Chapter 8
As usual, Emralda and Ganondorf were looking into her magical fire watching as Mirren's day went by. They were both a little angry that he and Link and the others defeated the Evil Phoenix, but they were still happy for other reasons.
For one, it seemed Mirren had gained a new friend Taursus, who which made another target for Emralda and Ganondorf to capture. And, with the defeat of the Evil Phoenix, it put them one step closer to beginning their real plan.
"Well, this will certainly be interesting" said Ganondorf watching the fire, "Link going up against his little brother, now we can see their true power." Emralda smiled.
"Yes, we'll finally see how powerful that kid can be" she added. Ganondorf smiled too.
"Ya know, I was thinking of beginning our plan tomorrow" he began, "but I believe it'd be better if we waited a while, don't you think my sister?" Emralda turned from the fire and looked at her brother strangely.
"Why do you say that Ganondorf?" she asked.
"Because, I say we wait a while, so that he has a great time" he began, "think about it. We'll let him live in peace and joy for a little while, and when we finally begin, he'll be crushed. I mean, his life will have been so great. Pure peace, joy, happiness, and his best friends, and then one day, his life begins to crash. He begins to lose the ones he loves most rapidly, and soon it'll take its toll on him. He'll come here in pure rage, and we then kill his friends, and then kill him!" Ganondorf laughed wickedly as Emralda smiled.
"Great plan my brother" she replied, "that plan will." Suddenly a guard burst through the doors to the throne room.
"Lady Emralda" he said with a bow, "I have news for you, a cart of rupees from a destroyed town has come." Emralda no longer smiled, in fact, she was angry as ever.
"How dare you just barge into our room without a single knock, we have important business being done here!" she shouted, "Now, you'll learn never to bother us ever!" Emralda raised her staff with the dark green crystal on top into the air and shot a bolt of energy from it. It hit the guard, and made him scream in pain. Soon the energy disappeared, and his dead body fell to the ground scorched by the magic's power. Emralda sneered at the dead guard and sat back down in her chair. Ganondorf smiled wickedly.
"Nicely done" he complimented, "now, let's watch the battle." Emralda looked into the flame and finally put an evil grin on.
"This will most certainly be entertaining" she spoke evilly.
Everyone had gathered into the Castle Training Grounds for the battle between Link and Mirren. The battle that would finally show which of the two heroic brothers was the toughest and best warrior. The only people who were there were Zelda, Faria, Jarlis, Mardera, Taursus, and Impa. But that really didn't matter to either one of the warrior brothers.
Once everything was ready, Link and Mirren pulled out their main weapons. There was no rule on how many weapons you could use, so Link's entire arsenal of items and weaponry was waiting. Link pulled out his Mirror Shield and the Master Sword, while Mirren only took of his broadsword. The two brothers stared at each other with pure seriousness and determination in their eyes. After a few moments, Link put down his shield, and extended his arm out for a good-sportsman hand shake. Mirren looked at the hand, and smiled. He let out a quiet laugh, and returned it. They then both looked at each other with smiles on their faces. They both then stepped back, and got ready to fight. Zelda stood up.
"All right, you know the rules" she announced. She then raised her right arm into the air and soon brought it down. "Begin"
Instantly Link lunged at Mirren and gave a mighty slash to his younger brother. Mirren saw this coming and cart wheeled to the left. He got fully up as Link went for another. He jumped back and jumped back again as Link attempted a stab. Link then rushed in and assaulted him with a vertical slash. Mirren put his sword up horizontally and blocked the attack. The second this happened, Link raised his boot and kicked Mirren square in the stomach.
Mirren puffed and dropped to the ground. He lay vulnerable to any attack as Link went for his second vertical slash. Mirren saw this just in time and rolled forward to evade the attack. He slowly got up and looked at his brother through a face of pain holding his hurt chest. Link returned it as he gritted his teeth.
"Stop being a coward!" he shouted, "fight back!" Link still glared at his brother as Mirren let go of his chest. His face of pain washed away, and he grinned.
"You got it" he whispered. He then yelled and charged at Link. He was so fast that Link could only barely lift his Mirror Shield up as Mirren brought his blade down. It crashed up against the mighty shield and created an explosion of sparks. Link was blinded by the light and closed his eyes from the pain, while Mirren had closed his before since he knew there'd be a mess of sparks. He opened his eyes and slashed his sword right across Link's face.
Link grunted in pain and collapsed from the hit. Everyone gasped as Link groaned in pain. He soon looked up and saw Mirren standing above him with a face of determination and seriousness like before. He noticed blood on Mirren's broadsword and rubbed his right cheek. It stung a little, but soon looked at blood-covered hand. Everyone now saw the bloody cut on his face and was amazed by it. Mirren stared at his brother for a few more moments before backing away. Link looked at him a little confused but soon smiled.
"Letting for weakened opponent get up" he said as he got up, "very wise, very mature, very virtuous. a very big mistake." Link then slammed the Master Sword into Mirren's stomach. Everyone once again gasped in fear as Zelda and Faria both covered their mouths from shock. Mirren gasped in agony as a couple drops of blood trickled from his mouth. His eyes widened in pain and shock, and he finally closed them. Link took him off the sword as Mirren fell to the ground. Link looked into the crowd and saw Zelda with a face of disbelief. Link was about to answer her questions of "why?"
"Forgive me for doing that, but I was teaching you a lesson" Link began looking down at Mirren, "I know that was a cheap, dirty, and unfair move, but I had to do it sometime. I was teaching you Mirren, that not all fighters in Hyrule will play fair. You must learn to never stop fighting, even when they're down. And you must never show mercy to them, or they'll just take advantage of it and attack you. I promise to never use such a maneuver again; I only did this time to teach you something." Link then turned around and began walking away. He walked a few steps before turning around again. He looked at Mirren. "And not too bad on the fight, well at least for what it was" he said. He turned around again and began walking. After a few steps, he heard Zelda, Faria,and Mardera gasp. He also heard another odd sound. He turned around, and his eyes widened in shock.
Mirren was getting up. He was holding his stomach as pulled himself up by his sword, which was planted into the ground blade first. He grunted from the pain as he did this, and was soon on his feet. He looked at the shocked Link, and spit some blood out of his mouth before speaking.
"What do you mean, for what it was?" he asked with a grin, "I'm not giving up yet, perhaps you are, but I'm still gonna fight if you're willing." Everyone's jaws dropped from what Mirren was saying. He had got stabbed like all heck by the most powerful sword in the history of Hyrule and probably had the biggest gash ever on his stomach. And yet he still wasn't giving up!!! Link still stared at him with shock on his face. He couldn't believe Mirren was actually after that attack. He still stared at him for a few moments before letting out a laugh.
"Well bro, I'll fight if you'll fight" he said shrugging. Mirren then got his complete balance and got in a battle position with his broadsword. The two stared down each other before Mirren finally let out a yell and charged at Link. He did another slash, but Link blocked it with the Mirror Shield and attempted a nice cut. Mirren did a back flip and landed perfectly on his feet. Link rushed at him and did a slice. Mirren was just able to raise up his blade to block the attack. Once that happened, he pulled his sword away and did a slice of his own to Link. Again the attack was denied and Link went for another stab. Mirren blocked the shot, but was sent flying from the force.
He hit the ground and breathed heavily. He was hurt pretty bad, and he was very tired. He lifted up his head and saw Link coming down in the air for a falling sword attack. He rolled away and evaded to the attack as the Master Sword dug into the earth. Mirren seized the opportunity and ran at Link for another slash. But when he got to him, Link instantly pulled out the Master Sword and gave another slash to Mirren. He screamed in pain and flew to the ground again, clutching his arm which had been hit.
As Mirren rived in pain, Link rested on the Master Sword. Mirren was a very good fighter, and was very difficult to hit for his very small size and his great agility. He also did some really strong attacks! In fact, that was more than half of why Link was resting, since Mirren had attacked so aggressively. Soon, Mirren had managed to get up, and Link went for another attack. He did a vertical slash on his left cheek, and knocked him back. A bloody cut opened up on Mirren's cheek, but he retaliated with a slice that caught Link's other cheek. He also was knocked back, and now had a bloody cut on both sides of his face. They both then yelled and each went for a stab. They both connected each other in the chest, and the two brothers were knocked down.
They both lay breathing heavily and groaning from the incredible pain they were feeling. Bloody still poured from their wounds, and it began to stain the ground they were resting on. Everyone still watched in shock from the great fighting skills they were using, and from the massive pain they must've been feeling. Zelda watched very nervous of the battle. She liked both of them very much, and didn't want either one to be hurt. Mirren since he was so small, and because he was such a sweet kid in her mind. And Link since well, she practically loved him. She wanted the battle to end right now, but unfortunately for her, they both got up and were ready to fight.
They both looked at each other and were determined to win the battle. They both wanted to be victorious and be the greatest warrior brother, but they both knew if they didn't kick it up a notch, they wouldn't win. Mirren decided to do more flying around and use more speed, but Link had a different idea.
"Mirren, I'm not getting much farther in this battle with the Master Sword and Mirror Shield" he said and threw them away, "so I've decided to use something else, and finish this battle once and for all!" Link the pulled out the massive Biggoron's Sword and held it ready for battle with a grin on his face. Mirren just froze in shock from the size of the sword, and couldn't believe how amazing it was.
"This is the Biggy" said Link still grinning, "Let's see if you can stop me now." Everyone watched in shock and fear for Mirren, they were all very worried about him. The Biggoron's Sword was incredibly hard to get around and was more painful as ever. It actually did double the damage of the Master Sword, although it was hard to defend with since you couldn't have a shield while fighting with it.
Link then decided he wanted to end the battle right then and there. He got in position, and bent his knees a little. He also positioned the Biggy correctly, and he began charging up for a spin attack. Mirren gasped and froze in shock again. He had no way he could escape, even if he tried to block it, he'd still get hurt. And there was no way to escape from its long range. The energy around the blade then turned from blue to orange, and Link was ready to attack. He spun around and let the sword fly as the energy came around with it. The blade came soaring to Mirren, and he only closed his eyes ready to feel the pain. Everyone turned away and not to see it. Zelda gasped in fear for Mirren and was ready to end the battle. Link spun around again and unleashed the final bits of his power. All the orange energy disappeared off the Biggy, and Link turned to see how badly hurt Mirren was. He looked, and his eyes widened in shock. Everyone watching then turned to see what happened, and their jaws dropped straight down.
There, was Mirren crouching with his eyes closed and his body shaking in fear. He finally opened them and looked around. He felt no pain at all from the attack. He jumped up and couldn't believe he wasn't hurt.
"I don't-believe it" said Link out loud, "I-missed." Everyone still watched in surprise before bursting out into laughter. They all laughed and laughed until tears began to pour from their eyes. Even Zelda laughed, in fact she laughed more than anyone else! As they laughed, Link gritted his teeth at Mirren. "You're goin' down!" he shouted and thrust his sword at Mirren. Mirren jumped straight up, and landed on the Biggy. Link's eyes widened again from surprise. He gulped as Mirren reared back and unloaded a great vertical slash on him. It hit Link and knocked him back on the ground. Mirren yelled and rushed at Link for another attack. But Link saw this right away and got up. As Mirren charged at him, Link did another thrust with the Biggoron's Sword. This one hit Mirren, and made him freeze in pain. Link then lifted the sword in the air with Mirren still on the top of it. Everyone watched in horror as Mirren slowly lost consciousness and as some of his blood slowly came down the blade. Zelda and Faria covered their mouths for fear of Mirren. Link realized he had won, and threw Mirren off it. He turned around as Mirren fell through the air; the biggest mistake he ever made in the battle.
With Link not looking, Mirren stretched out his broadsword and made his blade slice Link's back as he fell to the ground. Link roared in pain as the sword cut right through his tunic and skin. Mirren finally crashed on the ground as Link fell to his knees and then finally to the ground totally. Everyone gasped from the incredible move by Mirren, and watched and waited for them to get up (if they could) and continue the battle. They waited and waited, and realized they both probably couldn't fight. Link and Mirren finally got up on their knees after minutes of riving in pain. They both looked at each as they breathed heavily from their fatigue and blood flowing from their wounds. Finally Link said something.
"Hey Mirren, I don't think I can go on anymore" he said, "I'm too weak, I can't fight. Wanna call this thing a draw?" Everyone watched and waited for Mirren's answer as he stared at Link. He finally smiled.
"Sure" he answered. Everyone then sighed with relief that there'd be no more bloodshed and cheered for the two mighty brothers. Both Link and Mirren then pulled out their Red Potions and uncorked them.
"Cheers" they said in unison, and drank the red healing liquids. They drank and drank and soon both bottles were empty. Also all their cuts and bruises healed, and they felt like they did before the fight. They got up and walked over to everyone. They congratulated them and talked to them.
"Nice fight guys" said Taursus.
"You did great" spoke Mardera.
"Yeah, you both pulled off some great techniques" complimented Jarlis.
"You guys had me worried" added Impa.
"Yeah, you guys are the greatest warriors I've ever seen!" exclaimed Faria. They both thanked them all as Zelda walked over to them.
"Great job guys" she said as she put her hand on Mirren's shoulder. "You did great Mirren, you're a great fighter for your age and size" she said smiling. Mirren smiled back and blushed a little. She then turned to Link who was smiling at her. She smiled back. "You did great too, Hero of Time" they both then hugged each other as everyone watched with a smile on their face. But for Link and Zelda, it was just a friendly hug, not like when someday possibly they'd tell each other they really loved the other. But for now, it was a start.
A little while later, the group had dinner in the courtyards. The cooks had prepared an excellent meal of shrimp and salmon for the success and great fight between Link and Mirren. They all ate their fills and drank as much of the Plum Cider as they could. After the dinner, a few troubadours came out and began to play music for them. They all went right in the middle of a daisy garden and danced to the wonderful sounds. Mirren had actually turned out to be a good dancer, impressing everyone with excellent spins, flips, jumps, and other aerial moves. Half the time, Link or Taursus would throw him up into the air and let him pull off an even better trick. One time he did an amazing flip and fell down on his stomach, so he actually pulled off a 450* flip. That was easily the best trick he had pulled off that night, and for him it was even better since Zelda was the one to catch him!
After about a half-hour, the troubadours decided to finish off the night with a slow dance. Everyone instantly left the area except Link and Zelda, who somewhat reluctantly decided to dance. But they did it even in front of everyone, and did pretty well.
"Man, I just hate slow dancing in front of everyone, it can be so embarrassing!" said Mirren.
"I agree, and then it's like you love the person!" added Faria, "slow dancing is my biggest fear."
"Same here" replied Mirren. As they watched Zelda and Link dance, suddenly Taursus and Impa sneaked up behind them with a grin on their faces. Jarlis and Mardera held in their laughter as they got right behind them. Once they were, they grabbed them and held them in the air.
"Then I guess you two gotta face your fears!" Impa and Taursus said together. Mirren and Faria yelled in surprise and nervousness as they were thrown into the dancing area. They landed right next to Zelda and Link's feet as they looked up. The two of them were smiling at their younger siblings.
"Come on Mirren!" said Link, "I'm dancing with Zelda, if you dance with Faria, then it'll be the brothers with the sisters!"
"Yeah, and it'll be so cute!" added Zelda. Faria scowled.
"I hate it when you use that word for me, cute!" she yelled. Everyone except Mirren laughed at Faria's remark.
"Come on you two, don't be wimps!!" yelled Jarlis. Mirren's face then went into his surprised-angry face as he turned to Jarlis.
"Did you say..wimp?" he asked as he raised his eyebrow. Jarlis burst out into laughter.
"Losing your hearing now ya wimp!?" Jarlis shouted. Mirren was now incredibly annoyed. The same went for Faria. She just couldn't take it anymore.
"That's it!" she shouted as she turned to Mirren, "I don't like being called a wimp either Mirren! Let's just get this over with!"
"You got it!" Mirren said back. They both then without hesitating, began to dance. Zelda and Link laughed as they got back to their own dance. Even with the many giggles and laughs still coming from everyone else, Faria and Mirren kept dancing. After a few more minutes, the music stopped. Everyone then helped clean up from the little party as they went to bed, except for Link, Zelda, Mirren, and Faria who stayed outside for a while.
They all sat down and looked up at the stars as Link and Mirren told them of their adventures while they were gone. They told them of the Ogre Galleon, the battle with Captain Gorg, the battle with the sea serpent, everything at Terlon Forest with the Wolf-Bear and even up to now with the Evil Phoenix.
They kept on telling and telling until they had nothing that they could think of anymore. Once they finished, Link and Mirren simply looked up at the stars. As they did that, Zelda and Faria whispered a discussion. Link and Mirren noticed this and watched them strangely. They both looked at each for an answer, but only got a shrug.
"Hey, what are you guys talkin' about?" asked Link. The two sisters finished up their discussion and turned to Link and Mirren with grins on their faces.
"Well boys" began Zelda, "Me and Faria have been training a lot lately with our magical powers, and we've become incredibly strong. So we want to see how strong you guys are. That's why we want to challenge you two to a tag team fight tomorrow, up to it?" Zelda then grinned even more. Mirren's face then went into complete shock as Link grinned back.
"Okay Zelda, the battle's on" Link said. Mirren's face then went pale white as his eyes bugged out. Link then laughed at the fact that Zelda and Faria really wanted to fight them. As he did that, Mirren still freaked out as he just froze in fear and nervousness.
"Well, how about tomorrow at noon?" asked Faria. Link nodded.
"Sounds good" he answered with a laugh, "Good luck though." He laughed even more now as Zelda and Faria walked away with grins on their faces. He kept laughing and laughing and laughing until he finally stopped and turned to Mirren.
"Man, they're goin' down!" he said, "We're gonna destroy them right Mirren?" Mirren then came out from his shock mode and looked at Link very nervous.
"Um. bro, I got some bad news for you" he said grimly. Now Mirren wasn't going to admit how he felt about Zelda, because he still had another reason why he didn't want to fight.
"What's up bro?" asked Link. Mirren gulped.
"Well, ya see, even though I'm such a great warrior and I'm never reluctant to go into battle, I do have this one fear" he said still nervous and grimly.
"And what might that be Mirren?" asked Link. Mirren gulped again.
"Well, I have a very big fear of fighting against girls" he said. Link's eyes widened from shock at Mirren's answer. Mirren looked at Link embarrassed before Link finally let out a laugh. He knelt down next to Mirren and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Well bro, I know this is gonna be hard, but you just gotta face your fear for this one" he spoke, "I can imagine the fear, I mean, I used ta get like that once in a while. But as long as you don't use your full power and go all out on them, you'll never seriously hurt them. And if you accidentally do, it'll still be fine since they have special healing powers. Like when Zelda healed you from before." Link then stood up and began to walk into the castle to go to bed. "Well goodnight Mirren, get some sleep, you'll need all the power you have tomorrow" he said, and walked away.
His words helped Mirren a little, but he was still afraid. The thought of hurting Faria, and especially Zelda made him shiver. He would just feel terrible if he hurt either, and it would be even worse if he hurt Zelda. His fond of her was growing more and more every time he was around her, he really did believe he was starting to fall in love with her. He shook his head and forgot about her for a moment, since he needed a way to not get so nervous tomorrow. He thought of many ideas, but only one seemed to be the best.
"All I have to do is stay away from her in the battle, if I can fight Faria the whole time, hopefully Link can defeat her before I need to fight her" He smiled from the idea and felt better. But as he walked into the castle to go to bed, he still thought of one thing. "I hope that happens."
The next morning, Mirren got up early as usual. He had a good nights sleep, with dreams about the fight. In his dream, it had worked as planned. The battle had begun with him fighting Faria, and Link fought Zelda. It stayed the same the whole battle, and not once did Mirren have to look at Zelda. He got out of bed and changed into new, clean clothes. He took his broadsword off the wall, and strapped the scabbard with it on his back. He looked at his bow and arrow and thought for a moment if he wanted it or not. He decided not to take it, and walked down to the Training Grounds. He got there, and saw no one around, but it would be much different a few hours later when the battle began. He took out his sword and began doing practices with it against the imaginary opponent.
He sliced, slashed, cut, stabbed, and did every other sword technique he knew into the air. He wanted to get a little more training time in before the battle began. After those practices, he began to do some stretches. He first worked on his arms, and then went to his legs. He figured he would need some good speed in the battle to avoid the magical attacks of Zelda and Faria, so he stretched the most on his legs. Once the stretches were done, he began to do some shuttle runs from two of the trees. He had stretched to get his legs ready, now he needed to put them to work.
He ran as fast as he could from yew tree to yew tree touching each one and counting whenever he had touched the two of them. He ran and ran and after the first minute, he was up to 15, and counting. After another two minutes, he finally stopped, and figured he'd done enough. He then took up his blade again and began assault of attacks on one of the large boulders. Each time he brought his blade down; the incredible force chipped away and dented the boulder. He kept this up for a few more minutes before just falling back against one of the smaller and resting there. His broadsword fell from his hands as he breathed heavily from his tiresome training. A few drops of sweat poured from his skin and dropped against the earth. He was very fatigued, but happy he had gotten some nice training in before the battle. He closed his eyes, and began to take a little nap.
Zelda and Link smiled at the sleeping Mirren as they secretly watched through the window.
"He trained very hard just now, I'm not surprised he's sleeping again" said Link.
"Yes, and that little body of his takes so much pain and fatigue, he sure is quite a kid" Zelda added, "He'll probably do great today in our fight." Link then thought of what happened the night before and let out a laugh.
"Don't count on it" he muttered and laughed again. Zelda looked at Link in a surprised way.
"Why, is something wrong with him?" she asked. Link laughed even more.
"Yeah, I'll tell right now since I wanna go eat" he replied as he stopped laughing, "Mirren has a fear of fighting girls, and gets really nervous when he has to. He got so freaked out last night when I agreed to have the fight. I helped him a little, and told him not to worry. I guess he's a little better about it, but who knows really. Just whatever you do, don't go easy on him." He laughed again and began walking away to go have breakfast. Zelda then looked down at Mirren and finally smiled.
"You're such a funny kid Mirren" she whispered, "Don't worry about hurting me; and I promise not to hurt you badly either. And if I do, I'll have something waiting to help you." She smiled at even more, as he slowly opened his eyes. His nap wasn't as long as he expected, but it got his power back. He yawned and stretched his arms out. He looked around and finally looked up to where Zelda had been watching. He really didn't see her, but he could've sworn he saw her dark blonde hair as she walked away. He shrugged and got up as he walked out of the training grounds.
"Please don't let anything go wrong" he thought to himself.
A few hours later, the sun positioned itself correctly, and it was finally noon. Once again it was just the same people coming to watch, Mardera, Jarlis, Taursus, and Impa. But that was better in Mirren's mind, in case anything happened, at least it'd be just them seeing it. They all sat down as Zelda and Faria came out through the left side of the Training Grounds, and as Link and Mirren emerged from the right. The small bunch of friends cheered for both teams as they stared down at each other.
Link smiled, Zelda and Faria grinned, and Mirren just stood there still nervous. Zelda then looked at him and smiled, and he gulped in fear. Soon Impa stood up.
"Alright, teams get ready, and... fight!" Zelda and Faria instantly charged at Link and Mirren ready to attack with their magical powers. Link instantly got in his battle position, while Mirren reluctantly did it.
"Alright bro, I got Zelda, you get Faria!" yelled Link, and charged at Zelda. Mirren watched as his brother dodged an energy bolt from Zelda and go for a slash. He then remembered Faria and watched as she shoot two green beams of energy from her eyes. They came flying at Mirren, and he was just able to lift his sword up in time to block them. Her eyes then lit up blue, and Mirren got smacked by a mental energy attack. He was knocked back and landed hard on the ground. He groaned in pain, and looked up to see a magical fireball coming his way. He rolled out of the way and watched through the smoke as Faria landed. She began running through it as Mirren stuck his foot in. He tripped her, and she fell to the ground. He then jumped away, and got in a battle position ready to fight. The battle was going as he hoped it did.
Back with Zelda and Link, the two had been even almost all of the time. Except the times when Zelda had hit Link with her golden energy beam and Link used his Mirror Shield to send another one of the beams right back at her. Other than those times, it had just been dodging and blocking with them. Zelda used her energy cloths and sent them flying towards Link. He saw these coming and jumped away from them. As he ran to Zelda, he cut them in half and then jumped up from for a jumping slash. He came down, only for Zelda to teleport away and have his sword hit the ground. She appeared a couple yards behind him, and shot a magical fireball at him. Link turned around and jumped up to dodge it. He then pointed his sword at Zelda, and shot a beam of energy at her. It hit her, and knocked her down. She yelled in pain a little, and lay on the ground as she clutched her wounded shoulder. But she soon used a healing spell, and she was up on her feet again.
Mirren wasn't having too hard a time fighting Faria now. Though she had hit him incredibly hard with a magical fireball, and got him with her eye beams. He went for a mighty slash, but like Link, missed as Faria teleported away. She appeared behind him, and shot a blast of energy at him. He couldn't turn around in time, and was hit by the blast and smashed into a tree. He yelled in pain from the pain of both hits, and rested upon the tree as he breathed heavily from fatigue and pain.
"Don't give up Mirren, you haven't lost yet!" yelled Jarlis for encouragement. Mirren heard his friend's words and slowly recovered. He turned around and watched as Faria charged up for another magical fireball. He slowly got in a battle position with his sword, and was ready to deflect it. "Don't go out yet!" Jarlis yelled again. The encouragement from his lifelong friend helped him a lot. He stared down at Faria, and she shot the fireball his way. He raised his sword above his head, and waited for the fireball to reach him. In a matter of seconds, it was only a couple feet from him, and brought the sword down. It hit the fireball, and sent it flying back to Faria. She watched in shock as the ball of magical fire came flying at her. She had no time to react, and was hit by it. She yelled in pain a little and was knocked back. She groaned from the pain for a few moments before opening her eyes. There above her, was Mirren smiling with his sword pointing straight at her.
"You fought well Faria, but I believe you are now defeated" he said. Faria looked at him with disappointment for a few moments before smiling.
"Alright, I give up" she said. She then began to get up, but Mirren put out his hand. She smiled at her friend and took it. He helped her up as the others cheered for her great effort in the battle. As she walked over to them to rest, Mirren smiled again.
"This is great" he though to himself, "with Faria gone all Link needs to do now is defeat Zelda, I won't have to fight her. Thank God!" Suddenly then he heard Link's voice.
"Nice job Mirren!" he said with a thumb up. Mirren turned around and smiled at his brother. But as he saw Zelda sneak up behind Link with a ball of energy in her hand, his face went to that of fear and nervousness.
"Look out Link!" he shouted. Link had no time to turn around. He only felt the blast of energy hit him. He yelled in pain and crashed to the ground. After groaning in pain for a few seconds, he turned his body around and saw Zelda ready to fire her golden energy beam. She grinned at Link, and he smiled back. The next few words, were the worst ones Mirren had ever heard.
"Alright Zelda, I give up, Mirren's all yours" he said. Everyone else cheered for Link's great effort now as Mirren froze in fear and nervousness. His face went pale again as his eyes widened in shock and as his jaw just dropped. Link got up and walked over to where everyone else was. Zelda smiled at Link before finally turning and smiling at Mirren. He began sweating bullets as he gulped in fear. This would be the most difficult battle he had ever fought.
She threw her hands out and shot a magical fireball at him. He snapped out of his trance just in time to jump sideways from the blast. He watched as it exploded on the ground next to him. He then looked over to see Zelda; but she was no longer there. He quickly turned around, not in time though to dodge Zelda's mental attack. The wave of mental energy hit him like a truck and sent him flying. He yelled in pain and landed hard on the ground. He groaned in pain for a few seconds before beginning to get up. He looked at Zelda, and saw the energy cloths coming his way.
He just in time jumped over them as they were about to hit him. He landed swiftly and got in a battle position. Even though he looked very reluctant to fight, he still stood in his position. He stared at Zelda half nervous and half fierce. She could only grin. He then remembered the energy cloths and before he knew it, they came flying back and wrapped around him. He screamed in pain as the pink cloths of energy sent a force of magical power running through his body. The power of it was intense, and was hurting him badly. He screamed in pain again before Zelda threw her arms down and made the energy cloths and Mirren come down on the ground. He smashed into the ground and yelled again in pain. Zelda the let the cloths come back to her as they disappeared. She looked at the hurt Mirren as he grunted in pain in the indented ground. She closed her eyes, and began to speak mentally.
~"Mirren, I understand your fear, and that you don't want to hurt me" she began, "but either you begin to fight back, or you'll lose the battle without even putting up a fight. Listen, attack me, you must. This fear is something you should rid of now, but for other times keep it. I mean it is a virtuous thing, and shows you have integrity, but right now you must forget it. Remember, if you do hurt me, I can heal myself right away, as long as I'm not unconscious. So please, to make me proud of you; put up a fight."~
Mirren suddenly felt empowered and instantly got up. He had blushed a little on the ground from Zelda's words, but luckily it was gone once he was on his feet. He still breathed heavily as he stared at her. He no longer was nervous, but instead.determined.
Zelda then threw her hands out and shot a magical fireball at him. Mirren didn't flinch or seem reluctant at all anymore. Zelda's words really helped him, and made him feel good. As the fireball came closer and closer, he tightened his grip on his broadsword even more. Finally when it was only a few feet from him, he slashed it with his sword and sent it flying back at Zelda, just as he did with Faria.
It flew back, and hit Zelda with an explosion of magical fire. She yelled a little from the pain, and that hurt Mirren a little. But he knew if he fought even more, she'd like him even more. He screamed and charged at her. He lunged at her and did a slash on her right shoulder, and then one more to her left. She yelled from the pain louder than before and crashed into the ground. Everyone gasped from the shock that Mirren had finally attacked Zelda, and with such force! She lay on the ground groaning in pain for a few seconds as Mirren froze in fear.
"What have I done?" he said to himself in his head, "I hurt her!" He instantly ran over to her and knelt down beside her. "Oh my God Zelda I'm so sorry!" he spoke, "I didn't mean to hit you so hard, forgive me!" Zelda then opened her eyes and her wounds disappeared. Mirren's eyes widened as Zelda healed herself and smiled at him.
"Don't worry, I forgive you." she said with a smile. Mirren sighed with relief. ".But it was a mistake to stop attacking just now" she added with a grin. Her eyes then lit up blue once again and hit Mirren with another mental energy blast. He yelled in pain and was sent flying up into the air. He went up about twelve feet, and crashed into the ground with another yell of pain.
Zelda got up and dusted herself off. She looked at the cuts on her pink dress from Mirren's slashes and smiled. He had finally overcome his fear, well at least for now. As Mirren still rived in pain, Zelda put her hands out and a golden light began to glow. She was ready to finish the battle.
Mirren finally got up and picked up his sword. He looked at Zelda with a painful expression on his face for a split second before she shot the golden beam of energy at him. It came soaring towards him and struck him head on. The force was so powerful it knocked his sword out of his hand and made him scream from the pain louder than any time before. The golden energy surrounded his body and hurt him incredibly. He then stopped screaming after about a minute, and finally began to speak.
"Alright Zelda, you win, I give up" he said quietly from the massive pain. Zelda then stopped the attack as Mirren dropped to the ground. He breathed heavily and still groaned from the massive pain. He had never felt an attack like that ever, and it truly took its toll on his little body. No one was cheering right now. Not that they didn't like Mirren at all, but they couldn't believe what he had gone through, and the great pain he was dealing with. Zelda watched as Mirren just grew weaker and weaker from the effects of the attack, and slowly walked over to him.
She was soon above him and looked down as he still rived in pain. She smiled at him and knelt down next to him. She then took him in her arms and rested his back on her knee. She held his head up since he couldn't hold any of his body up at that moment. He was still very tired, and was still hurting, but he soon opened his eyes to see Zelda smiling down at him. He also the realized he was being held in her arms, and that made him feel good, but his expression was still a painful and tired looking one. He looked at through his weakened eyes, and unfortunately he really couldn't say anything. But he knew Zelda would work everything out.
"You did very well Mirren" she began speaking softly and gently, "I'm proud of you." Mirren then slightly changed his expression. He still showed his pain, but looked at her with a surprised, yet happy look. She smiled even more. "You put up a good fight, and didn't use excessive force on me to seriously wound me" she began to say the same way as before, "I told you nothing bad would happen." Mirren then looked a little ashamed from his incredible worries of before, but Zelda rid him of his shame. "Never be ashamed about that though, we all have fears we always worry about even when we face them once" she spoke, "and that's exactly how it is for you right now. You still have it, but you faced it, and conquered it at least for one time." He then managed to smile a little, but groaned immediately after it. Zelda then remembered how hurt he really was.
"I really shouldn't have used so much power, I wanted to help you destroy the fear, and I figured power would help" she said a little ashamed too, "I should've remembered you're smaller and your little body can't take a super amount of pain without all most breaking in half." She then looked straight into his eyes and held him a little closer. "I'm sorry I had to do that to you Mirren" she said, "Can you forgive me?" Mirren instantly nodded, and Zelda smiled with relief. Mirren then smiled again, but grunted in pain right afterwards. Zelda then remembered what she said before when she had watched him train. "I can see you're hurting a lot, don't worry though, I'll heal you" she spoke, "this'll probably make you sleep a few minutes afterwards, but it'll heal you completely." Zelda then held him even closer and soon Mirren was surrounded by a force of blue energy. It began to heal every bruise and cut on his body, and soon they were all gone. But he was still very tired from the battle, and stayed the same way he was for a few moments. He then closed his eyes, and Zelda smiled even more at him. She then stood up with Mirren still in her arms. She looked down at him, and then looked over at Link.
"Don't worry, I'll take him to his room, you can stay here" she said. Link nodded with a smile, and Zelda smiled back. She then turned, and began walking away with Mirren still in her arms. She walked down the many hallways and up the many staircases to his room as Mirren slowly opened his eyes. He looked around in confusion, and realized Zelda was carrying him. She looked down at him, and smiled again.
"I'm taking you to your room, you'll need to rest for a while" she said gently and softly as before. Mirren nodded, and even though he didn't express it, felt as great as ever. As she held him close and carried him to his room, he kind of felt that warm, fuzzy feeling inside of him. He knew now that he did have a crush on her.
Soon they came to his room, and Zelda gently laid him on his bed, and covered him up with his blankets. He instantly closed his eyes, and began sleeping. She smiled at him, and stroked his hair. She did this for a few moments before getting up and leaving the room. "Sleep well Mirren" she whispered, and closed the door.
Emralda had been watching everything through her magical fire. She watched the battle with Link and Mirren, the party, when Mirren was training, the battle with Zelda and Faria, and up to now where Zelda was helping Mirren. She smiled wickedly.
"Isn't that cute" she said diabolically, "he'll never have this happen to him again when we capture Zelda and then kill him and her!" She then let out an evil laugh. "Kid, if you thought that battle was suffering, then you'll literally just rot from what me and Ganondorf will do to you." She let out another laugh as Ganondorf walked into the room. She turned to her brother from the magical fire and smiled evilly. "Brother, you missed it, the brat was being."
"I don't have the time, forgive me my sister" Ganondorf interrupted putting out a hand, "I need to go to the Dark World immediately. I need to find two of my old servants and bring them back."
"Why do you need them?" Emralda asked.
"Because they will be the ones who will capture Mirren's loved ones" he answered, "Listen, I don't know how long I'll be, but just be patient. It shouldn't take more than a day or so, but you never know what could happen there. And as long as I'm there, I'll try and get some new recruits. Now, can you open the portal?" Emralda nodded, and threw one hand out. Slowly, a black and purple spiraling portal began to appear, and after a few more seconds, it was complete. Ganondorf then walked over to it, and looked at Emralda.
"Goodbye Emralda" he said. Emralda nodded and smiled at her brother. Ganondorf then jumped into the portal, and before long; he was in the Dark World.
As usual, Emralda and Ganondorf were looking into her magical fire watching as Mirren's day went by. They were both a little angry that he and Link and the others defeated the Evil Phoenix, but they were still happy for other reasons.
For one, it seemed Mirren had gained a new friend Taursus, who which made another target for Emralda and Ganondorf to capture. And, with the defeat of the Evil Phoenix, it put them one step closer to beginning their real plan.
"Well, this will certainly be interesting" said Ganondorf watching the fire, "Link going up against his little brother, now we can see their true power." Emralda smiled.
"Yes, we'll finally see how powerful that kid can be" she added. Ganondorf smiled too.
"Ya know, I was thinking of beginning our plan tomorrow" he began, "but I believe it'd be better if we waited a while, don't you think my sister?" Emralda turned from the fire and looked at her brother strangely.
"Why do you say that Ganondorf?" she asked.
"Because, I say we wait a while, so that he has a great time" he began, "think about it. We'll let him live in peace and joy for a little while, and when we finally begin, he'll be crushed. I mean, his life will have been so great. Pure peace, joy, happiness, and his best friends, and then one day, his life begins to crash. He begins to lose the ones he loves most rapidly, and soon it'll take its toll on him. He'll come here in pure rage, and we then kill his friends, and then kill him!" Ganondorf laughed wickedly as Emralda smiled.
"Great plan my brother" she replied, "that plan will." Suddenly a guard burst through the doors to the throne room.
"Lady Emralda" he said with a bow, "I have news for you, a cart of rupees from a destroyed town has come." Emralda no longer smiled, in fact, she was angry as ever.
"How dare you just barge into our room without a single knock, we have important business being done here!" she shouted, "Now, you'll learn never to bother us ever!" Emralda raised her staff with the dark green crystal on top into the air and shot a bolt of energy from it. It hit the guard, and made him scream in pain. Soon the energy disappeared, and his dead body fell to the ground scorched by the magic's power. Emralda sneered at the dead guard and sat back down in her chair. Ganondorf smiled wickedly.
"Nicely done" he complimented, "now, let's watch the battle." Emralda looked into the flame and finally put an evil grin on.
"This will most certainly be entertaining" she spoke evilly.
Everyone had gathered into the Castle Training Grounds for the battle between Link and Mirren. The battle that would finally show which of the two heroic brothers was the toughest and best warrior. The only people who were there were Zelda, Faria, Jarlis, Mardera, Taursus, and Impa. But that really didn't matter to either one of the warrior brothers.
Once everything was ready, Link and Mirren pulled out their main weapons. There was no rule on how many weapons you could use, so Link's entire arsenal of items and weaponry was waiting. Link pulled out his Mirror Shield and the Master Sword, while Mirren only took of his broadsword. The two brothers stared at each other with pure seriousness and determination in their eyes. After a few moments, Link put down his shield, and extended his arm out for a good-sportsman hand shake. Mirren looked at the hand, and smiled. He let out a quiet laugh, and returned it. They then both looked at each other with smiles on their faces. They both then stepped back, and got ready to fight. Zelda stood up.
"All right, you know the rules" she announced. She then raised her right arm into the air and soon brought it down. "Begin"
Instantly Link lunged at Mirren and gave a mighty slash to his younger brother. Mirren saw this coming and cart wheeled to the left. He got fully up as Link went for another. He jumped back and jumped back again as Link attempted a stab. Link then rushed in and assaulted him with a vertical slash. Mirren put his sword up horizontally and blocked the attack. The second this happened, Link raised his boot and kicked Mirren square in the stomach.
Mirren puffed and dropped to the ground. He lay vulnerable to any attack as Link went for his second vertical slash. Mirren saw this just in time and rolled forward to evade the attack. He slowly got up and looked at his brother through a face of pain holding his hurt chest. Link returned it as he gritted his teeth.
"Stop being a coward!" he shouted, "fight back!" Link still glared at his brother as Mirren let go of his chest. His face of pain washed away, and he grinned.
"You got it" he whispered. He then yelled and charged at Link. He was so fast that Link could only barely lift his Mirror Shield up as Mirren brought his blade down. It crashed up against the mighty shield and created an explosion of sparks. Link was blinded by the light and closed his eyes from the pain, while Mirren had closed his before since he knew there'd be a mess of sparks. He opened his eyes and slashed his sword right across Link's face.
Link grunted in pain and collapsed from the hit. Everyone gasped as Link groaned in pain. He soon looked up and saw Mirren standing above him with a face of determination and seriousness like before. He noticed blood on Mirren's broadsword and rubbed his right cheek. It stung a little, but soon looked at blood-covered hand. Everyone now saw the bloody cut on his face and was amazed by it. Mirren stared at his brother for a few more moments before backing away. Link looked at him a little confused but soon smiled.
"Letting for weakened opponent get up" he said as he got up, "very wise, very mature, very virtuous. a very big mistake." Link then slammed the Master Sword into Mirren's stomach. Everyone once again gasped in fear as Zelda and Faria both covered their mouths from shock. Mirren gasped in agony as a couple drops of blood trickled from his mouth. His eyes widened in pain and shock, and he finally closed them. Link took him off the sword as Mirren fell to the ground. Link looked into the crowd and saw Zelda with a face of disbelief. Link was about to answer her questions of "why?"
"Forgive me for doing that, but I was teaching you a lesson" Link began looking down at Mirren, "I know that was a cheap, dirty, and unfair move, but I had to do it sometime. I was teaching you Mirren, that not all fighters in Hyrule will play fair. You must learn to never stop fighting, even when they're down. And you must never show mercy to them, or they'll just take advantage of it and attack you. I promise to never use such a maneuver again; I only did this time to teach you something." Link then turned around and began walking away. He walked a few steps before turning around again. He looked at Mirren. "And not too bad on the fight, well at least for what it was" he said. He turned around again and began walking. After a few steps, he heard Zelda, Faria,and Mardera gasp. He also heard another odd sound. He turned around, and his eyes widened in shock.
Mirren was getting up. He was holding his stomach as pulled himself up by his sword, which was planted into the ground blade first. He grunted from the pain as he did this, and was soon on his feet. He looked at the shocked Link, and spit some blood out of his mouth before speaking.
"What do you mean, for what it was?" he asked with a grin, "I'm not giving up yet, perhaps you are, but I'm still gonna fight if you're willing." Everyone's jaws dropped from what Mirren was saying. He had got stabbed like all heck by the most powerful sword in the history of Hyrule and probably had the biggest gash ever on his stomach. And yet he still wasn't giving up!!! Link still stared at him with shock on his face. He couldn't believe Mirren was actually after that attack. He still stared at him for a few moments before letting out a laugh.
"Well bro, I'll fight if you'll fight" he said shrugging. Mirren then got his complete balance and got in a battle position with his broadsword. The two stared down each other before Mirren finally let out a yell and charged at Link. He did another slash, but Link blocked it with the Mirror Shield and attempted a nice cut. Mirren did a back flip and landed perfectly on his feet. Link rushed at him and did a slice. Mirren was just able to raise up his blade to block the attack. Once that happened, he pulled his sword away and did a slice of his own to Link. Again the attack was denied and Link went for another stab. Mirren blocked the shot, but was sent flying from the force.
He hit the ground and breathed heavily. He was hurt pretty bad, and he was very tired. He lifted up his head and saw Link coming down in the air for a falling sword attack. He rolled away and evaded to the attack as the Master Sword dug into the earth. Mirren seized the opportunity and ran at Link for another slash. But when he got to him, Link instantly pulled out the Master Sword and gave another slash to Mirren. He screamed in pain and flew to the ground again, clutching his arm which had been hit.
As Mirren rived in pain, Link rested on the Master Sword. Mirren was a very good fighter, and was very difficult to hit for his very small size and his great agility. He also did some really strong attacks! In fact, that was more than half of why Link was resting, since Mirren had attacked so aggressively. Soon, Mirren had managed to get up, and Link went for another attack. He did a vertical slash on his left cheek, and knocked him back. A bloody cut opened up on Mirren's cheek, but he retaliated with a slice that caught Link's other cheek. He also was knocked back, and now had a bloody cut on both sides of his face. They both then yelled and each went for a stab. They both connected each other in the chest, and the two brothers were knocked down.
They both lay breathing heavily and groaning from the incredible pain they were feeling. Bloody still poured from their wounds, and it began to stain the ground they were resting on. Everyone still watched in shock from the great fighting skills they were using, and from the massive pain they must've been feeling. Zelda watched very nervous of the battle. She liked both of them very much, and didn't want either one to be hurt. Mirren since he was so small, and because he was such a sweet kid in her mind. And Link since well, she practically loved him. She wanted the battle to end right now, but unfortunately for her, they both got up and were ready to fight.
They both looked at each other and were determined to win the battle. They both wanted to be victorious and be the greatest warrior brother, but they both knew if they didn't kick it up a notch, they wouldn't win. Mirren decided to do more flying around and use more speed, but Link had a different idea.
"Mirren, I'm not getting much farther in this battle with the Master Sword and Mirror Shield" he said and threw them away, "so I've decided to use something else, and finish this battle once and for all!" Link the pulled out the massive Biggoron's Sword and held it ready for battle with a grin on his face. Mirren just froze in shock from the size of the sword, and couldn't believe how amazing it was.
"This is the Biggy" said Link still grinning, "Let's see if you can stop me now." Everyone watched in shock and fear for Mirren, they were all very worried about him. The Biggoron's Sword was incredibly hard to get around and was more painful as ever. It actually did double the damage of the Master Sword, although it was hard to defend with since you couldn't have a shield while fighting with it.
Link then decided he wanted to end the battle right then and there. He got in position, and bent his knees a little. He also positioned the Biggy correctly, and he began charging up for a spin attack. Mirren gasped and froze in shock again. He had no way he could escape, even if he tried to block it, he'd still get hurt. And there was no way to escape from its long range. The energy around the blade then turned from blue to orange, and Link was ready to attack. He spun around and let the sword fly as the energy came around with it. The blade came soaring to Mirren, and he only closed his eyes ready to feel the pain. Everyone turned away and not to see it. Zelda gasped in fear for Mirren and was ready to end the battle. Link spun around again and unleashed the final bits of his power. All the orange energy disappeared off the Biggy, and Link turned to see how badly hurt Mirren was. He looked, and his eyes widened in shock. Everyone watching then turned to see what happened, and their jaws dropped straight down.
There, was Mirren crouching with his eyes closed and his body shaking in fear. He finally opened them and looked around. He felt no pain at all from the attack. He jumped up and couldn't believe he wasn't hurt.
"I don't-believe it" said Link out loud, "I-missed." Everyone still watched in surprise before bursting out into laughter. They all laughed and laughed until tears began to pour from their eyes. Even Zelda laughed, in fact she laughed more than anyone else! As they laughed, Link gritted his teeth at Mirren. "You're goin' down!" he shouted and thrust his sword at Mirren. Mirren jumped straight up, and landed on the Biggy. Link's eyes widened again from surprise. He gulped as Mirren reared back and unloaded a great vertical slash on him. It hit Link and knocked him back on the ground. Mirren yelled and rushed at Link for another attack. But Link saw this right away and got up. As Mirren charged at him, Link did another thrust with the Biggoron's Sword. This one hit Mirren, and made him freeze in pain. Link then lifted the sword in the air with Mirren still on the top of it. Everyone watched in horror as Mirren slowly lost consciousness and as some of his blood slowly came down the blade. Zelda and Faria covered their mouths for fear of Mirren. Link realized he had won, and threw Mirren off it. He turned around as Mirren fell through the air; the biggest mistake he ever made in the battle.
With Link not looking, Mirren stretched out his broadsword and made his blade slice Link's back as he fell to the ground. Link roared in pain as the sword cut right through his tunic and skin. Mirren finally crashed on the ground as Link fell to his knees and then finally to the ground totally. Everyone gasped from the incredible move by Mirren, and watched and waited for them to get up (if they could) and continue the battle. They waited and waited, and realized they both probably couldn't fight. Link and Mirren finally got up on their knees after minutes of riving in pain. They both looked at each as they breathed heavily from their fatigue and blood flowing from their wounds. Finally Link said something.
"Hey Mirren, I don't think I can go on anymore" he said, "I'm too weak, I can't fight. Wanna call this thing a draw?" Everyone watched and waited for Mirren's answer as he stared at Link. He finally smiled.
"Sure" he answered. Everyone then sighed with relief that there'd be no more bloodshed and cheered for the two mighty brothers. Both Link and Mirren then pulled out their Red Potions and uncorked them.
"Cheers" they said in unison, and drank the red healing liquids. They drank and drank and soon both bottles were empty. Also all their cuts and bruises healed, and they felt like they did before the fight. They got up and walked over to everyone. They congratulated them and talked to them.
"Nice fight guys" said Taursus.
"You did great" spoke Mardera.
"Yeah, you both pulled off some great techniques" complimented Jarlis.
"You guys had me worried" added Impa.
"Yeah, you guys are the greatest warriors I've ever seen!" exclaimed Faria. They both thanked them all as Zelda walked over to them.
"Great job guys" she said as she put her hand on Mirren's shoulder. "You did great Mirren, you're a great fighter for your age and size" she said smiling. Mirren smiled back and blushed a little. She then turned to Link who was smiling at her. She smiled back. "You did great too, Hero of Time" they both then hugged each other as everyone watched with a smile on their face. But for Link and Zelda, it was just a friendly hug, not like when someday possibly they'd tell each other they really loved the other. But for now, it was a start.
A little while later, the group had dinner in the courtyards. The cooks had prepared an excellent meal of shrimp and salmon for the success and great fight between Link and Mirren. They all ate their fills and drank as much of the Plum Cider as they could. After the dinner, a few troubadours came out and began to play music for them. They all went right in the middle of a daisy garden and danced to the wonderful sounds. Mirren had actually turned out to be a good dancer, impressing everyone with excellent spins, flips, jumps, and other aerial moves. Half the time, Link or Taursus would throw him up into the air and let him pull off an even better trick. One time he did an amazing flip and fell down on his stomach, so he actually pulled off a 450* flip. That was easily the best trick he had pulled off that night, and for him it was even better since Zelda was the one to catch him!
After about a half-hour, the troubadours decided to finish off the night with a slow dance. Everyone instantly left the area except Link and Zelda, who somewhat reluctantly decided to dance. But they did it even in front of everyone, and did pretty well.
"Man, I just hate slow dancing in front of everyone, it can be so embarrassing!" said Mirren.
"I agree, and then it's like you love the person!" added Faria, "slow dancing is my biggest fear."
"Same here" replied Mirren. As they watched Zelda and Link dance, suddenly Taursus and Impa sneaked up behind them with a grin on their faces. Jarlis and Mardera held in their laughter as they got right behind them. Once they were, they grabbed them and held them in the air.
"Then I guess you two gotta face your fears!" Impa and Taursus said together. Mirren and Faria yelled in surprise and nervousness as they were thrown into the dancing area. They landed right next to Zelda and Link's feet as they looked up. The two of them were smiling at their younger siblings.
"Come on Mirren!" said Link, "I'm dancing with Zelda, if you dance with Faria, then it'll be the brothers with the sisters!"
"Yeah, and it'll be so cute!" added Zelda. Faria scowled.
"I hate it when you use that word for me, cute!" she yelled. Everyone except Mirren laughed at Faria's remark.
"Come on you two, don't be wimps!!" yelled Jarlis. Mirren's face then went into his surprised-angry face as he turned to Jarlis.
"Did you say..wimp?" he asked as he raised his eyebrow. Jarlis burst out into laughter.
"Losing your hearing now ya wimp!?" Jarlis shouted. Mirren was now incredibly annoyed. The same went for Faria. She just couldn't take it anymore.
"That's it!" she shouted as she turned to Mirren, "I don't like being called a wimp either Mirren! Let's just get this over with!"
"You got it!" Mirren said back. They both then without hesitating, began to dance. Zelda and Link laughed as they got back to their own dance. Even with the many giggles and laughs still coming from everyone else, Faria and Mirren kept dancing. After a few more minutes, the music stopped. Everyone then helped clean up from the little party as they went to bed, except for Link, Zelda, Mirren, and Faria who stayed outside for a while.
They all sat down and looked up at the stars as Link and Mirren told them of their adventures while they were gone. They told them of the Ogre Galleon, the battle with Captain Gorg, the battle with the sea serpent, everything at Terlon Forest with the Wolf-Bear and even up to now with the Evil Phoenix.
They kept on telling and telling until they had nothing that they could think of anymore. Once they finished, Link and Mirren simply looked up at the stars. As they did that, Zelda and Faria whispered a discussion. Link and Mirren noticed this and watched them strangely. They both looked at each for an answer, but only got a shrug.
"Hey, what are you guys talkin' about?" asked Link. The two sisters finished up their discussion and turned to Link and Mirren with grins on their faces.
"Well boys" began Zelda, "Me and Faria have been training a lot lately with our magical powers, and we've become incredibly strong. So we want to see how strong you guys are. That's why we want to challenge you two to a tag team fight tomorrow, up to it?" Zelda then grinned even more. Mirren's face then went into complete shock as Link grinned back.
"Okay Zelda, the battle's on" Link said. Mirren's face then went pale white as his eyes bugged out. Link then laughed at the fact that Zelda and Faria really wanted to fight them. As he did that, Mirren still freaked out as he just froze in fear and nervousness.
"Well, how about tomorrow at noon?" asked Faria. Link nodded.
"Sounds good" he answered with a laugh, "Good luck though." He laughed even more now as Zelda and Faria walked away with grins on their faces. He kept laughing and laughing and laughing until he finally stopped and turned to Mirren.
"Man, they're goin' down!" he said, "We're gonna destroy them right Mirren?" Mirren then came out from his shock mode and looked at Link very nervous.
"Um. bro, I got some bad news for you" he said grimly. Now Mirren wasn't going to admit how he felt about Zelda, because he still had another reason why he didn't want to fight.
"What's up bro?" asked Link. Mirren gulped.
"Well, ya see, even though I'm such a great warrior and I'm never reluctant to go into battle, I do have this one fear" he said still nervous and grimly.
"And what might that be Mirren?" asked Link. Mirren gulped again.
"Well, I have a very big fear of fighting against girls" he said. Link's eyes widened from shock at Mirren's answer. Mirren looked at Link embarrassed before Link finally let out a laugh. He knelt down next to Mirren and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Well bro, I know this is gonna be hard, but you just gotta face your fear for this one" he spoke, "I can imagine the fear, I mean, I used ta get like that once in a while. But as long as you don't use your full power and go all out on them, you'll never seriously hurt them. And if you accidentally do, it'll still be fine since they have special healing powers. Like when Zelda healed you from before." Link then stood up and began to walk into the castle to go to bed. "Well goodnight Mirren, get some sleep, you'll need all the power you have tomorrow" he said, and walked away.
His words helped Mirren a little, but he was still afraid. The thought of hurting Faria, and especially Zelda made him shiver. He would just feel terrible if he hurt either, and it would be even worse if he hurt Zelda. His fond of her was growing more and more every time he was around her, he really did believe he was starting to fall in love with her. He shook his head and forgot about her for a moment, since he needed a way to not get so nervous tomorrow. He thought of many ideas, but only one seemed to be the best.
"All I have to do is stay away from her in the battle, if I can fight Faria the whole time, hopefully Link can defeat her before I need to fight her" He smiled from the idea and felt better. But as he walked into the castle to go to bed, he still thought of one thing. "I hope that happens."
The next morning, Mirren got up early as usual. He had a good nights sleep, with dreams about the fight. In his dream, it had worked as planned. The battle had begun with him fighting Faria, and Link fought Zelda. It stayed the same the whole battle, and not once did Mirren have to look at Zelda. He got out of bed and changed into new, clean clothes. He took his broadsword off the wall, and strapped the scabbard with it on his back. He looked at his bow and arrow and thought for a moment if he wanted it or not. He decided not to take it, and walked down to the Training Grounds. He got there, and saw no one around, but it would be much different a few hours later when the battle began. He took out his sword and began doing practices with it against the imaginary opponent.
He sliced, slashed, cut, stabbed, and did every other sword technique he knew into the air. He wanted to get a little more training time in before the battle began. After those practices, he began to do some stretches. He first worked on his arms, and then went to his legs. He figured he would need some good speed in the battle to avoid the magical attacks of Zelda and Faria, so he stretched the most on his legs. Once the stretches were done, he began to do some shuttle runs from two of the trees. He had stretched to get his legs ready, now he needed to put them to work.
He ran as fast as he could from yew tree to yew tree touching each one and counting whenever he had touched the two of them. He ran and ran and after the first minute, he was up to 15, and counting. After another two minutes, he finally stopped, and figured he'd done enough. He then took up his blade again and began assault of attacks on one of the large boulders. Each time he brought his blade down; the incredible force chipped away and dented the boulder. He kept this up for a few more minutes before just falling back against one of the smaller and resting there. His broadsword fell from his hands as he breathed heavily from his tiresome training. A few drops of sweat poured from his skin and dropped against the earth. He was very fatigued, but happy he had gotten some nice training in before the battle. He closed his eyes, and began to take a little nap.
Zelda and Link smiled at the sleeping Mirren as they secretly watched through the window.
"He trained very hard just now, I'm not surprised he's sleeping again" said Link.
"Yes, and that little body of his takes so much pain and fatigue, he sure is quite a kid" Zelda added, "He'll probably do great today in our fight." Link then thought of what happened the night before and let out a laugh.
"Don't count on it" he muttered and laughed again. Zelda looked at Link in a surprised way.
"Why, is something wrong with him?" she asked. Link laughed even more.
"Yeah, I'll tell right now since I wanna go eat" he replied as he stopped laughing, "Mirren has a fear of fighting girls, and gets really nervous when he has to. He got so freaked out last night when I agreed to have the fight. I helped him a little, and told him not to worry. I guess he's a little better about it, but who knows really. Just whatever you do, don't go easy on him." He laughed again and began walking away to go have breakfast. Zelda then looked down at Mirren and finally smiled.
"You're such a funny kid Mirren" she whispered, "Don't worry about hurting me; and I promise not to hurt you badly either. And if I do, I'll have something waiting to help you." She smiled at even more, as he slowly opened his eyes. His nap wasn't as long as he expected, but it got his power back. He yawned and stretched his arms out. He looked around and finally looked up to where Zelda had been watching. He really didn't see her, but he could've sworn he saw her dark blonde hair as she walked away. He shrugged and got up as he walked out of the training grounds.
"Please don't let anything go wrong" he thought to himself.
A few hours later, the sun positioned itself correctly, and it was finally noon. Once again it was just the same people coming to watch, Mardera, Jarlis, Taursus, and Impa. But that was better in Mirren's mind, in case anything happened, at least it'd be just them seeing it. They all sat down as Zelda and Faria came out through the left side of the Training Grounds, and as Link and Mirren emerged from the right. The small bunch of friends cheered for both teams as they stared down at each other.
Link smiled, Zelda and Faria grinned, and Mirren just stood there still nervous. Zelda then looked at him and smiled, and he gulped in fear. Soon Impa stood up.
"Alright, teams get ready, and... fight!" Zelda and Faria instantly charged at Link and Mirren ready to attack with their magical powers. Link instantly got in his battle position, while Mirren reluctantly did it.
"Alright bro, I got Zelda, you get Faria!" yelled Link, and charged at Zelda. Mirren watched as his brother dodged an energy bolt from Zelda and go for a slash. He then remembered Faria and watched as she shoot two green beams of energy from her eyes. They came flying at Mirren, and he was just able to lift his sword up in time to block them. Her eyes then lit up blue, and Mirren got smacked by a mental energy attack. He was knocked back and landed hard on the ground. He groaned in pain, and looked up to see a magical fireball coming his way. He rolled out of the way and watched through the smoke as Faria landed. She began running through it as Mirren stuck his foot in. He tripped her, and she fell to the ground. He then jumped away, and got in a battle position ready to fight. The battle was going as he hoped it did.
Back with Zelda and Link, the two had been even almost all of the time. Except the times when Zelda had hit Link with her golden energy beam and Link used his Mirror Shield to send another one of the beams right back at her. Other than those times, it had just been dodging and blocking with them. Zelda used her energy cloths and sent them flying towards Link. He saw these coming and jumped away from them. As he ran to Zelda, he cut them in half and then jumped up from for a jumping slash. He came down, only for Zelda to teleport away and have his sword hit the ground. She appeared a couple yards behind him, and shot a magical fireball at him. Link turned around and jumped up to dodge it. He then pointed his sword at Zelda, and shot a beam of energy at her. It hit her, and knocked her down. She yelled in pain a little, and lay on the ground as she clutched her wounded shoulder. But she soon used a healing spell, and she was up on her feet again.
Mirren wasn't having too hard a time fighting Faria now. Though she had hit him incredibly hard with a magical fireball, and got him with her eye beams. He went for a mighty slash, but like Link, missed as Faria teleported away. She appeared behind him, and shot a blast of energy at him. He couldn't turn around in time, and was hit by the blast and smashed into a tree. He yelled in pain from the pain of both hits, and rested upon the tree as he breathed heavily from fatigue and pain.
"Don't give up Mirren, you haven't lost yet!" yelled Jarlis for encouragement. Mirren heard his friend's words and slowly recovered. He turned around and watched as Faria charged up for another magical fireball. He slowly got in a battle position with his sword, and was ready to deflect it. "Don't go out yet!" Jarlis yelled again. The encouragement from his lifelong friend helped him a lot. He stared down at Faria, and she shot the fireball his way. He raised his sword above his head, and waited for the fireball to reach him. In a matter of seconds, it was only a couple feet from him, and brought the sword down. It hit the fireball, and sent it flying back to Faria. She watched in shock as the ball of magical fire came flying at her. She had no time to react, and was hit by it. She yelled in pain a little and was knocked back. She groaned from the pain for a few moments before opening her eyes. There above her, was Mirren smiling with his sword pointing straight at her.
"You fought well Faria, but I believe you are now defeated" he said. Faria looked at him with disappointment for a few moments before smiling.
"Alright, I give up" she said. She then began to get up, but Mirren put out his hand. She smiled at her friend and took it. He helped her up as the others cheered for her great effort in the battle. As she walked over to them to rest, Mirren smiled again.
"This is great" he though to himself, "with Faria gone all Link needs to do now is defeat Zelda, I won't have to fight her. Thank God!" Suddenly then he heard Link's voice.
"Nice job Mirren!" he said with a thumb up. Mirren turned around and smiled at his brother. But as he saw Zelda sneak up behind Link with a ball of energy in her hand, his face went to that of fear and nervousness.
"Look out Link!" he shouted. Link had no time to turn around. He only felt the blast of energy hit him. He yelled in pain and crashed to the ground. After groaning in pain for a few seconds, he turned his body around and saw Zelda ready to fire her golden energy beam. She grinned at Link, and he smiled back. The next few words, were the worst ones Mirren had ever heard.
"Alright Zelda, I give up, Mirren's all yours" he said. Everyone else cheered for Link's great effort now as Mirren froze in fear and nervousness. His face went pale again as his eyes widened in shock and as his jaw just dropped. Link got up and walked over to where everyone else was. Zelda smiled at Link before finally turning and smiling at Mirren. He began sweating bullets as he gulped in fear. This would be the most difficult battle he had ever fought.
She threw her hands out and shot a magical fireball at him. He snapped out of his trance just in time to jump sideways from the blast. He watched as it exploded on the ground next to him. He then looked over to see Zelda; but she was no longer there. He quickly turned around, not in time though to dodge Zelda's mental attack. The wave of mental energy hit him like a truck and sent him flying. He yelled in pain and landed hard on the ground. He groaned in pain for a few seconds before beginning to get up. He looked at Zelda, and saw the energy cloths coming his way.
He just in time jumped over them as they were about to hit him. He landed swiftly and got in a battle position. Even though he looked very reluctant to fight, he still stood in his position. He stared at Zelda half nervous and half fierce. She could only grin. He then remembered the energy cloths and before he knew it, they came flying back and wrapped around him. He screamed in pain as the pink cloths of energy sent a force of magical power running through his body. The power of it was intense, and was hurting him badly. He screamed in pain again before Zelda threw her arms down and made the energy cloths and Mirren come down on the ground. He smashed into the ground and yelled again in pain. Zelda the let the cloths come back to her as they disappeared. She looked at the hurt Mirren as he grunted in pain in the indented ground. She closed her eyes, and began to speak mentally.
~"Mirren, I understand your fear, and that you don't want to hurt me" she began, "but either you begin to fight back, or you'll lose the battle without even putting up a fight. Listen, attack me, you must. This fear is something you should rid of now, but for other times keep it. I mean it is a virtuous thing, and shows you have integrity, but right now you must forget it. Remember, if you do hurt me, I can heal myself right away, as long as I'm not unconscious. So please, to make me proud of you; put up a fight."~
Mirren suddenly felt empowered and instantly got up. He had blushed a little on the ground from Zelda's words, but luckily it was gone once he was on his feet. He still breathed heavily as he stared at her. He no longer was nervous, but instead.determined.
Zelda then threw her hands out and shot a magical fireball at him. Mirren didn't flinch or seem reluctant at all anymore. Zelda's words really helped him, and made him feel good. As the fireball came closer and closer, he tightened his grip on his broadsword even more. Finally when it was only a few feet from him, he slashed it with his sword and sent it flying back at Zelda, just as he did with Faria.
It flew back, and hit Zelda with an explosion of magical fire. She yelled a little from the pain, and that hurt Mirren a little. But he knew if he fought even more, she'd like him even more. He screamed and charged at her. He lunged at her and did a slash on her right shoulder, and then one more to her left. She yelled from the pain louder than before and crashed into the ground. Everyone gasped from the shock that Mirren had finally attacked Zelda, and with such force! She lay on the ground groaning in pain for a few seconds as Mirren froze in fear.
"What have I done?" he said to himself in his head, "I hurt her!" He instantly ran over to her and knelt down beside her. "Oh my God Zelda I'm so sorry!" he spoke, "I didn't mean to hit you so hard, forgive me!" Zelda then opened her eyes and her wounds disappeared. Mirren's eyes widened as Zelda healed herself and smiled at him.
"Don't worry, I forgive you." she said with a smile. Mirren sighed with relief. ".But it was a mistake to stop attacking just now" she added with a grin. Her eyes then lit up blue once again and hit Mirren with another mental energy blast. He yelled in pain and was sent flying up into the air. He went up about twelve feet, and crashed into the ground with another yell of pain.
Zelda got up and dusted herself off. She looked at the cuts on her pink dress from Mirren's slashes and smiled. He had finally overcome his fear, well at least for now. As Mirren still rived in pain, Zelda put her hands out and a golden light began to glow. She was ready to finish the battle.
Mirren finally got up and picked up his sword. He looked at Zelda with a painful expression on his face for a split second before she shot the golden beam of energy at him. It came soaring towards him and struck him head on. The force was so powerful it knocked his sword out of his hand and made him scream from the pain louder than any time before. The golden energy surrounded his body and hurt him incredibly. He then stopped screaming after about a minute, and finally began to speak.
"Alright Zelda, you win, I give up" he said quietly from the massive pain. Zelda then stopped the attack as Mirren dropped to the ground. He breathed heavily and still groaned from the massive pain. He had never felt an attack like that ever, and it truly took its toll on his little body. No one was cheering right now. Not that they didn't like Mirren at all, but they couldn't believe what he had gone through, and the great pain he was dealing with. Zelda watched as Mirren just grew weaker and weaker from the effects of the attack, and slowly walked over to him.
She was soon above him and looked down as he still rived in pain. She smiled at him and knelt down next to him. She then took him in her arms and rested his back on her knee. She held his head up since he couldn't hold any of his body up at that moment. He was still very tired, and was still hurting, but he soon opened his eyes to see Zelda smiling down at him. He also the realized he was being held in her arms, and that made him feel good, but his expression was still a painful and tired looking one. He looked at through his weakened eyes, and unfortunately he really couldn't say anything. But he knew Zelda would work everything out.
"You did very well Mirren" she began speaking softly and gently, "I'm proud of you." Mirren then slightly changed his expression. He still showed his pain, but looked at her with a surprised, yet happy look. She smiled even more. "You put up a good fight, and didn't use excessive force on me to seriously wound me" she began to say the same way as before, "I told you nothing bad would happen." Mirren then looked a little ashamed from his incredible worries of before, but Zelda rid him of his shame. "Never be ashamed about that though, we all have fears we always worry about even when we face them once" she spoke, "and that's exactly how it is for you right now. You still have it, but you faced it, and conquered it at least for one time." He then managed to smile a little, but groaned immediately after it. Zelda then remembered how hurt he really was.
"I really shouldn't have used so much power, I wanted to help you destroy the fear, and I figured power would help" she said a little ashamed too, "I should've remembered you're smaller and your little body can't take a super amount of pain without all most breaking in half." She then looked straight into his eyes and held him a little closer. "I'm sorry I had to do that to you Mirren" she said, "Can you forgive me?" Mirren instantly nodded, and Zelda smiled with relief. Mirren then smiled again, but grunted in pain right afterwards. Zelda then remembered what she said before when she had watched him train. "I can see you're hurting a lot, don't worry though, I'll heal you" she spoke, "this'll probably make you sleep a few minutes afterwards, but it'll heal you completely." Zelda then held him even closer and soon Mirren was surrounded by a force of blue energy. It began to heal every bruise and cut on his body, and soon they were all gone. But he was still very tired from the battle, and stayed the same way he was for a few moments. He then closed his eyes, and Zelda smiled even more at him. She then stood up with Mirren still in her arms. She looked down at him, and then looked over at Link.
"Don't worry, I'll take him to his room, you can stay here" she said. Link nodded with a smile, and Zelda smiled back. She then turned, and began walking away with Mirren still in her arms. She walked down the many hallways and up the many staircases to his room as Mirren slowly opened his eyes. He looked around in confusion, and realized Zelda was carrying him. She looked down at him, and smiled again.
"I'm taking you to your room, you'll need to rest for a while" she said gently and softly as before. Mirren nodded, and even though he didn't express it, felt as great as ever. As she held him close and carried him to his room, he kind of felt that warm, fuzzy feeling inside of him. He knew now that he did have a crush on her.
Soon they came to his room, and Zelda gently laid him on his bed, and covered him up with his blankets. He instantly closed his eyes, and began sleeping. She smiled at him, and stroked his hair. She did this for a few moments before getting up and leaving the room. "Sleep well Mirren" she whispered, and closed the door.
Emralda had been watching everything through her magical fire. She watched the battle with Link and Mirren, the party, when Mirren was training, the battle with Zelda and Faria, and up to now where Zelda was helping Mirren. She smiled wickedly.
"Isn't that cute" she said diabolically, "he'll never have this happen to him again when we capture Zelda and then kill him and her!" She then let out an evil laugh. "Kid, if you thought that battle was suffering, then you'll literally just rot from what me and Ganondorf will do to you." She let out another laugh as Ganondorf walked into the room. She turned to her brother from the magical fire and smiled evilly. "Brother, you missed it, the brat was being."
"I don't have the time, forgive me my sister" Ganondorf interrupted putting out a hand, "I need to go to the Dark World immediately. I need to find two of my old servants and bring them back."
"Why do you need them?" Emralda asked.
"Because they will be the ones who will capture Mirren's loved ones" he answered, "Listen, I don't know how long I'll be, but just be patient. It shouldn't take more than a day or so, but you never know what could happen there. And as long as I'm there, I'll try and get some new recruits. Now, can you open the portal?" Emralda nodded, and threw one hand out. Slowly, a black and purple spiraling portal began to appear, and after a few more seconds, it was complete. Ganondorf then walked over to it, and looked at Emralda.
"Goodbye Emralda" he said. Emralda nodded and smiled at her brother. Ganondorf then jumped into the portal, and before long; he was in the Dark World.
