It's almost two o'clock (that's pm, folks - for once). I had some French- type food for lunch, and it's kind of starting to turn my stomach. Oh well. The Evanescence CD is really, really good! I'm listening to it right now, and it inspired me to write the next chapter, or at least start writing it. Anyhoo, once again, many thanks to reviewers!

Oh, my stomach. Ugh. I declare French food to be officially evil to Canadian stomachs.

-Shawshank

Chapter 17 - The Runes

They stood around the block that was bent in the middle, staring at it. It had taken much effort to get this far, and there was not one among them who wasn't exhausted to the point of falling asleep on their feet. Kawhin fell to his knees and let his fingers run over the delicately carved runes. He sighed and closed his eyes, swaying in his tiredness.

Throughout their work, the small wisps of excitement had never left his shielded eyes. Link took off his hat and wiped off his forehead, stopping the sweat that was beading there from dripping into his eyes. Zelda's beautiful face was flushed. Tyr, however, was breathing evenly and deeply. That was because she, of course, was asleep.

After giving all but the tiniest sliver of her energy to Zelda and Kawhin, and trying to kill herself in the process, her eyes had drifted closed, and nothing and nobody had been able to wake her up since. She was sleeping like a rock. A very hungry rock, too. Zelda could hear her stomach rumbling from where she stood, across the clearing. She looked up. With all of their wills combined, the work had taken only a few hours. Night was approaching, judging by the deepening sky. She stifled a yawn herself, noting how Link was stretching tiredly.

"I think we should all sleep - *humm* - before we try to decipher this mess. I can barely concentrate on walking, let alone attempt to decode those things."

Link took her arm and guided her to her blanket roll, covering her up and checking that Kawhin was indeed asleep before staggering exhaustedly to his own blankets.

The Caravan that radiated evil had completely fled their drained minds.

***

CLANG! CRASH!

"DIE, VERMIN!"

"KREEEEEEEEEEEERRRR!"

A blood-curdling scream rang through Link's head, making his eardrums pound. He opened sleep-blurred eyes, and saw nothing. It was pitch black, and the fire was reduced to mere embers.

A sudden spray of sparks lit up the night. In that split second, Link saw two figures locked in the most intense sword battle he had ever been witness to. When a violent clash produced another shower of light, Link could make out the shadow of a pair of wings blacker than night attached to the back of the second figure. A shiver crawled up his spine, and he knew it was another winged Stalfos, like the one he had slain in the royal library. Except the one in the library had had white wings; maybe they had different masters? This one was the fighting equivalent of its cousin, and Tyr was having as little success as he had had, if even less. As Link's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw the odd way she was walking, saw her trip over a protruding root, only to spring up again. He looked up to the sky, wondering why it was so dark, when so many moons hung in the sky. He saw only darkness, and realized that the entire sky was blanketed in dark clouds of deepest grey, and it was blocking out the stars and moons. He blinked his eyes against the overwhelming darkness that pressed against his eyes, willing it away before his mind took over and he started to panic.

Tyr roared at the creature, and it screamed back, lashing out at her, trying to get its sword past hers. She slashed at it with her sabre, and it cried out and stepped back, raising its shield as she furiously attacked it, nursing her bleeding side with her dragon arm. The broadsword had long since fallen from her numbed hand. Link rushed to her - and fell on his face when he tripped over Zelda. He righted himself and continued towards Tyr, drawing the sword from his back and setting his shield on his arm. He absently shook off a small jolt of pain in his arm and ignored the itchiness of the blood dripping from his arm. He also didn't think of why he was bleeding. That was the mistake that he would regret for some time to come.

"Tyr! I'll cover your right flank!"

She danced slightly to the left, never pausing to speak to him or even acknowledging his presence, and Link knew why. She was injured, almost fatally, and she couldn't risk breaking her concentration, or her attack. She continued to shower the creature with sparks, forcing it to crouch even lower under its shield. Link rushed around to its back, trying to get in under its shield. It turned to glare at him, and its gaze went past him into the night, looking for something else. It opened its mouth, laughing, and shoved Tyr off with a heave of its shield. She fell back heavily, and the creature pushed Link aside, buffeting it with a huge wing. It walked towards the long dead fire, continuously knocking the two warriors aside with its huge wings as if they were no more than a pair of flies. When it bent down and reached for Zelda's arm, Link attacked it desperately, trying to fend it off. It didn't work, and the thing had Zelda by the arm and was stretching its wings, preparing to take off. She was barely awake.

Tyr screamed and threw herself at it, effectively crushing it to the ground. There was a loud snap, and Zelda whimpered. Her arm was broken. Her eyes flew open to see Link, wild-eyed, standing over her, breathing heavily. He turned his back to her, putting himself between Zelda and the creature. Tyr was now prying its fingers from Zelda's shattered arm, using its shocked state to her advantage. She growled in frustration when she couldn't unstuck them, snatched up her sword, and swung. Zelda screamed, but when Tyr turned back to the thing, the hand was still latched around her wrist; Tyr had chopped its hand off. The disembodied hand was leaking dust, and everything it touched was drying out and dying. She hurriedly plucked the now stiff fingers from her wrist and threw the hand into the bushes, forcing her stomach not to churn in pain and disgust.

The creature screamed at them all, staring at Zelda hungrily. Link stepped forward, speaking through clenched teeth.

"Get away from her before I KILL you!"

The thing looked at Link, and laughed. Its sickening chuckles rang through the clearing. Link looked into its eyes and saw the intelligence there. It *knew* something, something that none of them knew. He ground his teeth together and adjusted his grip on his sword and shield.

It stood up, spread its wings wide, and attacked Link, paying no heed to either Zelda, Tyr, or Kawhin, whom had just woken up. The boy's eyes were closed, and his forehead wrinkled in useless concentration.

It slashed at the Hero of Time, testing his limits, blocking when he attacked. It laughed, and stabbed at him. He automatically raised his shield to cover his torso. He gulped hard and whispered, "Uh oh."

The creature's sword went right through the hole in his shield and pierced his body.

Link stepped back, eyes wide, as the creature pulled out its long, black, and now blood - stained sword in a single, sickening jerk. Silence swept down on Link's ears, and the whole world was shut off. He stepped back, then fell. Link looked down at his hand, and saw the blood rushing out from between his fingers. He gagged, and spit out more blood.

The other three lashed out at the creature, forming a barrier between it and Link. Zelda's magic lit up the clearing, and Tyr had managed to blind the thing. Kawhin was still trying to use his mental powers, using his body as a block while he concentrated more and more deeply. Tyr slashed at it again. Its screams came to Link's ears from far away.

But how could that be Zelda's magic? It wasn't that dim. At least, he didn't think it was. He let himself fall backwards, feeling the blood pool up around him, feeling it creep into the tangle of his hair and between his skin and his tunic. He drew his breath in rasping breaths.

This time, there was no sensation of floating upwards. Then he knew why. The grass in the endless field had been poisoned, but not with deadly poison; it had been coated with a potion that simulated death. The person who fell victim to it would seem to die, be deserted by their comrades, and wake up at the mercy of the witches. But was this death? He was too lost to think otherwise.

Now, all he found was increasing shadows. They crowded in on his vision, forcing blindness on him. They weighed down on Link's chest, slowing his breathing. He exhaled again, too weak to cough out the blood that was flowing out of his mouth in a steady trickle. He closed his eyes and fell forever.

***

Navi came zooming in on the scene, shouting in her bossy way, "What are you *doing*? I heard shouting - oh. Oh, no."

She floated down softly and came to rest on Link's nose. She smacked him with the back of her hand; his head only fell sideways.

"What, did he fall asleep? He wouldn't have fainted, unless he's grown soft since I last saw him. Guys? Uh, Princess?"

Zelda stifled a sob and fled into the leaves, nursing her injured arm. Kawhin merely stood, looking down at Link's motionless body with bleeding eyes. Tyr sniffled and scrubbed at her eyes with a still-bloody hand. Before taking blind flight, the creature had knocked the sabre out of her hand and kicked them all away. It laughed, and ascended, screaming wordless warnings into the dark night. Now, Kawhin snapped out of his trance and walked to Zelda, making it a point to avoid the pool of blood Link's body rested in. Tyr closed her eyes, sighed helplessly, and followed.

Navi was left sitting on Link's cheek, weeping small fairy tears. The silence had told her enough. She stroked a stray, bloody strand of hair back into place. The blood on her hands immediately burned away, and her small body sprawled across Link's face, wanting to hold on to him. She wept for what could never be regained, and his head fell sideways under her weight, landing with a small splash in the sickening pool that was still expanding.

His chest heaved and his eyes flew open, staring at the bright spot now on his still-fading vision. "Navi? I thought - gone - why?"

She sobbed and laughed, shouting to the others, "He's alive! HE'S ALIVE! Ha HAH!"

Tyr's head poked out of the leaves, and a huge smile split her face. "It's true! I can see him breathing!"

She rushed out, pulling Kawhin along by the arm. Then she slowed, falling to her knees just outside the puddle. Zelda was wandering over, disbelieving. Link's misty gaze turned to their excited faces.

"Runes. You have to - read."

Tyr sobbed, and a single tear fell from her human eye. Her dragon eye glittered mercilessly.

"He's lost too much blood. Nothing on this world can save him now."

"Zel - da?"

She rushed over, not caring about the blood quickly absorbed by her dress as she kneeled beside him, looking into his face in a heartbeat.

"Link. Don't waste your energy. I can still -"

"Do nothing. I'm - lost. Sorry."

Zelda smiled through a rain of tears.

"What are you apologizing for?"

His eyelids fluttered, trying to slide shut.

"Leaving - you -"

"No. No, you don't have to leave." She shook him desperately. "The Goddesses owe you a debt. Ask them to let you live. Link, please don't. You can't just let go!"

"I can, and I - have to. It's meant - to -"

"What? It's meant to be like this? You're meant to die here, now?"

"Yes. I just - know -"

"No, you're not. You can't be!"

"Hmm. The Mists - Time -"

She looked to the others with frantic fear in her eyes.

"He's seeing the Mists of Time."

Zelda looked back down, letting her head fall. Her golden hair fell onto Link's fingers. His muscles flexed, caressing the slightly tangled locks, and then went still.

Zelda's shoulders shook. Her broken arm fell beneath her, and she crouched even lower, breathing in Link's barely - lingering scent. She threw her head back and screamed at the sky, the got up and took off into the forest. Kawhin ran after her. Only Tyr and Navi remained. Navi curled up on a not - too - bloody part of his chest and turned her mind inwards. Tyr reverently touched the left side of his face, and his head rolled over and fell into the blood again. Tyr stepped backwards slowly, then turned and ran. In that instant, she lost what little remained of her innocence. Her mind was fully tuned into the cruelty of the world.

She smelled Zelda and Kawhin, and ran faster.

***

Several hours later, Navi stood up and gruffly cleared her throat, somehow able to find her voice. For once, she spoke quietly, partly to herself, and partly to the dead body that was Link.

"Well, we've got to get you fixed up. We can't burn you in this state, can we? I'll be right back. I won't leave you alone, Link. I shouldn't have left you in the first place."

She angrily snatched Link's hat, more tears falling. She flew it to the river, filling it with ice cold water. She had to drag it back, and she lost most of the water in the process, but she didn't care. She would go back and forth a thousand times if she had to. A million times. Navi came to the edge of the puddle of blood, then raised her drooping head. She let go of the hat in shock, letting the rest of the water fall out uselessly. Her breath quickened, and she lifted herself into the air, floating just above the shallow pool, not daring to touch the dark liquid.

Link's body was gone.

She darted at top speed around the clearing, shouting in a blind rage, "WHO STOLE HIM?! BRING HIM BACK, YOU SON OF A - "

She cut herself off in an instant, and almost fell out of the air. She was high above the treetops now. Link's body was a few meters in front of her, and it looked like it was being suspended on something, sailing along on a string passed through his neck. His head hung lifelessly, bumping against his collarbone. His entire body was completely limp, and blood was dripping down his body, falling into the trees below. She rushed to fly in front of him, looking at his face. She frantically fluttered her wings, flying a little awkwardly backwards.

His eyes were closed, the pure blueness stolen from the orbs beneath the shut lids. Half of his face was painted with blood from where it had fallen into the puddle that had spread like a halo around his head. The body sent off a strong, metallic odour in waves, supported by a less obvious but just as stale smell that made Navi feel as though her skin was peeling from her tiny body. The sickening stench forced her to reel away from her friend who was closer to her than anyone she had ever met. She reached out a tentative hand to touch his face, but the body jolted from her touch with a mind of its own. She then knew what the smells were.

The strong stench of blood, which would eventually fade; supported by the haunting, sickening smell of death.

So he was dead after all. She let loose more tears, and the wind created by her passing drove them onto Link's face. They were absorbed by his already drying skin. She finally gave in, and a rain of tears, one by one, rushed along by the wind, flew towards the dead body of her friend. His blood- drained skin seemed to glow momentarily where her tears touched him. The small droplets of her essence flew along on the wind in a wavering, shimmering line, and she let them until they were no longer absorbed by his skin; they collected in a small, shifting pool on his face, running from the side of his eyes, creating the illusion that it was he who was weeping.

His body began to descend, and her gaze shifted from Link to the ground. She saw a camp there, illuminated by a circle of small campfires. She quickly darted around Link's still sinking body, peeking over his shoulder and holding her breath against the overwhelming smell. She saw a being in black robes with barely visible deep purple trimming. Its hands were held upward, and she could see its mouth moving in a chant. The rest of its face was shadowed by a wide, forbidding hood, but Navi could barely make out the smile its mouth was slowly twisting into. She shivered, and several specks of light floated down to the ground. The creature's chanting suddenly stopped, as did Link's body. It frowned, and turned its face upwards. A blue eye with a red pupil glowed from its shadowed face, and Navi was frozen in place. The eye narrowed, and its glow intensified. Navi closed her eyes and turned, fleeing upwards into the night. She could still feel the eye's spell, trying to hold her back.

She fluttered her wings faster, finally breaking free of the evil thing's gaze. Navi sobbed and flew in spurts towards the forest and away from the now tainted hills.

***

"No. Wolves aren't scavengers. They eat only what they kill, and they kill only the sick, and only when they must eat."

But I heard one last night. You heard it too, and you - you answered it! You told it to take away the dead body! So the Prophecies *are* true. TRAITOR!

Kawhin leapt on Tyr, wrapping his hands around her neck. Frail as he was, Tyr could still feel her throat squeezing shut under his anger fuelled grip. She gasped for air, falling backwards under his weight. Her hip jarred on a rock, with the full weight of her body behind it, and her eyes teared in pain. Kawhin was already weeping with fright, and he sobbed as he tightened his grip on Tyr's throat. She managed to draw in a bit of air, and she forcibly shoved him off of her. She held her damaged throat and greedily sucked in air, reminding herself to never take such a thing for granted again.

"You *idiot*! The circumstances aren't right. And you know that I wouldn't betray them if I had any control over it."

She looked to Zelda, who was sitting with her back against a tree, silent as ever. Her eyes stared into the distance, unseeing. She looked back to Kawhin. He was standing, tears streaming from his eyes, staring woodenly at the ground. She sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry. But I'm telling the truth. First of all -"

"They stole him!"

Tyr looked up at the glowing ball of light that had appeared in front of her in an instant. She snorted at it, snarling, "Who stole Link?"

She stared at the sobbing fairy. Tyr hadn't known that faeries were even capable of tears.

"I don't know. There was a hooded - person, I guess - and they were chanting. It looked like black magic to me."

"Ganondorf is involved in this. I can feel it in my blood."

Zelda stood up, her eyes focused on the ground.

"Somehow, Ganondorf is free in this land. He's sent something after us." She scrubbed at her red-rimmed eyes with a gloved hand. "This is wrong. This isn't the way it's supposed to be."

"What are you talking about? You mean Link's not supposed to be dead?"

"Yes, and no. Not quite. I was supposed to be taken, not Link. I had this dream - oh, never mind."

"We have to get Link's body back! Who knows what they'll do with him!"

Zelda shook her head, cutting off further angry words from Navi.

"No. It's only a body, Navi." She sighed. "Besides, we would only get ourselves killed. You know that."

"Yes, but -"

But Link had a last request. Before we do anything else, we must decipher those runes.

Tyr sighed heavily and walked with dragging feet to the stone block, bending down to run limp fingers over the many small engravings. Before Zelda had become catatonic, she had agreed to heal Tyr's injuries with her powerful magic. Tyr still had a slight limp, but other than that, she felt - well - not in physical pain. But she was just as tired as before, and her sadness weighed on her like a lead blanket. She limped back towards Kawhin, smiling tiredly.

"Well, Zelda, though your dream may have been wrong, the Prophecies are right on track."

"What are these Prophecies, anyway?"

It is not our place to tell you.

"When *will* it be your place to tell me?"

"Never."

"Gee, thanks. Don't worry, I'll squeeze it out of you two eventually. Let's get going on those runes."

Zelda strode over to the block with such energy and purpose that it surprised all of them. She plunked herself down on the grass, avoiding the spot with the dead grass, and actually managed to smile at them. Kawhin was the first to carefully walk to her, followed by a cautious Tyr, and tail - ended by Navi, who was sniffling and wiping her small eyes with a light- enveloped hand. Her glow was dimmed somewhat, but the early morning light was enough to illuminate the dark but shining rock. Kawhin grinned happily.

I *know* these runes! Well, most of them, at least. Do either of you know how to write?

Tyr shook her head, but Zelda went to retrieve a hunk of charcoal from the fire and strip bark off of a birch tree.

"Okay, read them to me."

It takes the form of a - a poem of some sort, I think. Listen.

'One whose heart is of many, but trapped in one;

Lost and never found the same.

Destined for a life of emptiness,

Suffering for all who never knew pain.'

'One whose soul is full of corners,

Trapdoors and mazes, blood and sky.

All is not as it seems,

Lie is truth, truth is lies.'

'One whose mind is half and half,

Divided between the light and the dark.

Traitor to the other two,

But not of sane mind, of the fire mark.'

'The Lovers trapped forever here,

Until Death visits their door;

The one left to live outside time,

The one left to destroy forevermore.'

'Tie your soul to the light;

Rip it away from the darkness, run!

Never let the truth be broken;

The truth, your spirit, they must be one.'

'When all is finished, when all is right,

When the Hero's Trial is at last won;

When the evil is gone before it has a chance to be,

Then your life's battle, and all the rest, will finally be done.'

'So many loops, back and over,

So many differences, too many, too soon;

All these may be seen by the pure of heart,

Those who venture into the Shadow Room.'

'Two others, not meant to be;

Following in the others' path.

The silent Shadow on the Wind,

The guardian made of Nayru's wrath.'

'These three, sent forth to destroy the darkness,

To overcome the five trials and the Hero's sixth;

The Hero who suffers, the Hybrid who falls,

And the One Who Holds Many Secrets.'

And there's a small note at the bottom;

'You are not to be part of the sorrow. Run, Shadow Child. The world is not as it seems. The Lovers must never know.'

That's all there is. Do you have it all down?

"Yes, I have it all. You know, this sounds oddly familiar."

She looked at Tyr.

"What do you think of it?"

She smirked.

"I don't know what I think of it. Kawhin wasn't sending to me."

Zelda shot Kawhin a raised eyebrow, making him blush slightly. She cleared her throat and began reading, wondering why Kawhin hadn't sent to Tyr as well.

"One whose heart is of many, but trapped in one, Lost and never found the same -"

"You *idiot*!"

Zelda looked up sharply.

"Not you, Princess, Kawhin! What the *hell* do you think you're doing? It's not your place!"

"What is it Tyr? What's wrong?"

She turned to Zelda, angry fire in her human eye. Her dragon eye seemed to glitter smugly.

"That's the Prophecies. He's read them to you, hasn't he? You weren't supposed to know!"

"Is that what it means by the Lovers? Link and I?"

She blushed at the thought of it, but anger drove her embarrassment away.

"You were keeping this from me? How could you!"

"We had to. It wasn't our choice."

"Who wrote these Prophecies anyway? Who were they to decide what Link and I should know or not know?"

Tyr turned away exhaustedly. The adrenalin had faded away, and she was tired again.

"It doesn't matter. He's dead. The Prophecies will never be fulfilled. The shadow over our land will grow and grow until there is nothing but darkness left."

Zelda's eyes narrowed suddenly.

"You know, I've been thinking. This glade seems somewhat familiar, but different at the same time. What do you call your land?"

Hyr-

"Shut up, Kid! Why do you want to know, Zelda?"

Zelda smiled like a cat with a mouse.

"Does it matter? I already know. This is Hyrule, isn't it?"

Tyr hung her head in defeat.

"Yes, yes, this is Hyrule."

"What year is it?"

She narrowed her eyes at Zelda.

"It has been a decade since the end of the Great War between the races."

Zelda smiled triumphantly.

"I wondered about the strange portal Link and Sheik stepped through. It didn't seem like a normal portal between worlds, and it was much more disorienting. It must have been a time portal. I've read about those. We must've been sent back - oh, at least a thousand years! And I'd bet anything that the tribe of 'witches' we ran into are the nomadic ancestors of the Gerudo! Oh, why didn't I see it before? "

Tyr stalked off angrily. Kawhin smiled.

She's just a little mad. She told me that where she comes from, she was punished severely for challenging the decisions of her Tribe's council. I think she finds it unfair that you can challenge what has been written and *win*.

Zelda's smug expression immediately sobered into a remorseful frown.

"Tyr, I'm sorry! I didn't know - oh, forget it. She won't even listen to me."

You must *make* her listen to you if you want to regain her friendship.

Zelda sighed and took off after Tyr.

"Wait, come back! Tyr, I'm sorry! Hey, put back that sword! Put it back - AH! OW! What do you think you're doing with that thing?! Ooh, you just wait until I get my dagger!"

Kawhin smiled, and Navi smiled back.

***

"Well? Will it be possible?"

"Yes, I believe so, Master. But -"

"Oh be quiet. Leave me. I need to concentrate. Get everyone on the move, now. We need to be gone."

The mindless creature bowed and left the richly cushioned coach. Its master smiled coldly and turned to the corpse lying on beautifully embroidered pillows, which were now blood - stained. The creature smiled again and began to lovingly wash away the dried blood on the body's face. When he had finished his work, the man who had been Link would cease to exist. When he was finished, Link would obey him and only him. Of course, he had sent his minions to get the Princess, but this was just as well, if even better. He had planned on using the Princess as bait for the boy, knowing he would rather die than let her suffer; he hadn't figured that Link would die in battle. He had watched the boy for a long, long time, and he had never been defeated, at least not in spirit.

He smiled again, and ripped open the corpse's shirt, exposing the gaping hole in its body that was still leaking blood. He settled his hands on the body, called up his power, and forced the sensation of the coach's rocking away from his mind.

The blue and red eye glowed and meshed into a single purple eye as the caravan rolled over the hills to a place where nothing with any soul at all could survive for long.

***

WOW, THANK YOU RAIYA STORM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Brilliant, huh? Thank you very much! ^_^

Ooooh, Link dies again! Don't worry, folks, this is the last time. At least it could be, I'm not quite sure. I'm basically making this up as I go. Feel free to inform me of any and all plot holes, btw. Oh, and MANY thanks to any reviewers, especially those who haven't reviewed before!

Ooooooh, ANOTHER big surprise! What they thought was another world was actually just Hyrule, only IN THE PAST! Man, am I a genius or what? I love time travel, love it to death. I also love poetry, as you could probably tell.

Section Thingies:

Today's Wisdom Quotie: My enemy's enemy is my friend.

The Ancient Chinese were wise, wise people. Continuing on.

Today's Revelation: It's hard to sleep when your mind is on the past.

Today's Lyrical Quotation:

I tried so hard, and got so far;

But In the End, it doesn't even matter,

I had to fall, and lose it all,

But In the End, it doesn't even matter.

-From In the End by Linkin Park

Anyhow, seeya next week, all! Maybe even sooner!!

-Shawshank