FDTT ch3
A rather saucy scene coming up. It's nothing explicit, but quite suggestive. You have been warned.
Also, bold italics indicates the voice of powerful beings.
Onwards!
"Halt! You shall go no further!"
"Relax, Fado. It's only me."
The wickedly sharp pitchfork that was held up, glinting in to moonlight, dropped and was swung over a shoulder. Fado emerged from his hiding place, eyes glinting in the dark. Upon noticing Link, his eyes shone with joy.
"Link! You're back! Folks have been worrying about you something awful."
He noticed the Gerudo stood behind him, suspicion creasing his face.
"Who's this you brought with you?"
Link turned to Midna, wordlessly asking what he should say.
"My name's Midna. I was ambushed in the desert a while ago and woke up in the forest. Link here found me."
Fado nodded slowly, the suspicion never leaving his eyes.
"Hmm, alright, well the least I can do is offer you shelter. Follow me back to the village."
The four set off, following a winding path through the trees, the moonlight barely lighting the way. It didn't seem to make a difference to Fado, who moved as if it were still daylight. Midna had no trouble either, though she hid it well, falling into character as if she had spent years in the desert's harsh light, eyes glowing in the darkness.
Soon, Fado led them onto the path, in front of a large bridge. As they crossed, Fado whistled a six-note tune. The faint sound of arrows being returned to quivers filled the air momentarily, along with a quiet rustling as the hidden sentries settled into their hiding places again. Fado led them forward.
Soon, a glow lit up the trees ahead of them, the small village of Ordon. The smell of pumpkins drifted on the air alongside the occasional bleat of a goat. Fado led Rusl, Link and Midna to the town hall, knocking on the large door solidly. The noise resonated through the air. Heavy footfalls boomed behind the door, the latch clicked and the door swung open, Mayor Bo stood there. He looked at each member of the party in turn; respect towards Fado and Rusl, suspicion towards Midna. A smile split his face as he saw the green-garbed young man stood on his step.
"Link! You've come back! Everything straightened out in Hyrule, then?"
Link smiled back, albeit wearily.
"Mostly. Reparations have started, and it'll be some time before everything is back to normal."
"You must be tired. You'll not need to do anything for now. Why don't you go home, rest up? We can talk in the morning."
Bo turned to Midna.
"Now, what'll we do with you?"
She started to talk, but Link interrupted her.
"She can stay with me."
Bo raised his eyebrows.
"Are you sure? You hardly know this woman."
"I'll be fine. I can handle myself."
"If you say so."
Bo pointed at Midna.
"I'll tolerate no harm on Link. If you have a problem, take it up with me."
Just as quickly as it appeared, Bo's cold tone vanished.
"Now then. Fado, you can handle yourself now, take the rest of the night off. Same goes for you, Rusl. Link, Midna, I'm sure Uli will be fine with cooking you something to eat. You must be hungry."
Midna spoke.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Mayor."
"Please, Bo will do. Link'll show you the way to Rusl's house."
Link and Midna began to walk across the darkened village. Bo grabbed Rusl, pulling him close.
"I don't trust this Midna. I want a Light Tear in her food. I need to know who or what she is."
Rusl nodded, running after the pair. Bo slowly closed the door to the town hall, the light from inside cut off.
Rusl took a key from his pocket, inserting it into the solitary lock on the wooden door. It turned with a click, the door swinging open. Uli looked up from the fire, the ladle she was using to stir the large pot leaving her hand. She embraced Link and Rusl in turn, and offered a handshake to Midna. The disguised Twili returned the gesture, fiery eyes staring into Uli's dark ones.
"Welcome back to Ordon, Link. And welcome to Ordon, Midna. I hope you like our little village."
Midna nodded cautiously.
"I like it here. It's quiet."
Uli walked back to the fire, sitting and stirring the large pot there. She added some herbs, plants that Midna didn't recognise. Rusl sat down beside her, hugging her again and whispering something in her ear. Uli nodded, reaching again into her small cabinet of ingredients. She poured a small amount of a blue liquid into the pot. Midna couldn't tell if it was a trick of the light, but she could've sworn the liquid was glowing.
"Alright then. Who's hungry?"
Three hands were raised in the flickering light. Uli produced four bowls, spooning a modest amount of the soup into each one. Midna had to admit, it smelled good. Spicy, even. She saw the others drinking straight out of the bowl. She lifted her own, bringing it to her lips and swallowing some of it. It tasted as good as it smelled, so she drank again. Soon, four empty bowls were placed on the table, the four figures lounging by the fire. Uli spoke first.
"So, Midna. What did you think of my soup?"
"It was great. I personally wouldn't have made it as spicy, since they're in such short supply in the desert."
Uli and Rusl exchanged a sideways glance, as if they were waiting for something. Rusl glared at Midna, the warmth leaving his eyes.
"You lied to me."
"What?"
"You said you weren't a demon."
"What are you-"
Midna's question was cut off as she screamed in pain, doubling over and pressing her hands into the side of her head. She looked at her hand, the disguise peeling away like thin paper. She looked at Rusl and Uli.
"What… Have... You… Done?"
She fell onto her side, losing control of her magic. Her hair lost its form, splaying out beside her. Link looked at Rusl.
"What did you do?"
"I put a Light Tear in the soup. That's why it tasted spicy to her only."
"You've poisoned her."
Midna carried on screaming, blood pooling in her mouth and evaporating into small strands of shadow. Her disguise had dissipated, leaving her normal Twili form convulsing on the hard floor.
Items began materialising, appearing in thin air and clattering to the floor. Link recognised them as items from his travels. Bow. Bombs. Clawshots. Dark Crystal. Thinking fast, he scrambled over to his scabbard, drawing the Master Sword and using the weapon to hit the crystal into her side. Instantly, Midna's convulsions stopped. Instead, she arched backwards, the Dark Crystal dissolving into her body. Blue light streamed from her mouth, coalescing into a brilliant sphere of light. Midna scrambled back as it fell to the floor in front of her, backing into the wall. She looked at Rusl, fear and betrayal in her eyes. Link approached her, sliding down the wall and placing his arms around her. She flinched, before settling into his embrace. Link could feel Midna shaking. She spoke with a hoarse voice, her words shaking with her body.
"Why? Why would you do that?"
Uli and Rusl looked at each other before speaking.
"We had to make sure you weren't an enemy.
"If its enemies you're looking to make, poisoning them is a good way to do it."
Rusl recoiled as if struck. Uli winced before speaking.
"We didn't know it would have such a profound effect. Normally, it causes evil beings to shed their disguise."
"Next time, do your homework. Light is bad for the Twili." Midna spat back.
Link helped her get to her feet, half-carrying her to the door.
"I'll be in my house. Good night."
He opened the door with his one remaining hand, walked out and slammed it shut. The pair hobbled across the village, the only noise coming from the stream bubbling through. They reached the foot of Link's treehouse and Midna groaned as she saw the ladder leading up to the door.
"Is there no other way in?"
"Nope."
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I will be waiting until you climb that ladder before going anywhere."
She sat down, the damp ground quickly soaking through her few clothes. Link watched as she sunk into his shadow, the ground swallowing her legs first, then her chest, then finally, her head. Link shook his head, chuckling at her stubbornness.
He climbed up the ladder, reaching the small platform in front of his door. Extracting a silver key from a hidden pouch in his tunic, he unlocked the door, closing it behind him and raising an eyebrow in confusion as he saw the fire already lit, and Midna sat in front of it.
"That's a neat trick."
She turned to him.
"I could always do this. But then, what would you have done without me?"
She sauntered over, walking behind him and draping her arms over his shoulders.
"Poor little Link, cursed as a wolf and with no idea how to get out of a mere cell..."
"Alright, you've made your point."
"Until I came along, you were helpless. Doomed to waste away in that cell."
"Alright, I get it, thank you, yes-"
"Do you remember the promise you made?"
Link cringed inwardly. How could he forget?
"Nope. Nothing."
"Really? What a pity. I guess I'll just have to remind you then."
Midna moved, sweeping the legs out from under Link, pushing him face-first to the floor. Link went to stand up when he felt her sit down on top of him, as if he were still a wolf and she an imp.
"I said, in return for helping you, that you become my servant."
She leaned forward, jerking his ear back and whispering into it.
"I might just have to hold you to your promises."
She shifted her weight, allowing Link to roll onto his back. She stood up and clicked her fingers. She disappeared with a faint buzz and a burst of Twilit Particles, reappearing on his bed. She beckoned to Link, staring at him as he removed his tunic and boots, leaving himself bare-chested. He climbed into the bed next to her, raising an eyebrow as she rolled on top of him again. She moved his hands over and above his head; Link did not realise the danger before it was too late. With two quick bursts of magic, he found himself unable to move his hands. As he made to grab her, he heard the familiar metallic clink of chains. His expression quickly became one of anger.
"Goddesses Midna, let me go. I don't want this."
She shushed him with a slender finger on his lips, and he stopped struggling for a moment. She flashed him an impish grin and two more bursts of magic. He couldn't move his legs anymore, the dull grey metal of shackles restraining him.
"Midna, let me go. I don't want this."
She laughed at him, a simultaneously wonderful and terrifying sound.
"I'm only keeping your promise. Servants obey their mistress' every command."
Seeing no possible escape, he resigned himself to his fate. He stopped struggling, letting his arms and legs drop as far the shackles would let him. Midna smiled again.
"There we go. Now, we're both going to have some fun."
She sat up, removing the shadow skin she wore instead of a shirt. Link felt his heart skip a beat.
"Now then. I know I want this. But I need to make you want it too. And this has the added bonus of being... Therapeutic for me."
"I'm sure there other ways of healing you."
"True... But can you get to the Twilight realm from here?"
Any protest that Link had was cut off as Midna slid her hand below his waistband, quickly leading to a very visible bulge.
"Are you sure you still don't want this? I could stop now…"
"N-no!"
Link felt he'd answered far too quickly.
"Well then. Let's get started."
Mayor Bo was awoken by a heavy knock at his door. He sat up in bed, quickly pulling a shirt and pants on and heading out of his room. He opened the door, greeted by the solemn face of Rusl.
"Is there something wrong?"
"The Light Tear poisoned her."
"When you say poisoned..."
"She almost died, Bo."
Bo fell silent. He thought for a while, before finally coming up with a solution.
"That bad? Hmm. I will resolve this in the morning. Rusl, this is not your fault. I ordered you to use that Light Tear. I will take the blame for this."
Rusl walked away without a word, heading out into the darkness. Bo shook his head, closing the large door.
Rusl worked his way through the village, crossing the stream and heading out of the village, sword in hand and a bow strung across his back. He always found hunting quite calming. As he walked past Link's house, he shuddered. He had almost killed someone he didn't even know. He had sworn to protect, not murder. He walked past Ordona's spring and across the rope bridge leading into Faron Woods.
He drew his bow, settling into a hunter's stance, legs bent, bow ready to fire on a moment's notice. He crept through the dark forest, searching for any quarry that may be of value to him.
A snapping twig caught his attention and he whirled around, bow raised and drawn. He followed the source of the sound, his eyes making out the vague shape of animal tracks in the moist earth. He followed them as best he could, making use of the few rays of moonlight that pierced through the thick canopy. The tracks vanished into the undergrowth, forcing Rusl to stop and listen again. He soon heard it- heavy breathing right behind him. He dropped his bow and drew his sword in one smooth motion, swinging it towards his target only to have it pass through a phantom.
It was strange seeing the glowing blue figure simply stood behind him, its strange mask staring at him with lizard-like eyes.
It moved.
Suddenly it was upon him, helmeted face in from of his, staring into him. An unseen force prised his mouth open, and the phantom disintegrated, forming a blue mist that forced its way down his throat. Pain wracked his body, every nerve burning as this presence invaded his body. His back arched as the pain increase, head thrown back in a silent scream. For a moment, Rusl's dark eyes were replaced with a terrible burning orange, red lines appearing across his body. Then, as soon as it appeared, it disappeared, and Rusl dropped to the floor, unconscious. Minutes later, he stirred, taking stock of his surroundings. He stood, retrieving his bow and sword which had dropped to the ground for some unknown reason. Why had he been sleeping in Faron Woods? He shook his head, starting to make his way back through the dark forest, back to the relative safety of Ordon.
-Castle Town-
"NO!"
Zelda woke with a start. She sat up in her bed, disorientated until she remembered where she was. She currently had a room above Telma's bar. It was a modest home, but it was cosy and would certainly suffice until the Castle repairs were complete. The door opened, her guard leaning in with a worried expression.
"Is everything alright, my lady?"
"I'm fine. Just another
premonition
nightmare."
The guard nodded, closing the door. Zelda lay down, the premonition still coursing through her mind. It wasn't fair! Hyrule had already been ravaged once, the Twilight covering Hyrule like a flag on a coffin. Now she had seen more visions of pain and fire, and it appeared something else was afoot in the Twilight Realm.
She shook her head, the last vestiges of sleep leaving her. There was no way she could get back to sleep now. Opening the curtains, she saw the sun peeking over the horizon. It was early. Not many people would be out. Great.
Donning her long black cloak, she left her room and headed downstairs. Telma was up already, wiping down taps and cleaning the bar top. She saw the princess leaving the bar.
"Anything you want to talk about, hon?
The princess hesitated, thought for a moment before heading over to the bar, sitting down and staring at her hands.
"What happened, hon?"
"Another premonition. So soon after we solved one problem, and we have another."
"How bad?"
Zelda looked right at Telma, and Telma was shocked to see true fear in the princess' eyes.
"Worse than Zant. Worse than Ganondorf. I can't even tell what these things are. I can't even feel a soul in them."
Telma reached across the bar, pulling the princess into a hug. The guard in the room raised his spear, before letting it drop. Zelda pulled away, lifting her hood and heading towards the door. She headed out into the cold, winter sun. The town was almost empty. The only people outside were the guards and Agitha, the strange girl obsessed with insects. She waved at Zelda, giggled and curtseyed.
Strange girl.
Zelda walked to the large gate that hid the ruins of the castle from view. She dropped her hood, the guards opening the gate for her. She slipped through, the ruins filling her vision.
The pile of rubble was only marginally smaller than it was yesterday. Many men were working all day to sort through the shattered masonry to try and salvage something, anything, of worth. At night, there were still people working on the huge mess that was left from Midna and Ganondorf's explosive battle, but they were much more talented- more of the Twili had access to magic than Midna let on, it would seem. Once the light had receded, the Twili emerged from their temporary homes just outside the walls of Castle Town. Using arcane arts and coordination, they converted each piece of rubble into programmable matter, the so-called Twilit Particles. Great swarms of the semi-physical squares had been created and stored as large blocks of insanely dense material. The Twili architects had been elated with the creation of this dense material, listing off all the possible uses they could think of if they had more of it. The main problem was making it, as it required so many Particles to create.
As the sun slowly rose over the horizon, the amassed Twili looked to the brightening sky, gathering their tools and becoming Particles themselves, teleporting to their small settlement. Soon, discordant footsteps filled the air as a large team of Hylian engineers, headed up by two Twili in special protective clothing that nullified the Light's detrimental effect on their shadowy forms. The air was again filled with the sound of metal on stone, the ruins cut into manageable pieces and set aside for the Twili to work their magic on. Slowly, the great black slabs of super-dense stone, nicknamed Shadowstone, grew in size.
Zelda walked over to one of the Twili architects.
"Excuse me, can you spare a moment?"
The Twili looked to her, away from the slab they were deconstructing. They closed their hands, the blue markings on their arms fading. They looked at Zelda, unidentifiable behind the faceless mask and shapeless robes. The Twili raised their hands to the mask, unclasping the metal and opening it. A shadow-wreathed face stared at Zelda, the fiery eyes obscured behind a pair of welding goggles.
"What is your name?"
"Gideox, m'lady."
"Do you mind answering a few questions?"
"Not at all, m'lady."
This excited Zelda. She hadn't had a chance to question a Twili before. Midna had been quite stubborn.
"What is it like in the Twilight Realm?"
"It is neither hot nor cold, neither light nor dark. It is... Unique."
"How far do your magic abilities span?"
"Transmutation, teleportation, various attack and defence disciplines."
"What are the blue markings on your arms?"
"Decorative and arcane symbols, some for show, others augmenting my abilities."
"Do you have a magical limit?"
"Yes."
"How can you tell?"
"My markings dim."
Zelda nodded.
"Thank you so much, Gideox. This is the first time I've been able to find out much about your people."
"It isn't a problem, m'lady."
Gideox held out a protected hand. Zelda looked at it for a second before raising her hand to shake it. As she did so, her bracelet caught the sun, reflecting the rising light straight into the Twili's unprotected face.
Gideox hissed in surprise and pain, reeling away and raising a hand to his face. Zelda pulled him to his feet.
"Goddesses! I'm so sorry. Let me help you."
Slowly, Gideox dropped his hands. Zelda could see the damage that less than a second of light exposure had caused. A stripe of Gideox's dark face had been scorched an ugly red, blisters already rising underneath the pale flesh. Carefully, she placed two fingers beside the burn, muttering under her breath. It immediately became less inflamed, the blisters receding and the skin taking on its usual pale hue.
"I'm so sorry about that. I assure you I mean no harm."
Gideox touched where the burn once was. All that remained was a slight discolouration.
"It was no fault of your own, M'lady."
Zelda let out a sigh of relief.
"As long as you're alright. I wouldn't be able to bear-"
Zelda suddenly stopped, looking about carefully. The world was becoming brighter. Great sections of the area were swallowed by light. The whole world became blank, naught but a white void.
-Whitespace Void-
"Hello? Is there anyone there?"
Zelda's voice range across the nothingness. Link awoke, sitting up and shielding his eyes from the glare.
"Princess?"
Link stood up, feet impacting with something hard and flat. He couldn't see it in the Whitespace Void. He walked forwards, into the light. A slight discolouration was in the distance in front of him. He walked towards it, the shape slowly coming into focus. He could soon make out the shape of Princess Zelda in the Void.
"Princess, where are we?"
She turned to him, closing the immaterial gap between them and embracing him.
"I have no idea. The Void? Another world? Your guess is as good as mine."
You are in my realm.
The voice came from everywhere at once, yet felt like nowhere at all. Both Link and Zelda jumped at it. Looking around, a shadowy figure had appeared, Twilit Particle streaming from it.
"Who are you?"
My identity is of no concern to you at this moment in time. I shall explain my reasons for bringing you here. But first, you must be verified.
A ring of magic formed around them. Zelda did not recognise the pointed stones and energy fields around them, but Link did. He had been ambushed by Shadow Beasts many times inside them. Several portals opened around them.
Link drew the Master Sword, and Zelda readied her magic.
Survive.
Alright, another chapter down. Please review, as I can fix things this way and answer your questions.
Aura, out.