Forgive me | Legend of Zelda FF | ENG

11 ~ Rescue

I looked around uncertainly; everything around me was black. Cautiously, I tried to stand up, but just as I was about to put my hands on the dark floor, something suddenly lit up the room above me.

The light shone down on me as if in a cone, while I now looked around in panic.

Where was I? How had I gotten here? And above all, why was I here?

My eyes slowly adjusted to the glare above me as I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"Zelda, you're here!"
Immediately I turned toward that voice, hoping it might enlighten me as to where I was.

But there was no one there; just nothing. Again the voice rang out, now a bit more urgent.

"Zelda, get up and follow me!"

Suddenly I felt a strong hand on my shoulder, which made me flinch. Immediately I turned to face the supposed person, when there was no one there again.

Frightened, I now crouched down and tried to concentrate on the fact that all this could not be reality, that my brain had to play games with me.
But suddenly I was grabbed somewhat rudely now under both arms and hastily carried away.

I tried to scream, to somehow draw attention to myself, but all I could produce was a quiet croak, as if I had forgotten how to speak.

Suddenly I felt again that my vision was narrowing, that somehow I could no longer see properly, when all of a sudden I woke up in a bed.

I jumped up and made sure that I was really sitting in a bed.
I briefly put both palms on the mattress under me, when I then briefly patted my cheeks carefully with both hands.

I was definitely awake.

I was about to get up and get out of bed when I heard a rustling coming from one of the other rooms; I didn't seem to be alone.

Come to think of it, I couldn't actually be alone, otherwise how would I have gotten here in the first place?

I swallowed briefly and then gathered all my courage as I called out to the person who had presumably rescued me from the black mass.

"Hello?" was all I could produce when all I heard was another clatter and energetic footsteps.

"You're awake!", I heard a female voice call out as she also came running around the corner into the room.

She was a pretty young woman with long dark hair and dark big eyes, with which she looked at me friendly.
With a handful of clothes she now came towards me and promptly sat down next to me on the bed, on which I myself was still sitting as if rooted to the spot.

I moved a bit to the side and tried to put some distance between us as she placed the pile of clothes between us.
"My name is Hilda. May I know who you are?" she asked kindly, holding out her hand to me.
Briefly, I eyed her in confusion as I answered. "I'm Zelda."

"Nice to meet you, Zelda!" replied Hilda kindly, taking her hand back again after I didn't offered her mine.
"Listen, Zelda," Hilda began now, standing up as she moved towards the window. "You must know, the whole land has been covered with this liquid by now."

She carefully pulled open the curtains as I stood up, startled, and ran frantically to the window.
"This can't be..." it escaped me breathlessly as I looked out over the barren land.

Trees were uprooted everywhere and not a Hylian was to be seen. Basically, there was nothing to see, not even the wind that swept through the bald trees.

My gaze now fell on Hyrule Castle and I was shocked. With wide eyes, I looked at what was left of Hyrule Castle; a pile of stones, surrounded by a black-reddish smoke, which floated at regular intervals around the castle.
A few towers were still visible and the throne room seemed to still be standing, but everything around it was leveled to the ground and covered by the same black mass that had spread all over the land.

"This can't be...", it escaped me again, when Hilda took the floor.
"You've been sleeping here at my place for a whole three days, I thought you were petrifying."

Dazzled, I looked at her, whereupon she began to explain. "You have to imagine, in the time you've been asleep, the whole land has practically gone to hell." She paused for a moment and looked out the window.
"My end was near, too, because just about anyone who came in contact with the Malice had their entire life taken away from them."

I just looked at her with wide eyes.
"That means that-" I swallowed once before continuing. "That means everyone is dead?"

Sadly, Hilda looked at me as she simply nodded.
"For Goddess Hylia's sake..." it escaped me as I dropped back onto the bed, feeling dizzy.
Hilda sat back down with me as she continued to narrate.
"I saw you lying in the field, motionless. Knowing it was too late for me anyway, I tried to save you somehow."
Hope flashed in her eyes as she smiled up at me for a moment.

"I kind of realized you were special, it was almost like a voice inside me was telling me to run to you and save you," she explained with a laugh as her eyes widened. "And then when I got to you, something incredible happened."

Astonished, I looked at her; I understood only part of it, for example, it remained to be clarified what the Malice was in the first place. But I had fainted, I remembered that; and then something special should have happened. Interested, I looked at her and waited for her to continue speaking.

"You have to imagine it like this..." she continued as she looked at my hands, which I had folded in my lap. "I got to you, the Malice already leaking into my shoes." I could see her shaking and goosebumps forming on her arms.
"I grabbed you under your arms and kind of tried to pull you up. I also tried to call out to you; unsuccessfully," she giggled briefly, but immediately regained her composure. "The moment you didn't answer, a bright yellow light shone on your hand and formed a huge sphere around us."

Overwhelmed and open-mouthed, I just looked at her. Briefly, I shook my head as I tried to collect myself.
"The light must have been my sealing power," I replied to her as I looked down at my hands in amazement.
Looking up from them again, I now saw Hilda sitting there; stunned and amazed.
"Then you are..." she continued as she looked in my direction in disbelief. "Princess Zelda of Hyrule?"

Awkwardly, I smiled at her as I just nodded. Immediately, Hilda dropped to the ground and knelt down in front of me. Confused, I watched her behavior.
"I beg your pardon for speaking to you like that, Your Highness," she breathlessly escaped. "I beg your pardon for not recognizing you; for simply not recognizing you!"
"Hilda, it...", I continued, when she interrupted me.
"I beg your pardon that-" Briefly I inhaled and exhaled audibly.
"Hilda, it's all right," I said firmly, then held out my hand for her to stand up. Carefully she reached for it and then slowly stood up.
"Please treat me the way you did before you knew I was the Princess of Hyrule, all right?", I asked her as she nodded absentmindedly.
"All right..." she faltered for a moment, "All right, Zelda."

"What happened after my Sacred Power protected us both?", I now inquired, not only to gain more information, but also so that I could distract her from the fact that I was the Princess of Hyrule. Immediately, Hilda looked back at me and began to continue.
"The sphere of light you formed gradually dissolved and a round circle, free from Malice, formed," she described to me as I looked out the window again.

"Hilda, what exactly is Malice?", I asked now as I looked out and saw only the barren deceased land in front of me.
Hilda moved closer to me and with her hand now pointed out the window to the distant Hyrule Castle.
"That on top of the castle, that's Malice," she clarified for me. "See that red and black gooey mass?" Briefly, I nodded as I now looked directly out the window at the castle.
"It's just wasteland here, though," I noted when I couldn't see any Malice directly nearby. "All dead."

Hilda nodded and then suddenly took me by the hand; carefully motioning me to stand, she led me outside.
"This is the Military Training Camp. When you formed your ball of light, you were already protecting a huge radius from the Malice," she explained to me as I looked around, trying to spot any humans left anywhere.
"Then where are the Hylians?", I asked cautiously when I still hadn't seen any.

Hopefully, I looked at Hilda as she just closed her eyes and shook her head sadly.
"They didn't make it; we're the only ones here now."