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Hyrule knew he was supposed to stay back and fire arrows from a distance. He had heard Time’s strict orders earlier.
“Until your leg heals, you aren’t to move an inch.”
And yet here he was. Sprinting in battle.
They had been training when they heard someone scream in the woods. Traveling in Wild’s Hyrule often resulted in odd occurrences like that. They went to help as quickly as they could and found that a silver Moblin camp had set up along a path and civilians had walked straight into it. Hyrule briefly wondered if they were blind. He sat against a large rock and did his best to aide from a distance as the others drew their swords.
He was fine shooting arrows and laying low. That is, until Four tripped. It happened in slow motion. Four falling, Hyrule sprinting into battle. Sprinting, a hairline fracture or not, to step between the Link and impending death.
“Four! Hyrule stop!” Legend screeched from where he was fighting but he couldn’t afford to listen. He lifted his shield, but only had it halfway when the Moblin clubbed him. His balance was destroyed in seconds. I’m sorry. I’m trying. The impact hurt. A lot. His leg was stinging and his chest collided far too roughly with the grass below. It was going to bruise. Get up Link. The monster didn’t give him the chance.
When the club met his back, his ear started to ring and his lungs forced him to cough. He would be willing to bet there was blood, but he couldn’t bring himself to look. The world was blurry anyway. Move. move Link. Whether the voice in his head was Zelda or himself he couldn’t tell anymore, but he was able to register yelling. Not what it was saying, but yelling all the same.
He felt really tired. I wonder if I’m dying?
Legend slashed the moblin in two and dropped his sword to sit beside Hyrule. The kid was in bad shape. Worse than he had ever seen any of them, minus Wild when he used his weird spirit beings. Oh Hylia no. “no, no, no” he whispered, lifting his back gently so that his head could rest beside his heart. There was blood all over his face and his body was completely limp. He patted his cheek a few times. Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare do it d*mn it. “Link! Wake up!” he yelled over the fighting behind them. Hurry Time. I don’t have a fairy and a potion isn’t going to be enough. Hyrule didn’t budge.
“Don’t you freaking do it!” Legend screeched to the heavens that looked like they were about to rain. “Don’t you dare” his voice was hitching but he doubted Hylia cared. She never cared. He’s a child. He doesn’t deserve this. Hyrule felt cold and Legend couldn’t stop the instinct to rock them both. “Time!” he yelled panicked when Hyrule went paler and began coughing more blood. “Time!” No one came.
“Don’t do this to me.” Legend whispered curling around his brother. “I’ll never forgive you” he didn’t know if he was talking to Hylia or Hyrule but he hoped they both heard him.
That was when Hyrule stopped moving.
“Take me instead!” Legend sobbed. You absolute witch. You’re taking the wrong one. “Please, Hylia” he begged clutching Hyrule as close as possible. He couldn’t think or hear or breathe. Don’t you dare let him die. “Please” he cried, unaware of anything else. It was as if nothing existed but his unheard prayer.
Then he felt Hyrule move. He whimpered when he realized it was just someone trying to take him. “Let go Legend, Time’s right here he’s got him” that was Sky whispering to him. His instincts forced him to let his grip slip.
“No” he cried trying to get him back but Sky was on him in an instant. He was wrapped up in a hug/secure hold that kept him pinned as he stared at his brother limp form rest in Time’s lap.
“Don’t look.” Sky ordered petting his hair and pushing his face into his shoulder. “He’s gonna be fine, but don’t look.”
Legend, unlike Hyrule, knew when to listen. He hid his face and felt only a small ounce of relief, enough to release a heavy sob when he heard a fairy bottle being opened. He tried to ignore the sounds of Hyrule coughing up more blood in favor of listening to his older brother.
“He’s not gonna die. It’s ok” Sky promised carefully backing up just enough to take his sailcloth and drape it over Legend. He hadn’t even noticed until that moment that he had been shaking. That he was still sobbing. That breath wasn’t coming into his lungs and he was drowning on choked cries. “Deep breaths,” he instructed and Legend looked at him only to glance at Hyrule with blood all down his face. “Don’t look” Sky snapped using his hand to physically move Legend’s gaze away.
“It’s almost done Sky. He’s gonna need a potion when he wakes up but once we wipe his face he’s gonna be fine” Warriors reported and Legend couldn’t stop the tears. He would be embarrassed about it later. Maybe yell at some people, but right now he couldn’t think of any other possible response.
“Ok” Sky answered giving Legend another quick hug. “We need to move, can you get up?” he asked and Legend didn’t know the answer himself. He was scared and shaky and everything was moving too quickly.
“I got him” sky moved at the command of Time’s deep voice. Legend lunged for him the moment he was in arms reach.
“I t-tried to make it. H-he moved too f-fast” Legend sobbed unable to say anything else. The hand that came to hold him up felt like all the answer he needed. But it was nice when Time spoke anyway.
“You did very well.” Time assured lifting them both to start walking. Legend ignored how he was being carried like a child. He was short enough for it that no one they passed would judge it. He had been more terrified in that moment than he had in a long time. He felt he had earned a break.
What he didn’t know is that even if he had asked to be set down, Time would never have done it. Hearing his name screamed across the battlefield, from the link who never called him, had just about stopped his heart. He was more than content to hush his panic with the comfort that he was alive.
That they were all alive.