I wrote this in November of 2023 while working on the original Depths Challenge. It was a writing exchange with my sibling where we both wrote moments from TOTK in 1st person. This is basically what I imagine Link might have been thinking/feeling while falling toward Zelda. I figured I might as well post it since I just remembered its existence!
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There’s a key moment between dreaming and the waking world that we never fully notice ourselves drifting through. I don’t know how long I’ve been feeling the wind beating against me, but I know it’s been too long for comfort. My eyes shoot open with the last bit of adrenaline my worn body can produce. The wind resistance steals the moisture from my eyes and blinds me in an instant, but I force them to stay open. Where am I? What’s happening? Where’s- No…
No.
My blurry vision manages to fixate on the only thing in the world that matters. I’m not the only one that’s falling. She’s falling too. Why hasn’t she woken up? No, no, no. She cuts through a cloud and vanishes from view. With the wind blowing this powerfully, she could end up drifting half a mile before hitting the ground. I need to find her.
She’s unconscious, flailing in the air. I have perfect form. I can catch her. I can close the distance. I focus on the last place I saw her and dive as fast as I can through a set of clouds. As soon as my vision returns, I see her shadow on another cloud. She’s veered a bit to the right. I adjust my course and dive even faster.
As she grows closer, intrusive thoughts of the past flash through my mind. For some reason I remember kneeling with her just outside the castle grounds in the height of the Calamity. I remember her sobbing into my shirt, clinging to me like I was the last bit of solid ground left in the entire world.
Our bodies are closer now, but not close enough. I can see her ancient makeup now as I get even closer. I didn’t know what to say to her back then. I didn’t comfort her when she lost her home. All I could do was focus on keeping her alive another few minutes. Now as I watch her hurtle through the air uncontrollably, the only thing I can think about is how much I miss talking to her.
I need to focus.
I swear I can smell her. It’s absurd, but that familiar presence is undeniable. Even after spending months in the past, she smells like herself. It’s the same scent our house in Hateno always carries when I've been gone too long. Familiar and unfamiliar are two sides of the same coin. The nose ignores constants, but when you reunite it’s painfully obvious. She smells like coming home.
I’m going to catch her.
The sun’s piercing glare hits my eyes, but I don’t care. The ground behind Zelda’s back is growing larger by the second. I’m getting closer too. As our bodies free fall, I reach a hand out to her. She’s not awake yet, she can’t meet me in the middle. I’ll cross the distance myself. Another image roars in the back of my mind. This is a familiar view. The last time I saw Zelda, she was falling.
I failed her.
I’ve watched the light leave the eyes of a thousand creatures. I’ve blown armies to ash and watched my comrades fall all around me. Despite it all, I’ve never seen a more disturbing sight than watching Zelda fall just beyond my reach into the depths. Nothing scarier has ever happened in the entire history of Hyrule. I was down there to protect her, and instead I watched her fall to her death.
Not this time.
With the hand that failed her, I manage to grab her limp wrist. The wind tries to rip my arm off as I hold onto her, but Rauru must have put it back on with sturdy glue. I’m able to resist the forces of nature and pull her closer to me. For a moment our bodies rise up due to our combined wind resistance, but I quickly bring us together. One arm slings around her back, the other cradles her head against my chest. I look up and see the water approaching like an arrow. Water…?
He didn’t leave us without a fighting chance after all.
I hold her like I should have during the Calamity, and this time I won’t let go. Our bodies crash into the water with enough force to knock me unconscious. Once again, I exist in the state between waking and dreaming. My body is floating, but I don’t know if it’s real. It’s so calm and cool as I drift freely without the pummeling fury of the wind. Just as I consider relaxing, I feel something squirming.
It’s her.
I’m still holding her. I hit the water. I’m drowning. We’re drowning. My entire body tenses up as I find strength I didn’t even know I had left in the reserves. She’s moving too, though it’s clear she’s not fully present. I feel my right shoulder touch mud, and that gives me a frame of reference. With her in my arms I tilt our bodies in the water and plant my boots in the mud. I kick myself up as hard as I can, and after an agonizing eight seconds my head reaches sunlight.
I gasp for air, lifting Zelda up as high as I can manage without touching the ground. My legs are on fire, but I ignore the pain and kick my way toward land. Eventually my boot plants itself firmly in the mud once again. I use it to stand up with her safe in my arms. As I step forward, the mud claims my boot. I don’t mind; a small price to pay for solid ground. I limp onto shore with one bare foot and collapse onto my knees.
With the last of my strength, I gently rest her in the grass. It’s strange, but even after all of that I’m almost afraid to touch her. I reach a hand toward her, but pull it back a moment later. She’s breathing… That’s enough. I let my head fall back and stare into the sky. Just past the Great Sky Island, I notice two stars briefly twinkle in the heavens. Just like that, they’re gone.
“Thank you…” My hoarse voice croaks as I bow my head.