Link was silent during the first hour of their trek to Kakariko.

Zelda stared ahead with her horse's reigns in the palms of her hands. Her bright blonde hair flew in the calm breeze behind her. The trip to Kakariko would only take a few hours—luckily, it was close to the castle. Not too far away. But, far away enough to make the trip a little awkward between the princess and the knight. The grass was swaying in the breeze, a luscious green that calmed Zelda's anxious heart.

Link finally broke the silence. "Zelda, I'm so sorry—"

"You did nothing wrong," Zelda interrupted, closing her eyes. "Don't worry. I'm fine."

"You aren't, though."

Zelda gripped her reigns tighter.

"Trust me, I can tell," Link tried to get Zelda to speak to him, showing that he understood her. "What's wrong?"

Zelda shook her head quickly, opening her eyes and looking up at West Necluda's mountain. Well, the giant chasm down the middle of it, to be exact. Ancient tales of a horrendous flood led Hylians to believe the erosion of the water caused the chasm to form. It was perfect, actually; providing a far quicker way of the trading of goods, instead of having to climb over the rough terrain of the many hills that scattered the area.

A soft noise was heard beyond the chasm. Zelda squinted her eyes in curiosity, whipping her reigns gently. Her horse began to quicken its pace, and Link did the same. The two continued onward, as the spuds grew louder. As they neared its source, the sound suddenly diminished.

The chasm was empty. A small tent sat by a river that flowed through the chasm. Zelda looked at Link, who was already speeding ahead. He hopped off of his horse, slowly making his way to the tent. He unsheathed his sword, poking it into the fabric.

Zelda's pointed ears perked upward, like a rabbit listening to its predator nearby. She heard a small crack behind her, to which she tilted her head, turning her horse around.

Zelda screamed, flicking the reigns in her hands. Her sudden cry startled Link's horse, causing it to run off and out of the chasm. Link watched Zelda jump off of her horse as she neared him, sending it away to safety. She stood behind Link, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Go, Zelda!" He yelled, looking back at her with anger in his eyes. "You can't stay here!"

Zelda shook her head. "You can't stay here alone!"

Link ignored Zelda's pleas, running off to the danger in front of them. Five small bokoblins, and three large moblins were running in their direction. Link grunted as he jumped in the air, slashing down on a moblin that stood tallest. The moblin fell to the ground in agonizing pain, bursting into a pile of dust. Link spun on his heels, pulling his sword around his body. He stabbed at the bokoblins, killing two.

"Link!" Zelda called, "Watch out!" One of the two remaining moblins lunged at Link. His sword was stuck in a bokoblin's chest. Gasping, Link ripped the sword from the bokoblin, watching as if puffed into dust.

Zelda closed her eyes, groaning quietly. She pursed her lips, quickly transporting herself onto the back of the moblin. Link watched as Zelda appeared, banging her fists onto the moblin's head.

"Take that, you monster!" She yelled like a child, keeping her legs securely wrapped around the moblin's neck. "This is what you get for jumping us like that!" Wrapping her hands around each other, Zelda slammed her fists down on the moblin's head.

Link wasted no time. He continued to kill off the last two bokoblins, along with the other moblin. Zelda still seem preoccupied with hers. The moblin swung his arms furiously around his head, yet Zelda was nimble. She bent her body in many different ways, avoiding each grab the moblin tried to pull. Left and right, she punched the monster, hoping soon it would give up

"Zelda!" Link called, cupping his hands around his mouth. When Zelda looked down at the knight, she saw he held an arrow in his hand. Quickly, he threw the arrow, and it dropped perfectly into Zelda's open palms. "End it!" He finalized.

Zelda hesitated. She held the arrow directly over the moblin's head.

"Zelda!" Link's eyes turned wide as the moblin took its chance, grabbing Zelda's rather small body. It threw her at Link. Zelda cried out, falling into Link, who tried to catch her. The force of the moblin's throw caused them both to fall into the bokoblin's tent. The moblin began to slowly make its way back over beside the river.

Link looked at Zelda. "You didn't kill it! Why?"

Zelda shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head. "I don't know! I don't know! I couldn't!"

The tent was lifted off of the two, and thrown into the river. Link took his sword once again, hopping around the moblin. Quickly, he stabbed the beast, ending its life.

Link huffed, heaving breaths unevenly. Without saying a word to Zelda, he held his hand out to her, hoisting her from the dirty ground. His eyelids hung low, as if he were tired or upset.

Or both.

"I'm sorry," Zelda apologized. "I've never killed anything before."

Link raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" He turned back toward the exit of the chasm, where both horses stood, waiting for them to come. "I figured you would be able. You're sure you haven't at least killed an animal for food?"

Zelda hesitated for a moment. Then she shook her head. "Nothing. At all."

Link nodded suspiciously. "Alright. Let's keep moving." As the two jumped upon their horses' backs, Link pointed to the stable in the distance. "There. That's where we'll stay the night."

Zelda gently tugged on the reigns that now rested in her hands. Her snow-white horse slowly trotted onward to the stable, to which they were greeted by the head of the stable. He smiled, ushering them to the east side, giving the two a place for their horses to rest. After their horses were secured in a comfortable stall, Zelda and Link made their way inside.

"Oh, no, you do not have to pay," the stable head shook his hands. "I know who you are, Princess Zelda. There is no need."

Zelda smiled politely. "Thank you, kind sir. Your generosity will not go unnoticed."

The stable's beds were set in the very back, in a row of eight. Four Hylians already occupied four separate beds. Link readied for sleep on a bed adjacent to Zelda's bed. As the sun began to set, and the moon began to rise, everyone in the stable began to settle down for the night.

An old memory plagued Zelda's mind, however, making it hard for her to fall asleep.

...

"You don't understand, Zelda!" Urbosa yelled, draped in shadow. "You have to! You have to kill it!"

Zelda shook her head quickly. "I can't, Lady Urbosa! I love him!" Zelda's view panned downward to the young pup. Its body began to form into a different shape—some kind of monster. It's eyes were no longer blue, but a deep crimson. It's as if the pup's eyes were replaced with a pool of blood.

"It has been consumed by the Calamity!" Urbosa called. She held her golden Scimitar of the Seven, a Gerudo sword that granted her immense strength.

Zelda couldn't avert her eyes from her once-good friend. "That's impossible! The Calamity has not escaped yet! It isn't supposed to appear for another hundred years or so!"

"Zelda!" Urbosa forced coldly, gritting her teeth. "If you cannot kill it, that thing will kill you!"

Zelda's heart ached. She searched around for something—anything—to defeat the monster inside of her friend.

"Maybe I could drag the Calamity out of its body!" Zelda's eyes widened, trying to think of a way to save the pup. "Urbosa, quick, help me—"

Without a moment's notice, the pup Zelda once loved, pounced onto her arm, clasping down on her flesh with its sharpened fangs. Zelda screamed out in agony, feeling the bones in her forearm snap in two as it's jaw clamped down tighter and tighter with each passing second. Picking up a sharp slab of broken wood from the castle's underground prison cells, Zelda did what she had to in order to survive.

The pup's grip loosened as it fell to the ground, lifeless.

Zelda began to fall back against the ground—

Zelda woke, gasping for breath, sweat dotting her forehead. She slapped her right hand against her mouth, holding back any noises she might have made. Her eyes darted around the stable room, hoping she didn't wake anyone. Link sat up in his bed, staring at Zelda with half-opened eyes.

"Is everything alright?" He mumbled.

Zelda, heart beating ecstatically, nodded her head. "Fine. Just fine."

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