Hero by Heart

Chapter 64

Link saw how Yunobo and Teba made for the Stone Talus on their left, and judged that they would likely be the best possible choice to deal with it.
Riju and Sidon combined forces to fight the Hinox, leaving the second Stone Talus for him and Zelda.
He heard the princess coming after him, and grimaced to himself at the thought of putting her in harm's way. Still, he had seen what she was capable of, and although everything inside him screamed for him to protect her at all costs, he knew that he had to trust her.
The times for him to be her human shield were over. During their recent travels together, -and apart-, she had proven to be brave and strong, and had slowly developed into a real warrior.
True, she was far from the best fighter around, but she could stand her ground, and he no longer felt like she was a liability on the battlefield.
She didn't really need him as much anymore. She was no longer the helpless, defenceless princess who he was tasked to protect with his life.
She was her own person, an equal, someone he cared very deeply about.
He would always protect her, and gladly give his life for hers, but they could work together in this. To fight side by side.
All of that flashed through his head as they ran towards the stone colossus, and he decided to do exactly that.
As quickly as he could, he fired two bomb arrows, striking the shiny gem on top of the creatures "head".
The Talus toppled over, as he had expected it to, and presented a beautiful slope to climb up.
With a short jerk of his head, Link signalled for Zelda to go up, folding his hands together to give her a boost.
She looked at him incredulously, hardly believing his intentions.
After another jerk of his head, combined with a crooked smirk, she stepped into his hands, still looking at him suspiciously.
Link chuckled at her expression, then gave her a huge boost, making her grasp for a hold to prevent flying down the other side of the rock.
'Just hit it!' He called up, pointing at the precious gemstone.
Zelda still wore an expression of doubt and confusion, but did as he said, and started bashing her sword against it.
Tiny fragments of glittering stone rained down, and the monster shuddered under every hit, but Zelda stubbornly kept at it.
Her arm moved up and down, from side to side, trying to find that crucial spot that would end it.
     As he stood underneath her, he risked a glance around, to see what the others were up to.
     Sidon and Riju were busy with the Hinox, trying not to get flattened by it in their attempts to hit any part of its exposed flesh.
     They didn't look like they were in any serious trouble, but neither were they doing much damage.
     At his other side, Teba and Yunobo were more successful.
     The Rito had copied Link's attack by sending bomb arrows at the gemstone, and their Talus lay sprawled out on the ground, the stone pointing up vulnerably.
     At that moment Link saw the Goron climb up, approach the weak spot, and completely pulverise it with one massive swing of his Stone Smasher.
     Link raised his eyebrows, impressed by the amount of force that must have taken, and by the speed at which those two had finished off the Talus.
     Before the monster started to turn black, though, he focused his attention back at their own Stone Talus, where Zelda still stood hammering at the stone.
     He noticed how the monster started moving more, and how Zelda's swings became slower, with less force behind it. Her arm was getting tired, and he could imagine how numb it must feel from all those jolts running across her nerves. Hitting rock with a metal blade was no pleasant business.
     Eventually he decided it was getting dangerous for her up there, with the Talus trying to get back up, and he quickly jumped up and grasped the rough surface.
     At that moment they shot up into the air, as the monster worked itself to its feet. He saw Zelda swaying dangerously, trying to keep her balance on the moving stone.
     Link quickly crawled to the top and stood up straight, walking the last few steps to where she was.
     With his left hand he grabbed her arm, steadying her against him, while he swung his right arm with a devastating blow at the gemstone.
     The Master Sword hit the weakened rock, and slid through it with ease, shattering it in dozens of smaller gems.
     The Stone Talus staggered and fell back down, causing the ground to heave and crash under their feet.
     With some effort Link and Zelda both managed to stay upright, and he smiled broadly at her. 'Nicely done!'
     She smiled back halfheartedly, still a little shocked after the quick succession of events.
     Link gently squeezed her shoulder, trying to calm her nerves. 'Let's get down, before we fall.'
     Zelda nodded without even a glance at him and was already making her way towards the safety of the grass, leaving him to look after her in confusion.
     Had he done something wrong? Was she angry at him? He just couldn't understand why she suddenly acted so strange.
     He jumped down from the Stone Talus just as it vanished, but Zelda didn't look at him, instead focusing on the remaining Hinox.
     Yunobo and Teba had joined the other two, and they looked to be in control now, but she still wore a frown on her face.
     Link looked at her, feeling his confusion grow, but just when he wanted to say something, she walked off.
Instead of joining the others in their fight against the Hinox, Link watched in surprise how Zelda moved past them, aiming for something he couldn't see yet.
His mind racing, trying to come up with explanations for her actions, he ran after her.
What he hadn't expected to see, was her running for a group of people, standing in the shelter of some trees.
Link recognized the man he had seen in the dark caves, accompanied by some more important-looking men and women.
Their leaders. They were here. They were finally close enough.