Zelink BotW Sequel/ Legend of Zelda and the Last Knight

Chap 37 The Sorrow

Chapter 37- The Sorrow

"So, this is it," Link said, calming the horse's stride. "We made it. This is the place."

"Are you sure, I don't see anybody?" Zelda inquired, leaning beside him.

"Yeah, he should be here somewhere...I told him to stay put until the army arrived..." Link replied, sliding off the horse leaving her and Kelcifer to watch as he investigated the nearby ruins beneath the foot of the castle walls. In addition, the princess loosened her boots from the straddles she sat in and slid off to also search for his long lost friend along side him.

The wizard remained cautiously optimistic while Sylmoor waited. They both remained by the horses as Link frantically surveyed the whole area.

"I mean... I told him to stay here... to stay hidden, before the battle, he isn't--"

A startling and sudden shriek rang out, echoing far and wide. A death cry unlike any Link had ever heard before, one that sent shivers of sheer terror down his spine and sunk his heart into his chest.

Zelda screamed. And when the knight of no banners turned to find her he was met with an unimaginable harrowing sight.

In one swift motion Link wrapped Zelda in his arms, to contain her from her fright. The scene before her was one that no princess should ever have to endure. She had found something or better yet, somebody, hidden in the shadows.

A mutilated soldier's corpse. Not only one, but two lay cold as stone before her feet. They were drenched in their own blood, their extremities torn and defiled, left defeated upon the ground. Above them smeared across a stone wall were crudely crafted markings soaked in blood which formed defaming insignias and ill-versed incantations serving as sanctimonious offering to their Dark Lord. Doomed as sad, and lifeless statues in Zelda's eyes, destined to serve as a constant reminder of the peril she put them in.

Link gripped Zelda from behind, lifted her off her feet as the hurricane of emotion overwhelmed her. The gut wrenching grief overcame all her senses and she fought back Link by sheer reflex. The memories of previous massacres by the calamity one hundred years ago flash-backed in her mind. All those poor souls whose fate never stood a chance shook her to her core, and for the first time in a long time, the poor girl broke down and forgot her regal stature.

Link held her tight even after she initially kicked and wailed at the sight of them before she could calm herself. His hand gently poised over her shivering mouth while she cried at the image of the two bodies. And all he could think to do was comfort her. He didn't care who saw. All he cared about was her.

"Shh, it's alright...It's alright... look at me, just look at me... it's alright." he said, easing her saddened soul. "It's alright.. Zelda... I'm here, with you."

She forced her emotions into compliance and collected herself while he still held her in his embrace and turned to face him, eyes red with tears.

"Oh, Link... I'm so sorry...It's my fault... I sent them to their doom! It's all because of me...All because I couldn't harness this cursed power in time! How could I ever seek forgiveness in their families eyes? It shouldn't have come to this! Curse my weak use of the Goddess's strength...If only..."

"If only Ganon," Link finished for her.

Zelda choked at the mention, her face returning from the sobs into his tunic to glance into his soothing eyes. He continued. "If only Ganon never came to us...None of this would have happened."

He then leaned back from their hug and braced her shoulders gently with his hands and gazed sweetly into her eyes, speaking stern. "Zelda, you are not to blame for this...You hear me? Ganon did this...