Chapter 16: Return to Termina
"In the days when I reigned over the surface, there was a great war and though I did everything I could, in the end, I could not protect what was most important to me because even I myself didn't even realize what that was…" Zelda frowned as she remembered the words that Hylia had said to her as she continued to walk through the deep woods at a steady pace. She couldn't help but wonder what the goddess had meant when she had said she could not protect what had been most important to her. The girl had always assumed that this had been the Triforce and the humans, but in the end, Hylia had been completely capable of protecting them both from Demise's grasp. So if those two things weren't the most important to her, what had been? And why had she been incapable of saving it in the first place?
Zelda sighed and shook her head, still confused by the goddess's often cryptic words. Looking up through the tall canopy of branches above her head, the girl was able to see that the shadows of twilight were just about to settle over the land. She had been traveling towards the path that led to Termina ever since she escaped the Interloper's stronghold, hardly taking any time to rest for she knew that time was of the essence. Not only did she have to worry about being perused by Veress's followers, but she also wanted to get to Termina and back as quickly as possible so she could find Link and help him in any way she could.
As Zelda continued to go along, she mused on the latter half of Hylia's statement: "But you… you know without a doubt what you hold dear above all else…" It wasn't hard to figure out what the goddess had meant by that. Amidst all of the uncertainty that had been gathering the past few days, one thing was certainly clear: the girl cared deeply for the hero, perhaps more than anything or anyone else. But despite her feelings for him, she placed knew that she also had the heavy duty of watching over the surface placed upon her shoulders. And it was because of her devotion to both of them that she had relinquished herself into captivity in the first place. But if she was ever forced into the position of having to choose between only one or the other, would she even be able to make that choice at all?
Hoping that things would never come down to that, Zelda pressed on, watching as the forest quickly began to darken and the fireflies started to come out to illuminate her path. She was certainly thankful that the Bow of Light also gave off a slight glow, as it also helped her to find her way to the exact route through the southernmost woods that her and Link had taken to get to Termina mere days ago, though now, it seemed as though years had passed since then.
The girl continued to let her thoughts wander as she went on her way, unaware as multiple shadow-concealed forms positioned themselves on the branches of the nearby trees, waiting for the perfect moment to strike out at her. Zelda wasn't oblivious however; though it was subtle, her ears picked up on the slight rustle of tree leaves and she knew that it couldn't just be the wind. She stopped dead in her tracks and stood perfectly still as she waited for what she had been expecting the entire time. And by the time the group of Dark Interlopers decided to leap from their perches in perfect unison and surround her, she already had her bow poised and an arrow notched and ready to fire.
Taking a brief look at her opponents, Zelda could see that their leader was not among them, which was lucky, since Veress was clearly the strongest of their number. There were about five warriors that the girl could immediately see, clearly all of various genders, though all of them hid their faces under coverings to conceal their identities. However, she could tell that there were more of them lurking in the trees overhead, ready to apprehend her and take her back to their prison. She gripped her bow even tighter, remembering how much of a struggle it had been to get out of there in the first place. She wouldn't be able to repeat it all again.
As the Interlopers rushed upon her in a uniform line, Zelda let her light arrow go and it successfully struck one of them in the leg, its hot light burning them and immobilizing them. She quickly formed another arrow and let it go with careful aim towards the arm of another warrior, striking them directly and knocking the knife out of their hand. She continued to let off arrow after arrow, never really fatally injuring any of them, but stunning them enough to get them to back off. However, with each one that she knocked off, another one would drop down from the trees to take their place. The girl knew that she wouldn't be able to keep this up forever, but she had to at least try, desperate to remain free from captivity and to get Link the help he needed.
As she was dealing with the attack on the ground, she failed to notice that she had backed up in such a way that she was standing directly under a long tree limb and unfortunately enough, a lone knife-yielding Interloper was hiding on it, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on the girl. And since Zelda was distracted with the sheer force of the warriors in front of her, she failed to notice them until it was too late. The Interloper leaped down from the branch swiftly and in one deft movement that the girl had no time to react to, they deeply sliced their sharp knife across her right shoulder, the same one that Link had cut his sword into before the Interloper's initial attack. Zelda cried out in pain as the re-opened wound started to bleed again, almost causing her to drop her bow. Moving her arm to lift it caused her considerable agony, so much so that she could hardly bare it. And so, since her means of self-defense had been eliminated, the only thing she could think to do now was run towards the direction of the entrance to Termina, hoping that she would make it there before the Interlopers could capture her again.
Turning on her heel, Zelda dashed away from the group of warriors and sprinted in a straight line, fueled by adrenaline and nothing else. She dared not look back, even though she could make out the light, almost inaudible sounds of the Interlopers as they perused her. She had no idea how close behind her they were and she didn't care. The only thing she could focus on was making it to safety, despite the wet, burning pain that pounded across her shoulder. As she ran, she put her bow away to make her movements faster and to quell the steady flow of blood, she took out the sailcloth that she was fortunate enough to have had with her when she was captured and wrap it around her shoulders, tying it in a knot near her chest. Noticing that the flow of her shin-length dark pink dress was also slowing her down, she reached down and tore some of its fabric off, so that the skirt only reached down to her mid-calves. She regretted having to do it, since this had been the dress she wore on the day of the Wing Ceremony, but she knew that escape was her main priority at the moment.
With her heart pounding heavily, Zelda continued to race through the ever-increasing darkness of the woods, watching as the glow of the fireflies and fairies faded off into the distance. She knew she was getting close, despite the fact that the sound of the ocarina no longer rang out throughout the trees at it had the first time she had traveled this way. If she could just keep up her pace, then perhaps she would make it Termina just in time.
But luck was not with her, for as the woods started to give way to complete darkness altogether, not only did she find herself being completely disoriented, but she also managed to tip on an unseen root sticking out of the ground. She tumbled to the ground roughly, fiery pain shooting through her shoulder as she cried out. In desperation, she tried to pull herself back up to her feet, but the pain that ran through her arm was just too intense. The fast footsteps of the Interlopers grew softer and slower and though Zelda couldn't see them in the pitch black darkness, she knew that their eyes were perfectly capable of seeing her. Her breathing was heavy as she heard them approach her and she closed her eyes in fear and frustration over her failure, anticipating the worst.
However, just before the Interlopers could lay their hands on the girl, a sudden flash of dazzling bright light shined from behind her. Feeling its warmth pour over her, Zelda opened her eyes to see the terror and shock on the faces of the legion of Interlopers who were mere feet away from her. The purity of the light was too much for their dark souls and, in a desperate attempt to save their own skins, they all fled away from it, retreating back into the shadows from whence they came and leaving the girl alone and untouched.
"Zelda?!" a familiar voice exclaimed from behind her. Turning around as much as her shoulder would allow her, Zelda saw a silhouette standing in the midst of the still shining light that immediately relaxed and comforted her.
"Terminus…" the girl smiled gratefully as her fraternal twin stepped closer to her, clear concern showing on her lovely face. The goddess of Termina held a hand out to her to help her up off the ground, which Zelda graciously accepted, even though she grimaced with pain as she eased herself up to a standing position. "You couldn't have shown up at a better time…"
"You're injured…" Terminus said as she noticed the blood staining the white cloth tied around Zelda's shoulders. "What happened to you? Where is Link? Why have you come here by yourself?"
The girl sighed wearily, exhaustion finally starting to get to her. But she knew why she had come here and she wasn't going to leave without getting the answers that she wanted. "It's a long story…" she said breathlessly.
Terminus frowned, but nodded nonetheless. "Come with me," she said with sincerity in her tone. "It's safer in Termina than it is here in the woods."
Zelda nodded as she followed her sister through the entrance to Termina, and they both emerged on the southern outskirts of the twin land, near a lightly wooded area that contained a few tree stumps where both of them could sit and talk. Terminus took a seat, but Zelda opted to stand, seeing as she was much too anxious and restless to do much of anything else but pace around.
"My sister… You should let me heal your wound…" Terminus said cautiously, but Zelda simply shook her head stubbornly, knowing that there was much more pressing matters at hand than the cut on her shoulder.
"There isn't enough time for that," the girl said resolutely. "I came here to talk to you first and foremost. Everything else can wait."
"Alright then…" she said as she looked at her sister's shoulder worriedly. "So what is troubling you?" the goddess of Termina asked, even though she had a vague idea of what it was.
"Too many things…" the girl said, looking down at the ground. "Ever since Link and I went home from here, nothing's been right…"
Terminus bit her lip, avoiding eye contact with her sister out of guilt. "What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly, trying to feign ignorance, even though she knew that she shouldn't have.
"Well…" Zelda folded her arms and looked up into Termina's clear night sky, where a huge, silver moon hung along with countless bright stars. "Why don't I start with what's easiest to explain…"
Terminus raised an eyebrow at her, genuinely confused by what she meant by this. "You mean… there's more than one thing?" she asked as even more worry filled her.
"I'm afraid so…" Zelda closed her eyes and frowned. "My land is in danger once again."
"In danger from what?"
"A few days ago, a group of rouge, traitorous Sheikah, who call themselves the Dark Interlopers appeared and attacked me and Link…" the girl began in as level of a tone as she could manage. "Their leader, Veress, almost killed him, but… I stepped in at the last moment and exchanged my freedom for his safety. The Interlopers let him go free, but they took me to their underground fortress and forced me into telling them how to get my harp and use it to break the seal I had placed on the Triforce. But what I didn't tell them is that they also needed the Ocarina of Time, since Link and I had cast a new seal on it just before the attack."
"Did they get ahold of either of them?" Terminus asked apprehensively.
Zelda shook her head. "Yes and no," she said. "Before the Interlopers took me away, I had given both the harp and the ocarina to Link so he could keep them safe. The Interlopers managed to get the harp from him somehow, but as far as I know, they still know nothing about the ocarina, which means that the Triforce is safe… for now…"
"That's good," Terminus said with a small smile. "So how did you manage to escape from their stronghold?"
"Well, it took a lot of wandering around," the girl said with slight levity, trying to lighten her otherwise heavy tale. "And as I was poking around, I also discovered that the Interlopers draw their power from a dark relic that they call the 'Fused Shadow'. I almost destroyed it… but I didn't have enough time… Anyway, right before I made it out, I encountered a huge beast that almost killed me, but luckily, I got a little divine help…" Zelda smiled as she held out the Bow of Light for Terminus to see.
"Oh!" the goddess of Terminus exclaimed, recognizing the golden weapon from ages ago. She smiled warmly, reminiscing on times long passed. "Your old bow… Back when you were Hylia, you would come here and we would practice our archery together… What wonderful times we used to have in those ancient days... Though, I'm sure you probably don't remember them now…"
"I wish I did…" Zelda said with a small smile, wanting to recall all of Hylia's lost memories about her sister and the close bond that they had once shared. "But, after I got out, I knew that I had to come back here on my own before anything else, even before finding Link and making sure that he was ok… I knew I had to come speak to you first…"
"Why?" Terminus asked, guilt starting to rush through her once more.
"Because I'm looking for answers and I hope you can give them to me, Terminus," the girl said, her smile faded as it was replaced with firm seriousness. "The Interlopers aren't the only problem that has recently appeared. Even before they attacked, something's been going on that I don't understand, but I think both you and Link do… Something is terribly wrong with my hero and I know you know what that something is…"
Terminus held her sister's blue eyed gaze in silence for quite some time, wishing that she didn't have to tell her, but finally, she lowered her head and sighed in resignation. "Hylia…" she said, her words getting caught in her throat. "I mean, Zelda… I… I do know… You're right… We both know… In fact, we've known from the very beginning…"
Zelda bit her lip nervously. "Known… what?" she asked, not fully sure if she was prepared for what the goddess of Termina was about to tell her.
Terminus let out a long sigh as she looked up into the moon with sadness showing in her emerald eyes. "Zelda…" she began, her voice rife with tight grief and guilt. "I… I don't know how to tell you this, but… your hero… he's falling victim to the same fate that my own hero did…"
Zelda frowned worriedly, both confused and troubled. "I… don't understand…" she said as her heartbeat began to pick up again. "What do you mean?"
Terminus looked down and shook her head, almost on the verge of tears. "What I mean…" she said quietly. "Is that because of the wound that he received fighting the Fierce Deity, Link is slowly but surely being corrupted by Majora, just as my hero was…"
The girl shook her head and stared at the goddess of Termina, her words still not making sense, possibly because she didn't want them to be true. "So… What's going to happen to him?" she asked in a small, fearful voice.
Terminus looked into her sister's eyes with pain and regret. "Zelda…" she said, almost choking on a sob of pity. "I'm so sorry…"
"What's going to happen to him?!" Zelda demanded, her voice sounding much more desperate and afraid.
"He's… he's not going to make it…" Terminus said, tears fully streaming down her cheeks now as she let everything out into the open at once. "Majora is not going to relent until it has pushed Link's spirit into complete and utter breakage, wearing him down emotionally, mentally and physically, and then, he will ultimately loose himself entirely to Majora's control, turning him into the demon's soulless servant for all eternity… I cannot apologize enough, Zelda. This is all my fault…"
Terminus broke down into heavy sobs as the full impact of what she had said hit Zelda hard. Her eyes widened and tears threatened to fall from them as well, but she simply froze up in shock, unwilling to believe what her own sister had just told her. "No…" she whispered in denial, hoping that just by saying it, it would make it untrue. "No… No, he… He can't… He won't… His spirit… Its… unbreakable…" Her words trailed off into nothingness as Terminus looked towards her again, her eyes red from crying.
"Zelda, you don't understand…" she said bitterly. "Majora's corrupting power is so great that it can conquer any spirit and bend it to its perverse will, even the most unbreakable one…"
"No!" Zelda exclaimed firmly with renewed resistance, ready and willing to do anything to save her hero. "We can't just give up! There has to be a way to stop this somehow, right?"
The goddess of Terminus sighed sadly, hating the fact that she had to bear this terrible news to her sister. "I'm sorry, Zelda, but there just isn't…" she said mournfully. "There is nothing that I, or anyone else, can do to save him from this… It pains my heart so much to know that you are about to lose another hero, especially one as valiant and as courageous as Link…"
"Another hero?" Zelda muttered to herself as a tear started to fall down her cheek. She was about to ask Terminus what she had meant by that, but then she remembered the matter at hand. She could not accept the fact that what the goddess of Termina had just told her to be true, but she knew that he sister would not lie to her. "Terminus…" she said softly, fear and sorrow mingling in her voice. "I can't afford to lose him… I love him…"
"I know…" Terminus said with sad consolation as she rose to stand and embrace her sister in an attempt to comfort her. "I felt the same way when I lost my hero… I understand well the pain you are feeling and if I could do anything at all to ease it, I would…"
As the goddess of Terminus spoke her soft, kind words, Zelda finally broke down into a round of inconsolable sobs. She felt as though her heart had been ripped in half. Even the ever-increasing pain in her shoulder did not compare to the great pain she was feeling on the inside. She was going to lose Link, her noble, loyal hero, whom she loved more than anyone else. She couldn't even bear the thought. She wanted all of this to be nothing more than a nightmare that she would wake up from and everything would be alright, but she knew this was no nightmare. This was all too real, and there was nothing that could change that fact. In this one simple revelation, all of her former hope was destroyed, giving way to strong feelings of grief and also, anger. It just wasn't fair to the girl that, just after the two of them revealed their love for one another, they were going to be pulled apart by fate anyway. Something like this wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to be safe and be able to be together for the rest of their lives. But now, Zelda knew that it would never happen and now, it could only ever be a distant desire that would never come to be.
As she continued to mourn, another thought occurred to her that replaced her sorrow with anger. And she was quick to voice this thought to Terminus as she pushed away from her sister and silenced her sobs. "If you knew about this… If he knew about this… Why didn't either of you tell me?" she asked, glaring at the goddess of Termina suspiciously.
"Zelda…" Terminus started timidly, tears still staining her cheeks.
"When he was suffering from the wound in his chest opening up again and when he almost killed me apparently under the influence of the demon, I asked him more than once if he knew what was wrong with him," Zelda said, fuming. "And he said he had no idea! He lied to me! Both you did! What, did you both think that I wouldn't be able to handle the truth? That I wouldn't want to know what was going to happen?!"
"Zelda, we never meant to-"
The girl was quick to cut Terminus off. "You both thought that I was too weak to do anything about this, didn't you?" she asked piercingly as she started to pace back and forth in frustration. "You thought that just because I'm not fully a goddess anymore, I wouldn't understand? Well, I do, Terminus. I do, and simply finding out about this has been the most painful thing I have ever had to go through. But you and Link just thought that this would sneak by me unnoticed, that I wouldn't figure out that something was wrong. I'm not stupid and I'm not weak!"
"I never said you were, Zelda," Terminus said firmly, her expression hard and admonishing. "And don't you dare blame Link for a moment for any of what has happened. None of this is his fault. I was the one who told him to keep this a secret from you."
"Why?" Zelda spat, clenching her fists at her sides. "Why in the world would you tell him to hide something so important from me, Terminus? Especially when this corruption is not only threatening to end his life, but also mine?"
"I didn't anticipate that," Terminus admitted somewhat sheepishly. "But I should have. The very reason why Majora commanded the Fierce Deity to attack me in the first place was because it wanted to lay claim to this land. It makes sense that you are the only thing standing in the way of the demon conquering an all new land."
"So now the surface is in even more trouble because of all of this mess too?" Zelda asked as her fury grew. "Wonderful! Why don't we all just give up right now, because there's clearly no point in trying to save anyone anymore! There's no point in trying to save myself, or the surface, or even Link. It's all just a useless waste of time anyway!" As she spoke, her voice raised until she broke down into tears once again. She felt completely and utterly hopeless and there was nothing that could be said to her to make her feel any better.
As Terminus watched her sister cry out in frustrated sorrow, she simply hung her head in shame, knowing that there was nothing she could say to console her at this point. It pained her greatly to have to watch Zelda have to go through the same grief that she had gone through when she first lost her own hero, and this bitter revelation was what she had been trying to avoid all along, but she had failed. But all the same, she knew that the girl was right; she shouldn't have told the hero to lie to her about any of this in the first place. "Zelda…" Terminus muttered, even though she didn't think the girl could hear her over her sobs. "I cannot tell you how sorry I am about all of this. Because of my own indecisiveness and dishonesty, I have torn a great rift between you and your hero… One that may never be repaired…" The goddess of Termina sighed and shook her head, finding it within her to give Zelda a small, comforting smile. "Considering the circumstances that are going on within your own land, I would understand if you would want to take up refuge here for a while. You are always welcome in my land, my dear sister."
Zelda looked up, wiping the tears from her eyes as she did so. Terminus was taken aback by the look of hard seriousness mixed with inner sadness that claimed her sister's expression as she spoke. "No…" the girl said, her voice firm and resolute. "I have to go back… My land needs me now more than ever and if Link and I only have a short amount of time left to be together, then I want to be with him for every last second of it."
"I understand," Terminus nodded with sincerity. "Then I wish both of you the best of luck, my sister. And again… I am so-"
"Stop," Zelda cut her sister off succinctly, raising a hand to halt her words of useless pity. "I… I know…"
Terminus simply nodded as Zelda turned to head back into the woods, at a complete loss for a goodbye. The two sisters parted silently, both of them grieving over something they knew that neither of them could ever hope to fix.
Dawn had just started to crest over the eastern hills of the field as Link and Sheik rode on horseback across them at a steady pace, heading north in the hopes of finding the entrance to the Interloper's stronghold. Both of them were rather tired, since they had spent almost half of the night training, but all the same, they had devoted the hours of daylight to traveling, hoping to make it back to Kakariko Village before sunset and find a way into the stronghold by sunset. Since neither of them were fully awake as the horses trotted them across the field, they had not really made an effort to engage in any conversation since they had set out, which was fine with both the hero and the Sheikah, as they decided to focus all of their attention on the task at hand.
However, as they were riding along, the hilt of the Master Sword began to glow as Fi emerged from it, gliding in mid-air alongside the hero until he brought his horse to a halt. Sheik followed suit as they both looked at the sword spirit expectantly, wondering what was so urgent that she had to impede their path.
"Fi, what's wrong?" Link asked, looking down at her as she landed on the ground delicately.
"Master, I have uncovered a finding that you will certainly want to hear," she said in her usual business tone. "I am afraid that, even after a thorough scan of all immediate areas, I can no longer detect Zelda's aura."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sheik spoke up, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
"It means," Fi began sharply, glaring at the Sheikah leader. "That I cannot pinpoint a trace of her anywhere."
"You mean you can't find her at all?" Link asked as worry for the girl's welfare filled him. "So… Is she…?"
"Gone? No. I simply cannot find her within the confines of this land. I would still be able to pick up on her aura if she were dead."
"So if she's not here," the hero began, coming to the most logical conclusion about Zelda's whereabouts before anyone else. "Then she must be in-"
"Wait!" Sheik cut him off before he could finish, looking towards the southern end of the field. "What's that?" She pointed in the direction of a shape afar off in the distance, something that had just emerged from the woods and was approaching the group at a clearly hurried pace.
"Perhaps we should go investigate," Fi suggested, unable to make out who the figure was from their current position. "It could be an Interloper spy set upon us by Veress and it would be unwise to not follow the safest course of action and preparation." Link and Sheik both agreed as the sword spirit returned to her vessel and the two of them turned their steeds around to find out who this mystery person was. They headed back in the direction they had just come from in a slow, cautious pace, just in case it truly was one of Veress's followers sent to impede their way.
When the duo was still several yards afar from the figure, who had not seemed to take any note of their approach at all, the person collapsed onto the ground clumsily, falling on their knees and staying there as they groaned out loudly, apparently in pain. And as Link recognized the distant sound of their voice and got a better glimpse of their blonde hair and pink dress, he knew without a moment's doubt exactly who this person was, even though he could scarcely believe it.
Without giving a word of explanation to Sheik, the hero leaped off Epona's back and started running towards the figure, his heart pounding with excitement, relief and sudden worry. The confused Sheikah leader tried to call him back, but he didn't even bother to listen. The only thing he could think of was getting to the girl and being at her side once again, especially after their prolonged separation.
Unable to walk or run any farther, Zelda's legs finally gave way as she collapsed to her knees just on the outskirts of the forest overlooking the field, letting out a groan of agony on the way down. During her meeting with Terminus and her subsequent return home, her still-untreated shoulder had bled out quite a great deal, despite the makeshift bandage that the sailcloth provided her with and her entire right arm had gone numb from a lack of blood. She scolded herself for not letting Terminus heal the wound when she had the chance, but it was too late to go back now. Her only hope had been to reunite with Link, hopefully before her shoulder bled out completely, but she knew she could not go on any longer in her deteriorating condition. But as she sank to her knees and felt the warm morning sun wash over her, she felt overwhelmingly weak from both blood loss and stress. Not only was her body going through immense pain, but so was her heart and so, with nothing left to do, she buried her head into her hands and wept once more, realizing that she was going to die alone in these fields, all without ever seeing her hero again before he met his own end.
"Zelda!" a familiar voice calling out her name suddenly rang out across the field from not too far away. With her mind and vision slowly being misted away into oblivion by the pain, the girl lifted her head in a daze and strained her eyes as she watched a figure clad in green quickly heading her way from the north. She blinked, believing that she was hallucinating from the loss of blood, but sure enough he was still there, hurrying towards her quickly.
The hero called out her name again and this time, she managed to respond, all though her voice was weak and hoarse from the large amount of crying she had done over the course of the previous night. "Link!" she called out in a strained voice, trying to pull herself to her feet so she could run into his arms, but found that she was too weak to do even that.
Link ran even faster when he heard Zelda calling out his name, even though it had been somewhat quiet. After he had cleared the crest of the last small hill between the two of them, he found himself standing only mere feet away from her, the girl he had risked life and limb for before and would have done anything to save now. And even though he was beaming on the inside, he couldn't bring himself to project it on the outside. "Zelda…" he said in quiet awe, still standing a distance away from her as he noticed that the sailcloth wrapped around her shoulders was stained scarlet with blood. "You're hurt…" The hero took in a deep breath, frustrated with himself for not making his first words to her something more meaningful.
Zelda said nothing as she stared at him with an unreadable expression for a long time. Though her concentration and focus were wearing down, to her, the hero still looked strong and firm, despite the pressing corruption that Terminus had told her was constantly working to destroy him. But all the same, she couldn't let herself relish that fact right now. Her feelings of anger and distrust over what he had done prevented her from doing anything else but giving him an accusatory look. "Link…" she said, her soft, somewhat slurred voice thick with betrayal. "You… You lied to me…"
The hero sighed and hung his head in shame, knowing exactly what she was talking about, along with what she had done and where she had gone to get this information. And so he didn't even bother to ask her any of the questions that were at the front of his mind, but instead he simply stepped closer to her and knelt down to her level reaching out to take her hands in his. Normally, the girl would have given them to him without hesitation, but she slipped them out of his reach, looking away from him with hurt in her dark blue eyes.
"I'm sorry I lied to you," Link said evenly and with sincerity. "I know it was wrong and I shouldn't have done it."
"Then why did you?" Zelda asked bitterly as she looked back at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Because Terminus told you to, or because-"
"Because I didn't want to see you get hurt," he said consolingly as he succeeded in taking her hands this time. "But I guess it's already too late for that." He placed a hand on the side of her shoulder, which still sent a shudder of pain through her. As gently as he could, he eased her into a standing position, supporting her by wrapping both of his arms around her. Zelda frowned as she tried to resist his comforting hold on her out of anger and grief, not wanting to be reminded of what she was about to ultimately loose.
"Zelda…" Link whispered longingly to the girl as he pulled her in closer to him, despite the fact that she tried to push away from him.
"No…" she choked on a quiet sob, knowing what he was about to say to her and desperately not wanting him to. A few days ago, she would have fully welcomed those words, but now, they only brought her pain and sadness. "Please, don't…"
The hero ignored her as he softly and slowly took hold of her chin and pointed her face up towards his. He couldn't do anything but frown when he saw the look of deep grief and misery in her eyes, one that he did not reflect, but he did empathize with it well. And as he looked into her eyes, the girl, almost on the verge of falling into unconsciousness from pain, she stopped resisting and listened to what he had to say. "I love you…" he said quietly and tenderly as he bridged the small gap between their lips. The girl started to resist him again, pulling their faces apart for a brief moment before he drew her back in again and this time, she realized that she didn't want him to ever let go. Now more than ever she felt the strong need to be close to him once more. After all, she didn't know how many more times she would be able to do this anymore.
As the couple fell into a long and passionate kiss, they both failed to notice the fact that someone else was witnessing the scene from a distance. Sheik stood at the top of the nearby hill and watched with sadness in her crimson eyes as the goddess and the hero displayed their clear love for each other. In that one kiss, the Sheikah leader watched as the one sole thing she wanted came crashing down around her in one crushing blow. And, unable to look any longer, she looked away bitterly, tears threatening to fall from her eyes as her heart split in two.
At the same time, Link and Zelda let themselves dissolve into the beautiful kiss they were sharing, letting everything else fade away into the distance. In that moment, they forgot about everything that was wrong with the world: they forgot about the Interlopers, the corruption, everything that threatened to destroy them both, and instead embraced what could only sustain them in these dark times. And if it could have, they both would have wanted it to never end, but as the kiss drew on, the girl began to slip into complete unconsciousness, until her lips finally parted from the hero's as she fell into his arms limply. He didn't try to rouse her, but rather held onto her tighter as he lifted her up in his arms to carry her to safety, knowing that in the midst of everything that he was losing, simply having her with him once more was enough.