Saving A Lost Kingdom

Aftermath: Zelda

As I lay there with my eyes closed, I heard a thud. When I opened them, I looked up and saw Link laying on the ground several feet away, motionless. Ganon was in front of him and he seemed like he was on the verge of defeat. Here's my chance. I stood up, raised my hand, and unleashed the sealing power. With one great blast, he was finally defeated. My attention then turned to Link. I tried to get to him as quickly as my body would allow me as I began to fear the worst. Even though he wasn't that far from me, it still took a while to get to him. The ground was extremely uneven and littered with large rocks and fallen trees. This was also when I realized that I had gotten hurt. However, none of this mattered to me. As soon as I reached him, I sat down next to him. I tried to keep his attention on me as he began to fade in and out of consciousness. "Link, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I never should've brought you into this." As I started to cry, he mumbled something almost inaudible. He said my name but I couldn't hear what else he had said. He closed his eyes, seemingly accepting his death. I placed my hand on his chest to feel for his heartbeat but there was nothing. Then a golden light started glowing from my hand. Since it was still connected to Link, he began to faintly glow. Moments later it faded as if it had never even happened. When I looked back at Link, I noticed his chest ever so slightly moving up and down. Did... did I just... save him? I was confused and relieved. He was still unconscious but at least he was alive. I cried a few tears of joy. I looked around to see what had happened to the rest of our party. Impa and Aryll were laying on the ground not too far apart from each other. They were far from our current location so I decided to try to bring Link closer to them. I positioned him onto my back and prepared myself to take on his body weight. Despite the struggle Impa and I had gone through last time to move him, this time he was far lighter. I carried him in a way that was similar to a piggyback ride. As I got closer to Aryll and Impa, they began to sit up and assess the condition they were in. I spotted a tree close by and chose that as the place I would put Link down so that I could check on the other two. Hoping to make him as comfortable as I possibly could, I released the ponytail that kept his long hair out of his face. I checked once more to make sure he would be alright then I went to Aryll and Impa. Both confirmed that they'd be okay now that the fight was over. As I sat to talk and help them with whatever they needed, I heard something moving behind me. I turned around to see an awake and attentive Link trying to reposition himself. "Link!" I ran toward him and dropped down to hug him. "You're alright!" He started to struggle to breathe. "You're...squishing...me." I quickly released him as I could feel my cheeks getting warm with embarrassment. "I forgot. I'm so sorry." I gave myself a moment to let the heat in my cheeks fade. I looked at him with tears in my eyes. "I thought.....I thought you had died." I started to cry a little harder. Then I felt his hand on mine as he brought it to his chest. "Do you feel that?" Since my emotions were still a mess, his actions confused me. "My heart is beating, isn't it?" He paused as I stopped crying and began to feel for his heartbeat. "You saved me... and for that... I owe you my life." I let out a quiet laugh and a small smile. I guess I did, didn't I? "Link, what did you say just before you-" Without a warning, he gently took my face and brought it closer to his. As we closed in, he went in for a kiss. I assumed that this was his answer. The heavenly moment seemed to last forever until one of us finally pulled away. "As much as I'd love to do that again, you need to rest." He nodded then allowed himself to doze off. I turned around to see that Aryll too had chosen to sleep off the pain and Impa was sitting near her. As I sat down next to her, she looked at me. "I was right, you were jealous." I became flushed with embarrassment. "Wha- no." I let the awkward silence linger. "So, now what?" "Well, first and foremost, Marin needs a proper send-off." I became overwhelmed with guilt. I feel like my actions and motivation to defeat Ganon caused their divide. Her death was my fault. "Then we need to get sleepyhead one and two back to Kakariko. When they fully recover, we can start rebuil-." She nudged me. "You alright?" "Marins death is on my hands Impa. She was still dating Link and now I feel like I'm the one who tore them apart." I started to cry as she reassured me that her death wasn't in vain because she had died protecting Link and Hyrule.