Chapter 18 - A Brief Reunion
Just as Link had been expecting, the trip to Kakariko was not a long one. He encountered no delays on his journey, so he was able to make the short trek from the castle to the mountain village on foot by nightfall. This was made even more impressive by virtue of the fact that he decided not to remove his black robe throughout the entire journey. The mid-afternoon sun was bad enough to begin with, but wearing that robe made the journey almost unbearable due to the heat it created. Link deemed the price necessary, however. He made a careless mistake before, and now Epona suffers because of it. He would have to remain on his guard at all times from now on.
The crater that existed in Eastern Hyrule Field, the same one that Ganondorf had created a few days earlier, still remained seemingly untouched since Link had left it. It had become a major eyesore in the middle of an otherwise-beautiful landscape. He had hoped that something this huge would alert the people of the nearby Castle Town, but Link was beginning to have his doubts that anybody had even noticed it at all. Of course, he did not really interact with anybody in Castle Town, so it was hard to tell for sure if strange rumors of the crater swirled amongst the common citizens. But even so, it seemed like a massive ditch appearing in the middle of a sparsely-inhabited field should be major occurrence and worthy of a lot of attention.
It was around dusk when Link finally entered Kakariko Village. Most of the town's inhabitants were nowhere to be seen, having already retired to the comfort of their homes after another day's work. Of the one's who were still out in the streets, very few stopped to notice the mysterious robbed man who had just entered into their midst. Link was able to walk through the streets without any complications, and before long, he was standing at the entrance to the village's inn.
Before opening the door, Link reached up with his free hand and withdrew his hood, exposing it to the world. With that, he opened the door and entered the quaint inn. The young lady who stood behind the desk raised her head up upon hearing the door open, apparently surprised at the arrival of a customer. Link was unsure if her surprise came because of the late timing of his arrival or if it was his arrival altogether. The lobby was completely deserted, and Link had to assume that this occurrence was not out of the norm. The war, and the twilight beasts in particular, had done a number on the inn as well as the entire town. Tourism in the area probably took a large hit.
Nonetheless, Link approached the counter that the young lady stood behind. She seemed to be around his age, perhaps a tad older. "Hi." Link said awkwardly as he reached the counter. "Do you have any rooms available?"
"We sure do." She replied bashfully, giving him a suggestive smile. She began to stare at him eagerly while she played with her dirty blonde hair with her one of her hands. Link looked back into her dark green eyes and couldn't help but feel very disconcerted.
"I, uh…" Link stuttered, suddenly at a loss for words. "I would like a room, please."
She never took her eyes off him as she bent down and grabbed a key that was somewhere under the counter. She also grabbed a sheet of parchment, a quill and some ink and placed it all down on the top of the counter. "It is not often that we get guests here as handsome as you." She said coyly. "Tell me, stranger, what is your name?"
If he felt confused before, it was nothing compared to how confused he felt now. "My…name?" Link repeated quietly.
"Yeah." She replied. "We record the names of our guests here, so the owner can keep track of the keys."
Link was starting to have his doubts at this explanation, seeing as she was still looking at him with a dreamy look in her eye. It almost seemed likely that this was just some kind of ploy that she devised to get his name. Nonetheless, Link decided to comply, but he knew right away that he couldn't reveal his real name. "It's Nate." Link replied, blurting out the first name that came to his mind. It was a decision that he instantly regretted, but it was a decision he would have to live with, for the young lady had already begun to scribble down his 'name' onto the piece of parchment.
"Well, then, Nate." She said as she stepped out from behind the counter with a prominent smile on her face. "Shall I lead you to your room?"
As much as he wanted to just take the key and run, he knew that she was acting as any host should, and to deny her that would be incredibly rude. "Lead on." He muttered quietly, trying to be as polite as possible despite feeling quite irritable.
"Excellent!" She exclaimed, and with that, she crossed the room and began to happily skip up the staircase to the upper floor, with Link right in tow. Looking around, Link noticed that the inn was not great shape. Granted, it was in a whole lot better shape than it was the last time he was here, which was just after the twilight beasts had caused significant damage. Link guessed that he was the only guest tonight for he never caught a glance of anyone other than the girl he was now following. If there were any other guests, they had already retired to their own quarters for the night.
At the top of the staircase, the young girl stopped at one of the nearby doors and unlocked it with the key that she had brought from the counter. With the door unbolted, she gave the door a slight push and it opened with a slight creak at her bidding. With that she stood aside to allow Link passage into the room. She smiled dreamily at him as he passed by; a favor which he tried to politely return, although his smile turned out to be more of a grimace.
"Oh, here, your key." The girl said quickly, holding out her hand to give Link the key to his room.
Link, in his haste, had forgotten about the key, and he slowly turned back and grabbed the key from her outstretched palm.
"I will be serving dinner soon." She said quietly as he did so. "It is my wish that you join me."
"Oh, no, that's alright." Link replied hastily. "I already ate, I'm not hungry." His words, though, were untrue, and his stomach roared with displeasure.
Either she heard his stomach or she was able to see through his lie by some other means for she next said, "Come on, don't be shy! I've got plenty to eat, and I am sure that an adventurer, such as yourself, must have worked up quite an appetite."
Link did not see any way out of it now, seeing as he really didn't have a legitimate reason to not take her up on her offer. "Oh, very well, then." Link conceded. "Just give me a little time to myself first."
"Great!" She beamed, blushing lightly. "Just come down whenever you're ready, alright?"
With that, she left the room and closed the door behind her. Link sighed lightly as he began to look around. The room was small and bare, but it was more than enough for Link. There was bed that slept up to two, a small end table right next to the bed, a small table and a couple of chairs on the opposite side of the room, and tiny wardrobe off in a corner. The lone window provided an unobstructed view onto the main street in Kakariko Village.
Link lifted the bottom of his robe up and carefully placed Midna onto the bed. Looking down at her unmoving form, Link found himself overcome with the urge to laugh. Zelda had said that she thought that Midna could still see and hear everything that went on around her. If this was the case, she had just spent the day covered in a robe and staring into his chest. Not only that, but she had also been forced to listen to his awkward conversation with the girl down in the lobby. He could only imagine what she would say.
"I'm sorry, Midna." Link said with a wry grin. "If you can hear me, I am sorry." With that, Link drew the bed's sheets over Midna's head to conceal her from view in the unlikely occurrence that someone other than him walked into the room.
Link then took off his robe, exposing his normal Ordon farming outfit that he wore underneath. He placed the robe onto a nearby chair and he sat down in a different one. He then carefully removed his sword and shield from his back and placed them on top of the table. His feet were aching after a long day's travel, and knew now just how much he relied on Epona during his adventures last time around. With no Epona in the foreseeable future, he would have to get used to these aches and pains.
Link stayed seated for a good, long time, silently thinking about the real reason that he had chosen to come to Kakariko Village. It was a little late now, but in the morning he would go see Renado for the first time in a long time. Renado was an accomplished shaman, and though a powerful mage seemed more ideal for the situation concerning Midna, those who dabble with the spirits could also be of use in the attempt to draw out Midna's lost soul.
After a few more minutes of silent thought, Link decided that he had wasted enough time. He thought that if returned down to the lobby late enough, the dinner would have finished cooking and he could make this as painless as possible. Slowly, Link rose to his feet and left the comfort of his room. As Link descended back down the staircase to the lobby, he found that the room was deserted. The girl was nowhere to be seen, but on one of the circular tables that existed in the middle of the room, there were plates and cutlery set for a dinner for two.
Link silently sat down at one of the chairs at that table. It was eerily quiet in the room, the only noise that sounded through the room was the occasional clang of metal banging on metal from somewhere in the nearby kitchen. He thought for sure that the girl was in there somewhere, and it was her that was making all the noise as she prepared dinner. However, Link was so transfixed on looking down the hallway that led to the kitchen that he did not even notice the girl as she returned to the lobby by going down the staircase.
"I'm glad you came." The girl said quietly as she walked down the staircase, smiling at him lightly.
Link instantly spun around at the sound of her voice. He had been so sure that she was in the kitchen, but that obviously turned out to be untrue. Link watched as she made her way over to the table and took the empty seat, and he was easily able to deduce where she had gone to instead of the kitchen. She no longer wore her work clothes, and instead, now wore an elegant, pure white dress. She must have taken the time she had available to go get ready in her own bedroom. Link was completely taken aback by this change, and he suddenly began to feel slightly awkward. Somehow, this attraction she had to him had developed very rapidly into a budding romance. Not only that, but he also felt very underdressed, as he only wore his ratty, Ordon farming garments.
"I, uh…" Link stammered as she looked at him expectantly. "You look nice." And it was the truth. The dress looked very good on her, although it looked much too formal to wear in a place like this. She had put on a simple, silver necklace that glittered in the waning sunlight from the nearby windows. Her hair looked well groomed to begin with, but she had taken care to make it lay down perfectly for the occasion. And she had done all of this in a very short amount of time; it could not have been longer than fifteen or twenty minutes.
"Oh, thank you." She replied shyly with a slight blush. "My name is Lyza, by the way."
Link nodded but said nothing more. He really couldn't think of anything to say. It was obvious to him that he did not want what she was after. At first, he thought that her attraction would soon pass, seeing as he only planned on staying here for the night. But at no time did he envision that her attraction would develop this quickly.
"So, where are you from, Nate?" She asked quietly.
Link cringed at the name. Of all the fake names that he could have picked, why did he have to pick that one? "I'm a farmer and herder from Ordon." He replied after a moment.
"Wow, Ordon?" She repeated, mildly surprised. "That's funny, we just had a girl who was around your age stay here and she was from Ordon, too."
"What?" Link exclaimed, suddenly becoming interested in the conversation. "A girl from Ordon? What was her name?"
"It was Ilia, I think." Lyza replied, a hint of jealousy detectable in her voice. Her suspected jealousy soon became even more evident when she said, "She said she was looking for some guy named 'Link'."
Link gasped. She really had been here. Maybe there was still hope for her, after all. "How long ago was this?" Link asked. "Is she still here?"
"No, she left a couple days ago. I'm not sure where she went." Lyza replied, obviously starting to get irked. "What's this girl to you, anyway?"
"Huh? Oh…" Link replied embarrassedly. "Nothing… nothing like that, at least. She…she's just a good friend of mine and I haven't seen her in a while."
The answer did not seem to pass with her, but the chef chose a very opportune time to bring out the dinner. He was a middle-aged man and he held in each of his hands a plate of food. Each plate had the same meal, and he gave one each to Link and Lyza.
"So, you are Nate, hmm? Welcome." The man said as Link examined the food placed in front of him, which turned out to be some kind out soup. The soup contained mainly chicken and potato, but also had trace amounts of various vegetables. And, on the side, there were also a couple pieces of bread. "I must apologize for not welcoming you earlier."
"It's no problem." Link said truthfully. In all honesty, he would not have noticed if the man had not welcomed him at all, and actually found it a little out of the ordinary that man did. Link did not recognize the man at all; either the man was a new landlord or Link just hadn't ever taken notice of him before this point. In any case, Link grabbed his spoon and prepared himself for the feast that his stomach so desperately yearned for.
"If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask either myself or Lyza here." The man said quietly before turning around and heading off back into the kitchen.
Link nodded in acknowledgement, but the man never did see him do so, as he had already turned his back. With that, Link began to inhale his soup as if it was just liquid (which was almost true, there was very little meat in it so the soup was more broth than anything). In very little time at all, Link drank the bowl clean and his stomach finally felt at ease. Lyza had hardly picked up her spoon by the time that Link had finished. She looked at him humorously as she said, "Good, isn't it?"
Linked nodded and said, "Yeah, it was."
"It was a recipe of my father's." Lyza explained. "He was the greatest chef I have ever known."
"But he isn't anymore?" Link asked quietly.
"He's not here anymore." She replied. "He was killed in a raid a few years back."
"Oh." Link said guiltily. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"No, you're fine." She said with a light smile. "You didn't know. And it happened a while ago."
Link watched on in an awkward silence as Lyza finished the remaining portion of her meal. This whole situation was becoming harder for him to deal with, but at least it was finally drawing to a close. Once she had taken her last sip, she pushed her bowl to the side and politely wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Well, thanks for joining me." She said quietly with a slight blush. She placed her napkin off to the side before she reached out and grabbed his hands, which he had propped up on the table. "I really had a good time." She added suggestively.
Link wedged his hands out of hers and quickly rose to his feet. Lyza stared at him with a shocked look on her face, but out of shame, Link could not bear to look at her. "I-I'm sorry, I can't do this." He said quietly before he began to walk to the staircase.
"What?" Lyza asked quietly, hurrying to catch up to his him. "Was it something I said?"
"No, no, it's not you." Link replied as he reached the stairs and proceeded to walk up them. "It's me, I can't do this right now."
"Is it because of her?" Lyza asked, perhaps with a bit of jealousy, as she followed him up the stairs.
"What?" Link asked distractedly. "No, it's not her either. It's…I don't know how to explain it, it's complicated."
"Tell me and I'll leave you alone." Lyza said as he reached the door to his room.
"Lyza, I can't stay here." Link said as opened the door to his room. He was desperately trying to think of anything he could say to let her down as gently as possible. "I have to leave tomorrow."
"Don't think about tomorrow." Lyza replied, a fiery look present in her eyes. "Live for today and you might just find that tomorrow will be a whole lot different than what you were expecting."
Lyza began walking towards him but Link kept taking steps backwards into his room. Lyza followed him in, leaving the door wide open behind her. But she did not seem to notice that, as her eyes were looking deeply into his. Link was beginning to feel very uneasy about what was to come, but he was beginning to find her strangely alluring as well. Still, he continued to back up until he finally ran out of real estate, toppling backwards into the chair that he had been sitting in before dinner. She quickly straddled him on the chair, sitting in his lap and facing him. They locked eyes for a moment longer before she began to inch her head even closer and closer, until their lips met.
Link did not resist her, but he did not really respond to her kiss either. He just sat there in some sort of trance, silently wondering how the hell he was going to get out of this now. Lyza continued her kiss for a couple of seconds, although it seemed to go on for much longer than that. When she finally pulled away, she gave him a seductive smile as she gazed into his eyes.
Slowly, she rose to her feet once more, grabbing one of his hands in the process. "Come on," she urged, lightly tugging on his arm. "I want to show you something."
Link allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, still in utter shock about what had just occurred. Lyza turned around and began walking out of the room at this point, never releasing his hand. "Lyza, I…" Link started to say as he allowed himself to get pulled out of the room and down the stairs once more.
"Don't worry." Lyza interrupted as she bounded down the stairs. "You're going to like it, I promise."
Link wanted to tell her that she had missed the point entirely, but he knew it would be hopeless. She was completely hooked on him now; the seemingly trivial task of breaking it off with her had grown into a very daunting one.
Lyza continued to lead Link down through the lobby of the inn and out the front door. She walked at a very fast pace through the streets of Kakariko and Link struggled to keep up. Under the moonlit sky, she led him past Talo's shop and Renado's sanctuary until the two of them were standing in front of the spring of Eldin.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Lyza said with a sigh of longing.
"Yeah, it is." Link said quietly after a moment of silent observation. And it was the truth, too. It had not changed a bit since he had last been to this spiritual spring. The moonlight reflected brilliantly in the cascading water of the spring, adding even more magnificence to the truly stunning scene.
"They say that this place is touched by the goddesses." Lyza explained quietly. "That the guardian of this entire area lives inside this spring, silently protecting us from our aggressors."
Link nodded slightly, but he didn't say anything. He knew that what she said was true, having interacted with the spirit of Eldin himself, but he choose to not reveal this knowledge for the sake of his cover.
A few minutes passed by without anything else said between the two. Soon, though, Link felt her arms wrap around his neck. And, immediately after that, Lyza brought her head over and rested it on his shoulder.
If he felt uncomfortable before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now. His right arm had gotten trapped between his body and hers, and he quickly wedged it out and extended it away from her body, so that it didn't touch any sensitive areas. "Wait, Lyza…" He muttered pathetically.
But she just held on tighter. "Shh." She replied quietly. "Don't ruin this perfect moment."
Link sighed lightly. As much as he did not want it to be true, he had to admit that the moment had grown very romantic. He should count himself lucky; he had gotten to spend the past hour or so with a very beautiful young lady. He knew that it could not last, however. Too much was at stake for him to lose sight of what must be done.
Nonetheless, Link gave into the temptations of the moment. He wrapped the arm which he had embarrassedly withdrawn earlier around her waist, and allowed it to rest on her hips. It was an experience quite unlike anything he had ever gone through before; he might as well make the most of it, while it lasted.
It was in this compromising position, wrapped in a tender embrace with a girl he barely even knew, that he heard a very familiar voice.
"Link?"
The voice came from somewhere behind him. Link hastily spun around to face it, and in the process of doing so, nearly knocked Lyza off her feet. She had been allowing a lot of her weight to lean against him, so his sudden motion disrupted her balance and nearly sent her sprawling to the ground. But Link quickly caught her and muttered his apologies before turning again to face the voice.
It was indeed who he thought it was. It was Ilia, standing in the flesh, but she was no longer looking at him. While Link had been distracted with helping Lyza, she had recognized him and had already begun to walk away.
"Link…?" Lyza repeated quietly, clearly dumbfounded. She stood in shock and stared quietly at the man who, up until a few seconds ago, she thought was named 'Nate'.
She was looking for some sort of explanation, but Link had no time to give her one. "I'm sorry." Link said hastily. "But I've got to go."
With that, Link turned and ran after Ilia, who was walking at a fairly fast pace down Kakariko's main road. "Wait, Ilia!" He hollered, but she continued to walk on. Link broke out into a full-out run, but even then, he did not catch her until she was near the entrance to the bomb shop.
"Ilia, hold on a second." Link repeated when he finally caught up to. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she finally came to a stop. But even then, she did not turn to face him.
"What do you want?" She said quietly, still not turning around to look at him.
"Ilia, what's wrong?" Link asked, becoming concerned.
"What's wrong?" Ilia repeated hotly, finally turning around so that Link could see her face. Her eyes were full of anger, but they also looked deeply hurt. "I gave up everything for you!"
"What are you talking about?" Link asked quietly, although he was fairly sure that he already knew the answer.
"I ran away from home, Link." Ilia replied. "I put everything I had into finding you. And when I finally do, you are messing around with that…that…"
Link knew what Ilia wanted to say, and he, quite frankly, was glad that she didn't say it out loud. Nonetheless, Link calmly began to say, "Ilia, it's not what…"
"Then what the hell was it, then?" Ilia shot back angrily, her temper flaring.
Link shifted his feet guiltily. What could he say to her? Granted, it was indeed Lyza who had done the initiating. But he didn't really put up much of a fight. "Look, Ilia, I'm sorry." Link replied after a moment or two, unable to think of anything else to say. "It's great to see you again."
Ilia said nothing and simply looked at the ground around her feet. Link felt horrible but he could think of absolutely nothing to say that would help console her. He could not imagine what she must be feeling right now.
Fortunately, however, he would not have to say anything more, at least for the time being. This is because, at that moment, a high-pitched scream rang through the air. Link spun around in the direction which it had come from; it seemed to have originated near the inn.
"What was that?" Ilia asked quietly from behind Link.
Link did not get a chance to reply, as he had already begun to run off in the direction of the scream. He had a pretty good idea as to who had screamed, and it was with very little surprise that he saw a terrified Lyza standing at the entrance of the inn. What did come as a surprise, however, was the man who stood in front of her. The strange man had Lyza pushed up against the wall of the inn, apparently talking to her but Link could not hear a word of what he was saying because he was still too far away. The man was wearing a simple all-black outfit that consisted of a long-sleeved shirt and pants that extended down to his ankles. The outfit was all skin-tight, and certainly looked intimidating.
As Link got closer, he began to hear the conversation that was going on between Lyza and the strange man. "Look, miss, I have no time for games." The man hissed. "I am well aware that a young lady from Ordon passed through here not long ago." He reached up with one of his hands and softly stroked her cheek. "Now, why don't you be a darling and tell me where she went off to?"
"Get your hands off of her!" Link hollered as he approached the foot of the inn.
The man turned away from Lyza to face Link. "Now, what do we have here?" The man said quietly as he stepped a couple of paces away from Lyza. "The Hero of Twilight! My Master sends his regards. Oh, and look! You've brought me a gift as well. I do thank you, Link; that is the very girl I was looking for."
"What?" Link asked, feeling confused. He turned around and saw that Ilia had followed him, and he came to the conclusion that this man must have been sent by Ganondorf to capture Ilia. "What do you want with Ilia?" Link asked.
"My Master's wishes are his own." The man stated calmly. Now that Link had gotten close enough, he began to take notice of the man's features. He was slightly shorter than Link, but he looked to be lean and agile. He had shoulder-length jet-black hair that was slightly unruly at spots. And, most importantly, he had a pair of scabbards, one at each side of his waist, strapped to his hips. "If you know what's best for you, you will stand aside now, Hero."
"There is no way that I am going to let you take Ilia!" Link shot back.
The man laughed condescendingly as he calmly descended the small flight of stairs from the patio in front of the inn to the main street of Kakariko Village. He approached Link until they were about ten feet apart, and then he stopped to face his adversary. "Do not make this harder than it needs to be." He said confidently.
"You've already done a good job of that!" Link said intensely.
The man grinned out of the corner of his mouth. "I suppose we only have one more option."
"Well, let's get started, then." Link answered, and he instinctively reached to his back for the Master Sword. His hands, however, only met air, and he gasped in shock. He soon remembered that he had taken off his sword and shield back in his room in the inn, a fact which now put him at a severe disadvantage.
Link was not sure if the man had realized that he was completely unarmed before this point, but he obviously noticed now. He reached for the hilts of his duel-wield blades and quickly drew both of them. Each was about two feet in length and seemed to be extremely sharp. The man showed absolutely no indecision as he quickly jumped at his unarmed foe. The man swung slash after devastating slash his way, and without his sword and shield, Link had no option but to dodge all of them. One of the girls screamed in the background but Link was too focused on the man in front of him to notice. The man was very precise with his attacks, and it took all of Link's energy just to jump out of the way, let alone fire any close-range attacks of his own.
After Link was really beginning to wear due to fatigue, the man backed off tauntingly. He was just playing now. "How can you expect to defeat me if you aren't even armed?" The man asked as Link rested his hands on his knees and sputtered for breath. "Out of the kindness of my heart, I will give you one more chance. Leave now and I will not pursue you. The girl is the only reason I am here; don't make the mistake of giving me reason to kill you, too."
Infuriated, Link rose back to a completely upright position, ready to jump back into battle. "So be it." The man said quietly and he dropped back into a fighting position. He quickly aimed a right-handed slash at Link, but Link quickly dodged by jumping to the left. Seeing a slight opening, Link threw a kick which connected with the man's shin. It was not strong enough to cause any real damage, however, and before Link could capitalize further, the man aimed a slash with his left hand. Link was able to jump backwards and dodge in time, but this continuous dodging routine would not win him this battle. Link frowned lightly. If he was going to have any chance, he was going to have to disarm him somehow and use at least one of the swords as his own. But this man was clearly very adept at swordplay, so how would he ever be able to do that?
It seemed like an impossible task, but Link would soon get his opportunity. After dodging a particularly devastating two-handed slash, Link noticed the man was gearing up for a jump attack using both of his swords. As soon as the man had left the ground, Link jumped slightly to the left and kicked straight upwards with his right foot. His shin connected simultaneously with both of the man's forearms as they were thundering down toward the ground, and the impact caused the man to lose grip of both of his swords. Both swords flew out of his hands in different directions. Link quickly ran over to the nearest one and picked it up, but unfortunately, the man had recovered the other one.
"Impressive." The man said with a slight smirk. "I guess you do have talent in combat after all. I was beginning to wonder whether the Master Sword was the only source of your power. But it seems that I was wrong."
Link frowned as he dropped into his battle stance. The sword felt strange in his hands, but it was light and powerful. It could not possibly match the Master Sword, but it would have to do for now. The man jumped right back into action, aiming a vertical slash Link's way. Link responded by raising his sword horizontally over his head and calmly deflecting the attack away.
Link then prepared a counterattack, which was a simple downward slash. However, his hand slipped on the unfamiliar hilt a little bit, and this setback caused him to delay his attack by a fraction of a second while he regained control of the foreign blade. This slight setback seemed inconsequential, but it turned out to cost him dearly. In the delay, the man was able to figure out what Link was trying to do, and was able to formulate an adequate defense. Just as Link began to swing his blade, the man raised his free hand, and used it to grab Link's sword arm's wrist, thus nullifying the attack. Link was completely exposed at this point, and the man capitalized by aiming a stab down into the earth, right through Link's right foot.
Link cried out in pain as his foot began to bleed profusely. The man pulled his sword out of Link's foot before grabbing his other sword from out of Link's yielding hands. Now unarmed again and utterly defeated, Link fell backwards to the ground with a hard thud. Link's life began to flutter as he waited for the man to give the killing blow, but the man did not seem interested in doing so. Somewhere nearby, he heard him say, "Now onto you, my dear." And Ilia screamed soon after. He could hear the sound of running footsteps, but he was powerless to help her out.
"No!" Link screamed, using the last of his energy. "Ilia!"
Due to the combined efforts of exhaustion and loss of blood, Link soon lost consciousness. The very last thing he heard before everything went black was one, final scream from his childhood friend.