"I'm so sorry, Link, I really am..." Zelda tried to keep him awake. Sweat
trickled down his face as Zelda attempted overall healing magic on him.
"I should've never sent you alone up that mountain, Link. I'm so sorry..."
They had been riding all afternoon, and dusk was near. Zelda wanted to get to the castle as fast as possible to heal Link properly, but it was uncertain if he would make it through the night if he wasn't treated soon.
They stopped by the river so Epona could rest. Having fresh water at hand, Darunia carried Link close to the river, placing him on the ground. Zelda rolled him over his side to have a closer look at the wound. She gasped in horror as she saw it: His wound had been infected in a matter of minutes, and it was no regular infection. Link's wound had turned totally black, and the infection had passed to his bloodstream, revealing faint black lines on his veins.
"For the goddesses! What did this?" Link barely opened his eyes a little. "That bad, huh?" He whispered with little worry on his voice. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you can heal it. Kiss my booboo?" Zelda laughed to hide a little tear. "No offense, but your booboo looks kind of disgusting..." They laughed together. Link's wound hurt him much more when he laughed, but it didn't matter. It was relaxing Zelda, and that was enough for him. "I did get this little bruise on my lip, too..." Link smiled at her. Zelda leaned over him, their eyes very close. She stroked his lip with the back of her finger. "That one will heal all by itself..." She said as she leaned away and began focusing her magic. "This one, on the other hand, needs help, and it needs it fast." "I agree." Link gasped and shut his eyes as Zelda started waving her hands over the wound. Fine dust that appeared to be made of light fell from between Zelda's fingers into the festering wound. "I think this is going to leave a scar..." "It already has. Not that you could see it..." "What do you mean?" The wound flinched as black blood gushed out. Link gasped again. "I'd never lost to him, Zelda... Not by this much... I'd be dead now, if you hadn't shown up..." "Probably. Good thing I did show up, huh?" "Why did you come? You should be in your castle, away from the danger..." "And read the news of your passing in my soft, comfy bed, right?" "You know what I mean..." More tainted blood poured out from Link's side. "I know what you mean, but I don't agree. This isn't your fight. It's not about you and Ganondorf. It's about Hyrule against those invading monsters." Link's wound looked more like a normal wound, now that all the poison had been extracted. The grass Link was lying on died instantly, as did every weed that was growing there. The land soaked it up so quickly that it didn't get to the river. Zelda wondered if that little poison would've been enough to taint the whole river. It seemed that powerful.
Link sighed in relief. he could feel how the poison was out of him. Zelda took a small bottle from a pouch on Epona's saddle. The bottle was filled with blue potion. she bit the cork off and knelt beside Link again, holding his head up. "Were you planning on keeping this unused forever?" Zelda mumbled at him as she tilted the bottle for Link to drink the potion. He held her hand and drank half of it, then took the cork off of Zelda's mouth and put it on the bottle again. "That'll do it."
"I could kiss that booboo now..." "You mean now that it isn't rotting and squirming?" "No. That one still creeps me out, but the other one has become much more appealing..." Zelda leaned over him as she close her eyes. For a mere instant, their lips brushed together, and Zelda felt Link's cold sweat trickle down her chin. Their lips barely brushed, as Link was falling unconscious, finally leaning his head on Zelda's chest. She stroked his chin and put her arms around him. Link fell asleep.
Darunia had been sitting on the grass, far from the others. He'd been thinking of his people. Of his defeat... Ganondorf's laughter as he took away Darunia's hammer was imprinted on him, and it wouldn't stop repeating itself until he had his revenge.
The sun had gone down, and they'd stay by the river until dawn, when it would be safer to travel. Zelda made a fire without need for wood, and Darunia finally moved closer to them. Link had been sleeping rather peacefully for a while, now, Zelda was still holding him close. Darunia sat by the fire. He whispered to Zelda that he'd stand guard, and that she should get some sleep. Zelda blinked and nodded a little, closing her eyes slowly, and falling asleep in no time at all.
Darunia sighed and stared blankly into the fire, thinking of his lost brothers, and how he'd rather have died as one of them, but first he had to have his revenge.
The night went by, the river's flow was soothing. Darunia had been staring so hard into the fire and thinking so hard of his family that he did not see the figure approach. Still, he was not startled when he heard its voice. "Some guard you are..." "You really don't want to touch that subject, Princess..." It was Princess Ruto of the Zora. She'd swum upstream the river and surfaced by the bonfire. "I'm sorry. About everything..." "Sure..." Darunia growled. "Well, I am... I may not particularly like your people, but I've never meant them any harm, and I've always at least respected them..." "Like that time you called us a bunch of stone-gulping, wall-carving simpletons? "I meant that in the best possible way... And you left out "illiterate"." "I suppose we are... We were..." "Oh, don't talk like that. There's still enough of you to pester us with your songs and your fire dances and your flower bombs..." Ruto put her hand on Darunia's shoulder. "How about one of those songs right now?" Darunia smiled faintly. He looked at Ruto and took a deep breath. "I am a little rusty, y'know?" "Sing away, pal, I'm no critic."
Darunia cleared his throat and took another deep breath, then began singing one of his favorite Goron folk songs. His deep voice was soothing, and the tapping of his fingers on his legs gave it a good rythm. The song was only a couple sentences long, but it repeated after itself, with a short, humming interlude between each encore. Darunia's singing awoke both Zelda and Link. They did not seem surprised by Ruto's presence at all. Link had heard that song before, he'd even memorized it. He joined Darunia in his humming at one of the interludes. By then, Ruto had learned the lyrics and was adding a sharp voice to the song, as well as a sweet whistle only a Zora's gills could produce. Zelda started humming as well, although a little off key at first.
A few minutes later, the four of them were singing and laughing. Link was still very weak, so he was leaning over Zelda as they sang. Darunia grabbed Ruto by the wrist and her waist and started dancing with her. She wasn't much of a dancer, but she managed to keep up with Darunia without getting her feet crushed. Darunia managed to forget about his fallen comrades briefly. It felt good to leave some of his torment behind. Once he had cheered up a little, the four of them started teaching each other songs from their native lands. Ruto's song consisted of a difficult series of consecutive whistles and impossible series of sea-creature sounds. The others kept up as well as they could. Of course it sounded awful, but they were having fun, and more importantly, they forgot at least for a few minutes that there was a war waging.
They'd sing and dance for hours, and when they were finally exhausted, they'd finally go back to sleep for a few hours until sunrise.
Though Ganondorf was at the top of Death mountain, they felt deep down that he would hear their songs, their voices undefeated, and know that they did not fear him.
They had been riding all afternoon, and dusk was near. Zelda wanted to get to the castle as fast as possible to heal Link properly, but it was uncertain if he would make it through the night if he wasn't treated soon.
They stopped by the river so Epona could rest. Having fresh water at hand, Darunia carried Link close to the river, placing him on the ground. Zelda rolled him over his side to have a closer look at the wound. She gasped in horror as she saw it: His wound had been infected in a matter of minutes, and it was no regular infection. Link's wound had turned totally black, and the infection had passed to his bloodstream, revealing faint black lines on his veins.
"For the goddesses! What did this?" Link barely opened his eyes a little. "That bad, huh?" He whispered with little worry on his voice. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you can heal it. Kiss my booboo?" Zelda laughed to hide a little tear. "No offense, but your booboo looks kind of disgusting..." They laughed together. Link's wound hurt him much more when he laughed, but it didn't matter. It was relaxing Zelda, and that was enough for him. "I did get this little bruise on my lip, too..." Link smiled at her. Zelda leaned over him, their eyes very close. She stroked his lip with the back of her finger. "That one will heal all by itself..." She said as she leaned away and began focusing her magic. "This one, on the other hand, needs help, and it needs it fast." "I agree." Link gasped and shut his eyes as Zelda started waving her hands over the wound. Fine dust that appeared to be made of light fell from between Zelda's fingers into the festering wound. "I think this is going to leave a scar..." "It already has. Not that you could see it..." "What do you mean?" The wound flinched as black blood gushed out. Link gasped again. "I'd never lost to him, Zelda... Not by this much... I'd be dead now, if you hadn't shown up..." "Probably. Good thing I did show up, huh?" "Why did you come? You should be in your castle, away from the danger..." "And read the news of your passing in my soft, comfy bed, right?" "You know what I mean..." More tainted blood poured out from Link's side. "I know what you mean, but I don't agree. This isn't your fight. It's not about you and Ganondorf. It's about Hyrule against those invading monsters." Link's wound looked more like a normal wound, now that all the poison had been extracted. The grass Link was lying on died instantly, as did every weed that was growing there. The land soaked it up so quickly that it didn't get to the river. Zelda wondered if that little poison would've been enough to taint the whole river. It seemed that powerful.
Link sighed in relief. he could feel how the poison was out of him. Zelda took a small bottle from a pouch on Epona's saddle. The bottle was filled with blue potion. she bit the cork off and knelt beside Link again, holding his head up. "Were you planning on keeping this unused forever?" Zelda mumbled at him as she tilted the bottle for Link to drink the potion. He held her hand and drank half of it, then took the cork off of Zelda's mouth and put it on the bottle again. "That'll do it."
"I could kiss that booboo now..." "You mean now that it isn't rotting and squirming?" "No. That one still creeps me out, but the other one has become much more appealing..." Zelda leaned over him as she close her eyes. For a mere instant, their lips brushed together, and Zelda felt Link's cold sweat trickle down her chin. Their lips barely brushed, as Link was falling unconscious, finally leaning his head on Zelda's chest. She stroked his chin and put her arms around him. Link fell asleep.
Darunia had been sitting on the grass, far from the others. He'd been thinking of his people. Of his defeat... Ganondorf's laughter as he took away Darunia's hammer was imprinted on him, and it wouldn't stop repeating itself until he had his revenge.
The sun had gone down, and they'd stay by the river until dawn, when it would be safer to travel. Zelda made a fire without need for wood, and Darunia finally moved closer to them. Link had been sleeping rather peacefully for a while, now, Zelda was still holding him close. Darunia sat by the fire. He whispered to Zelda that he'd stand guard, and that she should get some sleep. Zelda blinked and nodded a little, closing her eyes slowly, and falling asleep in no time at all.
Darunia sighed and stared blankly into the fire, thinking of his lost brothers, and how he'd rather have died as one of them, but first he had to have his revenge.
The night went by, the river's flow was soothing. Darunia had been staring so hard into the fire and thinking so hard of his family that he did not see the figure approach. Still, he was not startled when he heard its voice. "Some guard you are..." "You really don't want to touch that subject, Princess..." It was Princess Ruto of the Zora. She'd swum upstream the river and surfaced by the bonfire. "I'm sorry. About everything..." "Sure..." Darunia growled. "Well, I am... I may not particularly like your people, but I've never meant them any harm, and I've always at least respected them..." "Like that time you called us a bunch of stone-gulping, wall-carving simpletons? "I meant that in the best possible way... And you left out "illiterate"." "I suppose we are... We were..." "Oh, don't talk like that. There's still enough of you to pester us with your songs and your fire dances and your flower bombs..." Ruto put her hand on Darunia's shoulder. "How about one of those songs right now?" Darunia smiled faintly. He looked at Ruto and took a deep breath. "I am a little rusty, y'know?" "Sing away, pal, I'm no critic."
Darunia cleared his throat and took another deep breath, then began singing one of his favorite Goron folk songs. His deep voice was soothing, and the tapping of his fingers on his legs gave it a good rythm. The song was only a couple sentences long, but it repeated after itself, with a short, humming interlude between each encore. Darunia's singing awoke both Zelda and Link. They did not seem surprised by Ruto's presence at all. Link had heard that song before, he'd even memorized it. He joined Darunia in his humming at one of the interludes. By then, Ruto had learned the lyrics and was adding a sharp voice to the song, as well as a sweet whistle only a Zora's gills could produce. Zelda started humming as well, although a little off key at first.
A few minutes later, the four of them were singing and laughing. Link was still very weak, so he was leaning over Zelda as they sang. Darunia grabbed Ruto by the wrist and her waist and started dancing with her. She wasn't much of a dancer, but she managed to keep up with Darunia without getting her feet crushed. Darunia managed to forget about his fallen comrades briefly. It felt good to leave some of his torment behind. Once he had cheered up a little, the four of them started teaching each other songs from their native lands. Ruto's song consisted of a difficult series of consecutive whistles and impossible series of sea-creature sounds. The others kept up as well as they could. Of course it sounded awful, but they were having fun, and more importantly, they forgot at least for a few minutes that there was a war waging.
They'd sing and dance for hours, and when they were finally exhausted, they'd finally go back to sleep for a few hours until sunrise.
Though Ganondorf was at the top of Death mountain, they felt deep down that he would hear their songs, their voices undefeated, and know that they did not fear him.