Well, I guess this story is starting to morph into more of a fanfic now, versus an alternate universe, if that makes any sense to anybody. I would say more, but that would just ruin it for everybody. And also, a small note:
CHAOTIC BOREDOM – IF YOU BREATHE SO MUCH AS A WORD TO *ANYBODY*, I WILL PERSONALLY KICK YOUR SORRY TAIL!!!!!! YOU KNOW I CAN!!! And also, the original earlier chapters DO suck, and they don't even fit the plotline anymore, that's why I changed 'em.
Thanks, guys. Enjoy the chapter, and feel free to tell me how much it *sux*, 'cuz I know it will, even though I haven't written it yet.
Whoa, whoa, hang on there! Before you skip my stupid author notes and crap and read the chapter, which you don't *really* want to read but feel obligated to because you've been reading the story for eight hours straight now, I'd like to place in a little 'blooper', of sorts. This is for you, Blue Taboo!
***
It was a bright and sunny day, but Urian still wasn't smiling. Its wings were folded across its back, and it stared off mournfully into the sky. Suddenly, Inriar roughly shook its shoulder.
"General! General! Remember that…that *smell* (here she laughs extremely, extremely quietly, covering it with a slight cough) you were looking for? Well, I think we've got a lead! Some of the Borun have picked up a trail! Come on!"
She pulled it to its feet, and it reluctantly jogged after her, spreading its wings after a moment and gliding low in the air. It soared higher, and saw a small group of Borun frantically searching the huge field littered with flowers and rich grass. Then one howled aloud, and they all began running west. Urian dove down to the ground, folded its wings, and chased after the small creature that almost smelled like…
It shouted after the Borun, "Wait! Wait! It's mine! Don't touch it!"
Reluctantly, the Borun skidded to a halt. Inriar came up beside him, panting, her tongue rolling out of her mouth.
"General, it's right over there. Catch it, quickly!"
Urian ran after the tiny little creature fluttering through the field of flowers, roaring aloud when it refused to come within arm's length of him. The sun beat down on all of them, and not one of them dared to laugh.
That was the only reason why a soulless angel was chasing after butterflies, in a flowery field, on a sunny day.
But that's not important. What was the moral of this story? Tell me what you think. Meh heh heh…
***
You're welcome. Ah, that was fun…
Also, I'm playing around with formats again in this chapter. Tell me if the italics work.
-Shawshank
Chapter 27 – The Nightmare
Shadows moved in the dark sky of midnight, reflected in Tyr's face as she opened her eyes and saw only darkness. She had been dreaming of freedom, and something else; another place, where seagulls wheeled and screamed. She remembered it – the sea. Tyr had stumbled on it once before, when she was younger and still learning the ways of the world. She had stayed there for weeks, not wanting to leave the shores of the huge expanse of water, but knowing she had no choice. So she had eventually left, promising herself that she would go back there someday. What had happened to those days, long ago, when she was carefree and untouched by this dragon's curse? She missed the way she was before she had been forced to kill that dragon; she missed being caught up in the whirlwind of life – now, she was standing either in the eye of the storm or outside of it, she wasn't sure. All she knew was she wanted to be ignorant again – she wanted to be swept off of her feet, to know people and let them know her.
She wanted to be normal.
She blinked again, and her vision slowly swam into focus. She realized that she was lying under a blanket, she was uncomfortably hot because of it, and the smell of simmering soup was wafting into her room. Her stomach lurched at the thought of food, but it smelled good, so she made to sit up.
"You stay there, Tyr. Ayran will be back soon – he's getting you some soup."
She rubbed her eyes, leaning back on her elbows, and looked into the open, honest face of Eval. She smiled.
"Hey. You waited for me?"
He smiled. "Of course we did. Where would we go, anyway?"
She sighed and dropped back onto the pillows.
"So nothing has begun yet? In all this time, nothing has happened?"
Eval looked troubled. "What do you mean, in all this time? Tyr, you've been gone for less than three hours."
A shock of adrenalin woke her up, and she sat upright too fast, causing her head to spin. Eval helped her lay back down.
"What? Three…three hours. I was down there…a hundred days…at least…"
"No, Tyr. We've been looking for you for three hours. But I must ask – where were you? What happened down there, in the fountain? I almost began to think you had drowned…"
She shook her head quietly. "I'm not sure, Eval. I met someone very strange; she claimed to be the goddess Nayru."
Eval stiffened and fell silent.
"But, Eval, I'm telling the truth – I was down there for longer than three hours. I was down there for days and days."
He murmured, "I think it's just the shock. Once it wears off, you'll remember. It must've been a hallucination. Just a funny dream you had."
"Eval! I didn't just *dream* this up! I –"
"Child! Be SILENT!"
Tyr jumped and shrank back, waiting for the sudden rush of adrenalin to fade and shrinking away from him. His anger faded as soon as it had come, and he patted her hand, which was clutching the bedspread so hard her knuckles were beginning to whiten.
"I'm sorry, Tyr. You must forgive me. But, please realize, you cannot say such things; spreading tales like this around will only hurt others. You must keep what you saw to yourself. Do you understand?"
His eyes were distant, and she got the distinct feeling that he knew more about this than he was letting on. But she nodded quietly, content to let the matter rest, for a while, anyway. A few moments later, the door burst open and Ayran came in, balancing a tray of food. Upon seeing her awake, he promptly dropped it, sending the simple earthenware bowls clattering to the ground.
In the following hush, he stared her straight in the face, and she stared back, wondering what was wrong with him. Tyr raised her human eyebrow, and his face flushed. He muttered, "Oops," and bent down to pick up the cracked and broken dishes.
***
"Hell? What are you…wait a second. Why can I talk all of a sudden? What the…who are you?"
The old woman gave him an appraising glance, and turned back to her small figurines.
"You talk too much, Hero of Time. But then again, I have lived with silence for so long…"
He realized he was naked and felt his cheeks burn, but he didn't really care at this point in time. He stood behind the old woman, looking over her shoulder.
"Who are you? And how could this be hell? Isn't hell all fire and chains?"
She smiled and laughed softly through her nose.
"You've heard too many folk tales. Physical suffering is far too trivial for my hell…no, I am afraid that this hell is mine alone to bear. This hell is meant for those who have gone against the very wishes of the Goddesses, those who have challenged them and won; this hell is for the ones destined to bear the weight of the world for unfair amounts of time." She sighed. "The Goddesses never were very fair, were they?"
He shook his head slowly. "Well, I've never said so aloud, but I'll have to agree. But…why are you here? Hell, why am I here?"
He blinked, and saw that she had morphed, her old, dumpy shape becoming a young, curved woman, breathtakingly beautiful. Despite himself, he noticed how her body was sculpted, muscled like a rock climber, or one who has survived without other people for too long. He remembered what someone had told him…who had it been? Saria? The treasure hunter on the roof? Either way, he knew that being alone for too long could drive one to madness…only a rare few could survive without company, and it was those few who avoided other people, choosing to live their lives wandering in the wilds.
She turned to him, and he uncomfortably noted how her eyes travelled over him. He backed up a step, but she moved with him. He gulped.
"Uh…what?"
She glanced at him one last time, shifting the tunic on her shoulders before shoving a pile of clothes at him, almost reluctantly. He blushed insanely and backed behind a lone tree a few meters behind him. He noted, with great unhappiness, that she deigned to follow, leaning against the opposite side of the tree and talking with him as he hurriedly dressed in the alien clothing.
"Do you know who I am, Hero of Time?"
He shook his head before he realized she couldn't see him, and opened his mouth to speak. She cut him off coldly.
"Obviously not. Well, I am not so sure that even matters any longer, but…I have been alone for so long…"
Her voice trailed off, and he pulled on the oddly thick pants with furiously trembling fingers.
"You see, Hero of Time…long ago, I fell in love with all things mortal, but no one has bothered to ask why…"
He gulped softly, cleared his throat, and asked cautiously, "Why?"
He felt the sudden silence more than he heard it, and he froze with it for a moment, in the midst of pulling his shirt over his head. When she answered, her voice was slow and dark, moving as a stealthy cat through the shadows.
"Why does my heart belong to your world, or why are you here?"
He spit out the word like it would kill him if he held it in any longer. "Both."
She sighed, and he heard her sad smile in the rush of air. She seemed to move closer; he imagined he could feel her back against his through the tree. He shook this off as mere imagination, and shuddered as he laced up the strings on the shirt, waiting for her to speak. Her breath seemed to ice the air, settling on his skin like frost on the grass. The wasted air rattled through the low branches of the tree, making the small, fragile needles knock together and the blades of grass rustle against the tree trunk, issuing a warning to his deaf ears.
"My heart, if such a thing exists, has not been my own for far too long. You see, Hero of Time, this world is a pale imitation of the one I love, and so it torments me, as it was made to. There is no life here – time has passed over this place, leaving only the sentinels of time themselves, the trees. The mountains are time's stairs to the heavens; the sea, time's voice…the sky, time's single large eye. Hero, you may think time is yours – you are merely an insect running scared across her hand. You think you are special – you think you matter. You think that the Goddess of Time actually knows you exist. She does, do not fret – but does she care? It is doubtful. I have met her. She is…unrealistic. Though she has all eternity, she chooses to spend it in daydreams, her eyes clouded over by stray thoughts and hopes. Yes, though she is holy, she still hopes – she hopes for you, Hero. She hopes you will not turn out as you must, though the rest of us know that you don't have a choice."
Link stepped around the tree and into the strange woman's field of vision. Her small speech had riled him, making him angry and self-doubting in the same breath. He grated, "There is always a choice. I will not be controlled!"
She chuckled slowly, and gazed becomingly into his eyes, her deep ocean blue orbs blinking through the suddenly heated air.
"Why is it that you mortals insist on controlling your own lives? You are made the better for our interruption. We save you from sticky ends…well, sometimes, anyway. Some of you deserve to die early deaths…most deserve to slowly wither away. Why you Hylians value long life, I do not know. Longer life simply forces you to endure more pain. But, I have no say any longer…and I could never destroy a one of you, not a one. You don't know how much you mean to me, Hero of Time…"
She reached up and cupped his face with her hands, her smile widening. He cleared his throat and backed away. "What about me? Why am I here?"
The woman flung her hair back over her shoulder, her hands on her hips. She stood, watching him inch away. "You? You're here because this is hell. Where else would you be?"
"Heaven, maybe?"
She advanced on him again, and he began to get seriously nervous. "Hah, heaven. What an old wives tale. In this world, you either go to hell, are reincarnated, or cease to exist. There is no heaven, Hero of Time."
"I mean, why am I in hell? What did I do wrong?"
She sighed and stopped, plopping down onto the grass. After a few moments of consideration, he joined her.
"Hero of Time, the world works in what you would call…odd ways. You see, we must balance things. There are normal folk, like your friend Saria, for instance. Though she is a Sage, she leads a life in which she is content. Most of the world is like that. Then, there are people like you and your princess, and that young woman, Tyr…popularly known as the Chosen Ones, those who must suffer for all others. You are the few Chosen by the Goddesses to bear the sins of the world on your shoulders; when you pass on, you will burn in a different hell than this, and remain there for all eternity, to make up for the sacrilege (A/N: SACRILEGE! I love that word!) of all others. Do you understand, Hero of Time?"
He nodded slowly, not liking the words that rolled off of his tongue. "Yes, but…does that mean the Goddesses are…controlling me? I don't like that idea…"
She grinned triumphantly. "I told you. You have little, if any, control over your life. It's the same with almost everybody."
"What do you mean, almost everybody? Who isn't controlled?"
She smirked again. "Well, me, for one. Who else…hmm…Ganondorf isn't, I know that…and Sheik isn't. That's all of them you know."
He sighed in relief. She really had been telling the truth, back in his past life. "So, Zelda really is separate from Sheik, huh? I knew she wouldn't lie, but I still wondered…" Even as he spoke, he realized that this answer was just too easy. He knew her reply before her lips parted.
He felt her laughter really was getting annoying. He wanted to rip out her throat as she winked and whispered, "Guess what, Hero? Your friend Tyr was right. 'Your best friend for over a year doesn't exist…' remember? Zelda and Sheik are the same person, Hero of Time." His eyes stung, and his heart sunk. So, she knew, then. He had spilled his heart out to Sheik many a night, knowing that he wasn't Zelda, hoping he wouldn't tell her when she returned, which Sheik always promised would be soon. "Zelda and Sheik are the same, Hero, but there is only one difference – when she is Sheik, when her body changes, our control changes. We can no longer influence her to keep her secrets to herself – she could have told you everything that would happen in this timeline, had we allowed her to. She still has prophecies, you know, but she has been better at hiding them lately. She knows all that will happen, though the information is hidden in her mind – she can only truly recall it when she becomes Sheik. But we reached her in her dreams, and her true self – her Sheik self – knows not to reveal anything until the time is right."
The Hero of Time's shoulders shook, and he fought to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. She knew. She knew. She knew. She knew everything…
His head snapped up. "Whoa, hold it. Her true self is Sheik? I…I don't…"
The odd woman smiled at his pain. "Yes. Have you ever wondered what happened to her mother? Or how her eyes could be such an unnatural blue colour? Or how she could possibly possess Sheikah magic, let alone know how to use it? No, Hero of Time. Zelda is Sheik, yes, but her true self is Sheik. She was born a half-Sheikah, and only through intense training did she learn how to conceal herself as a full-blood Hylian. Do you know why all of this was done?"
He shook his head silently. His stomach ached, and he thought he might be sick. Zelda had never really existed in the first place…it was always Sheik…only Sheik…
"Her father had his pride at stake. The only woman close to him agreed to bear his child, but on the price that the mother would be allowed to stay close during the child's life, to mould her into a good ruler. This woman also happened to be a Sheikah, and the King did not think through the situation – he did not recall that half-Sheikah, while rare enough to begin with, are extinct in this day and age. There were only two Sheikah women left in the world, and only one was close to the King, so it was obvious who the mother was to all the palace guards and dignitaries. Those who had only seen the little girl once or twice forgot about her red eyes and shredded straw hair, and saw only the girl with long, smooth blonde hair and big blue eyes."
He quietly muttered, "Impa. I never gave it a spare moment of thought. I considered it for a split second, but I thought she was too old…"
"Oh, no, Hero of Time. Impa's sister was the girl's mother. Impa is her aunt, not her mother. Oh, you are a funny one! I can see why she likes you." (A/N: The Matrix rox my sox! The Oracle is funny…meeheehee. Anyhoo, back to this possibly disturbing passage…)
One of his eyebrows raised, but he let that one slide. He tried to turn the conversation away from his past life – it was only causing what was left of him pain. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, tried to smile, and asked her, "What are you, anyway? You seem to know a lot about the world for being a hell-monger."
She smiled that same old becoming smile, but he figured it was how she always behaved, so he left it alone. "Oh, I see things, you know. And…well, you saw me moving the pieces on my board. Time guides my fingers, and tells me what is happening above me. But, Hero of Time, you see that the sun is setting…"
Indeed it was. The huge, bloody sun was slowly sinking below the mountains, looking almost as if it was a huge tablet of salt dissolving into the deepening blue sky. (A/N: Can you tell I'm taking chemistry this semester?) He looked back at her, and saw the strange deep red light flickering on her skin. She smiled at him again, and moved closer. This time, he did not move away, knowing she meant no harm.
"Come, Hero of Time. Let us sleep, while darkness is still over this world of mine. Come."
He blushed a bit, but consented to lay in the long grass beside her, even allowing her to sleep with her head on his shoulder. She sighed and snuggled closer, and he was suddenly reminded of Zelda, and the pain flared up from the dull ache it had receded to, making his breath shudder and come out in strangled gasps.
Even as he slowly fell asleep, he had no idea that the woman sharing his body heat was weaving the fabric of his destiny, gazing into his dreams and stealing small wisps of his very essence, storing them in a jar under her tunic. She smiled, closed her eyes, and worked through the darkness, while his mind was slightly more open to her than it was while he was conscious.
***
Deep in the recesses of his tired, fading brain, an image that struck fear into him like no other reared its ugly head.
Through that hole in the wall…past the torches…through the door with the Eye…across a gaping chasm…down a hallway infested with spiders…falling into the abyss…
Waking up with three eyes burning into his. Two black as night, and one a mass of red and blue, slowly meshing into purple…
Waking up screaming as the room around him shifted to show him what he would rather die than see…
Waking up a different person, older, more callous…
Waking up as a monster, a broken, pitiful shadow of the life he was before…
Waking up and breathing in the thick, red air…
Waking up, feeling surprised to find that he had not dreamt at all. He sat up and stretched, feeling the too-hot rays of sun on his back, and turned to the tall woman beside him.
She was staring right back, her evil slitted eyes glaring at him from behind several wisps of pure black hair. He scrambled away, unconsciously reaching for his sword, as a tattoo of a weeping eye burned with purple flame onto her forehead.
***
"Dammit, Kawhin! Did you have to eat all of our food?"
"Within the space of TWO FREAKIN' HOURS?!?"
Sorry.
"Sorry! SORRY? That's all you have to say for yourself? You stupid…ARGH! Men! They're all the same!"
"I remember when Link ate a few pounds of food at a time, and he at least had the decency to BELCH!"
Uh…hiccup.
"HICCUP! HICCUP? THAT'S THE BEST YOU CAN DO?!?"
"Excuse yourself, young man!"
Um…would this be a good time to mention I'm still hungry…?
Silence.
Blood rushed to Zelda's face, and she leaned over Kawhin, screaming in his face until her tonsils ached.
"YOU STUPID IDIOT!!! YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS LINK!!!"
Kawhin quietly shuffled his feet, and the empty ration packs on his back rustled around. I said I was sorry…I'm a growing boy, right?
He grinned, and absently scratched at his side through his dark blue jumpsuit. Unlike Sheik, he did not have a mouth veil, and he let his hair down loose – at least he had since escaping the Sheikah compound. Two rows of teeth were plainly evident to the women glaring at him, both with their hands on their hips, though he couldn't see past the aura of the tiny fairy. He let the fake grin drop and smiled in what he hoped was a winning way, trying to look cute. Unfortunately for him, I'm a mean author, and he's a dirty little kid, just like my brother, so he's gonna get what he deserves. Sorry guys, family joke…I'll explain later. Anyway…Zelda grabbed his ear, just like an old mother duck would do, and shouted into it.
"I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE THE CUTEST KID IN THIS WORLD! YOU STILL ATE ALL OF OUR FOOD, AND I'M HUNGRY!!"
Navi chimed in. "Yeah, me too! And I'm not usually the one who complains about stuff, either!"
At this, Zelda and Kahwin both turned to her. Zelda had Kawhin by the collar, and he was on his tiptoes, but both their heads turned to the left (Zelda's left, by the way) and stared in absolute shock at the fairy. The magical creature in question cocked her head to one side and assumed a 'pondering' posture.
"What?"
As Zelda and Kawhin got up from where they had fallen down anime-style, she fluttered around, trying to get their bearings.
"Okay, KAWHIN should be good for a few days, but me and Zelda have to eat something soon. Let's look for that town…whatchacallit again? I never could remember this one…"
Kakariko. Kakariko Village.
"Right! I remember that! Sort of…there were some lazy carpenters or something, and this old hunchback guy who went around with a shovel…hmm…well…they're odd folk, I guess."
Who has taken our village since we left? I would like to see the ancient buildings we Sheikah made.
"Uh…I think it's mostly Hylians now, but I don't know for sure. I'd like to see some ancient buildings too, but in my time, they're just clumps of houses."
"I hope those haven't been built yet."
Yeah, me too. C'mon, there's the signpost – let's cross the river here, it looks shallow.
In a few moments, Zelda was up to her knees in cold river mud, and soaked to the bone in ice cold water. She shivered violently and glared at Kawhin.
"You were saying?"
In the end, Kawhin had to swim across, and he and Navi pulled Zelda out of the mud, then they sat for a few moments in the sun, Zelda trying not to scream or wiggle and failing miserably as they pulled leeches off of her legs. (A/N: Leeches are kinda bad in some backcountry places, especially Turtle Lake…I saw a momma monster leech, at least two inches long…whopper. Uh, yes, anyway…no killer leeches here, just little suckers. Ha, pun! Sorry. )
"AH! LEECH!"
Kawhin sighed, exasperated. Zelda, that's about the tenth one we've pulled off of you. If you don't hold still, their tongues will stick in you, and you'll just get an infection.
She screamed even louder, struggling against the kid sitting on her knees in an effort to hold her still. She could only feel the leeches moving on her skin and Kawhin's fingernails scraping at her skin, but that didn't mean she had to sit still and be calm! Zelda kicked wildly, until Kawhin finally gave in and got up.
Fine, get a million infections, for all I care. There's only a few more anyway. I'm sure you can scrape them off yourself…
His ploy worked. Immediately disgusted at the thought of actually touching the bloodsuckers, she sat still and closed her eyes, squealing through her fingers as the leeches were pried off one by one.
Several minutes later, Kawhin was lining up the leeches in the sun, watching them shrivel. He sprinkled some salt he had found over them, and Zelda watched them curl up and die, smiling in triumph. Finally, those little buggers were getting what they deserved!
When she was fully satisfied that the leeches were each dead, and after stepping on all of their pitiful salt-coated bodies, just to be sure, she followed Kawhin once again towards Kakariko Village, having never been there herself.
"Thank the Goddesses for salt. I am never crossing another river in my life. Where to now, Kawhin?"
This way. We should get there pretty quickly, I think.
"Good. My wings are tired."
Why not sit on Zelda or me?
"Eew, no! You were both in the river, and those leech things can kill me! I'll play it safe, thanks."
She was staggering along on the ground, her wings trailing over the grass, breathing heavily and bent over double when they finally reached the bottom of the staircase leading to Kakariko Village, where they stopped for a two second rest. Zelda and Kawhin started up the stairs before Navi could beg a ride, and so she was left staring up the immense-looking staircase. The orange light of sunset was beginning to fade over the land, and she watched her orange-tinted shadow for a moment before starting to pull her tired body up the stairs that were exactly her height.
She grunted and rolled onto the first one, noting the position of the sun again. This could take a very, very long time.
***
It pushed angrily through the crowd, for once not able to intimidate row upon row of upright skeletal shapes, making its way to whatever it was they were teeming around. It could make out shouts and screams, slowly increasing in volume as it neared its destination. It finally realized that this was taking way too long, and it had reached a thick barrier of bodies it could not shove through.
It leapt many meters into the air and spread its great wings, casting evening shadows over the gathering. Still, the Waeul would not be silenced. They cheered on something it could not make out, but when it dropped like a stone out of the sky and into the center circle, the crowd quieted. Whispered mutterings and occasional laughter could still be heard, but, overall, a stunned silence reigned. It stalked neutrally around the edge of the circle, looking each and every creature in the eye. Some were able to stare it back for a moment, but most dropped their gaze to the ground or glanced up towards the sky in search for salvation.
It grinned insanely and whirled upon the two Waeul who were standing over a pitiful looking mass. The one on the right, the shorter one, was staring boldly at it, but the taller, slightly leaner one had his gaze pinned to the ground. Urian casually paced over, standing before them with his wings spread wide in an unconscious attempt to intimidate them, which worked, though the shorter beast did his best not to show it.
Urian smiled falsely. "Well, what have we here, hmm? What're you Waeul…" It drew out the word, putting extra emphasis on it. "…so riled up about? Could it have to do with…that thing?" It nudged the bundle of fur with its foot, and looked at the taller Waeul, who was on face level with it. "What's got you so down in the dumps, Moe?"
An angry voice that matched its owner's temper – short and volatile – answered him. "His name isn't Moe, it's Brunn. And I'm Linn. He's my brother."
Urian grinned. "What, you his sister?"
The short being frowned and bared its already lipless teeth. "Yeah, actually, I am. What, you think only stupid Borun can be female? You think only Inriar here qualifies as female? Is that what you think?"
Its grin immediately dropped. It looked down at her. "You're putting words into my mouth, Linn. What have you done with Inriar?"
She pointed wordlessly at the furry bundle, which was humanoid, and almost covered in long brown fur, all of which was silently swaying back and forth in time with the violent, short bursts of wind. It fell to its knees beside her, noticing that Inriar was quickly losing her fur. It stroked what little clumps of hair were left, watching as she morphed into a young woman with a frowning face. Even as the Borun hair fell out of her scalp, her own natural hair replaced it.
Its head snapped back, and it bared its teeth at Linn and Brunn. It snapped, "What have you DONE?"
Linn didn't smile, because she couldn't, but her undead eyes sparkled too brightly. "I've removed the part of her heart that was Borun. See the scar on her chest?"
Urian turned her over, and saw a freshly healed scar above her left breast. It gently touched her face, and growled, "Why?"
Linn stalked over so that she could look down on the humbled general, her eternal grin fixed in place. "She is your Lieutenant – she was. Now that she is a mere mortal, you will be forced to promote another to take her place. We Waeul have been thinking – it isn't so fair that a Borun is allowed to be Lieutenant and we are not, now is it? So Brunn will be the new captain in her place, and both races will have been represented, and everyone will be happy."
It looked up at her, and saw she was completely serious. It rolled its eyes, stood up, and killed her with a single blow. Now silence flooded the dusty plain, and Urian's fury was barely contained. It turned to the crowds, and shouted at them.
"Listen well, you idiots! She was my Captain because she could take care of herself in a fight, because she refused to back down, even to me! I don't care whether you're Borun or Waeul, I will still kill you if any of you touches her again!" Quietly, mostly to himself, he added, 'If she even lives through this…' He raised his voice back to a shout. "I will need a new Lieutenant, but rest assured that I will not only be searching for a second-in-command! I will seek out and destroy any mutineers! There is no place for deserters in my army! You are with me, or you are NOT!"
It heard a small moan, and it crouched over Inriar. Brunn, seeming to think he was not needed, attempted to shuffle away. Urian smiled, and he smiled and held his ground. The entire populace had generally left when Urian had shouted 'not,' and so it was left alone with Brunn and the injured Inriar.
Urian paced nonchalantly, slowing circling in on Brunn, speaking as it did so. "So, Brunn. You thought you had what it takes to be a Lieutenant of mine. Now, maybe it's just me, but I'm not so sure about you. You seem to be awfully…I don't know…silent. Argue your point! I love a good argument. Tell me why you should be Lieutenant so I can laugh at you and kill you. Hurry up, I don't have all day."
Brunn pointed at his throat, wildly gesticulating. Urian raised an eyebrow.
"Okaaay…that helps. What, lost your voice?"
Brunn shook his head frantically, again pointing to his throat. Urian smiled slowly.
"I see. You can't speak. What use do I have for a dumb Waeul?"
He mimed out killing an invisible being, and Urian laughed. "Oh, man, you're funny! If I were a King, I'd appoint you court jester in a wingbeat! Are you saying that you should be Lieutenant because you're ferocious?"
Brunn shook his head, and drew a bony finger across its neck vertebrate. Urian nodded.
"I think I get it. You're saying you'll die if you don't make Lieutenant?"
Brunn clenched his fists and dropped down next to a patch of earth, moving it around with his finger. Urian wandered over, interested. "What're you doing now?" It looked over his shoulder and saw a bunch of funny-looking characters. "That's nice…where'd you learn to write all those lines in patterns like that? What're they for?"
"Are you illiterate, General? Your body, before you inhabited it, appeared to be of some sort of nobility…perhaps you forgot how to read and write when you died. Don't worry, I can read and write. My tribe was fairly well educated, though some of these characters are a little sloppy…"
The fully human Inriar leaned down, squinting one eye and slowly translating the text in the dirt. Urian was silent, and it almost felt…happy. Its one true friend in this place was fine…at least, she gave the appearance of being fine. However, it could smell the blood on her, and hear her slow, weak heartbeat. She had lost a lot of blood, but she looked like she was healing quickly. She glanced up at it and smiled a bit before turning back to the characters, sounding out what seemed to be random syllables.
"Hmm…well, from what I can make of it, his sister…threatened him? She wanted him to take over the army…she thought that she could earn your respect by taking out the previous Lieutenant, and then she could get in good with you…" She stopped short, then turned to grin at Urian. "I think she liked you, General." She snorted and turned back to the ground, taking note of the slight blush on Urian's normally stoic, stony face.
"Anyway, from what I can make out, the general plan was to take over the army, then report straight in to the Master…they want to go back to the Master, General. How odd…"
Urian closed its eyes and muttered, "How could anyone enjoy being controlled?"
Inriar shook her long, pale blue hair out of her face. "I don't know, General. But apparently the Waeul do not like to think for themselves."
The monster's eyes snapped open, blazing with fresh fury. "Well, I would say it was a waste if that was the truth – the Waeul themselves are a waste of air. Inriar, are you well enough to travel?"
She nodded silently, clutching a fistful of the shirt that now hung loosely off of her shoulders. It was, thankfully, long enough to cover her indecency. Urian snorted and tossed a pair of loose-fitting black pants at her, and turned to Brunn while she hurriedly pulled them on.
"Go tell the…oh, never mind. We're leaving, so get your stuff together. I guess I'll have to tell everybody…" When Brunn merely stood, nodding, and didn't leave, Urian grew angry. "Get going, you stupid skeleton!" He took off, scared for his life, and kept glancing behind him to make sure the general wasn't following. It glared after him, and turned back to Inriar, narrowing its eyes as it took in her oddly altered shape. She was slender and shorter, and definitely less hairy. The hair she did have was cut short, but still hung into her black eyes.
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared back at it defiantly, daring it to criticize her. It remained silent, and merely nodded at her, before taking off and heading for its tent to retrieve its few belongings.
Inriar stared after it, and, for some odd reason, was reminded of the young girl she had known so long ago. If she could see her now, would she still be shamed to know her name? Perhaps. Not like it mattered, anyway – she planned on dying soon. After all, accidents happened…and now that she was human, weak and senseless, accidents would be expected.
She smiled to herself and watched Urian drop like a stone out of the sky some distance away. But even as she watched that one winged creature, something else moved in her peripheral vision…but when she whirled, ready to pounce, the endless plain was as cold and empty and dust-filled as her own heart.
***
She slashed at his face with her sharp, slightly lengthened fingernails. Her body resembled a cat's, lean and sly and able to kill with the slightest of efforts. He saw her spine move beneath her skin as she twisted in midair and aimed for his eyes.
Her hair was long and black as pitch, hanging over her shadowy face, only her ominous yellow eyes able to pierce the darkness that hung over her. She stared out at him from her own personal pool of misery, her mind echoing with fate, her limbs aching with power. She snarled at him, and the purple eye on her forehead wept with the silence of eternity. He was shaken.
But his momentary shock could not stop him from wrestling her to the ground and holding her there, even while her fingernails tried to rip into his stomach. During the instant he touched her skin, the purple eye faded, and she was left on the ground, a pitiful figure, sobbing so hard her throat hurt. Her hair was still long and dark, but for the moment, she appeared calm. He questioned her.
"What the hell happened? Who are you?"
She looked up at him tearfully. "I…I must tell you who I am. I am Nayru, Hero of Time. I was trapped here…caged by my sisters…but, please, I meant no harm…"
His eyes widened, but he stored away the shock-he could deal with that later. He loomed over her, sneering. "You meant no harm by what? What did you do to me?"
"Your dreams…I needed to…the nightmare you had, it changed me into this…but I managed to make…here, Hero of Time, it is yours, to give to whom you will…"
She tossed a small flask filled with what seemed to be a thousand tiny droplets of light at him, all shimmering with different colours. He noticed that most of them were either a light blue colour or pure black.
"What is this? Tell me!"
She screamed at him, seeming to be in pain. "It is you! Whoever you give it to, if they should drink it or even touch it, you would live on through them…please, Hero of Time, release me!"
"NO! You'll go all crazy again, and you know it. What do you mean, live on through them?"
Suddenly, she calmed down. She gazed into his eyes with that same annoying arrogance, and smiled a bit. "Oh, you will know everything you've ever wanted to know and more in a short while. You will know. Now release me, and leave. You have gotten what you came for."
He was confused, confused enough that he stopped looking at the flask for a while and stared at her. "What? I thought I was supposed to 'suffer here forever' or something."
She laughed softly. "No, no, Hero of Time…your part is far from over, but mine ended a few moments ago. Now release me, and be on your way."
Nayru ripped her wrists out of his grip and slashed at his face, making him instinctively duck backwards. She pushed him savagely off of her and dodged away, moving on all fours with the swiftness of a wild animal. He stared after her, and some nameless fear rose in him to see a human moving in such an ancient, primeval fashion. He shuddered and shouted after her, "Where are you going? How do I get out of here?"
She laughed wildly, her voice carrying on the wind. But, just as she left his range of sight, he almost heard a soft sigh. I am here forever. But you will find the way…if you would only remember what you have forgotten…
He threw up his hands in frustration and shouted to the sun, which was once again high in the blue mass of sky, "What the hell was that supposed to mean!?"
Silence was his only reply. He began walking.
***
Well, that was kind of…odd…abrupt…no, just odd. Anyway, I must apologize for the length of time it took me to get this out of my head – my dad took the laptop last weekend…grr…okay, well, time for reviewer replies or shoutouts or whatever you want to call them! Fun fun!
H7 – don't worry, you're not the first (and probably not the last) person to complain about lagging updates. Sorry, gang…heh…
Panda88 – hey, I'm glad you liked it! Remind me to read your stuff, I haven't quite gotten around to it yet. Is it medieval? I guess it is. Hmm.
Blue Taboo – wow, quite a long and…uh…comprehensive review. I know my characterizations are a little off, I'm trying to fix those. And I realized I forgot Zelda's broken arm, which motivated me to start revamping the earlier chapters! It is angsty, but that's because I generally write while I'm depressed. I felt this chapter was actually pretty happy, so there you are. I'm not getting shorter by the chapter, am I? If so, I'm trying not to, I really am. Long and juicy is good, but I can't let it drag on either, can I? NOOOO, NOT GRAMMAR MISTAKES! Just point out where I screwed up, and I'll fix it! But maybe you're talking about the last chapter, when Eval is relating that legend to them – I follow the grammatical rule that, when a new paragraph starts, but the person hasn't stopped speaking, I don't put closing quotations, though I do put opening quotations on the new paragraph. Is that what you're talking about? Hmm. Thanks for putting me on your favourites…you'll regret it when I don't update again for like two years…not that I'm planning to, don't worry.
Wolf – Whoa…6 to 8 straight hours of reading? I'm glad I hooked somebody…phew. Anyway, thanks for reviewing – I hope you didn't go too stir crazy while I took forever to update! I'm obsessive compulsive – I take forever to update. Sorry again, guys…:D
Chaotic Boredom – Thanks for that one, Captain Obvious…just kidding. When did I mention ghostwriters? Inriar knew Tyr, huh? Oh, you have no idea…*cackles evilly*. What's the Conscription in 1917? I hate history…blech. Yes, Vere'forgad'URIAN, but does anyone know what the heck it means? Connections, connections…I love 'em.
Fanfic Pick: Hmm…none really stand out…anybody wanna recommend one? Wait, there was one…the one about pirates by Lady Donut…an Inu Yasha fic, but everybody was so in character, it was amazing! Kudos to Lady Donut!
Fav Song: Fields of Gold by Sting. You can't go wrong with 80s…or was it 90s…oh well. The only song by Sting that I like, for good reason.
Lady Rose finally finished her big huge Zelda fic! Agh! Don't you hate it when those big huge stories finally end? It's like, it's nice that you find out what happened in the end, but you don't really want it to be over…the waiting for updates (heh :D) and all that…oh well. Amazing story, though! Also, I got a huge response for the last chapter, and I just want to say that I really enjoyed reading what everybody thought! Feel free to re-review…heehee. Was anybody else able to see the lunar eclipse last night? It was just AMAZING…I see inspiration on the horizon! But, I mean, the moon was red…so coolio.
Anyway, keep R&Ring, and I'll do the same for you! If I get around to it…heh heh. *Hands out apology cake leftovers from last chappie.*
-Shawshank (The one and only!)
