Okay, next chapter. Still writing, guys, and quickly. Good news for you, right? Except that I'm also writing a Jackie Chan Adventures fic and trying to finish The Triforce United...ack, I work too hard. ^_^
Review please!
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Village
I panted as I trotted to keep up with Impa, who marched through the graveyard at a quick and unhalting pace. Under the sunlight, my fear of the Sheikah catacombs dissolved and was forgotten.
"How did you do that?" I demanded in between breaths.
"I didn't," said Impa. "That catacomb has been magicked since the day my people finished constructing it. All one has to do to reach his destination is bear it in mind."
I thought it was amazing. Simple, but amazing. Who knew the Sheikah could be that genius?
When we walked into Kakariko, I halted and stared. Colorful tents covered the square of the small town; royal banners flew under the dreary sky. Castle workers walked around in full uniform, mingling with Kakariko townspeople, all of whom looked mad at this invasion of their quiet village.
"How come they all came here?" I asked, confused at the sight of what looked like the entire Hylian kingdom jammed into the town square.
Impa had halted beside me; she did not reply. I glanced up at her. Her face was white, and she stared at the spectacle with her crimson eyes wide. She looked breathless with fury.
"Stay here," she ordered me, voice clipped. She stalked into the midst of the chaos and straight to a man who I recognized as the village headman. I watched curiously as they began conversing. It was not long until their low talk turned to a loud argument. Impa jabbed a finger toward the cluster of tents and people and yelled something; she looked angrier than I had ever seen her before. The headman said something, his face turning red, but Impa shouted again and pointed, this time at me.
The headman looked at me, startled into a silence. His brow furrowed thoughtfully, then he rose up on his toes to say something in Impa's ear. She replied, and the headman nodded. He stepped around her and headed to the tents.
I could hear his bellows carried on the wind from where I stood. "Get all these tents out of here now! I don't care if you're homeless, we'll find some other way to shelter you! This is too damn conspicuous!"
When the Hylians appeared reluctant to do as he ordered, Impa swooped in. With her on their heels, the Hylians packed up promptly, stuffing their tents away and lowering the banners. I sat in the grass, hugging my knees, and watched.
The Hylians clustered in the freed square after the last traces of their camp was eliminated, and Impa came back to me, shaking her head. "Idiots," she muttered. "They think they can hide in this village with banners waving and everyone in full palace ragalia! Why don't they just have a herald announce it from Death Mountain?!"
I hid a smile, but Impa was not fooled. She scowled at me, then closed and hand over my elbow and tugged me to my feet. "Come on. The Hylians will all be wanting solutions to their problems. We'd best let them see that there's someone here who should be well hidden before any of them are even considered."
I wasn't sure I liked that idea, but I had to follow Impa to the village square. It was either walk or be dragged. Sometimes I wondered if Impa knew her own strength.
She deposited me in front of the crowd next to the headman and glared at all the Hylians, who immediately began to yell at her.
"What are we supposed to do?!"
"Our home was invaded!"
"We need someplace to live!"
"So find a place," Impa snapped in response, "instead of beggaring this village with your troubles! Where's the king?"
The babble broke out again.
"No one knows-"
"He ran off and left us!"
"Coward turned tail and-"
"How dare you say such a thing!" I snapped, bristling at the guard who had insulted my father. So he wasn't the best of leaders; so what? That didn't make him a coward!
The guard, looking as though he were about to snap right back, got a good look at me. His eyes bulged. "Y-Your Highness!"
Eyes shifted to me; there was a sudden flurry of bows and curtsies and murmers of, "Your Highness."
Impa said to my people, "Is there anyone here who feels his need to be hidden is greater than the princess's?"
Every Hylian denied instantly. I felt a sudden rush of guilt at my anger -and Impa's- toward my people.
Then one woman, braver or perhaps more foolish than the rest, spoke up. "We do not deny that the princess's need comes before ours...but...what are we and our families to do?"
"The castle?" Impa asked with a frown.
The woman who had spoken before lowered her eyes. "Destroyed, miss. Every stone was torn down."
I gasped, hands pressed to my mouth.
"W-what?" Impa stammered. "How? How could that have happened? Only Ganondorf entered the castle!"
The guard who had called my father a coward spoke up. "It was that way at first, miss," he said shakily. "Ganondorf disappeared after you fled with the princess- we assumed he was going after you. But then he came back with...with..." He shuddered, horror dawning on his features. "It was an army of 'em...of creature like none you've ever seen. Monsters, they were. They killed my squad-" His voice broke, and he turned away. A man next to him placed a hand on his shoulder.
Impa seemed stunned; so was I. I looked around, at the cluster of Hylians, and saw for the first time the darkness in each and every one of their eyes- the horror there, that told of what they had seen and survived where their brethren had not.
I looked away. I could not keep my eyes on my haunted people.
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Continued in Chapter 6: Oracle