Fortitude

Link firmly gripped the hilt of his sword and yet again mercilessly sliced the sharp blade through another defenseless wolfos. He often traveled the woods on his own and was used to the dangers that lurked about, but now he was faced with a certain trouble; Princess Zelda, who often insisted on joining him on his small journeys, accompanied him on this trip. He had to admit – it was quite a hassle having to protect both his body and the maiden, but it did allow him to advance in his skills. The only problem occurring was the fact that Zelda desired to protect herself most of the time. Unfortunately, she wasn't doing a very good job and Link constantly had to leave his own post to rush to her aid. Now that the two of them battled in the woods for what seemed like countless times, Link was obliged to save her again. He squeezed the handle of his weapon once more and sped towards the struggling princess, defeating any beast that crossed their paths.

Eventually, all of the monsters had disappeared and the only two left standing were the princess and the hero. Zelda, however, was far from pleased. "I had it this time! You didn't give me a chance," she stubbornly pouted with a cross of her arms.

Link bit the inside of his cheek and puffed. "A chance to do what? You don't even have a weapon on you this time!" He shouted, studying the maiden up and down in a heated manner. "All that you've been doing is childishly waving your hands in front of you like a moron."

"Like – like a moron?!" Zelda hissed as she tightly clenched her fists. She approached the hero and wildly pointed a menacing finger in the cowering hero's face. "I'll have you know I've been practicing magic! It's stated in the legends of old that full-blooded Hylians were capable of using these abilities!" A cocky smirk passed over the young woman's peachy lips as she placed her haughty hands on her hips and nodded. "I've been studying magic for a while, but the wooden dummies back in Hyrule Castle's training room did nothing for me. I figured I had to try it out on some real beasts!"

Link cocked an eyebrow in bewilderment. "Magic? Are you kidding me?" He lightly snickered in amusement, although by no means did he intend to offend. "No one's used magic since the Hero of Time's era! They say that most of the Hylians went extinct during the Great War."

"Most," Zelda reminded with a confident wink. "I'm definitely of the Hylian blood. My pointed ears say it all!" She brushed her golden strands of hair away and revealed her blatant secret.

Link pointed to his ears. "I have them too," he grunted. "They're pretty common. I wouldn't say that Hylian is really a blood-race anymore. It's more of a label for people like us."

Again Zelda pouted, only this time she stomped her foot in an immature manner. "Ohhh, I'll show you!" She suddenly began to stomp past him, venturing deeper into the forest without the hero's consent.

"Where do you think you're going?" Link yelled, his feet unmoved.

"I'm going to destroy some of those beasts with some of my magic!" She retorted, not bothering to turn to face him as she marched away.

"You're going to get yourself killed! You don't honestly think I'm going to follow you, do you?"

"All the more better!" The princess' voice began to fade the farther she walked away. It was no use speaking back and forth anymore. They might as well just remain in silence.

As Zelda ventured deeper into the isolated forest, the trees grew thicker and thicker and the light grew darker and darker, yet there were always patches of light to guide her. The woods whispered to her, the gentle breeze brushing the treetops. However, it wasn't as peaceful as Zelda had hoped for. Honestly, the forest frightened her, especially being in this state of solitude. Every time a twig broke, she would viciously jump and twirl around on her heel to see what was following her, but it was merely her own footsteps. Every now and then, she thought she could hear another set of footsteps following her, but perhaps that was only her imagination. She should have known better than to venture off deeper into the woods, but she had something to prove to herself. And in case she got in any real danger, Link would truly be there, wouldn't he? There was no possible way that he would ever abandon her… right?

An unexpected growl emitted behind the princess so loud that it sent unbearable chills racing down her spine. Zelda slowly turned to face the noise, her jittery legs nearly collapsing beneath herself. "H-hello…? Link?"

All of a sudden, a ferocious bokoblin pounced from the bristled bushes and began to race towards her at a rapid pace, throwing dirt behind itself with its feet. Despite that the enemy was unarmed and unarmored, the idea of a malicious monster was enough to send the princess flying on her toes. She spun away and ran as fast as her feeble legs could take her, nearly lifting her skirt as high as her thighs. She lightly screamed and shrieked in between her uncontrollable heavy breathing, which was soon replaced with quick gasps. Her body already ached from running, not physically prepared for such an extensive workout. Her eyes dashed about the area in search of an escape, glancing at trees and darkness and thick rocks. Her darting vision peered over her shoulder momentarily to see how the beast was holding up; it was right behind her.

Zelda looked before herself and was introduced to an unexpected boulder; her fragile body slammed straight against the rough rock. The princess instantly collapsed to her knees and rubbed her aching head, but she had no time to tend to her wounds. The bokoblin was already on top of her, attacking her, whether it was trying to rip her face away with its teeth or merely toy with her. Zelda pressed her back against the boulder and screamed as she forced the monster away with her heels, pushing back on the enemy with all her might. "Link! Where are you?!" She cried at the top of her lungs, both frustrated and fearful. Time passed by like hours, although it was merely seconds, yet it didn't appear that Link would be rushing to her aid anytime soon. Zelda couldn't help but gasp. Was he really not coming?

The rabid beast now slipped between her legs and was practically on her. Zelda used her hands to hold off the monster, but it didn't appear to be doing much good. It snapped its pointed teeth at the defenseless girl, spitting drool all over itself and the young princess. Zelda whimpered and whined as the bokoblin clawed at her arms, ripping her precious gloves. If she didn't do anything fast, then this wicked animal would rip into her delicate face, as well!

Zelda had to do something. She had magic. This was the moment she had been studying, practicing for dating back to several months ago. She didn't bring weapons to defend herself – not this time. This place was pretty open, clear of trees. She could hit the monster away from her at a great distance! If she wanted to relieve herself of this situation, then she'd have to rely on her magic to do so. This was it. This was the moment. Zelda grabbed onto one of the arms of the bokoblin to hold it away from her as it struggled, and then she placed a firm hand on its chest. It was covered in drool that disgusted her immensely, but there was no time for that. She stared intensely at the target. The princess had to focus all of her energy on it in order to make her attack. She'd have to be quick, though; the enemy was releasing itself from her grip.

Zelda narrowed her eyes as she stared at her hand on its chest, sending all of her energy into the tips of her fingers. The young girl lightly hummed, preparing herself for the attack. She could actually feel it, the energy flowing into her hands! What would the attack look like? What would it feel like?! The princess had no time to focus on such nonsensical things; she had to concentrate on her attack. With this thought in mind, she centralized on nothing else, honing in on her desire. Her humming grew louder and louder, growing audible over the bokoblin's monstrous growls, and her energy grew stronger and stronger. This was it! She didn't need Link to protect her! She had her magic! Now with all of her power focused on the target point of the monster, she would be able to easily defeat it! With one mighty shove and a battle cry of victory, she forced the monster away with so much intensity that it flew backwards into the forest as quick as a speeding arrow, almost as if the monster was being sucked away by the forest itself! A small grunt was heard from the monster, but nothing else sounded.

Zelda sat in silence for several minutes, listening only to the sound of her heavy breaths. No light or any sort of visible power emitted from her hand, yet the beast was sent flying backwards. What sort of magic did she wield? But did it really matter? She did it! She destroyed one of the monsters! The princess jumped to her feet in excitement and desired to share it with someone. But she suddenly realized that she had no one to share it with. Link was nowhere near her. Nor had he saved her. So it was true; he really wasn't following her, after all?

A sense of sadness fell over the princess, despite her recent victory. However, that didn't matter. She had to focus now on exiting the forest.

Another set of bushes began to rustle, calling the princess back to her senses. Zelda immediately took a battle stance, readying herself for the next attack. "Come on out, you beast!" She ferociously demanded.

A sudden hero clad in green emerged from the bushes, drowsily brushing back his bangs. "That's not a nice thing to say."

"Link!" Zelda exclaimed as she clasped her hands together, overly excited. However, she was immediately consumed with rage. "Link? You were barely behind those few trees, knowing I was in danger, and you didn't even bother to come rescue me?!"

Before Link could defend himself, he was hastily interrupted-

"It doesn't matter," Zelda cheered with a vibrant smile. "You saw that, didn't you?! I used magic! I zapped that bokoblin right into the woods where it came from!"

"What?" Link chuckled with a sly smile. "I used my clawshot to drag that thing away from you. Zelda, you're not magic."

"C-clawshot?!" Zelda huffed, flabbergasted. That explained why the bokoblin looked as if it was being dragged away at such a rapid pace. But she would have seen or heard the mechanics! The highness shook her head in protest, denying this theory with all of her might. "N-no! It was definitely magic! I could feel the power flowing through my veins!"

Link tilted his head and crossed his arms. "You're not magic. There's no such thing. Let's get out of these woods before something dangerous attacks us."

And as if he spoke on cue, deep growls echoed in the distance from the depths of the forest. Zelda and Link held their breaths and moved in closer to each other, their curious eyes darting about the darkness in search of the wild beasts. By the sound of the far off snarls, it was probably a pack of bokoblins; most likely the same one that this one was in. Link drew his sword and shield and held it in defense, holding his ground before the feeble princess. Zelda lightly shuddered in fear, but it wasn't enough to cause her to scurry.

"You should probably run," Link suggested as he turned his head to listen to the growl of a monster. "I'll have to distract them. This might get really bad."

Zelda creased her eyebrows into frustration. "There's no way I'm leaving! I can wield magic, so I'll be able to protect us!"

"Get out of here!" Link fiercely shouted without turning to look at her.

Zelda's eyes widened. It was rare to see Link this tense, and he would never get angry with her without a fair reason. Although distraught, she obediently listened to him and fled back into the forest. However, instead of running away she merely hid herself comfortably in some bushes. If something was to happen to Link and she didn't know, then she wouldn't forgive herself.

In a matter of seconds after Zelda's disappearance, red eyes began to appear in the woods that were all locked on Link. They growled and slithered their tongues at the singular prey. He nearly didn't stand a chance against the majority of them, or so the beasts assumed. One of the bokoblins immediately jumped out at him and the hero as fast as a flash struck his sword against the beast. As quickly as it fell to the forest floor, the remaining bokoblins exited the trees. They were armed with clubs and spears and shields, and they were dressed in bronze and wooden armor. As the five of the beasts circled around their prey, they wildly cackled and beat their weapons on the floor as if to intimidate the alone human. Zelda watched in both horror and disquietude as the bokoblins began to close in on Link, who familiarly clutched the sword and shield in his hands.

One of the bokoblins leapt towards the hero with its spear thrust forward, but Link thoughtfully blocked it with his shield. He then threw his blade towards the enemy, but the steel only contacted bronze armor. Link and the enemy quickly withdrew from each other, but a strong impact against Link's backside caused him to wince and fall to one knee. In a panic, he jumped back to his feet and pushed his sword forward into the bokoblin that had clubbed him, splitting the center of its face with his blade. Naturally, it died instantly. However, Link's sword was stuck in its helmet and he couldn't unsheathe it from the bloodied carcass. Another bokoblin thrust its spear downward towards the defenseless hero, but he merely used his shield to block. For now, it was all that he could do without a righteous weapon.

Zelda clasped her hands over her mouth to subdue her shrieks of terror. Link had been in countless difficult spots before, and this was nothing new to him, but the princess felt compelled to help the struggling hero. Yet her solid feet wouldn't move for her. Despite what she believed, maybe magic wasn't real. Link said he used his clawshot to save her, rather than her blasting away the monsters. What if she were to step onto the battlefield now and prove unable to protect him?

As if in slow motion, some of the bokoblins took hold of Link and threw him away from the deceased monster, unfortunately leaving behind his sword as well. They tossed him onto the forest floor on his back like rubbish and began to ferociously beat at him with their clubs and spears. Although Link was able to defend himself with his trusty shield, some of the attacks hit him from the side.

The princess gasped. That was it – she had to do something! Zelda dove from the bushes and revealed herself to the beasts. "Get away from him!" She strictly demanded, yet none of them listened.

Link peeked at her from underneath his shield, glaring to see past the bokoblin's legs that somewhat blocked his vision. "Zelda?! Get out of here!"

But the princess disobeyed his pleas. If she couldn't use magic, then there had to be something else she could do. Her heart beat wildly at a rapid pace. Maybe she could use his sword? The princess glanced over at the blade submerged into the dead carcass. If she could rip it from that body, then maybe she could at least clear off some of the monsters. Her feet darted towards the steel and her frisky hands immediately latched onto the hilt. With a huff, she pulled on it with all of her might. It seemed to be doing no good; the sword was far too heavy and stuck and the princess didn't have enough strength.

A painful gasp escaped Link's lips, causing Zelda to stumble. She turned to see the hero kicking the monsters away, violently smacking their faces and stomachs and legs. Although he was able to free himself and clear a path, a spear had impaled him in the leg, making it difficult for him to stand. He glared at Zelda with utter intensity, whether his eyes were filled with pain or anger. "I told you to run!" He growled, shoving away another bokoblin.

Zelda's body felt cold. She should have never ventured into the woods on a whim. Link knew the forest better than her and knew his own limits. Because of her, they were stuck in a horrible situation. "I couldn't leave you!" She desperately whimpered, wanting to move close to him. However, he was still stuck in battle, only able to defend himself with his shield by bashing them out of the way. Naturally it wasn't enough. All of a sudden, one of the bokoblins struck Link at the back of his head with an iron club, knocking the unlucky hero unconscious. He fell to the floor face down with his shield loose at his side, the bokoblins now gaining in on him. Zelda gasped at the sight in sheer disbelief. This wasn't actually happening, was it?!

The monsters lifted their spears, aiming their pointed weapons at the broken hero's crippled body. This was the end – they had won. Tears formed at the corners of Zelda's eyes. No, she wouldn't let this be the end of the hero. She could save him! She could –

Time seemed to stand still. An intense strange aura began to flow through the princess' veins unlike the feeling she had felt before. These feelings were powerful, capable; what was this new energy passing through her blood? It was as if her fingers had a mind of their own; they lifted and aimed towards the towering bokoblins, examining each and every one. An alien light surged its way through her arm, into her hand, concentrating a powerful spirit into the tips of her nails. Warmth emitted throughout her body and relaxed her dancing nerves. Unlike her previously fearful state of mind, she was now conscious calmed and stern. She gave a glare to the bokoblins so vehement that they sensed the power emitting from the force behind themselves. They all turned to look at the force and were taken aback to see a young girl overcome with a soft glow around her body. Her hand, however, glowed with the greatest vibrancy that caused them to stir.

Before they could even turn to run away, Zelda's hand flashed as she pushed it backwards and thrust it forward again, sending a wave of light towards the unscrupulous beasts. They immediately shrieked upon impact, a scream so loud that the treetops shivered and the birds abandoned their nests. The open area around them glowed from this vibrant attack, light racing towards the sky! Not only did the golden light slice through the bokoblins' fragile bodies, but shattered them as well. The beats exploded into hundreds of pieces of light like glass, each piece of light disappearing into nothing. The echoing screams died down as their bodies dispersed into thin air, leaving nothing behind but their bronze armor and hand-crafted weapons. It was as if they never existed in the first place, and the piles of clothes on the forest floor had been here for ages.

Zelda stood in awe of herself. Who knew that wielding this sort of power was capable by the Hylians, by her? She gazed down at her trembling hand, studying its appearance. It was still the same hand, but it was overcome with ancient power. The corners of her lips quivered upwards, and before she knew it she was smiling and giggling and dancing in victory. She did it! This was it! This was real magic! Link would never believe her once he woke up-p-p –

Link!

Princess Zelda raced to his fallen side and turned him onto his back, examining him extensively. Thankfully, he didn't have any life threatening wounds. The only major injury was his leg, but aside from that he was fine. He was still silently breathing, after all. "Link, please wake up! I have something to tell you!" She selfishly cheered, her eyes bright with ambition.

Link lightly stirred, his eyes struggling to open, and he looked up at the princess with blurred vision. "My aching head… What happened?"

Zelda's eyes lit up with greater eager. "I used magic!" A giggle danced on her tongue as she hugged him dearly to her chest, thankful that everyone was okay.

Link creased his eyebrows into curiosity and frustration, but immediately relaxed and hugged her as well. It didn't matter whether it was true or not; the important thing was that they were both safe. He still didn't believe her, however. After all, there were no other dead bodies besides the one that he had battled. Maybe they got bored and ran. Then he took notice – piles of clothes and weapons scattered across the forest floor. Wh-what?! It wasn't possible! He scooted away from Zelda and stared at the glistening princess with sheer wonder, unable to fathom the situation. Yet the light in her eyes told him not to question or deny it, so instead he simply smirked and shook his head; "Let's just get back to the castle."

Zelda helped the discombobulated hero to his feet and the two of them began to make their journey back through the forest, neither one questioning the other. Instead, they only remained in silence, thankful that the other was simply okay.

*photo by Karen-Toon