Chapter Eleven

A/n: Happy holidays, everyone! My computer had to be restored [again] so I lost this chapter and everything else I worked really hard on. Annoying? I think so. So my heart hasn't been in this so much. But I've been thinking about it since my last update and have been slowly but surely working on it. If I get at least two reviews for this chapter, I will update regularly. Promise!

Disclaimer - Nope, don't own Zelda. Just Glenna. Kthx.



Sleep did not come easy to Glenna. She tossed and turned all night and awoke as the sun rose. They could have probably gone to Death Mountain the previous day, after all. She got up when the sun rose and, as soon as she stepped outside of her room, the sweet smell of food reached her nose. Smiling, Glenna descended the stairs, a bit drunkingly from her tiredness, and found Renado cooking. "Ah, Glenna, you are awake early," observed the shaman without looking at her.

She blinked, not quite sure how he had been aware of her presence, but answered, "I wasn't very tired." Her tone was challenging, challenging his authority, which had kept her and Link from going to Death Mountain. However, his lack of a response alerted her to the fact that he did not believe her response and would also not be intimidated by a teenager. A seventeen-year-old, but a teenager nonetheless. "I think I'm going for an early ride."

"Make sure you have your weapon. The monsters are normally the most terrible from dusk to dawn," remarked Renado as he cracked an egg although he knew he didn't have to tell her. Glenna needed not to be reminded of the dangers of taking a walk in Hyrule field in the early morning. "Ah, and I think I'll have a gift for you when you get back." As she exited the Inn, she was immediately assaulted by a few small Kargarocs, but she ignored them as she had left the Kokiri sword and bow and arrows upstairs. Glenna gazed at the make-shift stable Luda had set up for Avianna and Epona and found that both mares were sleeping.

Glenna nodded to herself, pleased. She hadn't been planning on taking Avianna out (not without a weapon) but now she wouldn't have to feel guilty, either. It was too early to worry about anyone seeing her so, with little to no discretion, Glenna willed her body to change and it did so. Her spine shifted so that her height was cut greatly and white fur appeared on her body. Some of her wounds ached as she changed, but she didn't much care. Running around as a wolf always made her feel better. It was the best medicine that anyone could give her.

XxxxxX

When Link came downstairs an hour later, Luda was already up and helping her father prepare breakfast. Grits, he realized with a grin. Definitely better than nothing. He'd noticed Glenna's absence as he passed her room, but now that he knew she wasn't in the kitchen, he was a little worried. "Good morning," he greeted them as he entered the room.

Luda looked towards him with a grin. "Mr. Link, did you have a nice sleep?"

He nodded. "Yes, thank you, Luda. Have either of you seen Glenna?" Luda hid a laugh behind her hand as she turned back towards the bowl that she was supposed to be stirring. He didn't bother asking what it was that she found funny.

"She left about an hour ago to go for a ride," replied Renado almost hesitantly as he turned towards Link. "But she never took a weapon, nor did she take Avianna."

Link shook his head and inhaled deeply. The first thing he'd grabbed was his sword and shield after awaking. "Really? Huh. Well, I guess I'd better go check that out. How one can ride without a horse beats the hell out of--" As he turned around, he found himself face to face with Glenna. Or, at the very least, he bumped into her; she was quite a bit shorter than he.

"No need, Hero," replied Glenna as she placed her hands on her hips. "Here I am. What's wrong, expect that you have to save me again?"

"You went for a ride without your horse or sword. I was a little worried about your sanity, Glenna," stated Link although he was grinning.

She lightly pushed him. "There are other ways to get around, you know." Glenna howled lightly under her breath. Midna's disembodied chuckle startled everyone in the room but Glenna. "Sorry, that was me trying out a new laugh. Anyway, didn't you say that you had a surprise for me, Renado?"

"I have a couple for the two of you," remarked Renado as he turned towards them. "Come with me, won't you? Luda, please set some places for Link, Glenna, and the other children in the main room." She nodded as her father ushered the two teenagers out of the room and Inn. They entered the Sanctuary, where Renado picked up two metal shields. He handed them to Glenna and Link.

Link blinked. "A shield? A metal shield? After Malo already robbed me blind? Go figure."

Glenna laughed quietly. "I said I never used a shield before, but I guess it's worth taking if it's free. Since these are metal, they should be good against any fire Keese and," she brought her eyes up to Renado's, "they're also very old. Where did you find this?"

"Luda found it beneath a grave in the graveyard. How do you know that they are from older times?" asked Renado evenly.

Glenna smiled. "Assistant to the Princess. I like to read in her library when she's not sending me on some sort of mission. Anyway, there's another triangle beneath the royal symbol," she answered, gesturing to the golden piece beneath the feet of the bird. "It was once said to be a picture of the other piece of the Triforce, the one that was supposed to fit in the center. You know the one," her voice dropped to a whisper. "The one that was supposed to carry an evil, ultimate power."

Renado inclined his head. "Indeed I have heard the legends, however... I do not think I believe them. Do you?" he asked, eyeing her with something of scrutiny. Glenna wondered why it seemed that Renado did not like her. Could it have been because she led Colin in the path of danger the previous day? Or, maybe, he could sense the wolf within her.

"I believe in many legends," was Glenna's only reply.

"What was the other thing you wanted to give us?" Link only asked in order to lighten the tension that was quickly filling the room.

Renado nodded, averted his eyes from Glenna's, and turned again. This time, he picked up two large red tunics. "The mines are extremely hot. If you go there in the clothes that you're currently wearing, then you will surely be unable to deal with the heat."

"Thank you, Renado. I'll go down and change, then," said Glenna as Renado handed her one of the old Goron tunics. She descended the ladder into the cellar. Renado did not notice part of Link's shadow break off to follow Glenna.

Link unbuckled the belt around his waist and slowly peeled off the green tunic so as not to reopen his wounds with the slight movement. He pulled the red tunic over his head and shoved the green one into his pack. "If I don't drop from heat exhaustion first, then I will be relieved," he remarked, referring to the long white undershirt that he was still wearing.

Renado's lips twitched at the humor, but nothing more. "Link, going to Death Mountain is going to be dangerous--"

"--And everything I've already done has been a piece of pumpkin pie," he mumbled.

"My point is that while I am appreciative that you want to help this village, it is not necessary."

Link's eyes bore into Renado's with an intense stare. "I'm not just doing it for you; I'm also doing it for my friends who are here. I do not want to leave them to danger again. Besides, I have other business to take care of in the Goron Mines."

Renado raised his eyebrows as he set his lips in a frown. "Would you care to share with me what 'business' this is?"

Link simply shook his head. "Nope," he replied easily as Glenna resurfaced with the Goron tunic donned. She had her own leather belt tied around her waist and she appeared the simplest that Link had ever seen her. Her dress was rolled up in a ball, and, aside from the tunic, all that she was wearing were white tights and her boots.

"I think I'll actually be able to move easily from here on out; I should've tried this sooner," she stated with a small smile before stuffing her dress into her pack. "At any rate, the Gorons might be a bit kinder to us now. When these tunics used to be sold, they were only sold in the Death Mountain region, so if we're wearing them, they should have the idea that we come in peace."

"Or all they will see is red," offered Renado.

Glenna shook her head lightly. "I'm choosing, from this point on, to be much more optimistic." She turned toward Link. "Now, then. Are we ready?"

XxxxxX

Neither of the swordsmen saw a point in bringing with them their horses as there were, Renado had said, no longer any slopes up the mountain. Meaning that it would be much easier to go down the mountain than climb up it. But neither Link or Glenna complained. "So, Link," began Glenna. "This is going to be a long trek. Why don't you tell me about your childhood?"

Link stared at her as they climbed up the netting of the cliff that they were currently climbing. "Are you serious?" he asked.

She thought about it for a moment, pursing her lips seriously. Then, she nodded. "Quite. So, story time. Come on!"

Link groaned. "I feel like I've told you this before."

"Who cares? Tell me again."

He shrugged and sighed. "Well, what's to know? My parents abandoned me -- or something -- when I was a baby. Rusl and Uli took me in and raised me as their own. By the time Colin was born, I had long moved out. Rusl and I worked on making that treehouse of mine into an actual house for years, so I moved in there a bit before Colin was born. I worked as a ranch hand on the ranch for most of my life, although, at first, I did the easier stuff... like grooming the goats. But that was too boring, anyway. And, all along, Ilia was my best friend. For my whole life."

Glenna bit her lip. "You really miss her, huh?"

"Of course," answered Link. "Haven't you ever had a best friend?"

Taking a break from climbing in order to wipe the sweat from her forehead, Glenna nodded. "Yeah. Not before I moved to the castle, though. Zelda. I consider her my best friend." She scrunched up her nose. "But I highly doubt she feels the same. I'm always such a bitch to her. And I wasn't even around when she needed me the most. I'm a terrible friend and, even worst, a terrible advisor."

Link shook his head as he continued to climb. "If you want to be successful on this journey, Glenna, you can't keep blaming yourself. Especially for things that aren't your fault."

"It gets a little annoying," cackled Midna from Glenna's shadow.

Glenna nodded. "Alright..." She continued to climb.

"What about you? You've always been pretty vague about what happened to you."

"My father gambled all of our money away one night, but continued to gamble anyway. Then, he didn't pay this woman what he owed her and took off. So, in order to get revenge, she wanted to take away something of his. She turned me into a wolf, not knowing that, for my father, losing one kid didn't mean much. My parents shooed me out of the house, I crawled up in a cave somewhere. The witch was sorry -- mostly because it only effected me and not my father -- and fixed me back into a human.

"But she warned me that my wolf form would come back, even if I tried to live as a normal human. The first days were the worst, let me tell you. And, if I ever get too exhausted as a human, I turn back into a wolf. It's hard for me, because I know that I can never live a normal life. I'll never be able to be a loving wife and mother. So, knowing this at the ripe age of six, I wandered until I made it to Castle Town. Telma took me in, Zelda gave me a very well-paying job. The funny thing is that I don't deserve any of it," sighed Glenna as she finally made it to the top of the wire, beside Link. "It sucks."

Link pursed his lips as he thought for a moment. "Well, if it means anything, I think that marrying a shape-shifter would be cool. Especially a wolf shape-shifter."

Glenna laughed. "That's because you're also a wolf shape-shifter."

Before either of them could touch further upon where the conversation was heading, Link asked, "Hey, wasn't there a Goron up here before?" They pulled themselves onto the mountain path.

"Yeah... But now he-- Hey, look out!" cried Glenna as a Goron abruptly came rolling down the mountain.

"Don't worry," replied Link and, in a blink of an eye, changed into a pair of metal boots. He held out his arms as if he were about to stop a raging goat and caught the rolling Goron. Glenna stared at Link with her mouth hanging open and eyes wide as he easily chucked the Goron over his shoulder. "Let's hurry before it climbs back up."

Glenna nodded and the two of them sped up the mountain path. However, after a minute or so, she slid to a stop. "Hold on. When I came up here before -- during the twilight -- there was a bunch of shit here. It was messy and dangerous. Let me scout on ahead and make sure there aren't any surprises. I'll come back with a status report."

Link frowned. "Why do I get left behind?"

Instead of answering, Glenna allowed her body to shift into her wolf form. Midna instantly dove onto her back. "Why do you think, dog boy?" asked Midna with a grin before kicking Glenna's sides. "So, Blondie," began Midna when they were farther away from Link. "Do you think you'll have to worry about the stuff from before?"

"Probably not. The Gorons are too proud to have anyone in their territory, any monsters, I mean. But Renado did mention they are acting hostile toward humans. No one but Gorons can get in here. Something's up... Something Zant-related, I'm sure?" Midna nodded. "Speaking of him, that Zant. You don't know him in any way other than the fact that he comes from the Twilight Realm?"

"Nope. He's just some crazed, power-hungry weirdo," replied Midna easily. "But the fact that he's still after you, Blondie, concerns me. I already have the wolf that my people spoke of -- the one that would save our home. So, in theory, he should realize that you're not the one and try to kill Link. But, instead, he still wants you by his side. And..."

"He's not trying to kill us personally. He knows what we're up to and he's not trying to stop us. In fact, it seems like he's always playing with us when we see him. Even when he wanted -- for a manic second -- to kill me. He insisted on toying with me first."

Midna pursed her lips. "Zant's not totally sane, if you ask me. But I guess we should be happy that he hasn't bothered us personally. At this point, none of us are ready for him. And don't insist that you can take him by yourself, Blondie. You can't."

"You know me so well," replied Glenna simply as she turned her head to glance at their surroundings. Many Gorons were stationed at corners, near cliff walls, on the top of the cliffs overlooking the path... but none of them bothered with Glenna and Midna. "Well, isn't that something."

"They think we're both animals. But if I open my mouth, they might wise up," stated Midna telepathically. "Now I wonder how you're planning to get the Hero up here without the Gorons bothering him?"

"Maybe we can just tell them that we come in peace?" suggested Glenna.

"Or knock them out and stuff them in some clos-- Watch it!" shouted Midna, aloud, abruptly. Several of the Gorons atop the cliffs had picked up large boulders.

"Not welcome! Leave or we crush you!" shouted one of the Gorons. In unison, the creatures hurled the boulders over their heads. Glenna had never blown her cover before but, out of fear and misjudgment, she reverted to her human form. "HUMAN!" roared the Gorons. At that moment, Midna and Glenna heard the scrambling of feet behind them and turned to see Link joining them.

They stared at him for only a moment. "Did you really think you could leave me behind?" asked Link with a grin which quickly disappeared as he looked from Glenna to the Gorons. "You didn't really...? Shit, Glenna." Link unsheathed his sword and raised it. "I think we'd ought to be ready for a fight." The boulders were just seconds from running them over. Link grabbed Glenna's wrist and the two of them ran down the path and jumped off the edge. Pressing themselves against the cliff wall, Link shielded their bodies as the boulders leapt off the edge and continued to roll down the trail without harming either of them.

Glenna and Link rejoined Midna where all of the Gorons were still gathered, just a few feet from the mountain itself. Glenna took a few steps forward. "Shape-shifter, you and friends not welcome!" roared one of the Gorons.

She nodded and held up her hands. "I know... I... know. But, you have to believe me when I say that we're only here to help. We are. Look," she snatched Link's left hand and showed it to the group. "Look, he's been marked by the goddess Farore with the Triforce of Courage! He can, because of Farore's blessing, transform into a sacred beast! We're trying to help the people of Hyrule, Gorons, and you're part of that population. So, whatever's wrong with you guys, let us help. Please."

The Gorons simply stared at them for a moment. And, in that moment, Midna ordered, "Charge!" Link and Glenna quickly ran forward with Midna floating after them. "No let those humans up to Elders!" roared the Gorons as Midna, Link, and Glenna rushed into the opened area at the foot of what appeared to be the home of the Gorons.

"That was pretty simple," noted Glenna as the ground began to shake. Midna, however, pointed upwards and clicked her tongue. A gigantic and dangerously sharp volcanic rock was hurling towards the ground and about to make a home through the three of them. Midna quickly jumped into Link's shadow as he and Glenna ran back up the crystal steps, away from the rock and the Goron home. The rock settled into the middle of the area, spraying their skin with bits of sharp rock that broke off. "That was a nice welcome. Now I know why Zelda never sends me here."

"Eldin said the Fused Shadow is in the Goron mines," recalled Link. "So I'm guessing we have to get up there." He gestured to the large building ahead of them. Glenna nodded and started back down the steps. "Hey! Where are you going?"

Glenna stopped at the bottom of the 'staircase' and glanced back at Link with a smile. "Gorons can lift extremely heavy objects. If we can tire them out, then they'll curl into a ball, and we can stand on their backs. Then, they'll throw us into the air. Slowly but surely, we can make our way to the entrance."

Link followed after her. "Do you know how to do anything without fighting -- whether it's physical or verbal?"

"No," answered Glenna with a small smile.

XxxxxX

Zelda had seated herself, cross-legged, on the cold stone floor of her own personal hell. Her hands lay on her legs with the palms facing upwards and she was trying to steady her breathing. The brown hood of her mourning cloak was drawn upward, submerging her facial features into darkness as she attempted to hammer out a plan. She had not exactly been content with sitting back and allowing Zant to continue to torture her people, but she was growing with more discontent by the day. The last time she had attempted to look out the only window of the room, through the twilight spell cast on Lanayru, she could see clear skies in the distance. That meant Midna, Link, and Glenna were doing what she had asked them to do and, in Midna's case, what they wanted to do.

And she didn't want to leave it all on their shoulders anymore. The room was stuffy and the guards, when they spoke to one another, spoke in a tongue that Zelda couldn't understand. The only time she got any news whatsoever was when Zant strutted into the room to deliver some sort of bad news. Any kind, really. The trueness of the news, Zelda did not know. She knew that she would know the true progress of restoring Hyrule if it was possible for her to still communicate with Glenna. But the spell stifled her telepathy and limited it to Castle Town, or, possibly, Lanayru province as a whole.

Therefore, the princess had been meditating in hopes of strengthening her power and reaching past the stifling spell. She had been praying to the goddesses constantly for deliverance, but she knew that they could do no more than they already had by sending Link and Midna to her. Sometimes, when she snuck down the stairs to listen at the door, she could hear certain guards -- those that spoke hylian -- and Zant talk of Glenna. How they would "get that damned wolf." But she had no idea of why, how, or when.

All Zelda knew was that she needed to devise a plan to free herself. And that was why she attempted to sacrifice her own hunger needs for that of one guard in particular in order to get an important book.

XxxxxX

Glenna grunted as a rock hard fist delivered a punch to her abdomen, successfully cracking what she assumed to be a rib. "I've got plenty more ribs where that came from, bud. You're gonna have to try harder than that."

"Glenna, come on! You're really lagging," called Link from just about the top of the building. He ducked and kicked the Goron behind him with his iron boots. The Goron fell to the ground and curled into a ball, at which point Link climbed onto its back and was propelled into the air. He stood in front of the entrance and waited for Glenna, who quickly hit her Goron with the hilt of the Kokiri sword.

Midna floated out of Link's shadow and down toward Glenna. The fiery hair on her head transformed into a large hand, which plucked Glenna out of midair and hurled her up to join Link. "That's a timesaver," remarked Midna as she and Glenna joined Link. "Don't bother thanking me! Eee hee hee!" Then, the imp disappeared in Link's shadow once more.

"Ready?" asked Link.

"To meet a group of angry creatures that are more than ten times stronger than us? Of course," answered Glenna as she and Link entered with their weapons drawn. As soon as they stepped into the dimly lit room, about eight or so Gorons rolled into balls and prepared to knock into Glenna and Link with a painfully large force.

"Stop now! That's an order!" shouted a Goron from the center of the room. This Goron was significantly shorter than the other Gorons, but still taller than Glenna. This Goron was, however, much more distinguished as he was wearing a cloth below his stomach, he bore a large pink marking on his stomach and the Goron symbol in the same ink color on his right arm. "My, my, what do we have here? Two rather young hylians, it seems. Brave, too, if you two managed to climb all the way up here and get past my stationed guards..."

Glenna took a few steps forward, causing the other Gorons to become guarded once more. "We're here to figure out what exactly is going on here, Gor Coron. The Gorons are a proud people, yes, but they are never violent and would, certainly, not attack humans for treading on their land -- especially humans in need." Her sapphire eyes narrowed dangerously. "Those Kakariko villagers that attempted to get your help, the ones you chased away when you threatened to beat them up? Yeah, they died. Or, rather, were killed. Kakariko is a fairly large village and, now, there are only three of the original villagers remaining. Three twilight beasts murdered the rest."

Gor Coron lowered his violet eyes and became visibly abashed. "W-well, you... you see, child... U-us Gorons are having our o-own problems, y-you s-s-see..."

Glenna nodded. "Obviously if you're resorting to violence toward every one who steps foot on your land -- even a white wolf and imp. So, please, explain what was so important that you felt the need to let innocents die?"

"I do not answer to you, missy! I answer to my patriarch who, at the moment, is a tid bit preoccupied! Just who are you to order me around and make me feel bad for events that are not exactly my doing?!" demanded the Goron elder.

Glenna all but ripped up the right sleeve of her tunic to reveal what looked like a scar in the shape of the Triforce. "Do you recognize this symbol?"

"The Triforce, but also the... symbol of the Royal Family," muttered Gor Coron. "Are you... part of the family?"

"No," replied Glenna, almost snarling the reply. "But I am a close friend and attendant to Princess Zelda, who is also a 'tid bit preoccupied.' So. Instead of dancing around the subject, why don't you tell me what's going on here before I report your insubordinance to the Princess?" Link attempted to give away nothing with his face but wondered if the Gorons were really so cut-off now that they did not know of the rest of Hyrule -- and Zelda's -- fate.

Gor Coron's lip rolled back unpleasantly. "Fine, I will tell you. But only if you can beat me in a sumo match."

"A... a sumo match?" repeated Glenna with disbelief. "Are you kidding me? I would be at a severe disadvantage, even against a short Goron like yourself."

Although the elder much looked like he wanted to reply to the insult, Gor Coron said, "Not you. Your companion, who so greatly resembles the..."

"Hero of Time. Yes, yes, we've heard it before," murmured Glenna before turning around and joining Link. "Do you really think you can handle him?" she added in a whisper.

Link nodded. "No problem. With the boots the Mayor gave me, it's an even match. And I have enough practice, so I should be fine." At this, Link raised his voice, "Alright, let's do it."

"Good, good. Step into the ring." The elder was already standing in the center of the ring, which looked warn.

Glenna relocated herself to the back of the room, in the shadows. Part of Link's shadow broke off in order to join her. Midna hid herself in the shadows as she floated beside Glenna. "Sumo wrestling. Who would have thought?" remarked Midna with a wide grin.

"I guess it makes sense. I've heard that men have used sports as a mean of respect and pride since the beginning of the time and, given their sizes, the Gorons would enjoy sumo," said Glenna with her arms folded.

Midna glanced at the girl's shoulder. "Hmm. How about that nice little mark you have on your other bicep, Blondie?"

"Letters with the seal work fine, but sometimes people need a bit more proof. And in order to be official, I needed the mark," answered Glenna simply. "I don't mind. I've gotten worst marks from my father after a long night of drinking and my siblings after a long night of being annoying."

The twili shook her head as Link began to push Gor Coron out of the ring. "You are something else."

"It's all a matter of a person's situation," replied Glenna easily. "What about you? I still don't know a thing about you other than what we talked about earlier."

Midna grinned. "There's nothing you need to know about me, Blondie, but a lot I need to know about you if we're going to travel together. Because if you have any skeletons in your closet, I don't want them preventing me from doing what I need to do." Glenna noted, with some surprise, that Midna's tone was relatively serious.

With pursed lips, Glenna said, "And same goes for me. I don't want any fatal attraction you may have for Zant to stop me from saving Zelda, this kingdom, and keeping Link safe."

Midna's face contorted into that of pure anger, a truly frightening expression complete with her teeth bared. Calm quickly cooled her and reverted her expression to its usual smugness before Glenna could not notice. Gor Coron, however, did catch the face and the amber eyes out of the corner of his eye. Because of that, he was easily shoved out of the ring.

"Well, I suppose that since you've bested me, I should come clean," remarked Gor Coron as Link helped him to his feet. He was quick to take his eyes away from the corner where he had seen Midna, waving her off as part of his imagination.

Midna settled for disappearing back into her temporary sanctuary of shadows. Before she dove into Glenna's, she said, "Before you ever think of insinuating things that you have no clue about, I suggest you dwell on it for a moment or two. Otherwise, you may find yourself in trouble, Glenna," warned the twili.

"Right back at you, Midna," shot back Glenna without taking her eyes off of the Goron elder.


A/n: I actually was quite satisfied with the chapter's contents and length, given the fact that I injured my wrist and it killed me to type so much. xD' So, for that, maybe I've earned myself a couple reviews? Come on, if you want me to finish the story and do the sequel, you'll reviewww. I'll try to update soon.