MEMORY.
Zelda awoke to a hard, cold floor and an annoying dripping sound. She moaned and opened her eyes. It was dark. She sat up and tried to remember what had happened before, and how she'd gotten there. Then she remembered. She'd snuck into the Dark Dungeons and had been caught by Vaati. His minions threw her into a cell and she'd been knocked out from the impact of her body onto the hard stone floor.
She looked at her hands. The left one was bloody, but she had no idea why. It was only then when she realized she had iron shackles around her wrists. They clung her to the wall of her cell and away from the door. She felt a sharp pain in her chest when she breathed, right above her heart. Wondering what it was, she pushed on the pain to reduce it with her right hand, but when she pulled her fingers away she could see in the dim light of a nearby torch the new blood on them. That was when she noticed the dagger.
Three feet away. Out of her reach with the shackles on. Thoughts clouded her mind, but she made a final assumption that someone had tried to stab her heart with it and left it there in a quick escape. But who would try to kill her? Her thoughts flew to Vaati instantly. But then a strange little voice in her head told her that was not the culprit. The image in her head switched to one of a blurry image. She couldn't see it, so she shrugged it away.
Later that day, Vaati came into her cell. He brought in a torch and hung it on the cell wall. He sat next to Zelda, anger in his eyes. "Why did you defy my clear orders to stay out of the Dark Dungeons?" he asked, his voice resisting shouts. She didn't answer. "Why!"
Finally she spoke. "I don't know," she said truthfully. "I wanted to see if I could do it."
"Well now you know you can," he said. "And thanks to your sudden adventuresome craving, I had to throw my own wife into the dungeons!"
"You didn't have to throw me in here. You could've let me be."
Her words shocked him. "Zelda?" A thought struck him and for the first time, Zelda thought she saw in his eyes… fear. But it soon vanished and she ignored it. "Zelda, did you come down here in hopes of finding a way out?"
"Why would I do that when I could just use the front door?"
"I mean, is there something bothering you? Are you unhappy being my queen?" She couldn't answer; the question stumped her as much as him. "Is there… someone else?"
She looked at him. "I'm not sure. What do you mean?"
"Well, I just want to know. Do you love me? Or does your heart belong to someone else?"
She figured there was no point in lying. "Vaati… no. I don't love you. But my heart doesn't belong to anyone else."
"What about that stupid hero I killed? What's his name again?"
"Link, his name is Link!"
"Whatever, it doesn't matter."
"Doesn't matter." She stood. "Doesn't matter! How can you say his name doesn't matter? That's like saying your name doesn't matter, or my name doesn't matter! He was my best friend, but you had to go and kill him! You ruined my life! You absolutely ruined my life! You tricked me into marrying you. And I don't love you, or Link, or anyone else for that matter! There's no one in the world left who cares the slightest bit about me, and though you may say you do, I can tell that you're lying! It's obvious! I can see it in your eyes! No evil man can fall in love and have it be true! It's unthinkable! Evil men only pretend to fall in love to get something out of it! And doesn't make anyone happy, especially not the one you fall for! You may be happy, but what about me? I'm not happy! There is no one left on the planet that cares about me. I don't even know why I'm still alive. Vaati, I… I… I hate you!"
She expected Vaati to smack her or beat her or kill her, but she didn't care. There was nothing left, no reason to keep on living. Her life should've ended the moment Link's did. He was the only person ever to walk on the face of the planet who understood her and knew her inside and out. She let the tears fall down her cheeks and then began to sob heavily. She just wanted her life to be over. Her eyes caught the glint of the dagger. "Vaati, hand me that dagger on the floor over there." He didn't move, surprised that she felt bold enough to give him a command. "Give me the dagger, Vaati," she growled, her voice raising.
Finally he complied and handed her the dagger. She held it in her hand, running a finger over the bloodstains on it. Her blood. Her stains. Her life. She held it to her chest and slid to the floor. She looked it over. Was it the same weapon used to kill Link? Was some of this Link's blood? She let tears fall on it. Something about the dagger soothed her, calmed her. She felt… safe. For the first time since Link departed to fight Vaati, she felt safe. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to have her and the dagger head to the tomb Link's body resided in and stab herself next to his body. They would be dead together and that was all that mattered. All she wanted was to die and be with Link, where she would be safe with him for all eternity. She raised the dagger and plunged it into her heart. All went black and she fell over.
xXx
Zelda woke to darkness. Her eyes were open, but everywhere she looked she saw darkness. She wondered if this was hell. She sighed. If it was hell, there was slim chance that Link was there with her. He'd be in heaven. But then, why was she in hell? She never did anything wrong.
And then she remembered. Suicide was a sin. By killing herself, she'd allowed the doorway to hell open for her. She hung her head. Her attempt to die and be with Link forever was fruitless. She'd never see him again. How could she? He did nothing but good deeds in his life. It offered him a ticket away from hell and into heaven.
But before she knew it, a light appeared. Was she entering heaven? Had there been a mistake, and now it was being corrected?
No. The light shone on her. It was the light of a torch, held by Vaati. Then she noticed the cell bars. She was still alive. He was kneeling next to her, worry and anger merged into his eyes. All of a sudden, he leaned over and kissed her again. Something happened and when he pulled away, she leaned her head against the stone wall and fell asleep.
xXx
When she awoke again, she knew immediately that something was very wrong, but what it was she didn't know. Until she tried to remember why she'd tried killing herself in the first place. Nothing came to her. That memory was blank. She knew she was married to Vaati and that she was currently locked in a cell for sneaking into the Dark Dungeons. She also remembered going to the graveyard and crying over someone's dead body, but the memory of who it was she was crying was gone.
She saw the dagger and picked it up. Had someone tried to kill her? She didn't remember stabbing herself. Thoughts flew to Vaati again. He'd tried to kill her. But then that mysterious voice said it wasn't him. An image appeared in her head.
That is the enemy, said the voice. The one who tried to kill you.
But who is he? Zelda thought. And he looks like a pretty decent guy. What's his name?
Link. He's been caught and is dead now. Vaati took care of him before he could kill you.
Zelda sighed in relief. At least this so called 'Link' who'd tried to kill her was dead now. A thought of how brave Vaati was crossed her mind.
Little did she know that Vaati was standing next to the cell unseen, smirking in triumph, knowing that all of her memories of Link were gone.