Chapter three
Zelda's eyes were on Link as the stranger quickly cut her bonds and she could feel the worry gnawing at her. Her hero was staring at the stump that remained of his left arm, his sword arm, with a blank gaze. This wasn't how her brave Link was suppose to act! She'd seen him shrug off wounds that were almost fatal before with ease. She bit her lip to keep it from trembling, 'What is wrong with him? He's so...distant right now.'
The stranger laid a hand on her shoulder and then one on Link's, "Time for us to depart, Zelda."
She glanced up into his hood in an attempt to catch a glimpse of his face, but the dark shadows seemed to cling to it like a mask. With another glance at Link, She frowned, "But how will he travel..."
The words were snatched from her as magic swirled around the three of them and for a brief moment, the world turned to shades of gray. Then the scenery blurred to streaks as she felt herself hurtled along at great speed. She reached up and clutched at the man's arm as her eyes grew wide. As she opened her mouth to scream, the sensation of traveling at a rapid speed stopped and the world returned to color.
She felt her whole body trembling from the ride as she gazed about to see where they'd been flung. They were in a large cozy room in which there was a large fireplace with a cheery fire. Smooth logs made up the walls of the room and the firelight seemed to make their golden color almost glow. The scent of herbs drew her eyes to the dark beams of the ceiling and she saw that a variety of culinary and medicinal herbs hung above their heads. Several large cupboards were hung over a slender rectangle table pushed against the wall and a large food pantry was pushed against the wall next to it. Another rectangle table, much larger than the one pushed against the wall, sat in front of the fire with two benches on either side and a chair at the head and foot of the table. Two doors were in the wall across from the fire and then another door was in the wall across from the table and cupboards.
Startled, she glanced up at the stranger with a raised eyebrow and he let go of her and Link, "Welcome to my home, Princess."
She was about to correct him when she remembered the state Link was in and looked over at him. He seemed unfazed by the magic that had been used to get them to this place and continued to stare at his missing arm. She swallowed back a hard lump that seemed to have formed in her throat, "Link?" He didn't respond to her voice. She drew a shaky breath and said his name a bit louder, "Link!"
Still nothing.
A chill set into the marrow of her bones and she reach over with coaxing fingers and made him turn his head so she could look him in the eye, "Link?" His eyes briefly met hers and the forlorn look in them made her breath catch in her throat. Somewhere behind her she could here the stranger moving around the room as she fought to keep her voice steady as she spoke to her champion, "Link. Speak to me. I don't like you like this." He started to turn away and her grip tightened so he had to keep looking at her. She frowned, "No! I want to know what's the matter."
The voice that came from Link's mouth terrified her even more that the look in his eyes and made her recoil back from him. It was so devoid of any emotion except a heart wrenching hopelessness, "Gone..."
She stared at him with wide frightened eyes as she allowed her hand to fall away from his face. As she watched his gaze return to the dreadful stump, She felt tears well up in her eyes. This couldn't be the same Link who had risked his life by going against Ganondorf for her! She buried her hands in her face as the tears began to trickle from her eyes, 'This can't be happening! I need him now more than ever!'
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and glanced up to find the stranger kneeling down beside her. He held out a small flask to her, "Get him to drink this."
She furrowed her brow, "Will it help him?"
"It'll put him to sleep for a while, which I believe will help him with the shock."
She stared at him with wide eyes, "Link can't be in shock! He's the Hero of Time!"
The stranger reached over and took one of her hands, "Princess..."
"Zelda!"
He sighed and wrapped her fingers around the flask, "Zelda, Shock is how the body deals with these things. Link's mind can't come to grips right now with his lost limb, so his body is protecting his mind until he's ready to deal with it," She felt his gaze even though she could not see his eyes, "He's strong enough that he will come out of it, but..."
Zelda watched him glance away and her grip tightened on the flask, "But what?"
He looked back at her, "He may not even accept that he's lost a limb for a long time and the two of us will have to watch him closely. Now give him the sleeping draught."
She hated hearing those words and her hand that held the flask trembled slightly. She gave herself a shake and looked at Link, "Link?" He once again ignored her and she spoke in a stern voice, "Link!"
He turned his bleak eyes toward her and she forced herself to keep her face stern as she held out the potion, "Drink this."
He stared at her for a moment like he didn't understand what she said and she felt the tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes. Then to her relief, He reached for the flask with a limp hand and wrapped his fingers around it. She made sure he wouldn't drop it as soon as she let go and then watched him hold it on his own. He brought it close to him and just stared at it as though he had no idea what to do with it.
Zelda felt like weeping, but knew she couldn't allow herself to do that in front of Link. She gritted her teeth and looked him in the eye, "Drink it."
He stared at her blankly and she bit her lip as she reached toward the flask. She gently took his hand and moved the flask up toward his lips, "Drink."
Once it reached his lips, He seemed to realize what he was suppose to do and soon was noisily drinking it on his own. She quailed at the thought that this man she'd known most of her life had suddenly become a stranger. As he finished drinking, she looked back at the strange man who'd brought them to his home. He patted her on the shoulder, "You're doing fine," He looked over at Link and removed the empty flask from his hand, "Now help me take him to the spare bed room."
They each got on either side of him and hauled him up to his feet. Zelda grimaced as she had to hold onto what was left of his left arm. They guided him across the room toward one of the two doors and the stranger opened one of the doors. Between the two of them, managed to propel Link through the door and across to one of the two beds in the small room. She could barely look at Link as they sat him on the bed, 'He has to come out of this! He has to!'
As the stranger kneeled down and removed Link's boots, Zelda couldn't watch anymore and turned and ran from the room. The tears streamed down her face before she even reached the door and she didn't even try to stop them. She darted through the door and hurried over to the table. In her heart, she felt that her world had changed so drastically that it could never be right again.
She sank onto the bench and folded her arms on the tabletop as she buried her face on them. Hers sobs shook her body as her sleeves became soaked. The wound on her face stung from the salt in her tears and that made her cry even harder. She had been so worried about Link that She'd forgotten her own problems. The cut was a deep one and even with potion, it would leave a scar that would be noticeable, 'Din, Nayru, Farore, why is this happening to us!'
After a while, she heard the door to the bedroom, where they'd placed Link, close and footsteps come towards her. She tensed as they paused right behind her and she heard the strangers voice, "Zelda?"
She didn't answer.
"Princess?"
She felt annoyed that he called her by the title she'd asked him not to call her, "Can't you remember that I don't have that title anymore!"
Silence for a moment, then, "and I will remember that when I believe it is true."
She raised her head up and glared at the fire, "Didn't I tell you I gave away my title? I'm no longer a princess of Hyrule!"
She heard him begin to move and out of the corner of her eye, She saw him making his way around the table. She buried her face once more on her arms and heard his steps move so that he stood across the table from her, "Princess."
"Do not call me that!"
"Look at me."
"You've seen me!"
He was silent a moment, "When you were in the cart, you were more concerned about Link than yourself, were you not?"
She clenched her teeth together, but nodded and winced as pain flared from her cut.
She heard him sit down on the bench and could here hear heart rate speed up, "When you left the bedroom, I knew you were upset about Link."
She forced her voice to remain steady, but failed, "And why wouldn't I be? He's not the man he was hours ago."
"And you are not the woman your were hours ago…"
Her head jerked up in spite of herself, "Of course, I'm not! My kingdom's been overtaken by a mad warlord! My right to rule Hyrule has been taken away! My hero has been maimed and I…"
Her voice died away and she felt her face turn pale as he raised an eyebrow at her, "And you're has been cruelly scarred."
Her hand unconsciously went to the wound and she felt the dried blood that was around it, "That shouldn't make a difference!"
He just watched her with a steady gaze until she was forced to look away. She looked down at her hands and saw the bloodstains on them. Zelda shut her eyes and clenched her hands into fists. She heard the stranger say, "Does it make a difference?"
She was about to say it doesn't, but then she remembered how she'd gotten the scar and felt herself cringe. She saw the man coming at her with a drawn sword and Impa throwing herself in front of her. As she heard Impa's dying screams, she'd taken the Sheikah's sword and attacked the man and he'd laughed at her as he easily blocked her blow. When he'd struck out at her, She hadn't been quick enough to dodge his entire sword and the tip had slashed across her face. After that, she remembered being furious and running the man through. She shuddered, "It does."
"There have been princesses with scars before."
When she'd realized what she'd done, She'd just stood there and stared at the dead man at her feet, "I doubt this kind of scar."
"And why is that? I'm sure…"
She opened her eyes to escape the images and looked across the table at him, "This scar is from the man who killed Impa," She lowered her eyes, "I…I killed…him."
As she looked at her hands, the blood on them, to her eyes, was no longer dry, but seemed to be fresh. She stared at them in horror and felt the blood drain from her face as the full realization of what she had done struck her. Zelda froze and was barely aware of the stranger rising to his feet and leaving the table. Thoughts churned inside of her mind and she felt a sick feeling settle into her stomach.
She suddenly found a flask thrust in front of her and glanced up in surprise at the stranger. His voice was stern, "Drink."
Without thinking she reached out and took the flask from his hand. As she tilted her head back, the scent of strong herbs wafted up into face and made her feel sleepy. She opened her mouth and the bitter liquid flooded down her throat. Zelda drank the contents down and set the flask aside with slow movements as her eyelids began to droop.
The stranger took her gently by the arm as the liquid seemed to warm her stomach and the heat spread outwards. He guided her into the room where Link slept and toward the bed close to him. The warmth was spreading into her muscles and making them begin to relax. He settled her down onto the dreamily soft bed and made her lay down. She allowed her heavy lids to close and soon her mind drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
