Chapter Twelve:

Zelda could hardly believe it. After months of endless battles with the Calamity, it was finally gone. After so much time locked away, shut off from the world, she was finally free.

How fresh the air tasted! How vibrantly the sun shone! Zelda turned from Ganondorf and wandered towards the doorway. She stepped out onto the gray dirt, shielding her eyes from the light of day. She blinked, finally adjusting to the brightness. She gasped lightly, her knees buckling before failing completely. A single tear rolled down her face.

Beyond the ruined castle, beyond the scorched earth of Castle Town, life bloomed. The grass had never been so green, nor had the trees been so tall. Birds flew in the distance, chirping in the sky. She spotted deer in the countryside, loping amongst the plains. White snow glistened on the mountaintops in the distance. Lake Hylia gleamed in the distance, the blue waters sparkling lively.

It was beautiful.

More tears streamed down her face. What was this feeling? This joyous fluttering of her heart? Zelda laughed even as she cried.

Hope, she decided. This was what hope felt like.

Ever since her mother had died, her whole life had been singularly focused on the Calamity. Every waking morning, every exhausting night, her mind was crowded by worries and fears about the Calamity rising. Days and weeks were spent praying to the Goddess' and even more time was spent researching the Guardians and Divine Beasts. She struggled to remember the last time she was free of the stress put on her by the threat of Calamity Ganon's return.

But now, that weight had been lifted. No more would she have to fear and fret that they weren't prepared enough. No more time had to be spent begging the silent Goddess' to heed her prayers. Research on the Guardians could move at a slower pace, no longer rushed by the impending doom that hovered over their heads.

Zelda smiled, even as more tears rolled down her face. The nightmare was over. After years of fear, and months of imprisonment and constant battle, it was finally over.

She was free.

Zelda smiled as a pair of birds flew overhead. There had never been a better feeling.

Ganondorf watched the Princess fall to her knees, crying softly as she gazed out at her kingdom. His trident dissipated, absorbing back into his body. He stood stoically, barely daring to breathe, as to not interrupt this moment. Ganondorf could not guess what she was feeling as she looked out over the scarred lands that were her birthright.

After several minutes of kneeling before the land she owned, she rose to her feet. She turned to Ganondorf, tears streaming down her face even as a smile adorned her face. She brushed her hand across her face, wiping away the tears. The Princess approached Ganondorf. He was much taller than her, so he had to look down at her. She smiled at him, and he grinned back at her.

"Thank you, Ganondorf, for coming to my aid. I do not know how long I would have been trapped with the Calamity had you not come," the Princess admitted.

"Against my better judgement," Ganondorf remarked, and Zelda's eyes sparkled with humor. "But you proved me wrong. I only wish I could have helped sooner."

"I'm sure it hasn't been easy this last year," the Princess said, smile dimming a little.

Ganondorf waved away her comment. "We managed. I heard you and your knight took the brunt of the assault. That couldn't have been an easy task."

The Princess frowned slightly. "No, it was not."

After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "I think we should visit him."

Ganondorf blinked. "Visit him? Where is he?"

"He is recovering in the Shrine of Resurrection. He was gravely injured in the battle at Blatcher Plain," Zelda informed him. "He fought valiantly, single-handedly saving Fort Hateno several times over while trying to escort me to Kakariko Village. I couldn't count how many Guardians he slayed, but there were too many. The Calamity planned this well. So many were lost…"

The Princess got a faraway look, no doubt remembering the burning fields and the cries of the dead. She recovered quickly, feigning a smile. "I would like to visit him and see the progress of his recovery. Would you like to come with me as well?"

Ganondorf thought about it. On one hand, he should probably return to Gerudo Town. On the other hand, this might be a good opportunity to get on the Princess' good side, establish trade deals, get information on the state of the kingdom, and most importantly, rub it in the faces of everyone who refused to help him.

"I don't see why not," Ganondorf replied nonchalantly.

The Princess smiled at him and raised her hand, golden light emanating from it. It enveloped her before wrapping him in the golden sheet. Ganondorf felt his body become weightless. He lost all sense of his bearings, unable to feel the ground or even the air. With a jolt, Ganondorf realized he couldn't even feel himself!

Then the light disappeared, and Ganondorf felt the ground beneath his feet and stale air on his face. While he expected to feel nauseous, he instead felt refreshed, invigorated even.

He had to learn that trick.

Ganondorf looked around. They were in a strange room, with smooth, black walls. Oddly shaped pillars tinted with an orange glow adorned the darkened walls, along with illustrations of stars and constellations. In the center of the room was a tub, filled with a liquid that looked like water, yet wasn't. It was blue, but glowed with an odd light. On top of it was a strange contraption. Many tubes came down from the ceiling and attached to a cone like device, which in turn held a broken orb. Smaller tubes extended from the bottoms of this contraption and went into the strange liquid.

Zelda walked towards the tub. Ganondorf followed, staying a foot behind her. Looking into the tub, Ganondorf saw the outline of a person submerged in the water. The tubes connected to the figure's arms, legs, chest and head, and a few seemed to make their way inside his mouth.

Zelda placed her hand on Link's cheek. It was warm to the touch. She smiled. It was a small relief to see him here, with her own two eyes. It had been one thing to have been assured by the Sheikah that his recovery process was underway, but it was another to see him for herself. Even if he was submerged in foreign liquid and unconscious.

Unbidden tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh Link," she said. "I'm so sorry. I failed you. You've done nothing but put your life on the line for me, even when I didn't deserve it. And when you needed me the most, I couldn't save you. I should have done something. I should have…should have…"

Zelda knelt beside her Appointed Knight. Her Champion. Her Hero. The man who was always a foot behind her. Who put her life above his own. Who shared his secrets with her, only her. Who was always there for her, even in her darkest hours.

And she did not return the favor.

Ganondorf watched Zelda sob quietly at the foot of her Appointed Knight's resting place. Something like pity enveloped Ganondorf's heart. He came to stand next to her, staring down at the unmoving figure of Link. He didn't know the man personally, but his mother always spoke highly of him. It was unusual of her to speak well of a voe, so he supposed Link deserved his respect as well.

"Is there anything we can do?" Ganondorf asked.

"No," Zelda answered. "We can only wait and pray to the Goddesses that his recovery is swift. We never had a chance to test the healing properties of this shrine. Purah was only just able to activate it when the Calamity awoke. And given the gravity of Link's injuries, it's a miracle it's been able to heal him at all. If the Sheikah had been but a minute slower…"

Zelda trailed off, and more tears streamed down her face. Ganondorf just stood there, listening to her sobs and watching the salty droplets splash in the resplendent pool. Ganondorf placed his hand on top of the water, feeling the strange energy swirl throughout the pool.

Ganondorf frowned. The power in the water felt similar to the healing magic that he learned from Mipha, only far dimmer. Imperfect, too. While it was healing Link's body, it was doing something else as well, something he couldn't determine.

"Zelda," Ganondorf inquired. "Did Purah tell you if there would be any side effects of healing Link?"

"Yes," Zelda said, wiping away her tears. "She told me that if someone went in, they would likely sacrifice some mental facilities. In Link's case, she believed he would lose his memories."

"I see." What was the point of healing a person if they ended up useless afterwards?

"Do you know any healing magic?" Ganondorf asked.

"What? No. Don't you think if I did I would have used them?" Zelda snapped. She gasped, covering her mouth. "I'm sorry Ganondorf, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine," Ganondorf said, shrugging away her words. "Do you mind if I try then?"

"W-What? You know how to h-heal someone?" Zelda stammered.

Ganondorf nodded. "Picked it up from Mipha when she pulled the arrow from my shoulder. I've never used it on anyone besides myself though."

"You must teach me," Zelda demanded, eyes burning.

"Teach me how you teleported us all the way here and you've got yourself a deal," Ganondorf said.

Zelda harrumphed. "I'm still the Princess of Hyrule you know. I could just order you to teach me."

"You could try, Princess, but you might find I am somewhat of a difficult teacher," Ganondorf mused.

Zelda laughed, and Ganondorf smirked at her before turning back to Link. Pushing his hand into the water once more, he placed his hand on Link's chest, over one of the tubes that connected to Link's body. The energy was even murkier there. It felt tainted, impure, like something was poisoning it.

Ganondorf gathered what power he had left and pushed it into Link, willing his bones to mend and flesh to heal. Ganondorf grunted, the surge of power being more than he expected. Healing was a fickle magic, wanting to restore anything it came into contact with. It was known to sometimes act without the consent of the user, pulling the magic out of them and leaving them drained. It took a true master, like Mipha, to be able to control the flow of healing magic.

As the magic poured out of Ganondorf, he had to admit, this kid took a lot of damage, much more than anyone should have been able to. Ganondorf doubted if he could have survived what this kid did. He could feel each injury, and there were plenty to go around. Ribs were shattered, lungs were pierced, stomach organs were ruptured and most of the bones in his arms and legs had at least one fracture. Muscles, tendons and ligaments were torn all over the kids body. Burns coated his figure, violently scarring Link's skin almost everywhere he could feel.

And that was after a full year of healing. Frankly, it wasn't great healing liquid, but still, if after an entire year of healing and he still had this much damage, he didn't want to see how he looked before he got here. He must have been a mess.

Ganondorf grimaced, as the magic kept flowing out of him. He faintly heard Zelda's cry of panic as he slumped forward, keeping his hand on Link's chest. Bones fused together and skin sewed itself back together, and slowly, painfully, the kid healed.

Ganondorf gasped, wrenching his hand back. He felt faint, his magic utterly spent. Ganondorf stumbled back against the wall, dimly aware of Zelda calling his name. He was exhausted. He just needed to close his eyes. Just for a moment…

Link opened his eyes slowly, squinting against the brightness. His body ached, stiff like he slept wrong, like the time Zelda's tent had blown away and he gave her his and slept on the ground beside it. Fighting against the dreariness, he grabbed the side of his bed and pulled himself up, trying to blink away the light.

Link groaned, stretching his arms. His spine popped, a loud, satisfying crack that helped him wake up. That was nice.

"L-link?" Someone asked. He knew that voice. Turning, he saw Zelda standing in front of him. Immediately, he realized he didn't have a shirt, or pants on. Blushing, he tried to cover himself for her, but she rushed at him, throwing her arms around him in an embrace before he could protest. Link stiffened. What if someone caught them? He was just a knight, and she was royalty. He was not permitted to embrace her, even though his heart yearned for it.

But as Zelda buried her face in his neck, and her tears rolled down his back, he relaxed, wrapping his arms around her as well. She hugged him harder, like she was trying to crush him between her arms.

"I thought I lost you," she whispered in his ear.

Lost him? What did she mean?

Only then Link saw his surroundings. This was not Mount Lanayru. Nor was this his bed in Hyrule Castle, which he had previously thought. He was laying on a suspiciously person-shaped slab of rock, with glowing blue liquid underneath him. Zelda was on the outside of the thing he was in, leaning over the side. The walls and door reminded him of the Sheikah shrines Zelda had been researching. But what was he doing inside one? Weren't they all inaccessible?

Zelda pulled back to look him in the eye. "Are you alright? Does anything hurt?"

Link tilted his head back, stressing and relaxing each of his muscles. Content that he was unharmed, he nodded to Zelda. A smile broke out onto her face. Goddesses, what he wouldn't do for that smile. She was beautiful. Even when she hated his guts, he couldn't help but admire her beauty. And now that those walls had come down, and he could see her for what she was, there was nothing he wouldn't do for her.

Zelda's smile dimmed a little, and her mouth trembled. "W-what do you remember?"

What kind of question was that? He remembered climbing Mount Lanayru with her, against the bitter cold. She was bundled in a coat and thick leggings made by the Rito. Her face was flushed with red, the bitter sting of the wind biting her pale skin. They had reached the top, and Zelda wanted to enter the water of the spring. Link had protested, trying to get her to pray from the shore instead of the freezing waters, but she insisted on going in. He did manage to get her to stay in her warm clothes instead of the white dress she usually prayed in.

She had entered the freezing cold waters and prayed to Nayru under the eyes of the statue. Link watched her as well. When her nose turned blue, Link dragged her out, despite her protesting. He tried to start a fire, but no matter what he did, it wouldn't start. But he couldn't leave her there, shivering and chattering, barely able to move. Link stripped her of her wet clothes and forced her into her praying dress and held her close, body heat the only way he could think of to warm her up. She had laid in his arms, blue with cold and shivering uncontrollably. Link wasn't even sure if she was conscious. She just stared forward blankly, blinking occasionally when a snowflake fell into her eye. In all the days Link had been a knight, battling monsters or Yiga soldiers, he had never seen anything scarier.

When she had finally warmed up to the point where she could move, Link went to pack their things. Zelda paced around the spring, still shivering but trying to get warm. He wasn't sure if she had noticed the clothing change. Once Link had gathered the supplies they had brought, they began heading down the mountain. Zelda was distraught, saddened that she had failed again to awaken her powers. Link had never seen her so disheartened. She barely raised her eyes from the snow covered ground.

They were climbing down the mountain…and then…then what? There was nothing after that. Link furrowed his brow, trying to remember what happened after they started down the mountain. But he couldn't. It was like there was a black wall of nothingness after that. For whatever reason, his memory faded away after that.

Where was he? How did he get here, wherever here was? Why was Zelda so distraught? What had happened?

Link looked up at Zelda with inquiring eyes. Now that he was more awake, he noticed someone else lying unconscious on the floor, a large Gerudo man. Ganondorf. There were two small table-like structures made of the same smooth black material. One held the Sheikah Slate Zelda always had with her. The other glowed with blue with Sheikah designs.

"Link?" Zelda asked, lips quivering. "Do you remember me?"

Link pulled back in shock. Remember her? Of course he remembered her. How could he forget her? Link nodded up at her, embracing her again. She sobbed into his chest, holding him close.

"I will find you. Always," Link promised. Zelda just squeezed him tighter.