Chapter Six: Zee
Link woke up to throbbing pain coursing through his entire body. The ache was nothing compared to his initial hit, but he struggled to lift his head.
"Link!" Fado cried as he shook him. The jostling motion spurred him from his sleep.
Link forced his hand up toward his face, despite the pain. "Am I home?" he asked groggily.
"Yeah, Cremia got you here. Who is the girl? What happened? Cremia said there was a dead monster! You've got to tell me what happened."
"Leave him alone, Fado," Gaebora said as he entered the room. "He will tell you in good time. He needs to rest. The Great Fairy did a number on you and the girl."
Link's eyes widened. "You took me to the Great Fairy? Not a regular one?"
To be healed by the Great Fairy was to wake her from the Fairy Realm where they go to regain their strength. To have the Great Fairy heal him, it would mean he was more damaged than he realized. The girl would have gone there, too.
Gaebora nodded. "Both of you needed the Great Fairy's aid. You were gravely injured. I am curious about what transpired. Cremia did say that it was a large Lizalfos. I'll have Chef bring you some soup."
"Wait," Link called, trying to sit up. Fado pulled him and helped him lean back on the headboard. "What about the girl? Is she okay?"
"She will be. On top of her injuries, she was dehydrated. It seems as if she had been without food or water for some time, but she has not yet awakened."
Leaning his heavy head back, he nodded. Gaebora left, leaving him with Fado. "How long was I gone?"
Fado looked behind him. "Cremia came back at the right time, but you've been out for a few hours while they brought you to the fairy. What did the Great Deku Tree say? And you've got to tell me something about this Lizalfos."
Link rolled out of bed, falling to his knees. "Help me get to the girl and I'll tell you."
Not only did Link's entire body hurt, but his left hand had begun to burn. Whatever they did to him, it didn't make him feel much better.
Fado ran to Link's side and held him up by the waist. Link clutched onto his shoulder and they walked slowly from the room.
"Well," Link started, "The Lost Woods are terrible. I only got through by listening to the sounds it was making. Then the Deku Tree, it's HUGE! And it said I might be descended from the Heroes of Legend, which is why I'm having these dreams. He didn't really tell me why though. So, I left the next morning and heard that girl. I ran and there was a Lizalfos attacking her, so I just ran to help her and we killed it."
"She helped? Or was she already unconscious?"
"No, she helped. We killed it together."
"Wow," Fado sighed. "How'd you do it?"
They reached the room that the girl was in. She was awake.
As they entered the room, she turned her head and sat up, wincing as she did. "Link?"
Fado watched with the interest of someone eavesdropping on the fate of the world.
"Yeah," Link said, still inching closer to her with Fado's help.
"You saved me. Thank you."
"Of course," Link said, finally reaching the edge of the bed that she lied in. "Are you okay?"
The girl looked herself over, testing out her fingers and arm strength. "I will be, thanks to you."
"What's your name?" Link asked.
She looked surprised. "You don't… I'm Ze—" she paused and cleared her throat. "You can call me Zee."
Fado scoffed. "'Zee?' What's that short for?"
Link and Zee looked at him, but she cleared her throat again. "Well, I share the same name as the Princess, so I like to be different. Zee is fine."
"Well," Link started. He could hear someone coming into the room behind him. "I'm glad you're okay."
Gaebora was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. Saria stood beside him, the bowl of soup in her hands.
"You're okay!" she cried, handing the soup to Gaebora before running to hug Link. "You looked horrible! I thought you were dead!"
"Saria!" Gaebora chastised. "Link, I insist that you return to your room and rest."
Fado pointed eagerly to the girl. "Her name is Zee!"
Gaebora smiled at her. "Well, I am very glad that you've awoken. Your injuries were extensive."
"Link saved me," she said simply, staring at her wrapped arm. "He didn't even know me, but he saved me."
Gaebora ushered Link out the door. "Saria, would you and Fado bring Link back to his room? I have to ask… Zee… a few questions."
After trying to make Link eat a third bowl of soup and tell the story of his heroic attack for the fourth time, Gaebora asked that Saria and Fado leave Link to rest.
As soon as he was free of his supervision, he crept back to Zee's room. She was sitting on the bed with the door open, toying with the skin around one of her fingernails. He knocked on the door and she turned to the sound, smiling and gesturing for him to come inside.
Link sat on the bed in front of her, his feet swinging off the edge. "What were you doing out there?" he asked, as if continuing a conversation.
Zee didn't even hesitate, unsurprised at the abruptness of the conversation. "I ran away from home. I didn't want to be there anymore."
"Where do you live?"
"Market Town. Have you ever been?"
Link shrugged. "Sort of. We all go every year for the parade, but we don't have the money to stay, so we go, see the parade, and come right back."
Zee closed her eyes and smiled. "You have to see it on a normal day. It's busy and loud. There are people everywhere, crashing into you as they try to get to the nearest market stall. It's unreal. The chaos is fantastic. It's people in an element that is so focused, or so passionate. During the parade, it's mostly just people trying to get the experience."
Link wasn't too sure what she was talking about, but he nodded along. "I don't know. It's so peaceful here, I can't even imagine what you're describing as something that happens every day."
She ran her hand along the blanket that covered her. "I've been to this village before. It's different from Market Town, but filled with the same energy and passion, just in a different way. Everyone here is much closer. You're very lucky to have grown up here."
Sighing, he curled his feet up, sitting crosslegged. It was slightly painful, but he didn't mind it so much. "I would have been luckier if I'd grown up in a dirt hole with my parents alive, but this is a good second."
Her eyes widened, understanding starting to cross her features. "Oh, Gaebora isn't… I'm so sorry. I didn't realize."
"It's okay; I never knew them. Gaebora has raised me and the others for a while."
"Still, I'm sorry. I lost my mother, so I understand a little bit. I would give so much to have her back."
They sat together in comfortable silence for a few minutes before a new body stood in the doorway.
"Well, well, well." Link turned to see Mido, Mila, and Malo standing there, watching them. "Link came back with a girlfriend."
Mila leaned against the doorframe with Milo on the other side, effectively blocking them inside. Mido stepped forward and cocked his head at Link.
"I thought you were supposed to go talk to a tree? What did you do, trip and hurt yourself on its roots, or something?"
Link made a face but didn't respond. He could feel Zee's eyes on him, waiting to see how he would react.
"Don't want to talk because you've got a girlfriend now? Come on, Linky, how'd you almost kill yourself?"
Through gritted teeth, Link turned to Mido. "I don't want to talk because I don't like you."
Mido shrugged. "I'll get it out of Saria. She always talks when she's scared I'll hurt you again."
Link stumbled off the bed, a bruise on his side screaming in pain, causing him to grip his side and the bed. "Don't, Mido."
With an arrogant strut, Mido sauntered up to Link. "You couldn't fight me off if I was a Deku Stick. It's proven. So, what are you going to do? You're not even strong enough to walk."
"Hey!" Zee said, sliding off the bed. "Who do you think you are? Leave him and his friend alone!"
As Mido turned to face her, Link held out his arm between them, stepping in front of Zee. Mido laughed. "Who's protecting who now?" He looked back at Zee. "And what are you going to do about it?"
"You'd be surprised what I could do," she warned.
Just then, a large woman burst into the room, past Milo and Mila, and stood cross-armed in front of Zee.
Wide, surprised eyes took over Zee's face as she stared at the woman.
She towered above everyone, her muscular arms and armored garb showed that she meant business and wasn't to be messed with. Her white hair was tied back, and she stared wordlessly at the girl.
"Where have you been?" She asked calmly, though her eyes were narrowed. Gaebora entered the room behind her and looked around at all the occupants, watching the bullies accusingly. The tall woman didn't even seem to notice anyone other than the girl as she spoke. "You have the entire kingdom searching for you. Your father is worried. And look at you! He had the right to be. Gaebora already told me what happened. We're going home… now!"
"No! I don't want to go back!"
The woman's eyes softened and she knelt down. "Rememer your lessons? Think not of yourself, but of your kingdom, Princess. It's not about your wants right now. It's about your people."
Link turned to Zee, his mouth hanging open. Princess?
