obligation to tell Zelda about it, especially considering why he had come down here in the first place. "It doesn't matter," he said somewhat crossly, though he still didn't
move to enter the cell itself yet. "What matters is that you're finally getting out of here, Zelda."
"R-really?" Zelda perked up a bit upon hearing this, even if she wasn't sure it was necessarily a good thing or a bad thing.
Link simply nodded, not giving her too many context clues as he slowly, somewhat anxiously opened the cell. "And chances are, you probably won't be coming back."
The Hylian queen drew in a tight breath, a small part of her daring to find hope once more. Perhaps her prayers to the goddesses has finally been answered and Link was
at long last coming to his senses once more. Perhaps, after all of these weeks, he had somehow found his way back to the light, and was only now upholding a cold, stoic
front just in case Verona was keeping an eye on him, when in reality he actually intended on helping her escape. "L-Link…" Zelda whispered waveringly as she slowly
moved over to the cell door, lightly gripping the bars as she stared at him intensely. "Do you truly mean it?"
"Mean what?" Link asked in confusion as he stood before Zelda's lone path to freedom, her hopes suddenly crashing and burning all too quickly. The hero himself soon
caught onto them as he watched her expectant expression turn crestfallen. "Oh, no," he said with a slight sneer before he securely grabbed her arm. "Sorry, 'your
highness', but you're not off the hook, if that's what you were thinking."
Knowing there was little she could do in light of this, the Hylian queen sighed remorsefully as she relenting consented to let Link secure her hands behind her back with a
manacle made of ice. She didn't even bother to ask him where exactly they were going as he began to silently lead her up from the dungeons, knowing that wherever it
was, it couldn't be good.
As they traveled through the empty, dead-silent passageways however, Zelda noticed that they weren't in any apparent rush. Another thing she was quick to pick up on
was the aura of uncertainty and apprehension that seemed to hang over Link, who refused to so much as take a single glance back at her as they went along. Something
was off about this entire situation, specifically the fact that the hero had fetched her from her cell so suddenly without telling her any apparent reason. A part of her was
too afraid to ask, and that part ultimately won out as they began to near the exit to the courtyard.
Despite her previous yearning for fresh air, Zelda found no such solace in it as her and Link emerged into the cold air outside. The wide, enclosed courtyard was covered in
snow which had fallen from the inky black skies above, the absence of light altogether painting everything grey, much to the Hylian queen's dismay. Verona herself stood in
the center of the courtyard, a treacherous smirk on her scarlet lips as she watched Zelda arrive with eager anticipation. The Hylian queen shot a hateful glare her
adversary's way, putting most of the blame for how far Link had fallen on her and her deceitful tricks. The hero himself only guided Zelda to stand a few feet away from
Verona before he took his place at her side, a sight that filled the Hylian queen with revulsion and despair at just how wrong it all was. She had once never dreamed that
the hero of Hyrule would ever stand beside such a great evil and yet here she was, witnessing it with her own eyes as though it wasn't something from a sick, twisted
nightmare.
"Greetings, Zelda," Verona began with a smooth, smug grin. "It certainly has been a while since you and I have convened face to face. Things certainly have changed since
then, haven't they?"
"They certainly have," Zelda retorted coldly. "It seems you managed to use all of your false flattery and lies to buy yourself a traitorous new slave."
Link clearly took offense at this dig towards both him and Verona and though he took a step forward to punish Zelda for it, the Queen of Shadows was quick to stop him.
"Patience, Link," she said, her grin fading into an icy expression. "I'll leave you to her soon enough. But I would watch myself if I were you, Zelda. You're awfully bold for
someone who is about to die."
Zelda immediately paled upon hearing this, her nerve dissipating into fear and confusion. "W-what?"
"Oh, come now, Zelda," Verona goaded, rolling her eyes. "You don't honestly think I had Link bring you all the way up here just so the three of us could have a friendly
conversation, did you? No, it seems as though your usefulness to me has reached its end. In fact, it ended quite a while ago, as you might recall. And as it my practice for
things I no longer have need of, I do believe it is time you were disposed of."
Zelda was frozen in place with dread as she took all this in, trying to make sense of this sudden revelation. "S-so… what you're saying is… you're going to…"
"Execute you, yes," Verona nodded with a dark, almost gleeful smile. "Well… I'm not going to, personally. I've decided to give that honor to Link instead."
The Hylian queen's stunned gaze immediately shifted to the hero, tears starting to form in her fearful eyes as he simply averted her piercing stare and said nothing. "LLink…"
Zelda barely managed to choke out, completely overwhelmed by blind terror. The hero was still silent, even though he was trying his best to hide the fact that his
own hands were trembling as he hid them behind his back.
"Please, Zelda, there's no need for such dramatics," the Queen of Shadows said with no empathy at all. "After all, you couldn't have possibly believed that I intended on
keeping you around forever. At this point, you're little more than dead weight. It's not even worth my while to let you live to watch your kingdom crumble around you,
since you largely already have. If anything, then you should be on your knees, thanking me for sparing you from any further suffering."
Zelda let out a sickened scoff upon hearing this, knowing that the last thing she would ever do was actually accept her death at the hands of the woman who stole her
kingdom from her. However, it was as she happened to glance down at her bound hands, a sudden idea came to her, one that she hoped would serve as her sole
salvation from a no doubt painful death. "Wait!" the Hylian queen exclaimed, her former boldness returning. "You cannot kill me. You are after the Triforce, are you not?"
"In a way…" Verona said vaguely, partially knowing where Zelda was going with this.
"Well, if you slay me, then not only will I lose my life, but you will lose the Triforce of Wisdom," the Hylian queen informed her, hiding her former fear well. "Certainly, you
wouldn't want to let one third of the greatest power in Hyrule slip through your fingers so easily, would you?"
As much as the Hylian queen had prayed this ploy would be her saving grace, her heart sank as she watched a knowing grin form on the Queen of Shadow's face. "Believe
me, Zelda, I've already taken that little factor into account," Verona said perceptively. "Which is why I've decided to be fair and give you the chance to fight for your life."
"What?!" Link spoke up in concerned confusion. "But you said-"
"I know what I said," Verona replied calmly. "But I simply believe a short duel between the two of you will add a little… sport to this affair, don't you agree? And besides,
Link, I know that you are more than capable of taking her out. It will be easy for someone of your power and skill."
The hero said nothing in response to this as he simply glanced away somewhat bitterly, still refusing to meet Zelda's pleading gaze. "But as I was saying before…" Verona
went on with her explanation. "You can try and save your own life, Zelda, but when, not if, Link bests you, he will strip you of the Triforce of Wisdom and claim it as his
own
before ultimately ending you. That sounds simple enough, does it not?"
Zelda didn't even bother responding to Verona as she instead focused her attention on Link once more, desperation filling her tone as she finally addressed him, knowing
that he was the only one who could put a stop to this madness. "Link… please…" she began rather quietly, grief on the edges of her tone. "You do not have to do this."
She paused for a moment, trying to think of something, anything else to say, but she all too quickly realized that she had no viable excuses or appeals as to why he
shouldn't murder her. After all, in his eyes, she had broken his heart and left him for dead. The tables had turned in his favor and it only made sense that he would seize
this opportunity to exact the ultimate form of revenge. And yet, despite all this, the hero finally did look her way, his expression softening just the slightest bit if only for a
moment as he met her eyes before his silver eyes returned to being as hard and as cold as stone once more.
"No, Zelda, he doesn't have to do this," Verona cut in rather snidely. "But he wants to. And after how much you've hurt him, is there any wonder why?"
"You mean after how much you made me hurt him!" Zelda accused, anger running high among the list of emotions that were all violently clashing inside of her. "Link! You
must listen to me! Verona only wants to steal your spirit! You have to believe me, before it's too-"
"Silence!" Verona snapped harshly, taking a quick glance over at Link, whose expression was clearly showing his inner dread this time. Fury burned within her towards the
Hylian queen for making him question her once more, which only made her thirst for her blood all the more. "We've had quite enough of your lies, haven't we, Link?"
The hero was silent for a long time, clearly at conflict with himself as he looked back and forth between Zelda and Verona. In all honesty, he didn't really know who to
believe at this point himself. But what he did know was this. He had loved Zelda and she had betrayed him. He had trusted Verona, but that trust had been shaken to the
point that it was no longer as strong as it had once been. He wanted Zelda to suffer, but he wasn't sure to what extent. He wanted to prove to Verona that he was
worthy of being the king that she was ready to hail him as, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to pay the price that came with the crown. He had killed before, but never
someone he had once cared for, someone he had once loved. Someone who was going to fight back.
But he knew that he had to chase those reservations away. After all, he had already agreed to this. There was no turning back now. "Right," he said finally, his voice
devoid of any emotion as he drew his sword in one swift, deft movement.
"Wonderful," Verona smiled in sadistic satisfaction before turning to Zelda once more, who was completely distraught over the fact that Link was actually consenting to
this. However, the Hylian queen did let out a small gasp of surprise as the icy manacles around her wrists suddenly dissipated as Verona vanished, leaving only Link and
Zelda behind.
"By the way, Zelda, you might want this!" Verona called out from somewhere up above. The Hylian queen spun around to see that the Queen of Shadows had taken a
spectator's view of the courtyard from one of the upper balconies, safe and far out of the way from the battle that was about to begin. Nonetheless, Zelda managed to
catch the Bow of Light, which had materialized through Verona's magic out of nowhere above her hands. The Hylian queen wasn't quite sure what Verona's logic was in
letting her have her sacred weapon back, but she did feel genuinely more confident about her chances against the hero with the bow in her grasp once more.
The battle commenced with little fanfare. Zelda had scarcely turned around from reclaiming her bow before seeing the burst of fire barreling her way. Thankfully, she had
the wits about her to step out of its path, but Link was already on the move, dragging the tip of the Master Sword along the snow-covered ground as he traipsed towards
her, clearly in no rush at all to get started. The Hylian queen steeled herself as she already began materializing her first light arrow, the very thought of having to physically
fight the hero like this making her ill. But if this was the only way to spare her own life, as well as secure the safety of the Triforce of Wisdom, then Zelda would do her
best to stand strong against him. After all, she was the only hope Hyrule had left.
Link was just about to launch a cluster of ice towards the Hylian queen, though he quickly found himself converting it into a thick shield in order to halt the light arrow she
had finally shot at him. However, Zelda wasn't about to let her opponent get the upper hand; she made sure to keep her distance from him and his blade as she fired
more arrows off in quick succession. The hero easily dispelled them however with a mere wave of his hand, a heavy gust of wind blowing all of the arrows off course.
"Link!" Zelda called, still trying to appeal to the hero as he sent a barrage of dagger-like ice shards her way, which she was quick to out-maneuver. "This is nonsense! You
can't honestly intend to kill me, can you?"
"I don't know," Link replied and it was half-true, though his tone was dripping with sarcasm as he drew his sword back a bit and prepared to rush forward. "You don't
honestly think you can actually beat me, do you?"
"I will if I must!" Zelda proclaimed firmly, her mind racing as the hero began bounding towards her, his blade already alight with fire. She knew she had little in the way of
defense, and so instead she acted offensively in the hopes of repelling him. Instead of using her bow this time, the queen thrust her palm out at the hero, a heavenly,
blinding light sparking from it before she let it lose in this full intensity. She knew it wouldn't do much to hurt him, which wasn't really her intention anyway, but she did
hope that it would at least distract him long enough for her to disarm him. Much to her surprise and bewilderment though, Link didn't once stop, even as the burst of light
spiraled towards him at a frightening speed. In fact, the light didn't even seem to phase him at all as he simply ran through it, dissipating the burst as he collided with it
without being harmed by it.
Though Zelda was initially absolutely confounded by this, she only had a moment to see that his pitch black cape was somehow absorbing the light before he was upon
her. Link drew his blade back as he passed by her in a blur, and though there was a slight hesitance in the flick of his wrist, he still landed a sizable cut across her upper arm
all the same. The fire on the blade also managed to leave her with quite the painful burn, though the Hylian queen bit back her cry of pain as she pressed her free hand
against her injured arm, her healing powers instantly soothing her scorched flesh and sealing up the bleeding cut.
Ice was already starting to swirl around the hero's hands as he stopped and turned towards the queen once more. However, he froze the moment he spotted the glowing
green aura surrounding Zelda's hand as she healed herself, the Triforce of Wisdom on the back of her arm glowing blue instead of gold. "No…" Link muttered to himself in
disbelief, briefly glancing down at his own Triforce piece, still illuminated in a soft green light. "It can't be…"
The hero made no moves to attack as he simply stood and watched the queen for a moment, his eyes wide and shocked as he saw her remove her hand from her
damaged arm only for there to be no signs of injury at all. "What?!" Link exclaimed hotly, his hands clenching into tight fists. "You have healing powers?!"
"Yes," Zelda said rather rigidly, having fully recovered as she stood firm once more. "Remember Link, you were not the only one blessed by the goddesses. However,
unlike you, I do not waste my
abilities on the pursuits of evil!"
"I can't believe it," the hero said in appalment, clearly having not heard a word the queen had said. "All this time… All this time, I've been struggling to keep my powers
under control. I've been doing everything I could to keep myself from starting some huge fire or ice storm or hurricane! I was practically chased out of Hyrule just because
my powers went haywire every single time I so much as felt something! But you, Zelda? Oh, it must be nice to not have to worry about any of that, right?"
"Link, what are you talking about?" Zelda asked in bewilderment, unsure of where this enraged rant had come from. The hero simply ignored her once again as he averted
her gaze and looked downwards, gripping the Master Sword tightly as a small, sardonic, slightly unhinged smirk crossing his features.
"I guess I should have seen it coming from the beginning, honestly," Link continued as he slowly began to step towards the queen once more, a burst of sweltering fire
erupting around him, instantly melting the snow in his path on contact as it bounced off his hauntingly grey eyes. "After all, the goddesses 'chose' me to be their perfect
little hero, didn't they?"
"Yes… they did…" Zelda frowned nervously, backing away from the furious hero as the flames surrounding him began to creep their way towards her. "And I thought that
was something you used to be proud of…"
"Do you really think I'd be proud of this?!" he asked, his voice raw with both pain and rage as flames finally spiked around him, pushing themselves away from him and out
towards the rest of the courtyard. Fortunately, Zelda wasn't hit by the fire in full force, though it did manage to singe some of her clothing as she leapt back away from
Link on instinct. Her eyes were wide with fear as she looked upon him, his face filled with unspeakable hatred and fury as the Twili markings upon it seemed to turn red in
response to the flames of his anger. The Master Sword was coated in a layer of icy mist, despite the immense heat radiating across the entire courtyard, which the violent
winds the hero was creating did nothing to quell it. Verona laughed in amusement to herself from her vantage point above the battlefield as she watched Link back Zelda
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