The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule's Hope

Chapter 43: Starlight, Part 3

"Dori!" Rhiannon cried as she was being carried back to Hateno Village, towards the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab. "What happened this time?" Purah asked when she opened the door. Link placed Rhiannon on a table and the princess's body would twitch as she shrieked in pain and anger. "Rhiannon took significant damage," Link answered, "she's heavily wounded and blind."

"I'll run some tests on her," Purah said, "but seriously, Linky! I'm a technician, not a doctor! Well, I am a doctor, but not a people doctor!"

Rhiannon's shrieks almost seemed like desperate roars as Zya and Aya held her back. "Champ, listen," Link said, "I need you to calm down–"

"She has Dori!" Rhiannon bellowed, "She has her!"

"I know, champ," Link said, "but I need you to calm down..."

"I'm going to burn that witch at a stake!" Rhiannon thundered, "I'm going to burn her!"

"Listen to me, Rhiannon," Link raised his voice, "I need you to remain calm..."

Rhiannon tried to contain themself, inhaling and exhaling loudly. Link closed his eyes and concentrated his energy on his green arm, taking a deep breath. "I know you can heal her," he thought, "please, if you can't heal her wounds, at least cure her blindness..."

He placed his glowing green palm on Rhiannon's eyes, then shut his tightly. The others watched attentively, hoping for a miracle; Zya and Aya held each other's hands tightly. Link opened one of his eyes to see Mipha's ghostly palm next to his. Rhiannon opened her eyes, prompting Link to remove his hand from her face. She looked around, her eyes would move from one corner of the room to the other. "Champ?" Link asked, "Can you see me?"

"Y-Yes," Rhiannon said, slightly squinting her eyes, "I think? You look kind of blurry..."

Link and the others around sighed in relief. "Hm," Purah wrote rapidly in a small journal, "it seems like she might be experiencing changes to her eyesight. Whoever or whatever attacked her must have damaged a nerve."

"Can you repeat that but slowly?" Aya asked. "Did Ratna do this to you, champ?" Link asked. "Yeah," Rhiannon answered, rubbing their eyes, "all I remember was facing her then I suddenly couldn't see."

"How many fingers do you see, princess?" Purah asked, raising three fingers in front of their face. Rhiannon squinted their eyes, trying to focus their view. "It's... hard to tell," Rhiannon answered, "four?"

"I hope you don't mind if I do some tests on her," Purah said. "She's going to be okay, right?" Zya asked. "She's in one piece, isn't she?" Purah replied, "I should be done by this afternoon."

Across Hyrule, Dori woke up and found herself in a dimly lit, humid cell. She was chained to the wall. Opposite from her cell, she noticed that the other cells were covered in malice with corrupted monsters roaring inside them. The cell then opened abruptly, letting Ratna in. "Well, look at that!" she laughed, "How's my birthday gift doing?"

"Don't you dare approach me, witch!" Dori hissed, "Stay back!"

"There's nothing you can do," Ratna smirked, "now, on to what I want: what's Rhiannon's weakness?"

"Rhia is flawless, she has no weakness!" Dori said. "You're lying," Ratna said sternly, "do not make me repeat myself, you don't want to get on my bad side."

"Rhia's only flaw is her eyesight," Dori answered, "she's near-sighted and can't see things that are far away from her. There, you happy? How are you going to defeat her? Are you going to stand really far away from her?"

She then looked down to see Ratna's malice begin to cover her body. "I am not playing around, you little worm," she hissed, "I'm going to ask you again. What's her weakness?"