The Both Of Us | Zelink X The Last Of Us

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Zelda's pov

The snow has accumulated on the ground, going up to my ankles now. Had I not been wearing boots, snow would be in my shoes. Even without that, it's still freezing. The wind cuts through my layers and burns my cheeks. What I'd give to not be cold and sleep inside.

Link slows down by a half frozen river and pulls out his map, glancing up to determine where we are. "Shit," he mutters. "We have to go back that way."

We turn back to go up the hill and I would make a joke about him not being able to read a map when people on horses appear at the top of the hill. Link grabs my arm to pull me in a different direction but more riders surround us, all with guns aimed at our heads. Scarves cover half their faces and they have cowboy hats. There's too many and my stomach drops when Link raises his hands in the air. He knows we won't win if we fight but they haven't done anything yet either.

"Drop your guns." I make out that the voice came from one of the men. He has a rifle pointed at Link. We could've been dead already.

Link clenches his jaw and slowly slides off his sniper rifle and his other gun, setting them down in the snow. He raises his hands again, his murderous gaze locked on the man giving the orders.

"You too sweetheart," the man says. I drop my new rifle in the snow with shaky hands. I feel every gun pointed at me. "Take a few steps away from her son."

Snow crunches under his boots as he steps away and the guns follow. More are pointed at him than me. When he raised his arms, his holsters and knives revealed themselves as a sort of threat. He's more dangerous than I am.

"Y'all been bit?"

"No," Link growls. He flexes his fingers behind his head. They ache for a weapon.

Another man brings around a snarling German shepherd on a leash and I sweat despite the cold.

"We're still gonna check if you don't mind. She's trained to sniff out infected." She barks at me, her hackles up, baring her teeth. "She'll tear you apart if you're infected.".

The man lets her off her leash and she stalks towards me, foaming at the mouth as she snarls. She looks as bloodthirsty as an infected.

I shake when she sniffs me, afraid she'll tear me apart even though I'm not infected. She jumps up, her front paws against my chest, pulling her pointed ears back and wagging her tail. I immediately relax and pet her as she licks at my face. Then she jumps down and snarls again when she lumbers towards Link. He clenches his jaw and shifts his weight as if he's nervous. He can't be afraid of dogs can he? Of all the things he does.

The dog stalks towards him, growling and he keeps his eyes forward. Her snout goes straight to his crotch and some of the riders snicker. I smile a little myself.

"Watch the goods," he snaps and drops his hands to keep her away.

"Where are you headed?" the same man from before asks. "We don't run into many people out here."

"Jackson." Jackson? Link never said anything about a place named Jackson. He never said we had to stop.

"What's your business there?"

"I'm a friend of Urbosa's."

They lower their guns now and I relax. The dog didn't hurt us but bullets still could. "We'll take you."

***

We come up to a wall made out of tree trunks and one of the women on a horse holds out a red piece of fabric to the people on top of the wall, signaling who they are. Moments later, the gate is opened and we enter the town. My grip on Link's waist tightens and I try to ignore the guns still pointed at us. They'd given us a horse to share but they obviously don't trust us. I don't trust them either.

We get off the horses when ordered to. Link hops off easily and helps me down by lowering me gently to the ground by my waist. Even through my clothes, I like how his large hands feel on my body.

"You have some nerve showing up here boy," an unfamiliar female voice says. I'm in awe when I see who it belongs to. A tall woman, taller than Link, with fiery red hair in a high ponytail. She has tanned skin and is muscular enough to show through her layers. She has a smile playing on her lips despite what she said and it somehow calms me as if I've known her my whole life.

"Still want to shoot me?" Link says it like a joke but his expression doesn't change.

"Everyone wants to shoot you." That's not reassuring or surprising.

"It's a bad habit." The longer I'm with him, the more I try to comprehend how he's still alive.

The woman who I assume is Urbosa scoffs lightheartedly. "Who's this with you?"

"Zelda. I'm taking her to Seattle."

Urbosa looks startled and steps closer, studying my face. She grabs under my chin, not hard but enough to pinch my cheeks. I cast a nervous glance at Link as she tilts my head. His frown tells me he doesn't know what's happening either.

Her eyes find my locket and she flips it open before I can protest. She gasps and covers her mouth at the sight of my mother's picture. The next thing I know, I'm crushed in her muscular arms, even more confused than before.

"We have a lot to discuss," she says and leads me away with Link following.

She takes us to a large building with high ceilings and it's filled with tables and chairs. She calls over a young teenage boy and tells him to get us something to eat before sitting us down at a table. Link sits protectively next to me and Urbosa sits across with an excited grin.

"Want to explain what the hell is happening?" Link says with a hard expression. He calms down when a bowl of steaming stew is thrust in front of him. My mouth fills with drool when the scent of the hot food fills my nose and my hungry stomach growls.

"Please," Urbosa says, motioning to my bowl, ignoring Link's attitude. "Eat. You look starved." I feel starved. Half a can of food twice a day is hardly enough when you're cold, sleeping outside, and walking twenty miles a day.

Link shovels the food in his mouth, probably burning himself but he doesn't slow down. Once I take a bite of the beef and potato and hot broth, I don't care about the temperature either.

Urbosa's grin widens and I almost forget about the strange encounter.

"I knew your mother," she springs on me, making me cough on a chunk of potato, Link's hand raised behind me ready to pound on my back.

"I'm okay," I cough again, trying to let her statement sink in. My mother has been dead for years and I've never seen this woman before. "What do you mean?"

"She was my best friend before you were born, before she married your father in fact."

"Then why don't I know you?" I'm skeptical. She could be mistaking me for someone else.

She sighs. "She was busy with your father's politics most of the time. I saw her several times after you were born, held you the day you were. Then I moved away and she died several years later." My suspicions begin to melt away. Her story matches. "Oh little bird," she says and I grip my spoon. My nickname from my mother. "I thought I'd never get to see you again."

Tears rim my eyes. I don't know this woman but she knows me. She has the most sincere smile I've ever seen and I have the urge to hug her again, genuinely this time now that I know. Her eyes tell me that she loves me.

Link's spoon clatters in his bowl, pulling me from my warm reunion. His lips are parted as he stares straight ahead past Urbosa. Behind her is a short girl wearing the same expression, staring back at him. She's pale and has a duller shade of red hair. She drops the tablecloths she was holding and covers her mouth.

"Mipha?" he breathes. In seconds, he's shoved his chair back and practically runs to her. I don't know what to think, him running to another girl. She strokes his face with tears running down hers.

My heart cracks down the middle when she pulls him down to kiss him.

It shatters when he kisses her back.