Slash by slash, swing by swing, dodge by dodge. Link silently counted the amount of times he swung at the Gerudo-turned-beast and missed horribly. For a colossal pig, Ganon was swift. No matter how many slashes he made with the Master Sword, no matter how many attacks he attempted, the young Hylian could scarcely land a blow on his opponent.
Ganon's harsh, scratchy laugh echoed unnaturally across the battlefield. "Did you actually think you could defeat me!?" he roared in amusement. "You are a mere boy whilst I bear the Triforce of Power! Courage will get you nowhere if you lack the Power to do anything! Weakling!"
Link struggled to ignore the evil king's words; he was harshly reminded of his days in the Kokiri Forest, where everyone (save for Saria and the Great Deku Tree, of course) looked down upon him. Weak, they called him. They always said he was a freak who would never amount to anything. Maybe Mido and the others were right after all, Link thought bitterly as he raised his shield to guard against a strike from one of Ganon's swords. Maybe I really wasn't meant for anything great.
Princess Zelda could only watch in horror as the Hero of Time was slowly weakened right before her eyes. She would've tried to aid Link in battle, with a bow most likely, but a wall of roaring flames blocked her path. She felt utterly useless. Was this all the goddesses had meant for her to do? Wait around like some damsel in distress while Link was out there risking his life for her and her kingdom? If she could just get over there, she knew she could help figure out Ganon's weak point.
Some sacred gift Wisdom is, she thought sadly to herself. Knowing what to do but not being able to do it. Oh Link, please be careful…
No sooner had she looked down at the stone beneath her did she hear Link's strangled cry. Zelda's head shot up, eyes wide with fear. She was barely able to make out two silhouettes through the flames. There stood Ganon, proud and tall, with his inhuman claws wrapped around Link's neck.
"Sword of Evil's Bane, hah!" the monster laughed. "Pitiful little butter knife!" Ganon plucked the Master Sword from the young hero's grip and flung it aside. The blade embedded itself in the stone mere feet away from where Zelda stood. Without a second thought, she ran forward and snatched up the weapon. Although to a normal being, the Master Sword was too heavy to wield, Zelda held a piece of the Triforce. She silently thanked the goddesses that she was able to lift it.
The princess was just about ready to either dash through the wall of fire herself or throw the sword over it and hope she didn't strike Link, when there was the sickening sound of a sword striking flesh. Zelda froze, desperately hoping she had misheard as the fire faded away into embers.
The first thing she saw was Navi. The fairy seemed to be suspended in the air, wings hardly beating as she stared straight ahead. Navi's blue glow looked considerably dimmer, and Zelda wasn't sure if it was from the evil magic surrounding Ganon, or from grief and horror, as the Holder of Wisdom caught sight of the very thing she had feared throughout the entire battle.
Link lay in a crumpled heap on the ground, Ganon standing over him. The former Gerudo had an expression of sickening glee on his warped features as he stood, one clawed hand on the hilt of the deadly weapon that was now plunged deep into the hero's chest.
Time stood still. Zelda found herself unable to breathe, but refused to let herself crumple to the floor. Instead, she flung the Master Sword at Ganon with all her might, but the King of Evil brushed it away as if it was little more than an irksome fly. "Silly little princess," he laughed coldly. "That thing cannot defeat a being of pure Power such as I. Now, don't you want to say goodbye to your little hero?" With a cruel smirk, Ganon stepped back, wrenching the sword out of Link's chest and causing a bloody mess.
The last thing Zelda wanted to do was obey a request from this terrible creature, but one look at Link caused her to run to the young man's side. "Link…" she whispered. "No, no it can't end like this…Din…Nayru…Farore…someone…"
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Link angled his crystal blue eyes up at the Princess of Destiny. "I-I'm sorry…" he choked out weakly. "Zelda…I f-failed…"
"Don't apologize," Zelda pleaded. "You don't need to apologize, just…just hold on, I'll figure something out. You'll be okay, you'll be fine." She looked around, her gaze eventually landing upon the fairy that had hovered closer to the pair. "Navi…?" Zelda asked tentatively.
"I c-can't heal him," Navi whispered sadly. "I-I'm a guide fairy, n-not a healing one…I'm s-so sorry, I wish I could help…"
Zelda shook her head. "No…no it's o-okay…" She moved her hand to brush Link's bloodstained bangs out of his forehead, ignoring the red that now covered her dress and gloves. "Link…I'm sorry, I-I dragged you into this…if I had just been able to c-convince my father that Ganondorf was an evil man…"
"Shh…" Link murmured. "N-Not your fault…" He looked up at her and smiled to the best of his ability. "I'm glad I did this. I n-never would've m-met you otherwise…" Zelda opened her mouth to speak again, but Link beat her to it. "I love you…Z-Zelda..."
Tears threatened to spill from the princess's eyes as she whispered, "I l-love you too, Link…" She leaned down so that her face was inches away from his, and, in one fleeting moment, their lips touched.
The kiss barely lasted a second before Link's lips fell away from hers and his eyes clouded over. Touching the-no, her hero's cold cheek gently, Zelda finally let her calm façade fade away and allowed the tears to come. She cried over Link's now lifeless body, not caring that she was in the middle of a pool of still-warm, scarlet blood. Navi landed on Zelda's shoulder, trying to console the distraught princess whilst choking back sobs of her own.
Teardrops splattered in the blood as Zelda's cries mingled with Ganon's triumphant roars and reached the ears of every citizen of Hyrule. Hope vanished as the innocent people realized their worst fears had come true; the darkness had won.
I tried so hard and got so far,
But in the end it doesn't even matter,
I had to fall, to lose it all,
But in the end,
It doesn't even matter. ~In the End, by Linkin Park