A/N: There are obviously going to be spoiler in this story. This story will take its time since I am going through a lot of the stuff I've done and experienced in the game (and I have also not finished - not even close) so expect slow chapters with only my OC and Link. Hopefully that won't be too much of a problem haha!

Thank you for those who have followed and commented on this story. It means the world and keeps me writing! You are amazing!

Her Last Breath of the Wild

Chapter One: The Sheikah Towers

Everything was much quieter.

The only sounds were of rustling leaves, swaying grass, and the splashing of water from the waterfalls. There was no laughter, no chatter, and no faces to be seen.

A strange feeling seeped well into her bones. Though the sun shone bright upon the brilliant green grass and the waters glimmered with life and serenity, the quietness felt eerie. The man with the white beard — King Rhoam of Hyrule — lived here for one hundred years all alone.

The daunting thoughts sent shivers down her spine. Maybe it was because she never truly liked to be alone that imagining him all alone made her slow down her pace in deep thought. The trek to the temple didn't appear to be long at first, but the more her brain ran through darker memories of the past, the longer the walk became.

She could remember every excruciating detail of the past before these last one-hundred years, yet she couldn't remember what happened right before she was placed to sleep in the bed of water. The last thing she did remember were the guardians lurching to life, destroying everything and everyone in their path with their laser-eyes and metal claws. Everything was ablaze that day —

Shaking her head, she kept her focus on the temple ahead. Tears were starting to prick her eyes and she couldn't allow such dark emotions to creep into her mind; not when she had a job to do.

A great heaviness kept her weighed down as she stalked the steps of the ruined temple. The place was in shambles; a sorrowful sight to see when she last saw it standing with dignity and beauty. Pillars that once towered to the skies were now crumbled down to her waist, the walls were no longer a creating a stronghold from the outside world but open to all the critters that scurried across the plains.

The darkness and emptiness she felt didn't match the sunny blue skies and calm, soothing breeze.

Crossing over the rubble, she saw a chest perched on one of the upturned floor stones. Just as she was about to race over to open it, she saw a sleeping Bokoblin with a club clenched in his hand. She felt that rising urge to wield a sword in her hands just like she had many times before.

She crouched. Her steps were slow and quiet, her breathing hushed. Her hands began to shake and she wondered if she would remember how to even fight at all. Lifting the torch, she brought it down one harsh swoosh, knocking the Bokoblin completely out.

It wasn't long before it's flesh and bones vanished into thin air, leaving behind its club.

She sighed with relief. No ruckus, no struggle, no injuries.

The club was chunky and very unimpressive. It was neither large nor small; it was neither heavy nor light, but very much a disappointment to her.

Running over to the chest, she kicked it open, reaching for what was inside: a sword.

Tossing the club off to the side, she smiled down at it's gleaming blade.

The sound of a bow string being pulled back broke her attention from the sword and onto the culprit of the draw.

Standing in rag-like clothes similar to her own was none-other than her dear friend Link. She wanted to break out into tears and hug him tightly seeing that the last battle of Calamity Ganon had not taken his life; however, seeing as he was pointing an arrow at her head, it didn't seem like he was too fond of seeing her.

Did he blame her for what happened between them both and Zelda?

She batted the tears away, forcing the thoughts out of her mind.

"I'm a friendly," she said. A small smile tried its way at the corners of her mouth.

He slowly lowered his bow, his blue eyes glistening in the rays of the sun. His long blond hair was tied in various ponytails and clipped up messily.

"Who are you?" he asked. His eyes narrowed at her, fierce and determined.

Admittedly, he was brave and fought hard, but she knew him. He acted the part of defiant when he was really wanting to escape or actually had fear in his heart.

"Alaya," she answered. A part of her felt relieved that he didn't remember her. The past was in the past and could truly be forgotten.

Alaya could start all over with him.

She forced another smile. "It looks like it's just us and that old man on the hill here… And a few Bokoblins. Can I keep you company then?" As useless of a liar as she was, it didn't matter much; Link was quite gullible, fortunately enough for her.

He gave one strong nod before walking down the steps and away from the temple. Looking back, a small part of her was curious to see its ruins. Of course, a larger part was grateful not to see the destruction that time has brought upon it.

Link was very much quiet as they made their way across the plains. Her eyes wandered up and down Link's toned back and his veiny hands. Every so often, she saw he was looking at her from the corner of his eyes, but whenever she came to meet his gaze, he quickly looked away.

A smirk plastered her face.

Alaya picked up her pace to match his, walking by his side. "So you don't remember anything either?"

He looked at her from the side again, never fully turning his head. "Nope — you think we knew each other back before all this?"

With every question, she knew she would have to pick the right answers. If she was going to successfully pull of amnesia just as the rest, she had to do it right. "I suppose. After all, we were both put in a shrine to sleep, were we not?"

He nodded but said nothing further.

The silence was always an annoyance to her. In the past, when she first met Link, he was just as he was now: quiet, short sentences. Not too talkative — even worse, distant. She longed for the days all those hundred years ago when they were friends and he always made an effort to converse with her.

"What did the old man tell you? He told me to ask you. All I've gotten so far is that it's one hundred years later from when we were put to sleep."

"He only spoke of the temple and how it's been in a state of decay since the fall of the kingdom long ago." He picked up a rock, finding a grasshopper underneath. He plucked it before it could fly away and tucked it into his pouch.

Alaya sighed. Rhoam was always so cryptic and uninformative even when it was deemed that information was necessary. Sometimes, she believed that he did it for amusement rather than wanting his people and staff to find their own way. She wanted to know what exactly he'd been doing for these last one hundred years — wanted to know why he was in commoner's clothing and not his royal robes. Of course, now was not the right time.

But she wasn't a patient Hylian.

"Look over there!" she suddenly shouted, making Link jump.

He followed her gaze, landing on the hill with a small stone entry of a pedestal similar to the one in the cave she woke in.

Alaya darted towards it with Link following suit. They stopped right before the pedestal. Link was the first to whip out the slate, placing it inside the slot. It began to glow blue and all at once the ground shook beneath them, causing the two to fall to the floor.

Looking down, she saw that they were rising high into the sky. Whatever they were on, it was very tall.

She grabbed Link's hand to hold herself steady, not bothering to look at his confused face as she kept her eyes on the shrinking earth below her.

Finally, the shaking stopped and she rose from the ground steadily.

Alaya saw the look on Link's face and immediately snatched her hand away as her cheeks went aflame. Link kept his eyes away from meeting her own, embarrassed at her forwardness.

All around Hyrule, Sheikah towers were rising from the ground, piercing the skies. There had to be over a dozen of them coming from the ground in all regions of Hyrule.

The tablet hanging from her belt started rumbling. She took it out to see that a portion of the map revealed itself as the Great Plateau. Link was also examining his slate, curious to see the map start to form before his eyes. He began turning back around to head down, but something caught his attention. He looked back towards where Hyrule castle was but a silhouette in the distance.

Alaya furrowed his brows, following his gaze to the Castle where glowing red pillars emerged from the ground to surround it. There was a small yellow light at the center of the Castle and if Alaya didn't know any better, she would have thought something was pulling him by invisible string as he walked cautiously towards the edge of the tower.

"What is it, Link?"

He didn't answer.

The ground shook again. The two Hylians braced themselves, eyes wide open as they watched a shadowy creature rose from thin air and circled the castle in a black mist.

Calamity Ganon.

Alaya shuttered, water pricking her eyes as she remembered her last day awake those hundred years ago. The screaming, the fear, the darkness…the death.

In that moment, she was reliving that day all over again.

Zelda and Link were nowhere to be found… The other knights were trying their hand at fending off the guardians — the creatures who tried eliminating everything in their path. She was all alone in a field with monsters of every race and guardians of all different advances charging at her.

She knew she was dead. If it wasn't for —

A gentle hand was on her shoulder, pulling her away from the horrific memory that was so prevalent in her mind. She turned to meet Link's soft, concerned gaze. Her heart instantly fell into a slower, calm rhythm.

"I think our duty is to kill whatever beast that is consuming the castle," he stated, looking back worriedly at the shadow monster.

All she could do was nod, heading straight for the way down the tower in hopes to evade having to see the darkness that now plastered Hyrule. Link climbed down right after, taking things a lot quicker than she did. The determination and concern radiated strongly off of him. She wanted to return the favor and place a comforting hand on him, but she grew reluctant at the notion.

The moment they set foot on the dirt ground, the man with the white beard came gliding down to them with a parasail in his grasp. He landed, taking his lantern-cane out and sighing.

Link seemed more shocked that he glided towards them than he was at the shadow beast surrounding the castle.

"It seems we have an enigma here," Rhoam said. "This tower and others just like it have erupted across the land. If you don't mind me asking, was there anything strange that happened to you while you were up on that tower?"

She looked over to Link, knowing full well that he felt a pull whereas she did not.

"I heard a voice."

Alaya's brows rose as her mouth slowly opened in shock.

"I see. Did you happen to recognize this mysterious voice?"

Link shook his head.

Rhoam turned towards the castle, pointing his stick in the direction where it stood. "I assume you two have caught sight of that atrocity enshrouding the castle. That is Calamity Ganon. One hundred years ago, that vile entity brought the kingdom of Hyrule to ruin."

She shivered. Once again, the nuisance of tears pricked her eyes. As much as she tried to force them back, the memories came in like a flood: there was no stopping any of it. She shrank away from the two men, hoping to make herself feel smaller and less noticeable.

"For a century, the very symbol of our kingdom, Hyrule Castle, has managed to contain that evil. But only just barely. There, it festers, building its strength for the moment it will unleash its blight upon the land once again. It would appear that moment is now fast approaching." He turned to look at the two of them. Alaya looked down, shielding the tears. "I must ask you, courageous Hylians, do you intend to make your way to the Hyrule Castle?"

Still looking down, she only managed to nod continuously, unable to speak. Link rested a hand on her shoulder, speaking for the both of them, "We do." His other hand was a clenched, warrior-like fist.

"I had a feeling you guys would. Here on this isolated Plateau, we are surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs with no way down. If you were to try and jump off, well…no death could be more certain. Of course, if you two had a para-glider like mine that would be quite a different story." The man was smirking now.

"Well, can you let us have it?"

Alaya finally looked into Rhoam's eyes.

"You see that shrine over there?" He pointed his stick to a glowing orange rock formation with a pedestal. "You retrieve whatever is in there for me and I will give you not only this glider, but a second one as well."

"Deal!" Alaya said without hesitation.

She was already on her way to the shrine before Link and Rhoam could get another word it.

It was time to get down to business.