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sapphicseasapphire · 2 months

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So- I had a question regarding someone else’s question on Sky doing a duel wield on Fi and (I think it was Wars, forgive me if it isn't-) but since Ghirahim was left in the past at the end of Skyward Sword, will he be somewhere in the feature? If he's no longer alive, will his sword fragments (like an artifact) be somewhere in anyone else’s Time Era like a museum, or will it be in a forgotten temple for the chain to find? Would Sky be able to see the so-called “Red string of fate” that would lead him to the sword?

If so: How would Sky react to seeing Ghirahim’s sword? Would he be scared and immediately get away from it? Would he try and fix it outta guilt for how Ghirahim’s fate turned out to be? Or would he feel sorry/ nothing at all for how Ghirahim turned out?

But-

If Ghirahim was still alive but just badly wounded that would take X amount of time to heal (Like the Master Sword did in Tears of the Kingdom) do you think he would actively try and seek out Sky to end his life for revenge for his fallen master? (If so would he be close to ending Sky but would still be too weak to actually properly kill him and just end up nearby waiting for a chance to end him?)

Or: Would Sky find/ spot Ghirahim and offer to wield his sword in order to save him, or, would Sky give the sword spirit mercy and put him out of his misery and finally put him to rest? (If so, how would Wars [or whoever it was rip my memory] react to seeing Sky put another sword spirit out of their misery even if they were badly wounded/ hella sick?)

Sorry, this is so long! I wanted to be clear on what I was asking and what your thoughts were based on these two scenarios!

I have to be… really, really careful with what I say here.

First off, I am a Skyward Sword FANATIC. I’m obsessed with Skyward Sword and have been since I was quite literally seven years old. There’s a reason that the majority of my ideas are about Sky. So this is gonna have some Skyward Sword spoilers!! Just putting that warning in!!

At the very end of Skyward Sword, when Demise is dying, his sword is the first thing to be destroyed. He stuck it into the ground to lean on, and then it literally disintegrated. Into dust. Gone. Demise watched it disappear and then cursed Sky, and then he himself started to disintegrate. After all that, the dust the Demise became was absorbed into the Master Sword to be destroyed over time. Fi did not say how long it would take for Demise’s remains to be destroyed, but she was pretty clear in her purpose.

My entire life, I’ve kind of operated in the belief that Ghirahim was also absorbed into the Master Sword and destroyed. But maybe that’s not the case? Maybe the remains of his sword still lie within the Battlefield of Demise, where the Goddess’s power cannot reach. Maybe he’s recovering, biding his time, maybe he has been rebuilding himself for thousands of years. Maybe he did get absorbed, but has not been destroyed (as he is not Demise). Maybe he’s just trapped within the Master Sword, weakened and shattered, strapped at the side of the unknowing Chosen Hero.

Bro, I can’t tell you what exactly Demise did to Ghirahim. When he pulled the sword out of his chest??? And then took his spirit into the sword??? How Ghirahim laughed??? That traumatized me as a kid and it’s still burned into my memory.

It also traumatized Sky. I’m not going to reveal all of my cards right now. But I can tell you- what you mentioned about guilt- that’s a HUGE part of how Sky remembers Ghirahim. Sky hated Ghirahim. But he truly believes that he did not deserve the fate that befell him. Sky just stood there. He stood and watched as Demise- did Demise kill him? He heard that manic laugh, the silence that followed it. Silent in a way it never was with Ghirahim. It still echos in his ears. He has nightmares about it.

In all honesty, if Ghirahim were still alive, he’d make it his goal not only to get revenge on Sky, but to destroy Fi. After all, the remains of his Master are sealed away inside of her, and if Ghirahim is still living, then there’s a chance that Demise is, as well.

And if Sky were to ever see Ghirahim/Ghirahim’s sword, his first reaction would be fear. And what is Sky’s fear?? It becomes power. Sky is the Godkiller, and he will not be underestimated again. Ghirahim… will not underestimate him again. The fight would be real. Ghirahim’s not playing anymore.

Neither is Sky.

This is all hypothetical, of course. I can make no promises about Ghirahim’s status. Is he alive? Is he trapped? Is he coming back? Does he exist only in Sky’s nightmares? The world may never know.

(I know)

The main thing I want to focus on here is how his memories of Ghirahim affect his relationship with Warriors. Sky has Ghirahim nightmares… a lot. And I don’t want to minimize the pain of the rest of the Chain, but Sky’s nightmares are objectively the worst. He gets them frequently, but the thing that really makes them worse than the others’ is that sometimes, he genuinely can’t tell if he’s just having a nightmare or seeing a prophecy. He doesn’t know what’s real or not and that sucks.

He has a nightmare one night. He’s fighting Ghirahim- Sword Spirit form Ghirahim (like the final battle)- and he thrusts his sword into the diamond on his chest. Ghirahim would cry out as the diamond cracked and broke, as his form wavered. Sky had won. But then he’d blink, and suddenly it’s not Ghirahim’s chest that Sky had stabbed his sword into, it’s Wars’. And Sky watches as his friend shatters around his blade.

When he wakes, it’s with tears on his cheeks and nausea swimming in his stomach. He can’t talk to Wars that day, but he finds himself staring at that diamond. Wondering if the Goddess had shown him that dream as a warning.

Is… Is Sky the monster?

With Fi gone and Ghirahim… gone, the only Sword Spirit in his life is Warriors, and he clings to Warriors for dear life. He’s so scared that his new friend will meet the same fate as the other two: either willingly going dormant or forcefully becoming a weapon. Sky will do anything to keep Warriors safe- safe from a fate that the Sword Spirit doesn’t even know about.

I know this probably didn’t answer your question. I want to be careful not to spoil too much. And also I got very caught up in my rambling. But yeah, if Ghirahim came back, Sky would fight him because Ghirahim would not give him any other choice.

If Ghirahim were too hurt/sick to fight, Sky would probably still kill him just to be done with it. Warriors would be surprised, for sure, but he trusts Sky. (And he knows how awful Ghirahim is).

Sky would never side with Ghirahim and Ghirahim’s soul purpose is to revive his Master. Which means… going after Fi, which Sky will not stand for.

Sky does feel guilty, but that manifests itself in how he interacts with Warriors, not sympathy for Ghirahim.

#the legend of zelda #chain as cryptids au #i answered question #sapphire rambles way too long #sorry #skyward sword fi #skyward sword ghirahim #loz skyward sword #skyward sword spoilers #I’m so sorry #cryptid sky #cryptid warriors #links meet au

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skyloftian-nutcase · 2 years

Text

Aftermath (Skyward Sword sickfic)

This is technically just a bonus chapter for A Dragon’s Care to explain what happened to Link, but you can totally read this as a standalone too. It isn’t really graphic, but there is one part that might gross people out, fair warning.

The sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon. It was strange to see it after everything that had happened. Link had never had such a long day in his entire life. It didn’t help that he’d been up most of the night trying to navigate the Sky Keep and get the Triforce.

Zelda’s awakening. Ghirahim. Demise. It had all happened so fast. And then it was over, and Zelda was alive, and they were all so happy, and… and then…

Fi. Impa. Gone. They were gone.

And then the cloud barrier was gone, and Headmaster Gaepora had come to investigate with knights and classmates. Reunions, tears, joy, happiness…

It’s over.

Link trembled at the thought of it. He was so tired. How could so much happen in one day? He felt numb, completely numb. He couldn’t process it all. Demise’s last words, Fi’s last words, so many last words, too many last words.

Link was just… numb.

But then Zelda had flown up to the top of the goddess statue, and Link automatically followed. And up here, standing with her, he actually found that he could feel something.

Relief.

Pure relief and love filled him when he and Zelda stood together atop the statue of Hylia. Of all the insanity that happened today, the one thing that had gone well was Zelda. She was alive, she was safe, she was there.

But she’d also lost Impa. She’d also been through so much, she’d had her soul ripped out of her, she’d been sealed away for centuries. She gazed off into the world around them with a distant look in her eyes. Trying to bring her some peace, Link pulled out the goddess harp and strummed the ballad of the goddess with tender care.

Groose and his companions flew by them, waving, and Zelda waved back with a small smile. Link paused in his playing, watching them return to the Sky. The finality of the long quest he’d been on suddenly hit him all at once as he watched Groose leave.

Zelda’s gaze grew distant again, even more so than before, but it lasted only briefly as she turned excited eyes to him. “Look around us! As a child, I always dreamed of a world below. I wanted to see the Surface with my own eyes and feel the land’s warm breeze on my skin. I…”

Zelda shifted, facing him fully. “I think I want to live here. I always want to feel solid ground beneath my feet, see the clouds above my head, and watch over the Triforce.”

Zelda clasped her hands in front of her, swaying on her feet for a moment and looking away before they locked eyes again. “What about you, Link? What will you do now?”

Link stared at her for a moment, processing everything he’d heard, but all he could really tell was that wherever Zelda would go was where he would go.

He loved her, after all.

Smiling, he felt himself grow overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with relief, happiness, love, and some other heaviness that was pulling at his body, but for the moment…

All that mattered was her.

Zelda watched him, smiling back, but she was still waiting for an answer.

Well by the goddesses, he was going to give her one.

Leaning forward, Link pulled her into a kiss. Zelda stiffened at first, and then she giggled into him and wrapped her arms around him. Link felt energized at the response, hugging her more tightly, enjoying the taste and sensation from their lips meeting, feeling almost giddy that it was actually happening.

In the past this thought would have plagued him with anxiety. In the past he would have worried that it was going to ruin their friendship. But after everything they’d been through…

For a moment, just a moment, his body trembled. For just a moment, his right arm gripped the harp too tightly, involuntarily squeezing so hard his hand tingled. And then he was in Zelda’s embrace again, the two pulling away to smile at each other.

“Oh, Link,” Zelda laughed. Tears started to well in her eyes. “I’m so glad everything turned out the way it did.”

Link’s smile grew, but his joy started to him as he began to feel odd. His stomach was tightening, his body stiffening, and he didn’t know what was wrong. Was he sick?

A sense of foreboding filled Link. And then his right arm clenched and released and clenched and—

The goddess harp fell out of his hand. Link stumbled away from Zelda, his world spinning. He vaguely heard her say his name before he took another step back. He didn’t want to get sick on her, and he definitely felt off. His right foot shifted back, but the ground slanted and his ankle rolled and then suddenly the wind rushed by his ears, his heart felt like it stopped and then was pounding in his chest. His chest and right arm were killing him, his mind was whirling, this was too much—

“Link!!”

The world went black.

OOOOO

Zelda heard Crimson scream at the same time she did. She leapt off the goddess statue in a heartbeat, whistling for her loftwing just as Link’s own dove after him. She landed on Indigo, making her dive alongside Crimson, who was desperate to reach his partner. Zelda called out to Link just as Crimson’s strong talons wrapped around him. The two loftwings hovered in midair for a moment, and Zelda saw in the fading light that Link’s eyes were closed.

“Link! Link!” she yelled, desperate to get a reaction out of him, panic settling in her heart. What’s wrong with him?

Crimson didn’t wait any longer, shooting straight up for Skyloft. Zelda was right behind him. The familiar sight of the floating island made her heart ache with nostalgia and a sense of foreignness; it had been so long, and with her new memories—

She shook her head. Link. She had to focus on Link.

Crimson had already landed in front of the knight’s academy, and Zelda leapt off Indigo to join him. His squawking and screaming was loud enough to be heard all across Skyloft, and people quickly came rushing outside.

Her father approached her first. “Zelda! What happened?”

She pointed frantically to her best friend. “It’s Link, I don’t know what’s wrong!”

Running to him, she shook him fiercely. “Wake up, Link!”

Her friend remained silent, his eyes closed. No amount of shaking or yelling would arouse him. She didn’t know what was wrong, he’d been fine earlier!

Why was this happening? She couldn’t lose anyone else, and she would not lose Link, no please no, no, no…

“Get him inside,” her father instructed Pipit, who was nearest, and he immediately scooped Link into his arms with a grunt and carried him indoors. Zelda followed on his heels, frantic and breathless.

“Link! What happened? Zelda, what’s wrong with him?”

Zelda turned and saw Groose running to them, walking alongside Pipit and trying to wake Link with his booming voice.

“Not now, Groose,” Pipit replied sharply through gritted teeth, glaring at his classmate with a fierceness Zelda had only seen from him while sparring. “Leave him alone.”

Groose took a step back, caught off guard, and then Zelda spoke to him. “I don’t know what happened, he just passed out!”

“Is he hurt? I mean, he was pretty banged up when he got back, but he seemed okay…” Groose rambled, looking steadily more worried.

Pretty banged up? Looking back at Link, she started to see it. Cuts in the fabric, broken chainmail tearing through the tunic in certain patchy areas, dry dark stains that had been glossed over as old, but what was left of the green was steadily staining red. He’d looked scuffed up earlier but he’d been awake, he’d been smiling, and then everyone had surrounded her and… and…

She hadn’t noticed. Link had been injured and she hadn’t noticed. Everyone had been worrying about her instead.

“Get him to his room,” her father instructed Pipit. Then she felt him put a hand on her shoulder. “Zelda. You’ve been through enough today.”

Zelda whirled on him. “If you think for one second that I’m just going to go to bed and sleep while Link is hurt—”

“Zelda,” her father cut off, sterner than before. “There are more than enough people to help Link. You have been through so much today, for the past few months. Go to your room, try to get some rest.”

I’ve been resting for the last couple thousand years! She wanted to yell, but the energy was quickly slipping out of her. She hadn’t been resting, she’d been actively using her power to seal Demise away, and then she’d had her soul torn from her body to watch her best friend get beaten and electrocuted in battle before suddenly being thrown back into her body and—

Zelda leaned against the wall heavily, suddenly overwhelmed and exhausted. She watched Pipit hasten down the stairs, Groose at a safe distance so as not to draw his ire, and both Instructor Owlan and Horwell were leading the way.

Her father was right. She would just get in the way.

She nodded, blinking tears out of her eyes, and headed for her room. She doubted she would be able to sleep, though.

OOOOO

As an herbalist, Owlan had decided to learn the basics of caring for the injured and ill in the academy to ease the burden off the sole healer of Skyloft. He’d seen some interesting injuries and accidents over the years as an instructor. A phenomenon that he hadn’t experienced until this year, however, was having the same person gravely injured or ill multiple times in such a short period of time.

Link lay on his bed, breathing shakily. His eyes were still closed, but his brow was furrowed like he was either struggling to awaken or simply in too much pain. Pipit and Groose were there too, both standing uncertainly beside Owlan.

Placing multiple small pots with herbs on Link’s desk, Owlan looked to the boys. “Get his clothes off. We’ll need to see what we’re working with. Use a knife, try not to move him too much.”

Pipit nodded immediately, pulling a knife and getting to work cutting through Link’s tunic. Groose watched uncertainly and then asked, “Uh, what about his chain mail?”

Owlan sighed. “You might have to pull it off him, but be careful – it looks like it’s already damaged, we don’t want to injure him further. I’ll take a look before you get it off in case some of it is imbedded in him.”

Groose turned a shade paler. “I-imbedded…? But… but he was doing fine this morning…”

Owlan turned to face him fully. “You were there when it happened?”

Groose shifted, nervous. “Some of it. He… Zelda had just woken up, and then that freakshow came and blasted Link and Zelda apart. Link couldn’t get up for a while, and then he kind of rushed through the gate before I could figure out if he was hurt or not. I didn’t see any blood… and he fought off entire hordes of monsters after that, there were so many bodies… and by that point it was hard to tell what was his blood and what was theirs. And then the freakshow turned into a sword?? And he was like metal and… and then Zelda was screaming and that creep showed up, and I just got her out of there and the Old Lady told me to stay put.”

Owlan crinkled his brow, trying and failing to piece everything together. Freakshow? Turned into a sword? What?

The point was, Link had fought a lot.

“What made you think he wasn’t injured?” Owlan questioned further.

“Well the way he moved when it was all over, he seemed a bit stiff but he still got around fine, you know? And he kept going the whole day.”

Owlan sighed. Adrenaline, most likely. It allowed for one to push through pain and injury, it was very helpful in a life and death situation, but it also gave a false sense of security. Link probably had thought he was fine until he suddenly wasn’t. But it was evening now – surely the adrenaline hadn’t lasted all day? Did he get injured before they flew back? Was he just avoiding getting treatment?

The reasoning didn’t matter anymore, honestly. They were in this situation now and needed to address it.

“Instructor,” Pipit called.

Owlan walked over to the bed. Link was in his boxers and chainmail now, and Owlan could already see injuries on his legs. Scrapes, bruises, and blood oozing from a particularly large laceration, but nothing life threatening. The chainmail, however… it was clearly broken in some places, was stained red all over his chest, and it looked like some jagged edges had been shoved into the boy’s chest from a particularly hard blow.

This wasn’t ideal.

Owlan looked at Groose. “Tell Commander Eagus to bring pliers, and then go to Luv and get as much heart potion as you can carry.”

Groose nodded, leaving. Pipit’s gaze bounced between Owlan and Link, confusion and concern clear in his eyes.

“What happened to him?” Pipit asked quietly.

Owlan sighed, putting a hand on the student’s shoulder. “We’ll worry about that later.”

Something else caught Owlan’s eye. Link’s right hand and right forearm looked odd. There were angry red patterns, almost like feathers going up his skin. His fingers twitched on and off, and the more Owlan traced the wounds the more he realized they crawled all the way up his shoulder to the crook of his neck. When he touched Link’s forearm to better inspect the area, the boy hissed, his eyes shooting open.

“Link—” Pipit started to say, but his words were knocked out of him when Link grabbed for the knife he was holding and kicked him squarely in the gut.

Owlan took several steps back, alarmed. “Link, calm down! It’s okay, you’re s—”

Link headed for the door in a blind panic, knife still in hand. Pipit called after him and pursued. Owlan hastened into the hallway in time to see Link collide with Commander Eagus, who had clearly taken in the scene quickly and deduced what was happening. The large man easily overpowered the small knight-in-training, pulling the knife out of his hand and grabbing his right arm to stop him from fighting. Link cried out in pain, falling to his knees.

Owlan and Pipit rushed over to them. Eagus looked at Owlan worriedly. “What happened?”

“He’s hurt,” Owlan started to explain as Pipit knelt down beside Link.

“It’s okay,” Pipit tried to reassure the younger student, who was gasping for air and moaning in pain, twisting his arm to try to get out of Eagus’ grip. “Link, it’s okay, please stop trying to fight the commander. You’re back in the academy, you’re safe.”

“What’s going on?”

The commotion had attracted the entire academy, who were peering into the hallway with alarm. Eagus quickly picked Link up and carried him back to his room to avoid curious onlookers.

Link whimpered, wiggling in the man’s arms. “Stop.”

“I’m sorry, Link,” Eagus said softly as he put the boy back in bed. “You didn’t give me much choice there, young one. What were you doing, running around with a knife like that?”

The door burst open and Groose was suddenly filling the entranceway. “I heard yelling!”

Owlan was starting to get annoyed. There was too much chaos going on. “Do you have the potions?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Potions. Hand them over.”

Groose did as he was told before trying to get to Link, but Owlan put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for the help, Groose, but we have it under control. Why don’t you and Pipit step out now?”

He heard Pipit’s sharp inhale at also being essentially kicked out, but the boy was too well mannered to argue.

Groose, however, was not.

“No way! We’ve been through a lot together, I’m not leaving him alone!” Groose protested.

Owlan took a deep breath. He was surprised at how attached Groose suddenly seemed considering he knew the two boys did not get along before Zelda’s disappearance. It seemed a lot had happened on the Surface. Nevertheless, this was not helping. “Groose, he is in pain and confused. Too many people and too many noises will overwhelm him. The best way you can help right now is to minimize noise and interruptions. Stay outside and don’t let anyone who isn’t an instructor into this room. Understand?”

Groose debated it for a moment before nodding, his shoulders sagging a little. “Got it.”

The two students left, and Owlan turned his focus to Eagus, who was already working on breaking through the chains in the boy’s armor to remove what wasn’t embedded into his skin.

“Who did this?” Eagus asked, his voice a low growl.

“I don’t know,” Owlan answered honestly. “I haven’t gotten the whole story yet. But I get the feeling they’re not a threat anymore.”

OOOOO

A potion had helped settle Link, and it had caused his wounds to at least stop bleeding. The boy quieted into an uneasy half-conscious state for the wound care. Some injuries looked older than others and were moist with blood and pus. Owlan didn’t like the looks of it. Clearly the boy had been collecting injuries over time and had not been doing enough to care for them. Or they just had not been healing properly. He would figure it out when Link was more lucid. In the meantime, the potion provided could only do so much and Link wouldn’t take another sip in his state, so they had work to do.

What had been found was addressed. Herbs were soaked into the dressings to help rid the infection (or prevent it in the fresher wounds), and Link had been dressed in some loose clothes to keep him warm and comfortable. Eagus was fuming in the sparring hall, swinging his sword with such ferocity that Owlan didn’t dare get near him. Horwell was keeping the other students calm while Gaepora tended to his daughter. Henya hovered anxiously, busying herself in the kitchen and repeatedly glancing in the direction of Link’s room.

Owlan sighed, easing himself into his bed. It had been about three hours since they’d gotten Link settled, and Owlan was exhausted. He’d get a quick nap in for the remainder of the night and then check on Link first thing in the morning.

Or at least that was the plan until he heard Groose yelling downstairs.

“Link, no, it’s fine! Go back to bed!”

Owlan jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs. By the time he’d reached the hallway the door leading outside was open and Groose was rushing into the darkness.

Oh, no.

Students started rustling, poking their heads out of their dorms, and Owlan tore after the other two. He was surprised Gaepora hadn’t made his way down here by now, but he supposed the man had his hands full no doubt tackling Zelda to the ground before she tried to rush out to find Link.

It was chilly outside, and Owlan wished he’d thrown some shoes and a robe on before he’d rushed out. He heard Groose’s voice echoing in the distance. How far had they gone?

“Groose!” he called.

“Link, damn it, stop running you know you can’t fly right now where are you even going—”

Owlan felt his heart skip a beat. The boy’s loftwing wouldn’t be able to catch him at night. The knights who patrolled the island to catch those who might fall no doubt would hear the commotion and get to Link, but a loftwing’s grip could seriously hurt his wounds. Owlan ran down the stairs, heading towards the Light Tower where he heard the voice echoing. A keese flew his way, hissing, and he picked up his pace to avoid it.

A strangled yell caught his attention, and as the plaza came into view he saw Groose holding Link by wrapping his arms around his waist and hoisting him up, their height difference ensuring that Link was off the ground. The smaller boy’s legs kicked at nothing in the air.

Link snarled, elbowing Groose in the chest, but the larger teenager didn’t seem that phased by it… at least until Link reached over his head and pulled hard enough on Groose’s pompadour to rip out a near fistful of hair.

Yelping, Groose dropped Link, who tore for diving platform.

“Link!”

The boy froze. Owlan turned and saw Zelda barreling down the stairs, cutting down the keese with a training sword as she went. Her eyes were frantic, and she completely disregarded Owlan as she ran by him and Groose.

“Z-Zel…” Link said breathlessly, stumbling towards her as she nearly slammed into him, pulling him away from the platform. “S-safe…”

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” she said hastily, tears leaking out of her eyes as she held her friend. “Don’t worry, everything’s fine.”

Owlan leaned against the stone wall heavily, drained. He heard panting and rustling beside him and saw Gaepora, who also looked haggard.

“I’ll trade charges with you,” Owlan said only half kiddingly. “Might be easier.”

Gaepora sighed as Eagus ran up to meet them. “I think a sedative might be in order, Owlan. For both of them.”

Owlan agreed, going back to his room and grabbing a few ingredients to make such a concoction. He sweetened the drinks with honey and then met the group in Link’s room. The boy had yet to take his eyes off Zelda, his left hand clinging to her desperately as his right spasmed. Groose was in the corner, nursing his damaged hair and looking frightened.

Owlan took pity on the student and walked to him first. “Are you alright?”

“He’s never been like this before,” Groose mumbled. “Is he gonna be okay?”

“He’s just confused,” Owlan assured him. “He needs to heal. It might be a process to get him there, but once he starts to rest properly, he’ll be fine.”

Letting the words sink in, Owlan walked to Link’s bedside, where Gaepora and Eagus were also waiting. He gave one cup of tea to Gaepora, who turned his attention to his daughter.

“This has a sedative in it,” Owlan whispered to Eagus. “We need to make sure Link drinks it all.”

“Father, I can’t just leave him!”

“Zelda, sweetheart, he’s in good hands. They’re going to give him something to help him relax. Now let’s go back to your room. This tea will help settle your nerves as well.”

Zelda reluctantly looked back at Link, who was still clinging to her. Leaning over, she kissed him on the forehead, whispered something to him, and slowly pried his fingers off her nightgown. Link watched her silently, perhaps not quite following, but he at least didn’t protest. Zelda let her father guide her out of the room, tears evident on her cheeks.

Owlan sighed, relieved. And then the relief quickly faded as Link started to twitch before his entire upper body tried to curl in on itself. He gasped, doing the motion several times, and Owlan suddenly recognized it. Dry heaving.

“We need to—”

Link vomited, sickly bile and the potion he’d consumed earlier spilling out of his mouth, and he gurgled and choked on it from where he lay flat on his back. Owlan and Eagus immediately sprang into action, sitting him up and letting his head go to the side. He wasn’t sick for much longer, thankfully, and Owlan had to look away to compose himself, feeling his own stomach lurch.

“Hylia above,” Eagus muttered. “What a mess.”

Owlan grunted, unable to speak just yet.

“Groose, get a bath drawn,” Eagus ordered. Groose left immediately.

Owlan finally got his composure back and stepped away to grab a change of clothes for Link. He braved to look down at his tunic and was relieved to see that he hadn’t gotten any vomit on himself. Eagus didn’t seem phased, gently pulling the boy into his arms and speaking softly to reassure him. Link sniffled, his face stained with tears, bile, phlegm, and sweat, but he didn’t fight.

The bath was drawn, warm, and ready by the time they got there, and Owlan stopped briefly to get more bandages and herbs since they would have to re-do their work once they were finished cleaning him. When he reentered the room he heard Link sniffling and hiccupping some more. He rounded the corner to see the boy crying, feebly trying to push Eagus away. The sight tore at his heart.

“Shh, Link, it’s okay,” Eagus said softly. “Listen to me. It’s Commander Eagus. You’re in the academy. Instructor Owlan is here too. You’re safe. Whoever did this to you, they can’t hurt you here. I won’t let them. Zelda is fine too, she’s in her room resting. I know you’re hurting, we’re going to give you another potion.”

Owlan took a steadying breath and then approached to help. With some coaxing, they managed to get him to drink half a heart potion. That seemed to help immensely, and he sank into the water, leaning against Eagus, letting them clean him up. About halfway through the bath he started to flinch away, and so they gave him the remainder of the potion, allowing them to finish their job in peace. Once cleaned, dried, and settled back in bed with new bandages and clothes, Owlan helped Link drink the tea he’d made and stayed by his bedside until he was fast asleep.

OOOOO

The past few days had been a blur to Zelda. She’d tried to listen to her father and rest and recover her own strength and sanity, she really did. But Link was getting worse. The first night had been horrific enough, but the day after she’d been with him and every time he’d wake up (which was rare) he was delirious and sometimes didn’t even recognize her. He rarely let her tend to him, too lost in his own illness induced worries.

Instructor Owlan changed his dressings every day. He should have been getting better, but she heard the instructors murmuring to each other, she heard Owlan tell her father that Link’s infections from older wounds might have already been too bad. Commander Eagus had sent for the healer by the second day, and the prognosis had been bleak.

“I’m afraid the infection might have gotten to his blood,” the healer had said. “I’ll talk to Luv, have her make some medication that can help. Beyond that, it’s up to Link.”

That had been two days ago. And since then Link had only gotten weaker. He didn’t even wake up anymore to drink the medicine. His fever spiked three days ago and hadn’t left. His breathing was slow and shallow. Her father had told her and everyone else to prepare for the worst.

So here she was, sitting at his bedside, crying uncontrollably and wanting to curse the goddesses. So now that Link completed his destiny that’s it? You just toss him to the side like garbage?

She wanted to scream. Why was this happening?! She’d already lost Impa, she’d already lost whatever innocence she’d had left, she wouldn’t survive if she lost Link too!

The more she thought about it, the worse it got. Especially when she remembered that all the blame she was heaping on the goddesses was meaningless because it was entirely her fault.

Hylia—Zelda herself had planned for this, she’d been the one to involve Link.

She wished so desperately that she was the one injured and in pain and not him. The sight of him clinging to her as he had four nights ago still haunted her.

“Link,” she whispered brokenly, leaning over him, shuddering at how hot his skin was. “Please, wake up.”

Her entire body was trembling, and the sobs tore through her. Link didn’t respond.

Tap-tap-tap!

Zelda gasped, her head shooting up from where she’d been cradling it on Link’s chest. She turned to her right to stare at the boarded opening to the outdoors and saw the window shaking as something bumped against it. Then she heard a squawk.

Standing on the desk, Zelda propped the window open and was nearly barreled over by a beak. “Crimson!”

The loftwing chirped frantically, trying to get a look at Link. Zelda felt her heart sink even more, if that was possible. “He… he can’t come outside, Crimson, I’m sorry.”

Crimson chirped again, and she could hear him flapping his wings. She felt awful watching him struggle to get to his partner like this.

Loftwings weren’t usually allowed indoors anywhere, but Zelda figured she could make an exception this one time. Link was… Link was dying. Crimson needed to be with him too.

“Go to the door,” she said, running to the entrance and opening it. She peered around to see Crimson hovering around Link’s bedroom window, and she called to get his attention. The loftwing noticed her waving and scurried over, again almost knocking her over as he shoved his way inside.

Zelda looked around nervously to make sure nobody had noticed, but it was dinnertime and everyone was preoccupied. Of course, that meant she had to sneak a giant crimson loftwing right by the dining area while everyone was in it.

Or that was her intent, except Crimson had already made a beeline for Link’s room and was pecking at the doorknob. Zelda stiffened, looking briefly into the dining area, and saw that nobody had noticed. Sighing in relief, she hastened back to Link’s room and opened the door, locking it behind her and Crimson once they were both inside. Her father would be by soon to guide her back to the others so she could eat and then she’d be sequestered in her room or with her father for the night depending on whether she wanted to spend time with him or not.

Rubbing a hand over her tired eyes, she said, “I don’t know how I’m going to explain this, but…”

Pulling her hand from her face, she gasped. “Crimson! No, don’t do that!”

Link’s loftwing had perched himself perfectly on the bed, nestled between Link and the wall, half sitting on Link himself. His feathers were fluffed like he was roosting a hatchling in a nest.

Zelda tried to no avail to convince him to move, and then she got an idea and rushed to another dorm to grab one of the giant pillows some of her classmates used to relax on the floor. Dragging it back into Link’s room, she motioned to it in front of the loftwing on the bed. He watched her curiously before fluffing up further and rubbing his beak on Link’s forehead.

“Crimson for heaven’s sake, get off him!” Zelda hissed, reaching over and pushing the heavy bird feebly.

Crimson didn’t budge.

Grumbling, Zelda collapsed in her chair. Now what?

“Zelda? Why is the door locked?”

Great.

Sighing, Zelda rose and unlocked it, slowly opening the door. Despite the gravity of the situation, she still felt guilty and nervous at breaking the rules and having to show her father what was happening.

“What in the world—why is his loftwing in here?” her father asked, also trying to wave off the gigantic bird. “Go on now, you’re going to hurt him!”

“Father,” Zelda pleaded. “I… he wanted to be with Link. I know he can’t stay on the bed, but can he please just stay with him? He…”

He doesn’t have much time left. The words echoed in her mind. She’d heard Budgick, the healer, say them this morning.

Her father sighed. “Very well. Let’s get you to dinner, and then we’ll find a way to get him to the floor, at least.”

Zelda nodded thankfully, tears in her eyes once more. The two left, though Zelda didn’t bother closing the door, and she let herself be directed towards the dining hall. She didn’t really have an appetite, and she wanted to spend every moment possible with Link, holding his hand and telling him she was fine and that he wasn’t alone.

She hated how final this felt. She hated all of this.

Dinner was uneventful, and she ate maybe two bites before saying she was finished. Her father was about to protest when Commander Eagus rushed into the dining hall.

“Link’s gone!” he yelled.

Zelda felt her blood run cold. He was… he was gone? He’d…

He was dead. He’d died alone. He was dead, and she hadn’t been there for him.

Zelda let out a wail of horror and desperation, shooting to her feet and running for his room. When she reached the doorway, barely able to see through her tears, she—

She saw an empty bed.

Wait, what?

“He’s missing,” Eagus was explaining to her father as they caught up to her. “I just went in there and the room was empty. Groose, Fledge, Pipit, and Karane are looking for him now.”

He was… he was missing? Like he’d run off again?

He’d run. That was… he hadn’t moved a muscle since yesterday, hadn’t been out of bed since the first night… this had to mean he was improving, right?

They spent the entire night searching to no avail. Link had vanished entirely, and there was no sign of his loftwing. Zelda spent the remainder of her waking moments hunting for him in the skies and praying for him when she couldn’t.

Please come back safely, Link. Please.

And three days later, he did just that. Weak, confused, dressed differently, but alive, sitting atop his loftwing.

Zelda smiled as she snuck into Link’s room the next morning. His eyes were closed, but his breathing was even, steady. His skin was its usual mild tan and was no longer covered in a cold sweat. She walked over to him and sat on the bed, stroking his hair.

Leaning over, she kissed him gently on the lips. She would watch over him and protect him, just as he’d done for her during her slumber. He stirred under her, and she felt his lips move to kiss her in return. Slowly, she pulled away to see deep blue eyes watching her.

Stroking his cheek, she whispered, “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

#owlan needs a pay raise #eagus' dad instincts are going haywire #zelda's about ready to have a mental breakdown girl needs a vacation #poor groose is trying his best #I have a headcanon that when Link named his bird Crimson Groose teased him about it #so Zelda named hers Indigo just to spite him #skyward sword #ss link #skyward sword link #ss zelda #skyward sword zelda #groose #crimson loftwing #legend of zelda #sickfic #crimson is a birb on a mission #he will kidnap link if he has to #writing

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