To Pieces (LoZ - Link)

The Point of it

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Once we had another successful trip to the Isle of Songs, and another round of protecting his body while he floated off to the silent realm, Link was gone, out on his own again.

It felt like hundreds of pounds were dropped on my shoulders. I was dying.

Worse, I was dying slowly, painfully, and alone.

I'm never someone who's been good at being alone. So I did the most logical thing I could imagine--

I went to see Zelda.

I'm pretty sure Impa could see the death in my eyes when she saw me. She let me walk past her to see Zelda without argument.

Said teen was sitting in front of a bonfire, stirring a small cauldron of what appeared to be chowder.

"Hey." The words fell out of my mouth, dry and a bit pathetic. Her face paled when she saw me. Perhaps she saw the death in me, too. She sat up quickly, but stepped towards me like she was afraid I'd collapse at any second.

"What happened?" Zelda's voice was breathy, laced with concern, and gentle enough that I wished I could just fall asleep listening to it. "Are you alright?"

"No," I answered honestly, "But you have a tendency to make things a hell of a lot better." She let out a sigh, a smile coming to her lips as my words touched her.

"Sit down, before you fall down." She coaxes me onto the log in front of the fire, taking a seat beside me right after. "Do you.. wanna talk about it?"

I chew on my lip. I did, honestly. But at the same time, I knew better.

"I keep having this awful nightmare," I rub the back of my neck and turn my attention to the fire. "Where we go through all this, do all this work, and Link still loses. I dream about me and you, watching the world collapse-- and he isn't there."

"You need to put your faith in him, Oriana. He's strong." She tries to reassure me, but my mind won't process it right now.

"What would you even do, Zelda?" My hand reaches up and entwines in my bangs. "If he dies, who's left to protect you?"

Her hand reaches out and grabs tightly on to mine. "You."

There's a silence that settles between us.

"And what if I'm gone?" I ask.

"What?" Zelda seems offended that I even asked. "That wouldn't happen. You're not anywhere near the line of fire. You're safe, and a helping hand without getting hurt. You won't have the possibility of dy--"

"What if I do, Zelda?" My eyes meet hers in an instant, and she recoils from my serious tone. I watch it settle on to her features. She processes the words, her eyes moving frantically trying to read mine. When her breathing quickens, I realize I might've said too much.

"Then what was the point of it all?" Her voice cracks, and her eyes threaten to tear. "If I lose the people I love most in the world, then what good did I ever do?" She releases my hand from hers and turns her entire body to the fire, I watch the flames reflect on her watery eyes. "There's no point in a world without you, Oria."

"That's a bit of unrealistic thinking," I mutter, but Zelda sharply turns back to me.

"No, it isn't! What's the point in getting up every day to face a world where I don't get to find solace and comfort in you? What's the point of trying to graduate from the academy if I don't get to spend my shifts as a knight roaming the skies with you? What's the point in trying to live without a huge piece of my heart? What's the point..." She reaches up, using the sleeve of her dress to wipe away tears, but failing to make it stop. She chooses to curl up, shielding her face with her arms. "What's the point of living without someone I love?"