Musterion (A Zelda AU)

Better(?) - Chapter 18

"Ganon," Ali groans, stretching. Her hand brushes against my face as she rolls on top of me, relaxing. "Ganooonnn... I'm bored..."

"Hi bored, I'm Ganon," I tease, kissing her cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm tired, but mostly fine, I guess..." 

Ali's gotten better over the last few days. After I had that dream and got that paper, I've been on high guard. I didn't tell anyone about it, and I don't plan to. I've especially been keeping an eye on Ali, since Azazel had mentioned her a bit too much for my liking. Purah kicked the two of us out once she deemed us fit to live without her help, so we've been staying in Zelda's house. Apparently, she doesn't live in the castle since she doesn't have any real royal influence, so she doesn't see the point. 

Her house is small, a humble building for someone with such a status. It looks like a lot of Hateno's older houses, and she told me that the old hero who stopped the Calamity used to live here. Its been renovated a tad, but I can still tell it has the older architectural styling to it, with the unfinished ceiling and wooden flooring. 

"You should probably get out of bed for today," Zelda says, her voice strong from downstairs. "You need to get moving, Ali."

"I don't wanna, Zellie..." 

"I don't care. Either you get up for breakfast or you starve."

"Gann... will you carry me down?" Ali puts her arms around the back of my neck, laying her head on my chest. "Pretty please?"

I look at her, shaking my head as a laugh escapes my lips. I push her off of me, helping her sit up. "C'mon. You gotta get up, stop being lazy."

Standing up, I offer her a hand. I help her stand for the first time in a while, Ali's legs shaking. I catch her as she loses her balance, propping her back upright. 

"Sorry... I'm still a little weak," she nervously smiles, grabbing onto my cloak. 

"It's okay," I pat her head, returning her smile. "I'll help you downstairs."

Once we get downstairs, the smell of bacon and eggs hits me. My mouth waters, and I feel myself jump at the thought of meat. The last few days have been a strict diet of farm food, and this was a welcome change. 

"I'm about done with breakfast, so if you could set the table, I'd appreciate it," Zelda says, looking back for a moment. 

I nod, pulling a chair out for Ali. "You should sit down."

Ali tumbles onto the chair, her legs giving out right as she sat down. She looks to the floor, sighing. "I didn't realize that I'd lost so much muscle."

"You shouldn't have," Zelda pauses, setting a plate of food in the middle of the table as I put out silverware. "With how short of a time you rested, you really, truly, shouldn't have. How are you feeling now?"

"My side still hurts... burns, even... but it's healed, isn't it?"

"I don't know why it would hurt. The infection's gone away. Faster than I could've thought, sure, but it definitely did... Not to mention how quickly that entire wound actually healed." 

"Maybe it's just phantom pain," I suggest, taking a seat after Zelda does. I reach for the plate, dishing out a serving to Ali before myself. "That's a thing, right?"

"Yeah, but..." Zelda hesitates, thinking as she bites into a piece of bacon, brow furrowed. "I don't know why it would still be happening after the entire wound's completely healed."

"It just hurts, that's it... It's okay," Ali smiles, talking through a mouth full of egg. "I can manage."

Nobody says anything for a bit. I gently reach my hand over to Ali, setting a hand on her leg. She glances in my direction for a moment, her cheeks flushed. 

"How're you dealing? With your mom and all?" I mutter, rubbing my thumb on her leg just a little. 

Ali's smile fades, as she sits in silence. She takes a small bite of bacon. Her voice is soft when she finally decides to speak. "... I still feel it's my fault. But, better, I guess. I don't have to put any rupees into her drinking habits anymore, but... she's my mom. I still loved her."

Zelda kicks my shin from under the table, a signal to move on from the topic. I hiss in pain, accidentally gripping Ali's leg as I sit back up straight. 

"Sorry, Ganon, I thought that was the table leg. My bad," Zelda smiles, her voice full of daggers.

"It's fine," I mumble through clenched teeth. 

Ali slides a hand on top of mine, tapping it. I apologize, letting go of her leg and putting my hand back in my lap. 

Once everyone finishes with breakfast, I clean up the table and start with the dishes. Zelda sits Ali down on the bed below the stairs, lighting a candle and setting it into the empty lantern as she sets it down on the nightstand built into the wall.

I don't hear anything for a bit other than the sounds of them mumbling and an occasional giggle, until Zelda speaks up.

"Ganon, are you about done?"

"Uh, yeah, I... just started the last dish. Why?" I turn around, but Zelda waves a hand dismissively.

"When you're done, I need you to come here. Just finish that first."

Once I put the last dish on the rack to dry, I come over to see what's up. Zelda holds up Ali's shirt just enough to reveal her once-injured side. I sigh. "I don't see what's wrong. It's too dark."

Zelda hands me the lantern, and I hold it up to Ali's side. It's still pitch black. I glance back at Zelda, confused.

"That's her side that's black." Zelda hoists Ali up, motioning for me to follow as we go outside. I make sure to snuff out the candle and leave the lantern inside first. "You might understand if you see it better in natural light."

Ali sits down in the grass, rubbing her eyes as Zelda forces her to lay down, pulling her shirt up once more.

"Do you see it now?"

I couldn't see it any better. It was still black. But it was a thin lump, not just the lighting. Red swirled in the center, pulsing, like it had its own heartbeat. The realization hit me as I took a step back, trying not to throw up. That lump was my fault. That wasn't dead tissue, either. It was malice.