Chapter 2 – Calm and Hope
Although he had been running for only a few minutes, the young man could not help but notice how drenched he had become. But as the droplets fell off his face like a waterfall, his determination only grew as he started to run a little faster and protected the girl in his arms more carefully.
Due to this, it was not long before the hero had found his way back to the house he saw the creatures climb out of. The door was still open; making him hope that no-one had left the house unattended. He gently put the girl down, thinking she would run into the house and he would wait until he heard voices. But instead she grabbed his hand and pulled him as she ran to the door of the house. When they reached the entrance she let go of his hand while she continued onwards into the house, looking into each of the rooms she passed until she disappeared from the young man's sight, who remained outside.
However the noise created by the rain distorted the warrior's keen hearing. He contemplated simply walking away, but then he wondered what if she ran into another monster that was still inside? Feeling that the positives outweighed the negatives, he stepped inside walking lightly to the point where she disappeared from his view.
As the hero turned the corner, he saw the girl within a deep embrace of an older male, presumably her father. If his eyes were not deeply shut, the older man would have noticed the warrior overlooking them.
"Thank the Gods you're safe!" he heard the man say to her, giving the hero the feeling of satisfaction that he always felt when helping others in need. His mind went back to the time he broke a terrible curse on a young girl's father during his second adventure, all those years ago.
But knowing he was providing unnecessary panic in him being there, he turned back and started to walk away from this happy reunion.
"MONSTER!"
The hero jumped in fright, as he turned around to see the father and daughter once again. Only now the man stood up, eyes fixed on the warrior with a blade pointed towards him, bravely protecting his daughter as he held her behind his leg.
"You'll not take her again! Not while I'm alive!" he boldly stated, but with noticeable fear in his voice.
"I apologise sir, but-" the hero tried to explain, before he was unexpectedly interrupted.
"Wait Daddy, he made the baddies go away!" the little girl explained as she peeked around her father's leg, realising who was there.
This confused the father, as the look of determination disappeared from his eyes, but he refused to lower his sword. Seeing that he wasn't listening, the daughter eventually forced herself free from his grip and started walking towards the warrior.
"Pyrrha!" the father protested, still unsure about his daughter's judgement of this stranger.
Fortunately though, he trusted her enough to not stop her from approaching the young man. She stood in front of him, looking up to him as he looked down to her. She removed his hat from her head, and held it out to him.
"Thank you, mister." She said with a smile on her face, to which the warrior could only respond to by smiling back.
Well, at least one person trusts me!
He thought as he knelt down, making sure they were at eye-level. The young man slowly took his hat off her.
"You are most welcome," He said, placing a hand on her shoulder before continuing. "Now, you be a good girl for your father, O.K?"
The girl then wrapped her arms around the hero, an action that shocked him a little. But once the realisation kicked in, he too put his arms around the young girl, and closed his eyes.
When the girl let go of the embrace, the warrior opened his eyes once again and saw that the father had lowered his sword. He now looked at the hero with utter appreciation in his eyes.
"Hey Pyrrha, why don't we go and wake Patroklos up? Then you two can sleep in mine and your mother's bed tonight!" The father proposed to his daughter, with a tone of excitement towards the end.
"Yeah!" she responded eagerly, as she grabbed her father's hand and dragged him up the stairs behind them.
Before ascending, the father turned to the warrior.
"Make yourself at home, I'll be down shortly!"
The hero smiled and nodded towards the man. Once they were out of sight, he placed his hat on his head and looked around the house.
It was small, but quaint nonetheless. There were only three rooms downstairs: a hallway, which lead into the kitchen where he was now, then there was an archway to the lounge which was connected to both the kitchen and the hallway.
The warrior wandered into the lounge, and was immediately grabbed by the shield that hung over the fireplace. It was quite impressive but not the best he had ever seen, concluding it must have some sort of personal significance rather than simply being an ornament. He then noticed a large painting on the wall opposite. Again he had seen better before, but it was good enough for him to make out the details. It displayed six people; one of whom the hero instantly recognised as the man he just saw; and after looking closely, he also saw the girl, only she was barely a toddler. Then there was a man and a woman stood next to each other that appeared a lot older than the others, along with a young man who was next to them. In the centre of these people was a woman, who sat on a chair cradling something precious in her arms, with the hand of the man he recognised on her shoulder. She was dressed in blue and white, and had long, blonde hair with blue eyes, displaying absolute happiness. Her appearance also reminded the hero of the Princess of his land, who was also his greatest friend.
There was also another woman, who was crouched next to the little girl and looked as though she was holding the toddler in place. She looked incredibly similar to the woman sat on the chair, both in terms of facial appearance and clothing. The only noticeable difference was that she appeared younger, and had shorter hair.
"You wouldn't believe how long it took Cassandra to get Pyrrha to settle down long enough for that picture!"
The warrior looked towards the kitchen and saw the man standing in the archway.
"You have such a beautiful family." The hero complemented, looking back to the painting and seeing how everyone looked so happy.
"I know," The man admitted as he walked to the warrior's side "Though sometimes I forget that."
The two men stood staring at the painting, before the father broke the silence.
"Listen, erm, about before," The man paused, whilst the warrior looked to him. "Sorry about that! It's just that when I saw you ears," He paused again; he clearly wasn't comfortable in admitting his mistake.
The hero smiled towards the father.
"Do not worry," He assured him. "Just make sure to look after her tonight." He then advised as he started towards the hallway. He had done his part here, now he needed to get back to finding somewhere to stay.
But as he reached the door to the pouring rain, the father called out to him making him stop.
"Wait! Where do you live?" He enquired. "I've never seen you around before."
"That would be because I do not live in this city." The warrior answered.
"Oh well in that case, shouldn't you stay here for the night?" The father offered. "You can't wander in weather like this. The nearest inn is miles away!"
The warrior looked out to the rain once again. The weather didn't bother him, but why go through the discomfort when he could stay here? Plus he would have to pay for a room at the inn. He then turned his head over his shoulder.
"Are you sure it will be no trouble?" He asked.
"Definitely! Men like you can't go unrewarded in some way!" The father responded, with a tone that suggested the question was completely unnecessary.
"Very well then, I accept." The hero said, closing the door and turning back to face the man.
"Great!" The man quietly exclaimed. "The name's Rothion by the way." He introduced, holding a hand out.
"My name is Link." The hero responded, taking Rothion's hand with his own and shaking it.
"Well Link," Rothion said, putting an arm around Link. "Welcome to the Alexandra household!"
"Thank you very much!" Link replied feeling appreciated for the first time in a long time.
The two men spent the next few hours talking. Having said that it was mostly Rothion telling Link about his life, as Link avoided such subjects since it was difficult to explain and it wasn't really necessary. But he enjoyed listening anyway and Rothion seemed to enjoy talking, so both of them were getting what they wanted.
"Say Link, is it alright if I look at your blade?" Rothion suddenly asked looking to Link's sword, which was placed in its scabbard on the wall with his shield behind the men.
The conversation was then awkward for Link since, as far as he knew, the Master Sword only allowed one person to wield it.
"Err sure." He eventually answered, before standing up, getting his sword, unsheathing it, and handing it to Rothion, hoping it wouldn't somehow retaliate.
But as he took it off Link, all that happened was Rothion grunted at its weight, which surprised Link slightly since the Master Sword always seemed weightless when he held it. Rothion placed the sword on his lap and examined the entire blade, from its majestic blue hilt to the tip of its seemingly glowing blade.
"This is a really beautiful sword. Such fine craftsmanship." He complemented, running his hand down the blade. "Where did you get this?"
"Somewhere… far away." Link eventually settled with for an answer, but then saw the disappointment on Rothion's face. "But it does not matter; the Master Sword is one of a kind."
"The Master Sword, eh? It's a fitting name!"
Rothion returned the sword to its scabbard and changed the subject. Eventually tiredness got the better of both men, and they agreed to retire to bed.
In truth though, Link wasn't that tired. He never was during most nights. Both of his adventures meant he never really had time for sleep, particularly his second where he had to stay awake for three days straight. It was a habit that never died. Thus when he retired to the room that was offered to him by Rothion, he spent most of the night sat on the chair positioned in front of the window, and simply stared into the outside world, reflecting on the day's events.
This world was so different to what Link was expecting. When he heard of a world that was so engulfed by evil to the point where it seeped through into other worlds, he imagined it would be a dark, barren wasteland where no life could ever exist. Then he remembered that horizon he saw when he arrived, the horizon that displayed the sheer size of this city, along with the beautifully clear sea and mountains as far as the eye could see. For the first time since he stepped into Hyrule Field eight years ago, Link was breathless.
Then he remembered that incident where he saved a pair of travellers from bandits just outside the city. Where even after he saved their lives, they ran away from him in fear, causing Link to tuck his ears into his hat in order to hide them and prevent that from happening again, until he pulled it off when no-one was around only moments before he saw those creatures, it caused some discomfort but it was worth the price.
Link's mind then went through the memories of wandering around the city, and how amazed he was by the architecture of some of the buildings; it was as though the lives of the builders who constructed them were dependant on the end result. He was also amazed by the amount of people in the city, every corner Link turned there was always something happening. Even though the majority of the citizens refused to answer Link's questions, he couldn't help but marvel at the life of this city. At times he forgot he had a mission to complete.
And it wasn't until now he realised that mission had now become more complicated, for not only was the fate of Hyrule in his hands, but also this world. Not only that, but this world seemed a lot bigger than Hyrule; it look him an entire day just to explore part of one city! If other days were like the day just gone, then he was going to be here for a long time…
But as his eyes became heavy, Link concluded that he simply had to look harder. There had to be a reason the Goddesses brought him to this city, and as Link lied down on the bed and shut his eyes, his final thought was that he was going to find it, one way or another.
…
As Link opened his eyes to the new day, his first thought was how well he had slept. Even though it was late morning and he had a busy day ahead of him, Link didn't feel the urge to get out of bed.
I think I deserve a lie-in.
He reasoned within his mind as he turned over to his other side. Given the opportunity Link would never be considered an 'early-riser', in fact his first adventure almost didn't occur due to his laziness.
Eventually Link heard the front door to the house open, and subsequently heard Rothion, along with his children; Pyrrha and Patroklos outside. He pondered about this but then remembered Rothion saying something about informing a passing solider about the kidnapping of his daughter last night, and how he would have to go and tell them that she returned in the end.
About half an hour later, he heard the trio return. But as the children entered the house, a male voice suddenly called out.
"Rothion!" It bellowed with a great sense of urgency.
Link immediately sprang out of bed and drew back the curtains of the window. He knew a bad situation when he heard one.
Not too far away from the house was a man who was approaching Rothion with a woman staggering next to him, using him as support. She was clothed in a simple white dress, had a small sword in a scabbard by her hip, and a small shield strapped to her left arm. Link recognised her as the woman on the chair in the painting, but she appeared so weak, she was barely limping, and had no look of happiness at all. Instead, her eyes were filled with utmost fear.
"Sophitia!" Rothion shouted back, running towards the pair.
Rothion put her spare arm over his shoulders and helped carry her. But as they reached the front door, she couldn't carry on. The injuries on her legs were causing too much pain and she gave up. Upon realising this, the men placed her gently on the floor. Rothion knelt down next to his wife and clasped her hand between his own. Their eyes met, both filled with utter panic.
"What happened?" he solemnly asked, on the verge of tears.
"The children," she said through the heavy panting. "Where are they?"
"They're inside. They're fine." Rothion responded. She obviously knew what happened last night, though he didn't understand how.
The fear within her eyes suddenly disappeared. Replaced now by such relief, that they began to well up. It was as though hearing those words lifted the weight of the world off her shoulders.
"May the Gods… be praised," She weakly said, just before closing her eyes and becoming completely motionless.
"Sophitia?" Rothion called out. "Sophitia!" He repeated, seeing she wasn't responding.
Still watching from the window, Link decided now was the time to intervene. With no time for his full clothing, he threw on his tunic and his boots. He then leapt out the open window, landing skilfully next to Rothion.
"Link!" Rothion called out in surprise.
"Please, allow me." Link pleaded to Rothion, with a serious look in his eyes.
Rothion didn't know what Link could do; nothing short of a miracle would help his wife. But then his mind went back to the previous night, a miracle occurred then because of this stranger. And if Link thought he could do something, then who was Rothion to doubt him?
The husband stepped away from his wife and Link took his place. His right hand went under her head and lifted it slightly. His left hand then hovered over her face, and Rothion saw a strange symbol appear on the back of Link's hand; three triangles positioned so that one triangle was placed on the tips of the other two, with the bottom-right triangle glowing a golden light. This hand then moved down her body and then back up again a few times, never making contact with her body.
Eventually Link clenched his fist, and the symbol disappeared.
"She is alive just very exhausted," Link assured him. "All she requires is rest, and a lot of it." He then diagnosed.
"We'd better put her to bed." Rothion suggested and Link nodded in response, before picking up the woman, carrying her into the house and up the stairs.
Rothion turned to the other man, who stood in awe by what he just saw.
"Thank you so much Argus, I owe you one!" Rothion said, wanting to avoid having to explain what just occurred.
"Yeah sure, no problem." The man quickly said as though he wanted to get it out of the way before continuing. "Hey Rothion, did that guy have pointy ears?" He then asked.
"It's a long story," Rothion sighed. "Thanks again!" He repeated before quickly going into the house and shutting the door before anything else could be said.
Link gently placed the woman down on the bed and looked at her. Her body was so battered and bruised but her face looked so peaceful, it was as though she was willing to go through all that pain just to hear those words from Rothion. He then looked to the back of his left hand, while he was using his power to check her vital signs he saw that his Triforce shard was resonating slightly. Link's first impression was that she was also a carrier of a Triforce shard. But that was impossible since there were only three parts to the Triforce, and Link knew for a fact that all carriers of those shards were very much alive. So, he concluded that she must have some other form of divine power that was similar to the Triforce.
But before Link could think about this further, Rothion came to his side.
"Sorry about that Link. The children are asking questions," Rothion said. "Could you tell them there's nothing wrong, and look after them for a bit while I clean up her wounds?" He asked.
"No problem. I shall just get dressed first." Link responded, passing Rothion as he walked towards his room.
"Link," Rothion called out before he exited the bedroom.
"Yes Rothion?" Link answered as he turned around to face the father.
"Thank you… again," Rothion said, turning his head so that he looked at Link over his shoulder. "That's twice now I'm indebted to you."
"You owe me nothing." The hero corrected the father, with a smile on his face that showed he was genuine.
Rothion turned around to face Link, but he was already gone. He didn't know who Link was or why he was here, but he did know that without Link, his life would have been torn apart. As he thought of this, smile appeared on Rothion's face. It was nice to see that there were still those in the world who would always strive to help others.
Link now understood why the Goddesses sent him here. They must have known she was returning from a long journey. They also must have known her daughter would be kidnapped on that night, an event that undoubtedly would have been disastrous if it had succeeded. How she would contribute towards his efforts, he did not yet know. But he was determined to find out, if it meant him waiting for her to recover then so be it.
The smile on his face grew larger. Finally, the pieces were starting to fall into place.
Author's Note: That's right folks, this is another Soul Calibur story with Link in it! Though I hope this doesn't put too many people off this...
In other news incase any of you didn't know, Soul Calibur V has been announced! To be honest I can't see how Namco can expand the story after Soul Calibur IV, but there we go, they must have found an excuse. On the off-chance that a key member of the team is reading this, I have two requests: 1) Put it in a Nintendo platform, and 2) Get Link back into the ring, so I can throw them out again!
