Chapter 2

A Night's Return, Part 2

The sun was beginning to rise. I was astonished that we had actually spent the past few days doing what we could to restore the Lorule Kingdom without any sort of sleep. I was quite tired, and to show it, my body decided to make me yawn. Ravio wasn't looking so well either, the bags under his eyes starting to gain color.

"I wonder what the captain wants…" Ravio said tiredly, adding a loud yawn to boot. It was rather strange…

"Just come to the Dark Palace! I'll explain then." That's what the captain said. He was being very mysterious. The captain had told them to go to the Dark Palace for…something. The captain…he suddenly joined us when he truly thought that we were going to help the Lorule Kingdom rise back from the pile of dirt it has become.

After some time walking, we didn't really talk about much. Ravio had simply walked, with no thoughts on his mind. I was simply too tired to go on, but that fact was that we have no home to go by on. It was all really troubling. We finally arrived and what we found was astonishing.

"HUH?!" Ravio and I said in unison.

"Okay, gather up, you maggots!" That was the captain's voice. He had gathered up all the soldiers! We ran up to him quickly, with happy laughter. "Wow! This sure is neat, Captain!" Ravio looked back at the soldiers who all looked pretty nervous. Perhaps the captain said something that caused them to be this way?

"I told them that if they don't follow orders, they're all getting the whip."

"Gah ha ha ha! Either way, it worked! Before you two got here, we cleaned out the Dark Palace and even fixed a place up for you two to live while we prepare an ambush on the Lorulian Castle!"

An ambush? The first part was great to hear but the last part was even more interesting. So, it looks like the captain had been planning this all along. Not only had he already gathered the army, but he also had his plan down for what to do next. It all felt like everything was being rushed but perhaps that was just the sleep talking.

"Anyway, I want you two to go to bed. We'll be back later. We're going to scope out the castle and then head back here for a strategy meeting."

I stepped forward and nodded, "I shall help with tha—"

"No." W-what? What did he mean? No?

"No disrespect intended, Princess. The fact is that I will need you to rest, as well as Ravio." I just blinked at this line. Was he really not going to allow me to help? I wanted to make sure everything went right! I wanted to—

Before I could finish my thought, a hand touched my shoulder. I looked to find it was Ravio.

… I couldn't help but nod. Very well. I looked at the captain and nodded to him too, following Ravio back inside.

Finding the room they mentioned inside, I was astonished at how well such a quickly made room looked. It wasn't the most nice-looking but it was fine. It was literally a square room, complete with two beds and a change of clothing. There were torches hanging from the wall that lit up the dim room and even then, it was still a little dim.

"It'll do for now." I suppose. I went, grabbed the change of clothing left for me and quickly threw Ravio out to change. After some time, I found it was just a pair of regular clothing that most Lorulian women wear. It would do for now.

"Do you think we'll be able to do it…?" Ravio asked, walking over to one of the beds and jumping onto it. I walked over to my own and climbed onto it, facing Ravio.

"Do what?" I knew what he was asking, but I was trying to avoid the question.

"Fix Lorule…" I looked down and frowned. I honestly could not tell. It felt like things were working in our favor now but…I just do not know. I clenched the side of the bed and sighed. To be honest, the fact was that I didn't really know what I was doing. If I knew, we would have been done with this but so far… I feel like we've just been running around, and so far, it doesn't feel like we've really done anything.

"I guess, but… We've got the Captain back, so that's something we can count on."

Nodding, I let out a loud yawn. Ravio took that as the end of the conversation and smiled at me before turning away and lying down. In my own be, I also turned away and laid down.

I was feeling conflicted. So far, all we've done is run around Lorule "trying" to restore the kingdom back to its former glory but were we even helping? I feel like we're only causing more grief. I—

"N…o…..nee…d….to worr…y….Triforce…"

I half closed my eyes. Ravio was mumbling in his sleep. The Triforce… I could not forget about that. I closed my eyes and, for the first time ever, I accepted the darkness around me. For it was the last time I would accept its existence in this world.