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One hundred years felt like a single fleeting moment compared to this.
She had held onto hope all this time, that somehow, he may retain a fragment of their past lives after waking. But it was all too obvious as she watched him emerge from his tomb. Her chest shattered at the view.
Link no longer knew her, not even what she looks like.
She didn’t dwell on the pain, focusing her attention on the castle and the barriers. He would find the spots imbued with their past, she’s sure of it.
It was almost as she herself had been sleeping, awoken by their connection soaring to life once more.
Ganon felt it too, thrashing against the chains she’s held for a century now.
Like a viewing party for two, she and Gannon watched on as link recovered what little he could of his past life.
Link quickly grew stronger, the blessings dotted across the land to restoring his strength bit by bit. It swelled her heart to watch him restore that side, the fierce swordsman with enough courage to fill an army.
He came across the first memory she left for him.
The sacred grounds had crumbled, pillars snapping as weeds infiltrated the stonework, and water turning a murky dark brown color. Yet he still walked with a purpose, as if he knew what lay ahead, as if he by himself were on the cusp of the memory.
She grew giddy with excitement as he reached for the sacred light. His vision flashed and she watched on as the memory played, horrified by each waking second when she realized.
It wasn’t his memory, no, it had been hers that she laid into the ground. All her anger, rage, and failure bombarded him as she recited the ancient ritual. All while he kneeled, steadfast as ever, seemingly unaffected while the other champion's words spun through her ears.
Shock flooded her mind as he came back from the memory, holding his head as if he had been hit.
Oh no.
How was he to remember himself through her view of their life? Such a stu-
She froze, heart stopping inside her chest. He had turned towards the castle, determinedly staring directly at her location, or rather where her father had pointed at the start of his journey. He squinted suspiciously, then turned and walked off the sacred grounds.
Ganon roared with laughter.
Perhaps the champions would be better to assist him. Each had followed her orders before they fell, laying their own memories for him to find before being trapped inside their machines.
He had found three of hers so far and his demeanor hadn’t changed.
She couldn’t blame him; she had practically screamed at him to leave her alone after lecturing him on the history of his sword. To think she of all people had the nerve to ask if he could hear the swords voice when she couldn’t muster a single flicker of Hylia’s power. And Revali didn’t exactly help the case with his own either.
But Urbosa, she can count on her, she knows it.
She held her breath as he handed Riju the helmet, memory instantly taking hold.
“Ah, well... you got here fast.”
Wait.
“I should have expected as much, from the princess’s own appointed knight.”
This is – why is she in this? And asleep?
“She was out on a survey all day today. Still as the sands now,” Urbosa flicked her head behind her, careful not to wake her past self, “So... spill it, boy. Have the two of you been getting along?”
Link didn’t respond to the question. She wasn’t surprised, this was long before he would speak to even her.
But why would Urbosa chose this memory?
She paled as she realized.
Oh no.
The memory continued.
“It's okay...I know, your silence speaks volumes,” Urbosa looked back down to her sleeping form, “she gets frustrated every time she looks up and sees you carrying that sword on your back. It makes her feel like a failure when it comes to her own destiny,” Urbosa looked back to Link, “don’t worry, it's not like you carry the blame in any of this,” Urbosa focused on her once again, this time taking a softer motherly tone “It's unfortunate, she's put in more than enough time.”
Grief hit her, knowing that she would never be able to experience it again. She watched on, wanting to know what had been said.
Urbosa continued, “ever since she was a young girl, she's gone through rigorous daily routines to show her dedication. She once passed out in the freezing waters trying to access this sealing power. And she has nothing to show for it. That’s the motivation driving her research, I'd be doing the same thing.”
Ubrosa lifted her free hand, brushing a stray strand of hair away from her face, “she really is quite...special,” she turned back to Link, “You be sure to protect her with your life, it's quite the honor.”
Then Link, the man of few words and even less expressions at the time, eyes swirled with an emotion she couldn’t quite pin. He locked with the back of her head, eyes trailing down her hair as Urbosa commented on the cold.
Then he nodded in agreement.
A shiver ran up her spine, old emotions resurfacing. Her resolve weakened and Ganon pushed against his chains once more. She quickly reeled her teenage heart back in.
Thundered clapped, and her grating voice started to yell at him again in the memory.
She couldn’t focus on the show anymore.
Link, could he possibly have-
The memory ended and he woke to Riju snapping her fingered in front of his face. No time for processing, he trotted onwards to the beast in the desert.
It was probably for the best.
She almost hoped he would skip the other memories waiting for him now. It hadn't been by chance Urbosa picked the moment she did.
Actually, she can almost hear her roaring laughter all the way from the beast right now.
After that night in a desperate rebellion against her father she ran, from him and Link. She can still remember as if it happened yesterday, it was the first time she had... started to feel something for him.
She wanted to cry when he started off in the direction of the bazaar.
Perhaps she could leave the castle and pick a new more...savory memory for him. Ganon would understand, right?
Even if that were possible, she doubts she would get there in time with the way he was beelining directly for it like a moth drawn to a flame.
She was probably the color of a tomato by the time he reached the pool, either that or she had her first fever in one hundred years.
Link ripped off his glove as if the light might fade if he waited longer and then ran head first into the memory.
She could taste the heat of the desert as she ran in the memory. A silly helpless girl fleeing in what had been one of the worst territories. Yiga clan members surrounded her, she tripped on nothing and fell.
She failed, this time at not being murdered.
A blade raised and she covered her face with her hands. The pain never came. A red and black body fell to the floor, its sound forcing her out of hiding.
Link stood before her, a fierce scowl on his face as he held out the sacred sword.
Butterflies moved in the put of her stomach, the rosy tint of her cheeks no longer from the heat of the sun. Link had followed her, and he looked...furious.
Her eyes racked over him, her mind melding a new image of him in that instant as new seeds planted in her brain. The remaining Yiga members ran off and Link sheathed his sword. He turned to her, kneeling in a second and fury replaced with concern as she gawked at him in awe.
Link came back to the present and once again turned to the direction of the castle. This time his gaze flat and mouth a thin line, but she could see the gears turning through his gaze.
She remembers after that they grew closer. She no longer screamed or lectured him, and a common line of trust grew between them. She started to rely on him more, almost expect his presence at every turn and welcome it. That became evident as he gathered more of the pieces of their past.
The memory near Gboronbi lake showed it as he let her patch his wounds. It was a soft memory, one that made her smile as he happily accepted the now much nicer lecture from her. He was her knight afterall, she couldn’t have him run off being hurt. And at this point she had learned he was far too reckless for his own good, or courageous as he might call it.
It had been the first thing he said to her. An argument against why he had decided to fight a dozen Bokoblins and a Lynel.
She had to agree with him now, courageous he is.
It almost made her forget the next memory waiting for him.
Why? Why did she pick this one?
She wanted to run out and scream for him to stop, don’t look, as she might combust after he sees it. One hundred years ago, after he was dead in her arms and the champions were bound to fall, she hadn't put much thought into what memories she chose – only that the sword told her to scatter them. That he wouldn’t wake up with anything from his previous life and she would need to help him regain that.
The stupid sword hadn't told her it would be her own memories being planted, not his. Or that she may want to take her time in selecting them.
No, she let the ones that she remembered most flow through her and launched them out without a care in the world.
The one on Irch Plain must be the most damning of them all.
She watched as her mouth info dumped about flowers and other herbs in the field. How she got all disgustingly soft over her favorite, him watching on without a word - as normal. He had been an exceptional listener during their time together.
Then the moment she had been dreading came.
“Go on!” she shoved the frog to his mouth, “taste it!”
Link grimaced and shuffled back on his knees.
No please don’t show more she prayed, but the memory continued.
“I hear they actually taste quite good roasted, but we can settle for only a lick this time,” she insisted.
Link held his position and she shoved one more time. It was the last straw.
Link pushed back, grasping her hands and sending them both to the ground. He pinned her to the field, a hand by either side of her head and his fingers held firmly against her wrists to keep them there.
“With all due respect princess,” his voice was low and steady, yet bursting with disgust, “I am not licking a frog.”
As if the creature were waiting for a que it leaped from her open palm and off into the tall grass. She didn’t notice at the time however; she was more fascinated with him and the way he was warming her skin. The way her heart had leaped into her throat and rang in her ears. The way a silly childlike blush spread across her cheeks.
They way in how comfortable it had been to have him so close.
Link flinched above her, and in the next second his weight was gone.
He came out of the memory, yet unlike before he didn’t look back towards the castle.
Actually, she thought he may be hiding his face from it – maybe.
Pain. This was painful to watch now.
The desperation had set in during the memories. They both knew time was running out for her to unlock the sealing power.
Looking on from the future, one where time did run out, made it worse.
After watching her at the spring of power he stood by the water, eyes downcast and frown planted on his face. Minutes passed before he peeled himself way, mounting his horse with another refusal to look in her direction.
He did the same after watching her decision to go up mount Lanayru. They had both been so young, only seventeen, yet the weight of the world had been thrust on them. His body became racked with tension after that, unyielding in his saddle as he road to the next memory for him, as if he knew what was coming.
He found it with ease, this time he nearly ripped himself out of the memory before it was over. He held himself up against the old canyon wall, his horse trotting over to comfort him. He turned and pulled an apple from his bag, feeding his companion as he regained himself. With a solemn face he mounted the stallion and continued his journey.
Maybe in another time, one where they weren’t forced to carry a goddess’s power and a spirit of a hero, she liked to imagine he would have still been her appointed knight. That he would still sit and listen to her endless rants about her research. And that he would still protect her without question.
It was the silly thoughts of a teenage girl with a crush. One who didn’t realize at the time the situation they had been in.
To be normal, is what she wished for, like so many of royal family before her.
“So, I really am just a failure!”
Her voice rang through the castle. Ganon chuckled and threw himself against the chains.
Link held her in the memory as she sobbed, still refusing to abandon her even when all they had fought for was gone.
His face was unreadable when he came back to the present. He set his bag down, pulling another apple to feed his horse, and setup camp.
He stayed there for the rest of the night.
He was hesitant, almost to the point where she thought he may turn around, at the next memory. One hundred years had passed, the guardians now only rust covered shells, but this was where it had happened.
Where Link had died – her ultimate failure.
She refused to watch with him, closing her eyes and focusing on the chains once more. Ganon didn’t speak this time, didn’t even attempt to break free.
She looked back once she was sure he had finished, but he was standing there, looking off into the distance with clouded eyes.
For the first time in one hundred years, she felt the sting of tears rolling down her cheeks.
After that they both heard the call, the same ancient voice from so long ago. The one that told her how to save him. They both turned to the forest where it laid waiting for him, where she had placed it to be kept safe.
It was ready for him, and it had a memory of its own.
“Words intended for him would sound much better in the tones of your voice, don’t you think?”
She looked up at the massive tree, eyes brimming with a new hope and light. She nodded with a smile that, at the time, she hadn't used in months. “Yes,” she nodded.
Link came from the memory out of breath, he had been holding it the whole time. The sword gave him little time to think, demanding he take hold of it again.
Link nodded, determination taking over his body.
This was it.
He grabbed hold of the sword and pulled.
She had never paid much mind to the castle while holding Ganon back for those one hundred years.
“From here it looks...” she took in the view from the ridge, “pathetic...”
It had crumbled in on itself with time. Holes in the walls where Ganon had thrashed himself against, the roofs caved in, even her own room only partially survived. She had half a mind to tear it all down in rebuild.
But that would be selfish. She pulled the slate from her hip; Link had turned it over almost instantly after he had freed her and saved Hyrule – only three days ago now.
She didn’t want to waste time though, it was already hard enough to look him in the eyes. It had been so easy before!
Damn that sword and its stupid memories.
“We’ll make our way to Zora’s domain. It seems Vah Ruta has stopped working, we should investigate.” she pulled up the map.
“Yes princess,” Link said. She rolled her eyes at the name.
“Right then,” she nodded and began walking back to the horses.
A feeling washed over her halfway there, perhaps it was courage – or maybe stupidity – but she turned back to Link who had stopped not far behind.
“Link,” she said, looking at the ground, “do you really remember me?” She looked up slowly, finding his gaze scrutinizing her, “or is it just the memories that you were shown.”
He let the pause linger, enough to where she thought of speaking again it was so painful.
“No,” he stepped closer and his gaze softened, “I remember, princess.”
Heat took her, and she darted away.
“T-that’s good! That’s very good!” she buried herself into the slate once more, “After we investigate this we can go to Hateno, it’s the largest Hylian settlement and could probably use some help. You’ve been there before, right?”
“Yes-”
“Princess, I know.” She finished for him.
“Zelda,” he corrected, burning the tips of her ears in the process.
They are cursed, forced to reincarnate and find each other in each lifetime. Always as disaster is about to strike and so far apart it's merely a legend to most people.
She ran her fingers through his hair, soaking him in as he turned to her in their shared bed. His face scrunched, nose twitching in annoyance. Slowly he opened his eyes, looking anything but, and met hers. Instinctively he reached for her, his palm coming to brush against her cheek. Protective as always, but probably concerned she’s up this late.
She believes, or prays, that this version of them is unique however. That the love they both share is something special and only in this lifetime.
And now that the danger has settled, they can do just that – love.
“You should be asleep,” he whispered, voice still groggy.
Always concerned.
“We can add an extra day to the trip, the underside of the castle won't vanish – nor the gloom.” Besides, with her new haircut she traveled much better than before - no fussing for an hour over it.
A sly smile snuck across his features, she suppressed a laugh and placed a hand over his own.
She leaned into his touch, kissing her knight.
He gladly accepted.
But things are never that simple for the hero and the princess, unfortunately.