She watched the light fade, slowly, from his eyes and felt the air chill around as his soul left.
Her spine tingled and her blood raced. Is this what killing was supposed to feel like?
The corpse of the impaled man remained on his knees which made any feeling of pleasure in his death stir into nausea...for the spear that had cut him through was the very thing holding his body up. Zelda gripped her stomach and knew that no matter how sternly she told herself that she could not throw up, she did.
Her long golden hair fanned about her face and caught bits of breakfast in their silky tresses but Zelda did not care at the moment for all she wanted was to be rid of the feeling. A hand pressed against her back, comfortingly, and the smell of leather wafted by as a dragon hide glove reached around her neck, taking her dirty hair within its palm.
She rode each wave with as much dignity as she could muster and until her breakfast had completely evacuated her stomache. Zelda refused to look up into the face of the man who was holding her hair behind her head but thanked him, greatfully.
"He deserved it, Princess." The slightly raspy baritone of Hyrule's Legendary Hero rang clear above the coming noise of a headache. "He attacked you and would have killed you first had you not killed him."
"Please, Link, can we talk about this another time?" Zelda's voice begged, she hated knowing how weak and disgusting she looked when she should be strong.
"Aye, we can." Link drew a small strip of cloth from one of the pouches on his belt and wrapped it around the Princess' hair. "Come let us clean you up."
With her Goddess given Wisdom clouded by emotion, Zelda let Link pilot her through a private path around their camp full of soliders, villagers, Princes, and Kings. A more vile man would have taken his precious time as Zelda was not in the best state of dress being only in a gossamer sleeping gown and silk robe. Link did not.
In a matter of seconds, Zelda was laying on her back near the bank of a small creek. Link, who must have snatched a bucket sometime before they left camp, drew water from it and motioned for Zelda to come to him. She slid across the ground, lazily, and pressed her back against the bucket.
"I would warm this up for you, Princess, if we only had the time. However I do not think the King would be happy to find a dead man where his daughter should be." Link rested his left hand on Zelda's forhead and the other upon the nape of her neck. "This shall be cold."
Zelda sighed. "I guessed as much."
Link tilted the Princess' head back gently and soaked her hair in the freezing liquid up to her scalp, his right hand remained in the water for support. Silence fell for a few seconds while both parties let their thoughts sink in.
Zelda opened her mouth to say something but the words slipped from her lips as Link's other hand set to combing out the bile from her hair. She settled on. "Thank you."
"My pleasure." Link responded, softly.
Zelda giggled. "You take pleasure from this, Sir Link?"
Link smirked. "Yes, Milady, I do. I take pleasure in knowing I am helping the Princess without having to cut some stranger down."
Memories flooded the girl's head and she choked back sudden tears. "I killed a man!" She proclaimed with horrifying realization.
"Princess, " Link spoke, sternly. "You had every right to protect yourself from that man. He would have killed you, could have raped you, stolen you, then sold you off to the Slaves. A Royal woman as beautiful as yourself would fetch a fortune." Link lifted Zelda's head up and pulled the bucket away. "It was for the best."
"I did not have to kill him!" She exclaimed, her hands covered her face which was flustered with her tears.
Link sighed. "No, you did not." He clicked his tongue in slight frustration. "But neither do our soliders. We have the power to hold them prisoner, to refrain from spilling anothers blood, but it is for the best that we slay them ...and they us."
Zelda stopped crying and turned to face the man with an awe struck look. "Why?"
"Because we all are fighting for the same thing and we all are loyal. We know what we would do if given the chance to maul our captures." Link stood, ran one hand through his blonde hair, and removed the cloak he was wearing. "We are killing reflections on the battlefield. Mirrors of ourselves. Some maybe different, like the man you defeated, but most are like me."
Link wrapped the cloak around Zelda's shoulders and lifted her to her feet. She stared at him for a few moments and let his words soak in. She nodded. "I understand..."
"That is good, Princess." He began at the same swift pace as he had before but Zelda stopped him.
"Could we...take our time?"
Link smiled and the comfort Zelda felt rushed through her body. "Of course, Princess, if that is what you wish."
Zelda had known Link since they were children and that was not counting The Lost Seven Years. He was a very odd fellow because he always seemed to know how to act in every situation but, given the circumstances of his full title, Zelda understood why. "Sir Link?"
"Aye?"
"You have told me one more than one ocassion that you can travel through time...is that power only avaliable when you hold the Master Sword?" Zelda bit her lip for they hardly talked about the things Link was capable of.
Link stopped walking and waited for Zelda to turn and speak. He was being careful, she knew, because he did not want to be overheard. "I can travel without it but it depends on my health, my location, and how many Sages are near an area."
"At anytime?"
"Only when I am most healthy. When I am alone without anything Sacred about me, or Sages, I can travel back only one day. With the Orcania of Time, three, as I have told you before...and when I am on Sacred Ground with the Master Sword...there is no limit." Link spoke with a slight tremor in his voice as if he was afraid of his own powers.
"Does it frighten you?"
"Aye, Milady, it does. It is a frightening gift bestowed upon me and I do not like using it." Link resumed walking. "Why do you ask, Princess?"
"I was thinking about your title." She answered, softly. "And how you are always calm...I thought maybe its because you had experienced the situations before."
Link smirked. "That is partly the reason." He chuckled. "You are wrong to say I am always calm."
"Oh?"
"Be as surprised as you wish, Princess, but I am often as confused and anxious as others. I just hid my emotions better."
Zelda smiled. "Are you..." She stopped and blushed.
"Hiding my emotions now? Aye, I am." Link answered Zelda's unfinished question and winked at her blush.
"You are flirting with me."
"Aye."
Zelda bit her lower lip and blushed deeper. "I am flattered."
"So am I." Link brushed a strand of wet hair behind the Princess' pointed ear. "You blush." He stated his observation with slight surpirse.
"I do...not very often though, Sir Link." Zelda closed her eyes and tried to calm her fast beating heart.
Link stopped which caused Zelda to as well. He turned her face toward his and smiled. "I know you hear this from every suitor, Princess, but you are very beautiful."
"You can say that even after you cleaned my hair?"
Link laughed. "Yes, Princess."
Zelda joined the youth in his laughter. "You must mean it then."
"Oh, I do." Link stepped forward suddenly and pressed his mouth upon hers. His arms circled her lean waist and her arms wrapped around his neck. They remained like that for several heated moments.
When finally they parted, Zelda's vision felt cloudy like she was waiting to wake from a dream. She gazed up into the fierce eyes of her Captain and blushed. "I...I have never...been kissed like that before."
"That is because Prince's only know how to be proper." Link smirked. "I can be both."
Zelda blushed. "Was that your version of proper?"
"No," He chuckled, leaning down once more. "that's what I call relieving lots of tension."