When the Lake Runs Red (Zelink- BotW) (Discontinued*)

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Link

Link couldn't sleep. Zelda, however, was still fast asleep. He decided to get up and go practice hunting, which was what he did when he couldonn't sleep. He sat up and swung his legs over the bed, and tiptoed over to his bow and arrows. He picked them up and walked outside.

The cool night air felt refreshing as Link took a deep breath. He quietly walked out of the village and to the nearby wooded area. He found an apple tree to practice with. When he practiced, he would find something like apples to shoot, since he didn't need any more meat.

He put an arrow in his bow and pulled back, aiming at an apple that hung from the tree. He let go of the arrow and it shot towards the apple. It hit the right side of the apple, almost missing. Link tried again, this time aiming slightly to the left. The arrow hit the center of the apple, causing it to swing on its branch.

He walked over to the tree and took the arrows out of the apple. He walked back to where he had been standing before, and aimed for the apple again. This time, however, he aimed a bit farther up, hoping to hit the stem of the apple, causing it to fall. He again shot the arrow, and he hit the stem on the first try. The apple swung a bit, then fell on the ground.

Link walked over to the apple and picked it up. He examined it, and determined that it was no good, as he had damaged it too much to use it for food. He left that one on the ground, and looked for another. He found a nice apple and took it off the tree, eating it as he headed back to the village.

《~》

The sun had begun to rise when he got to Impa's house. He slowly opened the door, making sure not to let it creak. He then walked to the room he and Zelda were staying in. As he walked in, he saw that Zelda was awake. She was sitting up and looking down.

Link silently stood in the doorway for a moment, before asking, "Is something wrong, Zelda?"
Zelda looked up, suprised, then answered, "Nothing."
Link raised an eyebrow. "Really? You can tell me if something is upsetting you."
Zelda sighed, and mumbled something. What it was that she had said, Link couldn't tell. Link walked over the Zelda and asked her, "Can you repeat that?"
Zelda responded with a whisper that Link could barely hear. "I don't deserve to be a ruler."
Sitting on the side of the bed at Zelda's feet, Link gently asked, "Why do you say that?"
"I didn't save Hyrule from the Calamity. I failed my kingdom. I failed my people. I failed you." Zelda put her head in her hands and brought her legs closer to her body. Link put a hand on Zelda's shoulder.
"In the end, though, you didn't fail. We won."
"But if I didn't fail in the first place, people wouldn'thave died!" Zelda replied, her voice muffled. She looked up and continued softly, "The champions might not have died."

Her eyes were watering now. A tear fell, and Link wiped it off her face with his thumb. Zelda crawled over to him and threw her arms around his body. Suprised for a moment, Link hugged her back.

They sat like that for a while, Zelda sobbing into Link's chest. That is, until she abruptly stopped. Link felt her right hand slowly make it's way up his back. Her hand reached his neck, then Link couldn't breathe. He was too suprised at first to realize that Zelda had looked up at him, looking him straight in the eyes. When Link looked back at her face, he realized that her eyes were red again. That scared him.

The grip on his throat tightened, and his hands flew up. He felt hands on his neck- small hands, like Zelda's. But they couldn't be Zelda's hands, because she wouldn't do this. Unless... Link shook his head, or, tried to shake his head. Instead, he tried to talk. "Zelda..." he croaked out her name, causing Zelda to loosen the grip and blink. After she blinked, her eyes were no longer red. She fell back onto the bed and passed out.

Link got up immediately and ran to Impa, who was talking to someone. When he burst into the room, they stopped talking, and Impa quietly shooed the other person off. She turned to Link and asked, "What's wrong?" Link walked over, breathless, and answered, "Zelda tried to choke me!" Impa raised an eyebrow. "Her eyes turned red and- and-" "Slow down." Impa interrupted.
"Sorry." Link took a deep breath, and started again.

"We were hugging, then I couldn't breathe,  and it felt like something was choking me, then I realized that Zelda's eyes had turned red, and that she was the one that was choking me. Also, it's happened before. Her eyes turning red, I mean."
"When?" Impa questioned.
"At the stable that we stayed at before coming here. She grabbed my side, the side with the injury, like she was trying to cause me pain."
"Were there any similarities between the two events?" Impa asked.
"Other than her eyes, no, not really. The first time, she stopped because I took her hand off of me, and this time, she stopped because I said her name."
"Hmmm..." Impa tapped her chin, thinking. "If this happens again, remember to try and find any similarities."
"Okay. I'll do that." Link nodded, pausing before continuing, "But... I'm afraid. Not for myself, but for Zelda. What if she hurts herself? What if she hits me and finds out? What would she do then? Why is this happening in the first place?"
Impa stopped him and said, "Stop your worrying! I think you should tell her about this instead of hiding it from her."
"I agree, but how would I tell her?" Link asked, tilting his head slightly.
Impa shooed him off, saying, "Figure it out! I'm sure you can think of a way to talk to her."
"But I barely talk to her!" Link protested. Impa didn't respond, instead motioning for him to go back to the bedroom. Link reluctantly walked back, still confused about what had happened with Zelda.

《~》

This part is 1056 words long. Also, Link isn't being clueless about why it's happening, he just doesn't want to believe it.
Also, I'm writing another BotW story called Wrong Way. It's about if Link was in the Yiga Clan.