I'm slightly disappointed. Only two reviews for the last chapter? Oh well XD As long as I have reviewers, I'm good. Sorta. XD I'd rather have more, but anyway, review response time!
Blondie91: Iffy? Does that mean I screwed up? Dammit. XD Well thanks again for reviewing! Keep on reviewing!
Biggoron: I dub thee, KING OF SHORT REVIEWS! I'm going to begin to count the words in reviews, just outta boredom and the fact I have too much spare time. So far, you are the King of Short reviews. Woot woot, Biggoron, feel mighty. For all will tremble in the might of your tiny reviewing XD
And now, I shall continue onwards with me writing. By the way, I don't do disclaimers anymore, because it's obvious that I don't own Legend of Zelda, or I would be making games, not fan fictions. Anyhoo, story time!
Celt sat down, watching everyone, who were trying to act that his presence didn't bother them, but he could tell they did. He seemed too outlandish to them, with his ebony eyes watching them intently, as silent as the night around them. Eventually the father broke the silence. "Sooo, whatcha doin up here all alone? There are bandits up here…" He said, curiously. Celt looked up, wrenched from his thoughts. "Traveling. I'm just a wandering vagrant." He said, and the man nodded. "That explains the tattered robe." He said, and Celt nodded. "So, why are YOU traveling a route with bandits on it, especially with a two woman, and two children?" He asked, and the man smiled.
The girl looked at him, her placid eyes flickering to life. "Just because I'm a girl, you think I can't fight?" and Celt smiled to himself. "It's just a generalization." He said, and she scowled to him. "Don't believe what people say. They lie." She said, and Celt found it amusing to speak to someone with the same pessimistic mentality as himself. He knew her weaknesses, how to make her twist mentally. "Someone's awfully pessimistic. All sunshine and rainbows with you, huh? You're born with the ability of freedom, so life is what you make of it, so why are you all depressed? Why not do something useful, constructive, something that makes you happy?" He asked her, and a fire sprung up in her green eyes. He had hit a chord with this girl.
"Because I can't. Because I'm constantly being moved against my will, because I have no freedom." She said. Celt's smile faded. "Such ignorance. Nothing can stop you from doing what you will. You take what you have for granted, what some don't have." And she lunged at him, reaching to a concealed knife, and thrust it at his throat, at high speeds. He caught her by the wrist, the tip of the blade just touching his neck. "You ingrate! We give you a warm fire to rest by, and you sit here, and call me ignorant!" She roared at him, the father shaking his head, and the children cowering behind the mother. Her arm shook as she tried to thrust the blade into his throat. Celt's smile had long since faded. "What, child, can't kill me?" He said, as she pulled away, and stood up. "I'm not a child! I'm not very much younger than you, and you're calling me a kid. You've got nerve." She said, as she stood up, and took a longer dagger from a sheath strapped to her leg, putting away the smaller knife.
Celt stood up. "Do you really want to fight me?" He said, remembering the creed to which the Garo were bound by, to destroy evil by shadows hand, not to kill random Hylians. She lunged at him, slicing the air with the ornate dagger. Celt dodged twice to the side, and ducked under a punch, and side stepped a stab to the stomach, and that's when he grabbed her wrist again, and twisted it, and she dropped the dagger. She attempted to punch him in the face, but he caught her fist in an open palm, and clenched his hand around hers. "I don't want to hurt innocents. It isn't my job." He said, and she looked at him quizzically. And he let her go. He looked to the father. "Sorry about that, I'll take my leave now…" He said, throwing his hood over his head, and beginning to leave. The girl looked at the dagger on the ground. "Wait, don't leave! Stay here!" She said, and he turned around.
"Why would you want me to stay after I yelled at you like that?" He asked. She frowned. "Just shut up, and sit down. I don't need to explain myself to you." She said with a lowered head as she picked up the dagger. Celt blinked, and listened to her, and sat down at the fire, and he pondered over why she could've wanted him to stay. Everyone seemed to settle down again, and Celt sat there, close to the fire, eyes closed. It was worse to stay, instead of leaving, because now he was being stared at by them, as if he was inhuman… despite the fact he was. Eventually he heard the sound of someone sit next to him. He opened his eyes, and looked to the side, and the girl was sitting there.
"Sorry I snapped at you. You're… right." She said, sighing. Celt blinked. "So why did you deny what I said?" He asked. She shrugged. "Because it seems like I'm not free, bound to the road that my parents travel on." She said, and then she paused, and poked the fire with a stick. "By the way, my name's Esther." She said, not looking at him. He nodded. "I'm Celt." He said, and there was a pause. Esther broke the silence. "What did you mean, I take for granted what others take for granted?" She asked, and he closed his eyes. She kept her head down, her long brown hair covering her face from his black eyes. "I mean, isn't everyone born with freedom?" She asked, and Celt sighed. "No." And she looked at him. "No?" Celt nodded. "Everyone's born with freedom… until it's taken away, forcefully, by a force greater than life itself." He said, and the rest of the family began to inch closer to the two, listening in.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The father asked. Celt looked to him. "It means, a person in death with knowledge strong enough and power great enough, can curse a single person in death, and leave that person who did them wrong be cursed to forever do something they don't wish to, to be cursed to do the opposite of the wrong doing which was done." And they all looked at him oddly. He blinked, realizing that he was thinking out loud. "Or so the stories go." He said, catching himself. "I travel a lot, and I stop at bars for news a lot, and I heard a particular story about a group of people that inhabit this region of Hyrule that are cursed and stripped of their freedom." He said, and they all listened in, interested at how well he told the story, as if he knew it first hand.
"Who are they?" The two children asked in unison, and Celt enjoyed being a story teller, the center of attention, telling them tales of the Garo, who lived a life so different, it seemed they lived in another world. "They're called… the Garo." He said, and the father chimed in. "Heyy, why haven't I ever seen any of them before? I've been practically all over this region." He said, and Celt smiled. "That means you guys are pure of heart, and are decent people. The Garo only appear to protect the world, by destroying evil by shadow's hand, or so the story says their creed is." He said, and they nodded, and grinned at his words.
"It's said they were stripped of their freedom when their founder did messed up, and the person who died by his mistaken choices cursed the race forever. Its rumored they wander within the canyon's walls, paying off the debt of the curse born into each and every one of them, causing desperation to sink deep into the minds of each and every one of them." He said, finishing off, leaving them all in thought. "Do you think they exist?" Esther asked Celt. He shrugged. "They may exist, they may be just a fairy tale to get you thinking and appreciate what you're born with." He said, and they all lowered their heads, realizing how fortunate they were for their own freedom. Suddenly, something in Celts head perked up, and sent a buzz through his body. It was the feeling he got whenever he sensed evil, but this one was different, it was stronger than usual, and it was almost… twisted.
Celt jumped up, a stern look overcoming his eyes. This was the curse kicking in. He had to fight off the evil, no matter how his body struggled. It was better if he went with it, the battles went smoother, as if he was being guided through his battles. "There's a bandit up the road, coming this way. Fast. Get out of here. Now." He said, and they all jumped up as well, shocked. "How would you know!" Esther asked feverishly, gathering up stuff, and packing them into the caravan. "The Garo are cursed to fight off the evil that could cloud Hyrule… so they can sense it coming." He said, and Esther looked at him strangely. "What's that got to do with anything, get in the caravan, and lets go!" She said to him assertively, and he shook his head.
"I have to fight them." He said, and she blinked. "Wait… are you…? Why would you show yourself to us then?" She asked, he turned his face so he could see her. "I wanted to see how it would be to be free." He said, with a grin, and a sudden burst of freezing wind blew by, and blew the campfire out, and Esther was left with his words ringing in her ears. "Don't forget the lesson I taught you all…" Celt's words said, carried on the cold wind as the caravan shot off, and Celt shot off in the other direction, towards where he felt the evil presence, as he shrouded himself in the darkness, as his silver blades slid out of his sleeves, as he approached where the evil was. His mind swam with what it would be like to be free, to actually wander the world and experience the endless possibilities the world could hold for them if the curse was lifted.
They had lit a new fire in his dark mind. He would fight off every evil in the world to increase his power, and he would break the curse of the Garo… they would be free like everyone else. He would follow in the footsteps of his mother, and his sister, and free everyone for the sake of what his mother died for, and his father left to accomplish. Eventually, he stopped, when he felt the evil practically next to him. "You, prepare yourself!" He said, as he muttered an incantation, and a ring of fire surrounded the two fighters, cutting through the darkness, as he lunged at his opponent, and they entwined in combat.
Heh, cliffeh. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, leave me a review! You know you guys want to! Maybe if someone leaves a review, you might clinch the title of King (Or Queen) of Long (Or Short) reviews! Hahahahaha, well, tune later for more Edge Of Regret, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.