Heyho, People-O's!! OK, don't ask me.... Um, yeah. Anyway, here is chapter four! Sorry it's been a while since I posted a chpt, but I have been pretty busy.... Oh, well. Please read and review!!
Plague of Hyrule: Chapter 4
Nadome
Lareena was standing over the exhausted Link. He had battled thirteen monsters since the Prince of Hajuks. Lareena gave him a cup filled with a delicious liquid he had never tasted before. "What is this?"
"It's koi-berry juice. Don't you have koi-berries in Hyrule?"
Link shook his head. It no longer hurt; he supposed koi-berries could do minor healing. "You know," Lareena chattered, "I saw you do all that magic. Where did you learn it?"
"Well, I had to take a special class from this crazy fairy. She taught me all I ever needed to know. But get this: she had_pink hair_!!" Lareena laughed and threw a playful punch at Link.
"Get out! Did she really?!" Link nodded, grinning, and took another sip of the blue juice. Lareena sat down next to Link. She had been his guide for the last four days, and she had grown to like him a lot more than she did when she first met him. "You know, Link, I haven't traveled this far from my home in a long time. I stayed there since my family died." She told him this without flinching, but he could hear the hurt in her voice.
"Died?" he inquired gently.
She nodded. Tears brimmed her eyes as she told him her sad story. "When I was seven I lived in that town, the one on the horizon. We, my mom, dad, older brother, and I, had lived there all lives. Dad took me out every year into these woods, and my current home was where he and I spent those happy days." She looked down. "But those, those...STUPID bandits came. They killed mom and dad in front of our eyes. Then," she paused, wiped her eyes, looked up at the starry sky, and continued shakily, "they advanced on us. They thought I was pretty, so they killed my brother and spared me. But barely. They... beat me... and left me to die." Her fists clenched defiantly. "I dragged myself to a corner of the room, away from my family. I sat there for days, resting until I could stand up and get myself to the kitchen, where my mother kept healing herbs and bandages. For weeks I nursed myself back to health. When I was strong enough, I buried my family and packed my things. When I left the trashed house, I saw the village. The bandits had spared no one but me. So for three more weeks, I buried friends, neighbors, and animals. There was one dead bandit. I left him for the vultures." She paused again, drew in a heavy breath, and rasped, "I came here, where Dad had taken me all those years ago. I spent my life in that clearing, learning where to get food, what was good and what wasn't. Soon people moved into my village. They built it up, they made it work. But they know not the awful history. They probably think all of Nadome is perfect. But I have never trusted people since that day." Tears rolled down her rosy cheeks. She looked into Link's eyes, and forced a smile. "I thought I had gotten over it, but I guess I'm wrong.... Anyway, after that I found many new worlds, and traveled to them. I have often considered running away, but I always feel as if I would be forgetting my family if I did. So I live here."
Link stared at her. He had never heard such an awful story since Ganandorf. He didn't even know which story was worse. "I had no idea.... Is Nadome the name of this land?" Lareena nodded. "You were_seven_?! How...how could someone be so awful?!" She burst into fresh sobs. He put his arms around her, not knowing how to comfort her any better. The only time any of his friends needed comforting was when the King died, but he wouldn't dare hug Zelda, because some would suspect scandal. So he simply held Lareena close to him and let her sob into his tunic, gently rocking her back and forth. Eventually she fell asleep; Link softly laid her down onto a blanket he had put down earlier that evening so they could eat dinner.
Link sat up thinking, not knowing what to do. He came here to find a cure. Obviously he had to find a doctor or healer. How many people had died in his absence? How many more had fallen ill? How were Malon, Zelda, and Darunia? How was he going to get back? What and where was the cure? What about Lareena?
The last thought had struck him hard. Lareena was not happy here anymore. Maybe she knew the way back to Hyrule. Maybe she even knew the cure, or at least where to find it. Perhaps Zelda would let her stay in Hyrule. He didn't know. He hoped she would, he loved Lareena with all his heart.
~*~
When Lareena woke, she found Link still asleep. She almost laughed at him; he looked nothing like the battle-hardened warrior she knew when he was sprawled out in the grass, hat slipping off sideways, sleeping.
She picked up her long bow and left camp. She hunted for their lunch, and found a gray reng. Gray rengs were known all around Nadome for their wonderful taste, texture, and tenderness. After killing it cleanly she stopped and said a short prayer. Then she went on to find some koi-berries.
All the time she was out, she thought of Link. All the kind things he had done for her. She knew she should repay him, but she didn't know how. Except... but no! She couldn't do that! Her mother asked her to keep it a secret before she died. And yet, if she didn't give him the cure, thousands from Hyrule would die. But... there was something else about the plague that wouldn't be cured by the potion she could make. Something, or someone, behind all this that was evil.
When she returned to camp, she saw Link was up. She called good morning and went to build a fire.
Link came to join her. "Lareena...." He sighed, looking uneasy. "Do you know anything about the plague?"
Lareena hesitated, then replied, "Yes. It hit here the year before my parents died. But, there is something different about it. In Nadome, it was horrific, just like in Hyrule. And yet, there is.... I have a strange feeling that something in the plague was set up by someone or something evil. And," she took a deep breath, "I know the cure."
Plague of Hyrule: Chapter 4
Nadome
Lareena was standing over the exhausted Link. He had battled thirteen monsters since the Prince of Hajuks. Lareena gave him a cup filled with a delicious liquid he had never tasted before. "What is this?"
"It's koi-berry juice. Don't you have koi-berries in Hyrule?"
Link shook his head. It no longer hurt; he supposed koi-berries could do minor healing. "You know," Lareena chattered, "I saw you do all that magic. Where did you learn it?"
"Well, I had to take a special class from this crazy fairy. She taught me all I ever needed to know. But get this: she had_pink hair_!!" Lareena laughed and threw a playful punch at Link.
"Get out! Did she really?!" Link nodded, grinning, and took another sip of the blue juice. Lareena sat down next to Link. She had been his guide for the last four days, and she had grown to like him a lot more than she did when she first met him. "You know, Link, I haven't traveled this far from my home in a long time. I stayed there since my family died." She told him this without flinching, but he could hear the hurt in her voice.
"Died?" he inquired gently.
She nodded. Tears brimmed her eyes as she told him her sad story. "When I was seven I lived in that town, the one on the horizon. We, my mom, dad, older brother, and I, had lived there all lives. Dad took me out every year into these woods, and my current home was where he and I spent those happy days." She looked down. "But those, those...STUPID bandits came. They killed mom and dad in front of our eyes. Then," she paused, wiped her eyes, looked up at the starry sky, and continued shakily, "they advanced on us. They thought I was pretty, so they killed my brother and spared me. But barely. They... beat me... and left me to die." Her fists clenched defiantly. "I dragged myself to a corner of the room, away from my family. I sat there for days, resting until I could stand up and get myself to the kitchen, where my mother kept healing herbs and bandages. For weeks I nursed myself back to health. When I was strong enough, I buried my family and packed my things. When I left the trashed house, I saw the village. The bandits had spared no one but me. So for three more weeks, I buried friends, neighbors, and animals. There was one dead bandit. I left him for the vultures." She paused again, drew in a heavy breath, and rasped, "I came here, where Dad had taken me all those years ago. I spent my life in that clearing, learning where to get food, what was good and what wasn't. Soon people moved into my village. They built it up, they made it work. But they know not the awful history. They probably think all of Nadome is perfect. But I have never trusted people since that day." Tears rolled down her rosy cheeks. She looked into Link's eyes, and forced a smile. "I thought I had gotten over it, but I guess I'm wrong.... Anyway, after that I found many new worlds, and traveled to them. I have often considered running away, but I always feel as if I would be forgetting my family if I did. So I live here."
Link stared at her. He had never heard such an awful story since Ganandorf. He didn't even know which story was worse. "I had no idea.... Is Nadome the name of this land?" Lareena nodded. "You were_seven_?! How...how could someone be so awful?!" She burst into fresh sobs. He put his arms around her, not knowing how to comfort her any better. The only time any of his friends needed comforting was when the King died, but he wouldn't dare hug Zelda, because some would suspect scandal. So he simply held Lareena close to him and let her sob into his tunic, gently rocking her back and forth. Eventually she fell asleep; Link softly laid her down onto a blanket he had put down earlier that evening so they could eat dinner.
Link sat up thinking, not knowing what to do. He came here to find a cure. Obviously he had to find a doctor or healer. How many people had died in his absence? How many more had fallen ill? How were Malon, Zelda, and Darunia? How was he going to get back? What and where was the cure? What about Lareena?
The last thought had struck him hard. Lareena was not happy here anymore. Maybe she knew the way back to Hyrule. Maybe she even knew the cure, or at least where to find it. Perhaps Zelda would let her stay in Hyrule. He didn't know. He hoped she would, he loved Lareena with all his heart.
~*~
When Lareena woke, she found Link still asleep. She almost laughed at him; he looked nothing like the battle-hardened warrior she knew when he was sprawled out in the grass, hat slipping off sideways, sleeping.
She picked up her long bow and left camp. She hunted for their lunch, and found a gray reng. Gray rengs were known all around Nadome for their wonderful taste, texture, and tenderness. After killing it cleanly she stopped and said a short prayer. Then she went on to find some koi-berries.
All the time she was out, she thought of Link. All the kind things he had done for her. She knew she should repay him, but she didn't know how. Except... but no! She couldn't do that! Her mother asked her to keep it a secret before she died. And yet, if she didn't give him the cure, thousands from Hyrule would die. But... there was something else about the plague that wouldn't be cured by the potion she could make. Something, or someone, behind all this that was evil.
When she returned to camp, she saw Link was up. She called good morning and went to build a fire.
Link came to join her. "Lareena...." He sighed, looking uneasy. "Do you know anything about the plague?"
Lareena hesitated, then replied, "Yes. It hit here the year before my parents died. But, there is something different about it. In Nadome, it was horrific, just like in Hyrule. And yet, there is.... I have a strange feeling that something in the plague was set up by someone or something evil. And," she took a deep breath, "I know the cure."