Chapter 28: Midnight
~~~The eyes of the sky, the moon, shone luminescent through the window, silhouetting Link's body. Dressed in his battle gear and tunic, he was prepared to embark on a covert mission to save Darmani.
"I know it's against your wishes, Village Chief, but I cannot stand aside..."
Link left his room.
Once outside, Link made haste to the stable and found his boar. As he prepared to mount it, he heard footsteps behind him. Link quickly turned. The person behind him was his maid. She looked worried. "Where are you going, Link?" she asked.
Link was surprised that it was her, expecting a guard of some sort. "I can't tell you, and don't tell anyone about this," he said, climbing to the top of his boar.
"I heard your conversation with the Village Chief. You're planning to save your friend, aren't you?"
"What are you, a stalker?!" yelled Link, growing frustrated.
She quickly looked away from Link, trying to hold back tears.
"I shouldn't have said that." "I-I didn't mean to say that..." Link said, "It's just that, I've been under a lot of stress lately..."
She brought her hands up to her, holding them together. "Ever since I thought you were gone, I have had nightmares over the years about you leaving, or meeting some other horrible fate. I was constantly haunted by the memory of you, even though I hadn't seen you for sixteen years." A sudden stream of tears fell from her eyes. "You may be the Chosen Hero, but you don't have to do this alone. You have friends to depend on, don't do this alone," she said, with a shaky voice.
Link felt his body quivering as he felt a dark cloud of sorrow come over him. He tried to control his body, but he was unable to suppress it. "What is this I'm feeling?! I-I feel like crying... I've never felt like this!"
In all of Link's broken memory, he had never felt the rush of emotion that he had now been feeling. He felt the sorrow of a person who had lost a great piece of his soul he can never recover. This girl had not seen him in sixteen years, and yet, her faith and trust in him was as strong as if they had been with each other for a lifetime. Maybe he lamented because he had now way of showing just how grateful he is to have someone like her as a friend. Link suddenly felt a tear well up in his eye. He blinked to hold it back.
"I never asked for your name. What was it?" Link asked her calmly.
She looked up, surprised that he'd ask something like that. "My name is Medi," she answered.
Link smiled lightly. "Thank you for being here for me... I don't know how I can make it up to you."
"Just come back to the village safe and with your friend," she said, smiling.
Link nodded, and prompted his boar to ride, and faded into the night.
The silver shine of the moon revealed the landscape for Link as he glided down the mountainside. He was gripping tightly to the reigns of the boar, riding as fast as he could to Darmani's rescue.
'You have friends to depend on, don't do this alone.'
Link sighed. "I want to depend on everyone, but, living alone all of these years, I have grown used to being alone, not having many friends. This is something I must do on my own."
Four Bulblin grunts led Darmani through the base camp. He knew that the time had come for him to once again endure tremendous pain as he was being interrogated.
'I see, if the pain of death does not break you, then we must give you a gift that far surpasses death and pain.'
Darmani noticed that the Bulblins were not leading him to the thicket, as they had done yesterday, but were leading him up the mountain on a path.
'I'd suggest you not think to hard on why we did this and just take it at face value.'
After a few minutes, they made a turn on the path, going toward a cliff.
"I feel as if, some kind of terrible fate is coming..." Darmani thought.
As they came near the cliff edge, the three men came into view, standing side-by-side. Looking out, the majestic figure of Hyrule Castle stood in the distance, being lit by the moon. The Bulblins stopped in front of the trio with Darmani. Darmani noticed that the markings on their face shone a bright blue color. The two Bulblins behind him hit the back of his legs with their clubs, bringing Darmani to his knees.
"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" said the brown haired one.
"Yes, the moon is full and bright. A fine night to refine our magic, I think," said the orange haired man.
Darmani was deeply disturbed at how casual they spoke in the midst of what was taking place.
"So Darmani, will you tell us what we want to know?" asked the blonde haired one.
Darmani knew the terror that he might have to be put through by saying no, but defending his friends was an honor that he would not give up. He smiled. "No."
As Link rode on, he began to see what appeared to be the orange glow of fire in the distance, in a group of trees of the mountain base.
"Is that it?"
Link snapped the reigns of the boar, causing the boar to ride faster than before.
"Hold on Darmani..."
Link approached the line of the trees slowly with his boar. As soon as they came upon the wood line, Link dismounted the boar, and moved forward into the trees. He began to see a camp, with many tents, fighting equipment, and boars. The presence of Bulblins made it clear that this is where Darmani was taken. Now he needed to find out where Darmani was being held. He climbed a tree and sat on the branch of it, observing the area. There was a tent to the far side of the camp that was significantly longer than the rest, and had two Bulblins sitting outside of the entrance to the tent. If he had to bet on where Darmani was, his money would be on that tent.
Link jumped to the ground and moved quietly around the wood line, moving around in the woods to avoid moving into the camp and being exposed. He eventually came upon the tent, but he knew he still had to get inside. Since the tents were made of a cloth material, he planned to cut an opening in it. It would be a gamble, but the chances are, no one would be inside. Link slowly approached the tent and unsheathed his father's sword. He made two, quick and silent slashes to the tent wall, and the cloth fell to the ground, making a triangular opening. Link peeked inside, and immediately saw a Bulblin sitting on a stool with its back turned to him. Link sneaked behind it and slashed its throat, releasing its black foul blood from its veins. Free of the Bulblin, Link scanned the tent. There were three men who had their hands tied to their backs, but no sign of Darmani.
"Mister, have you come to save us?" whispered the man nearest Link.
"If only they knew I didn't..."
"Yes, I will save you all," he said. Link cut the ropes from their hands.
"Thank you. We are grateful to you," they said.
"No thanks needed. I have one thing I must ask though. Was there a Goron being held here?"
"Yes, sir. They took him away just a few minutes ago."
"Do you know where?"
The man that told him shook his head.
"I see... Go through the woods and follow the direction of the moon. You will come upon Kakariko Village. Hurry," Link whispered to them.
They all ran out of the tent and into the darkness. As Link began to walk out, he heard the shriek of a Bulblin. Link quickly turned to see a Bulblin standing at the entrance to the tent, yelling something in a strange tongue. Link's presence was compromised.
