Until The Last Breath

1 - The Beginning

He often wondered if they knew they were going to die. They still tried to fight, they still cried for help, but did they know it didn't matter? Did they know it was the end?

They must have. The Divine Beasts had turned against them, and the Divine Beasts were the Divine Beasts. They must have known there was no way they could make it out alive.

Link knew they needed his help. He just thought the champions would be able to hold off the Calamity long enough for him to get Zelda to safety. But it was too late.

Ever since he regained his memories, he thought about them every day.

"Link?"

He turned to see Zelda staring at him, worry clouding up her bluish-green eyes.

It had been about a month since Link defeated Calamity Ganon and saved Hyrule. The castle was slowly starting to look better, and he and Zelda were working very hard on getting Hyrule back to normal. Their main focus, for now, was the castle since that was Zelda's home. They hadn't made too much improvement in other areas.

"I would like to see Impa again. I believe she would give us some guidance on how to win over the people. I feel like they've lost their trust in me." She paused, collecting her thoughts, then continued, "I was away for so long, and in that time I neglected my people. It's going to take a lot for them to agree to help us."

She paced for a bit, and Link watched in amusement as her face scrunched up in concentration.

"We'll need to start with the Divine Beasts. If we can find a way to fully control and understand them, then I think restoring Hyrule will be less of a challenge."

Link nodded to show that he was listening and following along, and Zelda smiled.

"We should try to work out Divine Beast Vah Ruta first. Then we could...talk to Mipha's father. I feel like we should, don't you?"

Link nodded again.

Zelda sighed, and a look came over her face again, but this time it wasn't worry. It was guilt. Link knew what was weighing on her. It was the same thing that haunted him too.

"Maybe he wouldn't want to see me. After all, I'm the reason you weren't able to help the champions that day." She bit her lip, then gave Link a small smile. "I'm sorry, you just got your memories back and everything must all feel so fresh to you."

Link gave a shaky sigh in response. She had no idea. He had told her a few things about his journey here and there, but not too much. Even though it had been a month, he still felt overwhelmed sometimes.

"We shall visit Impa later. For now, let's travel to Zora's Domain."

Link got up, trying to get the image of Mipha being squashed by Divine Beast Vah Ruta out of his head. Shame burned on his face when he thought about how he wasn't able to save her. He wasn't able to save any of them.

"I also need to thank Mipha's spirit, if she's there. Even though she wasn't able to tell me about what she did when healing, I think I had an idea of what she was trying to say. I feel like it helped me unlock the triforce."

Link could hardly remember the moment when Zelda had harnessed her power, for he was too busy trying to stay alive. He knew it was amazing though, and he was so proud of her, even if she wasn't proud of herself.

Zelda played with the ends of her blonde locks. "I'm a bit tired of this long hair. It gets in the way of things and it just bothers me. Do you think I should cut it?" Link shrugged, struggling to hold back a laugh as Zelda rolled her eyes. "Oh, I get it. You think I'm crazy. I see how it is, Link."

He reached out and ran his fingers over a few strands of the princess's hair and shrugged again.

"We'll do something about it later," Zelda said. "For now, I say we begin our journey."

Link waited for Zelda to begin their walk before following along. He could tell something was bothering her, and he didn't think it was the hair. He would've asked, but something was bothering him too.

He'd freed Mipha's spirit from Divine Beast Vah Ruta, and from there, she helped him defeat Calamity Ganon along with the rest of the champions. Her only regret was not being able to see her father or Sidon.

Mipha didn't mention anything about what happened a century ago when she talked to him. In fact, she had said that all she wanted was to see him again, even when he left her in her time of need. Did that mean she forgave him?

He hoped she did. Link still hadn't forgiven himself. Knowing that she had forgiven him would help just a little.

"Maybe we should stop off at Kakariko Village. That's on the way to Zora's Domain, right? Then we can see Impa."

Link thought she wanted to go to Zora's Domain first, but Zelda just seemed to be hopping from idea to idea, so he decided to roll with whatever she wanted to do.

They mounted their horses and began to trot, basking in each other's silence, but then Zelda stopped. She looked back at him, a glowing smile on her face.

"I'm so glad to have you back, Link. I felt...so lost without you. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't returned."

Link tried his best to downplay his smile, but he made sure the princess saw his appreciation by reaching out and hesitantly laying his hand on her shoulder. He hoped she'd see it as a gesture to show he'd try his best to be there for her, whenever he could.

He wouldn't let her down, not like he let down the champions.

"Do you think they'll be any Bokoblins? Moblins maybe? I can use a sword I guess, whether I can use it well is the real question..."

Link remembered the countless enemies he had fought on his way to Hyrule Castle, and if he was being honest, he could do without seeing them for about a hundred years.

"Let's just hope it's a smooth journey. I am quite tired, and we want to reach the village before nightfall. But even if we don't, I don't think I have to worry too much with the greatest knight in the world by my side."

She went along, humming a little tune to herself, and Link was glad that she couldn't see the blush forming on his cheeks.

The greatest knight in not just Hyrule, but the world.

Having her say that made Link feel like maybe, just maybe, all the pressure of being Hyrule's hero wasn't too bad if it just pushed him to do his best to keep Zelda safe.

She was his number one priority.

Hiiii people! We're very excited for Breath of the Wild 2, so we got very inspired to make this. The story is actually completed, so no need to wait indefinitely for updates! There's 26 chapters, so I think we might upload 5 each week? We'll see.

Also, shoutout to Princess-Zel and darxkrai . Reading their Zelink stories really inspired us to make this. Check out The Wilted Flower by @darxkrai and Fighters by @Princess-Zel, they're really good!

This chapter was written on July 10th, 2019.