Forgive me | Legend of Zelda FF | ENG

5 ~ Doom

His brittle voice kept echoing through my head as he slowly approached me and looked deep into my eyes.
"I can't take it anymore," it escaped him, whereupon he only raised his sword powerlessly. "But... I have to protect you, Zelda."

"Link, you don't have to, you-" I put in, placing both hands on his shoulders when I was interrupted.
A rapid beam of energy from a Guardian thundered over our heads as another Guardian came running towards us.

The Guardian found us and positioned himself on top of the two already defeated Guardian's as he aimed his red targeting beam directly at Link. He then took a step forward to face the Guardian, when my hands also began to slip from his shoulders.

Link raised his sword, exhausted, and his shield was no longer with him... Hold on, when had that happened? Without a shield, he was completely at the mercy of the attack, and then in this condition? He would not survive this!

No, I couldn't let that happen....

"NO!!!", I screamed, shoving Link behind me as gently as I could as I extended my hand towards the Guardian.

I knew this would be my doom, never could I defy the corrupting energy beam. But I had to do it, Link was the last one who could still save the land; because I.... I was just the princess without powers and if I didn't have them anyway, I might as well give my life for his.
Not only because he would thus protect the kingdom, but also because-.
Because I knew that I could save the person to whom I wanted to give all my love and attention; who just meant so much to me.

I heard the Guardian fire his energy beam and I squinted tightly. There was no turning back now, I had to protect them all; I had to protect Link.

I felt the energy beam hit the palm of my hand.
I squeezed my eyes even tighter; I was scared, but something in my heart told me I was doing the right thing.

All the memories were replaying in my head. Actually, they all had to do with Link, the young man I had fallen in love with but never managed to tell him.

Yes, I had fallen in love with Link over time, even though it never really seemed like it; at least when we first met.

He was declared my appointed knight at the time.... I couldn't stand him to the point of death, because he showed me throughout that he was fulfilling his destiny, but I never could. In addition, he was so extremely taciturn towards me, but after some time, I noticed that his facade was crumbling. He showed me more and more often the real Link; the Link which he hid under a kind of mask.

I remembered that, we were sitting on the meadow in the castle garden and I asked him for the first time really why he was so quiet. That's when he poured his heart out to me and we hugged for the first time.

Since then we have grown together; I learned from him and he learned from me. Link came out more and more from under the mask he had put on for so long and I really got to know him.

I got to know the Link who laughed, who joked, who showed emotion.
We fought together, went through good times and bad.... We started to deal with each other differently.... Showed each other affection.
I, at least, felt like we had grown closer....

And I had fallen in love with him; hell yes, I had fallen in love with this boy!

And now? Now I was standing here, tears in my eyes, while I had passed my own death sentence.

I opened my eyes one last time and looked directly into the Guardian's deadly eye as the energy beam now fully impacted my palm and-.

Startled, I took a step back as a yellow ball of light formed on my palm and then completely surrounded me. I could see a symbol of yellow light glowing on the back of my hand as the ball of light suddenly expanded at a rapid pace, creating a protective shell around much of the land of Hyrule.

I could hardly believe my eyes: This was the power that had been refused to me for years; the power that I could not ask for at the springs, that I had never been able to awaken....

Astonished, I watched as the Guardian, who had previously directed his red aiming beam at me, now stumbled over the two Guardian's previously killed by Link and stopped at my feet.

I could see a black smoke with purple-red features coming out of the Guardian's vents, as all the light that had been shining in it now went out as well.

My gaze fell once again to the back of my hand as I slowly brought my outstretched hand back to me.
"I...", I gasped briefly as I looked around and saw all the other Guardian's falling to the ground. "I did that?"

My eyes darted off into the distance in amazement as I saw more clouds of smoke rising from the other Guardian's. They merged over the Blatchery Plain and then simply dissolved.

I still couldn't really believe that I had been able to unleash my Sacred Power; that I had just used it to save Link and myself....

Like a bolt of lightning it hit my head; LINK! He was wounded, he had to be here somewhere!

I turned around in a panic, looking for Link when I spotted him; he was standing there, his eyes glazed over and his legs shaky. I ran toward him, but he didn't move a bit, nor could I somehow tell that he was even aware of me; he just looked.... into nothingness.

Faster than my feet could carry me, I reached him and carefully took his face in both of my hands, whereupon I could now see that his beautiful blue eyes were slowly focusing on me.

Tears were running down my face, from now on it could only get better, I could protect us and somehow get him all the way to Fort Hateno so he would be taken care of.

"We made it...", I whispered in his ear and then very gently placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Everything's going to be all right now."
I ran my fingers through his hair, wet from the rain, but he didn't move; I could see tears coming as he slowly closed his eyes.