Disclaimer: Nothing is mine!
AN: Short chapter after such a long hiatus, but I'll write up another one and put it up soon. Promise =3
DragonclawChapter Ten
Death Mountain
Link followed Sheik up the mountainside, grasping the rocks with his hands as he ascended the hard slope. Sheik had seemed momentarily lost as to what direction they should take, but he'd surveyed the landscape, the rocks looking deceivingly soft in the morning sun, and had decided on the rugged route. He nodded, trying to convince himself that he'd made the right choice, and gestured for Link and Malon to follow. They'd done so, neither saying a word. Neither had the strength to speak.
Link's eyes felt sore from grief and exhaustion, and he closed his lids, moving blindly forward. He tried to lose himself in a black world without feeling, but memories of the smoke and heat plagued his heart. He began to shudder involuntarily, lost in his thoughts, when Malon jerked him back to reality with her voice.
"What happened to Impa?" She asked, the sound splitting the silence like lightning. Link felt his stomach drop another mile at the question, dreading the answer with every shred of his body. Sheik stopped, raising his head towards the sky. Pale light cast down on him, making his blond hair shine brightly and giving him a heavenly appearance.
'Maybe I've died,' thought Link, blearily. 'Gods, let's hope so.'
Sheik didn't turn towards them, and hesitated a moment before marching onward, his feet pounding against the rock.
"She stayed behind to help the villagers. I'm to take you from here on out." He answered, calmly. Link wanted to strike him, but couldn't find the will to raise his fist. He lowered his gaze, not wanting to accept any input from the outside world. Was Hyrule always this dangerous? This violent? Or was it simply due to the task he'd been assigned? It was terrible – he wanted to give up already. He couldn't stand to think that he still had his entire quest set out before him to complete, when he was ready to fall apart right at the beginning. His thoughts turned to Malon, and how she still stood strong despite her total unjust involvement with Ganondorf's plot. Link, however, had been charged by the Goddesses with the duty of finding the princess – his sister – and everything he saw frightened him. He hated it all and he wished, more than ever, that he were just a clueless little Kokiri living in the forest with Mido and Saria and Lara.
"Where are we going?" Malon asked. Her voice told of her recovery as she slowly came to terms with what had happened, jading herself to it. Farore favoured her, Link could tell.
Sheik raised a bandaged hand, pointing upwards. Link wearily raised his head, taking in the vision before him. A massive pinnacle towered over them, a ring of smoke crowning its summit and shimmering faintly in the yellow light of the early day. Link took in a breath, the sight rendering even his misery powerless. It seemed to consume the entire sky, reaching up to the heavens, and Link felt that even the Goddesses would find its peak poking up into their domain. He glanced over at his companions for their reactions, and found Malon's eyes wide with delight. Sheik's lips turned upwards in a weak smile.
"Fight fire with fire." He whispered, "Let's keep moving."
It took them the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon to ascend the slopes surrounding the mountain, and Link was amazed to see it up close. If he'd thought that from a distance it'd been huge, he cowered before its form when he stood at its base. He found the feeling of being dwarfed to infinitely minute proportions comforting in his present state of mind, and he wished to stand there in the peak's shadow for the rest of the evening, but Sheik forced him onward, to a carved out path. It looked as if a monster had taken a bite from the mountainside, odd chunks of rock missing from the walls and littering the ground. They passed through, the path slowly leading down until the rock reached out and covered their heads. Eventually it got so dark that even squinting they couldn't make out what lay ahead, and a row of lit braziers began, lining the walls. Link saw a smooth stone surface blocking their path and he cast Sheik a questioning look, wondering why he'd lead them to a dead end. And, for that matter, why it would reside at the end of a lit path. Sheik showed no surprise, and Link turned his attention back the wall and squinted. He noticed large cracks around the edges and down the middle, and subtle, shallow carvings decorating each side.
Sheik approached it, pounding a closed fist against its surface, making three, steady thumps. The hollow sound that echoed back shocked Link, and he realized that it was actually a colossal stone door. Sheik waited a moment, patiently attending for someone to open it and let them in. When no one answered, he glanced back at Link, shrugging, and turned back.
"In the name of the heir, I demand an audience with the Chief!" He called, loudly. Link looked to his side and noticed Malon's eyes widening as she bit her lip in anticipation. His face remained placid, unable to treat unexplored Hyrule with the same anticipation that he had before. He'd seen too much carnage; it wasn't as easy to appreciate these new sites. How could Malon do it?
'Because she's used to it?' He thought, 'Or. . . because she's stronger than I am.'
Malon turned her head towards him as she noticed his gaze, and she smiled hesitantly upon seeing his sad eyes. He looked away, not having a reason to smile back.
He heard a slow grinding and turned his head upwards to see the slab of stone moving inwards at a slow, steady pace. He shifted his stance, glancing around Sheik's head to see flickering torchlight beyond. No one stood there to greet them, and Link furrowed his brow in confusion.
"Come." Sheik said, guiding them into the opening. "Welcome to Death Mountain. We'll seek refuge here." They made their way down a long, stone hall, the only light coming from the braziers that periodically dotted the walls. Link heard a loud thud from behind, and turned to see the door had closed, a round figure leaning in the shadows and grunting from exertion. He stared, his eyes wide, at the curious rock-like appearance and the beady eyes that flickered back at him, the flames from the torches reflected in them. His mind shifted to his lessons, leaning against the Deku Tree's heaving roots, and he remembered the habitants of Death Mountain being the friendly, tribal Gorons. They feasted upon rock and were said to have been designed by Din.
The Goron shifted and met his gaze, holding it for a moment before bowing, slightly. Link frowned, turning back to the direction in which they were headed.
They would learn not to bow. He was no king.
~~