Disclaimer: I don't own Nintendo or anything involving Legend of Zelda, but I am attempting to write a story about things that involve them for entertainment purposes only. Not for the money thing. That's bad.

It Won't Stop Running Down My Hand

Lying in the back of the old wagon with little Arielle resting beside him, her head upon his stomach, Link was enjoying himself. The old man had since waken up, thanked Link profusely and began to drive again, urging Link to get some relaxation. As soon as Link had lay down, Arielle had walked up to him, still wearing the over sized cloak he gave her, and asked if she could rest next to him. As far as Link was concerned, there was no harm in that. As far as he could tell, the young girl had surrounded him in furniture, so that when the Moblins had attacked, they wouldn't see him and he could get away.

"But… Why would she want to protect me?" Link thought to himself with his eyes closed. The carriage hit a bump that lifted young Arielle's head off of his abdomen for a split second and caused her to stir for a moment. Mumbling something to herself, or the cart, she then snuggled closer to Link and began to fall deeper in sleep.

"I hate it when people are so close, but every time she gets closer to me, I just want to protect her more," Link told him self in his thoughts.

"She makes me want to be," Link trailed off in his head and continued "a father." Silence filled the surrounding area of the cart, causing an eerie feeling to pass through Link.

"I could never be a good father though, I've caused so much pain to others…" he accidentally trailed off aloud, as soft as a whisper.

"What'd ya say?" a young and tired voice came from his belly. Link glanced down to see she was awake and was about to speak, when a tired voice shouted from the front of the cart.

"We're here, at castle town!" the old man seemed very happy to be there, and then began to urge them to the front. Link wasn't sure why he should bother, but the old man seemed to need him in front. Not bothering to remove his weapons or gear, he proceeded to go to the front of the carriage with Arielle. Standing in front of the horse-drawn cart were two Hylian guards with steel armor on, carrying spears.

"Who exactly is this?" one of the guards asked, mouth agape at the huge young man with weapons all over him.

"He's the son of an old friend of mine," the old man said, not missing a beat.

"Is that right?" the other guard asked, looking at Link.

"Yes, I've been training all my life and I don't get out much. I finally decided to go the famous castle town of Hyrule, when I met up with them," Link motioned to the old man and Arielle.

"He was real lucky that grandpa knew him from a long time ago! I thought he was a beast!" Arielle said in such a way to show her faked childhood innocence. The guards laughed at this and let them pass without another question.

"Thought I was a beast, eh?" Link asked in an almost annoyed voice after the carriage passed through the gates of castle town. Arielle only laughed at this and kept looking straight ahead. Deciding to pay attention to the town he sought for so long, he was amazed that it was so busy. Yet hadn't he heard the city was at war?

"Hey, isn't this place supposed to be at war?" Link asked in a puzzled voice.

"It is," the old man replied.

"Then why is everyone acting like they don't have a care in the world?" Link wondered.

"Well the whole town is completely surrounded by fortress walls," the old man began "In the history of this three year long war, there's yet to be a breach in those walls."

"I see, so the townspeople grow complacent, while the soldiers go off to die?" Link said this sentence with at least a little amount of bitterness. He could feel for the soldiers, who were ultimately told that death was what they live for. The old man stayed silent and had no response, probably because Link made a good point. After a few minutes the horse was stopped and the old man got off the carriage to secure it down, and opened up his cart for others to see.

"So you two are merchants," Link stated to Arielle who only nodded. After a few minutes of sitting around, a group of people began to come and go from his little shop, purchasing this and that, nothing too interesting. Then, a large group of soldiers came around a corner, talking amongst themselves.

"Let's take a look and see what the old man has this week," one of them mentioned, as they crowded around the cart. Noticing Link, they stared at him like he was a monster for just a second, and then resumed shopping.

"Wait, what's this doing here!" one of the soldiers exclaimed, pulling out a piece of the Moblin armor and one of their spears. The old man couldn't answer, and looked to Link.

"The Moblins I killed were carrying them," Link casually said. After all, those dog-faced monsters were defeated like child's play.

"There are ten suits of Moblin armor here though! Did you sneak up on them? That's the way we do it…" another soldier rationalized.

"No." Link bluntly interrupted, getting annoyed looks from the soldiers.

"Then I bet you stole them since there is no way in Hell you could kill ten of them in hand to hand combat," the first soldier mocked Link's blunt attitude.

"Think what you want," Link shrugged his shoulders and began to lean against the cart. This casual act only infuriated the soldiers.

"You think you're so big and bad, is that it? How about you come with us and explain to the general how great you are!" the first soldier smirked as the soldiers began to step towards him. In that instant, Link had already formulated the best plan for killing each and every soldier in his path. Plus, he had devised it all so that he could easily escape into the alley behind a building near him.

"If that's what you wish," Link softly said, complying with the soldiers. It wasn't that he was afraid of them, but he didn't want to cause trouble for Arielle and her grandfather.

"Not so tough now that we're taking you to General Sifrak, eh?" one of the soldiers laughed as they took Link away.

"Please don't take him!" a young female voice called out from behind them as Link prepared himself to meet the General.

"Get away, brat!" one of the soldiers yelled as he kicked Arielle in the face, dropping her to the ground in a matter of seconds. Link's pupils dilated as adrenaline began to pump into his veins. He needn't look down to know that blood was pouring out of his left hand, blood that only he could see. Letting out a battle cry, Link spun between the four soldiers that surrounded him and he proceeded to punch the soldier that kicked Arielle in the face.

"What?" was the last thing the soldier uttered before Link's hand went into his face with the force of an explosion. Before the other soldiers could even get near the both of them, Link followed forth with a few more fists and even a kick to the man's stomach. As the other soldiers grabbed Link and began to drag him to whatever fate await him. The last thing Link saw before turning a corner was Arielle being helped up by her grandfather and the silent body of the unconscious soldier.

"Bastard! You're lucky we don't let you rot in the dungeon for that!" one of the soldier's shouted to a silent young man in green. Bringing him to the inner walls of a castle, they began to walk into a large barrack. Link was amazed at the castle though, since he had expected an old and dirty building, filled with old men who pretended they did something for the nation. Instead, it was a beautiful building with gardens all around the castle. Link didn't have much time to be amazed at the scenery though, since the soldiers were forcing him along into the large building which no doubt housed the other soldiers and guards. Walking down hall after hall, they finally made it to a large set of doors. Knocking on one of the doors, a soldier asked to be let in and a burly voice told him it was all right. Forcing him inside the room, Link could now see General Sifrak. The huge man stood in front of a large window, over looking the town. He had no armor on like the soldiers, but a set of golden armor could be seen near him with a huge sword. He had long white hair and a thick mustache.

"What do we have here?" General Sifrak asked, turning around to look Link up and down. Sifrak had cold blue eyes that seemed to pierce into Link.

"Originally we wanted you to ask him how he could have collected ten Moblins armor and swords but then he began to attack one of my men," a soldier said as he saluted the General.

"Is this true, young man?" Sifrak asked Link, but it was obvious he didn't place much importance on the words of the young man.

"Yes sir," Link calmly stated. After all, he had attacked the soldier.

"Very well, lock him in the dungeon and lets forget about him…" General Sifrak trailed off, as if he was talking about the weather.

"For how long sir?" the soldier asked his superior officer.

"I guess until he dies or something. I don't know," the General waved his hand, showing that he had no interest in the powerful young man, who's only crime was telling the truth and protecting his new found friend.

"Yes sir," the soldier complied as if sealing this man's fate was meaningless. Thoughts began to rush through Link's head all at once as if his brain had exploded.

"I can't rot in a dungeon!"

"I won't be able to keep my promise!"

"I still have to see her!"

"I HAVE TO KEEP MOVING!"

At this point, while all those thoughts and more began to dash into his mind, pain exploded in his left hand. Looking down, he could see blood rushing out of his palm. Link silently cursed the golden triangles, which were branded on his hand.

"No! I have a promise to keep!" Link shouted as everyone in the room glanced at him. Suddenly, before anyone could utter another word, Link's left hand began to feel better. Before long, he stared in amazement as the pain left his hand and it was replaced by a feeling of warmth and even pleasure. The door to the room opened and a beautiful voice shouted out.

"General Sifrak, an army of thousands is heading our way. I need you to ready your men and prepare for battle from the North and East." the voice was strong yet compassionate.

"Yes, your majesty." General Sifrak answered in a deep voice. Looking up from his hand, Link saw the most beautiful, and yet familiar, girl he had ever seen in his entire life. She had long blond hair and deep green eyes that sparkled like the greatest of emeralds. Her slender figure carried a pink dress with the same triangle patterns, which consumed his left and his long sword. This was the very same girl he had made that promise to so many years ago.

"It's you!?" Link asked in a shock voice.