Noble by Nature

Chapter 18

Link watched as the two Rito men fell out of the sky and exchanged a few words with Zelda.
One was a dark greyish colour, the other white, but they were both tall and quite impressive-looking.
Somehow he hated their smug smiles and the way they were brandishing their giant bows, but at the same time he was immensely grateful for their appearance.
He supposed it had to do with the fact that he himself felt so helpless, so completely worthless. He just sat there watching others fight for him.
He had seen the moment that Bazz had thrown his spear to save Zelda, before being hit himself and falling off the bridge. He should've been there to protect her, Link kept telling himself. If he had been, Bazz would still be here. Now there was no telling if he was even still alive. He highly doubted it.
And it would be his fault.
He was Zelda's sworn knight, and even if she was perfectly capable of protecting herself, it was his duty to help her. To be there when she got into trouble.
Instead he had been lying here on the ground, defenceless and vulnerable like a little bird.
He was pulled out of his grim thoughts when a discussion seemed to break out between the princess, the Rito, and Rivan. There was some aggravated pointing and gesturing, but he was too far away to hear the words.
He saw Zelda point at Rivan's leg, which was still dripping blood, but the Zora shrugged and said something, his face twisted in anger.
Next thing he knew, Rivan turned around and limped towards the edge of the bridge, before diving off gracefully.
Zelda stared after him, a sad but resigned look on her face. Then she said something to Harth, the dark-feathered Rito, who nodded once. He turned and disappeared over the edge as well.
Now Zelda finally looked at Link, and their eyes met.
An electric jolt seemed to go through him, and judging from the sadness in her eyes, she, too, was suddenly reminded of their grief. He had forgotten about it in the fighting and the pain, but now it hit him in full force.
Still, Link felt his heart skip a beat, overcome by gratitude that she was still alive, that she had learned to fight. She had done better than he could ever have expected of her.
Finally she came towards him, and he pushed himself up to sit against the trunk of the tree behind him.
'Teba,' he greeted the Rito at her side with a nod. 'It's good to see you.'
Teba nodded back, looking over Link with a grim face.
In the meantime Zelda crouched down beside him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. 'Are you alright?' She asked quietly enough so Teba wouldn't hear.
The Rito seemed to pick up on the situation and discreetly turned away, keeping a polite distance.
Link nodded. Another wave of guilt and shame washed over him at seeing her concern. 'I'm so sorry,' he choked, barely audible.
The princess waved it away, before stroking his cheek gently. 'There was nothing you could do about it. It's not your fault.'
'But Bazz...' his voice cut off. He was too afraid to even speak the words.
She shook her head. 'Maybe he's still alive.' But she didn't sound too convinced. 'Rivan and Harth are looking for him.'
Link stared at the ground. 'I failed you. I knew this could happen, but I always thought I would be able to push through it.' He sighed. 'That was stupid.'
Zelda firmly grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up at her. 'It was not your fault,' she said fiercely. 'There's no use in eating yourself up over this. Bazz was...' She suddenly cut herself up to look over her shoulder.
Link had heard it too.
There was screaming, and the clashing of weapons.
Zelda shot up and without so much as glancing back she ran for the horses, which stood packed together further down the road.
Before she had taken two steps Teba had already lifted off and flew towards the sound, leaving Link alone.
He took a deep breath and slowly worked himself to his feet. His body felt empty and heavy, like there was no energy left in him. But he forced himself to walk. He had to find out what was happening.
He reached Epona and leaned on her heavily, absentmindedly stroking her nose once. She nuzzled him gently, as if to give him a final push.
He patted her once more and pushed through the rest of the horses, from where he had a good view on the situation.
Laine was sitting propped up against a thick root, clutching her wounded arm against her chest and looking up with big eyes.
Reeza was standing in front of her, fighting like a madman to keep several monsters back at once. Her blade was no more than a silver haze, and her body moved with a speed and grace that Link had rarely ever seen in all his life.
She cut through monsters like they were hardly there, her face twisted in a mask of rage.
For a moment Link wondered where they had come from, because he hadn't seen any pass Zelda on the bridge. They'd have to have gotten in from behind, and attacked the Gerudo who they thought were vulnerable.
They couldn't have been more wrong.
Reeza cut through them so quickly that there were only a handful left when Zelda joined the party, her sword flashing brightly.
The last two that remained were felled with long arrows, and the silence returned.
Link hadn't even had time to come out from between the horses, and was slightly taken aback by the speed of his friends. Deep down it made him feel even worse about himself, about how useless he had become.
But he shook those thoughts off and joined the small group around Laine, assessing whether anyone was injured.
Before he had time to say anything, however, there was a rush of wings and Harth fell from the sky.
'We found him,' he said simply. 'You should come.'
To his surprise this was directed at Link, and for a moment he wondered what good he could do, but then he remembered, and his heart skipped a beat.
Mipha's Grace.
That would mean Bazz was still alive, right?
He nodded, and without giving any of the others time to comment, Harth took him up in his talons and flew him back to the lake.