"Talim, we're waiting."
"I'll never tell!"
"You're a stubborn girl. I've never met a person so concerned for someone's safety to the point in where she will risk her own life. Your own compassion will lead to your own demise."
Talim stared down her foes, all the while trying to get free from her ankle chain. She now felt desperate, her mind racing quickly, and her heart pounding powerfully. Talim hoped and prayed to the winds for some way to get out of her predicament. A large boulder, which had been tied to the other side of Talim's ankle chain hovered horrifyingly overhead, directly above the bottomless lake.
"Very well," spoke the frighteningly beautiful after a long pause, "say your prayers."
The boulder dropped, plunging deep into the waters, taking the Shaman on the other edge as the wind priestess began losing oxygen, deeper and deeper…
Talim woke up in a pile of sweat.
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Another night had passed, and the warmth of the morning sun had woken Tira. The day, again, was beautiful, like a page out of a fairy tale book. Talim decided to keep her dream to herself, still trying to understand her nightmare.
Link had been patting his neck and legs, which Talim had treated for his wounds. Talim continued adding bandages around his body.
"Hey Link, she woke up," whispered Talim in a low voice.
Tira found her arms and ankles bound tight, preventing any escape. She struggled to get free, but the ropes were too firm. Tira glanced up at Link in humility as he approached her.
"Who are you? And why did you attack me last night?"
The hostage did nothing but scowl back at Link, still trying to escape. The Hylian could sense the maniacal behavior of the girl, and Talim nodded in agreement.
"The winds tell me that you face many problems within yourself," Talim spoke from her seat.
"What kind of loser are you, listening to the stupid winds?" the captive responded, obviously out of anger, "I'm gonna kill-"
Link gestured Tira to cease. "Geez woman, what kind of psycho are you? Is killing all you know how to do?"
The fuming expression on Tira's face quickly altered to a face full of tears, as she began weeping uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry! I-I'm just so sorry!" Tira now began screaming, her weeping failing to cease.
Tira's tears came as a surprise to Link and Talim, as Link now began trying to calm her down and stop Tira's crying. Whatever Link did, it failed, as Tira's weeping went for hours on. The Hylian and the Wind Priestess could do nothing but wait until Tira cried out all her tears. They both knew in their heart that the weeping girl was full of conflict, and they couldn't leave her out here.
Finally, as if the girl cried out all liquids in her body, her crying stopped.
"I'm Tira," she sniffed, "and I'm sorry for what I've done."
"Tira," Link began, "Why did you hurt the Wind Priestess over here," Link asked, pointing at Talim. The Shaman looked over at Tira with forgiveness in her eyes.
Suddenly, even without Link asking, Tira poured out her life story.
"My life is a lie. As a child, I was naïve, not understanding what I was and what I was doing. Until recently, I finally understand who I am. Beginning in my early childhood years, I was trained in the assassination arts. Murder was the only response anybody could get out of me, because of the way I was brainwashed. I never knew murder was such a horrible thing." Tira stopped, as she began crying again. Holding in her tears, she continued with her story.
"I killed my foster parents," The elf and the Shaman gasped suddenly upon hearing this, "I felt extremely different from everybody in my school, even though I lived an ordinary life. Why I killed them, please don't ask. Once my parents were dead, my life had no direction." Tira paused for a moment and sighed deeply.
"My life took a sudden turn when I heard of a series of massacres by the Azure Knight, known as Nightmare. Finally, I met someone like me. Someone who had accepted the dark arts. He took me in, and became my new father figure. Together, we were partners and family, until one day…" Tira couldn't continue.
Link glanced concernedly at Talim.
"What happened, Tira?" asked the Hylian in an understanding voice.
"He was gone, just like that. The only person that ever understood me disappeared from my life, never to return," Tira once again broke out into tears.
A tear escaped Talim's eyes, as well. Of course, she perfectly understood how Tira felt, losing her family as well. The Shaman instantly rose from her seat, now approaching Tira. Link gestured to stop, but she continued, now putting resting her hand on Tira's shoulder.
"What happened, Tira?"
"He…He was captured after a deadly battle. Our stronghold was stormed during a rainy and stormy night. I was discussing the Soul Edge with Nightmare and our comrades: Aeon Calcos, Astaroth, and Ivy Valentine. He told us to run, even though we were more than willing to sacrifice our lives for his. We all obeyed his orders, and ran far from the castle. He and Ganondorf fought an epic battle, but Ganondorf triumphed. His intention was to find the Soul Edge through Nightmare. The last we saw of him…was him being dragged along, bound with chains, by a man named Ganondorf-"
The moment Tira mentioned Ganondorf, Talim and Link stared at each other in disbelief.
"Now my comrades and I must find the Soul Edge in exchange for the safe return of our master. I attacked the Wind Priestess under Ivy Valentine's orders, the current leader of our clan. Even I don't know why Ivy had told me to attack you specifically," Tira said now staring at Talim, "But I was told we could get information of the Soul Edge from you. Again, I apologize, for my attacking, but Ivy is very powerful and cruel, and if I disobey her orders, you know…"
"Tira, you can't. No matter what, Ganondorf cannot possess the Soul Edge. If the sword is in his possession, the world will be thrown into eternal chaos. Tira, you don't have to do this. You can't give into Ganondorf's plan. You're a strong girl, and I know that there is another way."
"But…how will I save my master?"
Link thought for a moment, and looked at Talim. The Wind Priestess could sense Link's thoughts, and walked over to the Hylian for a private discussion.
"Tira could come with us," whispered Link.
"I don't know if that is such a good idea. I mean, we barely know this girl, or this Nightmare fellow. By his name, I wouldn't say he's a very friendly guy."
"But Talim, she's desperate. She has nowhere else to go."
"She ambushed you last night. You really think we could trust her?"
After a few minutes of quiet debating under the warm afternoon sun, Talim and Link broke their huddle and the Hylian walked over the still-bound assassin.
"Talim and I have been thinking, and since we're both venturing to Ganondorf's lair as well, you can come along and hopefully we'll find Nightmare without having to give up the Soul Edge. And I think that Ivy has put you through enough."
Tira looked up at the two with a smile.
"You-You really mean it?"
"Yes…but your ring blade stays with us. We can't trust you one hundred percent yet, you know," replied back with a smile.
It seemed as if Tira didn't care, but Talim felt energy coming back into Tira's once empty life. Tira, for the first time, felt accepted, and was ready to prove to Talim and Link that she was worthy of trust. She once again felt meaning in her existence, thanks to the kindness and compassion from the two adventurers that she waited for all her life.
"Thank you so much!" Talim and Link could truly see Tira's gratefulness in her eyes, and truly she felt it, as this kind of generosity and compassion was unfamiliar to her. Her ropes were loosened, and was ready to start her life over again.
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Sorry, kind of a boring and short chapter. I first put chapter 5 and 6 together, but they didn't really fit well, so chapter 5 had to be pretty boring and such.This chapter was pretty important to the whole story, so I couldn't really edit the whole thing out. I promise next chapter will be longer and more interesting.