The Legend of Zelda: The King's Sword

Part Five: Spring

Link's POV:

Over three vigorous days of sword training, Zelda and I have planned for our journey across the desert. We pack too much food and water to match our weapons and have decided to only take two each: Zelda's rapier and dagger, my sword, and my bow. Zelda wears her new clothes of pure white and deep blue, nervously holding a handful of blue powder in her hand.

"Well, I'm not going to look like this until we return from this trip," she wavers, careful not to drop any sediment before she throws it at her feet. I'm not going to be allowed to kiss her for a long while, so I give her a peck on the lips and quickly stand back. Hesitantly, Zelda turns over her closed hand and drops from her arm a shower of dust that ignites into a roaring puff of lavender smoke. The cloud is so thick that it turns her invisible. Some of the steam crawls to my feet, where I step further back to avoid it. Will the cover ever let her- let him escape?

"Link?" an unfamiliar voice fights through the dissipating cloud. There he stands, patting himself, examining his arms and legs. His clothes fit now. "How do I look?" he timidly utters, as if afraid to speak.

What do I say? He yields her eyes and golden hair, but not the rest, bewildering, yet beautiful. He comes closer, slowly at first, as a small animal would approach a human, and appears to reach my stature only by standing on his toes. He's slight, built skinnier than I.

I place my hand on his shoulder, subtly to feel his bones and muscles built firmly from a week of training, "All you've kept are your eyes." I feel the waves in his shining hair that come to the nape of his neck. "You need a name."

For a moment, he thinks hard, looking around at the rays of light peeking through the forest leaves above. "Call me...Eron."

"Eron." I try getting used to saying it. "Eron." I pat his shoulder. "I like it." I grin at him. The smile he returns through mild, pink lips hasn't changed. "Yeah." I take my pack from the stump where we had gorged our breakfast and toss it over my shoulder, and Eron doesn't stumble when he catches his own.

"Hm, good catch," I smirk. "Ready to go?"

"Just let me look in the river." says the boy with a soft voice. "I want to see myself." he carefully slides down the grassy hill to the sparkling creek.

I wait a moment, laughing at myself.

"Oh, my~!" he exclaims.

I chuckle at his surprise.

"Why didn't you tell me that I'm hot?"

"You're a guy-"

"I know, and it's strange!"

"You'll get used to it, now hurry up and call your bird."

"Okay!" he hurries up the hill and whistles a familiar sound, as do I. My red loftwing arrives in a hurry, and the indigo bird is confused by the new face. She spends a long moment sniffing and nudging him with her long bill, but soon bends her legs to let him mount. With one beat of his mighty wings, my bird takes flight above the woods, and with another, we pass the clouds, Eron ascending soon after.

"I don't think we'd want to be spotted this way," I call to him, still wading in the cloud barrier, causing the vapors to dance around us.

"Let's stay low until we can get to Lanayru." he nods his head and his bird flaps toward the amber column of light.

My bird corkscrews past him.

"You think you're clever," Eron mutters, not phased by my speed. He stays at his own pace, knowing that my bird prefers to fly faster to get places more quickly.