Episode 35

I had almost given up on remembering who I was. My mind lay in a pool devoid of thought. Now and then an image would move across my mind and I'd briefly remember it. The sunset over the royal gardens behind a black Gerudo, who watched me with mirth dancing in her eyes. Then the bush forest behind the middle school with the sun blazing so bright the ground burned white. I saw curtains of rain. I saw Link's stormy grey-blue eyes, wild like a feral wolf, and lingered. But my mind couldn't focus and soon wandered to Link standing in the rain above a graveyard being washed away, his face tilted up towards the clouds.

Oh, Hyrule…

Time must have passed and the drug couldn't last forever. It didn't like going without a fight, however, and the moment the images formed into sounds and thoughts and I once again became reacquainted with reality, my head burst with pain. My body trembled as though with a high fever and I could hear the iron chains cackling on the floor. A fever would have been better, though, for now my mind was free to return to my agony.

It was my fault Shadow was dead. It would be my fault now if Hyrule died. And I had never told Link I loved him, for I had refused to acknowledge that I did. Selfish. Cowardly. Pathetic. The words echoed about my head and I cried out in physical, mental, and emotional pain. I could feel the warm tears on my face turning cold in the chilly darkness. I cried out in the darkness for, what? I didn't know. It seemed as though the world were dying and taking me with it out of revenge. Soon my muscles felt as though they were tearing at each other from the violent tremors, yet they were still too weak to move me anywhere else than the cold floor. I couldn't even move to take off the blindfold. The weakness scared me most of all and I wept all the more.

"There were bells, on the hills…"

I choked on a sob, startled by the sound. Someone was…singing? I had been sure I was alone—starkly and nakedly alone.

"But I never heard them ringing. No I never heard them at all…till there was you."

I recognized my mother's song and instantly calmed, hiccupping and fragile. The voice was a beautiful, low tenor. A male voice. It was smooth as an instrument, rich as wind, and perfectly in tune. I had never heard such a voice, except perhaps in a recording, but even a recording couldn't do justice to a live voice. I felt warm, peaceful calm as they continued the song. It was by far not my mother's voice, nor her style, but it was still filled with that same, irrevocable love. My head pounded, but my trembling cooled now that I was relaxing. I fell to a gentle shiver and my pains began to cease a bit.

"And there was music, and there were wonderful roses," continued the voice, rising wonderfully. I clung to it.

What was this beautiful music? Though listening to it I felt that perhaps I was worth loving. If such a beautiful voice could sing for me, I had to be worth something. My mother's voice had been that of angels. She had almost allowed herself to be recruited to become a professional performer, but decided to be a mother instead. The opportunity never returned due to her age. But if something so beautiful could be given to me, perhaps I wasn't as worthless as I felt.

I mouthed along to the rest of the words, my thoughts slowly returning. My blindfold was warm and wet with tears.

"…but I never heard it singing. No, I never heard it at all, till there was you."

The silence still rung with the last note. It suddenly occurred to me that someone had to be in this room with me. But who? Who could be here that knew my mother's—

"Link?" the word came out as a rasp of air and I coughed instead. It hurt to do so. I tried again and his name came out as little more than a whisper.

"I…I thought that might help." I heard, almost too quiet for me to make out. I felt my heart jump within me. Link was here?

"Where are you?"

"I'm on the other side of the cell. I can't help you, though. I'm chained to a wall. I'm sorry I couldn't…you looked like you were in pain, and I couldn't reach, so I—I'm sorry if that was wrong of me."

"It's ok." I said. I was amazed he could hear me at all. Even my lungs seemed to be filled with lead. "Where you been?"

"I've been here the whole time, just knocked out. I'm surprised you're able to talk to me, you haven't been sounding good. Can you move yet?"

"No. Ganon?"

There was a hesitation. A trickle of fear returned through my jubilation.

"He's found Zelda. Lucky for us, he had just left when we came. He's going to get the triforce of wisdom. We were the ones who sort of led her out of her hiding place." I imagined Link hanging his head in despair. "We were…it's all coming apart now. And now I can't…"

I could feel his pain, for his pain was my own. I longed to reach for him, to hold him and kiss his face.

"Link?"

He didn't respond. I couldn't even hear his breathing. I grew a bit panicked. Was he unwell?

"Link?"

"Kara, can you focus? Can you do what you did in the windmill?" he was suddenly urgent, sorrow forgotten.

"Windmill? What did I do?"

"You were getting your wings back. They were like ghosts when the Gerudo knocked you out. Then they just vanished. But could you imagine yourself free? Or get the sword? This is important, we have to get out."

I could feel another sob building in my throat as I struggled to even move. "Link, I-I-I can't even move. How would a sword or wings help me now?"

"Then imagine yourself strong. Please, Kara."

I paused, my mind gathering something akin to normal speed. It made my head thump all the more, and I couldn't help but wince.

"Wait," I said, "where's Amanda?"

"I don't know. All I do know is that the Gerudo are awfully keen on keeping the two of you apart. Now concentrate. Quick."

Ha, quick. What a funny word. Even Link's talking seemed to be too fast for me to process. It took me a full minute before I could even do what he asked and concentrated. Strength. I tried to remember what it was like to move and leap and run and imagined that I could feel that light sensation. Slowly, ever so slowly, I slid my hand down and beneath me.

"That's it." said Link.

I could feel my arms strengthening. My mind kept its slow, drugged pace, but I could feel my aching muscles straining to work. I lifted myself up shakily and pulled my knees underneath me. I had to believe in myself. I had to imagine for myself as Shadow said, for that was the only story that Miyamoto could not affect. I reached for the blind fold and fumbled to take it off. The knot was impossible, and my fingers were too stiff and numb from lying on a cold stone floor.

There came a loud bang besides me. Startled beyond belief, I yelped, just to cry out again in pain as a claw like hand dug through my messy hair and yanked me back.

"I told you it was every three hours not four!" hissed a woman's voice.

"Get your hands off her!" cried Link with a flurry of chinking chains.

The metal fingers clamped about my throat and forced my jaws open. My head screamed and I gagged for breath. Before I could even register what they were doing, a liquid was poured down my throat. They were going to drown me! I flailed about pathetically, terror sending my blood on fire. Through the loud thumping of my ears I could hear Link threatening and snarling at the Gerudo. But by the time they had finished their force drowning of me I barely had the strength to hack out what had fallen into my lungs as the drug begun to take effect. A soothing coolness banished the pain in my head and I was falling. Cold stone against me filled my mind. Cool stone. Smooth floor. A distant clinking of chains.

The Gerudo were speaking, yet I couldn't comprehend their words. They were moving too fast—or I was moving too slow. But then the cold floor left me and I was rising to where I didn't know. I couldn't see. Had I ever had eyes? Or was there such a thing as seeing?

As I felt my body bob (my mind always catching up after it happened), I realized my chains were gone. Link. I had to get to Link now. But oddly enough, I couldn't move. For all I knew, these sounds, these feelings, were all that existed. But Link…I had to get to Link. I had to get to Link. An image of him passed through my mind, sitting high above me in a tree playing his ocarina. Yes, that man. I had brought this, I had to help. Help? What?

Bobbing. It was sort of nice just to hang here, all limp. My arm was swinging. Back, and forth, back and forth. Like a lullaby it slid around its socket of its own accord, back and forth.

There came a crashing sound, echoing across my mind and I began to fall. Falling, falling. Panic prickled my numbness, but then I landed on something hard. Stone. Cool stone. I was back, all was well, to the cool stone. Perhaps now I could sleep and drift and dream of Link.

Something was taken off my face. The blindfold. So I did have eyes?

"Kara."

I could feel my limbs jerk as I let my head fall towards my name. Something warm moved along my lips and suddenly a horrible, raw bitter explosion occurred in my mouth. It burned and I tried to cry out for someone to take it away, and too my surprise I found I had the strength to do so. Fire moved along my limbs and I flailed, trying to spit it out, but a hand was clamped over my mouth.

"Swallow, damn it!"

I recognized that voice. With shivers of revulsion I swallowed and the hand released me to gag and fight for air. And, at long last, I opened my eyes.

His face was an exact mirror of Link's gone black and white. Dark eyes travelled along my face as long strands of damp, black hair clung to his cheeks. The pale lips smiled.

"Hello, honey."

The burning, tingling fire was just reaching my mind, clearing my thought. Next to him knelt Link. I had never before seen their faces next to each other up close. The similarities were remarkable. Stunning, even, though they were like night and day at the same time. Unlike Shadow, Link was full of color, with golden hair, blue eyes, and a face kissed by days in the sun.

"Shadow? You're…you're…"

"What? Did you think a bunch of bitches could kill me?" he smirked.

Then, without thinking, I smacked him across the face—hard. Link flinched, though tried not to appear too alarmed. He just seemed happy I was awake. Inwardly, I was satisfied that I had finally made it to him too, though I didn't know how long I had been drugged, it had felt like an eternity. I had to hold myself back from glomping him then and there.

"You worried me sick, you jerk!" I said.

To my surprise, he laughed, rubbing his cheek.

"Aw, you missed me. How sweet."

Glancing over his shoulder, Link said, "We're going to have to keep this reunion short. They're still looking for us."

"Who?" I asked.

"Who do you think?"

"Oh…"

"It's okay," said Shadow, "they were feeding you on stupid juice. You'll be dumb for a while."

I smacked him again, this time on the arm, but couldn't help but smile. A great hole had mended itself inside me, though I hadn't forgotten the pain of failure or the experience of having lost him. I wasn't going to let it happen for real.

"What was that you gave me? It was horrible. I thought you were trying to kill me for a moment there."

"Nucker Root. Nabooru gave it to me before she sent me up here. Apparently she has spies among the Gerudo who've been working for Ganon." said Shadow.

As Link pulled me too my feet, I asked, quite surprised, "Nabooru?"

"Yeah. Apparently she wants to save the world. Who knew?"

I rolled my eyes and peeked behind the stone wall we were behind. Apparently they had taken refuge in a very short, deserted corridor off to the side of the lighted, larger hall. All I saw were stone arches, some gruesome, gargoyle statues, and a deep red carpet running along the hall. Your basic gothic castle set up. How quaint. Link pulled me back behind the wall.

"The guards were taking us to Ganon," he said, "then Shadow ambushed them and threw me my sword in its sheath so he didn't have to touch it. We were able to throw them off, grab you, and hide here till we could revive you. I'm guessing they've taken Amanda to him as well as Zelda, so our best bet may be to just go to him."

Shadow sidled to the other side of me. "This is going to be awesome. We'll go in all bad ass, you'll imagine yourself as, I don't know, a dragon or something, flamethrower him, and we'll skewer him for dinner."

"Woa, woa, hold on there a second," a nasty jolt had occurred in every inch of me at the very mention of meeting Ganon, "A dragon? Shadow, all I've been able to do so far is give myself wings and a sword, and that was on accident. Almost everything I've done so far has been on accident."

"Well, let's hope you have some more accidents, shall we?" and he was very serious. I scowled.

"How are you even alive anyways? Last thing I heard, you were…" I trailed off, unsure if I wanted to describe the sound that had scarred me for life. Shadow gestured to Link.

"He dropped his pouch in the struggle. While I was laying there, bleeding and dying and all that, I reached in and happened to take out a fairy in a bottle. The fairy came out, instantly recognized I needed help, and healed me. Then it just—poof!—turned into all this colorful stuff that I put back into the bottle."

There was a huff besides me and I saw Link giving Shadow what I could only call a 'what-the' look. I could understand. There was only one fairy in Link's bag that I knew of, and it was Navi. Link hadn't even had the chance to talk to his friend again before she used up her life-force to save Shadow. Though I was grateful that Shadow was alive (strangely enough, for the guy was a jerk also), I felt conflicted in the sacrifice taken. How long would Link have to wait now for Navi to be reborn? And would she even remember him? While I thought about this, Shadow handed over said pouch to Link, not bothering to thank him. Link said nothing as he received his pouch, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Kay, so where's Ganon?" I asked.

"Shh! Guard."

We all ducked behind the nearest statue. Eventually I head the gentle tapings of feet walk past us.

"I love that we're just so eager to run off to Ganondorf." I added sarcastically.

"Oh, very." said Shadow. Link waved us quiet. I suddenly realized how close I was to him and commanded myself not to think about it. This wasn't the time to make up for anything, especially with Shadow here.

When the hall fell quiet and Link was satisfied with its emptiness, he gestured us forward, hitching on his shield that had been leaning against the wall. Though I followed, Shadow stayed behind, watching us with amusement. We turned back to him annoyed.

"Aren't you coming?" asked Link.

"Where are you going? Because I'm pretty sure you don't know where king Red Beard is."

Link made a noise of annoyance. "And are you saying you know?"

Smiling, he leaned back and acted as though to pick his fingernails, an extremely aggravating action considering the dangerous situation we were in.

"I was just going to say," he said, "did you know we're in a castle in the sky? Above the storm? Clever, really, if you think about it. What's the safest place from a Hyrule flooding then in the sky? No wonder no one could figure out where he was."

We stared. Then, because we were standing like naked ducks on the edge of the hall, we scuttled back. Neither of us bothered to ask how this could be. We were pass that stage. He seemed pleased with our reactions, though, and continued.

"So, since miss Kara here has gotten her brains back and has a knack with wings, I was thinking it would be much easier just to fly to the top of the castle, because Ganon," he sighed as though fondly exasperated at the silly habits of a five year old, "you know how he loves to be at topmost room in the tallest tower. Poor damsel."

I exchanged glances with Link.

"Your missing one fact, Shadow." said Link.

"And that would be?"

"Only I can 'grow' wings." I said. "How am I going to carry both of you let alone myself?"

At this, Shadow switched from jovial to mad faster than lightning. The change was so quick I found myself drawing back, astonished.

"What the hell, Kara, what do you not get about unlimited creation? Why don't you just imagine that you can lift us? But wait! You're still on stupid juice—excuse me."

We were so use to Shadow's insults—I in particular was also use to these bipolar switches of Link's and his—that Link and I just blinked at him, half amazed by the prospect of what he had mentioned and how easy he made it sound. Shadow quickly grew impatient with our gawking and kicked off from the statue, glaring at us.

"Well? Get a move on with it!" he turned his attention to the corridor, searching up and down it with his black eyes. "Now, where's a window?"