Chapter 9
~ Nicole's POV ~
Okay, so gathering the tadtones was harder than it was in my wonderful mental picture. In my head, I totally knew where every one of them was and I was going to breeze past this like The King of Red Lions at sea. Heh, boy was I wrong.
I began my search near the temple-like structure by the Deep Woods. On the way, I had to refrain from laughing and drawing water into my lungs. My hair flowed all around me when I stopped swimming, and made me look like a mermaid. Anyway, that's off topic. But as I swam around, searching for little… note-shaped fish? I guess? I noticed something that definitely wasn't in Skyward Sword. As I neared the structure, I could have sworn I heard a faint chiming. It was a beautiful sound, like bells during the winter to celebrate the holidays. It was enchanting, and the closer I got to the structure, the louder it got. It was still a small sound, but definitely noticeable.
Other than tiny green mines, there was nothing interesting, but I still heard the beautiful chiming. I explored the area until I found a small group of purple tadtones above the structure. Determined, I backed up and kicked forward with amazing speed, propelling toward the tadtones. As if I was a magnet, they came to me and warmed my skin at their touch, disappearing on contact. It was downright amazing. I couldn't wait to gather the rest.
~X~
"Gwa! Nicole! What the heck; don't freak me out like that!" Kayla clutched her chest right over her heart and breathed loudly and repeatedly.
I pushed my sopping hair out of my face and smiled up at her. "Sorry. I have to go see the Water Dragon. She should dispel the water and then we can try to relax for a while."
"That's good to hear. The sun's setting. It'll be dark soon."
I looked to the west and realized that Kayla was right. How could I have missed the fact that the majority of the sky was lavender? Again, I was reminded of my days in Hyrule, outside in nature, facing possibly imminent death at any time. What a thrill. I was also surprised that Kayla was adjusting to this world so quickly. It took me some time to get used to the fact that I was no longer at home, let alone not on earth. She's only been here less than a day and she seems to be doing fine. She's tougher than the stereotypical spoiled rich girl.
"Okay. So, I'll go get part one of the Song of the Hero, and… meet you by the temple ruins by the Deep Woods?"
Kayla sighed with a smile. "Yup. See you soon!" I heard the last part as I dove under the surface of the water once more.
~X~
I huffed as I, dripping wet and blonde hair plastered against my face, hoisted myself up onto a ledge to face a massive blue dragon with her arms crossed. She looked sternly at me, but I could sense an air of respect about her.
"So, you've brought back all my colorful little Tadtones. You are indeed worthy of being called a hero, though this outcome is different than Hylia predicted... This much is clear. I'm good for my word, so I will teach you my part of the song you seek."
I held up a finger as if to say 'just a second!', concentrated and reached into the sacred realm, removing the beautiful golden instrument. I opened my eyes to find the Water Dragon looking skeptically at me. After a small moment of uncomfortable silence, she closed her eyes and sang. The sound was unlike anything I'd ever heard. It was beautiful. Not at all what you would think a singing dragon would sound like. The sound seemed to reach into my soul and sooth me from the inside. Tension unwound and suddenly, I felt as though I was floating. I could hardly even describe it. I closed my eyes and embraced the sensation, letting my fingers go on autopilot and strumming the strings of the harp. Then, all at once, it was over, and there was a tingling feeling leftover in my head and around my eyes. I swayed a bit and jammed my foot into the ground to steady myself.
"Originally, I had planned to keep these woods underwater so that those awful monsters could never return," the Water Dragon continued, as though she had never inflicted euphoria on me. "But your task is far from over, and you're not exactly at home in the water. I suppose I'll return the woods to their natural state. All this excitement has been rather draining. I believe I'll retire to my hall. You'd best be on your way as well."
"Thank you for helping me, Faron."
~Kayla's POV~
I watched Nicole bring her knees to her chest and shivered as I stoked the flames of our small fire. She was still damp, and since the night fell, the temperature had dropped dramatically.
"So," I began. "Explanation please?"
"H-huh?" Nicole asked in response.
I smiled. "You know more than I do, and you said you'd explain later. It's later, Nicole." I ended the sentence with a sense of mock doom.
"Okay, first, you really need to stop calling me Nicole. I prefer Nicky." I nodded. "As for your question… Okay, I've never told anyone about this before so don't… don't think I'm crazy."
"Are you kidding? I'm in a Zelda game! I seriously doubt anything you have to say can shock me." I thought of what in the world could possibly make me think her crazy after the events of the past day.
Nicole sighed. "Like I said earlier today, I've experienced this before. I've been in The Dark Castle." I had already become engrossed in her words, and when she paused for a response, she was met with silence. "Anyway… I wasn't expecting it. I was playing it one night, a typical night. My parents were headed up to work because they work at the hospital and got a late night call. My brother was headed up to visit from college, and so I was really excited. I played for a while and got a horrible headache, and then everything turned red. Anyway, the next thing I knew, I was in a house. And… Link was there. I thought I was insane at first. It took me a while to grasp everything around me. But I got to go on an amazing adventure with him. It was so different from the game, so much more amazing. Sheik was there, too. He-"
"He?"
"Yeah! It was so amazing, Sheik was actually a Sheikah man in that world. He was engaged to Princess Zelda, and he went along with Link and I. He was so mysterious and, well, cool. There was one time when I was kidnapped by a band of pirates and he and Link came to my rescue.
"Then there was the time when we did the Silent Realm in an ancient but well preserved Skyloft. I think there's only one time I've felt more terrified than that." She paused. "While Link gained items from past heroes through various trials, I grew close to him. After a while, Ganondorf took me away. Link rescued me and had help from his brother, uncle, and parents, as well as Sheik and Zelda." I was seriously confused. "I realized then… I had fallen in love with Link; and the way he defended me: I knew he loved me too." She clutched her knees tighter to her and I saw a tear form in the corner of her eye. "It was so hard to leave, but I knew my family was missing me."
I looked at Nicky in awe. Although I had made little sense of what she had told me, I still got tidbits of information. That's why she talked about the Dark Castle game as if it were so foreign to her. It's because it was. That wasn't what she had lived. It must have been to strange for her to see Link in a pixilated game after being by his side for some time. I watched her as a sad look clouded her eyes but a smile lit up the rest of her countenance.
"Sorry, but could you please explain that again?" I asked sheepishly.
FINALLY! Chapter 9 is up, and it only took me four months. My apologies, I've been rather depressed since summer started. I'm so lonely. Anywho, thanks for you awesome patience!
Due to some serious writer's block, being the reason why this chapter took three months to get up, I did skip about 90% of Nicole's search for the tadtones. I apologize for this and will try to write it as soon as I can, and I'll notify you when I have it finished. Thanks for your patience, I'm doing my best!
