The Dark Plague
Chapter Six: The Temple on the Hill and the Return Home
The next morning came swiftly and though the new group setting off on the journey felt as if they had gotten no rest at all, they left the castle as quickly as they could. Karzon and Eierthian seemed to have their wits about them. The night before, Tenameru and Nikki explained the situation to Karzon and he decided that he would join their quest in place of Malon who would stay at Hyrule Castle with Rinéan to search for the hidden weapon. So now the party consisted of Tenameru, Link, Nikki, Talya, Eierthian, and Karzon. Through the portal in Kakariko they went, past the collapsed threes that marked the capture of Ariel, and onto a long stretch of plains and fields of wheat. About a mile from the edge of the woods was a hill with a small shrine on top of it. The top of the shrine was barely visible above a ring of trees that surrounded the hill completely. On a plaque outside the forest the temple of the four fairies was crudely carved. Though they could not see from the outside of the trees they could hear the gentle trickle of a stream that they immediately assumed surrounded the hill like a moat.
"Perhaps we should split up again. If there really are four fairies here it would be quicker." Nikki reasoned.
"Good idea." Tenameru agreed. Tenameru, Link, and Karzon were teamed up leaving Nikki, Talya, and Eierthian as the second team. So, the teams were set and they immediately headed into different areas of the small forest. The moment they entered the gloom of the trees they felt a strong objecting wind. The trees of the forest held a enigmatic beauty, much like a forest read about in a fairie tale (ha! Pun!). The bark of the tree was silver and though the branches blocked most light from the forest, the silver gave off a brilliant glow. The leaves were as delicate and magnanimous as the feathers of the crimson birds they had seen before. Behind the trees a silent figure dodged around, her skin matching the trees and her hair as pitch as the night. She had small silver wings resembling the leaves of a tree in the middle of autumn. Nikki stopped in her tracks noticing the flash of silver passing through the trees.
"Did you guys see that?" She asked noticing the flash again. Talya and Eierthian stopped too, watching for the flash, which moved faster, and faster between the trees.
"It's a fairie." Eierthian cried out. With her presence revealed the girl stepped into view.
"Do no set thine eyes upon me." She whispered in a shy voice. She fluttered her wings and the wind that a moment ago would have been described as refreshing was replaced by a strong gust almost knocking the trio off of their feet.
"Shit!" Talya yelled covering her eyes from the wind. Eierthian shot an arrow at the fairie only to have it fly back at him. He had to drop to the ground to avoid being wounded with his own arrow. It was a long moment before he was able to get back on his feet. Nikki and Talya had begun to approach the fairie as quickly as they could while battling against the fierce wind. Just as they were a few feet from the silver fairie the violent wind changed directions suddenly knocking the girls forward onto the ground.
Eierthian took this opportunity to fire another arrow. The fairie noticed this and again changed the wind, but she was to slow in her course of action, the arrow struck her wing, pinning her against one of the silver trees. The wind stopped abruptly as the fairie screamed in pain then covered her eyes as she cried silver tears. Talya quickly picked herself up and absorbed the crying fairie who refused to take a look at the face of her captors.
Link and Tenameru had objected strongly to leaving Nikki and Talya alone with Eierthian, whom they really did not like, but were convinced by Karzon that everything would be all right and that the teams set were for the best. It took only moments to pass through the forest and to cross the bridge over the stream. As they walked up the steep hill they were silent each thinking about the task at hand. The shrine on top of the temple was in ruins and was not nearly as beautiful as one would have thought having seen it from a distance. Inside there were pictures on the walls depicting a beautiful girl despised by the women she lived with Every man in the town seemed to fall in love with her. The mural went on to show how she was condemned and killed.
"This is not a shrine." Karzon said after they had examined the inner room of the shrine very carefully. "It is a grave." They turned as they heard footsteps behind them. There stood the beautiful girl depicted in the murals, faint as a ghost and winged. She was the eighth fairie Nimm.
"Have you come here to pray?" She smiled gently, her voice reminding them of Rinéan's unearthly tone. She walked forward as she received no reply. "Perhaps you came to see me?" She frowned at them, as she again received no reply. "Do you not find me beautiful?"
"You are indeed beautiful." Tenameru said. "But you dull in comparison to Nikki." The fairie was infuriated and the shrine floor shook beneath them.
"Nikki? Who is this Nikki?" She demanded, her face pale with envy. "Answer me!" She hollered. "You must love no one but me!"
"That is not possible." Karzon smiled thinking of his beloved Malon, ignoring the situation for a short moment.
"Then you shall not leave! I will trap you here so you can love no one but I!"
"You are insane." Link yelled at her. "You can not force that kind of thing!" The fairie was taken aback. Tenameru seized the moment and grabbed the arm of the fairie. She disappeared, but in her fury she caved the doorway in so even though they had completed the task they had set out to do, they were now trapped inside the shrine.
"Are you two all right?" Eierthian asked helping Nikki to her feet. Nikki spit the mouthful of dirt she had received when she fell to the ground.
"Gross." She commented wiping the remaining dirt from her lips. The ground suddenly shook beneath them and they heard a loud crash as the temple on the hill collapsed.
"What was that?" Talya asked walking ahead of Nikki and Eierthian.
"Let us find out" Eierthian said, catching up with her. The trio soon reached the river that they had heard earlier. There was no bridge to be found but there were a series of rocks that they could hop across to the other side. Eierthian was first to cross the river. Nikki was second. She hopped from one rock to the other and just as she would have reached the middle she lost her balance making a huge splash as she fell into the water. Nikki reappeared on the surface of the water and pushed her bangs, which were dripping onto her face, back.
"Um, you okay?" Talya stifled a laugh.
"Yeah, I am fine." Nikki grasped onto the rock in an attempt to pull herself out of the water. "Hey! I am stuck!"
"Oh come one, you have to be kidding me." Talya hopped onto the rocks and extended a hand down to Nikki, balancing on two separate rocks. Nikki grabbed her hand and as she was halfway out of the water she felt herself being pulled back. "Hey! What are you doing?" Talya yelled struggling to keep her balance as she was pulled down with Nikki. They both fell into the water. Eierthian went to jump into the water to help but an invisible wall stopped him. It felt as though a ton of bricks had smacked him in the chest, knocking him backwards. He pulled out his bow and put himself at alert, but with no visible form to shoot at, he found himself unsteady with his aim. He received an unavoidable second blow to his stomach. He found himself on his knees, still unsteadily holding his bow.
She was drowning. Nikki was being held under the water. She could not breath. She was kicking and flailing as hard as she could, but she could not break free. Talya tried frantically to pull her up, but it was hard to release Nikki from something that she could not see. Then she caught it out of the corner of her eye. She could see an area of the water where the current was not being affected by Nikki's flailing. Talya took a deep breath of air then dived under the water pulling her sword out. She stabbed forward at the odd spot in the water and before she knew it Nikki was free of her assailant, swimming towards the surface. Nikki gasped and coughed filling her lungs with air and coughing up the water she had swallowed. She clung to the rock, to afraid to let go. The water bubbled around them.
"Hurry up, get out of the water!" Talya yelled pushing Nikki out of the water. Nikki reached the shore where Eierthian should have been standing and scooted a safe distance from the water. Talya pulled herself from the water than felt a force hit her on the head knocking her back into the water. The water was stained with the blood of the unknown attacker. "Go find Eierthian!!!" Talya instructed. Nikki ran up the shore in search of the ranger.
Talya rubbed her head as she swam back towards the shore. Then the force hit her in the head again, forcing her head underneath the water. She heard a splash next to her, but the sound had no visible source. She grasped at her own throat as she felt herself being strangled. She felt her consciousness slipping away from her, her vision blurring, and her lungs screaming for the air it sorely needed.
Eierthian tried to shoot, or to block the blows that continually hit him, each time with more force than the last. He tried to lead the attacker back to the water, making slow progress. His mind drifted to the girls he had left behind. He soon saw Nikki rushing towards him through blurred eyes. She was pale and wet. Eierthian fell to the ground, benign again hit in the stomach. Nikki picked up a clump of dirt and threw it towards Eierthian. The dirt hit the invisible assailant outlining parts of its figure. Enraged, the assailant took form. A green fairie covered in seaweed with no wings. Her name was Morai. She tackled Nikki to the ground but was kicked away then trapped by Eierthian.
Talya felt the grip release off of her neck and quickly swam to the surface. She climbed onto the shore and sat long enough only to catch her breath. She ran to find Eierthian and Nikki and soon found them holding down the green fairie. She quickly absorbed the fairie and all three members of the group collapsed with a resounding thud.
"Is everybody okay?" Talya asked still coughing from the lack of air.
"I have bruises in placed that I did not know existed." Eierthian groaned. "This is quite a task, I had no idea how fairie could be so hard to catch." Nikki had gotten up and climbed up the hill.
"You guys! Come quick!" She yelled down to them. Talya and Eierthian quickly caught up to Nikki. Nikki was standing next to the temple where the entrance was caved in.
"What is wrong" Eierthian groaned.
"The temple is collapsed." Nikki pointed out.
"This I can see." Talya sighed, still coughing.
"What if Tenameru is in there!" Nikki suggested. "What if the boys got trapped?"
"Good riddance." Eierthian scoffed. Talya smacked him on the back of his head. "I mean, oh darn, what a pity." Eierthian rolled his eyes.
"You are a bastard Eierthian." Talya groaned.
"Oh you know you like me." Eierthian smiled.
"Pig." Talya groaned once more. "Anyway. If they are in there, we better get them out."
"All right." Nikki agreed. They began pulling the broken stones away from the rubble in hopes of freeing their friends. Behind them a young girl sat watching them. She was surrounded by fireflies and had very pretty magenta wing. She yawned and fluttered onto the top of the rubble they were trying to remove.
"I can help you." She giggled. The fireflies danced around her almost like a shield of light.
"Why should we trust you?" Nikki interrogated the young girl.
"I am the talisman of the unprotected, Laurel." She said. "I can help you, then you may send me back to the place in which I belong."
"All right." Talya agreed. Nikki nodded as well. Eierthian had his hands still clutched around his bow, feeling very wary of the young fairie after what he had previously experienced with them. The fairie yawned and stretched her arms in a child-like manner, then flew above their heads and waved her hands at the ruined temple. The collapsed door slowly repaired itself and sure enough Tenameru, Karzon, and Link were inside.
"What happened to you guys?" Tenameru asked surprised to see them. They then realized how odd they must look soaked and bruised.
"Long story." Nikki hugged Tenameru, engulfed by his warmth.
"Excuse me." Laurel said. "I do believe that I have fulfilled by duties. Now you must fulfill yours."
"Oh, yes of course." Talya coughed. She grabbed the hand of the fairie who smiled at her as she disappeared. Talya shook her hand furiously. "I am never going to get used to that."
The wind was picking up as evening approached. Hoshiko and Zelda had been riding for hours. To there dismay they had not seen one place that they could ask for help. All they saw was the occasional ruins of a building that had been long since collapsed.
"There are footprints here." Hoshiko observed slowing her horse to a complete stop. "But where from? There must have been people here recently!"
"Hoshiko!" Zelda cried from ahead. Hoshiko rode to meet her and joined Zelda in her awe struck state. They were standing down into the land of Hyrule.
"How do we get down there?" Zelda said, her adrenaline rushing with her new discovery.
"There has to be a way. Someone else was up here, probably from your land." Hoshiko said with a newfound hope. "Let's explore the edge for a while, maybe there is a way down!" Zelda agreed and they led their horses carefully along the edge for a few miles. They then found the staircase leading down into Hyrule that their comrades had traveled a few days earlier.
"Isn't that oddly convenient?" Zelda said. Hoshiko jumped off of her horse.
"We can not bring the horses with us. They will head back to the castle." Hoshiko stroked the mane of the horse the patted its side gently. It trotted off back into the opposite direction followed shortly by Zelda's horse. They exchanged wary glances then began to descend the staircase. The wind blowing was a bitter cold and a small flurry of snow was falling. The ground below was covered in a thin blanket of white, untouched by Hylian hands. The wind was the only sound to interrupt the eerie quiet. Zelda was worried about what had become of her people. Whether or not the sages were all right, whether her friends were hurt or not. The worry in her in her mind even dwelled on her sister. Hoshiko's thoughts lingered only on the task at hand and the aching worry of what had happened to her world. The main question that continually pierced her thoughts was 'how did her castle end up in a world other than her own?' They did not have long to ponder these thoughts before they were at the door of Hyrule's marvelous castle. Before Zelda could reach towards the door, it opened. Malon ran out and hugged her.
"Princess! I am so glad that you are safe!" Malon cried almost in tears.
"Malon, where is everybody?" Zelda asked surprised to see no one else there to meet her.
"Well it is a long story. The rest of the group probably will not be back for a while." Malon began her explanation.
"Well, we have to go find them. There is no need for them to search any longer."
"They are not out there looking for you." Malon shook her head.
"Well then, what are they doing?' Zelda folded her arms angered that the people she felt would protect her were doing something else. Malon went on to explain about the fairies as well as Link's double. She ended telling them that now they were searching for the weapon that only Nikki could use.
"Wait. I think that I might be able to help." Zelda said after the story had been told. Hoshiko was listening quietly. "Follow me." Zelda led them out of the room and down several flights of stairs. Halfway to the basement they ran into Rinéan. Rinéan followed silently next to Hoshiko. Zelda grabbed a torch off of the wall and headed into a dark secret hallway.
Chapter Six: The Temple on the Hill and the Return Home
The next morning came swiftly and though the new group setting off on the journey felt as if they had gotten no rest at all, they left the castle as quickly as they could. Karzon and Eierthian seemed to have their wits about them. The night before, Tenameru and Nikki explained the situation to Karzon and he decided that he would join their quest in place of Malon who would stay at Hyrule Castle with Rinéan to search for the hidden weapon. So now the party consisted of Tenameru, Link, Nikki, Talya, Eierthian, and Karzon. Through the portal in Kakariko they went, past the collapsed threes that marked the capture of Ariel, and onto a long stretch of plains and fields of wheat. About a mile from the edge of the woods was a hill with a small shrine on top of it. The top of the shrine was barely visible above a ring of trees that surrounded the hill completely. On a plaque outside the forest the temple of the four fairies was crudely carved. Though they could not see from the outside of the trees they could hear the gentle trickle of a stream that they immediately assumed surrounded the hill like a moat.
"Perhaps we should split up again. If there really are four fairies here it would be quicker." Nikki reasoned.
"Good idea." Tenameru agreed. Tenameru, Link, and Karzon were teamed up leaving Nikki, Talya, and Eierthian as the second team. So, the teams were set and they immediately headed into different areas of the small forest. The moment they entered the gloom of the trees they felt a strong objecting wind. The trees of the forest held a enigmatic beauty, much like a forest read about in a fairie tale (ha! Pun!). The bark of the tree was silver and though the branches blocked most light from the forest, the silver gave off a brilliant glow. The leaves were as delicate and magnanimous as the feathers of the crimson birds they had seen before. Behind the trees a silent figure dodged around, her skin matching the trees and her hair as pitch as the night. She had small silver wings resembling the leaves of a tree in the middle of autumn. Nikki stopped in her tracks noticing the flash of silver passing through the trees.
"Did you guys see that?" She asked noticing the flash again. Talya and Eierthian stopped too, watching for the flash, which moved faster, and faster between the trees.
"It's a fairie." Eierthian cried out. With her presence revealed the girl stepped into view.
"Do no set thine eyes upon me." She whispered in a shy voice. She fluttered her wings and the wind that a moment ago would have been described as refreshing was replaced by a strong gust almost knocking the trio off of their feet.
"Shit!" Talya yelled covering her eyes from the wind. Eierthian shot an arrow at the fairie only to have it fly back at him. He had to drop to the ground to avoid being wounded with his own arrow. It was a long moment before he was able to get back on his feet. Nikki and Talya had begun to approach the fairie as quickly as they could while battling against the fierce wind. Just as they were a few feet from the silver fairie the violent wind changed directions suddenly knocking the girls forward onto the ground.
Eierthian took this opportunity to fire another arrow. The fairie noticed this and again changed the wind, but she was to slow in her course of action, the arrow struck her wing, pinning her against one of the silver trees. The wind stopped abruptly as the fairie screamed in pain then covered her eyes as she cried silver tears. Talya quickly picked herself up and absorbed the crying fairie who refused to take a look at the face of her captors.
Link and Tenameru had objected strongly to leaving Nikki and Talya alone with Eierthian, whom they really did not like, but were convinced by Karzon that everything would be all right and that the teams set were for the best. It took only moments to pass through the forest and to cross the bridge over the stream. As they walked up the steep hill they were silent each thinking about the task at hand. The shrine on top of the temple was in ruins and was not nearly as beautiful as one would have thought having seen it from a distance. Inside there were pictures on the walls depicting a beautiful girl despised by the women she lived with Every man in the town seemed to fall in love with her. The mural went on to show how she was condemned and killed.
"This is not a shrine." Karzon said after they had examined the inner room of the shrine very carefully. "It is a grave." They turned as they heard footsteps behind them. There stood the beautiful girl depicted in the murals, faint as a ghost and winged. She was the eighth fairie Nimm.
"Have you come here to pray?" She smiled gently, her voice reminding them of Rinéan's unearthly tone. She walked forward as she received no reply. "Perhaps you came to see me?" She frowned at them, as she again received no reply. "Do you not find me beautiful?"
"You are indeed beautiful." Tenameru said. "But you dull in comparison to Nikki." The fairie was infuriated and the shrine floor shook beneath them.
"Nikki? Who is this Nikki?" She demanded, her face pale with envy. "Answer me!" She hollered. "You must love no one but me!"
"That is not possible." Karzon smiled thinking of his beloved Malon, ignoring the situation for a short moment.
"Then you shall not leave! I will trap you here so you can love no one but I!"
"You are insane." Link yelled at her. "You can not force that kind of thing!" The fairie was taken aback. Tenameru seized the moment and grabbed the arm of the fairie. She disappeared, but in her fury she caved the doorway in so even though they had completed the task they had set out to do, they were now trapped inside the shrine.
"Are you two all right?" Eierthian asked helping Nikki to her feet. Nikki spit the mouthful of dirt she had received when she fell to the ground.
"Gross." She commented wiping the remaining dirt from her lips. The ground suddenly shook beneath them and they heard a loud crash as the temple on the hill collapsed.
"What was that?" Talya asked walking ahead of Nikki and Eierthian.
"Let us find out" Eierthian said, catching up with her. The trio soon reached the river that they had heard earlier. There was no bridge to be found but there were a series of rocks that they could hop across to the other side. Eierthian was first to cross the river. Nikki was second. She hopped from one rock to the other and just as she would have reached the middle she lost her balance making a huge splash as she fell into the water. Nikki reappeared on the surface of the water and pushed her bangs, which were dripping onto her face, back.
"Um, you okay?" Talya stifled a laugh.
"Yeah, I am fine." Nikki grasped onto the rock in an attempt to pull herself out of the water. "Hey! I am stuck!"
"Oh come one, you have to be kidding me." Talya hopped onto the rocks and extended a hand down to Nikki, balancing on two separate rocks. Nikki grabbed her hand and as she was halfway out of the water she felt herself being pulled back. "Hey! What are you doing?" Talya yelled struggling to keep her balance as she was pulled down with Nikki. They both fell into the water. Eierthian went to jump into the water to help but an invisible wall stopped him. It felt as though a ton of bricks had smacked him in the chest, knocking him backwards. He pulled out his bow and put himself at alert, but with no visible form to shoot at, he found himself unsteady with his aim. He received an unavoidable second blow to his stomach. He found himself on his knees, still unsteadily holding his bow.
She was drowning. Nikki was being held under the water. She could not breath. She was kicking and flailing as hard as she could, but she could not break free. Talya tried frantically to pull her up, but it was hard to release Nikki from something that she could not see. Then she caught it out of the corner of her eye. She could see an area of the water where the current was not being affected by Nikki's flailing. Talya took a deep breath of air then dived under the water pulling her sword out. She stabbed forward at the odd spot in the water and before she knew it Nikki was free of her assailant, swimming towards the surface. Nikki gasped and coughed filling her lungs with air and coughing up the water she had swallowed. She clung to the rock, to afraid to let go. The water bubbled around them.
"Hurry up, get out of the water!" Talya yelled pushing Nikki out of the water. Nikki reached the shore where Eierthian should have been standing and scooted a safe distance from the water. Talya pulled herself from the water than felt a force hit her on the head knocking her back into the water. The water was stained with the blood of the unknown attacker. "Go find Eierthian!!!" Talya instructed. Nikki ran up the shore in search of the ranger.
Talya rubbed her head as she swam back towards the shore. Then the force hit her in the head again, forcing her head underneath the water. She heard a splash next to her, but the sound had no visible source. She grasped at her own throat as she felt herself being strangled. She felt her consciousness slipping away from her, her vision blurring, and her lungs screaming for the air it sorely needed.
Eierthian tried to shoot, or to block the blows that continually hit him, each time with more force than the last. He tried to lead the attacker back to the water, making slow progress. His mind drifted to the girls he had left behind. He soon saw Nikki rushing towards him through blurred eyes. She was pale and wet. Eierthian fell to the ground, benign again hit in the stomach. Nikki picked up a clump of dirt and threw it towards Eierthian. The dirt hit the invisible assailant outlining parts of its figure. Enraged, the assailant took form. A green fairie covered in seaweed with no wings. Her name was Morai. She tackled Nikki to the ground but was kicked away then trapped by Eierthian.
Talya felt the grip release off of her neck and quickly swam to the surface. She climbed onto the shore and sat long enough only to catch her breath. She ran to find Eierthian and Nikki and soon found them holding down the green fairie. She quickly absorbed the fairie and all three members of the group collapsed with a resounding thud.
"Is everybody okay?" Talya asked still coughing from the lack of air.
"I have bruises in placed that I did not know existed." Eierthian groaned. "This is quite a task, I had no idea how fairie could be so hard to catch." Nikki had gotten up and climbed up the hill.
"You guys! Come quick!" She yelled down to them. Talya and Eierthian quickly caught up to Nikki. Nikki was standing next to the temple where the entrance was caved in.
"What is wrong" Eierthian groaned.
"The temple is collapsed." Nikki pointed out.
"This I can see." Talya sighed, still coughing.
"What if Tenameru is in there!" Nikki suggested. "What if the boys got trapped?"
"Good riddance." Eierthian scoffed. Talya smacked him on the back of his head. "I mean, oh darn, what a pity." Eierthian rolled his eyes.
"You are a bastard Eierthian." Talya groaned.
"Oh you know you like me." Eierthian smiled.
"Pig." Talya groaned once more. "Anyway. If they are in there, we better get them out."
"All right." Nikki agreed. They began pulling the broken stones away from the rubble in hopes of freeing their friends. Behind them a young girl sat watching them. She was surrounded by fireflies and had very pretty magenta wing. She yawned and fluttered onto the top of the rubble they were trying to remove.
"I can help you." She giggled. The fireflies danced around her almost like a shield of light.
"Why should we trust you?" Nikki interrogated the young girl.
"I am the talisman of the unprotected, Laurel." She said. "I can help you, then you may send me back to the place in which I belong."
"All right." Talya agreed. Nikki nodded as well. Eierthian had his hands still clutched around his bow, feeling very wary of the young fairie after what he had previously experienced with them. The fairie yawned and stretched her arms in a child-like manner, then flew above their heads and waved her hands at the ruined temple. The collapsed door slowly repaired itself and sure enough Tenameru, Karzon, and Link were inside.
"What happened to you guys?" Tenameru asked surprised to see them. They then realized how odd they must look soaked and bruised.
"Long story." Nikki hugged Tenameru, engulfed by his warmth.
"Excuse me." Laurel said. "I do believe that I have fulfilled by duties. Now you must fulfill yours."
"Oh, yes of course." Talya coughed. She grabbed the hand of the fairie who smiled at her as she disappeared. Talya shook her hand furiously. "I am never going to get used to that."
The wind was picking up as evening approached. Hoshiko and Zelda had been riding for hours. To there dismay they had not seen one place that they could ask for help. All they saw was the occasional ruins of a building that had been long since collapsed.
"There are footprints here." Hoshiko observed slowing her horse to a complete stop. "But where from? There must have been people here recently!"
"Hoshiko!" Zelda cried from ahead. Hoshiko rode to meet her and joined Zelda in her awe struck state. They were standing down into the land of Hyrule.
"How do we get down there?" Zelda said, her adrenaline rushing with her new discovery.
"There has to be a way. Someone else was up here, probably from your land." Hoshiko said with a newfound hope. "Let's explore the edge for a while, maybe there is a way down!" Zelda agreed and they led their horses carefully along the edge for a few miles. They then found the staircase leading down into Hyrule that their comrades had traveled a few days earlier.
"Isn't that oddly convenient?" Zelda said. Hoshiko jumped off of her horse.
"We can not bring the horses with us. They will head back to the castle." Hoshiko stroked the mane of the horse the patted its side gently. It trotted off back into the opposite direction followed shortly by Zelda's horse. They exchanged wary glances then began to descend the staircase. The wind blowing was a bitter cold and a small flurry of snow was falling. The ground below was covered in a thin blanket of white, untouched by Hylian hands. The wind was the only sound to interrupt the eerie quiet. Zelda was worried about what had become of her people. Whether or not the sages were all right, whether her friends were hurt or not. The worry in her in her mind even dwelled on her sister. Hoshiko's thoughts lingered only on the task at hand and the aching worry of what had happened to her world. The main question that continually pierced her thoughts was 'how did her castle end up in a world other than her own?' They did not have long to ponder these thoughts before they were at the door of Hyrule's marvelous castle. Before Zelda could reach towards the door, it opened. Malon ran out and hugged her.
"Princess! I am so glad that you are safe!" Malon cried almost in tears.
"Malon, where is everybody?" Zelda asked surprised to see no one else there to meet her.
"Well it is a long story. The rest of the group probably will not be back for a while." Malon began her explanation.
"Well, we have to go find them. There is no need for them to search any longer."
"They are not out there looking for you." Malon shook her head.
"Well then, what are they doing?' Zelda folded her arms angered that the people she felt would protect her were doing something else. Malon went on to explain about the fairies as well as Link's double. She ended telling them that now they were searching for the weapon that only Nikki could use.
"Wait. I think that I might be able to help." Zelda said after the story had been told. Hoshiko was listening quietly. "Follow me." Zelda led them out of the room and down several flights of stairs. Halfway to the basement they ran into Rinéan. Rinéan followed silently next to Hoshiko. Zelda grabbed a torch off of the wall and headed into a dark secret hallway.