So, I just wanted to leave a short author's note explaining that yes, I am trash for creating a self-insert story BUT HEAR ME OUT HAHA. The explanation behind this is because I haven't played The Legend of Zelda in quite some time, and it always kept me daydreaming as a child. Recently I've been going through some tough times without any sort of relief from anything, until I got to play Zelda again. After I played it for a while, it brought back my creative spirit and inspiration to write and draw. It made all of my problems seem silly for a while. I wanted to make this story to dedicate my appreciation to Nintendo and the Zelda series for helping me through tough times. I hope you guys enjoy this. It's still a work in progress. Enjoy!
Irritated green eyes squinted in the dark as they opened from a deep slumber. Her eyelids had been crusted shut from the salt of tears she'd cried previously that evening. She remembered almost as soon as she came to her senses. How her boyfriend had left her home to go and be with people he knew she hated; people she knew would never be good for their future together. It was hard enough moving out at 18 to live with your boyfriend and his mom, and having to be the one to support yourselves as a couple while he tries and find a job; except all he does is sit at home and plays videogames all day.
She felt a lump rise in her throat when she remembered how he left without a second thought, no "I love you", no hug, no affections or acknowledgement. She tried to roll over in the mattress that was cornered in the floor, she felt a warm body next to her; he came home sometime after she'd cried herself to sleep. She rolled back over stiffly, her muscles tensed as if she were ready for another good cry. 'I shouldn't have to put up with this,' she thought, biting her lip as she sat up just as stiffly as she lay on the bed. She'd been having these thoughts for a while, and it seemed like the simplest thing had broken her now. Broken any want to stay here with him, or even tolerate being in the same room. The young woman glared down at him in the dark – his eyes closed, and his expression carefree. What did he know about stress? She often asked herself this question. She roughly pulled herself off of the bed over him, not caring if he woke in the process. She ran her fingers through her blonde bedhead as she felt around the messy floor in the dark for some clothes.
"Kali?" She heard as she pulled on a pair of red and white plaid pajama pants.
"What?" she answered coldly, feeling a rage heat pump through her veins straight from her heart. "Where are you going?" he asked again, sitting himself up on one elbow to watch her as she pulled on a black long-sleeved shirt with designs of neon broken hearts on it. "Away from here." she answered again after a pause, "I just can't even be near you." she tried to stop herself but just continued on, "I can't take this right now." She gestured sharply to her tear swollen eyelids and her quivering chin.
There was a long, painful silence as he looked at her, "So where are you going to go?" he asked, a hint of hurt behind his voice. "I don't know." she responded with a long sigh, "I'm going for a walk, I'll be back later."
She took three long strides for the bedroom door and stopped in the door frame, letting her fingers linger down the wood as she looked over her shoulder at him. Tears slipped over her cheeks. Let him wonder if she loved him anymore or not this time. Let him bear the weight of being left behind without any indication of if she really cared this time. She wasn't even sure herself if she cared anymore…. but where else could she go?
–
The winter air was frigid, and the fog billowing from Kali's mouth seemed to never end. She shivered violently as she strode past the backyard, across the shallow stream – never stopping to care if her shoes got wet. After she'd let that first tear slip, they didn't seem to stop. She couldn't help it that her feelings got hurt so easily, especially when it came to him. Not when this behavior and treatment was a constant thing now. She didn't want to think about him but couldn't stop. She couldn't stop thinking about whether or not he went back to sleep, or even stopped to think about keeping her from leaving...Probably not. She refused to let out sob, because if that started, she wouldn't be able to continue her walk.
Before she'd realized how far she'd walked, she was past the old abandoned cemetery she'd always been terrified of since she moved in with him. She was well past the barbed wire fence that separated his mother's property from the unclaimed land on the mountain. Before she'd known what happened, she had already scaled a large distance up that mountain. She didn't care if she was in the dark. She didn't care that she was alone. The cold made her pain almost numb. The cold made the physical pain of her aching joints, burning lungs, and frigid cheeks hurt more than what was hurting her most from the inside. She could at least handle the physical kind of pain for the time being.
–
Kali didn't know how much time had passed, or how far she'd walked away from her home. What she did know was that she felt as if she'd reached the flat top of the mountain. She walked and walked that flat woodsy land until she had to stop to breath. At some point in her walk, the salt from her tears had dried and made the skin on her cheeks stiff. Another thing she noticed was that the flat land didn't seem to end. She couldn't see the other side of the mountain, and when she breathed, the air didn't seem thinner like it usually did on top of a mountain. Kali stopped, sucking in deep breaths and letting her frigid, hurting ears adjust to the silence of the winter night.
If a feather dropped, she could probably hear it. Most bugs were dead this late in winter, and almost all of the forest creatures were in hibernation.
Once she stopped, Kali felt as if her heart were swelling. It continued to swell, and tears began to spill over her cheeks again. She felt like a full bottle of water with someone's foot stomping her, continuing to put pressure on her. Finally, a sob escaped her miserable throat and her knees collapsed from underneath her. Her smaller sobs continuously got louder. All of the stress of work, college, supporting her boyfriend, maintaining their relationship, everything came out of her.
She screamed because she felt like it. She screamed because it made her feel like she was releasing everything bad that had happened so far. She screamed to make room for more shit to put up with.
Her head pounded heavily, as did her heart. Eventually, in the middle of a sob, everything faded into black. Kali welcomed the cold, and all the numbness that came with it. She let it numb her heart, mind, and body; at least until she'd wake up.
–
Kali's vision was blurry in the slight light that showed through the dead branches of the trees; the sun was going to rise soon. She must have slept until about 5 a.m. at home before she left. At least those were the first few thought that fought their way through her foggy mind. The rest of her brain was trying to focus her nerve endings to the setting, her ears on the shuffling of the rotting leaves, and her eyes to the figure that now stood over her. She squinted her green eyes to see who it was. Kali felt a warm hand on her forehead, as if her temperature was being checked. The warmth reminded her of him, so she figured it must have been him. She tried to speak to him, but the fatigue slurred her speech, "Took yo-... took long...eno-enough." she stammered through heavy, numb lips. She couldn't hear the figure, but another one stood beside him, one with woman's figure.
Rage filled her veins and she tried to move to get up, but her muscles were like lead inside of a paper bag. "Yooouuu..." she growled with slurred speech, "Cheating...son of a bitch..." Kali made sure to force her last insult sharply. Before she could really say anything else, she was being lifted into someone's arms. Weird, he could never really lift her because of how scrawny he was. She couldn't question it – the numbing darkness pulled her back into its arms as she was carried away.
–
Kali woke with a start, somehow the rage from what she'd seen before had stored itself in her body until she finally had the energy to become fully awake. Her body shot up in an unfamiliar bed, under unfamiliar blankets. Her wide green eyes shot around the room as she scrambled to stand up from the bed. A strong arm pushed her back down on the bed and when Kali looked to see who it belonged to, the shock of silver hair met her eyes. A woman with sharp facial features, full lips, and pointed ears kept her firm fingers on Kali's shoulder. "Slow down young one. You must rest." the woman told her in a strong tone. Hell, everything about this woman was strong.
Of course, that didn't stop her feelings of rage from before. "I don't know you lady. Get your hands off of me." Kali demanded, roughly slapping away the woman's hand from her shoulder and trying to stand up again to make her run for the door. 'I've been kidnapped.' she suddenly realized and adrenaline started pumping through her veins.
She didn't make it very far. Kali's hand-slapping got her a good hard shove completely back down on the bed, with the woman's forearm pinned across her collar bone. "You will lay here, and you will rest." the woman said firmly, suddenly looking tense. "Young ladies should have more respect for her elders."
Kali struggled against the woman, attempting to shove her arm away. The woman was putting all of her body weight onto her, and it was very likely that the woman weighed more than her. Kali grunted with frustration, "You're not my elder. I don't know you, and I can't believe that you think I should respect you for kidnapping me!" she yelled, hoping that maybe someone outside would hear her shouts. The young blonde's blood boiled, and she reached down to bite the hell out of the woman's forearm.
All it took was the woman to release her weight off of Kali for just a mere second, and she did with a yelp as teeth dug into her skin. Not enough to break skin, but definitely enough to hurt. She scrambled to her feet to run for the door, "HELP!" she shrieked. The woman's iron grip locked onto Kali's waist as she attempted to drag her back to the bed. "Stop running, girl!" she woman demanded, obviously frustrated now, "There was no kidnapping involved here!"
Of course, mere demands didn't stop Kali as she shrieked and grabbed onto a wooden beam that framed the walls of the house as its support. The woman grunted as she tugged hard on Kali's waist, "Let go and quit shouting like that!" she growled, still tugging.
"Hell no!" she retorted and continued to shriek.
Suddenly the door on the other side of the room burst open with an unfamiliar male voice, "Impa, what is going on?!" he asked, "I heard shouting and-" When Kali looked up, a tall blonde boy stood there by the door looking alarmed and dumbfounded at the same time. The woman released her grip on her waist just a moment. "Link this girl-" Impa started. Kali didn't give her enough time to finish as she pulled her leg forward and kicked back at the woman. The woman grunted as she moved out of the way, but she released her grip. She scrambled forward, until she realized that she was running right towards the boy that was blocking the door. She immediately stopped and spun to the side, towards a shelf, looking for something – anything – to defend herself with. She grasped the handle of a nice-looking pot on the shelf and turned toward them with the pot high above her head – as if she were about to swing it at them. "Don't come near me! I will hit you!" she threatened. "Now tell me where I am, right now!"
Several awkward beats of silence passed as Kali kept the pot high above her head, she kept glancing in between the woman and the boy to see who would jump at her first. Finally, the boy raised up his hands as if to surrender to her. His clear blue eyes looked almost sympathetic for her, and she ground her teeth together upon noticing. "Just calm down, and I will explain everything. You're going to have to trust me." he told her, keeping his gauntlet covered hands up to show that he wasn't going to do anything.
Kali really considered it. There was something about this boy that was familiar to her, and something about him that made her want to trust him – even if they were both dressed as if from a different time. She slowly lowered her hands with the pot held tight in her fingers. All the time, she kept her green eyes on the boy's face, looking for any hint that he might have been lying. "Fine." she spat, placing the pot stubbornly back in its place.
Both seemed to sigh with relief, and the woman was the first to move. "Well I will not tolerate this girl's hardheadedness any longer," she grumbled angrily, taking long strides with those muscular legs of her's towards the door, "I will prepare dinner for us all." She opened the door and stopped to glare at the girl, before slamming it behind her as she left.
"Hardheadedness?" Kali questioned out loud, crossing her arms stubbornly. "At least I'm not a brute." She grumbled as she moved past the boy to take a seat on the edge of the bed.
The boy pulled up a chair in front of the bed, and sat to look at her for a moment. Kali took this quiet opportunity to observe him as well. It was the first time she really noticed the boy's clothing. Is he wearing a dress? She blinked a few times and realized he was dressed very medieval-ish, and very green. Her dark brows pinched together above her almost almond shaped eyes. He seemed to be looking at her clothing as well; she didn't really blame him either, her clothes didn't match. Kali was the first to break the silence, "Weren't you going to explain things to me?" she asked, trying to still sound irritated, even if she wasn't.
He seemed to snap out of his thoughts and nodded his head, "Yes, well... There isn't much to explain. Impa and I-" She interrupted him, "First, who is Impa? And more importantly, who are you?" The boy chuckled lightly at her, and her face grew hot. "What's so funny?" She demanded, her shoulders tensing.
He only waved his hands in front of him as if in apology, "Sorry, it's just that you ask so many questions, and it's kinda funny." He cleared his throat awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyway, the woman that just left is Impa. My name is Link, and I think it's fair if I ask for your name as well." he said, offering her a smile. He seemed amused.
"I think it's fair to give you my name after you tell me how I got here." she countered, mock-grinning right back at him. He laughed again, and she frowned.
"Fine, fine. As I was saying before, there isn't that much to explain. Impa and I heard screaming as we were exploring some ruins, so we went to find out what it was. We stumbled upon an unconscious girl who roused half-awake upon finding her," He motioned to Kali, "What was it that she called me?" He rubbed his chin for a moment, really trying to remember what she told him. "A cheating son of a bitch?" he laughed jokingly.
Kali face grew even hotter as she recalled thinking that Link was actually her boyfriend from home discovering her passed out in the woods. She looked away from him, crossing her arms over her chest. "So?" she asked.
Link just smiled at her, "Nothing really. I just found it strange. This girl also wore strange clothing but appeared harmless. Of course, we couldn't just leave an unconscious girl out in the forest in the early hours of the morning." He leaned back in his chair as he finished his story, "So we brought her back here."
Kali let her pale cheeks cool before she looked at him, "W-Well...It's not right to just take an unconscious girl back to your home. You should've just waited until I woke up." She scolded him with a frown.
Link seemed to furrow his brows a bit at her, "Are you not aware of what goes creeping around those woods? If we would've stayed there was a chance we could've been ambushed." he explained, a little more seriously.
"Ambushed? By what?" she mocked, laughing slightly. "Bears? They're hibernating right now. Maybe a very cold squirrel?" She shook her head, "If I thought that there was something out there that could have really hurt me, then I wouldn't have left to begin with."
Link shook his head at her, then seemed to think for a long time. He let his gaze fall on her eyes, then to her shirt and pants. "You are not from here are you?" he finally asked, his eyes pulling back up to her face. Kali furrowed her brows right back at him, "I could ask you the same question, but to answer yours, I know that I'm not from wherever you're from." she answered, running her fingers through her blonde hair.
"You are in the same place I come from right now. Do you even know where you are?" he asked, genuinely surprised. Kali took offense to his tone and stood angrily, "Don't talk down to me like I'm crazy!" she growled at him. He stood up with her, his expression not changing from its shocked state. There was a long silence, and Kali wondered if he would challenge her. "You are in the kingdom of Hyrule." he simply said, as if he didn't know how else to tell her.
It took several moments for Kali's brain to comprehend what he had just told her. A kingdom? Kingdoms hadn't been in existence for centuries where she was from. Did she go back in time? She glanced at his ears. Maybe even a different dimension? How?! At the realization her heart sunk down into her stomach and her angry, stubborn attitude fell. "I'm sorry, and I'm not sure where you are from," he started, reaching a cautious hand towards her shoulder, "I will help you find your way back though. Nobody deserves to just be left alone in the forest like that." Link was trying to encourage her to be strong in this situation. She appreciated that much, even if she didn't believe that he would help her find her way back. Nobody was that determined, or kind, or brave. "Thank you." she said sadly, turning away from him. She felt the lump rise back into her throat upon realizing that while she was gone, her boyfriend didn't come to find her – He was probably still asleep right now. Nobody cared she was gone. She put a hand over her mouth to stop the sobbing that was sure to come, and she swallowed the lump right back down. "Link, I... Can I have a minute alone?" she asked quietly, refusing to look at him.
He let his gaze linger on her; eyes full of sympathy. "Yeah, but before I go, can I have your name?" he asked, moving slowly towards the door. Kali looked up at him with wet green eyes, "It's Kali." she answered quietly.
Link somehow smiled at her encouragingly, "Then Kali, we'll get you home as soon as we can." he grinned wider and gave her a thumbs up, "Impa left some clothes under the bed. Come out to eat when you're ready okay?"
Kali appreciated his smile more than anything right then, and she managed to give a weak smile back to him while subtly wiping the tears from her eyes, "Yeah, thank you." she said.
Link walked into the other room. She lowered her face to the bed to release her emotions silently.
–
Not far from where Kali was found sat the same ruins that Link and Impa had begun to investigate. It is said that years ago, long before the Hero of time and the King of Evil, a tribe of people lived and worshiped a God. They made this God their leader, their shaman, and their healer. It is said that this God possessed a power that could not be seen, heard, smelled, or even really felt unless you were moved by it. In these legends, it explains that this God was challenged by a stranger with strange clothing that nobody had ever seen before, nor were his ears pointed like everyone else. The stranger fooled the God after feigning his death. As the God turned his back, the stranger pulled out a dark dagger that held a very powerful malevolent aura emanating from the scriptures on the blade and thrust it into the back of the God. The God's body burst into a billion shimmering pieces, then was absorbed into the blade of the dagger. The tribe became shocked, angry, and violent towards the stranger, and in a desperate attempt to possess the same power that the God had, he thrust the dagger into his own heart. His heart burst as the power surged within him, and the stranger's body couldn't bear the intensity of it. He collapsed in a seizing heap, and died.
Centuries went by, and the tribe became extinct without their leader. The sanctuary where their God once lived became a ruin. At the same point in time that Kali had become a part of this world, there was a shift between the two dimensions. This shift couldn't be felt by just anybody, but it was felt by the dead stranger. This time shift awakened his corpse that lay in a tomb deep within the ruined sanctuary. His heart – still holding the aged dagger – didn't beat as his veins rushed with the old God's power.
His flesh was rotted with age, and his face ugly with death. As he pulled himself from his tomb, bit by bit, the power was already regenerating his old body. "Finally, the time, has come." he rasped.
–
About 20 minutes later, Kali walked out of the bedroom into a much warmer room. A strong beefy scent hit her strong in the face, and her stomach immediately growled upon the smell. She felt very awkward in the clothes that Impa had picked out for her. She wore a white short sleeved button-up shirt with a maroon skirt that came down to her knees; it had strange dark brown block-ish designs at the bottom that seemed to be the same as the designs on the end of the sleeves. The skirt was held in place by a long dark brown sash that she assumed was used as a belt around her waist, and on her feet were boots that were about a size too big for her feet. They were weird clothes, but at least they were warm clothes.
Both Link and Impa looked up at her from the food in front of them, and Kali just stood there awkward with her hands stiffly at her sides. Impa looked like she was expecting something, as much as Kali hated to say it, "Thank you for the clothes." Impa had the slightest of triumphant smirks pull at the corner of her lips, "That's a little better," she muttered, "You're welcome. Now, sit." Impa stood to go and fetch a bowl for her. Kali – and her red-hot cheeks – moved to sit at the table, opposite of Link.
She didn't like that his gaze continued to awkwardly linger on her. Not uncomfortable like he was a pervert, but it was just odd being stared at; something she wasn't used to. "Did you find the answers you wanted?" Impa asked as she set in front of Kali a bowl full of some sort of soup. It smelled slightly spicy and beefy and it made Kali's mouth water. "I... well...Some." she answered simply before picking up her spoon and digging in.
Kali wasn't sure if this was some sort of dream, but the food was just as filling as if were wide awake, and extremely tasty. She didn't even care what was in it. "There are still things that I need to know, such as, where am I specifically? Where am I on a map?" she continued after swallowing several large mouthfuls of food. "Why you are all dressed this way and have pointed ears." she added, self-consciously running the tip of her finger over her rounded ear. "I don't understand this place at all."
Link only looked at her, as if he were still thinking, not saying anything. Kali only looked back down at her soup and continued to eat. "Well child, it is not us that is strange to you. It is you who are strange to us." Impa said quietly as she took her seat.
Kali raised a brow at her, "What is that supposed to mean?"
Impa folded her hands on the table. She sort of reminded Kali of one of the teachers that makes threats to slap their students, and actually does it. "It means that you are in our world. Clearly, you are not from here. You are the foreigner to us."
That stung. Kali tightened her jaw at Impa's comment and for just a split second her eyes shifted to Link, who just looked at Impa with a puzzled expression. Kali set down her spoon on the table and stood. "If I'm such a foreigner, then maybe I shouldn't be here." she said, standing rigidly from the table and headed for the door. "Then maybe you shouldn't." Impa replied calmly.
Kali's heart dropped again and she bit down on her lip, "Then I guess I'll just leave." She muttered as she strode quickly for the door. Link stood up and stepped after her, "Kali, wait! She-" he started.
She knew that Link was a great guy, and would probably be a fantastic friend to her, but she only knew one truth about all of this, about people. "Link, just stop." she stopped and held out her hands to him, her eyes stinging, "I should've known this would happen. I'll find my own way home. I don't need her help. I don't need to rely on anyone." This scenario felt as if it had happened to her a billion times. "I'm sick of everyone telling me things that aren't true. I'm tired of everyone making false promises. I want to believe everything you said, Link. Honest. I just don't believe in promises anymore." She waved him off, and stormed out the door.
Kali half expected to be blinded by some kind of bright sunlight that set the tone for a beautiful day when she stepped out. Instead, the sky looked like it was calling for rain, or snow. Gooseflesh rose on her arms as she breathed in the frigid air. "Stupid dress..." she uttered painfully, feeling an awkward draft. She glanced around her as she stepped across the grass. Apparently, they had brought her to some sort of village. The people who dared to come out in the cold gave her odd looks as she passed. This was worse than the world she knew.
She was the foreigner.
Kali ran out of the village, the cold burning her hard-working lungs. 'I don't need them anyways.' she thought, her tears long since ceased. Her mind shot back to her boyfriend, who'd made false promises about getting a job, supporting her for once, paying more attention to her needs. That sent her mind back to her parents, her sisters, her friends. All of them made false promises and she believed in them every time. They took advantage of her trust and willingness to do anything for them, every time.
As she ran down a set of stone stairs, she took a moment to look at where she was. There was a never-ending field that lined the horizon. In the distance she could see a hint of forest, and past that, she could see the rain that was headed their way.
She didn't care.
She continued to run out into the field blindly, unaware of just what she would find.
–
Kali wasn't sure how far she had run, but eventually she just walked in her size-too-big-boots across an endless field. She constantly kept an eye on her surroundings, and anything that moved, she looked at. Eventually, the sky began darken as the sun set. She must have been asleep for the most part of the day. Either way, she was hungry and exhausted from traveling the way she was. A part of her regretted leaving Link like that, without saying goodbye. He didn't deserve that.
Eventually, she found a spot in between a cluster of trees to rest for the night. As she lay there on the cold, hard ground, she thought of what she said to Link. She thought of what Impa said to her too. She didn't understand why Impa disliked her so much that she'd say that to her. Then again, maybe she was being overly sensitive. Regret filled her heart as she thought of Link's expression before she stormed out. His expression, again, full of sympathy, and maybe even hurt; she couldn't tell. Her eyes became heavy, and she wondered just before sleep claimed her, "Did he come after me?"
An old power has come to exist once more. An area of the forest has gone unrecognized, guarded, and undiscovered as a rip between dimensions has been created. Where exactly that rip was located, has yet to be known.
Deep underground, in a ruin that wasn't so much of a ruin anymore, an old being dwelled. He stepped slowly around a circle that glowed shades from black to neon blue. Around this circle that took up most of the space in the massive tomb, were what seemed like thousands of books that contained the secrets to the ancient dark magics of Hyrule. The old being, who's name was never mentioned in the legends and tales of his ultimate victory against an old, forgotten God, had obtained these books through his victory and domination of the many regions that were once here before Hyrule.
He held the largest of the books in only one of his hands – which were still in the process of regenerating from centuries of rot. His striking green eyes gazed down upon the text as he stopped before the circle. "Such power, with much time for others to come an obtain it. Yet nobody has come." he chuckled darkly as he reached into one of the few chests that lay about the tomb, pulling out gems engraved with symbols that were not recognizable to anybody anymore. He threw them perfectly into their spots on the circle as he chanted from the book. The lines that intertwined perfectly within the circle glowed from a bright blue, through the color spectrum, and finally shone with a green light. As the old one chanted, a wind and thunder from beneath tore through the circle and shot up. The winds violently tossed the books and chests around the room, but not the old being. The thunder clapped and rumbled loudly, but not loud enough to contain the old one's booming voice as he finished his spell.
For a moment, it seemed as if time had stopped in the room, all except the old being. Finally, the circle erupted with ear piercing screeches, and the wicked laughter of monsters summoned straight from the dark realm. They flew, or crawled, around the room gnashing their wet mouths at whatever they could find. Very few approached the man that had summoned them from the dark realm, and if they did, his overpowering aura fended them away. The man closed the book, deciding to leave the gate open so he'd have an endless supply of minions. They knew not who their master was just yet.
But oh, they will.
–
A massive chill shook Kali's whole body, ripping her exhausted mind from unconsciousness. Her eyelids peeled back slowly, and she flinched slightly every time a raindrop slapped her frigid face. Her cloudy vision cleared as she slowly remembered everything that had just happened and why she was asleep beneath a tree. At first, she thought that maybe everything that happened was a dream, but when she pulled herself to a sitting position, she knew that she was wrong. The odd clothes clung – soaked- to her cold body. How had she managed to sleep through any part of the rain? 'Must've been exhausted.' she thought, feeling her heart beat sadly. An overwhelming feeling of loneliness spread from her chest, all the way out to her fingertips. She thought for a few moments before realizing... nobody was here. Not her mom, her dad, her family, what few friends she had back in her world, not even her boyfriend from home. Just thinking about him felt like a dagger to her heart. Kali shivered hard and swept away her soaked, matted hair; frustrated. She bit her lip upon completely realizing – she was completely alone in this place.
It wasn't until several moments later that she realized, someone was with her, lingering in her peripheral vision. Her muscles suddenly jolted alive from the cold and she was standing, braced for a run. The figure chuckled, it was a man. "I don't see why you're trying to run." he muttered provocatively. Immediately, Kali knew that was her queue to run. She didn't want to trust anyone in this place, nor would she. Before she could even take her first step, though, a hand shoved her in the opposite direction. Someone had been standing on the other side, knowing she'd run. "Where do you think you're going girly?" the other male voice boomed. They sounded exactly the same – which didn't make sense. Kali stumbled but managed to not slip in the mud. "Look..." she started, patting down her shirt and skirt, then holding up her hands in surrender, "I don't have any money or anything of value. Just leave me alone." she pleaded, knowing if she tried to fight the both of them that she would just lose.
They both laughed simultaneously and moved in on her. She backed up as they moved forward. "We don't want anything that you could physically possess." said the cloaked figure on her left. "What we do want, is information." said the other.
"What could I possibly know?" she asked, backed up even more.
Her back was now pressed against the rough bark of one of the trees, and they kept moving slowly towards her. One of them brandished a long, vicious looking chain. "Now, now. No need to play dumb." the one said, wiggling his index finger at her. "We know that you know where the gateway is."
"What are you even talking about? What gateway?" she asked, her voice rising in pitch. Panic began to swell in her chest, her heart beating a million miles a second.
"You poor thing," the other mocked, as he revealed a sword from beneath his cloak. "You're still lying to us. We don't like being lied to, and it actually makes us quite upset." He looked towards his partner, and he only nodded with confirmation.
"I'm not even from this weird place! I don't know where I am, how can you expect me to kno-" Kali pleaded but was interrupted by the two suddenly just blinking into existence right in her face.
"Didn't you just hear us say we hate being lied to?" They both said in unison, the shadows beneath their hoods so dark that she still couldn't see their faces.
The panic within her begged to be released with a scream that was fighting its way up her chest, and into her throat. She ground her teeth together and held it back. There wouldn't be a point in screaming in a place like this. She was in the middle of nowhere, with the rain pounding down on them, so there would be nobody to hear her. If they were going to kill her, and if this was her final moments, she wasn't about to go down giving them the satisfaction that they made her scream until her last breath.
They adjusted their stance, and she could see the white glimmer of smiling teeth within the shadows. They were going to kill her. She closed her eyes tight and waited for the pain to come. Instead though, she felt the swish of air flying swiftly past her nose. This caused her eyes to open, and the two were standing farther back from her, stunned and looking off in one direction. She should have made a run for it just then. But the intense fear left within her, and the numbness of her limbs from the cold kept her from moving at all.
The two looked at each other again, before picking up the black chain and blade before dissipating into the shadows – as if they were never there in the first place. "... What?" she said out loud, as the sound of rain engulfed her. She looked around and saw a small stick jutting from the ground. She furrowed her brows and shakily stepped over to grab it. When she brought it close to her face, she realized it wasn't a stick at all – it was an arrow.
"But..." she stammered, feeling her head becoming light from everything that just happened, and probably the cold temperature she's kept this whole time. Just as she straightened up, she heard heavy thumping in the mud. She has heard that sound before, when she used to take lessons in horseback riding. Kali looked towards the source of the sound with wide green eyes and saw a chestnut colored horse with someone in green as it's rider. A small spark of hope flickered within her upon seeing Link's face. 'But why is he here?' she thought stupidly, finding it hard to believe he'd come out in this storm just for her. He brought the horse to a halt before her and slipped off of the saddle in one smooth motion, pulling the hood to a cloak he'd brought back up on his head. Obviously, it had fallen off in the middle of his ride. He grabbed her shoulders and looked close at her face, his expression seeming to be very alert and concerned.
"What happened? Where did they go?" he asked urgently, before glancing around them as if to make sure there were no more attackers. She'd never seen someone this serious before, especially when he seemed so calm hearted before. Kali just shook her head slightly as if saying that she didn't know where they went.
Link's expression seemed to soften at her answer, and he stood up to reach into a pack on the horse. Whatever material it was made of, seemed to keep everything on the inside dry. He pulled out a large cloak and wrapped it around her. Pretty much anything would have been warmer than her skin at this point, and it made her feel safe.
"Come on, we'll talk when we get back." he mumbled as he grabbed her shoulders again. Upon moving the world around her seemed to be spinning, and she could feel his hands balancing her body as she looked at his face with a half-lidded expression.
He only seemed to offer his warm smile again and laughed a little, "Just when you get cleaned up," he said, wiping some of the mud from her forehead, "You seem to get all messed up again." Something about what he said brought a small laugh from Kali's lips. It must be the hysteria of the whole situation finally settling in that's allowing her to laugh. Either way, the laugh felt good. She let him move her towards the horse, and then with strong arms, lift her onto the saddle. He slipped on in front of her and pulled her arms around his torso. She held onto him as they began to move, the rocking of the horse pulling her into unconsciousness once again. She was nothing but grateful that someone... anyone...had finally come after her when she needed help.