The Legend Of Zelda: The Curse Of Zant

Chapter 30; Happily Ever After

More time had passed with the elixir not taking effect, and Link was beginning to fear the worst. Midna could only watch as rocked back and forth, with Zelda still in his arms. She was afraid that there wasn't a thing she could say that would help.

"It's been too long, why isn't she waking up?" Link questioned, desperation laced in his voice.

"I don't know." Midna sighed. "Look, maybe we should get her- you both -  back to the castle and get your wounds cleaned up while we wait for her to wake up." She suggested.

"No." Link snapped. "Sorry, I just… I don't want to be anywhere but by her side right now." He sighed.

"I understand." She nodded.

Link held his breath as he put a hand to Zelda's chest, desperate to find a heartbeat. He felt as though his own dropped suddenly as there was no steady rhythm of her heart, not even the slightest beat. Absolutely terrified, he removed his hand and looked to Midna with tearful eyes.

"T- the elixir… It- It didn’t work." He stammered.

Midna's heart began to hurt. She had unintentionally given him false hope, and led him to believe that everything would be okay, and now that it wasn't, she felt awful.

"Link, I'm sorry… I didn't think this would happen, I really believed that it would work."

He squinted his eyes shut, causing tears to roll down both his cheeks. "I- I don't understand, why didn't it work?"

"I don't know." Midna bit her lip, watching as Link's own trembled and he clung to Zelda. "Do you want a moment before we get you and the Princess back to Hyrule?"

He nodded, unable to find the words to speak and Midna inhaled deeply as she stepped out of the room. Finally alone, Link didn't care to hide his feelings and gave in; those few tears turning into sobs. After everything they'd been through over the past few days, he had failed her just as he had failed Ilia. Though everyone still referred to him as the Hero, he felt like nothing could be further from the truth. They would not refer to him as such when news broke of his failure.

"I- I'm so sorry. I tried so hard, but even my best was still not good enough." He cried, gritting his teeth. "Grrrgghhh, I did everything I was supposed to do… So, why couldn't I save you?"

Link squinted once more, and slowly his eyes darkened as they drifted from Zelda's face to the Master Sword and back again. His rant could go on, but it did no good, so there was no point. All the words in the world couldn't fix his failure. He sniveled and found himself reaching for the sword despite the voice of reason screaming in his mind. With tired and almost emotionless eyes, he admired the detail of the sword; everything from the blue handle with the Triforce symbol, to the stunning blade that still looked unused despite its many hits. He exhaled sharply, contemplating the damage the sword could do, and if it could cause any to himself. For a brief second, the thought of finding out didn't seem so bad, and he lifted the sword, closing his eyes at the same time.

The exact second that he closed them and aligned the blade with his already wounded chest,a golden light illuminated his face. His eyes shot open, and he dropped the sword to bring his hand up and shield his eyes. Despite the blinding volume of the light, he couldn’t help but watch it. Only then did he realize where it had come from; the Triforce symbol on his hand. With it, he noticed that the exact same symbol on Zelda's hand was also glowing, and that the light was flowing from his to hers. He remained silent as he watched it in astonishment, and was left with his mouth agape as it finally faded.

As he stared on in shock, he did not notice Zelda's pale yet rosy colour return to her face, replacing the deathly grey. Her eyes flickered open slowly, and as her vision cleared up, she saw him hovering above her.