I always wondered, how the text attached to the Yiga-Memory is in english, can somebody help me out?
I wondered about that in particular, because there are so many fictions out there with different takes why Zelda was alone when the Yiga chased her.
The German version is quite clear about that:
"After Zelda has refused that Link accompanied her to the research about the ruins, the Yiga-Clan attacked her. She fled, but was stalemated. In the very last moment, Link appeared and saved her."
So, it's canon that she sent him away to do her research and he disobeyed at least to some point again to keep her safe.
Zelda kicked up sand with every tumultuous step, gasping for breath and feeling as if her lungs would tire.
She panted every breath. Even a short, forced swallow made no difference, her dry throat not soothed in the slightest before her breaths became heavy again.
She took no care to her lightly fisted hands, her impropriety as she ran as fast as she could, shadows of palm trees flitting past her.
Zelda continued to run as she took a look behind her she knew she couldn’t afford, the sight of red making her turn her head back and run even faster.
The outside of her right foot suddenly rolled in the sand, curling in such a wonky way that the oddity was only outweighed by the subsequent and sudden pain. Zelda closed and opened her eyes as it happened, reacting with a deflation of her shoulders, but she readily ignored it. She was determined to survive this, to get back to Gerudo town, to any one of those warriors who would offer her aid.
She kept running with a slight limp, but it was no use, two Yiga warriors sliding in front of her and readying their vicious sickles.
Zelda inhaled at the sight, her breath shaky as she staggered back. She turned quickly around at the mere hope that they were alone, but she only found another red-clad mask-covered Yiga.
She fell backwards onto her hands, softening how hard she hit the sand as her knees bent in front of her. Zelda looked desperately between the two sides, in her green eyes a plea for mercy she couldn’t bring herself to voice.
They approached her and she felt her hope wither away, a single tear dropping upon her cheek as one of the Yiga loomed before her, readying his sickle to strike.
Everything her father said about her being a failure, everything she felt about being alone, it was all true. This world that would grow to hate her for her lack of sealing power, that was endlessly disappointed by her, had left her alone for dead.
She bowed her head and clamped her eyes shut as the Yiga moved his arm to strike forward, preparing herself for pain, for a death and assasination she couldn’t escape.
She heard the cool, slithering, metal graze of a weapon, yet no harm came to her.
Zelda looked up to see why, the movement of her head slow and cautious until she saw not tight, red fabric, but brown leather boots. Her eyes widened and, in her shock, a soft and sharp gasp parted her lips.
It was him, that boy, that knight, that one who was given everything, who pulled the sword that seals the darkness with ease while she still cried before statues upon statues of the goddess Hylia. It was that swordsman who was assigned as her knight attendant and yet seemed undeserving of everything he was given. It was that knight who kept his silence, who she assumed hated her for her incompetence and couldn’t even bring himself to utter a word of anything more than hate.
It was the knight with whom she acted the most improperly, her anger childish and the resentment she felt towards herself lashed out towards him.
It was Link.
He was protecting her, the self she knew deserved protection the least, and by his hand even more so. Yet Link stood there nonetheless, with the light of the sunset shimmering on his sword, scowling at his enemies, all because Zelda was in danger. With one movement of his sword and a flaming threat in his blue eyes, the two remaining Yiga assailants backed away in fear.
Zelda couldn’t stop staring at his determined expression, his courageous battle stance, his beastly blue eyes, his whole being, his whole life devoted to her safety. She felt a jolt in her heart as she watched the gentle breeze run through his dirty-blonde hair and studied his stance that absolutely radiated courage. Nothing would move him, would budge him from how he protected her.
The assailants had fled to the horizon, Link watching them until they no longer could be seen, hidden in cowardice by rampant desert winds. Link turned to Zelda as he lowered his sword.
He looked at her and it looked as if he were choosing his words carefully, the slight furrow in his brow ensuring Zelda that she must prepare for words of hatred, berating her for her defenselessness, for her carelessness, for her powerlessness.
But with a single blink, Zelda saw his eyes change. She had known them as neutral, having adopted the practice of endlessly searching them for any emotion and becoming frustrated when she found none, none to relate to, none to confide in. He was just so perfect that next to her, the failure, she had no choice but to hate him for the comparison the kingdom made. But in one single blink, Link’s eyes changed from a neutrality that burned--that to her, read like hatred--to something just a bit softer.
Zelda was completely flummoxed as she tried to read it, Link sheathing his sword and taking a slight pause before he knelt before her, meeting her eye-line.
“Are you okay?” Link asked, Zelda recognizing the emotion as concern. Link was concerned for her. These bright blue eyes weren’t filled with hate or contempt or anything of the sort. And yet, that is exactly what she had thrown towards him. Her guilt bubbled and rose.
Zelda nodded, figuring she needed to respond in some way, the first of many things to make up for her childishness.
“I’m so glad I was here in time,” Link said. He didn’t blame her at all.
Zelda took a deep breath. She could hardly believe she was actually talking to him, having a conversation with him.
“So am I,” Zelda said in reply, Link standing back up. He offered his hand.
Zelda’s hand was hesitant as she reached to take it. Their fingertips brushed and that jolt in her heart returned. Their palms met and his fingers, his secure clasp felt like the safest thing in the world.
Link obviously took not notice of her newfound revelations as he pulled her up to standing.
He was about to detach his hand when she crumbled at the weight upon her two feet, Link hurriedly catching her other arm to keep her up.
“Your Highness?” Link asked, searching the pain in her face before his gaze went down to her foot, floating around her other ankle.
“I think I hurt my foot,” she said. “When I was running.”
Her face winced again as she tried to put weight on it. Link felt the way she clamped his hand.
“Don’t try,” he insisted. “We’ll get back to Gerudo Town, don’t worry.”
Zelda nodded as Link looked at how far it was. The distance wasn’t too great, but it was nothing he would ever force her to walk in her condition.
“Your Highness,” he said, returning his gaze. “Is it alright if I carry you?”
Zelda gave quick nods in affirmation.
Link brought one arm around her upper back and another behind her knees. Before she knew it, Zelda felt Link sweep her off her feet and into his strong hold. She slid her arms loosely around his neck.
“I’ll leave you with the guards at the front entrance,” Link said as he walked holding her. “They’ll take care of you. It’s obvious you feel I’m not the right knight attendant for you. I’ll go ahead and inform the king. The Gerudo will protect you from the Yiga until the king finds someone better suited to your standards.”
“No,” Zelda said. Link looked at her with a very slight surprise. Zelda wondered if she was getting better at reading those calm waters of his or if he was getting better at expressing them. “I want you.”
Zelda watched his neutrality return as his glance shifted beyond her to Gerudo Town. She wondered if he heard her before he spoke again.
“There’s a way for me to get into Gerudo Town,” Link said. “Urbosa told me about it and it does work. If you would like me to stay with you--”
“I do,” Zelda interrupted.
Link said no more, but Zelda could feel him changing from walking a straight line to veering away, likely to avoid the main entrance.
She stayed in his arms in silence, eventually tipping her head against his chest and waiting until the rhythm of his steps subsided. Zelda’s head popped up as he placed her against the outside wall of Gerudo Town.
Zelda could tell they were at the very backside, Link bringing a single finger to his mouth. They may not be seen but they could very well be heard, the throne room very close. Urbosa may know of the secret way in, but her own attendants and warriors did not.
Zelda watched with her back against the stone wall as Link dug in the sand, unearthing delicate Gerudo vai attire, hued with blues and greens. Link brushed off lingering sand as Zelda figured it out, Zelda’s hand going to her mouth.
Link stood up with the folded clothes in his hand, seeing Zelda’s silent reaction, the way her green eyes danced with an encroaching laughter.
He slightly tipped his head to one side.
Link put down the clothes, pointing at her before placing his hands over his eyes, his hands returning to his sides once he felt his point was made.
Zelda bit her lip to stop herself from laughing as she covered her eyes with her hands and closed her eyes. She heard the rustling of fabric and surprised herself by wanting to sneak a peek.
Before long, she felt his foot tap hers, the non-injured one, of course, Zelda opening her eyes to see Link standing over her.
Only he was so separated from the stoic knight she saw just a few moments ago. He was dressed in light, Gerudo fabrics and in fact made quite the convincing vai to the naked eye. Zelda in particular found herself staring at the muscles exposed by the revealing garb, his arms, his abs…
She rid herself of that train of thought by remembering he was dressed in clothes meant for a woman. Zelda stifled a laugh as best she could.
Link shook his head as he picked her back up. Zelda inwardly questioned her composure as she felt her cheeks warm at how close she was against his skin, her arms draped around his bare and, admittedly strong, shoulders.
“It’s the only way in,” she heard Link whisper as they approached a smaller entrance, a Gerudo guard nodding as they entered the town.
“I get it,” she said back, now actively resisting leaning against his chest.
“Take me to Urbosa,” Zelda said. “She will know where we can stay, and fetch a doctor. Not to mention she is likely worried sick.”
Link paced the steps up to the throne room, Urbosa standing up immediately.
“What happened?” She insisted as she walked forward.
“Link saved me from a Yiga attack,” Zelda explained. “But I hurt my ankle beforehand trying to run.”
“Take her to my chambers upstairs,” Urbosa said, addressing Link. “I’ll fetch a doctor immediately.”
I wanted to believe that Tord was a good person. He always seemed to like me for some reason. Even when he came back, he centered on me. It made me feel special.
So when I learned he was just using us to get his robot and destroy our home... I was crushed. I was very upset. It might have been bad to let my anger out on Tord by making his own robot attack him, but I had to get it out somehow.
And now... now he may never come back. If he does, it'll probably be to carry out some revenge plot on us all. But a part of me likes to think he'll come back, apologize, and let us all become friends again.
We can only hope.
Zelda woke up slowly, her eyelids revealing the green of her eyes.
She stretched her arms out of mere habit, the sensation growing through her legs until a pain surged in her foot. Zelda whimpered at the reminder.
She sat up, seeing her foot propped up on a sand seal pillow with a small cloth bag of crushed ice pressed up against it. They weren’t melted, so they must have been put there recently. Perhaps the doctor was administering it off and on throughout the night to get the swelling down.
Zelda’s eyes immediately went to Link, remembering her promise to herself last night. To no surprise, Link stood exactly where he was when she fell asleep. Only now, as she looked around, her diary was closed and set aside on the table and the sun was rising, the golden light shining upon her.
“Link,” she said, bending the leg with the non-injured foot to sit as casually as she could.
He turned his head and then his body, walking towards her at the prompt and stopping in front of her. He stood so stoic, his face so neutral that Zelda resisted her words. She told herself there was no way around what she absolutely had to address.
“Uhm,” She said as she bowed her head and twiddled her fingers. “I don’t...actually need anything, I...I wanted to talk to you. In fact it would make it easier if you sat down.”
Zelda looked back up, seeing Link slowly sit on the edge of the bed. His blue eyes were patient and waiting. Zelda tried to swallow her fear.
“I must apologize,” she said. “For how I’ve treated you.”
Link shook his head.
“It’s my job to--”
Zelda shook her head, stopping his words.
“My royalty, my...authority…” she insisted. “It does not excuse my immaturity, it can’t. Your job is to protect me, not tolerate my infantile behavior. I know we are close to the same age. It’s time I started acting like it.”
Her eyes locked with Link’s, Zelda studying the patience in them before she continued.
“The reason, of course,” she explained with a new breath. “Doesn’t excuse everything that has transpired between us. I don’t know how you seem to...handle it...so well, but...it’s the pressure of the calamity.”
“I’ve been...frustrated,” she continued. Link’s lips had parted, but he bit his lip to stop himself from interrupting. “...about my lack of sealing powers. I hated myself for it and hated you for how easy fulfilling your own destiny was, for pulling the sword. I thought you didn’t deserve it. In my eyes, you had done so little in comparison to me that it made no sense. I justified it by figuring it was my fault. I thought you hated me for being such a failure when it came to my own part to play...I can’t believe it took me until yesterday to see that you didn’t, at least not to the extent that I made it out to be.”
“Your Highness,” Link said. “I don’t hate you at all. I never did.”
Zelda’s expression melted with an exhale at his sincerity.
“You really don’t, do you?” She asked rhetorically. “All this time...Link, I’m so sorry for continuously lashing out at you, for being cold towards you, shutting you out when I shouldn’t have, and for silencing you because of that. I’m sorry for hating you, for manufacturing that because it was easy to believe, and for expecting such a vile emotion from you who has only shown the opposite. You’ve proven me wrong and I’ve found that...I can’t possibly hate you.”
Link looked down, Zelda eyeing the way he seemed to search for his words, hesitate upon them. She saw it in his blue eyes.
“You aren’t the reason I’m not talkative, Your Highness,” Link said, Zelda making a mental note to get around to asking him why. “Don’t fault yourself for that. And I...I accept your apologies. Although they are unnecessary.”
Zelda inhaled to object.
“I understood your behavior,” Link continued. “And cared more for your distress than my pride. I would have protected you no matter how you treated me.”
Zelda nodded.
“Because it’s your job,” she said.
Of course that was it. He didn’t hate her because the job protecting her paid well, gave him a good, high-ranking station, and brought attention to his abilities.
“Yes,” Link said. “It is my job. But that doesn’t mean it can’t align with the fact that I care about you. I care about my obligation to the king, the oaths I made. I care about my family because that is where the rupees go, but I also care about you because...because you might be the only person who understands.”
“What do you mean?” Zelda asked.
Link took an inhale, closing his eyes before he opened them slowly.
Fear. She saw fear. The first emotion of his that was clear as day and it was fear.
“You’re afraid,” she said, her voice a whisper. “Of Calamity Ganon…”
Link averted his telling gaze.
“I think I understand,” Zelda said, studying him. She started to shake her head. “I think...I’ve misjudged you...I feel I don’t know you at all and yet...I think I already do. The calamity...the pressure, you feel it as I do, you...feel alone in the world.”
“Unless…” she ascertained. “Unless you’re with...me…”
Zelda pondered her words. Perhaps he wasn’t perfect, perhaps the stoicism was a facade. Even in this moment he started to open up when it was just them. He was being vulnerable with her.
She was the only other person meant to face Calamity Ganon, who had the eyes of the kingdom fixed upon them, how could she not see it before? He needed her.
Perhaps they were more alike than she thought. Perhaps they could get along. Perhaps she could ask him about why he stays silent, and everything else she has wondered about him. Perhaps she could confide in him, them slowly opening up to each other past the formalities of princess and knight.
Link placed Zelda down gently on the bed, Zelda wincing as she sat up against the pillows, situating herself for some comfort.
“Does it still hurt?” Link asked.
“Yes,” Zelda said in reply.
Link bowed his head, Zelda eyeing the guilt she saw. It was the guilt she harbored. She wondered what in Hyrule it was doing with him.
“I apologize, Your Highness,” he said where he stood. Zelda’s brow furrowed “If I had come sooner, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
She just stared in disbelief, coaxing herself to voice her own apology and tell him how ridiculous his was. She was the one who continuously pushed him away, who ran off alone and became a target for the Yiga. Him apologizing for her foolishness? For her childishness? It wasn’t right.
But he cleared his throat before she could say a word.
“I will stand guard, Your Highness,” he said. “No need to worry any longer.”
He walked off, Zelda following him with her eyes until he stopped at the open entrance to Urbosa’s chamber, his back facing away from her and his stance still as a statue.
For the first time, Zelda felt pulled to him. She inhaled to prompt his return so she could voice her apologies, but a Gerudo doctor arrived with Urbosa, Zelda deciding upon postponing the very necessary conversation with her knight attendant.
“Hello, Princess,” the Gerudo said. “Urbosa tells me you’ve sustained an injury.”
She sat down near her feet, Zelda feeling Urbosa sit down next to her on the bed.
“My right foot,” Zelda said as the doctor reached for the foot. “It twisted weird while I was runni...ah!”
“That hurts?” the doctor asked. Zelda nodded quickly.
“I need to take off your boot to check for swelling,” she explained. “It will hurt. Urbosa, take her hand.”
The chief did so. Zelda let out a small whimper as her boot was taken off, squeezing Urbosa’s hand tight, but the pain decreased after the doctor let it gently rest on the bed. She compared Zelda’s feet after taking off the other boot as well.
“It’s definitely swollen,” she said as she inspected them. “I can give you a elixir for the pain but if there is a bone that is broken or bruised, the only thing we can really do to mend it is to let it mend on its own. That means icing it, bracing it, and moving it as little as possible.”
Zelda nodded.
“I understand.”
“I’ll go borrow some ice from the bar,” the doctor said as she stood up and handed Zelda a bottle of dark purple liquid. “Half of this is one dose. You will feel drowsy.”
Zelda sipped it slowly, checking to make sure she didn’t drink too much every few sips or so. Not to mention, the sour taste making it hard to drink anyway. She didn’t want to think of what bug or lizard or monster part was in it.
“That looks like about half,” Zelda said as she studied it, placing it on a nearby table.
She felt Urbosa tuck a wayward strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
“I’m so glad you are okay, little bird,” Urbosa said with a motherly smile. “I wouldn’t want you joining your dear mother too soon.”
“As much as I miss her,” Zelda said. “I wouldn’t want that either. I’m glad Link was there to save me.”
Urbosa was surprised. Not only did she speak his name and not ‘the knight’ with great contempt, but she spoke of him with such civility, almost a gratefulness. Urbosa smiled at the thought. Perhaps Zelda was starting to realize how much she needed a friend in Link.
“Here,” Urbosa said, sliding off her bed and rummaging through Zelda’s things.
She offered Zelda her diary.
“In case you feel like documenting some of this.”
“Thank you,” Zelda said as she took it.
“Of course,” Urbosa said. “I have some business to attend to. Are you going to be okay here?”
Zelda looked to Link’s silhouette.
“Yes,” Zelda replied. “Yes, I think I will.”
Urbosa leaned in and gave Zelda a kiss on her forehead.
“Get some rest,” she said before departing.
Zelda looked at Link as she opened her diary, studying him with fluctuating green eyes.
Shifting to lay on her side, she placed the diary in front of her, grabbing an ink-dipped feather and looking upon the blank page.
‘I am unsure how to put today’s events into words,’ she wrote. ‘Words so often evade me lately, and now more than ever.’
Zelda blinked as she thought upon the memory, Link standing before her, the perfect picture of a hero. It should have made her blood boil, and yet it didn’t. Job or not, he protected her, came to her side in the moment she thought she was lost and alone.
‘He saved me,’ Zelda wrote. ‘Without a thought for his own life, he protected me from the ruthless blades of the Yiga Clan. Though I’ve been cold to him all this time, taking my selfish and childish anger out on him at every turn, he was still there for me. I won’t ever forget that. Tonight--”
A wave of fatigue ebbed upon her, her eyes blinking heavy. She scratched out that last word with a single line.
‘Tomorrow,’ she wrote in front of it. ‘I shall apologize for all that has transpired between us. And then…”
She paused.
Zelda had heard him talk today, full, coherent sentences. It was possible. The rumors in the castle that he was physically mute were clearly not true. She wondered at his prior silence. She used to think it was because of her failure to access the sealing power, now she feared it was because of her failure to treat him properly. She had no idea that it wasn’t her fault at all.
‘Then I will try talking to him,’ she wrote. ‘To Link. It’s worth a shot.’
Her head dropped down onto her arm as she read over what she wrote, crossing a redundant ‘then’ that looked completely foolish.
Zelda told herself she would close her eyes for just a second before she fell asleep.
