Enough jabbering. Let's get this show on the road!
Chapter Five
Courage of the Hero
Clang! Steel rang on steel as Link rammed his sword-arm up hard, deflecting the pitted, rusted blade. He lunged, slamming the armored corpse with his shield, pouring his force into the blow. With the swiftness of a snake, he twisted his sword, running the ReDead through. It wasn't enough to kill it, but it'd hurt at least. He backflipped away, drawing his sword out of the beast's stomach and setting to defend.
Midna watched from the shadows, her heart thumping somewhere up in her throat. A single crimson and gold eye watched from a realm not quite light, not quite shadow, in the space between worlds out of harm's way. Link had made her promise to stay safe even now she was able to stay in the light, and she wasn't about to break her promise to him unless she had to. Still...
He's got incredible form, she admired, watching him. He leapt powerfully, bringing his sword down in a heavy strike, that would have cleaved through a normal man. Bringing his sword up, he swiped across the undead beast's torso, before an ear-splitting shriek rent the air. Link winced, cringing and shivering as the scream worked on his very soul, chilling him to the bone. Oh Goddesses... Midna focused, ready to phase back to the light if needed.
It wasn't necessary. As the sword came down, he suddenly leapt to the side, hitting the ground on his shoulder and rolling around, pouncing up into a twisting strike that cut strips out of the walking corpse. Midna felt her heart pounding as she watched, wide-eyed. Wow... Not even the best warriors in Twilight could have pulled that off... A thin red streak ran across his shoulder, a thin cut that bled slightly, but nowhere near enough to distract the hero. The injury only served to irritate him, making him more ferocious.
She admired his combat stance - legs planted wide enough apart to give a stable base, close enough together that he could leap quickly and nimbly out of the way, right arm pulled across, the Hylian Shield sitting on his arm like the most natural thing in Hyrule, the Master Sword pulled back a little, far enough to get a decent swing without being too slow to react to new dangers. But what she really loved were his eyes - cold, ruthless, and burning like flaming sapphires in the darkness of the crypt. She briefly imagined what it would feel like to be on the receiving end of that cutting glare.
I'd just turn on myself there and then, and save myself from whatever he had planned. The thought drew a tiny giggle out of her. She knew that she'd never have to suffer that cold, piercing look - that was a gaze reserved for opponents, a glare that could cut rock.
Clang-Shhhhingt! The undead knight's blade collided with Link's, the two warriors fighting each other's strength until Link side-stepped the swing, drawing his blade up powerfully and swiping at the unguarded neck of his target. Sheer momentum forced the corpse to bend over, fortune frowning on the swordsman as his reckless strike overbalanced him. Throwing his weight, he pushed himself to the side, throwing himself to the ground to avoid falling nastily. Rolling onto his back, he suddenly stiffened, paralyzed, as the beast let out another soul-piercing screech. Midna's heart leapt back up into her throat as she watched the knight raise his sword, Link remaining frozen on the ground, staring in furious horror. No..!-
Thunk. Midna watched, fascinated, as Link suddenly broke the paralysis. He twisted, brought his foot up and kicked the sword aside viciously, sending it into the ground. In a fluid motion, he flipped onto his feet, standing on the blade as he kicked out, sending the ReDead careening to the ground. With a terrifying roar of rage that made even Midna flinch, Link leapt, landing and thrusting his sword clean through the skull of his opponent, twisting viciously before yanking his sword back up. With a soft bang, the corpse detonated into shadows, which faded away.
Flipping his sword around his hand in that unbearably cocky but stylish manner of his, he sheathed it across his back, Midna silently slipped out of his shadow, hovering behind him and to the right, unusually subdued. He didn't even look at her right away, pacing to the wall and sitting against it, leaning his head back and staring up into the darkness. After a few seconds, he finally looked back down at her, catching her staring at him. He raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Busted. Caught staring, Midna blushed, looking away. She masked her embarrassment with indignation. "Shouldn't we keep going? The Twilight Mirror might be our only way back to my world, we need to get there fast!" She heard the hero blow out a long sigh, felt the shame at forcing him onwards rise up. She looked back, pretending to see his injury for the first time. "Oh.. but first, your shoulder..." He looked at her, then at his shoulder, as if he hadn't noticed he was cut.
"Huh. Give me a minute." Reaching into one of the pouches he kept around his belt, he pulled out a tightly rolled length of bandage. Cutting a length, he wrapped it around his arm, a makeshift tourniquet to stem the bleeding and keep the wound covered. Pushing himself back upright, he flashed Midna one of those grins - the grin which made her shiver. "There, sorted. I'll dress it properly later." Slinging his shield across his back again, he walked towards the doorway, pausing to glance back at Midna, who seemed to have paused to watch him. "You coming?"
"..Oh, sure." The imp nodded, diving into his shadow quickly to hide another blush. "Let's go." Link rolled his eyes, resuming his pace. He almost thought for a second... Nah. After all, why would Midna be checking me out?