Red Sky at Night - Chapter 8
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Link screamed. It was a strange sound, low and rough and broken, a sound he hadn't even known he could make until now. He reached out helplessly as she slipped away from him, their eyes meeting for a brief, horrifying moment.
The fear and the pain in Link's eyes broke her heart, but Medilia knew there was nothing she could do as she fell. There was nothing to grab on to, nothing between her and the lethally solid rocks. Time seemed to slow as she looked at her son, wishing she could reassure and comfort him, tell him it wasn't his fault. More than her own death, she feared what this might do to him.
"Arn..." Her lost love's name slipped from her lips. Would she see him again? She found, in that moment, that no matter how much she missed him, she would rather carry on missing him than leave Link alone. However, the choice was no longer hers to make and her last hope was that he couldn't see when she reached the bottom.
Closing her eyes she tried to accept her fate, to will the fall to be over quickly and allow her to make her peace with her end.
Somewhere over the rushing of wind in her ears, she could hear a commotion below, but it was far, far away, as though she was already in another world.
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"Medilia!" Rivan looked on in horror as she lost her grip, flailing in the air for a moment as she hurtled down. At that speed, from that height, he knew there was no chance she'd survive unless her fall was halted.
Rivan jumped. Powerful legs well used to propelling him through water now sent him upwards, moving swiftly towards the rapidly falling woman. Webbed feet touched the rocks and launched him higher still, until his arms finally wrapped around her, stopping her immediate descent.
Yet the danger was far from over. There was no waterfall to plunge into and regain control. The rocks were hard and cold and now there were two of them plunging towards the ground.
With a grunt he twisted, flipping her onto his back and hoping to Hylia she still had enough of her wits about her to hold on.
There was no time for relief as he felt her arms lock around his neck. He reached desperately for the cliff side, knowing that to hit the ground at their current rate of descent would kill them both.
His hand finally found purchase and he held on for dear life, gasping for breath as her grip nearly strangled him.
He could hear the commotion as the other Zora scrambled to rescue them, yet his grip on the rock was too precarious and he knew there wouldn't be time.
His hand slipped and he reached out again, trying to at least slow their descent. The rocks cut into his palm, making it even harder to hold on as the blood stole his grip.
Rivan gritted his teeth, his options fleeing like a crab in sand. His fingertips were cramping with the strain of hanging on and he knew they were out of time. He made his choice. Rivan turned, wrapping himself tightly around the terrified Hylian and keeping himself between her and the rocks as they fell the rest of the way and landed with a sickening crunch.
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Medilia barely knew what was happening as she clung to Rivan, fear robbing her of her senses. Yet she had a moment to comprehend what Rivan was doing as he flipped her. She managed a scream, though it was far too late and it was knocked from her as they hit the ground. She heard the crunch of bones; her scream became a broken sob.
Above, still clinging to the rocks, Link's soft cries were almost unheard except by the Zora now scaling the cliff to reach him. His eyes were wide and red from tears, his arms wrapped around his tiny body as he stared in horror at the scene below.
"No... No..." Still struggling for breath, Medilia tried to move. Pain shot through her arm and leg and she realised then she had not escaped unscathed. "Rivan, Rivan..." The Zora was unresponsive beneath her and she couldn't even move enough to see if he was breathing.
A shadow fell over them and she looked up to see Bazz, concern etched on his face.
"I've sent for lady Mipha," he said quietly, kneeling down beside her and Rivan.
"Link..." She tried to turn but the pain prevented her from doing so. Hylia, she was still lying on Rivan, who hadn't moved at all.
"He's fine, someone is bringing him down, try not to worry. I'm going to move you now, try to relax." He didn't want to, but the limp form of the Zora made it necessary.
"Okay..." she let out a shaky breath as Bazz slid his hands under her and gently pulled her off Rivan.
She screamed. She couldn't do anything else as pain shot through her arm and leg, a crunching and grinding indicative of her broken bones. Her good hand gripped Bazz's arm as she tried to breathe through the agony.
"I'm sorry..." he apologised as he set her back down as carefully as he could, his hand supporting her until she was lying firmly on the ground and he could move to check the still motionless Rivan.
"Rivan..." Medilia bit his name out, watching through wavering vision as Bazz examined him.
"We'll see when Lady Mipha gets here," Bazz replied; his lack of commitment made her heart sink.
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Above them, Link had watched in silent horror as his mother fell, only to be caught by Rivan before the two went plummeting to the ground. Unable to move or look away, he barely noticed when he was finally joined on the tiny ledge by a kind faced Zora warrior.
"Hello..." the pale Zora managed a smile. "Do you remember me? I'm Gaddison. Come on, let's get you down."
Link shook his head, not even looking at the woman, his gaze still fixed on the horror below. He could see his mother but couldn't tell if she was moving and that made him cry harder.
Gaddison moved over and put an arm around Link.
"We can't stay here," she insisted gently. As much as she feared bringing the boy to a potentially dead mother, it was dangerous on the narrow ledge.
Still, Link didn't move and she supposed if they stayed still they'd be okay, for a few minutes at least. She hugged the boy a little tighter and felt him tremble in her arms.
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Mipha had been along near the next peak when the call came that Link had been found. She had immediately started to make her way there when the echo of a horn reached her, its tone the one only used in the most dire of circumstances. Her hand tightened on her trident; she almost flew to the scene.
"Oh!" Mipha rushed to where Rivan and Medilia were lying. It was immediately obvious that Rivan was in the worst state, it was unclear if he was even still alive. She knelt next to him, looking at his battered body in horror. "What happened?"
"She fell trying to get to Link, he jumped up and protected her," Bazz explained. "He... took the full impact of the fall."
Mipha winced but didn't hesitate, running gentle hands over Rivan, looking for anything to help her, just the slightest spark of life was all she needed. She could feel shattered bones and slick blood, but healing that was pointless if he was already gone. She muttered under her breath, offering prayers to the Goddess to help her, help him. She thought of his daughter waiting at home and increased her efforts. Behind her, she could hear Medilia crying, and no wonder – her closest friend may well have just given his life for her.
Resting her fingers on his face, she thought she detected the slightest twitch and her mind was made up. That was enough. Placing her hand on his chest she called on her power, feeling the energy flow through her to surround Rivan in pale light, the Zora's body lost in the glow for a moment as Mipha poured all she had into the healing, trying to bring the warrior back from the brink.
As The light dimmed, a hush fell as they waited to see if Mipha had arrived in time. Medilia ignored her own pain, absorbed in the spectacle, having never seen Mipha's power used to its full extent before. "Please..." she whispered.
Rivan groaned. His dark eyes opened slowly to take in the scene around him. "Ow..."
"Rivan... Thank Hylia..." Mipha let out a sigh of relief. "I feared we had lost you." She took his arm, helping him into a sitting position.
"Medilia!" he gasped, ignoring the aches to look around for her.
"Behind you," Mipha smiled. "She needs attention also, but she will live thanks to you."
He turned to see her lying there, pale and in pain but decidedly alive.
Medilia reached out, just managing to touch Rivan's leg. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you, my friend."
Rivan laughed shakily. You're welcome."
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"You see?" Gaddison rubbed Link's arm soothingly. "Everyone will be fine. Mipha's grace is truly a blessing. Now, let's get down, hmm? Your mother has waited long enough." She looked at the boy, her heart going out to him at the sight of his pale, tear streaked face.
At last Link nodded and got shakily to his feet. When Gaddison crouched down he put his arms around her neck and held tight.
Deciding to take no chances after the string of bad luck they'd had, she untied her sash to loop it around Link before tying it around her waist. "Hold on now, I'll go slow but don't wriggle, okay?"
Feeling his nod against her back she moved carefully to the edge of the rock and slowly, cautiously, began to climb down. Each step was measured, checked, and careful as she brought the terrified boy to safety.
At last their feet touched solid ground and she untied the sash again, letting Link go. He shot off immediately and she smiled as he darted towards his mother.
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Hearing footsteps, Medilia tried to turn but found it impossible as she nearly passed out from the pain. It didn't matter though because a moment later Link threw himself into her arms and the rough jolt to broken bones barely even mattered as she wrapped her good arm around him.
"Link! Oh thank the Goddess..." Pulling him close, she couldn't hold back the tears, crying into his dirty hair. "I thought I had lost you." Or that he had lost her, but the distinction hardly seemed to matter.
Pressed against her she could feel his hands signing shakily and though she couldn't see them, she knew what he was saying.
{I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry}
"It's okay, it's okay. You're here now, that's all that matters." There would be time later to talk about why he had run off and the consequences of it, but it seemed unimportant for the moment.
Biting back a stab of pain, she looked up as Mipha came over.
"Link, I must tend to your mother's injuries now. It will not take long and you can stay right here, I just need you to move over a little."
"Are you sure?" Mipha already looked tired from her work on Rivan. "I can wait."
"I can rest later," she replied with a smile. "Please, let me heal you."
The pain already taking a toll, she didn't have the will to argue. Medilia nodded and glanced at Rivan, who pulled himself up and came over. "Here, Link, sit with me."
Link tensed, unwilling to leave his mother and feeling unable to face Rivan. The sight of the two of them falling would haunt him for a long time to come.
"It's okay, Link... come here..." He gently prised the boy away from his mother. He was more than a little shaken by his brush with death, but it had been his choice and Link's guilt was written all over his face. "You'll be back with her in a moment." Settling him in his lap, he made sure Link could see as Mipha went to work.
Unlike with Rivan, Mipha was able to focus only on Medilia's arm and leg. Although there were other, smaller injuries, these were the critical ones that could not be left. The rest only needed time.
Link watched intently as the soft glow covered his mother's wounds, mending the bones and relieving her pain.
"There..." Mipha sat back, exhausted. "Forgive me for not doing more, but my power requires time to restore."
Carefully moving her newly healed limbs, Medilia reached out and hugged the princess, feeling no need to stand on ceremony after all that had transpired. "Please don't apologise. You've done more than enough."
She ached from head to toe and was sure she was bruised all over, but she welcomed the aches, a reminder that she was still, miraculously, alive and had her son back.
The healing done, Rivan let Link go and he launched himself back into his mothers lap. Finally able to hug him properly she pulled him close, feeling him snuggle against her, his hands clinging to her dress as though they were still on the cliff. Yet as she held him, something dug into her side and she winced.
"Link, are you hurt? I can feel something sharp..." She tried to prise him off her for a moment so she could check him over.
To her surprise he sat back almost willingly, reaching into his pocket and offering her the contents. In his hand were ten small shards of luminous stone, chipped from the larger rocks with childlike strength. His very reason for coming here. He couldn't know that they were too small to be of use to the stonemasons and certainly not worth a diamond.
"Oh Link..." all this, for pebbles. She fought the urge to cry; she'd shed enough tears already today. He hadn't meant to cause trouble, he'd only wanted to help. Forcing herself to smile she took them, the tiny shards glowing slightly in the now pink light of the fading moon. "Thank you."
Hylia help her, she didn't think she'd ever be able to let him go again.
XXX
End chapter 8
To quote Doctor Who: Everybody lives! Just this once, everybody lives!
As ever, I would be grateful for any feedback! Thank you!