Lighthouse | A Breath of the Wild ZeLink Modern AU

Chapter 35 : Safe and sound

TW : violence, abusive language. If you're easily disturbed, just read the first 'Link's POV'.

Link's POV.

Breathe in... Breathe out... Breathe in... Breathe out...

The bus was driving for nearly one hour.

Behind me, all the fighters were cheering themselves up, singing many songs and joking about how we were going to beat the TU's atheletes' asses. The boys were swaggering and the girls laughing at them, telling them how stupid they looked. But I assumed some of them were flirting, playing cat and mouse.

I, however, didn't took part of this little game. I'd rather listen to my meditative playlist, focusing on the many moves I'll have to make, anticipating their next hits, calming my thoughts. I was fucking stressed out, even if I tried to hide it.

On the outside, I was just sitting on my seat, eyes closed and calmly breathing. But on the inside, there was a hurricane.

Of course, fighting against TU made me nervous, knowing how violent they can be, and how it went last year.

I remembered, I was in the locker room, with the team celebrating our victory, when some TU students – led by Ganondorf – came in. All the boys stood up as soon as they saw our visitors but Ganondorf told his team to stay still. He wanted only one thing : me. Because I'd beaten him, and Ganondorf never lost.

I stayed on my bench, not even looking at him as he started to speak, threating me to be honest. Seeing how useless it was, he grabbed my collar and stood me up, and started to punch my face. Of course, I pushed him against the lockers behind him and hit him in the stomach and chest many times. Three ribs broken and a pneumothorax for him, nothing for me. But we both had to go to a disciplinary hearing. He hated me since that day.

And of course, I was thinking about her, hoping she heard me and didn't come here. I didn't want her to get hurt more than she already was.

Toruma traumatized her, abused her and now was stuck in her thoughts, in her nightmares. He was the bogeyman hidden under her bed, the shadow swallowing all of her pure light, a parasite devouring her on the inside. A monster.

I barely talked to her this week, and I felt guilty about that. I didn't have much time, between my many trainings, my lectures and my lack of sleep, and I admitted, my answers were a bit cold. But I couldn't forget her screams, her cries and how terrified she was the last night we spent together. Just because I mentioned him. And not even his name.

I'm such a cunt. I shouldn't have said it. Not like that, at least. And I should have been there for her this week and not only abandoned her the way I did.

And now, I was the one who couldn't sleep, always wondering how she was.

Sometimes, I wanted to send her a little text, just to wish her a good night, saying I'll always be here for her, and she could call me whenever she wanted to. But I didn't do it, mostly because I didn't want to disturb her sleep. If she didn't send me anything, so everything was okay, right ?

You're stupid. Don't you remember how she acted right after the attack ? She was terrorized and she didn't call you because she cared about your sleep. You did the same thing for her this week, but who knows, maybe she was crying all night long. And you failed in your protection.

We were next to Hyrule's frontier when my phone vibrated in my pocket. Seeing her nickname on my screen – Silent Princess – made me feel so much better. She made me feel better. She was the one I always needed.