"Link, I'm tired," Zelda whimpered. She ducked under a low hanging branch, then paused to catch her breath.

"It can't be that much farther, Zel. You can make it," I said, slowing but not stopping. A couple hours before, we had reached a point where our horses could no longer go, so we had to continue on foot.

"Link, I really can't. I need to rest," She sat on a nearby rock. I turned around and was about to protest, when I noticed how pale she was.

"Ok, we'll stop for a few minutes," I walked over and sat next to her. She rested her head against my shoulder and sighed. I slid my hand into hers and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Link..."

"Huh?"

"How much longer?" she asked. Her voice sounded distant and it worried me.

"Not much," I told her, trying to sound confident, "Are you ready yet?"

"No," she said simply. I stood up.

"Let's go," I held my hand out to her. "It'll all be over soon."

She just stared at my outreached hand. I studied her. She had changed, not very much, but I could still tell. Her eyes lacked the usual sparkle of excitement, and instead of a mischievous half grin, was a dismal pout.

"Zelda," I said calmly, yet firmly, "It's going to get dark soon. We have to keep moving."

Her eyes flickered up to mine, then back to my hand. She gave me a skeptical look. She was not used to being told what to do, especially by me.

"I'm *tired* Link. Why don't you get that?" she said, crossing her arms. I gave a defeated sigh and dropped my hand. I paced around for a minute then came to a stop in front of her. I crouched down so I was eye level to her.

"Look, Zellie," I said softly. "I know you're tired and I understand that. I'm sorry you don't feel good, and I'm sorry we have to do this, but the point is we have to. Because I love you very, very much, and I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you. We can save you, but we have to keep going, even if we're tired. So please, Zellie, if you wont do it for yourself, then do it for me, because I'd die without you,"

I stared into her eyes. She was silent for a minute, then she hugged me tightly.

"All right, Link," she whispered into my ear, "I'll do it for you,"

And so we continued on our journey, hand-in-hand. She tried to keep up, but no matter how hard she tried, the longer we walked the slower she got. Dusk set in, making the swamp seem spooky and depressing. A weird sort of hush fell over the swamp animals and the only sounds were us making our way through the low hanging branches, and the sounds of our voices. Or rather, my voice.

"Not much farther now," I told her, "We've been in the swamp since noon, it can't be too long before we get to the southern corner,"

"Mmmhmm," she replied, ducking under a branch.

"When we get there, we can rest a bit, get your medicine, then head back," I said. I got no reply. I stopped walking.

"Are you okay?" I asked, turning to her. She nodded, despite the troubled look in her eyes. "Do you wanna rest?"

She shook her head.

"Um, Zelda, I'm going for a verbal answer here," I said.

"Sorry," she replied, softly. I smiled, but didn't feel much better. Her lack of conversation was bothering me, it was almost as if she were slipping away.

"Go ahead and sit," I told her. She sat down and put her head in her hands. She slid her fingers through her hair and rested her forehead against the palms of her hands. My eyes widened as I realized just how pale she was. Just as luck would have it, she looked up at me that very moment.

"What?" she asked in alarm, "What's wrong?"

I tried to mask my worry, "Nothing,"

"That wasn't a nothing look," she said, frantically. "We're in trouble aren't we? I mean, I'm in trouble."

"No, no not at all," I lied. I scooted next to her and stroked her hair, "Trust me, everything's going fine,"

She leaned against me and I kissed the top of her head, gently. She felt cold to the touch. I wrapped my arms around her in attempt to keep her warm. Suddenly a swamp-thing howled loudly, sounding incredibly close. I stood and picked her up, so her legs were slung over my arms, and hers were clasped weakly around my neck. I walked as quickly as I could holding Zelda. I couldn't let her die in my arms; I wouldn't let it happen. I tried to keep her awake.

"Almost there, Zelda. Can't be too far now, Zelda. It's just up ahead, Zelda," I kept saying to her. After what seemed like hours, I spotted a small hut. "I see it, Zelda!"

I quickened my pace and when I reached to hut, I kicked on the door. "Hey, is anyone in there? Help me! Please!"

The door opened and an odd-looking little man answered, with a bewildered expression. "Can I help you?"

"Kade?" I asked. He nodded. "I need your help, I was sent by the great fairy. I'm Link and this is princess Zelda from Hyrule, she needs your help, I was told you can make some medicine for her."

Kade opened the door wider and motioned for us to come in. "Set her down on the bed,"

I obeyed. Zelda fidgeted and moaned.

"It'll be okay now, Zellie," I said, brushing my fingertips against the back of hand. Kade put his hand to her forehead then moved it to her wrist and felt her pulse. After that, he raised her eyelid, causing her to turn away. He kept making hmmm sounds as he inspected her.

"I'm almost positive she has Javerla poisoning. She's showing all the classic symptoms."

"Javerla poisoning?" I inquired.

"She must have eaten some Javerla berries. There is a cure, but you'll have to get the supplies, and quickly. She is barely hanging on." He said as he scribbled down some things on a piece of paper. "Here."

He handed me the paper. "You'll find most, if not all, of these things in the swamp. Now go, hurry,"

I started for the door.

"And Link," he said. I stopped and turned. "Javerla berries are native to the swamp, not found anywhere near Hyrule. I think someone deliberately tried to poison your friend."

I felt an icy chill as I turned and ran out the door.