VII
It wasn't painful at first, but more of a shock. Link's mouth hung open as he tried to suck in air. Roam twisted the blade, and then the pain came. He had been wounded in battle before, but the fire in his stomach was much more than anything he had ever felt in his previous bouts. As Roam removed the bloody sword, Link crashed forward, then rolled over on his back, trying to keep the pain away. His hands were tightly clenched over the gaping wound as if it would help, even though he knew it wasn't. The pain was almost too much, but Link forced himself to stay conscious. If he didn't, it was over. He focused on Roam, his face pleading for an answer.

For his part, Roam did not gloat. He did not smile, but merely looked upon his work soberly. "Now Hyrule is safe again," he whispered, but conviction did not seem to be there. As Link watched on helplessly, Roam turned and slowly walked away. This is it then, Link thought. I'm going to die here. No one will know of Roam's deed. Roam... how will they know? He's dangerous to them, to Zelda. And I can't warn her.... His vision was blurry; his ears started to ring. But he could still hear Roam stop and gruffly address someone else. "Who're you? What are you doing here?"

"Excellent Roam. You performed well." Sefia! The mayor of the Village of Outcasts. But what was he doing here? Did he plan this whole thing? But he seemed sincere.... "We should thank you for disposing of our foe."

"Your foe? Link? I don't understand. I..." Roam seemed confused. It appeared as if he was even more confused than Link was.

Sefia merely laughed. "Of course not. See, I needed Link dead. You harbored a grudge against him. I noticed that during one of my trips to Hyrule's precious castle. So, using my magic, I amplified that grudge. Fed it, nurtured it. Let it grow into a sea of anger. I knew it would eventually lead to a confrontation, and I hoped you would win. Congratulations."

Through this conversation Link seemed to notice his pain ebbing. His vision started to clear and the ringing in his ears subsided. Perhaps this was a part of dying? He tried to speak, seeing if he still had control of his voice and hoping that meant he was not too far gone. But a small voice stopped him. Link looked down and was quite surprised to see Reni hovering above his wound. She had heard Roam's yell and the noise of the fight, and, after debating heavily with herself, begrudgingly decided to come back and see what was going on. After seeing Link fall, she figured she had better help. Link had saved her life after all; so she ought to return the favor. Besides, she did not like the sound of this other Hylian, and the other strange man who showed up. She may not have cared at all about the Hylians and what this was all about, but she guessed Link was the one she would like on top when this whole thing was over. It was enough to overturn her desire to get on with her life, not to mention her hatred of using the healing arts.

Meanwhile Link, finally realizing that he was going to live through the ordeal, turned his focus back on the other two. Roam seemed to be trying to come to grips with what had happened. He had come to the realization that he committed treason and had attacked a fellow knight, and was angered at having no control over his emotions. He grasped his sword firmly and charged toward Sefia. But Sefia had anticipated this reaction. His arms flung out, palms outstretched, and a wave of glowing blue energy raced towards the knight. It enveloped Roam, smashing into him and throwing him harshly to the ground, unmoving. "No!" Link shouted, but it was too late.

Sefia turned toward Link, quite surprised to see the hero on his feet so soon after being stabbed. Seeing the fairy on the ground, resting after giving her energy to the Hylian, his surprise turned briefly to anger, and then to quiet contemplation. Things were not going as he expected. He tossed a fireball at Link, but he was quick to hide behind his magical shield. No, Sefia realized any battle would not be in his favor. "This is most unfortunate. Who knew a fairy would be kind enough to heal you here?" His eyes glanced over at Roam's body as a smile spread across his face. "The spell only requires the slayer's blood. It doesn't require the slayer to be dead." With that, he picked up Roam's fallen sword, still covered in Link's blood. Link, quite confused at this point, charged after him, but Sefia simply disappeared.