The Legend of Zelda: Blood and Spirit

Chapter 27: Worth Fighting For

Zelda wasn't sure how to react to this confession of guilt. She still wasn't really angry at Sheik over this; after all, she wasn't the jealous type and there was clearly nothing going on between the Sheikah leader and the hero that would give her any reason to be. She could tell that Sheik truly was ashamed for her feelings, but the girl knew it was not her place to punish her for them, even if she was the reincarnation of the goddess. "Sheik, stand up," she said with a frown. The Sheikah leader looked up at her and shook her head, refusing to show anything other than respect to the girl in exchange to the dishonor she had caused her. Zelda sighed, but continued nonetheless. "You don't have to be so ashamed about this. It's not that big of a deal."

"But it is, your grace," Sheik said as she lowered her head once more, resolving to tell the truth and nothing less than it. "Because… because I kissed him…"

"What?" Zelda asked, her eyes widening. "When?"

"Right before he surrendered to the Interlopers," the Sheikah leader admitted, feeling guiltier than ever. "I thought that I was never going to see him again and so… I… I just… kissed him, without even thinking… I am so sorry your grace. I never meant to be disloyal to you or your hero. I accept any judgment you may pass upon me."

The girl was silent for a long moment as she tried to think all of this through. The fact that the Sheikah leader kissed Link, even though she knew the two of them were married, caused a brief spring of jealousy and anger to run through Zelda. Of course, the hero probably had not consented to it beforehand, but all the same, the situation was immensely awkward. "Sheik… I don't really know what to say…" she said, biting her lip. "I'm not going to punish you for this though. That's not my job. I… I guess…" The girl sighed, deciding that in the grand scheme of things, one small kiss didn't really matter, especially considering the fact that the Sheikah leader was such a faithful ally. "I forgive you. Don't worry about it and don't feel bad about it either. I understand why you feel this way. After all, I love him too."

Zelda gave Sheik a small smile as she reached out a hand to help her to her feet. The Sheikah leader looked at her in shock as she rose to stand up, surprised that she was taking this so well. If their roles were reversed, Sheik knew that she would react with fury rather than acceptance. But that was the difference between the girl and the Sheikah leader: where Sheik was brash and hotheaded, Zelda was calm and collected. And perhaps, between the two of them, the two girls who loved the hero more than anyone else might be able to find a way to give him a little more time.

The moment Link opened his eyes and realized that he was back in the Interlopers' torture chamber, his heart sank. He had seen and endured so many terrible things in this room, things that had driven him to the very brink of corruption. This was a place of nightmares for him, and he wanted nothing more than to be free from it once and for all.

The hero wasn't all too surprised that he wasn't hanging by the chains as he normally was, but he was standing towards the front half of the empty room instead. The vague, fuzzy memory of seeing Zelda again and defending her from Veress rushed through his mind for a moment, but he quickly passed it off as nothing more than a dream. Certainly, the girl was still dead and he was still trapped in this torturous captivity for the remainder of however long he had left.

However, this belief was quickly shattered when Link suddenly heard the sound of a soft, gentle, yet also pained voice calling out his name from behind. His eyes widened as he recognized this voice immediately and he slowly turned to see something that made him gasp in complete shock. Zelda herself hung from the exact same chains that used to bind him, her clothes tattered and bloodied and her normally vibrant dark blue eyes dull and hopeless as she cast an exhausted gaze towards her hero. Link's first instinct was to run to her and do anything he could to help her, but he found that he was unexplainably frozen in place and all of the words he wanted to say to just wouldn't come as he stared at her marred beauty in woe, unable to do anything else.