It's been days since your encounter with Myra and her crazed village, and fortunately you and Link's journey from there has been quite smooth. Facing the occasional group of monsters was never an issue, and you managed to cover quite a bit of ground. Signs began appearing on the roads that pointed in the direction of Zora's Domain, and this made you excited.

A lot had happened since the last Divine Beast, and you were quite ready to see the Domain- you had read up on it, and the many descriptions of it proved that it was nothing short of gorgeous. Every sign you passed saying Zora's Domain- Straight Ahead made your excitement grow tenfold.

Link was in a much better mood today than he had been since the whole Myra-incident. He slowly opened back up to you, and was back to his normal self again. The ordeal had certainly taken a lot out of him, this much was clear, but now it seemed to be behind him.

Over the past few nights, however, Link had gotten into the odd habit of grabbing your hand as he did the night of the incident, as he went to bed. He would do so when he thought you were asleep- he'd move his bedding closer to yours, get under the covers, and reach out and find your hand. He'd clutch onto your hand as if it were a lifeline.

You didn't bring it up, however, knowing that he'd stop immediately after you'd ask. He didn't know that it helped you sleep as well.

"Get ready," you heard Link say, pulling you from your thoughts. Coming back to your senses and tensing up, you looked at Link. He was looking dead ahead, a determined look in his eyes. He was holding a spear in one hand and Epona's reins in the other. Following his gaze quickly, you saw a small group of Bokoblins, all on horseback. There were seven of them; three holding bows with fire arrows ready, three holding spears, and one holding a short, stout club.

The land between you was rocky. The dirt road led to a wooden bridge that crossed over a river that no doubt was running from Zora's Domain. Readying a spear yourself, you glanced at Link. He met your eyes, his lips forming a mischievous smile, before he kicked into Epona. You followed suit, your mare easily catching up and keeping pace with Epona.

The monsters screeched and followed your lead, charging towards you. The archers went at a slower pace than those with the spears and the one with the club, stopping well before the bridge. You and Link leaned forward on your mares, your charges remaining unyielding and unflinching as they raced towards other horses.

The fastest horse- carrying on its back one of the Bokoblins with a spear- reached you first and reached for Link first, to which Link merely swerved away. You stabbed the Bokoblin as easily as if it was only a dummy used for jousting practice. Link caught up with you, offering you a smile before tossing you one end of a length of rope.

Catching it in one hand, shifting the spear to the other, you held onto it confusedly. What am I supposed to do with this?

Your question was answered almost immediately as the next Bokoblin; another with a spear- ran past you. Startled, you nearly dropped the rope, but instead pulled back on it in shock (pulling it taut) and the Bokoblin's neck met the rope. It fell backwards, off the horse that continued to run, now free from the monster.

Your mouth hung open in shock- had Link really planned that out? Shaking your head to rid yourself of your surprise, you steadied your grip on the spear and continued on towards the next monster. Link took to the right, where the last of the spear-wielding monsters was approaching from.

You slowed, let Link pass you, and then took to the left, towards the one with the club. Speeding up significantly, you passed Link again and maneuvered Nayru to the right slowly. As you neared the monster, time seemed to slow down as you leaned to the left and shoulder-checked the monster, sending it flying over the railing and into the river below.

The horse it was on- now free- whinnied happily as if thanking you as it raced towards the other two horses. You gradually brought Nayru to a stop, letting her take a moment to breathe. Twisting in the saddle, you checked on Link. He was engaged in a fast-paced battle with the monster, but he seemed more than anything to just be humoring it. As the monster thrusted the weapon towards him, Link simply blocked and parried, an indulgent smile on his face.

His love for fighting had returned, apparently.

Link, noticing that you were waiting for him, met your eyes and continued to parry the monster's blow. He sent you a playful wink and you fake yawned, laying back in the saddle to show how bored you were waiting for him. Link rolled his eyes and got the monster through the heart, letting it fall off the horse that promptly ran off.

Link turned Epona and came towards you when a fire arrow suddenly struck the wood boards between you. Setting the board aflame, you and Link didn't have to think twice before spurring your horses into action towards the closest end of the bridge.

Another arrow struck the spot where you just were and you hurriedly took out your bow before they could do any more damage. Link was right next to you, about half a pace back, taking out his own scarcely-used bow as well.

Usually, he was a terrible shot. When under pressure, however, his aim was as true as yours. Fire arrows were falling everywhere now- it was as if the monsters were aiming to take the whole bridge down instead of actually shooting you. Grabbing an arrow, you lined up your shot quickly and as Nayru leapt over an empty space where the boards had already given out, you released the arrow. It found its mark in the eyeball of one of the creatures.

Epona leapt over the space as well, but instead of landing easily, you heard a loud crack and an ear-piercing scream from her. Stopping Nayru abruptly, you leapt off of her and ran back. One of her hind legs had broken through a weak beam, making her panic. You grabbed her reins right by her bridle and held her head still. Link slid off of the saddle and the two of you carefully began to help her pull her leg out.

Once she was safe, you noticed her leg was covered in cuts, and decided that she couldn't be ridden. Hitting her flank firmly, she neighed and ran off, limping slightly but still charging forwards. There was no one clear way through the fire now- the flames were growing larger by the second and you could see Nayru grow anxious. You grabbed Link's wrist and ran to her, only letting go of him to get into the saddle. Grabbing his hand, you helped him up behind you and kicked into her sides with your heels.

There was no time to think about where you were going- if you saw a small window of opportunity; you took it before it was engulfed by flame. Link had his bow out again and was preparing another arrow. There was only one archer left- before Epona had broken through the board, he had managed to hit his target just as well as you did.

The horse the Bokoblin was on shifted uncomfortably on its feet seeing the fire. Its ears were flattened and it took a step back before the monster kicked into its side. The horse was guided in a large circle going away from you initially. You finally reached the end of the bridge and made it onto solid ground again. Glancing behind you and around Link briefly, you watched with wide eyes as it was engulfed in flame.

It was truly fortunate that there were other bridges crossing the river not too far away, and that only you had been crossing that one in particular at that moment the attack started. You counted your blessings for that much before returning your focus to the ongoing fight.

Turning Nayru to follow after the monster, you kept her steady as Link lined up the shot. Ducking down slightly, you heard the whiz of the arrow fly past your ear and watched- as if in slow motion- as it made its way into the heart of the monster it was intended for. The horse gratefully galloped off.

Link whistled as Nayru slowed to a walk, calling for his mare. She whinnied from where she was standing, under a tree a few yards away. You guided Nayru over, and the mares greeted each other quietly as Link got off, followed by you. You examined her injuries closely, finding that there were a few deep cuts, but nothing major. A little rest would do her a lot of good.

You bandaged her leg up, took the heavy packs off of her, and put the gear on Nayru. "I'm sorry, girl," you said. "You just have to carry all of the stuff until Epona is better, alright?" Taking a carrot out of a pack, you gave it to her and she ate it gratefully. She nudged you with her snout, as if letting you know that is was ok.

Smiling at her, you stroked her neck as Link finished strapping his packs to her saddle. Link stood next to you, stroking her nose. "Sorry about having to ride you earlier," he said with a smile, "and for making you carry my stuff." Nayru snorted and took a strand of his hair between her teeth, tugging on it. "Hey, let that go!" Laughing, you watched as your horse continued to mess with Link.

When Link looked at you, evidently confused at the behavior, you simply shrugged. "I guess she learned that from me."

---

You never were one to panic. Not since your first few fights had you panicked. Fights with Bokoblins were easy, predictable, and able to be manipulated. If a fight wasn't going your way, it was easy to change the course of it. The monsters- whatever their rank- were not as smart as a human, much less a Hylian. They certainly weren't smarter than you.

You had nearly panicked this time around- but why? Because Link's life was in danger was what you decided on as your answer. This justified it, but didn't satisfy you.

Link's life was so much more important to you for you to just blindly panic- you needed to keep your wits about you. You couldn't risk panicking next time, lest you allow an opportunity for yourself or Link to get hurt.

The feeling of panicking was one that you hated and you were sure you'd never get used to it. This is why you vowed never to let yourself panic again.

---

"Same plan as always?"

You nodded, already way ahead of him. The familiar feel of the feathered end of an arrow met your fingertips and you grabbed one, the weight of it feeling like nothing in your hand. Spinning it between your fingers slightly, you scanned the camp searchingly for a suitable first target- one that was unsuspecting, isolated...after a moment, you found one, sleeping by itself.

Link prepared the Master Sword, the blade seeming like an extension of his arm instead of its own object. Glancing at you once more for confirmation that you were ready, you gave him a curt nod and a smile before he slid down the small slope into their camp and readied his sword for the ambush.

In the blink of an eye, Link was in the middle of the camp, already engaged in combat with three red Bokoblins. You shot and killed three more by the time Link was done with his three and onto the next batch. Changing positons, you found a better vantage point and continued from there.

Keese soon entered the fray, diving towards Link. You shot them down before they could, and it was almost painfully easy as they lined themselves up to dive one-by-one. More Keese emerged from a nearby cage- the stupid things- their glowing eyes and excited squeaking giving their positions away easily. Pinning their small bodies with arrows, you did away with them easily and found that Link was still taking care of the bipedal monsters below.

He was facing quite a few now. Five were gathered around him as seven others were on standby or readying their weapons. Reaching behind yourself, you felt a slight twang of nervousness strike your stomach upon feeling no arrows. You had only grabbed your normal ones, not wanting to waste your special ones. Cursing to yourself, you took out a sword and slid down the slope as he did.

Grabbing your shield from under your feet, you prepared yourself for combat. One of the monsters charged at you but you ducked under its ham-fisted attempt to cut your head off and sliced its head off in return. Another monster approached from behind you (not being very quiet), so you swung your leg behind you, kicking it in the stomach, before twisting around and slicing it clean through the chest.

Two approached from your right, so you got out an axe and spun, getting enough momentum to swing the axe and effectively cut the heads off of the two monsters. The axe was nearly broken at this point, not surprisingly, so you threw it at another approaching monster. It broke on impact, and the monster's pained cries let you know that it was dead.

Wiping your forehead with your sleeve, you took a deep breath and looked for Link. He was absolutely surrounded right now- this camp was huge- and your eyes widened. Link was parrying blows from all around him, twisting and turning as fast as he could, but even with his skill, he couldn't keep up with hits from ten uncoordinated attacks from monsters. He took a hit in the side- in the ribs- that would surely bruise. One swung for his feet and cut his leg, and just seeing the amount of blood leaving his leg already made you want to run to him.

Your heart pounded in your chest. Your blood ran cold in your veins. Your tongue went dry in your mouth. Your limbs were numb and you didn't know what to do.

Shaking your head, you shook yourself out of it and picked up some arrows from the ground. Some Bokoblin should have dropped them. They happened to be regular arrows, but that was enough for you. Grabbing your bow, you strung an arrow and lined up a shot with one of the monsters about to deliver a blow to his head. Killing it, its weapon fell to the ground, useless.

You did this until you were onto your last arrow. Your breaths quickened as your fingers curled around the last arrow, the familiar feel of the feathers bringing no comfort to you. There were still so many of them, and Link was getting tired, as were you. Not that that mattered to you- Link came before you. You would fight until your last breath, as long as it meant Link would be alright.

Lining up your last shot, you controlled your breathing. You had to make this last shot count, before you'd be left with only your close-combat weapons. Just as you were about to release the arrow, your eyes focused on something bright and blue, just on the outside of your vision. Ignoring the light from the fire and floating embers from torches, you saw the bright blue of one of Link's glowing bombs. It rolled across the ground as monsters kicked it, without having so much of a second thought as to what was at their feet.

Link leapt over the heads of the monsters behind him, getting him farther away from the bomb. Adjusting your aim, you made sure Link was well out of its blast radius. As you inhaled slowly, you let go of the arrow. The bomb was right behind the bulk of the group. Your arrow hit its mark. Link was well out of the way.

The bomb went off, causing a bright blue explosion and a cloud of dust and dirt. Red limbs flew everywhere; decapitated bodies fell to the ground lifeless. The noise was deafening. Your ears rang, but that was only because you were too close to the bomb. You thought you were just out of its range...

You were thrown back. The ground was hard and cold. Nearby bomb barrels blew up as well, but those didn't affect you. There was more fire in the camp now. Your head felt like it had suddenly gained thousands of pounds. Lifting it slowly, you opened your eyes and looked for Link. Your vision was blurry and everything seemed dark.

You could see Link- he was ok.

You lowered your head back down to the ground. You didn't see any monsters as you looked for Link. You had done it- you'd saved him.

Rapidly approaching footsteps should have alarmed you but for whatever reason, they didn't. Your curiosity got the better of you, so you forced your eyes open. Someone was very close. It was Link, you found. Smiling at him gently, you could faintly feel him lift your head up and put his other arm over your stomach. That hurt too.

So did your legs, and your arms. Hylia, your whole body hurt. Even your heart, as you saw tears in Link's eyes.

The ringing seemed to stop, but just for a moment...it did it again...

"(Y/n)," Link called desperately. You didn't respond to his calling of your name, because you couldn't distinguish your own name from the ringing. "(Y/n)," he tried again. "Please, say something!"

He seemed to be worried about something. Was he worried about you, perhaps?

Summoning your voice, you spoke. "Link," you said quietly. He leaned in to hear you better. "I did it, I helped you. I saved you, I did..." You had more to say, you really did, but you couldn't think of the words to use.

You hoped he understood what you meant to say in what little you said.

Author's Note: Told y'all a storm was coming. Get the fudge ready. You thought Myra was bad? Well then, all I have to say is...yikes.

See you all in the next update. ;)