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"Link, Link please. Link!" Zelda repeated with pure desperation, her voice dripping with worry and her heart tense. Her knight gazed up toward her weakly, using all the strength he could muster just to look her way. He wasn't oblivious, he knew he likely wouldn't survive. He could feel the warm, crimson liquid pooling around him and the endless throbbing in his left arm. Dirt was plastered all over their faces, staining Zelda's dress and Link's tunic alongside it.
Her grip was firm, maybe even too firm. She knew that holding him closely and dearly wouldn't save him but what else could she do? She was powerless. Literally. "Princess.." he managed to say, his voice barely a whisper. The master sword laid next to him, discarded to the side with his Hylian shield. Tears stung the corner of her eyes like acid, threatening to burn even deeper. Why? Why did this have to happen to him? This all happened because of her. Because he saved her. And now, here he was, worrying about her even in the moments between life and death.
"No! Don't speak! Not now! Keep your strength.. please." She begged, or ordered. Unable to contain them any further, beads of water overflowing her red-rimmed eyes spilled out and streamed down her face, tracing her rounded cheeks and then dripping down onto his tainted porcelain skin. His lips quivered slightly before twitching upwards, etching a small curved smile across his face as he held back the tears welling in his eyes.
Time slowed down incredibly. Seconds morphed into minutes, minutes turned into hours, and hours becoming days in their eyes. His pulse was weak, slowly fading as his heart took a longer pause between each beat every single time. "Hylia.. please.." she pleaded to the Goddess under her breath, already knowing that nothing would change. Not like the Goddess had ever responded to her before. Zelda kept her personal knight in her arms, refusing to loosen her tight hold for even half a second. She couldn't afford to let go of him before he left.
Seeing her in such a state made this no easier for Link. Him dying was one thing, but seeing her so hurt beyond consolidation was entirely another. Using the little stability and control her had of his body, he slowly raised his trembling arm and cradled her face with his rough, calloused hands, wiping away her tears with a brush of his thumb. He didn't want her hurt, physically and emotionally. He could take every hit for her if it meant she could leave without a mere scratch on her body, even if it meant he was left battered and bruised. With a weak, raspy voice, he managed to let out the words "Don't cry, Princess."
Clouds in the darkest shade of grey loomed over the two, concealing every inch of the sky and sending down warnings of loud, rumbling thunder. A cascade of rain fell from above and washed away the streams of mud on their faces, yet leaving the marks of pain untouched. The light of the glowing blue master sword flickered on and off before shortly extinguishing fully. Zelda pressed her hand against the one holding her cheek and began to sob even harder, making sure her other hand was still gripping onto Link.
"You stupid Knight.. why would you do that?"
In all honesty, she knew. She knew it was his job to protect her, a descendant of royalty, at all costs. Even at the expense of his life. Even if it meant risking it all for her. She knew this, but she didn't want to believe it.
A thick, frothy pink foam bubbled at the corners of his lips before a deep, arterial scarlet splattered onto the ground from his mouth. It was sudden, unexpected. The distinct, metal tang of iron coated his tongue as a hot, salty liquid gathered at the back of his throat. The sensation was horrifying. A terrifying warmth travelling up his trachea, a bubbling, boiling pressure in his chest leaving no room for oxygen, the terrorising feeling of drowning from the inside out. All released as a simple, hoarse cough. A thin, dark ribbon of blood trailed down his chin as he stared down at the blood stains on the ground next to him. Despite urgently needing to cough out the fluid choking him from inside, he didn't allow himself to when the princess was staring directly at him and into his drained, withering eyes. Immediately, he jolted his head to the side, pulling back the arm that was stroking the Royal's face, and freed himself from the pent up pressure locked into his chest.
A wave of panic washed directly over her. Even more blood? From his throat? Gently, she placed her index and middle fingers against his neck, feeling for a pulse. What she was met with was one that was scarily slow. A threat that it could stop at any given moment. The rain grew heavier, now violently hammering against the Earth's floor and drowning out any background noise with five kilometers. Link opened his mouth slightly as if to speak, his eyes visibly tired and his muscles weaker than ever. The chosen one. The Princess's personal guard. The one who wielded the sword that could seal the darkness. He was now in a state more vulnerable than ever.
"Princess? I..." he muttered, the audibility of his voice rapidly decreasing. Zelda's eyes were locked onto his, her focus completely on him. Her bright, emrald eyes began to darken as she watched his radiating blue become a monotone navy. This was real. He was dying. He was dying. "I don't.. feel.. so.." he continued, each word a separate breath. The levels of anxiety in her heart spiked instantly, causing her to spiral in straight hysteria and terror. Fear painted every outline, every blemish, every tear flowing uncontrollably down her face, and every scrape on her body.
"I don't feel so good."