"Zelda, I wish this wasn't the way it had to be."

Zelda took the long, thin sword in her hand, staring at it uneasily. "I don't know how to use this!"

Her father put his hands on her shoulders to steady her before gently cupping her cheek. "By every god and goddess, I hope you don't have to figure it out. Keep this on tight," he said, pulling a string on her armor to keep it from loosening. "And whatever happens, my sweet child, do not look back. Your mother and I will protect you." He bent down to her sister, who was on the floor, tying something to her leg. "Aelia, follow your sister, and take this."

Aelia looked at the knife uneasily. "I don't want it."

"Aelia," Zelda said, running a soothing hand through her sister's hair. "Take it. Hold it tight. And like father said, pray you don't have to use it."

The door burst open, and a soldier ran inside, panting for breath and clutching his bloody side. "He's here. Somehow, he's made it to this floor. We must get you—"

An arrow went through the guard's neck, sending him to the ground as every soldier made for the hallway, blocking every path to the royal family.

"My loves," her mother said, holding out both her hands. "Come here. Be with me. Let's go."

"I love you," the king said, taking his time to look at all three of them before turning once again to the door as it flung wide. His own sword was ready in his hand.

The queen grabbed both her daughters by the wrist and ran as fast as she could with her children in tow towards the room behind the throne where a secret passage led downstairs.

"Take him!" a deep voice boomed. "Don't let them get away!"

"Hurry!" her mother whispered.

The passage was in view when an arrow whooshed by their heads, just narrowly missing the queen, but she didn't falter.

Until a soldier grabbed the collar of her dress and pulled her backwards, ripping her hands from her daughters, her nails digging into Zelda's wrist and tearing the skin at the force of being pulled back.

Zelda and Aelia shrieked, but Zelda grabbed her sister and pushed her ahead towards the passage, and Zelda raised the sword she'd been given in the direction of the soldiers. But it was easily swatted away, and she felt two guards restrain her, and one who pulled her sister violently from the passage. The small room echoed with their screams.

When they were thrown to the ground in the throne room, Zelda scrambled to cover her sister, clutching her inside her arms, holding her as if it might be enough to keep her safe.

But it wouldn't be enough.

Zelda sat up and covered her mouth to stop the sob she felt rising through her throat. She blocked her nose to keep the noise silent, and turned to Link, hoping she hadn't woken him. But when she saw him, she almost wished she had.

He was lying on the ground, his chest heaving, his eyes shut, but fluttering wildly in a dream himself. She could hear him mumbling, though the noises he was making weren't any language, just sounds. His body jerked and twitched.

She remembered seeing this happen to him when they'd been in the cells, but she'd attributed it to pain or discomfort. But this time, when she saw his hand subconsciously fumble for his knife, she scrambled over and tossed it out of his reach, grabbing his arm and shaking.

"Link? Are you alright?" When his head thudded against the hard ground as he turned, she scooted closer, lightly touching his chest and shaking. "Link."

For once, she was glad that he was a notoriously light sleeper. His eyes flung open and looked around quickly before settling on her.

"Zelda?"

"Yes."

He swallowed and pressed his hand against hers, trying to slow his racing heart. "Are you okay?"

"Are you? You looked distressed, and you were reaching for your knife."

"My…" he cleared his throat and sat up, looking around and feeling his chest before checking his hand, like he was looking for blood. "I'm fine. I'm sorry I woke you."

"You didn't. I was already awake."

Looking out at the sky, Link groaned. It was still dark. He reached behind him and tossed one of the smaller sticks they'd gathered back into the dying embers of the fire, and the thistles caught quickly, allowing him to throw a larger piece on top.

"Were you having a nightmare, Link? Or were you in pain?" she felt guilty, realizing that she'd been unable to tell between the two.

"Aren't the two the same?" he said with an easy, unaffected grin. It was a mask. "Why were you awake? Did you hear something outside?"

"No, no, I…" he hesitated, wondering if she should just pass it off as nothing as well, but she wanted Link to know he could trust her, as she trusted him, "I had a nightmare as well."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I don't think they'll ever go away. I just have to learn to sleep through them."

"They'll go away," Link said, almost too confidently. "Sure, they'll come back sometimes, but it won't always be so bad. You used to have them in the cells, you know."

"Did I?" she asked, sliding closer to the fire. "I don't remember. I just know I have them often."

The two fell into a comfortable silence before Link sighed. "Did I ever tell you about this scar on my hand?"

Zelda scooted closer to him as he held his hand out, palm up. There was an old white scar that ran horizontally across. He turned his hand over for her to see, and though it was slightly harder to spot, there was an equal scar on the other side.

"No. I think I might have just assumed that most of your scars were from Ganondorf. Silly. You were a soldier for far longer."

He chuckled darkly. "No, you can tell the ones Ganondorf gave me. They're all the freshest ones." He cleared his throat and stared back at his palm. "This is what I was dreaming of. The day I got this."

"What happened?" Zelda asked, absently taking his hand and tracing a finger over the scar, surprised that she'd never noticed the slight bump in his skin.

Link's eyes were locked on her finger as it ran along his skin. "It was a few years ago. My closest friend was a man just a little older than me, Kayne. He was one of those soldiers you'd find in a tavern on his days off, and when he wasn't allowed to do that, he played music for everyone at camp.

"One day, we'd pushed back some moblins and dinolfos who'd taken up residence near a town. It was a pretty bad fight and we lost too many. We were licking our wounds when someone reported that all of our scouts had been killed, and our sentries were found dead. Then, we just found our people dead in the middle of camp, like magic.

"But it wasn't magic. Kayne had made a deal to take out the guards and strongest fighters first from the inside. I didn't suspect him, and found myself pinned to a tree, a knife driven straight through my hand, and my other arm broken, too weak to pull the knife out. He led the moblins and dinolfos right back into camp and slaughtered most of us. There were a few who got away, and he left me there because of our former friendship, but he'd joined Ganondorf's forces a few weeks earlier, we later learned. I don't know his fate. But that day… watching my former friend kill so many… it was one of the worst days. I've lost many friends, but death is a much kinder loss than that kind of betrayal. I dreamt of that day."

Zelda scoffed. "That's horrible. You've seen far worse things than I have, and yet I complain so often about my losses."

"Hey," Link said, taking her hand in his to get her full attention. "It's not a competition. Your losses aren't the same as mine, so we'll never feel them the same way. I'll never know the pain of losing a sister."

"What a pair we are," Zelda mused, shaking her head. "Nightmares of massacres, trapped in cells, stuck in a world that wants us dead. It seems the Goddess wanted my people to know suffering. Are we only meant to know darkness now? Is there no chance for happy moments to be found?"

Link stared over at her and let his eyes drift to their still joined hands. "Meeting you didn't happen in the best circumstance, but when I think back on it, I'm glad to have met you. To me, being in those cells had a very happy moment. If I hadn't been there, I'd never know you, and that would be a great loss for me."

Zelda smiled and bit her lip, embarrassed by his candor, despite reciprocating it. "I'm glad it was you I met down there. There's no one I can imagine being here with. You know, my father would have liked you. He'd have thought you were an exceptional person, and a great soldier. You'd likely have been invited to join the royal guards if he'd known you. I wish I'd known you far longer than I have. And in brighter times."

Link grinned and rolled his eyes to try to fight back the redness in his face, thankful for the orange glow of the flames. "You will, Zelda. I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon, so you'll know me far longer than you'd like to by the time this is done."

With a soft chuckle, Zelda yawned. "You've been a light in these times. You make me laugh when I think I've forgotten how."

"You're not bad at that yourself, Princess."

He laid back on the ground and patted the spot beside him. Zelda looked at him hesitantly, ad Link smirked. "This is proven to prevent nightmares, and I think I might need you, Princess."

Zelda shook her head with a laugh and crawled beside him, "I'm not sure where you get your facts from."

He slid his arm underneath her head so she rested in the crook of his arm, and he pulled her closer to him, forgetting that she was the princess in this moment. That piece of hair fell into her face again, and he turned so his other arm could push it behind her ear. "Then I guess you'll just have to trust me."

Zelda smiled as her eyes fluttered closed. "I can do that."

Link felt his heavy eyes close as his smile broadened. "Sleep well, Zelda."