Hey guys! I know I'm torturing you all and keeping you from finding out where Zelda is, but I'm having a chapter featuring other characters today! Zelda is next. I promise. But that doesn't mean that chapter will give everything away! I am so evil.
Thank you so very much to my beloved reviewers Rich, BlueMonkeyDoll, Farore64, BrokeHydra21, MY 400TH REVIEWER Xana100, Jupsi, barrissandahsokafriendz, DarkOppressor, xVocaloidianx, erico637, GlissGirl99, Beachshowlover1, ShadowNinja1011, vermilion ruby, StattStatt, Sheikagal, pyrosavvy5, and Princess Zelda-figure skater you guys are so awesome. Give yourselves a hug or two! Or how about three. Or four, or five... I mean, holy crap guys! 400 hundred reviews! Oh my goodness that's... a lot! Thank you all sososososo much :) I get too excited about things on the internet... But they're reviews! I should stop talking.
Thanks for reading, favorite-ing and following!
~Leila
Also, do yourself a favor go read Zombie Cake by Snowyflakes. It's a very well written, hilarious story. And again, please please PLEASE read How Zelda Got Her Groove Back by ZeldaRubix. ZR is a fantastic author and the plot is amazing. Thank you, and thank you for thanking the people that thank you. Thank you.
Thanks MusicGamer!
(King Matthew)
Impa tells me to watch my step as we approach an eroding ravine. A war counselor slams his fist on the table and I trip over a root after I stand to calm the counselor down and tell him my thoughts on the draft, then trip over another root because I wasn't paying attention...
This has been my train of thought for the past week and a half or so. Two people's thoughts all meshed into one brain with one person to sort through them all and keep both people running. I have this constant headache, a pounding in my head that is only amplified by the fact that I control two heads. Impa snaps at me again, this time preventing me from running headlong into a tree, as another counselor begins to tell me of his plan for a smaller party to act as a decoy.
I let out a frustrated breath, but I don't allow my dimidium in the castle to do the same. I've been making an extra effort to keep my counterpart from mirroring my actions and words after an unfortunate mishap involving a loud swear word in front of an advisor. That took a lot of apologizing.
Compared to the beginning, I've managed to control my two forms a lot better. The two halves of my mind are becoming more independent and I can think two separate thoughts at once, and jump over a creek while walking casually down a castle hallway at the same time. It took a while to get to this point. We stayed at the castle for a couple days so Rauru could coach me on how to separate the halves of my brain from each other and focus on being two separate beings.
The first few days sucked, to put it lightly. I had splitting headaches and would get so exhausted that I wouldn't be able to stand. My head would get confused, and I would forget where one of my selves was and run into things constantly, or just fall to the ground in utter confusion. Now, the headaches have subsided to dull pain with an occasional pulse of sharp agony, the exhaustion doesn't set in until nightfall, and I don't get confused as much. I still run into things all the time because I get too caught up in planning the war and don't focus on the trees right in front of my face.
The overall sensation of it is... complicated. I don't know how to describe the feeling of using one brain to run two people. Maybe a pain in the ass? You feel like you're on constant overdrive, like you've pulled five all-nighters with no coffee then ran a marathon twice after someone knocked you over the head with a brick. It's the most exhausting thing in the world, and all I think about is getting though the day so I can go to sleep and think about nothing and rest my mind for at least five hours. Sleep is all that motivates me now. Both of me.
"We'll rest here. We've walked long enough," Impa's voice cut through one of my trains of thought.
I blinked and glanced around at my surroundings. We were in a small clearing, somewhere still near the ocean judging by the faint sound of crashing waves. It's the last piece of home I think I'll get in a while. As much as I hated being locked in the castle, I loved falling asleep to the ocean. I think every citizen in Castle Town can say the same.
"Are you alright, Your Majesty?" Impa asked.
"Oh, um, yeah. Thank you," I stammered dumbly. Finding words that sounded intelligent, I spoke again. "I'd prefer if you didn't call me 'Your Majesty', please. Matthew is fine, and it sounds weird. It makes me feel old," I told her.
She nodded, the faintest trace of a smile on her lips. "As you wish. I wouldn't want you to feel old at twenty-three, goddesses forbid."
I laughed a little, then winced as a splitting wave of pain pounded through my head. Impa smiled sympathetically.
"Sit down. Rest a bit. Finish your meeting then put your dimidium to bed," she urged.
I nodded and found a comfortable spot reclined against a rotting log. Closing my eyes, I allowed the majority of my thinking consciousness to drift over to my dimidium. You can't let all of your consciousness be in one being, or the other will die and the spell will unravel, causing the living being to spontaneously combust.
I was back in the stuffy councilors' room, trying my best to act awake as councilors and so-called "war geniuses" argued about the same things they had been arguing about three hours ago. We finally had a very good battle plan, but now we were stuck arguing on trivial things that a group of little girls could sort through faster than these groups of men can. What the age limit should be for the draft. Should we organize a larger force with all of the Courts of Hyrule. Should females be allowed to fight in this war. It doesn't stop, it just goes on and on and on...
"...this man is obviously a threat! We need as many strong, able people as possible fighting on our sides! We need to rally the Twili, Zora, Kokiri, Sheikah, Gorons, Rito, Deku, and the Gerudo to fight alongside us!" One man was yelling.
"But this man was a Gerudo. How do we know we can trust them?" another man countered.
"The Gerudo have been our allies for hundreds of years. There's no need to doubt that alliance now," a calm, rational voice said smoothly.
I cast a small smile at the speaker, the only person I like and trust in this room. My long-time friend, Shad. Many of the councilors scoffed at the thought that a twenty-three year old school teacher would be joining us in the meeting, but Shad is thirty times as brilliant as all of them put together, and my only childhood friend.
"Still," the man huffed. "I say Gerudos can't be trusted. That alliance was never stable anyway."
"If you have any more racial remarks to make, Viscen, you can leave," I said sharply. He grumbled something incomprehensible in reply, then crossed his arms and fell silent. "On the matter of the alliance of the Kingdom and the Courts of Hyrule, I'll summon the Lords of each district to discuss the matter in person tomorrow. I doubt they'll refuse once they hear of the immensity of the opposing force," I said, massaging my aching temples.
The Kingdom of Hyrule rules over the entire land, which is cut into districts by city. These smaller areas are called the Courts of Hyrule and each have a lord to preside over them, such Lord Tree Deku of the Kokiri. I've already sent out word to them of the war, of course, but I need to speak to them all in person. None of them are as dense as the men in this room.
"What about the draft?" another man questioned.
"What about it? If any males that are ages fifteen to fifty-five wish to voluntarily sign up for the armed forces, they may. The draft will apply to men ages seventeen to fifty. No questions asked."
I've had enough of all of this. I want to end it now.
"So this does not include women?" one of the two women councilors inquired.
In every other circumstance, I am all for women's rights. As far as I'm concerned, this isn't even women's rights. It's war. Women can hold high office positions, and even run the country if they are the oldest child in the Royal Family. But in Hyrule, it has always been a custom that men fight on the battlefield. Women often produce the war supplies and help in the hospital tents, but the goddesses decreed that men would fight for Hyrule. It is written in our sacred scrolls, and I'm not up to fighting the goddesses' words as well as the mysterious Gerudo man and his goddessdamned huge army.
"No. It has always been the will of the goddesses that men fought in their name while women defended the homestead. I have no right to change that," I sighed, ignoring her dirty look. Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn right now. I want to go to bed.
"Anything else?" I demanded. Not a word was spoken. "Great. Meeting adjourned. Until tomorrow, men," I said, standing up and stalking out of the heated councilor's room. I'll get yelled at by an advisor for my 'atrocious behavior', but I don't really care.
I guided my dimidium to bed, then withdrew the majority of my consciousness back into my other body. Letting out a breath, I opened my eyes and sat up, stretching my sore limbs.
"How are things looking?" Impa asked quietly. I blinked, just now noticing that it was dark out. The stars in the indigo sky twinkled down from above, like diamonds shimmering from their spots in the sky.
I sighed. "Everything is a mess. We finally came up with a strategy, but then everyone had to whine about the draft and women's rights and whether or not we should make a mass treaty with the Courts. And as soon as the Gerudo were brought up, a man had to go on about how we can't trust that race, and I'm sick of it. I just want it to end, Impa," I concluded in a slightly strained voice, sounding like I was close to tears.
"Matthew, look at me." My watering eyes met her strong crimson ones. "You are twenty-three years old, forced into a major leadership position at a young age by unfortunate circumstances. You are now facing a full scale war, and on top of that have to deal with destiny and being split into two beings. Given the situation, you're doing fantastic. Most people would have broken down and fallen to insanity under the pressure," she told me, placing a light hand on my shoulder.
"It still sucks ass. Pardon my language," I muttered.
Impa startled me by letting out a loud, ringing laugh. "I like you, Matthew. You will do this country much good," she promised me, still chuckling. I grinned at her and shifted my position to a more comfortable one and drawing my warm Sheikah cloak closer to my body. The night air was chilly, and we couldn't risk lighting a fire.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Impa turned to look at me. "Hm? Of course. What's on your mind?"
I swallowed. This question has been bothering me for a while. "Well, as you know, my dimidium will be going to war. W-what happens if my dimidium is killed?" I asked, my voice dropping to a whisper.
Impa sighed and closed her eyes. "If you are wounded, the half you are more concentrated on at the moment will feel more of the pain, though only the being that is wounded will have physical evidence of the wound."
"Yes, but what happens if one of me dies!"
"If your dimidium is killed, you are instantly killed with twice the pain they felt. You will simply explode and cease to exist."
Biting my lip, I looked away. I figured I'd die. I just didn't want to hear it said aloud.
Impa let out a harsh laugh. "If you think you have it bad, imagine how things were for the Hero of the Four Sword."
"What's the Four Sword?" I asked, glad to be off the topic of my twice-as-probable-as-normal death.
"It's an old legend. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. The Four Sword was a sword created by an old warlock who lived at the time adultery was punishable by death. He was a vain and cocky warlock, who thought he was above the law. He was greedy and felt that one wife was not enough to satisfy him, so he married four beautiful girls. As life went on, his lies were getting harder and harder to cover up, so to make his life easier, he forged a sword, lacing a divido spell in with the metal. When drawn, the spell split the wielder into four separate beings."
"Oh Nayru! He had four minds to control?" I cried, hardly believing the complete idiocy of this guy.
"Oh, yes. Instead of a dimidium, he had tetradeum. Anyway, he was eventually found out by one of his wives who saw her 'husband' at the market when he was supposedly asleep at home. She followed him to his home and found him with another wife. The warlock was given a trial and convicted, then killed by his own sword. After being used for the execution of its creator, the Four Sword was sealed away. Much later on, a sorcerer named Vaati rose to power and began kidnappig young girls. A young boy took up the Four Sword and sealed Vaati away with it. Years later, Vaati broke the seal and kidnapped the princess of the time. Her childhood friend took up the Four Sword and defeated the wind mage, this time killing him with the sword. The sword was never returned to its pedestal after that. The four boys had spent so much time not being one person, they had become their own people. Replacing the sword would have killed them all. So they all lived out their own lives, and where to sword is to this day, no one knows."
"Wow. At least I can always know that someone had it worse than me! Do you think my dimidium and I will become separate people?" I asked. Dear Din I hope not.
"No. Rauru's simple enchantment is nowhere near as powerful as the warlock's spell on the sword. If anything it will wear off in time, but the side effects of that wouldn't be pleasant," Impa told me.
"Good. I don't want two of me. Though that does mean I could sneak out of the castle," I said with a poorly stifled yawn.
"You are tired, Matthew. Rest up, the goddesses know you need all of the sleep you can get," Impa told me sternly.
"But I-" my protests were cut short by a loud crash of snapping twigs and crunching leaves. Impa was immediately on her feet, and I wasn't far behind her. Something was running for our camp, and it was coming fast. Throwing my hood over my face, I drew my sword.
"Stay behind me, Matthew," Impa growled, two Sheikah knives poised for action in her hands.
I nodded and tightened my grip on my sword. What is it? What if I die right now? My existence will simply cease to be, and I'll die painfully, and to my understanding, slowly. Swallowing my fear and pushing those thoughts away, I readied myself for a fight.
Jumping back, I raised my sword as a black shape came crashing into the clearing.
(3rd peron P.O.V.)
Teagan Umbra shuffled her way down the gray sidewalk, her head down and her eyes red. They still hadn't found him. Not even a trace. Din knows how long they'd been searching for her brother, and they had not the slightest clue as to where he could possibly be. Why? Why did it have to be her baby brother? Why not take that disgustingly boogery kid from down the street?
She had come home from college in Termina last month to visit her family on summer break. The first week or so had been great. She woke up at noon and made cinnamon rolls for breakfast for her and Sheik almost every day. Since their parents were gone, they did whatever they want. Beach volleyball, "who could stuff the most marshmallows into their mouth at once" contests, root beer floats at Telma's, video games, popcorn fights, and anything else they could dream up. It was great. She hadn't even realized how much she missed having Sheik's fun personality around until then. But the dream had come to an abrupt halt right there.
One morning, or rather, afternoon, she had woken up, and Sheik wasn't there. There was no sign of her blonde brother anywhere. There was only a note, waiting for her on the island, hastily scrawled in Sheik's sloppy handwriting.
I don't know where to start. I guess with Mom and Dad. You guys always said Aunt Impa was crazy, and you never liked Tea and I training at her house in the summers, but all those things she said were true. You knew they were, and so did I. I left because it was time. You know where I've gone. Thanks for being the best parents a kid could ask for, and if things go right, I'll see you soon.
Teagan... I'm going to miss you. A hell of a lot more than I thought I would. You're the best sister ever. I really mean that. I'm sorry I'm taking your necklace, but I wanted something to remind me of you. I'll get it back to you, I promise.
I love you all.
Sheik
She had the letter memorized by now. She could recite it backwards and in pig-Latin in her sleep. The letter was crinkled and wet with tear stains in her pocket right now, stuffed in there after her latest visit with the Captain of the Guards.
Reaching up to grab her necklace, her hand came in contact with air for the umpteenth time since Sheik's disappearance. It had always been a source of comfort to her. She vaguely remembered Aunt Impa giving it to her. She remembered being intrigued with the purple medallion, and Aunt Impa's words: Never lose this, Teagan. This is special, and this is who you are. Keep it safe.
Sheik had it now, wherever he was. He never even said, he only implied that his parents knew. They hadturned a ghostly shade of white, but they didn't tell her anything. Teagan hated not knowing things. That's why she spent hours reading and studying and why the wrapped gifts under the tree on Giving Day drove her crazy.
Sheik, where are you?
She jogged up the front porch steps, taking a few breaths as she did so. She hated being the bearer of bad news for her family. It hurt her to see them like this.
Opening the front door, Teagan instantly knew something was wrong. When she touched the handle, it was ice cold and was pulsating bad feelings. Then, when the door was open, the smell hit her like a giant bowling ball.
Death.
Tentatively, she took a step into the silent house. Her footsteps echoed in the room. Shaking, she entered the kitchen.
"M-mom? Dad?" she called.
No answer.
Venturing slowly towards the laundry room, where her mother had been folding clothes, she called again, this time a little louder. "Mom? Dad? Where are you guys?"
She could hear a dripping sound now, like her mom had left the tap on. "M-mommy? D-daddy?" she stuttered, her voice a whisper now. Every footstep sounded like thunder. She was almost to the laundry room now, the dripping was growing louder.
Teagan entered the laundry room and let out a shriek loud enough to petrify a Redead. Hanging by their toes from the ceiling were her parent's corpses, mutilated beyond recognition and dripping crimson. She screamed and staggered back, away from them as fast as she could. Bile rose fast in her throat, and she threw up her meager lunch of half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
She couldn't un-see their faces, their dead, skeletal faces stripped of skin, left to muscle and blood...
"Sage..."
Teagan froze, her heart pounding and knees shaking way faster than what was considered healthy. She strained to hear, hoping and praying she imagined the whisper...
"Saaage..."
A whimper escaped her mouth, a sound she immediately regretted as a hideous, bulbous creature oozed out from under the bathroom door crack. It was flesh colored, stained pink from devouring her parents. Hideous veins pulsed beneath its jelly-like skin, and rows upon rows of shark teeth were bared into a feral snarl. A single yellow eye stared down at her ominously.
"Saage of shaadows," the blob hissed again. "Master needs saaage of shaaadows!"
This was all the traumatized teenager could take. With a shrill shriek, Teagan leapt backwards, away from the advancing blob, and ran straight into the dining room table. The blob slid towards her still, dead bent on... Killing her? Eating her? Both? Teagan didn't care to find out. Groping for the nearest possible object, her hands found an orange in the bowl at the center of the table. She hurled the fruit at the creature with all her might, and if the orange had hit a human, it would have caused some considerable bruising.
However, the orange didn't make so much as a dent on the creatures skin. With a sick squelching noise, the monster sucked the orange into its skin and continued to advance on Teagan. Fighting tears, Teagan threw the remaining fruit and the bowl at the creature with the same results.
"Sage..."
Screaming, Teagan stumbled backwards and made a mad sprint for the door. She was so close, only a few more steps... Her sock-wearing feet slid across the smooth wood floor, sending her tumbling to the ground.
"Sage..."
Choking on sobs, Teagan struggled, slipped and slided, trying in vain to scramble to her feet. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be! The blob was on her now, enveloping her foot in its gelatinous body. Screaming, Teagan lashed out and kicked at the monster. This didn't deter it at all, and it continued to make its way up her leg. Searching wildly for something, anything, she pulled the chopstick holding her hair up from her head and threw it like a needle towards the eye.
The projectile hit its mark, and the creature retracted from her leg with a loud roar that shook the house and sent her mother's precious china crashing to the ground. Gasping for air, Teagan jumped to her feet and ran out the door, her heart working on overdrive. Turning around, Teagan saw the thing was chasing her, its single eye twisted with rage.
"SAGE!" it roared, gaining on her with surprising speed for a creature with no legs. Whimpering, Teagan drew into her last reserves of strength and sprinted faster than she ever had in her life.
She needed to get away. She couldn't end up like her parents. She didn't want to die! She needed to find Sheik!
With a sudden burst of energy, a power she had never felt before hummed through her. Her speed increased immensely, causing the pursuing blob to speed up to match her pace. They were neck and neck now, the blob extending itself towards her to pull her to it. Shrieking, she felt the power increase, and suddenly she felt her legs lifting off the ground, carrying her above the blob. She screamed, flailing wildly in the air. The ground whizzed past beneath her, changing from pavement to sand to woods... Screaming bloody murder, Teagan grabbed for passing branches, trying to stop herself but only managed to tear skin off her hands.
I need to stop! I need to STOP! She screamed to herself, to whatever was making her fly like this. Like magic, she stopped flying instantly, and instead began falling. She screamed until her throat was raw, until she was falling through the forest crashing through trees and getting scratched up by branches. I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead!
Rolling through the brush on the forest floor, she finally came to a stop in some soft grass. I can die here, she thought. At least I'm away from that monster. I'm sorry Sheik...
She opened her eyes and saw blades pointing at her throat, a sword and two Sheikah knives. What was intended as a scream, came out a pitiful moan, accompanied by a sob. The weapons withdrew, and Teagan heard a very familiar voice.
"Teagan?"
"A-aunt Impa?" she rasped, her voice barely a scratch.
Her aunt knelt beside her, and next to her was a hooded man. "Oh, Tea, what happened?"
All Teagan could do was sob. She couldn't go home. She couldn't find Sheik. Her parents were dead. She just flew across half of Faron Woods. She was crazy, she was dreaming, she was dead...
The last thing she thought of before falling into unconsciousness was Sheik's smiling face, his blonde hair shining in the sun as he grinned at her through the volleyball net on the beach...
Not my best, but got out what I wanted. Kind of dark. I freaked myself out writing this! But I loved writing the Four Swords part. Anyway, if you have questions, please ask! But I'm not giving away anything that happened to Zelda. You'll find that out next :)
PLEASE REVIEW! I live for reviews! Pleeease! I'm going to beg like a child that wants cotton candy at an amusement park!
Anyway... Thanks guys!
~Leila
