I am a terrible person.

I cannot keep promises to save my life, but school (particularly Year Twelve, or... Senior Year? Is that what American call their final year of high school? I'm sorry, I'm very uneducated on the matter - Australian here) sucks. No other excuse but finishing school.

So, I guess I'll upload two chapters for you and hopefully (no promises here) tomorrow as well.

Thank you for your patience and I'm really sorry I haven't updated as frequently as I said I would.

Enjoy!

~EmmyTheTurtle

(BTW I would strongly recommend listening to the 'Sacred Grove' track from the Twilight Princess soundtrack (you can find it on YouTube) when reading a particular song. Don't worry, you'll see it :))

Scroll Eleven

The Sacred Grove's Chant

A cruel chuckle, engulfing her soul in blackness,

Eyes of fiery gold, full of spite. Her held a heart of hollowness.

His grey hands clenched down over her soul;

She couldn't remember, couldn't remember at all…

When Link woke the next morning, Nyx was nowhere to be found. Slightly panicked, her gathered their belongings and burst out of the building. "Nyx? Nyx!"

To his relief, after a few sparing moments, the small dark shape appeared from the graveyard, bright eyes shining with curiosity. She tilted her head slightly, as if confused. Midna laughed. "I think Renado might have let her out this morning. She is apparently housetrained after all."

"She isn't a dog, Midna," Link muttered, but he smiled as the beast bounded towards Epona, who rested in the spring. With a whiney, Epona reared back playfully and the two began to frolic about in the water. Link found it amusing and sat down by the shore, watching the two play. "This is… strangely peaceful, don't you think? If she wasn't… stuck like this, I'd be happy…"

Midna floated down beside him. "I know it's hard, Link. But if we're going to find a way to change her back, there's only one person we can go to."

"Zant?"

"Well, he counts too. But do you remember that pain in the neck we met in the Sacred Grove? What was his name?" Midna put a hand to her chin and she continued to think.

The name hit Link suddenly and he groaned, "The Skull Kid?"

"Yes! He might be able to help us!"

"I… really doubt that, Midna…" Link's voice seemed to shrink to a whisper.

"But it's worth a try, right?" her voice broke slightly. "I want her back to normal just as much as you do., Link. She's incredibly precious to me as well."

"Is she?"

"Of course she is!" Midna's tiny hands balled into fists. "She's one of my people, Link. I am her princess; it's my responsibility to ensure their safety and happiness. I can't bear to see my people, half-blooded or not, live in agony like this. Even her damned tribe in Snowpeak. No one deserves this fate." With regrettable red eyes, Midna turned back to face Nyx, who now stood watching the two with a confused expression. "When I found you… I thought it some kind of miracle. I could bring my world back to normal; I didn't care what happened to yours. I would tear it apart if I could save my world… but I don't want that anymore. I want to save both my world and yours, Link."

Link was at first surprised by Midna's words. He hadn't expected her words to be so sincere, let alone true. Her eyes had grown sad and longing watching Nyx frolic about with Epona, he glanced to the village, to the gates of Hyrule Field and back to Nyx again. It was then he stood, surprising Midna, who floated up to meet at his side. "We're going to the Sacred Grove," Link said, determination echoing in his voice. "We'll find that pain in the neck."

It had been difficult to say farewell to the children again; Link hated to have them stay in Kakariko whilst their home was across Hyrule Field in Ordon Village. Rusl volunteered to act as their companion; he had to return to Ordon Village to care for his wife, who was nearing her time. Once they reached their crossing, Rusl to Ordon Village and Link to Faron Woods, he looked down at Nyx, who had followed diligently along by Epona's side.

"I have never witnessed such a beautiful creature before," Rusl murmured, pausing as he turned to once again face Nyx. "Do you think her kind come from the mountains?"

Link could have sworn he heard Midna stifle her laughter. "I wouldn't know," Link said. "Maybe there are hundreds of them; we just can't see them."

"An odd thing to say… but strangely comforting in the sense that she isn't completely alone in this cruel world. Goodbye, Link."

As he disappeared around the bend, Midna reemerged from Link's shadow, glancing around to make sure no one was looking. "Alright, let's go. Daylight is wasting."

By the time they had reached the entrance to the Sacred Grove, the sun had begun to set. Nyx, excited by the appearance of fireflies, had begun to chase them, yipping with joy, disappearing into the grove. Link called out to her, not wanting to lose sight of her, but it was already too late. She was gone.

"Midna."

"Right," the imp muttered, waving her tiny arm, summoning the shift upon Link. He shook himself of the remnants of Twilight still embedded in his fur, and took off after the black beast. He caught the trail of her scent, which smelt of smoke and ash, racing past the ridiculous amount of puppets appearing before him. Damn it Nyx, he thought, leaping as he clawed away at the puppets. Their bodies convulsed slightly before dispersing into broken wood.

The sound of the trumpet caught Link's ear, making him skid to a halt in his tracks. He's here.

As they neared the sound of the Skull Kid's music, Link heard a song:

"What's that noise? What's that sound?

It is frightening and it follows me,

That melody…

Not quite sure what happened here,

But it seems to me that she has been cursed,

What could be worse?

Not quite sure what could have caused this tragedy.

But I know that there's a way to help her!

There is just one problem that I see:

Her soul is missing,

Heart is twisting,

Falling,

Spinning,

Crashing,

Her soul will be lost!"

"What do you mean, 'her soul will be lost?!'" Midna screeched, floating up to meet the Skull Kid's gaze.

He chuckled a high pitched sound and leapt down to Nyx, whom Link had managed to catch up with. The boy ran a hand through Nyx's soft black fur and turned back to Midna, "Everything that makes her human will be gone in two moons. You need to find the source of her curse and heal the wounds the False King has made."

"You mean Zant?" Link asked, crouching down to meet his level. The boy nodded feverishly.

"Yes! It is he, the False King, which can break the curse!" The Skull Kid paused for a moment before guiding Link over to the beast, who sat patiently, waiting. "I can do one thing for you, but my power is limited. I can reverse the curse for only a short time. One night is all I can muster for you. Make the most of it, Hero of Time."

The small boy began to chant, lifting his arms into the air before letting out a screech. There was a sudden light that engulfed Nyx, before the twilight detached itself from her body, leaving a girl sitting cross-legged in the moss beneath her.

"Nyx," Link exhaled. "You're here."

Confused, she lifted her head. As her golden eyes bore into his, Link found his cheeks growing warm, suddenly enchanted by the glow of her eyes. They were so deadly yet beautiful, something Link had never realised before. "Link?" she whispered, before jumping to her feet and rushing towards him. She tripped over her own shaking legs, sobbing as the two fell into the moss. Link instinctively found himself wrapping his arms around her, holding her so tightly he could feel the rushing of her heart in his chest. She shook as she spoke, "Where did I go?"

"It doesn't matter," Link whispered. The sun had just disappeared over the horizon and darkness made its way across the earth as the moon rose high into the deep blue sky. "You're here now."

You can move straight on to the next chapter now :D Enjoy!