Ah another chapter. Well tomorrow is Christmas, Happy Chrismahannakwanzakuh people!
Disclaimer- I don't own Zelda, or My Chemical Romance's Song "Thank You For The Venom"
Remedy In The Shadows- Chapter 7-
The conversation wasn't going well, and it didn't seem to be getting better.
"You're very lucky you know?"
'So are some of the girls behind us.'
"Disobey me again and it might not end this way!"
'Who says it's ended?'
"Thea! Are you listening to me!" Anita walked besides Thea down the alleyway, the rest of the girls picking up the rear.
"Yeah." After being, embarrassed, locked up, and embarrassed again, Thea wasn't in a cheerful mood. Link…that was what the boy said his name was. Soon after they were introduced, Thea was relieved to see Anita march into the cell room. After some conversations, and arguments, she was eventually let free. However the relief from seeing her people again soon past when they were by themselves. Thea knew that the past event would leave a negative impact, as they made their way back to the Market she prepared herself for what would happen.
Anita continued talk as the space between them and the Market decreased, "Why did you do it? Why? We were planning on leaving the next morning, didn't you think he would've caught you by then? You did a stupid, stupid thing! I thought you knew better!"
Pain began to fill Thea. Anita didn't deserve all of this stress. It just made Thea feel even dumber for taking the challenge, "Anita…I…I'm sorry. But honestly! Don't you--"
A hand pressed against Thea's mouth, taking her voice away. It was Anita's hand; it was strong and didn't show any signs of letting go. The group was now at the opening to the Market, fewer people were there, that was normal around lunchtime. What Thea wondered was why Anita stood still and stared into the area. She looked at her superior who slowly let the hand leave Thea, and start to walk forward.
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Ambrose wasn't one to be mess with. He tried to act reasonable around the foolish civilians throughout Hyrule Market. He watched them dash from one place to another. He watched them laugh with family. He watched them argue with business owners. He watched them be completely oblivious of the future ahead of them.
'Pathetic fools.' He eyed a young blond-haired little girl carrying a basket of flowers. She was dressed in a bright yellow dress that shone like the smile on her face. Oh how he wished he could see the flowers wither, and the smile burn from her bright face with the rest of her soul.
'Soon…'
His thoughts were interrupted by the sight of the one's he had been looking for. The women were grouped at the entrance to the old alleyway, leading them were Anita and Thea. Ambrose grimaced at the sight of the young girl, he had heard that she was one of the more experienced Gerudo children, yet there she was being pulled out from jail. At first he didn't believe it when he was told that she had been caught, but when the fact finally sunk in, he knew he that would have to make an appearance.
As Anita began to walk towards him he pushed away the preoccupied merchants and moved forward as well. He felt eyes of the Hyrule people upon them, their minds craved to know what was going on. Some watched from a distance while others quickly retreated from the scene; fear was what took over their curiosity.
The distance between the pair decreased quickly, Ambrose's eyes occasionally switched between the approaching woman, and the other girls who were now all near Thea. He noticed the cold expression that spread over Thea's face when she first saw him.
"Ambrose, what are you doing here?" Anita stared up at him, he noticed the shakiness in her voice, "What work needs to be done here?"
He folded his arms against the strong black armor that lay against his chest and stared down at the Gerudo, "Nothing needs to be done. I was nearby when I heard what had happen. And I thought that I might hear the details."
"I can tell you what happened, but it might be better if the girls get back to the Fortress first--" Ambrose stopped Anita with a palm and glanced behind her.
He smiled and allowed his voice to grown softer, "That sound reasonable, but I won't be hearing an explanation from you." He motioned behind Anita.
His gesture was followed until Anita's eyes saw Thea, she was the only one of the group that wasn't looking at the ground, "Ambrose…you don't need to talk to her, I'll take care of it…"
A laugh escaped Ambrose at Anita's desperate words, he pushed passed her, but not before saying, "We'll see." With that he walked towards the crowded alleyway, completely ignoring the Gerudos he passed.
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Now that Link had his property returned to him, he and Navi began to leave the jail; a place they wouldn't really miss.
'"Herbs of the forest, volcano, and water" That's what she said.'
After he was somewhat properly introduced to the girl, her comrades marched into the room. The dark haired one got into another argument with the man who escorted Link. It all happened so fast, the woman barley paid attention to him; she just listened to the facts, and was eventually leading Thea out of the building. Link remembered the last look Thea had sent him as she was shoved out, he didn't know if the smile meant that he had done the right thing, or if he had made a terrible mistake.
By the time the pair was ready to leave the Gerudos had already left, of course Link had no problem with that. As they stepped outside, the words of the Gerudo played in his mind again.
'By 'volcano', she must have meant Death Mountain, 'forest' meaning home, and 'water' could be somewhere with the Zoras. Here we go again--'
"Umm, Link?!" Navi's uncertain voice filled his ears and caused him to stop. They were standing outside of the jail, the two soldiers were no longer there; leaving the entryway to the jail unprotected, "Lets just walk around for a while to think this over. Let's talk back here so that we don't let our conversation be heard by others."
Link nodded, he took a quick glance at his surroundings. Off to their left the alley continued, he gestured the path to Navi, and she headed forward along with him.
"What do think? Can we trust the girl?" Navi was the first to break the silence by bringing up the most obvious subject to talk about.
Link had to think for a moment, could he trust her? Is what she said true? Thea was a Gerudo, Link had spent enough time around them to know that they could be quite deceiving, he was nearly captured at one point. Then again, some of them trusted him, and told him valuable information that few actually knew. All he knew now was that he had to be careful around them, he already let one practically rob him blind, and he had set her free, thinking she could help him.
When they made their way further down to darkest part of the alley Link found it was alright to reply, "Psh do we have a choice?" A nearby stack of boxes were placed against an old building, Link sat down and rested his chin in his hands, "I really don't want to, but…one of the places she said to get herbs from was the forest…We can go there first and find out how things are. And if they haven't changed…."
"Then we keep trying!" She fluttered down towards his face, "We are not gonna let this go without being solved! We can figure this out!"
A smile formed on the boy's face, he couldn't help it, "You are way too cheerful for this point in time."
"Ya' gotta love that about me!" The fairy laughed, and started to flutter around the area, "Come on. Lets go!"
Sighing, Link arose from the uncomfortable seat. His body was tired from the day's events, and the day wasn't even done yet. He cracked his neck a few times, then was about to join Navi to continue their walk when a strong force came out from a place he could not see and knocked him down to the cobblestone.
"Link!" Link heard Navi call out to him, but just barely even though she was close to him. The force had struck him on the head, for a brief moment small, colorful dots danced around in Link's vision. His scarred hands gripped the ground, and quickly spun himself around to face his attacker. Now his sword and shield filled his hands, he didn't even remember taking them out. He pulled his shield across his body just below his eyes, allowing him to see the one who stood before him.
Only one word came to mind when he looked at the man who struck him; "danger". He was young, but still tall for his age, and dressed all in black. His body was covered with black armor, Link noted the spikes that grew out of his dark gauntlets. When the man saw Link's weapons, he laughed and drew out a large steel sword from a hilt attached to the belt around his waist, Link saw that he still had another sword sheathed in another hilt. He brought the sword up, making sure that Link got a clear look at it. The blade's hilt had a bronze serpent coiled around it, the snakes eyes were black gems, much like the eyes of the man.
"Link!" Navi called again, she tried to join her partner who had nowhere to go, but Link saw that when she tried to move forward, a crimson aura surrounded her. It locked her in the air, restricting any motions. Leaving the sight his restricted friend, Link looked back to the man and saw that with his free hand, he had a similar colored sphere levitating. Soon black was added to the red, as the colors swirled erratically they met and created small explosions that filled the mystical sphere. The colors were fascinating, but the power that they held was anything but lovely.
'…Swordsman's skills, and magic…'
"Your friend is weak, just like yourself." To Link's surprise the dark man lowered his sword. The gesture seemed foolish; he was clearly open for a strike, however Link didn't move. However the man did, he stepped quickly so he was now right next to Link. Link was aware of the movement and was already bringing his sword back, he thrust it forward and slightly upward to met the man's abdomen--
He didn't know how it happen, all he knew was that it did happen. Link felt the hilt of his sword leave his grasp as the stranger dodged the strike and grabbed the boy by his wrist. Link had lifted his shield and successfully stricken the man's chin. However the man continued to moved closer, backing the boy up to the wall. He shoved Link's other arm away, leaving him unprotected. At that opportunity he grabbed Link's throat and lifted him into the air. Their eyes met as when they were at even height, Link could hear Navi's cries of help in the background.
A smile formed on the man's face, small drops of blood fell from the deep wound on his chin, "Don't worry kid, I just wanted to meet you." He tightened his grip on Link's wrist, causing pain to flow up his arm, "But realize one thing, this won't be our only meeting." Before Link could pass out from loss of breath for the second time in one day, the grip was released, and the man stepped back. Link hit the ground hard, but it didn't matter to him. He reached for his shield that was off to his side, when his hand reached it, he looked up to see where his attacker was--
What happened next was all a blur. Link felt his heart skip a beat when he looked up. The man who attacked him was surrounded with a dark aura, one of his arms shot out, and unleashed a lightning bolt of magic towards Link. He felt the power hit him, it ran through his veins and into his heart. He heard a scream arise in the air around them. As Link's vision grew dark, he realized that it was his own scream…
When all was gone, a new world formed in his mind…
'…It all was happening so fast. First he saw Hyrule Field, however it wasn't quite Hyrule field. The grass was dark…the sky allowed a downpour of rain to wash over the muddy surface. The small amount of trees that grew were uprooted and rested on the lifeless ground.
Next was the Market…it wasn't too different…just completely deserted…some of the shops looked closed down, and much of the color seemed drained. The fountain in the center still produced crystal clear water. Then, a small figure was shown standing at the fountain with their back turned. It was made clear that the figure was a little girl, she wore a simple white dress, her long blond hair blew slightly in the wind. Suddenly there was a bolt of lightning in the dark sky. The girl's body turned, and what once was her face was exposed. Her face was decade to the bone, a few muscles hung on with little strength. Her dress was now tattered, and her hair was now gray and dry; almost like straw.
…Another bolt of lightning! The clear water that erupted from the marble fountain now turned dark…As more poured out it was clear that the liquid was really a crimson red…it was blood.
…Suddenly everything went crimson…a new thing entered the dream…it was a voice…
"Be prepared boy…"
As the voice spoke, the crimson colors rippled like liquid, "Your going to need a lot more than you currently have to escape…"
"LINK!"
A familiar voice stirred Link from his nightmare…but it did not wake him…
"LINK!" Another voice called his name…however this one was in his vision…and he couldn't recognize it…
"LINK! WAKE UP!" With the words from the same familiar voice, Link's body bolted up from the ground, "Link!…Are you alright!?"
Confused, Link turned to see Navi, but quickly looked away. His eyes searched for the one who knocked him out, but the only one's left within the alley were Navi and himself. His head was a mess the heat that flowed through his body burned in his mind, making it hard to think. He was still holding his shield, it trembled in his grasp, he wondered why his body acted like that.
Navi, fluttered closer to his face, "Luh…Link?"
Again Link looked at his friend. He nodded knowing it might assure her that he was alright, even though Link didn't know if he actually was, "Yeah…yeah…" He grabbed his sword that rested a few feet away from him, and lifted himself up. That was no easy task, when he moved his whole body received pain that flowed throughout him. He grimaced and rested against the wall continuing to search for the stranger, "Where did…where did he go?" His words came out in short gasps, but he managed.
Again Navi flew to his side, "Right after he hit you he dashed off…When he left, his magic on me disappeared. Oh Link are you sure you're alright? You were out for a while."
"Yes Navi…I…" He gave her a weak smile, then lifted himself from the wall, wincing slightly, "I'm fine, really." He took one last glance at the area, then turned to the place where they had original come from, "Come on…if we wanted to go to the Forest we better get going."
He had started to head back to the market, Navi followed him spouting out question after question;
"What! What happened?"
"Are you sure you're ok?"
"Who was that?"
"What are we supposed to look for?"
As the pair walked out of the darkness, Link answered as many questions as he could, hoping that all would be ok, and that what was said in his nightmare wasn't true.
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The sun rested above the sandy plateaus. It wouldn't be disappearing for a few hours. Other than night, this was Thea's favorite part of day; it was when the sand looked red, the red sand against the blue was enchanting.
The ride back to the fortress had been a frustrating one. A few of the girls would whisper amongst themselves, Thea wasn't quite sure what the topics were, but she had a guess. A few of the girls who sat around Thea wanted to know what happened, they would ask her questions about the jail or the boy, Thea just smiled at them, and said that she would explain later. Before she had a chance to tell the girls anything, she had to speak with Anita.
What Anita told Thea wasn't something to joke about, even though she might look back at the moment and laugh. When they arrived to the Fortress, Anita had told the girls to go back to their sleeping quarters. When Thea had tried to leave with the group, Anita had pulled her into a room. There, Thea received a speech about responsibility and how she should've thought better before stealing from the "Poor boy". Thea handled the conversation well, she made sure she answered all of Anita's questions with phrases such as, "Yeah" and "I know, I was wrong.". At one point Thea asked why Ambrose was at the Market, Anita told her "Nothing." When Thea asked what Ambrose had said to her, she was ordered to just join the other girls by going up to her room, or go find work to do.
Not wanting to do any work at that point in time, she dashed up to her room. The room was at one of the highest points of the Fortress, but right outside of it was a set of stares that led right outside. She shared the room with five other girls, their beds were against the wall, and each one had a dark blue blanket over a single mattress that rested on the wooden bed frame. On the wall directly across from their beds was a large glassless window, when it was nighttime they would pull down a cloth to prevent the cool air from entering. Thea had gotten into trouble in the past when she would climb out of the window to reach the ground below. In the center of the ceiling was a single hanging candle, the only light source, it was dim but they managed. Below the candle was the circular table with chairs, it was where many of the girl's knickknacks were put. When she arrived she was met by her roommates who were waiting impatiently on their beds with dozens of questions. So she had spent the next hour talking about the incident, she didn't like returning to it, but it was obvious that she was entertaining the girls with her story, however throughout that time Chloe just sat quietly on her bed.
Now, the tales had been told. Some of the girls in the room had gone off to work while others just took the time to relax. Thea was one who chose to relax. As she lay on her bed, she thought about what Link had told her. He had been looking for a cure, and she had told him about a remedy that could possibly solve his problems. She knew it was silly, but she half wanted to go with him. Life at the fortress wasn't too bad, but as days passed she found it getting boring. The work was the same, and she seemed to be doing fine with swordplay. However, she thought that if she were to ever become a great thief, she would want to know Hyrule like the back of her hand. Currently she hadn't seen even half of the land. Oh how she desired to see Lake Hylia, the river that ran through the Valley led to it, she didn't understand why she couldn't see it. Oh how she wanted to see what the world looked like from the peak of Death Mountain. She had thought about leaving before, but there was something always keeping her home, after the past few days she realized that the thing that was keeping her home might be fear.
…Fear wasn't something that she had always liked, facing some of it now might make it easier in the future…
'…So is that my decision? …What would happen if I left?…'
At that moment the other thoughts came to mind, the negatives that had been holding her back all of these years. Isabel's ridiculous harassment, the strict rules of the Gerudo that prevented her from living…yes there were many things that she needed to get away from.
At that moment one of her roommates, Ophelia, was gazing out the window. Without even moving from her lying position Thea got the attention of the girl, "Hay, Ophelia… how many are on guard down below?"
Thea saw the older girl give her a puzzled look, but she did look below and answer, "Ummm there's only three in the main area, I think Jacqueline is on a break…Why?"
'Only three 'eh?'
Thea rose from her bed and walked over the oak table and grabbed a black leather satchel from the surface. It was quite heavy, but she got used to carrying the weight that it held, most of what was inside was money anyways. She also picked up her sheathed scimitars that were besides the bag. She placed them on her golden belt and checked the room for anything else she may need.
As she searched the room, the remaining girls began to notice and started to watch. Thea realized that she couldn't do this alone, "Ophelia, watch the guards below, pay close attention to where they tend parole. Claudia…" She called to another girl, "Go run down to the kitchen, grab me some non perishable food, or something like that. Ya' know bread, maybe some fruit, and don't forget about water, I'll definitely need that!" The girls did as they were told, even though Thea had no power over them.
"Thea? …What are you doing?" Chloe was standing now, and started to take a few steps toward her hurried friend.
Thea completely ignored the question and asked one of her own, "Oh! Chloe, can I borrow your big handkerchief? It's important!"
Chloe stared at her, her face held a blank expression but she moved towards her bed, and silently handed Thea the yellow, silk handkerchief that was underneath her pillow.
At that moment Claudia had returned, in her slender arms were several small, golden loaves of bread, along with a few ripe, colorful fruits. On top of it all, she carried a canteen of water.
"Good! Give me them!" Thea grabbed the items from the confused girl and brought them to the table. She laid the material out on the surface, and wrapped up the foods within it. It was a hard fit, but she managed to create a fabric holding for the objects.
When she turned around, Chloe was standing right in front of her, her arms folded across her chest, "What are you doing?!"
Thea met her friend's eyes, they were angry now, but the anger was accompanied with suspicion and worry.
"Ophelia come on, I'm gonna need you." She gave her friend one last look and left the room, heading for the staircase to the desert. Giving Chloe a goodbye would make the situation harder. Thea knew that over time Chloe would understand.
"So what are you doing?" Ophelia tried at the unanswered question again, but did not get a response. When the pair reached the door that lead outside, Thea stopped them, when she spotted a nearby stack of boxes she pulled Ophelia with her and went into a crouching position. Around them were the three trained guards that protected the front area of the Fortress. However right ahead of them was the path that lead down to the Valley that would lead to Hyrule Field, near the entrance to the path was a large desert boulder.
"Ophelia, go up to whoever's on guard, and distract them for me." Thea put the handkerchief-bag in the satchel and slung the bag over her shoulder.
"What!? What are you doing?" Again the question was asked!
'Grrr, nothing! Please let it go!'
Thea patted her comrade on the shoulder, "Don't worry about it, just walk up to them when they're as far away as possible, make sure they don't look at me."
"But…"Ophelia was silenced with a sharp glare by Thea. At that moment she understood, and after taking a deep breath, she moved from her position and up to one of the guards. Thea watched as she left, it took her about eleven long steps for her to reach the first Gerudo, after reaching one, she called over the other two. The guards seemed hesitant, but they listened to what the younger one said. What Ophelia said Thea didn't really care, but when all of the guards were not looking, she dashed towards the boulder, hoping that no one saw. When she reached the stone, she knelt again. Her ears tried to pick up what Ophelia was saying, but even with the desert wind blowing the words to her, she couldn't hear it.
Now was the hard part. To Thea's right, there was the entrance to the Desert Wastelands, the entranced was closed up, but that didn't matter. In front of the closed entrance was the forty-foot watchtower filled with two guards. One faced the Wastelands, the other faced the direction Thea was headed. Realizing that, that one guard would eventually suspect her if she kept still, the only thought that came to mind was to act natural and try to leave.
'Bold? Yes. Stupid? Hell yes! But it could work!'
After taking a deep breath, she moved to go down the path. She made sure she didn't moved too fast, or too slow, luckily going down the path meant her back was turned on the guard, so she couldn't be recognized. One step soon became ten, and those ten steps were increasing as she continued. The path was slightly downhill, and was surrounded by the Valley's walls, Thea could see the set of stone stairs ahead that lead back up to the Fortress area. The guards wouldn't be able to see her from her position, she was about to pass it--
When she saw movement on the steps, she hoped that she was wrong, but no. Someone was on the steps, Thea knew who it was before they even turned with their broom in hand…
'Shit!'
Isabel had been doing simple choirs on the steps, she turned as she heard Thea approaching. She didn't bother looking at Thea's face, she stared at the objects that Thea held. And soon, without even asking for an explanation she just screamed, "Guards!!"
"Shit!" Thea dashed forward, but not before seeing the smile that Isabel held.
Now Thea was running as fast as her body would allow her as she continued to dash down the pathway. Luckily she had already been near the Valley entrance, the bad thing was that the Valley held even more guards. She saw them give her questionable looks, they didn't move at first. However once they saw the other guards emerge from the Fortress, they moved near Thea, weapons in hand.
"Hay"
"Thea! Get back here!"
"Where do you think you're going!"
All of those shouts and more were called after her as she continued to run. Ahead of her was a deep cliff; it was formed years ago by the river that flowed a good length below. Sure, there was a bridge that led to the other side, but not only was it guarded, she realized that if she were to cross the bridge and enter Hyrule Field she would eventually collapse of exhaustion from running, or get caught. There was only one choice.
'Oh gods, please don't let this come back to get me negatively.'
As Thea ran, she made sure the satchel she carried was locked and secure, but that was the least of her worries. She dodged the Gerudo who were in front of her, they held weapons, but they wouldn't hurt one of their own. The women seemed surprised as Thea curved off to the side, away from the bridge.
"Thea!"
Thea wasn't sure who yelled after her, she guessed that it was Anita, but she didn't care enough to think about it. As she approached the cliff she said a quick prayer to herself, and took a deep breath; deeper than the first. Her feet left the ground, she let her body dive downward into the awaiting river rapids, knowing that she wouldn't be followed.
-"So give me all your poison
And give me all your pills
And give me all your hopeless hearts
And make me ill
You're running after something
That you'll never kill
If this is what you want
Then fire at will
Preach all you want but who's gonna save me?
I keep a gun on the book you gave me, hallelujah, lock and load
Black is the kiss, the touch of the serpent sun
It ain't the mark or the scar that makes you run,
and run,
and run,
and run"-
-My Chemical Romance- "Thank You For The Venom"
A/N. Another Chapter, another few days, well it's X-Mas Eve! Enjoy whatever you'll be doing. I hope I will be. I was constantly listening to "Thank You For The Venom" while writing this, so I thought I'd end the chapter with it.