A/N:

I've had the desire to do a collection of romantic one-shots for a little while now. But first I'd like to say that I got the idea from Midnight*Starfire who is doing one right now. Thank you for the inspiration! ^^

Disclaimer: This'll apply to all of these one-shots in this collection: I don't own Zelda! DUH!!!

Gone

Genre of Romance: Angst/Tragedy

Rating: PG-13 BEWARE OF SADNESS THAT WILL BE COMING! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

"He is not coming back."


I flinch at the cold words.

"Why do you not accept it? You are torturing yourself, you know that."

I turn to the voice, my eyes narrowed in deeply rooted fury and bitterness. "It is no concern to you what I believe or do not believe. Leave me be, Impa."

The Sheikah woman sighs. "I only tell you this because I care for you and hate to see you in such pain," she replies earnestly. "I beg of you, Zelda, let him go."

I stare at her a moment, despising her words and her unfaithfulness. "Leave me this moment," I whisper fiercely. "I will never give up hope. Link will come back to me, as he said he would. You should be ashamed of your words, Impa."

Impa says nothing, but her crimson eyes narrow in hurt at my words. Finally, she leaves me – leaves me to my pain and loneliness and fury. How useless my companions have become at this hour.

I stare out into the bloody sunset – how the color reminds me of my beloved. Fingering his crimson-stained cap, I continue to refuse the supposition that he is dead, that his body lies broken in some uninhabited part of Hyrule, with no one to offer him a proper burial. An image of his eyes staring, unseeing, at the sky while crows circle his corpse fills my mind, and I moan at the pain it brings to my heart and spirit.

Dear Goddesses, he cannot be dead. It cannot be true that I will never feel his touch and hear his voice again. His smile, his tender words…no, Dear Goddesses, do not take my love from me…

Cruel logic comes through, shows its despicable head to calmly explain that he must be deceased. He never returned home that long month ago, and the only possession to be found was his bloodied cap. No body, no message, no trail: nothing. They tell me he is gone forever; I must go on with my life; that is how he would desire it for me…

I have loved this man my entire life. Oh, yes, I speak the truth. Ever since I had met him, I have loved him. I adore him. I have never cared for someone as deeply as I care for Link.

When I was a little girl, I possessed few friends. There were few to confide in, few who would see me for myself and not my status in society. Only my nursemaid could I trust, until I met Link that fateful day.

He became my closest friend, the only person who saw through my royal exterior and peered into my true self. His personality captivated me, his laughter brought gaiety to my life, and his kindness captured my heart. I loved him, but I never believed that he would love me in return.

But he did. He does love me in return. And on Midsummer's Day, we were married. Never have I experienced a more joyful and wonderful day as that. My heart was filled to bursting with love for this man, and amazement at the fact that he actually reciprocated my feelings.

I wrap my arms around myself, remembering that day and that night… Tears form in my eyes and slowly glide down my cheeks at the memory of that magnificent night so full of love. I sob quietly at the thought of never feeling his touch and his kisses again. No person could ever make me feel so beautiful, so perfect, so content within myself. No one – ever.

"He is not coming back."

I should not be naïve. I should accept the unacceptable. But I simply cannot do it. How can I admit that Link is gone forever?

I go to my knees, clutching his cap, as if trying to hold on to my beloved. Stricken in agony, weeping piteously, I lay my face in my hands.

No, please, do not take from me my only love.

My confidante.

My lover.

My husband.

My only friend…

Dear Goddesses, he is not gone from me…

* * * *

Weeks pass into another month. Everyday, I watch for him, and everyday, my hope grows thinner until one day it will not exist. I watch the horizon for my beloved, to see his beautiful face and to feel his arms around me.

But each day, he does not come. He does not return to me, and slowly, yet steadily, I grow cold and distant. My heart becomes numb, my spirit is crumbling… I am dying inside, and a part of me wishes that I would die, in something more than spirit.

Another day dawns, cloudy and gray. The sun is covered; little light shines through the thick, cumulus clouds high above me. I stare into the horizon, silent. Rain is coming; I can feel it. But I do not care. Not much matters to me anymore.

Wait…I see something in the distance. A horse with a rider upon it back. My heart jumps to my throat; my stomach falls to my toes. With a dash, I leave my balcony and run as quickly as I can manage to this person. Dear Goddesses, let it be Link.

When I arrive outside, it begins to rain. The sprinkling droplets fall upon my face and run down my face, like tears. Through the castle grounds I run, through the town, ignoring shouts from those around me. When I reach the road outside the gates, I pant in exhaustion, trying to catch my breath. But I go on. It rains harder now.

When I reach the horse and rider, I see that it is not Link. My eyes fill with tears of disappointment. With a cry, I come to the rider and fall to the muddy ground, gasping for breath. He instantly climbs from his horse and goes to my side. "Are you alright, my lady?" he asks concernedly.

"Do you have news of Link?" I gasp, desperate for any crumb of information. The man closes his eyes in what seems to be pain. Hysterically, I shake him. "Tell me!" I scream. "Tell me what has happened!"

He opens his eyes. "Princess," he whispers. "Not here…"

I begin to scream incoherently. "For the love of the Goddesses, tell me what has happened! What has happened to my husband?!

"He…he is dead. I have brought you his body…"

I cannot hear his last words. Standing up, I walk to the sack that his slung on the back of his horse, numb to the bone. The man tries to stop me, but I do not heed his words. Opening the bag, I hear someone begin screaming and yelling and gasping hysterically. His remains lay there.

Link is dead.

I feel nothing for a moment. But the pain appears, and I fall to my knees. The rain is pouring down upon me; the sky is weeping for me. I cannot cry, I cannot move, I cannot think. There is nothing. I feel nothing…

Water falls down me, soaking me through and through. The rider attempts to move me out of it, but I do not care.

He is gone. He is dead. My beloved will never return.

With a cry of a heart breaking, I grip at the mud, I grip my hair, I scream into the cloudy darkness. Agony fills my heart. My spirit turns to ash.

Sobbing, I fall into a dark abyss.

"He is not coming back…"

He is gone.

I have no idea where that came from. Sniff sniff. Sorry about that. But, this will be a collection of many dif. kinds of one-shots, some like this, some funny, some sweet… I actually would like some requests, too! The only criteria is that is has to have SOMETHING to do with a LxZ pairing and it cannot go beyond PG-13. K? Great! NOW REVIEW!! ^^