Chapter Twenty-Four - Poison

Link woke to Sarah shaking him in an attempt to wake him.

"I'm awake, I'm awake."

"No you're not! Get up now!"

"What's the rush, my little forest friend?"

"It's Zelda! Something's wrong with her!"

Link was out of bed and wide awake in record time. "What's wrong?"

"The doctor thinks she was poisoned."

Link grabbed his sword and backpack. "Take me to her."

"The doctor said that noone's allowed in. She's unstable."

"He'll let me in."

-

"Alright Doc, fill me in."

"And who are you?" the doctor asked.

"I'm Link, the Hero of Time. Now, what's wrong with the princess?"

"I'm sorry, mister Link," he said, making sure he name was right. "I'm new here, so if your title's supposed to carry weight here, I wouldn't know."

"Let's see how much weight it carries when it's measured by the two and a half foot of steel that's about to be planted in your skull!"

"Link!" Sarah exclaimed, shocked that Link would threaten a doctor.

"Sorry, Sarah. It's just that it's Zelda, and, well..."

"I understand." Sarah walked to the doctor. "Listen, doc. I have a good feeling that both the princess and the King would be upset if Link here wasn't allowed in. Now, an entire Royal Family mad at you doesn't sound too good, now does it?"

The doctor gulped and opened the door for Link.

"Zelda?" Link questioned.

"I'm over here, Link."

Link walked over to the princess, who was lying down on her bed, obviously not feeling well. "How ya doing?"

"He didn't tell you, did he?"

"Tell me what?"

"I've been poisoned, and not by the nice kind."

"Zelda, I swear to you, I will find out who's responsible for this."

"It was Ganon."

"Then Ill find him and get the antidote."

"Link, you must understand. There is no cure."

"There has to be!"

"Link, if there was a cure, don't you think I'd be after it?"

"I won't lose you!" he shouted.

"Link..."

"No! There has to be a cure! I won't let this happen!" Link shouted and stormed out.

"What happened in there?" Sarah asked.

"Tell me where I can find Ganon."

"You're not going to do anything reckless, are you?"

"Where is Ganon?"

"Once you leave the castle area, go to the west. Soon enough, you'll reach the desert."

Link nodded and walked down the steps.

-

There it is, the desert. Ganon's somewhere in there. I will find him.

Link slid down the hill and jumped up onto the sand. He crossed the bridge and entered the Gerudo Fortress.

-

"You! Stop!" a Gerudo shouted as she scrambled after Link.

"Just try to catch me!" he shouted as he scrambled up a wall. The Gerudo grabbed his leg and jerked him down.

"There. Now, what are you doing here?"

"I told you, I'm looking for Ganon."

"You think you deserve to meet with the King?"

"I don't plan on meeting him. I plan on wringing his fat neck!"

"Why you little pipsqueak!" the Gerudo exclaimed. She lunged after Link, who dodged.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" Link shouted as he jumped up on a low roof from a crate.

"Come down here and say that!"

"Take me to Ganon and Ill come down!"

"You pesky kid. I'd never take you to Ganon."

"You don't have to."

The Gerudo froze. She slowly turned and came face to face, more or less, with Ganon.

"M-my King!"

"Finally! Ganon, just in time." Link dropped down to the ground.

"What brings you here, Hero of Time?" Ganon growled sarcastically.

"You know good and well what brings me here!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

"I came for the antidote!"

"Antidote? To what?"

"To the poison!"

"And what poison would that be?"

"You sure play dumb pretty well. I'm talking about the one Zelda's sick with!"

Oh, that poison! Didn't they tell you? There's no cure."

"There has to be!"

"Do you think Id risk you coming here and getting the cure?"

"If you wont give it to me, then Ill beat it out of you:" Link shouted, drawing his sword.

"This'll be interesting." Ganon drew his blade as well.

Link charged toward Ganon, but before he could get close enough, Ganon smashed him in the side with the flat of his sword, sending him sprawling. Link stood up and charged again. This time, he got close enough to hit Ganon a few times, but the Gerudo shrugged as if nothing had happened.

"You might want to brush up on your swordfighting skill."

Link whirled around and brought his sword spinning around. It smashed into Ganon, knocking him off balance. Link lunged at him. Colliding, they both fell to the floor. Link scrambled up and placed his sword at Ganon's throat.

"The antidote!"

The Gerudos around them started to close in around them, but Ganon held up his hand. "Back. I told you, there is no antidote."

"Liar! Tell me where to get the cure, or Ill, Ill-"

"You'll do what, kill me? You don't have what it takes."

"I don't want to, but if you wont tell me-"

"Get it through that thick skull of yours! There is no cure! I'm not stupid enough to use a poison that you could cure." Ganon flipped over and knocked Link down. Ganon stood up and picked Link up around his neck. "There is no cure. Now scram, you little twerp!" he shouted, tossing Link out into the desert.

Link stood up. He started walking toward Ganon, but realized that he had a point. Why would he leave things up to chance? Ganon would want things to go perfectly, and that would only lead to one conclusion. Link spun around and started running to the castle.

-

"Link! You're back! You're okay!" Sarah exclaimed as Link threw open the castle doors.

"How's Zelda?"

"Bad. The doctor said she needs her rest, so I'm about to go get something to eat."

Link nodded. He followed Sarah to the kitchen and started digging around for something. Sarah turned on the oven and tossed a pizza in.

"That do ya?"

"For now."

-

Link and Sarah were lounging in the dining hall, finishing off the pizza.

"So, how long?" Link asked.

"The doctor said that Zelda has maybe a week. Her father, however, has a lot less."

"The King?"

"Yeah. He was poisoned as well. It seems Ganon planned to take out the entire Royal family in one blow."

"Why didn't it affect us?"

"We didn't eat the contaminated food, I guess."

"Talk about good luck. I'm gonna go see Zelda."

"The doctor said that she needs rest."

"For what? He also said that she's gonna die in a week, and I intend on spending every bit of it with her," Link remarked as he walked up the stairs.

-

"Link, it's good to see you."

"And you too." Link walked over to her bed. Zelda was leaned up against the headboard, and she wasn't looking well at all. Her face, once a beautiful mixture of colors, was now shadowed and grim. She seemed happy enough, but Link knew her well enough that it was only a front she was putting on.

"I tried."

"I know you did, and it was a nice thought, but there is no cure, and there never was."

"I know, but it's not fair! I can't lose you to some rare poison!"

"Link, I know how you feel. My father is also poisoned, and far worse than I am. The doctor will be surprised if he lives through the night."

"I'm sorry. If there was anything I could do, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"I know you would, but there's nothing we can do."

"It's so hard to accept, though."

"I know. Can you do me a favor?"

"Just name it."

"Will you just, sit here for a while? You don't have to do anything, just sit here beside me for a while."

Link nodded and walked over. He sat down on the bed next to Zelda, and she leaned on him, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Thanks."

"No problem." I'd do anything for you.