Chapter 4
Rumors spread like a wildfire in the little town of Kakariko. In one part of the village, the word on the street was that the Royal Family had been taken hostage and was being held ransom; in another part, the rumor was that one of the members had been assassinated on their ride over. The only thing that seemed to be common throughout was the mass hysteria caused by the atypical arrival of the royals.
The captain had been given a dose of red potion by Hylia during the remainder of the carriage ride to the meadow town; an action which had likely saved his life. He currently was in the care of a local doctor in the village. The Royal Family, after the initial panic had begun to simmer down, made their official appearance later that night and the festivities that had been planned originally kicked off.
Link, being the hero no one remembered, took on the role as the unofficial temporary guard of the family and stood no more than a few feet away from them throughout the duration of the festivities. Much to Zelda's dismay, Link took the role extremely seriously and despite the princess's best efforts to take him away from his duty and play, he stood guard until the family finally took some rest in the villa they would be staying in during their time there. Due to the massacre of the guards on the trip from Castle Town, the few guards, usually stationed at the Death Mountain Trail gate, stood guard outside the small house, relieving Link of his duty for the night.
It was well past midnight; the entire village was completely silent. The streets were deserted and no house emanated any light of any kind out of their windows. Link felt like the only one awake in the quiet village so he went to go and find company elsewhere. He gingerly made his way over to the graveyard, becoming shocked upon arrival when he saw that even the grave keeper he had come to know on his adventures in his other life, appeared to have enjoyed himself a little too much and laid passed out at a tree near the entrance to the site, bringing a smile to Link's face. Link pulled out the ocarina Saria had given to him when he first left the forest and played a somewhat dark and foreboding tune. He let the instrument slip away from his lips and closed his eyes as a purple light began to envelope him. When he opened his eyes, what seemed like only a few seconds later, he found himself standing atop the pedestal bearing the symbols of the Sacred Realm, overlooking the graveyard below him. What surprised him however was the figure standing in front of him, greeting him with a shy smile.
"Link, I must thank you for saving me," a girl dressed in a light pink dress addressed him.
Link snickered and walked towards her, planting himself down at her feet.
"Saving you huh? In this life or the last one because I'm certainly getting confused myself," he replied back, a slight tone of anger prevalent in his voice.
The princess's smile faltered slightly as she sat down beside the boy.
"What's upsetting you Link?"
The boy chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.
"Oh, now you decide to ask!"
"Link, are you still upset about-"
"You know Zelly, I fought through hordes of monsters for you. I battled with monsters of the unreal and paranormal for you. If I had to count how many times I almost died fighting on my run to save Hyrule, I'd run out of fingers to use..." The two sat in temporary silence after his outburst but it was shortly broken by Link. "You know it's funny. You always told me how Ganondorf was such a bad and evil man. He tried his best to kill me that last day and I thought he would many times during that fight. But I never expected the one who would kill me inside, the one who would hurt me the most after all the suffering I endured on that adventure, would be the one girl I was trying to save."
Zelda sighed and put her arm around the boy next to her.
"Link, I did what I thought would be best for-"
"Oh don't give me that Zelly!" He practically shouted at the sage, shaking her arm off of him. "I could've stayed back to help you rebuild Hyrule. I wanted to see the land I fought so hard to defend, prosper once more."
"You're seeing it prosper now are you not?" Zelda calmly answered back.
"Zelly, I am but it's... it's just not the same, it never will be. I'm happy all the lives that were taken at the hands of Ganondorf get a second chance here, in this time, but it will never be the same. No one will ever know how lucky they really are to be alive. No one will know about the things they lost, the many lives ruined, the families torn apart. No one will ever know of the sacrifices I made to save the land and the people."
"Is that what you desire Link? Do you want a parade in your favor? A holiday commemorating what you did? Do you require fame and fortune? A reward maybe?" Zelda replied with a slight tone of anger.
"Stop twisting my words. I didn't say that," Link sharply replied.
The two sat there silently, only the crickets chirping in the background brought any noise to the uncomfortable scene.
"I guess... I guess what I really want... is you... I really miss you Zelly." Link whispered out. "I undertook the task not for Hyrule necessarily... but because I didn't want to lose you," He finally lifted his head to look at the woman sitting in front of him. "Zelda, at least answer one question for me... Did you ever feel anything towards me? Those moments we shared, were they all just an act? Did you ever actually ever care about me?"
Link looked at her as he waited for a response from the princess and only turned his head away from her when he heard the sound of twigs snapping behind him. When he brought his head back around, the princess had vanished.
With a sigh, Link rose from the pedestal and began turning around but stopped suddenly when he could tell there was someone else there. He drew his sword and with a deep breath in, he began twisting around ready to strike.
"There's really no need for that Link," a voice emanating from behind him said. Link smiled and immediately dropped his guard, recognizing the voice right away, lowering his sword. He turned around and saw Impa standing with her arms folded over one another looking down at him.
"You keep surprising me."
"Why do you say that" Link replied after a slight pause.
"Well," Impa stepped forward slowly. "When I first met you in the courtyard almost a year ago, I thought you were just like every other boy trying to sneak in to meet the princess. Naughty, mischievous, up to no good. But you almost immediately proved me wrong. You showed such courage in the face of uncertainty for a boy your age." Impa continued walking after reaching the point of where Link had stood. "When you disappeared from the castle grounds the next day, the letter you left on your bed seemed to not only surprise me, but the king and queen too, mostly for the fact that the words it contained didn't seem like they should be written by a boy your age. But what you did today really surprised me and showed me your true character. When I had first gotten word of an attack on convoy, I of course could only think of the worst possible scenario." Link understandingly nodded his head. "I need to thank you Link. It's because of you that that they are all here safely."
Link smiled but shook his head in disagreement.
"Impa, I just helped get the job done faster. The captain had it all under control."
Impa turned around and smiled slightly at the boy, a change from her usual serious facial expression.
"Please do not be modest Link. I just spoke with Viscen about an hour ago and he claims you saved his life. He claims that without you, today may have ended in a much darker way."
"Well, people tend to exaggerate the truth in times of peril I've found," Link nonchalantly responded.
"Link, being a member of the Sheikah tribe, very few things tend to occur that I am not able to foresee. Some of those I already listed for you. But one thing that caught me off guard so to say, was Viscen's other claim. He explained to me that in the time he managed to defeat a single lizalfos, you managed to defeat two single handily. I'm assuming this is true." Link only nodded, confirming what she stated. Impa slightly smiled at the boy and continued walking down the slight decline, finally making her way to the center of a ring of unlit torches. "This is a sacred place to my people. A place very few know exist."
Link, finally catching up to the Sheikah, chuckled lightly and stared forward at the wall where the path seemed to end.
"I unfortunately know this place a little too well," he mumbled quietly to himself, not intending for the ears of Impa to hear.
"It is only appropriate that I say the following at this most sacred of sites." Link turned around to face the Sheikah who had regained her usual stoic expression. "I doubted you many times. I worried about the impact you might've imposed on the princess. This is the reason I never fully trusted you, the reason I never let you out of my sight most days. But Link," the young boy turned himself around to face Impa. She stared right back at him. "You have gained my trust. It has always been the duty of my people to watch over and protect the royal people of Hyrule, and today, I fully recognize you as one of us and would fully trust you with the task of protecting the king and queen and young Princess Zelda."
Link stood there dumbfounded, not quite sure what to say. He stayed mounted in the same spot and position he had been in, silent, and looked at Impa in front of him, a small, grateful smile worn across his face.
I looked up from the table and glanced around the tavern, noticing the volume of people in it had dwindled significantly. My gaze finally returned to the girl next to me.
"You've been rather quiet," I stated in a hushed tone after a brief moment of silence. Her head popped up as a shy smile formed.
"Just... well there hasn't been a lot to say I guess."
"I understand," I mumbled almost inaudibly.
"Could I ask you a question?"
I fiddled with the now empty glass in my hands and didn't bother to answer knowing regardless of what I said, the crazy girl beside me would ask anyways.
"Why did you act so... cold with the princess?"
Laughing slightly, I replied, "Which one?" Causing a light giggle to escape her as well.
"I was talking about the grown up princess. Why were you so... rude in your demeanor towards her?"
My smile faltered and I sat totally still, choosing to stare directly ahead of me.
"I was mad... mad at her and what she'd done to me. Mad at the circumstances she had placed me in, mad at knowing the truth while everyone went around blissfully unaware of past events, taking everything for granted. It didn't seem fair. Why did I have to bear the burden of knowing?"
"Well... you can't really blame her for what she did. I mean, she was trying to do what was best for Hyrule."
"Oh, so you've decided to side with the princess now, huh?"
"I didn't mean it like that. I was only-"
"I don't get it. How could you sympathize with her after what she did to me?"
She stayed quiet, her eyes darting downwards, escaping my gaze.
"Did she even once bother to ask me about what I wanted? No!" I said, slamming the glass down on table in frustration. She jolted from my sudden action, clearly not expecting anything of the sorts to happen. "With one fowl move, she took everything I had worked so hard for and ripped it all away."
"She only did so because she thought-"
"Oh don't give me the same crap the princess had for so long!" I practically yelled back at her, interrupting what she was trying to say to me. She looked at me in shock before lowering her gaze, clearly hurt. I sighed in frustration.
Great, now I was the bad guy.
"I'm sorry," I muttered, finally apologizing to her after only silence filled our conversation.
She looked at me unsure and finally sighed. She stood up and grabbed her small bag on the chair beside her and turned around. She began walking towards the door of the tavern and as she placed her hand on the door, she shyly looked down. "It's okay," she muttered quietly before pushing the door open and walking out.
Not too long after, I paid my tab and walked out of the tavern too. The cool, crisp winter air hit my face immediately. I closed my eyes for a moment, taking in the quietness of the village. The town had changed greatly, grown much larger than it had in the other time. Kakariko was almost unrecognizable compared to the town I had come to know growing up.
I made my way through the town and slowly walked to one of the only features of the town that had remained the same throughout this town's existence: the small inn run by the friendly cuccoo lady near the graveyard. The inn was silent, and except for the teenaged girl manning the front desk, was completely empty. I smiled at the young girl as I walked by her and made my way to the room I had rented out here. I immediately shuffled over to the bed and the moment my head hit the soft sheets, I passed out.
The morning came too quickly for the hero. Though he would've liked to sleep in longer, a knock at his door said otherwise. With a groan, Link slowly rose from his bed as yet another knock greeted the surface of the door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," he replied with a yawn.
Link slowly walked over to the door, rubbing his eyes before reaching out and opening the door. In front of him stood a beaming little blonde girl who looked all too excited to see him.
"Hi Link! About time you got up! I've been waiting all morning for you!"
Link couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm to see him.
"All morning? What time is it?"
"Weeeeeelllllllll," the girl grabbed his hand and began pulling him behind her, "it's time for the festival to almost start! And I didn't want you to be late since, you know, you are the guest of honor and all."
Link cocked his head slightly after hearing this.
"What do you mean by guest of honor?"
"You've never been to this festival before?"
Link shook his head but the girl didn't see as she was too busy dragging Link away. When the little princess looked back at him, growing impatient from having to wait to hear an answer from him, he replied, "To be honest Zelly, I don't even know why the festival even happens."
Zelda reached the door to the small house and quickly opened it and walked out, dragging Link behind her.
"It has something to do with the celebration of the hero from a long time ago and how he saved a girl or something like that. I don't remember the whole story."
The princess picked up her pace once outside and dragged Link around the few buildings in the small village. They entered the main plaza where a large crowd had already gathered in anticipation of the start of the festival. The little girl began pushing her way through the many people in her way. At first, they seemed rather annoyed but after looking down to see who was pushing them aside, they almost immediately parted upon realizing it was the princess of Hyrule, some even bowing slightly to the young girl. The princess however, was too immersed in her mission to get Link to the front of the crowd to notice these formalities.
"So Zelda, can I ask you another question?"
She giggled and stopped for a brief moment looking back at him.
"Ummmm... no!"
With that, she was off again, dragging him with a force that Link found astounding for a girl of her size and physique.
"And why can't I?"
"Because!" She quickly replied in her childish manner.
"Because why?"
"Because I said so! Now hurry up Link! You have to be properly introduced!"
Link's brows furrowed slightly.
"Introduced for what exactly?"
Zelda, knowing she was just shy of her destination, let go of Link's hand and spun around enthusiastically, her light pink dress spinning with her.
"Well why do you think Link? You saved us yesterday! You're a hero, just like you always said you were in the stories you always tell me! And I strongly believe one thing."
"And what's that?"
"Every hero deserves to be recognized!"
Link froze at hearing this.
Every hero deserves to be recognized
He looked at the girl in front of him in shock.
Zelda had said this to him. Zelda had said this to him.
Link was still shivering even as he sat there basking in the evening sun on the small island in the middle of Lake Hylia. His numb fingers clawed at the blanket wrapped around him, trying to pull it tighter around his shoulders, but his actions instead caused the blanket to slip right off of them. It pooled on the ground around him and all he could do now was stare down at it in defeat and continue to shiver. He sighed in disappointment and turned his attention away from the blanket and towards the setting sun instead. He would never get used to watching the sun melt below the horizon. It painted the sky in an array of different shades of pink, purple, and orange; the sun's rays of light glimmered in the darkness of the few clouds drifting slowly by. It was moments like this when Link felt his calmest, and though the world around him had been torn apart, everything seemed, if even for just a minute, at peace.
The blanket on the ground began to move upwards until it gently rested on his shoulder once again. Link's gaze shifted to his left shoulder where he saw a small, delicate hand hold the cloth in place. He followed the arm upwards until his eyes met a set of ocean blue ones looking down at him. This was another site he would never be able to get used to either.
"You're still shivering Link."
Zelda moved to his right and gently floated down next to him. Her left hand gently rubbed his back while she brought her hand on to his right forearm. Her soft hand gently swiped back and forth against his cold skin.
"I was in the Water Temple longer than I thought I'd be," Link murmured. They sat in relative silence for a few minutes, the princess continuing her gentle efforts to warm him up. "I'll be okay."
"I know," Zelda quickly replied with a small smile, leaning her head onto his shoulder. "But that doesn't mean I still can't worry about you."
Link smiled, continuing to stare at the sky.
"We're almost done you know. This will all be over soon, Link."
Link slightly nodded. "And then what?" He asked, almost whispering this question to her. He had thought about this question too many times to count during the course of his adventure.
"Then… Then we start over... Together, you and me."
Link stayed quiet, his mind empty for once.
"Hyrule won't be in need of a hero anymore. No one will need me here anymore."
The moon's glow began to radiate over the horizon as the sun began its final descent. The chirping of the birds began to quiet as the ever familiar silence enveloped the two again.
"I'll need you Link." Her fingers made their way up to his head and began stroking his hair, combing it with her fingers. "You're my hero after all and every princess needs her hero, her knight in shining armor." Link didn't speak, so Zelda continued. "We'll celebrate a day every year in your honor. I'll make sure Hyrule never forgets you Link."
"But I don't want any of that." He finally replied after some silence.
"Why not? Every hero deserves to be recognized."
Link smiled and turned himself toward her. She picked her head up off of his shoulder and looked into his eyes, only inches from her own.
"I don't need any of that though Zelly." He looked at her, taking in her long blonde hair and the dimple that formed when she smiled, taking in the way she smelled and the feel of her hands against his. "All I'll need is you."
Zelda's smile grew larger. She leaned in and kissed him on his cheek.
"And all I'll need is you."
I brought my hand up to my face. Even after all this time, I could still feel the warmth of where her lips had caressed me cheek. I could still smell her sweet scent in the air. It had all happened a lifetime ago but it felt like just yesterday to me.
"Um, Link?"
I snapped out of my trance and looked up in front of me. My eyes widened slightly, surprised to see the girl from the tavern last night standing in front of me.
"Hey," she smiled slightly at me. "I just... want to apologize for- "
I put my hand up in the air almost immediately, causing the girl to pause her speech.
"It's I who needs to apologize. I lost my temper last night and I unfairly took it out on you. As you heard last night, I've made plenty of mistakes in my life and I made another one last night. I'm sorry for the way I acted and behaved. It was childish of me."
She smiled and shook her head slightly.
"Some of that may be true but I'm not letting you take all the blame for last night." She extended a hand out towards me. "Water under the bridge?"
I smiled and stood up from my chair, reaching out my own.
"Water under the bridge."
I sat back down and watched the girl curiously walk around the table.
"May I?" She asked after making her way to the empty chair opposite of me. I gestured for her to sit down and she more than happily obliged.
"So... where were we?"
I laughed momentarily.
"Even after last night you want me to continue?"
"What are you talking about? Nothing happened last night!" She said with a wry smile, winking at me in the process.
I laughed and shook my head.
"Well, I believe we had just gotten to the Festival of Time."
He had never been a fan of standing in front of large crowds and now wasn't an exception either. The king and queen had praised his efforts for the day before in front of the entirety of Kakariko and though the ordeal lasted maybe a minute, it felt like eons to Link.
Link managed to step away from the crowd momentarily but was immediately ambushed by the young princess who beckoned him to follow her. Link had little choice but to follow as the girl had grabbed him by the hand again and dragged him behind her.
"Where are we going this time?"
"You'll see when we get there!" She chided, practically out of breath.
"Well slow down or you're going to-"
Zelda sprinted around the corner of one of the houses and collided with another little girl, sending the two tumbling toward the ground.
"Run into someone..."
Link reached down and helped Zelda to her feet before walking to the other girl who currently sat on the ground in front of them.
"No way... Malon! What are you doing here?!" Zelda excitedly screamed, running up to girl and giving her a hug as soon as she was back on her feet.
"Well, my papa decided to take me to the festival this year. We haven't gone since..." the redhead's smile faltered slightly but she almost immediately shook it off and went back to her smiling self. "Well, it's just been a long time since we last went. But here we are!"
"I'm glad too! You know how every time we're here... we do that thing?" Zelda winked at Malon, causing her to giggle and nod her head furiously up and down. "Well this year..." Zelda cupped her hands around her mouth and brought it to the little girl's ear. Link saw her whisper something into the redhead's ear which caused Malon to look behind her excitedly and giggle in excitement. The redhead's gaze drifted back to the two and finally locked onto Link's. They looked at each other in awkward silence causing the little girl to blush and look away.
"Oh Malon! This is my new friend! His name is-"
"Fairy Boy! I didn't think you'd be here!"
Zelda looked at Link a little surprised.
"I didn't know you two knew each other."
Link opened his mouth to reply but Malon's voice was what was heard next.
"Well of course we know each other! I mean, he did live with us for like four months earlier this year!"
Zelda's smile quickly faded.
"Oh... I didn't know that."
"Yeah! It was like a month after your birthday party last year. He was so much fun to have around! We played on the ranch like all day and he would even do some of my chores for me!" She almost incoherently said, too busy giggling at the last statement.
"Oh... you... never did tell me what you did between my birthday and when you came back." Zelda quietly mumbled. Malon went up to Link and wrapped her arms around him giving him a small hug.
"When are you going to come back?" She asked, unraveling herself from him. "I really miss playing with you!"
Link smiled at Malon's expression.
"I was-"
"Well he's living with me at the castle now," Zelda butt in. Link noticed her tone had gone from friendly, to slightly snarky.
"Awww, is that true Fairy Boy?"
Zelda did not like the fact that Malon had a nickname for him. To Zelda, Link could only have one friend, and she was determined to be the one to fill that role.
"This Malon girl sounds lovely doesn't she? A perfect girl!"
I laughed and looked at her with a sarcastic expression.
"You would think so wouldn't you?" I replied causing her to erupt into a small giggling fit.
"Well you want me to continue with this part or not? I mean, you know Malon pretty well and I know you know this part of the story pretty well," I laughed again, finding the whole situation quite ironic.
"I think it'd be interesting to hear this part from your perspective so why not?!"
The two little girls looked at the unguarded path in front of them in awe. Link on the other hand, appeared to be quite concerned.
"Zelda, Malon, you should not do this. This trail can be really dangerous."
"Oh stop sounding like Impa, Link! Let's have fun!"
"Yeah Fairy Boy!" Malon joined Zelda in chiding him. "Zelda and I do this every time we both happen to be in Kakariko!"
"Besides, we don't ever go very far but that's usually because Impa and the guards are with us. But because of what happened yesterday, Impa and the guards in Kakariko are too busy protecting my mommy and daddy."
"And Impa wouldn't be worried about you Zelda? You don't think she'd disapprove of this?"
Zelda hesitated in answering.
"No she'd be okay probably. Besides, she said that as long as I'm with either her or you, I'd be safe."
Link felt uneasy about her answer but before he could say anything to stop them, Malon spoke up again.
"Oh quit being a grandpa Fairy Boy!" Malon looked past Link to Zelda and smiled. "First one to Tektite Point is the winner!"
"Wait, Zelda and Malon. Make sure that- "
"Okay Malon you're on!"
"No listen to me Zelda-"
"One!"
"It's really- "
"Two"
"Hey, listen and- "
"Three!"
"No wait! Zelda! Malon!"
But the two girls chose to ignore the boy and simply began running as fast as they could up the Death Mountain Trail.
Zelda stumbled over a small pile of rocks allowing Malon to take an easy lead in front of her. She silently cursed at herself for tripping and jumped back up to her feet to continue.
Tektite Point wasn't a long way up on the trail and Malon easily reached the landmark first, cheering at her victory. Zelda followed up slightly after, pouting upon arrival.
"You cheated!"
"Did not!" Malon retracted. "You're just mad that I beat you!"
The two argued back and forth until Link finally caught up to the two bickering girls.
"Hey Fairy Boy! I won!"
"Only because she cheated!"
"I didn't cheat! You're just slower than me!"
"Am not!" Zelda stuck her tongue out at her.
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"You're just mad that Fairy Boy likes me better!"
Link chuckled slightly at the humorous display. Zelda on the other hand, encountered a slight moment of panic as she watched Malon turn to Link and smile.
"Fine! Let's have another race and whoever wins will be Link's favorite!" Zelda spit out.
Link really laughed when he heard this.
"Zelda, calm down." He spoke trying his best to contain himself from breaking out into another fit of laughter. "It doesn't work like that. I like-"
"Deal! First one back to the village?"
Zelda grinned and shook her head.
"No... first one to East Dodongo's Peak."
Malon for once, didn't reply fast. Instead, her face froze when she heard the words escape the princess's mouth.
"Zelda, my papa has told me not to ever go past Tektite Point without him. He says it is really dangerous past here."
"Aw what's the matter Malon? Cucco?" Zelda started chanting cucco noises and flapping her arms like a bird, mocking Malon.
"No Zelda, it's just that I-"
"Zelda you are not going any further."
Zelda stopped her chanting and turned her attention towards Link.
"I've been to East Dodongo's Peak. I've been to Gordon City and I've been to the top of Death Mountain."
Zelda looked at him in disbelief.
"Really?"
"Yes Zelda." She was not liking the fact that ever since Malon had shown up, Link stopped using the nickname he had for her. "It is really dangerous and we're lucky we haven't run into any monsters already."
Zelda gave Link a look of disapproval.
"Fine," she twisted herself around and began walking back down the path. "I guess I'll just go by myself." She immediately turned her body to the right, changing her course, and began running up the path.
Link didn't know what to do. He could not allow any harm to come to the princess but he did not want to leave Malon all alone on the Death Mountain Trail as he would certainly not allow her to accompany him in chasing down the princess.
"Malon, I need you to return to Kakariko right now."
"What about you Fairy Boy? What about Zelda?"
Link began adjusting the gear on his back as he looked uphill, Zelda already well out of his line of sight.
"I'm going after her."
Malon looked at him nervously.
"Promise me you'll be safe and that you'll rescue Zelda."
Link looked back at the little red head.
"Just get back the village."
With that, Link began jogging upwards along the path Zelda had taken and after turning the first corner around a rocky overhang, disappeared from Malon's gaze.
Zelda felt a mixture of feelings as her feet carried her up and over the small boulder in her way: excitement, joy, nervousness, fear of what lie ahead. Despite all of this, she couldn't turn back now. She had made it farther than she had ever gone before and she had to prove to Link that she was the more courageous one of the two girls. She had to impress him.
Zelda climbed up onto one of the rocks and carefully made her way along it, balancing on the small flat edge of it before finally jumping down onto the smooth trail, her dress fluttering as the air tried to push against it. Her feet didn't quite hit the ground correctly, causing her fragile body to tumble down to the ground. She hit the rocky surface hard and just laid there for a brief second, the pain from the impact beginning to wash over her. The princess pulled herself into a sitting position and lifted up her dress up, just past her knee as she looked at the now open cut on her knee. She ran one of her fingers along it, slightly wincing at the stinging pain that accompanied the sensation. She brought her finger away from it and held her palms out in front of her, examining the scratches and small cuts that had opened on them after her tumble.
"Stupid rock," she finally mumbled rising from the ground and dusting her dress off. The girl turned to look at the rock that had caused the pain to befall her but suddenly froze, eyes wide in horror.
Sitting atop the rock was a short creature with a teal, rectangular body and grassy green legs, four of them to be exact. The body and legs were covered in what looked like short red thorns. It had a small mouth that housed sharp teeth and appeared to extrude a white foam like substance from its mouth.
Zelda cautiously looked at it, examining what it was while being frozen to the spot. She couldn't tell if the creature would be friendly or not but didn't dare get closer to try and find out. Zelda let out a shriek when the creature opened its one glowing, blood red eye. She tried to look away, tried to tell herself to run, but found herself enchanted by the creature's jewel-like feature. Her daze ended when the animal let out a sort of chirping sound and began to shake its four legs. Without further warning, the creature suddenly leaped high, seeming weightless as it floated through the thin mountain air. It landed only inches from the frightened girl. Zelda shrieked at the top of her lungs as she twisted herself around and darted up the trail, wanting to get as far away from the monster as possible.
She darted along the path, fear now the only thing coursing through her veins. She whipped around the corner and almost fell again as part of her dress caught onto rocky wall enclosing the trail. She tugged at it slightly, not wanting to tear it, when in the corner of her eye she saw the creature from before making up ground, jumping towards her. She screamed loudly and pulled hard on her dress, tearing it slightly at the seams, though this was now the last thing on her mind. She dashed further up the path and turned another corner, freezing upon the site in front of her. The trail slightly widened, and though the incline of the path here was small, a rocky wall on either side entrapped the path. Four creatures, just like the one from before, lined the path in front of her. They all chirped loudly upon seeing the girl and began jumping towards her. Zelda turned around to run away from them but quickly stopped as the first creature from before was jumping in her direction, occupying the entirety of the small path. She looked back at the four looming creatures completely panic stricken as they slowly made their way in her direction jumping their way there. She was stuck, there was no escape in either direction. She quickly scanned her surroundings, her head spinning in all directions, when she saw a small hole up ahead on her left. She quickly ran towards it, trying to make it there before the four other monsters, she now realized were called Tektites, could get there and block the opening.
She arrived at the opening and quickly fell to her hands and feet. One of the monsters jumped and landed seemingly inches from her but she did her best to remain calm and crawl into the hole as fast as her hands and feet could carry her. The Tektite began opening its mouth, its small, fang like teeth cutting through the white foam that pooled in its mouth. It leaped forward towards Zelda's rear, but instead rammed its face into the wall. The princess quickly brought her feet in behind her and turned to look behind her at the Tektite that kept ramming itself into the rocky mountain. Zelda did the only thing she thought appropriate and stuck her tongue out at the creature before turning herself back around and continuing her trek further into the hole.
The crawl space shortly opened up into a pitch black cavern. Zelda rubbed at her eyes, trying whatever tactic she could that would allow her the ability to see in the seemingly never ending darkness. She sighed in defeat and sat on the cold ground beneath her. Her breathing began to slow as she finally got a break from all of the action. Zelda pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and rested her head on her forearms.
She couldn't believe what she had just done. She felt elation for having made it out relatively unharmed. She felt joyous, for she had proven she could make it this far. But she mostly felt fear. She was stuck in a cavern with the only entrance behind her blocked by bloodthirsty monsters. She was stuck inside a cave off of the beaten path and no one knew of her whereabouts. She could get stuck in here forever. She could...
No, she refused to think like that. She lifted her head and took in a heavy breath. She had to gather her courage and use her wits if she was going to get out alive. Zelda picked herself up and began inching her way forward trying to navigate the cave to the best of her abilities. She had been walking for maybe a minute when she entered a different part of the cavern and saw light creeping through a crack in the wall. She stared at it and smiled. The hole seemed large enough for her to maybe squeeze through. She took a step towards it but paused when a sound echoed against the cavern walls. Zelda began shaking.
She recognized that sound.
It was the sound of a monster she had seen at a carnival in Castle Town once. She closed her eyes and made a silent prayer to the goddesses. She hoped she was wrong. She hoped that she was just imagining hearing that noise moments ago, but she was quickly proven wrong when the roar of the monster swept through her ears again, making them ring from the volume of the sound. She twisted her head to the left and opened one eye, shrieking loudly. For standing in front of the princess, illuminated only slightly by the crack of light coming through the wall, was a lizard-like monster she had seen at the carnival a few years back. Fear filled her heart when she stared into its eyes back then, and that same fear had doubled under the circumstances she found herself in now, for she knew that Dodongos were a fierce and violent species.
She stared at it, dumbstruck with terror as it opened its mouth and began inhaling. Zelda remembered what would happen after the creature finished taking a deep breath. She would only see a wall of fire.
All went silent, the creature stopped taking in air.
And all Zelda could do was await the inevitable.
Author's Note: Soooooooo what did you think? A little bit of Zelink, a little bit of jealousy from Zelda, a little bit of action... I honestly... I fell in love with this chapter as I was writing it. Everything just seemed to flow so well! Now, unfortunately, I am in this little thing called college and I have these easy tests coming up called finals... Sooooo I won't be able to get anything out until after the next two weeks end. However, don't fret! I plan to work on this as soon as I can!
Special shout out to all of the new followers and special shout out to all the people who added this story to their favorite stories list and to those who took time out of their day to review the previous chapter(s)! You guys really rock and you have no idea how much I appreciate all of the support! I try to personally message all of the people who either follow, favorite, or review any of my stories just because you have no idea how much it means to have my work received either praised or criticized. I truly cannot thank you all enough! Seriously, you guys make me even that much more motivated to keep writing more!
Now, enough of that! Let me know what you guys and gals think of this chapter and happy late Thanksgiving! I hope to get something out before Christmas so hopefully, see you all very soon! :)
