CHAPTER 17: TO THRIVE
Almost three weeks had passed since the attack on Hyrule castle.
Volagio soldiers were swarming all around Hyrule, making it difficult for the remaining Hyrulian army to move around. If they had came out of their camp hidden near Kakariko village, they would surely be caught.
Many parts of Hyrule were already building rebellion groups full of soldiers. The Gorons on Death mountain had already gathered up their army and built a massive rebellion camp. The Zoras from Lake Hylia had also built up a massive rebellion camp for their troops. Of course, their camps weren't in obvious places. They were in locations that were secluded, or hard to find.
The Hylians formed ties with the Gorons and the Zoras, hoping to build up their army. Soon, people who knew of their alliances began to call them the rebels. Of course, some people thought the rebels were just rumors. They didn't believe that there was even soldiers left alive to fight for them. However, they were not just rumors.
Some Gorons and Zoras actually had come over to join the Hylian soldiers in their camp because of their low numbers. It helped significantly, since in case they were attacked, they would have more backup.
Link had still not departed to Faron Woods just yet. The rebels were trying to be careful. They believed that if he left too soon with all the soldiers swarming around, he would surely be caught and executed. So, they decided to wait a few weeks before sending him with a small group to the Faron Woods. It would be risky, but not as risky if they immediately left when Volagio had first overrun Hyrule.
Barnes and Ralio came to check up on Link quite a bit, often bringing him water and food. Impa frequently checked up on him, since she was his doctor and she needed to provide him with painkilling potions.
However, the potions still did little effect on Link's condition. He began to get worse and worse everyday, with the black veins rapidly spreading around his body. If left untreated, they would eventually cover his entire body and he would be dead.
This possibility worried Link greatly. Although he knew that there was a way to remove the poison from his body, he was still fearful. Impa constantly tried to reassure him, but it didn't make him feel any better. Nobody did. All except for one person.
Zelda would visit Link every once in a while, since she was busy dealing with matters involving her kingdom. She was busy meeting with the other rebels and discussing next moves. However, she still made time to see him. Their encounters were always rather awkward. Their conversations were often very dull and forced. They avoided talking about anything serious, like Link's condition, or even their own son. They both still had no idea where Jack was, but they decided to avoid the subject. They avoided all subjects that related to their past, marriage, or son. Zelda, without the source of alcohol around, was a bit depressed. She wasn't going through withdrawal, but her mood was incredibly down. She was not dealing with the disappearance of her son very well.
Link, currently, was lying in his bed. He hadn't even been able to leave his bed without a wheelchair. He was too weak to be able to walk. Every time he attempted to get up on his own, he felt that he was going to pass out.
Link took a long sip of his water and placed the glass back onto the ground beneath him. Drinking a lot of water especially helped with the dryness of his throat. However, it didn't help as much as he hoped it would.
Suddenly, the flap to Link's tent flipped up. Impa walked through the entrance and stepped inside, holding a small blue bottle of potion in her hand.
"Good morning, Link," she said softly. She walked over next to Link's bed and held out the blue bottle of potion.
"You know the drill," she stated with a smirk. Link weakly smiled and took the bottle from her, popping the lid open and downing it in a few seconds.
"You know, that stuff doesn't taste the greatest," Link quipped, making a face like he had just tasted something sour.
Impa tilted her head back and laughed loudly.
"Sorry, I didn't make that stuff. If I could make it taste better, I would."
Link shrugged and handed her the empty bottle. Impa looked down at him with a small smile on her face.
"What?" Link mumbled, noticing Impa's happy stare.
Her smile only grew even wider.
"Today's a big day," Impa started. "You know why?"
Link raised an eyebrow at her, wondering where she was going with this.
"Well," she continued. "We are finally going to Faron woods today."
A massive smile immediately formed on Link's face. His face visibly brightened, making him seem a lot less sick than he actually was.
"Really?" he croaked out happily. "W-when?"
Impa's heart warmed at how relieved Link looked. It was a nice change, compared to how sickly he looked.
"Tonight," she replied happily. "We decided that we will be more hidden from the Volagio soldiers if we leave when the sun sets. It will take us around twelve hours to get to Faron woods by horseback. That should be enough time for us to make it there by when the sun starts to rise."
Link furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at the words us and we.
"Wait, are you coming also?" Link asked curiously.
Impa nodded in reply.
"Of course I am!" she stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm your doctor, aren't I?"
Link considered this. She was his main doctor who took care of him. It would be smart to bring her along. Additionally, she would probably be a good help in case they ran into trouble on the way, considering that she was literally an assassin before becoming a doctor.
"Yeah, you're right," Link replied. "Thank you for all your help."
"Aw, it's no problem," Impa said, waving him off. "It's my job."
Impa smiled down at him sweetly. Link returned the smile, his eyes swirling with compassion. He really liked spending time with Impa. She was growing to become a good friend of his.
"Alright, I'll come back here when it's time to leave," Impa said, turning around a beginning to head towards the exit. "Holler if you need me."
Impa flipped the tent flap up and exited the tent. Link felt a strong sense of relief build inside of him, making him feel a bit stronger. He was finally going to be healed.
"I know you've heard of the rumors. Both of you."
Jack, King Aiden, and Darrien sat together in the throne room of the castle. Obviously, Aiden was sitting on the actual throne, considering that he now ruled over Hyrule. Darrien and Jack both sat in separate chairs near the throne. They were fancy chairs, indeed, but nowhere near the level of the throne chair that Aiden sat in.
Aiden usually would call in Darrien and Jack to discuss matters, since they were both held the highest amount of power in the caste besides himself. However, Jack typically didn't enjoy being called in like he was a servant. It made him angry.
"I've heard of them, your highness," Darrien replied politely. Darrien treated Aiden with respect, since he was the new ruler of Hyrule and he had an immense amount of power over him. Unlike Darrien, Jack never treated Aiden like royalty. He called him by his first name, and never addressed him by his formal titles.
"Have you, Jack?" Aiden asked, turning to face him.
Jack just scoffed.
"Who hasn't," he snapped. "I've known about it for a week. You are the one who hasn't decided to do a single thing about it."
"We cannot just hastily decide things based off rumors," Aiden replied angrily. "It's idiotic. They might have not even been true."
Jack gritted his teeth together angrily.
"But they are true. You wasted all this time because you simply didn't believe it. What you did was idiotic. You should have sent out your troops as soon as you found out about the rebels-"
"I suggest you don't speak to me like that," Aiden interrupted. A sly smirk grew on his face as he stared at Jack from under his eyelashes. Jack angrily glared back, not breaking the eye contact for one second.
Darrien shifted in his seat uncomfortably as Jack and Aiden continued to stare each other down. Their encounters seemed to grow more and more tense everyday. Their constant bickering and angry staring contests were enough evidence to show that they were nowhere near getting along. Darrien grew to believe that this was because Jack secretly wanted Aiden's power. However, Darrien could never say this out loud.
"Ahem!" Darrien cut in, clearing his throat obnoxiously. Jack and Aiden immediately broke their tense eye contact, facing towards Darrien.
"Let's just please…um…get along," Darrien said nervously.
Jack rolled his eyes at Darrien and faced back towards Aiden.
"I believe we should start sending out troops immediately," Jack stated. "We could find out where the rebels are hiding, before it's too late."
Aiden nodded, actually agreeing with something Jack had said for once.
"Yes," Aiden said. "I will notify the general immediately to start sending out his troops. Once the rebels are found, they will stand no chance. The poison we yield is too powerful to stop."
Suddenly, Aiden leaned forward in his seat towards Jack, like he had found out the best gossip in the world.
"Additionally," Aiden began. "I have reason to believe that your father might lie with the rebellion. It could only explain where he could be."
Jack's eyes widened in both shock and anger. He had never thought about that before.
"While I send out search parties to find the rebellion, I will order some of them to attempt to figure out where your father is," Aiden continued. "He could give us extra evidence to where the rebels could be-"
"We are not going to find him and attempt to pry information from him about the rebellion," Jack suddenly cut in. "I'm going to kill him. That is all."
Aiden pinched the bridge of his nose in stress and irritation.
"You are undeniably stubborn," he said angrily. "I'm beginning to think that your little fantasy of killing your father is becoming a bit obsessive-"
"Obsessive?" Jack suddenly boomed, his voice echoing around the large throne room. Darrien flinched slightly at the tone of his voice, recoiling a bit in fear.
"Let me tell you something," Jack snarled, shooting out of his seat and stepping towards Aiden. "You wouldn't even have this goddamn kingdom in the first place if it wasn't for me. I suggest that you keep your fucking mouth shut-"
"Your little angry outbursts don't intimidate me, like you believe," Aiden interrupted calmly, a coy smile growing across his face.
Jack was visibly fuming at this point, causing Darrien to clutch the sides of his chair nervously. Unlike Aiden, Darrien was extremely afraid of Jack's short temper.
"I suggest you don't throw another temper tantrum like you're some child," Aiden continued. "Your father will be brought back here. We will get him to reveal information about the rebellion, and then you can kill him. Am I clear?"
Jack didn't respond. Veins popped out of his head visibly, and he clenched his fists tightly in anger.
"Good," Aiden said, ignoring Jack's angry expression. "I will order the general to send out troops tonight. That is all."
Aiden gracefully rose from his seat and brushed past Jack, bumping into his shoulder slightly as he did so. He walked through the double-doored entrance to the throne room and closed the doors behind him, leaving Jack and Darrien alone in the massive room.
Moments of tense silence filled the room and Darrien and Jack remained where they were. Jack was visibly boiling with rage, glaring at the ground with his fists clenched tightly. Darrien wanted to ask him a question, but he was a little afraid to ask it.
"J-Jack?" Darrien peeped, breaking the tense silence. "May I talk to you for a bit?"
Jack lifted his head slightly to make eye contact with Darrien. Jack's eyes were extremely dark, scaring the life out of Darrien.
"If it's worth listening to, then yes," Jack replied lowly, his dark eyes boring into Darrien's.
Darrien gulped nervously before opening his mouth to speak.
"I-I was wondering…if you had requested to Aiden that my son would be brought out of exile."
Jack just stared at Darrien like he had just said the most idiotic thing in the world.
"You cannot be serious right now," Jack snarled in disbelief. "You're not serious, are you?"
Darrien flinched slightly in his seat.
"I-I was just-"
"Of course I haven't done that," Jack snapped. "What, did you seriously think that was my top priority right now?"
Darrien pursed his lips together nervously. He regretted ever even mentioning anything about his son. He should have waited until Jack cooled off.
"So, to answer your question, absolutely not," Jack continued angrily. "I will deal with that once I am done with everything."
Jack spun on his heel and headed towards the exit, slamming the doors behind him as he left. Darrien sat in shock, refusing to believe that had just happened to him.
Massive amount of regret began to build inside of him. He had done all of this for his son. He was practically the reason that Hyrule was invaded. It was his fault.
He began to suspect that Jack was never going to get his son out of exile, and Jack was just using him for aid. Darrien knew that he was doing it to that old prisoner, Hagen, so why wouldn't he do it to Darrien himself?
All Darrien wanted was his son back. He didn't want Hyrule in the hands of a corrupt leader, or thousands of people dead. He didn't want any of it. He began to think that he had let his selfishness get in the way and took the situation way too far.
Darrien just wished that his son had never gotten involved the way he did six years ago. He wished that his son never attempted to foolishly pursue the Queen herself. Did he not realize back then that it was bound to end up in destruction?
Darrien, six years ago, was not the head of the court. He was just another court member, who had little outcome on how decisions were made. When the court members took a vote on if his son should be exiled, a large majority of them voted yes. Secret relations with the Queen was a massive crime, and even Darrien knew that.
He missed his son so much. Edward had been exiled to the desert, so Darrien knew his location. However, he wasn't able to reach him. His son was banished from Hyrule, never to return again. There was nothing he could do.
Darrien slowly rose from his seat and began to walk towards the exit, with guilt gnawing at his stomach. Instead of wishing his son could come back, he began to wish that he had never helped Jack in the first place.
Link had departed to Faron Woods around seven o'clock. He was carried by Barnes and Ralio to a small cart latched onto two horses. Ralio, Barnes, Impa, and a few other soldiers were coming with Link to accompany him on his journey to Faron Woods. After all, they couldn't just leave him alone without any protection. He was too weak to defend himself.
There was two horses carrying the cart, so they were going exceptionally fast. Everybody in the cart was fast asleep, except for Barnes, who held the horses reins.
They had been traveling for about eleven hours at this point. The sun was beginning to rise, its rays shining through the leaves in the forest. They had thankfully made it to Faron Woods before the sun rose. Now, the hard part was finding where the spirit of Faron actually resided. It was hard for Link to remember how to find Faron, since the last time he found him was over twenty years ago.
They knew that Ordonia village was quite close to Faron Woods, but they couldn't go a stay there overnight. It was guaranteed swarming with soldiers, and they could easily be captured by Volagio's troops. Although this made the rebels nervous that their enemies were nearby, they didn't worry too much about it. Faron Woods was a big area and there was no need for soldiers to be wandering around there.
Unless, they were searching for something.
"Linky, wake up!"
Link rubbed his face and lazily lifted his head off the ground. He fluttered his eyes open and looked up, seeing Barnes's face staring right down at him.
"Ah!" Link blurted. He jumped from surprise, quite startled by waking up to Barnes right in his face.
"Good morning!" Barnes greeted, perhaps too loudly for how early it was.
Link groaned and propped himself up with his uninjured arm. His mouth felt bone-dry, and his head was pounding with an aching headache. He needed water, badly.
"W-water," Link croaked out weakly.
Barnes nodded immediately and grabbed a glass bottle of water from the back corner of the cart. He gently handed it to Link, making sure that he didn't drop it and shatter the bottle everywhere.
"Thanks," Link mumbled. He began to chug the water bottle, downing it in about fifteen seconds.
"We've got a ton in the back, if you need any more," Barnes said, noticing how quickly Link drank the water bottle.
Link nodded silently and lied back onto the hard wood of the crate. Sleeping on the crate definitely wasn't the most comfortable, but Link was so exhausted that it didn't bother him.
"Sorry for wakin' you up," Barnes apologized, breaking the small silence. "I just needed to know where exactly this spirit Faron you talk of is. These woods are enormous."
Link sighed and propped himself up, facing Barnes again.
"If I'm being honest, I don't really remember," Link said quietly. "It was so long ago."
Barnes pursed his lips together in thought and turned his head towards the trees in front of him.
"We've got a long road ahead of us, then."
Suddenly, a twig crunched in the distance, causing both Link and Barnes to snap their heads towards the sound.
"Halt!" Barnes yelled at the horses. The horses neighed and immediately slowed to a stop.
Barnes rapidly looked around the forest, scanning for any signs of soldiers or any other potential dangers. There was nothing.
"Hmph," Barnes hummed to himself. "Maybe I'm just bein' paranoid-"
Suddenly, a group of soldiers emerged from the trees with their swords raised. There was about twenty, or even thirty soldiers surrounding the cart at all sides.
Barnes and Link were frozen in fear. They were extremely outmatched by numbers, giving them a slim chance of even making it out alive. Link began to frantically panic. How could he even defend himself? He couldn't even stand up on his own.
"Um…guys…" Barnes mumbled to the rebels sleeping peacefully on the cart. He reached over and shook Impa's shoulder.
"Gosh, get off me you meatball!" Impa mumbled angrily, swatting at Barnes's hand. She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position and glared at Barnes.
"What's with you and your lack of a brain, hm?" Impa continued to rant. "You constantly blurt things out, you wake people up in their sleep-"
Her red eyes suddenly snapped wide with shock as he saw the large group of soldiers surrounding their cart. Her heart began to beat rapidly, thumping out of her chest rhythmically.
"Aw, shoot," she mumbled nervously. She averted her gaze from the soldiers around them and turned towards the rebels sleeping.
"Get up, you idiots," Impa hissed loudly.
The rebels began to stir in their sleep. However, they didn't wake.
"Get up!" Impa shouted at them, attempting to wake them all up.
The rebels shot up in surprise, immediately waking up by Impa's stern voice.
"Gods, what's the matter with you?" Ralio snapped angrily. "Don't you have some respect-"
His voice suddenly cut off as soon as him and the rest of the soldiers in the cart noticed the Volagio soldiers surrounding them. They were all frozen in fear, unsure of what they could do.
"Guys…" Ralio started nervously, slowly reaching for his sword besides him. "…what are we going to do-"
Suddenly, a solider withdrew a bomb from his pocket and threw it at the rebel's cart. As soon as the bomb made impact with the cart, it immediately exploded, sending the rebels flying everywhere.
Link landed on the ground with a grunt. The impact was hard, but if he was in good physical condition, it wouldn't have bothered him. However, the effects of the poison made injuries a lot less easy to come back from. The impact to the ground caused Link to slowly black out.
Impa and the other soldiers abruptly stood up, immediately jumping into a fighting stance. Impa eyed Link laying motionlessly on the ground, completely unprotected.
"I'll protect Link," she said to the other soldiers bravely. "You all take care of the other soldiers."
"H-how?" Barnes asked.
Suddenly, the soldiers began to sprint towards the rebels, their battle cries echoing through the woods. The rebels charged right back at them, with their weapons raised and their teeth clenched.
The soldiers immediately clashed against each other. The sounds of swords clanking against each other, grunts from the soldiers, and battle cries echoed throughout the forest.
The rebels were completely outnumbered by the Volagio troops. The group of soldiers held about thirty men, while the rebels only had nine, including Link, who was now blacked out on the ground.
As the rest of the rebels continued to clash against the overwhelming numbers of soldiers, Impa leaped over to where Link was lying and stepped right in front of him. There were four soldiers that were after Link, but Impa wouldn't let them get to him.
Impa immediately charged towards one of the soldiers at lightning speed and kicked them in the chest, sending them flying. Another one of the soldiers immediately swiped at Impa's head with a knife, but Impa narrowly missed the attack. One of the other soldiers attempted to pounce of her, but she rapidly dodged the attack.
Impa continued to dodge each one of the soldiers attacks, causing the soldiers to become frustrated. One of the soldiers hastily swung at Impa with his axe, frustrated with the lack of results. She immediately dodged under the attack and slid through his legs, turning up behind him. She kicked him straight in the back, sending him flying into a tree.
There was now only two soldiers left for her to take down. They were both visibly irritated.
"You wench!" one of the soldiers yelled. He charged towards her with his sword raised.
Impa wasn't fazed by him charging at her like a bull. She effortlessly dodged the swing of his sword and punched him square in the jaw, causing him to drop the the ground.
The last soldier cried in anger and heaved one of his daggers at her. She narrowly dodged the dagger and charged towards him, jumping in the air. She sprung her foot out and kicked him straight in the face, causing him to stumble back greatly. However, he wasn't knocked out like the others.
He quickly recovered and pulled out another dagger. He heaved it at her with lightning speed and began to charge towards her quickly. Impa narrowly dodged the attack, but she was a little thrown off by the speed of the dagger. The soldier used her split second of shock to run towards her and punch her square in the face, causing her to collapse to the ground.
Her vision blurred and her head pounded from the impact of the blow. She attempted to climb to her feet, but she was too dizzy.
The soldier stepped near her, looking down at her with a malicious look in his eyes.
"He's coming with us," he growled, motioning towards Link laying unconsciously on the ground. "And you're dead."
The soldier pulled another dagger out and raised it high above his head, ready to plunge the dagger into her head. Suddenly, a large man barreled into the soldier, causing him to collapse to the ground. The large man pounced onto the soldier and punched him square across the face, knocking him unconscious.
"B-Barnes?" Impa mumbled, her head still throbbing with pain.
Barnes looked back at her with a wild look in his eyes. It was so much different than the soft, innocent look his eyes usually wore.
"Run!" he shouted frantically. "Take Link and go!"
Impa scrambled to her feet and rushed towards Link, scooping him up in her arms.
"I don't need to run!" Impa shouted back.
Barnes's eyes widened with shock and protest.
"Impa, you need to leave with him right now-"
"I am."
Impa gently shook Link's shoulder, causing him to flutter his eyes open.
"I-Impa?" Link mumbled weakly. He looked absolutely awful. His eyelids drooped a significant amount, causing him to seem like he was half-asleep. His breaths were short and ragged, and his skin was pale as a ghost. Beads of sweat glistened across his forehead, despite the cool summer chill of the morning.
"Wrap your arms around me," Impa ordered sternly. "Don't let go. Hold on as tight as you can."
Confusion flashed across Link's face, but he still complied. He weakly reached around her neck and held her as tightly as he could.
"Impa, what the hell are you doing?" Barnes screamed. "Get out of here!"
Soldiers began to race towards Barnes and Impa, their swords raised in the air. Barnes continued to scream at her to run, but she didn't listen.
Impa took a deep breath and held onto Link as tightly as she could.
"A'sabath, réunio," she chanted in Ancient Sheikah.
Suddenly, Impa and Link disappeared into thin air, just before the Volagio soldiers got to them.
Impa's eyes were squeezed shut, and she was still grasping onto Link tightly. She listened intently to the sounds around her. It was different than the clanking of swords and the cries of soldiers. It was quiet.
Impa fluttered her eyes opened and scanned her surroundings. She was surrounded by tents and shacks, obviously back in the camp near Kakariko village.
"Impa? What on earth are you doing here?"
Impa looked up at the sound of a soft woman's voice echoing through the air.
Zelda stood in front of her, her eyes widened with shock. Darunia, the ruler of Death Mountain stood with her, along with King Ralis from Lake Hylia.
"What's going on here?" Darunia's voice boomed. "How are you back so quickly-"
"They found us." Impa wiped some blood from her nose. "They found us when we were in Faron Woods. We didn't get to the spirit in time. I had to teleport myself and Link away from the fight. Barnes and the rest of the soldiers are still fighting as we speak."
Everybody stood in shock, silently processing what Impa had just told them.
"Y-you can teleport?" Zelda suddenly blurted. "Why didn't you just-"
"Teleport Link from here myself so it would be quicker? Not possible. I only teleport two people at once if it's an emergency. It's extremely difficult to do, and risky. However, we were running out of time. I had to get him out of there as quickly as I could."
Zelda looked down at Link laying in Impa's arms. His right arm was draped around her neck, and his left arm hung loosely to his side. His eyes were drooped so low that he looked half-asleep, or that he was going to pass out. His mouth hung open slightly, and his breaths came out extremely slow. A small cut was on his forehead, possibly from the impact of his fall. He looked worse than ever before.
However, the most terrifying thing of all was the black veins now visibly poking up his neck. It was a clear sign that he didn't have much time left.
"W-we need to take him back there," Zelda stammered frantically. "L-look at him!"
Impa just simply sighed and shook her head. She stood up to her feet, still holding a half-conscious Link in her arms.
"Darunia, help me carry him," Impa requested, ignoring the Queen's hysterics. "I know I'm taller than him, but he's not that much shorter than me."
Darunia nodded and quickly looped Link's left arm around his shoulders, leaving Link's other arm looped around Impa's shoulders. They let his legs dangle slightly above the ground and they began to move him away to a medical tent, leaving King Ralis and a hysterical Zelda behind.
Hey everybody. Sorry, I was supposed to update over two weeks ago, but I missed my deadline. Heh...yeah, my bad. If I'm being honest, I totally forgot.
Anyways, I thought this chapter was just...meh. I threw in a little action in there, which I liked. I still don't know how to write action for the life of me, but hey, I'll get there eventually.
Thank you all for the reviews and your kind words. I can't thank you all enough. We're almost at fifty reviews, which is awesome. I went into this thing not expecting to get any review at all, so it's crazy to see how many reviews I have now.
Okay, done talking. Please review, as I've always said. See you all in a few days!