"Trust is earned, respect is given, and loyalty is demonstrated. Betrayal of any of those is to lose all three."

~Ziad K. Abdelnour~

Ancient Roots

Chapter 9: Betrayal

~Interlude~

The cold numbness of betrayal was all Karane felt when she awoke from the dark void of unconsciousness, her vision hazy and the back of her head pounding. She distinctly remembered being hit on the back of her head but the rest of her recollection remained foggy. As she forced her eyes open, the first thing she realised was how orange the sky was from when she last remembered seeing it; the sun was setting.

Dread seeped into her gut.

The sun was setting.

She slowly sat herself up and the back of her head protested at the movement, though she did her best to ignore it as she gingerly pushed herself onto her knees. Karane recognised the area as the makeshift village near the Earth Temple that they'd walked through earlier, and over the hours it had been transformed by the Bokoblins that now roamed nearby. She was imprisoned in one of the huts and its only exit was now blocked by metal scraps and a Bokoblin in front of it. Being careful not to alert the creature, the knight leaned towards the bars and silently peered out.

The skies above her had been transformed from a hazy blue to a beautiful blend of oranges, purples and blues. Although the fires made by the Bokoblins made it hard to see, Karane was sure she could see some stars starting to peek through the darkening skies. And if she were right, then things had gone far worse than she'd first thought.

The events prior to her blacking out came back slowly and with it came unbridled emotion. Her knees sunk into the earth as she peeked through the gaps in the hut to see if she could spot any of her companions, only to find that she was the only one there. She didn't have any of her weapons either, she quickly realised; they'd shaken her down well.

Then her memory finally cleared up and any hope she had of finding them all was swiftly crushed.

Impa's betrayal struck a harsh chord in her. The very Sheikah she'd placed her trust in was actively working against them. Skies above, how foolish she'd been to trust someone so easily. She remembered Impa holding her and Pipit—oh Goddess, she had no idea where he was—as the Demon Lord appeared and forced Link to surrender. They were both gone now and she had no idea if they were safe.

Of course they weren't safe; they were in the hands of their enemy.

And Zelda—

Karane's hand flew to her mouth as the memories hit her hard. Zelda, who was also nowhere to be seen, had been seriously wounded despite Ghirahim promising not to kill her. And hours had passed since she was in such a sorry state, so Karane had to assume that she was—

"No," she gasped behind her hand, lowing her tone when the Bokoblin guarding her cell glanced back at her. "No…"

Tears burned at the edges of her eyes. Zelda, her best friend who Karane had shared all her ups and downs in life with, couldn't be gone. She refused to believe it. And no matter how much her mind remained in denial, her body shied away from the edge of the cell as she pushed herself into one corner and failed to calm her panicked breathing.

Karane knew that she couldn't have done anything to save Zelda, yet that didn't stop agonising guilt from coursing through her veins. She could have said something, acted quicker, reacted to Impa's attacks better. But she hadn't and now Zelda had paid the price for the knight's inaction.

And now they were trapped.

They were doomed.

As Karane wallowed in her grief, however, she failed to notice the soil beside her shifting. She barely suppressed a scream as dirt suddenly sprayed everywhere and a giant shadow leapt out of the ground. Karane jumped away, scared out of her wits as she raised her hands to defend herself, only to hear a familiar voice.

"Ta-dah! I'm here to save the day!" Outside her cell, the Bokoblin was oblivious to the voice despite its volume, but Karane quickly hushed the large shadow opposite her. "Hey, long time no see!"

The knight squinted but couldn't make out their face. "Do… I know you?" The shadow visibly recoiled and shuffled so its face was caught by the firelight. Karane's lips parted in surprise.

"Don't tell me ya forgot my ugly mug," the creature gasped. "It's me, Ledd!"

"What are you doing here?"

Ledd crossed his arms, "I just heard a rumour that some bad guys were getting together on this mountain. Heh, heh… and everyone knows that when bad guys get together, they'll be fighting over some loot." He frowned, "I saw them dragging you off unconscious, so I tailed 'em."

Her eyes widened as hope fluttered in her heart, "Did you see any of the others like me?"

"Nope, just you. Hey," Ledd added when the knight's shoulders slumped. "I know there's a lot happening in that temple so your friends might be in there."

She bit her lip, desperately trying not to feel hope after all that had happened, "I need to find them; they're in danger. Can you help me get out of here?"

Ledd paused in deep thought before shrugging, "Well, us Mogmas usually ask for something in return when we help people, but you and your friends don't like those monsters and neither do we so I guess I'll help!"

Relief flooded through her and it took everything she had not to hug the Mogma. She let him dig back into the earth and prayed he wouldn't let her down. Praying to the Goddess for help had become a constant in her life and she knew the Goddess wouldn't fail her now. She soon spotted Ledd on the other side of the hut as he crept around the encampment and silently tore through the few Bokoblins there.

Once he killed the last one in front of her cell, together they pulled away the metal scraps barring the entrance to her cell and she was free—free to tackle the trials ahead.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough, Ledd," she told him as sincerely as she could muster. The skies were growing darker now and she knew that they weren't going to make it back to Skyloft tonight. Ledd smirked at her.

"If you keep getting rid of those bad guys and point me to any treasure you find then I'll call it even," was all he said on the matter. Nodding to the temple somewhere behind him, Ledd added, "Now get going. That place's not for a Mogma so I'll cheer you on from the side lines!"

She nodded and thanked him one last time before Ledd dug back into the ground and tunnelled away, leaving the knight alone to scan the camp around her. Now that the encampment was empty, Karane had to focus on what came next: finding everyone and assessing their terrible situation.

Firstly, she needed a weapon.

Her eyes soon landed on the nearby campfire. A slab of meat was being roasted over the flames, but what caught her attention was the empty cooking pot sitting next to the fire. After scouting the area for weapons and finding none (not even her own), she looked back down at the pot with a sigh. The words of the Demon Lord echoed in the back of her mind.

"Anything can be a weapon in the right hands," she whispered.

She was running out of options; she had no choice. The knight closed her hands in and around the two handles before lifting it into the air to check the weight distribution. It was horribly weighted but it would have to do. Realising that she had no choice but to use the pot as a makeshift weapon, Karane straightened and rubbed her eyes before moving on as the dying sunlight cast long shadows across the area.

I'm coming for you Pipit. I'm coming for you Link, she promised the skies above. If you're still alive, Zelda… I hope you aren't suffering…

Karane moved quickly but silently, glad not to see anymore Bokoblins in the area but knowing fully well that they'd all be in the temple anyway. She hated that it was still so humid here despite the time. The knight soon stood before the double doors leading into the Earth Temple, her makeshift weapon held tightly in her hands. She did her best to ignore the memories that plagued her as she steeled herself for what was to come.

With one final prayer to the Goddess, Karane slowly descended the steps into the Earth Temple with only a cooking pot to protect her and the determination to save her friends to keep her going.

He woke up in a place that was familiar to him. He'd accompanied the Goddess on her pilgrimages to the various springs across the land and this one, the Earth Spring, was no different. This enclosed spring was as pristine as it was serene, for the stonework hadn't been touched by the elements. The sound of the waterfalls around him and the crackling of the torches on the other side of the spring echoed between the walls. Above him, light shone down from an unknown crack in the ceiling.

The smaller Statue of the Goddess stood tall before him. It had been the first thing he saw when he first awoke here and the statue's smile had been the only source of comfort in his confused daze. It lifted his spirit like the real Goddess's smile had done so long ago. That smile brought back nice memories, and those were few and far between in his life.

However, the little comfort he took from the statue's smile faded when he turned and met the dark, familiar eyes of the Demon Lord. He'd instinctively reached for his blade, only to find his weapon missing and his hands in chains—a sadly familiar sight. At first, Ghirahim saw something in the man's eyes that made him smirk, yet his triumph was quickly snuffed out when his prisoner spoke.

"What have you done?" The man instantly recoiled from the sound of his voice; it wasn't his own. He looked down and discovered that his clothing was similar but wasn't exactly his either. He was shorter too. Snapping his gaze back up to the pale man, he repeated, "What have you done, demon?"

Ghirahim was stunned for a moment, but as the pieces fell into place he turned his attention to the statue, "I wanted him to remember, not bring his predecessor back. You fickle woman…" He all but spat out the insult before looking back down at the man before him. "You should have stayed dead."

And then he disappeared in a burst of diamonds, leaving the man alone and confused. He was in a familiar place and yet everything felt wrong. He felt like himself in his heart, but his mind and body were different. There was something different in the air too. It wasn't thick and tinged with darkness like he remembered, but was light and how it was before the war.

He quickly came to his conclusion: he didn't belong here.

Although they were hazy, he could remember the end. The war was long and many were lost, including him. He remembered fighting the Demon King—what a fool he was to try and fight the leader of the darkness on his own—and he remembered collapsing. He remembered the pain slowly fade away until his awareness did too.

Yet here he was, alive but not himself.

He strained his mind to recall whatever he could. It was as if he had been floating for so long, lying dormant far away and hanging in limbo, unable to rest but unable to wake up. Then he started to remember glimpses of things—the sky, the clouds, a school, a girl, the Goddess's guardian bird—and then he heard her voice.

"I will ensure that your gentle, heroic spirit will live on eternally. And I… I shall shed my divinity. The next time we meet, I wish to stand before you as a simple human…"

And then he woke up.

Were those truly her words? Did she truly shed her divinity? He swallowed thickly as he looked down at the unfamiliar hands. Had she been true to her word and brought him back?

"Why…?" His voice was still wrong but that was the least of his concerns. Irritation burnt away at him as he turned and demanded of the statue, "Why have you done this?"

The statue, of course, had no reply. She continued to smile down at him.

He sighed at his rubbed his face absently, ignoring the sound of metal clinking with every movement. After spending so long in chains, being back in them felt like second nature now. No, he had to focus his mind on understanding what was going on here. He had to focus on whose body he'd stolen and how he could return it.

Suddenly, he became aware of an all too familiar feeling in his side. The pain grew in intensity as his eyes found blood pooling beneath him. Panic gripped his heart for a heartbeat before his brain took control—apparently he and the person whose body he'd stolen both shared the same calm head. The chains wouldn't stretch far enough for him to clean the wound in the spring water, so all he could do was apply pressure and pray he could hold out long enough, though for what he wasn't sure.

Farore, bless me with your courage, he prayed silently, as he'd always done. Nayru, bless me with your wisdom. And Din, bless me with your power…

And it seemed his prayers were quickly answered.

"Let me fight with you!" a female voice suddenly cried out. His racing mind was abruptly brought to a halt. He didn't recognise her voice, but something inside him felt a familiarity. "Please, you can't do this alone!"

There was a scuffle and then a male voice spoke, "No. We almost lost you before and we aren't going to lose you for good. Just…" The person seemed to hesitate. "Just find him, alright? We'll take care of everything else."

The first voice cried out as he heard the door into the spring close and the sound of the person slamming their fist into the door reflected around the spring. In the distance, he could make out the screech of a monster—a large one at that. As the seconds ticked by, he was curious about the way his heart fluttered at the sound of her voice.

She would help him to understand what was going on, he decided. He needed all the help he could get.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "Make yourself known."

The heat outside was nothing compared to this, Karane mused as she wiped her brow. The heat inside the Earth Temple was close to unbearable, but it wasn't like she could stop or turn back. She'd been wandering through the temple for hours, even though it felt like it'd been years. Each step she took was more draining than the last and her water had been stolen away with the rest of her things; it was going to be a long night.

She crept up a staircase adorned with red and green tiles, and the river of lava to her right was making her palms sweat so she had to keep readjusting her grip on the cleaver she'd stolen from a Bokoblin a few rooms back. Thankfully she was able to quickly ditch the cooking pot, even though it had done a good job at the time.

She bat away swarms of fire Keese as she went, her mind and body on edge as she continued on. There was still no sign of her friends which certainly didn't bode well, so the knight focused on her surroundings to distract her. For a temple full of monsters, it was far more vibrant and doing better against the elements than Skyview Temple—everything here was still in one piece.

She ducked out of the way when a horde of fire Keese appeared from the shadows. The knight slashed at a few as they flew by, but at the cost of some burning scratches to her cheek and arm. Gritting her teeth, she leapt out of the way of their next attack and swung at the final few creatures. They shrieked and disappeared in a plume of purple smoke.

She clutched her cheek and hissed at the pain the scratches brought. The knight certainly didn't need a potion, though she would have loved some water to clean the wound, but she had nothing. Desperate not to think about the scratches, she tightened her grip on the cleaver and pushed onward until she could find a place to rest.

Dipping into an alcove, Karane dropped to the ground and rested her head against the wall, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from her face and neck. The air was thick and heavy, and for a moment she considered taking a proper rest; she was drained. But then she thought about her friends and knew she couldn't sit idle.

Come on, Karane, she told herself firmly, picking myself up from against the wall. You can't waste any more time…

She sighed and set off again. The knight soon reached the top of the stairs and found a large, open area before her encircled with lava. Off to the right was a set of large red doors, similar to the doors leading into the temple, with a large dragon head above it. The door looked similar to the one in Skyview Temple before they'd met the Demon Lord for the first time and that was far from comforting to think about. Part of the path leading to the door was eroded away, although Karane was sure she'd be able to jump across.

As she turned her attention to where she stood now, the knight spotted a tunnel off to the left with some sort of winding path above it. She moved to inspect it, only to jump when she suddenly heard voices from inside. Karane instantly recognised the shouts as Bokoblins and numerous ones too. And they were running fast from what she could hear. She readied her cleaver and steeled herself for the fight ahead.

That's when she saw him.

"Pipit!"

His eyes find hers immediately and his face broke out into a broad grin. She went limp with relief but she was quick to be back on guard as she realised what his situation was. The glow from the fire Keese in the tunnel and the lava around them illuminated his form. His bloodied nose and lip stuck out like a sore thumb. Behind him were several Bokoblins chasing him down with weapons raised.

Finally, she could look after him for a change.

Pushing a weaponless Pipit behind her, Karane allowed his presence to bolster her courage as the Bokoblins fanned out across the space. Believing in her strengths, she lunged at them. Bokoblins were easy enough to fight, though in a group they could prove to be a problem if she allowed it; but she wouldn't.

Dodging under the swing of one, she slashed at its gut and swiftly moved onto the next, parrying it and ending its life. Despite his lack of weapons, Pipit was able to kick some of the monsters away and stole the first cleaver he could reach. They stood back to back and, after sparring together for many years, knew how to work together in a fight. The two knights moved as quick as the wind and hit like a storm, battling on despite their obvious fatigue.

From the cries of Bokoblins to the deafening silence that came after all of them were killed, Karane and Pipit took a moment to catch their breaths before turning to one another, wordlessly embracing as the emotional toil of the day fell back onto their shoulders. They held each other for a while, sword arms resting limply at their sides as the two drank in one another's presence. Karane winced when he squeezed her arm where she'd been scratched earlier and Pipit recoiled.

"It's only a scratch," she murmured, though he didn't seem convinced. She frowned at his bloody face. "What happened?" Realising what she was looking at, Pipit quickly wiped away the blood as best he could, though he quickly grew frustrated when he could feel it smudging across his face instead of going away.

"They imprisoned me in an encampment near the temple. I managed to sneak out but they spotted me and I ran. Then I found you." He studied her face, "Did they hurt you?"

She shook her head, "No, Ledd—the creature we met this morning—managed to get me out of where I was being held." She looked up at him hopefully, "Have you seen…?"

"No," he replied with hunched shoulders. Grief and a deep rooted sense of hopelessness twisted her features. He took her hand and squeezed it, forcing her to look up at him. His eyes, dulled a little by fatigue and emotion, shone with determination. "We'll find them, Karane. I promise."

Her eyes grew warm at the memories plaguing her mind's eye, "You saw the blood, Pip. You can't seriously believe—"

"Zelda's alive," he cut in strongly, stubbornly. "They both are. We're going to save them and get us all out of here." Even though she couldn't bring herself to believe him, Karane was glad to have someone who was stubbornly optimistic despite everything. He really was her rock, one that looked a little worse for wear right now but remained strong.

She just couldn't forget how much blood there was. She couldn't be optimistic, refused to be, and Pipit must have seen that because he drew her back into a tight hug. As he did, however, Karane's eyes widened when she spotted someone standing in front of the red doors she saw earlier. She grabbed him and pushed away so suddenly and silently that Pipit instantly knew something was wrong. He turned and followed her line of sight and felt his heart leap into his throat.

"I think you may want these returned."

Mere feet away from them stood Impa of the Sheikah tribe, the woman who'd betrayed them and put all of their lives in danger, holding their equipment in both hands. But all Karane could see was the sight of her best friend bleeding out outside the Earth Temple and she lunged with a battle cry. It took all of Pipit's energy to hold her back. He wanted to do the same, of course, but they needed to act with their heads and not their hearts.

At least for the moment.

"What are you doing here?" Pipit asked her, desperately trying to keep his voice steady. In response, the Sheikah placed their things onto the ground and pushed them over to them.

"I'm returning your things." She frowned when neither of the knights moved, "You will most certainly need them for the battle ahead."

Karane narrowed her eyes, "Is this some kind of sick joke? First you betray us to Ghirahim and now you're returning our equipment so we can fight whatever creature you've got lying in wait for us." Impa shook her head.

"I'm returning your equipment because it'll take all three of us to free the others," she told them simply. "We must act swiftly."

"Others?" parroted Pipit before Karane could spit back a retort.

"Others," the Sheikah confirmed. "Both Her Grace and the newest Bearer are still alive."

For the briefest of moments, Karane's heart swelled with relief, then she shook her head, "Why should we take you at your word? After all, you're the one who handed them and us over to the enemy."

"I…" Impa hesitated. It was a reaction that surprised the two knights. "What happened outside the Earth Temple was not how I had expected things to go. I have to make things right again."

Pipit and Karane searched the Sheikah's face for any sign of truth in her words, but she looked back at them with so little emotion on her face that they struggled. No matter how sincere she sounded, Impa wasn't to be trusted anymore. They couldn't give into her words; not after the damage she'd caused.

"If you're just here to feed us lies then you can leave," Pipit said after a moment. "We aren't going to waste our time with you. We're going to find them and defeat you both; just try and stop us."

Karane internally winced at his words. As much as she agreed with him, she knew that Pipit had a reputation of not knowing when to quit. He very much was the protector of the island, or at least that's what he prided himself on being. He was determined to keep everyone safe and the Surface was putting that to the test. She didn't want him to overextend himself in a place like this.

"Then make haste," was all the Sheikah said in response before disappearing in a flash of blue light.

The two knights paused before reaching down for their equipment, on alert for any potential sudden attacks only to be greeted with cold silence. As they reclaimed their things, Karane smiled as she picked up her prized sword. It had been gifted to her by her late mother a few months before Karane took her final exams to become a knight. Her mother was a gifted knight herself and so her daughter prided herself on following in her footsteps.

"Have courage and be kind," that's what her mother had always said. She needed that right now.

"Well," Pipit said after a moment. "That definitely could've gone worse."

Karane couldn't stifle her smile as they took out their canteens and drank. The water was lukewarm at best but it didn't matter—anything was better than nothing at this point. Although he wanted to clean the blood off his face, Pipit knew he had to conserve what water they had for whatever came next. They had half a canteen each now and had no idea when they'd be able to refill them next so they had to be careful.

"Come on," Karane said finally. "We should keep moving."

"Wait." She turned to him with a raised brow, concerned by the twinge of desperation in his voice. He looked at her with a fierce determination. "If anything goes wrong in there…"

She blinked, "Pip—"

"No, I need to say this."

His words were starting to scare her. "You were just saying that we're going to save everyone and get out of here, and now you're worried that something will go wrong. What—"

"I love you."

Her lips parted, "W-What?"

"I love you," he said again, stronger this time. He waved his hands absently as he searched for the right words. "I'm going in there and finding the others but I know that comes with its own risks. I need you to know how I feel in case something happens." He sighed and forced himself to meet her gaze, "I've felt this way for a long time now…"

Her first instinct was to cross the short gap between them and hug him. She'd felt the same way for so long now—Zelda often teased her about it, but it wasn't like she had a leg to stand on either—and to hear that the person she loved felt the same way about her made her heart soar. It was what she'd been wanting to hear for too long.

But then the other, more pragmatic side of her leapt into the fray. How dare he choose to proclaim his feelings in such a time and place! They were trapped in a place they'd never been to before, trapped and surrounded by enemies and without any knowledge (that they could trust) of what had happened to their friends.

That was the side of her that surfaced.

"Karane… please say—"

"I can't believe you!" she cried. "How dare you think that you can say something like that and then go in there and act like a hero! After everything that's happened today, do you really think going and getting killed will help anyone? Do you think it'll help Zelda and Link? Do you think it'll help me?"

He blinked, taken aback by her outburst, "K-Karane, I—"

"You know how unwilling I am to trust people with my heart after Keaton," she continued. Her eyes grew warm at the memories of a time long past; one of her biggest regret. Keaton Jones, the only other person she thought she loved, gave Karane her first and only broken heart. He loved her, cared for her and then abandoned her—he moved out of Skyloft without telling her and to this day she didn't know why. "So how dare you say that and—"

"I said it because it's true!" Pipit cut in hotly. "And I'm not trying to be a hero. I just want to make sure you know because I don't have a good feeling about this!"

She clenched her jaw and balled her fists, "Well, for the record, I love you too!" His eyes widened.

"You… you do?""

"Of course I do, you idiot! I'm just so mad right now that I can't think straight." They stopped for a moment, their last words echoing around the chamber before falling silent once more. The two knights breathed heavy as they refused to look each other in the eye.

Karane rubbed her face and left her hands there for a moment as she huffed loudly. She felt him tenderly reach out for her shoulder and she jumped. She didn't entirely regret her words—she was still angry at him for his terrible timing—but she wished that she'd said things differently. Oh Goddess above, this was the last thing she needed right now.

Having no voice left to apologise for her outburst, she silently nodded to the red doors. Pipit exhaled deeply and fell into step with her, his frustration at himself momentarily overpowering his fear of the unknown. He knew that the topic would have to be dropped for the moment but he wouldn't give up. They'd find the others, get out of here safely and then he and Karane would talk.

One thing at a time, he told himself. One thing at a time…