A warrior's mettle - Inside Hyrule pt. 6
Content: Link isn't exactly himself after the Calamity and gets severely hurt acting recklessly. It's up to you to help the Hero to endure his heavy destiny and, sometimes, you'll need to ask the support of small, cute, friendly creatures out in the woods.
Author's note: This ended up, again, longer than intended. But, well, anyways. It helps me relax, corporate life f*cking sucks and I hate it, but it is what pays my bills!
I feel like taking requests so if you have something in mind I can bring to life, feel free to tell me about it. Thanks for reading, I truly appreciate it, it's been so long, about 10 years, since I posted my writing for other people to read, so I'm a bit rusty here.
Thank you, guys <3
Y/N. No shipping, simple draft.
Inside Hyrule series is a a series of oneshots, in no particular order about YOU in the world of Zelda! Just imagine... how it'd be to have adventures with your favourite hero and princess? How it'd be to travel alongside Link? Do not expect a cool, intricate plots, it's just something to help you (and me by writing and imagining it) to relax and have a nice moment.
Divider by: xxbimbobunnyxx (Tumblr)
Artwork: couldn't find the artist for the life of me, so please, if you know who it is, send me a DM.
You felt a slight relief as soon as the White-Maned Lynel had collapsed and laid lifeless on the snow, that monster was as tough as enormous. However, your relief promptly went away the moment Link, whose shoulders moved exaggeratedly with each breath, let his knees bent and fell like a sack to the ground.
"Link!" you shouted as got out your hiding spot behind a big rock to run towards him, you drifted and kneeled in front of him while holding his body. Link had his arms around his torso, holding himself, and was coughing up blood that stained the white snow in carmine red while contorting his face in deep pain. He was barely conscious.
"For the Goddess" you whispered. You saw him take some hits from the Lynel, but you didn't notice it was that serious. After all, Link kept fighting and never even winced from the pain. With the freezing, deep fog there was all around, Link's fast movements and the fact you had been from afar shooting arrows -you knew you'd be nothing but a nuisance if you tried to fight in close range-, you never saw how much deep and bloody his injuries actually were.
There was no one and nothing around, only brume and snow, the sun was even hidden behind thick grey clouds, not a single animal on sight. The frosty wind roared and you shrank, shaking, as you put Link's upper half body on your lap to protect him from the raging cold and covered him with your cape. His black dyed Snowquill Tunic only could do so much against exposure.
"Alright, Link, we gotta get out of here," you murmured. Since there was nothing close by where you could ask for help, you'll have to go somewhere else. However, to where? And also, who could help you?You barely knew anyone. You thought immediately of Kakariko Village, the Sheikah, Impa. They've always been glad to help the hero in need, however...
You stared at Link's face, his blonde hair stuck on his forehead, stained in red. His eyes were tight shut and his jaw slightly open as he gasped for air. You stroked his cheek as soft as you could, but even that movement seemed to hurt him. He had been feeling like a failure since the moment King Rhoam's spirit told him some part of his past and it did only but increase whenever his body didn't respond in the way he knew it was supposed to. His mettle would get worse if the Sheikah saw him, their last hope, all beaten like that. Again, just after the hundred-year-old nap he had in order to recover. If you took him there he'd get so scolded his ancestors would be upset, and, he wouldn't exactly try to kill you, but he'd befuriousfor being a tattletale of his reckless choices. You knew him enough.
It was expected that he wouldn't return to his normal self in a couple of days after such long slumber, yet he was frustrated. It had been weeks and Link still felt dizzy, disociated, he suffered headaches and slight tremors, his one-man-army strength hadn't come back yet and his aim wasn't at its best. He was still formidable and had a lot of stamina, but not in the 'hero of prophecy' way. Link felt pressured to get stronger, almost invincible, to carry out his duties, the ones he had failed to accomplish and were the cause of massive destruction all around Hyrule. You noticed his way to achieve it was to throw himself at any danger, like fighting a White-Maned Lynel which spotted you both from afar while traveling Tabantha. That was stupid and Link knew it too, but to him it didn't matter: battle the most powerful wild monster in Hyrule and be victorious was his way of showing the wielder of the Sword that Seals the Darkness had comeback and would redeem himself by saving them all as he had supposed to from the beginning.
You sighed. Your main priority was to support Link in whatever issue he needed help with, and sometimes that included his emotional wellbeing. You also didn't wish for the Sheikah to put all their disappointment upon him. If you weren't going to ask for their help, only one option of trust and nonjudgement remained.
"You'll be okay, Link," you assured him, not knowing if he heard you or not. You reached to the side and grabbed theSavage Lynel Spear from the clutches of the deceased monster, it was huge and heavy, and laid it down on Link's legs softly. Despite the cold, you moved with swiftness to grab Link's Sheikah Slate from his belt and slip your fingertip through the screen, looking at a map, until you spotted the place. Luckily, Link had solved a Shrine there recently so you could teleport without any issues.
"You'll be okay," you repeated once more as the soft blue light covered you both.
The cold and wet sensation of the snow went away as soon as your knees touched soft grass and you got surrounded by appreciated warmth, birds singing on top of trees and the essence of wood. Link stirred himself on your lap and made a painful sound from his throat.
"Hestu!" you shouted, holding Link against you. "Hestu, please, help!"
The gigantic Korok appeared running, his body moving side to side with each step, with maracas in hand. He stopped suddenly at the sight of you and dropped his instruments on the grass.
"Shalaka!? What happened to the Hero!? He doesn't look dancey!"
"He got hurt fighting a Lynel, he's bleeding so much," you explained, voice hoarse.
"Scary monster, shoko!" he approached more and reached down to Link. You raised his Snowquill tunic to expose his abdomen, all covered in blood. You felt your stomach jump a bit at the sight of the open slashes on his skin. "Not good," Hestu exclaimed, then continued in a lower voice: "Pepp can help, let's go inside Grandpa's Navel."
Hestu slip his hands under Link's body and carried him effortlessly, his weight being lifted from your numb legs caused you some relief. A bunch of Koroks moved to make space for Hestu to walk, watching the scene with curiosity. They were abnormally quite.
"Mr. Hero doesn't seem right, young warrior," a voice said below you. You recognized the elder Korok, Chio.
"He's injured," you answered.
"And you seem very worried," he continued. You sat on the stoned platform, aside from the empty Master Sword pedestal and sighed.
"I am," you admitted. Chio approached you a bit more. "He's not been feeling well and I'm afraid this will make it worse."
Other Koroks approached and a small one, which you recognized as a child Korok, put his small woody hands on your leg.
"Will Mr. Hero be okay?" the voice was pitchy, clear and soft.
"Shh! Fera!" Chio exclaimed.
"It's fine," you said, putting your cupped hand on top of the child Korok's head. "I think he'll be alright," you nodded. "He's a real fighter after all. It's just he hasn't been feeling up to... you know... his role."
"Why? He removed the Sword from the pedestal and that's no small task!" another Korok intervened, his body made a jingle sound when he raised his arms.
"Yeah, but..." you shrugged. "He's still not in shape and he fears he'll disappoint everyone again."
"The mood of a warrior is important for his performance," Chio stated. "Maybe he's not in shape because he doesn't feel in shape," he continued, then he jiggled and pointed towards the Deku Tree, who had his eyes closed. "You should talk to Gramps, young warrior, he knows everything."
You nodded and raised to your feet, all the Koroks scattered as you walked to the big branches of the Great Deku Tree and climbed all the way to the platform were you could talk to him. He must've felt you, because when you arrived his eyes were open.
"Greetings, Hero's companion," he spoke. His deep voice ran through your body. "Your expression doesn't seem to bear good news."
"Link's really hurt, Hestu and Pepp are helping him right inside of you," you answered, blinking heavily. "He fought a Lynel, recklessly."
The Deku Tree 'mhmmed' with his mouth, it sounded like two pieces of wood being rubbed together. You sat on the platform with knees open and ankles crossed to tell him everything about Link's emotional state and the impulsive decisions he was making due to it.
"And I tried, Great Deku Tree," you concluded. "I tried stopping him. I try to protect him, but he doesn't let me," you frowned, frustrated.
"Maybe he doesn't need help right now, young one," he answered after listening to your rambling. You let your head fall to your shoulder, listening intently. "His fighting his own battles inside and, while he does, he won't be able to stand against anything else."
"Time is running out, though," you sighed.
"The Princess has been waiting for a hundred years, not knowing if he was ever going to wake up," he explained. "The fact he's still in this world running around, it's a great thing by itself," his leaves moved with the fresh breeze. "The Hero right now needs patience and understanding, don't you agree?"
You half smiled and nodded.
"That's why I brought him here," you confided.
"Grandpa! Young warrior!" the voice of Hestu appeared bellow, he was jumping from one leg to the other. "Mr. Hero has stopped bleeding and he's stable!" he announced.
"Can I see him?" you asked.
"Sure thing! Pepp is there with him," he responded. "He has fallen asleep, but he'll be alright, shoko."
"Thanks, Great Deku Tree," you said, turning one last time before jumping to the ground from his platform.
"No need to thank me, Hero's companion."
You ran to the Navel and immediately found Link laying on his back in the bed Pepp had made for him. His eyes were closed and his face was resting, the painful expression long gone. They had removed his clothes and put him in only a pair of shorts, his body was covered in thick soft leaves with a strange, smelly green substance.
"The Hero's friend!" Pepp exclaimed. "Mr. Hero is going to recover so well, you'll see."
"Thank you so much, Pepp," you told him, sitting on the extra bed at the other side of Link's. "I didn't know you were some sort of doctor," you chuckled.
"Oh, I am not by any means," he answered, covering his leafy face, his body jiggling. "But someone has to do it over here."
"Koroks get hurt too?" you questioned, moving your head to one side.
"Oh, yeah! Although we're don't have skin and bones like Hylians and... you... do," you contained a small giggle when he didn't know how to describe you, "it hurts when we fall from trees and break our branches, or when a wolf grabs us with its fangs, or when we roll from rocky hills."
"I didn't know about that," you admitted. "I thought you were resistant to injuries or something."
"We are, but not so much," Pepp continued. "You should rest, miss warrior," he spoke. "You seem a bit tired."
"I am," you breathed out.
"I'll be outside, you can call me for anything you need," he walked out of the room, but before leaving entirely, he turned around and raised his small arm: "Nice rest!"
You laid your face on the leafy pillow, the bed being most comfortable than you ever thought. You had slept there a couple of times, but at this moment you were so tired it was even more cozy. You didn't realize the moment you slipped into a dreamless sleep, but when you opened your eyes, Link was sitting on his bed, checking out the leaves plastered on his body.
"Finally awake?" he asked. His voice was deep and croaky, he had his arm extended in front of him and was patting it. You nodded as a response.
"How are you feeling?" you inquired, rubbing your eye and supporting your body with your elbow, raising enough to hold a conversation.
"Been better," he sighed. You both fell into silence. You had a 'told you so' stuck in your mouth, but decided to press your lips together and shut it down. He didn't need that, in his concentrated face you could see he knew.
"I messed up, right?" he began.
"Massively, yeah," you nodded, but chuckled. "You could've died."
He shook his head slightly and let his arm fell to his side, defeated.
"I was conscious when Hestu and Pepp were putting all these things on me, you know?" he mentioned. "Well, not much, but enough. And all I was thinking was what if I had fallen before killing the Lynel and I'd left you alone with it? What would happen to Zelda, the Calimity?"
"That didn't happen," you shrugged.
"It could've," he insisted. He never looked at you, not even from the corner of his eyes, instead he looked in front of him to nothingness. "And that would've been on me. One more thing."
"Link, please, stop it," you interrupted him, shaking your hand. "Nothing happened, we're both alright. I was more worried about you bleeding to death if I'm honest," you clarified.
"You told me it was stupid to fight it," this time he finally looked at you and raised his eyebrow.
"And I still think it was," you stated and from your peripheral vision you caught the glimpse of the trophy the Lynel dropped carefully laid on the floor near Link's Master Sword; you didn't even thought of it, Hestu or some other Koroks must've brought it. "And, look!" you exclaimed as you got up and took the Savage Lynel Spear to show it to him with enthusiasm. "Look what you got!"
Link took it with curiosity, grimacing a bit with the movements, and examined it.
"It's... thick," he commented.
"And not covered in your blood anymore," you tried to joke, but he didn't laugh. He kept staring at the weapon, his frown growing deeper with each second. "You felt its sharpness yourself and I saw what it did, so it's a nice spear."
"You can keep it."
You froze, caught off guard.
"Uh?"
"Keep it," he offered it to you, half smiling tiredly. "I don't need it, you know I prefer swords, and spears are your thing."
You sat close to his legs while he still had the weapon extended towards you.
"Link, you went through sh*t fighting that Lynel while I was hiding behind a rock, it's yours," you fought back, pushing his arm, but he didn't move a centimeter.
"I'm going to throw it away and that would be such a waste," he shook his head. "Please, take it. Think of it as doing me a favor."
"Did the Lynel hit you hard on the head or what?"
"Maybe, but... okay," he breathed out. "If you have it, it's a reminder for me of what could've happened there, of what's a stake if I make wrong decisions. If I keep it, it feels like I'm being rewarded for being an idiot."
"That doesn't make any sense," you shook your head, staring at him.
"Just take it, it'll make me feel better," he insisted, putting the spear on your legs. "It'll also protect you; as you said, I know first-hand how strong it is."
"Alright, thanks" you murmured, taking the heavy spear. Definitely you'd need some time to get used to it, but nothing you couldn't work with. You glanced at Link quickly, he was looking at your hands, his face seemed more peaceful. It was for the best to just do as he said for now.
"Help me get all this off me, please," he petitioned, looking at the leaves on his body. "It's getting thicker and sticky."
You worked on removing the improvised bandages off his back while he did so on his arms and torso. His whole body was bruised and not just due to his recent fight. He was covered in burn scars, patches of darker skin with different texture, slashes that crossed his extremities and even one or two marks that seemed like stabbings on his sides. Old battles forever printed on his body. You weren't there during the Calamity, so you could only imagine what he went through.
Link may be stronger than the average Hylian, but he couldn't heal any faster, so you both remained in the Lost Woods with the Koroks and the Great Deku Tree until he could move. The Great Tree spend most of his time sleeping or dozing off so you couldn't talk much to him at all, but the Koroks were so delightful and friendly, they seemed genuinely happy to have you there. You and Link entertained yourselves by playing hide-and-seek with them, shooting games with acorns, training with the new spear and some other funny things. Something that you didn't really know about Koroks until then was that they were collectively afraid of vegan people. You noticed they started to get noticeable wary when all you cooked was made out of fruits, vegetables and mushrooms, after all it was all there was close by; so, although you found it kind of funny, you decided to go to the vicinities and hunt some birds and even a wolf to show them you and Link weren't a vegans. They relaxed after that.
"We'll come more often, I promise," you told Fera while slightly shaking her small hands.
"Gonna miss you, miss warrior and Mr. Hero!" she exclaimed. "You were so much fun!"
You patted her head with a smile. All the other Koroks, some more shy than others despite the time you and Link spend there, watched you as you were standing on the exit.
"Take care, Mr. Hero!" Chio waved his arm.
"Thanks for everything you did for me," Link nodded solemnly and smiled.
"Shokay! I'll be waiting for you to bring me more seeds!" Hestu exclaimed as he shook his maracas.
"Promised," Link waved his hand towards him as you bid farewell too.
Walking through the deep fog wasn't as scary as it was when you first entered the woods and exiting, after all, was way easier than entering. Soon you and Link were on your way out, not even knowing how you made it there. You could always trust the Lost Woods to take you out by itself.
"We lost so much time," he rubbed his forehead, getting his Sheikah Slate out.
"And thanks to who, uh?" you wanted to say, but kept your mouth shut. Instead, you made another question: "What's next?"
"Uhm..." he muttered as he checked the blue screen and slid his fingers through it. "Vah Naboris, in Gerudo Desert."
"That's..." you peaked over his shoulder to the map, "really far away."
"It is," he nodded and sighed. "And we don't have any nearby shrines, except for this one right here," he pointed at one in Central Hyrule.
"Well, some walking won't be bad on us."
"I don't think I can run yet, it still hurts."
This time, you couldn't hold it.
"You should've thought about that before fighting that stupid Lynel," you chuckled. You feared Link would get all gloomy, but instead, he narrowed his eyes, smiling.
"I got you a nice spear, where's my thanks?"
"On Gerudo Desert, c'mon!"
"I'll let you win this time, I'm recovering."
"Wow, how kind of you!"
He laughed slightly on his fist, his eyes had recovered his normal shine.
"As always."
