Thanks so much to MexicAmerichick6 (Link certainly does need a lot of therapy XD), Sw-0608 (Soon ;), Luine Mercury LWG (Answers coming this chapter! ;), and kakashi212121 (Thanks!) for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

And with that, on with the chapter!

~ Chapter 9 ~

Yunobo sat quietly in the grass outside of Link's house, having followed Zelda, Teba, and Purah down the hill after overhearing bits and pieces of their conversation. Though the young Goron could have technically made his way into the house with enough maneuvering, it would have been difficult for him to do much of anything in the small downstairs space - let alone climb the stairs designed for tiny Hylians - so he had resigned himself to waiting outside for news.

As such, he immediately perked up upon seeing the princess exit the house, practically leaping to his feet. "Princess!" he exclaimed. "H-How...how's Link doing, goro!? I-I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but I heard Teba say something about poison, and - !"

"It's alright, Yunobo," Zelda quickly interjected, lifting her hands in a placating gesture. "Link...he's doing alright, for now. Although…" She sighed heavily and sat down, resting her back up against the closed front door. "I won't lie to you...things are getting very strange."

"Er...what do you mean, goro…?" Yunobo asked hesitantly, lowering himself back into a sitting position as well.

Zelda shook her head, as though in disbelief. "Well...it would seem that Link is afflicted with something. Some sort of sickness - the cause of which remains unknown. But the strangest part? For whatever reason, his condition seems to be almost entirely dependent on his proximity to me. For instance, when we arrived here just now, he was extremely ill. He was barely breathing, he had a high fever, he was covered in strange rashes...he looked awful. But when I touched him, all of his symptoms just...vanished. Like they were never there at all…"

Yunobo blinked a few times, letting her words slowly sink in. He didn't know much about Hylian illnesses, aside from the fact that Hylians as a whole were extraordinarily susceptible to overheating, and often did so when sick. That alone was an odd concept to a Goron, but Yunobo could safely say that he had never heard of a person of any race suddenly recovering from sickness when another person touched them. He did recall Prince Sidon mentioning that his sister, the late Zora Champion, had possessed extraordinary healing power, but the way he understood it, such magic was especially rare, and Princess Zelda did not share in that particular gift.

"So...then...what does that mean…?" he questioned slowly, fiddling with the blue Champions' fabric around his neck. "Is he cured…?"

"Not completely, I don't think…" Zelda chewed at her lower lip, eyes narrowed in thought. "The illness seems to be held at bay only when I am present. Even his blood, which we'd discovered an unknown substance in before, looked normal when I was with him. Purah sent me out here just now in an attempt to hopefully get a more accurate sample…"

Yunobo frowned. "Do you think the Yiga Clan did this to him, goro…? Teba said he thought it was poison…"

"That's only a hypothesis for now," Zelda admitted, raking one hand through her long, golden hair. "But...I'm at least certain that the Yiga were the cause. It would be too much of a coincidence otherwise, after all. I don't know what exactly they did, but it was something really, really bad...I can feel it."

Though he didn't quite understand the situation as a whole, Yunobo could agree with the princess' misgivings. It was difficult to explain, but ever since Link had been returned to Hateno Village, the young Goron had occasionally experienced an odd, lingering sense of discomfort. The feeling had come and gone a few times, but its presence never failed to send a shiver through Yunobo's body that had nothing to do with the cold breeze.

It reminded him distinctly of the uneasiness that had plagued Goron City back when the Blight-cursed Vah Rudania had been plodding around the perimeter of Death Mountain. The anxiety of knowing there was a threat looming overhead, but never being sure of when exactly it would strike.

"I just hope we can learn more about whatever this disease is…" Zelda murmured, half to herself. "If we know nothing about it, then we know nothing about how to fix it...aside from basically attaching me to Link's side for the rest of our lives, which of course is entirely impractical...still, I can't help wondering why me? Why do I appear to eliminate his symptoms, just by being close to him…?"

"Um…" Yunobo began uncertainly. "Princess, I...I don't really know much about magic, but...would it have something to do with your goddess powers, goro?"

The princess shook her head, her frown deepening. "No...no, I don't think so. My power faded after I left the castle...I don't think it even still resides within me…"

"But...magic doesn't run out, does it, goro?" the Goron asked. "At least, my shield always comes back, even if it gets damaged...maybe your magic is still there, it just needs to recharge?"

"Recharge…" Zelda echoed quietly. "I...I hadn't thought about that, admittedly, but you might be right…" Her eyebrows creased in thought. "I'd assumed that constantly using my power for the past one hundred years would have drained it entirely, but...I suppose the sacred power is in my blood, so it likely wouldn't completely abandon me. Perhaps it's true...perhaps even a small spark of magic may remain within me…"

Yunobo nodded enthusiastically. "Right! I bet that's the case, princess, I bet you've still got your powers! And you know what else, goro? I bet that's what's making Link feel better whenever you're close to him!"

Rather than readily agree with him, however, Zelda's expression only showed greater concern. "But if that's the case…" she began slowly. "Then that would mean - "

Suddenly, the door to Link's house opened inward, causing her to nearly fall back with a yelp. Teba stood in the doorway, his snowy white feathers noticeably ruffled in agitation.

"Princess," he spoke urgently. "We need you upstairs, now."

Without a word, Zelda jumped to her feet and bolted inside, heading straight for the stairs. The Rito followed her, letting the door swing shut and leaving Yunobo on his own outside once again.

The young Goron gulped. Maybe it was for the best. As anxious as he was waiting outside, he doubted he'd be able to keep it together if he had to witness whatever suffering his Hylian friend was going through.

()()()()

Zelda dashed up the stairs, praying with all her might that Yunobo was wrong - though from what she could tell, he likely wasn't.

Her sacred power...of course. It was the one thing that set her apart from everyone else, the one thing that could possibly be enough to influence Link's well-being. In fact, she could hardly believe that she hadn't thought of it before. Perhaps her sleep-deprived mind hadn't been functioning as well as she'd thought.

Now, however, her mind was painfully clear. Though she sincerely wished it wasn't so, it seemed blatantly obvious that the powers of the goddess that lingered within her were what was keeping Link's sickness at bay.

And that did not bode well for Link at all.

When Zelda reached the top of the stairs, she paused for a moment, staring wide-eyed at the scene before her. Link looked as though he was drowning, his eyes wild as he desperately fought to pull in air. He did not thrash, but his sweat-soaked body shook profusely. His eyes were tightly shut and his ears were tilted so far down that their tips almost pointed at his shoulders.

His stomach heaved and he began to retch, though in his current supine position, all he managed to do was choke on whatever was building in his throat.

"Paya, the bucket! Now!" Impa snapped as she and Purah rushed forward to sit the young man upright.

"Y-Yes! O-Of course!" the Sheikah girl stuttered, hurrying to pick up the bucket in question.

Zelda stepped forward slowly, as though in a dream. The voices of the others faded from her attention as she stared at her struggling knight. The icy grasp of fear closed around her heart.

How had she not seen it before?

A darkness festered within Link, one that had almost certainly been placed there by the Yiga. She could feel the evil energy rolling off of him in waves, ravaging his already weakened body. Its aim, no doubt, was to kill him. It was truly a testament to Link's immense strength that he hadn't yet succumbed to it.

Still, from the looks of it, he was running out of time. And only she could save him.

Zelda reached his bedside just as Paya thrust the bucket into Link's lap, while Impa and Purah held him steady in a sitting position. Maneuvering her way around the three Sheikah, the princess reached forward and grasped Link's hand.

The evil quickly retreated, making itself smaller and hiding somewhere in his body, but not before his head dropped and he vomited into the provided bucket. The glowing, magenta-and-black substance that spilled from Link's mouth and hit the bottom of the bucket confirmed Zelda's worst suspicions. Her knight collapsed in the Sheikah sisters' grasp, gasping for breath, and, for the moment, unaware of the others' horrified stares.

"...it's Malice," Zelda whispered into the ensuing silence. "They've poisoned him with Malice."