Before the Calamity

The Silent Princess

The next day, Link and Zelda set out to explore more of Hyrule. For the first time, she didn't dread his constant presence. Things were different now. She wouldn't have wanted to go without him.

The princess had found herself thrown into a whirlwind of new emotions. She was suddenly infatuated by the knight, and she had a feeling it might turn into something more. His company was now delightful to her, and they had grown much closer in a very short amount of time. But Zelda was happy with him, and she couldn't ask for more. Even if they were only friends.

The two of them headed for the Eldin Canyons, not entirely sure what they were looking for.

They were merely walking together when Zelda spotted something in the corner of her eye.

"Link..." she tugged at his arm, pointing at what she had seen. Approaching them was a red Bokoblin. Link chuckled.

"That's it?" He asked, taking it out with ease. Then, two more of them emerged from the shadows. The knight frowned. He continued to take care of the enemies, but more of them kept appearing. Link was beginning to be concerned. Where were they all coming from...?

"Stay back!" He ordered, fearful of harm being inflicted upon his princess. She backed up, fear beginning to overcome her.

Suddenly, an even larger Moblin attacked. Zelda watched Link's every move, knowing he was perfectly capable but still terrified of what could happen. He fought off a few more of them, and then a Lynel approached him from his left. The knight didn't see it, and if he didn't soon then something terrible was going to happen. The princess panicked and screamed.

"Link!! Look out!" He quickly realized what was present, and fought off the beast. But, more of those showed up, too. Zelda was terrified; her breaths were short and she was shrieking uncontrollably. Every time Link was even slightly wounded, she winced and almost felt the pain herself.

As petrified as she was, Zelda had confidence in him. She knew that this was his talent. And it was easy to tell. All of his movements seemed so routine and rhythmic, as if he had practiced this millions of times. She felt safe while he was protecting her.

All of the sudden, something terrifying happened. Link was getting to comfortable, forgetting to be as careful as possible. One of the Lynels slashed his arm, creating a cut and putting him off balance.

"Link!" She shrieked, wishing there was something she could do to help. He simply got back up and kept fighting, though.

But soon enough, it was over. He had taken care of every last foe. As he caught his breath, Zelda began to feel uneasy. This was unnatural. It certainly couldn't mean anything good...

"Link!" She called out to him. They ran toward each other, sighing in relief. "Let me see your arm." She inspected the wound, frowning. It didn't look great, but it could have been much worse. She looked up at him with a concerned expression. He simply smiled back nervously, and Zelda scoffed playfully at his lighthearted response.

"That cut doesn't look too bad actually. You're fine for now... but you know, there's a fine line between courage and recklessness..." She frowned. "As brave as you are, that does not make you immortal."

Then the princess began to express her concern associated with the current situation. She had heard reports of similar attacks happening elsewhere in Hyrule. She was afraid to say it, but she knew that this meant something was coming... that they were running out of time.

She stood up, brushing off her pants and forcing herself to change the course of her thoughts.

"Let's go get you cleaned up."