Link paced back and forth nervously outside the Forbidden Caverns. The girls had been inside the cave for more than an hour, and Link's nervousness was beginning to show. The King embodied no signs of fret as he reassured Link everything was all right; however, Link's instinct told him better. After everything that had occurred over the past weeks, taking the King's word would be the worst decision Link could make.
Especially when his friend's life was in danger.
He looked down at his feet and noticed he had made a small trail from pacing back and forth. He sighed, looking toward the cavern again. How long would they have to wait before the King acted? Biting his lip from the overwhelming nervousness, Link clenched his hands together. What if something had happened to Malon? She had been so scared of the monsters. How would she be able to fight them all off?
If something happened to her, Link would never forgive himself for getting her into this mess. He would never forgive himself for allowing her to walk into the cavern without decent protection. He would never forgive himself for allowing her to enter the cavern period. He would never forgive himself. Never.
Malon had intertwined herself into his life. She had become apart of him he could only hope to be explained. Waking up and seeing her bright smile had become so familiar to him, losing it would now only dishevel his daily routine. Losing her would only leave his life in disarray. She was the light he had yearned for. She kept him from truly being alone.
She had become everything to him.
"Sir!" a young man came running toward the King. His eyes were wide with glee; Link swallowed his the knot in his throat as he expected the man to say the one thing he had hoped against.
The King smiled, nodding for the man to continue.
"It's Zelda! She has completed the course with all the requirements!" he explained with an energy no man should be allowed to bear. "She has won the competition!"
Without saying a word, Link lowered his head and closed his eyes.
"Zelda! Come here!" the King shouted, waving to his daughter. "You have won the competition! I had faith in you!" he laughed heartily, slapping his daughter on the back.
She laughed nervously, looking away from her father. "Thank you."
"Link, come here and stand with your future wife! You two will be wed shortly. I want to get this over with as soon as possible," he wiggled his eyebrows. "And maybe you two will give me some grandchildren while you're at it."
"Father!" Zelda shouted, embarrassed by her father's sudden comment.
It was inevitable. Zelda had won the competition. Link, somehow, was not too surprised by this feat. Zelda was an able fighter; she was, after all, the leader of the Sages and the wielder of the Triforce. Malon had stood no chance against Zelda.
"Now now. Come on, let us return to the castle. We have a lot to discuss," he ushered the group to follow him.
"Wait! What about Malon? She's still in there," Link said suddenly, looking back at the cave.
"Hmm? Oh, yes. She lost. She's a failure. There's no need for to come with us now. I'm sure she'll find her way out sooner or later, unless she's already dead," the King replied, with little emotion in his voice.
But his answer wasn't good enough for Link.
"So you're just going to leave her there? All by herself? What if she's hurt? What if she needs someone's help?" he shouted, trying to hide his anger with a calm face. "You're just going to let her rot and die in there all by herself? You would have done something if it were Zelda in there!"
The King narrowed his eyes at the young man's offending words.
"Link…" Zelda muttered, holding her hands close to her. "I will send Impa into the cavern after her. I'm sure Malon is well. Perhaps she had only gotten lost."
"No. I will not have it," the King said sharply. "Leave the girl be. Link doesn't seem to understand the agreement we had. Malon has lost. Zelda has won. The agreement was for you to marry the winner—not the loser. You favor that girl over the others. Do you think that is fair?"
Link cast a deadly glare toward the King. He could not remember ever being as angry as he was at that moment. The King was going to leave Malon to die. Malon, his Malon. She was alone, probably scared, crying out for help. And the King would walk away with no regret, leaving her pleads for help unanswered.
"I don't remember an agreement. I remember you saying this was a reward—but this isn't! A reward is supposed to make someone happy! I'm miserable and I hate every moment here! This competition was never for my benefit—it was for your own selfish wants! I don't want to marry your daughter!" Link shouted in a sudden outburst of anger and frustration. All the emotions and thoughts he had kept bottled up inside of him were finally coming out, albeit in a frenzy.
Zelda looked away sadly. His words had pierced her deeply.
The King chuckled, almost sinisterly, as his face hardened. "You were so confident that Malon would win. But now that she has lost, you want out of the deal. You had accepted the reward and now you don't want to take it because it's not what you had expected. Unfortunately, you cannot give it back. You had accepted it and now you must face the truth. You will marry my daughter, and you will not yell at me like that again."
Link was surprised how calm the King had remained. He had known he had the upper hand and he flaunted it. However, the King was right. Link had accepted the reward, although unwillingly, and to withdraw from the marriage would not only shame the King and Princess Zelda but him as well.
He had no choice. He had gotten himself into the mess. It was his job to fix it; however, he had thrown all the burden onto Malon's shoulders. He had expected her to win so he would not have to marry. He had expected so much from her and never once thought of how she felt about the mess. She had become his ticket to remain free.
He had used her. He was no different from the King.
The King's face softened. "Why do you have to be so stubborn? You know that I hate being angry."
Link closed his eyes tightly. "I will go through with it… But I will not leave Malon behind," he stated sternly. "I will not leave her there to die."
The King shrugged. "If that is your will, then fine."
He turned sharply, and with Impa by his side, he headed toward his carriage awaiting him. Zelda looked down, refusing to meet Link's icy glare.
"I apologize… What my father did was unacceptable."
Link's stare softened. "You should stop apologizing for your father's action. It's not like you're the one who made this stupid competition."
She smiled faintly. "Hm. Perhaps. Malon had told me the same thing awhile ago," she paused, sighing. "Shall I help you with the rescue? I could be of some assistance."
"Thanks for the offer, Zel. But this is something I have to do by myself," he waved his hand casually, turning toward the cave. "Besides, your father would kill you if you helped me."
"Then please be careful. The cavern is a maze," she stopped and looked away. "And I believe a dragon might reside within it as well."
Link's eyes widened. The dragon Malon had been so worried about was inside the cavern. What if she had encountered it? What if she was forced to fight it? Without saying another word, Link quickly ran toward the cavern. Malon needed his help.
He ran until his legs felt as if they had caught fire. The burning sensation surging through his legs could not keep him from his search. The sound of his footsteps and the dew dripping from the stalactites were all he could hear; it was beginning to drive him to the brink of insanity. Was he too late?
Link stopped abruptly as he felt the oxygen leave him. Panting heavily, Link rested his hand on the wall of the cave to keep himself from falling over. The sweat rolled from his brow to his nose and then began to drip slowly to the ground below. The air was humid, and the stench of death was strong.
Malon. She had walked the same path as him. She had breathed in the same air he was breathing. She had heard the same noises as he did. She had smelled the same stench as he did. But why did she not stop? Why did she not turn back? She had continued with fierce determination—she had been willing to face the consequences for him.
For him.
Malon was in this competition for him.
Link shut his eyes tightly and pulled himself from the wall. It was his fault. Everything. If Malon suffered it would be because of him.
He, looking down, turned to his side. His brow creased at the sight of a decayed corpse laying on the ground next to his feet. He could not say how long the corpse had been there. The sight of death no longer bothered him, but somehow, he was angered by seeing the corpse.
It reminded him of how Malon was left alone to die.
Clenching his fists, the young man continued his search. Zelda had been right—the cavern was like a maze. There were many twists and turns, and many more dead ends. Link had lost track of the time and he could not honestly say how long he had been wandering inside the cavern. It could have been hours and he would not even have realized it.
Looking ahead Link noticed a small ray of light. He immediately began running in that direction without another thought. There was no doubt in Link's mind that it was the room he had been searching for. Upon entering the room he noticed the bleak and eerie atmosphere. Dew trickled from the ceiling in an infinite pattern, and silence only seemed to strengthen the repetitive sound. The room was dimly lit, but compared to the whole cavern, it was the brightest room. In the back of the room stood a pedestal with nothing gracing its top.
Could Malon have already retrieved the flag? Was she somewhere else within the cavern?
Instead of leaving the room to continue looking for Malon, Link stepped further into the room. He was always one to listen to his gut feelings—and his gut feeling was telling him to investigate the room further. The sounds of his footsteps echoed, and he could see his breath form into a cloud, which disappeared as soon as it formed, in front of him.
He approached the pedestal in the back of the room. It looked virtually untouched. He sighed, annoyed by his findings. But he knew that giving up was not the answer.
Turning around to leave the room, Link noticed what seemed to be body laying in a motionless heap in the corner of the room. He squinted his eyes to examine his finding further until it registered in his mind.
It was Malon's body.
Link jumped from the pedestal and began running toward her. The only thought on his mind was that she could possibly be…
Link felt the ground shake tremendously beneath him. He held out his arms to catch himself from falling over. "What was that…?" he thought, pulling himself from his crouched position.
Then he felt warm breath running down his back. Something was behind him.
Without turning his head he looked at the foe from the corner his eyes. It was exactly as he expected. The monster that had attacked Malon was preparing to do the same to Link.
With one swift motion, the dragon whipped its tail around. Link quickly dodged the attack with a back flip, landing softly on the ground behind the dragon. Without hesitation Link pulled the Master Sword from its sheath and rested his shield in front of him. He looked down and examined a broken sword; it was the sword the King had given to Malon, and now it—broken in half like a toy sword—was strewn carelessly on the ground.
The dragon turned its body to meet Link. Distracted by the weapon laying on the ground, Link almost did not see the dragon's claws racing toward him. He quickly raised his shield and blocked the dragon's continuing thrusts before rolling to the side in a desperate attempt to escape. Pulling his sword to his side, Link jumped onto the dragon and drove the sword into its back.
Wailing in pain, the dragon roughly shook Link from its back. He fell onto the ground with a sickening thud and gasped sharply from the throbbing sensation coursing through his body. He winced, looking up only to see the dragon's foot above him as it readied itself for another attack. He quickly rolled away before the dragon could stomp him mercilessly into the ground.
Reaching for his sword which had been thrown from his grip upon landing, he pulled himself into a standing position and prepared himself for another blow dealt by his foe. Pushing Link's back into the wall, the dragon lifted its claws and drove them toward Link. He ducked, missing the blade-like claws by mere inches, and rolled to the dragon's side. He pulled out his bow and light arrows and readied to strike the dragon trying to pull its claws, which had become stuck in the wall, out.
He narrowed his eyes and aimed carefully, shooting the arrow straight into the dragon's neck. The dragon bellowed in pain, swinging its tail madly. Link dodge the attack with a well-executed back hand sprang. He landed on the ground in a couching stance, holding himself up with his hand. He took this moment to catch his breath before readying another arrow.
The dragon, now free, quickly swung his claws around and struck Link with great momentum. The Hero of Time landed on his side, rolling several more feet from the energy of the attack. He winced in pain, bringing his hand to his now-sliced side.
The dragon wasted no time with another attack. It lowered its head and began to run full force toward Link. The young man, drained from fighting, scampered away desperately causing the dragon to ram itself into the wall behind him. The room shook violently for a moment, knocking Link to the ground. The dragon, regaining its energy, turned to finish Link off. He tiredly pulled himself up and was ready to defend himself.
However, when the dragon rammed into the wall, it had knocked the ceiling loose, causing half of it to topple down onto the dragon. After Link was sure it would not come back for more, he sighed in relief, kneeling and dropping his arm to his side.
It was a pathetic victory, but a victory nonetheless.
Regaining his energy, Link ran to Malon's side. He knelt down, lifting her carefully in his arms.
"Malon," he breathed heavily. "Please wake up…"
She remained motionless.
Pulling her limb body closer to his, he gritted his teeth. "Malon… I'm so sorry. I should have been here sooner," he whispered, burying his head in her hair. "Please forgive me."
She was cold. Her lips and skin were discolored. She remained motionless—not even a rise in her chest. He held her body close to his, stroking her rust-colored hair gently. And for the first time in a long time, Link found himself crying. He didn't bother wiping the tears from his eyes, allowing them to roll freely down his face and onto Malon.
It was his fault. He had failed to save her. He could not save the one person whom he…
Then he caught something from the corner of his eyes; her hand moved.
His eyes widened and he pulled his head to her chest. There was a heartbeat, a weak heartbeat but it was there. He slowly lifted her from the ground and cradled her in his arms. There was still time. He could still save her.
He quickly ran toward the exit. The King had set Malon up. There was no flag—only a dragon. He betrayed her… and him. The King would not get away with this; Link would guarantee it.
Suddenly, the room began to shake intensely. Link fell backwards but managed to retained his stance. He looked around attentively. Was the dragon still alive?
Link discovered it was not the dragon disrupting the room, however, it was the whole cave shaking. The cave was crumbling with him inside.
"It must have been when the dragon rammed the cave," he said aloud, looking around. "I've got to get out of here before it caves in on us."
Unfortunately the ceiling fell in, blocking the exit. Link backed away before the rocks could fall onto him. He cursed himself mentally for stalling and looked around for another escape route.
There was no other exit. He was trapped.
"Dammit!" he screamed, holding Malon tightly. "Is this how it's going to end? How am I going to save her when I can't even save myself?"
The shaking worsened. Link fell to his knees and covered Malon's head with his hands. The ceiling crumbled around them, covering them both in dust and debris. Link closed his eyes tightly. "I never got to tell Malon that…"
Before the remainder of the cave collapsed onto them, Link caught a glimpse of pink light encasing him and Malon. And then everything turned white.
Notes: One more chapter to go! Everything will finally be explained! But will it end with a happy ending? I'm really going to miss writing this story, especially after recalling one of my favorite scenes—Darunia and the King's nude picture (Chapter Twenty Three). It still cracks me up when I think of it. Remember to review! I am still aiming for one thousand reviews!