The Silence Between Them | ✔

23) Farewell

⚔ In which there is a final goodbye and a promise made ⚔ 

Zelda

I ride like the winds through marshes and towns burnt to ash. The rain has finally stopped, and fire set anew as the wood dries: the smoke bellows and mixes with the clouds of malice still in the sky. The Great Plateau is in shambles. Guardians are littered outside, and the sacred grounds' stone walls crumble from blows taken to keep the Temple of Time safe.

It's funny; I think while riding to the Shrine, by the Temple. It all started here, all those years ago, when Link pulled the Master Sword at twelve. He was a child. We were both children, forced to grow up too fast. It was so unfair. It will end here, too. And then begin again when he wakes. Maybe he will be buried here after a long and happy life.

I jump from the horse at the Temple. I walk toward the mountain, but something catches my eye.

A silent princess.

I smile slightly at the single flower. I kneel, not worrying right now if they're extinct. I pick the flower and carry it with me to the Shrine.

When I get closer, I can see three horses and a wagon. They're still here. I break into a run.

"Impa!" I shout into the entrance.

"Princess-" Impa says from inside.

I run, jumping down the steps leading to the main entrance.

"Do you have the slate?" I ask, now breathless. I don't want to look at him. Not yet.

"It's in the terminal, milady," Robbie answers. He kneels by the stone bed. When I look at him, I see Link, too.

I walk toward them. Robbie turns back to Link and reaches for his hand. Purah, on the other side, reaches for his ears.

"Don't touch those!" I shout on instinct. Robbie and Purah pull back instantly.

"But- why, Princess?" Purah asks.

I bite my tongue. "Won't the Shrine do its job fine if he keeps his jewelry?" I ask.

"It would," Robbie says.

I sigh. "The earrings were his mother's. The ring is-" I stop, sigh. "From me. To maybe help him remember."

Robbie and Purah glance at Impa, who sighs. "If the Shrine will work, leave them. The boy needs something when he wakes."

"Yes, sister," Purah says. Robbie nods. They turn back to the body I still haven't fully seen. I'm dreading looking at him. Nobody notices the matching ring on my finger. I'm glad.

I turn to Impa again.

"His tunic? Do you think you can repair it?" I ask.

She nods. "Yes. And I'll keep it for him."

"And was he breathing when he got to you?"

"No. But we reasoned that if you ordered him to us, there was good reason for it."

I sigh, doubt crawling into my mind. Maybe the sword was wrong. Perhaps he really is gone.

"If I may, Princess," Purah says, standing. "Why did you send him to us? Why do you think he can be saved?"

"The Master Sword. It glowed after he died. It would only do that if he were still here, right? If he had died, there would be no reaction."

Purah ponders this for a moment. "Based on what we know about the sword, that makes sense."