Chapter 7: Trust
"How long has she been in there?"
"Since this morning," Malon answered. "She put the mask on in a big hurry. I think she was upset."
"Hmph, understandable," Darunia grunted. "We've all been tricked by this mad place, but to be deceived into almost burning Brother on a fire; I'd be pretty angry too."
Ruto, who was crouched down by Nabooru's side, lifted her arm off the floor and let it fall to the floor. 'She's really limp."
"Don't do that," Saria scolded.
Ruto stood up and sighed. "It has been hours though…is she alright in there? I mean, that mask Link is wearing is slowly killing him, does the Restful Mask do anything bad too."
"Ho ho, you're all so nervous and untrusting," The Mask Man had remained extremely quiet since he had arrived back at the tree house. Darunia had not told the girls the whole story of how he had come to be lost in the woods; he was still trying to work out if he believed the Happy Man's tale about having been away. "Majora can keep using your fears and worries to isolate you. The Restful Mask is fine and your friend Nabooru too is fine."
"Can….can you show us what's going on in the dream again; play that organ so we can see how she and Link are faring?" Saria looked at the Mask Man imploringly.
"Of course I can, dear child, no need to be shy."
The strange organ that the Salesman had played upon the previous night appeared again in the empty corner of the room. Once again, the whole treehouse bulged and expanded to fit the instrument in. Without standing on ceremony, the Happy Man began to play the same dreadful dirge he had played before and the swirls of colour screamed out of the pipes and onto the darker air above.
Nara breathed a sigh of relief. The potion, whatever it was, had done its job. Not only had her Swamp Rot gone, but the damage it had already done seemed to have completely reversed. She inspected her smooth pale skin. It was weird being in a body not her own. Her height and weight were about right, but her skin was the pale white of a Hylian: not the warm tan of a Gerudo. Her hair too was a dull brown and far too short. She felt uncomfortable in the body. She knew she could take off the Restful Mask at any time but she had to endure for a little while longer yet.
Link had gone back inside the potion shop to talk to Kotake. Nabooru had said she wanted to stay outside and let her skin breath, but really she just couldn't trust herself around that witch. Standing up, she stretched her arms and sighed as a cool breeze whipped through her hair. As she stared out, into the deep forests to the east, she noticed smoke rising from a glade not far within.
"Hey," Link said, "closing the door to the potion shop behind him. " How're you feeling?"
"Pretty damn perfect!" Nara announced triumphantly. As if to prove a point she flexed her arm revealing her marble cut muscles.
"Good. Kotake says the potion's effect will last for a few hours should you plan on going swimming again."
"Well that's alright for our return trip, but what about this favour we've been roped into, I hope we haven't bound ourselves into doing anything too malicious?"
Link smiled. "I don't know if Kotake's as bad as we first thought. She says her sister went into the woods some time ago and hasn't returned. She's asked us to go out there with some potions just to check that she is okay."
Nabooru groaned, "So both of them are in this damned dream," she whispered under her breath. Her face hardened and she turned back towards the forest. "That smoke coming out of the wood then has to be our target." She pointed to the black column, belching out from the trees.
"Huh, well that will make things easier," Link chirruped. He straightened his belt and started down the ladder.
"How do you stay so positive?" Nara asked shaking her head.
"I don't know," Link confessed, "I think I just cope well with adversity."
"Big words kid, you sure you're only twelve?"
"I used to be older," Link answered, wishing he was joking.
"Seems to me like your friend is making excellent headway with your Gerudo companion," the Mask Man opined, his fingers absentmindedly coaxing the organ to continue.
"Yeah," Ruto agreed, "Wonder if she plans of ever coming out from there."
Malon sighed, "The mask isn't a merry-go-round," she reminded. "We're not queueing up to have turns in Link's dream."
"Hey, I'm just worried okay! But I guess now you've found your stupid horse you've got what you wanted from this expedition so you don't have anything to worry about."
"Ruto!" Darunia barked like a parent scolding their child. "You're better than this. Apologise right now."
Ruto's eyes couldn't meet the defiant Goron's and her lip quivered uselessly. Words were attempting to form but they weren't finding voice.
"It's okay," Malon said with resignation, "No point straining yourself. If you guys are keeping an eye on the dream, I guess I'll be outside." Briskly turning, Malon marched outside.
Saria looked to Ruto, then to Darunia, "I'll go with her, no sense any of us being on our own."
The Mask Man continued playing, tutting quietly under his breath.
The trek through the forest was longer than Nara had expected. Though the smoke signal was only a short way from the forest's border, it still seemed incredibly far now they were on the ground. The meandering pathways reminded Nabooru of the Lost Woods, where even now her real body was trapped.
As they walked, Nabooru considered how much deadlier Link's mind was than reality. The Kokiri woods were hazardous to be sure, but Link's strange parody of them were infinitely darker and more sinister. There were mosquitoes, with stinging bites, buzzing around them. The paths of the forest were infested with weird, snapping turtles, their thick shells lined with spikes. These creatures would curl up when they saw the travellers approach. At first they had thought they were defending themselves but, when one began spinning uncontrollably towards them and knocked Link back against a tree, they learned to steer clear.
Following behind the young hero as he cut a passage through the vines, Nabooru thought to herself. 'A potion shop run by one of his most vicious enemies, a warped version of Hyrule town filled with selfish citizens wrapped up in their own problems and a dank jungle of monsters that should have represented his home; just how much of your head have we screwed up by making you our hero?'
The signal fire finally led to the companions quarry lying still and quiet, draped over a tree stump.
"That's definitely her," Nabooru said darkly as they wandered out into the glade.
The witch in front of them was the spit of her sister except for the red diamond resting in the centre of her forehead. Despite needing her to complete their mission, Nabooru was disappointed to find the witch was still breathing. Her eyes were shut tight, and her head had a massive welt near the back.
While Link was readying the potion, Nabooru took the opportunity to lean in close. "I don't know if you can hear me, but if Link weren't here I'd impale your worthless body on a stake. I wonder if you can even comprehend how ironic this is: having the boy who killed you saving your life."
"Well that took you long enough!" Tatl scolded in her usual abrasive tone. "Who could have thought the fate of the world would rest on a boy who can't open a jar properly."
"Hey, you couldn't open it either," Link sulked. He marched over to the old, unconscious witch. "Nara hold her head back for me and open her mouth."
Nabooru's face contorted unhappily as she touched the leathery old skin. She closed her eyes, trying to pretend she was helping someone's Grandmother rather than the scourge of the desert. She could feel the hag's body reacting to the potion, and her muscles were beginning to flex and tighten. Nabooru let go and backed away, pushing Link back too. She still didn't want to present these witches with an opportunity to catch them off guard.
Kohme's return to life was like watching some old phoenix bursting from the ashes to new life. As soon as her eyelids opened, her body exploded in a gout of red flame and rose from the ground like a marionette on invisible strings. Her bones rattled as she began to convulse furiously. The flames on her body rose higher and higher until finally she clapped her hands. Immediately the flames extinguished and her broom materialised beneath her.
"I see Kotake got my signal fire," she said. "And you," she rounded on Nara and Link causing both to jump back in fear. "You are responsible for bringing me my sister's healing brew?"
"Yes, we risked a lot getting you this stuff," Nara said boldly, "So you owe us big time."
"Ho ho, what a feisty one, what is it that you want?"
Link made to speak but Nara was in full flow. "My friend here needs to get to the heart of the Southern Swamp urgently.
The witch narrowed her eyes as though she were searching for something in the boy. "Hmmm must be a very important task. Luckily, I run a ferry that will take you to the Deku Palace, they are the masters of this domain." She turned from Link to Nara. "My ferryboat's light and only designed for one, I can do nothing for you."
Link looked at Nara with a mix of shock and disappointment. "But, Nara's with me, I need her."
Nabooru smiled and knelt down to look Link in the eyes, her fierce gaze holding his full attention. "This thing you have to do, you have more than enough strength to accomplish alone. You don't need me, and you certainly don't need that pesky firefly that bobs around with you. And hey, when you finish whatever you need to do, I'll still be on guard in Clock Town, it's not like this is good bye."
Link nodded solemnly then turned to face the witch, Kohme. "Okay, I'm ready."
Kohme did a miniature donut in the air, and with a strength far beyond anything a woman her age should be able to muster, she hoisted Link up onto her broom.
"One moment," Nara called.
Kohme sighed but hovered in place obediently.
"Link, when we first met you lied to me about why you needed to go into these swamps. I want the truth, do you trust me enough for that?"
Link looked at Nara levelly, two warriors in equal standing. "There are four giants hidden in the temples of Termina. If I can summon them, maybe they can stop the moon from destroying us all."
Kohme would not wait any longer and pulled up high above the trees. There was no time to wave. Nabooru stared at the blank space of empty sky where Link had just been and sighed.
Something was pulling at her. The world seemed to unravel the further away, second by second the swamp dissolved into a white void and Nara felt her own body melting away with it. It was not an unpleasant feeling, rather it was like taking off wet clothes after coming in from a storm.
Nabooru opened her eyes and the Restful Mask rolled across the floor.
Author's Notes.
A bit of a short section today. Sorry if it's not especially stirring to read, but Nabooru had a few loose ends to tie up for this section of the story to be complete.
So what did you think of the first mini arc, how did you find Nabooru as a companion? Please keep sending me your reviews and messages as we move on to the Woodfall Temple.
Thanks for reading.
