A/N: Took me long enough, eh? *wince* Well, anyway, I'm pretty fond of this chapter and I'm finally beginning to get into the meat of the story (woohoo!). After this chapter, I can actually allow it to pick up, so thanks to anyone who has the patience to stick with this thing until the end, and please continue to! Cuz it's gonna be a long haul… *death* Ah, well. It's just more to look forward to, right? ^_~ Thanks also to anyone who took the time to review. Though I don't have the time to reply a lot of the time, I really do appreciate it; it motivates me a lot. *hinthint*
Chapter Four: Of Mountains and Mist
Against her better judgment, Impa chose not to sleep tonight. Instead she sat at the window in her living quarters, carefully polishing the blade in her hands. It had been an heirloom from generations upon generations ago; it predated a great many events, or so she understood. Its hilt was inscribed with the word "unity"— she didn't claim to understand the unity of which it spoke, but nights like these when she held it, she felt as though its energy resonated through her body and hers through it unlike anything else. She felt at home.
That was not to say that her bond with it was any stronger than that between Her Highness and herself, certainly. The history of her kind saw to it. It instilled in her a certain sense of melancholy to be so disconnected with her lost bloodlines… She wondered how Sheik felt, at that.
As far as Sheikah history stretched, Hyrule and its Royal Family were invariably intertwined. Impa and Sheik… they were destined to find someone to protect for eternity; someone to be tied to in that very same way. Princess Zelda understood this tie completely, though she expressed some consternation at times when she felt her attendant crossed the thin line of devotion into over-protectiveness. But it couldn't be helped after all; she was always only operating in the Princess's best interests… She wondered now, whom would Sheik choose?
She set the blade down and took one last look at the moon. Tomorrow she would be the first to step into the new world.
*******
Zelda wouldn't mention the sense of freedom she gathered from wearing the utilitarian trousers that adorned her hips, but the sentiment was definitely there. It wasn't something that happened often, that much was true. She decided that upon what would hopefully be their return to Hyrule, she would consider a change of wardrobe.
The King had been most reluctant to let his daughter go. She still didn't quite understand how she managed to gain enough of his approval to be standing here now, in the Spirit Temple's great hall… With a discreet turn of her head as she walked, she caught sight of her seven cohorts, all but one having great power of some kind in their possession. Her eyes snapped up to the ceiling. The sheer size of her guard this time was probably the pivotal reason.
The portal was where it should be, set a few ominous centimeters in the ancient stone wall. The luminescent pinkness of the thing still glowed as strong as it had days before when she first laid eyes on the towering, rocky fences of the canyon and foggy path. A tickle of anticipation flared up in her breast and she turned around to face the group.
"We must be on our guard at all times once we cross this barrier. In the event that we discover civilization on the other side and it shows no signs of hostility, we will attempt to form an alliance between it and the Kingdom of Hyrule. Regardless of the outcome, we must return to the site of our arrival in no more than a week's time."
She softened, then. "I hold nothing against any of you if you are afraid. I… am as well. But in any case, it would seem that we are well equipped for our journey. I humbly thank the Gerudo people for their generosity on your behalf, Nabooru."
"Think nothing of it, Princess," the tall woman smiled, waving dismissively.
Link sagged under the weight of the pack he carried. Really, it wasn't much, but he glowered at the notion that being one of only two males designated him the resident baggage caddy. What about Sheik? Though Sheik was small… But there was lean, powerful muscle packed into that body, he could tell! He decided it had to be a Sheikah thing as he watched the other mightily-built Bearer of Supplies, Impa, approach the swirling gateway with little regard toward the heavy burden on her back. It almost sent a little stab of inadequacy spearing through him.
"Link…?"
The redheaded milkmaid looked more nervous than he'd ever seen her before, but she seemed to be holding up well enough.
"You scared? You can still go home if you want," he replied, smiling.
"No," Malon protested stubbornly, hands tugging instinctively at the bottom of her shirt, "No, I— I'm okay. It's not every day I get to travel with… With the Princess."
He blinked at her falter, but dismissed it. He was finally beginning to trust that she knew what she was doing, at least. And if Malon out of all of them was fine, then the others had absolutely no reason to worry. And speaking of worrying…
"Is there a reason, Link, why you haven't bothered to visit me for two years?"
He cringed. Ruto, at it again.
"Listen, Ruto—" he began, painfully aware of the interested glances of, well, everyone. Especially Malon. And especially Sheik, oddly. It seemed to Link that he drew some perverse amusement out of his troubles with the fairer sex. He continued, quieter this time. "Ruto, I'm sorry. But shouldn't we talk about this later?"
She looked positively taken aback before folding her arms. "All right. You seem to be fairly earnest, at least. If you're going to be so insistent, I suppose I have no choice but to forgive you."
Unexpectedly, Saria cleared her throat— a diminutive sound, just like the rest of her.
"Um, I don't mean to be rude, but… should we go?"
"Certainly…" Impa quirked a brow and ventured forward.
"Boss! Please wait!"
They turned at the relatively unfamiliar voice. It was none other than Kaluuna, Nabooru's subordinate, who stood doubled-over at the chamber's entrance. She panted harshly for a moment, then took off in a stumbling run towards them. Nabooru cocked her head to the side, studying the woman.
"What's the meaning of this, Kaluuna?"
She straightened, eyes locking on the space directly in front of her as she held her left arm tight across her chest in a salute. "I wish to accompany the Boss and Princess Zelda on their journey!"
"And if you go, who will take charge?" Nabooru put her hands on her hips. "It's no good to just desert your position, Kaluuna. Where is your sense of honor?"
Link thought it looked like Kaluuna might wince for a moment, but maybe thought better of it at the last second. Her steadfast gaze did falter, an emotion he couldn't quite place flickering in her split-second glance down to her commander's face, but he seemed to be the only one who noticed.
"… If the party fails to return in a week's time, I will come in after them, ma'am!"
Nabooru chuckled and gave to her underling the most sincere smile Link had ever seen from those pale painted lips.
"I guess that can't be helped."
*******
Everyone but Link, Sheik, and herself were already on the other side. Malon took a deep breath and a step towards the pink vortex, but stopped as quickly as she started. She turned around to look at Link, who gave her what he seemed to think was a supportive smile.
"Do you want me to go first?" His tone was gentle, placating.
"No," she replied, frowning a little. "I'll be fine…"
And Sheik, that mysterious stranger… she could hear his soft laughter as she turned her back and wondered what he had to smile about all the time. She chastised herself for it really being none of her business. There was almost a false edge to his kindness sometimes, or so she thought; she didn't quite understand what it was or why. Maybe it was just oversensitivity. She was still a little emotional after the many hugs and goodbyes she gave to her father, who let her go on the promise that she'd be back. She prayed silently and fervently that she would.
She felt as though she was walking full on into a pond, the way the bright, watery texture enveloped her as she began to walk. The rosy space in front of her was opaque but slowly thinning in that instant that she moved through to the other side. Then the swirling energy was gone and replacing it were endless cliffs and the heaviest fog she had ever seen in her life. The rest of the party stood some distance away, waiting in a leaden veil of smoky vapor.
Sheik watched her vanish, and when there was nothing left but the cold, ancient air of the chamber and the warmth he felt radiating from Link even this far from him, he stepped up to the portal, cutting off Link's ready stride.
"What are you doing?"
"Allow me."
The strange man disappeared as well, leaving Link in a fairly perplexed state. He felt as though he should be at least a little put off by the gesture, but… there was such strangely placed sincerity threaded all through it that he didn't know how to react. It was getting to be an air about Sheik that he couldn't yet understand, much less explain. But now was no time to dwell on it, he thought, and he walked on through.
…And found himself unable to see a thing. There, in the distance, he slowly recognized the soft magenta of Saria's fairy, his eyes focusing on the Kokiri girl's tiny silhouette a moment later. Goddesses, this mist was thick.
"Princess," Nabooru began, frowning at the place's condition, "is there anything that can be done about this?"
Zelda smiled mysteriously. "I can dispel this fog with my magic. I am confident that I will still have enough energy to protect us later, if need be."
All Malon heard of Impa's stubborn retort was "You will need to do no such thing!" before she got lost in her own thoughts again.
'Beautiful, royalty, and she can use magic…'
She turned to the jagged rock face at her right just in time to see Ruto push off of it from her leaning position, hands on her hips.
"We should hurry on. The sooner we move, the sooner we can set up camp!"
Scowling inwardly, Impa looked down to repair some nonexistent flaw on her armor. Tomboy or no, it was unfortunate that the Zora princess was so soft at heart, especially given situations like their present one. Of course she wouldn't— couldn't— admit to it, but the spark of adventure in her own young sovereign's heart was something she always admired. She just… wished it didn't have such a propensity to endanger her. That was all.
She had to quash down a smile as Zelda smiled serenely, nodding like a lady.
"Yes, you're very right. Please have patience, everyone; this will only take a moment."
Link had seen this before, or something like it. A sphere of golden light began to grow between Zelda's palms, the cloudy air being pushed back from that central point as though by some invisible force field. The canyon had cleared for a second or two when he noticed that the Princess seemed to be struggling.
"Your Highness?" Impa was at her side in an instant, ever protective.
"I…" Zelda's voice was a little strained. "Something is resisting… I cannot hold it—"
She let that light diminish, slumping a little afterward. No sooner than that did the fog rush back in and obscure their vision again.
"What happened?" Malon's question was entirely innocent, having begun to feel a bit left out in the past few hours. Everyone seemed to know what was going on but her…
Princess Zelda's gaze fixed upon her, taking her aback. The crazy impulse to bow down before her fluttered briefly in the pit of her stomach.
"I'm not entirely sure. It would seem that something in this canyon is repelling my magic. I think it best that we proceed with caution until we are through."
"The Princess is right," Saria replied, brow furrowed. Her fairy darted into some nondescript part of her clothing. "This doesn't feel like ordinary fog. Sora thinks so too."
Malon was growing steadily more uncomfortable. "Like it's evil?"
"No, not really evil," she smiled, trying to comfort her. It weakened after a second or two. "Just… troubling."
Naturally, hearing this left Malon the most troubled of all as they walked on.
*******
It was going to get dark soon. Zelda still marched on in front of everyone else, determined, and Impa followed with all the loyalty she could muster. And the rest… the rest straggled behind in the dusky orange haze, their movements not uniform in the slightest. Saria trailed along at the very back of the group, her grown mind limited by what her child-like constitution would allow. She seemed rather lonely until Malon slowed her already slogging pace to settle beside her.
For the first time in years, Sheik felt a sense of youthful impetuousness that demanded he teleport out of this endless, dreary place and into whatever land lay ahead of them. The new world had to be more than this… right?
But that would involve leaving everyone behind, and that just wouldn't do. He wondered if Impa felt the same frustration, especially with all the supplies on her back. She looked no more tired than when they'd embarked. He wished he could say the same for Link. Poor thing.
"Do you want me to take that?"
The Hero of Time peered slowly, weakly over to Sheik, the question not fully registering in his head immediately. When it did, he straightened with a slightly embarrassed smile.
"No, I'm all right! We'll have to set up camp soon anyway. No point in someone else getting tired out, too."
"Hmm."
"Hey, Sheik," Link chimed in thoughtfully, "Do you remember Ganondorf?"
"I do. Even though it may be that I never really lived that life, I think it unlikely that I could ever forget," he sighed.
"Well, good! I don't want you to forget!"
Wide eyes the color of blood turned sharply towards him and he immediately regretted his words. But there was no getting out of it this time; he'd kept this feeling hidden so long that it would have only been a matter of time before it exploded like this. And Sheik looked so surprised. Poor thing.
"What I mean is… Only we remember what happened. And that's probably a good thing, but… it just bothers me sometimes. I— we saved the world, Sheik! It feels good to be… to be acknowledged for that."
The Sheikah still stared, a look of calculating appraisal on his face. Link continued.
"I know how selfish it is—"
"Not at all."
"I just… I don't want to be forgotten…"
"…"
All Sheik could hear for the next few minutes was the soft shuffle of feet on loose earth. Ruto and Nabooru chatted idly a good distance away, but even given his keen senses he could only make out the thinly veiled sharpness of their tone and not any actual words themselves.
"Link."
"What…?"
"Do you feel this stagnancy in the air? As we walk on, a feeling of sorrow wells up within you. You cannot tell me you do not feel it."
Link frowned a little.
"…I guess I do," he answered, perturbed by the man's unearthly perception.
Sheik turned his head skyward, voice soft, colored by a melancholy lilt.
"It feels as old as time itself."
*******
Night fell, dark and misty and cold. Especially cold. For reasons Malon couldn't place, the fire did little to help the chill in her body. There was one clear benefit out of all of this, though, she mused to herself… as she huddled up against Link's solid, warm body. While not quite as peaceful a moment as it would have been— she had to ignore the various reactions of the women around her: Princess Ruto, particularly, glared without bothering to hide it, looking ready to break in at any moment and Princess Zelda, while not visibly disconcerted, seemed to be absorbing herself rather deeply in a conversation with Sheik, who sat on the other side of Link and poked solemnly at the fire as he listened— she still felt comforted. Safe. Happy.
Bedtime came too soon when, after a meager but satisfying supper, she was forced to leave Link's side. She watched Nabooru inch closer to the fire, imagining that she wasn't comfortable in the cold at all, being from the desert. She thought she saw a faint sparkle of frost on the wilting blades of grass some distance away.
"We can't sleep like this. We need to double up," the Gerudo insisted. She sat still for a moment, hands clutching her arms, stewing silently. Then she exploded, "Holy hell, it's cold out here!"
No, Nabooru definitely wasn't comfortable in the slightest. Next to her, Ruto made a face of vaguely self-satisfied agitation.
"I don't see what everyone's so afraid of. Why, this is nothing compared to Zora's Domain in the winter! And especially that time when Ganondorf froze it…"
She trailed off, sagging a little at the others' expressions.
"Well… maybe it wasn't that cold."
Malon wondered why the memory of that bitter northeastern wind flooded into her mind so vividly…
"Well, anyway!" Saria interjected with a smile. Malon liked her a lot. She always tried so hard to cheer the rest up and managed to be so bright and hopeful that she had to remind herself sometimes that she was older than she looked. "Nabooru's right; we should share for tonight, shouldn't we? I'd be happy to with you if you want, Malon."
Of course she said yes. It was an instinctive reaction because she felt so out of place on this journey, not that she'd admit it. She had to prove to Link and to herself that she could do this. She stole a longing glance at him only after she gave her hasty answer. What if… she would have had the chance to be with Link tonight? Surely that wouldn't happen… would it?
Impa quirked a brow at the looks Princess Ruto and the farm girl were giving Link. Such tension in the party couldn't amount to anything good. But yet, she could understand… she had been young once too, hadn't she? Then her jaw very nearly dropped as she noticed the idle interest in her very own Majesty's eyes! No, she had never been young at all. Never.
"Your Highness, if you would allow me to accompany you… And you two," she turned swiftly to Link and Sheik, who both were taken by surprise at Impa's sudden accusatory stare, "Take what you need from that pack over there and sleep. It's unbecoming to take up half a lady's bed."
The Princess seemed a little confused, but Impa knew she didn't have any reason to argue. She decided she would keep it that way; for her own good, of course. Link was a hero, but was he husband material? Certainly not, she thought, leading her away with a mean-spirited little smile.
"It seems our accommodations have been chosen for us tonight, Link," Sheik remarked cheerfully. "Shall we prepare for bed, then?"
Again, Link was left feeling like he had just missed something. "Ah… sure…"
The group dispersed, leaving Nabooru and Ruto standing alone by the crackling fire. Nabooru looked over at the fish girl and then snapped back to the dark path from which they came.
"He-hey! It wasn't supposed to work like this!"
Ruto scowled and folded her arms. "You're telling me."
~end chapter four