Chapter 18

The Princess, Zelda

The key fit perfectly in the lock, so I stepped in. This chamber was also finely decorated with fancy colors, carpets, and even furniture. But despite all this, the girl chose the floor and sat with her knees up to her face. She was about my own age, and had short reddish hair covering her face. Her pink dress was made from fine materials.

"Are you… All right?" At the sound of my voice, she quickly stood up with a gasp.

"Who are you?" She asked, and then I could see her blue eyes were stained red, like she had been crying… I felt awkward standing before the princess in burns and cuts, but I still bowed down after realizing I should have done that earlier. "I'm Link. Impa sent me to rescue you." She lit up after hearing the name of her nursemaid. "Impa found someone! And that scream, you defeated Gannon?"

I said nothing; instead I brought up the Triforce of Power and Wisdom. She walked slowly to me and took the Triforce of Wisdom. "I broke this in eight pieces… You fought dangerous battles and traveled across the kingdom to repair this so you could fight the prince of darkness. Link, you are the hero of Hyrule!"

Hero of Hyrule? I replied only with a smile, but the sound of the huge door opening in the next room was brought to my attention. "I think it's time to leave." She nodded and waited as I placed the two Triforces back in my bag and ran ahead of her to use the key on the door to freedom. I opened it and we ran up the stairs back on the mountain.

The cold air hit us, and the wind sang continuously. The moon glowed as bright as the stars against the dark, black sky. "We can set up a fire, but I would like to walk a bit first. We need to be careful. I was chased by a large group of lynels earlier, and I hope they don't find us."

"Why were they chasing you?"

Something about the look she gave me made me feel disappointed to tell her, but I spoke truthfully. "Well, I had to kill one coming up here…"

"Oh…" She said sadly. "Sometimes you have to do what you have to do." I nodded and we walked cautiously down the trail. I wished we could warp to the castle, but I guess the whistle only works when I've been where I want to go. And we were probably the closest we could be without walking the rest of the way. I stopped for a minute to check the map. Zelda looked over my shoulder and watched as I searched for her home. The castle was close to Death Mountain, so that was a good thing.

"We should be able to reach the castle sometime by tomorrow. This trail will lead us to a difficult cliff that we'll have to climb down, but I will feel safe enough to set a fire down there. Do you think you can make it?"

"Of course."

I rolled the map back up and we began to follow the road again. "Do you miss being back home?" I asked.

"I think about it all the time, and I wasn't even sure if anyone was coming for me… I don't know how to thank you."

"Well, I wasn't the only 'hero' in this quest. I had a lot of help and without it I would probably still be lost after going through the first dungeon! And don't forget, what you did was really brave too. You knew Gannon would come back for the other Triforce, so you broke it to protect your kingdom." She looked at me curiously and didn't reply.

The trail ended and we both looked down at the cliff. It was almost vertical, and the thought of Zelda trying to climb down that scared me, but that was the only way down. "Don't worry, it's not as far down as it looks…" I said mostly to calm my own thoughts. I lowered myself down and grabbed on the rocks. Zelda followed next to me, and we slowly climbed down the rocky surface.

Going down was a lot harder than coming up, but only after a few minutes, we already were near the ground. Zelda was surprisingly, climbing fine on her own, and the slight shuffle of rocks seemed to echo along with the owl calls in the crisp night.

I looked for my last foothold and finally touched down on the land. I waited for a moment as Zelda landed beside me. Her beautiful dress was now a darker shade and the dust was smeared on her face as well, but if she knew, she didn't care. "I'll help you gather wood for the fire." She said.

"All right, but stay nearby." I replied, and we walked to the copse in search of firewood. Strange creatures that resembled bulky flowers called peahats flew above the trees using what looked like petals as a propeller. I walked in the cold and every now and then stooping for sticks and branches. And when I held as much as I could carry, I found a clear spot to set them down.

A scream scared the birds from the trees. My heart stopped; Zelda! I ran towards where I heard her and easily found the source of the problem. She sat on the ground and covered her face from a group of tektites jumping around her. The wood she had collected was dropped on the ground in an uneven pattern.

I unsheathed my sword. "Hold still!" I yelled to her. I ran up and stabbed at the first one, but that didn't stop the others from approaching. The four-legged part spider part crab creatures jumped towards me. I used arrows until the tektites were close enough to fight with a sword, and then I twirled in a spin attack to hit several at once. Their light squeaks sounded all around me, and I saw some were dead, others injured, but I knew they had all they could take from my blade.

I sheathed my sword and lent my hand to help Zelda up. "Thank you again… That was really unsettling!" She took a moment to brush over her hopelessly stain dress before gathering the wood back up.

"Did they hurt you?" I asked.

"Just a few scratches, but I'm fine." I did notice some cuts on her face and hands, but they were small and not serious.

I led her to where I left the wood and she dropped the rest of hers nearby. I used the candle to start the fire, and before long, a few cackles were followed by the warm flame. Zelda sat on the ground close to the campfire. I dug around in my bag for some food and sat almost opposite to her. There wasn't a lot of food left, but hopefully, enough to reach the castle.

Zelda held her knees up and began to shiver, and if she was any closer to the fire, I would worry she would help fuel it! "Are you hungry?" I asked holding some bread out to her, but she shook her head. I was certain otherwise though, and still held it to her. "Are you sure?" I asked again. She looked at the bread for a moment before taking it from me. "It may not be the kind of food you're used to, but it's really good." I brought out some food for myself as well.

"Well, I'm sure it's better than the food Gannon gave me."

I didn't think about that! The moblins cooking must be nothing but some kind of muck! My thought of disgust must have shown on my face, because Zelda laughed heartily as she ate the bread. "So where are you from, Link?"

"I live in a small town called Rauru. It may not be a castle, but it's my home."

"That sounds nice, and I'm sure you would like be back there too." I would like to be home, but this quest took me across the kingdom, through dungeons, and into impossible fights… I couldn't help but feel different even though the battles were done. "This quest took a lot from all of us, but I feel that I have learned so much during the journey."

"Me too." She replied. After we finished our meals, I huddled close to the fire and sleep soon came over me.

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The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a smoky river climbing above the wood from the campfire. Princess Zelda was still asleep behind it, and she looked peaceful despite the cold ground beneath her. I stood up and glanced to the sky; a few clouds started to cover the clear blue, and it was probably only a few hours from noon.

I walked over to the other side of the wood and tried to wake Zelda. "I think we should continue to the castle." I said. She looked at me with sleep in her eyes, but she still stood up and yawned.

The difficult mountain terrain didn't slow us down and we were finally off of it and were closer to Hyrule castle town. The way there was uneventful, except for a few short fights with passing monsters, but they were not a problem.

Zelda shared stories of her growing up in the castle walls. She dearly loved her nursemaid, Impa, and to Zelda, she was more like a mother. She spoke of her father, the king, and how he was always so busy giving out orders to the land that he hardly ever had time to spend with her. She even had a brother, and she said Impa had a hard time looking after them both when they were little. We both laughed as she told about one time when she and her brother played outside in the rain and how mad Impa became over the muddy royal clothing! I told Zelda about my stories as well; from when I met her nursemaid all the way through the puzzles of the dungeons, the people that have helped me, and finally, about Death Mountain.

We reached castle town several hours after noon, and the place took my breath away! Hundreds of people walked over the stone road, shopping, chattering, singing, and playing. But that wasn't the most of it; the towers of the castle looked so tall! Taller than I have ever seen it before! I could barely see the top of the flags waving in the wind. A large fountain gently bubbled up fresh clear water in the center of the town. People stopped to stare at us as they saw their princess walking through the crowd. They began to whisper to each other curiously, and some of them even bowed down.

The guards at the castle gate nearly fell with shock. "Princess!" They exclaimed breathlessly. A guard turned to the one standing opposite him. "What are you doing? Fetch Impa immediately!" Impa did make it back safely! Those words took a lot of worry from me. The guard ran as fast as he could despite his heavy armor.

He came running back to us a minute later, but this time he was followed by Zelda's nursemaid. Impa's eyes grew wide at the sight of us and held her arms out. "My dear princess Zelda! You're home!" She called. Zelda ran up to her, and Impa wrapped her in a tight hug. I could see the joyous tears streaming from the old lady's face when she looked to me as she still held the princess close. "I knew I was right to trust you." She said to me in a cracking voice.

"We should go in and let everyone know! They've been really worried for you, princess." Impa beckoned Zelda into the gate, but she hesitated. "Can you wait for a moment?" She asked, and Impa nodded.

Zelda looked at a loss for words when she approached me. "…Thank you." She simply said.

"Here, you should take these in." I brought the Triforce of Wisdom and Power from my bag and handed them to her. She slowly took them from me. "Link?" She paused. "Will I see you around?"

"Of course." I replied. She smiled, and without another word, she followed Impa past the creaking wooden gate. I stood there and watched as it shut behind them and I could see them no more.

My name is Link, and I vow I will always do everything I can for the kingdom of Hyrule, and its princess Zelda.

The end

Author's note: I put in a lot of effort, time, and love into this fanfic, and so I hope you enjoyed reading it. I will be working on the sequel, but it might take me some time to publish it. Just stay patient. I love you, and I hope to see you again soon. Keep watch for the next one!