A/N: (You don't need to read this part) This fic was originally supposed to be JUST a Link/Zelda fluff oneshot (short story), but I guess that it didn't quite come out the way that I had planned it to. Now it's like, 20,100 words, which seriously ISN'T a short story, but on the bright side, it still has that fluff that I planned it to have.

I'm not so proud of this one, though. For starters, this fic never had a stable plot, and I felt as if the middle section of the story if just pointless. Very, very, pointless. I hope you'll excuse that. Plus, it seems like I'm trying to make a conflict that needs to be written with chapters written in just a one-time story instead.

Well, this story WAS based on fluff, as you will see in the middle, but towards the end, it's gonna get bloody and grotesque and, uh, sad…? I don't really know.

This was written for my friend Bunny's birthday, even though I'm like, a month late. Sorry, Bunny.

I hope that this wasn't too long. Even though it was.

DISCLAIMER: "The Legend of Zelda" and all rights, including the copyrights of the games, scenario, music and program, reserved by Nintendo. TM and (r) are trademarks of Nintendo. All rights reserved.

-Shadow of the Rain-

"Zelda! Hurry!" I heard Link yell for me. I was frantically running across the rugged brambles that masked the soil underneath me, desperately trying not to slow my leader down. Link ran exceptionally quick for a person wearing a heavy shield and sword, yet I knew that it was only because of himself being rather energetic and extremely agile from experience of various adventures he had endured.

Link held my hand as we raced across the forest we were in, desperation filling ourselves. We were both panting heavily from the ceaseless running we had tolerated; I had wondered time and again, would this chase ever end?

The various fierce shouts of men could be heard from not far behind us; they were slowly catching up to us.

Yet it seemed that I could run no farther. My elegant dress was tattered from the claws of the rough tree branches I had mistakenly scraped through whilst I followed Link, my dark blonde hair was unkempt and tangled with autumn leaves, and my terror showed no bounds. There was a high chance that Link would finally fail in his heroism and that I would fall into the dirty clutches of them, my once faithful soldiers, possessed by a dark force unbeknownst to any of us.

It had only been a few hours since their possession, the time when a dark shadow had suddenly appeared in the castle and took over my whole army. I had been rightfully frightened, of course, for the fear of me being possessed was enough for a person to be at a dreadful near-death state of mentality.

What had caused that, the shadow, to come forth was certainly a mystery; Ganondorf had been slain by the Hero of Hyrule, Link, many months ago and no longer was a perilous intimidation to the glorious land, so why was the foul demon here now?

Yet it was clever; it had taken over the Royal Army first and foremost so that I, the Princess, would be completely powerless to stop its vile actions. Yet, I prolonged the shadow's goal—to fully possess me—long enough before Link, my dear Link, had burst courageously into my blood-lashed throne room and into my rescue.

It was a painful battle for him. He had to protect me—and himself—from being possessed, all the while trying to not harm my soldiers as they continuously charged into him, digging their spears into his flesh, shedding dark, scarlet blood onto the ashen tiles that stretched across the large room.

By the time we had escaped from the castle, Link was bleeding appallingly after trying to protect me from harm, and was wounded to an extent that I could hear his breathing—hoarse and agonizing.

His chest rose and fell with each throbbing breath he took—oh, it was dreadfully painful for me, also! He had to fight against my soldiers and the shadow trying to possess him back in there—any other person would've died promptly in the fray. Watching him suffer now was excruciating…

I took into action immediately, however. I reached into his green tunic and pulled out a roll of sturdy bandages for injuries (which, since he was a rather vagabond swordsman and fought off countless monsters for the good of Hyrule, he had many almost all of the time) and wrapped them around each of his wounds lovingly—but swiftly. We had been in Hyrule Field when Link had finally let go of my grasp and fell to the earth in agony, but my possessed soldiers weren't far behind. They were, I presumed, going to chase me forever—that is, until they possess both me and Link.

I had a strong suspicion that Link himself was also being chased by another shadow in the room he was in during my own assault back in the castle. For what other reason would they not? He was the Hero and I was the Princess—both worth a handful of importance to possess. I was a potent icon in the eyes of Hyrule, and Link was one of hope and freedom. Not to mention how athletically fit his body was. I could imagine many people wanting to have such a healthy body like him.

And so I hastily wrapped his wounds—until Link unexpectedly bolted upright and urged me to continue running.

It was truly typical of him to say that, actually. Link was extremely enduring whenever he could be. He never wants to give up at anything, no matter what the cost. Even with mortal wounds inflicted upon him, he never ceases to try even harder in what he's doing.

I guess that is was both a blessing and a curse, in my eyes.

And so, I had no choice but to follow Link through the field that we had both loved. I was truly fatigued from running, yet I urged myself on in concern of slowing Link down. I was panting deeply, but I knew that I could make it with him… To someplace safer…

We had run across Hyrule Field for hours, yet my soldiers never seemed to cease following us, like a shadow to its caster. Time and again, Link would pull off an extraordinary feat so that the soldiers would lose sight of us for a few moments before unluckily catching our trail again. I knew that Link was trying so hard to lose them—I could see it in his eyes; it was out of his love for me—but, for some peculiar rationale, my army never stopped even once to catch their breath or rest. I had believed that it was because of the shadow that possessed them.

And so, we were still forever running, sprinting across the woodlands of Southern Hyrule, even now trying to escape from the malevolence that troubled us.

"Link—!" I called out to my leader whilst running. I took a few long moments to breathe before continuing, "I can't—! I can't run… Anymore!"

He looked back at me for a split second before turning back to his front.

"C'mon, Zelda! You're… You're doing so well…!"

I could hear the fatigue ringing in his voice, as well.

"I… I can't…!"

At that moment, my legs failed me, and I collapsed onto the soiled earth, tears streaking my face. I had brought Link down along with me; we had been holding hands as he led me through the woodland.

He took no time to rest when he was brought down, however. He looked up to me with frenetic and apprehensive eyes, and immediately took my white gloved hand—now dirtied with traces of the outdoors—once more.

"Zelda… Zelda…" he panted, urging himself to stand up. Once he did, he tugged at my arm. "Please… I don't want you to… Get hurt… They're… They're coming…!"

He looked at me with his pleading sapphire eyes, but I quickly looked away. Sudden tears were rolling down my face.

"But I can't, Link…!" I panted. "I'm… Too tired… You need to… Save yourself… Don't let me… Drag you down…"

I collapsed into the earth entirely, and I heard a gasp coming from him. He knelt down beside me hastily and softly nudged my side, persuading me frantically to get up.

"Please, Zelda!" he begged. "They're coming…! I don't want you to… To…"

There were a few moments of perturbed stillness between us. We could both hear each other's hoarse breathing, and I was even worried to an extent that Link could hear my slightly hysterically beating heart.

Soon, however, he made a decision. Abruptly, he seized both of my arms and holstered my body upon his back securely while I was immobile, still panting. I clutched his chest with both of my arms in fear of sliding off of him. I could feel his strongly pounding heartbeat under the weaves of his tunic beneath my palms as his chest rose and fell quickly with each breath he took. I could sense the Hylian Shield under my belly, even though the brown cloak he draped over himself was taking out the coldness of the metal.

I could touch his presence with me, and I felt oddly securer in the midst of peril.

"Hold on," he breathed, and he bolted forwards with great speed. I clutched him tightly, but soon quickly loosened my grip on him slightly in fear of binding his lungs. I did not want him to have difficulty breathing; it was an extremely noble act of him to even prompt me up onto his back and try to flee my soldiers. Although I was light in my weight, I was still a burden for him to carry; he was just freshly wounded a while ago in the castle and any lesion inflicted upon a man would surely pain him.

I hoped that I would recover soon enough so that I could run for myself and I could ease Link off from a burden.

I am not necessarily sure how long I was on Link's back ever since then, but it had seemed like a while. He continued to run, however—he did not stop even once to rest. I am sure that he was afraid to, because if he did, he believed that the soldiers would advance towards us and attempt to seize me—and Link cared and worried of me to such an extent that he would never let that fate befall me.

Link had run for hours, it seemed, through the forest, even as morning came to a sudden halt and twilight overshadowed the sky above us. Yet Link knew no end, it seemed. Even when I myself was sure that we had finally—thank the Goddesses—lost my army, Link was still incredulous to the fact that they were no longer following our trail. He insisted on fleeing.

So I allowed him to persist running, but only for a few more minutes or so. The further away we were from the army, the better. The shadow would not stop until it had found us and taken us over; even as I spoke, I had a strong feeling that they were searching for us.

Link was tiring to a great extent, now. I made a decision.

"Link," I said soothingly. He did not answer me; instead, he sustained running.

"Link," I repeated, "Please stop. You're tired. You need to rest."

"…But—"

Immediately recognizing that as a 'no,' I advanced towards a more forceful manner of halting his running. I had known Link for many years; he would not stop until you certainly insisted that he would.

Furthermore, I clasped both of my hands together tightly on their position over Link's chest and concentrated…

Soon, a radiating light came forth from both of my clasped hands, and a soft, yet standing blow was inflicted upon my carrier, forcing him to cease his tracks and skid forward.

Link soon lost balance from standing, and he collapsed onto the earth in defeat, his chest heaving intensely. He rolled over to his side and let go of me.

Usually, I would've smirked a bit whenever I would use magic on him—but this time was certainly different. No smile came forth on my lips; instead, somber eyes met my expression and I looked down upon Link's exhausted form.

Around us was a field of solemnity. Although the stunning twilight sky was above us, even its beauty could not shadow over the bleakness of the field we had run into while Link was fleeing. It was still in the midst of autumn, yet all of the trees—if there were any—were completely dead; no leaves were positioned upon its bare branches at all. The grass that was supposed to scale and envelop the earth's face was barely there. There were only a few patches of dry grass in this field.

Furthermore, it was cold, and night was about to loom over us once twilight ends.

I placed a loving hand over Link's side and looked at him forlornly. He was still wounded and I was even afraid that he might've completely collapsed from exhaustion was it not for my action.

"Link…" I whispered, and I knelt down to his level. He opened his soulful sapphire eyes—slowly and leisurely—and attempted to smile at me. I tried to smile back, yet I failed. He was in anguish. I needed to help, somehow.

Love swirled around inside me, and I decided to embrace him in a warm hug. I laid down on my side, just as he was doing, and swathed my arms around his torso lovingly. I could feel his warmth as he, too, wrapped his arms around me, and I finally smiled as I looked once more into his eyes.

Yet I knew that he needed to rest, so I said nothing more for the rest of the hours that passed, and I watched him sleep—peacefully, tenderly—in my grasp.

When dawn was about to end and the sky was no longer bleak, I was awakened, yet my eyes did not meet my love's. Link was gone from my sight, and I had realized that nothing was in my arms any longer.

I gasped and bolted upright immediately, looking around frantically for my Hero. What could've happened? Did he—?! No, maybe he just went looking around the landscape for a while. But, possibly not…

My assumptions proved false once I heard a familiar, soothing voice behind me,

"Morning, Princess."

I turned around abruptly and met eyes with Link.

Bursting out into a smile, I ran into his arms with a squeal of joy that we had made it through the night together. I hugged him ever so affectionately as he, too, did the same whilst brushing through my unkempt auburn-brown hair with tenderness in his hand.

"Link… I…" I snickered a bit, "…I told you not to call me 'Princess.'"

"I know, Zelda," he replied playfully. "Just wanted to make you laugh."

I smiled, and kissed him quickly.

"I see that you're feeling better. So," I started, "What were you doing up so early?"

He brushed some hair out of my face and looked at me.

"I was out getting food for us," he replied.

"But don't you have food stashed away in your tunic?" I wondered. His green tunic held a magical Hammerspace inside of it; Link could store anything away under its weaves and take it out whenever he pleased.

"Yeah, I do," Link replied, "but I'm saving those for when we really need it."

"I see," came my response as I snuggled in his embrace. "So what did you catch then, Link?"

He hesitated for a while.

"Um… Well, I didn't really get anything yet…" He let go of me and looked around. "There's barely any food out here. Everything's… dead."

"I had never thought that there would be a place like this outside of Hyrule," I commented. "It's so barren; it seems like we're in the midst of winter in this place."

Link nodded, and turned to his side.

"So what do we do now?" he questioned me. I thought for a while before replying to him.

"You ran for quite a while, Link," I replied. Slight embarrassment flowed over him. "We are far away from Hyrule… But we can't return, anyway. I believe that we should find another settlement and regain our strength. Then we can return using magic and fight back against that shadow… Who knows where it might be currently?"

"…Farore's Wind?" Link replied, referring to my 'Then we can return using magic' statement.

"Yes," I answered, taking his left hand. The Triforce of Courage from it radiated alongside with my own piece, the Triforce of Wisdom. "I'll need your help with teleporting from such a far distance. You are embedded with the essence of Farore, aren't you?" I looked up at him. "And it is called Farore's Wind."

He smiled, and closed his eyes before opening them back up again.

"You know I'm not so good with magic."

"That's why I'll be the one accessing your power."

"Hmm?"

"Just lend it to me. You've done it before, remember?"

He thought back and remembered the time when we were trying out new magic. We had been in the castle, in my room, attempting to dig further into the power of the Triforce. Through hours of studying and determination, we succeeded in lending each other our magical abilities for a certain amount of time…

Suddenly, I sighed as truth made its way into my consciousness. I looked away from Link and up into the austere, overcast sky.

"We should get going. We should try and find a settlement as quickly as possible."

"You don't want to eat?"

"…I'm not that hungry, actually."

I started walking, but Link pulled me back.

"It's gonna be a long journey. You need to get your energy up."

I scoffed.

"I've said the same to you countless times, but you never really did listen, Link."

"…That's because I never really did need food during those times. Or rest, for that matter."

"Oh?" I walked back up to him and placed both of my hands over his chest. "What about that time when we were in Hyrule Field and you just refused to sleep because you were afraid that the fire might go out and I'd be cold? Honestly, Link! You begged for me to return to the castle because it was so cold outside, and when I refused, you stayed up all night tending the fire and making sure that I was warm—until dawn!"

I crossed my arms in a slightly playful manner.

"Well," Link responded, "It was freezing cold outside and I didn't want you to freeze! If I had slept, the fire would've died out and you would've been—"

"I had you," I interrupted. "Your warmth was enough already, really!"

Just as he was about to say something back, I continued,

"Besides, you were tired that night—you were attacked by those Kargaroks earlier that day, remember? You were bleeding! Horribly!" I huffed, and then went on, "And don't forget the reason why you were attacked! You were protecting me! Again!"

I smiled, thinking that I would've gotten him at that.

"I didn't want you to get hurt—"

"Link," I sighed, "I swear, even if you were about to die you wouldn't stop protecting and caring about me."

"I'm different, Zelda!" he countered. "But you really need to eat now and—"

For the third time, I interrupted him—this time by embracing him in yet another hug. He seemed to be taken aback by my sudden action, but I paid no attention. I guess that this was just the only way that I could get him to listen to me; if I couldn't change his mind by talking to him, the next thing I could do was mess around with his heart—he did love me, after all. And if I could just soften up to him enough, he might actually let me go off with not eating.

Honestly, I don't know why I was doing all of this just so that I could skip a meal. I believe that it was to give Link a taste of how I felt all those times when he put himself in certain danger and insisted on still doing something that wasn't good for him. Like I had said, Link was certainly enduring—even with a mortal wound he would never give up.

I snuggled a bit too affectionately in his chest, rubbing my cheeks against his tunic. My arms held him tighter in my grasp; my sensitive Hylian ears soon heard the soft beating of his heart as I held him dearly. I didn't look up to see what he was doing, but I could just tell that he was looking at me like the most peculiar thing in the world. Any other person would've thought the same; I had just out of the blue started hugging him, nuzzling with and bombarding him with all of the affection in my heart in the middle of a soft argument. Hopefully enough, he would not catch on to what I was trying to do with him.

"Link, please listen to me," I pleaded in a voice that I hoped would get his heart to melt down to its very core. I stood upright again and looked him straight in the eyes, expecting that my own would get him to listen.

"Um… Zelda?" he replied, looking at me strangely. I brushed it off and carried on.

"I really, really, don't want to eat anything…" I snuggled in his chest again before adding, "I just want to start our journey… Please?"

I looked up at him with big, pleading azure eyes.

He blinked and hesitated before answering,

"Um… Well, if you don't want to eat that much…"

"Oh, thank you, Link!" I exclaimed, squeezing him as tight as I could. He gasped, and I knew that I was actually making it difficult for him to breathe properly, so instead, I changed tactics slightly and planted a juicy kiss on his lips. I wanted to make it seem like an overdose, so I prolonged the kiss—it seemed to last for minutes.

At last, we broke free of each other, and Link stared at me crazily.

"…Are you okay?" he questioned. I couldn't help but blush and giggle a bit. I guess that I went a bit off-hand with the moment.

"Yes, I am," I replied. "Sorry… I got… Carried away."

"I can tell." He smiled, but then looked up solemnly into the sky. "Isn't it strange, though?"

"Hmm?" I stepped an inch closer to him.

"Just yesterday we were being chased to death by your army," he answered. "And today, we're laughing and giggling and…" he paused and looked at me, "…being happy." Then he paused, and sighed deeply. "But… I guess it's okay. We need all the happiness we can get. I don't know about you, but… I have a feeling that this journey won't be so nice on us."

I took his hand.

"We'll have each other."

I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"Let's go."

I had walked alongside with Link for the rest of the day. He had wrapped his dark tan-colored cloak he wore ever so infrequently over my form to keep me from being severely cold, and he had held his left arm over me, across my shoulders, at all times to give me certain protection and security.

Of course, I wasn't that cold—Link's heartwarming tenderness was enough to keep me content as I walked beside him.

We tried to share words as much as possible during our journey across the barren wasteland of a field. The sky was ever so desolate; it had made the atmosphere around us solemn and grave. Yet Link was not daunted by it, and he insisted on talking about light matters and tender memories. Such were the things that kept a couple happy—we were experiencing an agonizing time; the best that we could do was try to be cheerful.

And, accurate enough, there were no beings at all in this field. Not a bird in the sky flew over us; not a soul—no matter how small—scurried past our way. There was no trace of food anywhere, unless we were forced to eat soil from the earth and the dead trees that we seldom passed by.

I never did want to admit it, but I was hungry. I was sure that Link could've heard my stomach pleading for food to get inside of it, yet there was none. Time and again, he would caringly offer me some of the emergency food he had stashed away in his tunic, but I had always refused. I didn't want to get into another disagreement, so I had made all of my answers clear and to the point—forceful enough so that he would listen to me the first time.

Of course, you couldn't say that Link himself wasn't hungry. No, he was, in reality, hungry, but he had gotten accustomed to it long ago. Back during Ganondorf's reign, there was a scarcity of food for him—the land seemed to be as dead as Arbiter's Grounds in the Gerudo Desert. If he was lucky, he could snag a rabbit or a bird to eat, but sometimes, if he was desperate, he would just have to settle for an octorok for the sake of life and Hyrule itself. So Link was, you could say, used to starvation. He had even told me that he had even starved for a about a week and a half once before finally getting something to eat.

Half a day without food seemed like nothing to him. But I was a princess—I had been raised in the ways of nobility and high standards; I had never gone long without anything to eat.

But I urged myself to not be a burden to Link.

Yet soon, I began to wonder whether or not I might have been a burden to him if I would've accepted his offer of food in the beginning.

I looked to my side to see Link staring at me with concerned sparkling blue eyes. However, upon contact, he looked away immediately. It was then that I really knew that he was starting to get extremely concerned about my hunger. Was it really that bad?

"Is there something wrong, Link?" I queried, trying to keep my voice strong. He turned and looked at me again, emitting a silent sigh.

"You're getting weak. Don't you want to eat something now?" He shook his head disappointingly. "Honestly, Zelda, I don't know why you're putting down all of my offers for food."

Neither am I, I thought. I sighed and responded,

"Well, I guess I'll eat now…"

A large smile appeared on Link's face, and immediately, he reached into his tunic and pulled out a clear bottle filled with orange soup. I finally accepted his offer and took the bottle from his hands and opening its tight lid. I put my nose to it—the scent of reekfish, cheese, and the slight smell of pumpkins was what came through to me. I lifted my head and asked Link,

"What is it?"

"Remember that guy I told you about from Snowpeak?"

"…Yeto?"

"Yeah, him. He was the one that made that soup. He calls it 'Superb Soup.'"

"Oh. Well," I sniffed it again, "it smells… unusual."

"Try it, though. It's actually pretty good."

I took his word for it and hesitantly lifted the bottle up to my mouth. I sipped a bit from it, and immediately, I was in awe of its intense flavor. I've never actually experienced the taste of reekfish before, although I have smelled its pungent scent in the past. It was such a horrifying smell that it had been embedded in my mind ever since my first sniff of it as a child.

Now, however, this soup had given me a new look into reekfish—it was delicious.

I gulped the whole bottle down before long, and I never actually got to wonder whether or not the soup was scrumptious only because I was starving or if it was truly flavorful. But, oh, I didn't care; I was hungry.

Link watched me slurp down the rest of the remaining broth with a smirk on his lips. I presumed that he enjoyed watching me fulfill my desires; this time it was simply acquiring something to devour. Once I was finished eating, I wiped my mouth with my already dirtied glove—it wouldn't make much of a difference now if another stain was tainting its forgotten whiteness—and gratefully gave the container of which the soup was positioned in back to Link, who took it and placed it back inside his tunic.

"Better?" he asked, wrapping one arm over my shoulders again. His dark-tan cloak flew over my back, concealing it.

I nodded in response and smiled at him.

"Thank you," I appreciatively mentioned. "But…" I added, my smile diminishing, "…I thought that the food you had was only for emergencies…"

"That was an emergency, Zelda," Link replied back. "You were hungry."

"You were hungry, too, weren't you?" I responded.

"…Yeah, but you needed it more."

I sighed.

"How would you know?"

"If I needed it, I would've taken it myself. Besides, you're a princess. You're not used to starvation, okay?"

I giggled playfully. I guess that he would never learn out of these lighthearted disagreements we have.

I huddled closer to Link, and soon, we both set off walking again.

Night befell us, looming about our heads. A full moon glowed in the sky, radiating its soft silver light upon the barren field. The stars above us sparkled and lit up the sky with dots of gold.

Link and I collapsed onto the earth after a day of seemingly boundless walking, lightheartedly accompanied by a few humorous conversations. We were both weary—although not as exhausted as we were the day before, back when we were still at a death chase with the possessed soldiers that once were the Hyrulean Royal Army.

We found a nice patch of velvety, luxuriant grass—compared the rest of the field, that is—to rest upon, and a rigid and natural stone wall behind us to keep the weight of our backs off of us. We both laid our heads down on where the stone wall had ended (in vertical terms) behind us and breathed in deeply.

I opened my blue eyes and turned to my right. There was Link sitting tranquil beside me, the silver moonlight casting itself upon him. The soft breeze made his dirty-blonde hair sway with it, and his darkened cloak's edges fluttered noiselessly in its position draped behind him.

I couldn't help but stare. He was so stunningly handsome in the glistening moonlight.

I watched as he turned his attention to me.

"…We should start making a fire."

I snapped back into reality and ceased adoring him.

"Oh… Yes, we should."

He smiled at me and stood up, brushing away some of the grass that stuck to his tunic. He climbed on top of the small stone wall and studied the dead tree that hung over us. It was then that he began to carefully snap off some of its branches and hand them to me. I took action immediately; I dug a small, wide hole in the earth and placed the rugged wood inside of the hole. After enough wood had been placed inside, I waited for Link to return to me before I took my next act.

Once he did, he watched as I raised both of my hands up into the air and cast a magical spell—a weaker version of Din's Fire. I concentrated deeply, and soon, hot, searing flame arose from my hands. I brushed it swiftly over the pile of wood, setting it ablaze with crackling embers. I undid the fire that was still blazing in my hands and turned to Link.

"Don't stay up all night tending the fire this time, okay?" I prompted him.

He scoffed, remembering what had happened the last time we had been out like this.

"I'll try," he assured me.

"You know that's a lie," I giggled. "You'll stay up the whole night anyway."

Link grinned at me, but said nothing, knowing that I had already acknowledged his answer to my remark. He leaned back against the stone behind him and gazed deeply into the gentle fire before us. Understanding that it was time to quiet down, I leaned on Link's shoulder and gazed at him lovingly. Before I knew it, he had wrapped both of his arms around my waist and embraced me in a heartwarming hug.

I snuggled against him lovingly, breathing in his scent. I swathed both of my arms around him, too, and I huddled closer to him so the glacial grasp of the air around us would not get me within its clutches. I shivered faintly, but soon relaxed when I heard Link's soft breathing beside me…

I took a few moments of remembrance. As a Princess, I had never walked a step out of Hyrule's boundaries. It wasn't even until Link strided into my life that I had even visited the world that had lain outside of my castle for generations. He had brought me perpetual ecstasy the moment he had showed me it—tall trees, lush grasslands, and endless skies that soared high above me. I was no longer a helpless prisoner of my castle but a being who longed to prance and cavort in the fields until the sky fell grudgingly onto the earth itself.

I had tried to spend every day of my life with Link after that—he would come at the break of dawn to see me. He would take me away, and we would play and roll around in the flourishing grasslands, swim in the grandiose lake, and simply have fun with each other until the day ended. Then, he would take me back into my castle when night had cast a solemn veil over the sky, and tenderly tuck me into my lavish bed. That would be the last time I would see him for that day; he would always jump back out the window of my room and run into the field again, where he would lie against the velvety grass and watch the shining stars glisten in the shadows. And then he would find a tree to rest on and sleep by until dawn broke out once more.

Yet, even if I had spent countless days with him in Hyrule Field, not once had I ever gone on an adventure with him. I had always known Link for his everlasting courage, that of which he had never failed to show during his journeys when Hyrule was placed into peril. He kept strong when everyone else had lost hope long ago. He endured malicious battles whilst the people snuggled into their beds at night, waiting for the day to come. And most of all, he had accomplished a feat that no one else had even ever came close to achieving.

That was what made my liking to him blossom into pleasant, tender love.

I wasn't one of those women who had only loved Link for his good looks and the fact that he had defeated the Lord of Evil. No, I had felt a strange sensation in my heart every time I came near his presence. It was a peculiar feeling, one that I had never encountered before. Because of this, I did not know what to make of it. At first, I had believed that it was just a simple childhood crush on him—but then, it soon strengthened into something unexpected.

I loved him with all my heart—yet I didn't think that I could tell him.

But come the day that I did, I was trembling with apprehension. I did not know what he would think of me; if he would still see me as a friend or as just another one of his fangirls that seemingly 'worship' him. But I was shocked when he had stood still for a moment—

And then kissed me.

My heart was fluttering by the time he had said 'I love you.' I looked into his deep, blue eyes—and knew that this was going to bloom into something magnificent.

That was when I had begged him to take me on a journey with him—that of which he had never allowed me to do so.

But now my 'wish' has been granted.

I was out in a barren field, and the depth of night was upon me. It was in the midst of autumn, yet here, it seemed like bitter winter, and the cold was almost horrendous. I had to snuggle against Link for sheer warmth. I had to keep my word, however—I mustn't complain or drone to him about how bitter it was, or else he would urge me to stay closer to the fire than to him. I didn't want that to happen, because if I allowed it to, he would yet again stay up the entire night just to keep me warm by tending the fire. I was already afraid that he would be doing that.

But it was at time like this that one's heart would truly feel love—the air would be algid and malicious around us, yet on the inside, in ourselves, we would stay warm for eternity. And no cold would ever enter our hearts so long as we had each other…

"…Link," I whispered to him, noticing that he was rewrapping his cloak around me so that it would be tighter. There was a moment of silence before he answered,

"Hmm?"

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, a smile tugging on my face.

"Good night…"

He brushed my hair lightly with one hand and squeezed me tightly with the other. Soon, all was silent, but I could still hear a faint whisper inside his throat as he [hopefully] began to sleep,

"Good night, Zelda."

The clouds were sinister and gloomy when the third day since my army's possession began. It wasn't long until rain poured down from their undersides and drenched Link and I in cold water, mercilessly accompanied with the bitter air around us.

We did the absolute best that we could in trying to keep each other warm and comforted, yet no satisfied prevalence occurred.

It was tremendously and dreadfully cold… We could find no warmth; we were in the heart of what seemed to be an endless array of wintry air. I was shivering like I never had before! It was awfully uncontrollable!

Link had shrouded his cloak over both of our heads in hope that it would keep us, in the least, warmer and safer from the torrential downpour. We continued to walk like we have been for the past few days, however, since we desperately wanted to reach our destination—wherever that might be—as hastily as possible. We would never know when our stashed-up provisions and food might run out.

I took a deep breath, but all that filled my lungs was damp, humid air. I looked up into the sky—the sun failed to be there, and the odious clouds seized its place above us. I sighed, gazing over to Link. He seemed to notice, so I decided to start another lighthearted conversation, just to lighten the mood of the day, although I found it truly difficult to do so. I was frantically shivering and the very atmosphere around us was like a depression.

"L-Link…" I cleared my throat, attempting to find my voice. I began to say yet another phrase, but Link swiftly hushed me.

"Zelda," he muted me, "don't talk. Please. Just try to stay warm, okay?"

He squeezed me tighter as we sustained walking, although our pace was rather sluggish and reluctantly leisured.

All I could do was nod to his sentence.

Oh, at moments like this, how I wished to be back in the castle, snuggling within the comforts of my warm, luxuriant bed at night! Even though I had rather despised my castle because of the rules it had laid down for me, it was, at the least, extremely comforting. Especially with Link by my side…

But I wanted to be obstinate, determined, and enduring, just like Link had been—and still is—countless and innumerable times. I didn't want to be seen as a helpless princess, locked away in a dungeon awaiting freedom from a boastful hero, whom would only set off on perilous journeys for wealth and wealth alone. I swear, any typical person would've been consumed by their sudden fame and prosperity the instant they would be called a hero!

Yet Link was never consumed by it… In fact, he had stayed the exact same way he has ever been; strong, willful, considerate, generous… And excuse me if I am straying off, but I could even recall that he had once said to my people,

'You might call me 'hero,' now, but believe me; anyone could've done what I had done. You just have to put your mind into it…'

I had scoffed at that moment when he had announced that. I knew he was dreadfully wrong about what he had said; no one could've done what he had done. They were too greedy and concerned about themselves to be worrying about others if they had set off on Link's journey.

I shook my head, snapping myself back into the present. I looked ahead into the horizon line, hoping to find some sort of a steady shelter that we could secrete in until the icy downpour would cease, but all that stretched before me was an ostensibly endless and desolate field.

I gazed at Link yet again, and my arms tautened around his waist, pleading to find more warmth.

"…W-When… can we… s-stop, Link?" I attempted to ask. My voice was hoarse; it was barely a whisper. I truly didn't want to question him that, as I knew it would trigger a thought that meant 'Zelda's not feeling well' which would lead to 'Stop everything and care for her.' It was typical for him to do so, after all.

"…You want to stop now?" came Link's reply. He looked around us. "…There's nothing to protect us from the rain, though, if we stop here…"

I realized that his voice was still steady and unshaken. Maybe it was his protective tunic that was keeping him warm, as all that I had on me was a simple princess's dress, thin and delicate. And not even to mention, because of the frantic chase Link and I had with my soldiers, my dress had become tattered and somewhat ragged by various tree branches, revealing my soft skin underneath. All that I had to protect me from the coldness were the only pieces of armor I bore—golden shoulder blades. And it was as clear as day that it alone was not enough to keep me warm.

"We m-must continue, then…" I replied to him, shivering, "…u-until we find… shelter…"

I unexpectedly whimpered, shaking my head as I spat out some of my drenched and tangled hair that had gotten into my mouth. I looked into the sky—the downpour was only getting worse.

Link stopped walking for a few moments, taking time to examine me. He was deeply concerned about me, so I could tell, but I wanted to show him how enduring I could be in times like this—so I urged him on.

"Link… L-Let's go…"

He stayed silent for a few more moments before beginning to walk again, severing his gaze from me.

And the clouds continued to weep its dreadful tears upon us.

We had not met shelter for a long period of time after that. There seemed to be no end to both the dead field and the rain—and both were painful to experience. The land bestowed us with not a scrap of food to eat, and the downpour was ever so unwelcoming.

Many hours, or so it seemed, past us before we met eyes with a small cave in a stone wall circling a portion of the field. We took this like a ray of light in the betwixt of a time of shadow—we rushed into it as hastily as we possibly could.

And soon, gasping for breath, we had reached shelter in that very cave. It had been dry enough to keep us warm, and granted us thankful protection from the unyielding and merciless rain.

Link and I were both drenched in bitter water from the heavy shower. By now, the coldness had even gotten to Link—he was shivering almost as much as I was before. Yet he, as always, insisted on keeping me warm and dry—not him. I had no choice but to go along with it; my voice had been reluctantly silenced long ago by the forbidding rain.

We both slumped down into the rocky earth in fatigue. Whilst Link gasped for air, I huddled in closer to him to bring his warmth into mine. He grasped me tightly, too, as did I. Our hair was dripping wet, drenched and soaked.

Link allowed his arms to become limp as he brought both of them to the earth. As I laid on his chest, I felt him loosening his muscles after hours of walking and running…

Soon, his breathing calmed, as did mine, and we both laid there in absolute silence, only with the pouring of the rain betraying the stillness.

A steady heartbeat once again rang in my ears, a heartbeat that I had never once forgotten. I comforted me so, like an eternal hymn to my soul. I brought a gloved hand to his chest, placing it directly above his heart. I soon felt both of his arms wrapping around me once more, however, and I grasped the soft weaves of his tunic with my fingers, attempting to gain warmth.

My eyes were closed, and a smile soon etched its way onto my blue lips. I snuggled in greatly upon Link, my whole body curling itself up.

I was still shivering, however, but I hoped that my discomfort would end soon.

Before I knew it, I was cast into a world of blissful dreams.

Dawn greeted me—it was the fourth day.

I presumed that I had slept for a moderately long period of time, as the pitiless rain had seemed to cease long ago and what was left of its terror was a few drops of sparkling dew that laid on what little grass there was on the field.

Soon, I realized that my left hand was still placed right above Link's heart—the position I had left it in within the few moments I had before I began to drift into slumber.

I blinked a few times, and then looked around me. The only thing that was dissimilar about my surroundings since yesterday, except for the now-ended rain, was that there was a small, yet stalwartly blazing fire before Link and I.

I concluded that Link had either set up the fire just now or stayed up all night to keep it steady.

I knew that it was the latter because of his typical manners, and so I groaned. Gradually, I lifted my head up from Link's chest and gazed up at him.

His eyes were closed; his expression neutral and untampered. It seemed like he was sleeping, but as I had known from past experiences, he might not be.

Slowly, I raised my left hand up from its former position and moved it over so that it was just an inch away from his torso's side. I looked at him once more before poking him effectively.

That was it took for his eyes to shoot open.

"Ow—!"

"Link!" I scolded, lifting away from his grasp. I felt cold air wrap around me, and I tried to push it away unnoticeably. "You… You stayed up again, didn't you?"

"Um… No?" he replied questionably, yet I could hear a slight ring of fatigue in his voice. I knew that he had been merely pretending to be at sleep.

"Link!" I groaned. "You know that I don't like that! I understand that you care about me, but why hurt yourself for my welfare?"

"But… I'm fine…"

Link stared at me, looking innocent, his ears pricked downwards. I knew that expression far too well—it was the same expression he has used against me every time he wanted something and I wouldn't give it to him… Or if he was pleading innocence.

Goddesses, I could never stand that look he gave me! It was so adorable… His blue eyes were sparkling and huge… I could never seem to look away…

But I shook it off as best as I could and continued.

"I know that you stayed up all night tending the fire. Look at this," I defended, showing him the strongly blazing fire that laid by my side. "It's burning as if it was just lighted."

"I could've lit it up just now, couldn't I?" he countered.

"But did you?" I questioned.

No answer arose from him.

"Link… Did you?" I repeated. He stared at me for a few moments before answering, with a heavy sigh,

"…No…" He shook his head before adding, "I didn't want you to freeze to death or catch a cold."

I sighed also, scooting in closer to him. I laid down upon his chest once more and closed my eyes.

"Don't you realize that you need rest, too, Link, just as I do?" I whispered. "I guess that some people wouldn't make such a great deal about this as I am currently, but…" I smoothed a hand over his torso, feeling the texture of the bandages underneath his tunic, the ones that I had wrapped over him when he had been injured during the shadow's arrival. Then I moved my hand over to his right arm, slipping it under his sleeve and brushing it against another bandage wrapped around the wound that laid there. "…you're injured. And if you keep this up… Days without sleep can kill you, Link. And I'm just afraid that you might keep this up…" I squeezed him lovingly. "Please… Just leave a little room in your heart for yourself, okay? It seems that all you do is care for others but do nothing to please your very being."

I heard a deep sigh come from him. There were a few moments of silence before he answered,

"…Okay. I'll try."

"You'll try?"

"My best, Zelda."

It appeared that he was swiftly losing his voice, evidently the workings of his avoided slumber from the past night returning to burden him. Unexpectedly, however, I noticed that Link had prompted me up and had stood upright himself.

"I should try finding food again, though… We're in a different place this time."

But before he could walk even a mere step, I grappled myself tautly onto his back and pulled him in reverse. He kept his balance, though, and sustained his position.

"Link, what did I just tell you?" I lightly reprimanded. "You need to rest!"

It seemed that he was awfully keen of answering back at me, as he was advancing to do it once more, but, luckily, he promptly caught his mistake and merely sighed. I loosened my grasp from Link's shoulders and instructed him to sit back down near the glowing fire. He did so, and I did suit. I leaned snuggly against him.

"We can go find food later, okay?" I comforted, my voice soft. "Right now… I just want you to rest."

A warm smile made his way onto him as he began to lean back comfortably and close his eyes. Before long, there was silence once more, and the only sound that arose was Link's soft breathing and the whistle of the breeze outside of the cave.

He fell asleep shortly afterwards, much to my liking.

Time passed slowly as I watched him sleep. I continued to lay by his side so that when he awakened, we both could venture once more into the field and move along in our journey.

I was beginning to feel hunger reach out against me, but I decided to think nothing of it until Link was awake. I could not risk stepping outside of our secure cave alone—I might be attacked by whatever monsters could strive here, or I could've been injured by some things I might've overlooked; a lone rock, a stray tree branch, a misplaced hole…

I gazed into the fire before me, my azure eyes gleaming alongside the embers. I was beginning to drift into thought, until a sudden and unexpected noise disturbed me.

A small, high-pitched chirp arose from outside the cave. I moved from my stance by the fire and crawled carefully over to the cave's opening—only far enough so that my head could reach out. I looked around myself in search of the owner of that voice, yet I could detect nothing.

I remained there, however, in hopes that the voice would arise again soon, because besides Link and I, that voice was the only other living thing that had crossed this field.

Soon, a petite, yet plump, bird flew over beside me. It landed right in front of my eyes, much to my surprise. A smile appeared on my face as I watched the small being observe me; it was strangely amusing. The bird ruffled its brown feathers as it pranced around my tattered dress, nipping at some of the ends every now and then.

At last, the bird had completed its observations and returned to my front… Leisurely, I held out my right hand to it, attempting to befriend the animal. I watched as its eyes started at my glove, now colored in a dirtied white.

"C'mon…" I whispered softly to it, moving in a bit closer.

However, much to my dismay, the bird stepped in closer to me…

And snatched the frayed glove out of my hand.

"Wait!" I called after it, but I knew that it would do no good. I gasped, yet that was all that I was able to do as I watched the small being fly away with my possession. Now I could do nothing more to return my glove to my hand…

So I crawled back over to Link and laid down against him, hoping that another misperception would not occur once more.

I failed to understand why, but the bird's action had fully troubled me—even after hours of its happening. It was not because of the stolen glove that ailed me, no, but it was the bird itself… Why would such a creature steal an inadequate thing like a tattered glove?

I felt something tugging at my senses every time I thought about that wretched bird; perhaps Link would feel something, too?

I had anticipated his for his wake ever since he had first drifted into slumber. By now, the sun was reluctantly setting, giving his reign to the moon. The first stars of night could already be detected through the soft swirls of gold, autumn red, and shaded oranges. The wind was temperate, yet there was scarcely anything for it to sway against.

This was the time that many called 'twilight.'

The fire that was once blazing was now dead; the only thing remaining was black ashes and charred wood.

I gazed over to Link, brushing my right hand—now gloveless—over his dirty-blonde hair. I leaned in against him once more, hearing his soft breathing.

He should be waking up soon…

And my assumption proved truthful, as he shortly began to arouse from his sleep. I sat upright, watching his movements. His eyes opened—first, leisurely, and then hastily, as if something sparked his immediate attention—and he abruptly turned his head to me. I smiled, mouthing a silent 'hi.'

I noticed that as I did that, he breathed inwardly, as if reassured of something.

"Good evening, Link," I greeted.

"Good evening, Zelda…" he replied in turn, gazing back into the sky. It was then that he realized that it was the time of twilight.

I scooted in closer to him once more, causing him to turn around and look at me.

"Now, aren't you grateful that I forced you to sleep?" I giggled, nudging his side lightly. He groaned, replying,

"Yes, Zelda…"

Link looked around once more, as if scanning the area of dangers.

"Did anything happen while I was asleep?"

I sighed, knowing that he was going to question me that. It was inevitable.

"Well," I answered, "Nothing much, but…"

"But…?" Link wondered. His voice was ringing with curiosity and worry.

"…But," I continued, lifting up my right hand, the one lacking a glove, "a bird flew by me, and it snatched away my glove for no apparent reason."

He looked confused.

"A… bird?"

"Yes. A small bird with brown feathers."

"…Why would it do that? And I thought that nothing living even existed here…"

I shook my head.

"I'm not so sure about anything nowadays, Link…" came my response. I looked out into the cave's opening. "…There might even be a chance that we might get caught by the shadow, still…"

"What? Even though we're all the way out here?"

"I doubt that it'll stop searching for us." My voice suddenly turned grave. "Whatever the reason may be for the shadow's appearance in the first place, it seemed truly determined to possess us."

Link stayed silent for a few moments, gazing, too, in the direction that I was facing. His eyes glittered as the first stars of night began to appear in the sky. Then, a thought struck him.

"Zelda… Aren't you hungry?" he questioned. I abruptly looked at him.

"Um…" I hesitated. Reluctantly, I slowly nodded, and I noticed as he looked up into the sky.

"Well… It's too late to go out and search for food, now…" he whispered, half talking to himself and half directed to me. He reached into his tunic and pulled out another bottle of soup, handing it over to me. I took it warmly. He needn't say anything after that; I had already opened the top of the glass bottle and began to gulp down the broth contained inside.

I did it monstrously, and stopped only once to check and make sure that Link was eating, too—I was afraid that he might be too caring of me again and not eat anything.

But, much to my luck, I saw him gulping down some Red Chu Jelly in another bottle.

I smiled and continued to eat.

Long afterwards, when night was fully upon us, we both decided to get some sleep since we believed that it was unsafe to travel at dark. So, I got my bit of sleep, and Link just got more rest.

But I was happy that he did.

Wait.

What was that?

I stirred in my sleeping position, opening my eyes slowly as the sunlight seeped it way into my vision. A new day had already begun, yet I felt uneasy for its coming. Something didn't seem to be quite right…

I got up quickly and brushed some stray dirt off of my dress before looking out of the cave opening to see what was causing my discomfort.

And, much to my dismay, what I saw didn't please me.

They were back.

I stood still for a few moments, trying to accept the fact that they had found us. I didn't know how, but they found us…

"Link!" I yelled, rushing back towards my hero. I promptly placed both of my hands upon him and shook him riotously until he stirred from his sleep.

"Hmm? Zelda? What—"

"Link! Hurry! They're back! The shadow's back!" I screamed, impulsive fear and worry taking over my voice.

"What?! Zelda, are you—"

I didn't let him finish; I grabbed his arm hastily and dragged him over to the cave's opening, pointing out towards the field.

"There! On the horizon line!" I exclaimed. "Those are the shadows of my soldiers!"

Link's eyes widened as he saw them approach from a distance. My soldiers were armed with blood-stained spears, their armor was torn, for the most part, yet no individual looked fatigued or drained as they continued marching towards us.

"…They're still possessed," I whispered silently. "The shadow probably made them eat dirt and rocks out of the earth itself, only to keep them alive so that they could get us…"

I looked at Link. He was still staring out at the horizon, gazing at my army and the shadow that lead them from the inside. He must've thought that this was a dream; that this wasn't truly happening… We had assumed that we escaped their clutches, after all. And again, the same reoccurring question popped up in my mind: how did they find us?

But I knew I had no time to ponder. They were here; there was no mistakening it! And if we didn't flee, we might be met with the sharp end of my army's spears, or even worse, possession…

"Link…" I whispered, and nudged him gently. "We must go…!"

He said nothing; he looked around the area, looking for a clear pathway that we could escape out of. Then, without warning, he took hold of my hand and dashed off in a hastened sprint away from the soldiers.

I was scrabbling to keep pace with him, but I was awfully startled when a rapid arrow zipped by my face, shearing some strands of my hair. I hesitated for a moment, and looked back. It was a soldier who had shot that arrow at me—but from a distance that even I was unsure of.

Link took notice of this; that we were being attacked, and quickened his running speed.

Another arrow shot by us—this time, it scraped the side of my waist.

I winced in pain, but I knew that it was nothing compared to the agony that Link had suffered when my army's spears had been driven into him a few days past. I shook it off and sustained running.

Suddenly, Link jumped to the side, almost toppling me over. Then I watched as yet another arrow flew by in the spot where Link was just running in.

I looked behind me, and that's when I heard the distinct sound of hooves approaching.

"Horses!" I exclaimed in terror, "Link! They have horses!"

He skidded to a sudden stop, and then dashed forward to his left.

"What?!" he yelled back, stunned.

"We're never going to escape them now, Link! There's no chance!"

Trepidation swelled up inside me. Oh, we had traveled so far, too! Goddesses, what would become of us?!

I was afraid that my answer would come too soon; some soldiers riding on horseback galloped in front of us and blocked our path; more soldiers circled around us, defeating our chance of escape. Link growled, skidding to a halt and drawing his blade. He clutched me close to his side, and I wrapped my arms around him, squeezing my eyes shut. I heard the droning voices of my possessed army as the sounds of spears and the steel tips of arrows in their quivers shuffled around us.

There was an uneasy aura surrounding us; Link was unexpectedly still and soundless as he held his sword in his hand—too still to even dare twirl his sword around like he usually would when facing an enemy. He would always try to taunt the foe, just to see what might happen, but I was afraid that he was too worried about what may possibly occur if he did it to these possessed soldiers.

More silence took form as the horses that they were positioned upon steadily closed in on us. The riders pointed their spears and bows cocked with arrows at Link and I, and neither of us knew what to do. If we fought back, we would be killing lives that were once innocent, and we would surely lose anyhow. And if we attempted to flee the crowd, they would indisputably catch us, as they were in possession of swift steeds while we lacked what was required to escape them.

Link still made no movement to set off out attackers, but as they approached, he held me closer to him, his cloak covering most of my body. I noticed as his muscles gradually stiffened, as if his whole body was just ready to react to any move that our opposer might enforce upon us immediately.

And for a while, they did nothing to us except glare straight into our eyes with an unearthly wrath flaring within themselves.

But then, breaking the quiet and stillness of the moment was nothing but a simple whistle of the breeze, yet the soldiers took it as a strange sign.

Of attack.

The first arrow that came into Link's vision was quickly sliced in half without any mercy. The yells of the soldiers drowned out my whimpers underneath Link's cloak as he tried to defend me from harm. Sounds of spears and swords clashing were everywhere, as it seemed. Link fended off any coming threat or intimidation that approached us and parried anything that couldn't be fought off.

He was fighting for me—but I didn't know why. We had no chance!

Yet arrows were sliced in half by his blade and the deft hand that wielded it showed no remorse as he fought—not this time. Link countered every spear that tried to wound us. He fought and defended me, but my soldiers outnumbered us by far!

Quickly enough, Link was already losing energy from fending off so many dangers. I clutched him tighter, and I winced as I watched an arrow bury itself into Link's right shoulder, making scarlet blood line his arm. He let out a painful cry, but promptly turned his attention back into the impossible battle.

All the while, I just want to let out a scream to him, 'STOP FIGHTING!' because I had just known that we would lose… But I couldn't let out the words. I don't understand why.

Another arrow hit Link, this time wounding him in his left arm. However, he couldn't let himself drop his sword, and he remained steadfast in the fight. I grimaced again. Seeing Link shed blood like this while I was doing nothing was awfully painful.

Suddenly two arms grappled themselves upon my waist, and I was startled. I screamed, easily catching Link's attention. Turning around, I noticed that it was one of my soldiers—trying to pry me off of my hero's guard!

Link darted away from him, making him lose his grip on me. He kicked him away, sending him back into one of the horses. But, by now, I didn't want the fight to get any worse, so I let out a sudden scream:

"STOP!"

Link stopped.

And suddenly, there was a horrible sound, like a knife slicing through flesh.

The next thing I knew, Link loosened his grip on me and fell to the floor, a spear sticking out of his back.

They pried me away from him.

I couldn't fight back, I couldn't do anything. I was like a helpless rag doll getting tossed around by a spiteful child, having no will to do whatever I pleased.

They took hold of me and tied me up in strong ropes, and binding my mouth with a thick cloth so that I couldn't retort back against them. I watched as they took Link's limp body and propped him up against a horse, not caring whether or not his blood would stain the beauty of the creature. The spear that was vehemently thrown into his body remained in its grueling position, close to—if not pierced directly into—his heart.

I struggled in their grasp—I wanted to be with Link, by his side, aiding him! With a wound as deadly as that, he might die soon, and…

Farore's blessing was the only thing keeping him alive. It was the very thing that kept him alive in besieged times, or when his life was hanging on a thread. Yet even her blessing wouldn't last forever in him! I had to help him, I must—!

I saw Link laying helplessly there, his breathing unbearable and vacillating. Blood seeped out everywhere, drenching his tunic, the horse, and his cloak that dangled out from behind him in a dark scarlet crimson.

Before long, I was propped up onto a horse of my own, a rider holding my rope tightly to ensure that I would not escape. And so my army soon took off, heading for a destination unbeknownst to us—but most likely, it would be Hyrule.

Link was on the verge of mortal death by the time we had arrived in my kingdom. Surprisingly, it had only taken but a day to return on horseback, yet Link and I had traveled long and hard for us to find the shelter that we were in.

The soldiers pushed me off of the horse and circled around me. They seemed to handle Link more carefully, though—were they afraid of truly killing him? Nevertheless, we both ended up on the grassy field as prisoners of malevolence.

I gazed over to Link. Oh, he was losing so much blood! I wanted to cry, but all that came out was a pitiful sob. I didn't want him to die; I didn't want him to die…

A soldier came over and took seize of my arm, dragging me a feet away from where I once was to Link's side. I gasped, yet no one could hear me because of the cloth cruelly swathed around my mouth. It was then that the unexpected happened—

The soldier untied me and undid the cloth.

It was then that they held up their spears and pointed to the hero lying limp in front of me—did they want me to do something? Kill him? Injure him? No matter what it truly was, I was afraid.

I pondered about this for a few moments before I saw them pointed their spears closer to something on him. They were pointing to his side—no wait, his back… The wound! Of course, the wound from the spear! Did they want me to do something with it? But what—heal it?

I saw no answer in their lifeless eyes. They shone black in the moonlight, like pieces of dark onyx glistening as it was set into a dimly-lit room. I looked for something that would tell me that they wanted me to heal him, but I failed. I was so afraid that if I took one mistaken action, I had no chance of assisting Link…

I heard him groan painfully beside me, and I winced.

Deciding to take action, I harnessed my magic and showed my captors a soft blue glow, which was the light I used to heal wounds in times past. Hopefully, they would understand that it was what I was asking.

A soldier moved his spear over to my hand. He softly touched it, which was a rather unexpected move from the vicious behavior I experienced from him before, and he dragged the tip of his spear over to the spear that had been pierced through Link. And I realized that I was correct—they did want me to heal him.

But… Why?

Yet I had no time to question their silent demand. They wanted him healed; I shall heal him. It would ease my heart so. I didn't dare refuse; what if I suffered the same fate as Link? Then neither of us can be made well!

I gulped, shifting my eyes over to the body beside me. The blood splattered over him was grotesque—yet the moonlight glimmered over it like ordinary water, and it glistened like the water in a puddle. Whimpering, I placed both of my hands over his heaving chest fondly, but I had not a minute to waste! I looked at the spear—how was I supposed to take that out of him without the risk of spilling more vital blood?

Reaching into Link's tunic, I pulled out that same roll of gauze we had used before, along with many others. I had no time to clean the blood that had already stained the entirety of his body, but I needed to wrap up the wound firmly so that no more blood would seep out.

But… The spear was in the way.

I looked behind me. The soldiers were watching. I quickened my pace.

I didn't want to cause Link anymore pain than what he was already in—he was my love! I wasn't supposed to harm him; I was supposed to bring him perpetual joy! But I knew that I had to remove the spear from him, or the consequences might be death…

Hesitantly, I placed both of my hands upon the spear and grasped it tightly. My gloveless right hand felt the icy wood beneath my skin, but my left felt nothing more than small thorns from its timber.

I took a deep breath—and slowly pulled it out.

Link screamed, and I immediately loosened my grip on the spear and covered my face in horror. Why must I do this?! It was painful!

A lone tear streaked down my face, but I knew I had to continue. Again, I placed my hands on the wood of the spear and attempted to ignore Link's forceful breathing.

"Link… I…" came the silent words that echoed through the back of my throat. I swallowed hard, whimpering once more before starting to pull again.

He let out a somewhat reluctant groan, as if he was trying to hold back a scream. He started reacting physically; his muscles tightened greatly and he grasped the grass below him vehemently, trying to search for comfort.

Just a little more… He was strong; I knew he could make it!

When the last few inches of the deadly spear came into my eyes, a wide smile broke out upon my face. No more pain…! Yet I still tugged slowly against it, careful not to harm Link. And finally, the last of it came out of him, and I fried the spear immediately with Din's Fire. I didn't want to see what caused us pain.

I breathed a long sigh of relief. Now I just had to put some gauze on him, and quickly, at that. Blood was quickly spilling out.

I unclasped the belt that was strapped across his chest and removed his sword and shield that were positioned upon his back after I detached his cloak. Then I did the same for the belt around his waist, and once that was done, I hastily removed his tunic. Dark, dried blood from the wound stuck to him as if it was his own skin; I took a cloth and cleaned some of it off of him before wrapping white gauze around his torso, making sure to cover the entirety of the wound.

I put Link's tunic back onto him and took a few moments of pause. All that was left was the actual healing…

I harnessed a radiating glow to my hands and brushed it over his hands gently, hoping that he would understand my next action. Magical healing could only work if you cooperated appropriately; failure to collaborate might cause harm.

I moved the glow to the wretched gash from which the spear inflicted upon him. I concentrated deeply, and the glow around my hands increased in luminosity and radiance as all of my healing magic flowed into him. After a few moments, I felt his muscles loosening, and a grateful sigh followed.

Taking that as a sign of completion, I ceased healing him, and smiled a bittersweet smile, knowing that the soldiers only allowed me to assist him for their gain, not ours. Yet I was the one that was uninformed of what that gain was.

But it didn't matter at the moment; we did not know the future, so we couldn't do anything but focus on the present. And so I did; I watched Link stir from his immobile position and gaze up at me gradually. His eyes told me that he was still faint, but solace and happiness swelled up inside me when I saw that he was still okay. Link wasn't in his full state of health, but he was okay…

It was then that there was a grunt, and a soldier grabbed me vigorously, throwing me onto the back of a horse. Another soldier mounted it and tied me up once more, and the cloth returned to its position around my mouth. They did the same to Link, as I witnessed, yet still, with less force binding the ropes and cloth. It made sense, now—it seemed they were trying to avoid harming him any further.

I stayed silent in my capture this time. They had let me aid Link, and there was no point of screaming. No one would hear, even if it seemed like the whole world was set in an unending and perturbed silence.

The soldiers took us through the field as they rode on through moonlight, and afterwards, dawn. Strangely, neither Link nor I fell into slumber during the journey, but I suppose we both felt a bit drained of energy once the soldiers dismounted us from the stallions.

Rain was pouring down from the sky, although not as torrential as the downpour from the—oh, what was it? Third day out in the mysterious field? I believe it was.

Link and I were both drenched in water, but luckily, the rain helped cleanse Link of all of the blood he had spilt from the spear. Even though it was rather discomforting to be out in the rain once more—cold, overcast, and sodden with water—we had no choice but to surrender to it; there was no shelter to secrete in.

I was shivering, but the ropes tied around me immobilized my movements. I had nothing to keep me warm, and I longed for the safety that Link once cherished me with…

Gradually, he had healed a small amount overnight and regained a portion of his energy. Hopefully, it would be enough to defend us from the dangers that might come.

I looked up, and realized that the soldiers brought us to the Central Square of Castle Town. But what perturbed me about this was not the freezing rain, but the absence of my people. There would rarely be a day where the citizens of this town would not be scurrying all over the streets and roads in either a hasted scamper or a leisure sashay. The whole city was always lively and vivacious with commotion echoing through its alleys, yet though a new day has already awakened, not one person was to be seen walking on the streets. Not one sound came from anything; even the birds that usually flew overhead were silent and unseen.

The once-glistening fountain that bore Hyrule's crest in the center of the square was broken, shattered. The water that had run freely through it was entirely drained of its beauty and left nothing but a few splatters of liquid on the bottom of the stone establishment. And this, I realized, what not the only structure of the town to be seen damaged. Stray spears were left everywhere throughout what could be seen; some where thrown into the stone tiles that made up the pavement and left there. Some buildings were awfully wrecked; their doors busted open with evident force and the residents that lived there seemed to be taken away.

Were these all the doings of that shadow? But how could it be? We had only been gone for a few days—was it that clever as to clear a whole settlement of its people in such a short period of time?!

A soldier nudged me rather vehemently, stirring me from my observations. He, along with another soldier, grabbed my ropes and began dragging me towards the direction of the castle.

…The castle… Where all of this had unexpectedly started.

And soon, as I wondered, how was this going to end? We had no information about the shadow—and why it was even here in Hyrule. How could we possibly defeat it?

Then it struck me: Light Arrows.

It could work; it was light against darkness! As with the time I had called upon its powers to defeat Ganondorf long ago, it might have the power to repel the shadow…

But I needed the help of the Light Spirits to harness such a weapon. Yet, the shape of just Castle Town has concluded me to wondering what their fate was, too.

Although, seeing that the land wasn't covered in a veil of Twilight as it was before when the Light Spirits' light were stolen, I could assume that nothing fatal had fallen upon them.

The stone walkways that rubbed me underneath were cold, I had noticed. The soldier continued to drag me along.

Before long, the soldier halted, and I turned around to meet eyes with the two immense doors acting like a strong barrier for my castle. It was absent with guards, however, and my captors barged in through it, walking into the gardens in front of my overthrown home. It was awfully demoralizing when entering it when the sky was midnight-black and the moon was in place of the sun.

The soldiers dragged Link and me through the doors of the castle and into the first room. Yet the lanterns weren't lighted as they usually were, and we were cast into an area filled with darkness. There was no light to guide us, and I felt as if I had never set foot in this room even once. Every wall looked daunting and stained with blood and memories of what had occurred here in times past. Dark and silent corridors greeted me forebodingly as I was dragged along the interior of my castle. The nearer I drew to my throne room, the louder and more evident my breathing could be heard. My heart was pounding—every step closer to it was another step to fate, whether it was good or bad.

I peered over to Link again. His blue eyes were glimmering in the darkness, and I wondered how they shined when there was not a single trace of light anywhere in the corridors we swept through. I could tell that he was tense; his breathing was rugged and he looked as if he was ready to face off against any opponent.

I squirmed around in the ropes that bonded me, feeling uncomfortable. I was wet and soaked from the rain, and the cold atmosphere from the uninhabited castle didn't do much good at all. Furthermore, the ropes gradually began to feel tighter around me.

Link noticed my discomfort and turned his head over.

"Zelda," he silently whispered. I looked at him solemnly, but gave him no answer. He saw my soul cowering through my eyes.

"We're gonna make it through this," Link reassured, yet I wasn't certain that it might turn out as well as he implied. I gulped, and merely nodded at him. He half-heartedly smiled at me in hopes of lifting my spirits. I smiled back as well, but it quickly vanished.

The soldiers opened a door, and we were met with cold and dreary rain once more.

I felt stairs underneath me, and I realized that we were walking up towards my throne room.

Oh, heavenly Din, Nayru, and Farore, I prayed, let this end well.

Our ropes were untied, and the strong arms of my soldiers hoisted me up so that my breast was wide and open, towards the direction of my throne. I let out a terrified whimper. Link grunted beside me as his ropes, too, were undone and his own chest exposed to my throne.

This room was still bloodlashed and filled with my soldiers, although they were now standing in an orderly line instead of a monstrous horde. Their eyes were lifeless and intimidating.

Rain splattered outside. A roll of thunder broke through the black sky, and our dark silhouettes were cast upon the room.

I was waiting—Link was waiting. We waited for something to happen. We waited for the shadow to appear and do its worst to us.

I struggled. Fear was taking its toll upon me, all courage that I might've had in the past diminished and withered. Link stayed abnormally still as I desperately tried to pry myself out of their horrible seize.

It was then that the shadow appeared, and I turned as cold as ice, freezing into a somber and immobile statue. My eyes were glued upon it, yet it was only a floating embodiment of darkness. The shadow stayed positioned in the air, wavering its dark and formless tail in a monotonous motion. Another clap of thunder and lighting cracked the sky, and I let out a feeble gasp.

It advanced towards us, and I shifted wearily. I couldn't possibly escape. It wanted to possess me, take over my mind, my body! What was I to do?!

Link shifted in his position; his muscles tightened. He glared at the shadow with devastating eyes, burning fiercely as the rain outside began to strengthen and the rolls of thunder began to occur more frequently.

I have won, it seemed to speak to us. I would've expected it to dauntingly laugh, but it was a shadow. Shadows couldn't laugh.

My heart pounded as it advanced closer and closer… It seemed to want to possess me first…

I had been possessed before, if Link's stories to me proved true. Ganondorf, the Dark Lord, had entered my body while my spirit was in Midna, the Twilight Princess. Yet I had no memory of it. I had no feeling of possession whatsoever.

The shadow suddenly stopped. I held my breath. What was it waiting for?

Link seemed to know, and he shifted his position once more and clenched his fists, eyes glued upon the shadow.

All of a sudden, the shadow darted forward with great speed.

I screamed, yet it swerved to my left at the very moment when it was inches away from my breast.

It swerved towards Link.

Immediately, he bolted forward, and the action was so intense and unexpected that he was able to break away from his captor's grasp. He rolled onto the floor, and the shadow missed.

I breathed. I didn't know what I would've done if Link was possessed…

He drew his sword, making a distinct sound ring across the walls of the room. The Master Sword glowed a silver-blue in the darkness, and Link stood in a battle stance.

He was going to fight.

I gulped, expecting my army to pounce in towards in and seize him once more. Yet, not one of them did. They stood silent and unmoving in an orderly row.

I didn't know what my next action was going to be. I was tormented by the sequence of events that had recently occurred. Link wanted to fight the shadow? But… How would he win? If he made even the slightest mistake, the vile being could easily enter his body and take him over from within…

Another shriek of fierce thunder.

Link charged forward.

He swiped his blade at the shadow, yet it swiftly evaded his attack and attempted to raid him from behind. Link backflipped and skidded across the floor, charging once again at the enemy. It floated to the side, and Link rolled forward to avoid its next move.

He suddenly jumped backward and succeeded in giving the shadow a taste of his blade.

A wide smile broke out upon my lips as I watched the shadow whither and disappear. Was that all? Did the light of the Master Sword rid Hyrule of the shadow?!

I was proved false.

An ear-splitting cry was heard, and it echoed across the room. It sounded monstrous, but I couldn't cover my sensitive ears, as I was still held captive. I closed my eyes. What made that horrible noise?

Suddenly, the shadow appeared once more from the darkness lining the room. I gasped; Link kept his stance. Slowly, it moved towards him.

Link growled, hasty in his decision. He jumped forward and brought his sword down, but the shadow split in half deftly and evaded the attack, merging itself back together afterwards. I whimpered. It might take more than just a simple slash to truly slay the shadow.

It disappeared unexpectedly. Link looked around—where was it?!

It was then that the soldier behind me moved away, letting me free. I was perplexed as I clumsily stepped away from him. What…?

"ZELDA!" Link abruptly screamed, and I looked fearfully behind me. I saw the shadow. I broke out in a piercing scream as I tried to run, but it was no use. The shadow had attempted to possess me.

And… It was successful.

I fell to the floor in pain. The shadow… It was inside of me! What was I to do?! My vision was diminishing; my mind was going astray! I had no control over myself; I screamed and struggled as I laid on the cold, tiled floor. Link rushed over and tried to aid me; he lifted me upright and shook me as hard as he could, but I was hurt, I was hurt!

I heard the shadow's raspy voice ring in my mind—It was speaking to me.

Princess… Resistance is futile. I am in control…

What… What are you?!

I… Am the shadow of what has long passed. I am… What is left of the past.

Get… Get out!

I screamed, trying to regain control of myself, but I lost… I lost! The shadow was in control… The shadow was in control of my body. I… Was this how it felt… To be possessed?! My mind could still think… But…

I looked at my hands. My veins had darkened and turned black… My nails sharpened into claws. My breathing became hoarse and rugged, and all that I saw were blurs of color.

I cowered on the inside… What… What could I do?!

Link appeared to me as a blur of green.

"Zelda…! Zelda!" he screamed, shaking me. "Please… No—!"

I bolted upright, and a soldier threw me his spear. I smiled an evil smile, and I my eyes turned grave as I caught his weapon, holding it in my hands.

I was… Going to fight him? No… Not Link! I wouldn't fight him! He couldn't hurt me! He wouldn't hurt me! Oh, Goddesses…!

"Zel… Zelda…?!" I heard him whisper. His voice was filled with disbelief.

The shadow made me charge forward and stab him with the spear. I tried to fight back, but I couldn't! I couldn't…

Link dodged, yet I heard him scream shortly afterwards. I saw the color red run and drip down from his left arm…

I… I… Hurt him… Didn't I? No… Why am I…? I shouldn't be… No! Link—!

STOP—!

Link remained holding his blade. The glow radiating from it hurt my eyes; it was too bright… Was it?

He backed away as I gradually stepped in closer. I knew he didn't want to hurt me, but how else could he remove the shadow from my body? The Master Sword banished evil… The shadow was evil… Surely, it could vanquish it!

I gripped the spear tightly and charged at him once more, although it was still against my will. He dodged again and rolled to the side, holding his injured arm.

There was suddenly a deafening crackle, and the room filled with light for a few short seconds. That was… That was thunder, wasn't it? Oh, the light hurt my eyes terribly…

The rumble from the lightning soon faded, and the throne room was so silent that I was able to hear Link's breathing from afar. I heard the sound of his blade softly touching the floor as he dragged it down whilst moving backwards. I heard the repeating noise of the rain splattering outside.

Baring my teeth—now fangs—at him, I threw the spear forcefully in his direction and seized another one from a nearby soldier. Link ducked, letting the spear fly behind him and hit the floor with a clatter.

I let out a hiss as I ran forward, the spear pointed directly towards him. Link gasped, holding his sword in front of him just as my spear was about to pierce his torso. My attack was reflected, but again and again did the shadow make me swipe the spear at him, and every try was blocked, but never punished. He was holding back… I saw the confusion in his eyes, and my heart ached.

Link backflipped as I swung the spear horizontally. I rushed towards him the moment that his feet touched the ground again, but he rolled to the side and backed away. Swiftly, however, I swung the spear to my side and scarcely—just scarcely—missed the side of his face.

But this… This wasn't getting anywhere! He was evading every one of my—I mean, the shadow's—attacks, yet he wasn't attacking me in return! It was a one-sided fight of which he would surely suffer defeat. The shadow would not care for my body… He would make me sustain attacking Link until he collapses from loss of energy, as with I, but with neither of us being able to rest.

I wanted to call out to him, I wanted to say his name one last time, but my voice was silenced. I wanted to apologize that we were in this mess, that we were forcefully combating each other, but I could say nothing…

Suddenly, I dropped the spear, and I held up both of my clawed hands, rushing towards the green blur in front of me. He gasped, but he did not elude in time. I pinned him to the ground and dug my claws into his flesh, making him wince. My unearthly nails sliced through his skin and let out a dark, crimson liquid seep out from underneath. I felt him struggle, but he was still restraining himself from his potential locked up inside…

Link… Please… Please! Just end this!

I saw him look up at me with his eyes—a vague impression of soft blue in my own vision. I saw them dimly sparkle as another clasp of thunder and lightning shattered the sky. He looked at me… So soberly… So earnestly…

"Zel...da…" he faintly whispered. On the outside, I hissed at him. On the inside, tears fell from my eyes.

"Hero…" the shadow spoke, using my voice. I showed my fangs. "Surrender your body to me… And you shall feel no more pain!"

Surrender… His body? Of course, the shadow wanted to possess Link, also, but couldn't it just slip into him instead of making him surrender it? I didn't… I didn't understand.

"Get out… Of Zelda…" Link groaned in response. I didn't know how long he could tolerate with my awful, intimidating claws in him.

"Surrender!" I hissed once more. Link moaned as more blood seeped through his tunic. Finally, he raised both of his arms and grasped my neck, causing me to undo my claws from his chest.

Link turned over and slammed me vehemently into the floor. Strangely, however, I failed to feel any pain. It was as if I had just been thrown onto a hefty pillow wrapped with satin. Nevertheless, I let out a grunt… No, the shadow let out a grunt. It was the shadow that felt the pain that I was supposed to experience if I was back in control of my body.

Link gasped after supposing that he had hurt me. Hastily, he jumped off of me and backed away a few steps. Gradually, I got up, wrath burning within my eyes.

I charged up a ball of magic—was it magic? The essence that flowed through me was terribly unfamiliar… And the ball of magic that I held in my hand was the color of darkness, not light.

I threw it at him, and I winced mentally as it accurately hit its mark. Link fell backwards, his chest flaring with shadow energy.

I charged over and pounced directly on top of him. He tried to roll over and avoid my attack, but I had already landed on top of him with a large thud and an unearthly roar. I grabbed him by his shoulders and lifted him up with unexpected strength, throwing him fervidly into one of the pillars on the side of the blood-stained carpet. Before he landed from the blow, I ran over and took seize of his arm, spinning around and tossing him to the other side of the vast room. He let out a yell as he flew across the room, emitting a grunt the moment he touched the floor. Link groaned, but he refused to get up.

Link… My poor Link…

I heard thunder roar across the room again, and I took a taunting and leisured step forward. Another crackle; I took yet another step closer. I walked in rhythm with the storm, the raging cloudburst that seethed outside. I couldn't quite see Link, but I could sense his presence… The shadow could sense his presence. Link's heart was made up of good; the shadow seemed to feel it. And while it was inside of me, I felt it, also…

I took another leisure step as lightning once again broke the shadowed sky. A deep chuckle slowly made its way up from the bottom of my throat, and an evil smirk lined my lips. I could do nothing to cease the vile expression from its coming.

At last, the green blur in front of me made movement, and I recognized two blue dots looking up at me as I hovered over him.

"Zelda… I know… you're in there…" he whispered. "Please…"

I'm here; I'm here, Link!

He could not hear me. I struggled within myself, I tried to break myself free from the shadow's grasp, but again, nothing prevailed. My body would not listen.

Get out!

"Your princess is locked away within herself," the shadow spoke. "She is no longer here. You may join her, if you wish. Surrender yourself!"

"No!" Link retorted, quickly jumping up and positioning himself into a defensive stance. "You can't persuade me into that! Zelda's still there!"

I am here, love…

"Oh? And is that why you haven't been attacking? How foolish, Hero!" a dark blade manifested in my hands, and I gripped it tightly. Its hilt was embroidered in a detailed manner, and the blade was lined with black lines scaling its edge. Yet, something was different about it… It seemed to radiate a peculiar energy… As if it was the opposite of the Master Sword's virtuous one. It shined as the lighting outside flashed. "The loss of your body will be the price you will pay!"

I swiped the longsword towards Link, but he quickly backflipped and countered my next move in addition. I slashed the sword upwards, but he blocked and hastily grabbed my hand, toppling me over. I let out an expected grunt, but I quickly got back up and attempted to stab him. Link sidestepped it and crossed blades with me.

Was he… Was he fighting now? It had seemed as if he had made the decision previously. Nevertheless, I was glad. If Link fought, then we would have a chance of getting this depraved monster out of me.

And as he was the Hero and I was just a mere and feeble princess, Link had easily won me over of our chance. He knocked my blade down, and I sensed mixed feelings as he slashed away at my body—determination, sorrow, regret…

It seemed like his body was working on his own and as if his mind had been repressed. If I could see his eyes, they would've looked cold and merciless… The only way to rid me of the monster was if he harmed me. Yet, if he harmed me… If he harmed me, he would've felt guilt, and that alone would be able to turn him down from what he rightfully needed to do. So… He shut his mind down to keep himself from thinking and experiencing such thoughts.

I fell to the floor as the last blow from the Master Sword cut my torso. I closed my eyes and I opened them back up again—they glowed a vicious red.

I was up to my feet again by the time another clap of thunder manifested. Clutching the wicked blade in my hands, I jumped above him and performed a spinning slash as I landed behind him. He was caught by surprise, but even then, Link quickly dodged and landed another blow on my torso. I stepped back, wrathfully glared at him, and continued to fight.

Link stunned me with a shield attack, but I had ducked just in time before he could pull off an intimidating helm-splitter on my skull. He landed right behind me and planted his boots firmly upon the ground. I spun around swiftly and waved the sword at him, but he blocked it with his own. He brought my blade down, turned sideways, and kicked me vigorously, sending me down to the floor. The evil sword was removed from my hands, and it landed with a distinct, echoing clatter. I watched as the green blur kicked it aside and advanced closer towards me.

I bared my fangs and shot back up. Readying my claws, I inched back a short distance before attempting to slash away at him. Link dodged the first few swipes, but a stray one had caught him off-guard and left a long, bloody gash across his chest.

I winced on the inside.

Taking no moment of hesitation, I grabbed both of his arms once more and pinned him to the ground as before. I kept a steady grip on him as I summoned dark magic… And…

Oh! I hurt him! Deeply!

The waves of dark magic coursed throughout his body as I sent it through both of his arms. I heard him scream agonizingly, and I tried to pry my own hands off of him. Suddenly, he grabbed me and threw me off.

I opened my eyes and saw him hastily get up. His right arm was clutching his heart, evidently attempting to stop the pain that he had recently endured. He breathed heavily and roughly. I could still recognize a few pulses of dark magic traveling throughout him.

"Please… Zelda…" a whisper came from his lips. "I know that you can fight him…"

But… I can't, Link…

The shadow replied with nothing. Instead, the sword I had dropped came into my hands once more, and I teleported across the room, arriving behind Link. He didn't have enough time to spin around and face me; I had already pierced his side with my blade… Although I had been aiming for his heart.

He let out an excruciating scream as he stepped away and held his sword against me. I saw waves of darkness radiate from the wound I had recently inflicted upon him, and I noticed as his energy quickly diminished from his very being. The sword seemed to drain the life right out of him.

Before long, his eyes closed, and he fell to the floor, clutching his wounded side. Link gasped for air and let out various groans as he tried to stand upright again, but it was no use.

The vehement thunder and lightning that had seemed to reign over the sky before had finally begun to cease. The rain weakened into a light sprinkle, but the sky was still foreboding and shadowy.

My soldiers were still here—silent and remaining in vigil.

I stepped closer to him as he laid there on the floor in pain. Dark blood seeped out from the wound, staining the azure carpet even further.

Link… Link?! Please… Be okay…

I crouched down and brushed away some of his hair leisurely, a taunting grin planted upon my lips. I stared at his eyes. They were… Weak. Fatigued. They lacked the liveliness and vigor that it had once possessed just moments ago. I could notice this… Even if all that I could see were blurs of color.

Was the blade leeching him from all of his energy? I saw him straining, as if he was fighting an internal force. Link gripped the carpet with his gloved hands and struggled, but it did no good. Stepping in closer, I crouched down beside him and gave him a taunting look.

"You refused to surrender," the shadow spoke through me, "so now… I must seal your soul within this blade. Goodbye… Hero."

Seal his soul… Seal his soul?! Possessing him wasn't good enough?! Link—!

He… He didn't reply. Link didn't reply to the shadow. Did he really lose? I can't believe that… That Link lost! Was it because of his wounds that he had acquired earlier? They must've weakened him! Oh, if I had healed him completely, then maybe this would've turned out to our side!

I struggled inside me; Let it stop! LINK—!

What happened next was certainly uncalled for. I had stood up, but Link suddenly let out a large groan, so I looked below at him.

What I saw was a blinding force of pure light radiating from his left hand. He raised it up at me, and I gasped, backing away. The blade was still draining his life… Using the power of the Triforce would certainly hasten the process!

I snarled at him, using my arms in attempt to cover the harsh light from entering my eyes. It seemed to reach into me, tearing away at my very soul…

Suddenly, I was pushed downwards with great force, and I screamed agonizingly. I felt like my flesh was burning in a blazing inferno! Yet I couldn't open my eyes to see what had pressed me down… The light seemed to be closer.

I felt a hand press down against my heart, and I thrashed and shrieked, flailing my arms violently in hopes that the light would cease! I have never known such pain!

Then, with one last and prolonging scream, I opened my eyes to see light, but they quickly closed, and then all I saw was darkness.

"Princess? Princess, please wake up!"

"It's no use. Her Highness is unconscious."

"What about the Hero? Is he unconscious, as well?"

"…We don't know."

"You don't know? What do you mean?"

"He's not breathing."

I opened my eyes, groaning. My body was numb and I felt fatigued. A distressing headache resided inside me. I failed to know what was going on. I couldn't even get up; my muscles seemed to be worn out and somnolent.

I saw two soldiers before me, crouched by my side and talking to each other about something. I realized that my vision has been restored, and the objects around me weren't blurs of colors any longer. It was rather strange, now, after experiencing a horrible fight against Link with that vision—

Wait. Link.

I didn't know what happened after I collapsed, yet, at the moment, it didn't seem to matter to me in even the smallest amount. I was just worried about Link; he was left uncared for after the battle. He could've died of blood loss because of his final wound, or the sword might've drained him completely of his life!

I shot up—this time, willingly—and my two soldiers in front of me were evidently alarmed.

"Your Highness! You're—"

I stood up hastily, but I felt them grab my arm to try and pull me back below. I paid no attention at all; I broke free of their grasp and ran towards Link, in front of me, unmoving and stained with darkened blood. The evil sword was still situated within his side, and it seemed to be even deadlier in my sharpened eyesight. A few soldiers seemed to be observing his wounds, but I brushed them away without hesitation and crouched over beside my love, tears already swelling in my blue eyes.

I cupped my hands over my mouth as I examined him carefully. A deep wound was in his left arm. It had been the first attack I had made from the spear that had inflicted that upon him. There were ten small incisions near his collarbone from where I had brutally pierced my claws into him, but they seemed to be unnoticeable. An evident gash was shown across his chest, from when I had caught him off-guard. But lastly, the horrible wound from his side… From the sword…

I held back some tears as I moved my right, gloveless hand across his chest, not caring whether or not his blood would stain my skin. There was no movement from underneath it, though. No breathing, no heartbeat.

I was tense.

Oh, how I hoped that he still had a chance of survival… I softly touched his cheek with me hand and rubbed it softly, urging myself to smile as all of my soldiers looked and wondered. It was cold.

My eyes drifted to the sword, and I stared at it with vengeful eyes. That sword… If I could remove it, could I revive him?

My mind was already set. Without a moment's hesitation, I placed both of my hands over its hilt and pulled it out swiftly. Blood dripped out from its tip, and I immediately looked at Link to see if he would rouse.

But he didn't… He was still as unmoving as he was moments before. His body laid sprawled on its side, and he didn't even move an inch.

I sat there, unsure of what action to perform next. I had removed the sword—but it had done no good. And as far as I knew, Link was… Link was…

I couldn't even think of that word.

A tear fell from my eye, and I dropped the sword, wrapping both of my arms around his cold body. I didn't know what to do! I began crying as I squeezed him tighter, his dried blood rubbing against the sides of my cheek.

Behind me, I heard my soldiers mumbling various comments, but I didn't want to listen. Not at all.

I found myself beginning to cry out his name—"Link! LINK—!"—repeatedly. I shook him, I held him tighter, all the while knowing that it would not aid my problem.

Link, my dearest Link, was…

Suddenly, a thought rose up from the back of my mind. Hadn't… Hadn't the shadow said that Link's soul was trapped within the blade? That would mean that Link's soul and body were just in different locations! So he wasn't really…

I couldn't help but smile; I grabbed the sword that I had dropped and examined it. How could I get this to work? How could I return his spirit into him? Then, my mind drifted to my earlier thoughts, before I had experienced the fight against Link.

Light Arrows…

If I could concentrate all of my light energy into the blade, I might be able to manipulate it into a sword of light that would give Link back his spirit instead of thieve it from him.

Nervously, I held the weapon tightly and closed my eyes. This had to work; if it didn't, I would be cursed to a life without my love… I concentrated intensely, gathering together all of my magic and even attempting to ask for the Light Spirits' assistance from afar.

Spirits of the light! Wielders of the great power that shines far and wide upon the lands of our world…In my hour of need, grant me the light to banish the evil from this blade… And return the spirit locked within it to the Hero!

Immediately, I felt powerful presences within me, and I heard the echoing voices of the four Light Spirits… I heard Ordona's echoing bellow, Faron's distinct shrill, Eldin's haunting call, and Lanayru's piercing hiss all lingering in my mind. Not a word was spoken to me from them, yet hey gave me great power… They came and disappeared without warning. And when I opened my eyes again, what I saw before me was not the wretched blade, but a gleaming sword of light that was ridded of blood…

I looked at Link, then back at the sword. I heard the amazed and astonished gasps of my army, but I didn't turn around to meet their faces. Without another sound, I lifted the shimmering weapon above Link and pierced it into his heart somewhat reluctantly, hoping that a miracle would occur.

The blade gleamed, and golden light shined outwards from it. I didn't want to back away from it; did this mean that this was working? I rubbed a stray tear off of my cheek and watched optimistically.

Light coursed through him, yet he still didn't stir from his position. I waited patiently for him to shift, even as the light gradually died away, and I held his hand expectantly, wishing for the best.

Moments passed—but it had seemed like an eternity. I needed assurance; I needed to know that my Link was still alive!

"…Y-Your Majesty…" one of my soldiers unexpectedly whispered. " What—"

"Please, give me silence…" I responded, and the soldier immediately hushed himself. I held Link's hand tighter.

And finally—finally—I felt him stir.

"Link!" I called out with joy, and I grasped the hilt of the light-sword and removed it from his chest. No blood spilled from it; it was truly a blade of virtue. I laid my hand upon the place where the sword had been just seconds ago and felt my ray of hope beneath my skin—a heartbeat. I cried out with joy; I had no way of containing my bliss! I heard all of my soldiers scurrying to my side as I watched Link rouse.

I heard him groan, and soon, his eyes opened. Steadily and slowly, he lifted his body up and met eyes with me.

I smiled; he smiled.

"Link…" I tenderly whispered, placing my hand upon his cheek. A tear fell from my eye, but this time, it was one of happiness, not solemnity.

"Zelda…" he returned my tenderness with a light kiss.

And then, contented with each other's welfare, we collapsed—together—onto the floor. We were unperturbed; Hyrule was now free of the shadow, and both Link and I had come out as the winners of the battle. Even though the adventure was rather short, we had still met challenges out in the field beyond the boundaries of our kingdom. Castle Town was still wrecked, but they were only minor and could be quickly repaired.

Link and I were together once more.

And outside, the rain had ceased, and the sun was shining once again.

A/N: (AGAIN, YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THIS)

Alright, before I end this, I have some explaining to do:

I understand that this fic was kinda hard to follow. Sorry. And the part in the middle (out in the field) was VERY pointless. It HURTS for me to read it. UGH! I mean, they were JUST in a frantic chase for the sake of their life and then they're suddenly okay the next day! DON'T YOU SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT?!

…I really should stop bashing my fic, now…

I couldn't decide what to name this story. First, as a simple name while I was still typing this, it was called 'Shadows.' It was just a name to help me recognize what the story's about. Then, I changed it to 'Beneath the Veil of Winter,' because I supposed that that plot would focus on just Link and Zelda fluff… in the winter. But, that was quickly brushed away. Then I went on to 'Anamnesis of the Rain,' but that sounded too strange for a fluff story, so I just settled on something simple. 'Shadow of the Rain.' Link once again fights Zelda in the throne room, just like in Twilight Princess. It was raining outside, too. Remember?

…And the shadow? You could say that the shadow was just something along the lines of a powerful Poe. Its power was possession; it could split itself into parts to possess different beings at once.

The thing is, Link and Zelda had defeated the shadow before it could truly do any harm to Hyrule. And the reason why it had wanted to possess them so badly is because they were the only two things that could truly stop it. The shadow needed to get rid of them first.

Are you wondering why the shadow needed Link's soul to be trapped in the blade? And why Zelda could still think while she was possessed? Well, she owns the Triforce of Wisdom, which gives her power to her mind. Therefore, she could still think while her body was occupied with the shadow. Now, the shadow couldn't possess Link unless his spirit was removed because he owns the Triforce of Courage, therefore granting him power to his soul. Once he was trapped in the blade, the shadow could've done what it pleased with his body.

Um… What else? Oh yeah, the bird that randomly took Zelda's glove. This one was kinda… Strange. A shadow possessed the bird, took her glove as the bird, flew back and gave the glove to the army as proof that Zelda and Link were near. This wasn't really that important, though.

Oh, and I understand that Link went through a LOT of injuries throughout the course of the story… but he didn't die. Well, I wrote this for my friend Bunny, as you know, and I guess that she doesn't like that sad stuff that I like to write about. (Character death, for example) So, when I said that I'd write her a story for her birthday, she told me that I had to follow ONE EXTREMELY STRICT RULE:

Link and Zelda couldn't die!

And I thought, 'Man! That's gonna be hard to write!' because I had already thought up of the plot and all.

*Sigh* I followed that rule, didn't I? Link only got severely injured! And he was ALMOST dead, not REALLY dead!

I know that no one really could've survived if they went through the injuries that Link had faced. They would be dead. Pretty quickly. I mean, he got a SPEAR shot through him! Let's just say that it was magic keeping him alive, just for the sake of the fic!

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed the story… Review please! (But I'm not saying that you HAVE to…)

-The Eternal Nocturne-

Shadow of the Rain – Completed February 8, 2009

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