She grabbed a hold of his arms before dragging him back to her horse. She mentally cursed herself at her lack of strength. She hauled him up onto her horse before taking a moment to refresh her stamina. She worried for his safety, he had deteriorated so quickly. It was most likely a state of shock after such a tremendous amount of strength left him all at once, but she needed to make sure he was alright. She hopped onto her horse before beginning to travel towards the Wetland stable. It was in the same vicinity as its older counterpart, she was sure nothing remained of the previous stable. It crushed her heart to know that they had lost so much because of her previous incapability to unlock her powers. If only she knew that love was the answer sooner, but the circumstances were specific, there was no other way back then.
She felt a grip around her waist as Link slowly came to his senses behind her. "Where are we..?" He inquired, he sounded exhausted. She felt him sit up and fall against her. "I'm taking you to a stable, how are you feeling?" She tried to hide her worry, but her tone allowed some of it to seep through. "Fine.." Was his response, she shook her head softly before focusing on the path ahead of her. "Link, don't lie to me. How are you feeling?" His grip around her was fading now, as though he was falling unconscious again. "Honestly.. I'm not sure.." She winced at his tone, he sounded so pained.
They arrived at the stable not long after. Link's breathing was laboured even more now. She helped him into the stable before setting him down onto a bed. A few of the stable workers made their way over, sensing that something was wrong. "Is everything okay?" One of them asked, she shook her head, Link was curling up silently, his eyes shut. "He collapsed, I took him here as quickly as I could, he's been like this for about an hour now." She explained, glancing nervously at all the people present. One stepped forward carrying a small box. They placed it down on a small drawer next to the bed. One of the stable workers brought a stool over, which the male took a seat on. He opened the box, revealing a few tools and elixirs. "I need space." He stated before dismissing them all with the airy wave of his hand. Zelda didn't wish to leave Link in such a state, but hopefully this worker would be of assistance. She made her way outside and sighed shakily, slowly sitting down on the grass. It was slightly damp from the waters nearby which were soaked up by the ground.
She stared up at the sky, becoming lost in thought. Her thoughts returned to their uncertain relationship. A century ago they had become so close, every moment with him was magical. But now, now he was different, he was unaware. She wondered if he even felt anything for her anymore, and if he was, she wondered why he was hiding it. It seemed as though he had some level of feelings for her, they had nearly kissed in the castle the previous day. She wished to put his mind at ease, to remove the conflict from his mind. His incomplete memories most likely puzzled him, he probably only had more questions now than answers. She just wished she could answer them.
After some time, the worker who tended to Link exited the building. "He's awake, he'll be okay. His energy was depleted completely, has he been fasting or losing sleep recently?" Zelda nodded slowly, it was best not to tell the truth, for it likely wouldn't make sense if she attempted to explain. "He was staying up rather late recently, perhaps that's the issue." She suggested before getting to her feet.
She made her way inside, approaching his bed before taking a seat beside him. He looked somewhat better now, some colour had returned to his skin, and a faint smile rested on his lips as he looked up at her. "Don't scare me like that again!" She huffed before frowning sympathetically. "Are you alright now?" He reached out and took her hand, she blushed lightly at the gesture. "I will be." He told her, she smiled slightly and nodded. She looked down momentarily, deciding to ask a question which plagued her mind recently. "Link, do you blame me for your memory loss?" She slowly moved her eyes up again to meet his, he seemed rather confused by her question, that gave her some hope. "Of course not, Zelda. You didn't have any other choice anyway, it was either that or.." He trailed off, he didn't need to finish that sentence, for she understood. Whilst he was right, there wasn't any other way, perhaps it would have been kinder to allow death to take him, rather than allow him to wake up alone, without a single memory to his name.
She pushed such negative thoughts from her mind, not once had he complained, and even if he may have been upset at the whole thing, he still seemed willing to continue on. "Well, you need some rest whether you feel better or not." She stated, pulling the conversation in another direction. He nodded sleepily, she squeezed his hand softly before watching him fall asleep yet again.
Link couldn't recall falling asleep again, but it became apparent that he had done so when he woke up. Zelda was asleep in her seat, her hand still holding onto his. He smiled softly as he looked down at their interlocked fingers. For a moment, there was no doubt in his mind that he had feelings for her, but then a wave of thoughts interrupted that blissful moment as he thought of consequences and boundaries, most of which no longer existed.
Zelda woke up a few moments later, yawning softly as she pried her hand away in order to wipe her eyes. Her yawn was contagious, as he yawned in unison. "Sleep well?" She asked tiredly, still waking up it seemed. "Very, what about you?" She shrugged lightly. "It wasn't so comfortable, but at least I got some rest." She gave him a smile, such an appealing smile. He reached for her hand again, and they looked at each other for a few moments in silence. "Zelda.. there's something I need to tell you.." He began, she perked up at that before waiting for him to continue on. "Recently.. I have began to feel.. differently towards you.. I suppose it started when-" A high-pitched scream filled the air, but it was quickly muted as a hand clasped over the mouth to which the scream belonged to.
Link turned his head to see what the problem was. Multiple people were standing up, all staring up at the sky. They seemed fearful. Link struggled to get out of the bed, ignoring Zelda's attempt to lay him back down. She stood up and he leaned against her as they walked out, his energy slowly returned with each step. Something felt off, there was a slight tint of red on the ground. Link raised an eyebrow, he had only ever seen that due to one phenomenon.
They stepped outside, and as he looked up he covered his mouth as he stared up at the Blood Moon. "No.. no no no no no no.." Zelda was running her hands through her hair in panic and fear it seemed. Link's mind began to race with questions. What could this mean? They had sealed away Ganon, so it seemed impossible for his influence to keep existing. They needed to find out more about this, what this meant. "We need to go to Purah as quickly as possible." She silently nodded, putting her face in her hands. "We killed him! He's dead! I saw it with my own eyes!" Her words were muffled through her hands, but still loud and audible. When she pulled her head out of her hands it was apparent that she was crying now with frustration. "We need to go now and aid her in her research." She added, he made his way over to the horses, helping them out before hopping onto his own horse, Zelda followed suit before they began riding into the night.
They made it to Hateno by sunrise, Zelda seemed angry that that they couldn't observe the moon in real time. Link had no idea why the moon was still affected by Ganon's power. Surely they had killed the source of malice, there couldn't be more after this, the prophecy never stated anything that would come after. Perhaps it was just taking time for his malice to die down completely, but that thinking was more than wishful.
They made their way up to the lab and stepped inside. Purah was busy scratching down notes when they walked in. She glanced up quickly before returning her eyes to her work. "Link, Zelda.." She paused, putting her pen down. "Zelda!" The younger version of the Sheikah woman ran up to Zelda, wrapping her arms around Zelda's legs. "Purah? What happened?" The energetic child stepped back before returning to her notes. "Too much. We don't have time to discuss it. Did you see the moon last night?" Link nodded. "That's why we're here, to see if you know anything." Purah walked over to her desk, consulting her notes. "There was nothing unusual about it, apart from the fact that it occurred.." She explained as she adjusted her glasses. "It just doesn't make sense as to why Ganon's influence remains after you two defeated him." She scratched her head before glancing briefly at the two of them. "Perhaps it was a once off?" Zelda suggested, her tone sounded hopeful, Link hoped she was speaking the truth. They wouldn't be able to restore Hyrule if enemies returned to life once every few weeks. Furthermore, the cause behind it could pose a threat to the kingdom.
"I'll see if I can figure anything out over the next few hours, in the meantime I'd suggest you both get some rest. Travelling throughout the night is far from a good idea." It was hard to take Purah seriously when she was presented as a child. "Go on! Scramble!" She exclaimed. Zelda glanced at Link before shrugging lightly, she gave him a look which expressed her view to leave the Sheikah researcher alone for the time being. He slowly turned before making his way out of the laboratory. "She's very polite today." Zelda stated simply before sighing as she looked over at Link. "Have you got any ideas on where we should stay?" She inquired, gazing out over the small town. A slight smile appeared on his lips as a suggestion came to mind. "I've got just the place in mind." He stated vaguely before she raised an eyebrow. "Just follow me." He stated before beginning to lead the way.