Tharja of Plegia

Tharja had her hand on his shoulder, ready to fire.

Link stood still, unable to even reach for his sword.

They stood frozen in place, neither one making another move.

Link choose to break the silence.

"What do you want?"

Tharja smiled. "Just admiring my opponent."

"Why did you knock down our sand castle?" Link asked.

"So, you saw that?" She chuckled now. "Just not fond of cutesy lovey-dovey stuff like that."

"You didn't have to knock it down." He stated.

Tharja stopped charging magic in her hand and lowered her arm.

"So, what's with the outfit? Your girlfriend gave it to you?" She mocked.

"I happen to like it." Link responded sharply.

"Like how I like black? Interesting." She said.

Link looked over his shoulder. Now that he can see her hand down, he turned around.

"So, why are you here? Really." Link said.

"Like I said, business. Of course, I see a few things about Hyrule I like already." She said while giving him bedroom eyes. "I was wondering… how long have you two known each other?"

"None of your business, that's how long." Link said, sternly and unhappy with this woman.

Tharja gave him an interested grin with a hum.

"So… you're not a thing yet? So, you're open?" She put her hands on the sides of his chest. "Then maybe you and I can get to know each other more." She leaned in to his face. "I know a few hexes and spells that could make things more… exciting."

She closes her eyes and prepares herself for a kiss.

"Not interested." Link said, sternly.

This causes her to stop and look surprised.

"Hmm…" She says with interest. "Playing hard to get?" She asked.

"No." He stepped away, causing her hands to fall to her side. "I'm not interested in playing with you." Tharja just chuckled. Link looked away from her. "I'm sorry, Tharja. You are attractive, but my heart is set on someone else."

"I'm attractive, am I?" She asks, sounding flattered.

"Well, yeah… with an outfit like that. Aren't you even cold in that?"

"Well, this is an outfit made for people who live in the desert, so-" She realizes something. "Wait, what do you mean with an outfit like mine?"

Link groans.

"It's skin-tight and see-through, leaving very little to the imagination. It's like you want men to gawk at you."

Tharja quickly blushed and looked away.

"So that's why idiots won't stop staring at me." She blushed with an annoyed tone.

"Really?" Link asked, sounding surprised. "You're trying to seduce me and you couldn't tell people were gawking at you for that?"

Tharja rolled her eyes. "Well, at least you're honest." She smiled. "I like that."

Link rolled his eyes with his arms crossed.

"Why are you-" There's a sound coming from the forest, the sound of some creature. They both look to its location. "Did you hear that?"

There was silence. Silence that made Link feel uneasy.

"Stay here." He said, walking to the woods.

After a few steps, he noticed Tharja next to him.

"Thought you'd need back up, like before."

Link groaned, but carried on.

The two resumed, walking into the woods that led to the top of a hill. At the top, the saw what looked like a man in black.

"A friend of yours?" Link asked.

"Just because I wear black?" She asked.

The figure then started to walk towards them, but did so in an odd, inhuman way. This got both of them to stare.

"Is he alright?" Link asked.

Tharja squinted her eyes to get a closer look.

"I don't think that's a he."

The figure came in closer view. Whoever this was, they had a basic armor and an odd mask… one that looked very much like a skull. There was this odd purple fire-like energy emanating from it. And it had a large axe in its hand.

It gave the two an odd screech before walking faster towards them, readying its weapon.

Recognizing a threat, Link pulled out his sword.

"I got it!"

He charged the creature, swinging his sword near where the axe's blade met the stick.

He managed to cut it off, causing the blade to fall.

"Gotcha!" He shouted.

However, the creature took the stick and tried to whack him with an above head swing.

Link jumped out of the way to his right before taking his shield.

Once this thing attacks again, Link blocks with the shield.

"What's with this guy?" He asks.

"It's a Risen!" Tharja shouts.

"What?! How do you-"

"Never mind that!" She responded. "It's not human or even alive, so you don't have to hold back!"

Nodding, Link knocked the stick with his shield and slashed on its chest.

This caused a large cut in the armor, causing more of the fire-like energy to come out. This did cause it harm, though it still tried to fight Link.

"Take this!" Tharja shouted.

Suddenly, a blast of dark energy hits the creature, hurting it more. Link took advantage and makes another blow to the chest. This attack seemed to be enough as it fell facedown and dissolved once the flames from inside engulfed in mere seconds. Even that odd flame disappeared.

Link looked to Tharja.

"How did you do that?" Link asked.

"I'm a Dark Mage." She said bluntly.

"And how did you know what that was?" He asked.

"The Risen are a constant issue in my country… though it's rare to see one so far away…" She said as she put a hand on her chin. "Why is it out here? And why was it alone?"

"Alone?" Link asked.

"Yeah… usually they travel in groups."

More inhuman screeches are heard from above. Looking to the top of the hill, they see more Risen, about 6 more.

"I'm guessing we found the group." Link said before readying himself.

Link readied his sword as Tharja's hands glowed.

"We'll split, three for each." She says.

Link nods and charges against three of them.

The tried to hack him with their swords, Link blocked with his shield and sliced one of them in half.

Meanwhile, Tharja blasts dark energy that knocks her three down.

"Eat this!"

She heard Link shout. She took a moment to look and see him jump above one Risen and slash it in the shoulder.

This brought a smile to her face.

Impressive…

The Risen she was fighting got back up, and one was ready to hack her when she released a flurry of green blades of magic, slicing the creature up.

"Do you mind?!" She snapped at the now dead revenant. She looks to the other two and, with a flick of her hand, creates a ball of lightning that zaps both of them. "Die now!" She snapped.

Link finishes the last of the Risen with a quick slash to the belly. This causes it to fall on its back. Like the rest of its kin, it bursts into flames and disappears.

"That's it… I hope." He says. He looks up at the top of the hill. "Unless… there's more."

He puts the sword and shield back before running uphill.

Once he makes it, he sees a barren campsite.

He looks around and sighs in relief to see no one else around.

Tharja caught up with him.

"I see no dead bodies, so they didn't attack anyone." He said. "Now, how do you know those things?"

"They're from Ylisse… though how any of them are here is beyond me." Tharja said, sounding indifferent before her eyes widen a moment. "Unless…"

"Unless what?" He asks.

Tharja turns and heads down the hill, Link reluctantly follows her.

As they leave, a figure in armor behind a tree observes.

"We have witnesses… I'll let them be for now. Can't expose myself yet… I just needed to see how the Risen work this far from home."

Tharja heads to the ship she arrived in. Despite it being night, and most people on board asleep, she had to find out. Link recognized this boat and thinks to an odd feeling he got from it earlier. He thinks it was Tharja herself, but knew he had something more important to take of right now.

Once they get onboard, Tharja leads him to the basement of the ship.

"Why are we here, Tharja?" Link whispered, not wanting to wake anyone up.

"There's one place on this boat few people enter. It's a perfect place to hide those things." She responded. She led him downstairs to the door. "Here we go."

"Do you have a key?" He asks.

"Don't need one." She says. She fires a blast of magic into the keyhole. "I know a spell that can move pieces of metal. I can use it to unlock the door. A perk of being a dark mage."

"Really? Dark mage?" He said, sounding uncomfortable with her admittance to that.

She grabs the knob and twists it. "Here we go."

She opens the door and the two of them walk in. Tharja looks around and is disappointed.

All they see is boxes of food and some horses, horses with wings.

"Whoa…" Link said, staring at them. "Are those… Pegasuses?"

"It's pegasi." Tharja corrected. "And who cares? Those things prove the Risen weren't here." She said, sounding annoyed.

Link ignored her tone, going to the Pegasus with white fur and wings.

Tharja was about to stop him when he held a hand out. He paused, but the Pegasus seemed to calm in Link's presence. It moved closer and let him pet it. This caught Tharja's attention. She's seen this animal before, it didn't like anyone but its rider near it, but Link seemed to not register as a threat to it.

Tharja walked up to Link, causing the Pegasus to walk back in fear of her.

"So… I guess they didn't come with us." Tharja said.

"I guess not." He said as he kept looking at the Pegasus. "I can't wait to tell Zelda I saw a Pegasus."

"No." Tharja snapped. "I may not care for rules, but I can't afford to get in trouble for letting an outsider on the boat so soon."

"You don't care of the rules?" Link asked.

"And I have a bit of a rebellious streak, I'm afraid." She said with a rather sinister looking smirk. "A… dark side."

"Fitting for a dark mage, I guess." He said as he turned and headed to the door.

"Do you have a problem with my choice in career?" She asks.

Link stops and looks back.

"No. I just haven't had a good history with mages who practice dark magic." Link said.

Tharja just chuckled.

"I guess that makes sense, since you spend your time with a pretty princess girlfriend in the sun."

"She's not my girlfriend, Tharja. I'd like her to be."

"Really? Would that make her… first? Second?"

"None of your business." He said quickly with a slight glare.

Her smirk grew.

"So, first?" She walked up to him. "Kissed anyone else?"

"Like one or two." He admitted. Tharja circled around him, looking at him with interested smile. "But I'm sure we're making good progress in being a couple." He said with a smile.

"No…" She said with a finger to her cheek. "I think you need more experience in being romantic. I think… I can help you with that." She now stood to his left, looking at him with a sense of attraction. She whispered in his ear. "Let me show you a trick."

She snapped her fingers. This causes a lit candle to appear on a nearby table, making it look like a romantic candlelit dinner.

Link's eyes widen, realizing what she's doing.

"That's… okay." Link said as he tried to make a run for it. "I'm sure we're fine."

Tharja doesn't let him, she presses on his chest with both hands on his shoulders. She presses him into the wall.

"I disagree. Let me show you a hex I learned from one of my mother's old books. If you're the only man, that makes it you more… interested, so long as there is any attraction." She smirked. "And I bet there's one right now." She says her words in a seductive whisper. "Lachtára gia ména."

These words cause Link to drop his look of panic as he stares blankly at Tharja into her eyes. His eyes, normally a light blue, became a darker shade. This causes a grin to appear on Tharja's face as she moved her face closer to Link, tilting her head to her left. Link does the same as they both close their eyes.

They kiss. At first, it's a normal kiss, then Tharja deepens it. It lasts a good 5 seconds as she hummed in delight before ending the kiss. Her attraction not satisfied. She pulled Link to a nearby box and has him sit down. She then sits on his lap, her legs wrapping around him as she kisses him again. It then becomes complete making out, Tharja's mouth forming a smile despite it being on Link's. After a few more seconds, Link snaps out of it.

"No!" He shouts after moving his head away from her's. He gets up, getting Tharja to get off him and pushes her two feet away from him. "Please… stop!" He said, looking more than uncomfortable with what just happened.

Tharja stared at him, surprised he was able to resist the hex. She made a small laugh.

"Well… that's impressive. You must really like her to resist my spell. So, I guess we won't be talking about this? Neither of us were here, you never saw a Pegasus here and you and I didn't kiss…"

Link realizes what she's doing. Blackmailing him into not saying a word about being on the boat. Whatever the reason, she doesn't want him to say anything.

He looks away, disgusted with her and himself.

"I guess not…"

Tharja smirked and walked past him, but not before brief glancing over her shoulder.

"It's a shame… you're a pretty good kisser."

Link winced at that.

He followed her, leaving the boat and wanting what just happened to leave his mind.

This is gonna make things difficult for Link... not the Risen, but Tharja.

Her spell translates from Greek as "Lust for me."

Who was that armored figure? Not saying yet. But they will play a major part later.