Hey, the third chapter is up!

Link: Der, it says chapter three!

Jon: Enough, already...

Arae: Do I die??

Jon: Maybe...

Link: Jon doesn't own the Legend of Zelda. Der.

Chapter Three

The large, midnight black dragon screeched at the three kids again. They stumbled backwards as the dragon took a step towards them. The sunlight glinted off its scales and long, sharp talons.

Jon drew his sword. "It's always been my dream to be a dragon slayer…" he said sarcastically to no one in particular. Arae slowly, with trembling hands, drew his sword. Lily hid behind Jon and Arae, shaking uncontrollably.

The dragon's blood red eyes stared right through them. A long, crimson tongue flicked in and out of its mouth. The dragon could smell their fear.

Jon went in his battle stance. "Come on, then," he yelled, taking a step forward. He was just as scared as Arae and Lily, but Jon knew that he couldn't show it. As long as one of them was brave, they were all brave.

The dragon eyed him lazily. It wasn't scared of a small boy with a sword.

"What are you doing?" Arae whispered fiercely. "You'll get us all killed!"

Jon shrugged. "Best to go out fighting, then," he replied.

"Listen," Arae hissed, grabbing Jon's shoulder, "I don't care about you, but I'm the heir to a throne! I can't be going around and getting myself killed!"

Jon shrugged again. "That's your problem, prince boy. Right now, we have bigger problems, and it's got razor-sharp teeth, just waiting to eat you up."

Arae glared at Jon, and then stepped back as he looked at the huge black dragon. The dragon loomed over them like a little boy over a beetle. Its eyes never left the three kids.

"Well, how do we kill that thing?" Lily asked. She wasn't trembling as much as she was, and had drawn her sword.

Jon shrugged for a third time. "I have no clue. But, like they say, you'll never know until you try," he said.

"You aren't suggesting that we ATTACK that dragon, are you?" Arae exclaimed, his voice high-pitched with hysteria.

"Aye, I'm suggesting the very thing," Jon told him, and grinned. "Let's see how much of a battle prince you are!"

The black squares shot down from the sky to form Zant in the middle of Hyrule Field. He looked around, watching for the kids, but he saw no trace of them. "Did they already go to Hyrule Castle…?" Zant wondered aloud. "No… they can't be that far already," he muttered, looking in every direction for any sign of them.

Did I teleport them here? Zant thought. I was in a hurry to get them away, especially that boy. Maybe, in my haste… I teleported them…

The realization of where he had teleported them struck him like a stone. Zant stood stock still for a moment, and then groaned. "I'm such a fool…" he said to himself.

An arrow shot by his shoulder, quivering in the ground. Zant whirled around to see three boars charging towards him, and goblin-like creatures were riding the creatures, two on each one. The goblins seemed to have about as much control over the beasts as Zant did, which was not at all. One creature seemed to have better balance than the rest, and had shot the arrow at Zant, but the boar had thrashed about as it saw the arrow fly over, and the goblin had fallen off, only to be trampled by the boar following behind.

Zant sighed. He pointed his sleeved arm at the boars, and a black ray shot out from his hand. The beam flew straight into the boar, killing it as it struck its head. The boar roared as it crashed to the ground, sending its occupant flying into the grass. The other two boars skidded to a halt, obviously hesitant to attack Zant. He used the moment's reprieve to teleport himself away, leaving the goblins to turn back and go back to where they came from, their numbers less.

The dragon reared up on its hind legs as it saw the boy charge. The sight of the black dragon at its full height obviously had an effect on the boy; he stopped and stumbled backwards, fear shining in his eyes. The dragon screeched and rested on the ground again, making the ground tremor.

"Damn," Jon breathed, every limb shaking. His palms were sweaty. The sight of the black dragon towering above him, its scales reflecting sunlight and its talons gleaming, reminded Jon of how hopeless his attack was.

Arae and Lily were obviously shaken by the sight, and Jon dashed back to them. "Well," Arae muttered, "that went well."

"Well, throw that plan out the window," Jon said. "Let's regroup and think of another form of attack."

"Another form of attack?" Arae repeated. "Are you seriously this suicidal? It's obvious that anything we do won't even faze that dragon!"

"Much as I hate to admit it, Arae's got a point," Lily pointed out. "There's no where we can hide if that dragon decides to attack, and we aren't getting anywhere by just waiting for it to get hungry."

Jon nodded thoughtfully. "You're right. We need to make a plan of escape…" He paused for a minute. "That aughta work."

"What aught to work?" Lily asked. She didn't like the daring gleam in Jon's eyes.

"Well, you two are heirs to some royal thrones, right?" Jon asked. Arae nodded hastily, and Lily nodded a bit more slowly. "Well," Jon said, and took a breath. "I'll distract the dragon, and you two slowly move back until you feel that the dragon is distracted enough, and then book it outta' here."

"Are. You. CRAZY?!" Arae exclaimed hysterically. "That dragon would eat you as soon as look at you, and then it would fly after us and eat us too!"

Lily nodded hastily. "Yes! And I cannot let you lay your life on the line for our safety!" she told him sternly.

Jon grinned. "Aye, but I don't listen to any prince or princess. I've been pressed into your services as a loyal soldier, and 'tis my duty to make sure you two are unharmed," he told them.

"He's got a point," Arae muttered, and cringed as Lily turned on him.

"Well, I think that you'd be doing a better job at protecting us by staying with us instead of going on this suicide mission," she told Jon hotly.

Jon pondered Lily's comment. "You're right. So, I've got a better idea. I'll see if I can get that dragon under my control, and then we can hightail it outta here!" he said, and dashed off towards the dragon.

"No! Jon! Wait!" Lily cried helplessly as Jon ran towards the black dragon, who eyed him hungrily. She groaned sadly and sat down. "I can't watch…"

Arae watched Jon with mixed feelings. He was happy that Jon would get eaten, because then he would have Lily all to himself. Arae felt jealous, and wished that he had half the courage that Jon had. Arae felt shameful, because he was letting some strange boy put his life on the line for an obviously doomed mission.

Arae watched as Jon slowly began to circle the dragon, the beast turning its head to keep Jon in view. He was suddenly struck by an idea. What if he went around the other side to jump onto Ganondorf's saddle that was still on the dragon? The reins to control the dragon were off, but Arae wondered if he stayed on long enough, if the dragon would forget he was there...

He steeled himself, and, gripping his sword tightly, turned to Lily. "Don't move," Arae said, and crept forward until the dragon's gaze was burning into Jon, and then dashed to the dragon's side.

"Oh, dear…" Lily sobbed, and held her head in her hands.

Arae: YAY! I didn't die!

Lily: Whaddya know? You're being brave for once.

Arae: Ah, shuddup.

Jon: You two love birds...