The Legend of Zelda: Real Courage: Dark Mirror

The battlefield flashed before Prince Zale’s eyes - a muddied and bloodied land where he used to ride his horse and play with his little sister. What once was green and inviting now turned to charred ash under the dead and dying. It took most of the blonde man’s will to leave those broken bodies of his comrades and enemies, but he had to keep his cool for the generals’ sake. If he lost his head now, they would never stop drowning him in guilt, not that he wasn’t doing that already.

The young prince looked back at the map he held in his hands. It seemed his forces were dwindling, and no one had news of Lila’s whereabouts. Their survival depended on her and the Master Sword, the Blade of Evil’s Bane. She was alone, hopefully battling the Shadow Chieftess Ganondra... and not dying in the process. Before the battle started, Zale had made her promise to return. He sorely hoped she did - he might not be able to live on without her.

A soldier ran to the command tent clutching his arm where an arrowhead buried itself. His hair and clothes were soaked in blood, and his eyes showed he was close to losing consciousness. A blue-scaled man with fins on his arms and legs caught the soldier before he fell. General Jovom placed a webbed hand over the arrowhead, and the area glowed with a soft blue light.

Prince Zale couldn’t wait until the soldier was healed to question him.

“What’s happened? Where’s the rest of your troop?”

The soldier took shuddering breaths and replied, “Dead, but some may only be injured. We were wiped out by a mob of bokoblins, and they’re headed this way.

General Davros, behind Zale, growled and took his hammer. “Time to move, Prince.” Zale nodded his thanks to the soldier and grabbed his crossbow. The other generals gathered their own weapons. The Goron general, Nodu, also had a hammer, but the rock man’s strength allowed him to wield one much larger than Davros’s. The woman from Ordon, Fapiath, mounted her horse, lance at the ready. The Kakariko general, Eri, double-checked the belt around her waist that held numerous tools as well as a sword. When Jovon finished with the soldier, he grabbed his silver sword and shield.

“I’ll watch your back,” the soldier volunteered.

Jovon countered, “You’ll likely reopen the wound if you fight. I didn’t heal you completely.”

The soldier shook his head and readied his bow. “Doesn’t matter. You all go. May Hylia bless your passage.” He turned to face the oncoming enemy, and the others left. Zale had a feeling the soldier would fight to the death. He didn’t even know his name.

The generals separated to join their soldiers in battle. Prince Zale looked for any sort of vantage point. Until Lila appeared, he wanted to protect any he could. Then he would protect her.

A large figure in black and red armor appeared in the middle of the battlefield. Combatants scattered, giving her a wide berth. It seemed like she had put up a magical barrier of some sort. No one attempted to attack her, except Zale. He pulled back the string of his crossbow, creating an arrow made of golden light. As soon as he loosed the arrow, the Shadow Chieftess looked directly at the prince. Ganondra caught the arrow easily and crushed it. Zale felt his stomach churn at his sadistic smile.

A voice penetrated Zale’s mind, as painful as a dagger. He buckled over, clutching his head.

"Don’t dare to trifle with me, child," said the silky voice of Ganondra. ”Your Hero is on her way, but I’ll kill you first if you try to interfere again."

The voice retreated. Zale’s ears were ringing, joining the cacophony of battle. When he looked up again, Ganondra was watching the town gates. Zale followed her gaze... and waited. Lila should be coming from there any minute. Right? Ganondra’s actions suggested she was still alive. They still had a chance.

As predicted, a battered woman in green clothes ran out of the gates. She stopped briefly to look for her adversary. She ran forward at the sight of the woman who was nearly three times her size.

Lila and Ganondra met in battle, and Zale watched on with horror. He didn’t want Lila to die, but the Shadow Chieftess was so powerful, and Lila looked ready to collapse. Despite Ganondra’s warning, he prepared to shoot another arrow if he got the chance.

Prince Zale’s Hero fell. Ganondra kicked her and stomped on something he couldn’t see. That was the final straw. He released the arrow with a yell born from pure agony and fear. Tears blurred his vision, so he quickly wiped them out of the way. It took him some time to figure out what had happened.

Lady Ganondra was on her knees, looking at the sky. Something glowing brightly protruded from her chest. That must be the Master Sword, Zale thought. When he saw Lila, she was crumpled on the ground. He threw his crossbow to the side and ran to her.

“Lila!”

His gut-wrenching cry carried over the battlefield. Many warriors turned to look and stopped fighting. Others ignored the sound or couldn’t hear it.

Zale took Lila in his arms. Her eyes were open, so he said, “Stay with me! You said you’d come back to me!” But her eyes closed and he thought the worst.

The Prince hadn’t noticed, but four others followed him, one of them being a fish-like Zora healer. The Zora told him to lay Lila down gently.

The Master Sword’s glow slowly faded as Ganondra’s body turned to stone. Once it was gone and she was made entirely of stone, some sort of magic made a heart-shaped object made of rubies and gold appear. Zale recalled another battle Lila had triumphed in, after which the same heart helped her heal miraculously. His spirit soared in hope, but still worried she was too injured to survive this time. The heart burst into red and gold sparkles, which then entered her body. She took a few shaky, deep breaths, but didn’t wake.

Zale leaned his forehead against hers, his tears spilling onto her face, and whispered, “You promised me you’d come back. Come back to me, Lila. Come back.”

“She’s doing better but still losing blood. What was that magic?” the Zora healer asked.

Zale’s voice croaked as he answered, “An object that only appears to the Hero after a great battle.”

The medic nodded with interest. “We need to get her out of here,” he said soberly. “She may be stable, but not for long.”

Zale helped the others carry Lila to the medical tents. His personal servant - and friend - Salvatore, picked up her things, including the Master Sword. As he pulled the sword from the Shadow Chieftess’s body, the stone crumbled to join the ash below as dust.

With the Gerudo Chieftess down, her remaining subjects surrendered or ran. Zale was glad their fight was over.