The Legend of Zelda: Blood and Spirit

Chapter 16: Return to Termina

Chapter 16: Return to Termina

"In the days when I reigned over the surface, there was a great war and though I did everything I could, in the end, I could not protect what was most important to me because even I myself didn't even realize what that was…" Zelda frowned as she remembered the words that Hylia had said to her as she continued to walk through the deep woods at a steady pace. She couldn't help but wonder what the goddess had meant when she had said she could not protect what had been most important to her. The girl had always assumed that this had been the Triforce and the humans, but in the end, Hylia had been completely capable of protecting them both from Demise's grasp. So if those two things weren't the most important to her, what had been? And why had she been incapable of saving it in the first place?

Zelda sighed and shook her head, still confused by the goddess's often cryptic words. Looking up through the tall canopy of branches above her head, the girl was able to see that the shadows of twilight were just about to settle over the land. She had been traveling towards the path that led to Termina ever since she escaped the Interloper's stronghold, hardly taking any time to rest for she knew that time was of the essence. Not only did she have to worry about being perused by Veress's followers, but she also wanted to get to Termina and back as quickly as possible so she could find Link and help him in any way she could.

As Zelda continued to go along, she mused on the latter half of Hylia's statement: "But you… you know without a doubt what you hold dear above all else…" It wasn't hard to figure out what the goddess had meant by that. Amidst all of the uncertainty that had been gathering the past few days, one thing was certainly clear: the girl cared deeply for the hero, perhaps more than anything or anyone else. But despite her feelings for him, she placed knew that she also had the heavy duty of watching over the surface placed upon her shoulders. And it was because of her devotion to both of them that she had relinquished herself into captivity in the first place. But if she was ever forced into the position of having to choose between only one or the other, would she even be able to make that choice at all?

Hoping that things would never come down to that, Zelda pressed on, watching as the forest quickly began to darken and the fireflies started to come out to illuminate her path. She was certainly thankful that the Bow of Light also gave off a slight glow, as it also helped her to find her way to the exact route through the southernmost woods that her and Link had taken to get to Termina mere days ago, though now, it seemed as though years had passed since then.

The girl continued to let her thoughts wander as she went on her way, unaware as multiple shadow-concealed forms positioned themselves on the branches of the nearby trees, waiting for the perfect moment to strike out at her. Zelda wasn't oblivious however; though it was subtle, her ears picked up on the slight rustle of tree leaves and she knew that it couldn't just be the wind. She stopped dead in her tracks and stood perfectly still as she waited for what she had been expecting the entire time. And by the time the group of Dark Interlopers decided to leap from their perches in perfect unison and surround her, she already had her bow poised and an arrow notched and ready to fire.

Taking a brief look at her opponents, Zelda could see that their leader was not among them, which was lucky, since Veress was clearly the strongest of their number. There were about five warriors that the girl could immediately see, clearly all of various genders, though all of them hid their faces under coverings to conceal their identities. However, she could tell that there were more of them lurking in the trees overhead, ready to apprehend her and take her back to their prison. She gripped her bow even tighter, remembering how much of a struggle it had been to get out of there in the first place. She wouldn't be able to repeat it all again.

As the Interlopers rushed upon her in a uniform line, Zelda let her light arrow go and it successfully struck one of them in the leg, its hot light burning them and immobilizing them. She quickly formed another arrow and let it go with careful aim towards the arm of another warrior, striking them directly and knocking the knife out of their hand. She continued to let off arrow after arrow, never really fatally injuring any of them, but stunning them enough to get them to back off. However, with each one that she knocked off, another one would drop down from the trees to take their place. The girl knew that she wouldn't be able to keep this up forever, but she had to at least try, desperate to remain free from captivity and to get Link the help he needed.