeled once more to do the same to Itel, before finally mounting Epona. Itel stood beside their mother and Link realized how similar they looked.
That’s the last time she sees them.
Mother was right, why did she not believe her?
Why didn’t she get to see Itel grow up?
Why Link?
Link led Princess Zelda out of Hateno. As they rode past Camphor Pond, pain ricocheted up Link’s left side, burning and twisting under her skin.
She collapsed forward, blood rushing from her sudden wounds, before she gasped and sat up. Kuris nuzzled at her head, chewing on Link’s hair as she woke up. Link sat there for a long time, watching Kuris, the water of Lake Akkala lapping at her hands and legs. A soft voice faded and she looked up, watching the fading of Mipha disperse. So that’s why she was still here.
She slowly stood and investigated her wounds. Nothing. Her left side was free of any wounds or evidence of them, the only thing telling her she had them was the old blood clinging to her tunic. Even the sleeve that should have burned off was back and she gasped, whipping around. The Guardian was still there, but hadn’t noticed her.
Link mounted Kuris and urged him into a gallop and they broke out of Torin Wetlands, towards the stable at the top of the hill. She dismounted and ignored the surprised gazes at her appearance. Dmitri looked up and smiled.
“Link! I haven’t seen you in a month, I thought you had died!” He laughed at his joke, but Link simply stared.
“A month?” She whispered, hoarse and rough on her dry throat. Dmitri nodded, finally calming himself. “Shit.” She pushed from the counter and waved Dmitri away, ignoring any calls of her name. She climbed back onto Kuris, the stallion a little plumper than she had left him, feeding off the wild mushrooms and radishes in the wetlands.
She urged him into a gallop and they took off south, away from the autumn of Akkala, towards the heat of Lanayru. It took a week of endless galloping, some breaks for Kuris to drink and eat before running once more, but they finally reached Kakariko.
Link swung off Kuris, taking the stairs three at a time, ignoring the various cries of her name. She threw the doors open, Impa looking up. “Paya has-”
Link took the stairs to Paya’s room and pushed the door open, the young woman looking up at her, Link’s egg in a small nest Paya’s desk. Link approached and Paya left her, mumbling to herself. Link ran careful fingers over the shell, sighing, holding it close.
“I was so close Rellis. I almost saw him again.” Link pressed her lips to the shell and cried.