Years Away
By Joker's Specter
Chapter Seven: Like Following a Blind Person
Link and his two companions traveled across the vast field behind the castle to the mountain range. Link could barely make out the large peaks of the mountains against he heavy downpour of the rain. As they walked, Link began to wonder just how long they would have to traverse through the storm.
"How far away is the Shrine?" the blonde boy asked.
Tifa, who was walking between Link and Shia, shrugged her sopping wet shoulders. "Usually it takes a little less than an hour of walking both ways. Once we reach the entrance to the Shrine, it takes a little time more time to get in and out."
Link began to feel the rain soaking into his green tunic. The cloak was starting to become useless, except for helping him shield his eyes from the rain.
"We used to go there a lot until Godoro banned people from use of the Shrine," Tifa added, motioning to Shia next to her. "Not even researchers can go in there anymore. Me and Piper found a different path up, though. We can get in without anybody knowing."
Link estimated that they had been walking for about ten minutes. He figured it would take them another ten minutes to get to the mountains. That meant that meant that most of their time would be spent going up or down the mountains. In the weather they were in, that didn't sound like a good thing.
Hoping they would have a safe trip, Link continued on in silence, running thoughts over his head. He was beginning to see various strands from the past few days connect into a web. At the center of the web, the problem was the Fairy Shrine. At the very least, a lot of major issues were centered around it.
His thoughts took him back to Cyrus and Crystal in the prison. Cyrus had said they were the children of Kain. It didn't seem at all like they were bad people; not to mention Kain's motives seemed to be toward capturing the Shrine. If the Shrine simply healed people, then wouldn't Kain's motives be to get his hands on some medical help? That couldn't be a bad thing.
"Hey... What do you two think of Kain?" Link asked his companions. "I mean... Is he really such a bad guy?"
Tifa and Shia looked over at Link in surprise, as if they hadn't expected him to say that.
After a few seconds, Shia looked as if she were about to speak, but she caught herself, glanced at Tifa, then continued staring straight ahead toward the base of the mountain.
Tifa, on the other hand, said, "To tell you the truth, Link, I'm not so sure anymore. I know Kain is against us because he wants the Fairy Shrine; not so he can take over Keystone. I know that the King claims that Kain is evil, but I can pretty much say that about the King also."
She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. Link was impressed at how closely her theories were matching his so far.
"I think Kain has a good reason for wanting access to the Shrine, so as long as the King keeps it barred off, we'll be at war," Tifa said. She looked from Link to Shia, biting her lip, and added, "But don't tell anybody I said that..."
They walked in silence for a while, with only the sound of the rain to be heard. Link wondered just how many of the other citizens in Keystone had come to the conclusion Tifa had, and were keeping to themselves about it simply due to fear. Or maybe because the people of Keystone weren't being invaded within the walls, so they didn't bother worrying about it? It was wrong, and Link had a strong urge to fix it somehow.
The only problem was, how was he going to convince an entire town that their King was a liar who schemed behind their backs for the sake of his own gains, and that they should overthrow him? In most towns, talk like that would get a person killed on sight, and Link knew Keystone wouldn't be any different.
Tifa grabbed Link and began walking in a wide berth around some hills. "There's an outpost here," she explained. "One of Keystone's. They'll capture or kill anybody, regardless of our loyalty. Only soldiers are allowed past this point."
Link understood, and followed quietly until they had walked safely around the unseen outpost.
"Link," Tifa said when they were a safe distance away. "Tell us about you... Like, where you come from.
Shia looked at Link and nodded in agreement, also wanting to know more about his past. She still appeared to be sleepy, but the rain had woken her up enough to keep her moving.
Biting his lip, Link asked, "Why do you want to know?"
Tifa smiled at Link. "Oh c'mon. You're a boy hardly my age who shows up out of nowhere. Not to mention the King has a lot of interest in you. I still don't know why you're going to be dueling my father, but there's a lot about you that makes me curious," she said.
That made sense to Link. He had an explorative nature, too, and usually wanted to dig deeper until he found something good or interesting. It sounded like Tifa had that same personality trait. Sighing, Link lowered his eyes to the ground. He normally kept to himself about the topic of his past, and he wasn't used to discussing his adventures in Hyrule and Termina.
Still, they had a lot of walking to do, and it might feel good to get it off his chest at some point. Why not now?
"Well..." Link started to say slowly, "I grew up in a place called the Kokiri Forest. The forest is a part of Hyrule; a faraway land. I remember feeling very out of place there..."
Tifa tilted her head slightly. "How come?"
"Mostly because I didn't have a fairy. It made me feel different... Everybody in Kokiri Forest has a fairy, but I didn't."
"Is that why you're searching for this fairy? 'Cause you never got one?" asked Tifa with deep interest. Despite being tired, Shia also had her full focus on Link.
"No, that's not the reason. I'll get to that in just a moment," Link said. "After a while, I started having nightmares. They would usually be about one thing..."
"What was it?" Tifa questioned.
Link's thoughts went back to the dark forces he encountered in Hyrule. "Ganondorf..." he replied quietly.
The boy paused long enough to cause Tifa to ask, "Who's Ganondorf?"
Link didn't answer. Tifa repeated herself, and Link suddenly snapped back to reality, as if he had been deep in thought. "Hmm? Oh, Ganondorf? He's...well, I'll get to him in a moment. As I was saying, I was having constant nightmares. They continued to get worse and worse... I had no clue what they meant at the time, but I knew they couldn't be a good thing. After a little while, a fairy had finally come to me..."
Navi?" asked the tired Shia.
"Yes..." answered Link. He listened to the rain for a few seconds before continuing. "Navi was sent as a messenger from the Great Deku Tree, guardian of the Kokiri Forest."
Tifa raised an eyebrow. "A tree?"
Link shot Tifa a look. "What better guardian to have than part of the forest itself?" he answered.
Raising her hands and stepping back, Tifa said, "Okay, okay. So this Great Tree sent you Navi. Then what?"
"Well... I was summoned by him to save Hyrule."
Again Tifa's eyebrows shot up. "You? Aren't you a little scrawny to be a hero?" she asked.
"Hey, it wasn't my choice... And besides, you're the one all over me, saying I'm your boyfriend," Link shot back.
Tifa smirked and said, "Don't let it get to your head; it's mainly just a title thing. What better way to raise eyebrows than to date the very person your father has to duel?"
"Yeah, I've been wondering... Why would you want to do that, anyway?" asked Link slowly.
Shrugging, Tifa simply replied, "I like the unknown, I guess. You're a very big unknown to me and the rest of Keystone."
Link was about to say something back, when Shia asked, "So where does this Ganondorf guy fit in? And when did you get separated from Navi?"
Raising his eyes, Link saw that they were approaching the base of the mountain. In the storm, he knew it could be a difficult climb, so he wanted to hurry and wrap up the story so the trio could focus on the task at hand. "Long story short, and believe it or not, I saved Hyrule with the help of Navi and others from Ganondorf."
"Hard to believe, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now," Tifa interjected. "Go on."
"Er... Well, after defeating Ganondorf, Navi disappeared," Link said, giving Tifa a disapproving look. "After all she had done for me, I need to at least make sure she's not in trouble..."
The three of them had just reached the base of the mountains and began to hike along the bottom of it in search of some way up the steep, rocky slope.
"If you have any other questions for me, I'll answer them another time. I think we should focus on being cautious," Link said loudly over the rain.
"Good idea," Tifa agreed, followed by a nod from Shia.
They walked in silence for a while, treading carefully along the muddy base. Link wasn't sure what they were looking for, but he figured Tifa knew what she was doing. Looking up at the mountains, he wondered if it was wise to have the two girls come with him. If anything happened to them, it would definitely be on his head, whether it was his fault or not.
"It should be around here somewhere..." said Tifa slowly.
"Are we looking for the main path...or the one you and Shia say you found?" inquired Link as he fell into step beside the blonde girl.
"The main one... And you should call her Piper; it sounds better," Tifa replied, still scanning the area ahead of her for the missing path.
Link shrugged. "She asked me to call her that," he said.
Tifa, who was moving with great ease over the warped terrain, said, "Well, whatever you want."
Link glanced back and saw Shia slowly following, obviously not having the agility or stamina of Link and Tifa. Add on the fact that she seemed so exhausted, and it was a bad situation.
"Hey, why is she so tired?" Link asked so only Tifa could hear.
Looking back at her friend, Tifa leaned in and whispered, "Piper isn't used to being out this late. She usually gets to bed earlier. I told her she shouldn't come, but she kept saying something about needing to."
Link pondered on that for a moment, and then realized it must have been because of him that Shia was even there. He had asked her to come with.
"We should wait for her; maybe slow down a little..." said Link. He stopped next to a tree and looked back again.
Tifa stopped too, then shrugged. "It'll take longer, but okay," she replied.
Shia slowly approached the spot where the two stood. She looked up at them through sleepy eyes and said, "Sorry... I'm more tired than I thought."
Link wondered if Shia would even have the strength to make it back, let alone continue up the mountain in the dangerous storm.
"Um... Shia, are you sure you can make the climb up? We still have to head back, and you look like you're ready to fall asleep any minute," Link pointed out.
Shia didn't answer. Instead, Tifa cut in. "The climb isn't as high as you'd think. If we were going to the main trail, then we'd be climbing straight up," she said.
Link was confused. "I thought you said we climb up...and that we're looking for the main trail."
"We are."
"Well, why did you say we aren't going to use the main trail?"
"Because we probably won't."
Link just didn't get it. he was having a difficult time getting through to this girl. "Okay... So, we're looking for the main trail, but we aren't going to use the main trail, right?"
Tifa sighed loudly, and then said in a very slow voice, "We find the main trail as a land mark. If we find the main trail, then it's a short path to the alternate route to the Fairy Shrine. We'll be on the main trail itself for a few minutes, but only until we come to the first guardhouse. From that point on, depending on how guarded the path is, we can either take the main trail, which will cut our time down, or the alternate trail, which will take longer but is safer. Judging by this rain, we'll probably take the safer path." Tifa crossed her arms as she explained her plan to Link and appeared slightly annoyed.
"Okay, I get it now," Link said, nodding. At least, he thought he did.
"Well, good. Now let's get going," Tifa said as she spun on her heel and began walking away from Link.
Link rolled his eyes as Tifa marched away, then turned to ask Shia if she was sure she could make it.
Shia just smiled and talked in a low voice, so Tifa couldn't hear, saying, "I always like to see the Fairy Shrine. It's so beautiful... I'll be fine." The blue-haired girl then walked away too, leaving Link standing alone in a large puddle caused by the downpour. He wondered what he did to deserve his current situation. He just wanted a few simple things. Why was that so hard?
!-T- -H- -E- -R- -A-!
!-I- -N- -B- -O- -W-!
"Hmm... You know, I don't remember any of this," stated Tifa slowly while looking around. "If it weren't for this rain we'd be at the main trail by now..." The group had come upon an area that was shaded by a few trees all around for as far as the eye could see. "This doesn't look familiar at all..."
Link was getting a little weary. The storm, his exhaustion, and his guide were all beginning to weigh heavily on him. "I thought you knew where you were going?" he asked as water ran off his bangs.
"I do, I do... I'm just a little side-tracked. But don't worry; I'll get you there. It's what I do," replied Tifa with a nervous smile.
"Tifa... Um... I think we may have passed it," Shia said quietly.
Tifa looked back the way they had come. "Hmm. That's possible," she admitted with a nod. "C'mon, let's head back the way we came and stick closer to the mountain. It's fairly hard to see the path with the blockade the King put up, so we'll just have to keep a better eye out." Tifa began walking in the opposite direction with Shia in tow, once again leaving Link standing alone in a puddle, wondering what he did to deserve his current predicament.
With his cloak completely soaked through now, Link debated leaving it behind as it slowed him down and impeded his movement. If it weren't for the fact that he and the girls had to return them, Link would've left his where he stood.
About five minutes went past fore Tifa shouted excitedly, "There it is! Stupid rain was making it hard to see before."
Relief washed over Link with the rain as he ran up to stand beside Tifa. True enough, the rain was making it difficult to see anything. The boy squinted in the direction Tifa was pointing at, but all he could see were a bunch of large boulders nestled between a sheer rock wall.
"What? What's there?" he asked, looking over at Tifa's beaming face.
"The main path!"
Link gave the boulders another look, seeing no way through or around them. "How are we supposed to get through?"
"You don't... At least, not if you have the proper way to climb up the boulders. Even though it's not too high, it's still near impossible to climb over them, except for us," said Tifa with a grin.
Link took a long look at the blockade. Near the top, he finally saw what Tifa meant. A small gap between the boulders high up that would allow a small person to slip through.
"We could get through right there if someone gave us a boost, right?" he asked.
Tifa smirked at the blonde boy. "You're pretty smart. Smarter than I thought, anyway. That method is why I never travel alone," she replied.
!-T- -H- -E- -R- -A-!
!-I- -N- -B- -O- -W-!
Link boosted the two girls up first on his shoulders. Once they were safely secure, they reached down and helped him up onto the a small ledge provided by some boulders that jutted outwards. One by one, they each slipped through the tiny entrance, squirming through until they could jump down onto the other side.
"The guards of Keystone have their their own man-made entrance that runs underground from Keystone. It was a huge project a while back," Tifa said as she brushed mud off of her soaking cloak. "Once it was finished, the King blocked off this path, and now we're the only ones who can get through."
Link was becoming more and more impressed by Tifa and Shia's usefulness, and how willing they were to help him. Despite the complaining from earlier, he was feeling like his fortune was beginning to change.
Observing the wavy pathway ahead of them, Link saw that the canyon could conceal many things. Enemies, treasure, and even the Fairy Shrine could probably be on the face of the mountain and still not be seen by anybody walking by. There were so many turn offs and trees that Link could only see about thirty feet ahead of him before the trail swirved into a different direction.
"Well, this is the tricky part," said Tifa from behind Link. "We need to head up this trail a little ways, but there's that guard outpost I mentioned earlier. The King trusts his blockade as much as he does Kain, so keep your eyes open."
Tifa led the way up and onto the wavy path, with a cautious Link and a sleepy Shia trailing behind her.
End: Chapter Seven: Like Following a Blind Person
