Facing the Greater Evil

!Link        Hyrule Castle

There was so much I wanted to say, yet I couldn't seem to resurrect the words from the tip of my tongue.

The Blood Moon's savage glow has illuminated more than its critical threat-but also a critical truth.

I won't play the Ocarina of Time.

I won't erase Y/N's memories.

I won't.

I can't erase that kiss, and because of this foolish decision from my heart, I can no longer call myself a knight. Teba's warnings were absolutely right.

Once the heart is involved, there is no turning back.

There must be some other way to stop Majora's mask. I believe I should leave Y/N in the safety of the castle and journey to Eldin and Lanayru. No stops. No sleeping. No rest.

From there, I will recruit Sidon and Yunobo's help. By then, someone has to have seen Kilton.

They have to.

I've beaten impossible odds before; I will beat them again.

But not at the cost of my heart.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Candied.

That's how you'd describe them.

Of course, Link did eat some courser honey candies while you were on the road.

But the taste that remained on your lips was that of a delectable confectionary.

Did your lips taste as sweet as his? You presumed they did, because he demanded more of you throughout the journey home. You'd feel his eyes on you, acting as rovers eagerly searching for the destination that was your lips. When you caught sight of 'the' glance, your breath would catch. Before you knew it, you were pinned against a random tree as his lips would take their fill, while the backdrop of the Blood Moon sat observing you both.

With each kissing break, you pressed a little harder and left your lips enmeshed a little longer, hoping they would imprint on your soon-to-be lost memories.

Hyrule Castle loomed on the near horizon. Dark clouds tickled the tips of the castle's hoardings, an unwelcoming site. It should have felt good to be on familiar terrain.

It felt sickening. Anxiety sank to the nadir of your stomach like a dormant sea monster waiting to rise and create havoc.

Even Reisz and Epona trotted along somberly, in accordance with the melancholy in the air.

Link cleared his throat from beside you, drawing your attention toward him. "It seems like we will be there within the next hour or two."

"Yes, it seems like it." You took in the unplowed landscape of the East Castle Town ruins. Cylinder and concrete-smashed bricks littered the ground from houses that met their demise during the calamity. You noticed a rogue dandelion growing between the debris. A stark symbol of hope. "I wonder when they'll begin rebuilding." You tried to make comfortable chatter between the gloomy, dense air that was between you and Link.

"It will be a long process." Link responded dryly.

"Just like getting my memories back." You bit your lip as soon as you said it.

"Y/N..." Link stopped Epona from trudging forward. "I won't let you forget,"Link shut his eyes, emotions were surging through him. "I would hope your heart wouldn't forget me either."

"That's what the Hero of Time said. He said-"

"I don't care what he said!" Link's voice rose, the still waters that were running deep now threatening to flood out of him.

"Why are you so angry, Link? Don't you see? You and he are one and the same! Just like me and Malon-"

"Who is Malon?"

"That's exactly what I am talking about!" You argued. "You don't even remember Malon, and yet you think I will somehow remember you?"

You continued ahead of Link on Reisz, attempting to filter the tears from your eyes with vicious blinks. Link caught up to you, seizing your shoulder sternly.

"No, let's talk about this. We can't keep shutting down on each other." Link's gaze was soft. His voice was even softer. "When I was sick," he began," I read your diary. And it was all about him. If we are one and the same, why do you prefer him? But when you press your lips against mine, in that moment I am led to believe you prefer me."

"Oh Link." You couldn't help but giggle. "That is hardly a diary. More like a dream log. I began writing about him because I was keeping track of the information he gave me in my dreams. The wisdom he gave me on how to crack you open somehow... Mr.Silent Knight." You couldn't help but grin and reach your hand over to cup his cheek.

You took a moment to collect your thoughts. "Perhaps my love for him was just me searching for you again. No matter what form you take, no matter how much time passes, I can't seem to not want to find you all over again. I just-"

Link's eyes brightened when you said the word 'love.' "You just what?" Link whispered breathlessly.

You took a deep breath, readying yourself to say the words that were snuffed out by the cruelty of fate centuries ago.

"I-"

You beheld Link's gaze, watching the scintillating blue of his irises eagerly reflect back at you.

Until you caught a glimmer of pink in them.

"Y/N!" Link lunged from Epona, pulling you down from Reisz. Epona hollered with a shrill hint of warning as she galloped wildly into the open field, Reisz following suit. You and Link rolled across the bumpy field into a ravaged piece of wall that once belonged to a home. You both hit against it with a tumultuous thud, causing you both to gasp.

You opened your eyes; the pink gleam was now a concentrated laser aimed at your chest.

"A guardian? Here? But we- we excavated all the guardians in this area! Didn't we?"

The sound of the laser calculating and locking onto its target was scraping against your ears, causing your blood to bubble with panic. Link hopped before you, his shield ready to deflect the laser threatening to shred through your flesh and puncture your heart.

"Y/N, hold onto me." You wrapped your arms around Link's waist, bracing for the impact of your possible death. Your thoughts titrated through the narrow scope of your panicked mind.

I haven't seen a guardian behave like this since the calamity. Is this a result of Kilton's Blood Moon?

Are we too late?

The sound of the guardian's laser smashed against Link's shield. You felt his body buckle as he stood his ground against the force of the laser. An eruption of pieces sprang through the air and rained on the ground from all around.

A deafening explosion then followed.

Link remained on guard for a moment. You continued to keep your eyes clasped shut as you held onto him. He slowly rose to his feet, his hand gently guiding you to your own.

He strode toward the demolished guardian, and you limped at his side. The brash fall from Reisz was not exactly good for your already shattered ankle.

That and the fact that you couldn't help but hobble around on it.

He swept his arms beneath your legs, carrying you in bridal style. "I'm sorry, Y/N. I promise, once we are at the castle, I'll get you to a medic." He loomed over the guardian, which was now encrusted with its own ashes from Link deflecting its laser back onto it.

"I don't understand, Link. These guardians, is the Blood Moon having the same effect on them as the Calamity did?" You rested your head on his chest as you peered down at it, perplexed. "I thought we excavated all the guardian remains from Central Hyrule."

Link shook his head, his eyes astute in their observation of the guardian's mechanical carcass. "The Bokoblins shooting at us on Hebra Mountain... something was off about them. Their builds were stockier than usual. Their shooting was more precise."

Epona and Reisz tip-toed behind you and Link. Dusk was falling onto the land, smothering it with its daunting darkness. The Blood Moon floated above, so close you could lift a hand and touch it. You and Link's eyes concurrently lifted toward it with chagrin.

"We are running out of time."

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As predicted, you arrived at Hyrule Castle at nightfall. You and Link dawdled atop Epona and Reisz, neither one of you possessing the courage to say anything about what was about to happen. Link finally jumped down, lifting you off of Reisz and placing you gently on your feet.

"There's a medic in the west chamber of the castle. I will leave you there." Link's eyes fluttered toward everything but you. Your lips ached for another kiss from him. He remained detached. Dejected.

You nodded, opening your lips to speak and clamping them shut. Your mouth was once again being pushed open like an umbrella by your thoughts, only to be pulled shut by your instincts.

"What is on your mind?"

"So, once I am with the medic, you will go to the cellar of the castle where the ocarina waits?"

Link said nothing, but his eyes communicated plenty as they cast themselves toward the soggy grass you both stood on.

"Then you will play the sacred song that rewinds time. I will mentally revert with the rest of Hyrule to a time prior to when Kilton stole the mask. You will be able to interject his plans before they are carried out. How far back will it rewind?"

"I'm not sure." He responded solemnly. He placed his hand beneath your chin, lifting it slightly.

"Will it be before our journey together?"

"Possibly."

"Before we even met?"

Link's breath drew close to yours. "Yes, it could very well be possible." His voice was desolate. His lips touched yours, and as he pulled you in for a kiss while tickling your nose with his own, the sadness from his lips seeped into your own.

"Then this is goodbye." You muttered, pulling away from his lips.

"No!" He grabbed your face. An unyielding grip from his palms kept your eyes on his. "I promise, I won't let you forget."

You grabbed his hands and held them within your own. You brushed your lips across his knuckles as you looked up at him beneath your lashes.

"It's ok, Link. Somehow, someway we'll be together, won't we?"

"I thought the exact same thing." A feathery voice broke through the wall of intimacy you and Link had just created. A figure emerged from the shadows; their svelte waist defined by a pair of curves that shimmied forward. The Blood Moon acted as a flashlight, brightening the pronounced features of none other than Queen Zelda.

In her hands was the Ocarina of Time. Her voice remained measured. Stoic.

"The Ocarina of Time... kind to the people within the kingdom but cruel to the people who protect that kingdom." Her blonde hair bobbed as she stood before you and Link. Her eyes stumbled downward onto your intertwined hands.

She looked at Link. A frighteningly rhapsodic shift in her voice arose. "I knew you might come back for this, though I would think my appointed knight would have returned a lot sooner. "

Link kneeled down before Zelda. You stood awkwardly, following his example.

Not that a bow would make up for the fact that you were now in a romance with her coveted knight.

Link spoke up, resembling his former self. His former self, who was a shadow of who he really is out in the wild. "I am not here to ask for your forgiveness or your mercy. I have not behaved as a knight. But my heart still beats for Hyrule and to protect it."

Zelda thrust the ocarina of time before Link. "I see. Even if you dismissed my request that you return to the castle?" You could feel Zelda's eyes scanning over your shriveled form kneeling before her.

"If your words are true, great hero, courageous knight, Link..." Zelda's voice faltered as Link's name fell from her lips.

"If your words are true, then play the Ocarina of Time." Link's hand reached up, his fingers sweeping over Zelda's as he took the ocarina from her grasp.

Zelda's edict rang out again. "Play the Ocarina of Time, for surely you see Hyrule has gotten worse."

Link stared at the ocarina, his brows crossed, as he closed his eyes and ruminated. It felt as if your heart might stop along with the rest of time.

Or at least rewind along with it.

"Zelda I..." Link bowed again, murmuring into his knee. "I will always defend Hyrule. I will always defend you. But-" Link's arm ejected backward as he tossed the ocarina against a wall, smashing it.

The Ocarina of Time.

The very thing that cursed the Hero of Time would curse his immortal soul no more.

"Link!" You shouted, cupping your hands over your mouth as Zelda screamed.

"I will exercise my own free will. This is my destiny, and I will handle it my own way."

Edited:10/15/23