How A Princess Fights.

The Truth At Last.

Zelda lifted the small red-hilted sword and jabbed at the tree in front of her, breaking off a bit of the bark. She lifted it back up and bore it down again, chipping off the bark piece by piece.

The moon was rising on the horizon and the stars filled the dark sky with brilliant light. With the spirits all gone, Zelda had run away from their camp that night.

She hacked away at the tree as the tears started up again. They flowed down her cheeks with more fury as she had no alcohol to help her suppress them this time.

With one final slice, she howled into the night before collapsing on the forest floor.

"You might wanna try bending your knees..."

Zelda snapped her attention towards the tree behind her. Link leant against the trunk with his arms crossed. Zelda could see the tear stains that ran dow in the light of the stars.

"Huh?" she cocked an eyebrow up at him, wiping away her tears.

"Look, like this..." Link took the Mastersword out of it's scabbard.

He placed his knees apart from eachother and bent them in a poised position. Zelda quickly got up and copied this pose with her own blade.

"Now, don't poke at the tree," he raised the Mastersword, "Slash at it from the side."

With one easy swing, Link cut into the bark at an angle, lodging itself into the middle of the trunk. Zelda looked at the tree she had been hacking at and realised how inexperienced she was with weapons. She had two quivers of arrows but she hadn't used a bow in years.

***

"You're really sweet, has anyone told you that before?" Siren turned around in her seat to look up at Pike who stood over her with a hairbrush.

"Most people tell me I'm stupid..." Pike chuckled as Siren sat back in her hair.

"Well... They're completely wrong..." She chuckled to herself.

Pike continued to brush her hair as she spoke softly to him.

"You're smart. You're kind. You're caring..." She smiled to herself, "I honestly never thought I would meet someone like you..."

"Really? Most girls prefer someone like Bruce, that macho dude from our squadron... Or Link..." Pike sighed.

"Well, I come from a community entirely made up of warrior women..." Siren turned in her chair again so she could look up to Pike.

She slowly got up and took the brush out of his hands and carefully placed it down on the dresser. She took his hand and led him over to her sofa. Pike tensed up when Siren leant over and kissed him.

His whole body tensed up and he just sat there motionless as Siren kissed him. His eyes were open wide in shock, he wasn't expecting her to kiss him. Last time, he had at least two ales.

As in reply to his inner struggle, Siren took Pike's hands and put them round her waist. When she was sure he was ok, she wrapped her own arms around his neck.

Finally, Pike closed his eyes and began to relax.

***

Both Link and Zelda collapsed to the ground as soon as the got back to camp. Link had been teaching Zelda how to fight with her new sword. The two had practiced for hours, hacking up the trees to get rid of their anger. It was the next best thing to the alcohol.

"So..." Link started as he unstrapped the Mastersword from his back and placed it down on the grass next to him, "Ganondorf... Was a bad husband to you?"

Zelda sighed and looked deep into the fire, "Yeah... He was..." She started, "He... He-" her voice hitched in her throat as she found it was almost physically impossible to speak.

"Take your time..." Link gave her a warm smile, "you don't have to tell me tonight..."

With that, he spread himself down on the forest floor and rolled over so his back was to Zelda. He tried his best to sleep but all he could think about was Lyrah and how there had been a blade piercing from her chest.

"Every night..." Zelda whispered under her breath, "He would always find me..." She spoke slightly louder but concentrated on the flames of the campfire.

Link didn't move, he lay still, listening but not reacting, in fear that Zelda would stop. She knew he wasn't really asleep but she liked that his back was to her. She didn't want to see the look of disappointment she assumed he would have.

"No matter how much I screamed, no matter how many times I ran... He would find me..." The tears started up again and she bit down on her lip to keep them from falling.

"He would never harm my face... That was the worst part... He needed me to look healthy and happy." She furrowed her eyebrows in utter frustration as she glared into the flames.

"He did what he wanted with the rest of me..." She pulled her legs up to her chest and rocked herself back and forth.

The flames danced in the middle of their came. They reflected in her eyes. They were ablaze with a terrible fury and uncontrollable fear.

"His hands on me, crushing my bones and pinning me down..." She rocked back and forth as a lump lodged itself in her throat.

"He would tear off my clothes and force my legs to open..." She bit down on her lip again to fight off the tears but she did this in vein.

The tears began to flow but she continued anyway, "He would blow the candle put, leaving us in the impending darkness. I would never know where he would come at my from..."

Link was no longer on the ground. He was sat up and looking over at Zelda. His own eyes were brimming with tears as he tried to picture what she had been through. He saw her eyes, full of fear and fury.

"I wouldn't be able to walk for days... I would scream, I would struggle but he didn't like that..." Zelda spat on the ground, "Curse him!" She cried into the night..

With that last outburst, she collapsed to the ground in a fit of tears and sobs. Link came to her side and hesitated before placing a hand on he shoulder reassuringly. Zelda flinched at his touch but appreciated the guesture.