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Title: Treasure of the Yiga

Chapter 6: The Fight

Author: Sailor Song

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Zora's Domain. Said to be the most peaceful and tranquil location in all of Hyrule with its iconic waterfalls, scenic trails, and soothing sounds of nature.

"I don't want to be anywhere near you right now, Link, but you can't seem to get that through your thick skull."

"You are impossible, you know that don't you?" he roared back at me.

Ah yes, peaceful… except tonight.

… … …

The tension between us had been building all day. It was inevitable that it would explode, but it was unexpected for it to be over something as mundane as sleeping arrangements.

After our escape from Kakariko, we ended up on a plain with a deep gorge and a river between us and the path to the Zoras.

"If we climb down and cross the river here, we just have to climb back up and it'll cut a day off our trip."

I felt myself go rigid as I looked down at the rushing water below. "Here?"

"Yeah," he said surveying. "Oh...wait…"

Oh good, he realized-

"You can climb right?"

So close, Link. He was so close to getting it.

"Yes-"

"That's right," he interrupted. "You were up high in the treasury when we first met. And back at Impa's. How silly of me."

I tried to stop him, but he was so focused on getting us across the river that he wasn't listening. It wasn't until he started climbing down and I stayed put that he looked at me.

"Zee, what is it?" He scrambled back up, concern written all over his face.

My breathing had become rapid without me even realizing it. "I...can't…"

He tried to calm me, but he didn't touch me, as though he was afraid I was about to break. Somehow, that made things worse. I needed to be held. "Take your time. Deep breaths."

"Water..."

"You want water?"

I shook my head. "I can't swim." The dream came racing back into my consciousness. Drowning in that burning, hateful sludge.

"You… can't…" He stared at me dumbly for a moment and then, as if he had been struck, he exclaimed, "Oh! Desert!"

His idiotic response had the side effect of calming my breathing, as I tried to decide whether to laugh or wonder how he had not managed to trip, smack his head on something, and die. How on earth had so many of my people fallen victim to him?

He looked around. "We can avoid the river entirely if we go that way. Then we can cross over the dam. It won't take much more time, but it's just going to mean more climbing. Is that okay?"

I looked in the direction he was pointing and nodded gratefully.

More climbing indeed. At one point, we were completely vertical as we scaled the rockface, and it became a bit of a competition as to who could reach the top first. Link was barely ahead of me, but when we came across a plateau with a large blue monster, he stayed and led me silently away. After that, he remained at my side as we continued on. For my part, I hated the silence and hiding. I would have much preferred to confront the problems head on.

We'd reached a very high place, one that overlooked a sea or perhaps another lake, and Link stopped to get his bearings. There was barely time to rest before another joined us.

"Halt," a female voice called out to us from some unseen place. "What business do two Hylians have here on Ja'Abu Ridge? If you are an advanced guard for the Hylian king's ambassadors set to arrive next week, you are severely off course."

Excuse me. Who was she calling a Hylian?

"We have not been sent by the King," Link said. "However, I am a knight of Hyrule, and I seek a private audience with the princess of the Zoras."

"What led you to believe that Princess Mipha would wish to speak with you?" the voice asked, and then, as if to insult him, she added, "Hero."

I watched his jaw clench at the name, but it was short-lived as a waterfall burst appeared, spraying in downwards direction from the cliff above, crashing onto the ground only feet from where we stood. A red creature wielding a silver trident appeared, its feet using the water to guide it from the cliff above us down to our level. She was beautiful, and I couldn't help but notice, very naked aside from a few adornments of jewelry. I have no right to judge, after all, the Yiga uniform leaves little to the imagination, but I was not the only one to notice her appearance.

Link was caught off guard by both the entrance and appearance of this creature. I watched his face, his face and ears become pink. I wondered what was wrong with him, if he was becoming ill. I had never seen him look this way at someone before.

"A pleasure to finally meet you, Princess Mipha," he said as he knelt down on one knee, one arm crossing his chest with a clenched hand over his heart. "I had heard tales of your grace and beauty, but the stories are nothing compared to the vision before me."

Her smile as he spoke such words of flattery to her stirred something in me, something that made me feel frustration.

"Hero of Hyrule, is there another name by which I might address you?"

"Link, Your Highness."

She smiled and touched his jaw. "Link. You may rise." As he followed her orders, her attention turned sharply to me. "Now that you and I are formally acquainted, perhaps you can tell me who she is and what she is doing here with you."

Smitten as he currently was, I couldn't trust him to not stumble over his own words. "She can speak for herself," I told her. "I'm Zelda, and I'm his travel companion, Mipha."

"Princess," Link whispered.

"What?"

"Princess Mipha," he corrected.

"She's not my princess," I snapped back. "She's not yours either."

"You are a very lively girl," Mipha said with a laugh. "And how adorable, the Hero and his Zelda. It's just like the old fairy tales."

I'm his what now? In all of the stories I had grown up with, the Hero was always a villain, facing off against the Dark Lord. Never had I heard about him being aided by someone else.

"Coincidence," he said, finally seeming to have his brains back in his thick skull. With the briefest of glances, he conveyed to me that he was irritated. Whether it was with me or her, I could not be sure.

Yeah, well, I was irritated too. As I let them continue to talk, watching the interactions between the two, my irritation turned into anger. I couldn't quite pinpoint it, but for some reason, I couldn't stop remembering how Link had responded to me when I offered myself to him after the lizalfo attack. He had rejected me, flat out and coldly. There was perhaps an element of my pride hurt from his turning me down, but seeing him like this with another girl (erm, or was it more accurate to call her a fish?) was infuriating.

"I see," Mipha said, her voice pulling me from my thoughts. "The magic I wield is a well-guarded secret among the Zoras. If you wish to learn more about it, I need some reassurances from you first. I need to know you are worthy of my trust."

"Name it," Link said.

I rolled my eyes. What kind of idiot just agrees without knowing the terms?

Mipha looked away, up to the highest peak on the other side of the vast lake. "I was out here because I have been trying to figure out a way to stop the lynel that dwells on Ploymus Mountain. It has been impossible for any of us Zora to go near it because of its shock arrows, dangerous to Hylians and instant death for my people."

Link gave a shrug. "A lynel, simple. I will defeat that beast for you, Princess."

What was a lynel? I didn't have time to wonder for long because he started to walk off. I chased after him, pulling the hem of his tunic to stop him. There was no reason, I didn't know why, I just didn't want him to leave me.

He brushed my hand aside. "You stay here, Zelda. I'll be right back."

I was about to protest, but Mipha beat me to it. "Link, as much as I appreciate your eagerness, you and your friend seem tired. It has been a long day of travel for you both. Let me show you true Zoran hospitality and set you up with a place to sleep for the evening. That way you'll be well-rested for the battle."

He didn't turn around. I could see his shoulder slump a little and he conceded with a defeated sigh of, "Okay." When he finally did turn, he did so without looking at me and walked over to the princess. "Lead the way, Your Highness."

… … …

Mipha directed us where to go, and went on ahead to make preparations with her people, leaving just Link and I to make our way around the lake in a cold silence. He was mad, but so was I. Why he was mad, I didn't know, but to be fair, I didn't know why I was angry either.

It was dark when we finally met up with her near a dock at the northwestern side of the lake. Food and supplies were waiting for us there, and after a second, I realized she wasn't alone. At her feet was a smaller version of her, hiding but curiously peaking out to see us.

"This is my baby brother," she said looking down. "Sidon, say hello to our guests."

He didn't speak, only grinned with his sharp teeth. Link knelt down, extending a hand out to the tiny Zora. "Hello, Prince Sidon. I'm Link."

"I apologize. He's very shy, but also very curious. I didn't realize he was with me until I was nearly up the stairs."

"It's fine," Link said. "I don't think this one will reveal to anyone that we're here. Will you, buddy?"

Sidon gave another toothy grin and shook his head.

"I've brought a meal and there is a place to sleep through there," Mipha said, pointing. "Is there anything else I can get for either of you?"

"No," I said, and perhaps I was a little rude. Link's glare certainly made that apparent, but I didn't care.

"No, thank you, Princess Mipha," Link said. "I appreciate this and your discretion."

"You're welcome. I'll see you in the morning. Come, Sidon. Let's leave our guests."

I only picked at the meal. I wasn't hungry, and Link's disappointed looks were not helping. Wanting to get away from him, I excused myself for bed since sleep seemed to be my only option, until...

"We have a slight problem," I called over to him.

"Which is?"

"There's only one bed."

He didn't answer right away, but appeared next to me to look. "It's pretty big. Besides, we've been sleeping next to each other for over a week. Why is this suddenly an issue now?"

"Maybe it was an issue before, but there wasn't much of a choice since we were chained together."

"And whose fault was-"

"Yes, I'm aware," I snapped. "I put the manacles on us. You don't have to keep bringing it up."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a breath before lowering his hand and looking me in the eyes. "Zee, you've been in a foul mood all day. Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

What was I supposed to tell him? I didn't even know what my problem was, so how could I possibly explain that to him? Not knowing just made me more frustrated about this whole situation.. "Because I don't want to sleep next to you!" I shouted. "I don't want to be anywhere near you right now, Link, but you can't seem to get that through your thick skull."

"You are impossible, you know that don't you?" he roared back at me, finally losing his own temper. "Fine! Sleep on the ground. Stay up all night, I don't care. I have to take down that lynel tomorrow so we get answers and get away from here. In order to do that, I need to get some sleep." He threw a pillow in my direction, but I let it fall to the ground. "Good night."

I kicked the pillow back towards him and walked away. I could hear him stirring for a bit after, but when I finally looked back, he was already sound asleep on one side of the bed.

Needing to vent my frustration, I took a walk, looking for some kind of monster to fight, but it seemed that being within the safety of Zora's Domain, we were protected. No wonder he had felt he could go to sleep.

However, I knew the location of one monster that needed to be defeated.

Climbing up the cliffs was not too hard, but I'd had to go a little closer to the Zora home because the rockface in some places was far too smooth to grab hold of. Even without my Yiga uniform to help me blend into shadow, I was pretty sure I had gotten away without anyone seeing me.

Upon reaching the plateau of the mountain, I could smell electricity in the air. For a moment, it was almost like being back in my desert home, but instead of bringing me comfort, it made me feel anxious. No, it was something else, but the feeling wasn't good.

I collected some of the shock arrows that had been fired around the perimeter. Although I had been able to find a bow and sword just outside the Zora city, arrows were not readily available. Once I felt I had collected enough, I made my way towards the mist and fog, searching for the monster.

There was a snort and the sound of hooves pounding on earth, and for a second, I felt like I was back at Landon's stable with the horses, and yearning to hold the little boar once again came over me. That was, until, the beast let out a tremendous roar that shook the whole of the mountain. I shuddered as I stared at it; even in my wildest dreams, I had never imagined such a creature: half horse, half horned man, and it looked like it was made of pure gold.

And then… it charged at me.

"Oh shit, oh shit," I cried as I ran away. This thing was fast. Seeing no point in running in a straight line, I dove out of the way and let it keep going in its path. With only a second to catch my breath, I had to come up with a strategy. I needed someone else to help me distract and attack, and I regretted not coming with Link. My people said they were watching. Would they come to my defense now? As it rounded back on me, I realized like a punch to the gut that no one was going to save me. I was utterly alone.

Determined to play to my strengths until I could attempt a getaway, I nocked an arrow and let it fly straight for its eyes. The first missed as I learned how to wield the Zora bow, but the second I fired hit its mark, and the beast was stunned, giving me a chance to attack it from behind. The Zora sword was about as powerful as my sickle, but this creature seemed to have the health of a god and wasn't going to go down easily.

I started getting into a rhythm with the monster, and thankfully, it was as dumb as it was powerful because it didn't seem to catch on to my pattern. Dodge. Arrow. Attack. Repeat. I could do this! I was totally doing it!

The lynel's head snapped to the side, its attention caught by something small in the distance. Suddenly I was no longer its prey, instead, it desired something that to me was nothing more than a flash of red, a finned being that maybe came up to just above my knees.

"Sidon, no, get out of here!" I screamed, but the lynel's roar drowned out my words. What was he doing here? Did he follow me when I swiped the sword and bow?

The lynel pulled out its bow and grabbed one, no two, THREE arrows! Shock arrows, the kind that could kill a Zora on contact, especially one as small as Sidon.

I was out of arrows, so I couldn't stun it, and so I ran to the boy, willing myself to go faster than I ever had in my life. I tried to convince myself it was because Mipha would not help us if her brother was killed, but more than that, I didn't want to see a child injured. And, if I was being honest, I didn't want to see the look of hurt on Link's face.

With three arrows flying towards us, it was too dangerous to grab the boy or even push him out of the way. Deciding that shielding him was my only option, I covered him with my body. One arrow landed in the puddle a little way away from us, electrifying everything around it. Another hit a tree. The third…

I screamed, first from the pain of the arrow piercing my back and then from the electric energy that coursed through my body. Looking at the little boy, I could see the fear in his eyes.

"You're… okay, Sidon," I whispered through my tears.

Something had to be done. I had weakened the monster, but I didn't know how much more it would take to kill it. All I knew for sure was that I had to get it away from the child.

The arrow that had hit the tree came into view, giving me an idea. If I could stun it again, maybe, just maybe...

"Sidon, hide behind that big rock over there. Do not stand in or near any water, got it? Once it's gone, go back home to your sister, do you understand?"

He nodded.

"Good, now run!"

I pulled the arrow out of the tree, spun around, and shot the lynel straight in its eye, stunning it. Elated, I ran to it, but didn't account for the pain now radiating from the wound in my back, and I stumbled, giving it the time to regroup before I could get to it. However, I realized it meant I still had another arrow. Ripping the arrow from my flesh caused me to scream out in pain once more, but it was my last chance to stop the lynel.

Stunned again. I wasn't lying about being the best archer in my clan.

I jumped on the beast's back and covered its eyes. It roared and began running, trying to shake me off, but being distracted was exactly what I wanted. It ran faster and faster, higher and higher until it was about to reach the cliff that dropped down into the lake. All I needed to do was hold on until the last possible second and then launch myself off to safety.

It was all working exactly to my impromptu plan. The moment the lynel's first hoof went over, I let go and pushed myself backwards. I was about to jump from its back, but it reached out and grabbed my legs, squeezing so tightly that it was impossible to get free. Together, the pair of us fell down towards the water. No one was coming to save me. If my people were indeed watching, they were going to watch me drown.

There was a deafening splash, and the pain from the cold water hitting the wound increased tenfold, causing me to cry out. Instead of air, I sucked in water. Well, at least I was going to drown quickly.

The lynel hit the water as well, exploding into a mess of parts and weapons, some of which dropped with me as I began to sink to the bottom of the lake. I caught a glimpse of something blue falling alongside me; I reached out and took hold of something solid, a sapphire...so beautiful...like...his...eyes...

Nothingness. Cold. Empty.

A voice broke into my lonely chamber. It was soft, comforting as it lifted me, held me, soothed me.

Warm arms. Screaming, someone yelling. The warmth I had started to feel again suddenly left me, my life oozing out from the hole in my back.

Darkness consumed me again.

… … …

A void of white light. I had been here before.

"Zelda, you've come back to me too soon."

"Am I dead?"

"Only for a moment, but the time here is infinite. When you return is up to you."

"Do I have to go? It hurts there, everything hurts. It's warm here, safe."

"Staying is easy, Zelda. Living is hard. There is suffering, heartbreak, but there is also love."

"Not for me," I said sadly. "I'm not deserving of love."

"You had it stolen from you. You should have been loved every minute from the moment you took your first breath."

"Yiga believe love is weakness," I argued.

"I think you already suspect the truth in regards to that." The voice was quiet, but when I didn't answer, it continued. "I can promise you this much, when you awaken, love will be all around you. To accept it, you need only to be brave."

… … …

"It is my pleasure." The voice was so clear, so pure. I could hear soft footsteps on the stone floor as she walked away.

Thinking I was alone, I attempted to open my eyes, but I could only manage to flutter them before giving up and keeping them closed.

"Zee?" It was his voice. I felt something warm holding my hand. "Can you hear me?"

I was tired, my throat was sore and sleep seemed preferable to a one-sided conversation, so for now, just for now, I would allow myself a rest.