You were woken up the next morning by Link as he excitedly shook your arm back and forth. You groaned and rolled away from him, not wanting to wake up just yet, and certainly not in this manner. He called your name and you groaned in response, resolutely drawing the covers up over your ears. You heard him sigh. "(Y/n)," he called again. "We gotta hurry and get going to the labyrinth."

At this you opened your eyes slowly, allowing the early morning light in. Now you realized why you were so reluctant to get up – it was far too early for you, even more so for Link. What was he doing up so early?

The light of dawn barely passed through the leaves of the trees you found yourselves under. If not for the cliff you were situated just yards from, you wouldn't have even seen the pale pink streaks just beginning to appear on the horizon, indicating that the sun had yet to rise.

"Link," you said sleepily, rolling over to look at him. He was crouched down next to you, a warm smile on his face. At the call of his name he tilted his head cutely, shifting his bangs slightly. "Why are you up so early?"

"I just didn't sleep well," he said with a shrug. "I'm hoping if we get a lot done today, I'll sleep better tonight."

"But tonight is so far from now," you whined. You sat up and rubbed your eyes with a frown, earning a small laugh from Link.

"I already prepared breakfast," he said, gesturing behind him, "and everything except for your bedding is packed up."

You smiled sleepily. "Look at you," you said with a slightly patronizing tilt to your voice, "being all productive. And you did it quietly, no less."

Link rolled his eyes as he held out a hand to you. "I'm productive a lot, actually, you just refuse to acknowledge it." You smiled and took his hand, allowing him to help you to your feet as he continued rambling on about how so often you would neglect to see just how hardworking he was, though you knew that he was joking, and you knew he knew that you were as well. When you were both standing, you tugged on his hand to quickly bring him closer to you for a quick kiss on the cheek. His rambling ceased and was replaced by embarrassed babbling as blush rushed to his cheeks, rendering him completely flustered.

You patted him on the cheek patronizingly and crouched back down to fold up your bedding. He assisted you, and burning in his cheeks refusing to go away. You glanced up at him but he resolutely avoided your gaze and you laughed. "Come on, Link, you know you love my kisses."

He met your eyes briefly before dropping them down again as he placed his pillow on top of your blanket, already folded neatly. "That's the problem," he grumbled. "Now you have a way to win everything."

"You act like I don't win everything anyway," you said, your smile growing somehow. Link picked up the bedding, cradling it to his chest. He went to stand but you put a hand on his shoulder, gently pulling him back down to his knees. You leaned across to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek again, the same one, but closer to his lips. "Thank you for the help," you said, stifling your laughter as his cheeks looked about ready to physically burn him.

---

The labyrinth stood imposingly before you, and ancient power seemed to flow through its walls like a breeze through tree branches. It had been a tiring trek to even reach the entrance. What horrors awaited you inside?

Link didn't seem to hesitate. He took a few quite steps forward, eyes searching for something, though you didn't know what it was. He glanced back at you and gestured for you to follow. You did so silently, sticking close to his side and keeping one hand on the hilt of your broadsword. There were already branches of the maze to the left and right, but there was also a broad corridor leading straight forward.

Link continued along the straight path and you took the chance to look around. The walls stood higher than you could hope to climb (the walls being too smooth to even consider it), and lining the walls were the same odd swirling patterns that you had come to associate with the Link's Sheikah slate and the ancient gear and weapons. The sky was far above you, and what fragments you could see between the towering walls showed that heavy clouds had rolled in, and you let out a quiet breath. Hopefully it wouldn't start raining while you were in here.

Suddenly, the corridor opened up and you and Link found yourselves standing in a large, courtyard-like area. Your mouth hung open as you took in the sights – tall pillars stood tall against the sky, four of them, and you could see several other paths to take branching out from the courtyard.

Link didn't seem as impressed. No, he was in his quiet hero mode, which you had seen only when Link prepared to go down into a Shrine or prepped himself to face a Divine Beast. His blue eyes would narrow as he concentrated, and he seemed to be able to notice every single detail - even the ones you didn't, and wouldn't even after he'd even pointed it out to you – and his jaw would set, steeling his determination.

Link was the perfect definition of a hero. When determined like this, nothing would stop him. Whether he was facing a Guardian, a Lynel, or just heading down into one of numerous Shrines, you would get to see this side of him: the side that he had been trained to show, the one that he discarded when he was with you, the only one that Zelda and the other Champions had known before they fell.

When faced with a challenge, this silent, determined, tactical hero came out. He would show no fear, and no mercy towards Ganon's minions. And you knew he could sense something of great power here, though you couldn't even hope to guess what it was. All you knew was that it had to be guarding something, whatever it was.

Link took a step forward and held his right arm – the one closer to you – out, to keep you from advancing. His left hand rose towards his back, towards the Master Sword. You looked past his movements and concentrated on the sounds of shuffling and metallic tapping that seemed to be growing closer, just on the other side of the pillar just to your left.

One mechanical leg appeared from behind the pillar and it wasn't even a full second later when the rest of the Guardian came into view. In the span of that time, though, Link had sprung into action, getting out a metal shield and running towards it. When Link was in its sights, the Guardian seemed to perk up and prepare for battle. It scuttled towards him, already preparing a laser. A red streak of light met Link's chest and began tracking him as he grew ever closer to the Guardian.

Getting over your initial fear, you sprang into action after him, sticking your arm through your shield and holding it close to your chest as you ran. Link suddenly stopped running, just as the Guardian shot off its laser, and you seemed to watch in slow motion as Link's eyes narrow, his knees bend in anticipation of the shock, and raise his shield. The laser, a bright glare of light that blinded you momentarily, took no time at all to reach Link.

But he was ready.

Link, at just the moment of impact, deflected the laser and sent the beam jetting towards the wall. The impact was enough to crack the wall and send pieces everywhere. The Guardian readied another laser, but didn't get to charge it much before Link was underneath it, hacking away at its lower mechanisms. And that was your chance. The Guardian was trying to get at Link, but Link had jumped up and held fast to its wiring as he continued cutting at what he could.

Summoning your courage, you ran towards the Guardian as it stupidly walked in a circle, head spinning this way and that, trying to somehow reach Link. When it was looking away, you jumped up onto its body and leapt up onto its head. Noticing another threat, the Guardian shot off lasers as fast as it could, sending beams of blue light hurtling into the far walls of the labyrinth. You could almost feel the surges of power as the Guardian seemed to panic. This machine was ancient and intelligent, and downright terrifying with its size and capabilities, but it could not – and would not – best Link, especially not with your help.

You crouched down and grasped the edge of the Guardian's head, looking down into its blue eye lit from the inside. You could hear Link continue to hack away from underneath as you grabbed a spear and stabbed through the Guardian's eye. The glass shattered as you forced the spear tip into the inner workings of its head. Sparks flew past your hands and the Guardian stopped moving. It teetered this way and that, and with a shudder, it began to fall over. You leapt off of its head and Link rolled out from underneath it.

The Guardian fell, lifeless, and you wiped your forehead. It wasn't as if you had done a whole lot of work; you had forgotten just how terrifying the machines actually were. Of all of the enemies you had faced while traveling Hyrule, both with Link and without, Guardians were the ones you dreaded the most, even more so than Lynels. Since your first encounter, you had realized that the Guardians made Lynels seem tame. Even Hinoxes were just large, angry toddlers when you thought about it.

Some enemies learned, but they were animals; creatures that dealt with fatigue and fear just as you did. Some monsters, when nearing the end of their lives, would run for their lives. Guardians, however, never would. They were programmed to fight, to kill, and they didn't feel fear, or fatigue, or mercy. Nor could they feel compassion. They were machines.

That's what made them so scary to fight. There was nothing holding them back. No morality would keep them from killing you without mercy, or any unlucky passerby.

That was where your sudden courage had come from.

Link made it his duty to destroy the Guardians now that they could no longer be controlled, but he couldn't do it alone. If your brother ever wandered too far towards Hyrule Castle, he'd be a goner. He had no combat skills; he could only hope to run away and hide out if one caught sight of him. You couldn't stand to let that happen to him, or to any other traveler.

The sooner Calamity Ganon was taken care of, the better.

Link pried some of the still-intact machinery from the Guardian's underside and stuffed it into his small pack that was already overflowing. Rolling your eyes, you walked up to him and took the parts out of his pack, putting them into your own, where there was at least enough room for them. He smiled at you gratefully and as you zipped up the bag, he grasped one arm of yours, calling your attention to him.

"I'm proud of you," he said gently.

You tilted your head slightly. "For what?"

"You've never charged a Guardian like that before," he said. His smile grew. "You're getting braver around them."

You let a small smile spread across your lips as you leaned into his hand that cupped your cheek. His hand was warm and you could feel the grooves and bumps of his glove. "I'm still terrified of them," you admitted, "but I promised to help you. I couldn't just let you get all of the glory for that kill."

Link laughed and pressed a kiss to your forehead. "Soon you'll be irrationally brave, courageous to a fault, just like me."

"That's a scary thought," you laughed.

---

"Jeez, (Y/n), I thought you were good at puzzles," Link whined.

You looked back at him with a stern look and he smiled boyishly. "I am good at puzzles," you assured him. "The most reliable way to get through a maze is to choose one side of the wall to stick to, and follow it." You ran your hand along the left wall, which you chose to follow. "It's a labyrinth, Link. You can't expect it to be that easy."

"But I'm bored," he continued.

"We're too far in, now," you said with a shake of your head. "We're close to something, I can feel it."

You were right, but what you thought you were close to – perhaps the end of the labyrinth, where treasure and a Shrine awaited – wasn't actually what you found. Instead, you rounded a corner and came face to face with a Lizalfos. The bipedal creature made its odd squeaking noise and leapt away from you, evidently surprised to actually find something on its seemingly endless patrol of the maze. You jumped into action, throwing a spear through its eye, acting on instinct alone.

The monster died instantly with a pathetic grunt. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. You couldn't lie to yourself, it had surprised you. The entire labyrinth had been completely silent, and though you had seen a few Chus in previous corridors (which were very quiet as they oozed their ways around), you figured you would have heard a Lizalfos, which really weren't that stealthy despite their best efforts.

You took another deep breath and felt your heart rate drop back down into a normal pace. Link patted your back patronizingly and you looked at him pointedly. "You were right, (Y/n)," Link said as you picked up the spear from the ground and inspected the tip. "You got very close to that Lizalfos."

You sent him a playful glare and smacked the side of his leg with the broad side of the spear tip.

---

Boredom soon began settling into your system as well, but you managed to refrain from complaining about it, unlike Link. He had continued to pester you, and even proposed the idea of just using Revali's Gale on himself to cheat the maze by looking at it from above and mapping out a path. Though you were tempted to let him, you decided against it; you knew he'd regret cheating later, even if he found the idea fun now.

So now he walked, gazing longingly at the sky, shoulders drooped and a pout on his face. You looked back at him and gave him a small smile. "This area is totally new. I'm sure we're close to the end."

You weren't.

Instead, after turning a corner, you found yourself oddly enough somehow back in the same courtyard you had fought the Guardian in. "No," you said in disbelief. "This has to be a different courtyard, it can't possibly be-"

"We're never getting through this maze!" Link cried, falling to his knees. You fell to your knees next to him, defeated mentally.

"I can't believe this," you said. "It felt like we were walking for hours. It all felt new. How big is this labyrinth?"

Link took out the Sheikah Slate and looked at the map. His location, marked by a small, glowing circle of yellow color was clear against the dim background of the map, and you realized that you could actually see the paths of the maze. Gasping, you took it from Link's hands and leapt to your feet. He looked up at you confusedly.

"Why the sudden excitement?" He asked. "It's a big maze. It isn't that exciting."

Ignoring him, you took a few steps down into the corridor you had just come from. The dot didn't move, and you pulled Link to his feet, realizing it was tracking him, not the Slate. The dot moved, and you grinned. You led him down a nearby hall, and the circle followed faithfully after. The map was perfectly laid out so that you could figure out how to get to the end.

It wasn't cheating. It was merely using your resources.

"Link," you said, grinning at him, "we can do this!"

You handed him the Slate back and he looked down at it. You watched as realization made its way onto his face, excitement growing in his features. His eyes met yours. He grabbed your hand and began running, staring down at the Slate as he did.

---

There was a gate.

You groaned in frustration.

Link groaned in frustration.

The Labyrinth had had a final trick up its sleeve in completely fencing off the Shrine. It was close, tantalizingly so. It was right there, just yards away. Link pressed himself against the vertical bars, trying to somehow squeeze through them. "Just let me through," Link whined, sounding utterly defeated. "Please!"

You closed your eyes and dropped your head into your hands. "Dear Hylia," you muttered. "Please just let us finish this damn thing."

Begrudgingly, lifted your head and looked through the bars. There was a way in, a clear one; there was a drop-down point on the other side of the Shrine, looking like it came from some corridor up above. You narrowed your eyes at it, and glanced down at the Slate that Link had pressed into your hands when he saw the gate initially and fell into a pit of despair. It wasn't on the map.

It was too good to be true, but still, it couldn't be far, could it?

You grabbed Link's hand, pulling him away from the bars. "We have to get up there," you said, pointing with your free hand. "A way up has to be close by. I just know it."

Sure enough, it was. Link had spotted it, actually. You had been turning left, but he looked to the right. He had seen a ladder at the end of the corridor, and had practically dragged you to it. The two of you had rushed up the ladder, him first, in a mad dash. The end was so close...

Link rushed into the Shrine, and it seemed as if he came back out in record time, a large grin on his face. "I got a lot of treasures," he said when he returned to your side. "I'll show you later."

"You'll have plenty of time to show me on our way out of here," you said with a shrug.

"Actually," he said, dragging the word out in a way that made you nervous as a mischievous smile spread across his lips, "I don't think we'll have to walk out of here." At your confused look, he elaborated. "I haven't told you this, but I can travel from Shrine to Shrine in mere seconds, regardless of how far away they are."

"What?"

"If I've been to a Shrine, it gets marked on my map. And if it gets marked, I can travel to it instantly from wherever I am. I did it a lot before I made to Hateno and met you. I realized by then that it took the fun out of adventuring."

"That's amazing," you said with a smile. "How does it work?"

"It's all ancient science, or magic, or perhaps both," he said, shrugging. "It works like a charm on me. It should work on you, too."

Suddenly, you grew nervous. "But what if it doesn't?"

"Then I'll be a hero and save you... somehow." You were still skeptical. "You trust me, don't you?"

You frowned. "Of course I do."

"Well, then hold on tight."

Your heart began to beat quickly out of nervousness and anticipation for what was to happen. As you wrapped your arms around his waist, clinging to his side, you rationalized with yourself. Ancient Sheikah technology worked surprisingly well for its age; the Shrines were still operable, the Slate worked in real time, and the Guardians... Well, they worked too.

You had heard stories of the Champions appearing seemingly from out of nowhere in books. Perhaps the stories referred to this form of travel.

Link looked over the map and pressed one of the Shrines, but didn't let you see which one. You closed your eyes and burrowed your head into Link's shoulder as he put the Slate away and wrapped his arms around your shoulders. He looked down at you with a smile and you peeked up at him apprehensively.

In the reflection of his eyes you could see a blue glow; looking down, tendrils of pure blue light were wrapping up from his feet and just as you began to panic, seeing them only encompass Link, a few of the tendrils began working around your legs. You felt a lurch when the tendrils reached your waist, and you clung to Link tighter. You were lifted up slightly, and an odd pressure was felt in your stomach. The tendrils continued up your torso, and Link's. They started around your arms and eventually all you could see was blue as they coiled gently around your head.

An odd ringing noise was all you could hear for a moment, and another sudden lurch lifted you completely off of the ground. Your stomach felt like it was twisting around itself and your extremities felt slightly numb for a moment, but then, there was a gentle pulsing sensation as you were lowered. The blue light began to dim and your feet were gently lowered onto a hard surface.

You could feel your limbs again and your stomach calmed down, and as more of the blue left your vision you could feel Link still holding you. The rest of the blue light faded from your sight and you looked around once your eyes readjusted. Link was there, completely whole, and so were you, after a quick examination. Your head felt a little light, so you slumped against him completely, your back pressed to his chest, your head tilted slightly to one side. "I can't believe it," you said, looking around the new area as Link wrapped his arms around your waist from behind.

You had absolutely no idea where you were. Obviously, you were on a Shrine platform, but as to where that Shrine was located, you had no idea. You waited for him at each and every Shrine he went into, but this area was one you simply did not recognize.

"We made it," Link said gently. You could do nothing but nod as you took in what just happened. "Do you know where we are?"

You took a look around again. The area looked nice, sure, but you shook your head. "It's very pretty, but I don't think I've been here before. Where are we?"

"Welcome to the Great Plateau," Link said, resting his chin on your shoulder. Your eyes widened. This was the Great Plateau?

The Shrine he had ... travelled to seemed to be on a cliff. The rocky terrain was rough and there was a small path leading further up a small mountain. Looking to your right, you had a gorgeous view of the rest of the plateau and from this vantage point, you could even see in the fields below the border of the plateau, signaling a fall that would surely kill whoever jumped from it and ensured that no one could climb up to it, either.

You rushed over to the edge of the rocky cliff and glanced down. It was quite a fall from here, but the view was just too good to overlook. The rest of Hyrule seemed so distant from up here, a mountain on top of a plateau that on its own towered over much of it. You could see the Dueling Peaks and Death Mountain, and though they still towered over you in the horizon, even the towers on Hyrule's mainland seemed tiny by comparison. Link came up next to you, and you looked up at him with a grin.

"Link, the view from up here is amazing!"

"I know it is," he said. "I remembered you said you had always wanted to see the Plateau, so I decided I'd bring you."

"I still can't believe this," you said at just a whisper, your heart skipping a beat at the sentiment of it all. "Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it," he said with a smile.

You looked back down at the plateau. There was a small monster camp with three Bokoblins down below, and you sighed. So even this area, so historic and secluded, wasn't safe from Ganon's monsters. "Let's head down there," Link said, taking out his paraglider.

The two of you sailed down together, heading clear over the camp without alarming them. Still in the sky, you noticed a large, decaying structure up on a hill. "Link," you said, calling his attention to it, "what's that building?"

He looked over at it. "That would be the Temple of Time," he said. "We can visit, but there's somewhere I want to bring you first."

You nodded your head and the two of you landed, at Link's guidance, near the entrance to a small cabin. Really, it wasn't all that much. The wood that made up its walls and foundation were rotting and looked very weak. Tarps made of animal skins were thrown over places where the wood had given out, and it looked like no one had even looked at it in centuries. And yet, the lanterns outside were lit. "What is this place?"

"I know it isn't much to look at," he said, "but this place once housed royalty... In a way, at least."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's head inside," he said, leading you in through the open doorway. The cabin consisted of only one room, with a bed tucked away into one corner. The sheet was bare and frayed; the pillow was damp and dirty. Farming tools were leaning against one wall, and there was but one table, with one lone chair, made of a log. On the table was a thin journal, open to one of the last pages. "Go ahead and read that journal from the beginning," he said as he sat down on the log. You approached the table as Link crossed his arms and set them on the table.

The journal's front page read, "Journeys of a Lonely Old Man". The pages were old and frail, and so you turned them gently and slowly, afraid they'd rip.

You read the next page, the first entry. "On this desolate plateau, the only pleasure that brings me comfort is cooking. And today, I outdid myself! Truly, I created the perfect dish. I call it... spicy meat and seafood fry." The rest of the page detailed the ingredients and how to make it, of which you made mental notes of.

You turned the page. This page was spent with him complaining about forgetting a recipe, blaming it on his age, and the rest of the pages followed the same pattern, until the very last one. You glanced at Link with a perplexed look – why did he want you to read this? You supposed you'd find out by reading the last page.

"Link," it began. "Bit by bit, you may come to realize who I am. I am sorry for not revealing my true identity to you sooner. The truth is, after you awoke from your long Slumber of Restoration, I did not know how to tell you all there was to say. Perhaps deceiving you was not the right thing to do. Still... you must admit I put on a great performance! But all joking aside... what I ask of you is of the utmost importance, dear hero. I implore you, with all my heart... defeat Calamity Ganon and save my precious daughter, Zelda. I understand this is no simple task I am asking of you, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can do it. I do not doubt it for a moment. I see courage in your eyes, just as I did 100 years ago. I believe in you, Link."

There was more. "Ah, yes, one more thing. I have left the warm doublet here as a gift of sorts. I'm sure it will be useful on your journey. You can also weather the cold with cooking alone, but I caution against it. There is no time for recklessness. We are all counting on you."

You closed the journal carefully and met Link's steady gaze. "Have you figured it out?"

"You met the King here," you said quietly.

"Yes, but he wasn't alive. He was playing the part of an old man to set me on my way before revealing himself at the very end." Link let his eyes fall to the journal. "He was... the first person I interacted with after I woke up." He suddenly smiled and met your eyes. "And the first thing I did was steal his baked apple."

You couldn't help but laugh, not putting it past him to have actually done that.

---

Link took you on a long walk, then, up a dirt path that gently sloped upwards towards the Temple of Time. He took you around to the front where the entrance was, and had to guide you quite a bit because you didn't really pay much attention to where you were walking, you were too busy gawking up at the structure.

Much to your dismay, the Temple was falling apart a lot, much more than you had initially seen from atop the mountain. But you could feel the immense power that lay inside from just the doorway, or what was left of the crumbling arch. "Can I..." You trailed off, not sure if it was a dumb question or not.

"You can go in," Link said. And to prove his point, he set a hand on your back and led you inside. Many of the windows were cracked, but some of the glass was still intact and you could only imagine standing here, centuries ago, with golden sunlight streaming in and dazzling you as it danced off of the porcelain floor, and onto stunning artifacts that were by now lost to time.

You frowned at the thought. It must have been so beautiful," you whispered. "The Hero of Time... he had three stones – one from the Kokiri, one from the Zora, and one from the Gorons – that he used to enter the Temple. The stones were apparently unlike anything else from history, but no one knows where they are now, or what happened to them."

"Maybe the Goddesses took them back," Link said with a quiet chuckle. "I wouldn't trust them to be left down here."

"Maybe," you repeated. There was a large statue standing towards the back of the temple on a raised platform. You walked towards it, pulled gently along by its power. Link followed after, but stopped at the base of the steps while you continued upwards. You knelt down in front of the statue and pressed your palms together. "Dear Hylia," you whispered, "give Link the strength to complete his journey, and please, give me the strength to help him all I can."

The statue, of course, did not move or react in any way. But the circlet on your head, gifted to you by Impa, oh so many months ago, did. It warmed up slightly and cupping your hand towards it, you could see faint light coming from it. The circlet had, admittedly, escaped your mind for quite a while. Most of the time, you never noticed it was there, still twined within your hair.

You took it out often to wash and brush your hair, but you always put it back in. Perhaps it had just become a habit, or maybe you felt somewhere in your heart as if Impa's words were true, that it had been blessed by Hylia, but now you knew they were. You smiled and rose to your feet.

The circlet cooled and the light faded as you did, and you turned with a grin to Link. He didn't know what you were smiling for, but he smiled back at you radiantly.

---

Link led you round the Temple to its side, where a metal ladder had been built leading up to the top spire. You climbed up first, and he followed shortly after you. The ladder ended on a flat part of the roof, and you began edging your way onto the piked part of the roof. You scrambled up the last few feet as the boards and shambles underneath you groaned and creaked. It was only a few more yards from here to the spire at the front of the Temple. You climbed up into it, and Link came in only a few seconds after.

You approached the front window and placed your hand on its edge. You had a clear, unobstructed view of Hyrule Castle from here. The purple swirling mass you knew as a physical manifestation of pure evil raved around it, adding a somber atmosphere to even this serene location.

Link stood next to you, arms crossed over his chest. "This is where I met the King's ghost," he said. A few minutes of silence passed. A few birds flew by, and the wind rustled through trees far below, but all was quiet otherwise.

"It's terrifying, isn't it?" Link asked out of nowhere. You sighed and nodded. You reached out and grabbed his hand, offering a gentle squeeze of comfort. "But the King believed in me. And Zelda is waiting to be saved. And..." He paused and squeezed your hand in return. "You believe in me. So I have to defeat Ganon, so that no one else will need to live in fear."

---

The tour of the Great Plateau didn't end there. He led you by the hand down the Temple's front steps and up another incline, past trees riddled with apples (of which you picked) and past another cliff with an amazing view of Hyrule.

Further up the slope was a large structure, similar in look to a Shrine. It was, you knew, the Shrine of Resurrection. The inside hall was damp and dark, but it soon opened into one final room that was lit by a large structure that looked almost like tree roots from the ceiling. The whole room was bathed in that blue light, and there was an odd structure underneath it. Link stood a few feet from it, looking at it strangely while you approached it.

"This is what I was placed in during my slumber," he told you. "There was a strange liquid in it before. As soon as I woke up it drained, and I heard the strange voice that I guess is Zelda's."

You looked closely at it and wondered what it must have been like to stay there, in one position, for a century. "It doesn't look like it was comfortable," you said, "but you're here now." You looked at him. "You're alive."

"I am," he said, approaching you. "And I have you." He pressed a kiss to your lips that you did not hesitate to return. His arms came around you and you pressed yours to his chest. When you pulled away, a sad look was in his eyes. "That dream from the last night... the nightmare, actually, had to do with you." Your eyebrows furrowed in concern, and you nodded for him to continue. "In the dream, I woke up in here... again. I followed the voice's instructions, er, Zelda's instructions. But when I got outside, you were there, waiting for me. You kissed me but I... I didn't remember you."

"Link, don't worry, it wasn't-"

"I know it's not real," he interceded. "But it's what I'm afraid of, more than anything. What if I fall in battle again? If I get brought in here, again, I'll lose all of my memories. I won't remember what I have to do, and I won't remember all of my memories of this life, or, or you. And that's what I'm afraid of. With each step closer to Ganon, each step closer to the end of this journey, I get more and more afraid that it'll happen and I'll lose you to time, not to mention that Zelda will most likely run out of power by then."

Link's eyes were growing watery now but his brow remained furrowed. "My heart belongs to you, you know that," you said. "In the case that you do fall in battle this time around, which I highly doubt, you know that I will remain by your side. I will do what I can to save you. And if that means that you need to go back into this chamber, then I will do so. You won't lose these memories, you'll just need to be reminded of them, just like the ones you have now."

You smiled up at him and wiped a tear away before it could roll down his cheek. "But I don't think it'll come to that. Try not to think about the final fight too much, Link. We have lots of memories to make before then, don't we?"

Link closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he let a smile spread across his lips. "I don't deserve you," he said.

"I'm just a girl who can patch you up and fight sometimes. You're a hero, and a damn fine one at that. I'm the one who doesn't deserve you."

He swept you up into another kiss, this one more passionate and full of desire than the first.

Author's Note: Here's a nice long one to make up for the nice lack of updates over the past few months. How is everyone's December? As the year winds down, just know that I am sorry for dropping the ball on updates, and that I'll do my best to complete the book in the upcoming weeks. Only a few more chapters left. :'-(

Well, in recent news, college apps are little bitches but hey, I got into a really good aviation school in Florida. It's too bad I don't actually want to go to school in Daytona. I like having four seasons, thanks. But my school year is halfway over now, and college will come before I know it.

Just know that I enjoy writing this story, and it has a special place in my heart, so it will get completed. Shoutout to the other stories on my account that I can't be bothered to do anything with cause they suck ass. Anyway...

Thank you all so much for reading. I hope everyone enjoys the holiday season, should you celebrate any of them, and I shall see you all in the next chapter. <3