Guys…I am so sorry…The amount of work I have been given lately is just stupid and I barely even have time to sleep…I'm trying my best here and I'm not going to give up on the story. I'll continue it up to the very end and so if its been a while since I lasted posted anything, please be patient. To hopefully make it up, I made this chapter longer than most (so please forgive me!) Alright, enough with that…Enjoy!
"Marth, you need to stop! Your hands are bleeding!" Ike pleaded as he ran up to the prince and removed his hands from the wall. He grabbed Marth by the ends of his shoulders and placed him on Zelda's bed. After that, the mercenary didn't know what else to do on from there. There was nothing he could say, all he could do was watch Marth burst into tears.
Marth tried to speak and his voice came out in a hoarse tone. "Zelda…Why didn't you just tell me? We could've worked something out…"
The green elf in the corner didn't have any words of comfort and said to Marth, "At least…Now we know the reason why she has cancer. But like the doctor said, if everything works out, she'll be fine and Zelda can come home! C'mon, we need to fill her request and clean up her house like she wanted us to do."
Ike agreed. "Yeah…I'll start with the living room and Link, you can clean up the kitchen right? Marth, why don't you go to the bathroom and fix up your wounds. You could get an infection just by leaving those huge cuts like that."
The blue haired swordsman nodded and walked out of the room into the hallway. He went a few doors down and saw an open door that showed a sink. He entered and saw a white, dusty bathroom with pink towels hanged over to the side as a decoration. He saw there was a mirror cabinet over the sink, opened it and saw medication. Marth picked up the bag of cotton and rubbing alcohol and placed it on the side table. He turned on the faucet on and allowed the boiling hot water run down his hands. He didn't feel the pain his hands were going through as they burned, he just stared at the water and looked into the mirror to find himself looking exhausted. His eyes somewhat drooped, dark bags underneath them, and his skin was losing color. He felt as if he was nearing death by the way he saw himself.
He cupped his hands, allowed the hot water to flow in, and splashed is face numerous times. He then turned the water off, walked towards the towels, and dried his face and hands. He picked up the rubbing alcohol, removed the cap, and placed the cotton at the end of the bottle. He titled it a bit and got the ball wet. He rubbed it on his injuries and felt them sting. He arranged everything back to where they were and when he walked out of the bathroom, he heard the sounds of a vacuum. Marth went down the stairs and saw Ike vacuuming the living room and Link washing the dished in the kitchen.
Ike turned off the vacuum when he saw Marth. "Are you feeling a bit better?"
The blue haired prince wanted to answer properly, but all he did was nod. He managed to stop his tears from flowing, but the thought of Zelda still roamed around in his mind and it just continued to make his heart sink. The chance of getting cancer just by drinking was extremely low yet, why did Zelda get so unlucky? He understood that she was in a great amount of stress and people try to forget by drinking and such. He clenched his fists, and the wounds on his knuckles were re-opening, dropping blood onto the carpet.
"Marth, careful!" Ike shouted. The prince returned to reality and saw red stains on the carpet. The mercenary knelt down to the floor and attempted to clean it up. "Man, blood is super heard to get rid of…"
"Ike, I am so sorry…" Marth apologized.
He let out a sigh and said to the prince without looking at him, "It's alright, but Zelda might be a little mad at us…"
"Why did you say 'us'? Don't you mean me?"
"Marth, we are all in this together alright? If one of us were, to say, eat another live human being, then we are still in it together. If one goes to jail, we all do. We are brothers, not by blood, but by bonds. You learn a lot of stuff when you enter war with comrades…Ordinary life is still the same."
Marth couldn't help but smile and after two hours of non-stop cleaning, the house was clean with not a speck of dust to be seen. The clock striked eight and crickets chirping could be heard outside.
"Wow, we might've over done it…" Link commented after sitting on the polished couch. "But still, we did a good job."
Ike, who was laying down on the bed, placed his hand on his stomach. "Dude…I'm hungry. I'm like, dying of hunger…Ugh…Does anyone have pie? Holy shit that sounds so good right now…"
"Ike, go home. You're drunk."
Marth, who came out of the kitchen with some drinks, heard their conversation and bursted out laughing.
Link started at the mercenary and asked Marth, "Does he get drunk when he's hungry, or did he get high on air?"
Marth placed the cups on the table and had a difficult time trying to hold back the laughter. "I-I can't really…answer that." He was laughing so hard he couldn't speak properly.
Link took a quick glance at Marth and reached over to get a cup. "Okay, I'm gonna assume you're drunk too…" The green elf took a sip of the drink and was surprised by how tasty it was. He looked into the cup and saw a golden brown color. "Whoa, what is this? It tastes sweet, but has a pinch of bitterness…"
Peaking Ike's curiosity, he took one as well. His stomach hungered for food, so when he took a sip, he chugged the rest down. "Its delicious. Marth, is this milk tea?"
Marth's laughter had died down at that point and said, "I'm not particularly sure. I just searched around her house to find anything edible, but everything had either spoiled or expired. I found this in the cabinet and saw it was still fresh. I followed the instructions and made some. I haven't tried it myself yet, but judging by the way you guys react, it must be really good." Marth grabbed the remaining cup and took a quick taste. "Wow, you guys are right. I'm gonna have to ask Zelda where she gets-" Marth stopped his remaining words and the thought of Zelda came back. "…Shit."
The room fell silent and the only noises that were to be heard was the clock ticking. None of them looked at each other and Marth felt his phone in his pocket vibrate. He took it out and saw he had gotten mail. The other two swordsmen looked over and Ike even walked up and sat next to Marth. It was mail from the university Marth was going to attend.
"Quick notice for the orientation; a reminder for students that it will be held in a few days from now. In the previous mail we sent, we had forgotten to include the information that students must attend with a parent or guardian. There was a slight confusion, but hopefully we clarified it. For more information, visit our website."
Shocked by the letter, the mercenary asked, "You got accepted to a university and didn't tell me? Man…How long has it been?"
Surprised by Ike's question, Marth said, "Sorry…Its been a little more than a week. I just never got the chance to tell you…" Re-reading the mail, he grew worried.
Ike saw the concerned expression on Marth's face and asked, "What's wrong? You don't look to happy."
"They are asking for a guardian to come with me, but I…don't have any except my sister who lives far from here. I put her in charge of my kingdom so even if I tried, she must be busy with all the work she has…"
Link jumped into the conversation. "Well, surely they know about you're background and maybe you have an exception. If they don't let you, just take Ike along, say he's your older brother, and go. I won't deny the fact you guys could look like relatives or something."
"True…" Marth hesitated and didn't want to bother anyone, but it looked like it was his only option. "Ike, are you willing to come along with me?"
The mercenary sighed and agreed. "I guess so."
A small smile spread across his face. "Thanks."
Letting the conversation die down a bit, Link saw the time and thought it was best that they should be going. "Alright guys, it was nice hanging out will you all and its getting a bit late. Tomorrow, we meet up at the hospital to see Zelda, right?"
The other two swordsmen agreed and they walked around the house to turn off all the lights and made sure nothing was on. After confirming everything, they exited the house and Link locked the door with the key Zelda gave him. They said their farewells until tomorrow and walked separate ways. The cool breeze calmed Marth and walked home waiting for the next day.
The following day came with the prince waking up to a few cars passing by on the road. He forced himself and saw he woke up at a moderately decent time. He took a few swings with his sword, took a shower, ate a quick breakfast, and went out to see Zelda.
Upon arriving, he saw her door was closed and opened it slightly only to find the room empty with the princess asleep on the bed. Marth quietly allowed himself in and shut the door softly. He brought a chair up to her bed and all he could do was watch her sleep. For some, this might've been a boring task, but for Marth, just being by her side was sufficient enough.
He saw the time and wondered why the other hadn't arrived yet, but surely if Zelda was still asleep, it was most likely that the other two were as well. He paid it no mind and simply watched the princess sleep. He could hear the cardiac monitor beep at a slow pace and saw the amount of medicine Zelda had to be taking each day. It made Marth feel like the whole thing was his fault, but if it was her own family causing her to stress out so much, then there was nothing he could do. He wanted to help her in any way, but this time, he couldn't. He should've known that they both live different lives than the one here and that being together was impossible.
The prince leaned over and placed his hand on Zelda's head. He whispered quietly, "Zelda…"
He heard a murmur come from her and she opened her eyes. She blinked a few times and looked up to see the prince with a sad expression. "Marth…?" She lifted herself up and Marth removed his hand form her head. "Good morning…" She let out a yawn. "Is something wrong? You seem sad."
He didn't know how to start the conversation, that he read her diary, having to leave soon, and that he was aware she drank to forget her problems. But first off, he wanted to apologize from the day before. He placed his hand atop of hers and said, "Zelda, I'm sorry about yesterday. I just wanted to figure why you ended up being here. Why you had gotten cancer…Its only because I love you so much that it hurts."
Zelda took her graze off of Marth and down to the sheets over her. "Marth…I'm sorry. I don't really know how I got it." Zelda could feel Marth tighten his hand over hers. "I thought about all the questions you asked me, but I didn't do any of those."
The prince couldn't bear it any longer and removed his hand from hers. "I figured out how." Zelda returned to facing Marth. "You drank alcohol didn't you?"
Zelda's eyes grew wide and the cardiac monitor began to beep rapidly. "When did you…?"
"I'm sorry, but when you gave the key to Link, we entered your room, found your diary, and read it."
Shocked by Marth's words, she yelled, "Why would you do that! Interfering with my personal life?"
"I was doing it for your fucking sake! Your personal life my ass. You agreed to marry me, but you don't tell me anything about yourself. I feel like I always have to ask or look for myself just so I could learn more about the woman I'm going to marry…That's not fucking right! You could've just told me instead of putting the entire burden on yourself. Isn't that why I'm by your side?" Marth was desperately trying to hold back the tears by gritting his teeth and something he never wanted to say. "Do you…not love me anymore? Is that it?"
Zelda struggled to get out of the bed with her stomach and back aching. She placed her feet on the cold tiled floor and limped over to Marth. She hugged him and said, "No…I could never, never hate you. I can't stop loving you even if I tried. I'm so sorry; I should've told you. I just didn't want to bother anyone especially the man I love." Marth felt his shoulder grew wet and realized she was crying. "I didn't want us to separate, but that was the only idea that came to mind. I should've told you…"
She continued to repeat the words and Marth removed Zelda from his chest. He looked into her sapphire eyes and then down to her pale pink lips. He planted a warm, tender kiss and brought her into an embrace. "Its alright now…But please, tell me anything and everything. Whether it was just about your day, sad thoughts, or happy things." Marth could hear her hiccup and cough a few times. He gently brought her over to her bed and placed Zelda back with the covers over her. "Okay?"
The princess nodded and noticed the princes' hands. "Marth…I didn't notice. What happened to your hands?"
Marth didn't even look at the cuts on his knuckles and replied, "Lets just say I did it out of love."
Zelda didn't fully understand what he meant and suddenly blushed when a thought came to mind. "Marth, can I ask you something?"
"No need to ask for permission. Go right ahead."
"How long has it been since we kissed like that?"
The prince felt his face turn hot and said, "I don't really remember…Few months perhaps? I wasn't really thinking and then my body moved on its own…"
Zelda smiled wholeheartedly and told the prince. "I love you Marth."
Marth kneeled down to his knees and took Zelda's hand. "Milady, I will love you forever till death do us apart." He brought over the princess's hand and kissed it.
Suddenly the door barged open with Ike and Link laughing.
"Holy shit, he knew Marth could be such a lady killer!" Link was on the floor laughing while Ike was trying to hold himself up on the wall.
Marth grew embarrassed and yelled, "How long have you too ben there!?"
Ike who calmed down a bit said, "Somewhere around Zelda asking about your hands or something?"
The prince felt a sense of relief that they weren't around when they had their fight but at the same time he wished they didn't hear him talk like an actual prince. Zelda, who was laying in bad laughed a bit even though she felt a bit embarrassed. After a few minutes, everyone gathered around Zelda and they talked for a bit when Ike brought up that Marth had been accepted to the university in the city where they lived.
"Marth, thats great news!" Zelda cheerfully said. "When is orientation?"
A small smile widened on the prince's face and pointed at Ike. "A few days from now and this big loaf is coming with me."
Enjoying the way Marth described Ike and speaking of good news, it reminded Zelda of something. "Oh that reminds me!"
"What's up?" Link asked.
"I'm getting discharged next week!"
All three swordsmen jumped off from their chair with great exhilaration. "Really?"
Zelda did a cute nod with her head and said, "Yep!"