miss believer (botw zelink) (discontinued*)

tears

they were finally done. it was over. goddesses, was she relieved.

"thank hylia. i'm glad you're alright."
he spoke. he actually said something.
"me too."
he walked over to her, and she nearly collapsed into his arms. she was exhausted.
"don't fall asleep yet. we should get to a stable first."
"you're right."

they climbed onto his horse and rode off. she fell asleep on the way to the stable, but he woke her up gently when they got there.

"okay, we're here. wake up. i got us the softest beds."
"thank you."
she smiled at him, and they went inside. they both fell asleep immediately.

°•°•°

zelda woke up feeling refreshed. it had been so long since she had slept. she forgot how nice it felt.

link wasn't in his bed. she guessed that he had woken up before her. she walked out of the inn and found him, crouching by a campfire.
"hello. did you sleep well?"
"to be honest, not really. i guess i'm just too used to sleeping for a short amount of time. i'm not used to sleeping in a bed."
"well, i slept great. you'll get used to it eventually."

she sat next to him, looking at the ash-covered wood. she looked over at him and saw that his eyes were closed. was he asleep? he must have been exhausted to fall asleep while crouching like that.

had he been working too hard? he had been rather fast. and he definitely got the memories. she had watched him during his quest, to make sure that he was okay. she felt like she had to do that, since she felt so guilty about having caused all of this. she felt like she would never be able to make it up to him.

~*~

he was so used to just waiting by a fire at night instead of sleeping in a bed. he couldn't sleep in the bed. he was afraid that he would sleep so deeply that he would get attacked in the night. he had to be alert at all times. soon after zelda had fallen asleep, he had gotten out of his bed and gone outside. he would sleep more soundly if he slept like he was used to sleeping.

she woke him up when she asked him if he slept well. she had spoken softly. he liked her voice. it made him think, just more a moment, that everything was fine. he closed his eyes once they finished talking and fell asleep again.

she started humming a familiar tune. he was only half asleep, so he listened. it was soothing, like a lullaby.

it was a tune that he had hummed when he was in the castle. specifically in zelda's room. he didn't know why, it just came to him. it must have been subconscious or something.

the sound of zelda humming that tune caused a wave of nostalgia to wash over him. it was the sad kind, the kind that said that you should have embraced that time more, but you didn't. the kind that made you regretful. the kind that made you want to cry.

so he did. he cried. it was silent. a tear slipped down his face, then another.

she must have seen, because she but a hand on his back.
"oh, link. i'm sorry."
he sat down fully and leaned into her. she put her other arm around him. he looked up and saw that she was crying, too.

it was hard for both of them. it was hard for reasons that were so different, yet so similar.

~*~

despite not wanting to, they both knew they had to start doing something about the state hyrule was in. they knew they couldn't do it by themselves, though, so they decided to talk to the leaders of the four other races.

they would ask them if they could help with rebuilding the castle and the surrounding town. they would also ask about the divine beasts and look around inside.

link was dreading the part where they would go inside. he knew they'd have to go to the control panel. that was the last place he wanted to go.

zelda wasn't exactly looking forward to it either. she didn't want to face the other races, not after what she caused. it was her fault that they all died.

he told her that the best place to go to first was probably zora's domain, so they headed there first.

they got on his horse like they had the previous day and headed off to the domain. he was nervous about muzu. he knew that the zora had forgiven the hylians, but he still wasn't very trusting. he would probably blame zelda for causing mipha's death, similarly to how he had blamed him.

oh well. that was something to worry about later. later when he wasn't riding a horse with someone else on it.

~*~

after a long time of sitting on the back of his horse, they reached zora's domain. they got off the horse and started the walk to the city itself.

they were greeted by sidon, who grinned at link. he smiled back, imitating the zora, and they laughed. zelda watched the exchange, smiling.

she was still nervous. on the way there, he had told her that there was a zora who didn't like hylians because he blamed them for mipha's death. he ranted about it for a bit, saying that it wasn't true, but she knew that it was most definitely true. it was her fault.

sidon led them to the large fish-shaped structure. the king sat inside, towering over everyone there. she vaguely remembered him, and she hoped to hylia that he wouldn't be mad at her.

"hello, zelda, link. i can see it on your face that you are nervous. why?"
"i- i was just worried that you'd blame me for what happened to mipha."
"oh, no. i don't blame you. i know that it was out of your control, and unfair to say you did it-"
"well, i,  for one, think it is completely fair to say that she did it, as we all know that it was her fault."

~*~