Note: I apologize again for the late post, exams and such have come up again but I promise I haven't forgotten it.

CHAPTER 10: Spring of Power

They took off at the break of dawn, Zelda had planned to be there by late noon, she didn't know what was in store for them at the spring. Link led them to the North along the path that skirted the Eastern beach. Abruptly, Link directed them off the path towards the West, they would need to cut across the plains to reach the spring in good time. After traveling for what felt like forever, Zelda pulled out the Sheikah Slate and checked the map. Neither of them had said anything since they left and after last night Zelda wasn't really sure what to say. It was going to be a long trip. She looked back to the map and saw that just over the next hill was Ordorac Quarry, another 5 minutes or so till they arrived.

As they crested the green mound, they found the quarry just as expected, Link helped Zelda slide down onto the bottom and they continued walking. It felt almost surreal at the bottom, it was as if they were far from Hyrule and the quarry itself was devoid of life. It was eerily silent for the most part, but she could feel some vibrations under her feet. Link also felt it and outstretched his arm to stop her without saying a word. He then got close to the ground and tried to listen to what may have been underneath them. They could see the ledge that would lead to the spring, however, Link seemed hesitant to continue on. He motioned for them to move forward slowly and the rumbling was slowly becoming stronger. Whenever the vibrations stopped he moved them forward until they reached the ledge.

Link gave her a hand to climb up but he didn't follow her up and he motioned for her to unhook her bow from her shoulders. He also motioned for Zelda to toss him the Sheikah Slate and she did as instructed. Link then climbed to the top of one of the mounds within the quarry. She had a good view over mounds and around the quarry but there were many nooks and crannies she couldn't see into. He fiddled with the slate until a bomb materialized at his feet, he promptly kicked it into the distance where she couldn't see, and she heard it explode.

The ground shook vigorously but it was obvious to Zelda it was not the cause of the bomb. She saw the dirt at the bottom of the quarry begin to vibrate until it fell to the sides and uncovered a massive slender scaled body which was tangled all around the floor of the quarry and around the structures. Its body glowed a sickly yellow color and it was covered in the same Malice as Naydra, she looked up to Link for instruction. It hadn't awoken yet but Link told her to take her shot and so she followed his lead. As soon as the arrow struck a roar pierced the air and body began to writhe, almost like a river flowing haphazardly through the quarry.

Link stood atop the mound staring down the dragon as it roared at him from the ground. Right after Zelda fired off her first shot he dove off of the mound pointing the tip of the master sword downwards and putting all his weight into the blade. He landed right on one of the eyes near the head of the dragon and it burst into a purple mist around him. Grabbing a hold of one of the dragon's spines he steadied himself and tried to keep his balance as it turned back and forth along the ground. Link realized this dragon couldn't fly which would make the fight a lot easier. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Zelda still standing on the landing with an arrow nocked as she tried to lead her moving target.

Link stopped himself from getting distracted and brought himself back to focus on the dragon, holding himself on the spines he started to make his way towards the head which was covered in the worst of the malice. Maybe it wouldn't fly because it probably couldn't see. As he made his way up, he could hear other eyes behind him bursting as Zelda landed arrows in them. He finally reached the head, steadying himself behind one of the horns and began to hack away at the eyes that surrounded the head. They were seemingly endless and his arm was beginning to burn but he grunted through the pain and continued to swing.

"Link!" Zelda shouted, but he kept his eyes on the dragon, "That's the last eye!"

Link looked down at the eye at his feet, it refused to open up as it knew what was to come. Scowling down at the purple malice, Link drove his heel into eyelid and forced it open, its pupil constricted right as Link's sword was driven through it. The dragon unexpectedly stopped its slithering almost instantly and Link was sent flying off its back, he managed a poorly executed roll but still kinked his shoulder in the process. However, he didn't let it stop him and he stood to run over to where Zelda stood, unscathed, to his relief. After he joined her, he looked over to where the dragons yellowish color darkened into a glowing red, almost mirroring the lava that flowed through Death Mountain. As it took off into the air above them, they heard a similar voice which they could only assume was the Goddess Hylia.

"With your aid, Dinraal, the spirit of the Eldin region, has been freed from the taint of Malice. Two others remain and await your help, continue your journey and cleanse them from their corruption so that their spirits may too be freed."

"Where can we find the last two?" Zelda called out to no avail as the heavenly voice gave no response. She sighed as Link looked over at her, "I had to try."

They stood next to each other as they watched Dinraal continue to ascend until it disappeared into the clouds. Once it was gone Zelda turned towards the spring and led them inside to the edge of the water where she slumped down on the ground. She massaged her shoulders to release the soreness of repeatedly firing arrows. She never had any issues in the past but firing off so many arrows in a short period of time turned out to be quite strenuous. They took a moment to snack on some fruits that Link had brought along before Zelda would spend some time praying in the spring. She noticed that Link kept eyeing her with a look of concern but he wasn't saying.

"Link, is everything alright?" Zelda asked him, taking another bite into her apple.

He waited for a bit before replying, "You're quiet."

Zelda couldn't help but laugh at the irony of his words, "It is interesting hearing those words come from you," She smiled to him.

Link gave her a faint smile back but the look of concern still remained in his eyes.

"I am quite alright, Link. You need not concern yourself." Zelda said.

His gaze shifted strangely and abruptly but then he said, "I'll let you change." Turned his back to her to allow for some privacy.

Zelda was a little confused by what she had seen but pushed it out of her mind as she changed into her prayer gown. She slowly stepped into the water, which remained tepid as usual, and knelt before the statue of Goddess Hylia. She thanked the goddess for her aid in sealing away the calamity, for cleansing the malice from the spirits, for giving her the powers she needed to do so. However, this time she also asked for guidance she needed to speak with Link and for aid with finding the fourth spirit they only knew presided somewhere in the Hebra region. Before she knew it, she got lost in the rhythm of her prayers and lost track of time.

Link, on the other hand, had taken up his usual position as her guard. Feet shoulder width apart, hands on the pommel of the Master Sword and its tip resting on the ground. He looked away from Zelda. He had held this position for so long he too fell into a trance of sorts, almost muting out color from his sight and only noticing movements in front of him. Not only that, but he was lost partially in his thoughts as well, although his outward appearance may have been that of an attentive man, in his mind he was not all there. He had not slept nearly enough the night before and it was catching up with him. Link wasn't sure how long he had stood there for but he didn't snap out of it until Zelda called his name.

"What?" he replied to a statement he barely even heard.

"You should have told me it was getting so late, its practically almost sundown." Zelda said, she had already changed out of her prayer dress and Link somehow hadn't even noticed.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize, I suppose its my fault, I got lost in my prayers." She said as she tried to dry her dress.

Link almost took the blame but he realized that if he did she would realize that he hadn't been competent enough to stay focused. He feared she may already have been pushing him away but he didn't want to give her a reason to do so. Instead he just remained silent.

"We won't make it to the nearest stable before night fall will we… Could we spend the night here?" She asked

Link nodded, there would be no issues staying here for the night. The roof gave them enough cover and Link had stored bedrolls in the Sheikah Slates seemingly endless storage for occasions such as this. He set out to arrange their stuff and start a fire for them.

Zelda watched as Link prepared their bedrolls for the night, he was still being very quiet, significantly worse than what was usual for him. He smiled less and less now too, or at least it wasn't as genuine. Zelda made up her mind to talk to him tonight both for his sake and hers, she couldn't stand seeing him like this or possibly seeing him like she had seen him the night before. She noticed he had set up her bedroll as far as he possibly could on the other side of the fire, Is he trying to hide himself from me. Zelda, still determined to at least make an effort to help, moved her bedroll next to his and sat down on it. He said nothing as she did so and set himself to start the fire. After he was done, he sat back on his bedroll and just stared into the fire, still avoiding Zelda's look. Deciding it was now or never, she spoke up in hopes of getting him to talk.

"Link, what's wrong?" she asked.

As usual, Link only stared back at her but then smiled forcibly.

Zelda looked at him skeptically, "I know something is wrong Link, you can talk to me you know."

"Princess, you don't need to worry—"

"But I do, Link, I worry about you. You're my friend whether you like it or not."

Link was silent, he didn't look up at her and continued prodding at the fire. After a long time he finally spoke up again.

"I can't say."

"After everything we've been through together, Link, I truly believe that I can confide in you." Zelda scooted forward and took his hand in both of hers, "Have I given you any reason to not feel the same?"

Despite his best efforts, Link couldn't hide the blush that crept onto his face. He didn't know what to say to her. He was never good with words and he was afraid that saying more would only make things worse. Instead he took her right hand with his and bent low to gently kiss her finger tips. His lips lingered a little longer than he intended but he pulled himself away and gave her a sad smile. Letting go of her hand and not saying any more, he went back to working on the fire to make sure it kept going.

Zelda wasn't sure what to make of his gesture, the feel of his lips on her skin made her shiver slightly, but in a pleasurable sense and made heat rush to her cheeks. Link had always been proper when it came to their interactions, that wasn't to say they didn't have fun, but he had never done anything so… intimate… before. She kept staring at him trying to decipher what it meant, what exactly couldn't he tell her, he didn't seem to blame her or distrust her. Did he mean that he didn't know how to tell her as opposed to not being able to tell her? If that was the case, his gesture meant a lot, or at least enough that she should derive some kind of message from it. Her mind was blank for a short time as ideas came and went but then one came to mind and stuck.

Does he have feelings for me? Her heart fluttered at the prospect but her mind raced as it tried to find all kinds of justifications for her thoughts. It would make sense as to why he was so adamant about not telling her, he most likely saw it as a conflict of interest, given his position. Maybe that was why he wouldn't tell her who he longed for, if it had been any other he could have just said who it was. Possibly shown some embarrassment but not as much internal conflict as he had shown. It seemed right, but she didn't dare let the idea convince her yet. She would have to drag it out of him and see how he reacted while also being careful not to push him too far. She finally pulled her eyes away from him and looked down at her bedroll, a good nights sleep would help her figure out how to approach it. The two went to sleep without another word being said right as the fire began to burn out.