Aria: Okay! I've finally sent Navi back to her, um, time and I've found a
replacement through a suggestion of one of my reviewers. Everyone, please
meet my new disclaimer person, King Darunia of the Gorons!
Darunia: Hello! It's very nice to be here in this place. Uh, where are
we?
Aria: Um, my home in the clouds.
Darunia: Oh. Uh, can I ask something?
Aria: What is it?
Darunia: Why are there three guppies in a fish tank over there? *points to
fish tank*
Aria: *sweat drops* Uh, those are my pets; sort of.
Darunia: Huh?
Aria: *laughs nervously* Um, well, actually, those are the goddesses, Din,
Farore, and Nayru. They kinda did something that got on my nerves and I
turned them into snails and then Navi dropped salt on them and I turned
them into guppies.
Darunia: *eyes bug out* H-h-how do you have more p-p-power than the g-g-
goddesses?
Aria: This is my story and I'm the authoress.
Darunia: Oh.
Aria: Anyway, I already explained what your job is, so can we hurry up?
They're giving us dirty looks.
Darunia: Oh, sorry. Aria Zephyr, the owner and authoress of The Way the
Winds of Time Blow, does not own the Legend of Zelda games, their
characters, etc.
Aria: This is the last chapter before some really upsetting things happen.
Enjoy?

Chapter 22: Within the Cave

When Tetra woke up again, she was lying on something cold and hard, but the
feeling of comfortable well-being hung around her. She could hear the
sound of a crackling fire nearby and the smell of something wonderful
wafted to her. She opened her eyes and blinked to adjust them to the
sudden light from the fire.

"It's about time you woke up. I was starting to wonder if you were going
to sleep forever," a joking voice said from nearby. "Very funny, Link.
I'm laughing so hard," Tetra said sarcastically. "How are you feeling?" he
asked. "My ankle doesn't feel too bad, as long as I don't move it," Tetra
said, trying to get into a sitting position.

"Where are we anyway?" she asked, peering all around her. "I found a cave
in a rock wall and ran for it. You fell asleep," Link said. "Somehow, I
noticed," Tetra said. The cave which they were in was rather roundish and
there were a few small stalagmites and stalactites either coming up from
the floor or hanging from the ceiling. A small fire burned merrily in
front of her and the smoke blew out the opening of the cave.

"Nice; sort of," Tetra said when she had gotten a good look at the entire
interior of the cave. Link was holding a long sturdy stick which had a
bottle tied to it by a string. The bottle was only slightly above the fire
and it was filled with a warm goldenrod colored liquid.

"What's that?" Tetra asked. "That's dinner. At least, once it's done
heating," Link said, pulling the bottle back and checking it. "Are you
sure that will be enough for the both of us?" she asked doubtfully. "Sure.
There are two helpings and I had the forethought to bring an extra empty
bottle, so I'll pour half of this into that one once this is finished
heating," he said.

He checked the soup and this time, there was a great deal of steam escaping
from it, signifying that it was finished boiling. "So, what is this?"
Tetra asked as Link poured half of the soup into an empty bottle. "It's my
grandma's special soup. It's my sister's and my favorite. And, it's good
for when you're sick, injured, or tired, because it fills you with energy,"
Link replied, handing her the bottle.

She looked at it skeptically, until Link said, "It's not going to bite you.
It's really good; I swear." Tetra shrugged and took a sip of the liquid.
She blinked for a second before saying, "This is wonderful. Your grandma
must really be a good cook." "Of course she is. She's had to cook for
Aryll and me for years, and my dad before that, so she's had lots of
practice," Link said with a playful grin.

"Where'd you get this stuff from, though? You can only keep things like
this for so long before it goes bad," Tetra said. "Grandma sent me a
package a few days ago and two bottles were inside. I was keeping them in
that small icebox you let me have," he replied. "And, why didn't you tell
anyone?" she asked. "Do you think I'd want to let those guys back on your
ship know about this stuff? They'd eat it all and leave nothing left!"
Link said, his eyes twinkling impishly. "They're pirates; they're supposed
to have big appetites and steal stuff," Tetra said teasingly. "Not if I
can help it!" he said.

They both laughed at this and finished drinking the soup. Afterwards, the
soup had left them with such a contented feeling and they were so tired,
that they soon fell asleep.

Aria: You guys are probably going to want to shoot me when I post the next
chapters, so I'm giving you an early notice.
Darunia: What happens?
Aria: Rule No. 1: I can't tell you because it would ruin the surprise.
Darunia: Oh. Okay.
Aria: Here's a hint: I've been hinting towards who my evil person is for
quite a few chapters. In chapter twenty-four, I'm finally revealing
him/her/it/them. But, you have to read chapter twenty-three first and that
one is kinda a doozy if you don't like scenes that make you cry. Anyway,
read and review! Until chapter twenty-three!