Who We Are; Zelink, Modern (The Legend Of Zelda)

Left Behind (34)

Zelda had been gone for four days. Link was stuck pacing back and forth in front of his bed like she had done so many nights in a row.

How could she have just left him like that?
How would he know if she got into trouble?
How would he know if she was okay or not?

Four days; and visions of every single thing that could go wrong had already crossed through his mind.

A knock came from the door but he ignored it.

"Link!" a girl yelled, pounding on it.

"What?" he replied as he yanked the door open. It was Kalil.

"Come on, it's time for the training!"

"...What?" Link asked, looking shocked at the light flooding from the door. It was...morning?

"Did you not sleep?"

"Guess not..."

"She's fine," Kalil insisted. "She's got a lot of magic; if she was captured she would just teleport or use a portal to escape," she said. "Plus you're teaching the Sheikah to use the equipment we got. You're doing your part. Zelda is doing hers."

"But she didn't explain her plan to me."

"Because she knew you'd try to stop her."

"She talked to you about it?"

"Yeah."

Link scowled. "Can I know now?"

"...Sure," Kalil said as she glanced back at the annoyed boy. "You sure you want to hear it?"

"I course I do!"

Kalil shrugged. "Well... she should have found the Zora by now. She planned to...well," she hesitated and then seemed to change her answer. "She was going to talk to the king, or whoever leads them these days. Explain the situation, and use her telepathy to convince them that she isn't lying. Then if they agree, it's all good. If they don't... then she will teleport out of there and try the Gorons next."

"...That doesn't sound that bad."

"Nope," Kalil said lightly.

"Then what was the big deal?"

"Well the races may have already sided with Maldus so..."

"But Maldus is from Hyrule. I thought you said they didn't like Hyrule."

"If Maldus offered them something..."

"Like what?"

"I don't know... acknowledgment? Hyrule has been ignoring them for almost a millennium."

"So why didn't Zelda tell me any of this?"

Kalil avoided his gaze and shrugged. "Well, she had to do it alone because of the Tunics."

"Not for the Zora."

Kalil sighed. "Maybe she didn't want you to argue with her."

"Kalil, I know you're hiding something," he said. "Just tell me."

She bit her lip and shook her head. "Sorry Link, Zelda made me promise not to tell you about it."

Link's eyes widened. "What?"

She turned away as they walked. "Yeah," she said simply as they arrived at the practice.

"Kalil, just tell me."

She turned to him and shook her head. "No Link. She has her job to do in all of this. You have yours."

"I'm doing this for her. I don't care if she saves the world; I don't want to lose her in the process."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Zelda is more important to me than anything," Link continued.

"Is Zelda more important to you than your own wants and needs? She is trying to save the world. Think about what she's trying to accomplish. The world doesn't revolve around you and what you want. Stop moping and play your part," Kalil snapped as she walked away from him.

Link's cheeks burned red with a whole array of emotions that ran through him as he was reprimand. First was anger, but as he held that back he also felt shame... The Sheikah girl was right. His whole life he had lived for himself, wanting to feel good as he went through life. Then he met Zelda... and being around her made him feel better about himself. Even as he was sacrificing himself for her... it was because it made him feel like he could be a good person. It really was all for himself.

He closed his eyes and tightened his fists. Then he set his jaw, opened his eyes and released his breath. "Line up!"

_-_-_

Even after his change of heart, Link couldn't help but worry about Zelda. There was that thing Kalil had flat out refused to tell him about. It gnawed at him, and nightmares haunted him when he finally managed to fall asleep at night.

It had been one week and the Sheikah were coming along nicely in their training. Some of them flat out refused to use the new weapons, and Link was currently trying to change their minds.

"If it keeps you out of dang-"

"It's dangerous in and of itself. How can you expect us to use these?" Adiya interrupted; probably the eighth time already that she hadn't let Link finish.

"Because if you learn how to use them right then they won't carry as much risk."

Adiya scowled. "And how do you know that your guns will be more effective than our weapons against the monsters?"

"Because they're-"

"Or our magic?"

Link growled silently in frustration as he looked at the narrow minded woman. "Listen-"

Aamina slammed her staff into the ground. "Adiya! What are you doing arguing with the hero?"

"Matriarch, he is no hero, he doesn't even-"

"You will learn to use these new weapons, or you will not be participating in the battles."

"Matriarch!"

"My will is that of steel," Aamina snapped. "I will not have any of our people killed because of their stubbornness."

_-_-_

Link was just settling down for the night when a light appeared in the corner of the room. He stared at it for a second, and it barely grew to be a hands breadth apart before a small roll of paper dropped out of the portal and then it vanished. Knowing it was from Zelda he rushed over and read the note.

Hey Link, I'm fine. The Zora agreed, and I'm currently in negotiations with the Gorons in the Fire Mountains. Tell Aamina for me would you? The Zora agreed to meet her at the grove of Crystal Spring at midday tomorrow... I'm sorry for leaving you. I'll see you as soon as I can.

~*~

Zelda flicked her wrist and the portal vanished, her note along with it. "It's better this way..." she whispered to herself as she turned to see the Desert stretching out ahead of her. "Better to not have him worry..." She'd concluded negotiations with the Gorons the day before.

"This will work," she said, trying to boost her confidence. "This will work."