Tears streamed down Zelda's cheeks as she held Link in her arms. From the impact of Apollo's dagger, it seemed he became unconscious immediately. She watched the salty droplets of water drip onto his soft and pale cheeks, sliding down his face as if they were his own. "Mipha!" she cried. "Mipha! I need Mipha!"

However, there was no way in Hyrule Zelda would be able to move Link by herself, all the way to Mipha.

Zelda held Link close to her body, as she closed her eyes. Soon, after a bright flash of golden light, the two were at the stable, where the carriage and horses reside. Zelda gently placed Link in the grass, trying to untangle the horse's reigns. She heard footsteps, but ignored them... until she remembered, they couldn't have been Link's.

Zelda spun around, face-to-face with Delian, Apollo's friend, and Philip's knight.

Zelda accidentally backed into her horse, scaring the poor creature. Her eyes darted to Link's body, which lay only feet away from Delian. Her eyes filled with tears. "Delian, please," she began, holding out her hands, "don't hurt him. He's in so much pain, and I'm taking him to my friend that practices healing magic."

Delian looked down at the dagger in Link's chest.

Zelda gasped. "Delian, please, do anything to me. Just leave him alone."

Delian shook his head. "I was against this from the beginning, my queen."

Zelda's eyes widened. "You will not fool me! Link and I were almost killed by Apollo—"

"Yes, my brother," he mumbled.

Zelda's heart skipped a beat. "Brother...?"

Delian nodded, walking closer to Zelda. "He told Philip, he would do anything, even lay his life on the line, to kill you and Link." Zelda gasped once more, walking away from her horse. Her hands were held in front of her body defensively. "I, however, was not prepared to die, so Apollo decided I would just be the bait. He would be the sacrifice for the new kingdom."

"New... new kingdom?" Zelda whispered.

Delian held a small dagger in his hands, almost the same as Apollo's. He raised it in the air, swinging down with one swift movement. Zelda screamed, holding her arms over her face.

The reigns tangled around Zelda's horse had been cut. They fell to the ground, making a soft thump. Zelda's arms began to lower, until they were at their sides. "You're not going to kill me?" she forced.

Delian shook his head gently. "Of course not. Like I said, I was against this from the beginning... and now, you'll be hunted by Philip's forces for killing my brother."

"What about the "new kingdom" you were talking about?" Zelda asked, running to Link's side.

Delian aided Zelda in lifting the wounded knight onto her horse. "Philip has been planning to take over Hyrule for years. In Aeryll, he is the ninth child in line for the throne. He knew he wouldn't live for the day when he would inherit it. So, he did what he could do to have one."

Zelda picked up the reigns that laid on the ground. She dropped them once she realized Philip's true plan. "He's going to take over while I'm away, isn't he?"

Delian didn't speak.

"Isn't he?!" Zelda repeated, louder.

"Yes," Delian whispered. "While I created the diversion, you two would kill Apollo, so no one could see him attack you two."

"This will send the kingdom into a frenzy," Zelda muttered. "My goddesses..." She hopped atop her horse, sitting behind Link. She held onto his body by placing his back against the mane of her horse, sliding a hand under his back. The other hand gripped her horse's mane, for the reigns had been sliced off by Delian's hand moments earlier.

Before Zelda set off, she looked at Link's delicate face, slowly letting go of her horse's mane. Her hand caressed his cheek, before she placed a soft kiss upon his lips. "You will be okay, I promise..." she whispered. "Everything will be okay, my love."

"I'm sorry, Zelda," Delian said. "For my brother, for Philip... for everything."

Zelda looked down at Delian, feeling tears erupt from her eyes once more. She smiled. "I forgive you, Delian."

Delian stared at Zelda in awe.

She gripped her horse's mane finally, ready to take off.

"Take this with you!" Delian yelled.

Zelda faced the knight for the last time, raising her arm in the air. She caught Delian's dagger, grip downward. She stared at it, the jewels decorating the dagger glistening in the moonlight. An emerald as large as Zelda's finger resides in the middle.

"Hyup!" Zelda called, kicking the side of her horse gently, but enough to alert the horse to begin running. The trek to Mipha's home, Zora's Domain, would be quite the long one. She hoped to be there before sunrise. It didn't help that Zelda left Delian alive. She had been trained to be relentless, to kill if need be, and yet, she showed the solemn brother to Apollo, pity.

An army of Rito soldiers flew by Zelda, not even realizing it was the queen. She looked down at Link, watching as her gentle tears warmed his cold and porcelain cheeks. His color was gone.

Zelda pulled just a bit on her horse's mane.

Revali appeared beside Zelda, flying as quick as the horse was running. "Zelda! What happened?"

"I can't talk now, Revali!" Zelda called, above the noise of her horse's clomping in the dirt road. "I need Mipha! I need her to heal Link, now!"

Revali's eyes widened, noticing the dagger in Link's shoulder. "My goddesses, I thought he was asleep..." Before Zelda could respond, or shoo her friend away, Revali dove down to Link, picking him with his clawed feet. He tossed the poor knight onto his back.

"Be careful!" Zelda screamed, fearing for Link's safety.

"He's alright," Revali shot back, "I made sure not to hit the dagger. It'll be faster if I take him to Zora's Domain." He began to fly in front of Zelda's horse. "Meet us there, my queen!"

Zelda nodded her head, furrowing her brows. She watched as Revali summoned a burst of wind from under his wings, gaining speed in a fraction of a second. Zelda's horse tried to keep up with the Rito Champion, however, his speed was simply no match for them. Nevertheless, her horse continued onward, in the same path Zelda traveled.

The two made their way in a giant chasm, located southwest of Hyrule Castle. The only way to make it to Zora's Domain, was in front of the castle.

Zelda pulled on her horse's mane. She gasped, ducking below the horse's head. She pulled backwards, signaling to the horse to retreat.

Blocking their path, was a savage lynel.

"Come on, girl," Zelda sighed. "Let's go back and find another way around him."

As Zelda pulled gently on her horse's mane once more, she found a horde of moblins and bokoblins, blocking her only exit.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She jumped off of her horse, running into a nearby cave entrance. She whistled as quietly as possible, bringing her horse back to her side.

Zelda fell to her knees, almost pulling at her hair. "Moblins? Bokoblins? A lynel?!" Her voice echoed gently through the small cave. "Since when are those creatures so close to Rito Village?"

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