Children of Illusion
Chapter One
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Ephesians (ch. IV, v. 26-27)
There are many sinners in this world; evil doers who have rejected the ways of the Three Golden Goddesses; Din, Nayru, and Farore. Turning away from the Goddesses and the correct faith to worship their own God, the Goddesses abandoned this society of nonbelievers. With the holy land out of their disloyal clutches, these beings were known as the Children of Illusion. Once they reach the age of seventeen, they shall lose their final chance of forgiveness, and the Goddesses shall smother them with unimaginable consequences.
Their fates are sealed.
"The queen has fled."
With a sneer, a green-skinned fourteen-year-old glared at an orange haired one standing before her. Both of them looked ready to pounce at one another. The relations between all the Children of Illusion had been very tense as of late. People were converting to other religions with for fear of torture and death. One of which were the queen, who would be turning seventeen tomorrow.
This frustrated the princess; the queen's sister. Face flushing, Madeline stood up, her puffy hoop-skirt under her dress causing her quite a bit of frustration as she tried to push it down, failing miserably. "How DARE she!" Madeline blubbered. Nonchalantly, Shayla watched as the girl nervously paced. Staring blurry-eyed at her slightly shorter friend, Madeline made a loud whining noise. "Please... tell me you're lying." Madeline ran her fingers through her balding, long brown hair which was pushed back with a hair band.
Shayla shook her head. "Sorry to break it to you," With an annoyed sigh she leaned against the palace wall. "But she's gone. I doubt she'll be coming back either. She looked really freaked out." Shayla shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms over her chest, partly to express her stubbornness, and partly to cover a run in the black silken uniform with messy gold lining.
It was cold and moldy in the palace. The air was damp and humid. A thick, mildew smell drifted throughout the stone halls. The walls of the structure were built sloppily; although not much more could be expected of construction workers under the age of seventeen. The towers were crooked, and all the windows were uneven. Most of them had already caved in, and the ones that hadn't were either too big or too small to put glass on, so they were supported with wooden shutters. Almost all of Children of Illusion lived in the Palace walls; and those that didn't lived in the dark, tree-filled swamp they had been shunned to.
A moment of silence was shared between the two of them before Madeline mumbled, "You realize that if I'm wed, I'll be queen." Deep yellow pools met orange ones, and Shayla simply frowned and shook her head. "This is your last chance to really make a difference."
"Doubt it." Shayla stubbornly uncrossed her arms and adjusted the poorly crafted glasses that rested on her nose. Madeline glared at the younger girl as she turned around and face the doors. "We both know that isn't the reason. You'll leave as the other queens before you have," She began to stroll out the sloppy door. "As we both will when we reach the age of judgment." Madeline did not dare speak another word, for she knew Shayla was right. Despite her attempts at standing strong and acting brave, Madeline knew that she would run away from her problems as she did with everything else. She was afraid. Shayla was afraid. Neither of them would spend there whole lives in the Swamps of Illusion.
"Wait," Madeline's voice echoed through the nearly empty palace. Shayla stopped walking and hesitantly turned to the girl who was approaching her; high heels clinking against the stone tiled floor. "Our land… it's cursed, isn't it?" Shayla hesitantly nodded her head. "If we had the blessed lands chosen by the goddesses… We could live out the rest of our lives freely."
Shayla shook her head and let out a dreary sigh. "I'm sorry, Madeline,"
"That's Your Highness, Shayla." She airily corrected.
The red head paid no mind to this interruption. "Madeline," Shayla repeated. "I'm sorry, but I doubt that's possible. They have older soldiers. They're fatter and stronger men that could take us down in an instant. We have an army of scrawny eleven and twelve year olds." Madeline's nostrils narrowed, and Shayla frowned at this. "Odds are we won't last twenty minutes. The only advantage we have is camouflage."
"That could work," Madeline smiled brightly. Shayla just shook her head and sighed in aggravation. "Maybe the ability to hide is the only advantage we need… maybe that would be enough." Shayla shot Madeline a doubtful glance. The fact that her words hadn't sunk in caused her quite a bit of frustration. "At least come with me to check out what they've got." Madeline slouched forward for a moment and attempted a cute pout, which turned out more annoying. "Please?" After a few more words of convincing, Shayla had reluctantly agreed to follow Madeline into enemy lines.
Arm in arm, the two young girls made their way through the mucky swamp. Vines drooped from crooked and leaning trees; over flowing with large green leaves and odd plants. The sky was not visible in the wet land. With every step, Madeline's second hand high heels sunk into the mud. She frowned, unsure of how Shayla was able to walk with such ability. There were no paths for them to follow, although some nine year olds had begun laying down planks on the ground in an attempt to make a trail. It had never been completed, since most of the pieces of wood had sunk into the soft earth. No; this was not the ideal place for a civilization.
As the two exited the swamp, Madeline admired the sight before her. The castle was nearly invisible against the large trees and scattered ponds of water; lily pads and moss growing at the surface. "Come on," Shayla muttered, grasping Madeline's wrist and towing her down a gravel trail.
The only oddity of this was the two seemed to be invisible to the rest of the world. As soon as they had stepped foot out of their cursed swamp; a defensive camouflage had set in to their frame. They seemed transparent – the only thing visible being their rough and mysterious eyes. Although their bodies were slightly blurred, unless you watched very, very intently, they were invisible.
Soon enough, they arrived at the outskirts of Hyrule. The field was nearly empty; only a few lone Poes were near by, and a few carts containing products such as milk and fine fabrics such as silk. The two stared in awe at the beautiful and cleared out area. It was so beautiful and contained things that neither of them had ever seen. Such as flowers, bushes, stone paths and small, wild animals like squirrels. Madeline and Shayla casually strolled unnoticed towards the castle town. They both gawked at the size of Hyrule Castle. A pang of jealousy ran through Madeline's castle as she noticed how much nicer the castle was compared to hers. Her face flushed in anger.
Shayla patted Madeline's shoulders and told her to calm down. It would be about a two hour walk for the two until they reached Hyrule castle and the object they planned to keep hostage until they received recognition.
Princess Zelda Harkinian.