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Rain was pouring outside, droplets hitting the window hard, sent by the harsh wind against the glass. Lightning bolts were illuminating the sky randomly, overpowering the shine of the Moon looking upon them. And the sudden change in light was putting in relief how Link’s state had worsened through the hours.
They’d been ambushed. Monsters had mostly disappeared after they’d defeated the Calamity but some of them had survived and grouped together. Groups had been located and mapped around Hyrule so its inhabitants wouldn’t have had to face them. But some of those groups were nomads, or at least unlisted. They’d met one of those.
Zelda had helped Link as much as she could, what with the Sheikah slate being useless now that it was deactivated. That had not been enough though. Link had taken the brunt of it, defending her like he’d used to in the past. They’d finally escaped after he’d beaten the majority of the monsters, but they’d had to stop in their running away for the knight had been quite injured during his fights.
He’d claimed he was fine, but Zelda had seen through it, had noticed the sweat on his forehead, his blood-matted hair and the way his grip on his sword had been unsteady. When she’d seen the huge slash across his abdomen, she’d known they had to hurry and heal it. Luckily for them, they’d been rather close to Hateno when the scene had happened. She’d dragged them both to Link’s house, holding the young man up with one of his arms above her shoulders.
He’d groaned, tried to push her away, but she had not budged and they’d climbed the hill.
Link was now laying down, a wet cloth on his forehead. Zelda had washed the blood staining his hair and wrapped his head after she’d made sure he had not suffered a concussion. The bleeding had come from a cut a little above his airline. Once it had been cleaned up, Zelda had focused on the wound in Link’s stomach.
Link whimpered in his sleep, effectively bringing Zelda out of her thoughts. He was wincing, making a face even while resting and she knew he was struggling against the fever. She wiped his forehead off, getting rid of the excess of sweat. She was feeling helpless. She’d done her best to treat the gash but she wasn’t sure she’d done a good job.
She’d learned a lot about medicine and how to take care of injuries thanks to Link and the experience he’d gained after travelling alone for so long. He’d shown her which plants could be used to make ointments, which were poisonous. Which could serve as bandages or as temporary band-aids. So she’d stocked some things up.
She looked at the vial of ointment she’d emptied in one go. Her hand was being crushed by Link’s and she tried to squeeze back, at least to keep the blood flowing in the tips of her fingers. Another small moan of pain escaped the knight’s lips and Zelda bit down on her bottom lip. With the back of her hand, she touched his cheek only to pull it away as soon as she grazed the skin. Link was burning up and, even though it was normal for his body to fight the fever and the potential infections, thus for him to run hot, it was not normal for him to run this hot.
She looked around, into the small box she brought with her, searching for something more efficient than what she’d already applied to Link’s wounds.
But her eyes caught on something that pushed them to go as wide as saucers.
Red. Red was pushing through the bandages she’d put on his abdomen. The wound had opened up again.
She got up and ran down the stairs to get more supplies. But there was nothing of use left. She sniffed hard and realized then that she was crying. Hot tears were rolling down her cheeks and air was having a hard time going into her lungs. She needed to do something, she had to do something. She hit the table with her fists, breathed deeply and tried to calm down.
When her heart rate went down a bit, finally, she got rid of the tears with the back of her hands. She had options.
She grabbed more towels to soak up the blood, and more bandages. She took the only bottle of alcohol they’d stored and a new bobbin in case one of the stitches she’d made had given in. She went back upstairs, back to Link’s side, and got to work.
There was no way she would let him die. Not after all he’d gone through to save her. Not after all they’d gone through together.
The sun peeked through the clouds shyly, its first rays landing on Link’s face. He was looking at her despite the fever and the pain he was probably feeling. And he was wearing a small smile, like he couldn’t feel any of that. He was extending his hand to her and, with no hesitation, she took it in hers. She tightened her fingers around his and gave him a determined look. He chuckled until he couldn’t anymore, coughing because of the pain.
And Zelda resigned herself. Morning was near. In an hour or so, the first villagers would be awake and Purah had always been one of the early risers. If her treatment was not enough, Zelda would go to the scientist. She’d carry Link on her back if she had to.
But she would not let him die.