A/N: And this is the end of that! Thank you very much for reading. I appreciate it very much, and I am glad it was enjoyable thus far.
HAZE. →A↓→A↓
Chapter 4
His eyes shot open as he ripped the blankets off of his body in a panic. He sat still for a moment, his hands feeling clammy from waking in a cold sweat. The only sound was the clock ticking on the wall. His let his eyes fall on the object, seeing it was only a little past midnight. That made it August 15th.
The match was today…
The match where Marth died.
Link continued to breathe in audibly and deeply and stared straight up at the ceiling. What he could only hope were nightmares—although he knew better than that—of Marth's death had been plaguing him for what had seemed like ages now. He'd lost track of how many times he'd played the song that whisked him back in time to the start of the 14th, but it felt like it had been tens of hundreds of years…
With a sigh, Link moaned and rolled over in his bed, pulling his pillow down tight over his head to block out the image of the moon. It was exactly times like this that he started to believe that he was losing his mind. Why wasn't it working? Just how many times did he have to see the prince die before he could live?
What had compelled him to continue the cycle when he could just as easily end it himself? The 16th was just within reach.
Link rolled over again. He didn't like when his mind ran wild like that—he hated when his thoughts dipped in that direction.
He was a hero, it was his job. Link frowned. There had to be something he could do differently this time—something that would finally work.
There had to be something. There had to be a point in time where Marth wasn't run over or drowned. There had to be a time where he didn't go flying out of windows and bleed to death in the flowers, or have his neck snapped in battle. There must be a time where the heat didn't make the prince sick and dizzy and shove him down the stairs.
There had to be, or Link's efforts were all wasted.
His mind swam in scenarios, and he found it difficult to fall back asleep.
Cold water cascaded down Marth's body—a brief reprieve from the damning heat just beyond the shower curtain. He let the water pool into his cupped hands and splashed it onto his face, both jolting him awake and momentarily washing away his anxieties before they slowly crept their way back up into his mind. He stared blankly at the shower nozzle, intrigued by his own warped reflection in the casing, and blinked away droplets as icy streams lead into his eyes.
There wasn't anything particularly remarkable about today, but Marth couldn't shake his feelings of dread no matter how many times he drilled facts his head.
Today is just like any other day. I will be fine. I should not feel this way.
But his heart would not listen to his mind, and instead continually tried to drag his thoughts down to the same obscure place of fear Marth could not identify.
I'm going to die.
He hurriedly splashed his face, and when it failed to quell his unease, he shut off the water and leaned against the wall of the shower. He listened as the quickly depleting stream was reduced to droplets with hardly enough energy to make a sound as they hit the plastic floor. When the sound came almost unbearably slow, he reached for a towel and stepped out of the shower.
Marth grimaced as the summer swallowed up any trace that the shower had been at all refreshing.
He looked at himself in the mirror and ran the hand not supporting his weight on the counter through his soaked hair. The difference between the caricature of a prince with glazed over eyes he had seen in the shower and the reflection he saw now almost made him question if he was still the same person.
The sound of knocking on his bedroom door startled Marth back into focus, "One moment!"
Marth dried himself as quickly as he could and put on his shirt and pants for the sake of decency before opening the door. He felt that he should be surprised when he found Link standing in the doorway, having no idea what the hero could want, but his presence somehow felt expected at the same time.
"Good morning, Link. Is there something that you'd like?"
Link nodded, pushing his way into the room without saying a word.
"Close the door."
"Is something the matter?" Marth asked, suddenly very serious.
"The door…"
Very slowly, Marth complied.
"Listen…" Link began the second the door clicked shut, his tone an odd combination of desperation and authority. "You can't leave your room today."
Marth's earlier feelings of anxiety rose back up in his throat. "What? I have a match today, I have to go."
"Forfeit."
"I can't do that! That would be dishonorable. I have an obligation to—"
"You can't."
The prince's shoulders tensed as the hero grabbed them forcefully. The sudden contact put him on edge, and he almost cursed himself for not wearing his pauldrons, "Link, let me go."
"You have to stay here." His fingers dug into Marth's skin. "You can't leave this room, and you can't let anyone come in."
"And why is that?" Marth questioned, finding Link's sudden fluency off-putting.
Link's grip eased slightly, but he still did not let go of the prince, "It's the only thing I can think of."
Marth shifted uncomfortably, "What do you mean?"
"To keep you alive."
Link's hands suddenly snapped back and pushed the hero a step backwards. He seemed as if his own words had surprised him. Marth involuntarily took a step back and bumped into the door, his knees quickly losing their ability to support him. Link had said it—he'd put Marth's blind fears into words. Marth dug his fingernails into his palms and bit his lip, No, this is ridiculous.
The prince moved from the door and stood up, "That's ridiculous. You are worrying far too much about this match today. Over a near stranger, no less."
"You don't understand." Link replied, his tone dead flat. "You're—"
—going to die.
"Please, Link," Marth opened the door behind him and stood to the side, presenting the thing as if it were something grand, "I would be very appreciate if you would take your leave now."
Link narrowed his eyes and didn't budge, "Marth—"
"This room is like hell, Link. I will not stay here."
Link made a frustrated sound, screwed his eyes shut, and latched on to a huge chunk of his hair—gripping it with such intensity that Marth was surprised it wasn't all ripped out. When the hero opened his eyes again, he looked as if he hadn't slept in ages. The prince took notice.
"Perhaps sleeplessness makes you a liar…" he said airily, almost to himself.
Link's response came in like stressed shouts Marth only heard from him on the battlefield, "A liar? You think I'm lying? Do you want to die?"
Marth looked away and waited before quietly replying, "Of course not."
Link's voice calmed, "Then stay here."
"And just what makes you so sure that I am going to die today?"
Link fulfilled Marth's earlier request and made his way towards the door. He stopped at the doorway, remaining silent for an agonizing amount of time as if to make up for his sudden flood of speech. He looked completely exhausted. When he spoke again it was hardly a whisper:
"Maybe you won't..."
And he made his way out the door and down the hall. Unsatisfied with the response, Marth moved to follow him, but his hands unconsciously flew up to the doorframe to keep him trapped inside his room. Don't be an idiot. He chided, You will not die today.
"Marth, are you okay?" came the voice of a wide eyed Peach. "What just happened?"
The prince turned his head in the opposite direction and found Zelda, Samus, and Peach standing down the hall with a picnic basket in hand.
"Was he threatening you?" Samus asked, her eyes narrowed. Zelda's head snapped in her direction, but she said nothing.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Did you hear all of that?" Marth asked, suddenly aware that the shouting had taken place with the door wide open. "And… no, he wasn't threatening me." He finished, even though he was unsure that himself.
The women—excluding Zelda—seemed incredulous.
"I believe he is just… overly concerned about my match today."
"Why would he be?" Samus asked, still not appearing entirely convinced. "You're a strong fighter. No offense, Zelda, but it sounds like your friend might be a little paranoid."
Zelda shook her head, "Link has more courage and trust than anyone I have ever met. Things like paranoia are not in his nature."
Something about that struck a chord with Marth. The women quickly became engaged in their own conversation as Marth bid them goodbye and slipped back into his room. He did not know Link very well, but he felt that the outburst had been strange. What reason could Link have possibly had to lie to him?
But Marth shook off these thoughts and began to strap on his armor. Surely his survival was not dependent on the words of a stranger…
Before Marth had time to collect himself, chaos had overtaken Onett.
Ness leapt for a pitfall and successfully snatched it away from Lucas' grasp. Lucas quickly whirled around and launched an attack at Marth. The prince ripped Falchion from its sheath and skillfully parried the fireball.
Down below, Ness made use of the pitfall and hurled it at Pikachu in the road, not noticing the fast approaching truck down the way. Lucas gasped and jumped back down to the ground, completely forgetting about the prince above.
"Pikachu!" The boy cried, leaping after the Pokemon.
"Ness, no!" Said Lucas, gripping the other boy's arm with a deadly strength.
Ness struggled to tear himself away and jump after Pikachu, but Lucas was determined to prevent it. His voiced panicked and eyes wild, he whirled around to face Marth.
"Do something, you're an adult!"
"Stop the match!" Marth shouted, his eyes darting in the direction of the match overseer. "Stop the match, this is serious!"
No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
"Please! He'll die!"
No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
"Marth!"
"Damn it!" Marth swore and sheathed his sword before jumping from the roof top to the street below.
He reached Pikachu just in time to free him from the hole in the ground, but the overseer never called the match. As far as Pikachu knew, they were still in the middle of a fight. With a frightening quickness, Pikachu electrocuted his savoir and scrambled out of the street, leaving the prince behind in the street to die yet again.
Marth collapsed from the shock. The children shrieked, jumping backwards and covering their faces with their hands as they saw something Marth could not. At about the same time, the prince felt something ram into him and send him tumbling to the other side of the street. The match was called.
And suddenly blood was everywhere. Marth coughed on the acrid scent of copper and heat. Ness and Lucas rushed to his aid, pulling him onto the sidewalk and doing their best to get him back on his feet.
"Marth, stand up! Stand up!"
He obeyed and looked up in horror when he saw what had happened. Almost as suddenly as the match had begun, it had ended with Link lying dead in the street. Marth was absolutely petrified. The audience roared to life with excitement and confusion. As if on pure instinct, Marth bolted in the direction of the mess as words from earlier that day rang in his ears.
"And just what makes you so sure that I am going to die today?"
"Maybe you won't..."
"No…"
Marth felt as if he would faint. The two of them had spoken just hours ago. His heart was in his mouth as his brain latched onto the subject. Just hours ago, he came to warn me. Marth wanted to go back to his home, go to bed, and pretend like all of the things that had just happened to him in the past few seconds or so had all just been a dream. If he had listened to Link…
But Marth he knew that wasn't an option, and he felt the sun laughing at him behind his back.
The images in his mind were blurry, but he knew the scene was wrong.
And then the Committee was suddenly creeping their way all over Onett, snatching up Pikachu and Ness and Lucas. A man grabbed Marth on the arm to hoist him up off the road, but the prince quickly slapped the hand away.
"Stand up, Lowell."
"I will not." Marth snapped. "Do you not see this? You should have done something to prevent this—"
"Sir, there was nothing —"
"Do not give me any of that! This is your tournament and your arena. How did he even get here? There is no way anyone could have possibly missed him—"
Marth was cut off as more members of the Committee came forward and put their hands on him. He struggled against them, but the efforts proved to be in vain as he they began dragging him across the street when he refused to stand. Marth kicked frantically, flailing like a madman in the grip of even madder men.
And words came spilling out of his mouth before he could stop them, "I should have stayed in my room…" He breathed, but the heat burned up his words before anyone could hear them.
The competitors were in a frantic uproar, pointing fingers and crying foul as Link's body was peeled off the concrete and presented for Zelda before she instructed them to send him back to Hyrule. The committee braved the front with a chilling coolness and robotic responses likely pulled straight from a trainee handbook.
No one could imagine what had possessed Link to dash out on to the stage in the middle of a battle. Rumors began to circulate just as quickly as concern. Link would have had to have known about the car in advance, and he had gone to Marth's room earlier with warnings…
Marth searched the room for Zelda, but he could not find her among the other fighters. His eyes caught Ganondorf's from across the room, and the king flashed a smile at him. Marth frowned and quickly broke the contact, and Ganondorf went back to cruelly boasting about the death of his rival and at the same time declaring the oddity of summer days.
Marth went out into the hallway in search of Zelda and found her standing just outside the door as if she'd been waiting there. She did not meet his eyes, but greeted him kindly, "Prince Marth."
"Princess Zelda," Marth began, his tone as gentle as he could manage, "There is something I would like to speak to you about."
She did not turn to face him, "Yes?"
"This morning, when Link came into my room..." When Zelda did not reply, Marth continued, "And he said that I would die today if I left there."
"And you would have, had Link not been there to save you." Something in Zelda's tone struck Marth as odd. He had figured that Zelda would have been upset, but she appeared to be as calm and understanding as ever.
He frowned, "Princess Zelda, did… you two know something…?"
There was a long pause before Zelda spoke again, "Please come with me, Prince Marth."
She walked passed him without so much as offering a glance, but Marth still managed to catch the same tired expression she had seen on Link. The prince followed behind her silently until the two of them reached her room. Marth stopped, wary of accompanying the woman by himself, but she gestured for him to follow and he reluctantly obeyed. Once in her room, she motioned for Marth to close the door behind them and pulled something from a small box on the table next to her bed.
"What is that…?" Marth asked, not moving from his place near the door.
"The Ocarina of Time." She replied, starring at the instrument with a mixture of love and apprehension. "There is a song known by members of the Hylian Royal Family that, when played on this instrument, can alter the flow of time. Only a selected few outside of the family are taught this song, and Link is—was, one of them…"
Marth nearly fell over as sudden realization struck him hard across the face. "I see…"
Zelda made no move to return the instrument back to its box, and, after a few moment of silence, Marth stepped forward. He spoke softly, "Princess Zelda... I am very sorry for the loss you have suffered today. I understand loss more than I care to admit, and I feel as if Link's death today is my fault, and I would like to right this wrong. If I had listened today…"
"Do not blame yourself so harshly." Zelda replied just as softly. "It is understandable that you would not believe him so easily. In your perspective, you are but strangers."
"I would, if you would allow me, like to learn this song and save Link."
"You have tried before…"
Marth blinked, surprised, "I do not remember that."
"It is not surprising. Memories are a tricky thing, and… I feel that it has been a long time."
"How long?"
"I cannot say."
Without any further words, Zelda brought the instrument to her lips.
A↓→A↓
She passed the instrument to the prince.
"Please, take care of yourself. This is more perilous than you believe."
Marth shook his head and smiled, "I know what I'm getting myself in to."
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