A/n: I don't own Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It belongs to Nintendo.
I wanted to do a retelling of some of the memories. These are memories #12, the one in the grove of trees and I believe #13, which is the one you get after you complete all the locked ones. So Spoilers?
Zelda's breath comes in gasps as Link pulls her headlong into a grove of trees, cutting over to the left and then to the right. The rain comes down in torrents. Visibility is poor. How does he know where to go? She wonders, I can hardly see a few hands breaths in front of my face. Her lungs and legs burn from the effort. The heavy fabric of her dress tangles in her legs nearly tripping her for the umpteenth time. She grabs a handful of it to keep it above her feet. Modesty and decorum aren't important right now Her shoes have long since been lost in her escape. Mud squishes between her toes and she slides on the wet grass. Occasionally a branch finds the soft underside of her foot. Curse impractical footwear!
How long have we been running?
A laser shoots past them incinerating a tree nearby. Deer flee in front of them. One isn't so lucky and falls over dead on the spot. The acrid smell of burnt flesh cuts though air. Answers my question, she thinks. Not long enough.
Link's fingers dig into her wrist as he pulls her along. No, not pull. Drag. In his other hand, he holds the Sword that Seals the Darkness like the chosen ones before him. He pulls her along like a disobedient child who refused to obey. Any other time she would have hated him for it. Now, she is grateful.
A crack of thunder echos near by making her jump. Her left ankle finds a dip in the road and bends at a painful angle. She cries out as she slips out of Link's grasp and directly into a puddle of mud.
I deserve this, she thinks. The cold rain cuts through her bare skin and her thin dress. Mud squishes between her toes. She hope Link keeps running, but he doesn't. He stops and sheathes his sword.
"Please, leave me. Just let me die." Her request comes out of the whisper. It's only now she sees growing splotch of blood growing on his tunic. If it hurts him, he doesn't let on. He blows water away from his face and squats down beside her.
Mipha would have her work cut out for her later, and Urbosa would mend his tunic with fine stitches. Zelda herself couldn't even manage a neat running stitch because she was too impatient. Another marking of her failures as a princess.
Except now they wouldn't.
"How?" She pants. "How did it come to this?"
She knows the answer to her question. She had one duty. One. And she wasn't able to fulfill it.
"The Divine Beast. The Guardians. They've all turned against us."
It shouldn't have been possible. The Sheikah technology made it so that the Divine Beasts only responded to the Champions. Robbie made sure this safeguard was in place. She and Link had watched the painstaking process as the technology was applied.
"It was Calamity Ganon!" She growls as she squeezes the mud in between her hands. She raises her fists above her head and slams it into the puddle sending mud over both of them. "It turned them all against us."
An image of Urbosa's mangled body flashes in front of her eyes before being sealed in her Divine Beast. Her most trusted adviser. Her confidante. Her second mother. Gone. Right before her eyes.
"And everyone, Urbossa, Mipha, Revaldi, and Daruk. They're all trapped inside those things. It's all my fault."
Link doesn't say anything. He lowers his gaze to the ground, to the mud. He won't look her in the eye. He loved them too, especially Mipha, and she wonders if he blames her for their deaths.
"Our only hope for defeating Ganon is lost because I couldn't harness this cursed power!" Tears stream down her face. "I tried. I tried so hard and I don't know what I did wrong. I did everything I could. Everything— everything I've done up until now it was all for nothing…."
People are dead because of me. Maybe the gossipers were right. Maybe I offended the Goddess in some way. Maybe in some twisted way, I'm responsible for my mother's death. Maybe I'm not really the Queen's daughter, but an impostor?
"SO I REALLY AM A FAILURE!" she screams through chattering teeth. A crack of thunder follows giving emphasis to her words. Link flinches. "My friends, my kingdom, and my father most of all. I have failed everyone. I never wanted this destiny and the Goddess knew my heart and that's why. Everything I touch is ruined because I am selfish. I left them… all to die."
Calamity Ganon would win. Hyrule would no longer exist because of her.
Link's piercing blue eyes meet her eyes. Those eyes who she hated in the beginning, but now… Even he would die, she realizes. Because there was no hope left.. Nothing. His fate was sealed when he was appointed her knight. When taking that position meant his name changed to Link. The title that was passed down from generation to generation. That in itself, is too much to bear. An anguished wail escapes her lips. Link's arms close around her body. She buries her head into his shoulder and sobs.
"Gareth, I'm so sorry." Her voice is muffled in his tunic.
"That's not my name any longer." His voice is firm and he strokes her hair clumsily. She breathes in his scent. He smells like leather, blood, and sweat. Is this what war smells like?
"We should get back to the castle," He grimaces. "We can't stay here. Hyrule field is swarming with Guardians. The lightening might slow them down but not by much. It's only a matter of time before they find us. With the Divine Beasts and Guardians no longer on our side, our chance of survival has been cut in half." He helps her to the feet, not worried about the mud caked on her hands. He's a knight after all, he's probably handled much worse.
She tests her ankle. It's sore, but it will be able to bear weight.
He gives a small smile. "Don't worry. We'll come up with something. Get something to eat. I always think better on a full stomach."
His eyes are so kind, she thinks. Why did I ever underestimate him? Why did I hate him so?
Then he grimaces and clutches his side. Blood seeps out from underneath his tunic.
"You're hurt?"
Link waves it away. "I'm fine."
"We have to get back," Zelda says. "We're not too far from the castle…"
Together, they walk out of the grove of trees. The storms had stopped as quickly as it had flared up. Maybe it took a dent in the Guardians. After all, they were metal weren't they?
Suddenly a metallic hum fills the air and the blade of the Master Sword turns blue. Link moves in front of her with his sword out, ready. Six Guardians surround them on both sides.
"No," Zelda cries out. She tries to fight him, but it's like trying to move a brick wall. "Link. Run!"
Link lunges towards the metal monsters. They train their single eyes on him. Simultaneously, they begin charging up their lasers. One he could survive, but six?
"Run!" she screams trying to push him. "Save yourself."
The laser shoots out of the eye almost in slow motion. A scream tears from her mouth as the blue light pierces his skin. He grunts and then falls to his knees. The Sword the Seals the Darkness falls from his grasp. She raises her hand above her head summoning all her power. "Goddess Hylia if you are listening, please help me."
Power flows through her body, creating a brilliant white light. The Guardians sputter and then turn into lifeless stone statues.
Zelda stops and looks at her hands. "This is? Is this my power But why now? Why now, when everything is lost?"
Link groans and tries to roll over on his side. Blood stains his tunic from the burn of the Guardian's eye.
"No, don't move," Zelda cries rushing to his side. She gathers his body in her arms. "You're hurt, but you're going to be alright. You're going to live."
"I've got to protect you," he says trying to sit up.
"No, it's alright. They're gone. My power… Well, it's not important now. You're going to be fine." She wipes away the blood that drips out of the corner of his mouth.
"I'm so cold," he murmurs. His lashes flutter.
"No. Link. Wake up. Stay with me." She shakes him. "It's okay. You can't. I need you."
"After all this time," he coughs. "You were worried that you wouldn't be able to harness your power." He smiles weakly.
"No! Someone help me." Sobbing she clutches his body. Tears fall onto his face. Link's breath becomes more labored. The light begins to go out of his eyes. Those startling blue eyes that took her breath away every time. "Oh Goddess, no. Don't take him from me. He's all I have left. Please. Don't you understand?"
"Princess…" He says.
"Shh…" she hushes and strokes his hair. "Save your strength. Impa and the others will be here soon. All you need is some stitches and some good food and you'll be right as rain. You'll see."
"I always had faith in you Princess," he says weakly. His skin is an ashy gray and there's no color in his lips. "Even when you didn't have faith in yourself." He shudders and then his body goes limp in her arms. A gray film moves over his eyes.
Tears stream down her cheek and on to his bloodied tunic as she clutches his lifeless body against her. A cold rain begins to fall on them. The Master sword lies beside him, the blade dull and lifeless.
"I love you," she whispers.
To find my power I had to lose him, but with this power I'll bring him back.
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