Author's Notes: I'm sorry. I'm so very, very sorry. I can say I've had Writer's Block all I want, but the truth is that I just didn't sit down and do it (the next chapter). I had no problem with the humor series, and I know why. I have a bad habit of not finishing things that I like, because I want them to go on forever (does that ever happen to you, or is it just me?). Anyway, I'm facing my block and shoving it out of the way! Here's the next chapter! Is it the last? Not quite, but close.
Disclaimer: I don't own, you don't sue, and everyone goes home happy.
Chapter 6: Capture
Despite her lack of peaceful rest the previous night, Impa arose before daybreak to get the girls ready for their search. Deciding to let them sleep as long as they could, Impa packed before waking them. Impa told a sleepy-eyed stable master to have three horses readied in one half of an hour. Impa next headed down to the kitchen to procure some breakfast for the children and to secure some travel foodstuffs. This having been taken care of, Impa brought the trays of food to the girls' bedrooms. She told each of them the same thing.
"Now, I want you to eat your breakfast and get dressed as soon as you can. I'll lay out some suitable clothes for travelling: Link has probably gotten farther than we think, and we need to catch up with him."
When the Princess of Hyrule and the rancher's daughter were ready, Impa wrote a quick note to the King, vaguely explaining their absence. She would deal with the full explanation later. The King was just and fair, but worried over his daughter. He could not fire Impa, but he might restrict her to the castle grounds. Shaking her worries from her mind, Impa helped Zelda into the saddle of her white mare, Stardust. Turning around to help Malon, Impa belatedly saw that the farmer girl needed no help. Malon sat in the saddle of her chestnut gelding, Garland, with the ease of a practiced rider. Impa envied her: Malon was sure not to have any saddle sores. With a nod of approval to the smug girl, Impa mounted her own horse; a storm-gray mare named, ironically, Cyclone. Impa gave one last check to make sure all was ready, though she knew it would be. Eager to be underway, Impa gave the sign to go.
* * *
Link did not set out until nearly noon. The fits, the nightmares, the changes were all wearing down on him, grinding him into exhaustion. Wearily, Link picked his self up and headed towards the borders of Hyrule, hoping to get farther today than he had the day before, though he knew it was not likely.
Sometime between the afternoon and evening, when the sky still denies the inevitable darkness of night but the sun sinks low, accepting it's fate, Link threw a casual glance over his shoulder and saw his worst fears riding towards him.
Link had good eyesight, and the tilt of the sun was in his favor. He easily identified the white mare of the princess's mare and the golden mane of Zelda herself. The gray horse with the larger rider had to be Impa, as she never truly let the princess out of her sight. The other rider had flame-red hair, so that must be Malon. Link knew Malon must have alerted Zelda to the incident at the ranch, and now they were trying to catch up to him. They were doing a good job, too.
Link was fast, but he knew he couldn't hope to outrun horses, especially not as tired as he was. Instead, he continued walking at an easy pace, conserving his strength for a burst of speed if need be, and waited for the riders to reach him.
* * *
Impa was the first to see Link. She knew it was he even though the rays of the sinking sun tried to blind her eyes. Pointing the boy's silhouette to her comrades, they urged their horses to a greater speed. As the figure of Link drew nearer, Impa caught herself thinking on how he had changed. It was silly, of course, she couldn't even see his face yet. But his stance, his stride, they were not the carefree stroll of the energetic boy she had first met, nor the efficient lope of the warrior she knew he was. This was the trudging step of someone whose heart has been broken, and he held himself as one who knows he has been defeated.
The three companions drew their mounts up when they reached Link. He stopped walking, but said nothing. He didn't seem surprised, or happy, to see them. Zelda was the first off her horse, followed quickly by Malon and Impa.
"Oh Link I'm so happy to see you! We were so worried!" Zelda exclaimed. "Malon told us what happened at the ranch, and we decided that you were in trouble." Link frowned. He didn't want Zelda, or Impa and Malon, mixed up in this. "I appreciate your concern, but it's my problem, and I have to deal with it. I don't want to get any of you involved."
Now it was Impa's turn to frown. The boy knew there was a serious problem, he'd just admitted to such. It was apparently bad enough that he didn't want anyone to get hurt, meaning that people could get hurt because of it. Impa was good at reading people; what was said and what was not was hers for the knowing. Thinking her response carefully, Impa tried to persuade the boy to let them help.
"Link, we do not know what this problem is, and we do not mean to pry, but if you will tell us, we can help you get through it." She saw Link's resolution waver. "All you have to do is tell us, come back to the castle…" That was the wrong thing to say. The determinedness in Link's eyes suddenly snapped back, full force. He began to back away slowly.
"No, I can't get you involved. I have to deal with this by myself-" Whatever Link was about to say was lost as the child doubled over in pain. A choked cry excaped his lips as Impa knelt down beside him, wanting to help but not knowing how. Malon gasped and Zelda gave a small scream as what looked like blood seeped out from under Link's eyelids. Impa grew pale. So this is what the ranch girl was so frightened by. Then Impa realized she had something to be frightened by herself; she could sense some alien magic within the core of this boy. Whatever this magic was, it was powerful.
Later Impa would reflect on how clear everything seems when you are too scared to notice them. She would remember seeing the platinum streaks in Link's hair, how they seemed to get a little bit wider before her panic-stricken eyes. How she could see the torment written in Link's face, and wonder if it was put there by physical agony or by the knowledge of some hidden failure. And how much relief she felt when the tremors ceased and Link lay still, unconscious.
Impa, shaking with reaction to the shock of seeing one of Link's "fits," was the first to take action. She told Malon to get a cloth from her saddlebags; she didn't care what it was. She told Zelda to get a bottle of water from the other saddlebag. These two items in hand, Impa gently smoothed the crimson tears from Link's face as her charges watched with identical expressions of concern. When no trace of the tears remained, she helped Zelda back into her saddle as Malon climbed into her own. Holding Link as carefully as a china doll, Impa mounted Cyclone, and headed back to Hyrule Castle with her friends close behind.