The Serpent's Egg

By Nicolle

1st Note:

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda belongs to Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo. Thank you for letting your fans borrow them.

Chapter Five

Link stood at the edge of the property, hands folded in prayer.

Annie pulled on Bot's tunic. "What's he doing?"

"He's asking Farore to protect us."

Elana sighed. "He can ask favors of the goddesses? Just like that?"

"He isn't asking for himself. He's asking for us."

A shimmer so soft it almost wasn't there surrounded the house. A circle of silver glinted at them from the ground. Link sighed and came back. "All right. Bath time."

Link sat at the table, drying his hair with a towel. The sound of the girls laughing and splashing in the tub escaped from under the door.

Bot leaned across the table. "Is it just me, or is the princess acting weird?"

"This is weird. When I asked Elana why they left the porch, she said that she saw your candle light. Annie said that zombie had come up to the porch and Elana had shoved it away, grabbed her, and ran."

"The wound on her back is weird too."

Link sighed. "Potions won't close it and when her blood hits the ground it revives the land."

"Seriously?"

Link nodded.

"Now I really want a look at that wound."

Annie tottered out of the bathroom, trying not to trip over Link's tunic, with a towel over her head.

Link laughed. "You need a belt!" He dug through his bag and pulled out a sash. "Here you go." He folded the tunic up a little and tied it at her waist. "Are you hungry?"

Annie shook her head. "Tired." She climbed into a chair and the table and put her head down.

Link patted her head. "Why don't you head up stairs and find a bed?"

She shook her head vehemently, frowning hard.

"Okay."

Elana came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and looked at Bot. "What should I do?"

He stood and turned his chair around. "Sit here and lean forward against the chair."

Elana sighed and sat down. Bot pulled the bandages away to look at the wound. "Nice. These stitches won't scar much at all."

Link took a sip of tea from his mug. "Learned from the best."

Bot grinned wide and continued his inspection.

Link picked up a sleeping Annie. "Which room should I put her in?"

Bot gently wrapped Elana's wound. "First one at the top of the stairs."

"How does a doctor become a knight, or is it the other way around?" Elana asked.

Bot smiled to himself. "My father and his father and his father were doctors, so I became one too. But I always wanted to be a knight. I told anyone who would listen. And they always told me I was too scrawny." He pulled the bandage tight and tied it off. "When I was sixteen I left home. I went right up to the castle and told the gates-man I wanted to be a knight. He pointed at one of the scrawniest men I'd ever seen and told me to talk to him. So I went right up to him and said I wanted to be a knight." Bot laughed. "Link, the Hero of Time, turned around and asked me what I was by training. When I told him I was a doctor, he praised the goddesses. Apparently, he needed a medic."

"Did you go back to tell everyone off?"

"I really wanted to at first, but that feeling waned. I learned very quickly that Link didn't want the strongest fighters. He wanted the wisest. He wanted people who loved Hyrule and were committed to her defense. After a while, the need for personal glory left me and when I went home to visit, I never spoke of it."

"And no one asked?"

"They didn't have too. When you spend that much time around the Triforce, it changes you. Through the constant example, I had become the person I was born to be."

"But I thought the Triforce of Courage made you more courageous. You talk like it doesn't do that at all."

"The Triforce of Courage does not make you a man or woman of greatness," Link said as he sat down at the table. "The Triforce of Courage does not fill me with great valor, but instead fills me with great love. And it is this great love that gives me the courage to choose what is right rather than what is easy."

Elana stared down at the table.

Bot put a cup of tea in front of her. "Go upstairs and find a bed. Drink this before you lay down and it will dull the pain so you can sleep."

She nodded and left, mug in hand.

"Well?"

Bot went over to the sink and washed his hands. "The wound isn't going to heal until she does."

"Meaning?"

"A couple stitches from the bottom have healed over, I'm betting it happened when she pushed the zombie off the porch to save Annie. While we were talking about the Triforce, the wound closed a little more."

"So, what? 20 years and she might have a whole back?"

Bot sighed. "A little bit of progress is some. But I'm wondering about Annie."

"Oh?"

"I've seen the way the people here have been acting since Ganon invaded. The moment the king died, the people either fled for Hyrule proper or..."

"Went mad," Link finished. "Annie's mother was dead and her father wasn't right."

"So why isn't she affected?"

Link looked up the stairs at the first door, slightly ajar. "It might be because she's too young. She can't be more than five."

"It might also be the Triforce. She's being very brave in the face of danger."

"It might also be Elana." Link toyed with the mug in his hands. "It'll be something for Zelda to ponder when I run into her again."

"Is that how these things go with the two of you? You get separated and then you just run into each other later?"

"Pretty much. Let me see your side."

Bot rolled his eyes. "Potions still work on me, Captain."

Link frowned.

"What?"

"A potion didn't work for Drishti."

Bot stilled. "What happened?"

"He took a poisoned bolt. When we gave him a potion, it accelerated the poison. It looked like he was filling with mercury."

Bot put his head down on the table. He took a long shuddering breath and sat up. "I guess I need to figure out what would change a potion into death."

Link nodded.

He shuddered again. "I'm hitting the hay. Maybe we'll wake up to Zelda and some steak and eggs."

Sheik watched the shimmer in the sky. Following it, led to a farm house with a soft light glowing from the kitchen window. The shimmer formed a curtain circling the house, almost invisible. Sheik touched it and it felt like touching the very heart of life itself; a perfect barrier against the undead roaming the woods.

Sheik stepped through and walked to the porch. The wolf sleeping there perked up and wagged it's tail, following the Sheikah into the house. Bot slouched comfortably in a chair, fast asleep. Sighing in relief, Sheik put a hand on his shoulder.

"I swear I'm not sleeping on duty, Ma'am," he mumbled.

Smiling behind the high collar, Sheik glided up the stairs quietly. A quick glimpse through the open door at the top revealed Annie and Elana curled up together like two sisters.

"Strange, huh? Long time, no see, Sheik."

Sheik turned and Link reached up, pulling the collar down. The Triforce symbol on his hand flared for a moment and the spell was broken.

"You'll have to pardon me, but I like you better with blue eyes." He pulled Zelda close and kissed her. As she reached up and put her arms around his neck, Link lifted her across the threshold of the empty bedroom on the right.

"You know, I'm really thankful you two got a room, but next time, close the door."

Link kicked the door shut. "Thank you for your input, Bot."

"I better get steak and eggs in the morning!"

"And I better get my birthday present early."

Zelda yanked on his hair. "You aren't getting anything until there's a sword sticking out of Ganon's chest."

Link huffed. "You don't need to be so bossy, Tetra."

"Oh, ha ha." Zelda sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off her boots. "You had a bath."

"You say that like I never touch soap," he huffed. "I was covered in monster goop."

Zelda undressed. "How's Elana? I noticed a pretty big bandage on her. And why is she sharing the bed with Annie?"

"I'll start with where we left off. Elana was attacked after wandering off. The monster sliced her open down to the bone." Link sat next to Zelda. "Potions aren't healing it. I gave her one and it closed up the worst of it, but it's still open. And here's the weird part: when her blood hits the ground, it revives and sprouts grass."

"That makes sense being the heir to Erendiel." Zelda pulled on a bed shirt from her bag.

Link sighed.

"Oh stop."

He smiled. "Bot thinks the wound won't heal until she does."

"Great. We're screwed."

"You didn't find the egg?"

Zelda sighed. "No, but Lanayru told me where it was and Elana has to be the one to retrieve it." She yawned.

"Table it until breakfast?"

"Yeah." Zelda slid under the covers. The wolf jumped up and laid down next to her. She ran a hand through the fur. "I'm sorry to disappoint."

The wolf snorted.

"Soon, Link. So very, very soon."