Loving Zelda, A Story of Change, Reluctantly Told
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Available to ship in days. Walking K Jan 01, Only 1 left in stock - order soon. Available for immediate download. Paperback , Audio CD. Heat Sync Jan 01, The Fund Jan 01, The Fund by Wes DeMott Only 2 left in stock - order soon. Vapors Apr 14, Provide feedback about this page. There's a problem loading this menu right now. But neither of their smiles lasted as they turned towards the unmoving man. Only a week ago, an assassination attempt on Queen Zelda took place by the unruly, malcontent minions of Ganondolf and Zant that remained scattered and few in-between in Hyrule.
They seized their chance when she was alone one night in the city citadel, taking a late night stroll and guarded only by one soldier.
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He fought bravely, shielding Zelda from the onslaught of swords, arrows, clubs and axes, taking any hit and damage meant for her with all the ferocity of a beast protecting his mate. But as valiant and strong as he was, even the Hero of Twilight could not have predicted one lone archer who aimed a black arrow towards the two. By now, the sound of swords clashing and the unholy shrieks of the fallen minions drew a crowd of soldiers. They had not been prepared to see Link lying unconscious, cradled in the arms of a frantic Zelda with a black arrow buried deep in his chest.
At the sight of the arriving soldiers, the rest of the monsters fled back to the darkness where they came from, leaving only the sound of a desperate wail of a heartbroken woman. Ilia, having heard the news from Telma's bar, had only arrived to the medical wing to hear a grief-stricken healer tell Zelda that the black arrow was coated with a poison that caused the Hero of Twilight to fall into a deep unconscious state and it would be only a matter of time until the poison reached his heart and lungs, eventually causing his organs to fail.
Zelda's eyes were devoid of all emotion as she thanked the healer for his time. She then turned to Ilia, asking her politely to remain with Link until she returned. How long she would be gone for, she was uncertain but she would appreciate it someone close to Link would be there with him if he happened to wake.
Ilia hurried to agree. Later that morning, Hyrule's soldiers were sent out to all corners of Hyrule, hunting down all those who were involved with the attack on the queen.
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The queen herself proclaimed that this assassination attempt would not be taken lightly and retribution would be swift. What she didn't say — and what Ilia had suspected — was that those who caused grievous harm to Link would pay for doing such a thing. Over the next few days, Ilia, who remained by Link's side, only heard from the gossiping servants, guards and healers what had transpired outside the castle walls. She brought her sword and bow with her, like a goddess of war. As an act of revenge for vanquishing their masters and slaying so many of their kin.
Some soldiers said they saw her cut his legs and arms apart before shooting her own arrows at his chest and throat as revenge for harming the Hero. The queen is riding back alone to the castle to give it to him as we speak!
Ilia initially dismissed those gossips as rumours and idle talk. But until she had seen Zelda rushing into Link's room, roughly shoving the vial of the antidote into the shocked healer's hands, her golden hair dishevelled and out of place, her boots sending puffs of sand through the air, her sleeves torn and frayed — and was that a smudge of blood at the hem of her skirt?
But that was three days ago and Link still hadn't woken.
Some colour was returning to his cheeks, slowly but surely and his lips were not as blanched. The healers assured that the antidote was working splendidly and they believed the Hero's body needed rest and time to recover from such a heavy injury. Zelda came when she was able to, when she was finished her duties and concluded those long, tedious council meetings as the head of state, even when everyone could tell she wished for nothing more than to sit at Link's bedside until he woke. She glanced over at Link, her gaze softening slightly. Ilia wished she had half the amount of confidence Zelda carried.
It was hard when hour after hour, day after day, it appeared there was little change to Link's condition. But as she watched Zelda tenderly brush a few stray strands from Link's face, her eyes committing to memory each and every line and crease on his face, she knew that Zelda would have waited forever if that was what it took for Link to wake up. And almost immediately, she regretted the words leaving her mouth.
Zelda did not answer right away.
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Her hand remained frozen by Link's cheek. He is one of the most admirable and kindest men I have come across, a respectable and loyal soldier of Hyrule whose bravery is unlike any I have seen, and one whom I consider a dear friend and a close companion. A part of Ilia almost wanted to laugh at Zelda's roundabout confession. For a queen who was so wise, it seemed Zelda was a bit lacking in understanding the concept of love. It was then that Ilia realized that Zelda's hesitation was not because she did not love Link Zelda's earlier actions had proven far more credible than her current answer but because she feared that Link did not reciprocate or that he did the very thought squeezed Ilia's heart but did not wish to be tied to the life of royalty.
Loving Zelda - Wes DeMott, author.
And if Link chose not to bear the weight of being a royal consort, Zelda would have marry another noble to secure the royal bloodline, even if her heart belonged to another. How sad it was, being forced to put duty and the kingdom before her own heart. Ilia felt a stab of pity for Zelda. She had always pictured how those fairytales would end with the princess and her knight living happily ever after but reality was a cruel reminder that things were hardly that simple.
She took to arranging Link's blankets, needlessly smoothing out the creases. An implication to let the subject drop. Heat rose to Ilia's cheeks and she wasn't sure if it was in mortification that she was acting like this in front of a queen or in indignation that neither she or Zelda acted upon their feelings for the same man, and that said man had not acted on his feelings either and were the three of them going to be stuck in this confounding, exasperating cycle? She opened her mouth, but whatever she was about to say, the words were lost the moment Link began to stir.
Strong, beautiful and determined too. I could see why Link would be smitten by her. If she had been cruel or daft, she would have been much more easier to hate. Telma, the only one who knew of Ilia's feelings for Link, nodded at her sympathetically. It was hard not to, when the contrast between the two of them was blatantly obvious. Some good, some bad. It takes time to sort things out. And so, eventually, Ilia found herself grabbing an umbrella and taking a walk in Castle Town, where rain had been pouring down the last two days, to think of other things.
Walking in the city was able to soothe Ilia's frayed thoughts. Here, she could concentrate on the yapping dogs racing around the corners, the shop owners calling to the passing people to purchase their goods and the musicians blaring out their songs despite the rain. Today, she came across a different path, one that led to the outskirts of Castle Town's famous botanical gardens. Most people would rather see the numerous blossoming flowers and rare exotic plants located in the main central area but Ilia wanted to see the bridges and streams where the rain would dance across the waters, certain that the sight would be calming.
For a little while, Ilia walked along the pathway, drinking in the colours of the tree leaves that stood out vibrantly against the rain and fog. Until she saw in the distance, a familiar couple standing upon a bridge. It was Link and Zelda, each holding an umbrella, bathed in the raindrops. They had been spending even more time together since Link made a full recovery, hardly apart from each other.
When they took their many strolls together, Zelda often took Link's elbow, looping her own arm around, using that as the excuse of allowing their arms and shoulders to touch. When Link greeted her or bide her farewell, he gifted Zelda with a tender kiss to her offered hand and if he believed no one was looking, he would sneak a second kiss to her knuckles. Were the goddesses mocking her? Out of all the people she could have seen in the city, she ran into the two that she was most reluctant to encounter.
She should have left then, turned back where she came from, but some odd reason, she found herself transfixed on the two of them. I Agree This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and if not signed in for advertising. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms. See Wes Demott's author page. Members with WesDeMott's books This information is loading. Loading may take as much as a minute if it hasn't been updated recently. WesDeMott Collections Your library 6 Reviews 2 reviews Tags thriller 3 , political 2 , bi-polar 1 , Love 1 , assassins 1 , devotion 1 , writing 1 , contemporary fiction 1 , loss 1 , literary agent 1 — see all tags Media Book 6 , Paper Book 4 , Ebook 2 About me Wes DeMott was born in Oregon in , but moved soon afterward to Guam.
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