Author's notes: The lyrics belong to Linkin Park, and I only fantasize that I could write like them. Kay?
Wow... I'm not sure if anybody's noticed, but Something to Fight For is officially over one year old. I'm so proud; I never thought I could maintain a story for so long! ^.^ Well, I think the popularity of my writing is dying down yet again... I'm not getting many readers for Loser (the only other one of my stories that people actually read) as of lately... And since most of the people who read Loser also read this... I guess I'm going to have to go back to relying solely on whatever inspiration I can force myself to conjure. -_-;
But either way, I of course want to thank those who reviewed the last chapter, but especially one person. It finally occurred to me (the dim bulb brightens... ::sweatdrop::) that I still have one reader who's been with me from the start: Mirei (Elegant Egotist Waddle Dee). I can't believe you've been with me for a year. That's true support! Not only that, but you were teh very first person to review! ::huggles the stuffing out of you:: I appreciate anyone who reviews, and each added review from a person makes me feel that much more confident that I'm actually doing something right. The fact that I still have someone who's been there from square one is probably what inspired me to actually get off my lazy ass and write this chapter. Thank you so much, Mirei, and thank you to everyone else who gives me a reason to continue writing.
__ __ __
Chapter twenty-two
Roy's POV
"One thing, I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme
To remind myself how I tried so hard
In spite of the way you were mocking me
Acting like I was part of your property
Remembering all the times you fought with me
I'm surprised it got so far."
I felt nothing. My pain was at a numbing minimum, a feeling that I was quite adapted to. But I felt no sting, no bitter cold. I felt no horrible presence pushing me into fear. But still I felt tense, and couldn't calm myself. I slid my eyes open and the initial view told me right away that I wasn't where I last remembered myself to be.
Rather than the dank hell of the fortress I last remembered, the place I found myself lying on my stomach in shimmered all around. All I saw around me were crystalline walls. Undeniably beautiful as it was, it was a strain on my still exhausted eyes. I didn't want to bother with forcing them open; all I wanted was to rest, since I knew he wasn't near. But despite everything I'd abandoned, I still held true to my instincts and was not about to let myself be caught completely off guard. It was true that he wasn't there, but I still doubted that I was alone. Even if I couldn't defend myself, I'd still be aware.
"The answers to your questions..."
I probably would have jumped if I had the strength to when I heard that cerebral and almost echoing voice. I lifted my head enough to see a lavendar-white figure of some sort of creature with a human posture, its back facing me and its face looking through what must have been the entrance to the crystalline cave. Although I couldn't be sure what it was, the voice seemed male.
"...Are as follows: You are, in fact, alive. You are in my lair, high above the land. You were taken away from the place where you were imprisoned. I've done what I could to help you recover your strength without interrupting your rest. And as long as I have the power to hold him off, you will not have to worry about Ganondorf."
I stayed silent and processed his words; not only what he said, but what I could make out of him from his voice. He was solemn, but not hostile. But I had to wonder: if I had never even met this creature, why did he save me?
I opened my mouth to speak, and tried not to strain my voice too much, knowing that I wasn't in any condition to have a conversation. "Who are you?"
He stayed motionless for a few moments, then tilted his head downward. "My name isn't of importance. But I cannot lie to you; I am the one who put you in that situation."
I didn't understand. What connection did he have to Ganondorf? I wanted to ask him, but I didn't want to speak if it wasn't necessary and so I waited until he continued.
"I am ashamed of my naivete that led me to believe the things he told me. He deceived me into helping him capture you," after staring at the ground for a moment, he finally turned to look at me. His violet eyes looked both dangerous and forlorn. "But I will not fight a battle without reason, and I will not hurt those who don't deserve pain. I cannot change what has been done, but I can try to help you. After that, I will not interfere any longer."
My mind took the time to digest his words again. I started thinking of implications of what he said... Such as Ganondorf assigning warriors to the sole goal of seizing me. I felt my stomach turn slightly.
The cave was silent for several minutes; I stayed in the position which I woke in, trying to regain as much of my lost energy as possible before attempting to move, and the creature still standing at the entrance, now looking back into the sky. Eventually, he spoke again.
"Now that you're awake, I can see what I can do to help you recover. After all, your friend is looking for you and I think you should be reunited soon. It's been a long while."
My somewhat settled thoughts erupted in affliction at that word. 'Friend.' I immediately remembered the way they all looked at me... The way not a one of them believed me. The way they forced me into the woods, leaving me for dead at Ganondorf's hands. "I have no friends," I uttered just over a whisper.
"Oh?" he turned towards me again. "I'm sorry if I offended you. I just assumed that the person so determined to free you from the Evil King could be considered a friend to you."
"What are you talking about?" I strained.
His eyes drifted away from me; they now seemed to be looking at nothing in particular. "I contacted the boy I'd always seen you with. I let him see firsthand what was happening in the fortress. I tried to show him what truly happened, but my connection was disrupted; Ganondorf was suspecting something. He and two others set out almost immediately to free you," his view focused once more on me. "I understand that you feel betrayed, but to have somebody who would face such odds for your sake is truly a gift."
I didn't know what to say or think. My mind knew that he was speaking of Marth, but after everything, I couldn't believe he would do such a thing. I wondered what the creature meant when he said that he showed him firsthand. A feeling of humiliation and disgust flushed into my mind as I thought that he might have somehow shown Marth what that man did to me.
I pushed that thought out of my head and went back to my main wonder. After all that had happened, could Marth still care at all?
"Perhaps I should tell him that you're all right? It might save him from putting himself in more danger than he needs to be in," the monster spoke once again.
There was so much that I couldn't understand about this creature. Adding onto everything else, his last statement raised the question of how he could speak to Marth. The creature had said that Ganondorf suspected something, so I doubted that he spoke to him face-to-face. Although I was curious to find out how he did this, I put my decision more on the thought of talking to Marth, and how I could possibly face him again. I forced my throat to allow me to speak again. "No... I have another idea."
Wow... I'm not sure if anybody's noticed, but Something to Fight For is officially over one year old. I'm so proud; I never thought I could maintain a story for so long! ^.^ Well, I think the popularity of my writing is dying down yet again... I'm not getting many readers for Loser (the only other one of my stories that people actually read) as of lately... And since most of the people who read Loser also read this... I guess I'm going to have to go back to relying solely on whatever inspiration I can force myself to conjure. -_-;
But either way, I of course want to thank those who reviewed the last chapter, but especially one person. It finally occurred to me (the dim bulb brightens... ::sweatdrop::) that I still have one reader who's been with me from the start: Mirei (Elegant Egotist Waddle Dee). I can't believe you've been with me for a year. That's true support! Not only that, but you were teh very first person to review! ::huggles the stuffing out of you:: I appreciate anyone who reviews, and each added review from a person makes me feel that much more confident that I'm actually doing something right. The fact that I still have someone who's been there from square one is probably what inspired me to actually get off my lazy ass and write this chapter. Thank you so much, Mirei, and thank you to everyone else who gives me a reason to continue writing.
__ __ __
Chapter twenty-two
Roy's POV
"One thing, I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme
To remind myself how I tried so hard
In spite of the way you were mocking me
Acting like I was part of your property
Remembering all the times you fought with me
I'm surprised it got so far."
I felt nothing. My pain was at a numbing minimum, a feeling that I was quite adapted to. But I felt no sting, no bitter cold. I felt no horrible presence pushing me into fear. But still I felt tense, and couldn't calm myself. I slid my eyes open and the initial view told me right away that I wasn't where I last remembered myself to be.
Rather than the dank hell of the fortress I last remembered, the place I found myself lying on my stomach in shimmered all around. All I saw around me were crystalline walls. Undeniably beautiful as it was, it was a strain on my still exhausted eyes. I didn't want to bother with forcing them open; all I wanted was to rest, since I knew he wasn't near. But despite everything I'd abandoned, I still held true to my instincts and was not about to let myself be caught completely off guard. It was true that he wasn't there, but I still doubted that I was alone. Even if I couldn't defend myself, I'd still be aware.
"The answers to your questions..."
I probably would have jumped if I had the strength to when I heard that cerebral and almost echoing voice. I lifted my head enough to see a lavendar-white figure of some sort of creature with a human posture, its back facing me and its face looking through what must have been the entrance to the crystalline cave. Although I couldn't be sure what it was, the voice seemed male.
"...Are as follows: You are, in fact, alive. You are in my lair, high above the land. You were taken away from the place where you were imprisoned. I've done what I could to help you recover your strength without interrupting your rest. And as long as I have the power to hold him off, you will not have to worry about Ganondorf."
I stayed silent and processed his words; not only what he said, but what I could make out of him from his voice. He was solemn, but not hostile. But I had to wonder: if I had never even met this creature, why did he save me?
I opened my mouth to speak, and tried not to strain my voice too much, knowing that I wasn't in any condition to have a conversation. "Who are you?"
He stayed motionless for a few moments, then tilted his head downward. "My name isn't of importance. But I cannot lie to you; I am the one who put you in that situation."
I didn't understand. What connection did he have to Ganondorf? I wanted to ask him, but I didn't want to speak if it wasn't necessary and so I waited until he continued.
"I am ashamed of my naivete that led me to believe the things he told me. He deceived me into helping him capture you," after staring at the ground for a moment, he finally turned to look at me. His violet eyes looked both dangerous and forlorn. "But I will not fight a battle without reason, and I will not hurt those who don't deserve pain. I cannot change what has been done, but I can try to help you. After that, I will not interfere any longer."
My mind took the time to digest his words again. I started thinking of implications of what he said... Such as Ganondorf assigning warriors to the sole goal of seizing me. I felt my stomach turn slightly.
The cave was silent for several minutes; I stayed in the position which I woke in, trying to regain as much of my lost energy as possible before attempting to move, and the creature still standing at the entrance, now looking back into the sky. Eventually, he spoke again.
"Now that you're awake, I can see what I can do to help you recover. After all, your friend is looking for you and I think you should be reunited soon. It's been a long while."
My somewhat settled thoughts erupted in affliction at that word. 'Friend.' I immediately remembered the way they all looked at me... The way not a one of them believed me. The way they forced me into the woods, leaving me for dead at Ganondorf's hands. "I have no friends," I uttered just over a whisper.
"Oh?" he turned towards me again. "I'm sorry if I offended you. I just assumed that the person so determined to free you from the Evil King could be considered a friend to you."
"What are you talking about?" I strained.
His eyes drifted away from me; they now seemed to be looking at nothing in particular. "I contacted the boy I'd always seen you with. I let him see firsthand what was happening in the fortress. I tried to show him what truly happened, but my connection was disrupted; Ganondorf was suspecting something. He and two others set out almost immediately to free you," his view focused once more on me. "I understand that you feel betrayed, but to have somebody who would face such odds for your sake is truly a gift."
I didn't know what to say or think. My mind knew that he was speaking of Marth, but after everything, I couldn't believe he would do such a thing. I wondered what the creature meant when he said that he showed him firsthand. A feeling of humiliation and disgust flushed into my mind as I thought that he might have somehow shown Marth what that man did to me.
I pushed that thought out of my head and went back to my main wonder. After all that had happened, could Marth still care at all?
"Perhaps I should tell him that you're all right? It might save him from putting himself in more danger than he needs to be in," the monster spoke once again.
There was so much that I couldn't understand about this creature. Adding onto everything else, his last statement raised the question of how he could speak to Marth. The creature had said that Ganondorf suspected something, so I doubted that he spoke to him face-to-face. Although I was curious to find out how he did this, I put my decision more on the thought of talking to Marth, and how I could possibly face him again. I forced my throat to allow me to speak again. "No... I have another idea."