Link looked up at Ghirahim, completely at his mercy. He was lying in Hyrule field, with a large crowd watching from behind Ghirahim's barriers. Ghirahim looked different though, completely clad in black, but still with the eerie leer on his face. Laughing, he pressed his blade to Link's throat, and lunged...
Link jolted up, yelling and sweating. This caused ripples of pain from his slit sides, forcing him to collapse back onto his bed… bed? Link glanced from side to side, curious. He was lying in a cream coloured room, in a large bed. There were flowers on a small table by his side, which he guessed were freshly picked. He looked towards the end of his bed, to take in more of where he lay. He saw the Master Sword and his shield leaning against the far wall by the door, meaning that the shield had at least been retrieved after the fight…
Link finally looked down at himself, and realised he was bare-chested, with large bandages covering his whole abdomen. He also noticed that the areas above both his hips were stained red, as if the bandages had not been changed recently…
His whole train of thought was brought to an abrupt halt by a heavily armoured guard rushing into his room, brandishing his lance. When the guard met Link's bemused expression, he lowered his weapon, smiling sheepishly. "Good to see you awake, sir"
"I'm not knighted, but thanks for the concern anyways…" Link tried to joke, but regretted it, feeling more spasms from his abdomen.
"I'll get the doctor, and the princess." The guard cried, turning about.
"Umm… what?" Link called out. "Why is the princess here?"
"Well, this is her home…" the guard chuckled. "You're in the castle infirmary, and under strict instructions to remain in bed. Now, if you'll excuse me…" he continued, walking out of the door quickly, leaving Link on his own again.
Not a minute later, Zelda burst through the door, with Impa close behind. Zelda rushed straight to his side, wrapping herself around him, causing another ripple of pain.
"Link, you're awake! At last!" she exclaimed, tightening her grip.
"Zel…da…" Link hissed. "Pain…"
"Hmm?" she hummed, oblivious to his condition.
"Princess, his injuries?" Impa called out, walking towards her.
"Oh Link! I'm… I'm so sorry! It's just…" she stammered, releasing her vice-like grip on him, causing him to collapse back into his bed, dazed. "You were out for so long…"
"How long?" he whispered, feeling the pain subside.
"Two days." She replied fearfully. "The Zoras sent an urgent message to us, saying that you had been severely injured, and we immediately sent a carriage over to collect your body. You were losing so much blood…"
"But not enough to die from", came fresh voice from the door. They all looked up to see a doctor entering the room, setting down a small bag. "Young man, you got some nasty gashes to your side there, and we've been trying to work out what caused them. Got to be something pretty nasty to do as much damage as they did…"
"How about two demonic blades?" Link wheezed, causing Impa to stare at him in shock.
"Demonic blades?" the doctor and Impa both exclaimed. "What…" Impa began.
"Long and black, almost like rapiers, but curved" Link replied. "Ghirahim was wielding two of them when I got injured, although when I fought him before, he only wielded one."
"Who is this Ghirahim?" the doctor asked, confused.
"I might be able to explain…" Link began.
"Let me, Master…" Fi spoke, emerging from the Master Sword.
"Fi, I believe?" Impa asked, causing everyone else in the room to stare at her. "I've read the legends…"
"You are correct" Fi confirmed. "But to you, your majesty and you, healer, I am the spirit of the Master Sword, and guide to the heroes who need it. Ghirahim is the one who has been causing Master Link to charge around recently, ending him up here. He is an ancient demon, created by the original evil one, as the spirit of his sword. Ghirahim could be considered my equivalent, although he has a more solid form…"
"He has made it clear that he doesn't like me very much," Link stated, drawing in a deep breath. "He said that it was because of all the times the Original hero bested him, causing him unquenchable rage and anger. All of the troubles are aimed at killing me, and not fully aimed at innocent people."
"I take it you heard Death Mountain a couple of days ago?" he asked.
"Oh yes. It was a deafening sound!" Zelda exclaimed. "We were hearing from Nabooru all the way over in the desert about the sound"
"That was me, dealing with one of Ghirahim's, shall we say, creations" Link began.
"Sorry, but I really should check your bandages, Link" the doctor interrupted. "Please continue, although I would advise Princess and Impa, that you look away. This could get ugly."
Link waited for the doctor to start fiddling with his bandages before continuing. "I suppose I'd better start with me warping to the Temple of Time…"
"… and that's when he managed to slice my sides." Link replied calmly, thinking back over what he had just told them. "All in several hours as well…"
"But Ruto said that Ghirahim was gone when she sent the message" Impa said. "You didn't fight him with your injuries, did you?" she looked at Link concerned. "That would have been suicidal"
"I genuinely did think that it could be all over…" Link admitted, causing Zelda to whimper, and draw closer to him. "But as I was trying to leap away from his onslaught, I noticed the Zora mask on the ground. Ghirahim must have slit my satchel as well as my sides, causing it to fall out. I knew it was potentially my only chance, so I just put it on."
"But surely your injuries would have carried through onto your Zora form?" Impa inquired.
"Luckily, the bodies I change into when putting the masks on don't carry wounds over, only my consciousness does, meaning I could fight at full strength, but in Zora form." Link explained, his mind going back to Ghirahim's fury at his transformation. "I was somehow able to deal with Ghirahim as a Zora, electrifying him, and got him to flee to heal. But taking using the masks drains a lot of my energy, and so I only managed to stay conscious a little while afterwards."
"All finished!" the doctor declared, making look down at his freshly cleaned bandages. "Good news, the cuts are not too deep, no organ damage. But no heroics, you need the rest."
"I don't think that's a problem at the moment, seeing how painful it is sitting up" Link replied. "Thank you doctor!"
"After listening to your story, I would recommend staying away from this 'Ghirahim', although it seems clear he won't stay away for too long. Rest well, Link. I'll be back in the morning." With that, he walked out of the door.
"Link, you almost…" Zelda began tearing up.
"Hey, I'm still here, aren't I?" Link tried. "In pain, but alive."
"What amazes me the most is the whole teleportation thing." Impa commented. It takes years of Sheikah practice to even teleport short distances, but you were able to just teleport at will…"
"I think my need to protect the Gorons and Zoras from Ghirahim helped…" Link replied.
"Well, we have received well wish messages from the Dariuna and Ruto, saying they will try and be here as soon as possible, to see how you are getting on…" Impa said, stretching and yawning. "Look at the time; we should all probably get some rest. Especially you, Link. I'll be waiting outside your room, Zel". With that, she stood and walked to the door. She paused at the door, before murmuring, "You've been through so much recently Link. When are you going to get a proper rest?"
"When Ghirahim has gone." Link replied sadly. He looked back up to Impa, but she had already walked on. He turned back to Zelda, who held his hand caringly. "I'll be ok, Zel. I just need rest…"
"Seeing you all bloody and unconscious days ago…" Zelda shuddered, "It really scared me. You promised to be careful, and…"
"Hey, a vengeful demon who happens to want to kill me does not count as me not being careful…" Link began, before being flicked on the forehead.
"You know what I mean…" she smiled, before gently kissing Link's cheek. "Get some rest, Link." With that, she gave him final hug and smile, before rushing off to join Impa.
Left all alone, Link closed his eyes and fell back into a troubled sleep.
A/N: Link seems to be recovering. Just as well. He's going to need to be fully fit in a few chapters time. Just a warning.
Anyways, thanks for reading! Leave a review if you want to tell me anything. Till next time!