Link slowly walked through the same woods once again, the leaves continuing to rustle in the night breeze. He glanced down at the window lights of Kakariko Village glowing faintly in the dark before turning his attention to the woods. The knight squinted, looking up into the leaves as his pace slowed, the woods now beginning to feel much more ominous as he thoroughly scanned the branches.
"You're here somewhere..." Link muttered as he looked around. "I'm ending this tonight..."
He frowned, beginning to pick up the pace slightly as he walked deeper into the forest. As he began his search, one lanky individual sat silently on a tree branch, watching the knights every move. His skinny fingers silently traveled down to the sickle shaped blade that sat on his lower back, preparing for his assault. However, before the assailant could make his move, the sight of a few new visitors sparked his interest. With an evil grin, the stalker slipped deeper into the shadows of the leaves, choosing to continue his observation.
...
"P-P-Princess, are you s-sure about this?" Paya asked as she watched Zelda slip into the tight, grey clothing of the Sheikah made stealth outfit. "Grandmother said that you shouldn't do anything rash d-didn't she? Isn't it wrong to sneak away?"
"Please, if anything she fully expects me too," Zelda responded coolly, slipping on the dark, leather padded gloves. "I was kind of known for slipping away between her and... mostly Link." With a brief sigh, the Hylian girl reached down, grabbing the grey scarf that sat on the bed before wrapping it around her neck. "If anything, I'd say this is growth for me. I went from sneaking away from Link to sneaking after him. Funny really."
"I don't know..." Paya said worriedly. Zelda sighed before glancing over at the Sheikah girl with a glint of disappointment in her eyes.
"Paya, if you don't want to go then that's fine. I'm sure I can manage alone," Zelda said, looking around before spotting one of the triangular windows up near the roof. "You've taught me the basics, at least in theory. I just need to put them into practice."
"Y-You're really going to go?" Paya said, her voice becoming a bit more anxious as she watched Zelda climb onto the nightstand. After properly balancing herself, the girl looked down at Paya, her eyes filled with determination.
"Of course," she said, turning back around. She lifted her arms to the triangular window, opening it to reveal the outdoors, the waterfalls and cliff sitting a few meters away from the house. With zero hesitation the girl leaped up, pulling herself through the window before disappearing. Paya, still sitting on the ground, began to panic as she looked between the staircase that led to her grandmother and the now open window Zelda had just climbed through. After a quick moment of stuttering, unable to form words, the girl quickly stood before running towards the open window, climbing and now standing on the end table.
The white-haired girl peaked her head out, desperately looking around for Zelda before noticing the girl climbing straight up the side of the house. After one more double stake towards the staircase, Paya quickly exited through the window, following Zelda nervously up the wall.
"P-P-Princess! This is dangerous!" Paya called out as they climbed up onto the extravagant wooden roof of the home. Zelda quickly disregarded Paya's concerns, waving them away as she walked across the curved wooden beams of the house.
"Please, of all the things I've done following Link around, this is most certainly the easiest of them. One of the first lessons he ever taught me was how to climb," Zelda said as she continued down the wooden beams, her mind slightly reminiscing over the days of Hateno where picking apples off trees were the peak of her challenges. "This is nothing after that."
Zelda, followed behind by a nervous Paya, balanced across the wooden beams before reaching the beam's edge, curved up and pointing towards the darkened sky. The Hylians stepped onto the top of the skyward curved beam, now surveying the traditional style village as wind blew through her hair with her scarf bellowing behind her.
"W-Where do you think he went?" Paya stuttered, balancing on the lower, horizontal part of the beam. Zelda squinted as she scanned the village. After a moment of thought, the girl's green eyes soon landed on the barely visible forest area near the top of the mountains sitting behind the village.
"Link and that Dorian guard went back up the path towards that forest if I remember correctly," Zelda answered, remembering back to when Link and Dorian had walked away from her just as they arrived at Impa's home. "That's the best place to start searching."
With a small worried groan from Paya, the two leapt down from the house roof. They landed down on the wooden balcony before silently dashing down the wooden staircase, Zelda's steps just slightly louder than Paya's. The two darted carefully through the village, heading towards the steep incline of the mountain path that led towards the shrine. They soon reached the top, passing the shrine to continue down the path towards the forest.
"I would assume our best form of cover is in the leaves," Zelda said as they reached the beginning of the forest, the trees becoming increasingly thicker. Paya nodded in agreement, though Zelda couldn't help but feel the uncertain aura surrounding her. "Are you sure you can handle this?"
"N-N-N-No..." Paya stuttered out. Zelda squinted her eyes as she eyed the nervous girl before turning, beginning to wonder which tree she should climb up. However, it seemed as though Paya had a bit more to say on the subject. "Z-Zelda..."
Zelda paused, looking back at the girl who now seemed to be attempting to look confident. That was the first time she had actually used her name. "Zelda... a-are you sure this is something you want to do?"
"Yes, Paya," Zelda said almost irritably, turning back to her task of picking a sturdy tree. "I need to find a way to help Link-"
"B-But is this really helping him?" the Sheikah retorted. "Why can't you wait for him t-to tell you himself?"
"Because what if he doesn't, Paya?" Zelda said, placing her hand on the side of a tree as she furrowed her eyebrows. "You don't know him like I do. He's rash, does things alone to keep others safe, makes his own decisions... I haven't been of any use so far in this journey. I can't stay like this; I have to be useful for once."
The two sat in silence for a moment, the rustling of leaves increasing as Zelda felt the eyes of Paya's brown eyes inspecting her backside.
"It sounds like this is more for you than for him..."
Zelda's eyes grew wide at Paya's suddenly confident words before she bit her lip, now looking down at the grass beneath her feet. After another moment of silence, the Hylian shook her head before raising it. "Are you coming or not?" Zelda asked, refusing to look back at the Sheikah.
"N-No. Link needs to go at his own pace," Paya responded quietly. Zelda could hear small steps, guessing that Paya had taken a few steps back from her. "Whatever it is he may be going through, its different than just fighting or being a k-knight. Isolation isn't great, b-but I don't believe forcing him to talk is the best option either..."
The two stood quiet once more before Zelda leap up, gripping the tree as she began to climb up the side of its trunk. Paya watched as the Hylian disappeared into the trees. She brought her hands together in prayer, closing her eyes as she slightly tilted her head downwards.
"Goddess Hylia, please watch over them..."
...
Zelda carefully jumped through the trees, leaping from the branches over the forest grounds as she searched for Link. Though she maintained a relatively quick pace as she traveled, she couldn't help but feel the slight frustration burning in her chest. What did Paya mean she was doing this for herself? She wanted to be useful for Link in order to help him! Was Paya insinuating that Zelda was being selfish? How was this being selfish?
The girl huffed as she continued through the trees, trying to make as little noise as possible. She kept her eyes on the ground, scanning for any sign of Link. All she wanted to do was help him, and figuring out what was wrong with him was the first step. The girl stopped, landing on one final branch before frowning. That really was what she was doing... right?
The girl squatted on the branch, leaning back against the truck on the tree she sat in as she stared down at the ground. What was she doing here? Was she really trying to help Link, or was she just trying to make herself useful to get rid of the nagging feeling of guilt in her mind? The girl sighed as she pressed the back of her head against the tree, now staring up into the dark, cloudy night skies. Maybe she should go back, besides it was getting cold out here.
The girl shivered as she looked up at the sky once again, the clouds growing ever darker. It wasn't long before she felt a cold, tiny drop of moisture land on the tip of her nose. Rain? The girl lifted up her arm, putting out an open hand to feel more drops of water land in her palm. Would Link be okay out in this rain by himself? What was he even doing out here?
The rain began to fall harder as Zelda continued to sit in the trees, watching the drops of falling water becoming denser. The urge to find Link soon vanished as she sat, allowing the water to soak her. Maybe it was best for her to listen to Impa and Paya's words and head home. Surely Link would return; his words confirmed that from earlier.
She stood, flicking her hands to remove any excess water from her fingertips. The girl turned on the branch, preparing to leap through the trees once again back towards Kakariko Village. However, the moment the girl bent her knees, she felt the bottom of her foot slip. She gasped as she slid off the branch, desperately reaching her hand up to grab back on. By the grace of the three goddesses, Zelda's fingers managed to grip onto the wet branch. With a heave, the girl pulled herself back up, returning to her sitting position as she caught her breath.
I didn't know it became this difficult to climb when it's this wet..., the girl thought to herself as she placed a hand to her chest. After a moment the girl looked up at the now thundering clouds above her, watching as rain fell through the leaves of the trees. I suppose I'll just sit here and wait for the rain to sto-
She couldn't even finish her thoughts as she felt the tree give a violent shudder. Zelda straightened her back, looking around for the source of the shaking before she felt the tree tilt slightly. Half a second later, the tree gave an ear-piercing snap before it collapsed, the top of the tree smashing into the watery grass with a crash. Zelda skidded from the branches, slamming and sliding across the grass before slamming into the base of another tree. She pushed herself up with sore arms, bringing a hand to her throbbing head as she looked around. Was it a lightning strike? What took the tree down?
She looked back at the now splintered base of her tree, its trunk now sitting horizontally in the mud as its leaves flew in the air through the rain. Someone stood just next to the newly created stump, its figure darkened by the fog that now filled the forest along with the heavy rains with what seemed to be something long and thin in his hands. The figure slowly began to walk forward, heading her direction.
"Found you..." the voice said calmly. Zelda immediately sighed with relief as she painfully stood. "I didn't expect you to slip from the tree. That gave away your position."
"Link," she said, watching the knight's features become clearer as he walked closer through the fog towards her. "Did you need to cut the tree down? That really hurts, you know."
The knight didn't respond as he got closer, the purple of the sword in his hand becoming more vibrant as his Snowquill tunic became more visible. However, his hair covered his eyes, his bangs soaked from the rains that rang in her ears. He didn't respond as he swung his sword downwards towards the ground, any wooden splinters flinging off its blade. Zelda smiled nervously as she watched the knight advance towards her.
"Look, Link," she began as she grew nervous, worried at what he might say. "I'm sorry for following you. I just... I wanted to figure out what was wrong with you. But I realized that... well maybe you need your own space right now. I'm... I'm really sorry, okay? I swear I-"
Once again, the girl didn't get to finish her sentence. She barely saw it, the swiftness of the Master Sword's blade aimed for her body. She quickly stepped backwards, her back slamming against the tree she crashed into earlier as the blade tip barely missed her stomach. With fear filling her eyes, the girl looked up at Link, who was preparing another attack.
"Link! What are you doing!?" she cried out, however the sword blade shot towards her again. The tip pierced the tree trunk, the blade now sitting centimeters from her cheek as rain water fell from her hair. "Link...?" she asked fearfully, as she stared at her reflection in the blade. Her eyes slowly looked over, now meeting Link's now visible eyes. A fire burned behind his usually cool ocean eyes as he stared dangerously into her green ones, still holding the sword up as he continued to press it into the tree she stayed pressed against.
"He said you were different from the rest," Link said darkly. "I knew you Yiga were evil. But I never thought you bastards would sink this low. Not only stalking me and Zelda; but you would even impersonate her using your transformation skills. That's low... even for you."
"Yiga? Impersonate?" Zelda stuttered out, her nails digging into the tree's bark. "Link, I thought all the Yiga were captured... What are you talking about? Impersonation? What do you mean?"
Link chuckled once, pulling the Master Sword out of the tree before bringing the blade out over his shoulder again. "The princess you despise so much is currently sleeping in Kakariko Village," he said roughly. "And I doubt she would be sneaking around following me in the trees late at night. A Yiga, however, would do just that." Link swiped the Master Sword again, barely missing Zelda as she ducked from its blade once again.
The sword cut through the tree just behind him, causing it to fall back with a crash just as the first tree had. Zelda, still crouched, looked back at the newly fallen tree. One swing cut down that thick tree? Her terrified eyes looked up at Link's, his blue eyes seemingly glowing in the darkness of the rain and mist of the night.
"Link... please wait..." Zelda said slowly, still on the ground as she began to back away from the knight. "You seem like you're fighting to... to kill... This isn't like you... You don't do this..."
"You're right, I usually don't," he answered, stepping forward as she continued to crawl backwards. "However, things are different now. I watched someone very close to me die a gruesome death yesterday..."
"Eh?" Zelda mustered quietly. He saw someone die? Zelda's eyes quickly grew dull, realizing what Link was saying. "Urbosa..." she whispered. "You watched Urbosa die, didn't you?"
"You've been stalking Zelda and I since even before then, haven't you?" Link asked, continuing to step through the wet grass towards her. "It's one thing to try and kill me, to come after me over and over again. However..." Winds began to form as an orange glowing sphere began to circle around his figure. "I won't let you attack Zelda. I won't let you hurt her. I won't let you or Ganon hurt anyone ever again."
This was bad. Link was serious. Why was he attacking her? The Yiga had all been caught, hadn't they? Was this part of the trial?
"Wait, Link! Please!" Zelda yelled, raising her hand in an attempt to stop her lover as the winds around Link grew more powerful, blowing mist and rainwater towards her. "Link, it's me! It's me, Zelda! Please!"
"I'll get through the rest of these trials without having to worry about her safety," Link said quietly. "I don't care who you transform into, Yiga. I'll do what I have to."
He won't listen, Zelda thought to herself. He thinks I'm sleeping at Impa's! I have to get away for now! But... Can I?
The girl quickly stood, beginning to dash away through the rain away from him as fast as possible. Link, watching the girl bolt, frowned as he raised his free hand. "You Yiga are all the same. The moment you realize you can't win... you run."
The knight pressed his fingers tightly together. In a matter of seconds, a large, electrical dome formed around the area. Zelda skidded to a stop, looking up above her at the lightning dome in the sky. Her eyes filled with even more fear than before. He was going to strike her down, and with Urbosa's attack...
The knight snapped his fingers. In a flash, multiple, deafening cracks of lightning crashed into the ground, setting ablaze and destroying trees in the entire area. The fires didn't last long as smoke billowed from splintered tree trunks, the rain quickly putting the flames out. Link looked around, ensuring that this target was hit. However, sitting in the pile of wooden rubble and burned grass, stood a completely unharmed Zelda, her arms raised as if she defended against the attack. Link raised an eyebrow in confusion, the gales and the protection still formed around him, however he quickly became stern faced again. The knight raised his hand once more, allowing the electric dome to form in the area once again before snapping his fingers. However, just as before the girl stood unharmed.
Zelda lowered her arms, looking around at the destruction of the slightly burning forest as the rains continued to pour. Link was this powerful? How was she okay? She shook her head before beginning to run away again. Now wasn't the time for theories.
How are they avoiding the lightning? Link thought to himself. He took the Sheikah Slate from his belt, pulling out a three bladed weapon from its screen. He threw the Tri forked boomerang. The weapon flew through the air before sharply turning, flying just in front of and past Zelda, causing her to fall to her feet once again as she splashed into the muddy waters. She flinched as she landed, looking up to see Link flying down above her, the sword tip of the Master Sword ready to pierce her. The girl rolled in the mud, just barely avoiding the knight's piercing sword as it sank deep into the muddy ground.
"Link!" a dirty Zelda cried, tears now falling down her muddied face as he stood, pulling the sword from the mud, the orange dome still circling him. "Please... Please! It's me, Link!"
"Shut up," Link said darkly as he began to walk towards her again. "Just show yourself already. You guys never take this long. Is this some sick joke to you cowards? Is this part of the trial: to have a Yiga transformed into the person I love and make me kill her? First you make me watch a horrendous death... What is this supposed to do for me, Maz Koshia!?" The knight sighed before taking a deep breath. "I guess I had better get used to this. Even if this isn't his doing, Dorian said you were a unique Yiga. But..."
Link stood in front of Zelda, who sat defeated on her knees as tears now flowed quickly down her cheeks, staring up into the knight's dangerous eyes. With a short breath the knight raised the muddy Master Sword up once again. "I can't. I don't want to... but I won't let you..."
"I love you!" Zelda shouted, closing her eyes as she lowered her head, doing her best to hold in her urge to cry even harder. Link stopped, his face contorting with more confusion. Would a Yiga say that, even if pretending?
"Link!" another voice called in the rain. "Link! Stop!"
Link turned to see another figure dashing through the forest ruins. What seemed to be a rather tall girl skidded through the mud onto her knees before wrapping her arms around Zelda. "Link! It's her! It's really Zelda!"
"Paya?" Link questioned. Suddenly, from the undisturbed trees a small distance away, his ears twitched as he heard rustling. With a quick pulling out of the bow, he knocked an arrow, launching it towards the leaves. However, the rustling had disappeared, leaving the three alone in the rain. "If that was the Yiga... then..." his face filled with horror as he looked down at Paya, still shielding the Hylian girl with her body. "Zelda...? Zelda?"
"I saw the lightning and winds from the forest. Dorian came running out, informing me and Grandmother you may be fighting a Yiga who was stalking you..." Paya said, still huddled around Zelda.
The knight fell to his knees, splashing in the mud as he dropped the Master Sword. "Zelda... I... I'm sorry... I..."
"It's okay..." Zelda said quietly, standing with Paya still wrapped around her. "Let's just... Let's just go to Rito Village in the morning? Let's just do that."
With those few words, Zelda and Paya walked away, leaving Link sitting in the rain surrounded by the burned, splintered destruction of the forest.