The Legend of Zelda: Wisdom and Courage

Chapter 19: Dark Days

"Awaken, Princess of Destiny…"

A voice called out to Zelda as the final remains of Veran's darkness finally left her, releasing her soul from its cruel bondage and allowing her clarity of mind once more.

"You are free, O Princess of Destiny… Rise from the imprisonment of the Sorceress of Shadow and return to yourself…"

She listened in a daze to the distant, ethereal, yet somehow comforting voice, trying to figure out what it was saying as the darkness surrounding her soul faded away altogether.

"Heed these words, Princess of Hyrule… Your kingdom weeps under a mantle of dread and darkness… The golden power rests in the hands of a wicked sorceress descended from a great evil that sought it long ago… But there is still hope for this land… There are but two who can defeat the sorceress in all her power… One of the Blood of the Goddess and one of the Spirit of the Hero…"

Upon hearing this, Zelda was even more confused. Perhaps if her soul wasn't so weak from her previous inner struggle with Veran, then she'd be keener on what the voice was saying to her and would have an idea on what it meant. But for now, all she could do was let the voice's distant words fill her mind as she began to awaken.

"Princess of Destiny… You who are chosen to be our leader… Return to yourself… Flee to the desert… Come find us… We shall aid you…"

With each word the fleeting voice spoke, Zelda began to feel a sense of physical being return to her, something she had not felt since she had been possessed. She figured that must have been what the voice had meant about returning to herself, though she wasn't positive. Every part of her body was numb, but she finally had control of it again, much to her relief. For a moment, she savored the comforting feeling of simply being free, until a bitter, frigid, baleful wind blew across her face. The sound of thunder, mingled with distant fearful shouts and other assorted sounds of chaos resonated around her, as did the close metallic scent of blood. Her stomach suddenly churning in fear, Zelda slowly opened her eyes and let out a sharp gasp at the sight above her.

The sky was pitch black, save for the occasional flash of white lightning. The winds raged violently in almost all directions and the ground rumbled constantly, albeit it was so soft that it was barely noticeable. Very carefully, Zelda started to pull herself into a sitting position, but as she did so, a sharp, hot pain split across her middle, as well as more minor pain in her neck and arm. Looking down, she saw a long, lightly bleeding, yet shallow cut torn across the skin on her stomach, clearly the most dire wound she had received, though she had no idea how it was inflicted. Clasping a hand over the wound, the princess tried her best to think clearly and remember what had happened while she was possessed, but she could not.

"Your highness!" A shocked, distraught and familiar voice called out from not too far behind her. Zelda looked over her right shoulder, briefly taking in the fact that she was within the courtyard of her castle as she did so, to find Impa quickly approaching her, her arms filled with various bundles as if she was about to travel somewhere.

"Impa…" Zelda sighed in relief, glad to see she trusted guardian again, though she still remembered how she had refused her much-needed help earlier. Impa didn't bring this up, or even the situation at hand as a whole when suddenly stopped short a few feet away from her position, letting out a quiet gasp as she stared at something to the left of the princess with wide eyes.

"What is it?" Zelda asked, suddenly alarmed as she began to turn her head to follow Impa's gaze.

"Zelda," Impa said quickly in an attempt to stop her for her own good. "Don't-"

"Oh, goddesses!" Zelda exclaimed, tears immediately coming as she looked at the bloodied form of her unconscious hero lying not too far away from her. The full memory of what had been going on hit her hard as she looked at his pained, listless face, and at the many heavy injuries he had sustained. "Oh, Link!" she sobbed, disregarding her own wounds as she crawled to his side and took both of his limp hands into hers. "What… Why…?" Her many questions trailed off as the awful realization of the tragedy that had just taken place finally hit her. Veran must have certainly won and now both the Triforce and Hyrule were hers. A thousand thoughts ran through Zelda's mind at once, but the only one she could truly focus on was whether or not Link was even remotely alright, though she could clearly tell from his dire injuries that there was a slim chance that he was. But what bothered her most of all was the fact that it had been her own hands that had done this to the hero, even if she had been forced to do such a horrendous thing by the wicked sorceress, who had used them both to meet her devious ends.