Link would hold her at night. Would caress her hair whenever she had nightmares, would soothe her whenever her breathing got labored and would smile whenever she looked at him.
And while they held hands Hylia would forget the fear inside of her. Would try her best to scare away her thoughts. Would try to draw courage from that boy.
⁂⁂⁂
They had walked for days upon days and later had never come. Link was too wary of the topic to bring it up and Hylia had decided to forget about it.
It was a sad view, the roads, the villages, the houses they encountered. Everything was destroyed, ravaged. Their house had been too nice and pretty and now it even filled them with shame to know they had been unknowing of everything around them.
As if they could have done something about it.
Maybe it was only a sense of duty that came after being tasked with saving the world. Like a residue of some sort they would never be able to shake off. But even then, with all the rubble and dead crops surrounding them, Link felt a little bit proud. Those crops would flourish again, those houses would be inhabited again, given time, thanks to them.
Hylia would smile at his thoughts, would nod along at all the soft things he would utter. Hopes and dreams she couldn't help but make her own. But though Link had been able to instill a sense of pride in her, Hylia couldn't help but think that she could have done better, more, something else that could have made thing easier, anything-
"Look," Link pointed to a green spot, "that's growing on its own."
⁂⁂⁂
Hylia was cold. She felt around her, trying to find a blanket or something to cover herself, but her hands grasped at thin air. It was dark around her and now that she thought about it, her eyes were closed.
"Link?" she called, but no one answered.
Hylia shivered and hugged herself, "Link?" she repeated, lower this time.
She was alone. She tried to pry her eyes open but they were shut. Her hands moved to her head and when she touched her eyes, she realized they were open.
So why couldn't she see anything?
Hylia moved her eyes around, hoping to see some form of light somewhere.
She shivered again, but not due to the cold.
Hylia pressed her head to the ground, tried to even her breathing.
It was obvious, what had happened, nothing really weird about it.
She was back to the Goddess' Realm.
She remembered it being vibrant with life and color, filled with sounds, filled with the thoughts and prayers of every person who believed in her. But now that there weren't people who could hear her, who could sense her, and if there were no thoughts nor prayers directed at her... it became dark, cold, lonely.
Fitting.
She had gone back.
How? It didn't matter.
Why? No one would care.
"Link," Hylia whimpered. At least now he was free...
If anything was to make her happy, if anything was to make her accept this fate...
"Link..."
"Hylia?" Link kneeled beside her, shook her shoulder, "Hylia, wake up."
The moment Hylia opened her eyes and the warm light of their fire painted Link's frown in front of her, Hylia choked back tears and raised her hands to Link with a cry nestled on her chest.
