Chapter Text
One last thing plagued (Y/N). As happy as she was to have her memories, to have Link, there was a part of her that still wondered why. Why had this happened to her? Why had she been allowed this second chance with him?
Research and science offered very little in terms of explanation. She had asked Zelda about it once, and the princess hypothesized that maybe there had been something about that night that none of them remembered. As offhanded as her statement had been, the idea sent (Y/N)’s mind turning.
The months following the gala were spent in happiness. Zelda’s reconstruction of the kingdom had moved swiftly, until nearly every part of Hyrule was restored to what it once was. Katsa had promoted the Renfold twins to be her managers and moved to Castle Town full time to open a new pub. If asked, she’d claim it was part of her endeavors to become a businesswoman, but (Y/N) had a suspicion that it had less to do with economics and more to do with the young knight who made Katsa’s face light up every time he entered a room. Henry was just as enamored. Each moment he wasn’t training with his fellow knights was spent helping Katsa prep her new pub.
Although their schedules were demanding and busy, Link and (Y/N) spent whatever time they could together. They had plans for their life, beginning with starting a home together in Castle Town and then hopefully, someday, ending back up in Hateno Village. Link had eventually told her that sometime during his travels, he had purchased the home she had been pining for when she had first moved there. Whether it had been a coincidence or he had purchased it because he knew how much she wanted it, (Y/N) would never know. Link was exceptionally good at keeping secrets when he wanted to.
They were in no rush to complete these plans, as (Y/N) enjoyed staying in the castle and being so close to Zelda. With all of her memories back, it settled into her just how well she had known the princess. If she thought she had cared for her before, it paled in comparison to the sheer magnitude of love she felt for Zelda now. A different sort of love than the one she held for Katsa, but just as strong.
Still, despite all of these good things, her curiosity lingered. And there was only one thing (Y/N) could think of that might help her find answers.
She lounged on one of the couches in Zelda’s office, her foot dangling off the side. Zelda sat at her desk, while Link stood by the window, watching as the knights trained on the grounds below. The room was quiet, save for only the scratches of Zelda’s pen against paper. (Y/N) thought this moment was as good as any.
Sitting up, she said, “I’d like to go to Lake Hylia.”
Immediately, both of their eyes were on her, and neither of them looked pleased. “Why would you want to go there?” Zelda asked, her eyes flickering with what was likely the memory of the last time the three of them were there together. (Y/N) didn’t know much about her death, apart from what she had experienced in that vision with the bokoblins and the little Link had told her about it. But both of them had witnessed it.
“I think if I go, I might be able to figure out why this happened to me.” She shrugged, looking at Link. “It would be worth it, to give it a shot.”
They had passed through Lake Hylia before, and her stomach turned as she remembered the nauseating feeling that had overcome her. Link hadn’t remembered anything about her at the time, but now it seemed he wasn’t too keen on returning to the place he had watched her die.
Zelda glanced at Link. “What you might see there, (Y/N), it…It isn’t a pleasant memory.”
“I know,” (Y/N) nodded her head. Zelda shook her own.
“No. What I mean is that it was horrific to witness. Are you sure it’s worth experiencing again?”
With that warning, (Y/N) swallowed. “I’d like to know why this happened. Why I got a second chance while others didn’t.” Her parents, both in this life and the past. “You don’t have to come with me, but I’d appreciate it. I want to go, but not alone.”
Inhaling a deep breath, Link closed his eyes. “We’d never let you go alone.”
The next day they ventured out to Lake Hylia. Katsa and Henry had agreed to come as soon as she brought it up to them at dinner the night before. It was about a day’s ride, and with each hoofbeat, (Y/N) began to wonder if she had made a terrible mistake. She had never thought much about her death, but the idea of facing it today sent a chill up her spine.
He hadn’t said anything, but (Y/N) knew that Link didn’t like this idea at all. (Y/N) wished she could have been content with not knowing. For his sake.
The bridge appeared and (Y/N)’s stomach dropped, that feeling settling into her bones again. Every inch of herself itched to turn around. What had happened here had been bad. She slowed Sunny to a walk, stopping just before the path turned into stone. She looked at her friends. “Stay here,” she said, willing the smile on her face to look genuine.
She hopped down from her horse and Link dismounted, too. “I’ll wait at the end.” Looking up at her friends, (Y/N) saw worry and concern on Henry and Katsa’s faces. On Zelda’s, there was a fear that she tried desperately to not let show as she stared ahead at the bridge. Was Link afraid, too?
(Y/N) reached the middle of the bridge when it started. Day faded into night, and there was a familiar tightness in her chest that she recognized from running too hard for too long. She was still running, feet pounding against the grass just as her heart did against her chest.
For years, she had been living in fear of the Great Calamity. It haunted her nightmares and made her sick with worry. But (Y/N) had never anticipated that it would have happened the way it did. She had been in the infirmary when the giant shake overtook the castle. Bottles of her droughts and potions fell off their shelves, shattering against the stone floor. She hadn’t known what was going on until she heard a roar, filled with evil and hate and it was so loud that she knew it was right outside.
(Y/N) had run into the hallway, her only thoughts of finding Link and Zelda, but they were already there, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her with them. There had been no time for horses or gathering supplies. No time for anything at all.
The Guardians that had been positioned in Hyrule Field all raised against them. Link had been able to slice through a few, but before they could gain any real distance, another would have them in its sights. (Y/N) tried to keep herself and Zelda hidden behind rocks and within tall grasses as the only one with the weapon defended them.
They kept running. If they could cross the bridge at Lake Hylia, they could pass through the grasslands and into the lower cliffs of the Gerudo Highlands. They needed the height to keep them safe as they gathered themselves and figured out what to do.
Zelda ran ahead of her and Link behind. They were only a few feet away from the bridge now. (Y/N) cast a glance over her shoulder, only to witness Link stumble and fall to the ground. He was exhausted from both running and fighting, and (Y/N) cursed herself for not thinking to grab something for his stamina.
She called out to Zelda to wait before she rushed over to him. “You have to get up,” She urged, lifting his arm over her shoulder. She could hear his ragged breaths. “Link, please , you have to stand.”
Zelda ran over to them, taking up the position on Link’s other side. The three of them stumbled to the stone bridge. Link collapsed into (Y/N) and she held onto him tightly, her fingers threading through his hair in an effort to reassure him despite the panic that swept across her face.
“We have to keep going,” The fear was evident on Zelda’s face as her eyes swept over their surroundings.
“Let him rest for a few moments,” (Y/N) said, trying to keep her voice even despite the shaking in her hands. Zelda still didn’t have her power. (Y/N) didn’t know how to fight. Link was their only line of defense and he was completely worn out.
She heard the familiar footfalls of a Guardian, and her blood went cold. Her eyes met Zelda’s and for a moment it dawned on (Y/N) just how young they all were. How unfair that this burden had been passed on to the two people she cared about most in the world.
“If we run,” Zelda said, “We’ll be out of its sight before it can lock in on one of us. But we have to run now .”
(Y/N) hauled Link upright. “Can you run?”
“I can fight it,” He said, gritting his teeth as his hand gripped the hilt of the Master Sword. The Guardian was inching closer now.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Zelda snapped. “That thing will shoot you down the moment you falter, then we’ll all be dead.”
(Y/N) swallowed as she realized that painful truth. Without Link, without Zelda, there was no hope for their world. They had to survive.
“We run,” (Y/N) agreed, just as the Guardian crested over the hill. She heard the familiar beeping as it readied its laser. Zelda darted forward, but (Y/N) kept pace with Link, pushing him to go faster. She wouldn’t let him be the closest to the possessed machine.
Its laser hit the bridge just a few feet away from them, sending rubble flying into the air and water surrounding them. (Y/N) gritted her teeth as stray pieces of rock cut against her arms and face. Link’s pace had improved, but they were still a long ways away from the other side of the lake. They had just barely made it to the middle of the bridge.
The Guardian walked on its spindly legs to the edge of the bridge. It placed a tentative foot against the rock and it cracked beneath its weight. Despite being a machine, it was too clever to attempt to follow them. Instead, it charged its beam.
A blur of blue and gold went running past her, back toward the Guardian, and (Y/N) screamed Link’s name. “Get Zelda to the other side!” He shouted back at her.
She looked toward her friend. Zelda had stopped running, frozen in her tracks as she stared as Link attempted to defeat the Guardian. (Y/N) could hear his sword clashing against the metal of its armor, but his swings weren’t strong enough. One wrong move and everything could go wrong. Hyrule would lose its saviors.
“Into the grass!” (Y/N) shouted at Zelda. She needed her to be as far away as possible. The Guardian’s beam was targeted onto Link, who moved quickly, but she could tell he would be slowing down in a matter of moments.
(Y/N) bent down, picking up pieces of rubble and throwing them with all of her strength at the metal monster. They landed against its body with heavy thunks. It turned its shining red eye toward her. Her stomach warmed as its hot beam locked onto her person. With it distracted by her, it might give Link a chance to take it down without getting himself hurt.
She could hear Zelda shouting at the other end of the bridge as she turned to run toward her. She ran in zagging patterns in an attempt to avoid the laser, which was still charging behind her, its beeping increasingly rapidly as it prepared to shoot. (Y/N) heard it when it went off and leapt out of its way.
The blast hit the bridge just a few feet away from her. Its impact sent her, along with heavy pieces of stone, flying in the other direction. (Y/N) felt a harsh crunch against her chest just as she collided with the bridge wall, her back snapping against it.
The ringing in her ears faded into the sound of Zelda’s screams. Even the adrenaline that coursed through her veins was not enough to stop the pain that flowed through her body. Absently, she was aware of the princess dropping down beside her, tearing her dress at the knees as she settled amongst the debris.
Each breath shot flares of pain throughout her entire body and through her disjointed thoughts, (Y/N) cataloged what was wrong with her. Sternum broken, along with the majority of her ribs, and it was likely that there was internal bleeding. Her spine was probably just as much of a disaster.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” Zelda ordered, silver tears streaming down her cheeks. “Walk me through it. Tell me what I can do to heal you.” But even if (Y/N) had all of her supplies, there was little that could be done for her. The damage to her body was too great. Wryly, (Y/N) wondered who healed the healers. “Please, (Y/N),” Zelda begged, her body shaking with sobs as her fingers dug into her arm.
It hurt to swallow, hurt to open her mouth to speak, but (Y/N) had to. “I’m sorry,” she told Zelda. Sorry that she had this lot in life. Sorry that she had to continue without her.
The princess shook her head. “You can’t leave. Not you too, please,” And (Y/N)’s own eyes watered with tears. First Zelda’s mother, then her father, and now her. Why was it so unfair?
Mustering a smile for her friend’s sake, (Y/N) said, “You can do this. I’ll be with you every step of the way.” She didn’t know if that was true, didn’t know much about the afterlife at all, but she hoped that the words would offer some comfort to her friend.
Zelda squeezed her eyes shut.
There was an explosion at the other end of the bridge, then (Y/N) heard the clattering of a sword against the rocks and there was Link. His eyes took in her short, labored breaths. The winces of pain she made at any small movement. And (Y/N) saw the moment he realized that this was her end. She blinked away her tears so she could see the both of them properly.
“You have to leave me,” she told Link, and he shook his head furiously. “You have to keep her safe.”
“I’m not leaving you,” he said. “I’m not leaving you.”
“It’s okay,” she whispered, mustering the last of her strength to hold his hand. She could feel her pain easing, and she knew that wasn’t a very good sign. She sent up a final prayer to Hylia. Let me see them again, please. Somehow. “I’ll find you,” she promised him. “No matter what.”
His eyes squeezing shut, he knelt over her body, and she could hear his whispered prayers for someone to save her. But there would be no saviors. And (Y/N) felt herself growing so tired.
She was grateful for the time she had with them, even though she wished for more. Her only hope was that they would stay safe. That they could right the wrong that had settled over Hyrule Castle.
One last smile cast at Zelda, and then whether it was on her own volition or some other force, she didn’t know, but her eyes closed.
“Link,” she heard Zelda say, and (Y/N) knew that it was over when she opened her eyes and saw her own body on the ground. “We have to keep going.”
He shook his head, gripping the fabric of (Y/N)’s dress. “I can’t.” He looked at the princess, his eyes wet and his cheeks tear stained. “Without her, I…” Link looked down at her face, so peaceful in death, and shut his eyes again.
“She wants us to,” Zelda said, her voice wavering, and (Y/N) felt so sad that she had to be so strong on everyone’s behalf. “We have to, for her and everyone else.” She stood and picked up the Master Sword. “We keep going.”
Slowly, Link slid his arms beneath her body and stood. Zelda at his side, he carried her to the bank on the other side of the lake. He set her beneath a tree and folded her hands over her stomach. It looked like she was sleeping. As he did so, Zelda spoke their traditional funeral rites beneath her breath.
Their tears had yet to stop. Zelda spoke, “You and I are two halves of the same whole. Until we meet again, (Y/N).”
It was Link’s turn to speak. “My heart,” was all he said. After a few more minutes, they left her beneath the tree.
As she watched them walk away, (Y/N) felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she found a woman. Shrouded in a golden glow, her hair was a pale blonde and her eyes were sky blue. She wore a white dress, and although (Y/N) did not recognize this woman, she knew who she was instantly.
“Hylia,” she breathed, staring upon the goddess with awe. Hylia smiled.
“Hello, (Y/N).” She cast her eyes to the mortal body of the young woman, sadness reaching her beautiful face. “It is a tragedy for one to lose their life so young.”
“Will they be alright?” (Y/N) knew the goddess was aware of who she meant.
“You care very much about them.” Her blue eyes went into the distance, as if she could see Zelda and Link walking. “I do not know.”
“There isn’t some predestined fate for them?” Perhaps she shouldn’t be talking to a goddess so casually.
“They are bound to be reincarnated,” Hylia said with a nod. “To protect this world when a great evil arises. But their destiny, like everyone else in this life, is up to them.” (Y/N) wasn’t sure if that comforted or troubled her. “You did well with your life, young one. You should be pleased to know that you saved countless lives.”
(Y/N) gave the goddess a shy smile. She was glad to know that her work during her life had meant something, but…
“I heard your prayer,” Hylia said. “Souls tend to reveal what they truly desire in their last moments. Do you really want to see them again?”
If a spirit could cry, (Y/N) was sure she was doing it. “More than anything.” The goddess smiled.
“If I gave you a second chance, would you use your healing abilities again to help others? To help them?”
(Y/N) nodded furiously, tears clouding her vision. “Yes, absolutely. I swear it.”
“They might not remember you. Or you them. Is that alright with you?”
It was nearly impossible to imagine a life where she didn’t recognize Link and Zelda. She wasn’t even sure if it was possible. Regardless, she nodded. The price was worth it, to her.
Another smile from Hylia, and the goddess pressed her thumb to (Y/N)’s forehead. “I answer your prayer.”
The goddess disappeared and it felt like (Y/N) was spinning, watching as the seasons changed around her. As her body rejoined the earth and buildings fell into dilapidation. She watched as travelers crossed the bridge, one who bore a striking resemblance to her stopping to pick up the golden band he had found in the grass. Days and decades passed in an instant, until suddenly (Y/N) felt her soul go into the body of a small baby being born, wailing loudly as her mother and father cried tears of joy at her health. Then she watched herself grow, befriending Katsa and crying as her parents left for Gerudo, mixing potions with her grandmother and sharing her first kiss with Berthold. Every moment flew past her until she was back in the present, turning back to her friends with a wide smile.
They had dismounted their horses and waited for her at the end of the bridge. Their faces remained contorted in worry. She ran back to them, colliding into Link and Zelda. “She let me come back to you,” she told them. “She heard my prayer and let me come back.” She squeezed them tightly.
“Who?” Katsa asked.
“Hylia!” And at their confused expressions, (Y/N) explained everything. Flashes of pain passed over Link and Zelda’s faces as she described her death, but she assured them that it was fine. The goddess had let her come back to help them, and although it had been in a sort of unconventional way, (Y/N) could find little pain in her death anymore. It had been sad, but it had brought her back to them.
Zelda flung her arms around (Y/N) again, squeezing her. “I’m so thankful,” she whispered. (Y/N) pulled Katsa into the hug as well, because the second chance that Hylia had given her had led her to her, as well. She tugged Henry in, too, and her eyes met Link and beckoned him to join. Slowly, the Hero of Hyrule wrapped his arms mostly around (Y/N), and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
Link found her later, after they had returned to the castle, standing in the infirmary. She took in her supplies, jotting down into her notebook what she would have to go into town to get. “Do you ever stop working?” He asked, sending her jumping out of her skin.
She gave him a playful glare. “Do you?” She challenged, glancing at the armor and sword he now donned.
He stood there quietly, watching as she finished her work. (Y/N) didn’t mind having him accompany her in silence. Everything always felt better when Link was around.
“I was nervous to go to Lake Hylia today,” he said, and (Y/N) gave him a soft smile.
“I know. I was, too.”
“I was worried how reliving it might affect you. It–it was one of the most painful moments I’ve ever experienced.” Link inhaled a deep breath. “But is it…is it morbid for part of me to be thankful for it? I wouldn’t want to experience it again in a million years, but if it hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have this time with you now.”
“I feel the same,” (Y/N) agreed. “It certainly wasn’t fun, but it brought me here. And I am perfectly happy with where I am now.”
“Perfectly happy?” Link asked, and she nodded. “So, you wouldn’t be interested in accompanying me on another journey across Hyrule.”
Eyes gleaming, (Y/N) grinned. “When do we leave?”