Siegfried did not have the words to describe the type of mood he was in. Mad was far too tiny an inclination, angry would never begin to fully cover it, and infuriated was too small a word to describe the emotion that was consuming him. To his credit he did do a fantastic job of keeping his temper in check. It was a skill he had not always possessed, and it was a skill he had worked hard to perfect.
Years ago, when Link had chosen to stay by his side, Siegfried had been a very angry person. Even the smallest of things were certain to aggravate his nerves. He had snapped at his young companion many times during the first couple of weeks of their travels. It had taken much to ease the embers of rage inside of him, but Link had been patient. The elf had worked with him when the knight had gotten angry, and always did his best to soothe his irritated friend. It had taken much, but the lesson eventually stuck.
But now the lessons he had learned from the young hero were beginning to slip away.
His feet were aching terribly, his body was knee deep in mud, the sun was beating down on him from the small slits between treetops, and his temper was threatening to explode. The smells of the swamp surrounding him were almost gag worthy. Musty, old, rotting pieces of earth and shrubbery bombarded his senses. That, coupled with the suns simmering rays, was enough to make him want to slap the one person he felt was responsible for this.
"I hate you." He grumbled loudly enough to be easily heard. "I want you to know this."
Zelda glared at him through the particularly low hanging roots in front of her. "There's no need for you to take your frustrations out on me."
He almost felt like growling. The only thing stopping him was the stubbornness to give Zelda any kind of ammunition to throw back at him later on. "Isn't it an old custom to blame the person responsible for your misery?"
"Don't you dare try to blame this all on me!"
"Hard to do otherwise when it's all your fault!"
Beside the two of them, Mitsurugi rolled his eyes. He tried to guide Epona through swampy terrain while simultaneously ignoring the two with him. The horse seemed less than eager to move forward, even though the Samurai reassured her that going back would be even worse than where they were now. He could not blame her for doubting him. The further they ventured on inside the murky infested land, the more curious, and rather disgusting, creatures attempted to introduce themselves. Small fish with odd scale patterns, slimy eels and other such relatives who loved to rub against their legs, and bugs whose sharpened little jaws were anxious to take a bite out of them. It took all he had to keep Epona calm enough to move forward without running away himself.
But Siegfried and Zelda kept arguing, making leaving them behind all the more tempting by the second.
"This is utterly ridiculous."
"Your entire existence is utterly ridiculous."
"Why don't you stop acting like a child?"
"Why don't you stop acting like you can order me around?"
Mitsurugi growled. "Why don't you both stop arguing until we get out of this damn swap?" He felt Epona struggle against his grip while a strange creature slithered against his ankle. Try as he might he could not see anything beneath the murky waters. "You're scaring the horse."
Siegfried knew better than to even attempt an argument. When Mitsurugi spoke, everyone in his party was quick to stop what they were doing and listen. There was no objecting, there was no complaining, and there was no whining. Any attempts at doing so would result in a nasty injury and an earful of how they deserved it after having ample warning.
"I still don't see why he insists on taking this out on me."
And yet, even the fear of severe repercussion by a very well kept blade was not enough to keep him from responding to the trap Zelda had planted. "Because you were the one who accused the old man of poisoning his competition at the breakfast table. You even called him out on it, saying he used us to get the poison."
"He did use us."
Siegfried was very pleased when he stepped on something rather hard and shattered it to pieces beneath the swamp waters. If he closed his eyes and blocked out his surroundings, he could almost pretend it was the princess's skull. "Us? What's this about us? I was the one who got all the damn ingredients."
"For a deadly toxin that would in no way be used for rats." She halted for a second. Her attention moved to the liquid below her, noting how still it was now that she had stopped moving. Funny, she could have sworn she saw something slithering along in the water. Nevertheless she quickly hurried on to catch up to the two warriors trudging along in mud. They seemed to have little to no problems leaving her behind in this terrain. "I was not about to let some innocent man be the test subject for a new murder weapon."
She could hear Siegfried scoff, but all she could see was the back of his head. "What we gave him wasn't going to kill anyone."
She felt an intense rage filter in at his cocky voice. That nonchalance, the lack of proper care, it could only mean one thing. This man was obviously as cruel and as heartless as Zelda had initially thought he was. She was certain now that he did not care one way or the other what happened to people as long as he got what he wanted, and while what he and Zelda both ultimately wanted was their hero's safe return, he had an evil way of showing it.
Well, Zelda was not one to stand idly by and let people die in her saviors honor. She would not have his good name tarnished with this man's indifference.
"How dare you?" She hissed. "You would let a killer do as he wishes while our hero lies in shackles fighting against one? You are no better than that sword."
Siegfried had frozen for just a second. In that one second every sin Zelda had ever committed was swiftly brought into the forefront of his mind. Before he could stop himself, his memories began replaying every single horror story and every single scar Link had ever revealed to be attributed to the girl he served. Siegfried then quickly turned around with the full intention of going after the girl's throat. Restrictions be dammed. Now he was angry. He had been patient enough with this girl, but she just kept pushing every button she could find. He would teach her.
Or so he thought.
He had honestly not expected Mitsurugi to get in his way. Or for the samurai to be strong enough to successfully hold him back. "Get a hold of yourself Siegfried! What in the world do you think you're doing?"
"Getting even." His voice was oddly cold, which was very ironic considering the boiling rage festering within him. When he got his hands on that girl.
"This is exactly what she wants. Hit her and she proves what a monster you are."
Siegfried growled in spite of himself. "I'm no monster!" Link had said he wasn't. The elf had never believed he was, and Siegfried would always believe in Link's opinion. Never hers.
"Prove it then! Stand down!"
"You have no idea what this brat has been putting me through." The knight spat out, still struggling against the man retraining him. "If she wants to play these stupid games, then I'll show her what happens when she loses."
"Would you listen to yourself? You're getting too upset over something so foolish. Be a man and fall back."
But it seemed that at the moment, being a man was the farthest thing from Siegfried's mind. Right now his only goal in life was getting rid of one irritating, condescending princess. He would face the consequences after she was dead. Kill first, ask questions later.
Even the threatening tone Mitsurugi was using was not enough to break through the haze this sudden anger had overshadowed him with. He just did not care. Not about Zelda, not about the samurai's words, not about his own punishment. He did not care for any of them. However, Mitsurugi knew something the knight would care about.
Even though it was a cheap shot, when it seemed as though he might never be heard, Mitsurugi knew it was time for a blow beneath the belt. "What would Link think if he saw you now?"
The freezing of Siegfried's body was almost instant. The guilt in his heart came soon after, as did the lowering of his head. "That was a dirty trick."
"And I apologize for having to stoop that low." The samurai sincerely meant it. He always did hate it when the situation called for filthy tricks like that. They always left a sour taste in his mouth. "But you left me no choice."
After a long moment Siegfried let out a long, agitated sigh. Mitsurugi was right. Of course he was right. Link would be disgusted if he saw Siegfried like this. If not disgusted, then at least disappointed. He knew the German had more self control than that. To let it go over something as insignificant as a princess like Zelda, it was downright disgraceful. To do so in Link's honor would be even worse.
So he tightened his hands and clenched his teeth, letting them be the barrier that restricted a tongue with far too much to say. Now was not the time. "You can let go now."
Mitsurugi seemed unconvinced. His arms stayed as stiff as a board as he looked for signs of a calm rage. Siegfried was all but famous for such behavior, and he could hide it until it was too late to do anything about it. The samurai could remember several instances where that silent rage was unleashed without warning, or knowledge, on the part of his own party. Unleashing it on Zelda would not be very difficult, especially with the way she had been acting.
"I'm good." Siegfried reassured. "I won't try anything."
"Can I get that in writing?"
Siegfried chuckled. "You could if you let me go."
Mitsurugi still seemed hesitant about releasing him, but a few seconds later Siegfried found that he was able to move his arms freely again. Sparing a look towards the older man, Siegfried understood just what that release meant. It was a favor, a privilege that was given to him only on the basis that he wouldn't use his strength to strangle the girl traveling with them. If he were to show any kind of serious violent intention towards her, he would not only be restricted, but he would also be unable to voice his opinions from then on. He would be forced to be silenced because of his own stupidities.
Still, the anger in his heart would not subside. Mitsurugi had done well to knock it down to size, but it did not disappear. Siegfried knew it would probably remain, there deep in his heart, until the princess was far enough away from him that he could pretend that she did not exist. It would not be properly satisfied either. Not until he did something to make Zelda feel at least a portion of the pain he had been experiencing.
He knew physically was now out of the question, but there was more than one method of hurting someone.
He dug into his pocket. Seconds later he roughly pulled out a few pieces of foliage he had managed to sneak into his possession before being kicked out of the mansion. He flung them all at the princess. She was able to catch a few, but as expected she let many fall down into the muck beneath her.
She glared at him for a second, but curiosity ultimately forced her to examine what he had thrown at her. "What are these?"
"I may not be an expert on plant life, but I do know thing or two." He said coldly. "I was well aware of the poison that resided in the plants I gathered."
"So then why,"
"I also knew that only one section of the flower could do any real harm to human beings. A single red root hidden amongst the other denser greens of the plant. That is the only section with enough poison to kill anything bigger than a beetle."
She quickly examined the roots in her hands.
"Take those out, and the rest of the plant is harmless. By the time the old man figured out I had taken away his means of poisoning, we would have already been long gone with a few choice horses and that much closer to Link." By this time, the bitterness in his voice had finally reached his eyes.
Zelda could hardly stand their intensity. Though the knight did not say another word she understood his implication. She had slowed them down, at least by a few weeks, simply because of her selfish desire to be the one to defend Link's name. In doing so she had blatantly ignored the heroes request to accept help from the only one who could save him. She had once again betrayed the elf's trust, and once again it was he who would ultimately pay the price.
Mitsurugi grumbled under his breath and motioned for Epona to move forward. She did not struggle against him this time. Zelda and Siegfried chose to follow behind them in silence.
Mitsurugi was not happy. It just figured that after finally accepting that Link was gone for good, two years of forceful recognition of reality, the man was suddenly bombarded with what could become an even bigger loss to his heart. And of course his current company did nothing to soothe his worries about getting to the elf too late. Fantastic.
This was why he had always chosen to travel alone. With no one but yourself for company, it was easy to forgo any painful emotions that would cause problems. Things like loss, betrayal, attachment, and worry. Feelings that were sure to get you killed if you dwelled on them too long. Either that or you got too accustomed to who you were traveling with. Then, when they left or died, you were the one stuck with the wounds they accidently inflicted upon you.
He had not wanted that. Mitsurugi had always wanted to just live his life by the sword on his own, and he had been doing a pretty good job of that. Until he had gone against his better judgment and began working with other people who had managed to worm their way onto his good side. Let in one optimistic elf and his German friend and suddenly things all go to hell. A hell that you would still be paying for years later.
A sudden whine from Epona had Mitsurugi leaving his bitter thoughts alone for the moment in favor of glancing towards her saddle. The horse did not show any signs of distress, but the samurai did take notice of a pouch moving about on the side of her saddle.
"Did a bug find its way in there?"
Siegfried looked at the pouch in question. It took him a moment to remember that it was the pouch Navi had claimed as her traveling space for entirety of the journey in this world. "That's just the fairy."
"A what?"
Siegfried took notice of the pouch's movements as well. They seemed forceful, almost frantic. Like somewhere in that cramped space the fairy was attempting to relay a message of dire importance. Which puzzled him, seeing as the group was perfectly fine. Greatly upset at one another, but fine nonetheless.
"It doesn't need to go or something does it?"
Siegfried held back a chuckle. "I don't think that's the case." Though now that he thought about it, he really had no idea how a fairy did things. How she ate, how she slept, how she…did other things. He had not really paid too much attention to her since she and the princess had arrived.
Though, looking back on it now, he really should have.
She burst out of the pouch mere seconds later. Siegfried then found his head being viciously attacked by the blue ball he had nearly forgotten was there. She was persistent in her onslaught, going from the top of his head to the front of his face, spouting sentences so quickly that all the German could hear was a panicked hum.
"Slow down," He tried to slap her away. "What's the matter with you?"
"Something's in the water!"
It was then that Siegfried heard it. A snort. A snort many people residing in the Western world would recognize as a pig. In Germany, however, that snort was a sign of an animal much more vicious than the average farm pig, and it had a reputation for being violent. The notorious wild boar.
Siegfried had come into contact with these creatures only once before in his life, and that first encounter had been more than enough to leave an impression. He had been a young adolescent back then, just a boy who had very recently celebrated his twelfth birthday. His father had decided to take him out on a hunting trip one day. Its purpose was to teach the young Schtauffen the tricks of the trade of survival. Frederick had been somewhat apprehensive about bringing the young boy along, as he very well should have been. Siegfried had been cocky back then. He was a boy who thought himself a man with no regard to the world around him. He thought he could do anything, including trespassing on a mother boar's territory. He still had the scar on his left leg from the encounter.
Now he was staring down a group of them, a much more dangerous threat to him than that single mother had been. He wondered how he had not noticed these creatures coming up behind them, but he would ignore that for the moment. He had bigger problems to deal with. The most important of which was figuring out how he could possibly come out of the situation without another scar on his body.
"Don't move." He whispered to his companions.
Zelda held back a whimper. "What should we do?"
"Kill them?" Mitsurugi asked softly, staring down the animals a few yards in front of them.
But Siegfried shook his head. "These are not the kinds of creatures who will let themselves be slaughtered. They'll fight back, and when they do, they'll leave a nasty scar."
"So what? We stand here until they leave?"
Zelda looked at the boar's scrutinizing gazes. "Perhaps they'll leave if we show them we mean no harm?"
The animals simultaneously took a step forward.
Siegfried took that to mean that they had apparently already made up their minds about their human guests. That conclusion was that, yes, they did indeed mean harm. "I don't think that will work." The boar's stepped forward again, tusks already at full attention. "Nope, absolutely will not work."
"So what do we do?" The samurai asked as his group took a tentative step back.
"I want you both to listen carefully." Siegfried whispered. "I am going to count to three. When I say one, Mitsurugi will grab hold of Epona's reins. When I say two, the princess will grab onto the saddle. When I say three, I'll take hold of Navi, the princess will jump onto the saddle, and Mitsurugi and I will proceed to run for it."
Zelda nervously looked at Epona. "Is that really all that wise? She won't let me ride her."
"She will today," Siegfried said firmly, looking towards the horse in question. "Won't you?"
Epona, somewhat reluctantly, nodded in reassurance.
"One."
The reins were taken in hand.
"Two."
Hands were placed on a saddle.
"Three."
In a fast paced chaos of rushed movements, the group followed the orders given to them seconds ago, and ran. In those few fearful seconds marking the beginning of their escape, they realized that speed would be of no help to them. Nature was not with them in this element. The animals chasing them knew the terrain. They could determine the best way to trap these trespassing humans. The swamp itself kept slowing the group's movements with each new step. Whatever died there, or died elsewhere and just so happened to wind up there, was pulling and yanking on their feet.
All the while Siegfried could not stop his mind from wondering. What on earth was going on here? Boars did not travel in packs. They were territorial creatures. It was unlikely that any of them had decided to randomly join together for the sake of protecting one piece of land that could not have possibly belonged to all of them. It made about as much sense as he and Zelda suddenly deciding to exchange wedding vows, which was not only impossible, but quite frankly disgusted him.
"Hold it!"
It was almost second nature by now for Siegfried to follow an order coming from a higher authority, even when his mind had not understood its purpose. It was that nature that had his feet sliding to a halt before his mind could fully process why he was doing it when Mitsurugi called out the order. His eyes soon decided that it had been the best course of action when they took in what was before them.
"Oh for the love of!"
A sharp decline of land, a landslide more or less, of mud and water cascading down a very steep hill. One wrong step would send anyone tumbling, and it was a very long way down.
"Can we go back?"
They immediately turned around, only to realize that they were staring down the group of boars they had been foolishly trying to run away from. And those boars were slowly approaching them, horns glinting even with the lack of good lighting. Siegfried needed a plan B, and he needed one fast. In his hand Navi had gone suddenly still. He had done his best to keep his grip somewhat loose, but maybe he had held on too tightly. Asking her for advice now would be no good. She was in no state to give it.
Epona could no longer stand the growing tension. She took one look at the looming threat in front of her, saw an unfamiliar black glint in empty eyes, and started to panic. She tugged roughly at the reins Mitsurugi held. He fought her for control. She responded by whining loudly and shrieking madly for him to let go. He struggled to keep her steady, and Zelda tried her best to call Siegfried's attention to the problem at hand. He turned around just in time to see Epona raise her front hoofs off of the ground. Mitsurugi and Siegfried jumped to grab hold of her reins, holding on for dear life to an edge of her saddle. For a moment they seemed frozen in the air.
When time restarted again, Epona had made a sharp turn, and when her hoofs went to hit the ground, they instead met the air that was just over the decline they had been trying to avoid. The group tumbled down. Mud splashing into hair, rough patches of land digging its way in skin, cutting and ripping small areas of flesh. It seemed at one point as though the fall would never end.
When it finally did, each member of the small party was thrown on a surprisingly dry piece of land somewhere below the large slope of land. Mitsurugi and Zelda lay next to one another for a moment, while Siegfried lay further beside Epona and Navi, who had shockingly stayed in his grasp during the fall. Their breaths came out harshly, each of them desperately trying to calm their beating hearts, trying to ignore the pain in their bodies.
Slowly each sat up, checking themselves over for any kind of serious injury. Mitsurugi suddenly looked startled when a check of his robes seemed to turn up empty. He padded himself down before he stood up abruptly, eyes scanning the ground for something. Zelda followed his example and pushed herself up from the ground.
"What's the matter?"
"Where is it?"
She narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Where is what?"
He did not answer her. His eyes caught sight of something, apparently what he had been searching for, and he snatched it up without a second thought. He dusted it off for a good minute before he held it up to the sun. That was when everyone in the group recognized what he had been so worried about losing. It was a medallion.
A thick golden band wrapped around a single group of triangles that had been fused together to create the illusion of one very symbolic shape. The triforce; Power standing atop the flat pyramid, wisdom at the bottom right of the formation, courage being left to its own devices on the left, shone brightly in the midmorning sun. There was a unique energy flooding through every inch of gold. It was unseen, unnoticeable to the average human heart, but it was there all the same. It was an energy that each member of the group was able to recognize.
To Mitsurugi it was the endless smile of his adopted son. To Epona it was the gentle call of her master. To Zelda it was the presence of her beloved hero. And to Siegfried it was the kind soul of his most precious person. To each and every one of them it was Link's boundless and generous life energy.
Zelda reached for it, but Mitsurugi retracted his hand too quickly for her to grasp onto it. "What is it you want with this?"
She was unable to speak for a moment. "That artifact, where did you get it?"
"Where do you think? Link gave it to me." Mitsurugi eyed her suspiciously. "Why?"
Zelda finally managed to regain a bit of her composure, and at last she took back her hand. "That object is used as a medium."
"A medium? A medium for what?"
Siegfried stood up from the ground and dusted himself off with his left hand. The other held onto to a panting Navi, who had worn herself out from the earlier fiasco. She was semi conscious and no doubt tired beyond recognition. He gently set her atop Epona's saddle, making sure the horse was alright, before turning his attention to Zelda for her explanation.
"By transferring a small portion of a person's magic energy into the object you now hold, a user can track and follow that object to wherever it my wonder to. And by giving it to a person, or attaching it to another object, they are also able o keep a silent eye on whoever has it."
Siegfried spared a glance at the small item in Mitsurugi's hand. "So it's a tracking device?"
Zelda nodded. "In a sense it is. Anyone with basic magic training could make use of it. Since it uses the users own magic energy, it is almost like following themselves."
Siegfried looked at the object longingly. He used to have one just like it, Link had given one to about seven people in his group, but Siegfried's had gotten lost. Rather, he had left it behind when he disappeared after Link's departure. The German had been in shambles about forgetting it, but when he went back to retrieve it, the group had already moved on. There had been no sign of his medallion anywhere.
"So," Mitsurugi began. "How do we follow this trail?"
"You can't." Zelda crudely pointed out. "Neither of you have the magic abilities needed to follow our hero's energy."
Siegfried could almost swear she was happy about that. "And you do?"
She nodded proudly. "After years of training, it should be fairly simple to pick up the presence of the trail."
"And yet it took you this long to sense the presence of the beginning of the trail." Siegfried muttered loudly enough to be heard. He felt a great deal of satisfaction when he saw her scowl.
"I can follow it." She said a bit more humbly. "All it requires is a decent amount of energy."
Siegfried was almost reluctant to believe her. It was instinct now to see the world through a pessimistic eye. This could not be so simple.
"It's not." Zelda said to him, as though he had spoken aloud. Perhaps it had been the look on his face. "In theory, this should be as simple as I have described,"
"But,"
"But, unfortunately theories can be misleading." She seemed to sincerely regret that. "This particular kind of spell works perfectly with the original user's energy, but I am not the original user."
Siegfried understood what she meant. "Link was."
"Correct. That means I would have to use my own energy to follow his path. It would be like me following his tracks in a forest, instead of following the original marked trail."
It was like an off telling of Hansel and Gretel. One where there was no certainty of a happily ever after. Still, "That doesn't sound too bad."
"It's secondary following. The paths that lead to the other mediums might fade as we're following them. If we don't work quickly enough, it'll recognize me as an intruder on our hero's spell, and the trail will disappear altogether."
Siegfried could have chopped down the entire swamp. What else could have possibly gone wrong in his life? All he needed now was to self combust and his misery would be complete. "How fast can we move?"
"Not nearly fast enough." Mitsurugi replied. "The transportation for this world is slow."
"They're all we've got."
"We need something else."
Siegfried ran his jittery hand through his hair. At this rate, the rapid beating of his heart would soon prove to be fatal. "What else can we possibly do? Times running out already, and we've barely just gotten started."
"I know, I know."
Now both men were gripping their hair tightly in their hands, trying to force their minds to concentrate on something other than their rising panic. The only thing they could focus on, however, was an internal clock that kept ticking away. It kept reminding them that with every passing second they could not come up with a solution, the problem further shattered into a mess that they could not fix. They could not even begin concocting a plan. In fact the only thing they were concocting was a headache.
"Perhaps," Zelda interrupted gently. "There is something I can do."
In an instant, all eyes were on her.
"Are you two familiar with the three magic gifts our hero was given by the goddesses back in our world?"
Sadly, Siegfried only knew of two. "Din's Fire and Nayru's Love." Those two spells had been of great help during Link's travels in this world. Din's Fire had been great as an offensive maneuver while Nayru's Love had worked wonders for the group's defense. Siegfried knew of a third spell, but Link had never seen fit to use it in front of him.
"There was another." Mitsurugi added.
The elf had only used it once, and only because Siegfried had contracted a virus that could have proven fatal. The medicine needed to treat it had been one town over, a six day roundtrip from their location at the time, and Siegfried had been in no condition to travel. Link had created half of some kind of portal he later used to get back to camp just in time to administer the medicine to the bedridden knight.
"Farore's Wind." But as far as the samurai knew, that spell only worked on a one-way basis.
"As you may know, Farore's Wind creates warp points our hero used to get in and out of temples during his travels. Using those warp points, he could escape from or travel to areas he had already planted other warp points on."
"Yes, but," How he hated to be the bearer of bad news, especially when poor Siegfried was just starting to look hopeful. "That only works for a one way trip, and only helps if you've been to that spot beforehand. How could that spell do us any good in this situation?"
"These medallions were given out amongst the people of this world, correct?"
"That's right. Seven of us have them."
"Well, each has a piece of our hero's magic signature embedded inside them. That is to say, they have a small portion of his magic abilities hidden inside, all his past capabilities, including Farore's Wind."
The men nodded.
"It would not be too much of a stretch to say that these medallions hold enough magic to be constituted as an already made warp point of Farore's wind."
"Go on."
"If we assume that much, then theoretically all we have to do is create a second warp point from where we stand while holding onto the one we already posses. Then the nearest medallion should pull us towards it, as well as the person who holds it."
Siegfried nodded. "It sounds a little too good to be true."
Mitsurugi agreed wholeheartedly. "What are the possible down sides to this?"
"Many, I'm afraid." Zelda murmured. "The first of which being that this theory of ours might not even work to begin with. After all, just because it can, does not mean it will."
Siegfried knew that all too well. A lot of things in his world could have been something better, something more than the tragedy it turned out to be. However, life was a being all its own with a sick, twisted sense of humor. Things that could have been often were not simply because life thought it was amusing to see people crumble.
"Then, even if it does manage to work, the portal might not let us travel the entire distance needed to journey to the next warp point. It could recognize us as intruders on our hero's spell at any time."
"Not to mention," Mitsurugi added. "That this type of spell could very well kill us." He could see it now. The three of them, five if he counted their nonhuman companions, would stand. They would be absolutely ecstatic when the princess finally managed to summon up the strength to perform the spell. A bright light would surround them, giving them false hope of a safe journey to their next destination. And then it would all come crashing down. They would either end up in the same spot they had been at mere seconds before, be dropped out of the warp hole prematurely in some godforsaken wasteland, or be torn to shreds by a magic tunnel that knew that they were not the elf who created it.
Mitsurugi turned to Siegfried, and the princess did as well. Epona lifted her head from the ground to look at the knight, as did the small fairy resting on her saddle. The German avoided their eyes. He knew what they were all silently implying. This journey had begun with him, and it would no doubt end with him. He alone could decide what to do next. He alone would bear the responsibility of every outcome on this unwanted adventure. This could only be on his conscious.
"Perform the spell." He straightened his back, kept his head held high, and walked to the area where Epona lay. Using firm yet gentle tones he eased her up until she stood stably on all fours. He then placed Navi on his shoulder, stroking her wings a bit to ease the tension he felt when he took hold of her. He did not want an argument, and for some reason it felt comforting having the small creature with him.
"Are you sure?" Mitsurugi asked. "This is really the path you want to take?"
"Absolutely." Not.
Siegfried had many doubts about taking this particular course of action. It was too risky and far too uncertain for his tastes. If he had his way, the group would be following a much more certain path. But the fact of the matter was that there was simply not enough time to think about every little thing that could go wrong. The more indecisive he was, the longer it took to alleviate Link's suffering. The thought of such a thing was more than enough to convince him to take the risk.
"Will you try?" He asked, turning to face Zelda. She had said that the spell was possible to perform. She never said she would do it. She would agree to it though. Siegfried had learned that by now, when it came to Link, the girl was willing to do just about anything.
Just as he expected, Zelda ushered them all to come closer to her. Siegfried took hold of Epona's reins and Mitsurugi placed a hand on his shoulder, his other hand holding tightly onto his medallion. Zelda took a long deep breathe. She then opened her eyes, a soft glow now showing on her right hand. Her arms extended to her sides. Then she swiftly spun around in a circle, letting an almost transparent yellow ribbon expand until it circled the entire group. Siegfried took notice of the colorful energy spreading along with the ribbon. It was green. The same green that reminded him so much of the person closest to his heart.
'Link,'
That was the last coherent thought he could muster. The second the name left its echo in his head, he was surrounded an extremely warm sensation. At first he thought he was just feeling a bit hot due to the effects of the spell. However that thought soon left his mind when his blood began to burn him from the inside of his body. If he had to describe the feeling, he would have said it felt like boiling water was just bursting through his veins, scorching the walls and muscles in his body all in one rapid motion. It was actually painful in a sense he had never thought possible.
In a mere blink of an eye the sensation was gone, replaced by a feeling so foreign to him he was not able to name it. It started with his feet. The desire to run was there, and he thought he may have taken a step to try and escape the portal Zelda had put him in. But then he could not feel his feet. They were not numb, or even asleep. It was almost as if they just weren't there. A sick feeling settled in the knight's stomach. Alarm was dying to be heard out by someone, and it finally got its chance in the slight gasp that left Siegfried's mouth when his stomach seemed to disappear from his sensory radar as well. Then his arms went, and his panic only increased.
His eyes had not closed since Zelda first performed Farore's Wind. Yet they could see nothing more than an intensely bright white light. The comforting green he had seen earlier was gone. The sight before him now was far from soothing. So intense was its almost ominous presence, that Siegfried felt his eyes were melting just by looking at it. And then suddenly, there was nothing but a cooling darkness filtering through his gaze.
When he came back to a decent consciousness, he realized that there were voices around him. They sounded a bit distant at first, as though they were calling out to him from across entire oceans. It was hard to make out their intent. He knew they were calling to him, at the very least they were calling out his name.
"Siegfried!" One called out to him. "I'm telling you right now to get the hell up!"
"If this is a joke," A softer voice said. "Then you will surely regret it once this charade is over."
He had the strongest desire to scoff at that.
"Shaking him will do you no good." Was he being shaken? This voice was different from the first two. Where the hell was he? "In fact it will only make things worse."
"Is he going to be alright papa?" That one sounded like a little girl.
The voices were starting to become more recognizable in terms of gender and age. Now if he could just figure out where he was and just who these people were, he might be able to relax a little bit.
"He'll be alright Amy," Amy? "He just blacked out for a bit."
An earlier voice returned. "I still don't see what happened. I'm fine, and the girl only has minor discomforts."
"I suppose he took it harder." Took what harder?
"Siegfried Schtauffen, wake up!"
"It would help if you didn't scream at me!" He finally managed to open his eyes and glare at the female figure who had shouted at him.
Slowly his blurred sight began to focus on the figures hovering over him. The recognition took longer. The first two were most obviously Mitsurugi and Zelda. The other two were a pair of friends he had not seen in years. Two people who had been important to him at one point, the ones who used to house the entire party in their mansion when the fight for Soul Edge left everyone feeling weary.
The older of the two smiled softly. "Welcome back Siegfried." The girl beside him waved shyly.
Siegfried could not help the smile. "Raphael, Amy, good to see you."
Amy giggled and Raphael nodded in approval. "How are you feeling?"
The German took note of his condition. He wasn't feeling particularly bad. A little tired, sure, but still able to function. He sat up, on what seemed to be a couch of some sort, and flung his legs over the edge. He stood without any trouble and stretched out the muscles in his arms. There was no sign of any of the sensations that had caused him to pass out.
"Fine." He said finally. "Where are we?"
Raphael smirked. "My sitting room. The lot of you was passed out on my front lawn this morning. I had to drag you all in here and wait for you to wake up."
"Morning?" How long had he been asleep?
"You were asleep for the better part of the day. It's close to dusk now." Raphael said in response to the German's unasked question. "The other two woke up within the hour."
Siegfried ran a hand through his hair. Then, realization hit him as he turned to glance around the entirety of the room, and its occupants. He felt a relieved when he saw Navi perched over Zelda's shoulder. He also took notice that the princess was not disguised. The cloak that had hidden her appearance must have been destroyed during the spell.
"Where's Epona?"
"In the stable." Raphael pointed over his shoulder to an open door, setting sunlight gleaming in. "Amy took her in while I took care of all of you."
"Was she okay?"
"Was a bit panicked at first, but relaxed when she saw Amy."
Siegfried was glad to hear that. "She must remember her."
Raphael nodded. "Now that that's settled, care to tell me exactly what you all are doing here? And just why you showed up in such a dramatic fashion?"
The room instantly became silent.
"Don't all of you rush in at once now."
Siegfried turned to Mitsurugi, who motioned for him and Zelda to come closer to him. When the group was huddled together, far enough from Raphael's earshot, Siegfried posed the question, "What do we do?"
Mitsurugi shook his head. "We can't dance around it. We have to tell him."
"He will kill her." Siegfried none too gently reminded. "He will not take it very well."
"Then we have to break the news to him gently."
"Then he will break her neck gently." Siegfried was honestly concerned about this. Raphael was not a cruel person, but he was as vengeful as any man Siegfried had ever known. They could not risk losing Zelda. None when she had suddenly become of some decent use to them.
"She can't be in the room when we tell him." Mitsurugi said at last. "It will only make things worse."
Siegfried turned to Zelda. "I'll tell him to give you a room you can stay in for the night. You can see him tomorrow when he's had time to process the story."
"Very well."
"Navi," He said turning to the fairy. "You go along with her. Keep her safe if you can."
"Roger."
"I'll tell Raphael." Mitsurugi said firmly.
Siegfried was relieved, but he still felt the need to ask. "Are you sure?" The blonde could be a handful when intense emotions were concerned. This was not going to be easy.
"Better me than you. If anything you two will fuel the others rage." He had a point. "So I'll take him, while you explain all of this to Amy."
Wait, "What?" That was where Siegfried drew the line. He was not good with children. He had never been, even when he himself was a child. They saw him, and nine times out of ten they tended to run away crying. "That won't work well. I'm no good with kids."
Mitsurugi raised an eyebrow. "You were fine with Sophitia's children."
"No offense to their mother, but those two are not exactly normal."
"And Amy is any better?"
Zelda fiddled with the hems of her gloves. "Should I-"
"No!" The two men said firmly, after which they quickly turned back to the other.
"Siegfried, you have to be the one to tell her. There is absolutely no room for discussion."
"I'll screw this up and just end up making her cry. I know I will."
"It's better than the alternative. If you and Raphael are in the same room, you'll just end up feeding each other's anger and the girl will be dead before morning."
Siegfried found that he could not argue with that. Not only was it dead on as far as accuracy went, but it had been one of the reasons why he had wanted to avoid direct questioning from the Sorel. "Fine." He sighed. "You win."
From there the group dispersed as casually as they could manage. Raphael gave Siegfried directions to a room Zelda could use for the night, after which he and Mitsurugi retired to the mansions study. Siegfried did his best to avoid Amy's gaze as he saw the princess off to bed. Zelda might have tried to reassure him, but all it managed to do was tick him off. He had yelled at her, saying she should not feel the need to see to him. She had not done so before, and she should feel no qualms about not doing so now. He then continued to avoid Amy's questioning eyes as he silently followed her to the stable where Epona waited. He all but ran to the horse when she picked up her head up to look at him.
"Hey girl." Siegfried ran his hand along Epona's mane. The white hair had been stained brown from their earlier encounter that day, and various pieces of foliage also wedged their way into the now tangled hair. He knew she must have felt miserable being dirty for so long. "We'll have to get you cleaned up properly tomorrow." He said softly. "You can't like being this messy."
Epona quickly shook her head.
Siegfried chuckled. He began unfastening her saddle, which he knew must have been about as dirty as she was. It could not have been very comfortable to wear. Dried dirt and still moistened grass did not feel all that good against bare skin.
Amy stood patiently at the door of the stall. A light smile graced her features as she watched Siegfried move this way and that to tend to Epona's needs. The horse seemed flattered by his ever vigilant attention.
"She likes you."
Siegfried smiled. "I should hope so." He ran a hand down Epona's mane. "I like her a lot as well."
Epona blew a small puff of air into the knight's hand. A sign of affection she liked to use when someone was particularly kind to her.
"Does she let you ride her all the time?"
"I don't know. I haven't asked." He turned to Epona with a serious expression on his face. "If the situation calls for it, would do the honor of allowing me to ride on your back?"
Epona took a moment to ponder the question before nodding slowly.
Amy laughed lightly. "That was polite of you."
Siegfried shrugged as he ran his fingers through the horse's hair, trying to dislodge the twigs still within it.
"You take very good care of her."
He hummed lightly in response.
"Almost as good as Link used to."
Siegfried's hand froze instinctively. 'Uh-oh.'
"Where's Link, Siegfried?"
"So, I see Siegfried has the girl on a tight leash."
The blonde was in a very happy mood. It was never too apparent by looking at the man. He always smiled, and more often than not it was fabricated. As was his cheerful demeanor. However, this was honest amusement. The samurai could tell by the jubilant way he poured the wine, no doubt the best of its kind, into two very expensive looking wine glasses that really did not have to be used for this occasion. He kept one for himself, and then handed the other to the samurai. He then sat down in the chair opposite of his friend with a content smile on his face, glass swaying slightly in his hand.
"I wasn't aware he'd found a pet."
Mitsurugi fought down the urge to laugh. It was amazing how accurate Raphael could be about the situation between Siegfried and Zelda, even though he had only watched them interact for a few short moments. "Interesting take on their relationship."
"It seems to fit." It would seem that way to him. He was a man who at times felt no qualms about seeing people as others possessions. "So, what brings you all here? I can't imagine it simply being because you wanted to see me."
Had Siegfried been there, he would have been surprised to discover that the comment was more of a blow towards Mitsurugi than anybody else. The samurai had been less than inclined to revisit his old traveling companions once they had all gone their separate ways. He would have liked to say it was because he had had no time to do so, but the truth was that he had just been selfish. It hurt to see the group so incomplete. If he could not see them all, he did not want to see any of them at all. Thoughtless perhaps, but that seemed to be a common trait amongst the old friends.
"I wish I could say you were wrong. Unfortunately the situation is much more urgent than that."
Raphael took the words in stride. The meaning of the word 'urgent' had always been different for the self proclaimed father and son. "Oh? Is something wrong?"
"Very."
"Then do tell." The Frenchman took a leisurely sip from his glass. "You know how much I love a good story."
Mitsurugi knew that all too well. However he was in no mood to start story telling about Link's unfortunate circumstances. That would be too risky. Unless he took the proper precautions, then the blonde in front of him would not take the news well. He would be distraught, upset, and most likely very, very angry. He would then clearly take his frustrations out on the person responsible for it. Zelda.
That girl may have been somewhat to blame, but she was also part of the solution. If she was killed or harmed now, so early in the game, then the small bit of hope they had for retrieving Link was all but gone. No. To tell Raphael of that had transpired so easily was too much of a gamble. A gamble that Mitsurugi was not too sure he would win.
Certain measures had to be taken. "I need you to do something for me first."
"Which is?"
Mitsurugi held out his hand. "Give me Rapier."
This caused Raphael to blink. "You can't be serious."
The samurai did not retract his hand. "Deathly."
"Do you think I will kill you for this news?"
"I think this information may lead you to that extreme, yes."
The response had drawn Raphael's attention. The man was by no means an exceptionally violent kind of man. He would admit to being a bit of a snob at some points in his life, but he was a human being. He did not kill mindlessly, or without a valid reason. Granted, his emotional health had taken a slight turn for the worst after his adopted little brother's departure. Yes it had been something new to him, losing someone in such a permanent way without the obstacle of death. Yes he had taken it a bit harder than he should have. And yes that departure may have made his emotions run loose a bit more than they used to.
But Mitsurugi had never seen fit to make mention of that before. It had not mattered. The damage was not so great that it had to be constantly watched and monitored. Raphael was a grown man after all. If there was a problem, he could decipher it and take care of it himself. His emotions had not robbed him of common sense. So for the swordsman to make reference to it, even in the slightest, now of all times…
"I take it this conversation will go no further until I do?"
"Perceptive as always."
A part of Raphael wanted to refuse. His sword was almost like another child to him. It never left his side until, or unless, it was absolutely necessary. He loathed to hand it over so easily without knowing what kind of information he would get in return.
"I better get this back." But his curiosity got the better of him, forcing his body to comply with the samurai's request before his mind could think of arguing.
Mitsurugi could not help but feel relieved when the hilt was passed into his waiting palm. At least half of the hard part had been taken care of. "Write down where the girl's room is."
"Siegfried knows where it is."
"Well now I need to know."
The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Planning to pay her a visit later on?"
Years of training his face to remain calm at all times, even as his emotions ran rampant, was about the only thing that kept the disgust from showing. "Funny. Now write down the directions."
"Why can't I just tell you?"
"I'll need something concrete to prove that the directions you gave were in fact the correct way to her room. If I have written directions I can, immediately after our conversation, go check in on the room to see if you were telling me the truth."
"Oh for heavens-" Raphael managed to bite his tongue before anything else could pass through his lips. He needed to remember who he was talking too. Mitsurugi had never been one for disrespect. Now that he had Rapier with him, he could very well show the Frenchman what he did to those who chose to mouth off to him. Raphael may have been frustrated with the situation at hand, and he would go far enough as to say that he thought it was all ridiculous, but he knew better than to place himself into a position to receive bodily harm.
"Is this really necessary?" He settled on asking.
"Extremely."
He had half a mind to refuse. "It's Yunseong's old room. The one he would always claim when the group spent the night here."
Mitsurugi had that location stored away within his memories. He knew precisely where it was. That was quite a good sign. "You'll notice that she looks somewhat like Link."
"The ears yes. Everything else is but a superficial resemblance."
The samurai could not help but smile. Raphael had a high opinion of Link. Absolutely no one could compare, and it was doubtful that anyone ever would. Even if Link were to suddenly appear side by side of a carbon copy of himself, Raphael would still be able to tell the difference.
"Well those ears are the proof that tells us she came from the same country he did."
"I had gathered that from the triangle on her dress." The triforce. It was a symbol that had yet to ever be recorded in this world. It was doubtful that anyone who was not part of Hyrule would be caught wearing a replicate of it.
"You'll also notice that the horse she arrived on was Link's."
"I gathered that from the way she greeted Amy." The horse honestly had a better memory that Raphael did.
"You've no doubt realized that Link is not actually here."
"I figured that much from his lack of presence."
"There's a reason for that."
Raphael rolled his eyes. "You don't say. Look, I don't mean to rush this riveting prologue, but can we get to the point?"
Mitsurugi too rolled his eyes, and then settled himself down for the somber tale.
"Where's Link, Siegfried?"
The German did not want to do this. It had been hard enough explaining the situation the first time around and that had been with the aid of a large amount of alcohol and the knowledge that he would forget it all in the morning. Not to mention the fact that the first time he had uttered this tale, it had been to a full grown man. Mitsurugi was able to take hard news fairly well. He had hardened himself over the years of difficult sword training and harsh encounters with reality. He had seen enough, knew enough of hardship, that he could handle everything Siegfried had thrown at him.
Amy was different. She was still very much a child, both in mind and at heart. Sure she may have seen death littering the streets where she came from, but those victims had been empty faces. They had been meaningless tragedies that she had had nothing to do with. As such she had never needed to feel much of anything for the tormented.
Now it was different. Amy knew Link. He actually meant something to her. Like he had been for Siegfried, Link was somewhat of a savior to her. Closer to her in age than any other male in her life, he could relate to being a lost child in a world filled with adult expectations. The elf took time to listen to what she could not say, and was patient enough to wait for what she could. She grew to love him as a dear uncle.
Now Siegfried would have to inform her that her beloved uncle was fighting against a sword who had, at one point, taken possession of her. From his mouth she would hear a kind of pain she had probably only seen in her nightmares.
In a sense he was glad that he had forced Zelda to retire so early. She would have been of no help to him, and could have only pushed more grief onto a little girl who would not be able to take it. Of course, even with the princess gone, it did nothing to make his job any easier. However, at least it took the violent edge off of things.
He opened his arms slightly, and Amy came to him without question. She was probably doing it more out of instinct than actual trust for the German. Link used to open his arms to her like that. When he did, it was usually followed by him hoisting her up to sit on Epona's back. There she would turn to face him, and the two would talk. That arrangement was, after all, designed for that purpose. It was created for heart to hearts and serious discussions. A tool that the blonde used to help Amy understand a situation without causing her to panic. Like he had done in the past, Siegfried repeated the action, making sure the girl was calm before he began speaking.
"Amy," He began uncertainly. He had no idea how he was supposed to go about this. How could he explain the situation to her? He could not afford to be overly emotional unless he wanted to upset the girl, but being too withdrawn would be too cruel to her. Too serious and he risked making her cry, but if he was too nonchalant about it she would just think he was joking. That or he was teasing her to be mean. Honestly, he was not meant to see to these types of situations.
"Link is," He tried again. "Link isn't here right now." Well he certainly could have hit himself for that one. Of course the elf was not there. That was the problem. 'Never let it be said that I can't state the obvious, though.' He thought to himself dryly.
"Where is he?"
"Back in Hyrule." Now he was subconsciously trying to avoid the subject. A part of him knew that he should just come out and say what had happened. It should not have not been all that hard to accomplish. It was just…she just kept looking at him with those eyes. Eyes that wanted to know why something so good was no longer in her reach.
"Why didn't you bring him here with you?"
"I can't do that." And wasn't that just painful to admit?
"You brought the girl."
"The truth is, Amy, she came here on her own. She brought the fairy and Epona along with her."
The redhead looked confused. She had every right to be. He was making absolutely no sense at the moment. Vague answers, hesitance to speak, hell all he was doing was making an idiot out of himself. He supposed that meant it was time to stop acting like a coward.
"Amy I want you to listen, and listen very carefully. Zelda came to this world because her kingdom was in trouble."
"Why didn't Link save it?"
He should have known she would ask him that. She knew as well as he did that Link was the go to guy for a world that needed to be rescued. He had been that type of guy in this world too.
"He tried." Siegfried said softly. "But this danger is a bit different than anything he was used to fighting in the past."
"Why?"
He fought down the urge to bite his tongue. If he did not find the guts to tell her now, he would never find the strength to do so in the future. "Soul Edge escaped from its prison." He would leave out the how. She did no need to know how. Her knowing would only complicate matters. "He devoured a very powerful being and took control of his powers in order to create a body of his own. That was the creature Link faced back in Hyrule, and right now it's keeping him held captive. Zelda came here to ask me for help. I need to rescue him from Soul Edge."
Amy started shaking her head. "No. You're wrong."
Denial. He had been afraid of running into that. "I wish I was. But I'm not lying." He wished he could say something better than that. Something to appease her, soothe her if he could.
Something passed through her eyes after a moment. A slow reluctant understanding that he realized was her way of accepting the situation. She did not want it, that much was certain, but she knew he was telling the truth. She may not have cherished Siegfried as much as she had Link, but she knew the German just as well. She would know when he was lying.
"That's not fair." She said after a moment. "Why him? He was good. Why not her? Nobody liked her."
He wished he had an answer for that. He had been asking himself that same question for a long time. Even before Link had been imprisoned, before Zelda had revealed herself to him, he had asked why. Why Link?
"I wish I knew." After a minute of silence he looked back up to Amy with a raised brow. "Why did you say that nobody likes her?" Link had never mentioned the princess around Amy, and Siegfried highly doubted that her father had said anything about her.
"I can tell." She said sadly. "The way you talk to her is mean. The way Mitsurugi looks at her is too. And papa treats her worse than how he treated Link."
He supposed he should have been nicer when he sent the girl off to bed. He then reminded himself to ask Mitsurugi about what had happened during the time he had been unconscious. Raphael seemed to take an instant dislike to the girl, for reasons the German would have to figure out later. Because of that, an encounter between the two had stirred Amy's suspicions.
"Did that monster kill him?" Amy asked him after a moment.
"No." At least he could say that with confidence. "He's still alive."
"How can you know that?" She was not asking to be cruel. She was asking to be sure. She wanted to be assured that her light had merely been shrouded in shadow, and not obliterated altogether.
"Soul Edge had a body of its own, yes," Siegfried admitted. "But it can't survive on its own. It needs Link to stay alive. If he dies than Soul Edge will get sick, and eventually it will die. It needs him. It won't risk destroying him."
She hardly looked convinced, but he knew she would take his word for it. "I…don't really understand."
The knight laughed a bit in spite of himself. "I don't quite understand it all myself."
She almost looked as though she would utter a reply. All that would come out of her mouth, however, were small choking sounds. When she reopened her mouth to try again, she was met with the same results.
Siegfried was instantly concerned. "Amy? Are you alright?"
She shook her head. Then she did something he had been dreading since he had walked into the stable. Amy dropped her head into her hands, and started to cry. In the wooden shed that had been absolutely silent mere moments ago, her cries sounded like the wails of a lost child, calling out to a mother lost and out of reach.
And Siegfried could do nothing to comfort her. Any attempts to console her would be useless. He was not the one she wanted to help her through this. The only one who would be able to wipe away her tears, was the one that she was crying for. Siegfried was not that angel.
So all he could do was stand there and wait. All the while he wished something would deafen him to her painful cries.
Mitsurugi had been right in deciding to take Rapier away from his companion. The sudden rage he was now seeing would not have been any better with a sword in hand. Raphael paced around the room angrily. Anything in his path was likely to get smacked or knocked over. The Frenchman was lucky he had money to replace everything he was breaking.
"How could you allow me to let that thing into my house?"
"Where was she supposed to stay? Outside?"
"Yes." The blonde responded bitterly. "Outside with all the other vermin running amuck in the world."
"Raphael," Came the exasperate response. "Just calm yourself for a moment and take a seat."
"Take a seat? Take a-" Raphael scoffed. He took a moment to turn around and place his hands on his hips in the perfect picture of annoyance. "You expect me to just sit down while a monster sleeps perfectly in bed as her victim, my little brother, battles torture against a damn sword!"
In a fit of rage Raphael swung his hand at the closet item in sight. What he knocked down was an expensive looking vase that gracefully shattered to pieces on the carpeted floor.
Mitsurugi sighed. "Trust me," He said soothingly. "I know how you feel. I know exactly how you feel."
"Then why are you so damn calm about this? Why aren't you doing something about it?"
"What do you think I'm doing?" Mitsurugi rose from his chair. Raphael's rage was contagious. "Do you honestly think I like that girl? I nearly killed her myself when I found out."
"What stopped you then? Hm?"
"Siegfried."
Raphael skeptically raised an eyebrow. "Siegfried? That's the best excuse you could come up with?"
"How close were they?"
"Who?"
"Link and Siegfried."
Raphael scratched the back of his head. "They were best friends I suppose."
"Soul mates would be a better term to use. Those two were everything to each other. They knew each other's dreams, their secrets, and their desires. They knew each other better than they knew themselves."
"Alright so-"
"Siegfried was the first to hear of any of this. Don't you think he wanted to rip her throat out?"
"Well, yes?"
"And what does the fact that she's still alive tell you?"
"She's serving him some kind of purpose? Why the hell should I know?" Raphael had quickly gone from looking like an enraged war general to a petulant child in thirty seconds flat. It would have been the funniest sight under other circumstances.
"Exactly, she serves a purpose. She's the only way back to Link. Otherwise Siegfried would have let her die long ago."
Mitsurugi had not spoken to Siegfried about any this of course. There was no way that the knight would be so open with him about the given situation. It was not because he was not trusted, but the samurai was simply not Link. Still, he could tell. His keen instincts were not restricted to just the battle field. He knew what he said was true. Otherwise Zelda would have never made it this far.
"Don't you think this was hard on him? He was the closest to Link, and he was the most heartbroken when the boy left. If he could, he would have already found a way to get rid of her. However he was smart enough to look for a good enough reason to keep her alive, and Link was that reason."
Raphael listened somewhat intently as he walked over to one of the windows in the study. He turned his back to the samurai and instead tried to focus on the night sky outside. There was no moon tonight, and no stars bothered to make an appearance. Instead clouds blocked sight of anything that might have made the scenery beautiful to the human eye. It was a rather depressing sight actually, not unlike the current flow of conversation.
"I know you're upset." Mitsurugi said. "But try to understand. We came here to ask for your help, and without the girl it's all but useless. She needs to survive." That was really what this argument was about after all. Raphael would help for Link's sake, but that resentment inside him would hinder the journey. It could very well stop it all together if left unchecked.
"I," Raphael kept his back to the samurai. "I don't understand how this could happen. He was sick? When was that child ever sick in this world?"
"Never." Mitsurugi admitted. "But that had more to do with us than anything else. You in particular were always making sure he was in top shape." The man could not help but smile at the images that came through. "You really were like his older brother."
Raphael could not help but scoff. "Some sibling I was. I couldn't even help save the only one I had."
Mitsurugi frowned. "You had no way of saving him. He was already out of our reach by then. It was not your fault he died once before. Nor is it your fault he's in trouble now."
"Oh?" The blonde seated himself on the window sill, eyes scanning the gloom ridden sky for something he could not see. "I could have stopped him from going. I could have at least tried." Taking a deep breath he dropped his head into the palm of his hand. There he gripped his hair tightly. "That boy did so much for me. He gave me my daughter's voice, gave me back her smile, gave me back my own damn humanity, and in the end what did I do for him? Absolutely nothing. I could not even convince him to leave behind a world he didn't even like. If I did then none of this would have happened."
Mitsurugi stepped towards Raphael. He did not like the look in the other's eyes. They were too much like the darkness that used to be so prominent in his gaze. "That's not fair, placing all the blame on yourself like that."
"It certainly feels justified. I could have given him a home, a family, a better life than the empty one he had. When the time came to offer it, I was silent. I was useless to him then. What good can I possibly do for him now?"
Mitsurugi placed a hand on Raphael's shoulder and turned him around so that the two were now eye to eye. "Come with us. Link needs you now more than ever. We need you with us."
Raphael looked towards the sky again. He seemed to think long and hard about the decision he was about to make. Mitsurugi got the feeling there was more to it than just leaving to fight Soul Edge. "Amy will come as well."
"What?" Was the blonde going crazy? "She's too young. She hasn't had proper battle experience-"
"But she has had proper training." Raphael argued. "You'd be surprised just how quickly she catches on."
Mitsurugi doubted that every much. "She's merely a child. This entire experience would hurt her." She could very well be killed, and he did not very much like the sound of that.
"Then you can explain to your granddaughter why she can't journey off to find her uncle when she is more than ready enough to start a battle for his life. I'm sure she'll keep her tears to a minimum."
That sounded even less appealing. "That is hardly fair."
"Yes, well neither is bringing an animal into my home and then expecting me to let her eat at my table."
The conversation was as good as completed. Mitsurugi knew there was no longer a place for arguments. Now it was simply about acceptance. "Very well, she may come, but please, do try to at least be polite to Zelda."
"Oh sure." Raphael assured him. "I will do all I can not to offend the antichrist."
Mitsurugi felt he should just leave everything be for the moment.
MistressOfTime1218: Ta da.
DarkMist: Oh yeah this was definitely a short introduction to Raphael and Amy, you big liar!
K-Chan: The one I read was shorter than this!
MistressOfTime1218: I know. I got rid of it and started over. I think this one is better.
StormBlitz: It sure is more technical. But why redo?
MistressOfTime1218: This story is one of the few who actually give me real comfort while writing it. I kind of needed that since I'm here in my new college, away from you guys.
K-Chan: (Tearing up) I love you guys! (Grabs everyone for a group hug)
MistressOfTime1218: (Sweatdrop) Anyway, I'm going to be picking up the pace a bit from here. Next up the group will head on out to Greece, and Siegfried will have to come to terms with some of his feelings.
DarkMist: When is Ike going to get here?
K-Chan: And what about Roy?
StormBlitz: Why isn't Marth in there yet.
MistressOfTime1218: You guys are so impatient. Do not rush the creativity! Anyway, please R&R. I'd like to hear feedback on this chapter in particular, since I'm worried I'm starting to slip in quality.