Put my deposit down!! Might have been more excited if I wasn't stupid and had realized I needed the 400 up front in cash, so the deposit ended up being the 60 I had in my wallet at the time. At least the guy I'm buying from was cool enough to accept it /
Anyway.
BUCKLE UP KIDDOS THE RIDE HAS BEGUN
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Zelda shaded her eyes, squinting as much as she could without closing her eyes completely. "Is that it, out there? That black cloud?"
"Well, that's usually the form storms take, isn't it?" Link replied, leaning over the rail. He peered into the crystal clear waters below, dodging Zelda's elbow. "It really is as clear as everyone says, huh," he commented.
"Were you expecting anything less, Captain?" Valoo inquired, breaking off his discussion with Tetra. Zelda watched Link stutter out a "no, Your Majesty" and snorted, turning her attention back to the distant horizon. Far out to sea, the bright sunlight that shone over the docks on which she stood disappeared into an enormous black cloud. A massive tower, rendered to the size of a toothpick by distance, was just barely visible, obscured by the swirling thunderhead.
Zelda leaned an elbow on the metal rail and propped her chin on her fist, staring out over the cerulean waters. Twelve days had passed since the coronation, the last three of which were spent on the road. And in that time, near-constant lightning strikes had begun over the Tower of the Gods.
One of them struck while Zelda watched. They'd grown more violent over the course of the morning, and though both Valoo and Impa had assured her there were no current Hylian Army training operations underway at the Tower, she was sure something had to be aggravating the storms. Perhaps a few hundred extra weathervanes left lying around?
Zelda rolled her eyes at herself, turning from the rail. No matter how she tried to puzzle it out, each answer seemed more ridiculous than the last. She headed for the sidewalk, where Valoo had re-engaged in conversation with Tetra. Ilayen fell into step behind her. Now that the king of Waker was back in his homeland, a week and a half after the end of the Summit, he was much more relaxed, Zelda thought. And he'd been awfully relaxed in the palace to begin with.
Now, as they walked along the quiet ocean-side path, he was animated as he spoke, and his booming laugh made other people walking look up as they passed. They smiled, but Zelda caught the underlying hints of tension in the shadows in their faces, the way their eyes darted from their king to the dark thunderhead far out to sea.
They're afraid, Zelda thought, quickly turning back to the walkway in front of her. But what could she do against nature? Even if she could do something, it wasn't as if she could just take a boat out to the Tower to investigate. The distance made it look as though the waters were calm, but she knew any boat she took out there would be smashed to splinters before she got anywhere near the Tower.
She'd have to come up with a solution from the ground. While Valoo stopped, pointing at something in the ocean, Zelda leaned as far back against the rail as she could and stared up at the mountain.
Dragon Roost Island was an ancient landmass, and it had only grown since the time of the Hero of Winds. It was now both one of the largest settlements in the Waker Sea, and one of the biggest tourist attractions in the empire. The walkway Zelda and her party now traveled wound all the way up the mountain, right up to the crater. Supposedly, in the Era of Winds, the great dragon Valoo had roosted in that crater--and had been the cause for the Hero of Winds to pay the island a visit.
Zelda breathed in slowly through her nose. It was hard, with all the scents surrounding them, but she could still smell the smoke from Fire Mountain, and knew that if she turned, she'd see a hulking, black mass of ruins where the bustling town had once been.
Zelda closed her eyes. The memorial was scheduled for that night. Small boats would take them out to the wreck, where a gathering of family and friends of the island's inhabitants would be waiting.
Someone came up on her right; she turned her head to find Link on the railing again, staring down in the water. "Will the ceremony be very long?"
He wasn't looking at her; his blue eyes were fixed on the horizon, far beyond the storm clouds, and they had lost their playful quality from earlier. Zelda searched his expression, but he wouldn't look at her. "As long as the storms allow."
His face didn't change, but Zelda thought she saw his eyes flicker--or maybe that was just the light playing tricks as he lowered his head, staring down into the ocean again. His shoulders were hunched, making his uniform bunch up at the neck. He wouldn't look at her.
Something was off about him. He'd been different since the coronation: more serious, more diligent. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but she got the impression he was avoiding talking to her. Zelda felt a stab of nerves in her gut. Was it because of . . . ?
Her eyes flicked to his back. His uniform covered them, but she could still see in her mind the long scars down the middle, the dozens of others, large and small, dotting his skin. She shivered despite the heat.
Link glanced at her, but didn't speak. And the longer they stood there in silence, vaguely aware of Valoo and the others getting further away, the more confused Zelda got.
She didn't know if she should say something, if he even wanted her to speak. Why wasn't he speaking? Was he angry with her? Did he think she was angry with him? Why would he think that? Why was it such a big deal?
Everything concerning him is a big deal, a voice said in her head. She had to admit it was right. Everything about Link took up her entire headspace, disallowing room for anything else. It had always been that way, even when they'd first started traveling together, on the way to Twilight, and it had only gotten worse. He could make an offhand comment, or even just smile, and she'd turn it over in her head for hours, unable to leave it be. She couldn't turn her thoughts away from him.
He was dangerous like that. And now that he was in her head, again, she started remembering more.
All the times he'd come in close, and she'd irrationally wonder if he'd kiss her. When they'd stood in her room in Twilight and he'd brushed her shoulder with his knuckles, their voices hardly more than whispers.
There's no more reason for us to travel together.
Do you really believe that?
I don't know.
Then there was her promising she would try to find his warrior, and he'd kissed her cheek, leaving her unable to sleep that night. Zelda fought down the heat rising in her face as she remembered how her heart had pounded, shifting on the rail. Link was still watching her.
Even the small things--like holding hands while they crossed the Fields, because they both needed that comfort, even his offhand comments and the late night conversations they'd had while on the road, with just them and their fire and the night sky above. The way he was there, whenever she turned, wherever she went.
A hand tapped her shoulder. Zelda jerked up straight, meeting Link's gaze in time to catch his raised brow. "What?" she blurted.
Link's lips quirked up at the corner, and he faced back to the sea. "I asked if you were going to stand there all day. Valoo has left us behind."
Zelda didn't answer; she was too busy staring at his mouth. How did he do that? How did he make her lose her voice with just a smirk? She scrambled to come up with a response as he glanced at her again, this time a bit concerned. "Zelda?"
She cleared her throat, tearing her gaze away. The sea, she thought. There's nothing sensual about the sea. "I'm waiting for you," she said hoarsely.
When he didn't respond, morbid curiosity overtook her and she turned to find his blue eyes fixed on her, bright and intense. She swallowed, forcing herself to hold his gaze. "Are you all right?" he asked quietly.
The question took her off guard; she stared at him, unable to look away now. The wind blew by, stirring their hair, and Zelda was suddenly aware of how close they were standing. How hadn't she noticed him come closer?
He was still waiting for an answer. Zelda swallowed, her heart stuttering as his eyes flicked down, tracking the way her throat bobbed.
"I'm fine," she almost whispered.
She couldn't have been less fine. She felt dizzy, choked by his proximity, and her mind had turned to a muddle of incoherent thoughts. Worse, she was sure Link could tell: he didn't look convinced at all, by the way his brows raised. His head tilted to the side, his hand lifting to brush the hair out of her eyes. Zelda stood rooted to the spot, her gaze locked with his, unable to think beyond his skin on hers.
"Princess?"
Link's hand disappeared as he dropped to a knee. Zelda turned, still dazed, to find Valoo and Tetra staring at them, clearly waiting for a response. Valoo cleared his throat. "We can come back later," he said blandly.
Goddesses. Face flaming, Zelda took a few steps away. "No need," she answered, voice forcibly light, and she knew they all noticed. "Please, let's continue."
An awkward moment followed in which no one moved and Zelda struggled not to crawl into the nearest hole and die of embarrassment. Then Tetra, Hylia bless her, began walking again, even looping her arm through Zelda's and pulling her along. The boys followed a moment later.
For the first few minutes, the silence was almost enough to make Zelda tell Valoo to go away, as he'd offered. Conversation was slow incoming, but it gradually made its way back to the earlier discussion. Zelda made sure to keep several feet between her and Link, just to be safe, and made more of an effort to stay engaged--which ultimately resulted in her doing everything but interacting with him.
But despite her best efforts, he still invaded her thoughts. It seemed that the more she tried to pretend he wasn't there, the more her mind focused on every little thing he did. He was quiet as he followed behind, just visible in the corner of her vision. His head turned at every sound, his hand rested on the hilt of his sword, and he never spoke.
It was no different from his usual behavior, but to Zelda, everything he did was now loaded with suggestion. She struggled not to linger on the way he always maintained that small distance between them, or how his quiet voice was perfectly clear over the crashing of the waves, or the rushing of the wind, louder the higher they went.
When they reached the top, Zelda's thoughts were in such turmoil that the beautiful background was nearly lost on her. She let Tetra pull her to the edge of the crater wall and simply stared out through the large window, watching the setting sun color the sea. The bright, crystalline waters were nearly blinding; squinting, she could just see the outline of the Tower, still beleaguered by endless storms.
Tetra turned to her, brilliant in a sweeping blue gown, white and green peacock feathers sewn in among tiny crystals that glittered in the sunlight. As a native of Waker, her golden skin glowed, her blue eyes standing out like gems.
"You've been awfully quiet," she commented.
Zelda fiddled with the neck of her dress, returning her gaze to the ocean. "I suppose I have."
"You're not the only one. Even Valoo is less enthusiastic than usual."
"The storms are affecting everyone, it seems."
"It's more than the storms."
Zelda looked at the Islander sharply. Tetra watched the storms rage around the Tower, her eyes hard as sapphires. The feathery pin she'd stuck behind her ear fluttered in the wind. "They're getting bigger," she said quietly. Then she met Zelda's gaze. "This isn't normal, Empress, and I know you see it too. Violent storms erupting out of nowhere--in the middle of the ocean, and hugging the coastline? Look."
She grabbed Zelda's hand and pulled her to another window, this one facing west. In the distance, a massive shape was barely visible behind a thick screen of rain. The skies above the island were dark, nearly black, flashing with lightning strikes now and then. As they watched, one flared across the sky, bright enough to hurt Zelda's eyes, even at that distance.
Tetra's hand tightened on Zelda's. "There's something going on. Ilayen told me about the monsters in . . . the castle," she murmured, pitching her voice low. "And he told me about the journals. But even that doesn't explain everything."
Zelda took a breath that shuddered only slightly. "If . . . he's discovered how to awaken monsters, as he claims, then he might know what's causing the storms."
Tetra stared at her, blue eyes meeting blue. "There's more to be found in the castle."
The crack of thunder reached them, rolling across the sky until it resembled the sound of armies marching across a field. Zelda felt the weight of Tetra's implication sink into her skin, like the rain that pounded down on the ground, leagues away. She turned her gaze to the storms; the dark clouds, pregnant with rain, that hovered perpetually over the Tower of the Gods, and the much closer tempest obscuring Windfall Island.
The implication was obvious. But could Zelda do it? Could she go back into that place, risk being caught by the most dangerous person in the empire, all for something that might not even be true? They could be wrong--and that was what scared Zelda the most.
What if the storms were just that--storms--and Ganondorf caught them in his rooms? What excuse could she come up with? She may be the empress, but even she couldn't just go snooping around people's private chambers--especially if they were the second-most powerful person in the empire.
She'd have to send him away. But what would be convincing enough? He no doubt had spies in place--she'd have to take care of those, as well. And it would have to be something that would keep him away long enough for them to find what they were looking for.
Not only that, it would have to be something important enough to warrant a visit from someone of his station. Would a state visit be enough? Though she didn't feel too comfortable with sending Ganondorf, of all people, to people like Yuga or Veran--
"Zelda?"
She jerked; sheepishly she met Tetra's amused blue eyes. "Sorry."
The Advisor raised her hands, grinning. "No, no. I'm just glad to see you can still, ahem . . . plot a course." She winked.
Zelda smirked, some of her initial apprehension fading a bit. She took a deep breath. "We should go down," she said, watching the sun begin to set. "The memorial will be starting soon."
She headed over to Valoo, where he conversed with Ilayen, and waited for a break in the conversation before slipping in a comment. She felt bad, as Valoo had lost some of the stress lines in his face while he'd been with them, but when she apologized, he merely shook his head and summoned one of his calming smiles. "Do not let it bother you, Your Grace. It wouldn't do to miss the memorial."
And just like that, the memory of Fire Mountain's eruption was back, hanging over their heads like a thundercloud.
But then, as they descended the stairs, Zelda supposed it never really went away, did it? The bitterness of realizing that stayed with her even as she made it to the last landing and entered the main hall, built right into the mountainside. She followed Tetra to their rooms, through the fur-lined halls and up a flight of stairs. As they entered their room and Mia descended upon Zelda, wrapping her in the coat she'd had Styla design those weeks ago. Bright red, stitched with a fiery dragon wrapping around a towering pillar of stone in brilliant gold, orange and yellow thread, it hung over a white dress with thick straps, a cluster of small garnet stones crossing the front. As Mia clasped the cloak, Zelda heard the rumble of thunder.
Tetra's glance was caught only by Zelda. She crossed the room, ignoring Mia's huff, and looked out the window. Storm clouds were gathering; the sky was nearly black with them, and lightning cracked in a bright flash.
Zelda took several steps back as thunder rumbled again, louder than before. Mia and Ferona looked up from where they tended to Tetra. Their worry was palpable. She cleared her throat.
"Let's get going. The sooner we leave, the more time we'll have before the storm hits."
She didn't mention the fact that Dragon Roost had yet to be affected by the storms that had plagued Waker for months now. The very fact that those clouds now blew towards the island, Waker's seat of power . . . after Fire Mountain, it wasn't a good sign. They made their way back through the halls and down to the docks in silence, the weight of what they were about to do permeating the cool breezes that swept through, stirring the loose strands of Zelda's hair with chilled, wispy fingers.
She shivered, stepping into the cool night. Link and Ilayen were already there, and they looked up as she and Tetra reached the dockside. They'd been given close-fitting jackets with Waker's emblem on the right breast, and long raincoats overtop. They'd thrown the hoods up against the wind.
Zelda took Link's offered hand and clambered into the ornately carved boat. Tetra followed, with the boys climbing in after, and they set off, two Waker servants rowing in the back. A torch crackled beside them. Far ahead, she could see another light, flickering in the rapidly darkening sky.
"That's Valoo's boat," Tetra murmured. "He set off ahead of us to prepare."
Zelda nodded absently, sending an apprehensive glance above. The sky was nearly black, the torch of Valoo's boat a mere pinprick of light ahead. The gentle breezes of earlier were now strong gusts of wind, blowing their hair this way and that and almost blowing their torch out. The storm was nearly upon them.
We need to hurry, Zelda thought, apprehension like a snake coiling in her gut. She couldn't explain it, but she had a feeling something was going to go very wrong.
In spite of her dread, the voyage to Fire Mountain was short and silent. Only the sounds of water lapping against the sides of the boat and the quiet splashes of fish broke the silence. After around ten minutes, though, a group of more lights flickered in the distance, growing larger with every row. Before long, as Zelda watched, they became large pit fires: metal grates settled on huge poles, lining the docks and the road up the large mountain. The remains of the once-sprawling settlement were everywhere, from charred gardens to blackened ruins of homes. As Zelda's eyes skittered over one of the many mini-islands off the main landmass, they snagged on what looked sickeningly like a bleached skeleton, laying in the sparse grass that had survived the eruption.
She turned her eyes away hurriedly, feeling bile rise in her throat. Don't look. Just don't look at them.
The boat bumped lightly against the dock. Link stepped out with Ilayen and pulled Zelda and Tetra out. As Ilayen pulled Tetra close, leaning in to hear her murmured thanks, Zelda silently took her hand out of Link's and moved a few steps away, ignoring the way her heart stuttered painfully as he shot her a hurt look.
Valoo was waiting. Not wanting to keep him any longer, and needing an excuse to move away from Link, she headed towards him. The others followed behind.
Valoo inclined his head solemnly and offered his arm. As she took it, Zelda saw the shadows in his eyes and swallowed. The pit fires crackled loudly as they ascended the road up the mountain, winding through the main settlement, branching off into side streets. At the top of the mountain, a large structure had been built, held up by steel supports so it didn't fall into the crater.
The reports had said the mountain had gone dormant again after the eruption, but Zelda still had reserves about the memorial being held so close to the crater. She wouldn't disrespect Valoo, though, so she had said nothing.
However, as they climbed the empty road, what the reports had left out was how heartbreaking the site really was. She found herself unable to keep her eyes focused; they constantly flitted to every broken wall, every husk of what used to be houses, every burned flag still waving wildly in the wind, blackened at the edges, the Waker emblem covered with soot.
Her eyes burned. She raised her chin determined to keep her composure, but from beside her, Valoo said, his eyes still fixed on the road ahead, "I still see them."
Zelda blinked, glancing at him. His face seemed to be carved with new lines, and his normally bright eyes were shadowed. He didn't elaborate, though, so she turned her gaze to the road and tried to imagine what this place might have looked like before the disaster.
She only managed to depress herself further, though thankfully they had reached the top, providing a welcome distraction. Only then did she notice the quiet murmur, and as she crested the top, the wind nearly throwing her off her feet, she found a group of people clustered on a large, wooden balcony, hanging rather precariously over the edge of the crater.
They were all Waker natives, that much was clear. They had all dressed in black, so they were nearly invisible against the sky, but the pit fires that had been erected around the crater illuminated the entire scene. Including the raised, trembling chins and unshed tears in their eyes. The wind howled louder than ever.
Valoo stepped forward, his face grave. "Let the Memorial begin."
/
Something wasn't right.
Valoo still spoke, carrying on with his speech at the front of the balcony. Link listened half-heartedly, his ears pricked for sounds of trouble. He couldn't explain it, but the sharp senses that had kept him alive in Twilight, that had helped him save Zelda so many times, told him something was off.
Though, if I'm being honest, he thought, glancing at the back of Zelda's head, the source of most of the trouble in my life is right here.
He resisted the urge to sigh. The princess . . . the queen. The Empress. His friend. Or she'd used to be.
He didn't know what she was to him anymore--or what he was to her, for that matter. He was her guard, she his charge. But it went deeper; that was just the surface.
She was his friend, his companion. She was someone he felt he could entrust the darkest parts of him to--and there were plenty of those. The night he'd snuck out to fight the bokoblins was just the tip of the iceberg. But what about him? What was he to her? What did she see when she looked at him?
They still hadn't spoken about the night in her room, or her scars. He'd almost asked her earlier, on the docks. It had been on the tip of his tongue, but then Tetra had arrived, and the moment had been ruined. She'd avoided him like the plague afterward, and this was certainly no place to ask.
So he shifted restlessly, catching the twitch of her head as she registered his movement. At least there's that, he thought rather bitterly. At the very least, she's watching.
The wind howled, nearly drowning Valoo's words. It was louder than ever; as Link strained to hear the speech, lightning struck the sea just beyond the island.
Screams rose above the wind as the flash blinded them; hardly a moment passed before a shockwave ripped through the air. Out of instinct, Link threw himself on Zelda, pushing her to the ground just as the wave passed overhead, whipping her hair out of its bonds.
As it faded, thunder roared, directly overhead. Then the rain came.
It started out light, but within seconds it was a torrential downpour, like the one that pounded down on Windfall, to the north. They were soaked in no time. Coupled with the ink-black sky and thunderclouds obscuring the moon and stars, it was impossible to see.
Even so, it became rather evident that Zelda wanted Link off of her, immediately. She shoved at him; as he fell off, shaking his cap off, she struggled to her feet, eyes wide as she took in the sight.
Even with the chaos surrounding them, the attendees of the memorial scattering like ants in an anthill, screams echoing over the rain and the lightning cracking around them, Link thought Zelda was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Rain streamed off her in rivulets, her hair soaked and plastered to her tan cheeks, her exquisite red coat a beacon of light in the darkness, as bright as her blue eyes. He swallowed hard. Well, I guess that answers the question of what she is to you, snickered a voice in his head.
He swallowed again and stood, realizing Zelda had asked him a question. She had to shout to be heard over the noise as she repeated herself, leaning in close. "Do you hear that?"
Hear what? The sounds of pandemonium? The voice in his head, screaming about the inappropriateness of his thoughts? Link opened his mouth to answer, but then, with the next flash of lightning, he heard it. A distant roar, nearly indistinguishable from the crash of thunder, but unmistakable once it was heard. Link felt his eyes widen, glancing at Zelda. She looked stricken; clambering across the balcony, she rushed to the edge of the mountain and stared out over the sea to the south, where most of the lighting seemed to be coming from.
Goddesses . . .
It was a veritable lightning storm; peals of light flashed down every moment, the thunder near constant. And in the middle of it, drawing steadily closer, was a typhoon the likes of which Link had never seen. He felt weak as he joined Zelda, grasping the rail with an iron grip. As they watched, thunder clapped, and the roar sounded again.
It was definitely the cyclone, but what was it? Link opened his mouth to ask, but the sudden lack of sound around them made him turn. He froze.
The balcony was abandoned; not a soul was left aside from him and Zelda--even Tetra and Ilayen were gone. Valoo must have whisked them off with everyone else, Link thought, panicking. They would have wanted to get off the island as soon as possible, which meant taking the boats . . .
Link felt a new dread settle in the pit of his stomach. The boats! Hurriedly he turned to grasp Zelda's arm. "Zelda! We need to leave--"
His words were drowned by a new rumble, deep and long, but this one was much closer. Coming . . . from right below them.
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giggles behind hands* I feel like a gremlin
I can't wAaIIT for you guys to see what happens!!
REVIEW REPLIES
To Generala: ughh thank you, haha. I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
To Ultimate blazer: we can only find out—and this is her first test! Haha, you're welcome.
To Oracle of Hylia: thank you, thank you :) and yeah, that shit sucks fr
Also, fun fact about last chapter: the Temple of Time in this story is a mix between the OoT one and the TP one in its design. The path behind the castle, into the hills, dirt path and pine trees and all that, as well as the interior design up to the stairs is all from Ocarina of Time. From the stairs onward is a throwback to the Twilight Princess temple, when you go into the Sacred Grove ruins and see the crumbled case? Then in the past, it's all white marble up the stairs and under the arch (Doors to the Past).
There are so many Easter eggs and throwbacks in this fic it's ridiculous, but I have no restraint ;)
I hope you enjoy, and review, please and thank you! Later~