Link and Zelda argued for nearly a week, neither giving nor gaining ground. While the Princess of Hyrule's position as ruler dictated the final decision, Zelda did not seek to force Link's hand so unfairly as it had been one of two which had restored the life they had renewed together. But, the heroin was just as stubborn as she had been in her childhood, and wouldn't compromise. Link, on the other hand, was rejuvenated in his arguments every night as bloodied images of Midna's ruined form by the King of Evil's hand returned to refuel his will. Only by restraint of mind did he keep from storming down to the town dungeon and pushing his sword deep into Ganondorf's black heart. On the sixth day, the Hero of Twilight was on the verge of going through with his heart's designs when disaster struck.
It started at night. Link was loaned an empty city apartment by Zelda so that he didn't have to travel all the way from Ordon and back each day just to argue more over the demon thief's fate. The adventurer tossed violently in his sleep, Ganondorf's wicked grin dancing before his eyes. A scream pierced the night, waking him from the pain of subconscious delusions as he got up and looked out the window. Bulblins streamed down the streets, waving their sword-sticks threatening about in the air and squealing war cries. Groups of hylian soldiers ran about in the streets in fear, only a dozen brave ones actually fighting off the threat. Fearing what they sought, the hero hastily threw on his tunic and grabbed his things, running out into the streets.
Up close the destruction was even more imposing. Fire and smoke filled the air and night sky, drifting up seemingly into the heavens themselves. Screams came from burning buildings, mothers calling out for their children. Link fired one of his clawshots across the street, holding the chain in place as squad of bulblins came rushing down the street. The front ones tried to stop, only to get trampled over as the momentum sent them onto the chain and clothes-lined the group. With the whistle of a succession of arrows, none of them got back up. The Hero of Twilight dashed down the street toward the prison. Few bulblins got in his way, and the ones that did quickly fell before blade or bow. The barracks was near the castle, up in the northeast corner. The stones themselves seemed to turn in the glowing orange light cast off by the inferno around it. Link rounded the last corner to it, then came to a stop.
Corpses of guards and bulblins littered the stone streets. Ganondorf held his stomach as two of the little demons rushed at him. The gerudo waited until they came within mere feet before he acted. In a blur of motion Link himself could barely see, his right hand shot down to grasp the corrupted sword of the sages and bring in a full 360-degree arc that stopped the green pair in their tracks. Ganondorf spun the sword once before sliding it back into its scabbard, and with a sickening sound the heads of the two fell of their bodies and onto the ground, the headless corpses quickly following. Link's eyes widened. Was that…? Ganondorf turned, surprise splashing over his face for a moment before it settled back into a familiar one of malice. Link didn't wait to waste time with words, instead drawing his own blade and rushing the gerudo. Ganondorf threw himself to the side, grasping at the boar's saddle that the two bulblins had dismounted from and climbed aboard. The Hero of Twilight ran back in another mad rush toward the beast's front, desperate to keep the demon thief from escaping. He was promptly thrown out of the way as Ganondorf nicked the boar's sides, causing it to rush and toss him aside with its horns like a rag doll. The hero was slammed into the barracks wall, and sliding to the ground he heard the gerudo's laughter. "Soon enough boy!" He yelled back as the boar knocked the castle town doors off their hinges and was lost among the night's shadows. As he blacked out, one miserable thought swam through his head and blot out all other senses.
I failed her.
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Zelda watched the doctor pack up his tools. "How is he?"
It had been three days since the Bulblin attack. Link had been found beaten and bruised near the barracks, and he'd taken prime residence in the Medical Clinic. It wasn't as if anyone else had the money, and being sponsored by the princess herself was worth a lot of credit, if not business.
The old man finished packing up the tools, even though he needed only carry them across the hall to his office to put them back. He slid the thick-rimmed glasses up his nose with an index finger. "Well, physically the boy has almost entirely recovered on his own. Not that I can drop my fee you understand…" He had to keep from grinning as images of rupees danced before his eyes. Zelda only arched an eyebrow, but that was more than enough to make the doctor sweat. "Er… of course his mental state is not very good. He keeps twisting about in his sleep and mutters incoherent things under his breath frequently."
"Thank you, doctor." Zelda's stare sent the old man scurrying off to his office faster than his elderly appearance seemed capable of. She sighed, walking past the white curtain.
Link sat upon the bed, head bowed and a blank expression on his face. His arms held him aloft by the elbows, sunk into his legs. The princess took a seat across the room, looking at him. "Link..." she called softly. The hero didn't move a single muscle in response, just keeping his eyes focused on the dirt floor. She continued anyway. "I know how you must feel right now…" At this though, The Hero of Twilight burst into mad laughter. Zelda scrutinizingly narrowed her eyes at him. "What's so funny?"
When Link had sufficiently calmed his laughter, he retaliated, "How can you even begin to fathom what I'm going through right now? How can you even say you know the pain and agony I feel?" Zelda opened her eyes wide; no one in her life had ever treated her with anything less than the utmost respect. Except Link. But this was a new level for even him. "Do you know the scars of love, haunted by the phantom that not only I revived, but let escape as well?!"
The princess opened her mouth slowly, the realization dawning on her. "You don't mean…"
"Yes, I do." Link, exhausted, fell back into his old spot, staring at his trembling hands. "I… I love her. No matter how far away she may be, I'll still love her. The dreams and nightmares of her dieing by that fiend's hand haunt me every time I close my eyes. I will not let him harm her, so long as I breathe." His hands closed into fists, rage and adrenaline spiking his system.
Zelda raised her eyes, understanding at last the hero's anxiety. "The choice is obvious where we must go from here then I think." She stood, Link doing so as well as new life swelled within him. His suffering was at least understandable to another now, and the fact the burden kept locked in his heart was finally free let some part of him to breathe easier. The hero nodded at her once as she kept speaking. "The Master Sword sealed away Ganondorf's chosen power and slew him once, and in the coming battle we shall surely need to call upon its strength again. Rest tonight Link, tomorrow we leave first thing for the Sacred Grove."
