Chapter 6: Consequences

Ruto sat at the foot of the bed. She had tucked her legs under her arms and in this box shape she was rocking gently back and forth, occasionally looking at the sleeping Link and Nabooru. She began to hum to herself, then went silent. She fell back to inspecting her nails, then smoothing her fins. She looked at Saria, who was sat on the window ledge looking out into the seemingly infinite woodland around them.

"How can you be so calm?" Ruto asked, a mix of annoyance and jealousy.

"I'm not calm at all," Saria replied, turning her head to the Zora. She wore the weakest of smiles and her eyes could not properly meet Ruto's. "I just know that right now, there is nothing I can do but trust in the others. Malon is outside with Epona in case she can spy Darunia through the forest fog, Nabooru is in there helping Link," she said nodding to the bed. "We all know we have no hope of finding the Mask Man until he wants to be found…so I'm waiting."

"Waiting sucks," Ruto moaned, sinking her bulbous head between her legs.

Nara knocked on the door a second time; still no answer.

"Who even thought a swamp needed a tourist information center!" Tatl complained.

"Yeah," Nabooru agreed, "Whoever thought this up is an idiot." She smiled indulgently at Link, who was completely oblivious to the fact she was insulting him.

"So where to now?" the boy asked.

Nara, sighed and tried to think. The humid swamp heat was murder for her in her armour. It brought back horrible memories of her body encased in a metal suit for seven years in the Spirit Temple. She really wanted to just ditch the plate mail but knew she shouldn't. "There was a sign on the path earlier for a potion shop. At least I think it was that; the writing was very faded and rotted."

"Worth a try," Link agreed.

The potion shop, it turned out, was not far from the tourist information center, just down a slightly flooded pathway. The water in the swamp was a murky purple colour. Link prodded it with a stick, swirling up the thick gunk and sniffing it cautiously.

"That doesn't smell right at all," he said.

"Hmm maybe not, but there's no other way to the potion shop so I guess we're swimming." Nara answered practically.

Link looked out at the Lily pads floating along the surface. "I could make it across on them, if I was Deku I mean, they don't look like they hold much weight."

"Great!" Nara said with envy, "I guess that just means just one of us will be swimming!"

Link stared morosely into the water. It was so dark he couldn't even see his reflection. He bit his lip and clenched his fists. "You don't have to come with me, I don't want you to get hurt on my account."

Nabooru rolled her eyes. "Oh, get you Mr. Hero, aren't you all noble! You know it doesn't reflect badly on you if you ask for help every once in a while; I know that better than most."

Link turned to object, but he was too distracted by what his companion was doing. Nara had ditched her helmet and was currently in the process of unstrapping her armour plates. Underneath she wore a light white cotton shirt, which was almost scandalously low cut. "Hey, don't judge me," the guard growled. "It get's really hot under this hunk of metal, and I didn't exactly wake up thinking I'd be taking it off for anyone."

Link blushed at the guard's brazen attitude, but he was glad to know she wasn't leaving just yet. "What do you mean by the way, when you said you know that better than most?"

"Oh…nothing," Nabooru answered evasively, "Just one time I needed help retrieving something and the person who I got to aid me ended up helping me in more ways than I could ever count." Stowing the last of her armour behind a shrub, Nara prepared to dive into the purple waters.

Link had little difficulty traversing the waters in Deku form. The Lily pads comfortably held his weight and, using a stick, he was able to use them like rafts to sail down the stream. He felt bad for Nara though. The headstrong guard was a good swimmer and hardy to boot but she was clearly in pain. Her teeth were gritted tight as she swam faster, and her skin was red and sore, as though it were being burned up by the water. Link wished he could do something to help her. He felt useless again, punting quietly downstream, as his new friend was swimming for her life. Still, she had volunteered for this. He had given her a chance to go back, she had decided to carry on.

Nabooru didn't bother looking back to see how Link was getting on. She increased her pace, swimming faster until she emerged from the waters on the other side. Her clothes were soaked through and clung uncomfortably to her body. This was as nothing though to the pain searing across her skin. The water burned. It didn't actually eat at her skin but it sent a searing pain through it that would have driven any normal Hylian insane. Nabooru was proud to be made of sterner stuff but that didn't make the pain any easier to deal with.

Link's lily pad raft bobbed against the shore line, and the Hylian wasted no time in jumping onto dry land and taking off his Deku mask. He jogged over to where Nara lay panting and knelt down beside her. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked. He rolled up the sleeves on her shirt and could see the redness of her skin, in some places it was even blistering.

"Sure, I'm just peachy," Nabooru smiled trying to sit up. "Nothing like a good swim to keep your figure as good as mine."

Link smiled but he was still concerned. "Maybe, whoever owns that potion shop can give you something to help your skin?"

"Ohhh, are you offering to rub lotion on me, you bold boy?" Nabooru struggled to her feet and looked at the potion shop. It was on a raised platform, a good fifteen feet off the ground. A small ladder gave access to the building and she limped awkwardly towards it. "I guess whoever lives here really loves heights."

"Haha I'll say!" Link laughed.

The climb was hard for Nara. Even if it weren't for the blisters forming all over her body, she had just swam a considerable distance and her muscles were tired. She had left her spear on the far side of the river, with the rest of her gear but then she was hardly expecting trouble from a potions shop, especially when the building was made to look like a giant, red tea pot.

Opening the door, Nabooru was hit by the pungent aroma of various oils, remedies and ingredients bubbling away on various stoves. The proprietor seemed to be hiding under her counter, her wild white hair bobbing just above the top. Nara held the door open for her young companion. She thought the light from the door would have signaled the old lady to their presence but the owner seemed completely preoccupied.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Link said in a polite tone. The companions waited for a few moments but the old Lady still didn't acknowledge them.

"Hey, lady!" Tatl shouted, flying madly around the shop, making that strange bell sound she made when she really wanted attention.

"You!" Link and Nabooru both shouted in unison. Link readied his sword and, weak though she was, Nara raised her fists.

The hag behind the counter was well known to both Link and Nabooru, though what she was doing here was any one's guess. She had dark, deep wrinkled skin, like parchment, a result of her life time of seclusion in the harsh desert Colossus. She wore an ornate blue jewel in the center of her forehead that was only a little larger than her wild eyes. The witch stared blankly at the two new comers to her dank potion shop. "Yes?"

Link kept his sword ready and his shield raised, "You're Kotake, aren't you?"

"Haw haw haw, yes indeed my boy. Though, with a reception like yours I think I might want to be someone else."

Nabooru bit her lip. How could Kotake be here? Of all the people Link could have conjured up to put onto his dream world, he just had to infect it with the witch who had imprisoned her in a suit of armour and used her as a puppet for seven years.

"You're a sorceress, yes?" Link pressed, still unsure as to what she was doing manning a solitary little shop in the back end of a swamp.

"Oh indeed yes," Kotake chortled, "and I've seen your reaction before dear boy. Don't worry yourself, I am not going to turn you into frogs or anything mundane like that…well not unless you plan on using that sword on me?" Kotake's eyes narrowed as she studied him carefully. Nara too looked to her companion for a sign of action. Link took a deep breath before lowering his weapon. "Oh you're a smart child you…but wait!" Kotake practically leaped over the shop counter, with more agility than any woman of her age had the right to possess, and waddled straight over to Nabooru.

"Get away from me witch!" Nabooru yelled, moving back towards the door, a look of genuine fear on her features.

Link wanted to say something to reassure Nara, but in truth he wasn't sure he was yet right to have lowered his guard.

"Ho ho, your friend's a twitchy one isn't she," Kotake joked, "But if that infection on her skin isn't sorted soon, I think she'll go awful limp."

"What?" Link asked.

"She has Swamp Rot working on her skin, and if she doesn't get something done about it… well she just simply won't have any skin!"

"Can anything be done?" Link asked, looking nervously at Nara's arms. She still had her fists up for a fight but Link swore the blisters were growing on her skin.

"Well, I do have a potion that will quickly fight off the infection…but it comes at a steep price."

"Whatever it is, we can afford it," Link said urgently, "I have two hundred rupees right here."

"Oh no, I need something more valuable than a yellow gem. I need a favour."

Link didn't even bother to ask, "Whatever it is, consider it done; just give me the antidote now!"

"There's a good boy," Kotake laughed. She hurried over to a cupboard stacked with potions and reagents, and threw a small vial towards Link. "Swamp Rot anti drops…or is it Anti Swamp Rot Drops. Have your nervous friend drink that up and she should be right as pie in say…five minutes. It's good stuff."

"Come on," Link said delicately, tugging at her still damp shirt, "Let's do this outside."

Nabooru still didn't know what to think, so she just let herself be led out the door, but she kept her eyes on Kotake until the last.

The fresh air outside was welcome for clearing Nara's head. The high altitude of the bizarre shop meant that it avoided the stench of the bog below. She sat on the ledge near the ladder, feet swinging precariously in the breeze. Link sat down next to her, the vial held delicately in both hands. Nabooru wanted desperately to talk to him properly: about their time in the desert, about the reality that never was. She realized, as she took long, deep breaths, that she had bottled the experience deep down inside her and she and Link had never shared a true heart to heart about those days. It was typical, she considered, that the one time she wanted to open up, was the one time she was not permitted to do so.

"You know that old Crone?" Nara asked.

"I… knew someone a lot like her," Link answered tactically. "I don't think this old woman's the same person though."

"You're certain about that?" Nabooru asked, searching Link's face for any trace of hesitation. "Because I'm not going to drink that voodoo unless you're absolutely sure."

Link's face hardened. It was happening again. Once again a relative stranger was banking everything on him knowing the right answer. Did these people even consider that he might not know? He had opened the sacred realm and let Ganondorf walk right through after all. Before that event, before he realized he had set in motion Hyrule's demise, decisions like these had been so easy. Now these choices laid so heavy on him. What if Kotake really was the same Twin Rova demon who had imprisoned his friend Nabooru in the desert? He looked at the vial in his hands then at Nara. He opened his mouth to speak but faltered.

Nabooru could see the conflict in Link's face. She sighed. Why was it, no matter what capacity she came to him in, she always became his burden one way or the other? He was two years older than when they had first met and, technically, five years younger too. He was a teenager now, but somehow his face looked old: tired even.

"Just give that here," Nabooru said through gritted teeth, snatching the vial from Link's open palm.

"Nara, I…"

"Can it, short stuff. This really should be my decision after all. Neither of us know what this stupid bottle will do and I'm not going to let you feel responsible if it's a poison that kills me."

"But I…"

"Shut it," Nabooru ordered as she worked herself up to the task. "Some things you got to just do for yourself. You can't be making every decision for every person in the world. I chose to dive in that river, I need to choose how to deal with the consequences."

Without waiting she unscrewed the lid of the bottle. She looked to her skin which was becoming redder and sorer by the second. Closing her eyes, she braced herself. In her mind, she repeated: "I chose to enter the Spirit Temple, I lost the power to save myself. I jumped in the river, I have the power to deal with this myself." The words repeated mantra like through her mind and then the liquid slipped down her throat.

Darunia marched sullenly behind the Happy Mask Man. The Goron hated people like him: a problem that could not be settled by raw strength was not a problem for a Goron. Jailor or deliverer? That was the question of the hour; in fact, it had been the question for many hours since Darunia had surrendered himself to following the Happy Man.

"That's it!" Darunia moaned, collapsing to his knees. He had not become exhausted, he had just given up. "You got me lost in this wood you mask devil and now you plan to walk me to death!"

The Happy Man turned, now wearing an angelic mask with golden hair and a little halo on top. "I swear dear Darunia, I am leading you back to the camp. I can give you nothing more than my word though, the rest is down to your faith."

Darunia clutched his face as though in the throes of a bad headache. "Grah, this is so infuriating. I can't take this." Darunia's head hit the floor and he balled up as though at rest.

A long silence fell over the wood. The Mask Man stood silently waiting for Darunia. The Goron King had stalled several times like this, and each time his melancholy seemed to stretch a little longer.

The woodland quiet was abruptly broken by a faint tune rising out of the woods. Curled up in his ball, Darunia did not immediately hear it, but eventually the melody, though muffled, filtered into his mind. He uncurled. Standing up to his full height, a grin spread over his face. It was a smile borne as much out of love for the tune as it was for his sense of relief.

"Hear that, Mask Man? Turns out you couldn't lead me astray with your trickery. That's the sound of little Saria calling out to me. Oh, but they are a smart bunch of girls. Ha ha, farewell Mask Man, today you almost managed to defeat Darunia!" Balling up again, the Goron began to roll, his body grinding into the dirt, spraying mud in all directions before taking off at speed.

Malon pulled on the reigns, turning Epona back towards the treehouse. The horse was managing surprisingly well carrying both herself and Saria. Malon was even more impressed by Saria's ability to play her Ocarina while riding at speed. The girls had taken to making laps of the treehouse, going as far into the mists as they could while still keeping the tree house. Saria played her Ocarina as loud as she could manage while staying steady. Malon had lost track of how many times they had wheeled about.

A sound from deep within the wood caught Malon's ear, a rolling sound of thunder that grew more definite by the second. She brought Epona to a halt, and strained to see through the mists. Saria had clearly heard the approaching sound and began playing louder.

Finally, a speeding brown sphere and a cloud of dust shot past the two girls, startling Epona and coming to a screeching halt just in front of the treehouse.

"Darunia!"

"Ruto!" the Goron cheered lifting the little Zora high above his head in triumph.

"Keyahahah put me down you stupid king," the princess giggled happily.

"Haha, sorry," I just needed to check how real you were.

"It's so good to have you back," Ruto smiled as she was returned to the ground. "We weren't sure you'd know the way back so I got us all thinking of ways to call out to you."

"You mean shouted at us over and over until Saria thought to play her song," Malon returned. She and Saria had ridden just behind Darunia and were now dismounting to give the king their own warm welcomes.

A way off the Happy Mask Salesman sighed. "This was the direction I was leading you in any way you silly fool. You try and bring a little cheer to the world with a bag of masks and trickery and no one ever appreciates you. Still, at least we're back on track…and I'm talking to myself again." The Mask Man slowly carried on towards the group, enjoying the smiles on all their faces from afar.

Author's Notes.

Hi, and thanks for reading chapter six and again thank you those of you who are continually sending words of encouragement and points for improvement. Please keep sending me your ideas and suggestions for the story as they really do help me navigate and steer clear of potential plot holes that I don't always notice.

Nabooru seems to be hogging the Restful Mask to herself for the moment, but I promise it'll be someone else's turn soon.

Thanks for reading.