Chapter 15: Gift Five is Strength
Professor: And yes, yet another chapter. I meant it when I said that I was going to finish this story. Working as fast as I can for you people lol. Anyway, since Fi is currently decorating her new castle, its just me for the disclaimer today. I still don't own any of these amazing characters or worlds, as much as I wish I did.
Enjoy!
...
Link heard the yelling all the way in his room. Peter's voice naturally carried, but in these tunnels? Well, the Hylian was fairly certain that the entire army heard. However, when the time came for the battle, Peter was calmed down, whispering to Susan who seemed to have calmed him down. Edmund stood nearby, listening in. Link couldn't tell what was being said, but he knew that the Pevensies were taking care of each other at least.
When Edmund had originally approached him about taking Peter's place as the champion for the Narnians, Link didn't know what to say at first. After all, he wasn't one of the Kings of Narnia...did he have the right to fight for them in this? But one look at Edmund's face, the worry for his brother...that had Link saying yes before he knew what he was doing.
He couldn't help it. Edmund...he had just wanted to protect his family as long as he could, especially after everything that had ever happened with the White Witch. Link would've done the same for Impa if he could have, before she died.
Link shook his head. Just what had he gotten himself into with this war?
...
Impa stood next to Caspian while he finished setting Lucy up on his horse. Ruto and Nabooru stood nearby, taking care of their own steeds for their journey. Impa was glad that they came to help her, even if it did break more of the 'rules'. Hopefully Aslan would forgive them.
Everyone had taken the appearance of the Sages rather easily, especially once they had been told of their place in protecting Lucy.
"He may not look like much, but he'll carry you through to the end," Caspian was saying to Lucy.
"I think he's wonderful," Lucy smiled, petting the horse's mane softly.
Caspian chuckled, "Don't tell him that too much. Last thing we need to deal with is his inflated ego."
Lucy giggled and Ruto and Nabooru approached, now astride their own horses, "We ready to go?"
Lucy nodded. Impa raised her hand in a small salute to her friends.
"Come back safely, ok Lucy?" Caspian told the small girl.
"She will." The Sages said in unison before all three began galloping out the cave.
After a few moments of silence, Caspian whispered, "We're following them, right?"
"Oh, of course we are." Impa agreed, "Get a horse, prince. I've got a bad feeling about them leaving."
"Glad I'm not the only one then."
And they hurried to get their own rides ready.
...
Link wasn't nervous for the fight. He hadn't been nervous to fight anyone since Demise actually, but this time, he felt like he should be. After all, an entire country was depending on him to stop a tyrant. But...he wasn't.
Zelda came over as he finished strapping his sword onto his arm. She looked at him curiously before asking, "Are you sure you don't want some sort of armor?"
He looked down at his simple green, Knights Academy tunic with chain mail underneath, "No. I'll be fine. This is all I wore for Demise anyway. I highly doubt that Miraz packs as much of a punch as he did."
Zelda conceded the point, "True, but I'd still feel better if you wore something more. Miraz is going in full armor." she nodded across the battle area where Miraz stood, getting ready. Link shrugged off her concerns, "It'll just make it more interesting for me then."
She rolled her eyes, "You never really change, do you?"
"Not really," he joked.
Zelda smiled. Then, out of the blue, she said, "I miss this."
"What?"
"You and me." she looked away, "Being friends. We used to be so close, but then you left. You left all the time Link, just to go walk through the forest..."
Link froze in his movements, "What are you getting at Zelda?"
She sighed, "We finally beat Demise, start getting Hryule settled with people from Skyloft and...you left. You only came back for food or sleep...and that was rare. I want to know why."
"Because."
"Tell me."
Link couldn't help but look at his old friend at that statement. She had her hands on her hips and that sassy attitude splayed out on her face for all to see, "Because, Impa died. Zelda. My wife died. I didn't want to stay around people and places that reminded me of her more than I had to. So yeah, I left."
The attitude left her face, replaced with a look of concern, "Link, she-"
"Don't do that," he cut her off and drew his sword, making a small 'sss' sound as it was pulled from its sheath, "I'm tired of everyone trying to tell me about her...but its worse when you do it."
"What?"
"Groose is annoying, even more so because he won't shut up about her. Anytime I'm around. It's all he can talk about. But...but you," He shook his head at looked at her, "You were at our wedding. You were Impa's best friend. She gave her life for YOU. And I'm tired of remembering that everytime you talk about her."
Link didn't give her time to respond, he simply walked into the battle area, signaling to Miraz that he was ready.
Zelda watched him go, quite sad now. She ignored the look of hatred that Miraz sent her way and instead focused on her friend.
Peter and Edmund walked up and stood besides her while one of the Centaurs read the rules of the champion battle.
"Think he'll be ok?" Peter asked.
"Of course he will," she replied softly, "He's Link."
'Link's always ok...' she said to herself.
...
The centaur finished reading the rules of the battle. It was fairly simple, and more a formality than anything, but Link used it to his advantage. He took that time to measure Miraz up and down, trying to asses any sort of weakness. He knew that Miraz was doing the same. Link wanted to finish the fight as quickly as possible, that would be best for Narnia, but the stance that Miraz stood in told him it probably wouldn't be that easy.
Link knew that in pure strength he wasn't the strongest person in the world. Most of his strength actually came from his journey over Hyrule and magical enhancements. Because of that, Link went for speed. No bulky armor to get in the way, no weapons that took both hands to swing. Quickly get in, hit the enemy, and then leave. Repeat. He knew that Miraz could see that from the way the Telmarine looked him up and down.
Miraz had a completely different stance. The armor showed high defense and the helmet wouldn't make it easy to get a shot in like with a Bokoblin. The shield and the sword, though bigger than Link's own, were good quality and Miraz handled them with ease. Yes, Link may have speed on his side, and a decent amount of strength to back it up, but if Miraz got him into the right position, he could easily finish off the Hero.
He had to make sure that Miraz didn't have that opportunity.
The horn sounded the start of the battle.
Normally, in a formal contest like this, the two challengers would circle each other, make a few weak attacks and parries; get an overall feel for how the other fought and worked and defended. Link didn't give him that chance. Instead he took Miraz completely off guard by darting forward, thrusting his sword towards the thin gap between the helmet and armor that showed the flesh of his neck.
Only Miraz's knee jerk, instinct reaction to bring his shield up saved him.
Link's sword was deflected from its target and he withdrew, waiting until Miraz lowered his shield again. He did, looking at Link warily for another surprise attack. Link didn't give him the satisfaction, although he really wished he was allowed to use other weapons right now. Miraz's surprise made him hold his shield sloppily, making it nice and easy for a whip to grab it and yank it away. Link resisted the urge. Miraz might fight dirty, but Link would not.
The two warriors didn't move for a few minutes, each waiting for the other. Eventually, by some unspoken agreement, they both moved forward at the same time, their swords swinging in a flurry of overhand blows, thrusts, backhands, and parries. Each one was trying to break through the others defense without a lot of success. Link got through a few times, but never had the chance for hitting a major area on Miraz.
The Master Sword seemed to hum, thrilled to be back in a true battle again. Link smirked as he thought of how Fi must feel now. The Master Sword was the most superior blade Link had ever even heard of, and that still proved to be true in Narnia. While Link's sword worked through the battle without receiving even a scratch, Miraz's was starting to show the damage from the constant attacks and defenses. Link knew that he could continue this way, damaging the blade until Miraz noticed it, but he needed to finish this fight. There was no time for the standard cat and mouse.
So, the next time that Miraz swung at Link, he didn't block with his sword. Instead he blocked with his shield. Or, more accurately, he bashed with his shield, throwing his weight behind it so that the sword rebounded, causing Miraz to stumble backwards in an attempt to regain his balance. It was a move that Link had used many times to end his enemies throughout his journey.
The Hero took advantage of Miraz's loss of balance and rushed forward again, pushing with his shield against Miraz's armor so that the man fell, sword flying from his hands. Miraz looked up at the green-clad warrior who stood above him, foot down on his sword hand so he couldn't reach for his weapon. Link lowered his weapon down to Miraz's neck, "Yield."
"No." Miraz spat back.
"I don't want to kill you, and something tell me you don't want to die, so yield." Link's voice was cold as he stared down at Miraz.
Miraz didn't respond with words this time. His other arm came up, the one Link wasn't holding down with his foot, the old where his shield was attached. In as swift a move as he could manage, Miraz bashed his own shield into Link's leg at the knee, where no armor stood to protect it.
Link felt the bones crunch as the metal made contact and he fell to the side, stopping himself from crying out in pain, but clutching his leg as Miraz scrambled for his sword. The Master Sword fell from his own hands but Miraz ignored it and glared with hatred at Link, stomping over to the injured Hylian. His sword fell in a downward stroke, almost cutting the tension itself that lay over the battle field.
Link raised his own shield to block the strike, Miraz's sword scraping down the metal and hitting the ground.
...
Lucy and the two Sages rode their horses as fast as they could, desperately trying to lose the guards that had caught them escaping. She tossed a panicked look over her shoulder, but Miraz's men seemed to be keeping up with them.
Nabooru almost screamed in frustration, "These idiots are stubborn!"
"Not much we can do about it now!" Ruto yelled back at her.
An arrow flew through the air between the two Sages. Far enough away to not cause harm, but Nabooru glared at it none the less, "We'll have to do something. Lucy needs to find Aslan. Come on!"
As Nabooru said these last two words, she sent three orange orbs from her hand, each one entering the body of their horses. As soon as it was absorbed, the horses suddenly gave a quick burst of speed, pulling them away from their followers.
"What did you do?" Lucy cried, holding onto her horse's saddlehorn so tightly that she was sure her nails were leaving little marks in the leather.
"A little boost of spirit can go a long way. Quite literally." Nabooru called back, laughing at her own joke.
The thing is, it did. The horses practically flew through the trees, always increasing the distance between them and the guards.
However, Nabooru's help could only last so long and soon the horses began to slow down. Lucy cast a fearful glance over her shoulder when that happened.
The Sage of Spirit groaned. Even horses could only do so much for them. She pulled back on her reins, slowing her horse to a stop. Her friends did the same, looking at her with concern. She just smirked and dismounted, "Get going. I'll hold them off."
"Nabooru..." Ruto started, but she waved off her concerns.
"I'll be fine. These guys have never fought a Sage. Get Lucy to Aslan, ok?"
The two Sages stared at each other for a few moments before the Zora nodded her agreement, urging her horse forward and grabbing the reins from Lucy's hands to force her to do the same.
"Wait, we can't leave her!" Nabooru heard Lucy's retreating voice say. Ruto's voice responded, but by now they were too far away for Nabooru to hear what she said. Instead she turned to face the guards approaching her. Taking a breath, she got ready.
Five of them burst into the clearing where she had stopped, intent on trampling over her to catch the rest of their prey.
The Gerudo was having none of that. She smirked, raising her hand to shoot more orbs towards the horses, just like she had done before. Instantly, the horses reared up, terrified for no logical reason. Four of them fell from their steeds before they ran off. Nabooru noticed with some displeasure that her own joined them, but she didn't focus on it too much. Quickly she sent a second orb to the last horse, only this time, instead of terrifying it, she angered it. The animal began to buck wildly, its rider no longer able to hang on and flying through the air. The horse soon joined its brethren. Nabooru let herself have a small sigh of relief. At least now they couldn't follow her friends.
The guards were quick to recover themselves, drawing their blades and rushing at the Gerudo. Her smirk stayed on her face as she made her own twin blades appear (1).
The first guard fell under her blade, not moving fast enough to dodge the lightening speed that she attacked with. The second one parried with his blade, along with the third. The fourth guard attempted to stab her torso while she was distracted, but Nabooru simply back-flipped out of the way.
Oh how she loved the agility portions of the Geruodo Training Grounds.
The final guard was now the closest person to her, although taken off guard by how easily she had just dodged. That proved to be his end, her sword striking for his neck.
Two down, only three left.
They approached her warily, now on guard for anything she might do. They gave a few weak, feinted attacks, which she parried easily. None of them committed to a full attack though, instead walking forward slowly. Nabooru made sure to back up just as much, keeping the same space between them.
...Until she backed into a tree. The three guards surrounded her, cornering her against it. Then they really attacked, with a ferocity that she hadn't seen from any of Miraz's men before. Their swords swung towards her and she parried to the best of her ability, earning a few minor scrapes but no major wounds. She deflected the sword from the man on her left, making him stumble forward, and her other blade flashed down, finding its mark in the guard's soft exposed skin. Then Nabooru had a stroke of bad luck, almost literally. Her own blade handle was caught on the very edge of her enemy's armor, refusing to simply slide out to be used again.
Grunting, Nabooru quickly abandoned it, cartwheeling over his body and away from the last two guards. Now, armed only with one sword, the other two rushed at her.
Nabooru almost cursed, doing what she could to block them both with one sword. She extended her hand again, sending out more orbs full of magical energy. However, these guards seemed to be smart enough to avoid those attacks after seeing what had happened with their horses. They came closer and Nabooru set her stance. She'd handled worse than this before, she thought to herself, ready for the battle.
But her prep talk to herself seemed to be useless for someone else had decided to come and save her.
Caspian and Impa rushed into the clearing, heading for the final guards and easily dispatching them. Impa smirked down at the Spirit Sage, "So, I take it everything went well?"
"Shut up." she responded, accepting Caspian's hand to swing up behind him on his horse.
"Did Lucy get away?" he asked.
"Yeah," she nodded, "With Ruto. I stopped to try to take care of those idiot guards."
"Those were the only ones we found following you." Impa said, "So they should be fine now."
Caspian turned his horse back around the way they had come, "Let's just hope they can find Aslan."
The two Sages didn't respond to that comment. Instead, Nabooru just said, "Let's hurry up and get back. I have the strangest feeling Link's going to need the last of his gifts here soon."
"How can you tell that?" Caspian gave her a raised eyebrow over his shoulder.
"Like I said, it's a weird feeling." She tightened her grip around his waist and the two horses began to head back to the How as fast as they could.
...
Link reached for the Master Sword, stretching his arm as far as he could, while Miraz lifted his own sword back up. It was useless though, the blade had fallen too far away for Link to reach it. Link's leg throbbed where Miraz had bashed his shield into it, trying to distract him from the battle. Link almost let it, it seemed preferable to the other options.
Miraz's sword flashed down again and Link reached up, grabbing his wrist before he could make the blow, the sword almost horizontally between them.
The two of them wrestled for control of the blade on the ground, although Miraz undoubtedly had the better vantage point.
"Come on brother!" He heard someone yell encouragement...but who would call him brother?
He didn't have to wait long to find out. A Goron appeared behind Miraz's shoulder, and a quick glance to the side told him that no one else saw the giant rock creature.
For once, Link was actually happy to see one of the Sages.
The Goron clapped his hands together and slowly drew them apart again, a large red orb growing in his hands. When it was a decent size, he sent it towards Link.
Immediately the Hero felt a massive burst of strength and Miraz seemed to feel it as well due to the renewed struggle for the blade.
A struggle that Link was now winning. With the added strength, Link was able to flip Miraz over and pin him down, making the psuedo king release his grip on the weapon. His leg felt like it was on fire, but Link ignored it. The strength that he received from the Sage of Fire let him power through the pain.
Within the space of a few moments, Link once again had a blade leveled across Miraz's neck. And this time there was no escape.
"Yield."
At Miraz's glare, Link pushed the blade farther, letting the edge draw the slightest amount of blood in the skin that showed.
"Last chance," Link whispered to him.
It took a moment, but his fear for his life won out in the end and Miraz sputtered out the words, "I yield."
Link's glare only grew, "Louder. Let them hear it."
"I yield!" Miraz yelled out, almost spitting on Link's face with the biting words.
Link smirked and got off him, dropping Miraz's sword and exchanging it for his own. He and Miraz both walked slowly away, nursing their own injuries as they were greeted by their allies.
Link's friends wore the biggest smiles he had ever seen on their faces, Peter rushing forwards to help him sit down, allowing Zelda to look over his knee. In the background, Link caught sight of Caspian and Impa riding back through the trees, Nabooru holding onto the prince. But Lucy and Ruto weren't with them. Hopefully they had gotten through at least.
His attention was turned elsewhere though as he jerked his knee away from Zelda, "That hurts!" he yelled.
She rolled her eyes, "Well, don't get hit with a shield then. Serves you right for making me worry anyway."
"I kind of have to agree with that." Edmund joked.
Link chose not to respond, instead letting Zelda continue to heal it.
"This will hold for a little while," she was saying, "But until we get a real moment to fully heal it, don't push it."
"Knowing him, that won't happen." Peter clapped him on the back, "I was shocked! I thought you had lost it there!"
"We all did!" Edmund joined in the congratulations and sparing a glance at the cheering Narnians, "How did you manage to get control over the sword like that?"
Link's previous smirk returned to his face, "I may have had a little help."
"A little help?" Zelda raised her eyebrow.
"Get your own Sages." Was his only response.
The four of them laughed, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
That moment was interrupted by Miraz's cry of pain. They spun around and saw the tyrant lying at the feet of Lord Sebastian, an arrow sticking out of his side, underneath the edge of the armor. Link saw the small look of satisfaction on Sebastian's face a split second before it turned into one of mock surprise. The Telmarine yelled out, "They've killed him! They've killed our king! Attack! Attack! They killed him after the battle! Attack!"
And that's when all hell broke loose.
(1) In Ocarina of Time, the Gerudo are seen fighting with two blades. I fully believe that Nabooru continued to do so even after she awoke as a Sage. Hence her weapons here, but her Sage abilities making it possible for her to summon them.
