AN: I am going to say something…
WTF has happened to all my reviewers and readers? Is it just because it's summer, or did I do something horribly wrong to the story?
Anywho, the next chapter! (About the title…I'm Sorry! I just couldn't resist! XD)
NOTE AS OF JULY 31/2008 (PLEASE READ!): AS MANY OF YOU ARE AWARE, THERE HAS BEEN A DEATH IN THE FAMILY ON JULY 17. THE FIRST PART OF THIS CHAPTER (UP TO WHEN THEY GOT ON THEIR HORSES AND STARTED HEADING TOWARDS THE TEMPLE OF TIME) WAS WRITTEN BEFORE ANY OF THIS CRAP HAD HAPPENED. THE REST OF THE CHAPTER IS A BIT DARK AND ANGSTY, BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU GET. Sorry.
Chapter 36
A Brief 'Break' from Being A Heroine
The sun beat down on my back as if it were a giant drum, and the distinct sound of cicadas would forever be burned into my memory.
My eyes wandered back to the fishing line, and I sighed in frustration. The fish weren't biting today.
Come to think of it, were the fish ever biting whenever I threw my line into the water?
Nope.
And now, I'm sitting here in the little pond by the Zora River, the one that leads into the Zora's Shrine. I'm roasting my skin off, I'm miserable, and I don't want to fish anymore. But no, what did the Hero of Time do? He rented a canoe for me so that it would "help my fishing skills improve."
I swear. He did that on purpose just to watch me suffer.
My ears perked up at a splash in the water, and I could only roll my eyes in annoyance. How many fish had Sane Link caught so far? Six? Eight? I've lost count.
Sane Link, nevertheless, beamed when he pulled in another Hylian Bass into the small canoe from across the lake. The Hero of Time had rented us each our own boat, so we could fish and not be distracted from each other. I heard the Hero of Time chuckle from underneath the beautiful arch made up of natural rock in the middle of the pond, "Nice catch there, Link!"
Sane Link grinned and glanced at the Hero of Time from his boat, "Thanks, Link!"
I rolled my eyes again, clearly not amused at the boys' antics.
I watched as Sane Link carefully removed the hook from the fish's mouth before putting the flopping fish back into the water. The Hylian Bass swam away quickly as soon as it was in contact with the water, hopefully to tell all of his fishy friends to bite my hook instead.
I rested the fishing pole up against my chest, and laid down in the canoe, stretching my legs to their full length. Because the small boat wasn't able to contain both of my legs at once while I was laying down, I had to put one over the side of the boat. This simple action caused the small wooden canoe to lean to one side. All would have been well, if it wasn't for an unusually high wave to hit the opposite side of the boat. I yelped as my body came into contact with the lukewarm water. My feet touched the sandy and muddy bottom of the pond, and I used it to my advantage. With a desperate push with my feet, I breached the surface of the water and gasped for air. In the distance, I could hear both of the boys crack up in laughter and Henna, the fishing pond's owner, chuckled a little bit as well.
I only turned around in the water and glared at the capsized canoe as I treaded water in the pond. Stupid cheap piece of junk.
…And to think this was supposed to be a vacation.
--
"I can't believe you actually fell into the water!"
"Link," I snapped, "Drop it." I was getting extremely irritated, as the Hero of Time wouldn't leave me alone about my 'accident' in the pond just hours previous.
The Hero of Time did as he was told, but that smirk was still stuck on his face. He would forget the whole thing in a couple of hours. I hope.
The Hero of Time approached his horse and mounted. Sane Link did the same and I got on behind him, sitting awkwardly in the saddle. We were headed towards our destination: The Ruins of the Temple of Time so that we could call upon the power of the Sage of Light to receive the final medallion.
--
Time Lapse. Unknown.
--
I wish I could say that everything went well and we arrived at the Temple of Time's ruins, we got the Light medallion, and we defeated Ganondorf once and for all.
Unfortunately, things did not tip in our favour in the scale of life.
Somewhere between the fishing hole and the Temple of Time, Ganondorf and his minions ambushed us in the darkness of the night. They were hiding behind trees, in bushes, and behind massive cliffs and completely surprised us. The two moblins in front pierced the hearts of the two steeds, and while the horses were falling, four more moblins grabbed a hold of both Links. My memory is a little foggy, but I remember running for my survival away into the unknown forests beyond, over the small cliff bordering the Faron portion of Hyrule Field. I was trailed and tracked in the unknown forest for days, until finally the evil minons gave up the chase and went back the way they came. They had probably assumed that I had perished in my flight.
As far as I know, the two heroes are probably being 'questioned' about where I am or where I could be. If they aren't already dead.
The Master Sword rumbled in response, trying to soothe my frazzled and stressed nerves. It didn't work, at least not this time.
I sighed, the truth finally starting to sink in. I'm royally screwed and I'll end up dead just like Princess Zelda and the two Links. I might as well give up, and then maybe Ganondorf will give me a quick death, though I doubt he would.
My chest felt hollow and empty, and I felt like I would just melt from all the sorrow and despair. Why me? I know I'm a 'Heroine', but what am I supposed to do without the Hero of Time guiding me? How will I keep myself sane without the two making fun of each other and annoying the heck out of me?
I won't. Game over.
--
Unknown Place and Time.
--
"You piece of shit! Tell me right now where she is or your life will be forfeit!" The furious voice of an evil man thundered though out the castle.
An equally angry, but weaker voice growled out, "Even if I did know where she was, I would not tell the likes of you," A pause and then the man said with a scowl on his bloody face, "Besides, you would kill me regardless,"
"Silence, Hero of Time, I do not need your lip!"
A scream echoed throughout the dark castle…
--
Unknown Forest. Dusk.
--
It was useless. I won't be able to hunt for myself, because the Hero of Time had my bow when we left for the Temple. It's not like I can just throw the Master Sword and expect an animal to stay still for it, could I? No, I need food. And I must find a way to get it.
--
The Dark Castle. Dungeons, Cell 82
--
A hoarse voice broke the silence of the dirty, damp, and horrible smelling jail cell. It was the voice of a man, talking to his shadow imp companion.
"Mid…na. Please fi..nd Te..rra and tell her to st…st…ay away."
The twilight imp frowned in worry as the man struggled to speak, but waited nevertheless.
"Why, Link?"
"It's a…a…trap."
With that, the man drifted into unconsciousness. The shadow of the twilight imp could be seen floating through the window bars of the cell and into the rising darkness of night. She had to find Terra, she just had to. For the Twilight Realm…no, for Hyrule.
--
Unknown Forest. Night.
--
I had still not had any luck finding an animal that has a death wish, but I did find a little stream through the thick underbrush. I had read in a book somewhere on Earth, that you could survive for weeks without any food but your dead if you don't have anything to drink in a few days.
I had not encountered any enemies either, did they not want to go into this forest either? What was so bad about it?
With that thought in mind, I poured the medallions out of their pouch and fingered each one until I came across Shadow. Impa never did tell me what the medallion did, did she? Neither did Ruto because she didn't have the chance to inform me what the Water Medallion was able to do before the scar almost killed me.
I already knew, from the other sages, what the other ones did. The Forest Medallion was able to call upon the spirits of the forest to make foliage instantly grow on command, the Fire Medallion had the power to reincarnate an ancient fire-breathing dragon from long ago, and the Spirit Medallion enabled me to call upon the spirits of the dead to fight by my side. I did not know what the last three did, Shadow, Water, and Light. I didn't even possess the Light Medallion yet, so I should not worry about that one at the moment.
I traced my fingers around the water medallion and it softly glowed. I recoiled. Whoa, that's weird. I heard voices, I'm positive I did. I repeated the action, and the Water Medallion glowed a soft hue of blue again. I heard a feminine voice call out, 'Terra, is that you? I heard what had happened and I'm so sorry!'
Ruto.
I responded through my thoughts, 'It's not your fault. What does the Water Medallion do? What is its special power?'
A pause, and then she answered, 'The Water Medallion grants its user the ability to spawn water wherever. Even in the desert or in a volcano.'
Well, crap. I could have used that power ages ago instead of searching for water, I could have made my own if I would have known that.
'Ruto,' I asked, 'Do you know what the Shadow Medallion does?'
A longer pause. I thought she had hung up until, 'I am not sure. Impa did not explain it very well, but she had said that it reverts someone to their inner self. Whatever that means.'
Okay, that made no sense. Next question.
'Sorry, just another question,' I continued before Ruto could say anything, 'Do you know what the Light Medallion does? I don't have it yet, but I will get it soon…'
A pause, again, 'Terra, the Light Medallion is the mother of all medallions. It has the ability to channel the other medallions' power in order to conquer evil'
Okay so, I obviously need that one before I try to kill Ganondorf. Well, crap it.
AN: A plot twist. Whee. I know I said that I wouldn't update until September, but I needed something to do. I already beat a couple of games, so this was the next best thing. There's a couple of references in this chapter, see if you spot them. (Chapter title. XD)
I invite you to review.