Chapter 24: Enigma

Date: October 16th, Year 992

Link's eyes fluttered open. As his senses returned to him, a familiar smell had made its way into his home. Without thinking, the boy shot up to a sitting position, and froze in response to what he saw.

...He was in his old home; his tree house in the Kokiri Forest.

"What the..." were the first words he spoke in response.

Link jumped from his bed, and ran out the front door. He couldn't believe it. It was as if the past month didn't even happen; as if it were all a dream.

"B-But... how?" The boy watched as two Kokiri children argued over a Deku Stick after emerging from the local store. "I... I thought..."

"YOO-HOOO!"

Link searched around for familiar voice. It wasn't until he peered down the ladder when he saw her. His green-haired friend, Saria.

"Hi, Link!" she shouted.

Link's eyes widened as he stared at his best friend, who he thought was dead.

"Hm? Is something wrong? What is it, Link?"

The boy began to tear up, "Your... alive!"

Saria stared at him as if a Deku Baba sprouted from his head. "Well... come down so we can talk about it!"

Link and Saria met in the Sacred Forest Meadow, their old meeting place, where Link told her of everything that had happened in the past month, the two were seated on their tree stump in front of the Forest Temple.

"Sounds like you had quite the dream." Saria told Link as he finished recalling prior events.

"Yeah." Link agreed, "...But... it seemed so... real. And... I thought..."

"Thought what?"

Link's breath began to shake as he to teared up again, "That I'd never see you again. He lowered his head as he spoke, "That you died because I-"

"Was weak?"

"What?!" Link responded as he looked beside him...

...to see that Saria had vanished.

"That day," her voice continued, "You left the forest thinking only of yourself! You weren't even thinking about me! Do you know why?"

"Saria, I-"

"Because you're a coward, Link! You're nothing more than a pathetic excuse for a swordsman who, when in the face of danger, can do nothing but cower like a mewling child!"

"I..." Link stood as his fists shook with anger, "I'm not weak!"

"Oh yeah?" a new voice cut in. Link turned to see Cassandra, standing with a devilish smile on her face, "Then how come you couldn't even beat a little girl?"

"I-"

Stab!

.

Link gasped. As blood began to drip from his mouth, the boy looked down at his abdomen to see a knife protruding from a fresh wound, blood pouring out rapidly.

"Face it, Link." said Saria in a cruel tone as she twisted the knife into Link's wound, "You'll never be strong enough to protect anyone. That's why I'm dead."

Link slowly turned his head to look at Saria, when he was saw that her skin and hair began to literally melt, exposing her bloody flesh.

"And very soon..."

Saria flesh followed, as it melted away, exposing nothing but an eerie skeleton, the eyeballs still intact as Saria leaned her head inward, and her voice lowering to a whisper.

"...You'll be dead, too."

Link set out a horrified scream as he sat up in bed. He awoke in a cold sweat. Though he was thankful for the fact that those... events... had not actually happened, there was a lingering doubt that it was just a dream. He didn't know why, but... it felt more like a warning thsn a dream.

"Bad dream, huh?" asked Taki.

Link nodded. "Yeah... HUH?!" Link looked up at the ninja, as she walked into his bedroom.

"Why do you keep doing this?!" Link shouted, "Don't you have anything better to do?!"

"I do nothing but sit at home all, so no. Now get dressed. You'll be late otherwise."

Link sighed, "Fine!" Originally, the boy joined Kal Ssaum Haggyo to better himself in the ways of combat, and prepare him to save Hyrule. And it was just that, his desire to return home, and not some crazy ninja and that jerk of a King, that kept him going. But in a way, he was sort of glad to have Taki there this particular morning. After what he just saw, the mere presence of another person was comforting.

Raphael rose to a seated position in his luxurious mattress. He placed a hand on his abdomen, where his wound had been. The strange feeling he had yesterday was now gone. What exactly was that, anyway?

After sitting in bed for a few minutes, Raphael decided to go check on Amy. Thankfully, the King had told him the previous day that he would be given time off. Now, he could spend more time with his daughter. In her room, the swordsman looked down at his daughter as she dozed comfortably in her bed. He smiled as he brushed a stray hair to the side.

"Adorable... isn't she?"

Before Raphael could move a muscle, he found that a strange blade was being held to his throat.

"What?" he spoke, "What's going on?!"

"Sh, sh, ssshhh. Quiet down, will you? You don't wanna wake her," a girl spoke, pressing the blade onto his neck, "do you?"

Raphael's hands balled into fists. "How much do you want?" he whispered.

"Oh, come on," she whispered back, "I don't want any money, silly! But what I do want... is for you to come with me."

"You want me to leave my daughtere here and-"

"Oh, don't worry a her, she won't even notice you were gone! That is... if you cooperate."

The swordsman sighed, "Very well. Just make this quick."

The girl giggled.

"By the way," Raphael continued, "if we're getting acquainted, can I at least know your name?"

"Tira. Now come on! You don't wanna be late!"

As the two left the room, Raphael looked back at his daughter, Strange, he thought, Amy's a very light sleeper. She should have awoken by now...

"Now," Ivy spoke, "You'll all be learning a new technique called Guard Impact."

As Ivy explained, Link rested his head on his arms.

"Now they're both all gloomy." Cassandra told Kilik, "I swear, it's contagious."

"Just talk to them." Kilik responded.

"What?! Why me?"

"'Cause you're sitting closest to them."

"Ugh, fine." The girl turned to Link, "Hey, Link."

As she nudged his shoulder, Link turned to her. He was then instantly reminded of his earlier nightmare.

"Then how come you couldn't even beat a little girl?"

.

"Link?" Cassandra called again, now with a worried tone.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Are... you okay?"

Talim, who sat on the other side of Link, began to watch him from the corner of her eye.

Link stared at Cassandra for a moment, "I... nothing."

"Cassandra." Ivy called.

The young girl, startled, gasped as she found that she was now in the center of attention.

"Perhaps you and your friend would like to demonstrate since you know enough about Guard Impact that you don't need to pay attention."

Cassandra looked down at the floor, embarrassed, "...No, thanks." she responded sheepishly.

"Please, I insist. Besides, you wouldn't want Sophitia to know that you weren't paying attention, would you?"

"N-No!"

"Fine then. Come." Ivy looked at Link, "You two, boy."

Talim, who had been silent almost the entire day, was now worried about her Hylian friend. Cassandra was a major contributor to Link's current state of mind, and she knew that. She had a feeling this wouldn't end well.

When the children approached the center of the room, Link couldn't help but, once again, think about his nightmare. His embarrassing loss to Cassandra had already bothered him enough as it is. That's why he trains with Talim during his free time. Now that he stood face to face with her, though they weren't sparring this time, he grew a little nervous.

Cassandra sighed. Just this morning, Talim told her about how Link still feels about that day. She was beginning to wonder if that was the problem.

"Link," Ivy instructed, "You strike, and Cassandra will perform the Guard Impact."

Link nodded as Ivy handed him and Cassandra wooden swords, and a wooden shield for Cassandra.

"One more thing." Ivy continued, speaking to Cassandra, "I would like for you to use a parry attack when after you deflect his attack."

The two children looked at each other. "Don't worry," said Cassandra, "I won't hit you too hard."

Link tightened his grip on the wooden sword. Then, he swung at Cassandra, prompting her to quickly deflect the attack. The boy stumble back. Cassandra raised her blade in preparation for her parry attack, as Ivy instructed.

"You couldn't even beat a little girl."

THUD!

.

Gasps of disbelief and shock were heard throughout the room. Link hadn't completely registered what just happened, but when he did, nothing could be done about it; it was too late.

Cassandra was now seated on the floor, holding a hand over her face as fresh blood trickled down her arm from a bleeding nose.

"W-Why?" she asked Link after a sob, "Why did you do that?"

Just before Cassandra could counterattack, Link had shut his eyes tight as a scene from his nightmare played in his mind. As the girl brought her sword down, Link quickly struck her in the face with his own as hard as he could, resulting in the current situation. Link was absolutely speechless.

"Here we are!" Tira told Raphael.

"A castle?" the man asked, "Does the King know about this?"

"Maaaybe. Well? What are you waiting for? Come in!"

Tira grabbed Raphael by the wrist, and forcefully pulled him into the castle. This structure appeared to be very old. Many of it's decorations had blankets of dust on them, indicating they they hadn't been tended to in years. After a few minutes, Raphael was brought to a room lighted by torches protruding from the walls. It was then, just as Raphael stared into the other side of the room, when he saw him.

The Azure Knight sat on what appeared to be a throne. In front of him was an oval shaped table with only two people seated. One was a large golem, and the other he recognized to be Cervantes.

Before the blonde could even think to make a move, Tira slammed the door behind her.

"What's going on here?!" Raphael yelled at the strange girl.

"Now, now," she began, "This isn't nearly as bad as it looks. Just hear us out."

Raphael looked around at the horrifying figures gathered in the room. He only alive now because Nightmare had decided not to kill him. There was absolutely no way he'd be able to survive if he were to attack. If he tried to run, they'd undoubtedly track him down and kill him. He had no choice to comply if he ever wanted to get home to Amy. He turned to Tira, "What exactly do you want from me?"

Tira giggle, "Isn't it obvious, silly? We want you to join us!"

"Join you?!" Raphael yelled, outraged, "I'd rather die!"

Cervantes chuckled as Nightmare began to speak.

"As much as I loathe you humans, I can't help but pity you. You're willing to die for the country you were raised to believe was benevolent, but once you discover the true nature of its rulers for yourself, will continue to hide behind such a patriotic facade?"

"What do you mean?"

"Hmph. Allow me to tell you... the true story behind this kingdom."

Luckily for Link, Talim had some free time that afternoon, so he requested that the two train together. Though this was really because the boy was still shaken up about his dream, and wanted company. There was also the new emotions building up inside of him. There were many, but they all could be summed up to one adjective: loneliness. After the two were done, Link asked if he could speak to his friend. He was finally about to tell another person about his dream.

"That's horrible." Talim responded, "I can't even imagine how hard it must have been to witness that."

"Yeah..." Link continued, "But... that isn't the only thing bothering me..."

"What is it?"

Link wanted to say it. He never realized it until today, but since he first arrived in the Chai Dynasty, he felt loneliness lingering in the depths of his mind. Right now, he just wanted to be with someone. He'd tell Talim this, but he didn't want her to get the wrong idea. "I... well..."

Talim, who now sat beside Link, leaned, forward to get a better view of his expression.

"Well... how're things with you and Taki?"

Talim sighed, "The other day, she... did something that bothered me." Talim just couldn't reveal to anyone that her teacher was hiding a shard of Soul Edge in her house. Though the two made up this morning, she still feared what would happen if someone else heard the secret.

"You two get along pretty well, huh?"

Talim nodded, "I guess so."

"Talim!" Taki, who had been listening from a safe distance, called, "It's getting late. We're heading home."

Talim turned to Link, "Well, I have to go... bye."

Link didn't respond. As Talim jogged to join Taki, Link stared at the ground and sighed. I... just want someone to understand how I feel. he thought, There has to be someone...

Just then, someone came to mind.

It took him a while, but Link had finally found the bakery that belonged to the Alexander Family. He remembered how Cassandra would brag about their family owning the best bakery in town, which is how he knew where the girl lived. Inside, the smell of freshly baked bread was rampant. Many of the tables were filled, implying the business was great.

Link walked up to the man at the front counter, and grabbed his attention. "Hey, do you know where Cassandra is?"

The man looked down at the boy, "You must be a classmate," he said, "Cassandra's in the residential side of the bakery. Just knock at the door and someone will answer."

Link moved to the residential part of the bakery and found a door, similar in appearance to that of a regular house's. After knocking a few times, the boy waited. When the door opened, there was a young girl with shoulder length blonde hair, not Cassandra. She took immediate note of Link's ears. "You're that boy from the funeral." she said.

Now that Link thought about it, he did in fact recognize her; he remembered her from the funeral. She was staring at him as if he'd grown an extra head. She must be a relative.

"Pyrrha?" a familiar voice called, "Who's at the door?"

The young girl moved to the side, revealing the woman Link recognized to be Cassandra's older sister. She looked down at him.

"You must be Link." she said, "I haven't seen you for quite a while, but my sister's told me about you. Including what happened today."

Link gulped nervously as Sophitia stared down at him with an unreadable expression.

"So why have you come here?" she asked, "Have you come to apologize?"

Though apologizing would be a good idea, it wasn't what Link had in mind. He then decided to falsely nod.

"Very well. Pyrrha, go get her."

As Pyrrha scampered away, Sophitia looked down at Link again, "You know, for some reason, Cassandra doesn't blame you for what happened."

Link was surprised, "She doesn't?"

"No. Under normal circumstances, she would've beaten you senseless. But I guess she feels guilty because she thought she embarrassed you a month ago."

How many people know about that, anyway?! Link thought.

"She's feeling a little down about the whole situation, so don't say anything to unnerve her any further. I'll know if you do."

"O-Okay!"

Just then, Cassandra came to the door. She seemed surprised to see Link.

"This boy wants to speak with you." Sophitia told her sister, "I'll leave you two to it."

After a moment of awkward silence, Cassandra finally spoke, "C'mon, let's take a seat."

For some reason, Cassandra decided to sit next to Link as they took their table.. By now, the sun was beginning to set.

"Do you want something to eat?" Cassandra asked.

"No," Link answered, "no, thanks."

Another brief moment of silence.

"Hey," Link began, "I just wanted to say sorry... about earlier today. Something just came over me, and..."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow, "...And?"

Link decided not to tell Cassandra about his dream. It might make this situation even worse. Besides, it wasn't what he was here to talk about. "I... guess I just lost control."

"...Is that right?"

Link glanced at her, worried. Those it was obvious Cassandra felt the same way, but was able to hide it better. "Are you angry?"

"Are you?"

"...No."

Cassandra sighed. It almost sounded like one of relief. "Well then!" she said, wrapping an arm around Link, "I guess it's safe to say we made up, huh?"

Link awkwardly glanced Cassandra's hand as it lay on the shoulder opposite of the side she was on. "There's... more I wanna talk about."

"Whst is it?"

"Your parents." Link said, immediately grabbing Cassandra's undivided attention, "You were pretty close to them... right?"

"...Yeah. Why? What do you have to say about my parents?"

Link hesitated. The boy felt selfish. Here he was, searching for someone who understands just how alone he feels in this land of strangers, but he didn't even stop to think of how it made Cassandra feel to be reminded of her deceased parents... but he couldn't stop now.

"Do you... ever feel alone?"

Cassandra removed her arm from around Link. "No." she answered flatly, "Why would I? I still have my brother and sister. My niece and nephew, too."

"...Niece? ...Nephew? What're those?"

"My sister's kids."

"Your sister has children? How old is she?"

"Old."

Link didn't believe that. Sophitia looked very young for what he thought a mother would look like.

"Anyway," Cassandra continued, "Even if I didn't have them, I still have Kilik and Talim... and you."

"Oh... I see."

"What's wrong?"

Link rose from his chair, "Nothing... I-I have to go."

Cassandra sighed as Link walked out of the bakery.

"Gee." she heard Sophitia say, "What did you say to him?"

The girl turned to see Sophitia seated at the table behind her. "Sophitia?!" she yelled, "Were you eavesdropping?!"

"Oh, hush. You talking to a boy was something I just had to witness."

Cassandra blushed, "Sh-Shut up!"

Link's sense of direction was almost as bad as a moss headed pirate hunter (wink). In the depths of his despair, Link wandered into a part of town he had never seen before. To make things even worse, it was now nighttime, so not many people were outside. One would believe that he should feel grateful for having friends like Talim and Cassandra, but surely they have to return home to their family, and not be around him all day. Link, however, had an empty, wooden house to go to, with no one to welcome him home like everyone else. He didn't understand. This was how he lived in Kokiri Forest, with the other Kokiri, but now he felt that that wasn't how he was supposed to live. But why?

"I... just wish someone understood me..." Link spoke longingly as he entered a darkened area of the city.

"Is that so?"

.

Startled, Link spun around to see a slender, pale man in a red cape.

The man continued, "Then perhaps we can make an arrangement."

Link stared at the man, wondering why somebody was out at such a late hour. "Who're you?" he asked.

The man walked up to Link, "My name his Ghirahim." he said, "And you're to come with me."

On the next chapter of The Legend of Zelda: Tale of Souls...

Link finds himself in a desperate fight for his life as Ghirahim tries to forcibly take the boy away. But how can a mere child compete with a more experienced opponent, all by himself?

Chapter 25: Ghirahim, Demon Lord!