"Forever and Always..."

[Queen Zelda]

All she saw was pure darkness. Not a spark of light, or any other color but black. She had no idea where anyone was, much less, where she was. Darkness. And quietness until she heard that loud explosion that echoed throughout her mind. Another boom went off. Then the sound of crumbling and colliding walls. The smell of smoke. The heartbreaking cries of anguish, and other roars of cruel laughter filled the air.

The sudden beam of bright light burned her blue eyes, needing a couple seconds to adjust to it. She glanced around, her vision still foggy; she found herself in her castle... Well, at the center of it. In ruins. The burning bodies ran and rolled around, desperately trying to put themselves out until they lay motionless, still ablazed. Dark figures cackled above them as they threw the burnt corpses along with others in a large pile, to her dismay. The usually blue skies of Hyrule Castle were blanketed with smoke.

She felt her left ear being brushed by disturbingly close, hot breaths, sending chills down her spine. "Isn't it beautiful~?" the low voice whispered, snickered darkly as a cold hand stroked the pale skin of her cheek. She wasn't able to answer. The only thing that was able to move was her eyes; she was clueless whether or not she was even breathing. "Why had Hyrule depended on you? They trusted you, you know, your citizens... Why? Even I knew that it would end up like this." She felt something pricking at the corner of her eyes. "What is this? Don't cry, you look hideous when you do. Don't worry, slave, I'm just... Reconstructing. I didn't like your design before..." he chuckled at her.

A scowl escaped her throat, but stopped as soon as she heard the clashing and moving of chains. She heard the metal on her own arms and legs, which explained why they felt so heavy, as soon as she glimpsed down at the limp and weak figure dropping in front of her, making her try to struggle or at leastfall next to him. She whimpered, noticing the maroon liquid splattered over his green clothes, dripping from his mouth and open gashes of his skin. He glanced up at her with his blue eyes, his expression screaming out his pain and sorrow for failing. He blamed himself, but she blamed herself. "Say goodbye to your love... For you are now my bride..." the same dark figured loomed over him, holding the familiar but corrupted Master Sword and raising it just above the Hero of Time's neck, then pulling it downward and-

The screams of the Queen probably echoed all throughout the kingdom as she sat up from her bed with a jolt from her violent dream. She panted heavily, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand then running her slender, skinny fingers through her golden hair. "Link, Link!?" she called out, feeling for the said Hylian's body next to her. Feeling nothing, she flicked on the candle next to her to find her bed empty. "Link, where are-? You better be hungry or something..." she choked, quickly wiping her eyes and cheeks from her tears, jumping out of the sheets and grabbing her purple robe to wrap around herself as she flung the door open, walking down the hall and stairs at a fast pace.

[Ludwig/Germany]

A familiar figure was perched on one of the high balconies of the castle, wearing a loose beige tunic, brown pants, and dark bags under his eyes. The Hylian's dream had just been plagued with a sickening nightmare, leaving him with a terrible insomnia in its wake. Not wanting to disturb his sleeping wife, he decided to spend some time outside to clear his head of the troubling thoughts. It was always the best cure for nights such as this and he had always done so since he was young.

Once outside, he leaned himself against the thick metal railing, staring at the vast lands that made up the kingdom of Hyrule. The very kingdom that he was destined to save all those years back. Now that it was under its slumber, blanketed by the gentle moonlight, he could hear the symphonies of insects chirping and the soft crackling of a nearby torch dancing in his ears. The hero exhaled deeply into the night. A cool breeze was caressing his skin, taking away his anxiety. The vile images from the nightmare were slipping away from his mind as a smile painted his lips. Unaware of his wife's troubles.

[Queen Zelda]

"Link, are you here?" Zelda whispered through the dark halls as she held out the candle with one hand, keeping her robe closed with the other. She was wide awake after that nightmare. She doubt she would be able to sleep with the gory images flashing before her eyes everytime she just blinked. Was that a simple nightmare? Or perhaps, her precognition ability trying to warn her? She sure did hope not. She prayed to the Goddesses that it was not...

Another hall's door opened. Empty again. "For the love of Nayru, where is he?" she whispered furiously, climbing the stairs again. She was going to find that man if it was the last thing she did. If she had to start to search every square inch of the castle starting from the top, just to find him, she would do it. "I swear to Din, if I find that man on the dungeon for Farore knows what reason after I check every single castle room..." the woman muttered weakly under her breath, as she made her way to the highest top of the castle, which just so happened to be the balcony where a certain Hero stood. A door swung open from her impatient majesty, behind the King of Hyrule. Oh, how lucky he was that was the first place she looked...

"Din, I was looking for you... Where were you!?" the Hylian 'greeted' to her husband in a furious but quiet tone, taking a step to him. "What if something happened while you just left like that?! What if there was some random bombing, or maybe an assassin made it to our room and killed me in my sleep!? Or maybe you could've gotten captured just wandering around out here and gotten beaten to death!?" the choked on a small whimper after her last statement, looking to the side as she held her hand to block away the wind's breeze. The moonlight alone illuminated off of the Queen's features, her golden hair and pale skin practically glowing, except for the fact that it revealed her tear-stains left upon her cheek. The red flame of the candle flickered, anyone able to see the reflection of it off of her blue and dampened eyes.

[Ludwig/Germany]

The quiet night was interrupted when the balcony door swung open, revealing a very upset and distressed Queen. Link quickly tore his attention away from Hyrule and the first thing he noticed was how her calming sapphire eyes were now red and swollen. The light given off by the luminous moon and the candle she had pointed out the tear-stains on her porcelain cheek. And now the furious tone in her voice made it all clear that she had been crying. The feeling of guilt began to grow deep in the pit of his stomach, making him feel ashamed of himself for leaving her alone when she needed his comfort. He had always vowed to be by her side and tonight; he failed her.

“Zelda…I’m sorry. It was never my intention to cause you so much distress. I should have told you where I was, but I didn’t want to disturb you while you were sleeping…” He stepped in and placed a cool hand against her tear-stained cheek, stroking it delicately with his thumb. “Did…did you had a nightmare?” he whispered quietly, looking at her with his blue eyes filled with deep concern.

[Queen Zelda]

Zelda made a sigh, regretting she even got out of bed to search for him. She must have made him feel guilty. The Queen was usually one to think before she spoke, but considering it was Goddesses knows whattime in the morning, she could hardly understand her own words at the moment. "Ah, sorry for that little outburst, dear." she mumbled under her breath.

Zelda swallowed dryly, looking at the stone tiled floors of the balcony to avoid his worried blue, beautiful eyes. She debated whether or not to talk about it. Was it best to warn him about her nightmare as soon as possible? Then again, she didn't want him to stay up all night, like she most likely will, because of the gruesome images she witnessed. "We can talk in the morning, Link..." she smiled tiredly, placing her hand over his, which was covering her damp cheek. "Now's the time to get some rest... Okay?"

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