The Legend of Zelda: Wisdom and Courage

Chapter 31: The Greater Good

The Hyrulian forces had been grouping and preparing themselves for the battle for quite some time, finalizing strategies and getting into formation. And yet, the one thing that was constantly on their minds, especially as they looked towards the spiraling vortex hanging over Castle Town was that they were about to engage in what would no doubt be a very violent battle, unlike any Hyrule had ever seen before. An aura of anxiety hung over all of the people, one that was mounted by a thoughtful silence that allowed nearly every sound made to be reverberate throughout the field. Zelda took note of this silence as her and Link continued to supervise the troops as they got close to finishing their preparations and she let out a soft sigh, knowing that this anxiety had filled her too.

"The stillness before battle is unbearable…" the princess said to the hero, her voice barely above a resigned whisper. "Such a quiet dread... I can only imagine what's going through all of their minds right now…"

Link said nothing, for he had only heard part of what she had said and even then he wasn't entirely focused on it. Instead, he had his sights set straight ahead of him towards the destroyed town miles in the distance, the place where his life was certainly going to come to an end. The very same dread that Zelda had just spoken of was quickly starting to fill him, especially as he was once again faced with the possibility of what might happened if he were to fail in the deciding battle against Veran. Certainly, with both the hero and the princess out of the way, the sorceress wouldn't hesitate to obliterate Hyrule and its people completely, since there would be none one left to oppose her as directly and openly. And, the hero knew that the only way to prevent such a disaster would be for him to don the Fierce Deity's Mask for the last time, even if it did lead to the corruption of his soul. As much as the prospect frightened and intimidated him, he knew that he had to do it; the princess depended on him, and even more than that, all of Hyrule did. A single moment of doubt or weakness on his part could not lead to the destruction of an entire nation; he wouldn't allow it.

Zelda glanced over at Link with a frown upon noticing his silence, seeing the look of both conflict and fear in his light blue eyes. She knew well what he must have been thinking, and he had every reason to show these things; after all, he was about to be faced with something that would almost indefinitely lead to his death, and as much as it broke the princess's heart to think about that, she knew it must not have been an easy thing for him to have to deal with either.

"Link…?" the princess said softly, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "You know that… no matter what you choose to do… I'm still with you… right?"

The hero let out a small sigh as a slight smile crossed his features, comforted by even the simple fact that the princess he loved so dearly, his reason for fighting in the first place, supported him and stood by him even until the very end. "Yeah…" he said with a hint of increasing confidence as he closed his eyes and let her presence ease his fears. "I know…"

"Your highness," the commander in charge of the first group of soldiers Link and Zelda had encountered somewhat surprised them both as he approached, bowing lo before the princess before he began to report the current status of the army. "I came to tell you that preparations are nearly complete. All of the factions of the troops are nearly ready to head out. However, before we begin, I thought that you would want to see this." The commander took a mid-sized, ornate wooden chest out of the hands of the soldier behind him and handed it to Zelda. "Word has spread of Lady Impa's passing, and we are deeply sorry for such a grave loss. We attempted to save everything we could from her house when Veran attacked Kakariko Village, knowing that she kept copies of many important royal documents that had been destroyed along with the castle. We weren't able to salvage much, but we did find this box before her house went up in flames. There is a note inside addressed to you, princess."