Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hyrule never thought he’d be happy to hear the sound of a cell door closing him in, but it meant that the pain was over, that Legend was there. That maybe, just for a second, everything could be okay.

“ Hyrule!” Legend shouted, running over to him with the rattle of chains. “Shit, Hyrule, what did they do to you?”

“I’m fine,” he managed, an obvious lie. He winced as he shifted his weight, then gave up altogether and just collapsed down to sit on the floor. “ Ow.”

Legend started checking him over gently, systematically. “Din’s teeth, Rulie, they did a number on you.”

“Y- yeah.” He started to shake, just a bit, despite himself. He’d been through a lot of things, but never something quite like this before. A room full of people who had firmly decided he needed to suffer for no reason other than who his friends were. “I can just-” He raised his hand, placing it on his other arm and calling on his magic.

It burned, like each drop had been trapped in his veins where it started, unable to help, only there to hurt. He yelled, and curled in on himself, breathing heavily as it slowly dispersed.

“ Fuck. ” Legend put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I thought I saw some anti-magic enchantments around here, but I wasn’t sure - you okay, Hyrule?”

Hyrule nodded, embarrassedly wiping away tears. No magic. No weapons, no magic, no way for the rest of the heroes to know where they’d gone. He had nothing.

Except Legend. A steady hand on his shoulder, a practiced strategic mind. A friend and an ally.

Legend could get them out of this. 

“We’re gonna figure this out, okay?” Legend said quietly. “I mean come on, we can’t still be in here when the others find us, we’d never hear the end of it.”

Hyrule gave him a shaky laugh. “Yeah, I guess not.” Legend was confident. They had that, at least. He’d been on six adventures, he’d probably been in much worse spots than this. 

“There’s always a way out,” Legend told him, with that familiar glint of determination in his eye. Hyrule had seen it before, on Legend and on the others - the look of a hero ready to fight.

“We just have to find it, right?” Hyrule asked, trying to steady himself internally. They could do this. He could escape, and never have to go into that room again.

Legend nodded, giving Hyrule’s shoulder a pat. “Right. Easy.”

“Easy,” Hyrule echoed. He moved to sit against the wall, wincing as it pulled at his bruises. 

“You just take a breather while we think, alright?” Legend’s voice was gentle, softer than it usually was. “You’re probably running on a lot of adrenaline right now, so take a nap if you need to when that crash hits.”

Hyrule nodded. It was so nice to have someone who cared. Someone on the adventure with you. Normally, he wouldn’t dare try and rest in a situation like this. But with Legend on watch, he closed his eyes easily and tried to sink into sleep.

It felt like only moments later that Legend was gently shaking his shoulder. “Hyrule. Hyrule, wake up, I hear footsteps.”

Hyrule groaned as he opened his eyes. It felt like his whole body had stiffened, and his joints were throbbing from how he had been yanked around, not to mention the bruises. Once he recognized his surroundings, his heart started racing, and he pushed shakily to his feet, moving towards the back of the cell.

Legend took a half step in front of him, shielding him. Protecting him.

A small group of the men who had kidnapped them rounded the corner, several of them holding torches to brighten the dim room. One of them stepped forward to unlock the cell, pulling the door open and grinning. “Feeling like telling us what your friends are up to, now? We gave you a lot of time to think about it.”

“I think we need a few more hours to mull it over,” Legend told him, with that familiar little tilt of his head that always showed up when he was being sarcastic.

Hyrule’s eyes widened, and he moved to pull gently on one of Legend’s chains, hoping that he’d get the message and stop antagonizing their captors.

“A shame. I guess we need to give you a little more to think over, then.”

Taking another step back, Hyrule grabbed onto the bars at the back of the cell. They’d chained Legend in, he rationalized, he wasn’t abandoning Legend to be taken. He was just… he was getting some space. Something deep in his mind was telling him that if he just stayed still enough, they wouldn’t notice him and they’d move on.

The man at the door took a step back and gestured to two of the others. They stepped into the cell, matching intimidating grins on their faces.

Legend bristled, moving a little further in front of Hyrule, but one of the men swung his torch, forcing Legend to dodge out of the way and giving the other man room to grab Hyrule’s arm.

He struggled, but the grip on his arm was tight and unescapable. Hyrule didn’t think he could talk, didn’t think he could even breathe. He looked up in a panic, and his eyes met Legend’s, probably full of unheroic terror.

Legend, his face illuminated by crackling flames, wavered for just a moment.

It was just long enough for the two men to retreat, Hyrule in tow.

Legend snapped back into action, lunging for the open door with a snarl, but the chains around his wrists stopped him just before he could reach it. 

Hyrule couldn’t breathe. He remembered the last time, what the people had been talking about doing in the second round of injuries. They’d said that was when the knives would come out.

He kept struggling in between the two men holding him, but it was useless. Hyrule stared back at Legend, not knowing what to say, not even thinking he could manage to say it if he did. He just wanted one more moment of reassurance, before he was torn away. 

“Fuck, just - just take me instead!” Legend shouted, straining against the chains. “He doesn’t know anything, it’s me you want.”

The man with the keys - the leader, probably - paused for a moment, as if he was considering it. Then he said “No,” and locked the door again.

Hyrule hadn’t even had time to protest Legend’s offer, but he’d sucked in a breath in surprise, and it had given him enough strength to wrest one of his arms free, for a moment. He tugged against the other man’s grip, but while he was focused on freeing his other arm, the one he’d escaped hit him hard in the head, and Hyrule briefly lost control of his body, blinking back to a view of the floor, both arms held securely again. 

“A good try,” the leader said in a condescending sort of tone, the way you would tell a child they had done a good job. “Not good enough, though.”

He swept off down the hall, back to that room, and Hyrule was dragged helplessly along.

“Hyrule? Hey, Hyrule, can you hear me?”

It was dark. That was the first thing he registered, aside from the voice. It was dark, and cold, and Hyrule started shaking slightly. That hurt, stinging pains all over his body, like scabs reopening. “... Legend?” 

There was a hand in his hair, he registered vaguely. “Yeah, it’s me. You’re… you’re okay, you’re back in here with me.”

“Cell?” Hyrule managed, cracking his eyes open. Yep, that was Legend, face blurry but worried. 

“The cell, yeah,” Legend confirmed. His hand kept carding, slow and steady, through Hyrule’s hair. “How are you feeling?”

Hyrule swallowed. “Shit,” he said, “Did I…” And then he remembered, in vivid flashes, knives. Slicing down, moving through the air towards him- He flinched backwards. “They. They had knives, Legend. It was… Bad.”

“I can see that,” Legend said softly. “Fuck, Hyrule, I’m sorry.”

Shaking his head, Hyrule told him, “Not your fault. You didn’t do it.”

“... Yeah. You’re right, I didn’t.” Legend closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, then opened them again and gave Hyrule a tiny little smile. “And hey, you can fix all that up as soon as we’re out.”

“Yeah,” Hyrule said quietly, staring down at the shackles around Legend’s wrists. “When we get out.”

“No sweat, we’ll figure something out,” Legend assured him. “The good news is they don’t patrol through here very often, so we’ve got a lot of time to ourselves to think.”

“Okay.” Hyrule could do this. He could believe it when Legend said they’d get out. He had to believe it. He tried to sit up, wincing at the flashes of pain in his side and back.

Legend’s hand shifted to his shoulder. “Hey, stay down, Hyrule. Give those cuts some time to scab over.”

“They gave me some potion, I think,” Hyrule said, trying to remember, “They should be scabbed by now, right? Or maybe not….” He couldn’t quite remember, and it scared him.

“Let’s play it safe.” Legend didn’t look happy at the mention of a potion, and Hyrule wondered with a spike of anxiety why. 

“I’ll stay here, but just for a bit. Until the scabs start forming.” Hyrule couldn’t stand the thought of being vulnerably laid out on his back when their captors returned.

Legend took another deep breath, then nodded. “Alright. Just for a little bit.”

Hyrule nodded back, closing his eyes. Immeasurably reassured by the hand in his hair, somehow. With his eyes closed, they could be at a makeshift camp after a long day of fighting, and although no-one had touched his hair for more than a few seconds, he’d seen some of the others doing it. 

It felt nice.

“Go to sleep if you need to,” Legend murmured. “I’ll wake you up. Promise.”

Hyrule managed a shaky smile. “Thanks.” He shifted his legs slightly to put less pressure on the injuries along his side and back, and slowly sank into unconsciousness.

True to his word, Legend gently shook him awake a while later, then helped him sit up against the bars of their cell while he talked over some of his escape ideas.

“We know where the keys are,” Legend reminded him, biting his lower lip in thought. “If they’re smart, they’ll have separate keys for my chains. If they’re not, they’re all on the same ring. We just need to get our hands on them and find our gear, and then we can fight our way out of here if we need to.”

Hyrule nodded, feeling slightly better now that they had a plan. 

Legend hummed thoughtfully. “Do you remember any of the layout? You’ve seen more of the place than I have.”

“We’re on a lower level, definitely. They took me up stairs, then to the left, but there were more stairs going further up. Maybe they lead to the exit?” It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

“Higher ground is higher ground, even if it isn’t an exit,” Legend said with a nod. “I should have a potion in my bag somewhere, so once we find that, we can get you taken care of. And if all else fails, we ditch our stuff and go find the others, then come back for it.”

“Sounds good.” Hyrule looked down at the floor, trying not to think about what would happen when the men came back. 

Legend put a careful arm around Hyrule’s shoulders. “Hey. We’ll be okay, Rulie. We’ve been through worse, right?”

Hyrule nodded. “Normally I just get to know when it’s gonna happen.”

“... Yeah. That does suck.” Legend hesitated, then said “At least we get advanced warning, though. The torches aren’t subtle.”

“True.” 

Legend started very carefully running his hand up and down Hyrule’s arm. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Hyrule nodded. He wished he would start believing that, but it was still nice to hear Legend say it. And Legend was, well, a legend. Hyrule had grown up on stories about him, if anyone could get them out it would be him. “And if we don’t manage to escape, the others will find us.” 

“Right. But we’ll be long gone by then, remember?” Legend said with a little smile.

“Yeah.” Hyrule tried to smile back. He wasn’t sure how convincing it was. “Do you think they’ll bring food?”

“They’d be even more stupid than I think they are if they didn’t.”

“That’s good.” Hyrule looked down at his feet and the floor. He hated having nothing to do, he hated being trapped. Just waiting for something horrible to happen.

Footsteps down the corridor. And a moment later, the glow of torches.

“Shit,” Legend hissed, scrambling to his feet. “I was hoping we’d have longer.”

Hyrule grabbed onto the bars and hauled himself upright as well, hissing a little at the pain before smothering the noise. It wouldn’t be safe to express around their captors.

Legend hesitated for a moment, then reached over to give Hyrule’s shoulder a quick little squeeze. “It’ll be okay, Rulie. I promise.”

Hyrule nodded, moving back to the wall of the cell furthest from the door and placing a hand on Legend’s arm to try and move him back too. He followed, reluctantly, but kept himself between Hyrule and the door.

A moment later, their captors came into view. The same man as before was leading them, and he leaned almost casually against the door of the cell. “So, boys, what do we think? Ready to talk yet?”

“I think you know the answer to that.” Legend’s voice was cold as ice. Apparently he was done with the sarcasm, which was honestly a relief. It had felt much too dangerous to be worth using.

The man sighed. “That really is unfortunate. We’ve been so accommodating, too. Ah, well, nothing for it, then.” He unlocked the cell and opened the door, making a mocking sort of sweeping gesture toward the two of them. 

Legend growled, soft and low, and stepped a little further in front of Hyrule, whose grip tightened on his shoulder.

Two men - different, this time - stepped into the cell, and once again, used torches to force Legend back. He nearly didn’t move, but the heat and the aggression forced him away from Hyrule with a shout of rage and frustration. While one man held him back, the other grabbed Hyrule’s arm and dragged him toward the door.

This time, Hyrule fought before even being taken away from the bars. He tried to kick the man, to pull his arm out of his grip, and almost got himself free before the one who had been keeping Legend back caught his other arm in a tight hold.

Legend used the moment of inattention to lunge at him, and only barely managed to dodge out of the way as the man swung his torch again.

“Legend!” Hyrule called out in a panic, half because of his near miss, and half because he was being dragged off again, to a type of torture he didn’t even know, and if anyone could stop it, could save him, it was the hero of legend. Pinned by two huge men, dragged out of a door, it was reminding him of being kicked out of towns when he was a child. He felt just as small now as he had then.

Maybe the hero of legend hadn’t been there then, but he was now. He could do something, right? 

Legend’s gaze snapped to him instantly, and there was a flicker of something in his eyes that turned to steely determination. He turned to glare at the man in charge. “I told you already, he doesn’t know anything! You want me, not him!”

“Legend, don’t!” Hyrule stopped struggling, allowing the men to take him closer and closer to the hallway. “It’s not worth it, I’ll be okay!” If they were both injured, they had a far worse chance of making it out of the cell. As much as he was wishing to be literally anywhere else, he wasn’t willing to have his friend take his place. He could bear this. He could. 

He had to be able to.

Legend glanced back over at him, and - very subtly, barely more than a brush of his fingers - signed promise. Then he turned his attention back to the leader. “Take me instead.”

“You know,” the leader mused, “I’m curious what you would do to convince us.”

“What would it take?” Legend asked, and Hyrule could hear the ragged edges, the rage, the fear.

The man hummed, tapping a finger against the bars. “You’re making a lot of demands, here. I think you should ask more nicely.” 

Legend took a deep breath, his hands curling into fists. “... Please.”

“Mm, no, nicer than that,” the leader said with a grin. “Come on, your friend’s wellbeing is on the line here, be convincing.”

“Legend, you don’t have to. Don’t do it, I’m okay-” Hyrule’s voice was muffled by the hand of one of the guards, and he started to flail instinctually. 

Legend glanced over to him, his expression unreadable. The strong, confident, capable hero, wavering in the face of this choice. Then he took another breath, this one shakier than the last, and sank to his knees, bowing his head. “... Please don’t hurt him. Please, he’s just a kid, take me instead. Please.”

Hyrule would have gasped, if he had the air for it. This felt… this felt wrong. Deeply wrong, for Legend to be kneeling to some criminal kidnapper. To be begging for Hyrule’s safety.

This wasn’t worth the cost to Legend. 

He tried to bite the hand over his mouth, but the man was holding his jaw shut.

The leader laughed. “That will do! Uncuff him so we can get him out here, would you, boys?”

The man not holding Hyrule’s mouth shut went to retrieve the keys - same ring - and unlocked one of Legend’s wrists. The cuff was snapped closed on Hyrule’s wrist instead, no matter how much he tried to struggle and twist away. Then the second cuff was transferred, the man holding Hyrule let go, and Legend was led out of the cell with a hand on his collar.

He wasn’t even fighting.

“No, don’t- he’s more valuable alive than I am!” Hyrule tried desperately, now that his mouth was free, “he won’t tell you anything!”

No one paid him any attention. The leader locked the cell again, and they led Legend down the hallway, silent and cooperative in a way Legend never was.

Hyrule kept yelling until their footsteps completely faded. It didn’t make any difference.

Hyrule hadn’t even wanted to sit down until they brought Legend back, but after an hour of painful standing he reasoned that it was better to save his strength than stave off his anxiety.

This was his fault, any way you looked at it. He hadn’t been handling the… injuries well enough, and Legend felt like he had to step in. To defend him, to protect Hyrule. He was supposed to be a hero!

He tried not to think about the wave of shameful relief he had felt when Legend had started talking, started bargaining. The relief had quickly turned terribly sour. 

As soon as he saw the torchlight, he pressed to his feet, terrified and eager- he’d get to see Legend again, they wouldn’t be bringing him back if he was dead- but also, he’d have to see what wounds Legend had taken for him. 

He didn’t see Legend, at first, and he nearly started to panic until the leader unlocked the cell and the group parted, revealing Legend being half carried, half dragged. He looked awful, covered in cuts and bruises.

“We’ll see you boys in a few hours!” the man in charge said cheerily as his thugs just about threw Legend into the cell, and then he locked the door again and swept away.

Hyrule fell to his knees next to Legend, chains just barely letting him reach to where they’d left him. “Legend!” His voice broke, “Legend, are you- can you open your eyes, please?” He tried to soften his tone despite the panic.

Legend made a sound that was somewhere between a question and a whine, and his eyes fluttered open, just a bit. His gaze was hazy and far away.

“Legend, it’s me. What-” what did they do to you? The worst question he could ask, probably. “Where does it hurt most? Should I move you?”

Another soft, pained sound, and Legend curled in on himself, just a little. He wrapped his arms around his stomach like a shield and squeezed his eyes shut again.

“Your stomach?” Hyrule didn’t know what to do, especially without his magic. He took a deep breath. “It’s gonna be okay, Legend. Here-” he shifted so that he was sitting next to Legend, braced against the bars near the door, and carefully lifted Legend’s head to lay it on one of his legs. 

Legend curled a little tighter and grabbed onto Hyrule’s pant leg. He was at least aware enough to know that he was safe with Hyrule, which was… that was good.

“Just rest,” Hyrule told him shakily. “You’ll feel better when you wake up.” He wasn’t sure whether it was a lie or not.

Legend had opened his eyes several times in the last few hours, but they hadn’t looked clear or focused. He’d closed them again after some small reassurance- Hyrule wasn’t sure if the words were getting through at all- but this time he was visibly more coherent.

“... Hey, Rulie.” Legend’s voice was raspy, and the little smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth was only a pale imitation of his normal smile, but he was awake and he was talking.

“Hey,” Hyrule said, a little breathlessly. “How are you feeling?” It was probably a bad question, but without his magic, he really couldn’t tell.

Legend stretched out his legs and stifled a groan. “Like I got run over by a lynel a few times.”

It was possible. Hyrule had no idea what had happened in that room. He could only guess, and his guesses were almost scarier than the reality. 

“It was pretty bad,” He admitted, “You’ve been… out of it for a while.” 

“Yeah, that’s probably the blood loss - they might’ve hit my head a few times, too, I don’t know.” Legend made a face. “It got, as you might imagine, a little blurry. You were right, though, I’m pretty sure they gave me a potion afterward.”

Hyrule winced. “You said that was a bad sign, right?”

Legend sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah. It means they’re prepared to do this for a while, and it means they can get away with doing worse things repeatedly without killing us. But that’s… you know, it’ll be fine, we can work with this. The plan hasn’t changed.”

“...Oh.” Hyrule hadn’t considered that. “It means they want us alive though, right?” For now.

“Yeah, that’s the good news. The other good news is we won’t be in awful shape for very long, since I’m pretty sure they broke my leg at one point, but -” Legend tapped his heel against the floor. “Fine now.”

Hyrule was sure that he wasn’t masking the horror on his face well enough.

Legend’s expression softened. “Hey, I’m okay. We’ll get out of here, it’ll be okay. I promised, didn’t I?”

Hyrule nodded. He wasn’t sure if it was to reassure himself or Legend, at this point. 

“I don’t break promises, you know that,” Legend told him, reaching up to grab Hyrule’s hand. “And good eye with the staircase, I think that’s our best bet. We’ll be out of here before you know it.”

It didn’t feel like enough, not with the knowledge that Legend’s leg had been broken a few hours ago. He squeezed Legend’s hand back gently. “You were right about the keys, they’re on the same ring.”

Legend grinned, a little weakly, but a grin all the same. “Told you they were stupid.”

Hyrule returned the grin as best as he could. “Now what?”

“We just need to find the right time to grab them,” Legend said, glancing toward the cell door as best he could. “Ideally we would grab them as they’re putting me back in here, but uh. There might be some problems with that.”

Hyrule nodded. “I guess there’s no way to save or steal some potion, is there? For an escape?”

“I’ll do my best, but probably not,” Legend sighed.

“Hey, we’ll do our best. We don’t know who they’ll take next time,” Hyrule protested.

“... Right,” Legend said, and something about it sounded off. “We’ll do our best.”

Hyrule felt supremely useless. No prior experience in this situation, no magic, and now Legend taking the injuries that had been, that should have been going to him. 

We’ll do our best, Legend had said. Hyrule was almost completely certain he hadn’t meant it. 

“... How long has it been?” Legend asked quietly.

“At least a few hours,” Hyrule admitted. He gentled his tone as Legend quieted. “They haven’t been back.”

“Wonder if they plan to let us actually sleep,” Legend said, his tone falsely light.

Hyrule hadn’t even considered that. “They have been, so far.” 

Legend nodded. “I can watch for a while, if you need to sleep.”

“I’m okay.” Like hell would Hyrule let Legend take watch when he’d just barely woken up. “You need the sleep more.”

“... Are you sure?”

“Definitely.” When he’d been slightly delirious, Legend had been running his hand through Hyrule’s hair. Hyrule lifted a hesitant hand and patted Legend’s head gently, pulling back to see how it was received.

Legend blinked, surprised, but then he glanced up at Hyrule and gave him a small, hesitant smile.

Hyrule put his hand back, ruffling through the strands of Legend’s hair, before moving into a more regular motion, like Legend had been doing for him. “Go to sleep, Legend. I’m watching.”

Legend made a small noise of protest, but after a minute, his eyes fluttered shut, and his breathing began to even out, slow and deep.

Hyrule was tired. And he hurt. But not as much as Legend did. He could do this. He was a hero, he could be strong for a while.

Chapter Text

Legend managed to not fall on his face as he was shoved back into the cell, though it was a close thing. He still had just enough adrenaline-fueled energy to turn and glare at their captors as they walked away, not that it did much. If they even noticed.

Hyrule was already rushing over to him, holding out a steadying hand and checking him over for injuries. “Are you okay? What did they do?”

“I -” Legend started, but that was a bad idea, evidently, because speaking reminded his lungs of the abuse they had just endured. He started coughing, and then he couldn’t stop.  

“Hey, hey, take a breath, if you can-” Hyrule carefully lowered him to the ground so he was in a sitting position against the bars.

Legend wheezed, trying desperately to get breaths of air between the awful, racking coughs. After a few seconds that felt like hours, his lungs stopped seizing, and he was able to take a full, shaky breath.

There were tiny droplets of water on his hand.

“Shit,” Hyrule said faintly, before visibly gathering himself. “Okay, we can deal with this. Just- water. It’s just water-” he looked up worriedly at Legend. “What do you do for water in the lungs?”

Legend didn’t want to think about water in his lungs. His neck muscles - not gills, he did not have gills right now - spasmed, and he had to take another breath to keep himself from falling into another coughing fit. “Uh… I-I don’t know.”

Eyes widening, Hyrule looked completely panicked for a moment, then moved to sit down in front of Legend. “Okay. You’ve just got to hang on until the next time they give you a potion.”

“I don’t think there’s that much water in me, really,” Legend said in a tone he hoped was reassuring. “I’ve definitely inhaled more water than this before, it’s… it’s fine.”

Of course, that had been when he was able to just switch to breathing water, which was handy for fixing problems like this. But Hyrule looked panicked enough as it was, he didn’t need details.

“Okay. Okay, that’s good.” Hyrule nodded several times, nervous energy manifesting itself. He glanced to the side, clearly thinking hard about something.

“What is it?” Legend asked, very carefully not thinking about how hoarse he sounded.

“... I just, I can’t figure out why they didn’t listen to me. When I… asked to be taken back instead of you.” Hyrule poked at the floor.

Ah.

Listening to Hyrule beg, just like he had, to bear the torture had been awful. Legend was pretty sure it would feature in his nightmares. Hyrule had nearly been sobbing by the time Legend lost sight of him, and that had torn at his heartstrings like nothing else so far. He had actually said thank you to Hylia that their captors had ignored Hyrule’s pleading.

“... I guess they decided I’ve got the information they want,” he said with a little shrug.

Hyrule nodded, still not meeting his eyes. “There’s no way to convince them I have it too, probably, without giving something up. And obviously that’s a terrible idea.”

… Unless -

The people holding them were stupid, but they weren’t idiots. They knew Hyrule had that information, or at least some of it. They weren’t focusing on Legend because they thought Hyrule didn’t have anything to tell them.

They were focusing on Legend because they thought that was what would break Hyrule.

And they might be right.

Legend took another shaky breath, trying to convince himself that the tremor was because of the waterboarding. He couldn’t break, it was that simple. Not just in giving them information - he would never tell them anything, not when it put his friends in danger - but every other way, too. He had to stay strong, because if he broke, Hyrule might break too.

“Legend?” Hyrule looked worried. “Did you hear me? Is something wrong?”

He coughed again, though it was just one this time. “I’m fine, I just - it kind of feels like there’s something in my throat, I got distracted. Sorry.”

“No, that’s okay,” Hyrule hurried to say, “take your time, of course. I’m so-” he cut himself off before he could apologize again, looking resigned and regretful.

“... Yeah, I think - I think there isn’t a way to convince them you have any intel,” Legend said, forcing himself to sit up a little straighter. “It’ll be okay, though. I’ve had worse.”

Hyrule bit his lip. “Still awful, though. I wish I could heal you.”

“I know you would if you could, Rulie,” Legend said quietly.

Hyrule nodded, shifting over to sit next to him and hesitantly holding out his hand.

Legend took it, giving his hand a squeeze and trying to ignore the squeeze in his heart. “It’s just water. I’ll be okay until the next time they give me a potion.”

“You will be.” An attempt to reassure him, but it lacked the confidence necessary to be convincing.

“Nice to know you believe in me,” Legend said with a little twitch of a smile, tilting his head back against the bars to stare at the ceiling. “Imagine what the others would say if I was taken out by a little water. The captain would never let me hear the end of it.”

“Definitely not.” Hyrule seemed to be on more stable ground with the hint of their usual banter. 

Legend didn’t really feel like he could take a full breath, anymore. He decided not to mention that to Hyrule. “He and the rancher both. I know they would come up with as many stupid water puns as they could, just to get a rise out of me.”

“They’d owe you one, though. You could just bring that up and they’d have to stop,” Hyrule said. 

“That’s true,” Legend conceded. “If they wanted to tease me about getting tortured, they should have gotten kidnapped instead. I’m being so selfless and not telling anybody anything.”

Hyrule nodded very seriously. “Next time, it’s their turn.”

“Next time it’s their turn,” Legend groaned. He could keep it together for Hyrule’s sake, he could, he just… didn’t think he could do this again.

One of the most important parts of being an adventurer was learning to see opportunities. A chance for shelter, food, rest, a weak spot in an enemy’s armor, a puzzle solution, it was all about paying attention. Even when you were exhausted, even when you were injured, paying attention could save your life.

Legend paid attention.

He paid attention to where the leader kept the keys to their cell, and he definitely paid attention when he was half dragged back to where Hyrule was still locked up, and he nearly brushed against the leader’s side.

Another important part of being an adventurer: learning to pickpocket.

Their captors walked away, Hyrule hurried over to make sure he was okay and fret over all of his new injuries, and Legend waited until he was sure they were alone before holding up the key to the cell and grinning.

Hyrule gasped, keeping his voice low even as his eyes went wide in startled surprise. “Legend, that’s incredible!” 

“They’re losers and apparently suck at noticing things,” Legend said with a roll of his eyes, still grinning. “Ready to get out of here?”

“Hell yes,” Hyrule sighed in relief. “Do you know where they put our stuff?” 

Legend shook his head. “No idea, I think we’ll have to go with the ditching our stuff plan. The others can help us get it back once we’re out.”

“Got it.” Face going serious, Hyrule gestured to the door, moving to nearly touch it. “Open it!”

“Give me a minute,” Legend huffed, but he couldn’t make himself sound actually annoyed as he stuck his arms through the bars to get at the lock. After a moment of trying to find the thing, he grinned as the lock clicked and the door swung open. “Hell yes, now we’re in business.”

He turned back to Hyrule, ready to just grab him and get the hell out, but faltered upon seeing the sad smile on Hyrule’s face and the glint of metal on his wrists.

“Go get the others,” Hyrule said, “The plan’s still the same.” He gave Legend a determined nod, but the slight clink of the chains attaching him to the back wall betrayed the shake of his hands.

“... Rulie, what -” It hit Legend, suddenly, that Hyrule had made this realization before he had. They only had one key, and it unlocked the cell. Hyrule had noticed and hadn’t said anything. “What the fuck, Hyrule.”

“It makes sense!” Hyrule protested, keeping his voice quiet, even though there wasn’t any approaching torchlight. “Once the others find this place, we’re both saved. Who does it doesn’t matter.” He stepped slightly closer, raising his hand towards Legend’s position in the doorway as far as the chain would let it go. “You’ve been taking on a lot for me, let me do this for you. Please.” 

Please, Hyrule had screamed, and Legend couldn’t contain a flinch. “I - Hyrule, I’m not leaving you, I’m not gonna do that!”

“You have to!” Hyrule made a sweeping gesture, and every clank of the chains made Legend feel worse. “We literally do not have a choice. Every second you don’t move they could be figuring out the keys are gone. You have to go now.”

Leave Hyrule? Abandon his friend, this kid who was rapidly becoming a brother? Leave him to suffer the punishment for Legend’s inability to think things through for once? 

“No,” he said sharply, trying to force back the panic taking root in his chest. “No, we - we can figure this out, we can -”

“We don’t have the time to argue about this!” Hyrule said frantically, “One of us on the outside is better than anything else we could have right now. You’d be saving both of us!”

“I am not gonna just leave you -”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

Legend flinched and whirled around at the sudden voice, only to shield his eyes at the bright flare of torches being lit. When he had blinked the spots from his vision, his heart sank into his boots as he saw the leader of their captors standing in front of him, flanked by his men.

“Legend,” Hyrule hissed, “run!” 

“Run and he dies,” the leader said almost conversationally.

Legend wasn’t sure how serious that threat was. He didn’t know how much Hyrule was truly worth to them, how much he was truly worth to them. But he couldn’t take that chance. Not when this whole mess was his fault.

When he didn’t move, the leader smiled and held out an expectant hand. “Wonderful. Now, I believe you have something of mine.”

The key was biting into Legend’s hand from how tightly he was holding it.

Slowly, he took a step forward and dropped the key into his captor’s hand, and felt a good chunk of his hope drop away with it.

Hyrule was silent, but he was pulling against his chains hard enough that Legend could hear them snapping back and forth as he tried to reach the doorway.

Legend went to pull his hand back, to go back in the cell like a good obedient little prisoner, when one of the goons suddenly grabbed his wrist. Before he had time to do more than shout in alarm, more hands were grabbing him, and he was wrestled to the floor and pinned. Legend tried to push away the familiar terror of being trapped, of being hunted, and thrashed as much as he could.

“Stop! It was my idea, don’t hurt him!” Hyrule tried desperately.

“Unfortunately, he was the one outside the cell,” the leader said with mock sadness. He rolled up his sleeves and took a large metal rod from one of his men, then shook his head with a little tsk tsk sound. “Which means he will need to be taught not to do it again.”

And without much more warning, he slammed the rod down on Legend’s leg.

Legend screamed as the bone shattered, the feeling burning through him like fire in his veins. He’d endured broken bones before, of course he had, but it never got any easier.

Just as the initial flare of pain was starting to recede, something in his leg was twisted, and as he let out another sound of agony, cold glass was set against his lips and he tasted the bitter sweetness of a healing potion.

The magic - familiar, and so often a source of relief, of safety - worked its eager way through his shattered leg, and Legend kept thrashing, trying in vain to pull away from the hands pinning the bone in place wrong. He felt it as the bone grew back together in a horribly unnatural way, as the potion knit the fragments back wrong wrong wrong.

It hurt.

The leader swung the metal rod thoughtfully. “There, I think that will do the trick. Throw him back in.”

As they hauled him upright, Legend automatically tried to stand, only for his knee to buckle at the pain and the wrongness and the feeling of bone digging into muscle and skin where there shouldn’t have been any. He breathed, holding onto what was happening around him by his fingernails. He couldn’t zone out now, Hyrule needed him.

“Wait,” the leader said suddenly as the thugs were about to toss Legend in. “If it was your idea, my friend, then we need to make sure you don’t get any more ideas like it.” He glanced to another one of his men. “Why don’t you go shorten those chains? I think by half will about do it.”

The man nodded with a vicious grin, and rounded the cell to pull Hyrule’s chains in tighter. Legend watched, all of his weight on his good leg, as Hyrule was pulled away from him, step by unwilling step.

His heart hurt worse than his leg did.

Once the leader deemed Hyrule’s reach short enough, Legend was thrown back into the cell, and the door was locked behind them.

“I hope you two will behave yourselves this time,” the leader told them with a smile and a pat of the bars, and then they were alone again.

Hyrule pulled at the chains desperately, unable to reach Legend, seeming stunned into silence by what he had just witnessed. 

Legend took a breath, not looking down at his leg by sheer force of will, and carefully pulled himself across the floor of the cell until Hyrule could reach him.

Hyrule lifted shaking hands to Legend’s face, holding it for a second while he took in the damage. His eyes were welling with tears. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, barely audible.

“It isn’t your fault,” Legend replied at the same volume, and he tried to blink back tears of his own. “I’m the one who didn’t think to grab the key to your cuffs.”

“You were probably concussed and partially drowning,” Hyrule protested, “It’s not your fault. I just wish-” he glanced down at Legend’s leg and his face paled, then he very carefully refocused his gaze on Legend’s face. “I wish you’d run when you had the chance.”

Legend shook his head. “I’m not gonna just - just leave you. We’ll figure something else out, we can - it’ll be okay. We’re getting out together.”

Hyrule opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. Putting on what was probably supposed to be a reassuring look, he nodded. “Okay. We can do that.”

“We can,” Legend said with a firm nod, trying to show Hyrule more confidence than he felt. “We don’t leave each other behind, that’s not how this whole friendship thing works.”

“Okay. Sorry, I just…” Hyrule shrugged, “I’m not really great at the friends thing yet, I guess. I didn’t know that.”

Legend gave him a pat on the arm, suddenly feeling very, very tired. “We’ll work on it.”

“We have plenty of time,” Hyrule said, with what was almost a laugh. 

“No, he’s with the others, we don’t have him yet,” Legend said almost on instinct, then paused, vaguely horrified, as he realized what he’d just said. “Wow. Okay. Please ignore that. I never said it and it didn’t happen. I’m woozy from pain.”

“I don’t know, I think it’s probably gonna be the highlight of our time here,” Hyrule sighed. “But yes, you are woozy from pain. Is there- are there any positions your leg can be in that don’t hurt? So you can rest?”

Legend took a second to shift his leg a little bit, wincing, then eventually concluded “It doesn’t really hurt if I don’t move it. Mostly.”

Hyrule gave him a serious nod. “Okay. so we won’t move it. Do you think pressure could help? I could turn my tunic into some sort of bandage.”

“No, I think - I think just leaving it alone is our best bet,” Legend said, and he really hoped that the vague nausea that came with thinking about the state his leg had to be in wasn’t visible on his face. He really wanted to stop thinking about it. Or about anyone touching it. Or about moving it.

“We can probably splint it pretty quickly, once we get out,” Hyrule offered, probably seeing some sort of distress on his face. 

Legend nodded, because he had to be strong here and that meant he had to think positive. “Right. I can’t really put weight on it, I don’t think, but if we can get me some sort of crutch I can still be mobile.”

Hyrule nodded back, and shifted the conversation into different supplies that would be most important to them when they got out of the cell. 

Legend tried to focus on the conversation, because it really was important. They would need to prioritize after they got out of here, especially if they were in a more remote area, and it paid to lay the groundwork of that early on. But the adrenaline was fading, and even though the potion had healed most of the damage done to him earlier, there was still a low, pulsing sort of ache settling into his mess of a leg, sapping his energy.

He barely noticed when he was guided down to rest his head in Hyrule’s lap, and the quiet murmur that he could rest for a bit.

Chapter Text

Hyrule couldn’t be there to physically support Legend when he was thrown in anymore. He was stuck halfway across the cell, useless, and Legend had to awkwardly limp over -when they were lucky- or crawl, when they were not. 

Hyrule hated it. It made him feel useless, and it probably felt even worse for Legend. But he tried not to let it show. At this point, they just had to keep going until the others found them. The others could fix this, as long as he kept Legend alive.

He watched as their captors shoved Legend into the cell, and winced as he stumbled over his injured leg, crashing to the floor.

The leader laughed as he locked the door behind him, then led the others away, just like usual. What was not like usual was the way Legend was curled on the ground, not moving even after the torchlight had vanished around the corner.

“Legend?” Hyrule tried gently, stretching out a useless arm until the cuffs pulled against his wrist. 

Legend curled into a little bit tighter of a ball, making a soft, choked-back whining sort of sound.

“Hey, it’s just me,” Hyrule lowered his voice even more, “Legend, I’m right over here. Can you move?”

“Hurts.” The word was a weak little rasp.

Oh, goddesses. “I know,” Hyrule barely managed, “I’m sorry. I know it hurts, they- they’ll come back and make it worse, but then they’ll make it better, okay? Just- just hold on. They won’t let you die.”

Legend took a deep, shuddering breath. “It hurts, Rulie.”

“I know,” he said, body shaking with the sheer emotion he was feeling. “I’m so sorry, Legend.” Hyrule sank to his knees, bowing his head, arms still reaching uselessly towards Legend- a distance he’d never be able to cross. “If you can make it over here, you can lie down more comfortably.” It was all he had to offer. 

There was a moment where Legend didn’t move. Then, slowly, he started pulling himself closer to Hyrule, inch by inch. He had to pause a few times to breathe through gritted teeth, and Hyrule could see the blood, now. They hadn’t healed him this time.

Hyrule kept up a steady stream of reassurance right up until he could finally reach Legend. Once their hands could touch, he asked, “Do you want- do you want me to drag you the rest of the way?”

Legend closed his eyes tightly, his shoulders shaking, then nodded.

Reaching out as gently as possible, Hyrule carefully gripped Legend’s wrists, and pulled him over. Quickly taking off his outer tunic, he laid it on the ground to form whatever barrier he could form the cold of the stone floor, and shifted to lay Legend down on it, holding his head up and then shifting to lay Legend’s head in his lap.

Legend’s face was tight with pain, and his breathing was shallower than Hyrule was comfortable with, but after a moment without moving, he cracked an eye open to look up at Hyrule. 

“Are you bleeding badly anywhere? Should I wrap your injuries, or do you want me to, uh,” sit here and pet your hair? It sounded awkward, even in this situation, but Hyrule knew how much it had helped him when he was in pain.

“Not gonna - bleed out,” Legend managed, and glancing over all of the cuts and bruises, Hyrule didn’t see any terrifyingly large patches of red. “Just…” He trailed off, taking another deep, shaky breath.

“Yeah.” Hyrule ran a hand through his hair, gently picking through the clumps of dirt and dried blood. “I’ve got you. It’ll- you’re safe right now.”

Legend wordlessly leaned into the touch, closing his eyes again. He was shaking, just a little.

Hyrule lifted his head to look up at the ceiling, so his tears would trail down his neck instead of falling onto Legend’s hair.

“... I wanna go home,” Legend whispered, so quiet Hyrule barely heard it, curling in on himself just a little. “Miss… miss Rav.”

“I’m sorry,” Hyrule said helplessly. He didn’t know that hearing something like this could make you ache almost as much as a wound- something new about having friends, he supposed. “You can go home soon, I… I promise.”

Legend just hummed at the words. Hyrule didn’t know if he believed them.

“The others will get here,” Hyrule continued, “and they’ll give you potions and get us out of here, and then I can fix your leg. And you can go home for as long as you want, okay?”

Legend laughed, quiet and bitter and so full of pain. “Hylia’s - Hylia’s not done yet, I don’t think, Rule.”

“Hylia can let you have some time off.” Hyrule wasn’t sure if it was true, but he was going to say it anyway. “You did all this to defend the group, so she should return the favor.”

“Should,” Legend huffed. “Doesn’t.”

Hyrule didn’t know what to say to that. Eventually, he tried, “do you think you can rest for a bit? I’ll keep watch.”

Legend leaned a little further into the hand still resting in his hair. “Know you will.” He was asleep a minute later.

After a few hours, the guards brought food. Hyrule coaxed Legend awake to eat what he could. There wasn’t much, so Hyrule told him that he’d already eaten his own portion before waking Legend up. He’d gotten by on less before. He did take some of the water, though, out of necessity.

Thankfully, Legend didn’t question him. The pang of guilt from lying about it was softened considerably by watching Legend eat a reasonable portion.

“... How long has it been?” Legend asked, his voice still a little hoarse but much better than it had been. He was also significantly more present than he had been when he fell asleep, which Hyrule took as a good sign.

“Hard to tell, down here,” Hyrule admitted, “But maybe three or four days?”

Legend nodded, wincing. “Yeah, that would be my guess. That’s… that’s long enough for the others to figure out where we are, they’ll be coming for us soon.”

“But we’ll be out by then,” Hyrule said, trying to project confidence. Say it like it was a fact and not a wish.

“... Yeah,” Legend whispered, and Hyrule caught him glancing at his bad leg. “Yeah, we’ll - we’ll be out by then.”

Legend couldn’t stand- even on his good leg- by the time their captors came to take him away again. It seemed like the same thing as before at first, Hyrule begging to be taken instead and being thoroughly ignored, but as soon as he said please, just leave him alone for a few days, the leader turned to look at him consideringly. 

“A few days is a long time,” he said with a thoughtful sort of expression. “Tell you what. Convince me, and I might agree to one day.”

Hyrule took a step back so he could sink to his knees without the chains pulling him upwards. “Please,” he said, almost disturbed by how used to this he was by now. “You’ve been taking him so often, he’s going to die if you keep this up. Please, just leave him alone for a day. As long as you’ll give us, just give him a break, please.” His voice shook, despite his efforts to hold it steady. 

The leader hummed thoughtfully, looking at Hyrule, then at Legend, then back to Hyrule. “... You know what, more time for him to think things over might do some good, you’re right. A day, then.” He waved a hand toward the men holding Legend, and they let him drop. Legend hit the ground with a sharp sound of pain, but it was ignored by the thugs, who quickly left the cell.

Hyrule slumped in relief, looking up at the leader and seeing something expectant in his eyes. Ducking his head, Hyrule whispered, “... Thank you.”

“I’m glad you understand how generous I’m being,” the leader said with a smile. “One day.”

And then he turned and left, his men following.

“Legend?” Hyrule tried, pretty sure that he was still conscious.

“... I think -” Legend pushed himself up onto his elbows with a huff of pain. “I think that may… may not have been a smart idea, Rulie.”

Hyrule frowned. “Oh shit, because you don’t get the potion now?”

“... They’re gonna leave us alone,” Legend said, and there was a hint of fear in his eyes. “All the way alone.”

Hyrule felt a sudden spike of panic. He turned, but the men were already too far gone to even see their torchlight. “Oh goddesses, Legend, I’m so sorry. I didn’t- I said to leave you alone, do you think he meant-”

Legend shook his head, and started the careful process of crawling across the floor of the cell. “It’s not your fault. You’re trying to help.”

It definitely felt like it was his fault. But he knew arguing the point would just upset Legend, and he should keep his strength up, so Hyrule just nodded. 

“It’s just a day,” Hyrule added, “we can do that.”

“We can do that,” Legend agreed, and he sounded so tired.

“You should rest,” Hyrule said worriedly. “While we can, you know?”

Legend was quiet until he was finally close enough to slump against Hyrule’s side. “We should… we should plan. We’ve got a day to sit and talk.”

“That’s true,” Hyrule said, feeling the tiniest bit better about the deal he’d made. 

“... I don’t think I can get the keys again,” Legend mumbled.

Hyrule was quick to reassure him. “That’s okay, we can figure something else out. If I can convince them to take me again, maybe-”

“No.” It was the strongest word Hyrule had heard from him in the past several hours.

“It makes the most sense!” Hyrule protested, “they’ll have to let you rest sometime.”

“They are. Right now.”

“...Right.” Shit. Hyrule really had messed things up. 

Legend took a deep breath. “... It’ll be okay. We’ll… we’ll figure it out.”

“We will,” Hyrule confirmed. He thought he might be getting better at lying. “You should rest.”

Legend shook his head, stubborn as ever, though Hyrule could see him starting to doze off.

“It’s a good idea,” Hyrule said softly, hoping Legend would fall asleep whether he wanted to or not.

“You’re gonna sit here and feel guilty until I wake up,” Legend mumbled, obviously fighting to keep his eyes open. “Don’t wanna do that to you.”

“I would probably be doing that anyway,” Hyrule admitted, “so it doesn’t really matter. Go to sleep, Legend. I’ll keep watch.”

Legend sighed, like a cat settling in for a nap. “I know.”

Hyrule shifted him so Legend’s head was laying properly in his lap, and stroked a hand through his hair until he fell asleep. 

Once he was sure Legend was fully unaware, he tipped his head back against the bars, bringing his cuffed hands up to cover his face. Goddesses, what have I done? 

When Legend woke up again, he was much less coherent. His condition had deteriorated rapidly, and Hyrule could only think of a few reasons for that, illness and infection being the main ones. Neither was good, especially with a whole day on their own in a dark, cold, unsanitary and slightly damp cell. 

“It hurts,” Legend whispered, and he was looking at Hyrule, but Hyrule wasn’t sure he was really registering who he was looking at.

“I know,” Hyrule said, moving his head to be more in Legend’s line of sight. “I’m sorry. I’m here, though.” 

Legend made a vague sound and reached for Hyrule’s hand.

Hyrule brought his own hand closer, and gently took Legend’s. “It’ll be okay.”

“... ‘s hot in here, Rule,” Legend mumbled, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Why’s it hot if it’s dark? There’s no sun.”

Hyrule’s eyes widened. “You think it’s hot in here?” That was… a really bad sign. Especially since they were on their own for about another twenty hours. 

“Kinda.” Knowing Legend, that could either be the truth, or it could really mean I feel like I’m on fire, but yeah, it’s just a little warm.

“I think you have a fever,” Hyrule told him. “Do you think any of your injuries are infected? Uh, does anything hurt or throb more than the rest?”

Legend thought about that for a long moment, then shifted his bad leg with a wince. “... This hurts.”

Nodding worriedly, Hyrule leaned over, lifting Legend’s head and putting it down on his discarded rolled-up overtunic. Shifting to examine his leg he lifted it as gently as he could, and winced at the wound that had been hidden underneath, resting against the floor. 

It wasn’t any longer than some of his other cuts, but it was definitely deeper. And since Legend had been kind of dragging that leg, it made sense that it had gotten infected. “That’s definitely infected. Shit.”

“Shit,” Legend echoed in a mumble.

“Okay.” Hyrule took a deep, steadying breath. “We just have to make it twenty hours. Then they’ll come back, and they’ll give you a potion.” He cursed his own foolish plan- every decision he’d made in this place seemed to have been a mistake.

Legend nodded. “Yeah. Sounds… sounds great.”

Hyrule bit his lip. He hated hearing Legend sound so weak and confused, but he was going to have to get used to it, seeing as they had most of a day until he could get help. 

…Most of a day without water or food. A big problem, for someone with an infection and a fever. Possibly also a problem for someone who had been skipping two meals a day to feed his injured cellmate properly.

“You’re thinkin’ too loud,” Legend told him with a little twitch of a smile.

“Sorry.” Hyrule shifted back into his original position, gently lifting Legend’s head to lay it onto his lap again. 

Legend shook his head. “‘S fine. I’m thinkin’ too quiet.”

“You’re thinking just fine,” Hyrule said gently, not knowing what else to do but try to reassure Legend. He had no water to clean Legend’s wounds, no medicine, food, potions or magic. All he had was his discarded outer tunic and himself. It would have to be enough. Hyrule would make it be enough.

“Do you want to rest more?” he asked, starting to play with Legend’s hair again. He noted the way the strands clumped together with sweat, and winced. Definitely a fever. 

Legend sighed. “Probably should.”

Hyrule nodded. “Sleep. I’ve got the watch.”

“Y’ always do,” Legend mumbled, his eyes already closing.

Hyrule kept his hand moving in Legend’s hair until he was sure the other hero was asleep. He spent a while wondering whether or not to bandage the infected wound, especially if it meant moving Legend and possibly waking him up again. Hopefully, Legend could sleep through the worst of his illness, and be better tomorrow when they gave him a potion.

Unfortunately, though, Legend’s sleep wasn’t restful for very long. After a few hours, he started shifting and mumbling, too low and slurred for Hyrule to understand, sweat beading on his forehead.

Hyrule wiped it away with a corner of his overtunic, and watched worriedly as Legend’s sleep became more and more restless. 

At one point, Legend opened his eyes, slightly glassy and fever-bright. He looked up at Hyrule and whispered “... Rulie?”

“I’m here,” Hyrule assured him, “I’m here, Legend.”

“‘S hot,” he mumbled. “... Where…?”

“We got captured,” Hyrule said regretfully, “we’re in a cell. You have a fever.”

Legend blinked, a little too long and a little too slow. “... Oh.”

“Yeah. Do you think you can rest more? They’ll bring a potion in the morning.” Goddesses, Hyrule hoped they’d bring a potion in the morning.

“... Dunno,” Legend admitted. “It hurts.”

Hyrule pressed his eyes closed. “I’m sorry. Can you try? It’s okay if it doesn’t work.”

“... Yeah. Okay.”

Legend was asleep again almost immediately, dragged back under by the exhaustion of the pain and of trying to fight the infection. His sleep was still restless, though, and Hyrule just kept carding a hand through Legend’s hair as he shifted and muttered and even cried out, once.

Hyrule was starting to feel the effects of the lack of food setting in. He hadn’t eaten since what he assumed was yesterday morning, and it hadn’t been enough even then. He felt heavy and weak, but he kept his eyes open, kept his hand moving through Legend’s hair. He kept going, because he had to. 

Then Legend shifted just wrong, putting pressure on one of his wounds, and his eyes fluttered open with a choked-back keening sound.

“It’s okay,” Hyrule reassured, as softly and clearly as he could, “It’s okay, you shifted a little and poked one of your injuries. You can go back to sleep, it’s safe.”

“... Marin?” Legend rasped, looking at Hyrule but not really seeing him. He looked so incredibly fragile, all of a sudden.

Hyrule didn’t know who Marin was, but it didn’t matter. “I’m here. You’re safe.” He hoped Legend interpreted that whatever way made him feel more comfortable.

“Thought you were… seagull,” he mumbled, reaching clumsily for Hyrule’s hand again.

Hyrule let him take it. He could feel Legend’s hand shaking. “I’m not a seagull,” he said, hoping it was the right response. Whoever Marin was, Legend wanted to hold their hand, so they were probably a safe or comforting figure. And if he hadn’t met them on their own shared quest, then… “Go back to sleep, Link.”

Legend made a soft, hurt sound in the back of his throat. “‘M already asleep. Gotta be.”

Oh. Hyrule didn’t have time to wonder what had happened to Marin, he reminded himself. “Rest, then. I-” I’ll keep watch, he just barely stopped himself from saying.

“Mmm.” Legend squeezed Hyrule’s hand, surprisingly gently, given how out of it he was. “Don’ want you to go.”

“I’ll stay right here. I promise.” Hyrule carefully squeezed his hand back.

Legend didn’t look like he believed him, but he was losing the battle to stay awake. “... Miss you.”

“I’m sorry,” Hyrule said a little blankly, then hesitantly added, “I miss you too.” It felt a little like walking over someone’s grave.

That seemed to be enough for Legend, because he fell asleep again soon after, still holding Hyrule’s hand.

Over the next couple of hours, Hyrule slowly slumped onto the bars of the cell more and more, almost sliding sideways. It felt like a lot of work, keeping his body upright. That was probably a bad sign, but he pushed it aside. He had to focus on Legend right now.

Hyrule had never seen an infection from the outside before, so he had nothing to base this experience on, but as Legend’s condition slowly deteriorated, he started checking the infected cut more and more often. The skin around the injury had gone red and swollen, and as the hours ticked by, red lines began forming around it, following the course of Legend’s veins.

Legend kept getting warmer. He didn’t wake up again, not for more than a few seconds at a time, and each time his eyes opened there was no awareness in them, just confusion and pain.

Hyrule talked to him each time anyways, reassurances and all the comfort he could offer through words- some of the only things he had to give Legend right now. They helped, at least a little. He was usually able to soothe Legend back to sleep almost immediately, or at least help him calm down when it took a little longer to drift off again. He still wished he could do more.

The hours kept dragging slowly on, and Hyrule must have stopped counting at some point, because he was no longer sure how much time they had left. He refused to let himself lie down, to sleep. He’d promised to keep watch, and he wasn’t going to lie about something like that.

He ran his hand through Legend’s hair again. The other hero was getting really warm, and Hyrule was starting to feel an awful, creeping sort of dread that he would get too warm. That could happen, he had heard, if a fever lasted long enough or got severe enough. He had no idea what the threshold was, but if Legend reached it… 

Hyrule tried not to think about it. He shook his head, then realized it had been a bad idea as he slid slowly sideways, grabbing on to the bars to temporarily halt his descent.

He couldn’t leave Legend unguarded. Alone. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself.

It didn’t seem like he had much of a choice.

As Hyrule slid sideways off the cell bars, chains clanking, Legend’s head still in his lap, his eyes closed. 

He kept his hand in Legend’s hair with the last of his strength, and fell into unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

Hyrule woke up to a slam of metal against metal, and jolted upright, nearly hitting his head on the cell bars as he swayed dangerously. There were torches nearby, and men walking away from the cell- dragging Legend behind them. 

Too scared to call out after them in case they took it out on Legend, Hyrule simply sat there and stewed in the guilt of having fallen asleep on watch. On Legend being taken and him not even stirring. 

He realized after a few moments that there was a plate of food left by the cell door, some of it on the floor as if it had been carelessly dropped. 

His chains weren’t long enough to reach it. Hyrule tried anyway. 

Nearly faint with hunger, it took him far too long to register the return of the guards, some unknown amount of time later. 

Legend was half shoved, half tossed into the cell, crumpling to the floor with barely a sound. He looked awful, and Hyrule couldn’t tell if that was because he was worse than before or if Hyrule had just forgotten how bad he looked when he was taken away.

Hyrule stood up shakily, moving as close to Legend as the chains would let him. “Legend?” he asked, “can you hear me?”

Legend didn’t respond. He just curled in on himself, and Hyrule could see him shaking from halfway across the cell.

“You know,” the leader said, and when Hyrule looked up at him, he was leaning casually against the bars of the cell. “This would all stop if either of you tells us what we want to know. It’s that easy.”

Hyrule mustered up as much of a glare as he could. “You’d probably just kill us.”

“I’d let you walk right out the front door,” the man countered. “Simple as that, no muss, no fuss.”

He couldn’t let himself believe that. He couldn’t let himself think there was a way out that simple. Something in his brain nagged at him, telling him that the others were strong, they were well prepared. That they could deal with any attack sent their way, and that they’d want Hyrule and Legend to survive more than they’d want their locations and activities kept secret.

He couldn’t do it, though. One look at Legend’s curled form, and he couldn’t do it. Legend would never forgive him for it. 

… Better a live Legend out of his friendship forever than a dead one, though. Right?

The leader’s voice was quiet. Friendly. “Tell you what. You give us something useful, it can be something small, and we’ll fix up your friend. We’d have to keep going, of course, but we could give him another potion, maybe some medicine.”

Hyrule didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to do. Protect Legend, and become a traitor? Let Legend die, and never be able to live with himself? 

…Legend wouldn’t do it. Legend wouldn’t betray their friends, their fellow heroes like that. He’d been clear since the beginning that he wouldn’t give anything up.

“I can’t,” Hyrule choked out, “I can’t tell you anything.”

The leader sighed. “That’s a real shame. We’ll be back in a while to see if you’ve changed your mind - or if your friend has. Assuming he’s coherent enough to talk.” 

And then they were gone.

Hyrule sat and stared at the floor for a long time. 

Then, he looked up at Legend. There was work to be done. And he had to do it. They didn’t have time for him to sit and wallow.

“Legend?” he asked softly, “are you awake?”

No response.

There was no way to get to the food without Legend’s help. And Legend wasn’t moving. “Okay,” Hyrule said out loud, hoping the sound of his voice would help to calm himself, “Okay. So, no food. That’s okay, we can work with that.” He really hoped they could.

Legend was unconscious and rapidly deteriorating. He was chained to the wall. There was no way out. He had no potions, no supplies, and no magic.

…Right?

He had tried to use magic here before, and it had burned like flames in his veins, but maybe, if he had pushed harder, it could have worked. Anti-magic, Legend had said, but that didn’t necessarily mean the area was magic-null.

Maybe they had a chance.

He took a deep breath, and pulled hard on his magic, forcing more power than he would usually use into his spell. It burned, hurt like every tendon and vein in his body were on fire, but he pushed through it, poured even more magic into his form and felt it overcome the painful barriers set around it. 

Felt himself shrink, felt the shackles slide off, and slipped into a world of pain.

The anti-magic applied to fairies as well, it seemed. Existing within the space stung his skin viciously, but he pushed through, moving towards the cell door unsteadily, wings wavering. 

Hyrule landed on the handle to the cell door, on the outside, and stuck his whole arm in the lock, shifting the heavy tumblers with his shaking arm until he finally felt something click.

The door swung open.

Hyrule tumbled to the floor, and lay there stunned for a second, before releasing the spell and sighing as the fire feeling drained from his blood and dripped off of his skin.

It wasn’t over yet. 

He pushed to his feet, wobbling inside and falling to his knees by the food. It felt terrible to offer none to Legend, but he was going to need to keep up his strength if he wanted to be able to carry him out of here. 

He saved one of the tough chunks of bread anyway, stuffing it in his pocket for Legend to have later and pulling his dirty, stained overtunic back on. Then, he turned to Legend.

“Legend?” He tried again, and got no response. Hyrule moved in front of him, holding out a hand to check his temperature and pulse. Too high, too fast, but there. 

He shifted so his back was to Legend and pulled Legend’s arms over his shoulders, standing up shakily and starting the long trek out of the cell.

As soon as he felt the buzz of anti-magic fade behind them as they snuck through the halls with Legend’s feet dragging quietly on the floor behind him, Hyrule swung off into the next door he found, risking discovery for a chance to actually heal Legend properly. Luckily enough, it seemed to be a storage room, and it was definitely empty.

Hyrule set Legend down against the wall, and stretched his bad leg out in front of him, as straight as it would go. He laid his hands on either side of it, closed his eyes, and pulled on his magic again.

No burn, this time, just the weak stretch of overuse and too little magical supply- probably from his days without food. He kept himself as present as he could during the healing process, and once he thought it was time, Hyrule leaned down and yanked on Legend’s leg, trying his best to pull it straight. Please don’t wake up, he begged internally, please don’t scream.

Luck was with them, because Legend did neither as his leg shifted back into place.

Hyrule didn’t have the energy to heal all of his wounds, but with his leg fixed again, he could probably walk. He didn’t expect Legend to be able to fight, but then, Hyrule probably couldn’t fight right now either. 

Teetering on the edge of magical exhaustion, he reached down with his power and untangled the heavy weight of fever around Legend’s brain, pulling the infection out as best he could. It was sloppy work- he would normally have been able to cure it, not just take away the current symptoms, and it would surely come back- but it was enough. It would have to be enough.

Legend groaned, opening his eyes and looking at Hyrule - actually looking at him - for the first time in hours. “... Rulie?”

Hyrule didn’t even have the energy to cry. He just stared at Legend, nodded, then stood up shakily and offered his hand.

“... What happened?” Legend mumbled, taking his hand seemingly on instinct.

“We’re escaping. Like you said, before the others get here,” Hyrule managed, words close to being stuck in his throat. “We have to go.” He pulled Legend up, swaying a little as he did so.

Legend staggered as he got to his feet, then blinked down at his healed leg. “... Huh. Okay. Processing later.”

“You saw more of the way out than I did. Can you guide us?” Hyrule asked, keeping his voice low.

“... Think so,” Legend said after a moment. He hadn’t let go of Hyrule’s hand yet, and he was shaking. “Can’t really… thinking’s hard, but… yeah.”

Hyrule nodded, and started to pull him out of the door, checking both ways before entering the hallway.

Honestly, Hyrule didn’t quite remember how they made it out, what they hid behind and where exactly they had to stop, only feet away from the guards and being caught. With two stolen capes bearing a crest neither of them recognized, they managed to exit the gate without being followed, and presumably picked a direction.

They were walking down a path, hoods pulled low, when all of a sudden Hyrule nearly took the point of a sword to the face. He barely stopped in time, grabbing Legend and trying to pull him behind, to protect him. The tip of the sword wavered in his vision.

“I would advise you to surrender,” said a very familiar voice in the iciest tone Hyrule had ever heard from one of their own.

“Wars?” Hyrule managed raspily, pushing his hood back to see better, “that you?”

It was Wars, and the sword in his hand lowered as he took half a pace back in shock. “Hyrule?”

Legend mumbled something unintelligible and, as if he’d been holding on just until they saw another friendly face, his knees buckled.

Hyrule was dragged down with him from where their hands were still tightly interlocked, and he had to blink spots out of his vision after his head hit the ground, too disoriented to catch himself.

“Hyrule!” A moment later, there were hands carefully brushing his hair out of his eyes, checking him for injuries, and he heard more voices, more footsteps. “Fuck, who has potions??”

“I’ve got some, hang on -” Wild’s voice.

“Ordona’s grace, what happened -” Twilight.

“Hang on, vet, we’ve got you -” Four.

“Let’s get back to camp, we need to triage -” Time.

“We didn’t- I didn’t tell them anything,” Hyrule promised whoever’s blurred face was floating above his own. “I didn’t.”

Warriors laughed quietly, and a hand carded gently through his hair. “I never had a doubt.”

Hyrule had had plenty of doubts, but he kept that to himself. “Legend!” he suddenly remembered, “Wars, Legend, is he-”

“We’ve got him,” was the quiet reassurance. “You can let go, we’ve got him. It’s going to be okay, we’re going to get you both back to camp and make sure you’re alright.”

Hyrule nodded absently. “Fever,” he said, “Leg got infected. Probably more things too. Cuts, burns… water. Too much water. Take care of him.”

Warriors let out a shaky breath. “Goddesses. Of course we will, you two are safe now. I promise. You do need to let go of him, though.”

Hyrule didn’t think he could manage a nod this time, but he carefully uncurled his hand from Legend’s, trying to ignore the surge of panic that came with the motion. This time, the darkness that swallowed him almost felt comfortable.

When Hyrule slowly woke up, it was to that same feeling of comfort. Odd, because he wasn’t exactly comfortable- there was something mildly uncomfortable resting on his stomach, and he was definitely on a bedroll somewhere outside. But it was better than the stone floor of-

A cell. 

He jerked his head around, trying to see where he was, instinctually not disturbing what turned out to be Legend’s head resting on his stomach, the other hero resting off to the side. 

“Hey,” someone said in a whisper, and Hyrule’s gaze snapped over to Warriors, sitting nearby. He had his sword drawn and laying next to him, his armor still on, but he just looked watchful, not like he was expecting an attack.

“Hi,” Hyrule said in return. “...everyone okay?"

Warriors nodded. “Just fine. Legend woke up for a little while, and some of the others are off scouting the place where you were held so we can get your gear back. Wild’s been stress cooking, so there’s plenty to eat, if you’re hungry.”

He was. “Anything that can be eaten lying down?” Hyrule gestured to where Legend was lying half on top of him with his free hand.

“Absolutely,” Warriors chuckled, handing him a mushroom skewer. Stamella shrooms, if Hyrule was remembering right.

“Thanks,” Hyrule said, cutting himself off before admitting how hungry he was. That wouldn’t help the situation.

“Eat it slowly, alright?” Warriors cautioned him. “The two of you look half starved.”

Hyrule looked up, feeling almost guilty, and nodded. He picked one of the mushrooms off of the skewer and happily took a bite. 

He had been right, it was a stamella shroom. The gentle, almost-familiar hum of energy that accompanied the food was a welcome boost, especially since he still felt so weak and lightheaded. 

“... How are you feeling?” Warriors asked after a moment, his voice soft.

Hyrule took a moment to actually check in with his body. Tired, weak, but not in any pain. That was good. “Much better. Nothing hurts, anyway.” 

Warriors nodded, and a little of the tension went out of his shoulders. “That’s good. Legend said they left you alone, for the most part, but I still wanted to be sure.”

Suddenly flooded with shame, Hyrule looked away, eating another mushroom and trying to ignore the pang of guilt.

Warriors noticed. Of course he did. “What’s wrong?”

“I just…” I wish it had been me. An absolutely ridiculous statement, that Hyrule could not say. “I was thinking about Legend. He’s okay, right?”

“He’ll be alright,” Warriors assured him, nodding with a smile toward said hero, passed out almost on top of Hyrule. “We checked his injuries, Time had a fairy left and she did what she could, and then he grabbed you and held onto you while we asked him a few questions about what happened. He didn’t want to leave you alone.”

Hyrule nodded. He felt grateful, even with another wave of guilt. Of course Legend felt like he had to protect him. Hyrule knew that. Why did it still make him feel so guilty? 

The idea of Warriors ‘asking Legend a few questions’ was terrifying as well. What had he said? What had he left unsaid? Would Hyrule mess up and mention something he’d been keeping from the group on purpose?

…Now that they knew, what did the group think of him?

“You know,” Warriors said, “he’ll probably never say this to your face, but he’s asleep, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me telling you. According to Legend, you did an incredible job in there keeping you both alive.”

“That’s not what I would say,” Hyrule admitted bitterly. 

Legend shifted slightly, grumbling, and lifted his head just enough to glare groggily at Warriors. “... Snitch.”

“I am not a snitch - ”

“‘N you,” Legend continued, turning his hazy glare on Hyrule, “got us out. Shh.”

“Nowhere near soon enough,” Hyrule said firmly. “It was so simple once I tried it, if I had thought about it any time before however many days that was, we would have been so much better off. You would have been so much better off.”

“Rulie, I woke up in a storage closet, I’ve got no idea what the hell you did,” Legend mumbled. “But I’m sure it wasn’t good for you, and you fixed my leg somehow, too, so. Thanks. ‘N shhh.”

“Okay.” Hyrule automatically put a hand in Legend’s hair, then looked over at Warriors and flushed in embarrassment.

Warriors was watching them with a fond little smile. “He saved your life, isn’t that what you said, vet?”

“Gonna kill you if you don’t shut up ‘n let me sleep,” Legend said with another sleepy glare.

“Mhm. I definitely believe you.”

Hyrule smiled. “Go back to sleep, Legend. Wars has the watch.”

“... You’re gonna try and take it too,” Legend said accusingly. “Don’t, you’ve gotta sleep too.”

Hyrule realized that Legend was right. He had been instinctually preparing himself to wake up, once he told Legend to go to sleep. “...Okay. I will.”

“Good.” Legend shifted enough to drape an arm over Hyrule’s stomach, curling in closer. He was asleep again almost immediately.

Hyrule gave Warriors a smile, and once he got one in return, closed his eyes, hand absentmindedly moving through Legend’s hair until he finally fell asleep too, in his bedroll, safe and surrounded by friends.