No excuses, I suck. I know. Here's the next chapter, though. And thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, and JimmyDANj2 who has read and reviewed after all these years!
Just a few (read: A LOTTA) words on the previous chapter (forgive me for not being articulate. I will ramble here but I'll try to make sense):
1) I know that after Lakebed Temple, right after he enters the portal to Lanayru's spring, Link should turn into a wolf. It's only later when Zant pushes the stone into his forehead. I changed that in the fic. I know that Zant overpowered Lanayru and the Twilight was overcoming that area, but Lanayru was still able to teleport the others near Hyrule Castle. So my reasoning is that Lanayru kept her power over the area enough not to let Link turn into a wolf again, while Maeva kept the rock within her. Accept it or not, I guess.
2) Some commented that Maeva's decision to finally be kind to Link could have been stretched out more and went too quickly. I really agree that I could've split the chapters and dwelt more on Midna, who is admittedly seriously overlooked in the past chapters, but I stand by Maeva's progression.
2.a) While the following doesn't excuse how much of a jerk and a bully she was, it's been shown that Maeva's surliness was a result of her experiences with Zant, Bulblin, other humans she bumped into who shunned her markings, Midna's own rejection, and her own shame. But remember Zant and Midna stated many times that Maeva was once innocent, trusting, always hanging onto their every word, eager to make friends, and excited about the Light Realm. This hasn't really changed. She wants to be accepted. That's why she lied about what she was to her companions, now friends, even when she acted like she looked down on them.
2.b) Anyway, about her progression from hating Link to calling him a friend: Remember that Maeva was utterly desperate to save Midna from Zant and that as mentioned above, she was afraid of rejection. That's why she begged them not to look at her when they escaped, especially because Zant exposed her lie to weaken her will. All the shame from how she'd kept Zant's secret and indirectly helped him destroy their friends and take over their kingdom, from how killed her own parents (even to save Midna) was piled on with being a liar to people who were only kind to her but whom she rejected out of her own fear (and jealousy toward Link for being the Chosen One). She expects them to shun her and boot her out of the group.
-But then something happens—her companions accept her. She is their friend, they say. Sure, they accepted Midna, but she finds this to be a natural way of thinking because she clearly looks up to Midna and sees her as someone special who did nothing wrong, while she did [insert all the causes of her shame above here]. No matter how horrible Zant is and how much she hates him, he had influence over her once as something of an older brother, and she believes him when he says she is worthless, a murderer, and that she would never be accepted. So when she is accepted by the others, especially by Link whom she treated especially horribly—she has nothing but more shame. She wants to defeat Zant, but she also wants to make amends for her piss poor attitude.
-It's pretty much someone realizing they were an asshole to someone who was only helping them. Tired, exhausted, desperate to help Midna, she finally drops the stupid wounded pride at losing 'Chosen One' position to a 'mere ranch hand' and realizes how stupid she was for even thinking that way. (There's a lot of self-hatred here, present from the very beginning, but something she only admitted to herself when Zant finally arrived.) To make it up to him for being such a jerk before, she makes a complete turnaround, defending Link when the group at Telma's bar makes fun of him. Of course, she won't always be the perfectly nice girl because being mean and prideful has become part of her personality now, but Maeva is someone who has been severely humbled.
3) I'll also have to respectfully disagree that Maeva's cold-to-lukewarm-to-friendly was too rushed in the chapters leading up to Zant's big reveal. If you take everything she says and 'thinks' at face value, sure. But she's an unreliable narrator, and even in 3rd POV her thoughts are unreliable. Even she doesn't know where her own lies to herself about how she feels about the party members begins and ends. She can't really decide. The true way of it is that she initially found the party members "insufferable" only because she hated that she and Midna needed them and was jealous of them. She wanted to be the only one needed by Midna because she is the last of the Nine (not counting Zant), even if Midna is angry with her. She simultaneously believes that she does and doesn't deserve Midna's forgiveness. Self-hatred and a fragile ego is funny that way. But eventually while outwardly denying their aid she can't help but actually care about them. She worries about their safety and gets angry when they even think about them putting themselves in harm's way, though she dismisses it as something else when she's called out on it. She gets angry when she discovers that Link hurt himself stopping the Gorons on their way up Death Mountain, but she's not very good at showing it and dismisses it as soon as she realizes that it appears that she's worried (which she is; she just won't show it). Clearly her Tsundere levels were at their peak at that point. She was also prone to running her mouth in the beginning, which she continues to do, but later on she can't or doesn't want to say much anymore and resorts to just rolling her eyes or huffing away. I'd point out more but I don't want to go through everything and make this any longer than necessary. I assume readers are smart enough to read between the lines, tbh.
-Maeva's 'lukewarm' pre-reveal was as warm as she was going to get for as long as she lied. She was never going to be completely friendly with them before that because she would always be afraid of rejection and sort of resent them for her own insecurity, not to mention believe her own lie that she still deserved to be a hero and they needed her help more than she needed theirs. Once she was revealed as a Twili, she couldn't pretend anymore. Even someone as in denial as her has enough shame that she finally realizes she was lying to herself and being a jerk and a bully. Hence the need to make that up to Link and the others. Even before Telma and the 'Resistance,' people she doesn't care for, she is constrained to act brave in front of because she knows what she is and her part in what happened and feels inferior to innocent humans for it. She was extremely humiliated. I think that would reasonably warrant a change in attitude. I also think people with outwardly abrasive personalities being revealed to actually have fragile egos isn't really a novelty or an oddity and makes sense?
Oh my gosh, did that make any sense? Never mind. Read on.
My Way
Chapter 7: Taking the heat
Maeva continued to gape at Fado. "How did you get past the grove?"
"The grove?" Fado scratched his head before comprehension passed his face. "Oh, I was just holdin' on to ol' Gilt here!" he said, patting the golden chicken in his arms. "He led the way. Y'see, Uli and that noisy bird told me you went here and then… I wondered…"
"What luck!" remarked Ooccoo.
"Wait a minute," Fado shook his head, finger pointing at them as he uttered their names, "Maeva, I thought you said you and Link went your separate ways! Buddy," his eyebrows furrowed, "have you been here this whole time?"
Maeva watched Link curiously for his response while Midna cleared her throat, motioning to the confused young man before them. Fado yelped when his eyes landed on the imp, head whipping between her and Maeva. "Wh-What's happening?" he demanded, taking a step back. "Who is that? Is that—Maeva's true form!?"
Maeva blinked. Fado hadn't been far from the truth. Then Link sighed. "Fado, we need to talk."
Fado now knew the truth.
Half of it, at least. While Link avoided all talk about Ilia and stuck to Maeva's earlier promise of finding her, he told his oldest, best friend that Midna was from another realm—while somehow hiding the fact of Maeva's heritage. Of course, Link had no true grasp of the relationship between the two foreigners, but he could conjecture based on the markings and Maeva's submissive manner. He had yet to ask how exactly Maeva had betrayed Midna to Zant, and was grateful when Fado never asked, either, despite the new information regarding Zant and King Bulblin.
The most pertinent matter in Fado's mind, besides Ilia's safety, was whether Midna's form would become Maeva's if her "condition" worsened. Maeva insisted it was most certainly not, as did Midna, sighing at her small body, but Fado doubted. He wondered why Link agreed with them so easily, but maybe it was because he was actually into the girl who could possibly turn into a little imp. For fear of another rare bout of Link's anger, he decided not to say anything just in case. Maeva had insisted otherwise about the lover thing, but he had been so sure, especially with how Link reacted when he'd said…
Fado kept quiet as the ugly but oddly adorable little creature they called Junior brought them back to Link's house in short blips. He met the boomerang, too, the group's other hidden member whom he'd tried to poke. It wasn't his fault! Couldn't a guy get a little curious about whether a fairy in a boomerang felt it or if her connection was a 'spiritual' type of thing…? He couldn't be sure anymore! So many things were happening that seemed like they could only happen in a bunch of old fairytales his and Link's moms used to tell them. If only it hadn't ended with Gale blowing a hair-freezing gust at him as a warning. Guess she heard him the first night he and Link had gotten into that little fight.
"I just have one question," he finally said outside Link's house, patting down his curly orange hair. Gale had huffed and gotten into Link's Pocket to avoid any more curiosity from his end.
Floating in the air between them, Midna exchanged curious glances with Link. Maeva's own face was surprisingly open despite the damage on her face and the red eyes. Landing on Fado's head, Ooccoo asked, "What is it, dear?"
He winced at the creature's claws absentmindedly digging into his scalp and turned to Link for help. With a small grin, Link asked, "Ooccoo, Junior, do you two mind preparing our things? We'll be leaving for Hyrule Town soon."
"Okay! Give us your pocket," said Junior, sweeping over to his side. Unbuckling the Pocket, Link unsurely placed it on the young oocca's head. The child's strength still surprised him.
"Ready, dear!" said Ooccoo as she fluttered over Fado's head. With a snort of laughter, Junior spun around his mother, Pocket balanced on his brow ridges, and disappeared.
Waving his hands over his hair, Fado sighed. "Okay. If you're workin' against Zant…isn't that gonna put Ilia in harm's way? Since he knows she's important to…to us?"
Link paused and rubbed a hand over his mouth. "Look, Fado—Ilia is safe."
Fado looked offended. He knew he wasn't the smartest guy around, but it didn't take a genius to figure that they were keeping something from him again. "How do you know?"
"Because—" Maeva stopped when she realized she had spoken, then continued at Link's patient glance, "Because Midna can feel it," she murmured. "She's…she's of a different race, Midna. And she knows these things. About other people. Isn't that right?"
"It's true," said Midna, crossing both her arms and legs. She was not accustomed to putting up with questions like this from a young man because so few humans had known of her existence until then, but she humored him. Not for Link, but because she had only then understood Maeva's fear of being rejected. She subdued it long ago with the knowledge that such a weakness was impossible to have if she was to finish her goal, but now, with the team – whether or not they were the wiser – she let it resurface, and Fado had not disappointed. She wasn't naïve enough to think that all humans would be as accepting, but this young man who once seemed as foolish as that Hanch was enough. Fado's heart was in the right place – more or less.
She was all too glad to see that this 'enough' was the same for Maeva. True, of that she could not be certain – Maeva was still extremely conscious of revealing herself even to Telma or the children of Ordon, who seemed to admire her in a way – but she had thought that witnessing the dead bodies of the rest of the Nine and murdering her own parents would destroy Maeva. Midna's own anger had stopped her from acknowledging this hurt, but now she could see that Maeva was stronger than she expected. She wondered many times as she wallowed in sorrow and basked in her own fury why she had put more faith in Zant than in Maeva, who remained true.
"Oh…" Fado didn't look like he believed them for one second – or didn't want to have to – but he relented as he hung his head. "Well, if Link trusts you, then I – so do I. But what are you going to do now?" He took a step towards Link. "Are you going to look for Ilia now that you're back, buddy?"
"Yeah. Just after we—" Link tossed a thumb over his shoulder. "After we find this thing."
If Fado's nostrils could flare any more, they did. "What thing? Ilia's—Ilia's our friend! If you don't find her now, she might be gone by the time you find this Zant guy!"
Link watched his anger build with an exhale. He knew he should say something—but he didn't want Fado running off to Kakariko. Not with the possibility of more bulblin camps scattered around the stretch of Hyrule Field. Even Maeva had known not to tell him the truth, though he wasn't sure if she was just so used to lying.
No. Now wasn't the time for that.
Midna watched Link's internal struggle surface on his face. She had no idea what the Hero was thinking, but she understood Fado's expectant glare. That she could relate to this Fado scared her a little, given his gullibility, but she admonished herself that perhaps—given her shock at Zant's betrayal—that was exactly why she could.
"Fado," she said sternly, ignoring the fearful tilt of Maeva's head as her shoulders froze. Maeva knew that tone—but was surprised when all Midna said was, "Calm down.
"Finding a way to Zant is the only way to find Ilia," she explained, painfully cautious. Maeva and Link looked similarly wary, not of Fado but of this change in her. "Zant is the cause of this realm's renewed suffering, and if he remains unchecked, more friends like Ilia will be caught in the crossfire. Your town may be attacked again. Trust us when we say Ilia is safe—we will find her. For now, remain in your village. The morale in Ordon is steadily discreasing, though relatively stable thanks to the actions of Link…and Maeva." At this, the girl visibly blushed. "But it could fall again at any time. This is your duty now, Fado, to keep the adults standing when they no longer can themselves. Comfort Mayor Bo. He misses his daughter as much as you do. Fulfill this, and we will do our part. Do you understand?"
Fado's glare fell in resignation. "I get it," he spoke, head hung, although he was so tall that he still looked down at Link. "But you'll keep an eye out, won't you, buddy?"
Link reached up to give him a thwap on the shoulder for encouragement. "You know it, Fado."
"And so will we!" came Junior's cheer. Reappearing with his mother, he dropped the Pocket in Link's ready hands. "For her memories!"
"Huh? Her memories?"
Drawing attention from the alarm evident on the others by flapping her wings vigorously and hiding Junior under her wing, Ooccoo laughed uneasily. "Oh, gracious, my dear Junior only meant that our memory of her—rather, how Link described her—is so vivid that it will never fade! So it will be easy to find her again!"
Link looked like he wanted to bury his head in one of the holes he had dug as a wolf for the poor excuse while Maeva suddenly took interest in the markings on her arms. Midna had already schooled her features, and to their surprise, Fado knew no better.
"Okay," he said, gratefully clasping Ooccoo's wing. "Thanks, all of you. I'll" –he glanced at everyone– "I'll go back to the village and keep everyone safe."
"All right. Goddesses be with you, Fado," said Maeva.
"You too," he returned her smile hopefully, exchanging a clap of hands with Link. "And with Ilia."
They watched him turn his back and trudge in the direction of the village. As the cold breeze picked up opposite the dwindling light of dusk, all but Junior felt the growing burden on their shoulders. Multitudes of this sadness was what awaited them should they fail, and none of them were ready for it yet.
"Poor Fado," sighed Ooccoo.
Lifting herself out of the Pocket, Gale spoke despite herself. "Uh-huh. It's terrible knowing you can't do a thing for the people you love."
"He can do something," Maeva argued, staring after his orange curls even as he disappeared below the hill. "Midna said he would keep the adults at peace, and he'll do that. I think I believe in Fado."
Link shot her a surprised glance nobody noticed. "That's why," he said, lips set in a line, "That's why we're going to get this Mirror and do as we promised."
"Obviously," agreed Midna. "He'll do his duty, as will we."
"So where are we going next?" asked Ooccoo Junior, resting on Maeva's shoulder. "Where is the Mirror?"
"If anyone knows," said Link, right as Midna waved her short arms and the shadows materialized into a portal above them, "it'll be Telma."
The glowing prism of Twilight around Hyrule castle persisted. This time, those in town were aware of it. Maeva had long wondered why others besides Telma and her friends seemed unaffected by Zant's takeover; she assumed earlier that it was the Twilight affecting their consciousness, but now that it was lifted and Zelda was gone…
The square was nearly lifeless. A blanket of fear had settled over the townspeople. Those who left their homes either stared so hard at the prism that Ooccoo Junior could tip them over with a nudge, or refused to even turn their bowed heads in the castle's direction. Maeva could not understand. Zelda had related the story of the traitor's hostile takeover; the elite guard was diminished, then, which was why only cowards and new recruits marched around in Hyrule livery now. But how could they have forgotten those deaths? Their fear toward the prism was that of ignorance, not the memory of their friends cut down as Zant made his way to the castle.
Maeva's eyes turned to Midna. She was only too happy that Midna was strong now. Her death…would have caused her world to crumble. But she was worried about the princess of this realm, too. Zelda and Midna shared a penchant for soothing when they wished it, and Maeva had grown to care for Zelda as a charge, too. But though her own people had resorted to inaction, she would work with Link and the others to protect Zelda's world. It was the least Maeva could do for the fallen princess for saving the one most precious to her.
Telma's Bar was as they had left it, though it was open to customers now. Save for Auru, her resistance friends remained. Maeva wondered how they accomplished anything, sitting there and talking. Shad she might understand – he was the scholarly type, given the pile of books sitting next to him in their little corner – but the helmeted man and Ashei looked to be warriors.
She and Zant had trained in combat, but she had never seen it till she left their world. The eldest and youngest of the Nine, in the meantime—Siv and Rell—they saw combat frequently with other creatures sent to their realm and dared intrude upon the peace of their city. Though Siv was wise enough not to, Rell often complained on easygoing days; if Ashei and the helmeted man were the same, she couldn't imagine them content to sit around a hearth.
"Link! Maeva!" Telma grinned widely and beckoned to them. "So glad to see you two have found each other again. Where did your wolf friend go?"
"Hello, Telma," greeted Maeva. She inclined her head at the others inside. "Link took off. He comes and goes. We can only surmise he has his own affairs to attend to."
"Right," said Link. "Thanks for letting him into the bar, Telma."
"It was no problem, honey. So," she eyed them appraisingly, "how can I help you two? You don't look like you're here for a meal."
Link replied with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, it looks like I need to ask for another favor. We're looking for something – an old mirror."
Telma quirked a brow, cleaning the counter and setting two glasses there for them. "What kind of mirror?"
Link deferred to Maeva, who paused. "…I suppose you can call it enchanted."
"Well, there are a number of enchanted mirrors out there, old boy. Some mirrors bring the evil within its user to life," Shad spoke. He sent a friendly smile Maeva's way. She returned it, recalling his apology, and so did Link. Encouraged, the scholar continued. "Some mirrors are rumored to be portals to distant realms, and some are powerful enough to serve as shields."
"That one!" exclaimed Maeva. "Er, the portal. Not the shield."
Ashei looked confused. "What do you need with a mirror like that?"
"It's a long story," said Link.
Telma exchanged glances with the others in the Bar. "We've all got a story here!" she smiled. "Why don't you two sit down and talk? You look famished, anyway—and we haven't had a chance to speak since Kakariko! It'll be on the house, just this once."
"Uh, no, really, thank you, it's fine—" Link attempted to protest as Telma ushered them to the table with the others, but Maeva was too stunned to help him. She'd never been offered a free meal in a human establishment before. Telma was odd, and this may have been more a favor to Link than her, but she appreciated it all the same.
"Now, stop. It's the least I can do for taking us to Kakariko safely," insisted Telma.
"Telma, I think that debt is fully repaid—"
"That's nonsense and you know it," she retorted, jabbing a finger at his shoulder. Maeva watched Link helplessly slink into his seat with some amusement. When Link wasn't barking out orders during fights with King Bulblin, he was kind and truly heroic, doing favors for just about everybody. If she hadn't helped Malo set up his shop, he likely would have. But she didn't remember Link ever being forced into anything, Maeva realized. This was a first.
Ashei chuckled, tilting her head closer to Maeva's. "Once Telma has her mind set on something, she's just plain irrefutable."
"It's rather the same for Link," Maeva murmured in reply, and was heartened when she and Ashei met eyes and shared a chuckle.
Shad cleared his throat at everyone, save for the helmeted man who only watched the others. "Legend tells of an enchanted mirror leading to another realm in the vast expanse of the Gerudo Desert. That would be here." His index finger circled the map on the table and landed far from the area labeled Hyrule, though Maeva had looked away and was unable to see it.
Ashei noticed the gesture—the tattooed girl looked almost averse to the map—and spoke, ignoring Shad's irritable glance. "What happened to your other friend?" she asked.
Maeva shifted in her seat to face Ashei. "What other friend?"
"Ah, the one tainted with Zant's power?" Link reminded Maeva, having sat close enough to the girls to overhear. Or maybe it was that they hadn't quite been whispering in the first place.
"Oh, yes, our good friend," Maeva chuckled nervously. Link watched her intently for her answer. "We took care of it."
Giving up on his side of the conversation, Shad sighed. "But how?" His brows furrowed at the knowing smile Link and Maeva shared, then noticed the sword hilt jutting from behind the former—of ancient make, or at least, intricate enough to look so. He gaped at them both, removing his glasses to wipe them and putting them back on before speaking. "You—you didn't…! You couldn't possibly have!"
Ashei followed his wide-eyed, misting gaze and blinked. "Seriously?" she asked Maeva, who nodded slowly. "How?"
It wasn't her lie to make, was it? And the truth was that Maeva couldn't find the words to. All she remembered was that glorious moment when the light shone and Link became human—so she shrugged. "I suppose Link is…lucky. That's all."
Telma appeared with their food and laughed. "Honey, is that what you call it?"
"Link…" Shad opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, withdrawing and extending his hand. "M-May I?"
Link unsheathed the Master Sword and laid it on the table. The rest marveled at its fine make—about how its sheen was perfect after all this time, after all the bloodshed and time's decaying effect on everything else—save the helmeted man who simply sat straight in his seat. Just then, she felt a comforting presence slip into her shadow. Excusing herself, Maeva stepped outside the bar.
Midna appeared swiftly, speaking in their language. "Link shouldn't reveal everything," she frowned.
"I agree, but I don't think he will. After all—he spoke nothing of my true origins to Fado."
Midna gnawed on her lower lip in thought before shaking her head. "That hardly counts. That was about you."
"What do you mean?"
"You know!" Midna grinned and winked with her visible eye, only for her mirth to fade when Maeva replied with a baffled stare. "You're—you traveled alone for so long, stalking Zant. You can't possibly still be this…naïve!" Maeva shook her head desperately, as though she would give anything to be able to say she did understand. But Midna knew she didn't, and sighed. "See, this is why Zant…"
Maeva frowned at that. "Why Zant what?"
"I'm sorry," Midna took it back suddenly. "Forget I said that. It's just… Rabor never had the opportunity to propose to you, did he?"
Maeva wondered what this had to do with Link. She had a faint idea, but she would rather not delve into it. After all, Ilia waited in Kakariko, and it was impossible. "All of you…Rell and Zelk, Hepfi and Siv, Hidram and Saemi…you loved one another, as you were meant to. But Rabor and I were only friends. It's said that—that when we meet the one for whom we are meant, we are near hypnotized. Unable to take our eyes from them. I remember the first time I spoke with Rabor. I'd hoped…but we never felt it. Truth be told, I'd already resigned myself to your service."
Midna fell silent. That was hardly ever a good sign.
"What's the matter?" asked Maeva.
Midna met her eyes with shame, reverting back to the language of the Light Realm. "How could I ever have doubted you, little Maeva?"
Little Maeva. Midna used to call her that—along with the older ones, Hepfi and Siv—and Zant, of course, had mocked her with the pet name in each meeting after the betrayal, breaking her heart further. But now she spoke with fondness, the kind Maeva had not received since before Zant started their trips to the Light Realm.
Maeva clasped Midna's hands inside her own. "I would never betray you," she swore. "Had I only known…"
"Stop." Midna pulled away. "You couldn't have. And how could I? I was blinded by the light in his eyes."
"We all believed in him. Starry-eyed I the most. I'm sorry I said all those things in the temple," Maeva blurted out. She'd been hoping to speak of this for the longest time.
Midna looked away, then glanced back with a frown, her voice back to its higher pitch. "You need to stop apologizing, got it? It's starting to get annoying."
Maeva was surprised. Hurt, even, but she saw the kindness in Midna's eyes linger. "As you wish," she said, inclining her head with her own small smile.
A white and pink blur darted past the corner of her eye then, and Midna followed her gaze.
It was Louise, Telma's fluffy white cat upon whose neck was tied a pink ribbon. She stared straight at Midna, cocked her head, even, but did not appear alarmed. Even worse, she approached—slinking around Maeva's legs.
The young woman stiffened. "What is she doing?"
"Who knows?" shrugged Midna, laughing when the cat purred and scurried off. "Did I scare her? Hey!"
With gray skies overhead, the castle town's alleyways looked much the same to Maeva. Still, she gave chase, following alarmed cries of the few who dared exit their homes as Louise splashed leftover puddles on them in her wake. She brought them before a house that looked like the rest, save that it could afford a front yard—now blanketed in wet mud.
Maeva hopped between clear areas and managed to reach the door. She shook her hands at the knob so insistently that it broke off, but it still wouldn't budge. First amused by her attempts, Midna eventually sighed. "This is a waste of time."
"But," replied her companion, watching Louise paw at the door next to her, "there must be a reason she brought us here."
"Fine," Midna muttered, unable to help the smile on her face. She couldn't remember the last time Maeva had insisted on her way for no particular reason as though they were friends. Which they had been—which they could be again. Tipping her head to the side, Midna expanded her fiery hair into its claw shape and grabbed a yelping Maeva and Louise—right as she phased into the house.
"Midna," Maeva ventured, "I wish you wouldn't use your energy that way." Princess Zelda's protection or not, Midna's form had greatly diminished her power. It wouldn't do to waste her power on such an effort…
"I thought you wanted to get inside," Midna grumbled. This was one thing she certainly did not miss from their days in the Twilight Realm: the Nine's incessant worry, and Maeva's in particular. "Stop worrying. That's an order."
Chastised and satisfied, Maeva and Midna were able to take in—and gape—at their surroundings. It was a house filled to the brim with gold! And not mere coins, with which the room overflowed—it was as though everything the house touched, from tables to lamps and chairs had become solid gold, pearls, or precious stones. It looked familiar to Midna. Had she passed here before?
"This is all so…shiny," Maeva marveled.
"I agree, but why did the cat take us here?" Midna reminded. Their eyes scanned the room in search of the white cat and easily spotted her atop a golden statue. The man's vest and hands were adorned in emeralds, his trousers lined with jewels and eyes like sapphires. But atop his head… "That is…That's a cat!"
Maeva's feet sank into the coins as she climbed the hill of gold. When she reached the top, Louise leapt onto her head as she peered over the statue's head. She grasped the golden seat for balance, glaring above her at the cat, but affirmed, "You're right! His ears are pinned back and his eyes are closed, but it is most certainly a cat."
"It must have been her mate," remarked Midna, eyeing the statue. "But who's this? And what is all this unused gold for?"
"Link's house would benefit from a small donation from this place," said Maeva, bending down and touching the coins. "I'm no expert on the currency in this realm, but these would sell for a hundred years' worth of rupees!"
"I wouldn't do that…"
Maeva and Midna instinctively leapt toward one another, standing back-to-back and ready for battle. "Who's there!?"
"I-I'm Jovani…" it was an eerie whisper, almost inaudible, as though attempting to listen to surface speech while underwater. It spoke slowly, aware of their difficulty to comprehend him. "I…became consumed by greed long ago, and sold my soul to a dark creature that did this to me…I can't move..."
"It's him!" Maeva was so shocked that she pointed straight at the statue and its sapphire eyes that seemed tilted toward her. Despite her form, Midna cringed at the once-man and could only nod, urging him to continue.
"I can't go see my girlfriend... My pet cat Gengle is frozen on my head... I don't think I could be more miserable... I have to ask you a favor, girlie...imp…" Jovani's eyes seemed to sparkle as he asked, "Can you find me…ghosts? …souls of ghosts? It's the only way I can…return to my own self…"
Maeva watched him speak with helpless wonder. "But where would we find such souls?"
"Why should we help you?" interrupted Midna, floating akimbo. "Your lust for gold made you this way. Maybe we should let you rot!"
"So to speak," added Maeva.
"Please…I have a girlfriend outside…" his words begged, but his speech was too slow to sound like desperation. "I can't see her like this…she must be looking for me…"
"If you truly loved her," Midna snapped bitterly, "why would you sell your own soul?"
"I just wanted to know…what it was like to live the good life with my girl," Jovani wept. Even his sobs were slow, like small ripples in still water. "I didn't know my soul would be taken…"
Midna turned her head away in anger, but Maeva couldn't condemn Jovani. She had been roughly in the same situation, simply desiring to know what made the Light Realm so beautiful—hence her abetting of Zant without her own knowledge.
"Fine," said the younger woman.
"What? We don't have time to look for souls for this guy," protested Midna. "Like you said, we don't know the first place to look!"
It still surprised Maeva each time Midna spoke in such an informal manner, but she overlooked it as always. "…But it's what Link would do."
Midna's gaze softened, as did her posture. She sent a glare Jovani's way, but said, "Fine! If we happen to find a soul, we might return for you."
"Thank you…thank you so much, girlie…imp…"
If only the man knew with whom he spoke. But Midna seemed not to care, so Maeva didn't, either. The imp beckoned to Louise, who whimpered sadly at Gengle before obeying, and exited the house. Maeva peered through the windows but saw only darkness. Now they knew it was all covered in gold and jewels.
"Midna," she began, wiping her nose from the cold glass, "where do you think—"
Maeva stopped at the sensation of Midna's panic entering her shadow just as a man's voice rang through the silence.
"What are you doing here?"
The girl whirled and saw the helmeted man at the gate of the house. Shocked as she was to hear him finally speak, she managed to answer, "Hello. I was just—looking for this cat." She picked up Louise, who mewled like a true accomplice. "She ran off. She…belongs to Telma."
The helmeted man stood still. Maeva wondered why he didn't remove it—had he scars like she? Before she could ask, he spoke again. "You can tell that creature to come out." His voice sounded vaguely familiar, but it was difficult to ascertain beneath the echo of his armor. "I saw you talking to it."
Maeva frowned immediately. "Don't call her that."
Midna rose from her shadow as the man took a step backward in alarm. "Looks like the cat's out of the bag," she muttered, then glanced at the one in Maeva's arms. "So to speak."
Louise purred. Maeva kept her gaze on the man. "What are you going to do?" she asked warily. "Link knows about her. …We didn't think it was important enough for any of you to know."
"Bo warned me as much," the man replied easily. "That you weren't human, that is."
Just as Link found them, sprinting into the scene, Maeva recognized him—Rusl.
"You've already met," said Link, watching Rusl for his reaction. "Rusl, this is Maeva and Midna. Maeva, Midna, this is Rusl. Colin's father."
Midna cocked her head at him. She remembered this man—shaking a broken arm at Maeva as she distracted them in the village while Link stole the sword and shield. It would have been amusing to frighten him, but his blank stare informed her of a more open mind than before. "Good to meet you, Rusl."
"Uli mentioned Malo sent a letter," said Maeva, awaiting Rusl's features to betray his thoughts.
"Yes, he spoke volumes of Link. And you," he accorded the girl. To the imp he said, "He said nothing of you…but I believe Link."
Midna quirked an indignant brow, but she knew it wasn't easy. She was shocked, herself, when she first saw humans with their oddly colored flesh and their lack of markings. The Gorons appeared more natural to her. It confounded her till now, what Maeva found so beautiful in their unmarked, pale skin that she wished to look like them. "Well," she drawled with some displeasure, "thanks."
"Anyway," Link cleared his throat. "We'll follow Shad's lead about the Mirror in the Gerudo Desert. Telma says Auru should know how to get there best—but he's over at Lake Hylia."
Still traumatized from their encounter at the Waterbed Temple, Maeva cringed, but knew she had no choice. "All right."
"We should go," Link told Rusl.
"I understand." Glancing at Midna and Maeva, he paused and took a deep breath. "This I still don't—not that well—but if Link says you're all right, then... I'll work on it."
Though they bade Telma and the Resistance members goodbye for the day, the truth was that their party remained at the Inn for the night. They had all agreed that setting out for the desert would be best done in the day where they could spot their destination. It would be terribly hot, said Shad, according his knowledge to books, hotter than anything they had ever experienced, but the others doubted him. What could be hotter than Death Mountain?
Link and Maeva, wearing their hoods with rainfall as an excuse, had bought dinner for their party from a café at the center of town. Normally it would have turned away such raggedy guests, but the owner was at their mercy, given the fear that pervaded town.
Link was loath to take advantage of it, but he had to admit that it was one of the best dinners he had ever shared. It could have been the company…but he brushed away the thought.
Maeva sat on the floor of their quaint room with a small smile, displaying a half-eaten apple. "This is deliciously blue."
Ooccoo and Link shared their confusion before asking the girl, "What do you mean by blue?"
She stared at them blankly in reply. "By blue…what do I mean…? This apple tastes blue. The way meat tastes gray. It simply does. Naturally. How does one explain such a thing? That's what it tastes like."
"She's right," said Midna, sinking her imp-fangs into a lemon. Her eye squeezed shut before she giggled aloud. "This fruit is absolutely green!"
Gale never partook of meals, but she was lain on the floor between Link and Ooccoo Junior. "Hmm. For creatures of the Light Realm, we describe meat as tasting burnt, if cooked too well."
Midna and Maeva looked amused. "Burnt?" repeated the imp. "That makes sense, now that you say it…but I think gray is the right word!"
Maeva nodded. "I avoid meat if I can help it, especially when cooked well—it tastes gray." She looked around. "Doesn't it sound better?"
"Hmm…no," Ooccoo laughed. "That is certainly peculiar! Just as the way we describe it must seem peculiar to you two."
"It does," admitted Midna.
Link thought it finally the chance to ask. The questions had nagged him since they met and had been held back for the sake of courtesy and respect, but now that Maeva herself called them friends… He wanted to learn everything about them. Why they were. "What—" he paused at the way all heads turned to him. "What is it about your race?"
Midna and Maeva consulted each other calmly with only a look or two before nodding at one another—rather, Midna did so to Maeva, who faced the others with a determined expression. "Yes," she said, as though that were the answer they had searched for all this time. "You probably have a right to know, after being such a—such a great help to us."
Midna dominated the conversation soon after that, and Maeva gave her the floor without hesitation. She began with, "What do you think happened to the interlopers mentioned by the Light Spirit?" Without allowing them to answer, she continued, and told them their people's history: about the interlopers, the banishment into the Twilight Realm, the way they could not stand the light without aid of power such as Zelda's or Zant's god's…
"That is the history of the Twili as it has been passed down from our ancestors," finished Maeva, eyes glued to the clover etchings on her fingers.
"Do you understand now what we are?" Midna asked. The tale had always upset her, no matter that her people accepted it. It was perhaps what Zant had felt—but she could never forgive his actions. "We are descendants of the tribe that was banished to the Twilight Realm."
Even Gale's mother had not known this story…or had deemed it unnecessary to tell. The fairy found herself as speechless as the others, and of them, Ooccoo Junior was the first to speak. "And…all this time…the tribe has wanted revenge? Except you two?"
"No!" Maeva said at once. "It has been so long since the banishment. Our people had become peaceful until Zant took control of the realm and…and twisted them into shadow beasts with the power granted by his god…"
"A great, evil power," Midna reflected. "He was unknown to our tribe, and unknown even to me until…" Maeva's head bowed at that. She had been an accessory to the concealment of Zant's benefactor, but Midna overlooked the action. "At any rate, there is another tale told by my people."
"The goddesses forbade us to return to the world of light, but they left the Mirror of Twilight to the protectors of Hyrule as the last link between your world and ours," said Maeva. "It is our only way home."
"I must take the Mirror and defeat Zant," Midna murmured, floating toward Link and touching his cheek with her small hand, "You'll come with me...won't you?"
"Of course," answered the Chosen Hero, gaze meeting hers.
Maeva felt something painful strike her heart—but it was not directed at Link as in all the times she had watched them converse. It was all for Midna. Why would she ever feel such a thing? Horrified, she realized her appetite had deserted her and that she only wished to go to bed.
"Right," Gale agreed with Link. "This doesn't change anything! Got it, you two?"
"Understood," answered Maeva, then rose from her seat. "And thank you. But we should all get some rest, don't you think?"
To her relief, Midna had returned to her side and Link was finishing his meal. She hadn't even noticed. The others agreed and set to cleaning up and preparing for bed. Maeva volunteered to put on her hood and throw out the trash, making it a point to refuse Link's help. She wasn't sure why, herself. He had done nothing wrong, but…to stand next to him suddenly made her ache.
Purposely delaying, she took her time with the task and returned to their Inn room hoping the rest were already asleep.
"Maeva."
Theirs had always been a party of easy sleepers, save for one: the Hero himself. He sat in his bed, having only removed his boots and outer tunic.
"Yes?" she asked, slipping into bed and turning her head to him.
"Good night," he said. "Have—well, sweet dreams."
"Good night, Link. I hope you don't have any nightmares, either." A pause, and then she asked, "What is it?"
Link's grin fell. He always forgot that she could see in the dark. "Ah, nothing," he smiled again, all the while thinking of the best excuse he could muster. "I just remembered a nightmare Fado once had."
Unknowingly, Maeva pulled the covers to the bottom of her chin and continued to watch him. "What was his dream?"
"Well," he began, thinking himself an idiot before she could, "Fado once dreamt he was a small girl in a dress wearing pigtails who went into a dark forest and became a monster made of bones."
Maeva stared at him for a good ten seconds before responding. "That is a nightmare! How is that humorous to you?!"
"…It's just the way Fado said it, is all," he chuckled. "He's a better storyteller I am."
Maeva looked doubtful, but said nothing. "I see. Well, good night, Link… Don't dream of becoming all bones. Or a little girl."
"Thanks, Maeva." His wide grin mirrored hers, though she was unaware of it. "You too."
Maeva stared up at the rickety old house that was the main business of Flying Fantastication! and looked reclutant. "Is this necessary?" she asked with a sigh. "Can't we teleport there instead?"
"No," Gale said from her hand. "It's too far for Junior, and Midna can't create her own portals where she hasn't been before."
Displeased with the answer, Maeva gave the boomerang a little shake, eliciting a short yell and a gust of wind that violently whipped at her hair. Grumbling at the fairy, she turned her gaze to the tower of rock on which stood Auru, who waved happily at them. Despite looking like a serious old man, he was actually rather friendly toward her and Link when they climbed his tower. At some time or another, Auru had saved Fyer's life, and the clown owed him a debt—one he would now repay by sending their group hurtling through the sky and into the desert.
Maeva weakly waved back and reluctantly approached Fyer's cannon-house next to Link, who witnessed her scowl with some amusement. "It wasn't that uncomfortable," he said, clearly attempting to cheer her up. "It was actually pretty exciting."
"It is not exciting at all," Maeva snapped, ticking the reasons off on her fingers. "You're not in control of your jump, you hardly know where you're going, and you're likely to land face first into the sand! If we are launched into the desert, who knows where we'll end up? What if there are monsters as soon as we arrive and we're left unprepared because we're too busy rolling in the sand, unable to stop ourselves?"
The others exchanged curious glances, acceding that she had something of a point, but Ooccoo only smiled. "Maeva, dear, you're quite flippant at times…but it warms my heart to know you worry about us all so much!"
Gale piped up in agreement, and Link and Midna grinned. Maeva groaned. "That isn't the issue here…"
Midna laughed. "Right. You'll have to understand," she addressed the rest of the party, "Maeva was once a talented jumper."
Link couldn't conceal his surprise at the imp. It wasn't like her to reveal particular information about either of them. "What do you mean?"
"Yeah, what does that mean?" asked Junior, cradled atop the Fused Shadow Midna wore as a helmet. "Could she teleport, too?"
Midna shook her head. "No. Long ago, before Maeva traded her fins for dainty feet…" Maeva sighed, looking away, but she knew Midna was only teasing now. The imp sat on her shoulder as she continued, "Maeva had the power to leap to the heavens."
A pause, the others exchanging confused glances, and then Gale spoke. "No, really, what was it? A manipulation of the winds?"
"No. Let's just say…" Midna tapped her chin as she searched for the words, and glanced to their topic of conversation for advice.
"You might as well," Maeva murmured.
"All right. When the magic-wielding Interlopers fought to take that Golden power, ten individuals fought to dissuade them—but failed. Legend tells that out of respect and pity for those ten, since only they had resisted the thrall that enslaved all those who knew the dark magic, the gods of the Light Realm gave them leadership of the first Twili. Though the rest of the Interlopers were stripped of their magic and stature, theirs remained. Because of their goodness, there exist, always, ten individuals given powers reminiscent of the strength our people once wielded."
"Wait," Ooccoo Junior frowned, flitting close to the imp. "Those ten good guys were still banished? Isn't that unfair?"
At this, Midna sighed—but not at the child. "If the gods were just, this Light Realm wouldn't have been enslaved by Zant at all."
Link glanced between the two, their dancing shadows, and thought of all he had witnessed. Midna's teleportation, her phasing through solid objects, and Maeva's strength in the Lakebed Temple—then Zant and that rock he'd used to turn him back into his wolf form. "So the two of you and Zant… you're three of these ten?"
Maeva didn't presume to interrupt as Midna spoke. "You've already seen my power. All of us possessed the power to control the shadows—but the traitor had the greatest. His powers are augmented now by his 'god,' while Maeva leapt. Of course, there wasn't much to see in our realm's sky…but there you go. She was a girl who could almost fly."
"Wow," said Gale, the awe clear in her voice. "But what happened?"
Link caught the way Maeva almost bowed her head to a nodding Midna—like she was asking permission? Maeva had mentioned being a servant of sorts to Midna, but now he wasn't sure if that was part of the lie or the truth.
"When Zant's god gave me the human form, my Twili powers were suppressed. He promised they would return eventually, but they haven't yet…" she looked uncomfortable speaking of it, and fidgeted as she stood, almost like a completely different person. "I wonder now if he lied to me, and agreed to give me this form only to weaken me."
"Anyway," said Midna, covering Maeva's face with her body as she floated forward with a tone meant to tease once more, "that's why she hates this contraption. Be kind."
"Yes," said Gale, "I definitely understand how something that is second nature to you is suddenly subdued…"
"Is that why Maeva was so cranky before?" Ooccoo Junior asked innocently.
"All right," said Maeva, walking ahead to Fyer, "that's enough! Let's just get into the machine."
The others chuckled. Once Link had them all in his Pocket or his shadow, he followed her to the man who grimaced in a clown suit. He looked much more hopeless than they remembered, but he seemed to brighten up as he saw them. Or, at least, his eyebrows lifted. "Hey…"
Then Maeva realized it was that he was trying to recognize them. How was this difficult? There seemed to be no one else around—save for the Zora who patrolled the shores close to their waterfall. "Hello," was her similarly uncertain reply.
Fyer blinked, half-grinning and half-sighing in the manner only he could muster. "You're back! Heh heh. I guess you liked the ride, huh, fellas? Not a bad bit of fantastication!"
It would never cease to bewilder Maeva, this way he could speak with both enthusiasm and utter disdain. "It was a nasty bit of fantastication," she muttered nonetheless, but was ultimately ignored by the man.
"Step right up!" he said, waving his arms in the air with a flourish, until Link showed him Auru's letter. As though Fyer's face didn't droop enough already, he looked even more disappointed—not only was business slow, he had to give them a ride to the desert for free. Link almost felt for the man, but he couldn't be sure if he actually hated his job as much as he seemed.
"Auru is very kind," remarked Maeva, watching Fyer apparently adjust the settings on his nasty contraption.
"Yeah, kind," sighed the clown. "Okay, fellas, step right up. Oasis flight, right?" Without waiting for the two to answer, he gave them a lazy wave as soon as they'd stepped into the 'house.' "Sweet sailing, buds of mine."
Ignoring their pleas of wait! And hold on!, he shut the door and abruptly pulled the lever on the cannon.
Maeva wasn't certain how long she'd been screaming when she landed face first into cold sand. And then, with a jerk and a pained cry, turning on her back and scrambling to her knees, she realized it was actually burning into her face.
She spat out the wretched stuff and wiped it from her eyes—then opened them to Link's outstretched hand. Though they were friends and she would always come to his defense in the face of those who might mock him, she still found it irritating that he landed on, of course, his feet. What she wouldn't give to be chosen by the gods…but she was already resigned to her fate as a mere mortal, and all that mattered now was that they defeated Zant.
Gracefully, she accepted his hand and thanked him, trying her hardest to ignore the shifting sands sinking into her sandals. From where they stood, it was impossible to tell where the desert ended or began. While they had seen the edge of the desert from Auru's tower, they were a long ways off now… Of course, they could always warp back to Lake Hylia with Midna's power, but there was no point in that—their task now was to push forward and find the prison Auru had mentioned.
"There," said Link, motioning far behind her to structures rising in the distance. "That must be it."
Midna whistled in the manner she'd seen many humans do. "That's a long way to go."
"Then let us start," Maeva said, with all the determination of a hero commissioned by the gods as she dusted her pants.
It hadn't been more than two hours later when they realized that Shad and his books were correct. Maeva had nearly died in a burning house twice and Midna had nearly been killed and disintegrated by holy light, but those memories seemed like nothing compared to the desert heat and the inexorable sun.
Gerudo Desert was somehow hotter than the magma in Death Mountain, and no attempt of theirs worked to alleviate it. Even Ooccoo's wings flapping, Midna's hair fanning at them, and Gale's winds wouldn't work—they could only blow the same hot air toward their companions. Junior tried to teleport them across the sand in order to reach the so-called Arbiter's Grounds faster, but doing the same thing for more than an hour brought even the bubbly oocca fatigue as well. Mother and son sat atop Maeva's head and was cradled in her arms, respectively.
Maeva felt like her neck would snap at any minute for how heavy the bird creature was, but Ooccoo shaded her eyes with her wings in exchange for a seat, so she remained silent. Even Midna, who had retreated to the shadows, could still feel the heat.
Link began to feel the strain, too, after a few more hours. He hadn't quite felt the heat in Death Mountain—the Clothes granted by the goddesses seemed to stop him from feeling any change in temperature, but he supposed even it had its limits. In Death Mountain, he sweated a little from the magma, but in the desert it felt as though that had all been in his head. The heat was starting to kill him, he had a headache, and they hadn't found a spot of shade they could rest in. They'd stopped talking within the first hour because of how thirsty they got.
Speaking of which, Maeva glanced over at him—he knew that pained look and saw the gulping motion of her neck. Link took one of the many jugs he carried in his Pocket, then shook it out. Empty. He did the same to everything else, but there was nothing left. They hadn't packed enough. Hadn't prepared enough for this. So he shook his head.
She groaned.
"Save your energy," he said, voice hoarse from thirst.
Maeva glared at him, but said nothing more and kept walking.
They continued on until they finally found an outcropping of rocks. It provided no shade, but it was better than sitting on the sand itself. By this time, Maeva's bangs were hand-combed to the back of her head and she had resorted to removing her bandages to reveal the markings on her stomach and arms. Even Link was too tired to ask about them. He removed his green tunic, leaving only his white undershirt and boots, the sight of which would have normally made Midna and Maeva laugh. As it was, they hadn't the energy.
Everyone except Link groaned when it was decided that they had to keep moving, and to keep them from burning any further, he'd sent Gale, Ooccoo, and Junior into his Pocket where the temperature was controlled, as in Lakebed. The 'structures in the distance' remained just that, hardly seeming any closer than when they first arrived that morning. Maeva couldn't quite tell—the heat blurred her vision, making it seem like anything farther than right next to her was trapped underwater, rolling in waves that burned.
Their new, closer destination for the time being became a tall, rectangular thing some ways between them and what they hoped were the Arbiter's Grounds, but Link soon had more pressing concerns. He was starting to feel odd, like it was so hot that it was cold—not the same feeling as touching the desert sand. It spread throughout his entire body, raising goosebumps; he also wanted to vomit. In a moment of clarity, he remembered a time in his childhood when he'd gotten sick while playing with Fado and Ilia.
"I just…" he mumbled, stopping in his tracks.
Maeva glanced forward in surprise and easily caught up with him. She noticed only then how pale he was. "Link—"
"It's nothing. I just have to lie down for a bit," he explained, shaking her hand away to do just that. Black blotches flooded his vision, and it was the only way he could think of to clear them, but it didn't work… Maybe…
"Link!" Maeva cried, down on her knees at once and holding his head as she slapped his cheek. He'd passed out. The sweat made his skin sticky, but this new development also had him frighteningly cold. She lifted his legs over her bent knees, slapping his face lightly. "Link, wake up!"
Midna leapt out from Maeva's shadow as soon as she heard her. "What happened?" she gasped, then swept down to tug at Link's tunic. "Maeva, undress him now!"
Despite everything, Maeva looked at her, horrified. "I can't do that!"
"It's too hot! Undress him or this heat will be the death of him. Now, Maeva!"
She obeyed, stripping him down so that his chest was bare and he wore only his undergarments. Midna couldn't tell whether Maeva was red because of the heat or the situation, but that didn't matter at the moment—looking ahead, all she could see was the rectangular structure, closer and closer.
"There!" she pointed, then cursed her inability to act. She was too weak to make portals from nothing. Reluctantly, she hurled herself at Link's Pocket and pulled out Junior. "Ooccoo Junior! Will you teleport us there?"
The boy asked aloud about Link's situation, but Midna insisted only on its urgency. Gathering Link's clothes and stuffing them into the Pocket, she asked, "Can you do it!?"
He nodded, and in about three blips they were next to the rock—not a rock but a bridge stuck in the sand, Midna realized—next to a small hole. Junior collapsed, and Midna apologetically took him into her arms. "In here, now!"
Maeva didn't know how, but she managed to push the shadows into helping her scoop Link into her arms with a grunt. She carried him under the bridge and into the dark crevice Midna had spotted. She doubted this plan, but it was better than the heat. No sooner than she stepped inside did she stumble down a short flight of stairs. She dropped Link, rolling ungracefully onto her back, and groaned. Eyes closed in pain, she groped around for the Chosen One—just as she heard snarling and movement all around her.
"I have him," Midna's voice echoed in their suddenly cold surroundings. "But this place is a trap! Get up and fight!"
Maeva opened her eyes. Something had touched her feet—
"Bulblins."
Swiftly, she pulled out Gale and Oocoo, then lit the lantern for them. The pain from the heat above was getting worse, throbbing against both sides of her head and making her jaw ache, but she drew her staff and fought them off. The others did the same, Midna and Gale swiping at them with fiery hair and violent gusts while Ooccoo squawked at any who dared to come near her son and Link.
It seemed like forever before all the bulblin corpses lay at their feet. By then, Maeva was on her knees next to Link, trying to shake the man into consciousness. Junior had already woken next to his mother, to whom Midna was making profuse apologies.
"I know this place," Gale was saying, floating across the room from them. No one had noticed her causing a new door to open from what had only been a wall seconds earlier. "Over here! Come on, everyone!"
"I hope there's a well of water there somewhere…" Maeva murmured, words mostly garbled from fatigue. "But first, I … I'd like some rest, too…"
With that, the girl fell face first into the floor.
Maeva opened her eyes slowly, as though waking from a deep sleep. She was rested on a soft piece of cloth, and the room was illuminated with an unearthly glow from outside. She was supposed to leave for the Gerudo Desert with Link this morning. Had she overslept? Where was she?
She bolted upright, an action she regretted at once, and groaned.
The events prior to her sleeping came back to her in waves. They had already set out for the desert, and it was worse than they had expected. She hadn't slept—she'd fainted. "Midna?" she called out. She paused. Link had fainted, and the bulbins… "Link!"
It was cold now, at least, and she felt oddly conscious of her body, but she ignored it in favor of searching for her friends. She scrambled to her feet and bounded into the light, where she saw two beautiful women—one with long green tresses covering her upper body with a dress to cover her legs, and the other with short silver hair dressed in a tunic draped to her thighs. The latter had two sets of wings on each side and glowed a familiar blue, while the first possessed a multitude of luminescent wings sparkling in various colors—predominantly red.
Still disoriented and hazy from sleep, briefly forgetting her reason for running, she gaped at them with all the grace of a curious child. Fairies—or she was dreaming.
"Oh, Maeva!" gasped the one with silver hair, tackling her into a tight embrace at once. "You're all right!"
Unsurely, the girl reached over and patted the woman on her back. "Um…thank you…but where am I? My friends are missing. We were attacked. Is Link here?"
The fairy pulled away. "Maeva," she said, frowning and holding her by the arms, "it's me! Gale!"
Suddenly, Maeva was wide awake. She took a step back, shaking her head in disbelief, but the voice registered only then. "Gale… It's really you," she blinked, her smile following soon after. "I had no idea!"
"You were lucky to be in Gale's company," said the other fairy, reminding them of her presence. "You would have perished in the desert, otherwise."
Maeva believed her. Gale, on the other hand, gasped at her own manners. "Please forgive me," she told the other fairy. "Maeva, this is the Great Fairy of Power who resides in this Desert. You're in one of the few Fairy Springs still remaining in the world."
"…It's an honor to meet you," said Maeva, wondering what was polite for fairies. "I'm, um, very sorry to intrude?"
"It is no trouble," smiled the woman, approaching. "Those living above do not often dwell in this place, but Gale is a valuable guest in our home. And so are you all, Chosen One."
Maeva's eyebrows furrowed. She glanced over at Gale, then around the rest of the empty room—at the center of which was a small spring. It smelled heavenly. All the same, it contained only the three of them. "Oh," she realized. "You meant—me. I…am not a Chosen One, I'm afraid."
"Yes, you are," insisted the Great Fairy, gently touching her right shoulder.
"No…" Gale seemed reluctant to disagree, but shook her head alongside her friend. "Maeva is a valuable companion to Link, but not a hero chosen by the goddesses."
The woman appeared distressed to hear this, as though she couldn't possibly wrong. She circled Maeva, not with a look of scrutiny—only a confused one. "I was so certain," she murmured, then decided, "I must have been mistaken."
"Maeva! You're awake!"
Ooccoo Junior flitted into the room, followed by several giggling, glowing orbs—fairies—who found him utterly delightful, and his mother.
"Gracious," said Ooccoo, flapping her wings toward them until she landed on her new spot—Gale's head. "this place is so beautiful! We're honored to be here, Great Fairy."
"We are honored with your presence," she smiled. "We've not met beings as ancient as our own in very long."
Having heard the commotion, Link arrived as well, looking confused but determined to see his friends. Gale in her true form had insisted that he rest instead of waiting at Maeva's and Junior's side. Midna kept him company, telling him all sorts of stories about the Ten she had mentioned—Siv and Hepfi, the eldest, her and Zant, Saemi and Hidram, Rell, Zelk, Rabor, and Maeva—but he only cared about the last of them at the moment. He wanted to hear more only when he knew they were all fine.
He smiled at the sight of everyone, including Midna, who rose from his shadow next to him. He couldn't explain his relief as he looked upon Maeva. And then he tried to ignore the heat rising to his face.
Maeva, overwhelmed by all the small fairies who loved Ooccoo Junior flying around her after him, had never been so glad to see Link in her life. "Link!" she waved, attempting to move from the swarm. She didn't know how she succeeded, only that she could finally breathe once she did. "Midna!"
"I'm so glad you're all right, Maeva," said Midna at once, floating before her and giving her the tightest embrace she could muster with her small arms. Maeva leaned her head against the Fused Shadow the imp wore as a helmet, happily accepting her affection.
"All I remember is fighting the bulblins," Maeva murmured, turning to Link. "Are you all right? You had everyone worried."
"It's his fault, actually," Midna frowned, squinting at the boy.
"Midna—" he protested.
"He was drinking less water to conserve it for everyone else," she finished, sighing. "Idiot."
"I must agree with Midna there," said Maeva. She would say more, ask him if she thought his being the Chosen One made him impervious even to thirst. But knowing Midna, she had already admonished him more, and the truth was that Maeva was only too relieved to see that no one was truly hurt.
"I won't do it again, I promise," Link repeated for the nth time since he awoke. He had made similar apologies to Gale and Ooccoo.
"I hope not," said Maeva. "Now…how did we come to be here?"
"I'll let Link tell you that," Midna answered, then darted off to the Great Fairy to exchange pleasantries.
"Hi," the Hero smiled. It must have been the cave, but his cheeks were a little red. Link seemed almost timid. Even before, he had only ever been polite.
"Is something wrong?" asked Maeva. "You look flush, Link."
"No," he answered, focused on her eyes with a curious intensity. It made her nervous—she could feel her heart hammering in her ears. She wondered if he was challenging her to maintain eye contact and felt indignant, but Link wasn't the type to do such a thing for no reason. "Thanks for saving me out there, Maeva. I owe my life," he murmured. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," she nodded, unable to address his gratitude. "Um...what happened?"
He explained it all to her—waking up and being introduced to the true Gale, and being told to wait in his room. "That's why we weren't there when you were awake," he explained, sounding sorry again. "They were telling us to rest. Gale wouldn't even let Midna stay with you."
"That was for the better," decided Maeva, gratefully glancing over at Midna, who chatted animatedly with Gale and the Great Fairy. "I'd prefer that she didn't worry. It taxes unnecessarily on her strength."
That made Link think. Midna had explained the powers of each of the Ten, but never said anything about their relationships. Now was as good a time as any, he guessed. "Maeva," he ventured, finally, "why are you subservient to Midna?"
Maeva's eyes widened at the question. Midna did not want this discussed—ever, if possible, not until Zant was finished. "That is because…because, Link, you misunderstood me at the Lakebed Temple. I meant…"
"Meant what?" he frowned, glancing away. More secrets.
"It isn't that I…Link…" She felt that she owed it to him to tell him—after all, he was their primary source of aid—but if Midna had said nothing, then why would she? It wasn't her secret to tell. "It's not mine to tell…"
Link turned back to her, and she'd never seen him so…frustrated was the word, maybe. But this time, she noticed his eyes stray to her stomach before flitting back to her eyes at once. Instinctively, Maeva covered her stomach, but her bandages were gone. She remembered removing them during their trek…but now her legs felt bare, too. And her shoulders.
For the first time since she woke, Maeva glanced down at her clothes.
Her stomach was bare—that much was obvious. But her legs…she was wearing thick leather breechcloth over her undergarments, with a long piece of cloth draped over and behind between her legs. Only a band of leather covered her chest. Shocked, she looked back at Link—whose eyes looked anywhere but at her again. Now she was certain he was red.
Why was that so, when she was the one practically half-naked!?
The style was not unfamiliar—it was the same kind, she thought with wonder, worn by the older women of the Nine, including Midna. Rell had never needed it to make Zelk fall hopelessly in love with her, while Maeva…
Well, Maeva thought she might die of embarrassment.
Of course, she had seen Link in less than his undergarments, so why should she feel ashamed? These were normal clothes. Normal.
Link appeared to notice the heat she felt on her face, however, and managed to speak. "…Do you want to put on...more…I mean, different clothes?"
Yes, she wanted to say, and cover up her body, but another thing came to mind. "Why?" she asked without malice, only curiosity. She had never worn these in public. "Are these unflattering?"
"No!" he answered at once. "They're not. They're not unflattering they're..." He cleared his throat and answered calmly, "You look fine."
But before that, he'd sounded almost distraught. Or…nervous? But that was impossible for Link. Anyone would be uncomfortable at the sight of a friend half-naked—she herself recalled the first time she saw him as a human. That tanned chest and those shoulders, often hidden in the green garb…and his blue eyes, of course, more enrapturing than the morning sky of the Light Realm—and she had wept in joy when she first saw the latter.
"…Maeva?" he asked carefully.
"No, no, thank you," the girl muttered. "Wait here." Maeva left him to approach Gale, smiling politely at Midna and the Great Fairy. "I'm very grateful for the clothes," she said, "but where are my old ones?"
"In my Pocket," Link answered from behind her.
"Do not fret," said the Great Fairy. "They were too tight around your ankles, and far too thick—the reason why you fell first. In the desert, you shall need cooler clothing." She motioned to the clothes the girl wore now, as if to say, hence the undergarments. "This suits you. Do you like it?"
"Oh, yes, thank you," she said, aware of the fairies and Midna's stares. She'd had no choice but to answer in the affirmative, and the Great Fairy did possess logic. Her shirt and trousers were too hot for the desert, even if her artificial human skin would never tan further underneath the blazing sun.
"Oh, but your sandals peeled off," said Midna. "You'll have to make do with the new ones the fairies gave you."
It was only then, too, when she noticed her feet wearing fairly pointy shoes.
"These garments belong to the race who once wandered the desert—the Gerudo," said the Great Fairy, "after whom this place was named."
"We saw no other living creatures," said Midna. "What happened to them?"
"We know not," murmured the Great Fairy. "They may still live above, farther into the desert, where they keep to themselves—or they may have left their homes, or simply died out. We fairies no longer look to the world above. Only for our obedience to the goddesses do we still send aid to those chosen by them. Like you," she gestured to Link.
"There is so much about this realm we didn't know," Midna remarked. She had been largely uninterested in this realm's affairs—but after Zelda's sacrifice, she couldn't stay that way any longer. It was only right.
The Great Fairy nodded. "Surely, Gale has been a great aid to you."
"You were sent to help us?" Maeva asked the Fairy of Winds.
"Yes," answered the Great Fairy of Power, wings shimmering red with pride. "It was the Great Fairy of Courage, my sister, who bound her to the form of a boomerang. Only another Great Fairy can unbind the spell—as I have, for the moment. I will bind her again before you continue on your journey."
"But why the boomerang?" Link asked. "I've…always wondered."
Gale raised her hand, eager to explain, and the Great Fairy acquiesced with a smile. "The Hero of Time possessed a boomerang that got him out of a lot of tight spots," she said. "So the Great Fairy of Courage thought it only right that the new Hero have one, too!"
"Oh," nodded Maeva. "That's amazing. But why were you in the possession of that baboon—Ook?"
"Indeed," said the Great Fairy. "Not long after we sensed that the dark power had returned to our realm, my sister sent word to me asking if you'd passed here, Gale."
The fairy tittered, combing through her silver hair nervously. "Well, I was originally sent to Ordon, but…I—I was still new at the form, after all! I ended up at Faron instead and saw the great tree that was the Forest Temple, but…by that time, the Fused Shadow's power had already taken hold of it. I was weakened by its strength," she admitted bitterly. "I'm just not very good with directions, I guess. That was what caused all this."
The Great Fairy only smiled, ever patient. "It seems you are the antithesis of your mother in that regard."
Gale sighed. "So I've been told."
Her companions laughed in agreement. Conversation came more easily after that, while meals were had and stories, exchanged. Junior mostly played with the younger fairies, showing them the shining insects they had found in their travels, and they rested for a little longer until Midna and Maeva agreed that it was time to keep moving.
Maeva wondered how the fairies made them, but the Great Fairy explained nothing as she prepared them for their departure with cloaks, meals, and several jars of spring water, which would be more satiating than normal water, she insisted. When they were finished, Midna went to the Great Fairy and clasped the woman's large hand in both of hers.
"We can't thank you enough," she murmured, and the others agreed. "All of this should last us the journey to the prison."
"There is no need for gratitude," smiled the woman, "for you risk your lives for all of the realm." To Gale, a boomerang once more, she said, "Shall I send word of you to my sister?"
"Only if she asks," the fairy replied with obvious embarrassment. Maeva remembered the boomerang saying that she hadn't been young in a long time, but she supposed mothers always made their children feel childish. She had always hated it when they continued to treat her as a little girl no matter her being one of the Nine, but now…she envied Gale.
"Very well. The Mirror you seek lies to the north—quite near, now. But beware," warned the Great Fairy. "For the mirror is tied to darkness, though those who lie behind it may no longer be as they once were."
She nodded at the Twili in the party as she said this—though surprised at her knowledge, they smiled in return.
"I wish you the best of luck," she inclined her head, motioning to her younger fairies for assistance. "The fate of this realm rests on your shoulders."
The desert soon fell completely to the natural darkness around them, with the stars and the moon taking the sun's place high above. He marveled at the sight of them—he saw roughly the same night sky under Ordon, but it was different when it was their only source of light—even though they did little to show him the way.
Eventually, their party stopped to make camp and rest. Dinner was chatty, especially on Ooccoo's part. Link hoped Midna and Maeva would share more about the Twili with them, but they kept to themselves, whispering about who knew what. Not long after they ate, Midna declared that they all needed rest for the next morning, when they would finally reach the Arbiter's Grounds, and dove into Junior's shadow. As usual, he was left to stay awake again.
Maeva, too. She was lying down like the others, but tossed and turned under her blanket. If she inched any closer to their little fire, she would catch aflame herself. He told her as much.
She sat up, frowning unhappily at him. "I can do nothing else," she said. "It's freezing."
"Here." Link removed his green tunic, leaving him in his white long sleeves and trousers, and handed it to her. "It'll keep you warmer."
"I couldn't," she said, gaze softening. "These are meant for you."
"You'll never fall asleep if you don't take it," he replied. "Besides, these are enchanted, too. They actually have a larger coverage—up to my arms and legs. Do you want to change?"
The grin on his face clued her in on his joke, he hoped. He almost expected her to huff at him in disgust, but she only laughed. "I think I've seen enough of you exposed to last me a lifetime."
He blinked once, still registering her friendly demeanor. She'd decided that they were friends, but she hadn't ever laughed with him—except the time he was wearing the Hero's Clothes in his wolf form after the Sacred Grove. And that was really more of at him. Still, it was easy for Link to play along. "That bad, huh?"
She eyed him, then shrugged. "Maybe not." Almost as soon as she gave it to him, her teasing grin turned into a glare. "But don't flatter yourself."
"Never do," he smiled, then faked a pained expression, head inclined. "Don't worry. My ego can take it."
"As well it should," she nodded. "The truth is, I never saw…anything. I didn't enjoy—yes." She looked up, clearing her throat. "The night sky in your realm is very beautiful."
The change in subject was a little too obvious, even for Maeva, but Link didn't protest. She'd started it, and he let her end it. That and he was confused as to what had just happened. Had she been joking about seeing him or hadn't she? He didn't care before when she was just that pretty but irritable girl he'd had to travel with, but now…well, even he didn't know when that had changed.
"Yeah… Listen, you should put it on. Get some sleep. We'll need the energy tomorrow. Do you think…" He didn't want to bring it up, but now that it was on his mind, he had to ask. "Do you think Zant will make an appearance at the prison?"
"I hope not," she muttered, glaring in the direction of the Arbiter's Grounds as soon as she removed her cloak and put on his tunic, which was loose on her. "Midna was right. We are not strong enough to kill him. But, maybe…" Pinning the cloak over herself again, she eyed the sword at his side. "Well, who knows."
Silence passed them, and Link recognized that look on her face, too. She was thinking about the old life she shared with the Ten. Midna hadn't stated it in specific terms, but it was easy to infer that Maeva had been happy with them before the betrayal. He wanted to ask so badly.
"Okay. Well, good night," he said instead, reluctantly. It was for the best of the group. He could ask another day—provided Zant wasn't waiting to get rid of them for good in the prison. The Master Sword felt natural in his grip, but he didn't know how well he would fare against that monster.
That was the Hero's way, right? Destroy the monster. Vanquish evil. It was what everyone was saying his destiny was, and until now, Link hadn't thought to question it. After his and Fado's parents had never returned from their journey to sell Ordonian wares outside the village, he'd become the ranch hand—and he'd been happy enough. Content. And then the children and Ilia were taken, Midna found him, and suddenly he was meant to be a Hero… He didn't mind that, either. For a while, he even believed it.
But Link didn't feel much like a Hero now. Even tonight, far from Lanayru's Spring, his hatred for Zant hadn't abated. He'd never wanted to eradicate anything or anyone so much, or ever, in his life—not even King Bulblin when he'd kidnapped Colin and dangled him over them like bait. The moment he saw Zant strip Maeva of her flesh, fake or not, the moment he'd tossed Midna around like a rag doll and hurt Ooccoo, Junior, and Gale—that was when Link knew he couldn't be a hero.
Heroes vanquished evil for the sake of the realm. He just wanted revenge.
He hadn't noticed that Maeva was finally lying down again, blanket drawn up to her chin and watching him until she said, "Good night, Link." Now that she was comfortable, her voice was heavy with sleep.
There were still so many things he wanted to ask, so many of her lies that nagged at him, but Link couldn't help but smile. "Sweet dreams, Maeva."
Her eyes were already closed, but she gave a small, contented hum in reply until her breathing evened out. Link wasn't sure how long he sat there, watching her and everyone else rest around the fire until he fell asleep himself.
"Rise."
Maeva obeyed. Her gaze followed soon after, with a few steps back—required to take in the sight of all of his glory. He was taller than any Twili she had ever seen, his armor thick and shoulders broad. Though his skin was a dark green and his hair was red, no part of him glowed save for the golden headpiece he wore, forming what appeared to be an aureole of light.
He really was a god; one who smiled kindly upon her as he beckoned.
She approached, and slowly he reached forward. His hand combed once through her short, glowing hair before resting on her right shoulder. "Leave us," he ordered.
Maeva glanced behind her with uncertainty. Shoulders rigid, her friend replied with a tight-lipped smile and a bow before he vanished.
"You have sworn fealty to the god of the Twilight Realm," said the great being before her, voice deep and rumbling. "Now—what is it you desire?"
Her heart leapt at the question, her answer swift. "To dwell in the Light Realm without hindrance, my lord."
"So be it."
His hand glowed a bright red, utterly different from the shade of her eyes or hair—a godly red, she supposed it was. A curious warmth spread from her shoulder throughout the rest of her body. For a moment, it stung her eyes—and then all was well.
When his touch deserted her, Maeva was astounded. Amazed. The question must have been a mere formality. Zant had informed her that their god could give her the ability to dwell in the other realm even as Twili, just as he did, but she hadn't known that he could grant her human flesh!
"Thank you," she said, voice choking, turning her hands over and staring at her palms. Unmarred flesh, just like in the stories. Arms without the markings that spoke of their shame! "This is the greatest gift, my lord…!"
The mirth she felt seemed reflected on his face. "There is something else." He presented to her a staff with a thin crystal at its tip. "Another gift—to remind you of your oath. It is yours alone, separate from my own greatness. The shaft is simple, but strong. The crystal will augment your currently limited power."
Maeva blinked, face falling. "What…limited power?" Only then did she realize that she could not sense the realm's twilight seeping around them. She glanced at her shadow—still dancing against the firelight, but… She grunted, attempting to move it, but fell to her knees in sudden exhaustion. "My power…"
"Neither can you leap," said the god. "It is a result of your new flesh. Hence, the staff."
She understood. Naturally, there would be a price to pay for human skin. "Will I ever be able to leap again, my lord? To touch the shadows?"
"Yes—and perhaps more," he answered, though she knew not what he meant. "In time. Patience, Maeva."
"Yes, my lord," she bowed her head and accepted the staff, then inspected it. Her shadow twitched upon her will—but that was all. She tried to calm herself. In time, he said. She believed him.
"You have questions. Ask," he commanded. She felt like a child before him.
"I am eternally grateful," she reminded him. Had he already read her mind, she wondered? She wished to ask why they couldn't tell the others of the god sent to watch over them in this realm, but she knew that this was Zant's desire—to surprise Midna with the revelation that they could explore the Light Realm together after he had made the needed preparations. No, she had another question in mind. "But why did you choose me, my lord?"
"I did not," was his answer. "Zant brought you to me, recommending your loyalty and discretion. However, I do not suspect that he foresaw my favor to you."
His golden eyes seemed to search her face for something almost eagerly, but Maeva understood little of what he meant past Zant's recommendation. "What…?"
He sighed. It sounded like frustration, but he said nothing to express it. Only, "You also remind me of a woman I once knew. She, however, betrayed me."
"I would never do such a thing," she gasped.
"I know," he murmured. "More importantly—you remind me of myself. We are both meant for greatness, but our power was taken from us by those less deserving. It is why I have granted you the staff. You are powerless now, but when you desire it most—your strength will return to you. When that day arrives, I give you leave to destroy the man who stole your birthright."
Did he mean the throne? "I am one of the Nine, my lord. I would never seek to take the throne from its rightful ruler."
"You are still naïve," he explained, tone ever patient. "A throne is a small thing compared to all we could grasp together. You will understand—and I look forward to that day."
Maeva started, groping the sand for her staff before her eyes even opened. She sighed in relief when she found it, and opened her eyes to its precious tip. What had she dreamt of that she'd suddenly woken?
She sighed. It had left her—whatever it was. She glanced down at her feet. The fire had gone out, but this posed no problem. Link's long tunic kept her chest warm, and the cloak from the Great Fairy in addition was enough to stave off the more uncomfortable shivers around her arms and legs.
Her legs? They were cold before she'd surrendered to sleep. Reaching down for her blanket, she felt two instead. She turned on her back, then sat up. Lying behind her was Link, oddly close and sleeping with no blanket of his own. What a ridiculous thing to do! She was grateful, but…it would do none of them good if he were to die of shivers in his sleep.
Throwing his own blanket over him, she peered at the ashes left by the fire. It was a good thing Link had thought to bring dry leaves and branches in his Pocket just in case they would require a bonfire. She and Midna had doubted this, but clearly they'd had no idea what a desert would be like.
Midna. That must have been why she'd awakened. She felt so… "…far away," she murmured.
The last vestiges of sleep deserted Maeva as soon as she saw them—the blank spaces where Ooccoo, Junior, and Gale as a boomerang had lain around their fire.
"Where are they?" she asked aloud, getting on her knees and digging through the sand where they should have been like a fool. "Link, where are they!?"
"Maeva!" he gasped, taking in a breath as though he'd been drowning. She rushed to him at once, allowing his hands to grasp her shoulders and cup her face as his eyes searched the darkness in vain.
"Link, they're missing," she cried, moving his hands away and reaching into his Pocket to light the lantern for him. By the time he collected himself, she was already packing in the blankets. "Ooccoo, Junior, Gale—Midna! She was sleeping in Junior's shadow. They're all missing!"
"What? How?"
"I don't know how!" she snapped, then sighed in what he assumed was an apology. "I—I have a link with Midna, remember? She's—"
"As one of the Ten?"
"As one of the Nine," she corrected him. "It doesn't matter! She's too far for me to reach. Why would they leave us?"
Finally coming to his senses, Link shook his head and got to his feet. "They wouldn't," was the answer. "Where can you sense her?"
She pointed far ahead, to the Arbiter's Grounds. Mounds of sand still covered most of their view of it, but they could spot the topmost pillars of the prison. At least, she could.
"Come on," she said, sheathing her staff behind her, and ran ahead.
They reached the mounds in what seemed like minutes in their haste, and the Arbiter's Grounds lay ahead—still far down from them in that valley of sand. But something clearly not of the prison surrounded it. Before Maeva could wonder aloud at what it could be, Link thrust an object into her hand.
"Can you see anything with this? Even in the dark?"
It was the Hawkeye, an item Link had bought from Malo's shop to help him start out. It was more accurate to say that the baby had coerced him, actually, but he saw its purpose now. "Malo says it's supposed to allow you to see far into the distance. Can you?"
Maeva wore it over her eyes, strapping it over her head like a mask. It was a peculiar contraption, but they had something like this in the Twilight Realm, only less artistic. The knobs on its side allowed her to control how far she could see through it. Her vision was clear now—they were wooden scaffolding.
No, not scaffolding. Towers. They were lookout towers, placed strategically on the outskirts of what was now obviously a camp filled with tents and lit by torches.
Only one race built their towers exactly this way. "Bulblins."
Link gaped at her when she pulled down the Hawkeye. "What?"
"I couldn't see the scouts from this far, but…I'm sure of it. I know how their camps are built. Before I knew that Zant would betray us, he brought me to one of them."
Comprehension filled her only companion's face. "That was why you knew King Bulblin. Not because he attacked your homeland first."
"Yes," she hissed as though scalded by the truth, and began pacing next to Link. "Zant knows we're here. He knows why. I just know it."
"Maeva—"
She grew more hysterical by the second. "He's taken her! And he'll—"
"Maeva," he took her by the shoulders and squeezed. "Calm down!"
The girl's mouth shut, shoulders tight and head turning at him in what appeared to be fury—but her gaze fell before she could lash out. Instead, Maeva took a deep breath. "That's the only reason King Bulblin could possibly be alive. Zant sent him to guard the prison. He must already know that Midna is there."
"We don't know that. You have the link, don't you? Don't you have it with Zant, too?"
"No," she answered. "I have it only with Midna. But…if she is still alive, then that means he doesn't have her. If she's hiding in Junior's shadow, they might not even know she's there. But why didn't they take us?"
Link rubbed a gloved hand over his face. His body was tired and yet raring for a fight, now. "It could've just been King Bulblin. You said he holds grudges—maybe he came looking for us. Zant might have given him instructions, but who knows how long it'll take him to send the report? Zant will want you, too. Bulblin won't make a move until he has you both."
Maeva looked unsure. "How do you know…?"
"I don't," he breathed. Link could see that she was losing hope—so he decided to change tactics. Being nice had never worked on Maeva when she was in a tizzy. "Unless…you want to give up on Midna already. That works, too. We can find another way into the prison without alerting King Bulblin."
Now she looked fired up. "Are you insane?" she gave him a shove more powerful than he'd expected. Link stumbled backward, but caught himself against a rock. "We can't leave her there! We can't leave them there! How could you even—!?"
Maeva stopped only when she saw his lack of surprise. "…You were taunting me."
"No, I was making a logical suggestion," he said, brushing past her and leading their descent into the valley. "But I agree with you. We shouldn't leave them there. Let's get moving."
Hello again! You made it through the chapter, yay! Thank you for reading.
