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“Link..”
Her voice was hoarse and quiet compared to the rain, as if she were scared their moment of peace would shatter. As if she were convinced the guardians might’ve been able to hear them speak.
He glanced in the direction of the princess to show he was listening, but he didn’t want to turn his attention away for longer than that. The Master Sword stayed tightly gripped in his hand, and his eyes and ears were on alert for any sign of movement. Nothing but the wind moved around them, as if the Calamity had really taken every last living thing.
He felt her hand, small and shaking, slip into his. He offered all he could, which was nothing more than a simple squeeze. He wished it could be enough.
But she stopped walking, which gave his arm a tug and forced him to turn around. Her gaze was locked on the ground though, and she looked so defeated. He knew, because he felt it too—the crushing reality that their friends were probably dead, and that they weren’t going to win against Ganon. They were not the hero and the princess from the age long legend. They were a pair of kids who’d lost years of their lives training for this moment. For nothing more than a devastating defeat.
“Do you think if I..” Her words died on her tongue, but Link knew where her mind was truly lying. “Do you think we’ll be alright?”
Any moment could be their last, yet despite the danger and weight of false security, Link sheathed the sword and stepped forwards to take her other hand.
“When we get to Hateno,” he replied with a nod, and how he wished he could believe it.
“It won’t stop,” Zelda said weakly, finally lifting her head and placing her green eyes on him. The sparkle within them was gone. “Not until all of Hyrule is gone.”
He knew that. But Link couldn’t figure out just what Calamity Ganon had to gain. There would be nothing but a barren land of ruin infested by killer machines. But perhaps a demon didn’t need rhyme or reason.
“I know,” he offered a little pathetically, glancing in the direction of Castle Town. Heavy black smoke still stained the sky. “But we can’t fight forever.” It was a simple fact. Everyone had their limits.
“No,” she agreed, turning her eyes away again. If he could quiet the thoughts he knew ran around in her head, he would. But all he could do was rub his thumbs over her hands. “So what do we do now?”
“Try to survive.”
“But what’s the point?” There were tears brimming in her eyes again. “Without the sealing power, we will never win.”
“Maybe all you need is time. We can buy you more time,” Link said, holding her hands a little tighter.
“At the cost of my friends, my people, my kingdom burning?” Her hands fought out of his grasp and instead found a grip on his tunic. Link was worried she would fall again. “Goddesses, I don’t want it. Please, I don’t want it, Link. Please.”
Not for the first time since this all began, Link cursed the goddesses as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. There were no words he could give her. She was grieving something he could never quite understand, and blaming herself for all that had occurred in the past day.
No, not day. It hadn’t even been a full night.
Zelda leaned her forehead against his shoulder, and he leaned his head against hers. The argument of inappropriateness fell apart in his mind, because it didn’t matter anymore. If all they had was each other, then Link would take advantage of the comfort she provided. He didn’t know for certain, but part of him felt like his friends in the guard and his father had all met the same terrible fate. Zelda was all that remained and he would hold on tightly to her until he couldn’t anymore. He would protect her with his life—not out of duty, but because she was all he had left and he refused to lose her if he could help it.
“We should keep moving,” he finally whispered, giving her a gentle squeeze. “We don’t know where they are.”
He felt her nod against his head and begin to pull back, so he reluctantly dropped his arms. But she took his hand, and he could see in her face that she was still at a loss. He held her hand a little tighter.
“Zelda,” he said, reaching out his free hand to brush his fingers over her cheek. “You’ll be okay. I promise.”
“Don’t promise me anything,” she begged as she shook her head. “Not like this.”
“But you will be,” he assured, grasping her hands with both of his own. He pressed her palm to his chest, where she could feel his heart, and looked her straight in the eye. “As long as I’m alive, you’ll be okay. We’ll find shelter and we’ll get away. I promise.”
Zelda’s eyes darted between his, her hand gripping his tunic again like it were a lifeline. For a moment, she was quiet. Maybe she didn’t know what to say. Maybe she hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but she did.
“I think I’m in love with you.”
Link blinked. He’d never felt so many emotions that did not go together. His heart hammered faster against her hand, and part of him still wanted to sob. He wanted to break down and grieve their friends, their families, and now, what they maybe could’ve had. Maybe if they were in a different place, at a different time, and they weren’t who they were. If they weren’t the princess of a burning kingdom, and her knight that bore the Blade of Evil’s Bane.
Yet another part of him acted as if he’d known all along—that this was no shocking revelation. And despite the confession, Zelda didn’t look mortified. It was as if she’d gotten a weight off of her shoulders, because she had nothing left to lose. And if they had nothing left to lose, then why not risk it all?
Link dipped his head forwards and pressed his lips to hers. Maybe it was the one kind thing the goddesses had done—allowed them this, in their moment of peace. There was no interruption, no sounds other than the steady fall of rain and rumble of thunder. As much as he longed to hold her closer, with his arms around her waist, he was too afraid to move his hands from hers. Because if he went too deeply, he would never come back up.
But her free hand tangling in his hair, pulling him closer, almost swayed him. And then she’d broken the kiss to look at him with a sad smile.
“We could’ve had so much,” she said softly, gently scratching the side of his head with her nails. He tilted his head further into her touch as he brought her hand up, pressing a kiss to the inside of her palm. “I’m sorry.”
He almost kissed her again, but the sounds of scuttling grew louder and their moment of peace ended when a bright blue, burning hot light whizzed over their heads. And then they were running again, out of the cover of the trees and into the field, which was overrun with guardians.