How A Princess Fights.

The Traveling Market.

"You have a name?" Zelda finally spoke with a hoarse voice as Link helped her into the saddle.

"Link." He said quietly as he packed up the saddle bags before he clambered on behind her.

"Where are we heading, Link?" She asked as he kicked his legs making Epona start into a trot.

"The Traveling Market," He said as he found a sustainable pace for them to travel at, "It moves around but I think it stops here at this time of year..." He mumbled quietly.

"Why do we need to go there?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"You need some riding gear and a belt to put those knives in unless you want to wear that bloodstained ripped dress our entire trip..." Link muttered quietly.

He had a point. She sighed and hung her head low, she was so tired but she refused to sleep. Not only did she have the memory of Ganondorf and his nightly onslaughts fresh in her mind but she had just witnessed her father's death! She had held him in her arms as she tried futility to hold in his guts from his fatal wound and she had seen the lights of his eyes fade as he left her! That wasn't something you could forget anytime soon.

And the wort part was... She sort of liked it...

He had sold her off to Ganondorf like a piece of meat! He had no regard for her feelings and had just given her in to be slaughtered! All her life, Zelda was stopped doing the things she loved because it wasn't what Princesses should do! She was never allowed to practice any sort of combat nor was she allowed to practice any other activities that were considered not suitable for a woman. If her mother were still alive, she would have stuck up for her and let her do what she wanted and she would never have been forced to marry Ganondorf but she had died when Zelda was very young...

Zelda was angry, positively fuming, but the most infuriating thing was that she didn't know what to direct her anger at. She was livid at her father for giving her over to Ganondorf and she felt both scared and vengeful at him. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't think and her head hadn't yet recovered from her hangover. She missed Impa, her mother figure, she missed the protection she gave her. She felt vulnerable as she traveled with Link. He swore to protect the strong Princess so she could survive to live another Day and what did he find? He found a sniveling little girl who cried herself to sleep. It was pitiful. Perhaps that was why she spoke to him in harsh tones whenever she chose to speak.

***

Link led Epona into a slow trot as they neared the cluster of tents and stalls. Other travelers went in and out, some on horses and others hauling pack donkeys or traveling in groups. Zelda bunched up the bloodstained ripped skirt of her dress and hid it from view. She bowed her head low so no one could see her face.

The two dismounted and tied Epona's reins to the fence around the market before they marched up. Link wanted to make sure that they weren't there long so that they wouldn't be noticed so he took a hold of her arm and pulled her through the crowd towards the stall with the best riding gear. Zelda was about to protest when Link grabbed her arm but she realised she wasn't supposed to be drawing attention to herself so she kept her mouth shut.

"What can I do for you two lovebirds?" The old man at the stall smiled up at them as they came forward.

"My traveling companion needs some suitable riding gear." Link frowned at the old man, making it clear that Zelda and himself were not involved.

"Come, come in, I think I have just the thing you need!" He gestured to the tent flap before he shuffled over to it and disappeared inside his little shop.

Link held up the tent flap and let Zelda walk in first before he followed her. It was quite small and unorganized but that was just the way these markets worked. A variety of saddles were piled up in one corner with different kinds of furs and leathers. A small table stood on the other side of the tent and on it were all sorts of tools.

The wrinkly old man shuffled over to the other side of the tent and went through another tent flap. He came back a few minutes later with a stack of clothes in his arms. He dropped them on the floor and held up a light green undershirt and a leather corset.

"You will have to remove your weapons before you change so I can determine the best way of fitting them on your person" he smiled as he handed her the pile of clothes.

The old man cocked an eyebrow in confusion as she took out two knives from her corset. She took off her bow and handed him her two quivers. She took the clothes and walked into the secluded spot of the tent.

While Zelda changed, the old man measured the two knives and started to cut up some spare leather. He sewed on a few loops and pouches before he added them directly to the leather belt. He slipped the knives in and showed Link who nodded in approval.

Zelda lifted up the tent flap and walked out. The leather corset hugged her flat stomach perfectly and her light green undershirt was quite low cut. She had skin tight brown pants and polished heeled black boots. She had ditched her normal long white gloves for fingerless black one with a sort of steel studs on the knuckles. There was a small gap between her pants and her corset where Link could see her flat stomach. The old man handed her the belt which she buckled round her waist, the two knives on her hips. She looked badass!