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

The End 2.0 (edited version)

They were together again. Finally, after 100 years. There was so much to say, yet neither could find any way to say it.
So, instead, they just stood there, glad to see each other once more.

Link couldn't tear his eyes away from Zelda's smile. It was perfect, yet far from perfect. The imperfection only served to make it better.

He acknowledged the petals blowing in the wind. Where they all came from, he wasn't sure.
He remembered Bolson saying that an endless stream of falling petals represented love. Was that what he was feeling? He wasn't sure.

He didn't want to think too much, though. He was too tired, and Zelda was undoubtedly just as tired, if not more.
So, they decided to head to a stable to get some rest.

"So, um... where is the nearest stable?"
"Uhhh... Right over there." Link pointed ahead of them, and Zelda squinted in an attempt to see the stable.. She saw it and nodded.

Link put the Sheikah slate away and urged his horse to speed up. Zelda did the same, yearning for sleep. She felt like she could sleep forever.

Then, for seemingly no reason, Link stopped and hopped off his horse. Zelda slowed her horse to a stop as well, confused. Link unsheathed his sword, and Zelda looked around. She figured Link must have spotted a monster.

After a few seconds, a bokoblin ran out into the path, which Link made quick work of. He didn't put his sword away yet, however, still wary of any other monsters.

Link turned to the side after hearing a rustling sound coming from a bush. Zelda followed his gaze, and in the corner of her eye, she saw a moblin sneaking up on Link. She shouted a warning to him, but he didn't have time to react before he was struck in the side with the beast's sword. He stumbled back, lifting up his own weapon to attack. For a moment, it reminded Zelda of when she first used her power, and when Link "died."

She shook the memory out of her head and saw that Link had stabbed the moblin, and he was now pulling his sword out of its chest. The moblin collapsed to the ground, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Link coughed a few times, waving the smoke away, then slowly fell to his knees, exhausted. He was already injured and tired from the fight against Calamity Ganon, so now, with a large gash in his side and all the breath knocked out of him, he could barely stand.

Zelda waited a moment for Link to get back up, but when he didn't, she slid off her horse and ran over to him. Well, ran was a bit of an overstatement, since she was too tired to go any faster than a jog. Once she reached Link, she bent down and saw that he was breathing heavily, holding his side. She touched where he had his hand, and he flinched, clearly in pain. Zelda helped him up, and together, they climbed onto her horse.

When they got to the stable, Zelda walked over to the man at the desk. She quickly said, "Sir, I would like to board these horses and buy a room. Also-"
The man interrupted her saying, "Your friend is injured?"
Zelda nodded.

The man then told her that one of the stable workers was great at treating wounds, so if an injured person came to the stable, she would help. Zelda thanked him as he called two people over. He told them to help the injured boy off the horse. He then told one of them to board the horses, and the other to treat the boy's wounds. Zelda thanked him again and bought a room for herself, since Link got one free because he was hurt.

As Zelda walked to her room, she looked down at herself. Hylia, she was a mess. Her dress was all muddy, her hair was probably a mess, and she likely looked absolutely exhausted. And she was.

She had gotten Link's bags off of his horse before it was boarded, so she looked through them see see if there was anything to wear. She felt guilty looking through his stuff, but the guilt faded a bit when she realized that there wasn't anything personal in it, just food in one bag, and some armor in the other. She found a teal cloth in the armor bag, but she didn't know what it was for. She shrugged and put it back, continuing to look through the bag. She found a set of Zora armor, a large heat resistant armor set that was completely made of metal, and a skin-tight Sheikah stealth suit. How all these things fit in the small sack, Zelda didn't know.

Eventually, she gave up, realizing that Link most likely prioritized armor over normal clothing. Instead, she just laid down on the bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

                                 《~》

When Zelda woke up, she just laid there for a while. She didn't understand how someone could possibly feel refreshed immediately after waking up, but she didn't complain. She did feel better than before.

After a few minutes, she got up and looked in the mirror. She decided to look through Link's bag to see if he had a brush, and had no luck. For some strange reason, he had a broken soup ladle, but there was no brush in sight.

Zelda guessed that if Link didn't have a brush, he most likely wouldn't have anything else that would help make her look less like a bokoblin. Instead of attempting to look more like a normal Hylian, she just left her room and headed to Link's room. As soon as she left her room, however, she realized that she didn't know what room Link was in. So, she went and asked the man at the desk. He told her the room, and she headed there.

She knocked quietly, making sure not to disturb Link, but still letting the other girl know that she was there. Zelda heard a soft, "Come in," so she entered the room.

When she opened the door, she saw a girl sitting in a chair next to Link and wrapping a bandage around his torso.
Link was propped up against the headboard of the bed.

As Zelda walked over, the other girl said, "Can you hold him up for me? It's tricky to do this and keep him from falling over."
"Sure."
Zelda sat down and held Link up for the girl.

She then realized that she had been calling her "the girl," since she didn't know her name.
"So, what's your name? My name is... actually, why don't you tell me your name first?" Zelda said, deciding against saying her own name for fear of being recognized. She didn't want this girl to start fawning over her instead of tending to Link.

"My name is Nia. What about you?"
"My name is..." she paused for a moment, unsure of whether she should say her name. After a moment of contemplation, she decided to tell Nia.
"My name is Zelda."
"Ooh, like the old princess? Neat!"
Zelda sighed in relief, glad that the other girl hadn't started freaking out about her, which really wouldn't help in this situation.

Nia stood up. "I'm done changing his bandages, so I'll give you two some time alone. He's healing fast, since the wound wasn't very deep. It may leave a scar, though."
"That's alright," Zelda said, smiling. "Thank you."

Nia left, and Zelda turned back to Link. She then moved Link so that he was lying down. She also made it so there was enough room for a second person to lie down next to him without pushing him off. Once she made sure he was comfortable, she laid down next to him and quickly fell asleep.

                               ~~~

~version two of The End. Edited to match my current writing style(as of March 2020( the time of the Corona virus shut down lol))~