Blood Moon: A Story Before the Calamity

Chapter 20

     Zelda was determined to make the final day of Tyander at Hyrule wonderful. Just milling around Hyrule Castle, laughing about dumb things, going outside to the Gardens and buying things in the market. 

     Zelda was still reluctant to believe that Tyander was dying. He looked so fresh, so full of life, it's ridiculous to imagine a wound festering in his flesh, sapping his strength day by day. To lose him again, for the second and final time... a searing pain like a knife stabbed through her heart. It was her mother all over again, so sudden, with such little warning. 

     While Zelda attended business, rushing everything so she could squeeze as much time as possible for free, Tyander and Link hung around the Hyrule Castle Moat, just watching the ripples spread out further and further on the water, watching the soft down of water birds float gently, carried by the soft currents.

     "So..." Tyander started hesitantly. "You don't hate me?"

     Link turned his head up to meet Tyander's eyes. "Of course I don't. You are cool. You make Princess Zelda happy. What reason do I have to hate you?"

     Tyander stared at the horizon. "Link... you are a great person, you know."

     "Me? A great person?" A small smile crept its way up to Link's face. "Nah."

     "Link. You are. Your experiences don't define you, even if sometimes, that's all you think about, all you feel. You're a wonderful person, whom terrible things have happened to. You have to live as your own person, not a shadow of your past." Tyander allowed himself a grin. "Look at me, pep-talking on the verge of death. But I stand by what I said. As for making Zelda happy... that's your job now. If you dare to fail, I swear to Hylia above I'll rise from my grave and haunt you for the rest of  eternity, and I mean it!" He laughed as Link stared at him in disbelief.

     "Wh-What are you suggesting???"

     Tyander only laughed harder.

     "Just make sure she doesn't grieve too much. Hylia knows she needs someone to be there for her, especially with the circumstances."

     Link relaxed slightly. "She'll miss you."

     "I know." A shadow flitted over Tyander's eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if I should have returned at all, gotten her hopes up, only to be dashed in the worst way possible. But I won't be able to forgive myself if I didn't come back. Above all else, Zel deserves the truth. There's no point in shielding her from the ugly real life, trying to protect her. She's not weak, you know, and don't you ever forget it."

     The day flitted by. Soon, the sun was being dragged down the horizon, and stars were winking into view, the moon rising softly like a silver boat being rowed gently into the rapidly darkening sky, shedding its radiance on Zelda and Tyander, sitting on a bench and savoring their final moments together.

     "Eighteen." Zelda murmured. "Forever."

     "It's quite something, isn't it?" Tyander couldn't force a laugh. "I got to taste adulthood. That's lucky."

     Zelda tried to blink back her tears. "I... well, if we had a little bit more time, we could have..."

     "Married?" Tyander finished for her. "Come on, Zel. Stop lying to yourself. Yes, I am the son of a noble. Yes, you can stand me better than the power-hungry nobles you have to deal with. But you would have wanted that as little as I do. We've been friends ever since we met in that training room. You're practically my little sis. But I've never loved you that way. And you've never loved me that way, either. You know that."