Free to Love - A Zelda x Link Fanfiction

LXVIII: Back Home

Zelda's Perspective:

I woke because of the bile in my throat. It rose sharply, and my stomach twisted. I blinked slowly, blearily, trying to focus on my surroundings, as I tried to calm my stomach. My eyes focused enough to see blades of grass beneath my knees.

I was on the ground. It was somewhat of a relief to not be on Epona anymore. The rise and fall of her gallop didn't do anything good for my stomach. My memories began flooding back and I glanced at the sky. Still dark red, as red as blood. I leaned over, and I couldn't stop myself from emptying the contents of my stomach. Tears rose to my eyes.

"L-Link!" I spluttered. My ears felt stuffed and my own words rang in my head. I instantly felt hands on my back, dragging me to my feet. My eyes had focused enough to make him out.

He didn't look too well. His skin was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes. We must have ridden through the night. His hair, which was previously tied into a ponytail, was loose and now dirty locks and fly aways framed his tired face. His lip were set in a line, before speaking frantically and quickly.

I blinked. My ears were still clogged and I strained to hear him. "—have to go, baby, come on!" he shouted, shaking my shoulders. He grabbed my limp wrist, pulling me in a direction I hadn't quite identified yet. I glanced up.

Were we... back home? I couldn't remember entering the palace gates but, sure enough, the silhouette resembled the fancy towers and arches of Hyrule castle. Seeing the stone walls was almost a relief, a stark contrast to spending who-knows-how-long in the unreliable wild. It meant safety and shelter to me. Albeit, as comforting as the presence was, it looked most ominous with the crimson sky glowing behind it.

Suddenly, the view of the exterior of the castle went black. At some point, Link had pulled me inside and I found myself tripping over stairs as we wound our way up a tower. I couldn't even tell what tower it was. Instead, I tried to focus on my breathing and the placement of my steps. My feet were still somewhat numb and it was difficult to follow Link's quick and sure steps.

I stumbled at the top, surprised to find no more stairs, only to be yanked quickly through a series of winding halls. I tripped along the cracks but Link didn't pay me any attention. The halls, that I was used to seeing filled with staff, were now empty. It sent a chill down my spine. It was so eery now, the empty halls echoing with our footsteps and the shadows dancing along the walls ominously.

The halls disappeared and I was suddenly in a lavish room. "My king!" Link shouted urgently. He stopped sharply and I tripped over my feet, finally facing forward. I blinked again, and glanced around.

"Zelda!" Father's voice surprised me and I was even more surprised to feel his tight arms around me. I was taken aback by the gesture, and found myself awkwardly standing there, his arms crushing mine to my sides so I couldn't hug him back even if I wanted to. "Thank Hylia, you're okay! She's okay, right?"

He returned his attention to Link, walking forward and clasping his hand tightly, in a handshake. "Yes, your highness, Princess Zelda is still healthy and hopefully safe. We arrived here as quickly as we could from the Gerudo desert, when we saw the sky."

I tried to listen, but my throat still stung with bile and my head still felt dizzy and I found myself drifting away from the conversation, glancing around the room.

I hadn't been in Father's room in so long. I used to come here when I was little, after I had night terrors, and climbed into his bed with him. That was back when Mother was still alive. Father was never the most compassionate man but I think my mother had softened him because he always allowed me to cuddle under the covers with them, despite the reluctant grumbling that Mother tired to hide from me. Back then was when I last saw him happy. After we lost Mother, he grew more bitter.

The walls still had odd pristinely clean squares from the family portraits we used to have. Mother used to have all these pretty paintings that she hung up all over the place. Some she had painted herself, some were done by professional artists. She had lots of paintings of her and Father on their wedding day. After her death, Father took them all down. They were too painful to look at.

I wandered closer to the walls, to inspect the discoloration of the wallpaper, when I happened to glance out the window. At first, my vision immediately landed on the sky. It seemed like my attention was drawn there immediately and I found it difficult to tear away.

I blinked, squinting my eyes, and staring down at the courtyard. It was hard to make out anything through the black clouds. I squinted, scrutinizing the courtyard through the fog before I saw a white beam pierce through. My breath escaped my lungs.

I leaned forward, hands against the glass, staring in wide-eyed terror. There was another beam, this time aimed at the castle. The mark hit somewhere along the base, albeit I couldn't tell for sure. The ground jerked beneath me, and I stumbled, grabbing onto the wall to steady myself.

It was a guardian. I saw flames beginning to lick the sides of the castle, people scattering. The head of the guardian jerked, the interior beneath its shelling flickering from blue to red. A red like the sky. It's clunky head turned and it stepped forward, firing towards the people.

I squeaked in terror, backing away from the window. I could see more, several others crossing the court yard, shooting white beams at everyone that had the misfortune of crossing their path. "L-Link!"

It only took a moment until I felt Link's strong arms grabbing me, hoisting me up, and hugging me to his chest. "The g-guardians!" I murmured fearfully. His eyes widened in horror as he glanced out the window.

"Shit..." he murmured. "Shit, shit, shit." He hoisted me up, dragging my feet underneath me and trying to steady me. "Your highness, we have to leave!" he shouted over his shoulder.

"W-What?" I heard Father respond in confusion. I could imagine his white brows furrowing in concern.

"We have to leave now, it's not safe!" He managed to steady me and drew his sword. "Get out, now! Take your daughter and leave quickly!" His voice grew louder until he was screaming, back facing me and my father as he ushered us to the exit.

"What are you—?!"

Suddenly there was an exosion. My ears rang and glass shattered around my feet. I crumpled to my knees, glass shards cutting into my hands. I barely made out the silhouette of the guardian, blue eyes swiveling around the room, landing at first on me, then redirecting its gaze to another figure in front of me.

I heard him groan, struggling to stand, feet unsteady on the glass. I could still feel the explosion reverberating in my teeth. The ceiling shook, cracks spiderwebbing across, when I felt strong hands pull me up. But it wasn't Link.

"Get her out of here!" Father shouted, pushing me into Link's arms and drawing his own silver blade. I tried to protest, but I couldn't hear my screams over the whirring of the guardian and the tears that began to run down my face like fire.

Father charged the beast, and it fired in a random direction, causing the building to shake more.

"You're our last hope, Zelda!" That was the last thing I heard my father say before Link hauled me away, and the room exploded in flames.