Linked Through The Ages: A Linked Universe AU

Chapter 6: A New Awakening

"I also had to leave your horse out in Hyrule Field.  I sent two Sheikah guards to fetch her and bring her to one of the stables," she sighed.  "I-I hope that is alright."

"Yeah...Yeah, it's fine..."

"Oh!  That...That's good."  They both slipped into silence again, the only noise being that of the chirping of crickets outside the small hut and the gentle breeze of the night disturbing the fibers of the straw ceiling they resided beneath.

"Are you hurting too much anywhere?  Your injuries were... extensive," she paused as she stared down at the floor. Link lifted his eyelids back up to allow the blurry world to filter across his vision and shifted to examine Zelda with more care.  Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, the lids resting above them also red and irritated with the fierce wiping away of tears.  Dark purple circles hung beneath her eyes, clashing with stark contrast, against the green of her tired eyes.  Unpleasantly wet and half-brushed, knotted hair, stuck to her face and dripped down the towel wrapped around her shoulders, instead of framing her face.  Her soiled ceremonial dress hung over the back of the chair she slouched on, with a spare quilt placed underneath her towel flaring around her to become a cozy, makeshift cloak that she currently bundled herself into.

"No, just sore," he lied.  In truth, it hurt just to breath, let alone talk.  Still, she had done so much for him already.  Pain had always been a given, at least here he was safe to sleep until he felt better, unlike with some injuries he had sustained on his journey.  It wouldn't hurt to put her mind at ease, if only for a while.  Not to mention, he had headbutted her and given her a nasty lump on the head when she had only been attempting to wake him from his nightmares.  

"That's...That's really good," She stammered in response as she glanced back down to her fidgeting hands.

"Aren't you tired too?"  Link stared at her with half lidded eyes.

"Yes.  I mean... No, I...," She sighed, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.  "I am. I'm just... I thought I lost you again, Link...," She trailed off in a whisper.  Link opened his mouth to say something of comfort.  Frankly, he didn't know what to say, but it wouldn't hurt to try.  After all this time, even after defeating Ganon a hundred years after his death, he failed her once again, as she stood from her chair.  "Anyways, you are right.  We both need our rest."

How ironic can my life turn out to be?

She stepped across the room towards the identical mattress parallel to his, slipping the blanket and towel off of her shoulders as she crawled into bed.  The urge to talk, to soothe, to gather information now that she wasn't just a haunting voice in his head, remained steady.  Yet, the need for sleep grappled for a hold on his brain, making him too tired to even begin conjuring a single sentence before she blew out the light.  Before he fell back asleep, he heard her soft whisper, one that didn't echo back and forth between a blank space in his skull.  No!  A real whisper, a real voice that addressed him from the outside world, like it was supposed to, among the sounds of creaking roofs and cricket song.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, Princess."

If he hadn't already been asleep by the time the last word slipped out, he would have chuckled at that exchange.  A boy that made far too many mistakes in his recklessness and a girl who followed along, picking up the pieces as she went.

...

It was two weeks before he was able to stand.  The storm had given him a nasty fever, one that made him question whether he was in the dreaming or waking world.  The open wounds he had sustained during the fight had been caked in mud during the process and developed a mild infection in the midst of battle.  It made healing a slow and painful process, but his broken bones were healing quicker than expected along with the bruises and burns along the rest of his body.  Despite the sickness and injuries, the worst were the nightmares.