Chapter Eleven: The Hero's Secret

There was a tense silence in the room as Luz bent over Sangrel's form and unwrapped his hand.

"He was scratched by a dark purple flower," I explained, fear souring my stomach.

"Take him to a room and call the apothecary," the lady commanded of one of her nearby servants. I had not thought it possible for her to look more worried.

The other knight and I carried Sangrel to a side room where more servants had hastily piled a few soft pallets to make a bed.

The apothecary, called Amatia, arrived quickly. She was a very young woman, but she worked neatly and expertly, examining the wound, questioning me and selecting ingredients from her bags. She stuffed them into her mortar and pulverized them into a paste. She mixed it with a little spring water before pouring it down Sangrel's mouth. She then made a poultice for his hand.

This all took place in ten minutes.

"Do you see this often?" I asked as Amatia rested for a moment.

"Quite," she answered, tying back her blond hair and giving my pointed ears a lingering glance. "There are just too many poisonous things for folks to get into here in the forest, especially these poison sticker flowers. Where I come from, Denos, not everything tries to kill you. That's just north of here. Now, never mind your friend. He just needs to work it out of his system. The medicine I gave should help, but he won't be comfortable for a good time yet. He should rest for a few days."

She left, content with her work. I sat for a moment, wondering if I should speak to the lady. Sangrel convulsed in his sleep and I glanced over at him. It unnerved me to see him truly resting, only knowing him to be assuming a constant, tireless state of readiness. I began unfastening the ornate pin on his cloak, thinking I should try to make him comfortable. After tugging off his boots I decided he would forgive me if I took off his woven armor too. As I was untying the lacing on the side I noticed a large tear along the seam of his tunic that had not been repaired yet. I nearly jumped back in surprise as something black and white wound its way across my friend's skin. Upon closer examination it appeared to be a thin ribbon of tattoo that contained runic script and moved ceaselessly over Sangrel's ribs like a flat snake. Curious, I removed the leather cuirass and pulled at the neck of his tunic to find more bands spanning his upper arms, shoulders and chest and congregating over his breastbone before wrapping behind his back and beginning again, a living knot.

I did not know what to think of the moving marks, or even if I should ask my friend about it. All I knew was he had meant for it to stay hidden and my heart beat abnormally; I was afraid for him. I quickly pulled his green cloak over him and made sure there was water where he could reach it if he woke and left the room, closing the door behind me. Luz approached as soon as he saw me.

"Her Ladyship wishes to know how the Prince Sangrel is faring," he informed me.

"He will recover," I said. "He should be left alone to rest for now."

He nodded and left me by the door, but returned again to call me back into the main room.

"I regret I have not been civil to you, Link of Hyrule," the lady said as I knelt before the couch. "But I see you are a swordsman. Please consider going out to help in the search. Sir Luz and I will look after Sangrel here."

I nodded, grateful to be of help. I was given a set of fresh arrows and a short bow at my request, as well as provisions.

"Wear this," Luz said, pressing a thick copper ring into my hand. "You are unfamiliar with these woods, but this will guide you back to the village."

I took the rested Kuma and set off towards the north, hoping my instincts would guide me as they had in finding Sangrel when he hunted the wolfos.

I was relieved to find that the copper ring did work. As I rode farther from the village I felt a constant, minute inkling to turn back in that direction, as if tied to the front gate by an ever-stretching rope.

With the fear of getting lost removed I maneuvered through the trees more comfortably. This part of the woods was less hostile and had I not a mission on my mind I would have enjoyed discovering the musical springs and mossy places to sit and relax. Frantic searching had not helped the boy, so I hoped a more thorough search would.

I found mostly hidden partial footprints here and there. I lost all trace, however, after an hour of tracking. I despaired, but I pushed the panicked thoughts from my mind. I had to think clearly or I would only look about in frenzied circles like all the other searchers.

If I was a nine-year-old boy, where would I go?

I came to a split in the path. One way led down and was darkened by trees. To the left the path looked more inviting; it was bright and gently led up. If the child was lost he would stay away from frightening places, if he were smart he would search for higher ground to get his bearings. I turned Kuma's nose toward the left and we were greeted by the weakening rays of the sun as the branches cleared above us.

Evening was upon the woods now, I felt Kuma grow tense as the shadows deepened. We had searched the rest of the high ground and the thinning path descended into the trees again. In the dim light I noticed the trees in this area were older. Some had fallen and they were so thick in girth I had to steer my horse around them.

My skin prickled as I rode by a stone marker, followed by several others. I had come into a graveyard, the trees, all ancient cedar, standing as sentries.

Despite the unsettling surroundings I had to exhale in relief when I saw a small boy with raven-black hair sitting on a sarcophagus.

"Hello," he said with a nervous tremor in his voice. "Are you looking for me?"

"Yes," I replied, riding up to him and dismounting. "Your mother is worried about you. Why do you tarry here?"

The boy had no opportunity to answer, for a shock ran through me as a battle cry rang about us. The hooves of four horses clattered into the graveyard, their ghostly forms and riders unhindered by the overgrown tombstones and illuminating the space with an unnatural light I had never witnessed. I was filled with fear and Kuma picked up on it, dancing in place.

"What has come into our resting place?" one of the horsemen cried, a pale glittering lance in his hand. My heart jumped wildly, painfully beating against my ribs as I tried to figure out what to do. Feeling helpless, I turned to the ghosts, placing my weapons before them and kneeling.

The leader lowered his lance and dismounted, walking toward me. He was dressed in the remains of knightly attire, a rotting cape trailing behind him.

"How strange," he murmured, his empty voice echoing from some unknown world. "We felt a wisp of evil come into our grounds, but I find only this Hylian boy."

"I was once an unwilling host to a shadow poe, sir," I explained, barely able to keep from trembling in body and voice.

The ghost nodded and his companions shifted restlessly. "Its evil still clings to you like a garment to us spirits, but we are glad it is only a remnant. We are old, long gone guardians of this place and we sleep lightly in our graves, forgive our rashness." He paused for a few moments, lifting his translucent hand, palm out toward me. "Yes, you have something else. It had been so long since I have felt it, like a fire in the night..."

My skin crawled. "What do you speak of?"

"The Triforce of Courage, child. You have it buried within you. It draws spirits because it is brimming with tangible warmth and pure life, both of which we lack. What comfort to feel it pass by again, as it once did in the past. Your presence has settled us and we ride back home. Leave, and take the child, for this place is only fit for the dead, and it is not just we who cannot sleep."

The riders turned and dashed back into the shadows, their eerie light disappearing with them and throwing us on the mercy of the faint illumination from the moon.

"Are you unharmed?" I asked the boy as he crawled down from his marble perch.

He nodded, accepting the flask of water I offered him. "I think they were protecting me," he said. "They wouldn't let me leave, but they didn't hurt me."

I nodded but my mind was already turning to what the knight's ghost had sensed within me. A series of doubts consumed me quicker than the deepening darkness of the night.

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