Chapter One
Ashei
She had been watching the battle from her vantage point on the castle, keeping a close eye on Link, and hoping more than anything that the Hero would be successful. Still, it had gone on far longer than it should have, and she couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of her stomach that something had gone horribly wrong. She and the others had held off the monsters in the castle, but if Link were to fall... She didn't want to think about that. No, she couldn't think about that. Too much was at stake for him to fail them now.
And yet... She watched on, more in shock than in horror, as the green-clad figure, so very far away, but still in her line of sight, fell to the ground, the Demon King towering over him, Princess Zelda watching helplessly from the wrong side of the magical barrier. She swore, but didn't have time to process what had happened. She needed to get the others out of the castle, to tell them to run far, far away, out of the kingdom even if they could manage it. She was by no means the oldest of the Resistance, but no one questioned who was in charge. She had taken the lead early on, giving pointers to Rusl on his swordsmanship, even managing to teach Shad some basics of self-defense. She carried herself with the authority only a leader could carry, and she had gained their respect alongside it.
"Get out!" she shouted to Auru, the one closest to her. There was still a chance Link could get back up, but Ashei was not about to risk the others staying around to find out. "Find Rusl and get out." Her heart sank in her chest. She knew how close Rusl and Link had been, and if Link had truly fallen for good... No, there wasn't time to think of such things. She watched as Auru ran along the rooftops, no doubt in search of their companion, and she carefully climbed down.
They had put a plan in place, in the event of failure, though no one had thought they would need to use it. After all, Link had even survived being shot into the sky by a giant cannon. Surely facing off against Ganondorf would have been easy... She shook her head and focused on finding the others. She needed to see that they were okay, physically if not mentally. She sprinted to the edge of the castle grounds and climbed the wall, grateful that, at least for the time being, the monsters were still gone. She knew it would not last though. No, if the Demon King had prevailed, they would return, and they would be out for blood. They could not afford to waste time. They could worry about saving the rest of the kingdom after they worried about saving themselves. They were no good to anyone dead.
She sprinted away from the place, wishing she had brought a horse along. The rendezvous point was still a good ways away. She couldn't even see it from where she was. She hoped Shad had made it out safely. She was fond of the scholar, but he couldn't fight his way out of a wooden crate. Still, they would need his brain, his and Auru's. She and Rusl could fight. Auru had once been able to, but his age was preventing him from doing as much as he once had. Still, though she could fight, she valued the insight Shad and he could provide, the strategies they could form.
Ashei breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the others at the hideout, the place where Ashei's father had once trained young soldiers-to-be, at least before her father had left Hyrule for the mountains. Auru had suggested they return to Telma's bar, but Shad had argued it to be too risky, that everyone knew the Resistance took up headquarters there. It would be one of the first places Ganondorf destroyed, she had no doubt. She saw Telma, sitting next to Rusl, the man looking nothing short of stunned. She glanced over at Auru, who shook his head, sighed and sat as well.
"Is it true?" Shad asked, looking over at her. The others turned to face her as well, Rusl looking at her in desperation. She didn't want to destroy their hopes, but she did not wish to lie to them either.
"I was high up, yeah?" she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She hoped she had not called their retreat too soon, though if she had, that meant Link was still alive, that they could still fight the great evil and save the kingdom, save thousands of lives.
"That's not an answer," Shad sighed, not breaking his gaze. She sighed and nodded, unable to bring herself to say the words aloud. She shut her eyes when she heard the strangled sound escape Rusl's throat, and took a long, deep breath before opening them once more. She hoped more than anything that she was wrong, that this was all some dark nightmare she would wake up from, and that everything would be better in the morning.
She sighed deeply and more collapsed than sat on the ground. They couldn't stay in the place long, and she knew it. Rumors would spread that the Resistance had lived through the encounter at Hyrule Castle, and Ganondorf's forces would be searching high and low for them. That was a problem that could wait for another day, though. For now, they needed to rest, to think, and to mourn their fallen friend.