Loving her, killing for her
Note from the author: This is a very short story. (At least, for my standards.) There are some parts not committed for younger readers. (Violence and an almost succesfull attempt at rape.) Have fun.
Seven years have passed since Ganondorf has been trapped in the Evil Realm and Link returned to his own time. Hyrule prosperred under the rule of Harkinian. There were of course wars and things like that. The world was still a dangerous place and Hyrule was under a constant threat. Orcs to the west of the country and Humans to the north of it. The Lizalfos and brigands were still a problem, but Hyrule was quiete prosperous. Nobody knew anything about the epic battle that was neccessary to bring this kind of wealth. When Link returned as a ten year old no one knew about the heroic deeds he had performed. No one except Link himself and the Princess of Hyrule. Link never knew how it was possible but Zelda remembered everything. Link had nothing left. When he returned to Kokiri Forest the Kokiries found out that he had 'borrowed' the Kokiri Sword. They didn't like it and this time Saria wasn't able to help him. He was banished from the forest. He had no sword, he had no shield, no relatives, Navi gone, Epona gone... Practically the only thing he had left were his clothes which seemed to grow with him. Probably thanks to the time-travelling he had done. Now he lived in Hyrule Field. Nowhere to go, nothing to do. He lived from hunting. It had no use trying to earn money without his weapons. Fighting was the only thing he could. Zelda tried to get him into the castle, but her father didn't allow it. He too didn't know that Link was the Hero of Time. Zelda tried to help Link as much as she could and in the beginning it worked. But her father found out and forbid the young princess to ever help him again. Sometimes Link sneeked into the castle to pay her a visit. They both liked each others company. When Zelda had revealed herself in the Temple of Time Link didn't knew what to say. After Ganondorf was locked up he didn't want Zelda to send him back to his time. He wanted to stay with her. Forever. But he had realised that her father had died during the attack on Hyrule Castle, right after he had pulled the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time. Her mother had died when Zelda was seven. Human assasins had murdered her. That's why Link didn't even ask to stay. In his time Zelda would still have her father. But when he became seventeen his luck took a run for the worst. It was announced that Zelda was engaged to a prince called Danath. He temporary stayed in Hyrule Castle with his own guards. There were so many guards that it was a small army. A marriage date wasn't set yet, but Link was devastated. After he heard it, he stopped visiting her. He thought she didn't need him anymore. How wrong he was...
Zelda lay on her back on her bed. She thought about the events that had happened that day. Tears stained her cheeks. She had laid her hands under her head and was wearing her nightgown. It was late. Her balconydoors were open, despite the eveningbreeze that blew through it. She didn't care. The only person that could cheer her up wasn't there. He didn't visit her anymore after her father announced that she was engaged to Danath. She cursed Danath. He had come far too close that day and he had costed her a dear friend. Was Link jealous? She hoped it. She truly hoped it. No, she didn't love Danath. She hated him. He was terrorising her. Mentally and...physically. But her father said she was going to marry him. He was a Human Prince. The marriage between him and Zelda could break the tensions between the two races. That afternoon, when she was studying the arts of magic in the library, Danath came in. She shivered at the thought of what he had tried to do. He had touched her and had tried to take her dress of her. While he had been that close, Zelda knew she couldn't cast a spell. She had screamed and one of the castle soldiers had come in. That evening she had locked herself up in her room. And now she was lying on her bed. Her thoughts with Link. She turned around to lie on her stomach. Her long, blonde hair playfully followed her head as it turned around. It wasn't fair. Link had saved the world and now he wandered through the country. Alone, uncertain wether he lives another day or not. She knew Link was strong. He kept his humour despite the bad things that had befallen him. He always saw things in a positive way. She wanted to see him, but she couldn't get out of the castle. She tried it numerous times before.
The next day Link sat at Lake Hylia. It was early in the morning. He had washed himself in the lake and was thinking of a way to get some breakfast. The night before was cold and he had barely slept. A few days before he met Malon. Of course he allready knew Malon, but Malon didn't knew him. She was concerned about him and brought him food a couple of times. She was still a sweet girl and pretty too. But all Link could think about was Zelda. A little voice in his head said he was acting childish and that he should start visiting her again. But he knew Zelda found happiness and he didn't want to trouble her with his little problems. "Hi, Link!" A female voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. He turned in the direction of which it came and saw Malon walking towards him. What was she doing here so early? She had a casket with her. Link looked at her with a smile on his face and said: "Hi, Malon. What are you doing here so early?" Malon walked over to him and sat down next to him. "I thought you might be hungry." she said playfully and held the basket in front of him. Link looked into it and saw all kinds of food in it. Bread, cheese, milk... He smiled. "But Malon... I can't take that." Malon laughed. "Of course you can. You just have to say yes. Besides we've got plenty of it." Link shook his head. "You come all the way here in the morning just to bring me breakfast? Malon, that's really the sweetest thing anyone has done for me. Thank you so much." The gratefullness in his voice made Malon blush and she turned her face away. Out of politeness he didn't start to eat. He took the casket from her and put it next to him on the ground. "So..." Malon started. "Are you still thinking of the princess?" Link stared at the lake whitch bathed in the early sunrays and nodded. Malon sighed. "I see you really like her. I know. I can see it. But she's the Princess of Hyrule. You have to be of royalty to even get close to her." Link looked at the ranchgirl. "But that's not going to stop you is it?" Link slowly shook his head. He stared at the lake again and said: "But she's engaged. She doesn't need me."
"Is that why you don't visit her anymore?" Link remained silent. Malon put a hand on his arm and said: "Link, I'm just a simple peasantgirl, but I don't think the princess immediatly doesn't want to see you just because she's engaged. You said you two were...no, are friends for seven years. A friendship like that doesn't break that easily. Just go to the castle and pay her a visit. Just like before. I don't really know you for so long, but you seem like a very good friend to have. Don't let her lose such a friend." Link again looked at Malon. He smiled. "Guess you're right, Malon. But I don't think my friendship can match with yours. You did a lot for me. And now you give me advise. I will go to the castle and apologize for my childish behaviour. Thank you, Malon. You really are a good friend." He kissed her on the cheek. Malon blushed. Link knew she liked him. She liked him allready during his timetraveling-quest against Ganondorf. He thought it was really unselfish of her. Malon and he chatted while Link ate the food Malon brought him. When it was noon, Link said goodbye to her and headed for Hyrule Castle.
Zelda was sitting in the castle courtyard. It was about two 'o clock and she just had lunch. Again, tears rolled down her cheeks. She felt more and more unsafe near Danath. He didn't like it that she had locked her door the night before. When she came out of bed that morning she opened her door to go to the diningroom. Danath had been waiting for her. He had forced her back into her room and had asked her why she had locked her door. When he sat on her bed she had tried to cast a spell at him to hold him in place. A kind of paralysing spell. But when she had cast it and a ball of white, sparkling energie shot out of her fingertips and raced towards him, he had made a simple gesture and the ball vanished! Danath was a mage as well. And not only that, but he was far more powerfull than she was. He had been furious. He had slapped her in the face a couple of times before he left her room. She had eaten her breakfast and lunch at her room. She didn't want anyone to see her red cheeks. While she was sitting in the courtyard she realized that Danath had hit her hard. The pain still wasn't over and when she saw her reflection in the windows she saw that her cheeks were still red. Perhaps he used magic on her. Perhaps the pain would never go away. She laid her head in her hands and kept crying. She didn't care if the whole world was watching. She felt awful.
Silently Link was sneeking past the soldiers. It went as easy as it went seven years before. He knew he had to go through the courtyard and to the tower that held Zelda's room. He had a rain of apoligies in his head. But when he passed the last guard and was about to enter the courtyard he heard someone crying. It was a girl. When he entered the courtyard he immediatly saw the source of it. Zelda was sitting on a bench, her head in her hands. Link swallowed hard. He hated to see her in pain. He silently walked over to her. Zelda looked up from her hands. Link didn't walk silent enough. A smile appeared on her face. "Link!?!" From were he stood Link couldn't see the red marks on her face. He smiled at her and said: "Hi, pretty princess, why the tears?" He said it to comfort her. Zelda quickly stood up and ran over to him. She hugged him tightly. "Oh, Link. What am I glad you're here!" Apparantly he was wrong about the Princess being happy. Link couldn't do anything besides wrapping his arms around her and moving them comfortingly over her back. "What's up, Zel?" he said concerned. Zelda looked at him and was about to say something when Link noticed the marks on her face. "By Din! Who did this to you?" Anger was raging through his voice. Zelda didn't want anyone to know about it, but Link was her best and most trusted friend. She didn't know what to say and remained silent. The autumnwind pulled at her simple, cotton dress. Zelda wasn't like any other Prince or Princess. She was always helpfull and hated it if someone worked for her. She helped in the kitchen and cleaned her own room. Her long hair floated around along with her dress. "Zel?" Zelda looked at him, not knowing what to do. "Why don't you tell it your fiancé? He is able to do something about it. Right?" Tears started to roll down her cheeks. "Link, my fiancé did this to me!" Link stepped back in surprise and let the seventeen year old go. "What!?!" Exactly at that moment Danath came out of the shadows to the right of Zelda. He was a long, broad Human with short, black hair. A sheath hang from his hip and he wore a long, red cape. "I must ask you to leave, boy. The Princess and I want some time alone." he said with a fake smile. Zelda quickly looked at Danath and then back to Link. Link didn't know what to do. Zelda looked at him with a begging look. "No, Link. Please stay." Her voice was shaking. Link looked at Danath with fury in his eyes. This man was going to pay for what he did to Zelda. "Sorry, pal. The lady wants me to stay." Danath looked at the young Hylian with an angry look. He moved his right arm down to his hip and unsheathed his sword. He pointed it at Link. "I will not ask again." Link bravely walked past Zelda and stopped right before the blade. "I will not leave. You will pay for what you have done to her!" Danath laughed. He slowly raised his sword to the left. "Then die!" he screamed and swinged his sword to the right in an atempt to cut Link's head off. Link saw it coming and ducked just in time. The blade missed his cap, but it was a close call. Zelda shrieked and held her hands in front of her mouth. Still ducking, Link made a quick step forward and punched Danath in his stomach. Danath groaned, collapsed a little and did a few steps back. Link stood straight, grapped Danath's swordarm and turned it around, forcing the Human to drop his sword. Danath let a yell. Almost soundly, the sword hit the ground. Link let Danath go and picked up the man's sword. He pointed the blade at his neck and looked the Human in his eyes. "I don't like it when people threaten my friends or swing blades at me." Link turned his head to Zelda. "It's your call, your Highness. Shall I kill him or not?" Danath stood still. He swallowed. He stood with his back against the wall. There was no way he could get away. Zelda walked to Link and stood next to him. She barely believed that Link had Danath in this position. "Let him live, Link. I break off our engagement and have him thrown in jail. I don't care what my father wants." Danath closed his eyes in relief. Link looked at the blonde Princess and smiled. He looked back at Danath and said: "I guess the lady saved your sorry ass, Human. You should be gratefull. I would have killed you." Zelda walked through the archway which Link came through a few moments before. She came back with two Hylian soldiers. She pointed over to Danath and said: "Take him away." The soldiers had no clue on what was happening, but carried out Zelda's orders and took Danath in between them. Danath was making useless insults and threats towards Zelda as the soldiers took him away through the archway. Link walked over to Zelda and asked: "Are you OK?" Zelda nodded. "Thanks to you, Link. I didn't want to tell anyone about it. I'm afraid it's going to be war again." Link looked in the direction of the archway. "At least he is not going to hurt you anymore. And I've got a free sword!" Zelda laughed. She looked him into his eyes and said: "I don't know how to thank you, Link. I didn't really thank you for saving me from Ganondorf either. I guess I'm an unthankfull, spoiled Princess." She said the last sentence softly. As if she just discovered it. "I know a way how you could thank me, Zelda." Link said calmly, but his heart started to race through his chest. He started to feel sweaty and felt a strange feeling in his stomach. He took a deep breath, swallowed and again breathed deeply. "Please forgive me and don't be angry with me, but I wanted to do it already when we beat Ganondorf and now we're seventeen again so..." Zelda wondered what he meant. She had a slight idea, but didn't dare to even hope it. Link grabbed her head carefully with both hands and kissed her lips. He never kissed before, so he just tried. Her lips were soft and tasted wonderfull. He wanted it to last forever, but a little voice inside of him accused him of abusing the trust of his best friend. As soon as he realised that he pulled his head back and closed his eyes. He expected a slap in the face or soldiers who would arrest him, but nothing happened. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." he said softly. "What for?" Zelda's voice echoed through his head. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the Princess looking at him with her beautifull, blue eyes. "You just did the most wonderfull thing for me, Link." He couldn't believe his ears! "You always knew how to make me happy." Zelda noticed his surprise. "I already liked you when I first saw you returning from the Sacred Realm. You were so diffrent from when you were a kid and yet you still had the mischievous look in your eyes I saw when you were ten and stood in the courtyard." Link was amazed. Zelda remembered everything from seven years ago. He usually forgot stuff that wasn't important. But apparantly this wás important for the young Princess. Not that it wan't important for him, though. Zelda wrapped her arms around Link's neck, trying to take as much from his surprised look as possible. It was not the look that fascinated her, but his caring, blue eyes did. "You save me over and over again, Link." That thought already made Zelda feel special. She knew Link could get any girl he wanted and yet he remained at her side trying to protect her from everything that could possibly hurt her. And what did she do in return? Almost nothing. And now he asked her for something very simple: Her love. How could she deny that to him? He was her knight in shiny armor, although he didn't even have money to buy a single arrow. "I love you, Link." she whispered. Those four words more than made up for the seven years Link spend in poverty. She always said the words in his thoughts, but Link couldn't even imagine how beautifull they sounded from the Princess' mouth. The couple slowly brought their heads closer to each other and kissed passionetly. For Link, this was even better than the one before. Zelda wanted to express just how much she loved him and was doing that with that kiss. Link wrapped his arms around her waist as he enjoyed kissing the gorgeous creature in front of him. When they parted, they both had to gasp for air. They stood there for a while. Link tightly holding Zelda as if he was afraid to lose her. But suddenly the two heard Danath's voice. "There she is, your Highness. Flirting with that...tramp." Harkinian came rushing into the courtyard. Danath following the Hylian king. He stopped right before Link and Zelda. The two let each other go and Link bowed. Harkinian looked from Link to Zelda and sighed. "Zelda, Zelda. You put your fiancé in jail and then you do THIS with a mere peasant. When the people hear about this..." Zelda interrupted her father: "You know why I put him in jail, father? Because he hit me and tried to abuse me." Zelda sounded furious. This was also thanks to the word 'tramp' Danath used. Harkinian looked astonished at his daughter. "If it wasn't for Link he would have certainly gotten...closer." Harkinian turned at Danath. "Is this true?" Danath remained calm. "Yeah, it's true. She didn't love me and I had to force her to surrender to me. Too bad Link interferred." Danath looked at Zelda. "We could have had so much fun together, Zelda." Harkinian looked furiously at the Human prince. "How dare you threat my daughter? You will rot in my deepest dungeon!" Before Harkinian could call the soldiers. Danath whistled. From the archway, four soldiers came running in. Human soldiers. They were all armed with swords and shields and wore chainmail armor. Open helmets rested on their heads. Two of them walked to the left side of Danath and stood there, while the other two walked over to Danath's right side. Danath slowly crossed his arms on his chest and said: "I give you a fair trade, Harkinian. What shall I take? Your daughter or your life? You decide." The king did a few steps back. "You will not hurt my daughter!" Danath sighed. "Then the choice will be simple. Kill them all and bring the Princess to my hideout. You know where it is." Having said these words to his soldiers, Danath turned around and walked through the archway. The soldiers calmly walked towards the Hylians. Link quickly did a few steps forward and stood protectively before the King and his daughter. He twirled Danath's sword between his fingers. "It's been a long time. Let's see if I can still fight."
"Wait, Link." said Zelda and walked over to him. She stood behind him. "You don't have to fight alone. Just protect me."
"I always will, Zelda. You know me." said Link as he readied himself for battle. The first soldier screamed and tried to hack vertically at Link, but the Hero of Time saw it comming and parried the soldier's weapon with his own. Since he had no shield, he was able to use two hands for his sword, which gave him an advantage at that moment. The soldier moved the blade down and tried to slash the Hylian there, but Link also parried that blow. The Human ceased his attack for just one moment and that was the time Link needed. He kicked the soldier on his knee. The man bowed to the side a little and groaned. His movement to his side left his neck unprotected. Link held the sword above his head with one hand and hacked down at the soldier's neck. It was a frontal hit. The Human screamed as blood spirted out of his neck as if it was a little fountain. He dropped his sword. He fell on his knees and tried to hold the bleeding with his hands. It didn't help. He fell down on his face and died in a pool of his own blood. Zelda stood a little behind Link and saw that one of the soldiers was trying to flank him. She closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened her eyes again she pointed her hands at the soldier and spread her fingertips. A moment later, shards of ice shot from her fingertips and raced towards the Human. He saw them comming from the corner of his eye and turned around, just in time to see what would kill him. The shards hit him in his stomach, his chest, his limbs. With every hit of a shard the soldier's body shook from the impact and he let cries of pain. When the last shard hit him and the stream of shards stopped, he fell backward and died even before he hit the ground. Now there were only two soldiers left. Link was fighting one while the second, realizing that Zelda was a dangerous foe, held his shield protectively in front of his chest and moved in on the Hylian Princess. The soldier was so close that Zelda knew she couldn't cast a spell before the soldier would kill her. She quickly did a few steps back. "Help!" As soon as Link heard her, he pushed with two hands against his opponent's shield. His push was hard enough to bring the soldier out of balance. The Human stumbled back and tried to remain on his feet. This gave Link the time to come his princess to aid. In the meantime, Zelda had moved so far back that she stumbled on the wall. Her father was in no position to help her and watched helplessly as his daughter saw the flickering blade of the Human approach her chest. The soldier grinned mean and said: "I don't care what Danath wants. Die, bitch!" Zelda looked away, closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come. But it didn't. She just heard a gargling sound and opened her eyes. She saw the soldier still standing before her, but a blade sticked out from his chest and blood was dropping down from his mouth. The blade was pulled back and the soldier fell on his knees. Zelda saw Link standing behind the soldier with a sword soaked in blood. "I don't think so." Link replied to the soldier's death. "Link! Behind you!" shrieked Zelda. Link quickly turned, but he was too late. The last soldier's blade went through his side. Link groaned and put his free hand on the wound. He did a few steps back to evade another blow. Zelda quickly closed her eyes. She made her hands touch each other and pointed them at the soldier as soon as she opened her eyes. A burst of water shot from her hands and hit the Human. He was thrown back all the way through the courtyard and hit the wall opposite of Link and Zelda. Zelda pinned the soldier to the wall with a continuous stream of water. The soldier had lost his weapons thanks to Zelda's action. Zelda ceased her spell. She thought the soldier was no longer a threat. She walked over to Link and kneeled before him to check on his wound. Without a word, King Harkinian left the courtyard. The Human soldier was apparantly unconscious, since he remained sitting before the wall. "Let me see the wound, Link." said Zelda with a soft, but commanding voice. Link did what she wanted and slowly removed his hand from his side. His hand was covered with blood and blood kept pouring from his wound. He quickly put his hand back on the wound again. "Is it bad?" he asked. "Yes." said Zelda softly. Suddenly, Harkinian's voice echoed through the courtyard: "There he is." Zelda turned around and saw soldiers entering the courtyard and her father pointing at the unconscious Human. She stood up and said: "Father! Link is badly injured!"
"Quickly! Bring him to the guest room. I'll send my personal physicans." Without saying another word, Harkinian walked out of the courtyard. Zelda was surprised. She didn't expect her father to even allow Link in the castle. Perhaps he wasn't such a stern father after all.
"Hi, pretty princess." Link said weakly. He lay in a four-poster bed in a luxurious room. The docters just applied bandages to his wounds and when they had left the room Zelda came in. She sat down on his bed. "How are you?" she asked concerned. "Lost a lot of blood, but the docters say I'm going to be fine." Zelda sighed in relief. "Good. You know, you fought well."
"Good. That means I can still do it. You're a dangerous lady as well." Zelda grinned at the young man. "When do I have to get out of the castle again?" Link asked curiously.
"You don't have to." Harkinian said as he walked into the room. He stood next to Link and said: "I thought my daughter was playing games again, but I see how much you mean to her and she doesn't have to marry a prince for all I care. I know that's the law, but then we'll have to change it a bit. She always says rules are there to be broken and when I saw the look in her eyes when she looked at you I knew she found the right one. I know you'll make her happy, Link." Link smiled. "I will, your Highness. I will." The king stood up again and walked to the door. "I'm leaving the two of you alone. There are more important things that require my attention." He left the room and closed the door behind him. For a moment, it was quiet between the Princess of Hyrule and the Hero of Time. "I wanted to ask you something, Zel. I wanted to ask it for quiete some time, but I didn't got a chance. When you were disguised as Sheik, you tought me all those songs with that little harp. Can you still play it?" Zelda shrugged. "Don't know."
"You know, I liked you in your Sheikah outfit. It looked sexy..." Zelda blushed. "But what did you do during those seven years?" Zelda looked away from him. Link slowly sat up. "You mean...you only HID from Ganondorf for seven years?" Zelda looked at Link again and nodded. "I was terribly afraid." Link stared away from her. "Darn. You didn't deserve that!"
"Doesn't matter. It's history. Ganondorf is locked up in the Evil Realm and we're together."
"There's just one little problem. Danath. As long as he's around here no one is safe. As soon as I'm feeling better I'm going to search for his hideout." Zelda put a hand on his arm. "Are you nuts? He has brought an entire army with him. No way your going alone! I'm going with you and don't even try to stop me. I didn't help you with freeing the five sages or finding the spiritual stones either. And..." Link interrupted the Hylian Princess.
"You couldn't help me and you know that. When I went after the spiritual stones you had to guard the Ocarina of Time and if you helped me freeing the sages then Ganondorf would have figured out that Sheik was really you and then we weren't strong enough to defeat him."
"Guess you're right, Link. But I felt so useless during your quest and if it wasn't for me the whole thing wouldn't have happened!"
"Maybe. But it's all a part of life and we learn from mistakes. But above all, I kept thanking you in my thoughts for doing that." Zelda looked up, a surprised look on her beautifull face. "Why?"
"Well, if you didn't do that, then I would have never been able to fall in love with you. And that would be the biggest mistake of my life. Fortunatly, you were there to prevent me from making that mistake and I owe you big time."
"Serious?" Link nodded. "Why would I lie to you?"
"Well, that's your point of view..."
"And it's the right one, believe me." Link put his arms behind his back on the bed. "But it's still not fair. The only thing I did was teach you some songs and order you about. It was you who saved Hyrule. And look. I live in a castle in wealth and you don't even know if you live another day." Link sat up straight and caressed her cheek. "But Zel, if it wasn't for you than I wouldn't even been able to get out of Ganon's Castle in time before it collapsed. We both saved each others lives. And above all...I love you, Zel. That's all that matters now. Forget about Ganondorf." Zelda smiled and said: "If I didn't know better, I'd say you posses the Triforce of Wisdom." Link laughed. The two chatted about the battle waged across time until it was time for supper. Zelda stood up and straightened her dress a little. "I'm going down, Link. Shall I bring you something to eat?" Link shook his head. "If it's OK with you, I would like to go with you. I think I can walk."
"I'd love that. Are you sure you're OK?" Link nodded and stepped out of bed. A bit clumsy, but he stood on his legs. He was still wearing his Kokiri tunic. "Follow me, Hero!" Zelda said invitingly. "Of course, your Higness." The couple walked out of the guest room and Zelda led Link down a corridor. Then Link found himself in a huge hall with an impressive stairway. Shields and weapons hang on the wall. The crest of the Royal Family was inscripted in the marble floor. They walked down the stairway and entered another room. There was a big, wooden table in the middle of the room and a fireplace casted strange shadows on the walls. At the head of the table sat the King of Hyrule: Harkinian. He had a short, dark beard and he had an aura around him that Link couldn't really comprehend. The goodness radiated from the middle-aged man. The table was allready laid. And for three people. "Ah, Link. You're feeling better? Good. I thought you'd come down so the table is all set. Please, sit down." Link made a short bow and said: "Thank you, your Majesty. You are most kind."
"Good manners for such a young lad." said the King and he smiled approving. Link and Zelda took place opposite of each other. Before him, Link saw several dishes of food. The dishes were still covered to keep the food warm. Zelda stood up and removed the cover from the dishes. Link couldn't believe his eyes. He had never seen so much food in his life. Potatoes, vegetables and meat. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but for Link it was overwhelming. "Wow." he said nervously. "I've never seen so much food in my life!" Zelda looked at him with a sad expression in her eyes. She tried to smile. He looked so out of place in the castle. The King laughed. He also knew Link's former state and wasn't surprised he reacted like that. Despite Link's poverty, he wanted him to marry his daughter at all costs. Zelda loved him dearly and as a father he felt it. When Danath and Zelda were engaged, Harkinian really thought Zelda loved the Human. "How could I be so blind." he thought. Zelda wanted to serve out some potatoes, but then she saw the ring on her left hand. She immediatly pulled it off her finger. She looked at it one more time. It wasn't really an expensive ring, that was for sure. She stood up and walked to the fireplace. "Goodbye, Danath." she whispered and threw the ring in the crackling fire. Her father looked at her and said: "I'm so sorry, Zelda. I didn't know..." Zelda turned around to face her father and said: "It doesn't matter, father. As long as Link can stay with me at the castle..." The King smiled. "Goes without saying, my daughter. You deserve a man like him." During the meal, Link felt more and more at ease. The trio chatted about just about everything. Link knew that this was his new family. The family he had never had...
"Rats!" Link said as he again dropped the piece of soap in the bath. It was morning. The night before was his first night at the castle. He didn't sleep well. It was all new and the bed was perhaps a bit too comfortable. He got up early and discovered the bathroom that was adjacent to the room he slept in. He got a room next to Zelda's and it was in the same style as the one the Princess slept in. He had filled the bath with warm water. He usually washed himself in Lake Hylia. And the water there was far from warm, so this was also a totally new experience for the young swordsman. His wound was far from healed, but he pulled away the bandages and took the bath. He knew that he needed fresh bandages anyway, so what the heck. While he lay there in the water, he thought about a few things that weren't clear to him. He spent seven years living outdoors and yet the King had said he had manners. He also spoke like a seventeen year old and not as a ten year old. Perhaps it was al thanks to the fact that he had allready been seventeen before. He didn't know. Not that it mattered a lot, though. The water felt relaxing and slowly he dozed in.
Zelda yawned. She sat on her bed. She had dreamed that night. About Link. And what a dream it was! It was so lively that Zelda hoped it was one of her prophetic dreams. She stood up. She knew that one day, Link would do to her what he had done in her dream. Still in her nightgown, Zelda walked out of her room. She was curious if Link was up allready so she walked to his door and slowly opened it. She peeked through the narrow opening of the door, but she saw there was no one in his room. She walked further and wondered where Link was untill she saw the door to the bathroom. "Link?" She slowly opened the door. Link slept only lightly and awoke when Zelda opened the door. As soon as he saw Zelda, he immediatly sat up straight in the bath. Zelda, at her turn, saw Link sitting in the bath and immediatly closed the door. "Sorry!" Link heard her saying through the door. He jumped out of the bath and put on a towel. He opened the door. "Zel?" He found Zelda sitting on his bed, a red color stained her cheeks. "Sorry, Link. I didn't know..." Link made a nonchalant gesture with his hand. "Doesn't matter, Princess." He walked over to his bed and sat down next to Zelda. "Did you sleep well?" asked Zelda. Link shook his head. "Call me weird, but the bed was too comfy. Perhaps I'll get used to it." Zelda laughed. Link carefully grabbed her chin with his hand and made her face turn to him. He looked at her and said: "Just as I thought. You're beautifull!" She giggled. Link gently kissed her lips. Zelda laid her hands on his naked chest. She praised herself lucky to even know Link, let alone be his girlfriend. After a few days, Link got more and more accustomed to life at the castle. He also recovered quickly. The King was very fond of Link. Zelda noticed it and was surprised. She always saw her father as a stern man who didn't even allow her to have friends amongst simple people like Link and now he treated Link like he was his own son. Zelda thought it was wonderfull and that nothing could possibly ruin her hapiness. On one morning, she went to take a ride around Hyrule Field on her Unicorn. When Link first saw the creature, he was impressed. It was a strong, white animal with a glistering horn on top of his head. There weren't many Unicorns in Hyrule anymore. The horn of a Unicorn is said to have magical powers, so the animals were almost hunted to extinction. Hunting Unicorns was allready forbidden by law, but as the Unicorn-population dimished, Harkinian saw to it that hunters were severly punished and he send more patrols to oppose the hunting. It worked. After a while, the Unicorn population began to grow again. Harkinian gave Zelda the Unicorn for her fifteenth birthday. She immediatly loved the animal and cared for him a lot. The two had grown close to each other. Zelda felt the fresh autumnwind blowing through her hair as she steered Uni to Lon Lon Ranch. She saw Malon sitting near the entrance and decided to thank her. Link had told the young Princess what Malon had said. Malon saw her coming and stood up. Zelda halted Uni a few meters from Malon and dismounted. She smiled at the red- haired ranchgirl as she walked towards her. Malon was stunned. "Your Highness!"
"Hi, Malon." Zelda said happily. "You know me?" Malon was even more surprised. "Even longer than you think." thought the Hylian Princess, but she didn't say it. "Link told me about you. I think I owe my fortune all to you, Malon." Malon looked at her, puzzled. Zelda decided to give her a hint: "Guess who's going to be king in the near future." Malon remained naive. "Danath?" Zelda shook her head. "Thank Din he's not!" Malon tilted an eyebrow. "You two are engaged, right?"
"Not anymore. I hate his guts!"
"Princess, I don't understand. You were planning to marry a man you didn't even like?"
"Politics, Malon. Politics. It might be a rude question, but can I explain it inside?" Zelda pointed to Malon's house at the ranch. "Sure, your Majesty." said Malon invitingly.
Zelda remained at the ranch untill noon. She had told Malon everything that had happened. She ate lunch at the ranch. Malon insisted. Zelda mounted Uni. "Thanks for everything, Malon. You're always welcome at the castle." Malon bowed. "Thanks, your Highness."
"My friends call me Zelda." Zelda smiled. Malon sighed. "It's going to take me some time to get used to that." She laughed. "Goodbye, Malon. Come by anytime." Zelda said as she turned Uni around. "Don't worry, your...Zelda. I will." Uni gallopped to the castle.
Link looked the King in his eyes. Despair and fear was what Link saw. He had to watch his every move. One mistake and it would be over. Did Harkinian knew this? Link tried to figure out, but not too long or he would get suspicious. He slowly lowered his hand. Would this be the right one? He swallowed and picked up the bishop. He put him down at a black square and let the chesspiece go. Just smiling, Harkinian picked up his black tower and placed it in front of Link's king. "Checkmate." the Hylian King said victorious. Link looked at the pieces for a moment. "Rats!" The two sat in the diningroom, a chessgame on the table. It was the morning after Link's second night at the castle. This time, Link had slept very well and if it wasn't for Zelda, he would have slept even longer. He didn't mind being waked up by the Princess, though. Zelda came in the room. She stood behind Link and leaned on his shoulders. "Did you beat him?" she asked him. "No, he's too good, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. Funny game." Zelda lowered her head to his ear and whispered: "Well, you can't be good at everything." Link nodded. "I know, Zel. I know." He stood up from his chair. "I think I'm going to look for Danath this afternoon. I said he was going to pay and he will." Zelda startled. Link saw it. She wanted to say something, but Link was quicker: "I know what you want to say Zelda, but as long as he's in Hyrule, he's a threat. Both to the country as to you. I won't allow him to hurt you again." Typically Link. Always ready to protect the good and slay the evil. "But, Link..." Link silenced the blonde girl by putting his finger on her lips. "No buts, Princess. He made his biggest and last mistake by hurting you. And it's a good chance to see if I can still ride a horse, don't you think?" Zelda just looked at him. "Just be carefull, OK?" she wispered. She put her head against his chest. "You know me, Zel." She looked up and tried to smile. "That's why I'm worried." she said bitterly. Link grinned. "At least you keep you humour." He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and kissed her. "Don't worry, Zel." The King looked at the couple. He was glad Zelda finally found a man who gave her everything he could. Harkinian just knew he would.
After lunch, Link prepared himself. He went to the castle armory and picked a sword to his liking. He got a Hylian shield. He first thought he would also try to pick up his archery skills again, but there was no time for that. Zelda allowed him to take Uni. At first, the Unicorn was scared of Link, but after a few laps around the courtyard, they were best pals. Link and Uni stood before the drawbridge to Hyrule Castle Town. Zelda was standing next to them. "Well, I think I'll go look for him. I'm not sure wether I find him or not, but I'll be back before sundown." He caressed her cheek. He gave Uni a slight touch with his boots and he started to ride in the direction of Kakariko Village. Link was planning to explore the east part of Hyrule first. Hyrule wasn't a big country, but it wasn't possible for him to explore it in one day. Zelda kept looking at the young man untill he was out of sight. "I hope so, Link. I truly hope so." she murmered and she went back to the castle.
Zelda sat just outside Hyrule Castle town. It was getting dark and Link still hadn't returned. She was worried. Link always kept his promise, no matter what. It was cold and she had put a blanket around herself. She kept asking herself what could have happened to him. Suddenly she heard the clattering of hooves. She quickly stood up, hoping it was Link. She saw a figure riding towards her, but she couldn't see if it was a horse or a Unicorn. When she recognized the figure it was too late. Danath rushed at her and held his arm towards her. Before Zelda could react, let alone cast a spell, Danath grabbed her by her waist and pulled her in front of him on his horse. The blanket lifelessly dropped on the ground. Danath immediatly stopped his horse and stood there before Hyrule Castle town. He looked at the Princess and said: "Hi, Zelda. Did you miss me?" Zelda closed her eyes in an attempt to concentrate. But Danath saw it and said: "Cast a spell and you're dead." Zelda knew Danath was a far more powerfull mage than she was, so she opened her eyes again and broke off her spel. "One of my scouts reported that you killed three of my soldiers. That's not nice." Zelda tried to get loose, but she couldn't. "What do you want, Danath? Why are we waiting here?"
"From the moment I first saw you, I knew I just had to ehm...how shall I say this polite? Make you mine. Unfortunatly this Link interrupted my plans. We're waiting for him. I saw him riding. He'll be here any moment. I want him to see how I eh...oh, what the hell, rape you." Zelda swallowed at the hearing of that word. She knew Danath wasn't bluffing. Her only hope was Link. Just as she thought about him, a white Unicorn with a figure dressed in green gallopped towards her. As soon as he was close enough to recognize Danath, he stopped Uni. He also saw Danath was holding Zelda. Before he could say a word, Danath said: "Hello, Link. Look what I've got here. Doesn't she look sweet? Aren't you curious how she can scream?" Link didn't really had time to comprehend it all, but that wasn't really necessary in that situation. "Let her go, Danath. Or else you'll be sorry you ever laid your greedy eyes on her!" Danath smiled mean. "Oehoe. Aren't we tough. No, Link. I'm not ready to let her go just yet. Just a question between us men, is she still a virgin?" Link just looked at Danath, feeling in no way obligated to answer the Human's question. "I mean: Have you allready screwed her?" Link felt the anger building up inside his body. He wanted so much to decapitate him in order to stop the barrage of insults he made towards him, and especially Zelda. "Danath, I'm warning you! If you hurt her in any way, you'll be dead before you hit the ground."
"I don't think you'll do anything as long as I hold your sweet princess hostage. Why don't you be a nice boy and follow me to my hideout. We can settle things there." Link looked at Zelda. She looked at him with big eyes. She was affraid. You didn't had to know her to see that. He looked back at Danath. "I don't have much choice, now do I?" Danath grinned. "No, you don't. If you do anything funny, I'll off her." Danath didn't say anything anymore. He just motioned his horse through the landscape and Link couldn't do anything except following him, but he looked for every opportunity to surprise Danath. As Link expected, that moment never came. After about half an hour they came at a little encampment. It was hidden safely behind trees and rocks. You could only see it if you really looked for it. In the middle of the camp was a large tent. Link thought it was Danath's tent. Around it were several smaller tents. Probably the soldiers barracks. He saw about a dozen soldiers. There were probably even more. They looked up a soon as Danath entered the camp. As soon as they saw Zelda, they started to cheer and laugh. Danath dismounted and handed Zelda over to one of his soldiers. Link also dismounted. Danath pointed at the young Hylian. "Disarm him and bring them both to my tent." Having said that, he disapeared in the big tent. The Humans took Link's shield and sword. The two Hylians were escorted to Danath's tent. The tent was stuffed with luxery. A four poster bed was on the right and a furry, red carpet lay on the ground. There where drawers with candles on them and in the middle of the room was a round, wooden table with a bowl of fruit on it. There were also three glasses on that table. Danath stood behind it with a bottle of wine in his hands. As soon as Link and Zelda were inside, Danath gave orders to his soldiers: "Leave and guard the tent." The Humans did as Danath ordered. Danath poured some wine in the glasses. "Something to drink?" Link crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What do you want, Danath?" Danath closed the wine bottle, put it on the table and took a glass of wine in his hand. "Hyrule." He took a sip of his wine. "I wanted to marry Zelda so I could become king. I would have killed Harkinian or else it would take too long." Link sighed. "Well, too bad. I've got the feeling she doesn't really like you, so end of story. Can we go now?" Danath laughed. "Funny man. No, I've got a backup plan." He started to walk through the room. "What if Zelda is pregnant? Than she is obligated to marry the man who made her pregnant, now isn't she?"
"She isn't obligated to anything." Danath stopped in front of Link. "No, she isn't. But what if she gave birth and she isn't married yet. Do you have any idea what the people will say? Their princess acting like an ordinairy prostitute. I will, of course, spread some rumours and Zelda will be out of the castle in no time. She won't marry you, because I won't let you leave my camp alive." He paused for a moment, looking at Link and Zelda. Link really hated the Human, but trying to kill him with his bare hands would take too long and the guards would be faster. But he was absolutely sure Danath would have to kill him first before he would carry out his plan. "So, your Highness. What will it be? Will you marry me or will you face the embarassment and lose your title as a princess?" Zelda was scared, she couldn't hide that. But she tried to: "I would rather die than marry you!" Danath laughed fakely. "That can be arranged." Danath moved his hand towards Zelda, but Link quickly grabbed it. "Don't even think about it!" Danath dropped his glass of wine. It shattered once it hit the ground. Danath made a simple gesture towards Link with his free hand. The Hylian felt an invisible force which pushed him away from Danath. He did a few steps back. Danath made another gesture and suddenly, roots and vines shot from the ground and wrapped around Link. They grew so fast, Link didn't had time to react. The vines wrapped around his wrists, his hips, his abdomen, his ankles, his legs, his arms... Only his upper body was left unentangled. Link tried to escape, but the roots and vines were too strong. Zelda closed her eyes in an attempt to cast a spell, but Danath grabbed her wrist and said: "I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you don't do as I say, I will tighten the vines and your boyfriend will choke. Zelda looked at Danath, fear written in her eyes. She couldn't do a thing and she would have to let Danath do to her what he had planned. "Zelda! Just blast the bastard to bits! You have plenty of time before these things can kill me." Zelda looked at him. It was too risky. She didn't want to lose the one she loved. She looked at Danath and swallowed. "Will you let him live when you're done with me?" Danath laughed. "You obviously don't know what will happen to you, but don't worry. I'll let him go. And I'm sure I'm going to love this..." He turned around to Link. "And you, my friend, have the honor of seeing this sweet, little princess naked." Link pulled at the roots. "Leave her alone!" Danath didn't pay any attention to Link and turned around to Zelda again. "Will you take that dress off or will I have to do it for you?" A tear started rolling down from the Princess' cheek. She realised that there was no way she could get out. "Please don't do this... I beg you... please..." Danath grabbed her chin with his hand. "Don't cry, Princess. I'll do it quickly." He let her go and immediatly slapped her in her face. It was hard enough to make Zelda fall on the ground. She sat on her knees and started to sob. "I like it when a girl suffers." He grinned mean. Link felt the anger racing through his body. It was slowly turning into rage. He francticly pulled at the roots and vines. Danath put Zelda back on her feet again and grabbed her dress with both hands. With one mighty pull, he ripped her dress in two pieces and threw them away. Zelda's body was now completely exposed. Danath looked at her. "Yes, I AM going to enjoy this." For him, there was just one thing in the way: her panties. He moved his hand in it and lingered it there for a moment. Zelda reacted by trying to move away from him, but she couldn't. She stood with her back against the wall. Danath caressed the contents of the panties. Zelda's body shook as a reaction. She wanted to be as far away from the Human as possible, but she couldn't go anywhere. They say strong emotions can give you incredible strength. And in the case of Link, they did. The movement of Danath was it for Link. He used all of his strength and moved his arms towards each other in one mighty move. It worked. The roots and veins broke. He was free. He used his free arms to free his legs. Danath didn't notice it. He was too busy with Zelda to mind Link. Link silently walked towards Danath and stood to the left of him, just out of the viewing range of the Human. Zelda saw that Link had broke free, but tried to look miserable. At the same time, Danath pulled down Zelda's panties. Link quickly placed his right arm in front of Danath's face. He turned it a bit, so that he would have a better grip. He placed his knee under the hollow of Danath's knee to bring the Human out of balance. And, while still holding his arm before Danath's head, Link made himself fall on his back. Link was able to support his fall using his left arm, but for Danath, it came as a complete surprise. Link used his weight to make Danath's fall a hard one.The Human indeed fell hard. And not only that, but he landed on his head as well. Link wasn't completely sure if he heard a cracking sound. He quickly stood up, expecting Danath to stand up as well. But the Human remained on the ground. Link kneeled next to him and felt his neck. Danath was only unconscious. Link stood up again. Beating up a defenseless opponent was not his style, no matter how furious he was. He gave Zelda a quick look, not willing to do anything disrespectfull to her. Once he saw her, a painfull sting shot through his heart. She had put her panties back on again, but she was shivering from the cold. She had wrapped her arms around her chest. She was still uneasy and didn't know what to say. Link walked to the bed and got the blanket off of it. He walked over to Zelda and wrapped it around her a couple of times, untill she was tightly wrapped up. He caressed her face. "I'm so sorry I wasn't quicker." Zelda couldn't believe what she heard! He really meant that he was sorry, while he had just saved her. She didn't know what to say. 'Thank you' wasn't enough. Link noticed it and put a finger on her lips. "Your look says it all, Zelda." Zelda was glad Link could feel what was on her mind. "I love you so much, Link." she whispered. "I love you too, Zel." Link said softly. Suddenly, a soldier entered the tent. "Do you need help..." As soon as he saw Danath lying on the floor, he moved his hand to his sheath. Link did a quick step towards him and punched him in his face. The soldier stumbled back as Link punched him again with his other hand. This time, the soldier fell backwards... and out of the tent. "What the hell?" a voice sounded. Link heard the soldiers outside drawing their weapons. He turned to Zelda. "Can you cast spells?" Zelda simply nodded. "I think so." Link walked to Danath and took the Human's sword. "Good. We're going to need it." Zelda walked towards him and placed a hand on his arm. "Give me the sword, Link." Link was surprised, but did as she asked and handed her the sword. Zelda pointed it down and held it with two hands. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, the sword catched fire. Link's eyes widened. The blade was changed in a burning streak of fire! Zelda handed the weapon to him. The handle wasn't on fire. Link carefully took the sword from her. He could feel the intense heat, but it didn't seem to affect the steel. "Come out immediatly!" a man's voice yelled. "We then might be mercifull." Link pulled Zelda towards him at her waist with his free hand and kissed her on the lips. "Let's show them a thing or two, my dangerous princess." Zelda smiled. "Flattering won't work with me." Link walked through the entrance of the tent. All the Human soldiers stood around the entrance, their weapons at the ready. As soon as they saw Link's flaming sword, they backed away a little. "Don't be affraid, men. It's just a kid with a deceiving magic trick. And he's just alone. Where's the Princess, kid?" one of the men said. He was probably the leader, next to Danath. Link shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Haven't you seen her?"
"Stop playing games with us, kid. Do you surrender or do we have to kill you?" Link readied himself by holding his sword defensively in front of him. "Come get some, Human!" Link yelled daringly. The man pointed his sword at Link. "Suit yourself. Kill him!" A lot of soldiers weren't convinced Link's flaming sword was fake. Only two soldiers ran towards Link. They both came from his front side. A not so clever tactic. Link parried the first soldier's blow with his weapon and kicked the second soldier in his stomach. It brought Link out of balance, but he quickly recovered. The soldier who's weapon was blocked, did a step back. "The fire is real!" Link held his weapon with two hands and slashed it upwards in the direction of the soldier. Link struck the soldier's weapon and the soldier himself at chest-height. Link's weapon made a deep cut and the flames immediatly burned the wound, cauzing unimaginable pain. The soldier fell on the ground, his chest on fire. He tried to extinguish the fire by rolling over the ground. He kept on screaming untill he died. Link swallowed. He was used to combat and killing, but there were some things he would never get used to. He immediatly hacked down at the second soldier. It hit the Human on his arm and that part also caught flame. He dropped the sword and attempted to put down the fire with his other hand as he yelled at his fellow soldiers. "Help me! Oh, god! Help me!!" Link had planned to kill the man as fast as possible, but he couldn't. The man just stood there, trying to put down the fire, screaming. He was defenseless. Killing a defenseless opponent was something Link never did. He held his sword back and used his free hand to give the man a hard push. He fell on the ground and looked at Link with terror in his eyes, thinking he was a goner. "Lie on top of your hand." The man was surprised, but did as Link said. The flames didn't get any oxygen anymore and extinguished. The man slowly stood up, not knowing what to do. "I'm sorry." Link said. "Attack! Kill him!" the leader yelled to his men. "Look what he did to our comrades!" The death of the first soldier still stood fresh in the mind of the Humans as they moved towards Link. "He can't take on all of us!"
"Let's show him a thing or two!" Link knew the men were right. It wasn't possible for him to take them all out and live to see another day. He readied himself. He had to kill as many of them as possible to allow Zelda to escape. The soldier who's arm was burned stepped in front of Link. "Don't kill him! He could have killed me, but he didn't!" The men didn't listen to the soldier. "Stand aside, Rynar! He'll pay for what he has done!" Suddenly, the tent was opened and Zelda stepped out. Her eyes were turned into balls of mystical energie. Link looked at her in surprise. Apparently, she had been charging up or something like that. Link pointed at Rynar. "Don't hit him, Zelda." Zelda nodded. She pointed her hands to the sky. "Defend me, Link." The Humans did a few steps back, but nothing happened. As soon as they noticed that, they walked towards the couple again. "Kill them all!!"
"Hurry up, Zel!" Link suggested as the soldiers were getting closer. Rynar moved away from the scenery, knowing that was the wisest thing to do. Suddenly, a ray of light shot to the sky and clouds started to form above the soldiers's heads. The Humans backed away, looking at the sky in fear, not knowing what would happen. Then, it started to rain. And not just rain, but it was a heavy shower as well. But it wasn't water that poured down from the sky. The drops consisted of pure magical energie. The drops glowed fiercely. None of the soldiers had any experience with magic and their bodies weren't used to that amount of magical energie. The soldiers started to run in a random direction as the drops hit them. With each hit of a drop, the surrounding area lighted up due to a bright flash. The men screamed and fell on the ground as they were hit. They couldn't take all the mystic energie that rained at them. Those who had fallen, tried to get away crawling. Yet, without succes. The screaming and movements slowly faded. When Zelda didn't hear anything anymore, she lowered her arms. With that movement, the rain stopped as well. Link had to catch Zelda or she would fall. The spell had drained a lot of energie from her. Her legs weren't able to support her anymore. Link held her carefully in his arms as he looked over his shoulder at the mess the Princess had created. Everyone was dead. There was no blood. The magical overdose was enough. Zelda slowly regained her strength. Link felt it. "Can you stand on your own?" Zelda nodded. "Yes, but you don't have to let go just yet." Her eyes were returned to normal again. "You really freaked me out there, with those spooky eyes." Zelda smiled. "Sorry." Link sighed strikingly. "Well, you did kill them all. So I guess it's OK. For now." Link let her go and walked to the tent. "One second. We forgot the major bad ass." he said as he entered the tent. Zelda locked her view on the tent. She hated to kill. She hadn't done it so often and she didn't want to see the results of her magic tricks. The fact that she knew Link helped her to get tougher. He had killed a lot. But she knew she wasn't half as tough as Link. Danath came out of the tent, followed by Link. Danath had regained consciousness but Link's flaming sword had convinced the Human he would better follow the Hylian's orders. Link had tied Danath's arms together with the sheet of the bed. "Look who has come around!" Link said victoriously. "Zelda, can my sword be switched off?"
"Sure." Zelda said as she snapped her fingers. Link's sword extinguished immediatly. Danath saw what was left of his camp. "This will be war, Hylians!" he yelled at Link and Zelda. "Good for you, Human." Link said as he gave Danath a hard push in his back as a sign for him to start walking.
Zelda felt completely secure in Link's strong arms. She rested against his chest as Uni walked through the landscape. Link held the Unicorn with one hand at his manes, while he used the other hand to hold on to the sheet which was used to tie Danath's hands together. Uni had to walk, since Danath was so slow. Link thought Uni couldn't handle three persons and a second horse was not practical. So Danath had to walk behind the horse. The sheet was long enough to tie Danath's hands together and remain a piece which was long enough for Link to hold while he was on horseback. The sun was down for quite some time, but Link knew the gatekeepers would lower the drawbridge for them. Zelda wrapped her arms around Link's neck. "My hero..." she whispered. Link looked at her. "My princess..." he whispered. They moved their heads closer and kissed. It wasn't a really comfortable place to kiss, so it was a quick one. "Yeah, you can start kissing now, but once my emperor finds out, you can kiss your ass goodbye!" Danath said threatening. Link looked his girlfriend in the eyes. "What do you think, sweetheart? Shall we speed up a little?"
"Yes, I think that would be a nice idea. Then we will be home faster." Home. A word Link could never have used before. He gave Uni a slight poke with his boots and the Unicron speeded up. Danath had to start running. "I'll get you, Link! I promise you, I'll get you for this! This is all your fault!! I could have had her! I could..." Link didn't hear it. He was too busy kissing his beautifull girl.
Note from the author: This is a very short story. (At least, for my standards.) There are some parts not committed for younger readers. (Violence and an almost succesfull attempt at rape.) Have fun.
Seven years have passed since Ganondorf has been trapped in the Evil Realm and Link returned to his own time. Hyrule prosperred under the rule of Harkinian. There were of course wars and things like that. The world was still a dangerous place and Hyrule was under a constant threat. Orcs to the west of the country and Humans to the north of it. The Lizalfos and brigands were still a problem, but Hyrule was quiete prosperous. Nobody knew anything about the epic battle that was neccessary to bring this kind of wealth. When Link returned as a ten year old no one knew about the heroic deeds he had performed. No one except Link himself and the Princess of Hyrule. Link never knew how it was possible but Zelda remembered everything. Link had nothing left. When he returned to Kokiri Forest the Kokiries found out that he had 'borrowed' the Kokiri Sword. They didn't like it and this time Saria wasn't able to help him. He was banished from the forest. He had no sword, he had no shield, no relatives, Navi gone, Epona gone... Practically the only thing he had left were his clothes which seemed to grow with him. Probably thanks to the time-travelling he had done. Now he lived in Hyrule Field. Nowhere to go, nothing to do. He lived from hunting. It had no use trying to earn money without his weapons. Fighting was the only thing he could. Zelda tried to get him into the castle, but her father didn't allow it. He too didn't know that Link was the Hero of Time. Zelda tried to help Link as much as she could and in the beginning it worked. But her father found out and forbid the young princess to ever help him again. Sometimes Link sneeked into the castle to pay her a visit. They both liked each others company. When Zelda had revealed herself in the Temple of Time Link didn't knew what to say. After Ganondorf was locked up he didn't want Zelda to send him back to his time. He wanted to stay with her. Forever. But he had realised that her father had died during the attack on Hyrule Castle, right after he had pulled the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time. Her mother had died when Zelda was seven. Human assasins had murdered her. That's why Link didn't even ask to stay. In his time Zelda would still have her father. But when he became seventeen his luck took a run for the worst. It was announced that Zelda was engaged to a prince called Danath. He temporary stayed in Hyrule Castle with his own guards. There were so many guards that it was a small army. A marriage date wasn't set yet, but Link was devastated. After he heard it, he stopped visiting her. He thought she didn't need him anymore. How wrong he was...
Zelda lay on her back on her bed. She thought about the events that had happened that day. Tears stained her cheeks. She had laid her hands under her head and was wearing her nightgown. It was late. Her balconydoors were open, despite the eveningbreeze that blew through it. She didn't care. The only person that could cheer her up wasn't there. He didn't visit her anymore after her father announced that she was engaged to Danath. She cursed Danath. He had come far too close that day and he had costed her a dear friend. Was Link jealous? She hoped it. She truly hoped it. No, she didn't love Danath. She hated him. He was terrorising her. Mentally and...physically. But her father said she was going to marry him. He was a Human Prince. The marriage between him and Zelda could break the tensions between the two races. That afternoon, when she was studying the arts of magic in the library, Danath came in. She shivered at the thought of what he had tried to do. He had touched her and had tried to take her dress of her. While he had been that close, Zelda knew she couldn't cast a spell. She had screamed and one of the castle soldiers had come in. That evening she had locked herself up in her room. And now she was lying on her bed. Her thoughts with Link. She turned around to lie on her stomach. Her long, blonde hair playfully followed her head as it turned around. It wasn't fair. Link had saved the world and now he wandered through the country. Alone, uncertain wether he lives another day or not. She knew Link was strong. He kept his humour despite the bad things that had befallen him. He always saw things in a positive way. She wanted to see him, but she couldn't get out of the castle. She tried it numerous times before.
The next day Link sat at Lake Hylia. It was early in the morning. He had washed himself in the lake and was thinking of a way to get some breakfast. The night before was cold and he had barely slept. A few days before he met Malon. Of course he allready knew Malon, but Malon didn't knew him. She was concerned about him and brought him food a couple of times. She was still a sweet girl and pretty too. But all Link could think about was Zelda. A little voice in his head said he was acting childish and that he should start visiting her again. But he knew Zelda found happiness and he didn't want to trouble her with his little problems. "Hi, Link!" A female voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. He turned in the direction of which it came and saw Malon walking towards him. What was she doing here so early? She had a casket with her. Link looked at her with a smile on his face and said: "Hi, Malon. What are you doing here so early?" Malon walked over to him and sat down next to him. "I thought you might be hungry." she said playfully and held the basket in front of him. Link looked into it and saw all kinds of food in it. Bread, cheese, milk... He smiled. "But Malon... I can't take that." Malon laughed. "Of course you can. You just have to say yes. Besides we've got plenty of it." Link shook his head. "You come all the way here in the morning just to bring me breakfast? Malon, that's really the sweetest thing anyone has done for me. Thank you so much." The gratefullness in his voice made Malon blush and she turned her face away. Out of politeness he didn't start to eat. He took the casket from her and put it next to him on the ground. "So..." Malon started. "Are you still thinking of the princess?" Link stared at the lake whitch bathed in the early sunrays and nodded. Malon sighed. "I see you really like her. I know. I can see it. But she's the Princess of Hyrule. You have to be of royalty to even get close to her." Link looked at the ranchgirl. "But that's not going to stop you is it?" Link slowly shook his head. He stared at the lake again and said: "But she's engaged. She doesn't need me."
"Is that why you don't visit her anymore?" Link remained silent. Malon put a hand on his arm and said: "Link, I'm just a simple peasantgirl, but I don't think the princess immediatly doesn't want to see you just because she's engaged. You said you two were...no, are friends for seven years. A friendship like that doesn't break that easily. Just go to the castle and pay her a visit. Just like before. I don't really know you for so long, but you seem like a very good friend to have. Don't let her lose such a friend." Link again looked at Malon. He smiled. "Guess you're right, Malon. But I don't think my friendship can match with yours. You did a lot for me. And now you give me advise. I will go to the castle and apologize for my childish behaviour. Thank you, Malon. You really are a good friend." He kissed her on the cheek. Malon blushed. Link knew she liked him. She liked him allready during his timetraveling-quest against Ganondorf. He thought it was really unselfish of her. Malon and he chatted while Link ate the food Malon brought him. When it was noon, Link said goodbye to her and headed for Hyrule Castle.
Zelda was sitting in the castle courtyard. It was about two 'o clock and she just had lunch. Again, tears rolled down her cheeks. She felt more and more unsafe near Danath. He didn't like it that she had locked her door the night before. When she came out of bed that morning she opened her door to go to the diningroom. Danath had been waiting for her. He had forced her back into her room and had asked her why she had locked her door. When he sat on her bed she had tried to cast a spell at him to hold him in place. A kind of paralysing spell. But when she had cast it and a ball of white, sparkling energie shot out of her fingertips and raced towards him, he had made a simple gesture and the ball vanished! Danath was a mage as well. And not only that, but he was far more powerfull than she was. He had been furious. He had slapped her in the face a couple of times before he left her room. She had eaten her breakfast and lunch at her room. She didn't want anyone to see her red cheeks. While she was sitting in the courtyard she realized that Danath had hit her hard. The pain still wasn't over and when she saw her reflection in the windows she saw that her cheeks were still red. Perhaps he used magic on her. Perhaps the pain would never go away. She laid her head in her hands and kept crying. She didn't care if the whole world was watching. She felt awful.
Silently Link was sneeking past the soldiers. It went as easy as it went seven years before. He knew he had to go through the courtyard and to the tower that held Zelda's room. He had a rain of apoligies in his head. But when he passed the last guard and was about to enter the courtyard he heard someone crying. It was a girl. When he entered the courtyard he immediatly saw the source of it. Zelda was sitting on a bench, her head in her hands. Link swallowed hard. He hated to see her in pain. He silently walked over to her. Zelda looked up from her hands. Link didn't walk silent enough. A smile appeared on her face. "Link!?!" From were he stood Link couldn't see the red marks on her face. He smiled at her and said: "Hi, pretty princess, why the tears?" He said it to comfort her. Zelda quickly stood up and ran over to him. She hugged him tightly. "Oh, Link. What am I glad you're here!" Apparantly he was wrong about the Princess being happy. Link couldn't do anything besides wrapping his arms around her and moving them comfortingly over her back. "What's up, Zel?" he said concerned. Zelda looked at him and was about to say something when Link noticed the marks on her face. "By Din! Who did this to you?" Anger was raging through his voice. Zelda didn't want anyone to know about it, but Link was her best and most trusted friend. She didn't know what to say and remained silent. The autumnwind pulled at her simple, cotton dress. Zelda wasn't like any other Prince or Princess. She was always helpfull and hated it if someone worked for her. She helped in the kitchen and cleaned her own room. Her long hair floated around along with her dress. "Zel?" Zelda looked at him, not knowing what to do. "Why don't you tell it your fiancé? He is able to do something about it. Right?" Tears started to roll down her cheeks. "Link, my fiancé did this to me!" Link stepped back in surprise and let the seventeen year old go. "What!?!" Exactly at that moment Danath came out of the shadows to the right of Zelda. He was a long, broad Human with short, black hair. A sheath hang from his hip and he wore a long, red cape. "I must ask you to leave, boy. The Princess and I want some time alone." he said with a fake smile. Zelda quickly looked at Danath and then back to Link. Link didn't know what to do. Zelda looked at him with a begging look. "No, Link. Please stay." Her voice was shaking. Link looked at Danath with fury in his eyes. This man was going to pay for what he did to Zelda. "Sorry, pal. The lady wants me to stay." Danath looked at the young Hylian with an angry look. He moved his right arm down to his hip and unsheathed his sword. He pointed it at Link. "I will not ask again." Link bravely walked past Zelda and stopped right before the blade. "I will not leave. You will pay for what you have done to her!" Danath laughed. He slowly raised his sword to the left. "Then die!" he screamed and swinged his sword to the right in an atempt to cut Link's head off. Link saw it coming and ducked just in time. The blade missed his cap, but it was a close call. Zelda shrieked and held her hands in front of her mouth. Still ducking, Link made a quick step forward and punched Danath in his stomach. Danath groaned, collapsed a little and did a few steps back. Link stood straight, grapped Danath's swordarm and turned it around, forcing the Human to drop his sword. Danath let a yell. Almost soundly, the sword hit the ground. Link let Danath go and picked up the man's sword. He pointed the blade at his neck and looked the Human in his eyes. "I don't like it when people threaten my friends or swing blades at me." Link turned his head to Zelda. "It's your call, your Highness. Shall I kill him or not?" Danath stood still. He swallowed. He stood with his back against the wall. There was no way he could get away. Zelda walked to Link and stood next to him. She barely believed that Link had Danath in this position. "Let him live, Link. I break off our engagement and have him thrown in jail. I don't care what my father wants." Danath closed his eyes in relief. Link looked at the blonde Princess and smiled. He looked back at Danath and said: "I guess the lady saved your sorry ass, Human. You should be gratefull. I would have killed you." Zelda walked through the archway which Link came through a few moments before. She came back with two Hylian soldiers. She pointed over to Danath and said: "Take him away." The soldiers had no clue on what was happening, but carried out Zelda's orders and took Danath in between them. Danath was making useless insults and threats towards Zelda as the soldiers took him away through the archway. Link walked over to Zelda and asked: "Are you OK?" Zelda nodded. "Thanks to you, Link. I didn't want to tell anyone about it. I'm afraid it's going to be war again." Link looked in the direction of the archway. "At least he is not going to hurt you anymore. And I've got a free sword!" Zelda laughed. She looked him into his eyes and said: "I don't know how to thank you, Link. I didn't really thank you for saving me from Ganondorf either. I guess I'm an unthankfull, spoiled Princess." She said the last sentence softly. As if she just discovered it. "I know a way how you could thank me, Zelda." Link said calmly, but his heart started to race through his chest. He started to feel sweaty and felt a strange feeling in his stomach. He took a deep breath, swallowed and again breathed deeply. "Please forgive me and don't be angry with me, but I wanted to do it already when we beat Ganondorf and now we're seventeen again so..." Zelda wondered what he meant. She had a slight idea, but didn't dare to even hope it. Link grabbed her head carefully with both hands and kissed her lips. He never kissed before, so he just tried. Her lips were soft and tasted wonderfull. He wanted it to last forever, but a little voice inside of him accused him of abusing the trust of his best friend. As soon as he realised that he pulled his head back and closed his eyes. He expected a slap in the face or soldiers who would arrest him, but nothing happened. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." he said softly. "What for?" Zelda's voice echoed through his head. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the Princess looking at him with her beautifull, blue eyes. "You just did the most wonderfull thing for me, Link." He couldn't believe his ears! "You always knew how to make me happy." Zelda noticed his surprise. "I already liked you when I first saw you returning from the Sacred Realm. You were so diffrent from when you were a kid and yet you still had the mischievous look in your eyes I saw when you were ten and stood in the courtyard." Link was amazed. Zelda remembered everything from seven years ago. He usually forgot stuff that wasn't important. But apparantly this wás important for the young Princess. Not that it wan't important for him, though. Zelda wrapped her arms around Link's neck, trying to take as much from his surprised look as possible. It was not the look that fascinated her, but his caring, blue eyes did. "You save me over and over again, Link." That thought already made Zelda feel special. She knew Link could get any girl he wanted and yet he remained at her side trying to protect her from everything that could possibly hurt her. And what did she do in return? Almost nothing. And now he asked her for something very simple: Her love. How could she deny that to him? He was her knight in shiny armor, although he didn't even have money to buy a single arrow. "I love you, Link." she whispered. Those four words more than made up for the seven years Link spend in poverty. She always said the words in his thoughts, but Link couldn't even imagine how beautifull they sounded from the Princess' mouth. The couple slowly brought their heads closer to each other and kissed passionetly. For Link, this was even better than the one before. Zelda wanted to express just how much she loved him and was doing that with that kiss. Link wrapped his arms around her waist as he enjoyed kissing the gorgeous creature in front of him. When they parted, they both had to gasp for air. They stood there for a while. Link tightly holding Zelda as if he was afraid to lose her. But suddenly the two heard Danath's voice. "There she is, your Highness. Flirting with that...tramp." Harkinian came rushing into the courtyard. Danath following the Hylian king. He stopped right before Link and Zelda. The two let each other go and Link bowed. Harkinian looked from Link to Zelda and sighed. "Zelda, Zelda. You put your fiancé in jail and then you do THIS with a mere peasant. When the people hear about this..." Zelda interrupted her father: "You know why I put him in jail, father? Because he hit me and tried to abuse me." Zelda sounded furious. This was also thanks to the word 'tramp' Danath used. Harkinian looked astonished at his daughter. "If it wasn't for Link he would have certainly gotten...closer." Harkinian turned at Danath. "Is this true?" Danath remained calm. "Yeah, it's true. She didn't love me and I had to force her to surrender to me. Too bad Link interferred." Danath looked at Zelda. "We could have had so much fun together, Zelda." Harkinian looked furiously at the Human prince. "How dare you threat my daughter? You will rot in my deepest dungeon!" Before Harkinian could call the soldiers. Danath whistled. From the archway, four soldiers came running in. Human soldiers. They were all armed with swords and shields and wore chainmail armor. Open helmets rested on their heads. Two of them walked to the left side of Danath and stood there, while the other two walked over to Danath's right side. Danath slowly crossed his arms on his chest and said: "I give you a fair trade, Harkinian. What shall I take? Your daughter or your life? You decide." The king did a few steps back. "You will not hurt my daughter!" Danath sighed. "Then the choice will be simple. Kill them all and bring the Princess to my hideout. You know where it is." Having said these words to his soldiers, Danath turned around and walked through the archway. The soldiers calmly walked towards the Hylians. Link quickly did a few steps forward and stood protectively before the King and his daughter. He twirled Danath's sword between his fingers. "It's been a long time. Let's see if I can still fight."
"Wait, Link." said Zelda and walked over to him. She stood behind him. "You don't have to fight alone. Just protect me."
"I always will, Zelda. You know me." said Link as he readied himself for battle. The first soldier screamed and tried to hack vertically at Link, but the Hero of Time saw it comming and parried the soldier's weapon with his own. Since he had no shield, he was able to use two hands for his sword, which gave him an advantage at that moment. The soldier moved the blade down and tried to slash the Hylian there, but Link also parried that blow. The Human ceased his attack for just one moment and that was the time Link needed. He kicked the soldier on his knee. The man bowed to the side a little and groaned. His movement to his side left his neck unprotected. Link held the sword above his head with one hand and hacked down at the soldier's neck. It was a frontal hit. The Human screamed as blood spirted out of his neck as if it was a little fountain. He dropped his sword. He fell on his knees and tried to hold the bleeding with his hands. It didn't help. He fell down on his face and died in a pool of his own blood. Zelda stood a little behind Link and saw that one of the soldiers was trying to flank him. She closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened her eyes again she pointed her hands at the soldier and spread her fingertips. A moment later, shards of ice shot from her fingertips and raced towards the Human. He saw them comming from the corner of his eye and turned around, just in time to see what would kill him. The shards hit him in his stomach, his chest, his limbs. With every hit of a shard the soldier's body shook from the impact and he let cries of pain. When the last shard hit him and the stream of shards stopped, he fell backward and died even before he hit the ground. Now there were only two soldiers left. Link was fighting one while the second, realizing that Zelda was a dangerous foe, held his shield protectively in front of his chest and moved in on the Hylian Princess. The soldier was so close that Zelda knew she couldn't cast a spell before the soldier would kill her. She quickly did a few steps back. "Help!" As soon as Link heard her, he pushed with two hands against his opponent's shield. His push was hard enough to bring the soldier out of balance. The Human stumbled back and tried to remain on his feet. This gave Link the time to come his princess to aid. In the meantime, Zelda had moved so far back that she stumbled on the wall. Her father was in no position to help her and watched helplessly as his daughter saw the flickering blade of the Human approach her chest. The soldier grinned mean and said: "I don't care what Danath wants. Die, bitch!" Zelda looked away, closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come. But it didn't. She just heard a gargling sound and opened her eyes. She saw the soldier still standing before her, but a blade sticked out from his chest and blood was dropping down from his mouth. The blade was pulled back and the soldier fell on his knees. Zelda saw Link standing behind the soldier with a sword soaked in blood. "I don't think so." Link replied to the soldier's death. "Link! Behind you!" shrieked Zelda. Link quickly turned, but he was too late. The last soldier's blade went through his side. Link groaned and put his free hand on the wound. He did a few steps back to evade another blow. Zelda quickly closed her eyes. She made her hands touch each other and pointed them at the soldier as soon as she opened her eyes. A burst of water shot from her hands and hit the Human. He was thrown back all the way through the courtyard and hit the wall opposite of Link and Zelda. Zelda pinned the soldier to the wall with a continuous stream of water. The soldier had lost his weapons thanks to Zelda's action. Zelda ceased her spell. She thought the soldier was no longer a threat. She walked over to Link and kneeled before him to check on his wound. Without a word, King Harkinian left the courtyard. The Human soldier was apparantly unconscious, since he remained sitting before the wall. "Let me see the wound, Link." said Zelda with a soft, but commanding voice. Link did what she wanted and slowly removed his hand from his side. His hand was covered with blood and blood kept pouring from his wound. He quickly put his hand back on the wound again. "Is it bad?" he asked. "Yes." said Zelda softly. Suddenly, Harkinian's voice echoed through the courtyard: "There he is." Zelda turned around and saw soldiers entering the courtyard and her father pointing at the unconscious Human. She stood up and said: "Father! Link is badly injured!"
"Quickly! Bring him to the guest room. I'll send my personal physicans." Without saying another word, Harkinian walked out of the courtyard. Zelda was surprised. She didn't expect her father to even allow Link in the castle. Perhaps he wasn't such a stern father after all.
"Hi, pretty princess." Link said weakly. He lay in a four-poster bed in a luxurious room. The docters just applied bandages to his wounds and when they had left the room Zelda came in. She sat down on his bed. "How are you?" she asked concerned. "Lost a lot of blood, but the docters say I'm going to be fine." Zelda sighed in relief. "Good. You know, you fought well."
"Good. That means I can still do it. You're a dangerous lady as well." Zelda grinned at the young man. "When do I have to get out of the castle again?" Link asked curiously.
"You don't have to." Harkinian said as he walked into the room. He stood next to Link and said: "I thought my daughter was playing games again, but I see how much you mean to her and she doesn't have to marry a prince for all I care. I know that's the law, but then we'll have to change it a bit. She always says rules are there to be broken and when I saw the look in her eyes when she looked at you I knew she found the right one. I know you'll make her happy, Link." Link smiled. "I will, your Highness. I will." The king stood up again and walked to the door. "I'm leaving the two of you alone. There are more important things that require my attention." He left the room and closed the door behind him. For a moment, it was quiet between the Princess of Hyrule and the Hero of Time. "I wanted to ask you something, Zel. I wanted to ask it for quiete some time, but I didn't got a chance. When you were disguised as Sheik, you tought me all those songs with that little harp. Can you still play it?" Zelda shrugged. "Don't know."
"You know, I liked you in your Sheikah outfit. It looked sexy..." Zelda blushed. "But what did you do during those seven years?" Zelda looked away from him. Link slowly sat up. "You mean...you only HID from Ganondorf for seven years?" Zelda looked at Link again and nodded. "I was terribly afraid." Link stared away from her. "Darn. You didn't deserve that!"
"Doesn't matter. It's history. Ganondorf is locked up in the Evil Realm and we're together."
"There's just one little problem. Danath. As long as he's around here no one is safe. As soon as I'm feeling better I'm going to search for his hideout." Zelda put a hand on his arm. "Are you nuts? He has brought an entire army with him. No way your going alone! I'm going with you and don't even try to stop me. I didn't help you with freeing the five sages or finding the spiritual stones either. And..." Link interrupted the Hylian Princess.
"You couldn't help me and you know that. When I went after the spiritual stones you had to guard the Ocarina of Time and if you helped me freeing the sages then Ganondorf would have figured out that Sheik was really you and then we weren't strong enough to defeat him."
"Guess you're right, Link. But I felt so useless during your quest and if it wasn't for me the whole thing wouldn't have happened!"
"Maybe. But it's all a part of life and we learn from mistakes. But above all, I kept thanking you in my thoughts for doing that." Zelda looked up, a surprised look on her beautifull face. "Why?"
"Well, if you didn't do that, then I would have never been able to fall in love with you. And that would be the biggest mistake of my life. Fortunatly, you were there to prevent me from making that mistake and I owe you big time."
"Serious?" Link nodded. "Why would I lie to you?"
"Well, that's your point of view..."
"And it's the right one, believe me." Link put his arms behind his back on the bed. "But it's still not fair. The only thing I did was teach you some songs and order you about. It was you who saved Hyrule. And look. I live in a castle in wealth and you don't even know if you live another day." Link sat up straight and caressed her cheek. "But Zel, if it wasn't for you than I wouldn't even been able to get out of Ganon's Castle in time before it collapsed. We both saved each others lives. And above all...I love you, Zel. That's all that matters now. Forget about Ganondorf." Zelda smiled and said: "If I didn't know better, I'd say you posses the Triforce of Wisdom." Link laughed. The two chatted about the battle waged across time until it was time for supper. Zelda stood up and straightened her dress a little. "I'm going down, Link. Shall I bring you something to eat?" Link shook his head. "If it's OK with you, I would like to go with you. I think I can walk."
"I'd love that. Are you sure you're OK?" Link nodded and stepped out of bed. A bit clumsy, but he stood on his legs. He was still wearing his Kokiri tunic. "Follow me, Hero!" Zelda said invitingly. "Of course, your Higness." The couple walked out of the guest room and Zelda led Link down a corridor. Then Link found himself in a huge hall with an impressive stairway. Shields and weapons hang on the wall. The crest of the Royal Family was inscripted in the marble floor. They walked down the stairway and entered another room. There was a big, wooden table in the middle of the room and a fireplace casted strange shadows on the walls. At the head of the table sat the King of Hyrule: Harkinian. He had a short, dark beard and he had an aura around him that Link couldn't really comprehend. The goodness radiated from the middle-aged man. The table was allready laid. And for three people. "Ah, Link. You're feeling better? Good. I thought you'd come down so the table is all set. Please, sit down." Link made a short bow and said: "Thank you, your Majesty. You are most kind."
"Good manners for such a young lad." said the King and he smiled approving. Link and Zelda took place opposite of each other. Before him, Link saw several dishes of food. The dishes were still covered to keep the food warm. Zelda stood up and removed the cover from the dishes. Link couldn't believe his eyes. He had never seen so much food in his life. Potatoes, vegetables and meat. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but for Link it was overwhelming. "Wow." he said nervously. "I've never seen so much food in my life!" Zelda looked at him with a sad expression in her eyes. She tried to smile. He looked so out of place in the castle. The King laughed. He also knew Link's former state and wasn't surprised he reacted like that. Despite Link's poverty, he wanted him to marry his daughter at all costs. Zelda loved him dearly and as a father he felt it. When Danath and Zelda were engaged, Harkinian really thought Zelda loved the Human. "How could I be so blind." he thought. Zelda wanted to serve out some potatoes, but then she saw the ring on her left hand. She immediatly pulled it off her finger. She looked at it one more time. It wasn't really an expensive ring, that was for sure. She stood up and walked to the fireplace. "Goodbye, Danath." she whispered and threw the ring in the crackling fire. Her father looked at her and said: "I'm so sorry, Zelda. I didn't know..." Zelda turned around to face her father and said: "It doesn't matter, father. As long as Link can stay with me at the castle..." The King smiled. "Goes without saying, my daughter. You deserve a man like him." During the meal, Link felt more and more at ease. The trio chatted about just about everything. Link knew that this was his new family. The family he had never had...
"Rats!" Link said as he again dropped the piece of soap in the bath. It was morning. The night before was his first night at the castle. He didn't sleep well. It was all new and the bed was perhaps a bit too comfortable. He got up early and discovered the bathroom that was adjacent to the room he slept in. He got a room next to Zelda's and it was in the same style as the one the Princess slept in. He had filled the bath with warm water. He usually washed himself in Lake Hylia. And the water there was far from warm, so this was also a totally new experience for the young swordsman. His wound was far from healed, but he pulled away the bandages and took the bath. He knew that he needed fresh bandages anyway, so what the heck. While he lay there in the water, he thought about a few things that weren't clear to him. He spent seven years living outdoors and yet the King had said he had manners. He also spoke like a seventeen year old and not as a ten year old. Perhaps it was al thanks to the fact that he had allready been seventeen before. He didn't know. Not that it mattered a lot, though. The water felt relaxing and slowly he dozed in.
Zelda yawned. She sat on her bed. She had dreamed that night. About Link. And what a dream it was! It was so lively that Zelda hoped it was one of her prophetic dreams. She stood up. She knew that one day, Link would do to her what he had done in her dream. Still in her nightgown, Zelda walked out of her room. She was curious if Link was up allready so she walked to his door and slowly opened it. She peeked through the narrow opening of the door, but she saw there was no one in his room. She walked further and wondered where Link was untill she saw the door to the bathroom. "Link?" She slowly opened the door. Link slept only lightly and awoke when Zelda opened the door. As soon as he saw Zelda, he immediatly sat up straight in the bath. Zelda, at her turn, saw Link sitting in the bath and immediatly closed the door. "Sorry!" Link heard her saying through the door. He jumped out of the bath and put on a towel. He opened the door. "Zel?" He found Zelda sitting on his bed, a red color stained her cheeks. "Sorry, Link. I didn't know..." Link made a nonchalant gesture with his hand. "Doesn't matter, Princess." He walked over to his bed and sat down next to Zelda. "Did you sleep well?" asked Zelda. Link shook his head. "Call me weird, but the bed was too comfy. Perhaps I'll get used to it." Zelda laughed. Link carefully grabbed her chin with his hand and made her face turn to him. He looked at her and said: "Just as I thought. You're beautifull!" She giggled. Link gently kissed her lips. Zelda laid her hands on his naked chest. She praised herself lucky to even know Link, let alone be his girlfriend. After a few days, Link got more and more accustomed to life at the castle. He also recovered quickly. The King was very fond of Link. Zelda noticed it and was surprised. She always saw her father as a stern man who didn't even allow her to have friends amongst simple people like Link and now he treated Link like he was his own son. Zelda thought it was wonderfull and that nothing could possibly ruin her hapiness. On one morning, she went to take a ride around Hyrule Field on her Unicorn. When Link first saw the creature, he was impressed. It was a strong, white animal with a glistering horn on top of his head. There weren't many Unicorns in Hyrule anymore. The horn of a Unicorn is said to have magical powers, so the animals were almost hunted to extinction. Hunting Unicorns was allready forbidden by law, but as the Unicorn-population dimished, Harkinian saw to it that hunters were severly punished and he send more patrols to oppose the hunting. It worked. After a while, the Unicorn population began to grow again. Harkinian gave Zelda the Unicorn for her fifteenth birthday. She immediatly loved the animal and cared for him a lot. The two had grown close to each other. Zelda felt the fresh autumnwind blowing through her hair as she steered Uni to Lon Lon Ranch. She saw Malon sitting near the entrance and decided to thank her. Link had told the young Princess what Malon had said. Malon saw her coming and stood up. Zelda halted Uni a few meters from Malon and dismounted. She smiled at the red- haired ranchgirl as she walked towards her. Malon was stunned. "Your Highness!"
"Hi, Malon." Zelda said happily. "You know me?" Malon was even more surprised. "Even longer than you think." thought the Hylian Princess, but she didn't say it. "Link told me about you. I think I owe my fortune all to you, Malon." Malon looked at her, puzzled. Zelda decided to give her a hint: "Guess who's going to be king in the near future." Malon remained naive. "Danath?" Zelda shook her head. "Thank Din he's not!" Malon tilted an eyebrow. "You two are engaged, right?"
"Not anymore. I hate his guts!"
"Princess, I don't understand. You were planning to marry a man you didn't even like?"
"Politics, Malon. Politics. It might be a rude question, but can I explain it inside?" Zelda pointed to Malon's house at the ranch. "Sure, your Majesty." said Malon invitingly.
Zelda remained at the ranch untill noon. She had told Malon everything that had happened. She ate lunch at the ranch. Malon insisted. Zelda mounted Uni. "Thanks for everything, Malon. You're always welcome at the castle." Malon bowed. "Thanks, your Highness."
"My friends call me Zelda." Zelda smiled. Malon sighed. "It's going to take me some time to get used to that." She laughed. "Goodbye, Malon. Come by anytime." Zelda said as she turned Uni around. "Don't worry, your...Zelda. I will." Uni gallopped to the castle.
Link looked the King in his eyes. Despair and fear was what Link saw. He had to watch his every move. One mistake and it would be over. Did Harkinian knew this? Link tried to figure out, but not too long or he would get suspicious. He slowly lowered his hand. Would this be the right one? He swallowed and picked up the bishop. He put him down at a black square and let the chesspiece go. Just smiling, Harkinian picked up his black tower and placed it in front of Link's king. "Checkmate." the Hylian King said victorious. Link looked at the pieces for a moment. "Rats!" The two sat in the diningroom, a chessgame on the table. It was the morning after Link's second night at the castle. This time, Link had slept very well and if it wasn't for Zelda, he would have slept even longer. He didn't mind being waked up by the Princess, though. Zelda came in the room. She stood behind Link and leaned on his shoulders. "Did you beat him?" she asked him. "No, he's too good, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. Funny game." Zelda lowered her head to his ear and whispered: "Well, you can't be good at everything." Link nodded. "I know, Zel. I know." He stood up from his chair. "I think I'm going to look for Danath this afternoon. I said he was going to pay and he will." Zelda startled. Link saw it. She wanted to say something, but Link was quicker: "I know what you want to say Zelda, but as long as he's in Hyrule, he's a threat. Both to the country as to you. I won't allow him to hurt you again." Typically Link. Always ready to protect the good and slay the evil. "But, Link..." Link silenced the blonde girl by putting his finger on her lips. "No buts, Princess. He made his biggest and last mistake by hurting you. And it's a good chance to see if I can still ride a horse, don't you think?" Zelda just looked at him. "Just be carefull, OK?" she wispered. She put her head against his chest. "You know me, Zel." She looked up and tried to smile. "That's why I'm worried." she said bitterly. Link grinned. "At least you keep you humour." He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and kissed her. "Don't worry, Zel." The King looked at the couple. He was glad Zelda finally found a man who gave her everything he could. Harkinian just knew he would.
After lunch, Link prepared himself. He went to the castle armory and picked a sword to his liking. He got a Hylian shield. He first thought he would also try to pick up his archery skills again, but there was no time for that. Zelda allowed him to take Uni. At first, the Unicorn was scared of Link, but after a few laps around the courtyard, they were best pals. Link and Uni stood before the drawbridge to Hyrule Castle Town. Zelda was standing next to them. "Well, I think I'll go look for him. I'm not sure wether I find him or not, but I'll be back before sundown." He caressed her cheek. He gave Uni a slight touch with his boots and he started to ride in the direction of Kakariko Village. Link was planning to explore the east part of Hyrule first. Hyrule wasn't a big country, but it wasn't possible for him to explore it in one day. Zelda kept looking at the young man untill he was out of sight. "I hope so, Link. I truly hope so." she murmered and she went back to the castle.
Zelda sat just outside Hyrule Castle town. It was getting dark and Link still hadn't returned. She was worried. Link always kept his promise, no matter what. It was cold and she had put a blanket around herself. She kept asking herself what could have happened to him. Suddenly she heard the clattering of hooves. She quickly stood up, hoping it was Link. She saw a figure riding towards her, but she couldn't see if it was a horse or a Unicorn. When she recognized the figure it was too late. Danath rushed at her and held his arm towards her. Before Zelda could react, let alone cast a spell, Danath grabbed her by her waist and pulled her in front of him on his horse. The blanket lifelessly dropped on the ground. Danath immediatly stopped his horse and stood there before Hyrule Castle town. He looked at the Princess and said: "Hi, Zelda. Did you miss me?" Zelda closed her eyes in an attempt to concentrate. But Danath saw it and said: "Cast a spell and you're dead." Zelda knew Danath was a far more powerfull mage than she was, so she opened her eyes again and broke off her spel. "One of my scouts reported that you killed three of my soldiers. That's not nice." Zelda tried to get loose, but she couldn't. "What do you want, Danath? Why are we waiting here?"
"From the moment I first saw you, I knew I just had to ehm...how shall I say this polite? Make you mine. Unfortunatly this Link interrupted my plans. We're waiting for him. I saw him riding. He'll be here any moment. I want him to see how I eh...oh, what the hell, rape you." Zelda swallowed at the hearing of that word. She knew Danath wasn't bluffing. Her only hope was Link. Just as she thought about him, a white Unicorn with a figure dressed in green gallopped towards her. As soon as he was close enough to recognize Danath, he stopped Uni. He also saw Danath was holding Zelda. Before he could say a word, Danath said: "Hello, Link. Look what I've got here. Doesn't she look sweet? Aren't you curious how she can scream?" Link didn't really had time to comprehend it all, but that wasn't really necessary in that situation. "Let her go, Danath. Or else you'll be sorry you ever laid your greedy eyes on her!" Danath smiled mean. "Oehoe. Aren't we tough. No, Link. I'm not ready to let her go just yet. Just a question between us men, is she still a virgin?" Link just looked at Danath, feeling in no way obligated to answer the Human's question. "I mean: Have you allready screwed her?" Link felt the anger building up inside his body. He wanted so much to decapitate him in order to stop the barrage of insults he made towards him, and especially Zelda. "Danath, I'm warning you! If you hurt her in any way, you'll be dead before you hit the ground."
"I don't think you'll do anything as long as I hold your sweet princess hostage. Why don't you be a nice boy and follow me to my hideout. We can settle things there." Link looked at Zelda. She looked at him with big eyes. She was affraid. You didn't had to know her to see that. He looked back at Danath. "I don't have much choice, now do I?" Danath grinned. "No, you don't. If you do anything funny, I'll off her." Danath didn't say anything anymore. He just motioned his horse through the landscape and Link couldn't do anything except following him, but he looked for every opportunity to surprise Danath. As Link expected, that moment never came. After about half an hour they came at a little encampment. It was hidden safely behind trees and rocks. You could only see it if you really looked for it. In the middle of the camp was a large tent. Link thought it was Danath's tent. Around it were several smaller tents. Probably the soldiers barracks. He saw about a dozen soldiers. There were probably even more. They looked up a soon as Danath entered the camp. As soon as they saw Zelda, they started to cheer and laugh. Danath dismounted and handed Zelda over to one of his soldiers. Link also dismounted. Danath pointed at the young Hylian. "Disarm him and bring them both to my tent." Having said that, he disapeared in the big tent. The Humans took Link's shield and sword. The two Hylians were escorted to Danath's tent. The tent was stuffed with luxery. A four poster bed was on the right and a furry, red carpet lay on the ground. There where drawers with candles on them and in the middle of the room was a round, wooden table with a bowl of fruit on it. There were also three glasses on that table. Danath stood behind it with a bottle of wine in his hands. As soon as Link and Zelda were inside, Danath gave orders to his soldiers: "Leave and guard the tent." The Humans did as Danath ordered. Danath poured some wine in the glasses. "Something to drink?" Link crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What do you want, Danath?" Danath closed the wine bottle, put it on the table and took a glass of wine in his hand. "Hyrule." He took a sip of his wine. "I wanted to marry Zelda so I could become king. I would have killed Harkinian or else it would take too long." Link sighed. "Well, too bad. I've got the feeling she doesn't really like you, so end of story. Can we go now?" Danath laughed. "Funny man. No, I've got a backup plan." He started to walk through the room. "What if Zelda is pregnant? Than she is obligated to marry the man who made her pregnant, now isn't she?"
"She isn't obligated to anything." Danath stopped in front of Link. "No, she isn't. But what if she gave birth and she isn't married yet. Do you have any idea what the people will say? Their princess acting like an ordinairy prostitute. I will, of course, spread some rumours and Zelda will be out of the castle in no time. She won't marry you, because I won't let you leave my camp alive." He paused for a moment, looking at Link and Zelda. Link really hated the Human, but trying to kill him with his bare hands would take too long and the guards would be faster. But he was absolutely sure Danath would have to kill him first before he would carry out his plan. "So, your Highness. What will it be? Will you marry me or will you face the embarassment and lose your title as a princess?" Zelda was scared, she couldn't hide that. But she tried to: "I would rather die than marry you!" Danath laughed fakely. "That can be arranged." Danath moved his hand towards Zelda, but Link quickly grabbed it. "Don't even think about it!" Danath dropped his glass of wine. It shattered once it hit the ground. Danath made a simple gesture towards Link with his free hand. The Hylian felt an invisible force which pushed him away from Danath. He did a few steps back. Danath made another gesture and suddenly, roots and vines shot from the ground and wrapped around Link. They grew so fast, Link didn't had time to react. The vines wrapped around his wrists, his hips, his abdomen, his ankles, his legs, his arms... Only his upper body was left unentangled. Link tried to escape, but the roots and vines were too strong. Zelda closed her eyes in an attempt to cast a spell, but Danath grabbed her wrist and said: "I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you don't do as I say, I will tighten the vines and your boyfriend will choke. Zelda looked at Danath, fear written in her eyes. She couldn't do a thing and she would have to let Danath do to her what he had planned. "Zelda! Just blast the bastard to bits! You have plenty of time before these things can kill me." Zelda looked at him. It was too risky. She didn't want to lose the one she loved. She looked at Danath and swallowed. "Will you let him live when you're done with me?" Danath laughed. "You obviously don't know what will happen to you, but don't worry. I'll let him go. And I'm sure I'm going to love this..." He turned around to Link. "And you, my friend, have the honor of seeing this sweet, little princess naked." Link pulled at the roots. "Leave her alone!" Danath didn't pay any attention to Link and turned around to Zelda again. "Will you take that dress off or will I have to do it for you?" A tear started rolling down from the Princess' cheek. She realised that there was no way she could get out. "Please don't do this... I beg you... please..." Danath grabbed her chin with his hand. "Don't cry, Princess. I'll do it quickly." He let her go and immediatly slapped her in her face. It was hard enough to make Zelda fall on the ground. She sat on her knees and started to sob. "I like it when a girl suffers." He grinned mean. Link felt the anger racing through his body. It was slowly turning into rage. He francticly pulled at the roots and vines. Danath put Zelda back on her feet again and grabbed her dress with both hands. With one mighty pull, he ripped her dress in two pieces and threw them away. Zelda's body was now completely exposed. Danath looked at her. "Yes, I AM going to enjoy this." For him, there was just one thing in the way: her panties. He moved his hand in it and lingered it there for a moment. Zelda reacted by trying to move away from him, but she couldn't. She stood with her back against the wall. Danath caressed the contents of the panties. Zelda's body shook as a reaction. She wanted to be as far away from the Human as possible, but she couldn't go anywhere. They say strong emotions can give you incredible strength. And in the case of Link, they did. The movement of Danath was it for Link. He used all of his strength and moved his arms towards each other in one mighty move. It worked. The roots and veins broke. He was free. He used his free arms to free his legs. Danath didn't notice it. He was too busy with Zelda to mind Link. Link silently walked towards Danath and stood to the left of him, just out of the viewing range of the Human. Zelda saw that Link had broke free, but tried to look miserable. At the same time, Danath pulled down Zelda's panties. Link quickly placed his right arm in front of Danath's face. He turned it a bit, so that he would have a better grip. He placed his knee under the hollow of Danath's knee to bring the Human out of balance. And, while still holding his arm before Danath's head, Link made himself fall on his back. Link was able to support his fall using his left arm, but for Danath, it came as a complete surprise. Link used his weight to make Danath's fall a hard one.The Human indeed fell hard. And not only that, but he landed on his head as well. Link wasn't completely sure if he heard a cracking sound. He quickly stood up, expecting Danath to stand up as well. But the Human remained on the ground. Link kneeled next to him and felt his neck. Danath was only unconscious. Link stood up again. Beating up a defenseless opponent was not his style, no matter how furious he was. He gave Zelda a quick look, not willing to do anything disrespectfull to her. Once he saw her, a painfull sting shot through his heart. She had put her panties back on again, but she was shivering from the cold. She had wrapped her arms around her chest. She was still uneasy and didn't know what to say. Link walked to the bed and got the blanket off of it. He walked over to Zelda and wrapped it around her a couple of times, untill she was tightly wrapped up. He caressed her face. "I'm so sorry I wasn't quicker." Zelda couldn't believe what she heard! He really meant that he was sorry, while he had just saved her. She didn't know what to say. 'Thank you' wasn't enough. Link noticed it and put a finger on her lips. "Your look says it all, Zelda." Zelda was glad Link could feel what was on her mind. "I love you so much, Link." she whispered. "I love you too, Zel." Link said softly. Suddenly, a soldier entered the tent. "Do you need help..." As soon as he saw Danath lying on the floor, he moved his hand to his sheath. Link did a quick step towards him and punched him in his face. The soldier stumbled back as Link punched him again with his other hand. This time, the soldier fell backwards... and out of the tent. "What the hell?" a voice sounded. Link heard the soldiers outside drawing their weapons. He turned to Zelda. "Can you cast spells?" Zelda simply nodded. "I think so." Link walked to Danath and took the Human's sword. "Good. We're going to need it." Zelda walked towards him and placed a hand on his arm. "Give me the sword, Link." Link was surprised, but did as she asked and handed her the sword. Zelda pointed it down and held it with two hands. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, the sword catched fire. Link's eyes widened. The blade was changed in a burning streak of fire! Zelda handed the weapon to him. The handle wasn't on fire. Link carefully took the sword from her. He could feel the intense heat, but it didn't seem to affect the steel. "Come out immediatly!" a man's voice yelled. "We then might be mercifull." Link pulled Zelda towards him at her waist with his free hand and kissed her on the lips. "Let's show them a thing or two, my dangerous princess." Zelda smiled. "Flattering won't work with me." Link walked through the entrance of the tent. All the Human soldiers stood around the entrance, their weapons at the ready. As soon as they saw Link's flaming sword, they backed away a little. "Don't be affraid, men. It's just a kid with a deceiving magic trick. And he's just alone. Where's the Princess, kid?" one of the men said. He was probably the leader, next to Danath. Link shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Haven't you seen her?"
"Stop playing games with us, kid. Do you surrender or do we have to kill you?" Link readied himself by holding his sword defensively in front of him. "Come get some, Human!" Link yelled daringly. The man pointed his sword at Link. "Suit yourself. Kill him!" A lot of soldiers weren't convinced Link's flaming sword was fake. Only two soldiers ran towards Link. They both came from his front side. A not so clever tactic. Link parried the first soldier's blow with his weapon and kicked the second soldier in his stomach. It brought Link out of balance, but he quickly recovered. The soldier who's weapon was blocked, did a step back. "The fire is real!" Link held his weapon with two hands and slashed it upwards in the direction of the soldier. Link struck the soldier's weapon and the soldier himself at chest-height. Link's weapon made a deep cut and the flames immediatly burned the wound, cauzing unimaginable pain. The soldier fell on the ground, his chest on fire. He tried to extinguish the fire by rolling over the ground. He kept on screaming untill he died. Link swallowed. He was used to combat and killing, but there were some things he would never get used to. He immediatly hacked down at the second soldier. It hit the Human on his arm and that part also caught flame. He dropped the sword and attempted to put down the fire with his other hand as he yelled at his fellow soldiers. "Help me! Oh, god! Help me!!" Link had planned to kill the man as fast as possible, but he couldn't. The man just stood there, trying to put down the fire, screaming. He was defenseless. Killing a defenseless opponent was something Link never did. He held his sword back and used his free hand to give the man a hard push. He fell on the ground and looked at Link with terror in his eyes, thinking he was a goner. "Lie on top of your hand." The man was surprised, but did as Link said. The flames didn't get any oxygen anymore and extinguished. The man slowly stood up, not knowing what to do. "I'm sorry." Link said. "Attack! Kill him!" the leader yelled to his men. "Look what he did to our comrades!" The death of the first soldier still stood fresh in the mind of the Humans as they moved towards Link. "He can't take on all of us!"
"Let's show him a thing or two!" Link knew the men were right. It wasn't possible for him to take them all out and live to see another day. He readied himself. He had to kill as many of them as possible to allow Zelda to escape. The soldier who's arm was burned stepped in front of Link. "Don't kill him! He could have killed me, but he didn't!" The men didn't listen to the soldier. "Stand aside, Rynar! He'll pay for what he has done!" Suddenly, the tent was opened and Zelda stepped out. Her eyes were turned into balls of mystical energie. Link looked at her in surprise. Apparently, she had been charging up or something like that. Link pointed at Rynar. "Don't hit him, Zelda." Zelda nodded. She pointed her hands to the sky. "Defend me, Link." The Humans did a few steps back, but nothing happened. As soon as they noticed that, they walked towards the couple again. "Kill them all!!"
"Hurry up, Zel!" Link suggested as the soldiers were getting closer. Rynar moved away from the scenery, knowing that was the wisest thing to do. Suddenly, a ray of light shot to the sky and clouds started to form above the soldiers's heads. The Humans backed away, looking at the sky in fear, not knowing what would happen. Then, it started to rain. And not just rain, but it was a heavy shower as well. But it wasn't water that poured down from the sky. The drops consisted of pure magical energie. The drops glowed fiercely. None of the soldiers had any experience with magic and their bodies weren't used to that amount of magical energie. The soldiers started to run in a random direction as the drops hit them. With each hit of a drop, the surrounding area lighted up due to a bright flash. The men screamed and fell on the ground as they were hit. They couldn't take all the mystic energie that rained at them. Those who had fallen, tried to get away crawling. Yet, without succes. The screaming and movements slowly faded. When Zelda didn't hear anything anymore, she lowered her arms. With that movement, the rain stopped as well. Link had to catch Zelda or she would fall. The spell had drained a lot of energie from her. Her legs weren't able to support her anymore. Link held her carefully in his arms as he looked over his shoulder at the mess the Princess had created. Everyone was dead. There was no blood. The magical overdose was enough. Zelda slowly regained her strength. Link felt it. "Can you stand on your own?" Zelda nodded. "Yes, but you don't have to let go just yet." Her eyes were returned to normal again. "You really freaked me out there, with those spooky eyes." Zelda smiled. "Sorry." Link sighed strikingly. "Well, you did kill them all. So I guess it's OK. For now." Link let her go and walked to the tent. "One second. We forgot the major bad ass." he said as he entered the tent. Zelda locked her view on the tent. She hated to kill. She hadn't done it so often and she didn't want to see the results of her magic tricks. The fact that she knew Link helped her to get tougher. He had killed a lot. But she knew she wasn't half as tough as Link. Danath came out of the tent, followed by Link. Danath had regained consciousness but Link's flaming sword had convinced the Human he would better follow the Hylian's orders. Link had tied Danath's arms together with the sheet of the bed. "Look who has come around!" Link said victoriously. "Zelda, can my sword be switched off?"
"Sure." Zelda said as she snapped her fingers. Link's sword extinguished immediatly. Danath saw what was left of his camp. "This will be war, Hylians!" he yelled at Link and Zelda. "Good for you, Human." Link said as he gave Danath a hard push in his back as a sign for him to start walking.
Zelda felt completely secure in Link's strong arms. She rested against his chest as Uni walked through the landscape. Link held the Unicorn with one hand at his manes, while he used the other hand to hold on to the sheet which was used to tie Danath's hands together. Uni had to walk, since Danath was so slow. Link thought Uni couldn't handle three persons and a second horse was not practical. So Danath had to walk behind the horse. The sheet was long enough to tie Danath's hands together and remain a piece which was long enough for Link to hold while he was on horseback. The sun was down for quite some time, but Link knew the gatekeepers would lower the drawbridge for them. Zelda wrapped her arms around Link's neck. "My hero..." she whispered. Link looked at her. "My princess..." he whispered. They moved their heads closer and kissed. It wasn't a really comfortable place to kiss, so it was a quick one. "Yeah, you can start kissing now, but once my emperor finds out, you can kiss your ass goodbye!" Danath said threatening. Link looked his girlfriend in the eyes. "What do you think, sweetheart? Shall we speed up a little?"
"Yes, I think that would be a nice idea. Then we will be home faster." Home. A word Link could never have used before. He gave Uni a slight poke with his boots and the Unicron speeded up. Danath had to start running. "I'll get you, Link! I promise you, I'll get you for this! This is all your fault!! I could have had her! I could..." Link didn't hear it. He was too busy kissing his beautifull girl.
