Chapter 10

Consciousness came back to Link, wishing he could go back to sleep. Instead his senses came back to him as warm breath was blown into his face. He opened his eyes and took in Zelda's sleeping face only a hand's distance from his own. Slowly his mind took inventory of where his arms where, his right pressed up against his chest and something else he wasn't sure as his other draped over Zelda.

Fear that Lady Impa would walk in on them almost got Link to rip himself away, afraid in the middle of the night he had actually gone ahead and let his daydreams get the better of him. His heart slowed down as he remembered where they were, in the guest room of Hera's house, an inventor they had asked help from in another world they had fallen through by a portal.

Link took in the girl before him, noticing her eyes moving beneath their lids. Her blonde hair wrapped around her neck, his eyes following the locks until he blushed at where his arm was. It was pressed up against his chest but also pressed up against hers, the only thing between his arm and her chest being the piece of cloth wrapped around her that hung by a string around her neck. He quickly looked back up at her face as he desperately tried to come up with a way to move without waking her. He moved his left arm, to start slowly taking himself out of the bed, only to find her left arm gripping tighter around him, as if her subconscious wasn't going to let him leave. He put his arm back in defeat and laid there, looking at the girl's face. He counted himself lucky she didn't kick him out of the bed like he had feared. He closed his eyes, figuring he'd try to relax until she showed signs of waking up only to open his eyes to a smiling Zelda, the girl awake.

"Morning," Zelda offered.

"Morning," Link said as he realized he had dozed back off. "How'd you sleep?"

"I was gone when we laid down," Zelda said. A laugh escaped her as she added, "I didn't expect to wake up like this though."

"Sorry," Link said, looking down at his hand sandwiched between their chests. He took his arm that still laid over her and freed himself so he could throw off the blanket and drop his feet off the bed. Quickly he pulled down on his undertunic as he felt Zelda move behind him. He turned and watched as she let the blanket fall away, revealing her lean body in the fire light streaming in from the glassed over window as it rained down.

"Don't be sorry," Zelda said. She stood up and ran her hands through her hair as it fell to the strap holding her loin cloth on. She looked over her shoulder and smiled down at Link.

Link felt his face heat up as she had caught him looking her over and quickly turned away, covering his lap with his arms crossed.

Zelda let out a laugh as she stepped over to her pile of armor and underclothes. She stood up with a pair of breeches in her hands and slid them on as she said, "A part of me is going to miss this once we've been married for a while."

"I don't think I could ever get used to…" Link looked over his shoulder and saw her pulling on her undershirt, her arms raised up. He quickly turned back around and picked up his own underclothes to start and put on the winter layer.

"More amusement for me than," Zelda said, laughter in her voice.

Link focused on putting on his under layer, trying to distract his mind from the girl dressing behind him. He pulled on his armor, sitting down to strap on his shoes before rising to his feet.

"I hope Hera will give us a rain check on that tour," Zelda said as she stepped over to the table that held both helmets and gloves.

Link stepped over to stand beside her and let out a sound of agreement as he put his gloves into his helmet before leaning down to pick up his sword. "The sooner we find the Darknut and get the Tri-force of Power from him, the sooner we can go home," he said, swinging the sword so the strap hung from his right shoulder. He turned to Zelda to see her strapping on her quiver of arrows and added, "And maybe that'll save the people of this world."

Zelda smiled up at him as she finished. "You always think of how many people you can help."

"Not always."

Zelda took hold of her helmet, shoving her gloves finger first into her quiver, and grabbed her bow. "Even if you don't think you do, you end up doing it," she said. She reached for the door handle and pulled it open as the smell of something cooking wafted in.

"Hopes that means Hera's cooking," Link said, unsure what else in the house of wonders could be smelling as the air did.

"I didn't think it could be his other inventions," Zelda said, throwing a look at Link as she led the way out of the room.

He followed her back the way they had come last night, throwing a look at Hera's bedchamber door to see it cracked open. Link paused to look through the crack only to make out a cluttered room of papers and models of projects half worked on. He made out the bed, the blankets thrown aside and the mattress empty of a body. Looking back towards the stairs he caught sight of Zelda's bun traveling around the bend to the bottom floor. He hurried after her, armor clinking with each step. He caught up with her as she passed the bathroom door, her throwing him a look.

"There you two are," Hera said, poking his head out of the kitchen doorway to look at them. "Hope you like bacon and eggs."

"Eggs? You have cuccos here?" Link asked as they stopped in the hall to peak into the room. He saw pipes running the ceiling and into different pieces of machinery. Only the stove looked recognizable to Link's eyes.

"Cucco? No, they're dilla eggs," Hera offered, turning back to the kitchen as bells rang. He silenced the bells with a pull of a string dropping down the pipes above and pulled open the stove. He grabbed a cloth and pulled out a dish as he asked, "What's a cucco?"

"Fat almost flightless bird," Link quickly summarized.

"Almost flightless?" Hera echoed, putting the hot dish on the top of the stove. He kicked up the door to the stove and turned to look at the two. "How can something almost be flightless?"

"They glide," Link said, using his hand to show the movement he tried to explain.

"You two go ahead and sit down, breakfast will be ready in a moment," Hera said as he turned back to the food.

Link let Zelda lead him back into the sitting room. He took the seat he had sat in last night, placing his sword so it rested against the backrest. Throwing a glance up at Zelda he joked, "He kinda reminds me of Oto."

Zelda let out a laugh as she sat down. "I know what you mean," she said, sitting her helmet on the short table before them.

Link bent down and sat his helmet on the floor beside his feet, imagining if Oto could meet this man. A smile pulled on his cheeks as he sat up in time to hear Hera's footsteps coming up behind him.

"Here you two go," Hera offered, stepping between the two chairs to give them each a plate with a fork held under the eyes of the eggs. Link took hold of his plate, seeing a type of hash browns beside the two meats as Hera added, "Once you finish eating, I could take you on the grand tour."

Link glanced back at the man to see him walk back into the kitchen before coming out with three cups of water balanced in his hands.

"I'm sorry, maybe another time," Zelda said as he sat the three cups on the short table. "We've got to make it to the Darknut's castle today."

"Right, right," Hera said, sliding the drinks so they sat in front of each chair. "I'd almost forgot that's why you were here."

"Maybe once it's all over we can come back," Link offered as the man took one more trip to the kitchen to grab his food. As his footsteps returned Link added, "I'd really like to see that akubu in action."

"Arquebus," Hera corrected as he sat down. He threw a look to the weapon hanging on the wall by the door and added, "Maybe I should come up with an easier name."

Link started to eat what was on his plate now that everyone had their food and shook his head. "No, don't change it. I was just off."

"What did you say these eggs were from?" Zelda asked, Link snickering at the face she had pulled while eyeing the two yokes on her plate.

"Dillas, they're reptiles that live in the river," Hera explained.

"That explains the taste," Zelda said before putting another fork full in her mouth.

"I still can't believe you have pigs," Link offered, munching on the bacon strip.

A loud banging came from the door, startling Link to his feet with his plate still in his hands. He quickly placed it on the short table and grabbed for his sword as Hera pulled down the arquebus from the wall. Link stepped around the chairs as he threw the baldric strap over his head before drawing his sword, standing at Zelda's left side. She held her bow at the ready with an arrow knocked, pointing it to the floor. They kept close to Hera's shoulders as the man positioned himself at the back of the door. The loud banging continued, the sound coming from all around the first floor.

"How strong is this place?" Zelda asked, throwing a look towards the windowless walls.

"Built better than a fortress," Hera said, pride in his voice as he unlatched the door. Holding a hand on the handle he glanced over his shoulder at the two and asked, "You two ready?"

Link nodded his head, knowing his helmet and gloves were still on the table behind them. He gripped tight to the sword in his left hand, ready to take in the unknown monsters on the other side of the door.

Hera pulled open the door in a sharp movement, the screeching of the metal against the stone ground stopping the banging against the outside walls.

A large pink bird with a horn on its beak flapped its wings to fly back from the door in time to have the barrel of the arquebus pointed straight at it.

"Eat lead!" Hera yelled as he placed the arquebus against his shoulder and pulled the trigger. A loud explosion sounded as the bird was blown back. Hera stepped back as he loaded some powder from his pouch into the barrel, ordering, "Go! I'll help you get down the mountain. Once down to the forest, turn to your right and you'll make it to the castle!"

"Aey," Link let out in agreement as he rushed passed the old man with Zelda right behind him. An army of monsters surrounded the lava rock structure with a break in the raining fire showed how they all got up the mountain. Link defected a bomb thrown at them from a hinox, one of only the two monsters Link even knew the name for he could see. The bomb blew up just to Link's left, away from Zelda to his right as she let fly an arrow aimed for the monster's one eye.

Not able to see if it made contact, Link turned to his left as a bull-looking bipedal with a pike aimed at his head pulled his attention. He ducked below the spiked spear, raising his sword to deflect the weapon.

A loud explosion took Link off guard a moment only to see the monster before him now fallen, the pike sliding down the incline down the mountain. Link glanced behind him to see Hera standing in the doorway, refilling his arquebus with powder again.

Link turned back to the battle again just in time to see a light green blob coming his way with orange tentacles leading their way to him. One nicked him in the side, sending pain straight through his armor as if the metal wasn't even there. Link brought down his blade, slicing off the tentacle in time to see more coming at him. He quickly disarmed the monster of all five tentacles before running the green blob through.

With a flick he pulled his sword out of the monster as it vanished in a purple cloud and turned to his right. He caught sight of Zelda releasing an arrow at another pink bird. The sound of the arquebus going off stopped him from calling out to her as a moblin came up to her with a club in its hands. Link ran over, getting to the moblin just in time to catch its club against his blade. He grinded his teeth together as he struggled against the monster standing on higher ground. Twisting his foot, he let out a yell as he overcame the monster, swinging the club away. He brought back up the sword and slashed through the monster, forcing it a step back. Bringing his sword diagonal through the monster once more, it disappeared in a cloud of purple.

"I wish I had a sword on me!" Zelda called out in frustration.

Link glanced over at her, taking her back to protect as she stabbed a type of mushroom with eyes and wings with an arrow in her hand before knocking it to shoot at the monster trying to fly away. "You seem to be doing fine," Link offered. He raised up his sword to deflect another of the bull monster's pike, knocking it towards his left. He brought the sword back across the monster's chest and made contact with its blue armor. The monster vanished in a cloud of purple only for two moblins to quickly take their fallen comrade's place.

Zelda let out a scream as Link raised his sword to catch one of the moblin's clubs.

"What?" Link asked, keeping an eye on the two in front of him. Risking a glance over his shoulder he saw her body crumpled on the ground. Fear for her gave Link the strength to push against the moblin, knocking the monster back in time to feel an explosion of pain enter his head. He turned to the pain to see the second moblin rearing up to hit him again as a tentacle blob came up beside them. The sound of the pink bird letting out a cry turned him to see out of his peripheral the bird coming from the house with Hera gripped in its claws. The lack of fighting from the old man showed he had at best been knocked out.

Link raised up his sword to catch the point of a pike aimed at him, turning to see another bull monster, only for a searing pain to run down his back. He performed an old move Izo had taught him years ago, the round-a-bout, holding the point of his sword outward as he took in the number of monsters surrounding him. An explosion pushed Link off his feet, sliding him to his right and backwards down the lava rock covering the mountain. He stopped in time to open his eyes to a club making impact with his chest, knocking the wind out of him. He held tight to his sword, desperate to get back to his feet and fight, desperate just to breathe as another weapon made impact with his chest. The last thing he saw before the darkness was a pike aimed down at him.