Seeing Truth

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Chapter 26:

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I turned around quickly, dragging Sophie around with me. She struggled now and then, but I refused to let her go. I tightened my hold around her neck even if my hands and arms were already cramped from staying so long in the same position. We were too close to the Triforce piece, and I wasn't ready to let it go. Matius stood on the front porch steps holding a small, wooden cane for support.

"Grandpa!" Sophie screamed as she tried to pry my arm from around her neck. I flinched from the screech that just went out of her, but all the while kept my grip.

"She's crazy!" Sophie continued, "She wants something we don't even have! Help me, Grandpa!" I could tell just by looking at her that she was lying, and if Link and Kado couldn't see that they really have problems.

"Be quiet, Sophie." Matius commanded, and she stiffened. He then turned to me: "Did you say you wanted the Triforce piece, Miss Walker?"

"How do you know my last name?" I asked with eyes glaring at him.

"Miss Walker, do you not know what I do spending all my time up in my room?" I furrowed my eyebrows, but kept my gaze steady. All he did was ask questions, and I needed answers.

"You're a scholar." Kado suggested.

"I suppose you could say that." Matius said, "When I was much younger I was a librarian. I studied scrolls, books, maps, atlases- anything I could get my hands on. One night, after finding a scroll filled with astrology charts, I had a dream that the day would come that the goddesses' powers would weaken, and one girl would come; she would bring back power to the goddesses with the help of a legendary hero."

"You had this all in a dream?" I asked a bit bewildered.

"Yes, and I never thought this day would come."

"Well, that's great and all, but we still need to find the Triforce piece."

"If you let me finish, Miss Walker…"

"Sorry, sorry…"

"I just happen to know…"

"Grandfather, do not even think of telling them…" Pierre cut in sharply.

"Pierre! Is that how you respect your elders?" Matius interrupted with a stern expression on his face.

"You know we will not give up our ancestor's treasures." Pierre said, stepping forward.

"Do you want the world to end up in a heap of rubble? What good would it do if we refused to give them the piece?" the old man said as he walked down the steps.

"We need to find this piece, and we won't leave without it." Kado said mainly to Pierre rather than to Matius.

"See, son? I am too old to reach the crypt. You will have to go, and get the treasure." Matius pointed out then nodded towards the forest.

"No." Pierre seethed, "We have planned day in, and day out our plans for this treasure. We were meant to find all the pieces. That would be exactly what grandmother would have said."

"Your grandmother was a crazy, greedy, old woman who put herself before everyone else."

"She wanted what was best for our family." Sophie cut in. I scrunched my nose as I realized that I could barely move my arms or hands, and I was completely afraid to remove my injured hand an inch.

"May I remind you all that I have been the one planning day in and day out while the both have you have been anything but helpful. I have been stuck in that room for months. This greed has done nothing but evil, and should be given to the right people to handle it the way it should be."

"We have come this far, and I am not letting them have the Triforce piece." Pierre seethed. Whoa, I thought before turning halfway around so I could see both Pierre and Matius, I'm forgetting I'm trying to threaten them…

"Hey! We want that Triforce piece, Pierre, and we're not leaving without it." I said.

"Jade…" Pierre began walking towards me slowly, "You could never kill someone, so why do you humiliate yourself?"

I took a step back before answering, "You don't know that, now do you, Pierre?"

"Would you?" Pierre leered while Sophie whimpered. No…I couldn't…but I could lie, couldn't I?

"I could, and I will." I tightened my grip on the sword even if it was quite impossible then pushed the blade farther into her skin. A small trickle of blood formed, and I widened my eyes from shock. What the hell was I thinking! I turned my head to Link, and gave him a look that only could mean, "help!" Sophie whimpered, and I pulled the sword away just a little.

"Now…" I began, trying to steady my quavering voice, "Give us the Triforce piece." No one made a move, and I turned back to look at Link. He gave a worried glance, but I could tell he was trying to think of something.

"Where is it?" Kado spoke from beside me. My eyes widened, but I quickly relaxed after realizing what he was planning on doing.

"Show us where the Triforce piece is…" It was Link this time.

"In the forest to your right. You will see a large rock next to a tall, black oak tree. Knock on the oak tree, and from there on you will find what you are looking for." Matius replied. Link thanked him then turned to Kado and me.

"Kado, I want you to stay here with Jade." Link said before he unsheathed his sword, and walked off.

"What?" I whispered to Kado angrily. This was the second time that boy has gone on without me to find a Triforce piece. Next time… I thought angrily. I glanced around me for a few seconds, trying to ignore the discomfort everywhere; my legs were tired, my arms and hands were cramped, my feet were sore, and my back needed a little crack. Ha! This wasn't anything- I knew that. I had agreed to go on an adventure to help Link; I knew this was nothing compared to what he had supposedly gone through, but I just couldn't freaking help it!

I hadn't realized that I had loosened my grip on Sophie until she clawed at my arm, and quickly slipped under and ran towards Pierre. Shock was evident on my face- I knew that much, but I relaxed a little when I saw Kado step in front of her, grab her from behind, and have her in the same grip as I had her a second earlier. I closed my eyes slowly, but they shot open when I realized I was in the middle of the whole crowd. I gripped my sword, and moved away to Kado's side. Pierre narrowed his eyes at me, but I just raised an eyebrow as snottily as I possibly could.

It was clear after a few minutes no one was going to make a move so I clutched my sword with the other hand, and inspected my wounds. I had quite a few cuts and bruises on my arms, legs, and more bruises that I could feel just by running a hand over my neck. I would never get a solid color of skin on my neck, would I? It was so depressing. I eyed the wound on my hand, and realized it wasn't as deep as I thought it was, but still… The blood had dried and crusted over the wound, but hardly a scab. I had no cloth to tie something over the wound so I sighed, and held my sword with my right hand once more.

It seemed like an hour had passed when we finally heard shuffles and plants moving in the distance. By that time, Kado- still holding Sophie, and I had moved up to the porch where Matius was sitting comfortably on a chair I had brought out for him. I was sitting on the steps while Kado stood near the wall. Every few minutes I took count of the men, and none moved nor spoke. Good, I thought as I twirled the hilt of the sword around while the tip of the blade was placed on the ground.

I glanced up just as Link appeared through the foliage. Leaves were caught in his hair and his clothes while he clasped a small leather bag in one hand with his sword in the other. I jumped up and jogged over to him.

"Do you have the piece?" I asked eagerly, trying to avoid Pierre's gaze. Link opened the small, leather pouch, revealing to me a golden, arrow-shaped object. I moved away, relieved then turned to Kado. I smiled then went back up to the porch.

"You have the piece, but we will not let you leave without something in exchange." Pierre spoke. I turned to him with narrowed eyes.

"You should have said that before we found the piece. You have no weapons, Pierre, and we're the ones who are currently blackmailing you. So, shut up." I retorted idly. He smirked as he crossed his arms.

"You lost a bet to me, Jade. You are coming back with me to the farm…"

"And who's going to make me?" I replied angrily. He didn't reply, and I turned around and whispered to Kado, "I'm going upstairs to grab our stuff. I'll be back…" I sprinted to my room, and began packing whatever I had, which wasn't much by the way. I changed into my day clothes, tossing the nightclothes that Sophie had let me borrow. Poor girl; she was snotty, but she let me borrow her clothes, and yet I held a blade against her neck. I grabbed my things, then sprinted upstairs to pack up their things. I guess they were just going to have to go back in their pajamas. I was out the door in less than ten minutes looking like a caddy except that in fact, I had swords.

I turned to Kado and gestured with my head for him to go first before turning to Matius: "Thank you, Sir. If you need anything…"

"Go on, Miss Walker. You have already done more than I could ask for." I smiled at him then turned around, and walked down the steps. I gestured for Link to follow behind me as we made our way down the road. I felt like I was in one of those mafia movies. Kado stopped abruptly, and I practically bumped into him if he hadn't stepped aside to glare at Pierre.

"Open the gate, Pierre." Kado commanded. Pierre snarled, but gave in; he walked towards us, and I quickly backed away.

He turned to me as he drew the key from the folds of his clothes, "You will not get away, Jade. I will find you, and you will pay for the debts that you owe me."

"I don't owe you anything." I sneered before he unlocked the gate, and swung it open. He smirked at me with a glint in his eyes, and I knew he wasn't going to leave it at this. Kado walked through, followed by Link and me. I walked to the horses and began tying a few things, and untying the horses. I saddled on, followed by Link. Kado stood at the foot of the road where the forest began once again. There was a slope in the forest, and I watched a bit dreadfully as Kado whispered something to Sophie before pushing her down into the shrubbery of the sloping ground. She yelped as she made contact with the ground again and again while Kado ran towards his horse.

I didn't want to look back to see if anyone was following us as we made our way back to town to grab anything we had left at the inn. We couldn't risk staying in Termina, and even though I was a bit disappointed I was still reluctant to get as far away from Pierre as possible.

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It was daybreak by the time we were deep into the forest where light scarcely penetrated through the deep foliage. We hardly spoke a word to each other, but I felt like I was literally dieing if I didn't whine a bit about my pain. Every second Kane moved through the forest I wanted scream- well, the pain wasn't that bad, but still… It hurt like hell… Ah, well. The day was serene for the most part, but I was a little disappointed- no. I wasn't disappointed; I was pissed off when I began to hear the sound of horse's hooves behind us.

I didn't need to see it to realize that Pierre was already after us. We had no clue where we were headed, and being rushed didn't help one bit. Not only that, but we were forced to split up; I didn't know when it happened except that suddenly I was all alone with no Kado and Link, and it sucked. I kept going, though, for the fact that someone was on my heels. I only had one glance, and saw only one black horse. Is it Pierre's? I turned back around, but not quick enough, and slammed face first into a large branch that just happened to be sticking out onto the road. I fell flat on my back onto the ground as Kane continued to gallop without me. I groaned in pain just as I felt someone grab the front of my collar, lifting me up to who knows where when I suddenly lost consciousness.

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I woke with a start when I felt a cold hand touch my forehead. It took a while to adjust my eyes to the darkness, but once I did, I regretted it. In the candlelight, at first, the only things I saw were ruby red eyes, and I immediately thought of Ryuichi. No… he wouldn't give a damn about me. I furrowed my eyebrows, and leaned in closer: a dark lock of hair fell in his face, and there was only one person who had that look…

I backed away as far as I could, but something quickly blocked my way, and I realized I was on a small, familiar cot against the wall. I turned back to the person in front of me, shaking my head in disbelief.

"You're supposed to be dead." I whispered harshly as I brought my knees up to my chest.

"Back from the grave, I suppose." A hint of amusement was hidden in his voice, and all I wanted to do was sock him in the face. I narrowed my eyes at him, but shot a hand up to my forehead where a large bump had formed. I moaned as I leaned against the wall, trying to avoid Kenny's gaze.

"Here…" I turned to Kenny as he dipped a damp cloth into a small ceramic basin on the ground. I watched him as he twisted the cloth then brought it over to place on my forehead. I snatched the cloth before he could do anything else.

"What?" he asked as he grabbed the wet cloth from my hand, "Why did you do that? I was trying to help you." He sounded so calm. Well, other than the hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Help me? Help me?" I snapped.

"Don't be such a drama queen." He said lamely as he tried to place the cloth back on my forehead. I tried to swat his hand away, but he just grabbed my hand and pinned it down on the cot. I watched angrily as he backed away, but didn't say a word.

"Stop pouting, Jade." He said with a small smirk.

"How-…" I groaned in frustration before leaning forward, and trying again: "How could you do that? I thought you were dead."

"Why do you think my coffin was closed at my funeral?" he inquired. I raised an eyebrow in confusion; he understood, but didn't say a word.

"Who else knew?" I asked.

"No one. Everyone thought Ryuichi had stolen my body."

"What?" I retorted, "Why didn't I know about this?"

"You didn't want to. Remember?" I thought for a moment before realization hit me.

"You've been watching me ever since."

"Well, not the whole entire time, but I have been around."

"You were here…" I muttered; he smiled sheepishly, "Why didn't you…"

"I didn't want Ryuichi to come after you for a little while. If he knew I was still alive he would be after you and Link, but he's nowhere trying to find the Triforce pieces." He cut in.

"So, why now?" I asked.

"Even I didn't want you to go back to the farm."

"Ohh…" I said cheekily, "You do care about me." He rolled his eyes at my sarcasm.

"Anyway…"

"So…" I began as I placed my feet on the wooden floor, "All this time you've been alive, and I've been feeling guilty all this time." The wet cloth slid off my forehead, and I grabbed it, tossing it onto the cot. Kenny shrugged, and I had another urge to sock him.

"Sorry, Jade. I didn't want you to feel that bad."

"And you trapped me in that damn room while you fought Ryuichi all by yourself. Thank you very much."

"Oh, come on. I had to."

"Because I would get in the way, right?"

"Well, back then… yes. But, now… Now, you know how to fight, and when you threatened Pierre with Sophie last night…"

"I don't give a damn." I snapped angrily, and Kenny looked at me with more amusement.

"Lower your voice. You don't want to wake up the entire forest." Kenny said as he grabbed the cloth, and dunked it in the water basin, again.

"Stop scolding me. You always think you're better than me."

"That's not true." He said as he dropped the cloth into the water basin.

"It is so, and you know it." I retorted then grabbed my forehead, trying to relieve the pain once more.

"Listen, Jade. It was the only way for me to go around looking for the pieces without Ryuichi on my tail."

"So, why didn't news of your body missing reach Ryuichi?"

"Link, Zelda, and Impa were the only ones that knew. I guess they tried refraining from making you feel any worse." I lowered my head, not daring to look up at him.

"I guess…I don't know. It's just that…this really…sucks." Yep, that was the only word that could fit what I was going through…well, at the moment. Kenny chuckled a little, and I glanced up at him. His features were still evident even in the dim light, and I could still remember the first day I met him.

"You should get some rest." Kenny spoke up as he pulled the covers up and over my head. I groaned, trying to swat away the covers.

"You're not funny." I muttered.

"Not trying to be, love." He said with a British accent before biting into an apple he had taken from a bowl I hadn't seen before placed on the table, "Goodnight, Jade."

"Goodnight, Kenny." I muttered before falling back onto the cot, completely exhausted.

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Hope everybody liked this chappie! Thank you all for reviewing my last chapter! So, go ahead and review!

P.S

If anyone here is a Pirates of the Caribbean fan, I have a fanfic posted up, and your welcome to R&R :)