Chapter 38 – Back to Kakariko

The sun rose over the peaks of the mountains encircling Lake Hylia and the Great Bridge, tainting the glistening surface of the water in a bright orange. The lake seemed very quiet and peaceful in this warm light of the morning, as if it tried to erase the horrid events that had come to pass just that last night. It was as if all this had never happened.

Midna shifted slightly as her troubled sleep bade her farewell, her one eye slowly opening to focus on the white and red skin before her nose. Her clearing ears heard a faint rasping in the distance, as if someone tried to breathe while a hand was about to throttle them.

As the memories of the last night came crashing upon her again, the voice echoing in the suffocated breaths coming directly from beside her drew the most deep fright in her being. She immediately sprang to her feet and wondered at the same moment why she had seen white and red skin before her face where she had lain. The answer to that was even more alarming.

Link laid there before her on the ground, his breaths coming in rasps as his chest didn't have enough strength to heave completely. His head moved slightly from left to right, his closed eyes were screwed up and his teeth gritted in agony. Sweat was glistening on his entire face and forehead and running in thin rivulets down his skin. The cause to that could not be overlooked.

The cuts all across his upper body bled lightly, tainting his green tunic in a deep crimson. The blood had also run down his chest and neck next to which Midna had rested and seen the red coloured skin of his exposed throat. The sand beneath him was sticking to her fingers as she fell down on her knees, raising her hands to look all over her and seeing that blood also covered her entire body. Aghast, she turned to Link and carefully placed a hand on his forehead.

''You're burning,'' she said in a low voice.

Her sight turned to his neckline where the blood seeped out of the longest and widest cut the Shard had caused him. It was actually the only part of wound which she was able to see, for all the other injuries were under his clothes and their presence could only be guessed by the dark stains of blood above them.

As she leaned over him to open the laces of his white shirt that covered his neck, she at last saw what kind of wound Link had endured, or at least what she could make out through the blood welled up in them.

The cut was almost a centimetre large and three deep, beginning right under his collarbone and traversing his breast to disappear under his garb. But something more alarming caught her attention. In the middle of the cut, something black and violet glistened through the blood like dark sand, reminding her of the Shadow Crystal Zant had forced upon Link. The colour and structure was almost the same, and it was this that frightened her so much; she couldn't do anything to heal him, for her power wasn't strong enough to cast away the dark magic Ganondorf had gifted to Zant.

But something had to be done! Link was bleeding to death, and she was the only one who knew of his bad condition. He was already feverish from the amount of blood he had lost during the night, and by the sight of him turning his head slightly this way and that, he wasn't really aware of his surrounding, his mind hanging somewhere between unconsciousness and being awake.

As she worked to tie up the lacing of his shirt again, she accidentally touched the bleeding wound with one finger. Instantly, Link moaned at the burning pain shooting through his chest, clenching his fist tightly and baring his teeth in torment. Midna's hand shot back, and she mentally scolded herself for having been so careless and clumsy with her fingers. ''I'm sorry ...'' she begged, lying a hand on his shoulder to ease his agitated nerves.

His breaths calmed down a bit, continuing in sharp rasps as his fist relaxed its grip, though his eyes remained closed tightly.

''It hurts ...'' he muttered, but it was not said in accusation of Midna's inadvertent touch. His voice was infested by the only thing he could feel at the moment.

Pain.

Understanding the true meaning of this short reply, Midna caressed his forehead gently, a sympathetic look in her single eye. ''I know ...'' she answered, deep concern in her voice.

As her sight wandered down his body, her searching eye stopped on his belt, on a small leather lacing looking out of one of his pouches. Curious but a little confused that such a small detail had caught her full attention, she moved slowly to it, being more careful now so as not to touch Link's sore body. Her fingers wrapped around the lace, pulling it out and discovering that it was the golden shining, ornately curved Horsecall Ilia had given him the evening she had regained her memory.

She tumbled backwards, having not expected to find this item in one of Link's pouches. She was a little thoughtful as to why he didn't carry it around his neck like Ilia had done before.

But now was not the time to dawdle in questioning herself. The Horsecall would provide itself useful, and without hesitation, she blew inside.

The shrill, ear-piercing squeak shooting out of it let both Midna and Link wince in fright. That didn't sound right at all. She heard Link moan softly in his febrile sleep, and she apologized to him even if she knew that he didn't really notice her. She then looked thoughtfully at the instrument, discovering only now that it had three holes on either side of its hoove-like shape, just wide enough to cover them with her fingers. As she blew through the mouthpiece again, she covered two holes on both pipes, being more careful now to not disturb Link's half-sleep.

The sound coming out of the flute was much clearer and softer, a real note. Smiling at her little victory, she searched in her memory for the melody Link always whistled to call for his horse. Because it was exactly what they needed; a horse to bring Link to Kakariko, the only village she knew that housed a shaman capable of helping him. She had already witnessed the abilities of the Kakarikan enough times when he had tended to Link's multiple wounds, and that had convinced her that the healer would find a way of freeing Link from his atrocious sufferings.

The little tune consisted of three notes, the first rather high, followed by another, more lower sound separated from the first by one note. The third was just a note under the second, completing the simple melody to become Epona's song.

What was more difficult was playing the tune, for her small fingers were barely big enough to cover the holes completely, letting the notes sound muffled and wrong. She pressed her skin deeply into the holes so that, after a moment, her fingers were so numb that she couldn't feel them any more. But she managed to play the song several times, the soft melody being carried away by the low winds blowing through the mountains around her and echoing against the flat sides of the Great Bridge of Hylia.

After a few minutes, she lowered the flute, catching her breath from the constant blowing. She had a strange, tingling feeling on her lips which she had never sensed before. This annoyed her, and she rubbed at her mouth vigorously, willing the itch to stop. But that made her lips ache in their turn, and she clapped her hand over them to ease the soft pain. Suddenly, her knees gave way under her, and she sank down to the ground.

Sitting there, she stared at the white sand before her, lost in thoughts. It was the first time she felt really helpless, unable to do anything. Her head turned to Link, watching him silently. He was either deeply asleep, gathering the strength left in him to stay alive, or hovering in an unconsciousness that held him away from the worst sufferings, protecting him against the harsh pain in his entire body. Whatever was true, he would not have enough energy to hold on for long any more, for his breaths were already so weak that even their rasping had stopped, and she could only see if he was breathing by the soft heaves of his chest.

Hopefully, Epona had heard the song of the Horsecall and was already on the way to help her injured master. Now, all Midna could do was wait.

The time passed, every minute seeming to last for an eternity. She had moved back at Link's side, her hand again resting on his shoulder. It made her feel much more at ease, touching him lightly to feel his body shift with his soft breaths. She wanted so desperately to hear his heart beat, but she dared not place her ear on his breast by fear to hurt him even more.

As she leaned over him anew to caress his forehead, supporting herself on her right arm, she suddenly winced in pain as she shifted her weight a bit. Looking down her arm, she noticed only now the long cut stretching down from her elbow to her wrist, filled with gritty sand and small pebbled of earth sticking to her bloody skin. Widening her eye in surprise, she inspected the wound. It confused her why she hadn't felt the pain before, but as she applied pressure on it, she nearly yelled in agony, stifling the scream with her other arm.

Something glistened in her left hand, touching her lips as she held her fingers on them. She tasted metal, finding that the golden Horsecall still lingered in her grip. Staring at it, memories flashed through her mind, images of that night she had so loathed, when Ilia had regained her memory, when she and Link had embraced themselves, had exchanged soft words, and how she had felt so strange, so sick, so betrayed. This thing in her hand had once belonged to Ilia, that frail girl that had gained Link's worry, his feelings, his care. And she hated her for that. Hated her because Link cared about her, and because she wished with all her heart that he felt the same for her as well. As she had kissed him that last night, she had realized just how much she loved him, but would he ever feel the same? Would there ever be a time when he would acknowledge her true feelings about him, and what was more important, accept them, or perhaps even return them?

Was there someone he loved? Was it Ilia? If this were so, he would have kept the Horsecall close to his heart, hanging it around his neck. But he had stocked it in his pouch, and she burned to know why. It could have been a little thread of hope, hope that Ilia was not the one. That her own modest self had still a chance in gaining his care she so wished to have.

Her eye had not shifted from the golden flute all the time of her musings. Shaking herself loose, she crawled to his belt and was just about to open the leather pouch, when a thought flashed through her mind. Hesitating, she eyed the instrument, a thin frown on her face. Her fingers wrapped around the lacing of the object, toying with it as she thought hard. After a moment, she shook her head and plugged the Horsecall back into her companion's catchall.

Just at that moment, a clanking noise echoed through the mountains, becoming louder as it approached the shore where Link and Midna cowered. Soon, the reddish fur and white mane of Epona appeared in the bright light of the morning sun as she galloped at high speed in their direction.

Neighing loudly, she skidded to a halt a few meters away from them as soon as she saw her master lying on the ground. Lowering her head to the sand, she approached Link slowly until her nostrils touched his cheek softly. A faint, pleading sound emanated from her throat as she nudged him gently, willing him to wake up, to greet her.

Link's head turned limply at her touch, but he breathed in deeply as he woke from his sleep, recognizing her by the smooth skin of her nostrils. ''Epona ...'' he whispered feebly, his voice having not the strength any more to raise itself.

The strong mare snorted happily as he pronounced her name, and she lowered herself to the ground beside his head to stroke her master's cheek carefully. But she couldn't understand why he didn't stand up, didn't patter her mane like he always did to praise her for having obeyed his call. Missing this gesture of care, she moved her big head to his shoulder and gave him an asking clout, wanting him to stand up.

But the moment her nostrils knocked into his upper arm, Link yelled in pain, his scream scaring Epona who sprang to her hooves again and ran a few meters away from him, ducking her head and flattening her ears in fright and guilt of having hurt her master. That was when a shrill voice rang out from beside Link, its tone irate and accusing. ''No! Are you mad? Stupid horse!''

Midna was standing on Link's other side, her arms tensed and her fists clenched tightly as she stared angrily at Epona before letting herself fall on her knees to look after Link. He had tried to clap a hand over his chest to ease the screaming torment, but by his exhaustion, his arm had only shifted a few inches away from his torso. Stroking his forehead to calm him down, she spoke softly to him, trying despairingly to ease his pain.

After a moment, she heard airless thuds approaching her and Link, and she raised her head to look into the silent eyes of Epona, who stopped her advance the moment the imp glanced at her. The crimson horse lowered her head, showing a deep shame in the gesture. Midna was surprised at this movement from a simple horse, but she could clearly see the deep worry and beg for pardon in those big, brown eyes.

''You don't have to apologize to me,'' she said in her accusing tone. ''It's Link you have hurt.''

Epona let out a snort, turning her sight to her injured rider. Taking the few steps that separated them, she again lowered her head to nudge Link carefully, letting out a soft neigh of forgiveness. Link took a deep and rattling inhale, preparing himself to speak, or rather to mutter.

''It's all ... right ... Epona ... all ... right ...'' His voice choked as pronouncing the words alone became an unbearable torture. He fell silent again, expiring the air in his effeteness as his mind lost itself anew in unconsciousness. His head turned limply to the side, deprived of any supporting energy he might have had before he had spoken.

Midna watched him with a worrying look, but she straightened herself quickly. There was no time to waste.

Her rapid shifting frightened Epona again, and she threw her head into the air before looking distrustfully at the strange black creature in front of her. Midna let out an annoyed breath; she would have to deal with this stupid horse at first. ''Listen.'' she said, raising a hand to her. ''Your master is gravely wounded, and we must bring him to Kakariko. Please, you don't have to be afraid of me, I won't hurt you. Just calm down and let me do.''

With that, she moved around Link to approach Epona from the side, her body hovering upward as she stretched out her arms and reached for the big saddle the horse always carried. She clapped the strong leather up that was hanging down the sides to discover three buckles holding the broad strap around Eponas belly which kept the saddle in place, and she pulled hard on the finely woven throngs to work them out of the clasps. One by one, they clanged down until the belt finally dropped with the buckles lying in the sand, the gritty pebbles sticking to their silver metal from the sweat on Epona's fur.

''We don't need this thing, it will only slow us down.'' Midna explained to the mare and grabbed one end of the now loose saddle to lug at it with all her might. With a loud bump, it crashed down to the sand.

Epona shifted nervously but held her ground; she seemed to perceive that Midna was a friend of Link and that she wanted to help him in his time of need. Even if she didn't understand what had happened and why Link was in such a bad state, she trusted the tiny black imp that she would find a way of getting her beloved master back on his feet.

Midna stroked over her chin, thinking about how she might lift Link on Epona's back without doing him more harm. That was not an easy task, for Link, even if he was quite short for a Hylian, weighed far more than her little arms could lift. She would have to use her magic to let him hover, but that meant sacrificing a lot of her energy she might need to defend themselves on the long path towards Kakariko.

Epona cast an interested look over to her, trying to guess what she was about to do next. As the imp gazed between the big horse and Link on the ground, a puzzled look in her single eye, Epona suddenly lowered herself to the sand once more, lining her massive body parallel to Link's immobile frame but the other way round so that her head was next to his legs. She then glanced at Midna with an inviting look, snorting her onward.

Midna stared for a moment at her, still amazed just how intelligent this horse was. But it was then that she realized; Epona had been Link's partner for a very long time, surely much longer than Midna, but their bond was at least as strong than the one binding herself and Link together. That thought alone made her smile. Epona, just as she, would have done everything to save Link, and so their goals were alike. Only together, they would be successful in passing the dangerous fields across Hyrule, and only together, they would be able to bring Link to Kakariko alive.

''Okay, eh, Epona. We can do this, can we?'' she said in a friendly voice, approaching the mare slowly to patter her mane softly, just as she had seen Link do before. The crimson horse, in return, let out a neigh of agreement, throwing her head about.

Midna smiled and turned to Link, gathering all her strength to call for her twilight powers deep within her. Concentrating hard, she closed her eye, raising both arms, and suddenly a thick cloud of black and green bubbles gushed around Link's limp body, pushing and pressing themselves underneath him to let him hover upward. She grunted as the effort pulled at her energy, but she withstood the strain valiantly and slowly lifted Link up into the air about one meter from the ground.

His arms and head were hanging down weakly, letting him seem to float exactly the same way Midna had seen him that last night underwater, just before Lanayru had rescued him. The memory was more than distressing, but she didn't let it swallow her in its misery, for she had to focus on all her strength so as not to let Link crash down to the sand again, which would have fatal, perhaps even mortal consequences for him.

Epona neighed in fright at seeing her master fly, but she didn't move as Midna let Link hover in her direction, raising his upper body so that he would land on his horse as if he sat on her. His head fell loosely on his chest as his torso bend over, but as soon as he alighted on Epona's back and the bubbles didn't support him any more, his upper body toppled over to land hard on her neckline. He immediately let out a moan of pain as his injured chest crashed hard into the soft fur of his horse, his arms hanging down weakly on either side of her strong body.

As soon as Link laid on her, Epona stood up from the ground, being careful not to shake him too much. She knew now that every single shifting of his agonizing body caused him incredible suffering, and if he already had to bear the motions of her walking steps until they arrived at the mountain village, she would try to move as smoothly as possible.

Midna shook her arms with a light grimace as the amount of energy that had cost her the hovering of Link left her instantly, but she didn't let the tiredness come over her. There was no time to rest.

Closing her eye briefly, she searched in the dimension of her magic for the cloak Link had demanded her to take when they were in Celestia, the sacred city in the sky. Letting it appear in her hands, she flew towards Link to cover him with the black mantle which let him disappear almost completely under its width. Only his hanging arms looked out from under it, his head also having been covered with the hood of the cloak. This would protect him against the worst heat of the sun on their long journey towards Kakariko.

As Midna cast a checking glance over the shore where they had passed the night, she only now discovered the blue and red painted metal of the Hylian Shield and the indigo scabbard of the Master Sword lying a few meters away from the red coloured sand. She remembered how Lanayru had freed Link from their weight as it had deposed him on the ground, probably because the weapons had also pressed his airway shut as they had pushed his torso up, squashing his chest from underneath him.

Turning her head to send a thankful nod towards the entrance of the Light Spirit's cavern, she flicked her fingers to let Link's weapons disappear in her twilight dimension, snapping a second time in order to also lock Epona's big saddle away. With that, she walked back to the horse, casting a sad look of concern towards the feeble hand gazing out from under the black cloth that covered the seriously wounded Link.

The Hero chosen by the goddesses who had incurred terrible sufferings in order to fulfil the duty the five Sages had charged him with, to keep the oath he had sworn to the Old Hero, or perhaps to simply satisfy his own wish in helping her, Midna, collecting the last Mirror Piece she needed to get back to her realm.

At that thought, her confused feeling for him made their appearance in form of a single tear stroking over her cheek, and for a moment, she just stood there, staring at the darkened symbol of the Triforce upon Link's left hand.

Was it her he had had in mind as he had battled underwater against the lack of air and the cruelty of the Mirror?

But before she had the time to ponder on this reflection, she felt a soft nudge on her shoulder. Turning her head, she glanced into the beautiful eyes of Epona, who watched her with a silent question in her look.

Shall we go?

Midna caressed her nostrils softly. ''Yes.''

0

The sun shone brightly over South Hyrule Field. Because of the intense heat of the hot light, the air above the dried ground glimmered softly to transform the dirt path into a sandy desert. Not one single wave of wind disturbed the high grass growing densely across the fields, the only sound echoing in Midna's ears were the songs of the crickets and Epona's hooves on the dry earth.

They had walked nearly three hours without any halt, and by the intense warmth of the sun above, sweat already glistened on her entire face. She had fallen back to march behind Epona, for her small feet were not accustomed to walk fast and long. But she had refused to hover by her twilight magic by fear to loose all her energy before they reached the mountain village. Riding Epona was also out of question, for her additional weight would only have slowed them down.

And so, she struggled behind the strong mare, using the black bubbles only when the distance between them became too great.

Near midday, they had already travelled half the distance, and they were just passing the border to the Eldin Province, when Midna suddenly heard a strange sound. She saw how Epona halted instantly, raising her head and looking around in alarm. The imp flew to her and landed in front of her, placing a hand on her neck to calm her down. Casting suspicious glances all around them, she searched the horizon for any threat that could attack them.

It was then that the odd noise echoed again. It sounded a bit like a horn coming from behind a group of trees in front of them, but that was already enough to send the deepest fright into Midna's bones. Epona neighed in panic and danced around, but Midna shouted at her. ''No! Don't move! Remember, you carry Link on your back.''

At her master's name, the horse immediately stood still, only her head moved about as she looked around frantically. Midna pattered her mane softly. ''That's right, good girl.''

A yellow flash suddenly raced past Midna's head, missing her by inches as it embedded itself in the ground behind her. Epona jerked her massive head into the air, eyes widened in fright, but Midna had already seen the bulblin archer on top of the rock about thirty meters away and immediately moved into action.

She shrieked savagely as she released her magic, shooting a deadly ball of flames towards the enemy and killing it instantly. With a dying screech, the bulblin tumbled down the rock, landing face down in the dust.

Breathing hard, Midna stood there with her fists clenched tightly. Her limbs were shaking with rage, but after a moment, she relaxed her tautness as she heard Epona coming towards her. The soft nostrils of the crimson horse stroked over her cheek, letting Midna smile at her in return. ''This one won't do us no harm any more, eh, Epona?'' she said.

But before she had the time to breathe after her sentence, the ground beneath their feet and hooves suddenly began to quake. From the corner of her eye, Midna saw more orange lights coming at them from behind them. She turned around in terror and put out her arms at the same moment to create a magical shield above her and Epona. Just in time to repulse nearly fifty arrows racing towards them, glowing ominously at their point aflame.

The shafts crashed against her magic, bouncing off it and landing a few meters away in the grass.

Galloping towards them, a horde of big, dirty grey coloured boars carrying numbers of bulblins appeared in front of them, shooting arrows madly at them. That was too much for Epona, she couldn't hold still any more. She neighed loudly and hysterically, rearing her massive body into the air. Midna screamed out ''NO!'' and grabbed her reins, pulling with all her strength to get her back on her front hooves.

As the horse landed down again, she looked frantically around her to peer on her back. The black cloak was still draped around Link's lying frame, and she could see how he pressed his arms and hands tightly around Epona's neck to stay on her. But his lacking strength was not enough to remain were he was. His torso was slowly slipping sideways to bend over dangerously, holding only with his right arm that couldn't find any halt in Epona's short hair. Midna let out a shriek of horror as she saw him fall head first from his horse.

That was when Epona suddenly let herself drop down to her right side, which caused Link to land smoothly with his stomach on her soft belly. She managed to catch his toppling body so exactly that he didn't even touch the ground but merely sprawled over her left side, bouncing off gently without any violent recoil. This happened so quickly and unforeseen that Midna's jaw fell agape, staring at Link's swaying figure which moved only with Epona's fluttering heckles.

She had to dislodge herself loose from her stare to pivot around, facing the boars coming directly towards them. She bared her single tooth in anger and turned her head at the same moment to shout at Epona. ''Stay behind me and don't move! What ever happens, do not move!''

An agreeing snort came for answer, and with that she focused her attention on the approaching riders again.

They came closer, and closer, knocking new arrows to shoot them down. And Midna waited nervously that they came close enough for her attack to have the strongest effect without endangering herself and the two behind her. She waited until their animals were about a hundred meters away, and with a wild screech, she threw herself forward.

Her magic formed a dark, red orb that grew bigger and bigger with every second the monsters galloped closer, and as the ball was nearly as big as herself, she threw her arms in front of her, catapulting the magic towards them. The attack burst out in an incredible, deadly field of force that knocked brutally into the beasts, slicing directly through them and separating them in their midsection. The divided bodies rained down to the ground, and their blood sprayed outward in all directions the moment the spell hit them.

The boars were now even more frightened. Some lost their balance and crashed down to the ground, somersaulting wildly in the dirt just to land on their sides, legs or neck broken in half. Others ran past them and disappeared behind the hills that spread over the Province, never to be seen again.

All that was left from this attack were the severed corpses of the bulblins lying in a bloody heap in the high grass and the extinguished arrows scattered all over the place.

Midna vacillated a little as the big amount of energy that had flowed into her strong attack left her small body, but she didn't care about that. With shaking legs, she moved around and hurried to the fallen crimson horse and her wounded master.

Epona lifted her head to look in her direction, and Midna could see her eyes glistening with jovial pride at having saved Link from his dangerous downfall. She cast a weary smile at her to praise her before turning her attention to her companion.

It was a rather precarious thing to get Link back on Epona without causing his harm, and it took nearly half an hour for her to lift him up with her twilight magic and place him safely on his horse again, for her strength was always leaving her when Link was halfway up and by fear that she would loose her hold on him, she always let him down once more to take a little rest before trying it again. Epona did what she could to help, always standing up when Link left her belly but letting herself fall down again as Midna lowered him anew.

As she managed at last to depose him gently on her back, they were both so exhausted that they plummeted down in the dust, Epona naturally with the utmost caution; she knelt on her four legs wherein Midna laid on her back and watched the clouds passing by. They were both panting in exhaustion from the effort and the intense heat of the singeing sun, taking the time to gather a bit of strength for the last part of the travel. They still had to pass the bridge over the gorge, and enter Kakariko safely. And who knew what threats awaited them further in the Province?

After a while, Midna straightened herself again and supported herself on Epona to stand up. It was just then that the aftermath of her strong attack sprang into her eye, letting her gasp in fright.

The divided bulblins were widespread all over the field. A large pool of blood expanded outward to taint the grass in a deep red, making the sight seem all the more scaring. Midna widened her eye in horror and looked down at her hands, not wanting to believe that it was herself who had done such a cruel thing. A strange kind of sadness overcame her soul, the realization that she really was capable of an attack so strong and so brutal, even if the victims had been hideous enemies such as the bulblins and their stinking boars. But … a massacre remained a massacre, no matter who the victims were. It was just a horrible slaughter, nothing more.

Midna only shook her head in dismay. At that moment, she swore to herself that she would never use this attack again.

It was Epona who pulled her out of her stare by snorting loudly, reminding her that they had to move on. She turned her back to the bloody carcasses and walked back to the path, Epona following her. ''I will stay behind you so that I can keep an eye on Link.'' she said, waving her onward. ''We have to hurry, the dead bodies will soon be found, and we cannot allow us any further delay. Link will not hold on for long any more.''

And with that, their journey continued. Like she had said, Midna remained a few meters behind Epona and searched the horizon for more enemies. She still had a heavy feeling in her legs, but that pain was not important. Link had to come first, he was in a much worse condition that she.

And things only worsened.

Her aching limbs carried her along the path, the soft thuds of her small feet stirring the powdery dust to little clouds floating around her and making her almost sneeze. But soon, her soles made contact with something else, an odd coloured substance coiling up between her soiled toes and running over the black skin of her left foot. Confused, she raised her leg to peer under the limb, and gasped as she discerned that it was blood. Looking in front of her, she discovered a thin line of red following the big footprints Epona left behind. The horse must have had a wound somewhere from the attack of the bulblins, perhaps an arrow that had grazed her or an injury from her heroical catching.

''Epona, wait!'' called Midna and ran along the path to her. The strong mare halted calmly and turned her head to look in her direction. Midna slowed down next to her, taking the last few steps towards her to get under her big belly. With eyes formed to small slits, she searched the reddish fur for any injury the horse might have endured. She had to lift her sight to check Epona over, for the mare was incredibly tall compared to her small impish frame.

As she felt around the hairy skin of Epona's underbelly, her look wandered along as well, but she couldn't find any wound that could have lost blood dripping down. ''Epona, I'm sorry, but I can't find your wound, it must be somewhere on … your b-back … ''. Midna's voice became lower as her words died away, her sight lingering on the red coloured limb just above her head.

It was not Epona's blood that was dripping down on the ground … but Link's.

His hand which she stared at was streaming with blood, thin rivulets running along his ashen skin to transform into droplets at the point of his fingers. In a constant rhythm, those drops separated from his fingertips and fell down to form a puddle of scarlet on the dry earth just next to Epona.

Midna didn't know what to do any more. Her movements were stiff as she stretched out an arm, floating upwards to slowly lift the cloak covering Link's head. His pale face was drenched in sweat and burning in fever, but to be sure that he was still alive, Midna carefully placed two fingers on his throat to search for his pulse, feeling it's feeble pounding under her fingertips. Her stare was blank as she pulled the mantle over him again and landed down beside Epona once more, who watched her with an anxious look.

''We have to hurry … '' she said in a monotonous voice. '' … or Link will not reach Kakariko alive.''

Something trembled in her throat, an unspoken sorrow that overcame her troubled mind as the reality of the circumstances unveiled it's gruesome face. This time, Link really was in mortal danger, and he truly could die every minute he laid there on his faithful horse and bled his veins empty. But they already were in the Eldin Province, and Death Mountain with Kakariko at it's base laid just ahead, the soft glimmering of the lava on top of the mountain shining in the bright afternoon skies like a beacon guiding them to their destination. They could still reach the mountain village in time before it was too late, before Link's loss of blood became mortal.

This hope was all Midna needed to rouse herself to move on, walking with determined steps towards the raging mountain of fire towering ominously above them. The heat of the setting sun didn't affect her any more, for her mind was focused and strengthened by the fierce determination reigning in her soul. Link did not surrender as he had been underwater battling with the Mirror Shard, and so, neither would she give up to save his life. That was her duty, not as a companion, but as a friend, and she would fulfil it whatever might happen.

000