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Chapter 13

Link

My mind couldn't seem to fully comprehend what exactly was in front of me. I blinked, focusing on Zelda's frightened face and somehow that startled me into reality. I rushed forward and my arms were around her. I noticed the already forming bruises along her jaw and arms, and a slim cut across her shoulder. But my eyes seemed to keep wandering back to her bloodied hands. Not her blood, either.

"Zelda." I said firmly. "What happened?" Her whole body was now shaking with sobs and I felt her pull away, new tears replacing the dried ones on her fair skin.

"Zelda." I repeated as I saw her far-off expression and panicked eyes.

She seemed to snap back to me and her eyes peered into mine, wide with fear. "I… Link, I – oh my goddesses…" Her breathing turned shallow and quick and I gently shook her.

"Zelda! Calm down."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Zelda pointed vaguely toward the house.

"Stay here." I told her and hurried through the open front door. I looked around carefully. Everything seemed okay, peaceful. My eye caught something in the kitchen and I stepped in that direction. My first view of the kitchen revealed a chaotic mess; pots and pans scattered, silverware spilled onto the counter, dishes smashed into pieces on the floor… I inhaled sharply when my gaze wandered further to the right.

"Oh…" I whispered, the breath leaving my lungs in a disbelieving rush. A form lay sprawled out on the floor, a frightening pool of crimson spreading out under the body – seemingly from the head.

I heard soft cries from behind me and whirled around to see Zelda standing there. Her eyes were fixed on the body as if trying to will it back up, to make the blood disappear. I jerked my cellphone out of my pocket, my attention sliding back to the body as I dialed. As the phone rang, I walked over to Zelda and pulled her trembling body against me.

…

Zelda

An ambulance arrived in record time along with some police officers. My body felt colder than usual and I hadn't left Link's side once.

"Link? Will I get in trouble?" I asked while several people came in and loaded my father onto a stretcher and carted him out the door. Apparently, he was just barely alive – it was mostly the blood loss that affected him. I thanked the goddesses for that. He may have been absolutely horrible to me, but I just couldn't even think about wanting someone dead.

"I don't know, Zelda." Link mumbled, taking my hands in his. I could tell he wanted to tell me everything was okay, but that wouldn't really help. I knew he honestly didn't know how this was going to happen.

A couple of officers made their way over to us and started asking questions.

"Link wasn't inside the house." I told them hastily. I wanted them to know that he was not a part of any of this. If someone was getting in trouble, it was me and only me. "He was outside in the car. He only came in when I walked outside and he saw me…" My voice had trailed off and I took a deep, steadying breath.

"Can you please tell us exactly what happened?" One of the officers asked.

Link gave my hand a light squeeze and somehow that one reassuring gesture actually did help me calm down a little. I knew he was there. That was all I needed right now.

I pulled in another breath and started telling them.

I walked up to the door carefully, taking a deep breath before knocking. The door was opened a moment later and my dad was standing there. He stepped aside for me to come in and I hesitantly went inside.

I turned after I'd walked into the house. "Okay, dad. I'm only here for a couple minutes. Then I'm gone." I told him, hoping my voice sounded as firm as I wanted.

He simply nodded. "How have you been, Zelda?" He asked and he actually sounded sober. There wasn't a trace of that sickening alcohol smell on him and he could focus on my face without trouble. But something still seemed… off.

"Um, I've been okay." I said, a little caught off guard by the casual question. "And… you?"

He shrugged. "I missed you."

My jaw tightened. "Well, sorry to hear that." I said flatly.

"I love you so much, Zel." He continued, moving forward to hug me.

What the hell? I thought, awkwardly hugging him back, then backing away after only a second. "Okay, well if that's all." I started to walk around him to the front door, but he moved to stand in front of me.

"No!" He shouted so abruptly that I jerked back in surprise, taking a step away from him. "I'm not done yet!"

"Okay, okay." I quickly said. "What else?" My heart raced slightly in fear and I steadied myself, eyeing his body language.

"Thank you." His voice had turned soft again and his hands slipped into the front pockets of his jeans. He looked so normal, so innocent in that one movement that I relaxed a bit. Could he be trying to get better and clean up…? I wondered, hoping to the goddesses and everything good in this world that it was true. His voice grew quieter with his next words, "I miss Elena too…"

I swallowed. Elena was my mother. The woman who promised to take me away from him but never returned. "I know. Me too." I said.

"You look like her, you know?"

"I know, you've told me."

"I have, haven't I?"

I began to feel just a little bit nervous by how calm he had become. I had no idea what to expect. "Mom was great –"

"No, no – you don't get to talk about her!" He suddenly exploded. "Not you!" He advanced and I hurriedly stumbled back into the kitchen.

"Okay, sorry!" I exclaimed, wanting to keep him calm again and get out of there now. "I'm just… I'll go now."

"I said I wasn't done yet!" He screamed, grabbing a random dish off the counter beside him and hurling it at me. I yelped, unable to react fast enough before the hard ceramic smashed into my arm and I winced in pain. The dish crashed to the floor, shattering instantly. "You don't leave until I'm finished!" He stalked forward again and fear shivered through me with an icy grip. No, I wasn't letting this happen again! I hated how he treated me, I was so, completely done with it! He wasn't going to hurt me again. I backed up, seeing first if he would just leave me alone but he kept coming and I was running out of options. I could see the violent anger in his eyes.

He lunged and I didn't even think as I snatched something off of the counter and swung it at him, catching him in the side of the hide with a pan. He spun hard, falling and smacking the back of his head on a table on the way down. He lay motionless on the floor and the pan slipped from my grasp as I brought my hands to my mouth in an anguished cry. Small pools of blood were already forming under him, but I was totally frozen. What did I… Oh my goddesses, did I kill him?! I kneeled next to him, sliding a hand under his head to lift it off the floor. There was a dangerously deep gash and the blood just kept spilling out onto the floor. I stood shakily, my head swimming. Black dots tainted my vision, but I could see the sickeningly copious amount of blood I had gotten on my hands. The crimson was a stark contrast against my light skin. I shuddered, stumbling toward the front door and wrenching it open.

"That's… that's when I got Link and he called you guys." Tears were threatening to appear again, burning my eyes, but I blinked them away.

"Hmm." The officer was scribbling stuff down as I spoke. Link still had his hand in mine, reassuring even after what I had just recounted.

"Well, based off your story, the chances of you going to jail are almost non-existent." The officer said in a flat voice and I couldn't help the sigh of relief that I breathed. "Your actions were based off self-defense and shouldn't be held against you. If we need anything else, we'll be in touch." The officers nodded, then turned to leave too. The ambulance had left a while ago.

I put a hand to my stomach, a sick feeling bubbling in the pit of my stomach. "I hope he's okay."

"Do you want to go to the hospital to see him?" Link asked softly.

"No, I just…No. And I don't think I'm going to make an attempt to see him again. I'm done." My voice was tired and Link seemed to completely understand my response.

"Let's just head back, then." Link suggested and I nodded gratefully. Link offered to take the keys and drive and I didn't protest one bit. I slid into the passenger seat and stared numbly out the window as Link started to drive.

…

Link

I cast several sideways glances over at Zelda, but the entire ride back to the campus she never moved. Just stared silently out the window as I drove. I wanted her to say something, but I also didn't want to push her while she was in this precarious state. So I was silent too.

Once we got back to her dorm, Midna had already left which was good. I don't think Zelda could have dealt with other people at the moment. She lay down on the couch, still quiet and it was starting to scare me a little. I sat at her feet, resting a hand on her calf.

"Zelda. You can talk to me." I said softly, watching her.

She turned her head a little to face me with a small smile. I breathed a soft sigh of relief at that smile, she would be okay eventually.

"It'll all be okay." I assured her. She sat up and shifted so that she leaned against me. I combed my fingers through her hair slowly and she sighed. I felt her body completely relax into mine and the fact that she trusted me so wholly sent a shiver of pleasure through me. "I love you, Zelda."

There was a moment of comfortable silence and then she murmured, "I love you too." We stayed like that for what seemed like quite a long time. After a while, I realized she had fallen asleep against me and I tugged her closer. I eventually fell asleep as well, with her held safely against me.

…

I woke up several hours later and instantly felt like something was missing. I looked next to me, but Zelda was gone. I stood, yawning involuntarily as I glanced around the dorm. "Zel?" I called.

Then a door opened and Zelda emerged from the bathroom. "Oh, sorry. I was just… checking out the damage." She explained in a soft voice.

I raised an eyebrow and stepped closer until I could see her better in the light filtering out from the bathroom. "What da… oh." I surveyed the bruised spots on her exposed skin, frowning at the bluish-purple taint to her beautiful, smooth skin. She turned around and hunched over, as if she were trying to disappear into herself. I came up behind her, placing my hands on her waist tentatively. When she didn't make any pained protest indicating there was bruising there, I tightened my grip on her and pressed a soft, careful kiss to the nape of her neck that was revealed by her hair being swept to the side and over her shoulder. Zelda relaxed again at the touch of my lips and leaned back against me.

"So this is why you always wore that hoodie." I said, a statement instead of a question.

Zelda nodded and anger boiled in my stomach. I couldn't even imagine someone hurting her like this. And for so long.

"Why didn't you tell anybody?" I asked.

Zelda turned slowly in my grip, wrapping her arms around my neck. "I just… I just didn't want the attention. And I guess I hoped it would… stop." Shaking her head at herself, she pressed her face into my chest. "I know. I was so stupid." She muttered, sniffling.

I sighed, resting my chin atop her head. "Yes, you were." I admitted and she just nodded slightly. "But it's over now. You're okay. And I sure as hell won't let anything happen to you."

Zelda lifted her head and looked up at me with small, glistening tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Link. For being there." I nodded and let a light kiss land on her forehead, then the tip of her nose, and finally her mouth.

She kissed me back with a surprising amount of passion, pulling me closer. I came willingly and tilted my head more to deepen the kiss, my hands on her hips. Her fingers crept up into my hair and I shivered at the sensation, pulling her as close as I possibly could. Her hands eventually slipped down over my shoulders and dipped lower until they ran along the hem of my shirt, knuckles lightly grazing the skin of my stomach.

Before she could go any further, I reluctantly pulled away. I wanted nothing more than to go further with her right then, but I knew that one thing would lead to another and I didn't want her first time with me to be marred by the events of today. She was sad and scared and not totally understanding of what she was doing. So I'd wait longer if I had to. I could be patient.

Zelda glanced up at me again, looking into my eyes and removing her hands from my shirt. Instead, she placed them flat on my chest and pecked my lips. I smiled softly and she sighed, content.

"I'm tired. Would you…" She trailed off, seeming shy of what she was about to ask. Zelda cleared her throat and tried again. "Would you mind staying with me tonight?" she asked in a shy voice.

I shook my head. "Not at all."

Zelda smiled up at me, so brightly – warm and affectionate and I felt a sudden surge of love for her. I pulled her into a tight hug, then pulled away as she led me to her room.

"Thank you, Link." She murmured in the dark and I heard the slight creak of the bed as she lay down on it. I hesitantly stepped forward, for some reason uncertain about sharing a bed with her. Walking forward, I slipped under the covers with her and immediately relaxed when her arms came around me.

I took one of her hands and kissed the center of her palm, causing a shiver to roll through her. I bit my lip then wrapped my arms around her again. She tucked her head into my neck and I felt her breathing slow until it was deep and even. Then I fell asleep once again with Zelda in my arms.