Asuriel woke as the light of dawn shone through the glittering water of the small spring. The unusual sight stood out like a rose among thorns, distinct from the land around it. Already, she could feel the heat from the sun combined with the warmth emanating from the volcano at her back. Even though it was not as stifling as the atmosphere inside the volcano summit, it still made the water look very enticing. Stretching, Asuriel ignored the stiffness in her bones created by sleeping against hard rock and moved next to the spring.

She dipped her hand into the crystal waters and found it pleasantly cool. The girl glanced over at Link, who still lay asleep against the wall. She would have to wake him so they could continue, even though she would rather stay out of the extreme heat. Asuriel scooted to where Link lay and pulled an empty bottle out of her adventure pouch. After collecting a bit of the cool water, she replaced the bottle where it belonged and moved to wake Link. A little bit of water would be refreshing while exploring a burning volcano, hopefully it would stay cool.

Nudging the sleeping hero, she gently woke him up.

"Good morning, Link. Are you ready to keep going?"

The boy huffed and rolled over, mumbling something about sleeping five more minutes. Asuriel lightly shook him and called his name. The only response was a semi-coherent grunt, so she shook his shoulders a little harder.

"Link!"

The girl rose and grabbed his hand, attempting to pull him up into a sitting position. Link easily swatted her away and continued his effort to sleep. Next, Asuriel tried dragging him by his foot, but she was forced to retreat when Link kicked his foot free. Obviously, Link did not intend to get up whilst he could lay comfortably against a warm wall. Thinking of a way to counteract that, Asuriel walked back to the spring and scooped up some of the cool water in her cupped hands. Quickly returning to Link's side before she lost too much water, she separated her hands, causing the water to splash across his face.

He immediately shot into a sitting position, spluttering and wiping his face.

"Okay, okay, I'm up!"

Link rose to his feet and stretched before offering his hand to Asuriel. With a smile, she placed her hand in his and they entered back into the Volcano Summit. A short path led them up a small slope and through a dark tunnel. At the other side an interesting sight met them. In front of them under an archway, a wall of flames blocked passage. To the right was a statue of a frog mounted on the wall and to the left was a goron. A tablet beside the stairs before the frog read:

Quench my thirst to clear your path.

Asuriel climbed the few steps and inspected the statue, repeating parts of the writing to herself.

"Quench my thirst, quench my thirst, quench my thirst..."

She looked up and accidentally bumped into the tongue of the statue.

"What an odd position in which to put a frog... wait."

Turning back to Link, she called him up to her.

"Link, look in your pouch, there should be a bottle of water."

Slightly confused, the boy reached into the pack and removed his previously empty bottle.

"How did you know that there would be water in this? I thought it was empty."

"When I woke up, I filled it with some water from the spring so you could have something to drink, but I suppose that we will be using it for a different purpose."

"Thank you, that was really nice."

Asuriel took the bottle from Link and turned away so he couldn't see the blush that had spread across her face. She uncorked the container and tipped it slightly to let a few drips of water fall onto the tongue of the frog. She did so in the hopes that there might be some left for Link, but it appeared that the statue would accept no less than the entire content of the bottle to be satisfied. Reluctantly, Asuriel tipped the bottle, allowing the remainder of the water to flow out.

The eyes of the statue turned from red to blue, and it let out a strange sound as the mouth closed and the flames blocking the pathway were extinguished. The goron eagerly ran through with a happy exclamation and Link and Asuriel followed him. They were met with another of the odd frogs, but they had no more water and so they were forced to return to the spring. Thankfully the walk was not long and they returned shortly. However, as Asuriel approached to pour the water again, she realized that the stairs were broken off from the statue.

"Link, I am not able to reach it. Can you try?"

"I don't think that I will be able to either. But, I do have a idea if you are willing to try."

Link stood before the frog and instructed the girl to stand in front of himself with her back to him. Carefully, he lifted her and placed her on his shoulder. That part was done very easily because Asuriel, as stated before, weighed about as much as a flower. While she emptied the bottle into the frog's mouth, she hoped that Link would think her face was red due to the extreme temperature and not because of that fact that she was seated on his shoulder.

Again, the fire dissipated and they were allowed to pass through. They came out outside onto some sort of balcony with stairs leading down to what looked like a palace. They subconsciously held hands as they moved towards it, gazing in awe at the giant frog statue that rested above the archway, which was blocked by fire.

"Um, Link... I don't think that the bottle will hold enough water this time."

"Yeah, we're going to need a much bigger container."

There was a pause.

"I know where we can get one! When Faron was healing, she rested in a basin of sacred water. She has immediate use for it, I am sure that she would not mind us borrowing it."

"Great idea, all we have to do is find a way to transport it."

"I can't wait to see Faron again, I wasn't able to say goodbye."

"Oh, actually..."

"What is it?"

"I think it would be better if you didn't."

"What do you mean?"

"Won't Faron be curious about your mark?"

"Oh, that is right. You are correct when you suggest that it would be unwise for me to go, but I cannot stay here by myself. Could you take me to Skyloft?"

"I think that's a great idea, come on!"

The two were lifted into the sky and flew to the far side of the floating island by the entrance to the waterfall.

"Promise me that you will be back soon, Link."

"I don't know if I will, Faron usually has me do something crazy before she helps me with anything. I could be gone for a couple hours or a few days. If I am gone for longer, you can sleep in my room. Feel free to make use of the washroom if you want to."

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be back."

Link leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Asuriel's lips.

"Take care of yourself for me."

With that, Link dove off the platform and flew down towards the surface. Sighing to herself, the girl crossed over the large stones that led to the main land and made her way to the academy. Link's room looked exactly like how they had left it, which was incredibly messy. After all, they had left in great haste for the Eldin Province, and the room looked like it had been ransacked when they gather the materials that they needed. Asuriel decided that she might as well do something useful, so she started cleaning.

She had no idea how Link organized his belongings, but from the looks of it, he didn't at all. The items in his cabinet were put in random places and stacked precariously atop each other. Some things on his desk were blanketed with a thick layer of dust, which made her sneeze. Needless to say, Asuriel had her work cut out for her.

The first order of business was to remove everything from the cabinet and dust it thoroughly. Then, the items would be put back in a much nicer way that would make them more convenient to access. Next came the desk, then the bed. By the time Asuriel finished cleaning the room to perfection, night had already fallen. She was tired, hungry, and covered in dust, but she ultimately decided to take a nice relaxing bath.

As quiet as a mouse, she entered the washroom and locked the door behind her. After getting undressed, she tentatively dipped a toe in the water. It was pleasantly warm, so she happily climbed in. It felt off for her to bath in such a confined space. She was used to large pools, sometimes miniature waterfalls, and even the Skyview Spring. Still, she was able to relax and wash away the layers of filth that she had gathered both from the volcano and cleaning. Closing her eyes, Asuriel felt a temporary relief from all the stress of getting her mark, avoiding Impa, and exploring the volcano.

After an hour, she exited the bath and wrapped herself in her towel. She was about to change back into her clothes when she noticed that they had seemingly disappeared. Confused, she combed the room in hopes that she carelessly replaced them, but there was no sign of the garments. Sighing in defeat, Asuriel decided that she would have to find something to wear in Link's room. There was an old academy outfit, even though it was too big for her, it was better than nothing.

Asuriel poked her head through the door, checking to make sure no one was in the hall before dashing to Link's room. Although she had a towel, she didn't favor meeting up with anyone with so little and unmodest covering. Entering the room, she lit the small lamp that hung on the wall beside the door to give the room a little more light. She would have gone over to the cabinet and taken some of the clothing from the bottoms drawers, but a glimpse of white on the bed caught her attention. Laid out on the bed was an elegant, lace nightgown. A small, white underdress accompanied the lace gown that would reach down to Asuriel's ankles. She was so surprised, she almost dropped her towel.

The nightgown was beautiful and would most likely fit her perfectly. However, there was no use denying where it came from. Ghirahim had paid a visit and apparently decided to bestow a new nightgown upon Asuriel. She was quite puzzled by his interest in giving her things, especially after the last few nights. The best thing she could presently do was put on the garment. If she didn't, it would be as if she rejected the gift, which might arouse the demon's temper. So, with very little hesitation, she quickly put on the nightgown and put her wet hair back in a braid.

Somehow, the clothing Ghirahim gave Asuriel fit her better than the things that she herself had made by hand to perfectly fit her. Admittedly, the underdress was more form-fitting than her typical outfit; it created a more defined outline of her figure. The material itself was also very fine and incredibly soft.

Asuriel's stomach growled embarrassingly loud, reminding her that she had neglected to eat all day. Still, it would be severely impolite to intrude upon anyone's rest to get a meal, so she would simply have to wait until morning. She walked over to the lamp and put it out, so that only the outlines of the things in the room were visible. Not wanted to disturb the covers too much, the girl rested atop the blankets and effortless drifted into a peaceful sleep.

When Asuriel woke up, she immediately felt the urge to stay in bed all day. Had it not been for the fact that she explicitly remembered sleeping on top of the rather rough covers of a bed with an old, dense mattress. However, she found herself waking up under soft, smooth sheets on a mattress as light as air, accompanied with delicate, feathery pillows. These things were easily identifiable, for she had only felt them the time she had stayed with Ghirahim. Asuriel might have been appreciative of a new nightgown, but replacing the entire bed set and mattress was causing her suspicion to rise dramatically.

She could only guess at the demon's intentions for providing her with these simple luxuries, most likely something self-serving. And yet, a part of Asuriel wanted to believe that there was some good in him, but that concept was trite and often untrue.

To add to her confusion, there was a rather gourmet breakfast set out on the newly-cleaned desk. Sleepily, Asuriel sat up and stretched before getting out of bed. The food smelled too good to investigate and looked too delicious to not eat.

After a wonderful breakfast, Asuriel decided to take a walk around Skyloft. She was an adult now, after all, so she was capable of taking care of herself and making her own decisions. Before she went out, she had to change out of the nightgown. Thankfully, her clothes had been returned, and all the soot and dirt collected from the volcano had been removed. The morning air was cool and crisp, and a walk to the plaza proved to be very refreshing. While she was looking around, she spotted the little girl she had seen before, Kukiel. The young child must have recognized Asuriel as well, for she ran towards her as soon as she saw her.

"You're the pretty lady that was with Link! I'm so happy you came back!"

"It's good to see you as well, Kukiel. I'm very happy to visit Skyloft again."

"Mommy says that she will catch butterflies with me later, but I want to do it now."

That gave Asuriel an idea.

"Kukiel, watch this."

Using a little bit of magic, she created butterflies that were made of woven strands of light. The little girl screamed with delight and jumped around, trying to catch one in her palm. Asuriel directed on of them to land on the tip of Kukiel's nose, causing the child to become still and smile broadly at the butterfly. Asuriel caused another of them to land on her finger. Kukiel followed her example and soon the butterfly flitted from her nose to her finger.

"I'm going to show mommy what I caught! Bye pretty lady!"

Kukiel skipped away to find her mother and Asuriel smiled as she continued her walk. Next, she decided to visit the bazaar. Stepping into the structure, she could not help but feel slightly overwhelmed. Without Link, Asuriel found herself surrounded by strange people in a place that was unfamiliar to her. She had no guide to show her around and introduce her to new people, this would truly be a test of her social ability.

Unfortunately, Asuriel found that some of the salespersons were a little overzealous, eagerly calling out for her attention. Apparently, seeing a new face was a rarity, so those who sold goods, even ones who were generally calm, bored, or reserved, became overtly extraverted and pompous. The unfamiliar setting combined with the noise of venders shouting for her attention and the prospect of meeting many new people at once proved to be too much for Asuriel. She reacted on instinct and quickly exited the bazaar, desperate to get away from the unwanted attention.

As she emerged from the bazaar in a rush, she ran into an individual who had been observing a Skyloft Mantis that was perched on a blade of grass. Thankfully for that particular individual, Asuriel's force came mainly from acceleration and not mass, so she only caused him to stumble. The girl on the other hand practically bounced off of the him and landed on her back. At this point, she was quite embarrassed about her flight from the bazaar and then running into a stranger. The person stood before her and offered his hand to help her up, which she accepted.

"I am sorry for bumping into you, I should have been observing more of my surroundings, especially while running."

"No worries, I was only watching this mantis. Would you like to see?"

"Yes, that would be nice."

Asuriel crouched down beside the boy and watched as the bug began moving towards a tree.

"I've never seen an insect like this one before, are there many here?"

The boy chuckled.

"I guess you you're not from Skyloft, then. These are really common here."

"You are correct when you say that I am not from Skyloft, and I will only be here a short while longer before I must leave."

"It's a shame that you can't stay for longer..."

"Indeed."

"I'm Strich, by the way."

"My name is Asuriel. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Yes, same here."

Asuriel turned to get her first good look at him. He had bright blonde hair, almost like Zelda. He was very tall and looked like he had originally been at a normal hight but was elongated. He was looking away and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand while a faint tint of pink dusted his cheeks.

"Anyway, it's almost time for my breakfast. I'll see you around."

He departed in an awkward, hurried fashion, leaving Asuriel to wonder if she had somehow offended him. She might have been oblivious to the signs of nervous fidgeting and faint blushes, but a certain white-haired spectator was not. The thought of yet another skychild taking an interest in his soulmate was quite disagreeable, but nothing to get worried over. Ghirahim was far superior to all of them, and Asuriel would still belong to him when the day of his master's resurrection came.

If he was being honest with himself, it would have been that way no matter who her soulmate was. Hylia had just played into his hand when she created the girl, otherwise he would have asked his master for her as a trophy. It seemed that Asuriel's fate was in everyones' hands but her own, and now even the goddess could not claim ownership of her. Although it sounded cruel, it was not a loss for the girl. She was in the best care imaginable, her soulmate was the right hand of Demise, and their victory was imminent.

Ah, but if the demon lord basked too much in his future glory, he would end up neglecting the present, and Asuriel. He had been working to accustom her subconscious to his presence. Even if she couldn't see him, he had made himself abundantly known, and part of her knew that he was always watching, even if she never acknowledged it. The moment she fully pushed him away and attempted to separate herself from him, she would feel crushing loneliness. He was already teaching her to anticipate his watchful eye and rely on him, for Asuriel had left herself very vulnerable at that particular point.

It was actually quite unfortunate for the young hero. Whenever she was with him, something bad happened. She was captured, hurt, and ultimately, rescued by Ghirahim. During her stay at Skyloft, Link had practically abandoned her on the island with only a place to stay. No time for anticipated time for return, no means to get food, no proper care for her like she deserved. Ghirahim could offer much more.

Asuriel spent the rest of the morning exploring Skyloft on her own, or so it appeared, until she decided to return to Link's room. She had no idea what she would do for food, but Strich had mentioned that he was eating breakfast at the Knight Academy. Perhaps they would have lunch there too, and Asuriel might be able to do a bit of work in exchange for something to eat. The smell of food in the building was alluring, but Asuriel decided to make sure she looked presentable before asking for food. When she entered the room, she saw that a lunch had already been set on the desk.

The food was much too nice to be made in large amounts for students of an academy, so Asuriel concluded that it must have been from Ghirahim. Besides, she was pretty sure only of person would be in possession of glass plates inlayed with golden diamond designs. However, it was not the plates that interested her, but the food that was on them. They were all things that she had eaten in the Faron woods. Assortments of berries, nuts, and herbs were carefully arranged, and o her surprise, she was not even wary of eating the food.

After finishing off what turned out a to be a delicious meal, Asuriel walked over to the graveyard to pay a visit to Batreaux. The winged demon was happy to have a visitor and eagerly invited Asuriel into his home.

"How have you been, Batreaux?"

"Very well. Kukiel comes to see me often, and she is such a sweet guest to have."

"Yes, I saw her earlier today, she really loves butterflies."

"Yes, sometimes she brings them down to show me. It seems as if everything is at peace with her."

Asuriel remained there for a time, making idle conversation with the demon until he remarked that the sky was darkening was night fell and that she should try to avoid being outside at night. The air was much crisper as the girl made her way back to the Academy. She had lost track of time, and not even her stomach had reminded her of how late the day had gotten. As she anticipated, her dinner was waiting for her on the writing desk. Having nothing else to do after eating, Asuriel decided to change into the white nightgown and go to bed.

Although she rarely had issues with sleeping, she felt rather restless. In fact, as her mind processed the events of the day, she felt less and less able to fall asleep. Fresh air was usually a great remedy to sleepless nights; a long walk would help her.

Under the cover of darkness, Asuriel made her way to the waterfall cave. The chuchus and keese that resided in the cave did not disturb her, although she still did her best to distance herself from them. Upon reaching a more open space in the cave, she sat down on a raised portion of rock. Shallow pools of water were scattered around and some stalagmites lay in groups, rising past her height. The atmosphere was still and quiet, encouraging a contemplative demeanor. A frown settled across the girl's face as she began considering how she was going to work everything out. Her attention was drawn back to the present when a floating orb of crimson light appeared hovering in front of her. She stared at it for a moment before it dropped to the ground and bounced back up, now as two balls of light.

Tentatively, she used a little magic to push them to the wall opposite of her. They did not reach it, but were instead pushed back a little more forcefully towards Asuriel. She rose and stood with a wall to her back and sent the two lights in different directions, one bouncing off of the ceiling, the other off of the stalagmite. Another push sent them against the opposite wall.

The game quickly picked up speed, and soon silver and golden orbs were being launched around the room in clusters. The lights multiplied, creating more chaos and the girl struggled to repel them. Sometimes, she would focus on condensing them and throwing them in groups to make them more powerful, yet the clusters were always scattered before reaching the other side. Asuriel was caught off guard when the lights suddenly stopped moving. Glancing behind her to make sure she hadn't lost, she could find no reason for the game to end. A little disappointed, she turned and made her faire light vanish, ready to go back to the Knight Academy. A gentle pull on her nightgown made her stop and turn around. A few of the crimson lights were circling her and starting to nudge her towards the other side of the cave.

Confused, Asuriel began to move in that direction as more of the glowing orbs congregated around her and urged her to move faster. The other exit from the cave was now visible, and Asuriel soon came running out into the night air. However, she was unable to see far and the lights appeared to have no intention of slowing down, causing the girl to be knocked over the edge of the island.

She was falling freely, yet she did not scream. Asuriel watched captivated as as stream of crimson light cascaded from the mouth of the cave and flowed down around her. The lights then converged underneath her and she felt herself cease falling as she found herself laying on top of a glowing, crimson loftwing. Turning over so that she was on her knees, Asuriel examined the loftwing. It looked exactly like a live one, but every fiber of its being was pulsing with energy.

Asuriel gasped and held on tightly to the bird when it dove, then spiraled up in the tight barrel roll. It preform all kinds of complicated maneuvers as it gracefully flew through the night. She let out a small cry of alarm when the loftwing somehow scooted out from underneath her and did a loop-de-loop around her before catching her again. The sensation of being thrown into the air before being caught was very unnerving the first few times, yet Asuriel soon found herself enjoying it. She laughed with delight whenever the loftwing moved away from her and let her free fall for a moment before catching her again.

Finally, the loftwing made its way back to an island, but not to the main one of Skyloft. It was in a secluded part of the sky, consisting of a tree and a small pool of crystal water. Gently, the bird landed and Asuriel got off, struggling a little to walk straight after flying in such a dizzying way. She sat down on the ground with the loftwing beside her, wondering what was going to happen next.

A sudden bright streak of light across the sky caught her eye. Then another. Above her, hundreds of shooting balls of light whizzed through the sky. It was a meteor shower. Asuriel sat enthralled as she watched the rare occurrence in the sky. It felt like hours before the steady stream of meteors began to die down. Asuriel was fast asleep before the sky became completely dark again.

Ghirahim gracefully leapt out of the tree in which he was perched. Although natural events like meteor showers tend to become old news after hundreds of years, he was obliged to watch it with Asuriel. He dismissed the glowing loftwing, which scattered in a cloud of crimson diamonds, and picked up the sleeping girl. Teleporting to Link's room, he lay her down in the bed, making sure that she was laying comfortably.

That day had been rather successful in his opinion. Asuriel had accepted everything he gave her without suspicion. He was especially proud of himself for providing her with food that was familiar to her for lunch. Even though he had merely taken a bit of food from the store that Impa kept, it was a brilliant idea. After lunch, he made sure to create a few minor problems for the hero in order to delay him a little longer. By the time he summoned Asuriel's dinner, she was already returning to the academy.

It was a fortunate coincidence that she did not go to sleep, but instead wandered out to the cave. The demon lord was growing fond of that light game, even if he did have to cut it short to make time for flying and the meteor shower. The sound of the girl's laughter as she flew gave him a joyful feeling very much like how he felt when he heard his enemies scream for mercy.

And now, she slept so peacefully, as if she hadn't a care in the world. Taking her right hand, Ghirahim traced the diamond mark on her delicate skin. It wouldn't be much longer until she completely accepted him. Preparing to leave, something on the table caught Ghirahim's eye. A letter tied with a blue ribbon rested on the desk. It had Asuriel's name on it.

Of course, Ghirahim had to read it. Being her soulmate, any business someone had with her, they had with him. And what a surprise it was. It was written by the boy from earlier that morning. It was obviously some sort of love-at-first-sight nonsense. The most amusing part was his request for her to meet him in the pumpkin patch on the far end of Skyloft at midnight. Asuriel, of course, would not be going. However, a very entertaining idea came into the demon's head about how to get the boy to leave her alone. If he really felt like there was some sort of connection, Ghirahim would have to watch his sad attempts to woo her all day.

There were only two hours until the meeting, and the demon decided that it would be an excellent idea to give the foolish boy a good scare. To pass the time, he looked through all of Link's possessions, schemed, and watched Asuriel sleep. She had such an adorable smile.

Ghirahim looked up when he heard the creaking of a door down the hall. The boy was beginning to make his way to the pumpkin patch thirty minuted before the appointed time. Ghirahim teleported out of the room and followed him until they reached the destination. Then, the skychild set candles on top of every pumpkin and lit them. Ghirahim had a very good sense of what could be romantic, and THIS was not it. The boy passed the rest of the time with his back against the tree, waiting for the girl's appearance. That was the demon lord's cue.

First, he caused one candle in the middle to go out. The boy, who could not stand the setting not being perfect, begrudgingly moved from his place and re-lit it. Before he could return, Ghirahim made all of the candles suddenly extinguish. Next, a mysterious, thick fog began to gather on the ground. Naturally, the boy became alarmed, but the fog was now covering the pumpkins, creating a massive tripping hazard. The demon caused a vine from a nearby plant to grow around Strich's ankle just before he heard a noise behind him, startled, the boy backed up and spun around, only to trip due to the vine and fall into the fog. Now that his view was obscured, Ghirahim teleported close to him and caused an eerie light to emanate from the perimeter of the patch. When the boy finally scrambled to his feet, he found himself standing a few feet from a tall, dark figure. No light shone directly on Ghirahim, but came from behind him, illuminated the outline of his figure. In his hand was his trusted demon blade, the crimson jewel in its hilt glowing a little on its own.

The look of intense fear of the boy's face was very gratifying. In a moment, the demon caused the fog to quickly shoot up around him as he teleported, making it look like his had vanished in the fog. Strich, who was terrified and bewildered, stared at the place that the demon had stood before he felt cool metal being pressed against his neck. Ghirahim leaned down and whispered very quietly but dramatically into his ear.

"Never speak to that girl again."

He quickly delivered a shallow cut with his sword before teleporting away a small distance to watch the boy scream and run away as fast as he could, tripping over pumpkins and his own feet. The cut was nothing serious, just a little reminder to heed the warning.

Satisfied that there would be no more trouble from the skychild, Ghirahim returned to Link's room to find Asuriel still asleep where he had left her. Even though he hated to have to end his time on Skyloft with her, Ghirahim had very important business to attend to. Placing a gently kiss against her forehead, he disappeared in a flurry of diamonds.

So, you might be wondering where I was last week, or you might have not noticed. I mainly write during the weekends, and because I have been very busy, I had almost no time to write. I worked the entire week and I have had events and other things going on. To make up for it, I wrote an extra long chapter today. Also, I was thinking about asking my friend to draw a scene from this chapter. Do you think there is one that would look really cool?