Chapter 25: Blades of the Yiga

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Notes: I received several comments after posting the previous chapter that gave me the opportunity to really share some thoughts about this story that I don't get to very often; if you're interested in reading those, it'll be in the guest response section at the end of this chapter.

I'd also like to put it out there that this is a novelization of the events before BotW, but that doesn't mean I'll just be giving you a play by play of everything in the journals and memories, as you may have realized already. I've put my own twist on the events and characters in this story, which includes stretching the facts that we're given in ways that may seem unacceptable to you. If that's not what you want, then please feel no pressure to keep reading, and please respect my decision to exercise the creative liberties I have as a writer.

Enjoy! ( :

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Taking a leaf out of the Princess' book, Link began to pray earnestly to the Goddesses, pleading that his charge would decide to leave as soon as possible. So desperate was he that he began carrying his few belongings with him on his back as he traversed the market each day, ready to leave at a moment's notice. He was fed up with his disguise, and seeing as this entire journey had been taken without permission right from the start, he felt a growing certainty that either Captain Janin or the General or the King himself would tear him to pieces upon their return. The sooner we get back, the better it'll be for both of us.

But he never could have guessed just how his prayers would be answered.

The morning passed by just as the others had. Link followed the Princess from a distance, lingering near various market stalls and pretending to be interested in the wares for sale; instead, ever vigilant, his attention was focused on the market goers of every culture surrounding him and surrounding the Princess, in case any one of them should attempt to harm her.

Midday came and went, and as the heat intensified, the crowd moved inward around the orderly rows of palm trees casting shade upon the center of the market. Once again, Link followed close behind the Princess as she moved gracefully from one tree to the next. It seemed she did not lack skill in making friendly conversation; he could hear her excited voice and the eager voices of others as they told her tales of their lives.

It happened quite suddenly. One moment he was following the Princess through a thick crowd of tall Gerudo and lost sight of her.

The next, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned to find the Princess herself looking at him, curiosity in her emerald gaze.

"I've seen you about the market quite often," she said, tilting her head. "And I must say, I find it odd that a Hylian tourist would wear traditional Gerudo clothing. Especially… well, especially since it seems you were injured recently, and with these clothes everyone can tell. So I must ask… why? Do you live here? Were you raised by the Gerudo?"

Link's jaw dropped, and his heartbeat accelerated. Nayru, guide my tongue! There had to be something, some sort of cover story he could use, anything - "No," he squeaked out nervously, hoping he didn't sound as terrified as he felt. "I'm… visiting my uncle."

The Princess frowned, blinking rapidly. "Your… uncle? In Gerudo City? Where no men are allowed?"

Link gulped, cursing himself. "He's, uh, a merchant at Kara Kara Bazaar. M-married to a Gerudo."

The Princess nodded slowly, but there was a hint of suspicion in her eyes. "And yet here you are, in Gerudo City. And if you're just visiting, why not wear… normal travelling attire? You wouldn't stick out so much if you did."

Curse you, Urbosa! "My uncle's wife is, uh, my m-mother's sister. So my, er, mother is a Gerudo too, and she's… insistent on… on tradition. That sort of thing." His voice cracked, and he wrung his hands together anxiously, mentally offering up a prayer for deliverance.

The Princess squinted at him. "You're half Gerudo? I… I suppose your father must not be very tall, then…"

"He's tiny," Link explained with a frightened, stuttering laugh.

"Well, what do you think of the Melon Festival they hold each year?" the Princess asked, abruptly changing the subject. "If your mother's traditional enough that she wants her Hylian daughter to wear Gerudo clothes, then surely you're familiar with the festival - I'm told it's the most exciting week of the year!"

There was something very off about the Princess' words, and he definitely didn't like the growing skepticism in her eyes, but he didn't know what else to do but to continue. "Y-yes, it's my favorite time to visit. I, er… yeah, best time of year!"

The Princess' eyes narrowed. "There is no such festival," she growled, reaching up and ripped the veil from his face. Link jerked back, stunned. The Princess looked livid; she snatched the sensitive pointed tip of his ear and yanked him after her into the nearest alleyway. "What do you think you're doing?"

Link swallowed tightly, his ear burning. "P-protecting you," he answered meekly, afraid to meet her gaze.

With surprising strength, the Princess released his ear and shoved him against the wall. "I cannot believe you," she snarled. "Look around you, you fool! Gerudo City is a fortress. What's more, you saw to it that Urbosa positioned guards in every cardinal direction ready to shoot anyone who dared attack me! You agreed to those measures!"

"Princes, I -"

"And you disregarded the oldest of Gerudo traditions to get in here," she seethed, throwing her hands down to her sides. "Do you have no bounds? Do you respect no one? Of course not - you draw some special sword and instantly that makes you entitled to do whatever you please! Is that it, you scoundrel?"

Link wet his lips, opening his mouth to speak. "Actually, you see -"

"No!" she cut him off, shaking her head violently. "You - you are vile, Sir Link. I'm returning to the castle, and I will inform my father of your entirely inappropriate behavior. Follow me if you dare - but I won't make the same mistakes I've made before. You'll never catch me."

Her features twisted into a vicious snarl and, with more speed and strength than he ever could have thought possible, she kicked him hard in the groin. "Guards!" she shrieked, as he doubled over. "A voe got inside of the city! Help! There's a voe over here!"

And then, through watering eyes, he watched as she turned and raced out of the alley. He tried to take a step after her, but a wave of nausea wavered through him and he groaned, crumpling to his knees, bent over on the ground. He could hear the Princess continue to scream, could hear the clamor of armored footsteps.

Several Gerudo guards darted down the street towards him, two snatching his upper arms and yanking him to his feet while the others levelled the spears at his back. "Wait," he wheezed, struggling to get his footing as they all but dragged him away towards the city entrance. "Urbosa - take me to…" The pain and nausea intensified and he sucked in a sharp breath, eyes tightly closed. "Sh-she… can exp… explain…"

Dizzily he wondered why he was even protesting in the first place - the Princess was leaving, so he needed to leave too, right?

He was distantly aware of the guards slicing the Gerudo top from his chest and mentioning something about having it burned, to discourage other "troublemakers." And then they threw him out into the sand just outside of the city.

"No voe are allowed within the town," one of the guards growled, jabbing her spear at him threateningly. "It's a rule of the Gerudo!"

"Do not come back here," the other warned. "Not ever!"

Link gulped, quickly scrambling to his feet and staggering slightly, wincing at the lingering pain. "S-sorry," he managed, slowly backing away.

"You should be," a new voice muttered, and Link's eyes widened as the Princess appeared behind the guards, walking forward with a sand seal. "Fare thee well, Sir Link."

She set a round Gerudo shield in the sand and slid her feet into place before snapping her leadrope, sending the seal charging through the sand, racing away from the desert city. Link's mouth went dry. So that's why I needed to stay in the city.

She has a sand seal - I don't.

Desperately he looked back at the guards. "You need to let me back in," he said firmly. "Urbosa knows all about this, I promise - I was in there on her orders!"

"Urbosa would do no such thing," one of them snarled. "Men have never been permitted to set foot in our city!"

"I'm the Princess' Appointed Knight - Urbosa said that she would let the guards know I was here!" Link had raised his voice without even realizing it. This was ridiculous; they were being obstinate, and the Princess was without protection!

"You do not match the description we were given," the other guard noted slowly. "You're a voe, for one - we were told of a vai. Secondly, you don't look to be in any state to protect anyone; you're far too small. And thirdly, seeing as you have this insider knowledge of Urbosa's orders, you must be a traitor or a spy! So back away, before I drive my spear through your belly!"

Link took several steps back, raising his hands placatingly, his heart racing. He clenched his teeth, turning his back on the towering sandstone walls, deliberating. I can't go grab a sand seal in the city, it's the hottest part of the day, and I'll have to run if I want to have any hope of catching up to the Princess. But my ankle's too sore and putting on that desert voe armor would take far too much time…

But what is best for the Princess' safety?

He inhaled deeply, deciding that should she be attacked, it would be better for him to be present and slightly delirious than for him to not be there at all. As fast as he could, he whipped his satchel from his back and yanked out his undershirt and tunic, blushing deeply as he quickly clothed himself once more. Taking in another deep breath, he set off at a swift jog - a pace he could keep up for hours under normal circumstances.

The heat of the desert and the ache in his ankle didn't exactly count as normal circumstances, but that couldn't be helped. Fortunately the sun was on its way down; the heat would only last a little while longer. As for his ankle… Well, I can handle a little pain, can't I?

Determined, he ran towards the pillars of the Kara Kara Bazaar in the distance. The shortest path between two points was a straight line, wasn't it, so he wouldn't follow the trail as the Princess had done. Maybe that'll save me some time.

\-/\=-/

His waterskins were entirely empty by the time he reached the oasis at the center of the bazaar, and he was absolutely drenched in sweat from head to toe, his damp hair hanging messily in his face. Panting heavily, he scanned the huddle of tents around the pond, hoping that the Princess had stopped for the evening - the sun was swiftly setting -

And he caught a flash of black cloth out of the corner of his eye.

Muscles tensing, he turned and dashed after the shadowed figure, his blood freezing up when he realized that it was not black this time, but blood-red.

A Yiga. A Yiga that isn't even trying to hide.

Fear sent fresh adrenaline pulsing through his veins and he sprinted after the figure, following it from a distance through the crowd of tents, dodging barrels and leaping over bundles of colorful folded cloth, skirting cooking fires and little wooden stools. It's heading west - same direction the Princess went!

Merciful Din, if I'm too late…

Desperate, he forced his weary limbs to move faster and narrowly dodged a stack of precariously balanced clay pots. Giving up on following the assassin in a roundabout way through the maze, he pulled himself up the side of one of them and sprinted over the top, dashing and leaping from one to the next. They were much sturdier than they appeared, and if he kept his feet only on the wooden beams holding them up he knew he wouldn't fall.

From his position above the bustling merchants he could see, just beyond a stand of palm trees, a blue-clad figure with flowing golden hair sprinting towards the bazaar, chased by a red-clad Yiga assassin. Princess!

His heart drummed nauseatingly fast deep within his chest and he leapt to the last tent and then to the ground, slipping on the sand and nearly losing his balance before recovering and dashing frantically towards his charge. He watched as two assassins charged from behind rocks to block her way into the bazaar; she slid to a stop and whirled around, only to be caught by the third Yiga. Link's breath caught in his throat as she lost her footing and tumbled to the ground, looking desperately from side to side, her chest heaving with panicked breaths.

And the third Yiga raised his weapon high above his head, ready to slice downwards and end her life.

Link lunged between them, yanking the Master Sword from its sheath and thrusting it forward with a furious cry, feeling it pierce through the man's chest before the blow could fall. He flung the dead man from his blade and crouched defensively in front of the Princess, facing the remaining two assassins with anger burning through his veins. Don't you dare touch her!

They backed away from him, uncertainty hanging heavy in the air around them. But something seemed to pass between them and their courage returned; as one they charged him, sickles gleaming in the fiery light of the setting sun. Link caught the first blow on the Master Sword and sidestepped the second, throwing out his foot and tripping the Yiga. He yanked his blade forward, tearing the sickle from the first assassin's grip and sending it flying into a sand dune.

By then the second assassin had gotten to her feet and lunged for him; Link swiped at her and she leapt back. He spun to the first Yiga and plunged his blade through his heart, yanking it back out in time to intercept the second one's next attack, driving the Master Sword through the half-circle formed by her weapon and into her neck, swiftly ending her life.

"Link!" the Princess screeched, and he spun around in time to see the assassin he'd trailed through the Bazaar leaping over a boulder towards him. Link rolled beneath the attack and was ready when the Yiga landed; he blocked her attack and responded with a fierce blow of his own, one that she just barely managed to deflect. Off balance, she swiped at his stomach but her blade was much too short to reach him. Link thrust the Master Sword upwards, hooking it through her sickle and yanking it from her grasp, following up with a fierce stab directly to her heart. With a gurgling moan she stumbled backwards and collapsed, never to move again.

Link waited a moment more, adrenaline surging, before slowly turning back around to face the Princess, keeping his weapon drawn. "Are you alright?"

She stared with wide, round eyes at the blood on his sword. "Y-yes," she whispered, her chin trembling. "They… they're dead…"

Link winced slightly, quickly wiping his blade clean on the back of one of the assassin's bodysuits. The Princess whimpered slightly and glanced away, looking green, and he reached out to her, hesitant, before lightly letting his hand rest on her shoulder. "They can't hurt you now, alright? You're safe."

"Safe," she repeated dimly, opening her watery eyes and turning her gaze to his hand on her shoulder. "Y-you… you saved me…"

Link shrugged, shaking his head. "I… should've gotten here sooner." More mistakes. More marks against me.

A sudden painful wave of longing washed over him, and he thought of Choice in the Gerudo Canyon stable. My days with her are limited, but it's too late now to get to the stable… I doubt the Princess wants to travel in the dark tonight.

"Th-they wanted to k-k-kill me… They really want me dead… I never…"

He turned his gaze back to the Princess, who had begun to shiver. Accustomed to assassination attempts, perhaps, he thought, remembering Janin's words, but… not like this. Not so… direct. So violent.

Carefully he took her hand and pulled her to her feet and she sagged against him, her tears dripping into his tunic, her shaking hands reaching up and clinging to his shoulders. Link's heart pounded and he slowly sheathed the Master Sword at his back before hesitantly curling his arms around her, gently holding her to him.

In an instant he caught her scent - like flowers and fruitcake. His breath caught in his throat.

It had been weeks since his last nightmare of the dark forest, of his death and the mysterious girl he protected. But there was no mistaking the scent - it was her, the Princess, Zelda.

And he was a bit frightened to find that the love he felt for the girl in his dreams - for Zelda - was not imagined or exaggerated. It was real - he was in love with the Princess.

The King'll definitely have my head for this.

He was surprised to find that he didn't care.

\-/\=-/

"You imbecile!"

Link flinched under Captain Janin's furious glare. "Yes, Sir."

"What in Din's name did you think you were doing? Running away with the Princess of Hyrule - I cannot believe you could justify such a thing! You - you fool! When the King - oh, Goddesses have mercy on you - when the King reads your report, you're dead!"

"Y-yes, Sir."

"I don't even want to imagine what in Hylia's name possessed you to buy her jewelry! Of all the stupid, immature things…" Janin's eyebrow twitched in rage. "The fact that you went along with her foolish idea in the first place instead of bringing her back here! And - and you encouraged her studies - you know how her father feels about that!"

Link tried to keep his features impassive, focusing on burying the feelings of hurt deep, deep down where they would never surface. He's right. I was a complete idiot. But… I don't - I don't regret it. "S-sir, I just thought m-maybe she… if I c-could help her feel more… comfortable around me… maybe she wouldn't feel the need to take such measures to avoid me."

Captain Janin's jaw dropped and he shook his head. "Comfortable?" he sneered, his voice dangerously soft but swiftly increasing in volume. "Meaning you want to be her friend - is that it? Are you lonely, Sir Link? Do I need to fetch your dead mummy and daddy so you can cry on their shoulders?"

Link's lips parted and a tremor went through him. He had never seen the Captain so furious, and had never felt so hurt by his words. Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe? And - and his eyes were burning; the smoke from the candelabras on the walls seemed particularly pungent today...

Janin slammed his fist down on his desk. "Din curse it, Link! I thought I created a warrior, not… not… whatever this is!" He gestured helplessly. "I tried to delay this as long as possible - I did my best, honestly. But the King met with me while you were gone; he knows all about Death Mountain. He's requested to meet with me again when you return from your next journey to discuss the happenings in the desert. I don't -"

"Sir," Link interrupted, his heart hammering, aching with sudden hope. "I'm sorry; I just… next journey?"

Janin nodded slowly; his temper seemed to be cooling. "In punishment for running away, the King has asked his daughter to deliver a summons to Champions Daruk and Mipha. He wishes her to practice her diplomatic skills, which have been entirely neglected for the past several years. You leave tomorrow, at dawn."

Link's heart raced, and he felt as if he were either about to shout for joy or pass out in relief. "I'm not… discharged?" he croaked, barely able to form words.

"This will be your last chance," Captain Janin warned. "It appears that the Champions are being summoned to discuss you."

Link felt his stomach lurch. He couldn't think of any good implications of that.

"No more fooling around, Link," the Captain muttered, shaking his head. "Thus far you've proven to be ruled by your emotions. If you have become infatuated by the Princess, you would do well to destroy such feelings. Let your intellect guide you. Follow common sense. Do your duty as the Princess' bodyguard, and do not let your feelings get in the way. Do I make myself clear?"

Link thought of the moment out in the desert when the Princess sobbed into his chest, and he embraced her. His heartbeat stuttered. "Of course, Captain."

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An hour before dawn, all other preparations complete, Link found himself in his room, hovering over the basin of water. He splashed water over his face with shaking hands, standing shivering and shirtless in the drafty early morning. In the dim light from the candle lying on his nightstand, he couldn't help but stare at his reflection in the mirror, as he hadn't in a long time.

The face staring back at him was haggard and pale, with the wide eyes of a boy, not a man. His hair hung raggedly to his shoulders, slicked into stringy clumps by the water, and there was not even a hint of whiskers lining his jaw, just as there hadn't been his entire life thus far. Although he knew he was strong, and he could see muscles clearly defined beneath his skin, his shoulders were narrow, his build slender.

Compared to the burlier, weathered, older knights he had trained with, he was nothing but a child.

I'm not fooling anyone, he realized, and the thought terrified him. Including myself.

I can't do this.

His breath caught in his throat as a wave of despair and loneliness washed over him and he gripped his face in his hands, telling himself repeatedly that it was just water, not tears, that he felt on his cheeks.

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Guest Reviews

Chicwa88: Awww, I'm sorry to hear you've been sick! I hope you recover quickly; sickness is never fun! I'm glad that reading the last chapter was able to help! I agree with that; Urbosa deserves more presence in the games!

CryoPotato: Thanks! Sorry about the scheduling; if the whole book was finished already I would probably post more often. As it is, I have about a 20 chapter buffer between where we are now and where I am in writing the whole thing. That should be enough to get us to summer break, when I can write more, just in case I don't get as much writing done during the semester as I would like. I don't want to have to go a long time without posting anything; this way - although it's not as frequent as people would like - at least you can depend on having something each week without large breaks in between. ( :

Destroyer75301 (Guest): I'm relieved to hear that! Urbosa always struck me as having a wise but mischievous character; it felt right to me that she would feel sympathy for Link. And that relationship is definitely on its way! Thank you!

LowTwilight (Guest): Yay! Yeah, she's totally one of my favorite characters! We'll see how she contributes in the future! ( :

Guest: I'll respond to all of your past reviews here; wish I could PM you - this might take a while! First of, I'd just like to apologize; it seems like you're not enjoying this story very much, so I'm sorry about that. However, I would like to say that if you dislike it so much, why read it in the first place? I would also like to give a word of advice. You had a lot to say about what you don't like about this story, which is great - I LOVE feedback - but you discredited what you had to say by not stopping to proof-read your words. I really want to improve, but I can't very well do it if I can't really understand what you're understanding, and when you don't stop to proof-read what you have to say, it can make people think that you don't really care about what you're saying, or even that you don't have the expertise necessary in their field to give valid feedback.

Chapter 3 - According to Mipha's diary, "One thing that surely sets him apart is his swordsmanship, which I hear is exceptional. He has even bested adults…" So, according to canon, Link was able to best adults as a four year old. No mention is made of overpowering them, or of the skill of those particular adults that he bested. I don't know how many four year olds you've encountered, but I've been around quite a few - my mother teaches preschool. It would be much too easy to overpower any of them, Chosen Hero or not; I find that this bit of information from Mipha's diary is far more unrealistic than my decision not to give Link superhuman strength in this story. My theory is that Link must have been much faster than the adults he faced as a child, and that those particular adults must not have been very skilled.

I also noticed that Link, in the game, is a very small person. He's not very broad, brawny, or tall; one source I found used trigonometry to estimate his height as just over 5 feet. He's tiny. I think it would be incredibly unrealistic for him to defeat full grown men in a contest of strength alone. Medieval suits of armor weighed as much as 110 lbs according to one source, and bear in mind that the men wearing them were expected to fight in them. They would have been very heavily built indeed. I doubt that, in reality, there were many knights (if any at all) as small as Link. I find it much more logical to believe that Link depends on speed more than brute strength, and I did say that in this chapter. All told, I can't see how writing Link as a small character that is still somehow physically stronger than massive, burly knights three times larger than he is would be more realistic than what I have.

Chapter 4 - No, I don't ship Mipha/Link, and I did want this to be a Zelink story. However, based on what we see of Mipha's character in the game and what she wrote in her diary, it would be difficult to keep any sort of romantic relationship between her and Link entirely out of the story. She made Link an engagement gift; clearly she expected to marry him, but why would she do that if she weren't somewhat confident that he would agree? Either Link really did love her back, or she was too blinded by her own affection to see that he didn't feel the same way. Based on the latter possibility, I decided to take some liberties with her character; this is fanfiction, after all. In this story, Mipha is a spoiled girl who has always gotten what she wants. She is utterly infatuated with Link and, since she has never before been denied anything that she wants, she doesn't see why she can't have him, too. Zora age much slower than Hylians, so it follows that she would be stuck in her hormonal, self-centered teenage years for much longer as well.

Chapter 12 - Well, of course. Zelda hates Link in the beginning, remember? She "always believed him to be simply a gifted person who had never faced a day of hardship," according to her diary. He seemed to have fulfilled his destiny with ease, while she slaved away trying to fulfill her own destiny and found only failure. She detests him - of course she wouldn't treat him well!

Chapter 17 - I'm a bit confused; you say that in canon Link is implied to have put up a cold front because of how skilled but insecure he is. How is what I've written different from that? He's incredibly skilled - check. He's insecure - check. He puts up a cold front - check. Even before the King ordered him to hold his tongue while guarding Zelda, he didn't express himself openly to anyone except his horse.

You also said that Link wouldn't let people abuse him, and that he would defend himself. I'm assuming that you're referring back to Chapter 4 again; I'm sorry that chapter is bothering you so much. However, if you're feeling insecure enough about yourself, or if your self-esteem is low enough, you won't want to fight back if people are abusing you. You'll believe that you deserve it. Additionally, in that particular scene, please remember that Link is being beaten by his superiors, and that they reported the incident as disciplinary action taken after Link made a grave mistake.

In that scene, Link also had the thought that these men hate him enough to brand him a deserter if he tried to fight back, in which case he would again be punished, if not discharged. He recognized that it would be best, in the long term, to simply turn the other cheek. There were no third-party witnesses, so if Link said anything about what happened, it would be his word against the word of several experienced, trusted warriors. No one would believe him, which would damage his reputation.

Once again, remember that Link is a very small person. Which do you think would be more realistic, a small guy beating up however many burly adult men there were, or a small guy getting beaten up by said burly adult men? Link is incredibly skilled, but he's not perfect, and he does not possess insane amounts of brute strength - with his size, it would be impossible. The fact that he was caught off guard and that his opponents were all so much bigger than him gave them the advantage.

Chapter 18 - Imagine this. There are rumors flying that something bad is about to happen to your country, and your government is making preparations. You're just an average citizen, nobody important, but that doesn't matter. This disaster would affect everyone. You and your family and everyone you love could die. But you take comfort in the knowledge that these are just rumors; there is no physical proof that awful event will even happen. Or maybe it won't happen until you're long gone, in which case you'll be safe. Maybe the government is just making a big deal about nothing.

Then, something happens that proves both that this disaster will happen, and that it will happen soon. And the people who are supposed to protect you from this disaster don't exactly inspire hope. In fact, apparently everyone's only hope for survival lies in some small kid you've never seen before. Apparently he's skilled, but he sure doesn't look like he is - he's too small and too young. One would think that your country's fate would be placed in more capable hands.

Not only does this kid look incapable, he's also the one person who confirmed that disaster will strike. If not for him, you would still be safe in your hope that there are just rumors, and nothing more. Now, your survival, and the survival of everyone and everything you hold dear, depends on this kid. Are you going to be very happy about that?

Chapter 19 - If Link loses his temper, if he steps one toe out of line in any way, he could lose everything. He would lose his horse - his only true supporter - he would lose his home, he would lose the only line of work he has ever known, and he is terrified of that happening; I hope I've made it clear that he desperately doesn't want to leave. This is why he is doing his best not to get angry at the Princess; he wants to do the best he can at his job so that he doesn't lose everything.

I'm not sure why you brought up Star Wars; I don't much see the similarity. And as I understand it - although I'm not saying The Last Jedi is my favorite Star Wars movie - Luke was blaming himself for what happened to Kylo Ren and for the deaths of all of the children he was training. If you had the deaths of children on your hand, don't you think maybe you would become a bitter cynic as well?

I believe that the mark of a hero is persevering through hardship. Link is a hero because, despite the horrors he has seen and the difficulties he faces, he still does what he believes to be right and hopes for good things in his life (although admittedly he doesn't always truly believe those good things will happen to him). This is not intended to be an AU.

Po (Guest): I think you're the same guest who reviewed the preceding chapters, so here is my response to your review of chapter 24. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm forcing the Zelink pairing; if it does, please let me know what specifically makes it seem like that so that I can fix it. My goal was to have this relationship develop VERY slowly, as Link begins to realize that he has fallen for Zelda despite her hatred for him, and then as Zelda realizes she has misunderstood him and begins to develop reciprocating feelings for him.

I am not putting Link through this just for the sake of it. Believe it or not, but I plan my stories out before I write them. My goal is to push Link to his breaking point, to truly test the bounds of his heroic spirit, and to explore what happens if or when he finally snaps. I can't just have him snap for no reason, which is why I'm steadily mounting the pressure he's dealing with.

Yes, verbal abuse can be more destructive. However, I have in fact learned (in a psychology class offered at my university) that women are more inclined to use their words to hurt others, while men are more inclined to lash out physically. Hence, Link is physically abused by his fellow knights - all of them male - while Zelda, being female, attacks him with her words.

Link is 'making up excuses,' as you say, because if he doesn't he knows he could lose everything. He needs to keep his composure in order to keep his position, and justifying the actions of others is one of the methods he has devised to help himself cope.

I'm not sure what you're referring to in saying that Link is spineless. The scene in which Mipha kisses him earlier in the story has a purpose; it gives King Rhoam a reason to worry for his daughter's chastity with Link as a guard. The King would be furious if he thought Link had any sort of relationship with his daughter, and he is arguably the most powerful man in the kingdom. At this point in the story, Link is being very sensible in trying to toe the line as far as his feelings for Zelda go, but even then he's failing. Most recently, he tried to give her the chance to study a shrine hoping to cheer her up, and he bought an extremely expensive necklace for her hoping she would like it. Considering the King's temperament, these are dangerous things for him to be doing. Zelda's dangerous father aside, she's a pretty girl that Link has a major crush on, so of course he's going to be a bit shy. That's not spinelessness; that's being a normal teenage boy. I admit, of course, that I am not nor have I ever been a teenage boy, seeing as I am female, but I do have a brother and several male friends that I have observed, and I have read many similar - and popular - books in which male characters are placed in similar situations with girls. Have you read the Harry Potter series? Specifically books 4-5, in which Harry is developing and experiencing a relationship with Cho Chang?

I made it clear on my profile - I tend to be very harsh to my characters. I push them to their limits and explore what happens when they pick up the pieces. Let's face it - real life hurts. Although we might not have to save the world or fight Moldugas, we're still going to go through a lot of awful stuff in life that will wreak havoc on us mentally, emotionally, and physically. I'm not going to sugar coat that in my stories. If that's not your cup of tea, then by all means, you don't have to read this story!

And again, imagine what you would do and feel if you were one of the many citizens of Hyrule during this time. It's not because of the society; it's because of the circumstances, and perhaps a few select people (cough cough Rhoam and Janin) that could have made better choices.

Not every character is out to get Link. Choice, Urbosa, Daruk, Farglus and his family and the rest of Tabantha Village, and eventually Zelda as well. It's been my experience that you don't need an army of supporters in order to hang on to some semblance of peace and sanity in life. All you need is one good friend. No, I'm not writing this to get a reaction. I'm writing this for the same reason I write anything - because I enjoy writing (it's a therapeutic activity) and because this is the book I want to read at the moment. Years ago, I got tired trying to find a good fantasy book and decided I'd just write my own, so I did. The reason I post them on here is because there's a chance someone else will want to read this too, so why not?

I can tell that you don't like this story very much. That's fine with me, and I appreciate you letting me know what you think, but I must ask - if you don't like it, why read it at all?