New Arrivals
Rhaea slowly fluttered her eyes. The light was dim and it didn't hurt her eyes, though everything was a blurry blue. Where was she? Her eyes slowly began to focus as she tried to move. Her body was exhausted, but she was awake. The last thing she remembered was trying to find Dalan in the midst of the storm… Rhaea's heart clenched. What if he had perished? She shook her head, sending a headache pounding through. She ignored the pain and clenched her fists. Dalan was alive and she would find him that way.
After making that firm resolve, she began to look around the very blue place she lay in. The bed she had been placed on was made of water and the entire room looked as if it had been made of water as well. The walls seemed to flow. Rhaea blinked in confusion, ignoring the pain of her headache and the screaming muscles of her body as she slowly began to ease herself out of the bed. She winced as her muscles pulled and twisted, making her cry out in unexpected pain.
Suddenly there was someone beside her. Rhaea looked up and let out a startled cry. The creature before her let out a similar one. Rhaea collapsed on to the bed as the strange fish-like creature took a startled step backwards. Suddenly it placed its hands on its hips and gave out a little huff of annoyance. The half-fish half-human approached her and Rhaea only looked up at it in confusion. My are these things tall…
"Get back into the bed! You're still not well yet! I should know! You've been unconscious for nearly three days now! Get back into that bed!"
Rhaea looked up at in complete confusion. She had understood every word, amazingly. She was so curious that no amount of threatening scowling was going to deter her. She blinked back up at the creature tapping her fin on the floor in expectation. Rhaea tilted her head curiously. "What are you?"
Ruto threw her arms into the air and shook her head. "What an outrageous question! I'm a Zora! Princess of the Zoras, in fact. I'm Ruto. And since you are, obviously, not going to get back into that bed might as well get some questions answered too." Ruto leaned down and lifted an looked at Rhaea curiously. "What are you?"
Rhaea couldn't help it. She chuckled. What a strange creature! Were all the people of the Zoras like this one? "I am Rhaea. I am from an island of the coast of Hyrule called Prydereus. I am a Pryderi." Rhaea smiled and shrugged her shoulders. She looked up at the Zora and blinked with obvious confusion. "Where am I, Princess Ruto of the Zoras?"
Rhaea watched as the beautiful fish woman wrinkled her nose…or what appeared to be a nose. "'Princess Ruto of the Zoras?' What is that! Call me Ruto! Or Princess Ruto if you are determined to be formal…but I hate such a formal title! It makes me feel old!" Ruto gave a shiver of disgust and watched as the strange creature, called a Pryderi, chuckled. Ruto smiled. It had been about time. She had thought the strange dark haired being with the strange ears and with wings was never going to wake up! "You're in the Zora River. My home and my kingdom. And just in case you don't know, you're in Hyrule. You washed up here from the ocean. I thought you were a dead Pryderi for sure!"
Rhaea smiled brilliantly. "I'm in Hyrule!" She jumped up and clapped her hands excitedly. "That means we made it! I hope Dalan is all right and that he made safely into Hyrule as well!"
Ruto gave Rhaea a curious look, stepping forward. "Who's Dalan?"
Rhaea blinked and smiled. "My brother. We were coming to Hyrule, but got caught in a terrible storm that came out of nowhere! We got blown apart."
Ruto nodded. "So it was that storm that brought you here. Well, well!" Ruto smiled. "Welcome to Hyrule, Pryderi! And I better look for some clothing…you don't have any."
Rhaea blinked and stared down at herself. She was clothed in nothing but her wings. She jumped into the bed and covered herself with the flowing blue sheet. Ruto burst out into rippling laughter and left to find some clothing, leaving the blushing Pryderi alone with her embarrassment.
* * *
She was absolutely, positively lost. Rhaea looked about and shook her head in complete confusion. Her sense of direction was terrible! She had always had Dalan with her and he always found his way! Being without him now was a horrible experience…especially considering she could not find the village of Kakariko.
Princess Ruto had given her directions to the village, but Rhaea had just wandered getting herself extremely lost. Her watery dress flowed about her as she walked about the land, looking at the sights. She wished she hadn't gotten herself lost. But since she had she'll probably have to use the staff Ruto gave her to protect herself from the monsters that lurk at night. Just what she needed. She sighed as she made her way through the forest. She hadn't even come to any of the other villages yet either!
Rhaea stopped as she heard the trickling water. She followed the sound hoping that whatever body of water was making it she could use it to find her way. But as she made her way through the thick shrubs and vines that hung from the trees to where the sound came from, she only sighed in defeat.
The body of water was nothing more than a clear spring with a waterfall connecting to it. Oh, well. It wasn't what she had been hoping for, but she would make use of it. Rhaea removed the flowing watery blue dress that Princess Ruto had given her and she placed the staff to the side. She made a resounding splash as she entered the water that only went hip deep and let the wings wrap around her body. Rhaea sighed blissfully and let the water of the small waterfall trickle down on her. She closed her eyes with a small sigh.
Link stared at the woman in his spring. Only he had known about the spring's existence… until this moment. He sat beneath the darkness of one of the large trees that shaded the spring from the eyes of intruders, his arm lying carelessly over his knee, the other leg laying bent beside it. The Hyrulian warrior's lips twitched as a whisper of wind blew his hair across his face. His eyes grew darker as he watched the woman bathe beneath the waterfall and submerge herself in the shallow depths of the spring. When she emerged, his body tightened. He had never seen a woman so…uniquely beautiful. He had never seen hair so black, or such strange ears. And he had never seen any woman with glistening faery wings. He had only noticed that interesting feature when she had briefly opened them to shake the water from them. The wings were of iridescent color, shimmering with every and any color, the sunlight reflecting over them. He had never seen anything like it.
His eyes narrowed as he watched her stretch her body, the wings stretching as well as she wrapped them once more around her body. The water drops mingled with the light of the wings giving her a muted glow as the sun shined behind her through the cracks of the leaves. Her short straight black hair glistened with the water and the sunlight. Link could only stare in amazement. He had never in his life seen anything so incredibly radiant…so heavenly. She looked like nothing he had ever seen before. Who was this woman who had found his hidden spring and had captured his attention in a way that no one had ever been able to do?
Link's fingers itched for his ocarina. He had to add something to the vision before him. He silently lifted the ocarina to his lips and began to play the sweet music of his soul to match the enchanting sight before him. His blue eyes glimmered as he watched her, the music resounding throughout the small wood.
He saw her suddenly go still and her eyes, which had been closed in the ecstasy of her bath, snap open with the sound of the music. She slowly turned her head, turning her gaze to the direction from where the music came. Link stared into the iridescent golden eyes that glowed with the light of the sun.
Rhaea met the dark blue eyes and her breath caught. The music continued to emerge from the ocarina that the man played as she stared into his eyes. She was suspended in shock… How? They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, the music floating around them both, until Rhaea awoke from the trance. Suddenly, she grabbed onto the outfit that Princess Ruto had given her and leaped from the waters into the trees.
Link's eyebrow lifted just as she leaped into the air. He ceased his music and placed the ocarina away, his eyes still on the woman. He had followed her with his eyes and his lips twitched.
Rhaea put the clothes on quickly and looked down. The man beneath the tree was still looking up at her. Had he followed her with his eyes? Rhaea swallowed. Who was this man?
Link smiled and slowly stood, leaning against the tree, his smile small and taunting. His eyes never left hers as he gazed up at her, holding her captive with his gaze. Rhaea could only stare back. She had never seen a man like that in her entire life. Hair of dark gold and eyes like the sea after a storm. His hair was long and held back in a queue, his dark green tunic blending in with the surroundings along with his shifting brown cloak, brown boots and black pants. His long ears held and earring in each, and he had a sword strapped to his back that was as evident as the man himself. She was held spellbound by the dark eyes and the presence of him. What was he doing here?
Link had never seen eyes like hers, or the tentative curiosity that filled them as she looked at him with the same perusal he had her as she had bathed. He had never been the subject of such intense curiosity. He wondered if she was even from Hyrule. She certainly didn't look any of the people living on the mainland. Her hair shifted forward as she did, the pitch darkness framing the glowing face enchantingly.
Her wings fluttered, the wind blew rustling through the leaves, and the birds chirped with the hiding faeries in the trees and the water from the spring trickled. These were the only sounds as the two held each other's eyes captive and spellbound. Rhaea moved slightly and blinked down at the warrior staring back up at her with his piercing stormy gaze. "Who are you?" she whispered in the silence of the wood.
Link smiled. Her voice was lulling. It sounded like the wind blowing through water, leaves and wind chimes—a melodic combination that soothed him from the inside like nothing had ever been able to. He lifted an eyebrow to the beauty hiding in the midst of the trees and smiled. "Who are you?"
Rhaea was completely startled. She had not expected to be questioned in return, but she hadn't expected an answer either. And she most certainly hadn't expected the deep soothing voice that emerged from the man either. She shivered with the sound, her flesh rippling. What was she supposed to say now? She thought of insisting for an answer, but that would be too complicated. Perhaps if she answered first the man with the stormy eyes would answer hers…or leave her be. She tensed with that thought. Why did the thought of his departure make her so uncomfortable? His presence is what is making her uncomfortable…and infinitely interested.
"I am Rhaea. I am a Pryderi."
Link lifted a curious eyebrow at the whispered words. A Pryderi? What could that be? Whatever it was, it was obviously not from Hyrule. Now Link's curiosity had been peaked. Who was this woman and what was she doing here in Hyrule? He had never wanted to know so much about one person…and now he could not stop himself from wondering.
"Come down, faery," he whispered to the woman in the trees. "I will not hurt you." He lifted one of his hands, palm up, toward her in invitation.
Rhaea blinked. She had not expected this turn of events. In fact, she should stop expecting anything. This man was completely unpredictable. What was she going to do? She stared down into the stormy blue eyes that murmured a challenge. She smiled. This was definitely a warrior! Perhaps she would come down to meet that challenge of his! But she would remain wary.
Link blinked in surprise as her expression change from wariness to curiosity to a smile. The corners of her eyes crinkled with her smile and her eyes almost closed. Only a sliver of gold could be seen as she smiled down at him and let out a small chuckle. His body clenched in reaction to the sound. Never had a woman's laughter effected him so…
Link's thought faded as she floated down from the tree. The watery blue dress shimmered, billowing about her as she glided to the ground. The dress was a transparent blue and beneath the flowing dress was white tight breeches, while over it was a white vest that covered her where she needed to be covered. Her feet were bare and the wings glistened behind her, silently fluttering as she touched the floor, placing her hand into his inviting one. He had never seen any woman as beautiful as the one before him. Her eyes glowed and straight black hair curled at the ends from being dried in the air. Her smile and eyes held him captive and her beauty held him spellbound.
Rhaea gasped. She had thought he was handsome from a distance? The man was absolutely breathtaking! She had never seen a man like this in her entire life…nor had she ever felt this way about one. What was happening to her? She just stared into his eyes as she landed gracefully on the floor. The stormy eyes only gazed back. They stood like that for what seemed like eons. Her hand in his, their hair drifting in their faces with the wind, the sun glowing, bathing them in its light and their eyes locked together in time.
Link slowly regained his lost composure and gave the woman before him a small smile. He motioned to the floor and she smiled in return, both of them sitting on the soft grass together. Rhaea reached for her hide boots as the man whispered a question.
"What is a Pryderi?"
Rhaea turned to him and laughed. Link closed his eyes and reveled in the beautiful sound as she let the laughter take her. He opened his eyes as the sound began to fade into quiet chuckling. She smiled at him, the golden eyes sparkling. "I am that obvious, then?" Link only smiled and Rhaea shook her head and began to place her on her boots. "I am from an island of the coast of Hyrule called Prydereus. The people there are mainly of earthly colors. Dark hair and eyes just as dark. All the women are born with wings of all different kinds, for you see our island is mainly mountainous." Rhaea smiled at the warrior before. "I hope that is enough for your question, warrior."
Link smiled and nodded. Then he lifted an eyebrow as she began to put on the other boot. "But why are your eyes not dark in color?"
Rhaea looked up from her boot and blinked at him. "What do you mean? They are a light brown…or so we were told when we were children."
Link shook his head. "Your eyes are golden…and who is we?"
Rhaea shook her head and continued to put on her boot. She murmured quietly. "My brother."
Link looked at her curiously. "Did he come with you to Hyrule?"
Rhaea finished with her boots and looked up into the stormy blue eyes. "It is now my turn, warrior. You've asked your questions, now it is time for my own!" She leaned close and placed her hand beneath her chin. "How long were you beneath that tree watching me?"
Link felt his face go red. He was not used to being questioned and especially about things like that. He felt foolish…for a moment. Then his smile returned, slowly and leeringly. "When you began to bathe beneath the waterfall."
Rhaea face went up in flames. He had watched all that? She turned her face away from the smiling male and whispered, "How did you know I was here?"
His smile grew. "I didn't." When Rhaea turned, the question in her eyes, Link shrugged. "No one knew about this spring but I. I was on my way here for a bath when I heard a splash. I passed through the trees and saw a faery beneath a waterfall." Link smiled leeringly at her. "So I watched."
Rhaea's face was burning with mortification. She had thought she had found a hidden spring! Instead she had stumbled onto a hidden spring with an owner! "Don't call me 'faery'," Rhaea said, her face still glowing red. "My name is Rhaea."
Link's smiled slowly, as his eyes became hooded. "Good day, Rhaea."
She eyed him warily and desperately thought of another question to ask the warrior before her. "Uh… Where do you live, warrior? I mean, from what part of Hyrule are you?"
Link turned his face away and stared at the waterfall silently for a few moments. When he finally spoke his voice was distant. "I spent the first years of my life with the Kokiri in the Kokiri Forest. The Kokiri are a group of children that are born from a huge tree within the forest, but they never age and at a certain age they obtain a faery as a guide and friend for their long life. I did not receive one until much later…so they called me the faery-less Kokiri. But even when I finally received one, I realized I was not a Kokiri. For I had begun to age." Link paused and turned back to the woman who was watching him curiously. He smiled silently. "It wasn't until later that I was told I was a Hylian. They were people that used to live on the Lake Hylia. The year I was born there was a Great War and my mother rushed into the Kokiri Forest, desperate to save my life. She gave me to the Great Tree and died…or so I was told."
Link's eyes burned into Rhaea's. "Is that answer enough for you, Rhaea?"
Rhaea swallowed and slowly stood, grabbing onto her staff. Link followed and stood as well, towering over her. She looked up at him. And she had thought she had had troubles. They were nothing compared to what this warrior must have gone through. She shook her head and quickly turned, running through the forest so quickly that she seemed to fly. "Good bye, warrior!" was the last thing he heard before she vanished beyond the trees. She hadn't answered his question on her brother.
Link stared into the woods and shook his head. The irony of life. He had cared for three women in his life…all three had become Sages, Guardians of Hyrule and untouchable by any man save he be a Sage as well. All the other women in his life had been the normal parts of a warrior's existence. But now this…Pryderi…had entered his life and disrupted it. He had only told Zelda of his origins. What had made him tell the strange dark haired, golden-eyed, faery-woman that had captured his interest?
Link shrugged away the disturbing thoughts and turned the opposite direction and began to enter the wood once more. He had come to his spring to bathe…but the presence of the faery-woman lingered in the air and in the enchanted place. He closed himself to the essence of her that seemed to float about shimmering spring. He slowly turned back to the direction in which she had fled and smiled slightly.
"Good bye, faery."
He turned back and headed through the woods, the woman loitering in the depths of his mind like an indestructible phantom.