L: A Lost Memory

After the Calamity

As Link left Rito village, his thoughts distracted him more than ever. He arrived at Tabantha stables and took out his faithful steed, Druid. Zelda was in his head distracting him. He had a tingling sensation in his stomach when he thought about her, but couldn't pin down where the feeling was originating from. He felt as if he could just get past this fog over her memory, he might just be able to remember what their relationship truly was like.

Link had freed all the divine beasts but had not yet recovered many memories of Zelda. He had no agenda, but some unknown feeling was telling him he was not yet ready to travel to Hyrule Castle. It wasn't time yet.

As he wandered, he pulled out his Sheikah slate to survey the area. Something went wrong with it- it wouldn't turn on. Link hit it on his leg a few times but couldn't get it to work. Great, he thought. I guess I will have to travel to Hateno Research Lab. And no traveling directly to the shrine without this thing. He sighed.

It was dark when Link arrived. He was welcomed by the village's guard as he passed through to the Inn. Maybe I should get a place of my own here... once the Calamity is over, he thought. He was there often because of the village's warm feeling of familiarity. He felt at home there. 

After greeting the innkeeper and paying for his stay, Link went to bed. The night passed quickly, and when he awoke, there was an elderly woman sitting underneath a tree outside the inn. As Link left to head up the hill to the Research Lab, the woman stopped him.

"Child," she began, "I see you around here frequently. Are you a soldier?"

Link shook his head.

"I see you have a soldier's broadsword at your hip. What might you need that for if you aren't a soldier?"

"I'm preparing to stop the Calamity," Link said.

"The Calamity..." the woman said before pausing for a moment. "Would you like to hear a story about the Calamity?"

Link nodded.

"Very well," she began. "When the Calamity first started, I was just an infant. My mother told me this story. We were fleeing castle town after Ganon's revival, and a knight named Bradburn was rushing us to Akkala Citadel for protection. I've never forgotten his name... my mother says we owe both of our lives to his courage. When we arrived, we hid inside with others who were relying on the protection of the fortress. Unfortunately, the citadel fell quickly to malice-infected guardians and monsters. My mother and I were trapped in there. She told me she prayed to Hylia for another knight to save us, and one came. He helped us escape to this village. I would not be here if it weren't for those two knights..." the woman's voice trailed off. "Anyways, young man, good luck stopping the Calamity. If the princess is truly still there, she will need all of the help she can get."

Link nodded and began to walk, but before he got too far, the woman stopped him once more.

"Sorry to bother you, but I forgot to ask your name?"

"Link."

"Link... it's nice to meet you. My name is Uma."

Link smiled and nodded to the woman. Then, he began to walk to the research lab.

♦

"What in the gosh darn heck did you do, kid?" Purah spat while whirling the Sheikah slate around in her hands.

Link watched her but said nothing. He had no idea what he did.

"Well," she began, "I have no idea how to fix this. I've been researching this crud for years and years but unfortunately yours is the only slate around, so my years of experience don't do nothin if I don't have anything hands-on to work with!"

Purah cursed under her breath and threw the slate across the room. Link's eyes widened as it crashed on the floor. It didn't break, but the impact didn't turn it on either. Purah walked over and picked up the slate, flipping it around in her hands.

"There's only one thing I can think to do... I don't even know if it will work," she said while walking up to the Sheikah crystal. "Let's see if this'll do anything," she muttered as she placed the slate in the pedestal. The crystal immediately lit up. It was as if it was waiting for the slate. 

Purah stepped back and her eyes widened. "I've never seen it do this before..."

A blue droplet fell from the crystal and was absorbed in the slate. Purah walked over and picked up the ancient object.

She fiddled with it for a moment before realizing another slot appeared in Link's lost memories. 

"Link," she began. "You have another memory. Although... this one looks like it's already here. Like you don't need to find it? It's so strange... it's a recording. You can watch it! I've never seen anything like this before. Here."

Purah handed Link the slate and he pressed the extra slot. The video took over his mind. It was Zelda.

♦

"The Great Deku Tree told me something yesterday that made my heart sink..." Zelda said somberly as she positioned the Sheikah Slate so that it could record her. She was in the Shrine of Resurrection. 

As she walked backwards, Link became visible. His body lay frozen in the Shrine's healing capsule. The scars on his body were more apparent than ever. Zelda's steps were quiet and graceful as she walked over to him. She fell softly to her knees,  resting her forearms on the side of the capsule and positioning her head on top of her arms. She looked longingly at his closed eyes as some of her hair fell into the mystical water.

"It seems you will be here much longer than I thought," she whispered softly, "but it makes no matter. I will wait for you, Link." She had a kind of loneliness draped about her face. It didn't look like a sharp pain, like a crying kind of sad, but more of a hollow sad. She missed him dearly. 

"However long it takes. I will gratefully wait 100 years... just as long as I get to see you again. I'll be here. For the rest of my days, I'll be here. Even until the day you stop loving me, if it comes." She paused for a moment before chuckling softly. "If they were open... I could look you in the eyes and tell you that." 

She reached her pale hand out and lightly caressed the side of Link's cold face. 

"I love you," she whispered. 

♦

The video stopped playing.

Link looked up, still holding the slate in his hand. Something awoke inside of him... he remembered her slightly more than before.