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Twenty: The Art of Healing

In Which the Mountains Loom

Link's leg itched. Beneath the bandages, already stained a little red, the wounds throbbed and burned and itched until he was pretty sure it was going to drive him insane. The temptation to rip off said bandages was great, and it took him a surprising amount of willpower to resist and not make everything worse. Multiple times, he thought about making the excuse to Zelda that he was checking to make sure nothing was infected, but he didn't think she'd let that stand.

So, as it was, he just had to sit and suffer.

The sun had risen a little while ago – the rest of the night had been sleepless for them both – and all he could think to do was watch the horizon for Ganondorf's approaching silhouette.

His gaze strayed wistfully onto the pile of his things sat on the opposite side of their makeshift campsite; anything and everything he'd had on his person or in his bag that the demon could use to hurt him or Zelda.

He needed something to do, something to fiddle with or at least clean or sharpen.

What had the world come to, that he'd take cleaning something over lazily reclining in the warmth of the desert. He just wanted to take his mind off the squirming beneath the skin of his arm, the dull pain in his leg. Off the panic that spiked every time he acknowledged either one, and the amusement that still crawled up his spine and caught at his mouth.

While he was going out of his mind from boredom and stress, the demon was loving every agonisingly slow minute of it all. This was the first time it had gone out of its way to actively hurt him, physically at least, and apparently it had discovered that it very much enjoyed it. The thought of being woken to his own hand stabbing him somewhere more vital or more sensitive made Link want to throw up. The thought of being woken up to his own hand stabbing someone else made him want to cry.

'Oh, quit whining,' it said. 'It's just a flesh wound.'

'Fuck you,' Link muttered, with a furtive glance at Zelda, who didn't appear to have heard from where she sat at the edge of the arch, just on the edge of the shade it cast.

How she wasn't going out of her mind just from plain boredom, he didn't know. She'd been sat like that for hours, once she'd stopped shaking and fussing, and he wished he knew what was going on in her head.

'What was even the point?' he asked softly, watching Zelda's back carefully for any indication she could hear him or was listening. 'If I'd bled out and died, you'd just have lamed yourself.'

Cold weight fell across his shoulders, like a friendly arm. 'I knew what I was doing. I didn't want to kill you. That would be such a boring ending, after all the fun we've had together. I'd like your death to have meaning, to be either glorious or pitiful. I haven't decided which, yet.'

'It's nice to know you've put so much thought into it,' he said flatly, even if he knew it had been plotting his death since it had first found itself trapped inside him, only able to control his right hand.

He supposed that meant he didn't need to worry too much about it slitting his throat in the night, which was a definite possibility now that it'd started trying more and more to take control. It had only been a matter of time, but it was still too soon. He wasn't prepared. He didn't know how to stop it, except to stay awake for the rest of time. How long would it be till the damn thing could fully control him when he was awake, too?

'Oh, we'll find out soon enough,' it crooned, and patted his shoulder. 'Trust me.'

'He's coming back.' Zelda's sudden voice distracted him, and he blinked a few times in mute confusion.

'What?' he said after a moment, and she shifted to face him.

'Ganondorf. He's on his way back.'

Link squinted at her. 'How d'you know?'

'I've been following his Triforce piece,' she replied, as if that somehow explained it, 'And it's getting closer again.'

'Awesome,' he said, and shot a glare at the bandages on his leg. 'Can't wait to get moving again.'

She didn't say anything in response, just stared at him for a long moment. Well, not really of course, but it felt like she was staring at him. Maybe she was looking into him. The thought made his skin crawl a little, and his insides twisted uncomfortably.

'How's the leg?' she finally asked, adjusting the fabric over her eyes.

Link imagined the stitches underneath and grimaced. He thought about the pain in his leg to distract himself.

'About how you'd expect,' he said, and shifted slightly. Even under the bandages, he felt the wounds pull slightly and cringed. It didn't hurt so much as felt really, really weird. He wasn't supposed to have holes in his thigh, no one was. 'How long d'you think till he gets here?'

'A few hours, probably,' Zelda replied, and swivelled until she was facing him fully. She crossed her legs and rested her stick across them. 'How are you feeling?'

'Like I'd really like to get moving again as soon as possible,' Link replied, knowing it wasn't what she was asking but not wanting to deal with her sympathy or pity or whatever right then.

Even so, she snorted softly. 'Never realise what you've got until it's gone, huh?' she said. 'However temporarily.'

'Yeah.' He leaned back on his hand with a sigh. 'I've been getting so sick of just walking and walking – and running for my life now and then – but now that I can't, or at least not without a fuckton of pain, all I want to do is go.'

'Hang in there,' she said, sounding more amused than sympathetic. 'Only a little longer.'

Link sighed again, exaggeratedly, and tilted his head back until he was staring at the bottom of the top of the arch. His gaze caught on movement about halfway up, and he saw; a lizard, scuttling along a thin ledge before tucking mostly out of sight. Its tail still poked over the edge, and he watched it with interest, waiting to see if it would vanish or re-emerge. He'd seen maybe two live lizards in Hyrule throughout his life, but Shad had had a book on them that he'd borrowed.

Pain twisted in his chest and he dropped his gaze, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he took a deep breath. Again he saw the desert's warped vision of Shad, and his throat tightened with sudden nausea. He cast a furtive glance out across the endless sand all around them, making sure there were no broken bodies clawing their way towards him.

But he was out of the Wastes, and there was nothing. Just him and Zelda and the desert and all the things that lived in it. Ganondorf was out there somewhere too, and he looked for him even though it would be hours before he came into sight.

Hours that crawled by, slow minute after slow minute, as he floundered and began to wonder if it was possible to die of boredom. After maybe two hours, Zelda sprawled in the shade, arms and legs splayed, and he did the same. They lay in silence, the air warm and still and not quite stifling yet, and he actually managed to sink into a doze a few times. That is, until a throb of pain through his leg or a pinch from the demon jolted him awake again.

Eventually, Zelda sat up and said, 'he's nearly here.'

Link hauled himself up slowly, rubbing some grit from his eyes, and scanned the horizon. Sure enough, there was a figure approaching, their shadow almost invisible as the sun hung high overhead. A small glow nearly indistinguishable from the glare of sunlight on the sand circled his head, and Link let out a long, relieved breath.

He lifted a hand and waved, not sure Ganondorf could even see them yet, but a moment later the silhouette raised an arm in response.

'Looks like everything went fine,' he said, not taking his eyes off the nearing figure.

'Good,' Zelda said softly, her hands twisting on her staff.

They sat and awaited Ganondorf's approach, side by side, and Link kept an eye out for any possible threats. The sky and sand remained clear, though, and Ganondorf remained unhindered.

'Hey,' Link called, waving again, as he grew close enough to not be a vague blur.

He grinned, and thought he saw Ganondorf smile tiredly in return as he crossed the last few metres separating them. The fairy had settled on his head, wings waving slowly, and he scooped it into his hands as he stepped in the arch's shade.

'Welcome back,' Zelda said, with a small smile of her own.

'Has everything been alright, in my absence?' Ganondorf asked, standing over them, clearly worn out.

A pang went through Link's chest. Gratitude and guilt, mingling together until he couldn't tell which won out.

'We've been bored out of our minds,' he replied, 'but other than that, it's been good. Did everything go okay with you?'

'Yes,' Ganondorf said, and held up the fairy. 'As you see.'

'What did she ask for?' Zelda asked, as Link sat forward and started slowly unwinding the bandage from his leg.

Ganondorf sat down next to them, and the fairy fluttered down onto one of his knees. He visibly hesitated, then said, 'a song.'

Link paused his unwrapping to look at him. 'She made you sing?'

He shifted uncomfortably. 'Yes.'

'I didn't know you could sing,' Link said, offering him a cheeky grin. He tugged at the bandages some more, then grimaced as they resisted, stuck to his skin with dried blood.

'I imagine some would argue I cannot,' Ganondorf replied. 'But the Great Fairy was satisfied, at least.'

'Seems like a good deal to me,' Zelda said, then more softly, 'I'm glad you're alright.'

Link bit his lower lip, then added, 'Me too. Thanks for, y'know, doing all this.'

Offering them both a slight smile, Ganondorf picked up the fairy again. 'I'm also glad the two of you are well. Now let us fix your leg, shall we?'

'Right.'

As quickly and painlessly as he could, Link finished removing the bandages, wounds stinging as he bared them to the warm air. He had to resist the urge to poke or prod them, peering with morbid fascination at the wetly glistening flesh, trying to work out just how deep they went.

'I could show you if you like,' the demon said, and twitched his right hand.

Just in case it decided to pull anything, Link shifted his arm across his body and held the wrist firmly so it couldn't go anywhere.

'Let's do this,' he said to Ganondorf, who nodded and lowered the fairy gently onto his leg.

It didn't do anything for a moment, as if it was assessing, then its pink glow grew brighter and its wings fluttered, and pain seared up his leg.

'Ow, fuck!' he yelped, instinctively twitching away but then making an effort to hold still.

This was pain he could handle, easy. His eyes watered a little, and his face flushed with it, but it could've been worse. It wasn't like he was being stabbed again.

The fairy fluttered almost indignantly, then continued its work, and he gritted his teeth and bore it.

'While that's going on, you should rest, Ganondorf,' Zelda said.

He was quiet for a moment. 'Yes, I think I will,' he said. 'For a moment or two.'

He hauled himself to his feet and moved past the long-dead fire, then lay down in the deepest part of the arch's shade and didn't move. Link squinted after him for a moment, then turned back to watch the fairy work.

After a minute or so, the pain settled into an intense itching that was almost worse, and he didn't know whether to be grossed out or fascinated as he watched his skin and muscle knit back together again, one sinew at a time. He'd never seen a fairy heal someone before, and felt it must be a lot cooler watching one heal him than anyone else. Anyone else's leg, and he'd probably want to throw up.

A few minutes later, he was healed. The only evidence he'd ever been hurt at all was the three shiny new scars gleaming silver on his thigh and the blood all over his robes and Zelda's cloak. The fairy floated onto his shin, wings waving tiredly, glow the faintest it had been so far. Releasing his right hand gingerly, Link rubbed his thumb over the scars and felt nothing more than a slight, residual itchiness.

'Thanks, little buddy,' he said, gently stroking about where he thought the fairy's head would be.

'Damn fairies,' the demon muttered. 'Always meddling. I was looking forward to watching you try to climb a mountain on that leg.'

'Too bad,' Link murmured, nudging the fairy onto his hand so that he could stand and test said freshly healed leg.

There was a little tightness in the skin, maybe the faintest of aches, as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, twisting to and fro. He took few steps, pacing around their little campsite, and then the arch itself, though he quickly moved back into the shade as the midday sun accosted him, heavy and near-blinding.

'I'm healed, Zelda!' he said, as he stepped under the arch again, bouncing on the spot a few times to prove it.

She smiled and, reaching out with her stick, bonked him lightly on the shin. 'Now don't ever do that again.'

'I'll try,' Link said, moving closer so he could plonk the fairy on her head. She ducked away a little, but didn't bat either of them away. 'Maybe we should, I don't know, tie my arm to my side so it can't be used to stab me again?'

'Do that and I'll definitely stab you,' the demon growled, and he rolled his eyes.

'It's certainly an idea,' Zelda said, settling her stick back across her lap. 'And I'm definitely up for you never getting stabbed again, but you never know when you'll need two arms climbing mountains.'

'True,' Link agreed reluctantly, as he sank back onto the floor beside her. 'Din, we're probably going to have to actually do that, aren't we?'

'Yep,' Zelda said, and looked no happier with the idea than Link felt. 'Though now that I have this, if the third Triforce piece is somewhere in that mountain range, I might be able to sense it.' She lifted her right hand and wriggled her fingers.

'Can I see it?' Link asked, ignoring the slight sting of jealousy and the less subtle wave of desire that went through him. Only the jealousy was his.

Zelda shrugged a shoulder. 'Sure. But no touching.'

She tugged off her glove, which he suddenly realised was stained faintly red in places, and held out her hand, palm down. Just like Ganondorf, the mark of the Triforce lay branded on her skin, the bottom left triangle full while the others were just outlines. He started reaching for it, but then remembered what she'd just said and restrained himself, settling for just leaning as close as he dared and staring. If he didn't blink, he thought he could almost see it pulsing softly, like blood under skin. Only this was divine light, not blood.

'What does it feel like?' he asked as he leaned back again, watching her flex her fingers then pull her glove back on.

'Tingly,' she said after a moment. He huffed, unsatisfied, and she laughed. 'I'm sorry, that's what it feels like. It's hard to describe. It's...like a song, only I feel it instead of hearing it. Just wait till you get yours.'

The thought made Link's stomach drop. He offered her a noncommittal 'mm', and she tilted her head curiously. She didn't say anything, just waited.

'I don't think I want it,' he said. It didn't feel like the truth, but it didn't quite feel like a lie either. 'I mean, I do 'cause we'll get our wishes and it's super cool when Ganondorf blows monsters up…But I don't think I should, y'know?'

'Because of the demon,' Zelda guessed, and he pulled a face.

'Yeah. I can't let it get anywhere near that kind of power.'

She was quiet for a moment, thinking or studying him in that I'm-blind-but-I'm-actually-looking-at-you way of hers. 'It's definitely a dilemma, that's for sure.'

'Yeah.'

'But who's to say it could even use it?' she said, shrugging slightly. 'Do you really think the goddesses would let a demon, of all things, use their power?'

Link felt its scowl pull at his face, swallowed down the poisonous words it pulled onto his tongue. 'In a perfect world, I wouldn't risk it. But I've got to, haven't I? Or else none of us get our wishes.'

'I believe in you. I believe you can beat it,' Zelda said simply, and it was a little cheesy but Link couldn't deny it made him feel better. 'And if it does try to use the Triforce for evil, we'll stop it. Don't forget, without me and Ganondorf it can't do shit, now that we've taken the first two pieces, so if we just decide to fuck off what can it do?'

'Bitch,' the demon said, sullen, and Link felt its desire to reach out and strangle her. His right hand twitched and he grabbed it, pulling it tight against his side.

'Zelda, it is literally going to murder you if you keep this up,' he said, and she shrugged again.

'Then it'll either get itself smote or won't be able to use the Triforce, will it?' She smiled slyly, and its anger boiled in his stomach, curled his hands into fists.

Honestly, he was impressed that she was repeatedly managing to get a rise from it. If he hadn't been so worried about the demon using his own hands to murder her, he'd have found it fucking hysterical.

Ice crawled over his throat and through his tongue and he choked, gasping for air.

'You're on thin ice, girl,' the demon growled with his voice, his jaw and neck screaming as he tried to fight its hold, and Zelda's lips pressed into a thin line. His voice sounded warped, all wrong, and panic jolted through him.

'Just try it, asshole,' she replied, voice low and surprisingly dangerous.

It bared Link's teeth, but he managed to squeeze out a few words of his own. 'Zelda- stop, please.'

She ducked her head briefly, then shook it and put a hand on his knee. 'You're right. I'm sorry.'

The demon's icy grip fell away, it's strength still not back up to full after the whole stabbing incident, and he let out a shuddering breath, reaching up to rub at his throat. Its anger lingered, but that was easy enough to ignore.

'Sorry,' Zelda said again, and Link patted the hand on his knee.

'S'alright,' he said, voice just a little hoarse, before rolling his neck slowly in an attempt to relieve a little of the tension that still lingered. 'It pisses me off too.'

For a moment, they sat in the silence, and he waited for his heart to slow and his skin to stop crawling. He looked over at Ganondorf, now lying on his side with his back to them. It was hard to tell if he was actually asleep, but if he was Link wasn't about to disturb him trying to find out.

Again, the mix of guilt and gratitude welled up inside him, and he looked down at his leg, the bloody tears in his robes gaping to reveal the silvery scars beneath. He ran his fingers over them, pressing down gently and half expecting his skin to split open again, then glanced at his right wrist. He could picture the thick scar that ran around it, hidden by his glove, and thought about how messy and ugly it was compared to the results of the fairy's healing.

The demon scoffed, the sound rattling around the inside of his skull. 'You're really going to insult me over reattaching your hand? Charming.'

Link rolled his eyes and ignored it as best he could.

Another hour or so passed, the sun labouring down towards the western horizon, the air dry and hot, before, as if he'd set an internal alarm clock, Ganondorf woke. Link only noticed when he sat up, scrubbing a hand over his face and blinking over at them blearily, and he half-raised his hand.

'Good nap?' he asked, and Ganondorf scoffed softly.

'It will be sufficient,' he said, and yawned daintily behind a hand. 'Is your leg healed?'

'Yup,' Link said, and stood to prove it. He still looked a sight, with the leg of his robes drenched in blood and no way to get it out, but he could stand and walk and run if he really had to. Not that he wanted to in this heat; he was already as sweaty as he could bear, his skin sticky and prickling.

'I'm glad to see it,' Ganondorf said, and they both watched as the fairy lifted off from Zelda's head and fluttered over to alight on his shoulder.

'Aw, you've made a new friend,' Link teased, and Ganondorf got halfway to rolling his eyes before he rearranged his expression into its usual stately one. Link snickered softly, glad that the fairy's glow had returned.

'Well I, for one,' Zelda said, 'am ready to leave and never come here again, whenever you two are ready to go.'

Exchanging a glance with Ganondorf, Link shrugged. 'I'm ready. Are you sure you got enough rest?'

'Yes,' he said, standing and stretching languidly. 'Gather your things and we'll go.'

Moving closer to the dead fire, Link paused beside Zelda's cloak, sat in a forgotten, bloody bundle where they'd left it. He picked it up, letting it unfurl as he went, and inspected the damage. Could've been worse, but still wasn't great. Maybe if they soaked it for a week straight, they could get the blood out.

'Uh, Zelda, your cloak…' He didn't know what to say. Should he apologise? Offer to buy her a new one?

'It's fine,' she said. 'Bloody clothes aren't a problem; I know how to fix it.'

'Oh. Cool.' He surveyed the cloak again, wondering if she'd ever had to try and get this much blood out of her clothes before. Then he wondered if by 'fix it' she meant burn it or something. Knowing Zelda, he wouldn't be surprised if she did.

As he folded the cloak carefully, his gaze fell on the pile of his things nearby, and he stared at them helplessly for a moment. He needed his sword, at the very least, for self-defence, but he'd be happy not letting the demon get his hand on the rest of it. Especially his dagger, the blade of which was still tarnished red with dried blood. He picked it up and stared at it, twisting it this way and that, his leg twinging gently. For a moment, he considered just leaving it in the desert, abandoned beneath the arch, but then he sheathed it with a sigh.

Neither of the others seemed to notice his consternation, and eventually he gave in and just gathered all his stuff up. Even if he left it all there beneath the arch, the demon would find other ways to hurt him or anybody else if it wanted to enough. Probably much more creative and much more painful ways, too.

'Oh, you have no idea,' it crooned, twitching his hand towards the hilt of the sword he'd just sheathed, and he batted it away.

Maybe tying his arm to his side wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all. He was sure he could manage with just one arm. How different could it be to managing with just one hand?

He'd mull it over.

'If you try anything,' he murmured, still stuffing all his shit back into his bag and belt and pockets, 'I'm tying you up.'

It tutted, but didn't reply, which sent a small flicker of confidence through him. So he just had to threaten its fun and it would behave? For how long, he wasn't sure, but he'd take any length of time he could get.

'Just remember,' it said, and Link recoiled as spectral fingers brushed against the back of his neck, 'there's an awful lot of high places in the mountains. Plenty of places for someone to, oh, I don't know, fall their death? Plenty of long drops to push people over, too.'

For good measure, it drove phantom knuckles into his side, pain radiating out through his ribs as he arched away with a grimace. He rubbed at the sore spot, knowing that no matter how hard the demon seemed to hit there would be no visible damage, only pain.

'Ready to go, Link?' Zelda asked after a minute or two, just as he finished scouring the campsite for anything else that might've been confiscated.

There was nothing, he was all set.

'Yeah,' he said, and glanced at Ganondorf. 'Let's finally reach those mountains. Lead the way.'

'Certainly,' he replied, stepping out into the slowly waning sun and waiting for them to follow. The fairy fluttered after him, settling on his shoulder.

A sudden bolt of dread went through Link and he flung out his arms. 'Wait! Actually, before we go, can one of you please take my dagger off me?'

They were both silent for a moment, and he stood with his heart thudding and his mouth dry until Zelda held out a hand.

'I'll take it. Are you sure you don't want to just leave it?'

'Yeah. It might...it might come in handy,' he said, moving forward to place the dagger and its sheath in her hand. 'I just don't want to have it within reaching distance right now.'

She snorted. 'Understandable.'

They waited for her to figure out the best way to carry it, and then Ganondorf stepped away from the arch and waited for her and Link to follow.

Ahead, the mountains stretched out to the horizon, still far away but closer than they had ever been, their snowy tops glowing in the bright sun even at this distance. Link imagined climbing them, what secrets they'd find, what strange, hidden villages or ruins they'd stumble across, and let himself feel excited. Even in the face of his impending doom, with his healed leg aching just slightly and the demon's touch still lingering in his throat, he could find some good, some small pleasures. He was doing what he'd always dreamed of; exploring the world, finding new and ancient things, learning so much.

He may have been missing the one person he'd always wanted to do it with, but he could learn and explore and live for both of them. With Zelda and Ganondorf at his side, the demon had no chance. He would beat it, they would beat it.

'You keep telling yourself that,' it said softly, breath tickling the back of his neck, but he wouldn't be cowed. Not just yet.

He didn't hesitate to bound after Ganondorf, ready to move and not think and not feel anything for a little while. Zelda followed more slowly, still looking a tad tense and worried, and then they were off. As they turned away from the distant temple and oasis, the fairy vanished in a puff of sparkly pink energy, probably returning to its home fountain.

From there, it was the same as always; walking, walking, and more walking. The sun blazing, the air full of the smell of sage and other hardy plants. The only difference was the sand gradually falling away to stonier, more solid ground that crunched under their feet and hid all sorts of creepy crawly horrors.

At one point, a massive spider crawled out from its disturbed burrow not a metre from Link's feet, and when he spotted it – it was as big as his fucking hand, easily – he leapt away with a high-pitched squawk. It scuttled closer, then veered away abruptly, and he shuddered as all his hairs stood on end and his skin crawled. Even though he could see it – because it was so fucking big – he felt like it was on him, with its eight spindly legs and stupid fat body.

'What? What is it?' Zelda whirled, stick raised, and Ganondorf did the same, a hand going to the sword on his back.

Then he spotted the source of Link's distress and failed to hide a laugh. The demon didn't even bother trying, its amusement rattling through him as it cackled.

'Massive. Fucking. Spider,' Link managed, eyes glued to the damn thing as it wandered away. He was tempted to throw a rock at it, but he didn't want it coming back for revenge in the dead of night.

It still felt like it was on him, and he rolled his shoulders and swiped at his skin, trying to rid himself of the goddess-awful crawling feeling.

Zelda seemed stunned for a moment, and then she made an entirely unsympathetic face. 'Really? A spider? I thought you were being stabbed again.' Her eyebrows twitched like she'd just rolled her eyes.

'It's huge!' He protested, and when he looked for it again it was gone. He shuddered. 'I hate spiders, okay? They freak me out.'

'Clearly,' Zelda said, and he scowled at her.

'You guys suck,' he said, talking to all three of them. The demon was still sniggering.

'They will not harm you,' Ganondorf said, and Link supposed he was the authority on desert spiders, but he still didn't feel reassured. 'It's much more afraid of you than you it.'

'Doubtful,' Link said, unable to stop glancing around for the spider. Or for more spiders, which would be even worse.

'It's gone now, no?' Ganondorf continued, with a reassuring smile even as his eyes danced with amusement. 'Shall we continue? The sooner we reach the mountains the sooner there are no more spiders.'

'Yes, let's, please,' Link said, eyeing the ground around him suspiciously.

He scurried after the others as they continued walking, placing each foot as carefully as he could. A couple of times a disturbed beetle would emerge and buzz or run away, but Link didn't mind that so much. Beetles were cool. Spiders were not. He pictured the snowy tops of the mountains, and thought with satisfaction that, like Ganondorf had said, any spiders there would be frozen. Or there just wouldn't be any, which would be even better.

Trying not to dwell on the loose, rocky earth and what lurked beneath it, Link fixed his gaze on the mountains, tracing their ragged peaks with his eyes until he reached the tallest. Snowpeak. It seemed impossibly tall, and he couldn't even imagine how far into the sky it'd rise when they were actually stood at its base. How long would it take to climb, if they actually had to climb it? He imagined they would, their luck was so poor. He'd bet a hundred rupees the third Triforce piece sat at its peak, miles and miles and miles up.

It wasn't a fun thought, but Link knew he'd climb a hundred mountains if it meant he could be free.