Chapter 13 – Escape

Ark had to admit that he felt a lot safer climbing down the cliff with Nyara. For starters; her claws enabled her to climb even the most vertical of drops with ease. But Ark did feel just a little uncomfortable being carried by the back of his clothes as Nyara tended to do sometimes.
"Miss Nyara, I really can climb by myself…there are a fair few roots and creepers I can use as purchase," Ark told her as she clambered down. "And you've got both packs on your shoulders…isn't this tiring?"
"Ark too shlow at clining," she informed him through her clenched teeth. "Haster this ray." Ark sighed and simply allowed himself to hang from her teeth. The climb wasn't particularly long, but it did give Ark time to think about things; his dream in particular. He found it odd that he'd never had one before and, perhaps, even odder that he'd never asked himself why that was. If all dreams were like that, then he'd be happier never having one again, but…Nyara had told him that good dreams far outweighed the bad in terms of frequency. Then there was that girl. She hadn't finished him off like he had expected and seemed rather conflicted over his action of saving her. She told him that she'd "find a way"…whatever that meant. Find another way to get rid of him no doubt.
"It's all so confusing," Ark sighed, scratching his head.
"Nn?" Nyara sounded in a questioning way.
"Oh it's nothing, Miss Nyara. Don't concern yourself with it; you've got your hands full at the moment," Ark assured her. The remainder of the descent passed in relative silence. Nyara occasionally uttered something unintelligible and Ark did his best to go along with it.
Nyara finally touched down and let Ark go, dusting herself off and retracting her claws.
"Easy done!" she grinned, holding her arms straight out on either side of herself in a kind of self-congratulatory pose.
"Yes, thank you Miss Nyara," Ark smiled, pulling out the Compass to find it pointing in the same direction. "Still the same way."
"Boring ball have no variety," Nyara pouted. "Nyara want to go different way." They were both standing on in a grassy clearing around the base of the cliff. Groves of trees lay clumped in sporadic patches in the valley, creating a sense of unnaturalness to the place.
"Strange," Ark murmured, looking around as he and Nyara walked. "I wonder what made the trees grow like that. It doesn't feel right." Nyara nodded in agreement and sniffed at the air.
"Not smell right either," she frowned. "Like…not enough smells."
"And the trees are all of uniform height, Miss Nyara. Perhaps they were planted by people for some reason, a harvest maybe?" Nyara shrugged.
"Maybe. But Nyara no see any people or village around," she frowned. Ark nodded in agreement and shrugged.
"Oh well, I suppose it doesn't concern us. All we need to worry about is following the Compass to wherever, or whatever, it's pointing to."

Talen took off at a dead run with Link slung over his should like a sack of flour while Florella flew alongside him. Soldiers swarmed out over the dry ground and thundered after them as the Queen shouted out orders, most of which consisted of "Get the boy!" and other such similar demands. Talen grinned to himself and thrust his hand out behind him, creating a wave of earth that swept back and knocked a good deal of the soldiers off their feet.
"Don't hog 'em all!" Fura shouted from the hole she had made. Talen looked up in time to see several balls of fire whistling through the air. He followed them with his gaze and watched in satisfaction as they impacted within the ranks of soldiers and exploded, scattering them like toothpicks. The Gerudo laughed madly and began to lob more of the explosive payloads as cover for Talen, Link and Florella to make their escape. They reached the crater wall and Talen tossed Link up like a rag doll, whereupon Fura leaned out over the edge and pulled him onto solid ground. Talen jumped at the wall and dug his hands into it, climbing with ease and leaving hand-sized depressions in his wake. He arrived at the top as Florella settled herself down and looked back to see that Sarissa herself was being carried across the ground on her divan by a handful of soldiers.
"Wait," Talen smirked as the others turned to escape. "This should be good." The Queen finally arrived as the soldiers massed about the crater wall parted and allowed her through.
"I must congratulate you, Talen, as well as your friend who dropped out of nowhere," she said almost smugly. "Perhaps the two of you would like to accompany me back to the palace for a reward?" Florella looked like she was about to reply when Talen stopped her. He stepped up to the edge of the crater and looked down at the Queen, who looked up at him with a look of smug victory on her face.
"No, I don't think so," he told her in his most matter-of-fact voice. "Finding these guys again is better than anything you could come up with." Indignation crossed the Queen's face for a split second.
"Are you sure?" she purred. "I could show you many amazing things…or would you rather stay with that little fairy girl. Look at her; why have something like that when you could have a real woman as good as me?" Talen quirked an eyebrow and look from Florella to Sarissa as if considering it. Florella was taken aback and her mouth hung open in shock as her eyes began to water.
"Talen…" she squeaked, sniffling slightly. Fura looked surprised too and stared at Talen.
"I'll tell you why; good's one thing," Talen snorted. He reached out and clasped Florella to his side with one arm. "But why settle for good when you can have perfect?"
"What!?" Sarissa demanded.
"And being with a fairy is a whole lot better than being with a witch," Talen sniffed. "Besides; you're much too old for me
"How dare you!" Sarissa screeched. "No man can resist me! Not one! My body is perfect; without flaw! What do you say to that!?"
"If I may," Link murmured to Talen as he stepped up beside him. He cleared his throat and look down at the Queen. "When's the baby due?" Sarissa's eyes bugged out of her head and she suddenly began screeching orders in blind fury. Talen and Link slapped their hands together.
"Good bye, Sarissa. Thank you for your hospitality," Talen waved before grasping Florella's hand in his own and turning away. "Let's go, Florella." The fairy girl looked up at Talen with wide, watery eyes before jumping up and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Waah! Talen, you're so wonderful!" she bawled loudly as he carried her off.
"There, there," he smiled awkwardly, patting her back. Fura watched the two of them with a satisfied smile on her face.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she murmured to Link as they jogged through Fura's "door".
"His brain's turned to mush," Link snorted. "And I think it would be prudent to get out of here before what's-her-name down there sends every available soldier in the land after us."
"You're an idiot," Fura sighed, rapping him across the skull with her knuckles.

Link, Talen, Fura and Florella met up with Zelda and Sirrus in a hiding place not far from the Circle.
"Florella! Talen!" Zelda squealed. "It's so good to see you again!" she hugged the pair of them in turn before turning to Link. "Link…just what was that magic you used? We saw from the main gate before coming around the back. Whatever it is, it's very powerful."
"We can talk about that later," Sirrus grunted. "We need to get to the rendezvous point so we can escape across the desert. Now let's go!" The group began moving fairly quickly towards the city and, thankfully, managed to get back around the Circle before Sarissa's soldiers realized what they had done. But it didn't take them very long to find out and the six-strong group was soon dashing through the streets with a platoon of angry spear-wielding soldiers snapping at their heels. While Link was being carried over Talen's shoulder, he got an idea. Reaching into his tunic with some difficulty, he managed to get hold of his bomb bag.
"Okay everyone, there's going to be a little bit of noise," he warned them before ripping off the fuse cap to one of the bombs and tossing it towards the pursuing soldiers. The black ball bounced a few times before detonating in front of the soldiers in a flash of light. The first rank was thrown back, but they were merely replaced by more of the persistent followers. Link frowned and began lobbing the rest of his bomb supply, successfully putting a good deal of men out of commission with shrapnel and burns.
"Down this street!" Sirrus barked suddenly, veering off as the others followed him.
"I'm all out of bombs," Link informed them, returning the bag to his tunic. "We need to slow them down."
"Leave that to me," Talen grinned. As they ran past a particularly tall building, Talen aimed his palm at the ground and buckled the ground underneath the building's corner. The building toppled ponderously as they passed underneath it before it collapsed across the street with a vast rumble, sending dust and debris in all directions.
"Hey! Warn someone the next time you think of doing that, Talen!" Fura snapped.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "But they aren't coming that way anymore, see? They'll have to go around a whole block."
"Well that buys us a little time," Sirrus grunted. "But it'll still be a close call. Hurry, we're almost there!" The group ran into a wide street that led up to a set of large wooden gates. A handful of guards patrolled it lazily, unaware of the chaos deeper in the city.
"We have to get past those gates," Sirrus told them. Fura cracked her knuckles and chuckled to herself.
"No problem," she grinned. The Gerudo smacked both of her wrists together and cupped her hands behind her. Then, after summoning up a ball of flame, threw the volatile sphere at the gates. The guards gave startled cries before the two large doors were ripped apart by a fiery explosion.
"Let it never be said that I don't have a knack for opening doors," Fura sniffed, tossing her head. Once through the gates Talen ground to a halt and created a rock wall to prevent the guards and soldiers from following them out of the city.
"Over here," Sirrus said, making for a rocky embankment. Behind it was a good sized caravan wagon with several desert horses tethered to it. Donta stood holding the reins with a sour look on his face.
"About time you showed up!" the fat man snapped. "I don't want to be here when the guards arrive!"
"Oh cool your hog-jowls, Donta. You can go after I've checked things first," Sirrus grumbled at the fat man before giving the wagon a quick once-over. Once satisfied with it, he motioned for everyone to jump on.
"Let's hurry and put as much distance between us and this place as soon as possible," he frowned, looking beck at the city. "I'm never coming back here again." With that, he flicked the reins and moved the wagon off at a brisk pace.
"We did it!" Florella almost cried. "I'm so happy to be out of that place."
"You're right there," Talen breathed, collapsing onto his back under the wagon roof. "That city is like a canker on the land. I really wouldn't be all that concerned if it was invaded or something."
"Goes double for me," Link muttered. "I mean, I was only there for less than a day and I was sick of it. Sirrus, where are we headed?"
"The desert gives way to grasslands in a few days. We have plenty of provisions to last us the way before we get there. After that, it's Agora Town and it'll be there that I part ways with you," he told them.
"What? Part ways…but why?" Link asked.
"Kid, you gave me a chance to get out of the life I was stuck in and now I have to start making a new one. Agora is probably the best place for me to do that…you know I've always wanted to be a farmer?" he chuckled. "But enough of that. You kids get some sleep while I put some distance between us and the city, you've definitely earned it."

The crossing of the red desert was largely uneventful. No soldiers came after them across the burning sands and so excitement was at a minimum. As soon as they passed the boundary of the dark clouds, the hot air and sun hit them like a punch to the face. Sirrus didn't speak all that much and simply sat at the reins wearing a rather ridiculous sombrero to protect himself from the sun. The children, in the meantime, merely lay in the back of the wagon as the scorching hot air sapped them of strength.
"At least it isn't humid," Link groaned from where he lay. "And thank God we've left those lava vents behind."
"Oh it isn't so bad," Fura shrugged. "At least we have our health."
"Easy for you to say; you've lived in a desert for your entire life," Link muttered. Fura grinned at him.
"I know."
"Someone please brush my hair," Zelda pouted. "Link, can you do it? The heat's making it go frizzy." Link opened his eyes and reached his hand up from where he lay.
"Can't reach," he grunted, making grabbing motions. "Looks like you go without." Talen snickered slightly, but a quick glance from Zelda silenced him.
"Well heat or not; this is the first time in a while that we've had a chance to relax. I, for one, don't care if it's hot or not. What matters is that we're starting to become our full number again," Florella said, folding her arms.
"I'll have to agree with you on that one," Link yawned. "I even found myself missing your chunky little self."
"And I even missed your snide little mouth. So tell us, where did you three end up?" They traded stories of what had happened to them after the Compass had scattered them. Zelda and Fura nattered on and on about the beautiful island and the flower-field were while Link whispered to Talen that all the girls did was lie around while he worked at building a raft. They told of how they were captured by the slavers and then how Link rescued Zelda before blowing the ship up by magnifying Fura's powers.
"So the Key can magnify the magic of another by channelling it through your body?" Talen asked. "So that's why you were able to throw the Reaper like that! But…what about the power you used afterwards? Where did that come from?"
"Don't look at me," Link said with a shrug. "I've got no idea."
"Well then how did you know how to do it?" Zelda asked. Link scratched his head.
"I dunno. The way to do it was just kinda…there- in the back of my mind. When I suddenly needed it; there it was. I knew what to do and how to do it," Link explained as best he could.
"Sure was powerful though; you were able to kill that Reaper insect," Zelda said. "We saw it all happen and thought that it was actually attacking you…that is, until it started falling apart and you were left behind."
"Maybe it was the Key," Link shrugged. "I mean, it has been doing weird things lately, like making me blow fire and grow rock over my arms."
"I don't think so, Link," Florella said with a shake of her head. "That power definitely came from you. The Key didn't react to any outside influence during that battle; you defeated the Reaper with your own power."
"Well I still don't understand it," the boy sighed, frowning.
"I'll tell you what," Florella grinned. "I'll keep an eye on you and figure out what's happening. How does that sound?"
"Yeah, whatever you think is best," Link shrugged, flopping onto his back yet again.
"What's this? No complaints or arguments?" Florella asked in amazement.
"It's too hot to fight with you at the moment. Maybe when it cools down I can start making fun of you some more, but right now I just want to lie here as quietly as possible and hope the heat forgets about me."

Nyara and Ark had been walking all day and the sky had begun to take on a pinkish hue, signalling the approach of sunset. Ark glanced at the Compass again for what he felt was the fiftieth time that day and, as always, it was still pointing in the same direction.
"What a day," the boy groaned, rubbing the side of his face. "I feel like I'm going to fall apart."
"Nyara tired too," the animal girl mumbled, walking along beside him. "We stop soon, yes?" Her tone was hopeful and Ark couldn't help but smile.
"The next group of trees, Miss Nyara; there's bound to be wood for a fire there and it'll give us a bit of shelter." Nyara grinned broadly at the news and grabbed Ark's wrist before taking off at a full run towards the next clump of trees. Naturally, Ark stumbled along barely able to keep upright at the sudden movement.
"Oh dear," he panted, collapsing onto his backside when they arrived at their destination. "Please warn me if you're going to do that again, Miss Nyara."
"Nyara Sorry," she grinned sheepishly. "I get kindling for fire and Ark set up house-things."
"House…? Oh, you mean the tents. Of course," Ark agreed as Nyara dumped both packs on the ground. She had been quite adamant in making sure that Ark wasn't carrying either pack, citing that he needed to look at the Compass. The boy had felt quite bad for letting Nyara do all the work, and even attempted to take one of the packs away from her. She merely looked at him and allowed her pupils to grow to their largest size, causing Ark to back away from her. He knew what that look meant; playtime for Nyara and much suffering for his ears.
"Miss Nyara?" Ark called into the trees. "Do you want the bigger tent?" Nyara suddenly bounded out of the undergrowth with a bundle of sticks under her arm. She dropped them in a pile and quirked an eyebrow at him.
"Why not use one tent only? Save time and effort," she told him. She watched as redness began to spread from his cheeks up to the tips of his ears.
"I…Erm…" Ark stammered. Nyara laughed at him before slapping her hand against his back.
"Nyara joking with Ark," she chuckled. "Nyara know Ark strange, so I sleep in small tent, Ark have big." The boy breathed a sigh of relief; he had not accidentally shocked the girl in some time and he didn't want to do it again any time soon. He got to work on pitching the tents as Nyara built the fire up and lit it with some flint found in one of the packs. Once the fire was burning merrily away, Ark dished out some food for dinner and was promptly set upon by Nyara, who proceeded to feed him with great delight. She released him before downing her own meal in a matter of seconds and sat cleaning her hands while Ark recovered from his ordeal. As uncomfortable as he found it, Ark couldn't bring himself to stop Nyara from feeding him. She took that job very seriously and the boy suspected she might get upset if he told her and besides; in the grand scheme of things it wasn't all that bad. It was even quite comforting to know that there was someone willing to fuss over him so much. He frowned and looked up at the stars in the night sky.
"I must say I'm glad that we got out of that dead forest; I really don't like lots of water," Ark said absently. Nyara paused midway through licking at the pompom fur around her wrists.
"Why does Ark not like water?" she asked curiously. "Water fun; can swim and play in it."
"I don't know, Miss Nyara," he sighed. "I just don't. There are many things I'm afraid of or don't like. Water's something I really don't like."
"And what is Ark afraid of?" she asked intently. The boy shifted a little uneasily.
"Well…" he started apprehensively. "I'm afraid of…you can't tell anyone about this, but I'm afraid of…the dark." Nyara blinked.
"Ark afraid of dark?"
"Yes, Ark afraid of dark," he sighed bitterly. "I've always been afraid of it. Sometimes I find it had to breathe like…it's going to swallow me up; wipe my existence away…leave me all alone."
"Ark shouldn't be scared of dark," Nyara told him. "Dark is just when light not around. Dark no can hurt Ark."
"I suppose…" Ark frowned. "But I just can't…shake off bad feelings I get when it's dark."
"And Ark no worry about being alone 'cause that never happen; Ark so nice that Nyara always stay with Ark. If Ark ever lost, just call to Nyara. Nyara hear Ark and smell Ark wherever he is and come find. Nyara done it before and Nyara do it again." She grinned at him, showing off her pointed incisors. Ark gave her a tired smile and yawned as the heat of the fire dulled his senses.
"Mm," Ark mumbled sleepily. The two continued conversing until they each retired to their respective tents as, unbeknownst to the both of them, a young black-haired girl sat in the upper branches of the tree, watching.

"Ow! That hurts!" Link shouted as Fura poked him in the ribs. She gave him an irritated look.
"Oh hush, you big baby. And no wonder you're so sensitive; look at this bruising!" she told him pointing at the dark brown mark across his side.
"Stop telling me off and hurry up and finish," Link grumbled. "This is probably stretching out the neckhole on my tunic."
"Stop making up weak excuses," Fura told him. "It was made with this in mind." She was referring to the way Link's tunic neck had been opened up as far as it could go so that it would slide down his torso to leave it bare. The boy flinched away as Fura poked him again.
"Stop hitting me!" Link wailed.
"What!?" Fura exclaimed. "How can you call that a hit!? You're being a baby, sit still so I can take a look at you."
"Why don't you just get Florella to do this instead? She's a lot gentler than you are!" Link snapped.
"Oh for the love of…she was doing this until you accused her of physically abusing you!"
"She was trying to maim me!" Link said defensively.
"She had to look at you in order to know what to heal, nimrod! Now you're just going to have to make do with me while she looks at Talen." Link grumbled a few choice oaths under his breath. Florella told him that he could suffer through getting better the old fashioned way instead of through her magic after he had kicked up such a huge stink.
"Really, Link," Fura sighed, smearing ointment over his bruises. "I pity what Saria's had to put up with whenever you got sick."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Link asked indignantly.
"Your bedside manner stinks!" she told him, pulling his tunic back up. "That's why Zelda and I drew straws to see who'd do this for you."
"You could have just left it alone," he muttered. Fura snorted and cuffed the back of his head.
"You would have just left it until it had gotten worse. We didn't have a choice." Link frowned and squirmed slightly.
"My tunic's sticking to my skin," he mumbled.
"Oh poor you," Fura sighed. "Just be thankful I didn't roast you for being so obnoxious." Link made a face at her as she turned around to put the ointment back inside its case.
"You know," Zelda said from across the wagon. "Aside from the bumping and Link's complaining…this isn't so bad. Though it would be better if we had everyone here."
"I'm sure they're fine," Talen said as Florella finished fussing over him. "Nyara, Impa and even Ark can fend for themselves. Since we ended up with at least one other person, I'm sure Saria did too; she's in very capable hands."
"I guess you're right, but still…I miss them."
"I do too," Florella smiled. "Ark's such a dear…unlike someone." She glanced at Link as he scratched at his sore ribs and got ointment stuck to his fingers. He wrinkled his nose before wiping his fingers clean on the front of his tunic.
"Oh…Link," Zelda groaned.
"What?" he asked. His companions sighed collectively.

"Though his faults spread far and wide,
A caring heart he cannot hide,"

Florella rhymed off. Link rolled his eyes and then grinned.

"Our escape went off with minor hitches,
But now I'm stuck with three old witches."

Talen snorted through his nose, causing Link to do the same and the two were soon chuckling inanely.
"Bruises or not; you're a dead man!" Fura growled, bowling him over. The two of them began wrestling around the floor of the wagon, knocking over supply boxes and making an all-round mess. Zelda rubbed her temples and groaned.
"Just like the good old days," Florella sighed as she held Talen by the ear.

Saria and Impa had finally crossed Lake Ara and were journeying on foot along a dusty road towards a small town that Impa knew of.
"It's a quiet little place called Dall. The people there are mostly farmers and such, but they're very hospitable and friendly," Impa told the Kokiri. "From there we can think about where we can head next."
"I wonder if Link's looking after himself?" Saria sighed. "Well probably find him covered in filth and dirt and he…won't have brushed his hair!" Impa smiled to herself.
"I'm sure that he's fine, wherever he is. If any of the others are with him I'm sure he'll stay in line."
"He'll answer to me if he doesn't," Saria grumbled. "Oh I just hope all of them are all right!"
"Calm yourself, Saria," Impa told the girl, resting a hand on top of her head as they walked. "I'm worried about Zelda just as you are worried about Link. But I have confidence that wherever she may be, she's looking after herself." Saria sighed and slumped her shoulders.
"You're right. Link may be an idiot sometimes, but he knows how to look after himself."
"That he does, Saria. Now let's pick up the pace a little, we can reach Dall by nightfall if we hurry."
Saria and Impa arrived at Dall Village with aching legs. Dall was fairly small and had pastures surrounding it, bar the road the led straight through the middle. The houses were small thatched-roof cottages and a single inn was situated in the middle of the village. The sun was just dipping over the horizon as Impa and Saria stumbled through the door of the homey looking building.
"Oh! Visitors," smiled the innkeeper as she glanced up from a book she was reading. The woman was wearing a plain dress, much the same as the one Malon wore back at Lon-Lon Ranch. "Would you like a room?"
"Yes thanks," Impa said. "Just one for me and the girl."
"And how many nights will you be staying?"
"We aren't sure just now, is that all right?" Impa asked her.
"No problem at all," the woman smiled. "You can pay when it comes time to leave." Impa nodded and followed the woman up a flight of stairs to the guest floor. She opened the door and showed them in.
"Here's your room and there's a communal bathhouse across the street that you can use. If you have any problems just come downstairs and tell me about it and either my husband or myself can take care of it."
"Thank you," Impa said with a nod. "You are most kind." The woman gave her a dimpled smile before leaving the Sheikah and Saria alone in the room.
"It's quite a nice place," Saria mused.
"That it is. I like this place." They stood in silence for a while, not really saying anything.
"Bath?" Saria asked suddenly.
"Absolutely."

"Bath."
"Absolutely not!" Link snorted, folding his arms across his chest.
"Link, when was the last time you had a proper wash?" Zelda asked him pointedly. The boy swiveled his eyes up, then to the right before looking back at the Princess.
"I can't remember," he mumbled.
"It was on that island, you had a bit of a splash around in the water. Now go bathe, now," she said rather firmly. Link rolled his eyes. It was their second night in the desert and they had camped out by an oasis. Sirrus had already gone to sleep leaning up against a date palm even though it was still late afternoon.
"We'll toss you in if you don't go willingly," Zelda said with slightly more edge to her voice.
"If I go down I'm taking you with me," he told her. "I'll go in my own time."
"No, you'll go before it gets dark," Zelda said, rubbing her temples. "Fura!" The Gerudo stood from where she was sitting with Talen and Florella and walked over.
"He being difficult?" she asked.
"Was there ever any doubt?" Zelda sighed. "Toss him in."
"Hey! I'm going!" Link told the pair indignantly. "Just let me get accustomed to the water first." He stood at the edge of the rock and looked down. The oasis had a rather large rock sticking out over it at an angle and looked to be perfect for jumping in.
"Ooh," he frowned. "This'll take a while. Mental preparations and all."
"Fura," Zelda muttered.
"Already there," the redhead grinned, lining up for an almighty shove. Just as she lunged forwards, Link suddenly zipped up above her head with the Key and, unfortunately for the Gerudo, she went right inbetween the straps that kept the boy in the air. She stopped at the water's edge and swung her arms to stay upright as she overcommitted herself to the push she thought Link would receive. The boy lowered himself down behind her and tucked his feet into the small of her back while still balancing with the Key.
"Don't you dare!" she hissed. "I'm serious! I'll kill you!" Link shrugged.
"Meh, I've died once, what's one more time?" With that he pushed his feet out and sent Fura face-first into the water with a grin on his face. Zelda snuck up behind him and went the shove, but he bounced over her head and landed behind her before picking her up under her arms.
"No! Don't you dare! Link! Stop, please I…eeeeek!" Zelda squealed as the boy tossed her rather unceremoniously into the water where Fura was splashing angrily about.
"Funny," Link frowned, looking at the pair. "I thought that water dissolved witche- hey!" He was cut off as Talen picked him up by the Key around his neck.
"Sorry Link, but Florella insists and I'm, well, kinda obliged to do what she says," he said apologetically.
"No! Traitor! She's a woman; an enemy! They'll tear me apart!" Link wailed, thrashing around wildly. Talen held him out over the water as Fura and Zelda waited below like hungry crocodiles.
"Remember Zelda," Fura laughed wickedly. "The killing must last as long as possible." Talen let go and Link screamed.