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  The girl took note of his stated silence and frowned, knowing that even her words were not enough this time to give him even something resembling comfort. And so, she

  stepped a bit closer to him, wanting to embrace him gently, even though she knew he most likely wouldn't let her. So instead, she suggested something else. "We don't

  we go for a walk?" she asked him with a small, hopeful smile. "We don't have to talk about anything if you don't want to, but maybe it will help clear your mind a bit?"

  "Ilia…" Link began, fully prepared to turn her offer down in favor of sending her away so that Midna could emerge from the shadows and help him figure out what they

  were going to do next. But he quickly realized that all the girl had asked for was for him to accompany her on a short walk; what harm could possibly come from that?

  "Ok," he finally agreed somewhat emptily, not responding to Ilia's warm smile as she led the way out of the house and into the cold darkness outside.

  The two of them walked side by side in silence for quite a while as they made a lap around the empty Ordon Village. Thankfully, no one came out to meet them,

  something that relieved the hero quite a bit; the last thing he needed were for any of them to hound him with unwanted questions, lest he reveal his powers to all of them

  by mistake. All the while however, Link couldn't help but wonder if Ilia had been right earlier. Did he still truly belong in a place as peaceful and calm as Ordon now that he

  had destructive powers that could be set off any time he experienced basically any emotion at all? And if he really didn't belong in Ordon anymore, then was the really any

  place in which he could truly belong?

  As the hero and the girl sauntered through the snow-covered village, Ilia glanced over at Link every now and then, her expression still filled with concern as she wondered

  what else had happened to him while he was at the castle. She knew well that he had not given her the whole story, but she knew better than to ask him while the

  wounds of the experience were still fresh. As they went along however, she couldn't help but feel the slightest bit angry towards the queen amidst her sympathy for the

  hero. How dare she destroy his feelings in such a way, especially when he had been willing to give up everything he had ever known for her sake! Ilia knew that if she had

  been in Zelda's place, the very first thing she would have done was show nothing but her absolute love and affection towards Link, things that she felt for him deeply and

  honestly, even if she was too afraid to tell him yet. But even so, the girl knew that all she could do now for him was reassure and support him, with the hope that

  eventually, he would come around to her and return to being the hero she had always known him to be.

  Link and Ilia had been wandering aimlessly around the village for about an hour or so, still not striking up any sort of conversation. Eventually, they emerged into the

  empty ranch, both of them deciding to take a break by casually leaning side by side against the fence, something they often used to do when they were younger.

  However, in all those instances, they would spend their time conversing and laughing; now, the only thing between them was silence.

  "Link…" Ilia said softly after what seemed like ages of nothing. The hero only glanced her way slightly, enough for her to finally see the strange glowing marks running

  across his face, but at the moment she didn't bother asking about them, as much as they unnerved her. "I… There was something I've wanted to tell you, even before

  you left to go to the coronation… This may not be the best time for it… but I don't want to put it off any longer…"

  "What is it?" Link asked curiously, even though he had a small hunch as to what it might be.

  The girl bit her lip apprehensively as she looked down shyly, her heart racing and her cheeks painted bright red. "So… You know you've always been my… best friend,

  right?" she began nervously, not even gauging the hero's simple nod in response to this as he continued to listen to her. "Well… I just… I wanted you to know that… that

  I… I…" Ilia trailed off however, when a noise coming from the village became clear to both of them, even from their place at the ranch: loud, angry, almost riotous

  shouting.

  Link and Ilia exchanged a brief glance of confusion before they unanimously decided to leave the ranch and go back to the village to see what was going on. However, as

  soon as they emerged past the exit of the ranch, the hero quickly wished they had stayed put. His breath caught as soon as he caught sight of the metallic armor of the

  guards clustered in the center of the village, apparently having a heated argument with several of the residents of the town. Ilia gripped Link's arm anxiously upon seeing

  them, coming to the same conclusion that the hero had: the guards had come all this way for him and him alone.

  After a brief moment of shock, Link shook his head to clear it from the thoughts racing through it and grasped Ilia's wrist, dragging her along as he rushed behind the

  mayor's house nearby, knowing that the guards would not see them there. They went unnoticed as they peeked out from the side of the house and watched the

  unfolding scene, both of their hearts racing from the exact same anxiety.

  "We know he's hiding here somewhere!" one of the guards shouted to the group that included basically all of the residents of the village, including the children, all of whom

  were huddled close to their parents in fear of these invaders. "It only makes sense that he would come back here. Now, just tell us where he is!"

  "What do you want with him anyway?" Rusl spoke up boldly, while the rest of the villagers bravely held their peace about the hero's location, even though most of them

  had spotted him walking through the village earlier with the girl.

  "The queen's demands are of little importance to mere peasants such as yourselves," another guard said coldly. "Perhaps you all don't know what the penalty for

  harboring criminals is… Surrender the Hero of Twilight over to us, or this village burns to the ground!"

  The villagers all gasped in fear as the leading guard took a torch held by one of the other soldiers and quickly lit it, holding it up into the air to show them that they were

  serious. Link and Ilia were both taken aback by this cruel measure, neither of them wanting to believe that Hyrule's soldiers would stoop to such low methods of catching

  their prey, but sure enough, they were. And this threat alone was almost enough to get the hero to emerge from his hiding place, before the girl quickly stopped him.

  "Link, no," Ilia whispered, her tone serious and grim. "If they capture you… who knows what they'll do!"

  "We know exactly what they'll do if they don't," Link said gravely, not about to let the people of his hometown suffer for his sake.

  "I know, but… please," the girl urged. "Let me go out there before you do anything. Maybe I can help my father get rid of them so you can escape or… something. Please,

  just trust me on this. You can't just throw your life away like that."

  The hero wanted to convince her against this hasty, dangerous plan, but before he could even give his consent or disagreement, Ilia had already risen up from their hiding

  spot and began to make her way towards the crowd in a way that was inconspicuous and would not draw any attention to where Link was. The girl silently took her place

  amongst the other Ordonians, standing alongside her father as she gave him a small smile to let her know that she was alright. However, even despite the fact that she

  had made sure to be as discrete as possible, her joining the crowd had not gone unnoticed by one of the guards who had, until this point, been standing by silently

  observing the conundrum. And, catching onto the strange suddenness of Ilia's appearance, he didn't hesitate to call her out on it.
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  "Hey!" the guard shouted, directing the rest of their attention to the girl, who merely returned their suspicious gazes with wide eyes. "Where did you come from, miss?"

  "W-what do you mean?" Ilia asked, huddling closer to her father for protection as she feigned ignorance. "I've been here all along!"

  "It's true!" Mayor Bo vouched for his daughter, even though it was a lie. "My little Ilia's been right here this with me this whole time!"

  "Likely story…" the lead guard muttered unbelievingly, marching up close to the girl, glaring at her as he stared deep into her eyes. Ilia tried her best to avert his gaze as he

  towered menacingly over her, her heart racing as she resisted the urge to glance back at the spot where she knew Link was hiding. "Tell me the truth, young lady," the

  guard said, his tone unyielding and solid. "Do you know where the hero is?"

  The girl froze up in fear as her heart raced, knowing that she would rather die than give away the hero's location. But even so, that didn't mean that she wasn't terrified

  out of her wits. "I… I don't…" she stammered weakly, shaking her head as she felt her knees buckle. However, this clearly wasn't good enough for the guard as he quickly

  reached out and grasped her firmly and roughly by the arm, pulling her away from her father and holding onto her tightly so she couldn't escape.

  Link nearly leapt out from behind the house right then and there, but he was only stopped by Midna's harsh whisper. "Wait!" she said from his shadow, stopping him in

  tracks, but just barely. "Not yet!"

  The hero took in an aggravated sigh as he continued to watch the scene anxiously, his hands balled up into tight fists as he watched the guards hold one of his closest

  friends ransom for him.

  "We know you're somewhere nearby, hero!" the guard holding onto Ilia shouted loudly, ignoring the girl's feeble attempts to free herself from his iron grip. "Reveal

  yourself, or your little friend here pays the price!"

  "Link!" Midna whispered shrilly from the shadows upon seeing the hero tense up, his hand going to the hilt of the Master Sword as his other hand began to glow red. She

  knew that if he were to go out there now, the situation could only end in one of two ways: the first would that it would be a repeat of what happened in Castle Town. The

  second would result in the hero finally getting captured, which didn't seem that far-fetched considering the fact that he was still recovering from his injury.

  "Come on out, hero," the guard taunted callously, holding his sword lightly against the girl's neck. Some of the other residents of the village, including Bo and Rusl, tried to

  press forward to rescue her, but they were held back by the strength of the other guards. "Unless you don't care about whether she lives or dies…"

  "Link, NO!" the Twilight Princess nearly screamed, wishing that she could come out of the shadows and physically restrain him, though she knew that would only draw

  attention over to him. However, the hero completely ignored her as he took a step forward, still tucked away behind the house, but dangerously close to being seen. He

  refused to let these guards continue to pursue him, to let them continue to oppress him and hurt not only him, but those he cared about, such as Ilia. He didn't care if it

  was risky, he refused to allow this tyranny and injustice go on any longer.

  He refused to let Zelda win.

  "We'll give you to the count of three," the guard said almost patronizingly, ignoring Ilia as she let out a frightened scream, though it was really intended to tell Link to stay

  put. "One, two-"

  "Looking for me?" Link asked boldly as he finally stepped out from behind the mayor's house, the Master Sword brandished in his hand as he stood ready to fight all of

  them if that's what it took to protect Ordon and its people.

  The lead guard grinned in satisfaction as he finally relinquished his grip on Ilia, allowing her to collapse to the ground weakly, exhausted from the horrifying experience she

  had just been through. As she retreated to her father's side, the hero kept up his courageous stance, feeling like he was finally in his element again, even despite the looks

  of absolute shock and concern the villagers were giving him.

  "Well, look who finally worked up the nerve to show his face…" the guard, one that the hero quickly recognized as among the group that had attacked him in Castle Town,

  said snidely. "Magic or no magic, you won't be escaping us this time, hero."

  "We'll just see about that," Link said with a confident grin, one that relieved both Midna and Ilia, the only two who knew about the hero's former depressed state. Without

  exchanging any other words, the two sides engaged one another, Link opting to use his sword instead of any sort of magic.

  Despite the fact that he was pitted up against about fifteen guards alone, the hero was largely undaunted by them as he clashed swords with them, this time making sure

  to protect his flanks to that he would not be stabbed again. Even though he was clearly out numbed, Link moved with deft skill and agility, slashing broadly and carefully at

  every opportunity he got. And even though they boasted fine armor and weaponry, the guards simply couldn't keep up with his expertise.

  As the hero fought, the people of Ordon began to cheer in support for him, glad to see that he was working to liberate them from these cruel attackers, even if they had

  been sent by the queen herself. However, after Link had knocked about a third of the guards out cold using only his sword alone, one of them came up with a rather

  devious idea to distract the hero, one that they hoped would lead to his downfall. The guard quickly took another torch and lit it, and, after making sure that the hero was

  not paying attention, he wildly tossed it at the nearest house, which just so happened to be the mayor's.

  Ilia's horrified scream upon seeing her home catch fire was what ultimately alerted Link as to what had just happed. He gasped in surprise upon seeing the flames already

  scatter across the wooden house that was in no way prepared to handle such a thing, before breaking the tension that he was keeping with the blade of another soldier.

  The girl joined the hero in racing over to the burning house, neither of them knowing what to do to smolder the flames.

  "Link, we have to do something!" Ilia cried, tears streaming down her face as she faced losing her only home.

  The hero nodded tersely in agreement before glancing back to see that the remaining guards had surrounded them both from behind, meaning that they were trapped on

  both sides.

  "Give up already, boy," one of the guards demanded. "Or else the rest of this worthless village burns."

  Breathlessly, Ilia glanced over at Link to see that he had sheathed his sword, his silver eyes sending a burning glare to his pursuers and his fists clenched tightly at his sides

  as they strangely glowed in a light red hue.

  "Never," the hero said rigidly, taking a bold step forward. "I will never let you hurt the people of this village and I will never surrender! Now, leave us alone!"

  As he proclaimed this, Link thrust his hands forward, this time not even caring about the flames that raced forth from them, squarely striking two of the guards in the

  chest. The force of the fire knocked them both to the ground as it began to burn up their metal armor. The hero couldn't help but feel the slightest bit satisfied upon

  hearing their screams of pain, knowing that deserved it after all they had put both him and his village through. Upon seeing two of their comrades go down, the rest of the

  guards rushed for Link, but he was quick to push them back with a heavy gust of wind. As he was still using this strong gale, the hero quickly turned and held his hands out

  towards the mayor's house, letting the chilling breezes blow upon the ever-increasing flames until they were at last dimini
shed, fortunately before they could cause too

  much damage.

  "Stay back," Link commanded to Ilia, far too wrapped up in the moment to realize that he was actually using his powers rather seamlessly, and that the villagers were all

  staring at him with wide, shocked eyes. Completely engrossed in fighting, the hero prepared to stand up against the guards who had reclaimed their footing and were

  racing towards him once more, even despite the fact that he seemed to be openly using his magic this time.

  As one of the guards tried to strike Link down with his sword, the hero was quick to stop it by forming a shield of ice and thrusting it towards his attacker. The ice

  shattered upon impact, but the moment it did, Link made sure to thrust his hands out once more, allowing another burst of wind to spiral out from them so that the

  pointed ice shards impaled the guard in several places, clearly injuring him gravely.

  After all of this, there was only one guard remaining alive and uninjured, the one that had locked Ilia in his grip earlier. The hero glared at him fiercely, hating him for having

  the audacity to even try to hurt the girl as well as threaten him. And that rage soon flowed to the surface in the form of tongues of fire alighting above both of his palms

  as the two of them circled each other tensely.

  "This is your last chance, hero," the guard said as he gripped his sword tightly, even though the fear and nervousness in his tone was clear after having watched all of his

  comrades fall. "You have eluded us for too long now. No matter how far you run or how much you fight, we won't give up until we capture you, just as Queen Zelda

  ordered."

  Link smirked smugly upon hearing this, shaking his head as he realized how ridiculous this statement was. "No," he said defiantly, holding the flames in his hands a bit

  higher. "This is your last chance. You've been hunting me down ever since I left the castle. You threatened my home and almost killed my best friend, and I've had enough

  of it; I'm stronger than any of you are, and I refuse to put up with this anymore!"

  With a courageous, enraged shout, the hero let the flames above his hands go, tossing them wildly at the guard, who was a moment too late in raising his shield. The fire