Link bowed his head in gratitude as the tiny pink fairy swirled around him, using her magic to heal his wounds.

But what wounds? They were no more than thin scratches; there had been barely any blood.

He checked his map once more. The boss room was another two hallways away, and the key for it was tightly secured at his waist. Seeing how easy the temple had been so far, he couldn't imagine Kuro was much tougher; just another demon with an overactive and dark imagination.

Link collected the loose arrows on the floor, placing them into his quiver. What were the demon's weaknesses? Bombs, arrows, fire? There were so many possibilities. The Master Sword was a possibility, but…

He reached for the mighty sword, wrapping his fingers around the hilt. It had been a while since he had actually used the blade for anything of importance. He had lately been using it only as a threat and nothing more.

But if anything could defeat Kuro, it would be this sword.

After locking it securely, he continued on to the next room, briefly stopping to collect another fairy in one of his many empty bottles. It banged its tiny fists on the glass, pleading to escape, just as every other captured fairy would have done.

The room was darker than most; a warm, empty torch on the wall signified that the room had been recently vacated.

"Link,"

Link paused, one hand gripping the neck of the bottle. The other seemed to automatically find its way to his sword, and he gripped the heavy metal once more, ready to pull it out and slash at whatever was behind him.

"Turn around, Link."

He attached the bottle to his belt again, and turned around slowly, adrenalin pulsing through his veins. He yanked out the sword and aimed it forward, sweeping the unknown beast with a mighty blow.

A shriek echoed off the dungeon walls, followed by the sound of someone dropping to the floor.

Link stared dumbly at the quivering mass in front of him, not really sure what he had just attacked. He felt something warm and damp surrounding his boots. He pressed his fingers into the liquid, and brought them to his face.
Blood.

He dropped the sword and pulled out the Fairy Bow, charging an arrow up with fire magic. He shot it at the torch, and instantly the small room filled with light, revealing the monster he had slain.

Piya was lying on the floor, her body limp and silent. Her eyes were closed tightly, and her tan skin was dreadfully pale.

Link kneeled down next to her, his heart burning in his chest. Anger, guilt, and hatred seared his insides. He had killed a girl; a girl who had been so kind to him, so uncaring of his past.

"Link,"

She was breathing softly, her eyes opened only slightly.

"Piya, I'm so sorry!"

Piya laughed, weakly.

"You kill me, and all you can say is that you're so sorry?"

She shuddered, and her breaths began to slowly dissipate, her eyes closing once more.

"No, wait!"

Link quickly untied a bottle filled with red liquid and uncorked it. He pressed the bottle to her lips, tilting it so that it would run down her throat.

"Drink it, quickly! It still might save you."

He felt a small twinge of relief as the liquid in the bottle slowly vanished. Piya's eyes opened once more, and a little color returned to her cheeks.

"Thanks…"

She slowly sat up, wincing at the sharp pain in her side. Even though the potion had stopped death, she was still deeply wounded. There was a large gash in her left arm, and another one in her side, close to her ribs. Another long cut was along her thigh, worse than the others.

"I love that stuff. It really works wonders, y'know?"

Link felt his heart beating frantically in his chest, but only out of great relief. He had really thought that he had killed her; to see her sitting there, eyes shining, and able to joke around a little…

He swallowed.

"We should get you to a hospital,"

And leave the temple that he was so close to completing.

Oh, and put the world in great danger by allowing Kuro to continue his plight.

Piya smiled at him, dimples showing in her cheeks.

"Yes, please."

And so they were off, Link carrying Piya in his arms out through the temple, though for some reason not wondering why she was even there in the first place.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Author's Note: Not only was it short, but it was LAME! Could the ending have been any lamer? "And so they were off…"

But what was I supposed to say? It would have been LAMER to go through detail as he helped her walk and blah blah.

Say if it was as bad as I thought it was; go on, don't be shy!

Oh, and give me your feelings on it and all.

Also, I promise to dutifully pick up the pace and write a VERY interesting chapter 11.

I promise.