ZeLink (Chapter One)

Death awaited, he could feel its foreboding presence all around. Rain assaulted them from all sides, the wind made it hard and cold, they were soaked to the bone. His boots pounded into the muddy ground, trailing footprints behind. The blue champion's tunic, gifted to him by the Princess herself, was torn and dirtied beyond repair. Her Highness was in a similar state, though their disgust would have to hold off a while yet, the heat of the battle had only just begun. He pulled the Princess along, remembering her collapse just moments before.

A failure. That's what she thought of herself. Link wanted to cry from frustration. Her father, however great a king he was, had ruined her. His hand squeezed her smaller one, trying to convey his emotions.

She followed as best as she could behind him, barely running at all in the end. He practically dragged her the whole way, not letting up for even a moment after her collapse. They finally broke through the tree line, abruptly stopping his retreat as a guardian took aim from almost a mile away.

Link raised his shield and made sure his entire body covered Zelda's, unwilling to part from her. His eyes scanned the guardian, waiting for his moment.

Flash

A quick parry sent the laser right back, disintegrating the mechanic monster instantly. Link grabbed her once more, pulling her along. They ran just like that for a while. Run, run, guardian, repeat. Zelda's whole body ached, but not as much as her heart. She was almost grateful for the onslaught, otherwise, she was certain she would have collapsed in a heap of sobs by now.

They passed hordes of monsters too, but ignored most of them. The ones standing in their way were quickly cut down by Link, and soon they were too far away from the castle for anything but guardians to have traveled.

The eighth guardian they came across shot its laser, and Link was but a millisecond off in his timing. The laser went wide and blasted him backward, sending him and the Princess crashing down. He stabbed the master sword into the ground, catching himself from falling over completely.

"Link!" He heard her scream, but she felt so far away.

He tried to pull himself up to no avail, he felt his hearing fade into a high-pitched squeal and his vision blur. Time seemed to slow as the guardian crawled closer, taking aim once again. Link willed his legs to work, pulling himself into a crouch, he could vaguely hear the Princess still calling out to him.

"No! Please, Link, get up!" Zelda grabbed his arm, but he only collapsed on the ground, fully exhausted.

Her green eyes pooled with more tears as she stood above her knight, the hero chosen by the Goddess. No, she felt her heart break even more. She stood above her friend, watching the light leave his eyes. Anger consumed her as she stared up at the guardian prepared to shoot once more. A desperate scream exploded from her as she reached out her hand in a last-ditch effort to protect him.

Link was barely awake, but he felt his arm reach for her instinctively as the guardian shot its beam again. Panic flooded him, if anyone was a failure here, it was him. He who failed his one, simple task. Protect the Princess. Protect her until your last breath, that was his duty. Here, he prepared to take his last breath, but the Princess was still in danger. His scream of despair could be heard far and wide as he flailed for her until his body gave up entirely. His vision was assaulted with golden light as he felt his consciousness fade.

Zelda still stood, her hand stretched out toward the sky, the light fading from it as she called off the assault on the guardians. She watched as every single enemy seemed to cave in on itself, the malice being successfully dispelled. The rush of joy she felt from finally unlocking her powers as she turned to find Link lying on the ground, his lifeless body still clinging to the master sword.

"Link…" she sobbed, collapsing next to him. "You should have run when you had the chance, why did you stay with me…"

She pulled his upper body into her lap, cradling his head in her arms. She knelt over him, touching her golden tresses to his bloodied head. Tears dropped onto his face as she wept. The despair of the losses Calamity Ganon had caused consumed her then.

She thought of the champions, all overtaken within their divine beast, completely unprepared for the challenges they faced. Her father and the countless knights lost in the heat of the siege on the castle. And now, perhaps most tragic of all, Link. The young man who stood by her all this time, watching, helping, even encouraging her when she felt all hope was lost. She thought of his constant, though silent reassurance, perfectly displayed even moments before as she collapsed in the forest, overcome with grief just as she was now.

She pulled him closer as more memories of their time consumed her mind. She thought of how cold she had been to him, how awful he must have felt. She knew if she could speak to him now, the only thing left to do would be to apologize. More tears fell as she recalled every instance she was cruel to him, and worse every instant where he was infinitely kind and gracious, giving her respect she did not deserve. She pulled him closer, burying her face into his tunic.

Much like her tears, her power had been flowing out uncontrollably. Unbeknownst to her, however, they were now enveloped in a strong magic aura working tirelessly to protect them. It shielded the Princess and her knight from the wind and rain, among other things.

Had she been inclined to pay attention, she may have noticed her wounds being healed slowly. The cuts and scrapes were closing, and the exhaustion was fading slightly. She was not inclined to pay attention though, so she didn't notice the knight beneath her begin to move.

He flexed his hand, confused by the weight on his chest. As he slowly became more aware, he heard the Princess sobbing over him.

"Link…please, open your eyes!" It was practically a whisper, a desperate plea to him.

He did so, staring at the heap of golden locks in front of his face. With each passing second he regained more control, eventually shifting his arm to cup her face.

She shot up, shocked.

"Link?!" She shrieked, making him wince. "Oh Hylia, you're alive! You're alive!"

She yanked him up into her arms, resting in the crook of his neck. He paused, this was definitely against all royal decorum…but, they did almost die. Desperation came over him then as he threw his battered arms around her, pulling her even closer.

"You're alive.." he heard her whispering it over and over, his only response being the nod he gave after each one.

He couldn't bring himself to relax, even being held by the Princess like this. His eyes scanned the seemingly deserted battlefield. Every guardian, whether it was mobile, flying, or half buried in the ground, was lifeless. Every monster that had been running about? Gone. Hyrule Field was quiet, despite the chaos still clearly brewing at the castle. He noted the ominous cloud of pure malice growing ever more powerful, taking over the castle.

Zelda glanced up at her knight, noticing him studying their surroundings.

"You never rest." She shook her head. "The guardians and monsters have all been dispelled. I…have finally unlocked my powers."

She couldn't hide the pang of guilt that rose to the surface, knowing that if she had unlocked them sooner, this could have all been avoided. Suddenly, she felt her face snap up to face Link.

He glared at her, any normal person would have been confused by the interaction, but she understood completely. His eyes told her that the guilt she felt was pointless, and the smile he gave her after meant he was proud, very proud, it seemed. She could only smile back, eternally grateful her dutiful guard had been returned to her.

They stayed just like that, holding each other's gaze and speaking without words. Zelda remembered the thoughts clouding her mind when she assumed he had died. A realization had struck her just before he had woken up. Her power activation was not a random coincidence, and after losing him once, she had developed a hypothesis.

Though cliché, love seemed to be the answer.

Each and every time she had tried to unlock it before, it had been out of duty, convenience, or frustration. This time, she had something she wanted—needed—to protect.

His tired eyes scanned her face, while she stared into them. Their brilliant blue hues had always enticed her. He had such a boyish charm to him. Then again, it wasn't just his eyes really, everything about him enticed her. Before, she thought it annoying that he had all this skill and talent along with endless charm. Now, she wondered if perhaps the emotion she felt wasn't annoyance, but rather fear.

Fear of what might happen to her if her father found out. Fear of what she might accidentally do or say in front of him. Fear that he might leave if he knew, or at least, be distant and avoid her from then on.

All of this bottled up and came to a boiling point in this battle. These feelings she had. Feelings for him. Romantic feelings for him. She felt her heart rate pick up, feeling the fear creep back in.

Link's heart was entirely calm, on the other hand. He looked over his Princess with relief, she was okay. As he glanced over a second and then a third time, he paused. She was okay, so maybe he was looking because…well...because he wanted to. He looked her over once more.

She was beautiful. Even covered in dirt and blood and monster guts, absolutely, breathtakingly, and undeniably beautiful.

Without warning, he felt her hurriedly extricate herself from his arms, pausing above him. He pulled himself to his feet, grabbing her hand once more. A quick glance at the castle had them both uneasy, but they knew what needed to be done.

As if by pure magic, a whinny could be heard behind them. Link turned to face the noise. There, galloping wildly toward them was his ever-trusty steed.

"Epona!" Zelda called, running to her.

Link did the same, slinging himself up and over the saddle and pulling Zelda up behind him. He urged Epona onward, straight to the castle. He felt her arms wrap around his torso as she clung to him, bracing herself against his back. He prayed she could hold on the whole way, he didn't want to slow down.

Together, though they were unaware, they came to the decision.

Calamity Ganon would be defeated. Right now. There was no other way around it. The vile beast would be sealed away properly, never to assault Hyrule again.