This chapter took a long time, sorry. Future chapters will be better, I promise. But I finally finished it!
I realize is kinda long, but I'm finally getting back into it. Maybe all it took was almost two hours of writing and organizing ideas.
Also, I know I said 20 seashells back then, but that would've been an extra 20 chapters ^_^; So I shortened it first to 10, and then to 7, but you won't find out why until later ;)
What do you guys think of my writing style? Any comments?
I'll shut up now. Enjoy! _
The familiar sound of sizzling bacon awakens me; as usual, Red is cooking breakfast. Sitting up, I look around and realize I am the last one up, beating Shadow this time. Where is Shadow anyway?
"Morning, Thalia," Green greets, nodding in my general direction as he helps stir a pot of something. Vio also looks up from his book and gives me a smile as we make eye contact.
"Ugh, she's up," Blue moans from beside Red, struggling to sit up. The youngest Link drops what he's doing to help him, propping him against a long log to support his back. He leaves his hand a little longer on Blue's shoulder than normal as he talks softly. "There. You're okay." This is followed by a small blush on the injured Link's part. What's up with them? I guess I'll have to ask around later.
"Where's Shadow?" I find myself asking.
"I made him go find a fairy for Blue."
"I was actually WILLING…" Red whines.
Vio bookmarks the page and sets his novel down. "Except that you're the only one who can cook around here. No offense to the rest of you."
"None taken."
The air is filled with the sound of chattering birds in the surrounding trees. Nobody speaks, enjoying the cool morning air.
Somebody tramps through the bushes nearby. I stand up on alert, but Vio puts me in my place. "That's just Shadow." Right as the words leave his mouth, there is a shout.
"Hey guys! Found one!"
"Oh, thank goodness," Green says as Shadow comes into our area. In his right hand he holds a glass bottle with a tiny pink creature inside. It bangs on the edges of the glass, screaming for mercy. If I listen closely, I can hear a "Hey, listen! Let me out, you fool!"
Shadow makes his way over to Blue, receiving an almost kind look. He proceeds to uncap the bottle, making sure that it flies close to Blue so as not to accidentally heal any of us. The fairy emerges and begins swirling around the hero, healing him with her tiny little hands. When finished, she stops next to his head and barks out the results in a squeaky voice. "He's a still a little hurt, but I just sped up the recovery for you guys! You're welcome!" She flies away with a snobby attitude, but none of us really care.
"How do you feel now?"
"Ugh… okay, I guess?" Blue replies, attempting to push himself up from the log. He manages to stand, but is slightly wobbly. "I think I can walk."
"You better take it easy," Green says with a cheerful face, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll make sure you get plenty of rest on the journey."
"Alright." Blue sits down, joined by Red. The rest of us begin to pack up our things, except for the breakfast we still need to eat. I'm already ready to leave, so I remain seated, thinking about the quest Vaati sent us on.
I end up voicing a question aloud. "What's the plan now? We still haven't decided, have we? Or did you guys come up with something while I was still sleeping?"
"No, we didn't." Vio says. "Should we…"
While he is speaking, a small blue ball appears in a space of air slightly above us, making itself known with a jarring explosive effect. The result is a small piece of paper that floats down to us. I catch it before it falls in Red's cooking pot. "What's this?"
Everyone stops what they're doing to look at what I am holding: a rainbow-colored note, with cursive handwriting on the front. There is nothing on the back. "What does it say?" Red asks.
"Look near your location, there you will find
A thing that is hidden, in the home of somebody kind
her heart filled with wisdom, and the invisible feathers on her back
resemble the shell you currently lack."
"It's a clue to the first seashell!" Green shouts, pumping his fist in the air.
"Look near your location, there you will find…in the home of somebody kind…" Vio strokes his chin as he's pondering the verse. "Well, we were just coming back from Aryll's house when we met the Fusiascarra and Vaati. It's only logical that the shell should be there."
"And it says 'her'! That's Aryll!" exclaims Red.
"What about the rest?" Shadow wonders out loud, standing close to me. I try to think about it too, but none of us come up with anything.
"I think if it's okay if we can't think of anything right now, guys. What's important is that we go look for it." I try to get the team going, lift their spirits up. "Agreed," they echo, one after the other. "Alright, let's get some breakfast then." Red quickly passes out bowls and fills our stomachs with bacon and clam chowder. By then we are prepared to leave so we put our dishes in our packs and get on our way, heading back towards Aryll's house.
An hour later we reach the clearing at the edge of the forest, and the house looks as dilapidated as ever. It almost fooled us the first time, but this time it won't. Eagerly I step forward, with Shadow and Vio on either side. The rest follow behind as we approach the porch.
Vio steps within the two-foot mark of the front steps, but instead of transforming into the cottage it stays like it is. "Huh?" he mutters in surprise, putting his foot down closer to the building. Nothing happens.
"What did you do?!" Shadow sputters. I turn back and look at his scarlet face.
"I didn't do anything!" Vio spits back, just as mad. This takes everyone aback, even Blue. Vio isn't like this. He always seems cool and calm, even aloof at times. If he has any feelings, he probably hides them.
"Well it's not working, is it!?"
"Shut up, you little-"
"Guys," I step between their glares, putting my hands on their shoulders as a reminder to control themselves.
"What's going on? It's not changing!" Red exclaims, ignoring the argument and looking up curiously at the house. I think I hear Blue murmur something along the lines of "You don't say…"
"There's only one way to find out." Green steps forward. "Let's check it out." He walks to the front door alone and goes to open it, but it swings open before he can with an ominous creak. He throws a glance over his shoulder. "Are you guys coming with me or what?"
I hear everyone swallow hard and feel a lump in my own throat. The idea of going into a creaky, possibly abandoned house makes me shudder. But if Green can do it, so can I. "Come on, you four." Blue is the next, stepping up next to me and dragging a reluctant Red along. Shadow and Vio take the back, staring each other down with sharpened blades in their eyes and tightly crossed arms.
"Let's get going." Green and I walk inside together, but our eyes are not prepared for what we see.
The entire place is in shambles; the living room set directly in front of us has been torn apart like Ganon's entire army had a party in it. The bookcase that took up the entire wall has been split into splinters of wood strewn about the floor, with the books' pages ripped out. The couches are flipped over on their sides with half of the stuffing spilled out and the large window has shattered, leading to a trampled garden of dandelions and roses. Cracks decorate the remaining walls as if some Moblin took Blue's hammer to them. The only untouched article is the portrait of the little girl, hanging nonchalantly on the wall.
"Aryll?" Red cries out, overwhelmingly startled by the sight of the wrecked place. He pushes out from behind Blue and rushes ahead, frantically searching behind and underneath the overturned furniture for any sign of her.
"She won't be there, Red." Green speaks solemnly as he glances over the rest of the house. "The entire place is like this, and I don't know where she's gone."
"I hope she got out okay," I say.
"I think anyone would have the sense to evacuate in this sort of situation," Vio says.
"Unless they took her by surprise." Shadow says with a dark and morbid tone in his voice. At this, Red bursts into tears. I honestly don't understand how he is that sensitive sometimes.
"Well, whether she got out or not, we have a seashell to look for!" Blue exclaims, taking it all in stride. "What do we do?" I feel Vio step up directly next to me, a little bit too close; our shoulders overlap and he's leaning into me.
"Look near your location, there you will find, a thing that is hidden, in the home of somebody kind; her heart filled with wisdom, and the invisible feathers on her back, resemble the shell you currently lack," he recites. "Well, we're in her house. We should begin looking for clues."
"I agree. Let's split up," Green says, as the leader of the group. "There's the living room, the hallway with the door, the outside, and the kitchen. Teams of two."
"I'll take Blue!" Red cheers excitedly. Blue rolls his eyes, but it doesn't seem genuine.
"I'll take Thalia." Vio nudges me, sending an entire jolt through my body since he's standing so close. Shadow and I make eye contact, and he still seems a little angry. Why would he be? Vio and I are just friends, he knows that. But the tension between them lately….
Green's voice interrupts my thoughts. "Then I'll be with Shadow. We'll take the living room. Vio and Thalia, you take the yard, and Red and Blue, you guys take the kitchen and the hallway. Go."
Vio takes my hand and immediately ushers me outside, not giving me or Shadow a chance to respond, and shuts the front door behind us. "Where should we start?"
I stop. "Vio, what's going on?" He lets go of my hand and keeps walking. "Turn around and talk to me."
"Yes?" He quits walking, but doesn't turn around.
"You and Shadow…you were fighting for no reason just a few minutes ago. What was that all about?"
"Nothing. You know Shadow. He can get overly aggressive."
"But-"
"Let's get going." He turns and smiles at me, in a dazzling, charming kind of way. I didn't know Vio could smile like that…it's stunning, and suddenly I find myself blushing.
"S-so what are we looking for exactly?" I stutter a little bit, but then recover immediately.
"The shell, I guess. Look for something glowing and sparkly, like Vaati said."
"But what if it isn't hidden in plain sight?" I admire the bushes as I peek into them. Aryll really did take good care of the property, with flowers blossoming absolutely everywhere. And the air smells like ocean saltwater. "What if there's a monster or something?"
"Then we'll fight it." He gives me a smirk as we turn the corner to the backyard. I give a little gasp.
Giant yellow blocks are scattered throughout the entire yard. Running up to one, I feel it. Six feet tall, six feet wide and as smooth as any surface. It's a huge block puzzle.
"Hey guys, we found something!" Vio calls, summoning the others. They appear just a few seconds later and come out running, only to be stopped short by the strange sight.
"It's a puzzle," Green says, bringing himself and the others out of it after a few seconds of gaping awe. "It isn't anything new. We've done this in dungeons before."
Red looks around the property, scanning for any sort of picture. "But what's the pattern? If only we could get some sort of view from above…"
"I could climb a tree," Shadow offers, gesturing to the edge of the forest. "Or just use my powers to teleport myself and Thalia up there." He comes up to me and squeezes my hand. I can feel the tenseness in his grip. Vio shifts uncomfortably.
"Hurry up and do it then!" Blue stomps his foot down. "We don't have all day!"
"Fine," Shadow retorts, sticking his tongue out at the angry Link. "Let's go, darling." I blush deeply as he leads me over to the forest. He hasn't ever called me that before, or any pet names. In fact, he's been extremely affectionate lately. Not that I mind or anything.
We stop at the base of a tall pine tree. "Okay, so pick out a branch." I look up and spot something I won't fall out of, something high enough. "Okay."
"Now close your eyes and think of it, and when I snap my fingers, we'll be there." I nod. "If you start to fall, I'll catch you, okay?"
"Okay." I follow his instruction. "Three, two, one." The snap of the fingers sounds, and I feel myself instantaneously lifted up and sitting on a branch. When I open my eyes, I am high in the sky, with Shadow next to me. "You good?"
"Yes." Cautiously I peek between the pine needles and look down at the tiny figures next to the house. Sure enough, there are the giant blocks. But there's something else.
"What do you see?"
"There are the blocks all over, and then this grayish pattern that seems to be burned onto the grass. Three triangles, with one on top and two on the bottom." Where have I seen that before? "It looks like that blanket I got from the headmaster, the green one."
"That's the Triforce. I think we're supposed to move the square blocks onto the triangles. Is that all? Are you ready to get down?"
"Yeah." He instructs me to close my eyes again and picture the ground, and in the same procedure I'm on the ground once more. We walk back over to the other Links.
"What'd you find?" Vio asks eagerly. I see Shadow make a sour face at him.
"We're supposed to move the blocks to the Triforce shape in the grass." Vio steps back and looks down, prompting the rest of us to look down as well. We're standing on one of the burnt places.
"How many blocks are there?"
Red dashes around, counting every one, and comes back panting. "There's only 3."
"What?" Green exclaims. The rest of us examine the yard. There seems so much more; is it only an illusion? It seems like Red ran around to at least ten of them. "How?"
"When I went around to touch them, there was only 3 to touch. And they were in triangle shapes."
"How odd…a perception filter…" Vio comments, using jargon nobody else understands. "Well, we better get to work then. Two to a block." This time, Shadow is sure to claim me, putting his arm around my waist and staring Vio down. The intelligent Link just nonchalantly joins Green, as if it doesn't merit his notice at all. Shadow turns me the opposite direction and we begin walking towards the nearest blocks in dark silence. I would say something, but I'm afraid of having him explode. Though his anger is usually in check, from time to time he lets it fly off the handle.
We approach the big block, and like Red said, it suddenly seems to phase into a triangular shape. I glance around, and all I see are the three blocks. He was right. What kind of enchantment is on this place? Is this Aryll's work? Who put this puzzle here?
"Ready to push?"
"Yeah." The block doesn't seem that heavy once I step up and put my hands on it. I give it all my strength, but it doesn't budge.
"What the **** is going on?" Shadow mumbles under his breath. He doesn't usually curse around me; he told me he stopped when I came to camp. Vio must really be bothering him. I step back.
"Try again, Shadow." He's stronger than me, but he's not able to do it. "Maybe we should use magic." I close my eyes and place my hands palm-up, focusing on a dark purple power, envisioning it flowing through my veins. When I open my eyes, my hands have been tinted that shade and little sparks fly out every few seconds. Shadow does the same, and we begin to push again. Nothing happens.
I stop and look around at the other Links. They seem to be having the same trouble; even Blue, who is physically the strongest out of all of us. He makes up for it in loud cursing.
"What's going on?" Green calls. "Ours won't move."
"Neither will ours!" Red replies.
"Maybe we should all try one at once," suggests Vio, beckoning the rest of us over to his and Green's. It's hard to fit all of us on the same side, but we manage it and give it our hardest. It still doesn't move.
"I don't understand…" I say, my arms aching from the pressure. I'm sweating underneath the hot sun.
Vio thinks for a moment. "Well…we all came in together… but did any of you trigger anything that might've caused this?" Nobody responds. "No one pressed any suspicious buttons, pulled any levers?"
"Look at the note again!" Red pips. Green pulls it out of his pocket. "Is there something special about it?"
"Not particularly." The emerald-clothed Link turns it around in his hand as we all watch.
"Wait…are notes usually rainbow colored?" Shadow inquires.
"Notes can be any color, idiot!" Blue takes out his hammer and nearly hits Shadow on the head, but he dodges the blow just in time.
Vio strokes his chin, gently taking the note from Green's hand to inspect it for himself. "But they're usually not this color."
"Well, we all have respective colors, don't we?" Using the nearest person as a model, which happens to be Blue, Red takes a small fisthold of his tunic and tugs a portion of it up. "Blue is blue, I'm red, Vio's purple, Green's green…"
"And I'm black," Shadow finishes. "It fits, I suppose, my name being Shadow and all. But what about Thalia?"
All eyes turn to me. I feel a little bit uncomfortable, not used to the attention. "Yes, Thalia…what's your color?" Vio asks.
"Well…" I look away and down, embarrassed by their gazes. "My favorite color is black. But that's Shadow's….my second favorite color is rainbow…"
"But our tunics weren't picked for our favorite colors. They're colors that describe us in some way or form, something that represents us. I don't think that concept has anything to do with you," Green adds. "You wear a lot of different colored clothes anyway."
"Well, nobody would wear rainbow clothing except her!" Red gives him a look. "…And maybe Red."
"Blue's right," says Vio, eyeing me carefully. After a pause, he speaks again. "I think Thalia should try moving the block by herself."
"Me?" I finally look up, making eye contact with all of them. "Why me?"
He shrugs. "It sort of makes sense. Besides, it won't hurt to try, will it?"
"You're right." I turn towards the block and refresh my hands with more magic. Then I push my shoulder into it. The block moves. I give another shove, this time heading for the Triforce mark. It moves again.
"Looks like you're it, Thalia," Shadow says.
"What do WE do then!? Just sit around?!" demands Blue, placing his hands on his hips.
"I guess so."
"What about Aryll, guys?" Red asks, glancing around. "We should search for her while we're waiting."
Green nods. "Good idea, Red. You going to be okay by yourself, Thalia?"
"Yeah." Looking around the side of the block, I can see that I'm almost to the first triangle.
"Alright. Let's go, guys." Green and the rest turn and walk back around the house, Shadow and Vio with some reluctance.
The puzzle is simple enough, and with little effort I push the last block into place. Sudden light floods the sky, bursting from the center of the Triforce pattern. A small tune plays out of nowhere, and then a small object falls from the sky in the middle of the triangles. The light fades and the blocks disappear, leaving me to pick the thing up.
Bending down and taking it, I turn the seashell over and over in my hands. Two curving ovals sit next to each other, barely adjoined at the very top. I could easily tear it apart. The shape reminds me of something. But why isn't it glowing like Vaati said? "…Her heart filled with wisdom, and the invisible feathers on her back…resemble the shell you currently lack…." I murmur to myself, trying to figure out the last couple of lines. "Oh! I get it! The invisible feathers on her back! These are angel wings!"
Suddenly the shell glows and a small, soft harmony plays, like a singing ghost. The shell changes from stark white to a bronze, shiny golden color. This is definitely what Vaati wants. "Links!" I yell.
"Yes?" One of them yells back.
"I got it! Come here!" Immediately all of them burst out of the house at once, Blue jumping through the shattered window and the rest coming through the back door.
"Is that the shell, Thalia?" Red asks, coming directly up to me and eyeing the thing in my hand.
"It certainly is…where did all the blocks go?" Vio looks around curiously. "Even the Triforce mark is gone."
"As soon as I finished the puzzle, there was a lot of light, this fell from the sky, and then everything disappeared. I went to pick this up, but it wasn't glowing then."
"How did you make it glow?" Shadow gently takes it out of my hands and toys with it a little bit.
"I was wondering about that myself, when I said what kind of shell it was out loud, Angel Wings, and it came to life." The seashell pulses as I repeat its name, as if it has a consciousness of its own.
"But don't we get to fight monsters or anything? Vaati made it sound super difficult," the sapphire Link protests.
"Perhaps he was lying." Vio says, looking at me for some reason. Then his eyes turn to Blue. "He might've been exaggerating to intimidate us."
"That does sound like something he would do," Shadow adds.
"Whatever the reason, we have to find the next shell. Great job, Thalia," Green compliments me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I wonder-"
He is interrupted by a small dinging sound and the appearance of another blue object in the sky.
