Chapter 6: Side Track
Link hissed as the Spirit Train broke the surface, salt splashing his wounds. Reaching up, his arms creaked as he tugged on the whistle. He stared at the track ahead, swaying as he fought against drooping eyes. Focus. He mentally slapped himself, forcing the blurred tracks back in line. Now which way did they have to go? There was a faint map in his mind, a criss-cross of lines that barely connected. They wanted to be separate from the loop they'd ran earlier - so it was right ahead, right? He swiped at a lever, but his hand passed through air. His skin boiled, unsure if it was from the sun's heat or his wounds. He chose to blame the stupid sun. Arm flinging in front of him, he finally smacked the lever. The train gave a roar as it surged and his brain rattled, as if he'd fallen from a tree.
A sound echoed around the cabin. Quiet, but much nicer to listen to than the stupid engine. His head swung like a compass looking for north, except he was pointing to the noise maker.
"…'re…doing…"
As he struggled to stop, his head pulling him further than he thought, a blur appeared in front of him. He'd have jumped if he had the energy, but instead it was all used to utter a few words.
"What?"
Ok, just one word. But the rest of it went into focusing. Trying to draw out the face from the noise. It's soothing blue glow came into focus first, complementing soft eyes that came shortly after. Steadily, other features bled in around them, gradually painting into Zelda's face. But he found himself pausing as it came into focus, her face a blend of confusion with concern sprinkled in.
"What are you doing? You look awful," she asked softly.
Wasn't that obvious? "Spirit tower." He said, his arm pushing against the heavy air as he pointed in the direction he was pretty confident the spirit tower possibly was.
Zelda stared at him for a moment, glancing off beyond his arm, as if trying to process what he said. "Okay. We are definitely not doing that. For a start, that isn't even close," her hand blurred into view as she counted off them. "Plus, you're still covered in wounds from that plant – Octorok - thing!"
What was she on about? He was fine! "That doesn't –" he took a step towards her and the ground slipped beneath him, a sharp thump ringing through his bones as he fell into the cabin wall.
"See! That's the closest we've gotten to the tower since we set off – and you didn't even mean it!" Her voice rang with a tone that, while not angry, carried a certain level of command. "We're going to Papuchia first."
He dragged himself up the cabin wall. "But…time…and your body." He sputtered the words out, not even being coherent in his head.
A small smile bubbled onto her face, and her voice dropped back to its softer tone. "You really don't have to worry about that right now Link." Her eyes sparkled. "I'd much rather we got there safely and later than rushing ahead of ourselves now.
A new, soothing warmth spread over him as he slowly paced back to the controls. But as he glanced around, he found himself pausing, barely recognising where they were.
"I'll direct us." Zelda spoke up behind him. "All you need to do is turn."
As her words took shape in his head, he couldn't help himself as a smile plastered itself onto his face. It seemed the leader side of her had shone through a bit. More importantly, he noticed that apart of him enjoyed seeing it.