Split Forces
Marickiya tapped her foot on the wooden floorboards anxiously from the seat at the main table that Link usually occupied.
"I am sure he is fine." Vaati reassured for the third time that morning. She only humphed in response.
Link had not reappeared from his walk from the night before, and Marickiya hadn't found out until she woke up a few short hours ago. So many things went through her head; captured, tortured, beaten, killed... He was only the sole sworn enemy of the King of Evil. She let out a short breath of annoyance for the thousandth time.
The door handle jiggled. With a light gasp, she got to her feet and stared at the portal. Link walked in and had the door completely closed before he noticed the tense silence that was greeting him. First he saw Marickiya, her towering demeanor was hard to miss. His eyes flicked over to Vaati who gave him a slight shrug. His attention was back on the Gerudo when she began to speak.
"Where did you go last night?" She asked quietly. The tone of voice she used was frightening.
"Uh-," he stuttered, "To the Ranch. Why?" He said trying to make the conversation sound casual. She stamped her foot.
"We've just found out our enemy is a heck of a lot more powerful than we originally thought and you decide to go missing?" She'd been itching to say these words to him since waking and was close to tears. His eyebrows were so high, they disappeared into his hair.
"I wasn't missing, I was-" he paused, seeing the worry peek through the anger in her eyes, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I just needed some time to think." She eyed him for a second longer, then huffed and took her seat back at the table. Link joined her as she spoke.
"So, what did you need at Lon Lon? A certain farm girl?" She said it with a sarcastic tone. He only raised one eyebrow then. She grinned back at him.
"Unfortunately, no," she finally let out a small chuckle, "I met with some of the Sages." Marickiya straightened up and was listening intently. Vaati seemed pretty interested as well. Link tried not to look smug about grabbing her attention away from being angry at him so easily. "We talked so long, it was too late for me to make a safe trip back." Marickiya nodded her approval.
"What did you guys talk about?" She asked. Link sighed and there was a visible uncomfortable-ness about his movements.
"Well, after what we learned last night, I needed to find out if all of it was true. I met with Impa, Nabooru, and Rauru. The others had returned to their tribes." Link sighed and removed his hat, gathering his thoughts. "It's all true. Impa was the only one to outright admit that she knew. Everyone else kept pretty quiet the rest of the time. Impa... asked me where I had heard about it."
Marickiya blinked a few times. The way Link made it sound, Impa wasn't too happy that Link had found out about Ganondorf's mortal status. That brought it back to her. Could she be in trouble? "What did you tell her?" Link scratched at his scalp.
"Well, I was pretty frustrated that she had been holding onto this information. I'm sure at least Rauru knew about it as well. They've been keeping it from me," his eyes were glued to the surface of the table. He looked immensely troubled by this revelation. "I've been carrying this war by myself without any knowledge of my adversary." Marickiya thought that did seem a little unfair. She also thought that perhaps the Sages were trying to keep Link focused on the fight instead of overwhelming him. As unfair as that was, she couldn't help but remind herself that she was keeping information to herself regarding him as well. She resisted biting her lip in a guilty fashion and placed a hand on Link's shoulder. The man sighed again. "I didn't tell her about you or your book. I told her I had heard it from some passing Sheikah. She probably knew I was lying, but she didn't ask me about it."
"We are in this together now," Marickiya said trying to sound as reassuring as possible. Link still had a unsettled air about him. "What is it?" She asked with concern.
"There's something else," he began. He sat up straighter and his demeanor became serious. "There's news that all the new roads leading out of Hyrule have been cut off." Marickiya looked perplexed.
"You mean like a road block?" She asked. Link shook his head.
"It's more like a barrier, made of magic, keeping everyone out." He replied darkly.
"And all of us trapped inside," Vaati spoke for the first time during their conversation. He crossed his arms and the room became quiet.
"Is he trying to keep us from getting help?" Marickiya voiced aloud.
"The Sages have guessed, and I have to agree, he is trying to keep the Triforce pieces contained so he can retrieve them more easily." Link said. Marickiya's eyebrows raised high on her forehead.
"Wouldn't that mean that he thinks Wisdom is still in Hyrule?" She asked, then added excitedly, "That helps us, too, right?"
"Nothing is certain," he replied, ending the discussion. He was keen to begin a different one. "You," he asked of the sorcerer. Vaati merely glanced at him with his arms still crossed. The Hylian had addressed him rather rudely and he wasn't about to show any kind of respect by giving his full attention. Link continued, unabated. "The Sages have asked, since you had been tailing Ganondorf for some time, that you tell us everything you learned." It was more or less a demand. His loyalty was being tested. It was difficult for him not to make any kind of gesture to give away his annoyance. He had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time he was going to be tried.
"He is hiding out, biding his time. He only shows his presence in the form of his hordes of monsters. I only know that he was keeping tabs on you... And that he is searching for something." He stated simply. In truth, it really was all he knew. If he had not blown his cover so early, he might have been able to learn more. Lana was more crafty than he accounted for.
"That's most likely the Triforce piece of Wisdom we're all missing." Marickiya said thoughtfully and adopted a pensive look. Link didn't appear satisfied.
"Where has he been hiding?" Link asked a bit forcefully. Vaati uncrossed his arms and was half a second away from snapping at the hero. Marickiya's eyes caught his just before his outburst. It was like she knew what was going on in his thoughts and was pleading with him. They looked almost apologetic. He grumbled to himself and continued evenly.
"An underground city. It would seem he is still recovering from a great injury and only hides there when he needs to recuperate." Mari decided to interject before Link could say anything.
"Do you know how to get inside?" Link asked. This question was less harsh and more desperate sounding than anything. Vaati had the impression that Link hadn't meant to come across that way. The hero crossed his own arms and sat back awaiting an answer.
"I do not know if there is a usable entrance. Ganondorf uses his magic to get himself and his followers in and out." Silence reigned once again while everyone was lost in thought. Then Link placed his palms on the table and stood up.
"Thank you for telling me this. It will definitely help." He walked over to his bedside where his belongings resided and began rifling through his trunk. "I'm going to go on ahead and get ready for today." At Marickiya's silence, he looked up at her to be met with a puzzled face. "You're still up for it right?" He had pulled out two items from his chest and held one of them out to her. Her eyes lit with understanding.
"Oh! Yes, I am." She said and reached out for the sword he was offering.
"Right," he nodded and draped a pretty red sheath over his shoulder. "I'll meet you next door then."
"Okay," she said as she watched him make his way outside. Once the door was closed she turned to Vaati. "Would you like to come along?" She grinned. Vaati noted that she waited until Link was no longer present to ask him this question.
"Come along to what, exactly?" He asked a little skeptically.
0000
Vaati had followed the Gerudo girl towards the rather large house that was situated just below their own abode. Marickiya had just finished telling him all that Link had told her about the house. He said that during his adventure, a family used to live there, but they were all under a curse. The curse had turned them all into skulltulas! Mari had shivered at the mention of it. After Ganon's defeat, the family had skipped town and were never heard from again. They had left all their belongings behind and abandoned their house. For an unknown reason, no matter how many remodels it went through, the house never sold. She finished by saying that she didn't really believe Link's story, especially after he said that he single-handedly broke their curse by traveling the land in search of the ninety-nine gold skulltulas to destroy them. Vaati was only half listening to her ramblings.
As much of a bad idea he thought it was to wander around out in the open with Lana so close on his trail, the term 'sword-fighting lessons' was just all too intriguing for him. It was only next door after all. He feared, though, that he looked a bit too interested when Mari had asked him because when they arrived, she kept pestering him about his sword skills.
"Have you used a sword before?" She asked of him. He kept his eyes on Link, the instructor. As annoying as he found the Hylian, he admitted he could certainly handle himself with a blade.
"Yes," was his curt reply. She didn't seem to pick up on his tone however.
"What kind of sword do you use?" She asked.
"A sharp one." Marickiya, instead of taking that as a cue to stop talking, giggled lightly. He felt his neck burn a bit as he saw Link's eyes rove over the two of them as he spoke to the room full of swordsman hopefuls. He had already made a sour face when they walked in together, and he didn't need any more grief from the man.
"You should spar with Link some time. Maybe that's the way you two will ever get along." She quipped. He turned to face her and he caught her smirk. She was trying to tease him into talking. He took in a short breath to retaliate when they were interrupted.
"What's this I hear about sparring? You up for another defeat, Mari?" Link was upon the two of them. She hadn't been paying attention and he was going to make her pay for it with a challenge. She was a bit abashed for a second but then an idea struck her.
"No, but Vaati is," and she pushed him forward. Link looked him up and down.
"Do you even have a sword?" Vaati didn't have time to protest before Marickiya had pushed him into the center of the room. All eyes were upon him now. He didn't feel like explaining himself at that point. He would only appear foolish. On top of that, link's accusatory tone further annoyed the mage.
"I do," he said resolutely. He made a motion that looked as if he were unsheathing something even though there wasn't a sheath strapped to his side and a long thin sword appeared in his right hand. Some people gasped quietly and whispers of the words 'magic' and 'sorcerer' floated around the room. Link sized him up.
"Alright, I'll begin with some rules to practicing in this room. There shouldn't be any all out fighting going on, this is strictly about learning moves and honing them. We," Link gestured to himself and Vaati who stood opposite him, "Will show you some basics. First, I'll have Vaati come at me," and with that, his sword was at the ready. Vaati didn't miss a beat and his sword was up almost in time with the Hylian's. One thing Vaati noticed about Link was that he looked all too confident in himself. He didn't plan on making a fool of him, but if it happened to turn out that way, he wouldn't be bothered. Vaati took his first step.
Link suddenly lunged forward nearly catching the sorcerer off guard. He wasn't sure why he didn't expect Link to pull a trick move so quickly. He sidestepped and they swiveled past each other, ending up in the others original position and yet never taking eyes off of each other. Link's smirk widened.
"You read me well. It's good to be ready to make split second decisions," the second sentence was for the room at large. Then they were back to staring down one another. Link began to edge around the circle everyone had made to give them space and Vaati followed suit.
Vaati leapt lightly towards Link, bringing his sword down. Link easily brought his up to block. There was a glint in the mage's eye as he fluidly angled his sword and took a non-threatening swipe at Link's torso. Link looked a little surprised by this tactic as he arched his back to avoid touching his opponents blade. Vaati followed through by twirling around and swinging his sword in from the side. Metal finally clashed as Link blocked the attempt. They were both grinning.
Marickiya watched her friends' sword play intently. With the first few moves, it appeared as if they were merely testing the waters. After that, they began exchanging real blows. So much for the 'no all out fighting' rule, she thought with a shake of her head. Looking around at the onlookers excited faces, she didn't think anyone was going to complain. The both of them moved through the air with ease, knocking away attempted stabs and swings. Link would get a good feint in and Vaati would adjust accordingly. It was easy to tell they were both seasoned fighters. It was also easy to tell that they were enjoying themselves immensely. They had hardened looks but she could definitely see in them the joy of finding a skilled opponent. She almost laughed out loud.
After a good while of non-stop sword blows, Vaati slipped up. It was incredibly minuscule, no one even saw the mistake he had made. But he knew that Link had noticed it. He only caught a glimpse of the Hylian's look of triumph before the tip of a yellow blade obscured his vision. Everything halted as he leaned back, away from the sword that was held beneath his chin. Then there was an intrusive explosion of applause. He blinked several times before he remembered that they were in the middle of a class. Link lowered his weapon and approached Vaati.
"You're rather good. I pity who ever challenges you to a real match." He held out his right hand towards the mage. Vaati's sword vanished as he brought his hand to shake Link's. He began talking to the group again and Vaati took his place beside Marickiya.
"That was incredible," she breathed to him, keen on being quieter this time. Though with the chatter of excitement twittering around them, she wasn't as worried about interrupting Link again. Vaati merely hummed in response. He was watching Link demonstrating different blocking techniques. Marickiya smiled to herself.
"Alright. Everyone, split up into pairs and begin practicing blocking. If there is an odd number, someone will need to take turns." There was rustling and small lull of voices as people were edging around the room to their friends. Marickiya turned to face Vaati.
"Guess it's you and me, then." He nodded in agreement, his sword appearing in his hand again as if from nowhere. He took a defensive stance. "I take it you're first, then." He stood straight.
"Did you want to?" he asked but she was already shaking her head.
"No, you're fine." He nodded and got back into position.
Okay, she readied herself. Part of her mind was distracted by not appearing foolish in front of Vaati. The other part was distracted by not really knowing if she should be forceful or gentle. This caused her to amble awkwardly with the short sword Link had given her earlier toward Vaati. He held up his sword against her weak attempt. There stood there for a second before Vaati couldn't help but look amused. So much for not appearing foolish, she sighed.
"You will not hurt me, so do not worry about..." he thought for half a second, "'Going easy on me.'" He finished. She smiled sheepishly in return. They got back into their original positions and he signaled to her his readiness. She felt a little more confident after a few good swings. Vaati would give her some advice on force and about knowing when someone is going to try and block you. She kept up with it pretty well, she thought. Then they switched roles. Before he began, he gave her a fair warning that an opponent was probably not going to save their strength for any blows and that he would show her what to do when she might become overpowered. She thought to herself that she appreciated Vaati's teaching method of explanation before demonstration. More than Link's 'learning on your feet because that's how he did it' method. As Vaati moved around and reset his position, she noticed he kept re-tucking his long hair behind his ear.
"You should get a hat like Link's." Vaati's ears twitched at the interruption. Really, she just said whatever she wanted!
"I used to. It did not really fit my style." He retorted without missing a beat. Her eyes widened.
"Was that a joke?" He couldn't help his lip turning up at one corner. She laughed lightly and shook her head. "I was only suggesting it because you keep having to move your hair out of your eyes." He stopped to bring his hand around his ear, realizing he had done it multiple times now. He hummed.
"Oh, what about this?" She untied a small, brown piece of cloth from her wrist. She offered it to the mage who took it between his fingers. It was a soft material.
"It will do." He nodded. He gathered his long hair at the back of his head and wrapped the cloth around it once, then knotted it. The part that always hung over his right eye was left unbound. Marickiya watched him curiously, having noticed he was intent on keeping part of his face hidden. Vaati ignored it and continued their training.
Link had watched them interact as he made his way around the room. He was only half interested in what the trainees were doing, occasionally pointing something out that was blatantly wrong. Anything else wasn't enough to steal his attention away from the pair across the room. It had taken him a while to pinpoint his emotions about them. Toward the mage, it had always been mistrust, annoyance, enmity. Towards Marickiya, at that moment, was a small amount of resentment. He watched them banter out of the corner of his eye again.
He couldn't understand why she seemed so distant with him and then so open to Vaati. He was the one to open his door to her. He told her that his home was her home now. So why did she almost openly pursue the mage? She laughed, really laughed, around Vaati though he seemed to never show any kind of emotion in return. Well, whenever Link was around it seemed that way. Just then, he watched as Vaati twirled around her with his sword. She barely managed to block it and ended up falling over backward. He put a hand over his mouth, not in surprise but to hide a smile and she doubled up in laughter once more. Link flared his nostrils in irritation and he pulled his gaze back to the other students.
It wasn't as if she didn't know of him liking Malon. She even joked about it earlier that morning. That was probably it. She was giving him space. He felt the space she gave was a little too wide.
He had to admit, he had feelings for the Gerudo teen he'd allowed to live in his home. The hard part was figuring out what kind of feelings they were.
After a few hours of working on simple sword techniques and everyone was feeling pretty tired, Link decided to wrap up the days lesson.
"Okay, everyone. I believe that is a good start to learning some self defense. I don't think we can keep doing this every week," there were a few 'aww's' in response to this, "If you have any questions, feel free to come to me." And with that everyone began packing up and filing out of the door. Soon, there were a few stragglers, his companions, and himself left. "That was great, Link," Marickiya ambled over to him and thumped him on the back.
"Thanks," Link mumbled in response. Vaati had kept a bit of distance as he put his sword away. He looked up and he and Link made eye contact. Link suddenly felt foolish for there was a very small chance that Vaati hadn't noticed him stealing glances at the two of them all afternoon. He was the first to break his gaze.
"I am heading back," Vaati announced. Marickiya 'oh'-ed with disappointment in her voice, but Vaati had vanished before anything else could be said. Link could feel his neck burning. "Hey," she said quietly after a moment. Link turned to her and was surprised when she was smiling brightly. "Do you wanna go for a ride? Trysting has been cooped up for a while and I'm sure Epona wouldn't mind a bit of fun."
She had noticed as well. Wonderful. He wanted to kick himself. On the outside he gave Marickiya a smile.
"Sure, that sounds great."
0000
"You're going down, 'Hero!'" It wasn't the first time someone had used his title in such a teasing manner. He laughed out loud.
"You seriously underestimate me behind the reigns of a horse!" He shouted back over the clopping of hooves and the wind whipping around their ears. It was a race to the bridge before Kakariko village. They had been neck and neck but Mari was pulling ahead. She looked over to Link as she was passing him
"I hope you're not letting me win," she taunted.
"Never!" He put on a burst of speed and easily outstripped her black mare, leaving her with a shocked look.
"Oh no you don't," and she urged Trysting to catch up. Trysting was more than willing to oblige. He hadn't been able to go full out for a long time. They were tied again, both pushing their steeds to the maximum. The bridge was coming upon them through a blur of colors. Marickiya chanced a glance at her opponent and saw him staring determinedly ahead. She wanted to laugh at how seriously he looked. They were nearly neck and neck, Marickiya inching ahead only slightly. Suddenly, Epona dug her heals into the ground, kicking up a lot of dirt and bringing them to a halt. Link 'woah'ed and Epona reared. From atop his saddle, Link watched Marickiya shoot forward towards the bridge. Just as she was about to hit stonework, her horse, with its mighty muscled legs, crouched and then leapt clean over the bridge. Epona's front legs hit the ground and he gawked in astonishment for a second at his Gerudo companion as she slowed and began circling and whooping in triumph from across the water. He grinned and led his horse to the crest of the bridge where he stopped.
"That was a good race," he shouted to get the girl's attention. She beamed back at him as Trysting continued to kick out in excitement. "We have a clear winner." He said and snarky grin appeared on his face.
"Yeah we do! Do you still think I underestimated you?" She called back, patting Trysting's mane. Link put on a show of looking confused.
"How do you mean?" He said, exaggerating an affronted look, "I'm the one who won the race." She looked up at him wondering if he'd hit his head or something when Epona stopped him.
"What? No you didn't," she said back with her head cocked to the side.
"I believe we agreed 'first one to the bridge' would be the winner."
"Yeah, and I-" she halted and Link leaned on his elbows as he watched her figure it out. Her gaze went from the bridge his horse stood upon to Link's nearly smug face.
"But...But I-" she stuttered and Link busted out laughing. She scowled.
"Laugh it up, Link. You won't wriggle out of buying my lunch through cheating." To this, Link looked playfully affronted.
"Me? Cheating?" He put a hand to his chest. "Never!"
"Quiet you," she snapped and Link continued with his laughter.
Link and Marickiya walked their steeds up the horses path into the village. It didn't take long after dropping Epona and Trysting off at the stables for Marickiya to head off towards the vendors. Link laughed after the girl as he tried to keep up.
"What sounds good for food?" He asked of her when she stopped for him. She smiled and lead him over to a stall where something was sizzling. The smell of cooking food overwhelmed his senses as they neared. They watched a burly looking man turning meat over a fire and Link felt his stomach lurch in longing. He had just realized he hadn't eaten since the night before.
"That does look good."
"You're drooling a little, just there," Marickiya pointed at the corner of his mouth and he nudged her away playfully.
After purchasing two bowls of cooked meat and vegetables, they chowed down while they meandered through the mill of people doing their shopping. Marickiya talked animatedly the whole while. They were both enjoying themselves. They arrived at a weapons stall where Link was admiring a nice bow that was on sale. The salesmen was working his magic on him. They bartered for a bit and Link had to admit, his seven year old short bow was looking pretty sorry in comparison to the mahogany longbow in his hands. The man trying to sell it to him put his hands on his hips.
"I'll tell you what, Hero of Time. You've done all of Hyrule a great service in the past. So, I'll make you a 'heroes only' deal." Link looked up at him while still fondling the curved wood. "I'll go ahead and knock off that extra 10 rupees, and," he paused with a flourish like he was giving him the deal of a lifetime, "I'll let you try it out first."
It happened then. Before Link could reply to the man, a shout erupted inside his head that only he could hear,
'Link, Marickiya's in danger!'
0000
Vaati had warped back to the house immediately following the sword training in hopes of staying out of sight. He was beginning to feel more tense as the morning dragged on. It felt as if something was closing in on him. He picked up the things he'd accidentally strewn about with his appearance in the room. He didn't want Link to be upset at him for anything else. He guessed that part of the tension was stemming from the Hero of Time. He let out a long breath in an attempt to still his anxiety. He was becoming irate at the amount of disquiet he felt for unknown reasons. He went over to the water basin near the window and used a smaller bowl to scoop some out. He grabbed a clean cloth and dipped it in his bowl and began washing his face, arms, and neck. He tried to steady his heart through deep breaths.
'Quiet your mind, young one. Those who work in shadows are keen to stay out of the light.'
"Those who work in shadows..." Vaati mumbled. He closed his eyes to concentrate on his other senses.
For a long while, he simply watched the other inhabitants of the village go about their daily routines. The normalcy of them calmed him a little. He was not afforded anything that even remotely resembled 'normal' with the life he led. He was too busy being the 'hero' no one wanted. Spanning his search further, he saw two riders frolicking on the outskirts of the town. Link and Marickiya. They were racing. He smiled.
Those two. Despite the constant looming threats, they were happy. That baffled him. They did not worry all the time, as they should have. There could not know when the enemy would strike next. The Hero of Time should know this more than anyone. Still, he watched them, with their joyous auras as they finished their ride and came back to the village to socialize. He wasn't sure if he should vilify or envy them. While he took solace in keeping watch over them, something else nudged at his senses.
It was familiar, yet could not grasp it. It whipped just out of his reach and danced at the edge of his consciousness. Then, he was finally able to grab hold of it in his mind's eye. He held on as his eyes flew open to the spot where he felt the force. Up in the loft, a looming figure was skulking. It had noticed it had been caught and just as quickly as he had it in his sights, the thing vanished. All that remained of it was an eerie, toothy grin. He frowned.
So his presence was known. Of course, he already knew that. A scout in the house made him sure of it. Now he knew why he felt anxious. The enemy was already here. But if they knew he was there, why weren't they attacking?
He swore out loud. How could he be such a fool? They weren't after him.
He turned on his heel and in an instant, floated above the crowds of Kakariko, just out of sight. Dark clouds had taken up residence in the sky over the village that hadn't been there earlier in the morning. There would most likely be a storm during the night. He brought down his gaze from above.
He began his search of the people below, face to face to face. Link's green pointed cap was easily spotted. He was speaking with a weapons' vendor. He searched the other man's face, actions, spirit. Nothing was out of place. Marickiya was not there. Why was she not with him? His heart trilled as he searched again with fervor. He would not have someone hurt because of his incompetence.
He found her. She was peering at some trinket in a stall. An elderly man was chatting with her about his wares. It was here that Vaati sensed danger. Where was it coming from? He tried to pinpoint a source but it was hazy to him. All he knew was that the threat was towards her so he decided to put up a barrier around her.
That was when he realized what was wrong. There was already a barrier around her but it was not meant for protection. It was keeping all other magic out. He would not be able to reach her if something happened. He was on the brink of panic when he remembered; Link.
'Link, Marickiya's in danger!'
0000
Link jumped out of his skin. It was a full second after the residual echo of Vaati's voice had died away did he comprehend the word's meaning. He looked up to find she wasn't anywhere near him. When had she wandered off? He shook himself of the useless thought, his sharp eyes darting through the faces in the crowd, searching.
There! She was at another stall down the row from him. Nothing appeared out of place. There was something though, something he would not have thought to look for, that unsettled him. The man she was speaking with had a certain gleam in their eyes. It wasn't enough for suspicion. He knew Marickiya could easily handle the aged man on her own. Still, he decided to make his way over to the pair of them.
"I'll be right back," Link said to the vendor, grabbing a couple of arrows from his collection. Before the man could protest, Link started after her, careful to not be seen. Though he tried to avoid it, keeping his eyes locked in Marickiya's direction caused him to bump into someone. After a quick glance in their direction, he gave a hurried apology, then halted in his tracks. He whipped back around to stare at the man he'd just run into and drank in his features.
"Is everything alright, son?" An exact replica of the man Marickiya spoke with was standing right in front of him.
"Yeah-" Link barely finished his reply as he backed away and quickened his pace. He was closing in on her. Purpose overpowered uncertainty and confusion. He was almost upon them and there was a flash of metal. Link lunged forward-
Marickiya gasped. There was an intense stinging around her midriff and she stumbled backward in shock. Link was suddenly standing in front of her, shielding her from something. She couldn't see what was happening, only hear voices. The stinging at her hip intensified and she clapped a hand to it with a wince. Link threw a quick glance behind him at her before turning to face the situation at hand. Link had a tight grip on the wrist of the old man so they could do no more harm.
"Ganondorf sent you, I'm assuming." Link's voice was lowered. He squeezed and twisted their arm hard until the dagger fell to the ground. Mari saw the bloody blade drop onto the grass. There was a shimmer from the hilt and she knew exactly who it belonged to.
"Nice guessing."
The man's form writhed in Link's grasp. The arm he held onto rippled into a shadow and before Link could react, he was flipped onto his back and was lying winded on the ground. The shadow spread across the man as he delicately landed a ways away. When the shadow crossed over his face, it revealed a much younger looking woman had taken his place.
"Lana," Marickiya grunted in irritation. The woman grinned annoyingly. "What do you want?"
"Just getting a little bit of payback." She gestured at the dagger lying on the ground at Link's feet, who was picking himself up. Then acted like she was shielding her eyes from the sunlight while she looked around at the forming crowd. "I was also hoping to have a chat with a dear friend of mine."
People were noticing what was going on and were steering clear of the confrontation, forming a circle of onlookers. Link glared at her. "You won't find any friends of yours here."
"How cute." Lana laughed a tinkling laugh. "Now, where's the sorcerer?"
"He's not here." Marickiya yelled. Lana raised her eyebrows.
"Oh my! But I was so hoping to get to see him." A ball of magically energy sprung to life between her fingers. "I thought getting at you would surely lure him out." She grinned madly. "Seems I was right!" She twirled on the spot and threw her little ball of energy skyward. Following its ascent, it was then that the two noticed Vaati hovering just above the closest house.
It was a direct hit and the magic exploded on impact. Vaati went sailing to the ground, clearly injured. Suddenly, weapons were being drawn and the men wielding them moved towards the center of the gathering. Lana laughed out loud, high and mocking. "Just try and hit me, I dare you! All of you!"
Before she could do anything more, something bright went streaking towards her and caught her in the shoulder. She was engulfed in a bright golden flame and was screaming in agony. She hugged her sides and fell to her knees.
"Oh, do you not like my light arrows?" Link asked cockily to get her attention. She turned to him with a grimace of pain as he held another nocked arrow on her.
"You little cheat!" Link raised a single eyebrow at her statement. "I won't forget this." She said as she melted into the shadows that surrounded her, leaving the burned image of her silhouette in their eyes.
With the discernible threat gone, Marickiya took off. Before Link could call out to her, he was swarmed by villagers wanting to know what was happening. Marickiya headed in the direction she'd seen Vaati fall. Rounding a corner of the building below which he'd been hit, she rushed over.
"Are you alright?" She slid to the ground beside him as he sat up.
"I am fine. I was only caught off guard." He put a hand to his head where he imagined a small bump was receding from his healing magic.
"Caught off guard? You fell like three stories!" She gestured at the sky where he had fallen from. He laughed at her shocked expression and outburst.
"I am sorry to worry you." He glanced at her hand that she still held to her side. Little beads of blood were beginning to seep through her fingers. "You should worry more about that," he pointed at her abdomen. She looked down with a distant look and took her hand away to inspect the damage. The wound started to gush out more precious liquid. She replaced her palm against it.
"I'm okay." She said hollowly. "It's not deep." Behind her, Vaati noticed Link was approaching with a a few men wielding weapons. He looked livid.
"You should still get it cleaned up," Vaati said gently as he picked himself up off the ground. Link looked between the two of them, then rested his heated glare on the mage.
"You neglected to mention that Lana was able to change her appearance." Vaati held the Hylian's intense gaze. Marickiya wanted to interject, but didn't know what to say and could only stare between her companions.
"I sincerely apologize. It was not my intention to keep anything from you." Vaati said evenly but Link figured out what he meant by that.
"Forgot to mention it, then? Your forgetfulness has put people in danger." Vaati scowled and looked away. Marickiya stood up quickly.
"Link," was all she could get out before she fell to one knee, one hand holding her head, the other on her side. Link's features still held their ferocity but were mingled with concern as well.
"Marickiya, get back to the house and get that cleaned. " He helped her stand all the way up again but she still held her head for a moment longer.
"I'm okay. Just stood up too fast." She looked up at Link who gave her a stern glare. He had looked just as angry at her as he was at Vaati. She shied away from him. "I'll be at the house," she muttered and moved away from him. He reached out after her but she was quick to get out of his reach. He sighed inwardly. He turned his attention back towards where he left the mage and found him to be gone as well. With a quick search, he found Vaati trailing a bit behind Marickiya. His scowl which never left him, deepened. He turned to the other men.
"We are going to need a double night's watch now." He growled. "If we have to, keep track of names and faces entering and leaving." The men nodded and went about organizing his orders.
0000
Ganondorf busied himself with the grooming of his finger nails while his servant knelt before his throne. He was as disinterested as he could get.
"You require my assistance?" he asked without looking at her. He could smell the tears running down her face. She was in quite a lot of pain and he relished in it. He would drag it out as long as he pleased. Her discomfort was his delight.
"Yes, sire," she grunted out. "As I said, no one else can remove it." He finally inclined his head toward her and took in the sight. A long arrow protruded from her shoulder blade. It wasn't a serious injury by any means. She would live through it, especially with the magic she borrowed from him. What was truly causing her suffering was the residual light energy that conflicted with the dark power he had given her to wield. It was why none of his other minions could touch it. He wouldn't say it, but he did not like touching it any more than they did. He could feel the holy power emanating from the thing from where he sat. He sat up in his throne and leaned forward.
"Now, how did that happen?" He asked softly, dangerously. He would interrogate her first before aiding her. She thought it better to cooperate with him to speed things along.
"I was shot with a light arrow by the Hero of Time." She said. He stood and began circling her, eyeing the damage. She could not follow his path with her eyes and so remained facing where he had sat.
"You must have been pretty distracted to have allowed him to land such a good hit." He continued. Lana winced as another wave of stinging was wrought against her.
"I-I was preoccupied with the mage. Got a good hit on him as well." She was struggling to remain conscious now. Ganondorf still wanted to drag it out as long as possible.
"What about their female companion? You told me she was one of my Gerudo," the way he said it made it sound like he was challenging her to try and suggest that any of his tribe would betray him. Well, any of them excluding Nabooru. Did he have plans for her.
Her reply could take the situation one of two ways, and Lana was intent on not insulting the only person who could relieve her of her pain. She swallowed hard.
"It would appear that she is not a full blooded Gerudo, my King." Her vision was becoming blurry, but she could have sworn a look of shock befell her master's face for a second. He didn't let it show for too long. He kept pacing around until he ended up behind her. "They've been calling her 'Mari,'" Lana tried to move her head to try and see Ganondorf's face but he placed a hand on her good shoulder to steady her.
"You've brought me some interesting information," He said patiently. "And your King takes care of his devoted servants that perform well." Lana's breath caught in her throat as she felt him take hold of the shaft embedded in her back. He smiled maliciously and licked his lips.
'SNAP'
The pain was even more blinding than being shot. Lana screamed, tearing her throat to shreds. She fell forward, writhing and still yelling out. Ganondorf stood over her and watched as he rolled the splintered wood between his fingers until it disintegrated into a blackened dust. Then, he knelt beside her.
"Come now. It's only an arrowhead," he cajoled. Lana's eyes widened.
He left the arrow tip? Ganondorf laughed a booming laugh.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. Consider it a sort of trophy." He placed a calloused hand on the hole that was gushing blood from the disturbance. "But we better close it up. Don't want you bleeding out now, right?" He squeezed his hand and a burning sensation took over Lana's entire being. If she could have screamed louder she would have but all that escaped her was an ugly sputtering as she gripped the brickwork beneath her. He was cauterizing the skin so that it closed up over the arrowhead. Finished with his work, he brushed his hands clean of charred skin and pushed off of his knee into a standing position. He looked upon her lying in filth indifferently. Then his lip turned into a leer. "I'm impressed that you haven't passed out yet." His voice became quiet and stern for his next words. "You still have unfinished business, Shadow. You had better not show your putrid face to me until at least one of the Hero's companions is dead."
He awaited an answer from her but all he received was incoherent whimpering.
"I'll take that as compliance," he waved a hand back at her as he walked out of the room. Her gross sobbing followed him well down the spiral stairs of the tower he descended.
Not within Lana's presence any longer, he dropped his previous demeanor and snarled out loud. He brought a hand up to his face to inspect it. The light arrow had left its mark in the shape of a thin gash across his palm. It made him feel disgusted. Though it wasn't any worse than the scars he had from his last battle with the Hero of Time, he felt the need to purge. He made a fist and his hand was suddenly coated in what looked like black flames. They licked around his closed hand for a moment, then died away. Opening his palm, he saw the mark had vanished and he hummed in satisfaction.
He was far enough away that Lana's screaming could no longer be heard. What a worthless creature. She could not accomplish one simple task. He was beginning to forget why he recruited her in the first place. Her honed ability to perfectly copy another individuals appearance was a fetching attribute, but not if the rest of her was made up of incompetence. The arrowhead was a reminder to her that she needed to get her act together. The light energy would eventually fade, but she would have to deal with the pain until then.
For now, he would send her after the Hero's trio, not believing she would actually fulfill her duties, but as a distraction for his enemies. He needed more time to recuperate from his time in the Sacred Realm. He was also getting more desperate in his search for the Triforce piece of Wisdom. He knew the Sages were also searching, and they had the unfortunate advantage of being able to cover more ground than he.
Then, there was this new development. The 'not full blooded Gerudo' traipsing around with the hero. He frowned in disappoint. He hadn't given that girl any thought in years. Since she had been a child and of no use to him. Now look at what happened to his little 'project'. His neglect had caused it to sour. He sneered angrily. He supposed her place in his plans had expired and there weren't many other options. He would have to clean up the mess he'd created.
That thought would have to wait. She did not pose as much of a serious threat as the mage did. His eradication was top priority when the time became right. He would find the perfect circumstances and wipe that stupid smirk from the sorcerer's face.
0000
The storm had arrived during the wee hours of the night, the only one awake in the village to appreciate it being Marickiya. She listened to the pattering of rain on the roof above her and it was soothing. She sat up on her stomach and was surrounded by paper notes, her book, and a dimly lit lantern.
She had awoken not long before. In her irritated mood at Link the day before, she had gone to sleep about midday seeing as she couldn't do much of anything else with her injury. She slept through the afternoon and wasn't able to sleep during the night. She was perfectly fine with that as she got to listen to the rain and work on her book in peace. It was helping her unwind from the day's events. A roll of thunder shook the windows and Marickiya looked up at them.
Something snatched her attention away from the water stricken window. Her breath caught in her throat as worry crept through her. Still as she could be, she scanned the dark depths below the loft. There, by the front door! She could feel herself beginning to sweat. A faintly glowing orb was floating on the left side of the room. Before she could alert anyone, she heard a soft voice.
"Is everything alright?" It had been Vaati's voice. She froze and stared directly at the orb. A ridiculous notion occurred to her.
"Vaati?" She asked hesitantly. He hummed in response. "Could you... could you close your eyes for me?" She felt exceptionally foolish and knew she must look the part. Regardless, the man complied and the orb disappeared. She breathed out shakily and wanted to bust up laughing.
"You're eyes are glowing," she said with relief. She giggled when she saw the glowing eye squint, meaning he was scowling at her in the dark.
"They do that." He said blandly.
The eye disappeared again and there was a gentle rustling Marickiya heard before Vaati materialized from the shadows and alit delicately on the edge of the loft. Without a word, he took a seat beside the girl and leaned against the wall.
"Are you unable to sleep?" He asked. Marickiya gathered back her wits. You would think she'd get used to all the magic being performed around her on a daily basis. She shook her head.
"No. I took a rather long nap earlier." She chuckled. "What about you?" He also shook his head.
"I usually do not sleep during storms." A sly grin crept onto her face.
"Are you afraid of thunder?" She thought there may have been a bit too much glee behind her words for Vaati shot her another scowl. She put on a straight face to try and make it look like she was genuinely curious. He looked away towards the window where they could see lightning shine through in bursts. Without looking back he replied,
"It has always been that way." When she made no reaction he continued, "Since I was young."
She 'oh'ed lightly and, trying to distract herself, went back to what she was working on. He had looked fairly upset by revealing that tidbit of himself. She haphazardly matched one of the symbols in her book to a word she understood in her notes. Then noticed she had written it down wrong and scratched out the mistake with her quill. She let out a light breath.
"Growing up in the desert, I never got to see storms like this. I think it's beautiful." He watched her glowing features with interest.
"That is not a term I would use to describe it." He said flatly. She turned to him.
"How would you describe it then?" As she watched him, his face was cast in shadow and she could no longer read his expression when he replied.
"Destructive."
They remained quiet for a few moments. Marickiya ached to ask about his experiences that made him hate storms, though she thought it was probably not a good time. The air was too thick to even distract herself with her translations. Even breathing felt too loud. Then, Vaati stood.
"You appear busy. I will leave you to your work." He took a step away.
"I'm sorry!" She fumbled with her words. "I didn't mean to offend you." He paused still keeping his eyes averted. After holding his position a few seconds longer, he retracted his step and stood back against the wall.
"I am... not offended." He said.
Marickiya watched him for a second. He didn't look like he wanted to talk again, but hadn't left yet. She noticed something else. He still wore his hair tied back with the tie she had given him earlier. She wouldn't say it out loud, but she liked his hair made up that way. She caught herself staring at him and looked back down at her book.
"Why were you crying earlier?" Vaati asked.
Marickiya's eyes widened. Really, the man was so brazen. Then again, she had been teasing him not a minute before. She pushed herself up off the floor and leaned against the wall as well. "Just a bad dream," She tried to make it sound off handed. Vaati sat back down beside her, but continued to not look her in the eye.
"Do you have nightmares often?" Marickiya stared at her feet. She pulled her knees to her chest in a self-preserving gesture.
"Do I wake you up?" Vaati didn't need to answer her question. "I'm sorry for bothering you." She said meekly.
"There is no need to apologize." Vaati finally looked over but it was Marickiya's turn to avoid eye contact. "What was your dream about?" She pursed her lips, knowing the question would come.
"It wasn't a nightmare this time." She said even more quietly. He was interested in what exactly made the girl toss and turn in her sleep each night. She grit her teeth.
"I had a best friend in the dream." She began. Vaati looked up to give her his full attention. "I grew up with a girl back h-" she stumbled, "Where I used to live. We were best friends from the first day we met. She always had my back..." She smiled warmly, momentarily lost in thought. Her face fell when she kept going. "The girl in my dream, though; I couldn't see her face. I don't know who she was, but," she was starting to feel the emotions spilling over from the dream. "I loved her more than anyone.
"Something happened, and I got the chance to stand up for her. That's never happened before. I wasn't about to let anything hurt her. But then I woke up before I got the chance. I didn't get to see the end..." She looked up abruptly and Vaati was startled to see tears glistening in the lamplight. "I miss that girl and I have no idea who she was." She quickly began wiping away the forming tears, then gave a hollow laugh. "Isn't that foolish?"
"It is most likely that you simply miss your existent friend." Vaati reasoned and after she finished wiping away the wetness on her cheeks, she nodded minutely.
"I do miss her," she conceded.
"Perhaps you can try to see her again?" She shook her head.
"That would be impossible. I can't ever go back." There was a long silence. "Sorry for crying on you," she choked out and wiped at the corners of her eyes.
"You do not have to apologize so much." Without really thinking about doing it, he reached up over her shoulders and brought her close to him. His mind froze in confusion at his own action.
Marickiya was also surprised by this move. Her heart beat rapidly inside her and was too shocked to continue crying. She felt the color rising in her face and thanked the goddesses there was only a single flame illuminating the scene. It was all over in a second, Vaati had let go and stood up again to take his leave.
"I really will leave you to your work, now." Then, before he leaped off of the edge of her loft, he flashed her a half smile. "Thank you, and goodnight."
"Goodnight," she said as an immediate response. It was a proverbial 'goodnight' as they both knew the other wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon.
Marickiya was conflicted. Why was she reacting this way? She didn't want to have feelings for anyone at all. It made things incredibly complicated. At the same, she yearned for the mage to come back and keep taking with her until the sun rose. Why, oh why did he have to be so kind and quirky and sensitive? It took her several moments to calm herself again. Every time a thought of Vaati crossed her mind, her stomach would do flips. She got back to working on deciphering her book to keep busy.
...
Several hours later, the storm had quieted. There was no longer thunder and lightning, just a simple shower. If Mari listened closely, she could hear the deep sighs of two sleeping men downstairs.
Marickiya dropped her quill and reread the line she'd just written several times over, excitement welling up within her. She gasped aloud and a shout was on her tongue, but she bit it back. The guys deserved to sleep. She wouldn't be able to, however. Her mind was as alert as if she were in battle. One thought was repeated over and over, making it difficult to remain quiet.
She knew where the Triforce piece of Wisdom was.