Chapter Eight
What's in a Dream?
After cleaning up the feather coated room, Link and the girl went out to breakfast. Erdwick was already sitting there, eating a poached egg. The two of them sat down without a word and were silent for most of the meal. They had decided to ask Erdwick about what was going on if he was in a better mood. They were waiting for him to make the first move, to start the conversation.
"Well now," he said, standing up, "I suppose you two need to be on your way, continuing your quest, no doubt?" He seemed completely unaware of their disbelieving stares. The girl shot Link a look to tell him to keep silent while she talked to him.
"Um, Erdwick?" she said a bit shyly, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Why of course, my dear, anything and I'll answer as best I can." He sounded quite delighted that she was asking him a question.
"Remember when I first woke up and you were talking to us?" He nodded at the memory of it, his composure flickering. "Well, you said we were . . . were here for more reasons than for you to heal me, right?" At this Erdwick began to frown, his forehead becoming a hill of wrinkles. "Yes, I did say that now didn't I. But now is not the time . . ."
"Then when?" interrupted the girl, "When? You can't send us away without telling us!" The boy nodded his head in agreement with her.
"I can not tell you. There are too many things you don't know yet and . ."
"So why don't you explain them to us? It . . ."
"I will not answer that question at the present time!" he bellowed, silencing both of them. "If you have less prying questions, I may answer them."
"You know that picture of the blond girl in the hall we were looking at?" Link spoke this time, "It's gone as well as the one opposite it, not to mention the wind chime and . . ." Erdwick chuckled a bit and they were both glad to see he was lightening up.
"I can see you are not to be strayed from the truth," he said, his voice weary. "This is probably going to be much harder on you, dear girl. I do not wish to cause you any pain, but this might do just that." She stared at him and wondered how the pictures and wind chime disappearing could possibly hurt her. Yet, if the wind chime was related to her mother ... that melody ... "No child," said Erdwick, "It isn't about them disappearing. It's about the people in them." Once again she jumped as he read her mind. "Wait here while I fetch them." He said quickly as he swept out of the room.
"So it was him. He took them!" exclaimed Link, excitedly, "I knew it was him." The girl ignored his fake triumph as she wondered how this involved her.
"Alright," called Erdwick, bustling in with a small wooden crate, "Here are the pictures and the wind chime." He opened the crate for them to look inside.
On the top was the picture of the blonde girl. Next to it, was the beautiful clear glass, wind chime. Erdwick took this out and held it close to him for a moment, then hung it back in the window where it played the girl's lullaby. Beneath it was another picture, this one of a boy in his early teens with green eyes and auburn hair. He too seemed familiar and the girl gasped when the realization came to her of who this was. "How . . . do you . . . is he really?" the girl's voice rising into a squeak of excitement.
"Yes, he is dear girl." He smiled kindly into her teary eyes.
"Who is he?" said a bewildered Link, "I don't recognize him."
"And you shouldn't," said the girl looking at him, her emerald eyes twinkling with mingling tears. "This boy is . . . is my father." She turned back looking longingly, almost hungrily at the picture. Link was speechless. Her father? But she looked at the picture as if her were . . . Then it hit him. Her father had been killed on that hunting trip she couldn't tell him about. He suddenly felt a wave of guilt wash over him for being jealous of her.
"Yes, it is your father, quite a handsome young lad too. If you don't want to hear the story I'll understand." he said, hoping he wouldn't have to.
"Of course I do," said the girl, drying her eyes, "I want to know everything." She looked at Erdwick with pleading eyes.
"Alright," he said grimly, clearing his throat. "It all begins with a young girl named Cordelia. Cordelia was a happy child in her youth. She had many friends and was loved by everyone. You would think that she was a normal girl, but she was not. Cordelia held a magic within her, so strong that at birth it almost killed her. . . ." but he was interrupted by Link.
"What does this little girl have to do with anything?" he said a bit doubtful of Erdwick.
"She is part of this story and very important to this story as well." He gave Link a look to silence him, but it didn't stop the talkative boy.
"Is she the girl in the picture?" he questioned him, while the girl tried to signal him to be quiet.
"Yes, and now will you please be quiet and not interrupt my story further?" Link sank down in his seat and was silent. "Now where was I . . . oh yes, Cordelia . . .
"She learned the ways of magic with great determination. Pouring over spell books, practicing the pronunciation of magic words, and helping her father. He was also blessed with the gift of magic. When she was fifteen, she had learned all there was to learn from her father and was even greater than he was.
"While she was growing up, she had a very good friend named Wesley." He paused to look at the girl, who gave no sign of emotion except in her twinkling green eyes. "He was a bright boy and was a few years older than her, but they were friends nonetheless. When she had turned thirteen, he gave her this wind chime, made it himself I think. She was delighted with it and enchanted it to always sing her special song.
"Later on, they grew up and got married. When they had been married for a year Cordelia decided to tell Wesley that she had magic. He also ended up having magic in him, so it was just a great relief to them both. And then, they had a little girl, you my dear."
Link gaped. This was all too much for him to handle right now. "What? Does this mean that she . . . she has . . ."
"Yes, boy she does have magic in her. That is what saved you from those vines, as well as attracted them to you."
"But how did I do that?" said the girl, thinking out loud, puzzled.
"Your parents both had a green magic in them, therefore the green eyes. Your magic type shows in your eye. The vines came to you because they sensed your earth magic. You let loose uncontrolled magic and they came to soak it up. If you'd had the proper training, this would not have happened. Does that make sense to you?" The girl thought about this for a moment. She didn't understand this, but decided not to go too far into the subject. She nodded. "Well, now that's a load off my mind." He began to get up, but the girl pulled him back.
"Erdwick, how do you know so much about all my parents?" She thought this was a fair question to ask of him and Erdwick just smiled his almost too white smile.
"Yes, I suppose you have been wondering that. Well, the thing is that . . . I'm your grandfather." She stared, looking at Erdwick, as a relative now, not some old healer. In these past days she had learned the more about her family then she ever had. It was wonderful to have family. Then she looked back into his eyes, his blazing red eyes. "Do you have fire magic?" she asked him with a more confident voice. He chuckled.
"I see you're very attentive. And yes, I do. It was a surprise your mother had earth magic. No one in our family has for generations."
"Thanks," she said quietly.
"For what?" he said amused, "I did nothing."
"For telling me about my family." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. She stood up, pushing in her chair. "We had better get on our way, and . . ."
"Wait," said her grandfather, pulling out a simple brown leather knapsack. "I want you to take these." Inside the bag were the two pictures and the wind chime.
"No, I couldn't . . ." she began, trailing off as she held the knapsack.
"Take it. I have the memories." He forced the knapsack into her hands.
"Won't the wind chime break?" she said worriedly, as she placed it on her back. At this, Erdwick laughed.
"Do you think it was magic for nothing? Now, off you trot." And he pushed them both through the doorway.
"I'll miss you," whispered the girl, giving Erdwick one last hug. Now that she had family, she didn't want to lose them.
"Staying only makes the goodbye harder," he choked through forced back tears. "We'll meet again." Then the girl turned to leave with Link, blotchy faced and sad, while Erdwick was the same, waving their last goodbye.
They walked into the woods, still having no idea what they were trying to find. Link had been strangely silent.
"Link, why are you being so quiet?" she asked looking over at him. His mouth was set in a firm strait line, unmoving, while his sapphire eyes were pleading with her. "Oh, what is it?" she said impatiently, as he continued to stare at her, his face unchanging. "Well, you don't have to be rude!"
They continued on through the forest, as it prepared for evening. Link's mouth was still set in a line and his eyes were now downcast. After an hour of time had past, Link gasped loudly and said, "Finally!" The girl gave him a queer look, so he explained.
"Your grandfather made me to be quiet, just like he said. I couldn't open my mouth!" Link didn't ever get the sympathetic response he had hoped for. Instead, he received a fountain of laughter from the girl. She laughed and laughed as they continued to walk, with Link turning a bit crimson.
It was steadily growing darker and darker, as night crept over them. They decided to rest for the night on a large flat rock (far away from any plants). They both laid down on the rocks, the girl staring up into the openness of the heavens. She always loved stars and she loved finding the constellations she knew. First, she spotted Din, she was always the first one she found. Then, Nayru and Gompa the Goron, Lady Zelda, Crying Kokiri, Farore, The Geredu Staff, Leaping Zora, the Triforce and even the cow eating grass.
"I don't know what to do now," said Link, obviously frustrated, "we still don't know what we're looking for." The girl shifted uncertainly on the rock. She had almost forgotten of their quest and was ashamed for it. Also, Zelda had thought she could help, but had she so far? What could she possibly do that would help them?
"Let's go to sleep and get some rest before tomorrow." She wiggled on the rock, trying to get comfortable. Link sighed, not feeling up to an argument right then, and rolled over on his half of the rock. He fell asleep instantly, as a misty haze settled over them, clouding out the stars.
"If only I had a clue," she said for the fifth time, watching the stars slowly fade away. "If only I had a clue . . . . . . " she whispered a last time as sleep overcame her. The night time mist, moved on.
-*-*-*-*-
She was flying! Through a mist . . . . a mist of . . . green, yes green! She was in the Lost Woods, and she was flying! It felt wonderful, the wind sweeping her off her feet, her hair billowing behind her. She felt weightless, careless, nothing in the world could pull her down. She looked at the forest bellow her, so green and sweet, her home. She swept past it, as she tried to turn but couldn't, she wasn't in control! The feeling of freeness was quickly gone and a replacement, one of terror, washed over her.
The wind was carrying her, carrying her where? Over the lush greenness of the Lost woods, over the happy springtime of Hyrule field, over the busy crowds in Hyrule Castle Town, past the joking guards protecting the castle, to the garden, her garden, Zelda's garden, and the secret rock was still there! The wind set her down and she sprinted towards it.
She removed the patch of moss on the stone and pressed her hand to the violet gem beneath. Slowly it moved, inching along the ground, as it revealed the stairs beneath it, winding down. She ran down the steps, the lamps for some reason already lit. It was silent. She reached the bottom of the stairs to their cozy little room, the fireplace alight, but by who? The girl looked around, seeing no one until her eyes saw her on the bed.
"Zelda!" she screamed as she ran to the girl's side. Her limp arm held out a blue and violet flower with seven petals. Her face was still and pale as the girl wept on her, crying for her friend. Slowly, her eyes began to flutter and her face became flushed with color. The girl looked up and saw Zelda open her eyes, looking at the green once facing her. "You must . . "she said softly, " . . .you must find it . . ."
"Find what?" said the girl, trying to stay calm, not letting her tears interfere " what must I find?"
"The scroll . . . . . the forbidden ones . . . . find them!" Zelda's voice was almost inaudible before she finished and her eyes closed for a final time.
"No," said the girl, standing up, her voice quivering, "No, I won't . . .I can't . . . ." She began to back up, towards the stairs, towards happiness. "NO!!!!!" she screamed, as she ran up the stairs, tripping on her own feet. "NO!!!!!!!!" and this time was the last. She lay on the ground, her pants and shirt torn from her tripping, her eyes full of tears and fear. . . . . . . .
-*-*-*-*-
"No, no, I won't do it! I can't! No, NO!!!!" she screamed,, wailing her agony, "No!!!!!!" Someone was holding her down, forcing her. She struggled against the force, hearing a faint voice. "NOO!!!!!!" she screamed again, the intruder shaking her saying, "Wake up, wake up!"
Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw Link staring down at her, trying to hold her arms down. "Sshhhh," he said softly, "Your alright. it was only a nightmare." But it wasn't, she had wanted to say, it was real. "A sign," she whispered, not aware that Link was still there, "It was a sign, I have to go there."
"Go where?" said Link softly, trying not to sound interested and trying to comfort her.
"To the ancient ones, their ruins, their old temple. . . . " she paused, choking on her tears and the lump in her throat. "For the forbidden scrolls . . ."
