When Link came to, he was expecting to be in the Gerudo Highlands.
However...
I'm still in Rito Village. Does that mean I didn't go back?
There was only one way to find out. After all, there were a total of four times that he came out of his state of comatose. He tried to shuffle out of bed, but felt something weighing him down.
"Link?"
His voice was back to being barely above a whisper, "Zelda..."
Her eyes shot open when he responded, but before she could squeal in excitement like the last time, he covered her mouth.
"Li- Mfph!"
"Zelda, please..."
She nodded in understanding, and muttered an apology.
He pulled his hand away, "It's fine. How long have I been asleep for?"
"A little over a month."
That didn't make any sense. Shouldn't it have been five months in? Why was it earlier?
She wrapped her arms around him, and buried her face in the crook of his neck.
"I'm so glad you're awake, Link. I've been doing everything I can to see to your recovery."
His heart started to sink.
Am I too late still?
"With your research?"
"Yes. I immediately conducted research after finding out that you were in a state of comatose. Unfortunately, all I was able to deduce was that no amount of medicine or research was going to help you wake up. Sure, we've treated your wounds, and provided you with the best possible care. However, only you were going to decide when to wake. We could only facilitate it."
Relief washed over him, "I see... So, that's all you've dedicated your time to then?"
"Of course. I-I couldn't let you fight through this on your own, Link. You saved my life, I couldn't turn my back on you like that."
"But, your plan..."
She shook her head and smiled, "Was put on hold. It..." her cheeks turned a light shade of crimson. "Wouldn't be the first time I've put something on hold for you, Link."
"Can you help me up? I've been in this bed for far too long."
"Considering the gravity of your wounds. A month and four days isn't all that long."
"It feels like a lot longer."
Seven months worth...
"I don't know, you're still not full healed yet, and-"
He stilled her lips with his index finger.
"Please?"
The pleading look he was making thwarted any argument she had against the idea.
Clearing her throat, she stuttered, "I-I guess it can't be helped."
As they struggled to get him out of bed, Link could hear the faint sounds of an accordion, and his mind then wandered back to a point of time where he discovered something that could've been considered a turning point in his journey.
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"Ah, we meet again! I'm taking a moment's rest from my tireless search for the ancient songs to perform in my hometown."
Kass put his accordion down, and turned towards Link.
"... By the by, I've something I must ask of you. I've a song that I need you to hear. I wish to speak with you, so this will take some time. Is that all right?"
"That's fine."
His expression then turned solemn, quite the contrast from his usual upbeat nature.
"Thank you ever so much. I wanted to talk to you about my teacher. My teacher was of the Sheikah tribe. He was the court poet for the Hyrluean royal family. At the time, there was a beautiful princess in the royal family, quite close to my teacher in age, apparently. Though he must have known it was doomed to be unrequited, my teacher fell in love with her...
"But the princess herself only had eyes for her escort, her own knight attendant.
"My teacher was consumed with jealousy... He fumed that the knight was neither nobility nor royalty himself. And then the Calamity struck."
Kass turned his gaze towards the sunset.
"...My teacher believed a hero would appear to beat back the Calamity. He poured that belief into a song. And that song is what I need you to hear."
Picking up his accordion...
"An ancient hero, a Calamity appears,
Now resurrected after 10,000 years.
Her appointed knight gives his life
Shields her figure, and pays the price.
The princess's love for her fallen knight awakens her power /
And within the castle the Calamity is forced to cower.
But the knight survives! In the Shrine of Resurrection he sleeps,
Until from his healing dream he leaps!
For fierce and deadly trials await,
To regain his strength. Fulfill his fate.
To become a hero once again!
To wrest the princess from evil's den.
The hero, the princess—hand in hand—
Must bring the light back to this land."
"My teacher fled the Calamity and returned to his hometown of Kakariko Village. But on his way, he witnessed the princess's knight sacrifice himself to protect the princess."
Link could hear Zelda's faint screams as he recalled the painful memory. Kass was kind enough to wait for his friend to regain focus before speaking again, having grown accustomed to it.
"The elder of Kakariko Village, Impa, explained these circumstance to him, and his mind was made up. He would seek the songs of the hero who sealed the Calamity away in an age past... so they could be passed on to the knight once he returned. All so that princess might be saved... Those were my teacher's last words, passed on now through me."
He turned towards Link, "So... appointed knight. Will you accept this song from my departed teacher?"
"Yes."
Kass's expression turned soft once again, "Thank you so much! I knew you would. I was sure of it. My teacher would often speak of the princess's beauty. I would love to meet her and craft a song worthy of her... Thank you for spending this time with me."
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It was true. Thanks to Kass, Link was aware of Zelda's feelings towards him, long before he rescued her. It took him a while to accept it, even still, he was having a tough time doing so. After all, he never remembered her saying that she loved him, and they never seemed like anything... more. Although, he could only make that judgement from what his memories told him; which wasn't saying much. There were a few other things that added to his skepticism, but when he thought about it logically, he surmised that those feelings were something that everyone went through.
He was now up on his feet, with Zelda still supporting him.
"Let's go to the platform by the shrine," said Link.
"Are you sure? It's a little ways away, Link. It may be too much all at once."
"I'll be fine. I have you here after all."
Her cheeks flushed a deep shade of crimson, but she still managed to give him a nod.
It was a slow process. While Link was grateful to be able to turn back the clock, and prevent Zelda from going down a dark road of despair. It seemed that his injuries were something that wouldn't be leaving any time soon. Not that he had room to complain anyways. If being sore for a little while was the tradeoff, then it was a trade he'd make any day of the week.
Zelda would give him words of encouragement every so often, however, his mind had wandered elsewhere.
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"And we're here! Great job, Link," cheered Zelda.
It was sunset. Any other circumstance, and it could've been considered a romantic walk. After all, Rito Village was a common place for newlyweds to spend their honeymoon. Then again, there wasn't many beautiful places to go to since the Calamity struck. Still, people found a way to survive and enjoy life's luxuries to the best of their ability. An admirable feat in itself.
Link took a seat at the edge of the platform, letting his feet dangle over the edge as he stared into the horizon. He was hoping to run into Kass, but it appeared that he turned in for the night.
Zelda followed Link's lead, taking a seat beside him, "Why'd you want to come here?"
"It's a nice view. Better than the one I had in that bed."
She giggled, "You never did like to remain in one place for too long."
"Is that so?"
She glided her hand along the wood as she reminisced, "You always had to be doing something. Whether it was; reading, cooking, or training in the grounds. It was rare for me to find you doing... nothing."
"Wouldn't be much of a knight attendant if I lazed about all the time."
"I suppose not. However, that didn't stop me from worrying."
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Even with all my responsibilities as a priestess and princess, I was still able to find time to... recharge, so to speak. I don't know, I guess I feel that you were denied of any chance to relax. Everything you did was always directed towards the pursuit of something. Knowledge, strength, whatever it was, you did everything in your power to obtain it. I've never seen someone more driven in my entire life. It started to make me think if I was doing enough..."
Link continued to listen intently.
"Ridiculous right? The thing is, what bothered me the most out of everything was the fact that you solely dedicated yourself to stopping Ganon. How many nights did I look out my window wondering where you had run off to? How many times did I run into you at the library nose deep in a book of goddess knows what? How many times did I think to myself whenever I seen your smile, if it would be the last time I was ever going to see it? You never smiled often, always cool and calculated. It made me wonder...
"What if...? What if I convinced you take a break from fighting every once in a while? What if we met when we were younger, would things have turned out differently between us? What if there was no Calamity? Now, I know that having all these thoughts isn't healthy, however, I'm only human. I can't help thinking, what if there was a different path?"
It was a good question. What if? But the way Link saw it, he thought that there wasn't any point in worrying about, what if? One would drive them self insane thinking about every possible route that they could've taken. Not only that, he knew that it also led to regret. For him, regret was something that wasted energy, pointless. Since it was something that the person once wanted, why regret it? Sure things may not always pan out the way one wants, but that's how they learn and move on. It's experience, it's a life lesson, it's growing... Take that away, then what's the point of living?
That, however, was a question Link asked himself many times. And one that he admittedly felt that he spent too much time on. Now unable to truly die, these thoughts only increased. While some may view his return by death ability as a way to live the life they always wanted with no consequence, he didn't see it that way.
There was a certain code that ancient Sheikah warriors used to abide by that Link followed. While he may not follow it to its extremes. He felt that it was a good code of conduct to live by.
Bushido.
One of the eight virtues of Bushido is honour. When Link died back at Ash Swamp, it was considered an honourable death. A death Link could accept into the afterlife. But, that honour was tarnished once he was brought back to life in the Shrine of Resurrection. As cheating death was a serious violation of the code. Fortunately, he was able to regain said honour after his feats against the Calamity.
Atonement for his failure.
Unfortunately, ever since Link became cursed... He could hardly say that he truly followed the Way of the Samurai. Time and time again he had been forced to go against the virtues he came to hold dear to him. Self-control, honour, loyalty, rectitude, benevolence, courage, politeness, and sincerity... These virtues were all Link had to fall back on when he asked, "What's the point of living?"
Now, he had to ask that question again. He couldn't uphold those virtues any longer, so what was there for him to live by? What was his reason for living? He didn't think he could simply abolish that way of thinking, but he knew that he couldn't bring dishonour to the code any longer. Seppuku was an extreme he didn't necessarily agree with, and even if he felt that was his only course of action. His return by death ability wouldn't allow for it.
"Link?"
He had forgotten Zelda was there.
"I was just thinking. You raised an important question."
"Which is?"
"My reason for living..."
She hummed, "You know, we had a similar conversation once before."
"I... wouldn't know."
"It's okay. What we talked about only indirectly touched on the topic."
"Then, what did we talk about?"
"Destiny."
"Destiny?"
She nodded, "Yes, I got all 'philosophical' on you."
Link didn't follow, which caused Zelda's small smile to wane.
I should've expected as much.
"Anyways, you were concerned about what would happen to you after you put the sword back. You felt that you were meant to fade away into obscurity. Once your fate was fulfilled, there was no place for you in this world."
"I guess in a way, I still feel that way."
She shook her head, and muttered something that Link couldn't quite catch.
"What?"
"I won't let you. Just like how I didn't let you die..."
His eyes widened.
She was visibly upset when she faced him, "I did everything in my power to bring you back, knowing full well of the consequences. I knew that it was basically a guarantee that you'd suffer through amnesia. That you wouldn't be the same as before. I knew that what was asked of you was far too much to ask someone who gave everything already. But... I did it anyways. I put you in the Shrine of Resurrection, because I couldn't accept losing you. I asked all those things of you knowing the weight they carried. I even came ready to accept it if you didn't forgive me, just as long as you were back.
"When I saw you, standing there a few feet away from me in that field, I remember vividly how relieved I was. I... I thought I'd never see you again, and yet, there you were. Same stoic look as before, same messy hair, same blue tunic. I was so happy that you were back! But, that's when it dawned on me. What if you didn't remember me? What if you couldn't forgive me? Next thing I know, all those feelings I tried to suppress came back with a vengeance."
She was doing everything in her power to keep her emotions from running rampant.
"I would never be able to accept you fading away into obscurity, Link. Just how I couldn't accept you dying. My feelings for you... would never let that happen. I-"
He stilled her lips with his index finger.
"You don't need to say anymore," he took a deep breath before continuing. "I knew something was... off. About me I mean. Ever since my awakening, I thought I could put everything behind me and lead a normal life. But I was wrong... Nothing about my life is normal, it never was, it never will be. My path has always been followed by death, despair, and destruction. It's a road I can never ask anyone to walk alongside me, I learned that early; even before my death. Even after the Calamity, it remains apparent that those will forever remain with me."
"What are you saying?"
"That maybe... maybe fading away into obscurity isn't a bad thing."
"You can't be serious! Link, I don't want you to leave again."
"But, if my absence meant a greater quality of life for-"
She vehemently shook her head, "And what makes you think I care about that?! If that's what I seriously wanted, things would've changed 100 years ago."
"I suppose so."
"You know, there's some things I wish I didn't leave unsaid. There's some things I wish I did differently, maybe it could've saved everyone. But do I regret those decisions? No, I don't. Those decisions are what led to the eventual demise of Ganon, what led us on this quest to bring a new age of peace back to Hyrule, and what led us... back together. I chose this, it was not something that I felt I didn't have a say in the matter."
"I see... So, you really feel that way?"
"Yes."
"And you're willing to stick by those ideals, no matter what?"
"I have so far, and I don't plan on changing them now."
"I should've expected as much," his expression grew serious, more serious than what Zelda was used to seeing. "You're really okay with walking alongside me?"
She placed her hand overtop of his, "I've never been more sure about anything in my entire life."
He scratched the back of his head, "I've... uh... been aware of your feelings towards me for a few months now."
Zelda reared back, blushing furiously at the unexpected statement, "Wh-What?!"
"It wasn't the ideal way to find out, which is part of the reason why I never brought it up. I mean... I don't remember us having anything... more. So, I didn't know how much merit to put into it. Another part of the reason, was that I needed to figure out my own feelings. Only then, could I confront you about it."
Her eyes were looking at everywhere but Link, the fidgeting was about the only thing keeping her together. She was unable to speak she was that embarrassed that Link had known of her feelings towards him all this time.
"I'm not the same man you knew from 100 years ago, yet you still wish to remain at my side. I asked myself many times why that was the case. There wasn't any reason for you to stay after defeating the Calamity. At first, I thought it was because you felt obligated to. However, after spending more time with you... I got the sense that wasn't the case. That's when I first thought back to what an old friend told me at this very spot."
He put her hands between his own, "Link?"
She glanced at him, but quickly turned away. With her heart in his hands, each passing second was making her more anxious for an answer.
"It turns out that you were the one to finally give me my answer. The more I look back on it, the more subtle hints there were that I should've picked up on from the start. I didn't even realize how many roots you planted in my heart until..."
He paused.
Her voice was timid when she asked, "Until what?"
He cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
Her heartbeat was ringing in her ears, her cheeks couldn't have been burning any hotter, and the longer she looked into his eyes, the more she was drowning in them. This was the moment she waited 100 years for.
"When I realized that I've fallen in love with you."
A/N: So, I'm going to keep being a dick, and continue to leave cliffhangers cause I can.
BoTW is the only game that can actually get me to enjoy an accordion, idk about you guys, but Kass is a legend in my books. Maybe I should write some Zass?
That scene with Kass for those that didn't know is an in-game scene you get after doing all the Shrine quests involving Kass. You go back to Rito Village at night, and he's at the walkway by the shrine. I thought it was cool that he found out who you were, and it's worth mentioning that this scene confirms BoTW Zelink. So, for all the people that ever doubted the pairing as canon for BoTW. This scene, alongside the true ending confirm it. Thought I'd share that tidbit of info.
Yes, Zelda's moment finally comes. How does she react to the confession, where do they go from here? The next chapter will be where you find your answers. So, stay tuned.
Have a good one guys.