The sound of swords clashing echoed across the field.
Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule, watched the battle before her, worry etched onto her pretty face.
He was strong.
Stronger than Link had thought.
Stronger than...anything, really.
"Give up, boy. It's no use, and you know that."
He tilted his head at him and smiled wearily.
"Don't think so."
Link jumped out of the way as Ganon's sword swung mere inches from his face. He bit back a curse as it nicked his shoulder.
This was gonna be hard.
Not to mention dangerous.
Link...
Ilia sat up and sighed. What was wrong with her?
She stood up and went downstairs, despite the fact that her head hurt immensely. Renado had given her some red sage to help with the pain and sent her to bed early.
She didn't want to sleep.
Something was wrong.
Link...
She shook her head.
Stop it, Ilia. You're not in love with him.
She sighed.
He had given her a book.
A simple, leather-bound book. The pages were falling out. They looked like he had ripped them out, considering the rough edge of the parchment.
She hadn't looked at it yet.
"Ilia."
She turned around. "Oh. Hello, Renado."
"Ilia, you should be in bed asleep."
"I-I just wanted to get something."
"Get what?"
"A book."
Renado nodded.
"Just please, at least try to get some sleep tonight. Alright?"
"Yes, Renado."
She grabbed the tattered book from the shelf and went upstairs.
It was a sketchbook.
A picture of an imp was on the first page. Midna, it read on the bottom corner.
She carefully turned the page.
Ilia.
Diababa.
Ilia.
Fyrus.
Gor Coron, Gor Amoto, Gor Ebizo and Gor Liggs.
Morpheel.
Ilia.
Zant.
Princess Zelda.
Ilia.
Stallord.
Yeta and Yeto.
Blizzeta.
Ilia.
Armogohma. She shivered. Spider.
The Hero's Shade.
Ilia.
Midna.
Ilia.
Link gasped in pain as Ganon's sword cut through flesh. Zelda was sitting on the ground, whimpering.
"Are you done, boy?" Ganon growled. He was such a nuisance to him.
Link smiled weakly, blood running down his chin, and stood once again. The offer was tempting.
Link...the girl. Protect her.
He smiled again.
Protect her…
Alright, mom. I will.
Ilia…
Ganon, becoming rather annoyed, struck at him. Link dodged nimbly away and smiled.
Thank you, Mom.
Link, now switching to offensive, slashed repeatedly at him. Ganon parried most of them, small cuts forming on his arm. He smirked.
"You fight like your ancestor."
"And I'm proud of that."
Their blades locked once again. Link, despite his injuries, overpowered him, and Ganon was thrown to the ground. Link jumped up and stabbed the dark lord in the chest. He let go of his sword, knowing that not even Ganon could survive the blow.
Ganon stumbled as he stood.
"Do not think this ends here..." he said, breathing heavily.
"The history of light and shadow will be written in blood!"
He flexed his hand, the Triforce of Power fading.
And thus Ganondorf, the Great Bandit King of Evil, was killed.
"Link!"
He turned around, exhaustion washing over him.
Ilia.
And then everything went black.
Ilia closed the book, but she dropped it. She picked it up. It had opened to the last page.
On that page was a pictograph.
They had taken it for Link's sixteenth birthday.
He was standing behind her, his chin rested on her shoulder and his arms around her waist. They were smiling.
She smiled softly, remembering, well...memories.
Most, if not all, were of her and Link
Go find him. He needs you.
Ilia looked around, confused.
Ilia...go now. Go to the northern field.
Mother?
Go…
Ilia, still confused, stood and left.
The sun was setting. She ran to the field. The wind carried the scent of blood.
Blood.
Her pace quickened.
Was he hurt?
Where was he?
She kept running. He was standing there, breathing hard. His tunic was red with blood.
"Link!"
He turned.
And fell.
She ran to him. The Princess was watching her, confused.
The Princess.
"Link! Oh, Link, no..." she said, frantically searching for a pulse. She found one, much to her relief. It was there, although faint. He was losing a lot of blood.
Someone touched her shoulder. Ilia jumped.
"Where did you come from?" Zelda asked.
Ilia turned to her.
"K-Kakariko. Your highness."
"Please. Call me Zelda. Now, I heard that there is a shaman there. Perhaps we could take him there?"
Ilia nodded. "Yes, Renado. But, um..."
"Yes?"
"How will we get him there?"
"I'll take him." a new voice said.
Ilia turned. She was a tall woman, with orange-red hair and red eyes. Her had blue marking on it.
"I'm Midna."
Ilia nodded. What was going on?
"Alright, Midna. Let's take these two to Kakariko."
She nodded to Zelda and spoke a few words.
The the world turned white, and they were in the Eldin Spring.
Ilia looked around, surprised. Renado came to them, with Talo and Colin close behind.
"Ilia! What happened?"
"Is he hurt bad?"
"Will he live?"
"Who are those people?"
Ilia held up her hand.
"Talo, Colin. I want you to listen to Renado, and please. Please try to be quiet."
They nodded, and Renado carried Link inside.