It was another silent night in the Hidden Village. The only sound to be heard was the occasional grunt or screech from the bulblins, huddled around their campfire against the freezing winds. Not a soul was around other than them. It was a common sight nowadays. Most towns that weren't Castle Town had been taken over by the bulblin forces, and the people who hadn't been taken captive had fled to the capital. The only two prisoners of the Hidden Village, a tiny old lady and a barefoot girl, were locked up for the night and sleeping peacefully. Guarding them wasn't much of a task for seven fully-armed bulblins. They could all spend the night focusing on not freezing to death, and had nothing to worry about from their prisoners.
Or so they thought.
They had organized it weeks in advance. Impaz had revealed the bomb to Ilia one dusty night, which had set their plan in motion. Ilia would hurl it at the campfire and it would explode, hopefully killing a couple of the guards and distracting the rest. They would both then break out of their cell (a boarded-up ramshackle house, the locks of which they had been secretly practicing picking for weeks using one of Impaz' hairpins) and make a break for freedom. What they would do after that was unsure. Impaz was the first person Ilia had ever met, and the Hidden Village was the old lady's home. They really had nothing but eachother.
Ilia sat, hunched up, beneath the boarded-up window. Impaz squatted next to her, watching warily through one of the gaps in the boards. One of the bulblins had just left to relieve itself in the bushes, and they were waiting until it came back to carry out their plan. Ilia's stomach was tying itself into knots.
"I can't do this. I can't," she whispered for the fifth or sixth time that evening.
"Of course you can," Impaz reassured her for the fifth or sixth time that evening.
"No, I can't. I can't, I can't, I can't-" she whispered, beginning to trap herself in the loop of anxiety.
"Ilia." Impaz got down from the window and firmly took Ilia's hand. "You are a very strong girl. You stuck with me through all of this, despite what you're going through. I know you can do this."
She was grateful for that. It didn't make the cold feeling go away, but it helped to somewhat soothe her nerves. Impaz had been a constant force of relief in her life. When Ilia had woken in a completely foreign place with no recollection of her previous life other than her name, Impaz had calmed her down and helped her settle in. The entire escape plan had been thought of by Impaz in the first place. As Impaz smiled reassuringly at her and returned to her lookout spot, Ilia was suddenly struck by a wave of gratitude towards the old lady. She was then hit by a wave of frustration as she realized she had no idea how to show it.
As she struggled to think of something to do for Impaz before the inevitable return of the guard, her fingers subconciously drifted to the charm she had around her neck. She looked down at it. She had no idea what it was, but she had amused Impaz with it over the past few weeks by producing a couple of funny tunes when blowing into it.
"Impaz," she spoke up. The old lady looked down again, and Ilia held the charm out to her. Impaz looked confused at it, then surprised.
"Ilia, you shouldn't-"
"It's a thank-you gift. For all you've done for me." She took a deep breath, and smiled. "You're the first person I ever met, and you've been so kind and wonderful to me. I couldn't do any of this without you. So, I think you deserve this. Please take it."
Impaz looked shocked, and if she were anyone other than Impaz, she might have gotten emotional. Instead, she just smiled and accepted the charm. "Thank you, Ilia. It's been a pleasure."
It struck Ilia that there was a strange sense of finality about the whole exchange, but she had no time to dwell on it, as the guard soon returned from its toilet break.
"Get ready," Impaz muttered, taking cover. Ilia held her breath and picked up the bomb. She took a couple of steps back to allow herself more space to lob it over the wall of the building, and picked up a flat stone off of the ground. She quickly scraped it against another stone, generating sparks, but one of them landed on her bare foot and she yelped.
"They heard that," Impaz told her. Her tone remained steady, but something about it told Ilia that the old woman was beginning to panic. She scraped the stones together again, but the sparks weren't enough to light the fuse.
"Hurry, Ilia, they're coming," Impaz whispered urgently. Ilia began to panic, too. She kept scraping the stones together as fast as she could, but the ancient flax of the fuse refused to light. She could hear the grunting of a bulblin approaching, and tears filled her eyes. Finally, one of the sparks did the trick, and the dead night air came alive with the sound of the hissing fuse. As quick as she could, Ilia tossed it over the wall. There was a confused grunt, then another. Then, the screeches of alarm came a moment too late as the bomb exploded and the wall of the building swayed lightly. Impaz rushed to the door and yanked the lock out. She shoved the door open, and beckoned frantically to Ilia.
"Hurry, hurry!" she shouted. Ilia raced out ahead of her, and her heart almost stopped. None of the bulblins were dead. Hardly any of them were even stunned. The second they saw the pair, they screeched and hurried to the campfire for their weapons.
"Run!" shouted Impaz, so she did. Ilia took off as fast as her feet could carry her until she was no longer in the light of the campfire. She turned to see Impaz cornered by four of the bulblins on the far side of the town.
"Impaz!" she screamed. Impaz gave no reply, and instead rushed into the house behind her. The bulblins gave chase, and attempted to force open the door, but it appeared that Impaz had either locked or barricaded it. Ilia turned her attention to her own situation, and saw that the remaining three bulblins were now running towards her. She didn't give them any more thought, and instead turned and raced off into the night.
Ilia's heart pounded against her chest as she ran as fast as she could. The screams of the bulblins followed her. Suddenly, a whistling noise and a great heat hissed past her ear, and a flaming arrow embedded itself in the dirt just ahead of her. It was followed by another, and another, and soon it felt as if it was raining flames. Ilia didn't scream. She just kept running. Soon, the rocky earth turned to soft grass under her feet, and she found herself on a vast plain. The flaming arrows kept coming, and she had no idea where she was even running to.
Suddenly, a strange plant creature surfaced from the earth with a "vrshh" noise and spun towards her. She screamed, and jumped it, like a hurdle. It disappeared back into the soil, and almost as soon as it had done so, another one surfaced and spun towards her. She dodged it and kept running. It seemed that the plant creatures were helping the bulblins in their assault against her.
Her heart was pounding fit to burst, and she could feel herself slowing down as she dodged the plants. She was almost out of her mind with fear. All of this running was worse than being in captivity. Maybe she was better off in the Hidden Village.
She was considering simply stopping and allowing the bulblins to recapture her when suddenly, the thudding of hooves joined the screeching of bulblins and the sound of the plant creatures. There was a strange snorting sound coming from close behind her, and she could feel hot breathing on the back of her neck. She was suddenly grabbed by the waist by a strong pair of hands and hoisted into the air. She screamed and kicked, but to no avail. She was placed down on the back of an enormous pig-like creature by one of the bulblins riding it. It leered at her. She instinctively kicked it out of fear and disgust, and her kick landed directly in its face. It was thrown off of the pig creature, and rolled along the ground until it was out of sight. That left the bulblin who held the reigns of the creature.
It swivelled around when it heard the scream of its partner, and its eyes widened when it saw that Ilia was its only other passenger. She grabbed it by the waist and attempted to tackle it off of the mount like she had done with the other. However, this one was both stronger and smarter, and intercepted her. They both ended up locked in a shoving match. They struggled to and fro for a while, until the bulblin broke its hold and punched Ilia in the face. She reeled back, dazed, and the bulblin grinned at her triumphantly. When she regained her senses, she noticed with panic that they were fast approaching a cliff. Without thinking, she threw herself off of the pig creature. The last she saw of the bulblin rider was the confused look it gave her as both mount and rider tumbled over the cliffside. The three bulblin that had been chasing her joined it, screaming as they launched themselves over the cliff.
That left Ilia alone on the field.
Slowly, with no more pursuers chasing her, she dragged herself to her feet. She took slow, shaky steps towards the white-stone stairs that she had landed at the base of. Once her feet touched the marble paving, she collapsed.
"Louise!" Telma bellowed at the top of her lungs. "Louise! Come on, puss-puss!"
She wandered through Castle Town, calling out the name of her beloved cat. People always told her she had a fine pair of lungs in her, and they were right. The last few stragglers at the market flinched away at the sound of her voice. The little goron child gazed up at her with large eyes as she passed him by on his usual spot at the street corner.
"Are you looking for Louse, sister?" he asked innocently, although everyone from here to the palace knew about Telma's quest at this point.
"I sure am, little fella. Have you seen her?"
He raised a hand and pointed towards the western gate, just a ways off. "I saw her go out through the gate. But be careful, sister! There's monsters around this time of night," he cautioned.
"Thanks for telling me, honey. And thanks for looking out for me. Tell your dad I say hi," she told him, smiling charmingly at him and waving. He gave a wide, gummy smile in return.
Telma headed towards the western gate, spitting on the door of the doctor's surgery as she passed. She had made a little promise to herself that she would do so until that nasty old quack payed back the staggering tab he had racked up at her bar. The soft glow of the nightlights left her peripheral vision as she reached the gate. The guard stiffened up as soon as he saw her.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm afraid I can't allow you onto the field. It's too dangerous this time of night," he told her, professionalism hardening his voice. Telma clicked her tongue. Typical. Now the guards start doing their jobs. This one must be new. He sounded young, and there was no way the regular guards would be this strict.
"Hey, I'm just looking for my kitty cat. Louise. Have you seen her?" she drawled, sure of his answer.
"W-well, no. I just started my shift, you see-"
"Then let me through! Come on, give a girl a break. I need to find her." Usually, she wouldn't be so unreasonable, but then again, neither would the guards. Besides, Louise had never showed up to dinner, which meant that Telma hadn't eaten, either. She was hungry.
"Ma'am, please, don't create a scene," he protested.
"Hey, I'm not making a scene!" She raised her voice in the hope of making a scene.
"Ma'am, I will give you one last warning. Return home, or I'll have to call for backup," the guard cautioned. Telma pouted at him.
"Fine. I'll be a good citizen. Let me know if you see her, all right?" she requested, heading back towards the bar. The guard relaxed a little, obviously relieved at her giving in. Poor newbie. She felt a little bad for grilling him so hard, but little did he know that she had no intention of giving in at all. She strolled back to the stairs for the bar, and loitered around the corner for a couple of minutes. Sure enough, another guard ambled by, and went up to the young guard on duty. The two exchanged words for a while, then the younger guard left. Telma waggled her fingers at him as he passed by, and he nodded respectfully. As soon as he was out of sight, she sauntered over to his replacement.
"Hey there, big guy. Mind letting me on through?" she wheedled.
He guffawed. "Well, sure thing, Miss Telma. You be careful out there, all right? It'd be a real shame for a face as pretty as yours to get hurt."
She laughed more than she thought was necessary, to stroke his ego. "Oh, you're such a sweetie. Have a good evening!"
He shoved open the gate to let her pass. She waved lightly at him, and headed down the steps to search for Louise. She heard the clank of metal behind her, and opened up her lungs again.
"Louise!" she bellowed, her voice echoing around the vast expanses of the field. She began to feel worried. What if her baby had hurt herself? She knew there were some gaping chasms around here, easy for cats to fall into. Her stomach began tying itself into knots. She continued on down the steps, leaving the light of the town.
"Louise!" she bellowed again. This time, she was met with a meow. She suddenly felt weak with relief. "Louise!"
She continued on down the steps. It was difficult to see in the moonlight, but she made out Louise's silky white coat. She stopped and sighed with relief.
"Louise, you silly goose. I've been looking all over for you-" She cut herself off with a gasp when she saw what Louise was examining. The body of a young girl lay face-down at the bottom of the steps.
"Oh, my goddess-" she whispered to herself, hurrying down the last of the steps and over to the girl. She turned her over onto her back. She had dirty short, golden-brown hair, swept across her shoulder, and wore a white, hand-sewn top and brown shorts. Her eyes were closed. Telma lowered her ear close to the girl's face. She was still breathing, thank the Goddesses. Telma hoisted the girl up by the waist and draped her arm over her shoulder, and began to drag the girl up the steps. It was no great feat, considering that the girl wasn't that much more than skin and bone.
"Come on, Louise," she urged, but the cat was already at her heels, mewing concernedly.