Thanks so much to lalalei, MexicAmerichick6, primadonnalouise, and Guest for reviewing! I appreciate your kind words so much, and I'm sure Link would as well :)

Now, on with the chapter!

~ Chapter 4 ~

"Can someone explain to me how he can still punch that hard when all his fingers are broken!?" Purah exclaimed irritably, holding a small cloth pouch filled with ice up to her bruised cheek. "Because I don't think that should be possible!"

Zelda let out a soft sigh, shaking her head. "You know Link...doing the impossible is practically an everyday occurence for him." She let her gaze drift down to the knight beside her, lying in bed, half asleep, with one hand wrapped around hers. Despite his injuries, he had adamantly refused to let go, and he wouldn't even let her leave his side.

In all honesty, she didn't mind.

"Yeah, well, I prefer it when he 'does the impossible' to...I don't know, a Bokoblin or something," Purah grumbled. "Not to me."

"Don't be too hard on the boy, Purah," Impa chided, looking up from her task of carefully wrapping Link's free hand - the one with which he had hit Purah - in fresh bandages. "Master Link has just been through a harrowing experience...he is injured, disoriented, and quite possibly running a fever. You know as well as I that he would never hit you under normal circumstances."

"Snap, of course I know that!" Purah scoffed, rolling her eyes. "And I'm not mad at him, per se...it just hurts!"

"I'm sure it hurt Master Link far more than it hurt you," Impa reminded her. "You'll live."

Purah groaned in response. "Oh come on, I can't even ask for some sisterly sympathy from you? That's cold, Impa."

As the Sheikah sisters bickered, Zelda tuned out their voices, instead quietly watching Link. A slight frown touching her lips, she wondered why he had appeared so lucid back at the Yiga Clan hideout, but seemed to have been robbed of some of his cognitive clarity upon being brought back home.

Perhaps it was the sudden change in scenery? Maybe the light was bothering him? His eyes had seemed a bit unfocused when she had looked into them...perhaps he was so confused because he couldn't see? It would at least partially explain why he had struck Purah - if he couldn't see her properly, then perhaps he thought she was a Yiga footsoldier instead of an ally? But then, wouldn't he have heard her voice? Could his hearing have somehow been compromised as well? But no, he had heard Zelda's voice immediately when she had spoken to him. Then what was it…?

The princess sighed deeply as questions swirled through her mind. She lifted her free hand to her forehead, massaging her temples while grimacing. Zelda wanted to believe that this was merely a one-time event. She wanted to believe that, in no time at all, her knight would be back to normal, his sapphire eyes clear and bright as he complained about being confined to bed instead of being able to run off and wreak havoc on the nearest Bokoblin encampment. She wanted to believe that Link would be okay.

And he would be okay, she firmly reassured herself. It might just take longer than she expected, that was all. True, Link was, without a doubt, the strongest person she knew, but he was still human. He still had limits. She could hardly expect him to bounce back so soon after all that he had been through.

Her eyes wandered down to his chest, where, despite most of it being covered by a blanket, she could see a few traces of the massive patchwork of scars that formed the Yiga eye on his skin. A lump rose in her throat as she thought of how painful it must have been. How painful it probably still was. How painful it would be for him once he finally saw exactly what they had done to him.

It should have been her.

"Princess?"

Impa's voice startled Zelda out of her dark thoughts, and she quickly looked down at the old Sheikah woman, hoping that she hadn't been lost in her own mind for too terribly long. "S-Sorry," she stammered awkwardly. "Did...did you say something, Impa?"

To her credit, Impa didn't bother commenting on the princess' distractedness. Instead, she calmly answered, "Yes. I was simply wondering...where was Master Link hidden? You and your search party targeted those damned traitors' lair from the beginning, yet you've only just found him today. What happened?"

"Oh...right, that," Zelda sighed. "It was all a stroke of luck, really...it took about a week to clear out enough of the Yiga, but once we had done that, we set right to searching every inch of their hideout. It wasn't easy...there were traps set up everywhere, so many that I'm honestly amazed that we suffered no casualties. Even still, for the longest time...we couldn't find him. Until finally, in the hideout's furthest back room, I was fiddling with the Sheikah Slate and accidentally activated Magnesis. There was a hidden metal door, disguised to look like part of the wall, that led outside. After that, we quickly searched the whole place again, this time with the Magnesis rune activated, and it didn't take long to find a metal trapdoor on the ground. Some Yiga stragglers tried to stop us from reaching it, but Teba, Riju and both of their groups of warriors soundly defeated them while Sidon and the other Zora accompanied me into what we discovered was a hidden dungeon...and that's where we found Link."

The princess sighed once more, lightly running her thumb over the back of Link's hand. "I...I don't really know the full extent of what they did to him," she admitted. "Some of it is obvious, of course...the broken fingers, the bruises, the scars...but I've never seen him like this before...and I can't shake the feeling that the whole situation is even more dire than we realize…"

"Try not to trouble yourself too much with all this, Princess," Impa told her gently, reaching out and taking Zelda's free hand. "Whatever the circumstances were before, the fact of the matter is that Master Link is safe now. The moment you and your search party left, I arranged for several guards to be positioned around the perimeter of this house the moment the boy was returned to us, and indeed, they are already stationed at their posts as we speak. Both of you will have nothing more to fear from the Yiga Clan, I swear it to you. Master Link will be allowed to heal in peace, and you, Princess, will be allowed to rest." The old Sheikah arched an eyebrow. "Provided you allow yourself, that is."

"You're right, Impa, I know you're right…" Zelda murmured. "It's just...I'm still on edge, and I don't know why."

"I know why!" Purah cut in. "It's because you've barely slept since he was taken! Snap, it'd be hard to miss those raccoon circles around your eyes. I'm sure you'll feel better once you finally get some sleep."

"I...I'm not tired," Zelda half-heartedly insisted. Though from the dull looks on both sisters' faces, she knew she'd convinced neither of them.

She shook her head, grimacing. "Alright, so I am tired, but...I can't sleep yet. I want to be able to help him...and besides, he doesn't want me to leave, see?" To demonstrate, she carefully moved as though to tug her hand away, causing Link to weakly pull her back with a soft, unintelligible mumble.

Purah simply shrugged. "Okay, then don't leave. Just sleep there."

Zelda blinked. "Wait...what?"

"You heard me, just sleep there! In the bed you're sitting on. Isn't that where you usually sleep anyway?"

The princess' face instantly reddened. "W-Well yes, but...not when Link's in it too! H-He sleeps on those blankets downstairs…"

It was a blatant lie, but frankly, she would rather hurl herself into the center of Death Mountain than admit in front of Impa and Purah that she was certainly no stranger to sleeping beside Link. Even if she could convince them that their actions were purely innocent, she would surely have to bring up why she couldn't bear sleeping alone as evidence, and her recurring night terrors weren't exactly something she was ready to discuss with anyone aside from Link.

Purah gave her a dull look. "So what, you plan to go sleep down there? On the floor? Do you really expect to get even halfway decent rest that way?"

Zelda bit her lip, uncertain. "Well...I mean sure, it's not the most comfortable sleeping arrangement, but...if Link can bear it, then so can I."

"Zelda, listen, you and I both know - and I mean this in the best way possible - that Linky is a complete freak of nature," Purah stated bluntly. "So do yourself a favor and don't even bother trying to match his standards, 'kay? You need sleep, you'll get the best sleep in a bed, and there's a half-empty bed right here. Click, snap, simple as that."

"B-But he's injured!" Zelda stammered. "I don't want to risk accidentally hurting him!"

The Sheikah scientist shook her head in exasperation. "Oh please, you're both tiny. I'm sure you'll both have plenty of room without having to lie on top of each other. I highly doubt you'll end up hurting him."

"But...but…" The princess looked to Impa for help, sure that the old Sheikah would never abide such a sleeping arrangement.

To her surprise, however, Impa merely chuckled and shook her head. "Hm...it does seem logical. You need to sleep and Master Link won't let you leave…" She arched an eyebrow. "And of course, nothing improper would possibly occur...right?"

Zelda's blush deepened even further and the tips of her pointed ears dropped in embarrassment. "O-Of course not!" she exclaimed. "D-Don't be ridiculous, Impa!"

Impa smiled, clearly amused. "That's what I thought. Then I suppose it's settled?"

"I don't understand why you two are so intent on this…" Zelda grumbled, bringing a hand to her face to conceal the blush that she knew they had already clearly seen.

"Don't misunderstand," Impa chuckled. "All we want is for you to rest, child. You've been working yourself so hard recently...you deserve a chance to get some proper, comfortable sleep."

"Tch, speak for yourself, sis," Purah scoffed. "Rest is great, of course, but I've got several 100-rupee bets with Robbie that I don't intend to lose."

"W-What!?" Zelda squeaked, staring at the scientist as Impa rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

"...ignore her," Impa deadpanned. "I will have a talk with her and Robbie later. Just focus on resting for now, alright? And if not for yourself, then…" Her eyes slid over to rest on Link, still half-asleep and clinging to Zelda's hand. "...well, I feel as though Master Link could use the comfort of your presence as well, yes?"

Zelda's expression softened. Impa, as usual, was right. "Yes...that's true," she murmured softly. "He...he shouldn't be made to suffer alone any more than he already has."

After everything he'd had to endure, keeping him company was surely the least she could do for him...regardless of Purah's teasing.