The Legend Of Zelda: The Curse Of Zant

Chapter 19: The First Shard

Watching the bulblin like a hawk, after having located it amid a group of three, Link dismounted Epona and crouched down behind one of the larger rocks in the vicinity. Deciding that it would be better to take out the other two before attempting to retrieve the mirror shard, he reached behind his back and pulled out crossbow, along with three arrows; Midna, having guessed what he was up to, dismounted her own horse before falling back into Link's shadow, just as she had done before she'd been restored to her true form.

"You shoot, and I'll retrieve the piece before that thing explodes into nothing." She whispered into his ear.

Link said nothing but simply nodded in understanding to ensure that he did not break his concentration. Drawing back the string, aiming an arrow at the smallest of the group, he closed his left eye to get a better focus on the target. Once he was certain the arrow would hit, he released it and watched as it flew through the air before piercing the bulblin in the head, causing it to shriek as it burst into ashes. Moving the bow in the direction of the second bulblin, he readied the arrow and repeated the same method he'd used to strike the first. Within half a second of releasing the arrow, it had struck the bulblin through the chest and he watched as it too, burst into ashes.

Moving on to the third bulblin, Link lowered the bow when he saw that the demise of the other two had alerted the monster. He ducked even lower as it came towards the rock, as though trying to investigate where the arrows had come from. As Link watched it intently, Midna slipped out of his shadow and picked up a few nearby stone, launching one at the bulblin to distract it and then throwing another at the wall that circled the perimeter of Castle Town. Just as she'd hoped, the bulblin turned its attention to where the stone had hit the wall, and ran towards it to investigate. Returning to Link's shadow, she continued to allow him to take over from there. Now that the bulblin was distracted, Link raised the bow again and took the opportunity to shoot the arrow. He watched in both excitement and anticipation as the arrow flew through the air and landed in the bulblin's throat. It let out the same ear piercing shriek that the others had, and Midna moved quickly to retrieve the first mirror shard. As the ashes began to shower the grass, she grabbed the shard and raced back to Link, who had just put away his bow.

"You got it?" He questioned anxiously.

"I got it." She confirmed.

"Wha-ha! I could hug you right now!" He exclaimed in excitement.

"Eh- I'd rather you didn't. I'm not a hugger." She quipped.

"Of course not. It was just an expression." He explained, mounting Epona and patting her on the side of her neck.

Midna mounted her own horse, and watched Link as he caressed Epona with gentle hands. She saw the excitement from a moment ago had disappeared and been replaced with sadness, evident in his eyes. She bit her tongue, wondering if she should speak or not, then decided to try and start a conversation.

"You miss her, don't you?" She questioned, feeling dumb for having nothing better to say.

"Huh?" He muttered.

"Zelda..." She clarified.

"Oh. Yeah... But I know all will be okay. I won't rest again until she is safely by my side." He vowed. "It's just..." He began, but trailed off with a sigh. "Don't worry about it, we've got more pressing matters to deal with." He shrugged.

"You won't be able to think straight if your mind is troubled though." She pointed out. "Talk to me." She pleaded.

"It's just... I can't believe I failed my duty that night, and in doing so failed her... And our unborn baby." He confided. "I didn't even know and found out through her diary; which I shouldn't have read... I feel as though I let her down." He admitted solemnly.