Chapter 4
Link looked after her, a little confused, then he followed her and watched her cry for a little while before he walked up behind her. He decided she must be very frightened. "Don't cry," he told her softly as he patted her back, "As long as you keep moving like you were and pay careful attention you'll be completely safe here. I will keep you safe."
"Master Link!" she exclaimed as she jumped up, "I'm sorry, I d-didn't hear you- you'll have to forgive me- I'm just a little emotional right now... Bowser..." She shakes her head and shivers again, "Please don't mention him again." A tear gathered in the corner of her eye despite her having wiped it away twice.
Link tilted his head slightly and stroked her ear once, his finger followed its curve and he smiled at her. "We won't mention him again unless it is relevant," he said softly, "But by then I hope to have you strong enough to throw him on his ear. So you need to be careful, rest well tonight, and relax. Tomorrow your training begins. If you need anything, feel free to ask." Link turned slowly and walked away.
Avalon was left breathless as she watched him go. He was so confident that she felt inspired. Her eyes began to tear again as his footsteps faded. She sobbed softly again as she walked to her room, but she didn't know why.
She lay awake in bed, after having relived that moment twice in nightmare form. She couldn't tell anyone; for fear that they would enforce her to follow the kingdom's tradition. Bowser was evil, and he knew that the secret would eat her alive, and make her weak to his taking again. Bowser had become his human form, Leo, and attacked her, robbing her of her innocence about two months ago. Thank the heavens she was unable to get pregnant.
She cried softly in a fluffy, feather-filled pillow. Bad things happened all too often to her. Sometimes she wished she wasn't royalty. She wanted to be just a plain villager. She envied the innocence and ignorance the toads were blessed with. Nobody would ever do that to a toad. Nobody would ever harm one or lie to one. They were just too helpless.
But in a way she was even more helpless than a toad. Being the princess, she was taught to never speak of her problems, except to one person she trusted. Telling her secrets could cause a kingdom to revolt, even if one little thing slipped out, such as a secret like hers. If anyone found out, she might be forced to agree to marry him. After all, he was the one who had soiled her.
The sun started to peek over a mountain in the distance, and a bird chirped that it was morning. Maybe a bath would wake her up. She gathered her clothes, and the two towels she brought, along with all of her bathing necessities. The others were still sleeping, and she would have privacy.
She was still very nervous about bathing outside, but she had faith that the others would stay away. She put one toe in the water before she undressed. Just like Link had said, the water was warm. She slipped in, happy that the water was completely free of moss, animals, or anything else other than water and rocks. She took her hair out of its ponytail, dipped her hair in the water, and lathered with her rose scented shampoo. She rinsed in the warm waterfall, put in conditioner, and while it soaked in, she washed her face, and brushed her teeth. Soon her hair was washed, and up in a towel, and she was stepping out of the bath.
Link was heading down to the spring for his bath now, and he caught site of her, with the towel now around her body and her head. She was putting on some lacy pink panties, and she was making sure to keep herself covered. But to put on her brassiere, she had to drop the towel. Her back was turned toward him, and he was glad, yet just a bit disappointed. The brassiere matched, and she slipped on her favorite battle uniform; a knee length pink dress, slippers, and her white and pink diamond tiara. Her dress had a pair of short shorts underneath, so she would be decent when fighting. Her hair would dry in the sun, so she left it down with the large tiara in it after she brushed it thoroughly.
After she had finished, Link popped out form behind a tree. "I'm going to take my bath now." He announced, as he started to walk past her. While he was doing so, he grabbed her arm. "You smell nice." He announced.
Avalon smiled. "That's exactly why I bathe and I am happy that I am pleasant again. But I must say, I still prefer bathing inside." She secretly wondered if Link had been spying, but she knew he hadn't. Geno would never have a friend who was less than knightly. "The spring is very clean and warm. How do you keep it that way?" She questioned.
Link was behind her, getting undressed. He was untying the black robe he wore to bed. "The tree that overhangs the spring and waterfall drops white petals, which have the wonderful quality of purifying the water. No bacteria grows here. The water actually has healing qualities. This is the spring we use to gather drinking water." As he spoke, Avalon saw a few petals fall into the spring and dissolve in the water completely. They were large white velvety petals.
"This place is amazing." She breathed as she looked around some more. "I will leave you to bathe now. You want to meet in the courtyard?" She asked, as she glanced at him. Link was now naked, sitting in the water. When she noticed, she turned away, her face beet red.
"What's the matter?" He questioned.
"I didn't know you were undressed. You deserve your privacy." She replied, hearing him stand up in the water. "I will see you in the courtyard!" She called, as she hurried off.
Link washed himself thoroughly, got in his red tunic, hat, and black boots, and ran to meet her. She looked like a goddess, sitting on the stone bench and braiding her hair as she watched a tiny bird picking up stones around her now bare feet. She giggled, as the bird hopped on her toe, tilted his head, chirped, and hopped up her leg. It sat in her lap, looked at her, and chirped once more. She picked up the little bird and whispered to him. He was a bright yellow parrot, about four inches from head to tail, with tiny peach feet, and beak, and red eyes. He was very cute, as he put his head down for her to scratch. Avalon had a few doves at home, and she knew how to handle birds well. She scratched the nape of his neck, and he closed his little eyes....
"I see you have already met one of the girls." He announced, as he approached her. The little yellow bird heard him, and flew to meet him. It sat on his shoulder proudly, and let out a sharp trill of excitement, then nibbled his ear.
"Girls? How do you know it's a girl?"
Link picked up the bird, and kissed the top of it's head. When he did so, it raised its crown of long yellow feathers. "Only females lay eggs." He replied. "Her sisters are around here somewhere."
Avalon smiled. "You don't seem like the type to have pet birds!!"
He kissed the bird again, and it put it's head down. "Epona is this one's name. I am very fond of creatures, especially ones who are fond of me. Her sisters are Pandora and Aries."
Avalon watched him and the bird. He sat it gently on a branch of a nearby olive tree, and it hopped to an upper branch, and let out another happy little call, before it took flight into the blue sky. "Shouldn't we be training?" She questioned, and then she yawned.
"You didn't sleep last night. I can tell by your body language. No training today. Anteguy is bringing us our breakfast."
She yawned again, and stood up. "I did too sleep. I'm always tired in the morning."
"You didn't sleep. I know for a fact you didn't. I always check in on my new pupils on their evaluation days, and every time I looked in your doorway, you were awake, and either crying or tossing and turning. What bothers you that much?" He demanded.
"I really can't talk about it. It's not that big of a deal. I'm just really stressed, okay?"
"I'm trying to put it together myself, but I'm at a dead end. You are upset about Bowser, and afraid of him, but he cannot kill you, because you are the daughter of a star spirit, and they have granted you invincibility from death. So what happened?"
"I really don't want to talk about it." She insisted. "It's a really big problem, and I'm working on resolving it."
"By crying every night?" He demanded. Anteguy placed a tray of figs, bread and milk in front of them. "You are a born warrior. You have the physique and determination. Turn your sadness into anger, and after a good night's sleep, we will spar again. Today I will show you the most sacred parts of the island. I may also show you how to use the magic powers the spirits gave you."
She stared at the breakfast, feeling very much depressed. She knew he was right. Crying was doing no good.
"Eat your breakfast." He snapped, as he drank all of his milk in one gulp, then started on the figs. "Before I eat all of it."
She watched him eat, and finally did eat half of a fig, drank about a quarter of her milk, and let the bread just sit. Link took her milk and finished it off, along with everything else. She wasn't hungry. She never was hungry when she was sad.
The two of them walked through the woods. She had taken her slippers off and put them in her pink silk purse. It was a large backpack style with a silver drawstring closure. Link watched her spirits perk up slowly, as she hopped from rock to rock across the shallow stream. He was right behind her. He could tell she loved nature, and he considered her a friend already. He had never needed a friend before, but now, it really felt nice having one, and he didn't think he could now go without.
She smiled and pointed at a large koi. "How pretty. There's a pond near my palace with beautiful ones like this. He's quite large and colorful."
He smiled. "Yes, that one is very nice. You know, all koi are is giant carp with pretty coloring." He informed her. "Carp even have whiskers, but not as long as the koi have."
She nodded. "You're very smart. I was never good at things like that."
He laughed. "I've been with nature for a very long time. Before I was here, I lived in some forest by Rose Town."
"The Forest of Illusion? Or was it Forest Maze?" She questioned.
"I'm not sure. All I know is that I ran into giant caterpillars who wanted to eat me. By the way, in case you wanted to know, they taste like a mixture of deer and duck."
She got a horrified look on her face, and almost fell into the water. "You ate a wiggler???"
He laughed. "That's what they're called? Well, anyway, I was getting tired of them. And let me tell you, when you kill a big one and wear it's little flowery hat, the others stay really far away from you." He chuckled to himself. "I couldn't believe how easy it was to keep the others at bay."
The princess looked down at her feet, and felt saddened for the life of the poor caterpillar. "I don't like thinking of anything in pain."
"In the real world, your highness, it is kill or be killed. If a wiggler was charging you, with glowing red eyes and sparkling fangs, wouldn't you saw all of his tiny legs off and watch him bleed slowly to death?" He saw the horrified look on her face, and he chuckled. "Just kidding. One quick jab through one of its three hearts for an easy, less painful death."
She felt nauseous. Half of it was his tale, half was her going almost a whole day without eating. Link waded in the water to get in front of her. "Up ahead is the spot where I like to sit and think. Perhaps you will let this place help clear your mind like it does to me."
Link looked after her, a little confused, then he followed her and watched her cry for a little while before he walked up behind her. He decided she must be very frightened. "Don't cry," he told her softly as he patted her back, "As long as you keep moving like you were and pay careful attention you'll be completely safe here. I will keep you safe."
"Master Link!" she exclaimed as she jumped up, "I'm sorry, I d-didn't hear you- you'll have to forgive me- I'm just a little emotional right now... Bowser..." She shakes her head and shivers again, "Please don't mention him again." A tear gathered in the corner of her eye despite her having wiped it away twice.
Link tilted his head slightly and stroked her ear once, his finger followed its curve and he smiled at her. "We won't mention him again unless it is relevant," he said softly, "But by then I hope to have you strong enough to throw him on his ear. So you need to be careful, rest well tonight, and relax. Tomorrow your training begins. If you need anything, feel free to ask." Link turned slowly and walked away.
Avalon was left breathless as she watched him go. He was so confident that she felt inspired. Her eyes began to tear again as his footsteps faded. She sobbed softly again as she walked to her room, but she didn't know why.
She lay awake in bed, after having relived that moment twice in nightmare form. She couldn't tell anyone; for fear that they would enforce her to follow the kingdom's tradition. Bowser was evil, and he knew that the secret would eat her alive, and make her weak to his taking again. Bowser had become his human form, Leo, and attacked her, robbing her of her innocence about two months ago. Thank the heavens she was unable to get pregnant.
She cried softly in a fluffy, feather-filled pillow. Bad things happened all too often to her. Sometimes she wished she wasn't royalty. She wanted to be just a plain villager. She envied the innocence and ignorance the toads were blessed with. Nobody would ever do that to a toad. Nobody would ever harm one or lie to one. They were just too helpless.
But in a way she was even more helpless than a toad. Being the princess, she was taught to never speak of her problems, except to one person she trusted. Telling her secrets could cause a kingdom to revolt, even if one little thing slipped out, such as a secret like hers. If anyone found out, she might be forced to agree to marry him. After all, he was the one who had soiled her.
The sun started to peek over a mountain in the distance, and a bird chirped that it was morning. Maybe a bath would wake her up. She gathered her clothes, and the two towels she brought, along with all of her bathing necessities. The others were still sleeping, and she would have privacy.
She was still very nervous about bathing outside, but she had faith that the others would stay away. She put one toe in the water before she undressed. Just like Link had said, the water was warm. She slipped in, happy that the water was completely free of moss, animals, or anything else other than water and rocks. She took her hair out of its ponytail, dipped her hair in the water, and lathered with her rose scented shampoo. She rinsed in the warm waterfall, put in conditioner, and while it soaked in, she washed her face, and brushed her teeth. Soon her hair was washed, and up in a towel, and she was stepping out of the bath.
Link was heading down to the spring for his bath now, and he caught site of her, with the towel now around her body and her head. She was putting on some lacy pink panties, and she was making sure to keep herself covered. But to put on her brassiere, she had to drop the towel. Her back was turned toward him, and he was glad, yet just a bit disappointed. The brassiere matched, and she slipped on her favorite battle uniform; a knee length pink dress, slippers, and her white and pink diamond tiara. Her dress had a pair of short shorts underneath, so she would be decent when fighting. Her hair would dry in the sun, so she left it down with the large tiara in it after she brushed it thoroughly.
After she had finished, Link popped out form behind a tree. "I'm going to take my bath now." He announced, as he started to walk past her. While he was doing so, he grabbed her arm. "You smell nice." He announced.
Avalon smiled. "That's exactly why I bathe and I am happy that I am pleasant again. But I must say, I still prefer bathing inside." She secretly wondered if Link had been spying, but she knew he hadn't. Geno would never have a friend who was less than knightly. "The spring is very clean and warm. How do you keep it that way?" She questioned.
Link was behind her, getting undressed. He was untying the black robe he wore to bed. "The tree that overhangs the spring and waterfall drops white petals, which have the wonderful quality of purifying the water. No bacteria grows here. The water actually has healing qualities. This is the spring we use to gather drinking water." As he spoke, Avalon saw a few petals fall into the spring and dissolve in the water completely. They were large white velvety petals.
"This place is amazing." She breathed as she looked around some more. "I will leave you to bathe now. You want to meet in the courtyard?" She asked, as she glanced at him. Link was now naked, sitting in the water. When she noticed, she turned away, her face beet red.
"What's the matter?" He questioned.
"I didn't know you were undressed. You deserve your privacy." She replied, hearing him stand up in the water. "I will see you in the courtyard!" She called, as she hurried off.
Link washed himself thoroughly, got in his red tunic, hat, and black boots, and ran to meet her. She looked like a goddess, sitting on the stone bench and braiding her hair as she watched a tiny bird picking up stones around her now bare feet. She giggled, as the bird hopped on her toe, tilted his head, chirped, and hopped up her leg. It sat in her lap, looked at her, and chirped once more. She picked up the little bird and whispered to him. He was a bright yellow parrot, about four inches from head to tail, with tiny peach feet, and beak, and red eyes. He was very cute, as he put his head down for her to scratch. Avalon had a few doves at home, and she knew how to handle birds well. She scratched the nape of his neck, and he closed his little eyes....
"I see you have already met one of the girls." He announced, as he approached her. The little yellow bird heard him, and flew to meet him. It sat on his shoulder proudly, and let out a sharp trill of excitement, then nibbled his ear.
"Girls? How do you know it's a girl?"
Link picked up the bird, and kissed the top of it's head. When he did so, it raised its crown of long yellow feathers. "Only females lay eggs." He replied. "Her sisters are around here somewhere."
Avalon smiled. "You don't seem like the type to have pet birds!!"
He kissed the bird again, and it put it's head down. "Epona is this one's name. I am very fond of creatures, especially ones who are fond of me. Her sisters are Pandora and Aries."
Avalon watched him and the bird. He sat it gently on a branch of a nearby olive tree, and it hopped to an upper branch, and let out another happy little call, before it took flight into the blue sky. "Shouldn't we be training?" She questioned, and then she yawned.
"You didn't sleep last night. I can tell by your body language. No training today. Anteguy is bringing us our breakfast."
She yawned again, and stood up. "I did too sleep. I'm always tired in the morning."
"You didn't sleep. I know for a fact you didn't. I always check in on my new pupils on their evaluation days, and every time I looked in your doorway, you were awake, and either crying or tossing and turning. What bothers you that much?" He demanded.
"I really can't talk about it. It's not that big of a deal. I'm just really stressed, okay?"
"I'm trying to put it together myself, but I'm at a dead end. You are upset about Bowser, and afraid of him, but he cannot kill you, because you are the daughter of a star spirit, and they have granted you invincibility from death. So what happened?"
"I really don't want to talk about it." She insisted. "It's a really big problem, and I'm working on resolving it."
"By crying every night?" He demanded. Anteguy placed a tray of figs, bread and milk in front of them. "You are a born warrior. You have the physique and determination. Turn your sadness into anger, and after a good night's sleep, we will spar again. Today I will show you the most sacred parts of the island. I may also show you how to use the magic powers the spirits gave you."
She stared at the breakfast, feeling very much depressed. She knew he was right. Crying was doing no good.
"Eat your breakfast." He snapped, as he drank all of his milk in one gulp, then started on the figs. "Before I eat all of it."
She watched him eat, and finally did eat half of a fig, drank about a quarter of her milk, and let the bread just sit. Link took her milk and finished it off, along with everything else. She wasn't hungry. She never was hungry when she was sad.
The two of them walked through the woods. She had taken her slippers off and put them in her pink silk purse. It was a large backpack style with a silver drawstring closure. Link watched her spirits perk up slowly, as she hopped from rock to rock across the shallow stream. He was right behind her. He could tell she loved nature, and he considered her a friend already. He had never needed a friend before, but now, it really felt nice having one, and he didn't think he could now go without.
She smiled and pointed at a large koi. "How pretty. There's a pond near my palace with beautiful ones like this. He's quite large and colorful."
He smiled. "Yes, that one is very nice. You know, all koi are is giant carp with pretty coloring." He informed her. "Carp even have whiskers, but not as long as the koi have."
She nodded. "You're very smart. I was never good at things like that."
He laughed. "I've been with nature for a very long time. Before I was here, I lived in some forest by Rose Town."
"The Forest of Illusion? Or was it Forest Maze?" She questioned.
"I'm not sure. All I know is that I ran into giant caterpillars who wanted to eat me. By the way, in case you wanted to know, they taste like a mixture of deer and duck."
She got a horrified look on her face, and almost fell into the water. "You ate a wiggler???"
He laughed. "That's what they're called? Well, anyway, I was getting tired of them. And let me tell you, when you kill a big one and wear it's little flowery hat, the others stay really far away from you." He chuckled to himself. "I couldn't believe how easy it was to keep the others at bay."
The princess looked down at her feet, and felt saddened for the life of the poor caterpillar. "I don't like thinking of anything in pain."
"In the real world, your highness, it is kill or be killed. If a wiggler was charging you, with glowing red eyes and sparkling fangs, wouldn't you saw all of his tiny legs off and watch him bleed slowly to death?" He saw the horrified look on her face, and he chuckled. "Just kidding. One quick jab through one of its three hearts for an easy, less painful death."
She felt nauseous. Half of it was his tale, half was her going almost a whole day without eating. Link waded in the water to get in front of her. "Up ahead is the spot where I like to sit and think. Perhaps you will let this place help clear your mind like it does to me."
