Neighboring Lands

She Risked Everything, But For What?

Wild gazes at the pedestal before him, water standing beneath short stairs, his mind trying to piece together what occurred there; smoldering Guardian lay in the foreground as Time and Four put their swords away. His heart and head pound as his eyes slam shut, memories flooding into his mind.

Zelda stands before his kneeling form, his fellow champions speaking quietly amongst themselves. Zelda seems upset, but about what he is not too sure at the moment. Her tone is that of annoyance, if not slightly apathetic.

With a gasp, he comes back to his current time.

Although this memory did not reveal much of his past, he does feel as if he knows himself a little better.

"Was it a good memory?" Four questions.

Wild shrugs, "I think this was at the beginning of my time as Zelda's knight. The Champions were there, as well as her as I become an official champion...I," Wild chuckles; "don't think Zelda liked me too much in the beginning," he laughs.

Four clicks his tongue, "that sucks." As Wild goes to move, something in the distance calls for him, begging him to adventure further into the ruins of castle town; more specifically, a creator in the ground far off in the distance.

"I feel like I need to go further," Wild expresses as he takes a few steps further.

"Does something seem familiar?" Four questions, following after him, as do the others.

"I...I think so," Wild moves a little faster; "something about this location is calling to me." As they approach the area, a nagging feeling of dread flows through Wild; and finally, as he stands before the crater, his eyes snap shut as a memory forces its way through him.

Wild's heart is pounding, a wrist gripped firmly in his, his sword in the other. He can hear the queen running after him and Zelda. The air is thick with smoke and the stench of death, his mind is running wild with outcomes and actions to keep the two women alive; to save Hyrule. He is so absorbed in his own thoughts it takes him a few seconds to realize the Queen has stopped moving as she calls out to them, the Guardians coming closer as her terrified voice fills the air.

"We all won't make it. I'll stay and distract them, please get to safety you two!"

As I look back at her, coming to a stop himself, he watches as she sidesteps a Guardians attack. The deceased woman near her was the one hit, causing visceral and dirt to rain down on her, caking her from head to toe.

"No, we can't leave you! Hurry before they catch up!" Zelda pleads, reaching out for her; but she turns her back to us, raising her trembling hands to the air as if to cast a spell; pupils were blown wide with fear.

"Link," I can hear the tears in her voice, her whole body shaking violently; "keep her safe for me....I'll come look for you once this is taken care of. I can't abandon my friends." Her voice is solemn with the promise of never seeing us again, despite her words. Her body goes stiff, ready to react to any attack as the beeping starts up once more, a red light shining in the center of her chest.

I drag Zelda away as she screams for (y/n) to come with us, begging her to stop throwing her life away. That she can't lose another person she cares about; she can't lose the hope of at least one more friend surviving the night.

"Don't look back Princess, keep your eyes forward," My voice sounds strange to my ears; strained with buried emotions.

But as I run, dragging the sobbing Princess away, I know why she has done this. (Y/n) is not needed to seal away the calamity; her being alive while Zelda or I perish would mean the death of Hyrule and the lands beyond. It would mean her own kingdom would die with us. She had a duty to her people and to those in Hyrule when she accepted the role of a champion; we all knew it could result in her death.

Knowing this, why is my heart so heavy? She is fulfilling a role she was needed for, just as I and Zelda are; yet why do I wish she would come with us? To fight alongside us?

Images of her flash through my mind like the crashing waves of an ocean. Her smiling face as she explored Hyrule, being ecstatic by mundane tasks. The freedom in her eyes when she changed out of her Royal garb...the way she seems to lighten our moods with a joke; a flirty comment, or sincerity that was too genuine to be conceived as a lie. How she always was willing to explore a new food with me, or aid the Princess with her strange research. The way she lit up when she received a job in the Royal Library, boasting about the measly pocket change she earned as her wage. How she always insisted on paying when we would meet for food, not taking no for an answer.

She wormed her way in, took root in my life, and made me hope for a future where I could live easily; where Zelda could be happy with her science. Mipha and Sidon would never need to know the ravages of war. My sister and father could rest easy and live a prosperous life.

My eyes burn, is it the smoke?

The ground rumbles as the Guardian strikes her down, Zelda nearly tripping over her own feet as we retreat to find safety.

"Don't go too far," Zelda cries, "if you do...it'll be too hard for her to find us. And what if she needs medical help? We can't force her to run far while injured."

Swallowing a lump in my throat I shake my head, "there is no need for that." Zelda hiccups as we run. How I wish to go on one of our non-date dates at least one more time; to immerse myself in her joy as she pays the bill. I could even offer to take her on a walk around town, buy her something nice to show my appreciation for all she has done for me; to show her how much I really care for her. But it is too late for that, Zelda and I both know that as a Guardian quickly approaches us from behind.

A swing from my sword takes it out easily as we head for tree coverage. If only I had done that before, maybe she would still be here, despite how many Guardians came for us. If only I was stronger, faster, and better than I am now. Some Hero I turned out to be, huh?

But the Princess still needs me, I need to push on and finish our mission; maybe then I can grieve for the lives lost because of my inability to save them...to save her.

Gasping Wild's eyes slam open as he doubles over; a tsunami of emotions slamming in and out of him in an instant. Time is next to him in a heartbeat, a comforting hand patting his back as Wild shakes and recoils at the memory.

"I can see this one was a bad one, we will not press you for the details;" Time rubs comforting circles into his back. "Let us take a rest nearby."

"No," Wild stands, taking in a shaky breath. "We need to keep moving," he points a finger to the east. "After Zelda and I...left (y/n), we headed in that direction. It's on the way to Hateno, and I need to know what happened after...after we left her to what we assumed would be her death."

Warrior puts a hand on Wild's head, ruffling his hair; "let me guess," his voice is soft and comforting, "her idea?" When Wild nods, Warrior chuckles, "yeah, that tracks. She's always willing to do that sort of stuff for her friends, and kingdom."

"She's an idiot," Four sighs.

"To be fair," Time defends, "we all do the same thing."

"Yeah but, we can back our crazed ideals;" Four scoffs.

"So can she," Time looks in the direction Wild pointed to. "Let us hurry so we can return to Wind; after all, she is like his mother...and she is missing at the moment."

"You're right," Wild shakes off the lingering sorrow from his memory; "and she is waiting for us to greet her from her slumber, We can't keep disappointing her." Wild steadies himself as he thinks, 'and I need to let her know I remembered so much about her...she will be happy to know I remember, but more so that I remembered more of my past.'

"See, If you ask her, she'll say I never disappoint," Warrior cockily replies.

"Not true, you would say that and she would say," Four raises his voice a few octaves to mock me. " You're a disappointment in bed. And then we would all laugh at you."

Warrior scoffs as they continue their journey, the others chuckling at the statement; "shut up."