Chapter Twenty Five - Training

Author's Note: First of all, thanks for the reviews to those who take the time to leave them. I'm still aggravated by those who refuse to just type out a few words, but obviously they aren't going to read these notes and do what's being asked of them so I give up. THIS NEXT STATEMENT IS IMPORTANT. Second of all, I need to address something immediately. Mystic Solara's review isn't the reason why I'm saying this. I planned on talking about this myself. Guys - remember that you love Link. Trust me when I say this, Link loves Zelda. That will never change. So no matter what happens in this story, don't forget those two important facts. That's all for now.

&

Over the past two days, Zelda did as she had promised. She remained in bed, eating and drinking whatever she was giving. Uli had continued to help her bathe and she and Auru both had tended to her wounds with medicine and bandaging.

But that morning, Auru was allowing Zelda to get out of bed. He was going to take her for a walk through the village and then bring her back to Bo's home to rest. If she did okay on their walk, he was going to begin helping her train the following day.

Zelda, with Uli's help, changed back into Link's tunic after having been dressed in one of Uli's nightgowns for the duration of her stay in the village. She only wore a boot on the foot that wasn't injured. When she was dressed and ready for her walk with Auru, she met hobbled out of the room and to the front doors where he was waiting for her.

"Princess." Auru offered his arm to her.

"Thank you." Zelda said with a smile. She didn't just mean for his arm. She was thanking him for letting her up and around.

Auru and Zelda walked out into the sunlight. Zelda immediately fell in love with the village. She watched as all of the people walked past one another, smiling and greeting each other. She saw children running around, playing some sort of game. There were several pumpkin patches and other vegetable gardens. It was so quaint and lovely.

"Like it?" Auru asked, catching the look on Zelda's face.

"I love it. It's nothing like the castle." She replied, still taking in her surroundings.

"Is that a good thing?"

"Well, I've always been the happiest I've ever been with Link. But there was another time in my life when, although it was a dark and chaotic time, I was happy."

"And that was away from the castle?"

"Yes. It was when I disguised myself as a Sheikah. I used to live all over the land. I would set up camp beneath bridges and on rooftops in Kakariko Village. I would wake when I wanted and eat whenever I found food."

"You feel free?" Auru asked knowingly.

"Yes." Zelda turned to look at him. She knew that he understood her.

Zelda looked up suddenly and spotted someone that made her stop in her tracks. She looked over the young woman that was filling a basin with water in the creek.

"Does your ankle hurt?" Auru asked concernedly, looking down at Zelda's injury.

"Who is that girl?" Zelda asked, still staring at her.

"Oh." Auru tried to lead Zelda up towards the ranch but she wouldn't budge. "That's Ilia, Bo's daughter. She's about your age."

"She's…she's beautiful." Zelda said. There were only two other women that Zelda had ever seen in her lifetime that she had thought were absolutely gorgeous: her mother and Nabooru.

"Yes. And so are you." Auru led Zelda up the trail.

"No really, she's very pretty. Is she married?" Zelda asked, turning her head to look back at the girl who had been oblivious to her stares.

"No."

"Auru why are you being so short? Don't you like Ilia?" Zelda asked curiously.

"Of course I do." Auru said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"Did she do something that you didn't like? Did she do something to you?"

"Zelda, why are you so interested in her?" Auru asked, turning to look at her as they headed up the hill.

"I was just wondering. I hadn't ever seen her before."

"Well never mind her. Wait until you see these monstrous goats…"

&

Auru had decided that Zelda was ready to train.

The next morning, he and Zelda headed up to the ranch. Fado had agreed to let them use the ranch to train and practice for an hour or two before he let the goats out of their pens. He welcomed the time to sleep in.

Auru decided that they would focus on Zelda's power first. He wasn't ready to train her to use a sword until her ankle had completely healed. Swordplay used a lot of footwork.

"Now Zelda, just because I agreed to let you up to train today doesn't mean that you have to strain yourself. I still want you to be cautious. Okay?" Auru used his infamous fatherly tone.

"No problem." Zelda responded excitedly. All she could think about was getting done with training so that she could go out to look for her husband. She was yearning to see him.

"Okay, now when you did use your power, how did you do it? What did you do with your power?"

"Well, I lifted bars that were blocking the way out of the castle." Zelda said, remembering the purple haze that had covered the bars.

"Why don't you try to do that now?" Auru looked around the ranch. He spotted a barrel near the open gate and pointed at it. "Try lifting that."

Zelda turned towards the barrel. She took a deep breath and lifted her hands. She remembered how she had used her power before. She had focused all of her energy on the bars and had willed them with her mind to raise. She concentrated on the barrel, her mind clearing of everything else but her command for it to lift up off the ground.

Just as she was feeling her piece of the Triforce beginning to work, she suddenly felt her skin burning. Her eyes clenched tight as she remembered when Ganondorf had used his dark magic on her.

Zelda only realized that she had fallen to her knees when she felt Auru trying to tug her to her feet while he shouted worriedly at her. She screamed in pain, wanting him to throw water on her to put out the fire.

She felt the burning sensation begin to fade away as she fell face forward on the ground. She breathed heavily, thanking the Goddesses' that the pain had gone. It had hurt worse than the beating Ganondorf had given her.

"Zelda? Zelda, are you alright?" Auru asked, his hands on Zelda's back.

"I-I…I don't know what happened." Zelda breathed, flipping slowly onto her back. She looked up into Auru's concerned face. "It felt like…like Ganondorf was using his power on me again."

"Let me help you up." Auru said gently, offering his hands to Zelda. He pulled her carefully to her feet and offered her support. He felt her lean against him heavily.

"I don't understand." Zelda said.

"Zelda, I don't think it's a good idea to try and train like this. You look…" Auru swept stray hairs out of Zelda's face.

"I look what?" She asked, her hands flying to her face.

"You just look exhausted all of a sudden. And your skin is very white."

"Well if I can't use my power, what will I do? I won't be able to find Link if I can't make it to him in one piece. And there are bound to be frightful things about." Zelda said dejectedly.

"Don't worry. I'll teach you how to use a sword and shield." Auru began to lead Zelda towards the open gate. "But you need to rest for now."

"I just don't understand what happened…"

&

Zelda hadn't only looked exhausted after trying to use her magic. She had gotten into bed and fallen asleep as her head hit the pillow. She had remained asleep for many hours before Auru was forced to wake her up to eat. After her meal, she had gone right back to sleep and hadn't woken up until the next morning.

She found walking much easier than it had been before. She didn't need Auru's arm to get around. She still felt a slight discomfort when she put weight on her injured ankle.

Auru had collected barrels, along with other supplies, and, while Zelda had slept, had made several dummies. He had also gotten two wooden swords and a shield from Rusl and a second shield from Bo.

"Zelda, there are many techniques that you can use with the sword. The first is called the slice. There are two ways that you can do this. The first is called the vertical slice." Auru motioned for Zelda to step back.

Zelda watched as Auru used his wooden sword. He held it high above his head while jumping forward towards one of the dummies. The sword came crashing down through the dummy. It fell away into two halves.

"Now you try." He stepped back.

Zelda had seen Link practice with his sword before. She had even seen him use it in real combat. She was fairly sure that she would be able to imitate what she had seen him do. She could see her husband in her mind, leaping into the air with a cry and bringing his sword down.

"That was good." Auru commented.

"Oh." Zelda hadn't even realized that she had completed the move. She looked down at the two halves of the dummy she had struck.

"The second slice is called the horizontal slice." Auru demonstrated the move. It was the same thing as the one before, only done horizontally.

After Zelda had completed the horizontal slice, she and Auru moved onto the next set of dummies for a new lesson.

"The next move is called the stab." Auru held his sword out towards the dummy. "You just point the sword in the direction of your enemy and bring it forward quickly. It's an easy move. But you have to act quickly for it to be effective."

Zelda performed the stab multiple times until she had broken through the barrel. She wiped the sweat from her forehead. It took a lot of force to actually pierce the dummy with her sword.

"The next move is called a spin attack. That move is primarily used when one is surrounded by many enemies. You stand your ground, feet planted firmly on the ground, and bring your sword back as far as you can." Auru stood with his sword stretching around his body. "You then spin in a complete circle like so."

After Auru had performed the spin attack, and his dummy was crumpled on the ground, Zelda took the proper stance. She had remembered seeing Link perform the spin attack too, and sometimes, even using the magic that had been given to him by the Great Fairy.

But as Zelda went to spin, she tripped over her feet and landed on the ground. Her ankle throbbed painfully once before beginning to ache.

"That was my fault Zelda. I don't know why I thought that was a good idea." Auru helped her to her feet. "I'm sorry. Maybe we should stop for the day…"

"No. Teach me one last move and then let me practice the ones I learned today. Please?" Zelda picked her sword up off the ground.

"I'm not so sure now would be a good time to learn the jump attack. Why don't you just practice the stab and two slices? After you feel confident with those, I can teach you how to properly defend yourself with the shield. Tomorrow we can tackle the spin and jump attacks."

"Alright." Zelda nodded in agreement, turning to face the dummy she had failed to take down. She lashed out with her sword in a horizontal slice, sending the top half of the dummy flying into the next one and knocking it over.

"Good." Auru said with an approving smile.

&

The next day, Zelda learned the jump and spin attacks. She had stretched before performing the spin attack and had better results. After she had practiced all the basic moves that she had learned, Auru spent more time with her on using her shield to defend herself.

Zelda and Auru had retired after a few hours so that Fado could let his goats out. But later that evening, they had returned to the ranch to face off. They had many swordfights with one another. Zelda continued to improve with each fight she lost.

Over the next two days, Auru had practiced with Zelda almost relentlessly. Though he admitted she still had a lot to learn, he had to admit that she had come a long way in a short period of time. He was certain that Zelda could defend herself well if she were to run into trouble.

Because of that, he decided that the next day, he and Zelda would ride for Lanayru Province. He made sure that Zelda had eaten and was in bed at a decent hour so that she would be rested up for the journey the next day.

What Auru didn't know was that Zelda planned on leaving without him. She felt bad that she would be leaving him the way her husband had disappeared. But she didn't want to bring Auru into things. She just wanted to get to the desert and find her husband. She knew that Auru had talked to the Gerudo women there, but Zelda felt a strong feeling in her gut that her husband had been there.

Zelda laid silently in bed for an hour or two before getting up. She stripped out of the nightgown and put on the clothes that she had come to Ordon in. She braided her hair quickly and tucked it up underneath the red hood on her head. When she had pulled on Link's boots, she carefully slipped out of her room and tiptoed to the front doors.

Outside, she made sure that she had everything she needed: a map, a bundle of rolls and an apple or two, and a canteen that she planned on filling up at the spring. She had taken one of the swords that had been hanging on Bo's wall before leaving the house and had equipped it at her belt. She pulled it out of its sheath to make sure it wasn't a wooden blade. The shield she had been practicing with was strapped to her back.

Zelda crept quietly across the bridge and through the village. Everyone was asleep in their homes. She made it through the village and the small meadow.

But when Zelda came upon the big meadow, she was surprised to see the gate to the spring was open. She moved towards it cautiously, peering inside to see who was there. All she saw was a horse.

"What are you doing here?" Zelda asked aloud, walking into the spring with her canteen out. She was about to pet the horse when a voice stopped her.

"I could ask you the same question."

"Who is it?" Zelda asked warily, moving a hand to her sword's hilt.

Ilia walked from around the horse. She held a brush in one hand.

"I heard talk that you and Auru were leaving tomorrow." Ilia said.

"We were supposed to." Zelda bent down and put her canteen in the water. She looked up while it filled. "But I decided to get a head start."

"Without Auru?" Ilia asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I just don't want to involve him. This is something that I have to do." Zelda explained, capping her canteen. She secured it in her tunic pocket.

"Do you expect to get to Lanaryu Province by morning by walking?" Ilia asked.

"I can at least try."

Ilia sighed and tossed her brush onto dry land. She then began to fiddle with the horse's bridle and saddle. When she had finished, she motioned to Zelda.

"Give me your things. I can put them into the saddlebags."

"What do you mean?" Zelda asked curiously.

"You can try to make it to Lanayru Province before Auru discovers that you're missing on foot…but you won't. You can use Orca, as long as you promise to take good care of her."

"I promise." Zelda said softly, handing over the bundle of provisions and her canteen. She kept the map in her pocket and her weapons where they were.

Ilia put the bundle and canteen into one of the two saddlebags. She secured it before holding Orca's reigns while Zelda got up into the saddle. She didn't let go, even after Zelda had reached for them.

"Find him." She said gravely.

Zelda was confused by Ilia's tone. It was as if…

"I will. Thank you for this." Zelda simply said, taking the reigns from Ilia.

"Be careful."