The Splitting of Evil

Chapter One

Chapter One

"I remember you."

The first words she had heard in the past one hundred years that didn't come from that damn demon, and she was trying her best not to cry once more. Link had already dealt with far too many tears in the past few minutes - she thought, at least - than she had allowed him to see in total previous to this day. But she couldn't help herself.

To be deprived of the touch, the sound, the simple smell of others for so long and the words - oh, the words she had dreamed of hearing all those years - being the first to grace her. She was in heaven. A love sick sort of heaven.

"But," Link added, attempting to take a step away but her grip on his tunic only tightened. A sigh had left his lips. "I don't remember everything. Bits and pieces. How we got to places, what we said traveling to them..." a pause. A shake of his head. "I don't remember those. I can't remember my family, even. I know my father was a knight but that's only because you had told me he was. But, Princess, I do remember you."

"With time you will remember, I'm sure of it." She spoke without thinking. She moved without thinking, her hands settling on his cheeks so naturally. Her eyes met his, getting lost in the waves that settled within them. "We have all the time in the world, Link, for you to remember."

Silence once again, but he didn't look away, nor did she. His soft, gentle features she had once learned to read were hardened now. He wasn't just her Appointed Knight anymore.

He was her Hero.

The trials he'd faced were written so clearly there. The tiny scrapes and scars from different battles she had only been able to watch over littered his face. His lips were chapped and cracked, but his eyes. They were so full of confusion? Anger? A brew of emotion mixed with...warmth and relief.

"Link, I-"

"We must get going, Princess." Once again he stepped back. This time she let him. "If we leave now we can be in Kakariko Village by tomorrow evening."

She could do nothing but watch him walk to his stallion, the unsung hero in the last battle. She was never good with horses, not like Link, but to see him around the creatures always warmed her heart.

"Kakariko?"

"Impa. She'll want to know before anyone that you're safe and alive."

He offered his hand. She took it. And soon enough she was hoisted up onto the horse, Link pressed to her back in seconds.

"She has a granddaughter now," Link started, the horse beginning to move as she pressed against him. They'd never traveled like this before, but oh, how she wasn't opposed to it. "Her name is Paya."

"A pretty name," She stated, one hand settled on his chest, her ear pressed above it. How she missed the sound of a beating heart. She could get drunk on it. The steady rhythm of life.

Oh, tears, stop threatening with such ease.

But the moment was brief, and soon she was pulling hard on the reigns that settled in Link's grip. There was the familiar look of surprise, his eyes widening, but she could barely enjoy their return as she slipped from the horse to empty her stomach in the grass.

Malice. That's all that filled her frailing body. It burned on the way up, the horrid stench filling her nose once more. She had only just escaped that demon's scent so briefly and now it had returned.

"Well shit," She could feel Link's presence behind her before she heard his voice. Her hair was suddenly pulled from her face and she knew it's texture wasn't the spun silk her maids had prided themselves with. It felt like hay. She dreaded it. He didn't say a thing.