Part 36: Purifying Light
Link's mind screams at the unexpected intrusion of excessive pain. He was off in a pleasant dream. He was dreaming of Zelda in his arms as they were kissing passionately. Now he feels a searing, soul shattering pain. It feels like someone just stabbed an arrow into his back wounds. His mind came out of the dream, sight blurry and realizes that he does have an arrow in his back. He feels the arrow penetrating deeply in his back, his body shuddering in convulsions. He can feel an unusual energy coursing through him… similar to what he feels like when his symbol glows… he can also feel the dark poison in his body… he had felt it before but was able to push past it. Now it seems like it is seeping into is skin… latching onto him… the light energy is battling the poison. He feels the two energies fighting: the poison trying to rip his body apart, the light energy trying to consume the poison and heal his torn body. The pain was excruciating, he feels his arms and legs spasm. He feels the poison waning… the light energy is winning. All of a sudden the poison vanishes and along with it the light energy. His eyes open.
"Thank the goddesses you are okay!" he hears Zelda say as she buries her face into his shoulder.
He comes to the realization that he is on his stomach. He tries to shift around, but Zelda stops him.
"You should not lie on your back; the light arrow is still in your back."
"Why is there a light arrow in my back?" Link asks groaning, his muscles stiff and his back very sore.
"It was the only way we could think of to banish the poison." Zelda says.
Link can hear the relief at him being alive in her voice.
"Well, could you take the arrow out of my back please?" Link asked, his voice pained.
"T-take the arrow out of your back?" Zelda stammered.
"Yes, I cannot reach the arrow myself, and the Great Fairy cannot do it. I would not ask this of you unless I had no other choice. Just grip the arrow in both hands, make sure you are pulling at the same angle the arrow went in at and then pull it out." Link told her. He could sense her hesitation, and he normally would not ask her to do something like this, but he knows that walking around with an arrow in the back would just cause the wound to become greater.
Zelda grips the arrow terrified. She had just done something she had never intended, shooting Link in the back. Now she had to pull out the arrow. She had hoped that he would have been able to get the arrow out. She hates causing more pain to Link; after all, she knows that pulling out an arrow hurts. She hopes that she can pull it out in one tug, but it looks like the arrow is in the wound pretty deep. She gives the arrow a tug hears Link cry out. The arrow unfortunately did not fully come out, the arrowhead and a bit of the shaft was still inside his body.
"I am sorry…" Zelda says in a small voice.
"It is okay." Link grimaced. "Just try and get it out this time, ok?"
"Ok." Zelda said a little more confidently as she focused on making sure this was the last time Link would have to deal with this pain. She gave the arrow another mighty tug and the arrow came out. Link's wound was bleeding quite well.
"Great Fairy… can you heal him?" Zelda pleaded, not wanting Link to bleed out.
"I think I will be able to heal the arrow wound." The Great Fairy of Wisdom said as she told one of her children to go toward Link, a little pink fairy fluttered to Link and rested on the wound. The fairy gave a wave goodbye to the Great Fairy and as the wound closes up, she fades more and more until she is no more, the little fairy giving her life to save the Hero. She considered it an honor to die to heal him.
After the fairy had healed the wound, Link's breathing became more normal and he slowly started getting up, though before he got far, Zelda's hand was on his shoulder.
"Please do not push yourself, just stay sitting for a while and recover your strength." Zelda pleads softly. "I just got you back and I do not want to lose you again."
"But I have to defeat Shadow in three days." Link told her.
"Why?" Zelda asked confused.
"A prophecy said that 'Only light can banish the darkness. If the darkness is not destroyed before the new moon, the world will fall to darkness.' The new moon is in three days. The darkness has to refer to Shadow. If I do not do something soon, terrible things will happen."
"I do not think the darkness is referring to Zak." Zelda told him.
"Zak? He told you his old name? Why do you think it is not referring to Shadow?" Link questions, confusion displayed plainly on his face.
"I said Zak is not the darkness, but there is darkness in Shadow." Zelda said.
"What?" Link looks at Zelda confused. "Sweetheart, what are you saying?"
"Before you came, I saw a creepy shadow figure with white eyes whispering in Zak's ear, telling him to do things. The shadowy thing apparently can take control while Zak is sleeping, I witnessed it. I think the darkness is this shadow thing that is trying to take over Zak. That is why he changed his name to Shadow. The creature is messing with his mind. We need to get rid of this darkness and then things will be better and Zak will not have to deal with this evil shadow creeping inside his mind." Zelda says.
"So Zak can be saved…" Link thought out loud.
"Huh?" Zelda asked.
"Saria asked me to save Zak if I could… I did not think it was possible… but now there might be a chance." Link explained.
"Why would she ask you to do that?" Zelda asks.
"Because when we were younger, we lived with the Kokiri. Saria liked Zak a lot. I was a good friend with her. Shadow took my memory of our childhood till recently I did not know I had a brother. He gave my younger memories back when I almost was about to kill him. I went to Saria to ask where Shadow was, for if anyone would know, it would have been Saria. She was the one who led me to where you were and asked to save Zak from himself if I could." Link explains.
"You have memories of when you were younger?" Zelda asked awed.
"Yes." He said as he pulls her close into a hug.
Zelda hugs Link tightly back, loving him being close.
Link gives her a kiss and says. "Now you will wait here until I get back."
"Wait until you get back? What are you talking about?" Zelda asked.
"I am going back to deal with Shadow, I do not want you to get hurt or for Shadow to capture you again." He told her.
"No! I am going with you!" She demanded.
Link looked at her, his face full of worry and fear. "Please stay here… I want you to be safe. I do not want to lose you again. After all, as your fiancé and Royal Guard, I need to make sure you are safe."
Zelda sighed… He had a point, for she would always hate it when he had to be put in harm's way as a knight. She always worried and hoped he would be safe and not come back injured. Most of her worries were for no reason, for Link was the best knight Hyrule had Link and had never come back with more than a few scrapes and bruises. This was different though; Shadow had already managed to do more damage than anyone else since Ganon. But then she realized something. Link's light arrow was gone. He needed her light magic.
"You need me Link. Your only light arrow is depleted and I cannot restore it till we get back to the castle. I have to come with you to shoot light energy at Shadow. Otherwise you will have no light to defeat the darkness." Zelda told Link firmly, knowing that he cannot refute her logic.
Link sighed; his normally perfect posture is slumped. He cannot argue with the fact that she pointed out.
Zelda saw how pitiful he looked at that moment. She felt bad, but knew nothing could change what needed to happen.
"…Alright…" He says eventually. "Then I guess we better get going…"
Zelda comes up behind him and gives him a hug.
"I love you Link." She whispered into his ear.
Link's face beamed into a smile. As he turned his head and gave her a kiss on the cheek he said.
"I love you too!"
With that Link got up and took Zelda's hand. After quickly bowing to the Great Fairy of Wisdom and giving her his thanks, he led Zelda out to Epona.
Epona whinnied and excitedly rushed to Link's side. Link happily petted Epona's mane.
"Were you worried for me girl?" He softly asks her.
Epona shakes her head up and down adamantly. Link reaches in one of the sachel bags and takes out an apple, offering it to Epona.
"Do not worry so much my girl, we have been in worse scrapes before." He said as he looked directly into Epona's eyes.
Epona blinked in understanding and happily crunched on the apple.
While Epona was enjoying her apple, Link was inspecting all the things attached to her saddle, making sure everything was accounted for. After checking and satisfied that nothing was missing, he cupped his hands and gestured for Zelda to use his hand as a footstool to get on Epona, even though he knew full well she could get on a horse herself. But that was just Link, always being such a gentleman. Zelda swiftly got on the horse. Link nimbly hopped on Epona and wrapped his arms around her.
"You lead the way Princess." He said softly into her ear, giving her another kiss on the cheek.
"Back to Shadow's cave Epona!" Zelda says as Epona rushes off to the place where they just came from to confront Shadow and hopefully save Zak from himself.
Though Link was not sure it would be as easy as Zelda made it seem…