Chapter Twenty: A Fear Revealed (Part 1 of 2)
The next time Lila woke was to the rocking of a gentle horse under her. Her arms rested in Zale's lap while her head bounced on his shoulder. She felt so warm with him so close, even though the sun was nearly gone from the desert.
"How do you feel?" Zale asked softly.
She replied with, "What happened?"
"Skeldritch had you pretty beat up," he explained. "Mori and I let you rest for a while, then we packed up to go to Castle Town. I think he's asleep right now."
Zale's answer brought the memories back. Before she knew it, she began to long for that moment alone. Experimentally, she pressed her lips to the exposed part of his neck. She thought she could feel him smile.
"How long do we have to go?" she asked after a spell.
"At this pace, it will take all night."
Lila inhaled the night air. "We should probably make camp, then. Have you slept at all?"
"A bit." He stopped the horse. "But you're right. It's getting late."
He helped her down and put a hand on hers. She looked at him, confused. He wore a soft smile, causing her to relax.
"You were amazing back there," he said, leading her away from the horse. "I know few soldiers who would keep fighting as you do."
"I thought you said I needed to be more careful?"
"You do, but there's also something special about you."
Lila frowned slightly, worried about where his line of thought led.
His thumb stroked her hand. "You healed really fast. Even after getting rolled over by a rock bigger than you are tall, I didn't find a single broken bone."
That surprised her. "It felt like something broke. What about my head?"
"There was dried blood, but you were fine."
"Oh! Maybe that's what those hearts do," Lila realized. "I always felt refreshed after touching one of those. They only appeared after major battles like this one."
Zale's eyebrows went up. "That's remarkable. I've never heard of anything that could speed healing that quickly. Well, other than fairies."
Lila smiled playfully. "You seemed to know a lot of obscure things. Why not this one?"
He shrugged. "Maybe because they're rare. Maybe they only appear to fighters who show courage."
There it was again: the word that felt like a hot bath at the foot of a volcano. It was a happy word, a word of promise, but it brought her guilt and confusion. How could a simple word evoke such uncertainty?
"I can recall some stories of heroes like you," Zale said, sensing her hesitation. Lila took a small step back. "These heroes showed great courage. They fought many monsters like you have." She started shaking her head and pulling away, but he plowed on. "They went through challenges and trials to become stronger, so they could do what they were called to do!"
She could see the excitement in his eyes, but every word brought up fear she didn't know she had. What he was saying couldn't be applied to her. Shouldn't be applied to her. She took her hands away from his. The activity startled Mori awake.
"Hrnm, whatsa...?"
Zale gave him no attention. His eyes stayed locked on Lila. "These heroes were called to save Hyrule. Lila, you—"
"No!" she burst out. "I-I'm not who you think I am. I'm not... I just can't." Without letting Zale say more, she ran away, toward Gerudo Town.
"Wait!" Zale shouted after her. He hurried over to his horse and began the pursuit. He only paused to let Mori hitch a ride. However, his horse struggled to move in the sand, and couldn’t go much faster than Lila on foot.
"Lila, stop! Let's talk about this!" Instead, he saw her running faster. He pushed his own horse. Maybe the only way to stop her was to catch her.
Gerudo Town became visible in the night air. Lila knew if she could pass its borders, Zale wouldn't be able to follow. The all-women Gerudo tribe were born and bred warriors who didn't like outsiders – especially Lady Ganondra's enemies. She could already see a few sentries watching from their posts, all but one of which were hidden from untrained eyes.
Zale had gotten quite close to her when she crossed the threshold. In her wake, two Gerudo appeared from out of the shadows, halting him. His horse reared as he pulled on the reins. His mouth fell slightly open. Lila saw concentration in his eyes, almost as if he were calculating the reasons she could be safe in Gerudo Village. Then his gaze shifted to her.
The mix of emotions in Zale's expression stung Lila more than she thought possible. His brow was furrowed, but only a little, and his mouth remained agape. His eyes were no longer calculating, but searching, searching for the Lila he expected, the hero he longed for.
Lila felt her lower lip quiver and a heat sting her eyes. What was she doing? Why did Zale's words terrify her this way? Why couldn't she just sit down and listen to him and be happy and be the hero he wants?
Because of Ganondra. The Shadow Chieftess had too tight a grip on her heart. A stranglehold.
Zale must have seen the realization cross her face because he set his jaw, his own decision made. Another second passed. He nodded, ever so slightly. Then he turned his horse away.
The entire exchange took only a few seconds, but each second, each thud of her heart, felt like it lasted a lifetime. Once Zale was out of sight, the sentries looked up at Lila's still form. She closed her eyes for a moment and then gave them a watery smile. The women nodded before returning to their posts. Lila wasn't sure what each nod meant, but Zale's somehow gave her something new.
Hope.