It felt like a hundred people were staring at him. A hundred soulless gazes burning into his skin, eyeing him like he was a grand prize fit enough to be mounted on the wall for all to see. To the Yiga, the legendary hero of Hyrule was exactly that: yes, he would certainly look wonderful upon that wall next to his beloved princess. Two of their greatest enemies, bested in one sitting. The whole ordeal seemed surreal on both sides.

A hand shoved square into his shoulder to force him to pick up the pace. Link stumbled forward a bit while composing his balance and shot an ice cold gaze over his shoulder to the large man behind him. "Pick up the pace," he was instructed.

For the life of him, Link couldn't make sense of their hurry to get him to the main room. Surely they knew they'd never defeat him, right? Try as they might, they had never once been successful in taking down their foes. Their large numbers were the only thing proving to be of assistance to them in any sort of way. Their fighting abilities were laughable in his eyes — even the best of them lacked proper skill. Even the battle with beloved Master Kohga was about as challenging as slaying measly Bokoblin on the Great Plateau with a simple branch.

Needless to say, Link's confidence in himself and lack thereof in the Yiga was the only reason he hadn't lashed back yet. If it weren't for that cheap shot that caught him off guard outside the entrance, the boy was certain he would've saved the princess by this point. But he took the bait, almost amused to see what his foes had in store for him. It was no secret that he loved a good fight, and some part of him hoped his enemies would deliver for once.

The Hylian knight strode into the room with an unfazed demeanor, perfectly maintaining his cool as every head turned in his direction. He looked at not a single masked face yet, for his attention was drawn to the center of the room where Zelda stood on a platform that was heavily guarded by a variety of different Yiga clansmen: foot-soldiers with Demon Carvers, Vicious Sickles, Duplex Bows ... the works. There was even a pair of Blademasters positioned behind her against the wall in case extra manpower was needed.

It wasn't the summoned army that centered as his focus point currently, however. Blue eyes flickered quickly over the crowd, yes, but when they settled back on the princess, everything else seemed to blur out.

What had they done to her?

The attire she had climbed into bed with was still clinging to her figure — barely. The pure and unsoiled white was bruised with the colors of the earth and crimson blood that fanned out in drippings from the point of origin. A nasty wound stared back at him, crusted with dried blood and the early stages of attempted healing, forming the shape of the undeniable Yiga Clan symbol. The sight alone forced a fist at his side to clench and his knuckles to turn white with anger, ready to throw a punch at whoever was closest — but when his eyes traveled further up Zelda's body, his senses went dull and the fingered loosened.

Her hair. Messily chopped with an uncaring hand, leaving the two sides of her golden locks uneven and distasteful. His mind flashed back to the envelope he had received at the stable, and the chunk of hair it contained — Link understood it had been a taunt, but the amount he had received was only a small lock in comparison to how much she had lost.

With darkened features, Link whipped his head to the side where another Blademaster had joined him on his journey.

"How dare you harm her?" The words forced themselves out before he could even consider maintaining his silence, but given the situation there was no possible way he could remain quiet. Simply kidnapping Zelda was one thing, but inflicting physical harm upon her? That was a whole different story.

He acted on impulse by moving for the towering man at his side, but before he could reach, the back of his shirt and cloak were seized by a powerful fist that yanked him backward and sent him forward again with a powerful shove.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you, hero," the Blademaster spat on him, only forcing Link's rage to boil over even more. Like a child, he was yanked up off the ground by the same man and personally guided to his next destination by the fist grasping the back of his shirt. They were directed to the wall where a set of chains were nailed into the stone wall. He was instructed to put them on himself, and without further delay, he gave in. The hope had not drained from his mind yet, however, or there was no way in hell he would have restricted himself in such a manner. If anything, his protectiveness over Zelda and the spite her afflictions brought to him only heightened his confidence. If they wanted to motivate him, they had done a wonderful job.

He silently eyed the restrictive cuffs, following the long link that connected them to the wall where they were held in place by a nail. With his eyes alone, Link could tell that the nail that was supposed to hold him in place was loose: small flakes of stone crumbled with the gesture of him picking up the chain. He wondered how much force would be necessary to fully draw the nail free.

Almost as if he were shamefully pulling them on with a temper, the blonde boy yanked on the metal to see if it would give. The nail loosened gently in its place, but that's about as much as he got. It would need to be worked out of place little by little and he'd have to do so without drawing too much attention to himself.

"Hero," a new voice spoke up, nearly shaking the entire room with a booming echo. Link twisted around to face who was addressing him. Outward appearances could've fooled anyone into thinking he was another lowly Yiga clansman with a bone to pick with Link, but the Hylian boy knew better than to believe something that foolish. The man seemed to hold himself differently than the others, with an air that demanded respect and devotion. The other clansmen looked to him as if he were a leader, and all but vibrated with excitement when he spoke.

Link gently twisted the chains into his hands and began to lightly pull on the material. The blade that glistened against Zelda's throat raised a couple red flags in his mind, and slowly that confidence was starting to flake away. It took everything within him to not simply just rip the chain from the wall and rush to her side — but who's to say he would make it in time? The blade could easily slice through her skin the second the chain was free and then everything he had planned would be in vain.

'Patience,' he reminded himself. This homemade Yiga leader was prepping for a speech, Link could already tell, so that would buy him an extra few precious seconds — he hoped.

"Hero," he began, voice borderline gleeful. Repositioning the blade, he pressed it against the convergence of her lower jaw and throat— forcing her to lift her head and chin in submission. "I hope you enjoy this wonderful sight. How does it feel knowing you failed?"

Undeterred by the lack of response, the Yiga continued with a sly grin. "I wonder how you'll cope once your beloved Zelda is gone. A shame, truly. While I would love to say I hate the prospect of interrupting such a pure, young love— you have incited and brought forth our anger from the very beginning; I shall enjoy this very much."

It was easy to ignore the jab the man had made at them; love? Perhaps in a friendly manner, but Link would never let it surpass that. Duty always had to come before his own emotions, and being romantically involved with the princess would put a strain on the very reason he was alive. He had already let her down once and Link had since sworn it would never happen again. Ever.

Words spoken far too soon. A promise made in a mindset of overwhelming confidence when Link thought they had put all the evil the world had to offer behind them for the time being.

Time seemed to slow, like someone wanted to toy with him and make him remember this moment forever. The gleaming blade, Zelda's panicked expression that all but begged Link to help her, the blood, the cheering, the crumpling of her body against the floor — and that's when his senses kicked back in and everything hit him at once.