Fording the River
Zelda was first aware of a throbbing ache in her back and chest, present whenever she breathed in. The gentle hush of water flowing slowly by kissed her ears; the ground of red earth and scattered stones beneath her felt solid and firm and uncomfortable.
She opened her eyes. There was darkness above her, and scattered stars twinkled coldly. Night had fallen. How long was I out?
A thrill of terror shot through her as she remembered why she was on the ground. The octorok… the stone it had fired at her, forcefully striking her chest and knocking her flat on her back, driving the breath from her lungs. Her head struck the ground; she hadn't been able to breathe… she had been taken by the dark void of unconsciousness.
She sat up quickly, wincing as her head throbbed and her vision smeared. She shut her eyes, breathing hard, fingers digging into the soft soil. Her chest began to hurt; hesitantly she placed her hand over her ribs, feeling the swollen bruise there and wincing. Well… at least my ribs aren't broken—at least, I don't think they are…
She swallowed tightly. Her throat felt strangely dry; warily scanning the water for any sign of the octorok and finding none, she crawled slowly to the river's edge and drank deeply; despite her earlier qualms she allowed the discolored water to trickle down her parched throat. Much better.
Zelda straightened, wiping the back of her mouth with her sleeve. It seemed strange that Link had not been hovering over her when she'd awakened, given his earlier protectiveness. She called his name uncertainly, looking around before cringing inwardly—That octorok might hear me!
Regardless, there was no response. Unsteadily she got to her feet, scanning the riverbank and trying to quell the rising panic in her soul. I'm all alone out here! I'll be killed! I'll never be able to find my way back home!
She heard a low snort behind her and whirled around to see Epona trotting down the valley towards her, head held high. Zelda's shoulders sagged in relief; as the mare neared she reached out, but Epona tossed her head and continued downstream, nostrils flared, at last coming to a stop beside a prone figure sprawled on the bank.
Zelda felt as if her stomach had dropped out. "Link!" she exclaimed, forgetting the octorok and dashing towards him. Epona looked up as she reached them, then went back to nosing the farm boy's face.
There was a massive bruise swelling over his forehead and cheekbone; his right eye was red and puffy, and his nose was crooked and blood stained his nostrils, but Zelda could see no other injury. She swallowed tightly. He's unconscious; I suppose the octorok hit him directly in the face.
Not knowing exactly how to help, she walked to the river and dipped her hand in the frigid flow of water before returning to his side and pressing her dripping fingers to his swollen skin. Link gave a start, squirming weakly, and released a low groan; his one good eye flickered open and he blinked slowly, grimacing.
"Are you alright?" Zelda asked, withdrawing her hand from his cheek.
He squinted at her, as if he couldn't quite see her clearly. "I… yes, I'm… fine…"
Zelda gulped. He certainly didn't sound 'fine;' his voice was faint and dazed. "Do you remember what happened?"
He frowned in deep concentration and winced when the action pulled at his swollen brow. "The… octorok…" he murmured slowly. "Epona… and you…" His good eye widened. "You got hit."
Zelda nodded hesitantly. "But I'm alright now," she assured him. "Just a bit bruised…"
"I failed you…"
The woozy, forlorn croak was almost inaudibly. Zelda bit her lip. "I don't think there was anything you could have done," she said hopefully. "It's snot your fault."
He didn't seem to be focusing on her. Instead he lurched to his feet and swayed, breathing hard, eyes tightly closed. After taking a moment to regain his composure, he staggered the few paces to the river before falling to his knees and drinking deeply. But moments later there was a familiar splashing sound; Zelda's heart lurched with fear as she noticed the octorok hovering over the river, glaring at them. Epona whickered nervously, prancing on the bank before walking to her master's side and sinking to her knees near him.
"Smart horse," Link muttered distractedly.
Zelda hesitantly placed a hand on his muscular shoulder. "We need to get away from here," she suggested, "before we're attacked again.
He nodded slowly. Without a word he grabbed a fistful of Epona's mane and wearily dragged himself into her saddle; the mare swiftly stood and Zelda struggled to lift herself up behind him. Link reached down to help her, despite the glazed look in his eyes. As soon as they were both seated, Zelda's arms locked around Link's solid abdomen, Epona fled the riverside at a swift canter. They didn't ride a long way; the instant the river was out of sight they slowed to a stop. Link slid from his horse's back and, wobbling on unsteady legs, unfastened his cloak and spread it out on the ground. "Here," he croaked, gesturing feebly. "Y-you can sleep here."
Zelda decided not to argue with him—it would make him feel worse—despite the guilt swimming in her stomach. "Thank you," she murmured softly, sitting down and eyeing him with concern as he crumpled to his knees and leaned back, resting against Epona's side with his hands clasped over his chest as he gazed at the sky.
"Zelda?"
She jolted awake, eyes flying open to meet Link's weary gaze. There were clouds darkening the sky above him, but she could tell that it was morning. Link's face seemed to have swollen more during the night; the entire right side of his face was black and blue, but blood thankfully no longer streamed from his nostrils.
He pressed dried meat into her hands and left her side. She sat up slowly, watching as he returned to Epona, lifting her saddle, already loaded with his bedroll and shield dragged from the riverside, onto her back. Zelda got to her feet, bending to snatch up Link's cloak and brush away the dry grass clinging to the thick fabric. "Here," she called out, hurrying up to him and pressing the cloak into his hands. "It's getting cold. You'll need this."
"Thanks," he murmured, clipping it around his shoulders and turning away. "Ready to go?"
Zelda nodded, taking a bite of dried meat and chewing thoughtfully. His neck was bruised, to, though not as severely as his face; his voice was much less hoarse, for which she was greatly relieved.
Their long trek that day was much less violent. They kept a safe distance away from the river and thus avoided the octoroks lurking there, and other than that they only came across a blue chuchu which Link easily dispatched with a few blows of his sword. The monster exploded into gooey sapphire chunks that splattered across the ground.
"I've heard it said that chu jelly has healing properties," Zelda told him hopefully. "Perhaps we should keep it, to use on wounds and the like."
He nodded slowly, dismounting and unfastening one of the water skins hanging from the saddle, giving the remaining water to Epona and stuffing as much of the slimy blue gunk inside that could fit before smearing the rest across his swollen neck and face. Then they continued onwards, over the rolling hills.
Around evening Link stopped, studying the sky.
"What is it?" Zelda asked anxiously. "Is something wrong?"
"We need to cross the river."
Fear shivered through her. "What about the octoroks?"
He hesitated; in front of her his shoulders tensed and she could sense his uncertainty. "I don't know where this river leads," he admitted. "I've never looked at a map. But for the past several hours we've been following it more and more to the southeast, when we need to go southwest. The longer we continue along like this, the farther off-course we'll get, and that could add days to our journey. I don't know how far away the Master Sword is hidden, so I don't want to waste what food we have."
Zelda's heart pounded. The hesitance and hint of fear in his voice were terrifying. "Alright," she squeaked, unconsciously gripping his waist tighter.
Slowly he exhaled and turned the non-swollen side of his face towards her, and she felt his hand curl around her own, warm and calloused. "Don't worry," he murmured soothingly. "I'll protect you. I won't fail again."
"But—" She didn't know what she would have said; he dismounted and unbuckled his belt, laying it on the ground before unfastening his cloak and ripping a thick strip of cloth from the hem. His face turned and interesting shade of red and he looked away.
"What are you doing?" Zelda asked. Without responding he unfastened the leather armor protecting his chest and shoulders before flinging off his tunic. Instinctively she jerked away, heart pounding, her own cheeks warm with a blush. Nayru's love! "L-Link?"
"Sorry," he muttered. She turned towards him once more; his torso was bare, and he was clad only in his trousers. He paused and looked back at her. "You should raise the stirrups—you'll want your feet up as high as they can go."
Zelda obeyed quickly, dismounting and raising the stirrup irons, pulling up the leather strap as far as she could manage. Link moved to stand beside her, his clothes bundled up inside of his cloak; he fastened it to the back of Epona's saddle and Zelda swallowed tightly, realizing that he was wearing absolutely nothing save for the swath of cloth he had ripped from his cloak, tied around his waist. She could feel the heat radiating from his lithe, muscular form so suddenly close to hers; he turned to face her and she stifled a short gasp, forcing herself to look at his eyes, and only his eyes, and not his…
"Y-you should get back up," Link stammered, his cheeks aflame. "Epona's tall enough; I don't think you'll get wet from her saddle."
Understanding brightened Zelda's mind as she climbed back onto the mare's broad back, remembering how Epona had spooked and run off the last time they neared the water, encountering the octorok. Link's going to stay beside her this time, to keep her calm, she realized. That's way he undressed—he's planning to swim, and he knew that wet clothes would kill him.
Link walked to Epona's head and stroked her brow, pressing his cheek against hers. Then he began leading her forward, down the valley towards the river flowing peacefully below. They made it swiftly to the riverside, and Link hesitated; Zelda saw his Adam's apple bob as he stared at his toes. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, Princess."
"Well… you could have given me a bit of a warning," she suggested. "But I… I understand, I think."
He took Epona's bridle in one hand and guided her into the frigid water with a pained gasp, deeper and deeper until his solid chest was halfway submerged and the water brushed up against his horse's stomach. Zelda pulled her feet out of the stirrups to rest in front of her on the saddle; Link's breaths were ragged and shaky. "Can I help with anything?" she asked anxiously, yearning to do her part.
"I d-don't th-think so," Link shivered. Epona snorted and tossed her heads; Link reached up and looked deep into her eyes, rubbing a spot on her forehead.
It was a shallow, slow-moving river, but unfortunately quite wide. But they had not gone halfway across before Link was forced to release his horse's bridle to swim alongside her, and by then the water had nearly reached the saddle. "What if it gets any deeper?" Zelda asked.
"It w-w-won't go over Epona's back," he assured her. "B-but I'd be g-g-grateful if you'd p-put the bundle with my clothes in it on y-your shoulders."
Zelda swallowed nervously, turning and unfastening his rolled-up cloak and tying it instead around her upper arms.
They continued, Link swimming in the lead. The water did not go much deeper, lapping teasingly at the russet mare's sides as they reached the middle of the river.
Then there was a familiar splashing sound, and Zelda winced, turning to face the creature that caused the noise. An octorok hovered downstream several lengths away, glaring at them.
"Link?"
"I see it," he responded breathlessly, reaching a shaking hand up to stroke Epona's cheek. She tossed her head, shying away from his dripping pale hand. He swam to her other side as they drew nearer to the bank. "Keep going," he urged as he drew something swiftly from a saddlebag, leaving the mare's side and striking out towards the monster hovering downstream.
"Link!" Zelda exclaimed, fear coursing through her—he had no weapons, except for the small knife he had taken, and he wore basically no clothing to protect him. "I command you to return at once! For Din's sake—get back here!"
He continued as if he hadn't heard her. Zelda swallowed thickly, heart hammering a staccato rhythm against her ribcage. Epona continued across the river, head held high above the water as she swam, ears flicking back and forth nervously.
The octorok spewed a mouthful of rock at Link and he veered away, but the water slowed him down. Zelda didn't see the blow land, but she heard the farm boy's pained grunt and cringed. "Come back!" she begged again, but he swam onward, ignoring her. Epona tossed her head with a high-pitched whinny of concern, but she didn't stop and continued hiking across the river.
The octorok fired again and Link ducked down underwater; at such a close range to the monster the blow must have caused significant damage, but this time he was far enough away that Zelda couldn't be sure he had escaped.
Suddenly Link lunged out of the water, reaching up and snatching the beast's tentacles. The muscles in his arms bulged from the effort of clinging to the glistening slimy appendages but he did not let go; Zelda's jaw dropped in astonishment and the octorok squeaked in alarm, shooting rocks in all directions, free tentacles flailing wildly and pushing at the farm boy's straining fingers. At last Link's free hand shot up, grasping the knife and plunging it into the creature's inflated head. Instantly it exploded, sending guts and slime in every direction as Link tumbled back to the water. He came back up seconds later, sputtering, golden hair plastered to his face, just as Epona reached the shore, dripping icy water.
Zelda dismounted at once, dashing towards Link as he struggled to finish the swim across. He was a great deal slower than his horse, and the river dragged him farther and farther away as he swam against the current, weak though it was. Worry creased Zelda's brow; even from the distance she could see him trembling, and his skin was a deathly shade of white. She wrung her hands, wishing there was something, anything, that she could do to help him. Isn't that the reason I'm here in the first place? To learn how to not be useless? At her side Epona watched, scraping the ground with a feathered hoof.
At last the young farm boy reached shallower water, crawling out onto the red hearth and going limp, his breathing shallow and shaky as he trembled from the cold. Zelda rushed towards him, falling to her knees and placing a hand on his solid shoulder, as could as ice beneath her fingers. "Are you all right?" she demanded. "Don't you dare do that ever again!"
He lurched to his feet, stumbling a bit. "Gotta protect you, Princess," he slurred, slumping against Epona's side and taking her reins, leading her up the side of the valley. Zelda rushed after him, dismissing thoughts of his firm musculature, the left side of which was roguishly splattered with red mud.
"Your life is worth just as much as mine, despite what that Senza made you think," she insisted, resting a hand on his trembling arm.
He glanced at her sideways. "I've never truly doubted that I could be more than just a farm boy. Let me prove that to you in what way I can."
Zelda bit her lip as they continued up the hill. He was right, of course… yes, he had seemed vulnerable and dejected the night before, but that was to be expected—he had just taken a heavy blow to the head, after all.
And he had been painfully self-conscious when stripping in her presence only minutes before, and again… that was to be expected from any decent young man.
She thought of how he had defended her from the three thugs in Kakariko. She thought of how he had helped her hide from Senza. She thought of the tales she'd heard of his valor and selflessness when confronting the monsters attacking the village. She had seen him face the peahat, and then an octorok—twice.
Yes, he was quiet. But there was no doubting that he was bold and brave as well.
Link continued up the hill, shivering violently. The scars on his back stood out a twisted dark pink on the pale surface of his frozen skin. "The King gave me several tasks, Zelda," he went on. "One of them was to protect his daughter. I don't intend to fail." His voice was firm, despite the shivers wracking his body.
"I… understand," Zelda murmured, but concern for his well-being gripped her soul.
As dusk began to fall, they set up camp just over the edge of the valley. Link cleared a patch of soil from the underbrush, ripping out plants and weeds with calloused hands accustomed to doing just that. Once a sizable area had been cleaned, he gathered the dead plant matter in the center and lit a small fire using small stones found in the saddle bags. "As long as the wind doesn't pick up, we'll be fine," he said, and Zelda stretched out her hands before the flames. Link moved to Epona, rubbing her thick coat dry with another length of fabric torn from his cloak. Zelda tried not to enjoy the sight of his well-toned muscles flexing as he worked; she blushed and distracted herself by looking into the flames.
Only after Epona's slight tremors had subsided and she knelt near the fire, comfortable, did he grab his abandoned clothes and walk back over the edge of the hill. Zelda turned away, offering him what privacy she could, and made her way to the saddle lying on the ground, digging around for their food. Is that…? No, no… that's just the flints.
When she heard his soft footsteps behind her she turned with a wide smile, holding out several strips of meat. "Here," she offered. "You've more than earned a meal."
He hesitated briefly, eyes flitting between her hands and the parcel of food lying in the dirt. At last he returned her grin and looked into her eyes. "Thank you," he said, taking the meat with hands that still trembled from cold, although he did look a good deal warmer. Stuffing one of the strips into his mouth he sat by the flames, wrapping his free arm around his knees and chewing thoughtfully.
Zelda studied him closely for several moments, her heart fluttering with admiration. She had not done much—almost nothing, in fact—but his thanks had been heartfelt and sincere, and it sparked within her the desire to return the kindness he had done for her since the moment they had met.
Then he looked up, and she glanced away, blushing, scanning the ground for something to distract her. My bedroll. Yes—where did my bedroll get to?
Her heart sank—it had been with old Shard, and they hadn't seen any sign of him since the encounter with the peahat. This Din-forsaken kingdom is a great deal more dangerous than I ever would have guessed. With a heavy sigh she leaned back on the ground, closing her eyes and resigning herself to aching stiffness.
There was a sudden light touch on her shoulder and she saw Link above her, eyes gleaming in the last light of day. "Here," he whispered, his breath kissing her cheek, and unfastened his tattered cloak, bundling it into a lump and placing it gently beneath her head. Then he draped something over her—something warm, faintly musky and smelling of livestock. It was his bedroll.
"Won't you be cold?" Zelda asked guiltily, seeing him tremble.
"It doesn't bother me," he shrugged.
Zelda frowned. "You're lying; I can see you shivering."
His eyes glittered. "It doesn't bother me," he repeated earnestly, and Zelda knew that he was telling the truth, that, for whatever reason, the cold late-autumn air didn't bother him. She closed her eyes with a sigh and felt him move away; moments later she heard the soft, pure notes of his recorder lace the air, stilted and unskilled yet soothing and beautiful. It must be the Sheikah magic, she thought, drifting swiftly off to sleep. Guiding his fingers to play a lullaby…
