Samus and Zelda walked down the hallway on the way back to their room. The two were engaged in light conversation, discussing mostly the areas where Zelda needed improvement with her fighting skills. They arrived at the room and Samus opened the door. The lights were off and the interior of the room was so dark to eyes accustomed to the much brighter hallway that they couldn't see in. Samus took a step inside the room and was hit in the face so hard she fell back into the hallway. As she fell to the ground she hit her head on the metal railing that ran the length of the hall, hard enough to cause a clanging sound to resonate through the structure. She collapsed to the floor laying motionless.
"Samus!" Zelda screamed as she bent down to check on her friend.
"Humph, wrong one," a voice said from the darkness. It was a voice she'd heard before. A figure emerged from the room into the light of the hallway. A tall, very muscular man with olive skin and red hair, was standing over them. He was laughing with a slow deep chuckle.
"Ga...Ganondorf!" she gasped.
She stood and took off running down the hall, but she only managed to get a dozen steps before he grabbed her by the arm from behind. She was spun completely around and fell to the ground at the same time, twisting her ankle. He now stood towering over her. She scooted backwards to get away but hit up against the wall.
"No where to run my dear," he mocked.
Samus' eyes fluttered open. Lifting herself off the floor and up on to her hands and knees she let out a loud groan. She could taste blood in her mouth, and spit it angrily to the floor. "Fucking son of a bitch!" Standing up, she wobbled a bit but caught herself from falling. Her head was ringing and her vision was blurred. 'What the hell was that? Someone hit me. Where'd the bastard go?' Looking around all she could see were blobs of color. Then she heard Zelda scream.
Ganondorf reached down grabbing Zelda by her face, and lifted her up, her feet dangling a foot above the ground. She cried out in pain, and grabbed his wrist; half trying to pull him off her, half trying to support herself so that her full weight wasn't supported through her head. Ganondorf slammed her up against the wall. With his free left hand he took her left in his. "This will be mine," he said as the Triforce mark on his hand glowed with power, causing hers to resonate in kind. "Perhaps if you were to die this power would pass to me."
She tried pulling her hand away but he was far too strong. But then he just released her hand and reached down to his belt, she could hear the scrape of metal as he unsheathed a dagger. She squirmed, knowing what was coming next, and knowing she was powerless to stop it. She clenched her stomach muscles, and the anticipation of the sensation of having a blade stuck in her made her feel sick. She could see him draw his arm back.
He was about to plunge the weapon into her gut. He thrust, but his arm didn't move very far; something had caught him by his bicep and was now pulling him back and spinning him around. He was turned around just in time to only see the muzzle of Samus' arm cannon smashing into his face. The was a sickening crack as his jaw was broken. He fell to his hands and knees, with blood pouring from his mouth. Then that same cannon was brought down on the back of his head, knocking him out, and smashing his already battered face into the floor.
Samus pulled her helmet off and stood over him. As her adrenalin dissipated she again felt the pain in her head and mouth; she wiped it with her arm. Seeing blood, her anger welled up again and she kicked him hard in the ribs, and then spit blood at him. Using her foot she rolled him over onto his back, then reached down and lifted him by his collar. She placed her cannon under his chin and was contemplating whether or not to finish him off.
"Samus..." Zelda called in a faint voice. She turned to see Zelda sitting against the wall where she had fell when Ganondorf dropped her. She released Ganondorf, letting him fall back to the ground and went to help Zelda.
"You ok?" Samus knelt in front of her.
"I... think so..."
"Well, come on then." Samus stuck her hand out which Zelda grabbed, and Samus pulled her to her feet.
"Aaahh..." Zelda cried out in pain and fell to the floor again.
"What is it?"
"My ankle, I think I broke it when I fell."
"I doubt that," Samus said kneeling again beside Zelda. She took Zelda's left arm and placed it over her own shoulders, then placed her gun arm behind Zelda's back and under her right arm. Samus then placed her other arm under Zelda's knees, lifted her up, and carried her back to their room. She set Zelda down on the sofa, then stood up, put her helmet back on, then dematerialized the entire armor back into its disk shaped storage unit. Then she knelt down again in front of Zelda.
"I... I almost died," Zelda said in a whisper. The realization hit her finally as her mind had time to process the events that had just taken place. She shuttered and wrapped her arms around herself.
Samus looked up at her, and placed a hand on her knee "Let's have a look at that ankle."
"...right."
Samus rolled Zelda's dress up to her knees. She took the white stocking clad leg in hand, cradling it gently with one hand under the calf and one under the heel of her foot. She tilted the foot one way "Does this hurt?"
"No."
"This?" She tilted it another.
"No."
"How about this?" Tipping it upwards, Zelda winced.
"Ahh, yes."
"Sorry." Samus paused to consider the condition of the ankle. "I'll need to see it, can I take this off?" she said referring to the stocking. Zelda nodded. Samus first removed her shoe, and then grabbed the stockings material by the calf and tried pulling it down, but it wouldn't come. It apparently it went up pretty high. She was going to have to get it from the top. Starting at the knee she slid her fingers up Zelda's thigh searching for the top of the stocking. A quarter of the way up, nothing. Half way up, nothing. Three quarters of the way, still nothing. She went just a little higher then found the edge of the fabric. She grabbed the stocking and was about to pull it down when she stopped, realizing exactly where her hands were and the completely awkward position the two of them were in. Her mind wandered.
She shook her head. 'Not the time for those thoughts.' Then she quickly slid the stocking down Zelda's leg, taking care as she passed the ankle not to bump it. She wondered if Zelda noticed her slight pause. As she exposed the ankle she could see it was swollen and red. She placed her finger on the shin bone and felt along it. Zelda winced again as she prodded the sore area. The bone felt intact, and she concluded that the ankle had simply gotten twisted.
"It's not broken."
"Oh, that's good," Zelda said sounding relieved.
"I should put a wrap on this," she said, looking around for something to use. Seeing the discarded stocking she thought it would make a good wrap. She flattened it out on the floor making sure there were no twists or wrinkles that would dig in to Zelda's leg and be uncomfortable; she wanted a broad flat surface to it. Once that was done she proceeded to wrap it around the injury, starting just above it and working her way down to the foot putting the last few turns around the heel.
"Oh, Samus, you're bleeding!" Samus went to wipe her mouth again. "No, up here," Zelda said as she reached up to Samus' forehead. A trickle of blood started down from her hair line. "Let me see."
"It's nothing, don't worry about it."
"It's not nothing, you hit your head really hard, now let me see it." She didn't wait for Samus to respond; she just grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in close, and tipped her head down. She pulled Samus hair tie off letting out her ponytail, then started parting Samus' hair in different places, looking for the source of the blood. The hair was wet and sticky with blood, especially closer to the scalp.
As Zelda worked, Samus noticed how close she was; Zelda's face was just inches from hers and she could feel her warm breath on her skin. It blew across her cheek, and she could hear it gently rustle across her ear. Her heart beat quickened. She was also staring Zelda right in the chest; her breasts almost completely filling Samus' field of vision. She watched as they rose and fell with every breath.
"Zelda," Samus said softly. She grabbed Zelda's wrist, pulling her hand away from her head, "I can... take care of this myself."
"Are you sure?" Zelda could see Samus was blushing again.
Samus moved back away from Zelda and stood up. "Its ok, I've had far worse than this."
She went to her bed and retrieved a small white case from her bag, then went off to the bath room to treat her wound, but more so to cool off a bit. She shut the door and set the case down on the counter. She took a small device out of the case, a metallic cylinder with various buttons. She worked the controls on it while it beeped away. Then she picked through her hair to locate the cut while looking in the mirror. The hair above her forehead was soaked with blood. She found the wound and held the device up to it, a blue beam shot forth from it and she worked it over the cut. When she was satisfied the beading had stopped she just dropped the device on the counter and proceeded to undress. She jumped in the shower and turned the water on as cold as she could stand. As she put her head under the showerhead she watched the water turn red and run down her body and then down the drain.
Zelda sat on the sofa thinking about all that had happened. She was almost killed, and Samus was hurt. She felt bad about this because Ganondorf was after her and Samus was just in the way, though it was good she was there or else she would have been killed. 'Oh no, I didn't even thank her for saving my life,' she thought. 'I'll have to tell her as soon as she gets out of the shower.'
Samus had really come around and opened up to her earlier at lunch, she was definitely less antisocial than she first thought. Though she still kept a lot to herself, and Zelda could tell she was hiding a great deal of pain. She drifted back to the conversation they had at lunch; going over the things they had talked about. Then she remembered how Samus was blushing both just earlier and at lunch. 'Why is that, is she embarrassed about something she's not telling me?' After a short while Samus exited the bathroom, though this time she made sure to fully cover herself with the towel.
"Samus, I want to--"
"Here," Samus interrupted, tossing a second towel at Zelda. It was slightly damp. "For your hands."
Zelda looked down at her palms; they were covered in dried blood from touching Samus' hair. She hadn't even noticed. "Thank you... and... Thank you for before. If you had not been there I would have been killed. I'm eternally grateful and in your debt."
"It's nothing, don't worry about it," she said while getting dressed, standing behind the sofa so Zelda wouldn't see. As she was getting dressed she could hear a commotion coming from the hall. "What's that?"
After getting fully dressed she went into the hall to see that Ganondorf had attracted a crowd. There were a handful of fellow competitors as well as a pair of what she thought looked like medical staff, who were putting Ganondorf on a stretcher. Then she noticed Zelda's friend in the mix of people, he was glaring intently at Ganondorf. Before the medical personnel carted Ganondorf away she ran up to him. "Hold on, I want to talk to him," she called out to the medics.
"You know what happened to him?"
"No I don't, but he's a friend of mine and I want to make sure he's alright," she said trying to sound concerned and worried. She leaned over him, he was barely conscious. She made believe to caress his face gently, and bent down to whisper in his ear. Though she was really pressing hard on his broken jaw, she tried twisting it a little as well to make sure he really felt the pain. "If you come near me or Zelda again I WILL kill you," she said into his ear so only he could hear.
She stood and watched as they carted him off down the hall. Then she turned to Link. "Your friend is hurt, why don't you go see her."
"The princess was injured!?" he asked anxiously.
"It's nothing serious. She's in the room just down the hall. Tell her I'll be back shortly, tell her not to try walking around either," she said and started off down the hall.
"Wait," he ran up to her "Did you do that?" he said referring to Ganondorf and speaking quietly so the other people in the hall couldn't her them. She only smiled wickedly then turned and left.
------
"You're Highness, are you alright," the familiar voice came from the doorway. Zelda sat up from laying on the sofa.
"Link! Yes, I'm going to be fine, I just twisted my ankle. What happened to Samus?"
"She said she'd be back in a while. Oh and she said that you shouldn't try to walk around while you're injured."
"Oh, I wonder where she went."
"Princess, I sincerely apologize for this incident. Had I been more attentive in my duties this would not have happened, please forgive my blunder."
"Link, what are you talking about?"
"I noticed Ganondorf early this morning. This is the first time I'd ever seen him here and I thought he was up to no good. So I decided to follow him and make sure he didn't cause any trouble. But he managed to evade my watch just before lunch time."
"So that's where you've been all day... Link, you don't need to apologize, it wasn't your fault."
"But Your Highness It's my duty to protect you."
She sighed angrily 'If I wasn't a princess would you have just ignored the threat to my life' she thought but didn't say. "No, Link it's not your duty," was all she did say.
"Your Highness, I must..."
"Silence!" she ordered. He shut up instantly. She shut her eyes and sighed. She really hated doing that, but she couldn't stand him calling her that once more. "Come closer to me," she said. He moved so he was standing right next to her, "Closer." He knelt so he was at eye level with her. "Now close your eyes." He did as he was told. She then hauled off and punched him right in the mouth.
"Aaahhhh," he cried out, holding his face. There was a small amount of blood coming from his lip. Perhaps she'd over done it.
"Princess, what was that for?"
Perhaps not. She slugged him again, this time getting him in the nose, causing it to bleed as well.
"My name is Zelda!" she shouted angrily.
He just stared at her while holding his face. She took a deep breath then spoke in a more civil tone "Link, I'd like to believe that you and I are friends and not just colleagues. Is that something you agree with?" He nodded still clutching his bleeding face. "Well if you really consider me your friend then you will only ever address me by name from now on. And... I am not ordering you to do so, I am asking you as one friend to another to please call me by name. ...Ok?"
"I'm... I'm really sorry...Zelda. You asked me to before and I didn't listen, please forgive me."
"It's alright. Here..." She gave him the towel Samus had given her. "...clean yourself up." She motioned to wards the bathroom.
"Ok," he got up and started off to the bathroom, then paused halfway "I really am sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"I know. It's ok. Go on now before you get blood everywhere." And with that he went off to clean himself up.
She snuggled down into the sofa, hugging a pillow. 'Thanks again, Samus' she thought smiling, just as Samus walked in. "Oh you're back."
"Hey. You didn't try walking did you?"
"No."
"Here, let me see your leg." She held out a odd looking device, it was a cylinder with a hole through the center, there were hinges on one side of it and latches on the other. Samus split it in half, swinging it open by the hinges. Zelda extended her foot as Samus asked. Samus then clamped the device around her ankle and fastened the latches. Then hit several buttons on it. The interior diameter of the device changed to match Zelda's leg and it fit snugly around her. Then she could feel it start to tingle.
"That will help you heal faster. Just leave it on until I get back."
"You're going again?" Zelda sounded a bit anxious.
"I'm going to get some training in, then I have a couple of matches." Samus started heading out the door but when she had it open she stopped but didn't turn around "I can... stay here if you want."
"N...no, It's alright, if you have something to do, don't let me keep you."
"You'll be alright by yourself?"
"I'm not alone, Link's here, he's just cleaning up." She nodded towards the bathroom
"Alright... See you later then." Samus said then left. Zelda thought she sounded disappointed when she said that.
A little while later Link emerged from the bathroom. He had stopped bleeding but his lip looked a bit swollen. He walked over to where Zelda sat and stood behind the sofa. "Was that Samus who was just here." he asked.
"Yeah, she put this thing on me, and said it would make me heal faster."
She motioned for him to come and sit with her. He circled the sofa and sat beside her.
"I'm sorry I hit you."
"I guess I kind of deserved it, I should have heard what you were saying to me."
"Don't worry about it anymore... Link, could you stay with me the rest of the evening, at least until Samus gets back?"
"Zelda?"
"I just... don't want to be alone. Ganondorf almost... he almost killed me..."
"Sure, I can stay as long as you want," he said leaning back on the sofa and putting his feet up on the table. He grabbed the remote for the TV and clicked it on. "I'm not going anywhere."
For the rest of the day and into the night they watched TV and talked about old times together: How they first met when they were children, and the troubles they went through with Ganondorf taking over Hyrule. But it was after that, when all was peaceful again, that they really got to know each other. Link would come to visit every few days, usually at her request. They'd spend the day talking or strolling through the castle gardens. Her attendants even let her out of the castle without a proper escort if the legendary hero was accompanying her.
Late that night as they sat watching a movie, Zelda gazed over at Link. She was reminded of why she had been interested in him; he was fearless, honest, had a righteous sense of justice, and he was never too busy to help others no matter how big or small their problem. He was all around a great guy. But she just didn't feel that way about him, and of course he was involved with someone else back home. Yet she did care about him and at this moment she felt closer to him than she ever had previously, especially since she had finally gotten him to call her by name. She slid over on the sofa until she was right next to him, leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. This shocked his attention away from the movie.
"Zelda...what..." He tensed up, not knowing what her intentions were.
"You don't mind, right?" she said softly while wrapping both her arms around one of his.
"...no..." Slowly he began to relax "...I don't mind."
She had longed for this, not with Link, but in general, this closeness with someone, though she hadn't realized it until now. It was something that was missing from her life. She wanted someone... to care for, and to comfort her, to be there for her when she needed, someone to hold, to love, and to share her life with. She wished Link could be that person. It would have been so easy to fall for him; the legendary hero who saved their land and the fair princess together; plus the bond they had both being bearers of the Triforce. It made perfect sense on paper. But he wasn't that person, she just didn't love him. She had tried to though, tried to force herself to have those kinds of feelings for him. But she couldn't and she didn't know why, and that bothered her a little. Though perhaps it was for the best, she was fairly certain he was in love with the girl he was involved with back home, and she wouldn't want to have gotten in the way.
But it would have been so easy. As it stood her prospects didn't seem very good at all. Her chief advisor was continually producing suitors for her; as by law she couldn't become queen if she was unwed. All had been nobles and practically clones of each other; all she disliked intensely. She couldn't stand to meet one more. And the idea of her with a commoner was beyond improbable. Where and when would she ever meet one, and even if she did the awkwardness of the difference in their social status would scare most away. It would have been so easy to be with Link. She squeezed his arm a bit tighter. Whether it be commoner or noble, the fact remained that she would almost certainly be treated like the princess she was, indeed that would likely be the entire reason they'd be with her in the first place. It was an inescapable fact of her life, she was the monarch of her kingdom, and that is how everyone would see her, everyone except... Why couldn't they be more like Samus; she didn't care one iota about something as irrelevant as social status. Zelda drifted off to sleep with these thoughts running through her head.
"Zelda, you asleep?" He didn't get a response so he figured she was. He turned the volume down on the TV a few notches so it wouldn't disturb her, then sat quietly watching the rest of his movie with her still clinging to his arm. He felt himself getting drowsy as well and several times he noticed he had missed some pieces of dialog from the movie. Though when the door opened he became fully alert, as Samus entered.
"Shhh, she's asleep," he whispered to her. She just nodded in acknowledgment.
He gently slid his arm from Zelda's grasp, then stood up while still propping her up with his arms. Once he was standing he slowly lowered her head to the sofa. She stirred a bit but didn't wake. He was anxious to get out of there now; he hadn't been all that comfortable with Zelda hanging on to him like that. And he was even less comfortable hanging around Samus, especially in what was essentially her personal space, as he found her quite intimidating, even without the armor.
"Well I'm going to go now, goodnight Samus." He stood there seeming to think a bit. "Thank you for helping her," he said, then he turned to leave.
"Hold on," she stopped him.
"What is it?" He was now more than a bit nervous.
"You know her better than me. Is she...I mean, has she ever... shown interest in another girl."
"Huh?" It took him a second to get her meaning, "What! N... no. I mean, I never noticed... why... why are you even asking?"
"Never mind, forget it."
He quickly left without another word.
Samus walked over to where Zelda slept. She inspected the device on her leg, its display indicating its job had been completed. She unlatched and removed it from Zelda's leg and set it aside. She watched Zelda as she slept, she looked so peaceful, a stark contrast from her own life. She bent down and lifted Zelda up as she had done before, though without the armor this time; Zelda felt so warm in her arms. As she stood up Zelda wrapped her arms around Samus and nuzzled her face into her neck, let out a gentle sigh and muttered Samus' name, though still fast asleep. Samus damn near dropped her as the strength left her limbs, though she did managed to hold on and maintain her composure.
She carried Zelda over to her bed and set her down in it, though as she did Zelda half woke up, her arms still around Samus' neck. "Samus? What... time..." She muttered.
"It's late."
"Link... where did... happened to...?"
"He just left. Go back to sleep," Samus whispered as she pulled herself away. She watched as Zelda fell back to sleep then pulled the covers over her. 'So peaceful.' Samus reached out to caress her face, but quickly withdrew her hand before making contact. She returned to her own bed fell onto it and was out like a light in seconds.
End Part Five
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