Fi had spoken to them as they left, informing them that she could no longer detect Zelda's aura anywhere, and that they were unable to use the dowsing ability to find her because of this. Such a thing made Tya curious as to what exactly Zelda and her Guardian went through, and what exactly they destroyed. Whatever it was, it would effectively prevent Ghirahim from getting to them, but it also prevented Zelda from coming home.
They had returned to Skyloft after the confrontation, knowing their next move was to go to the Sealed Grounds as the Guardian had told them. However, Link didn't really seem to want to.
As they'd done before, they parted ways, but Tya couldn't help but feel like it was wrong to do so. Link seemed different than he had the past two times Zelda had eluded them.
That was what he wanted though, so she complied…
She returned to her small home as night fell, doing as she always did. She showered, ate, and put on something more comfortable for the moment. It was nice to just sit, though she couldn't really manage to relax. She couldn't stop thinking about everything that happened. It had gone so quickly that she really hadn't taken it all in until she was sitting in her own bed, in silence, thinking it all over.
She'd just stood there the entire time. How useless could she be? She could have done something aside from being a damn pack mule. But would the outcome have been different? It was relatively tame compared to the last few, because Ghirahim left instead of sticking around.
But what he said to Link… She hadn't thought much of it at the time, overwhelmed by everything happening, but now that it was calm what he sent shivers down her spine. She couldn't imagine what the next meeting with him would be like, but she could guess it wouldn't be pleasant. And that was saying something, because they already weren't. She could tell she'd very much prefer the last two over what would come next though.
She'd been lying in bed, thinking over everything in detail for a couple hours when something kind of strange happened. There was a knock at her door.
People really didn't visit her aside from Zelda. And now that the only person that did was gone, why would there be a knock?
At first she wondered if she'd just imagined it, but then it came again. She rose from her bed, adjusting herself to make sure everything was mostly appropriate so she could answer the door.
She pulled it open and furrowed her brow when she saw Link there.
"T-Tya." He said softly. Nervously?
She immediately pulled the door open more, looking him over with concern.
"Hey." She watched as he took a step closer, and she paused before realizing he wanted to come in. She stepped aside then, opening the way for him and motioning so he knew it was alright. "Are you okay?"
He wasn't.
She could tell something was off. He was nervous. Shaking, and pacing the moment he stepped inside. He wouldn't look directly at her, and his breathing was labored.
He didn't respond, he just let out a heavy breath and clasped his hands over his stomach.
"Link, what's wrong?"
The question made him shake his head a bit and he closed his eyes. His breathing picked up again and he moved to put his hands over his head.
Tya moved closer to him, taking one of his hands and pulling it down to her.
"Listen to me. Breathe, okay? Deep breaths. Breathe in for five seconds and then breath out for five seconds, alright?" She spoke softly, watching him carefully and holding tightly onto the hand she'd taken.
He did as he was instructed, but kept his eyes closed.
She didn't want to say more, because she didn't know what it was that caused it. She didn't know why he was panicking, or what needed to be addressed.
"Everything is okay." She kept her voice gentle, lightly brushing the back of his hand. After a moment or two of watching him breathe, one of her hands moved off his and she lightly set it against his cheek.
He flinched then, a reaction she felt was a little much, but when he opened his eyes and saw it was only her, he leaned into the touch.
"What's wrong?"
Link hesitated at the question again, before sighing heavily. "H-He… He's going to kill all of us." He admitted weakly.
His words made Tya's shoulder's drop, and she pursed her lips. She should have known Ghirahim was the cause of this. What he'd said to Link was terrifying, especially because she knew it very well could happen.
"I-It isn't just m-me. It's-It's everyone." As he spoke, Tya began to tug at him, pulling him toward her bedroom. It was the most comfortable spot in the house and where she spent the majority of her time when she was home. Her bed was safe in her mind, so perhaps he'd feel the same way.
He seemed a bit confused by her actions, but he followed her regardless. He was too worried about other things to pay much mind to where they were going. As they walked, he watched the hall, but soon enough he just directed his attention to her and watched her instead.
When they got to her bedroom, she closed the door behind him, and motioned to her bed with the hand that wasn't still tightly holding his.
Goddess, she didn't want to see him like this. She understood it all too well though.
"Just sit and breathe. Keep telling me what's wrong when you are ready to." She instructed him, tugging him once again and pulling at the soft red blankets that were draped messily over her mattress. She pulled them away only so she could drape them over his shoulders when he sat down.
He closed his eyes again, taking breaths as he'd been told to, and when he calmed a bit more he started again. "He's angry. H-He could co-come here any-any time."
"And if he does, it doesn't matter."
"He will kill us—"
"He won't touch you."
"How do y-you know that?"
"Because I am not going to let him hurt you." She told him firmly, causing him to quiet for a moment. He let out a hard breath, looking to the blankets she'd put over his shoulders to the hand she'd previously had his in.
"What a-about you?"
"What about me?"
"W-Well you're with me. He m-might try to hu-hurt you too."
She shook her head then. That was a possibility, yes. She'd thought of it multiple times as well, and she'd defend herself to the best of her ability if the time came.
So the question came to her: Why?
Why was she so sure Link wouldn't be hurt because she would defend him until her own death, and yet with herself, she simply thought she'd fight to protect herself and if she died, she died.
When did he become so important that she'd defend him before herself?
The thought made her shrink into herself a bit, but she quickly pushed it aside when she remembered Link was the priority.
"He isn't going to hurt either of us." The certainty in her voice seemed to reassure him quite a bit, and he nodded his head. She was glad to have helped, but she knew she'd missed the beginning of this and the worst part. He'd come to her as the panic was starting to die down, meaning he must have suffered alone before coming to her.
She should have asked to stick with him.
Why was she so useless? Why couldn't she think when it was necessary?
"I'm-I'm sorry for b-bothering you so late."
"You didn't bother me." She looked toward the door, then the window, realizing that it was indeed pretty late. She sighed, her attention falling back on him.
Though he seemed to have calmed significantly since he walked in, he still didn't seem right. He looked scared still, but mostly just… numbed.
"What else is wrong?"
He gave her a look like he didn't really want to answer that, or maybe like he didn't really know how. But he sighed and simply said "Everything."
"Aside from Ghirahim, what's the worst?"
"The fact th-that if I mess up e-even a little bit, I'm go-going to kill everyone I kn-know and love."
Well.
That was a pretty decent problem and something that someone should certainly be stressed about.
She pursed her lips again, nodding her head a little at that. She hadn't thought about that outcome, surprisingly enough. She was generally pretty pessimistic, but she'd only thought about them dying. She hadn't thought about what would happen afterwards. She didn't know what Ghirahim's plans were, but he more than likely would destroy Skyloft. He just seemed the type.
"I'm going to dis-disappoint Hylia."
"No, you aren't. And no one is going to die." She readjusted, getting comfortable on her bed. "Ghirahim is a threat. But you've beaten him and you've beaten what he's thrown at you. You will continue to do that."
"Why? Wh-Why should we keep do-doing this?"
"Why wouldn't we? Didn't you just say you didn't want everyone to die, or to disappoint Hylia?"
"Zel-Zelda is gone and a-according to th-that lady, I already have d-disappointed her. And I make a l-lot of mi-mistakes. What's the point in t-trying if I'm b-ound to mess it up? What's th-the point in being c-confident in what I'm do-doing if I'm j-just going to turn a-around and sc-screw it up and g-get everyone killed? I can do it th-this way, give up, a-and be pr-prepared for the en-end instead of th-thinking I'm doing s-something right."
"You haven't messed anything up since we've started this. I have no idea why you think you are making a lot of mistakes, especially ones bad enough to destroy everything."
He let out an aggravated sigh, shaking his head before hiding his face in his hands.
"I understand fully why you are stressed, Link… It's completely understandable, but I know for a fact you certainly haven't disappointed the goddess." She paused, thinking for a second about her next move and next words. She decided to move over to him and rest against his shoulder in a way that still allowed her to look at him. "You cannot be disappointed with perfection…"
"I'm n-not perfect."
"Certainly the closest thing to it I've seen. Aside from a remlit during the day." That comment got him to turn and look at her, traces of a smile on his lips before he shook his head. "You have done amazingly this far, and I am willing to bet you everything I have, that you will continue to do so. And that I will be by your side the entire time you do it."
"Do you ac-actually th-think that, or—"
"I know it as a fact."
He quieted then, seeming to relax slightly. He still seemed as if he was scared and hurting, but he seemed as if he could carry on now. He had turned away from her, but it was only a second or two before he turned back and lightly rested a hand against her waist. The look he gave her seemed as if it was a silent request, which she replied to by sliding an arm around his neck.
He had to turn so his other arm could wrap around her waist as well, and she chose to stand on her knees just to get closer to him.
He squeezed her tight, resting his head against her shoulder and nuzzling softly against her neck. For a moment, he kept her close, but his grasp loosened to let her draw back. She did, but not far.
"Would you like to spend the night here?"
He looked first to the door, then to her bed, then to her. As his arms were still loosely around her waist, it wasn't difficult for him to get enough of a hold of her to take her down. He pretty much tossed her onto the bed, eliciting a little squeal from her as she hadn't expected such a rough action. He flopped down next to her, grabbing her again and tugging her over to him so he could hug her tightly again.
Once again, he hid his face against her and rested his hands on her back as he let out a heavy breath.
"I'll take that as a yes, then?" There was a laugh laced in her words.
She felt him nod gently and he let out a gentle hum against her skin.
"We will make everything okay." She told him as she readjusted to move an arm beneath his head while the other rested over his shoulder. Without thinking about it, she shifted only to press a soft kiss to his cheek.
Perhaps if she would have been paying more attention to both of their actions than to how tired she'd suddenly become, she would have been able to confirm whether or not Link actually returned the gesture by lightly kissing her collarbone… But in her half asleep state, she didn't quite register what that gentle warmth was, only that it happened before he resumed his spot.
