A Couple of Trials (ZeLink)

Chapter 38: A Challenging Toast

This is gonna have to work, he thought to himself.

Taking everything he found, he moved to what he guessed to be the middle of the room before crouching down on the floor once more. Adjusting the bundle of sticks and placing the flint in the middle, with a quick strike, the flint sparked, lighting the bundle into a burst of flames. Zelda yelped.

"Link, what are you doing?" she said loudly, standing as she watched the flames build up.

"It's alright. I've done this before," Link said calmly.

"You've done this befo— You'll burn the house down!" Zelda exclaimed.

"It'll be fine," Link said, pushing himself back to his feet. "We can't just freeze in here. If it gets smoky, I'll do something about it, but surprisingly, that's never happened before. Now, Zelda, where's the sla—"

The moment his back was straight and he looked at Zelda, his eyes noticed the tiny glint beside her. With the room now illuminated in the flame's warm glow, he could properly see a weapon sitting on the table. Its blade was curved, burned pink in places along the steel it had been crafted from, while its long handle was covered in a dark maroon wrap. The moment his eyes landed upon the familiar sword, Zelda's face had fallen into a level of disparity that matched her earlier tone.

"I... Um..." she said quietly. "I hid the slate. I hid it so that... so that you wouldn't kill yourself out there attempting to..."

She paused and bit her lip before looking back at the sword on the table.

"I... found this..." she continued, gently placing her fingers on the sword's straps, "under the bed while looking for a place to hide it. You're the one who put it there, aren't you? It's the same sword you had Robbie overlook from before."

Link didn't say anything. He simply continued to stare at the sword on the table, watching as Zelda's fingers continued to run across its handle. Suddenly, her hand turned into a fist.

"You haven't been resting at all, have you?" she asked in a low tone. "Why? Why are you acting like this? Why is it that you can't understand what it is I'm asking of you? It's like you... It's like you enjoy fighting like this—"

"Because I do enjoy fighting!" Link said, finally meeting her eyes. "It's fun for me, and you know this! I like dueling and using a sword. I like figuring out different ways to defeat monsters. I like learning different ways of combat, using a bow or maybe a hammer— heck, sometimes even the world around me!"

"So you really think this is fun?" Zelda asked, appalled.

"I don't!" Link practically yelled. "I don't find this fun at all! This... This is different! This isn't a bokoblin, or a molduga, or even a lynel, Zelda. This is a person; a person who will change, who can learn, who's unpredictable, and someone who will do anything they can to get to us! I'm not doing this because it's fun, I'm doing this because I have to!"

"You always say that!" Zelda shot back. "You always say you have to, but do you have to do things right at the moment? Why can't you rest— actually rest— and recollect yourself?"

"Because he could appear at any time!" Link answered. "And he is here! He's been here for a while! I can tell!"

"No, you can't!" Zelda said. "You haven't been right about anything regarding the Yiga! Link, you just attacked Manny! You left him on the ground with a bloody nose!"

"That... That was an accident..." he responded, averting his gaze, yet Zelda continued.

"Just like the traveler before was?" she said. "Link, this whole time you've been acting nonsensical, you could have been resting. It's been months. Months!"