Disclaimer- I do not own Zelda

Remedy In The Shadows- Chapter 13-

"Sigmund What can I say! I truly must owe you my life!" Thea could be heard shouting as Link leaped into a wagon, "Honestly…" She continued, "If you were bleeding to death I would slit my throat and offer you my blood!" Link turned to see the girl gesturing with her dagger placed upon her flesh. He couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

The giant man shook his head, "Kid you're something' else!" He leaned down and picked her up from underneath her arms, "Now you be good, ya' hear?" He shook her until she was laughing then shook her harder until she nodded her head in reply to his request. In one swift motion he lifted her higher then planted her down beside Link inside of the wagon, "And you boy!" He pointed at Link, "You watch over her! She's a handful!"

Link gazed up at the taller man and nodded, "I could tell. She's really uh…" He glanced to Thea and watched her face light up. She hopped from one side of the wagon to the other, face gleaming in the early morning light. She was happy, "…something else."

What happened next surprised Link, The large man called Sigmund gripped his shoulder tightly. At first he thought nothing of it, he continued to watch Thea dance in Dawn's sunlight. The strong hand patted roughly and Link glanced upward to see Sigmund eyeing the children. He had been watching Link watch her.

"Be careful you two!" He pointed to the old man who sat with the reigns of the wagon horses, "I don't want old man Saher returning tonight and telling me I got two missing delinquents on the run!"

The old man dressed in rags placed a sun cap over his hairless skull and hollered, "And I don't want to be dealing with trouble makers! I can kick you kids off of this thing at any point in time!" He laughed and tightened his grip on the reigns, gaining the two horse's full attention. Luckily when Link had emerged from the Inn that morning, Thea had been able to find them transportation to Lake Hylia. Apparently the old man made deliveries for her friend Sigmund and both men offered to help.

"Everything will be fine." The pair from the Forest said in unison. Everyone stopped moving as the wagon's wheels played into motion with the first steps of the animals.

"Remember what I said Thea!" Sigmund warned her one last time.

She leaned over the wagon's edge with a wild grin, "But my friend it's a little too late, we've been on the run for quite awhile now! Hai-ya!" She shouted to get the animal's pace picked up. The children gave one last wave to the Hylian before turning their attention to the road ahead of them.

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"His name is 'Link'!"

"That's a good point Navi! I've noticed you've got a habit of doing that!" He said while staring up at the cloudless sky, blue almost as bright as his eyes.

Thea spread stretched out her arms and yawned, "A habit of doing what?"

"Calling me 'boy'. Why do you do that?" At first Link didn't bother to correct her whenever the habit slipped, but now, since they were actually having a healthy conversation he thought he'd bring it up.

"Well…" She paused and lifted herself from the hay that was spread across the wagon floor, "You are a boy, so why not call you what you are?"

It was difficult to tell whether she was being serious, or if she was playing a cruel trick relating to the past night's events, "I am a boy, but so are many other Hylians. Being 'Link' is what makes me different from them. So by calling me-"

"What did you just say?"

Did he say something wrong? "What?"

"You said 'Other Hylians'." The Gerudo stated. She folded her legs against her chest and let her chin rest atop her knees. Her arms snaked around her legs to bring them closer to her body.

She was staring at him, studying him. It was uncomfortable, then he realized that he returned the stare, "So what?" He felt a rush of heat creep up his neck.

"Well," She began, "I guess I just thought you'd mention 'Kokiri' in that past sentence since, well, you are one."

The slight burning of his skin intensified until he felt the heat in his entire face, "Oh."

"I mean…" She scanned the environment and let out an exaggerated sigh, "I'm sure there are other male Kokiri." She said without question. Her eyes scanned the sky, watching the clouds pass-by overhead as they traveled by wagon through Hyrule Field. She straitened out her legs while resting her outstretched arms atop the wagon's siding. In a few silent second of just listening to the trotting of hooves and the turning of wheels her eyes softly fluttered closed. Before the possible thought that she had fallen asleep even passed though Link's mind she spoke again, "I just wonder how many other male Kokiri can survive outside of the Forest."

A raspy cough slithered up Link's throat. Surly he had heard wrong. Yes, that was it, the sun was getting to his head again. Shaking his head he removed his green cap; his fingers brushed back his cornflower hair. While leaning his head back he placed the cap over his face. He closed his eyes…

"Or female Kokiri for that matter." The calm voice finished.

'I heard it that time…why is she saying this?'

Link's head shot up so fast his Kokiri cap toppled into his lap. The combination of the morning sun and Navi's light made a bright wall of light in his left eye. Avoiding the glare he turn and saw Thea looking directly at him, frowning. The soft wind blew loose strains of her hair across her face, the dark hair crossing the path of her sun-kissed skin. She instantly brushed them away, exposing her face for him to see. If he was supposed to find another message on her features he failed, her dark eyes were just dark. They held no sparkle or excitement that could offer a hint as to what she was thinking. Her lips were set on a thin line, unlike the smile she had worn throughout most of the morning.

"What did you say?" Link said, making sure his voice had dropped in order to hide the conversation from their chauffeur.

'She shouldn't be knowing any of this, she has no business with you or any of the Kokiri!

…How much does she really know? I shouldn't have underestimated her intelligence on the topic of Hyrulian races…after all she does know of this "Cure" thing…

Someone with that much information on you cannot be trusted, if you tell her anymore you'll only be hurting yourself! Than who will help the others?

…But she already suspects the truth, denying it will do nothing…

Then maybe you'll just have to erase her thoughts a different way…'

Before his thoughts could get into a more heated battle, Link shut them off and returned his attention to Thea and prepared himself for what he was about to say, "Look…Thea-"

"What's it like there?"

'What?'

"The Forest…" She repeated, cocking her head to one side, "I…just wanna know."

He looked at her, Navi at his side, Link could tell that his partner was questioning the Gerudo as well, "What are you playing girl?" He hadn't meant to speak the playful child name that she had been used to calling him. It slipped.

Thea laughed, the humor unseen by Link. She leaned forward, "We're both playing a game here Link, I'm trying to take a timeout!" She had used his real name…was that a bad sign?

Navi spoke up, "You think this is a game?" The fairy moved towards Thea's face, lighting up her featured, but still not adding a hint of sparkle to her placid eyes, "In what way?"

"In what way isn't it?" She retorted, "Life is a game. This…" She gestured to the world around her, "…this is all part of the game."

"Enlighten us." Link broke out, scanning the so called "Game" around them.

"Well…" She began, "Like any bored or card game there's a beginning. We are born. And like any bored or card game there's a path. And every path leads to one exact place for every single person."

He knew what she was saying, "Death."

"Exactly!" She exclaimed and clamed her hands. At that moment the wagon rolled over a large body of rocks laid across the pathway. The rough terrain caused the wagon to rattle uncontrollably, and the cushioning of hay provided weak comfort for the pair. Each of them grabbed onto the wooden siding around them for stability. When all was smooth riding again Thea released her grip and continued, "In a child's bored game eventually it all ends, everyone can reach the end at one point. In a card game there's always an end, there's always one way for everyone to reach that point. You begin, and you finish, but how you get there is the most important part. That's the major part of…life…"

There was another moment of silence between the two, Link allowed her words to run through his head while Thea ran her long fingers through her knotted hair. The simple action was a silent way of expressing that her patience was non existent at the time. Link tried to prevent the corner of his lips from curving upward yet it was impossible. He brought a hand to his mouth to hide the obvious grin and focused on what the Thief had just said.

Finally he found a topic to bring out of the dust, "You haven't mentioned one important factor though."

She didn't answer, rather she let her hair slip away from her fingers and allowed a hand to cup underneath her chin. Her eyebrows raised upwards, she was waiting for him to continue.

Clearing his throat he did, "In a game, as we're saying, there's a winner. There's someone who has defeated the others around them, who is victorious in the game."

"That's not hard to see in life." Thea said quickly without thinking twice about it, "Some people are more successful than others when they die." Thea grabbed a hold of the wooden siding around her and lifted herself to her feet, "Some people live life to its purpose, they live, they love, they succeed and pass down their knowledge for the rest of us. Then there are others." She paused, taking a few careful steps. There wasn't much room in the wagon, and one wrong step on a bump could send her flying over the edge. "The others simply fail. They waist their life away, and it will end in tragedy."

"What do you think life's purpose is?" He asked.

Thea's eyes stared down at him, his spine shivered when their eyes met. He saw how his question brushed away the cool look of serene from her face. As each word hit her a new, almost fearful, look passed over her. She looked down at him with pale skin and an uneasy shrug, "…I…don't know."

"Such an advance topic for such young children, eh?" Navi teased, obviously feeling the tension in the air and trying to make the situation easier. Link looked away from the girl in front of him, too afraid to talk anymore and too ashamed to say he didn't know the answer to his own question.

"Doesn't matter." Thea began again. She stumbled back down to return to her original sitting position across from Link. She let one of her arms drape over her one upright bent knee while the other hand wiped across her face, "You never answered my question."

Link looked up, "I'm sorry, did you ask one?"

He was rewarded by a light bop on the head from Navi, "The Forest Link! She asked about the Forest!"

"Oh." Link paused, not exactly knowing how to begin or what even to say. He saw Thea staring at him, completely transformed from how she had been only minutes ago. Her cloak-covered shoulders gently slopped down instead of being hunched up in a state of being tense. Her fingers tapped playfully on her kneecap and she slightly move her head back and forth, as if she was listening to an unheard tune. She had patience.

'Where to begin…what to say…

Shouldn't you mean "Watch what you say."? She shouldn't know too much about you, the most important thing right now is to just get to the Lake!

…Why am I thinking this!'

Nausea washed over Link. He pushed back the bile that rose up his throat, until he could only taste the bitterness it left in his mouth. He rubbed he clutched his head in attempt to calm the throbbing headache.

"Are you okay?" Thea asked but did not leave her relaxed posture.

"Yeah…"

Navi flew closer to her friend, "Link if you're not feeling well we can head over to the Ranch."

The youth shook his head and straitened up, "No, no, I'm fine. Just still a bit tired I guess." He looked up again and began, "The Forest…no…My Home. Secluded away from Hyrule, like an outcast. But if someone doesn't understand what I say next than their heart is too inconsiderate to, how you would say, live life to its purpose. No matter how small it is every piece of Hyrule is important. Kokiri Forest is a gem, and that's in simple terms. The place is far more beautiful than my words could ever describe."

"Try." Thea pleaded.

"There's a stream, it gently carves through the soft bladed grass, regretful for every particle of every area it occupies, for plants cannot grow in the area already used. Moonlight, sunlight, starlight, it sparkles every time of day. You would think that it is made of fine sapphires. Now…" He paused to take a string of hay in his fingers, "…the grass is softer than any pillow found on child's bed. You could lay out on the plush ground for hours while you let the sun kiss your face. If it's quite you can hear the cool wind caress each individual flower pedal, you'd be surprised at how calming that sound is."

"And what if it's not quite?" Questioned the Gerudo, completely engage in what Link was saying.

Without answering Link reached for his satchel placed by his side. While searching through it he could feel Thea eying the satchel, the stare burnt his skin like the sun in the sky. He hid his smile, he knew his belongings tempted some vexation inside. He began to wonder how successful her thieving skills had been before she had first approached him.

"If silence does not accompany you…" He began and his hand pulled out of the bag, "Than perhaps you'd be hearing some melodic tunes." Out of the bag came an oval-shaped object. He knew it well, his best friend had given it to him not so long ago. It was Saria's ocarina. "Then you'll lay in the grass, or perhaps even in your own comfortable household, and you ears will be filled with the pleasing sound of these notes. The wind would redirect its course just to carry the song to your ears. Because something that pleasant shouldn't be missed."

In a simple motion he brought the instrument to his lips and played a simple tune. He did not know where the notes came from, but he knew the instrument well enough to form a pleasant melody.

Across from Link, Thea couldn't react right away. The girl was simply hung over from his words, "It sounds simply to good to be real."

"Oh…but it is real." Link confirmed, "And all of this is surrounded by trees. Sky-high trees that embrace the home, protect it from any harm possible…." He paused when he realized what he said. He removed his eyes from the floor and looked back up to meet Thea and was surprised to see her wearing a huge smile. He returned it weakly, but it was a pathetic move to cover the memories that passed through his head. "And…." He continued with the same grim smile, "…that's what Kokiri Forest is…it's a place to be safe. A guarantee." He regretted saying that last word the moment it slipped past his lips. The familiar bitter taste started to enter his mouth again, this time it wasn't because of vomit.

'Liar.'

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"Thank you Mr. Saher. We're all truly grateful for this deed!"

"Don't worry about it boy!" The old man said while adjusting his sunhat, "I just wish you children good luck around these parts. You know not every place is like Kakariko, so you be careful you hear?"

"Now why is that?" Thea asked. Her tone was more than teasing, "Who would ever want to harm us?" She placed her right hand over her heart as if the thought of being attacked offended her

Instead of answering to the humorous outburst, the old man simply tipped his hat to the group. His bony fingers tightened with all the life he had left around the horse's reins. With the simple snap of the leather the animals attention was on the road ahead. They trotted off into the distance. Link and Navi watched them go only until they could not be seen over the hills of Hyrule field. When Link turned around he was surprised to see Thea no where in site.

"Where did she go?" Navi asked.

"Beats me. Thea!" Link shouted out, his words being carried by the warm breeze headed towards Lake Hylia. He maneuvered his way over the rocks blocking the path. He nearly slipped twice since rain from the night before made the boulders slick and difficult to climb. When he did manage to make it to the top his eyes were rewarded with the beautiful site he hadn't seen in so long. And he had missed it.

Displayed before him in the early day sun was a lake more crystal than a diamond. The sunlight beamed on the water causing small gem-like shapes to shimmer. Link could just make out the small islands formed within the water, he could even make out the silhouette of the grim tree atop the largest island in the lake's center. He never liked seeing that tree. He hated it. It didn't matter if he saw it at night or in the daylight, the formation always looked haunting. It always seemed that when he least expected it its skeleton branches would seize him, and he'd be stuck in the tree's grasps forever until his own skeleton was visible with the ones of the tree's.

Turning his attention away from the horror he saw the familiar research facility to his right. The way Link remembered it the old worker there was a near genius, but not quite sane. He remembered entering the facility and nearly being scared out of his life as he would turn and be shocked in seeing some kind of caged water creature found in the lake. To his left was the fishing center. As usual it didn't seem to be getting many customers. He never could discover how it stayed in business.

"She's over there Link!"

Link followed where his partner's words were directing him. Thea was jogging over to them from the shore, she had pulled her hair down now, the soft wind directed the strains back to the shore as she moved against it. She ran a hand through the hair in a failed attempt to tame it, "This is amazing." She said when she reached them. She was smiling again, Link was beginning to be familiar with that look instead of the old smirk or glare he usually received.

"Indeed." He replied. He made his way down the rocks to her side, joining her in gazing out at the water, "I forgot how good it felt to be hear."

'You forget many things…'

"Hey!" A hand roughly gripped his shoulder, "You've been acting strange all this morning. You sure you're okay?" Thea asked.

He shrugged her away and looked back at the lake, "Yeah…don't worry about me."

"Ok then!" She said with enthusiasm, "I can do that perfectly! But come on let's go!"

Before he could even ask she was off, heading in the direction of the wooden bridge. Without thinking he ran after her, the action shocked himself. Here he was, stumbling after a laughing girl around one of the most beautiful sceneries he had ever set his eyes on. The wind at his back propelled him towards her, almost as if nature was helping him reach her. He nearly tripped over the thick grass along the water's edge, causing Thea to laugh.

"You can barely think, you're tripping all over yourself! My, if you're fine now I don't ever want to see you sick!" She laughed out, tucking her hair behind her Hylian ears.

"That's right, you don't." Link said while dusting himself off. He cautiously took the first step onto the bridge, cautious not to fall onto a hidden, jagged rock below. It would be a pity to stain the beautiful water with his crimson blood. His hands gripped onto the rope railing as he took several more steps. As he walked towards the Gerudo she matched his steps with her own steps backwards, until they moved in unison. "Because…" He continued, now he was only inches away from Thea, "I can be quite contagious."

Maybe the sun was getting to intense for both of them to bear, or maybe it was his hot breath that washed over her face. Whatever the factor the Gerudo's skin flushed vibrantly over the closeness between them.

She leaned away from Link, her thumb and forefinger ran across her lower lip in attempt to rid her face of the smile, "Well, that's too bad for me. Because viruses can spread in water."

"Huh?"

"You never seem to understand what I say." She toughed her chained belt near one of her scimitars and unhooked it. The blades and chains were folded together with care and placed on one of the planks they stood on.

He curiously watched her movements, "Does anyone?"

"Heh…" The Gerudo rolled her eyes at the smiling boy. She carefully pulled herself on top of the railing, her arms outstretched for balance, "…very funning." With that she pointed her arms out in front of her and dove into the water. Her body pierced through the liquid like an arrow, only making a small splash.

"Thea!" Link called out. When she resurfaced he yelled again, "What are you doing?"

A spray of water erupted from her lips, "You wanted that herb correct? Well come on! You're not gonna have me do all the damn work!"

"Have I ever told you you're mad?" He called out to her while unhooking the leather straps holding his sword and shield to his body.

"No." Came her voice accompanied by sloshing of water.

"Well you are!" He exclaimed while carefully placing his own sword and shield next to the Gerudo's weaponry, he didn't want to risk having them rust. He also placed his Kokiri cap with his belongings, he knew he would surly loose it in the water if he didn't leave it behind as well.

"I hope you know I take that as a compliment!" Link saw her floating around aimlessly as she waited, "Awe please do not tell me you're afraid of water!" Her voice came out defiantly.

"Navi if you would be so kind to stay here with our belongings…" He went onto the rail. He lifted his arms in a similar motion that Thea had done and looked down at her mockingly. His feet pushed himself away from the rope, His body positioned to do a well executed swan dive.

The water hit him with a cool relief. As each part of his skin came in contact with the water he felt the sun's heat slip away, each section of him that had been dirty, bruised or cut was relaxed the second the water touched it.

When he surfaced his blond hair was plastered to his face, blocking his site of the girl in front of him. By the time he pushed the strains aside Thea was already paddling out further. Away from the shore and away from Link.

"Hey!" He called while swimming towards her.

Thea glanced back at him with a playful grin before descending back underneath the water's shimmering surface. Link took a deep breath until the air hit the top of his lungs and dove underwater to chase her. Underwater his opened eyes could make out her form quite well. He assumed she had excellence underwater vision as well since she occasionally turned her head to look at him.

The meaningless swimming lasted for who knows how long. The time mainly consisted of one of them splashing the other, than darting away before being caught. That's all that was on Link's mind. His home didn't even seem to pass his through his head, all he cared about was catching the Gerudo. Though that event didn't seem to occur, she swam like a fish.

"Tired boy?" She asked once they had calmed down.

Link shook his head, "What did I tell you about calling me that?"

"Oh, I'm soooooo sorry Link!" The said sarcastically while spitting out water.

Realizing that there was a task at hand he changed the subject, "So where's this herb?"

Thea looked around, her tired limbs working to keep herself afloat, "Um…" She held um a single finger, "…give me a second."

Link's eyes expanded, "Hey wait-" It was too late, she dove back into the water's depths. He sighed, they had spent enough time playing, it was time to get back on track. How could he be having a sort of fun when he knows others are suffering?

'Who knows how bad home is now. Who knows where the Gorons are headed. I'm afraid to even check in with the Zoras. Why do things seem to be collapsing around us? The most evil thing is gone, so why is everything changing for the worse?

Just kind of makes you wonder how things would have been better off.

…Better off if what?

You know.'

There was a sudden changed in the water movement beneath him. Before Link could react a pair of slender hands grabbed him by his boots and yanked him below the surface. The shock caused him to suck in a deep breath, his lungs felt soar with the sudden intake and his heart was beating at an insane pace. His limbs writhed erratically, he blindly searched for something to hold onto, something that could have taken him under. There was a soft caress on his face, one other than the water, and his eyes slowly opened.

Displayed in front of him with a satisfied grin, floating, was Thea. She shook her head at him, her lips parted to let out a series of air bubbled accompanied by a muffled "sorry".

Link didn't bother to stop his lips from curving upward, he didn't even bother to stop the small laugh the escaped his throat. For the first time he noticed how much paler her skin looked underwater, her face looked like an elegant marble statue around Hyrule Castle. Her hair seemed to go a few shades darker, making the contrast between her skin and hair more obvious. The strains shifted with each brush of the water, expanding away from her body and giving her the look of a fictional water nymph, perhaps even a goddess. Her eyes were more obvious now, those dark orbs standing out so easily within her marble skin. The dark shades glowed in the rays of sunlight above them.

'What am I doing?'

His mind repeated the question several until he no longer cared for the answer. There he was, admiring the girl who had drove him crazy in the past few days. He had to get control of his nerves, he wouldn't survive in this world if he went around looking at every female like he was looking at Thea now. He didn't move though. He didn't want to move, he didn't care how tempting the air above was. He wanted stay where he was, away from the world.

'When do I ever get chances like these?'

An outstretched hand reached for his face. Thea closed the space between them and she raked her fingers across his face, grazing his hair. Link actually thought she might clear the hair from his face, instead her hand slithered up his head and ruffled his hair until his flowed as freely as her own. He saw her laugh, he raised his own hand…

'…When do I ever…'

He paused, her pale, serene face no longer resembled a cherub angel in a castle garden. Draped across her features was a dim wave of shadow only growing darker by the second. He looked down at his hands and saw that he was wrapped in a tomb of his own darkness. She noticed the change and they both moved to swim upward. That was when it all happened.

A net. At least that's what Link saw it as. It draped around them quicker than it seemed possible, and neither one of them had much energy left. The burning from lack of air started to become more apparent to Link. It was a natural instinct to panic, before they knew it they net was below them and they were trapped.

Both of them panicked. Both youths reached for the ropes, tugging at the barrier with the only strength they had left. Link cursed himself for leaving his sword behind. A vision passed though his mind, him and Thea left in the net, no air in their bodies to keep them alive, their bloodless veins now flowing with the lake's water, neither of their hearts beating, just stones in their chests. He couldn't let that happen.

They were tugged upward, the netting brushed against their skin roughly. Someone was bringing them up to breathe! Maybe it was just a mistaken fisherman who thought he had caught a couple of big fish, Link tried to hope for the best. Those hopes slipped out into the water's abyss when he heard the underwater shriek come from his fellow prisoner. They weren't alone in the water, dark figures were lifting them to the surface.

'This can't be happening!'

Link shot a furious arm out at one of the nearby figures, his hand barely squeezed through the rope and his fingers just grazed against the rough skin. A pair of dark eyes were snapped to meet Link. The man's gauntlet covered hand snatched at the boy's arm, Link sucked in a gasp of water as the large fingers deeply pinched his flesh. The inevitable bruising was the least of his worries, the man yanked Link towards him and against the net. Another strong arm was sent towards him, this one in the form of a fist, the strike hit him straight in the jaw. Along with the throbbing pain was the bitter taste of blood, he felt the hot liquid flow from his lips and saw it mix with the swirling water.

Another round of screams were heard from Thea as he looked back up to the man that hit him. His stare was met, along with another attempt to grab a hold of him. Link caught site of a dark image on the man's face, underneath his eyes to be exact. A series of intricate shapes were tattooed into his tanned flesh. Remaining ink curved up his face and hid behind his straggly blond hair, longer than Link's own, but still barely reaching the older man's shoulders.

He collided with the Gerudo, he felt her scarred hands grab onto him for support as the space between them and the netting drastically reduced. Link's lungs felt like they would burst from lack of air and when he felt the girl tighten her grip he knew she was in similar condition. He gazed upward and saw the moving silhouettes of more men underneath the gleaming sun. Each one of them waiting for the captives to surface.

A dim, blurry border of black appeared around the light of the sun. As each second passed the darkness overcame more of the shimmering light. A quick blink made the darkness spread even more, until nausea came over Link again, and all he saw was darkness.

'Live…'

A/N. I wanted to get that chapter up before I go away for the weekend, I just hope I didn't rush. One can only hope.