The Hero, the Princess, and the Cursed King

Chapter 28: The Princess

[Zelda]

Zelda's whole body ached, and her head throbbed. She slowly peeled her eyes open, her mind taking a while to make sense of her surroundings. Why was she in the throne room? Had her father gotten upset with her again? Would he scold her in front of all his advisors for falling asleep? But why did their laughing sound like the clashing of swords?

Zelda jerked upright, remembering what she was doing here. Link and Ganondorf were fighting in the center of the room, and they seemed evenly matched. She stood up, feeling light-headed, and leaned against the wall. Link needed an advantage, and she could provide that.

Zelda lifted her hand to send a fireball barreling towards Ganondorf, but nothing happened. Instead of magic spewing from her fingertips, she felt something rise in her throat. Zelda coughed, covering her mouth to try and dampen the noise--it would ruin her element of surprise. The coughs wracked her body and caused sharp pains in her lungs. What was happening?

She pulled her hand away and found it covered in malice. That was strange. Unsure of what to do, she wiped it on the wall and then pushed off it. Zelda's head spun, but she forced herself to take a step forward.

The balcony doors burst open, and she stumbled back as all sorts of monsters spilled into the room. Ganondorf had probably kept them there as a backup plan. Zelda grinned. If he'd called them in, then Link must be winning. But they didn't head toward Link and Ganondorf. The monsters swarmed toward her.

Zelda gulped. Her odds didn't look too good. Her magic wasn't working, her movement was sluggish, and she didn't have very sound footing, but she did have a sword. Zelda drew it, coughing, and then prepared to face the monsters. The first few bokoblins met their end on her blade, disintegrating into nothing.

She staggered back as a moblin approached, coughing still. The malice she was coughing up tasted horrid, but she didn't have the time to deal with it, so she forced herself to swallow it. The moblin struck at her, and suddenly everything went into ultra focus. She quickly saw his attack coming and perfectly dodged it, and in a couple of quick moves, the monster was nothing more than dust.

"Woah." Zelda's eyes widened. How come she'd gone from having a groggy focus to almost crystal clear? Was it a side effect of malice? It would make sense that Demise's curse also came with benefits, but Zelda wondered what adverse effects also came with it.

A bokoblin attempted to whack her over the head, but Zelda casually lifted her sword, deflecting it. These improved reflexes were sure nice, and she could always remove the curse from herself later. For now, she'd use them to help her and Link.

Zelda started picking the monsters off one by one. Even the fiercest of them were no match for her. Her magic had also started working again, making her attacks even more deadly. Zelda took down a lizolfo and prepared to charge another moblin when her eye caught on Link.

Zelda's heart dropped, and the world spun. Link lay on the ground, his blood soaking into the rug, turning it an even darker shade of red.

"No. . ." She stepped towards him, swaying on her feet. This couldn't be real. Maybe she was still passed out? That was it. This was just an awful nightmare--one she'd had many times before. Zelda needed to wake up; that was all. She pinched herself, but she didn't wake. Zelda tried again, squeezing so hard it drew blood, but she still didn't wake up. A moblin charged her, and Zelda raised her hand, a wall of light shooting from it, and the monster instantly disintegrated. But Zelda didn't care. Everything in the world was wrong. That couldn't be Link laying there, yet she knew it was.

A wail of anguish filled the room, heart-wrenching and brimming with despair. Zelda's heart broke for the poor soul who was suffering such agony. It wasn't until it died out and her throat hurt that Zelda realized that the scream had been hers.