Hello everyone. Sorry for the long wait! Here is the next chapter, and I apologize if it does not meet your expectations, I was having writer's block. I guess you can all take this as an early Christmas present. Well, thank you for reading, reviewing, and following. Enjoy!

-WingedIceWolf

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE LEGEND OF ZELDA SERIES

The man I held, collapsed in my arms, gasped for air. His blood soaked my hands as I racked my brain for the answer as to what to do in this situation, crimson eyes of his becoming glassy. I wanted to tell him it will be alright, just breathe but despite his best efforts, no breath came to his lungs.

"I'm calling an ambulance!" Marley said, getting up and snatching her phone from the counter. She unlocked it and began to dial 911, fingers moving swiftly across the screen. Just as she was about to hit the call button, I attempted to stop her.

"Marley, no, we can't!" I cried. "We don't know what they will do to him!"

"He's going to die!"

I opened my mouth to speak but couldn't find the right words. Truth be told, I didn't know what would be considered the right thing to do, but I knew that taking him to the hospital was too risky. His eyes slid closed, but he continued his attempt to draw in breath, his blood dripping onto the white tile below. To me, it seemed he could easily be mistaken for dead...

"You're going to be alright, just breathe," I tried to assure the Hylian through a shaky, quiet voice, pressing my hand to the wound. The shadow gasped in pain as warm blood gushed between my fingers, and my gaze fell upon my sister, worry in her beautiful features. "Please Marley…"

She reluctantly lowered her phone and sighed, chocolate eyebrows scrunched together. "What else are we to do? Please, tell me if you have a better idea."

"Get me a cloth and a sterile needle. The surgical suturing material should be in the kit. I sewed the wound once, I need to redo it!"

Marley nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. First, I checked the shadow's pulse with two fingers to his frail, blood-soaked wrist, crimson rolling down his arm. Thankfully, his pulse remained, but it began to weaken. I had learned if a person had a pulse but was not breathing to provide air for them without any chest compressions.

I propped the shadow's head back and carefully placed my lips to his, blowing in air once between six to five seconds. His pearly white hair fell from my knees as I tried to resuscitate him. At first, nothing. Finally, after a few tries, his chest began to rise and fall in the steady rhythm of breath.

Relief washed over me at the same time my sister approached with a tan rag, a needle, and the medical kit. Marley's hands trembled as I took the items from her, opening the kit with a click and threading the string through the eye of the needle. Her hazel-green eyes were fixated upon the nearly still figure.

"Marley," I said calmly and quietly. She didn't meet my gaze, but I knew she was listening. "Do you know how to resuscitate someone?" Marley shook her head, but again, did not meet my gaze. "I'm going to need you to resuscitate him while I sew the wound and you will need to blow air into his lungs to keep him alive. Keep his head tilt back and blow air once every five to six seconds. Then repeat."

"N-no, I-I can't do this!" Marley said quickly, shaking like a leaf on a tree. I took her hands in mine, despite the fact they were coated in blood.

"We have no other choice. I know you're scared, but please just have a little faith. You can do this," I reassured her firmly. She nodded, both of us wiping our hands off with the rag. Marley knelt beside the shadow and tilted his head back, chest barely rising as she placed her lips to his and began to blow air.

As Marley tried to resuscitate the Hylian, I tried to confirm my assumption of how deep the wound was. It seemed, by the look of it, to be at least an inch deep, and that was all the information I could gather without hurting him. The stitching I had done earlier had completely disappeared, as if I had never sewn it, which was very odd, but I did not dwell on it. Instead, I began to stitch the deeper part of the wound before the surface.

When the needle pierced his skin, the Hylian's eyes snapped open, causing Marley to back away as he cried out in pain. We had yet to purchase any numbing medicine, unfortunately, so he would have to suffer through it. He was breathing on his own, but labored and wheezing, fading in and out of consciousness.

Marley took his hand and tried to keep him conscious while I continued with the suturing. The shadow's jaw was set, ears laid against his head as she spoke to him.

"I'm sorry, b-but you're going to have to maintain consciousness for us, o-okay?" Marley stuttered, tears forming at her eyes. The shadow gave no response, pain in his features as his eyes began to close. "Hey hey hey hey! D-don't close your eyes, s-stay awake!"

I finished with the suturing and tied it off using the tweezers in the kit, pressing the rag to his chest to absorb the blood that had flown from the wound. His pulse was weak, breath just the same as I began to tie new bandaging around his body.

"We're losing him," my sister said with a whimper, the Hylian's head propped in her lap. His lips were slightly parted, face pale with a hand resting on his stomach. Marley softly tapped his face in attempt to wake him. Nothing. He only remained limp, barely moving.

"No, we're not. He can get through this, I know for certain," I found myself saying as I mopped up the blood on the tile with the rag. "Get him to the couch if you can, trust me. I'll get the fire started."

Marley did as told, sliding her arms under the shadow and carefully carrying him to the couch without much of a struggle, though she did reposition him before getting him to the couch, him lying there practically motionless on the tan cushions.

I got up, set the bloodied rag in the sink with cold water and rushed to get the fireplace started, grabbing the matches from a stone shelf above the mantle. I had paper scraps from art in the fireplace, having wanted to start it earlier due to the cold, so I lit the paper.

The paper quickly was eaten up by the flames, the logs slowly engulfed as well. The embers glowed against the rough stone walls as I closed the glass door to the fireplace, watching the fire devour the logs and lick the stone.

I quickly crawled across the floor and knelt at the couch, grabbing the blanket on the bedroll from earlier, throwing it over the shadow's body. His face was illuminated by the orange light casted by the fire. Marley sat on the other end of the couch, nervously messing with her fingers to distract herself.

I went and grabbed my phone from the table, unlocked it and pressed "Contacts". In my contacts was the name "Milo", a good friend of mine who was currently employed at the hospital. I pressed the call button and put the phone up to my ear. There were several attempts where he was unable to pick up, but I kept trying until finally I got an answer.

"Hello, this is Milo Alaunus. Can I help you?" came a young voice, seemingly a bit irritated.

"Milo, it's me, Aoi," I began. "I need your help, immediately."

Pause. He lowers his voice, the irritation tone gone.

"What's the problem?"

"A young man I discovered a few days back was badly wounded. I found him in the woods, collapsed and barely breathing."

"Is he still alive and did you call the police?"

"Yes, he's still alive, but no, I hadn't called the police and still won't for good reason. But he might not be alive for much longer. He'd been unconscious for days and when he finally woke this morning, he tried to leave. As soon as he reached the door, he cried out in pain and collapsed, his chest had this large gaping wound, very fresh. I just stitched it but he's in a lot of pain…Can you please sneak some numbing medicine here and some other supplies?"

"Aoi, you know I can't do that. I could lose my job-" Milo began with a sigh.

"Milo, please listen to me. This man is not an ordinary human being. And I'm being dead serious. I've done things in the past for you, now is the time to return the favor. Come over as soon as possible and quick. Please, Milo."

"Why haven't you called the police?"

"There's a good reason, and as I stated, he's not an ordinary human."

Again, a pause, and then another long sigh.

"I'll do what I can. Send me a picture when you get the chance."

"Thank you, Mimi."

I hung up the phone and turned to Marley. "How is he doing?"

"Struggling, but still holding on," Marley replied with a huff. "He's in a lot of pain."

"I know. Milo is coming over later with some things to help."

There was silence between us for several minutes, both watching the shallow rise and fall of the shadow's chest. I just now remembered we had tea and turned to begin brewing tea in the kitchen, a tea to help with relaxation made from lavender and chamomile.

Would have been nice to remember that earlier, I thought to myself as I put a small pot of water on the unit. The pot quickly began to heat, steam rising as the water bubbled. I turned the unit to off, the little handle making a click noise when moved.

I took the pot off the unit and poured hot water into a ceramic mug, removing the tea from the cover that kept it protected. A wonderful aroma filled the air as the teabag soaked. I waited patiently and watched the water turn a golden color, meaning it was finished. The bag was removed from the mug and I poured a spoonful of sugar into it, mixing it around until it was cool enough to not burn.

I took the herbal tea and walked into the front room, setting the mug down on an oak wood desk as I propped the shadow up. I then took the mug by the handle and pressed the rim against his still parted lips, slowly pouring the liquid. He coughed, sputtering up some of the tea, but I got him to take most of the brew, his crimson eyes barely cracked open.

"There we go," I breathed, setting the mug down once again. The Hylian's ear twitched at my voice, but faintly. "You're going to be alright."

"T…thank y…you," he spoke very quietly, voice cracked with pain.

"No need to thank us. A friend of mine will be coming over who works at the hospital, he will give you a medicine to help with the pain," I replied, seeing the shadow's eyebrows scrunch together at the word "hospital". I had to remind myself that he wasn't of our world as I continued. "Can I ask of your name?"

There was a long pause.

"D…Darkile," he breathed.

"Would 'Ile work for short?" Marley asked quietly. Darkile nodded slightly. "Just, rest, 'Ile. You're going to be alright."

And there you are! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have a Merry Little Christmas my lovelies!

-WingedIceWolf