Zelink week is finally here!! So excited for the flood of content for these two haha <3
All my zelink week writing will also be on ao3 Here (finally learned how to embed links hahs) and there's also soooo many amazing authors on the 'Zelink week 2022' collection!
Thanks @zelinkweekofficial for hosting <3
Really short oot snippet
One Last Look~
“Now go home, Link- regain your lost time.”
Link watched solemnly as Zelda’s hands closed around the blue ocarina, his body aching from his long fight and mind heavy with her words.
“Home,” she murmured, a sad smile crossing her features as their eyes met, “where you are supposed to be… the way you are supposed to be.”
Zelda took a deep breath before bringing the ocarina to her lips. She began to play a familiar and haunting melody, each note alive with power. It wasn’t long before Link could feel the energy building around him like a veil of blue smoke, growing with each note until the world around him began to fade from view.
The song drew to a close and Link felt himself grow light- the small breeze threatening to blow him away. He felt panic seize every muscle as he fought against the force. It couldn’t end like this- not after everything he’d done to fight for a moment of peace.
He struggled against the force holding him in place, reaching out a desperate hand for the woman he knew stood only a short distance away.
“Please, no,” he managed to choke out, his fingers reaching the cool metal of her pauldron, “please don’t send me away,” he begged.
The mist cleared and he was able to see her face once more; so elegant, even as a silver tear slipped down her cheek. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and brush it away, to collapse in her arms where he knew he would be safe.
“This is my home,” he whispered, voice weak, “Zelda, you are my home,”
She didn’t resist as his hand wrapped gently around her arm, nor when he drew her closer, arms pulling her into an embrace. Link silently vowed to never let go. He let himself relax in her arms, finally feeling a sense of peace after so many months.
“You have to go,” she whispered in his ear, warm breath tickling his neck, “you have to return to your proper time.”
“Why?” Link tightened his arms around her waist, refusing to believe her.
“Because, that is how it has to be, Link.”
Her words were so warm and full of love, yet Link felt as if his world had been shattered.
“I can’t,” he breathed, “I can’t leave you behind.”
Zelda pulled away at this, eyes intent as she gently cupped his face, “I will still be with you,” she murmured, gently caressing his cheek, “I will still be there, you need only find me.”
She smiled sincerely, her eyes wet but no tears fell. She was at peace with what had to happen. Link tried for her sake to come to terms with what he knew he had to do. These were his last few moments here with her, and he wouldn’t spend it any other way. He took one long last look, taking care to remember every detail of her face, the feeling of her warm skin against his, and even the pain that tore at his heart. He cherished every feeling, determined to remember every second they shared to his dying breath, no matter the agony it caused him.
“I will miss you dearly,” she leaned in and placed her soft lips against his forehead, fingers running one last time through his hair, “promise me you will never give up. You will always continue to live and fight for what you believe.”
Link couldn’t muster words so he simply nodded, leaning into her touch. He wanted it to last forever but her fingers left his face. She was still smiling, small and sad as she pushed him gently back towards the swirling blue light that would return him to his time.
“Go,” she whispered, her hands clasped around his.
“I’ll find you,” Link vowed, his throat threatening to close entirely as it became choked with emotion, “I promise.”
He stepped back slowly, hanging onto her for as long as he could. Once he returned to his rightful time would she even remember him? Would he be stuck, alone? He tried to shut away those thoughts. He had to hold onto hope. He would find Zelda again and he would help her to remember their time together. There had to be a way.
Zelda nodded slowly, “I know you will. I promise we’ll be together again one day,” she had to pause when she stumbled over her next words, only to shake her head sadly when the right ones never came.
Link wasn’t ready for her to let go of his hand, or for the energy to quickly enveloped him once more. He couldn’t stop the agonizing pain in his chest as he saw one last glimpse of her before his vision was filled with blue. It was that one last look that would stay engraved in his mind like a permanent etching done by a master in stone. It was that one last moment he saw those azure eyes that kindled his resolve to find her once more. To find his Zelda.