The Legend of Zelda - Endless (Zelink)

Chapter 24

I turned the corner into the main square to see the gates leading to the castle were slightly open, and the guards were gone. I jogged over and entered the premises. It was now much darker and the area retained an eerie atmosphere. The rebuilding of the castle had certainly come a long way over all this time, but it certainly wasn't finished. It was then I saw Zelda quite far ahead of me, running as fast as she could. I tried to match her pace in order to catch up with her.

"Zelda!" I called. She turned her head but continued to run towards the castle. I sighed and carried on pursuing her, only to watch her trip and fall flat on her face. 

When I reached her, she was crying and a small cut on her forehead was bleeding. "It's okay," I assured her, "I'm here now. How badly hurt are you?"

"I think my mother is dead." She said bluntly, not looking me in the eyes. 

"What?" I thought of the residents removing their hats, but.. surely not.

"Why didn't I come back sooner, Link? Why didn't I notice that she wasn't writing to me?!" She shouted, pulling at the grass. 

"We can't be sure that's true yet-"

"No gladioli along the walls. She would have made sure that was there. For father." She said, looking over at the 'new' Hyrule Castle. I had no idea what to say to her. Zelda had been almost killed, possessed and lost a best friend and her own mother practically all at once. She continued to stare at the walls of the castle, tears streaming from her eyes, though she remained silent.