A/N: MUSHROOMS ARE NOT PLANTS. I KNOW THAT. BUT I WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT MUSHROOMS, OKAY
Also, this doesn't really even have much to do with mushrooms. It's slightly dark at the end? Well, not really. Maybe a little. I'm not sure. You'll have to judge for yourself.
Also, yes, I am very behind on Linktober. It's November now, after all. Hopefully though I should be able to update this more. So yee.
~~~
"Let me get this straight--you're going to do what?"
Zelda turned to face Link, her eyes bright. "I want to go to Skyview Temple to collect a few mushrooms," she repeated patiently to her friend.
Link frowned. "But Zel, there are dozens of mushrooms in Faron Woods. Why go all the way to the temple? Besides, it's full of monsters. You don't want to mess with them."
"Silly!" said Zelda in a matter-of-fact tone. "There are mushrooms right inside the entrance. I won't go any farther thane that. Maybe."
Link groaned. "But Zelda! Why do you need mushrooms specifically from the temple? Why not just from the woods?"
"Because," Zelda answered calmly as she gathered some things in a basket, "I need them for something special. The mushrooms in Skyview Temple are of a very rare kind. You don't see glowing turquoise mushrooms just everywhere, now do you?"
Link sighed. "Fine. What are you making with them?"
Zelda snickered. "You'll see."
Deciding not to argue with her, Link halfheartedly slung his shield onto his back and grabbed up the sword he had borrowed from Knight Academy a little while ago. He then followed Zelda out of the Sealed Temple and through Faron Woods towards Skyview Temple, several miles away.
Zelda didn't say much on the journey, and Link didn't press her. As it was, he didn't really feel like talking himself, and was partially grateful Zelda wasn't saying anything. He didn't really know why he didn't feel inclined to talk; all he knew was that he was tired.
When they finally reached Skyview Temple, Zelda descended the steps leading inside without hesitation, and Link followed after a few seconds of doubt. Once they were inside the temple, Zelda knelt in front of a patch of tiny luminescent mushrooms, ignoring the larger ones to her right. She pulled a knife from the basket she had brought with her and began carefully cutting the mushrooms free of the soil they were buried in, taking care to extract every last bit without breaking the fungi. She placed each collected mushroom in her basket. When finished, she stopped, slid the knife in the basket as well, and stood.
Link cleared his throat. "Can we leave now?"
Zelda averted her eyes. "Uh, Link, come to think of it, I need some water from Skyview Spring. I can go through by myself--"
"No, I'll go with you," Link interrupted wearily. A haunted look entered his gaze as he stepped in front of Zelda, leading the way through the temple. After Link had slashed through a few Bokoblins and a Deku Baba or two, they arrived in the main roomof the temple, the room with the enormous crumbling dome in the center and the hole in the roof that allowed scanty light to seep through the musty blackness.
Zelda and Link crossed through a doorway. Link killed a few archer Bokoblins at the other end of the tightrope that needed to be crossed to access the enormous door at the end of the temple, and then he helped Zelda across. Zelda was just reaching to push open the doors leading into the final room of the temple when she noticed Link had halted and was standing, wide-eyed, before the door, quaking a little. Link rarely showed fear, but it was etched into every fiber of his being at the moment.
"Link?" Zelda said softly, reaching towards him. Her fingers brushed his arm, and Link jumped, leaping back. A wild look flashed through his eyes, and he whipped out his sword, aiming it at Zelda. She shrieked and flung her hands up, a gasp searing her chest as she looked at him in terror. "Link!" she cried.
Link turned suddenly pale, and hoarsely he whispered, "What am I doing?" The sword fell from his hand and clattered on the ground, and Link fell to his knees, his shoulders beginning to shake as tears gathered in his eyes. "What have I done?" he moaned.
Zelda's jaw dropped slightly, and she saw then the vast amount of pain and fear her friend was in. Tears sprang to her own eyes as quickly she dropped down beside him and wrapped her arms around her best friend, pulling his head to rest on her shoulder. Link stiffened, jerking away, stumbling in his desperation to pull from her grasp. Zelda's eyes filled with hurt. "Link, I'm sorry, I--"
"You shouldn't be," Link said, tears muddying his features. He hunched over, gasping for breath and shaking. "I should be. I should be sorry. I--I'm always close to hurting you--I nearly stabbed you a moment ago, and then just now--just now I don't know what I would have done--Zelda, I need to stay away from you. I need to keep you safe--by staying away--"
"That's nonsense!" Zelda cried, moving closer to him. Without a moment of hesitation she flung her arms around him again. Link gasped, trying to move away, but Zelda was determined, and when she was determined she became stronger than could be thought possible. She held on to him tightly, not letting him go, not letting him pull away. "Can't you understand?" she whispered softly in his ear. "You aren't hurting me. I need you. And you need me. Neither of us can make it without the other."
Link finally stopped moving and met her gaze, tears hanging from his lashes. "But Zelda--" he said, almost in a whimper, "what if I really do hurt you? What if--"
Zelda placed one hand over his mouth, pressing a light kiss against his forehead.
"There are no 'what ifs'," she murmured. "There are only certainties."
