if i die tomorrow - permanent hiatus

words

     My chest heaved as I gripped my sword tighter, the blood on my hands slipping against the leather.

     I shoved you further behind me, my eyes darting over the swarm of monsters sluggishly approaching me, their red eyes glinting in the silvery moonlight.

      Stay close to me. I signed to you, my movements clipped with tension, and you nodded, your hands clenched into fists.

     I yelled a battle cry and charged into the renewed throng to meet the new wave of battle head-on.

     My sword flourished in the air as I swung it into flesh, careful to control my movement so that I didn't hurt you. Blood arced from the foolishly brave leading bokoblin and it fell limply to the grassy ground.

     I waded through the hordes of enemies, cursing the cramped space over and over again. Your hand was tight on my tunic, but for once I didn't mind the contact. You were safe. For now.

     I darted forwards, then backflipped, twisting your hand away as I felt the currents of time slow down. I drove my blade deep into another one's stomach, then immediately side-hopped, elbowing a moblin in the chest and, at the same time, spin-slashing a continuous crimson gash at the ones that dared to charge up.

     I whipped my head back to see you, panickily trying to fend off a few that were cornering you. That's when I realized that the tide of the battle had suddenly changed. Without warning, my opponents backed off, their eyes lost, unfocused, as though awaiting new orders. Then, as one, they straightened and charged again and I realized my mistake. 

     They were after you. 

     A desperate shout bubbling up at my dry throat, I charged back to the battle, throwing back the few that were closest to you.

     "Link--" You gasped, your hands thrown up in front of you.

     I ignored you, jabbing deep into the flesh of a bokoblin, then backflipping to get closer to you.

     Help me, Hylia! The monsters were relentless, coming up to us in waves, each one fiercer and deadlier than the last.

     You said something to me, but I couldn't hear it through the roaring in my ears.

     Bit by bit, I chipped away at the enemy forces, breaking into their ranks, the crimson of blood slowly but surely overtaking the royal blue of my tunic. Even you were tiring, your feet dragging as you tried to keep up with my sudden movements.

     Go away! I cursed inwardly as yet another moblin attacked at me. 

     My muscles burnt. My wounds burnt. I felt like a dying campfire, once vibrant, energetic, wild, now reduced to a dim, hesitantly flickering glow.

     I couldn't keep up much longer. I gritted my teeth and adjusted my grip. The Calamity wasn't even here yet, and I was fighting like a weakling.

     Then, suddenly, they retreated.

     I stood at the center of the battlefield, surprise rippling through my body, stilling me for a moment.

     I blinked and turned back to you, my brain jamming, trying to assess the damage.

     Just in time to see a stray bokoblin smash a club on your head.

     You fell slowly. Your eyes fluttered shut and your back arched gracefully, landing with a soft thump on the bloodstained grass.

     A scream tore out of my throat and the world suddenly cleared, the edges sharper, the colours brighter, as though I had a cloud wrapped around my eyes and I had forgotten it was there, and the next thing I knew, my sword was through its gut and it crumpled, a puff of purple smoke rising from its body as it disappeared.

     No...

     My fingers trembling, I flicked back one of your eyelids, checked your breathing, your pulse, all with the numb precision of a machine. 

     Still alive. But knocked clean out.

     I let go of the breath I had been holding slowly.

     You were beautiful in sleep, your lips slightly parted, your tangles of hair splayed out behind you, a blur of gold on green. Pink dusted your cheeks as you took too-shallow breaths, and all I could think about was how badly I had failed you.

     [Non-creepy staring, don't worry ;)]

     "Wake up." I wasn't sure what made me speak in that moment, yet the words escaped my lips, riding on a sigh. I ran a finger down your face, fear pumping through my bloodstream like acid.

     "It's my fault, isn't it? Talk to me, Princess Zelda..." I brushed back a lock of your long hair back from your pale face, fighting tears. Your hands, clasped tightly in mine, were ice-cold.

     "You've never heard my voice before." I whispered, swallowing through the lump knotted in my throat. "I hope you think it's ugly and never want to hear it again."

     "But..." My fingers tightened on your hands, uncaring that it was still caked with blood. Now that I had spoken, I couldn't seem to stop, the currents of speech starting to slowly tear at the bricks of the wall I had built around my heart. "But I also hope you love it and want to hear it every day. Wake up... Zelda."

     I raised my eyes to the sky, watching the stars, the clouds chasing the crescent moon across the sprawling navy-blue night. The stars weren't nearly as bright as your eyes. 

     "You're okay." I told myself, my eyes drifting shut. "You must be okay. You can defeat anything."

     Your hands twitched, encased in mine. I still couldn't remember how our hands had become so entwined.

     My hair danced in the soft breeze as I sat on the blood battlefield, my own wounds all but forgotten, holding you with a gentleness I didn't know I possessed as I waited for dawn to break.

A/N: This chapter sucked. I hate writing purely fluff, but I'm running out of ideas. So. I'm not good at battles either. Ugh.