The Both Of Us | Zelink X The Last Of Us

Chapter Seventeen

Zelda's pov

Link isn't in the room when I wake up. Bands of bright sunlight filter in through the curtains and they blow into the room slightly from the breeze. He opened the window sometime between last night and this morning.

I swing my legs off the bed and stretch. I haven't slept this good in a long time. The door is open slightly and the smell of food wafts in, making my stomach growl. I haven't smelled cooked food in a long time either and the last thing I ate was plain canned potatoes.

Link is leaning against one of the doorways into the kitchen holding a steaming plate. He only glances at me for a moment with his usual angry expression before he returns to his food. Revali is sitting on the counter with a plate as well.

"It's on the stove," he says shortly and takes a bite.

There's a plate next to the stove with a fork on it. There's three pans on the stove: one with scrambled eggs, one with hash browns, and one with...steak? I stop questioning it and pick up my plate, using the fork to stab the steak and put it on my plate. I also get eggs and hash browns before I sit at the kitchen table. The first bite makes me ravenous. It's warm, seasoned food and I've been eating out of cans for years. I shovel the hash browns and eggs into my mouth and I try to savor it at the same time. Then I move on to the steak and struggle to cut it with my fork.

"Just bite it," Revali says like he's annoyed with my struggle. He's holding his steak in his fingers and so is Link. "You don't need to act like a damn princess." My heart stings a little. Impa called me a princess.

There's a hint of amusement in Link's eyes as I pick up the steak and bite into it like the two men. I tear at it again and the corner of his mouth lifts ever so slightly, almost to the point where it wasn't noticeable.

I swallow my bite. "Where'd you get steak from?"

Revali rolls his eyes. "A cow genius." I'd bet he was like this before the outbreak. Still, I get excited at the mention of cows despite the rude reply.

"You have cows?"

"That's what I just said." He points out the window and I see the white and black cuties out in the field.

"Can I go see them?"

"I don't care, just don't track shit into my house."

"I won't," I say excitedly and push my chair back to go outside.

"Hey," Link stops me and my heart drops. He's not going to let me go is he? "Give that to me if you're not going to finish it." He's pointing at my half eaten steak. Relieved, I hand it to him and go out the back door.

I can't contain my excitement as I make my way to the grazing cows. I'd skip but the grass is long and I'm being careful to watch for feces. They flick their tails and moo. The closest cow lifts her head and moos at me and I grin.

"Aren't you adorable." I reach out and gently pat her head. She's soft and her ears twitch while I pet her. I scratch under her chin and her eyes flutter shut a little. She's adorable.

I go around, petting all the cows and I come across a fluffy baby cow. She walks right up to me and has the cutest moo. Her eyelashes are extremely long and her fur is white. I pet her the longest. I end up sitting in the dandelion speckled grass and hug her. I'm so accustomed to seeing death and violence and now I'm surrounded by innocent life. It warms me and I wish I could stay here, petting the cows.

I head back to the house after kissing my little baby cow bye. Link and Revali are working under the hood of a truck. This one is dark green and it has seats in the back instead of a truck bed. I can't help but imagine Impa would be alive if we'd had this truck in the beginning. Dog tags slip out from under Revali's shirt. He's military too. I wonder if that's how they know each other. I know better than to ask and I go back inside.

The girl's bedroom has a full bookshelf and I figure I might as well get something to read. Revali doesn't strike me as much of a reader and I doubt he'll care if I take some. I inspect covers and read the descriptions on the back. Some of these I've read before and others are new. I arrange and rearrange my backpack to accommodate as many books without it getting too heavy. I still need room for food as well.

After packing my books, I pick one from the shelf to start reading right now and I got out to the truck. The men are arguing. From what I can tell, there's more problems with it than just the battery and it's taking longer to fix than expected. Link is under it while Revali is still working on the engine. Bothering them might not be a good idea right now. 

I find a spot to sit in the grass with dandelions and tiny purple flowers. I comb my fingers through the grass. It's soft and tickles my palms. I take off my jacket since it's getting warm and pull my hair over my shoulder to feel the sun on my back. Staying here would be nice but I know that's not going to happen. It's just so peaceful and safe. And there's cows. Soon though, I'll be back in danger, crossing the country to reunite with my father. And what would he think if he knew I was alive and on my way and then I never showed up? He would think I died and I can't do that to him. I've been missing long enough.

I lie on my back in the grass and read my book while playing with my locket, enjoying this last bit of peace for as long as I can. It's just me in the grass reading a book with the sun shining on me. I feel like I'm living rather than surviving.

When I'm about a quarter of the way through the book, I hear a croaking sound near my head. The blades of grass brush across my cheek when I roll my head to the side. It's a small frog. I set my book down and slowly roll all the way over so I don't startle it and then I scoop it up. I love frogs as much as I love cows. When I was little, I used to catch frogs in the stream behind my house and then show them to my mother. We'd give them names before we let them go.

I crack my hands open a little bit to peek at the tiny creature peering back at me. "What should I name you?" I know. "Impa." She'd laugh if she knew I named a frog after her. I liked that about her, that she could still laugh despite everything. And she was tough and fearless. Even when she died, she smiled. I wish I'd gotten to spend more time with her.

I lower my hands to the grass and let the frog go when tears fill my eyes. "Goodbye Impa," I say to the frog as it hops away. I blink away my tears. Impa is in a better place now and she doesn't have to go through any more pain or heartbreak. I should be glad for that at least.

"Oh my fucking god!" Link yells, getting my attention.

"What'd you do now?" Revali yells back.

"I didn't do anything! This is a piece of shit!"

"I told you it was!"

"I didn't know you meant this fucking bad!" They're just arguing about the truck again. "It needs new spark plugs!" I have no clue what a spark plug is but by the way he's yelling, I'm going to assume it's important.

"Then go get some!"

"I will! Are you coming with?"

"Might as well!" He slams the hood down and I scramble up. They're not going to leave me here alone again.

Link sees me coming as he wipes his greasy hands on a rag. "Just go inside again. We won't be gone long-"

"No," I say as forcefully as I can. "I'm going with."

"No the fuck you're not."

"Why?"

"Because there's infected and you can't handle it." I don't want to be like that anymore. I don't want to be afraid.

"Then teach me how to handle it." I brush past him and go inside to drop off my book and I hear Revali laughing behind me.

"The princess has decreed!" he laughs.

"Shut the fuck up," I hear Link say before the door closes.