A/N

Hello lovely readers! I absolutely adored BOTW, so much that it inspired me to write this little piece. I know there are other authors who nailed this scene much better than I did, but I just couldn't contain myself. It might turn into a two shot, but it all depends if I ever get to it...lol

To all the readers who read my other story (The Rebel Spy), please know I'm still working on it!

As always, your input is much appreciated, and reviews are the stuff that keeps me going.

Thank you, and enjoy!

When did it all go so wrong?

Rain poured on the already drenched figures as they ran stumbling through the forest, away from the castle shrouded in Ganon's red glow.

When did it all go so wrong?

The thought kept running through Zelda's mind, the events of the past day replaying and reliving in her eyes. She could still see the Devine Beasts posed for attack as she and her champion approached the castle. The sudden surge of hope that had filled her was dashed away as Ganon's inky purple form leeched itself into the Beasts, and a horrible groan echoed. The whole world shook beneath them as the same substance, as thick as blood, seeped into the Guardians.

Death then rained from all sides.

Nothing could stop the mechanical onslaught, as they destroyed everything and everyone in their sight. Zelda could only look on in horror as the screams echoed around her, fire and rubble combining to make one giant hell hole.

"Princess!" She felt a tug on her arm, and she turned around to see Link's face, unnaturally desperate.

"We have to leave."

"But the people-!"

He pulled on her arm before she could finish the sentence, breaking them into a run.

They're still running.

Each step she took felt like a thousand, as the memories threatened to overwhelm her. Only Link's strong grip on her hand held her to the present moment. Zelda knew, and appreciated, what he did for her back in Castle Town. He made the hard decision for her. He doomed all those people to die. Not her. Then why did she feel so guilty?

Link's hand was suddenly ripped from hers as Zelda tripped on a patch of sodden dirt. Fresh mud joined with the dirt already coated on the front of her dress as she knelt in the grime, her head bowed down. She fought back the tears and curled her fists into balls.

"How…how did it come to this?" Zelda heard Link sheath his sword as he came to kneel in front of her. She looked up to see his face close to hers, covered in mud and small cuts. Only his clear blue eyes spoke of any emotion he was feeling. If a face was considered an open book, his eyes were a window to his very soul. They held a sadness that rivaled her own.

"The Devine Beasts, they all turned against us." She continued to voice the thoughts that had been plaguing her for hours, and she curled her fists even tighter, feeling the mud slip between her fingers. "Calamity Ganon. It turned them all against us. And everyone-" Zelda's voice grew soft as she recalled the fate of her Champions- her friends. "Mipha, Urbosa, Revali and Daruk…they're all trapped inside those things."

Then it hit her like the first wave of a storm. The leering face of the one responsible for this living nightmare; herself. Zelda could no longer hold back the torrent of tears as the guilt and despair took hold of her, and she dropped her face into her hands.

"It's all my fault!" Zelda sobbed. "Our only hope for defeating Ganon is lost, all because I couldn't harness this cursed power!"

She could feel Link's gaze on her, but still the knight said nothing. His silence could mean anything, but she knew he didn't condemn her, even if she did so herself. So many things she didn't do. She could've stayed and defended her people. She could've listened to her father, and used all the time she spent studying Ancient technology to unlocking her hidden power. Zelda tilted her head up to look at the clouds, letting the rain wash a little of the dirt away. She waited until the lump in her throat went away before speaking again.

"Everything- everything I've done up until now, was all for nothing."

She turned to face Link again, drawing her eyebrows together in a vain attempt to hold back the tears. "So I really am just a failure! All my friends, the entire Kingdom…my father most of all. I tried, and I've failed them all. I left…" Her voice fell to a near whisper. "I left them all to die."

Zelda fell sobbing into Link's arms, gripping his tattered blue tunic so tight her knuckles turned white. She felt his strong arms go around her as she cried on his shoulder, her tears mixing in with the rain.

They stayed like that for what seemed liked hours, until the rain had finally subsided into a small drizzle. Link leaned back and gently wiped one of Zelda's dirt streaked cheek with his thumb.

"We did what we could." He said softly. "We all did. All what we can do now is avenge their deaths."

He stood and offered Zelda a hand, along with a small smile. "And we can't do that from here."

As they continued their trek through the forest, Zelda felt as if a weight had been lifted from her. Even though the world had grown dark, the darkest it's been since a thousand years, instead of the despair that had been following her, it was replaced with something else. Something she thought she would never feel. Hope.

With the two of them, there was still a chance of defeating Ganon, albeit a slim one. If they managed to evade the possessed Guardians long enough for Zelda to unlock the sealing power, not all would be lost.

She gripped his hand tighter as she made a promise within herself. No more lives will be lost because of her. She would protect Link. No matter what the cost.