A silence fell over the cavern as Link finished speaking. Nobody dared to say anything. He didn't speak either, he knew he didn't have to repeat himself. Villia squinted in confusion, watching Link cautiously for a few moments, before responding.

"You want to ask me something?" she asked, her snark gone. But it then returned when she continued. "I thought you said you weren't one for small talk."

Link scowled. "Well, I ain't the one with a sword pointed at my throat, so maybe ya should just answer my damn question," he said.

"Then go ahead, Renier," Villia said.

Link laughed humorlessly. The only thing he didn't mind about the Gerudo was their wit, as it matched his own. "If Daemos wants the Gerudo to be respected an' all that shit, why don't ya actually do it instead of givin' us more reasons to ignore ya?" he asked.

Villia's face fell, becoming blank before slight anger ruptured across it. "You're seriously asking that?" At Link's silence, she gritted her teeth. "You're just as blind as the rest of them. Have you not seen what we've been trying to do?"

"As ya attack us? As ya keep goin' on like y'have for decades?" Link said.

"Because you attack us!" Villia retorted. "How can we be respected when you don't give us a chance? It's difficult to act friendly when you always have knives leveled at your throat." She looked pointedly at the Master Sword. "We can only apologize so many times!"

Link scoffed. "I've met plenty of Gerudo who could say the opposite of ya. Nearly had my throat slit by one when I was twelve 'cause I had somethin' she wanted."

Villia seemed disgusted. "That's awful..." she muttered. "But not all Hylians are unified, and neither is every Gerudo. Not everyone stands with the king, and they can be as much our enemies as anyone else who attacks us. We do nothing but try to protect Hyrule, yet we are cut down for it." Her words were drenched with poison as she spoke them.

"Don't make this seem like ya did nothin' 'ere," Link said. "Your guard tried to choke me."

Villia smirked. "You're not wrong. We did do something wrong, but so did you. Yet at the same time, neither of us did. After all, this could be seen as self-defense on both sides! We're all guilty and innocent, funny how that works."

Now Link was the confused one as Villia began to chuckle, shaking her head as she did so. It was enough that the tip of the Master Sword nicked her throat and drew a bead of blood. She didn't seem to notice or care though.

"I swear this entire kingdom is losing its mind, day by day!" she snickered. "I suppose violence might be the only way to knock some sense into you all, though I'm too much of a coward to even think of hurting something on my own will."

For a Gerudo, this was a horrendous lie. "But again, ya attacked us," Link said.

"Again, after you initiated it!" Villia countered, grinning widely. "We want no part in this, not any of it. But as a guard, you can do nothing but follow orders and watch it all go to hell in a handbasket. We all wish there was more we could do, but some things just remain out of our reach." Her laughter died as her shoulders slouched. "I'm sure any apologies are useless to you. But a guard, even a captain, truly is useless without orders." She paused. "Go ahead, kill me. But if you do, please spare my subordinates."

Link frowned. "You're willin' to die?" he asked.

"We all agreed that we don't want to face the wrath of the king, but I don't want to condemn them to death," she said. Her gaze grew distant, like she was somewhere else. "I never thought I'd say this, but we're afraid of what His Majesty would do, even if we're nothing more than pawns to him now."

Link hesitated. He'd never been asked something so... bleak before.

Villia's gaze softened. "A-and please, help the Scizor, or at least leave them be," she added. "They were acting on my orders, this isn't their fault. Unlike us, they have a chance to survive in this world beyond the castle. If we fled, we'd be considered traitors like you all."

Link's grip on the hilt tightened. She'd admitted to it, she'd openly admitted what she did was wrong. Everything in his mind and spirit screamed in protest. They begged for him to kill her. After all, she had admitted she was wrong. Yet his heart ached with pity of all things, and it made his anger flare into an inferno.

He spared the others a glance. Fear along with a cautious hope filled Zelda's eyes as she clutched her injured wrist to her chest. Meanwhile, Resa and Fira watched on in pure shock and fear. But Luce was awake now, gazing at him in steely ambivalence. They all were waiting for Link's decision, and his skin began to crawl from the feeling of so many eyes on him.

Link looked back to Villia, his head rushing. Her words still stuck with him, and his hands began to tremble. He couldn't ignore how she would rather die than face Daemos. That wasn't loyalty, that was fear. And the Scizor, she admitted their actions weren't their fault. She cared about them.

"Perhaps don't be so quick to judge them next time. Just consider it."

Zelda's words came to him, striking him like yet another blow. Was this another fluke? It had to be, it couldn't be anything else, right? Right? That word spiraled through Link's mind. Right? Right? Right? He was managing his pride better, he knew he wasn't wrong. Right?

Wrong. It couldn't be, not when there was so much going against it.

Link raised the sword from Villia's neck before staggering to his feet. He wrapped an arm around his chest, choking back a groan as his broken ribs protested. His head spun wildly, and he had to use the sword as a crutch to keep from toppling over.

Villia slowly sat up. "You aren't going to do it?"

What was actually wrong with him? Why was he doing this? "I-I don't know..!" he muttered, struggling to keep his anger in check. "But we're gonna leave 'fore I change my mind." He spared her another look. "And ya better prove it."

Villia's brows lifted in confusion and surprise. "Excuse me?"

"Ya heard me!" Link spat. "Prove that ya can actually be better, for your sake."

She seemed stunned but quickly recovered, rising to her feet. "We'll try our damndest, Renier," she said with a nod. "We Gerudo are a people of our word. Only death would break it."

"I'll believe it when I see it," he said. He couldn't believe what he'd just said. It made him feel vile, just utterly sick. But it was true, he'd only believe it when he saw it. Until then, it was circumstance and Zelda's words that kept him from slitting Villia's throat. A loud and abrupt fluttering of feathers just then made Link tense before daring to look away from Villia.

That flying Rattata had come back.

Iigo stood nearby with a trio of other Rito. "I've returned, and I brought assistance!" Iigo crowed. "I had actually gone to Rito Village since I do have a few allies there along with some Rito-Sheikah who were stationed there as well."

Link couldn't care less about the help then. Just seeing Iigo made him livid. Forget being calm, not yelling, this was different. "Iigo, ya son of a bitch!" Link roared. "How the hell could ya leave us like that? We could've gotten killed, ya bastard!"

Iigo looked taken aback, though Link couldn't see why. "I could leave you all right now, you know that?" Iigo said icily.

Link scoffed. "Like ya... didn't before!" His shaking legs gave out, and he slumped onto his knees, still clutching the Master Sword. It was the only thing keeping him up now as dizziness and exhaustion dragged him down.

"Rio!" Luce was next to him a moment later, wrapping his arm around her neck for support. Link had so many things to say, but pulling in breaths was more important to him then.

Zelda approached Iigo, saying, "I'm sorry, Iigo. I won't say he doesn't mean it, but he just had to make an... extremely taxing decision." Link hated that she was speaking for him, though if he continued, he would've just spat something worse. Then her voice turned sharp. "But you were an ass for leaving us like that! I might have broken my wrist, Luce likely has a concussion, and Link definitely broke some of his ribs!"

"Then it's a good thing I brought backup," Iigo said. Zelda's glare speared him as she clenched her good hand into a fist. Iigo's feathers ruffled, clearly intimidated. "Alright, fine, I'm sorry," he huffed.

"Are you sure we should help them?" one of the other Rito asked hesitantly.

Iigo waved him off with a wing. "No, no, it's... fine," he said.

Zelda then seemed to realize something. She turned to Villia, who had made her way over to the Scizor Resa had attacked. "Wait, do you need any help?" Zelda asked. Link grimaced but didn't speak up. That was just how she was, no matter the person.

Villia shook her head. "Go ahead and leave us," she said. She dropped down next to the Scizor and began to assess the damage to the remnants of its arm. "We brought our own medical supplies with us, it should be enough until we get back to Rito Village."

"Are you sure?" Zelda pressed.

"Do you want to risk yourselves getting caught? Then that answers your question," Villia said, beginning a hasty bandaging job.

Resa hesitantly moved closer to Villia, bowing. I'm so, so sorry, she apologized.

Villia didn't look at Resa when she responded. "I won't accept your help, but I won't do anything to you either. Just get out of here before the others wake up."

"With pleasure," Iigo said. "Now, let's figure out how we'll do this..."

—~*~—

Link grimaced as the healer's fingers lightly prodded his chest, wincing when they contacted one of the ribs he knew for a fact was broken. He'd already grazed over other broken spots, and the continuous pain had chipped away Link's defenses and let some weakness seep through.

The healer paused, glancing at Link, who averted his gaze. He already felt uncomfortable enough as it was. The Sheikah then pressed down, earning a pathetic yelp that was quickly stifled by Link biting his tongue.

"Does that hurt?" the Sheikah asked, frowning.

The hell do ya think? Link almost said but bit down harder instead. It was only when the taste of blood began to fill his mouth did he choke out a reluctant, "Yeah."

The healer sighed, adjusting his glasses. "You shouldn't hide your pain. It might lead to me underestimating the extent of your injuries," he said. "If I'm hurting you, I'll try to be more gentle." He looked at Paya, who was standing beside him, observing with her hands covering her mouth. "You should be doing this, Paya, not me. You haven't had to deal with broken ribs."

"N-no, it's fine," she squeaked. "I'm worried I'll m-mess something up." Even with most of her face obscured by her fingers, Link could see that her face was red. He didn't get how she was supposed to be a healer herself if she could hardly look at a man's bare chest without getting flustered. At least she had done a good enough job splinting Zelda's wrist and stitching Link's sword wound. It stung fiercely as he lay on his back.

The flight back to Kakariko took almost six hours, though it had felt like days to Link. It was thanks to Fira that nobody had fallen off, and Link knew he had to thank him for paying special attention to Luce.

"Perhaps four broken ribs, and some are fractured as well," the healer mused as he finished up the examination. "Compared to that, that slash across your side is nothing."

"Glad to know that ain't the real problem," Link hissed through clenched teeth. Apparently in Kakariko there weren't any Audino, Alomomola or any other Pokémon that had access to Heal Pulse. He had no clue how he or Zelda were supposed to heal in a reasonable amount of time.

"We'll start Ingrain treatment tonight, since I know you need to leave soon," the healer said. "Paya, could you go fetch one of the Roselia?" The Sheikah woman nodded before leaving.

"Ingrain treatments?" Link repeated, confused.

"We'll have to make a small incision on your arm so the roots can, well, take root. Establishing another rooting location allows energy to be transferred to you. You don't have to worry, Roselia will put you to sleep beforehand so you won't feel anything."

It was hard for Link to not grimace at the description alone. He wasn't the squeamish type, but just imagining roots invading his body was enough to make his stomach squirm. But if it would heal him faster, then he'd put up with it. "And how long is this gonna take?" he asked.

"We'll do a treatment a day over the course of two weeks," the healer replied.

Link's mouth dropped open slightly in shock. The Alomomola had been able to heal him in two days. "Are ya kiddin' me? Two weeks?"

The healer gave Link a sympathetic look. "It sounds like a long time, but it's around a third of the amount of time it would take for them to heal on their own. We have to account for the Roselia as it takes a decent amount of energy to do this, and there are only a few of them. It's a different process from Heal Pulse," he explained. "Your friend will have to have her treatments for a few extra days. Wrists take longer to heal than ribs, surprisingly enough."

He really shouldn't have expected for this to take so long. Link sighed, draping his arm over his face. "And Luce?"

The healer smiled. "Two, three days maximum."

Link smiled a little. That was a relief to hear. While Resa's blade had been scratched and chipped badly, that was the only damage she had received. Fira had gotten off the easiest with only a few scratches. It had been easy for him to keep his distance with his telekinesis and ranged attacks.

A few minutes later Paya returned with a Roselia. Its red and blue rose-topped hands provided a small burst of color in the otherwise plain room along with its green, plant-like body. "I-I'm back," Paya announced. "S-sorry it took so long."

The healer didn't seem bothered, as he nodded in appreciation. "Good. It's better that we start this sooner." He glanced at Link. "Are you ready?"

"Guess so," he answered with a shrug.

"Very well. Roselia, Grass Whistle, please."

Roselia brought one of its blooms to its mouth and pressed a petal to it. The sight reminded Link of a leaf whistle. A somber, yet reverent tune then began to play. The sound instantly made Link's mind become fogged, and his eyelids grew heavy. But he was still able to recognize it: the Requiem of Spirit, of all songs. Resa would like this, he thought as he drifted off.

It took a while for Link to awaken. Things were hazy for a time even after he opened his eyes, and his mind seemed a few seconds off processing his thoughts. But what he could tell was that Luce was by his side. He offered her a small smile, and she returned it.

The day passed by painfully slow. While the days in the Domain had transpired with a Shuckle's crawl, this was a Slugma's slither. Link couldn't do much without feeling like broken glass was scratching at the inside of his chest, so he spent most of the day reclining in the grass by the village border. He wasn't going to stay inside if he could help it.

Link obviously didn't spend the time alone. The others came and went, making conversation as they did. Luce and Zelda stayed with him the most, Luce providing her usual calm presence while Zelda was more vocal. Link never knew that her favorite color was yellow; he'd taken her as more of a red person.

"It's the color of the poppies in the field by my home," she said. "I'd spend whole days with Hilda and Cassien just playing in the flowers. I can make an impressive flower crown, if I do say so myself. At least it's another skill I can add to my measly list of three. Archery, mythology, and flower crown-crafting."

Back when he first met her, Link would have believed that without a second thought. But there were misgives now. He imagined her wearing some elaborate flower crown as she practiced shooting, and he snickered a bit.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Eh, nothin'," Link said. "Somethin' Luce did before. Made me think of it."

Zelda rolled her eyes before sighing. "I don't like to complain, but I already hate this," she said. "I mean, it's such a long time that we have to stay here. Didn't we just do this back at the Domain?"

"Yep, but there's nothin' we can do about it," Link said. "Unless ya wanna hurt yourself worse, and I don't think you wanna do that."

Zelda arched a brow at that. "How the tables have turned. That seems like something you would say."

"'Cause it is," Link said with a smirk. "Y'know, I wanted to get right back into the usual business after I lost my fingers, but Luce made me chill for a bit just to make sure I'd be okay." He held up his maimed hand, examining it. "An' I guess I get it since infections exist and all that other nasty shit."

"They can kill you. Even before I began learning about healing, I knew that," Zelda agreed. "Apparently the cut on my arm was getting infected before. That Villia really knew how to handle her weapon." Uncertainty hung about her aura, and Link had an idea of what it could be. It was only inevitable until she did. "Link, can I ask you about something? It—"

"It's 'bout what happened with Villia," he finished, glancing at her with narrowed eyes. "Right?" She nodded, and Link cursed her curiosity.

"I'm happy that you spared her, but I'm also confused about why. You despise the Gerudo."

"I do," he said. "But then she started talkin' 'bout bein' scared of Daemos and wantin' us to help the Scizor. And then I remembered what you said after we saved those guards at the temple." He groaned in frustration as irritation began to build. "I just don't get it! It's like everythin' I know is bein' proved wrong and thrown in my face!" He forced himself to speak more calmly. "I just don't get it."

Zelda seemed to consider her next words before she spoke them. "Why... exactly do you hate them so much? I had that guess back in the glade, but it was only speculation."

Link shoulders tensed into stone, and he looked away. "I dunno why I should tell ya. You'd just disagree with me," he said bitterly.

"I might, though, do we have to agree on everything?" she asked hesitantly. "You clearly share different ideas from Luce, and you're, well, thick as thieves!" A corner of Link's mouth quirked up at that. Clever. But that look belied the turmoil of emotions roiling inside him.

"But they're things that ain't... messy," Link said. "We share the same thoughts on the Gerudo, not eatin' and hurtin' Pokémon, apples being the best damn things to have ever existed."

"Well, I never said I didn't like apples," Zelda said with a cautious laugh. "But I want to try and understand you more, Link," she said. "While I might still disagree with you, I'll at least try to see where you're coming from. Reasoning always helps."

Link stayed quiet, like he always did when the idea of this subject was brought up.

Zelda spoke again. "Unless you don't want to be close friends. We can stay normal friends, I'm fine with that."

But Link wasn't. He did want to tell her more, he truly did. She had proven herself to be very open-minded, so possibly, just possibly...

"Ya won't hate me for this?" he asked.

Zelda easily replied with, "You haven't even told me, so how could I hate you?"

Of course. Link smiled grimly. He was really going to do this, someone else besides Luce was going to know this. It almost felt surreal, a sensation he'd become quite familiar with by now.

Already he felt anger bubbling up in him, and he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He knew this would make him even angrier, and he didn't have the right to take it out on Zelda when he was making the choice to tell her this. This contempt was for himself and himself alone.

"Okay," he muttered. "I... I'll tell ya."