marks left unseen

by Ravenmist4

recovering from the calamity, zelda and link found themselves in semi-domestic bliss at his home in hateno village. while the threat of calamity ganon may be gone; there are still many loose ends to be solved. such as the yiga clan, who have decided to finally unleash their revenge on link. after all, what is a knight without his princess?

12. crimson and gold

'If you wish to see your beloved Princess again, come alone to the Yiga Clan hideout in exactly two hours. We leave you a little motivation to ride fast and swift, Hero. See you soon.'

Link could have handled that. He could have handled a little taunting from the Yiga Clan — he would have simply crumpled up the paper and been on his way as usual ... but there was more to his personalized package than just that. Wrapped up in thin white cloth was a chunk of golden hair, singed with crimson blood at the ends where it had been viciously ripped or chopped from a scalp. The lock slid into the palm of his hand as a pair of enlarged blue eyes stared at it with horror. The hue matched the color of sunbeams pouring from a clouded sky, and gave a real life definition to the word 'happiness', with its gentle glow and soft texture — even so painfully ripped from her head, Zelda's hair held unkempt beauty that none could match.

But the blood ... oh the blood. So little, nothing more than a light dusting of crimson, but it made his stomach churn like it never had before. The great hero of Hyrule, wielder of the sword that sealed the darkness, the ruin of calamity, appointed protector and knight of Princess Zelda herself, and he couldn't handle the sight of the blood. How much flesh had he mindlessly slashed through during his adventures, and almost basked in the warm spray of blood from his enemies? How many times was he forced to abandon his humanity and compose a pile of bodies in the name of protection? But he couldn't handle a few drops of blood on a lock of all too familiar golden lock of hair.

The hair was clenched in an enraged fist and his head flew to the side with spiteful words dancing on the tip of his tongue — only to find the spot next to him empty. The Yiga Clan member who had cleverly disguised themself as a common traveler was long gone, leaving nothing but Link, the howling wind, and his own rage. He thrust the hair into his pocket, seized the reins, and snapped them with urgency that even startled the horse who reared slightly and tore off with the thundering sound of hooves slapping the ground in his wake.