A/N: I own nothing except a copy of this great game. Second note: A single singer is demarked in italics "like this", while a crowd singing is demarked "like this."
Though she had never truly doubted the odds of their success, she would be lying if she did not take a slight degree of relief and satisfaction in being able to come back through the portal to another era in one piece. Impa looked around her, seeing that she had lost so few men, and considered the mission a resounding success. She opted not to ride a horse as they marched back through the portal and through the Hyrulian fields she remembered so fondly. She was always more comfortable on the ground, walking, in the first place.
Instead, she had relinquished her steed to her ruler. Zelda sat astride the ashen grey mare, still clad in her Sheikah garb. Impa had to admit that whomever the seamstress was that Zelda had commissioned to put that outfit together had done a remarkable job. It looked almost exactly like something that Impa would have given to one of her tribal warriors. At the thought of this, she felt a pang of sadness. Though it was true that she was the chieftain of her Sheikah tribe, the reality was that she had not seen any Sheikah warriors in years. Not since she had been chosen as the chief protector of the Royal Family. Though she had never truly trusted Zelda while she had masqueraded as Sheik, there was a small part of her, she realized, that had privately delighted in the idea of seeing and knowing someone that shared a similar heritage as she.
Zelda looked down at her, and frowned. She'd seen Impa's melancholy expression.
"Is everything alright, Impa?" She asked. The Sheikah warrior sighed.
"Yes, Zelda. Just…thinking."
"About what?"
"Life, I suppose. Running into 'Sheik' gave me a bit of a flashback, and a few existential angsting moments." She looked up at Zelda, who looked away in shame. "Oh, come on now. There's no need for that. You weren't intentionally trying to do that when you dressed up as Sheik: it just…happened, is all."
"I just still feel bad for having deceived you." Zelda said. "You are my closest friend. I shouldn't have to resort to betraying your trust." Impa looked at her pointedly.
"You're still hung up on that? Zelda, as far as I am concerned: we found you, we stopped Cia's advance in another dimension, secured ourselves an ally in Darunia and even Ruto, and did it all with minimal loss of life. You know what I call that? A job well done." There was a firmness in Impa's voice, that demanded Zelda acknowledge the meaning behind her words. There was no point in feeling bad over the past. What was done was done, and in the end all was well. For now, anyway. Zelda felt a smile creeping up along her face. This was why Impa was her closest friend.
Nearby them, Darunia marched heartily at the front of his Honor Guard. Despite the protestations of the rest, Darunia had insisted on repaying his debt by bringing his strongest soldiers with him through the portal to help defeat Cia. They were all stout, heavily-armored and heavily-tattooed Gorons. They carried massive warhammers and spears and clubs, and all seemed quite excited at the prospect of crossing dimensions to do battle. Their enthusiasm was quite infectious. Darunia, of course, was right at the center of it.
"Hey hey!" He shouted. "This is a most beautiful land you call home, your majesty!" He shouted to Zelda. "My Gorons and I would be honored to fight and die in this land for you." At the sound of this, the Gorons all let out a synchronized bark of agreement. A little but off to the side, still clinging to a very annoyed Itami, Ruto made a face.
"Ugh, you and your macho baloney Darunia." She said. "It's highly unbecoming a ruler!" She had her arms wrapped around Itami from the side like a bearhug, and was walking in synchronized step with him. It was almost as if she was treating him like a security blanket, afraid to let go. He was not terribly thrilled with this.
"Not every ruler is like you." He said. Ruto made fluttery eyes.
"Because only I am so beautiful and regal, isn't that right love?" She said. She squeezed him tightly. "And, after all, who ended up with the hot doctor in the end?"
"War medic."
"Whatever you say, baby." Ruto closed her eyes and smiled. Itami made eye contact with Impa, and the Sheikah warrior tried not to laugh at his murderous stare. Zelda looked over her shoulder towards the unlikely couple, and smiled despite herself.
"They make a lovely couple, don't they?" She asked Impa with a wink. The Sheikah warrior chuckled.
"Don't say that too loud. He might hear you." She said. Zelda giggled.
.
After a few hours more of marching, as the sun was staring to make its descent towards the horizon, they gazed with relief at the sight of the castle and castle town. The drawbridge slowly lowered, horns blasting from the battlements and the marching soldiers to announce their arrival. Citizens, who had normally been going about their daily business, peered through the ranks of marching and triumphant Ravagers and Hyrulians. Soon, a murmur of excitement went through the crowd. The princess was among the soldiers! She was alright! Cheers started to go through the crowd. Blushing slightly, Zelda waved towards her adoring subjects. Despite being of royalty, she never really got used to the way people treated her with such reverence and respect. Impa looked at her and smiled.
"Don't worry, Zelda. I'll serve as crowd control." She said. Zelda seemed very thankful for that development.
They made their way through Castle Town, marching up the path and bridge towards the castle and the royal grounds. To their surprise, there was clear signs of activity in the royal grounds. Ravager soldiers from Ishaka's branch had already returned, and had set up tents for rest and to treat any wounded. Impa sighed. This would be a bit annoying.
Sure enough, there he was. Grinning like an idiot, pipe dangling loosely in his lips, Ishaka stood in the middle of the road in front of the returning guard. He saw Impa, and let out a cackle.
"Firs' one back, Sheikah! C'mon now, pay up!" He gestured with his hand expectantly. Impa stepped in front of the army, which was slowly breaking up to return to barracks or to the med tents that had been set up for rest and treatment. Impa smirked.
"Oh no." She said. Ishaka grinned.
"Tha's right!" He said. Suddenly, his grin disappeared. "'Oh no.' Yeh don' seem worr'd. Why don' yeh seem worri'd?"
At that moment, Zelda decided to take advantage of her latent flair for the dramatic and chose to reveal herself. She rode her horse through the slowly parting crowd of soldiers, and had a proud smile on her face. As the sun set to the west, the light reflected off of her crown and made it glow a brilliant yellow-orange. She looked at Ishaka, and nodded.
"That's right, Ishaka. I believe a bet is a bet."
"Shit!" Ishaka said, kicking the dirt like a petulant child. A row of laughter emerged from Ravager and Hyrulian soldiers that were close enough to see this all going on. He grumbled mightily, digging through his pockets. He found a small bag of rupees, and tossed them towards Impa. The Sheikah warrior deftly caught the bag, and pocketed it smoothly.
"I believe that makes us even." She said with a deserved degree of smugness. Ishaka had recovered.
"Don' yeh git too complac'nt, Sheikah. Plenty o' stuff ta bet on inna future!" He said. Impa laughed.
"And I will be there to fleece you, every step of the way." She said. Ishaka grumbled, but ultimately said nothing. At that moment, Darunia, Ruto and Itami made their way forward. Zelda looked behind her to see them, and cleared her throat.
"Ishaka, I feel now is the best time for introductions. Ishaka, this is Darunia, the Great Brother of the Goron people. Right next to your friend Itami is Princess Ruto I, the ruler of the Zora people. They come from the Era of Time, willingly pledging themselves to our cause." She looked over at them, and gestured towards the Ravager leader. "Ruto, Darunia? This here is Ishaka, a trusted confidant and friend of the Hyrulian people and…" She turned towards Ishaka and frowned. "Forgive me, it would appear I've never asked you if you have a title." Ishaka laughed.
"Don' worry 'bout it." He said. "Th' name's Ishaka. Lead'r o' th' Ravagers." He pointed to Itami. "That there is Itami, me sec'nd in c'mmand an' closest mate." He grinned. "Find yerself a lady 'ere, Itami?"
"Don't you start too." Itami replied. He managed to pry himself from Ruto's disappointed grasp. "Where's Lana?" Ishaka's jovial features fell.
"She be inna tent o'er ther'." Ishaka gestured behind him. "Talkin' ta our new'st friend, Midna o' th' Twiligh' Kingd'm. She…well, maybe this'd be somethin' we'd bes' d'scuss in private." He said. "Had a bit o' a rev'lation in th' land o' th' Twiligh'." He peered through the crowd. "Can' see 'em, but Meat'ook is playin' wit' our oth'r frien': li'l miss Ag'tha, princess o' th' Insect Kingd'm."
"Actually, Ishaka, I'm here." Lana's voice was rather quiet. The others turned to greet her. Zelda saw that Ishaka was right: she did seem upset about something. There was a strange-looking imp creature floating next to her, who was resting her little hand comfortingly on Lana's shoulder.
"And I'm here too." The creature said. "The name's Midna. I'm the Twilight Princess." She looked around. "Man! This is really the best and the brightest of all possible worlds, isn't it?"
"We seem to have quite a group around us." Zelda said. "But where is Link?"
.
At that moment, there was a screeching sound. Everyone looked up to a most unusual sight. Two bird-like creatures were dive-bombing towards the camp, flapping their wings as fast as they could carry them. Zelda had seen pictures of them in history books, but had never actually seen a Loftwing in person before. They landed hard on the ground, their talons skidding slightly as they struggled to keep upright. Ishaka could see that Uhaa, one of Big Finn's younger scummies, was flying one of them. There was a weird, statue-like figure behind him, who floated off and stood behind Uhaa. The other bird creature was piloted by a dapper-looking gentleman in shiny armor, who truly had a magnificent mustache. One of his eyes was badly swollen, and there was a nasty cut above his eyes. He was holding someone in his arms.
Uhaa was frantically looking around, his eyes bugging out of his head. Finally, he managed to look over and see the leaders of the alliance a few hundred yards away. He made eye contact with Ishaka, and the Ravager captain could see that the young man was absolutely frantic.
"M-m-m-m-m-m-muh-muh-MEEDDIICCC!" Uhaa shouted.
.
Itami had moved before any of them could even register what Uhaa had said. The Craol ducked past some ambling Ravagers, leapt over a box of food supplies, and was by Uhaa and the dapper gentleman's side in roughly a few seconds. His eyes widened ever so slightly, and soon he started to scowl.
"Get me a bed!" He shouted into the medical tent. He looked over at Uhaa. "My medical bags are in the big tent to the south. Get them." Uhaa looked blank. "Just find them, will you?" Itami snapped. Uhaa snapped out of his catatonia, and raced in the direction he'd been directed. By now, the Ravagers and other soldiers in the area were clearing out of the way as Itami hurried into the medical tent, with the gentleman carrying someone in his arms.
Zelda felt a horrible lump in her chest, and dismounted her horse to run in afterwards. The others swiftly followed suit.
.
As they raced into the tent, they saw that whomever it was that the gentleman had carried was laid onto a bed. Itami was looking over the poor soul, doing initial checks, while peppering the man with questions.
"Name?"
"Captain Dorias of the Skyloftian Guard." The man replied. Itami wasn't even looking at him, instead reaching down and prying open the person's eye. Zelda felt her heart drop into her stomach. Link…
"He's completely out cold. Was he given anything in the last hour?"
"I gave him a homemade remedy." Dorias replied. Itami darted his eyes suspiciously towards the captain.
"Homemade? What was in it?" He asked.
"Does it matt-" Dorias was swiftly cut off.
"Yeah, it fucking matters. What was in it?" When Dorias stammered, Itami snapped. "Well?"
"Gah! Uh, it had, um…two ounces of Chu-Chu jelly-"
"What color Chu-Chu?"
"Green." Dorias said. "A pinch of fairy dust-"
"Anything else? Anything sedative in nature?" Itami asked. Uhaa had barreled in from another opening in the tent, and laid Itami's medical boxes and bags at the foot of the bed. Dorias scrunched his eyes, trying to recall.
"Um…two ground-up poppy flowers. Yes, definitely two."
Itami took a momentary pause from his evaluation to stare incredulously at the captain.
"Two whole-were you trying to kill him?" Itami said. "Fuck, now I gotta worry about making sure he doesn't drift off forever while patching him up, thanks to you. Somebody get me a shaman!" He yelled out the tent. He turned back towards Dorias. "Unacceptable. You're an officer, you should know better than to give a kid this size that much poppy-Not another fucking step!" He suddenly roared, whipping his finger in the direction of Zelda and the rest of the group, who'd been ever so slowly inching closer and closer to the bedside. The fact that he hadn't even been looking at them, only to suddenly jump at them caused everyone to jump in fright. "I don't need fifteen fucking people in here breathing all over my shoulder while I try to save this kid's life! Ishaka, if they don't have medical experience, get them out."
"But-" Ruto, who'd been foolish enough to speak, was swiftly cut off.
"OUT." Itami said again.
Ishaka didn't even need to do anything. The others, save for Zelda and Lana, swiftly raced out of the tent to avoid the wrath of the medic on the war path.
.
Zelda stayed put. She had very little medical training, to the point where she would most likely be a go-fer for Itami, but that was not the reason that she chose to stay. First of all, she was the princess of Hyrule. This was her land, and this was her hero. Secondly, this was her hero. She walked a little bit closer to the bed, so that she was about five feet from it. Link looked terrible. His face was caked with dried blood, almost to the point that it was a mask of dark-red crud. He was breathing quite shallow. His arm was loosely held together by a makeshift sling, but it was clear that it was quite broken in perhaps more than one place. He looked absolutely pathetic, and not at all like the Hero of the age.
Itami was swiftly laying out bowls on a small table next to it, and was filling each of them with little mixtures that he had gotten out of the bags that Uhaa had brought in. Two burly-looking Ravagers came into the tent as well, standing at Itami's side. The Craol was getting agitated.
"Where the fuck is my shaman?" He shouted. There was no response. Lana, who had also chosen to stay in the tent, stepped forward.
"What does the shaman need to do?"
"Needs to bring him out of the sedation." Itami said. "I can't give Link anything while he's under something else. Otherwise, they'll start mixing and who knows what the hell will happen then." He turned towards one of the Ravagers that had taken to helping him. "Get me a knife. We need to get that shirt and tunic off of him."
Zelda blushed a little bit.
"Is-it that necessary?" She asked. Itami just stared at her.
"Yes. I need to know how deep some of the cuts actually are, and with this thing on him I can't be for sure." He gestured to the green tunic, now completely stained with blood. "Besides, this thing is ruined anyway. Hope you have a good seamstress."
"I…I can help bring him out." Lana said quietly. She had her spellbook out, and was fingering through the pages to find the right spell. "It won't be too hard for me."
"You sure?" Itami asked.
"Yes." Lana said. She placed her finger on one of the aged, yellowed pages. "This one looks like it should work."
"It had fucking better." Itami said. As he was talking, he was slowly cutting off pieces of Link's tunic, exposing the Hero's torso and chest. "We don't have time to play the surgical equivalent of 20 Questions." He made an incision down the center of Link's torso, and pulled back the clothes. There were several cuts of varying length and depth scattered across Link's chest. "Okay boys, hold him down. But watch the arm! It's clearly broken, and I haven't set it in a splint yet." On his word, the two Ravagers firmly held down Link by the legs and shoulders. Zelda peered over Itami's shoulder.
"Why…why does he need to be held down?" She asked. Itami didn't look back, instead cobbling together a mixture in one of his bowls into a greyish liquid. He looked back at her.
"We're about to magically brig him out of a coma, and take away an unknown sedative with one of my own. So he's going to feel every injury he's accumulated over wherever it is that he was at…all at once."
"Goddesses…" Zelda whispered. "Is…is there anything I can do?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." He said. He gestured to Link's unmangled arm. "Hold his hand and keep his attention." Zelda stared at him.
"Wh-what?" She asked. Itami finished mixing the liquid in the bowl.
"Yeah. I find that people I have to fix up that have suffered catastrophic injuries tend not to scream as much if they have someone pretty to look at." Itami replied. Zelda wasn't sure if he was screwing with her or not, but now was not the time to ask. She gently grabbed his left hand, and held it tight with both of hers. Itami looked over at the Ravagers holding Link down.
"Are you ready?" He asked them. They both gravely nodded. Itami looked over at Zelda, and then Lana. Both of them nodded. He looked again at Lana. "Then do it."
Lana took a deep breath, and spoke the incantation.
.
Whatever awkward small talk people were making outside was immediately interrupted by the screams.
.
Link thrashed around on the bed, as his mind registered just how much pain his body was in. The two Ravagers were holding him down, albeit just barely. Lana had finished casting the spell, and was currently wringing her hands helplessly. Link was howling and wailing like a wounded animal, and Itami was desparately trying to reach him.
"Kid, kid! C'mon kid, fuck, it's okay. It's okay!" He was trying to pour the mixture into Link's mouth, but the way that the Hero was flailing about was making it impossible. "For fuck's sake, hold still!"
Link wasn't hearing any of it. Link wasn't hearing anything. The Link that they knew was submerged within layers of pain, adrenaline, and fight-or-flight primal instinct.
At that moment, Proxi decided to pop out of Link's head and frantically fly around.
"You gotta calm him down! I can't talk to him, he's so scared!" The little fairy wailed. The two Ravagers were clearly having trouble holding Link down, and if he were to shake them off he'd cause even more pain to himself.
"Link."
Somehow, in the midst of the chaos and screaming, that soft word cut through. Link was still thrashing around, but now he was looking in the direction of that word. It was Zelda. Somehow, despite her heart beating in her chest, she was outwardly calm and softly smiling. She was staring him in the eye, gently caressing his hand.
"Link. It's okay. You're going to be okay."
Link had stopped thrashing. He was still breathing shallowed and clearly in pain, but he wasn't moving around like a wild and wounded beast. Taking advantage of the opening, Itami swiftly dipped the liquid into Link's mouth. He wiped away the sweat from his brow.
"There you go, kid. There you go. That'll help." He turned towards the rest of the group. "Help me set his arm in a splint. He's totally out of it."
"Are-are you sure?" Lana asked. She was watching Zelda stare intently into Link's eyes, feeling a pang of sadness that she both knew and didn't want to know the origins of. "His eyes are open."
"Instinctive bodily reaction." Itami said. "He hasn't been 'in it' since we woke him up. I doubt he'll remember any of this when he wakes up." He was starting to smear some mixture on the various cuts across Link's chest, torso and gut. This'll help the blood clot. He's not out of the woods yet but…" He seemed to be breathing a little easier now. "…but now we're not quite at panic level anymore." He turned to Lana and the other two Ravagers. "You don't have to stick around anymore. I'm in control now." The two Ravagers nodded gratefully, and shambled out of the tent and into the open. Lana followed after them, but not before looking back. There, as Itami went about tending to Link's many wounds, sat the princess. She was holding his hand still, cooing something softly into his ear that she couldn't hear.
.
When she walked out of the tent, she realized that the group was all staring at her. Midna was the first to speak.
"So…?" The Twili asked. Lana managed to smile a little bit.
"He'll live. Itami's working extensively on him, but he'll live."
A collective sigh of relief went through the group, and they all seemed to relax. Fi spoke next.
"I must confess that the odds of Master's survival were quite low, considering the severity of his injuries and the amount of time he'd spent before receiving care."
"Tha' be Itami fer ya." Ishaka said. He was smoking again, though this time it seemed more to quell his nerves than out of a sense of pleasure. "Th' man c'uld brin' a man fr'm th' grave if'n he want'd." He let out a column of smoke from his lips. "Th're be a re'son he be my war medic."
"I suppose so." Impa said. "He did patch me up rather well." She gestured to the fading cut on her forehead. Ishaka smirked.
"Ther' a st'ry b'hind tha' there cut, Sheikah?" He asked. Darunia looked rather guilty, and said nothing.
"Zelda is in there with him." Lana said. "She's probably going to want to talk to us when things are done. But…I don't know how long that is going to take." She shrugged. "I guess…we all go do our separate things until then?"
"Can we at least see him?" Ruto asked. Lana sighed.
"I don't know if they're going to allow visitors anytime soon." She shuddered. "And Itami…well, he was kinda scary." Ishaka smirked a little bit, but didn't say anything.
"That seems fair enough." Impa said. She turned to the rest of the group, and shrugged. "I suppose then, by virtue of availability, I am the highest ranking person around. You're all dismissed. I'm going to go to give the report to Lord Grantham." She looked at Ruto and Midna in particular. "Try not to stay out of trouble, please?"
Midna nodded, though by the way her hand was behind her back it was possible that she was crossing her fingers. Ruto had been staring at a rather sharp-looking Ravager that had passed by them, before registering that someone had said something to her.
"Huh? Oh, um, yes. Yes, of course." She said. Rolling her eyes, Impa dismissed the group. She turned to Ishaka.
"Ishaka? I might need your help with something. Care to join me?" She asked. The Ravager leader seemed rather confused, but then nodded and followed her up the pathway towards the castle.
.
As they passed by a group of stoic-looking Royal Guardsmen walking through the hallways towards the Royal Chambers, Ishaka turned to face Impa.
"Alrigh', I migh' be some'un tha' knows a thin' or two 'bout pol'tics, but ev'n I knows yeh don't need m'help in ther'. Wha's up, Sheikah?"
As soon as the guardsmen had passed, Impa suddenly cornered Ishaka against the wall.
"Whoa ther', Sheikah. Wha's th' probl'm?"
"What's wrong with Lana?" Impa asked. Her eyes narrowed. "Ever since you've returned from the portal, she seems incredibly upset. What happened?"
For once, Ishaka looked guilty.
"Erm…'is nuthin', Sheikah. I was gonna wai' till th' princess was 'vailable b'fore talkin'."
"Well, Zelda isn't around." Impa said. "If this is something that concerns troop morale, then I need to know. Without Lord Tiberius, I'm the highest ranking officer in the army. I can't have something bothering Lana filter through the army as well. What is it?"
"Impa, please."
That was enough to get Impa's eyes to widen in surprise. She'd known Ishaka for weeks and weeks now, and yet to her knowledge that was the first time he'd called her by her name. It was enough to get her to stop talking, and she looked at him expectantly. He cleared his throat. When he spoke, it was a harsh whisper.
"She ain't jes' fr'm th' same tribe as Cia. She an' Cia…well…" He seemed to struggle for the words. Then, he sighed. "Can yeh keep a sec'ret?"
"Of course." Impa said. Ishaka cleared his throat.
"She an' Cia…they be th' same person." He said. When Impa's eyes widened in shock, he continued. "Cia be th' bad 'alf. An' miss Lana…"
"…is the good half." Impa finished. "I…I thought she seemed too familiar with Cia's methods. Goddesses, who else knows?"
"Jes' Midna." Ishaka said. "An' I'm sure th' princess an' th' others will wanna know, too."
"What about the army as a whole?" Impa asked.
"Nah. I'm keepin' it quiet." Ishaka said. He was back to smoking again. A hazy cloud was drifting around his head. "No need fer a buncha angry an' misund'rstandin' folk, eh?"
"I suppose so." Impa said. She rubbed her forehead in thought. "Fair enough. For now, we'll sit on this. Zelda will be the first one to know. Then the other…for lack of a better way to put it…commanders. But the general rank and file might not need to know. Not now, anyway. We'll see how things go from here." She noticed Ishaka's slightly downtrodden look, and smiled slightly.
"You needn't worry, Ishaka. Your secret is safe with me."
"Thanks, Sheikah." He said. "'Is jus'…I don' like ta b'tray someun'. Any'un, really."
"That's what makes you a good man." Impa said with a smile. She gestured down the hallway. "Come on now. Let's go talk to Elijah."
The two of them walked down the hallway, trying not to think too much about just how much more complicated everything had become in this war.
.
He felt the stinging pain throbbing across his body, and yet resisted the urge to cry out in pain. Staggering back to his feet, he turned around just in time for the electrified whip to strike him again. Roaring in pain, he was knocked back down to his knees. He panted, the weat forming and the blood trickling from where the whip had snapped at his cheek.
He heard the soft clacking noise of high heels on marble floor. Shakily, he looked upwards to the source.
She was bathed in a dark and ominous aura, and her eyes were glowing purple with rage. When she spoke, it dripped with venom.
"Volga, I asked so…little of you when I sent you on your way," Cia said. "If I recall correctly, I specifically asked you to make sure that Link wasn't hurt in the Era of Sky." She snarled. "And yet, when I scry* into the camps of the Hyrulian forces, I see my precious little angel looking like a corpse on a deathbed!" She cracked the whip again, singing Volga's side. The Dragon Warrior growled.
"I…I tried to stop…Ghirahim." He managed to say. "But…this is war, mistress Cia. I…I cannot be responsible for babysitting as well as killing!"
"I do not accept excuses." Cia said. There was a coldness in her voice. "And quit your sniveling. You're getting off easy. Wizzro is still unconscious from what I did to him for being exposed in his truly terrible scheme. Impersonating a human? Him? He doesn't even know the first thing about us." She facepalmed. "Why am I surrounded by such incompetents?"
Volga said nothing, and managed to stagger back to his feet. Wobbling slightly, he managed to look Cia in the eye.
"What…what would you have me do, mistress Cia?" He asked. Cia gave a tsking sound, and started to file her niles on the edge of her scepter.
"I don't really care, Volga. Go execute some deserters, lift weights, or take a bath. I just don't want to see you right now." She glared at him. "Period."
Volga got the drift, and slowly and wobbily walked away.
As soon as Volga was out of the room, Cia felt the panic return to her. Her face a mask of worry, she hastily walked over to the crystal globe on a pedestal at the front of her throne. Her heart beating rapidly, Cia began to rub the globe with her hands in order to get it to focus. In a manner of moments, the misty clouds inside had formed into a vision of the site of a hospital bed. Cia scowled at the sight of that harlot holding the hands of her beloved, but her features softened in worry at the sight of Link.
"Oh…oh baby, be strong!" Cia whispered. She winced and whimpered at the sight of the cuts and lacerations across his upper body, wishing she could be there herself to make the hurt go away. She frowned at the brusque manner in which the doctor was treating her beloved. No one should treat her love with anything but complete and utter reverence! She imagined being there with him, the feel of his hand in hers, and the look of gratitude in his eyes as she put him back together again.
Cia made a note to make sure that, when she put all of her enemies to death, that this doctor was given a quick one. After all, he deserved a form of reward for saving her sweetheart.
But that could wait.
For now, Cia pulled the globe off of its pedestal, and slumped to the ground so that she was sitting with her back to the pedestal. Cradling the glowing orb in her lap, she stared and fretted in silence at the sight of her beloved darling Link miles and miles away, fighting to stay alive.
"Please, baby. Oh, baby please. You must be strong. You have to be strong, sugar. I…I can't live in a world without you. Please…Link, baby. Please get well. I love you."
A/N: A transitional chapter here, not much else to say. Backstory development, as intense a medical scene as I could write without sounding like a complete and utter moron that doesn't know what he's talking about. And, finally, after plenty of allusion, you get to see just how big of a prick Itami can be when he's in the zone. He's an asshole, I guess, but he's a good doctor who isn't about to let anyone die on his watch.
Hope you guys enjoyed this one. As always, reads and reviews are much appreciated. See you next time!
HYRULIAN CODEX
Scrying – A very advanced form of magic. The user focuses their mental acuity in order to 'see' things that are impossible to see within their normal field of vision. Depending on the power of the magic-wielder, someone could spy on the happenstances of someone's day-to-day life from one end of the world to the other. It is not a particularly easy thing to do, and some more powerful scryers will create a 'crystal ball' of sorts to help them maintain the connection for a longer and less stressful experience.
Scrying can be countered by an equally-adept magician on the other end, but that is only when the one being spied on is aware of the possibility that they are being spied on.