Thanks to all the great reviewers! I really hope you enjoy this chapter. It was my favorite to write!
He waited outside of her office once more. This time, he was dreading meeting her for a different reason. Previously, each meeting simply reminded him of her wisdom and beauty that would never be his. Today, he dreaded telling the Queen that her kingdom was under attack.
"Come in," came her voice from the other side of the door.
Link slowly turned the knob, took a deep breath, and entered.
She looked up and surprise flickered through her eyes before disappearing. "Link," she said. "I don't usually see you outside of our meetings. Is something the matter?" Her voice sounded strained, perhaps a little cold.
"Yes," Link responded, and Zelda's countenance changed from guarded to worried in an instant. "My queen, your kingdom is under attack."
Zelda stood up instantly. "Where? Who is attacking?"
Link proceeded to explain the situation, that the Dark Land had launched a massive attack through a portal in the south. He told her of Horigim and his agreement they made to fight in Hyrule Field in order to stave off a slaughter of Ordon and other surrounding villages.
Zelda had made her way forward and suddenly hugged Link. It was the first time since her coronation that they had hugged. Or even touched. And Link immediately wrapped his arms around her, not because he understood her reasons for hugging him, but because it felt so good to hold her again.
"Thank you for saving my people, Link," Zelda said emotionally. They held each other for a moment longer than the moment likely warranted. But now that Link was holding her, he didn't want to stop despite his good sense. When they finally released each other, they continued to hold each other's hands. "Will you be able to defeat them?"
Link nodded slowly. "They outnumber us, but we fight for much more than they do. We fight for our families. Our Homes. To avenge your father." Link hesitated for a moment before giving one last reason, which was perhaps a little more personal than universal for his army. "To protect you.
"Yes, we will defeat them, and hopefully they will turn back before too many of our own are slain. My men are well trained for this type of battle."
Zelda nodded. "Okay, when do we leave?"
Link frowned at her. "The army will depart in the morning. I have called all men to arms and sent messages throughout the kingdom to meet us in the field. You," Link said emphatically. "You will be sitting here with your guard. I will leave two hundred men to guard the city walls. Two hundred can hold off two thousand with these walls, and there is no way more than two thousand could survive my army."
Zelda looked up at Link, and he knew she wanted to object to his plan. She wanted to come out and fight. But as she looked into Link's eyes, he saw her resolve fade. "You know I want to come," she stated. Link nodded.
"But I know you won't let me." Link shook his head.
"I won't fight you on one condition."
"What is it?"
"You come back to me safe."
Link smiled. His first real smile in weeks. "I will do that, Zelda. But you stay safe, okay?"
Zelda smiled back at him and pulled in for another hug. "I will."
As Link left the office a moment later, his conflicting emotions nearly overcame him. It felt so good to just be real with Zelda again. But that was exactly why he needed to stay away from her. His happiness and frustration with their meeting kept him occupied as he made his way out of the castle to make preparations for battle. As he pushed open the castle doors, he shook his head. Now was no time to be thinking of his dilemma. He had a war to fight.
The following evening, Link sat in his tent. It was the night before the battle would begin, and he had called a scribe to him. "I want this read to all of the troops tonight before they go to their beds. Can you get copies made for each captain to read to their unit?"
"Yes, sir," the scribe responded, dipping his quill in ink. He waited as Link pondered over his words, and began jotting furiously when Link spoke.
"Five months ago, a tyrant came into our kingdom and murdered our king. Just two months later, he abducted our princess with intent to capture our kingdom. When I rescued the princess and slew this monster, his people had the audacity to believe he was the victim. Now they march on our county to destroy our women, our children, and our queen.
"We are not an aggressive nation. We will not shed blood unless attacked. However, the Dark Land has given us the unique opportunity to seek vengeance without being the aggressor. I call on each and every one of you to reflect on your families this night. Think of your loved ones' faces. It is for them we fight. But think also of our deceased king. His blood calls out from the grave for justice to be done. And as long as a tyrant rules the Dark Land and seeks Hyrule's innocent, we will fight for that justice to be given. Tomorrow, we give justice to those responsible for this death and fear. Tomorrow, we fight and die for the innocent. Tomorrow, we stand victorious."
The following morning, Link's army arose. They may not have slept well, but they rose with vigor. They prepared themselves with confidence. And when the battle horns of the Dark Land sounded, grips were tightened on swords instead of shields.
Link had orchestrated a great plan, and for the first hour, he oversaw its progress. As the two lines progressed towards each other, Link's archers fired arrows at the opposing army's front line. Link watched in reverence as men were cut down by the hundreds in front of him. When the return volley came, his front three lines held up the large shields they were carrying. Dozens fell as arrows found gaps in the shields. After Hyrule's archers fired their second volley, and hundreds more fell, The Dark army stopped marching and charged instead, not desiring to be cut down before they reached Link's army. Their front ranks became scattered and weak.
Link signaled for the second phase to begin, and as archers laid down heavy fire, soldiers made pathways for the cavalry to ride through the ranks from behind. As horsemen rode forward, swinging their weapons at the charging army, Link's front lines put down their large shields and pulled out their weapons and smaller shields, and hastened their march.
The cavalry made it partway through the opposing army's ranks before turning back around to continue the assault on the diminished front lines. The archers continued to lay down heavy fire behind the cavalry to prevent the Dark marksmen from hitting the cavalry from behind.
The war continued in this fashion as Link orchestrated the attack until it was a full out battle—all semblance of order gone in the chaos. At this point, Link turned over command to the captains as he could no longer control the battle, and jumped off Epona to join the battle.
As he marched forward, it was clear his army had the upper hand. The opening hour of the war had left the Dark army dejected and depleted. Link's army, on the other hand now had a bolstered confidence and its number was likely larger. They fought well together, while the Dark army appeared to be every man for himself.
Link pulled out his bow, and shot down soldier after soldier as he walked through the battle. Soon, there were too many soldiers in all directions for him not to have his shield out, so he put his bow on his back and pulled out his sword and shield. He continued his way through the ranks, cutting down every enemy he came near.
After hours of fighting, he had mowed his way to the back of the enemy formations, where he saw two figures standing. One had only one arm. Link's eyes narrowed and he charged the two men.
One pulled out a bow and fired an arrow at Link, but Link swiped it away with his sword. A second arrow came at him, which he easily blocked with his shield. He was at a full sprint by the time he neared the two men. Horigim's associate was trying to notch a third arrow when Link arrived, but Link lowered his shoulder and charged straight into the man's chest with his shield. He heard several ribs crack and the man hit the ground gasping for breath. Making sure Horigim wouldn't be able to attack him while he had his back turned, Link quickly disarmed the man on the ground and turned his attention to Horigim. He had a sword drawn.
"You are no match for me, Horigim. Wave the white flag and end this bloodshed."
Horigim bore his teeth menacingly. "I will never wave a white flag so long as I have one man who can hold a sword." And with that, he charged at Link.
His sword came down and Link held his shield up to block the attack. The impact was huge, and Link recalled in that instant just how strong Horigim was. Link flew onto his back with the force to his shield, but he quickly rolled backwards. Horigim continued to charge at him and as he rolled back onto his feet, he brought his sword up and it went right through Horigim's stomach, whose arm held his sword high over his head.
Horigim gasped in pain and dropped to his knees. He dropped his sword and his hand went to his stomach as Link pulled his own sword out. Blood quickly filled the holes between his fingers and Horigim looked back up at Link with complete hate in his dead eyes.
"Even in your victory," Horigim gasped out, "you have once again fallen for our king's trap."
He gave two distinct chuckles before it dawned on Link what he meant. In absolute fury and fear, Link swung the master sword horizontally with all his might and cut Horigim's head off. It rolled right over to the other Dark one still gasping on the ground, eyes full of fear while still appearing lifeless.
Voice shaking with fury, Link said to the man. "Wave your white flag this instant or we will not acknowledge it when you do."
The man nodded, and that was all Link needed before he took off in the direction of the nearest horse he could find.
As Link rode with all his might, he heard another trumpeting sound behind him. The call to retreat. If his greatest fear wasn't again being realized, Link would have felt victorious, accomplished, relieved, happy.
Link came to nearly ten minutes after Ganondorf, Horigim, and Zelda left, with Dara shouting his name. He made to stand up but the gash in his side was so painful he couldn't move. It also felt as though he had been hit in the chest by a charging goat. His head was swirling and he didn't know where he was. But then he remembered and images of a stolen Zelda filled his mind and a renewed energy filled his frame.
He tore off a sleeve of his tunic and wrapped it around his stomach, bandaging the deep gash his own sword had made in his side. He left his sword on the ground, knowing it would do no good against Ganondorf. He would need to seek the Master sword in the Temple of Time.
Link first entered the room where he had fought Horigim and found the final key to the Dark Land in a chest in the center of the room. He grabbed it and headed for the surface. When he arrived he found an anxious Epona. He clambered difficultly onto her back and rode painfully back to Castletown. With each gallop he thought his entrails would escape through his wound and that he would lose consciousness. But he fought it. He needed to find her and rescue her. He couldn't let him hurt her. He loved her.
He reached the drawbridge into Castletown and rode through. He turned toward the Temple of Time when he reached the courtyard. Hunched over, he entered the great temple and walked quickly towards the front. A priest gaped at him, but Link continued forward. As he approached the statues of the goddesses in the front, they slid aside, revealing a room behind them. Link's hand glowed as the Triforce he had collected showed itself. He continued walking forward and saw the Master Sword in its pedestal.
Link walked up to the sword. Clutching his side with one arm, he pulled on the hilt of the sword with the other. It slid easily out of the stone it rested in. The sword felt wonderful in his hand—an extension of his body, really.
But he didn't have time to admire it. Instead, he opened his bag and pulled out the seven keys he had collected. They fit together like a puzzle and formed an ornate ring, the size of Link's hand. When every piece was put together, the object began spinning and a blue energy expanded above it. Link boldly limped forward, and walked into the Dark Land to find his princess.
After riding swiftly back to his camp, Link quickly gave command to the second in command, explaining that the Dark army would surrender, and if they didn't surrender, Hyrule should take no mercy. Before hopping onto Epona's back, he explained that the Queen was likely in danger, and he needed to get back to her.
For an hour straight, Link pushed Epona to her limits. She seemed to recognize what was at stake and didn't complain too much, but gave it her all. As Link approached the front walls, he shouted for the drawbridge to be lowered. He waited impatiently as the great gate came down, thinking only of Zelda and his own stupidity for never closing the portal. It had never crossed his mind! He assumed it had been taken care of!
Of course no army would come through the portal; only one man at a time could walk through. But a secret, stealth unit with a mission to capture the Queen? That could come through, as long as there was a big enough distraction that streets would be vacant and guards would, for the most part, be away or on the outer walls.
The drawbridge finally came down and Link rode hastily through town again and reached the courtyard—desolate of any people, who were likely at home, praying for their loved ones. He turned towards the Temple of Time and saw the last of a group of men wielding weapons walk into the Temple.
Link kicked Epona's sides, urging her forward and jumped off of her at the doors, hitting the ground running. Sprinting through the temple, Link saw the priest again, this time lying on the ground in front of the altar, blood trickling down his face.
Link ran past the statues of the goddesses and into the back room, where he skidded to a stop. A group of twelve men stood at the portal, with three of them restraining a fighting Zelda. When they saw Link they turned immediately and held her in front of them, a knife at her neck.
"Let her go!" Link said deadly.
One of the men spoke up. "Well, if it isn't Link. Boss said you might show up."
"And who is your boss?"
"Our new king, Zant."
"Well you go home and tell Zant his army is defeated and to never set foot in Hyrule again."
"Actually, he plans to finish what Ganondorf started, so we will be taking Zelda with us now."
The one speaking turned toward the portal and began walking towards it. Link took out his bow and in one motion he notched and shot an arrow. It flew straight into the neck of the man, who fell to his knees immediately, departed. Link dropped his bow and held up his sword and shield as two of the men drew their bows and aimed right at Link.
Another man began speaking, much less confident than the last one. "We have just walked through your Castle and its guard, only losing eight of our men to over twenty of your men. We will easily kill you too.
"You wouldn't have faced those guards twenty on twenty, though," Link said. "Your twenty men against five at a time at most. Maybe one by one, like cowards."
"Perhaps…but you are only one man, too."
Link looked over at Zelda and tried to give her a reassuring look. Her eyes pled with him to run away, but he shook his head at her. "So you should have no problem." Link kicked his bow forward into the middle of the room and starting running at the men.
"Fire," he heard the man shout. Link deflected one arrow aimed at his chest with his shield, and swung his sword simultaneously in front of his legs and hit away an arrow headed for his right thigh. Two men were fast approaching him, so he thrust forward his shield as he sidestepped a spear being stabbed at him and struck the man in the head while he brought the hilt of his sword in front of him and thrust the blade backwards. The Master Sword sunk deep into a man standing behind him, who was poised to attack.
Link reached out and grabbed the man he just hit with his shield and pulled him quickly in front of him and spun around just in time to have two arrows sink into the chest of the Dark man he was holding.
As the man in front of him fell to the ground, Link removed his helm and threw it at a third archer who had moved to his left behind a short wall. He was pulling back an arrow and ready to fire. The helm hit the bow as he released the arrow and the new direction sent an arrow straight into one of the original archers.
Link dove behind a pillar as another soldier hurled his spear at Link. This turned out to be a stupid move as Link quickly picked up the spear and threw it right back at the man. The original bowman who wasn't hit and two others pulled out swords and approached Link in the center of the room again. He engaged all three, looking for a time to strike. But the three of them were skilled fighters, and Link could only fight off their attacks.
Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw the third archer pulling back another arrow. Link dropped to the ground right as the arrow whizzed over his cap, into one of the three swordsmen. This provided a brief moment of shock, in which Link stabbed at the two remained swordsmen, who both fell to the ground, one dead and the other wounded.
Before the archer could notch another arrow, Link threw his sword forward, the blade lodging in the archer's neck as he fell backwards. Another man charged at Link, sword raised. Link blocked his attack with his shield while pulling an arrow out of his quiver and stabbing the man in front of him with it.
As the man fell to the ground and Link pulled his arrow out of his chest, Link dropped his shield, and kicked his bow into his hands from the ground, where he had kicked it moments earlier. He notched the bloody arrow, turned, and fired. Link watched down the shaft of his bow as the arrow soared straight into the remaining man's eye socket. He had still been holding a knife to Zelda's neck, but she pushed in it of the way as the man fell backwards, dead.
Link dropped to one knee, to the lone survivor, whom he had stabbed in the side, avoiding any major organ.
"Now," Link said in a quiet and deadly voice between deep breaths. "You will return to Zant. Tell him your army has been defeated and his plan to take Zelda away has failed. And if he ever tries to return to Hyrule, I will personally come into the Dark Land and kill every last one of you. Understood?"
"Ye…yes." Link pulled him violently to his feet and shoved him through the portal before getting to his knees and taking the circular object that made the portal and hitting it hard against the ground so it broke into the seven pieces he and Zelda had collected.
When that was all done, Link finally turned to Zelda, whose mouth was slightly agape, but her eyes were no longer afraid. He was at her side in a moment and he reached up and held her face gently. Brushing hair out of her face with his thumb, he asked her softly, "are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. "No…I'm fine. Link, they killed so many of the guards—"
"I know…I'm so stupid. I'm so sorry, Zelda. This is all my faul—"
Zelda interrupted him and stared deeply into his eyes. "This is not your fault! You did the right thing. I should have closed this portal the moment we got back. I just meant…how did you…" she trailed off, but looked around at all of the fallen soldiers.
She looked back up at Link, and simply said, "Thank you for saving me. Again…"
Link chuckled lightly. "Thanks for ignoring that it was my fault again."
They sat down on the ground, exhausted, and embraced. For nearly an hour they held each other, trying to soothe one another's guilt and fear. All the while, they knew that this moment of intimacy between them would have to stop, but needed each other too much to care.
Let me know what you think! We're winding down, here. It's exciting and sad.