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The pit in her stomach felt as deep as the depths themselves. Seeing Marin’s outstretched, mutilated arm reaching out to her. The raining shards of the once unbeatable master sword falling past them both. A shard slicing her cheek. Even with her arm as torn as it was by the oozing red evil, Marin still reached for her. Tears in her eyes trailing upwards as they both fell.
It was as if time had slowed down for Zelda. This moment of weightlessness and despair is possibly the last moment of her life. She wanted to wipe the tears away from her beloved's face. It wasn’t fair. They had only had a few years of reunited bliss…only for fate to take it all away for good.
Please Marin…do not cry…
It is not your fault…it has all been my own…
I have failed us both….
Time began to move yet again…
And the small stone began to glow.
And with a hard thud, she found herself reaching up to the open blue sky. Her outstretched hand clutching the small tear shaped stone in her hand. Feeling nothing but that ache of her heart, the trickling of the blood from her cut trailing down her cheek…mixing with her silent tears. Marin was no longer above her. Marin was no longer reaching to save her. Marin simply blinked away with a flash.
For what felt like the length of time she had been holding back the Calamity, there was just the wind blowing through the spruce trees and tall grass around her. Her arm just stretched outward and upward. She felt in her palm the warm glow of the tear shaped stone…as well as a small ring like band. Her palm opened as the tear stone fell to her chest, and rolled to the ground as her fingers held onto the blue hair ring in her fingers.
After a while her muscles gave out. The silence broken by the cracked cries of anguish from the princess. Clutching the hair tie to her chest. The only thing to remind her of her love.
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As Marin rolled her shoulder blade, the cartilage popping as air released from her new arm, she readied herself. Despite having used the towers frequently, the launching still gave her the butterfly feelings. According to the map in the old temple and Impa’s translation of the old text, a dragon’s tear glyph should be located within view of this mountain range. Thankfully the sun was still out and it was warm in the Central region of Hyrule. As she scanned the Purah Pad on the tablet, she readied herself for launch. As the gears churned and grinded, the inflatable bag of air grew and puffed beneath. With the wooden creaking turning to a large thud. She was launched to the skies of central Hyrule.
As she soared through the air, the cold wind she pierced left goosebumps on her arms. The ancient skirt leggings and sandals fluttering and flapping haphazardly. Her long fiery red hair trailing behind her. Like a red comet being launched from the world itself to the stars.
As her speed decreased as she hit the peak of her ascent, the brief moment of weightlessness hit her. She could see the curve of the horizon in the distance. She could see the line of where the world below melted away and kissed the unknown skies above. Her vision turned to the world beneath her as she began to fall. The feeling of her weight returning as she began to fall through the clouded skies.
It appeared. Like the map had said, the geometric ancient glyph faintly glowed against the organic canvas of the world. She could feel Rauru’s arm throb lightly as she noticed it. It was in…a strange shape. There seemed to be a figure of a zonai? It seemed like she was kneeling at a large structure. There was the glowing core which indicated the tear in the center of the knelt down figure. As she descended, she made sure to glide to fall within its outline.
THWAP
As she released her glider, her fast speed slowed to a feather-like fall. This outcropping seemed different from the other memories. There was a glowing mound of rock where the Tear was. Where there was usually a small water like crater, this one was a water surrounded miniature moat.
What had this memory been about to land in such an odd shape ... .As the light of the tear hummed, her mystical arm glowed and throbbed more. Stronger this time than when she was in the air. As the water returned to a singular drop…before the light consumed her vision.
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“Mineru….are you sure this will work…” Zelda spoke softly, her voice shaky as she stood above the small crater that the various Zonai Assistants work hard at work to excavate. The mythic mechanical whirling as they dug around a stone chest, it was laid with miniature scaffolding and struts. It was a stone granite chest, with the glowing zonai symbol on its latch. It pulsed lightly with the signature sea foam green hue.
“Based on the calculations I have made, and the composition of this hill side soil, it should begin to pierce the surface from erosion and the estimated time of the upheaval you mentioned. I’m sure she will find it.” Mineru spoke with confidence. A melancholy, but sure enough confidence.
“Used the same mathematical theory to determine when she will awaken my stone.” She said with a soft smirk. “Granted…we don’t have an exact time and date….”
Zelda looked at the chest, a small tear falling from her scared cheek. It had healed, but left a sharp line along her once pristine cheek. Her eyes were already swollen, from the night before…Sonia had promised to help bless the project today. It was her idea after all, the fun romantic she was.
“If she does…find it that is…” She held strong for her lost love. But the stress, the pain, and the anxiety of the situation had begun to eat away at her spirit. Rauru was to launch the ‘final assault’ on Ganondorf at dusk. It was calm, before the storm. Before the moment where they were to attempt to stop this madness from happening in the first place. To hopefully change her eventual failure in the future.
She was brought out of her mind's bleak imaginings by the palm of Mineru. The sitting zonai women's eyes are full of concern. “She will find it, Zelda…she will…” Zelda placed her own hand on Mineru’s. Her fingers interlock with the zonai womens.
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As the light begins to crackle before her vision, she gasps as she is brought back to the present day. Her breath ragged, and sweat dripped from her forehead as she looked down at the poking out stone beneath her. Clawing away at the dirt to loosen it, she used her arm to lift and pull it from the grip of time sealed grass.
Out of it, with a crunch and spraying of dirt and gravel was the zonai chest from her vision. Dropping it to the ground beneath her, tears threatening to fall from her eyes, she opened it.
Within it was a canvas wrapping, the small faint zonai energy dissipating around it. She unwrapped it to find a folded, soft, seafoam green fabric. Gently lifting it out of the chest, it unfurled.
It was a silk green tunic. With thick patterns similar to that of zonai writing going along it. Beneath the tunic was a similarly marked cap. It was a soft, gentle seafoam green silk. But both the tunic and the hat were lined with a material that felt chainlink like. Peeking beneath the fabric she noticed a green interlocked mail, the small jade ringlets glowed softly and faintly like a zonai device.
As Marin looked at the material, a parchment, aged and torn, fell from inside. It was rolled up, and tied with what looked to be a hair tie similar to hers. As if on instinct, reaching her hand behind her long and fluffed red hair…only to remember that she had not awoken with a hair tie. It began to hit her all at once. The pain, the memories, as she clutched the letter with her hair tie to her chest. Her throat squeezing out shaken tears and silent cries as she fell to her knees.
She needed to find her…
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Marin…my love.
How long has it been since I have seen you? How long has it been since I was able to feel your warmth behind me?
I pray you find this letter well…I pray to the goddesses that you are safe. I do not know what has become of you since we fell. But I can only imagine what hardships you are facing….I know that we cannot defeat him. Oh how I wish I could. I want to end this madness. I want this torment to end….But it seems fate is not done with either of us. Ever.
Rauru will fight him soon. And that demon will only be sealed…waiting for us to disturb his slumber…
I am writing to say I am sorry. I am sorry for all of this. My failure to stop the calamity, my stupidity to venture under the castle, all of it my stupid fault…
I do not know when…if you’ll find this....I don't know if you’ll find me.
I love you so much. So…so much that the goddess herself couldn’t describe how you make me feel. You’ve kept me safe for so long. You’ve kept me warm and I envy those times again so much. I can only hope this tunic finds you well. It is a gift from Mineru and I…It is now my chance to protect you. From centuries apart…
…but...this is goodbye. I fear that there is no method to properly return me to you. I know what I must do in this coming battle and….I can only pray to the goddess that our souls will meet again…I must become-
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The rest of the message is faded and eroded by time. Rot beginning to eat at the ancient paper. Marin sat with the campfire. Now adorned in the gifted tunic and cap from Zelda. The nutmeg color mare with the royal Hylian saddle grazing a few yards away. She had taken to reading it nightly since finding it. She tilted her head up to the night sky, a soft melancholy smile now on her face as she saw the faint glow in the atmosphere of the great immortal Light Dragon…the soft glow of Zelda. A soft, choked sob escaped her throat as she held back the tears. She could hear the distant roar of the dragon.
She would find a way…she needed her princess back. She would fight the very goddesses to do so….