Inverted Triforce

Chapter 12

“…Like a log.”

“We need to wake her up.”

Ganon’s rough voice broke through her sleep. It was too soon to wake up, she thought. Her eyes still burned, and the sun was far too bright. Epona was kneeling in front of Zelda, looking into her squinted eyes.

“Oh, she’s up,” Epona said cheerfully.

Zelda closed her eyes and pulled the blankets over her head, “Please, just a little bit longer.” A quick, strong force pulled her warm blankets from the bed. Curling into a ball, she hugged the warm sheathed blade to herself. Zelda closed her eyes tightly and shivered.

“I know you want to lean how to use the sword, but sleeping with it isn’t going to help,” Epona laughed hysterically. Ganon, on the other hand, looked gravely concerned.

“Why are you sleeping with your sword?” he asked.

Zelda opened her eyes too quickly, causing them to ache from the bright light of the sun. She looked straight to Ganon. Why she felt the need to hide her encounters with Link in her dreams, she was unsure. Zelda felt guilty when Link touched her even if it was in her mind. She felt as if she were conversing with the enemy.

“Your shoulder,” Epona said slowly, pointing to it.

In her sleep, Zelda had gotten tangled up in her shirt just enough to reveal one of her shoulders. Looking down at it she saw the purple, brown, and blue mixture of colors indicating a bruise. Epona’s hand touched it before Zelda could hide it. Epona’s light touch caused Zelda to wince. Why did the bruises hurt a day later? It didn’t hurt yesterday, she thought.

“How did you get that?” Ganon asked. His voice was deep and held a sharp edge to it; he was angry.

“Why are you angry?” Zelda asked hesitantly. Slowly, she released the sheathed blade and pushed it away from her. Carefully sitting up, she felt the ache in her arms for the first time as well, but tried not to let it show in her movements.

“The only person who has reason to harm you is Link. Are you still protecting him?” Ganon asked his question through gritted teeth. He was furious.

Zelda put her hands up defensively, “I would never protect him!”

“How did you get that bruise?”

“I slept on a spoon in the carriage,” she looked down at the exposed shoulder and covered it. Epona and Ganon hadn’t seen the other shoulder; Zelda assumed there would be a bruise there as well. She felt it was a sufficient excuse for at least one of them. Zelda bit her lip nervously, not wishing to tell Ganon about her dream encounters. How could he help her anyway?

“That looks like a handprint. I’m no fool Zelda. Be honest with me,” Ganon spoke deeply still as he dropped the blanket she had been cuddling moments before. He walked to the side of the bed closest to her bruise and moved his hand to pull the cloth down.

Zelda didn’t stop him. Thinking it would help to calm him down if he examined it himself, he gently pulled her shirt down over the bruised shoulder he had seen. She looked away, her face heating up.

“That was no spoon,” he mumbled, releasing the light fabric. “If you won’t tell me, I assume you will in your own time. Until then, I advise you not to meet with Link, no matter how you feel about him,” Ganon urged.

Zelda watched him as he slowly pulled away from her. While his voice was angry, his expression looked… Sad? She arched an eyebrow in confusion as he took a step toward the door, “I will meet you and Epona downstairs. Prepare yourself to head into the swamp. If we get back early enough, then you can have your sparring match with the guards in Almeia.”