Aaaaaannnnd… I'm not sure what to say about this one. I just am struggling with writer's block right now when I thought Ihad gotten over it. So, TSAEM is progressing slowly. But it is coming along. Anyways, here's a little ZeLink angst and fluff for you. Basically, it takes place after Zelda has explained to Link she's the Goddess Incarnate, and the two are now outside bickering cuz Link's mad and such. If you see any typos, just shout them out. I know they're in there.
"There are a lot more 'heroes' you could have chosen."
He sat cross-legged next to her, back stiff, and gazing obstinately ahead. She couldn't believe this was happening, yet it did not surprise her.
"But I didn't. I chose you because I wanted you."
"You used me."
"I loved you."
"If you're so 'high and mighty'," his fingers made small quotation marks in the air, "then why not just use your power to destroy the enemy?"
"..." Her mouth fell open, not in surprise, but at the force of reality said behind the words. She heard him utter a barely audible sigh.
"...I'm sorry, Your Grace. That was uncalled for. Please forgive me."
Her golden hair swished side to side in denial. "No, there is nothing to forgive. And please...call me Zelda."
"I–"
She reached over and brushed a finger on his lips to quiet him. "My actions...they are inexcusable. What happened back then...when I eternally bound you to this curse..."
He shook his head, unwilling to hear it. Her confession replayed over and over in his head.
'I used you...'
He couldn't believe what she had said. About him, about them.
"...I'm sorry. You did nothing to deserve this. A-and I know I cannot redeem myself for what I did–what I shouldn't have done–"
He then stood up, blue eyes hollow and emotionless, and she froze mid sentence. He stared impassively at the trees ahead, his chest inhaling and exhaling as he tried to reign in his temper. Slowly, he glanced over his shoulder, down at her.
And that's when she knew she'd lost him. A servant she had made him, and treachery he was requited.
Oh, he would still serve her. The devotion in his heart was too great to be cast aside by hurt and strife.
But all the times they had spent together, all the memories...
Gone. A friend, she had once known. It tore her apart to see him break down like this. Of course, she knew this would happen someday. She silently cursed Hylia for ruining her past.
"Link, please..."
He turned to face her, a shadow hanging over his features. She realized that it was not anger he was trying to hold back from appearing on his face.
No, it was the anguish. The loss of someone dear to him, someone he thought he knew. His eyes–they were clouding over. Tears threatened to burst forth, she could sense it.
What hurt the most was the fact that she was the one responsible for them. For his suffering, for losing his trust.
She rose, ivory, silk gown sweeping against her ankles. There was only a matter of time before he left. He would not let her see him break.
Hesitantly, she lifted a hand to his sunken cheek, a lump forming in her throat. Blue eyes met each other, the words hurt, betrayal, and deception seeming to wrap around the pair.
How she wished for a moment's reprieve of this wretched Goddess.
However, with tears pricking the corners of her shut eyelids–some sliding down her face–she stood on the tips of her toes and placed a gentle kiss right on the top of his forehead, before backing away again.
She had hoped for a different ending, another outcome for their reunion.
"I'm sorry." Her own words constantly echoed past her lips, but they never seemed to reach his ears. How could they? She was guilty of deafening them with the sore confession of her altered ego.
He squeezed his eyes shut, lips pursing into a thin line. His brow furrowed as he scowled, a rare sight Zelda ever saw. She could sense that he wanted to forgive and forget, to place this 'Hero and Goddess' business behind them.
To just be the childhood friends they had grown up as. To not be given titles, or have longwinded tales of the fate thrust upon them constantly at their heels.
To just be Link and Zelda.
He wanted to be hers, and she wanted to be his. But now...that would never be. Not after what she had done. What she had given him.
Inhaling deeply, he gazed past her at the doors of the Sealed Temple, blue orbs refusing to meet hers.
"If that is all, then I must be going. The more I wait, the stronger the enemy gets; I must not delay here any longer."
His masculine voice washed over her as he glared beyond them. She could hear the bitterness in his voice. It was just as well.
Her hands folded in front of her. She kept her eyes downward, fixated on the tips of crystal sandals–not hers.
With a grunt she took as a farewell, he brushed past her–his Goddess. Indignation sparked within her at the amount of disrespect, but she instantly quelled it. He had every right to be angry. And she was the one to blame.
Footsteps crunched on grass until they paused to push open the stone doors of the temple. As rock groaned at the force of being disturbed, her heart sank at the pain she had inflicted upon him.
She couldn't bear the thought of him leaving, not without her guilt crushing what little dignity she had left. The urge to call his name again came back strongly, and so she did. Her voice reverberated throughout the quiet of the Sealed Grounds.
He hesitated at the entrance of the sacred temple–the one built to honor her so many years ago. It made her sick to even think that, as the Goddess Incarnate, she was entitled to any honor or respect.
"Ha, what a laugh that is," she thought to herself.
She wrapped her arms around her thin waist, resisting the will to outwardly cry. He didn't need to feel remorse for her for something he didn't do. It was all her fault. He shouldn't shoulder the blame as well.
"I... I'm sorry, Link. Truly, I am sorry."
The wind blew on her already tear-stained face, making her shiver slightly. She hoped for a response–anything, really, so long as he spoke. Whether in acknowledgment, or to merely voice his apathy for what she said. To just say something before his departure into the present.
Instead, her spirits sank at the cold silence she received. It was his answer, one she deserved.
But still, the hurt crept in.
As the fading footsteps resumed again–this time on stone–she wished for another way out. The Goddess Hylia had destroyed what Zelda had. The home, family, friends...all would disown her once they learned of her traitorous actions to save herself.
She could say it was in a valiant effort to save the land and the races inhabiting it, but when truth coupled together with motive, the underlining of her intentions rang forth. She had only been thinking of herself at the time. As a Goddess in the past, she couldn't afford her power in the enemy's hands, thus separating it into a mortal from the future.
"Oh, Hylia."
She fell on her knees, hands covering her face as Link's receding footsteps up the stairs to the Time Gate hit her with an impenetrable force. She had failed to tell him that she would seal herself for the length of time it would take for him to complete his task.
When she had seen the shock on his face, the look of backstabbing pain in his eyes, she had refrained from telling him. It would only build sympathy towards her–something she wasn't worthy of.
The sound of the gears in the Time Gate shifting reached her pointed ears. Her hands fell to her lap as she took another shuddering breath. Cloudy, blue eyes stared blankly at the bottom of the pit where the source of her trouble lay.
"I'm so sorry, Link."
Despite the aching pang in her chest, she erased the remnants of tears with the back of her hand. She had a duty as a Goddess, whether she wanted to fulfill it or not.
She rose to her feet once again, the falling sun hitting her square in the eyes at her full height. Several brushes to the front of her dress stalled for a few seconds' composure before she turned around.
Impa stood resolutely next to the Time Gate, the disapproval of the Goddess and hero's talk evident on her face. She looked as though she wanted to console and rebuke her charge, yet uncertainty and need of privacy held her back.
Zelda's face set a determined frown as she nodded at Impa. Her eyes traveled back to the Time Gate where Link had vanished.
The apology still tasted fresh on her lips from when she had sadly exclaimed it to him. She nodded once again, knowing the truth behind her words was genuine.
"And I always will be."
Slowly gliding to the stairs at the back of the massive, stone room, a faint noise froze her journey to a millennium sleep.
"Zelda..."
With a gasp, she whirled around, eyes burning bright with shock. She knew that voice anywhere. She scanned behind her fervently, eyes alighting on the steps leading up to the rotating Time Gate.
And sure enough, there he was, green tunic and all.
She nearly choked at the sight of him, astonished that he was still here, and without her knowing. The corner of her gaze switched to Impa who was smiling in approval; she knew.
"Zelda."
Her eyes snapped back to the figure undoubtedly approaching her. Her mouth trembled slightly, unsure.
However, with open arms he stepped forward and embraced her.
She gasped again, arms stiff at her sides.
"How-?"
She felt him bury his nose into her hair, cheek against her neck.
"Oh, Zelda." His voice cracked in an unspoken apology. However, she needed it not.
With a giant smile beaming on her face, she wrapped her arms tightly around the one she loved. A look of glee and relief swept her face as she tilted her head back, laughing with joy.
Link pulled her into a tighter hug, unwilling to let go.
He knew she understood his interpretation of "I'm sorry". He didn't need to say anything at all. She was happy to just be in his arms, comforting each other.
Besides, who needed words, anyway? Their actions spoke a thousand times louder than any voice could have shouted.
And for that moment, Link realized something. He was hers, and she...his sweet, beautiful Goddess...his Zelda...
She was his.