Chapter 24: Beneath the Sand
"I still can't believe you're out here in a dress," Link said, watching as Zelda held down the front of her skirt as it blew in the desert wind.
"I couldn't exactly excuse myself and then come back as Sheik. I can when we get to the temple though, so it's a small price."
Link was getting tired from the weight of the sand dragging him down to his ankles with every step. He couldn't even imagine Zelda's discomfort, but they both bore it silently.
Follow the flags, one of the Gerudo had said. They'd been following the flags for hours, and the wind was starting to pick up, hitting them in the eyes and mouth with small grains of sand. They'd said that at the halfway point, there would be an old fort that they could rest in, but they didn't feel that was ever going to show up.
A particularly strong gust whipped in the air, and Zelda yelped as she lost her footing and sand quickly started to pelt her. Link doubled back and helped her to her feet. She stumbled and grabbed onto Link's arm before screaming again.
"Something's got me!" she said, immediately dropping her hold on Link. She pushed to keep herself above the sand. "There's more than one! It's got teeth!'
Link fell to his knees, sword in hand and pushed it into the sand. "I don't want to clip you."
"Better my foot than suffocating under sand! Do whatever you have to!"
Steeling himself, Link slammed the Master Sword down into the sand and heard the immediate screech of a creature under the sand.
Zelda sunk further into the sand and threw her head back in a silent scream. She grabbed Link again, only this time, he could almost feel her channeling pain from her leg. He kept hold of her and slammed the sword deeper into the sand, listening as two screeches happened this time.
"One more," Zelda whispered, loosening her grip. Link had to jab the ground a few times before he heard the final screech.
Immediately, Link dropped his sword and pulled Zelda from the sand. Her entire leg was covered in blood, small bits of skin ripped away. She was breathing heavily and stared at her leg, her hands shaking. She reached down and handed Link his sword. He put it away and helped her to her feet. She staggered into him and whimpered.
"You can't walk," Link said, wrapping his arm around her.
"I can," she protested, hobbling away from him in pain. As he reached out for her, she fell to the sand again. Another creature had her.
This time, Link was able to see it. It was a green worm-like creature with four long, fanged pincers and a sharp mouth between them all. He stabbed it immediately and picked up Zelda in his arms, following the next flag.
"I wonder why they only like you?" he said, trying to get her to focus on anything else but the pain in her leg. "You know, I had a vision the other day? It felt like the future, not the past. I was sailing around a great sea looking for my sister. Then I thought it would have been nice to have a sister; at least I will someday."
Wrapping her arms around Link's neck, she pulled herself closer to him and tried to take some of the weight off his arms. She knew that his wounds were still hurting. "I had a brother," she said softly.
"Oh yeah? What do you know about him?"
Zelda whimpered again, muffling her groans against Link. When she finally pulled away, she closed her eyes. "He took the throne and cursed me."
Link made a face and regretting asking. "Oh. That's… not what I was expecting." He could see a dark looming shadow grow behind the next flag and picked up the pace. The shadow began to take form as the fort. "Hey, we're nearly there."
When they finally reached the fort, it was dark, very dark. Link placed Zelda on the ground and shut the door and blocked the windows, casting out any light from getting in. "It's too dark to even see," he hissed.
"There was a light upstairs," Zelda said.
Link stumbled through the fort until he felt the stairs leading up. Light finally brightened up his steps, but so did the sand. He hadn't noticed any light, but he stuck his head out the window and sure enough, a lit lantern flapped around, waiting for them. He snatched it up and brought it downstairs to where Zelda waited.
Kneeling over her, he looked at her bloody leg and reached for his water at his belt. He uncapped it and started to pour it over her leg, washing out the sand that was causing her so much pain. To his surprise, she pushed his hand away.
"You'll need that to get to the temple! Don't waste it."
"Using it on you is hardly wasting it," he said, pouring some more.
"No!" she protested, trying to move away from him. The pressure on her bleeding leg was too much, and she fell over onto her hands.
Link went to help her up, but he heard her gasp and reached for his sword.
"Link, come here," she said in a shaky voice.
He obliged and knelt down beside her when he didn't see anything. "What?"
Zelda opened her hands and a great pink light emerged. She pushed it against Link until it flew into his chest, disappearing.
Link sat, wide-eyed and still, as he stared at his chest. It was already less painful to move and to breathe, but he glared down at Zelda. "A fairy? You found a fairy, and you didn't use it?"
Sitting up, she nodded. "You have to get to the Sage, to Nabooru. You're still not healed, and there will be more foes ahead. You needed it. It's your destiny to get in the Spirit Temple, not mine. I'll be here. I'll be fine."
With an annoyed noise, Link picked up the Master Sword and headed outside the fort, slamming the door behind him.
Settling back, Zelda was relieved that Link left. Despite being a princess, she knew her life was not above anyone else's, especially not a Sage. She could feel her right hand burning and figured she must have been bit there, too.
"Oh, Goddesses. You really wanted my leg to be eaten by sand worms? I hate worms. You have a horrible sense of humor."
Zelda took a long swig from her water bottle, knowing it would have to last either until she could walk out, or if Link came back. Without much else, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
At first, it was just a dreamless blackness that soothed her mind, but then the visions came. They were different this time. They were about her, and even Link, but they weren't a past life. They were from this one. And it certainly wasn't something from the past.
She shot up, her mind suddenly awake, though she was breathing heavily. She could hear a noise at the door, and scooted herself into the corner, trying to hoist herself to her feet using the wall for support.
The door finally opened, and a figure entirely covered in shadow emerged into the room. Sliding back down, she rested her head on the cool stone as Link knelt in front of her. "Am I still dreaming?" she asked.
"No," he said, opening his hand. A fairy flew out and encircled Zelda before diving into her chest. He ran a hand along her cheek. It was on fire, but she was just able to keep her eyes on him as he spoke. "I don't care what you think my destiny is. I'm not leaving you, injured, in a fort, in a desert, in a sandstorm. You agreed to come with me, Princess. No getting out of our bargain now."
Zelda sighed as relief washed over her and her leg almost immediately stopped throbbing. She could still feel a fever burning, and her eyes closed just as quickly as they'd opened.
It wasn't long before she saw fire behind her eyes. A great fire that burned the woods, the villages, and the fields. Amidst all the chaos, bodies were everywhere. Soldiers, dead or dying were surrounded by the dead of their enemies, monsters by the hundreds. Zelda stepped over the dead forever until she heard a coughing noise that was all too familiar.
Something about this vision felt too real to Zelda. Like at any moment, she'd open her eyes and be looking down at a boy covered in blood, a spear lodged in his chest. Unlike her usual visions, she couldn't hear what they said, but she could tell. The boy said something to the girl over him just before his head went limp, his eyes still open. The girl threw herself against the boy's bloody chest and let out a soul wrenching cry. Zelda could see it, though she couldn't hear it.
When her eyes popped open, she was in the dark room, with only a faint light in the corner. She felt at her face, unsure if she was in reality or not, and stood up, feeling a little wobbly, but mostly without pain, and made her way towards the light.
Link was practicing with the Master Sword when he noticed Zelda's approach. He lowered the sword, and Zelda threw herself into his arms. He was surprised, unsure if she was feeling sick, or had a fever.
"You're here! You're okay," she muttered.
Link stroked her hair, trying to calm her. He could feel her body shaking with soft sobs. "I've been here for hours. I didn't go."
"You're alive."
Link led her into the other room with the light and set it beside them. Up close, he could see the tears on her cheek and wiped them away with his thumb. "What happened?"
With a shaky breath, she closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. "I've never seen you die. It was so real, and awful."
"It wasn't real."
She ran her hand through her hair again, and Link grabbed it. She couldn't shake the memory. "It was real. It was real because in one of our lifetimes, you were killed and died in my arms and I had to watch you take your last breath. I had to sit there and realize that I'd never talk to you again. And that was all real and I don't want it to be real again."
Link pulled her closer and she rested her head on his bare shoulder. "It gets easier. I saw myself die about a hundred times, and finally I saw the Great Deku Tree because I'd started to feel my deaths. But in between, there was usually this girl. She and I were covered in blood, crawling away from a massive beast who'd destroyed everything in its path. Together, we managed to kill it, but the effort took the last of her strength and she collapsed in front of me. Then I realized that mine had gone as well, and I fell. She was already gone, and I reached out to her, but I never reached her, never was able to touch her one last time and I died, too.
"I had this vision before I even met you, so when I saw you and realized that you were that girl, it scared me. I thought it was our future, not our past."
Zelda tightened her hold on Link's arm and he sighed. "There was one other that you were in. It was one of the few times that everything felt okay." Link pulled Zelda closer, over his leg, and wrapped both his arms around her. "We were old, and I said to you that it was time. Then you… you kissed me and said there was one final thing we could do together. We sat on the bed, almost like this, and closed our eyes. Neither of us woke up."
He looked down at her and ran his finger along her hand. "It doesn't always have to end in tragedy."
"Link…" Zelda started, but Link kissed her forehead, stopping her.
"Sleep, Princess. We'll talk tomorrow. Just know that I'll be here when you wake up."
