Chapter
9
"Making
Promises"
Link woke up from his uneasy sleep, and painfully sat up to look around
him for Zelda. She was not far away, and noticing his movement, she came over
and kneeled beside him. His wound was almost healed, and the poison had somehow
disappeared from his body. And slowly, but surely, his strength was coming back
to him. When she had asked him what had happened during the time he was
unconscious, Link refused reply and would try to change the subject. She
wondered about Link's obvious avoidance about the matter, but let it slide, for
more important things were on hand.
"How are you feeling, Link-kun?" she asked him.
"Much better," he replied, trying to cheer her up, but Zelda could always
see through lies.
His fatigue was obvious to her eye, and she knew it would be quite some
time before he would completely recover from the nightmare he had been through.
When she wasn't worried about Link, Zelda often wondered how long they have been
in this desolate place. Time didn't seem to exist here, wherever they were. For
all she could tell, they could have been there from a couple of hours to several
years.
Though her mind was tired, she tried to sort out all of the information
Link had given her when he had woken up about the Cold. How Link had come by
this information she could not imagine, but she was thankful for the answers to
many of her questions. She always tried to keep her focus to what was happening
in the present, so she would not remember with a painful stab in her heart about
the destruction of the Hyrule of the future and the Hyrule of the past. Since
only part of the Cold had been left behind to destroy the past Hyrule, its
destruction was carried out slowly and painfully, instead of the staggering blow
the future Hyrule had sustained and had been torn into pieces by.
She snapped out of her reverie when she realized Link was staring at her
with a concerned expression on his face. She forced a assuring smile and told
him it was nothing, but like Zelda Link had also learned to see through lies as
well. He was concerned for her, obviously, since his sickness had caused her
much stress and grief.
It's not only me, he realized slowly. She had lost her home and
the land she was supposed to rule and protect in a blink of an eye, then she was
taken here. Now she knows the Hyrule I'm from is being destroyed as well, and
that just brings the memories of her loss back.
Link watched Zelda's leaving figure, which stopped not too far away, but
far enough to get some time alone. Instinctively Link noted exactly where
Ganondorf was lurking off in the distance, and calculated how long it would take
him to get to Link if he chose to attack, or for one of his magic attacks to fly
through to air and hit him. Link would never forgive Ganondorf completely, and
likewise for Ganondorf not forgiving Link. The feud between them would last
their lifetimes and beyond, and not a moment of trust would ever pass through
their hearts, not now, not ever. Their hate for each other will always exist,
never wavering... except, perhaps, in Link's case.
Link has always been one to forgive someone for his or her faults.
However, in the situation with Ganondorf, Link might never forgive him. But
under the current circumstances, Link has, in a way, considered Ganondorf a bit
of an ally -- he wasn't trying to kill him, after all. But if it came to the
point of having to betray Ganondorf or betray Zelda, Link was certain he would
go against Ganondorf in a heartbeat, ally or no.
Link turned his gaze away from Ganondorf and leaned back to rest his head
on the strange surface that has served as the ground for them in this blank
void. His thoughts traced back to the Hyrule he had left behind, in much in time
of his need right now. His heart felt like it could burst -- everyone, well,
almost everyone, Link thought as he stole a glance at the sitting
form of Zelda not too far away, he had known and loved in his life were dying or
were going to die very soon. The Cold was swallowing Hyrule, taking the
once-beautiful landscape with its inhabitants and completely and utterly
destroying it with its raw power.
And where was it getting its power? From the power of the Triforce, the
three pieces which were within three people choosen by destiny: Zelda, Link, and
Ganondorf.
For a
long time Link has always been at the aid of Hryule, ready whenever and wherever
to save it from any kind of harm in any way possible. Now, after all the heart
and courage he had put into his battle and struggles, they were made in vain as
he was turned into a pawn in the awful game to destroy the world which had been
his home. He clenched his fists very tightly, turning his knuckles completely
white from his silent rage. His fingers pierced his skin, and crimson blood
began to flow through his fingers, dripping to the ground and forming a small
puddle.
Fate was mocking him, the Goddesses were laughing at him, he was sure of
it. Link opened his hands and turned his red palms upward and stared at them,
thinking. The blood trickled down his palms to the floor with a soft plip on
contact. He closed his eyes, and tried to imagine how the Triforce of Courage
resided in him, tried to feel if it was there, for he didn't feel any different
than the day he had set out of the Kokiri Forest. Then, it suddenly occurred to
him, why didn't he think of it before? What a fool he was, blaming himself and
others for this plight when the answer was right before
him!!
"Zelda!"
Her head snapped up at the sound of her name suddenly being called. Zelda
hurried over to Link, who was struggling to sit up, fighting his weakness and
fatigue from the poison now long gone. Ganondorf's interest perked up at Link's
cry. He turned his head slightly toward them, but still kept the appearance of
being completely uninterested. All
Ganondorf wanted was to kill Link and leave this boring and bleak place to cause
his own havoc, he did not care about Hyrule's welfare whatsoever. Ganondorf's
concerns were for himself, and that was all it was would ever as long as he
lived and breathed.
Link spoke of his plan quietly to Zelda, not wanting Ganondorf to hear
their conversation. He explained what he was thinking to Zelda quickly, needing
her opinion as soon as possible on whether this plan was possible or not. But
she simply looked at him with her sad eyes...
"Link-kun, you cannot do it in your current state. You
could-"
"I don't care!" Link snapped sharply with more anger than he intended to,
"Hyrule won't exist if we don't do something! I'm tired of sitting here,
completely powerless..." He trailed off, and glanced down at his red palms
again. Zelda gazed down to see what Link was staring at, and saw his wounded
hands, she gasped and made a move toward them, but Link pulled away. She stared
at him angrily.
"Link! When will you start thinking about yourself?" she cried. "You're
always trying to save someone, and the last thing you think about is your
welfare! Don't you care? Don't you care about whom you would leave be-" Her
voice choked as her eyes filled with unshed tears. She turned her face away from
Link, closing her eyes and letting the tears fall to the
ground.
"I thought I lost everything... then I was taken here, and I found you...
the last person I knew who was still alive. I almost lost you before in the
battle with Ganondorf, and then you came close to death again with the sickness
caused from the poisoned arrow... Please... try and take care of yourself...
I... I know it's selfish, but you're all I have left..."
Link was shocked to see a strong person like Zelda break down so easily,
crumbling like an unstable wall. Everyone had a weak side, as well as a strong
side. Link recalled something the Deku Tree had said to him before he
died:
"Link, the roots of a tree grow strongest where the wind blows the
hardest. But when the wind blows from another direction, the tree can be
uprooted. Keep yourself strong, always, for the wind blows from all
directions..."
He hesitated, and tried to stall for time by saying something, but his
lips moved without a sound. One hand moved, and his fingers cupped around
Zelda's chin, and he gently lifted her face close to his. Zelda's eyes went
wide, and her white cheeks blushed with red. He spoke, barely above a whisper, his
words for her ears only.
"Zelda," he whispered. "don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'm the Hero
of Time, and when the people of Hyrule or another world need me, I'm there for
them. I give them hope, protection, and strength. I've long since accepted this
fate; they're lives are upon my shoulders, outweighing the importance of my
life. It's not choice... it's destiny."
He pressed his forehead against hers; his face was so
close...
"I can't tell you that I'll live through it, but I'll fight as hard as I
possibly can to come back to you, that... I can promise."
Zelda's heart ached, she didn't want Link to die, everything, everyone
else she had ever known and loved had... She couldn't live through it again --
it would simply crush her. But she couldn't be selfish, no, not in Hyrule's last
few hours. Link wasn't the only one whose heart had accepted
fate.
"Link-kun," she whispered back to him, "I've also accepted my role and
service to Hyrule... I'm the Princess, the Royal Heir to the Throne. The people
of Hyrule look up to me for guidance and hope in any terrible situation. They
expect so much of me, and the least I can do for them is to carry their wishes
out to the best of my abilities. My service is to the people of Hyrule, not to
myself alone.
"I can't stop someone from taking on the responsibilities to save Hyrule,
but I can join you. I promise that I'll fight with all of my strength and heart
by your side until we both fall, I'll never give up until the Cold is defeated
and Hyrule saved. It's not my choice either, Link-kun... it's also my
destiny."
A smile slowly appeared on Link's face, and to Zelda's disappointment he
pulled himself away from her and laid down again, remarking on how much stronger
she has become since the last time he had seen her. He closed his eyes, and told
her he must think a little more about his plan to save Hyrule, and Zelda agreed
that she needn't to think as well, but they didn't have much time.
"Link-kun," she told him, "we don't have much time until Hyrule is
completely gone. I'm sure that my past self has thought of something that would
stall the Cold from completely destroying Hyrule, but whatever solution she has
come up with, it will fall, leaving Hyrule defenseless. Please,
hurry!"
Link knew of the desperateness of the situation, but also wished he had
more time to think of a way to defeat the Cold. He needed more information, more
clues about the Cold, and he knew only one place where he could find all of the
answers he needed.
He laid down and closed his eyes as Zelda watched him curiously. Link
relaxed every muscle in his body, and tried to calm his anxiousness to save
Hyrule, which refused to go away. Inside his weary but very determined
consciousness, Link called out for a friend who seemed to have all the right
answers to any problem.
Navi... Navi, I need you...
~End of
Chapter 9