"Let's not waste time. We must get to Hyrule Castle." He stated, voice devoid of emotion. The two of them charged head on into Castle Town.

The once cheerful and lively place was nothing of the sorts now. Men, women, and children all screamed and ran, trying to flee from the monstrosity. The realization sank in that these were the same people they had danced among only a few weeks back. As they reached the castle, the two of them stopped. The walls were crumbling down, breaking the structure to ruins. It was being demolished. There was no hope of getting inside. Zelda gasped.

"Father..." Something squeezed tight on her heart, causing her to feel sick. She only stood there, frozen with disbelief. How could she let this happen?

She couldn't dwell on it for very long, though.

"Look!" Link shouted. She turned to see the Divine Beasts, seemingly ready to strike. But something was wrong... Instead of the blue glow, they now shone a bright red. The same shade as the Beast itself. The Guardians, too...

"No!" She cried, realizing what this meant. She had never imagined that things could go this badly. "Link! The Champions! They're all in the Divine Beasts!" She found herself unable to breathe normally, gasping and sputtering like a fish out of water.

"We have to get out of here!" Link yelled. He forcefully grabbed her arm. He knew that he needed to fight the beast, but he couldn't risk her safety. He had to get her out of there before she was hurt.

His grip was so strong that Zelda had no choice but to comply. She ran behind him.

Luckily, they had made it in just enough time, because the town went up in flames a moment after they escaped. The princess turned back, seeing nothing but wreckage in the place of her home.

"No!" She screamed, but she kept running. A few of the corrupted Guardians had spied them, but somehow the two of them had escaped their pursuit. They kept running, though, in constant fear of being seen.

The two of them were terrified. Neither knew anything about what they were up against. Link didn't have even the slightest clue how to combat a machine, and Zelda had only done minimal research on them. If they were caught, it was over...

Rain began to pour down from the sky, torrents of it pounding into the earth. The sky darkened as a great evil took over the once beautiful land.

"Link! Where are you taking us?" She shouted, having no idea what to do herself.

"We're running away! Far away! Just like you always wanted!" He replied, his voice wavering with worry and grief. The two of them grew tired, but continued fleeing, pure fear keeping them on.

As they reached the Bottomless Swamp, the princess began to pant and whimper. She was nearly out of breath and her lungs burned. Her insides felt like they were being compressed together by an unrelenting force. Everything hurt. She turned to look back, and then her hand slipped from the knight's. As soon as she let go, she fell back and Link stopped immediately. He turned back to her, fear pulsating throughout his body. Instead of standing up, she knelt on the ground, defeated. He approached her.

"How..." He sheathed his sword. "...How did it come to this...? The Divine Beasts, the Guardians... They've all turned against us." In her voice, there was despair and dejection that he had never heard before.

"It was... Calamity Ganon... It turned them all against us!" She slowly brought her eyes back up to look at him. "And everyone, Mipha, Urbosa, Revali, and Daruk; they're all trapped inside those things." She thought about the four champions. The sweet and kind Mipha, the fearless Daruk, even the proud Revali. And most of all, Urbosa, who had been there for her so long, always knowing how to help. And now she had failed her. "It's all my fault!" She buried her face into her hands, trying to hide a downpour of tears. "Our only hope for defeating Ganon is lost, all because I couldn't harness this cursed power! Everything... Everything I've done up until now, it was all for nothing!" She slowed. "So I really am just a failure!" She shouted, looking into his eyes. She felt fear, anger, sadness, all welling up inside of her too quickly. "...all my friends, the entire kingdom... my father most of all.." she quieted down. "I tried and I failed them all..." She looked at him, utterly despondent. "And left them... all to die..."

He frowned. He didn't know how to comfort her. She had failed to awaken her power, but it wasn't as if she could have done anything to prevent this. She had tried her hardest, the Goddess had just never listened. He felt her sadness, though. Every second, more and more heartache washed over him. It was so hard, seeing her like this. He would do anything to take her pain and force it upon himself.

The princess let a sob break out, unable to control her heavy heart any longer. He reached out, allowing her to sink into his embrace. Her cries shook her entire body. He merely pulled the lamenting princess closer. He was offering her all the support he could. Both of them knew that nothing else could be done. The two of them just sat for a while, the princess wailing until she had no tears left. Link held her as tight as he could; he knew very well that this could be his last moment holding her in his arms. He felt his own tears slipping down his cheeks, tears that he tried to conceal. The fearless knight found himself afraid; afraid of losing his princess.

"Zelda... no matter what happens... I ... I love you." He said quietly, his voice shaky with sorrow. His words only caused the princess to sob harder into his chest.

"I love you too." She choked out.

Those were their first and last I love yous.

"We need to keep going." He stated after a moment. Zelda merely nodded. He stood, offered his hand, and they began to run again.

~

Their last stand was at Fort Hateno. The two of them had been running for a very long time, but they never halted. Link only focused on getting the princess to safety. And that meant he would do whatever it took to protect her. But, as they stumbled upon the Ash Swamp, he realized that their journey would not go any further. The area was full of the corrupted Guardians, all looking for a new target. The two of them couldn't turn back; they had just nearly escaped a mechanical beast behind them.

"No..." Zelda breathed, realizing what this meant. She looked to Link, but all she saw was a dark fury in his eyes.

"Let's go." He said, leading her into the chaos.

The knight managed to take down a few, frantically slashing at their legs while simultaneously trying to shield the princess. Eventually, though, they became overwhelmed. Link's movements became frantic, madly trying to stop harm from reaching the princess. He dodged many of the lasers, but eventually he fell out of his routine. Zelda screamed as one narrowly missed his head, slightly charring the side of his face. Another one struck by his feet, whirring by his legs.

"No!" She screeched. She felt a shortage of air in her lungs.

Another laser struck him, this time his arm. She watched as he struggled to hold on to his sword, just gripping it causing immense pain.

"Link! Stop it!" Every hit caused her to feel his pain. She screamed hysterically, terrified of losing him. "Link!" Her eyes widened and she watched in slow motion as a deadly blow was landed on him, knocking him onto the ground. He grunted, trying to hide the agony he was suffering. The princess wailed.

"LINK!" Still, he struggled to stand in front of her. The knight would be dead before anything hurt her. "Link, please!" He coughed, seeing his own blood surrounding them. His vision was hazy, but he tried to keep his footing. With all of his might, he slashed at the Guardian in front of him, leaving it whirring and buzzing helplessly.

Link dropped to his knee, his sword penetrating the ground. They both knew he was fading.

"Link, save yourself! Go!" Zelda pleaded, but his work was yet to be finished. "I'll be fine! Don't worry about me! Run!" Ignoring her words, he mustered all of his strength to grab the sword and stand once again, stumbling as he tried to stay upright. The princess shrieked, horrified. One of the giant mechanical monsters spotted them, approaching and stopping before them. It targeted the knight, and the princess panicked. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but she couldn't watch him get hurt anymore. She would rather die than cause him any more pain.

"NO!" She shrieked, jumping in front of him and holding her hand out, as if that would protect them. Zelda thought about all of the times they had spent together, everything he had done for her. She thought about the feelings he gave her, all of the light he had brought into her life. She felt a fierce desire, no, a need to protect him, and something changed inside her.

A glowing light radiated from her hand, expanding out across the entire swamp. In just one burst of this light, the Guardians all began to buzz and whir, falling to the ground. The evil within them faded into nothingness, one by one. Terrified by her own strength, Zelda lowered her arm.

The skies had suddenly cleared, an eerie calm washing over the area.

"Was... was that... The power...?" She gazed at the three sacred triangles that were now on her hand. Then she heard a groan and the sound of something hitting the ground. She gasped and turned back to Link, seeing him lying weak and helpless.

"No, no...!" She hurried over to him, kneeling by his side. An indescribable pain took over her, shattering her heart into a million tiny pieces. She felt as if she were going to be sick. Why couldn't I save him...

"Link! Get up!" She begged him, refusing to believe the circumstances. The princess was absolutely piteous.

If Link left her... She'd have no one. She couldn't bear the thought of even spending a day without him, much less the rest of her life. She held him in her arms, trying to get him to stay. The knight coughed and wheezed, losing his strength and fading quickly.

"You're going to be just fine." She tried to reassure herself, but the look in his eyes told her that it was over. He held her gaze, trying to take in as much of her as he could before he let go. And with his last breath, he said,

"There has been no greater honor." For a moment, he looked at her, his eyes full of anguish and misery.

Then, his head fell back as the life left him. Zelda gasped. As he died, a large part of her died with him. She mourned, holding her fallen knight. She felt weak. The princess leaned onto his chest, feeling the rain start again. The raindrops mixed with her tears as she sat, whimpering like a child. She tried to look at him, but she couldn't stand the sight of his face. His eyes were closed and he didn't move.

Then she heard it. A distant voice, calling to her. She looked up, confused, alone, and frightened. The sword was speaking to her.

"The sword...? So he can... He can still be saved?" The gears in her brain began to spin again as she desperately racked her head for a way to bring back her beloved knight. It came to her just as she heard another voice.

"Princess!" Two Sheikah men raced toward her. "Princess! Are you alright?" One of them asked. Zelda looked straight ahead, a glint of determination in her eyes. She knew that if she wanted to save him, she had to be strong. So, that's what she would do.

"Take Link to the Shrine of Resurrection. If you don't get him there immediately, we are going to lose him forever! Is that clear?" She commanded, a brave, unwavering authority in her voice. The Sheikah nodded.

"So make haste and go! His life is now in your hands!" The men nodded, taking the Hylian Champion as quickly as they could. She stood, her entire body quivering. The princess had stopped letting her grief show, and become the hardened exterior of the girl she used to be.

The situation was bigger than her now, and she knew the purpose she was meant to fulfill.

And she would stop at nothing to save her kingdom, and to save Link.

~

I'm feeling so overwhelmed with love right now so I decided to put this up!! Even if it tears your hearts out, I hope you enjoy.

I'm just honestly so happy because this story already has 700 views!! I didn't think it would get that many, and especially not this fast! You all are so sweet and I appreciate it more than you could imagine!!

There's one more chapter to this story, then I will be publishing the sequel, 'After the Calamity' (creative name, I know haha). So be on the lookout for that because it's coming soon.

Hope you've enjoyed this one and stay tuned xx