A/N: Something's currently wrong with fanfic . net and it won't show new chaptwrs (like 54). I'm not going to post anymore until they fix this, because apparently it's a site-wide issue. HOWEVER, the next chapter does work on the app, but if that's not your thing, you can find the next chapter (and the rest) on my Ao3 account, which is Deilia Medlini. I don't know when this will be fixed, since it's been a few days now, so I figured I'd offer up some options to anyone who sees this! Thanks for reading this far as well!

Original A/N: Violence warning

She'd held up the knife to make her point as she stared at Link, serious, frightened. "I will not go back alive. My death would allow my secrets to die with me, and I couldn't doom a kingdom with a moment of weakness. And I want... no, I need you to promise me something, Link."

He'd waited, eyes darting between her and the knife uneasily. "What?"

"If I can't do it, I need you to. No matter what, no matter how afraid I am… I need you to kill me if I can't do it myself. For Hyrule."

"No, no!" Link balked, hurrying into the room.

Seeing the absolutely horrified look on his face cracked any semblance of regal dignity she'd tried to maintain. She choked on a sob. If there had been anything she could have asked of the Goddess, it would have been that Link wouldn't have seen her body until it was long-since cold. She would never have to see heartbreak in his eyes, or hopelessness. His hands hovered over her wound, knowing exactlywhat it meant.

"Zelda," he croaked, wracking his brain for something he could do.

"Link," she muttered, reaching out to him. But she hissed, remembering her broken wrist, and hugged it against her chest as she started to sway, using her other hand to grab onto something to steady her. Moving her arm had sent flares of burning pain out from around the knife.

He'd gone ghastly pale, and his eyes widened at the sight of her improperly bent hand, and he bit his lip as he looked back at her.

She looked determined, despite the beads of sweat that were starting to pool on her forehead, already exhausting herself just from standing. "Go to Ganondorf. If he doesn't die, this was for nothing. Don't let my death be for nothing, Link. Please. Please!"

He grabbed on to her as she swayed and gingerly helped her down to the ground to get her off her unsteady legs, careful not to move the knife too much or risk a faster death. His hand shook as he ran it along her jaw. "Don't you daredie on me; do you understand?"

"Go, Link, please. Finish this." Weakly, she pushed at him, desperately hoping that he'd understand how badly she needed him to go.

With a pained grunt all his own, though it wasn't from any physical wound, Link stood up and gritted his teeth as he looked down at her, torn.

"Please," she whispered again, begging.

He dug around in his pocket and pulled out the small bottle of potion Shad had given him, unstoppering it briefly showing it to her before tilting it into Zelda's mouth and tossing the glass vial aside.

"I'll be back. Don't. Die."

"I won't," she promised, leaning her head back to stare at the ceiling as she tried to keep her focus on anything else.

It took every ounce of mental strength he had to look away from her, let alone run from the room. He followed the door through to the next room and then beyond that to another where he could hear the clanging of metal.

Link burst into the room, all physical pain forgotten the instant he laid eyes on Ganondorf. He spun his sword in his hand and stalked across the space towards where the Demon King had been fighting his remaining soldiers, unblinking as he met the man's blazing eyes.

Ganondorf watched Link's determined expression with a sick smile, though it was hiding his genuine fear. For all he was, Ganondorf was not immortal, and in one act, the Princess of Hyrule had taken away his best chance to truly rule Hyrule, and had also brought the wrath of seven well-trained soldiers down upon him, one of whom just discovered every reason in the world to kill him or die trying.

Never looking away from the Demon King, Link grabbed two of his soldiers, pulling them harshly away and urged them towards the door. "Shad, the medic, is in this building. Find him. Find him right now! Go!" When the two soldiers looked between Link and Ganondorf, Link found his hand reaching out to physically push one of them towards the door. "Now!"

Ganondorf chuckled and stepped over one of two fallen soldiers by his feet. He wasn't going to stop Link's people. If that medic could heal Zelda, then he'd have his kingdom. All that was left was to take care of the soldiers that stood in his way. It was Link and two others who remained.

"Well, I wasn't sure if I should expect you or not," Ganondorf cooed. "I always knew you'd make her weak. It's why I put her in your cell in the first place. She still has time to sign the kingdom over to me yet, and with you here, it'll be much easier. She just about gave it up for you once already. With a knife to your throat, I imagine it will take seconds."

Link practically growled, the very sound of Ganondorf's voice like nails against glass. He was on Ganondorf in an instant, feeling his two soldiers join him at once.

Link moved to flank the Demon King while the others took up positions around him. Every sword moved with blinding speed, and Ganondorf expertly managing to keep all three at bay, though his left side was faltering, taking far more hits… Link's side. While none penetrated his armor, he was beginning to feel the lump of a welt or a harsh bruise forming on his protected skin beneath.

Needing to free up some of his attention, Ganondorf managed to ram one of Link's soldiers into the wall, running his blade along their throat and leaving him with just two opponents, which he found far more manageable.

Though Link and his other soldier worked well together to keep Ganondorf on edge, he still managed to finish off Link's other soldier with a satisfied, arrogant smile on his face.

But there was still Link…

Ganondorf knew he was a good soldier. He'd fought him personally. He'd received updated reports. Reese's updates and Kayne's old reports had been the most illuminating about the soldier, though the information collected by Niko and Auru had been just as illuminating.

Ganondorf was a man who fought from a place of prideful arrogance. He knew he was good, and it showed in the small flurries in his movements. It made him formidable, but weak to anyone who could break past his defenses and throw the man off balance and break his stride, physically or mentally.

Link, on the other hand, fought from a place of pure instinct that had been honed throughout the years to match his skills. If he saw movement, he reacted, and his training had helped him determine what act to make, friend or foe, defense or offense. But now, his body moved hard and fast, landing hits that were powerful, if sloppier than usual even despite his injuries. But instinct was screeching at him, demanding that he attack with everything he had or die in the process.

Link knew that if he had gone straight past the door Zelda had been behind, he'd have already lost this fight. But seeing her bleeding, dying, it spurred a rage and hatred for the Demon King that drowned everything else out, wanting nothing more than to get back to her in the other room.

Ganondorf staggered back, surprised by the force someone much smaller than him—and as bloodied as Link was—could manage. Ganondorf had the sense of mind to be concerned, moving quickly to defense rather than trying to match Link offensively. Link's movements were followed by a cry, every ounce of effort put into each swing.

And while Ganondorf had every intention of finding Link on the battlefield, knowing that he could use Link to force Zelda to turn over the kingdom, he hadn't thought that the gods would laugh at him and put Link in the same room as a dying Zelda. It wouldn't bring about the outcome Ganondorf would have, and he never would have made a stupid mistake like that if it had been in his control.

She could be Ganondorf's greatest weapon against Link, but she was also his greatest motivator, and the more Ganondorf hurt her, the harder he knew Link would fight. It was a delicate scale that he needed to tip in his direction as he started to move his body toward the connecting rooms.

But Link, on the other hand, had another advantage besides his pumping adrenaline and overwhelming desire to end this fight. Link could see that his troops had done a number on the Demon King. His armor was loose, leaving small openings. He had a distinct limp. His face had a deep cut on it. They'd given him opportunities, and that was all he needed.

If there was one thing Link didn't need, it was to talk or respond to anything the Demon King said. He lunged at Ganondorf again, blocking his attempts to move to the door, their blades clashing several times in succession. Each man landed a few hits, and Link felt a deep slice across his thigh before it faded into the recesses of his mind, completely forgotten by his body's fight to stay alive.

Link swung wide, his momentum driving his blows far off than he should have. It was blocked, and Link stumbled to get around a small coffee table that was in his way. The momentary lapse in environmental awareness earned him a boot straight to the chest, toppling Link down onto the very table he'd been trying to avoid. He let out a harsh cry as excrutiating pain radiated around his waist. He clutched his ribs with one hand before grabbing onto his weapon to keep himself focused.

Ganondorf swung his sword down as hard as he could, but Link knocked it harmlessly off to the side of his head with his own sword, offering him a brief moment to roll off the table before Ganondorf could bring his sword down again, cleaving the wood in two.

Link pushed himself to his feet, grabbing one of his soldier's fallen sword's in his other hand, changing his stance in a way that protected his injuries and allowed him more freedom to move two swords around rather than one. He'd much rather have a shield, but he saw none, and this would have to do.

It was a technique Link had done in passing, but he was no expert. He managed to land a few nicks as he rapidly brought both swords down to make contact with Ganondorf again and again, leaving Ganondorf fatiguing from his constant attempts to block, dodge, or parry. His armor offered protection, but it weighed the Demon King down, leaving him panting for breath.

Link didn't let up, and when he saw Ganondorf hunching over under the burden of his armor, Link stabbed one of his swords straight through Ganondorf's bad leg, leaving the man howling out in pain.

In his agony and rage, Ganondorf grabbed Link and slammed him down to the ground, knowing that he had to keep Link off his feet if he wanted to survive. The little Hylian was too energized with overflowing amounts of adrenaline, no longer tired, and moving much quicker. He had to mitigate that by keeping Link down, and Ganondorf had the advantage of an overabundance of natural physical strength. So, Ganondorf's arm acted as a battering ram, sending Link flying down off his feet. Ganondorf managed to bend over Link with his own sword raised high, prepared to plunge it down.

Link pulled his sharp knife from his belt and rammed it straight into Ganondorf's chainmail with enough force to break through. He quickly did it again, relieved to see Ganondorf drop his sword and clutch his side in pain as red blood seeped through the man's fingers. He half expected it to be an inhuman green in color, but he was just a human. Ganondorf's pain gave Link the chance to rise to his feet.

Both opponents had lost their swords, and Ganondorf let out an enraged shout, plowing Link into the wall with his shoulder, leaving Link gasping for breath at the force of the impact. He was sure that one of his ribs had shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.

In his own pain, Ganondorf's leg was hovering off the ground, all of the Demon King's weight favoring his other foot, and pressed into Link as he tried to use his strength to literally crush the Hylian to death.

Link looked around as he struggled for air and grabbed a flowerpot on his left, smashing it into Ganondorf's face before the man could bring a devastating fist into Link's head. Glass shattered, fragments spraying along both of them, but cutting along Ganondorf's face. He backed away to brush pieces away from his eyes, unable to open them without doing so first. It offered Link the chance to stumble weakly away and flip his knife into his right hand as he retrieved his sword again.

Ganondorf ran at Link, grabbing his sword off the ground as he did, and Link planted his feet, ducking at just the right angle that the Demon King went flying over his shoulder, landing on the ground on Link's other side.

The motion of the bulky Ganondorf rolling across Link's bruised back sent a searing pain through him that had him falling to his knees, and he realized that Shad's potions were beginning to wear off already. He was acutely feeling the pain from his other wounds, most prominently from the one on his face.

But Ganondof's hulking form was over him again, both men limping and breathing heavily. Link held his breath and stood, bringing his sword up to defend himself. Their swords met again, though with significantly less force than before in what became a battle of wills over strength.

Ganondorf was practically hopping to keep off his leg as he fought against Link, who spent the entire fight clutching his completely battered ribs that had never managed to heal in the first place.

Tired—exhausted—Link managed to push Ganondorf back against a wall, landing another harsh blow to the man's injured leg, knowing it was his weakest point. Ganondorf tilted his body down to grab at his knee, and Link saw the small movement of chainmail falling forward.

With a cry and every single ounce of strength left in his body, Link rammed his sword up through the gap, piercing straight through Ganondorf with such force that the sword lodged into the wall, pinning Ganondorf in place.

Ganondorf screeched and reached out to grab Link, but he dodged and tucked his knife deep into the gap under Ganondorf's armpit.

"That's for Zelda," he muttered, watching droplets of blood spew from his mouth as he spoke. His voice was hoarse and worn as he panted out short, shallow breaths. Anything bigger and he was afraid his lungs would burst.

Ganondorf's body was shaking, but he managed to laugh, sickening and almost triumphant. "Pathetic."

Link dragged the knife down through the Demon King's skin, tearing a large gash through him. "For her family. I know she wanted to do this herself for their sakes."

Ganondorf intentionally reared forward with a grunt, bringing himself closer to the hilt of the sword as he kept laughing, taunting Link with his strength even in his last moments.

Link grabbed Ganondorf's collar and tugged it forward, plunging the knife down into the hollow of his throat. "For Hyrule."

Blood poured from the Demon King, pooling around him on the floor as he finally stopped laughing and began to fall limp as air hissed from his mouth.

But before he could sag or breathe his last, Link wretched his hair back and ran the knife deep across Ganondorf's throat for good measure, watching Ganondorf's eyes involuntarily widen before going dim. "And that one was for me."

He listened to the strained breathing as it went in and out one final time before it stopped in a long groan, leaving Ganondorf pinned to the wall by Link's bloody sword, slinking forward against the hilt, finally lifeless.

In the safety of the moment, Link felt the immediate disintegration of all pain management his body had given him, and he collapsed into an end table, clutching his side and spitting out several globs of blood as the world spun. But he managed to get his legs to work just enough to he limped his way back to Zelda.

However, it happened again when he saw her body on the floor, lying in a pool of her own blood. His body went numb, and he somehow managed to throw himself to the ground beside her, pulling her into his arms as he hung his head over her, his back, his ribs, his face, his wounds all forgotten as he stared down at her pale, shaking body.

"Link?" she muttered, so low and weak that he barely heard it.

"He's dead, Zelda. You did it."

"Not me. You," she whispered, trying to blink her eyes back open as they settled on his.

He pulled her against his chest, letting her head rest against him. He kept one hand close to the knife, resting lightly on her abdomen, while his other kept her head cradled upright.

"I don't really want to argue right now. Later we can. I might even let you win," he said, kissing her forehead as he felt a tear drip down from his eye and land in her hair.

"Link," she whined, tilting her head back.

He moved his lips down to hers, bringing his hand up to lightly stroke the skin around her throat. "Come on, Zelda," he said, pulling away. "Shad is here. Just fight a little longer."

"It hurts," she croaked out, her voice breaking into a sob. Her entire abdomen was on fire, sharp pains radiated out from the source, but a constant burning settled around her entire lower half, like she'd been tied to a pyre she couldn't escape from. It brought an onslaught of fearful and pained tears to her eyes.

"I know," Link whispered, brushing back her hair and trying to resist the urge to rock them in a comforting motion that they both needed, but he didn't want to do anything to jostle the knife. It was the only thing keeping her alive.

"I can't!" she whimpered. Involuntary noises kept escaping from her throat, and each one pierced through Link like an arrowhead, sending tears to his eyes as he tried to hold her shuddering body still for her. He was trembling, and it took a fair amount of his strength to keep her steady and keep the knife from moving around.

He bit his lip and shook his head. "You told me life was about more than surviving, but Zelda, don't make me live it alone. Please. Stay. I promised you I'd try to survive tonight for your sake, now please make me the same promise."

She gasped several times in a row, unable to take a deep breath. "Link, take it out! You promised me you'd do it if I couldn't. Please!" Again, she struggled to take a deep enough breath to speak. "I don't want to die slowly."

He shook his head and watched a teardrop fall from his face to hers, mixing with her own tears. "I can't." He grabbed her good hand and brought it up to his mouth, pressing a kiss to each knuckle. "Shad's coming. They just have to find him. Hold on, please." He'd never begged so much in his life.

With a soft shriek of pain, devoid of any and all energy, she nodded into him, closing her tired eyes with an uncontrollable flutter.

"No, no, Zelda!" he hissed, shaking her by the chin so he didn't jostle her too much. "Come on. You can do it. Stay awake." His eyes desperately darted toward the door before gluing back to her. "You owe me another seventy-nine years, Zelda."

She let out a light breath this time, the faintest hint of a smile on her face. "Tell me about them."

"What?"

"Tell me our life. If I'm going to die, let me live it."

He pressed his lips together, unable to stop more tears from running down his cheeks as he held her tighter and tried to make his voice work without cracking.

"We, uh, we both get out of here alive, and… and we run away."

"Not after all this work," she said with what sounded like a laugh.

He choked back half a laugh, half a sob. "Okay, we clean this place up and live here. And I'll be your secret lover soldier man… I don't know royal terms. What's a male mistress? I'll be your mistress, I guess?"

She barked out the remains of a laugh and immediately regretted it, feeling fresh tears roll down her cheek as her wound seared her skin from the movement. "D-don't make me laugh. You can just be King."

"Okay, it's your fantasy," he chuckled, leaning his forehead down against her as he continued. "We'd get a cat. I always wanted one. You can't have pets at the garrisons."

"Done," she whispered, feeling her eyes close before she managed to force them open again.

"Gods," Link choked out, feeling her hand go limp in his. He moved away, relieved to see her alert eyes still on him. "It was meant to be me, not you."

"Keep going," she breathed out.

He cursed under his breath and gritted his teeth, trying to stop another tear, if only for Zelda's sake. He didn't want to do this. He just wanted Shad to show up. He didn't trust his own voice.

"Um, King… hefty order there. I guess that means we have to do some crazy wedding thing for Hyrule, right?" She nodded into him, and he tasted his salty tear drip against his lip despite his best efforts. "A few days before, we sneak out of the castle and go back into the woods for a small ceremony with just us. Maybe our cat can come. Maybe not. We'd spend our wedding night at an inn with fake names. Shad would come find us in the morning, but he'd undoubtably just whip the door open like everyone else does. He's the only one left, I think."

She laughed again, willing to bear the excruciating pain that came with it.

"Uh, after a few years, your advisors tell you that you need an heir, but you're already pregnant with the first of our twenty-six kids."

She made a face and he found himself smiling into her hand as he brought it back up to his lips. "Oh, you want twenty-seven; I got you. I knew you'd want them to have siblings, but that's a bit aggressive. Your call though."

"Link!" she cried, but he couldn't tell if it was her playfully chastising him, laughing, or calling out his name in pain. Her grip in his hand tightened marginally.

His chest was physically hurting as he looked at her. "Gods, Zelda, don't make me do this. Please." Her skin was whiter than snow, her eyelids and lips were becoming more pronounced with purple.

"Just tell me how we die," she gasped into him. He only barely heard her.

"It doesn't happen tonight. At the same time of old age, easy. You'll be old and wrinkly, remember?"

"Yeah," she sighed, her eyes drifting helplessly closed.

Her body stopped shaking, and the only sign Link had that she was still alive was her slow, sharp labored breathing.

He bent his lips to her ear and shook his head, sniffling. "I love you."

Her lips moved, forming the words back, but there was no sound from them as her body started loosening in his arms. Her mouth went slack, her arms limp. He could barely feel her pulse or hear her breathe.

And though he'd managed to decently control himself until that point, his body wracked with harsh sobs as he pulled her tighter against him.

"Shad!" he screamed, his voice echoing desperately out of the room. And it became the only word he could manage, screaming it again and again until his voice was hoarse, tears freely streaming from his eyes as he looked down at her again and felt his own body shudder convulsively. Shad was her last hope, and he was running out of time to arrive.

"I love you," he whispered, though he had no response at all this time. "Please. I'll do anything. Just please! I'll learn that stupid dance. I'll take off my own arm. I'll do anything. Just, please, Zelda. Please stay."