A/N: I am actually considering upping the rating on this to M because of the death themes that are in this fic. This is a warning now, before the chapter starts that there's death from here on out. And if you're not someone who cares and is going to keep reading past this warning, let me know if you think that an M rating is something you think would be best. FFN's ratings always stress me out and I can never figure out what it should be on here and I'd love to get an opinion or two to help me decide. It's M on Ao3, but I feel like M there and M here don't match up.


Link sat on the steps just outside his home, watching Aryll and Zelda run around a fire with a few of the village children as they played some game. Zelda's laugh rang out before she let out a playful scream, tackled to the ground by a young girl who'd grabbed her by the leg until Zelda collapsed. Three of the children piled onto her, pinning her down.

"She's very pretty," a voice said, sitting beside him. His mother. "I can see why you like her."

"It's more than that. It's like I've known her forever. I can talk to her about anything."

His mother hummed. "You spend most of your time with her every day. Have you told her you like her? I saw you dancing at the bonfire the other day."

Link leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He was too embarrassed to look at her, too red. But of all people, his mother was the one person who wouldn't joke about his feelings for Zelda. And he needed someone. Even if it meant confiding in his mother. "We've kissed. And maybe I told her I was falling in love with her. Gods, now I feel stupid. She said she felt it too, but never said the words back. And she still wants to go home."

His mother smiled to herself, though she kept her composure for her son's sake. "If you left us, would you want to come home? Or would you be happy to leave us and never see us again?"

"I'd… but that's not fair. Of course I'd want to come home."

His mother chuckled and rested her hand on Link's arm. "There's your answer. Don't fault her for missing her friends and family."

Link looked back at Zelda. She was trying to escape from the pile of children. Her eyes met his and she reached out a hand. "Are you going to leave me to my fate, Link?" she called out, mock desperation as she screamed under the pile.

He snorted and turned to his mother. "Thank you. I think I'm going to go save her from Aryll's gang."

"I'm happy for you, Link. Just remember the big picture."

He gave her an awkward nod, still too embarrassed to feel comfortable speaking so freely about it with her. Then, he sprinted to the beach, tackling Aryll to the ground. He cradled her as they toppled into the sand, taking the impact himself, laughing as his head dipped into the water. He shook out his hair and crawled over to Zelda, slowly pulling children off of her until he could grab Zelda's outstretched hand.

Then he, too, was buried beneath a pile of screaming children.

Their days went on like that: a quiet sense of normalcy. Zelda's presence in the village became normal and it was expected that she'd be around now.

So no one expected anyone but her to alter that.

One night, after taking a long walk under the clearest night sky, Link and Zelda had parted with a kiss before he'd gone back home, and she'd returned to Mama Maiamai.

Link laid back in his hammock, ready to drift off to sleep, when something kept his eyes open, like someone unseen was shaking him awake.

He looked around to see if it was his sister or his parents, but there was no one around him. Groggily, he looked around at the undisturbed room before glancing outside. And, though he had no reason to believe anything was wrong, his feet began to move towards Maiamai's hut, guided by an unseen string. As he walked, he could see the figure of Maiamai resting in a peaceful meditation on the dock, far from the hut.

He could hear the stillness in the air; unusual for Lurelin. The waves were quiet, the crickets were still. The breeze was barely a flutter, as if Farore wanted him to be able to hear everything he possibly could. And he kept walking, guided by the pull towards the hut.

And was met by a shadowy figure emerging from the tent flaps.

Link gasped, surprised at first by the shape of a man, burly and far larger than Link.

And in his hand was a knife, blood dripping off the blade.

The man swung it at Link, and he just barely managed to move aside in time. The whoosh of the blade in the air hung heavy, and Link stumbled back, trying to keep his feet beneath him as he kept jerking away from the incessant swings of the knife. It was only when Link's back finally hit something that he turned around.

His feet were guided by the Goddesses, that was the only explanation for how he managed to crash into the long spears that the majority of the warriors used. He preferred the sword, but he didn't lack training with the spear.

Link's eyes darted to Zelda's tent at a suddenly loud wail of pain. Not a second later, her body crashed down through the tent flap, clutching her side as she breathed loudly amidst her attempts to call for help that came out as little more than soft shrieks of noise.

"Help!" Link called out as loud as he could, raising the spear in time to block another swing of the knife.

He planted the butt of the spear into the sand and used it to give him the leverage he needed to kick the assailant back with a hard thud. With a push, he knocked all the weapons over, letting them clatter noisily to the ground in a sound that would surely wake the village. He retrieved his spear and spun it back into place in his hands, his stance finally slipping into one of offense rather than the stumbling retreat he'd made earlier.

Several people heard the commotion, his cries for help, the weapons falling, and ran over to help.

Link didn't see who was moving, who went to Zelda and who went to aid him. All he saw was the man with the bloody knife, shrouded in an aura of red, possibly tinged from Link's own rage.

The colors were blinding; he jabbed out at the man, his instinct and training taking over any rational thoughts that were in his mind. He could feel the resistance on the tip of the spear as it cut the man's flesh. He could see the blood. But when he looked back on that moment, he didn't remember moving in so close that he could feel the man's last breath. He didn't realize that the man's body fell into him, impaled as it were, and that Link had thrown him and his weapon off to the side, leaving the mess for the others to deal with.

His feet took him towards Zelda.

There were several villagers huddled over her: Maiamai and his mother among them. Link pushed through so he was kneeling over Zelda.

Zelda's breathing was shallow and sharp, short and frantic. Her eyes darted everywhere, unable to focus. Unwitting tears were falling as she shook in pain, her hand and others' still covering her wound.

Link could still see the red aura in his vision, one that covered Zelda this time. His hand shook as he pushed hair from her face. "You're okay. You're going to be okay."

Desperate eyes glance up at Maiamai, begging her to do something. To do anything. But she shook her head in resignation. The wound was fatal.

Panic seized Link, and he stumbled to his feet, to Maiamai's cabinet of herbs and cloth bandages. Link had very little idea of what he was doing, but he threw several things into a mortar and began to crush them.

"Link," his mother's soothing voice said, stopping his hands. "I'm sorry."

"No," he grumbled, grabbing a handful of bandages and kneeling back down to Zelda's exposed wound, packing it with shaking hands. "No, she'll be fine."

As the bandage pushed past her skin, Zelda cried out, her hand flying to Link's as if to stop him. Then, her head lolled to the side, passing out from the pain.

Stopping only long enough to register his shock, Link pressed his hand to her heart and then ran it up to her neck. "She's not dead. She's fine."

He grabbed water and poured it onto the wound, wiping the blood away before looking around. Spotting a needle, he stumbled over to the table, knocking several other items in the process.

"Link," his mother tried again.

"If you're not going to help me, then get out!"

There was bite to the words, but his mother and Maiamai left with only concern on their faces, giving him time to process it all alone.

"Zelda, get up!" he hissed as he moved back beside her.

"She can't, Link."

"She can! She's fine!"

"She may be breathing for now, but that wound will kill her soon. The girl isn't going to make it. Accept it."

"I won't let her—" he looked up. The tent was empty.

"It's time."

The empty space before him filled with the red aura that emanated off of Zelda and her killer. Flecks of red began to swirl until the figure of a woman clad in a long, flowing dress appeared before him. She was almost incorporeal, though her basic shape was still visible. And every move was made as if she were in water, flowing and majestic.

"No!" Link said, moving closer to Zelda despite the mystical presence. When her hand reached out for Zelda, Link threw his body over hers, keeping himself off her wound, but shielding her nonetheless.

The presence sighed. "Sister, help me. I cannot touch the boy."

A blue figure appeared beside him from nowhere, identical in every way but the color to the first entity. "You had to do it, Din, didn't you? You couldn't have let me have something?"

Link's wide eyes darted between them, frightened and confused at the same time.

Both entities stared at each other for a long time, a challenge, if Link had ever seen one.

"Link," the blue spirit said. "Link, come. She's lost. I'm so sorry, but it's time for Din's power to take her. You, on the other hand, have my love and protection. She cannot touch you. So you must move for her."

"No."

Din scoffed and impatiently rolled her eyes. "I can outlast you, boy. I will stand here forever until you move."

"No!"

"Nayru?"

"Link," she said again. "Please, come with me. I can ease your suffering a bit."

"I collect my souls, boy. Hers is mine to claim."

Link tightened his hold on Zelda. "You can't."

"I can."

A warm hand was on him, urging him away, too fierce. He'd be unable to resist it as it guided him, forcing his limbs to go weak as the clung to Zelda.

"No! Don't kill her!"

"She's been dead since she was born," Din said, kneeling so she was closer, waiting for Nayru to move Link just enough.

"No!" he screamed, struggling harder. As Din's hand went to wrap around Zelda's wrist, Link shoved her away, the touch of his protection burning.

"Stupid boy!" she hissed, pulling back. "She is mine, now accept it! You must accept that death is here for her now. Your dreams of a long life with her were just that: dreams. Accept it. Her heart has but a few more beats left. She's mine."

Link turned to Nayru, to the bright blue warmth. "Give her your protection!"

"I can't."

"Then give her mine!"

Din smirked. "It doesn't work that way. Nayru cannot touch her, as I cannot touch you. It is a curse and a blessing."

"A trade, then! Take my protection, and I'll take her curse." Link's eyes were wide and pleading.

Din glanced at Nayru, intrigued, before kneeling before Link, a long, sharp dagger appearing in her hand. "Do you understand? Her curse is death. You take it, and you will die here. That pretty family of yours? That sister? Your mother? Your father? They will come in here and find you dead, not her. Is that what you're willing to trade for this girl you don't know?"

Link's body shook as he looked down at Zelda. It wasn't that simple. He didn't know her for a short while. He knew her forever. He'd know her after his death, and before his life. She wasn't just in his life but etched into his very existence.

"She'll live a long life?"

"Link," Nayru cautioned in a soothing voice. "You are so young. I can promise you that I will let your heart heal from this. You will live a long and happy life. I will see to it."

"So you'll do the same for her?"

Din scoffed again, muttering to Nayru, "Well, this is certainly the soul of the hero, isn't it? Always willing to die for her."

"Too willing," Nayru said, her heart heavy. But she turned to Link. "If we do this, I cannot take it back. I cannot keep switching your blessing from person to person. If you do this, it is permanent."

Din rolled her eyes. "Is this your choice, Link? To die for this girl?"

Link brushed Zelda's hair from her face. "Can I say goodbye to my family, if not Zelda?"

"You're going to actually go through with this?" Din laughed incredulously. "Interesting. Yes, I can give you that much."

Link hesitated and then leaned back, away from Zelda, his eyes steeled. "Do it."


A/N again!: Just wanted to drop in here to say that there will be 8 chapters, so it's almost done! IDK why I didn't just make this a oneshot so I wouldn't get burned out with a mini fic idea... but it'll be finished! I promise!