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

Sand

《A/N: the ~~~ means that it's not from any particular pov. I'm trying something new》

~~~

They were leaving that day, and Zelda still wasn't doing much. Link had offered some food to her, and she refused, saying that she wasn't hungry. He was really beginning to worry about her. She wouldn't do anything but mope around and distance herself from him.

Speaking of which, where was she? It was time to leave. Link went into their room and found Zelda lying face down on the bed. She raised her hand a little and he heard a muffled, "Hey." "It's time to go. Are you okay?" She pushed herself up so that she was on her knees. "Yes. Just a little tired."

Zelda got off the bed and followed Link out to their horses.

"I was just thinking, what if it's Ganon doing this?"
"What?"
"Y'know, making me do these things. The... bad things."
"Oh. It's possible."
Link thought over what she had said for a moment, then told her his idea.
"Actually, I think it's the Malice."
"Really? That's what made the Calamity! Do you think I'll become something like that?"
"I sure hope not."

They rode in silence for a while, contemplating the thought. Zelda was the one who broke it.

"On the bright side, if it is Malice, then I know it's mostly not my fault."
"Why would you think that it was your fault?"
"I don't know. I guess I just feel guilty about finding my powers too late and causing all of this, so I felt like it was my fault. Now that I think about it though, it wasn't all my fault. Well, it was, but I couldn't have fixed anything. I tried as hard as I could, so I shouldn't put the blame on myself."
"That's good. I hate seeing you upset like that."

Zelda smiled at the comment, not saying anything. The truth was, she was still just as upset as before. She was mostly trying to make Link think that she wasn't upset anymore. But hearing him say that he hated it just made her feel worse. Maybe she shouldn't try to hide it.

No. It was for Link, not her. She wanted him to be happy, to be safe. She didn't care about herself anymore. Just Link. The way to keep him happy was to make him think that she was fine, even though she was far from it.

《~》
Link

She told him that she wasn't upset anymore, but the way she acted made it seem untrue. He trusted her, though. She was probably telling all that to herself as well as him. She wasn't quite fine yet, but she was getting there. That's what he decided.

He cared about her. There was an unfamiliar feeling that he felt when she smiled at him. It was strong, but in a good way. He had to protect her. After all, it was his job. At least, that's what he told himself. In reality, he knew there was more to it.

《~》
Link

They finally got to the stable, but there was something that Link wasn't quite looking forward to doing.

The stable they were at was the Gerudo Canyon Stable, right outside the desert. They decided to check in, since they were exhausted from the long journey.

《~》

"I swear to Hylia, if this doesn't make her at least a little happy," Link muttered to himself as he put on his Gerudo disguise. He walked out to where Zelda was. She looked at him and smiled, but when she looked him over a second time, she frowned when her eyes reached his exposed stomach. She blinked a few times before turning away a little and started rubbing her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just have sand in my eyes." "Zelda, we aren't even in the desert." She turned a little more. "It must have blown over, then." "It's not windy, though." "Just- just shut up." "Zelda, I- oh." The realization hit him. His scars must have upset her. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize-" "No, it's fine. This isn't very dignified of me. I should have tried to stop." "Zelda you don't need to hide anything, it's just me." "No, your job is too formal for that. I shouldn't be doing this. You don't need to worry about me." "That is my job." There was short silence, which Zelda broke. "Oh, who am I kidding? This is our life now. We can't just be formal all the time."

Then, without warning, she spun around and hugged Link tight. At first, he was surprised, but then he put his arms around her.

After a long embrace, Link said, "We should get you an outfit like this when we go in." Zelda nodded.

《~》

They walked into the town with no trouble. Link led Zelda to the palace where Riju was. They talked about Vah Nabooris for a while.

Afterwards, they went back out and looked at the shops. Zelda picked out an outfit that looked just like Link's, but a darker shade of blue.
"This is the same shade that my old dress was. Isn't that interesting?"
Link nodded and said, "Yes, it is. It's a nice shade, too."
"I agree."
"I can pay for it." He handed some rupees to the woman selling the outfit, and they walked away, satisfied with their purchase.

《~》

"So, is there anything else we need to do?"
"Hmm, let me see."
Link handed the Sheikah slate to Zelda so she could look at it. They had started keeping a log in it, like Link had done before.

She scrolled through the quest log for a minute, then gave the slate to Link.
"Looks like we're done here. The only reason we were at the Domain for so long was because you kept getting hurt. I do want to stay here a while longer."

Link nodded in agreement. It was getting kind of late.
"Let's go back to the stable and get some rest."
"Aw, we can stay here a little longer."
"Fine."
Zelda smiled at him, and they walked around in the town a little longer before going back to the stable.