The Dark Plague
Chapter Five: The Escape and Shared Pain
Hoshiko and Zelda listened to the quiet of the dungeon, searching the silence for any sign of their captures. After assuring themselves that no one was around Zelda took the amulet off of her brooch and placed it against the door. It glowed with a brilliant light and the door swung open.
"Let's hurry." Hoshiko said rushing down through the dank halls of the dungeon. They had been correct in assuming that their captors had gone. They rushed to the stables and found all the horses still in their places. They each mounted one of the horses and sped away from the castle. Just outside the gates the castle garden, Hoshiko stopped her horse suddenly. The black Clydesdale reared back onto its hind legs in objection to the abrupt stop.
"What is wrong?" Zelda yelled. "Why have you stopped?"
"This is not my world!" Hoshiko gazed at the unfamiliar surroundings. "What? But that was your castle, wasn't it?"
"Yes." Hoshiko furrowed her brow feeling overwhelmed with sadness. "That is my castle. But this is certainly not my world." She shook her head in disbelief.
"I am sorry Hoshiko."
"It is not your fault."
"Are you sure that you are not mistake about this? Perhaps your land has changed while you were held captive." Zelda offered her opinion turning her horse away from Hoshiko.
"No. Do you not think that I recognize my own land? This is not my land Zelda. I can guarantee you that this is not my home." Hoshiko said, a hint of anger in her voice. "Let us go now, there will be time for talk later. If we do not get going, we will surely be captured again." And with that the two rode towards the thick forest in the distance.
The group huddled around Link who was holding his stomach.
"What happened?" Tenameru asked.
"How the hell am I supposed to know? One minute I was fine. The next, I am bleeding!" Link screamed out in frustration.
"Calm down Link!" Nikki scolded.
"Calm down?" Link scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You do not have a bleeding hole in your stomach!" Link yelled.
"Do not yell at Nikki, Link. This is not her fault."
"Maybe we should be heading back to the castle." Malon suggested.
"No." Link stated simply. "Just wrap my wound and we can keep going."
"Are you sure?" Rinéan asked.
"Positive. We have to keep up with these fairies." Link stood up.
"Okay then." Tenameru sighed. Link continued to take off his shirt and wrap the wound. After a few moments they were on there way again. They did not notice that the trees seemed to close in on them and the grass and flowers seemed to get bigger and bigger before it was too late. A tree crashed down in front of them blocking the path. A second tree fell, even closer than the last one. It would have crushed Nikki if Tenameru had not pulled her out of the way. More trees began to fall around them.
"What the hell is going on here?" Tenameru yelled. Malon screamed as a web of vines surrounded her and pulled her up, hanging her upside down. A branch from one of the fallen trees began to lunge towards Link. Link cut it down with his sword then fell back in pain as he felt one of the vines wrap around his torso and compress on his wound. He struggled to pull it away as more vines attacked. Rinéan was busy dodging humongous branches that were reaching for her. The ground was rising up around Nikki. She tried furiously to escape from the rising sand to no avail. Tenameru reached down to help Nikki, but he noticed something from the corner of his eye. A pink glitter was floating high above them. It was the sixth fairie. Tenameru jumped on top of one of the fallen trees and jumped towards the now visible sixth fairie. He barely touched the fairie when he felt a surge of pain spread through his body. The fairie was gone; he had absorbed it. He landed next to Link who was lying on his back staring up into the sky, sweating and holding his stomach in pain. Tenameru helped Nikki from the dirt then helped Malon to her feet as well. Rinéan floated down to meet them.
"That was odd." Nikki sighed in relief. "Where was the temple?"
"The forest here must have been the temple." Rinéan told her.
"Okay. Now we can go back to the castle." Link stood up painfully.
"Wait." Rinéan said. She approached Link and placed a hand on his stomach. "This should ease up the pain a bit. At least for a little while."
"Thank you." Link smiled, all ready starting to feel better. "Take us home Rinéan." Rinéan nodded and began to trace symbols in the dirt.
"Any idea what might have caused your wound Link?" Malon asked breaking the tension as they anxiously waited for Rinéan to finish.
"No."
"Could it have been the fairie?" Nikki queried.
"Perhaps. I suppose that we will probably never know." Link shrugged. "Are you done yet?" He directed his query to Rinéan.
"Patience Link." Rinéan continued to trace symbols in the dirt. The next few moments were spent in silence while waiting for Rinéan to complete the symbols. "All done." Rinéan stood up, placing herself in the center of the symbols. The others proceeded to do the same. They arrived in Kakariko moments later. The wind had picked up while they were gone. They rushed back to Hyrule Castle only to find the large doors open.
"I really think that we need a better lock on this door." Nikki sighed. They closed the doors them and entered the throne room which was light by the setting sun outside. Talya was sitting on the ground next to the throne, her head still resting in her hands. Eierthian sat in a red velvet chair next to where Talya was seated. Link frowned at the sight of him.
"Who are you?" he grimaced.
"I should ask you the same thing. I am Eierthian, an Elvin Ranger." Eierthian stood to meet him, matching his height exactly.
"What are you doing here?" Link ignored his snide remark.
"Protecting this fine lady." Eierthian gestured towards Talya.
"What? Protecting her from what?"
"From you." Eierthian frowned taking note of the likeness between Link and the man who he had seen earlier.
"Excuse me?" Link stared at him in angered disbelief.
"You must be mistaken Eierthian." Malon objected.
"Then explain your wound?" Eierthian challenged. "I saw her stab you only an hour ago." Link looked over at the dagger stained with blood lying on the floor.
"But he was with us the whole time." Tenameru stepped forward. "There is now way your words could have any truth to them."
"Then perhaps you could explain your wound?" Eierthian said skeptically. "How do I know that you are not here to cause her more harm?"
"What? Of all the people in the world, she is the last person I would hurt!" Link yelled at him.
"Leave him alone Eierthian." Talya groaned.
"But milady-"
"It was not Link who was here." She stood up.
"Told you." Link groaned. Eierthian stepped back, still eyeing Link suspiciously.
"Perhaps, he is just trying to fool you now." Eierthian tried to persuade Talya one last time.
"Will you just shut up?" Talya shook her head solemnly. "Link is different. His eyes are different." Talya whispered.
"Fine, if you insist" Eierthian sat back down in his chair.
"Did you guys catch the fairies?" Talya asked.
"Yes." Nikki nodded.
"Then let us get some rest before we have to set out again." Talya left the room. Tenameru and Nikki exchanged wary glances.
"This keeps getting weirder and weirder everyday." Malon sighed. Rinéan was staring again at the various portraits on the walls although her mind was elsewhere.
"Wait a minute." Link started. He went through the door, searching for Talya only to find her leaning against the wall, holding her knees close to her chest. She was leaning her head against her knees. Tenameru and Nikki stood waiting in the open doorway. Link kneeled down in front of Talya and waited for her to look up at him, which she never did.
"What happened to your wound?" Link asked.
"He healed it." Talya mumbled.
"Eierthian?"
"No."
"I thought not." Link scoffed.
"Then who?" Tenameru interrupted. Talya did not answer, hiding her face further from her demons.
"The other Link did." She answered after a long silent moment.
"I do not understand." Link crossed his arms.
"He looked just like you.but he was not.he could not." Talya stood up again. "I do not feel like talking anymore."
"Wait a minute!" Link grabbed her arm. Talya immediately pulled away.
"Do not touch me.okay?"
"What happened to you?" Link furrowed his brow in confusion.
"I told you I do not want to talk anymore." Talya walked down the hall and up the stairs towards her room.
"She is right Link." Rinéan entered the hall. "There is a phantom entity, exactly like you, but exactly the opposite."
"But how is that possible?" Link whispered to himself more than anyone else.
"When you drew the sword of Evil's Bane and took the role of hero, your soul split. All your heroic and human traits remained within you. Your impure, even evil, traits were supposed to remain locked in the sacred realm until your role of hero was fulfilled."
"So what happened to cause this phantom entity?" Nikki pressed on quite interested in the tale that was unfolding before her.
"When Link completed what destiny had planned for him the two traits should have returned to one form. But during those seven years of wait the impureness must have formed a consciousness of its own. This is his way of lashing out at you for deserting him in the sacred realm."
"Someone probably should have told us about this before." Tenameru objected. "We could have had an advantage from the start."
"Advantage?" Link seemed outrage at this. "This is an advantage? Do you not see what Rinéan is saying to us? This bad guy is I. If he dies then so do I!" Link yelled. "He got stabbed and I felt it too."
"There maybe away to stop him without taking your life." Rinéan showed no emotion compared to the others in the castle. "Nikki, you are the rightful heir to Hyrule."
"Yeah.so what?" She shrugged.
"In case the hero chosen were to ever turn evil the goddesses created a weapon only the heir to the throne could use. It was locked into a secret room. If you could use the rune stones Tenameru, the I could stay here and search for the weapon."
"All right." Nikki nodded in unison with Tenameru.
"This is all my fault." Link shook his head. "We have to beat this." He looked at Nikki and Tenameru. "Promise me. Promise me that we will stop this at any cost. I need some reassurance." Link frowned.
"We will beat this." Tenameru assured him.
"At any cost!" Nikki finished for him.
"Good." Link smiled again. "Now I have to go yell at Talya." Link's spirits rose at the promise the received from his friends.
"Tenameru, take this it will let you control the runes." Rinéan handed him a small pearl. Tenameru pocketed it and gave her a thumbs-up. "I am going to begin my search for Nikki's weapon." Rinéan floated away.
"Everything will be all right. Won't it be Tenameru?" Nikki grabbed his hand, covering it with both of hers.
"I do not know." Tenameru shook his head. "But we can try our best to make sure it is okay." He assured her. Nikki hugged Tenameru in thanks.
"Shouldn't you two be resting?" A familiar voice scolded them. Standing in the doorway to the hall was a young man with blue eyes and brown hair. He wore blue Sheikah armor and a unique turban on his head. Under his right eye he had a black mark that classified someone of the Sheikah race.
"Karzon! What are you doing here?" Tenameru smiled recognizing the man. Tenameru and Karzon had been friends since they were little, but it had been a while since they had seen one another. Karzon was also one of the two Sheikah of healing, the other being Nikki.
"I came to see Malon. She has not been around the ranch for a few days, so I decided to check here." Karzon shrugged. "What is everybody doing here? Where is the princess?"
"It is a long story." Nikki sighed.
"Would you like to fill me in?" Karzon suggested. "Perhaps I could be of some assistance?"
"All right. Come sit down and we will fill you in." Tenameru led Karzon into a large dining room and sat down at the lengthy table.
"I will go find Malon." Nikki ran off into the hall to begin her search.
Link stood outside Talya's door, trying to decide how he could start his conversation with her.
"Ah, the hell with it." Link opened her door then closed it quietly behind him.
"I thought I told you that I did not want to talk." Talya said not looking away from the window by which she was seated.
"I do not care what you told me!" Link approached her, standing himself a few feet behind Talya. "So are you going to tell me what happened?"
"Do not get your hopes up." Talya sighed.
"Why not?" Link objected. "Why can you not tell me what he did?"
"It is not any of your business."
"I am not leaving until you tell me what happened."
"Well, then I suppose that you are going to stand there for the rest of your life."
"Why are you always like this? You never let anyone get close to you!" Link complained. "You are so difficult. Why is talking to me so hard for you?"
"Did it ever occur to you that I do not want to talk to you? That perhaps I feel that my problems are my own, and none of your business?" Talya was growing impatient.
"I just want to help you!"
"I do not want your help!"
"Maybe you need it!" Link yelled leaving them in silence afterwards. Link kneeled next to where Talya was seated. "Whatever he did must have really hurt you.at least enough to stab him."
"I am sorry about your wound Link." Talya crossed her arms and continued to stare out the window.
"It is no big deal. You did not know that it would hurt me."
"Yes I did." Talya shook her head. "He told me."
"And you stabbed him anyway." Link touched the wound on his stomach.
"I did not have a choice." Link said nothing. "It was either stab him or Eierthian would have shot him."
"It is gone." Link pushed on where his wound should have been. "The wound is gone!"
"He must have healed it." Talya sighed.
"Like he healed you. Right?"
"No." Talya scoffed. "I do not think that there is anyway he could have healed himself like that. He probably used a potion."
"What do you mean?"
"You know. A potion. You can buy them in Kakar-"
"How did he heal you?"
"I thought we clarified that I did not want to talk about that."
"I thought you had finally realized that you needed to." Link sat himself in front of her. "You're embarrassed!" Link shouted out with a laugh.
"Excuse me?"
"You're embarrassed to tell me!" Link teased.
"You are delusional." Talya mocked him.
"I am not! You are, that is why you will not tell me what he did. It is embarrassing you!"
"Stop it Link." Talya stood and moved to the door.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"If you won't leave then I will." Link grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the door.
"Please just tell me what he did to you to make you act like this!"
"The same damn thing that you are doing to me now!" Talya yelled. "He would not leave me alone or let go of me and he." Talya broke away and covered her mouth blushing a bright red.
"He what?" Link suddenly felt a tremendous guilt on his shoulders. "You do not have to tell me Talya." He finally sighed, giving into his guilt. Talya was able to finally cease her blushing and put her hands back at her sides. "You better get some rest, we are going to have a lot of work to do tomorrow." He turned to leave.
"Hey Link?" Talya stopped him as he opened the door. He turned around to face her, giving her a solemn look in response. Talya threw her arms around him, embracing him in a gentle hug. "Thank you." Link, though shocked, willingly returned the embrace.
"You're welcome Talya." Link reluctantly released her from his grip and left her room.
Chapter Five: The Escape and Shared Pain
Hoshiko and Zelda listened to the quiet of the dungeon, searching the silence for any sign of their captures. After assuring themselves that no one was around Zelda took the amulet off of her brooch and placed it against the door. It glowed with a brilliant light and the door swung open.
"Let's hurry." Hoshiko said rushing down through the dank halls of the dungeon. They had been correct in assuming that their captors had gone. They rushed to the stables and found all the horses still in their places. They each mounted one of the horses and sped away from the castle. Just outside the gates the castle garden, Hoshiko stopped her horse suddenly. The black Clydesdale reared back onto its hind legs in objection to the abrupt stop.
"What is wrong?" Zelda yelled. "Why have you stopped?"
"This is not my world!" Hoshiko gazed at the unfamiliar surroundings. "What? But that was your castle, wasn't it?"
"Yes." Hoshiko furrowed her brow feeling overwhelmed with sadness. "That is my castle. But this is certainly not my world." She shook her head in disbelief.
"I am sorry Hoshiko."
"It is not your fault."
"Are you sure that you are not mistake about this? Perhaps your land has changed while you were held captive." Zelda offered her opinion turning her horse away from Hoshiko.
"No. Do you not think that I recognize my own land? This is not my land Zelda. I can guarantee you that this is not my home." Hoshiko said, a hint of anger in her voice. "Let us go now, there will be time for talk later. If we do not get going, we will surely be captured again." And with that the two rode towards the thick forest in the distance.
The group huddled around Link who was holding his stomach.
"What happened?" Tenameru asked.
"How the hell am I supposed to know? One minute I was fine. The next, I am bleeding!" Link screamed out in frustration.
"Calm down Link!" Nikki scolded.
"Calm down?" Link scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You do not have a bleeding hole in your stomach!" Link yelled.
"Do not yell at Nikki, Link. This is not her fault."
"Maybe we should be heading back to the castle." Malon suggested.
"No." Link stated simply. "Just wrap my wound and we can keep going."
"Are you sure?" Rinéan asked.
"Positive. We have to keep up with these fairies." Link stood up.
"Okay then." Tenameru sighed. Link continued to take off his shirt and wrap the wound. After a few moments they were on there way again. They did not notice that the trees seemed to close in on them and the grass and flowers seemed to get bigger and bigger before it was too late. A tree crashed down in front of them blocking the path. A second tree fell, even closer than the last one. It would have crushed Nikki if Tenameru had not pulled her out of the way. More trees began to fall around them.
"What the hell is going on here?" Tenameru yelled. Malon screamed as a web of vines surrounded her and pulled her up, hanging her upside down. A branch from one of the fallen trees began to lunge towards Link. Link cut it down with his sword then fell back in pain as he felt one of the vines wrap around his torso and compress on his wound. He struggled to pull it away as more vines attacked. Rinéan was busy dodging humongous branches that were reaching for her. The ground was rising up around Nikki. She tried furiously to escape from the rising sand to no avail. Tenameru reached down to help Nikki, but he noticed something from the corner of his eye. A pink glitter was floating high above them. It was the sixth fairie. Tenameru jumped on top of one of the fallen trees and jumped towards the now visible sixth fairie. He barely touched the fairie when he felt a surge of pain spread through his body. The fairie was gone; he had absorbed it. He landed next to Link who was lying on his back staring up into the sky, sweating and holding his stomach in pain. Tenameru helped Nikki from the dirt then helped Malon to her feet as well. Rinéan floated down to meet them.
"That was odd." Nikki sighed in relief. "Where was the temple?"
"The forest here must have been the temple." Rinéan told her.
"Okay. Now we can go back to the castle." Link stood up painfully.
"Wait." Rinéan said. She approached Link and placed a hand on his stomach. "This should ease up the pain a bit. At least for a little while."
"Thank you." Link smiled, all ready starting to feel better. "Take us home Rinéan." Rinéan nodded and began to trace symbols in the dirt.
"Any idea what might have caused your wound Link?" Malon asked breaking the tension as they anxiously waited for Rinéan to finish.
"No."
"Could it have been the fairie?" Nikki queried.
"Perhaps. I suppose that we will probably never know." Link shrugged. "Are you done yet?" He directed his query to Rinéan.
"Patience Link." Rinéan continued to trace symbols in the dirt. The next few moments were spent in silence while waiting for Rinéan to complete the symbols. "All done." Rinéan stood up, placing herself in the center of the symbols. The others proceeded to do the same. They arrived in Kakariko moments later. The wind had picked up while they were gone. They rushed back to Hyrule Castle only to find the large doors open.
"I really think that we need a better lock on this door." Nikki sighed. They closed the doors them and entered the throne room which was light by the setting sun outside. Talya was sitting on the ground next to the throne, her head still resting in her hands. Eierthian sat in a red velvet chair next to where Talya was seated. Link frowned at the sight of him.
"Who are you?" he grimaced.
"I should ask you the same thing. I am Eierthian, an Elvin Ranger." Eierthian stood to meet him, matching his height exactly.
"What are you doing here?" Link ignored his snide remark.
"Protecting this fine lady." Eierthian gestured towards Talya.
"What? Protecting her from what?"
"From you." Eierthian frowned taking note of the likeness between Link and the man who he had seen earlier.
"Excuse me?" Link stared at him in angered disbelief.
"You must be mistaken Eierthian." Malon objected.
"Then explain your wound?" Eierthian challenged. "I saw her stab you only an hour ago." Link looked over at the dagger stained with blood lying on the floor.
"But he was with us the whole time." Tenameru stepped forward. "There is now way your words could have any truth to them."
"Then perhaps you could explain your wound?" Eierthian said skeptically. "How do I know that you are not here to cause her more harm?"
"What? Of all the people in the world, she is the last person I would hurt!" Link yelled at him.
"Leave him alone Eierthian." Talya groaned.
"But milady-"
"It was not Link who was here." She stood up.
"Told you." Link groaned. Eierthian stepped back, still eyeing Link suspiciously.
"Perhaps, he is just trying to fool you now." Eierthian tried to persuade Talya one last time.
"Will you just shut up?" Talya shook her head solemnly. "Link is different. His eyes are different." Talya whispered.
"Fine, if you insist" Eierthian sat back down in his chair.
"Did you guys catch the fairies?" Talya asked.
"Yes." Nikki nodded.
"Then let us get some rest before we have to set out again." Talya left the room. Tenameru and Nikki exchanged wary glances.
"This keeps getting weirder and weirder everyday." Malon sighed. Rinéan was staring again at the various portraits on the walls although her mind was elsewhere.
"Wait a minute." Link started. He went through the door, searching for Talya only to find her leaning against the wall, holding her knees close to her chest. She was leaning her head against her knees. Tenameru and Nikki stood waiting in the open doorway. Link kneeled down in front of Talya and waited for her to look up at him, which she never did.
"What happened to your wound?" Link asked.
"He healed it." Talya mumbled.
"Eierthian?"
"No."
"I thought not." Link scoffed.
"Then who?" Tenameru interrupted. Talya did not answer, hiding her face further from her demons.
"The other Link did." She answered after a long silent moment.
"I do not understand." Link crossed his arms.
"He looked just like you.but he was not.he could not." Talya stood up again. "I do not feel like talking anymore."
"Wait a minute!" Link grabbed her arm. Talya immediately pulled away.
"Do not touch me.okay?"
"What happened to you?" Link furrowed his brow in confusion.
"I told you I do not want to talk anymore." Talya walked down the hall and up the stairs towards her room.
"She is right Link." Rinéan entered the hall. "There is a phantom entity, exactly like you, but exactly the opposite."
"But how is that possible?" Link whispered to himself more than anyone else.
"When you drew the sword of Evil's Bane and took the role of hero, your soul split. All your heroic and human traits remained within you. Your impure, even evil, traits were supposed to remain locked in the sacred realm until your role of hero was fulfilled."
"So what happened to cause this phantom entity?" Nikki pressed on quite interested in the tale that was unfolding before her.
"When Link completed what destiny had planned for him the two traits should have returned to one form. But during those seven years of wait the impureness must have formed a consciousness of its own. This is his way of lashing out at you for deserting him in the sacred realm."
"Someone probably should have told us about this before." Tenameru objected. "We could have had an advantage from the start."
"Advantage?" Link seemed outrage at this. "This is an advantage? Do you not see what Rinéan is saying to us? This bad guy is I. If he dies then so do I!" Link yelled. "He got stabbed and I felt it too."
"There maybe away to stop him without taking your life." Rinéan showed no emotion compared to the others in the castle. "Nikki, you are the rightful heir to Hyrule."
"Yeah.so what?" She shrugged.
"In case the hero chosen were to ever turn evil the goddesses created a weapon only the heir to the throne could use. It was locked into a secret room. If you could use the rune stones Tenameru, the I could stay here and search for the weapon."
"All right." Nikki nodded in unison with Tenameru.
"This is all my fault." Link shook his head. "We have to beat this." He looked at Nikki and Tenameru. "Promise me. Promise me that we will stop this at any cost. I need some reassurance." Link frowned.
"We will beat this." Tenameru assured him.
"At any cost!" Nikki finished for him.
"Good." Link smiled again. "Now I have to go yell at Talya." Link's spirits rose at the promise the received from his friends.
"Tenameru, take this it will let you control the runes." Rinéan handed him a small pearl. Tenameru pocketed it and gave her a thumbs-up. "I am going to begin my search for Nikki's weapon." Rinéan floated away.
"Everything will be all right. Won't it be Tenameru?" Nikki grabbed his hand, covering it with both of hers.
"I do not know." Tenameru shook his head. "But we can try our best to make sure it is okay." He assured her. Nikki hugged Tenameru in thanks.
"Shouldn't you two be resting?" A familiar voice scolded them. Standing in the doorway to the hall was a young man with blue eyes and brown hair. He wore blue Sheikah armor and a unique turban on his head. Under his right eye he had a black mark that classified someone of the Sheikah race.
"Karzon! What are you doing here?" Tenameru smiled recognizing the man. Tenameru and Karzon had been friends since they were little, but it had been a while since they had seen one another. Karzon was also one of the two Sheikah of healing, the other being Nikki.
"I came to see Malon. She has not been around the ranch for a few days, so I decided to check here." Karzon shrugged. "What is everybody doing here? Where is the princess?"
"It is a long story." Nikki sighed.
"Would you like to fill me in?" Karzon suggested. "Perhaps I could be of some assistance?"
"All right. Come sit down and we will fill you in." Tenameru led Karzon into a large dining room and sat down at the lengthy table.
"I will go find Malon." Nikki ran off into the hall to begin her search.
Link stood outside Talya's door, trying to decide how he could start his conversation with her.
"Ah, the hell with it." Link opened her door then closed it quietly behind him.
"I thought I told you that I did not want to talk." Talya said not looking away from the window by which she was seated.
"I do not care what you told me!" Link approached her, standing himself a few feet behind Talya. "So are you going to tell me what happened?"
"Do not get your hopes up." Talya sighed.
"Why not?" Link objected. "Why can you not tell me what he did?"
"It is not any of your business."
"I am not leaving until you tell me what happened."
"Well, then I suppose that you are going to stand there for the rest of your life."
"Why are you always like this? You never let anyone get close to you!" Link complained. "You are so difficult. Why is talking to me so hard for you?"
"Did it ever occur to you that I do not want to talk to you? That perhaps I feel that my problems are my own, and none of your business?" Talya was growing impatient.
"I just want to help you!"
"I do not want your help!"
"Maybe you need it!" Link yelled leaving them in silence afterwards. Link kneeled next to where Talya was seated. "Whatever he did must have really hurt you.at least enough to stab him."
"I am sorry about your wound Link." Talya crossed her arms and continued to stare out the window.
"It is no big deal. You did not know that it would hurt me."
"Yes I did." Talya shook her head. "He told me."
"And you stabbed him anyway." Link touched the wound on his stomach.
"I did not have a choice." Link said nothing. "It was either stab him or Eierthian would have shot him."
"It is gone." Link pushed on where his wound should have been. "The wound is gone!"
"He must have healed it." Talya sighed.
"Like he healed you. Right?"
"No." Talya scoffed. "I do not think that there is anyway he could have healed himself like that. He probably used a potion."
"What do you mean?"
"You know. A potion. You can buy them in Kakar-"
"How did he heal you?"
"I thought we clarified that I did not want to talk about that."
"I thought you had finally realized that you needed to." Link sat himself in front of her. "You're embarrassed!" Link shouted out with a laugh.
"Excuse me?"
"You're embarrassed to tell me!" Link teased.
"You are delusional." Talya mocked him.
"I am not! You are, that is why you will not tell me what he did. It is embarrassing you!"
"Stop it Link." Talya stood and moved to the door.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"If you won't leave then I will." Link grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the door.
"Please just tell me what he did to you to make you act like this!"
"The same damn thing that you are doing to me now!" Talya yelled. "He would not leave me alone or let go of me and he." Talya broke away and covered her mouth blushing a bright red.
"He what?" Link suddenly felt a tremendous guilt on his shoulders. "You do not have to tell me Talya." He finally sighed, giving into his guilt. Talya was able to finally cease her blushing and put her hands back at her sides. "You better get some rest, we are going to have a lot of work to do tomorrow." He turned to leave.
"Hey Link?" Talya stopped him as he opened the door. He turned around to face her, giving her a solemn look in response. Talya threw her arms around him, embracing him in a gentle hug. "Thank you." Link, though shocked, willingly returned the embrace.
"You're welcome Talya." Link reluctantly released her from his grip and left her room.