Lost at War

Chapter 9: Lost at War

About 5 years after Zelda and Link got married and had three children, Kefei, Kenton, and Jessica, Link was called to war.

Zelda hugged Link, as did his four year old twin sons, Kefei and Kenton, and his three year old daughter, Jessica, named after Zelda's best childhood friend.

Link smiled. He had his Master Sword and Hylian Sheild. He had arrows in a quiver yet again hidden under his sheath, and his bow tucked inside it (his sheath). He walked out of his and Zelda's bedroom. The now-thirty-two-year-old Link walked with the Hylian Knights to the battlefeild, yet again in the Gerudo Desert. Dark cumulonimbus clouds gathering on the horizon frightened Link. He couldn't stand fighting in the rain, it made his deep green tunic heavy and slowled him down. He stayed in his war frame of mind and war face, though, dispite his rapid thoughts of will I see my wife and children ever again?. He finally reached his familiarized battlefeild, at which he dropped half to death when he was sixteen. Lightning struck as the wind picked up. Link shakily stood on the warground---- alone. He was more frightened than ever before, knowing he wasn't just protecting the Queen of Hyrule, but his own wife. Finally the Gerudo stood on the battlefeild. "FIFTY AGAINST ONE?!" Link shouted in fear.

The Gerudo women snickered. "Prepare to meet your fate," one familliar voice said.

"G-GENNI?!

"I heard you're the King of Hyrule now, Link, knight in service to your wife," she taunted.

Link was so afraid at this point in time. If he messed up, it could threaten his family's life. Yes, just his family's life. All his life he cared about carrying himslef through while protecting the princess, but now that he was a father and a king he had only two things to live for, his family and his country. He stood, ready to battle and, if nessecary, die.

Lightning flashed and thunder crashed as the Gerudo strived to kill the brave warrior.

Finally....he dropped.

The Gerudo, especially Genni, walked away cheering and laughing in victory, as the wounded Link pushed himself to sit up against a tree.

Link breathed heavily, blood badly staining his tunic. He had been stabbed in his sides, stomach, chest, neck, arms, legs, and even in his head. He held back tears. He coughed violently, coughing up blood. He wiped the blood that didn't fall on his tunic off his face. The rain finally fell, and it poured. "Z...el...d...." he stuttered, starting to slouch. He felt himself dying.

Just moments after this, a fleeing soldier on Link's team ran through the forest. He heard hoarse breathing and violent choking. When he turned his head, he saw the king, dying, up against a tree. He ran to him.

Link's half-opened bloodshot eyes picked up the image of his old friend. "H..e...V....a.t......" Link struggled.

Vaati, his fellow soldier, gently held Link's face in gaze with his. "You will NOT die! You've got a beautiful wife and three loving children to get back to!" Vaati said, sounding choked up.

Link weakly lifted his blood-stained hand. "Not...this time...Vaati..." he said as clearly as he could manage. He gently took Vaati's hands off his face. "I...'m not go....na.....make ....it...."

Vaati's heart raced. Thirty-two long years ending like this? Vaati thought. He looked into Link's bloodshot eyes. Tears escaped his red eyes as he overlooked Link. He's probably right...I should get him back to his family to say goodbye..... Vaati thought, but his thought were cut by a fellow soldier, none other than Zelda's father, Knight Draike.

Knight Draike ran to Link's side. "My daughter's husband won't die like this," he said, lifting Link. He whistled, and a horse came running.

A beautiful white stallion... Link stared in awe. Link felt a surge of pain go throughout his entire body. He clamped his chest again, and shouted.

Knight Draike and Vaati looked worried. Knight Draike put Link in Vaati's arms and climbed onto the stallion. "I need you to hold him while we ride back to Hyrule," Draike said sternly.

Vaati carefully climbed onto the horse, holding Link in his arms, careful not to aggervate any wounds already active enough or at all. "Link, you'll pull through. Zelda will help you, your children will help y-" Vaati said, but was cut off.

"I don't want my children to see me like this," Link said in less than a whisper.

He was going. Vaati knew it. Tears swelled in his eyes again. Just having gotten over his crying fit moments ago. This was bad. Link's coarse, short, spaced out breaths worried Vaati so much. "If you die, your wife will know so much pain we never wanted her to know," Vaati whispered.

Link looked up weakly into Vaati's blood-red eyes. "I..f...I don'....t...mak...i....bak..to Hy..ule.....tell my fa...m..ly.....I..l.....v....the......m...." Link said, losing consciousness.

Vaati cradled Link in his arms, carefully keeping watch if he was breathing or not the entire way back.


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Zelda gasped in horror as Vaati told Zelda to get her kids out of the room.

"THIS IS IMPORTANT! WE DON'T WANT YOUR CHILDREN SCARRED FOR LIFE!" Vaati shouted.

Zelda motioned for her children to leave, and they did. "What is it?" Zelda asked.

Vaati handed her husband to her.

Zelda cradled him in her arms, crying immediately. "Oh Din no..." she whispered into his chest.

Vaati slowly left the small bedroom.

Zelda cradled her husband very gently in her arms as she sat on his side of the bed. She sniffed. "Link, don't die...." she said, gently stoking his cheek with the back of her hand.

Link's eyes slowly started opening.

Just then, Jessica ran into the room with a picture. "I drew a pwetty pictor!" Jessica giggled, jumping up and down.

Zelda bit her lip. "That's beautiful," Zelda said, looking at the drawing Jessica did of her and her father.

Jessica heard her father's short, coarse breaths. "Is daddy otay?" Jessica asked, trying to look ontop of the bed.

Zelda gently pushed Jessica away. "N...no...no he's not okay...." Zelda said, still trying to refuse the fact her husband was dying in her arms.

Jessica climbed onto the bed next to her mother and looked at her father. "Whats dat wed stuff on him, mommy?" Jessica asked.

Zelda breathed in deeply. "Its...its blood....your father...he...you wont see him anymore after this moment," Zelda said, trying to explain "death" in a kid-friendly manner, though she and Link almost witnessed it as children time and time again.

Jessica's eyes swelled with tears. She hugged her dad. "I wov you daddy!" she shouted.

Link, half awake, weakly hugged his daughter back. "I l...ov....you too, hon...e....y...." he forced out.

Jessica started crying. "Don't go, daddy, I'll miss you!"
"I..ll...miss y...you too...hon---honey...."

"Where are you going to go, anywhay, daddy?"

Link's eyes started closing. "I...I...." he stuttered, not wanting to scare his daughter.

Zelda's eyes swelled with tears even more. "Jessica-kun, please leave...." Zelda sobbed.

Jessica lied her drawing on her father's chest. She left, crying.

Zelda gently stroked Link's cheek with the back of her hand again. "H...honey....." she stutterded. Her cold tears fell on Link.

Link remembered his sixteenth birthday. "Ze...l....k...un...." he whispered.

Zelda put her finger to his bloody lips. "Don't talk, save as much breath as you can..." she sobbed.

Then, the unimagineable happened. Link's eyes slowly closed as his body relaxed. No longer did he feel pain. His short, coarse breaths stopped.

Zelda went into shock. Looking at his face, at him...it caused her pain. She burried her head into Link's chest and cried herself to sleep.

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Draike came into Zelda and Link's bedroom, just to find Zelda sleeping on her deceased husband's chest. He felt sudden pain. All of his life I didn't let them love eachother, and the one time I try, he dies..... he thought, guiltily.