Chapter 14:
The morning sun was beginning to glimmer amongst the dazzling emerald leaves of the Kokiri Forest. The rainstorms had vanished from the skies and the day began anew. Zelda awoke with the strange, alien feeling of being rested. She yawned, raising a hand to her mouth out of polite habit, and opened her eyes to the dimly lit interior of a hollow tree. It was sparsely furnished, with a small wooden stall at the opposite end of the room next to a table low enough for a child. But despite the lack of luxury, none of the extravagant comforts of the palace could compare with the serenity and peacefulness of the forest.
The princess sighed and smiled as she sat up. She still remembered her arrival in the forest last night, and the intrusion still hung in the air around her, hidden between the silence. However, another memory struggled and wrestled in her mind, the tenderness of the moment almost embarrassing to recall. But she smiled, blushing delicately as she fell gently back into the world of dreams and remembrance.
It had been an afternoon in the late autumn, with the sun long hidden by dark threatening clouds that had patrolled the skies. She had been riding together with Link in the Royal Forests that day, the two of them snatching secret glances at each other at opportune moments. Zelda had not been able to stop grinning stupidly as she pretended not to notice Link's cool, unfaltering gaze upon her figure. She had caught him out a couple of times, but he had gone on staring at her, forcing her to look down at her horse's grey mane.
"Stop it," she had said.
"Stop what?" he had said with a wry smile.
"You know very well what I mean, Link, so stop it!"
"I haven't the faintest notion at what you're suggesting, princess." He had feigned ignorance, turning his head away in an exaggerated haughty fashion that had made her laugh.
The rain had chosen that moment to burst out of its clouds, unleashing the bullet rain upon the young couple. They had fled to the deeper regions of the forest where the foliage was thicker, but they both still managed to get themselves thoroughly drenched. In a dense patch of trees they had found one with a contorted cave-like twist in its roots and trunk, and they swiftly slid off their horses and ran for cover.
Zelda had shivered in the cold air, hugging her arms around her knees as she sat on the dimmed floor of once bright, fiery coloured leaves. A pair of arms had then pulled her toward their owner, and the princess had found herself in a rather close proximity with her companion. She hadn't dared to look up at her captor's face, but she could see him staring at her again from the corner of her eye.
Zelda couldn't have even imagined what was racing through Link's thoughts as he held his beloved so close to him. He froze, staring blankly at her face, but in his mind his hands, eyes, and fingers were all running over her skin uncontrollably. He knew that Zelda had noticed his odd behaviour, but he hadn't the strength to pull himself away from her warmth.
"Link, stop it," she had murmured.
"I don't know what you're talking about." But his voice had suddenly become serious and somehow he regained possession of his body.
His hands had tightened around her shoulders, gently trailing the length of her arms eventually entwining his fingers with hers. She had turned her head to look up at him then, catching the most intense gaze blazing in his blue eyes. Completely unaware of herself she hadn't noticed Link bringing their hands back to her shoulders so that he had enclosed her in a tight embrace. All she had felt was a pounding that pushed against her right arm, and the prolonged absence of his lips against hers.
Laughter suddenly penetrated the glowing reverie. Grinning girlishly she opened her eyes, touching a finger to her lips. That had been the first time he had kissed her, but it had seemed an eternity before they had stopped staring at each other. She hadn't thought of that moment for a long time, and though it was long past, it gave her hope.
Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Zelda ventured forward and drew back the dark green curtains. Invisible birds greeted her from all corners of the forest with their melodious harmonies and the light filtered through the canopies in thin patches of golden light. For a moment she forgot that she was a fugitive, and imagined herself back in the Royal Forest with Link after the rain had fallen.
"M-Miss Zelda," a small voice stammered from behind.
The princess looked over her shoulder and saw two girls standing bashfully, their hands behind their backs. She smiled at them and knelt down on the soft earth. One girl's eyes widened slightly, but her friend nudged her back to reality.
"We made this for you," she said. "We want you to have it."
And she drew a small package wrapped in leaves from behind her back, and held it high above her head while the other looked hopefully at Zelda in anticipation. Feeling overcome with gratitude she took the parcel and thanked them from her heart. A giddy smile played on her lips as she opened it. Drawing back the last leaf she found a cloak of deep jade, and it shone like the leaves it came from. Zelda could do nothing but smile as she draped it around herself, revelling in the soft downy feeling of the material.
The two girls grinned and looked at each other excitedly. Their humble gift had pleased the outsider, and as Zelda thanked them, they scampered away, laughing freely back to their homes. Mido heard the commotion from his post just outside the village. He turned around on the rock he had been sitting on for the entire night and saw Zelda holding her jade cloak in bewildered amazement. She caught his gaze, smiled, and began to walk toward him.
Laughter was something that Mido hadn't heard for months and small tears of rage glistened in his eyes. People like Zelda had taken away the small pleasures of their lives, like listening to laughter. He hunched his shoulders and plunged his face into his hands. His own weakness struck up inside his heart and silently tore at him, eating away at the little pride and strength that he had left.
"It's a beautiful day. You won't see much staring at the ground like that."
But Mido kept his head in his hands, gritting his teeth at the pity and condescension he heard in the princess's voice. His sliver of pride was not going to fail. He wouldn't accept charity from his sworn enemy.
"It's people like you that keep my head in my hands," he muttered bitterly.
Zelda looked at the solemn boy and a mischievous thought entered her head. She had noticed a great change in her behaviour since she had left Nabooru, and an essence of childish playfulness had been rekindled within her. Climbing onto the rock, she sat beside Mido in the exact fashion of his sombre slump. She sat like that for a while until Mido turned his head out of curiosity.
"What are you doing?" he said irately.
The princess grinned as she pretended not to have heard. "You really can't see much from down here."
"Go away."
"I don't know why you would want to stare at the ground when you could look up and see the sun."
"Go away!" Mido shouted louder, but Zelda only giggled as lifted her head and rolled backward to face the sky. Her mocking disgusted Mido. "You have no idea, do you? You haven't the faintest clue! You don't know anything! Get out of this place! You don't belong here!" he yelled.
Zelda was a little hurt by his tone, but she remained where she was. "Tell me what I don't know," she said calmly. "Tell me why you hate and despise me. Then I'll do something about it."
Mido opened his mouth, but stopped. He couldn't answer her question. He was aware now that many of his friends were cowering behind them, timidly listening to him shout at their guest. He thought for a moment but turned away from the difficult woman. Her eyes made him feel guilty.
"Your people did this to us," he mumbled. "You took everything away from us - " but he couldn't go on without feeling as though he were the guilty one.
Zelda lay there contemplating his words while the Kokiri watched her. They tossed and turned inside her mind, accusing and affronting her. She sat up and pulled her cloak around her, her fingers mindlessly caressing the soft fabric as she searched for an answer.
"Did I take everything away from you?" she said nonchalantly. "Did I really do this to you? You might think of me as an oppressor, Mido, but I am far from it. Someday I will be the one caring for your people; I will be fighting those who took everything away from you, because I care about my kingdom just as you cared for yours. You are not the only one with a heavy responsibility on your shoulders." She sat up and walked toward where her horse was tethered to a tree near the entrance of the settlement. "If you will excuse me, I think I trespassed long enough. Thank you for enduring my presence, and I shall never forget your kindness."
Zelda looked into the crowd of children and smiled at the two girls who had presented her with the cloak. They waved bashfully before looking down. She then led her horse by the reins and disappeared into the forest, leaving the mysterious Kokiri people behind her.
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Navigating the forest was harder than she had expected it to be. Riding a horse was slowing her down, but Zelda didn't have the heart to leave it behind. After all, the Gerudos certainly wouldn't be happy if they knew that one of their finest horses had been left to wander in the Kokiri Forest, and she had promised herself to return the beast once this ghoulish adventure was over.
The journey was sluggish, stepping over leafy vines and trunk roots clothed in moss. The undergrowth was a nest of intertwined twigs, weeds and bushes, and the canopies above were teeming with birdsong. Her horse's hooves clicked and ticked against the earth, echoing through the vast body of the forest. Nothing stirred, and the princess felt a kind of relief pass through her; she could have been riding through the Royal Forest in the summer long past. Without the threat of Twinrova pursuing her, a great anxiety had been lifted. She could close her eyes and smile and bask in the peaceful serenity.
But the sun was now high in the sky, and still Zelda could see nothing but the same scene over and over again. She had been trying to head north, back to Hyrule Field, but she still could not see the break in the trees, nor the overwhelming light that signified the end of the forest. She had been hoping to reach the border, then travelling parallel around the edge of the field, while still under the shelter of the forest, until she reached Zora's River. There she would cross to Hyrule Castle from the east. But hope seemed to have forsaken her in the grandeur of the woods.
For a moment she cast her mind to the fairytales that she had been told as a young girl about this place. Legend had said that this place was haunted, and yet Zelda hadn't seen a soul, save the Kokiri. Though she knew it was only a fable, the princess was somewhat disappointed. She looked up and all around her. The birds had stopped singing, and now there was nothing but the rhythm of her heart beating in the silence. This place of magic and imagination was merely another forest, another place whispering the cold truth of the mundane.
Just then something caught her eye. Something had glistened in a stream of sunlight, and suddenly Zelda didn't feel quite so alone anymore. For a moment she held her breath, searching through the tree trunks for the same shining light. But there was nothing there. The princess waited a minute more before gently urging her horse forward. He plodded slowly on, utterly oblivious to what this stranger was continually stopping and starting for.
She saw it again, and once more she stopped. Still quite a way off, it was gliding effortlessly through the trees, a faint glimmering figure slipping through the forest. Zelda remembered another tale about Poes and suddenly became very nervous. But it wasn't as large as a Poe was, nor did it carry a burning lantern. It was thinner and fainter, more graceful and delicate.
Zelda nudged her horse and followed the strange ghost with the desperate curiosity of a child. Pure instinct was clouding her rationality and before she knew where she was the forest had thinned, the long grasses had been reduced to moss, and the Death Mountain was looming above her against the dying light of the sun.
Only when a cold wind brushed her face did she wake from her daydream. Fear tightened its gripped around her as she realised her surroundings. She was now on high ground, and to her left she could see Hyrule Field through the trees. Above her Death Mountain stood proud and solemn like a threatening black tower.
Her eyes began to dart restlessly, not noticing that her guiding light had ceased to move. Zelda's head stopped abruptly, realising that it was watching her. The darkness had illuminated the creature, and it had become even more ethereal than before. But now its delicacy had vanished, replaced by a cold, hard light. Feeling more cautious and apprehensive, Zelda stared at it from the corner of her eye.
It began to move again, but now it floated toward her, its light appearing to become even brighter. Zelda straightened herself in the saddle, feeling an odd cold breeze of warmth emanating from its centre. Pulling her dark cloak around her, Zelda watched it slowly come toward her. She didn't notice that her heart had begun to beat quicker, but she felt her whole body shiver with anticipation.
The ghost stopped metres away from her, and extended two arms from its side. The light dimmed slightly and she saw a warm smile greeting her in the face of her lover. She smiled embarrassingly as her throat clogged with sheer elation. Words weren't enough to express what she felt. Happy tears sprung from her eyes and she slid off the saddle as she ran toward her shining star.
Link watched her as she came, and he could see her sobbing smile on her beautiful face in the fading light. He embraced her in an invigoratingly chilly breeze, and they both couldn't stop smiling at one another.
The princess wanted to hold him tightly, feel his hands on her back, and kiss his mouth. But she stood there, revelling in the strange comfort he gave her. Her eyes were struggling against silly tears as she tried to restrain herself from laughing and crying all at once. Giddiness struck; nothing could break the reverie she had so mercilessly fallen into. Everything sensible inside her was shouting that it was a dream, nothing more than a fairytale.
Indeed, Zelda smiled deeply at the thought of this magical, almost unreal adventure of hers. Though she had cursed and sworn at her misfortune, the chance to live the rest of her life the way it should have been was hardly to be scoffed at. To be sure, it was certainly an odd fairytale. It was she who had overcome the strife; she was the one who held the key; she was the rescuer. Though everything had turned out the opposite of what a fairytale should be, now she needed to find an ending to her story.
She lifted her hand to rest against the outline of Link's face and sighed before walking backward to her horse. He followed her gaze and floated up to sit behind her. His cold presence pressed against her back, and together they rode on under Link's instruction, ready to finish what Ganondorf had begun by tearing them apart.
AN: Again, apologies for taking years. I promise that all the good stuff will happen next! Hold onto your hats people!
PS: I hope everyone picked up on the bit referring to the title (:D;;), and seeing as how the next chapter might be the last or penultimate, I'm predicting a long wait XD
Hououza: Thanks for reviewing again! I can always count on you! I'm not going to university yet, but I've had to do a whole load of work to send off this year for interviews and things. But thanks for the good luck! I'm going to need it :D
Forlorn Rain: It took me a while to construct that bit. I wanted it just right :D And it's really nice of you to pick out lines that you like. You make me appreicate them more :)
harrypotterfan: Thanks!
serenitythefaierikin: Bwa ha, I thrive on cliffhangers >D. I know it's cruel, but still. Thanks for reviewing so constantly. You don't know how much it means to me!