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I really hope this makes up for my last chapter! And it's longer too ;) I'm really satisfied with the atmosphere and tension throughout this one's plot, so, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I loved writing it! ^•^
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published 17/07/2023
warnings: blood, heavy angst, totk spoilers
‧͙⁺-ˋˏ I can't ˎˊ˚⁺‧͙
The torch's flames danced along the stone engravings of the ancient, Zonai walls but it was the way the shadows flickered upon the crevices which caused the skin of my neck to prickle in anticipation and my fingers to tighten themselves around the Purah Pad. A shiver following soon after.
"I don't think we should be down here, Zelda...", I said, watching the way Link's and hers fingers glided upon one another as she handed him the torch with such delicacy that it made my heart twist around itself, a reminder of what had happened...I gently shook my head at that, hoping to rid my chest of the pain that it brought upon me. "We have to find out what is happening, y/n. I have a feeling we're close to discovering something remarkable!", her smile was wide with excitement as her eyes flickered in childlike curiosity.
I gave her a small, smile back, feeling the way her eagerness of a new discovery waiting to be exposed reflected itself into me, allowing my own bubbling apprehension to seep through, "I know, I'm just worried we may not be as prepared as we think we are." Zelda's eyes cast themselves over the aged engravings while I handed her the Purah Pad as I continued, "I just...have this feeling that there's something not right here." Her brows furrowed in thought while she raised the Pad, readying it for a photo before turning to smile at me from over her shoulder, "You're just a bit anxious, y/n. I promise we'll be fine." I inwardly sighed in defeat as I nodded at her, "You're probably right." She hummed in agreement.
My heart quickened its pace at that, feeling the way Link's eyes stared at me from the corner of my own as I now stood beside him. I tried to steady my breathing at that, feeling the way the awkwardness between us drooled into the deafening silence that lingered around us. "Can...can we talk about what happened?", I softly murmured in fear I'd break what we had even further than it already was.
I flinched at the silence that followed while Link deeply exhaled, his silence tearing through the strings that held my heart together, my own exhale slipping past my lips, "I see. Well, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry and after we're done here, I'll be taking the other half of my things from your place, I should've already done that a while ago to be honest."
I felt some tears fill the corner of my eyes as I lowered them to my gloved hands before carefully treading away from his side towards Zelda's instead, hearing the way she began to talk about the murals and their possible connection to the royal family while all I could do was keep the trembling of my lips at bay, hoping that a sob won't slip past them - Zelda's smile towards the murals being brighter than the twirling flames of the torch.
My eyes widened, suddenly feeling her fingers intertwine with my own, "y/n! Link! Look at this!" She quickly dragged me behind her, "Do you think they all depict the same legend?" She gasped, pulling us into a halt while Link's torch flames flickered from the movement, "This engraving... it's similar to the statues we saw earlier! A depiction of a Zonai! And these figures...they look like Hylians!" Her fingers slipped from my own as a blackened flake floated past my eye, "This mural suggests that the Zonai had descended from the heavens."
She quickly handed me the Purah Pad before making her way to another engraving, her eyes slightly widened as her fingers reached out towards it but were too afraid to touch the cold, aged stone, "My ancestors...it was said that they were born from a union with Gods who had descended from the heavens. And these murals tell a similar story, and if they are accurate, then the Gods mentioned were the Zonai! They must have forged a relationship with the Hylians of that time to establish..." Her eyes turned towards us in excitement, "the Kingdom of Hyrule!"
My eyes glanced over across the next mural, feeling some sort of apprehension fill my stomach as my eyes stared at the figures...the one seemed to have been taking something from the other. "Hey, Zelda, take a look at this", I called, temporarily forgetting the pain that numbed my skin while she came towards me, her eyes flickering to my own before glancing towards the stone of the mural, "He seems to be stealing an incredible power from the young Kingdom..." I tore my eyes to look at Link from over my shoulder, feeling them widen while my chest only tightened. "Something isn't right", I whispered to him, "we need to leave Link. We have to!" "-And then this shows the Demon King!", Zelda's voice rang through the shadows, causing me to look at her unwavering curiosity, "if this creature depicted here really does represent the Demon King then...incredible! This mural must be the great war recorded in the royal histories!"
My chest slightly tightened at the way her voice only louden with every sentence, "This is the Imprisoning War and the events that led up to it!" She turned towards us with a jump to her step and a large satisfied smile spreading across her lips, "Link, y/n! This is a huge discovery!" Out of excitement, she quickly grabbed the slate from my hand and ran towards the murals, "I need to fix the order of the photos I took! This is beyond remarkable!"
I felt my fists clench itself as I cast my eyes towards the rocks that covered the rest, feeling the way Zelda's tone suddenly dripped in a hidden disappointment, "It looks like the rest of the murals are obscured..." Zelda placed the Pad back into my hands while Link handed her the torch, my eyes watching the ominous, black ooze slipping through the air. "Just what is this place? Maybe we'll find more answers ahead. Let's keep moving for now." "Zel...I really don't think we should", I said as I placed a hand upon her shoulder, "it feels like we shouldn't be here." "We won't go too far, we'll need the team if we do, so don't worry too much, y/n", she gave me a soft smile as I felt Link's fingers wrap around my wrist before silently bringing it down to my side while I lowered my head with a nod, "Alright."
With that, Zelda raised the torch, leading us towards the darkened corridor which lies dormant in the shadows of the walls. A slight pressure began to fill the air, causing its icy bite to graze across the skin of my neck while the walls of the passage narrowed, "The gloom grows heavier here", Zelda whispered.
Subconsciously, my fingers began to reach for Links, feeling the warmth of his skin to glide against mine, but only for me to flinch away as his fingers started to intertwine their way around between my own.
"Sorry", I mumbled, watching the small steps as we made our way down the small stairs towards the curving corridor. I frowned, "How much deeper does this go?" Zelda glanced over at me with the same thought, "I don't know. But whatever it is, I think we're getting closer to the answer with every step."
The darkness leaked its way across the walls, the stairs never seeming to come to an end while we could only carefully mind the loose rubble that rests against the shadows - until my breath suddenly hitched, "We're here."
A trail of a vibrant, glowing green flowed through the darkness of the sanctum as it slowly formed letters of what appears to be some sort of distorted Gerudo writings, "Ominous", I mumbled at that thought, watching the way the glow twirled in an ascending twirl. Link came to a stop beside me, causing me to glance into the dim blue hue of his eyes. I quickly turned to Zelda as she spoke, "What is this place?", before making her way down the first step.
My shoulders tensed and my stomach knotted, my feet treading down onto the stone of the ground - my eyes scanning the area with hidden fear. "What is that?", Our Princess suddenly questioned, causing me to turn my gaze towards the object that rests against the chest of a decayed corpse - the object being nothing but a disfigured hand. My breath quickly hitched at the sight of the reddened gloom pouring out of the ashy, withered body.
Link's hand wrapped around Zelda's arm, pulling her back as the arm slowly dimmed before coming to a limp position and falling off the corpse towards us with a slight creak. I watched the way the colour paled, turning into an ashy green, only to cast my eyes to Link's hand that was firmly wrapped in Zelda's own.
"Huh?", Her voice echoed through the wavering flames as she released his hand and reached down towards a small stone, curiosity filling her emerald eyes as she touched it with a slight flinch to her hand. Gently, she picked it up, and with a frown, I noticed the white glow that radiated from it, a mysterious aura surrounding itself around us.
In the corner of my eye, I saw a twitch in the shadows, the creaking of aged bones echoing through the blackness as the corpse struggled to move - my eyes widening while I tried to take a step back, but with a wavering inhale - the body collapsed.
Silence.
Within a blink of an eye, Link shoved me behind him after unsheathing the Master Sword, his fingers intertwining with my own as its head snapped towards us - eyes seeping in red stared into my own with a humour and wonder that was filled with nothing but the sinister swirls of evil. I blinked in fear.
Suddenly, red, seething gloom splattered across the walls and ceiling, spreading itself in hatred as Link's name fell from my trembling lips. His sword shimmered in a brightened blue, but it was too late. I reached for him, feeling the way Zelda's hands kept me back while my tears could only fall.
"Stay back", he seethed, his arm withering from the scalding touch that spread across his skin. "Link!", I cried, watching the way he clutched at the burnt skin as my eyes found its way towards the decayed corpse - only for them to widen as the gloom slithered towards him once again.
And out of reflex, he slashed his sword down against the flickering tendrils.
I could only watch the way it shattered and splintered from the act, my eyes trailing towards a piece that sliced itself across the tendon, covered cheek of the being, causing its blood like gloom to seethe from its touch. A deep inhale was taken in.
I ran towards Link, wrapping my arms around his torso as Zelda called his name. I rested my head against the crook of his neck, my fingers tightening their hold upon the thick material of his champions tunic - a harsh reminder of the duty that comes with it, causing me to raise my head and glare at the thing that stares at us.
"Was that the sword that seals the darkness? A blade that so easily shatters against my power cannot save you from me."
Its body slowly rose with every seething word that spilled from its mouth, its reddened hair mimicking the form of the tendrils of the leaking gloom.
"Zelda...you who carries the fragile sword...and you, a girl who has no place in this world are Link and y/n."
I felt Link's muscles tense beneath my fingertips, my own following after as all our eyes widened at the living corpse who brought its haunting stare back to our own, "Rauru placed his faith in you." Its body turned to us, a sickening smile spreading across what remains of its mouth while its head tilted back in mockery, "and was that all you can do?"
"How do you...know our names?", Zelda's trembling voice bounced off the hollow walls that circled around us, my fingers tightening themself around Link before reluctantly letting him go - but his free hand only reached to grasp my own, intertwining ours together in fear.
A sickening, bloodied red slithered across the chamber and towards the pillar that extended into the shadows while a haunting cry filled the now illuminated dark as the sound of rock grinding against rock deafening us.
And with that, the ceiling began to slowly rise, the rubble descending down towards us, a wavering breath spilling my lips, "The castle...he's pushing the castle into the air...how..?" My eyes widened.
The ground beneath the corpse's feet crumbling from the overwhelming pressure of its power - the walls itself caving in as Link collapsed himself into me with a quiet groan, "We have to get out." I nodded, turning to Zelda, "Go! I'll help Link out of here!" "y/n", Zelda began to reach towards us but I pushed her hand away, "Go Zelda!"
Her breath hitched. My eyes widened.
The rubble beneath her feet cracked with a sickening crunch as Link pushed himself out of my arms, struggling to reach for Zelda while her feet shook beneath the loosened stone. "Link!", I screamed, watching the way a largened stone came crashing down towards us, and out of instinct, I pushed him towards Zelda, his eyes widening while his fingers struggled to reach her - her torch falling from her hand.
His teeth seethed together, his tears spilling from his eyes as his burnt and blackened arm stretched out towards the Princess he was sworn to protect no matter what, but now...now he was failing, failing his duty to her once again. A realisation of the situation spilling across his face as my screams rang through his ears.
'Link. I can't take this anymore. I've tried, I've really tried, but no matter what I do, she'll always be your first priority and I know it's not your fault or hers. But you crossed the line, a line you promised you'd never break - no matter what! For Din's sake, she's taken our house! Our home! Yes she's my friend but hell, if it were a life or death situation and you had to choose between me or her. You'd chose her Link. And don't you dare try to deny that! I can't. I can't do this', he watched in silence, he watched the way your lip quivered with every word, he watched the way your tears spilled from the pain that swelled within your chest - just like it did his own. His heart hurt.
It hurt like it never did before.
And he hated it. He hated every second of it - especially the words that fell from his mouth, "...I have to do what I must to ensure her safety. She is the soon to be Queen of Hyrule and it is my sworn duty to protect her and watch over her. No matter what."
You closed your eyes, pinching the bridge of your nose as you leaned against the railing of your shared bedroom, "...Link. What is there to protect her from...why must Zelda take our home. Why are you allowing her into our relationship space when there's other ways to keep an eye on her." Your voice was soft and filled with hurt and confusion. He watched your brow furrow at that.
"I feel safer knowing she's here. In a place I know."
Your lips twisted in thought, your eyes sharp as they met his own, "And us? What about our place? What about the time for us? There's...it's like we're not even together anymore."
His eyes glared into yours, his fingers tightening themselves into a fist, "Don't say that. You knew what it means to be my partner. You said you understood it and that you would understand why I must do certain things to ensure the safety of others." His voice wavered, seething in an uncontrollable anger that began to lurk its way into his mind.
"I do, but it wasn't like this at first you know", you said, your arms folding themself across your chest, "I first noticed it with the way her eyes would follow you, how they were filled with the exact same emotion as mine are when they're staring at you. Link, she's in love with you and has been for over a hundred years.
And it only recently dawned upon me that I'm the outsider here - the one that's keeping you from the fate that's been written in both your souls and stories."
His heart raced, his eyes widening from the way your voice cracked after every word as you tried your best to keep yourself in control while you continued.
"I can't be with someone who makes me feel like a second option. I can't be with someone who makes me guess the role I play in their life. I can't be with someone who's been promised to another through the ties of their souls. I can't be...I don't want to feel like a shadow that's just waiting for you to come back to the light, but only for me to follow behind you - never far but never close", you closed your eyes.
"What...what are you saying? Are you...", His throat tightened, "are you leaving me...?"
You gave him a soft, sad smile and a slight shrug, "You're not giving me much reason to stay."
His lip quivered as his eyes casted down to the wood of the floor, his brows deepening their frown while his lips turned downwards, "I'm staying at the inn tonight, but when I come back tomorrow at dawn, you along with all your things better be gone because I can't be with someone who can't understand me, that doesn't even allow me to have a choice in anything! I swear, if you come near me or talk to me during our excavation beneath the castle I'll..."His words trailed off.
"You will what. Kill me?", You seethed, your words lacing in poison, "right, like I meant anything to you in the first place and don't even bother going to the inn when you can sleep in your bed tonight. I'm leaving anyways and have been planning it for a while now. And if you had even noticed or spent some time with me, you would've seen that half of my things were packed already, waiting by the stairs for a reason to leave - like the one you've just given me."
His watery, blue eyes widened in realisation, his throat caving in on itself at the reality that just fell upon him, "y/n, I-"
Your sobs tore through his words, "I need to start packing."
"...Please", he began, his voice wavering in fear, in fear that you'll leave him too. Forever. His heart, his world, his everything...gone because of him - the ring in his pocket suddenly weighing as heavy as the heart that fills his chest.
"Please just let me pack..."
And with that, he trailed down the steps - his sobs silent unlike your own as he pried open the door, hesitating before shaking his head and stepping out, his fingers reaching for the silver ring that was waiting to be slipped onto your finger.'
"Link!", I screeched, the weight of the rubble crashing my leg as the ground beneath me separated, the darkness suddenly swallowing me whole.
His eyes widened as they glanced over his shoulder, seeing the way my blood splattered through the air...hearing the way I screamed for him while I struggled to reach out for him. His chest tightening as he too, slowly began to fall - the ring he's kept in his pouch these few days was now slithering down the corner of his eyes.
'Please y/n...no, no...I can't!'
Zelda's fingers barely brushed against his own, but his eyes widened at the feeling of something grabbing ahold of his wrist, forcing him back as he watched a golden light slither across Princess Zelda's form before vanishing along with her while I smiled at the sight of them making it out alive. A sense of relief and comfort fell upon me as I closed my eyes, "I love you, Link."
And then darkness fell.
Edited 17/07/2023