Chapter 10
A Princess Stands Alone
It had been a restless night. For hours I tossed and turned in bed as eerie shadows and daunting nightmares flooded my mind. It was a bittersweet feeling returning back home. How sad it was that I had returned, yet even sadder that I had wanted to leave. I was so sure that Link would be eager to help, even with his flaring temper. It was hard to read him anymore. He was not the shy, honest, and caring Ordonian that I once knew. What I see in that boy now terrifies me.
He had never lied to me before, but after visiting his home last evening I now had my suspicions and yet even more to worry about. While Link had been ranting and skittering around his living room like a mad man, I had been making observations.
The entire inside of his house was blanketed with a thin film of dust. In the shadowed corners hung hammocks of silvery gohma webs, constructed in meticulous patterns that had gone untouched for more than a few months. On the floor there was an unmistakable hint of musk and mouse droppings. The air was stagnant and smelled old and rustic. Cupboards empty, fireplace unkempt, a bone chilling feel of emptiness...Link didn't live in his home anymore, which also meant he wasn't sleeping there at night.
Before Matia, the servant girl, and I had arrived in Ordon we were traveling silently through the loping hills of Hyrule Field. We had been chatting idly, trying to pass time as we crossed the southeast creek towards Faron Woods. We had been completely alone in the pitch black covering over the field. The only light we had was the faint flicker of the stars and the orbital glow of a full moon. Suddenly, both of our horses had stopped. In mid-laugh, Matia seemed to freeze and grow silent. I felt the old mare twitch and tense from between my thighs.
There was a yipping howl, west of where we stood. Within a valley so deep and spacious it was hard to tell if the sound had been mere yards away or simply an echo that had been traveling for miles. Either way, there hadn't been any time to prepare the next thought.
Before I was able to ask Matia if she had heard the noise, another braying howl ripped through the silence, this one closer, much louder. A long monotonous song that sounded elegant and terrifying all at once. Whatever was making this noise was bigger, more powerful than the previous creature. In comparison, the other howling noise sounded like a furry little lapdog that could easily be eaten by the snarling jaws of this other beast.
Matia had turned a ghostly shade of white as her knuckles clenched for her reins. I kept my composure for both of our sakes and pulled my hood away from my eyes as I tried to scan for any sign of the monstrous creature.
Scanning the darkness I struggled to make shapes out of the dark blurry lines and whispering shadows. It was terribly hard to see through the maze of trees and distorted lines but I knew what I had seen wasn't a trick.
There had been a silvery blur of movement, running through the trees at full speed. It was large and lanky and the pads of its feet thundered through the half frozen tundra with ease. I heard it's jagged breath cavorting in between the trees and could feel the energy as it ran pumping past us. The creature paid us no mind as it strode with ease through blackness. It was gone as soon as quickly as it had come. The last few murmurs of the creature's playful panting vanished among the foliage.
I had stood there startled and feeling a little out of breath. The horses seemed to titter with a certain uneasiness as they shuffled anxiously beneath our thighs. A few seconds passed when there was another noise emerging from the trees.
The crackling of dead leaves and snapping twigs sounded of restlessly in the dark. Matia began to whimper and shake as we waited blindly for something to come. The rustling continued on for a few seconds until the unknown figure's footsteps began to grow farther and farther away. The noise had come from where the beastly figure had last emerged. I wondered if this person was nearly as frightened as we were. But then I had a thought.
"Link!" I shouted. The footsteps stopped and I could only imagine the person or shape had stopped to greet me.
"Link!" I bellowed out anxiously as I urged the stubborn mare to move forward. With no sign of the beast around, the steed reluctantly began to trudge forward in lengthy lugubrious steps.
There was a brash crackle of the leaves and rapid movement someplace to my right. Whatever was making the noise had to of been no more than a few feet away. Thinking swiftly I had grabbed the kerosene lantern and ignited the flame as fast as my half frozen fingers would permit. I fumbled for a moment as my fingers shook with anticipation but I was able to steady myself within a few short seconds.
"Aha! I knew it!" I gasped. Light ebbed through and lit only the faintest of areas. In the corner of my eye I thought I saw the slightest silhouette of a man. His back was turned from me, but from behind I could see that he was tall and lean. I heard the crunching of leaves as his legs propelled themselves away from the dim light of the lantern. I jumped, startled by the sudden figure. Shakily I clambered off my steed as I struggled to untangle my foot from the stir-ups. I threw the lantern up defensively as my eyes preened into the dark. The trees seemed to shake with laughter as I twirled about, looking for a shape. Nothing was to be seen. All shapes seemed to blend together in a sort of morbid gothic painting. The cluster of trees seemed to absorb into one another as shadows turned into demonic markings and distorted faces of laughing men. It was as if whoever or whatever it was had just disappeared into thin air. I had to get to his house as quickly as possible.
He had been out of breath when we arrived, and sweating profusely. I couldn't help but think that he had rushed here. Perhaps he knew we were coming. Perhaps he had seen me earlier.
Whatever the case was, it was fishy. I knew something was out of place. Something was bothering him. He was so extremely agitated lately and his temper was no more controllable than a box of burning fireworks. He was lying about something. My heart could feel it.
I had been focusing all of my attention on Link that night. I didn't know what he was hiding from me but knowing the answer wasn't necessarily the release I was looking for. No, what I was looking for was a friend back. I felt very alone as I sat there in my bedroom looking out the open window. Just like every like every other night, the golden triangle pulsed with its ethereal glow. Even though I knew his was doing the same, I no longer felt connected.
I always felt different as a child. The day Link first arrived in Castle Town I could immediately feel a bond. It was something that I had never felt before in my entire life. I had grown up very isolated as a child. I wasn't allowed to play with other children or associate myself with life outside of our castle. I was the apple of my father's eye. He saw me as his golden child, his blessed deity. I knew he didn't want to share me with the public, let alone our staff. I was given one hand maiden as a child. This woman was like a second mother to me. I only spoke to her and occasionally when my father wasn't busy or out on business he would take a few minute to check up on me and see what I had learned.
I was to be smart, and talented. My maid taught me everything. She taught me how to read and write, to sing and dance. We spent countless hours at the piano, playing the harp, and teaching me how to read music. The only time we went outside was to observe the wildlife and to learn about different plants and their uses. We did everything together. It was her job to look after me. She did very well at it and I believe she really enjoyed her time with me. She protected me with all she had and was always there to guide me while growing up. She was often very stern and serious, but she did have her playfulness from time to time. She had never been a mother, but I could tell that she had always yearned to be. Her name was Imahni, an older Sheikah woman with sparkling silver eyes and lilac hair. They took her away from me the moment I was deemed a woman. I grew to love her which was why she wasn't allowed to return after I had grown. A princess must learn to stand proud even when alone. That was what they taught me here.
When I saw Link for the first time, I knew right away that he had always been alone like me. When he and Midna had come into my room on the night of Twilight, it was like I could read his mind. I felt like he could understand me. He had such kind blue eyes. He was innocent and wise with a chipper demeanor about him. Even though he was a mangy creature of the night he had still been wagging his tail and was eager to help no matter what was asked of him. I knew he wanted to help for the same reason I had wanted to. Not because it was the morally right thing to do. It had a small part but that was not what we were after. It was to have purpose. It was to have a sort of meaning to your life. His heart was pure then. I wondered about him now.
I was beginning to wonder where my own heart was going as well…
The sun was beginning to rise. The round orange crescent was beginning to creep over the hills and light up the pale blue skies. It was going to be a nice day. I heard the faint whistles of chirping birds and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was beginning to look like spring. It was too bad I wasn't going to be enjoying this weather. I watched as the sun came up with a morbid sense of horror.
I pulled the covers away and let the brisk morning air wash over my bare skin. Tiny goosebumps ran over me and prickled up in small round clusters. I knew it wasn't from the cold. The Dranvirs were coming this afternoon.
I remembered a story Imahni once told me about the woman who lost her soul. A poor peasant woman who was scrounging the streets had been desperate for money. She married a wealthy debonair to support her and her children. What she didn't know was that this man was soulless and greedy. He didn't want this woman. He only wanted the good in her. He sucked the life out of her and in turn took away her soul. The woman couldn't fool anyone, not even herself. She had lost what was important to her without even realizing it. She had given away her most sacred possession. She couldn't live with herself, she was empty. She turned to stone and was blown away into dust where she was forgotten.
That's how I felt as I watched the rising sun. I felt my body become hard and gritty as I waited for what was to come. I felt like I was giving my soul away, and that I too could become nothing more than dust. An empty woman. This was going against everything I had ever learned growing up.
A princess had to stand tall, even when alone. With my father's death creeping nearer and nearer to the end I was destined to be by myself sooner or later. But what bothers me the most is that he does not trust me to do this alone. Instead my father is only hiring another hand maiden for me to follow. A man who was going to lead me through my stages of running a kingdom was just another way to control me. I was not going to watch myself go down. If I had to I would run. I could do this on my own.
Knock Knock Knock
I jumped and scrambled to get out of bed. Without thinking I began smoothing the sheets and fluffing the sunken pillows. "Come in." I said breathlessly.
The door creaked open before I had even finished by sentence. A young maiden's head peeked through the bedroom door. She wore a large smile and seemed to dance into the room with springy steps. I eyed her warily and looked around the room for anything that could link me to running away last night. I felt guilty and wondered if this girl or anyone for that matter could guess that I was planning to make a run for it.
"Let's go get you fitted." She cooed. "They are almost here." I breathed out a relived sigh as I tried my best to look excited.
It was time to play along. I was good at pretending.
AN: Sorry it took me so long to update. Thank you guys for being patient. I've been changing the plot around a bit and I've decided that I will later merge the Twilight world into Skyward Sword as well. I've been playing Skyward Sword a lot and I think adding a few new elements will add some interest to the story.
Please review as always and if you have any questions feel free to PM me. Thanks again.
