#penny_writes

“Oh?” Time raised an eyebrow and briefly looked at you. “And what makes you say that?”

“... she been teasin’ me,” he huffed, unclasping his hands and relaxing his stiff posture. “Dropin’ hints every now an' then, but never says nothin’ else ‘bout anythin’.”

Time let out a quiet chuckle. “Well if she knows and she’s just teasing you about it, then I doubt there's any need to worry.”

He huffed through his nose. “Yeah, but I still wanna know if she knows.”

His ancestor only continued to chuckle at his distress, so he let his mind wander to all the times where it seemed like you just had to know. 

Six weeks ago

After finding themselves in Wild’s Hyrule, the group had decided to rest for a few days and take advantage of their close proximity to Goron City. The hot springs called to their aching muscles, and they weren't about to miss a chance to replenish their supplies as well. Not having much to stock up on himself, Twilight had decided to relax as Wolfie with the others.

They were currently lounging in the common area of the inn, but you were about to make your way to the springs, packing up the last of your essentials.

“Can I come too?” Wind asked with a bright smile. “I want to see the springs! I won’t splash, promise!”

“No thank you,” you replied instantly. “You can go with the others somewhere else.”

He immediately pouted. “Why not? I’m good company, you might get lonely.”

Warriors smacked him upside the head. “Trying to spy on the lady, are you?”

It took a second to get through, but Wind blushed furiously when he caught on. He stammered out a response.

“N-no! I, I didn’t mean to–I just–I'm sorry!” He threw himself on the ground, covering his face.

You snickered at him and bent down to pat his head, comforting the poor boy.

“There there, sailor. You are good company, but not for a bath in the ladies area,” you said with a big smile. “I’ll take Wolfie as my company.”

Wolfie’s ears shot up, his head following a second later.

What?

It was now Wild’s turn to snicker. “Wolfie's great company. He can even keep watch for any unwelcome guests.”

Wolfie glared at him.

“Exactly!” you agreed.

What?

“Come on Wolfie,” you said as you slung your bag across your shoulder.

He made no effort to move from his spot on the ground and you pouted at his lack of movement. Wild nudged his butt with his foot, making him let out a deep growl at the Champion.

“You usually like hanging out with me though,” you said. “Do you not want to this time?”

“He’s just a bit shy about hanging out with the ladies he thinks are pretty,” Wild said with a wicked grin. “Go keep her company Wolfie, she might need it.”

And with that, Wild gave him a kick to his furry behind. Wolfie yelped at the action and swivelled around to his attacker, growling menacingly and snapping his jaws at him. Wild remained unfazed, his grin not faltering in the slightest.

“That’s not very nice!” you exclaimed.

“If he doesn’t want to go, I’ll go!” Wind piped back up. “I’ll stay on the other side of the spring and not look. Pinky promise!”

Wolfie turned his growl on to the Sailor, and Warriors smacked him upside the head again. Slowly and begrudgingly, Wolfie walked to the inn entrance.

“Yay!” you beamed, and Wild’s snicker transformed into a full-on laugh.

You hurried to your companion, giving him a good scratch behind the ears the way you knew he liked it.

Wolfie did not like this one bit. If, and when, the others ever discovered his secret, he didn't know if he'd be able to endure the torture that would inevitably follow. Maybe he should have been honest from the start. It would have saved him a lot of trouble.

The spring you chose ended up being around a 20 minute walk from the inn, and he had to admit that the seclusion was nice. He sniffed around the area a bit to make sure that there were, in fact, no unwelcome guests before settling down. 

You scratched his head once more and plopped your belongings at the edge of the water. 

“No peeking, Wolfie,” you called to him.

He huffed loudly in response. As if he would ever (but it would be so easy to just turn. He could turn back before you even noticed. No, he was a gentleman. He would never. Would he?).

“Both Time and I will be very disappointed if you do.”

The tail he had been slowly flicking back and forth froze.

What?

Why did you mention the Old Man? There was no way. There was no way you knew. You wouldn’t reveal it this way, would you? No, you didn’t know. So why did you mention him? It’s just because he was their leader, right? No other reason. He needed to calm down. Calm down, Twilight. But everyone knew he looked up to the Old Man. His face of disappointment was the Ranchhand's well-known fear.

He was overthinking things. Definitely. That had to be it.

Four weeks ago

You nudged your shoulder against him gently. “Something troubling you?”

Yeah, you're troubling me.

“Nothin’ important,” he replied.

They had stopped for their midday break, and he had made a conscious effort to sit against a tree far away from Wild. His mentee had spent the day prodding him about any ‘potential feelings’ he might have for anyone. And after a very, very, undeniably, definitely, brief bout of stuttering, he had vehemently denied everything and anything, and now was left a little huffed and puffed. If there was anything going on, he certainly wasn’t going to talk about it now.

“... you sure?” you asked. “Wild seemed like he was enjoying your time a little too much.”

He inwardly prayed you hadn’t heard or picked up on anything.

“Yeah, ’m sure. Don’tcha worry your lil' head over it,” he said, playfully messing with your hair.

You whined in protest, shoving his hand away. 

“Hey! Has he finally driven you crazy? Is that it?” You looked at him accusingly while holding the wrist of the offending hand above the two of you. “‘Cause only crazy people mess with my hair.”

“Maybe,” he said with a wolfish grin, his other hand shooting out to continue the assault. 

You shrieked this time and found yourself resorting to full on tackling him to the ground to stop it. They all knew you could be quite ruthless when it came to brawling, and they knew you weren’t afraid to play dirty.

“You have gone crazy!” you accused. “Insane! Mad! Barking mad!”

Twilight wouldn’t have thought much of that statement if, one, it came from someone else, and two, you hadn’t said it with a glint in your eyes and a shit-eating grin on your face. He froze for a moment. A moment too long, and it was all you needed. You took the chance to bite his arm, hard.

“Ow!” he yelped, wrenching his arm from your grasp and shoving you off. “Me? Barking mad? You just bit me!”

“Proof?” you inquired with a smirk.

He wildly gestured to the bite mark on his arm.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Why you–”

Three weeks ago

Despite the creeping paranoia that you knew his secret, Twilight couldn’t stop himself from spending time with you in his wolf form. It was a guilty pleasure and the reason he found himself laying across your lap. It was a way to be close to you that he couldn’t do as a human.

You were sitting away from the others for a change, journaling under the shade of some trees not too far from the stable they had come across. With how he was positioned, you had set your journal on his back where you were writing. You treated him to the occasional pet for letting him be your table.

He kept his eyes closed, enjoying the feel of your hands tangled in his fur. Goddesses, he wished you knew his secret. Would you still allow him to be with you like this? Would you keep your distance? Or would you treat him as affectionately in his human form as his wolf one? Oh how he hoped for the latter, imagining your hands running through his human hair instead of his fur.

At some point he became mildly aware that you had set your journal aside and a hand had traveled closer to his head. It was tracing patterns on him that were quite soothing, and he almost found himself falling asleep.

Until he recognized the pattern.

You were tracing his forehead pattern.

Every ounce of relaxation he felt evaporated into thin air and his mind went blank. He never thought the others could really see the mark on him, because otherwise the connection between him and Wolfie would be way too obvious. And he’d like to believe his sword brothers weren’t that stupid. Wild had only mentioned it being slightly visible on his fur, only really there if you actively sought it out.

Goddesses above, those markings were obvious on his Hylian form. There was absolutely no way, no way you didn’t know. Should he turn to look at you? Were you looking at him right now? Of course you were, how else would you be tracing the pattern. If he turned, would that let you know that he knew that you knew? Maybe he should just continue laying still. Yes, just don’t turn and he can avoid the problem all together.

He turned. You were looking right at him.

But it wasn’t too bad. You seemed distant, as if looking at him absentmindedly. Not intense like he imagined, with teasing eyes boring into his own with a hidden taunt. And when you finally met his gaze, your eyes were gentle and soft as if you didn’t expect anything else from this moment. 

And despite the nerves in his stomach, Twilight found that he was alright with this. In this moment, he was content with everything.

Four days ago

Tonight the rancher had chosen to stay in his wolf form during dinner. There had been some monsters nearby that had already been handled, and a thorough scout had ensured that the vicinity was in the clear. But it didn’t hurt to remain alert, hence his preference for the form with heightened senses.

But that didn’t make him any less hungry, and the smell of Wild’s cooking was tempting him to ditch his self-assigned job. For now he had to settle for sitting next to his travel buddies, watching them eat the delicious food, and waiting to eat the portion that Wild had saved for when he 'returned.' That was until you plopped down next to him. 

“Here you go, Wolfie,” you said.

In your hands was a mushroom skewer that Wild had seasoned and roasted to perfection, per usual. It was one of the more simple meals they occasionally ate that he thoroughly enjoyed.

But wolves were carnivores, you should be giving him meat. So why in Ordona were you offering him, Wolfie, a mushroom? He didn’t like the answer in his head.

“I thought this would be good since you’re not the biggest fan of meat,” you said in a hushed tone.

How did you know he didn’t like meat?

Carefully, you removed one of the mushrooms from the skewer and held it in front of him. Twilight held your gaze for a good few seconds before gently taking it from your hand.

His thoughts had stopped. He was no longer thinking. And honestly, he didn’t feel like thinking anymore.

Twilight ate the mushroom.

“Good boy.” You smiled softly and scratched his ear as he munched.

Twilight didn’t want to look, but he was willing to bet at least 500 rupees that Wild had his eyes trained on him yet again, and that the snicker he was hearing was coming from him too. The rancher decided to ignore the question of whether or not Wild suspected you knew too.

You held another mushroom in front of him.

He ate the mushroom.

A few hours ago

You were an affectionate person, always showing it while respecting everyone’s boundaries. You kissed Wind’s forehead, ruffled Hyrule’s hair, and wrapped Four up in many hugs. Sometimes you even managed to give Legend a hug, but he always pretended to grumble about it like the ungrateful brat he was. Wolfie was no exception to your affections, but this was definitely a first for him.

Kisses. So many kisses. You were peppering his face with an absurd amount of kisses. 

Thank all that was holy that they were currently situated away from the others, because he didn’t think he would ever recover from this. You had wrapped your arms around him in a way that made it difficult to get away, so he opted to move his head around in a playful manner hoping you wouldn’t would take the hint.

“Do you not want kisses?” you asked with a pout.

He responded by ducking his head underneath your arms, successfully wriggling out of your grasp. Twilight took a few steps back before shaking himself vigorously. When he looked at you again, you were still pouting at him.

Resist temptation, Twilight.

He barked at you and turned to where he could hear the others making camp.

“Fine,” you relented. “But one more kiss and then we can go?”

No.

He barked at you again, once again motioning his head in the same direction. Twilight is vaguely aware that it did nothing to answer your question.

But that didn't matter, because you managed to grab him one last time in what was definitely one of the tightest (yet still friendly) embraces he had ever felt. And with that, you plant the biggest kiss on his snout. Honestly, smooch was probably the better term for whatever that was.

“Mwah!” you said with a face splitting grin.

What the–

“Ok, let’s head back now.”

He didn't feel like thinking anymore. He just followed you back to camp as you leisurely walked, humming a tune he couldn't recognize. It was only when they were nearing the others that you spoke again.

“Let’s keep the kisses our little secret, yeah? The others might get jealous,” you said, shooting him a mischievous smile.

He hadn't decided to start thinking again, so he just huffed in response.

Present

This now brought Twilight back to the present, but more specifically to a few moments ago. Warriors and Legend were still looking at him with smirks from what had happened, and the Old Man had been no better about it given how he just confessed that you possibly knew his secret.

He didn’t know what you and the others had been discussing on the other side of camp, but all he knew was that next thing, you were standing right in front of him, bent to eye level with another no-good smile on your face once more.

“Whatcha doin’ darlin’?” he asked.

Your grin grew. “Teaching the others a lesson.”

“That don't sound good." He quirked an eyebrow. “An' why am I involved?”

“For this!”

His breath hitched and everything slowed to a standstill as you leaned in, planting another kiss smooch on the tip of his nose.

“That ought to make the others jealous,” you said almost proudly before whispering the next part. “But I guess it’s not a secret now. Sorry about that.”

You eyed him knowingly with that same stupid grin before walking back to the others, some of whose jaws were on the floor. He couldn’t judge though, because he was sure he was no better. Twilight leaned backwards on the log he was sitting on and eventually decided to just fall flat on his back as his hands came up to hide his face.

Youknewyouknewyouknewyouknewyouknew

“Well, that was something,” the Old Man said.

“Shut it.”

Youknewyouknewyouknewyouknewyou–

You just kissed him in front of everyone. Everyone.

It wasn’t a real kiss. Calm down.

“… Time,” he called out.

He hummed in response, amusement in his tone.

“She knows. But... s’okay.”

Flirting, he was flirting with you. He's been flirting with you, and you hadn't been too receptive at first, always eyeing him with a bit of caution.

You eyed him again now, fighting to keep your face neutral. From behind you, Time also eyed the rancher with a knowing look; he tried to ignore his ancestor.

"... Sure."

Smoothly, Twilight gripped your waist and lifted you off Epona—who also seemed to have been eyeing him—and onto the ground. You blushed at the feeling of his hands on you. He kept them where they were supposed to be, not travelling anywhere, but they did linger a teensy bit more than necessary.

Not that you minded. His touch was… nice.

That had been the end of that. A warm smile from him, a thanks from you, and a chuckle from Time.

Twilight was fairly bold with his flirting, and it was not something you were used to, mainly because no one had ever been so respectful about it. Most men were too handsy or straight up audacious, more or less trying to get in your pants. 

And, well, for all you knew Twilight could also just be trying to get in there. But having gotten to decently know him now, you didn't mind the thought too much. Whatever happened would most likely not be just a one night stand.

Another day of travelling, another night of camping. It was all routine by now.

"I'll run a quick patrol?" Twilight offered to Warriors.

"Sounds good," he responded quickly. "You're going alone?"

Wars saw how he was about to respond with a 'Yeah', but then the rancher's eyes flickered towards you. You noticed both of their gazes and looked at them questioningly.

"Dunno. Am I goin' alone?" Twilight asked you.

Both yours and Warriors' mouth dropped open a bit, the captain also sporting a disbelieving grin.

"Um, uh"—a small smile of your own crept onto your face—"no, I don't think you are."

Warriors let out a low whistle as the two of you headed out, still not believing what he just saw. "Smooth, rancher. Very smooth."

A different day, another night of camping, but a night out in the city too.

They were all either galavanting about or heading to the milk bar, and you hadn't decided which activity you wanted to partake in.

"Whatchu doin' tonight?" Twilight asked you.

He had another grin on his face and was leaning against the tree you were about to put your stuff down at. You shot him a mischievous look.

"I might be going on a date," you said.

He faltered. 

It wasn't a date with someone else, no way. Were you asking him out? Or rather making him ask you out? What was he supposed to say? 

For all the flirting he'd been doing, Twilight had no idea how to react to being on the receiving end. He was supposed to be the one asking you out like a gentleman, not the other way around.

"Oh," he said. Really? He couldn't have said anything else? "Might?"

"Might," you confirmed. "Depends on what you're doing."

"I was—uh—I was gonna… gonna… take you to the…"

"The small restaurant I passed by earlier today."

"Yes! Um–yes." He tried to compose himself. "Was plannin' on takin' you there."

You laughed, stepping forward and planting a kiss on his cheek. Twilight's face blew up in fiery blush. 

"Great, sounds like a date."

main masterlist! event masterlist! join my taglists!

He’d like to think he wasn’t overreacting. He really would. But why did your friend only look at him like that after you mentioned that the two of you were a thing? And then that ‘friend’ had kept that look on WIld while giving you the tightest hug he’d ever seen.

You didn’t seem to notice though, too caught up in the joy of seeing your dear ‘friend.’

“He used to bake all the time when we were kids,” you had gushed. “His pastries were the best. And now he’s taken over his father’s bakery, and I’m telling you Wild, he’s got the best stuff in all of Hyrule.”

Really? This guy’s got the best stuff in all of Hyrule?

“I’m wounded,” Wild said, dramatically placing his hand over his heart so that he didn’t convey that he actually was a little wounded. “I thought I made the best food in all of Hyrule.”

You had grinned at him and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I did say that, didn’t I? Cook for me again and I can confirm it.”

And cook for you again he did. He cooked a lot of things. Specifically, he recreated many of the pastries and treats your ‘friend’ had made for you. Well, not entirely recreated. They were better, much better.

“Here,” he held out a pastry for you to grab. It had a perfect puff pastry lattice on it, evenly browned from a glossy egg wash he had brushed on before baking. “Try it.”

You let out a dramatic sigh, but couldn’t stop the smile from coming onto your face. It hadn’t taken much for you to figure out the reason for all the cooking your lover had been doing lately. You gently grabbed the pastry, observing it.

“Is this meat mince?”

“Yes.”

It was the same exact design as your friend’s one, and almost had the same smell to it. Wild’s was a bit more fragrant. You took a careful bite, making sure the flakes of pastry didn’t fall onto your clothes. Your eyes widened a bit, just enough for Wild to notice and slightly puff his chest in pride.

“This is pretty good.”

“I know,” he said smugly.

You rolled your eyes. “What did you change?”

“More spices, cooked the meat a bit differently, and more salt,” he listed. “Your little friend has a habit of undersalting his goods.”

“Little friend?”

“Yes.”

You giggled and kissed his cheek again. “Best chef across all eras of Hyrule,” you said.

He grinned and nodded firmly in agreement.

It was slowly coming back to you, and that awfully familiar feeling of your throat closing up inched forward with the urge to cry.

In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four.

You counted your breaths hoping it would push the tears away. You so badly wanted to cry, but you also really didn't feel like doing anymore of that.

All the tears and inability to keep food down these past… however long it had been, had left you dehydrated and hungry. Your saving grace had been the water being drinkable. Without it, you may have been dead within… the second day maybe? It had to have been at least three days here.

Your ankle.

Your breath hitched and your head snapped down, looking at your foot. It was all intact, nothing out of place, but still stained red. You felt nauseous looking at it and found yourself needing to turn away.

It was all intact, but there was no unseeing what had been there. Pain that didn't exist pulsed up your leg. And faintly, there were still echoes of pain from where the spear had gone through your thigh.

You tried moving your ankle around while staring at the wall, not wanting to actually see it. It felt fine. Eventually, you managed to stand and lean against the wall. You were faintly dizzy with tiredness, and it made you wonder again how long you had passed out for.

Slowly, you made your way towards the room, stopped at the threshold, and then decided to take a few steps back. Annoyance and frustration coursed through you. You didn't even need to enter the room with all the water in there; a practiced flick of your wrist, and the golden chest could be carried right to your feet.

But if this dungeon was teaching you anything, it was that one missed detail could cost you too much.

You pushed off the wall, allowing weight to fall onto your 'bad' leg. It was fine. It was fine. It felt fine. You walked around for a few steps with a limp that shouldn't exist before trying to enter the room.

You willed the water in the room rise and form two thick lines which you froze, lining a pathway from the entrance to the chest. Hopefully, the pirogusu wouldn't be able to pierce through it. You threw a shard of the clay pot in to test the theory.

In a flash, one of them appeared. It immediately slammed into the ice, unable to go past it. But then another one appeared behind it, and another, and another. And somehow, the ice held. For however sharp their claws were, they didn't have that much strength to put behind it.

With the path clear, you ran towards the chest and leapt on top of it, sitting awkwardly on the lid. Even though you knew that the pirogusu couldn't reach you or change its course circling from around the room, you were still paranoid—hence the awkward sitting.

A long minute passed before you finally gained the confidence to step onto the ground. Their numbers had increased dramatically, but with their paths blocked, the pirogusu were stuck piling up on each other until they eventually lined the whole room, unable to move. If you weren't so freshly traumatized, you might've laughed.

Opening the chest revealed nothing too interesting. It had the key you thought it would, golden and ornate to match the door it unlocks. Its bow was shaped like a serpent, with the same red eyes that the door had.

Your heartbeat quickened as the key began to tremble, and it took a good few moments to realize that it was your hand that was shaking, not the key itself.

You didn't want to fight the serpent. If it was more difficult than what you'd already endured, you were going to die. Survival didn't even seem possible.

A glimmer flew by in the corner of your eye.

Only one death or major injury allowed.

You grabbed the jar you had found, slowly holding it out towards the fairy. It sparkled slightly in greeting, and you smiled softly at it. Seeming to understand, it flew into the jar on its own, and you fit the lid back on.

It was a good thing you came into the room.

"Thank you," you whispered.

The fairy sparkled in response.

A heavy sigh left your lips, and you did a final sweep of the room before heading back to the central room. Your steps were heavy, and you still felt exhausted. Your magic hadn't fully recovered either.

You wouldn't be able to fight for a while.

The sickly smell of lotus flowers greeted you in the central room. Nayru had mentioned that the dark magic being harbored in the temple was the cause of its decline. Yet you found that its condition didn't improve after most of its removal.

Save for the serpent, you had slain all the monsters (at least you hoped so), but it did nothing to stop the abundant decay. Many of the plants were withered, or close to dying. The flowers that were still in bloom reeked of the sweetness from being close to death. It made the water unappetizing to drink, but you were in no state to be picky.

The golden doors loomed over you, the serpent's red eyes glaring down, making anxiety and dread brew in your stomach. The more you let these feelings fester, the more the odds of freezing in there would increase. But you also needed to rest. If you didn't, you would die for certain.

Go now or go later. Either way, I'm gonna die.

You gathered some of the leaves in the water and formed a sorry excuse of a pillow with them. And laying in front of the golden doors, you tried to get some sleep.

Before Demise had begun his attack on the surface, Link used to pray a lot. It was mainly out of social requirement, whenever his friends or whoever he was with was also praying. It wasn't that Link didn't believe in the gods or prayer, but rather that doing it so often was a little useless and over the top. What need was there to pray all the time?

But you his wife had enjoyed praying, so he had started to pray wherever she did. And she did it often. Nearly every evening if she had the energy; if someone they knew was sick; before any significant event; the days where duty kept him from coming home; she had always prayed with every bit of goodness in her heart.

Link could vividly recount the three times he had truly prayed from the bottom of his heart before he was imprisoned. There was the day he had met you her, where he prayed they would have a long, peaceful life together; the day they had married, where he prayed for a happy marriage free of troubles; and the day they found out she was pregnant, where he prayed for a happy and healthy babe.

And then they took him, blaming him for a crime he did not commit, and dismissing his warnings of evil stirring in the darkness. Every day in that cell, Link had prayed to every god that existed with nothing but his entire heart.

He prayed for her to be safe and healthy. He prayed that the babe would be born without any issues. He prayed that the villagers would care for them in his absence. He prayed that they would treat her like the family she had always thought them to be. He prayed that he would not be here long, and that he would be reunited with them eventually.

The only comfort either of them could find was through each other's emotions.

Neither of them were doing well, not in the slightest. But she was alone and with child. He needed to get his feelings in check for her. The thought of the babe dying because he had inadvertently added even more to her stress, was nothing short of sickening.

He had attempted to soothe her from a distance, and encouraged her to believe that things would work out somehow, but they both knew it probably wouldn't. He had been sentenced to life in prison, and there would be no visitation for at least five years assuming 'good behavior.'

Link's praying spiraled six months into imprisonment.

It was one of the most awful things he had ever felt, and worse than any injury he had obtained. The feeling of violent cramps in his abdomen had sent him crumbling to the ground. The guards had been furious about the ruckus he was causing, but ultimately chose to ignore him after gaining an understanding of what was happening.

It continued on for hours, the cramps. Link could feel the panic and fear in her building, and it only made panic and fear build in him too. But he tried so hard to stay calm for her.

Why was she panicking? Why was she so fearful? Was there no one to help her? Oh gods, please. Gods, please help her. Someone help her.

The cramps grew worse and worse, and it felt like he was being split open. Link did the only thing he could do; he prayed. He prayed and prayed and prayed that all would be well. He prayed that she was alright. He prayed that she was with others and getting the help that she needed.

Even though he knew what would follow, there was no way to mentally prepare for feeling the actual childbirth pain she was going through. Gods, he was being torn apart. He had screamed, and the guards had laughed at his pain, her pain. Link had wanted nothing more than to make them pay for that.

When it was done? Oh by the gods when it was done, Link had never felt that joy before, the joy she was feeling from their child being here. It was so much, so incredibly strong, and so incredibly fleeting.

She had still been in so much pain, and it had barely faded, only masked by the happiness. That wonderful, blessed joy had faded, replaced with despair and sadness, and then nothing.

There had been nothing.

There was no more joy, despair, happiness, sadness. There was no more pain. There was nothing.

Something was telling him that the worst had happened. It was something deep inside of him telling him that, because his mind was just refusing to make sense of what was happening, to accept it.

At that same time, Link felt an awful tingling sensation on his wrist.

It wasn't a bug crawling across his skin, nor a strange brush from the chains, nor anything else. It was something else, and he didn't know what. He had a horrible idea of what it was that he couldn't physically, mentally, emotionally accept. He didn't know what that sensation had been, and he couldn't see what had happened beneath his shackles.

For two weeks straight, he had begged the guards to remove the shackle from just that hand, to let him see his soulmate mark, to let him see her name there. The guards laughed at him again and did nothing.

He needed to see it. He needed to see her name there. He needed to know that she was still here.

Six months, it had been six months. Was the babe here? The child was delivered, right? Had she done it alone, with no one to help her? Were the two of them alive? No, of course she wasn't alive.

He did the only thing he could do—pray to hell and back. It had gone from every day, to every hour, to every minute of the day. He prayed for the exact same things as before, but with more than just his heart now. He prayed with every fiber of his being, channeled every bit of desperation into it. He apologized to all the gods and goddesses, for not being as devout as he could've been. He promised to do better, to pray regularly and mean it. And he asked that they send him a sign that the two of them were alright.

Link stopped praying after those two weeks.

It had been only then that someone he knew had spoken to him—an old acquaintance from when he was a knight that had since climbed the ranks. He wasn't a friend honestly, but he was now the only one who cared enough to speak to him. It was quick and straight to the point, delivering the news that Link deserved to know.

Not a single one of his prayers had been answered.

Not any of the ones he had made before he entered this damned cell, and not any of the ones he had made during his time here.

Not a single prayer.

His acquaintance had allowed for the shackle on his wrist to be removed temporarily, so that Link could see it with his own eyes. It had been horrifying to look at.

This was not my wrist.

No, his wrist was thicker than this, showed the start of his forearm muscles (ones that she had fawned over), and had her name inked in beautiful red on it. This, this was not his wrist. His wrist was not thin and frail and blank.

He didn't know how long he had stared at it, but they eventually clasped the shackle around it again. He had been vaguely aware of his acquaintance offering his condolences and bidding him farewell before promptly leaving. 

Link continued to stare at the shackle for a long time. His mind was racing faster than a stallion, but there weren't any thoughts crossing anymore. There wasn't much that was left to think about. 

Everything was gone.

She was gone. The babe was gone. His life was gone.

Nothing good came when his mind finally settled.

None of his prayers had worked, and he wondered if any of hers had.

Link had cried at the thought that the gods had ignored her. She had always cared and prayed for everyone and everything with no exceptions. Why could the gods not have shown her mercy? Would it have been so hard for them to do so?

Link swore to never pray again that day.

Never again would he go to the gods and beg them for help.

Never again would he pray to them for anything.

Never again would he do such a useless thing.

Never again did he think he'd find himself standing before a statue of the Goddess.

Yet here he was.

He hadn't even bothered to wade through the water to the small platform he was supposed to kneel at. Out of spite, he walked no further than the dais.

His bandaged hands clenched into fists so tight, that he thought the bleeding would start again. His face was unreadable, but there was no mistaking the fury in his eyes.

Link wasn't here to pray. No, never again.

It had been four days. Four days since the gods had taken you from him. Four days of waiting for any sort of signal. Four days of staring at your name on his wrist, the only sign you were alive.

When the entrance had collapsed, he had screamed your name for who knew how long. He had tried digging through the rubble until his hands bled and then some more. He had scouted the area looking for other possible entrances and found nothing.

Link spent the following days doing nothing but keep watch. He barely spent time inside the tower. It was warm there, but the faint chill of being outside would not bother him if it meant he would be there for your return. If you returned.

He now stood upon the dais, glaring into the statue's eyes.

Four days of nothing had passed, and he had grown increasingly aware of how little he knew about everything, how little all of them knew about anything. The only thing Link could see now was that everything you and the others were doing was by the will of the gods.

You had stood before the goddess statue, and she had 'answered' your prayers; it was infuriating to think that Hylia may not have even done that for you.

What did you pray to her for? Guidance? Help? She has answered by sending you to your death.

His eyes slammed shut in anger and frustration at that last thought. You were strong. You weren't. You had spirit. That wouldn't be enough. You needed to come back. For the sake of his sanity, you needed to come back. If he was to be of any use in the grand scheme of whatever Hylia had planned, you. needed. to come. back.

'The grand scheme. We are nothing more than pawns in a game to you, aren't we? Soldiers you place where needed, whose prayers you answer when convenient.'

Link forced his eyes open if only to continue glaring at Hylia. He breathed harshly through his mouth, hoping that the deeper breaths would calm him. He knew you could still feel his emotions, and they were the last thing you needed to be dealing with right now.

'Do you see me standing before you now, Hylia? Will you speak with me? Or am I not worth your time anymore?'

There was no response, of course. Why would there have been one?

So he turned away, heading to keep watch from the same place he had been sitting at these past few days.

There was nothing he could do to convince any of these gods to pay them any mind, not unless it served themselves as well.

No. No. No.

Link felt that awful sensation in his wrist again, one that he never thought he'd feel again, and one that he never hoped to feel again.

His hands flew, frantically struggling to remove his bracer and glove.

NO. NO. NO.

He ripped his glove off just in time, just in time to see your name fade away right before his eyes.

A scream of despair, anger, and frustration tore from his throat.

The nap(?) you had taken sucked to say the least, and the makeshift pillow had left a crick in your neck. But it didn't matter; you were rested enough to continue on. Your magic was replenished, most of the phantom pain was gone, and you had managed to eat some hardtack.

The only thing stopping you now was the dreaded anxiety building up inside of you as you stood in front of the golden doors, yet again. You turned the key over and over again in your hand, eyes locked onto the ruby eyes of the serpent.

Do it. Just do it. Do it and get it over with.

You kept on standing before the doors, unmoving, before at last some spark of idiocy made you unlock the door.

The key twisted, and a series of clicks and hidden gears began to sound. The serpent's ruby eyes glowed, and a mechanical hiss came from its mouth as the doors opened. A loud thud followed once they were completely open, and you took a few tentative steps in.

It was another overly spacious room. But this time there was a ginormous, round pool in the center filled with the decaying—no, rotting—lotus flowers and pads. The wall behind it appeared to have once been a beautiful mural depicting Nayru herself, but was now considerably cracked. The place reeked of the flowers, like someone had lit an egregiously large bundle of the most overbearingly perfumed incense they could find.

Your nose wrinkled, and you took a few steps forward to inspect the pool. Almost immediately, the surface of the water started to tremble and the doors behind you closed—far faster than how they had opened. Panic began to build in you once more. You gulped, trying to force it down.

The trembling grew more and more until at last, the serpent burst from the water, rearing its golden head wildly with an ear-splitting hiss. You flinched violently, hands flying to protect your eardrums.

It briefly looked around the room before focusing its bloody red eyes on you, letting out another screech. You froze in horror, body refusing to move. For a second, the only thing you could do was listen to the frantic beating of your heart.

DO SOMETHING.

A spray of venom launched straight at you, and your hand raised just in time to make the water form a shield in front of you. The ground sizzled next to you.

You drew your hand back, and a sphere of water was drawn back next to you.

But quicker than you could comprehend, the serpent lunged at you, jaws widened to an impossible degree. Bloody, fleshy red consumed the entirety of your vision. This was an undodgeable attack—a guaranteed hit.

I'm going to die.

Fear and panic taking over, you did the only thing you could do: thrust your hand forward, hoping that the spear of water you shot would hit something vital. Your eyes squeezed shut in anticipation of your gruesome death.

The creature recoiled with another ear-piercing screech, and the coldness of the serpent's jaws that had started to wrap around you, left. You had hit something important.

You forced your eyes open, seeing the serpent flail around in pain with its eyes closed, the resulting waves splashing everywhere.

You used the moment to search for any vulnerable points. There was the mouth, and something told you that the eyes would also work. But landing that blow would require extreme accuracy.

The screeching halted and it glared at you fiercely, mouth opening once more. On the roof of its mouth, a glassy, ruby-red spot glimmered, sporting a small series of cracks. You shot another spear of water at the spot before it could spray venom again, this time forcing the water to harden into ice halfway.

It struck true, and the glass cracked considerably more. The serpent shrieked and flailed before plunging back into the water.

You took the moment to catch your breath, chest-heaving from adrenaline.

It didn't last long; the water's trembling grew more and more violent. When it erupted from the water once more, it didn't stay put like last time. No, it thrashed around, flooding the room with towering waves.

You couldn't think of any way to counter it before one of the waves knocked you all the way back into the wall, forcing the air out of your lungs.

And before the wave could even recede properly, another one crashed into you. Your head slammed into the wall again, and your vision blurred. Another wave came; you stayed pinned to the wall.

The water finally receded and you fell to the ground with a strangled gasp, greedily drinking in the air. Too fast. You choked, coughing up water you didn't even know you inhaled.

It took a minute for the dizziness to clear, and in that time the serpent seemed to have disappeared back into the pool, momentarily content with the damage it had inflicted.

You pushed yourself up to your hands and knees, blearily looking around. The waves of the pool lapped softly over the edge and onto the ground for a moment before the damn serpent came out again.

It didn't attack immediately, observing you to see if you were still a threat. The two of you locked eyes, and instead of feeling that same fear from before, you felt anger.

Oh FUCK you!

You waved your hand brashly with a yell, and the water flew to encase its head. It formed a rough sphere, and then shards of ice shot inwards, skewering its eyes.

It shrieked again, much louder than the previous times. The only noise of satisfaction you could make was a groan.

Its body collapsed unexpectedly, head falling onto the ground with such force that the room shook. You stared at it wide-eyed for a second before that anger came back. Your hands clenched into fists, and with a yell you raised and swung it down with as much force as you could muster.

The water from the pool rose and folded in on itself, turning into a gigantic sphere of ice that slammed into the serpent's head. Its skull crushed under the impact, and the head exploded into bits of flesh, blood, and venom that flew everywhere.

Momentarily drained, you could only duck and cover your head to protect yourself from the shower of gore. You shrieked in pain as some of the venom burned through the clothing on your back and shoulders.

Your breaths left harshly through gritted teeth as you forced yourself up once more, glaring at the corpse of the serpent.

And to your absolute horror, the corpse rose on its own again, the flesh pulsing as the head began to regrow.

"Oh fuck no!"

Your hand shot out right before the jaw grew back, and a spear of ice made contact with the ruby-red glass just as it reformed. The glass shattered, but the head continued to grow, if only to have a way to wail in pain and immediately collapse again.

You did not hesitate to shatter its skull once more.

This time, you willed a barrier of water to protect you from the oncoming shower. The serpent's headless body retreated into the pool.

What is it going to do now? Flood the room, or try and attack?

You noted the patterns in the tremors of the water.

Attack. It's going to attack.

But it wasn't like before.

This time when the serpent erupted from the pool, it immediately collapsed onto the floor, still conscious. With a loud screech, the serpent dragged its head to sweep around the room, destroying everything in its path, turning the marble floor into a mess of rubble.

Jump! Jump over it!

But your limbs were too heavy, and your magic was nearly gone, most of it used without much thought, only instinct.

There would be no dodging or countering this attack.

You channeled the last of the magic into forming another barrier to protect yourself.

The serpent's head broke through it easily, and you felt yourself get crushed against the wall. Fangs pierced your flesh and venom burned through your bones. You could only scream in agony before darkness took you.

Previous | Series Masterlist | Next join the taglist!

a/n: never see ppl include periods/childbirth in pain-sharing AUs y'know? i had planned for this to be a pain-sharing bond + First's wife to die in childbirth, but tbh it never registered til now that he prob would've felt that too. but it's fine; adds to the pain of it all hehe (literally and figuratively)

He never thought he would be able to enjoy anything like this after the war. Too much had happened. Betrayal, loss, Cia. 

By the gods, he never thought he would be able to get close to anyone ever again. Never thought he would let his guard down around ‘friends.’ Never thought he’d take his chainmail off outside of bathing, which he always kept under five minutes. Never thought he’d enjoy someone else’s touch again.

But then he met them. His spirit brothers. 

And it was almost embarrassing how quickly he came to trust them. No doubt easier when familiar faces were involved. Well, sort of familiar faces. 

Mask had grown up. Time was much older, wiser, and living a life he was content with. He couldn’t have wanted anything else for his little–now older–brother. Maybe it’d be nice if he was still shorter than him, but beggars can’t be choosers. He’d take what he could get.

The sailor didn’t know who he was. He was younger than when Warriors had first met him, his future in Warriors’ past. But that didn’t matter to him, because the boy’s heart was still as good and pure as it was back then. 

And with his trust in them, he thinks his trust in the others naturally came. All of them were good men. Maybe a few Legend were a bit prickly, but they were still good men.

Around them, Warriors was comfortable. He felt as if it was alright to be vulnerable, like the idea of them stabbing him in the back wasn’t even a possibility. And that if somebody else was to come behind him, they would be there to defend him.

And you. Hylia above, you.

He shifted to look up. You gazed down at him with a smile, softly stroking a thumb across his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into your touch.

Warriors had vowed to never let a woman get close to him again. To never entertain their advances, to never let them brush against him, to never let them touch him again.

But you hadn’t done any of that. You hadn’t flirted with him, not more than how you already jokingly flirted with the others. You had never tried to pursue him. And you had never touched him, always respecting his boundaries.

You were gentle.

Your love wasn’t suffocating, greedy, or selfish. It was warm, welcoming, and waited with open arms. And he had walked into them without a second thought. He had barely even noticed, honestly.

“What’s on your mind?” you asked him, head tilted curiously.

He kissed your palm. “Nothing, just you.”

You lightly pinched his nose. “You flirt.”

“Only for you.”

A loving squeeze to his cheek. His heart fluttered.

If he was being truly honest, he didn’t know when he fell in love with you. There was no exact moment to pinpoint. But it had been something he had willingly walked into. Yeah, he had walked into it, not fallen.

“You need to wash your hair soon. It’s getting oily,” you said.

He hummed. “Will you wash it for me?”

“Are you suggesting we bathe together?”

“Yes,” he replied without hesitation.

He shifted and wrapped his arms around your waist, face squished into the plush of your stomach.

“How scandalous!” you giggled. “I’ll do it.”

Warriors made a happy hum.

He had been so happy to hear that his little brother had a good life. Working a job he was happy with, living in a good house, married to a woman he loved.

Maybe, just maybe, Warriors could have that too.

"Thirty on her confessing first."

"Really? Why dontcha put fifty on the sun risin' in the east while yer at it, yeah?"

"Twenty on something happening, and that's what's gonna force the confession."

A chorus of "ooooh's."

The small crowd looked over to you and Legend. The latter seemed to be teasing you, holding a jar of something just out of arm's reach. You were getting annoyed at him, and just as Legend leaned over to gloat about something else, you swept your leg out.

He fell backwards with a startled yelp, and you used the momentary distraction to pin him down and grab the jar from him. He landed with a thud and a groan, and you triumphantly held up your prize from where you sat on him.

"I'm changing it to twenty on a confession from her in three weeks."

Legend flailed beneath you, a deep flush creeping up from his neck to his ears. You also seemed to realize the position you were in and leapt off of him.

A brief bout of stuttering and a flush of your own came out before you decided to just walk away and pretend like nothing happened.

"That's still easy money."

"At this rate, neither of them are going to do anything about it."

Wind scowled and turned to face Four. "There's no way! They've got to do something eventually, right?"

"If nothin's not happenin' on it's own, then looks like we gonna hafta make somethin' happen."

Wind made an intrigued expression. Four looked at Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you have an idea?" the smith asked.

"We could always lock them in a room together," Sky offered with a miraculously innocent smile. "Zel and I did that to some friends of ours once. It worked out!"

"You wanna lock Ledge up ina room?" Twilight looked at him incredulously. "They's gonna be plottin' how t'kill us `steada smoochin'."

"I agree. We'll need a more inconspicuous plan."

"Let's start small, yeah? Send `em on patrol t'gether or somethin'."

"Send who?" Legend asked.

All four of them jumped, and a near-visible shiver of fear went down Wind's spine. Twilight looked at him with wide eyes, words failing to come out of his mouth.

Sky jumped in for the rescued and wildly scanned the area for a second before spotting you.

"Hey!" he yelled at you. You looked at him and blinked owlishly. "Vet wants to patrol with you!"

That same blush from before returned to both you and Legend with a vengeance. Too flustered, you couldn't say much to the knight. And too angry, Legend also seemed a little incapable of saying much to him. He raised a fist, fuming.

"Why you fucking—!"

All four of them scrambled from the scene in different directions, leaving Legend alone in the dust, with you not too far away. He yelled incomprehensibly for a minute.

It came to a stop when you placed a hand on his shoulder. His hand came to harshly slap it away before he realized it was you. The flush of anger transformed into a flush of embarrassment.

"Do you uh, you wanna go on that patrol?" you asked.

He grumbled a bit, not wanting to say yes just because of the other four. "We do need to do one." Without another word, he grabbed your hand and marched away from camp.

main masterlist! event masterlist! join my taglists!

Every time you stepped into a dungeon, there was always some buzzing excitement, wondering what treasures there were to uncover. But there was also a small whisper in the back of your head—in the back of everyone's heads—that this could be the dungeon they never leave.

And you knew. You knew that you would not be leaving this one.

The blocked exit ahead mocked you.

You felt cold, and everything hurt. The adrenaline was starting to leave.

Dust floated everywhere, and clung onto every surface it could find. Every breath burned, and every exhale was a raspy whine or groan. None of it compared to the pain of your legs being crushed. A column falling in just the wrong direction, and moving just a little to slow you guessed.

You wanted to hope otherwise, but logic told you that this was it. There would be no walking after this—no potion, magic, or fairy could fix this in time. And if by some miracle you got out from beneath the column, the absence of its pressure would make you bleed out.

A horrid feeling of acceptance and panic filled your stomach.

This was it for me, but not for him. Not if I could help it.

You used what little strength you had to lift your head and look at Legend.

A barely audible groan left his throat as he tried to move, weakly getting on his hands and knees. He had hit head and probably had a concussion. If that's all it was, there was still hope for him. A sprinkling of dust from the ceiling above him caught your attention, and your eyes widened in panic.

"Legend!" you yelled. Talking was excruciating. Your throat hurt like a bitch, and you wanted to stop. But the fear that he might die was far greater. "Legend, run!"

Legend was clearly dazed and out of it, but his senses seemed to sharpen in an instant at your words. His eyes flew open, looking at where your gaze was directed and rolling out of the way in the nick of time.

Your head fell back to the ground as the falling rubble made a crater in the floor instead of him. A sigh of relief left you, but it quickly turned into a violent coughing fit. You blearily caught sight of blood splattering on the ground; the wetness on your lips was not from saliva.

Would the dust kill you first? You never knew that could happen.

"Are you alright?" you whispered.

You tried looking at him again, shifting your neck just a little. He groaned, getting up once more. Legend seemed to have lost his sense of direction yet again, looking everywhere except you. When his eyes finally found you again, the blood drained from his face, turning him a deathly pale.

Legend shakily called your name out, coughing from the dust.

"Oh fucking hell," he cursed.

You let out a pained whimper at his words.

This was the first you'd heard him speak with a tone like that—weak and full of fear. It felt like a death sentence.

The fear crept into your heart like a dagger being pushed in slowly. You were going to die here, trapped and unable to move. Not in battle, not protecting anyone, not from old age, or in the comfort of home. You were going to die trapped in a dungeon.

I don't want to die, you thought. I don't want to die here. I don't want to die like this. Tears began to stream down your face. You were a little grateful for the tears; the post nasal drip soothed the ache in your throat.

Legend stumbled next to you and collapsed, gripping your hand tightly. You sobbed at his touch, pulling it closer to you as if he was the only thing tethering you the world right now. It might be.

You felt dizzy and fatigued. Was it the blood loss? Maybe it was exhaustion—the dungeon had been tiring. It didn't matter. You would be dead either way.

"D-don't move," Legend whispered. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

My corpse, perhaps. But my last moments will be here.

Legend glanced down as something dripped onto your arm—a tear amidst the dust that covered every inch around them. He hadn't noticed he was crying too. It was an unwelcome warmth, a stark contrast to the cold that seeped into your body.

"Go," you said. "I can't move."

"I'm not leaving you!" Legend frantically retrieved the Titan's Mitt and braced his hands against the column on top of you. "I'm not leaving you."

He pushed as hard as he could, and you screamed in pain as the structure shifted. Startled, he backed off for an instant, but your screams only worsened as it shifted back into place.

"Stop!" you screeched. "Please! Stop, Legend!"

"I'm sorry!" He fell to his knees again, grasping onto your shoulder, your hand, holding on to any part of you he could reach. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Legend apologized, for more than just the pain he had caused you now.

Another violent fit of coughs forced its way out of you, and Legend watched in horror as more blood splattered the dusty floor in front of you.

The dizziness felt worse, or maybe the exhaustion was settling in.

Everything thrummed in pain. You wanted to close your eyes and sleep the pain away. But you knew you wouldn't be waking up again. A rumble echoed through the dungeon.

"Save yourself," you whispered. "This place is gonna collapse."

"I can't just leave you behind," he trembled.

"Do it anyways!"

Your eyes clenched shut in frustration. He didn't need to die too! Legend had to go. He had to get out of here soon.

"Go," you repeated, softly now. "Go and get Hyrule, or a fairy. I'm going to die if you move the column."

Legend sobbed again, grinding his teeth in frustration. You both knew the cold truth.

Hyrule couldn't help you. A fairy or potion wouldn't work either. If the column moved, you died. If he left the dungeon and it collapsed, you died. If he tried to do anything, you died. If he stayed and did nothing, you both died.

Your eyes cracked open a little, barely seeing him through the dust and tears. Your breaths felt slower, and the weight of your eyelids grew heavy.

"Don't go to sleep," he said, voice quivering. This was it. "I'm going to come back soon, okay?"

More tears streamed down your face, a small hiccup leaving you. He wasn't coming back. The dungeon won't let him. If it would, then the others would also be here. You squeezed his hand tight, clinging onto the last bit of his warmth before he left.

"Okay," you answered.

Legend faltered, and lent down to press a kiss into your dust-coated hair. "I'm coming back."

He tried pulling his hand from yours, but you didn't let go. I don't want to die alone. Don't leave me alone, please. The both of you sobbed, and he pressed another kiss to your forehead. It was warm and left you feeling colder in its wake. Legend weakly tried pulling his hand again. You can't die here too. I can't keep you here. You didn't resist.

"I'm coming back."

You watched as he left, running to the exit and moving debris aside with his gauntlet. Your sobs grew heavier as he got farther and farther away. Don't leave me! you wanted to cry. Legend, please! Come back!

He disappeared through the exit, leaving you completely and utterly alone. The crying left you feeling even weaker, and in the loneliness of the dungeon, you allowed your eyes to close. Another rumble echoed, and a final sob left you as rubble began to rain down once more.

main masterlist! event masterlist! join my taglists!