✧ The Light Between Us ✧ ☆•° Chapter 12 °•☆ I slammed into the wall, my head aching from the impact. My wrists hurt from being gripped too hard. Everything blurred together. There were no teachers around. Then I remembered I was behind the gym. Only people in love with chemicals and jagged strips of metal went here. Except I wasn't one of them. I was dragged here. Pain throbbed in my stomach. I groaned, sinking to the ground and hugging my knees. My tormentor grabbed my shoulders and pinned me to the dusty brick wall. I faintly recognized him. He was from my class, always with some short, dumpy kid. What was his name? "Hey, Sooga!" someone called. Sooga. That was his name. Then the short one was- "Kohga? I thought you were busy." Kohga waddled into the alley, staring into a Sheikah Slate. "How many did you send after the other one?" he demanded. "Four," Sooga replied. Kohga stomped angrily. "She took them all down! Pretty sure she broke all their bones." Sooga's eyes widened. "Is she on her way here?" "Naw." Kohga slipped the Slate into a pocket. "I finally dropped a trash can on her. She's out." "Impa," I rasped. Sooga turned sharply. "What'd you say?" "N-nothing," I stammered. He tightened his grip and I winced. Impa wouldn't fall so easily. She'd probably come around the corner any second and make these two regret touching the princess of Hyrule. The thought gave me courage. "What do you want with me?" Kohga grinned. "You're Princess Zelda, correct?" I assumed that was rhetorical. "Finally! I've been waiting for this moment. I can get my sweet revenge!" "Revenge- for what?" Kohga squatted to my level. "Your royal family has been making our life miserable. Coming after us like we're criminals." "You thugs ARE criminals!" I yelled. "Sneaking up on people and-" Sooga twisted my arm and I cried out. "No one can help you here," Kohga hissed. "Your friend is unconscious. Teachers don't go here. And if anyone did, Sooga would take care of them easily." Sooga nodded silently. "You're going to answer our questions. Got it?" I opened my mouth for a retort, but then I noticed the look on Sooga's face. A warning grimace, like he didn't want to but he'd break both my arms if he had to. "I want the access code to the Passeri military base," Kohga ordered. "I- I don't know it," I lied. I had my suspicions about his allegiances. If he got the code... Kohga raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You don't remember it from the time you visited with your father?" My mouth fell open. "How do you know-" "I prefer to stay mysterious," he replied. "Sooga, mind jogging her Majesty's memory?" Sooga wrenched my arm farther, twisting it into an excruciating position. Hot tears blurred my eyes, but I refused to answer. He flung me against the other wall, and my body thudded against the bricks. Then Sooga went to work, throwing well-placed blows with surgical precision. Sharp pain ran through all of me, drowning out everything except the hurt. I tucked my head into my knees, waiting for the next jolt. "What's the code?" Kohga snapped. "Never," I mumbled. Sooga forced me out of my protective shell and grabbed my arm with both hands. "I will break it," he said quietly. I could tell he would. And it would be agonizing. "No, no," I murmured weakly. "I'll tell you..." Kohga knelt in front of me. "Yes?" I exhaled slowly. There wasn't any escape route I could see. Impa wasn't coming. "SH31K4H," I sighed. I could always warn Father. Kohga clapped delightedly. "Perfect! And remember, if you tell anybody about this-" He forced my chin up and showed me his Slate, swiping through pictures of my friends- Urbosa, Purah... all of them. "They'll be the ones suffering next time," he finished. "You saw how good Sooga is. We know many more as good as him, if not better." There really was no escape route. Sooga released his hold on me and stepped back. "Don't forget what he told you," he said. "Now, lights out." He raised his hand- and a blur rammed into him, knocking him over. It delivered a swift chop to his neck, and Sooga's eyes rolled back. The figure stood and waved. "Hi, princess," Link said. "Link?" I whispered. "Hold on a sec," he said, turning on Kohga. Link punched him in the jaw, sending him to the ground. He turned back to me and helped me up. "I saw Impa on the way here," he told me. "She's fine." "Link- thank you..." I breathed, shaking. My legs failed me and he barely caught me. "We should go," he said gently. "You could be really hurt." A flood of emotions washed over me. He had taken the second chance. I flung my arms around him gratefully in our second embrace. Except this time, it felt right. And so we stood there, in the danger-filled alley, holding each other. ☆•° Chapter 11 °•☆ ☆•° Chapter 13 °•☆
