Back in Her Hands (NOT MINE)

Chapter 15

Princess Zelda leaned back against the walls of the mansion, rubbing her aching hand. It still hurt from punching a hole through the stone walls. In addition, the burn on her back from Twinrova's heat blast was still stinging as well. She reached back and felt where the blast had burned through her dress. It still stung when she touched it, eliciting a loud hiss from her.

Oh, get over it, she thought scoldingly. Link's suffered a lot worse and he never complains.

Sighing, Zelda stared up into the night sky. Some of the thick clouds had finally blown away, giving the princess a clear view of the stars and the half-moon. For a while, the beauty of the heavens was able to distract her. It was a good thing too; it had been over half an hour since she had last spoken with Link, and she had no idea how far he had gotten since then.

But all of a sudden, Zelda received a progress report in the most unexpected of ways. The bond between her and Saria.... somehow, it was working again, and the princess could feel faint traces of the Kokiri girl's emotions.

Zelda gasped from the shock of the bond being reestablished, but then forced herself to focus. Here was an opportunity to find some answers. As she focused her mind, Saria's emotions came through much clearer. Clearly, she was feeling some powerful emotions at the moment....

But as Zelda concentrated harder, she found Saria was feeling something much different from before. These weren't flashes of paralyzing fear, like before. Now, the princess was receiving flashes of intense hatred and all-consuming jealousy.

"What!?" Zelda blurted out, confused by what she was sensing. "What's with all the anger? Why is she...."

Then Zelda caught a glimpse of what Saria was SEEING. She was looking down at the ground, and there was.... a tiny man? Upon closer inspection, Zelda recognized who Saria was looking down at: it was Link!

What the.... did Link shrink? Zelda thought nervously. Then the vision of what Saria was seeing came through even clearer, and the princess could make out their surroundings. Wherever the two of them were, it was some sort of huge colosseum, probably buried deep underground. No, Saria must have grown giant-sized....

And then, Zelda picked up those feelings of venomous hatred and envy once more. And this time, she was able to find out who Saria's anger was directed at.... LINK!

"OH NO!!" Zelda cried out as she stood up, realizing what was going on. Somehow, the power of THIS sanctuary's Giant's Mask had infused itself with Saria. And now, for some reason, Saria's heart was filled with rage.... and she was going to kill Link!!!

"No, I've got to stop her! I've got to save Link!!" she cried out desperately. She concentrated, trying to pinpoint Saria's location. Once the princess was confident she had located the colosseum she was in, she summoned up her magic and used Farore's Wind....

And almost immediately, she was hit with some sort of energy backlash. It felt as if her body had been struck by lightning.... and not even a giantess could withstand that. Zelda fell backward and her giant body slammed onto the marshy ground, creating a loud earthquake.

Link continued to stare up dumbly at the colossal Kokiri girl, still not believing what he was seeing. A giant Zelda had been bizarre enough to begin with, but now a giant SARIA!?! And he had never seen Saria look so enraged and hateful before. How could the kindly, gentle girl he grew up with now be so full of hatred and jealousy?

Saria took a broad step forward, and the whole colosseum trembled from her the force of her footstep. She was now only a few meters in front of Link, and then she lifted her foot high up into the air. "Good-bye, Link," Saria muttered cruelly.