Hero of Time #3: Life works in funny ways
The curse was lifted. Zelda slowly came out of her Ganon's puppet state, returning to her original form. Link and Midna stood to the side as she slowly came back to reality.
"Thank you…Thank you both." Zelda spoke, her eyes closed and her head tilted towards the floor. "You have proven yourself against Ganondorf's magic, and have broken the curse over me and the castle." But before Zelda could go on, a mysterious flame began to emerge out of the slain beast form, Ganon. It grew bigger, and in the center of the flame, a face began to appear. Ganondorf! His features could not be mistaken. But before Link or Zelda could do anything, the three collected fused shadows began to twirl around Midna, preparing to lock together over her head. Link knew what she was doing. He reached out to her, but it was too late. Midna teleported Link and Zelda out to Hyrule field so that she could finish off Ganondorf in his current form. It would take all the strength that she had from the fused shadows, but she could get rid of him in this form, even if it meant destroying the castle!
~Going Home~ Ilia was excited. She was finally getting to go home. The families in the village had loaned her and her friends Colin, Beth, Talo, and Malo a covered wagon for their trip across Hyrule field to Ordon village. They began the trip in the morning, but as they neared afternoon, they saw large ominous clouds approaching and decided to stop in Hyrule field near a small hill with a tree on top. They could see Hyrule castle off in the distance. The peak of the tallest tower was surrounded by a very dark portion of the cloud, and lightning could be seen repeatedly striking at the tower. Ilia was in the covered wagon rummaging through her supplies when suddenly, there was a massive explosion. Ilia jumped up so quickly she nearly smashed into the roof of the covered wagon. She quickly hopped out and looked around. Then she saw where it came from and nearly screamed. An enormous smoke cloud was rising from the castle as it slowly crumbled to the ground.
"Oh no!" She cried out, "LINK!" She knew that Link was heading to the castle when he left them for the last time. He had told her so. She wished desperately that he was okay. That somehow he was not in the castle.
~Link~ Link heard and saw it as well, but what he was really focused on was Ganondorf. Sitting triumphantly on his horse at the top of a small hill, he held, in his right hand, a fused shadow, the shadow that Midna had always worn when she was with Link, covering half of her face.'No.' Link thought. 'It can't be! Midna!' Ganondorf laughed victoriously and with one small move crushed the fused shadow in his hand. The broken mask fell to the ground, and Ganondorf charged at them, followed by three phantom horse riders he created with his dark magic. But just before he reached them, they disappeared. As quickly as they disappeared, however, they reappeared in another part of the field, almost right next to where Ilia and the travelers were.
~Ilia had seen Ganondorf as well, and she watched as he charged the two figures standing at the bottom of the knoll. 'They'd better get out of the way!' She thought to herself, but then they disappeared. Ilia gasped. Then, there they were. She could clearly see them now. They were almost one hundred feet from her, both of them sitting on Epona. There was Zelda, and it appeared she had a bow and a set of arrows made entirely out of light. And there he was. 'LINK!' She thought to herself. But then they were gone, they tore away from the traveling group, going full speed towards Ganondorf on his black horse. When they met, they both drew their swords and slashed out at each other. They both missed, but barely. They weaved to and away from each other, fighting with their words, each trying to knock the other off his horse. Suddenly, a huge beam of light shot out from behind Link and smashed into Ganondorf, paralyzing him. It must have been one of the light arrows Zelda was carrying. Link quickly charged up next to Ganondorf and viciously sliced out at him, throwing him right off his horse.
~Link~ Link quickly hopped down off Epona and ran towards the spot where Ganondorf lay. The black horse had already run away, but he still lay motionless on the ground. When Link got within fifty yards of him however, a huge twilight barrier formed around them. Ganondorf slowly rose. His gaping wound on his chest still radiating light from the sword the sages had plunged into him that fateful day he was banished to the twilight realm.
"A magnificent blade… but nothing more." He said. "Quite ironic isn't it? I will purge the light with the very sword crafted of light. But life works in funny ways like that." While speaking, Ganondorf brought out the said blade. It was glowing a brilliant white at the handle, and when he pulled out the rest of the blade from the sheath, it shoe like lightning itself. Link quickly pulled out his shield and sword and got into a fighting stance. Ganondorf slowly advanced. He stood nearly twice Link's height, and he was twice as strong, but Link could move much quicker. He dodged every sword thrust and returned it, scoring a hit at every one of Ganondorf's attempts. Ganondorf began to weaken and realized his plan wasn't working. He thought to himself. "The boy is too quick; I must think of a plan…I know!" This time Ganondorf did not come at Link as quickly. Instead, he would approach cautiously, and when Link would try to attack he would dodge it and then strike out. It was the same as Link's strategy and apparently it was a successful one. Link received a fierce blow to his shield holding arm's shoulder. Link cried out and fell backwards but got up quickly and dodged a sword thrust that buried Ganondorf's sword into the ground right where Link used to be. Blood was now spewing out of Link's shoulder, and Link pulled out a potion of some kind and drank it. Almost instantly, the cut healed up, and his arm was back to normal. Now Ganondorf was slowly getting ahead. Link was able to dodge the attacks now, but only by parrying with his own sword. Ganondorf continued his procedure and Link was getting tired. The vibrations of steel on steel were causing his hand to get numb. He knew he wouldn't hold out much longer.
~Both~ by now, Ilia had rushed down the hill towards the twilight barrier. She wanted to see what would happen. She had to. She wanted to know what would become of Link. Ever since he had returned her memory, she wanted to be with him, she didn't want to lose him. But she knew he had to go off and fight Ganondorf. When she arrived at the barrier, she was frightened by what she saw. Ganondorf was much bigger than she thought, and he was hacking fiercely at Link. Link was getting sluggish and weak; she could see and sense it. Every time she was him clang swords with Ganondorf, he cried out in pain and dodged out to the side to try and regain his breath, but Ganondorf pressed on. He saw Link was tired. He basked in that knowledge and kept attacking Link until it happened. The Master Sword fell from Link's hand and Ganondorf kicked it away from him.
"Pleasant dreams, kid!" Ganondorf yelled at Link as he plunged the sword at Link's chest.
"LIIIIIIIIINK!" Ilia screamed at the top of her lungs. Link staggered back, the Hylian shield falling out of his grip and to the ground. He stared at Ganondorf, and then to the sword. Only the handle and a small part of the blade stuck out of Link's chest. He slumped to the ground, blood gushing out of the wound and slowly spilling out of his mouth with his every breath. "NOOOO!" Ilia once again screamed. Ganondorf slowly turned to see who had screamed. Ilia and Zelda stood not too far apart from each other, and Epona stood behind them both. Ganondorf grinned as the twilight barrier began to fall. He was breathing heavily.
"HAHAHAHA! Look at your hero now! Soon the Triforces of courage and wisdom will be mine. Then nothing will stand in my way of world domination…NOTHING!" But life works in funny ways. The triforce on the back of Link's hand began to glow, faint at first. It grew stronger, and before too long, it was shining nearly as brightly as the sword sticking out of Link's chest. Link's hand began to twitch. And suddenly, it shot to the hilt of the sword, the other hand following suit. His grip tightened on the handle until he was nearly crushing the handle. Link's eyes shot open and the sword shattered in this grasp, into a million tiny sparks of light. Ganondorf wheeled around, terror struck into his eyes. "No…NO…NOOOOOO!" Link shot to his feet, and snatched up the Master Sword. He twirled it around in his hands, his eyes glowing with the power of the triforce. He used it well. Never has a man moved a blade more quickly than Link did that day. (Author's note: I imagined this as Link's smash attack on Super Smash Bros. Brawl) He struck with such force and speed, that neither Ilia nor Zelda could tell what happened. Link slashed and thrust at Ganondorf so many times that he was bleeding like a bucket with one hundred holes in it. Ganondorf fell onto his back, the pain of so many wounds stinging all over his body; Link took the opportunity and leaped into the air, bringing the sword right into Ganondorf's chest…permanently. Link stepped back, as the glowing of the triforce began to dim down on Ganondorf's hand. Ganondorf tried to yell, but no sound came. He slowly came to his feet.
"How could…it…fail me…like this?" Ganondorf looked at the back of his hand, and the light faded completely. He looked back up to Link, who was staring back at him with the same ferocity in his eyes. "The triforce...h...has failed me….Why?" He then looked to the sky, where he appeared to be looking at something. Then, suddenly, Ganondorf's eyes spun completely around, so that only the whites of his eyes were showing. He gasped once and then his head tilted to the ground. The triforce on Link's hand faded then, and he staggered three steps toward Ilia and Zelda before he crumpled to the ground in a pool of his own blood.
"Link!" Ilia ran to his side, crying. "Link, no! Come on, Link, stay with me. Fight to stay alive, Link, please try! You are a hero, Link! You can't die now!" Link simply stared up at her, his eyes clouding over. "Please, Link, don't leave me here alone. Not after all you've done for me. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't remember any of my past. Oh please, Link…I love you." Link smiled and patted her hand one last time before his eyes closed. Ilia buried her head in her hands and began to sob. Zelda had been behind Ilia, and when he closed his eyes, she stood.
"He did all he could do, the triforce could only keep him alive for a short time, but it was enough. The deed is done; He will be remembered in history as the Hero of Twilight."As she finished her sentence, she began to walk to Epona.
"Wait," Ilia said, regaining her composure a little bit. She then reached into Link's item pouch and pulled out a bottle with a fairy in it. "Link told me about these. They restore life if you're low on energy in battle, there's got to be something it can do." She released the small fairy and it began to circle around Link. Slowly, his body was lifted into the air, until he was upright. Ilia rose to her feet in front of the hovering Link, and then the fairy stopped. Link's feet came to the ground and he slumped forward into Ilia's arms. She held him upright for a second, before he stood on his own. He was still hurting, since the wound from the sword could not be completely healed, but he was very much alive.
"Link!" Ilia threw herself into his arms and was caught up in his embrace as she began to cry again. "Don't ever leave me again! Oh, Link, thank goodness you're alive." Ilia continued to hug Link. Behind them, the rest of the traveling group descended the small hill.
"Ilia, where'd you go?" Colin said as he approached the hugging pair. "We were looking all over for you after we heard the giant explosion and we wondered where you…Link?" Then Zelda approached the two. Link and Ilia separated and Zelda pointed to the top of the hill that Ganondorf had descended on his horse.
"What's that up there?" Link looked up the hill and could barely make out someone sitting at the top of it. Midna!
~~~A few weeks later~~~
After returning Midna to the Twilight realm, Link returned home. He still had the terrible scar on his chest from the sword, but the pain had gone. Link was thankful to finally be back to Ordon Village since peace had been restored. After all the parties and such had ended, Link spent most of his days at his house or in the forest. One, day, Ilia came to pay Link a visit. She came by and yelled up to his window.
"Link!" No answer. "LINK!" This time, Link appeared in the window. He looked tired and lonesome. "Can you come out here please?" link nodded and within no time, he had jumped off his porch and was beside her. He was dressed the way he used to be, in his old Ordonian clothes. She jumped slightly. "Goodness Link, don't you think you should be more careful?" Link looked apologetic. "It's okay, as long as you're not hurt, it's fine with me. Listen, I wanted to talk to you, do you want to walk with me to Ordon Spring? Link nodded and the slowly began to walk down the path. Ilia began. "Link, why haven't you been in the village recently? Everyone's worried that your feeling sick or you just don't feel like you belong or something. We're all very concerned. What's wrong?" Link didn't know what to say. He wanted to try to explain that it was because he thought that he wouldn't belong. That everyone would treat him differently than before. He was used to the farm life before, but he had taken on the role of a warrior and a hero. He simply shrugged and kept walking. When they reached the spring, she walked out in front of him and stopped, stopping him. She looked up into his eyes. "Please, Link, just tell me. I know you're hiding something, so what is it? You can trust me; I'm your best friend." Link just looked at her as if saying, 'there's nothing to say.'
"Would this change your mind, Link?" And without any hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Link was stunned. As quickly as it happened, it was over, but she left her arms around his neck. She looked up at him and giggled slightly. Link's cheeks were as red as a tomato, and his eyes were open so wide it looked like they were going to pop. She let go of him, stepping back a little. His hand reached up and felt his lips where she kissed him, almost doubting his own feelings. "Well?" Ilia asked. "Would it?" Link's eyes relaxed and he grinned, the first time he had grinned in a long time. Sure, he had smiled when he entered the village, but this time he was truly and genuinely happy. He nodded. Ilia pounced on him again, kissing him once more, but this time it didn't end as abruptly. Link held on to her, keeping them together. He had waited for this moment for too long. While caught up in the kiss, Link remembered the time when she was taken from him at this very spring. He never wanted to lose her again, and he kept her in his kiss for a long time. When they finally parted, Ilia smiled up at Link. "Remember out in the field, when I told you I loved you?" Link nodded. "I meant it, Link, with all my heart, I love you so much."
"I…I love you too, Ilia." Link spoke….Link SPOKE? Ilia was shocked. In all his life, Link had always been a quite boy. He would occasionally speak when he absolutely had to, but other than the occasional battle cry and such, he never really spoke much. Ilia was thrilled. They both walked over to their favorite place to sit by the tree at the side of the spring. They were quiet for a while, when Ilia finally spoke. "So now that…well…you know…am I going to see you in the village more often?" Link looked over and grinned at her. He shoved her playfully so that she was on her back and he was above her.
"You can count on it." Link said, and with that, he leaned forward and kissed her again. For them both, this was the beginning of a whole new life.