A/N- Oh my gosh, 100 reviews never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would get so much positive feedback. I don't believe even Ghirahim could get as many rainbows in his heart as I have in mine at the moment. (Not even if he managed to take out the Hero of Sky XD) Thank you guys soooo much for everything, you have all made my day or rather, week. When I first started writing I had some worries that no one would like it. I cannot thank you guys enough for your time and support. I shall send you all some metaphorical gratitude crystals. Thank you to all my readers.
MiniJen- Ashei is one of my favorite TP characters also, I hope this chapter meets with your expectations, Link and Ilia are cute.
xXFireworkXx- Ewww, worst meal ever XP. Thank you for your review. Please don't turn me in to your teachers for making you late with homework Jk. I agree with you, I think Ashei and Link would be epic partners.
Generala- Well if Link gets captured and taken to the castle than yes but if not then no, you shall just have to wait and see. As for your bad feeling, maybe you're a Jedi :P I think ShadxAshei would be cute, they are so different and yet they share the same ideals. I think Link and Midna would probably end up being more like best friends. I agree with you about Ilia. In the beginning of TP they were like the only ones their age who could be together, but when they both discovered how much bigger the world was, Idk maybe things could change. I personally think that their love would end up more like the love between a brother and a sister, but that's just me.
Da Amazing Po-Po-Pony- I'm sure you look positively epic. Thank you so much for your review, it was so encouraging. Wow, lots of Parings.
*instrumental fanfare: Da da da DAAAAA* you were my 100th reviewer, and the 100th person often gets a prize (don't ask me why because I don't know, but that is usually what happens) so as not to break with tradition I would like to offer you something from my meager talents, if you would like. I.E. I could write you a short story of your choosing, or I could give you one of the pictures I drew for this story or you could commission me for a picture of your choice, (LOZ related). (I sort of stalked your profile and discovered you like/want art, and I do have some skill as an artist. I am by no means a Monet or Georgia O'Keefe, but still. I am a sketch artist and my people drawing style is sort of similar to that used in Avatar: the Last Airbender.) PM me if anything appeals to you. Thank you :D
xXx skytale xXx- Thanks for your reviews they always make me smile.
Thank you to xXFirecrackerXx, Miano53, and Gojira Geek, you guys are awesome
I loved reading about all for favorite parings, I am more of a Zelink shipper myself, but I don't mind reading about LinkxAshei or perhaps LinkxIlia or LinkxMidna, ShadxAshei.
Anyhow, now for the next chapter. :D :D :D :D
Rescue
Link and Ashei walked stolidly through the shifting shadows of the night in the direction of Kakariko village. They had already left Faron wood and Faron field behind them and they just entered through the narrow pass that led to the lower of Hyrule's fields in Eldin province. From there, it was a straight shot to the canyon lands after they made it across the bridge that spanned the gorge that divided the lower field in two.
They had been traveling in relative silence for a while. Both of their nerves were completely tense with the prospect of their upcoming actions. Link nearly jumped when Ashei shattered the silence of the night with a whisper.
"When we get there, how much time do you suppose we will have to rescue your friends before daylight?"
"Not long," Link replied quietly, "It will be a very close thing to pull off a rescue before daybreak, but it's not like we have much choice. If we don't get them out tonight, they will have to endure some of our beloved kingdom's mockeries of justice."
They were silent again for a few moments when Ashei spoke again. Link had a sneaking suspicion that it might just be because she was trying to find a way to fill the awkward silence that had grown between them, or perhaps she wanted to change the subject of Hyrule's lacking justice system or both.
"So, what happened to that green hat you always used to wear? To my knowledge you haven't worn it since you became a fugitive. You've just been using that hooded cloak of yours, yeah?"
Definitely an awkward silence filler, he decided. The ghost of a smile touched his lips. "I lost it," he said simply.
"I'm glad to hear that," she said with a grin, "I always thought it made you look kind of stupid."
Link couldn't help but chuckle at her unexpected remark. He did not know if she had meant it as a joke or not, but either way he found it funny.
"You know, you are insulting the style of hat that has been worn by Hyrule knights for centuries, disrespectful, Ashei, disrespectful."
"Still stupid," she repeated with a smile.
"Well at least the thing that makes me look stupid can be removed from my person without killing me," he teased, shooting her a roughish grin.
"Oh, rude!" she exclaimed punching him none to gently in the arm with a soft laugh. "You are a bit of a dastard, Link."
He held up a hand for silence as they made it through the pass and emerged onto the field. There was a slight hilly rise akin to a small plateau beside them and they slunk quietly along it hiding in its shadow from the light of the stars.
Link sucked in his breath as he looked towards the bridge. There were six fully armored knights standing guard in the middle of it, and this bridge was the only way to get across the small, but extremely deep, gorge without having to go miles around.
They needed to get across, but Link knew they could not attack the soldiers; if any one of the six on the bridge sounded the alarm they would never rescue Talo's family.
Link chewed his lip thoughtfully, and then looked at the bridge. It had been recently upgraded from the flimsy half-broken thing it had been and was now extra sturdy, supported by two beams under the walkway on either side. These support beams connected with the walls of the gorge then arched slightly upwards to run underneath and parallel with the wooden walkway. There was about four feet of space between the bridge floorboards and the horizontal support beams underneath it. A risky idea popped into Link's head and he whispered to Ashei.
Her eyes widened and her face paled slightly but she nodded her understanding. He grinned at her. It was more of a nervous grin than a grin of actual pleasure, but it seemed to reassure Ashei a little.
The two of them crouched low to the ground and began army crawling silently towards the bridge. Link headed for the left side and Ashei headed for the right. When they were dangerously near, Link picked up a hefty rock from the ground and tossed it over the chasm to land with a jarring thump on the other side.
The soldiers simultaneously turned away from their direction and towards the sound. This gave Ashei and Link enough time to ease themselves down onto the horizontal support beams under the bridge. They slowly and silently began to inch their way underneath the soldiers.
Link's entire body was tense with nerves and a cold sweat was beading his brow. He resolutely made up his mind not to look down at the gaping black chasm below him. He concentrated hard on every place he set his hands, clinging like a leach to the wood beam that was his only safety against plummeting to his death.
When they were a little more than half way, Link brought out another rock, which he had saved for this very purpose, and through it over to the side they had just come from.
The following clatter caused the guards to head across the bridge over to the opposite side, their backs completely turned from the two silent interlopers. As Link reached the other side, he cautiously poked his head up to make sure that all the soldier's attention was turn away from him and Ashei.
When he was certain, he signaled her and they climbed back up onto firm ground and melted silently into the night, both whispering silent sighs of thanks that they were still alive and unseen.
They could make out the dark looming shape of the canyons ahead of them and they walked stealthily towards them. There was a clump of boulders about eighty paces from the red sandstone cliffs and they made for their shelter. Link leaned against the rocks and looked towards the village entrance. His heart sank at what he saw.
Ashei let out her breath in a low, airy, nearly soundless whistle as she followed his line of sight and crouched beside him. They were so near the entrance to Kakariko village and yet so impossibly far.
Link stared dismally at the hastily built blockade wall that barred the entrance to the town. This wooden blockade was about fifteen feet tall with soldiers patrolling along it as if they were battlements. Kakariko village was built in a dried ravine bed right in the middle of the canyon and the blockade stretched from one wall of the gorge to the other. The entrance to the canyon was narrow but the dried river bed widened out substantially where the town was built.
"Well this is something new," he muttered darkly.
"Well then, what's the plan?" Ashei asked. "You're not going to give up because of a little wall are you? I thought you had more fight in you than that."
"I am not giving up," he retorted. "I am just trying to think of a way around this problem." He studied this new difficulty, his mind racing for an idea.
"Come on hurry up, the nights more than half over. We only have a short amount of time left you know," Ashei reminded him impatiently.
"I don't see you racking you brains for a plan," he replied hotly.
"That's because I signed up as backup not plan maker, that's you job."
"Well you could help a little," he protested.
"Alright," she said grinning, "I'll help you." She ruffled his hair and spoke in a mock babyish sweet tone. "Come on you can do it; I know you will come up with something. I have faith in you."
"That," Link said exasperated whilst straitening his newly tangled hair, "that is rather less than helpful."
"You asked for it." Ashei teased, an infuriating grin on her smug features, as she smoothed back her well kempt black hair in a mock arrogant manner.
"I most certainly did not ask for that, I asked for help. What you were doing was not only distracting but also annoying,"he muttered, glaring at her. Then it came to him.
"I have a plan," he announced suddenly. "It will work out nicely because there are two of us. One of us will take cover in full view of the battlements. That person will attack the fort just as a distraction, while the other will sneak into the village by scaling the canyon wall and breaking in from above."
"I will be the distraction," Ashei said, "because that is the sort of the job I like. You are perfect for sneaking and skulking and the like."
"Thank you," Link said sarcastically. "Here take my cloak."
Ashei's eyes lit up with pleasure as she caught on. "Oh, I get it. I will pretend to be you so they will really focus their efforts on keeping me out and pinning me down, because they are really after you, yeah?"
Link nodded and handed her his bow and arrows, the kit he had made himself that was used to easily make fire arrows, along with the few bombs he carried. These bombs were made out of an odd plant that grew near the lava of DeathMountain. The dried plant would explode on impact if thrown at something.
Ashei's face broke into a wide grin as she took the weapons, "So, I will not only be distracting but also annoying."
"That's what you're good at," Link teased.
She punched him in the arm, "that was very rude Link."
"You asked for it," he jested. Then he hurried off before she could take another swing at him.
He knew of a perfect spot to scale the ravine wall. Once he made it to the cliff top, he could easily get into the village. There was a convenient path leading from the sandstone top of the canyon to the village below. This was the advantage of being forced to trek all over the land of Hyrule last time there was danger: he knew the lay of the land exceptionally well. As he climbed, mostly feeling for handholds because the night was dark, he heard and saw Ashei start the diversion. She was laughing almost manically whist she shot the fire arrows at the blockade.
"Ha!" she screeched in a deep voice, "you think a stupid little wall can keep out me, the most powerful outlaw ever! Ha ha ha! I will take out all of you, nothing can stop me!"
The distraction worked. All the soldiers headed over to help the wall sentries fend off the supposed Link.
Link rolled his eyes. Oh great she is making me look like an insane egotistical pyromaniac, he thought to himself irritably. It was just what his already damaged beyond repair reputation needed.
Once he had made it up, he slunk quietly down the path. He encountered only two guards and they were easily knocked out with the pummel of his sword. He snuck into the center of the town and located Talo and his family. They were sitting in makeshift wooden cages. He furtively came over to them and knocked out the sentry who was guarding them.
The sun was already starting to rise as Link used his powerful blade to slash open the cages.
"Link you came!" Talo said happily as he embraced him, "I knew you would."
"Come on," Link beckoned to the family. "Follow me; I can get you out of here."
They nodded and hurried after him. Just when Link thought that they actually might make it, everything went wrong. At that exact moment a soldier was clearly heard sounding the alarm.
"I see two figures sneaking about near the canyons." His voice rang out echoing through the canyons. "It looks like they are thinking of scaling the sandstone."
"Maybe some have already made it over. Search the grounds," another soldier commanded.
"Look," a third shouted, "the cage is empty!"
"Find the outlaw!" the commanding officer yelled, "quickly!"
~x~X~x~
Ashei heard the soldier's cries and the alarm ring again and was puzzled for a moment until she also caught sight of what the soldiers had seen. The two people the defenders were yelling about were none other than Rusl and Auru. It was plainly obviously to her that they were not trying to scale the wall; they were merely slinking alongside it. She immediately assumed that they were trying to get to her and Link and tell them something along the lines that it was suicidal for two people to try to lay siege to a fortress. They were probably also planning on trying to help get them away to safety before it was too late.
Even though Ashei surmised their intended purpose, she could not keep herself from yelling angrily at them, as they took cover behind her cluster of boulders.
"You just caused our plan to backfire! What were you thinking? Now, thanks to you, Link is trapped inside!"
Then they all had to hurl themselves flat as the soldiers, now that they could clearly see because the sun was up, fired a volley of arrows in their direction.
"Well if you two would have obeyed us none of this would have happened." Auru growled angrily, "we were trying to stop you from acting foolishly but we were obviously too late."
"It was going well until you showed up," Ashei informed the two seasoned warriors with no small amount of anger.
She leaped heedlessly to her feet then, her mind filled with the mad desire to help her friend. She tried to make a dash towards the spot where Link had climbed the canyons but a firm grip on her shoulder held her back, and dragged her back behind cover. Several more arrow whizzed overhead. She thrashed wildly against hold but Auru's calm voice cut into her rage.
"Ahsei, it is too dangerous to get in there now. The guards are alerted and there is a troop of them headed our way. You won't save him by getting yourself killed or captured. Think about it, if those soldiers have Link then they are probably going to take him to the castle."
"I can't let that happen to him, I won't let that happen to him-" Ashei started but was cut short by Auru.
"Listen, if we run for it now and head along the outside of the canyon we might be able to cut them off and find a way to help Link and free him when they try to cross the upper Eldin field. Also, you never know, he might find a way out of this mess on his own, he's done it before."
Ashei knew deep on her heart that this was the only way. She nodded reluctantly and the three of them fled to safety.
~x~X~x~
Several soldiers spotted Link, Talo, and his parents and hurried in their direction.
"This way," Link yelled as he turned off the main road and onto a walled-in side path, the road that lead to the graveyard. He knew of a way to escape.
During his last adventure, when Ganon had threatened the land, he had discovered a hidden stream behind the canyon wall of the graveyard. A tunnel that was covered over by a thin slab of rock led to this hidden alcove. The stream came from a large spring and was only visible for about twenty yards before it ran underground for a while. Also, he had figured out by accident, the outlet of the stream when it resurfaced was in Lake Hyila. It was a perfect quick escape route, and it was safe as well.
When they reached the walled in hollow that made up the graveyard, Talo's father let out a cry of dismay.
"You led us into a dead end there is no escape! We will be caught and killed!"
"No," Link shook his head and dashed towards the far wall and kicked away the stone that blocked the entrance.
He hurriedly spoke about it and told them what it was and where it let out as he ushered them inside. They all made it through without difficulty except for Talo's mother Pergy. She was having a small amount of difficulty maneuvering her larger frame through the narrow opening and they were running out of time. Link knew that the solders would soon be on top of them. He turned and ran back the way he had come to try to hold them off so as allow Talo and his family time to escape.
He stood in the shadow of the wall at the entrance to the graveyard and waited for the soldiers to appear around the bend. He clearly heard their heavy footfalls and prepared himself. He did not want to kill the soldiers he just wanted to hold them back. After that task was completed, he would have to find an escape route for himself.
As he watched the soldiers approach, he sensed something behind and above him and tried to sidestep. Unfortunately, the sense came too late and something hit him heavily in the back. He had noticed lately that his ability to sense had diminished greatly since his encounter with Zelda and he had no idea why. Reeling from the blow, he half turned to face the unseen foe but something stuck him in the head before he fully turned and everything went dark.
CLIFFHANGER! Are you going to kill me? Yes? Maybe? Possibly? Were you going to kill me then thought better of it because the rest of the story would never be completed? 8D, sorry too much sugar... Thank you again for so many reviews!
QUESTION:
What's your least favorite Zelda item?