How A Princess Fights.

Ambushed.

With the rupees the Sheikah had given them, Zelda and Link had bought a small cart full of supplies that was now trailing behind Epona. All they had to do now was pass by the ruins of Kakariko and head on towards Lake Hylia to join up with the survivors.

Link sat behind Zelda in the saddle. He had one of his arms wrapped around her waist and the other holding the reins.

He hugged her close and for the first time, she didn't even hesitate at the physical contact. She knew that Link wouldn't harm her and that whenever he touched her, she felt like she was in heaven. It was still a strange feeling that she had not gotten used to...

Zelda closed her eyes and rest her head against Link's cheat as she let out a tired sigh.

The ruins of Kakariko were off in distance as they passed through the Lost Woods. While they were distracted with fatigue, they didn't notice the shadows that moved in the trees.

Epona however, did notice them. She sped up her pace and whined loudly as to alert her ignorant humans to the danger.

"Woah, girl!" Link gasped as he noticed the rapid way in which Epona was sprinting.

As Link and Zelda regained their senses, the dark shadows moving around them became apparent. How had they been so stupid as to fall into a trap?

"We gotta get out of here!" Link thrashed the reins and Epona huffed in a you-don't-day way.

The cart bumped up and drop en as Epona pulled it along whilst she was sprinting. Link held Zelda close as the path they had taken through the Lost Woods was extremely rocky and uneven. Zelda carefully maneuvered her bow as she nocked an arrow and waited for her first shot.

The shot came when the grotesque body of a Bokoblin jumped out from the foliage and lunged at the sprinting horse. Zelda instinctively let the arrow loose and on impact, it embedded itself into the skull of the vile creature and it fell into the arms of Death before it even hit the ground.

Zelda let a malicious smile cross over her lips as it's purple coloured blood splattered over the forest floor.

Once behind a huge boulder, Link stopped quickly so that Zelda could get out of the saddle. She clambered on top of the cart so she could aim her bow properly. Link took out the Mastersword and poised it for the first strike.

"Hold on!" Link warned.

One hand holding onto the reins and the other welding the Mastersword, Link kicked Epona back into a sprint. Zelda had to brace herself to stay standing but once she had adjusted, she nocked another arrow.

There was a rustle from the bushes to their left. She swung round and let the arrow fly. There was a horrific squeal before it went silent.

A Bokoblin ran out of the tree line and lunged at Link but was unsuccessfully. Link sliced the Mastersword downwards and cut straight through the creature's neck. The head went flying, spraying them all in purple blood.

Before the two recovered from the shower of blood, a horn trumpeted in the distance and all the shadows burst from the bushes.

Link slashed his way through the onslaught and looked back constantly to make sure Zelda was ok.

It was a good thing she had stollen those two quivers of arrows all those months back when she had escaped. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have been able to load arrow after arrow and cut down the Bokoblins that advanced on them as they bolted through the woods.

With the enemy so close on their tail, Zelda strung her bow over her shoulder and took out her red-pommeled sword. One of the grotesque monsters jumped up so as to throw himself at the cart. She swung her blade down and it cut right through the skull of the Bokoblin.

Link chuckled as he looked back at Zelda to see her sword slice through the creature. He turned back to swing the Mastersword into the heart of yet another abomination.

The more they cut down, the more Bokoblins took their place with more and more bustling out of the foliage.

Finally, the cart broke free of the woods and Epona bolted out into the open field. From the tree line of the woods, what seemed like hundreds of these monsters ran out after them.

Link looked back and he knew that they were severely outnumbered. If there was just some way to make the enemy slow down, then Epona might get the chance to disappear behind the hills.

Bokoblins, being the brainless dumb things that they were, Link knew he could take on quite a few before they would be able to take him down. That should give Epona and Zelda the time they needed.

"Link, what are we going to do?!" Zelda shouted as she shot another arrow into the sea of monsters that advanced on them.

"I have an idea but you and I have to swap places!" Link called back, knowing that what he was about to do, Zelda would definitely not want him to do.

He carefully stood up on Epona's saddle. Over the years Epona and Link had been with each other, they had executed this move many times. He kept his balance quite well as he turned around.

Zelda held out her hand which Link gladly took before he jumped next to her on the cart.

Link cautiously placed his hands in her hips and was about to lift her into the saddle, "Now... On the count of three, you're gonna jump and I'll help you as much as you can."

Zelda nodded quickly and braced herself for the long jump to Epona's saddle, "One... Two... THREE!"

Link all but threw Zelda into Epona's saddle. Zelda yelped on impact as she gripped the reins firmly to steady herself.

"What now?" Zelda shouted back at Link but she didn't get the answer she was looking for...

"Keep going... I'm sorry..."

"Link? What's happening?!" Zelda thrashed Epona's reins again.

There was no answer.

"Link?!" Zelda screamed.

She turned back, expecting to see Link fighting off the front lines of the Bokoblin force which were no doubt catching up to their cart.

Instead of that, she saw all the foul creatures gathering around someone. They encircled them and cut off any exits.

In the middle of the great mass, a lonely figure stood thrashing away at the monsters that advanced.

Zelda slapped a hand to her mouth to stop her from crying out as she realised who the figure was.

Link.