Link looked at the girl before him and took out a bundle of bandages. He started to wrap it around the girl’s leg and went into deep thought. If he had not come a minute longer, this girl would’ve lost her virginity, and maybe even her life.
But he frowned when she fainted from the pain. He wouldn’t try to wake her up, but he didn’t know where she lived either.
“I guess she’s coming to my place,” Link sighed. He went to pick her up, only to realize that she had hardly anything on. His cheeks flushed as he did not want anyone to see him walking around with a half-naked girl at night, even when no one was around.
He removed his belt and took off his tunic and dressed it on her, very uncomfortable of dressing someone else. He then picked her up in his arms and carried her to an inn not to far away.
He opened the door, making sure he wouldn’t drop the girl and avoided the others around the bar. Knowing how perverted some men could be, especially drunk men around this inn’s tavern, he sneaked upstairs to his room.
Once he opened the door, he looked at his bed, hoping that she would be comfortable. He frowned. It was either the bed or the floor. He laid the girl down underneath the sheets and gathered as many blankets to keep her warm.
Link sighed and took his cap off. He remembered that Saria, a good friend of his, made tea whenever someone was stressed or not relaxed. He looked into a small cabinet in his room and frowned. All he had was milk…
He decided maybe that might help. He lit the fireplace and poured milk into the kettle. He then started to heat up the milk, making sure that it did not burn.
Zelda saw black and nothing else. At first she thought she had died, but then again, she felt a type of heat over her like sheets of a bed.
Then, if this was a bed, all of that night was a dream… A terrible dream… She would be in the castle, and go to Winchel’s room so he could calm her.
But her heart dropped like a stone in water as she opened her eyes. Instead of the castle, she was in a small room with a small bed. A fireplace could be seen not too far away from the bed. And a nightstand seemed to be the only piece of furniture in the room, besides the bed.
A man walked up to her. Zelda flinched, having the thought that this was the one who tried to rape her. But then again, she looked into his ocean crystal blue eyes and remembered the last time she saw them.
“Hey,” said the man. “You’re awake.”
Zelda frowned. “Where am I?”
“An inn,” he replied. “I would’ve taken you back to your home, but you didn’t tell me where it was.”
Zelda didn’t want to tell this man anything. She wanted to go back home.
“I can go back home myself,” Zelda said and removed the blankets to reveal her wearing a green tunic. She ignored this and went to stand up, but a large pain shot through her leg and she sat back down immediately.
“It’s only been an hour,” the man said. “I think your leg needs more time to heal.”
He grabbed a mug and walked up to her. “Here,” he handed it to her. “I would’ve made you tea but I don’t have any.”
Zelda hesitated to see warm milk in the mug. She looked up at the man.
“Thank you,” she said. She took the mug from his hands and took a sip.
“My name’s Link,” he said.
“Zelda…”
Link almost tripped and fell on his face at the sound of that name. Zelda wanted to punch herself in the face.
“You mean the princess?” Link said hotly.
“Yes, I would hope you wouldn’t make it such a big deal,” Zelda replied more icily.
Link recoiled at the sound of her voice. “Sorry Princess Zelda.”
“Its just Zelda. No need for formalities.”
Link became extremely curious and suspicious. “Why were you out being chased by those men? You should’ve been in the castle.”
Zelda sighed. “It’s a long story.”
Link nodded, sensing that it was much more than that. Zelda lowered her head recalling the events that happened. Winchel, the man she loved, was now gone. She couldn’t believe that he was gone… Never to be seen again for the rest of her life… This saddened her, for he seemed to be the only one who made her happy.
It made her eyes water and she bit down the urge to cry. Link noticed this and sat on the bed.
“Hey,” he said. “It’s okay. Don’t…”
But he was quickly interrupted as Zelda almost leaped on him and cried in his white undershirt. Hot tears could be felt on his chest as Zelda sobbed. Link hesitated, recovering over the mental shock, but then wrapped his arms around her.
After what seemed like a half an hour, Zelda broke free from her tears and wiped her red face.
“I’m sorry,” she said embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to break down like…”
“No! No!” Link interrupted. “I understand. It’s okay…”
Zelda had the desire to smile at Link’s natural kindness, even when she revealed that she was the princess of Hyrule. But she seemed to have no muscle in her jaw to do so. An empty depression filled within her as the realization of Winchel’s death hit her like an anvil.
Link looked up out of the window and at the moon. “It’s almost morning… Maybe you should get back. Everyone at the castle will be worried.”
Zelda nodded, wiping the last drop of tears on her face. Link helped her out of bed and out of the inn. Zelda didn’t try and question why Link tried to avoid everyone’s gaze at the inn, but understood that she was a woman and a bar was included at the inn.
Zelda couldn’t help but feel disgust at the place. She couldn’t believe her father ignored this. Her father seemed to ignore everything these days. He only focused on bringing some type of world peace to Hyrule. It obviously didn’t help at all, for he ignored his own capital to get nations to back him up.
Link and Zelda walked up to a powerful looking blood red mare. It’s white mane rippled in the moonlight, much like Zelda’s did, as Link noticed. Only Zelda’s had more of a beautiful glowing shine to it.
Wait! Snap that out of your head!
He couldn’t believe he was thinking about that. Zelda was the princess of Hyrule. She would never love a peasant traveler like him. He couldn’t ever get acquainted with her. It was just a simple rescue mission, like the day he saved a girl named Malon from nearly being trampled by her own horses, which had been attacked by a raccoon looking for food.
He helped Zelda on the mare named Epona. That’s where he received that majestic horse. Malon said that Epona was the fastest horse on the ranch, and she gave her to him as a gift of gratefulness and she hoped they could become good friends, nothing more.
Link pressed on Epona’s flanks and they rode slowly and carefully towards the castle, due to Zelda’s injured leg.
Since the madmen had killed the guards who posted the outside of the castle. Link had no trouble bringing Zelda to the bridge.
Zelda thanked Link simply and limped off, saying she could handle it from there. He offered his help to the inside of the castle, but she refused to have his help, since people would be suspicious if a commoner brought the princess in with a broken leg, and having to explain that her prince had been murdered.
Link saluted Zelda and rode off back towards the inn. Once he got there, he opened a pouch on Epona’s saddle and took out a blue tunic and slipped it on over his white shirt. He then put his belt over the tunic and went back into his room in the inn.
He plopped on the bed, exhausted, but couldn’t sleep since so many events happened that night. Events that he sensed would change his life forever. Good or bad, he did not know…
