CHAPTER 2
Jier sighed contentedly as he walked out into the brisk morning air. Life was good. Hyrule was at peace, he was with his beloved, and now a convention of leaders were coming to his town to heal the damage that Ganon had sowed. He hurried towards the meeting place, which had been an interesting choice. His path led him towards the immense windmill that towered above the town.
He started up the stairs, his eyes drawn upward. He supposed the coordinators thought the windmill would be a symbol, of the races working together to provide a force to help the lives of all Hylians. To him, it seemed a tad impractical.
He entered the windmill, looking around at the insides of the tower. Various gears moved around him, and the center slowly turned. He smiled as he saw tables and chairs sat up around the interior in a ring, six tables to be exact. The Goron representatives were already seated, looking at the stone walls of the windmill hungrily. He nodded to a familiar Goron, and the dirt-brown biped returned the nod. The Gorons were shorter than the average man, rounded, with innocent faces and small eyes. They resembled the stones that provided their only nourishment, and some ill-advised members of other races would say they were just as smart as the same stones.
He walked over to the Kakarikian table. Already seated was the Bazaar owner, his immense bulky form crowding the other seats, and the Medicine Shop owner, who was much more youthful than the other two. He greeted each with a nod, and sat down between them, in the seat that implied the highest ranking.
Soon, several other races filtered into the windmill. First were the Hylians, led by Princess Zelda herself and also consisting of the familiar High General Greer, an ally of Jier's, and Baro, adviser to the Princess and Wynn's father.
Next came the Zoras. Jier was very pleased to see Nerah among them, along with the recently promoted Captain Zaruu, a long-time friend of Tane's. Then, the Gerudos. The leader, mother of Shezarah, proudly walked to her seat, her warrior-woman dress seeming to shock some of the conservative members while seemed to draw the attention of others. Jier had to subtly kick the Bazaar owner under the table to keep the brute from drooling. Following her was several other Gerudos, all women, as only one male Gerudo was born every hundred years. Each was tanned, and attractive. Jier sighed as he had to snap the Medicine Shop owner out of a now-familiar trance.
Next, lagging behind the Gerudos, were Tane and Shezarah. Jier smiled as they entered, pledging to speak to them after the conference. Finally, the Kokiri representatives entered. Jier laughed out loud as he saw it was none other than Wynn and Fami. The group was together once again!
"I now call the first meeting of the Hyrule Betterment Committee to order," rang Zelda's clear voice. Jier looked to her. She was young, but had seen much. Even her own father had been stolen from her forever by the monster Ganon. She had been thrust into the responsibility of watching over Hyrule without request, and now held her throne proudly.
"First, I would like to commend all of you for making the effort to attend. Now that our foes are all defeated, it is time for us to heal our land. We must all work together, bring our different peoples together, and make Hyrule the paradise it once was. We, if we work as one, will be unstoppable, not as a force, but as a soothing hand."
"That is a remarkable speech, and a valiant plan, Princess," spoke up the Gerudo leader, "But practical? Possible?"
"Difficult, certainly, but possible. It will take each of us compromising, forgetting old hatreds, but the results…"
The Goron leader, one very familiar to Jier, nodded slowly. "Princess, I admire your courage. I have no doubts in your leadership capabilities, or in your skills in the political arena. But, this may be too much even for you."
The Zora leader coughed lightly. Jier knew him to be a close advisor to the Zora king, who could not attend, and the former general of the Zoran armed forces. He had taken ill, thanks to Ganon's dark magic, and had retired. He had later been healed after Ganon's return was thwarted, but had chosen to let Jaco keep his job. "And the possible dilemmas…between communication failures, difficulties in understanding different cultures, and old rivalries, the people of Hyrule would be pointing fingers of blame at each other in months!"
Wynn chose this time to speak up. "I am with the Princess. What would you say; we all go back to fighting each other? I may be new to this politics stuff, but I know that we need each other to survive! Without the magic of the Zora's keeping our waters clean, how long can we survive? Without the magic of the Kokiri keeping the forests alive, our land would wither! Without the Gerudos' warrior might when we need help, what will come of us? Without the Hylian's hand in guiding us in peace, how can we live with each other? Without the Goron's skill in making the armament and other goods, how will our lives change?"
Wynn paused for breath, and then went on. "All we have worked for is nothing unless we work together. We may have well given in to Ganon, and let him seal our fate, instead of throwing away what we have strived for for eight long years! I will not stand for it!"
There was silence. Finally, Jier broke the silence. "We cannot just do nothing."
There was a murmur of assent running through the crowd. Finally, Zelda stood. "So be it. Do we all agree that this is the most necessary course of action?"
She was answer by a series of 'yeses', some more hesitant than others. "Well, then, I suppose our first order of business is-"
She was interrupted by a loud shout from outside. The door barged open, and one of the men from the village, one Jier referred to as 'one of the cut-ups', ran inside as if being pursued by a monster. "Help! He's after me! He's-!"
His shouts were cut short as a lightning bolt of dark energy slammed into his back, sending him careening across the windmill. As he landed, his pursuer slowly stepped inside, inspected his handiwork, and said, "It's good to be me."
"You!" shouted Wynn, on his feet in an instant, sword in his hand. He, too, caught a blast of dark magic, and was sent into the wall of the windmill.
"Wynn, so good to see you again!" the figure purred.
Jier and the others rose, some shocked, others ready. "Seron, you're dead," Tane stated, shocked.
"Correction, I was. But here's your consolation prize!" Seron snarled, knocking Tane out of the fight.
"Seron, what are you doing?" demanded Fami.
Seron shot her a sly smile. "It is obvious, don't you think? Just taking what is rightfully mine!"
"I've killed you once, I'll do it again!" shouted Jier, leaping over the table and running at Seron.
Seron merely watched him come. A short distance from Seron, Jier rebounded off an invisible barrier and fell to the floor. He was promptly shocked into submission.
"Now, now, time to cease the hostilities. After all, isn't this a peace conference?" Seron taunted.
The Princess frowned at the man. "What do you want from us? I assure you, you will not get it."
"I only want to help you get your peace, Princess. Why, the quickest way is for you all to offer your unconditional surrender to me!"
"Wrong, Seron. Prepare to enjoy a more permanent peace…in your grave!" Shezarah shouted, leaping onto a table. Seron turned to blast her, but a geyser of water slammed into his shield, distracting him. While he was busy with the other two, vines sprouted behind him, and wrapped around him, subduing him, dissolving the barrier. Shezarah and the other conscious heroes walked up to him, watching him struggle futily with rage in his eyes.
"Seron, it is time to end this. Good bye, for once and for all!" Shezarah shouted, her scimitar rising for the killing blow. Seron's eyes widened, and he could not move as the weapon flew down to his throat. He closed his eyes, and waited for his end.
It never came. With a shrill chirp, a blurred shape leapt from outside across the room and directly into Shezarah, sending both to the ground, out cold. As the Tekiton collided with Shezarah, its sword spun across the floor, ending up near Seron's hand. 'I can reach it!' Seron thought, blindly flailing for the weapon. As he touched it, he slashed at the vines holding him captive.
By then, the others had recovered from their shock, and Zaruu and Greer were dashing towards Seron. The wizard snarled as he stood, and lashed out with bolts from both hands. The two men fell to their knees, grimacing in pain.
Seron frowned at the rest, feeling his strength flow away. "I'll finish this later. Farewell, fools!" Seron turned to leave, but was denied the chance. Standing behind him were several guards, a few he could recognize.
"Halt, fiend!" cried their leader. "Give in to our forces, and you shall not be harmed!"
Seron snorted. "Ha! Fool, I never give up!"
"How about you just shut up?" came a shout. Seron turned, but was too slow. A beam of light slammed into him, knocking him into the far wall of the windmill. He landed near one of the wooden support beams that ran up the side of the windmill. Seron gasped in pain, staring at his attacker. Wynn charged his own magic again, ready to end the fight. "You should never have returned."
Seron desperately leaped aside. The beam of magic collided with the support beam, sending splinters fly in all directions. Seron grunted as he felt something heavy hit his head. He stood weakly, feeling the aftereffects of the explosion.
Wynn glared at him, charging another blast. Seron took this opportunity to turn tail and run. His foot caught on the piece of debris that had hit him, sending it flying out the door. Seron stumbled forward, the soldiers rushing forward. Wynn took aim as Seron's powers ripped outward, sending the other men to the ground, along with Fami, whom Seron hadn't noticed behind the soldiers. Seron was gone before Wynn could fire his magic. He lowered his arms, and started towards the door, but Fami weakly cried out for help, and he stopped, fists clenched as he turned to help the others, who hadn't had as much protection from Seron's magic as he. There would be time for Seron later, he swore.
Before anyone could react, the Tekiton jumped to its feet and made a mad dash for the door. It was ignored, as everyone knew it was completely harmless. As soon as it was outside, it stopped, looking around. Where could its master be? Something on the ground before it caught its eye. It was a book. It chirped happily as it bent down and picked the book up. Its master must have dropped this! He would reward it for bringing it to him! It scooped up the heavy book and ran in the direction it guessed Seron had went, chirping happily the whole way.
******
Inside the windmill, those who had escaped Seron's attack unscathed were helping those that had taken the full brunt of the attack. The Gorons were carrying those seriously injured towards Jier's home, where the Cucco Lady lived. She was the best healer in the village, but she would have her work cut out for her. Seron had caused a lot of damage. Wynn stumbled behind the others, and unconscious Fami in his arms and a large burn mark on his armor. Shezarah and Tane were behind him, leaning on each other, Tane with a scorch mark on his armor and Shezarah with a bump on her head. Among those being carried, Wynn recognized Greer, Zaruu, and the captain of the soldiers that had nearly stopped Seron. Wynn grimaced as he recalled the man's identity: Kesler, an old friend and ally. Seron had much to pay for.
The group of injured walked or were taken into the house where the Cucco Lady resided. Wynn grimaced as he felt Fami bump into the burn Seron had given him with his dark lightning. The apprentice wizard had gained strength, it seemed, since their last clash in Ganon's castle. However, it seemed he was still no match for Wynn; he had fled at the first use of Wynn's magic. It would be trouble hunting that guy down, but it must be done, Wynn knew.
As Fami was taken from his arms to an improvised cot, Wynn felt everything grow dark. His task done, Wynn fell to his knees, and then to the floor. It seemed that his pursuit of Seron would have to wait until he woke up.
******
Kiara happily whistled as she walked through the town of Kakariko. She was going to the well to retrieve some water for the soup she was making for her cousin. She had been sent to this little town, small in comparison to Hyrule Marketplace, on business. Her cousin, the owner of the Medicine Shop, had called her here to work in his place while he was at a peace conference. But, business was quiet, and she was as bored here as in her father's shop, maybe even more so.
She paused as she heard a soft moan from near the well. There, a short distance away, was the man that had been attacking the monster yesterday! He was unconscious, the monster bending down, trying to shake him awake. It saw her, and looked to her with a pleading eye. She frowned as she walked up to the man. "What is it now?" she growled, turning the man over with her boot. She gasped at what she saw. A bad burn decorated his chest, with his tunic having been seared away.
She gasped, stepping back. "He's hurt!" The monster nodded worriedly, clutching a rather large book in its frail arms. Kiara bit her lip as she grabbed the man's arms and began to drag him towards her cousin's home. She was a healer, after all, and the man, no matter how mean he was to his pet monster, needed her. And it probably didn't hurt that he looked good.
With the monster and the man in tow, Kiara made her way back. Wouldn't her cousin be surprised, thought she.
******
"Ugh…"
Hearing the man's soft moan, Kiara sat back. The man coughed, coming to. His eyes slowly opened, and he saw the blurred image of the girl. Willing his eyes to work, he saw the girl clearly. He relaxed, knowing that at least his afterlife wasn't going to be that bad. He saw the girl sigh in relief that he was awake, and then heard an odd but familiar chirp off to his right. Turning his head, he saw the Tekiton off to his side. Letting out a shriek of fright, Seron tried to scramble away, but the pain in his chest stopped him.
"What's wrong?" the girl demanded, staring at him, curious and unafraid.
Seron sighed, recovering his composure and moving back into a comfortable position. So, he wasn't dead after all. He had thought that Wynn's magic had finished him, and had collapsed near the well. But, how had he gotten here? And who was…
"You," he croaked.
"How nice of you to remember me," the girl snapped.
"Great. I'm almost dead, and whom do I have to talk to? A smart-aleck!"
"I'm the one that saved you, buddy! And what thanks do I get? You insult me! I should have let you die!"
The Tekiton stepped between the two. It chirped scoldingly, glancing at the two. Both sighed, and sat back, accepting the unintelligible barrage with irritated sighs. It finally stopped, and crossed it arms, looking smug.
Seron frowned at it. "One more chirp, and you'll be lucky if I don't feed you to a Wolfos."
"Why are you so mean to it? It wouldn't move from your side! It's loyal to you, though I couldn't guess why!" reprimanded the girl.
Seron barked a laugh. "I created it! Of course it's loyal to me!"
The girl sat back, crossing her arms. "Well, I might just do it a favor and feed you to a Wolfos!"
"I'd like to see you try!" Seron growled.
"You couldn't stop me. Not with that nice little burn that you're lucky didn't kill you."
Seron sighed. "Why couldn't I have just died?"
"I could arrange that."
Seron didn't answer that. After a while, the girl spoke up. "Your name?"
"Why do you want to know?"
The girl turned her head sharply. "I was just trying to be nice!" she snapped.
Silence fell over the two. Finally Seron sighed. "Just call me Ser."
"O.K."
Seron mumbled under his breath. The girl wouldn't make it easy for him. "Yours?"
"I'm Kiara."
Seron closed his eyes. Although he would never say it, he liked that name.
Kiara stood up and walked away. Through a half-open eye, Seron watched her go. He closed his eyes, and started to go to sleep. As he started to drift off, he heard a chirp. Opening one eye and glaring at his monster, he said, "I thought I told you…"
It shielded itself with a book. Seron frowned, seeing that the book was ancient, and from the runes on it, of major importance. He looked to the monster curiously. "Where did you get that?" he asked.
It looked at him, then chirped happily. It handed him the book, then pointed in the general direction of the windmill. It chirped what sounded like a question. Seron frowned, remembering the object that had hit the back of his head after Wynn's missed shot. It seemed books were magnetically attracted to his head nowadays…
He nodded to the Tekiton, guessing what it had asked. "No, this isn't mine…but it could be useful. Good job."
With an ecstatic chirp, the Tekiton started towards him, arms open. Seron sighed as he held it away with one hand. "Not that good of a job, pal. Sit!"
Disappointed, the Tekiton sat down. Seron opened the book, flipping through the pages. As he looked, his eyes grew wide. This was a book of old Hylian magic talismans! Why, with this, he could-
"What is this?" demanded Kiara, snatching the book from his hands.
"Give that back at once!" Seron yelled.
"Or you'll what?" Kiara demanded.
"I'll start by slowly tearing you apart, then-" Seron gasped as she held the book over the fire.
"Oh really?"
"Um…On second thought…"
Kiara smiled. She had him now. "Now, I seem to recall you calling me a pest back in the village. Did you mean it?"
"Yes."
"Well, since I am a pest…" Kiara let the book go. To her surprise, it didn't fall into the fire. Instead, it flew straight into Seron's hand.
"Forgot I had magic, did you?" Seron waved his other hand, and Kiara was lifted into the air. Protesting and struggling the whole way, Seron sent her floating towards the other bed in the room. The sheets moved back, and Kiara was dropped into the bed. The sheets then flew over her, nearly making her protests silent. With a smug smile, Seron put out all the candles, except one, by which he could read. "Good night, fair maiden," said Seron, sarcasm coating his voice.
Kiara ripped the covers from around her head. "You'll pay for that one, buddy!"
Seron didn't get the chance to answer. Someone knocked on the door, and Kiara snarled at Seron as she walked to the door. Seron pulled the covers over his head and the Tekiton hid in a corner.
"Cousin! It's good to see you are alright!" shouted the owner of the Medicine Shop, wrapping Kiara in a hug.
She returned the hug, then looked to him and asked, "What do you mean, alright? Of course I'm fine. I was nearly bored to death, though. No one came by the shop the whole day!"
Her cousin looked at her quizzically. "You don't know, do you?"
Kiara stepped back. "What do you mean?"
"We were attacked today! The wizard Seron barged in on the convention, tore the place up bad! The Cucco Lady is still trying to heal some of the injured!"
Kiara frowned. "Ser…Seron?"
"Yes, Seron! That rotten wizard! Why, if I got one chance at him, why, I'd…!"
"Wizard?"
"Yeah, that punk. Now, cousin, I'm going to bed. There's nothing I can do now," he said, looking sorrowful.
"But, you've been trained as a healer! Maybe you can help the Cucco Lady!" suggested Kiara, standing in her cousin's way.
The Medicine Shop owner paused. "I'd just get in the way…"
"No! And better for you to be there if they need you!"
"Then you should come! You've had training as a healer as well."
Kiara hid her annoyance. "No, I'm tired. Between the trip here, and watching the shop, I'm exhausted." When her cousin rose a doubting eyebrow, she added, "And some idiot," a glance back in Seron's direction, "kept me up all night, making a racket in the streets outside my window!"
Her cousin sighed. "I suppose. If you need me, then I'll be at the home of the Cucco Lady. Farewell, cousin."
With a sigh of relief, Kiara watched him go. Then, with fire in her eyes, she turned back and walked towards Seron. "SERON?" she yelled.
Seron meekly moved the covers from over his head, looking to her with false confusion. "Huh?" he asked sleepily.
"Why didn't you tell me you were that evil wizard?" she shrieked.
Seron's mind whirled. Time to think, fast! "I'm not! He's the one that blasted me! I am…uh…Sertane, but my friends call me Ser."
Kiara nodded, the fierceness on her face falling away. "I…see. Good night…Sertane."
Putting his book near his bed, and blowing out the last candle, Seron settled in for bed. Time to rest, and regain his strength. Tomorrow would be another day, and then…Wynn would die!
Kiara got into bed, nodding good night to the Tekiton, who immediately curled up at the foot of Seron's bed. She pulled over her, and settled down. She sat awake for a long time, listening to Seron's slow, steady breathing. Oh, how he made her mad! He was arrogant, mean, and a smart aleck! But…still…there was something about him. Something…different…
The two were soon asleep, alone and at the same time…together.