To Capture the Heart of a Hero

Chapter 2 – Capable

Link and Zelda retired for the night shortly after their conversation. Truthfully, they were both rather tired, and with the desert night being as dark as it was, they had no reason not to go to sleep. They wouldn't be able to travel without daylight, and sunrise was still many hours away, after all. The two of them had chosen to cuddle up next to their respective horses, leaning against the soft, warm sides of the animals as a sort of "makeshift bed". Truth be told, it was actually quite comfortable, and the horses didn't seem to mind the company. It didn't take long for the four of them to drift off into the land of dreams.

However, a few hours later, Zelda awoke in the early morning, when the sky was still yet dark. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her eyes of sleep, before she glanced around her. She was certain that she had just heard something, and it had caused her to awaken from her peaceful slumber.

She took a second to scan the campsite. The flames of their bonfire had since died down to nothing more than bright embers, but they still emitted enough of a glow for Zelda to see her surroundings. Her white horse Reina was still behind her, resting peacefully. Link was but a few feet away from the Princess, quietly lying against Epona's side. The two of them were also sound asleep.

Aside from that, the campsite was empty. Nevertheless, Zelda closed her eyes and attempted to listen for anything out of the ordinary. Anything that might suggest an encroaching danger.

Sure enough, after listening for a moment, Zelda picked up on a distant sound. It was quiet, but constant. Zelda tried to focus in on what it could possibly be. It almost sounded like scratching, as if a creature was clawing at something over and over. Perhaps something was digging down into the sand?

A few seconds later, Zelda picked up the same sound from a different direction. Once again, it sounded like the constant shuffling of earth. The sound soon appeared in a third direction, as well as a fourth and fifth. As Zelda continued to listen, she also noticed that the soft scratching noises were slowly and steadily growing louder. By this point, she was certain of one thing: something was approaching them.

Zelda frowned as she sat up. She soon leaned over towards Link and gave a gentle tug on the sleeve of his green tunic. "Link," she whispered. "Link, wake up."

Feeling her pull, Link lazily opened his eyes and blinked a few times. "Hmm? What's up?" he mumbled.

"I hear something approaching us. I get the feeling that it's dangerous."

Link lazily stared at her for a second, but he soon blinked again and started to sit up. He used a single hand to rub his face and eyes a bit. Once he was finished, he seemed much more alert. "Monsters?"

Zelda gave a single nod. "Most likely."

Much like Zelda had done, Link closed his eyes and listened to the scratching sound steadily growing louder as it approached them. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and frowned. "Leevers," he said, shaking his head.

Leevers. Zelda had heard of this desert-dwelling creature before, although she had never actually encountered one. Still, she knew enough to recognize that they were indeed dangerous. They were rounded, almost cone-shaped creatures that dug their way through the sand to catch their prey unaware. They were known to hunt just about anything that came their way, including humans that were caught traveling across the desert.

Link grabbed the Master Sword from his saddle and unsheathed it. He soon rose to his feet and turned to the Princess. "Zelda, stay with the horses. I'll drive them off."

Zelda frowned for a second before shaking her head. "Wait, I'll back you up." She soon reached into one of Reina's saddlebags, and ended up retrieving a thin, ornate-looking bow, as well as a quiver of arrows. She slung the quiver over her shoulders before also rising to her feet, bow in hand.

Link just stared at her with a confused look. "You're going to fight?" he whispered.

Zelda just gave a quick nod. "Of course. Don't underestimate me just because I was imprisoned in the castle for so long."

Link still felt surprised, but he quickly reminded himself that the Princess had been able to shoot a number of arrows at Ganondorf during their final battle, all while riding on horseback too. Perhaps he was underestimating her a bit. She could surely handle herself against a few Leevers.

With a single nod of agreement, Link turned away to face Epona. He quickly retrieved his shield before giving his horse a small pat. "Stay here and keep calm, okay Epona?"

The horse glanced at him and blinked a single time, showing she understood.

Zelda also placed a single hand on her own horse, who had since raised her head at the encroaching noise. "You stay calm as well, Reina. This will be over quickly."

By this point, the scratching noise was louder than ever, signaling that the battle was imminent. Link and Zelda quickly took their positions. Link circled around the remains of the campfire so he would be front and center. Meanwhile, Zelda hoisted herself up onto the outcropping of rock, where she soon nocked an arrow and surveyed the area.

A few seconds passed, the noise continuing to escalate in volume until it finally reached its peak. Just as it did, the creatures suddenly burst out from underneath the sand, revealing themselves. As expected, there were numerous Leevers, all coming from different directions. Link tried to get a quick count, but he stopped after reaching six. He didn't have time as they were already making their move.

The first Leever let out a shrill cry before rushing towards him, opening its maw and baring its sharp fangs. Naturally, Link took a defensive position, raising his shield to block the oncoming assault. The creature rammed into the shield, scratching its teeth against the metal, but Link held it steady. Before long, he used his strength to shove the creature away. As it fell backwards, Link gave a single quick slash with the Master Sword, successfully wounding the creature's side. It gave a painful and agitated shriek as it backed away some more.

Link soon heard one of the creatures shriek from behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted one Leever with an arrow sunk deep into its side. Even as he watched, he heard another arrow being loosed from the bow only to hit the creature dead on. It wailed some more.

Link was soon pulled back into his own battle as a fresh Leever charged him, as well as the one he had just wounded. Link retreated back a bit, making sure to keep his shield raised as his enemies tried to lunge at him. Fortunately, they just ended up colliding with the shield, unable to get to him. Nevertheless, Link knew that he would have to start making some decisive moves if he wanted to escape unharmed.

Link waited patiently for the wounded Leever to lunge once more, and it soon did. As it jumped at him, Link thrust the Master Sword forward, perfectly impaling the rounded creature through its middle. It immediately released a piercing cry as its blood gushed forth from the open wound. However, the cries only continued for a moment before they quickly petered out, and the creature became limp as it sagged to the ground. It was dead.

Hearing the cries of its comrade, as well as seeing a new opening, the other Leever tried to jump at Link from his now unprotected side. Its tiny eyes flashed in anger as it gnashed its teeth and lunged for the hero.

Fortunately, Link was ready for this. Quickly withdrawing his blade from the dead Leever, he spun around to meet his current adversary. With the Leever nearly upon him, Link did the only thing he could do. He used his momentum to swing his sword arm forward and slice the creature in one quick motion.

Shing!

It was a decisive blow. Link had horizontally cut the creature in two, and the large remains fell to the sand without a sound. Another one down.

Another shriek from behind informed him of yet another Leever's demise. He managed to catch a quick glimpse of the corpse, shot to death by a total of four arrows. He couldn't help but wonder if the creature had finally bled to death or if Zelda had managed to strike it in some vital area. He didn't have time to find out as another Leever was soon upon him, its fangs open wide. It gave a menacing snarl as it crouched down, trying to get around his shield and bite at his legs. It wasn't comfortable, but Link didn't have much choice; he too crouched down to properly fend the Leever off. The cone-shaped creature continued to tackle against the shield, trying to get the edge on him.

As Link waited for his chance to strike back, he noticed another Leever approaching from the side. He cursed a bit. He was not looking forward to dealing with two at once again.

However, to his surprise, the Leever soon changed course. Link watched as it slowly shuffled past him, choosing instead to move deeper into the campsite. His mind paused for a second, trying to figure out why the creature had just ignored him like that, when he suddenly realized the Leever's true target.

The horses!

"Oh no you don't," Link muttered. He was still pinned down by the first Leever, but he tried to adjust his position as best he could. He would have to quickly strike at the second Leever before it was out of his reach. Wasting no time, he raised his sword and swiped it towards the creature, only to clench his teeth in frustration a moment later.

Whoosh…

He missed! The blasted Leever had shuffled to the side at the last second, dodging the slash and saving its own skin. With nothing holding it back, the Leever rushed ahead into the campsite.

Link looked past the Leever, worrying for the horses' safety. By this point, the pair of mares had risen to their hooves, and seemed to be standing in place, looking nervous. They could definitely tell that there was danger around them, but at the insistence of their riders, they had stayed firmly in position. However, with a fresh Leever on the way, Link knew it was only a matter of time before they began to panic.

Sure enough, Reina spotted the danger first, and gave a startled cry. Epona soon noticed it too, but simply remained silent. Still, she looked rather tense and on edge. Link knew that it wouldn't be long before she started crying out as well.

Link clenched his teeth some more as he turned back to face the Leever that was still clawing at his shield. He would need to finish this one off before he could run to the horses' aid, and the sooner he could do that, the better. He raised his sword, ready to plunge it down towards his enemy, only for the Leever to nearly jump over his shield and bite at his stomach. Link leaned backwards and raised his shield to protect himself once again. Damn, this thing was ferocious!

Reina soon cried out again. The mare's tone was high-pitched and full of fear. It seemed as if Link's fears had come true. The horses had started to lose their nerve and were on the verge of panicking.

Thunk!

Link paused. He had clearly heard the sound of an arrow slice through the air and bury itself in something. He dared to take a glance behind him and confirm his suspicions. Sure enough, the Leever (which was now quite close to the horses) had been struck by an arrow. Looking past the scene, Link spotted Zelda up on the rock. Her eyes were completely focused on the Leever as her hands instinctively nocked another arrow. A second later, it hit its mark.

This time, the Leever was the one crying out. It shrieked a bit as it paused, realizing the danger to itself. It soon veered away from the horses, coming back the way it had originally entered.

"Link!" Zelda's voice rang out clearly through the night air. "It's coming your way!"

Sure enough, Link glanced back to see the retreating Leever making a beeline straight for him. Perhaps it was attempting to hunt down a more vulnerable target? If that was the case, then the Leever was sorely mistaken, as Link was far from finished.

Grinning a bit, Link came up with the perfect plan. He used his shield to shove the first Leever away, putting some much-needed distance between them. No longer needing to crouch, Link then rose up to his full height, and brought his sword up before him. He paused for a second.

The Leever he had bashed with his shield quickly recovered, and leapt towards him once more. At the same time, the arrow-stricken Leever lunged at his backside, ready to nip at his heels. Link patiently waited for one more second to pass before swiftly bringing his sword around him in a circular motion.

"Hyah!"

It was a flawlessly executed spin attack. With that single 360-degree slice, Link had struck both Leevers a fatal blow. One of them died instantly, a huge chunk of its body having been cleaved open. The other just fell over in the sand and began gasping for air as its wound slowly paralyzed it. It would soon perish as well.

Finally free of enemies, Link stared back towards the camp. Epona seemed to have relaxed a bit after the Leever had retreated, but Reina was still crying out and shuffling around uncomfortably. She was far from calm.

Zelda, sensing the distressed state of the white mare, jumped down from her position atop the rock and landed next to her steed. She soon reached out and placed a gentle, soothing hand on the horse's mane. She calmly stroked it a few times, all the while making quiet shushing sounds.

"Be brave, Reina…" she whispered quietly into the horse's ear. "For me."

The touch and words seemed to have an effect on Reina, as she quickly started to relax. She ceased her cries as well as her fidgeting, and chose instead to remain perfectly still as Zelda continued to comfort her.

"Good girl," Zelda mused.

Seeing that the horses were once again safe and under control, Link allowed himself to look away and examine the campsite. All around them were the remains of the now dead Leevers. As he glanced over them, he spotted quite a few that had been shot to death with arrows. Zelda had apparently done a great job of keeping them at bay with her bow. It also seemed that the only Leever that had managed to invade the camp was the one that had slipped by Link, so she had clearly kept a watchful eye out.

Link soon allowed himself to relax a bit. It appeared that all the Leevers had been dealt with, and their campsite was safe once more. However, he soon paused and frowned a little. If that was the case, then why did he still hear a slight scratching sound?

Link glanced around one more time, only to spot the creature at the last second. It had already burrowed its way deep into the camp and was now only mere feet away from Zelda and the horses. With wide eyes, he watched as it burst forth from the sand, directing its fangs towards the Princess.

"Zelda, watch out!" he cried.

Zelda turned to face the creature, her bow in hand. She quickly reached back to her quiver to grab an arrow, but there was no time. The Leever was already upon her and ready to strike. She had no chance of shooting it before it took a bite out of her.

However, what happened next left Link feeling stunned. He watched as a single brown boot flashed from beneath Zelda's dress, and in an instant, there was now a great distance between the Princess and the Leever. It took Link a second to put together what exactly had happened. She had just kicked the creature away!

Now with plenty of time available to her, Zelda nocked an arrow. She carefully aimed it at the creature and directly fired the shot into its mouth. The Leever just gasped a bit as the air immediately expelled from its body, before it soon fell to its side on the sand. It was dead.

Zelda just stared at it for a moment before she reached up and wiped a bit of sweat from her brow. "Phew, I'm glad I was finally able to discover their vital area. And not a moment too soon."

Link just stared at the Princess in awe. He knew that she was capable of fighting, but he had not expected her to be quite so skilled in combat. Her accuracy with the bow and her ability to react so quickly to danger was incredibly impressive, to say the least.

Zelda soon looked over and noticed Link staring at her. "Is something wrong, Link? They didn't get you, did they?"

"No, no, I'm all right" he assured her, forcing himself out of his daze. "I was just amazed is all. That was one hell of a shot." He soon pointed at the freshly dead Leever with an arrow sticking out of its maw.

Zelda followed his finger and also stared at the creature's remains for a second. "Oh? Did that surprise you?"

Link nodded. "Honestly…yeah."

Zelda soon turned back to face him, although this time she had a somewhat smug look on her face. "Were you still underestimating me, Hero?"

Link was surprised at the question, but he quickly tried to defend himself. "What? No, I…I was just…" Link soon paused as he realized that he didn't really have much of an excuse. He looked away as he hung his shoulders. "Well…maybe I was…"

Zelda gave him a small smile. "They say that underestimating an ally can be just as foolish as underestimating an opponent. Hopefully, you now have an idea of just what exactly I am capable of."

Link felt a bit embarrassed by all of this. He knew that she was a skilled combatant. He had heard plenty of stories, including a recent tale of how she had assisted her guards in driving out the remainder of the enemy forces from Hyrule Castle, although he had not seen any of it in person. Not that it mattered much, as he had already witnessed her skill firsthand before today, during their final battle against Ganondorf. So of course, deep down, Link knew that Zelda was strong.

And yet, every time danger arose, this simple fact seemed to slip his mind. Why did he get so worried for her safety, only to be surprised when she proved herself time and time again? Was he just being a little overprotective of the Princess? Since he had saved her life once, did he now feel the need to do it over and over again? Link wasn't sure, and he didn't even know how he would go about finding answers to these questions, or if he even could for that matter.

However, there was one thing that he now believed with absolute certainty: Zelda was one of the most capable women he had ever met.

Seeing the Princess still giving him a warm smile, Link felt himself return it. "I'll…keep that in mind," he told her. He then turned away and began approaching some of the Leevers. "Here, I'll help you collect your arrows."

"Much appreciated," Zelda replied.

The two of them spent a few minutes removing the arrows from the remains of the Leevers. Most of the arrows were covered in blood and some other sort of mucus, but Zelda insisted that she could have them cleaned once she got back to the castle. She soon stashed them away in one of her saddlebags. Meanwhile, Link took a few minutes to remove the creatures' remains from their campsite. He didn't want to just leave them there, especially since they would be sleeping only a few feet away. Besides, their corpses might just end up attracting more predators, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

Once he was done, he returned to Zelda, who seemed to have relaxed both Reina and Epona enough to get them to lie back down again. In fact, Reina had already returned to her slumber, but Epona remained awake and stared at her rider as he walked over. She seemed to have been waiting for him.

Link looked up at the sky as he rubbed Epona's neck a bit. "We should get back to sleep. It'll still be a few more hours before dawn."

Zelda gave a single nod. "I agree, although I think it would be best if we took it in shifts. One of us should be keeping watch while the other rests. That way, we can make sure to avoid another 'surprise attack' should any more monsters come our way."

Link nodded back. "Makes sense. Why don't you go ahead and sleep, and I'll take the first watch?"

Zelda seemed a little surprised at this. "Oh, are you sure?"

"Yeah, you can rest. I'll keep an eye out."

Zelda just stared at him for a second, looking somewhat curious. After a moment, her expression started to seem a bit more skeptical. She held this gaze for a few seconds, and as Link stared back, he started to feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Wh-What?" he stuttered.

Zelda continued to stare at him, but she soon crossed her arms as her features took on more of a playful look. "Are you sure you're going to be able to stay awake, Link?"

Link felt taken aback. Where had that question come from? "What? Of course I will."

Zelda smirked a bit. "Really? Because Midna mentioned that you like to doze off at the most inopportune times. She told me that you could fall asleep just about whenever and wherever. Oh, and I believe the specific term she used to refer to you was 'sleepyhead'."

Link immediately blushed from embarrassment. Sure, it was true that he liked to take a nap every now and then, and he did enjoy sleeping in too, but why the hell had Midna mentioned any of that to the Princess!? However, upon asking himself this, Link just rolled his eyes as he unconsciously conjured a mental image of the tiny imp, grinning and making fun of him in front of Zelda. What was he thinking? Of course Midna had told Zelda all about his sleeping habits. She had probably thought it was funny. No, not just funny, but absolutely hilarious. Link soon found himself cursing his Twili friend. She really could be a pain at times.

Zelda noticed the glum look on his face and just gave a small laugh. "Relax, Link. I'm only teasing. I'm certain you'll be able to stay alert while I rest."

"Really?" Link asked, still frowning. "You seemed to treasure Midna's opinion of me just a moment ago."

Zelda just giggled a bit more. "Well, you'll just have to prove her wrong then."

Link was surprised at what Zelda did next. She reached out and gave him a small affectionate pat on the shoulder. Link had not been expecting such sudden reassurance from the Princess, but before he could even react, she had already turned away and started walking back towards Reina.

Link just let out a soft sigh as he sat down next to Epona. He could at least cuddle up next to her while he kept watch. However, just as he was about to get comfortable, he heard Zelda speak up once more.

"Oh, and Link?"

He glanced over at her. "Yes?"

"About earlier…" Zelda paused, as if she was trying to think of what to say. Eventually, she just gave him one last warm smile. "Just know that I admire and respect your strength as well."

Once again, Link wasn't quite sure what to say, but it seemed Zelda didn't even give him the chance. With her final smile, the Princess turned away, knelt down next to Reina, and soon closed her eyes. She had gone to sleep for the night, leaving Link alone to ponder her words in silence.

I tend to struggle when writing action scenes, so I hope I did okay here. I was originally only going to have three Leevers attacking the camp, but then I realized that these creatures were easily sliced like butter lol.