"I… I can't feel anything."
"It's okay. You're going to be okay, I promise." She pressed the torn cloth against his chest, trying not to sound as frightened as she felt. It was no use, he had known her since birth; he could read her like a book.
"Zelda." He said. "Zelda, look at me." She looked up from the gaping hole in his sternum and met his gaze. She couldn't help but be a little comforted by the calmness in his expression, pained as it may be. "Zelda, there's no use."
"Don't say that! You're fine; all we have to do is stop the bleeding-"
"Zel." He coughed suddenly; blood spurted from his mouth and fell down his neck and to the pavement. She pulled him up into her lap, his head resting in her right hand. She glanced at the sword that lay next to him on the ground; not two minutes ago it had used no effort to force its way through his clavicle.
She yelled orders at the others to get more bandages, find a fairy, do something. The more he fought to breathe or speak, the louder the awful gurgling in his chest grew. "Link, stay with me. Just keep breathing." She pressed hard on the wound in his chest to try and at least slow the flow of blood. All the books in the world could not have prepared her for this.
The amount of blood that could be produced by a single human being was incredible; his torso was completely soaked, as was her skirt and the pavement around them both. A little river began to form, flowing from his chest and dancing its way across the hard ground until suddenly it fell off the edge of the great island in the sky and fought its way to the surface. Link rolled his head toward the trail, smiling slightly. "I bet somebody down there is going to be really confused." Turning back to her, he smiled. "Why are you so frantic?" he said. She couldn't help but smile at how lightly he was taking this, how lightly he always took things. She remembered when they were much younger, he had broken his leg falling out of a tree. He got up off the ground, his leg bleeding heavily, and said "No, no, I'm okay. It's just a scratch."
"Zelda, if I don't make it, I want you to know something." He said, placing his hand on hers. He tried wrapping his fingers around her hand, but the loss of blood made him too weak to do so. She lifted her hand and placed her fingers between his, squeezing them tightly. "What is it?" She said.
"You've got a little blood on your cheek." He grinned, chuckling to the best of his effort.
"Is that what you wanted to tell me?" She said in a gentle tone.
"No," he said, laughing.
"Then what was it?" He opened his hand, signaling her to let go. He lifted his hand and brushed her cheek gently.
"Come here." He said. She knelt down, putting her face up to his. Pulling his head up, he brushed his red lips against hers. They felt like the inside of rose petals. Only a second later he rested his head back down in her hand. "I love you, Zel." He said. On the edge of tears, she said "I love you, too." He took as deep of a breath as he could muster and closed his eyes for a moment. "Link, open your eyes. You can't do this. Not now. Wake up." Reluctantly, he opened his eyelids, but to no avail. He was awake, but not completely. He stared blankly into the sky; zoning in and out of consciousness. Even though the blood flow was slowing, his condition was getting worse. "Link." She said. "Link, say something. Do something." He met her gaze slowly. She could tell by his eyes that he knew this was the end. "Link," she said quietly. He looked straight forward again, and his body became limp in her hold; his mouth fell open slightly. "Link." She said, sternly. He did not move. The light in his bright blue eyes was gone.
She let out a whimpering cry, burying her face in his chest.
He was dead.