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

As Link began to walk down the dark hallway, towards the entrance of the restaurant, he suddenly stopped and looked down at his left hand. As Zelda followed after him, she traced his line of sight to his left hand, which Link had now opened up so that his palm was facing him.

"What's the matter? Does your hand hurt?" she whispered to him, but Link hadn't heard her. He was staring at his hand with a look of dread on his face. To him, blood was pouring out of his hand, and dripping down his arm, sending shivers up and down his spine. He could feel the blood beginning to come out as those waiters, who were now dead, came towards their table.

"It will never stop, not until I die," he whispered to himself, as he then griped his full blade 'Death' even tighter and began to walk down the hall. As they entered into the main area, the entire area was abandoned, and only the greeter came out of the kitchen and began to walk towards them in a quick manner.

"What's wrong you two? Why aren't you back there eating?" she asked as she began to move towards Zelda. Just as Zelda began to walk towards her, Link grabbed at the back of her dress, and pulled her back behind him. Just as she was about to question him, Link brought his full blade down, narrowly missing the greeter and slamming it into the ground with a loud crash. In the brief moment of awkward silence that followed, the chefs from the kitchen poured into the room and gasped at the sight of Link with his sword in the ground, followed by the princess.

"What's the meaning of this Link?" Zelda asked with an angry tone of voice.

"Nobody goes near Princess Zelda while I'm on guard duty, got it?" he directed at the greeter in a harsh voice who didn't acknowledge what he said.

"Now back off, before I slice you in two!" he shouted at her in a stern manner, as she took a few steps away from his sword. Silence lingered in the room as Link looked to Zelda and nodded at her to follow him. Just as they were about to reach the door though, one of the younger chefs darted at them with some type of cooking knife. Time seemed to slow down as the boy dove at Link and Zelda, and in the brief moment of time, Link began to contemplate what to do. The boy's messy brown hair and bright blue eyes vaguely depicted a young man who had truly yet to live, he was probably no more then sixteen years of age. It seemed like a tragedy for him to lose his life for something so silly as a needless revolution, or whatever other reasons you could have for trying to kill the princess of a prospering kingdom. Just as the boy was nearing them though, Link let go of his sword, letting it fall towards the ground and he grabbed the boy's hand, which held the knife, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Let go!" the boy shrieked in anger, as he began to pull on his knife, attempting to dislodge it from the stone that was Link. As the boy cried out in frustration, Zelda took a step toward the boy.

"Why do you wish for a revolution?" she asked sternly, with a sense of dignity to the boy.

"For Mandrag Ganon! Hail Ganondorf Dragmire!" he screamed as Link finally let go of the boy, letting him fall backwards to the ground. In the span of but a moment, Link picked up his full blade, and sent it down on top of the young man, splitting him in two, from his right shoulder all the way down to his thigh. One last cry escaped his lips as blood splattered unto the ground around the body and on to Link's brown boots. Looking up at the greeter and the rest of the chefs, he glared.

"Any of you who have thrown their lot in with Mandrag Ganon, and betrayed your nation of Hyrule, had might as well come forward and say hello to 'Death!'" he shouted at the group. Understandably, they merely stared at Link and muttered amongst themselves that Hyrule must have made a pact with the devil.

"Come your majesty, I must get you to a safe haven…" Link trailed off, tired of being called a demon. Stepping outside first, Link glanced around, and began to get strange looks from the people who were in the area. Stepping out of a restaurant, after hearing screaming, is a young man with blood dripping from him and his sword, followed by their Princess, who only seemed a bit angry.

"Princess Zelda!" a soldier shouted as he began to run at them.

"Don't come near me!" she shrieked, as he came to a stop with a questioning look on his face.

"Someone is trying to start a revolution! Alert the other guards to find the traitors, and tell everyone to not come near me! Link has specific instructions to kill anyone who comes at us," she stated as most of the townspeople fled the area. Another group of soldiers began to walk towards them, while one stayed back with a crossbow.

"Princess, we must speak with you," the group said with faces that forced smiles.

"Don't come near us, or he will kill you…" she trailed off.

"I have nothing to fear from him," he began with a smirk, as he took a step closer to them. In that moment, the full blade Link had was already in mid swing, and soldier's head rolled off his body and hit the ground with a sickening spat. As the few other soldiers attempted to rush at Link, he merely curved the arc of his blade in mid swing, so that he wouldn't have to stop and re-swing. The blade merely applied its momentum in a different angle, slicing open the bellies of the two other soldiers who dared to disobey their majesty. Their intestines poured out of their bodies as they attempted to force them back in with shocked faces in the last few seconds of their existence.

"How can you tell that they were part of the revolution!?" she shouted, angry that her own soldier's were being killed. Looking at his left hand, with seemingly nothing on it, he looked back up at her.

"Trust me, I know…" he trailed off, knowing that only he could see the increase of blood flow coming out of his left palm.

Suddenly, before Link or Zelda could say anything else, Link saw out of the corner of his eye the soldier with the crossbow, aiming his weapon at Zelda.

"Look out!" Link screamed as he jumped in front of her, only to have the bolt fly into his upper right arm. Sinking deep into his flesh, he let out a ghastly roar of pain, as he let go of the heavy full blade and pulled out his long sword, the Master Sword. Diving at the turncoat with a sense of blood lust, he swung his blade across the man's wrists, dicing off both of his hands.

"Bastard!" the soldier screeched as he fell to the ground, with blood oozing out of his stumps.

"Son of a bitch!" the soldier shrieked as Link stabbed his master sword into the traitor's face, silencing him. He then turned around to start stumbling back towards Zelda, only to find that she was darting towards him with a look of distress on her face.

"We have to get you some help," she whispered, softly patting his back, trying to cheer him up.

"Later, first we have to get you to the castle," Link mumbled, standing up tall.

"We can get a ride in the carriage," she said, but before she could move much further, Link stepped in front of her and started shaking his head.

"Too risky, it could be booby trapped," he told her, starting to walk towards the castle with Zelda following him.

"You need to get some rest though, we should really take the carriage," she pressed but Link wouldn't agree to such a hazardous thing. The castle was up on top of a large kill, over looking the rest of the town. It was no more then a half-mile trail, but all along it, were patches of trees, where people could easily lay in wait. Link wished he knew the area better, to find some kind of secret route, but it couldn't be helped. Glancing back, he saw that Zelda was fixated on his wound, which even as they walked was dripping blood.

"Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever been hit with a bolt or arrow like this before," he thought to himself. With his style of combat, he had learned to either use his large weapon to keep opponents far enough away so that they couldn't get close enough to hit him, or use his long sword to quickly get in next to them, not giving them enough time to attack. That was how he had survived all those battles, now that he actually thought about it. In all of his years of battle though, nobody had used long-range weapons on him really, except when he was trying to make a quick getaway.

"Now that some of my own soldiers are in on the revolution, I guess it's more of a coup d'etat, right?" she asked Link with a forlorn look on her face. Suddenly, Link realized what Zelda was hinting at, that the castle might not be as safe as he thought.

"You think some of your council might have planned this?" Link asked, stopping while they were about half way down the trail.

"They don't like my fresh young mind which isn't as easy to control as my father's was…" she trailed off with a sad look on her face. Before Link could even question what she meant, the sound of a horse trotting across dirt came into their ears, along with the noise of wheels moving at a fair speed. Both of their heads darted back to see a horse drawn carriage moving along the trail, although it was too far away to see who could be driving it, only that two smaller figures were in the front of it.

"We should hide!" Zelda quickly said and began to run into a patch of forest, only to feel the back of her dress be pulled on by Link. Before she could question him though, she turned to see that he was smiling while looking at his up turned left palm again.

"There's nothing to fear from whoever these people are," Link calmly stated while looking at his left hand, which had no blood flowing from it. After a minute or so, standing to the side of the road in silence, they waited for the carriage to come to them.

"Link! Your arm!?" came the shrill cry of Arielle as she and her Grandpa came closer to the young duo. Link had begun to forget about the pain as he walked, but the arrow was still lodged in his arm to make sure the blood didn't pour forth once pulled out without any bandages.

"Quickly my son, go around back and get into the carriage!" he nearly shouted in his old voice, as Arielle was already going through the front of the carriage near where she sat and began to get bandages ready. As Zelda helped Link into the carriage, the old man began to turn them around and go into the other direction. Helping Link sit down so that Arielle could help him, she glanced up to see the deep brown eyes of the young girl giving her a jealous glare.

"How did you get yourself into this mess?" Arielle said as her eyes softened and she quickly turned away from Zelda to begin scolding Link for getting such an injury, even after he defeated an army.

"Sorry, I must have been careless…" Link trailed off with a small smile tugging on the side of his lips. After reprimanding him for another few moments, she finished pulling the arrow out and dressing his would which had been pouring out more blood.

"Why are you taking us away from the castle, sir?" Zelda asked the old man, now that she was sure Link was okay.

"Battles have erupted all over town and are beginning to move towards the castle," the old man gravely said as Zelda's eyes widened.

"Why? What's going on?" she asked with concern.

"Seems as if this revolution is bearing towards the place you were last seen going," the old man said as the carriage pulled off the trail and into the town.

"The only way they can take full control though, is to kill the current royal family member," Zelda began with a grim face,

"which is me…" she trailed off as Link began to formulate a plan of action.

"Don't even think about it!" Arielle yelled at Link, who snapped out of his thoughts with a surprised look on his face.

"No going off to the rescue yet! Not while you have a serious wound!" she yelled some more, as Link wondered if he was truly that obvious.

"The best thing you two can do is lay low for a while, outside of town," the old man sagely remarked as he began to head down a street, which had no fights in it. Just as they turned down the street, Link stood up and began to reach for his sword.

"What are you doing!?" Arielle shouted with a furious face.

"I have to go!" Link desperately shouted as he glanced down at his hand. To Zelda and Arielle, there was nothing noticeably wrong with his hand, but to Link it was pouring out blood. The life force of the innocent was going to spill, or was already spilled. Before Link could rush out of the moving cart however, Zelda had grappled unto him, trying to force him down to the floor of the carriage.

"Settle down, Link! I hate not taking action as much as you do, but you must realize that with your injury you can't fight!" she shouted, trying to get him to realize common sense. With her words, Link noticeably began to calm down.

"Arielle, came back up front," the old man demanded, after a moment of awkward silence. As much as she hated leaving Link alone with Zelda, she wanted to get away from Link's desperate eyes. After nearly half a minute of Link's steady breathing and the sound of the carriage moving along the road, both Link and Zelda realized that she was still grappled unto him, holding him tightly with her arms and legs wrapped around him. A tinge of pink began to form on both their faces as the old man sharply whispered into the back, "get down!"

Link did as he was ordered and quickly, and quietly dropped to the ground in a heap, lying on top of Zelda. Before either could fully realize the situation, they heard voices outside the carriage.

"Hyrule has ordered that none may leave the town while the battles are raging," an official sounding voice came from outside. Before Zelda could call out that she ordered him to let them leave, Link placed his hand over her mouth and made a noise that almost sounded like a soft breeze, symbolizing that he wanted her to be quiet, for now.

"Please sir, with all these battles, I'm afraid my wares will be ruined, can I please drop them off at a friend's house and come right back?" the old man pleaded.

"I don't know… What are you transporting?" the official voice asked.

"Just some goods from town, along with some food and water for my friend, he really does need it…" the old man explained as he handed the man a few rupees. The official from Hyrule coughed once and then nodded as he placed the colorful crystals in his pouch.

"I just need to inspect what you're transporting and then you can leave, but you must promise to come back," the official said, traveling around to the back of the cart to get a good look inside.

"Who are they!?" the official shouted as he saw the still forms of Link and Zelda.

"Oh, you'll have to excuse them," the old man began with a sly look on his face,

"it's my son and his wife, and well, you know…" he trailed off with an unseen smile that only Arielle saw.

"Fine then, carry on," the official said, only getting a good look at Link but not the princess. The old man wasted no time going through the gates of the town and began to head into the woods that began near the castle town. As they left the city, the old man told Link and Zelda that they were clear, but Link and Zelda were too busy staring into each other's eyes.

"Her eyes are so beautiful, almost hypnotic," Link thought to himself in a whisper, almost afraid she could read his thoughts as she stared into his very being. After a moment of gazing at one another, with blush creeping along their faces, Arielle cleared her throat, purposely making a loud noise to shake them out of their trance. Link quickly moved off of her and sat against a crate, hoping she wouldn't realize his red face.

"Wait, how did you know about all that's going on in town?" she asked with a skeptical expression on her face.

"A good friend of mine is a soldier fighting for your cause and he gave me the inside scoop," the old man shared.

"What's this soldier's name? Perhaps I've heard of him?" she asked in a sincere manner.

"His name is Kastu," the old man smiled, remembering his old friend.

"Kastu!?" Link and Zelda both gasped at once.

"Well, it seems as if you know him already," the old man laughed as they began to go deeper into the woods.

"So where are we going?" Link asked the old man, as silence almost overtook the conversation after the startling revelation.

"Well what I said wasn't a total lie, a friend of mine is traveling to Termina, a land in the South, and he told me that I could use his home for as long as I wanted…" the old man trailed off with a smile on his face.

"It will probably be another hour, so you three can get some rest," he smiled as he patted Arielle's head. She gave him a smile and a hug and then went to the back of the carriage and leaned up against Link's left side. He merely gave a small smile and put his arm around her, almost acting like his appendage was some kind of blanket, as evening began to settle in sky. Arielle then closed her eyes and placed her head into Link's chest and attempted to get some rest as they traveled along the bumpy forest trail. After a few minutes of resting, Link looked up to see that Zelda was shivering as cold night air began to form around them.

"Your thin dress must not protect you from the cold much," Link commented to her. She only looked up at him with an expression that showed she was thinking of sarcastic remarks. Before she could say anything though, Link chuckled.

"Come closer, it's warm by me," he offered with a smile. As she moved closer to him she looked up with a doubtful appearance.

"And just how is it warmer by you?" she asked, but before she could get an answer, a powerful arm wrapped around her shoulder, drawing her close to Link. Both faces red, they stared at each other for a moment before Link spoke,

"that's why…" he trailed off with a lopsided smile, feeling rather proud he was so bold. She only smirked at him and cuddled in closer to him, leaning her head against his chest like Arielle had done before her. After a little over a half-hour of resting, or being rested on, they all felt the carriage come to a stop. As they all stood up and stepped outside the horse and carriage, they saw before them a beautiful log cabin before them.

"It's so gorgeous," Zelda gushed as she began to move towards it.

"Hold on just a second your highness," the old man began as she turned around to see what he needed.

"Link may be the strongest of all of us, but we can't have him opening his wound or something, so we'll need your help moving the food and water out of the carriage,"

"That's understandable," she said with a smile, hardly realizing how much work it could possibly be.

After about twenty minutes of work, Zelda was sitting on a tree stump near the house, completely exhausted. She was used to royal duties and politics, but not menial labor. Link walked up beside her and offered his hand to help her up. As she glanced up she realized he had a smile on his face. As much as she didn't like him finding humor in her lack of strength, she didn't want to make him mad, because he had still helped her bring things in, even though he didn't have to. As they both walked towards the door, they realized that the old man and Arielle were hopping back on to the carriage.

"Where are you going?" Link asked with confusion splashed across his face.

"The guards might grow suspicious if I don't come back, plus somebody has to spy and see how things are going so that they can report back to you," the old man smiled.

"Bye Link! We'll come back soon!" Arielle waved to Link, although a little angry she couldn't spend more time with him.

"We'll come back in a weeks time to check in or tell you good news!" the old man shouted as he turned his large wagon around and began to head off in the distance. Link and Zelda stood in front of the large and well-crafted cabin with dumbfounded looks on their faces.

"We'll be," Link trailed off and then continued on in a soft voice, "alone?" he looked over to Zelda who merely gave him a smile,

"We won't be alone, as long as we're together…"

Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long… Not only have I been busy with college, but my computer froze up on me while I was doing this chapter the first time. With lots of things going on, I lost a little bit of the will to work on it for a while. Hopefully I'm back on track now! Thanks again for all your reviews, and especially Junky who got my rear back in gear! …Man, that sounded lame…