A Hero and a Goddess | By : Datsexypootisburdtho Category: -Misc Video Games/RPGs > Crossovers Views: 2287 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda, Fire Emblem, or any associated media. All rights belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, and I make no money from this story. |
Never before in his life had he wanted to kill someone as much as he wanted to right now. Link had wanted to return to Friege weeks ago, but a burning desire to find out more about Jugdral’s history and the events of the last 20 years had kept him away. He needed to know more about what was going on, and just what had led Tailtu to the fate she had endured for Nayru knows how long.
It was… worrying, how little she moved or ate. If he hadn’t forced it, then he doubted that she would have touched what game he was able to catch at all. In hindsight, heading straight into Silesse might not have been the best decision. The Hylian was unfamiliar with the lay of the land, and he had no idea where to hunt for the food Tailtu needed.
Thankfully, he’d managed to find a small settlement near one of the mountains within the first two weeks of arrival. Good thing too, for even as a wolf Silesse was colder than anything he’d experienced before, and how his companion managed to survive the chilling temperatures and biting winds was a mystery. One that he wasn’t exactly keen on unraveling.
But even then, she still would not eat unless forced. Her will to live, her drive… it was gone. Broken by the torture from Hilda’s hand, no doubt. Not for the last time since he’d come to Jugdral, Link had no idea of what to do next. Healing her physical wounds was… not easy, but in comparison to the scars that could not be seen? It might as well have been child’s play. A daily dose of Red Potion had slowly but surely rid her of the worst of it, and the rest… was beyond his ability.
Even after he’d left the village and found a city with trained healers, Tailtu’s condition was not looking good. Either they could find some way to restore her desire to live again, or eventually she would waste away. It was maddening… until he’d remembered his ocarina. The Song of Healing was one that he had not played since he left Termina, and even a good 17 years after the fact… it still brought forth several unpleasant memories. That damned giggle chief among them... if he never saw a shop keep selling a mask until the day he died of old age, it would still be too soon.
But that was a burden he would gladly bear if it meant saving another. At first, the blond had wondered if it had even worked after he returned the Ocarina of Time back to his pouch. Then he had seen her eyes slowly fog over, as if she was in a trance, and then he was fixed with a stare that was so… alive compared to what it was mere moments ago it was honestly unnerving.
“Who… who are you? And where am I?” she had quietly demanded, and Link smiled softly as he sat down and began to explain the chain of events that led to her rescue.
Over the next month, he’d gleaned as much information from Tailtu as she did from him, and he forced down a surge of anger when she told of the battle of Belhalla. “A battle… it was an execution. They lined everyone up and slaughtered them like animals. Lord Sigurd… Arvis killed him personally with Valflame , the rest of our group did not have the mercy of a quick end.”
Her own husband, Azelle, had been spared thanks to his relation to Arvis, but that did not last forever. The half-brother of Grannvale’s new Emperor had managed to find her in Silesse and tell her of all that had happened after she took their children into the land of snow, and it was… not a day she remembers fondly to say the least. She had clammed up completely when he tried to approach the subject of her father, and had begged him to not ask about him again.
It was… enlightening, what he had found out from Tailtu. He’d always felt like there was something big, something important that had happened in Jugdral’s recent history, relatively speaking, but everything he had found felt… off. And now he knew why. Being Emperor came with the power to have history written as one saw fit, and the lord of Velthomer made damn sure to demonize Sigurd as much as he possibly could.
Granted, from what he discovered after some digging of his own, the former duke of Chalphy hadn’t exactly painted himself in the best light, but the man had only been trying to help his friends and stop nobles from abusing the common man. His methods may have been flawed, yes, but his intentions were pure.
It helped that the ruler of Silesse, Queen Erinys, had caught wind of her old friend’s presence and bade them both come to the capital city of Tófa. From what Tailtu had told him, Erinys had not a drop of royal blood in her veins, and yet she had been chosen to succeed the previous Queen, Lahna, after she had died some years after Belhalla.
His heart remained in Friege, and so long as Ishtar lived, he hoped it would stay that way, but even he had to admit that the monarch of Silesse was radiant in her beauty. Link allowed her to compel him to stay another two weeks as she told him of all she knew of Jugdral, and gave him access to everything but the restricted sections of their library. When he’d asked why a relative stranger had been granted such a boon, the emerald-haired royal gave him a sad smile as she sank into her throne.
“In part… it is because you saved Tailtu. I didn’t know if anyone else, save myself, was still alive from those days. It's, it’s nice to know that I still have a friend left in this world, Sir Link. And… there is a storm coming. I am no seer, I possess no magical ability past some aptitude with healing staves, and yet… I’ve had dreams as of late. War will engulf the land again sometime soon, and a darkness unlike any Jugdral has faced since the Loptrian Empire was defeated is headed our way.”
… well, that was ominous. Some may dismiss warnings that came from dreams, but not him. Not after he had seen Ganondorf more than once in his sleep, and Zelda had seen all that he had and more in her own visions. If Erinys said she had foreseen something… then he had ample reason to believe her.
And more than enough motive to investigate the Loptrian Empire. The books did nothing to sate his curiosity, and so he left Silesse behind to roam the continent for the better part of two months. Surely there was something more than what he could find in any tome, right?
During his time digging into what remnants that had to exist, surely, Link had never been more grateful for the presence-concealing Stone Mask. It was a crutch, he knew, but damned if it didn’t make sneaking around much easier than it would be otherwise. But even the enchantments it provided were not infallible, and the Hylian had narrowly avoided detection upon infiltrating a temple in the Aed Desert.
The aura of darkness had been… nauseating, on the level of Ganon, maybe even worse. Only the protection provided by the Master Sword, his piece of the Triforce, and a stubborn determination had allowed him to endure. What little time he had spent there before leaving convinced him that Erinys was right. A shrine in the center of the temple’s basement was the source of the darkness, in particular a book that reeked of evil. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to get close enough to destroy it with the Blade of Evil’s Bane, but now he knew where it was. And if he could just pretend that the presence in the back of his mind didn't exist, and he had not been bombarded with flashes of Termina that had forced him to his knees... then maybe he could get out of here in one piece.
Getting out without picking a massive fight had taken longer than he was comfortable with, and the journey through the desert was more draining than he expected. He really, really should have pushed through the darkness and destroyed that book... but the memories it had dredged up to assault his mind with were far, far too painful to endure. By the time Link had returned to Friege, he still had not quite managed to silence the screams and dispel the nightmares, but that didn't matter at the moment. It had been too long since he last saw Ishtar, and as the familiar castle came into view, a sigh of relief escaped him.
Only for the relief to become stark terror as a maelstrom of lightning descended from the heavens. That was none other than Mjölnir’s power, and Bloom was not behind that storm. He had never run so fast before, pushed himself as hard as he did in that moment, worried beyond measure that he would be too late to intervene in whatever fight had pushed Ishtar to put on that kind of display.
The Longshot had brought him up to the ramparts of the castle, and Link made it to the gardens just as Arvis had pronounced her death sentence. With how focused the red-haired man was on finishing his foe, the incantation and casting of Nayru’s Love had mercifully gone unnoticed, and the barrier held against the onslaught of flame and heat. That bought him enough time to get into position, and to prepare himself for a fight to the death as he threw the man across the ruined gardens. ‘Of all the times for me to not have the Goron’s Tunic…’
He would never call himself a sadist, but there was something pleasant about the way the color drained from the Emperor’s face as he climbed to his feet, and the sight was something that he would enjoy until the day he died. Hopefully in his sleep, but beggars can’t be choosers. “Welcome to the end of your life, you bastard. I promise you, it’s going to hurt.”
The Master Sword burned with a divine blue-white flame as he snarled, and leaped at Valflame’s wielder, intent on removing at least one arm to make things so much easier. Alas, his enemy was faster than he had anticipated, and managed to evade his strike and save his arm for the moment. Arvis didn’t say a word as he raised a hand, and a solid shaft of fire blurred towards his head at far too high of a speed.
Only his ever-trusty Hylian Shield saved his life, and he hissed at the sheer heat that burned his hand through the enchanted steel. This fight would not be an easy one, it seemed. The air around him shuddered and shook as lines of deep crimson came into being, and Link swore as he jumped clear of Valflame’s range, only to pale as a rope of fire lashed out and grabbed his heel to pull him back in.
“I sentence you to death.” Arvis snapped his fingers as a white-hot inferno of hellfire engulfed the Hylian, and he tried not to take some kind of joy at the agonized scream, really. But after being flung over twenty feet, and almost killed by a storm the likes of which the world had not seen since Thrud was alive and well, surely he was allowed this one small thing, right?
After several seconds, the spell ended, and he dismissed another pile of molten rock from the blackened earth around him. All that remained was his foe’s sword, and a lump of steel that resembled horrifically burnt metal more than a shield. Was it… that easy? No, no it can’t have been that simple. If the Hylian could produce a barrier that could stand up to his full strength… then there was no way a simple, albeit overpowered, salvo of Valflame would end his life.
“Where are you…” he murmured under his breath, and howled in pain as a hammer slammed into his right knee and shattered it from behind. Even as he fell, Arvis twisted and let loose a blast of Arcfire from both hands into Link’s chest and clenched his fists. The resulting explosion launched the blond through the sole remaining wall in the gardens, and another cast saw it turned into slag as it collapsed on him.
Gods… he was no trained healer, but he knew enough to know that a leg should not bend that way . This was something that would take time and several trained healers to recover from… that is, if he lived. Something that Link seemed dead set on preventing as he burst from the molten pile of stone. His left arm resembled cooked meat more than it did anything approaching human skin, let alone how burnt and blackened his torso had become.
And yet he charged him still, silent and moving like a man possessed. Arvis conjured a bladed whip of fire and lashed out at his legs, and cursed when it went ignored. So did the dagger of flame that slammed into his right shoulder, and before he could do more than begin to form a blazing greatshield, his foe had seized him by his good leg. For the second time that day, Fjalar’s heir knew what it was like to be thrown through the air and slammed against the dirt. It was not very fun, truth be told. But he could not let himself be distracted by the pain, he could not die here!
Valflame glowed with a scarlet light as he brought forth the full might of the tome to bear, and forced himself to his feet. But his red eyes widened in shock as the gleaming blade of the Master Sword cut straight through the sphere of hellfire, sheared through his armor like it was not even there, and damn near sliced him in two with one swing. It was a searing pain, worse than anything else he had felt in his life as he fell to his knees and seized in silent agony. He tried to speak, to call forth another blast from his heirloom, and yet the Emperor could do nothing but writhe and wait for his torment to end.
“... I should kill you, right now. Be easy, a flick of the wrist and your head would be rolling along the ground.” Link wondered if he should be worried about how little he cared for the anguish of the man at his feet, before he dismissed the thought from his mind. “But if I do that, the whole country gets turned upside down and Goddesses alone knows how many innocents die in the power struggle. So, for the moment… I’ll let you live.”
The wound that stretched from shoulder to hip burned with the same fire that had been present on the Master Sword earlier, and as he made his way over to Ishtar, his ears twitched as the air around him grew hot once more. He sighed and dismissively slashed Arcfire out of existence as he turned, and fixed Julius with a stare that froze the boy to the spot. His burnt, blackened face probably helped with that. “Don’t be an idiot . Stand down and see to your father, before you make me lose what little patience I have left.”
“See to my… do you realize what you’ve done?!” the Prince laughed as he advanced, the small bruise on his cheek and his disheveled hair only making him look more crazed. “You’ve assaulted the sovereign of Grannvale, there is no place to hide now! You might as well just surrender, it’ll be quicker and easier for you and that whore compared to a life on the run!” … Link’s jaw twitched as he visibly restrained the urge to beat him until he matched his father, and instead knelt to dispel Nayru’s Love .
“Are you listening to me?! I will not be ignored you bast-” a hook pierced his palm before Julius could even blink, and before he could cry out the chain attached to the hook yanked him from his feet. The pain in his hand was suddenly dwarfed by the ache in his jaw as he was hit with a crushing backhand, and mercifully rendered unconscious before he bounced along the ground.
“... dick.” he muttered as he dug out his last bottle of Red Potion, and chugged the whole thing in one swallow. It did nothing to really heal his body, but it would keep him on his feet long enough to get away. The absence of pain alone was a blessing at the moment.
Ishtar was carefully cradled against his body as he ran to where her room was, and paused as Ishtore opened the door and motioned him inside. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” he hissed as he brushed sweat-drenched hair out of his sister’s face. “You can’t stay here, the full might of the Empire will fall on Friege once word of this gets out. Even if he wanted to, Father could not ever protect her from this.”
The silver-haired man looked at him with a sad, almost mournful expression as Link slowly laid his sibling on her bed, and with a silent prayer to the heavens he stepped forward to grab a healing staff off a small rack in the corner. “... Link. Can you do it? Will she be safe with you?”
The blond stopped and turned to look Ishtore in the eye, and dropped his gaze down to the burned and blackened flesh that still marked his body. “Yes. Even if all the world is her enemy… I would still be her knight. If they get to her, and they won’t, then I have long since died.”
There was no answer for a moment, and the only sound in the room was from the rise and fall of his sister’s chest. “... heh. Given what you just took, and how you’re still walking and talking despite that… I dare say that there’s nothing in Jugdral that could kill you. Just… if word gets back to me that you’ve broken her heart… I don’t care what I’ll have to do, I will finish what Arvis started.” he said with a little grin on his face, one that was returned by the Hylian.
“Trust me, if I screw up that badly, I’ll help you.” A bark of laughter escaped them both as the Mend staff glowed with a soft, blue light and the worst of Link’s burns slowly lightened in color as Ishtore used every last drop of magic present in the rod. “... thank you, that’s a huge help, really. I don’t… want to head back into Silesse right now, where do you think we should go?” While it would be a fairly good place to lay low for a while, it also would drag Erinys and her people into a war.
“... I would suggest the northern reaches of Isaach. Short of going to the edges of Verdane or Thracia, it’s about as far away from here as you’ll be able to get without leaving Jugdral entirely, I think. The population in that area is… fairly small from what I remember, and you should be able to hide out indefinitely in the mountains if need be. You… really do need to leave as quickly as you can.”
He crossed the room and opened a large wardrobe beside her dresser, and grumbled under his breath as he sorted through his sister’s clothes. “Just in case we needed to leave in a hurry, I went and prepared a bag of supplies for us both. Clothes, medicinal herbs, money, everything that you two are going to need short of weapons and staves are in here.” Ishtore grunted as he pulled out two large leather bags and dropped them beside Link with a sigh of relief. “And you can stuff those in that damn pouch of yours, so you can worry about those yourself.”
Many times had he pestered the Hylian to teach him the secret behind the seemingly-infinite pouch that was always at his hip, and many times he had walked away pouting as he was rejected. But truth be told, it wasn't that Link wanted to keep it to himself. It was simply the fact that he could not teach him something that he did not know. Not even Zelda knew the enchantment behind the infinite space inside his bag.
“Ok, so all I need to grab are staves and tomes, and… fuck . My shield is gone.” he hadn’t noticed when it happened, given how badly Valflame had burned him, but his trusty Hylian Shield was no more. That thing had seen him through more fights than he could remember, and it… well, it stung him a little bit to have to replace it.
“... should I run down to the armory and grab one before you leave?” Granted, with the kind of treatment he put his shield through, the nobleman doubted anything he could find would last very long in his hands.
“No… no, I have one on me. Just… had that one for years, kinda got attached y’know?” Ishtore ignored the slight grimace as Link stood from the bed and stuffed every staff he could find in the room down into his pouch, and turned his gaze to his slowly-rousing sister. Violet eyes gradually fluttered open as she tried and failed to focus on something, anything, before she tried to force herself to a seated position.
“Hey! Hey hey hey hey, don’t strain yourself,” he muttered as Ishtar almost fell back against the pillow, before he reached out and took her in his arms. “It’s ok Ish… I’ve got you. I’m here.” Even if… this could very well be the last time he would be able to say that. “Everything’s ok… you’re going to be fine, little sister.”
“... don’t… feel fine… like… castle fell on me.” she mumbled in her groggy state, and snuggled into his chest. She hadn’t done that in years… gods, he was going to miss her. “... Arvis… where… where is…”
“If there’s anybody competent in his entourage, probably being panicked and fussed over as they treat his wounds and wonder if they should amputate his leg. He’ll walk with a limp on it for the rest of his life, after what I did to it.” Violet eyes snapped open wide and flew to orbs of blue, all signs of weariness and exhaustion momentarily gone in her shock. “Damn near scared me to death… I just barely made it in time to save your li-”
For the second time that day, his heart leaped in his chest as Ishtar half fell, half lunged off of her bed and into his arms, clenched fists weakly beating at his chest as she let everything that had been bottled up out at last. Farore… the only thing that hurt more than hearing her cry, was knowing that he caused it.
“... why? ” she whispered, voice raw with emotion as Ishtore quietly stepped outside to give them some semblance of privacy. “Why did you take so long to come back? Where have you been since you left? Why... did you not take me with you?” This… was not exactly the way he’d envisioned their reunion going. In his mind it had always something happier, more merry, and with tears of joy running down her face. But, she was here, and still in one piece.
“... I had things I needed to know. It… took some time getting Tailtu to safety and ensuring that she’d recover, then the Queen of Silesse asked me to stay for a little while longer.” He neglected to mention what he had found in the Aed Desert at the moment, not wanting to dampen the mood further. “I promise… I’ll explain everything later, ok? Will that be alright?” Link murmured as she lifted her head, and he saw a flash of that affectionately-annoyed look in her eyes once again.
“I will… hold you to that.” Ishtar breathed as her exertion caught up with her again, and she fell asleep against his chest with a small smile on her face. The ache in his limbs was ignored as he pushed himself off the wall, and went to set her down on the bed, before he began to stuff what he could into his pouch. It was going to be a long journey to the northern parts of Isaach, and the fewer stops they had to make, the better.
Numerous tomes and at least two of every staff he could find was packed in a hurry, as he knew the shock of the Imperial Force would not last much longer. They needed to leave within the next… ten minutes, he estimated. Hopefully on the fastest horse he could find. The soft sound of boots on the carpet outside the door reached his ears, and a wide grin split his face as it swung open to reveal Liza, a large bag in hand and a map in the other.
“Here, I don’t know what you’ve gathered already, but this will be more than enough to last you until you settle in at wherever it is you’re going. Go out that window, creep along the ramparts, and my dear fiance will be waiting for you both at the east gate.” … if he wasn’t a taken man, he might have kissed her then and there.
It was a good thing that no one could hear his heartbeat, or else it may very well have alerted the entire castle to his location. He was very confident in his stealth, and knew that only the most skilled of Gerudo, the craftiest of the Kokiri, or a mage with a properly cast detection field could find him if he was at his best. But that was not the case. His body still ached and cried out in pain, he was stiff as a result of the burns in several areas, and he had an unconscious Ishtar in his arms. Frankly, it was a miracle that the only one to notice him was Bloom’s eldest. Good… he’d secured them a mount.
“Don’t worry about things here in Friege, I’ll make sure there’s still something left standing when you two return.” Ishtore said with a little smirk as Link brought the Ocarina of Time to his lips, and played an odd tune, each note filled with a strange kind of… magic? “... I’m not even gonna ask where the sun just went. Just… don’t forget to reverse it when you’re a safe distance away, would you?”
A snort was his reply, and the silver-haired man watched as the Hylian mounted and then kicked the horse into a gallop into the night. He waited until the pair had passed from his sight, and then sighed as he turned and strode back into the chaos that awaited him inside. While he did not begrudge his sister for leaving, seeing as it was flee or face death, it certainly did not make matters easier for him here at home. Ah well… it was high time he started acting more like a lord anyway, he had a wedding to plan after all. Liza would not wait forever...
The cool night air was a balm against his skin as he pushed the borrowed horse as hard as he dared. He only had so long until he would have to revert the Sun’s Song, and while that would certainly confuse their pursuers, and hopefully make them all the more hesitant to truly chase them down, it was only a temporary solution.
The instant he glanced behind and could no longer see Friege, Link pulled the Ocarina out once more and played the Sun’s Song, but reversed. It was a little trick Zelda had been able to come up with after seeking the aid of Flat and Sharp, the two composing ghost brothers who he’d learned the song from in the first place. The things she was able to do with magic was… a little scary, if he had to be honest.
But it would have been nice to have “scary” backing him up in Jugdral. Not that he doubted Ishtar’s abilities, far from it, but the Princess… was just absurd. Putting aside how he’d never raise a hand against her and mean it, she was every bit as deadly as he was, albeit in the mystical arts instead of the physical. Maybe a little more, but Zelda always did try to end fights faster than he did.
The sound of running water reached his ears after several minutes more of hard riding, and if he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn that the horse had audibly sighed in relief when he slowed their pace. With a wince he dismounted and took hold of the reins, and carefully approached the stream after he swept the surrounding area with his eyes. It wouldn’t do to come all this way and be done in by an ambush now, would it?
“... where… are we?” Whispered his exhausted companion as she stirred, and a soft smile stole across his face as he filled a small bottle with the clear, cool water. “... thank you. This is… around Belhalla… the outskirts of it, I think.” Ishtar looked a little better after draining the bottle of its contents, and while, in his mind anyway, she still likely needed quite a lot of meaningful rest, it no longer seemed as if she would fall into a days-long slumber.
“I… think that’s where we’re at… I’m trying to take the shortest route to Northern Isaach, that’s where your brother suggested we go.” … damn, they’d have to be careful going through Velthomer. Even if Arvis did not personally lead the house anymore, it would only be a matter of time until the news reached their ears.
“... Tirnanog. That’s where… I’d planned to go if I ever had to leave. It’s very… isolated from the Empire, and the rest of Isaach. I think… we’ll be safe there.” Well, as safe as they could be with Grannvale interested in seeing his head on a pike, and who knows what with her. She laid her head against his chest as he mounted their horse once more, and he really should think of a name for the mare at some point, a feeling that he had sorely missed in his time away.
“... we’ve got ourselves a long journey, try and rest up along the way, would you?” There was no response as he pushed the still-nameless steed into a more sedate trot, and much to his amusement, Ishtar began to softly snore as they crossed the stream. “... Din, Nayru, Farore, thank you for giving me this wonderful gift.” She would never believe him about this, and he knew that, but that would never stop Link from trying.
“We are not naming my horse Clover.”
“Oh come on! You’ve shot down every single name I’ve suggested so far-”
“That’s because they’ve all been horrendous.” she cut him off with a tone drier than Aed had ever been, and smirked as he hunched his shoulders with a pout. There had been several close calls, certainly more than he would have liked, but they’d reached Isaach at last.
“Besides, I’ve already named her. Quite some time ago actually.” It was a very, very challenging battle to repress her mirth when he slowly turned and gave her a look , one that she ultimately lost as Ishtar doubled over in laughter atop the white-spotted brown mare.
The journey had been long, and his burns had yet to fully heal much to his dismay, which made it even longer. Then they’d skirted a bit too close to a castle in an effort to get a little bit of news as to the aftermath of the ah… incident at Friege, and what followed had been the most tense “game” of hide-and-seek that Link had ever played. Thank the Goddesses that the Kokiri had been right little demons when it came to teaching him that particular pastime, or else he might not have been able to ensure their safety.
“... how are you feeling? Still stiff and sore along your left side, correct?” Gods, she had been so worried when she had finally, truly managed to perceive just how badly he had been burnt in his clash against Arvis. His red potion had done nothing more than kill the pain, and even then it merely reduced to a level where it could be shoved aside once the adrenaline wore off. Ishtore had done more than he knew when he broke that Mend staff that day, and even still it had been touch and go for a bit.
Then Ishtar went and broke another one over the course of their travels, albeit over the span of a month. He had… mostly recovered from the worst of the burns along his chest and left arm, but there was still far too much stiffness for him to be comfortable with. “... yeah. Not as bad as it used to be, but it’s still pretty damned annoying. We’ll have to… stop sometime soon so I can rest again, I think.”
And that was the worst part of it. Normally, Link would have pushed for a faster pace, and tried to make Isaach at least ten days earlier than they did. But his stamina was… not the best right now, and the two of them had to stop more often than they ordinarily would. It wasn’t just his slight impatient tendencies that resulted in the restless feeling, though that had a great deal to do with it.
No, it had to do with Ishtar. Even a blind man could tell that she had bitten her tongue and bided her time when it came to a number of topics that she’d wanted to discuss, but the noblewoman… well, they supposed it was former by now, had set them aside to tend to him as best she could. Any frustrations at his extended time away had not been allowed to surface, her desires to know what he had been doing had gone unvoiced, anything that did not involve their destination or his injuries had gone ignored.
And he hated it. Hated how easily she seemed to set it all aside to care for him and ignore her own desires. Link had expected her to be upset at least once over the trek through Aed, but… she’d been nothing but the model of patience and tenderness along the way. As if he didn’t feel bad enough already about hiding things from her.
“Hmmm… there, in that little village over the hill. I think we’ll be able to find someplace secluded for us to stay a night or two if need be.” The only good thing that had come as a result of Isaach being regarded as a backwater country, was that news of events outside the borders trickled in at a slow pace. With any luck… they’d stop at the little settlement, and arrive at their destination in… four days' time.
“You’re sure that it’ll be safe for us to stay here, right? From what little news we’ve received… the Empire is very eager to see my head on a pike and you in chains. At best.”
A shrug was her answer as Ishtar nudged her horse towards the village in a trot, and glanced over her shoulder with a concerned look in her eye. “As safe as we can be before Tirnanog, at least. They’ll be… quite hesitant to truly mobilize in force to hunt the two of us down after what you did to Arvis, I think.”
When Link arched a brow in response to her words, the mage sighed and shook her head. “Remind me to properly educate you further on just how imposing a Holy Weapon is in the near future. But to make a long story short, relatively speaking… those with Major Blood are almost likened unto Gods here in Jugdral, Link. And not without good reason. Even a bearer of Minor Blood can overwhelm a dozen men in seconds, with a quality weapon in their hands. Power, speed, reflexes… all these attributes and more are enhanced a great deal compared to the common man.”
He had gathered that much already, given how quickly he had seen her and Ishtore act and react to monsters before he had left, but it was nice to hear it all in more detail regardless. “And the gap widens yet further when Major Blood enters the equation.” Ishtar stopped and took a breath, as if she was reluctant to speak what was on her mind, before she exhaled and turned her eyes to the skies above.
“I love my brother. Truly, I do. He’s been… an enormous blessing to me all my life, and especially over the last few months. Ishtore is a talented mage, and he has a keen mind for tactics and strategy. Honestly, I wish he and Liza could have come with us.”
“... I’m sensing a ‘but’ here.” A snort escaped the lavender-haired woman, and he knew her lips had quirked into a tiny little grin even if he couldn’t see her face.
“Truly, nothing slips by you does it?” She drawled in a tone that oozed sarcasm. “But, even with all of that in his favor… he and I are practically worlds apart when it comes to battle prowess. It isn’t a matter of experience or training, if that was the case then he could bridge the gap. I am faster, stronger, and harder to injure than Ishtore. Arvis would have ended his life with the first cast of Valflame , whereas I damn near killed him if not for a lack of stamina. And you not only damn near killed Arvis, but you did it while half dead. That alone will serve as a sufficient show of force for a good long while.”
“So… you’re saying that we’re going to be mostly left alone due to intimidation? Really?” Such a notion left the hero baffled, and wondering just how much loyalty the Imperial troops truly possessed. Even if someone he could not defeat made an attempt on Zelda’s life… Link would kill them or die ensuring they wouldn’t be far behind.
An exasperated sigh escaped her and she rubbed the bridge of her nose with a bare hand, her trademark gloves having long since been discarded. “Link. The Empire has access to two Holy Weapons who have battle-ready wielders at the moment. The force they would need to muster to bring the both of us down would… take weeks to gather, and by that time you’re likely to be at, or close to, your peak. With me backing you up? They simply cannot afford to spare that many men.”
… he still didn’t know if he fully believed her, but that may have been his paranoid tendencies talking. One doesn’t survive the things he had without growing a healthy amount of it. That, and one became very close friends with paranoia after dealing with Wallmasters. Let alone their invisible cousins. If there was one part of his journeys that he wished could just be wiped clean from his mind, save anything and everything to do with Termina, it would be anything related to his encounters with the disembodied hands.
By the time night had fallen, the pair had managed to find lodgings in an empty house just on the edge of the village, and Link groaned with relief as he sank into a proper bed at long last. His readily-apparent injuries, coupled with Ishtar’s quick thinking, had managed to convince the local elder that he was a returning soldier, and she was his wife. Exactly how she’d done such a thing, the blond did not know and she wouldn’t tell. Truth be told, he didn’t care. Though he did rather enjoy that concept of being her husband... definitely something that he’d have to take care of soon.
All that mattered at the moment is that they were safe, she was safe, and they could ease off a little… at least for a day or two. Sleep slowly began to claim him as he turned onto his side, content to watch as she adjusted her position on the small couch on the opposite end of the room, and slowly went through the contents of his pouch with a bemused expression.
“... are you planning to arm an entire brigade of archers? How many arrows do you have inside this thing…” she muttered under her breath and shook her head, and pointed at the fireplace with a free hand. “I’ll likely still be awake after your nap, get some rest, ok?” The light of the fire danced across her eyes, and Ishtar gave him a small, gentle smile as he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
It was more relaxing than she had thought it would be, watching him sleep peacefully. Link had put on a brave face throughout their journey, and here and there she almost believed him, but given their proximity there was no hiding it. He was in more pain than he looked, and anything beyond a stiff, up-and-down motion with his left arm and short steps with his left leg without great pain was beyond him.
But that was a noticeable improvement from not being able to move them at all, and so she counted her blessings where they could be found. ‘This would be so much easier if I had a Recover staff… but as it is, I think one or two more full uses of Mend should do the trick.’ Ishtar sighed as she rose from the sofa and stretched her arms, and groaned softly as a particularly stubborn knot finally popped .
“It’s about damn time…” The lavender-haired woman glanced at the notes she’d scrawled on the table to her right, and pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. “I haven’t even gone through a third of that damn thing… how does he even find anything with all that clutter?” she whispered as a small sphere of flame burst into being above an open palm, and the descendent of Thrud started to explore their temporary home.
It had been too damn long since she’d had a proper bath, and even now it wasn’t going to be like what she had grown accustomed to in Friege, but it would be a damn sight better than a river. Ishtar allowed herself a tiny smirk when a quick scan of the small house resulted in her discovery of a wooden tub, large enough for her to use, yet not too big to be a hassle moving.
Reluctant as she was to step outside and away from Link, the trek to gather the water had been shorter than she had feared it would, and much to her relief, there was no sign that he’d even stirred. He had started to snore , for Thrud’s sake. Something he’d insisted over and over that she had done during their travels, but the former noblewoman merely scoffed and shook her head every time. “A lady does not snore , surely even an uneducated oaf like you knows this.” Had Ishtar even once been able to keep her lips from twitching and her shoulders from shaking with suppressed mirth, he might have bought her haughty act for a minute.
Careful application of fire magic heated the water to a satisfactory temperature, and a sharp gasp escaped her lips after a quick test with her hand confirmed that she hadn’t overdone it. The last thing they needed was for the tub to explode and send the contents around the room. Ishtore still brought that incident up whenever he found an opportunity…
Her dress and discarded effects were carefully laid across the same couch she had used earlier, and, as much as was possible given the lack of space, Ishtar sank into the bath with a pleased sigh. True, the water only came up to her navel, and it was impossible to stretch her legs completely… but it was nice nevertheless. Besides… it was high time she started to adjust to more mundane comforts like this.
There would be no going back to the luxuries of her old life, no servants and maids to help her dress and bathe her, no cooks to make meals and provide drink at every hour of the day… in a way, she was excited. It would be a test to see how well she could truly stand on her own two feet, and thrive thanks to her efforts, and hers alone… if she ignored how the man asleep in the bed would be there as well, that is.
The soft sounds of water as it dripped off her body and into the tub was the only noise beside the crackle of the fire, and Ishtar was ever so glad she had not put the sponge inside that magical sack. Otherwise… well, there would have been a need to find something else to wash up with. And that would have been annoying.
She almost didn’t notice as he began to stir, but the sound of the bed as it creaked was just barely audible as the Hylian slowly roused from his nap, and the sharp intake of breath alerted her to his departure from the land of slumber. “How are you feeling?”
… a strangled cough was her only reply, and she glanced over her shoulder with a tiny, smug little grin at the awestruck expression on his face. “What’s the matter? See something you like?” Ishtar said in a low, breathy tone, her body angled just enough to tease him with the side of a breast, but preventing anything further from being seen. “Just… let me finish up, and I’ll join you, ok?”
He’d forgotten just how truly beautiful she was. Her long, luscious hair was loose for once, and it was just as enticing as the rest of her body. The water practically shimmered in the glow of the firelight, and it somehow made Ishtar look even more radiant than before. ‘Let me finish up, she says. Like I’m not enjoying what’s right in front of me.’
True, all he could see of her was from the waist up, but that by no means prevented his enjoyment. Another dry cough escaped him, and after he’d gently massaged his throat with his good hand, Link took the silently-offered glass of water with a murmured thanks. “It’s been… too long, since we could just sit back and enjoy a nice, slow night like this… hasn’t it?” There was no reply at first, not that he’d expected one of course. Much as the goddess before him might playfully imply otherwise, the blonde did know how to use a rhetorical question.
“Mmm. I swear, this is the first chance I’ve had to truly relax in months . Between trying to keep mother sequestered in a wing of the castle that scarcely saw any use, ensuring that I was the one in charge of the day-to-day affairs and not father, on top of the Empire breathing down my neck for information about you…” her shoulders fell slightly as she sighed, and the purple-eyed woman absentmindedly scrubbed at her face with the sponge before she shook her head.
“Not exactly what one would call ‘fun’ in any sense of the word. But… for tonight, I’m not really interested in caring, or even thinking about such things. Are you?” Ishtar asked with a raised brow and a smile that she knew he could not say no to. It widened as Link grunted an agreement, and gained an impossibly smug edge when she stood and caused him to inhale sharply at the sudden, graceful motion.
Moments of intimacy had been few and far between on their journey to the northern reaches of Isaach, and finding a good time for anything more intense than a kiss had been a challenge that, for once, the Hero had been forced to admit was beyond him entirely.
Link did not even pretend to try and pull his gaze away from her full, shapely, hypnotically-swaying backside as she hoisted the tub and balanced it on a hip, before she moved towards the back door of their small, temporary home and stepped out of sight. ‘... did she really just go outside with nothing on?’ … it was dark enough outside that the chances of her being seen were almost non-existent, but still.
The sound of water as it splashed against the ground reached his ears, and he fixed her with a look as she set the tub down and shamelessly sauntered over to the bed, without a care in the world for the water as it dripped down her body. Had this been any other time, in any other place, he might have griped about everything getting wet. But when she caressed his cheek with a hand as she laid down atop his form, and kissed him with a hunger that matched his own… Link found that he suddenly stopped caring.
A frustrated snarl slipped out as his left arm refused to work with him, and before he could even think of doing so himself, Ishtar grabbed the burn-scarred limb gently and pressed it to her side. “Don’t strain yourself… just sit back and let me handle things for tonight, hmm?” The Hylian considered opening his mouth and commenting on how she had been doing that for the majority of their trip, but then she slowly slid down between his legs and gripped his length through his pants, and he decided that shutting up was the vastly superior option.
It couldn’t be that bad… to put up with his arm for a little while longer, right?
Self control, as it turned out, was annoyingly inconvenient when one had a desire to let loose and let their lusts run wild without restraint. Such a thing could not be done as of yet, and so Ishtar, once more, suppressed the urge to goad Link into a frenzy and fuck until her legs stopped responding to her commands.
His absence had led her to discover many things about herself, some of them pleasant, others less so. One such discovery had enlightened the young woman as to just how high her sex drive had become, and how maddening the first handful of weeks on her lonesome had been. Her own efforts had not been near enough to truly sate the hunger of her loins, but it reduced it to where she could think , at least.
And after that… there was simply no time to attend to the needs of the flesh. A dark corner of her mind that Ishtar very much preferred to ignore pointed out that it would have been very, very easy to take a temporary lover into her bed, but even just thinking of how feasible it would have been left her sick to her stomach.
Bloom had always made much of her loyalty, be it to the Empire, Friege itself, or their family. And that aspect of Ishtar had only grown since Link had entered her life. It was her priorities that had changed, not her steadfast, devoted nature. Her family was still of great importance, that could not be denied given how it was her outrage over Tailtu’s torture had started the slow avalanche that led her to where she was now.
As for the Empire… any ruling body that was unbothered by such acts was not one she deemed worthy of her loyalty. Her father had always emphasized that family was the only thing that would always be there, that could always be relied upon in times of need. Bloom had simply allowed the Empire to become as important to him as his own flesh and blood, something that his daughter refused to mimic if that was where it led. Perhaps his mind could be changed later on…
Ishtar shook her head and dismissed those thoughts from her mind. It had truly been too long since she could relax, let herself go… and remind her lover just who was the most beautiful woman in all of Jugdral. “Do you have… any idea just how long I’ve been waiting for this?” she murmured as his length sprung into view, and her body shuddered as a bolt of pure, wanton need stole down her back.
And a matching shiver wracked Link’s form as well when he saw the look in her eyes. He’d known for some time that Ishtar was going to grow far beyond his ability to handle in the bedroom once she had gained experience, and fully mastered the art of sensuality and seduction. “... from before I left, if I’m not getting my dates mixed up.” Nayru, wasn’t that embarrassing. He’d repeated the same three days so many times that it was… no, no. Best not to dwell on that now.
“Mmhmm. We haven’t had a real chance to be alone after Arvis and his entourage arrived… there’s quite a lot of lost time to make up for. Tonight is merely the beginning~” she breathed in a low, sultry tone that made one thing abundantly clear to the painfully, achingly-hard hero. Gone was the inexperienced girl who had little in the ways of leveraging her looks and curves to bend men around her finger. In her place was a young woman in the prime of her life, one who was damnably aware of the effect a little wink and sway of the hip had on any she wished to entrance.
Though, the only target of such an effort had gripped the sheets of their bed for all he was worth as she slowly took his cock inside her mouth, and those desire-filled pools of violet never once looked away from his face. Even as her tongue idly traced each and every vein along his shaft, and those plump, excruciatingly-soft lips touched his base, Ishtar did not break eye contact. She wanted to see the expression on his face as she worked her magic.
And work it she did, each huff of breath and strangled grunt that escaped Link was music to her ears. He was just as starved for this as she had been, and the same result could likely have been achieved with a touch of her hand. But the descendent of Thrud was never one to do things halfway, especially if it was a matter that interested her.
The wet, tight heat of her mouth felt so good it was almost an agony, but one that he welcomed with open arms. For it was a sensation that he wondered if he would ever even have the chance to feel again after he’d absconded with Tailtu almost six months ago now… belatedly, the Hylian realized that he’d been in Jugdral for about a year, give or take a couple weeks, something that surprised him a little.
Link had never really felt the urge to stay in one place for very long, always finding things to do or people in need of his abilities. As such, settling down had rarely, if ever, crossed his mind in the past. Hell, Zelda was hard pressed to keep him around the castle for longer than a few months. But now… as a groan was drawn from his lips, and a glimmer of amusement shone in the eyes of his lover, it did not seem like such a bad thing.
The wet, lurid noises filled the room as Ishtar licked, kissed, and sucked his cock almost reverently… and in a way, that’s exactly what she was doing. Each and every motion was designed to hammer home that she , and she alone, was capable of pleasing him so. “You’re… more annoyed about Erinys than you’re letting on, aren’t you?” A blonde brow arched as Link slowly adjusted his position, and cushioned his back with a pillow as the buxom mage slowly pulled herself off his length.
“No. From what you’ve said about your time in Silesse… you were respectful, and she made no attempts to make a pass at you. What reason do I have to be upset?” Ishtar said as she moved to straddle his waist, and leaned in until her lips brushed the corners of his ear. “Damn shame, I think I might very well have welcomed her into our bed~”
Before he could do more than loose a strangled groan of shock, her hips rose and brushed his saliva-slick tip against her folds, and this time it was Ishtar who was unable to silence a cry when she sank down on his length. “ By the gods! ” she exclaimed, voice high pitched and breathy upon being filled for the first time in months, and her arms wrapped around his neck as she began to ride him.
It had truly been far, far too long for them both, her walls were almost painfully tight around his shaft, and her body needed to adjust to his size once more. And yet, neither one of them cared in the slightest. Nothing mattered to them in the moment beyond the feel of each other, the frantic, almost desperate kiss as their pace quickly accelerated.
She’d wanted to try and take things slow tonight… to avoid putting too much stress on Link until he had recovered in full. Yet, she could not deny her body’s urges any longer. Ishtar deepened the kiss as his cock pounded up into her eager snatch, as his hands groped and kneaded her ass without restraint. The soreness that was sure to come would surely make sitting down a challenge tomorrow… but one that she relished facing.
“Don’t… you dare pull out!” she forced out as her breasts heaved and swayed, and a mewl escaped as Link mercifully closed his mouth around a nipple and began to tease it with his teeth. For a moment, she considered playfully chastising him for suckling and licking her teat as if there was milk for him to drink, but in the end she merely sighed and pulled him closer to her chest. “Right there! Fuck! ” Ishtar smothered her mouth with a hand when a roll of her hips brushed his dick against a weakness that had not been exploited in months, and the first climax of the night crashed against her mind.
Her walls clamped down on his cock and threatened to stop it outright, but the Hylian was not easily denied. With a growl that was more wolf than man, Link increased the speed and force behind his thrusts, and intensified his lover’s orgasm until she saw naught but white. Din… but had he missed her. The way she writhed and bucked atop his lap as fiery pleasure seared through her body, how her face flushed and her cheeks were damp with tears from their fervor…
She’d told him not to pull out, as if that was ever a thought he’d considered. True, Bloom had given him a fairly prestigious rank in his service after the true danger of the monsters had been brought to his attention… but Ishtar was his heir . Moreover, she possessed Major Blood. Anything less than a Baron with rule over vast swathes of prosperous lands, a Crown Prince of a flourishing kingdom, or a King would be far too low of a match. Especially when one took into account everything beyond her titles and pedigree. He was merely a Commander, and a foreigner at that.
Duty, as well, had been another hurdle in their way. His job had been to prepare Friege to face the dark creatures that had migrated to Jugdral, and then ensure they could see to the training of other territories as well. Ishtar… was to assist her father and learn all she could about running their land, for she would inherit one day. Then Julius arrived, and Friege suddenly became only a small piece of what she would rule over in the future. Refusing such a match would destroy her family, politically and otherwise. He could not ask that of her.
But now? With no appearances to uphold, no Empire to worry about, and her status as a high-ranking noble surely revoked by now… the embrace of her walls coaxed his release out of him, and Link smothered her lips with his to silence his shout of her name. Thick, hot ropes of seed flooded her womb and painted her depths white, and soon it started to seep out around his dick and onto the bed beneath them.
Not that either of them cared, of course. Ishtar laid her head against his and panted for breath, before she opened her eyes and chuckled in a low, throaty tone. “I do hope… that you’re up for quite a few more rounds.” Goddesses , did she have any idea the way she bit her lip did to him? “I’d told the people here… that we were husband and wife. Newlyweds, even. Do you know… what a honeymoon is for?”
Link let her push him down flat on the bed, and drank in the sight of his Goddess as she spread her hands on his broad chest. “No, but I get the feeling I’m going to enjoy finding out.” That smirk of hers would be the death of him, and he shuddered as her hips slowly rose and fell, the sound of skin-on-skin loud in the stillness of the moment.
“It is to ensure that when the couple return, and the wife is pregnant… that the baby could not belong to any man but her husband. Or, so I’ve read at least. We may not be married yet… but what do you say about getting a headstart on a family, hmm?” Ishtar rocked her hips once, twice, three times in a lazy, circular motion when she noticed a gleam in those piercing blue eyes of her man, one that was… decidedly tender.
“When… we get to Tirnanog… we’re gonna make your little cover story a reality. Hope you don’t mind.” Her heart paused for a moment, and a small, genuine smile replaced her smirk before she leaned down and kissed him softly.
“Just to let you know… I’d like sapphire for my ring.”
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