Sabotaged Love: A Zelink Story

Chapter 13: The Legend

Today was by far the worst day of Zelda's life. She was in her room, flat on her back in her bed, thinking about how awful she was for leaving Link in such an abrupt way.

When she had walked to the castle and left him behind, she had sobbed so violently. She'd somehow barely pulled herself together by the time she entered the castle grounds, and upon arriving, many guards had come up to her to ask if she was alright and to attend to her needs. Someone went to alert her father that she was no longer missing, who came rushing down the stairs from his living quarters to embrace her. He'd begun questioning her about why she'd been missing, but she'd simply replied that she was too exhausted to explain anything at the moment and that she needed to rest immediately. Luckily, King Rhoam was understanding enough to let her go and wait for his questions to be answered later.

Yes, it was true that Zelda was tired from the intense journey she had experienced over the past couple of days, but she knew the true cause of her fatigue was the emotional agony of parting with her true love. She felt so overwhelmed by her sorrow that it had been very difficult just to climb the stairs to her bedroom. As she lay on her bed, she found herself wishing she could be anyone in the world but Princess Zelda.

     A couple of hours passed. Then a gentle knock sounded at her door.

"Who is it?" Zelda mumbled with the little energy she had left.

There was silence, and then another knock.

"Who is it?" Zelda repeated more loudly, sitting up in her bed.

"It's Vilate," came the familiar voice of her handmaiden.

"Please, come in," Zelda said eagerly, grateful her handmaiden had decided to come check on her.

Vilate entered the room and closed the door behind herself.

She was smiling, but her expression changed to one of alarm when she looked at Zelda. "Oh, dear—please excuse me for saying this, Your Majesty, but you look rather..."

Zelda gave a weak smile. "Go on, say it."

Vilate grimaced and mumbled, "...haggard."

"That's fitting. I have had a haggard sort of experience over the last couple of days, you could say."

Vilate let out a sigh. "Your Majesty, I'm so relieved that you're back. We were all so worried about you! When you didn't return on that first night, I was very anxious indeed. I was sure you'd gotten into some sort of trouble, and I felt it would be all my fault if you never returned."

    "Oh, Vilate, how horrible! Please know it was not your fault at all. It was my choice to leave. And frankly, what really happened was much more wonderful than what you were probably imagining. I've got to tell you every detail! Come—sit down."

Vilate pulled up a chair and faced Zelda, who was still seated on her bed.

      Zelda recounted everything that had occurred during her time away from the castle—meeting Norah and Link, her frightening experience in the Earth Temple, the wolf attack, reuniting with her pirate friends after the kidnapping mixup, and her painful farewell with Link just hours previously. Vilate listened intently to every word of Zelda's story and got a very dreamy look in her eyes whenever Zelda talked about Link. Zelda wondered if that was what she looked like whenever she was around him.

Once the she had finished, Vilate stood up and said, "Would you like to know what I think? This isn't fair at all, Your Majesty! I'm certain you met Link for a reason."

"Me too, Vilate."

"You must be with him! Pardon me, but who cares about the suitors? In the end, you are free to make your own choice regarding your marriage, and I say choose Link! You both deserve each other!"