After several days of traveling, Hyrule was now a far off land behind Link. He was now wandering in an unknown land, trying to track down the evil he sensed. The young Link did not know exactly what he was looking for, but its force grew stronger once he had entered this particular area.
Link held out his angel medallion, inspecting it. It had been days since he had received the trinket from the woman he did not know. Link always would think of her, trying to completely understand who, or what, she was. What he did know for sure was the fact that being around her made him feel warm and comforted, as if he was always safe. Looking at the medallion always made him remember that feeling, which helped him move forward on his latest journey.
He could sense the evil force grow, and he knew it was his job to snuff it out before it engulfed the whole world. Despite his past conflicts, Link knew that this would be unlike anything he had faced before. He was aware that the evil he was searching for had to be somewhere in this land.
Link stuffed his medallion back under his tunic as he came upon a small town. It might not have been a large town, but to the small stature of Link, it still felt a little daunting. Ignoring his nervousness, he walked through the town, hoping to find anything of importance.
“Man, that woman is crazy! She has beaten up five men already, out in the field.” One townsfolk let out. This had caught Link’s full attention.
“I know! What the hell is her problem, and why does she keep asking if we know anything about a sword?” Another person added, as they walked past Link, not evening noticing him. Link decided to figure out what was going on. It may not have been his problem, but if someone was hurting others he felt it was up to him to put a stop to her. He then walked off in the direction the two people came from.
“Where the hell is it!” Link heard a female voice demand as he came across the open field in question.
“I…I don’t know Miss Ivy…” The man let out, in fear. He was down on the ground, slowly crawling backwards with the mysterious woman inching closer with a strange looking sword in hand.
“…Ivy?” Link thought as he heard her name.
Link frowned upon the situation and decided to step in. Standing a few feet behind the woman, Link readied his sword and shield. Ivy twitched her head at the sound of a sword being unsheathed, taking her eyes off the man. She paused for a moment before finally turning to see what was behind her. As soon as she did this, the man got up and ran back in town, cowering in fear.
“…a boy?” Ivy thought, confused before sporting a smirk. The almost white-haired woman wore a strange purplish-pink outfit that was somewhat revealing, which seemed so weird for the young Link to see. She may have been a beautiful woman, but she was definitely a dangerous one, and that was the first think Link took note of. “Nice ears, kid,” she noted as she glanced at his pointy ears. “You think you can take me on, boy? Come on then, let’s see what you got,” she smiled, getting herself ready for a fight.
Link lunged forward, thrusting his sword forward at Ivy. She easily stepped to the side and sliced her sword downward. Link, expecting this, dove out of the way. Ivy then swung her leg at the boy, hoping to catch him off guard. Link caught this and quickly launched himself backwards, just narrowly missing contact.
“Heh, not bad twerp….” Ivy cackled, somewhat impress that he was able to keep up with her. Link swung a leg at her feet, trying to trip her, but Ivy effortlessly jumped over it. In one quick motion, she clenched a fist with her other hand and brought it down on Link, actually connecting, much to her delight. Link winced, as he was knocked back, but did not fall. He shot his eyes back at hers, seemingly unaffected by the hit, which surprised Ivy a little. Link then quickly thrust his shoulder into her stomach area, making Ivy stagger back.
“…Extend!” Ivy demanded in frustration. Suddenly, as she swung her sword outwards, the blade had broken apart and formed some kind of whip. Link’s eye’s widened as he saw it coming closer to him. Instinctively, he raised his shield to try and block it. A loud clanging sound was heard as Ivy’s blade retracted back into place. A devilish smirk appeared on Ivy’s face, as she charged towards Link. Link was ready and tried to counter by thrusting his sword forward. However, Link was taken by surprise as Ivy launched her self into the air, and dove over the boy, landing behind him.
Link let out a quiet sound, as Ivy’s sword once again had become a whip and wrapped itself around young Link’s neck. Link dropped his sword and shield, as he dropped to he knees, grabbing at the strange blade that was choking him. “I’ve got you!” Ivy let out, grinning evilly. Link winced, as he struggled to open one eye to look at her with. Ivy knew that she could easily end him by sending a surge of energy through her blade, but she refrained from doing so for the moment, enjoying watching Link squirm.
Link looked at her, then looked down at his shield, trying to figure something out as her weapon was getting tighter around his neck, making it harder and harder to breathe. “My…only chance…” Link thought as he moved one hand, struggling to reach his shield. He finally picked it up and turned towards Ivy a little. He then swung his arm towards her, releasing the shield from his grip.
“What…!” Ivy let out, not expecting his move.
I’ve bent over slightly, clutching her mid-section where the shield had struck her. As soon as she lowered her guard, the blade around Link’s neck loosened, allowing him to get free. Not taking any time for a breather, Link quickly picked up his sword and charged towards Ivy. He then dove at her, tackling her to the ground. They did a complete roll backwards, before coming to a stop. Getting her bearings back together, Ivy could feel something sharp touching her neck. She slowly opened her eyes, wanting to know what was going on now.
Ivy was on her back, being pinned down by Link, who was sitting on top of her chest. He held his sword down on her, with the point touching the skin of her neck while straddling atop her.
Both of them were breathing heavily as their eyes locked on to each other. Link was not strong enough to keep her pinned by himself, but Ivy knew that any sudden movement could have his sword merge with her neck. For the first time in a long while, fear was present in Ivy’s eyes. She also felt humiliated and ashamed to be brought down by such a small boy.
Link could see this in her eyes, as he still held his sword in the exact same spot. He was slowly beginning to regain his breath, along with Ivy. As she looked deeper into his sapphire-like eyes, her thought pattern started to change. Not only did she wonder where he learned what he knows, but Ivy felt a sense of pride in the fact that the boy had taken her down. If it were someone else that the boy had beaten, she’d congratulate him. She actually felt somewhat proud of him.
“Do it.” Ivy muttered, wanting him to get it over with. Link just blinked, as he let out a heavy sigh. He lowered his blade, and took it away from her neck as he slowly stood up, feeling satisfied with his apparent victory. Ivy wondered why he was letting her go, as the thought of attacking him right there ran through her head. She brushed off the notion as Link offered her a hand up. She smirked as she picked herself up, ignoring his offer.
She towered over him, as she looked down to look at him. “So, you’re looking for the blade, too,” she murmured.
“The…blade?” Link thought to himself, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
“It would explain why an outsider like you would decide to grace this land with your presence,” Ivy explained.
“Is that what I am searching for?” Link thought.
“You’ve gut guts, kid,” Ivy let out, as she put her claw-like, gloved hand to her chin, thinking. “Come with me. You and I can find the blade much quicker if we worked together. What do you say?” She grimaced, offering to take him under her wing. Link thought about this for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he could trust Ivy, but he was always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. Link looked at Ivy, and nodded his head. “Good…” Ivy smirked.
“I suppose this young swordsman has a name?” Ivy asked, motioning to him.
“L...Link…” He replied in a shy tone as his eyes pointed downwards.
“Well then, mind if we join your little team?” Both Link and Ivy turned their heads in surprise, wondering who said that. Two women were standing side by side, one of them in a red suit, the other in a Greek dress.
“Taki…” Ivy growled.
“Do you honestly believe I’d allow you to get your hands on the Soul Edge?” Taki questioned.
“Soul Edge…” Link thought, not understanding what was going on. The other woman then looked towards Link, and gave him a sincere smile.
“Hey, little guy, we saw your battle with Ivy, and I have to say, you had me impressed. Oh, by the way, call me Sophitia,” she told him.
“Heh, you impressed me as well, young one. I am very curious to know where you come from,” Taki spoke up.
“Heh, get lost!” Ivy snapped back.
“That blade is Evil, Ivy, we must destroy it. Besides, like we’d leave you lone with a child,” Sophitia remarked. Ivy just cringed at her.
Link stood in the middle of this conflict, unsure of who these people really are and unsure of the aforementioned Soul Edge. Somehow he had a feeling that maybe the Soul Edge is connected to the evil he had been sensing, and maybe these three women could very well help him in his journey. He then eyed the three of them as he agreed with himself into joining them.
To be continued...
