Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda. If I did… xD

"Reprieve" is rated K+.

Reprieve

A Legend of Zelda Fanfiction

Goddesses, he was tired.

When was the last time he slept? Three days ago? Who knows. Fi probably had some sort of time feature, but Link was too exhausted to ask her. Besides, she'd probably ramble some useless painstakingly obvious information. Heck, at this rate, he'd fall asleep in the midst of her babbles.

Link squinted up at the harsh sunlight beating down on the vast desert. There was nothing but rocks, sand, spinning electric scorpion-things that he could never outrun, and some really annoying loud birds that carried rocks in their mouths. Seriously. Birds with rocks in their mouths. And Link originally hoped it was a descendant of a Loftwing…A few days ago—he really had no notion of time at this point—he had the misfortune of getting the biggest shock of his life.

Fi kindly informed him later that some Bokoblins carried electric weapons.

Link noticed that, thank you very much.

Link sighed, trying to ease his heavy panting. His legs were dead weight. Just walking an inch felt like torture. If only he could rest for a moment…

No. Link shook his head.

Keep going, Link. You can't be late. Remember what happened last time?

Link grimaced, his left leg burning in a phantom pain. In a vicious fight with a Lizalfos (the blasted things were fast little blighters) Link misjudged the distance between him and the lava pit. Thankfully, he was able to catch himself before he was completely submerged in the hot magma, but his left leg was seriously burned.

Link had never been in so much pain. He was convinced that he would never be able to walk properly again. Even after chugging down two heart potions and a stamina potion, he couldn't even go two steps.

Heck, at this point, he didn't know how he survived the fight with the Lizalfos. Between the heat and the pain, he was delirious. Maybe he pulled an awesome move and caught the thing off-guard, catapulting himself through the air after pushing off the sides with his good leg. Yeah, that sounded heroic and awesome.

Pah. Not likely. The Lizalfos probably stumbled into the lava itself.

The result of the Lizalfos battle aside, Link was unable to make any progress for days. He would occasionally drag himself about two feet before passing out. His only medicine was to sleep and allow for his body to slowly heal. He had no idea how long it was before he was finally able to move. Days, even weeks perhaps.

That was why he failed her.

I would have made it on time. I would have rescued her. But I couldn't move. I was injured.

Link clenched his teeth, frustration threatening to overwhelm him. What kind of hero was he? Heroes don't complain about injuries. Heroes don't make excuses. A real hero would have been able to save her. He wasn't a hero.

He was a stupid, lazy boy.

Link collapsed on the sand, harsh grains of sand digging into the young hero's weary body. The sun continued to beat down on him.

Fi materialized out of nowhere.

"Master, I detect a 90% probability that you are too exhausted to continue your journey at this point. I would recommend finding a place to rest."

"I can't," Link croaked out. "I can't rest. I can't fail her again…" Link grasped wildly at the sand, trying to pull himself up. His body just wouldn't cooperate. It was like the time back in the Earth Temple…

"There is a 95% chance that Zelda is safe. Her guardian protector, Impa, is with her."

Impa isn't supposed to be her protector. That's my job. I'm the hero.

Tears of frustration streamed down Link's face. Great. Now he was crying. He just kept getting manlier and more heroic by the minute.

Fi started to say something, then paused. Was she actually thinking about what she was about to say? Was the sword spirit trying to comfort him?

Fi produced a sound similar to a whistle. Link, wallowing in his own misery, was too wrapped up in his feelings to pay attention.

A familiar nudge broke him out of his depression for a brief second. It was a familiar presence. Link somehow felt safe all of a sudden, and faced the source of the nudge.

His Loftwing.

How his Loftwing got on the Surface, Link had no idea, but here he was, standing before Link holding some sort of letter in his beak.

A letter?

Link weakly reached for the letter, clutching it in his shaking hands. The letter was topped off by a purple heart.

Zelda always put a purple heart sticker on her letters.

Is it from Zelda?

Link eagerly tore open the paper, weary eyes straining to focus on the small, neat handwriting. Recognizing Link's mental state, Fi read the letter aloud.

Dear Link,

How are you? Are you well? I'm going to sneak this letter to my Loftwing while Impa isn't looking. I'm sorry we didn't get to talk before. It just…wasn't the time. I promise I'll tell you everything when the moment is right. Impa was a bit harsh, wasn't she? I'm sorry. Don't worry about it. You're still learning! Besides, I'm fine. I knew that you'd come, Link. The fact that you came at all was what made me happy. I know that right now, you're fighting to find me. That's what keeps me going. I know you. I know right now, you're beating yourself up because you think you failed. Trust me, that couldn't be farther from the truth. You are the hero that will save the world. You are. I mean it. All you have to do is believe in yourself. I believe in you.

Never give up,

Zelda

PS: Attached to this letter is a little vial. It's a special burn potion that Impa gave me. She said that you suffered some pretty major burns. Did you get hurt because of me? I'm sorry.

PPS: …oh, and…

Now's probably not the time for that. I'll tell you next time we meet.

Take care, Link.

Link noticed the small bottle in the letter. He uncorked the bottle and downed the liquid. Almost immediately, he felt relief. The pain in his left leg significantly decreased.

"Master, there is a tree to your left that would be suitable for rest. The area around it seems safe."

Link nodded, pulling himself up and collapsing next to the tree trunk. As he leaned against the tree, he exhaled, wiping away the last of his tears.

"Master," Fi spoke, her voice seemingly a touch softer than usual, "My analysis—no, I believe that you and Zelda will reunite soon."

Link smiled.

"See? Analysis isn't everything."

A/N

I hope you enjoyed the little one-shot, "Reprieve"! The "you were late" moment is my favorite moment in the entire Legend of Zelda series, and I knew I'd eventually get to writing about it.

I apologize for my absence! This is my first work/update in over a month. My school is crazy and I haven't been inspired much.

I actually wrote this instead of doing my Japanese homework and my battery is two seconds away from dying, so excuse the minor typos/grammar errors that I know are in here. I wanted to get this up for you, so I haven't edited it yet.

Please review! It would make my day. Thank you for reading and I'll hopefully see you all soon! :D