It was a beautiful day, but an absolutely miserable walk. Link was with Zelda, escorting her from the Spring of Wisdom. His job was to protect her from any harm, specifically from any of Ganon's minions. Link sighed deeply and looked up into the woods above them. They still had a ways to walk before they reached the bottom where he knew the other champions were waiting.

A smile fluttered on the end of his lips as he thought of Mipha. He'd always enjoyed being around her more than anyone else, but he wasn't sure if she thought the same. Maybe he was oblivious, or maybe he was just looking for something that just wasn't there. He looked down at the sad thought and studied the trees around them.

The forest was lively as critters ran around and bustled in the bushes. The brambles around them threatened to tear at their clothing if they got too close. Link snapped his head towards each new sound like a snapping twig or a shaking of the tree leaves above them. He was on constant lookout for enemies as the sunlight filtered through the dense trees into their faces.

Link continued to scan around them, not seeing anything out of the ordinary other than a couple over-friendly animals. Suddenly, they all turned and ran away from them as they got close. Link tried not to follow them with his gaze as they scrambled into the bushes around the path.

Link stopped for a second as he could have sworn he saw a pair of red eyes staring at him through the woods. It disappeared so quickly, Link wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not. Unknown to Link, the face has was just staring at was indeed a person-A Hylian just like him.

The man stood as motionless as he could while he shut his eyes hastily. He knew that the darkness around him would hide his body perfectly. But the moment he and Link had made eye contact, he knew his glowing red pupils had betrayed him. He waited in the bush, refusing to move a muscle as the footsteps of the princess and her guard got farther away. Eventually, the man let go of his breath and reopened his eyes. He prayed to Ganon that Link doesn't draw the Master Sword as he knew how bright it would glow. The man looked on from the bush into the woods painfully. Deep down he sighed in frustration knowing that the task of killing a princess was never an easy one.

Link looked away from the large trees. He was tired of scanning the forest around them so he looked down at Zelda about to voice his thoughts. He bit his tongue when he saw how miserable she was.

Zelda caught his gaze and looked over at him in helplessness. She felt useless—she wasn't any help to anyone. She felt that her whole life has been a failure, at least she believed it to be. Her heels dragged along the ground in despair—a thin trail was left in the dust behind them.

Zelda just wasn't able to harness her power from Hylia. Link knew what her problem was: she didn't have any conviction for it, no motivation or incentive. But even if he told her that, it wouldn't change a thing. If anything, it would remind her of another failure she'd inadvertently blame herself for. Their eyes connected for a second but she looked away in anger.

Link had been able to fulfill his destiny. He is also one of the best swordsman in Hyrule. Even though she knew for a fact he was the best, she dampened his title to make herself feel less inferior.

Zelda took a deep breath and looked down the road again. She could just barely make out the light breaking through the end of the tree line. They were getting close to the large field that separated the Champions and the tree line. That's when she noticed Link stiffen up suddenly.

Link didn't know if it was a third eye sense, or maybe an uncanny feeling, but he knew they were being watched—being followed. Zelda looked at him and almost regretted it as Link snapped at her to: "look away and keep walking. Act as if something isn't wrong." She opened her mouth to speak about his rudeness but stopped herself. She closed her mouth into a frown with an audible click as Link picked up his pace.

Zelda had to skip before she caught up to her personal guard. When she did, Link spoke calmly and silently, "we're being followed."

Zelda rolled her eyes saying, "probably just my father sending another escort like usual."

"oh yeah?" Link looked over at her with a skeptical expression, "to tread unwarranted and trespass on sacred grounds? He couldn't convince them to do that even if he tried."

Zelda shut her mouth and kept her head straight. Now that she thought about it, there were extra pairs of footsteps behind them. It was faint, ever so slight, but she could still hear them. Her thoughts of being rude and grumpy to Link about his attitude immediately left her and a feeling of dread crept into the emptiness inside her.

Link kept his face forward, but his eyes to the side. He knew it was bokoblins, or a Yiga or two, maybe even Moblin's. It was hard to tell, but Link had to act quickly. This was his job—protecting the Princess of Hyrule.

He whispered suddenly, piercing the silence that grew between them. "when I say run, go for the trees. Find our Champions and stay with them. I'll be right behind you." Link met her eyes at the last part of his sentence. He knew it was a lie. He'd most likely fall behind to make sure they didn't follow Zelda.

Link didn't have his bow on him, he didn't expect to need it on such a menial trip. He cursed at himself for being so lazy. Zelda caught his eye and was too terrified to notice the lie. He nodded to her and she nodded back. Link suddenly got behind Zelda and pushed her forward shouting, "go now!"

His words and sudden movement galvanized Zelda into action and she ran as fast as her legs would allow. Link ran with her and immediately noticed the footsteps behind them get louder, and faster.

They were close to the tree line, but even Zelda knew they wouldn't make it. Link kept urging her on but risked a glance behind them. His morale dropped as he saw multiple white Bokoblins behind them, all with perfectly smithed weapons and endless stamina. He saw the treetops quivering as a dark Moblin ran behind them. He wasn't sure if he saw any Yiga clan members or not but he assumed they were there.

The Moblin caught his attention first. They were giant creatures and were easily the height of a small house in Kakariko Village. They had large tongues that killed out of the sides of their mouths as they ran. Moblin's also required a large amount of food for their bulky form. So to hunt their food source of elf and people, they used large wooden clubs. Link was relieved to see it wasn't spiked but knew the kind of force it would have behind it. The Bokoblins that swarmed around its feet like ants drew Link's attention next.

White Bokoblins were by far the best warriors to Ganon. They had humorously large heads that weren't proportional to their body. It made an easy target but also distracted anyone who stared at it thinking about the physics behind their neck structure. Link also knew that they'd make bowls out of their skulls if they got their hands on them. Link knew that he would be able to hold his own against a couple of them. But while protecting Zelda? He shook his head, knowing this was a bad situation.

Link turned back to a tired Zelda and renewed her stamina by giving her another shove. Normally he would never lay his hands on the princess, but the situation demanded it.

The treetops were thinning out and beads of sunlight lit the road in front of them. Link could clearly make out the edge of the tree line and where the field started. Once they got there, it would be a straight run and they'd easily be able to dodge anything the Bokoblins threw at them.

It wasn't long before they managed to break the tree line. As soon as they did, Link stopped and pulled out the master sword. Zelda turned back to him and was about shout his name. She stopped and kept running when she saw the horde of creatures behind them. Link looked at her angrily and waved for her to keep going.

Link took half a second to study the tree in front of him. It was a large oak tree that was destined to die soon. Rot surrounded the tops of the branches as it leaned over the path that he and Zelda had just come out of. Link took a deep breath and heaved the Master Sword as hard as he could towards the trunk.

The sword bit into the thick wood but cut down into the heartwood with one swipe. He wrestled it free and swung again. The tree shuddered and with a creak began to fall sideways. The Bokoblin at the front of the pack was too bloodthirsty to realize what Link was doing. The creature raised its large axe and charged forward straight towards Link.

Link clenched his teeth and slammed his right boot forward, feeling a solid connection to the stomach of the Bokoblin. Luckily, he managed to wind the creature which forced it to stop and crouch down to recover its breath. Link took the chance to grab his sword again and start running back to Zelda. The Bokoblin looked up as it heard a creaking that slowly grew in intensity. Its eyes widened and it stopped trying to regain its breath—there wasn't a reason to.

Link heard the sound of the tree landing and barring the pass of the other Bokoblins, at least for a couple seconds. He looked straight ahead and saw Zelda just about to crest a ridge. He knew that the other Champions were only about 500m from the top of that rise. With their help, he knew Zelda would easily make it.

Zelda knew this too so she took a glance to look back at Link. However, Link was expecting a reassured smile but instead, all he got was a horrified expression on her face. She covered her mouth and turned to keep running. Link lost sight of her in the thick grass but he could hear her calling out to the Champions. He dared to look behind him, and his heart skipped a beat as he saw what had terrified Zelda.

Link had made a terrible mistake that he immediately regretted. He had led himself and Zelda into a big flat open area with grass that will easily tangle your feet. But behind him, he saw two horses easily jumping the tree he had cut down. Bokoblins rode on top of those horses and carried bow and arrows with them. It wasn't long before a Moblin broke the tree and he saw all the other Bokoblins charge into the field. Link turned around from the horrendous situation he'd found himself in and followed Zelda's lead—running as fast as he could.

He ran to the top of the crest that Zelda herself was on only a couple of seconds ago and glanced back. He ducked just in time to avoid the horizontal slice from one of the horsemen and he held up his sword, ready for them to turn back on him. But instead, the duo kept pushing forward, towards the unarmed Zelda.

Link's eyes widened but his determination did so too. He quickly unslung his shield and threw it down in front of him. He jumped on top of it and began to slide down the slope towards Zelda and the two horsemen. He knew he'd be faster than them in the short run and he was absolutely right.

He slid alongside one of the surprised bokoblins and grabbed its leg. He pulled it off the horse and heard its surprised shriek cut short as it hit the ground. He grabbed its bow and hauled himself into the saddle. Link slipped his feet into the stirrups and glanced down at the quiver tied neatly around the pommel. He grabbed an arrow and then spurred the horse harder forwards. Sadly, he had to abandon his shield in the long grass. He had to catch the other horseman before it got to Zelda.

Meanwhile, the Champions stood their watch over the entrance to the woodlands. The entrance was just a stone archway set in between two hills. The arch itself was old enough and looked like it would crumple inwards at any moment. Moss grew in the cracks and threatened to split the cracks even further.

Mipha rubbed her hands together and kept pacing asking incessantly, "should they be back by now? I think they should be back by now."

Daruk chuckled saying, "nonsense, who knows how long this'll take. They might be a couple steps away or still at the Spring."

Urbosa cut in saying, "either way we can't see through this blasted grass." She looked to Ravali, "would you fly up and see if they are close by or not?"

Ravali, who was laying in the grass spoke, "why should I? I'm not allowed in there."

Mipha rolled his eyes at the response as everyone else glared at him. She looked to the forest just in time to see a flicker of movement. It was a hot day and she has been out of water for a while, maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her. But she could have sworn she saw a tree shimmer. She stepped closer towards the archway as the others argued with Revali. Mipha squinted and she was certain she saw something. She could hear something faintly on the wind too. She was trying to place the sound when the tree she was intently looking at tipped over and out of sight over the ridge.

Mipha recoiled in surprise as she heard the sound of the tree echo in the distance. But she could barely hear it over everyone else. She turned hurriedly saying, "I think something is going on."

Daruk nor Urbosa heard her as they kept fighting with Ravali. Mipha rubbed her head as she was fed up with the bickering. She grabbed her spear and walked over towards the group. She tried to get their attention by shouting, "hey!" but they didn't respond. So instead she got close and slammed her trident down into the centre of the trio.

They all suddenly stopped and looked at her. In the dead silence, Mipha was sure that she could hear a commotion near the forest. She said defiantly, "something is happening! A tree fell over on its own! There's shouting, I think it's a fight!" Revali stood up and said, "probably just the boy practicing like always."

Urbosa looked at the distant hill and shook her said saying, "no, Mipha you're right." Urbosa raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun as she pointed at the farthest hill. "Look! There's Zelda now!"

Daruk looked over and squinted saying, "and she is in a hurry." They all riveted their eyes on Zelda now as they all looked at her turn back towards Link. It was when she recoiled in horror and ran down the hill waving her arms that all the Champions moved as one towards her.

Link forced the horse to its limits. Luckily the horses limit was just enough to catch up with the last horseman. Link slowly slipped his feet out of the stirrups and placed them on top of the saddle. He stood up and held the bow in his left hand with two arrows in-betwixt his fingers on his right hand. He knocked one and pulled the thick bowstring back—aiming at the bokoblin who was only a few seconds away from Zelda.

The arrow exploded with energy as it shot away from Link. Its shaft bent and twisted as it split the wind on its path toward the Bokoblin horseman. Link watched the arrow travel in slow motion and watched it move perfectly to where the Bokoblin was going to be. He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding as he saw the arrow hit its target perfectly.

The Bokoblin died instantly, the arrow piercing its heart as it had prepared to raise its sword. Zelda turned and shied away in terror as the horse drew close. She felt like she was about to die and immediately felt even more useless than ever. She was angered that this was the way she'd die. But to her bewilderment, the rider kept going. And going. And going. Then the oversized goblin slowly leaned to the side and fell out the saddle, snapping the arrow as it hit the ground.

Link leapt off his horse and stood beside Zelda defiantly. He held out his hand to get her up on her feet again. She took it and looked back at the oncoming horde of enemies, she'd never seen so many creatures of Ganon so organized before. They had stayed silent in waiting for an ambush. They'd never had tactics like that—they never showed any semblance of planning or forethought.

Link looked back to the Champions and didn't see them at the archway. He assumed they were already on their way. He cursed himself for not having a better backup plan. He grabbed Zelda's hand and began to run again, leading her towards safety. She pulled back for a second in fear. She was following natural human instinct in wanting to stay still in one area until the danger went away. It took her a second to realize that would never work and quickly followed Link towards relative safety.

They only ran for thirty seconds, that's when Link pushed Zelda forward and over a small ridge. He watched her jump with a yelp, half of surprise and half of terror, as she flew towards another patch of grass. Link stood on top of the two-foot cliff and wielded his master sword double handed. The blade began to glow brightly and he focused on the closest bokoblin.

As the horde got closer, Link sliced down one creature after another. They didn't die easily, the white bokoblins could take too many hits and produce even more. They soon forced Link to the edge of the cliff and it was the Moblin that pushed him over the edge. And t wasn't a gentle push either. Moblin's usually used large wooden clubs and could swing with the strength of a battering ram. In this case, Link was the castle door that the battering ram needed to break.

The Moblin got close and swung its heavy blunt club horizontally towards the group of bokoblins and Link. The Moblin cared little for collateral damage as it no doubt killed a couple of the Bokoblins. But it achieved its main goal and it hit Link the hardest. The force of the club made Link fly off the cliff, losing grip of the master sword as he did so.

Zelda kept running as fast as she could, which by now was reduced to fast walk but with more effort. She screamed and fell backwards as Link sailed just a couple feet above her and landed in the soft grass along with a couple dead bokoblins.

Link groaned and pushed himself up. He felt a flash of pain on his forehead and put a hand up to it. He felt an uncomfortable warmth there and he knew he was bleeding. It flowed down into his right eye and affected his vision as he scrambled forward for a rusted blade that one of the weaker bokoblins had wielded.

He stood up defiantly as he heard more footsteps in front of him and brought the sword up just in time to block an overhead swing from a bokoblin. Link tensed his forearm muscles and flicked the tip of his blade to the right. He instinctively brought his arms back towards him and prepared for a thrust as the bokoblins arms flung to the right. Link forced himself forward at the opportune moment. Even though it was more of him falling than actually lunging, he still pierced the blade into the bokoblins chest. He wheezed as his hand scrambled for the poorly made wooden shield the bokoblin had used and stood back up. He shook his head and took a second to regain his breath.

He blinked his eyes to clear them as he looked forward and saw the Moblin take a position in front of Zelda. Other bokoblins and even a couple lizals were watching and shouting encouraging the giant to take the swing that would end Zelda's legend.

Link dashed forward as fast as was humanly possible. He slid in front of Zelda as she looked up in silent horror. She scrambled backwards as Link stabbed the nearest Bokoblin through the chest. When he heaved on the sword to free it, the blade snapped cleanly in half.

Link looked at the nigh-useless blade in perpetual annoyance. He looked down at Zelda and shouted determinedly, "get out of here!" She froze up in horror as her gaze drifted behind Link towards the Moblin towering above them. She saw as it raised its massive club overhead and began bringing it higher and higher—it held the form of an executioner.

Link didn't see his incoming death; instead, he noticed the Bokoblin behind Zelda that produced a long, ten-inch dagger from its belt. Link grunted as he underhanded the broken sword at it. He had no chance of reaching the Bokoblin by stabbing it. In that case, he had no chance but to throw the makeshift dagger at the creature before it could strike.

The sword missed the creature's head and embedded itself in its shoulder. Not quite killing it, but slowing it down enough for now. Link now saw Zelda's gaze and saw the giant Moblin above him. It smirked with its long tongue killing out of its mouth as it had the club well behind its head now. Link backed up until he was standing just above Zelda and held up the small wooden shield he had found.

He got low and held the shield above his head and looked back down at Zelda. Link felt a shower of disappointment knowing that he will have failed his job and only delayed the inevitable. He knew that the force of the club would flatten him to the ground in an instant. He'd be turned into a red Hylian pancake. So much for being the greatest swordsman in Hyrule.

Either way, he looked back up defiantly at the Moblin and cursed at it, urging it to make a mistake. It only caused the beast to grow angrier and raise the club even higher. The Moblin stopped as it decided that enough was enough. It leaned forward and brought its arms in an arch downwards. The second the tip moved down, Link closed his eyes and expected a force upon his arms that would shatter every bone in his body.

But even as Zelda screamed, and Link heard the sound of the club making contact, he felt no impact. The bokoblins all fell silent as Link opened his eyes to see Daruk standing in front of him, using his shielding ability. He had taken the hit for Link, one that he'd been fully willing to make. Daruk pressed back and his protective dome exploded forward like a claymore, sending the Moblin flying back a couple meters. He turned back to Link as he collapsed to his knees in exhaustion. "You did good kid, we'll take it from here."

As he said that, Daruk turned and pulled out his massive two-handed stone cobbler. It was an immense weapon that only Daruk had the strength to use. Link fell backward and groaned as he now realized how many cuts and bruises he must have all over his body.

He gasped painfully as he forced himself back up and grabbed the dagger that the Bokoblin beside Zelda had dropped. The hilt was crooked and made of wood. The blade itself was a bone that had been sharpened and practically tied to the hilt with rope. Link forced himself up onto a knee beside her as she nestled close to him, knowing she was safer near him. However, Link didn't look down in case anything tried to sneak up on them.

Link saw Revali, Urbosa, Daruk and Mipha take on the last remaining bokoblins, which all went running towards the woods. They knew they didn't stand a chance against the four Champions and scrambled towards any semblance of safety. The Bokoblins clawed at each other as they climbed up the wooded hills away from certain peril. Revali, to surprise, chose to chase them further with Daruk as Urbosa and Mipha turned back to Link and Zelda.

Link met their gaze as he heard muffled footsteps behind them. He saw Urbosa and Mipha start running towards them shouting their names.

Link groaned as he turned towards the unknown presence behind them. He was expecting the half-dead bokoblin he'd taken the dagger from; instead, it was a Yiga member standing right in front of him.

The man said with a slithering voice, "look what we have here! A defenceless half dead champion and the princess of Hyrule." The man shook his head at their misfortune saying, "Luckily, that's just what I've been looking for."

Link spit out a mouthful of blood and spoke defiantly, "leave with your life while you still can."

The Yiga member shook his head and said, "I could have said the same to you, weakling," the bandit spit visibly as he forced out the last word. Link grit his teeth and tightened his grip around the ten-inch blade he'd taken from a Bokoblin earlier. "After you're both dead, next will be the Gerudo. Or maybe the Zoran prin-"

The Yiga man stopped talking suddenly and the words turned into gurgling as he felt a prick of pain under his jaw. He clasped both of his hands onto the blade that had suddenly appeared in the bottom of his chin as he stared at Link. Link let go of the improvised blade and watched the Yiga take a step back in horrified surprise as he held onto the dagger. Link spoke weakly, but with newfound strength, "you won't touch her." Link watched the light fade from the Yiga member's eyes as he stumbled backwards-his legs no longer able to support him. The man was dead before he hit the ground.

Likewise, Link barely had the strength to stand up and slumped back onto the gentle slope behind him. He held his eyes open weakly as his head fell to its side. He saw his sword, the master sword, lying beside him. It seemed like luck that it happened to have landed in that exact patch of grass. Link remembered when the Moblin had hit him and he mistakenly dropped his sword. He grinned ever so slightly thinking to himself—there you are.

He reached out weakly and wrapped his hand around the hilt of the blade. He forced his eyes wider open to tried not to pass out as he laid a couple feet from the terrified Zelda. His vision was tinted red from the large cut above his eye but he blinked the blood out of his eyes. Link immediately reinvigorated his efforts into lifting his sword when the heard the rushing sound of nearby footsteps. The Master Sword dragged lazily in a semi-circle around him. Even though the hilt was lifted a foot off the ground, Link still struggled to hold the tip of the blade more than an inch off the grass. He prepared for another Yiga member to crest the hill, one that he would undoubtedly attempt to kill.

It was in his last moments before passing out, that he laid his sword arm against the soft pillow of grass surrounding him. For at that moment he saw Urbosa and Mipha cresting the hill with worried, and then surprised expressions.