I'm baaack! Did anyone miss me? Anyone? Oh well... yay! So many reviews! Anyway I have to thank... shadow reaper2, Silverbreeze, Snowsilver, PichuStar, Shadow Girl64, Armageddon1, and Veilius! THANK YOU ALL! Aw... PichuStar and Armageddon1 got another mystery right. But it wouldn't be fun if Link knew about that, now would it? I got a Zelda plushie! Thank you PichuStar! I think I'll make it a... Navi plushie! J/K Hm... I think that's it. Oh wait! Guess there's gonna be another chapter with a long narrative. Don't worry. This one's not as long as the last one. On with the fic!
Second of the two angsty past chapters! But do heed Link's premonitions! He was right before, after all. XD I also tried to throw in some more "hmm... that's kinda suspicious" moments. More of "hmm... that's REALLY suspicious" moments. XD Though making Kira more and more of a crybaby, who wants to make friends but thinks she can't, are flaws, yes? That and I'll be making her even less magically-capable. XD
Chapter 8: Reunion
Impa bounded up the steps, dagger in hand. She reached the balcony, quickly surveyed the scene, and let out a low whistle. "This place needs some fixing up. Is everyone all right?"
Link and Zelda nodded, but Kira ran toward her. "Lady Impa! Do you remember me? I'm Kira, the ambassador's daughter! Remember?"
A gasp and tears welled soon after from the Sheikah's eyes. "So you truly are the Kira I once knew. Your mother and I were dear friends. I'd long given up all hope of ever seeing you again, but now you're back, safe and sound."
"Why did you think you would never get to see her again, Impa? Didn't Father always say that you could have permission to leave the castle whenever you want?" asked Zelda.
Impa sighed. "Yes, he did, and I was able to put that to use quite often. But the rest is a long and boring story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"
"Please Lady Impa! Please tell us! Well, at least tell me." Kira answered quickly.
"We've already sat through one long story. I'm sure we can sit through another one, am I right, Zelda?" Link leaned himself against the wall in an as comfortable a position as he could manage.
Zelda nodded, glancing at her guardian. Impa sighed again. "We should start telling you bedtime stories to make you not want to listen to mine. But since we don't and since you probably would balk at the idea of having bedtime stories, I guess I'll just have to start reciting from the beginning.
When I first came to Hyrule Castle Town, I was amazed by all of the busy crowds and colorful signs. Like most of the Sheikah, I'd lived in sleepy little Kakariko Village for my entire life, only leaving occasionally to hunt. But still I preferred peace and quiet to the bustle and dazzle that the Castle Town offered. I decided that I would return to Kakariko the moment my task was done.
That was before I met you, Zelda, the baby heir to the throne, held lovingly in the queen's arms. I sensed something... special about you. I don't know why I did what I did next, but I do know that it was definitely worth it. Hyrule Castle was searching for a Sheikah guardian, and I took the job, and I'm still here today.
But I'm a little off track here, back to the topic. With the King's permission, I traveled back to Kakariko almost every night, aided by warp magic. The Elder always gave me the latest news about the village and about how you, Kira, were doing. That was before he, and all of the other Sheikah, vanished.
I had received no notice that they were leaving, not even a single clue. Since I was quite the celebrity with the Hylian villagers, I tried asking them about it, but they didn't know. I asked them about you, but they always avoided the topic courteously, mumbling something about how they believed whatever 'the legendary Sheikah' told them.
After that incident, I returned fewer and fewer times, finally lowering the number of visits to once each month. One night, I entered Kakariko only to find the entire village feasting. I wasn't aware of any special holidays, so, naturally, I asked them about it. They answered that they had just driven away an evil spirit, and they were celebrating their feat. Then I questioned them about you, but they just replied that no one had seen you for the entire day. I was worried, so I went to your shack to look for you.
But you weren't there. I searched every little corner of Kakariko, from the graveyard to the windmill, but I couldn't find any trace of you. Anxious, I ran out the gates, only to find a faint trail of blood and dirt. I followed it to a river, where I found an imprint of the Hylian symbol in the soft earth. I knew then that it was you, Kira, who the villagers had driven out.
It eased my anxiety a bit to know that you had your weapons with you, but still I searched, and still, I couldn't find you. Sometimes I uncovered your footprints near smoldering traces of a small campfire, sometimes near a slight imprint in a cave, and those discoveries always made my spirits rise, for I knew that you were still alive. I continued looking, never giving up hope, until one day about four years ago.
It was a beautiful morning, one that I remember clearly. The King had scheduled a meeting with the Gerudo leader later that day, and a certain princess, as you, Zelda, and you, Link, probably remember, insisted on waiting for his arrival at the courtyard window, leaving me with an entire morning to myself. I dedicated it to finding you, Kira, and I set out immediately. It was an hour past noon before I found what I was looking for, yet my heart sank the instance I saw it.
I had discovered your footprints next to a rock wall, surrounded by those of Stalchildren, which apparently had also stolen a young foal. I stared at the tracks in disbelief. It couldn't be true, I tried to convince myself, it just couldn't. But I knew it was true. There was no mistaking the obvious signs of a skirmish. I returned to the castle, overwhelmed by sorrow. But a Sheikah is trained not to show emotions easily, so I held back my tears, and walked into the courtyard, thus setting your adventure, Link, into motion.
And through all those years, even though I was busy with the tasks given to me, I've always wondered why fate can be so cruel, but now I know, now I know that we can never truly fathom the decisions of the goddesses, but we can always hope for the best. And that's my part of the story in a nutshell, complete with a bit of a philosophical saying at the end. I hope you enjoyed your little bedtime story, now be off to your rooms." Impa folded her arms against her chest as she tried to look disapprovingly at her Hylian charges.
"Lady Impa... I... I'm so sorry I made you worry about me! I- I didn't know that you would be concerned!" Kira exclaimed.
"That's alright. You couldn't have known, Kira. Nothing matters now that you're back." Impa hugged her tightly, glistening teardrops running down both of their cheeks.
"Aw... that's so sweet, isn't it Link? Would you have done that for me?"
Link nodded, then squeaked in surprise, having understood Zelda's question a bit too late.
Loud crashes issued from the stairs. "Lady Impa! Lady Impa! Are you up there? And is the princess with you? We can't find her in her room!"
"Great. Just what we needed. There's still time before those clumsy idiots get here. Take this key and use it to open the first door on your right. Follow the corridor all the way to the end and you should be able to make it to the floor your rooms are on. Hurry up and go! There might be misunderstandings if the servants find all three of you here." Impa hissed, giving Zelda a light push toward the splintered doorway, before she headed for the stairs herself to deal with the servants.
Looks like I was right. It's been four years, but we've finally located her. I'll have to report this as soon as possible. I'm lucky that I remembered most of that story, and, judging from their expressions, I said nothing contradictory. Princess Zelda, Hero of Time... I'm sorry for this, but this is for your safety, as well as that of Hyrule, and as the Sage of Shadow, that is my duty!
Link quickly snatched the key, waited for Zelda and Kira to step through the doorframe, gave the Sheikah a businesslike nod, and disappeared into the shadows himself. True to Impa's word, there was a locked door on the right, an obstacle speedily removed by the key. The three stepped into the pitch-black darkness of the hall, its utter silence disrupted by the night breeze rushing into the open doorway. But silence and darkness soon reigned again, as Link gently shut the heavy oak door as silently as possible, and then cursed himself for not bringing a light.
The only solution to the problem was to stumble forward, and hope that the corridor was relatively flat and relatively short. Zelda, in the lead, soon found herself wishing for a lamp, as she staggered into spider web after spider web. Link wasn't of any help with his unwanted reminders of how Skullutas were much bigger than the spiders in the hall. The princess felt rather sorry for Kira, who had stayed quiet the entire time, no doubt a bit unnerved by Link's warnings of giant spider monsters.
The Hero of Time was in the middle of one of his Skulluta speeches when Zelda's cry of delight startled him. "Look! A light!" she shouted, running toward it with Kira close behind, before Link could contribute a reminder of how Poes always carried either torches or lanterns. He sighed and followed their example.
An oil lamp was hanging on the wall, its dancing fire shedding a comforting glow around it. Zelda quickly lifted it off its hook and took the lead again with renewed determination. Link shrugged. It wasn't a Poe after all. He adjusted his grip on the Gilded Sword, and continued onward after Zelda and Kira, taking care not to fall too far behind.
The trio kept their steady pace through the dank corridor in silence, with Link lost in thought after being told by Zelda that his monster stories were rather... unwelcome. "Kira, I've been thinking about your account of the monster attacks, did they ever mention something about a 'Boss'?" he asked abruptly.
"N- No. I- I don't think so. Tonight was the first time I heard it. Wh- Why?" she answered, eyes darting around at the mossy stone walls and the various paintings that covered them.
"The Stalchildren in the morning were under orders of a 'Boss' and they wanted your treasure. The Stalfos we just defeated were also under orders of a 'Boss' and they wanted your pendant..." Link paused to let his words sink in.
"S- So does that mean my pendant is the treasure that all those monsters have been wanting?"
"It does seem that way, doesn't it? I was hoping that you would be able to tell us about it, but obviously, that's not exactly possible."
"Then does that also mean that my pendant's the target for two or three warring monster factions? Or something else like that."
"Either that, or it's one 'Boss' who wants it really badly." Zelda quickly interjected.
"But wh- why? My pendant's just an old trinket! I'm sure there are plenty of other Triforce shaped golden jewelry in Hyrule. And I'm sure that they're all more valuable than mine."
"I can't give you an answer for that one. But like I said before, I'm just glad we've established the fact that you're not some hired assassin who's using the image of an innocent victim of mistreatment as a cover-up."
"Link! Isn't that a little too harsh?" exclaimed Zelda.
Kira smiled. "N- No, it's OK, really. I probably would be a little suspicious too. But how would you know that I'm not magically changing my appearance to look like Kira and fool everyone, even Impa?"
"Easy. No assassin would be able to tell a story AND concentrate on keeping a steady amount of tears flowing at all times." Link grinned.
"I- I guess. Ahh... By the way Zelda, what is this corridor supposed to be for?" asked Kira.
"I'm not sure. I've never been here before. But I think this is the place where we keep old paintings of valued officials and friends who have passed away."
Link glanced uneasily around about him. "So in other words, this is where you hang the portraits of dead people. This place is spooky. When are we gonna get to that door Impa mentioned?"
"Soon. Come on Kira, let's go a bit faster because the Hero of Time is scared of a few paintings."
"Hey! I'm not scared! Just... disturbed. Don't listen to her Kira... Kira?"
"What's the matter Kira? Did you see a ghost?"
"This... this painting! I... I think that it's of my father!"
She pointed to a portrait of a middle-aged man, dressed in a plain red tunic, the only decoration being a small phoenix emblem sewn onto the right sleeve. He had tousled brown hair, kind brown eyes, and a slight smile on his face. His skin was extremely pale, and his entire figure was rather thin, giving him the appearance of one who was constantly ill or in suffering. But the bright glint in the man's eyes gave a completely different impression, one of fierce determination and energy. The artist had depicted that well, the glint being pretty much one of the only things in the painting that wasn't sickly looking. Below the delicate gold frame, was a rusted metal plaque, the only word still readable being, "Ambassador."
"It's him. I know it's him! And now... after all these years, I'm finally able to see what my father looks like!" Kira mumbled excitedly.
"You have his eyes. And with the same fire in them." Zelda agreed.
Kira looked at the ground sadly. "I think that fire... may have died a bit..."
The Princess of Hyrule shook her head. "Don't say that. And don't let it die."
Link sighed. This emotional stuff was really starting to bug him. Plus, they weren't all that great at it and were just being overly dramatic. "C'mon Kira, we can't have you standing here reminiscing; you'll catch a cold or something. We can go to the castle library tomorrow. Y'know, to find some more stuff out 'bout your parents, that is, if you want to go." He added, before any more sentimental things could "weaken his sense of masculinity."
Kira nodded in reply, took one last look at the painting, and bolted off blindly into the darkness of the hallway. Zelda glared at Link, who didn't quite catch the look, and ran after her friend, shouting, "Kira!" Link quickly decided that getting left behind wasn't quite the best idea and hurried after both.
Her tears flowing freely, Kira ignored Zelda's cries and kept stumbling farther and farther into the dark. She didn't know where she was going. She just wanted to run, run somewhere to hide her sorrow, somewhere where no one could find her. And yet she still didn't know why.
I... I... Why am I doing this? Why am I running away? Why can't I control myself? I said... I said that I would stay cheerful... but... but...
She let out a faint cry as she tripped on a rock. Kira lay on the ground, sobbing, until Zelda gently pulled her up. "Please Kira. Don't cry. I know how you feel. Link does too. We've all lost loved ones. And we all want them back. But it's just not how the goddesses meant for things to be."
"Zelda's right, Kira. It's no use crying over the past. Life goes on, time goes on. Move on with your future and try not to let your emotions get you. Just remember that if your parents were here right now, I bet they'd be sad if you're sad, so don't be sad."
Kira wiped her tears on her shirt. "Th- Thank you again... for cheering me up. I'm fine now, I think, thanks to your advice."
"Aww... I'm not that good with moving speeches yet. I've got Zelda to thank for what little I know. But those mood swings of yours can get rather scary. One minute you're happy and the next you're sad. Come to think of it, Zelda's like that sometimes, one sec she's nice and the next she's mean. Or is she always mean? Eep. OK, I'll stop now." Zelda's fist was hovering dangerously close to Link's face, prompting the quick closing of his speech.
Kira smiled. "Watching you two makes me feel a lot happier. It IS good to know that there are blossoming feelings in this serious place!"
"You can't possibly be serious," Link mumbled, but Zelda only blushed.
"Heehee! I'm right aren't I? So... what can I do for you two? Need somewhere romantic to go? How 'bout Lake Hylia? Seems like a really nice place from what I've heard."
"Never been to Lake Hylia? It's a nice place, sure, but I wouldn't want to be there. There might be... accidents involving... um... fish," stammered Link.
Kira looked at Zelda quizzically, but the princess only said, "You really like this whole matchmaking thing, don't you? We should let you do more matchmaking stuff, as long as it doesn't involve me, or Link. He's just a friend, anyway. And as for Lake Hylia, it's kind of hard to explain, but maybe we could take you there someday, and show you firsthand."
"Oh. Fine. I'll leave the topic alone for now. Hey! Is that the exit?" Kira gestured wildly to a thin line of light glowing down the hallway.
"YEAH! Finally out of this place! Time to get some sleep!" Link ran excitedly to the source of the light, but, finding the door locked, feverishly searched his clothes for the key, conveniently forgetting that he had given it to Zelda to keep safe.
The princess shook her head hopelessly at Link's behavior. She fit the key into the keyhole, turned the item, and shoved the door open. Impa was right. They had reached the floor with their rooms. She turned back to Link and Kira and asked, "Are you going to be coming or what?"
Both nodded and rushed out of the corridor, happy to be free from its dank atmosphere, and in Kira's case, bad memories. The trio walked casually to their rooms, said their "goodnights" and shut the doors of their chambers, almost at the same time.
Link yawned as he walked into his room. It was either really late at night, or really early in the morning. He didn't really care. All he knew was that he was tired and that there was a big Guay sitting on the windowsill. A Guay on the windowsill? Link crept quietly to his desk, where he had left his bow. The Guay apparently hadn't noticed his arrival, since it still sat there, preening its feathers.
Stupid bird. Would just scare it away, but it might be a spy.
The hero notched an arrow to his bow, took aim, and fired. The projectile hit its target, as the crow squawked once and toppled out the window, dissolving into black smoke. Link grinned and put his weapons back on his desk. He arranged his messy pillows and climbed into bed. But sleep didn't come as easily as he had imagined, as a scene kept playing over and over in his mind. Link stared at the ceiling.
Why do I keep seeing these images? A little girl's cries, a mother's frantic screams. A dark place with dark, shadowy magic. And the Triforce. At least, a shadow of it.
Link rolled over in his bed and buried his head into the pillows. It was nice and warm and cozy, not like the damp corridor... so comfortable. He registered only one last thought before falling fast asleep.
Something wasn't right about tonight... I just don't know what.
A/N: Whoa... what a um... strange chapter... School is the worst thing in the world... I think it's affecting me... ah well, hope that chapter helps explain some more things. BWAHAHA! Will Link ever know the true story? Who knows? Anyway, we'll be getting to the action parts soon so keep the reviews coming!