Asuriel watched in horror as the demon began to approach Link. Even though she had never used an offensive spell herself, the girl knew they were powerful and, in the right hands, deadly. Link seemed rather surprised that his opponent was striding towards him with no weapon. Making up his mind, he swung at Ghirahim, yet the blade did not connect, he had caught it between his fingers. A look of astonishment was evident on Link's face as he yanked the sword away and swung again. This time, he was unable to pull his sword away, but it was instead taken from his own grasp.

"Hah, quite the sword you have here. But so long as you telegraph your attacks like the novice you are, you'll never land a blow."

With a quick movement, Ghirahim swung the blade at Link, who barely had time to block it with his shield before stumbling back from the impact. Watching the fight, Asuriel discovered the demon's next attack in time to warn her friend.

"Link, duck!"

Unsure of why, he followed the girl's order, just as his sword flew over his head after being launched at him. Although Link was grateful, Ghirahim looked less than pleased and shot Asuriel an annoyed glance before again focusing on the hero. Link continued to swing at the demon, yet his attacks were either dodged or blocked. Finally, he managed to land a blow. Asuriel sighed to herself, thinking that there may be hope after all until she saw that Ghirahim was not at all hurt, only a little surprised. That expression, however, did not last long. Jumping backwards, he licked his lips and summoned his own sword. The sight of it made Asuriel's breath catch in her throat. Even though she was far from the blade, its sharpness was evident from where she sat. If Link was not careful, he would be cut to ribbons in no time.

Ghirahim approached Link, who stepped back slightly, now trying to revaluate his position. The demon's first swing was dodged by a side hop, the next by Link rolling underneath the deadly blade. He struck back against his opponent, yet his blow was easily blocked. In a flash, Ghirahim had disappeared and materialized behind Link. The young hero had just enough time to raise his shield before it was struck, shattering into splinters. The next swing came quickly, catching the slightly stunned boy's side. He cried out as the impact knocked him over. The wound was not dangerous, but it had a visible effect on Link's fighting ability. The demon lord jumped farther back and summoned a line of hovering daggers to his side with a snap of his fingers. Despite his jump to the side, one of the daggers cut Link's side, slicing through his tunic and skin as it whizzed passed.

Link clutched his side as he straightened. Asuriel looked to her side and reached into one of the clay pots, withdrawing a bottle of Sacred Water. She had ensured to store one or two in places that would be hard to reach, in case of emergency.

"Link, catch!"

The boy caught the bottle out of the air after Asuriel tossed it to him and quickly gulped down the contents. His wounds had mostly healed and he seemed to be energized again. Ghirahim frowned, yet his expression changed to a chilling smile. All this meant for him was that his entertainment would last longer.

The two continued to fight, Ghirahim landing several hard blows on Link. The latter struck the former occasionally, yet no damage was done. Asuriel desperately wanted to run to Link's side, to aid him any way she could, but he had told her to stay out of the fight, and she didn't want him to have to fight the demon and protect both of them at the same time. Still, every moment they battled chipped away at this resolve. The hero looked more and more unsteady on his feet as he was hit again and again. He received only mild wounds, yet they appeared incredibly painful. He was also loosing strength, being barely able to lift his sword in defense.

Ghirahim seemed very happy. Unfazed by any hits he received, he continued to fight with grace and power. It was when he prepared to charge at Link and deliver a fatal wound that Asuriel's determination to remain stationary failed. As Ghirahim ran towards Link, she dashed passed the Hero, stopping in front of him and creating a force-field. The strength of that one hit was enough to almost shatter the shield, yet Asuriel held her ground. The demon, expecting to have struck the boy, looked taken aback before seeing the girl protecting the hero.

Behind Asuriel, Link collapsed, too exhausted and hurt to stand. Even though Asuriel felt that her defense was severely weakened, she kept a look of defiance on her face to make herself appear more sound than she was.

"I believe you were told to NOT interfere."

"You promised not to kill him."

There was a pause.

"Well, he put up more of a fight than I would have thought possible out of such a small boy. But don't clap for him quite yet. That sword and your interruption are the only reasons he still lives. I fear I have spent too long teasing and toying with you. The girl's presence has all but faded from this place, which means there's no reason to linger here. For you, little maiden, I will remember that you cannot be trusted to keep out of the way. Good-bye, Skychild. Run and play this time. Get in my way again, though, and you're dead."

With that, Ghirahim disappeared with a swish of his sword. After waiting a moment to make sure he was really gone, Asuriel dropped her shield and ran to Link. He sat up and looked at the girl with a pained smile.

"That was amazing, thank you."

"Hold on, Link."

Concentrating on his wounds she began healing them, one-by-one. The hero closed his eyes as warmth flooded his body, feeling like sunshine against chilled skin.

"Let's go to the spring, now."

With a bit of help, Link rose and followed Asuriel through the last door, bright light met his gaze as the sun shone brilliantly over the spring, yet Zelda was no where to be seen.

"I'll go wait in front of the temple for you."

Asuriel knew that Link was disappointed and upset, so she decided to give him some space. As she walked through the temple to the entrance, she felt that the air was lighter, signifying that the demon had departed from it. Once she reached the outside, she rested under one of the trees, enjoying the fresh air and the soft grass.

"Asuriel!"

Her eyes snapped open to see a very perturbed Impa towering over her, arms crossed and brows furrowed.

"I see that you have again ran away from your instructions."

"Link needed my help, I couldn't leave him!"

"It is his job to navigate places and solve puzzles, not yours. You could have been killed! You can not fight, Hylia knows what you were thinking!"

"I'm sorry, I only wanted to help."

Impa sighed. "Well, you don't look hurt and since no harm has come of this, I might let you off with a small punishment. You have learned that following a hero and fighting monsters is scary and dangerous, hopefully you will not make the same mistake again. Besides you might have done that boy some good."

"In fact, if I hadn't gone with him, Link would have been killed by that demon."

Impa's head snapped up, her eyes wide as they bored into Asuriel's.

"Demon?" Her voice was like ice.

"Yes, he called himself Ghirahim."

"Dear Hylia, NO! Did he see you?"

"Of course, I was with Link, and I saved his life by creating a force field to block an attack."

"ASURIEL!" Impa's cry was no one of anger, but of despair.

"I only wanted to help him, to save him."

"You poor, innocent, naive child. I know you only want to help, but what you have done has caused irreparable damage."

Impa sank to her knees, grasping Asuriel's hands in her own.

"He knows about you now, he will not forget you. You are not strong enough to fight or escape him. Asuriel, he could kill you. I must return you to the Sealed Temple, we must speak with my other self."

Without hesitation, Impa picked up Asuriel and carried her back to the temple. She was set in her room while Impa spoke with herself. Asuriel knew she could not fully understand what she had done, but she knew it was beyond terrible. She curled up on her bed and wept softly, burrowing her face in the pillows. She only lifted her head when someone called her name from the entrance to her room.

"Asuriel."

It was the elderly lady. "Do not weep so, come out and join us. I am not angry, only worried. I need you to tell me exactly what happened."