Chapter 18

The Hylians and Link arrived back at the cave, and presented the box to the Elders. They thanked Link and Dariil again, and after that was done the men allowed themselves to have a day off to relax before they got back to it for the final item.

Link was glad for a hot bath, and a good meal. What put him on edge though, was the almost electric feeling throughout the entire clan. No matter where he went, it seemed people were talking in hushed whispers, moving in the shadows, or glancing around at him. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he couldn't help but feel that something just wasn't right.

As he walked back to his room, he saw Faale in the laundry room, washing clothes. He stopped.

"Hey, Faale," He started, coming up behind her. Whatever he was about to say faltered on his lips as the girl jumped a mile and spun round to face him. Taken aback, Link paused.

"Oh, Link!" She breathed out sharply, "Sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"Hiding from someone?" Link asked, but Faale did not elaborate. Link smirked. "Is it a man, by any chance?"

Faale's cheeks burned. "No!"

Again, she did not elaborate. She looked at Link for a few seconds more, before turning back to her washing.

"Where's Abrel?" Link tried making conversation.

"With Mother."

"Because you're doing chores?"

"Yes."

"When do you finish?"

"Soon."

"Are you going to give me more than one-word answers?"

"No," Faale paused, "Look. I just want to get my work done, okay?"

"Has something happened?" Link suddenly asked, concerned. "Has someone done something to hurt you?" He had grown to care for the girl as a sister, and the sudden intrusion of unpleasant thoughts that filled his mind angered him.

"No, nothing!" Faale threw down the wet tunic in her hands, and it made a wet slap, splashing suds onto her apron. She threw up her hands in frustration.

"Look, Faale," Link stepped back to avoid Faale throwing water at him. "It's clear something isn't right." He looked around, and lowered his voice, "Ever since we got back, something has felt… off. I swear people talk in hushed whispers, and then stop when I walk in. People are glancing at me, and I can't tell what the look is on their faces. And I swear people are following me from the shadows. Just what is going on?"

Faale sighed. There was no way Link was going to let this go. "Fine," she uttered, her voice low, "Just remember, the walls have ears. They brought in some prisoners. They're not Hylians."

"They must be my people," Link's heart beat faster, and he felt a little sick. "Do you know who they brought in?"

He had a horrible feeling that she was. He dearly hoped that she had stayed out of all of this, and stayed with the children. Of course, he knew her. He knew that she would do something like this.

"I don't know, I-"

"Zelda." Link grabbed the girl by the shoulders, looking into her eyes, almost as if searching for the answer. "Zelda, is she here?"

"I don't know, Link," She sighed. "I know they brought in a group of men. But, I did hear whispers of a girl being brought in as well."

"That must be Zelda." Link breathed a sigh of relief. It was short-lived though, as the reality of the situation dawned on him. If she was a prisoner… it didn't bear thinking of. "You have to tell me where the prisoners are kept."

"Link…" Faale stepped back away from him, "You know I can't tell you that. The Elders, they'll find out, and Abrel and I will be-"

"Fine. If you won't help, I'll find her myself." Link cut her off. He wasn't angry at her, not really, just frustrated at the situation. He didn't want to put Faale and Abrel in a difficult situation, but at the same time Faale had said too much already. What difference would letting him also know the location of the cells make?

Harley cursed his brashness, a hundred times over. He should've thought harder about ambushing the Hylians. Running in was the worst thing he could have done, as it just ended up with them all getting captured. Harley himself had been knocked out during the scuffle; one of the Hylians had knocked his sword out of his hand, and whilst he was stunned by his sudden lack of weapon another had knocked him over the head with something heavy. His head hurt even now, and he touched it gingerly with his fingers, the chains around his wrists jangling. As far as he knew, no-one had been in to check on him yet.

Harley had been captured before, though. He hadn't just been captured anywhere, as well: he had been here, in one of these cells before.

It had happened just after the cloud barrier had been removed. Without permission, Harley had snuck off and travelled around by himself, which ultimately led him to being captured. But then, a serving girl had taken pity on him, and let him out. Harley had then returned home, and never spoken of it again. But now, being back here; it made him think of the girl he'd met before.

Saying he had returned home and never spoken of it again is a half-truth; He never spoke of it to any of the Skyloftians. However, he had returned a good few times, to meet up with the girl; her culture had intrigued him, at first. The language, how they lived underground, their stories of the Goddess took his curiosity, and once he had been able to understand the girl, she had shared much about it. Harley didn't know much Hylian anymore, that was true. With no reason to study it after the girl had stopped coming to their meetings, he had eventually moved on. He missed the girl; eventually, it was more than the culture that took his fancy, and they shared a few tender moments. Once, he recalled, she had snuck out at night to meet him, and they had laid out on a blanket under the stars. She had told him, in his language, how much she cared for him. And he had showed her how much he cared for her in return.

Thinking about it now, it was soon after that that she had stopped meeting him. After countless months of Harley going to their secret meeting point, only to turn up alone, he had given up, deciding that she had probably found someone from her own clan, and forgotten about him.

The bolt on the door slid back, and a lithe figure entered. Harley looked up, a look of shock washing over his face, before he smiled warmly.

"Faale."

Link walked briskly down the corridors, ignoring the strange looks people gave him when they saw his stormy expression. They were all looking at him anyway, screw caution now. If Zelda was here, if she was hurt, he needed to get to her.

Turning a corner, he ran straight into someone. As he stepped back to shout at them for being in the way, he noticed the grimaced face in front of him.

"Oh, Finn!" he exclaimed, worried for the wounded man "I'm sorry. I'm in a rush."

"I could tell," Finn replied through clenched teeth, holding his side.

"Something's going on." Link told him. He paused, wondering if Finn could be trusted with his worries. If the Hylians were, in fact, against him… who could he trust?

"I know there is." Finn nodded his head. "They brought in some prisoners, your people I presume?"

"They are," Link felt relieved. "Do you know where they are?"

"I do." He replied, "I can't show you the way, though, it will be too suspicious. I can tell you how to get there."

Finn told him, and Link thanked the man. He started off in the direction Finn had sent him, dread set in his heart at what he might find.

Thank you all for reading! Did you like the plot twist about Harley, Faale and Abrel? For those concerned, I see Faale as being in her early twenties (even though she looks and acts quite young). Harley is probably four or five years older than her. All my characters are of legal age in the UK!

End game is coming soon… I'm pretty sure I can get this instalment finished in the next two chapters. Then, it will be time to start book three! How exciting!

Please leave a review if you liked it!

Meiko x