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Enjoy the next Chapter of Happier!
Link's eyes opened again, though he was not in the Dark Land when they did. He was in the Land of Light—in Hyrule Castle to be exact. The last time he was in this castle, he met Zelda for the first time, though their introduction had been a little rushed.
The King was throwing a party in Castletown for the whole kingdom to celebrate Zelda's seventeenth birthday. It was Link's first time to the town not on business, and he was excited to explore the town—and maybe even see the princess. Link noted that the princess was late to her own party, probably getting dressed for the occasion. Link would later count this as a blessing, because Ganondorf attacked when the party was to officially begin. He announced his arrival with an explosion of purple energy in the bomb shop. The explosion was enough to send dozens of Hylians running away. Any who didn't immediately run were soon terrified as Ganondorf began wreaking havoc in Castle Town. He wielded a sword the size of Link's body, and tore kiosks and guards to shreds as he marched purposefully towards the King in the center of the town.
Link was one of the few people who didn't run away, but stood to fight. He grabbed a sword and shield from a fallen guard and charged Ganondorf. But he was soon blasted off his feet as Ganondorf held out his hand and hurled a ball of energy at Link.
Winded and breathing laboriously, Link shook his head and got back to his feet just in time to see the King's sword being hit from his hand by Ganondorf's mighty sword.
Link dizzily stumbled towards the king some twenty yards away, and could just make out the words, "I am Ganondorf of the Dark Land. I am here to take your kingdom. Bow before me and tell me where your daughter is hiding."
"I'll die first!" the king shouted.
"That can be arranged."
Link shouted in horror as Ganondorf thrust his sword through the belly of the King. The King's eyes widened in pain and shock before he fell backwards, the sword sliding out of his body. Ganondorf chuckled before turning to the castle and began running.
Link pulled out his bow, notched an arrow, and angrily pulled back and released. The arrow pierced Ganondorf's leg as he ran towards the castle. But he was too determined to turn around and take care of Link. Instead, he kept running, almost as if he didn't feel any pain.
Link went to check on the king, and knew immediately the wound was fatal.
His Majesty's final words begged Link to save and protect his daughter, and revealed her room's location in the palatial castle.
Link rushed to the castle behind Ganondorf, who had cut down several guards on his way. While Ganondorf went through the front gates, however, Link went to the side wall and began scaling the castle wall. According to the King, her room should be just three floors up. Fortunately, the castle bricks and stones made the climbing relatively easy, and soon he was at the window of her bedroom.
He clambered in through the window, and Zelda had a sword to his neck before he was standing upright.
Zelda would later explain to Link, during their ensuing journey, that she lowered the sword immediately because she could see in his eyes he was a pure man.
In as kind and gentle of words he could muster, Link warned Zelda of the impending danger. They heard screams coming from down the hall, verifying Link's story. Zelda grabbed his arm and rushed to a fireplace in her room. After pulling a lever, the back wall of the fireplace slid open, revealing a staircase. They used the escape route only she and her father knew existed, and it landed them at the rear of the castle. As they ran from the castle grounds into the forest behind, they looked back and saw Ganondorf from her third floor window shout down at them.
"I will find you, Princess Zelda. And Hyrule will be mine!"
And after a couple of months, Ganondorf did find Zelda, and he took her back to his kingdom with the intent to perform a ceremony to merge his and her kingdoms. Fortunately, Link arrived before any more damage was done to Hyrule and saved the princess, as he had promised the king.
And now, his eyes opened once more in Hyrule castle, without any danger of Ganondorf harming Zelda.
"Zelda!" Link shouted, sitting upright immediately. It hurt to move, to breathe, and to keep his eyes open. And yet he needed to know she had made it here safely. He swung his legs out of the bed he was lying in and tried to stand up. It took him a moment to keep the room from spinning, but he managed and pushed through the pain to get to the door.
The door flew open just as Link reached for the handle and she was standing there. Dressed in her princess attire for the first time in over a month, Zelda looked radiant. Link knew she was beautiful. He had known before he had even met her—the whole countryside knew. He spent parts of two months with her as they simultaneously ran from Ganondorf and tried to destroy him through seeking the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage. But even now, she stood before him and he saw her as he never had before.
"Link!" she managed to gasp out, a smile replacing her shocked expression. Link reached forward and cupped her face in his hands.
Feeling her warm, soft skin in his hands was the final proof he needed. "Zelda, you're okay…" He brought her in for a warm and close embrace. She gladly returned the hug, but soon ended it.
"I'm okay?" she questioned incredulously. "Of course I'm okay! But you must be in such pain! Get back in bed right now."
The mention of pain brought it all back to him, and soon Link was gladly back in bed and sipping a red-hued potion at his bedside. "You go back to bed, now. And sleep for a couple of days. I'll be here when you wake."
Exhaustion and magical healing was soon overcoming Link. As consciousness faded once more, he heard himself mumble a response. "Nothing could make me happier for the rest of my life."
Days went by, and Link steadily got more and more healthy. The time came to mourn the loss of his best friend—the fairy he had had since he was a young boy. He mourned the lives he took of guards in the Dark Land who were merely doing their job. He mourned the lives of the scores of people killed or affected by Ganondorf's insidious plot.
But in the mourning there was joy. There was joy in the peace that had returned to Hyrule. Joy as families and communities came together to rebuild and find happiness. And joy because of the one constant in Link's mourning and joy—Zelda.
She was there each time he woke, as she promised. As Link had been there for her when she mourned the death of her father, she now returned the favor with the sacrifice of Dara. They talked about hope for the kingdom. They recounted horrors they had seen and laughed at the memories of some of the people they had met in their journey.
Soon, Link was up and walking around the castle with only a cane to steady the pain in his leg and keep upright when he had dizzy spells. They figured he had been concussed in his first battle with Ganondorf, and with time and rest would return to normal in a few weeks.
He and Zelda enjoyed a nice stroll around the castle each morning. Leaning on his cane, as they walked, Link asked, "So how exactly did you get me back here?"
Zelda glanced up at him and continued her leisurely pace. "Well, when you blacked out, I knew I needed to get to the Dark Temple and find the portal you told me about. So I used my magic to levitate you over to the temple…"
"You levitated me the whole way?" Link asked incredulously. "How could you make it that far? It must have been exhausting!"
They entered the courtyard, where a beautiful fountain stood before them. Zelda sat on a bench in front of the fountain and motioned for Link to sit down. He was grateful, because his head was starting to feel light.
"Well," she said slowly, and emotion filled her voice. "I could ask you the same thing. I have no idea how you even had the strength to arrive in the Dark Land, much less defeat that monster."
Link looked up into her face and responded. "When someone you care about is in danger…you find a new strength and energy you didn't know existed before."
She stared right back at him. "Exactly."
Link found that his hand was holding her on the bench between them. He didn't mind.
Zelda looked down at her lap and continued. "When I got through the portal, the priest of the Temple of Time was nearby and helped me get you to the Castle where our healers could take care of you."
Link squeezed Zelda's hand and spoke softly to her. "Thank you for saving me, Zelda."
Zelda stood up and laughed sarcastically as she walked away. "Right, because I was the one doing the saving."
Link smiled as he tried to catch up with her. "You did! I mean, sure…you were frozen in a giant crystal before I got there…but…"
Zelda slapped Link's arm. "He had the Triforce of Power!" she tried to justify.
"And you've got wisdom…where was that?" Link said, jokingly.
"You made me go against my better judgment, and he caught me in my weak moment."
Link recalled the moment that Ganondorf abducted Zelda—and she was right. It had been his fault. He had told her to stay behind, stay safe from a fight ahead. She wanted to come with him, but he wanted her to stay away from danger. How wrong he had been.
"Yes," Link said, more soberly. "I suppose that was my fault."
"Think of it as a compliment," Zelda said lightly. "Not many can make me change my mind."
A week passed, and Link and Zelda were enjoying a lunch together, as was often the case when Zelda was not attending to some duty of a princess.
"I don't know what you said to her," Zelda recalled, laughing. "But when I woke up she really did not like you. Mumbled to herself about your bossy attitude."
Link joined in the laughter, remembering their time in the Volcano town. "Oh, I think it was something about those stone beds they had us sleeping on. Gorons are…" Link trailed off when an elderly man walked into the dining room and cleared his voice.
Zelda looked politely up at the man, but it was clear she was slightly annoyed at his interruption. "Good afternoon, Dorson. How can we help you today?"
"Thank you, Princess. You see, I come with good news. In light of recent events, the Council of Elders has decided to have a celebration next week, assuming you are well enough." He looked pointedly at Link.
Surprised that he was the one they would be waiting on for the celebration, all Link could say was, "Me?"
The man chuckled lightly. "Well, of course you! As part of the celebration, the Council has voted and determined to dub you a knight!"
"A…knight?" Link managed. Never before had he imagined being a part of the Kingdom's honored class.
"After all you've done, the Kingdom would be happy with you as King!" the man said, only half-joking. "Well, what do you say?"
Link looked over at Zelda, who was smiling brightly at him. She nodded at him, motioning for him to respond.
"Oh, right. Yes, I'll be quite well by next week."
The Elder smiled at him. "Wonderful. We will take care of it all. No need to worry yourselves. We'll just meet with each of you about your roles and dress during the week."
Link would learn throughout the week that he was to be named Commander over the Hyrule military in his first knightly duty. And despite all that Link had been through, his adventures and life were only beginning.
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