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?

15. recompense

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.

Among the cheers of victory from the Yiga, Link's own horrified cry for Zelda was devoured. The chains rattled as he momentarily forgot they were restricting him and lunged forward to provide aid to the princess — but the metal cut deep into his wrists and yanked him backward in place. He repeated the action with more desperation this time, finding his heart pounding against his chest with urgency; if he didn't get to her in time, she would undoubtedly bleed out right in front of him.

But the damn chains refused to let him go, leaving him repeating the action of feebly pulling forward on them in his desperate attempt to reach the princess. Each forceful pull against them inched the nail out farther and farther from the wall, and within half a minute it clinked to the ground and granted the hero his freedom. Before the overjoyed Yiga could even realize the hole in their seemingly foolproof plan, Link had darted forward and slung the chain between his wrists around a member's neck.

The body went rigid against his chest and urgently flailed with an attempt to escape, but Link felt no mercy for these people. No mercy, no sympathy, and not a single shred of regret for the fate they would bring upon themselves. Drawing his elbows back tightly, the chain constricted more around the man's neck and within due time his body fell lifelessly to the floor. He snatched the ring of keys from the man's belt, along with the unscathed Sickle, and straightened his spine.

By this point, the crowd in the room had become aware of his escape and chaos erupted full-force, but nobody was backing down. The first few soldiers were easy to take down, even with his hands still bound. Link made short work of slicing their necks and rendering them useless to the next wave of attackers that were already pouring in. Typically he'd prefer to not use such violence and force in the same room as the princess, but given the current situation, it was necessary. And while he hated to admit it, taking these lives felt good, though nowhere near justifying for what the Yiga had done to Zelda. If there was punishment worse than death, Link would execute it personally to each and every clan member in this room.

Quick feet carried the attacker in his direction but Link's defenses were up, even without a single defensive item at his disposal. He had battled the Yiga many times and knew their moves and patterns like the back of his hand, which was why it was so easy to take them down and start stacking the body count. Slice after slice he made, effortlessly taking the men down from all directions as they attacked — but suffocation was setting in as sharp gusts of air were caught in the corner of his eye. Blademasters — harder to get close to and without a long reaching sword or spear, Link would struggle a bit.

He needed to think quickly. Zelda's life depended on it — if she was even with them still. From his position in the back of the room it was hard to judge just where the blade had cut, and how deep it went, but Link had a habit of assuming the worst when it came to her well-being, which landed him where he currently was.

The Sickle clattered to the ground and the tail of the chain was drawn into his grasp. Wrapping it tightly around his hand, Link began to swing the metal around in front of him, striking the few foolish Yiga who dared come forward and attempt to finish him off. The metal slapped dangerously against body after body, stunning his opponents with the force as the hero tried to thin the crowd that surrounded him on all sides — but it was useless.

There were just so many ... and Zelda, goddess, poor Zelda ... throat slit and dying alone in a pool of her own blood at the hands of her kidnappers.

There was no way he'd reach her in time if he had to take down everyone. He had a single fallback plan in mind, but it could fail him and make matters worse if it wasn't timed just right. What other option did he have, though?