Favorable side Page 19

  "The castle is closed right now under her majesty's orders," the guard said firmly. "No one is supposed to be in here except for designated personnel."

  Link scoffed to himself upon the mere mention of Zelda, knowing that after how she had treated him, he couldn't have cared less about her orders anymore. "I was just

  leaving," he said rather harshly as he finally glanced back at the guards for a moment before continuing on his way.

  However, what the hero didn't hear was the round of startled whispers coming from the soldiers upon seeing who they had just addressed. And, before Link could even

  round the next corner, they were quick to call him out once more. "Wait!" the head guard shouted, prompting the hero to roll his eyes in aggravation as he turned to face

  them once more. The entire group edged a bit closer, their weapons poised to attack as they stared Link down for a long moment before their commander spoke up.

  "Hero of Twilight, under the order of Queen Zelda, you are hereby under arrest."

  "What?!" the hero exclaimed, completely taken aback by this. "Why?"

  "That's none of your concern," the guard said with uncaring authority. "Now, if you come quietly, perhaps the queen will show mercy on you."

  Link took an instinctual step backwards, his hand already lying on the hilt of the Master Sword, just in case he had to use it. He had no idea what was going on, or why

  Zelda would try to have him imprisoned, even after the cold reception she had just given him. Did she really hate him that much to strip him of not only his love, but his

  very freedom as well? "This doesn't make any sense," the hero said, shaking his head as he tried to keep his emotions reigned in, despite the fact that the confusion and

  pain were overwhelming. "I was just talking to the queen a few minutes ago. If she wanted to capture me, why didn't she just do that when I was right there?"

  "Silence!" another guard piped up, pointing his spear directly at Link, who was unphased by the rather weak, flimsy weapon. "Enough questions. Either you come with us

  willingly, or we'll make you."

  The hero rolled his eyes once more, something that the Twilight Princess, who had been anxiously watching this entire encounter from the shadows and using every ounce

  of her will to remain within them, noticed. She couldn't help but worry, not just for the current ordeal Link had found himself in, but also for how his grief had seemingly

  made him unconcerned and even arrogant, to the point that he barely even seemed to care about anyone anymore, including his own wellbeing. "Go ahead and try then,"

  the hero said challengingly as he drew his sword, which was exactly what Midna had been afraid he'd do.

  Mere seconds later, the first spear clashed with the hero's blade, but he was quick to deflect it skillfully. Without even missing a beat, Link raised his sword and quickly and

  deftly cleaved through the weak wooden shaft of the weapon, catching its wielder completely off guard as he stumbled back. The hero was quick to block the other

  various attacks heading his way skillfully, something that all of the guards took notice of as they realized that he was more than a match for any of them. He fought

  unflinchingly, without even breaking so much as a sweat. The simple spears of the guards were nothing to the sharpened, sacred edge of the Master Sword as it hindered

  them all weaponless in a matter of minutes. However, oddly enough, the soldiers did not back off even after all of them were disarmed, something that confused both

  Link and Midna, until the Twilight Princess, who was still concealed in her hiding spot, happened to glance back and see something that made her gasp in shock and fear.

  "Link!" Midna nearly screamed, forgetting about remaining hidden for the sake of the hero. "Look out!"

  Her warning came but a moment too late. Link let out a sharp cry of pain as a heavy pain exploded in his right side, and though he nearly dropped his sword out of shock,

  he managed to cling onto it, but just barely. Time seemed to slow as the hero glanced behind him to see an entirely new group of soldiers gathered behind him, one of

  them pulling his sword away from his side, which was already bleeding heavily. The pain intensified as the shattered rings of his chainmail dug into the relatively deep

  wound, and as Link tried to force himself to cope with the pain, he was unable to do much of anything as the same soldier that had stabbed him quickly placed the edge of

  his blade against the hero's neck, holding it firmly in place in full preparation to end his life if necessary.

  "It's over, boy," the guard said darkly, pressing the side of his sword against the hero's neck slightly, almost drawing blood. "You've lost. Fortunately for you, the queen

  wants you alive, but if you keep up this foolish resistance, she might change her mind. Now, surrender. You have no other option left."

  Link was stunned into silence upon hearing this, realizing that it was true; he had lost, but perhaps what was the worst part of all of this, even aside from his pressing

  injury, was that Zelda herself had apparently sent these guards to spill his blood and capture him in such a brutal way. She had betrayed him in so many ways now,

  emotionally and physically, that the hero knew that he would never be able to forgive her for this. And because of this, Link knew he couldn't let Zelda have this victory

  over him by imprisoning him, most likely for the rest of his life. Even though he was gravely injured, he was resolved to do whatever it took to free himself from this

  situation, and as he happened to glance down at his free hand, which was trembling because of his injury and glowing a bright shade of red because of his anger, an idea

  quickly came to him.

  The hero clenched his shaking fist tightly as he glared down at it, letting all of his pent up anger and rage towards the entire situation flow to the surface for the first time.

  And, as he had hoped, his frustration showed itself in the form of a burst of flame, which he flung out in front of him, watching with slight satisfaction as it spread across

  the carpeted ground and separated him from the unarmed guards. The soldiers all leapt back in surprise and fear upon seeing this, and the guards behind Link did the

  same, save for the soldier holding onto him with a steady grip, more provoked to kill him than before out of fear alone. However, as Midna saw the guard's subtle hand

  movement as he prepared to slit the hero's throat, she immediately leapt forth from the shadows, refusing to let Link get hurt anymore. The Twilight Princess used her

  shifting hair to grab onto the guard's sword and fling it right out of his grip, allowing the hero to quickly spin around and knock the soldier to the ground roughly using the

  pommel of his sword.

  Even though he was no longer being restrained, Link knew that he was still surrounded on all sides by the guards blocking the only two ways he could go. Midna joined him

  by covering him from behind, ignoring the frightened responses of the soldiers aimed at both of them as they tried to come up with a plan of escaping.

  "So, you wanna try a little ice to stop these guys?" the Twilight Princess asked the hero, watching as the intrepid soldiers began to warily press against them once.

  Link simply nodded as he set his jaw, sheathing the Master Sword as he held both his hands out and tried to conjure some ice, but instead, he only ended up creating

  more fire. The hero rolled his eyes in annoyance at the fact that he still didn't have specific control over his powers, but considering the dilemma he was in, he couldn't

  afford to be too picky. He held the balls of flame over his palms for a moment longer, allowing them to swell in response to his anger, before he threw them both to the

  ground towards the two groups of soldiers. The flames exploded wildly upon colliding with the ground, startling the guards as both fire and smoke filled the hall.

  "Or fire
," Midna commented with an impressed shrug. "Fire works too."

  In the midst of this newfound chaos, the Twilight Princess slipped back into the Link's shadow as the hero began to run in the direction of the castle's exit, somehow

  having the wits about him to create a small funnel of wind around himself to plow through the fire unharmed.

  The guards did not realize what had happened until the hero was well out of their reach, but even so, they began to chase after him as he dashed through the halls, not

  entirely sure of where he was going, but hoping that he'd reach an exit eventually. As Link ran, Midna came out to glide beside him, glancing back every now and then to

  make sure that they weren't being trailed too closely. A gust of wind continued to swirl around the hero, most likely as a result of the fear that he had been repressing

  earlier, which was showing itself full force now as he ran with his grey eyes wide and his heart pounding. Link wasn't entirely sure what would happen to him if he was

  captured, but he was certain that it wouldn't be good, even if Zelda had demanded that he be caught alive, which was why he refused to stop for anything, lest he his

  freedom end once and for all.

  "What is wrong with Zelda?!" the Twilight Princess exclaimed as the two of them continued to make their way through the dark halls. "First she acts like she wants nothing

  to do with you, and then she sends her guards chasing after you? She's completely lost it!"

  "It doesn't matter," the hero said between heavy breaths as he continued to run as fast as he could, the pressing pain of his wound forgotten amidst the adrenaline

  flowing through him. "All we need to worry about now is getting out of here, and then maybe we can try to sort all this out later."

  Midna nodded in agreement with him, even though she could hear the distain for the queen clearly in his tone. She could only imagine what was going through his head

  right now after having to deal with such rejection and animosity all in one day.

  As the pair rounded the next corner however, they were met with something that stopped them in their tracks: a dead end. The hallway they were in abruptly cut off with

  no further passageway or door, but instead only a lone, large window that showed that they were still on a relatively high floor of the castle. Link and Midna briefly

  panicked for a moment as they both turned around, only to see that the guards had already caught up with them, and were now completely barring off their only way of

  escape. The hero clenched his fists as he glared at them, knowing that a simple blast of fire would not deter them this time as he backed up, until he was against the cold

  glass of the window, the Twilight Princess right beside him as they looked to their attackers with wide eyes.

  "Enough games, both of you," one of the guards said fiercely, his sword prepared to strike. "You have nowhere else to run. Fire or no, we will capture you in the name of

  Queen Zelda!"

  Upon hearing this, Link and Midna exchanged a glance, both of their expressions resolved and determined. They knew that if they were to be captured now, then both of

  them would meet a similar terrible fate, and so, the only thing they could do now was stand together, just as they always had. And fortunately enough, the Twilight

  Princess got a sudden idea upon glancing at the wide window behind them, one that certainly wasn't ideal, but would hopefully work well enough.

  "Link," Midna said, her tone serious and tense. "Do you trust me?"

  "With my life," Link responded almost immediately, knowing that he didn't even have to think about whether or not he trusted her.

  The Twilight Princess grinned slyly as she looked back to the window once more, not wasting any more time as the guards continued to approach them. With a high battle

  cry, Midna conformed her hair into a fist and rammed it through the fragile window, completely shattering it upon contact and allowing the frigid air from outside to pour

  into the castle. The guards were taken aback by this, especially as the Twilight Princess quickly guided outside, calling for Link to do the same. "Jump!" she shouted

  urgently, still keeping her hair contorted into a hand as she positioned herself so that she'd be able to catch the hero.

  Link only hesitated for a moment as he watched her, before noticing that the guards knew that he was about to escape and began to rush towards him. And so, knowing

  that it was the only choice he had left, the hero stepped up onto the window frame and closed his eyes as the winds around him continued to spiral around him. And he

  jumped.

  The dreadful feeling of freefalling through the air only lasted for what seemed like seconds until Link finally landed in Midna's awaiting hair-hand, a spike of pain shooting

  through his injured side as he landed on his back. The Twilight Princess let out a surprised groan as she had not been anticipating his weight, and, since her small stature

  was unable to handle it, she began to plummet, even though she tried her best to keep herself floating.

  "Link!" Midna shouted in a panic as they both fell from their high spot towards the ground hundreds of feet below. "I…. I can't keep us up!"

  The hero glanced down at the ground, getting closer to them with each passing second, and he briefly closed his eyes, the pain in his side pounding aggressively. By all

  accounts, their situation seemed hopeless. Even if they were to make a safe landing, there was a large chance that there would be a legion of guards just waiting to

  apprehend them in the castle yard. And, knowing this, Link realized that there was only one thing left for him to do.

  "Midna, let me go," he said, his tone morose and desperate as he frowned up at her.

  "What?!" the Twilight Princess exclaimed in disbelief. "No! Link, if I do that, you'll die!"

  "I won't die," Link said, even though the uncertainly in his voice was clear as he hoped and prayed that his spur of the moment plan would work. "I promise; I'll figure

  something out. But if you don't let me go, then we'll both die."

  "But… but what if they capture you?" Midna asked, growing more distraught with each passing second.

  "Then they'll capture me," the hero said with a sigh as he prepared himself for the inevitable. "But I'm not going to let you get dragged into this too. I'm sorry, Midna."

  "Link, wait!" the Twilight Princess shouted as she tried to clench her hair around him to keep him in place, but it was too late. Right before she could, Link rolled off of her

  hand and began to freefall once more, plummeting much faster than he had when Midna had been holding him. The Twilight Princess stopped in midair, now able to glide

  easily again, and watched with horror as the hero fell, tears welling up in her eyes as she prayed that he knew what he was doing.

  As Link got closer and closer to the ground, he allowed his fear to take over him, hoping that his hunch was correct and that it would somehow save him. He closed his

  eyes tightly as he held his hands out in front of them, his entire body shaking as it fell through the air. Though he tried his best to force his mind to focus on what he

  needed to do to save himself, the only thing it could think of was the large possibility that he would meet his painful end by roughly colliding with the cold, unyielding

  ground below. And it was because of that deep, innate fear that something that was nothing short of a miracle happened. An incredibly powerful gust of wind burst out of

  the hero's hands mere moments before he hit the ground, slowing his momentum significantly. However, even despite this, the wind came too late to completely break

  his fall; Link still landed on the snow-covered ground rather roughly, the impact sending more pain sparking through his wound as he let out a cry of pain, one that Midna

  managed to hear from her spot high above and didn't hesitate to glide down towards.

 
"Link!" Midna exclaimed worriedly as the hero continued to moan in agony, pressing his hands against the wound to try and staunch the continuous flow of blood. Clearly,

  his cut needed to be treated soon, otherwise there was a good chance he could die from it. "Come on, you have to get up. I saw guards heading this way, and they'll be

  here any minute!"

  Link didn't respond as he remained out of breath, the wind slowing around him as his fear began to fade into anxiety. The pain was immense and he knew that there was

  nothing he could do to drive it away, even with his powers.

  "Oh, for Din's sake!" Midna said in annoyance as she let out a sigh before quickly taking the end of the crimson cape that the hero was still wearing and ripping off a long

  strip of it. "Here," she said, handing it to Link as he struggled to sit up. "Wrap that around it until we can get back to Ordon. Hopefully someone there will be able to patch

  it up for you."

  "Thanks," the hero said quietly as he accepted the cloth, wrapping it around himself a few times before securing it with a knot. The Twilight Princess helped him to his feet,

  and though he was a bit unsteady and woozy from all the blood he had lost, he did his best to remain standing. However, before the two of them could even continue on,

  they had the misfortune of being spotted by a different group of guards patrolling the castle gardens, though clearly, they had been given the same command to capture

  the hero as the last regiment.

  "Oh no…" Link said with weary dismay as he kept a hand resting on his side, knowing that it made matters much worse. "Not again."

  "They just don't quit, do they?" Midna growled in aggravation as the soldiers rushed towards them. "Come on!" Without another word, the Twilight Princess quickly

  grabbed the hero by the hand and began to lead the way towards the main gates that led to Castle Town. Midna glided as fast as she could, even though she could tell

  that Link was lagging behind because of his injury. His entire body was screaming with pain with every step he took, but he knew that to stop now would be even more

  costly.

  Fortunately, the pair made it to the castle gates long before the guards could catch up to them. Since they weren't locked from the inside, Midna did not hesitate to use