Chapter 5: Departure
***
The place was cold compared to the last thing that she saw. The chamber walls were made of hard cold rocks, an unknown place to her.
"Are you alright?! Lian! Can you hear me?!"
Feeling the earth beneath her shaking, slowly she opened her eyes, and found that the earth beneath her were actually a pair of arms, Linus's arms. Linus repeated the same words to her once more, still too dazed to answer; a few moments later she realized where she was at.
"Ramon!!" she cried freaking out.
"Ramon has been tied up by Arthur. He didn't do anything to you. We got here before he did."
She looked down at herself and then realized that she was half naked, with the bandages around her chest nearly falling to reveal other items. Quickly, she covered herself up and turned her back to Linus blushing. Linus stuttered an apology.
"Here, put this on before Arthur and the others come in."
Taking the tunic that he had cloaked over her back, she puts it on. Turning around, she sees that Linus had his back towards her, angry from the looks of his clenched fist. She takes one of his hands with both of hers.
"Linus, please don't be so angry. You saved me, and I am grateful, but you shouldn't null over that; its not you're fault for what he did."
He turned to look at her not knowing what to say and then sighed. Her heart felt his mixed feelings of pain and happiness.
"I know you're somewhat happy, the triforce bond tells me so."
Not being able to hold his happiness hidden any longer, he cracked a small smile.
"That was why you always asked us to go buy bandages all these times."
The princess blushed, her turn to be unsure of what to say.
"And this whole time I thought that you were getting injuries behind my back, me not protecting you well enough…"
"No, Linus, you and you're men…are the most fabulous guards that I have ever met and become friends with. Don't say that you are lacking in your duty."
Linus quickly turns and wraps his warm arms around her; Lian surprised, didn't know what to do.
"What's wrong Linus?" she finally said confused, "you have feelings that I cannot understand…Linus, what is wrong?"
Slowly he bends over and kisses her. Confused of her own feelings, she doesn't stop Linus. Moments later, the princess gently pushes away, unsure of what to say.
"Lian, I'm sorry, I dont mean to alter your heart…forgive me…"
Slowly she shook her head.
"No, you're misinterpreting my feelings Linus…I…don't know how I feel anymore…"
Linus felt her heart both lost and loving.
"…when I returned to my home a few months ago to visit…I found the prince…with one of the castle servant… asleep together…"tears started to fall down into her face, "he told me that it was an accident…but I don't know if I can believe that...he says that he- he still loves me…but…but…"
As the pain started to reopen her wounded heart, Linus turns to hug her once more, trying to give some comfort.
"Was that why he was there when you returned? Then he doesn't deserve you! That wretched bastard, sleeping with another woman! He's telling you a lie, don't listen to the prince! He's just using you! Don't let him touch you like he touched that castle servant!"
Anger and sorrow started to flow like a stream down her face.
"Forget him Lian, he doesn't deserve you, nor am I trying to tear you away from him…I do love you, but I want you to be happy with whomever you choose; and I will wait for you, be with you, whether you have decided on me, or any other man."
All of a sudden the noise of fighting had grown louder and louder. Arthur opened the door and flung himself inside the chamber screaming,
"Captain Linus! Ramon had allied himself with Chernobog, the Vampire King! He's sending in reinforcements and we cannot hold on any longer! They have released Ramon!"
"Gather all our guards here! I will open a portal to Hyrule!" Lian cried.
Arthur ran off closing the door once more.
"Linus, I am happy that you told me that you love me, and I am kind of glad that I am not with the prince anymore…but…I cannot be with you either…"
"Wha-?!"
She kissed him.
"Find someone else to love Linus, you must live, but not with me."
I pushed him back as the Hylian guards started to flood the room.
"No! Lian! Please don't do this!!" Linus cried.
The princess cupped her hands together and a crystal came from within her heart out to her hands. The enemy guards were too late when they broke the hinges off of the chamber door as both the princess and the Hylian guards entered the vortex.
As the guards and Linus swirled around the vortex, Linus tried to reach out for the princess, but to no avail.
"It's useless Linus, Chernobog has already attacked my home. I must return to end my destiny as the Amaia."
"NOOO!!!" Linus cried as he and the other guards went one way through the vortex and the princess went the opposite direction.
When she came out of the vortex, she saw her home, in chaos and destruction. Chernobog was in the throne room, attacking both the guards and the innocents.
"The prince of the stars has already fallen by my hands!! Nobody is left here to save you!! Give me the Amaia child!!" Chernobog cried attacking homes and innocent people.
"I am here Chernobog. I am what you want."
Chernobog turned and smiled at the sight of the princess.
"Took you long enough. I was getting tired of attacking the weak people."
"They are not weaklings, they are my people, and none of my people are weaklings. You will pay for what you have done to my family, my friends, and my people!"
The crystal within her hands started to emit an aura around the princess. She reached out to her side and a silver long sword appeared within her hands.
"Unlock the powers within my heart," she whispered.
The crystal broke and everything turned white.
***
As quickly as they could, the young man and Saria took the unconscious girl to his home, where he had medications from his journeys. As he was running to his house with Saria by his side, he felt Lian dreaming.
"Why am I feeling her feelings?" he thought.
They treated her wounds and laid her to rest. Then Saria and the man sat down on the other side of his one room home.
After quite a few moments of silence, Saria whispered:
"I'm leaving tonight."
The young man choked on his drink once more like before, utterly surprised from her statement.
"W-w-why?!"
Saria looked into her drink's reflection once more like before.
"I…was going to leave earlier than tonight. I was thinking about leaving the day that Lian came to the forest; but…seeing her like that, I couldn't just leave...but now, since she's in your hands, I'm going to the Lost Woods."
His heart broke and shattered as he heard those words.
"Saria, you know what you're saying right? The Lost Woods?!"
She got up and started to leave, knowing that he wasn't going to let her leave. He grabbed her by the wrist to stop her.
"Please. You're my best childhood friend in the world, and I trust you unlike anyone else; but you have to stop protecting me. I want to go, I need to go," she said as she let her back face the young man.
"No you're wrong Saria, there's more to it than that…"
"What do y-" Saria said before his strong arms gently wrapped around her body as his lips caressed hers.
"There was always more to why…why I wanted to protect you," he whispered.
Saria was speechless for quite a few moments, and then:
"Oh, this can't happen. This mustn't happen. I'm sorry…I can't return you feelings…"
He stood there, lost as the feeling of his shattering heart was frozen in time. Saria pulled herself out of his arms, gave him an apologetic look, and ran out of the house. Finally time had started clicking once more and the pains and sorrows erupted into his heart, the pain and sorrows of being rejected.
---
When Lian woke up, she woke up to the sun's warm rays, the beautiful chirping birds, and the throbbing body that encased her soul. As she started to move her body to get up, she felt a hand on her shoulder pushing her back down. She turned to look at who it was and saw the young man bandaging her right arm. Without looking at him closely, she mistook Link as Linus once more.
"Linus!!" she said in a deathly whisper.
The young man looked at her confused.
"Linus?" he asked as he paused from bandaging her arm. His confused feelings entered her heart.
"…what are these feelings?" she thought as she looked around her body.
He said something to her, but she couldn't understand what he had to say shaking her head. She felt his frustration.
"…name…Linus?" she said in broken Hylian.
She felt him become surprised when she spoke and then felt frustrated once more as he shook his head to the question.
"My, name…is Link," he said slowly for her to understand.
"…Link…?? No Linus?"
Link shook his head. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he felt her hands upon her face. She was examining his face, with such curious eyes.
"No Linus…" she said letting her hands slid off his face as she thought, "This man, someone that Saria trusts…"
Then remembering about Saria, she inquired about her to him. She felt his heart sink at the mention of the name.
"Saria…go..." he said trying to make it quick, short, and simple to ease his own mind of her.
"Gone? Saria, why did you leave me with this man…?" she thought.