So how about that Breath of The Wild sequel news, huh?
Okay, so I have no intro for this chapter, sue me.
Link's eyes opened as the sun shined over his face. He saw it was morning in Gerudo Town. He felt the urge to go back to sleep as he used to, but he was trying to force himself not to sleep in as frequently as he used to.
It had been several weeks since their vacation at Lake Hylia, and his acceptance of Ruto being his fiance. As of now, he found himself laying back on his bed of pillows with one of his arms wrapped around Nabooru, who herself had both her arms wrapped around his body, resting against him.
The two had shared another night together like usual, Link himself was getting used to these kinds of 'sessions', and thanks to Nabooru's training, he was getting better at making her feel as good as she made him as well. It was a strange experience for him, but it was a lot more enjoyable then he thought, and it helped that Nabooru was such a great teacher.
His thoughts then wandered to Ruto; how the two of them have fallen in love,and now engaged, and with that, the idea of the two of them copulating together, and using these techniques with her in bed eventually. While some Hylian might be weirded out at the thought of making love to a Zora, Link was finding being with Ruto like that more appealing the more he thought about it.
Shortly after their time at the lake, Sarami was quick to educate Link on what she knew of Zora anatomy, including how effective mating is between male humans and female Zoras, though perhaps she had gone into a little TOO much detail for his liking.
He laid back and thought about the idea of not just making love to Ruto, but having children with her. It was an odd feeling, it felt both scary, but exciting at the same time.
His thoughts drifted to an adventure he had gone on where he saved some baby zora eggs from thieves so they could properly hatch. Then his thoughts went back to the medical clinic when they helped Maifeki give birth, and when he held her baby in his arms. He got to experience those new lives coming into the world firsthand, and it was a great feeling...
'Wonder if I'll be a good father...?' Link thought to himself. Those thoughts were interrupted by a soft moaning from Nabooru, who slowly woke and opened her eyes, then gave Link a gentle peck on the cheek.
"Morning Link." Nabooru grinned. She studied his facial features and ran a hand along his cheek."You have that look again, what're you thinking about?"
"Mostly just everything with Ruto." Link said, "I'm glad I was able to accept her proposal, though I'm a little nervous about it."
"How so?" Nabooru asked, now delicately tickling his chest with her fingers.
"A lot of things really; marrying her, having kids with her... it's a huge responsibility. Heck, even just the thought of the wedding alone has got me concerned." Link said, "Do you think Ruto's father and her people will accept me as her husband? And what will the Hyrule King say about it?"
"You worry too much, I think you'll do just fine." Nabooru said, giving him a light kiss, before getting up and starting to change into some clothes, "It's not going to be for a while anyway, I'm still working on plans to delegate with the Hylian Parliament about our situation. Ideally it'd be better if we had more allies besides the Zora to support us for when we do speak to them, though." she said.
"Hmm.." Link pondered to himself as he got up himself to put on his usual red vest and green pants that he had come accustomed to wearing in Gerudo Town, "What about the Gorons? Do they have any say in the Parliament?"
"Why, do you know them?" Nabooru asked.
"Yeah, I'm... actually the sworn brother of their leader Darunia." he said.
Nabooru practically faulted over upon hearing that.
"Seriously?!" she exclaimed, "A sworn brother is the highest honor a Goron can give someone, how did you win his favor?!"
"I helped his people out of a jam that Ganondorf put them in, it involved blowing up a bunch of stuff and bombing some Dodongos." Link explained.
"Well, to be honest the Gorons don't really get much respect from the parliament due to their simple ways and nature, but it would be good if we could at least arrange a meeting with Chief Darunia and negotiate some deals with them." Nabooru said, putting her hair into her typical topdown ponytail, "I have to say I'm impressed at how many connections you have in Hyrule."
"Yeah, I didn't really think about it too much until now." Link said, "Darunia and Ruto have always been good friends of mine, but I never really thought of them by their positions as leaders or things like that."
"Honestly, I think that's what would make you a grand king for us." Nabooru said, "You treat others as people, rather then a title or rank."
"Never really thought of it that way..." Link pondered.
"Morning guys!" shouted a loud voice, as Aviel came running in and jumping on top of Link, making him lose balance and knocking him over onto the pillows.
"Morning Aviel." Link said, not even surprised or embarrassed anymore from Aviel's forward greetings.
"So what's the plan for today?" Aviel asked as she sat on his stomach, doing a light bounce on it to show her enthusiasm..
"Well I'm going to need to get out to the training grounds today, just as soon as a little bird gets off of me." Link said, trying to give Aviel the hint.
"Aw, but it's so nice to be with you like this." she leaned forward, her breasts pressing against his chest, "Lady Nabooru always gets to spend every night with you, it makes me jealous!"
Nabooru paused, then said with a suggestive grin, "So, does that mean you interested in letting him take you? I wouldn't mind stepping out so the two of you could have a little fun..."
"W-What?!" exclaimed Aviel, her whole face flushing bright red, "M-Me and Link.. doing that kind of thing?! I... I couldn't do something like... uh..."
"Come on, I'm sure he would love to." Nabooru said.
"Hey, I'm right here you guys." Link said annoyed.
"Um... it just... you know... seems kinda soon for... that." Aviel looked left and right nervously.
"Well if that's the case, how about just a kiss then?" Nabooru suggested.
"A... a kiss...?" she contemplated that and looked down at Link. He was at a loss for words, as the two stared at each other for a few seconds. Aviel gulped a little, before turning her arms into bird wings and started flying out, "Uh, I just remembered I gotta go eat dinner... erm, I mean breakfast! Gotta go!"
Link and Nabooru watched as she banged into the door frame before flying out.
"She's got it bad for you, Link, you're a real charmer." snickered Nabooru.
"And you're pure evil, Nabooru." Link sweatdropped.
A clash of wooden swords went off at Gerudo Town's training grounds, where Link and a Gerudo guard were battling it out. The guard ran forward and did a flip over Link, who quickly spun around and blocked her sword with his shield, before thrusting his shield forward and knocking her sword away, giving him a chance to point his wooden sword at the woman's neck.
The fight being over at that point, the two of them sheathed their swords and shook hands.
The other girls, including Aviel who had been watching, all clapped and cheered over the duel. Nemisa meanwhile just sat and watched without any fanfare from her.
"You're a true fighter, your highness." the guard said to Link.
"You're pretty skilled yourself, it's no wonder you keep this place so well protected." Link nodded. It seemed like he was taking every day lately to go out to the training grounds and spar with anyone there willing to fight. Many of the Gerudo had their own distinct battle style, so it gave him a nice variety of opponents to practice against.
"Can I spar with you next, my king?!" asked another woman.
"Sure thing, put em up!" Link grinned as the two went into battle.
"He's really going at it." grinned Aviel, "Maybe you outta try sparring with him, Nemisa."
"I'd rather not" muttered Nemisa, glancing away.
"What, afraid you'll lose?" teased a nearby guard.
Nemisa turned to the guard and practically glared daggers at her, making her shut up.
"Lose? Not likely, I could handle him just fine." Nemisa said, she watched as Link knocked his opponent he was fighting on her rear end, ending their spar match, "...in fact, I will."
"Wow, she sure changed her mind quickly." snickered Aviel under her breath.
As Link and his last opponent shook and complimented each other over their abilities, Nemisa walked up to Link and poked his back, making him turn to her.
"Your highness, I'd like to spar with you." she said.
"Seriously?" he asked, "You sure?"
"I... need to test your abilities, just so I know how to properly guard you. That's all." she said. It was blatantly obvious to everyone there that she was just making an excuse, but no one dared to say anything out of fear of getting a death glare or clobbered.
"Alright then." Link said, gripping his sword, "I've been waiting for a rematch with you."
"Yes, and no need for you to be holding back this time." said Nemisa, going into a karate pose.
With that, the two of them went at each other. Link swung his sword, but Nemisa did a back flip to avoid it, then went at him with a forward punch, but Link dodged to the side. He stepped back and swung his sword vertically, to which Nemisa blocked it with the steel band on her leg. She then dropped down and attempted a sweeping kick, but Link quickly jumped and swung his own leg, kicking her backwards.
She shook it off quickly and lunged out with a rolling kick, hitting him across the face, but he retaliated by knocking her leg down by smacking the steel band with his sword, before rushing and knocking her to the ground with his shield.
By this point, almost everyone at the training yard was rooting and hollering for the two of them.
"Go Link! Take him down Nemisa! Show her who's boss Link!" Aviel shouted, too indecisive to pick a side.
Link then did a few forward thrusts with his sword, but Nemisa jumped to her feet and shifted herself left and right in an almost dance-like motion to avoid each strike, before suddenly kicking Link in the chin. He shook it off and the two went at each other with slashes and shield slams on one end, and punches and kicks with the other. Link managed to get a few slashes against her, while she got in a few impacts.
Eventually the two slowed down a bit, both gasping and panting from the battle. It was pretty intense for what was just a simple sparring match.
"You've... improved a bit..." Nemisa said..
"And you've just as strong... as ever." Link nodded, it was something he had noticed about her since the time they first met how strong and determined she was as a fighter. He thought about the times he would watch her dance at the club as Madame Scarlet and he swore he could recognize many of the movements she did in battle that she used while on stage, he really had to admire her passion.
That's when Link realized Nemisa was throwing a fist straight at him and leaned quickly to avoid it. Nemisa was dangerously close up to him, and in a surprising moment, gave him a small smirk.
"You better pay attention or you'll get hurt." Nemisa said
"I'm ready." Link grinned, and the two went right back into battle.
"You two were so cool back there!" Aviel exclaimed, waking alongside Link and Nemisa down the street. The battle ended without a deciding winner, but it was clear the two had been pretty evenly matched.
"I will admit you're stepped up your game lately, your highness." Nemisa said.
"Yeah, I felt like I needed to. I was out of practice for a while after traveling for so long to get back to Hyrule, so I need to get focused again, especially with all the crazy things that have been going on lately." Link self-reflected.
"Ugh, seriously. Between assassins, thieves, monsters, we couldn't even take a dip at the lake without a crisis." Aviel groaned, but she then perked up, "But it's been pretty fun as well!"
"Fun is a weird way of putting it." sighed Nemisa.
"No, I'm serious." Aviel said, "It's because of some of those bad situations we've been through that it brought us together like this."
"She's right." Link grinned, "I mean if me and Aviel weren't running from that assassin for instance we wouldn't have found out about your talent Nemisa."
"Never speak that out loud." Nemisa scowled, "I'm not about to let anyone else find out about that."
"Aaand she's back to her grump self." Aviel rolled her eyes, folding her arms behind her head.
The silly banter between the three was broken however, by the sound of a woman shouting.
"Please... you must help me!" she shouted, getting the attention of the three. They turned to see a crying woman, covered in injuries, pleading to two guards, who was trying her hardest to comfort her.
"H-Hey, settle down! We're going to do everything we can for you!" the guard said.
"Yes, we can't help you if you don't tell us what happened." the other nodded.
"She... I left... she's going to..." the woman was in panic, unable to get her words out at all.
"Is something the matter here?" Link asked, along with Aviel and Nemisa, walking up the woman and the two guards.
"Our king!" exclaimed the guards, who bowed to him and stepped away to give him space.
"Uh, enough of the king thing for now." Link assured the guards, before looking to the crying woman, "Is something the matter?"
"My... sis...ter..." she sobbed and stammered, "She was... was... she was going... I couldn't..."
Link knelt down and took the crying woman's hand in an attempt to comfort her. "Why don't you just tell us your name, and what's the matter?" he asked.
The woman stared down at Link holding her hand, it was a firm hold, but gentle. She looked up to see into Link's compassionate eyes, and she nodded.
"O-Okay... my... my name is Favisa...me and my sister Sireim, we were out investigating some of our friends who hadn't been back from their trip when they should have... We heard a cry for help... and met a man who claimed his wife was injured... but when we went to check, we were ambushed... by many men... We fought with all our strength, but Sireim was c-captured... and I was forced to r-run..."
"That's terrible!" Aviel exclaimed. Nemisa herself was shocked at hearing the story as well, and grimaced a bit.
Favisa broke down crying again, grabbed Link and hugging him tightly, "I abandoned her! I left my dear sister behind like a coward!"
"Hey hey, don't say that Favisa." Link assured her, hugging her back, "You did the right thing coming back here for help. Just calm down..."
"But what about Sireim?! I need to go back for her!" she shouted, trying to get up, before cringing and falling back to her knees.
"Not in this condition you're not." Link said sternly but compassionately, "Don't worry, me, Aviel and Nemisa will go find your sister."
"Y-You will, my king..?" she asked with tears running down her face.
"I promise." nodded Link, "Now where did all this happen?"
Favisa gave him directions on the path they traveled, then she broke down again and sobbed, "Please, you have to help her!"
"We will." Link nodded, he turned to the two guards and said, "Please, get Favisa to Dr. Sarami's clinic to get her fixed up."
"As you wish our king!" said the guards with a salute, before escorting Favisa off.
"Come on Aviel, Nemisa." Link said to his two bodyguards, ":Let's get moving."
"Right!" the two of them said, and with that the three ran off.
"Hmm... there was definitely a battle here recently..." Nemisa said, examining the ground around the point where Favisa had told them, noticing some small bits of red. "This blood is still fresh."
"I'll try flying over the area to see where they are." Aviel said, turning her arms into wings and taking to the sky.
Link and Nemisa meanwhile spent some time looking over the scene of the attack.
"So who do you think could have done this?" Link asked, pulling a discarded arrow from the ground to examine it's design.
"I can't say for certain..." muttered Nemisa, "But I have a bad feeling about it..."
"Huh?" Link asked.
"Guys! Guys! I found her!" shouted Aviel swooping down to the ground, stumbling over herself and falling on her face. "Owie..."
"Nice work Aviel, can you lead us there?" Link asked.
"Y-Yeah, come on then!" she said, getting up in a dizzy spell. She wandered off in the direction of the town, and stopped for a few seconds. "Oh wait, it was this way." she said, before spinning around again and flying off, as Link and Nemisa sighed and followed after her.
The group soon arrived at an enclosed area of the canyon, where Aviel landed down behind a small rock formation, and gestured to Link and Nemisa to hide behind it with her. The two of them cautiously peeked out from behind the rocks to see what Aviel had lead them to.
It was a small clearing where a group of men had set up a camp. They seemed to be hastily gathering their possessions and packing them up.
"Come on men!" shouted one of them, "We don't have much time before that Gerudo comes back with help!"
"I can't believe you numbskulls let her get away! We only managed to capture a few of them!" exclaimed one man.
"Eh, it's better then nothing. They'll still fetch us a good rupee." said another, gesturing to three Gerudo women, all bound and gagged. They were hanging their heads low, at least one of them seemed to be trembling.
"They were tough ones too, managed take down a few of us." pointing out one of them, who was wrapping a bad slash mark he had with a ragged cloth.
"I overheard them say one of those girls is Sireim!" Aviel told Link and Nemisa, "The other two must be the ones she and Favisa were looking for!"
"Glad we found them..." muttered Link, "But who the heck are these guys, and what was that about the girls getting them a good rupee...?"
Nemisa meanwhile, squeezed her wrist band, and clenched her fists.
"I would had tried to shoot them with my arrows, but they got a few archers themselves." Aviel explained.
"No problem," Link said. "I got a plan, we hide behind here and wait for them to leave, then we ambush-"
But Link was cut off by Nemisa shouting out and running past him, right at the kidnappers.
"W-What?! Nemisa, wait!" Link shouted.
One of the men saw Nemisa running right him and shouted, "Hey, what are yo-" and was interrupted when she punched him square in the face, sending him flying backwards into the camp supplies.
"A Gerudo?! Stop her!" shouted one of the men, and most of them went running right at Nemisa.
"Okay, time for Plan B." Link said, moving out from behind the rock and charging into battle as well.
"What's Plan B?" asked Aviel running alongside him
"Just beat the crup out of them!" Link shouted, swinging out his sword and slashing one of the kidnappers away.
"Sounds like as good a plan as any." Aviel grinned.
The bird girl spied one of the archers about to shoot an arrow at Nemisa, but she fired her own arrow at his bow, causing it to misfire and hit the cliffside, allowing Nemisa to rush in and kick the archer's bow in half before punching him to the ground.
Link blocked an attack by one man, then bashed him in the face with his shield, he was about to swing his sword, but Nemisa jumped down in front of Link and bashed the man backwards with a sharp kick before running off to fight another opponent. Link paused and watched her go at it in battle, before going back to fight more of the men.
A group of the men surrounded Aviel, so she took to the air with her wings, this allowed another archer to try to shoot her down from the sky, but she swooped out of the way. Link leaped down to the center of the circle of men and pulled off his spin attack, slashing them all away, then ran at the archer to take him down. But before he could even attack him, Nemisa charged in and headbutted the archer to the ground.
"Don't get in my way!" Nemisa shouted to Link, before going after another of the kidnappers.
'Weird,' Link thought, 'Nemisa's always been pretty short-tempered, but I haven't seen her like this before...'
"It's okay everyone!" Aviel said, concentrating on trying to undo the knots on Sireim and the captured Gerudo girl's arms. "We're going to get you guys free!"
The girls all nodded, unable to talk because of their gags. Before she could continue though, another man swung at her with a blade, which she barely dodged, and she immediately retreated to Link's side.
The Hylian swordsman, the bird archer girl and the karate master woman all stood together as the remainder of the men surrounded them.
"It's alright." Link grinned, "We can take them."
"Grrrr... what's all the commotion out here?!" shouted a new voice, Link, Aviel, Nemisa the girls and the remaining men all paused and looked to a particularly big tent that was still up, and emerging out from it was a particularity large man. He was bald, wore an open vest that didn't even try to hide his big gut, he had a small goatee on his chin, and had a rather large sword strapped to his belt, he was holding a large barrel of liquor with one arm, which he lifted up effortlessly and chugged down the contents, before wiping off his mouth and tossing the empty barrel aside.
"Are you the one who-" Link was cut off by Nemisa.
"Are you the leader?!" Nemisa shouted.
"Leader of this group? Yeah, what of it?" asked the man.
"Just what is it you want with those women?" Link asked, gesturing to the bound women and narrowing his eyes.
"Gawhawhaw! Nothing for us personally, we save em for the highest bidder!" he said.
"What?!" exclaimed Link.
"The name's Bungul, officer of the Wyvern Keepers, we deal in slave trading around these parts." he sported a toothy grin.
"A slaver organization?!" exclaimed Link, "Here in Hyrule?!"
"I've only heard about them..." Aviel said, "They were pretty nasty and dangerous guys for a while, until they were taken out by the Hylian army. We thought we had heard the last of them, but then they made a comeback out of nowhere about a year ago."
Nemisa just snarled, glaring at Bungul.
"Why exactly do you want Gerudo in particular?" Link asked Bungul.
"Well ya see, thanks to that law keeping them here in Gerudo Valley they're isolated, they're also physically fit to handle a lot of grueling labor, and they're mostly virgins. We got lots of high buyers who like that kind of merchandise if ya catch my drift!" snickered the slaver leader.
"You can't be serious..." Link scowled.
"You're monsters!" shouted Aviel.
Nemisa lowered her gaze, her body shook with anger.
"Gawhawhawhaw!" laughed Bungul, "As if we care about yer insults! Okay boys, cut that guy into pieces and we'll take these two extra girls for-"
That then Bungul was suddenly met with Nemisa sprinting forward, bashing her way through the men, and kicking Bungul across the head. He was in shock for a second, before turning to Nemisa, rubbing his chin.
"Okay lady, you're going to pay for that!" he said.
The other men yelled out war cries and charged at Nemisa, but Link and Aviel both went on the offensive with their sword and crossbow. Link cut down some of the slavers, while Aviel aimed and fired her arrows at the others.
Meanwhile, Nemisa was charging in recklessly, swinging her punches and kicks at Bungul, who was backing up, using his sword to protect himself. Nemisa lunged out and punched him in the gut, but it didn't do much, giving him the chance to smack her with his blade, but she jumped back to her feet and continued sending her attacks at him. He just took some attacks without even flinching, and got some easy hits on Nemisa in return.
Link turned and saw the way she was battling him. It bothered him greatly, she seemed to lack the graceful and concentrated style she used back when they practiced at the training yard, she was just rushing into him head-on without any technique, which was problematic since her opponent had her beat in raw physical strength.
Soon Nemisa tried to throw another punch at Bungul's face, but he grabbed at her fist with his large hand, immobilizing her attack. She froze up in that instant, staring up at the slaver leader, who sported a big toothy grin before kicking her to the ground. She tried to get up, but Bungul stepped down on her back and forced her back down onto the ground, rapidly stomping on her.
"Gaaahh!" screamed out Nemisa.
"Nemisa!" Link shouted, he wanted to turn to help her, but he was caught by three men all attacking him with their weapons, forcing him to work on driving them off.
"A weak woman like you should know her place! Gawhawhaw!' Bungul said, kicking Nemisa aside. She wanted to get up, she tried to get up, but she couldn't. Her whole body was frozen, and she had a thousand-yard stare in her eyes, and a harsh memory went through her mind.
'Nemisa... someday you'll know what it feels to truly be happy...'
Nemisa's eyes teared up and screamed out, "No, no! I won't lose to another!"
"Gawhawhaw! You've already lost you weak woman!" laughed Bungul, he brought up his sword, "And a weakling like you is lower then a slave, and deserves nothing but death!"
Nemisa was powerless to do anything, in too much pain to fight or even retreat, and closed her eyes tightly, preparing for her end...
That was when Bungul's sword was blocked off by a loud clash of steel. Bungul realized there now something between his sword and Nemisa.
"L-Link...?" Nemisa asked, looking up at Link, who was blocking the sword with his own. He and Aviel had just struck down the remaining men and he had rushed to Nemisa's defense. Nemisa was at a loss for words in that moment, only able to unwittingly say her future king's name once again.
"I'll show you who's the real weak one." Link said to Bungul, narrowing his eyes at the slaver leader.
"Gawhawhaw, want to fight, huh boy?!" asked Bungul, he took a step back and slapped his gut, "I'll look forward to it!"
The two of them went at each other with their swords. While Bungul had the advantage in sheer strength, Link's technique and agility helped balance the odds. Bungul swung his word downwards, but Link jumped and swung his sword, slashing at the big man. Bungul then swung his sword downwards at Link, who blocked it with his shield, but then Bungul kicked him back and slashed Link. Link shook it off and went at the slaver with everything he had, dodging nimbly and getting in a slash whenever he knew he had a good opening.
Nemisa herself laid there, her eyes wide as she watched how strongly Link fought, it was actually much like how he did when they sparred at the training yard. It was clear he was taking the training against her back then just as serious as when he was in battle against a real threat.
Aviel meanwhile had taken a knife from the body of one of the slavers and was using it to cut away at the ropes of Sireim and the other kidnapped Gerudo.
Bungul was starting to tire out more and more during the fight, he was used to being able to overpower his opponents, but couldn't deal with Link's style at all. He clutched his side with his free hand, from the sharp pain he was feeling through his body.
"This... can't be it..." gasped Bungul, "Losing to... this bastard?!"
Bungul tried one last horizontal slash, but Link leaped up, spun around and performed a diagonal slash attack, cutting Bungul across his chest. The slaver leader shouted out in pain, blood flying out from his body.
"I... can't... die... here..." muttered Bungul, his features darkening, and at that moment he fell backwards and slammed onto the ground lifelessly.
With that, Link let out a sigh, spun his sword in his hand and sheathed it back into it's place.
"He... did it..." Nemisa said. She laid there, closing her eyes tightly and shaking with sadness and anger.
"Nemisa! Are you okay?!" she then heard Link ask, her eyes opened and see looked up to see him staring down at her with a look of compassion. "Here, let me help you up." he took her hand got her up onto her knees. Nemisa herself couldn't stand the way he was helping her in that moment and just broke down.
"No... Don't give me your sympathy!" she shouted, tears running down her face uncontrollably, "Why did you of all people have to come to my aide?! I didn't need to be rescued! I'm a strong and proud Gerudo, not some dainty weak princess! I'm supposed to be the one protecting you!" she continued to shout, "I'm not weak!"
"Weak? Of course you aren't weak." Link said, snapping her out of her self pity, "You ran in there and took out a bunch of those guys before me and Aviel could even do anything. You've saved my butt plenty of times before, against a lethal assassin, and even from drowning to Morpha, and the way you fight normally is amazing, you're a worthy opponent at the training grounds as well, I'm honored to have you as a friend and bodyguard!" he concluded with his big goofy grin.
Nemisa just stared up at Link, not even sure what to say to him in that moment.
"Yeah Nemisa, you're the toughest girl I know, besides Lady Nabooru!" Aviel brought up, standing alongside Sireim and the other two Gerudo they freed, "I'm proud to have you as my partner!"
Nemisa wasn't sure what to say anymore, she gripped her wrist band, and closed her eyes tightly.
"I.." Nemisa muttered, not sure what to say.
"Here, let me help you up." Link said, he lifted Nemisa up onto his back, "We'll get you to Dr. Sarami as soon as possible."
"...o-okay..." Nemisa muttered, her hands gripping onto his shoulders, as the five of them all left the campsite, leaving the bodies of the slavers to the vultures.
Nemisa raised her head slightly, looking to see Link focusing on carrying her to safety and recovery. She looked closely at his blue eyes, those eyes she always saw before as childish, lecherous and stupid, looked so much older, kinder and wiser at that moment. She closed her own eyes and leaned her head against his back, and let out a soft sigh.
"There you go, it shouldn't take long for the red potion to help your body recover." Sarami said with a smile, as she did the finishing touches to Nemisa's wounds at the medical clinic.
"T-Thank you, doctor..." Nemisa said, her head hung down.
"Would you like me to kiss it to make it feel better?" Sarami offered.
"That won't be necessary..." she replied sweatdropping.
"Nemisa, how you feeling?" Link asked, coming in to see the two of them.
"Fine." Nemisa simply said, turning her gaze so as to not look at Link directly.
"She's a strong girl, so she;ll be fine as long as she concentrates on getting rest." Sarami nodded, "Speaking of which, how's that injury on your hand?" she asked as she took Link's hand and examined it carefully.
"What, that old thing from when I grabbed that thief's knife?" Link asked, sticking out his hand to show it was fine. "That was a while ago, it was just a little cut."
"Hmph, that was no mere cut, that was a gash wound, and it was deep enough to make you lose enough blood to develop a minor case of sudden anemia!" Sarami said.
"It was that bad...?" Link asked, rubbing the back of his head, "I barely remember anything about that..."
"You're strong, but you're not invincible. even a warrior like you has limits." Sarami scolded, but then had to let out a small giggle, "I think both you and Nemisa have a lot in common in that regard."
Link just laughed nervously while Nemisa rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, um, your highness...?" Nemisa muttered.
"What's up?" Link asked.
"I... just wanted to say..." she took a deep breath, "I'm... sorry for my actions back at the camp. I assure you that won't happen again."
"No problem." Link nodded, "Just remember you're more then my bodyguard, Nemisa, you're my friend, and you just have to have a little more trust in me. You can't do everything alone."
"O-Okay..." she nodded, her face slightly red, "I will, as long as you understand your own limits."
"Of course." Link nodded, "So you ready to get back to palace?" he asked.
"Yes, I'll just..." she started to stand and walk, but a small bit of pain caused her to flinch and stumble over. Link fortunately was able to catch Nemisa in his arms, she looked up at Link with wide eyes and her face a beet red.
"Here, let me support you." Link said, hoisting Nemisa up on his back again like before, bidding Sarami a thank you and goodbye before leaving back to the palace.
Nemisa just laid against his back, before wrapping her arms around his chest and resting against him.
While no one else saw it, Nemisa gave the faintest of smiles.
And that bring this chapter to a close. I admit part of my inspiration for this chapter was a response ot the criticism I've had over from previous chapters in regards to Link's strength. I admit I may have portrayed him as a little too weak initially, but I was mostly trying to avoid making him TOO perfect, but it's difficult to come up with a proper balance. I feel more now that I may have gone too far in the other direction, if you feel that's the case, I apologize for that, and I'll try to think more about my choices in the future. Thank you though, for inspiring me to make this chapter the way I did!
Next chapter, Link meets a new ally, as well as some new enemies...