A Fall From Grace

Chapter 10: A Phoenix Takes Flight

Picture owned by no one. 

The song for this chapter is Back to the Start by miracleofsound.

Author's Notes: Wow! That last chapter was just a blast to write. I never had the chance to write a full-scale battle before and I absolutely loved it! If you look carefully (not really) you can even see the influences of Helms Deep from the Lord of the Rings. That is certainly one of, if not, my favorite battles in all of fiction and I channeled those feelings into that chapter. This chapter, I get to do it again! This one is going to be a different sort of feeling of course, but I hope you still get a good sense of the scale and fantasy that a good battle provides. Admittedly, I think there are only one or two chapters left from what I can tell, so I wanted to give you all a huge thank you for continuously supporting me and my writing. You truly are the best part of all of this <3 

"I know this must come as a surprise, and I'm sorry to just spring this on you," Link signed, "but I don't think there's going to be much time for any of this in the next few days. I thought I might as well tell you now that we're not being attacked, or blown up, or dismembered..." He continued to ramble, his hands a flurry of nervous energy.

"You... like me?" Zelda asked, her face red. It was more of a statement than anything, an admittance of confusion on her part.

Link paused, he glanced up and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He then forced himself to look Zelda right in the eyes, and he held up his hands.

"Yes, quite a lot actually. I know that it isn't my place, and would probably get me executed, but I couldn't bring myself to hold these feelings down. Especially with times... like these," Link chuckled, adding a bit of dark humor.

"I just... I don't understand. I don't deserve-" she cut herself off, "I haven't done anything worth your l-... affection." Zelda quickly corrected herself, nearly tripping over her own words.

"Do you think that I only care about what you can do? Like. As a princess?" Link responded, confused.

"Well. It's just... I've made so many mistakes, and failed, over and over again. I thought that you would like someone... you know. Better?" Zelda explained, a bit exasperated.

"Zelda," Link held her gaze, "I like you because of who you are, not because you're a princess of prophecy."

The blush that had begun to fade from her cheeks was now back in full force. He was so... earnest. Thoughtful. She swore that if this continued, she may just faint right then and there. This was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Books did not prepare you for the real thing!

"But-" She protested.

"Stop," he interjected. Link's eyes turned from a turbulent sea to a deep, calm ocean. He signed, "You're inquisitive, clever, downright brilliant, and you're the most genuine person that I've ever met."

Oh, I'm going to die, Zelda thought. Just don't faint, don't faint, just think about anything besides Link's gorgeous face... Puppies, no, still cute. Um. Taxes! Oh, state taxes. Yep, that's doing it. Oh Goddess I hate taxes.

"I... I wish I could just... I don't know what to say, this is crazy," Zelda admitted, her eyes widening. "Not that you liking me is crazy! It's just that a lot going on right now, and I didn't expect this. Oh, I have no idea what I'm even trying to say right now."

"Please! Don't have a heart attack on me. Good Lady that would be embarrassing. Imagine if the Calamity comes to attack us and it found out that I accidentally shocked you to death. I can already imagine it laughing," Link signed, doing his best to calm the situation down. "You don't have to do or say anything. You don't even need to answer me. I just wanted to tell you because I would never forgive myself if I didn't tell you how I really felt."