**I'm so glad that the reviews came pouring back in! It makes me so happy
when I open my mailbox and there are all these e-mails from fanfiction. It
was kind of overwhelming too, since I had really only gotten online to
upload the chapters and then get right off. I just wanted to say thanks to
everyone (once more, especially you, Raine Ishida, you are soooo nice to me
and I just love reading what you have to say. You right, by the way, about
Z-targeting, I just didn't think of that.) and I hope you'll continue to
review because that's really where I get my motivation.**
Irnan stretched her arms up to loosen the muscles. It was a surprisingly graceful movement. She was completely satisfied with herself at the moment. She had just ridded herself of one of her most pathetic minions. The smoking remains of what used to be Maxen were at her feet. She moved her eyes, locking on to the eyes of her minions one by one until she reached the end of the line. "Let that be a lesson to all of you. Failure," she continued in a calm tone, "is not acceptable. If you fail, the consequences will be great. However, failure is not the reason that Maxen is now a pile of ashes." She stopped here for effect, and began to pace. She waited for one of her minions to speak up.
It took a while, but one finally stepped forward. "Pardon me, your majesty, but why is Maxen now a pile of ashes?"
"Excellent question, Willan," shouted Irnan as she turned on her heels to face the line of mignons again. "The fact is, Maxen didn't fail me only once. Oh no. Maxen failed me twice!" Irnan grinned with pleasure as a murmur of shock passed through the group and they took turns calling the dead follower filthy names. One thing was for sure, there loyalty was unquestionable. "And that is still not all!" The group fell silent. This was too much for them. Twice a failure and still there was more. "He had the audacity to actually lie to me."
"I'm sure that many of you will recall Saria, the Forest Sage," began Irnan. All of her minions nodded. "And I am sure that you all assumed that she was dead." Again her followers nodded their heads. "Well, it seems that Maxen lied to all of you as well. The Forest Sage is not dead. He did not succeed in ending her life. He had a run in with the Hero, and found him to be quite a challenge. He got a few minor scratches and decided to return here and lie. He got away with it for a little while. He really did. But I was doing some crystal gazing today, and who did I see? That damned green girl!" spat Irnan.
"Now, I know that the Hero of Time is not exactly an easy opponent to face. In fact, Gerg just returned, defeated. We have lost our control on the Water Sage," Irnan informed the group.
Cries of "No!" and "How could he?" reverberated through the room.
"Yes. It's true. He has been dealt with. He won't be trusted with such a task again anytime soon, you can be sure of that. As I was saying, the Hero is no easy opponent. I realize this. But the fairy girl? It should have been as easy as getting rid of a deku shrub. Especially since I bestowed upon him some of my power and disabled hers! Now then. Perhaps we will leave that green thing alone for a while. We'll lull her into a false sense of security, and then, when she least expects it, we'll drive a spear through that evasive heart of hers."
A cheer ran through the crowd of Irnan's followers as she finished her little speech. She felt compelled to bow, but suppressed the urge, feeling that the gesture would be too over the top. She did however flash them a well deserved smile. They were such idiotic creatures, but they were her idiotic creatures, and they loved and adored her. She appreciated that at least. "You are all dismissed. But hear this! I have been very lenient up until this point. Too lenient. Any more disobedience from the rest of you and I shall have to be harsh. Like I said before: let Maxen be a lesson to you. Don't follow in his footsteps. Don't fail me. And most of all, do not lie to me. I will find out, and that," she said pointing to the pile of ashes on the floor, "is how you will end up."
The minions filed quietly out of the room, some kicking a few of the larger clumps of what used to Maxen as they walked by. Irnan sat down in front of her crystal ball and sighed. Link had successfully gotten rid of her plant, her octo, and her Poe ghosts. She should have seen that they wouldn't have been enough of a challenge for the Hero of Time. He had, after all, faced off against Ganon and won. She had underestimated his strength.
Irnan had been so caught up in getting rid of Saria that she had neglected all other areas that had to do with her plan. Now Link had nothing to go after. He would be seeking her out soon. She knew that she could murder him without lifting a finger, but she didn't want him to get that far. She couldn't let him get that far. She knew that if he showed up here, her courage just might fail her.
Irnan shook her head to rid her mind of such thoughts. Of course she wouldn't let her courage fail her. What kind of goddess would she be then? Still, she needed something to greet him here, just one more thing to stand in his way and make it difficult for him to move forward. Her stupid followers would not be enough. They were loyal, but they were fools. She had few minions that weren't. But perhaps she could think of someone outside of her inner circle.
It hit her then, like lightning. It was amazing that she had never thought of it before. It was so simple, and right under her nose. She had a few old friends left in Hyrule, most of which owed her greatly. She knew of at least one that was still alive. One that would help her, no matter what. She summoned a messenger and sent them to find her biggest hope.
Irnan was able to relax now. She knew that she had little to fear now. It was not long before the messenger returned with an old friend. Irnan stood up and smiled, clasping a small, tan hand in her own. "Good evening, old friend!" she said. "It's so good to see you again!"
"Good evening, your majesty. It's good to see you as well."
"Retta," said Irnan after sitting down and inviting her friend to do the same, "I know that we had an agreement. Technically, you have done all for me that you need to."
"I guess this means you haven't heard. I found out that you had come back and I had my own troops sent off to aid you in your endeavor. Unfortunately, they failed me. However, now that you have summoned me, I will have a better idea of exactly what it is you are looking for in the way of help, and will send those who I know will succeed. Just say the word," replied Retta.
"Actually, Retta, I have a better idea..."
Irnan and Retta talked long into the night until they came up with the perfect plan. It had to be perfect. There was no other way anything else would work. Irnan would face Link if need be, but she wanted the chances to be as slim as possible. She had the urge to reveal to Retta the truth, to let her know exactly why she wanted her to meet Link at the door, but couldn't. It was best if it just stayed her little secret.
Irnan stretched her arms up to loosen the muscles. It was a surprisingly graceful movement. She was completely satisfied with herself at the moment. She had just ridded herself of one of her most pathetic minions. The smoking remains of what used to be Maxen were at her feet. She moved her eyes, locking on to the eyes of her minions one by one until she reached the end of the line. "Let that be a lesson to all of you. Failure," she continued in a calm tone, "is not acceptable. If you fail, the consequences will be great. However, failure is not the reason that Maxen is now a pile of ashes." She stopped here for effect, and began to pace. She waited for one of her minions to speak up.
It took a while, but one finally stepped forward. "Pardon me, your majesty, but why is Maxen now a pile of ashes?"
"Excellent question, Willan," shouted Irnan as she turned on her heels to face the line of mignons again. "The fact is, Maxen didn't fail me only once. Oh no. Maxen failed me twice!" Irnan grinned with pleasure as a murmur of shock passed through the group and they took turns calling the dead follower filthy names. One thing was for sure, there loyalty was unquestionable. "And that is still not all!" The group fell silent. This was too much for them. Twice a failure and still there was more. "He had the audacity to actually lie to me."
"I'm sure that many of you will recall Saria, the Forest Sage," began Irnan. All of her minions nodded. "And I am sure that you all assumed that she was dead." Again her followers nodded their heads. "Well, it seems that Maxen lied to all of you as well. The Forest Sage is not dead. He did not succeed in ending her life. He had a run in with the Hero, and found him to be quite a challenge. He got a few minor scratches and decided to return here and lie. He got away with it for a little while. He really did. But I was doing some crystal gazing today, and who did I see? That damned green girl!" spat Irnan.
"Now, I know that the Hero of Time is not exactly an easy opponent to face. In fact, Gerg just returned, defeated. We have lost our control on the Water Sage," Irnan informed the group.
Cries of "No!" and "How could he?" reverberated through the room.
"Yes. It's true. He has been dealt with. He won't be trusted with such a task again anytime soon, you can be sure of that. As I was saying, the Hero is no easy opponent. I realize this. But the fairy girl? It should have been as easy as getting rid of a deku shrub. Especially since I bestowed upon him some of my power and disabled hers! Now then. Perhaps we will leave that green thing alone for a while. We'll lull her into a false sense of security, and then, when she least expects it, we'll drive a spear through that evasive heart of hers."
A cheer ran through the crowd of Irnan's followers as she finished her little speech. She felt compelled to bow, but suppressed the urge, feeling that the gesture would be too over the top. She did however flash them a well deserved smile. They were such idiotic creatures, but they were her idiotic creatures, and they loved and adored her. She appreciated that at least. "You are all dismissed. But hear this! I have been very lenient up until this point. Too lenient. Any more disobedience from the rest of you and I shall have to be harsh. Like I said before: let Maxen be a lesson to you. Don't follow in his footsteps. Don't fail me. And most of all, do not lie to me. I will find out, and that," she said pointing to the pile of ashes on the floor, "is how you will end up."
The minions filed quietly out of the room, some kicking a few of the larger clumps of what used to Maxen as they walked by. Irnan sat down in front of her crystal ball and sighed. Link had successfully gotten rid of her plant, her octo, and her Poe ghosts. She should have seen that they wouldn't have been enough of a challenge for the Hero of Time. He had, after all, faced off against Ganon and won. She had underestimated his strength.
Irnan had been so caught up in getting rid of Saria that she had neglected all other areas that had to do with her plan. Now Link had nothing to go after. He would be seeking her out soon. She knew that she could murder him without lifting a finger, but she didn't want him to get that far. She couldn't let him get that far. She knew that if he showed up here, her courage just might fail her.
Irnan shook her head to rid her mind of such thoughts. Of course she wouldn't let her courage fail her. What kind of goddess would she be then? Still, she needed something to greet him here, just one more thing to stand in his way and make it difficult for him to move forward. Her stupid followers would not be enough. They were loyal, but they were fools. She had few minions that weren't. But perhaps she could think of someone outside of her inner circle.
It hit her then, like lightning. It was amazing that she had never thought of it before. It was so simple, and right under her nose. She had a few old friends left in Hyrule, most of which owed her greatly. She knew of at least one that was still alive. One that would help her, no matter what. She summoned a messenger and sent them to find her biggest hope.
Irnan was able to relax now. She knew that she had little to fear now. It was not long before the messenger returned with an old friend. Irnan stood up and smiled, clasping a small, tan hand in her own. "Good evening, old friend!" she said. "It's so good to see you again!"
"Good evening, your majesty. It's good to see you as well."
"Retta," said Irnan after sitting down and inviting her friend to do the same, "I know that we had an agreement. Technically, you have done all for me that you need to."
"I guess this means you haven't heard. I found out that you had come back and I had my own troops sent off to aid you in your endeavor. Unfortunately, they failed me. However, now that you have summoned me, I will have a better idea of exactly what it is you are looking for in the way of help, and will send those who I know will succeed. Just say the word," replied Retta.
"Actually, Retta, I have a better idea..."
Irnan and Retta talked long into the night until they came up with the perfect plan. It had to be perfect. There was no other way anything else would work. Irnan would face Link if need be, but she wanted the chances to be as slim as possible. She had the urge to reveal to Retta the truth, to let her know exactly why she wanted her to meet Link at the door, but couldn't. It was best if it just stayed her little secret.