XXIV: A Rare Finding

Before the Calamity

Zelda's POV:

My heart ached.

The Hero of Hyrule, breaking down right in front of me, showing me how much pain he has truly been in all of these years. And I thought I was the only one conflicted. His mask splintered, and I could see him for everything that he was and everything that he had been through.

I pulled Storm's reigns until he stopped and I got off. Link looked back, unsure why I got off my horse. He was still crying silently as he also stopped Epona.

I looked up at him with pure sadness plaguing my heart. I never wanted to cure anyone's pain more in my life. Hearing him just made me want to collapse into his arms and sob, but I couldn't burden him with another thing. In fact, maybe he needed to collapse into someone's arms.

Putting on a brave face was so important to him. And he just couldn't anymore.

"Come here," I said softly as I pulled him off Epona. I then opened my arms and pulled him in as he collapsed into the hug. I could feel his breathing against my neck.

I walked with him off the trail and we sat down in the grass. I watched him wipe his eyes as he sat, his strong demeanor weakened.

"I moved away from castle town," Link said, his voice raspy from crying. "I couldn't live in our house anymore. I saved my rupees and bought my own house in Hateno Village. I reported to the castle periodically for duty. I just... I couldn't live in the place I grew up without the people who raised me."

I listened and said nothing for a while. I just wanted him to be able to talk about it.

"It is okay to feel things, Link," I said after a while,  "-to be sad. You are not any less of a hero because you have demons." I smiled softly at him to let him know that his emotions were valid. I cared so much about him.

I rested my head on his shoulder and we both looked at the horses who wandered slightly off the trail to graze. I looked down at our hands and pondered slightly before reaching over and holding his. He intertwined his fingers slowly with mine and I stared at them for a while. 

Link had stopped crying at one point, but we still sat silently and watched the horses. Time passed so slowly. I watched the clouds and just let Link be silent. I listened to his silence. 

"How can I be a hero..." Link said with a broken voice.

"What do you mean?" I asked softly. "Link, don't be a fool. I would surely be dead right now if I did not have you. You have saved my life far more times than I can repay you for."

I squeezed his hand and lied my head against his. "You are the only one capable of these feats. There is nobody more fit to be a hero than you."

Link was quiet. I didn't expect him to say much, but after a while, he moved away and looked at me, still holding my hand. 

"I'm-" Link stuttered, "I'm sorry for blowing up at you out of nowhere. When you ran away from me and those men tried to take you... I wanted to kill every single one of them. I'm not good at figuring out why I feel the way I do but for some reason, it felt like you were mine. I'm terrified of losing you because... because I couldn't protect my mother. I lost her. I panic every time I think you're in danger because-" Link paused for a moment and sighed. "Because I don't want to fail you. I'm so focused on keeping you safe because I couldn't do it for her. I need to keep you safe."

I dropped my head. I nearly teared up hearing him say it. 

"Do you really think..." I said quietly, "that her death was your fault? She was sick, Link. You did everything you could for her. You can't blame yourself for that."

"I could say the same about you, Zelda," Link said with a sad smile on her face. 

My magic? Is that what he is talking about? 

"I lost everybody I loved and I am not willing to let you go too," he said to me between sniffles.  "I'm not going to let the same thing that happened to them happen to the one person left that I care about. I won't ever lose you, Zelda. And I'm not going to hide how I feel about you anymore- not when I know how rare it is to even be with you."

He looked in my eyes while I blushed wildly, both of us slightly teary. He leaned down next to me and paused, but then slowly leaned further and kissed me gently.