Chapter Thirteen

With Princess Zelda no longer in the mix, Link was free to focus on the dangers ahead.

It was the first time since his death that he was left with nothing but his hylian shield and Master Sword to defend himself. But unlike the last time he was left with such a small inventory, he had comrades at his side. He wasn't alone in this fight.

The first row of yiga draped in white that had caught his eye had already been taken down by Gaddison, and two Sheikah Impa had sent for them. Orlo and Elda. The two were no joke, not needing any sort of weapon and relying solely on their sheikah abilities to take down at least ten yiga on their own.

But the first row was merely a distraction of what was to come. Once passing a hill into an open field their true battle numbers came into view. They were surrounded from all sides. Bows, sickles, and the blades carried by blademasters could be seen from all around them.

The group was cornered.

Link was next to jump off his horse, giving Epona Jr. and Speckles a good smack, which both horses took as their opportunity to bolt away. Paya was next, soon by Link's side. She looked nothing like the timid girl he'd come to known, and far more like a fighting descendant of Impa herself.

He had no time to register where the other members of his group had gone before arrows were being shot his way from behind. He held his shield in defence of the arrows, ducking between the remaining members of his group to head straight for the archers who had taken refuge on a hill.

In mere seconds he had taken down the first of the yiga archers, the Master Sword sinking into his chest like knife cutting butter. He pulled it from the yiga, giving the sword the briefest of shakes in an attempt to rid it of the enemy's blood. One jump to the right later, he was scaling down the hill, the sword burying directly into the head of the fallens fellow archer.

The sounds of blades clashing were mixed with that of the yiga's horrendous laughter. The sound of their joy only fueled Link's desires to end this quickly, and he turned back to the group of his friends.

Paya was doing well, he concluded, so he made way for Gaddison. Yiga being seen near Zora's Domain was unheard of, so it was obvious why even a talented soldier like Gaddison was struggling to fight off the unpredictable attacks of the sheikah deserters.

Link was soon at her side, just in time to block an attack from behind Gaddison, and stab his sword through the heart of the attacker. Blood spewed from the yiga's mouth, falling onto the blue of Link's tunic. He tsked, shoving the body from his blade with the aid of his shield.

"There's so many!" Gaddison called out, her own zora spear tainted by yiga blood. "There's no way to win this, Link, we're outnumbered like crazy!"

"We don't have any other option," Orlo called from the front, clasping his hands together and disappearing. When he returned, it was to add to the pile of Yiga at his feet. He was, Link had decided, the most talented sheikah he'd ever seen in battle.

Not that he knew of many in the first place.

"We need to regroup!" Orlo called to his entourage, taking lead when no one else had attempted to. Yet, none of them argued, falling back into the formation they had traveled in.

But someone was missing.

"Elda!" Paya screeched, leaving the group for the body of her fallen comrade. Link's eyes widened and he ran after her, preventing a vicious sickle from crashing straight into her neck.

"Paya, this sucks, but we're going to have more numbers downed if you just run off!" Link leaned forward, pushing his own weapon against the yiga's and using his hylian shield to bash in the enemies skull until he no longer stood.

Paya looked to Link in fear. Not of the yiga who was defeated, but of Link himself. He was a knight, sure, but to see him smash the skull of...of something beyond a beast of Ganon's creation made her skin crawl. She didn't argue, too shocked by the abilities of the hero himself, falling back into formation without question. She wouldn't leave without Elda's body, but for now, she would fight with the others.

The battle continued. The sheikah multiplied themselves, fighting off the yiga with extensive additions of numbers otherwise impossible. Gaddison kept her area clear of any yiga who dared approached, but mostly fell back. She knew her fighting skills were lacking in this battle, and she wasn't about to become a thorn in anyone's side.

Paya chose to do the same. Surprisingly picking up a sickle of one of the fallen yiga and choosing to use it as opposed to magic. Either way, she was strong, taking down enemies with one swing of her arm.

And then there was Link. The little rebel. He left formation often, aiming to take down archers who fought from a distance. He used his own bow on occasion, freezing Yiga on the battlefield to aid his comrades who seemed to be fighting more than their fair share, but for the most part he relied on his blade.

What had to have been at least an hour passed. The sun had begun to rise, and the last remaining yiga vanished in their signature poof of dust.

The only sound that could be heard was the heavy breathing of the remaining entourage.

"It's over," Gaddison fell to her knees, holding the rest of her body up with her spear. She had a few scrapes on her fins and legs, but otherwise was falling from sheer exhaustion alone.

Paya took the chance to run and collect Elda's body. She was tired herself, but still managed to lift the body of her friend in her arms. She spoke no words as she returned, staring at the lifeless form. Link walked towards her, carefully closing both the eyes and mouth of Elda, then gave Paya's arm a squeeze and looked at her. No words needed to be exchanged between them. The message was clear.

Orlo did a head count, concluding there was still one body uncounted for. Kodell. Maxine's cry let them know when his body was found amidst that of the Yiga's fallen. Sobs filled the night air.

Link's mind ached, feeling memories he'd rather keep forgotten trying to inch their way back into his thoughts. He was a knight after all. He was sure losing comrades in battle was common in his past.

Still, this wasn't the time to take a saunter down memory lane.

"They're going to rot." Gaddison had regained her footing, walking to Orlo and Link. The two still standing fighters were simply witnessing the anguish around them. "We should bury them here."

"They deserve a proper funeral, at least." Link sighed, pulling out his bow and ice arrows. "If I freeze them their bodies should be prevented from decay enough to get them back. We're not far from Kakariko now as it is."

Before anyone could argue, he shot the first arrow at Elda. In a second her corpse was turned to ice in Paya's arms, and Paya had to quickly put her down before the magic worked its way to her, too.

Kodell was the harder of the two to freeze. Maxine's feelings for him clearly ran deep, and it was only after Orlo gave her a good wack and knocked her out that the body was freed from her viper grasp. Only then did Link use another arrow to freeze his body, too.

Then, the hero whistled into the silence. Once. Twice. By the third the sounds of hooves heading their way could be heard. Epona Jr., loyal steed as she was, had managed to round up her fellow horses and return them all together.

"I owe you a whole bushel of apples," Link rubbed Epona's neck, giving her a hug for a while. No one was in a hurry to move quite yet, the situation only beginning to sink in. Still, he had a duty to fulfill, and he couldn't do that when the Princess wasn't present.

He and Orlo went to work moving the frozen bodies and securing them on horses with whatever they could find among the piles of weapons and bodies. Next, they did the same with Maxine. And finally, they aided both Paya and Gaddison in boarding their horses.

Link returned to Epona Jr. swinging his leg over and getting comfortable on her back. He held the reigns of Speckles as well, and soon enough they were headed towards Kakariko Village once more.

No one spoke. No one rushed.

The silent simply mourned.

This chapter was hard for me to write considering all the moving pieces, but I hope I did a decent job!

See you Saturday (hopefully). The next chapter is much longer!