Disclaimer: Zelda and all of its' characters belong to Nintendo.
Began: 11-14-03
Ended: 11-16-03
Forward: Hey, I'm being smart for once…and beginning on a Friday! Just to let you know, this is my first wing it at writing in second person. My experiment, see? I thought it would be interesting aspect to add on, also earn some experience. Expect to see more and more of it as the story progresses. (For those of you that don't know, second person is addressing the reader…like: "You hold a cloth. It is blue with embroidery on it and touching it with your fingertips makes it hard not to touch it." If that doesn't help, you'll see.) Oh yes, there is much of this story on the cutting room floor, more so than what is write, pointless information, but hey.
Respice Finem
Part Two
Tetra awoke sometime later. Head groggy, she opened her eye lids and saw the pale figure of the moon above. Cool water slapped her feet.
It took a moment for her to regain herself and realize that she was awake. And only then did she notice the uncomfortable pressure on her wrist, and it was twisted beneath her. And, in knowing this, the rest of her body seemed to spring alive and all of a sudden she was full of aches and pains, all concentrating onto her head, which beat dully. Her neck fell to its' side of its own free will, and right then her eyes could have neatly rolled out.
She was not on the ship!
The pirate shot up and looked around her frantically.
She was on the beach, her feet on the edge of the risen tide, foam sticking to her booted feet. Lush trees densely owned the land five feet behind her. A single cliff juts out nearby; a gathering of boulders nears the top overlooking the mass of blue. Small clouds licked the sky, gently moving forward on the wind current.
In her frenzy, Tetra had leaned on her shoulders and the wrist that had been twisted beneath her was hit against the ground. Upon contact the world seemed to dissolve and only the twinge of her wrist remained.
A cry broke from end to end the silence of the night, splitting it like the ripping of paper. The young woman had shrieked and was now clutching her arm, her mouth stretched so that teeth showed themselves colliding each other.
Embers of burgundy tainted her vision, and Tetra was giving it all she could to hold back the growing throb. Sweat washed down her face, her legs fidgeting, kicking the sand this way and that. All this and still the pain of the wrist towered above her.
She closed her eyes and tried to get back under control, but instead of opening her eyes in serenity, she found herself tumbling towards a light…and losing consciousness.
_____________________________________________________________________
You stand in a dark room. You are tired and exhausted, but somehow awake enough to examine your habitat. There is a purple rug beneath your feet, and even through the tough leather of your boots you can still feel that it is soft, plushy material. A welcoming mat. Your feet seem to have a mind of their own and your drawing doodles into the ground with your right foot. You fold your arms behind your back and look around. It is a round room, which pinnacles upward like that in a cathedral. A tattered maroon curtain dangles to your left, and, curious, you walk toward it. Extending an arm, you gingerly graze the shredded ends of the curtain. Light winks in, fades, and disappears.
This catches your attention. You stretch upward, take hold of the curtain, and pull sideways. A ripping sound occurs and the beat up curtain falls, age old dust flying into the air. You cough, grime entering your throat. It takes a few instants for you to realize there is no light flowing in. You forget your throat.
There is no window.
Despair clings to your insides, and yet you do not know why. A sob escapes and you fall to your knees, trembling with sorrow. You pound the floor in frustration. The feeling: "This is not as it should be," repeats itself over and over. "God!" you scream. "God!"
"There is no god," there is a voice. You look around yourself suspiciously.
"Tetra…" the same voice says, droning onward onto a speech foreign to your ears. There is no one in the room.
It repeats, a hollow voice. Flat, it had the same effects as…
A scream, full of clicks and guttural hisses.
"Tetra…" and you can make no sense of it. A memory, on the tip of being remembered before it obscures into the darkness once again. "Tetra."
You zip around, and although no one is there, you feel like you are being watched. You spin around several times before giving up. "Tetra."
That time it was whispered into the ear. You yelp and back up into a wall. Your eyes are wide.
"The seal will not hold much longer," the voice warns, this time from above. Something is brushing against you back, and you look. Fear is taking you. A black expanse lies behind you, and it has leached onto your legs. You pull, but it is stronger. Half your body is covered and you reach out frantically, trying to grab something not there.
Your hand is gripped and you are thrust out. You look around for your savior and find no one.
"The seal that has upheld…" some of it falls unheard, "-for centuries…she is mad. She can no longer hold it back…infests…help…her…"
A blinding light snaps out of nowhere. It fades, and a figure…starts to form…
_____________________________________________________________________
A shout was heard, and Tetra woke up to find it was her own. She gulped in heavy gasps, and a young girl walked over to her.
"Shhh…calm down, you're alright. You're fine," the girl whispered, smiling amiably. Her dark red curly hair bounced as she walked along. She was wearing a simple blue dress with a claret shawl wrapped around her neck and tied on her chest. A fine fire was burning in the fireplace.
The pirate was shocked yet again. First she was on the beach…now…under the supervision…of a small girl no older than ten?
She tried to speak and found she couldn't.
The little girl fiddled with something in front of her, having her back turned to Tetra. A smell of food cooking traveled into her nostrils. Suddenly it seemed as if she hadn't eaten in days. Her stomach growled uncomfortably.
The girl turned around again, and walked over once again, and sat down on a chair nearby. Tetra watched her, a little flustered.
"Well, well," the girl began.
"I'm glad you're up."
I am too, the pirate
wanted to say.
The girl continued as if she had heard. "My name is Wynn. And before you ask, both of you are on the island of the Wolf. I found you two on the beach…"
Two? Tetra looked the opposite way and saw Link resting in a separate bed close to her. She felt a little guilty for forgetting he was there, but it was no surprise…he made himself so inconspicuous at times that one could hardly tell he was in the same room as you. Tetra looked back to the girl, a thousand questions just waiting to burst in he mouth, but her tongue would not cooperate and she remained silent, albeit a aggravated visage was upon her.
And still the girl continued, as if interpreting Tetra thoughts like they had been spoken distinctly. But her words fell on dead ears, for Tetra ceased in listening and was glancing around herself, the aroma of the food rapidly attacked her empty stomach. She speculated about when she had had her last meal. Another question she wanted to ask.
"…I guess I should stop talking since it seems that you are not listening to a thing I say. I might just as well talk to a wall," Wynn hmphed and stood up. "When you have the courtesy to listen I'll be happy to repeat myself."
Tetra felt even more culpable now, she had not meant to be so obvious. She pain attention to the girl as she walked around the room, going back to the cooking and stirring.
Her stomach spoke for her. The pirates face reddened.
Wynn faced her with a grin on her face. "Hungry, eh?" she asked, and started to shake with laughter, "It'll be done in about the time you can get yourself out of bed. Can't coddle you forever."
Another question. Tetra felt the need to shut this girl up if she was going to keep her peace with not being able to ask the subject at hand.
"Alright now, Tetra, you can sit up on your own. Give it a shot," Wynn stated, folding her arms and leaning against the wall.
The words were spilling out before Tetra noticed she had said anything, "Name…my name…?"
"You spoke a lot in your dreams," Wynn answered quickly. Too quickly. It sounded more like an excuse than most.
But Tetra muddled mind could not comprehend this and took the answer for granted. She shifted in her seat, remembered her wrist as soon as she had put weight on it. Tetra paled, waiting for the shock of pain to come. A moment passed…and then another…
None came.
The seventeen-year-old was stunned. Lifting her arm, she saw that it was professionally wrapped in a bandage, two wooden sticks acting as a splint. She flexed her fingers, giving a fleeting look to Wynn. Is this your doing?
"Your wrist was broken…I mended it best I could," the girl replied, seeing Tetra's quizzing face.
Broken… Tetra had never broken anything in her life, rough as it was. She stared at her wrist.
"Come on, Tetra. Get up, you can stare at your wrist later," Wynn said, slightly whiney.
The pirate ignored this and sat up with a surprising ease. Her back was loose, and she stretched. Her movements were felt, whereas before she could move and not feel a thing. It was an odd feeling, like she was in water. She soon found that her other hand was bound as well, and she bent them as well. She moved her legs out of bed and hung them over. From then on what she was doing did not feel like she was the one moving, like a dream. She slipped her boots on, for they were nearby. After that, Tetra slowly, very, very slowly stood up. It seemed to take an eternity. Standing up straight, her legs wobbled. She held her balance a moment too long without support when her knees buckled. She flew forward.
The amount of pressure hitting her wrist that time made it ache, but no more than a dull thumping in her fingertips.
Abruptly she felt queasy, rolling around so her back was to the ground, she finally realized that she had landed half on Link and was pushing on him. Her face flustered as she shoved off onto her own bed to find him looking quietly at her. Tetra bit her lip in embarrassment in this awkward scenario.
Wynn noticed the silence. "Well, great job, Tetra! You recover fast for one has been in contact with the Dark. Here's some soup, it'll make the queasy feeling go away."
How could you know that? How? Tetra asked yet again in her mind. She looked at the bowl in her lap and her stomach leapt to her throat. Food sounded great…why did it make her feel awful, then? She took a slow bit, swallowing it swiftly.
It warmed her throat, and she could feel it moving into her system. She waited a couple seconds, and then the nausea began to creep back. She took another bite. She lost the awareness that Link was staring at her, but ten minutes later, when she finished, she was slightly annoyed that that had been the only thing he had done that entire block of time.
"Don't you have anything else to look at?" Tetra asked, and her face brightened. She could speak!
Link looked away, saying nothing. He stared dully at the ceiling.
Wynn walked over and took Tetra's bowl. She said to Link, "Alright, as long as you're up and moving by the time the sun goes down you two will be free to walk wherever you want. I understand that you feel weak, and perhaps don't even feel alive at the moment, but I want you to give it your best. Succumbing to the Dark will only end up in something that you do not wish to be. That is all I ask of you two," she paused a second, thinking, "If you are able to be up and about by tomorrow afternoon without feeling sick I will take you to see the Shaman. She's the one that sent me to rescue you," she introduced herself to him.
The young man opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
Tetra sympathized; it was an awful feeling, not being able to talk. She tried to stand up again, but Wynn caught her just in time to command, "Sit down. You walking around here will not help anything. Please, trust me…I know what I'm doing."
"What are you doing, exactly?" Tetra asked, sitting down.
Wynn's face seemed to fade into shadow. "I have said before, you have recovered unbelievably fast from the encounter of the Dark. An average person would be bedridden for days, and when he or she woke up, unable to move. Such are the effects. I want you to take it slow. Pushing yourself could be disastrous."
"You sure don't speak like a kid," Tetra commented.
Wynn smiled, "Looks can be deceiving."
"…Dark…" Link garbled incoherently. So quiet it was just barely accounted for a whisper.
Wynn looked at him, pity lucid on her face. She sighed and ruffled her hair. Speaking about the Dark looked like it took a lot out of her.
"You were on a ship, correct? And you are the captain," she motioned to Tetra, who nodded. "The fog, do you remember it?"
This struck them both as odd. It seemed familiar… Tetra was on the verge of remembering…it vanished.
"Ah, one of the side effects of those that escape…it buries the memories…" Wynn gnawed on the edge of her thumb. "Well, the fog, if you will remember it, as I'm sure you will, is a part of the Dark. It spawns in large, open places where it is desolate, free of life and all good. It traps those that somehow wander in it, either getting lost or examining in the fog. It does not care, once you are in a Spawn, it leeches, it will gradually dissolve all emotions until you are an empty automaton. You two sensed that something was wrong about the fog, trust me that you did, and so you were able to keep the good in you longer than any of the others-"
"Others!" Tetra cried, memories gushing back to her, "What happened to them? My crew!"
Wynn kept silent.
"Please!" Tetra pleaded, "Where are they? Tell me!"
"I am sorry…" the girl replied, looking to the ground, "But I know nothing of them. The Shaman knows, you can ask her."
Tetra sadly glanced at Link, who held a grimace. Niko had been the guy that had always hung out with him when everyone else followed Tetra. Niko's swabbie, and according to Niko Link was his best swabbie ever. Tetra held back the guilt that came with four years of shunting Link try as he might. She slouched in her seat. She thought herself a monster.
Wynn told Link, "Now, same as Tetra, I want you to try standing up before I give you your food." A feeble attempt to change the subject.
Link moved almost like a robot. His face betrayed no emotion as he sat right up and was on his way to standing. But, like Tetra, his legs were wobbly and he could no sooner hold his balance than a block of lead on his head. He fell backward into a sitting position.
The girl congratulated him, and handed him his bowl of soup. His face was an odd shade of green.
Tetra looked to the ground, rocking her feet. He finished it as quickly as she had.
"I want to walk around," Tetra said simply. "I don't want to lay down all day."
"That's too bad then. I can't let you do that," Wynn said sternly, eyes flashing. "You wouldn't want to get worse, now, would you? Take my word for it, it works fast in the body and if you let it do its work, it will. You stay here. A little patience has never killed anyone."
Tetra stayed put. Four years ago she would be raving by now, wringing the object closest to her. But that was then and this was now. She lied down and rolled so her back was facing the two, pulling the covers over her, she fell into a restless sleep.
_____________________________________________________________________
You are in the same room as before, but something is different. It is a large expanse of blackness, and you feel awkward walking on something that seemingly has no solidity whatsoever. You can see yourself, somehow, even though there is no light to shine. You look at your hand and it is bound with two sticks. You wave it around. Satisfied, you let it dangle to your side and you step forward, your footfalls deafeningly silent. Your feet are now trudging in something mucky, and your breath becomes labored. With each step the next becomes heavier, and with each breath the next is wheezed. Someone wringing your lungs.
You trudge for what seems to be an eternity. You realize that you are in a dream, and want it to end. But who can decide when the dream shall end? You trudge on, and on, and on. You feel like you are breathing through a straw, your steps like dragging trees on each foot. Your energy is fading, and the muck is sucking you in.
You've hit a wall.
It is a transparant wall, like glass. It is smooth to the touch and you can see for miles ahead the barren wasteland. You are up to your waist now...you squint your eyes...
A person! A shout of triumph comes from you.
It is a woman. Her hair is an emerald green, spilling down past her dangling feet. She is bruised and battered, turquoise clothes hanging in tatters from her body. The thing most interesting is her face. It is peaceful, despite the wretched look of her body. She seems to be sleeping.
You bang the wall. You scream, you shout. You must wake her up! Somehow, you need to. The mud is to your chest now. You begin to worry, you could not wake this woman!
The mud begins to climb faster now. You cling to the glass, but it has no hand hold.
A panicked scream bubbles through your throat, and you see the woman's eyes slowly, painstakingly slowly, open.
And the last thing you see is her icy blue eyes staring at you, confused.
Author's Notes: (laughs maniacally) I'm happy with the way this turned out. It would have been longer, but I would have gotten tired of looking at it and I don't want this inspiration to go away. Not until...the last chapter so I can give up and leave you all hanging! I'm just kidding. Thanks to where it's due: Ultimate TH for reviewing my story. I know I've said this but it does mean a lot. Though I'm not one to beg for reviews, I can live without them, it's nice to know every now and then that someone likes what you are doing. Anyway, my experiment with second point of view went well...in my opinion. It could have been better, but there's always next chapter!
Okay, the notes are going to be a little long. A few days ago I got some huge inspiration as to what I'm going to do with this story (for right now I'm just writing what looks good, not really giving much thought as to how this will affect the plot). And I'm thinking about tying this to an Ocarina of Time story I've been struggling with for the last year. A story explaining about Hyrule's flooding. It's appealing...but I have yet to decide where I'll make the ties. If anyone can recognize the hint I put (a character) in this chapter, gets a cookie! Anyway, I've yapped for too long. Thank you for reading, and the next chapter will be up next Sunday.